ridin'°nct dream

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  "Any drinks, miss?" The butler asks Saehyun and she flashes a smile, showing her pearly white teeth that contrasts with her bold, red matte lipstick.

  She shakes her head subtly. "No, thank you."

  The worker bows and walks away- instantly giving her relief. She sighs and scans the guests- mafia gangs, their dates, more mafia gangs.

  "I've been watching from afar and I can't help but notice how beautiful you are. That smile of yours is just breathtaking- not to mention this lovely champagne dress you wear," a man approaches flirtatiously.

  Saehyun furrows but, quickly puts on a small smile- not wanting to provoke anyone. "Thank you."

  "Are you perhaps here with a date? Or, are you a member of a gang yourself? I've never heard of an all-female group before," he initiates a conversation.

  "I'm not part of a group," she bluntly replies. "I do.. have a date."

  The man arches a brow, regaled. "Well, your date's not here."

  He approaches, getting dangerously close and Sae backs up into a chest.

  An arm snakes around her waist.
 
  "She's with me," Jaemin snaps, glaring at the man and at the sight of a member of one of the most feared gangs out there, the man freezes.

  Jaemin pulls Saehyun away and bumps into Jisung who's just passing by.

  The younger sees their close contact. "What's going on?"

  The question automatically escaping and he slaps himself mentally.

  "Just a little pest," Jaemin tells, turning his head slightly to the 'pest' before leaving Sae with Jisung to scan the area.

  Jisung faces the man, giving a deadly, dark look and the man gulps, rushing away in a blink.

  "Come," Jisung holds her arm and pulls her from the crowd.

  Now, how did they end up here?

  "I found it! I searched up 'HELL-O' and they really did their best to hide any information. But, I guess it's not as admirable against my skills," Chenle brags and turns the laptop around.

  Jeno leans to read, wincing- his blurry eyes can't with the distance. "These are the names and pics their members. Well, some at least. I'm pretty sure they have more than this."

  Jaemin furrows. "Wait. They've been around for a while... just idle. It's only recently they moved here. Don't you think they'll be invited to the gala, then?"

  "I think, they will and considering they want to keep an eye on us, it's impossible for them to miss," Renjun concludes.

  "Ooh! A gala!" Jinae gasps. "We've never been to one!"

  "Just be careful. It's gonna be filled with gang members and they're not the best of people," Jeno warns.

  "Well, I can understand that." Jinae nods, lips pursed before flashing a toothy smile. "Not everyone can be as cool and great as you guys!"

  Their hearts melt as they stare at the chirpy girl, flowers already floating around her before Donghyuck fans them away.

  "So-" Jaemin sniffs, wiping a tear. "-ADORABLE."

  "You're gonna need a babysitter there," Hyuck sighs, referring to the girl who's now being squashed and suffocated by Nana.

  "Tell me if you see anyone from HELL-O," Donghyuck says.

  Jinae nods and scans the guests from the vacant high floor they're at. "You do know that you can just leave me here, right?"

  He scoffs. "You do know that you look like a sad kitten waiting for her owner to fill up her empty food bowl, right?"

  She blinks. "Oddly specific but, fair play. I was just saying to remind you that I'm not that helpless."

  His lips pull into a teasing grin. "I know that, kitten."

  She turns to see his mean yet, devilishly striking mien and looks away.

  "Do you wanna grab aㅡ"

  A sudden aggressive embrace stops him and he slams onto the floor- Jinae on top of him, groaning and hissing in pain.

  Hyuck's eyes widen and he rashly sits up. "Jinae! What's wrong?"

  The dark red spreading on the chest of her pale blue dress paralyzes him and he  instantly eyes the surrounding, glaring.

  "Jinae's shot," he reports using his earpiece before quickly picking her up and racing into a safe room.