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57. Parallel

"This is it guys. If you mess anything up, I'll kill you myself." Taeyong said to the crowded room of guys.

"Really?" Kun asked nervously.

"Probably." Ten answered casually.

Taeyong had pulled together a few of the best of his clan to eliminate North Gate's boss, Joon Suk. In exchange for his life and Yuna's safety, Taeyong owed it to Mark to help him protect his family, even if he was a huge pain in his ass.

In the time they had spent making these plans, it was a strange feeling to Taeyong to be in his current position. The familiar faces now sat next to his most trusted brothers, who all gave him their unwavering loyalty and would gladly do whatever he asked. He had never been interested in power and now he understood why. It was dangerous and easy to get caught up in.

"Nah, he's actually really awkward and adorable. You should have seen him when he was little." Taeil reassured them. Taeyong glared at him.

Taeil was older than Taeyong and someone that was around him a lot when they were kids. Taeil helped look out for the younger ones. He and Taeyong had been pretty close at one point until they went their separate ways because Soo Man had different plans for each of them. Taeil was quiet and gentle; more of an intellectual than physical in nature. He was responsible for logistics and planning, but could still aim and shoot as well as any of them.

Kun smiled as he imagined little Taeyong. His expression was soft and bright. Kun was one of the most charming people Taeyong had ever met and that's exactly where he fit in this plan. He was outwardly gentle and sweet and could win anyone over. Inwardly, he was fiercely loyal and would protect his own by any means.

"Can we move this along?" Yuta scoffed. Yuta was a wild card, bold and rugged. He spoke his mind when he felt necessary, but was otherwise a man of few words. He was strictly brute force and always preferred to be right in the middle of the action.

"Everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing, right?" Taeyong asked, growing irritated with the side conversation.

"Don't worry about it, we know what we're doing." Taeil spoke as though this was a routine occurrence and there was no reason to be anxious. "You should be more worried about those mindless goons from North Gate."

"They're not that bad." Winwin interjected. "They are different from the ones we're used to. In fact, they can be kind of cute sometimes."

Yuta snorted. "They're a bunch of idiots."

"That's not important right now. And even if they are idiots, we're relying on them to back us up. Now let's just go over it one more time, ok?" Taeyong tried not to let his desperation for the plan to go smoothly show.

"So paranoid." Yuta mumbled.

"Hey, don't forget he's our fearless leader now. Show some respect, you barbarian." Ten scolded.

"I'll be at the auction, keeping an eye on things from inside." Kun answered while Yuta gave Ten an annoyed look before quietly turning his attention toward Taeyong.

"I'll be facilitating communication and keeping a look out from the outside." Taeil added.

"I'll be going in first to scope things out and confirm Joon Suk's location." Yuta said with a sigh. He lost count of how many times they had already went over this.

"And we'll be going in with you." Jaehyun nodded toward Taeyong.

"What about the others? Are they just there for show? Seems like we're doing all the work." Taeil huffed. His intrinsic dislike of Mark and his family had been drilled into him from a young age and made it nearly impossible to think for even a second that they would be trustworthy and reliable.