The Hidden Card || NCT MAFIA

Chapter forty-four: The quiet observer sees the most

Jaemin's eyes were closed, and no matter how hard he tried to open them, he couldn't find the strength to do it. His body was exhausted, weak from the loss of blood, but his mind, on the other hand, was wide awake.

"I gave him a sedative, his body needs to rest," he heard someone say somewhere on his right.

The voice was a bit muffled, but Jaemin knew his brothers. Doyoung was the one talking.

"How is he?"

Jaemin had to focus to hear properly. His senses were letting him down, and it was hard to make out the words. He still recognized Taeyong's voice, though.

"He'll be fine. The wound is superficial, it's the loss of blood that put him in danger, but I took care of it. He got lucky, though. A few centimeters on the left and a vital organ could have been damaged."

Someone sighed in relief.

"Good. Thank you, Doyoung."

The man scoffed with arrogance, "Yeah, whatever."

Jaemin couldn't see his face, but he knew Doyoung enough to picture his scornful face in his mind. For some reason, he wasn't happy.

"You're still not gonna tell me how the hell he ended up like that?"

"I told you," Taeyong replied, his voice harsh, "we came across some rival gang and they put up a fight."

If Jaemin could frown, he would. Why was Taeyong lying?

"Right," Doyoung spat, "and I'm supposed to believe that?"

Jaemin saw him roll his eyes in his head. He wanted to tell his brothers that he could hear, he wanted to tell Doyoung the truth, and thank him for treating his wounds. He wanted to ask his leader why he was being so sketchy about this whole situation, but his body wouldn't listen to him.

So he suffered in silence, carefully listening to the conversation around him.
He was a spy, after all. Listening to conversations he wasn't a part of was literally his job. He just didn't quite like the idea of using his talents over his own family.

"Thanks for patching him up," Taeyong said, even though his tone was everything but grateful.

Without another word and completely ignoring Doyoung's salty remark, the sound of his distant steps informed Jaemin that his leader had left.

Doyoung let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry about it," another voice spoke.

Jaemin recongnized it as Kun's. He hadn't uttered a word before, and the boy had no idea he was even in the room until he spoke.

"I feel like I'm talking to the old Taeyong. To the asshole he was before," Doyoung said, this time sadness filling his tone.

"He still has moods," Kun bitterly admitted, "but we should trust him."

Doyoung let out a dry laugh.

"You know something, don't you?"

Kun didn"t reply.

"Well, I guess you're right... He's never let us down before, but he's really not making it easy for us to put our trust in him."

"I know."

"Just make sure he doesn't lose himself again, alright? That he stays on the right side of the tracks."

Kun chuckled, "We're mafia members, Doyoung. In case you haven't noticed, we've all crossed the limit between the right and the wrong side of the tracks a long time ago."