The next day felt ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Jungkook sat at their usual spot, legs stretched out, listening as Namjoon spoke about something he had read recently while Seokjin corrected him halfway through the explanation. Jimin and Hoseok argued over something trivial—who had arrived first, who owed whom a snack—while Taehyung stayed close, his shoulder brushing Jungkook's whenever he laughed.
Jungkook didn't notice it.
The way the wind shifted.
The way the leaves rustled unnaturally.
The way someone stood just beyond the tree line, perfectly still.
A pair of eyes watched them.
The servant had served the Jeon clan for most of his life. His loyalty was not born from kindness but from fear and devotion—fear of failing, devotion to Lord Jeon Seonghwan, whose word was law within the estate.
He had followed quietly. Carefully.
And what he saw disturbed him.
Lord Jeon Jungkook—laughing too freely.
Sitting too close to the Kim heirs.
Especially one of them.
Kim Taehyung.
The servant's gaze narrowed.
He saw the familiarity. The ease. The way Jungkook leaned in without thinking, the way Taehyung's attention never strayed far from him. This was not how an heir of the Jeon clan was meant to behave.
So this is why he has changed, the servant thought.
So this is where his disobedience comes from.
He memorized faces.
Kim Namjoon.
Kim Seokjin.
Kim Taehyung.
And two others.
Park Jimin.
Jung Hoseok.
When Jungkook finally left, the servant retreated into the shadows, his expression unreadable.
That night, he knelt before Lord Jeon Seonghwan.
"The young lord has been leaving the estate frequently," the servant reported. "He spends his time with the Kim heirs… and others."
Seonghwan's fingers tapped slowly against the armrest.
"Others?"
"Park Jimin and Jung Hoseok," the servant answered. "They meet often. Laugh. Speak freely."
Silence followed.
Seonghwan's eyes darkened.
"So that is where his attention lies," he murmured. "Not in his lessons. Not in his duties."
The servant lowered his head further. "It appears their influence has returned him to childish mischief."
Seonghwan let out a quiet breath—almost a laugh.
"Mischief," he repeated. "Influence."
He stood.
"Leave us," he ordered.
When the servant was dismissed, Seonghwan remained alone, staring into the dimly lit hall.
He did not raise his voice.
He did not show anger.
That was when he was most dangerous.
By dawn, the plan had already begun to form.
Not openly.
Not loudly.
Not in a way that would point back to him.
He summoned one man—only one. Someone who owed the Jeon clan everything. Someone who would not ask questions.
"No one is to know," Seonghwan said calmly. "Not the Kim clan. Not the Park clan. Not even my own household."
The accomplice bowed deeply.
Seonghwan's gaze hardened.
"If these gatherings are the source of his disobedience," he continued, "then they will be corrected."
Not punished yet.
Corrected.
Outside the estate walls, Jungkook laughed with his friends, unaware.
Unaware that eyes now followed him.
Unaware that his freedom had been noticed.
Unaware that someone had already decided—
If laughter was the problem,
then laughter would be taken away.
And this time,
No one would see it coming.