Iseul woke up to an empty bed, the coldness of the room making her shiver. The light was way too bright for her tired eyes and she let out a groan, trying to ignore the goosebumps appearing on her skin. Looking to her left, she noticed the opened window and the dark curtains softly moving to the wind.
"Oh, you're awake."
The voice made her jump a little, and she turned around to face the door, where Taeyong was standing, with messy hair and a wet shirt sticking to his body. The material made it very easy to guess the defined muscles under his skin, and Iseul's face went red. She wasn't cold anymore, she suddenly felt a bit too hot, actually.
"Uh- Uh, I- "
A satisfied smirked appeared on his face and he bit his lip, deciding it would be a funny thing to mess with her so early in the morning.
"Like what you see?"
His raised eyebrow and the teasing in his tone made Iseul snap back to reality. She didn't want to fall for his tricks that easily.
"Mmh," she shrugged, faking a bored expression. "Nothing to be so proud of... and I've seen better."
Taeyong let out a sarcastic chuckle, licking his lips.
"Oh, really? Want me to take it off to prove you wrong?"
He began to walk to the bed, and Iseul tried her hardest not to let her eyes wander around his body, but it was already too late for her mind to stop imagining him without his shirt.
"I mean, there's nothing really impressive to look at. I wouldn't flatter myself too much if I were you..."
"Ouch," Taeyong spoke, a faked hurt expression on his face as he playfully put a hand to his chest. "You're gonna hurt my feelings."
"I didn't even know you had feelings in the first place..."
Taeyong let out a genuine laugh this time.
"That was a terrible comeback," he smiled.
"I know," Iseul groaned in response, "but I couldn't think of anything else, it's too early for this. What time is it, by the way? And why are you so... sweaty?"
"It's seven in the morning, and I went for a run," he replied while getting a set of fresh clothes from his closet.
Iseul took advantage of the fact that he wasn't facing her to observe his muscular back. She watched as his shoulders moved when he reached for a towel on the higher shelf and smiled to herself.
"You know that it's kind of creepy to stare at people like this?"
Taeyong's voice made her blink, "I wasn't staring!"
"Yes, you were sweetheart," he smirked while turning around.
Iseul tried not to blush at the nickname, "What are you? A fifteen-year-old?" She scolded herself.
"I didn't know you had eyes behind your back as well..."
"In this world people usually attack from the back, you gotta have eyes everywhere. I guess it's just an old habit of mine, now."
"That's sad."
"Yeah, but that's the world we live in," Taeyong simply shrugged it off, like it was nothing, and that made Iseul frown. Was he really used to these kind of things?
"I'm gonna go take a shower, alright? Go have some breakfast, I'll join you in a bit."
She nodded and got up, tying her hair up before walking to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Kun," she smiled when she noticed the man cooking, his back facing her.
"Oh, h-hey, Iseul," he said while turning half of his face.
His voice seemed weird, and the smile on his lips didn't seem genuine. It's like he wasn't his usual self.
"Are you alright?"
The worry in her voice made Kun's heart ache. He wanted to tell her about her stuff so badly, about it Park, about everything, but he knew that Taeyong would kill him if he uttered a word about it to the girl.
He was so done with the lies and felt like she deserved to know the truth; that was her life this was all about, after all, wasn't it? Wasn't she a part of their family, now?
But this wasn't just about the package or even about Park being alive, this was about everything that Iseul still didn't know about them, about him. Whether she was aware of it or not, Iseul didn't really know Taeyong.
It broke Kun's heart to even imagine what would happen if she did find out what kind of person he really was, or what he had done or was even capable of doing.
So many secrets were kept from her, and he couldn't say a thing. So he put on a fake smile, and turned around, a frying pan in his hand.
"Yeah, I am fine, just had a bad night."
Iseul's heart clenched at his words; because for the first time since she had met him, she felt as though Kun wasn't being honest with her, and God, she hated the thought of him lying to her.
Because if the man she had put her trust in from the beginning was capable of being dishonest with her, what did it imply about what the others would be capable of doing?
—
So... I'm alive. I'm sincerely so sorry for making y'all wait for so long, but I wasn't in a right space.
This short chapter is just for transition so we can get back to the story, thank you for being so patient 🙏🏻
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The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA
Fanfiction| SEQUEL TO HOUSE OF CARDS | Now that the House of Cards is finally stabilized, everyone thinks the game is over. Wrong. The game has just begun, and the Hidden Card is about to join the party.
