Doubler || NCT || Completed

29

"You shouldn't go", Jeno said as he followed Yujin around the apartment. "We agreed to stay inside for at least couple of days, and - "

Yujin cut him off mid-sentence. "I have to go, I'm sorry."

"Can't you call Taeil hyung again?" Jeno pleaded, worry etched to his handsome face. "Let him handle this."

"He's not answering his phone, he must be having another meeting", Yujin snapped as she stopped on her tracks and took her phone out. "You don't have a car I could borrow, right?"

"Only some of the older guys own cars", he confirmed her assumption, before placing his hand lightly on Yujin's shoulder. She turned to look at him, defiance in her eyes. She was supposed to order a taxi and be on her way as soon as possible, she didn't have time for this.

They stood in the middle of the kitchen and, for a moment, everything froze, as both of them tried to convince the other one to change their mind.

"Let me contact the guys, we can make sure that everything will be taken care of at the café", he tried to reason with her once more when her eyes dropped from his face to his hand that was still on her shoulder. "I'm sure that Taeil hyung will answer soon, if we'll wait for a moment."

Yujin pulled away from him.

"I don't have 'a moment'", she pointed out with a frown. "My café has been robbed, my employees are horrified, and I promised to get there as soon as possible. It's my responsibility, and I can't just wait around, hoping that someone else will take care of it."

Jeno tilted his head and followed after her when she started pacing again.

"Is the café more important than your safety? Or my safety? Or the safety of the rest of the pack?" he challenged her, and while his voice wasn't loud, it was filled with obvious disapproval.

"Don't make this personal", Yujin dodged the question and fetched her wallet. "I'll be careful, they won't find me."

"Well, in that case I'm coming with you", Jeno decided.

Yujin shook her head immediately. "No, you aren't", she forbade him without even considering it. Jeno opened his mouth to disagree but Yujin was quick to explain. "It wouldn't make any sense because the police don't want anyone besides the owners to enter for now."

"Please, reconsider this, noona", Jeno asked, for the last time. "You might endanger all of us."

Yujin grimaced at his words but she couldn't change her mind. She masked her guilt with a frown. "It'll be fine, I promise."

***

When Yujin entered the Dalah café through the backdoor, she was instantly met with an abnormally heavy and tense atmosphere. It wasn't unexpected but what did surprise her, was how stressed the harvest mouse within her became the second she entered the place. For the first time since the opening night of the very first Dalah Café, she felt horrified inside one of their locations. The harvest mouse sensed that something was wrong, making her heart beat faster. The café had never felt quite so foreign - long gone was the feeling of soft blanket wrapped around her.

The tension was even more palpable in the public part of the café, and Yujin could almost taste it in the air, even in her human form. Dozen customers were scattered across the café, and similar serious expressions could be seen on most of their faces. On one side, two police officers were talking with a burly customer, while on the other side the rest of them, as well as the employees, were writing something down on pieces of paper.

Jiyoung noticed Yujin a few seconds after she had entered the room. "Unnie!" she called out. Her voice broke in the middle of the word, and she got up from her table quickly, heading towards Yujin.