House Of Cards || NCT Mafia

Chapter sixteen : To follow an order to the letter

"No," the voice sternly said.

The man didn't even look up from his paperwork to answer the boy.

"Please, hyung, I just want to go to work," he pleaded.

"You have work here, Jaemin."

"No, I don't. The only jobs you're giving us are chores around the house. Johnny-hyung told me you didn't want us to interfere, and I quote 'more than we already did'," the brown-haired guy answered.

"Yes, he's right. Three of you Dreamies have had an encounter with our biggest rival's daughter. I don't want you guys on this, for now."

"Then let me go work at the shop, please."

"You're injured. Your stab wound hasn't fully recovered yet, and don't try to lie to me about it, Doyoung keeps me updated on every member's health status."

Jaemin sighed.

"I can still stand up and walk, which is all I have to do there," he insisted.

Taeyong let down his pen to look up at Jaemin, starting to get annoyed by the youngest's stubbornness.

"So you can spend more time than you already do at school with the enemy? I don't think so, no."

"Iseul's not the enemy..." he whispered.

"Yes, she is." Taeyong harshly said. "Now I can't stop you from going to school and see her there, but I certainly won't let you go to work, when we all know that you don't need to. You're not going to get through that front door do you hear me? Now that's final, go back to your room and go play with the others."

The tone in the leader's voice stopped Jaemin from insisting even more, so he left while quietly mumbling "We're not five, you know..."

"I heard that!"

Jaemin quickly closed the door and walked as fast as he could back to his room.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Renjun asked when Jaemin started to take out his work uniform out of their shared drawers. "Did Taeyong-hyung actually allowed you to go to work?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, not technically..."

Renjun shot him a questioning look.

"He told me that I wasn't allowed to walk through the front door, but he didn't say anything about getting out by the window..." he trailed off.

"Are you sure that's all he said?" Renjun questioned.

"Amongst other things, yes..."

"Jaemin, did he specifically forbid you to go to work?"

"The less you know, the less trouble you'll be in. Please Renjunie, don't say anything," Jaemin pleaded.

"Are you asking me to lie to cover for you? Do you know what could happen to me if they find out?"

"I'm not asking you to lie!" he corrected. "They know I'm hurt so they shouldn't be asking me to do any chores or anything, but if they still ask, you can tell them the truth. I just want you to keep the secret if no one's looking for me."

Renjun took a deep breath, already regretting his choice.

"Fine," he gave in. "But you better be back on time for dinner, or else I'll personally take care of you, and you won't be able to run fast enough!"

Jaemin ignored the threat and kissed the top of his brother's head with a large smile.

"Thanks Junie!"

He quickly grabbed his bag before opening their room's window and used the handmade staircase they all built a couple of years back to sneak out whenever they were grounded. Once he was on the floor, in the backyard of the mansion, the young man soon realized he was going to need a way to go all the way to the other part of town, where the shop was located.

He grabbed a small rock, and threw it at their window, which was still open.

"Ouch!" Renjun groaned.

"What the hell, Jaemin?" he whispered-yelled, looking down at the boy who had an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry! Could you lend me your bus pass, please? I don't have any money on me!"

Renjun grunted but complied. His face disappeared from the window only to come back a few moments later. He threw the card at Jaemin, who was pretty sure he heard the words "I swear" and "surrounded by idiots" coming from Renjun. He thanked his brother before grabbing his bag and walked to the nearest bus station.

At the shop, Iseul was waiting for Jaemin, who was, once again, late.

I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore, she thought. I wonder what his excuse's gonna be this time.

The bell on the door makes her raise her head, to see a panting Jaemin.

"Hi Iseul..." he took a deep breath, hands on his hips.

The girl gently laughed at his appearance.

"Hey," she started. "Did you run a marathon or something?"

"I got lost taking the bus, who could have thought it was so complicated...? Anyways I got out at the wrong stop and had to run my way here."

"The bus? You usually have one of your brothers drop you off?" she noted.

"Um, they were busy today," which was not completely false. "You can go now if you want, sorry for being late, again..." he sheepishly said.

"It's fine," Iseul answered. As Jaemin started to walk in her direction to get behind the cashier, she noticed that the boy was slightly limping.

"Are you hurt...?" she asked.

Jaemin quickly shook his head, "No I'm not, I guess I should work out more, I just have a stitch, it's alright."

The girl nodded before taking her stuff. "Oh, I didn't see you in class today, by the way. What activity did you choose?"

Jaemin mentally panicked before answering. "I didn't feel well this morning, so I didn't go to school today, but I'm feeling a lot better now, so don't worry, you can leave me the shop peacefully, I won't faint or anything" he joked.

"Oh, glad to hear it, then, see you tomorrow."

Little did they know, someone was observing them from the other side of the street, hidden in the shadows. As soon as Iseul put a foot out of the store, they left their hideout and crossed the road to meet her.

The girl didn't see them coming, and only realized their presence once they crushed into her.

Ah, come on, seriously? She thought. Am I invisible or what? It's the third time today!

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" a deep voice said. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked, gently grabbing her forearm.

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry," she answered, dusting herself.

She looked up at the man. He was wearing a mask that covered half of his face, and had a black hood hiding his hair. Iseul was pretty sure she had never met him before, yet, he seemed so familiar.

"Is here anything I can do?" he offered.

His voice. Iseul could have sworn she had heard his voice before, but where?

"I'm sorry," she calmly said. "Do I know you?"

The man seemed to tense up a bit, but quickly hid it behind a poker face.

"I don't think so, I have to go, sorry again!"

And with that, he ran off. Weird, Iseul thought.