As Iseul was about to turn around and walk away, Taeyong's cold hand wrapped itself around her thin wrist, holding her back.
"Iseul," he whispered, his voice almost pleading.
She swallowed and turned a little, enough to face him.
He was looking down at her, his eyes filled with melancholy. Iseul was surprised to see how expressive they were, for once. She wished he'd be more open with her. But she knew it was hard for him, she had to be patient.
When she didn't respond, Taeyong took her silence as an invitation for him to speak.
"I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be..."
Iseul tried not to show her surprise, as it was quite rare to see Taeyong admitting his mistakes. She didn't want to interrupt him, though, and kept her mouth shut.
"You're right, I haven't been completely honest with you lately. I am hiding things from you, but I need you to know that I'm doing it in your best interest. Not mine."
His hand slowly slid down from her wrist to gently hold hers.
"I'm not the same asshole I was when we first met, I promise. I know it seems like I still am, but I'm not. And- and I'm trying, I promise I'm trying to be better, to do better..." he took a deep breath and looked away, not bearing to look at her in the eye anymore as he whispered the last sentence, "I'm sorry if that's not enough."
Iseul suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. She hated herself for making him doubt himself so much. She had been acting like a stubborn child. That's exactly what she had been wanting to do only a couple of hours before, but now that she was finally taking the time to try and understand Taeyong's side of things, she felt stupid.
How could have she ignored the efforts he had made in order to become a better person?
Not once had she tried to put herself in his shoes. She had been selfish, and she hated it.
"I know you're not," Iseul whispered, softly squeezing his fingers. "And of course you are enough," she added, with more conviction this time. "I'm the one who's sorry for being so childish about all of this. You know what you're doing, and I should rely on that. I trust you, Taeyong."
Her words seemed to affect him immediately. Taeyong's shoulders relaxed as his eyes looked at her with more affection than they ever had.
"I'm sure you have your reasons not to tell me," she went on, "even though it's quite disturbing for me not to know what this is all about, I'm convinced you know what you're doing."
Taeyong put his free hand on Iseul's cheek, his thumb slowly stroking her skin.
"I give you my word," he whispered, bringing his face closer to hers, "that I'll tell you everything once I know it's safe for me to do so."
Unable to speak anymore, Iseul simply nodded slowly, mesmerized by his intense gaze on her.
"I know this isn't easy for you, but I'm asking you to wait a little more," Taeyong said. His words were so low, only meant for Iseul to hear, "for me," he added. "This is a lot to ask, but will you? Wait?"
They were so close, Iseul could feel his hot breath hitting her skin softly, "Please?" he closed his eyes, leaning down so he could rest his forehead against hers.
The rest of the hall was silent, completely empty. The only sound filling the air was the one of their fast heartbeats and heavy breathing.
"Of course," Iseul replied, gently grabbing his hand and closing her eyes as he kissed her softly.
YOU ARE READING
The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA
Fanfiction| SEQUEL TO HOUSE OF CARDS | Now that the House of Cards is finally stabilized, everyone thinks the game is over. Wrong. The game has just begun, and the Hidden Card is about to join the party.
