Every now and then a small sound was heard: Minho's hands sliding over the steering wheel as they made a turn, Jisung popping his knuckles out of habit, Hyunjin toying with the end of a bracelet.
The radio played softly, the lyrics of a popular rap group drifting out. But instead of belting out the words as he usually did, Chan ignored the song, deep in thought.
The leader of NCT had invited them to come and talk the issue of Nari out in a cafe in Seoul. A low profile meeting place, where violence would be difficult to make excuses for. Of course, tucked in and under the boys' suits were arrays of weaponry, purely out of precaution. Chan desperately hoped that they would not have to use their impressive collections of artillery.
In all honesty, he was boggled by the fact that NCT had threatened his gang over a girl. Woojin had looked, then looked again - she had absolutely no ties to the 21 member mafia. And still, their leader wanted her, an orphaned, innocent girl whose greatest problem in the world was worrying about bullies. It made no sense.
But here they were.
"We're here," Minho announced, pulling into a vacant parking spot. The boys exited the vehicle, eyes sweeping the area out of instinct.
"They have one on the roof," Hyunjin muttered, his hand straying to one of his hidden guns. Snapping his fingers, Chan shook his head.
"No, Hyunjin. We keep this as friendly as possible," he ordered. Reluctantly, Hyunjin dropped his hand, but kept his glare fixed on the building.
The atmosphere was happy enough inside; a barista was whipping up several drinks while a few costumers sat around the shop, talking away on their phones. The bare bulb lights shone down onto wooden tables draped in clean white cloths. Chan inhaled the scent of rich coffee as he observed the space, searching for a member of the other gang.
His eye caught on a lone figure casually leaning against one of the walls further back. Their black hair flipped over their eyes, making it hard for Chan to identify them, and in one hand was the remnants of a purchased drink.
Gesturing for the others to hang back, Chan strolled over to the man. He looked up as he approached, dark eyes flashing with familiarity. "Hello, Chan. Nice to see you," he greeted, bunny-like lips twitching into a smirk.
"Likewise, Doyoung," Chan replied with equal cockiness. "Where are we to talk?"
Doyoung's gaze flickered over Chan's shoulder; his members had come over. "Follow me."
He led them to an employee room, but none of the workers stopped or questioned them. They kept their eyes down as the men strode past. Doyoung began to walk up a short staircase and opened the first door they came upon.
"Leaders first," he said mockingly, holding the door for Chan. Hyunjin's eyes narrowed as Minho growled deep in his throat. Chan brushed off the slight and entered the room. The others followed, Jisung bumping Doyoung harshly with his shoulder.
A single empty chair occupied one side of a round table, and the walls seemed to glow as soft light hit them. Three figures stood behind a man in the only other chair, their faces cold and closed off.
The man sitting was viciously beautiful, his painfully sharp features warming slightly as he spread his arms grandly, his sly smile glinting. "Welcome, sirs."
Chan sat in a single fluid motion, keeping his face blank. "A pleasure, Taeyong."
The sleek man bit at his lip ring, seemingly to fight against smiling. He folded his slim fingers together and lazily blinked at Chan.
"Where is she."
Chan's shoulders tightened, and he felt Hyunjin tense next to him. Taeyong certainly didn't waste time. Taking his time answering, he ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth.
"Who?" he replied, drawing up an innocent expression. A shadow crossed Taeyong's face, and the rage that filled it for a split second stunned Chan.
"Lee. Nari. Where is she," he gritted out, teeth clenching. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he stared Chan down. Their individual members were starting to become uneasy, shifting on their feet.
"She's hidden. You won't find her," Chan said, struggling to keep his anger in. Taeyong's chest rumbled and he stood, throwing the table aside. The four boys quickly assumed a defensive position, their hands fingering the handles of stowed guns.
Hands trembling with anger, Taeyong pointed a finger at Chan. "I will," he spat. "She can't escape me forever."
Surprisingly, when the mafia boss's guards came forward, it wasn't to ward off Chan, but Hyunjin. His face was lit with deadly fire, and his voice rasped with absolute authority as he spoke.
"You won't touch her."
At that moment, Chan's phone buzzed, and he glanced at it desperately, hoping to see a sentence that would save them.
Binnie It's done
He breathed out a choked laugh, relief seeping into his chest. Bewildered, Taeyong glared at him.
"It's too late," Chan announced. "She's ours now."
As the full weight of those words hit Taeyong, he fell back against his guards. He was muttering a single word under his breath, but Chan was too far away to hear him clearly. The man looked at him with absolute hatred.
"This isn't over, boy," he hissed, jerking his chin at his men. They exited the room, and silence swallowed them up.
Jisung released a shaky breath, and he supported himself with a hand on Minho's shoulder. "That was too close."
Nodding in agreement, Chan ran a hand over his face. "But we got it done, that's what matters." He looked at Hyunjin. "You okay, mate?"
The teen gave him a quick nod, but Chan could still see the emotion in him; he was deeply shaken by Taeyong's words, by the idea that they would take Nari. He decided to let him be for now, but kept a close eye on him.
As they left the cafe and jumped into their car, Chan ran the short conversation through his mind. He became distracted by Taeyong's reaction to the news of Nari's acceptance into Stray Kids.
He had been devastated, and furious, but under all of that, Chan had sensed heartbreak. Before the boss had turned to leave, Chan had caught one last glimpse of his face.
He had been crying.
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I'm sorry I've been taking a while updating, I haven't had much inspiration lately
