House Of Cards || NCT Mafia

Chapter eighty-seven : Every locked door has its key

Taeyong's face started to turn red, "What do you mean, 'they're gone'?" he asked, his tone threatening.

"They disappeared, hyung. They went to get the ball on the other side of the fence- "

"They got out of the backyard?" Taeyong now yelled, his voice like a storm.

Mark nodded, "When they didn't come back, we went to look for them, but they were just... gone."

At the same time, Taeil got in the room, "Guys, I was looking through the security cameras and I found something!"

All eyes turned to him, "That car," he continued, "was spotted near our woods around the same time you guys were outside. I could zoom in and saw Iseul and Jeno being carried to the vehicle."

He showed them screenshots of the footage as proof, and the members tried to push each other so they could see, but Taeyong grabbed the sheets in his hand for him to observe. His grip tightened on the material, and he narrowed his eyes.

"How come we only ever use the security cameras once the damage's already done?" he asked.

Taeil's face went pale, "I-I don't understand but the alarm doesn't seem to be working anymore," he explained.

"Then fix it," Taeyong spat as he headed for his office.

"Taeyong, wait," Johnny called. "What do you want us to do?"

"I want 127 and U ready to leave in five."

Without giving more instructions, Taeyong slammed the door of his office shut, making the walls almost shake, and Johnny went back to the living room.

"Alright guys, Taeyong wants 127 and U ready to go, move!" he ordered, and everyone ran to the armory to get what they needed, except for WayV and Dream.

"Wait, what about us?" Chenle called once Johnny was following the others.

"You guys stay here."

"But they're our friends," Donghyuck retorted as he got up from the couch.

"I know, but that's Taeyong's orders. Sorry buddy," Johnny said with an apologetic smile before leaving them here.

"That is so unfair," Haechan scoffed.

"I know," Hendery agreed.

They all sat down, hoping the other members were going to bring their friends back.

Iseul, on her side, was slowly walking around the house, trying to think. Where was Jeno locked up? She didn't even know if her father kept him in the house in the first place, but she had to try and go look for him. She wouldn't let him down.

She walked cautiously, exploring every deserted part of the large house, hoping to see Jeno's face in one of them, but she didn't have any luck.
Until she passed by the basement's door. In her twenty years of life, that part of the house had always been prohibited. She was not allowed to go down, and she remembered asking her parents why. They had told her it was because they kept really important documents for their business, kind of like a second office, and Iseul had never questioned it.

Well, until now, at least. She tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Of course, she mentally grumbled.

There was a small screen next to the doorknob, and Iseul realized she had to type a password. She didn't know how many tries the device could take, but she decided to give it a shot, anyways.

Think, Iseul, she mumbled to herself. Use that brain of yours.

Her finger finally approached the screen, and she typed in her birthdate. To her surprise, it worked. Taeil was right, she thought, putting a birthday as a password really is a terrible idea.

Iseul didn't waste more time and firmly grasped the doorknob, the cold metal under her skin making her shiver.

It was dark, but Iseul knew that what was in front of her was a flight of stairs, and she tried to reach for her phone when she realized she didn't have it. She tried to look for a switch but didn't find any, and she finally decided to go down in the dark.

Step after step, cautiously, Iseul made her way downstairs. Putting her hands blindly on the walls, she found a switch and was blinded by the light for a second.

When she could finally look around her, nothing really surprised her. It was just a large room with a wooden table. Nothing really shocking. But as she was about to turn around and go back upstairs to look for Jeno, she noticed a small split on the wall on her right. She walked closer and realized there was actually a gap between the wall and the corner.

Oh, you gotta be kidding me, she thought as she pushed her hand on the wall. It was heavier than she expected, but she eventually made it move, revealing an entrance to a corridor she had never seen before. A secret passage, really?

She couldn't really see much, as the lighting in the dark entrance was rather weak, but she kept walking nonetheless. If Jeno was in her house, he had to be in here.

"Jeno?" she whispered, not daring to raise her voice too much. After all, she didn't know who she'd find in those mysterious corridors.

"Jeno?" she repeated again, but this time, she heard something.

The light sound of metal on the ground. "Jeno?"

She kept repeating the boy's name, hoping to hear his voice in return. Her silent prayers must have been heard because a few seconds later, she heard it.

"Iseul?" a faint voice called. It was almost a whisper and Iseul thought her mind was playing tricks on her for a second. But she tried to follow the voice and ended up in front of a door.

She tried to open it, but once again, it was locked. It didn't take her long to find a way to open it, though, as a key was literally hanged on the wall. She quickly grabbed it and put it in the lock, and the 'click' sound she heard indicated that the door was now unlocked.

She pushed it open, and let out a sigh of relief as the first thing she saw was Jeno. A quite bloody Jeno, yes, but Jeno nonetheless.