The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter six: Guilt trip

Iseul was lying in her bed, eyes looking at the ceiling. She was waiting for the screen of her phone next to her to light up, hoping her mother would try to reach her.

Since her conversation with Taeyong earlier, she felt bad. Iseul just wanted things to go back to the way they were, but she had come to the point where she was wondering if such a thing was even possible.

She was broken, and so was he. Maybe it was foolish of her to think things would work out. After all, two broken people together only created a mess, right?

She had thought that, with Park and her father dead, Taeyong would feel better, that he'd have a weight lifted off his shoulders. But it was almost the opposite. Since then, NCT's leader had distanced himself, not only from her, but from everyone.

Was he regretting the words he had told her under the porch that night, and the kiss they shared?

The light sound of a notification snapped Iseul out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to look at the bright screen.

Chaewon's name brought a smile to her lips, and she picked up her phone.

"Hi," she greeted in a soft voice.

"Excuse me?" Chaewon was so loud that she almost turned her deaf, but she couldn't be happier to hear the sound of her voice. "You disappear for weeks and just say 'hi'?"

The girl was screaming through the phone, and Iseul felt bad for the people around her.

"Yeah... sorry about that, Chae..." she trailed off, not really knowing what to say. As much as she wanted to, it's not exactly like she could tell her the truth.

"You're lucky you're my best friend, I'm not mad anymore, I just want to see your cute little face."

Damn right I'm lucky, Iseul thought with a smile.

"I want to see you too, Chae! How about we go shopping tomorrow?"

A squeal on the other side of the line was heard, and Iseul guessed Chaewon liked the idea.

"Yes! I can't wait! See you tomorrow!"

They both hung up, and Iseul sat up in her bed, relieved. She hadn't realized how much she had been missing Chaewon the past few weeks. She had always been by her side, from the very day she was born, and she was forever grateful to have someone like her in her life. Now more than ever, Iseul really missed her small talk and gossip. She couldn't wait to finally go out again, hopefully it'd help her get better. Chaewon was like a happy virus.

"You're going out tomorrow?"

The voice made her jump, and she let out a small scream.

"Taeyong!" Iseul spoke as she put a hand on her chest, trying her best to calm down her alarmed heart. "We talked about this, you need to learn how to knock."

Her tone was playful, and she laughed softly, but Taeyong's face remained serious as he leaned on the door.

"You can't go," he spoke.

Iseul suddenly stopped laughing and frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I said you can't go," he repeated, his voice stern.

"W-Why?"

"Because I'm telling you, you can't."

Iseul scoffed, "And what am I exactly, a dog?"

Taeyong let out a sigh and walk to her bed.

"It's too dangerous out there, I don't want you to get hurt, or worse."

His voice was softer, but still firm as he looked at the upset girl.

"I'm not some princess you can lock in a dungeon, Taeyong," she began, "and besides, what could possibly happen to me? Park is dead."

No, he isn't, Taeyong thought.

"Look," he said as he sat next to her, "the mafia world is like high school. As soon as there's rumors and gossip going around, you can be sure it's gonna end up in the wrong ears. But you see, the difference with high school, is that you do not want to mess with them. They're not stupid teenagers, they're dangerous people who won't hesitate to kill you. I'm ready to bet that, as we speak, your father's men have already spread the word about you being with us. We're powerful, but we have a lot of enemies. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt because you're associated with us," he sighed.

"Yeah well you should have thought about that before getting me in this mess in the first place," Iseul retorted, looking away. "You don't seem to realize that I need to go out. I'm suffocating in here."

Her voice was breaking, and so was Taeyong's heart to see her like this. She really did look broken. He hadn't noticed how pale she looked, or the dark bags under her pretty eyes.

"Please," she now begged, "just let me see Chaewon."

The sight of Iseul with tears in her eyes and a desperate look in them almost brought him to say yes, but a sudden vibration in his pocket stopped him from doing so.

Looking at the name on the screen, he got up and walked away to get some privacy and make sure Iseul wouldn't see what was displaying on his phone. The second he opened the message; he was grateful that he was not next to her anymore.

It was a screenshot of the news report Taeil showed him earlier, informing that Iseul's mother would now be at the head of the company. Park had written a few words under it.

"Bring me that bitch, or I'm going after your girlfriend."

Son of a bitch, Taeyong thought, the grip on his phone tightening.

He really was making him choose between Iseul and her mother. He hated being controlled, and his brother had found the perfect way to get what he wanted from him. As long as Iseul was alive, he'd be able to do whatever he wanted of Taeyong. And they both knew that.

"Taeyong?"

Iseul's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he took a deep breath before facing her again. Putting on a straight face, he looked at her, trying so hard not to let his emotions get the best of him.

"You're not going anywhere, and that's final."

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So what do you guys think of the story so far ?
Please excuse the mistakes it's late (well, early) and I need sleep