Bullet With Butterfly Wings

the final solution

Yena was using everything in her power to pissed everyone even more than usual. This particular morning, Yahoo had received another letter from the Council of the Battle of Peril. They wanted her to go to a meeting and discuss "further steps that they could take" since there was "unbelievable pressure from the council" to "manage corruption between control staff and players".

Yahoo was already out of the dorms but the news did not come as a shock. She had sent Nabi the letter with a line ending her email with: Tell Nana I miss him.

Did not take much to know that both of them were not talking.

The moment Nabi told the rest of her classmates, she could see immediate color drain from Jaemin's face.

"Unbelievable pressure from the council? Because her father is in it?" Renjun asked, quietly. The smaller framed male was sitting down on the ground, thumbing through a big book of god-knows-what.

"Fuck, I hate her." Dana slammed her hand against the table, everyone in the library jumping. They avoided Yena like she was a disease, all moving in groups. It's unhealthy, Tae-il told all of them. She knows that you all are scared of her. "Can none of us do anything? Nothing?"

Taeyong was deep in thought. The half alien had his own connections—of course, just as similar the level to Hwang Yena. His father too, was part of the Battle of Peril industry. The half-Ais half-human clicked his tongue.

His marbled purple eyes flickered over to the one person who was looking out the window.

Whatever Lee Jeno had in his mind; it was weighing him down. Taeyong did not blame him. Jaemin was his best friend. He caught Jeno's eyebrows furrowing at Jaemin who was staring into empty space. He watched as Jeno's arm flexed. He couldn't imagine how hard it was to hold his anger back.

"When does she have to go to court?" Taeyong asked, Nabi telling him that the meeting would take place in NCT Training Center the next day, 10 am sharp. "I can't promise all of you that it'll work but...."

The moment his voice trailed, Jaemin sat up with hope.

"I'll see if my father can help, Jaemin."

Jaemin's eyes widened and he began to nod over and over again. He was going to cling onto any hope he could.

"Please," Jaemin whispered. Jeno had never seen his best friend look so defeated.

Or.... Jeno sat back, a thoughtful look passing through his face.

Just one call— One call and maybe he could make all of this go away.

"And I can call my uncle," Jungwoo piped up, his hands fiddling with his phone. "We'll find a way to make this work, Jaemin."

"I don't know what I'd do if her whole career—" Jaemin murmured, his face in his hands.

That tremor. The shake. The fear in Jaemin's voice made Jeno stand up, the half-Drax moving away from his friends before he found a small corner at the library.

It would be a big thing for him to reach out to the woman who got rid of him since he was young, but he knew she was influential enough to change the game.

The first person he called was his father, his adoptive father answering the phone with a cheerful voice.

"Son!"

"Can I have The Woman's number?"

Years and years had he always referred her to "The Woman". She was never his mother despite her efforts to try to get back to him, to try to reach out and contact him.

His father choked on whatever he was eating (Jeno guessed it would be fruit because his father loved fruit).

"Your mother?"

"Send it over?" Jeno asked, not wanting to explain too much. "And don't die of shock."

"Son—"

Jeno hung up the phone, his fingers tapping on the wall. He closed his eyes when he first heard of his mother from his father.

The Queen of the Drax's. He hated how it was, how he had listened to the wars that his species waged with the Class One Aliens. They were violent by nature and Jeno could tell where he got his aggression from.

A ping on his phone.

A number that he somehow recognized because it had called him so often. Usually on his birthdays.

The Queen, his mother's, phone number.

He pressed on it and it wasn't long before she answered it.

A deep and husky voice, surprised and very very shocked.

"Jeno?"

Jeno took a deep breath.

"Mother. I need your help."

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