House Of Cards || NCT Mafia

Chapter thirty-eight : Be careful what you wish for

Jeno didn't dare to make a move, the poor boy didn't know how Iseul would react at the news. Up until now, she thought this was all just a bad joke, but that wasn't the case anymore.

Iseul herself didn't even know how to react. She was completely lost, a thousand thoughts invading her mind at light speed before leaving a blank she couldn't fill. What the hell was she supposed to feel, to think?

She knew there were gangs in Seoul, it was always somewhere on the news that one of them had targeted another one. But she never actually thought that some of the people she saw every day, some people she thought she knew, could ever be a part of it.

None of them said a word for God knows how long, too lost in their thoughts. The heavy tension in the room was cut short, however, when someone entered without knocking, making Iseul jump and Jeno look at the door.

Jaemin made his way in the room and sat on the chair in front of Iseul, replacing Taeyong. He didn't say a word for a minute, taking his time to observe the girl in front of him who looked right back at him.

Truth be told, Jaemin wasn't allowed in this room, his leader had made it clear. But as soon as he found out Iseul had been taken to their annex, in the woods behind their house, he couldn't help himself but go see her. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he'd have heard her side of the story.

"Is it true?" he broke the silence.

"Is what true?" Iseul asked. She was trying to determine whether or not the boy in front of her that she had considered her friend for so long was still angry at her. She wasn't surprised to see him here. In fact, nothing could surprise her at his point, and he was Jeno's brother after all. Iseul was ready to bet that the other "Dream boys" as Chaewon called them were also somewhere in the building.

"Did you really not know anything at all about this?"

His stare was strong as he looked at her in the eye. He wanted to believe her so much.

"Of course not!" Iseul cried out. "A few hours ago, everything was fine and now I find out that people I surrounded myself with are all liars!"

She didn't look at Jeno, but he knew she also meant him, and his heart clenched. She really had nothing to do with it, and they had been cruel enough to bring her into something she had never asked for. Now, Iseul's life could never got back to the way it was, and she knew it.

Jaemin didn't feel any better than his brother. He really did believe she had been a too-faced liar, when all along, she had been the only one honest.

"How did you even come to that ridiculous conclusion anyways?" Iseul asked, finally letting go of the anger that had been building inside of her. "How could you possibly believe that I could be part of this world? Because you guys have been false all this time, everybody is, too? Are you that scared that other people could be like you are?"

Iseul's harsh words hurt the both of them, but deep down, they felt like they deserved it. The poor girl had thought they were her friends when they were just trying to get information out of her.

"Don't blame them," a voice spoke. The man that was with Kun in the shadows earlier came back in the room. He was not very tall, and Iseul noticed a lot of piercings shining on his ears.

"To be honest, everything made us think you were aware of your father's actions and were apart of it as well," he explained.

"M-my father's actions?" the girl stuttered. "What do you mean?"

The man dryly chuckled.

"Poor girl," he pitied. "Don't think your world's crushing down just yet. Because if you think your life is falling apart already, you're not ready to hear about your daddy's doing."

"Ten-hyung," Jaemin and Jeno warned.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your little friend here deserves to finally know the truth, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about?" Iseul got up.

"I'm talking about how your dad is responsible for who knows how many deaths, and how he's currently working with one of the most dangerous gangs this town has ever seen," he spat. "I'm talking about how he's doing everything but working for the police, like he shamelessly lied to your face. If anything, he's hiding from them. I'm talking about how he has more blood on his hands than most of our most skilled assassins, without even touching a weapon. Because of course, he never does the dirty work himself. Wouldn't want to come home to his sweet daughter covered in blood, am I right?"

"Ten, that's enough!"

Kun had walked back in, Taeyong behind him and ordered Ten to stop the second he noticed Iseul's face. There were tears running down her face, and her fists were clenched.

"What?" he said, observing her. "She wanted the truth? She got it. Careful what you wish for, sweetheart. It could hit you right back to the face."

Without another word he left the room, not caring about Iseul falling to her knees. Jaemin and Jeno ran to her, helping her up so she could sit back on the chair.

Taeyong stepped closer to her, putting one knee on the ground so they could be on the same eye level. He put a strand of hair sticking to her face because of the tears coming out of her eyes behind her ear and she flinched as he did so.

"But you already knew that, didn't you? Everything Ten just told you," he stated.

"I told y-you..." she cried. "I didn't know anything."

"Oh, of course, you knew nothing about things in detail, we know that now," his voice faking compassion. "But I mean, deep down. You knew something was wrong with your parents, that something was off. And now that you know the truth you're starting to remember some details, am I right? Like how late your dad would come back, finding some lame excuse, or how sketchy some of his 'business partners' would seem, am I wrong? That's the exact reason why you called Jeno as soon as your father threatened him. You didn't doubt Jeno for a second, but knew your father wouldn't hesitate to hurt him if he had the chance. It says a lot about how you think of your father."

Iseul covered her ears, not wanting to hear another word. He was just playing mind games on her, wasn't he? But a part of her couldn't help but to agree with what Taeyong was saying. She knew he was right, but she couldn't admit it.