— chapter twenty one: happiness —
the next morning donghyuck had given himself some privacy by retreating onto the mansion's balcony. even though big it was barely used except by renjun who had started a painting. donghyuck however ignored the easel and just leaned onto the railing which stopped him from falling down into the garden. it was still so early that a slight breeze was enough to make donghyuck shiver but he didn't mind.
as he watched the sun go up and in the process lit the sky in warm colours he started thinking. of course he didn't regret choosing the mafia over his father. but he still came to think of what to do now. sure, he had his room here which he shared with the people closest to him but what if that room was needed? nct could always get new members and donghyuck wouldn't want to take up their space just because he decided to rebel against his father. but somehow he didn't want to leave either. these people made him feel at peace, at home.
he remembered yesterday evening where taeil had handed him another gun. it was almost the exact same to the one donghyuck had been using before except that now his gun had its own number and donghyuck's name engraved on it as well as of course nct's logo like every gun. his gun had the number seventeen. when donghyuck asked taeil what the numbers meant, the man had explained that each member had a number on their gun. they were arranged according to age with taeil being first. until now they were nineteen guns since neither renjun and jeno nor jisung and chenle owned one. taeil joked though that the youngest two had been very vocal about wanting a gun too, especially jisung who had been clear with his wish to join the mafia.
this little incident had donghyuck thinking now. taeil had said that the two youngest and renjun and jeno didn't possess a gun because they weren't part of the mafia. but donghyuck did possess a gun, did that mean he was part of the mafia? as weird as it sounded but donghyuck didn't mind. actually he felt good when thinking about himself as a nct member. it sounded completely right in his head.
he made a mental note to ask taeyong about the possibility of him becoming a member officially. he could be useful with his business connections maybe? at least that's what he hoped since he couldn't offer much besides the basics mark and jaehyun had taught him.
over the next few days taeyong and donghyuck worked together to figure out on how to bail mark out. during these times donghyuck desperately wanted to adress his issue to taeyong but he was too shy and saw that taeyong also had other things on his mind.
"i did it." the leader told him one evening. it had been a week or so and donghyuck knew what he meant. he had bailed him out.
"really?!" donghyuck asked surprised as he hadn't expected the process to be done this fast.
"yup. again thank you donghyuck. can i repay you somehow?" taeyong asked. donghyuck gulped. maybe this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
"actually yes hyung." donghyuck said. taeyong looked at him in interest and nodded his head for the younger man to go on.
"i know you might be weirded out a bit but," he took a deep breath and then mumbled, "i would like to join nct if that's possible. i know i can't offer much but i'm willing to learn! i just-"
"shhh." taeyong mumbled as he interrupted donghyuck's ranting. donghyuck looked up to him and to his relief the older male had a smile on his lips.
"if that's your wish, i would be happy to have you as a new member of nct." taeyong said which made donghyuck yell out a squeal. he quickly apologised "i'm sorry." as taeyong laughed at his cute reaction.
"don't be. but remember that once you join nct it'll be very hard for you to leave again. all members, including me, will be counting on you, your loyalty and your skill." taeyong replied. but donghyuck just carelessly nodded, he wasn't really listening anymore. taeyong had said yes and that was all he wanted to hear.
"i'll give my best, i promise." he replied, fiddling with his fingers to suppress his happiness. he had to remain calm.
"i count on that. i need you to sign a contract though. it's just in case but i don't think neither me nor you will ever need it." taeyong informed him, giving him a curt look.
"i certainly hope so. i have one more question though. am i allowed to continue my work as the ceo of lee enterprises? i wouldn't like to pass this position to anyone else." he asked.
"i don't see why not. but remember that you'll be send to night missions with other members. i expect you to be fit then, both physically and mentally." taeyong replied.
"i think i already have an idea on how to manage that." donghyuck said and then gave his hyung a quick hug before saying "just tell me where to sign and i will."
taeyong lifted his hand, telling donghyuck to wait. the man was gone for a bit before returning with a paper and a pen.
"if you want, you can look over it. i have nothing to hide." taeyong said and handed him the paper. donghyuck took it and read over the lines. it basically just said that he promised to be loyal to nct, not betray them and so on. after he read everything carefully he took the pen and signed at the bottom. taeyong did the same and then giggled.
"what is it, hyung?" donghyuck asked.
"oh, i'm just thinking about everyone's reactions when they receive the news." the other responded. donghyuck smiled as he imagined the joy on everyone's faces. well that was with an exception for two.
"could i tell renjun and jeno first. i want them to know so they have a bit of time to process it. i'm their best friend after all." he requested.
"of course. i'll tell everyone after dinner so i'd suggest you get it done before." taeyong responded, ruffling donghyuck's hair. the latter exclaimed "sure thing!" and stood up to leave.
"one more question!" taeyong said and held him back.
"what is it?" donghyuck asked the man.
"would you like to have a fake name? of course here in the mafia everyone already knows your name but due to your status as a ceo i would suggest you get one for whenever you operate as a nct member."
"good idea. give me a bit of time to think about it." donghyuck hummed and taeyong finally let him go.
the young man instantly made his way to his room in hopes to meet jeno and renjun but to his surprise they weren't present. neither was jaemin. however donghyuck met xiaojun and hendery in the hallway and asked them about jeno's and renjun's location. the two informed him that his friends were in the basement with jaemin and yangyang. donghyuck thanked them and then made his way downstairs.
indeed there were renjun and jeno who were watching jaemin and yangyang. the latter was currently explaining something to jaemin. it looked like jaemin was in pain which kind of irritated donghyuck.
"what's happening?" he asked jeno whilst joining the two in sitting on the floor.
"yangyang is explaining to jaemin why some kind of kick is hurting really badly. he knows anatomy and stuff." jeno replied. donghyuck giggled at his answer before remembering why he was actually here. he nudged renjun who also finally gave his attention to donghyuck.
"i need to talk with you two. alone." he whispered. he saw jeno and renjun exchanging looks but neither of them said anything and just followed donghyuck into a quiet corner of the basement.
"i know this might sound weird to you two but i decided to join the nct mafia." donghyuck mumbled hastily.
"quick junnie! act surprised!" jeno giggled. donghyuck stared at him in astonishment. he had expected a lot of reactions but this certainly hadn't been one of them.
renjun gave donghyuck a 'are you serious?' look and then said "we guessed that already." donghyuck gave them a stunned look and asked "how?"
"are you kidding? we're not blind. we can see how much you enjoy being around these people, how much you enjoy living and working with them. and you're a good fighter too." renjun said sassily. donghyuck stuck his tongue out but internally he felt like crying from happiness. the two accepted him, not even saying anything against his idea.
"by the way, we have news as well." jeno mentioned. donghyuck's head jerked up and he teasingly asked "jaemin is your boyfriend?" both boys in front of him blushed and renjun shook his head and mumbled "not yet."
"god, you guys need to get your shit together for real." donghyuck joked.
"you shut up." jeno said and put donghyuck's head into a headlock. right, he had completely forgotten jeno could do this stuff.
"let. me. go." he groaned and jeno released him.
"you really need to stop doing that. renjun may likes to get choked but i don't." he said and received a slap in the face from renjun.
"okay i'm sorry, jesus." he said and his friends finally let him off. "you both have too much anger in you. can't even make a joke." donghyuck mumbled. jeno raied his fist warningly and donghyuck laughed. both renjun and jeno joined in.
"okay, i'll leave you alone. i'm going to ask doyoung-hyung to teach me some more defensive moves." he said and waved his hand as a goodbye. the couple did the same before going back to their places whilst quietly chatting, undoubtedly about what donghyuck had told them.
as doyoung was busy right now, another member offered to practice with donghyuck. his name was ten. donghyuck hadn't interacted with him much but had seen already that the man was extremely skilled when it came to moving his body. he taught donghyuck a few new tricks which the younger was very grateful for.
"you have talent." ten applauded him as donghyuck finally managed to bring him down to the floor.
"thank you." donghyuck panted in response. he may had talent but he certainly still had to work on his endurance.
after practice he took a quick shower and then joined yangyang. the two hung out for a bit, just joking around in the medical room. yangyang insisted on once again checking up on donghyuck's old bullet wound. the latter let him, knowing that yangyang knew what to do. the taiwanese inspected donghyuck's scar and felt it for a bit.
"do you feel any pain?" he asked.
"nope." donghyuck hummed.
"very good. it's healed all perfectly." yangyang smiled. donghyuck smiled back at the man.
"dinner is ready!" the two heard a voice shouting through the mansion. the two stood up and left into the huge dining area. they all ate together before taeyong stood up.
"i have two good news." he announced. everyone looked at their leader in interest.
"first of all, i'm glad to announce that donghyuck is our new member. i hope we can all work together and you guys accept him as our new member." taeyong said and started clapping his hands. the rest followed and many members jumped up to congratulate and welcome donghyuck. the latter was overwhelmed by the massive positive reactions. he didn't know whether he was worth of it or enough.
"now to the other news. i'm happy to announce that we have found a way to free mark. donghyuck has offered to help us pay mark's bail fund so tomorrow we can probably go and finally get our member back." taeyong said. chaos erupted and everyone was happy. donghyuck was surprised that it was so soon already but he didn't mind it. if he was honest he missed mark, a lot. knowing he would see him again tomorrow made donghyuck's day just even better.