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The hallway outside the studio was too quiet.
That was the first thing Hongjoong noticed.
Usually, even after midnight schedules, there was always noise somewhere—Wooyoung complaining dramatically, San laughing too loudly, Yunho humming under his breath while helping staff carry bags.
Tonight?
Silence.
Hongjoong slowed his steps.
“Where’s Wooyoung?” he asked, glancing around.
Mingi frowned. “Wasn’t he behind us?”
“I thought he went to the restroom,” Yeosang answered quietly.
Then—
A sharp thud echoed down the corridor.
Followed by Wooyoung’s voice.
“Let go of me!”
Every member froze.
Another sound followed. A scuffle. Shoes scraping violently across the floor.
Jongho moved first.
Not running.
Not yelling.
Just suddenly there.
One second he stood beside San.
The next he was halfway down the hallway with terrifying speed.
“Jongho—!” Hongjoong shouted, immediately sprinting after him.
They rounded the corner.
And everything stopped.
A man—some random outsider who’d somehow slipped into the building during staff movement—had Wooyoung shoved against the wall. One hand gripped Wooyoung’s wrist hard enough to leave angry red marks. The other was tangled in the back of his hoodie while Wooyoung struggled violently.
“I said LET GO—”
The man turned too late.
Because Jongho was already there.
The youngest member grabbed the man’s wrist.
There wasn’t even a warning.
A sickening crack split the hallway.
The man screamed.
Not yelled.
Screamed.
Wooyoung stumbled backward in shock as Jongho twisted the arm with brutal precision, forcing the man to his knees instantly.
Another crack followed.
Hongjoong’s stomach dropped.
“Oh my god—”
“JONGHO!”
But Jongho didn’t stop.
His face was horrifyingly blank.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just cold.
Controlled.
Like breaking bones was the most natural thing in the world.
The man cried out again, clutching his arm, but Jongho grabbed his shoulder this time and drove him face-first into the wall hard enough to rattle the frame beside them.
“You touched him,” Jongho said quietly.
The calmness in his voice was somehow worse than screaming.
Behind them, San physically pulled Wooyoung back against his chest when the other boy tried stepping forward again.
“Jongho—” Wooyoung whispered shakily.
Another crack.
The man howled.
Yeosang flinched.
Mingi actually looked pale.
Yunho muttered, “Holy shit…”
Seonghwa stared in stunned silence, one hand halfway over his mouth.
Because Jongho never lost control.
Never.
Not like this.
Hongjoong finally reached him, grabbing his shoulders.
“Jongho, stop!”
Jongho shrugged him off instantly.
The leader nearly stumbled.
That shocked everyone more than the violence.
Jongho never shoved Hongjoong away.
Never.
But right now?
His eyes never left the man shaking on the floor.
“He grabbed Wooyoung.”
The words came out flat.
Emotionless.
As if that alone explained everything.
The man whimpered, trying to crawl backward.
Huge mistake.
Jongho caught his ankle and yanked him back across the floor.
“JONGHO!” Hongjoong snapped, grabbing him harder this time.
The maknae’s chest rose sharply.
His jaw clenched.
Wooyoung suddenly spoke.
“Jongho.”
That did it.
Everything stopped.
Jongho froze completely at Wooyoung’s voice.
The hallway went dead silent except for the man crying on the ground.
Wooyoung’s hands trembled as he stepped closer carefully. “I’m okay.”
Jongho looked at him then.
And the others visibly relaxed because there he was again.
Not the terrifying thing from thirty seconds ago.
Just Jongho.
But his eyes dropped to the bruises already forming around Wooyoung’s wrist.
Something dangerous flashed across his face again.
Hongjoong immediately tightened his grip on him. “Nope. Absolutely not.”
“I’m just looking,” Jongho muttered.
“Your definition of looking is illegal.”
Mingi snorted despite the tension.
San looked halfway between horrified and impressed. “I didn’t even see him move.”
“You broke his arm in two places,” Yunho said incredulously.
Jongho blinked once. “Probably three.”
“JONGHO!”
“What?” he asked, genuinely confused.
Yeosang quietly muttered, “That’s… actually terrifying.”
Seonghwa exhaled slowly. “Remind me never to touch Wooyoung without permission.”
Wooyoung, still shaken, let out a weak laugh at that.
Then immediately winced when he looked at the man again.
The outsider curled in on himself the second Jongho’s gaze flicked back toward him.
And unbelievably—
The man looked more afraid of Jongho than security rushing down the hallway.
One guard skidded to a stop. “What happened?!”
Hongjoong answered immediately.
“He assaulted our member.”
Jongho cracked his knuckles.
“And slipped.”
“JONGHO,” six voices groaned at once.
Wooyoung suddenly grabbed the sleeve of Jongho’s jacket.
The maknae instantly looked down at him.
“Stay with me?” Wooyoung asked softly.
All the violence disappeared from Jongho’s expression immediately.
“Obviously.”
San stared at him in disbelief. “You went from serial killer to emotional support dog in half a second.”
“I can do both,” Jongho replied calmly.
Honestly?
That was somehow the scariest part of all.