✓ ! MAFIA AU ! Don't lose your heart to a Dragon. You might never get it back. If you do, you'll find that there are scars that don't heal, wounds that fester and spread infection. Once you're deep in the Underworld where mafias reign, you can n...
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[This is about half of Wednesday's chapter as apology for that last cliffhanger... jk im not sorry]
Taeyong hung up, concern saturating his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I was afraid to know.
Taeyong took a deep breath. "I'm afraid JiU knew what she was doing. Close the blinds and then help me tie her up."
As Taeyong taught me to bind and gag, he administered first aid to the bullet wound to the right of her chest.
"A Code Green means my phone has been tapped," he explained. "No doubt by this annoying Phantom. My personal information is now spilling out onto the web, meaning just about every mafia and law enforcement agency in a hundred mile radius knows who I am and what I look like."
"So you've been doxed."
"Essentially." Taeyong sighed. "I should've known."
"Known what?"
"That JiU girl was nervous when she came into the restaurant. According to Jeno's monitor, she showed signs of sweating, furtive looks, and tense muscles." Taeyong shook his head. "I thought she was just suffering from PTSD, but it was probably because she was a Phantom member stepping alone into Dragon territory. God, I should've known."
I put a hand on his shoulder. "There were plenty of signs, I'm sure."
"Exactly. I'm losing my touch," Taeyong said, his brow furrowed.
I got the sneaking suspicion he was hiding despair behind his even tone. "You can't think about that. Life catches up to everyone. It might diminish your physical strength and observation, but it can't dull your intellect. It's my fault."
"Your fault?" Taeyong looked at me sharply.
"I made you bypass your methods," I said. "You probably would've checked JiU if I hadn't been there. You would never have let her become involved in the plan. I was the one who failed to execute it properly."
"Yue, you did nothing wrong," Taeyong said. "You could never have known JiU was suspicious at all."
"Then tell that to yourself first."
***
With about 8 hours to spare, Taeyong and I found some instant noodles in my pantry and cooked ourselves a well-earned dinner. As much as I laughed and joked, the presence of JiU locked in my bathroom closet hung darkly in the air the whole time.
We talked about everything except the mess we were currently in.
"How many siblings do you have?" Taeyong asked, in between slurping noodles.
