“Mark, you might…uh…” He coughed, handing the piece of paper to the younger who he had called to meet in his lab. “You might want to read this,” He stated, watching as Mark carefully grabbed the piece of paper with his eyes skimming each line. 

“That ing will pay.” Was the first thing that Yuta heard when Mark had finished, the younger’s hands clutching at the paper hard enough to leave crinkles around the edges.

“Oh, Himchan will pay for it alright,” He reassured the younger, ruffling his hair in affection before carefully taking the treasured note out of Mark’s hands. “But we need to get Minho to help Renjun first.”

~ ~ ~

“Jaemin, why do you live with Minhyung-hyung?” He hummed, pulling Renjun closer as he enjoyed the sweet atmosphere around them. Ever since Renjun’s outburst in front of Mark, the elder seemed to cling to him more and want to cuddle more on the bed of the elder’s room.

“I’m in university and my dad said that it was about time I moved out,” He answered, smiling down at Renjun who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Besides, I want to be independent.”

“What about your mum?” He hummed again, trying to remember the last time he saw his mother.

“My parents separated before I was born apparently and I try not to think about her too much,” He answered easily, already feeling a small squeeze in his chest before he realised that this was the first time they were talking about his family. “It doesn’t really matter though since I didn’t really know her.”

“I’m sorry I asked,” Renjun whispered and he shook his head slightly while smiling, leaning down to kiss the elder’s nose. “Jaemin, I really am so-“

“It’s okay, Renjun,” He reassured the older and kissing Renjun’s forehead afterwards. “You’re more like a mother to me than my real mum, anyway.”

“I- Hey!” He heard Renjun scream and laughed to himself as Renjun huffed and playfully pinched his side. “That was rude, I hate you.”

“I thought you loved me more than NCT?” He asked cheekily, enjoying how Renjun’s cheeks became a bright pink. “Knew it,” He stated with a big smile as Renjun rolled his eyes. 

“Every chance you get, you bring it up.” He heard Renjun mumble and smiled to himself as the smaller male snuggled more into his chest. “But it’s true and I don’t want to leave you, Jaemin.”

“I won’t leave you either, Renjun,” He stated, holding him tighter and letting his eyes close when he heard soft snores coming from the other. “I promise I won’t.

~ ~ ~

“Here again?” He turned around when he heard the familiar deep voice, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was just his second-in-command. “It’s been around what? Ten years?”

“Eleven years, actually,” He replied, eyes focusing on the makeshift cross in front of him. “Eleven years without her.”

“Noona passed this gang onto you for a reason, Tae,” Johnny whispered, sighing when he sat himself down next to him and slung an arm around his shoulder for comfort. “I’m sorry that we couldn’t bury her body here.”

“It’s alright, we cremated her anyway,” He answered automatically, remembering her laugh and her smile along with all the other older members who used to dote on him as much as he doted on the younger members of NCT. “It’s been eleven years since I killed her anyway.”

________________

“Eat up, Taeyong.” He heard his leader tell him, her voice causing him to stop cleaning the gun that he held. “You’ve been working for hours without eating anything.”

“Not hungry,” He replied, smiling at her as she began to tie her dark hair into a bun. Her eyes seemed calm - too calm for someone who was leading a gang - and yet her movements were so light that she could easily spring into action if someone were to attack them right then and there. 

“Then, I’ll eat,” She stated, sitting down on the bed next to him and beginning to dig into the bowl of pasta that he didn’t notice her holding earlier. “This is good! You want some?” He shook his head, silently counting the seconds until whatever Yongjae had sprinkled on top would kick in. Noona, I’m so sorry but this is for the best. I have to sacrifice you to save the drug trade. You’ve been shutting down too much of it and we’re all dying-

“You want a drink? I can get it for you,” He offered, knowing fully well that it would only result in the poison spreading faster. He saw her eyes narrow themselves at him - Eunji was always too perceptive for his liking.

“What’s this? My little brother finally wants to start acting like my little brother?” He heard her ask and scoffed despite wanting to cry and tell her that Youngjae had run off with the cure for her death before he could even draw his gun out. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Nothing,” He answered, smiling charmingly at her so that she wouldn’t suspect anything - not wanting her to suspect anything until the end. 

“Ta