<><><><>Several hours before Y/N was called to Jaehyun's office<><><><><><>
"What's so important to discuss that a member of the council decided to visit me personally?" Jaehyun asked in a disinterested tone as he poured two glasses of brandy for him and his guest, sealing the decanter once he had finished.
"A member of the council? I know that it's best to keep an air of formality when in the presence of council members but given that it's just the two of us, do call me uncle, won't you?" The older man requested, accepting the drink as it was handed to him.
Jaehyun moved to sit at his desk while Suho remained standing at the vintage drum table which the decanter rested on.
"Why are you here?" He requested, setting his drink directly onto the cherrywood's finish.
Suho's eyes wandered around the room, feigning confusion towards his nephew's inquiry.
A soft sigh of frustration left the younger man's lungs.
"Why are you here, uncle?"
A sly smile crept onto Suho's face only for it to fade as a contemplative expression to succeed it.
The man began to swirl the amber liquid within its glass shell taking his time to notice how it coated the crystal walls for a fleeting instant before returning to a stagnant state.
Jaehyun, whose patience usually would have been wearing thin at this point, allowed the man his thoughts as he, himself, began to observe his liquor as well.
Suho was a member of Exo's council, an alliance organization of which, Jaehyun's father had also been a member. Exo could be characterized as a network of gangs or a grandfather gang, so to speak. It served as both an alliance and an enforcer, allowing associated organizations a considerable degree of protection against rival gangs. Several gangs in Seoul were affiliates of Exo, including NCT and all its current subgroups, Shinee, Super Junior, TVXQ, Red Velvet, BlackPink and many others. Although Exo was arguable the largest and most powerful gang alliance in Seoul, it wasn't the only one. Got7 for instance, arguably NCT's biggest rival gang was under the protection of JYP, an elusive organization that had begun growing exponentially over the past several years.
Although Exo's membership technically extends to any and all members of its associated gangs, it's the only Exo's council members who hold any real power. Joining Exo forces leaders to relinquish many of their decision-making freedoms in exchange for protection, meaning that the council now had final say on important decisions involving their gangs.
The council itself was made up by a select few individuals, each holding remarkable influence over the innerworkings of Seoul's mob scene. Jaehyun was familiar with each of the council members for his father had been a member of the council since its creation as had Suho.
The two had been friends since they met in Juvie as teens, NCT was the fruit of that friendship. They started out preforming simple bank robberies, then quickly grew into a full-fledged gang eventually forming subdivisions meant to expand their territories. Sooman was NCT's official leader and Suho was his right-hand man. They created Exo after forming an alliance with Super Junior and Shinee's former leaders.
Not all council members were experienced crime lords. A handful of them were better described as investors, such as Sehun, who made billions investing in the drug trade. Becoming a member of the council was almost impossible as members served lifetime appointments and a strict selective process was employed to take their places when they died. Those selected were never informed of their selection until after they were appointed to prevent any violence being committed against council members in the hopes of gaining a position.
Jaehyun held great disdain for the process since every time a member died, he would be replaced by yet another old geezer who would continue to uphold the council's outdated and traditional values.
To Jaehyun, the council was nothing more than just another source of irritation. When his father died unexpectedly, the several members of the council opposed him Jaehyun taking over his father's position at such a young age despite SM and Suho having been even younger than he was when they formed NCT. Their official objections only ceased when Suho vowed to watch over the young man, although they continued to express their disapproval whenever the subject was brought up. Being the son of SM, one of the council's original members gave Jaehyun a privilege that many of the other leaders did not have. He often got away with challenging the council with only a lecture for punishment whereas anyone else would risk forfeiting their gang's Exo membership altogether.
Jaehyun's status didn't spare him from any of the council's scrutiny though, if anything, it was magnified.
Out of all Exo's affiliated gangs, NCT was the most power, meaning that if Jaehyun messed up in any way, the losses could be detrimental.
Jaehyun had been called to face the council more than anyone else making him feel like their sole purpose was to piss him off. After the death of IU, the council began making what he viewed as unreasonable demands in order to protect NCT's image.
He had instructed Taeyong to send regular updates to the council regarding their captive and once Taeyong confirmed with them that not only was Y/N was proved irresponsible for IU's death, but that she had actually killed the man who was, Jaehyun knew that it'd be a matter of time before he would be summoned once again. Jaehyun ignored the councils request to meet with them and thus Suho was sent as a representative in their absence.
"Are you sure that the girl is responsible for Lucas's death?"
Jaehyun returned his focus to the gentleman who had wondered over to one of the bookshelves. He used his free hand to graze the bindings of each of the collected works as if he were looking for something in particular.
"If you came only to confirm the information that was sent to you, then you've wasted a trip."
Suho sighed, removing his hand from the bookshelf.
"I hope you're aware of how this could make us look."
Suho turned towards Jaehyun taking his time to meet him at his desk before sitting in the brown leather chair that mirrored his nephew's.
"Lucas having been killed by someone outside of NCT and all," He finished, taking a sip from the crystal tumbler.
Jaehyun quirked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Suho set his drink on a nearby coaster and proceeded to lift his leg crossing his foot over his thigh before leaning back in his chair.
"Think about it from a rival gang's point of view. A year into his new position, a position given to him at what many considered too young of an age, the leader of NCT's sister ends up being kidnapped and murdered by Wayv, a gang made up of former NCT members. Not only that, but three years later, NCT has still been unable find the man responsible," He recounted, staring off into the room.
"That's because he was dead this whole time. How the fuck were we supposed to know he was dead? You can't find a guy who can't be found," Jaehyun reminded defensively.
"You of all people should know that image matters far more than truth. Remember how the council basically scrambled to protect NCT's image? How we kept the truth about IU's death under wraps so that to outsiders her death would have seemed like an accident? How none of us had even a second to mourn her loss as we were all too busy trying to do damage control?"
Jaehyun didn't respond.
"IU's death was tragic. You know this, but you also realized the importance of minimizing its effect on NCT which is why as SM's successor, you pushed through the pain to protect those of who were still alive, your members. We knew that presenting her death as an accident wouldn't work long term, but the council hoped that it would buy you time while you searched for Wayv but now...."
Suho's eyes met Jaehyun's as he stressed the seriousness of the situation.
"Now that Wayv knows you have Lucas's killer, they're going to start forming connections, building alliances with other gangs, anything it takes to get to her. Word will get out that it was actually Wayv who were responsible for IU's death and that the man who organized it wasn't killed by NCT, but on accident by a mere burlesque dancer. NCT won't just be seen as weak, it'll become the laughingstock of Seoul."
"But, Uncle, Wayv must not want word getting out about Lucas's death either. Why else would they have covered up his death and continued on as though he were still running everything?"
"That is true. It's safe to say that before recent events Wayv didn't want the nature of their leader's death reaching their rival gangs which is probably why they didn't expose us when we buried the truth about IU's death. They would have wanted to avoid suspicion at all costs. Even now, I'm sure that Wayv would prefer to keep this information to themselves especially after learning that Lucas was killed by someone with Y/N's background."
"So, what's the problem?" Jaehyun asked, feeling uneasy about where his uncle was leading.
"The problem is that even if Wayv doesn't want details regarding Lucas's death reaching the public, their image won't be hit as hard as NCT's will, and it stands to reason that they'd be more than willing to cut off a few of their fingers if it meant NCT would lose its limbs."