Alone in her room, Iseul sat at the bay window, her eyes lost in the distance outside. She liked the sound of the rain hitting the glass, it calmed her tensed nerves.
"Coffee?"
The soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Jaemin warmly smiled at her from the doorframe. He had two cups of hot coffee in his hands and he raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Yes, please," Iseul smiled back.
Jaemin walked in, careful not to drop the drinks on the carpet, and he took a seat next to his friend, handing her a mug.
"Thank you."
Iseul softly blew on the drink, and the smoke caused condensation on the window. She gladly took a sip of the black liquid and hummed in satisfaction.
Jaemin giggled, "Feeling better?"
"Coffee makes everything better," Iseul replied. "But what made you think I wasn't feeling well in the first place?"
"Oh, please," Jaemin rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall, "I know you. In case you forgot, we're supposed to be friends."
A sudden wave of guilt hit Iseul right in the heart. Jaemin's tone was playful, but his words were true. Iseul had grown distant.
"Sorry," she whispered, softly tracing the edge of the mug. "I've kind of left you to the side, recently, haven't I?"
Jaemin weakly smiled at the girl, "Yeah... kind of."
"I didn't mean to."
"I know," he gently said.
A comforting silence filled the room, the only sound came from the drops of rain hitting the window.
"Hey," Jaemin eventually broke the silence, a spark of mischief in his eyes.
"What?"
"Aren't you tired of staying inside?"
Iseul put down her now empty cup on the piece of furniture on her right.
"Jaemin," she warned, "do I need to remind you what happened last time you asked me that?"
Iseul was referring to the time when Taeyong had locked her up. Jaemin had come to her asking if she wanted to go out. They had snuck out through the back door, only to end up in the woods behind the house, where Iseul had been trapped by Park's men.
It was only a couple months ago, but it felt like years to her, now.
"It ended up pretty badly for the both of us," she reminded him.
Jaemin simply laughed at the memory, as if it was just an old joke between the two of them now, and not like they had almost died that night.
"Oh, you think that was bad? Maybe you're not ready to be one of us, after all," he sneered. "Because trust me, we got lucky."
"You ended up having to clean the entire armory," Iseul chuckled.
"And you got a bouquet of flowers."
"How do you know that?" Iseul blushed tremendously at the memory.
"I saw Taeyong-hyung bringing them to your room. He'd kill me if he knew I knew."
Iseul chuckled, she was sure Jaemin was right.
"You didn't answer my question, though," he insisted. "Wanna go out?"
"It's raining," Iseul stated, looking at the window.
"So?"
Jaemin apparently didn't care. "That's what umbrellas are for," he winked, getting up. "Come on, you're gonna end up turning into a mummy if you don't get out of this house."
Iseul smiled and followed him out of the room. Jaemin was right, she had to clear her mind, and what better way to do that than to go out under the cold rain?
Jaemin held the large umbrella over their heads, making sure they wouldn't get soaked them to the bone. Iseul was surprised no one tried to stop them from getting out, but the house seemed empty when they left.
Jaemin and her walked and talked for a little while, laughing at some of their old memories, before Iseul got dragged into the mafia world against her will.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Iseul's phone ringing.
"Taeyong-hyung?" Jaemin asked, annoyed.
"No, Chaewon," Iseul smiled, looking at the name of her best friend on the screen.
"Let's invite her to join us."
By the time they reached the meeting place, the rain had stopped, and Jaemin was using the umbrella as a cane.
"Hi!" Chaewon exclaimed when she saw them walking her way.
"Hi, Chae," Iseul hugged her friend.
"I didn't know you guys were seeing each other," she winked when her eyes met Jaemin's.
They both laughed, but didn't say anything. They couldn't really tell her they now lived together.
They sat in a cozy cafe, enjoying their warm drinks. It was Iseul's second coffee, but it somehow tasted better now that she was surrounded with her friends.
"It's weird without you at uni," Chaewon said to Iseul.
"Yeah," Jaemin agreed. "Chaewon is so lonely that she has to hang out with us, now."
He playfully rolled his eyes, and the girl elbowed him in the ribs as a response.
Iseul laughed, observing her friends. She missed going to class and sit with Chaewon at lunch. Maybe at some point she'd be ready to go back, but not for now.
They sat, talked and laughed for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. After a couple of hours, Chaewon looked at the time.
"Oh, I should probably get going guys," she spoke up.
"Oh, alright, we'll walk you to the bus stop."
They got up, argued about who was going to pay, and, after Jaemin lost to rock, paper, scissors, he pulled out his wallet to pay for the drinks. They left the cafe and walked through the empty streets, slowly getting closer to the bus stop.
"Guys, I'm going to miss my bus," Chaewon panicked when she looked at her watch. "It's the last one for the day, we should hurry!"
"I know a shortcut," Iseul offered, leading them through a dark alley hidden between two buildings.
The three of them walked fast, focused on their itinerary, and failed to notice the man in the shadows who was following them, knife in hand.
That evening the trio didn't reach the bus stop, and Chaewon missed her last ride home.
—-
Guys I have a few new ideas for this story, but y'all are gonna hate me for it lol
YOU ARE READING
The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA
Fanfiction| SEQUEL TO HOUSE OF CARDS | Now that the House of Cards is finally stabilized, everyone thinks the game is over. Wrong. The game has just begun, and the Hidden Card is about to join the party.
