"okay, 'miracle' is almost over, so wayv are getting out of stage soon! now i want jaehyun, jungwoo, shotaro, chenle and jisung. get ready to join kun and hendery on stage to perform 'vroom'!" the manager yelled backstage as the 16 neos that weren't on stage ran around.

jisung was among them, giggling sillily as one of the make-up artists ran after donghyuck to rearrange his hair.

8 long years had passed since jisung had been accepted into sm entertainment – back in 2013.

and by now, jisung was the maknae of the famous kpop band called nct, getting ready to perform the song 'vroom' from their newest album 'universe' in front of their thousands of fans.

this was the life jisung had always wanted.

being an idol, singing songs and dancing in front of people that admired him, becoming a role model from some of them, and inspiring them all.

jisung absolutely loved it. but sadly, it wasn't all...

he was still the son of the great park and lovely trap, the rulers of korea's biggest mafia. and this implied lots of things – most of which weren't beautiful (so, fuck johnny when he sang 'so be yourself, be beautiful', because jisung was far from being that).

"jaehyun, jungwoo, shotaro, chenle and jisung! on stage right now!"

the group of boys headed on stage, readjusting their mics before positioning themselves to start the dance when the music would be switched on.

this was all thrilling, dancing your life out in front of so many people who loved what you did. it was all jisung ever wanted his life to be like. but he wasn't born in the right family for that...

at least, he still had some time to become the next ruler of death park. he still had some time to finish his idol duties before taking over the business; his parents were still young and in shape, more capable than ever to manage all the criminal activities being a mafia implied.

the song came to an end way too soon to jisung's liking.

the younger member was having too much fun dancing and singing in front of his fans, he would never get enough of it...

but sadly, as the last notes of 'vroom' could be heard, jisung held the final pose before walking out of stage to get ready for his next song which would be 'beautiful', the title track that absolutely didn't represent himself...

"you did so well out there!" taeyong patted jisung's shoulder as soon as the maknae was outstage.

"thank you, hyung." he replied with a smile.

"you can go and change in the changing rooms. the stylists prepared your stuff, don't worry." taeyong continued explaining as he gave glances behind jisung at his members performing the next song. "oh, and don't forget to pass by the make-up artists to ask if they need to do some little touch-ups."

"okay, i'm going then." jisung nodded, heading towards the changing rooms.

the youngest member made his way across the backstage corridors, finally reaching the changing rooms.

after grabbing the new clothes he was supposed to wear, jisung picked his phone from the table and unlocked it when he saw a message from his mother.

mom

hello honey

we were thinking about having a family reunion to celebrate new year

all your aunts and uncles will be there at the villa to spend a good time together

can you ask your manager if you could come too?

love you

jisung sighed, placing his phone back on the table and undressing to change clothes.

this message may seem like a cute and heart-whelming invitation to a family dinner for new year's eve, but it was, in fact, a completely different thing.

he had learnt to read between the lines with time, and he knew that this meant nothing friendly nor family related.

actually, this 'family reunion to celebrate new year' was in fact more like a 'huge mafia gathering to do the traditional rituals for the new yearI'.

and the 'aunts and uncles' were no one else than 'the members of death park', that would all meet at 'the villa' also known as a 'huge mansion bought with dirty money that was used as a meeting point for the mafia'.

oh, yeah, and the last part about 'asking his manager if he could come there too' was obviously an order telling jisung that he needed to persuade his manager to let him go, using whatever means needed to do so.

"jisung!"

the younger lifted his head, buttoning his pants and tucking his shirt in as he smiled at the boy that had entered the changing rooms.

"hi chenle. how was the performance?"

"it was perfect as usual! i need to be quick, we're performing 'beautiful' in one song and i need to change." chenle replied happily, rushing towards the hangers to snatch his clothes.

"be quick then, i'll be waiting for outside." jisung informed.

"alright! see you!"

the youngest member walked out of the changing rooms and closed the door behind his back, staying in front of the closed door for a while, to make sure no one would enter. he knew how shy chenle was, and he was also aware that the older boy would never change with another member inside, so, as his closest friend, it was jisung's duty to make sure chenle was comfortable.

chenle had been introduced to jisung and the other sm rookies in march 2016, only a few months before nct dream's debut. jisung and him became friends quickly, due to their close age, and they both spent majority of their time together.

since then, both boys had been glued to each other's side, being considered as the best of friends by their members. but with puberty hitting the two boys, things had slowly changed – on chenle's side mostly.

growing up, the chinese male's vision had started to change, and as jisung grew taller and became more like a man, chenle couldn't help the feelings that he had developed for the younger male. sure, it was nothing too problematic, just a mere crush on a guy that chenle blamed on the fact their company didn't allow them to see girls of their age that much, and on the fact he basically lived 24/7 with him. but it didn't really matter. chenle could deal with it, it wasn't that problematic.

"i'm done!" chenle exclaimed as he opened the changing room's doors, being dressed in a pastel purple shirt and white jeans.

"let's go to the make-up artists, then?" jisung asked, pulling on the fabric of chenle's shirt a slight bit to make it look better.

"s-sure." chenle nodded shyly as him and jisung walked away side by side.

⇄

"well done guys! you did an amazing job there! you can all be proud of yourselves!" the manager exclaimed, clapping his hands at the group of 21 panting idols that had just finished their concert. "you deserve a good rest now, so go change, i'm calling the cars and we're bringing you back to the dorms."

with that said, the whole group handed back to the staff their mics and earpieces before tiredly heading towards the changing rooms to get into more comfortable clothes.

well, not jisung. the maknae stood behind after giving back his mic and ear pieces. he needed to talk to his manager about new year, which was in 10 days – he needed to have a bit of time to plan something if his manager refused.

"huh... hyung?" jisung called, making the manager lift his head from his phone.

"oh, jisung? what do you need?" he replied, smiling at the youngest member.

"i... i have something to ask you..." jisung fidgeted with his figners. "it's about new year..."

"sure, tell me."

"well..." jisung searched for a good way to phrase it. "my parents told me we were having a big family reunion to celebrate new year, and... yeah, my aunts and uncles will be there, and they wanted to know if it would be possible for me to go with them..."

jisung lifted his head slowly, meeting eyes with his manager who seemed to be in deep thought.

"it's only for a day. i'll join them on the 31st, in the afternoon, and then, i'll be back here in the evening, on the january, 1st." jisung added quickly, knowing that this could help with his manager's decision.

"well, if it's a family gathering..." the manager sighed. "i mean, you definitely have to go. new year is important and everything... and it's only for a day, so i don't see the problem..."

"really?!" jisung let out, quite surprised by his manager's answer.

"yeah, but you'll need to post a picture on our instagram account to wish everyone a happy new year, okay?" the manager asked.

"of course, i will." jisung nodded. "thank you so much hyung. i'm so glad you accepted."

"it's normal, jisung."

the youngest member turned around, ready to make his way to the changing rooms and tell his parents on the phone that he was allowed to join them for the new year ceremony of them mafia.

"jisung."

the maknae turned around as he tensed, wondering what the manager would be telling him now. he wasn't going to take back his word, was he?

"yes, hyung?" jisung asked, tilting his head to the side innocently – sometimes, being in a mafia was useful, and it was the case for the manipulation skills.

"your parents know that you are an idol, right?" the manager questioned.

jisung's brows furrowed. "of course, why?"

"because... they're always calling you because they want you to go with them somewhere and things like that. it's okay, because it's only for a day or a few hours every time, but you really need to tell them that they cannot keep doing that, because it will compromise your idol career one day..."

jisung sighed.

he had been warned by his father when he had accepted to get into sm: he would need to do some double-dealing. and this was inevitable.

his parents often called him to give him mafia tasks: getting money somewhere, threatening people, killing others. these were things he did on a regular basis because of who he was.

that is why he often needed to ask his manager to go with his parents somewhere – he made it slip as his parents wanting to spend some of his youth with them before he becomes older and lives away from them. but let's be real, those were the only times jisung was allowed out to do some illegal activities – which no one knew about – but these weren't the only time jisung did those same illegal activities. he only asked permission during the day; at night, he would sneak out of the dorm silently and act as if nothing had happened when he woke up in the morning.

but, anyway, his manager and his members had noticed he was spending a lot of time outside, with his parents only.

"i know... i told them." jisung nodded. "but they can't seem to understand..."

"it's okay. don't think about it too much." the manager sighed. "just spend new year's eve with them and enjoy the time with your family. but if this keeps going on too much, i'll need to pay them a visit and ask them to stop, okay?"

jisung nodded slowly.

did he have a choice? no.

he had told his parents that he would be able to do both.

and now, as hard as things were, he needed to keep his word.