23 guns | nct mafia

17

—  chapter seventeen: the seventeen mafia —

waking up today felt different than usual. and no, it wasn't because jeno and renjun were cuddled up next to donghyuck.

do you know that feeling before an exam? when your stomach is all tingly as you quickly try to remember all the things you studied. each minute passes by quickly as the exam comes closer and closer. everyone being freaked out but still busy looking at their notes one last time whilst hoping that the exam won't be that hard.

if yes, then you know how donghyuck felt right now. one would think with twenty three men there would be a lot of noise and chaos and usually there was, except today wasn't the usual. today was the day.

taeyong had informed them at breakfast that he confirmed seventeen's location and that today they would confront the leader. apparently he was called s.coups but his actual name was choi seungcheol. nobody asked taeyong about how he knew that even though donghyuck could see curiosity on the faces of many members.

after breakfast taeyong called for donghyuck who nervously stayed behind, signalising for renjun and jeno to go ahead and don't wait for him.

taeyong patted the seat next to him and donghyuck sat down, his stomach doing little somersaults. taeyong smiled when he saw how anxious donghyuck was.

"you're scared, right?" the older male asked.
donghyuck nodded and mumbled "yes, a bit."

"that's alright, don't worry. but i'm here to ask you a very important question. no matter your answer, i'll respect it and you won't have to explain yourself to me in any way." taeyong said.

donghyuck gulped and locked eyes with taeyong. the man in front of him was too serious to be joking around but at the same time, the way he spoke and acted made donghyuck feel safe.

"i want to ask you whether you want to join me and the other members tonight or not? i know it's a huge danger but i, as well as the members that i'll join me, think you should be able to see who is actually cause of this. after all they threatened to kill you and kidnapped your friends. but whatever you decide, it's your responsibility. in case you get harmed, that's not on nct and we will inform your father of that as well." taeyong explained.

donghyuck tilted his head. he was quiet for a while, thinking about what the man had just explained. suddenly a little questioned popped up in his head and he did not hesitate to ask it "but don't i already know who's behind this. you said it's most likely the8's company head xu minghao, right? you said he had relations to seventeen who then threatened me to end the contract with the kim company."

taeyong nodded "that yes. but relations are not always everything. for all we know it could be another company wanting the contract to end. which is also why i asked to. we're fighting seventeen because they threatened you and came into our territory but why they threatened you is not that much of our business."

donghyuck understood his point. indeed it was only nct's job to keep him safe and eliminate the danger but it wasn't their job to investigate why he was getting threatened. he thought for a while, feeling slightly guilty about it because he knew taeyong's time was precious. but the older male didn't stress him at all, he was patiently waiting for donghyuck's response.

meanwhile donghyuck's mind was racing. of course, he wanted to know what all this was about and if he was honest he also wanted to see the mafia in action. sure, he had watched the members fight against seventeen members twice but this was certainly different. he felt like a fanboy who had the chance to see their idols except that he was also risking his life. he took a deep breath and decided.