Adryn's silence flowed into the two men as they got back to the house. No one spoke, not even as Mark parked the car in the garage. Taeyong instantly got out and started to help Adryn with her bags.
With bags in their arms, the group walked up the little stairs into the house but were surprised when the door opened to reveal a very tall man with brown hair.
"Hey, Johnny," Taeyong spoke up to the man. Adryn just stared at Johnny as he stared back at her, with a smirk on his face.
"So, this is the little lady that you love?" Johnny asked Taeyong, prompting Adryn and the pink-haired man to both blush. Taeyong just nodded his head to which Johnny sighed. "Your room is ready now. I have you have a nice stay with us."
"We're actually going to be training her. She might even actually join the gang too." Mark said suddenly, causing Johnny to look surprised at Adryn.
"Why would you want that?"
"I literally have nowhere else to go and I don't think joining a gang is all that bad," Adryn responded simply, making Johnny laugh at her words.
"You'll change your mind once the training starts."
"Johnny, be nice." Taeyong snapped at the rather tall man. Johnny put his hands up as he chuckled. Mark then walked passed Adryn and Taeyong, only to push Johnny out of the way.
"Move, you huge ass tree," Mark grumbled at the man. Johnny didn't even miss a beat, he instantly shoved Mark back, nearly knocking the shorter man over. Mark snapped at him, which caused Johnny to laugh and snap back. Their bickering continued into the house as Adryn stood there, in confusion.
"Is everyone in this house as loud and friendly?" Adryn asked Taeyong as the two walked into the house officially.
"Mostly, but not all," Taeyong replied simply as he began to walk away. Adryn followed after him immediately as she didn't want to be separated from him. "I'm taking you to your room," Taeyong spoke up, seemingly answering Adryn's question before she'd even thought of it.
"Alright," Adryn responded as she continued to follow Taeyong. He guided her up some stairs and down a hallway and then to the end of another hallway. He then pointed at a door before speaking.
"This bedroom is mine. Yours is across the hall, so it'd be this one." Taeyong informed Adryn as he turned and opened up the door across from his. Taeyong then walked in, with Adryn following after him again. The two set the bags they had down before Adryn looked around the room.
"Oh, wow!" Adryn exclaimed in surprise. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but a beautiful blue room wasn't it. The walls were blue, the carpet was blue and the curtains were blue. Even the furniture was blue.
"Every bedroom in here has a different color concept. Ten is our designer, among other things. He picked out everything for nearly every room, this one included."
"Who exactly is Ten?"
"Ten was in charge of getting your room ready. It was empty before you came here. As I said, he picked out everything. He also has a few other jobs, but we'll get into that later."
"Well, I'd like to meet Ten so I can thank him. I love blue, it's my favorite color. So I love this room."
"It's no problem, I had a feeling you'd like it." Taeyong and Adryn turned around toward the open bedroom door to see a man standing there with a smile on his face. He was only a bit taller than Adryn and had teal hair that was fairly short. "I'm Ten, it's nice to meet you Adryn." Ten was speaking English, which surprised Adryn and made her happy. She couldn't help but wonder how many of the gang could speak English and communicate with her properly.
"It's nice to meet you too and by you saying my name, I guess I don't need to introduce myself to you," Adryn replied with a small smile on her face. Ten chuckled in return.
"I know who you are because I was one of the ones watching over you the last few days."
"Thank you for that." To Adryn's words, Ten shrugged his shoulders.
"It's what I do. Watching over people is my main job. Knives are also my thing. Along with taking care of the neighborhood cats." As soon as the word 'cats' left Ten's mouth, Adryn perked up.
"Cats? There are cats around here that are friendly?"
"Yeah, quite a few of them." Ten chuckled at her response. Adryn smiled an actual bright smile at the thought of the cats.
"You can see them later. You have to unpack everything we just go you first. Then is training. I'll be in the kitchen waiting for you." Taeyong interrupted Adryn's happiness. She looked at him and nodded her head.
"Thank you, Taeyong. For everything and this kindness you're showing me." Adryn smiled at him, bringing a smile to Taeyong's face as well. Taeyong just nodded his head and then left Adryn's bedroom.
"If it's alright, I'll stay with you and help you unpack?" Ten offered to Adryn, who instantly nodded her head.
"That's awesome... Also, can I ask you something?" Adryn was a little hesitant to ask Ten something and he could tell. She was looking down at her hands which were picking at the blue and black nail polish on her fingernails.
"Of course, ask me anything."
"Is Taeyong always this kind?" Ten instantly laughed at her question, making her look up at him in confusion.
"Definitely not. He is usually angry or silent with us all. He's a good leader though, don't get me wrong. Even so, for the longest time, Taeyong was harsh with us. That changed about a year ago, and I think it was you who changed him."
"I guess so..." Adryn muttered before turning to all of the bags she and Taeyong had brought with them. Ten and Adryn then began to unpack everything. They took the tags off her new clothes and put everything where it should go. The final bag was the one that Taeyong had with him that he wouldn't show her. So, Adryn opened it up, revealing a blue laptop in its box, a black mouse, and a few USB drives, along with a handwritten note. Adryn instantly picked up the note and read it through her now teary eyes.
'Adryn, I know you didn't want me to do this, but here is a new laptop and everything you need with it. Please continue your writings because I fully support you and your dream. I love you. Remember that. ~ Taeyong'
"He really does love you, doesn't he?" Ten commented as he'd read the note over her shoulder. Adryn nodded her head, wiped her tears from her face, and then stood up. She set the laptop and accessories on her blue desk in the corner and then turned to Ten, with determination in her eyes.
"I'm ready for training now."
"You mean, you're ready to see Taeyong?" To Ten's question, Adryn couldn't help but blush.
"You might be right..."
"Let's go to your man then!" Ten guided the blushing Adryn through the halls and just as they walked down the stairs, a redheaded man was walking up to them. Ten paused, making Adryn pause, which made the redheaded man pause. The man in front of them looked quite annoyed. "Yuta, what's up?" Ten asked as he identified the man in front of them.
"I was wondering why Taeyong seemed so happy," Yuta replied to Ten, as he glared at Adryn.
"That might have something to do with me?" Adryn responded through her growing fear. Yuta narrowed his eyes before approaching Ten and Adryn.
"Yuta, be nice. Taeyong wouldn't be happy if Adryn got hurt or upset." Ten warned but was ignored by Yuta.
"I heard that a woman might be getting trained to join us." Yuta didn't ask a question, but it was clear he was questioning Adryn.
"That's correct," Adryn muttered as she felt herself shrinking away from the situation.
"Don't bother training. Also, back off of Taeyong."
"No. People want me dead so I need to learn how to protect myself! I don't want to be a burden anymore." Adryn glared up at the taller man, but the annoyance on Yuta's face seemed to be fading away.
"Ten, it must be nice to have someone shorter than you finally." Yuta clearly was joking with Ten and didn't mean it to be harsh or rude, as his tone was softer now. With that, Yuta continued up the stairs. Adryn and Ten then walked the rest of the way down the stairs.
"Ten? Is Yuta unfriendly and do I need to be worried about him?"
"No, he is just protective of the other members. He also probably doesn't want you to join, for your own sake." Ten replied to Adryn, making her frown at him.
"I appreciate the worry, but I'll be alright."
"You sure about that? Once the training starts, you might change your mind." Ten chuckled in response. Adryn's frown deepened, but she didn't say anything else. Ten then continued to guide her to the kitchen. They walked into the kitchen after finding it and noticed that there was another man in there with Taeyong. He had light brown hair and both he and Taeyong looked pissed off. They both turned to Ten and Adryn when they walked in, making Taeyong's angry-looking face, turn into a smile.
"Adryn, this is Jaehyun." Taeyong introduced the man next to him instantly, hoping that Adryn didn't ask why he seemed so upset before.
"Hello, Jaehyun, nice to meet you." Adryn smiled at the man kindly.
"Nice to meet you too, Adryn." Jaehyun gave Adryn a smile as well, before turning back to Taeyong. "We can talk more later." Jaehyun then left the room.
"How was unpacking?" Taeyong asked but instead of responding first, Adryn walked right to him and smiled up at him.
"Thank you, Taeyong." Adryn seemed genuinely happy, bringing a smile to Taeyong face once more.
"Do you like your new laptop?"
"I love it. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it." Adryn beamed up at the man as he smiled down at her. "I'll have to check it out more later though. I want to start training right away."
"Are you sure?" To Taeyong's question, Adryn shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, but I need to dive right in, or else I'll dwell on it too much."
"Don't worry, Adryn. We'll start off easy with the training, but as you get the hang
of things, we'll get harder on you." Ten tried to reassure the woman, only for Taeyong to frown at him.
"I'll be training her myself," Taeyong replied to Ten, making the teal-haired man smirk.
"Oh? Is that so you can flirt with her?"
"Well, I wasn't thinking about that before, but I am now," Taeyong responded, causing Adryn and Ten to chuckle at him.
"You know, I haven't been flirted with in years, so I'll probably react strangely, if at all," Adryn admitted to the two men. Taeyong took this moment to step closer to her.
"I'll be sure to make your heart flutter then." Taeyong's voice held such confidence, and it was reflected on his face. This caused Adryn to instantly take a step backward and frown at Taeyong.
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Taeyong's confident look turned to a pout at the woman in front of him. Ten couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. He could tell that they were getting along fairly well and he was happy for both of them. So, he decided to excuse himself from the room.
"Well, I have some work to do, like reviewing the details of the upcoming mission. So good luck, Adryn. And if he gets too touchy, you have my permission to kick his ass." Ten spoke up to the two before he walked out of the room. Taeyong smiled at Ten as he left before turning back to Adryn.
"Ready to go?" Taeyong asked the now nervous-looking woman. She was picking at her nail polish, or at least what little bit was left.
"I'm ready!" Adryn instantly put her hands to her side and smiled up at Taeyong. Taeyong nodded his head and guided Adryn out of the kitchen. He then brought her to a door that when opened clearly led to a basement. "Are we going to a dungeon?" Adryn joked as she chuckled before following Taeyong into the basement.
"Something of that sort, yes. This is where we keep all of our extra weapons and our training stuff." Adryn just nodded at Taeyong's words as she continued to follow the man. He came to the end of the stairs and walked into the basement, before opening up one of the doors there. "This is where we'll start your training. We'll see if you can defend yourself at all."
"Alright..." Adryn muttered as she looked around the room. There were various weapons hanging on the walls. She then turned her attention to Taeyong and noticed that he was in the middle of the room now. There was a mat there and he was taking his shoes off. Adryn instantly went to him and took off her shoes as well.
"Okay, I'll come at you now, get ready." Taeyong was kind enough to give her warning. Adryn nodded her head and got a serious aura about her. Taeyong instantly then moved forward to punch her, but to his surprise, she sidestepped his arm. She then grabbed his arm and proceeded to flip him over her smaller body.
Taeyong's back hit the mat with a loud and painful thud, knocking the air out of him. He just laid there for a moment then, completely confused and honestly in pain. He hadn't expected that from the woman.
"Are you alright?" Adryn crouched down to Taeyong, worried that she'd broken him or something.
"I... I'm more surprised than anything else, to be honest." Taeyong admitted to her as he sat up and looked at her with a mix of surprise and concern in his eyes. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"Eclipse taught me how to fight a little bit about a year ago."
"How does she know how to fight?"
"I have no clue. I asked her, but she changed the subject right away. I never got an answer." To Adryn's explanation, Taeyong nodded his head. He'd recovered from the shock, so he got himself back up as Adryn righted herself as well. Taeyong got back into his attack position, but Adryn just stood there, clearly worried now. "I uh... I don't know how to do anything else. I pretty much have forgotten everything else that Eclipse taught me."
"I'll help you remember." Taeyong chuckled as he instantly went to attack her.
With that, Taeyong and Adryn dove into fighting. Well more like Adryn taking punches and getting knocked over a few times. Taeyong went to go after her again, but he could see that Adryn was breathing heavily. Adryn was lying on the mat, trying to catch her breath.
"Are you alright?" Taeyong asked the exhausted woman as he approached her.
"I... I haven't moved this much in a long ass time..." Adryn huffed out through gasps of air. Taeyong thought she was so adorable at that moment in time. So, he decided to hold out a hand to her to help her up. Adryn looked at his outstretched hand and sighed. Adryn took his hand and he pulled her up, seemingly effortlessly.
"Are you alright?" Taeyong questioned yet again.
"No... It's going to take a while to learn how to fight since I'm so pathetic." Adryn grumbled as she frowned at Taeyong. He frowned back at her.
"You aren't pathetic. We all started out weak, but we got stronger over time with practice and help from others."
"Getting help from others isn't really my style, to be honest."
"I'll help you get used to receiving help." Adryn couldn't help but huff and chuckle at his words.
"Why are you so set on helping me?"
"Because I love you." Taeyong's response was too simple, so Adryn just stared into his eyes, searching for the truth. Adryn found that he was sincere but held darkness within him.
"Other than being the leader, what is your specific role in NCT?"
"I am one of the main assassins. I go out and kill people mostly. Therefore, my job is murdering people."
"Why didn't you kill me when I asked you to?"
"I told you already. I took a liking to you. You seemed interesting."
"How could a drunk girl be interesting?" Adryn frowned at Taeyong, but he just smiled at her as he remembered that night.
"You were slurring your words and spoke horrible Korean, but there was just something there that sparked something inside of me. You made me feel like I needed to save you. I felt as though I was given the chance to make someone's life better, rather than just ending it."
"You shouldn't have listened to that feeling." Adryn frowned at him as she spoke harshly to him.
"As I watched over you for months, I started to see the true you. Behind all the sadness and the front, you put up. I liked what I saw and I'm glad that I listened to that feeling."
"Seriously, you should have ignored that stupid feeling."
"Adryn, I don't regret anything. I'm happy that you're here now and that you'll be by my side." Taeyong wanted to get it through her head that he genuinely cared for her and loved her.
"I'm not too sure about that. Then again though... I'm not too sure about anything anymore." Adryn muttered sadly as she looked down at the ground. Taeyong wanted nothing more than to just reach out and wrap his arms around her. He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't.
There were sudden and frantic footsteps running down the stairs to the basement. Before Taeyong and Adryn could do or say anything else, Mark had burst into the room.
"Eclipse is outside our front door, and she's pissed!"
