In Hells Embrace

Chapter 12

"I can't go with you." You exclaimed.

"Why not?" Jaehyun asked calmly, shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing.

"W-What do you mean, why not?" You spluttered, disbelief being the prominent emotion that you felt. "I can't just leave everything like that and come with you on a whim."

"Look," Jaehyun sighed. "Think about it, the man from last night saw your face, no matter how small of a glimpse it was and that means you're safety, your anonymity and your sanctuary has been compromised.

"I don't know what or who you're hiding from but trust me, I can keep you safe and I can keep you hidden because on your own, sooner or later, you'll be caught" he pressed, his face becoming more and more animated as he went on.

"Jaehyun," you moved at the foot of the bed. "I've survived on my own this long, I've given up too much-no I've given up nearly everything to be here, to be my own person, to be independent and free. I can't give that up."

"Tiara," Jaehyun moved even closer to you, leaning in, his face inches away from yours. "I'm not taking away your independence, I'm protecting it. Do you think that the next person to talk in through your door won't threaten it? How long do you think you can keep whoever it is your running away from, out? And that's just your personal problem. The new one will be even worse, they'll put you through literal hell, only to end it with a bullet through your head... or worse."

You suddenly remembered the sharp sting of threat you'd felt yesterday, the feeling of being watched. Jaehyun was right, your father was closing in on you. He was closer than you had expected. There was no doubt that sooner, rather than later, he would find you. How long would you run, you had promised that you would try for as long as you could but Jaehyun was presenting you with better, more secure option. He could keep you protected, atleast better than you could yourself. But going with Jaehyun meant uncovering his dirty secret and perhaps disclosing your own. You weren't sure if you were ready for that.

"My trouble is dangerous." You whispered, your eyes firmly locked to the plain sheet infront of you. "My trouble is resourceful, ruthless and evil. Can you handle that?"

Jaehyun laughed at that, he couldn't help it. She was talking about evil infront of him. Warning him of all people. Jaehyun looked into your bewildered eyes, knowing he had to tell you the truth before taking you with him.

"I can assure you love, I'm much more dangerous than whoever you're talking about." He smirked softly, to conceal the growing worry about how you'd take everything. "And my resourcefulness, cunning and ruthlessness are not ones to be looked down upon."

You stood there shocked, watching him stare right into your eyes without an ounce of hesitation or guilt in those deep dark eyes. It was now or never, you thought. If you were going to do this, it would be with a clear view of everything though you had a fair inkling by now of the answer.

"Jaehyun...just who are you?" You asked plainly.

"I'm the head of one of the biggest mafias in Asia...NCT." He was direct in his answer, not beating around the bush.

You wilted at his words, taking a step back in the process. Nct, out of all the scenarios you had in your mind, being the leader of the most notorious and mysterious criminal syndicate to have ever residen in Korea, was not one of them. You had already considered him associated with the underworld, or maybe even be a part of a gang. But, NCT was definitely not part of that equation.

You could not fathom that the man infront of you, who had given you warm smiles and easy banter, was not only a member but the head of a organisation that was world famous yet completely untraceable. Everyone knew they existed, but nobody truly knew of their existence. They had a waste network of connections with all sorts of businesses and fields, some legal, most illegal. You had heard cases of money laundering, drug supplication, black marketing, mercenaries and ammunition dealings. They had their hands in everything. And the man behind all that, while managing to keep every bit of his work and his entire personnel under wraps, was Jaehyun. He barely touched the mid twenties mark. How ? and what exactly was he capable of?