BLACK DAISIES ↠ NCT OT23

Canzona

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The fog of smoke from the lighted cigarette mixed with the cold breath coming from blood red lips. A woman stood in a small overhead overlooking the city, watching the shadows move across Seoul like a dark cloud bidding disaster.
The sound of gravel crunching under boots sounded from behind her. She didn't acknowledge it at first, however, instead dropping the nearly finished stick of nicotine between her fingers to the ground. A gust of air blew the stray stub away, its embers flaring up slightly before dying out.
"You shouldn't have come here."
For a moment, it was only silence that answered her. Her dress danced in the wind, its red color looking like dried blood in the darkness.
"You were waiting...for me."
She finally turned around to look at the guest. Her eyes, though naturally sharp, flickered with familiarity as she took in the form of the boy in front of her.
"I know you're about to do something silly. I'm only here to tell you to stop whatever idea you're having right now."
The figure didn't move in front of her, but the way he stared at her made the distance between them almost crackle with electricity. The man's jaw tightened, before it finally relaxed just a little bit.
"None of NCT is planning to participate in his game."
The woman merely raised a perfectly shaped brow, knowing that there's more to what he is saying.
"But I-"
"Jaehyun. Don't be stupid."
"Being the Don means I can do anything I want, right? So you and I can-"
"There is no you and I," her voice, though it sounded clipped and cold in the meeting hall earlier, had a tinge of emotion this time. Is it desperation? Frustration? Helplessness?
Jaehyun took a few steps towards the smaller figure in front of him, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to keep him from reaching out to her.
"You will be free. From him. From all of this."
"If you win."
"And I will."
"Not after you've betrayed your brothers. You know what things this kind of game brings. Don't do something you'll regret later."
He locked his jaw again, his expression intense even under the shadows that wrapped the two of them. Jaehyun finally pulled one hand from his pocket and moved it to touch her arm. The woman took a step back, evading his touch carefully.
"I don't need to betray anyone. We all agreed on it. Everything will carry out as usual," he said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. As she looked up at him, she saw the same desperation in his eyes-the same eyes that used to be so innocent before they were hardened by his life in the mafia.
"And you believe them? Look at where you are now, in front of me, telling me you'll be doing this. You think you are the only one who has a reason to go after the position among all of you?"
"I..." he trailed off, a frown settling on his forehead. "I trust them."
"With the way you are acting, I don't think you are worthy of their trust at all."
Something finally snapped inside of him and he finally closed the distance between them in quick strides. He didn't touch her, but they were close enough to each other that the cold fogs of their breath mingled in the darkness.
"This is the only chance I have-you have-to finally leave."
For a moment she simply looked at him, gaze unfaltering. She wanted nothing more than to reach out to his face and cradle it, tell him everything is going to be fine, but even as a flicker of emotion slipped on her gaze, she quickly let her cold mask replace it as fast as it came.
"I don't need you to save me. Don't do this."
Before he could say, or do anything else, she finally took a step back again before turning on her heels to walk away. Jaehyun followed her with his gaze until the darkness swallowed her retreating form.
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"Yo, you okay?"
I looked up from squinting at my computer and turned towards the boy grinning in front of me. I probably looked funny, my face all scrunched up from staring at my screen, because he broke into a laugh before dropping himself into the seat next to me.
"Ya... I know Taeyong said you'll be our first line of defense, but you haven't peeled your butt from your seat since last night. Relax. I don't think Cypher is going to do anything-at least not for now."
My squint turned into a frown and I opened my mouth to shoot back a reply. Before I could say anything though, a painful throb on my left temple made me stop. I barely slept a wink last night. I leaned back on my chair with a defeated sigh.
"You don't know that, Yuta. Those guys... they're nasty. If they got the same message that we all got last night, I'm 99 percent sure they're thinking of something to sabotage us now."
"Mm... were you able to hack into their system though?"
"Yeah. Their firewall sucks as usual. Nothing seems out of place for now..." I trailed off as my gaze moved across the room. From upstairs, I saw Taeyong slip out of his room in his sweats, hair messy from sleep. He ducked into the fridge on the second floor, rummaging for something there.
After the announcement from the Don, all the members decided to stay in the headquarters temporarily instead of going to their separate dorms to 'watch each other's backs.' It was a good move in my opinion, but another side of me is also a little bit nervous of having everyone around all the time. Not that I don't like having the guys as company... but I have my personal reasons to be anxious about the recent change in living arrangements.
From upstairs, Taeyong finally managed to fish out one of the tetra boxes of banana milk from the back of the fridge. I didn't realize I was still staring at him until his eyes finally met mine and he gave me a sleepy smile.
I quickly turned my eyes back to Yuta only to find him giving me a Cheshire grin.
"What?"
"I asked you if you also tried checking temporary databases Cypher might be using but you were too busy eating up breakfast with your eyes," he snickered before throwing up his hands as if in surrender. "I get it, I get it. All of us are handsome but you only have eyes for-"
I quickly gave him a punch on his left shoulder as I felt blood rush to my cheeks. "I-wasn't staring!"
"Sure, you were just drooling-"
"Hey, anyone up for some drinks tonight?"
Our childish banter temporarily stopped as Yuta and I looked up to see a very sweaty Johnny stride through the door. He was slightly panting as he approached us, the slight flush of his cheeks a sign that he just finished his morning run.
"Why? You going to Anarchy?" Yuta asked in curiosity as he dug his hands in the front pocket of his sweater.
"Yeah, I have to make sure the dealers are selling the new goods well. I could go alone as usual but our Mom there," he moved his lips to point towards a still sleepy-looking Taeyong upstairs, "said it is best to go in groups for now. You know, just to be sure."
Yuta shrugged. "I can go with you. I'll also ask the other guys too. I sure need a bottle or two."
Johnny turned to look at me. For the first time since last evening, I felt extremely conscious of how I look. I was wearing an oversized hoodie, my hair up in a sorry excuse of a bun. My glasses didn't do me any favors, barely concealing the dark circles under my eyes.
"You want to come with us?" he asked, smiling at me.
"Uh... I don't think that's a good idea. I have to-"
"She has to watch over the rats, is what she'll say," Yuta interjected from his seat. He turned to look at me then with a frown. "Seriously, if you're going to act like this, you'll never see sunlight in the next two months."
I opened my mouth to speak but Johnny was too quick to answer for me.
"Great. You'll come with us then."
"But-"
"You can work in the club. I'll have Jungwoo bring those mini computers you both love tinkering with. You can use them to do your magic codes and spying voodoo, right?"
I stared at him, at a loss for words.
"Good talk. We leave at 9PM," he flashed me another grin and turned to walk away. I was about to give another rebuttal when my eyes landed on the way his shirt stuck to the muscles of his back. I closed my mouth and sank back to my seat.
Beside me, Yuta was grinning from ear to ear again.
"Don't you just love it that we're all staying here now?"
I turned and gave him another punch on the shoulder.
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Two hundred miles away from Seoul, a man sat back on his seat as the screen in front of him turned black. The lone light of the overhead lamp in the room made eerie shadows dance across his face as he mulled over the closing words of the Don.
"You are free to do anything you like."
His impassive face slowly broke into a smile so sinister it almost made his angelic features unrecognizable. He has no fucking idea why the idiotic man decided to start this little game of his, but he likes it nonetheless. A chance to take over the whole mafia sounded so enticing to him that it almost made him laugh, but there's another reason that ultimately made his blood boil in excitement.
NCT.
"Jihoon."
He only slightly moved his head to look at the female who cracked the door open to his room. She had the same eyes as him, though hers didn't look tainted with madness. In fact, it look slightly worried right now as they took in his expression.
"You called for me?"
"Ah, yes," he finally turned his swivel chair towards her so he could give her his full attention. He intertwined his long slender fingers on his lap and gave her a sweet smile.
"I need you to make preparations. We'll be going on a little field trip."
Her questioning gaze almost made him snicker.
"Where are we going? We have a deal to close tomorrow and we can't-"
"Oh dear, I can't care less about that now. It can wait."
The girl pursed her lips. "Fine. Where are we headed to so I can make arrangements?"
The boy leaned back on his seat, head pressed against the headrest. He grinned at her, the emotion playing in his eyes making her blood run cold.
"Seoul. We're going to visit some friends."
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