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The8's POV
It was another one of those days where Seungcheol gave Hoshi's squad the butt of his jobs. I'd be totally fine with that. If I wasn't in his team.
We either get the most dangerous jobs or the jobs that even Chan could do by himself. Ironically enough, Chan isn't here today. He gets to skip out on an "extortion" because Seungcheol gave him a special spot on Jihoon's little team.
[A/N: Extortions are the act of forcing people to give up their money by using threats.]
I was just sitting outside of the store that we were about to enter. Where were Soonyoung and Jun? Well, they're at the ice cream parlor down the road. They aren't the type to do jobs like these quickly. Soonyoung is a really scary guy, and he's serious about his job. He just acts like a child sometimes. Jun, well, he's not much of a guy for serious business. I didn't go with them because I had to keep a watch on the store, make sure it didn't close.
Time can fly by in situations like this, and it did. After a few minutes, I noticed someone new sitting on a bench on the other side of the road. I was always taught it's impolite to stare, but being in the mafia has brought upon a lot of staring. So I kind of 'unintentionally' stared at her. It was really hard not to; everywhere I looked, all my attention went straight back to her. It was like some type of force was pushing me to look at her.
"Is there something suspicious with her?" I jumped at the sound of Soonyoung's sudden voice.
I stood up and shook my head no, stealing one last glance at her.
"No, no. That's definitely a look of love." Jun walked towards me and held my face, "I mean, look at his eyes. His pupils are the size of the moon!"
I quickly pulled away but ended up backing into Soonyoung. "Okay, hey, we need to get back to the task on hand here. So, stop making eyes at some random girl you'll never see again or I'll make sure you end up in a roadside ditch." As I said, scary.
After that, we went onto doing the extortion. We get the store owner to pay us $175 per week to keep them safe. Safe from us, that is. She didn't agree to it at first, but Jun swooped in with his persuasion skills. I didn't think about the girl on the bench while working; that didn't stop me from checking to see if she was still there after, though.
"And that's how it's done, boys. That is how I know what a look of love is." Jun said, casually putting his hands behind his head.
Soonyoung rolled his eyes, "I just wish you could keep this professional. You're ridiculous."
"Hey! I get the job done, don't I? That's more than you two could say." Jun noticed that I hadn't been paying attention to him, "Looking for the girl, lover boy?"
I started blushing so I turned away, "Let's just go home."
"Good idea. No more fooling around Jun." Soonyoung began walking away in the direction of our home.
Jun ran after him and attempted to knee him in the back, but failed. I lagged behind a bit, just in case the girl shows up.
She didn't.
We arrived home and Seungcheol started questioning Soonyoung immediately. Thankfully, there were only good things to discuss.
Until Jun opens his mouth.
"Minghao saw a girl there. Man, she was really pretty. You should've seen how he looked at her, it was like some cheesy romantic movie!"
Chan peeked at us from the living room, "Aw, you met a girl? Suddenly I regret going with Jihoon..."
"Um, how was the job with Jihoon?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"We already spoke about them, you weren't here. You were apparently just eyeing some girl all day, so why would you need to know about Chan?" There was an awkward silence after Seungcheol spoke.
I looked at Chan and he whispered "sorry" then snuck away.
"Yeah so... I'm gonna go take him and give him a stern talking to. Don't worry about him Seungcheol, I got him." I guess Jun was trying to get me out of the mess that he started. It isn't working, though.
Jun grabbed my hand and was pulling me into the living room but Seungcheol came and blocked our path. "I'm dealing with this right now. I can't believe I'm telling this to you, Minghao, but there can be no distractions. Not when we are at the peak of performance. If you're seen speaking to that girl, I'll..."
"Throw him in a roadside ditch!" Soonyoung finally spoke up, much against my wishes. Seungcheol just nodded his head and went off to his room.
"Well, okay. Time to go get your punishment of humiliation!" Jun fully pulled me into the living room where everyone else was sitting. Looking at me.
Then they all suddenly started laughing. Mingyu walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, "You of all people, I just can't believe. Love at first sight?"
"Wh... what are you talking about? I haven't said anything about the girl so none of you should even be talking about it." I went to leave the room, deciding I've had enough.
Chan stopped me before I could exit, "Does that mean I can go out and find this girl for myself?"
I stared him down for a moment before leaving the house. I didn't know where I was going, just that I need to cool off somewhere. I let my feet take me wherever they wanted. It seems like my heart intervened, though, because I was back at the store where we did our job.
I was surprised to see the girl returned, and she had a book and with her this time. It must be good too because she's really into it. I could hear her slight giggles from across the street. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was. I found myself walking a few feet forward, but I had to stop. I can't talk to her. She looks like a princess. I envy whoever is lucky enough to have her in their life.
I looked all around, realizing I was in the middle of the road. There were no cars, except one that was empty. Someone must've parked without knowledge of the parking zones.
"Hello? Are you lost?" My eyes went right back to the girl. She was looking right at me as well.
"Oh, um, no. Sorry, I'll just be going..." I couldn't bring myself to move. I stood there, motionless. She must think I'm strange.
She closed her book, "It's alright! Are you sure you can't come to sit?" She patted on the bench next to her.
"Well, I can spare a few moments..." I slowly made my way over to her, seemingly still being controlled by my heart.
"Oh, yay! I'm glad I can finally meet you. My name is [Y/N], by the way." She scooted over a bit and I sat down.
I smiled at her, "My name is Minghao. It's nice to meet you too, but, finally?"
[Y/N] pouted her lips and looked at the ground, "You'll probably think this is weird, but I noticed you earlier and kind of watched you for a bit."
I'm glad I'm not the only guilty one here. "It's perfectly fine. I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice you earlier. There's also a small chance that I watched you for a bit as well..."
"Then I guess we're even!" We both had a small laugh at this. As we continued to talk, the sky got darker and our talks got deeper. I got to know her well and she got to know... the good side of me. At one point, [Y/N] asked about what I was doing at the store earlier for such a long time, but I quickly changed the subject. I didn't wanna lie to her.
I checked the time on my phone. 11:47. "It's pretty late. Sorry for keeping you so long."
She quickly responded, "No, it's my fault for calling you over. I guess this is bye, then."
She stood up to walk away but I called her back, "[Y/N]! Could I... get your number?" I held out my phone for her to enter it.
[Y/N] stood in thought for a moment but eventually took it and put her information in. I was about to thank her but she swiftly kissed my cheek and then ran off.
[Y/N] kissed my cheek.
I nearly screamed out of joy, but I had to stay contained. I stayed on the bench and waited until I calmed down. If everyone saw me like this, they'd definitely be suspicious.
It only took me about five minutes to calm down before I sadly had to return. The car from before was also gone, even though I don't recall seeing another person.
The walk home didn't take very long and I was safely inside before anyone had noticed. I checked to see if anyone was still in the living room. Of course, everyone was still there. It is pretty hard to sleep when you live this type of life.
I turned around to go to my room but all I was met with is a face full of chest, "Where were you all night?" I heard Seungcheol's powerful voice. Backing away, I noticed Jihoon is there as well.
"I was just... exploring, you know." I'm not sure how I manage to stay alive in the mafia with such terrible lying skills.
"Jihoon has already told me the truth, Minghao. I don't know if this is your way of thinking you're a gang member, with "breaking the rules" and all but that's not how it works here. You follow my damn rules or Jihoon is going to dissect you, alive. Now go to your damn room." Seungcheol made a scene, now everyone was looking. I was almost crying at this point, but I had to hold myself together. I ran down the hall and also ran into Jeonghan.
"I'm so, so sorry." I tried rushing away from him but he grabbed me.
"Seungcheol is just being hard on you because he expects a lot from you. You're doing a great job right now, but he's worried you'll slip up if you find a partner so early." I know he was trying to make me feel better, it just didn't work.
"How is any of it going to affect how I do my job?"
Jeonghan just stared at me. I sighed and pulled his grip off.
"Minghao, wait. Don't let Seungcheol control your whole life. I know how that feels, and I don't want it happening to you. Be with that girl." I'll admit, that helped. I still left him standing in the hall, though.
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Woozi's POV
"Go visit that girl and give her a message. Be creative." This is the third job Seungcheol has sent me on today. I am getting a bit tired, but it's interesting seeing this all unfold. I do feel sympathetic for Minghao, yet I have to listen to the boss.
"Got an address for me?" I crossed my arms, expecting him to say no.
Seungcheol pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Hansol looked up the name you gave earlier and came up with this. Have fun!" He walked off into the living room and left me alone with my thoughts.
So I immediately left, trying not to think at all. Surprisingly, her place wasn't far from us. That's quite unfortunate for her.
I arrived at the right place, mostly knowing because she was still outside. [Y/N] was sitting on her front porch, reading the same book she had been before. It's pretty dangerous for her to just be sitting there in this part of town.
I took the scariest course of action, I walked over to her and ripped her book out of her hand. "[Y/N], I would advise you to stay away from Minghao. Otherwise, I'll take matters into my own hands and make sure you won't be able to speak anymore."
Her eyes widened with every word I said. She began to stand up and back away slowly. I handed her the book before she was too far. I smiled at her but that caused her to run full speed into her house. Oh well, she has her book to calm her down now.
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The8's POV
It's been a week since I had met [Y/N]. We kept our friendship strictly on the phone, not wanting to risk too much. At first, she did question me on a man who threatened her, but I soon found out it was Jihoon. I couldn't tell her at the time but I will when the time is right.
I think that time is now. I've been thinking about her too much lately and I just really need to see her. Even though it is the middle of the night, I trust she'll still be willing to talk to me.
It was a task getting out of the house quietly, yet I somehow managed to do it. As aforementioned, [Y/N]'s house is close so it only took a small run to arrive.
I thought about throwing rocks; it seemed too cliché. Knocking on the door would do just fine.
I knocked lightly to test the waters, not expecting an answer. I heard rustling from inside the house. I was about to knock again when the door flew open. [Y/N] looked tired.
"Why are you awake?" I questioned.
She raised an eyebrow, "I could be asking you the same thing, but I just wanna know why you're here."
"We... need to talk. I've got a lot to tell you." She nodded as I spoke and pulled me inside. We walked into her living room, then sat cross-legged on her couch. I noticed her book was on a table, most likely the reason she's awake.
"Okay, go. I'm listening and won't interrupt." [Y/N] grabbed hold of my hand. I squeezed her hand, trying to put some comfort into the situation.
"This is going to sound bad, and it is. I'll tell you from the beginning. I joined the mafia through a friend." I paused for a moment to check her reaction, but she was unmoved. "So I've definitely gotten into a huge mess. When you first saw me, I was on a job with my colleagues. I guess you could call them my friends. The man who threatened you is also my friend, but I didn't know about it until you told me. My boss is really upset with me for speaking to you but I don't care. I like you, [Y/N]."
"Woah, Minghao. We've known each other for a week, at least take me on a date!" She laughed, seeing the light of the situation.
I gave her a small smile, "I will, then. That's all you have to say, though?"
"There's nothing else I can say. I had already suspected you were involved with a gang. I saw what you did in the store and the whole "stay away from Minghao" thing. With your boss, I don't want you getting in big trouble, so what can we do?" She seemed to be starting to get lost in her thoughts.
I squeezed her hand again so she would regain her focus. "You won't leave me because of this? Also, don't worry about my boss. He'll never know. I won't let him. Does this mean you're agreeing to go on a date, then?"
"Yes, Minghao, I am agreeing. No, I won't leave you. I think it's probably time for you to go, though. I'll see you tomorrow." I didn't really need to leave yet, but [Y/N] was basically falling asleep.
I stood up, "Sleep well with no worries, [Y/N]." I started to walk away but stopped when I got an idea. Just like the day we met, I went over and kissed her cheek. Then ran out the door.
It was quite childish, but I got caught up in the moment.
Getting back into the house was as easy as getting out. When they do sleep, it's a real deep sleep. For the next few weeks, my sleep was very nice as well. I got my jobs done without any issues and still managed to see [Y/N] every day.
Seungcheol did get suspicious of me leaving the house so often, so he sent me on jobs more often. It was nothing I couldn't handle. They still didn't stop me from seeing her.
Everything she did was so amazing and our relationship was going well for such a short time of knowing each other. It was hard not telling anyone, but totally worth it.
I had to blow it.
It wasn't on purpose, it kind of just slipped out in front of Jun. We tell each other so much so that we can get through this, that I just couldn't contain it.
"Yeah, you know, you should really get a girlfriend or boyfriend. Mine really helps me feel better when I'm beating myself up over a small mistake." I covered my mouth when I realized what came out.
Jun jumped at me as soon as I said 'mine', "Holy shit, it's the girl that everyone said to stay away from! Isn't it?!"
"Hey, only Soonyoung and Seungcheol said not to do it. Then, a certain angel told me to go for it. I wasn't going to let her go to waste." Words just came flowing out now that I've let out the truth.
He put a hand to his heart, "I was just kidding about the love eyes; I can't believe I was right!" He started clapping, for some odd reason.
I pushed his hands together to stop the noise, "Come on! Someone's gonna hear you!"
"It's too late for that, Minghao." Oh, shit. It's Jihoon. I just got a glimpse of him before he disappeared. Indefinitely going to Seungcheol. Jun tried talking to me but I just ignored him.
I potentially ruined the only truly good thing in my life.
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Woozi's POV
I heard Jun and Minghao's whole conversation. By the rules of my job, I must tell Seungcheol. I don't want to, but I've got no choice.
I ran into his office, "He's been seeing the girl-"
"That little shit," Seungcheol yelled as he stood from his chair.
"BUT we can't ruin this for him." I rushed my words so he would hear before he left.
He gave me a look that read "are you fucking serious?"
He got down in my face, "You are telling me that the boy who has clearly violated my rules deserves to have a happy ending?
"Yes. He's been excelling in his jobs, more than ever before, may I add. It's better to have him happy than miserable like the rest of us. Maybe, if you knew what it was like, you wouldn't be so harsh. What happened to that sweet side that you used to have? You separated work and play, but now everything seems like work." I let out a long sigh. It feels like that's been bottled up for years.
Seungcheol had no response. He stood there with his mouth wide open.
"You'll catch flies if you keep looking at me like that."
"Jihoon, I'm just- What the hell, man?" He went back to his chair, "Thank you for that. Tell everyone to meet in the conference room. This calls for something fancier than the living room."
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The8's POV
When Jihoon told us to go to the conference room, I knew everything was completely over. We never use that room. They're probably going to shove me into Wonwoo's torture room after we finish the meeting. As long as it isn't her, I'll endure it all.
I took a seat between Jun and Hansol. I nervously surveyed the room, but nothing was off. It was all... normal.
Jihoon walked in and took a seat at the end of the table. Seungcheol came soon after. He didn't sit, nor did he look at me.
"Someone's been dating. Someone's been keeping a secret. You all know I disapprove of both of these." He still wouldn't look at me, while everyone else was.
I was thinking of ways I could deny this, but I couldn't continue lying.
"It's not much of a surprise that it's me," I rose to my feet. "But I'm willing to take full responsibility. This had nothing to do with [Y/N], I took it upon myself to see her when she was going to listen to the warning. If you're going to punish anyone, punish me."
I sunk my head down in defeat, but I heard laughter. It started from Seungcheol and Jihoon, then spread to everyone.
"I have no idea why we're laughing!" Soonyoung shouted out while laughing himself.
"Almost none of you do, but it's funny to see you all play along so easily." Seungcheol was letting all of his laughter out.
Mingyu lowered his eyebrows at him, "This isn't very boss-like."
"That's why we're here today, Mingyu. It was brought to my attention that I've changed for the worse. Minghao has gotten the worst of it. So, you're allowed to see your girl. But so help me, if you start slacking, I will keep to all my damn promises." Seungcheol let out the last sentence with gritted teeth. That didn't matter, though.
I was nearly jumping up and down at the idea of being able to tell [Y/N], but then remembered I'm in the mafia so I still have to keep it kind of low-key. Anyway, at least I can stop lying terribly now.
I glanced over at Jeonghan and saw him giving me an enthusiastic thumbs up. I smiled at him in return.
"What are you just going to stand there? Go see her, you lucky guy!" Chan surprisingly spoke up. I looked at Seungcheol and he gave me a small nod.
I ran out of that house faster than ever before.
I knocked on her door at a fast pace before she finally answered. Immediately, I pulled her into a kiss. Nothing too extraordinary, just the fact that my world felt completely different. It felt like a whole new experience now that we were free.
[Y/N] pulled away before we got fully invested in the kiss, "Woah, wait. Wait. We're outside, people can see us. Specifically, people that will kill us."
I couldn't stop smiling at her. Even if she says something so grim, it's cute.
"We don't have to worry about that anymore. They know and they're going to let it happen! Just as long as I don't get distracted. I expect there to be no problems with that, though."
[Y/N] started smiling as well, "I can see that, now." She pointed towards the road, where all the guys were waiting in our car (more like a bus) putting thumbs ups out the windows.
Soonyoung stuck his head out one of the windows, "Hurry it up here! We've got a big one today!" He yelled at me.
"Oh, sorry I have to go so soon, [Y/N]." I pulled her into a hug as a goodbye.
She hugged me back, "I understand, just, um, stay safe? That's pretty impossible to do, though..."
"No, I'll stay safe, for you."