Savage || Lee Haechan

Chapter 6 | "it's you"

"No one is going to die, Minji, not on my watch." Taeyong said softly.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He watched carefully as she straightened up, clearing her throat and and letting out a sigh.

"Fine then. I'll support the merge."

"You will?" He asked in shock. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." She sighed out. "I trust you, Taeyong, and even though I hate this idea, somewhere in your sick, twisted mind you've decided that this is the right move to make. You've never led us astray before, and I'm trusting that you won't start now."

"Thank you, Minji, I mean it." He said with a smile.

"Why did you need my approval anyway? You're the leader, whatever you say goes." She asked, rising from her seat.

"You know that all the guys are going to push back on this. With your support, they'll ease up." She stared at him like he was ridiculous. "I'm serious, Minji, they listen to you. And I mean really listen."

She just shook her head, rolling her eyes at the older boy as she followed him out of the room.

"For the record, I hate this idea."

"I know you do, but it's for the best."

"You owe me one."

"I knew I could count on you."

- - -

Minji sat up in the trees for what felt like hours, waiting for Kun and his gang to show up until movement below her caught her eye. She recognized a few familiar faces as a group of people picked their way through their territory below her.

Standing from her spot, she climbed through the canopy of trees, moving far ahead of them before climbing down and ducking into a bush. The newcomers nervously picked through their territory, their senses heightened by the unfamiliar surrounding.

Minji's eyes narrowed as she noticed a familiar figure approaching her. She carefully slid out from behind the bush, silently making her way to stand a few feet behind the boy.

"Boo."

He instantly spun around, hurling a knife in her direction in shock, which she easily caught, tossing the blade between her hands with a smirk as the boy caught his breath. She chuckled to herself as she saw recognition dawn in the boy's eyes before it slowly faded to hatred.

"It's you." He growled out.

"In the flesh. Hi Haechan, it's terrible to see you too." She said with a fake smile, running her fingers along his knife. "So, can I keep this or....?"

He quickly walked up to her and snatched the knife out of her hands aggressively.

"Watch yourself, Lee, you're on my territory." She growled as he stepped away from her.

"Doesn't mean I won't shred you to pieces." He growled back.

"Haechan." A voice called from behind him. "She's right. Behave."

Haechan took a step back and lowered his head as Kun approached them.

"Sorry about him, Minji" The older boy said with a smile, dipping his head to her.

"Don't worry about it." She replied with a tight smile. "Taeyong's waiting. You guys can just follow me."

Kun smiled at her, gesturing for the rest of his gang to follow as she led them through the forest. She expertly picked her way through the thick trees, hoping over fallen logs and ducking under branches as the other struggled to keep up. Eventually she led them through the forest to a large clearing where the gang house was located, seeing all the other members waiting for them on the front lawn.

Her member's eyes widened as they saw her emerge from the forest with the other gang, instantly drawing their weapons.

"Stand down, everyone. I invited them here." Taeyong called from the balcony, walking down the stairs and onto the lawn. "Thanks for bringing them." He said to Minji, patting her on the shoulder as they passed.

She just hummed in response, walking over to her friends who were all glaring at the newcomers.

"Relax guys, take it easy." She said, nudging Jaemin and Jeno to drop the knives in their hands.

"Do you know what's going on?" Sungchan whispered to her as Taeyong and Kun brought the newcomers closer to them.

"Yes. But I'm not telling." She said with a smirk.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." Sungchan begged, eyeing the unfamiliar boys who huddled a few feet away.

"Just listen to Taeyong, he'll explain." She replied, nodding her head towards where Taeyong was standing on an elevated platform.

"Attention everyone, you're probably all wondering what you're doing here together." Taeyong called, hearing the uncomfortable murmurs die down. "Well i invited Kun's gang onto our territory so that we could tell you something together."

Taeyong let out a sigh, bracing himself for the backlash.

"Our two gangs will be merging into one. No more gang N or gang CT. We will merge to become NCT."

Instantly all the boys broke into shouts of protest, anger rapidly building in the crowd as they yelled at their leaders with scowls on their faces.

Taeyong let out an exasperated sigh, finding Minji's eyes in the crowd and sending her a pleading gaze. She rolled her eyes, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and letting out a sigh.

"I'm in." She said, raising her hand as all the boys around her froze. "I support the merge."

"Minji, what are you saying? Do you even hear yourself right now?" Yangyang exclaimed. "How can you support this?"

"How can you not?" She replied, climbing up onto the table to address the crowd. "Look, personal feelings and vendettas aside, I know that all of us trust our leaders, right?"

She looked around at the boys below her, seeing the way they all slowly nodded, even Haechan who was glaring up at her.

"Right. So if they think that this is a good idea, then who are we to disagree? We've always trusted their decisions up until now, and that shouldn't change just because we were rivals."

As she saw the boys slowly nod their heads in understanding, the anger fading as they looked up at their leaders, Minji sat back down, seeing Taeyong mouth a quick 'thank you' at her.

"So it's settled. Our gangs have merged. This is just the start on our path to greatness, as NCT."