✓ ! 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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Taeyong grabbed my wrist. "Yue, don't brush your teeth."
Panic shot through my body, the adrenaline waking me up a little. "Why?"
"We can't leave excess DNA here, especially any new traces. You also want to pack a very light bag with just your essentials. You might never come back to this apartment or see any of the stuff you leave behind again."
All of a sudden, the day's events rushed back into my mind. I was scared, terrified in fact, and so tired. All of my body to my very soul felt so very heavy. I fought to keep my eyelids open.
"I'm going to bed fully clothed then, I guess." I yawned again. "I'll get you a blanket and a pillow."
"Good night, Yue," Taeyong said, with a smile.
"'Night."
***
I didn't sleep much that night, as tired as I was. Nerves buzzed through my body as I lay on my bed, wearing a pair of jeans and a white graphic T-shirt with butterflies on it.
Taeyong instructed me to throw away my pink pantsuit and wear something I'd never wear in public. I doubted JiU had ever seen me in streetwear, so that's what I wore. A few other changes of clothes, masks, my phone charger, makeup, my wallet (including a few photos of my parents), and some non-perishable food were hastily stuck into an old denim backpack from my college days.
At 2:00 AM, Taeyong finally knocked on my door.
I jumped out of bed, fully awake, but physically exhausted.
"I wish my members could get out of bed as fast as you," Taeyong joked half-heartedly.
He had dark circles under his eyes, which I'm pretty sure I had as well.
We left the house after locking the door and then ensured anyone else would have a hard time unlocking it with some glue that Taeyong magically produced from his pocket. On the way out, we threw the blanket and pillow Taeyong had used into the communal dumpster.
Once again, my body was tingling with anticipation. This was it. We were officially on the run.
The cool night air was crisp in my lungs and something electric ran through it, that thrill that came with being awake when not many other people were. The street lights provided the dominating source of light since the windows of most of the other apartment buildings surrounding mine were uncharacteristically dark. I'd never seen my street so dark. A chilly breeze blew, as if even the weather knew how much danger we were in.
"There's the car," Taeyong whispered to me, putting his hands on my back and steering me towards the other end of the block.
My back seized up at his touch. He didn't seem to notice.
The large black car we'd come in was gone and a beat up white car had spawned a few spots down from it.
A car door slammed a block over, making me jump.
"Come on, Yue." There was an edge of fear in Taeyong's voice.
We sped up and Taeyong pulled out a set of keys that unlocked the car.
Without time to marvel at Taeyong's handy pockets, I got into the passenger seat and Taeyong climbed into the driver's seat.
He revved the engine and we were off.
***
"I always have the keys to this car," explained Taeyong. "Just protocol. We'll be dumping it soon anyway."
"God, I hate that I can never guess what's going to happen next," I grumbled. "It's like a bad reality TV show."
"Bad?"
"The worst."
Taeyong chuckled. "I'm not sure you really want to know the things I do. You'd have to enter some serious training before you even get to this level."
"What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"
"I once had to steal a giant diamond chicken statue," Taeyong said. "It was Razors' initiation and I passed it with flying colors."
I rolled my eyes. "Because you're such a prodigy."
"Nope. I almost failed, actually. I was this close-" Taeyong made a two inch space between his thumb and forefinger "-to being shot in the head by the police."
I sucked in a breath. "Do all rookies have to do that?"
Taeyong tilted his head in thought. "Well, I try to be a bit more humane about it."
"Very comforting."
"What about you?" Taeyong asked.
"What about me?"
"What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"
I was taken aback. "Nothing as hard as you. I'm just a normal person."
"Believe it or not," Taeyong said, "I've never had the chance to experience what being normal feels like. I have no college degree, I've never worked a regular job before. So humor me; what's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"
"Uh..." I thought for a moment. "I worked part-time at an ice cream shop in high school and through college. You cannot understand how prissy some people are about their ice cream. If the amount of milkshake I make is slightly below the rim of the cup, suddenly it's unservable."
Taeyong laughed. "Really? Ice cream was such a luxury for me."
"Me too," I said. "I was an art major, so I didn't exactly have money to spare."
"What's your favorite flavor?"
"You might hate me, but definitely mint chocolate."
Taeyong's wary eyes swept the street from left to right and back again, but we hadn't come across any moving vehicles at all. I kept my gaze on the side mirror, just in case someone came up from the side or behind us.
"I enjoy mint chocolate," Taeyong said absent-mindedly. "Chocolate's better though."
My face screwed up in disgust. "I can't stand chocolate ice cream."
"A lot of my members like chocolate. Tubs of chocolate ice cream never last long in our house."
"Y'all are weirdos, I swear."
"Okay, Mingyue." Taeyong's voice was all business again. "Do you see that black car over there?" He pointed to a low black sports car parked down the block, outside a skyscraper. "When I say go, run to that car. Don't stop, no matter what."
The buzzing in my ears crescendoed. "Okay."
"I haven't seen anything suspicious yet, but I don't want to risk anything." Taeyong grinned and his canines flashed red in the light of a nearby traffic light. "Just protocol."
"You and your protocols," I muttered, but I put my hand on the door handle all the same.
"Ready?" Taeyong stopped the car abruptly. "Go!"
[It feels like I just uploaded yesterday lol btw, a kid got trapped in the bathroom last night at work :/ the lock was stuck. it was crazy]
- 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥
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