House Of Cards || NCT Mafia

Chapter eleven : Know who you're fighting against

"Wait, you mean you met Kang's daughter?" asked Haechan, his mouth full of the food Kun cooked for them the night before.

Jeno just nodded, while getting another bite of his food.

Seeing as his brother clearly wasn't going to elaborate, Haechan groaned in frustration.

"Sooo?"

Jeno looked at him, not really understanding where Haechan was going with his question.

"What do you mean "so"?"

"Well, do you think she's a threat? Does she know who you are?"

Jeno took the time to swallow his food before answering.

"Well, if we talk about her ability to fight, she definitely knows how to defend herself, yes" he said while subconsciously putting a hand on his neck, where Iseul had put her foot on a few hours before.

"Regarding my identity, though, I doubt she knows anything. Or she's a very good actress in addition of her fighting skills"

"What makes you think she doesn't know?"

Jeno shrugged.

"She didn't seem to give me that much attention during class. I mean, she wasn't analyzing my movements or trying to get personal information out of me. In fact, she didn't ask me any question at all." He tilted his head on the side "Which, now that I think about it, is actually weird. I usually tend to draw attention"

Haechan nodded at the other boy, ignoring his last comment.

"So, you believe Jaemin when he said he didn't think the girl was part of the mafia world?"

Jeno took a second to think.

"I can't be sure of anything, of course, but from what I've seen, she doesn't seem to be, no."

"Keep an eye on her anyways. You know, just in case. We know better than to assume things based on the way they look."

The older boy nodded at the statement. In this world, nothing is like it seems. They learnt that the hard way.

"For all we know, she could be a skilled assassin, Kang's secret weapon..."

"You mean like a spy, or a con artist...?" asked Jeno raising an eyebrow at his brother.  "Now that would be ironic, wouldn't it?"

Haechan scoffed. Being NCT's con artist and Jaemin being a spy, that sure as hell would be.

"Really funny. Anyways, try to get to know her a bit better, see what she really knows"

"Yeah, sure. How is Jaemin, by the way?"

The younger shrugged.

"He'll live"

The two young men smiled at each other before finishing their meal.

"Oh, I think it's time to get back to it!" said Chaewon, checking her watch. "I have to go see Mr Kim to ask him about our assignment!"

The girls gathered their stuff and said their goodbyes.

"And don't forget about that picture of a shirtless Jeno!" Chaewon winked, already walking away.

Yeah, well it's not exactly like Jeno was going to get shirtless in class anyways... thought Iseul.

Oh boy, how wrong she was.

As the two girls had their lunch on the school's sports field, Iseul was close to the gymnasium, and it literally took her a minute to reach the doors. Realizing she was early, she decided to use this time to practice a little bit more.

She was a competitive girl and made a point of always trying her best. And if that could lead her to become the best, then even better.

Besides, at the end of this special day, bonus points would be given to the top students of each activity, based on their behavior and skills. That would look great on her record.

Iseul got in the large building for the second time of the day and put her bag in one of the lockers. She tied her long hair into a ponytail before grabbing a bottle of water and she almost chocked on it when she entered the boxing area, where Jeno was already practicing. Shirtless.

At the sound of someone coughing, Jeno turned around only to see a flustered Iseul standing in the middle of the room.

The boy chuckled.

"You alright, there?"

She put her bottle on the shelf next to her and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine"

Jeno jumped out of the boxing ring with the flexibility of a cat and grabbed a towel from one of the benches to put it over his left shoulder. He took a quick glance at the clock before returning his gaze on the young woman in front of him.

"It's still a bit early, what are you doing here already?"

"I thought I'd use this time to practice some more" she marked a pause.

"Looks like you had the same idea"

"I always practice during lunch break" he simply answered. "Wanna practice together?"

Truth was, Jeno just wanted to test her. See how skilled she was, and most importantly, get to know her weaknesses.

Iseul tried to refuse by shaking her head no, but before she could open her mouth to speak, the boy insisted.

"Extra practice with the teacher could be good for your grade, you know... I can try to give you advice on your fighting so you can get bonus points at the end of the day. Besides, I rarely have someone to practice with..." he pouted, trying to get the girl's sympathy.

If what Jaemin told him about her was true, Iseul was a kind girl who never hesitated to go out of her way to help others. 

"Alright, why not..."she sighed.

They got on the ring and positioned themselves.

"Let's start with the basic moves I taught you this morning"

Iseul nodded and did was she was told. Jeno had to admit, she was really good. But he had to find a weakness, something that he could use if they were to fight again, but this time not in a friendly way or in the context of a class.

The girl didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that his upper body was exposed, revealing how the efforts he went through everyday paid off. In fact, she always kept her gaze and body in alert, ready to defend herself from whatever his next move was going to be.

She was focused, determined, Jeno could see it in her eyes. Sweat was starting to form on her temples, making the hair framing her face curl a little.

Understanding she wasn't going to let anything distract her, which, Jeno had to admit, was a necessary thing during a fight, he decided to try something else.

Iseul made her next move, and kicked his ribs. Jeno took the opportunity and fell on the ground, faking an injury.

Seeing that the boy wasn't getting up, Iseul got worried and crouched down next to him.

"Jeno? Are you alright?"

He suddenly turned around, using her reaction time to his advantage, and put her to the ground, grinning at his trick.

Iseul groaned when her head met the solid ground, cursing at Jeno.

"Seriously Lee Jeno? That was low, really."

She was pissed off and quickly got up, sending him a glare. The boy didn't even feel bad about it, and even her death stare couldn't erase his smirk off his face. He had just found her weakness : her kind heart, as cheesy as it sounded.