Chapter 32: Artists of a Sort

1.8K 50 14
                                    


A/N: I apologize for the long absence. Work and life took a very hectic turn. I promise to have a few more chapters posted over the weekend. I am looking to wrap the story up soonish so I might have the remaining chapters written out and posted this weekend. Once we come to the end of the story, if you all would like to see a second story, possibly with another member as our main romance and a new main character let me know! Thank you for sticking around and once again I am sorry for the extremely long absence.



Most of the days that followed were filled with planning, prepping, and training. There was one bright spot in the monotonous schedule that Eisa went through day in and day out, her brother and his two best friends would be visiting in a week, well before the first of SKZ's plans were set to take place. 

Everyone in the mansion was happy to take a break from the looming threat over them to prepare for the visit. Chan had done thorough background checks on their visitors so as long as mafia activity stayed away from prying eyes, the visit would go off without a hitch.  Ateez, Itzy, and BtoB would remain in the mansion during the visit while XG and Twice returned to their own homes. Twice was planning on following up a few leads on Bangtan and 17 and the plan to take Kang out would be done in tandem with the visit, with XG running solo for that mission. The preparations for hiding their mafia activity kept them busy for the week leading up to her brother's arrival, with Eisa assisting where she could.

***


"So your brother is supposed to arrive when again?" Changbin said as the group lounged on the couch, exhausted from the last of their cleaning.  The mansion was as prepped as it was going to be and everyone was slightly anxious about the new arrivals.

"Tomorrow at 10 am.  I will go pick them up and take them back here. " Eisa as she tried to stifle a yawn.  She had been working tirelessly to make sure everything was perfect.  Chan had worked with her on a story to tell her brother.  SKZ, Itzy, Ateez, and BtoB all worked for the same "entertainment company" as artists and Eisa was their live-in doctor.  Oddly enough all of them had a passion for music outside of the mafia business so they assured her they could play the part enough to keep their guests from asking too many questions.  "Are you sure you all can pull this off?  Henry is in the music industry so I am just worried he will ask a lot of questions..." Eisa looked at everyone around the room, still a bit nervous about their plan.

"We can pull it off. You know even though we are mafia, we still have hobbies right? Just so happens that one of those is music." Chan said with a comforting smile.

"We all agreed that if this business goes belly up we would try our hand at making it in the music industry. " Han smiled, tapping away at his keyboard. "I mean it's a dream but it's something outside of all of this that we are passionate about. Writing songs keeps my brain active when not on missions and you know I can't let this brilliant mind go to waste." His smile grew wider which caused Eisa to chuckle.

"Dancing helps as well. Keeps our bodies in shape and limber for missions and infiltration-type work." Hyunjin said from his spot next to Changbin. "It is sad that no one but these guys will see my amazing moves." He gave a dramatic sigh holding his hand to his chest.  Yeji rolled her eyes at her brother but Eisa knew she could be just as dramatic.

"The more important question we should be asking you is are any of our lovely guests single," Yeji stated and the rest of her team nodded in agreement. The men in the room groaned at this while Eisa couldn't help giggling.

"They are all single actually," Eisa said between giggles. "Jackson is an outrageous flirt. Henry is just as bad so prepare yourself for those two. And Eric...well he's a sweetheart.  I had a crush on him for ages.  I used to follow him around like a lost puppy when we were all growing up." Eisa couldn't help a small blush from painting her cheeks, which was due to her own embarrassment at how she was back then but Yeji took it in another direction.

"Oh, do you hear that Minho? Sounds like you might have some competition." She grinned at Minho who was scowling at her. He was seated next to Eisa and promptly pulled her closer to his side. 

"If he wants to keep all his limbs, he will keep his paws off." He grumbled as Eisa turned crimson in his arms. 

"That was a long time ago! I haven't seen them in ages and those feelings are long gone for both of us." She attempted to wiggle out of Minho's hold but his iron grip held her to him. "Minho if you squeeze me any tighter Im not going to be able to breathe.  When did you get so clingy?" 

"When you invited your old crush to stay with us for a whole week." He harrumphed again looking more annoyed than before. 

"He is my friend. You my lovely cat lord are my boyfriend so stop getting all jealous when they haven't even arrived yet." She swatted him away and he begrudgingly let her go. She could see despite his unwillingness to loosen his hold on her, he had a small smile on his face as she said this.

***


Eisa was nervous as she sat in the passenger seat of Yeji's car. She kept pulling out her phone to check on the status of her brother's flight.  Yeji glanced over at her and chuckled.

"You'll give yourself wrinkles if you keep frowning like that. Everything will be fine. Chan took care of everything so just enjoy the visit and set me up with one of these cuties." Eisa laughed at this and took a deep breath.

"I know I know but I can't help but worry. We have three dangerous groups after us, not to mention the normal day-to-day business the guys do.  I can't help but worry something is going to happen.  I have no clue how I would explain that to my brother." She pulled out her phone one final time before tucking it away. "Henry said they landed and they will be waiting for us in the arrivals area." Eisa felt her palms get sweaty and her nerves were high.

"Everything will be fine, Eisa. Just take a deep breath and enjoy time with your family." Yeji took one hand off the wheel to rest it on Eisa's shoulder.  Eisa sighed and then gave Yeji a smile letting her know that she was alright.

They pulled the car up to the arrivals area and Eisa got out of the car, standing close to it as she searched the crowd of people.

"EISA! HEY EISA!" Three voices said as one causing Eisa to search the crowd furiously. It didn't take her long to find them as they spotted her at the same time.

"Henry!" She ran to him and engulfed him in a hug.  It took everything in her to keep the tears at bay, not realizing how much she missed her brother.  There was a cough heard that broke both of them out of their embrace. Eric and Jackson stood by with big smiles on their faces. 

"We missed you too you know." Jackson moved forward and gave her a big hug, her feet leaving the ground.  She laughed as he held her before he placed her gently on her feet again.

"We missed you a lot." Eric wrapped his arms around her engulfing her in a hug as the others had. 

"I missed all of you too!" 

***

"I have eyes on her. Looks like she is picking up a small group, possibly another ally." A hooded figure stood some distance away from the joyful group of people speaking into his cell phone, eyes, and face obscured by his face mask and sunglasses. 

"Follow them and when we have the opportunity, take the girl. The rest can be disposed of." The voice on the other end of the phone said in almost a lazy tone.

"Understood. I will update you when it's done." The man said and ended the call. His dark eyes fixed on the blonde girl smiling up at the three men in front of her. 

"It's time to play again...Eisa." He said smiling behind his mask.


Angel of Mercy - Stray Kids Mafia AUWhere stories live. Discover now