"boys, i... i don't know what to say..." nct's manager stated, looking timidly in the 21 pairs of eyes that were glued to him.

it seemed like none of this felt real for any of them.

they couldn't believe any of this.

they couldn't believe jisung was in jail because he was a mafia leader.

they couldn't believe chenle was in the hospital because he had been harmed by jisung.

none of this made sense.

it was all too absurd and impossible to be true.

"d-do you think this is true... manager-nim?" johnny asked.

"i... i have no idea..." the manager sighed. "did he never tell anything to you? any of you?"

the boys shook their head in unison.

jisung was quite shy and reserved when he was with them. he wasn't that expressive, and he tried not to get noticed too much. but all of them had always assumed that he did this because it was his nature.

none of them even imagined that he hid such a huge secret.

"jisung was closest to chenle than any of us." jeno declared, breaking the silence. "if he spoke about it to someone, it has to be him."

"i don't think he told him." the manager sighed. "i mean, if he really did kidnap chenle, why would he tell him he was part of a mafia..."

"but are we even sure he was part of a mafia...?" taeil asked.

everybody thought for a while.

"the guy speaking on tv did mention about how they got rid of the leaders of the death park mafia and then how jisung supposedly became the new leader... and coincidentally, jisung's parents died earlier this year." jaemin spoke up.

"jisung's godfather had told me their house had crashed down because of the poor foundations and that they had died under the weight of the walls and the roof." the manager recalled his conversation with jisung's godfather.

"but what if they had been murdered?" taeyong raised a brow. "and what if jisung's godfather was also part of all of this?"

"this would make jisung the new leader of the mafia..."

the members all exchanged glances, realising how serious this whole situation was.

they were slowly putting all the pieces together, and understanding what had really been happening.

"but why would jisung kidnap chenle?" kun asked.

"the man on tv said it was for money." jeno replied.

"yeah, it's no secret that chenle's family is rich. mafias surely know that they could get a lot of money in exchange of chenle..." the manager nodded.

"the fans too." taeyong added. "chenle is a worldwide known idol. some crazy fans would be ready to pay a whole lot to have him freed."

"yeah, that too..."

"but jisung could never do that... he's not like that..." jaemin muttered, biting on his bottom lip in nervousness.

jisung was nct's maknae, and he had been since 2016.

he had been babied by all the members, and taken care of so well.

they all knew how cute he used to be, and how well puberty hit him, making him a tall baby chick.

it was no secret that jisung was a clumsy mess and that his clumsiness often entertained the other members.

yeah, they all knew how jisung was. they had seen him growing up, and they had grown up with him.

but all of this made them rethink everything... did they really know him?

"i'm not sure we know how jisung really is anymore, jaemin..." taeyong said sadly.

before anyone else could have anything, the sound of the keys jiggling in the lock was heard, and the front door was pushed open, revealing dream and wayv's managers with a sad looking chenle standing in between them.

"chenle!" all of the boy exclaimed, collectively standing up and taking steps towards the boy.

"careful boys." wayv's manager warned, stepping a bit in front of chenle to prevent anyone to unintentionally hurt him. "he's been through a lot these past 24 hours."

the manager slowly stepped aside, allowing the members to look at chenle.

"chenle, are you okay?" taeyong asked, slowly approaching the injured member.

the chinese boy silently shrugged, not daring to look at his leader in his eyes.

he didn't know if he felt ashamed, angry, sick or sad right now. perhaps a bit of all.

the past 24 hours had been a lot like the manager had said.

first of all, the kiss he had shared with jisung before sleeping in his embrace, which had definitely made him feel lots of emotions at once, messing up with his mind.

then, the kidnapping; someone's car colliding with theirs, the car window breaking, and an opaque bag being placed over his head before he was pulled out of the car and knocked out using a chemical.

also, being tied in the air by his wrists while people discussed about how they would make money out of him.

eventually, being harmed slowly and painfully.

and finally, discovering that the jisung he had fallen in love with was in fact one of the mafia members that had made his life a nightmare.

so, no, he was not okay.

"would you like something to drink? or do you want to lie down somewhere?" taeyong continued asking, not wanting anything else than pleasing the younger boy who had lived traumatizing events.

chenle shook his head no, still keeping his mouth shut.

it was as if he had lost the ability to speak. he didn't have the strength to let a sound out of his mouth anymore.

"what can i do for you then, chenle?" taeyong tilted his head to the side as all of the members looked at the smaller boy.

still without emiting a sound, chenle took wobbly steps on his own towards one of the closed doors around the room. he knew that door too well, he had been crying leaning on it the day before, when jisung had been ignoring him. this room was leading to jisung's bedroom, the place he had felt so happy the night before as he had been cuddled into the younger's embrace all night long.

but with all the recent events, chenle was sure that this room held more than just the remembrance of chenle and jisung's lovely night. this room was full of secrets that could make chenle confirm what he hoped was a big joke.

with a trembling hand, chenle gripped the handle and tried opening the room, only to find out it was locked from inside. he tried again, pushing harder, but the door didn't move an inch.

gulping, chenle turned around, facing his members and managers who were all looking at him in silence. his eyes found taeyong's comforting ones, and he blinked a few times, glancing at the door, and then at taeyong again.

it seemed like the leader understood the message as he walked towards chenle with a sigh.

as soon as chenle had stepped aside, taeyong took a deep breath before kicking the door hard, right beside the handle, making it open on the first try.

chenle walked in as the other members gathered in front of the door, all trying to peek inside at what chenle was doing.

the chinese male looked under the bed and opened the drawers of the dresser, rummaging through them before closing them.

he then opened the cupboard, pushing the coats and clothes around until he found shoeboxes. chenle pulled them out, throwing them to the side when he found shoes in them. the last box was pitch black and chenle gulped as there was no pair of shoes in it.

instead, he found money from different currencies, handcuffs as well as small metallic objects which represented skulls, just like the one jisung had tattooed on his chest.

last but not least, chenle found a familiar bottle that he pulled out, allowing the other members to catch a glimpse of the red liquid that was inside.

jisung had told chenle it was grenadine, but chenle was highly doubting it right now.

why would jisung keep expired grenadine in his closet?

chenle twisted the bottle open, placing his nose over the bottleneck to determine what it could be.

the metallic smell didn't mistake him. it was blood.

from who? he had no fucking idea, but knowing this was blood was enough for him to make him realise this was all painfully true.

the chinese boy then walked towards the desk, checking under it, and inside the drawers but finding nothing relevant. that was until he noticed a small piece of paper exceeding from behind it.

chenle gripped the corner of the furniture and tried pulling it away from the wall, but failing miserably because he was drained of any strength.

seeing his struggles, taeyong walked in to help and used one of his hands to pull the wooden desk away from the wall.

chenle then bent forwards, looking at what this paper behind the desk could be, but the sight only had him gasping.

with a trembling hand, he reached for some of the knives and guns that were attached behind the desk, noticing the skull engraved on each of them, that same skull jisung had tattooed on his chest.

chenle let all of the weapons fall to the ground, making the other members gasp at their sight.

under their astonished eyes, chenle started crying, his emotions taking over him as he broke down, realising that he had fallen for a lie. a big one that is.

⇄

"thank you, gentlemen, but i will need to have you leave us."

"mr president, this isn't a good idea. they are criminals." one of the police officers stated.

"and they are behind bars. nothing will happen to me." the president replied.

"but it is for your safety."

"as the president of the south korean republic, i am asking you all to leave me alone with these men, thank you."

with that said, the guards and policemen exchanged glances before slowly leaving.

once the door had closed behind them, the president turned around, facing the mafia members who still had their jaws on the floor.

"well, hello death park, i am moon jaein, president of the republic of south korea." he announced, smiling at the men inside the cell. his smile transformed in a frown as he saw the expression on the boy's faces. "oh... i'm guessing heesun didn't tell you anything about this..."

all heads suddenly turned towards heesun who had a sheepish smile on.

"thank you for coming, mister president." heesun spoke, approaching the president.

"as promised. i owed you something." the president replied.

"wait..." jisung shook his head. "well, it is an honour to meet you, mister president, but... i don't really understand how... i mean... yeah?"

"oh, you surely are park jisung, son of park insu, the great park, and member of nct." the president spoke. "i am very happy to meet you."

jisung blinked a few times, wondering if he was dreaming or if the president of his country had just said that he was happy to meet him.

this was completely surreal.

"h-huh..."

"well, since heesun didn't tell you anything, let me explain what's happening." the president declared. "a few years ago, i came to learn that some people were planning a coup d'état against me and my government. you see, i overheard conversations and understood that i only had a few days more to live." he continued. "that is why i wanted to have someone that would be willing to get rid of those people, but sadly, i couldn't find anyone. i knew my death was close on the day the coup d'état was planned, but thankfully, heesun and your father came to me and told me that a coup d'état was planned and that it was surely my last day. i offered them a large sum of money for my safety, and they got rid of those people before the coup d'état could ever happen; but they never accepted the money. that is why, after long negotiations, i gave them my number and told them that since they had saved my life, i wouldn't bother them with their illegal activities, and that i was ready to help them getting out of a messy situation. and when i saw heesun's name on the phone earlier today, i knew that it would be my turn to save you."

the mafia members blinked in astonishment, looking between heesun and the president.

"why the hell did you never tell us about it?" jisung asked his godfather.

"well, your father told me it needed to stay completely secret and that no one else than him and i should know about this very particular... partnership..." heesun explained.

"so, you are going to get us out of jail, mister president?" jihu asked, still not believing what was happening. a whole mafia, aka a criminal group that was causing troubles to the whole country, was about to get helped by the president.

"of course!" the president replied. "just tell me what the plan is, and everything will be done."

jisung thought for a while.

"we can't be freed right now. i do not want you, mister president, to be accused of being associated with a mafia." jisung spoke. "we will get out of jail legally, and this will be possible if we manage to prove that i was innocent and that the real culprit was ilsung."

"doesn't sm have cameras everywhere around the building?" myungki asked.

"it does." jisung nodded. "mister president, you're going to have to ask the sm staff to show you the recordings. once you'll have them, you can take them to the police and show that we are innocent. that way you can have us freed."

"i can do that." the president nodded. "but for the other mafia?"

"that's when things get really funny..."

⇄

"hello, hu ilsung speaking." the man's voice rang on the other side of the phone. "who am i talking with?"

"hello mister hu, i am moon jaein, president of the republic of south korea." the president spoke in a calm voice.

a silence was heard, probably because ilsung was taking in what had just been said.

"m-mister president...?" ilsung stuttered.

"exactly mister hu. you should have received a letter from the government."

shuffling was heard on the other side of the phone. "yes, i have it here."

"perfect, could you open it please?"

there was more shuffling, and then a small gasp.

"w-what- "

"mister hu, this is an invite for you and all the members of your mafia to receive the south korean order of civil merit. it is the highest distinction for a civilian, and is given as a thank you for improving out citizens' welfare by getting rid of the biggest mafia of the country."

"i-i... t-thank you mister president." ilsund stuttered again.

"the pleasure is all mine, mister hu." the president spoke. "i will be giving you this distinction in person, tomorrow evening, at 5pm in front of the national assembly building. an announcement will be made tonight and tomorrow on the news to tell the citizens about this." he continued. "i would just need to know how much you will be so that i can get the right number of medals."

"w-well, we are... we are 37." ilsung said after a while.

"perfect." the president nodded. "we'll see each other in person tomorrow then, mister hu. don't forget to come a bit early."

"o-of course, mister president. thank you again."

"the pleasure's mine."

the president then pressed the red button to end the call and turned around to face jisung and the members of death park.

as asked by jisung, the president had gone to the sm building the morning after their conversation to ask to see the video footage. he had then brought them to the police and asked them to free death park without taking action on dark danger yet.

and here they were now, death park standing in the president's office as the president had ended the call with hu ilsung for the last part of their plan.

"well, justice will finally be made."

jisung smirked.

after all this time, he will be able to take revenge on dark danger.

for trying to overtake them.

for killing his parents.

for making his life a mess

and for having hurt the most important boy in jisung's life: zhong chenle.