Limitless || Mark Lee

Chapter 42

Mirae cringed as Byungchul spoke, listing off all the horrible things he planned to do once in power. All the men around the table laughed happily along with him, the sound making Mirae feel sick to her stomach.

Hyunwoo smiled with the others, quickly noticing Mirae's discomfort. He reached under the table and held her hand. Mirae flinched at the contact but allowed him to hold her. She knew that if she had any chance of living, she'd need to play this part well and just hope that NCT would come soon.

"Alright, so what's our first move?" Byungchul asked, standing from his seat with a wicked smile.

"Why don't we send a little gift to our friends NCT?" Minsoo replied with a smirk, his eyes landing on Mirae.

"No. You're not hurting her." Hyunwoo said, standing up protectively.

"That's what she's here for, Hyunwoo." Minsoo snarled back.

"Father, you promised me." He growled out, turning to face Byungchul.

"He's right, Minsoo, no harming the girl... assuming she is obedient." He added with a dark tone, turning to look at Mirae, who quickly nodded in response. "Plus, she's more valuable to us alive than dead. I know it will eat up our poor friends NCT to know we stole their precious girl."

Hyunwoo sat down with a relieved huff, smiling at Mirae. She forced a smile onto her face as he squeezed her chained hands tighter. She fought back the urge to roll her eyes or spit in his face and instead just sat there in silence.

"Right, so-"

"Mr. Han! Mr. Han!"

A guard ran into the room, cutting off Byungchul's speech.

"Yes, What is it?"

"There's people at the front gate!"

"People?"

"Yes. A large group of armed men have broken through the front gate and are making their way up to the manor."

"They got past the guards?"

"Yes sir."

"How many are there?"

"I counted 23, sir."

Byungchul's eyes widened, a deep scowl on his face as he shoed the guard away.

"NCT has arrived."

At Byungchul's words, all the men at the table stood up, clutching onto the weapons at their sides and waiting for his next orders. Mirae felt like screaming out to them, the mix of excitement and fear coursing through her body, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"Hyunwoo, take Mirae to the room we talked about and stay there with her, the rest of us will handle NCT."

With that, Byungchul stood from his seat and left the room, all the other men streaming out after him. Hyunwoo quickly stood up, pulling the gun from his side and holding it in one hand with Mirae's hand in the other.

"Follow me and stay quiet."

He pulled her from the room as well, turning down a dark hallway and dragging her up a small back staircase. He pulled her through a small maze of unfamiliar hallways all the way to a room at the very back of the house. Once inside, he unchained her wrists and ankles, then locked the door behind them.

"They shouldn't reach us here."

"Why did you unchain me?"

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes softening at the site of her.

"I want to show you that I trust you. I meant what I said. I'll make you happy. This was just one way to thank you for choosing me."

"Y-yeah... of course..."