Lucas POV

"Your daddy must be a drug dealer, cause you're dope."

Jieun turns to me. "Actually my father was a normal business worker and he died 8 years ago."

"Right. Sorry." I say.

"It's fine." She shrugs it off. "What would you like?"

"Cafe latte, please."

She turns around to make my drink. "So? Did you guys ever save Taeyong, or is he still locked away in a dungeon waiting for a knight in shining armor to go save him from the dragon?"

I laugh. "We saved him but we didn't really save him. You feel me?"

"So...Wonder Woman saved him before you guys arrived or something?" She laughs.

"Wonder Woman? I think, Superman."

"Hey, why can't it be Wonder Woman? You're so ist."

"Ok, ok." I give in. "Wonder Woman saved him before we got there. When we arrived the kidnappers were already taken down and Taeyong was barely conscious."

"Ah~ I see. He's alive. That's pretty good." She says handing me my drink. "On the house. For your hard work."

I laugh accepting the drink still holding onto her hand. Something poking out from under her sleeve catches my attention. I pull her sleeve up and her forearm was wrapped in gauze. She pulls her hand away from me.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." She shrugs off my question.

"That is not nothing."

"I was afraid that Dreamies would follow you guys and go on the rescue mission. I got too worried and accidentally hurt myself while cooking dinner last night. They did follow you all last night, didn't they?"
I answer with a nod. "I knew it."

"But don't be alarmed. No one got hurt." I assure her. "Well, except you. Does it hurt?"

"If I tell you it does, will you kiss it better?" Jieun asks.

I choke on my drink. "W-wha? Huh?"

Jieun chuckles. "I'm playing. It doesn't hurt."

"Hey, is Taeyong badly hurt?" Areum asks me, ripping my attention away from Jieun.

"He's fine. His face is a bit beat up and he does have a few broken ribs."

"You can visit him, if you want." Jieun suggest.

Areum, intently, stares at me.

"Do you want to?" I ask. She nods quickly. "Ok." Areum brightens up and runs out of the coffee shop.

"I'll see you tomorrow, gorgeous." I wink at Jieun and walk out.

Taeyong POV

Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

"Hey!" Lucas shouts. "I brought someone to see you."

"Who?"

"Come in." Lucas order.

She peeks through the door before stepping in. "Hi." Areum whispers softly.

"Hey."

"This is for you." She hands me a big fruit basket and a bag full of medicine and snacks.

"You know we have medicine, right?" I laugh. "WinWin is our doctor after all."

"That's what I told her, but she really wanted to, and had a total meltdown in the drug store." Lucas says making me glare at him. "I'll leave you two alone now."

Areum pulls up a chair and sits next to me. I look down at her feet and she was wearing the anklet I bought her.

"Areum." I call her. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Something? Like what?" She asks. Are you involved with King?

I shake my head. "Never mind." She reach for my face.

"Ah~ your handsome face is all bruised up."

"You think I'm handsome?"

She chuckles. "Of course. Everyone in NCT is very handsome."

"Which one of my NCT brothers so you think is the most handsome?" I ask. "You can only pick one."

"Lucas." She answers with no hesitation. "Well, Dreamies are all grown up and they're very handsome too."

"You...like Lucas more than me?"

Areum chuckles. "I didn't say that."

"But you clearly chose Lucas."

"Because you said "my NCT brothers", which means it excludes you."

"Right. Of course." I nod. But it would've been nice for you to choose me.

"Yo, Taeyong!" Johnny shouts bursting into the room spotting Areum. "I'm interrupting something. I'll be back later." He quickly walks away.

"Taeyong, you alive?" Taeil peeks into my room, his eyes landing on Areum. "Seems like it. Bye."

"Eh, Taeyo-" Mark stops, eyes averting to Areum then back to me. "I'll be back later."

"Taeyong. Who's gonna cook for us?!" Ten whines walking into my room. "Uh, guess we'll order take out."

"Taeyong hyung, you must be bored holed up in your room." Jaehyun and Doyoung chorus. "Or not." They quickly add. They smile awkwardly and wave at Areum before ushering each other out of my room.

"Hyung I brought you - uh...never mind." Jungwoo says retreating.

"It's time for your pain pill." WinWin walks into my room and eyes Areum. "You want it now, or later?"

"Now." I nod. He hands me the pill and a glass of water. "Thanks, Win." WinWin nods and leaves the room.

Areum laughs.

"What?"

"I just...can't get over how many members you have. With Dreamies included, there's 17 of you."

"18." I correct her.

"Huh?"

"There's actually 18 of us."

"Where's the other one?"

"He's...on a mission right now."

"Will I get to meet him soon?" Areum asks.

"Maybe." I reply. "If his mission clears up."

"I see." She nods. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Hey, Taeyong hyung I-" Yuta stops mid-sentence to greet Areum. "Hi."

"Hello." Yuta looks at his laptop, to me, then back to his laptop, and to Areum. "It must be something important, I should-"

"No. No." Yuta shakes his head. "I can talk to him later. It's not a big-"

"No. I-I should head out." Areum says with a nod. "I've been here for awhile. Taeyong is doing fine so, uh, I'll go now and uh, you two can discuss whatever it is you're here for. Um, I'll visit you again next time. Bye."

"Bye." I wave at her and she walks out of my room. Yuta looks at the door, making sure no one is in sight, before rushing to my side.

"Check this out."

"What is it?" I ask looking at Yuta's laptop.

"A video. Your kidnappers had a camera with them, remember? I took their memory card." Yuta says, playing the video.

They we're all standing around when suddenly something fell in the middle of the room and white fog starts seeping out of the container. The kidnappers look around confused. As the fog clear up, two figures enter. They were dressed in all black with a black mask covering their face except for their eyes.

"They look like ninjas." I comment.

The kidnappers panic and start randomly throwing sloppy punches at the new intruders. They dodge and block every punch thrown. More panic sets in and they pulled out pocket knives and randomly charge toward the intruder. The intruder grabbed the person with the knife by their wrist and twist it behind the owner's back, grabbing the knife and slicing their neck. He let the corpse fall onto the ground.

Suddenly, someone grabs a piece of wood, hittting the intruder on their back making them fall forward, as they lose their balance. The stick man approached the person in black; the person turned around, kicking the stick away and stabbed the kidnapper in the neck, making me flinch. 

They kill the kidnappers one by one. One of my savior ran towards me, checking my condition. One of the kidnappers stood up from the ground and grabbed a knife, running towards the savior in front of me. The partner saw the kidnapper and quickly killed the one he was holding, before running towards us with great speed. "Ace!" The one running shouts while running towards us. The one in front of me turned around as the kidnapper swung the knife down. The partner that was running towards us, blocked the knife with his forearm. He pulled the knife out and slashed the kidnapper in the neck before tossing the knife onto the ground. "Joker!" Ace grabbed the injured arm as Joker shook their head motioning to me. The one in front of me stuck something into my pocket before the injured partner pulled him off.

"Wow." Was all I could huff out.

"Yeah." Yuta nods in agreement. "Seems like King is alive. Usually we can track people down using their voices, but these two are hitmen; they're cautious and used voice changers. By the way, I made a timeline."

"Um, ok?" I stare at the timeline in front of me.

"Hyung, everything started happening after I messaged Jieun. The threat video. You getting kidnapped. Someone hacking into our database. If Jieun really mastered IT, it might not be so hard for her to hack into someone's database. But we don't have any proof that it's her. Plus, so far, the bug isn't working. They're not talking about anything that proves they're a threat."

"I know. Maybe I'm wrong." I shrug. "Maybe they are just normal people...but there's something about Jieun that just really bothers me, y'know. So I can't give up the idea that Jieun is a suspicious person."

Jieun POV

I sit in the coffee shop reading a book until a phone call interrupts my peace.

"Hello?" I answer. "Huh? I-I'll be there."

"What's wrong?"

"Dreamies is in trouble...again." I say to Areum. "I'll be back."

"Ok." Areum nods. "Stay safe."

I walk towards the principal's office and meet him standing by his door, waiting for me.

"Hello. Nice to see you again, Park Jieun." The principal greets me.

"What happened?" I ask.

"They're keeping quiet and won't tell me." The principal replies. "But according to the other students involved, they started the fight."

"Let me see them." We enter the office and I see Dream standing with their heads down, their jaw and fists clench tight until their knuckles are white. They're pissed. "Hey. What happened this time?" I ask in a soft voice. They just shake their head. "Why did you boys throw the first punch?" Silence. "Who threw the first punch?"

"I did." Haechan replies immediately. The others look at him with wide eyes. I let out a sigh turning to the principal.

"What will happen to him?"

"We are going to suspend him for two weeks."

"Two weeks? For fighting other students?"

"Two weeks is not enough!" A female voice shouts, entering the principal's office. I turn to the source, three boys with their mothers, stand at the door.

"I'm assuming that you three are the mothers of the other students involved." I speak out.

One of the mothers scoff. "How did you raise these kids? The only thing they know how to do is fight."

"So irresponsible." Another one states. "You look too young to be their mother. I guess that's why they're such barbarians. You didn't know how to teach them."

"Watch your words old hag." Jisung states, making the ladies gasp.

"Our parents left us behind too early, so I am left to take care of my younger brother. They're good kids at heart." I day. "My boys will not start a fight unless they were provoked. Your sons must've said or done something to provoke them."

"W-we didn't say anything." One of the boys stutter out.

"My boys don't start fights. They end them."

"Just drop it. I punched them first. Two weeks of suspension, right?" Haechan says walking out of the office.

I let out another sigh. "Since he's taking the blame, I guess I'll just take him home. What about the others?"

"They will take two days off for fighting."

"And those students?" I point at them. "They were involved in the fight too. I hope they get punishment too. It's only fair that they do. Unless, you have possibly been...bribed?"

"No. Of course not." The principal denies immediately. "They will also be suspended for two days for being involved in the fight."

"Principal, that is unfair!" The mothers shout outraged.

"I have to consider the fact that your children did indeed provoke these boys. These boys have been in my office - far too many times - for me to understand that they never start a fight. Sure, they're rambunctious, but they're good kids. They don't start problems. They only get involved when necessary."

"I'll be taking my boys now." I bow to the principal and walk out. I take the boys to the coffee shop in silence.

"Why are you not mad?" Haechan asks, as we enter the shop.

"Do you want me to be?" He shakes his head. "Donghyuck. Dreamies. I don't care if you fight. Just make sure you win." Their eyes widen in shock. "I'm sure you boys won this one." I walk over to prepare them some drinks, while Areum tends to their wounds. "Does it hurt?"

"It's not as bad as when I go out with the NCT hyungs on a mission." Haechan declares, making my hand slip, dropping utensils in the sink and creating a loud crash.

"Hyuck-ah." I said in a soft voice. "Just because you got suspended, and is out of school for two weeks, does not mean you get to work with your NCT hyungs 24/7 in the meantime."

"I know that." He replies.

"So." I start. "Who are you covering for?"

"I don't know wh-"

"Don't play dumb. I know that you're hot headed and can potentially start fights, but if you were the one who started the fight, you will never admit it. So, who are you covering for?" I look at Dreamies. "Which one of you threw the first punch?"

"The most unlikely one." Renjun replies.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. You're all kinda unlikely to throw the first punch. We taught you better than that. But...Jaemin?!" Areum accuses, pointing at Jaemin in shock.

"Chenle?!" I yell.

"No." Haechan shakes his head.

"Jeno." Dream replies in sync.

"Jeno?!" Areum and I repeat in shock.

"My precious eye smiley Jeno threw the first punch?!" I scream, running over to him, and pulling him into a hug. "For someone to get my Jeno to throw the first punch, what did they do to get you downright pissed?"

"Well, we were all pretty pissed when it happened." Jisung says.

"I can tell." I nod. "Since the beginning."

"What happened?" Areum asks.

"Well..." Chenle trails off.

"Actually, we don't want to talk about it." Jaemin says.

"Ok, but can you boys tell me one thing." I head back behind the counter to continue making drinks. "Why did they start with you boys?"

"Apparently, the girl that the bag likes, is in love with Jisung." Haechan says. "I don't blame him. We're kinda stealing the attention of all the girls in school. It's always been like that."

"And yet you can't get yourself a girlfriend." Areum jokes.

"It's not that we can't get a girlfriend. For some reason, there's a mutual agreement among the girls stating that they won't confess to us." Renjun explains.

"One time a girl confessed to Jaemin, and the other girls attacked her for it. She was bullied and authorities got involved; she got transferred. It was just ugly." Chenle adds. "So no more confessions for us."

"And here I thought, you guys were just gay." I joke.

"We are not gay!" Dream yells in sync.

"No? Well, I thought at least Haechan would be."

"Why would I-"

"Aren't you in love with Mark?" I cut Haechan off, handing everyone their drinks.

Haechan POV

I feel my cheeks heat up. "Pfft. I-I don't like Mark." I stutter, averting my gaze.

"Yeah you do." The others say in sync, with knowing smirks on their faces. I raise my fist threateningly at them, and they just stick their tongue out at me.

"Don't bother trying to hide it. I can tell. Why do you like Mark anyways?" Jieun asks. "I wanna know."

"Um...I..." I feel my cheeks burn even more as they gaze at me in anticipation. "I...When I first met him...he was really nice. I mean, he's still nice now. It's just, he didn't know the meaning of anger or annoying, y'know. They're not in his dictionary." I chuckle. "You know how I talk a lot?" I let out another chuckle. "For the first time ever, Mark knew the meaning of being angry and annoyed."

"Everything Haechan does annoys the out of Mark." Chenle cackles.

"Shut up." I growl. "Anyways, I find his expression so cute when he's annoyed or angry with me, so I keep bothering him. And one time, he got so mad that he told me he hated me and he doesn't want to see my face anymore." I chuckle remembering the moment. The others laugh.

"I remember! Mark wanted to kick Haechan out of the house." Jeno chuckles.

" you, . Why do you remember that?"

"Everyone remembers it, en idiot." Jisung laughs.

"Why wouldn't we?" Jaemin asks.

"It's the famous Markhyuck fight of he 21st century." Renjun adds.

"Ugh. Whatever! Anyways, Jieun noona, you've always told me that one day I'm gonna get my beat because of my attitude, right? Mark avoided me for weeks and one day I got myself into a fight with some neighborhood kids. Mark came and saved me even though he was still mad at me. He came to save me. At that moment, he looked so cool and full of charisma, like a hero. I mean, I still think he looks cool and is full of charisma now, but...that moment made my feelings for him stronger."

"Aw~ that's so cute." Areum noona squeals.

I blush, coming back to reality. "Ugh. Why am I telling you guys this?! So embarrassing. Don't tell Mark I told you this."

"What are we gonna do?" Renjun asks. "You think we can just walk right up to Mark hyung and be like 'guess what Haechan said to us about you?' Like that?"

"Actually, yeah." I nod. "That's very likable."

"So, why do you act like you don't like him when you do?" Areum noona asks. "I mean, don't you want to go on a date with him, hold hands with him, and kiss him?"

"Yeah, but it's not like Mark is in love with me or anything."

"Seriously?!" Jaemin gasps. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Yah, Lee Donghyuck. Are you blind?" Jieun noona asks. "Have you seen the way Mark looks at you?"

"I've noticed the way he looks at you." Areum noona states. "Did you know that Mark doesn't like it when other people get close to you? Even if it was Dreamies or the other NCT hyungs. I've seen it."

"The way Mark glares at them when they get too close to you. Mark would look at you and his eyes will travel down to your lips and he'll either gulp or bite his lip in turn. You better be careful Hyuck-ah, one of these days, Mark is gonna jump you~" Jieun noona sings.

I blush at Jieun noona's words. "No he's not! He doesn't even like me."

"Why are you denying it so much?" Areum noona chuckles.

"Just marry him already." Everyone says in sync.

"Mar- Don't say something so irresponsible!" I shout with red cheeks making the others laugh at me. "Shut up." I kick Jeno. "Don't act like there's nothing going on between you, Renjun and Jaemin!"

"Huh?" Jeno responds and let out a chuckle. "This isn't about me. Don't drag us into this."

"Ok. Ok." Areum noona claps gathering our attention. "Drop it. You boys are suspended for two days. You all have to reflect on your behaviors."

"No. They need to start training." Jieun noona says. "I can't believe how beat up you boys look. I thought you guys were stronger than this. Just because the last time I trained you was around 9 years ago, does not mean you can slack off."

"Yah, Jieun, I thought-" Jieun noona pulls Areum noona to a corner and they whisper to each other. I wonder what they're talking about. "Out of curiosity, what kind of training does NCT provide you boys?" Areum noona asks as soon as they're done whispering. "You boys are so beat up."

"Training? They don't train us." Renjun states.

"You're telling me that they just threw you guys into missions without properly training you?!" Areum noona shouts.

"Well, we don't do the dangerous parts of the mission." Jaemin explains.

"It doesn't matter. Every mission is potentially dangerous if things go wrong." Areum noona says.

"Well, we can't do anything about it." Chenle shrugs.

"Ok. I don't want any of you joining in NCT's mission. Especially since none of you are properly trained. What if you get killed?" Jieun noona states.

"So, if we get properly trained, we can join their missions?" I ask.

"No!" Areum noona and Jieun noona shout in sync.

"You boys need to stay out of NCT's problems. Period."

"But their problems are our problems. We're brothers." Jeno comments. Nice, Jeno.

Jieun noona sighs. "Fights between mafia groups are different from fights between high schoolers. You boys can fight other kids your age all you want, I don't care, just remember to win. But...I really don't want you getting involved in the mafia though. Minimize the time you spend on NCT missions, please."

"But NCT is our life." Jisung says.

"And you're mine. I live for you. All of you." We all stare at her, silently in shock. Jieun noona lets out a sigh. "Let's not talk about this anymore." Jieun noona goes behind the counter to clean and we drink our drinks in silence.

"Hey, Jieun noona. Can we go out this evening?" The others' eyes widen and they kick my leg under the chair.

"Why are you pushing our luck?" Jeno mouths to me.

"Where are you guys going?" She asks.

"Somewhere near here."

"Where?" She repeats.

"The arcade."

"The one near Whiplash is the closest one to us." She mumbles and stares at me in silence before finally giving in. "Fine. Don't come home too late."

"Yes! Thank you, noona. You're the best." Dream cheers. "We love you." We all make our way out the door.

"Wait!" Jieun noona calls after us, stopping us in our tracks. "What about dinner?"

"We'll eat out." Jisung replies.

"Do you boys have money?"

"A little bit." Jaemin says. Jieun noona pulls out her wallet and hands Jisung some cash.

"Thank you!" We all yell. "Again, we love you." We hug her and run out.

"Hey, how much did she give you?" I ask Jisung. He hands me the money.

"$300!" I shout.

"Let's go!" Chenle shouts excitedly.

Jieun POV

I flinch a bit when Dream group hugs me. After they run out, Areum turns to me.

"Let me see."

"I'm fine."

"I said 'let me see', ." Areum hiss through clenched teeth. I 'tsk' and we walk down to the basement. She lifts up my sleeve and unwraps the gauze, flinching upon seeing my wound. "It's ugly." She states.

"Have you ever seen a fresh wound that was pretty? Don't be an idiot." Areum laughs with a shake of her head and cleans my wound. "If you take good care of it-"

"It'll take 2 weeks to close up and a month to completely be healed." I cut Areum off. "I know."

"Right. You're the superior valedictorian." Areum chuckles.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Kun asks when he sees my bandaged arm as we return to the coffee shop.

"Ah, this idiot hurt herself while cooking because she was so worried about Dreamies." Areum explains. "Such a ."

"Shut up." I growl. "Just don't let Dreamies know. I'm going to the convenience store. Want anything?"

"Nah." Areum shakes her head.

"What about you, Kun?"

He shakes his head. "It's ok."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Thank you for the kind offer."

"Alright then. I'm out." I leave the coffee shop. I take a shortcut through the playground. I saw three figures sitting together on the bench.

"Why did you provoke Jisung and his friends like that?" One of the guys asks.

"Hey, Park Jisung." They stop in their tracks and turn to the source. "I heard you have a sister."

"Yeah, so?"

"This is news to me. Are you sure you aren't imagining having a sister?" The dickbag asks.

"No. She's real." One friend admits. "I've seen her before. I see her pick them up when they get in trouble."

"What does she do for a living then?" Friend 2 asks. "How is she getting money to pay for all your tuition."

"She owns a coffee shop." Jisung replies.

"Where? I've never seen or heard of it before." major dickbag states.

"You don't need to know." Renjun answers.

"Why? Is it something you're embarrassed of?" Friend 1 asks.

"No." Jisung shakes his head.

"I bet the coffee shop is actually a night business." friend 2 says.

"What does that mean?" Chenle asks.

"You know." Dickbag starts. "She lays on her back and get money. Maybe even use . Or a room with multiple men?"

Jeno snapped and punched him in the face. The two friends join in and a fight broke out between Dream and the other three students.

"Watch what you say . This is our noona you're talking about." Jeno states after Dream's victorious fight.

"Next time we hear you talk our noona, we're gonna hang you upside down on the top of the flagpole. ." Jaemin threatens.

"If you do it one more time, I swear, I'm cutting off friendship." The other says.

"Shut up. I was the one Jeno punched. Do you know how heavy his punch is?"

"Oh~ so that's what happened." I say, making them jump.

"W-who are you?" Major dickbag asks.

"Aw, . This is Jisung's noona." One friend answers.

I smile. "I gotta say, you're not wrong about the night business. Every night I go to bed with something hard in my hand. You can be my next victim." I slid my hand from his neck to his chin. The boy blush at my words. "I can't wait to hold the hard...cold gun against your head and put a bullet through your skull. That is the kind of night business I own." I smile, making the boys visibly shiver. "Cherish your days. They're limited." I walk off to the convenience store.

"...what did they do to get you downright pissed?"

"Well, we were all pretty pissed when it happened."

"Actually, we don't want to talk about it."

I see. They didn't want to reiterate and say anything bad about me. I smile. They really are sweet, protecting me in their own way. I buy snacks and proceed to head back to the coffee shop.

"You're happy." Areum points out when I enter.

"You think so?"

"You're smiling so big, of course I can see it."

"Dream got suspended from school, why are you happy?" Kun questions.

"Does that matter?"

Haechan POV

We play in the arcade to kill time when we bump into a group of three.

"I'm so-" I stop mid-sentence coming face to face with the three s. We ignore them and walk away.

"Hey." They call out.

"What do you want?" Jaemin asks.

"What? Getting your beat three hours ago wasn't enough?" Jeno growls stepping up to them, making them flinch.

"Um...your noona-" one starts.

Jeno reach out for his collar making him shrink back and Renjun had to pull Jeno away from the kid.

"We're sorry." The last one confesses.

"But something is um...bothering us. How strong...is your noona?" Another asks.

"She can kill you with her bare hands." I reply immediately, making the others look at me briefly with wide eyes.

"She trained us to fight and we will not hesitate to do so, if you piss us off." Chenle continues.

"If you think we're scary when pissed, you'll be in a world of hurt if you mess with my noona." Jisung adds.

"Don't piss her off." Jaemin says. "It's a warning."

They bow to us, which we accept awkwardly, before they walk off.

"I did not know that Jieun noona can kill people with her bare hands." Renjun says.

"C'mon. She beat those kidnappers half to death years ago. Same difference." I shrug and we continue to play games. "Ok. Let's go home."

"But we still have more money, don't we?" Jisung questions.

"Are you not gonna eat?" I ask.

"Right." Jisung murmurs and we leave the arcade for food.

"What do you guys want?" Jaemin asks.

"Hm~" the others start thinking.

"Oh! How about ramen?" Chenle suggests.

"I want pizza." Renjun states.

"Can we have burgers?" Jeno asks.

"What about chicken?" Jisung wonders.

"Udon?" Jaemin questions.

"BBQ!" I shout.

"Rock-paper-scissors!" We shout and I yell in victory.

"I win! BBQ it is."

After the food, we all sigh in content.

"I'm so full." Chenle says.

"Do we have anymore money?" Jeno asks and I nod, showing them the cash.

"Great, let's go back to the arcade." Jisung suggests.

"No. Save it for next time." I say, stuffing it inside my pocket and leaving the restaurant.