The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter two: Troubled minds and quiet mouths

Kun was pacing around Taeyong's office, a hand rubbing his chin while the other was in his pocket. He had a frown on his face, and his eyes were lost, a sign that he was thinking hard.

"You want us to what?" he finally spoke, turning to his leader who was patiently waiting for him to stop moving around.

Taeyong was siting behind his desk, his hands supporting his head.

"I want you all to drop it," he repeated.

He had asked Kun to meet him in his office at dawn, to be sure none of the members would be up. Kun never knew what to expect from his leader, as he was pretty much the definition of unpredictable, but this time, he really was surprised by his request.

"You want us to just... let this go?" he asked in disbelief.

Taeyong just nodded. He was expecting this reaction, but he didn't have a choice.

"They literally killed one of our men! And multiple innocents!"

Kun was now moving his arms around. He was usually the type to be rather calm, but the situation was getting on his nerves. No one dared to touch one of their own and just lived with it. They had to be punished.

"A couple months ago, you were literally obsessed with the idea of finding them, finding the ones responsible for killing people around, and now you just want us to stop looking? That doesn't make any sense. Last time I checked, you were ready to bet your life that Park and the Dark Feathers were behind this," Kun spoke.

And I was right, Taeyong thought. Park really was the one behind all this. There was no other gang that would leave middle fingers behind as a signature. Only them were mad enough to do such a thing. But Taeyong couldn't say that. Park was supposed to be dead.

"I changed my mind, alright? You always told me I was crazy to try to find the ones responsible, and now that I'm actually listening to your advice you won't believe me?"

Kun let out a scoff, "Since when do you listen to me, anyways?"

"Just do as I say," Taeyong sternly said.

Kun sighed but nodded, "So we'll just let them kill innocents?"

"Let me take care of it, you guys can focus on something else."

Once Kun had finally closed the door behind him, leaving him alone, Taeyong rubbed his face as he let out a sigh. He couldn't let Park keep on killing random people on the streets just for the sake of it, but he had been clear: if Taeyong's men came even close to whatever his business was, he wouldn't let them live either.

NCT's leader had to protect his own first.

What Taeyong couldn't understand was why Park was still here. Last time he had talked to him, the man wanted to go far away. What was so interesting for him here that he couldn't leave?

Taeyong was aware of the fact that he was missing information, but for now, he had to work with what he had, which was... well, not so much.

When would Park leave him alone?

His insomnia was getting worse these days, nothing he could do would put him to sleep, and it was starting to show on his tired face. He didn't eat much either, and he had lost weight.

A soft knock on his door made him look up. He cleared his throat to regain some composure and ran a hand through his messy hair to try to make it look more presentable before speaking, "Come in."

The small head that appeared in the doorway unconsciously brought a smile to his face.

"Breakfast's ready," Iseul's soft voice spoke.

Taeyong forgot about his problems for a second and smiled at the girl in front of him before getting up, "Alright, I'm coming."

He followed her to the living room without speaking, none of them wanting to break the comfortable silence. Things were not exactly awkward between the two, but they weren't quite clear either. They had yet to have the conversation regarding what had happened about two weeks ago, but it seemed as neither one of them wanted to address the matter.

"Damn, Jungwoo, quick, where's my gun? A zombie's here!" Lucas' loud voice suddenly reached Taeyong's ears, and only then did he realize that they had already reached the living room.

Lucas was hitting Jungwoo who was peacefully eating his breakfast, proud of his joke.

"Keep laughing and you'll be the one receiving a bullet through your skull," Taeyong replied with a smirk and Lucas calmed himself down instantly.

Iseul simply smiled and went back to the kitchen to get Taeyong's breakfast without a word. The three of them frowned at her quiet behavior and shared a worried look.

All of them had noticed Iseul's change of attitude lately. She had never been a loud person, but she was way quieter than usual, and she spent most of her time alone or with the Dreamies. But even when she was surrounded by the youngest members and their cheerful selves, Iseul still wasn't the same.

It was starting to worry them, and Taeyong immediately felt guilty. He assumed she was just sad, disappointed, or even mad at him for not handling what had happened between them better. It was true that he kind of put her aside to focus on gang matters, but the truth was more complicated than that.

Taeyong was struggling. He had made a deal with the person he hated the most on earth, had to deal with random killings on his streets, and handle the beginning of what could be a romantic relationship?
That was a lot.

But the thing was, he wasn't the only one with a troubled mind and demons in his head. Iseul had her own, and they were starting to eat her alive.

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Help my updates are all over the place, I need to go back to my old posting schedule