Stronger || NCT mafia au

Chapter 24 | "anything but guarenteed"

"Hello, students. I want to start off by congratulating you on having completed your final exams, it was no small task to finish. Now, out of the 75 of you here today, after close analysis of your evaluations, we have determined that 27 of you will continue in this training academy." The number was smaller than any of them had anticipated, and Jihyun watched as panic began to show on the students faces.

"For those of you who pass, the work is not done yet. You will be sorted into specialized categories and be given new assignments. You must work hard to eventually make it into this Mafia, and your life is anything but guaranteed." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"For those of you who fail to pass, I am sorry but you are all aware of what this means. Please know that we applaud your efforts and have huge respect for your hardworking and talent. We are all very sorry that it had to come to this. Without further ado, I will begin listing the names of students who have passed their final exams." She pulled out a list and began reading.

#27: Nam Seungmin, Weapons. #26: Kim Minjeong, medical team...." Jihyun continued listing names.

#17: Huang Renjun, sniping" she lifted her eyes from the paper and made eye contact with the boy, obvious relief on his face.

#16: Park Jisung, Hacking..."

#11: Zhong Chenle, Spy Team..."

As she continued into the top 10, Jaemin and Jeno got increasingly nervous. They held their breath as Jihyun began to say the top 3 students, panic written all over their faces.

"#3: Jeon Soyeon, weapons. #2: Na Jaemin, combat" Jaemin's jaw dropped at her words, a smile slowly spreading onto his face as realization flashed in her eyes. He immediately started receiving pats on the back and whispers of congratulations from the people around him.

"And last but not least, the #1 ranked student. This student ranked in the top 10% of all of his exams, and ranked first in 3 of them. This student will be training directly under me as the first and, for now, only member of the ace team. Congratulations, Lee Jeno." She says with a smile, looking up from the paper to find the boy in the crowd.

His eyes were wide as clapping and cheers began to erupt from all the students, except one. Jaemin stared at Jihyun with a mix of disbelief and jealousy, but she didn't see it. She was looking at Jeno, who stared at her as he began to smile in realization, tears of joy forming in his eyes as he quickly bowed to everyone.

"Ok then," Jihyun began, once the cheering ceased, "those of you who had your name call, say your goodbyes, and then report to the classroom of the teacher with your respective skill. Lee Jeno, stay here. The rest of you will follow the other members of NCT out of the left exit of the auditorium. Thank you for all you've done at this academy." She stepped down from the podium as the students broke into a mix of tearful goodbyes and shouts of joy.

"So" Sungchan says, stepping to stand next to Jihyun, "you decided to take on a trainee after all."

"Hmmm yes I did. His results were too outstanding to ignore."

"And what about your boy...he was #2, wasn't he?" Sungchan says, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Yes he was, but I can't take him as part of my trainee group, at least not yet. He has to prove himself first to the rest of the council so that they don't believe it's favoritism." Sungchan nods in understanding.

"Well, good luck with this Jeno boy. Hopefully he'll be nice. He's going to need to be quick to keep up with you, I speak from experience." Sungchan says with a laugh, Jihyun smiling in response.

"Well I should get going, Taeyong's starting to lead the rejects out of here and I'd assume you'd want to get started with your new apprentice." Sungchan says, dipping his head and going out the door to help eliminate the failed students.