Trinity Six | NCT DREAM

047

I let out another pained cry as yet another fist connected with my stomach. I let my head fall forward, finally giving in to the pain. The rope around my wrists dug even further into the already bloody skin as I stumbled forward, letting them carry more of my weight than they could hold. When I opened my eyes, breathing heavily, shakily, I could see how the skin on my stomach had already taken on angry colours of red and purple through my teary eyes.

"I said where is the fucking diamond?!" Taeyong yelled for the nth time, looking like w wild animal as he stormed towards me and grabbed my chin violently in his trembling hand.

"I-" I took a deep breath, trying to make the room stop spinning, "I don't know. I told already told you that they sold it. It's probably long gone by now"

"She's lying," someone said, the sound coming from somewhere behind me, though it was hard to tell. "We've been keeping an eye on the black market for weeks now and nothing has come up. There's no auction. There are no buyers. There's no one who knows about the diamond's existence."

Another hit, this time right between my shoulder blades. And I finally broke down, crying my eyes out as NCT 127 simply glared down at my pathetic figure. I was so tired. Everything hurt so, so much.

"Now, princess," Taeyong said, circling me as he made low tsk sounds before coming to a halt behind me, "Why are you crying, hm?" he asked, so close to my ear that his voice sent involuntary goosebumps down the side of my neck. "It didn't have to be like this if you had just been honest with us in the first place," he continued, tracing the patterns of my tattoo as he spoke, his cold fingers moving down my bruised and broken back that was exposed for all of them to see. I tried to move away, disgusted by the way that he was touching me so shamelessly, but he grabbed my waist, digging his fingers into the soft skin which made me freeze in my steps, breathing heavily as I looked the other way. The tears kept flowing, and after a moment of heavy silence, Taeyong finally went back to his chair.

"Now, where were we?" he said, his voice taunting me, "Ah, yes, where is the Florentine Diamond, my dear y/n?"

20 km away, the sounds of motors revving became louder as seven motorcycles sped into an abandoned parking lot, before stopping completely as the vehicles came to an abrupt halt. The driver at the front took his helmet off, shaking out his electric-blue hair as he took in the group's surroundings with furrowed brows.

"This is it?" Jaemin asked, turning to face Aramis as the two youngest got off their vehicles, making their way towards the abandoned building that towered above them, the grey facade making the tall construction look more ancient than it probably was. "Everything should be in here, exactly where we left it," Chenle said, motioning for the other's to follow the two of them. "Well don't just stand there," Jisung said, rolling his eyes, "We can't carry all of this ourselves."

Haechan hopped off his motorcycle as well, Mark and Renjun following his lead as they followed the youngest unit's lead, leaving Athos behind with the vehicles. Jeno studied his helmet for a moment before putting it down on the back of his own motorcycle, giving Jaemin a look as he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You look troubled," he said.

"'Troubled' is an understatement if I'm being honest," Jaemin said, chewing his lip as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. The needle had been moving too fast all day, he thought. They had been too slow, and the time had gone too fast. "What if we're too late?" he asked the other, staring at his partner with a look of raw worry, his eyes an unruly ocean of sadness and concern. Jeno felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he took in the sight of his best friend, "We're not too late," he said, wanting to make Jaemin stop worrying. "But what if-" the blue-haired began, only to be interrupted by Jeno as he repeated his words again, sounding resolute and confident, "We're not."