The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter twenty-six: Bloody note

"Why are we doing this again?" YangYang groaned, frantically looking through Jeno's drawers.

"Because Taeyong-hyung asked us to," Jungwoo replied.

"We don't even know what we're looking for!"

"Yang, stop complaining," Xiaojun spoke. "He said to look for anything suspicious."

"Well that's helpful..."

Jeno and Haechan's room was a mess. Jungwoo, Xiajoun, Lucas and Yangyang had thrown away all the clothes from the closet next to the door, making sure to look everywhere.

"I'm not even a spy like you guys," Yangyang spoke again. "My job is to sit behind a computer screen, and I'm happy with it, why did I have to come too...?"

"Because you're the one who told Taeyong-hyung about Jeno finding that weird box in front of the house," Lucas replied, standing in front of the door to make sure no one would interrupt their investigation.

"Yeah but I didn't see anything els-"

"Guys." Jungwoo's faint voice stopped YangYang from finishing his sentence, and they all turned around to look at him.

They crouched down to be on the same level as him, next to Jeno's bed.

"You'd think that being part of the mafia the guy would have found a better place to hide shady stuff..."

In Jungwoo's hands was a small box, a bit dusty due to the fact that it was hidden under the bed.

"Do they even clean their room from time to time?" Xiaojun rolled his eyes.

"Oh, who cares," Lucas spoke. "Open the damn box!" He pressed, joining the others in the room, his curiosity taking over.

"Uh, I'm not sure we should," Jungwoo replied, hesitation filling his tone. "Hyung asked me to go to him the second we found something..."

"Hyung," Lucas spoke, looking at him sternly, "we don't even know what's in that box. For all we know, that could be some dirty underwear Jeno hasn't worn since last year. You really want to go to Taeyong-hyung with a surprise box?"

"I mean... Lucas does have a point," Xiaojun admitted, shrugging.

Jungwoo seemed to hesitate, but he knew they were right, "Fine," he sighed as he slowly took the lid off.

None of them uttered a word, their eyes focused on the content of the box. Slowly, their curiosity turned into confusion, and YangYang frowned.

"What is this?" he asked, reaching for the piece of paper.

He slowly unfolded it, his eyes widening as he read the words written in a weird dark red ink out loud.

"I'm sure you know who this belongs to, and I trust you will give it back to her. She'll get the rest of her stuff back soon, but this time, I will make sure to give it to her in person. It's been a while since we last met, after all, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again. This time, though, I'll make sure none of you save her.

Give her my love, as well as my condolences for her father.

Even though some ghosts sometimes come back alive... I'll make sure she won't when I'm done with her."

Silence fell in the room, none of the boys daring to utter a word after Yangyang's reading. The last sentence particularly put a bitter taste in their mouths.

Lucas eventually cleared his throat, and put a hand on the back of his neck.

"Well, the author of that note surely loves some drama, am I right?" he tried to force a laugh, but his attempt to lighten up the mood failed as no one reacted.

"Is that blood?" Yangyang asked, pointing at the familiar ink color. The silence answered his question, and he swallowed with difficulty.

"I'll go give this to Taeyong-hyung," Jungwoo spoke, his voice even lower than usual.

Without another word he got up and left the room, leaving the others to clean the mess they had made.

"Lucas, why don't you just go back to the door and tell us if the boys come back? Yang and I are going to clean this."

He nodded and went back to his spot, while Xiaojun softly nudged the younger one.

"Hey, you alright?"

Yangyang quickly shook his head, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

The older boy sighed. He knew Yangyang wasn't used to this kind of things, and, even though he was, that letter, just like it did with Jungwoo and Lucas, made him feel uneasy.

Even if it didn't clearly state her name, they all knew it was about Iseul, and that was what scared them. They all had a soft spot for her, and she was the first person who wasn't part of a gang they let get close to them. The very fact that someone dared to threaten her made them mad, but most importantly, made them worried.

"She's going to be fine, Taeyong-hyung will take care of it," he tried to reassure the youngest, who just forced a smile as he slowly folded the clothes back.

"Uh, guys," Lucas' head popped up behind the door, "I think I heard Hyuck downstairs, you better hurry."

Without another word, they made sure to leave the place clean and quickly got out before Haechan reached the top of the stairs. They greeted him before meeting Jungwoo downstairs, and walked to Taeyong's office.

"Who do you think the note is from?" YangYang asked.

"Obvisouly someone Iseul and us know."

"Yeah, but that's not many people," the youngest spoke, thinking out loud. "Shit, do you think it could be from Par-"

Yangyang was interrupted by Xiaojun who suddenly put his foot in front if him, causing him to trip and eventually fall in the middle of the hall.

"Ouch," the boy groaned, as both Xiaojun and Lucas shared a disapproving look.

"Sorry, buddy," Xiaojun faked a smile.

"Why did you do th-" Yangyang groaned, before he noticed how Lucas was trying to discreetly use his eyes as a warning. The younger boy then remembered Jungwoo's presence, and how he wasn't aware of the fact that Park was still alive.

Understanding his mistake, he bit his lip in remorse.

"What were you saying, Yangyang?" Jungwoo asked, noticing how tensed the air had become.

"Uh, nothing," he replied, trying to avoid any other question.

Just as Jungwoo was about to open his mouth again, Taeyong got out of his office right in front of them. He frowned as his eyes took notice of the box in Jungwoo's hands.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing at it.

"What's what?"

The voice came from behind them and they turned around, only to be face-to-face with a sweaty Jeno, Iseul coming right behind. They had clearly just gotten out of practice, judging by their outfits and the way they were sweating.

Jungwoo rapidly hid the box behind his back, away from Jeno's eyesight, and the boy frowned when he noticed than no one was answering his question.

"I'd like it better if we didn't speak of gang matters in front of Iseul," Taeyong's cold voice suddenly spoke.

The girl understood, but she couldn't help feeling a bit hurt that he didn't trust her enough to do so.

"Fine," she replied. "I'll just go take a shower, thanks for practicing with me Jeno," she smiled before leaving them.

"You should go clean yourself too," Taeyong said to Jeno.

The boy wasn't stupid, however, and he understood that something was wrong. He didn't say anything, though, thinking his leader was just jealous of the time he had spent with Iseul, and he finally left too.

"Get in there," Taeyong said to the four remaining boys, opening the door to his office, "I don't want anyone else listening to this conversation."

—-
Meh I don't know about this one, sorry...
Any thoughts or ideas?