mark crouched down next to jisung, looking at the younger boy who had his eyes trained on nct who were walking around the dock, waiting for a shipment.

"i'm almost into their line," jaemin mumbled over the ear piece.

"fuck!"

"what? what's wrong?" jeno asked, panicked from jaemin's sudden scream.

"since when did their security get this good?" jaemin whined. "it'll take forever to get through now."

mark pursed his lips, trying not to smile. donghyuck really was the best at what he does.

"what should we do now?" chenle asked, looking at jeno.

yuta looked up and his eyes scanned the area, meeting mark's and then jisung's.

yuta smirked, turning towards jungwoo and mark immediately knew what he was saying. mark could practically hear it because yuta said it so often.

"go have fun, but not too much fun."

a grin made its way on jungwoo's lips and he looked over to where mark and jisung were.

"fuck, they saw us," mark cursed, silently talking with jungwoo through his eyes.

"get up you dumbass," mark said to jisung, grabbing the younger's arm and running in the direction of jeno and chenle.

"woah," jisung mumbled in shock, looking back only to see a flare cover up the moon.

"did you look at it," mark asked, pushing the male down behind a tree.

jisung nodded, blinking his eyes to try and get his sight back.

mark clicked his tongue, "you know he has a bunch of flares and likes to use them."

jisung didn't say anything.

"what the fuck is this," jaemin asked in shock. "it's playing a video?"

it was playing random shitposts, making renjun laugh.

"okay, that's actually really funny," renjun forced out in between his laughs.

"hey there," a voice scared mark and jisung and they turned and saw jungwoo standing there, a bright smile on his lips.

jisung fumbled and grabbed his gun, pointing it at jungwoo, so mark did the same.

"there really is no point in those guns," jungwoo shrugged, throwing the explosive in his hand up in the air and then catching it again.

"dude run!" chenle yelled through their in ears.

"i'm going!" jeno replied. "renjun, where are you?"

"they've got us cornered!" renjun cried.

"good luck," jaemin read from his computer screen. "guys get out of there!"

mark looked at jungwoo, curious as to what he meant. he didn't remember any of this in the plan.

nct had tipped of dream to get them to the dock. nct said they "had a package arriving," so dream was there.

mark thought they were only supposed to scare dream, not this.

jisung went to fire his gun, but it was swiftly taken out of his hands and he was at the other end of the gun now.

jisung's eyes widened seeing ten standing there, pointing his own gun at him emotionlessly.

mark was trying to figure out what to do, but between the boys all yelling through the ear pieces and jisung's heavy breaths next to him, he couldn't focus.

mark pointed his gun at jungwoo, but before he could do anything, jisung went to go take the gun from ten.

ten swiftly hit him in the head with the bottom of the gun, making the younger fall unconscious.

"taeyong is going to be pissed," jungwoo sung, snickering at ten.

"he was annoying me," ten scoffed.

mark lowered his gun and shot twice at the ground, hoping his in ear picked it up so the boys thought he was actually fighting.

"sorry," ten mouthed, going over and punching mark on the side of his face and then cutting his arm with his knife.

mark bit his lip. it was for the mission, he was okay. he had gotten worse.

"go," jungwoo mouthed, moving his head to the side.

mark nodded, sending a smile towards the two boys before picking up jisung and running in the direction of where he thought renjun was.

"mark? are you guys good?" jaemin's voice yelled in worry since the two hadn't said anything.

"jisung is knocked out, but we'll be at renjun soon," mark's breathless voice replied.

mark heard a yell and recognized the voice. johnny. why was johnny yelling?

worry grew in mark, but he shook it away, continuing to run. yuta's capo, johnny's capo, and wayv were there- everyone would be fine.

mark finally made it to the car, shoving jisung in before getting in himself, closing the door.

"what's wrong?" mark asked, seeing jeno's face scrunched up.

jeno moved his hand from his arm, showing a cut. "a bullet grazed me."

"let me see," mark mumbled, moving closer to the younger male and holding his arm.

maybe that's why johnny was yelling because someone actually opened fire at dream when they were told minimal damage.

"that's a bad graze," mark sighed. "i can stitch it when we get back."

jeno, too distracted by his pain, nodded, allowing mark to put pressure on the wound.

"we can go to my house. my parents are back in china and no one else will be there," chenle said, renjun nodding and driving to chenle's house.

"i'll meet you guys there," jaemin's voice slightly shocked mark. he had somewhat forgotten jaemin was still able to hear everything.

"can you grab an alcohol pad, a sewing needle, and some thread? a pair of scissors as well," mark asked jaemin.

"on it."

mark quickly took jeno into the house, following chenle who was opening the door and leading them to a place where mark could help jeno.

"here you go," jaemin came in moments later, handing mark what he needed.

"why did you guys leave me with jisung," renjun groaned, throwing the male onto the couch.

"clean the wound on his head," mark told chenle. "be careful though, it might be deep. take some warm water and a towel."

chenle nodded, doing as told.

mark quickly stitched jeno's wound, bandaging it afterwords.

"here," chenle had come back and handed jeno some pain killers and water.

"you're really good at that," jaemin complimented mark, having been watching the whole time.

"i've had to do it one too many times," mark admitted. "to myself as well."

jaemin was going to ask, but then he saw the blood dripping from mark's arm. "you're bleeding too."

jaemin forced mark to sit down before going to get stuff to clean mark's wound.

mark didn't even feel it after ten had grazed him, he was too focused on dream.

"you need to continue to drink," mark told jeno, getting up. "i'll get you a drink."

"no, i'll do it," renjun said, getting up. "you sit and help yourself rather than everyone else for once."

mark smiled at renjun and nodded, sitting down. "if chenle has orange juice, give that to jeno."

renjun gave him a thumbs up.

"what do you guys normally do if you get hurt?" mark asked as jaemin cleaned the cut on his arm.

"jeno knows some first aid, so he does whatever he can," jaemin answered. "sometimes we have to look up what to do on the internet though."

mark giggled, imagining them all crowded around a computer while trying to stitch someone else together again.

"no one has ever gotten that hurt before though," jaemin admitted. "normally we have cuts and bruises, not open wounds. thank god you were here."

mark smiled at jaemin, ruffling the younger's hair. "hey, it's okay. everyone is fine."

jaemin bit his lip and nodded, taking a deep breath.

mark's heart softened. "come here you."

jaemin looked at mark who had opened his arms for a hug, a soft smile on his face.

"i didn't finish dressing your wound-" jaemin tried to argue, but mark pulled the younger into a hug.

"it's all okay. nothing will happen while i'm here," mark assured. "no one will bleed out or anything on my watch."

jaemin hugged mark back, nodding. "i trust you."

mark smile widened at that, happy to hear that jaemin trusted him.

"let me finish now," jaemin got out of mark's hold and went back to dressing the wound on mark's arm.

"here," renjun handed mark a glass of orange juice. "you need it too."

"thank you," mark sent renjun a grateful smile and took the drink, taking a sip before recoiling.

"god i hate orange juice," mark mumbled making jaemin laugh.

"yet you're still drinking it," the younger pointed out, sitting on the chair next to mark.

"it helps a lot," mark informed jaemin. "it's what they give you after taking your blood. it has vitamin c which helps with iron absorption. it also has-"

"are you a medical nerd?" jeno asked, sitting back up after laying down on the table.

"ah- a little," mark laughed nervously. "one of my brothers is a doctor and i was always interested in what he did and wanted to help so i learned a lot from him."

kun and ten taught mark a lot for when they weren't there and mark always loved following ten around, so mark had learned a lot about first aid and some other medical procedures.

"you should give us all a lesson in first aid," renjun said, coming back over and sitting down. "it'll be helpful."

"of course," mark replied immediately. "everyone in general should know some form of first aid."

"drink your orange juice," mark nagged jeno, the younger male complying.

"mama mark," renjun teased.

mark laughed, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair.

"did you see who shot you?" jaemin asked jeno before mark got the chance too.

"i think," jeno replied. "i don't remember much other than blonde hair."

mark had a feeling he knew who it was: someone in johnny's capo who none of them liked very much, but taeyong insisted on keeping.

"should we do this anymore?" jaemin questioned quietly. "you would either be bleeding out or at the hospital right now if it wasn't for mark and jisung- jisung is still unconscious and he'll probably have a concussion. i don't like seeing everyone hurt."

mark wrapped his arm around the younger, pulling him closer. mark knew how he felt- hell, mark felt the same way.

it was quiet, no one saying anything nor looking at each other.

"i kind of agree," renjun mumbled after a minute. "seeing those guys surround my car and shoot at it... it wasn't like what was happening before. these guys are really experts at what they do-"

"this wasn't even them attacking us though," jeno interrupted. "this was a warning..."

mark was a little surprised they figured that out so fast.

"what do you think?" jeno asked mark.

"me?" this shocked mark. jeno nodded and urged the older to talk.

"well..." mark sighed. "it depends. are you guys willing to get hurt? what is even the goal of doing this? recognition? for what though?"

the boys were quiet at mark's questions, looking at each other.

"we wanted attention- recognition as you said," jeno finally answered. "we don't come from the best families and most of them don't pay attention to us and only really care when we do something bad and make them look bad. by going after nct, an easy and well-known target, we'd become well-known."

"it's kind of hard to explain because it's more than that too," renjun continued.

"why do you have do to that though? there are so many other ways to be acknowledged and loved than hurting nct and yourselves," mark replied.

the three boys looked at mark who was becoming nervous. was that too much?

"what's with the looks," mark asked nervously, awkward laughs leaving his lips.

"you have a point," jaemin said. "a very valid and big point."

"we should think about this whole thing some more and take a little bit of a break until jisung and i heal," jeno concluded. "then we can decide when jisung is awake and chenle isn't worrying over him."

the three other boys nodded, all leaning back in their chairs and looking at each other.

"we should go to bed," mark then said, standing up. "i don't know where's what here though."

"come with me," jaemin giggled, standing up as well.

mark nodded and smiled at the younger, following him.

"my poor child! i am so so so sorry."

mark laughed at ten who was fawning over him, apologizing over and over. "it's fine ten."

"who shot jeno?" mark asked the thai male who blinked in shock.

"jeno? i have no idea who nor what you are talking about," ten answered honestly. "you should go ask tae."

mark nodded, smiling at ten one last time before making his way to taeyong's office.

"so? what's up?" taeyong asked when the younger walked in, taking his glasses off and ruffling his hair.

mark sat down, "who shot jeno?"

"someone from johnny's capo," taeyong answered. "don't worry- he was taken care of."

mark nodded, "good. jesus christ tae i haven't seen anyone that scared in a long time... the group was in shambles after everything. i heard jaemin crying and i knew jeno definitely did too. they're a mess."

"wasn't that the plan?" taeyong questioned, somewhat confused.

"why does it hurt so much taeyong," mark ignored taeyong's question, looking at the older.

taeyong was taken aback from the tears in mark's eyes. he hadn't seen the male cry in years.

"what does?" the older asked softly.

"my heart," mark choked out. "i feel so bad for all of them. they're just kids they have no idea what they're doing and seeing them scared made me want to kill myself because i was the one who caused it."

"jaemin indirectly suggested disbanding," mark continued before taeyong could say anything. "i thought i would feel satisfied when i heard that, but i wasn't. i felt in pain... it hurt a lot."

"you grew attached mark," taeyong informed. "you like them."

"it's hard not too," the younger cried. "they're so nice to me and others. jaemin told me he trusted me taeyong and i just- i can't! i can't anymore."

taeyong watched as his brother broke down into a sobbing mess, bending over and hiding his face in his hands.

"they just wanted revenge because they were hurt," mark choked out. "they're so stupid... so so stupid."

taeyong got up and walked over to mark, pulling him into a hug. "it's okay mark... calm down."

"it's not okay though!" mark cried. "i feel so bad."

taeyong held mark at arm's length away from him. "mark breathe. in... out... in... out."

mark followed taeyong, trying to calm down.

"what are we going to do now taeyong," mark's voice broke when he asked. "am i going to make sure they disband and then just disappear? leave them to figure out what to do themselves?"

taeyong didn't have an answer. "i'll talk with doyoung and we'll figure it out mark- i promise."

taeyong reached for the tissue box on his desk and handed it to mark. "calm down a little more and then go the medical room. i'll call kun to redress your arm and help with the bruise on your face. while you're there, i'll talk to doyoung."

mark nodded, taking a deep breath.

taeyong flashed his brother a smile and patted his shoulder before getting up and leaving the room to find doyoung.

when mark had made it to the medical center, he was shocked to see donghyuck sitting on top of a counter, talking to kun about something.

"oh! you're back!" donghyuck beamed at mark, hopping off the counter and dragging mark to a bed to sit down. "you have to tell me what happened- every detail."

"renjun really liked your videos," mark said quietly.

donghyuck smiled proudly, moving out of the way so kun could help mark. "good, i'm glad."

"you really panicked jaemin," mark informed. "he was surprised with how the security had gotten better and the 'good luck' message you left."

donghyuck hummed, "i want the whole story. you were with jisung, right? what happened? i heard ten hit him."

mark told the story of what happened the night before to donghyuck and kun who both listened intently.

"it sounds like they're going to disband," kun said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"yeah," mark mumbled sadly.

"isn't that what you wanted?" donghyuck asked, confused.

"i don't know anymore," mark admitted, looking at the younger boy.

donghyuck pursed his lips, hating the heavy air and deciding to change the subject. "man, that equipment in the other room is shit. it was so hard to do what i did and that's nothing compared to what i can do."

"do you want to go get some new stuff today?" mark asked. "i can ask taeyong for some money."

"can we?" donghyuck's eyes sparkled with happiness.

mark nodded, standing up. "thank you kun."

"no problem," kun smiled at the younger male. "come back later."

mark nodded again before leading a happy donghyuck out of the room, both of them saying goodbye.

donghyuck swung his arm around mark's shoulders as they entered the elevator. "don't worry mark, even if they disband they won't stop being friends."

"are you sure?" mark asked quietly.

"positive. it would take a lot to tear them apart."

mark smiled at donghyuck. "thank you, that made me feel a lot better."

donghyuck beamed at the older. "nice, does that mean i can use your money to buy stuff as well?"

"in your dreams," mark scoffed.

donghyuck giggled before letting go of mark and excitedly going to taeyong's office and knocking on the door.

donghyuck was right, mark concluded. the boys were really good friends and disbanding a gang wouldn't have as much of an impact on them as it might on nct.

or at least mark hoped donghyuck was right.

mark shocked his head and smacked his cheeks a few times before seeing donghyuck excitedly skip towards him, flashing the credit card taeyong had given him.

"you know what you need?" mark asked and donghyuck nodded.

"yup! so let's go go go!"