cherry bomb › nct

52 | how did you...

NEO CULTURE TECHNOLOGY
MAD CITY BASE
12:47 AM, SUNDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

"W-Where am I? Who the hell– shit." Shin Jiwoo cursed, realizing that her hands were tied onto the hand rests while her legs were tied onto the chair's legs as well.

Fear displayed on her face as her lips quivered, "Let me go."

"Oh, that's not how it goes, Shin Jiwoo." the female shivered at the mention of her name, his voice sounding dark and grim.

Stepping into the light was male, tall with black hair. A dark-gray suit and a sweet smile plastered on his face, yet his eyes told something more.

"Who– wait, no... I recognize you... you- you're Kim Jungwoo!" she exclaimed, her heart pounding against her ribcage, while she still felt hopeful. "You work for Lee Taehui, right? You will save me right?"

A loud laugh from behind Jungwoo as another male stepped forward, taller than Jungwoo, and was much more tan than Jungwoo. Eyes big, a vicious grin, he clapped his hands together, "That was fake. Talk about manipulating 'cause this guy," Lucas jabs his thumb to the male beside him, "is the best at it."

"Y-You... you were a traitor?!" Jiwoo stared openly at Jungwoo.

He chuckled, forming a childish pout with his lips, "I don't betray family."

"Wha- what do you want from me?"

"Simple, Jiwoo." Lucas chuckled, placing a cup on top of the table.

Jungwoo smiled, eyes obscuring as he loomed down, "Just provide us with information."

"I will not–" Lucas cuts her off as he wraps a velvet cloth over her eyes, darkness covering her vision as she panicked.

"This won't take long."

An hour passed, Taeyong walked into the room, hands crossed as his eyes bored onto the girl. Her head was hanging low, chest heaving up and down as her breathing was unstable. The drug on her felt like she was living hell.

Insane hammering sensation on her head, eyelids heavy, her whole body felt like burning, her mind was hazy. Shin Jiwoo was weak, her body was turning weak.

"Did you get everything?" Taeyong questioned the interrogation duo and they nodded, holding up the recorded conversation they had with Jiwoo a while ago. "Good. Lucas, bring that to the Dream Unit."

Lucas nodded and left the darkroom, leaving the two with the girl. Jungwoo couldn't help but burst into a laugh, quite maniacal, lips curved up wide, "I can't believe I managed to manipulate your own father, TY."

"This is like the best news ever!" Jungwoo smirked, "Plus, what are we gonna do with her?"

"Taeil said that it was enough to mess up with her brain, the side effects are gonna be hard to deal with," Taeyong replied, shrugging as he continued to eye the girl. Rolling his eyes, "Just leave it to Kun."

"He'll kill her–"

"He will if it's necessary."

. . .

NEO CULTURE TECHNOLOGY
MAD CITY BASE
4:23 AM, SUNDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

Keiko couldn't really sleep at all. She was roaming the eerie underground passages owned by no other than NCT. If she were to even lay in her bed, she'd do nothing but toss and turn until morning came.

She thought about what Taeil and Xiaojun were talking about earlier, what did they exactly mean by 'They need it' what the hell did they need now?

Re-analyzing the scene over and over again, she remembered the mixture of drugs Taeil had on his desk. Looking back at it, he did carry one with him, were they kidnapping someone again? Or they were doing at least something to somebody?

Groaning inwardly, Keiko put on her hood, crossing her arms in front of her as she decided to go back after spending at least more than an hour roaming around.

On her way back, she could hear distant voices making her freeze and immediately look for a hiding spot. Biting her bottom lip down, Keiko's nose crinkled, leaning forward to hear the voices.

"What are you going to do with her, Hyung?"

"I think it's best if we kill her–"

"Are you sure? But then..."

"Then and only then will they get their message. This will alarm our rivals– to stop messing with us."

It was Kun, Sicheng, and Ten.

"I'll leave it up to you two. At least do it while she's still unconscious." now that was Kun's voice, she was very sure it was.

The sound of footsteps gradually got louder making her press her lips into a thin line, curling into a ball, hoping to not get seen at all.

"Keiko? I know you're there."

Gasping, she looked up, seeing Kun peering down at her, his vibrant blue bangs hovering over his eyes. He smiled at her, crouching down, "What are you doing down here?"

"How did you..."

Kun ruffled her hair, that smile never faltering, "You need to get some rest, Cherrie. Come, I'll take you to your room." he pulls her up and she reluctantly followed him anyways.

Keiko gazed down, seeing how Kun's hand was wrapped around her wrist, a bit tight than usual, as if he expected her to break from his grip.

As they passed a certain room, Keiko felt shivers run down her spine as a faint, yet shrill scream was heard from it.

"What the fuck was that?"

Kun didn't spare a glance, only tightening his grip around her wrist, pulling her close to him. "You must be hearing things, Cherrie. You need to sleep or your brain will start messing with you."

Keiko furrowed her brows, quite suspicious of how Kun had acted. Was this not the usual Kun she talked to? Was this the mafia side of the sweet Kun?

Glancing up, she noticed those dark clouded eyes. With a scoff, Keiko pursed her lips, "Kun?"

"Yes, Cherrie?"

Is it just me... or they call me Cherrie often whenever they're not themselves...

Keiko pushed that thought away, forcing a smile, "Nothing."

After Kun escorted her to her room. She went in, locking the door immediately before pouncing on her own bed.

Keiko laid back, a scowl on her face as she sighed deeply. Removing the pin from her bandages she stared at it, "Not a tracker you say?"

—