The room felt crowded and this wasn’t even all of them. A small group had left on a trip to China to try and establish connections there. But there was still plenty left to fill the space. Chatter rang throughout, none distinguishable from the other. The bodies occupying the room varied in height and size, but all were young. Too young to be in this business. They all knew what they were getting into. Stories of the underground had circulated since they were kids. It had been exciting, like a movie. Reality turned out to be… a bit different. 

Johnny pushed off the wall and stepped up to take his place behind Taeyong’s desk. As leader of their still fairly green group, pressure was mounting on his shoulders. They were all being greatly underestimated by the other “families”. Only one - led by Suho - deemed them strong enough to do business with, to create ties with. Taeyong was growing frustrated. If this kept up, he was going to end up taking extreme measures. 

“Enough.” Taeyong’s order came out at a normal volume. Only a few heard him and ceased their talking. 

“Shut up!” Johnny yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. The room fell silent. 

Taeyong threw a “thank you” over his shoulder as he leaned his elbow against the desk. “Now listen up. A shipment is coming in on Thursday. I need Lucas, Taeil, Haechan, and Yuta to go oversee the transition to the trucks.”

“Can’t Mark come with us, too?” Haechan whined. 

Johnny bit back a smirk. The kid was way too attached. 

“No, Mark is needed with Jaehyun and Johnny at the club that night.”

Haechan pouted in a way that a mafia man shouldn’t, but he gave no further protest. A -eating smirk grew on Lucas’ face. He always liked being a part of the action. While Taeyong was hoping for a peaceful transaction, Lucas was certainly hoping for a bit of conflict. He could be impulsive a lot of times. Not exactly a desirable trait in this line of business. But Lucas would get the job done and that was what mattered. 

“Do you think they’ll show up again?” Yuta asked. Johnny struggled to keep his face blank.

A month ago, a group of tough guys from another family came into the club. They wanted to try and intimidate the group, to get them to wield and cower. It wasn’t going to happen. NCT had worked too hard to be bullied into submission. They were strong in numbers and growing their territory every week. They might not have the pedigree that some families could boast about, but what was a legacy compared to power and control?

“If they do,” Johnny said, “we’ll take care of them.”

“Nothing too bloody,” Taeyong warned. Johnny smirked. “I’m serious. I don’t want to have to redo the carpet for the whole place.”

Johnny shrugged. “We’ll try our best.” Nothing was going to happen. Nothing ever did. That was why Johnny was allowed to go. 

Taeyong shook his head, not finding the argument worth it. “The rest of you know what your assignments are. Don’t get into trouble. We don’t need that attention right now.”

Nods bobbled around the room. They would try their best not to get into trouble, but with the large group of young gangsters, it was a very difficult task. With the short fuses and loose impulse control, things tended to happen. But competition for territory and power was getting tight. They were the group that was being counted out for their inexperience and “new kid” status. It was important that they kept their heads. That they avoided trouble - the bad kind, anyway. 

In small groups of two and three, the boys emptied out of the room until it was only Taeyong, Johnny, and Mark. 

“If you keep separating Haechan from Mark, he’s going to throw a fit,” Johnny quipped. 

Taeyong smirked as leaned back in his hair. The leader aura was gone, replaced by a more relaxed figure that took years off his face.  “We all have our comfort zones.”

Mark said nothing. He was fine with wherever Taeyang put him. The docks, the club, it was all the same to him. It made Johnny just a tad jealous. Taeyang kept Johnny close, rarely sending him out on what was considered riskier assignments with the others. Johnny’s best attribute was negotiation and strategy. He could calm a room and charm a snake. 

In the early days - when they were still a bunch of reckless teenagers trying to gain a name - Johnny was out there on every single errand, gun stuffed under his waistband and face covered in bruises and cuts. His heart would beat so fast he was sure it would explode. The fear, overtime, dwindled. Now he rarely felt it. Mostly because his days were spent here, in this office, planning and waiting for orders. When opposing leaders strolled in. Johnny stepped forward, the mouthpiece of the group. 

His fingers twitched, eager for a bit of action again. “Maybe I could go, make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Taeyong threw a quick glance in his direction. “Do you actually want me to answer that?”

Johnny smirked, not replying. It was worth a shot. 

“Anything special we should be looking out for at the club?” Mark asked. 

“There have some whispers of a possible coup that night,” Taeyong admitted. “Or, at least, some sort of show of power. I don’t know who might show up, but I want you guys there, just in case.”

“Where will you be?” Johnny frowned with concern. If something of that nature was going to go down, the leader of the group should be there as well. 

Standing up, Taeyong sighed and slipped back into his jacket. “I have something else I have to do that night. Don’t worry about it.”

Unable to protest, Johnny and Mark watched silently as Taeyong marched out of the office before exchanging a curious look.

**

The sound of paper flipping back and forth was starting to get on her nerves - despite the fact that she was the one doing the flipping. 

For the past two hours, Anna had been stuck in the back office of the cafe, going over the books and budget for the upcoming month. Surrounded by copies of paystubs, crinkled invoices, and rolled up Post-Its, the numbers were beginning to blur. 

Open a business, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. 

Sure, owning a somewhat successful business had been rewarding. The building was located close to the pier so there was plenty of foot traffic to stop in and purchase a cup of coffee or small sandwich before moving on to the other shops for overpriced souvenirs or running down to where the sand met the sea. 

Groaning, Anna dropped her head while massaging the back of her neck with her cold hands. Maybe she should go to the boardwalk, clear her head for a bit. Min could handle the cafe for half an hour. The bubbly girl - who, though Anna would never admit it out loud, was probably her favorite favorite - was currently explaining her favorite odd concoction to the lone customer at the counter. 

On slow days or early in the morning before the big rush, Anna would allow Min to experiment with different creamers and coffee flavors. Her more successful mixtures would be featured on the menu as a weekly special. The not so good ones… those were written down so she knew not to try it again. 

Min twirled a lock of electric teal hair around her index finger as she stood by the register. 

Oh, no. She had that smile on her face. The kind that ended in a free coffee with a phone number written on the cup sleeve. But… Anna couldn’t entirely blame her. 

The customer was handsome. Tall with tanned skin that glowed against his pristine white t-shirt, dark brown hair with round eyes to match, and a boyish smile that spelled trouble. He was leaning on the counter, forearms crossed lazily on the surface. A deep, vibrating laugh erupted at something Min had said. Anna cleared in a slightly awkward manner. 

“Oh, hey, boss!” Min flashed a grin, not the least bit ashamed. “This is Lucas! He’s new to town.”

Lucas half turned towards Anna. “Hey.”

Did he seriously just twitch his eyebrows up when he spoke? There was no way Anna was leaving now. 

“Welcome to the neighborhood.”

Min’s frown told her that her reply had come out a little drier than she was meaning. It didn’t seem to affect Lucas’ mood, however. He kept beaming that smile, blindingly white and easily dangerous. It might end up being two free cups of coffee. 

Trying to make it seem like she had come out with a purpose other than leaving, Anna grabbed the supplies clipboard hanging from the wall and started opening cabinets, checking what needed to be added to the next order. Were they already that low on the Caribbean blend?

“I updated that this morning,” Min said. 

Anna didn’t even glance up from the clipboard. “I know.” Min's handwriting was there, dated and timed like always.  So apparently not the best cover up. Oh, well. It didn’t hurt to do it again. 

“Don’t trust your employees?”

Anna looked up at the nosy newcomer. “Trust. But verify.”

“Anna's the best,” Min defended. “I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else.”

The giant grin couldn’t be held back. “Thanks, Min.”

A cellphone rang. Lucas pulled a nearly tablet-sized smartphone from his jeans pocket. “Yeah?”

That was some greeting.

“Right now?” Lucas’ gaze flickered to Min. Then he huffed out a sigh. “Alright. I’ll go get ready.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Duty calls. Hopefully, I’ll see you around.” A cheesy line that ended with a wink.

Min slid a cup across the counter. “On the house.”

“Why, thank you.” He saluted her with the drink and walked out. 

“That comes out of your check."

Min waved it off. “Always is.” She continued to stare after him dreamily, though he had long disappeared. 

Replacing the clipboard, Anna sighed. “You’re going to get yourself into trouble someday.”

“And I’ll enjoy every second of it.”

It couldn’t be helped. Anna laughed. “If you say so.”

A mischievous expression formed on her face. “Let’s go out tonight.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. We have to open tomorrow morning.” The usual opener, Niki, was out of town. It needed to be covered and since Min hardly ever opened the store, it was decided by Anna to make sure she had some extra help. 

“What does that have to do with tonight?”

“I’m not staying out until four in the morning.”

“I’ll have you home by midnight, Cinderella.”

Anna studied her for a moment. Min often asked her to come out for dinner or a few drinks on a night where neither of them were working the next day, but she also usually gave a few days’ notice. “This has something to do with Lucas, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” Min answered honestly. “Well, kind of. He mentioned this club and I figured we could check it out. Maybe he’ll be there. Maybe he won’t.”

Did she want to go? No, not really. But she also didn’t want Min to go by herself.

“Okay. Fine.”

Min squealed. 

Anna shook her head as she laughed. “I’m going out for a second. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll hold down the fort.”

She believed her. So, Anna was alright with leaving for a few minutes, especially now that that flirt, Lucas, had left and Min wouldn’t be zoned in on a single person. 

There was a slight breeze rolling off the water. Wooden boards squeaked under her feet as she headed for the end of the pier that stretched out over the ocean. A few other wanderers dotted the railing, taking pictures of themselves or the birds or munching on seaside goodies. Looking down at the water as it crashed into the pillars holding the boardwalk up, Anna leaned against the salt-worn railing. 

Out on the horizon, the sun was inching closer to the sealine, setting the usually blue surface on fire. A small content smile lifted her lips. 

Despite the frustrations that came with owning a cafe, the stress of paying bills, and the occasional feeling of insignificance, this was a good life. She just needed moments like this, alone with the view, to remember it.