BLACK DAISIES ↠ NCT OT23

Ophelia

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"How are you doing?"
Yuta looked up from the book he was reading, a manga with its cover folded back into its spine. I plopped unceromoniously on the spot next to him on the love seat, leaving him with no other choice but to adjust. He answered by giving a disgruntled grunt as he tried to wriggle and make space for me on the couch.
"I'm devastated. Eren is a little bitch."
I gave a snort as I folded my legs under me. He currently has his injured leg up on the coffee table in front of us, wrapped in a thick cast that already has doodles on it.
"I'm asking about your mental and physical well-being but it's good to know you're only mildly annoyed about your comic book."
He answered me with the most serious look he can sport, gaze burning.
"Attack on Titan is a cultural reset and deserves to be discussed," he deadpanned before throwing an arm behind our shared seat so I can fit in better. I snickered and squeezed in closer to him before giving his side a little poke.
Noticing my little move, he studied my face a little bit longer before his lips split into a small smile.
"Aww, is my best friend worried about me? Is this your way of making sure I'm fine?" He asked as he gave me a slight nudge. I answered him with a small scowl and slight shove.
"I'm your best friend now?"
"I've been since a few years ago. Knowing you and your perpetual habit of not putting labels on your relationships though, I am not surprised you're denying this, too."
I answered by giving his injured leg a slight nudge which caused a string of curses to slip out from him.
"Ouch! Why are you being extra sinister today?"
I scowled and buried myself deeper into the couch in silent retaliation. Beside me, I can feel Yuta's eyes linger on my face for a moment as he tried to read into my actions. To be honest, I am not in the best of moods-haven't been for a few days now-and I am willing to bet my money that he can exactly see through my silence. He sighed after a moment and put his book down.
"So did you pass over Taeyong's message to the main family?"
My scowl deepened. I dug my hands in the front pocket of my hoodie, my nails pressing into my palms. Of course he hit the nail on the head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because he's being stupid. He doesn't want this. He's just doing it for everyone without thinking of himself."
"And that's wrong of him?"
That shut me up. Two days have passed since the bombing of Anarchy and things have settled down since then-at least if you look at it from the surface. 127 has managed to cover up the whole fiasco with help from their associates inside the police force and Jihoon's side has been quiet since their first move. Still, there is a restlessness running underneath the standstill, especially after everyone in the group has been informed that Taeyong is officially going to join the call for Don-ship. Everyone agreed, of course, except for me.
I leaned my head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. Of course I'm aware of how unreasonable I am being. If anything, I really shouldn't be expecting anything less from Taeyong. If anyone from the group is going to be willing to go to lengths just to protect what he loves, it is going to be him. Doing this means he can keep everyone safe and put a stop on Jihoon's actions once and for all. Anything else will lead to chaos. But despite all of that, I couldn't ignore the fact that he is being forced to do this. Everyone is being forced to play this sick game.
"This wouldn't happen if the heir would just take over."
My jaw tightened at Yuta's observation. He's right... Of course, he is right.
"Maybe they have their reasons..." I said, my voice sounding hollow even to my ears. The man beside me simply shrugged and picked up his manga again.
"I mean, I can't blame him. It must suck, being in that position. I heard the Don lost his wife because of his job. Being the boss is pretty tiring if you always have crosshairs targeting the back of your head 24/7."
I didn't say anything. The silence didn't last long, however, as the front doors of the headquarters burst open. Yuta and I both looked up in time to see seven men stroll inside, all clad in black.
"SURPRISE, YEOROBUN!"
I jumped up from my spot at the familiar voice, eyes round with surprise.
"Yukhei!"
The boy in question grinned at me widely as I called out his name. Like an oversized puppy, he bounded towards our spot and picked me up effortlessly to spin me around.
"Noona! You're still so small!"
"I-ouch, you're squeezing me!"
"Lucas, we've been here two minutes," a smaller man said as he strolled over to us. I turned my head to look at him and managed to flash him a smile.
"Ten! I didn't know you guys were coming."
"Yeah, about that. Sorry we didn't tell you. We heard what happened with Anarchy and we thought..."
"We thought the lines might be tapped so we didn't send a message," another boy finished his sentence as he joined our little group. I beamed at him and Kun returned the gesture by giving me his signature, steady smile. His presence has always been such a balm to the chaotic energy that the rest of his members carry around in their wake.
Chaos that is already starting now, too, as evident from what's happening in the room.
Behind me, Yuta had already managed to cling to Winwin despite his injured ass, the boy in question trying to gently push him away even as he tried to ask about the Japanese menace's leg. I can also hear doors opening here and there all around the headquarters followed by shouts, which means the rest of the members have already become aware of the newcomers' presence.
"How'd you get here?" I asked as I tried to straighten my crumpled clothes from Lucas' bear hug. The boy's attention span had thankfully already shifted to some of the Dream members who he decided to wrestle on the floor the moment they spilled into the room.
"Kun-ge flew us here! We have a new toy!" Hendery chirped as he momentarily stopped before us, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"By toy... I can only assume..."
"Dassault Falcon, the latest model. You should go check it out, noona," Xiaojun added before whisking Hendery away to join the group that has streamed into the living room to welcome them. He gave us a quick wave and I chuckled as I watched them body slam Chenle and Renjun to oblivion. A few seconds in and Yangyang, their youngest, has already joined in on their mini wrestling match.
I turned to look back at Ten and Kun who were still standing close to me, their smiles warm. God it's been so long since I saw them in person. While it is part of our job to regularly talk to each other virtually, having them actually join the rest is always a more welcome option for everyone.
And yet...just as much as I love seeing them again, there's also something that begs to be asked about their unannounced visit.
"So...You're here because...?"
The pair exchanged quick glances before answering.
"Well... we had to drop 127's cargo using our private jet..." Ten started.
"...Also, we heard about Taeyong's decision so we thought this is the best time to go," Kun added.
As if on cue, the owner of the name walked in on us, a pleasant and welcoming smile on his face. He reached out his hand to Kun who immediately took it so that they can pull each other into a friendly shoulder bump.
"It's nice to see you, brother," Taeyong greeted, his lips pulled up to the sides in a welcoming smile. It hit me for the first time in days how this is the most genuine smile he has given ever since the mess that started this week. Of course, it has something to do with the de facto leader of WayV, too. While Kun joined the family a little later than him, he is definitely someone Taeyong can put his full trust on. Having his presence-and the rest of WayV-here must have taken a lot of load from his shoulders.
"Likewise. How have you been holding up?"
Taeyong looked at me briefly before answering. "We're doing good. Better than what we expected initially. We... made a few decisions in the last few days."
Brief silence fell over our little group that remained separated from the cheerful ruckus that's happening around us. Ten cleared his throat and nodded towards the other members who were all still focused on their reunion, seemingly oblivious of our conversation.
"We're planning to stay... for the next few months, at least until everything blows over."
This time, it was Taeyong and I who looked at him and Kun in mild surprise.
"But... the business in China..."
"We had to ask for a favor from someone. They agreed to help us for a little while," Kun explained as he dug his hands on the pockets of his jeans.
"Who?"
"Lay-hyung."
"Lay-you mean EXO?" I asked, my eyes round with surprise. Ten and Kun grinned at me, seemingly pleased of my reaction.
Before NCT took full power over Seoul and China, it was EXO who ran the grounds. The seniors were so successful at what they did that they decided to break free from the family to run their own operations as individuals eventually. Before they officially "retired" from the organized crime world, however, they made sure to train the rest of the boys as their successors and have remained friendly with them ever since.
"Mhm. We got him and Xiumin-hyung to help us for a few months," Ten confirmed.
"That's cool..." I said, still in awe.
"Anyway, you have us for now. We're here to help with anything," Kun said, his eyes set on Taeyong. The latter didn't say anything at first, but it was evident from his expression alone how thankful he is of the gesture.
"You didn't have to... but thank you. This means a lot."
Kun gave him a smile and reached out to squeeze his shoulder.
"Don't say that. We're NCT, too. We'll stand as one."
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Jaehyun pulled the baseball cap lower over his eyes as he slipped into a small alleyway tucked on the quieter side of a dingy-looking street. He slipped into the winding space just big enough to let a lone man walk on it, his pace steady and quick. Around him, he could hear dulled noises from the small-time clubs that fringed the area mixed with the rowdy laughter of paid women looking for clients on the streets. While he is no stranger to this place, he doesn't really often find himself here on the regular. In fact, he'd spend most of his life in the mafia ignoring this part of town, too small and shabby for a caporegime of NCT.
Until now, at least.
The end of the alleyway led him to a slightly bigger clearing that opened up to a dingy building that loomed over the area like a shadow. His gaze raked over it for a moment, and for the first time since he hauled himself into this place, the implications of what he was about to do hit him. He didn't let the tightness on his throat overwhelm him though, focusing instead on the two guards flanking the door. He crossed the distance between them silently before he could change his mind, his boots crunching against the gravel.
"You have an appointment?" One of the men gruffly asked him as he stopped in front of the entrance. Jaehyun didn't answer, choosing instead to slightly turn his head to the side so that his cap showed a sliver of his face. The man's expression turned from aggressive into that of shock before it finally settled into slight fear.
He opened the metal door without a word to let him in.
It didn't take long for him to find the room he was supposed to go to. The space is of average size, an abandoned warehouse that looked way too dingy to actually house breathing people inside. There was only one room that had its lights on and he didn't waste another second to head his way there.
The sooner he gets this over with, the better.
He turned the knob and let himself inside, not even bothering to knock.
The sight of a woman currently sprawled on a table greeted him. She was far too busy moaning from the man on top of her that it took her about five seconds to register that someone else had entered the room. When she finally did, he tapped the shoulder of the guy who currently has his head buried between her chest before pointing at Jaehyun.
The man in question looked pissed at the sudden disturbance of his enjoyment as he turned to look at him. The moment his eyes landed on Jaehyun though, his brows shot up and he scrambled to pull his pants up from the floor.
"Ah! Jaehyun! You're here. I didn't expect you'd come so early!" he said in a sleazy voice as he tried to make himself more presentable. Jaehyun didn't budge, watching him silently with a stoic expression. Meanwhile, the woman on the table giggled, eyes bloodshot from whatever drugs she had in her system. She crawled up to drape herself over the man who tried to rearrange his hair that looked way too abused with styling oil and pomade.
"Please, please, take a seat! Or would you rather have a go first?" the stranger asked, waving towards the woman who didn't even bother to pull her dress up to cover herself. Jaehyun simply raised a brow, his eyes drilling holes on the man's head.
"Right. Of course your tastes are different," the man turned to whisper at the lady who was still clinging to him in her drug heavy state. The latter finally sighed after a quick exchange before standing up to leave the room, but not before giving Jaehyun a quick flirty wave.
When the door finally closed, the man took a seat and clapped his hands together. His lower half was covered by the table, but Jaehyun knew his leg was bouncing behind it from the nerves.
He gave his record a quick once-over in his head.
Kim Wonho, 29 years old. An ex-convict infamous for being in and out of Seoul's prison system since he was a teen. Jaehyun had only met him in person a few times-all of which involved his men beating him up to oblivion. While NCT holds the biggest power over Seoul, smaller gangs run by people like Wonho are nothing new. They are actually part of the ecosystem, the bottom feeders which the alpha group had to keep in line every now and then. Wonho's chapter is the biggest of the lower tier chapters, having their own operations in the sleazy parts of the city.
"It's really nice to see you here, man-"
"Get to the point," Jaehyun coldly cut him off, his stance by the door steady. The older male swallowed and ran his hands over his hair again.
"Look, I need your help. I got in trouble. Really big trouble. I need a way out. Out of this city-no out of this country-for good."
Jaehyun didn't speak, choosing to let the man rattle off for now. He looked crazed and the drug in his system is not helping his composure at all.
"So the state-the state is after my neck, man. I got busted-I was getting girls from overseas and I didn't know there was a mole among my men. Now they're after my ass and I-"
Jaehyun's scowl deepened as he started piecing the story together.
"What do you mean you were getting girls overseas?" he asked, his voice low. Wonho started trembling in front of him, his pupils dilated.
"We kidnapped a few tourists and sold them off-"
"You motherfucker. You know that's against the rules."
"I know! I know! But the money was good Jaehyun. It was so good, I didn't have any other choice-"
"You had a choice not to do it. Even if the cops don't go after your neck, you know we would have," Jaehyun growled, the hands shoved on his bomber jacket balled into fists.
"No, no please. Hear me out. That's why I need your help. You see? If the state gets me this time, they'll throw me in prison forever. So I need to get out-of this country for good."
"And why should I help you do that? It's either you spend your whole life in prison or we torture you to death."
The promise of a slow, painful demise caused the other man to double over the table. Everyone knows how skilled NCT is when it comes to serving "warnings and punishments" to castaways. His threat definitely didn't fall on empty ears as Wonho started blubbering so much he was almost foaming at the mouth. It isn't helping that the man in front of him had too much drugs pumped on his system, too. Jaehyun knew from the looks of it that he is going to crash soon; it's a wonder he could still keep up a conversation with him.
"Look, if you help me-your group won't be having any problems with mine- forever. I promise, I'll be out of your hair. I'll fold over all operations to NCT- brother's code or whatever shit, but I swear. I'll hand over everything- everything to you. That's one less headache, eh? That's a good deal."
Jaehyun gritted his teeth at his words. It is true that Wonho's gang had been a constant pain in the neck for them for the past few years. It was a never-ending cycle; NCT will find out that they are doing something that's out of the code, punish them, have them lie low for a while, before the cycle starts again. It's even harder for them to manage too, since unlike their "family" that has a more organized system, Wonho's networks are smaller so they are harder for them to control.
If full ownership is passed over to them, he'll be hitting a couple of birds with one stone. One, he'll be nipping a perpetual problem in the bud. Second, he'll be adding up to NCT's network. That'll be good enough for the Don-ship.
The only problem: he'll be going against Taeyong.
It took everything for Jaehyun not to say anything when Johnny sat the rest of 127 down to announce that Taeyong is going to be joining the game a few days ago. While he knows that the events at Anarchy are what pushed their leader to make the decision, he is also sure that there's more to his reasoning than just protecting the family and going against Jihoon.
He is also doing it for someone else.
"You think you are the only one who has a reason to go after the position among your brothers?"
The words that were said to him in the shadows a few nights ago rang in his ears again. It's as if she was standing next to him, red lips whispering the phrase again and again until they burned into his mind.
"Jaehyun, come on man. What do you say? I stopped everything, I swear. I just really need a way out, man."
Jaehyun's attention snapped back to the present at the man's desperate tone. He stared at the pathetic excuse of a human being in front of him, knowing with a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach that his next words are about to seal his fate.
"Don't mention this to anyone. This deal is only between you and me. You rattle it off to anyone else, I'll personally kill you. Wait for my next call."
Without another word, he turned on his heels and let the door close behind him with a resounding bang.
Taeyong may have someone to protect...
But he has someone he needs to do this for, too.
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"Isn't it a shame?"
The woman stopped mid-pour at the rhetoric question echoed by the man behind her. She turned to look at him, eyes only briefly scanning his form.
"Pardon?"
"Isn't it a shame that so many people will get hurt just because of someone's selfish wish?" he continued, eyes set on the city skyline that twinkled under the glass windows of his penthouse. It didn't take long for her to realize what he was talking about and she turned back to the alcohol she was pouring to hide the emotions that flickered in her eyes.
"That someone's selfish wish is the greatest show of bravery I've seen in my years of being here," she said quietly, loud enough for her words to float over to the man sitting at a distance from her.
If the same words have been uttered by anyone else, it would be enough of a reason for them to be dumped to their grave. But she's different, of course. She's the Don's whore. The mafia's slut. She's untouchable.
And how she wished she isn't. How she wished she was just like anyone else, who would have died at the mere prospect of talking back to this man. But no, he wouldn't even give her the escape she wanted, even if it meant death.
"You're scared, aren't you? For that boy?"
Her hands froze at the question. No, he wouldn't punish her with physical blows, but he would always, always hurt her in the places where it mattered the most.
It took her everything to make sure her voice was steady when she answered.
"I'm not. He's nothing to me and I am nothing to him," she answered, her nonchalance betraying the cold seeping inside her heart which had frozen over with fear for the only person who ever mattered.
The man took a sip of his wine, the red staining his lips.
"We'll see. We'll see."
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