✓ ! 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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By the time I woke up, we'd arrived in Midz City just in time for the dinner rush.
Taeyong parked on a random street, afraid we'd never find anywhere else to park. All around us were buildings that could barely be called skyscrapers. Unlike Neo City, Midz City was more laid back. Hipster bars instead of neon bars, brick and glass instead of steel and concrete, and way more people out for drinks already. Many were wearing skimpy neon clothing, ready to party the night away.
The sun hadn't even set yet and restaurants were packed. Taeyong and I waited thirty minutes to get two bibimbaps from a small hole-in-the-wall called "Minju's" and then we ate them in the car.
"Where are we going to stay tonight?" I asked between bites.
Taeyong shrugged, his eyes following the movements of the people who passed by our car. "The Itzys will know."
"Then shouldn't we find them?"
"They probably know we're here," Taeyong said, "and they're probably trying to figure out if we're a threat."
I frowned.
Taeyong noticed and reassured me, "We're not a threat."
"Okay."
There was a pause as the two of us continued to eat. As night approached, the bright afternoon colors of the sky were gradually overtaken by a deep blue, lit by the growing number of neon signs flickering on throughout the city.
Unexpectedly, Taeyong admitted, "Since we're looking for protection, we're technically refugees right now."
My eyes widened. "I mean, I knew we were running from people, but I never thought we'd actually need someone to protect us. I thought we'd be by ourselves for weeks and weeks."
"Even the strongest of us need support," Taeyong said. "It's-"
He stopped talking as, out of the bustling city street, a pair of giggling girls in neon party outfits stumbled to our car. Neither seemed to notice us in the car as one leaned against the hood, still engrossed in conversation with the other. We couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but both seemed drunk and carefree. Then, just as abruptly, they dove back into the crowd that seemed to have doubled since we'd started dinner.
Taeyong unlocked his door. "Looks like that's our cue."
"What do you mean? Weren't those just two drunk people?" I asked, as Taeyong stepped out and plucked something off the hood. "What is that?"
"Just the address where we'll find Itzy," Taeyong replied, grinning at the slip of paper in his hand. "Those Itzy agents are good."
***
We drove for fifteen more minutes, ten of those minutes spent trying to find parking outside a modestly tall building with an art deco facade that looked right out of a 1920's street.
