The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter sixty-seven: The escape

The gunshot rang in Iseul's ears.

Out of instinct, she closed her eyes and covered her ears, ignoring the striking fear that spread through her veins. Park was so close to her when Kang pointed a gun at him, that the girl was scared her mother would miss.

Iseul expected the gunshot to be followed by a thud, but it was Park's scream that reached her ears instead. When she opened her eyes, the sight displaying in front of her made Iseul's stomach turn.

Park was doubled up in pain, his left hand shaking as he tried to keep the blood from dripping onto the floor.
But it was a wasted effort, as a pool of the red liquid was already forming at his feet.

Iseul's mother had shot him in the stomach, and the room was soon filled with the metallic smell of blood. The strong and heavy scent almost made Iseul sick; she had to take deep breaths to keep herself from throwing up.

"You bitch," Park hissed as he coughed blood.

"Keep talking and the next bullet is going through your skull," Kang responded, unshaken. "Iseul," she added, looking at her daughter, "come."

Iseul was unable to move. She hated Park and many times she had dreamed to see his dead body lying on the floor, but now that he was in front of her, bleeding out, the feeling of relief she expected never came.

Perhaps it was that credulous part of her that never died, even after taking her own father's life, that somehow hoped Park would repent. Or perhaps it was the realization that, just like Iseul's mother was the only family she had left, so was Park to Taeyong.

They had never really talked about it, but Iseul knew that deep down, Taeyong missed the man that was once his brother. A part of him still had hope. The look on his face at this very moment proved that she was right.

Taeyong was stunned, his eyes wide-open as he watched Park bleed. The conflict on his face told Iseul everything she needed to know about the internal battle he was confronting.

Taeyong hated his brother for what he had done to his sister and Iseul, he wanted to watch him suffer like he had. But a part of him wanted his brother to come back. A part of him still wished he could do and be better.

To face the reality turned out to be harder that Taeyong anticipated.

Apparently, the realization that his brother could die seemed to hit him harder than Iseul expected. She noticed how he balled his fists, his jaw clenched.

"Tae-" she began, only to be cut off by her mother.

"Iseul," she called, more severely this time. "Let's go."

She ignored her mother, eyes fixed on Taeyong. She tried to grab his attention, but he was focused on Park.

Iseul only realized she was being dragged away when she felt the painful grip of her mother's fingers around her arm. When she tried to free herself from the firm grasp, her mother only tightened her hold.

"Mom...no, wait," she tried to speak, but the words never went past her lips. Iseul's gaze was on Taeyong, hoping he would look up to see her being taken away, but the young man was focused on Park.

"Taeyong!" she called.

Her voice was not really loud, but that still seemed to catch Taeyong's attention.

His eyes widened when he realized how far Iseul already was.

"Iseul," he whispered, panic rushing through his veins.

Before his brain could catch up, his legs had already reacted on their own.
Taeyong ran after them, fear twisting his gut.

Kang Min-Ju turned around as soon as she realized they were being followed, holding Iseul with one hand, pointing her gun at Taeyong with the other.

The sight of the weapon stopped him dead in his tracks, and when he put a hand to his belt to grab his own, he realized with terror that it was gone.

Before any of them could react or do anything, a loud gunshot made them jump.

Iseul looked at the wall right next to her, only to see a hole. The bullet had missed her, but it had been close.

Taeyong turned around to see where the bullet came from, and what he saw turned his blood to ice. His brother was aiming his gun at Iseul, standing on his feet with difficulty.

He was holding his side, where he had been shot, and was clearly struggling to find his balance. He was losing too much blood, and his only working eye was apparently not enough to have a good aim.

Taeyong cursed himself. He had let his emotions get the best of him earlier, allowing Park to steal his gun, and Iseul had almost paid the price of his foolish mistake with her life.

Clearly Park would never change. Taeyong had been stupid to believe he could. That had been a silly wish. A little boy's wish.

But Taeyong was not a little boy anymore and he now knew his big brother would never come back.

"You're not going anywhere," Park spoke with a husky voice.

He coughed more blood, holding his side tight. The pain was clearly visible on his face, but that didn't seem to stop him. He pointed his gun at Iseul once again, ready to pull the trigger.

Before Iseul's mother could react and shoot Park herself, Taeyong jumped on his brother, kicking his open wound.

Park let out a painful scream, dropping the gun he was holding.

Kang took advantage of the diversion to drag Iseul away, but the girl resisted.

"No!" she yelled, trying her hardest to get rid of her mother's grip, "We can't leave him here!"

Iseul had gained strength by training with NCT, but when she tried to use her skills on her mother, she quickly came to the conclusion that the woman standing in front of her was much stronger than she was.

"Nice try, daughter," Kang complimented, "but I've been doing this for much longer than you have, so stop wasting your energy, and come with me."

Iseul tried to resist again, but it was useless. Her mother was right. Iseul was good, but nothing compared to someone who had been part of a gang for most of her life.

Kang dragged her daughter down the stairs, to reach the basement Iseul had tried so hard to escape earlier that day. It had only been an hour or so, but it felt like days since she climbed up those stairs.

"Taeyong," Iseul said, her heart beating fast in her chest, "he's going to get hurt."

Her mother laughed in response, "Oh, honey, they both can kill each other for all I care! In fact, it would make things easier for me. As long as I have you, those two don't matter."

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I have huge problems with my internet connection lately, sorry! I'll try to publish more tomorrow!