BLACK DAISIES ↠ NCT OT23

Proem

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Johnny's eyes scanned the writhing bodies on the dance floor from his position behind the bar. Around him, the bartenders juggled making drinks and bartering drugs, while some patrons smoked and got high off of their chosen poison. As far as he can see, nothing seems out of place-that is, until his eyes landed on a lone figure observing the crowd with the same watchful gaze that he has.
He frowned slightly as he tried to rack his brains and put a name to the face. It is obvious that she isn't just a regular club goer with how she detached herself from the crowd, leaning instead on a far wall as she sipped her drink. For the untrained eye, she looks nothing more than a bored girl dragged against her will to a night out in the city. But Johnny knew better. There is something in the careless, almost relaxed way she carried herself that told him she was feeling anything but. You can see in the angle of her shoulders and the curve of her back how on high alert she is-like a cat ready to pounce at the right time.
That's when it finally clicked. Johnny had seen those sharp eyes before, albeit briefly and not really under good circumstances. It was a few years ago in Tokyo when NCT had the misfortune of crossing paths with Cypher during a business deal. Both groups were trying to pin their influence in the city, but it was ultimately them who took the stronghold after a rather dirty fight.
She was the same girl who pulled the crazy psycho Jihoon from his stand down with Taeyong.
Johnny's jaw ticked as he finally put two in two together. There is absolutely no good reason behind her presence here tonight. He quickly turned to one of the men manning the bar to leave everything to them before starting to weave his way towards the unwanted visitor.
He was about three steps away from her table when she spoke, not even looking at him.
"Don't waste your time, I'm not interested," her voice sounded flat and her eyes remained trained on the dance floor. Johnny's eyebrow cocked. He watched as she threw back the remaining liquid in her glass in a flourish.
Chick doesn't recognize me, huh?
A look of amusement took over his features momentarily. He grabbed for the whisky bottle on the table and poured himself a glass instead, a loaded smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Actually, I insist. I think you need company."
He saw her shoulders move as she gave an exasperated sigh. She still didn't spare him a glance though, probably thinking he will go away if she pretends he doesn't exist.
"You with your boyfriend?"
"Yes. Five of them," she said sarcastically.
"Are all of them named Jihoon?"
Her head whipped towards him so fast at the mention of the name. He watched as her eyes scoured him, probably trying to put a name on his face, too. A look of recognition finally made her eyes squint a bit. Johnny's smile widened, now tinged with threat.
"I don't think you're supposed to be here, baby," he said smoothly as he took a sip of his drink. She remained quiet, simply opting to hold his gaze.
"Where is the devil you're working for?"
More silence.
"If you tell me, I might let your pretty face go without a scratch."
She finally snorted and rolled her eyes with derision. "You think you can lay a finger on me?"
"You're in our turf."
"Turf rules are gone for now, thanks to the old man. I am not breaking any rules."
Johnny watched as she slowly gained her confidence back after the initial shock. As much as he hated it, he couldn't deny the unsettling feeling that settled on the back of his mind at her reasoning. Technically, if you consider the temporary suspension of the code, she is right. His fingers tightened just a little bit on the cold glass of drink he was holding as he watched her pick up her empty one, looking ready to go.
"If you and your lover do anything, we'll make sure you pay," he said in a low tone, looking at the face before him. She barely reached his shoulders even with heels on and for a moment, he thought the dancing lights bouncing off her face showed her looking slightly confused, and then concerned. This is the first time he saw her this close, and from what he can tell, she is about the same age as him at most.
"Besides, you don't have any reason to hurt me since I'm not doing anything wrong. You don't seem to be the type to just throw fists at anyone, especially women," she drawled her words out in a mocking tone as she tried to move past him. Before she can leave though, Johnny reached out to grab her by the arm and spun her around. The force that he used to pull her in was enough for her to drop the glass she was holding on the floor, the sound of crystal breaking swallowed by the thundering music around them.
Despite his towering figure and straight up threat, the woman kept her cool. Johnny has to admit, even he is impressed that she could easily meet his stare-the same stare that has made grown men melt into their knees in fear. If not for the set of her jaw, one would think she is entirely unaffected by their current standoff.
Just then, a flicker of something else passed through her eyes. Her gaze quickly dropped to the hand holding her arm before looking back at him again. Johnny followed her gaze. Was she looking at his watch-
He was suddenly pulled by the collar, the action temporarily stopping his reflexes from kicking in. Now it was his turn to be pushed and moved to the side, his face mere inches from the face of the girl still grabbing him by the scruff.
Their eyes met and she gave him a quick smile.
"Reserve your punishment for me later then."
That was the last thing she said before she pushed him back into the corridor behind him. She wasn't strong enough to send him to the ground but his surprise made him topple back a few steps. The girl quickly turned and slipped out of his sight as he tried to gain his balance.
"Hey-!"
Boom!
Johnny was about to go out after her when a resounding explosion shook the main floor. This time, it was strong enough for him to be sent to the floor, his arm immediately shielding his eyes from the dust and smoke. Small pieces of cement and glass hit him due to the impact, but other than that, he was mostly kept safe in the recesses of the hallway where he is currently in.
It took him a few heartbeats to realize what happened. His ears were buzzing from the sound of the explosion and he had to keep his eyes closed to protect it from the cloud of smoke it caused. When he finally managed to get on his feet again, he hurried outside to see the extent of damage and stopped at the first area that caught his eyes.
Pieces of gravel, dust, and broken metal were still sizzling with smoke and fire at the exact same spot where he was standing just a few seconds ago.
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"Taeyong! Taeyong-are you okay?!"
I grabbed the man by the shoulders and pushed him off me, panic rising in my throat. From the main hall, screams filled the air in thundering cacophony as people tried to rush out of the club. I couldn't care less about what's happening outside though, my focus set on the motionless figure on the floor with me.
"Shit-I need to get help-" I was about to sprint out of the corridor to get anyone, someone, when I felt a hand settle over my arm. I whipped my head to see him finally open his eyes before wincing.
"No, no, I'm fine," I quickly reassured him. "Jihoon he-"
"Hey, I'm good... We're cool," he finally managed to say as he sat up and leaned back on his arms. His eyes quickly scanned over me as he fumbled for the gun he dropped during the scramble. "Are you hurt? Do you need-"
The man had disappeared into the gust of smoke the moment the explosion tore the room. I tried to scramble up and finally managed to find my feet again after Taeyong pulled me up.
"Nevermind him, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes."
"Good, let's go. We need to check on the others," he said urgently, his hand pulling me into a run outside of our hiding place. When we finally burst through the main floor, we skidded into a halt as Johnny almost ran over us from the next corridor. I quickly checked how he looked, trying to see if he was hurt anywhere.
"Jihoon, he-"
"Cypher was here-"
He and Taeyong both spoke at the same time. Realizing they both already know what happened, Johnny turned to look at me, a look of concern on his face.
"Are you good?"
"Yes. But I don't know about the others," I quickly said, my chest hurting from the smoke filling the room. I tried to ignore the bodies on the floor as I pulled on Taeyong's hand so we could get moving again. The three of us stepped over the damage as we tried to scout the area, desperately trying to look for the other members.
"Taeyong!"
We all whipped around the same time as Doyoung's stressed voice called out to us. Beside him was Jaehyun trying to hold up a limping Yuta. All men looked ragged, their once immaculate suits now dirty with dust. We quickly ran over to them, my hands reaching out to help Jaehyun hold Yuta up.
"How badly are you hurt?" I asked breathlessly as I tried to peer at his face.
"Like a buttcheek on a stick," he winced before nodding. "It's fine. Not bad enough to kill me."
"Where are the kids?" Taeyong asked in a stressed out tone as he looked around the mess around him, worry etched on his face.
"They're fine. Jungwoo and Taeil are with them, they're already in the van," Jaehyun answered as he shrugged off the dusty blazer he was wearing.
"How many?" Johnny asked in a low tone.
"Fuck."
"About 14 dead from my first count," Doyoung answered.
"What exactly happened-"
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"Let's talk about it at home. The cops are coming soon," Taeyong said urgently, running a hand through his hair. "Doyoung, call some of our moles to go with the cops. Someone has to secure the drugs left here." The rest nodded before moving towards the exit, leaving the disaster behind.
"Is Yuta-hyung okay?" Mark looked up in concern as Taeyong entered the room we were in. The moment everyone reached the safety of the headquarters, the group broke off in a hurry to take care of pressing things. Doyoung and Taeil had to make some calls to sort out the mess in the club while Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo had to escort Yuta to the base's small clinic to have his leg fixed. Meanwhile, Mark, Johnny, and I were requested to go into the room reserved for confidential meetings of the group.
I consciously pressed my palm against my left knee as I noticed how much I was bouncing it out of stress. My eyes settled on Taeyong as I waited for him to speak. I could see from the hollows of his eyes the extent of his worry over what happened.
"He's fine. He'll need some stitches and maybe a leg brace according to the doctor. He'll have to stay put for a while though."
Mark sighed, relief and frustration evident from the breath he released. The boy buried his face into his hands, the base of his palms pressing against his eyes.
"If Haechan didn't bug any of us to go and move to the darts room, I think some of Dream would have been badly hurt, too. There was a bomb planted just below the pool table," he mumbled to himself.
I looked at him in concern. Just the thought of having the kids hurt is already forming a lump in my throat. Beside him, Johnny reached out a hand to squeeze him by the shoulder.
"It was Jihoon. I saw the woman he was always with before the bombs went off," Johnny said, his expression grim. Taeyong's jaw twitched and he finally allowed himself to sit before speaking.
"Yes... We met him face to face, too," Johnny and Mark's eyes widened. I felt goosebumps slightly crawl up my arms. The last thing I want is for that encounter to be dissected and reviewed, but it is impossible to ignore this, especially not after what happened.
"You-wait, what did he say?"
"He wants to kill me," Taeyong flat out said. He clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "He wants to steal our turf."
"And?"
"That's all."
My eyes snapped up to look at him in surprise. I am perfectly sure he heard the second reason the bastard said but he refused to meet my eyes.
Johnny gave a frustrated sound and stood up to walk back and forth in front of us.
"I wasn't expecting anything less from the psycho. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"I'm sorry," I croaked weakly from my spot. "I was supposed to be keeping an eye out for him but I think he found a way to dupe the system because I was getting the right signals. If I didn't..."
Taeyong finally looked at me and shook his head slightly. "It's not your fault. I think we all underestimated what he can do. What I think we should do now is to focus on what else we're about to face."
Mark looked up, worried frown still etched on his boyish features.
"What do you mean?"
Taeyong was silent for a bit. He closed his eyes before leaning back against his seat.
"I think I pissed him off when I said I wasn't planning on competing for the spot."
All three of us fell silent. I didn't speak, but I knew what he was saying was right. I saw it straight from the Devil's eyes myself.
"I don't get it."
"Jihoon... is the type of bastard who does things for the joy of it. He is completely deranged. I'd say he's not even doing all of this because he wants to take over Seoul. He just wants to torture me-us. Being named the Don is just a secondary thing to that."
Johnny and Mark exchanged glances at his words.
"When Taeyong said that he...doesn't have any plans to play his game, he didn't like it. He's the type of person who will raise hell if people refuse to participate on his schemes," I added, sending the room into an even heavier silence.
"So you mean... he can do worse if we just ignore him?" Mark asked, pointing out the glaring question the rest of us tried to ignore.
"He'll never stop until he gets what he wants...and what he wants is for us to play in the palm of his hands," Taeyong said slowly.
"Fuck," Johnny cursed lowly. He turned to look at him, his expression intense. "We need to do something. We'll lose men if this continues. We need to kill the bastard first before he gets to us."
Taeyong's jaw twitched, his eyes drilling on the floor.
"I know. That's why I called you here. I'm going to have to ask for your permission so I can officially compete for the position of the head."
His words made my stomach drop to the floor. I looked at him with wide eyes, even though deep inside I knew he was going to say this.
"Taeyong, wait-are you sure?" I asked, my words tumbling over each other.
"It's the only thing we can do..." he answered, refusing to meet my eyes.
"But do you want this?" I pressed, my voice sounding desperate. He's doing it again-sacrificing himself for the sake of others.
He finally moved his gaze to meet mine. "It's me that he wants."
You're not the only one he wants.
My gaze silently answered him.
I know...
He answered silently back before looking away.
Johnny observed our silent exchange from where he stood. Whether he understood the loaded stare down or not, I wouldn't know, but he broke the tension by putting a hand on Taeyong's shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze.
"Just like what Taeil-hyung said... We'll support you. You won't be fighting this alone."
Mark nodded beside him which made their leader gave a thin smile back. "Thank you. Can you guys talk to the others about our decision? I don't really want to call everyone right now."
"We'll take care of it," Mark said.
He then turned to look at me, his eyes loaded with an emotion I couldn't put my finger on. I hate this. I hate that he is doing this.
"Now that is settled... can you send a message to the main family?"
I didn't want to say yes, so I kept silent. He continued, regardless of my quiet disapproval.
"Tell them the game is on."
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