• cards | nct 2018 •

twenty three || truth

A/N: this chapter is intense...just a friendly warning :)

"my, my, seems like there's a little meeting here without me, huh?"

the voice echoed throughout the room. it wasn't a friendly kind of voice. in fact, it was far from it. the voice sounded enigmatic, slightly rough, and deep.

every single one of us in the room had our breaths hitched as the footsteps of whoever that entered edged closer, and closer.

i exchanged glances with taeyong sitting on the other side of the desk, and he slowly shook his head.

don't. use it.

he mouthed, and he probably read my mind since the 'it' he was referring to was probably my powers.

i frown, and his stern expression falls as his eyes travelled back onto the entrance of the room.

you see, there were two of us on each side of the table and johnny sat with taeyong on the side facing the door, and renjun sat with me. he was closer to the door than myself.

as his face fell, i turned around, wanting to see what-or who it was. but i could only see the shadow that was cast to the ground as whoever it was was hidden behind that corner.

"not a very friendly greeting...but that's alright."

the voice chuckles amusedly.

i watch as taeyong gulps. he was probably staring right at whoever that interrupted us.

"so it was you, just as i expected..." he says with a scoff.

"yeah? i always knew you to be a smart one, taeyong. good job on figuring out my identity, but you should know better to not trust the ones by your side so easily."

taeyong narrows his eyes. "you're not saying..."

"of course i am. why do you think i know what kind of business you're doing here right now?"

"this voice..." i whisper to myself, my eyes widening in disbelief. it all suddenly came back to me. my days in joker, i heard this voice so much.

the mastermind of joker...the man hiding behind the curtains.

this is not good.

my thoughts were interrupted as the sound of taeyong's chair hitting the ground resounded through the room. both renjun and i looked up in surprise to see taeyong grabbing onto johnny's collar.

"you didn't...!"

he looks to the ground and mumbles, "sorry, taeyong. he..."

taeyong's hands were trembling with anger and he could only huff before harshly pulling away from johnny.

while he was seeing red, i could only quickly rack my brains for a way for us to escape. if the mastermind of joker was here in person, this was definitely not going to end well.

"renjun," i whispered. "we need to find a way to get out of here, fast." i say, my face tilting slightly towards his direction.

his orbs glance at my direction for a split second before facing the front and i took that as a signal to say that he heard me.

"now, now, calm down. i can't express how happy i am to see you after all these years, hyeji."

the voice dripped with nothing but sarcasm, and i didn't utter a single word.

it almost seemed like he had heard me and was taunting me right now.

before i could even make up my mind to decide whether or not to speak, taeyong beats me to it.

"don't you dare talk to her. you–"

"ah, a defensive brother...very good. i'm quite surprised the people of the Lee family actually have a heart."

"that's rather ironic for you to say." taeyong snaps.

"don't make me laugh, dear boy. you have absolutely no idea."

i find myself being surprised at the man's voice that overflowed with anger, yet a hint of sadness.

taeyong seemed to feel the same, as he questioned, "what do i have no idea of?"

i hear the man shuffle slightly.

"why do you think your grandfather knew that you were in my organisation, the organisation of his very own rival, yet accepted it as it is?"

taeyong's brows furrow in confusion and shook his head slowly.

the man chuckles.

"i think it's about time you know the truth. it's because,"

"he—your very own grandfather. he was the one who killed all of my remaining family."

with that, i heard renjun gasp beside me and both taeyong and my eyes widened.

the identity of the mastermind of joker...

taeyong's head snaps up to meet the mastermind's eyes. "what? there's no way. I don't believe you. our family...is not like yours–no, like you."

the man snickers.

"two years ago, when i found out that your grandfather was behind it all, i visited him. your grandfather, lee daeseok. he claimed he only did what he did to stop me, but of course i couldn't let this go, so i proposed the idea of joker, figuring that i could make perfect use of your strong powers, and the hidden goal of it—to rid the world of all half bloods,"

hearing that sent a shiver down my spine as i took a worried glance at renjun, the only half blood in this room.

"and if daeseok didn't agree, i told him i would not...hesitate to kill the two of you. he knew, of course, that i was fully capable of doing that. so he agreed,"

"and everything was set into motion. my plans were immaculate, not until blackjack came along. the government somehow took hold of my plans. years later, i found out the location of my plans. the shards. i wanted to retrieve it, yet again you guys interfered,"

the voice stopped talking, and continued in a dark tone.

warning bells were ringing in my head.

"you wanted to know the truth. all i want is my revenge. especially since you, lee hyeji, is part of ace and taeyong has betrayed me now. i see absolutely no reason to keep the two of you, and since the three of you who have no relations to joker found out about the truth, you must be..."

"eliminated."

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