Pairing: Jeno (NCT) x Kwon Joohyun (Reader) x Mark (NCT) x Other NCT members

URL: dreamsine00

Trope: Romance, Angst, Friendship, Drama

AU: Mafia!AU

TW: Mentions of gang violence and death, but nothing too explicitly detailed.

Song Suggestion: Arsonist's Lullaby, Hozier

Plot: A target is placed on Kwon Joohyun's head after she accidentally witnesses a mafia-related murder. With only her dropped bracelet discarded at the scene, the offender seeks out to find the owner with the intent of permanently silencing them. Unaware of the lurking danger, Joohyun tries to return to the normal life she lead prior to the crime, but as the story progresses, unearthed secrets leave the young woman questioning just how well she truly knows her lifelong friends. 

Disclaimer: The events depicted within this story are entirely fictional. 

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     The mild buzz of the shop's fluorescent lights mixed with the commercial refrigerators' hums; the noises combining in a deafening, yet silent sort of way. Pentagon's 'Naughty Boy' played upon the overhead speakers as the woman sat behind the convenience store's counter tapped her fingers to the beat. Her eyes were fixated upon the textbook splayed open in front of her, teeth gnawing the inside of her cheek as she studied.

    Night had long-since fallen as the empyrean inked a solid black. The small clock that hung adjacent to the entrance read 2:36 AM - nearly two hours since her shift had begun. Void of any other life besides a small mouse or two lurking in the building's dark spaces, a tingle shot up the university student's back as the door's bell chimed. Peering up, she took note of the newcomer's appearance.

    Dressed in a black zip-up hoodie and dark wash jeans, the man entered the store with sharp eyes as he immediately walked towards the back. A sort of uneasiness riled inside of the woman as she craned her neck to garner a better glimpse. Slowly, her eyebrows knitted together.

    The man semi-crouched in the candy aisle - hands rummaging through the sweets, but his eyes glued to the storefront's window. His fingers trembled ever-so-slightly as he blindly picked up a bag of fruit chews before striding even further back into the shop. He was no longer in view, but the sound of a fridge door opening signaled that he was still present. 

    Swallowing hard, the woman ran a hand through her hair as her leg anxiously bounced. Despite the ambient noise and the new song that auto-played, there was a certain silence that swallowed the room; the kind a protagonist experiences seconds before disaster strikes in a horror-thriller film. A panorama of an empty room, almost as if viewed through the eyes of the unsuspecting victim, as the camera slowly zooms in before shifting to the wide-eyed main character, unaware of the shadowy figure lurking behind them.

    Another shiver shot down the woman's back as such a thought played upon her mind's mental movie reel. Shaking her head, she peered up at the clock to see that nearly five minutes had passed since the man had entered and grown silent. Instantly her stomach tightened as a thin layer of sweat slicked her palms. 

    Rising to her feet, she was ready to call out to the stranger, but his figure emerging from the aisle halted such actions. A slight sense of relief washed over her body as she began scanning the products he placed upon the counter. Peeking up through thick lashes, the woman tried her best to be friendly despite the nerves that partially gnawed her insides.

    "How's your night been so far?"

    The man's eyes tore from the window as he lifted his shoulders in a quick shrug, "Fine."

    Noticing the flesh that became partially visible from his movement, her eyes surveyed the grey-inked tattoo crawling up his shoulders. Freezing for a moment, she quickly shifted her focus elsewhere as her fingers moved faster. The man took note of her sudden shift in demeanor as he pulled his jacket closer to his body; the tattoo vanishing behind fabric.

    "Your total is 11,000 won."

    Messily he pulled out a handful of crinkled bills before scooping the items into his arms, "Keep the change."

    With hasty steps, he exited the store; figure blurring in with the light-void atmosphere. A short sigh escaped the clerk's lips as she leaned against the counter.

    "How strange," she spoke aloud to herself before settling back down upon the small chair.

    With intent on resuming her previous study session, the woman reopened her textbook, but as she did so, another huff puffed from her lips. Eyes that unintentionally acknowledged the overflowing trashcan outside of the store, she mentally cursed herself. Shrugging on a long, trench-style coat, the clerk quickly rose to her feet as she strode outside into the frostbitten, wintry air.

    Taking a moment to lock the shop, she quickly bagged the trash before beginning her short trek down the sidewalk. The location of the store wasn't the safest - especially for a young female whose only possible weapons were a trash-filled bag or the ring of keys clutched thro