House Of Cards || NCT Mafia

Chapter thirty-five : To divide and conquer (2)

"What did you just say?"

Both of them were dumbfounded. Iseul couldn't believe she had just admitted that her father had accused Jeno of being part of a mafia. She wanted to have a peaceful conversation, trying to get to the subject smoothly, but she had ended up yelling the words that she had been wanting to say.

Iseul didn't know what was worse, though. Was it the fact she had clearly lacked diplomacy, or that saying those words out loud, she realized it was such a foolish thing for her father to believe?

"I- I..." she stammered, trying to explain her sudden outburst. "Saying it I realize how stupid that was, I'm so sorry, Jeno, you're going to think I'm crazy now..." she looked down, ashamed.

The boy stood in front of her, not knowing how to react. Did Iseul just admit that her father knew about his real identity?

Better question, why was Iseul acting like she had just found out? He gently but firmly took a hold of her shoulders, and bent down to look at her in the eye.

"What did you just say?" he repeated, this time articulating each word.

Iseul took a deep breath, looking through Jeno's eyes to try to find a glimpse of whatever he was feeling, but they were blank, expressionless. She had never seen him so serious, and figured she'd better give him a quick reply.

"That my dad told me... that you were part of a gang," she said, so quietly that her words almost got lost in the wind. If Jeno hadn't been so close to her right now, he was sure he wouldn't have heard her.

Unconsciously, his grip on her tightened, and only when he noticed the girl wince did he swiftly took his hands off, putting them in his pockets. He stood up straight, regaining a certain distance from her.

"Wait here," he finally spoke, his voice emotionless. He walked away and took out his phone, taking a glance at the girl's frame to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.

On the second ring, a cold voice picked up, "Hello?"

"She knows," Jeno simply uttered.

The other side of the line went silent for a couple of seconds.

"Elaborate," the voice, that belonged to Taeyong, replied like a robot.

"The emergency," the boy began, looking at the girl who sat back on the bench, putting her head in her hands. "She asked me to come to tell me that her father told her I was part of Dream, a gang unit."

"She confronted you about it directly?" This time, Taeyong's voice showed surprise. He clearly hadn't expected that.

"Yes," Jeno sighed. "I know you think I'm biased in this as well, but honestly, I really don't believe she knew anything until a few hours ago. Actually, I'm not entirely sure she knows everything just yet."

"Find out what she knows precisely, and then call me back, I'll try to see what we can do about this situation," Taeyong commanded.

Jeno hung up and walked back to the bench. Iseul heard his footsteps but didn't dare to look up. Jeno sat next to her, looking straight in front of him.

"What happened?" he asked.

Iseul raised her head, and looked at the boy sitting next to her with confusion.

"Are you not going to say that I'm crazy? Or laugh at me for being ridiculous? Are you not even going to deny it?" She scoffed at herself. "Of course not, this is so absurd you don't need to."

"Just answer me," he replied, still not looking at her and totally ignoring what she said.

"I noticed weird things lately..." she began. "My parents were always fighting about something, but I didn't know what. And then there was Park Min-Seok," she continued, completely unaware of the fact that Jeno had tensed up at the mention of the name.

"What's with him?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know... I met him a couple nights ago at my house. My parents were having this business dinner and introduced him as their new associate, but I knew I had met him before, I just can't remember where..." she sighed. "And then, I randomly met him on campus, and discovered he was the new president."

Jeno didn't interrupt her once, listening carefully.

"I decided that was enough weird coincidences and confronted my parents about it this morning. Turns out none of the scenarios I imagined could ever prepare me for what my parents told me."

Jeno took his eyes off the stadium in front of them to look at the girl when he noticed the fatigue in her voice.

"My parents told me our family business was a cover, and that they actually worked for the police, by selling weapons and information to gangs," Iseul said.

Jeno didn't realize he started laughing at the girl's words until she stopped talking to look at him. At first, she seemed hurt, but then her face changed, and she started laughing too, this time taking Jeno off guard.

"I know, it's ridiculous isn't it? Especially if you know that my dad is always the first one to criticize the police."

This time, Jeno was almost sure of it, Iseul was being honest. A little detail still bothered him, though.

"What's this bracelet?" he asked, pointing at it.

Iseul looked baffled.

"Oh you already asked me about it yesterday, remember? I told you I found it in my bag, but I don't know who it belongs to. Have you seen it somewhere before? Maybe it's one of your friends'? I still don't know how it ended up in my bag, but you can have it if you want," she said while taking it off before handing the piece of jewelry to the boy.

Jeno abruptly backed away, as if the object was cursed.

"Ah, no, no, I'm fine thanks," he said putting his hands up as a barrier. Iseul shrugged before putting it in her pocket.

Jeno got up and looked at her, "Don't move, I'll be back in a second," he said.

As expected, Taeyong picked up right away, as if he'd been waiting for the call. Which was probably the case.

"So?" he asked.

Jeno told him everything Iseul had said, and once he was done, Taeyong didn't say anything. The boy could hear other voices around his leader, however, as he had probably gathered a few members in his office.

"That could definitely be a trap, though," said one of them. Jeno thought he recognized Haechan's voice.
"Or, she could be telling the truth," said another one. "Seriously, guys, who'd be so messed up to come up with a plan like this?"

"Kang would, that man's mental, I'm telling you."

"No, you are, you idiot. Kang might be a dirtbag, but he's a clever one, he'd never come up with something like this."

"Yeah, seriously, sending his own daughter to play such a role about her parents coming clean to her about the whole family business thing? I say the poor girl's telling the truth."

"Enough!" A loud voice suddenly rang through Jeno's ear. Taeyong smacked his hand on his desk to make his members shut up. "Clearly bringing you here was a bad idea, get out," he harshly ordered.

Jeno patiently waited on the other side of the line while his brothers got out of Taeyong's office. The leader took a deep breath, trying to make a decision.

"Bring her here," he finally spoke.