Til Death Do Us Part / LEE TAEYONG ✓

The Members Decide to "Help"

[In den: Haechan, Johnny (1 line), Jaehyun, Jisung (no lines), Renjun, Jungwoo, Jeno, Jaemin, Yuta (1 line), Chenle (1 line), [MEDIC]? (maybe Kun or Sungchan?)]

Haechan burst into the den at a sprint.  "Guys!  You won't believe-"

"Chips first!" Johnny interrupted, holding out a hand for them without taking his eyes off the TV.

Haechan rolled his eyes and gave Johnny the chip bag and then threw himself on the couch next to Jisung.  "You and your chips," he grumbled.  "Anyway, guess what I just saw."

"A scrawny idiot in the mirror," Renjun guessed, sarcastically.

Haechan ignored this and continued, "I saw Lee Taeyong and Mingyue come home together!"

That got everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Jungwoo asked.

"Mingyue is in the entrance hall right now with Taeyong and a really bloody body."

"Taeyong hasn't ever been seen with a girl since..."  Jungwoo trailed off as someone's phone began to play NCT 127's Ay-Yo, a popular song at the time.

"That's mine," Jaehyun said, lazily picking up.  "'Sup Taeyong?  You good?..." His face twisted in disgust.  "Right now?... Fine, fine.  I'll do it now... Bye."

Jaehyun put his phone down, looking irritated.  "Chief has got a Phantom member with a bullet wound and he wants them interrogated right away."

Haechan gave all the members a pointed expression like I-told-you-so.

"[MEDIC], come with me," Jaehyun said, pointing to [MEDIC].

[MEDIC] grumbled, "Not another bullet wound.  Was Ten's not punishment enough?"

As the door to the den closed behind them, Haechan drew everyone's attention with a clap.  "See?  What I said was the truth!"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions," Jeno warned.

Jaemin stood up from lying on Jeno's lap.  "Yeah, what he said!  Let's go find some hard evidence!"  He stuck a finger in Yuta's direction.  "Come, my espionage lackey!  What's the point of all those training exercises if we never use them recreationally?"

Dutifully, Yuta didn't even hesitate.  "Sure boss."

Jeno face-palmed.  "That's not what I meant..."

"But don't you want to find out?" Jaemin asked, nudging Jeno affectionately in the ribs.

Jaemin dragged Yuta off his couch and they both left the room as well.

While they were gone, the rest of the members returned to the show they were streaming illegally (Seventeen In the Soop S2).  For Haechan, though, the short wait was excruciating.  This could be exciting news if his beloved hyung had actually learned how to trust people again!

Not five minutes had passed before Jaemin and Yuta returned.

As soon as he walked in the door, Jaemin mock-fainted on the nearest empty couch.

Without missing a beat, Jungwoo walked over and began doing fake chest compressions.  "Medic!  We need a medic!"

"What happened?" Haechan asked, looking expectantly from Jaemin to Yuta.  "What's going on?"

Yuta shrugged, indicating that Jaemin, his leader on the espionage team, would be the one to explain.

Jaemin, still being given fake chest compressions, opened his eyes to wink at Jeno.  "Maybe a kiss would help?  A true love's kiss?"

"If you manage to survive your heart attack and Haechan, I'll give you a kiss," Jeno replied, managing to sound nonchalant even as he blushed.

Jaemin sat up, his dark hair now messy and his cheeks pink from excitement.  "Taeyong is... cooking."

"Cooking?"  Haechan struggled to understand.

Jaemin nodded like a bunny eating a carrot.  "Cooking dinner for Mingyue!"

"Cooking dinner for Mingyue?!"  Haechan's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.  "I knew something was going on!"

"It's only hospitable to feed your guest," Renjun pointed out, stopping Haechan in his tracks.  "Especially when you're the reason they almost die.  It doesn't necessarily mean anything's going on."

"Oh stop being a killjoy, Renjun," Haechan retorted.

Jeno yawned and stretched as Jaemin slipped back under the other boy's arm.  "Junnie's got a point though," Jeno said.

Haechan was getting impatient.  "Still, Chief was out alone with a girl."

"And a Phantom member," Jeno said.

"So?  That doesn't change much."

Chenle, who had been playing PUBG but actively following the conversation, added, "The fact that Chief actually put in the effort to tail and cook for Mingyue means something's going on."

"See?" Haechan said, happy that someone was on his side.  "Besides, Taeyong has always worked so hard for us."

"That is true," Renjun said, "but I don't really see where this is going."

Haechan smiled his I've-got-a-plan smile.  "We should do something in return."

"Like a gift?" Jaemin asked.  "But he never accepts our gifts!  I've tried so many times."

"Not like a gift," said Haechan.  "More like...help.  We could help him get what he wants."

"And what does he want?" Jeno asked, raising an eyebrow.

The I've-got-a-plan smile grew wider.  "Mingyue."

Just that one word made the den explode.

[Okay, second part of the double chapter update (they kinda go together, uk?). So what do we think? You can tell its going to be slow burn.]

[I was sick this week, but since I've already written 9 and 1/2 chapters past this one, even if I am sick again, you won't have to worry. Aren't you lucky, readers? Plus, my chapters are a little longer than other stories here on Wattpad.]

[Honestly, I wanted to skip today when I heard the news about Astro Moonbin. I feel like I should honor his memory by not posting. Alas, as a nugu, I need to push out as many chapters as possible on a regular schedule. Binnie was a fucking icon. I miss him a lot.]

- 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥

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