ʟᴀᴄʜᴇꜱɪꜱᴍ • ᴊᴜɴɢ ᴊᴀᴇʜʏᴜɴ

Part 17

The young girl sighed dramatically as she was hunched over at her desk, rubbing a finger on her temple.

"So you're saying that you met with this woman at least 4-5 times, outside and at her apartment, and did not take any safety precautions whatsoever?" She asked, her words seemingly emotionless.

But Jaehyun, as well as everyone else, knew that Haeun being so calm right now did not mean that she is happy or that she'll go easy on him. On the contrary, it is scarier than when she yells.

He bit his bottom lip. "Yes. I was irresponsible." 

"Yeah, you were." Haeun growled. "You should be thankful that you managed to save her, otherwise you would've put an innocent life in danger." 

Jaehyun remained silent, staring down at the tips of his shoes in shame.

"I guess we need to make her stay here then. Her picture may already be going around other opposing gangs, not just the Golden Snakes. This is the only proper protection we can offer." The young leader listen, staring daggers at the elder. 

"Yes." 

Still fuming, Haeun leaned back in her chair as she grabbed her phone. She quickly dialed a number and put the device against her ear.

"Hey, is the girl okay? ... Yeah? Okay, that's good. ... When she wakes up, take her to Johnny so she can sign the witness protection papers. ... Okay. Bye now." And then she hung up.

The girl's attention travelled back to Jaehyun. 

"Since you know her, you're free from your duties at the minor base and you have to stay here and help her adapt. She'll be sleeping in your room and you need to know where she is 24/7. She can't go out without you around."

Jaehyun bit his tongue. He felt responsible and was happy that he can return to the headquarters without having to do much at the smaller base, but he definitely did not want to act as a babysitter to a grown woman. Yet there was not much he could do to argue against the gang leader, therefore just nodded his head obediently.

"Also tell her to not worry about work. We sent in a fake document that she got into a serious accident and won't be able to attend for the next month. You better take good care of her." Haeun pointed a strict finger towards him.

"Yeah, I will." Jaehyun answered, his voice sounding unenthusiastic.

➥

Sebin has never felt more anxious in her life.

The mansion she was walking through was absolutely huge, and she was accompanied by a hot doctor, yet it did not ease her at all.

She stared at the back of Taeil's head. 

He was a member of NCT, one of the most notorious gangs. Their criminal activity made the news or newspapers every month and even thought Sebin was not particularly interested in such things, she knew of their bloody past as a gang.

"We're not going to hurt you, so stop shivering like a lost puppy in the rain." Taeil suddenly looked back, making the girl flinch. He could see the terrified expression on her face, making him stop with a sigh. "You may have read on us quite a lot, but you shouldn't believe everything the press releases. We're not bad people and most of the stuff we do that is told to the public is either fake, extremely overreacted or we had a reason for doing it. And you're definitely not on our bad side, so don't be so nervous."

Sebin bit her bottom lip, but nodded. Whilst doing that, she managed to get a proper look down at herself and her eyes widened at the sudden realization.

She wasn't wearing her at home clothes, she was wearing a clean, white hospital gown.

"D-did you change me?" She stuttered out, stepping back whilst putting her arms on her chest. Taeil eyed her carefully as a smile came up to his lips.

"Do you really think I did?" He asked teasingly.

Sebin gasped and was about to go off at him, but he began laughing.

"Calm down, feisty. Gangs aren't only made up of men, a girl changed you. Besides, even if I did, I'm a doctor and if there was a necessity to, I would have as well."

"Are you crazy?!" Sebin yelled out, yet Taeil ignored her protests and turned around to continue walking.

"Follow me!"

She couldn't help and stayed obedient, following him into another huge hallway. Taeil walked up to one of the doors lined on the wall in front of some giant windows looking out onto a small, green garden. He knocked on the wood and then went in.

Sebin looked around the huge office. It was very modern, mostly black and white with expensive looking furniture. The 2 tall windows at the far end weren't covered, letting the natural sunshine stream in through them. The walls were lined with bookcases, which were beyond loaded with books, files and folders. Outside of that, there was a small couch accompanied by a coffee table. 

There were also two desks, each having a laptop and being overloaded with paperwork. At those desks sat 2 more good-looking men who looked up from their work upon the newcomer's arrival.

"Oh, you're here." One of them exclaimed, his eyes travelling from Taeil to Sebin and then back.

"Seems like it. She needs to sign some paperwork, doesn't she?" The doctor asked, taking a few steps forward.

"Yeah, the witness protection act." The other hummed. He then looked over to the scared-looking girl. "Mind to come and sit down to sign something?"

Sebin nodded warily, before slowly walking forwards and sitting on the chair in front of his desk. The guy began skimming through papers, obviously looking for a specific one.

"Oh, right, I'm Johnny Suh by the way. That guy there is Kim Doyoung. Nice to meet you." He smiled, extending a hand in her direction. Sebin shook it before returning to her awkward sitting position.

"Here it is." Johnny muttered, taking out a white sheet of paper and handed it towards Sebin. "Here's the document you need to sign."

With her hands still shaking a little, the girl took the document and brought it closer in order to carefully read through it. The terms were rather reasonable but one thing confused her.

"I must stay here?" 

"Yeah, pretty much." Johnny answered as if it's not a big deal. "I mean, you can always refuse to sign this and I'll need to make you another one. But this one's the safest for you and for us." 

Sebin bit her lip, going over the brief contract once more. She was not allowed to ever speak about NCT or any gang matters she may accidentally overhear.

And it also clearly stated that she could be in danger for the entirety of her life.

She looked up at Johnny who was giving her an expecting look. She took a deep breath.

"May I get a pen?"