The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter fourteen: One last lie before the Truth

Taeyong couldn't believe he had been so stupid.

Park had done it on purpose, obviously. That was his plan all along, and Taeyong had fallen for it.

He knew he'd run to Iseul as soon as he received the picture, just to see him freak out about it. Not only did Taeyong do exactly what Park had expected him to, but he also found a way to make Iseul mad, when all he wanted to do was make sure she was alright.

NCT's leader let himself fall on his chair, massaging his temples out of frustration. Everything was going downhill, he needed to do something.

Just as he was thinking about what to do, his phone rang in his pocket, and the name that displayed on the screen didn't help with his bad mood.

"What do you want?" he barked.

Min-Seok simply chuckled, "Is that how you usually pick up the phone?"

"I don't want to deal with you right now."

"Oh, yes, I'm sure you have bigger problems," he said, his tone filled with sarcasm.

Taeyong sighed. What had he done in his past life to deserve this?

"Since I now know how quickly you react when I threaten to harm your little princess or anyone else, let's have some fun. Meet me at the old place, tonight."

"No," Taeyong replied sternly.

"I'm not exactly giving you a choice. Come. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is upset me."

Without another word, Park Min-Seok hung up, leaving a tormented Taeyong on the other side on the line.

As much as he hated to admit it, Min-Seok was right. He didn't have a choice. Who knew what he'd do if Taeyong didn't go?

The loud sound of Chenle's high-pitched voice suddenly echoed through the corridors of the mansion, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Noona's back!"

Iseul slowly made her way in, silently cursing at herself. She had tried to be as quiet as possible, but clearly had failed. It's not that she didn't want to see the members, but right now, she felt like staying alone in her room with a book to clear her head.

She was disappointed. She had been waiting for so long to finally be able to go out with Chaewon, only to have her day ruined by Taeyong's overprotective attitude. Being absolutely clueless regarding his situation, she had no way of knowing about his true intentions.

Iseul had noticed he had been acting weird lately, especially when she had overheard a conversation between Taeyong and Kun about him wanting to stop investigating the 'middle finger killer' like she called him.

She didn't know much about their mafia business, as she didn't really want to interfere, but from what she had been told, this dangerous killer was merciless, and Taeyong used to be obsessed with the idea of finding him before they met.

So why was he now suddenly backing off from his investigation?

There were so many things that she didn't know, and it was driving her crazy. She hated not knowing. Ignorance was something she had always despised.

"If you want to know something, just ask."

That's what her grandmother used to tell her, and now more than ever, Iseul felt like she really needed to ask questions. Her head were filled with those, polluting her mind like plastic in the sea.

"Hi, Chenle," she smiled nonetheless at the young boy standing in front of her.

"Do you want to come play with us? Haechan-hyung bought a new game, and you need to try it!"