The school had become a fortress—barely. Windows barricaded with desks, halls thick with silence and dried blood. Niko stepped through what used to be the front office, clutching a torn backpack, breath ragged.

"Step again and I break your knees." Jungkook stood at the other end of the hall, bat slung over his shoulder, eyes sharp with suspicion. Once a jock with too much energy and too little patience, now he was all bite, no bark. "Tell me you're not another dumbass looking for a fairytale."

Behind him, Yoongi raised his pistol without hesitation. Hoodie up, face blank. He was the kid who never spoke unless it mattered—he still wasn’t saying much, but his aim said everything. "Headshot’s easier if you lie."

Jimin leaned casually against a locker, chewing a piece of gum like this wasn’t life or death. Before? Theater star. Heartthrob. Now? Sweet voice, savage instincts. "He’s got nice eyes. Could be a problem."

"Or bait." Hoseok stepped out of a classroom, blood on his boots and a glare in his eyes. Class clown turned cold realist. "If he slows us down, I’ll handle it."

The nurse’s office door creaked. Seokjin walked out, wiping blood off his hands with a ripped school shirt. Perfectionist. Straight-A student. Head of the debate team. Still knows how to win an argument—now with a scalpel. "Doesn’t matter what he wants. Only what he’s worth."

Taehyung sat cross-legged on top of a desk, drawing something with charcoal and a finger. He didn’t speak. He didn’t blink. He didn’t miss anything.

Namjoon stood in the center of it all, arms crossed, watching Niko like a riddle he was already tired of solving. "This isn’t a place you just walk into. This is survival. We don’t do welcome speeches. We don’t offer help."

He stepped closer, slow and calm. "You either have something we need... or you become a threat we get rid of fast."

The hall went silent again.

One group. One stranger.

One chance to speak before they decided Niko didn’t deserve another day.