A half hour later, Nari was seated at a huge table with possibly the most dangerous company she'd ever kept.
Twenty one men, including her brother, were dressed in all black, armed to the teeth, and looking very intimidating. As he took the seat at the head of the table, Nari grimaced.
"Taeyong, don't you think this is a bit much? I thought you wanted to be allies," she wondered, doubtful of his friend making abilities. He did nothing but smile.
"Don't worry Ri, I know what I'm doing."
It sure seemed that way. Half of the members were lined up against the walls, ready to attack or protect at any moment. Six more were stationed right behind Taeyong, mouths set in harsh lines. The rest were sitting at the table with Nari and Taeyong. Nari was on her brother's right side, and a smaller, soft looking boy sat on his left.
She was uncomfortable from the dark auras surrounding her, but whenever she looked up, an impish wink or calming grin was sent in her direction.
The boy sitting across from her glanced over hesitantly. "Hey," he greeted her. "It's nice to finally meet you."
After bowing her head, Nari replied, "Same to you. I'm Nari. Which you already know." She let a small laugh out.
He tilted his head, dark hair falling into his smiling eyes. "I'm Mark."
Before she could even smile back, a device beeped, coming from another seated man. He hurriedly tapped on a sleek screen a few times and brought his head up, nodding at Taeyong.
"They're here, sir."
After drawing in a breath to steady himself, Taeyong addressed the members by the walls. "Jungwoo, Yuta, escort them in with Dream."
A few other members broke off from the walls, and some came from behind Taeyong. Without hesitation, they marched out of the room, guns ready, and shut the doors with an echoing thump. Nari fidgeted in her seat, nervous for the meeting that was about to play out. Her brother noticed her unease and reached a gentle hand over, squeezing her hand softly.
"It'll be okay," he whispered, trying to calm her down. Nari believed his words, but was still set on edge, and her legs began to bounce up and down.
The doors opened again with a boom, causing poor Nari to almost jump out of her skin. She anxiously craned her neck, attempting to get a glance at her friends.
Chan entered first, eyebrow lifting as he took in the setup Taeyong had organized. When his eyes met Nari's, every fear in him faded away, and he relaxed a bit more as she sent him a small grin.
Jisung, Jeongin, Felix, and Woojin were next, each looking like they regretted coming here at all. They surveyed the room, all looking for their girl with wide eyes. Jeongin smiled widely when he saw her, causing Yuta to glare at him, not sure how to interpret the innocent gesture.
And lastly, Changbin, Minho, Seungmin, and Hyunjin came in. Nari inwardly groaned as she spotted her complicated crush. The others were relatively clear of weapons, other than a pistol here and a knife there. Hyunjin's eyes were dark and hooded, reflecting the black pistols strapped to his thighs. The holsters on his legs trailed down to his ankles, allowing several large knives to sit against his calves. A belt full of ammo sat snugly at his waist, easily accessible and convenient. Besides that, his gaze was so sharp it might have been counted as a weapon too.
Taeyong stood and bowed to the group, face stoic. "Welcome to our home," he said, smiling wickedly. "Please, sit. We have a lot to discuss."
Chan didn't move. "First, if you would kindly return my member to me."
Her brother's eyes flickered across her face, and he shook his head, denying Chan's request. "I'm sorry, but for the time being, she stays where she is."
Hyunjin's jaw flexed as he attempted to stay calm, not taking his eyes off of the only girl in the room. He waited for Chan to argue, but his leader simply brushed off the refusal and sat, gesturing for the others to do the same. Hyunjin clenched his teeth and roughly pulled a chair out from the table, sitting with quick, fluid motions.
Nari flinched at the display, making eye contact with Chan again. He gave her a calm nod, soothing the nasty ache brewing in her stomach. After taking a deep breath, she sat back, letting Taeyong officially start the meet up.
"Well," he said languidly, letting his gaze rest on each Stray Kids member for a moment. "I'm glad you all could make it. The reason you're here, obviously, is to discuss her."
Taeyong pointed at Nari, who shrank down into her chair. "First of all, let me make it clear who she is to me. Believe it or not, I have a stronger claim to her than anyone on this planet."
At this point, Chan was looking pretty confused, and Hyunjin was poised on the edge of his seat, eyes narrowed.
"Lee Nari is my sister. I ordered her capture in order to protect her from you."
The gasps Nari was expecting didn't break out from her friends. Worried, she peeked over at them. All the members had gobsmacked looks on their faces, save Chan. He kept a poker face as best he could, though Nari could see that he hadn't been expecting this at all.
After milking the moment as much as he could, Taeyong sighed and looked at his sister, eyes full of pure anguish. "I will confess to you all how I became affiliated with NCT, to explain myself and give my sister some closure."
He blew a heavy breath out and puckered his lips, wondering where he could start. "Our father was involved with the original founder, and no, I did not create NCT. Our first leader, Ji Hansol, retired after the weight of running a mafia became to much for him about five and a half years ago. He passed the duty to our father, his most trusted member and second in command."
Her brother had to stop and catch his breath, displaying a rare show of weakness to an enemy gang. When he lifted his head, his eyes were full of moisture, the salty tears echoing the bitterness brought on by unfair circumstances.
"He wasn't used to unparalleled power, to having the ultimate say in such important matters. He got careless, made too many enemies, and didn't pay his debts. Another gang organized an "accident" for him and our mother not long after he ascended, and they died in the car crash caused by an ambush. "
It was only until Nari felt her tears dripping onto her hands that she realized she was crying. All of this information had been wrongly withheld from her all her life, and for it to be revealed to her all at once was too much, too overwhelming.
"I was the only heir that the gang could look to," Taeyong continued, fighting back the burning of unshed tears in his throat. "I was nineteen," he keened softly as several tracks of liquid made their way down his cheeks. "I had no idea what I was doing, or how my actions would affect those I loved."
He gathered himself and wiped his face, a bit embarrassed with his emotional display. "I began to perform my duties as NCT's leader: organizing my members, expanding our armory, setting up a better headquarters. I was spending too much time away from Nari, and she began to notice. I became paranoid, sure that she would find out about the mafia and pay for it, like our parents did. So I faked my disappearance and sent her away."
A choked sob forced its way out of Nari's mouth, and she clapped a hand over up her lips, lurching with the force of her crying. The member next to her, Jaehyun - she thought he was - wrapped a careful arm around her shoulders and patted her back gently. Taeyong watched her with a grieved expression in his face.
"I had my recon specialist, Doyoung, start keeping an eye on her the moment she went to live with our Uncle. Where she went, her grades, who she was friends with. And since she didn't have many friends, I offered a rare position to a girl living near her neighborhood and who attended her school. Jisoo took the job and became friends with her while looking out for her, and yes, reporting to me. Although, I'm still not sure why she didn't share a specific detail about Nari's home life with me," he mused, eyes becoming scarily dark.
"Anyway, when Nari disappeared, I freaked out. After Jisoo told me that she was with your gang, I immediately demanded an audience with you, Chan. When I didn't reap any information from you during our brief visit, I was close to giving up. Then Chenle leaked your location a few weeks later. And we struck."
Taeyong leaned back, his cold, confidant aura strong again. "I'm pretty sure that covers everything. Any questions?"
Chan leaned forward, no distrust in his eyes as he looked at Taeyong. "Just one."
He acknowledged Chan's comment with a nod. "Go ahead."
"You say you ordered Nari's capture to protect her, but what will you do now that she's an official member of Stray Kids? I'm assuming she told you about her relationship with us," Chan mused.
A small smile crept along Taeyong's face. "I assure you, I hold no grudges or ill will against you or your gang; on the contrary, I would like to be allies if you will allow it. And yes, my sister told me everything, and I have already consented to whatever decision she ends up making in the interest of our gangs. I have no reason to keep her from being a member of Stray Kids, so long as I know she will be treated respectfully," he said slowly, letting the hidden threat sink into the room.
But Chan smiled back, obviously agreeing with the other man's statement. "And I assure you, she will be."
"Then I have no need to detain you any further. You're free to leave now, with all of your members," Taeyong announced with twinkling eyes.
At that, some NCT members dispersed, leaving the room with relaxed postures and carefree gaits. Everyone sitting stood, awkwardly shaking hands and introducing themselves. Taeyong quickly went to Nari and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all of that with an audience, but it was the best way to go about reconciling with your gang," he apologized. Nari buried her face in his chest, her fingers curling over his shoulders.
"It's okay."
She broke away and let her brother migrate to her members, leaving her with the boy who had been sitting across from her, Mark. He came to her side and raised his eyebrows in a concerned gesture. "Are you all right? That was pretty intense," he admitted.
Nari nodded, but they both knew she wasn't telling the truth. "I'm just glad that no one got hurt," she said before remembering the ambush that her home had taken. "Well, permanently hurt."
They laughed, a welcome sound after such a serious conversation. Mark shook his head. "I can't imagine that going back home and to school will feel quite the same after this."
Oh God. School! They had been so caught up in their secret lives that none of them had had any time for regular activities. Nari wanted to die thinking about how much work she had to catch up on.
"Ugh," she groaned in mock pain. "It definitely won't."
"Oh, I'm really rude - you should go to your members," Mark apologized. "See you later."
Eager to do just that, Nari twisted her neck, searching for a certain someone's face. She locked on to his figure and streaked towards him, running straight into his arms as he laughed.
"I'm really glad you're okay," Chan whispered onto her head, squeezing her to his chest. As he pulled away, he frowned at her mockingly. "Now don't you go running off again," he scowled.
Nari giggled through the happy tears that had surfaced and wiped at her eyes. "I won't, not anytime soon," she assured him.
Taeyong sidled up to them, a teasing expression in his eyes. "I hate to be a rude host, but you all should probably go home; we have regular work to do around here."
All in agreement, the group bid their farewells to NCT and were escorted by Taeyong to the front door. As they climbed into their shared vehicle, Nari caught Chan frowning, his face creased in thought.
"Chan? What's wrong?"
He looked up, startled, then grinned and snapped his seatbelt into place as Minho cranked the car. "I just realized something after this visit."
Nari matched his grin and raised a curious brow. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"We really need to update our security system."
hello friends, i apologize for the very
overdue update. i'm just a lousy writer
and procrastinator (sorry Chan)
anyway, now that the drama has calmed down
some, are there any specific situations you
would like to see play out? lemme knowww