The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter thirty-five: Dangerous woman

"Ma'am."

Kang Min-Ju turned her head to face the man standing on her right.

"What is it?"

The man seemed to hesitate, his mouth hanging open like a fish, yet not a sound came out of his parted lips. He struggled to find his words, scared he might cross a line.

"With all due respect, are we sure making a deal with that man is a good idea?"

Iseul's mother smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She seemed menacing with her long coat hugging her slender figure, as red as blood, and her dark hair strictly tied on the top of her head.

She was like a red rose, treacherous; beautiful, yet aggressive. The shadow of harmful thorns ready to hurt the one who dared come close.

The man gulped and took a step back when she made a move to approach him slowly.

"Are you doubting me?" she taunted, not letting go of her threatening smile.

The man shook his head no, too scared to speak again. He was afraid she'd rip his tongue off right there.

"I'm not my husband," Kang Min-Ju spat, "I know better than to trust him."

Without another word, she turned around and left the room, leaving the man to let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. As soon as the woman walked out the door, the air in the room instantly became lighter, as if the storm had just passed by, choosing another place to break out.

"Park better be sure his empire is strong enough," the man thought, "because an umbrella won't sure as hell be enough to protect him from the hurricane that will hit him."

Only Sicheng, Taeyong and Iseul were left in the basement. NCT's leader had dismissed the others, and after congratulating the girl, they all left.

"Not bad," Taeyong spoke, a large smile on his face. "That was pretty good."

"I think what he means is that you were amazing, Iseul," Winwin said, winking at her.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well I still got my ass kicked, so I wouldn't say I was that great. You guys are just being nice."

Taeyong chuckled, "Iseul we're part of a gang. 'Nice' isn't our thing. If we didn't think you'd done great, we wouldn't be congratulating you. In fact, you probably would have a few broken bones as we speak."

Iseul frowned. Judging by the serious look on Taeyong's face, the man wasn't joking, and she quickly stopped smiling.

"Way to ruin the mood," Sicheng rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing."

Iseul tried her hardest not to smile, but it was hard considering the fact that she could clearly see the corner of Taeyong's lips going up a little.

"So," the leader cleared his throat, looking at the girl "Winwin, as you probably know, is the one in charge of fighting."

"I thought you were the Sorcerer," Iseul interrupted, furrowing her brows in confusion.

Sicheng kindly smiled at her, "I am. But you see, having a weirdly accurate instinct isn't my full-time job."

"Right," she nodded.

"He's going to be the one forming and training you from now on," Taeyong picked up again.

"Wait," Iseul interrupted, "does that mean I'm going to be fighting, like, on the field?"

The smile on her face grew bigger by the second at the thought of Taeyong finally agreeing to let her do this.

"No."

The simple word was enough to make her fantasy smash to pieces in record time. His tone was implacable.

"But I-"

"No buts. You've only had one task. You really think it's going to be this easy?"

Iseul had to refrain herself from letting out an arrogant scoff. Fighting Mark had been everything but easy. Despite feeling the urge to tell him that, she knew it wouldn't help her at all. If anything, that'd make things worse and Taeyong would see her as weak. She wasn't.

She kept her mouth shut, crossing her arms on her chest and waited for him to continue.

"He's going to train you because that's mandatory if you want to be part of NCT. All of us know how to fight, just in case. As talented as you are, you're still going to need practice, and then, after you're done with your evaluation, Sicheng and I will start to think of a position to give you."

"But Jeno's already helping me," Iseul noted. She turned to Winwin," Sorry," she quickly apologized, "I didn't mean for it to sound like I don't want your mentoring, it's just-"

"It's alright, Iseul," he interrupted her messy apology with a smile.

"Forget Jeno," Taeyong's voice seemed deeper all of a sudden. "You'll be practicing with Winwin, he's the one who does the teaching here."

Iseul nodded in agreement and smiled at her new mentor. She liked Sicheng, he was kind and patient. She couldn't wait to learn from him. She also understood that Taeyong was in charge, and that if she really wanted to be part of NCT, she had to accept that and start following his orders.

"Alright, when do we start?"

"Not now, that's for sure."

The voice had come from behind them, and the three turned around as one to see Taeil standing by the stairs.

"Hyung?" Taeyong asked.

"You should come see this."

It didn't take Taeyong a second to react, and he quickly shared a look with Winwin. The latest nodded as if he understood whatever his leader was trying to say with his eyes, and put a hand on Iseul's shoulder.

"Sorry, Iseul," he apologized, "we're gonna have to leave, just make sure to rest for the rest of your tasks, you'll need strength."

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked, holding Sicheng back by swiftly grabbing the hem of his shirt.

"It seems we have work to do," Taeyong replied from the other side of the room. He had already reached the stairs, and Winwin was quick to join him.

Iseul understood that meant they had a mission, and she wished she could just come with them. But she knew she had to be patient. Her time would come, eventually.

So she stood there, down in the empty basement, watching as the three men ran up the stairs and disappear in the shadows.

—-
Sooo, what do we think is gonna happen? Any theories?