The ride to the old NCT headquarters is rather quiet compared to the usual chaotic atmosphere.
Donghyuck, Mark, and Yoonoh were the ones in, while the others were told to stay and guard the house—except Jaemin, who was called to the apartment to take care of Yeoreum.
When the oldest pulled up, they immediately hopped off the car and silently but cautiously took the usual narrow route to the main gate.
It's as if they were expected to come; the wired electrical gates automatically opened, letting them in.
"Things don't change." Mark mumbled with a sly grin, hands stuffed in his pockets as they directly entered through the front door.
There they were greeted by the leader, sitting on the bottom of the staircase with a bottle of beer in hand.
"And not all people changed. GIMMIE SOME, HYUNG!"
Taeyong let out an airy laugh and stood up, greeting the seagull with a bro hug and saying, "You didn't change too, Mark."
"I did. I became incredibly nice."
Yoonoh snorted, catching the leader's attention, to which he beamed a smile. "Good to see you well, Jaehyun."
The said younger nodded with a smile and said, "I've been better."
"Good" Taeyong then shifted to the silent boy, his eyes wandering to the interior, which radiates a nostalgic feeling—tons of memories flashing through his mind from when he first joined at a very young age.
The walls are neatly and modernly painted white with black linings that still looked intact, like their artist friend named Ten is still doing his best job to paint throughout the years.
The carpeted floor in the living room where he was used to sprawling out with Mark—where they will roll over when they're exhausted from trainings and gang fights, where they sit on while playing board games and bicker at each other.
The kitchen, which is supposed to be at least the calmest part of the house, turned out to be the messy one, where they all competed with each other for cooking and baking when they had all day for themselves.
The minimal aesthetic paintings hanging on the cemented walls, and that one big family picture that stood out between all.
He smiled. Some things really don't change.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He spared a glance at the man beside him, who's also looking up at the vintage frame.
The one who took care of him and gave him the aid that he needed. The one who stood as his mother and father. The one who believed in him until he got out of the monsters in his head.
"Taeyong-hyung.."
"Hmm"
"Is it really hard?"
"Hmm?"
"Is it really hard to deal with me?"
The question made him pause for a second.
Taeyong flashed a small smile as he faced the younger. "No," he honestly said.
"Because you are like me, Donghyuck. I've been born into the family of the Mafia. I've been raised by my loving parents. I've seen all the heartbreaks my father experienced when my mother died. I saw him try to reassemble them while he took care of me, but life isn't fair. I lost both of them."
Donghyuck stayed silent, and the older man lightly chuckled.
"It was hard, yeah, at first, but you're just a boy back then, Hyuck. Your father was killed in front of you, just like Yeoreum's."
The sound of her name tugged at his heart so hard.
He gulped the lump on his throat, feeling nauseous at the sickly feeling while ignoring her for 3 days.
Yes, three days.
He was cold.
He felt useless.
He sees himself as a coward, but the thought of bringing the girl into more trouble when he keeps on staying with her lures him back to the monsters in his mind.
The words his cousin boldly said, engraved on his mind, continuously eating his remaining sane self, he was restless.
He felt his body weakening and kept on hearing her whimpers in the middle of the night.
He wanted to touch her. Hug her and stay with her so bad. But the fear of losing another gem scares him the most.
His mother was killed because of his father's love, and he didn't want to end their relationship like them.
"You know, hyuck, I know what you're thinking," Taeyong voiced out, seeing the tears trickling in his eyes.
"You're one of the strongest beans I've ever known. I raised you, dummy. I know what you can do," he chuckled.
"You're not hard to deal with; you're the one who's making it hard," he added.
"But she could die, hyung."
"Not if you protect her. You will, right?"
"But I'm scared."
That made Taeyong choke back his tears, not expecting this supposed raid on IKON's plans to be a dramatic one, but he didn't complain.
Instead, he pulled the younger man to his body and wrapped his arms around his muscular figure, which was frail and thin.
He smiled when he snuggled closer to his chest, arms surrounding his waist like the usual baby he is.
At some point, he is seeing not the Haechan whom the gang leaders are itching to kill, but the 14-year-old Lee Donghyuck, who's complaining that he's tired, nagging because Mark doesn't give him attention, playfully mocking and kissing his hyungs, and will gradually fake a cry when one of them hits him.
Some things really don't change.
"You're still a baby."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
