The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter forty-six: Connecting the dots

Kun didn't bother to take a seat in one of the large chairs facing Taeyong's desk, as his eyes were quickly analyzing the papers his leader was reading.

"What did you want to talk about?" Taeyong asked, focusing his attention on the man in front of him.

"How did you know where we were?"

Taeyong took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Taeil-hyung told me," he admitted. "What were you doing there, though? I thought only Jaemin and Iseul had decided to go out."

Kun put a hand on the back of his neck, "I saw them leave. Like you said we can't trust anyone anymore, so I guess I just... wanted to make sure they were alright..."

Taeyong slowly nodded.

"Well, judging by the turn of events, I suppose you did good."

"Speaking of which," Kun frowned, "what was that about? I know that you saw the tattoos on their bodies just like I did."

Taeyong clenched his fists, the only sign that he was angry, "Mercenaries," he spoke, his tone harsh.

He had spat the word like an insult, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Since when do random gunmen attack simple students?"

It was rare sight to witness Kun lose his temper, but the anger in his voice was hard to hide, and Taeyong shared his feelings.

"Because they were not just random gunmen, and they knew that they weren't just attacking random students," he replied, his voice like thunder.

"Wait, you think they knew about Jaemin and Iseul being with us?" Kun asked, growing more confused, "That's impossible, Jaemin is a Dream member, and only Jeno and Mark have been exposed. As for Iseul, I understand she's quite the celebrity in our world now, but still..."
He took a deep breath, "And what about their friend?"

Taeyong shrugged, "Collateral damage, I guess. She was not their target."

Kun frowned so hard that little wrinkles appeared on his forehead, "Iseul," he whispered.

"What?"

"You're right," Kun said, his eyes sparkling as his brain was connecting the dots, "their target was Iseul."

"What makes you think that?"

"Think about it," Kun explained, "when you joined us and killed that man, he was holding Iseul. Not Jaemin, not her friend. Her."

Taeyong's wrinkle between his brows deepened as he frowned harder, replaying the scene in his head. Kun was right. The second assailant didn't seem like he was even interested in Jaemin and Chaewon.
Only Iseul seemed to have caught his attention.

"That's not good," he said, crossing his hands under his chin. He sighed, "What do you advise we do?"

Kun raised his brows in surprise, "I thought we were supposed to all stay away from each other for a while?"

Taeyong scoffed, "Yeah, but right now, we have more urgent problems."

"More urgent than finding out who's stabbing us in the back?"

Taeyong didn't reply, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Ah, of course" Kun whispered, "Iseul. She's in danger right now, that's your priority."

There was no judgment in Kun's tone, but Taeyong took it as an insult to his loyalty nonetheless.

"No one is more important to me than our family," he severely replied, his eyes looking straight through Kun's soul, "and like you so well said and keep on reminding us all, Iseul is a part of it now, too."

Kun raised his hands in defense, "Hey, I understand. Trust me, I don't like the idea of her being in danger, either."

Taeyong closed his eyes, thinking about their next move.

"I think we should ask Jaemin," Kun offered. "He was there when it all happened, before us. Maybe he heard or saw something..."

"Yeah, you're right," Taeyong said, nodding. "Hopefully he'll be up by now."

Just as both men were about to get in the infirmary, they almost crashed into a smaller body.

"Oh!" Iseul exclaimed, looking up at them. Her eyes turned dark as she realized who was facing her. "It's you..."

"You were visiting Jaemin?" Kun asked, hoping to catch the girl's attention as she seemed busy trying to kill Taeyong with a glare.
Clearly, she was still upset about their conversation earlier.

"Yes," she replied, her eyes now shadowed by sadness. "He's still out for the moment," Iseul informed them.

"I'll go get Doyoung to see if he can wake him up," Kun automatically replied, trying to escape from the awkward tension surrounding them.

Before Iseul or Taeyong could say anything, Kun was already gone, leaving them both in the dark corridor.

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Hi, sorry I'm not fond of my writing in this one... I'd like to know your thoughts about the next chapter though, so don't hesitate to leave a comment on the next one!!