“It’s being awakened from a deep sleep,

My seventh sense.”

―NCT U, The 7th Sense

 

“Don’t just think that our eyes are filled with young rebellion

We have a desire for a better world.”

―NCT Dream, Go

 

“Everyone comes into my world like they’re reborn

They sing like they’ve found their place in the world.”

―NCT U, Boss

 

“It’s only the beginning, the limitless me

From the start of the East to the end of the West

The light gets stronger as it spreads through the darkness

Like finding a big ocean at the end of a desert,

Your existence is limitless.”

―NCT 127, Limitless

The relentless rain pounded down on the roof as another flash of lightning struck the skies with an electrifying jolt. Ten leaned against the marble balcony, letting the fat raindrops hit his skin. He didn’t mind getting a little wet. In fact, he loved thunderstorms. He lived for the power and excitement they brought, the sudden presence of thunder and lightning that would not be denied by anyone. They seized the city and wrecked havoc upon it. Within the first five minutes of every storm, reckless drivers found themselves trapped in car accidents, causing ambulance and police sirens to wail throughout the streets. The neon signs and bright lights of Neo City glowed in every color of the rainbow. It was well known as the most lit-up city in the entire world, but outsiders were not aware that even the flashing lights could not overcome the darkness that seeped into every corner and crook of the city. It wasn’t only crime that plagued this place. There was an evil presence, almost like that of the devil itself, that loomed over the high rise buildings and famous skyscrapers. It ensured that not a single day of warmth and sunlight would ever beam down upon Neo City. It would always be dark, and so the neon signs would continue to glow, trying to overcome the deep black midnight, trying to fight the evil. It was a beautifully dark chaos that felt like black velvet and tasted of the finest red wine.

Chaos was music to Ten’s ears.

And what was this so-called evil presence? It was none other than NCT, the leading mafia who ruled Neo City. NCT also ruled other international cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing, but Neo City was their one true home and where their headquarters were located. NCT had been founded by Moon Taeil only three years before, and in those three years, Taeil had made NCT the most powerful mafia in the world (and currently, the only active mafia) by taking on the roles of the true boss and mastermind. He organized every single crime scheme with the help of some NCT members who had the roles of planners. They helped Taeil outline plans, listened to his ideas to give him their honest opinions, and offered their own contributions to the mix. The mastermind and the planners would then vote on a final crime scheme, and Taeyong, the official leader of NCT, would split up tasks and assign them to different NCT members. But Taeyong did much more than just that. While Taeil worked mainly behind the scenes, Taeyong was all about performing in front of others and putting on a show. He was a planner, and he directly established important deals and trade-offs, met with politicians to ensure that they would stay wrapped around NCT’s finger and do what Taeil wanted, and essentially served as the face of NCT to the public. Sometimes other members got to tag along with him to gain exposure and experience. He was a brand that lured people in and made them support NCT’s activities by working with them and making deals. On top of all of that, Taeyong led the mafia fearlessly and took great care for each member. He kept the mansion spotlessly clean and he and Kun were the two main chefs, ensuring everyone got to eat healthy, delicious meals. He was truly talented and dripping with charisma, and no matter where he went, no matter what he did, he somehow always managed to fascinate not only the mafia members but also enemies and outsiders. The simple fact at the end of the day was that without Taeil and Taeyong, NCT could not function as a whole unit.

NCT stood for Neo Culture Technology. Every member had at least one skill that contributed to NCT’s success and those skills and talents determined what roles they played. Although there could only be one mastermind and that was Taeil, below him there was Taeyong the leader, who was also a planner and a fighter, and then there was everybody else. The other members consisted of planners, fighters, hackers, trainers, recruiters, healers, informants, conmen, and seducers, and many members like Taeyong had taken on multiple roles. No matter how skilled anyone was, they continued to improve themselves through daily practice and training. The founding basis and father principle of NCT was that they would conquer and rule Neo City forever. The amount of members that could be added was infinite, meaning that they could keep accepting more guys, but none of them could leave. At the moment they had eighteen members in total. Attempting to leave NCT or working as a spy for another mafia would be the biggest possible betrayal, and the punishment for that was death. The betrayer would not only be killed but would be tortured for weeks until they were finally allowed to die at the end of their long and drawn-out suffering. Every NCT member knew this very well, for they had taken blood oaths when they were initiated as NCT members, regardless of their age. Every member of their mafia was bound to each other now, and they would forever work as one whole unit, as a family, to stay at the top where they reigned as kings of the mafia world. They lived together in one mansion, and while there were many more bedrooms than the amount of members, some members actually shared rooms with one another because they were just that close and inseparable.

Being the most powerful mafia on the planet had made NCT incredibly rich. Their mansion was located in the heart of Neo City and was quite literally a castle; a wrought-iron and gold gate opened up to a long driveway that led straight to a pool of fountains that sprayed foam at least twenty feet into the air. White marble statues of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Apollo protected the mansion on both sides. Cream-colored marble balconies, pointed arches, and castle tops decorated the home. The center balcony belonged to Taeyong and Ten’s bedroom; it had the best view and it overlooked the entire city. The porte-cochère was breathtakingly beautiful and led to the garages where the members parked their expensive foreign sports cars. The front double doors that led inside the castle were made of solid gold and intricately carved designs. They opened up to white marble pillars and the grand double staircase that had gold railings with swirling patterns. Diamond chandeliers glittered from the high ceilings, which all had Renaissance art expertly painted onto them, and illuminated the entire mansion. The marble floor was often cold and required the members to wear slippers, but Taeyong had insisted on installing it, saying it looked elegant and fancy. White and gold sofas were placed in every hallway along with gold vases boasting roses of the deepest red color. The living room had ten white and gold sofas and thick, brown satin curtains with stylish gold bows. The coffee tables and side tables were made of a gold and black design that seemed to shine even in darkness, and in the living room alone there were at least twelve chandeliers. The kitchen also followed a black and gold layout and had five ovens, three refrigerators, and seven microwaves that surrounded the center aisle and black leather high stools. There were thirty-five bedrooms and bathrooms, a formal living room and formal dining room, an exercise room, an indoor pool, an indoor garden, a music room that had multiple grand pianos and guitars as well as a stage with speakers and microphones, a media room that looked exactly like a movie theater, a private dance studio, a game room that resembled an arcade, an indoor treehouse room, an underground spiral wine storage, and even an ice cave. But perhaps the coolest thing was that some of the members had personalized their bedrooms and each one followed a unique theme; Chenle’s bedroom had a Candyland theme painted on the walls, there was an ice cream sandwich sofa in one corner, and his king-sized bed resembled a pink donut topped with rainbow sprinkles. Jisung’s bedroom had a pirate theme with a netted bridge leading to his pirate ship bed that was built into the wall. Yuta and WinWin’s bedroom had fake cherry blossom trees, Chinese lanterns, and a traditional Chinese bed with the most gorgeous designs and shades of red and brown, and Jungwoo’s room had a cartoon theme; he had decorated it with his favorite Snoopy and Mickey Mouse stuffed toys, and the walls were painted to resemble Disneyworld. Kun had installed a bookcase staircase in his room that held all of the knowledge of the world, and Taeyong and Ten’s bedroom followed a black, red, and gold colored theme that was just as sophisticated as they were with lots of velvet and satin furniture and the walls were painted a deep black with golden swirls.

But among all of the luxuries and riches that filled their lifestyle, NCT members also had to worry about maintaining their top position as the kings of crime. To become the most powerful mafia, NCT had taken down and eliminated three other mafias. Recently some gangs had been causing trouble here and there. Ten had heard Taeil and Taeyong discussing them the night before. There were two male gangs, Stray Kids and Seventeen, and one female gang, BlackPink.

The main difference between NCT, a mafia, and those troublesome gangs, was that NCT was highly organized in terms of carrying out crimes and every member had various roles and skills. The mafia was a family, and those gangs- Stray Kids, Seventeen, and BlackPink- were simply gangs who were disorganized and still lacking. They lacked structure, and they lacked strict rules. They didn’t mind murdering innocent civilians (non-affiliated people), while NCT was set on not killing civilians, especially women and children. But once anyone crossed over into their world, usually by some business transaction such as borrowing money or gambling, they were in danger regardless of whether they were a civilian or a gangster. They would be fair game, and could be harmed and punished if they threatened the mafia, but the mafia still wouldn’t kill them the way gangs ruthlessly killed people. NCT also had other things that those gangs lacked: an endless stream of money, in addition to many connections with worldwide politicians who didn’t dare make a political move without the mafia directing them to; they even controlled every move the police made. NCT ruled not only Neo City and the other Asian cities, but they ruled the world. Everything was at their feet. They were kings. No, they were god-like kings. The members joked that Moon Taeil was the moon, Haechan was the full sun, and the rest of the guys were the stars. That’s why they were a family. The sun, the moon, and the stars. They worked together to give life to everything else, and without them, nothing else could ever exist.

No matter what, NCT was determined to stay on top, and Taeil was confident that they would never lose as long as they kept accepting more guys and continued to improve their skills. Ten and the others believed in Taeil and Taeyong and trusted that the decisions they made were right for their mafia. After all, they were the boss and the leader for a reason- nobody else could have ever done it better than they did.

Inside, Ten’s black cat YangYang mewled and pawed at the glass door that led to the balcony. Ten chuckled and made his way back inside to their shared bedroom, and lifted YangYang up into his arms. “What’s wrong, YangYang? It’s just another storm, that’s all. No need to be afraid when you have me to protect you.” He kissed the top of his kitty’s head and held him close to his chest.

The door swung open and someone strode into the room. YangYang leaped down from his owner’s arms and happily greeted Taeyong with and soft meows. He reached down to pet the kitty before ing a newspaper into Ten’s hands and letting out a heavy sigh. “Have you read the morning paper?”

“Just woke up,” Ten replied. “You know, there’s a thing called knocking.”

“Oh, come on, Ten, you and I both know very well that rules like knocking don’t apply to the two of us,” the older guy said with a smirk. “And why would I have to knock when we share this room together? Anyways, read the paper. Looks like we have yet another problem on our hands.”

“No way…” breathed Ten as his eyes scanned the newspaper. “Haechan got himself into yet another scandal? You’ve got to be freaking kidding me. It’s only been a month since the last one.”

“He put a guy in the hospital after beating him to a pulp with a baseball bat.”

Ten’s eyes widened. “It says the boy he beat up was Wonwoo of Seventeen!” At this point, he was seething with anger. “None of us are allowed to fight anyone without your permission because you’re NCT’s leader,” he said through clenched teeth. “And you receive direct orders from Taeil, NCT’s boss. And when you get an idea of your own, you run it by Taeil first. That’s how this works!” Ten shouted. “We have ranks for a reason! We have a boss, and a leader, for a reason! Whoever breaks our rules faces severe punishment. So Haechan will receive yet another punishment for his crime.”

“You couldn’t have said it better, my love. Will you do the honors? You know how much it pains me to have to punish the members myself.”

Ten answered in a heartbeat. He didn’t need to think twice about carrying out a task given to him by his leader. “Anything for you, Tae.”

Taeyong came up behind Ten and wrapped his arms around his bare chest. “This is why I love you. I’m the leader so I carry many responsibilities and face lots of pressure from Taeil to raise you guys right and teach you very well. I’m forced to put on a façade of being a fearless and cold leader in front of Taeil and outsiders. But all of you guys know me so well. I never wanted to be the leader; I thought I was unfit for such an important position. Our NCT members know that I’m actually kind of a nerd who’s a little sensitive and soft, so I prefer someone that can tame me. But still, I can’t show my weakness often in front of the other guys. When I’m with you alone in moments like this, finally some of the pressure that weighs my shoulders down is eliminated. Thank you, Ten, for secretly leading me, and for allowing me to be my true self with you.”

“I would never have it any other way,” Ten whispered, shutting his eyes against Taeyong’s touch. His anger had subsided momentarily and now all he wanted to do was stay right there with Tae. But he knew he shouldn’t delay Haechan’s punishment, so he planted a kiss on Taeyong’s hand and promised to return to him soon.

 

 

Haechan was sitting on his bed, anxiously awaiting his punishment, with the other younger members crowded together in his bedroom, lending him both their support and gentle scolding. Haechan tried to guess what his punishment would be. If a NCT member made a mistake, they were punished, and the severity of their punishment depended on the seriousness of their crime. A month ago, Haechan had burned down a restaurant that refused to serve him because he was part of the mafia. Furious from their blatant disrespect, he had set fire to the restaurant when it was closed for the night and he had hoped Taeyong wouldn’t find out. But somehow he did, and Haechan was forced to starve for an entire twenty-four hours, not even able to drink a sip of water. Why did it matter so much if nobody had been inside the restaurant when it was burned to the ground? It’s not like he harmed anybody. All he had intended to do was teach those civilians a lesson they would never forget. Had they forgotten who ruled this city, who ruled the world? Why should NCT tolerate disrespect of any kind?

“You’ll be okay,” Mark comforted Haechan. “Don’t worry, I’m right here.”

“Thanks, Mark. Have I disappointed you as well? If you knew why I beat up Wonwoo, you would understand, I know.”

Mark hugged Haechan. “I understand even if you don’t say anything. You would never do such a thing without a good reason. I’m always on your side, Haechannie.”

Johnny entered the room with a sullen expression and avoided Haechan’s eyes. “Haechan, it’s time.”

He gulped nervously, but a reassuring squeeze from Mark’s hand steadied Haechan. He followed Johnny into one of the three-car garages, where the cars that had occupied the space had already been moved out to make enough space for Haechan’s punishment. Ten was standing in the center, whip in hand, a dangerous look gleaming in his dark eyes that looked like black holes. Haechan found himself falling endlessly inside those black holes, making him dizzy and causing him to stumble backwards a bit. Johnny quickly reached out and put his hands on Haechan’s shoulders.

“Go on,” he whispered softly.

Haechan wouldn’t ever refuse Johnny. He tried to walk confidently towards Ten but he was sure he looked like a panicked fool instead. “So this was Taeil’s order?” he asked, disbelief stinging his voice. “To whip me because I beat up Wonwoo? I beat him up because he harassed my girlfriend. I taught that delinquent a lesson he won’t ever forget.”

“Who gave you permission to date an outsider in the first place, anyway?” Ten snarled. “Taeil’s furious. You keep making mistakes, Haechan. You lack focus, you lack the mindset that the rest of us have. We all put our careers ahead of our personal matters. If we date, we only date inside our own mafia. These days, you can’t trust anybody else. They’re outsiders. And see what your feelings for your outsider girlfriend did? They made you do something reckless, something that could have ended in a very different way. Wonwoo is just as much of a good fighter as you are. What if his gang buddies had been near him, hiding out of earshot? None of us were there to help you. They could’ve killed you, you idiot. But most importantly, you did something without receiving Taeil or Taeyong’s permission first. We don’t ever lay a finger on anyone else unless one of them tells us to. There are rules for a reason, Haechan! This is a mafia, not a gang. We have structure, we have rules that bind us at the very core of this entire operation that we run. One slip up is all it takes to set a destructive path in motion. The more mistakes you commit, the more you’ll become desensitized and believe it’s okay to keep screwing up because you’ll just be punished for a day and then everybody forgets about it. Well, Taeil said that this time, we’ll do something different to you. This time, your punishment will last a lot longer. Even when this moment passes, you’ll suffer in pain for days.”

“You probably jumped at the chance to be the one to punish me,” Haechan grumbled. “Let’s just get this over with already. How many times-”

“Eighteen. Count out loud. If you miss a number or scream, cry, or make any pained sound we’ll start over from the beginning. I want to only hear the sound of your counting, that’s all.” Ten shoved the younger boy to his knees on the hard floor. “Take off your shirt.”

Haechan removed his navy sweater and Johnny held it for him. He was aware that several members had entered the garage at this point, but Mark wasn’t one of them. He was too soft, too sensitive to witness such a thing, especially when it was being done to his childhood best friend. Taeyong also wasn’t present, for he was even softer than Mark even though he was the leader, and that was why he rarely carried out punishments. He almost always got someone else to do it for him because he couldn’t bear the sight of any of his fellow members getting injured.

Ten brought down the whip on Haechan’s back, and the harsh sound of the leather connecting with his flesh echoed throughout the garage, causing some of the members to gasp or cry out in horror. “One,” Haechan counted.

The second one pushed Haechan down to all fours, knocking the air right out of his lungs. It stung badly, and he didn’t know how he would survive sixteen more lashings. “Two.”

“Count louder!” screamed Ten as he whipped Haechan again and again, each strike more powerful than the one before it.

Tears blurred Haechan’s vision. The stinging was unbearable and his skin felt like it had been lit on fire, but he kept counting. They were on number fourteen now. Only a few more times…I can do this…I won’t cry out no matter how much it hurts. I can’t give him that satisfaction. Another strike almost made Haechan lose his balance and collapse onto the floor completely. He was biting down on his lower lip so hard that the coppery taste of blood was on his tongue. He forced himself to count, but his voice was faint now, all of his energy leaving his body.

Ten whipped him for the eighteenth time. “Eighteen,” croaked Haechan. His arms and legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor on his chest. He was a bloody mess. The tears finally escaped and fell down his cheeks. He was allowed to cry out now, so he did. Haechan let out a pained moan, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. More than anything, he wished he could disappear in this moment. He hated how the guys were watching him when he was so vulnerable, when he just a tangled knot of raw emotions.

Johnny hurried over and lifted him up into his arms, carrying him back inside the mansion. He set Haechan face-down on his bed and turned to Renjun. “What should we do?”

Renjun was one of the two healers in NCT, so he knew his stuff well. “It’s important to treat him as best as we possibly can to avoid the risk of infection.” He instructed Johnny, Jisung, Jeno, Jaemin, and Chenle to fetch cold water and various supplies such as gauze and aloe vera gel.

“Why the gel?” questioned Johnny.

“It’ll help the healing process,” Renjun replied, pulling on a clean pair of medical gloves, a surgical mask, and his white lab coat before walking over to Haechan to examine his injuries. “His scars will never fade completely, but the gel will help, at least. It has a very soothing effect on wounds. First, we need to stop his bleeding. I’ll clean the wounds, then disinfect them, apply the gel, and wrap them in a dressing. I’ll also give him antibiotics to prevent infections.”

The members fetched the supplies from the medical cabinet in the kitchen pantry and brought them over so that Renjun could treat Haechan, who was on the verge of fainting due to the immense pain. His tortured screams rang out through the mansion. Mark tried to soothe him by holding onto his hand and whispering comforting things in his ear. At some point, Kun, who was also a healer, entered to supervise Renjun and make sure he was doing everything properly. Nobody else was allowed to enter the room until Haechan was done being treated for his wounds.

“It hurts so much,” Haechan moaned.

“I know, and I’m so sorry that you have to suffer like this,” Mark whispered.

“Mark, thank you for being here with me,” he said, feeling himself slipping further into an unconscious state. “I love you.”

“I love you too, bro.” Mark kissed the top of his friend’s head.

Haechan let the darkness pull him under.

 

 

Yuta was angry, really angry, and that was never a pretty sight. He was a dangerous storm, a hurricane of swirling emotions. The same thing kept flashing through his mind like lightning. How could Taeil send WinWin away again when barely a week had passed since WinWin had returned home from his latest mission? He’d been in Beijing, spying on an important council meeting and gathering top secret information for Taeil. As a NCT member, WinWin fulfilled many roles, and it kept him busier than even their boss or their leader. He was a ninja, spy, translator, fighter, and an informant, while Yuta was only a seducer and a fighter. He understood why WinWin often had to travel to complete his missions, but he simply wished that Taeil would let the boy rest sometimes. He worked harder than anyone, and like Yuta who hailed from Japan, WinWin was also a foreigner from China. Yuta could also sense that WinWin was one of Taeil’s favorites and so he enjoyed keeping him on a short leash, always taking pleasure in making him obey orders like some sort of dog. WinWin had once cried to Yuta that Taeil had attempted unwanted advances on him, and it left Yuta feeling shocked and disgusted, but what could he really do about it? That was their boss, and they had taken a blood oath to dutifully follow him until the end. But one thing should have been clear to everyone in NCT: WinWin belonged to Yuta and Yuta only, and he didn’t ever share what was rightfully his. Besides, Yuta’s twenty-third birthday was coming up, and WinWin turned twenty-one only two days after. It was NCT tradition to celebrate Yuta and WinWin’s birthdays as a joint celebration each year. What if WinWin didn’t get back in time for the party?

“This isn’t fair,” whined Yuta, as he stood in the doorway of their shared bedroom. “He’s taking you away from me again and sending you to Hong Kong this time. He does it on purpose, because he can’t stand the sight of us being together!”

WinWin let out an exhausted sigh and continued folding his clothes and neatly stacking them in his suitcase. “You know how much it pains me to be separated from you, Yuta, but it’s only for a few days. I’ll be back before your birthday.”

The Japanese man couldn’t help himself. He moved over to WinWin and massaged his tense shoulders. “You deserve some rest, darling. I’m worried for your health. At this rate, you’ll end up severely injured or sick or worse. Please make any sort of excuse so that you don’t have to go. We can pretend that you sprained your ankle so you won’t be able to travel and do all those crazy stunts you have to pull off as a ninja. It’s awesome that your body is super flexible but you could still injure yourself.” Yuta pressed his lips in the crook of WinWin’s neck. “Please don’t go, babe. For me.”

“Yuta, I didn’t train all my life at that ninja academy in China for nothing. I have to put it to good use, especially if it means making our mafia even more successful. With great success comes great rewards.”

Yuta shut his eyes against WinWin’s soft skin, trying to savor this last moment with him and engrave it into his soul so that he would be able to survive the coming days without seeing his lover. He smelled amazing, like the evergreen forests that protected Neo City- rugged, undiscovered, and comforting even in the deepest silence. Yuta wanted to know WinWin more. He was an explorer forever venturing through his deep forest of mystery.

“I love you so much,” Yuta whispered into his ear.

WinWin spun around to face Yuta and kissed him suddenly, unusually dominant. Yuta kissed him back hungrily as if he had starved for a thousand years. Their kiss was filled with angry passion and the desperation of a dying animal.

“I’ll be waiting for you, WinWin,” Yuta breathed at last.

“I love you, Yuta. I’ll be back before you know it. Anticipate your birthday treat.” WinWin pressed one last kiss against Yuta’s forehead before striding out of the room, dragging his suitcase behind him.

Yuta crawled into their Traditional Chinese bed and hid there, staring down at his phone’s lock screen wallpaper which was of WinWin, and he counted down the minutes left until he would be reunited with his lover again.

 

 

The day was passing by agonizingly slow for NCT. By late afternoon Haechan still hadn’t woken up, but Renjun assured a very concerned Mark that Haechan simply needed lots of rest and he wouldn’t be able to move around much for the rest of the week, so his bed was exactly where he needed to be. Mark nodded and tried his hardest to keep himself preoccupied with the many tasks that had to be completed. There was always something to do in the mafia and the mood in the mansion usually remained positive but whenever a member got injured or any other unexpected negative event occurred, the tension levels rose by about a hundred percent. Taeil was especially irritated by Haechan’s scandal. Taeyong would have thought to send WinWin to Taeil’s room to cheer him up as he was always capable of doing, but their Chinese prince had been sent away on a mission, so now it was only up to Taeyong. Sometime later when Taeil and Taeyong were working diligently in their home office that Johnny had built for them two years ago, Taeyong decided to bring up the topic that had been eating away at his mind all day. As Taeil and Taeyong often spent much of their time together as the boss and leader respectively, they were very comfortable with each other and Taeyong of course never felt intimidated by Taeil like some of the other members did. The two of them worked together on establishing important deals, outlining plans, counting money, and restocking supplies.

Clearing his throat, Taeyong turned his head to look at his boss. “Taeil, I’ve decided that I would like to change our disciplinary tactics. Instead of punishing the members directly, I shall be punished for their errors. After all, I serve as their leader. I am willing to take full responsibility for their actions. Honestly, I’m disappointed in myself. I’ve been having a rough time trying to keep the younger boys under control, but I promise to improve my leadership skills so that there are not anymore scandals in the future.”

Taeil remained silent for a long moment, lost in deep thought. Then to Taeyong’s surprise, he let out a chuckle. “You’re seriously the best leader I could have ever asked for, Taeyong.”

“Really?” asked Taeyong, his eyes wide.

“There’s never been a doubt in my mind about it. You’re so selfless. If this change is what you wish for, then consider your wish granted, Tae.”

Taeyong smiled. “Thank you, boss. And about Haechan…he’s in so much pain. I ask for forgiveness on his behalf. He did wrong, but he’s learned his lesson now. Please forgive the boy.”

Taeil responded within a heartbeat that everything was okay and Haechan was forgiven, after all, how could he refuse Taeyong’s request? Taeyong set out to visit Haechan once he had finished his work in the office, the burden weighting down his shoulders considerably lighter after emptying his heart out to Taeil.

Haechan lay in his bed, his eyes open and staring up at the ceiling. When Taeyong entered he weakly lifted his head from his pillow and his lips curled into a faint smile. “Oh, no, I told Mark to not let you in to see me anytime soon,” he teased. “You won’t cry, will you?”

Tears had already started forming in the leader’s eyes. “No, of course not,” he replied, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He kneeled beside the bed and smoothed Haechan’s hair away from his forehead, planting a gentle kiss there. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking on the last word.

Haechan laughed, but his eyes were red and watery now too. “See? I knew you were going to be overly sensitive like this, that’s why I didn’t want you to see me in this state.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things, Haechannie. You’re like my son. I must protect you at all costs and watching over you and caring for you is my responsibility. Not only you, but all of our NCT members.”

“I love you.” The younger boy suddenly burst into tears and held onto Taeyong’s shoulders, sobs racking his body.

“I love you more,” Taeyong answered, lowering his head to Haechan’s chest and closing his eyes against the sounds of Haechan’s pained cries.

At some point, Mark and Johnny came in and joined them, and the four of them comforted each other and regained all of the strength that they had lost that morning.

 

 

Jeno and Jaemin sat at the high stools in the kitchen, giggling as they shared their own private jokes and surfed the internet for memes on their iPads. Honestly, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. They were known as the “puppy love” couple in NCT.

Jeno kept leaning towards Jaemin, falling onto him while Jaemin kept playfully pushing him away. “Why are you sticking to me like this today?”

Jeno simply smiled, still looking down at his phone. Jisung ran into the kitchen, the ends of his pale blond bangs falling into his eyes. He tapped Jaemin’s shoulder. “Jaemin, what color is your toothbrush?”

“It’s purple.”

Jeno’s head shot up and his eyes widened. “Really?” he thought hard for a moment. “…Wait, mine is purple…No, it’s pink!” His smile lit up his face again.

“You’re not using mine, are you?” asked Jaemin, studying Jeno’s face.

Jisung scrunched up his nose. “Eyyyyyyyyyy!” he exclaimed. “I wish I could unhear that!”

“Get out of here, we’re on a date right now,” Jaemin said, trying to steer the younger boy out of the kitchen.

Jeno blushed. “N-no, we’re not on a date, J-Jisung, you can stay…”

“No thanks.” Jisung stuck his tongue out at the couple and ran away. A couple seconds later Chenle’s dolphin laugh echoed throughout the mansion. Chenle and Jisung were always pulling pranks on everyone and laughing nonstop about things nobody else understood, but the guys all enjoyed the playfulness of the two youngest members.

“He probably told them we share a toothbrush,” sighed Jeno.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind if we did, honey.” Jaemin wrapped his arms around Jeno’s neck and gazed down at his lips.

Jeno blushed. He felt too shy to meet Jaemin’s gaze. “I-I think it’s getting late. Since we always have to get up so early, we should sleep now, d-don’t you think?”

“First I get a kiss,” Jaemin said, before he pecked Jeno on the lips. A cute smile was stuck on his face. Around Jeno, he could never stop smiling. “Okay. That’s better. Now let’s go to bed, darling.”

The two of them giggled the whole way back to their shared bedroom.

 

 

 

The blinding neon lights flashed all around them as they walked down the busy street. Jaehyun and Jungwoo tried keeping up with Taeyong’s fast pace; their leader seemed anxious to reach the designated meeting spot.

“When we get in there, just sit on either side of me and follow my lead,” Taeyong instructed them. “There is no room for error. We must always show our opponents that we are fearless and dangerous, do you understand?”

Jungwoo nodded quickly. There was a tingling sense of anticipation that fluttered throughout his body. He had wanted to join Taeyong on one of his meetings for so long now, and tonight his dream was finally coming true. He made a note in the back of his mind to properly thank their leader later.

They reached the high-end traditional Chinese restaurant and pushed through the revolving doors. Red lanterns glowed from the ceiling and beautiful red partitions ensured that there would be privacy. Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo headed to one of the back rooms and sat down at the long table. The gang that called themselves Stray Kids had already arrived and greeted the three NCT members as they entered.

“Welcome,” said the leader named Bang Chan. His blond hair was tousled and some of it fell into his kohl-lined eyes. “We’ve wanted to officially meet with you for quite some time now.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Taeyong replied, flashing him a smile that revealed his perfectly straight teeth that gleamed white. Even though everyone in the city had already seen Taeyong’s pictures on billboards and even in commercials as he was the face of NCT to the public, they were still star-struck by his visuals. Everything about him was perfect- his incredibly sharp jawline, his styled red hair, his piercing gray eyes that held a sea of emotions, and the slit in one of his eyebrows. To Stray Kids, it almost seemed too perfect. But they had a few visual aces of their own, too, that captured Taeyong’s attention.

“You over there,” Taeyong said, pointing to one of the boys at the far end of the table. “What’s your name?”

The boy cleared his throat before answering, “Felix.” He had orange-pink hair, and thick, pink full lips, and the cutest splash of freckles across his face. His voice was really deep and powerful and sent shivers down Jungwoo’s spine.

“Nice name. You must be foreign.”

“Yes, I moved here from Australia, along with our leader.”

Taeyong’s gaze shifted to another boy. “And you?”

He seemed flattered that NCT’s famous leader noticed him and couldn’t help but break into a flustered smile. “I’m Hyunjin. I’m a 2000-liner like Felix.” Hyunjin had the ideal Korean face with his smooth Porcelain skin, red full lips, and styled black hair, but it was his ice-blue eyes and silver lip ring that stood out the most to Taeyong.

Taeyong gave a satisfied nod of his head, his long pale fingers clinking against his glass of white wine. “Look, Bang Chan, I’m gonna make this real simple. Seventeen is quickly gaining power and resources and they’ve teamed up with BlackPink to take NCT down. Even though we’re the most powerful mafia in the world right now, our boss is getting quite worried about these troublesome gangs. They’re like pests, you see, and what do you do with pests? You get rid of them. A war is coming. I want your gang to team up with NCT. I’ve heard success stories regarding your gang and even now I see the potential all of you guys possess. We’re looking to eventually increase our member count, and you guys would be the perfect addition. But obviously, we can’t just randomly accept enemies into our mafia easily, so here’s the plan. Felix and Hyunjin will live in the NCT mansion from now on. By keeping two of your members, your loyalty to us will be ensured because you would never want us to harm Felix and Hyunjin, now do you? They will receive training from us and be well-fed and looked after properly. And if you help us win the war against Seventeen and BlackPink, we promise to accept all of you into NCT as our newest mafia members. Think about it.”

Bang Chan paused to think about Taeyong’s offer. Handing Felix and Hyunjin over to NCT was Taeyong’s way of making sure Stray Kids would never cross or betray NCT, unless they wanted Felix and Hyunjin to be killed. Essentially, the two of them would be hostages, surrounded by eighteen powerful mafia guys. It was a dangerous risk, but Stray Kids was struggling to survive on low cash and limited resources and connections. If they were able to join NCT, at least their futures would be secured, for life. And just like that, Bang Chan made up his mind. “Deal.”

Taeyong grinned. “I’m so pleased that you’ve accepted our offer, Bang Chan. Don’t worry about Felix and Hyunjin. Like I said, we’ll take good care of them and train them so that their skills and talents can shine brightly.”

“I heard all of you are really talented,” added Jaehyun. “It’s good that such talent won’t be wasted in a poor gang. Together we’ll be stronger and we’ll take down our enemies. Let’s get along well.”

Jungwoo gushed excitedly, “It helps that the ages of Stray Kids members match many of our own members. won’t be a problem.”

Jaehyun laughed. “Jungwoo, you really did your research beforehand, didn’t you?”

“So what?” Jungwoo blushed. “I was curious.”

Their food finally arrived on steaming hot platters that made Taeyong’s mouth water. “Let’s eat our first meal as allies.” Everyone rose their glasses in the air. “Cheers!”

 

 

Taeil’s head was spinning as he stumbled down the grand double staircase, his hands clutching the railings for support. He sounded the alarm on the way down that let everyone know there was an emergency meeting being held.

All of the members who were at the mansion dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to the living room to attend the meeting. Taeil sat on one of the sofas while Johnny massaged his aching feet and Kun brought Taeil a glass of cold water to calm his nerves.

“WinWin’s in serious danger. Jun, Minghao, Hoshi, and Vernon- those guys from Seventeen- captured WinWin after the political meeting.”

Yuta looked like he was about to faint from shock. “How did those punks get there? WinWin was doing business in Hong Kong. What was Seventeen doing there at the political meeting?” he demanded angrily.

“From the intel I’ve been able to gather, it appears that the Seventeen members have been secretly working with one of the politicians who we control and who was going to be present at the Hong Kong meeting,” Chenle explained, as one of his roles was being an informant who gathered intel. “The politician tipped them off that WinWin would attend the meeting. The Seventeen members waited for WinWin to exit the meeting and captured him when he came out of the building. Knowing him, WinWin must have put up one hell of a fight, but in the end, he couldn’t take down four guys on his own. They kidnapped him and are holding him hostage in an abandoned warehouse in Hong Kong.”

Taeil sighed heavily, worry lines creasing his forehead as he ran a shaky hand through his dark brown hair. “We’ll send all of our fighters to Hong Kong. Just like WinWin did, you guys will fly in one of our private jets. We’ll stay connected with our earpieces, alright? Chenle will keep gathering information and walk you through the entire thing. Either way, we’re getting WinWin back tonight.”

“This must be Seventeen’s revenge against us because Haechan beat up one of their guys.” Yuta glared at Haechan from across the room. “This is all your fault, kid.”

Taeil put up a hand to silence the room. “Now, now. Let’s not go around blaming each other for what’s happened. we need to focus on our mission, and that’s bringing back WinWin safely. Fighters, gather your things and set out.”

The fighters, which consisted of Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Ten, Lucas, and Jeno, quickly packed the materials they would need to scale the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong and get in there fast to fight Seventeen and save WinWin. Haechan was a fighter too but because of his injuries he would have to be left out from this mission. They weren’t as skilled as WinWin when it came to scaling buildings and sneaking in places since they weren’t ninjas like WinWin, but they promised to try their best and bring their friend home no matter what. WinWin had given his life for them many times, putting himself in dangerous situations where he had to use parachutes to jump off buildings and do the wild stunts nobody else dared to try even though it was necessary. They wouldn’t fail WinWin this time. They may have been lacking in their flexibility and in performing stunts, but like WinWin, they were still amazing fighters.

When it was time for the NCT fighter line to set off on their mission, Taeil said goodbye to each of them personally and urged them to do their best and show off the skills they were always been practicing. “Missions like this one are where you get to shine and prove your skills and talents that you’ve been working so hard to improve during your practice rounds. You’ve always been successful in every task I’ve ever given you. Don’t fail me this time. You’ve got this. Through team work, you can achieve anything. Please remember that, and keep WinWin in mind. Time is running out. Make every second count. Now go, and don’t look back.”

The fighters obeyed and boarded the private jet, their hearts racing in their chests as the plane rose into the night sky and the lights of Neo City glittered down below.

Yuta’s blood was boiling now, and every muscle in his body was prepared to fight. He would fight to the death if it meant saving his WinWin.