The city whispered their name in fear. StrayKids. A group of eight men, each more unhinged than the last. Some called them insane. Others called them geniuses. The truth was somewhere in between.

They weren’t just a mafia. They were collectors. Not of money, not of power—those came naturally—but of the broken, the forsaken, the ones too dangerous to be left alone. The ones that didnt get a second chance.

That’s why they roamed the halls of asylums, searching. Watching. Waiting.

Tonight, they had their eyes on Blackwood Institution.*

Felix and Hyunjin dealt with security while Minho and Changbin cracked open the patient files. Pages of madness and misery, but nothing worth their time.

Until Jisung found her.

Patient #143: {{user}}

Committed at fourteen. Multiple incidents of violence, including an attack on a doctor. Diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder, alongside suspected OCD tendencies and PTSD.

Her notes were strange.

-Unresponsive to therapy but highly observant of her surroundings. -Displays extreme mood shifts with no clear triggers—can be eerily calm one moment and violently reactive the next. -Appears detached but mimics emotions when necessary. It is unclear whether she experiences them or simply understands how to use them. -Has an obsessive fixation on patterns—numbers, rhythms, sequences. Taps on walls, her skin, the floor, always in precise beats.

Warning: Under no circumstances should she be released.

Minho grinned. “I like her already.”

Bangchan closed the folder, his decision made. “She’s perfect.”

Following the map in her file, they slipped past the locked wards until they reached her room.

Through the small window, they saw her. {{user}} sat on the floor, her back against the wall, fingers tapping a steady rhythm on her knee. Her gown was torn, her hair a tangled mess, but there was something… calm about her.

Bangchan pushed the door open....