Chapter 23: Deciding for Me

She did not shout in the Wick's back room, because there were cats asleep in it.

She folded the pages in thirds, put them in her apron pocket and said, "My cottage. All of you. Now."

They walked there in a line, in the thin sun, without a word.

Felix was waiting on her porch with Minho, because someone had texted them from the cabin.

One look at Chan's face and Felix's smile went out.

"What did you do?" he said.

Missy unlocked the door and went inside.

They followed her into the living room, where the rug still held the shape of the night she had thought was the best of her life.

She put the pages on the coffee table, squared them to the edge and sat down.

"Read it," she told Felix. "Read the last page. Everyone."

Felix read.

His face did the thing it did before he gave an order, and went very calm.

He passed it to Minho.

Minho read it with his jaw set, and then he read the first page again, and put it down with a hand that was not quite steady.

"Seven years," Felix said. "Hyung. You signed seven years."

"Yes."

"You didn't tell us."

"I didn't tell anyone."

"When?"

"Eight days ago. The morning after."

Nobody needed to say which morning.

Hyunjin made a small broken noise, and Jisung put both hands over his mouth.

"Why?" said Hyunjin. "Chan, why? We were writing the album. We were, we were happy."

"Because the meeting was coming. Because they'd split us up and fine her."

"You didn't ask."

"I'm the leader. It's my job."

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