✦ Synopsis; seventeen runs the city through discipline, loyalty, and restraint. But power attracts attention, and silence starts to cost more than action.
✦ Ongoing | updates every Thursday
✦ 30 chapters planned
✦ Themes: Mafia AU | Found Family | Moral Ambiguity | Power Dynamics | Multiple POV
✦ Warnings: tension / mentions of assassination / some cursing and swearing / fluff as well though! / Joshua is two faced but not on purpose? I don't know
✦ Wc: 3k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
A day early this time! I wouldn't have had the time to post it tomorrow, so here it is :) Hope you enjoy this one <3
Masterpost
Jeonghan's POV
Song: Ateez - Answer
May
My footsteps on the wooden floor echo through the hallway. I glance at my watch and I quicken my step. Stray Kids should be here soon. Where the fuck are Shua and Seungkwan? I reach our designated meeting room for the day and hurriedly open the door. Two people at the table look up at me, their eyes slightly widened. I chuckle nervously and shake my head. “Could have told me you guys were already preparing,” I half-scold them. Seungkwan shrugs and turns his attention back to the notebook lying on the table in front of him.
Joshua laughs airily. “Sorry Han, somehow thought you knew we were in here,” he jokingly apologizes. We make eye contact, his warm eyes reassuring me. “Bang Chan, Han and Hyunjin will be here in ten minutes,” he explains further. “I’ll go get them when it’s time.” I nod and I breathe out slowly, dropping my shoulders. I sit down next to Seungkwan. “Talk me through your notes please,” I ask him and he nods, pushing the notebook a bit towards me.
Fifteen minutes later, I smile politely at three of our allies sitting at the other side of the table. Joshua sits between me and Seungkwan, facing Bang Chan directly. The three men from Stray Kids look relaxed, Han and Hyunjin leaning back in their chairs and Bang Chan rests his forearms on the table.
“Welcome friends,” Joshua starts. He opens his arms as he speaks, his voice warm and charming. “Thank you for coming to our turf today, we greatly appreciate you taking the trouble.” Bang Chan mirrors Joshua’s warmth with a wide smile. “For you, that isn’t a problem Joshua. You’re quickly becoming one of our most invaluable allies.” Joshua inclines his head with his right hand on his chest. “Thank you, your kind words mean a lot,” he answers, his voice steady. “You mentioned that you wanted to share something with us. Want to start there?”
Bang Chan nods. “Yeah. Last time when we had the big meeting, Hwasa said something about Red Velvet.” Joshua nods and Seungkwan scribbles something down. “Well, up until recently we hadn’t really run into them at all, but now they’re truly starting to be a nuisance.” Joshua raises an eyebrow when Bang Chan mentions the rival group. My eyes flick to Hyunjin, whose expression has darkened and he leans forward.
Joshua slowly nods a few times. “In what way? I thought they gathered intel?” He asks, looking directly at Bang Chan. Hyunjin snorts and Bang Chan throws him a warning glance. He brings his attention to the man on his other side. “Fill them in Han.” At Bang Chan’s order, Han leans forward. His eyes quickly move between the three of us and when his eyes connect with mine, my eyes instinctively narrow.
“They do indeed gather intel, and they work together with Ateez on that. However, recently we’ve discovered that they also take on assassination work.” My jaw clenches and my eyes flick towards Hyunjin again. His arms are crossed and his eyes are cast down. There is a tick in his jaw. Joshua looks at him. “Hyunjin?” He warmly directs his attention to him. Hyunjin’s head whips up, eyes slightly widened. Bang Chan shifts in his seat, furrows his brows and narrows his eyes. Joshua doesn’t react, simply keeps his attention on Hyunjin.
Hyunjin’s eyes quickly move back and forth between Joshua and Bang Chan a few times. “In what way did they interfere in your work?” Joshua calmly coaxes. Hyunjin’s eyes stay trained on Joshua now. Bang Chan sits up straighter, widens his chest and nearly bristles, but still says nothing. Nerves bounce in my stomach and I bite my bottom lip.
Hyunjin leans forward, his hands flat on the table. His gaze shifts, something hungry lies within it. “Twice now, I’ve reached a target, and I’ve found fucking Seulgi running off the scene, my target already dead.” My throat runs dry at the venom in his voice. “Somehow they know who our targets are,” he concludes. Immediately he crosses his arms again and leans back. A smirk plays on his lips.
My eyes shoot back to Joshua. He sighs and then smiles. He shifts his gaze back to Bang Chan, who raises his eyebrow in response. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he speaks with ease. I lean forward and Joshua catches my movement. His head slightly turns towards me and he motions with his hand. Perfect.
“Bang Chan, if I may make a suggestion,” I say to him with a polite tone. Bang Chan’s eyes shift towards me and he nods once. “I’ve heard from our info unit with scraps of similar info, but I’m not entirely sure what the story is. Would it be okay with you if I asked Jihoon to join us here and fill us in?” Bang Chan’s shoulders drop and a smile returns to his face. “Sounds great, Jeonghan. Get Jihoon in here.”
The glass of my phone screen feels cold underneath my fingers as I shoot Jihoon a quick message. Without waiting for his response, I pocket my phone again and bring my gaze back to Bang Chan. “He’ll be here soon,” I say and at the end of the sentence my attention shifts to Seungkwan. “Maybe our guests would like a drink?” My words are spoken as a question, but Seungkwan knows it’s nothing short of an order. He immediately nods and smiles. “Would you gentlemen follow me?” He politely asks. The men from Stray Kids make affirming noises and get up to follow Seungkwan out of the room. Joshua and I smile politely as they leave.
As soon as the door closes, Joshua turns to me with a wide playful smile. “God, I love it when we play with our audience,” he says. I chuckle and nod. “It’s what we do best, darling,” I respond to him. He laughs, but then his face smooths out. “Alright, when Jihoon gets here, we just let him talk. Right?” He checks in with me. I hum low in my throat. “Yes, Jihoon will understand the situation. I’ve heard him annoyedly mention Red Velvet a few times recently, so I’m sure his information will prove valuable today.” Joshua nods and laughs again, falling back in his chair. He drums his fingertips on the table. “Alright, let’s get ready to continue this show then.”
Jihoon joins us before Seungkwan and our allies are back. He greets us, then sits down and silently prepares the information on his tablet. His expression is calm and steady, as always. I breathe out deeply and my shoulders drop. Ease settles deeply in the back of my mind. When Seungkwan re-enters with the three others, the three of us stand up to greet them with polite bows. Everyone sits back down, and I note the relaxed smiles on our allies’ faces. Joshua opens, his tone back to charming.
“Welcome back, friends,” he says, shortly making eye contact with all three of them. “As agreed, we’ve invited Jihoon into the meeting.” He motions his hand towards Jihoon at the mention of his name. Jihoon gives a curt nod. Bang Chan reciprocates the motion and his smile remains on his face. Joshua continues talking. “He’s just prepared his available intel on Red Velvet. Jihoon?” Joshua’s cue has Jihoon leaning forward. Bang Chan shifts in his seat, his attention now fully on Jihoon.
“Yes,” he starts, his voice as steady as his expression. “Joshua told me you have been getting interference from Red Velvet. Recently, so have we. Not in the same area as you guys, mostly in my own work.” My eyes are trained on the men in front of me as I listen to Jihoon’s voice. They appear calm, Hyunjin and Han still leaning back, but all of them listening attentively.
“They’ve been making it harder for us to verify our info. They purposely seem to be feeding false intel into my channels, and I can’t yet figure out how they know what our channels are or how they’re influencing it,” Jihoon continues, a tinge of frustration in his voice at the end of his sentence. Bang Chan just nods, the information making sense to him.
“But,” Jihoon continues, his voice growing sharper. “That’s not all.” Hyunjin sits up straighter and I simultaneously narrow my eyes. What else? Jihoon looks down at his tablet screen for a moment, then back up at the men around the table. “Especially in the last two weeks, they’ve been spotted meeting up with members from Exo, or spotted entering Exo’s main hideout.” My head sharply turns towards him and my eyes widen. From across the table, Hyunjin’s hand lands on the table with a loud thud. Bang Chan’s eyes have hardened and his eyebrows knit together.
“Well, that is certainly new information to me,” Bang Chan responds. He turns to Han. “Did we know that they have connections to Exo?” Han immediately shakes his head. “No boss, we didn’t know. We know they have connections to Ateez though,” Han answers his question. “Yes,” Jihoon interrupts, “and we know Ateez works with Exo as well. It seems like they’re building a network in response to ours.” Jihoon’s voice is so smooth, he almost says it off-handedly, as if with a shrug. Beside me, Joshua scoffs. “What is Suho trying to pull off?” He wonders out loud.
Joshua looks at Bang Chan and the two of them make eye contact. “I can’t be sure,” Bang Chan responds. “But from how I know Suho he is… territorial. My guess is he doesn’t take lightly to being dethroned.” I can’t help but chuckle. Joshua sucks on his teeth. “He’ll have to deal with it, because if he drives this situation up any further, someone will pay the price,” Joshua responds with a fierce tone. His head angles down at the table, but then his eyes flick up, looking Bang Chan in the eye again. “And we sure as hell won’t be the ones paying.”
Hyunjin chuckles darkly and Han’s face tightens. Bang Chan leans back, an amused smile on his lips. “You keep surprising me in the best ways, Joshua Hong.” Some nerves bounce around my stomach again, but then I look at Joshua. His smile is wide, his eyes alive and he straightens his back. “Glad you like what you see, Bang Chan,” he responds. “Let’s take that piece of scum down together, shall we?”
When I walk beside Joshua a few hours later on our way to check on the progress of the Shining Diamond, that line still echoes through my mind. Bang Chan’s wide smile, Hyunjin’s hungry eyes, Han’s clenched jaw. And then Seungkwan simply saw them out with polite smiles and small talk, while Jihoon quietly left the room to continue his work. I chuckle and shake my head. Joshua’s head turns towards me with a raised eyebrow.
“What’s up?” He asks me and I chuckle again. “Nothing, really. Just reliving the end of our meeting this morning,” I answer him with a light tone. Joshua chuckles as well. “It was fun, wasn’t it?” I nod and we continue walking in silence for a few more meters. As we round a corner, our club comes into sight. I spot Seungcheol already waiting for us in front of the building.
“Cheol!” I call out happily, he turns towards us and smiles. When we approach him, Joshua lightly bows. “Good to see you, brother,” he says, his voice soft. Seungcheol’s eyes soften and he puts his hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Indeed, brother. Let’s go check on the club. It’s supposed to open in three weeks after all,” he responds with warmth. Some tension I didn’t know was there unknots in my stomach and my smile widens. “Yes, I’m excited to see it!” My happy care-free exclamation has both of my brothers chuckling, and I unlock the door to go inside.
As soon as we walk in, the smell of wood and fresh glue greets us. We walk through the hallway, past the cloakroom, towards the dancefloor. Once we reach the middle, I stop and slowly start turning around. I whistle appreciatively and Seungcheol chuckles. “You like it then, Han?” I nod enthusiastically. “Yeah! I haven’t had time to see it before, it’s crazy to see it almost finished like this.” Cheol nods and smiles with warmth in his eyes.
Joshua walks up to the bar, leaning his body over the top to glance behind it. He turns his head around to us with a child-like happiness on his face. “This looks so professional too!” I half-run towards him and lean over the bar too, copying him. My face lights up as I take in how well done everything looks. Seungcheol walks up behind us. “Nice, huh?” He asks, his soft smile never leaving his face. “Come, let’s go check out the private booths upstairs. That’s where we’ll be meeting our allies most often.”
Joshua immediately jumps off the bar and runs towards the stairs. An involuntary giggle escapes my mouth and I jump off the bar to follow behind him. A wide smile grows on my face and all earlier stress momentarily fades from my mind. Seungcheol chuckles again behind us, and I look over my shoulder to see him shaking his head.
Joshua and I take the stairs two steps at a time, and this time Joshua whistles when the booths come into view. We walk up to the first one and he opens the door. Doorknob still in hand, we take in the sights of the plush red velvet seats around the round table in the middle of the booth. An elegant lamp hangs down the middle of the ceiling. I feel Cheol’s hand on my shoulder. “What do you think guys?”
“It’s perfect Cheol!” Joshua answers happily. “We can definitely impress our allies here, or just get drunk with them,” he adds, laughing. Cheol snorts and I turn my head towards him. He raises an eyebrow. “Be careful what you wish for, Shua.” Joshua turns his head towards him as well, a smirk playing on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m sure any of our friends from Monsta X and most from Stray Kids could drink you under the table.” Joshua laughs loudly and nods a few times. “I’m even more scared of our friends from Mamamoo,” I interject. “I think they are better drinkers than any of us.”
After we inspect all of the booths, we walk around the rest of the club, checking on every detail. Seungcheol points out all the areas the construction workers have run into issues and explain how they fixed it. Joshua and I follow him around the building with awestruck expressions and even the damn toilets excite us.
An hour or so later, we step out the door again. Seungcheol turns towards us. “Can I drive back with you guys? Wonwoo dropped me off here,” he asks. Joshua nods. “Of course, we’re going back to the safehouse. Come, my car is around that corner,” he says while he points the way we came.
We walk to the car in comfortable silence. Cheol slides his hands into his pockets, and I hook my arm through Joshua’s. The late afternoon sun makes everything around us glow like liquid gold and I breathe out deeply.
When we reach Joshua’s car, I get into the back. Joshua gets behind the wheel and Seungcheol sits beside him in the passenger’s seat. He starts the car, turns on some random radio channel where a pop song is playing, and calmly drives off. We barely make it out of the street before Cheol takes a deep breath. His head turns towards Joshua. “How did it go with Stray Kids this morning?”
Joshua immediately widens his shoulders and sits up taller. My hands take hold of both their backrests and I lean forward. Joshua quickly glances back at me and I give him a small nod. He turns down the volume of the music. “Well, we found out that Red Velvet have been interfering with them recently,” he starts off, his voice calm but assertive. Seungcheol nods for him to continue. “Seulgi recently killed two of Hyunjin’s targets before he could get to them.” This gets a frown out of Seungcheol, but he remains silent.
“So we got Jihoon involved, because Jeonghan had heard him mention Red Velvet recently as well,” Joshua’s voice grows sharper. His head turns towards Seungcheol. “Through him we learned that Red Velvet has started meeting up with Exo and that they’re muddying our intel channels.” Joshua focuses his eyes back on the road. My hands grip the seats a little tighter. Seungcheol turns his head to the window on his right and his fingers turn the ring on his pink. For a few moments, nobody seems to breathe.
Then Seungcheol breathes out. Long and deeply. He nods. “Alright,” he says and turns his head back towards Joshua. He glances at me. “So Suho is building a network too?” He asks the obvious question. “Yes, that’s what we think,” Joshua replies, venom growing in his voice. “But we aren’t going to let him get away with that,” he continues. Seungcheol’s jaw clenches and he narrows his eyes, but then he quickly relaxes. He nods. “We need the network,” Seungcheol says, power in his voice. “We’re meeting tomorrow night.” It isn’t a suggestion. “Joshua, as soon as we get to the safehouse, inform Bang Chan and bring Shinyu and Dohoon.” Seungcheol looks at me. “Jeonghan, inform Solar.” He turns to look out the front window and pushes his back harder against the back of his seat. His hands land flat on his thighs. “I’ll call Shownu and Soobin.”
Joshua glances at me from the corner of his eye. “Yes boss,” we both say in unison. “We got your back,” Joshua says. Seungcheol nods once. “Let’s fucking go.” His voice is powerful, but there is something troubled underneath. I place my right hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. He sits up taller. “Let’s fucking go,” I repeat and Joshua picks up speed. Suddenly it feels like we’re out of time. Seungcheol is right, we need our network.
✦ Warnings: major tension / kneeling to apologize / anxiety / so much anxiety / seungcheol falling apart / joshua being ice / jeonghan being the best
✦ Wc: 2.4k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Look at me being back on track, whoo! Hope you enjoy this one! Both enjoyed writing it and it hurt me to write it, lol. Seungcheol, baby <3 See you next week~
Masterpost
Seungcheol's POV
Song: Seventeen - Trauma
May
The smell of ink is reassuring as I write down some quick notes. Soobin will arrive soon. My pen flies across the lined paper. Alliance. Meeting. Network. Yeonjun. Exo? The bullet points quickly add up. I can’t forget anything. I mustn’t forget anything. I lift my pen and look at the fresh blue letters on the page. I nod to myself. I can do this, I have to do this.
Involuntarily my thoughts drift to Joshua. To Jeonghan. Images of the blood on their clothes and skin flash through my mind. I drop my pen and my hands cover my face as I close my eyes. My clothes suddenly feel heavy on my skin. I hold my breath to force the tears down. Not now. Not now.
My phone rings with an alarm. I drop my hands and lean back, squaring my shoulders and breathing out slowly. The alarm rings louder. I sigh and pick up my phone to turn it off. My feet automatically take me away from my desk and out my office, to the front door. I pull the door towards me and it opens to a nervous looking Soobin.
For a small moment, we just look at each other. I step aside and wave him in. He nods and steps past me. After closing the door, I start leading him to my office, and he follows without a word. I walk back into my office, leaving the door open and immediately sit down at my desk. I lean back in my chair with my elbows on the armrests and the fingertips of my hands touching each other. Soobin sits down in front of my desk. We look at each other again.
“Thank you for allowing me to come today, Seungcheol.” His voice is small when he finally speaks. I respond to him with a low hum. He looks down at his hands, breaking our eye contact. The only sound in the room is the clock ticking on the wall. He takes a deep breath and looks at me again. “I know I fucked up. I…” He trails off. My face hardens and I keep staring at him. “I’m… sorry, Seungcheol,” he stammers.
My eyes search his face and I suck on my teeth. “I’m not sure I feel your sincerity, Soobin.” A bit of venom creeps in my voice and I spit out his name. His eyes widen and hurt flashes through them. He clears his throat, nods once, and gets up from his chair. He sinks to his knees and bows all the way to the floor. “Please forgive me, boss.” My eyebrow quickly quirks when the title falls from his mouth. I drop it and satisfaction blooms in my chest. “I shouldn’t have broken the trust you have always extended to us. To me.”
Silence lands heavily in the room. The clock ticks, deafening in volume. Soobin doesn’t move from his position on the floor. “Get up,” I tell him, my voice much rounder now. I watch his shoulders relax a fraction. He sits up, and we make eye contact. I motion my head upwards and he smiles gratefully, getting up on his feet. He bows at his hip one more time and then sits down on the chair.
Soobin looks at me with hopeful eyes and I sigh. “What do you know, Soobin? Who did you talk to?” He pulls a small notebook from his inside pocket and flips through the pages. “I know you had a meeting with all your allies. I know Yeonjun is still with Exo, he hasn’t returned to us since… well you know since when.” I nod, taking the information in, writing it down next to my own bullet points. “I talked to no one except for my own men.” He looks at me. “Can I ask who else was invited? Who are your allies, boss?”
I narrow my eyes and weigh my words. “My network has three groups in it now, if I’m not counting yours.” Hurt flashes in his eyes again, but he nods. “The next time we need to meet, I will invite you again. You can show your loyalty to the network then. Find out who is in it then.” He nods again, his shoulders dropping a little.
My jaw clenches and my fingers automatically find the ring on my pink. “Why should I trust you again, Soobin?” His head drops down again. My throat tightens out of nowhere. Heat rushes through my skin. Images of blood flash in my mind. I grit my teeth and hold my breath. In clipped tones, I speak again. “Tell me.” Soobin’s head whips up at the change in my voice, his eyes widened.
“I… I don’t know. I don’t have anything, boss.” Surprise hits me deep in the chest when a tear escapes his eye, gliding down his cheek and he quickly wipes it away with the back of his hand. “I have nowhere else to go,” he adds, his voice small. He looks me straight in the eye with a desperate look as more tears start falling from his eyes. Fuck, keep it together Cheol.
My shoulders drop and my expression softens. “Alright, that’ll do. Thank you for your honesty.” Soobin wipes the tears from his face. He inclines his head. “We’ll let you know when you can meet with us next. I’ll see you out.”
Mere minutes later I close the door to my office again and I let my back fall against it. Slowly I let myself slide to the floor. Once I hit the ground, I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs, head resting on my knees. My eyes close. The walls slowly start closing in on me and I pull my legs tighter against my chest. Pull yourself together. I need to. I have to. Can I?
Moments blend together as I sit there, on the floor, the light slowly changing in the room. I focus on my breathing, deepening it, forcing the walls away from me. When I look up again, I don’t know how much time has passed. The room is much darker. Slowly I release my legs and I push them out. When I get to my feet, every muscle and joint seems to protest. My body feels heavy.
I start walking towards my desk, to turn on a light. Two light familiar knocks on the door stop me in my tracks. Do I want to talk to him? “Cheol?” His voice comes warmly but cautiously through the door. A shiver runs through my body and my stomach turns. “Come in, Shua.” As the door behind me opens, I start moving towards that lamp on my desk again. I flick the switch on it and it bathes the room in a warm light. I decide to sit down on the edge of my desk, and it stops Joshua in the middle of the room, halfway between the door and me. He looks slightly unsure. I cross my arms in front of my chest.
Joshua’s eyes search my face. “I hadn’t heard from you in a few hours,” he starts, still cautious. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he mumbles a bit at the end of the sentence, as if he’s making an embarrassing confession. I give him a curt nod. “I’m fine. Thanks.” My voice comes out angrier than I mean to. Joshua’s face twists in confusion. “Alright.. Uh, how did the meeting with Soobin go?” He talks slowly, his eyes trained on my face. “Also fine. He’ll be invited to the next meeting.” Joshua nods. “Anything else you want to know, Joshua?” My voice grows louder. Joshua takes a small step back.
For a second, hurt flashes across his features. His eyebrows furrow together, wrinkling his skin. “What is wrong, brother?” His voice is small, but there is something underneath I can’t quite place. Heat burns through my veins and I stand up. “Nothing,” I spit the word at him, my voice growing angrier with every syllable. “Everything is absolutely fantastic thanks to you Josh.” I am nearly shouting when I say his name.
Hurt drifts across his face again, but only for a moment. His expression quickly smooths out, and he stands up straighter. The light in his eyes doesn’t dim, but it becomes colder somehow, contrasting the yellow light in the room. An unsettling feeling grows in my stomach. The silence is awkward and heavy between us. I widen my chest and when I speak, the volume of my voice only increases.
“I don’t need you to check up on me Joshua.” My breathing becomes more shallow. “I really don’t know what you think it is that you can do for me, but whatever it is, I don’t need it.” My chest starts heaving as heat crashes through my body and mind. “You still look the same Josh but all I can see is the fucking blood on your skin and the smile on your face.” Joshua’s jaw tightens, but stays silent. “I don’t know who you are anymore and I sure as hell don’t need whoever the fuck you are now.” My angry shouting fills the room, but I don’t care.
The words start tumbling out now, quicker and quicker. “Go find your new friends and murder some more people while you’re at it, since you love it so much.” Joshua’s cold eyes stay trained on my fiery ones. He never flinches. Hot tears start welling up behind my eyelids. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know what that makes me for still loving you as my brother.” My voice breaks and a tear slips down my face. I let myself sink to the floor again. I look up at Joshua. His expression remains unchanged, his eyes trained on mine. For long moments, he stares at me. When he speaks, his voice is slow, steady and filled with ice. “Let me know when you need me, boss.” Without giving me time to respond, he turns on his heel and stalks out the door. He slams the door behind him.
My face drops into my hands. Warm tears stream down my skin, escaping through my fingers. My shoulders shake and the sounds of my sobs fill the room. Nausea takes hold of my stomach. Panic rises in my chest and my breathing grows even more shallow. Joshua. What did I do? His cold eyes flash through my mind. Shit. Panic now grips my throat and breathing becomes difficult.
My hands fumble around for my phone, and with my last clear thought, I find the contact of the only person I can think of. The phone rings a few times and then my call goes through. “Cheol?” I hear Jeonghan’s voice on the other side. I can’t speak, I can only cry. “Cheol? Brother?” Jeonghan’s voice grows concerned. I cry harder, my vision blurry, my skin hot, and I cough loudly, trying to breathe. “Please..” I barely whisper through the tears.
“I’m here. I’m on my way,” Jeonghan says steadily. His voice is calm. I hear movement on the other end of the line and try to focus on that. It’s no use. My panic rises through my mind now and my vision starts growing dark. “Five minutes, brother. Hold on.” Jeonghan’s voice cuts through the panic. “Okay, okay,” I barely manage to say.
Goosebumps rise on my skin as I try to hold on to the reality I know. A scathing inner voice tells me to stop crying, to pull myself together, to man up. “I can’t! I can’t!” I scream aloud. “I’m here,” Jeonghan’s voice through the phone once more. “Jeonghan,” I say, “hurry. Please.” The line suddenly goes dead and I drop the phone on the floor. The sound of it landing is deafening. My hands press on my temples. “Jeonghan,” I say, to no one now.
The door opens and Jeonghan flies in, throwing the door shut behind him. He kneels in front of me and pulls my hands from my face. He opens a bottle and pulls my wrists to him, pouring some cold water over them. “I’m here, brother. I got you,” he calmly and softly speaks. He pours some water on his own hands and dabs it on the sides of my neck, on my temples, on my face. My breathing starts to slow and deepen. I look up at him and our eyes find each other. “I got you,” he softly repeats. He pulls me into a hug and I desperately tighten my arms around his back.
My crying picks up again, but this time the panic and nausea disappears with every tear streaming down my face. Jeonghan simply holds me and lets me cry. Eventually my tears run dry, but I hold on to him. “I hurt him, Hannie.” My voice sounds hoarse. “I… I didn’t want to but I did.” Jeonghan says nothing, just squeezes his arms tighter around my back. Slowly I lean back and let him go. He looks at me with concern in his eyes.
“I should’ve said something earlier, but I couldn’t find the words and now I said everything wrong.” By the end of the sentence my voice has grown quiet. Jeonghan nods in understanding. “I need to make it up to him. I fucked up,” I conclude. To my surprise, Jeonghan chuckles. “What?” I say, my voice unsure. Jeonghan pulls out his phone and his thumb taps the screen. He turns it to me. A text message. From Joshua. Twenty minutes ago. It reads ‘I fucked up.’
I look at Jeonghan. “You two are still more alike than you think Cheol,” he reassures me. “We all still love each other, right? We are brothers.” His hand squeezes my arm as he talks. I nod slowly. “Call him,” he says. “Talk it out. We need each other.” I take a deep breath in and nod again. “Alright. I will.” My eyes find his eyes once more. “Thank you, Hannie. Thank you for being here,” I tell him sincerely. He smiles gently. “Of course. I got you, Cheol.”
✦ Warnings: some tension I guess / but mostly the seventeen family being themselves / dohoon and shinyu start earning their place / we meet mingyu's sister / oh yeah there is a training fight so tiny bit of violence
✦ Wc: 2.4k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Yes I am a full week too late with posting this chapter, SORRY! life sometimes gets in the way and somehow I had blasted through my prewritten chapters all of a sudden. But I'm working on chapter 23 already so hopefully I can post that this week still and we'll be back on track <3 hope you enjoy this one! We're slowly drawing up to the conclusion
Masterpost
Joshua's POV
Song: Seventeen - To you
May
“I don’t know Shua.” Jeonghan’s voice on the other end of the line sounds insecure. “I’m not sure he knows how to approach us now.” Air escapes my lungs in a deep sigh. “He’ll come around Hannie. He always does.” I will my voice to sound certain, trying to imbue Jeonghan with some hope. He stays silent. “I’ll talk with him soon, okay?” I try again. Another moment of silence. Then he hums softly. “Alright. Thanks Joshie.” The line goes dead, and I let my hands sink into my lap. I lean back and suddenly my eyes feel heavy. Slowly they close. Seungcheol. Brother. What is going on inside your head?
A sense of duty pulls me to my feet and I open my eyes. A few of our men are on the other side of this wall setting up the next fighting ring and I need to check on their progress. My hand automatically reaches for the handle and I push the heavy weight out to open the door. Natural light greets me along with the sounds of hearty laughter, chatting voices and objects being moved.
My feet take me around the room, and a sense of pride fills my chest as I observe my men happily working together. They greet me as I go, with genuine smiles and comfortable voices. At the back of the room, I spot Chan with our two newest recruits. They are laughing together as they work. Chan’s shoulders are shaking as Dohoon tells a story I assume to be half true.
When I approach them, Shinyu is the first to spot me. He straightens his back and his lively smile reduces to a polite one. Dohoon quickly follows his example and Chan’s head turns around. His body follows the turn when he sees me walking closer and he also straightens his back. His smile remains wide however.
My movement stops a few steps in front of Chan. The three of them bow their heads to me and I smile. “You three look like you’re having fun.” A chuckle accompanies my words. “I hope you’re working hard though.” Chan nods enthusiastically. “We are, hyung!” He motions to the construction of the booths next to us. “The three of us set these up just now.” A hum low in my throat and a slow nod with pursed lips. The three of them light up.
“Chan,” I start, my attention on him but I keep track of the other two’s expressions. “You’re scheduled for a fight in two days.” It’s not a question, but he nods anyway. “How about we go back to the house for some training?” Chan knows what he is supposed to answer, but he glances back at the other two first. He looks back at me and opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “I think it’s time Shinyu and Dohoon train with you. Show us what they’re capable of.”
Chan’s eyes immediately come alive with anticipation. His smile widens and he turns back to the two youngest. Surprise, or maybe shock, pass over their expressions but when Chan looks at them, it quickly morphs into excitement. My eyes meet Shinyu’s and I find determination in them. The corners of my mouth curl up and I nod. Without another word I turn on my heel and walk away towards the exit. Clattering sounds behind me as the three drop whatever they were holding and follow me out to my car.
When we drive through the gates of our house, I glance in my rearview mirror. Dohoon and Shinyu are quiet in the back, their eyes wide with wonder. Quietly I chuckle. I remember that feeling in my chest when I first saw our house and grounds when we finished building it. We pull up to one of the parking spaces and get out of the car. We quickly go inside, still moving in comfortable silence. When we pass the living room, I peek inside and find Seokmin there. I pause, check my watch and nod to myself.
“Seokmin?” I call through the open doorway. He looks up from his phone and raises an eyebrow. “Yes hyung?” His voice is calm. “Can you tell Soonyoung to come by the training room before the three of you leave?” He nods with a polite smile. “Of course, I’ll let him know.” He looks back down at his phone and I set off again, the three younger members following quietly.
The air in the training room is slightly colder than the rest of the house. I walk to the middle of the room and turn around. Chan stops in front of me, arms behind his back, feet apart, eyes on me. Dohoon and Shinyu glance around the room. I clear my throat. Their heads whip towards me and they glance at Chan, who does not move. They copy his posture and I nod, they’re quick to catch on.
My eyes lock on to Shinyu. To his credit, he doesn’t flinch. He does not even blink. “Who of you two is the better fighter?” He furrows his brows for a small moment. “Dohoon is, hyung.” Beside him, Dohoon nods once, his eyes sharp. “Good,” my eyes move between Chan and Dohoon. “You two, get ready. Shinyu, next to me,” I say as I take a step back. Shinyu steps up next to me and turns around, his hands still behind his back. Chan and Dohoon move back and away from each other. They turn to face each other, their expressions pulled taut, eyes trained on each other.
Chan’s eyes flick towards me and I give him a subtle nod. He immediately looks back at Dohoon and his lips pull up into a smirk. He steps forward, baiting Dohoon. Dohoon leans forward, but instead of reacting to Chan’s bait, he steps sideways. He starts circling, and Chan has no choice but to mirror his movement. Chan’s expression becomes tight with focus again and he decides to charge forward.
Dohoon ducks and throws his arms around Chan’s waist, pushing his shoulder into Chan’s stomach. Chan doubles over but quickly recovers, pushing his weight down on Dohoon’s back, wrapping his arms around his waist as well. Dohoon tries to push Chan back, but Chan is quicker. He swipes his leg forward and takes Dohoon’s legs away from underneath him. The two of them topple to the ground and Chan swiftly moves to sit on Dohoon’s back. He grabs a hold of one of his arms and pushes it up Dohoon’s back, making Dohoon cry out.
Chan chuckles and his eyes flick towards me, seeking permission. I subtly nod again, but Chan’s momentary loss of focus costs him before he can swing his fist. Dohoon pulls his legs up and gets his knees underneath him, pushing himself up and throwing Chan off. He jumps up and turns back to Chan, who is still on the ground. Chan’s eyes are wide with surprise, but before Dohoon can jump on top of him, he rolls away from him and scrambles to his feet.
The two men face each other again, and this time Dohoon wastes no time. He charges forward and he swings his left arm towards Chan’s face. Chan brings his arms up to protect himself, but Dohoon quickly changes track and swings his right fist into Chan’s unprotected ribs instead. Beside me, Shinyu makes a low approving sound and when I glance at him I see a satisfied smile. I chuckle and cross my arms, then bring my focus back to the fight.
Chan steps close and grabs the back of Dohoon’s neck with both his hands. He pulls him forward and launches his right knee into his stomach, making Dohoon double over. Chan throws his elbow hard into Dohoon’s back and Dohoon gasps for air. Chan steps around and behind him, kicking Dohoon in his knee, forcing him to kneel. Chan simultaneously pulls Dohoon’s right arm high up his back and throws his other arm around Dohoon’s throat, pulling him tight against his own body. He squeezes his arm tight and Dohoon’s free hand flies up to try and pull the chokehold off his neck.
“Enough.” My calm voice cuts through the space. Chan immediately releases Dohoon and Dohoon falls forward onto both his hands, gasping for air. My head turns to Shinyu and our eyes meet. “What did you see?” He turns his head back. His eyes unfocus and his brows furrow. He chews the inside of his cheek. He turns back to me. “Both of them fought with awareness. Dohoon did not take Chan hyung’s bait. He got away from him when he was pinned to the floor. Got a hit in. But then hyung is clearly the more experienced and better trained fighter. The way he ended the fight was impressive.” I tilt my head and slowly nod. “Good read. Well done, both of you.” Dohoon’s face turns towards me and he smiles.
The door to the training room opens. Soonyoung steps in, Mingyu and Seokmin following behind him. He stands to the side, eyes on me. He waits. I check my watch. Time did indeed fly. “Ah, Soonyoung, thanks for coming.” He simply nods, but says nothing. “Chan and Dohoon just trained together, and Shinyu here evaluated it quite well.” Amusement is clear in my voice. “I’d like you to also take the two of them on your mission with Minseo today, I want to see them in action.”
My eyes flick to Mingyu as I mention his sister’s name. His jaw clenches and his eyes shift away from me, but he doesn’t say a word. I look back at Soonyoung. “Will you lead the mission, boss?” He asks me. I quickly shake my head. “No, it’s your unit and your mission. I’ll just follow, I trust you.” A smile spreads over Soonyoung’s face and he nods. “Sounds good then, this is a good time to field test our new blood.” From the corner of my eye I see Mingyu’s face pull tighter and his eyes momentarily widen. “Good, you can take over now,” I tell Soonyoung.
He nods again and steps to the middle of the room. Dohoon quickly gets to his feet. Mingyu, Seokmin and Chan automatically line up in front of Soonyoung. Dohoon and Shinyu now immediately follow suit. I step further back and lean my shoulder against the wall, my arms crossing again.
Soonyoung’s eyes glide over the five men in front of him, his smile fading and eyes becoming sharp. The atmosphere settles into something heavier. He squares his shoulders. “Today we escort Minseo from our house to a new place. A safehouse that was bought and designated for her, none of our allies or enemies know we have this place.” His keen eyes pointedly look at each of the men’s faces. “We are not expecting to run into any trouble, but it’s important to keep your eyes and ears open.”
He pauses for another moment. “The six of us,” his eyes flick towards the two youngest when he includes them, “will take turns in twos to keep Minseo company and protect her for the time being.” One more pause, the men wait. “Understood?” He asks with authority. The five men in front of him all nod once. Soonyoung raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?” He questions. Dohoon and Shinyu look confused, but the older three respond in unison. “Understood, boss.” Soonyoung drops his brow and nods. “Good. Go to the living room, wait for us.”
The five men disappear from the training room. Soonyoung’s head turns to me. “Anything you want to see from them, boss?” I let my shoulders drop as I breathe out. My eyes shift to Soonyoung’s and I shake my head. “Nothing in particular, just lead them in your normal way so we can see if they’re a good fit for your unit.” He nods in understanding. “Alright, will do. Ready to go, hyung?” When I nod, he turns around and I follow him.
Minutes later I find myself in the back of a car that Mingyu is driving. Dohoon and Chan are next to me, Minseo is in the passenger seat next to her brother. Mingyu follows the car Soonyoung is driving. Minseo stares out the window, her face turned away from me. Briefly I wonder how she is holding up. Before this all blew up, she hadn’t known exactly what her brother was doing – even though she knew it wasn’t all that… legal. Now she’s had to live with us for a few weeks, so she might be more acquainted with who we are than she wanted to know.
A soft voice speaks up next to me and surprise washes through my body. “Boss?” Dohoon quietly addresses me. “Hmm?” I answer. “Can I ask some things?” In front, both Mingyu and Minseo slightly turn their heads towards us. Chan shifts in his seat. I turn my head towards Dohoon with a gentle smile on my face. “Ask away.”
His eyes drop to his hands for a moment and then look back up. His voice is the gentlest I've heard it be so far. “Does this… I mean…” He tries finding the words. I smile but stay quiet. “What does this mean? That you’re taking us along?” Ah. My eyes search his expression. His eyes look hopeful. Chan turns his face towards us. “It means you’re part of us, Dohoon.” I say equally as gentle. Behind him, Chan smiles. Dohoon looks thoughtful.
“And… What does that mean?” I open my mouth, but before I can answer, an even more surprising voice starts answering the question. “It means they’ll protect you,” Minseo says, turning her head to look at us. Dohoon looks at her with surprise in his face. “It means they’ll treat you like family, and you have to treat them like family too.” She looks at her brother. “No secrets.” To my surprise, Mingyu nods. “No secrets,” he softly echoes. He looks at me in the rearview mirror. Our eyes meet and I give him a nod. Chan throws an arm over Dohoon’s shoulder. “We’re brothers now, Dohoon. No takebacks,” the two laugh lightly when he jokes.
The silence returns to the car. Somehow the atmosphere feels lighter. I watch the city pass by outside. “We’re here,” Mingyu eventually says and he starts slowing down the car.
✦ Warnings: tension / unfamilair territory / blood / lots of blood / weapons / murder / hiding the body / dried blood / Enjoyment in their.. work? / seungcheol is terrified / why does everyone else seem amused
✦ Wc: 3.2k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
I'm just. Sorry. But also not. I thoroughly enjoyed writing every sentence of this chapter. Good luck. I guess.
Masterpost
Joshua's POV
Song: Taemin - Criminal
May
My eyelids blink rapidly as they try their hardest to keep my tired eyes from drying out. Even though I barely caught a wink of sleep in the last 24 hours, my mind is surprisingly clear. My hands routinely wander over every part of my gear, checking as they go. My grip tightens momentarily on my dagger, my mind flashing with the sparks that flew off the blade as I sharpened it an hour ago.
My memories turn to Seungcheol’s expression after the meeting last night. Shock registered on his face, quickly hardening into resolve and acceptance. The tone of Jihoon’s steady voice echoes through my mind with the plan that we went over this morning. Who is the target, where will we trap him, how will we end his life.
The sound of the door opening swiftly pulls my mind back to the present. My gaze lands on Jeonghan’s face as he peeks inside, his expression wearing the same wicked excitement it wore yesterday when Bang Chan asked for our help. Our eyes lock and his smirk somehow grows even wider. “Ready?” He asks me directly. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I say and chuckle. “Are Minghao and Jun ready too?” Jeonghan nods. “They are waiting for us downstairs.”
When we find the other two downstairs, Seungcheol meets us there. “Good luck,” is all he says. His voice is steady, but he puts a hand on my shoulder as he talks and the worry in his eyes is clear as day. I smile broadly. “We got this, boss.” My voice is confident and Jeonghan nods. “Let’s go.”
The lights outside flash by as I stare out of the window of the car. My eyes unfocused, my hand resting on my weapon. Jeonghan drives the car steadily and other than our breathing and the engine, nothing can be heard. The drive takes us beyond the outskirts of town and soon the street lanterns that flash by are replaced by darkness and trees by the side of the road. There is no moonlight tonight, so it takes my pupils a few minutes to properly adjust. Eventually I can recognize the shapes of lonely buildings, stretched out fields and small groupings of trees and bushes. It’s been a while since I was this far from our familiar territory.
Jeonghan slowly pulls up to a forlorn looking shed, and he parks the car on the other side. We follow him inside in silence, and he flips on the only switch on the wall. An unadorned lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling bathes the place in a warm but dim light. He turns around in the middle of the room and looks at the three of us.
“We need to walk through the forest adjacent to this plot for about half an hour,” he says, more for his own peace of mind than our own. “Remember that when everything is said and done, we’ll need to hide the body some way out into the forest, so our walk back here will take a lot longer.” Minghao and Jun solemnly nod. Jeonghan looks me directly in the eye. I meet his expression with unflinching steadiness. He nods to himself a couple of times. “Alright,” he says, but gets no verbal answer.
I turn around and make my way to the door. Jeonghan falls in line behind me as I step back outside and behind us one of the others flicks the switch to kill the light. My mind draws up the image of the map of this forest that I’ve studied countless times in the past hours. As if converted into pure muscle memory I move with certainty and silence. Even though there is no sound behind me, I know my men are following me without mistake. My heartbeat starts pacing faster, but my breathing remains steady.
Suddenly I see small lines of light breaking around the trees. Weaving through the trees, keeping my steps light, I make my way towards them. When I near the edge of the clearing, I squat behind a big tree and turn around. My back presses against the cool wood and I see the other three squatted in front of me. Their eyes are trained on me. I bend my neck and peek around the tree. One cabin. Smoke from the chimney, but no light or movement behind the windows. Perfect, exactly as predicted.
My body turns back to face the three men. My right hand lifts to signal okay. The three of them nod simultaneously. Minghao and Jun get up and move past the left of the three, while Jeonghan and I take the right side. Jeonghan positions himself at the backdoor of the cabin, while I take my place next to the front. Minghao picks the lock on the front door, nearly soundless. The door swings open and for a moment we listen with held breaths. Nothing. My eyes peer inside and I see darkness, remnants of a dying fire inside the fireplace.
My hand gestures and the two move inside. My back presses against the outer wall of the cabin and the solid material steadies me. Automatically I pull my dagger from its holder and grip it tightly in hand, the blade pointing forward.
Minutes trickle by. What’s happening inside? Nerves accumulate low in my stomach and my heartbeat speeds up another tick. Suddenly I hear a loud shout by an unfamiliar voice in the back of the house and moments later I hear furniture falling in the living room. Instinctively, I step inside, blocking the open exit. A heavy weight throws itself against me and I’m knocked back and I topple over, the weight landing on top of me.
My hand clamps around the cool of my blade’s hilt and the warmth of the weight on top of me presses against the top of my fingers. Realization hits me as I feel something even warmer spreading across my entire hand. Trickling at first, but picking up speed and volume and soon my hand is not the only thing covered in blood. Panic rises in my chest as I have no way to tell who is bleeding out on top of me. Slowly the blood starts pooling away under me.
My eyes shift to the side and relief floods through me when I see unfamiliar auburn hair. My hand starts twisting the dagger and a smile inches onto my lips.
“Joshua!” Jeonghan’s panicked voice cuts through the clearing. Jun’s hands pull the body off me before Jeonghan can reach me. Immediately I flip myself around and sit on top of the victim's body, stabbing my knife into the side of his neck for good measure. He gurgles as the blade punctures his airways. I pull the knife out and blood splatters onto my hand. I bring my hand up to my face to admire the crimson stripes contrasting with my skin. My eyes grow wide.
Jeonghan steps into my field of vision. My head whips up and when our gazes meet something electrical runs through my body. My smile grows wider. The worry in Jeonghan’s eyes fades. His maniacal smirk returns. Without breaking eye contact with him, I forcefully bring the blade down again, piercing the man’s chest. I pull the knife out and stand up, looming over the body of my victim. My victim. My head swivels around and I find Minghao and Jun to the side. Jun’s eyes are widened but the rest of his expression remains steadfast and Minghao seems completely unfazed. Jeonghan steps closer to my other side, and pulls on my arm. I step over the body to him and he pulls me into his arms.
For a few moments, there is nothing but me and him. My heart hammers against my chest and my arms tighten around him. We don’t speak, but everything is said regardless.
When we let go, Minghao motions for us to pick him up. One of my eyebrows arches up. “We’ll clean this place up.” He says quietly. I nod and walk over to the victim’s feet, while Jeonghan positions himself on the other side of the man’s body. We grab his limbs, pull him up, and start dragging him inside the darkness of the forest.
Our breathing becomes labored but neither of us lets go. Once we reach the spot in the forest we designated for hiding the body, we make eye contact and drop the body unceremoniously onto the forest floor. I start looking around and smile when I spot the two shovels leaning against a nearby tree. Thanks Jihoon. Jeonghan follows my line of sight and walks over to pick the shovels up. He hands me one.
We start digging. For a long while, only the sounds of the metal against the earth and our breathing can be heard. When the site is once again covered up and made to look as natural as possible with scattered twigs and the occasional leaf, we set off back towards the shed. As if on auto-pilot we move towards it, as if we’ve been there a hundred of times. Very slowly a physical heaviness starts settling in my muscles.
As our bodies move through the darkness, my mind keeps replaying the same scenes over and over. Flashes of crimson stripes across my skin. Jeonghan’s expression shifting from worried to ecstatic. The weight of the body against my hand. The electric feeling running through my body when I watched my knife disappear into the side of his neck. I suppress a chuckle.
Seemingly after no time at all, we reach the shed. The light inside is already on, Minghao and Jun must’ve beaten us here. Jeonghan carefully opens the door and my guess is confirmed, the other two are waiting inside. We walk in and Jeonghan turns around to face me. In the light, I see him for the first time. I take in his clothes and hands, dried blood on them. My gaze travels down to look at my own body. The stripes on my hands have also dried, and most of me is covered in blood. I look back up at the others.
“How do I look?” As the words leave my mouth, I do a little twirl. The others start laughing. “I think the red really brings out the color of my eyes!” I add. Jeonghan laughs so loudly he almost dubbles over. He wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “You’ve never looked better, darling,” he answers. I giggle and take a bow. Suddenly the thought of Seungcheol crosses my mind.
“Ugh,” I say and I suck on my teeth. The others arch a brow. “Cheol is going to freak out.” Jun chuckles, Minghao shrugs and Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “He’s going to have to be happy we completed our mission and nobody got hurt. He’ll deal with it. He has no other choice.” Jeonghan’s words are reassuring but his sentence ends in an exasperated sigh. “Let’s get going.”
On our drive back my mind goes back to my lists. Without turning my body to face the backseat, I speak with a clear voice. “What went wrong in there?” Minghao’s steady voice answers immediately. “It started out according to plan, Jun picked up a pillow in the living room to push over his face, and I was meant to jump on top and strangle him for good measure.”
Annoyance spikes in my mind. “I know what the plan was. That was not my question.” My voice is laced with angry frustration. Beside me, Jeonghan glances over at me but says nothing. “Sorry hyung,” Minghao quickly apologizes. “When Jun pushed the pillow over his face, the man reacted much quicker than we anticipated. He immediately pushed us off and I didn’t have the chance to incapacitate him.” Jun starts speaking, filling out the story. His voice is steady and unapologetic. “He ran and knocked things over in the living room in the process. That’s when he ran into you, hyung.” I nod to myself. “Alright. Thanks, you did well.” The warmth returns to my voice and Jeonghan smiles.
The time it takes to make our way back to the safe house where Seungcheol is waiting for us feels a lot shorter than the time it took to make our way out to the shed. With a quiet dread in the back of my mind, we get out of the car and into the house. We make our way up to his office. Jeonghan opens the door and we step inside, Jun closing the door behind us.
Seungcheol sits behind his desk, looking through some papers. He looks up at us as we’re lining up in front of his desk. His eyes go wide and his face goes pale. He stands up with sudden movement. To the credit of my men, nobody flinches. Seungcheol sits back down and opens his mouth, then closes it again. His eyes fly frantically over our clothes, taking in the amount of blood on them.
I don’t give him the time to recover and sort his thoughts. “It’s done. None of us got hurt. The body is hidden in the designated spot. The assassination site has been cleaned up.” My voice is assertive, clear, almost instructive. Seungcheol opens his mouth again and nods. He says nothing. A sigh leaves my lips and I shake my head. “Jun, Minghao, thank you. You may take your leave. Get cleaned up and go home.” I instruct them. Both of them bow and leave.
An unexpected laugh from the side of the room. I smirk. “Got anything to say, Jihoon?” I ask him. My head turns towards him. He looks at me with an amused expression. “You look like you’ve been through hell, Josh.” Jeonghan laughs and my eyes brim with electricity. I stretch the fingers on my blood-covered hands. "Doesn't feel that, actually. I rather enjoyed myself tonight.” Jeonghan and Jihoon chuckle, but Seungcheol makes a pained noise.
My head turns back around to him. His eyes are still wide. “It’s okay, Cheol.” My voice is much gentler than before. I take a step and sit down at one of the chairs in front of him. Jeonghan sits down next to me. “It’s still just us.” Jeonghan nods next to me. Jihoon walks up to the desk and leans the palms of his hands on the short end. He looks at Seungcheol and Seungcheol looks back at him. “They really are capable of anything, Cheol.” He adds, his voice as steady as always.
Seungcheol forces a long breath out of his mouth. His shoulders drop and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again and looks the three of us in the eyes one by one, they are a lot clearer than moments before, but the concern is still equally as present. “I know.” He finally says. “Everything went to plan, brother.”Jeonghan quietly says. Seungcheol momentarily flinches at the word brother. “Let us get clean and then we’ll drive back together, okay?” Seungcheol looks at me when I offer him those words. He holds my gaze for a moment. He nods. “Sounds good,” he concludes.
Under the shower I watch the warm water turn red as it washes the blood from my skin. The clothes are already disposed of, Jihoon will burn them later. Tying away all the last loose ends. The water runs through my hair and the easy scent of shampoo fills the air as I massage it onto my scalp. The simmering electricity inside my body calms down.
A short while later, the three of us sit in Seungcheol’s car. Seungcheol holds the steering wheel with two hands and his gaze is focused tightly ahead. I notice the way his shoulders have crept up higher and his jaw is locked. Jeonghan sits next to him and I see him glancing at our brother. For a few long minutes, time seems to crawl by and the air feels stuffy. I sigh.
“Talk to us, Cheol.”
My voice is gentle, inviting, and open. He stays silent and stares ahead. His hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter. Jeonghan worriedly glances back at me. He looks back at Seungcheol. “Brother…” Jeonghan’s voice trails off and he reaches over to touch Seungcheol’s arm. Seungcheol flinches and pulls his arm away from him.
Silence settles heavily inside the car. It takes a few more minutes, but then Seungcheol finally speaks. Softly, his voice cracking as he forces the words out. “I don’t know…” his voice trails off. Worry clamps in my chest. Jeonghan and I wait to hear him out. He speaks again. “Never before have I felt this…” I suppress every urge to finish his thought for him. Conflicted? Excited? Changed? What does he feel?
Eventually he ends his sentence. “Terrified.” He pauses. Confusion mixes with the worry inside my body. We’ve all been terrified before. “... of you two.” He quietly adds.
My eyes go wide and Jeonghan glances back at me with the same expression on his face. We look at him. Nausea rises from my stomach into my throat. “What?” I softly ask, barely audible. “Why?” Jeonghan asks, equally as quiet, equally as confused.
Seungcheol sighs. Deeply. A few times. His shoulders drop and a tear escapes the corner of his eye. “You looked so… excited.” He pauses. Another tear slides down his face. “The two of you were covered in the blood of a man you just killed with your own hands.” His voice grows louder. “And you looked excited.”
My brows furrow together. “I..” Jeonghan starts, but I cut him off. “We just successfully finished our mission, Cheol.” My voice remains gentle, but the end bites with a lining of venom. “We’re no different from the brothers you have known all your life. We still love you.” The tone of my voice comes out wrong, harsher than my words intend to sound.
Seungcheol doesn’t respond. We drive through the gates onto the driveway towards our home. He parks the car. He turns to me. He looks me in the eye. His expression is a mixture of assertiveness and a tiredness I can’t place. “I know, Joshua. I know you love me, and I love the both of you equally as much. That’s exactly what terrifies me.” Jeonghan quietly starts talking next to him. “Because you love your brothers who were excited about their successful mission?” He asks.
Seungcheol turns his head towards him. “No.” He speaks steadily. “Because I love my brothers who are excited about their capacity for murder.” His voice is filled with pain. The nausea rises in my throat again. Tears fill my eyes now. He looks at me as he continues. “I’ll still go through hell and back for the two of you, and I always will. And I know the two of you will do the same for me without a second thought.” He pauses and silence has never felt so deafening. “I just never thought the two of you would be this excited about embracing the darkness.”
He gets out of the car without waiting for our response. Jeonghan leaves and walks after him. I sit in the back of the car, dropping my body against the seat. I look at my hands without looking at them. Tears slip down my face, hot against my skin. Fuck.
One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them; One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
Welcome, friends, to another Silly Little Post™ from me, your friendly neighborhood nerd and carat! This time we embark on a journey to Middle Earth; from the verdant hills of the Shire, to the glistening halls of Rivendell, to the resplendent city of Minas Tirith - come with me as I bestow upon the Seventeen members their representative characters in the Lord of the Rings universe. Now, what are you waiting for? Fly, you fools!
a/n: i put a lot of thought into this, but also it's largely just based on vibes tbh!! is there anyone you would assign differently? i'd love to hear y'alls thoughts!! :)
𝐒.𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐒 𝐚𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐧, 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧
— yeah, Choi Seungcheol is that bitch. he can be a dark, brooding ranger, but also Isildur's heir - get u a man who can do both!!!
— literally the hottest, finest man in all of Middle Earth argue with the wall.
— they both also are down horrendous for a beautiful woman: Aragorn for Arwen and Seungcheol for Jeonghan.
𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥, 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋ó𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧
— okay yes, i could have easily made him Arwen. but hear me out!!
— powerful. etheral. occasionally ominous. sometimes a lesbian. always a bad bitch. u picking up what i'm putting down?
— some people just have a vibe about them that they should have elf ears and Jeonghan is one of them if u ask me.
𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐀 𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐥
— ok ok this is a Book Exclusive™ but hear me out part 2: electric boogaloo.
— the tl;dr on Tom Bombadil is that he is a weird guy who lives in the woods. he's friendly, jolly, full of whimsy, always singing and dancing - and if that ain't Joshua Hong idk what is!!
— unbothered. moisturized. happy. in his lane. focused. flourishing. bro invented cottagecore for men and is living his best life and we love that for him.
𝐉𝐔𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐲
— Jun has Big Wizard Energy and no i will not elaborate.
— bro is chill as hell and doesn't have a care in the world. he rolls up when he feels like it and just vibes with everyone but also knows how to party. he is a friend to all, and i just KNOW Jun would also fuck with Longbottom Leaf heavy, iykyk.
— don't worry, i didn't forget about Gandalf the White. that's Jun when he goes Cuntatron3000 mode, of course.
𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐤 (𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧)
— chaotic and lovable with a big personality!! sure, sometimes they may get into/cause trouble - but they mean well and are truly pure of heart.
— part of a dynamic duo who are an integral part of their group - Pippin wouldn't be Pippin without Merry of course!
— i bet Pippin would also be really into horanghae-ing if somebody told him about it.
𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐎 𝐚𝐬 É𝐨𝐰𝐲𝐧
— i know a bad mf bitch when i see one!!!!!
— quiet and unassuming, but can absolutely slay if they need to (whether the Witch-King of Angmar or boots the house down).
— apologies to wonwoo but i can also see him making a really terrible soup. he tried tho </3
𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐙𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐝
— wise. skillful. done with everyone's shit.
— Elrond is Lord of Rivendell, Woozi is the God of Music. shoutout powerful yet humble kings!!
— idk now im just picturing Woozi fighting in battle with a sword and that's rlly hot tbh
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐎 𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬
— some people just have a vibe about them that they should have elf ears pt. 2
— Elves are swift, nimble, and attentive - Minghao's background in martial arts (and meditation ofc) would lend him well to elf stealth-ery.
— both are so beautiful and picturing Minghao with a bow and arrow??? LORDT.
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔 𝐚𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐫
— Faramir being overshadowed by his brother and underappreciated by his father (boooo we hate u Denethor!!!) has the same energy as Mingyu being the victim of his 12 annoying brothers idk. RESPECT THIS MAN!!!!
— but he is so skilled and talented in many things fr we love u king (fuck u again Denethor u crusty bitch im glad ur dead)
— also Faramir and Éowyn fall in love and get married and like im not saying minwon but im also not not saying minwon.
𝐃𝐊 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐠𝐞𝐞
— THE PUREST MOST WHOLESOME GUY AROUND!!!!
— just like DK, Sam Gamgee is kind, sweet, and deeply loyal - bro would literally walk to Mordor and back with u if you asked. best boys fr fr.
— i think DK would get a kick out of PO-TAY-TOES. boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. sounds like a song DK would make up on the spot (looking at u Six Plates).
𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐊𝐖𝐀𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐜 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤 (𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲)
— the Merry to Hoshi's Pippin. still silly loud n goofy but perhaps slightly more level-headed (emphasis on slightly). they may beat the shit out of each other from time to time, but they're still besties ofc.
— Merry was often considered the most perceptive and intelligent of the hobbits; and despite also being known mostly for his big personality, that describes uri Boo perfectly :)
— despite him not supposed to have ridden into battle, Éowyn couldn't have defeated the Witch-King without Merry. and without Seungkwan's commitment, Seventeen would not be where they are today. luv u kings <3
𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬
— i can't quite explain this one fully but a whole crew of Dwarves showing up at Bag End and roping Bilbo into some fuckery/an entire quest and Bilbo just going "what the hell, sure" sounds like some shit that would happen to Vernon.
— everyone knows Vernon for his tendencies to be A Silly Weird Guy but imo it's often overlooked just how fucking talented he is. Bilbo may have been "just a Hobbit", but the quest couldn't have been completed without him; Vernon may be "just a guy", but his many talents are a fundamental part of what makes Seventeen Seventeen.
— idk Bilbo encountering a fuckass creature in a cave and remaining cool as a cucumber and proceeding to just having a riddle-off with him is so Vernon coded.
𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐎 𝐚𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐨 𝐁𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬
— the future of kpop and the future of Middle Earth!! it just makes sense!!
— if Dino woke up one day and a wizard showed up at his house and said hey this ring u have. it's the most powerful thing in the world and u gotta walk to Mordor rn to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom i don't think he'd be thrilled, but he would do it.
— constantly Going Through It tbh but he is strong and brave boy we love u lee chan!!!
If u made it this far ily. Thank you for reading!! The Eagles are here to take you home now - farewell my friends. ♡
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: negotiations / formal alliances / criminal activity / mentions of assassinations
✦ Wc: 2.5k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Chapter 20 today! Just ten chapters left after this one, absolutely crazy. Hope you enjoy this one <3
Masterpost
Seungcheol's POV
Song: BTS - Not today
April
The quiet humming of the electricity in the lamps of the room makes the room feel even bigger. Slowly, my eyes scan the space. Tables have been set in a big square shape. I count the chairs around them. Thirtyseven. One for every member of our allies, excluding Yeonjun. Will the rest of TXT show up? My fingers find the ring on my pinky and I start turning it absentmindedly. My eyes drift to our row. I count. Fifteen. One for each of us, including Joshua’s new protégés. Slowly I breathe out through my mouth. I force my breathing to deepen. To become steadier.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and immediately I pull it out. Seungkwan. Monsta X is set to arrive in ten minutes. Time for a briefing? I breathe out one more time and then my expression hardens. Quickly I respond to Seungkwan’s text. On my way. My feet automatically turn around and I walk out of the room, down the stairs, into another room, where my family is waiting.
Fourteen pairs of expectant eyes on me when I enter the room. I take a moment to look at every single one of them, lingering a split second longer on Shinyu and Dohoon. A flash of worry in my stomach. I take a breath and square my shoulders. My voice is calm when I start speaking. “Today is a big moment for us,” my speech starts off. Held breaths across the room, not even Soonyoung makes noise. “Today we become the spider in our very own web. Our network, consisting of all our allies.” Jeonghan hums, quietly and low. “In a few minutes, we’ll go into that room and we will do what we do best.” Another pause. A few nodding heads. “Show your calm, capable self. I trust all of you.” When I speak of trust, I look at Joshua, then Jeonghan. My eyes flicker to Shinyu and Dohoon. “You know how to act, you know when to speak, you know who to speak to. Trust yourself.” The air in the room feels thick. I raise the volume of my voice. “Let’s do this.”
Now, Soonyoung triumphantly yells out. The others start clapping, a few fists are raised into the air. Jeonghan stands up and I turn around, hearing the chairs scrape and my men starting to chatter. Seungkwan is by my side in a flash. “I’ll go welcome our guests.” I briskly nod. My head turns and I make eye contact with Joshua. I motion towards Seungkwan. Joshua nods in understanding and I turn again to leave the room. Back up the stairs, into the big room. Most of my men follow behind me. I check my watch. Three more minutes until Monsta X arrives.
My men find their places. There is no particular order, but three middle chairs stay open. Jeonghan sits left to the open spaces. The chattering continues. When the door opens, it subsides momentarily and my men stand up. Murmured choruses of welcome and respect fall from their lips, and all of them start bowing as Joshua and Shownu enter. Seungkwan and the rest of Monsta X follow behind them and they are shown to their places. My men sit down and their chatter resumes. The atmosphere is noticeably relaxed. Seungkwan comes back to my side, while Joshua tends to Shownu a moment longer.
“Who will arrive next?” I ask him. He answers without hesitation. “Mamamoo should arrive next and Stray Kids shortly after.” I nod, but then a realization strikes me. “And TXT?” A moment’s delay in Seungkwan’s response has me furrow my brows together. “I haven’t heard from Soobin.” We make eye contact and my stomach twists. I push it down. “We’ll see,” I tell him. He nods and when Joshua motions to him, turns around to go back down to welcome our next guests.
After they leave, I motion my hand towards Jeonghan. He comes to my side. “Yes?” He asks without malice. “Mamamoo will be here next.” He nods understandingly. His eyes flicker to Dohoon and Shinyu sitting next to Chan at the end of our row, but he says nothing. I clear my throat.
The door opens again, revealing Seungkwan first, then Joshua with Solar. My men get up on their feet again, and so do the men of Monsta X. The welcome murmurs and bowing of heads repeats itself. Jeonghan makes eye contact with Moonbyul and both of them smirk. Seungkwan starts leading them to their places. Hwasa’s eyes go wide for a moment when she spots our new recruits, her eyes flickering to mine. My eyes don’t flinch and she regains her composure.
Seungkwan and Joshua immediately leave the room after Mamamoo is seated this time, so Jeonghan walks over to our new allies to banter with them. I suppress a content smile. My eyes survey our men, who have sat down again, and my eyes linger on Mingyu’s fading bruises. My throat contracts and I move on.
The door opens a third time, Joshua enters with Bang Chan. The greeting ritual of murmurs and bows repeats itself a third time. Joshua looks ever so slightly more sure of himself next to Stray Kids. They are being led to their places, Jeonghan returns to his seat. Joshua and Seungkwan also go over to our row and sit down. One last empty chair between Jeonghan and Joshua now remains. One deep breath leaves my lungs. My chin pushes up and forward. My eyes flicker towards the four empty seats next to Monsta X. I walk over to my own seat, hold for a moment, and sit down. All the chatters and murmurs die down. All eyes turn to me.
“My friends,” I start the meeting. A broad smile on my face and my voice is low but warm. Most attendees smile in response. “Thank you all for coming here today. In the recent months we have grown closer with all of you, and I appreciate the trust you put in us to meet with each other as well.” I make pointed eye contact with Shownu, Solar, and then Bang Chan. They all return my smile.
“Now, before I get into our reason for meeting here today, let me address the unexpected elephant in the room.” My words are accompanied by a low chuckle. “Joshua, please introduce our new family members.” From the corner of my eyes, I see Joshua’s gentle smile. His tone of voice is equally as gentle.
“Certainly. Friends, at the end of our row here you have already seen the two new faces.” He motions towards Shinyu and Dohoon with his arm. “Shinyu and Dohoon came to us recently, and we have allowed them into our ranks. This is the way Seventeen has always worked, and even with recent developments, that’s not up for change.” His words settle and a few of the Monsta X men nod, including Shownu. Joshua’s head turns towards the end of our row. “Boys?” At Joshua’s prompt, both young men stand up. Their hands folded together politely, they bow deeply towards our allies. They sit down again. Appreciative murmurs echo through the room.
Deliberately, I clear my throat. The attention shifts back to me. “Then, I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of you. When we needed your loyalty, you all came through.” My eyes find Solar’s. “Thank you for informing us in time.” My gaze turns to Shownu. “Thank you for being the spider in our web that day.” He smiles. I turn to find Bang Chan. “Thank you for coming to our aid.” He laughs quietly. “No problem, Seungcheol,” he returns. Throughout our exchanges, several eyes flicker back and forth to Mingyu. I sit up straighter and I deepen my voice. “We’ve taken care of our situation, but we still have at least two enemies to face.” Silence fills the room for a few seconds. The clock ticks on the wall. “That’s why we’re here today.”
It takes another moment, but then Shownu responds. “We know for certain now that Exo and Ateez work together, and they’ve recruited Yeonjun.” Solar opens her mouth. “Ateez has been our direct rival for years now, so we have a lot of intel on them.” Jeonghan stirs next to me. “Can you give us a quick rundown on them?” Solar solemnly nods. “Of course. Wheein?” Wheein smiles politely before she talks. “Ateez has 8 members. Hongjoong is their leader, Seonghwa his second in command. From what we have gathered, those two run a pretty tight ship. The other six have barely any voice in the group. Wooyoung, San, Mingi are mostly used for muscle and damage. Yunho is more calculated, they sometimes use him as a strategist. Jongho seems mostly harmless, but he can explode unexpectedly.”
Bang Chan butts in. “Exo has the same authoritative structure.” The attention in the room shifts to him. He might be our newest ally, but everyone listens attentively. “Suho runs a tight ship. It seems now with Yeonjun he has adopted him as a pressure point or strategist, but the others really have got no say in the group. Suho makes most decisions alone, he respects the leaders of his allies, but he regularly disrespected my men directly when I brought them with me.” Hyunjin’s expression grows darker, a quiet anger simmering underneath his skin. Beside me, Joshua makes a soft noise and looks at Hyunjin. They lock eyes. Joshua unexpectedly gives him a decisive nod. Surprise clouds my mind, but only momentarily. I decide to pull the attention back to me.
“So Ateez and Exo, we have a lot of intel on them together, thankfully. Of course, we also have four ex-Exo members amongst our ranks, so even if it might be dated, some internal intel is available to us.” Nods around the room. “Do we know if there are any other potential liabilities? Anyone else Exo has ties to?” Bang Chan speaks up again. “Suho and I used to have meetings with Jay B as well.” Jihoon immediately responds this time. “Got7’s leader?” Bang Chan makes an affirmative noise. “I haven’t personally met with Jay B in about a year, but don’t underestimate their connection. They’ve known each other a long time.”
Hwasa now starts talking. “We know Red Velvet also cooperates with Ateez sometimes. Red Velvet gathers the intel, Ateez steals.” She shrugs. “We might need to count them as a liability as well in case this really starts to get dirty.” My hand glides over the lower half of my face and I nod thoughtfully.
“Alright, so Exo and Ateez oppose us for certain, Got7 and Red Velvet are on our minds as potential liabilities.” Murmurs around the room. “I think it will be good for all of us if we formally come to agreements. We decide to be one network. We settle our assets and territory amongst ourselves. We come to each other’s aid when needed.” My eyes find the other leaders again. Each of them mirrors my decisiveness.
“I’d suggest we all stick to our original turf.” Shownu starts speaking. “Seventeen has the fighting ring and they gather intel. We steal and trade, mainly art. Mamamoo trades their more exotic goods and the Seventeen unit can steal for them. Stray Kids do their security and assassinations.” The word hangs in the air for a moment. Bang Chan breaks through the heaviness. “And if push comes to shove? What if any one of us runs into trouble?” Solar answers, her voice easy. “Then we agree to help in any way we can, without putting ourselves more at risk than necessary.”
Jeonghan speaks up beside me. “Of course, we have the most members out of all of us here.” He glances sideways at our men. “We will gladly help with any request made by any of you.” His eyes sweep over the faces of our allies. “Mine and Joshua’s unit is capable of stealing, and I trust soon we’ll get our hands dirty with Bang Chan as well.” The implication hangs in the air once more. Bang Chan grunts appreciatively. “Seungkwan is an excellent tradesman. We have muscle ready to assist with security. We are even continuing to grow our ranks.” Shownu starts nodding, his men following suit.
“Alright, gentlemen. How do we formalize this?” Solar asks. Jihoon is the one who answers. “My team and I will draft the agreement, we’ve been taking notes.” He offhandedly motions towards Wonwoo and Hansol. “Of course, the language will be discreet and official.” He chuckles darkly. “Once it’s drafted and Seungcheol has formally agreed to its contents I’ll send it over to all three of you. You can let me know if it needs any changes.” Our allied leaders nod, content looks on their faces.
Once the formal meeting ends, my men get to work. Joshua introduces Shinyu and Dohoon to Stray Kids. Soonyoung and Chan are laughing with Joohoney and Minhyuk, Hwasa sauntering over to them. Jeonghan and Jihoon talk to Mamamoo, Wonwoo and Hansol hovering behind them. Mingyu and Seokmin banter with Kihyun and Changbin, who bully Mingyu for his bruises. Even Minghao and Jun are in a corner with Felix and Hyunjin.
Seungkwan brings Shownu over to me. His face looks warm and he extends his hand. I take it and we shake. “Impressive what you’ve built here, Cheol.” He says, his voice sincere and I laugh softly. “Thank you, Shownu. It’s due to everyone’s effort though, not just mine.” Shownu smiles and nods. Our eyes connect and I’m surprised at the layer of worry in them. “Something on your mind?” I prod lightly. Seungkwan’s eyes narrow. Shownu’s gaze locks me in. “I just hope we come out on top.” My face is solemn as I nod and worry twists my gut. “At least our chances have grown now.”
The meeting room slowly empties out, my men disappearing with my allies. Groups all mixed together, nobody returning home right now. When I say goodbye to Shownu, Seungkwan seeing him out, I look around the room and smile. Jeonghan and Joshua are waiting for me at the table. My eyes close and I shake my head with a laugh. I walk up to them and sit down.
“Tell me.” My order is clear. Jeonghan excitedly opens his mouth, but Joshua cuts him off. “Bang Chan is going to need our help with an assassination.” My blood runs cold and my breath stops. “Who?” Jeonghan is quick to answer. “An unknown target, just a hit they got ordered to do by a client.” I nod and chew on the inside of my cheek, my fingers instinctively turning the ring on my pink. “When?” The hands of the clock tick loudly. When Joshua answers, I’m startled by the dark amusement in his voice.
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: some tension / but mostly just returning to a bit of fluff and found family vibes / we meet new characters / i'm sorry I had to bring my other pledis boys in here / they do serve the plot though i promise
✦ Wc: 3.3k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
We are doing one suprise Chan POV today! We need a bit of pause after the last chapter I'd say so. Here is the world through our youngest eyes!
Masterpost
Chan's POV
Song: DKZ - Replay my anthem
April
The excited atmosphere at the ring almost makes me smile as I survey the crowd. I’m not due to fight today, so instead I have been tasked with security. My back leans against the wall and I softly breathe out. From the corner of my eye I spot movement towards the ring, and I see Mingyu bring out Seokmin. The corners of my mouth lift slightly when I see Mingyu’s bruised jaw and I reflexively flex the fingers on the hand that put those bruises there.
My head turns as I scan the crowd, looking for Joshua. I find him at his usual spot on the side of the ring and something within me settles as I register how relaxed his posture is. My hands push me off the cold wall and I turn to walk one of my rounds. Slowly I weave through the people on the edge of the crowd, my eyes scanning inwards. Most of the faces I see are familiar, regulars that come to see our fights. Bang Chan and Hyunjin also approach the ring, and as I follow their movements, suddenly I spot two unknown faces in the crowd.
My throat closes up for a moment when I study the two. They look young, maybe too young to be here. They look excited, and… strangely relieved. A ghost of a smile plays on my lips when I remember the feeling that’s on their faces. I can’t ever forget the day I came to the fighting ring for the first time. My life was turned around that day. It was the day my family found me.
As I continue weaving through the crowd, my eyes keep drifting to the two boys. They cheer excitedly when Joshua opens the fight. When the first strike lands, their eyes widen in surprise. Then they turn towards each other and their expressions turn to something between exhilarated and grateful.
As I keep a returning watch on them, my feet automatically take me towards them. Before I realize it, I am close. Too close. One of the two boys turns towards me, he seems a little older than the other one. When he realizes I am coming towards them, his smile falters and a shy expression creeps onto his features. He taps the shoulder of the other boy, whose head turns in response.
My heart beats wildly in my chest, but I force my voice to come out friendly. “Hi,” I say, mentally facepalming myself for starting this conversation in such a stupid way. The second boy echoes me. “Hi.” His tone slightly lifts at the end of the word. “Is there something wrong, sir?” He politely asks. Sir? I laugh internally, nobody ever calls me sir. That never happens when all your brothers are older than you.
“Ah, no!” I quickly respond and I smile. “Nothing is wrong. I was just wondering who you guys are, since I’ve never seen you here before.” The two boys visibly relax, and now the older looking boy shortly bows and softly speaks up. “My name is Shinyu, and this is Dohoon.” He motions toward the other boy.
Curiosity swarms my brain, but my muscles tense instead. Check how old they are, you know this. “As I’ve never seen you before, can you just tell me how old you two are?” Purposely I keep my voice light. No need to put any extra pressure on this. Shinyu smiles politely and he answers again. “Of course. I’m 22, and Dohoon here is 21.” A pang of relief through my chest. Good. My expression lightens and the curiosity presses me harder. Don’t frighten them, Chan. An inexplicable feeling of recognition unfolds and my mind fumbles as it searches for the right words. Where is Seungkwan when you need him?
Dohoon smiles, his eyes mirroring my own curiosity. “Can we stay?” His voice is curious, friendly. I open my mouth, but he quickly adds more to his question before I can respond. “To watch the fight, I mean.” He laughs awkwardly. I laugh along with him and note the way Shinyu carefully looks between the two of us. “I, yes, of course.” I manage to say. Can I tell them they can stay for more than the fight? My mouth starts talking before I’ve consciously decided. “If you want to, come find me at the back of the room after the fights.”
My invitation hangs in the air, and Dohoon excitedly glances towards Shinyu. Shinyu’s face is thoughtful and closed for a few moments. He looks at Dohoon and his eyebrows furrow. My right hand tightens. Then his head turns to me and his polite smile returns. My fingers uncoil. “We’ll come find you, hyung.” Hyung. The word echoes through my mind and I’m sure my face looks stunned. Dohoon chuckles and the light sound pulls me back. I smile broadly and incline my head with a quick motion. “Enjoy the fights, boys.” My weight shifts as I turn around and call over my shoulder. “See you soon.”
My steps lighten as I make my way towards the back. By the time I spot the member I’m looking for, I’m practically skipping. The smile on my face is big and involuntary. “Hyung!” Soonyoung turns around when he hears my voice and he chuckles. “You seem happy,” he states. I nod enthusiastically. “I’ve invited people!” This gets me a raised brow in response. Soonyoung’s posture straightens. “... you’ve invited people?” The tone of his voice drags me back to Earth. “Who?” He asks me.
“I, eh, well..” Suddenly my mouth feels dry and the correct words are impossible to find. My hands fold together in front of my body and my chin dips. My eyes lift to look at Soonyoung. “I saw two boys in the crowd,” I decide to conclude. Soonyoung clears his throat and flexes his shoulders back. Automatically I stand up straighter. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod. He needs more.
“I went over to see who they were, because I didn’t recognize them as any of our regulars.” My voice grows steady during this sentence. My mind clears. “They told me their names and their ages, early twenties. I saw something in them…” My voice trails off. Soonyoung tilts his head to the side. My head dips again and my eyes find the floor. My face feels heated. Soonyoung clicks his tongue. “And then?” His question is simple. “I told them to find me here after the fights.”
He chews his lips and his eyes unfocus. My eyes stay trained on his face, I’m not even sure if I’m blinking. He nods once. “Stay here.” He disappears into the crowd. I turn around and push my back against the wall, steadying myself. The cold of the stones seeps through my shirt and I breathe out a deep breath. Did I make a good call?
Soonyoung returns quicker than I expect him to. When I see who is following him, who he went to retrieve, my stomach tightens and I straighten my spine. “Chan,” Joshua says when they reach me. “Joshua hyung,” I respond to him. “Tell him what you just told me,” Soonyoung offers. Joshua looks at me with focused, expectant eyes.
My voice starts the sentence steady this time. “While surveying the crowd, I spotted two boys I hadn’t previously seen, so I went to check it out.” Joshua nods in understanding, so I continue. “They told me their names and their ages, early twenties, and asked if it was okay for them to be here. I told them it was fine, and then I also told them to come find me here at the back after the fight. I recognized potential in them,” my voice trails off again. Joshua waits. I glance at Soonyoung, then look back at Joshua. “I recognized my younger self in them. I think it would be good if you got to know them, hyung.”
Joshua raises his eyebrows. “You think it would be good if I got to know them.” My breathing halts in my throat. His eyes narrow. He clacks his tongue. Then he nods a few times, slowly. “Okay. The last fight just ended. Go find them, bring them here.” I draw in a sharp breath. “Yes, Joshua,” I respond. “Thank you.” He waves his hand at me and I turn away from the two of them.
My feet take me away quickly. My breathing speeds up and my eyes scan rapidly through the slowly thinning crowd. Where did they go? From the corner of my eye I see movement towards the back of the room, moving oppositely to the people who are leaving. I turn my head and relief floods my veins. “Shinyu! Dohoon!” They look my way and smile, coming up to me. Shinyu speaks as soon as I’m within earshot. “I’m glad we found you again, hyung.” The word still feels foreign in my ears. “We realized after you left that you never told us your name.” His voice is friendly.
“Ah,” I say laughing. “My name is Chan.” Both the boys bow this time. “Nice to meet you properly,” Shinyu responds. Joshua’s voice suddenly echoes in the back of my mind. Go find them, bring them here. My back straightens, my shoulders drop. The smiles fade off the two boys’ faces. “I’d like you to meet two of my hyungs,” I inform them. “I already told them about you two, and they want to talk to you.” The two of them exchange a quick glance. Shinyu nods. “We’d be grateful to speak with them,” he says, his tone dropping.
When I turn around to make my way back, I see Shinyu following first and Dohoon following after him. Their earlier playful energy has dropped into something more serious. The air between us suddenly feels charged.
When Joshua and Soonyoung notice us approaching, they straighten. Soonyoung smiles, but Joshua’s expression is harder than I expected him to be. A pang of worry, low in my stomach, but I push it away. When I reach them, I bow to them in a reflex. Shinyu and Dohoon follow my example. My eyes meet Joshua’s and my tone is respectful and confident when I speak. “Joshua hyung, I’m pleased to introduce Shinyu and Dohoon to you.” When I mention their names, my right arm opens in their direction. Joshua’s eyes move from me to Shinyu, then to Dohoon. Still no smile on his lips and no word from his mouth.
My attention moves towards Soonyoung on Joshua’s left. “Soonyoung hyung, these two are Shinyu, and Dohoon.” My arm repeats its earlier motion. Soonyoung’s curious eyes now turn to the two boys as well. My upper body now turns towards the two younger ones. “Shinyu, Dohoon, meet Joshua and Soonyoung, two of my hyungs and leaders.”
Shinyu’s face stays perfectly composed. The corners of Dohoon’s mouth curl minutely upwards and his eyes widen slightly when I say ‘leaders’. Shinyu inclines his head politely once more. “We are very honored to meet the both of you,” he addresses the two oldest. “Thank you for taking this time.” When he finishes speaking, everyone’s attention turns to Joshua. For a few seconds, Joshua’s face remains motionless. Then, finally, he softly smiles and the skin around his eyes crinkles. The nerves in my stomach wane.
“The pleasure is all mine. First time to my ring?” Regardless of his friendly expression, Joshua’s voice is lower and more controlled than I’m used to. I suppress the urge to quirk my eyebrow. Soonyoung does not successfully suppress that urge, but quickly diverts his attention elsewhere and regains control over his features. To Shinyu’s credit, he still seems unfazed. “Our first time visiting, sir.” His voice is soft but clear, and he nods once to underline the concurring answer. “We had heard about it before, but now that we can see it with our own eyes, your organization outperformed all our expectations.” For a moment I can only feel genuine admiration for how eloquently he speaks.
My eyes shift back to Joshua. His smile has grown wider. “Thank you for your sincerity,” he returns. His voice is warmer, but then his eyes narrow. “I’m interested to find out more about you two.” His eyes move between both younger boys. “You’ll come to the back room with us. We can talk more freely there.”
Without waiting for any more response, Joshua turns on his heel and starts walking. Soonyoung glances at me and shrugs, then follows Joshua. Shinyu looks at me. “You can trust them, come,” I try to reassure them. Shinyu smiles, nods, and starts walking. Dohoon follows him and I shake my head a few times before following too.
The light in the back room is dimmer than the main hall. My eyelids blink rapidly, forcing the room into focus. Joshua is sat behind the only desk, leaning back in the chair. Soonyoung has sat down on the couch in the far corner. Joshua speaks, much softer now. “Please, sit down,” he tells the younger ones, while motioning towards another small couch. I close the door behind me and take two steps to the left, keeping my back stuck to the wall.
Shinyu and Dohoon sit down. How do they manage to still look so calm? The question springs to the front of my mind. Not only that, they look at home. A bewildered feeling creeps up through my throat and I shift my attention back to Joshua. He looks lost in thought, but quickly his eyes come back into focus and his smile slides back onto his features.
“Now, Shinyu, you told me you two had heard of this ring before.” Joshua pauses, his eyes moving between the two. “Tell me, who told you? What did they tell you?” The questions are sharp, but Joshua stays soft. His face turns to me. “Chan, get our guests a drink, will you?” I’m grateful for the task and I quickly start into motion. As I get three glasses out the cabinet, one for each of our guests and one for Joshua, I hear Shinyu behind me speak up to answer the questions.
“We are out on the streets a lot. Technically, both of us have a home, but… Let’s say they don’t feel like one.” I glance at Soonyoung. We share an understanding look. My attention refocuses on the glasses and I hear Shinyu continue.
“Dohoon and I, we stick together with a couple of other kids, there are six of us. Sometimes we run into a few older ones. Like TXT for example.” My blood runs cold at the mention of our allies' name. The air in the room suddenly feels thick. The glasses are full, so I lift one and walk over to Joshua. The moment I hold it in front of him, he takes it and holds it in his hand. He slowly takes a sip. I return to the other glasses.
“Who in TXT told you?” Joshua is an artist. Such a loaded question, delivered with such ease. My hands take hold of the other two glasses and I turn around to bring it over to our guests. Dohoon answers Joshua’s question this time, a gloating tone hidden underneath his words. “Beomgyu did, sir.” I guess Yeonjun isn’t the only loose-lipped member Soobin needs to worry about.
Without looking at him, Joshua addresses Soonyoung. “Soonyoung, give Jihoon a call.” To check if this information is true. Mentally I add the unspoken part of the order. Soonyoung gets up and walks out of the room, murmuring ‘I’ll be right back’.
Joshua is quiet. He sets his glass down and runs his index finger along the rim. “The thing is boys, why I’m asking, most of the people in our crowds, we’ve recruited them ourselves. We make sure we know who is in here with us. They don’t work for us, but we have been the ones to slip them the information on the fighting ring. Most of them have no idea of this. But then the two of you… showed up without my prior knowledge.”
My own eyes widen at this unexpected level of disclosure. A soft bubble of pride swells up in the middle of my chest. I made the right call bringing them to him. Joshua continues. “Chan here, flagged you correctly because of it, and then he saw something in you two. Made him do something he’s never done before. Invite and then vouch for two strangers.” Dohoon’s eyes flick to me. I remain motionless, but the proud feeling grows deeper.
Joshua lets go of his glass and leans his forearms on the desk, fingertips of both hands pushed against one another. His upper body leans forward too. “What do you guys need?” His question hangs in the air. Shinyu’s expression grows more assertive and he straightens his back. He opens his mouth.
“We are tired of just surviving. We need mentors. The word on the street is you guys are the next kings on the scene. Watching the three of you interact today, confirmed your group is the type of mentors we want to learn from.”
Joshua leans back again, taking in Shinyu’s confession. The door opens and reveals Soonyoung, who closes it behind him. Joshua looks at him with one raised eyebrow. “They were telling the truth,” Soonyoung relays. Joshua turns his head back to the two boys on the couch. “Alright. We could use potent new blood. I’ll make some calls. See if our boss agrees to let you stay in one of our safehouses for now.” Shinyu inclines his head once more. “Thank you, sir.” Joshua laughs, genuinely this time. “You two can call me hyung, if you want.” Shinyu’s returning smile is equally as sincere. “Thank you, hyung.”
Joshua turns his head to me and my body jolts awake. “Show them around. I’ll call Seungcheol.” Shinyu and Dohoon get up. “Got it,” I affirm his order. My hand reaches for the door and I step towards it to pull it open. The bright light on the other sides makes my eyes squeeze half shut as I step out. Behind me I hear footsteps.
Once I am a few steps out, I turn around. Dohoon and Shinyu stop in front of me. We look at each other. A laugh bubbles up from my stomach and I let it, smiling widely before opening my mouth and laughing loudly. Dohoon’s lips stretch too and an excited smile overtakes his features. Shinyu simply smirks, one corner of his mouth pulled up and his eyes look alive. “Gotta admit,” my tone of voice borders on giddy when I address them. “I was very impressed by how well you handled all of that.”
Shinyu chuckles. “Thanks, hyung.” The word falls off his lips so much more casually than when he was addressing Joshua. “I was pretty nervous, honestly,” he continues. “But Joshua let me say what I came here to say. I’m relieved.” My smile beams at his words and I nod. “Let’s go on the tour, then. Shall we?” The boys chuckle and I turn around to bring them towards the other back rooms.
While walking, Dohoon matches his pace to mine. “Thanks for seeing us out there,” his voice is softer than before. “That’s okay,” I respond warmly to him. “I recognized you guys needed us just as much as I needed this family when I came to the ring for the first time.” My words hang between us for a moment, then I chuckle. “I recognized it even before I realized what I had recognized.” I look sideways at him as we continue walking. “I was so giddy telling Soonyoung that I had invited you guys, and then he pulled me back to Earth. Could’ve been my greatest security mishap so far.” We laugh together.
Shinyu steps in to my left, also matching pace. “Thanks for recognizing us, Chan.” We reach the back changing rooms. My hand on the doorknob, I turn my head to him. “I hope we can be the family you need.”
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: tension / threats / anger / betrayal / blood / sorry Mingyu it had to be you / the twins are fire and electricity / Joshua is the regulator after all
✦ Wc: 2.6k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Since there is another update coming this sunday, thought I'd give you this chapter a day early! Enjoy <3
Also, just, oops, sorry Mingyu. It just had to be him :')
Masterpost
Seungcheol's POV
Song: Stray Kids - Escape
April
Suho scoffs the second my command leaves my lips. His laugh grows louder and his men follow his lead. None of my men move a muscle, the tension behind me palpable. Mentally I run a quick check. Seven of us. Ten of them. Suho snaps his fingers again, at Yeonjun this time, and motions him forward. Yeonjun steps forward with a huge mocking grin on his face, stopping less than half a step behind Suho. Suho angles his head toward him. “Seungcheol really thinks it’s that easy, doesn’t he, Yeonjun-ah?” Yeonjun chuckles coldly. “We don’t take orders from you, Cheol,” he sneers.
My body goes still. I’m acutely aware of my men, where they stand, how tense yet controlled they are. Anger boils in my veins and I spit on the ground between us. “This is your final chance to leave.” My voice sounds restrained but power simmers underneath the surface. Suho and Yeonjun start laughing again. Suho makes a show of wiping a pretend tear away, as if he is watching a comedy show. For a moment, my eyes shift to Mingyu a few steps behind him. His face is turned away.
A car from the road to the right. When they get close enough, Soonyoung whispers behind me. “TXT.” The car stops at the side of the street and the four remaining TXT members step out of the car. Soobin’s face doesn’t give anything away, but Huening Kai turns a paler shade when his eyes register Yeonjun. My mental math tallies them up. Eleven on our side, ten on theirs. Not enough to scare them off. Not yet.
Suho clicks his tongue. “How nice of your friends to show up too, Yeonjun! The more the merrier.” His eyes lock with mine and the playfulness drops from his voice. “You’re stepping out of line, Seungcheol.” Jeonghan tenses beside me. “You’ve been playing around long enough. Time to back off.” Suho lets his subtle threat hang in the air. “You’re not winning this. We want that safehouse as your gesture of goodwill.” He raises his chin, an expression of pure entitlement on his face.
To our right, TXT seems lost on the scene. I realize they’re not going to be of any help right now. My shoulders square and I take a step forward, Jeonghan and Joshua mirroring the exact move. The others stay put. “You’re not what you once were, Suho.” My voice is low and quiet. “You’re not the one calling the shots in this city anymore.” He starts laughing and my hand starts to move towards the weapon behind my back.
My movements halt when I hear two more cars speeding down the road. Their tyres screech as they stop. For a moment, my heart sinks. My mind does not know to which side it should tally these eight new arrivals. Stray Kids get out of the car. Bang Chan immediately steps forward with a confident posture, his muscles visible beneath his shirt. Felix, Hyunjin and Changbin are right behind him, the other four form a line a step back. He looks between us. When his eyes land on me, there is a huge grin on his face.
He turns back to Suho. Suho smiles welcomingly. “Bang Chan! How nice of you to come to our aid. But it wasn’t necessary, I have things handled.” Bang Chan chuckles. “I guess it sucks when you’re not up to date on the latest shifts in loyalty, Suho.” Confusion registers on Suho’s face. Bang Chan takes a step towards him. “Fuck off. Go home.” My mind finishes the tally. Nineteen on our side, ten on theirs. Enough.
The shit-eating grin has fallen from Yeonjun’s face. He makes no sound. Suho realizes he is outnumbered. He remains silent for a second, before pulling his face into a theatrical smile. He holds his hands up, his palms turned towards us. “It seems we’re not welcome here after all. Such a shame.” He takes a step back. And another. He drops his hands and lets his mask fall and his expression is seething with anger. “This is not over, Seungcheol. Bang Chan.” He motions with his hand and his men scramble to get back into their cars. Yeonjun immediately turns around to get into the car. He never glances towards TXT.
Mingyu hesitates for a moment. Our eyes meet when his head turns towards us. There is regret in them. My feet push me forward in big steps towards him. Suho steps away quicker, fear flashing across his features for the tiniest moment. Mingyu’s shoulders drop. When I reach him, I grab his shirt. My eyes search his face and my body turns cold. I turn around and drag him with me. When I reach Chan, Soonyoung and Jihoon I hand him to them. “Take him inside. The big room. Wait for me.” The three do as they’re told and the four men disappear into the house. Wonwoo follows a few steps behind them.
As Exo finally starts driving off, I turn to Bang Chan and Soobin. “Thank you, truly. Things could have become a lot more… difficult if you hadn’t shown up.” I bow, briefly and sincerely. Bang Chan pats me on the shoulder. “All good, Cheol. Let’s take this as the beginning of a strong alliance.” Soobin is quiet, his jaw locked and the three men behind him pale. My voice pierces through the momentary silence. “I am going to deal with my aftermath now.” The implications of my words hang heavy in the air. “If there is anything we can help you deal with, Soobin, let us know.” He nods and turns around without a word, ushering his men back into the car.
My phone feels heavy in my hand when I pull it out of my pocket. I need the entire family here for this. My thumb selects Seungkwan’s name and presses call. “Boss.” Seungkwan’s voice sounds neutral. “How far out are you? Who is with you?” He pauses. “I’m in the car with Seokmin and Hansol. We’ll be there in under ten minutes.” Everything is spoken in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Good. Jun and Minghao?” My voice is equally as controlled. “Coming from the other side of town. We all left at the same time. They should be there sooner than us.”
After the phone call ends, I look around and realize that Stray Kids have also left the scene. Finally, I turn to Jeonghan and Joshua. Their masks have fallen, their feelings clear on their faces. Jeonghan’s features are screwed into utter rage. Joshua’s expression is ice cold. The once playful sparks in their eyes have turned to fire and electricity. A pit in my stomach feels like it’s about to swallow me into darkness. Jeonghan breaks the silence. “He can’t get away with this.” The burning anger and pain in his face extends to his voice.
“There must have been a reason he did this.” Joshua’s voice of reason. The coldness in his face seeps into his tone. “But we can’t let him off easy.” I exhale sharply through my nose and nod. “Let’s go inside.”
We enter the room. Mingyu sits on the ground against the left wall. His knees pulled up to his chest, his arms around his legs, his head dropped on his knees. He looks as if the weight of his actions is bearing down on him. I sit on the edge of a table in the middle of the room, facing him. My feet apart and firmly on the ground. My forearms rest on my thighs, my fingertips touching each other. The rest of my family is to my left. Soonyoung is alive with rage, his eyes wide. The others look controlled.
The door downstairs opens and moments later, Minghao and Jun also enter the room. Mingyu doesn’t move a muscle. Minghao raises an eyebrow at his posture but doesn’t say a word.
“Look at me.” My voice is low, quiet and deadly. The pain in it is unmistakeable and I let it live there. Mingyu raises his head. His eyes are dull, resigned. He stays silent. For long moments, nobody speaks. My eyes stay trained on Mingyu’s.
Jeonghan walks over to my side. He wants to interject, but Joshua catches up to him quickly and puts a hand on his shoulder. Jeonghan bristles but stays quiet.
“Why?” My one word question rings out and everyone focuses their attention on Mingyu. The shared pain is tangible in the room. Mingyu’s eyes drop to the floor. He shakes his head and a tear drops from his eye. He looks back up at me but seems unable to speak.
The door opens again. Seokmin, Seungkwan and Hansol are the last of our family to enter the room. All three of them look shocked at Mingyu’s defeated posture on the ground. Seungkwan looks at me. “Has he… Did we…” His voice has a fearful edge to it. “We haven’t touched him, Seungkwan.” Seungkwan exhales. “Not yet.” I add quietly and he sucks in a sharp breath.
“Mingyu.” My voice turns sharper. “What do they know?” Mingyu visibly forces himself to swallow. His voice is small when he answers. “Only this. Only this location. Nothing else.” He speaks so quietly I would have missed it if there had been anything but held breaths in the room. “Do they know what we have here? What we hide here?” He shakes his head.
My frustration starts building, but I push it down. I need my mind to be clear. “Why?” My voice is louder now. “Why did you betray us, Mingyu?” Mingyu’s eyes widen at the sharpness of the word. He starts shaking his head and a few more tears escape his eyes. He opens his mouth and closes it again. My shoulders drop and a sigh escapes my lips.
“You know what needs to be done now.”
My words turn his eyes alive with fear. I look to my men on my left. Soonyoung is almost jumping out of his skin. My gaze lands on Chan. His face is solemn when our eyes meet. My head motions towards Mingyu and I nod. He reciprocates the nod and steps towards Mingyu.
Mingyu tries to push himself further back into the wall. His hands come up to protect his face. A terrified, broken “no, please” tumbles from his lips. Chan moves towards Mingyu without hesitation. He leans down. He pulls his arm back.
His fist lands in Mingyu’s stomach with full force, just like Mingyu taught him to.
Besides me, Jeonghan exhales and his shoulders drop visibly. Chan pulls his arm back and lands a second blow to Mingyu’s side. Mingyu yells loudly. My eyes find Soonyoung. My gaze is powerful and he nods once, his movement contained. My head motions towards Mingyu. Joshua holds his breath.
Chan straightens when Soonyoung stands on the other side of Mingyu. Soonyoung grabs Mingyu’s shirt with both hands and hauls him to his feet. Mingyu tries to get away from them but Soonyoung’s grip is like iron.
Chan’s fist connects again. This time, to Mingyu’s jaw. The force throws Mingyu’s face to the left. He turns his head back, his eyes finding mine. My arms cross in front of my chest and my gaze is unforgiving. He tries to talk, blood splattering across his shirt. Soonyoung releases one of his fists from Mingyu’s shirt and pulls back his arm.
“Hold.”
My simple one-word command freezes everyone in place. Mingyu’s wide eyes look at me. “They…” He chokes on the blood in his mouth and spits it out. “They were threatening her.” His voice is tiny and filled with panic. Her? Confusion swirls through my mind. My feet push me up and I walk up to Mingyu. My face is centimeters from his. “Who?”
Tears escape from Mingyu’s eyes and the raw panic is clear in every fiber of him. “My sister. They found out about my sister.” He sounds broken. I stagger back a step, dropping my arms to my sides. My face twists in concern and confusion. “You have a sister?” My hands move up and down in a useless motion. “And you didn’t think to tell us?” My voice grows louder. “You put all of us, and her, in danger.” My eyes turn sharply to Mingyu’s face. “What the fuck were you thinking Mingyu?!”
Mingyu’s shoulders sag forward. “I…” He tries to talk, but his voice is merely a whisper. “I thought she’d be safe.” My hand waves at Soonyoung and Chan. They immediately release him. Their own shock is clear on their faces. My mind works at top speed, trying to wrap around this new information. This new liability. My heart is starting to beat faster.
“Who threatened her?” Joshua’s voice is calm when he asks the question. More tears stream down Mingyu’s face. I focus on my breathing, forcing it to deepen. “Suho and.. I guess Yeonjun,” Mingyu’s voice sounds broken. “Yeonjun found out about her, I don’t know how.” His eyes find mine and our gazes lock. He sounds absolutely terrified when he speaks his next words. “They said they’d kill her, Seungcheol. Please..” His voice trails off, but the sheer terror in it forces my heartrate back down and instantly clears my mind. My brother is an idiot and he betrayed us, but he needs help.
My eyes break away and search for Jeonghan’s and Joshua’s. Both of them look as sharp as I feel. Jeonghan turns to Mingyu. He takes a few steps towards him. Mingyu tenses. Jeonghan’s voice burns like venom. “Never. Betray us. Again.” His eyes are locked on Mingyu’s face and Mingyu’s knees buckle away underneath him. On his knees he looks up at Jeonghan, new tears falling from his eyes. In between sobs, he starts talking. “Never.. Again.. I.. promise.” Mingyu’s eyes find Joshua. “Please.. I’m sorry.” Then his eyes turn to me and he forces the sobs down. “Help me protect her boss, please.” I have never heard anyone beg this plainly in my life.
“Jihoon,” the clarity of my commanding tone brings out a shared exhale from my men. “Find out who knows what. We need to know where the leak is.” A short affirmative noise from behind me, he commands his men to follow him, and they disappear from the room. “Soonyoung. Find out from Mingyu where his sister currently is and bring her to our house. We’ll move her to another safe location later.” Soonyoung and his men step towards Mingyu and Chan notes down an address. They disappear.
“Jeonghan, Joshua,” my last commands start ringing out. “Patch Mingyu back up. He’s been through enough.” Jeonghan opens a drawer and brings out a first aid box. He starts tending to Mingyu, his hands steady and his energy calm. Joshua steps towards me. “What are you going to do, Cheol?” I release a long breath and let my shoulders drop slightly. “I need to call Shownu and Solar.” Joshua says nothing in response, but his hand softly lands on my shoulder. The moment my eyes find his, I feel the tears hot behind my eyelids. His hand squeezes me lightly. “I got this,” I say, my voice softer and heavier than before. “We got this,” he softly responds. “I’ll talk to Mingyu while you’re making these calls,” he continues. “But after all of it, we’re having a drink.” My head feels heavy when I nod. “Thanks, Shua,” I tell him. “For keeping all of us together.” He squeezes my shoulder one last time, a reassuring smile on his face. Then he turns around, and both of us get back to work.
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: tension / anger / betrayal / almost a fight??
✦ Wc: 1.3k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Ahhh things are heating up! Where is Mingyu? What happened?
Masterpost
Jeonghan's POV
Song: Ateez - wake up
April
My mind is running. Not spinning, not spiralling, running. Fast. An icy sensation creeps through my veins, all the way up to my face. My hand grips the steering wheel tightly as I drive. Cheol’s words echo in my head. I have no idea where Mingyu is. I had spoken to Shownu on the phone before I left the house, as Cheol had instructed. He promised to make calls and to let me know if he heard anything useful. He also promised me backup.
The city speeds by outside the windows. My brain barely recognizes how fast I’m driving. When I turn a corner, my eyes shift sharply to my rear-view mirror. Jihoon and Wonwoo are keeping up. Good. We’ll be at our closest safehouse in a minute. We need our resources.
The car is parked in one swift motion and I slam the door behind me. My brain is alive with electricity. At the safehouse entrance, I stop and wait for Wonwoo and Jihoon. We step inside together and lock the door behind us. No risks tonight. We run upstairs in silence, towards the office Jihoon and Wonwhoo have in this building. The moment we enter the office I see their faces for the first time since we started moving. Jihoon’s is almost unreadable, but Wonwoo’s is pulled taut with resolve.
My phone rings. Moonbyul. A shot of surprise runs through my body. I answer it. “Moonbyul?” She is silent for a second. “Jeonghan,” she says, her voice calm but pressing. “Shownu called Solar. He told us nothing except that you need info. We don’t know why, but most of Ateez have just left Exo’s and are now headed to the heart of the city.”
My mind starts putting pieces together. “Alright, thanks Moonbyul.” I keep my voice steady. “Something’s happening, Jeonghan.” Her voice becomes tighter. “I’ll let you know if we know more.” Before I can thank her again, she hangs up. My eyebrows furrow together. The heart of the city? My eyes drift to the map of the city on the wall. Ateez are usually around the outskirts of the city and never really move to our part like this.
“Jihoon.” He looks at me over the edge of his screens. “Why would Ateez be going from Exo’s towards the heart of the city?” His face twists in confusion. “They are rarely ever there,” he states, confirming my thoughts. “That’s our territory.” His voice is deafening to my mind when he speaks those words. Our territory. It resounds through my skull. They know something. My heartbeat spikes as I track the roads on the map again. Our most valuable things and most sensitive information are stored in one specific safehouse. Right in the heart of the city. Not one of our allies knows its location. Only our family. Fuck.
The world around me starts revolving. Automatically I tap the name of the only person that can make sense of this on my phone screen. The other person picks up the phone after just one ring. “Jeonghan?” Joshua’s gentle but controlled voice steadies my mind. “Ateez is moving,” I say, not able to get the words out yet. Bile rises in the back of my throat. “They are moving towards our main safehouse. That safehouse.” Joshua stays quiet. He knows I’m not done talking. “I think…” My voice trails off, but I know I have to push the words out. “I think Mingyu told them where it is.”
It takes Joshua two seconds before he responds. “He did what?” Focus snaps back to my mind and the world comes to a standstill. My voice turns quiet. Lethal and venomous. “That rat stabbed us in the back. Ateez came from Exo’s and are now on the move.” Joshua makes a broken sound, but his next words sound clear and resolute. “I’ll call Bang Chan again. See if they know something about Exo. You call Cheol and get Jihoon on the case.” He hangs up. Without looking up from my phone to find Cheol’s contact, my voice starts ringing out commands. “Jihoon. Wonwoo. Mingyu sold us out. Ateez is on our way to the one safehouse. Get to know about their movements.” To their credit, neither of them make any shocked sort of sound. They simply grumble a confirmation that they heard me and start their task. Their keyboards clack under their fingers.
“Jeonghan.” Cheol’s voice sounds authoritative when he answers. “Cheol. Mingyu betrayed us. He gave up the location of the one safehouse.” Seungcheol swears under his breath. His next words stop my breath for a moment. “I just got off the phone with Soobin,” he says. “Yeonjun is missing too.” Before I can answer, I hear Joshua calling out for Seungcheol on the other end of the line. Their voices are muted until I hear Seungcheol swear again, loudly this time. “Bang Chan informed us that Mingyu is with Exo. They are on their way,” Seungcheol fills me in. Jihoon calls out to me. “Ateez has diverted back towards their own territory.” His words relieve me for a single heartbeat. Then he continues. “All of Exo is on their way to our safehouse now though. It looks like both Mingyu and Yeonjun are with them.”
Seungcheol swears once again when he hears Jihoon’s words through the phone. His next command is direct and simple. “Everyone to the safehouse. Now.” He hangs up the phone. I relay his command and the three of us hurry outside. We get into my car and I speed off. We are the closest, most of the others are at other safehouses or still back at the house. My stomach tightens and every muscle in my body is tense. There is only one goal currently on my mind. Beat Exo to our safehouse.
There is nothing but charged silence in the car. The tyres protest when I sharply turn a corner. Minutes pass. I turn the final corner and jump out of the car the second it comes to a standstill in front of the steps to our door. In that same moment, a car comes around the corner. My heart starts beating in my throat. Wonwoo and Jihoon stand half a step behind me. The car closes in and then stops a few meters away from us. I recognize Mingyu in the passenger’s seat. A second car comes around the corner. The driver of the first car opens his door and gets out. Suho. He is followed by three men climbing out of the back seat. The second car stops behind the first. Five men spill out. My eyebrows almost shoot up at the last one. Yeonjun.
It’s now ten against three. Silently I pray that the others get here fast. Suho steps closer to me, his men staying a bit further away. “Jeonghan!” He says, his voice jovial and his arms spread wide. A large smile on his face. My stomach turns. “Have you met our newest re-addition?” He snaps his fingers and the passenger side door of his car opens. Mingyu steps out, reluctance on his face. My heart jumps and anger flares in my veins.
Suho takes another step closer, but stops when I hear a car behind me. Wonwoo’s voice softly behind me. “Seungcheol.” Relief momentarily floods my body, but my eyes stay on Suho. The weight of the gun tucked in the waistband of my jeans feels heavy against my back. My hands itch to grab it. I don’t. Not yet.
Cheol gets out as quickly as he can and stands besides me. Joshua joins me on my right. Wonwoo takes a small step back, as Soonyoung and Chan take up space behind us. Jihoon stands his ground. Mentally I note the odds are now ten to seven. Suho’s smile turns to a vile smirk and he takes a deep bow with a turn of his arm. When he straightens his body again, he speaks with venom in his voice. “How kind of you to grace us with your presence, Seungcheol.” Seungcheol’s voice is low when he answers. He practically growls.
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: fluff / Mingyu's birthday / something is off / tension
✦ Wc: 2.2k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Hope you're ready for.. well. Something. Have fun!
Masterpost
Seungcheol's POV
Song: Seventeen - Lean on me
April
The birthday cake resting on my passenger’s seat catches my attention as it’s illuminated by a street light I pass. A small chuckle escapes my lips. Our kitchen prince can cook, really cook, but baking birthday cakes? That’s not a trick up his sleeve, not even for his own birthday party. I drive past familiar buildings and let my thoughts drift. Birthdays are important to us. Planned moments of family time that allow us to feel normal, even if it’s just for an evening.
The screen in my car lights up. Seungkwan. I push the small green button on my steering wheel to answer his call. “Are you almost home?” Seungkwan immediately blurts over the line. “Hello to you too Seungkwan,” I say as I lightly shake my head with a smile. “And to answer your question, yes I’ll be there in five minutes.” Seungkwan mutters some profanities, which I laugh off, and he hangs up the phone. A warm feeling ignites in my chest.
Five minutes later I pull up to the house. The lights are on, the yellow glow spilling outside through the glass. Movement in the living room brings a spark to my eyes and the warmth in my chest intensifies. I can see Seungkwan and Seokmin buzz past the windows. They are still working hard in these last moments to make the decorations even better.
The side door takes me straight to the kitchen. As I enter, Joshua and Soonyoung greet me. Joshua is taking hot snacks out of the airfryer while Soonyoung is trying his best to help organize the kitchen. “I’ve got the cake! Can I help with anything?” Joshua makes a sound somewhere between exasperation and joy. “Please go see if the decorations are done,” he says. “And perhaps find out if Jeonghan got the sound system finally working. I wanna get this whole show started in less than fifteen minutes now that you brought the cake.”
Joshua focuses back on the food he is organizing on the counter and I look at Soonyoung. He is painstakingly creating a pattern with little cubes of cheese and sausage. Brows furrowed in pure concentration, he actually looks cute. The door to the hallway is open and I chuckle as I walk away. I trade the organized kitchen for the chaos of the living room.
Seungkwan, Seokmin and Chan are buzzing around the living room. Their eyes wide, Seokmin is singing and Chan is inexplicably half-covered in glitter. Vernon and Wonwoo are sitting on a couch with big grins on their faces, offering not-so-helpful remarks and directions. I scratch my head, wondering where the glitter on Chan came from, but I shake the thought from my mind as I take in their decorations. It looks fun and so… us. They really worked hard. “Do you think Mingyu will like it?” Seokmin asks me loudly. “It looks great guys.” My eyes glow when I speak. “Mingyu will love it.”
Behind me I hear Jeonghan sputtering. “Stupid fucking thing.” Chuckling, I turn around and walk over to him. “Need help?” He looks up from the buttons on the sound system he is trying to get to work. He sighs. “Yeah, can you have a look?” I stand next to him and he presses a button. Like magic, the system decides to do what it’s being asked to do. Jeonghan huffs and I just laugh. “That’s my magic touch, Hannie.” He rolls his eyes and lightly shoves against my upper arm with both of his hands. “Thanks, now get lost.”
The door opens and Jun and Minghao come in carrying snacks. They set them down on the tables and then start discussing which games to set up to play. The clock on the living room wall tells me Joshua should almost be ready, so I decide to go back to the kitchen to help him out. In the hallway the scent of fried chicken hits my nose and my mouth starts watering. When I enter the kitchen I realize that Joshua is not responsible for that delicious scent wafting down the hallway. Mingyu has joined in on the cooking, which in all fairness, is in everyone’s best interest.
Mingyu and Joshua are engrossed in preparing the last of the food and don’t even greet me. Jihoon and Soonyoung however, sit at the table and look up. “Hey boss,” Jihoon says in his steady voice. “Everything ready in the living room?” Soonyoung asks excitedly. “The decorations are done, the music is playing and last I saw Jun and Minghao were arguing over which games to play.” Jihoon chuckles. “Sounds like a regular Seventeen party then.”
When the party is in full swing a few hours later, I find myself sitting crosslegged on the living room floor, absorbed into a particularly intense game of Jenga. My eyes lift to meet the unreadable gaze of Minghao just over the edge of the top of the unstable tower. He seems impossibly calm.
My face is heated and my eyes drift back down to the tower. My finger pushes cautiously against one of the blocks. It feels loose enough. I push harder and slowly pull it out on the other side. At the last centimeter of the block sliding out, a nervous shiver runs through me. It reverberates through the tower and the whole tower collapses. A groan escapes my body and I throw myself back, leaning on my hands. Next to us, Seokmin and Soonyoung are howling with laughter. Minghao just smirks and his eyes light up with joy. “I’m going to go find someone to play some soccer with outside,” I grumble and get up. Jeonghan creeps in from my left and shoos me away to take my spot on the floor.
Seokmin jumps up. “I wanna play! Let’s find Seungkwan and Mingyu to play against.” My eyes scan the room and I find neither of them here. “I’m sure they are in the kitchen or already outside.” Seokmin nods and steps past me. We leave the noisy living room and the cooler hallway air feels nice on my heated skin. Seokmin is a few steps ahead of me and opens the kitchen door, letting the bright light spill into the hallway. I hear relaxed voices chatting to each other.
Around the kitchen table, four men are sitting comfortably. Glasses are scattered on the table and some of Mingyu’s delicious fried chicken is left on a plate in the middle. Seokmin sits down in an empty chair next to Seungkwan and grabs one of the pieces. “Hey guys,” I say as I decide to sit down next to Jihoon. From across the table, Wonwoo raises his eyebrow at me. “Lost a game?” He asks me and I drop my face in my hands as I groan. “Minghao is just scary!” My voice is slightly too loud as I answer and everyone in the room snickers.
My eyes roll so forcefully that it’s almost audible. “That’s why Seokmin and I were hoping some of you’d join us outside for some soccer. I need to do something I’m actually good at.” Seungkwan laughs loudly. “You? Good at soccer?” He shoves his chair back as he stands up, the legs scraping over the tile floor. “Let’s go big man!” He challenges me playfully.
Seokmin excitedly pitches in. “We thought we could play with Mingyu too! Then you and I could team up against them, Seungkwan.” Seungkwan smacks his hands down on the table. “I love that! Where is Mingyu?” I furrow my brows at his question, I thought he’d be here. Hansol quietly speaks. “He went outside to grab something from his bedroom like, ten minutes ago.”
Seokmin pulls out his phone. “Let me call him,” he says and puts the phone to his ear. All of us go quiet while we wait for Mingyu to pick up. After a few seconds, Seokmin puts his phone down and looks at his screen with a confused expression. He makes eye contact with me. “He declined my call.” Next to him, confusion also crosses Seungkwan’s face so I offer an explanation. “Maybe he is already on his way back here.” My shoulders lift in a casual shrug. Seungkwan nods, but he still seems somewhat concerned. “It feels weird for him to decline one of our calls though,” he ponders and he looks towards the door that leads outside.
“Let’s just go get him,” I say and stand up. Seokmin nods and also gets up. Seungkwan is halfway to the door already and reaches it first. He pushes it open and the cold night air hits my face, sobering me up. My eyes quickly scan our lawn and I find nobody. A nervous pin contracts my throat for a moment. Something about this feels off. Seungkwan must feel the same, because he glances at me over his shoulder and speeds up his gait. Seokmin and I follow him in silence.
In a matter of moments we reach the bedroom building. Seungkwan punches in the code and opens the door. “Mingyu?” He immediately calls out. No response. When I step inside, I call out too, hoping my voice will have more effect. “Mingyu!” Silence. We hear no movement, no answer. “Stay here,” I say to the other two. It takes four steps to reach his door. Without bothering to knock, I open the door and step inside. Immediately I realize that he never made it to his room.
“Boss?” Seungkwan’s distressed voice from the hallway. I step back into the hallway and I pull my phone out of my pocket and scroll to the contacts. Seokmin opens his mouth but I put my hand up to silence him. My phone pressed to my ear, I turn half away from them and drop my arm to my side. My phone is answered in two rings. “Cheol?” Joshua’s voice is gentle and I hear music and noise in the background. “Are you in the living room?” My tone has dropped and I hear his tone become more controlled in response. “Yes. Why?”
Nervous anticipation flips my stomach, but my features remain unchanging. “Is Mingyu there? Has anyone seen him recently?” My jaw clenches when Joshua answers. “He’s not here. He hasn’t been here for at least the last hour.” I turn back to look at Seokmin and Seungkwan. Their faces are worried but their eyes look alert, ready for me to tell them what to do.
“Go to the kitchen, bring Jeonghan. Send out everyone except Jihoon. We’ll meet you there.” The phone call ends. My eyes meet the other two and I nod once. Their expressions become more composed. “Let’s move.” My legs move on their own accord and we quickly make our way back down to the kitchen. When we arrive my three leaders are already sitting there, ready for us. Seungkwan and Seokmin also sit down and I stand at the head of the table with my hands leaning on the tabletop.
A moment of silence with five pairs of eyes expectantly looking at me, then I exhale. “I have no idea where Mingyu is.” My face and voice are firm. “Seokmin and Seungkwan, go check the rest of the house. Take some of the other boys.” They nod and get up, disappearing through the door to the hallway. I look at the faces of the three still sitting at the table. Jihoon is steady as always, although there is some worry in his eyes. Joshua looks composed and keeps his eyes locked on me, his lips pressed together. Jeonghan’s face looks mildly angry and knowing him, he’ll soon be furious.
My thoughts spin. “The last time I saw him was in the living room an hour ago,” I start reconstructing and my eyes turn to Jihoon. “He was in the kitchen after that?” Jihoon’s voice is controlled when he answers. “Yes. Left through that side door about fifteen minutes before you came in with Seokmin .” My mind works hard to piece everything together. Wherever he is, he hasn’t been gone long. I stand up straight and cross my arms in front of my chest.
“Jihoon, find Wonwoo and hit up your contacts to see if any of our enemies moved tonight. Focus on Exo specifically, Bang Chan recently clued us in on Suho wanting his old guys back.” Jihoon gets up without a word and stalks out of the room, pulling his phone out of his pocket in the process. Another deep breath escapes me and I finally turn towards Jeonghan and Joshua. I make eye contact with them and then I let my head hang for a moment. “Fuck.”
Joshua is the one that speaks up first. “We’ll find him, Cheol. Whatever is happening, we’ll handle it.” His voice sounds calming and certain. I force my shoulders down and lift my head. “You’re right, but…” Seungkwan enters the kitchen, cutting me off. “He is nowhere on our grounds, boss.” His voice is contained and his eyes are alive with worry. My attention turns to my leaders still sitting at the table. “Jeonghan, call Shownu. Joshua, call Bang Chan. I’ll call Soobin. Let’s find out as much information as we can. Let’s find our brother.”
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: criminal activity / negotiations / tension / mentions of assassination / help what's happening / Shua wtf
✦ Wc: 2.4k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Sorry for being a day late! Life sometimes gets in the way. Hope you enjoy anyway, it's time for another Shua POV :)
Masterpost
Joshua's POV
Song: Stray Kids - Miroh
April
“Oh come on Shua,” Jeonghan whines to me while we walk to the office Cheol is using today. “Sometimes I feel like we’ve stopped living fast and somehow started an accounting firm or sales company or something,” he keeps complaining as we turn a corner. I roll my eyes and ignore him. My mind is already racing today, the thoughts slowly pressing in on me. We reach the office door and I go in without knocking, Cheol is expecting us after all. “All we seem to do these days is have meetings, meetings and, you guessed it, more meetings,” Jeonghan’s voice has reached a whiny pitch.
Seungcheol sits behind the desk and his entire expression shows question upon hearing Jeonghan’s words. “Sorry?” He cuts in, his voice so low it startles me, but Jeonghan either chooses to ignore him or is too caught up in his own whining. He turns to our leader. “We can handle Stray Kids today without this specific meeting to prepare for it!”
Cheol’s expression turns incredulous and he repeats himself. “I’m sorry?” His low tone is still there but the control has increased. I instinctively sit down and look at Jeonghan with wide warning eyes. Jeonghan finally notices Seungcheol’s energy and drops the whiny expression. His eyes drop to the floor, his shoes suddenly increasingly interesting. “Sit down,” Seungcheol tells him and Jeonghan immediately obeys the command.
Cheol shakes his head with closed eyes and a sigh. Then he leans forward, arms resting on his desk. “Alright,” he says, “Joshua, this is your show, you’re the connection to them. What’s the plan?” On his question, my thoughts spin, still trying to determine where to start this conversation. I spend a good part of my energy to keep my face smooth. Jeonghan has contained his restless energy that was here just moments before and both of them are looking at me, their eyes heavy on my skin.
I exhale and look at Seungcheol, cross my legs and lean back. Show them external ease. Your brothers don’t need you to fall apart over this. My eyes shift to Jeonghan and I smile. Anxiety spikes in my chest as I suddenly see the four year old Jeonghan I used to play with in the playground and remember what I’m about to propose. Shake it off, I need focus. Let’s start easy.
My lips stretch into my composed smile, my practiced smile. “I think we should go there with the three of us. They know me well from leading the ring, they know Jeonghan well because he always tends to all the fighters including theirs and clearly they know you’re the leader, Seungcheol.” Cheol nods once and motions one of his hands to tell me to continue. Jeonghan relaxes in his seat and leans back. “Besides that, the three of us are strongest at this game when we’re together.” Both of my brothers hum in agreement. The nerves keep my chest in a tight hold.
“I want to ask them to take Chan and Soonyoung with them once first, the same way we did with Jun and Minghao during the Mamamoo negotiations. Let them borrow them as muscle, let us know their capabilities, lend our men to them as a sign of trust.” I know my words make perfect sense and it shows in the way Jeonghan and Seungcheol are still listening without interjecting their own thoughts.
“I think if I take the lead while we meet with them and you two add to my story, the whole muscle-for-hire business should be easy to step into with them. We’ve got the skills, we’ve got the men and we’ve got the reputation now,” I continue my pitch. Both of them quietly nod. My chest is so tight I can barely breathe. My smile stays on my face anyway. “And of course, then we could ask about…” my voice trails off, searching for the words. “About their other skillset.” Seungcheol raises an eyebrow, but Jeonghan narrows his eyes, looking at me with something bordering on suspicion. “For our protection. It’ll be good to know the… techniques and planning it entails,” I say, surprised at how smooth my voice still sounds for the better part of the sentence.
Seungcheol still looks confused so I pivot my attention to Jeonghan. I look at him with widened eyes, finally letting some of my anxiety flow into my gaze. He gasps without sound. A stone drops into the bottom of my stomach as I watch him. For a moment, unadulterated shock registers on his face. His arms wrap around his stomach and for a couple of seconds he seems unable to breathe. My anxiety about my proposal turns to worry for my brother.
My arm extends to him and I’m about to touch his skin when the change in his expression makes me stop in my tracks. The world around me starts spinning and Jeonghan and I are in the center. I can’t tear my eyes away as his face turns into the widest unsettling smirk I’ve ever seen on his features. I blink fast, but his expression doesn’t disappear. My stomach turns when I realize what his expression means. He is excited for this. He has been waiting to go down this path. My feet push into the ground in an attempt to steady myself.
His voice sounds electric when he turns and speaks to Seungcheol, whose expression is completely dumbfounded. “Joshua is saying he wants to learn about assassination from Stray Kids.” Understanding dawns on Seungcheol’s face. His eyes shift to mine. I find concern in his gaze. Concern for me, I realize. He didn’t expect me to go there.
Seungcheol says nothing and shifts his eyes back to Jeonghan. The emotion in him changes. From concern to resolution. He nods once and looks back at me. “I think that’s necessary, yes.” My head starts spinning even faster and my entire body feels cold. I look at Jeonghan, my eyes wide and he sees that I’m spiraling. Warmth snaps back to his expression. He lays his hand on my arm and automatically I put mine over it. My chest looses, my breathing slows down and eventually, the spinning in my head stops.
My eyes soften when I look at Jeonghan and I’m slightly out of breath. “Thank you,” I whisper. Jeonghan smiles. “I’ve got you, remember?” Relief floods my system. It doesn’t matter where I’ll go, Jeonghan will follow me there. A sense of conviction starts growing very deep in my chest. My eyes become steady and the anxiety quiets. I drop my hand and turn to look at Seungcheol. His face looks satisfied and he leans back against his chair, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “I’ll let Bang Chan know we’re on our way.”
When I knock on the door of the address Bang Chan gave me, on the other side of town, I feel powerful. The feeling of my two closest brothers on either side of me gives me confidence. I put on my political mask that’s shaped entirely for the amusement of Stray Kids. Confident, powerful and sharp. Ready to drive negotiations disguised as simple banter.
The door swings open and it reveals Changbin. He smiles a broad smile, which I reflect. He steps forward and pats my shoulder. “Joshua!” he says enthusiastically. “It’s good to see you!” I laugh and jump into a boxing pose, my fists raised and my eyes playful. Changbin mirrors me and we take a few fake swings at each other. Behind me, Seungcheol laughs heartily. “Enough playing, boys,” he tells us. Changbin and I drop our poses as we snicker and he turns to show us the way in.
We follow him in through a short series of hallways and doors. This building is a lot bigger than it looks on the outside. Changbin walks with certainty. Jeonghan’s and Seungcheol’s steps and breaths behind me keep me centered in the moment. I keep my expression light, bordering on playful.
When we arrive to what is apparently the room. He opens the door and steps to the side, letting us pass. Inside I see a long bar table, set with five high chairs on either side. On the right side, four of the Stray Kids men are waiting for us. They smile when we enter and bow and we take our seats. I take the middle one, Seungcheol to the left of me and Jeonghan to my right. The chair I sit in is directly across from Bang Chan, who is flanked on both sides. On his left are two intimidating presences in the shape of Lee Know and Changbin, while on his right there are the terrifyingly elegant Felix and Hyunjin.
My focus is on Bang Chan. I look him directly in the eye with a steel expression, while the rest of my face signals warmth, kindness, playfulness. He smiles and his expression seems curious. He cocks his head to the side. “Welcome, Joshua,” he holds my gaze for a moment, then shifts to the left and right of me, “Seungcheol, Jeonghan.” His eyes move back to me with precision. He leans back and a smirk plays on his lips.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Jeonghan reaching for eye contact with Felix and Hyunjin. Good, he is playing his part of the game. I decide to keep my full focus on Bang Chan. The conviction in my chest buries itself deeper and starts to become white-hot. “Thank you for having us, Bang Chan,” I answer his greeting. “You’ve come here because you need something from us, right?” Bang Chan asks, fully aware of the answer.
I sit up straighter, my hands fold in front of my chest and press flat on the table. The polite smile fades from my face and I nod. “That’s right,” I say. “I’ll be frank.” Jeonghan shifts beside me, but Seungcheol stays relaxed. He is giving me free reign. Bang Chan’s expression becomes unreadable. “We need your expertise,” I say. “And we’d like to extend our friendly fighting ring bond to something more formal.” My voice and eyes are steady. There is no stopping me now.
A playful smile comes back to my lips. My eyes come alive with the same playful energy. I tilt my head and raise my eyebrows, summoning a boy-next-door like innocence. My eyes never leave Bang Chan’s. His eyes narrow and I can see the pieces in his head clicking together. “I have a squad of men, four of them, who would be perfect for your security type work,” I start. A spark of recognition on Bang Chan’s face. “Yes, Soonyoung and Chan. Who else?” Bang Chan asks me. “Mingyu and Seokmin. They’re both tall, strong and trained.”
Bang Chan narrows his eyes, the smile dropping from his face and he holds my gaze. I don’t flinch, not once. “You know we work with Exo, right?” he says, his voice dropping low. My expression mirrors his and I nod. My chin lifts just the one centimeter. “I know who they are and what they’re capable of,” he continues, “and I know Suho wants them back.”
The words are a punch to my stomach, but I show him nothing. Seungcheol leans forward and his presence grows stronger. Jeonghan smirks to taunt Hyunjin. Changbin is the only one who throws a worried glance between the two sides of the table.
I lean forward, setting my elbows down on the table. My hands clasp over each other and I rest my chin on top of them. All the political pleasantness drops from my face. There is only power left as I stare at him. “And that is where we need your expertise the most,” I say, my voice lethal. Jeonghan glances my way. “Please,” I pause and Bang Chan leans in, “teach us how to kill.”
Three things happen simultaneously after the words leave my lips. Besides me, my brothers tense nearly imperceptibly, waiting to see how my words will land. Across the table, four people either widen their eyes or blink ten times fast. Bang Chan and I, however, don’t flinch. We each stare the other down. Everyone at the table holds their breath. My blood rushes through my veins. I don’t blink. I can’t blink. The air feels unbreathably thick.
“Okay,” Bang Chan’s response is clipped and very controlled. Seungcheol and Jeonghan relax but stay in their roles. Hyunjin looks back at Jeonghan and treats him to a smirk of his own. Felix and Lee Know look at Bang Chan, checking where he will go next. Changbin looks at me, an expression on his face that tells me he is wrapping his mind around this situation. My body wants to exhale deeply, but I don’t and smile instead. I incline my head to him.
Bang Chan leans back, his expression strategic and thoughtful. He sucks his lip in and releases it slowly. “Felix and Hyunjin are my best executioners,” he says, the two men both grace us with a curt nod when they are named. “But Han and Seungmin will teach you all the logistics it involves.”
My eyes search Bang Chan’s face. “What do you want from us in return?” I ask him. “Mainly that your team supports us, with either side of our business, when we need you,” he says matter-of-factly. I start to nod, but he continues. “And, when it comes down to it, that you never stab us in the back.” He pauses and looks all three of us in the eye. He comes back to me. “I like you, Joshua. You’re more than I expected you to be. That’s why I’m saying yes. But we don’t do things half done. Understand what I’m saying?”
For the first time, Seungcheol speaks up, his voice controlled. “Understood, Bang Chan. Let’s say that agreement goes both ways, shall we?” Bang Chan looks at Seungcheol, pauses again and then politely bows his head. He turns back to me, slowly smiles widely and looks me in the eye when he speaks again. “Welcome to the dark side, Joshua.” I expect a pit to form in my stomach at his words, but instead the conviction glows hotter. “I’m sure we’ll make valuable allies,” he seals his promise.
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: criminal activity / negotiations / tension / unknown POV / help what's happening / no major warnings honestly
✦ Wc: 1.6k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
An extra chapter this week! I needed this one to still happen in March, and since next thursday is April already, you're getting an extra one :) Crazy how I started posting this in January and now it's almost April?!? What is the concept of time. Anyway, enjoy :)
Masterpost
Seungcheol's POV
Song: Ateez - Tippy Toes
March
The familiar lines of the meeting room greets me as I enter it. Every monthly meeting with TXT is in this safehouse, in this room, on our grounds. Always. They were the ones who sought an alliance with us, so the power remains tilted towards us. I sit down and scan the room, confirming its readiness. Jihoon and Wonwoo enter a few minutes later and they look as calm and steady as always. Jihoon sits down in his usual spot to my right and puts his tablet on the table, unlocking it and tapping the screen. Meanwhile, Wonwoo sits to my left around the corner of the table. He puts his notebook on the table, closed, with a pen resting on top. He is silent as he waits. Hansol enters too, sitting down next to Wonwoo. He makes eye contact to check in with me, gives me a nod, then folds his hands together and rests them on the table.
Jihoon taps my arm lightly. He pushes his tablet towards me and calmly talks me through a last minute update on the assignments relevant for TXT. When the door opens again, Seungkwan enters. He immediately makes eye contact with me and flashes a confused expression. My alertness dials up internally but I keep my face from showing anything, except a polite smile. I stand up as the three men from TXT enter and I register why Seungkwan communicated his confusion.
After the usual polite greetings, they sit down. Soobin on his usual most-left spot on the right side of the table. Next to him, Taehyun and Beomgyu. Yeonjun is not attending. He has never missed a meeting with us before. Wonwoo’s earlier unease about him drifts into consciousness.
I clear my throat, but then Soobin starts talking. “Thank you for welcoming us again, Seungcheol.” His tone is polite, controlled, and perfectly normal. I blink twice. Jihoon stiffens beside me and locks his jaw. I look at Soobin with sharp eyes. My shoulders square and I raise my head. I let the silence fall. Beomgyu’s eyes grow concerned and he glances at Seungkwan, who keeps his face straight and unamused. Taehyun looks at his leader and the tension in his expression is clear as day.
When Soobin doesn’t speak, I lay the palms of my hands flat on the table and lean forward to put weight on them. I stay seated. My eyes lock directly with Soobin’s and my head tilts down and to the side. The corners of my mouth turn down. My eyebrows raise, only a centimeter.
It works. Soobin swallows visibly and looks down, breaking my eye contact. I sit up straighter and keep my hands on the table. Jihoon clicks his tongue. Taehyun’s eyes shift between his leader and me. Soobin looks up, glances at Seungkwan, who gives him nothing to soothe the mistake. He looks back at me. His hands drop from the table into his lap. “Forgive me,” he speaks quietly.
Immediately I smile warmly and turn my wrists to open my hands. “Apology accepted, Soobin,” I say, my tone warm and generous. “I’m sure you’ve already got enough to deal with, without trying to repay a silly mistake.”
All three of them visibly relax. Jihoon unclenches his jaw and Wonwoo lets his attention drift to an uninteresting corner of the room. Hansol looks at Soobin with a raised eyebrow but says nothing. Seungkwan mirrors my warm smile, leaning a fraction closer towards Soobin.
“How is Yeonjun doing?” I ask and Soobin’s eyes go wide. “I… Well he couldn’t come today. Busy, you know how things can get,” he quickly answers. I nod, but I let the warmth leak from my expression. “Of course,” I say with a perfectly polite composure. “Let’s talk business then, shall we? That’s what you guys came for after all.”
Soobin quickly composes himself and nods in agreement. His two men sit up straight, glancing at their leader one more time. “Jihoon?” The handoff is familiar and I enjoy settling back into the routine. As Jihoon starts talking, a bit of tension escapes from my chest. I look at Wonwoo and he catches my gaze. He quirks an eyebrow. I furrow mine and raise them, then shrug. We’ll talk about it later.
The interaction between Jihoon and Soobin feels almost boring. Seungkwan and Hansol add to his explanations when necessary and Wonwoo takes notes. My attention is drawn to Beomgyu. He looks a bit unsure, slightly jittery. I lock my eyes on him and he takes notice. I tilt my head sideways and narrow my eyes. His eyes soften in response and I find sadness in them. He widens them as he catches himself and quickly averts his eyes. I need to talk to Seungkwan after this, we need to make sense of this.
The meeting ends and Seungkwan sees our guests out. I turn to Jihoon, a question clear in my eyes. “Yes,” he confirms my thoughts, “that was very out of character for him.” I touch his arm as I stand up. He waves his hand as if to say, ‘don’t mention it’. I walk to my office, open the door, leave it open and drop down onto my chair. I let myself sink deeply into my thoughts. What is going on? The question keeps resurfacing as I mentally replay the meeting. I spin it, round and round in circles.
Seungkwan startles me out of my thoughts when he knocks on the open door. “Boss?” he says, caution in his voice. When I look at him a small sense of relief sits in my chest, right next to the tightening worry. I exhale and run my hand over my face. “Text Jeonghan and Joshua, Seungkwan, please.” Understanding flickers across his features. “Of course, Cheol.”
Barely two minutes later they walk into my office. I motion for them to sit down. One by one I make eye contact with the three men sitting in front of me. Then I sigh deeply. “I don’t know what is happening, but I don’t think Soobin will handle it,” I tell them.
~
Unknown’s POV
I quietly shift in my seat, excitement rippling through my chest. I compose myself and quietly scan the room. It’s unfamiliar to me, the lighting dim but not unwelcoming. The red fabric of the sofa I’m sitting on is soft, luxurious even. I let my hand glide over it, appreciating whose circle I’ve been welcomed into. I look up as a few men enter, power in their postures, experience and skill clear in how they hold themselves.
One of them sits down across from me. He speaks, his tone low. “So,” he smiles and his voice trails off. He waits, one second, two. “What have you got for us?” He leans back, his arms stretching out over the back of the sofa on both sides. I lean back too, mirroring him, but choosing to not stretch my arms.
“You know Seventeen’s been growing steadily recently,” I begin my point. The man nods and his eyes narrow. “Well, I’ve got their pressure point for you.” This gets his interest. He leans forward, elbows in his knees, hands clasped together, his thumbs resting against his lips. I smile confidently and dare to stretch one of my arms over the back of the sofa.
“Did you know Mingyu has a sister?” I say, my lips stretching into a one side smirk. The man raises his eyebrows. “Now, that is interesting,” he responds. I chuckle coldly. “And did you know, the others in Seventeen have no idea about that?” I add. The man hums and snaps his fingers at one of his men behind him. “Get Yeonjun a whiskey,” he says. “We’ve got matters to discuss.”
~
Seungcheol’s POV
With a much clearer mind after talking to my inner circle, I head back to our house. I drive alone, letting the passing trees and the changing landscape settle me further. Joshua wanted to ride with me so we could talk some more, but I turned his offer down. I need a few minutes and then I can let our family do what it does best: release all tension I’ve built up over the day.
When I pass our gates and pull up to our driveway, the simple sight of our home already allows my shoulders to drop. I get out and move, feeling the magnetic pull from the safety and warmth that my family provides inside those walls. As soon as I cross the front door, I can smell something delicious. I follow the scent to the kitchen, where I find Mingyu with his hoody covered in flour stains and on one sleeve there is something I can only hope is egg. I chuckle to myself.
“What are you making?” I ask him quietly. Mingyu turns around and smiles, he must note the weariness on my face. “Need something to warm you, Cheol?” He asks without judgement in his voice. I just nod and sit down at the dining table. “I’m making american pancakes and all the different toppings with it you could ever want. They’re meant to be for lunch with the whole family, but I am sensing you definitely need to pretaste all of it. You know, cause you’re the boss and all.” Mingyu winks and I chuckle.
“That sounds like the best idea ever Mingyu,” I smile at him, a warmth spreading throughout my chest. “You know, just to make sure you’re not about to poison the rest of the family, of course,” I add laughing, going along with his joke. He laughs loudly and all the tension disappears from my body. “Thanks Mingyu,” I add, my tone growing more serious. “I needed this.” Mingyu just smiles at me. He is calmer and more at ease than I’ve ever seen him before. “Of course, Cheol,” he simply states. His face holds nothing but warmth and kindness. “Now let’s get you fed.”
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: criminal activity / negotiations / no major warnings honestly
✦ Wc: 1.7k
✦ an: Hiii~ How are you doing?
Yes you're getting this chapter a day early, just because I feel like it and because there is another one planned for this sunday hehe. Hope you enjoy!
Masterpost
Jeonghan's POV
Song: Sunmi - Gashina
March
My gait feels steady when I enter the hotel lobby. I remember Shownu’s warning and chuckle. ‘They’re charming, don’t let them fool you.’ Guess he forgot we have our own charm. The presence of Seungcheol, Joshua and Seungkwan beside me keep me grounded. This is the part of our job that I love the most: charming others and making connections. For a second I wonder if showing up with four people is too much, but I don’t have enough time to worry as I tell the employee at the reception that we have a meeting scheduled.
The receptionist checks his books and confirms my words. “Follow me,” he says and steps away from the counter. We all turn to follow him into a hallway with meeting rooms and I fall a step back to let Seungcheol lead. The man opens a door and ushers us in.
Four elegant looking women sit at the round table that stands in the middle of the room. The room is small but feels light and clean, the dark oak of the table contrasting with the other colors in the room. The door is closed behind us. One of the women stands up and smiles a warm welcoming smile. She strikes me as trustworthy and skillful. “Welcome and thank you for coming,” her voice is as warm as her smile is. “My name is Solar and,” she motions towards the other three who are still sitting, “this is my team.” The three other women smile and bow their heads, a gesture the four of us reciprocate.
As Seungcheol starts talking to the Mamamoo leader, thanking her for taking the time to meet us, I quickly take note of the other three. To the left of Solar, there is one woman. She seems to be about Solar’s age and a little bit older than myself. She has dropped her smile and meets my eyes directly with an inquisitive gaze.
“Please, sit down,” Solar says, motioning with her arm at the remaining chairs. We incline our heads a second time and sit down. I sit to the left of Seungcheol and Joshua, then Seungkwan sits to Joshua’s right. Cheol continues talking and my attention shifts towards the two women sitting on Solar’s right. They look to be similar in age, however they seem to be very different in vibe. One of them constantly wears a soft smile, her face sweet yet her eyes deceptively alert. The other one is perhaps the most striking of the four, her expression bordering on arrogant but her elegance balances it out. I smile internally, these four are shaping up to be the professionals we need.
My attention is pulled back to the conversation when Cheol says something I didn’t expect him to say. “... and that is why we could use your help.” What? From the corner of my eye, I see Joshua simultaneously stiffen and smile a warm smile. I shift my weight to lean forward. Seungkwan intervenes before either of us knows what to say. “Of course, we’d love to be valuable to your team as well,” he politely adds to Seungcheol’s words. Relief opens my airways again. Seungcheol nods, his face a polite poker face.
Solar smiles warmly again and the warmth reaches her eyes, but I make eye contact with the woman on her left. I hold her gaze and she smirks. She raises an eyebrow and then I know she is reading our dynamics correctly. I raise my chin and narrow my eyes at her, she chuckles without sound and turns her attention towards her leader.
“Moonbyul,” Solar says, looking at smirk-lady. “What do you think of these lovely men?” Solar talks with a smooth tone, I’d mistake it for pure kindness if I weren’t well versed in the underlying tone of power. Moonbyul leans forward a few centimeters and copies her leader’s warm smile. All of us instinctively sit up straighter, pulling our faces in the charming mask we’re all trained to show.
“I think they’re just that, lovely,” she states. My gut pulls together and I prevent a frown from crossing my expression. She is playing with us but two can play that game. “I think they’d be very fun to have a drink with, but I’m wondering what else they bring to the table,” she concludes and leans back. She catches my gaze again. I lean forward, hoping Seungcheol will realize my intent.
Seungcheol smiles and opens his arms. “It’s only fair my men tell you the answer then, isn’t it?” He offers. “Jeonghan?” Satisfaction seeps into my mind, I adore it when our social architecture works.
I smile my signature smile, something between a dangerous smirk and the politest smile known to man. “As I understand it, you four charming ladies are well versed in, let’s say, securing high end products for your clients.” My voice is smooth, a mixture of sickening sweetness and tight control. All four of them smile when I deliver the compliment. “However there is one thing you lack,” I continue, my smile widening. Moonbyul quirks her brow. “And that would be?” She asks, a hint of annoyance hiding in her question. My satisfaction grows deeper and I push further.
“Your team consists of four people.” I pause, letting the words land. “We have thirteen, and an existing unit that is capable of securing goods from very different types of locations.” One of the two on Solar’s right snickers. Solar turns to look at her. “Hwasa?” She asks sharply.
“Never thought I’d meet someone in this business more politically dangerous than ourselves,” Hwasa says, her voice filled with amusement. The kind looking woman sitting next to her intervenes. “I’m sure we can learn a lot from each other,” she says softly. Solar nods. “I agree, Wheein.” She looks at Seungcheol again.
“You’re right that we lack numbers compared to your team. What do you propose?” She asks him directly. Seungcheol opens his right hand and motions it towards Joshua, who smiles in response. He puts his hand on his heart and his voice carries nothing but sincerity when he speaks. “We haven’t been in this type of business as long as the four of you, but we do have two men who are quiet as ghosts and always blend in with the shadows. Even when something doesn’t go as expected, they never disappoint and stay in control,” Joshua politely sells the skills of Jun and Minghao. “Of course, we’d understand if you need time to think about it.”
Hwasa leans forward again and slaps the palm of her hand flat on the table. She laughs. “You realize we hear things about our competitors from our informants, right?” I keep my face straight, but a mixture of excitement and tightness flutters in my stomach at her words. They know more than we thought. “The men from Ateez were in that warehouse because they were guarding what they stole,” Hwasa bites. “So we know about your–” Solar clears her throat, interrupting Hwasa. Hwasa leans back with a satisfied smile. Solar speaks in a polite and controlled tone, still kind but the warmth has disappeared. “Because Ateez is our biggest competitor in our business, we have an informant that gives us information specifically on them,” she explains steadily. “I don’t think you have that much time to give us to consider your proposal.”
I look at Seungcheol and he clocks me from the corner of his eye. My eyes narrow for a split second and then turn back to face Mamamoo. He speaks calmly. “You’re right, we are in a bit of dangerous water right now. Hongjoong has a reputation for not always being the most… forgiving person. We have a standing alliance with TXT and Monsta X and we’d love to have more common ground with your team as well. There is safety in numbers.” He puts our cards on the table. My heart starts racing, there are some nerves but mostly excitement. This is where we make or break this deal.
I glance sideways at my men again. Seungcheol looks calm and steady, his leadership aura clear. Joshua and Seungkwan are fully embodied in their roles as well, their faces polite and charming. Solar leans back with a smile. The power is in her hands and she knows it. The other three women from Mamamoo look calm and elegant, their expressions not giving me any read.
After a few seconds of silence, Solar clacks her tongue and nods. “Recently we have had to turn some assignments down so we could use a few extra capable hands.” My expression breaks open into an excited smile. “I want to meet them first and let Hwasa and Moonbyul train with them, but if they’re as capable as you say they are, we can arrange for them to join us on a mission.” She pauses, then looks at me.
“What do you expect from us in return?” My eyes are alive, mirroring my excitement and satisfaction. I look at Seungcheol and he nods, granting me the permission to answer for the group. “Any intel on Ateez that you deem relevant to us would be appreciated,” I say. Moonbyul raises an eyebrow. “That’s all?” She questions. I meet her eyes and smirk. “We’d like for our teams to eventually reach a formal alliance. I’m sure there are more ways we could use each other’s help.” I look back at Solar. “But for now, this is the only thing we’d hope to expect in return.”
She smiles and inclines her head. The satisfaction now explodes throughout my body. Negotiations like this make me feel alive. The trust I get from my family makes everything about it even better. As Seungcheol and Solar start talking about the specifics of when our next meeting and the training will be, I make eye contact with Moonbyul again. She smiles, purses her lips and nods a few times. I perform a small bow towards her and accompany the bow with a twirl of my hand. She chuckles silently again, mirroring her state from the beginning of our little dance. She knows and so do I. Seventeen is not a small player anymore.
✦ Seventeen mafia AU
✦ 95 line POV
✦ Rating: Mature
✦ Warnings: criminal activity / taunting / threats / fighting / mentions of blood / shit man, they have enemies / cheol is not happy / the twins stick together though
✦ Wc: 3.7k
✦ an:
Hiii~ How are you doing?
Welcome to another Jeonghannie POV! This was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, I had a lot of fun. Hope you have just as much fun reading it!
Masterpost
Jeonghan's POV
Song: Ten - Bambola
March
“So, we’re all clear?” I check in with my unit. My hands press down on the drawings on the table. “It should be an easy job. In and out, no hassle.” Jun and Minghao nod dutifully. Joshua’s eyes scan the routes throughout the warehouse again. His eyes lift to meet mine, they look steady. “All clear,” he responds.
“Good,” I say and rise. “We leave in fifteen.” Jun and Minghao nod and disappear from the room. “Another success lining up,” Joshua hums. I chuckle quietly. “You know it,” I affirm his words. We fall silent and excitement starts building in my chest. Together we move downstairs to get our equipment. I tie my hair back and cover the lower half of my face with a mask. My dagger is pinned to the outside of my leg. I pull on my silent black boots.
The car ride is silent. My fingers drum along the steering wheel. Jun and Minghao are so quiet that they feel like shadows in the back. Halfway, Joshua quietly starts humming a song I don’t recognize.
We arrive at the warehouse. I position the car, the front angled towards our getaway street. I grip the steering wheel tightly for one held breath. I let go, turning to Joshua first, then to Jun and Minghao. I nod once. We all move from the car.
We enter the warehouse the way we planned, split into duos. Jun and Minghao take the left side, Joshua and I enter from the back. We calmly walk, hugging the crates and containers, avoiding the open space. I look up and scan the ceiling. No cameras. I smile, everything is working out the way I expected. We continue our path. Suddenly I hear something.
A voice.
Not Jun’s. Not Minghao’s. Fuck. Nobody else was supposed to be here.
Joshua looks at me with wide eyes, not with panic but with surprise. We drop low behind crates. My mind races. The voice comes closer. Then I hear another one, laughing. We move to the left, behind the crates and containers, away from the voices. Silently weaving, remaining unseen.
We find Minghao and Jun who are waiting for us. Their eyes mirror my own thoughts. ‘Nobody else was supposed to be here.’
I signal our next move with my hands. All three of them nod. Minghao and Jun disappear towards the far edge of the warehouse. Circling to get closer to our targeted goods. Joshua and I move closer to the voices. Directly closer to the voices. We see them. Two men. One of them is tall with a low voice. The other one is muscular. Fuck. I know them. Mingi and San. Ateez.
Another moment of Joshua’s eyes meeting mine. Recognition shining in his gaze. I nod once. I note the path Mingi and San are walking. It’s a controlled perimeter. My throat tightens. They are patrolling. They have been hired. Fuck. Are they alone?
I signal for Shua to keep an eye on them. They are moving away from our target, it’s fine. I move around to the right side. I circle back towards our targeted area. When I’m closing in I notice new shadows. Two other silhouettes appear. I crouch, peering around to get a view of them. Just as I expected. Seonghwa and Wooyoung. They are too close to the target. Jun and Minghao will wait for them to move, but right now they aren’t moving. There is no relaxed laughter or conversation between them. Wooyoung seems oddly vigilant and alert. My stomach drops cold.
They know we’re here.
My mind starts racing. Joshua is still at the back, watching San and Mingi. Jun and Minghao are hiding in the shadows somewhere. Wooyoung and Seonghwa have realized we’re here. The client is important. Our alliance with Monsta X is important. I shut my eyes for a split second and make a decision. I pull down my mask.
And step out of the shadows.
Wooyoung immediately notices me. He turns to face me, a wicked smile on his face. He laughs a cold and amused laugh. Seonghwa also turns around and clicks his tongue. “Well, look who it is. Seventeen’s Jeonghan,” he says. I shift my weight to one foot, throw my head back and laugh loudly. “Funny to run into you here,” I reply. “Yeah,” Seonghwa raises his eyebrow, “funny.” Disdain is clear in his voice. He looks me up and down. “Where are your friends? Surely you aren’t alone, Seungcheol wouldn’t send you off without a babysitter now would he.”
Annoyance creeps hot and cold under my skin, but I keep my face smooth. My mouth twists into a taunting expression. I shift my weight again. My eyes move to make eye contact with Wooyoung. I tilt my head down and let my face contort into something more unsettling. My fingers idly tap the dagger that is strapped to my leg. Wooyoung tenses but Seonghwa tuts. He is trying to get a raise out of me and I would be lying if I said my skin wasn’t slowly starting to crawl.
“Nuh uh, Jeonghannie,” he aggravates me further. “Let’s keep this nice and easy. Call your little friends and get out of here. We’ll even let you leave without so much as a scratch.”
The heated annoyance turns to burning anger. This conceited prick is threatening my family. I know what he is trying to accomplish, but I can’t stop myself. I pull my dagger from its holder. My eyes show the fire but my smile remains relaxed and arrogant. I raise the dagger and rest the tip against my index finger. Over the slowly turning blade, I look at Seonghwa and make eye contact with him. My voice is low when I speak. “You’ll have to go through me if you wanna get to them.”
Before they can register my words, my adrenaline spikes and I sprint towards Wooyoung. He jumps towards me and I spin, turning away from them. I run in the opposite direction and I’m hoping they’ll follow me. Seonghwa yells. “San! Mingi!”
While running, I laugh loudly, making sure it sounds unhinged. “Catch me if you can!” I yell, trying to pull them further into the chase. Hopefully Joshua heard me. I turn a corner and my breath stops. A dead end. My heart quickens. I turn around and grip my dagger tightly in hand to steady my shaking fingers.
I hear their footsteps closing in. Four people. Wooyoung comes around the corner first, stopping in his tracks when he sees me. He starts laughing and the sound is cruel to my ears. Seonghwa is the second one to come into view, San and Mingi close behind him. All their expressions become something between arrogant and amused. They block my exit and Wooyoung is a few steps in front of them. A chill shoots down my spine.
Wooyoung licks his bottom lip and pulls his own knife out. A bead of sweat trickles down my temple. Time seems to both slow down and speed up. Seonghwa speaks the command in a bored tone. “Knock him out.” Wooyoung starts creeping towards me, my heart beats in my throat and my stomach turns. “Blood is fine, but keep him mostly intact,” Seonghwa adds, making it sound like some unimportant afterthought. I force my eyes to stay alert to the danger in front of me.
I stand my ground. When Wooyoung is close enough to cover the last distance with a jump, he does exactly that. I spin out of his way and throw the handle of my dagger into his back. He grunts and staggers. I shout and push him forcefully against the wall, holding him there with my arm pushing on the back of his neck. I kick hard against his right hand and he drops his knife with a pained noise. I hold my dagger to the side of his throat and hiss. “Don’t. Move.”
Incredibly enough, Seonghwa starts a slow clap. I push my dagger harder against Wooyoung’s throat, the blade making a small cut and a drop of blood slides down his skin. I look over my shoulder.
“That was so pretty, Jeonghannie,” Seonghwa sounds like he is talking to a child. My anger burns brighter. “Fuck you,” I spit, my voice pure acid. Satisfaction flickers across his features. He’s got me right where he wants me.
A loud clang rings through the warehouse. Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. “Go check that out,” he says to San and Mingi while never taking his eyes off of me. An amused laugh on his face. The other two look confused but don’t question him. They turn around and walk away.
Seonghwa clicks his tongue and takes a step closer to me. I am about to push Wooyoung to his knees, but suddenly there is unexpected movement. The next moments blur together. Seonghwa yells and I see him trying to turn around towards the threat that is behind him. Wooyoung tries to push me off, forcing me to look back at him. I push the knife deeper in his skin, more blood welling up and the droplets slide over my blade. Behind me I hear movement, grunts, shouts and someone falling to the floor.
When I look over my shoulder again, relief floods my system and I chuckle. Joshua has Seonghwa on his knees and his arm twisted high up his back, the same way he incapacitated Chan during training. The only difference now is that there is a dagger pressed against Seonghwa’s throat.
We make eye contact, and I smile. We hold each other’s gaze for a few heartbeats, then I hear footsteps in the distance. San and Mingi are coming back. I silently pray Jun and Minghao followed protocol and are outside, waiting by the car. I give Joshua a nod. Simultaneously we move, as if choreographed. We kick the men we’re holding against their thighs and then we let go. Daggers in hand, we turn and start running like our lives depend on it, because let’s be honest, they probably do right now.
My lungs ache as we reach the outside and I take a deep breath of air while racing towards the car. When we are a few meters away, Jun and Minghao appear from the shadows. We all get into the car, I turn on the ignition and step on the gas. “Everyone okay?” Joshua asks, his voice both agitated and concerned. We all make a confirming noise.
The first few minutes after that, the only sound in the car is our fast breathing. The vibrations of the driving car slowly calm me down and suddenly I remember something. I look at Minghao and Jun in the rear-view mirror. “Did you get it?” My question is hopeful. Minghao nods. “We did,” he responds and pulls something up from the floor so I can see it. A smile so big it hurts my cheeks appears on my face. Next to me Joshua sighs in relief. I turn the radio on and start singing along. Within moments all four of us are singing, louder and louder, letting the pressure disappear from our bodies.
The time it takes to get to the safehouse is somehow less than it should be. Seungcheol is already opening the door before I park the car. His expression looks torn between concerned and angry. My head turns to Joshua and I quirk an eyebrow. He shrugs with an expression that is trying its best to stay neutral. “I texted him,” he explains, his voice giving more of his nerves away than the rest of his demeanor.
I take one deep breath in through my nose and let it escape from my mouth. “Let’s go face him,” I say, more to myself than to my men. I slam the car door and Cheol walks up to me. He scans my face with worried eyes. He grabs my hands, pulls them to him, turns them over. He squeezes my hand when he sees the thin lines of Wooyoung’s dried blood on them. “Not mine,” I say quietly to reassure him. When he drops my hands, the others hold up their arms and turn them around, to show they weren’t harmed.
He says nothing as he turns around on his heel and walks back inside. Slightly reluctantly we follow him to the office deepest in the heart of this safehouse. It’s his favorite one. When we enter he is already seated at the desk. Leaned back, elbows on the armrests, fingertips of both hands touching each other, resting in front of his now unreadable face.
All four of us line up in front of his desk. Our posture is straight and I feel my heart beating against my ribcage. I’m not scared of him, he has been my brother for the better part of my life. That thought doesn’t help the nerves tangling and spreading throughout my body. He says nothing for what seems like at least ten minutes. Every tick of the clock sounds like a stone dropping on a concrete floor, the sound echoes through my mind. Finally, his eyes focus on me.
“Talk,” he says. My mouth is so dry that my voice comes out quieter than I want it to when I answer him. “Everything went to plan, until we ran into four of the Ateez men,” I explain, my voice slightly hoarse. I clear my throat and swallow before I continue. “Seonghwa and Wooyoung were too close to the target for us to clear it, so I decided to distract them while the others remained hidden.” Seungcheol squints his eyes.
I glance at Joshua on the other side of the line. He glances back and his eyebrows raise half a centimeter. My focus sways back to Cheol. “Seonghwa recognized me immediately, named me and everything,” I continue. “I needed to get them away from target and I knew the layout of the warehouse well, so I started running in the hope they’d follow me. They did.” I bite the inside of my cheek when I pause. Seungcheol gives me a small nod. Continue.
“However, I ran into a dead end. San and Mingi were also there, and the four of them cornered me. I nearly had a knife fight with Wooyoung but I incapacitated him quickly. Then one of these three,” I motion towards the men to my left, “made a sound deeper in the warehouse and Seonghwa sent San and Mingi away to check it out. Joshua came to my rescue and we got outside safely, where Jun and Minghao were waiting for us with the target. All three of them followed protocol exactly as agreed upon, Cheol,” I say, my voice sounding firm as I defend my crew.
I stop talking and wait for Seungcheol to say something. Anything. He taps the tips of his fingers against each other for a while, his expression lost in thought. When he refocuses his eyes, he looks at Joshua. Without him asking anything aloud, Joshua answers. “He made sure I could hear him when he stepped out to them,” he says. “I got close and waited for an opportunity. When I got it, I took it and we made it out together. Meanwhile, Jun and Minghao handled themselves excellently. There was not a moment where I had to worry about them,” he concludes.
Cheol exhales deeply and nods. “Jun, Minghao, thank you. You made sure the mission was a success. I’ll make sure Monsta X knows your value. You can go.” The two of them incline their heads and disappear from the room. Cheol motions for us to sit down. We take the chairs in front of the desk and sit up straight, positioning ourselves professionally still. Seungcheol is not done yet.
His eyes have grown sharper now that we’re alone. His gaze shifts back and forth between us. My heart skips a beat when his eyes land on me. I keep my expression as neutral as possible but the nerves tighten my chest.
“Did he hurt you?” His question hangs in the air, his voice suddenly emotional. I shake my head. “No, but I hurt him. These lines,” I hold up my hand, “are Wooyoung’s. I had my blade against his throat.” Seungcheol narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to respond, but Joshua interrupts. “But Seonghwa’s command was to hurt you,” he softly says. Shock registers on Seungcheol’s face. A short spike of irritation at Joshua’s reveal flashes through my mind.
“He what?” Seungcheol says in a low, dangerous voice. “The command he gave Wooyoung was to knock Jeonghan out, and that blood was fine but to leave him intact,” Joshua adds. Seungcheol stands up and starts pacing the space behind his desk. Every few steps, his hands ball into fists and then release again. We say nothing while he moves, we let him process this new information.
After a few minutes he sits back down. He lets his head fall back against the chair, looks at the ceiling and sighs. “Fuck,” he says and angles his head back to face us. In the lowest voice I’ve ever heard from him, he speaks. “We could have lost you, Jeonghan.” His voice is barely above a whisper but his words reach my ears crystal clear. I look at the hands in my lap, let my shoulders fall forward and nod. “I know.” My voice is barely above a whisper. He repeats himself with a louder voice. “We could have lost you. Jeonghan.” My stomach turns and I can barely breathe.
Joshua puts a hand on my arm and my body responds immediately. I take a deep breath. “We all did what we were trained to do, Cheol,” he cuts to him. I look up in surprise, my eyes wide. His voice carries venom. My hand covers Joshua’s on my arm to keep him there another moment. I turn my head to gauge Seungcheol’s response. His eyes are wide as well, but then they soften.
“I know, Joshua. Sorry,” his voice is kind. “You guys did exactly what you are so capable of doing and that is why you came out unharmed. That is also what we’ll tell Monsta X, because it’s the truth. We’ll have to find out from them if they already knew Ateez has entered the game or not.” Joshua’s expression softens and his hand pulls away from my arm. I drop my hand back in my lap. All three of us sit up straight, moving back to procedures and professionalism.
“We’re meant to meet with Shownu and Hyungwon after debriefing here,” I say and look at the time. “If I text them now, they’ll be here within the hour.” Seungcheol nods and waves his hand. “Let them know, Seungkwan and I will get the meeting room ready,” he says. I pull out my phone to text Shownu and Seungcheol gets up to leave the office and find Seungkwan.
When I put my phone away, I stand up. I step towards the door but Joshua grabs my shoulder from behind me. I turn around to face him and he pulls me into a hug. My arms automatically close around his back and I return the hug tightly. The tightness of my chest releases and my heartbeat slows. I breathe out slowly. “Thank you,” I whisper against Shua’s skin. “I’ve got you,” he returns. “We’ve got each other,” I add. “Always,” he finishes.
He holds on to my shoulders for a moment when he pulls back. He looks me in the eye. His eyes are glistening. He squeezes my shoulders. “Let’s go get ready for our allies,” I say with a smile. He chuckles and lets go of my shoulders.
Less than an hour later I am shaking Shownu and Hyungwon’s hands as they enter the meeting room. Polite smiles and bows are exchanged and we all sit down, Shownu across from Seungcheol. Seungcheol looks put together and in control, sitting up straight and hands clasped together on the table. He starts talking.
“Thank you for coming so fast,” he says. “The mission was a success, my men got the goods and we’ll hand it over to you for your client.” Shownu smiles and leans back. “Sounds good, nothing short of what we have come to expect from you.”
Seungcheol smiles appreciatively. “Thank you, Shownu. However they did run into some trouble.” Shownu leans forward and quirks an eyebrow. “You see, the warehouse turned out to be guarded, something we didn’t know. Are you familiar with the men from Ateez?”
I watch the exchange attentively, my eyes narrowing when Seungcheol mentions Ateez. A moment of silence fills the room. Shownu’s face becomes thoughtful and Hyungwon looks mildly surprised. On our side, everyone looks calm and secure. We filled Seungkwan in before Monsta X arrived.
“I am,” he finally responds. “I didn’t know they do guard work though.” He taps his lips in thought for another moment. Seungcheol keeps his face straight and waits for him to finish. “From what I know, Hongjoong is mostly in competition with the women from Mamamoo. They work for the same type of client, stealing mainly jewellery and specific exotic goods.”
I look at Seungcheol and catch his eye. He gives me a small nod and I turn to Shownu and Hyungwon. “Do you know them? Mamamoo?” I ask. Shownu nods. “Yes, we exchange clients sometimes. There is no close trust, but they have proven valuable and reliable so far. I can make introductions if you want,” he answers my underlying question. A sense of satisfaction grows inside me.
“That would be good,” Seungcheol says. “They sound like valuable allies to negate this threat that Ateez now is to us.” Shownu nods and furrows his eyebrows, then turns to Hyungwon. “Can you set up a meeting tomorrow?” He asks him and then turns to Seungcheol. “If that works for you too?”
Seungcheol nods and I notice he sits up a little bit straighter. “That works,” he responds. “Let us know the details as soon as you have them.” A grin takes over my face and the internal satisfaction grows brighter.
