neo-dwie

[neo-dwie]

this clip is so damaging to my mental health LEE TAEYONG WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM OHMYGOD

( 11.47pm ) 💌 | ♡

[neo-dwie]

there will be blood (M)

↣ PAIRING: Yuta (NCT) + reader (female)

↣ GENRE: house of killers; happy halloween my yuta hoes; smut

↣ SUMMARY: Your husband, Yuta, has thrown you a luxurious party to celebrate your well-deserved promotion, but things take a turn when your three ex-boyfriends show up. And Yuta doesn't seem surprised to see them.

↣ WARNINGS: strong language; cigarette and alcohol use; descriptions of blood and violence; major character death; explicit sexual content

↣ NOTES: 21k words; listening to there will be blood by kim petras; this is a one-shot, there will be no sequels; check the masterlist in my description for other one-shots in this collection; happy reading!

↣ read this: okay same psa as last time. I'm not romanticizing toxic and dangerous behaviors here. this fic was written for Halloween so of course it's going to be a bit messy lol

“Are you enjoying the party?” Yuta asked, gathering the long skirt of your red dress around your waist roughly.

You gripped the edge of the bathroom counter behind you, panting, “This is my favorite part, by far.”

Yuta snickered; that low devilish sound whenever he had you exactly where he wanted you.

A moan slipped past your lips when he began kissing and nibbling at your neck again. You clung to his shoulders, gasping when he wasted no time in tugging your panties to the side and guiding his cock inside you.

“Yuta,” you whimpered, tipping your head to the ceiling, eyes winched closed. You locked your ankles behind his back and clenched your thighs on his hips.

He made a disapproving sound. “Open your legs,” Yuta whispered in your ear as he stroked himself inside, spreading you apart with his hands on your knees, only satisfied once he’d bottomed out.

Your toes curled at the pleasure of your body accepting him and bit your lip to fight another moan. He thrust in deep, pacing himself, drawing it out, making you stretch around him and working you to the peak like he always did. It was so goddamn good you almost forgot to breathe.

Yuta kept a punishing grip on your thighs, looking down to watch himself vanish inside you, his cock glistening with your desire. “So fucking tight,” Yuta groaned, his body colliding into yours a little harder.

You trembled and whined his name again. Your husband took your hands from his shoulders, laced his fingers through yours and locked your arms behind your back.

Now, there was nothing for you to do but take it. Just as you had that morning, and the night before.

You’d been insatiable lately. That was nothing new for Yuta. He was well-accustomed to you craving him more often than not, but the past few days had been an endless whirlwind of sex, devouring every moment he had to spare like you couldn’t get enough even though he left you exhausted and sore every time.

You never stopped begging him for more, more, more, and Yuta was always ready to give it to you.

Your husband kissed your lips, muttering filthy little nothings into your mouth and your skin, going harder and faster until your sounds of pleasure echoed in the private bathroom.

You suddenly sucked a sharp breath between your teeth and struggled to free your hands from his grip. “Easy, baby,” you coaxed, voice stuttering. “Gentler, please.”

“You never ask for gentle,” Yuta said, but immediately came to a stop inside you.

“I’m still sore from this morning.”

Pressing a tender kiss to the corner of your mouth, Yuta released your hands and pulled out of you. He drew you down, back to your feet, before turning you around and bending you over the counter. With a hand in your hair, he thrust back into your pussy languidly, smirking at the wet slap when your bodies met.

“How’s this?”

You arched your back and said, “Perfect.”

Grasping the counter, you moaned wantonly as he smacked his hips against your ass, stroking his cock in your cunt and dragging against your sweet spot, making you squirm. “Mm, fuck,” you choked out, briefly glancing at the mirror to watch Yuta take you from behind.

“Say it’s mine,” Yuta hissed, tugging on your hair.

“That’s your pussy,” you cried, throwing yourself back to meet his thrusts, hungry for every last inch of him. “All yours, baby.”

His breaths were labored, his voice pitching lower. “You want me to come inside?”

Your toes curled at the thought of him filling you up. “Yes,” you purred like a bitch in heat. A shudder tore through your body, all of you hinged on him giving you release and finding his own inside you. “Please, Yuta.”

The way you said his name made Yuta groan. It wasn’t like you to beg, but he loved when you did. Your husband yanked you up, your shoulders against his chest. He wrapped a hand around your throat, turning your head so he could smash a heated kiss on your lips, his tongue flicking into your open mouth.

“Still hurt?”

You shook your head as best you could with his hand around your neck. “I’m so close,” you said in barely a whisper, tangling your arms through his, desperate to hold onto him before you broke apart.

His other hand wandered to your sex and his fingers found your clit, rubbing at your bundle of nerves while his cock drove inside you over and over again. Your knees buckled at the pleasure and you chanted your husband’s name like a mantra, begging him to finish you, to ruin you.

Whatever he wanted.

Yuta went for the kill. He squeezed your neck, pressing his fingers beneath your jaw, slowing the flow of blood. Your eyes rolled back, your lips parted, and you came without warning, but Yuta knew you would.

Your body shook and struggled in his arms, trying to escape those vicious thrusts as you gushed around his cock, but you were no match. Yuta coiled his arms around you and talked you through it, coaxing you back down with his lips on your cheek, a little groan escaping on his breath when your walls kneaded his cock so tight his pace stuttered.

Still shivering with aftershocks, you let your husband bend you over the counter again and you reached for the edges to steady yourself, knowing what came next.

Yuta drilled into you from behind, both hands on your waist, getting in a few more jagged strokes then moaning at the top of his lungs as he fucked you full of cum, shoving in balls deep to make sure not a drop was wasted.

You released the breath you’d been holding while you endured him and made a noise when Yuta gave one final thrust into your sore, slick cunt. Another tremble rolled through your body from head to toe. You blinked to clear your vision and swallowed to wet your throat. Your fingers ached from squeezing the counter so tightly and you finally let go.

Yuta draped himself over you, kissing across the top of your shoulder and running his hands over you affectionately. “Fuck, baby,” he said between kisses on your cheek. “You feel too fucking good.”

“Your moans have no business being that hot,” you quipped, turning your head and stealing a kiss of your own.

Yuta chuckled, and that smile of his made you weak in the knees.

Your husband helped fix your dress and apologized for getting so rough, which you immediately forgave him for because you’d been literally begging for it.

Once you both cleaned up, Yuta surprised you, steering you against the wall and kissing you so rapturously you forgot where you were. As you always did when you were with Yuta.

“I love you more than anything in the world,” he said in a gentle voice.

You flushed with heat, peering up at him with stars in your eyes. “I love you. So much. You will never know.”

One of his brows arched up. “I think I know.” He cutely smoothed your hair with both hands.

Tugging him down for another kiss, and then another, you pushed his chest after you’d had your fill and huffed, “I guess we need to go back.”

“To your own party? Yes, maybe we should.”

You laughed.

The party was held at a luxurious country club that boasted a gorgeous dining hall for such purposes as these. Yuta was a member of the club through his family, going back generations. He was tight-lipped about the family business and you never pressed, knowing only that your husband was quite wealthy.

As were you. You said very little about your business too. It was a fair trade-off; an unspoken agreement between you and your partner. You were equals, sharing everything. Yuta made clear there was no room for greed or suspicion in your relationship and you worshiped him for it.

When he walked into a room, you were convinced the lights burned a little brighter. But maybe you were biased.

Having already greeted and mingled with your guests before the impromptu quickie in the bathroom, you glided over to your table nonchalantly while Yuta went to check on dinner. Your absence was hardly noticed. Everyone was making pleasant conversation over champagne and appetizers, and you were happy to see it.

Ten, however, gave you a suspicious glance when you lowered into the seat beside him. “Were you getting railed?”

You avoided his eyes and rubbed at your lip, in disbelief at getting caught that easily.

With your silence, Ten knew that was answer enough and he exclaimed in hushed tones, “Oh my god, you slut.”

“We’re married.”

Ten giggled as he sipped from his glass. “Who needs dessert when you got a creampie?”

“Cheers to that,” you retorted dryly, grabbing your empty glass and waving over a server.

Ten grasped the open bottle of champagne on the table and topped off his glass before pointing at yours.

You held up your hand to stop him. “None for me. My stomach is a little queasy.”

“Not drinking at your own party?” Ten asked, downing another mouthful.

You thanked the waiter when she filled your glass with cold water. Your throat was parched, to say the least. “Take it up with my tummy.”

Ten smacked his lips together. “More for me.”

Yuta was at your side then, touching your arm, and said, “Late guests have arrived.”

“Oh?” You scanned the room. Everyone in your relatively small department was accounted for. Your supervisor, a robust man with a booming voice, gabbed and laughed as he nursed his vodka on rocks.

You knew every person by name and position. And not a single one of them was out of place.

“Are you sure?” you asked, but Yuta already took your hand and pulled, making you rise to your feet and follow him.

Meanwhile, Ten wagged his tongue at your husband and joked, “I know what you did in the bathroom.”

Yuta, of course, grinned smugly from ear-to-ear.

Your high heels clicked as you walked across the marble floors. “I don’t know how he figured it out,” you whispered, discreet and not chagrined. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“We were gone for fifteen minutes and you wobbled on the way back to your seat.”

Now, you were chagrined. “I wobbled?”

“Mm-hm,” Yuta hummed, looping his arm around your waist and rubbing your hip with his fingertips.

As you both cleared the hallway and reached the entrance, the blood drained from your face as if you’d seen a ghost. And the handsome ghost approached you, bowing his head slightly in polite greeting.

“Jaehyun?” Your voice almost gave out. You were in utter disbelief that he was standing in front of you, dressed in an expensive suit, looking dapper as ever.

You truly thought you would never see this man again for as long as you lived.

“Hello.” Jaehyun said your name, grappling with his nerves. It sounded sickly sweet on his tongue. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Of course,” you said unsurely, but you definitely - most certainly - did not invite him to your party.

Technically, you didn’t invite anyone. Yuta was in charge of everything at his own insistence. Even the gown currently adorning your beautiful body he paid for. Your husband wanted to throw you this party for your promotion. You would be running the department you’d given the last seven years of your life to. It was more than well-deserved.

As Jaehyun would know.

Yuta stroked your waist in comfort and said, “I’m Yuta, her husband.”

Jaehyun shook his offered hand. “I’m Jaehyun. We used to work together.”

“I know,” Yuta replied coolly. “I’m the one that put you on the guest list.”

“Ah.” Jaehyun looked to you. “I thought you did.”

You tried to hide your shock and confusion. One showed through a little more than the other. “No,” you said, desperately wanting to scold your husband with your gaze. “This is a total surprise.”

“Should I go?” Jaehyun asked as he started to turn away.

“Of course not,” Yuta answered before you could. “That’s unnecessary.”

You searched Yuta, but he kept his eyes on Jaehyun. Recovering your composure, you smiled brightly and said, “There’s champagne. Help yourself. Dinner will be served soon.”

“Thank you,” Jaehyun told you, then faced your husband. “And thanks for inviting me.”

Yuta beamed like the good host he was. “My pleasure.”

The moment Jaehyun walked out of earshot, you leaned closer to Yuta and asked, “How do you know Jaehyun?”

“I don’t. You do. I figured you’d want him here, since you worked together so closely.”

That sounded ominous, but there was nothing strange in his tone. You were analyzing it. Matter of fact, you were studying every aspect of your husband at that moment. His body language, his demeanor. Not a single part of him was off.

But something was different. If he knew the man he’d invited wasn’t just an ex-coworker, but a former flame, your party could be ending with unexpected fireworks.

“Jaehyun and I aren’t friends,” you said firmly. “We worked together before I relocated to this department. I haven’t seen him in years.”

He was my lover, rang out in your mind, but this was not the time or place to make your husband aware of that. You had no idea how he would react. On the one hand, he wouldn’t let it bother him or… he’d tease the living shit out of you for it.

“My mistake,” Yuta conceded, finally meeting your eyes. “Would you like me to ask him to leave?”

You were touched that he offered and honestly, you considered it. But Jaehyun was one of the kindest people you’d ever known, which was rare enough in your line of work. There was no reason to hurt him now. “No. That would be bad manners.”

“Then, relax. I’m sure he’s just here for the free booze.”

You nodded, but you had a feeling that wasn’t the case.

Opening your mouth to playfully ask Yuta if he had any other surprises in store for you, the words seized in your throat as you were gifted the same churning in your stomach when Jeno walked through the double doors.

Unbelievable. “Jeno?”

Jeno, wearing a suit coat over a barely buttoned dress shirt with no sign of a tie, looking like he’d gotten dressed on the back of his motorcycle, marched right up to you and your husband, and began, “Let’s not waste any time. Why the hell did you invite me to your party?”

The reaction was nothing less than you expected. Nor were you offended. It was textbook Jeno. You rolled your eyes and readied a retort.

“She didn’t. I did,” Yuta told him sternly, holding out his hand. “I’m her husband and I really don’t like your tone.”

Oh, boy. You put a hand on Yuta’s arm to calm him as you watched Jeno shake his hand vigorously. “You didn’t have to come, you know,” you sniped.

“Of course, I did. Figured you wanted an excuse to see me,” Jeno said with a hint of mischief.

There he went. Giving you whiplash with his mercurial mood swings. Jeno was the court jester, leaping from one foot to the other and waving his hands all the while. His entire method was making himself too erratic and chaotic to read.

You cuddled up to Yuta. “Sorry to disappoint. As you can see, I’m married. Happily.”

Jeno glanced down at Yuta’s hand settling possessively on your hip. He almost licked his lips at how perfectly tight the dress wrapped around your body, and your curves looked even more salivating than he remembered. “I never pegged you as the marrying type,” Jeno said offhandedly.

You shrugged. “You know I love to defy expectations.”

“Is there shrimp?”

“A whole table of it. Enjoy.”

Jeno gave you and your husband a thumbs up and headed briskly for the dining hall.

Your face creased with frustration and annoyance as you watched him go, memories and feelings stirring of vexation. Even though you weren’t together, Jeno ran you ragged, stressing you the fuck out. The boy was insufferable and downright exhausting.

“He’s delightful,” Yuta said with obvious joking.

“You have no idea,” you grumbled, trying to shake off the desire to dress him down. There were now two men in the building, at your husband’s invitation, that you previously dated.

Fuck me, you thought, putting a hand to your forehead. How were you going to survive this evening in one piece?

As you turned around, having heard the door open yet again and assuming it was the Devil himself coming to carry you away, your whole body tensed. You weren’t far off.

“Johnny,” you whispered in what could only be described as horror.

The air fled your lungs. The strength left your body. Had Yuta not kept his arm around you, you would have staggered and fallen to the floor, curling up to make yourself as small as possible.

It was hard to explain, but your nervous system was built and primed for this man.

Johnny greeted you by name silkily, but immediately shifted focus to the person glued to your side, holding out his hand and saying, “You must be Yuta.”

“In the flesh. Nice to meet you, Johnny,” replied Yuta deftly.

“Likewise.”

You breathed out in relief. It would seem Johnny was playing nice for the moment. “Jaehyun was awkward. Jeno was obnoxious. Thank you for being normal.”

Johnny shrugged. He was dressed to the nines and his brown hair was slicked back. “It’s what I do.”

Cocking your head, you asked sweetly, “Aren’t you surprised to hear Jaehyun and Jeno are here?”

“Nah. I saw them in the parking lot.” Johnny made a face. “Why? Should I be surprised?”

“I’m surprised all three of you are here. My husband invited you. Is there something I’m missing, dear?”

Yuta shook his head. “No, my love,” he said in that tone he reserved for when you were mad at him. Well, at least he was self-aware. “I just wanted to meet the men that were so involved in your career and your life.”

You narrowed your eyes at your husband. There it was. The tiniest slip in his steady voice.

He was up to no good and he was clearly aware you had history with these three men.

Johnny failed to hide his amused grin at the exchange. “It sounds like the party has kicked off already,” he said, checking the Rolex on his wrist. “Am I late?”

“Party started at eight,” you told him.

“Strange. My invite said eight thirty.”

Your eyes darted to the clock of Roman numerals above the door. It was just past eight thirty. That was the thing about people in your line of work; they were painfully punctual.

What were the odds all three men would arrive exactly a half hour late?

“That’s my fault,” Yuta spoke up, as if reading your thoughts. “I must have given you the wrong time.”

You desperately fought a frown. If you didn’t know any better, you would think your husband intentionally had them come later so you wouldn’t be distracted by other guests when they arrived.

No, you insisted to yourself. There was nothing sinister here. If Yuta knew the truth, he would never have invited them. It was an honest mistake. Repeated three times.

“This has been thoroughly weird. Should I leave?” Johnny asked.

Honestly, you wanted him to go. Taking Jeno and Jaehyun with him would be even better, but despite the offer, you knew Johnny had zero intention of leaving now. He was hooked. You could see it in his eyes.

“No,” you said, resigning yourself to a strange night. “Please stay. It’s a party and you were a big part of my… career.”

The moment those words left your mouth, an image appeared in your mind. One you’d tried desperately, for years, to forget. Of Johnny pressing the barrel of a gun to your head, demanding total, unwavering obedience and loyalty.

And you’d given it to him. You did everything he ever demanded of you.

Johnny winked and sauntered down the hall, getting high off the wariness in your eyes.

Alone again with your husband and confident there were no latecomers left, you stepped in front of Yuta and chided, “Babe, when I told you about my body count that wasn’t an invitation to incorporate it into our roleplay.”

“I’m not,” Yuta insisted, looking amused. “I wanted to meet them.”

“Why?”

Yuta shrugged, and it wasn’t the least bit convincing. “Curiosity.”

Your husband liked to play games, and you liked playing with him, but this had every hair on your neck standing on end. “You can’t bullshit me, Yuta. What the hell is going on?”

“Relax, my love. It’s a party. We’re supposed to be having fun.”

You grabbed his sleeve none too gently and hissed, “We were until my trio of exes waltzed in. Do I need to make a goddamn scene to get an answer out of you?”

Yuta surrendered by the tiniest margin possible. “Alright. Alright,” he said, taking your hands in his. “I wanted to talk to them.”

You gawked. “Why the hell would you want to talk to my ex-boyfriends?”

“I have my reasons. I promise I’ll come clean after the party.”

That would have to be enough for now. You wouldn’t dare actually make a scene at the party your husband spent weeks preparing for you. Nor would you make a fool of yourself in front of your boss.

It was hard enough getting to your position of power as a woman. You wouldn’t risk the slightest inch of your success over past mistakes.

“I’m holding you to that,” you said in a small voice that rang with warning.

Yuta leaned in, kissed your cheek, and escorted you back to the hall, guiding your hand to the crook of his elbow.

You slapped on a pleasant smile and clocked each of your ex-lovers. Jeno was by the food, clearing a tray of appetizers. Jaehyun had found his seat at one of the tables and was playing on his phone. And naturally, Johnny was conversing with your boss, the two of them grinning and laughing, and clinking their champagne glasses together in cheers.

They were exactly where you expected. Jeno was a bottomless pit that despised socializing. Jaehyun was shy and struggled to make conversation with people he didn’t know. And Johnny was the most outgoing, confident extrovert you’d ever met. He could make anyone adore him in five minutes or less.

When Yuta left to check on dinner, you returned to your seat, but didn’t sit down yet. You took a gulp of your water, put your hand on Ten’s shoulder, and asked, “Is it just me or is Yuta being weird?”

“It’s not just you,” Ten said, slurring his words a bit. He’d been a little heavy-handed on the alcohol. “He’s way crazier than usual.”

Tapping your foot, you watched Yuta appear from the back again, greeting guests and smiling cordially as he passed them by. Nothing seemed outwardly wrong, but you knew your husband, and more importantly, you knew men. That was your job.

There was a tiny tremor in the perfect balance you had with Yuta, and you needed to figure out why.

Before you could ask what he knew, Ten added blithely, “Ever since he found your sex tapes.”

Your eyes widened. “He - what?”

Ten turned to you, slowly lowering his glass. “I thought he told you.”

“That he found my sex tapes?” You were screeching under your breath, mindful of the guests at your table who were lost in their own conversations and did not need to be privy to yours.

Ten gulped. He was very uncomfortable with the situation he’d just landed himself in. “...Yeah.”

“Fuck.” You straightened your shoulders and ran a hand through your hair. Those videos hadn’t seen the light of day in years. They were stashed on a hard drive in one of your drawers, along with encrypted documents. You were confident Yuta hadn’t cracked any of those. Unless he made friends with a very skilled hacker, unbeknownst to you.

Talking to your husband was paramount. The party be damned. You saw him vanish into the back hallway again and you didn’t hesitate to march after him.

Johnny and Jeno had slowly and discreetly been working their way over to Jaehyun. The three watched you follow your husband with an obvious stomp in your step.

“Her husband invited us,” said Johnny, putting the champagne to his lips and taking a sip.

Jaehyun didn’t glance up from his phone. “How did we miss that?”

Jeno held a plate and dunked another shrimp in cocktail sauce before shoving it into his mouth. “This feels like some twisted power trip.”

Johnny was definitely amused. “If he wanted to humiliate her, there’s surely better ways.”

“She’s not capable of humiliation,” Jeno sneered. “We all know that.”

To which Jaehyun countered, “He’s not trying to humiliate her. You saw him. He’s in love with her.”

Jeno set his jaw in anger. “Yeah, I know that look. If only the poor bastard knew she’s the evilest bitch alive.”

Johnny smiled darkly and whispered, “I have a feeling he already knows.”

Both Jeno and Jaehyun looked at him in surprise. “He doesn’t seem angry,” said the latter with intrigue.

“Wait for it. It’s coming.”

Jaehyun shook his head. “She will kill us all if we tell him what we know.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Jeno retorted, smirking with delight.

Johnny chuckled and the three dispersed, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves or each other.

You tried not to march down the hallway like an unhinged woman about to demand a manager, but that was the best way to describe your gait.

Your husband stood just shy of the double doors to the kitchen, his back to you. He seemed to be looking down at his phone with the way his shoulders hunched.

“Yuta?”

He turned around, wearing a faint smile. “Yes?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“I’m all yours.”

You led him with you into a dark corner of the hall. Considering how Yuta’s smile shifted into a mischievous smirk, he was undoubtedly assuming you were about to rub him down.

Instead, you asked point blank, “Did you watch them?”

A wave of realization rolled over Yuta’s face, but to your frustration, he didn’t seem the least bit bothered. “Of course,” he said, unapologetic.

You folded your arms, a subtle gesture not to attempt to touch you. “Without my permission?”

“I didn’t think I needed your permission to watch them,” Yuta said innocently. “We’ve always been completely open with each other.”

“So, you watched other men fuck me and your first thought was, ‘I should invite them to her party’, as if that’s not totally insane.”

Yuta stared deep into your eyes and asked, “Are you ashamed?”

“Of the videos?” You scoffed. “No. Never. They were my idea.”

“I figured,” said your husband, smirking again. “Since you were what the videos had in common.”

You cocked your head. He wasn’t judging you. No surprise there; Yuta was the least judgmental person you knew. He was clever and had you figured out. There was something he wanted, something he was after.

Yuta always felt one step ahead of you in the chess game that was your relationship. Perhaps that was why he’d been the one to keep you when all the others failed.

“Why haven’t you made one with me?”

The first thing you noticed was he didn’t sound angry. He sounded playful with a hint of disappointment. Good. He was thinking with his dick and not his jealous streak. You could work with that.

You nibbled on your lip as he inched closer and lowered your arms, raising the white flag as it were.

“I’m your husband, aren’t I?” He reached out and touched your cheek, his breath ghosting over your face.

“You want the truth?”

“Always.”

You slipped your hands over his waist and pressed yourself against him, whispering like it was your biggest secret, “I made the videos with them… to spice things up when the bedroom was getting stale.”

Yuta’s eyes, full of fire as if you’d lit a match, were on your lips now. “Mm.”

You peeked up at him and said, “Things have never gotten stale with you, Yuta.”

“Interesting.”

“Is it?”

It was a lie, of course. The videos were souvenirs. Keepsakes of the boys you’d loved. Trophies of the men you’d conquered. They were three very dangerous monsters and you’d made each of them fall in love with you until they were wrapped tightly around your finger.

Yuta was not someone to be conquered. He was the first and only man you loved back. And he was yours to keep. That’s why you didn’t need him captured on film. You slept beside him every night, now and forever.

Your husband flashed that grin you adored. “My little freak,” he teased, stealing a kiss.

You were relieved. “My massive freak,” you shot back, kissing him hard and slipping your tongue into his mouth.

Yuta groaned, pulling away from your lips like it pained him. “Is that why we work so well together, baby? Are you as sick and twisted as me?”

“No one is as sick and twisted as you.”

Yuta braced his hand on the wall behind you, crowding closer, and pressed his lips to your brow. “I love our little games,” he purred, tucking some of your hair behind your ear.

“Me too.” You tilted your head and asked, “Is that what this party with my exes is - one of our little games?”

“More or less.”

You snorted back a scoff. “I’m surprised they came.”

“I’m not. Who would pass up the chance to see your fine ass again?” Yuta said as he grabbed a handful of your butt and squeezed.

You pretended to pout. “Don’t flatter me. I’m still kinda annoyed with you for putting me on the spot with them like you did.”

With that, you gave your husband a firm shove and made to leave. There was a party going on in your honor, after all.

“Do they know what you did?” Yuta called after you.

Without looking back, you said, “You’ll have to be more specific, Yuta. I’ve done a lot of things.”

Yuta’s playful smile faded as he watched you walk away.

Stepping into the main hall, you made a beeline for the table of hors d'oeuvres, because it conveniently allowed you to have your back to the guests. You needed a moment to collect yourself, wishing you could down a flute of champagne. Or a whole bottle.

You were a woman that prided herself on the ability to control her environment. Very little knocked you off kilter. Your boss likened you to a monolith of stone, constant and unshakeable. It was a compliment you appreciated far more than the others.

Scanning the appetizers, everything made your stomach turn. Your throat was dry again so you poured yourself a small glass of strawberry punch. It was tart and fizzed in your mouth, but it was the only beverage other than water that didn’t have alcohol.

Johnny brushed against your side and you knew it was him before he even opened his mouth to say, “I miss the days of us working together.”

You turned around, facing the hall of people. They were grouped at their tables, the room echoing with their chatter and laughter. Most of them were on their way to being drunk. You avoided Johnny’s calculated gaze by focusing on them. “I wish I could say the same, but I don’t miss those crappy hotels.”

“I’ve still never seen bed bugs that size.”

You snickered softly. They were diabolical. You ended up sleeping in the back of the car with Johnny, his arm draped over you as you used his chest for a pillow.

He’d had his moments; moments where he was tender and loving, and not scaring the living shit out of you. It was all intentional. If you clung to those days, the cruel ones were easy to tolerate. Once you read the analogy of the boiled frog, you never looked at your former lover the same way again.

But once Johnny saw he was losing you, he changed tactics. Such as the gun to your head whilst he demanded your submission. That memory flooded your mind each and every time you heard his name or even saw someone that looked like him.

Imagine how you felt now, standing next to the man that tried to rip you apart and stitch you back together exactly how he wanted. It didn’t work, but not for lack of trying.

And he would try again if given the opportunity.

Johnny let a tiny quiet pass before asking, “May I address the elephant in the room?”

Typical Johnny. You exhaled loudly. “Go right ahead. I already know what you’re going to say.”

“Your husband invited me and it’s clear he knows we were together.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

You shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

Johnny joked, “Is this some elaborate plot to assassinate me? I’m flattered.”

“He’s a businessman, Johnny,” you said with a huff. “Not an expert assassin.”

“Would you know if he was?”

For some reason, you took offense to that. Turning toward Johnny and looking into his handsome face as he towered over you, you snapped, “Uh, yeah. I think I would catch on pretty quick. I’m retired. Not dead.”

Satisfied, Johnny smiled. He was pleased to have gotten under your skin, as was his intent. “You don’t miss the hotels, but do you miss the work?”

You didn’t mind this question. It was curious, not prodding. Johnny missed being your handler, wiping the blood from your face and hands after you’d followed his orders so perfectly. “No. Actually, I don’t.” Your eyes were on Yuta as he moved between tables, heading in your direction. “I get my excitement elsewhere.”

Yuta smiled to comfort you when your gazes met. A smile you returned sincerely. The sight of him made you happy and caused flames to unfurl in the pit of your stomach.

“You’re lying,” Johnny murmured harshly.

You cut him a glare, but said nothing.

“You’re so fucking bored.”

You thought back to the luxury hotel in Barcelona, where you spent the night after a job well-done. A camera was propped on the nightstand, capturing every second of you on your hands and knees, crying out as Johnny rammed his cock into you, the loud slap of his hips colliding with your ass echoing through the room.

He was always rough, always had to claim you the best way he knew how. You accepted the pain with the pleasure, and it made you feel alive. That sex and death were all you were capable of. You were at your darkest and most lethal when you were with Johnny.

That was a different girl then. A stranger to the woman you had become. If only you knew what you knew now. You thought you were in love with Johnny. You were prepared to kill for him, every minute of the day if that was what it took to keep him happy. He completely distorted your perception of love to make himself the center of your universe.

The girl in the video screamed in ecstasy, letting him take and take and take until there was nothing left to give. And still he wanted more. If you watched it now, you doubted you would recognize yourself.

Maybe your husband didn’t recognize you either. Johnny had killed your shit from behind and Yuta watched every second of it. Possibly more than once.

The question was - did it turn him on? Or did it make him hate you?

“People like you and me, we don’t calm down,” Johnny said, like a thinly veiled threat. “Once you’ve been an animal, you can’t go back.”

You blinked, feeling yourself dissociate. You were naked and stripped bare of all power in Johnny’s arms, feeling him deep in the pit of your stomach as he told you no one would love you like he did. He alone could see past your sins.

As Yuta closed the distance, Johnny slithered away, having done what he set out to do.

Yuta reached for your hand and said, “He’s an asshole, huh?”

You snapped back to reality the moment you felt Yuta’s touch on your fingers. “Major asshole,” you replied, taking a breath.

Your husband chuckled and you turned to him, marveling the way he made you feel, the butterflies doing dances in your stomach when just the scent of him hit your nose. Thanks to Yuta, you were the center of your own universe. As it was meant to be.

Yuta didn't stitch you back together as he wanted. He taught you how to mend yourself.

“I wish we had just stayed in that bathroom,” you flirted, leaning in and kissing chastely beneath his ear.

Yuta nuzzled your cheek, giving zero fucks about people seeing him be affectionate with his wife. “Note to self: next party I throw for you will just be me, you, and all our favorite toys,” he told you playfully.

You snickered. “Sounds like a regular Saturday night for us.”

Yuta had a retort locked and loaded, but kept it to himself when Jaehyun appeared in his periphery.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, hands in his pockets. “Would it be alright if I borrow your wife for a second?”

Yuta nudged you toward Jaehyun with his hand at the small of your back and said, “As long as you give her back. I need to go check on dinner anyway. First course should have been out by now.”

Jaehyun smiled awkwardly and held out his arm to you. You slipped your hand to the crook of his elbow and let him lead you to the windows where the chatter wasn’t so loud and distracting.

As you walked together, Jaehyun began, “Your husband has been very welcoming and nice.”

“He has resting bitch face, but he’s actually really sweet.”

“He knows about us.”

You hummed an affirmation.

Jaehyun was kind of taken back, but he knew he shouldn’t have been. You were always nonchalant and confident with him. He liked that about you. Whenever he got nervous, you soothed him, lulled him into a sense of security.

No matter how dangerous the situation actually was.

“It doesn’t bother him,” you said to clarify after Jaehyun was understandably silent.

“I’d be losing my shit if my wife was in the same room with her exes at a party I paid for.”

Yeah, you’d think that.

You stopped and turned to Jaehyun directly, your hand on his arm. “Yuta’s not like that. He’s secure in our relationship.”

“Then, why did he invite me?” Jaehyun argued.

You sighed loudly and after a pause, you told him the truth. “He found our video.”

Jaehyun’s eyes went wide. “Okay. Now, it’s definitely weird.”

“I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t know what he’s after with this stunt.”

“You say he’s secure in the relationship, but are you?”

You made a face. Jaehyun was never good at getting information out of you. He didn’t know the questions to ask and rarely held firm when you tugged his strings. This time, however, there was no dodging him.

But, in a nutshell, Jaehyun was the easiest to manipulate. So, that’s what you did.

“I have my moments,” you lied, rubbing your arm; a subtle gesture that made it look like you were trying to comfort yourself in turmoil. You did not want Jaehyun snooping around your marriage for cracks in the foundation. “Sometimes I wonder if I deserve this life. Do I deserve to be happy?”

Jaehyun immediately softened. He took the bait, as you knew he would. His focus was no longer on Yuta, but on smoothing your pretty feathers. Jae was a sucker for a damsel. “Of course you deserve to be happy. We only did what we had to do to survive.”

Nothing could be farther from the truth, but you knew Jaehyun believed it with every fiber of his being. It was the only way he could sleep at night.

You smiled and reached out, touching his shoulder and giving him a tiny, reassuring squeeze. Just like that, he was putty in your hand. “Do me a favor,” you said, lowering your voice to a soft purr. “If my husband asks questions, send him to me.”

Jaehyun nodded. “You got it.”

This time, you gave him a genuine smile. “I’m glad you came, Jae. It was good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” he replied, a faint crimson on his cheeks.

You looked into his pretty eyes and saw Mykonos, the curtains wafting in the breeze. You saw the sea just beyond the archway of your door. Sometimes you could still smell the salt in the air.

And you could see Jaehyun above you, rocking into you slowly. All of it captured on film.

Jaehyun had the misfortune of being assigned to you on a job when you were in the throes of your toxic affair with Johnny. You were being pulled apart, torn from limb and limb. It was like trying to harness a tornado, but Jaehyun tried. He was the only reason you were able to complete the job and got you out of certain death when you’d decided on a whim that you didn’t care what happened to you anymore.

You rewarded him with weeks of stolen time. Meeting in hotels, desperate to touch each other, watching him day after day fall in love with you. When it was time to walk away, you let him whisk you off to Greece, spending every night in bed bringing each other to bliss.

Jaehyun looked at you like he’d left his heart in that hotel room while you never looked back.

Too soft, you thought, picturing Jaehyun in your arms, staring into your eyes as he thrust in deep and slow. He always treated you like glass and that was perfect for a woman out there somewhere, but not for you. You had to have a little darkness. It was part of you like the blood in your veins.

Did Yuta lick his lips? Did he drift a hand into his pants to stroke his aching cock, watching another man make love to you? It was romantic and intimate, reserved for two people with strong, inexplicable feelings for each other. There was no denying that.

Thinking of Yuta, you went searching for your husband after parting with Jaehyun. You needed to know what he thought watching those videos or you were going to lose your mind. And if you lost your mind, you would lose your cool.

Yuta had a penchant for jealousy. Scorpios invented it.

Your husband sipped champagne, looking more handsome than ever. It was infuriating. Being so in love with someone was a disadvantage. You couldn’t be mad at him. He was too damn cute. You couldn’t argue with him, because he was into that.

Even worse, Yuta was a great conversationalist who wasn’t afraid to root out issues and lay them out on the table to sort out. He had completely and utterly robbed you of all your tools; the ones you cultivated over a decade of swaying men to your side.

There was no reason to manipulate Yuta. It couldn’t be done anyway. He’d see right through it and snatch the floor out from under you. That’s what happened when you bared your soul to another person. They could see it at all times.

“Yuta, are we okay?” You sounded meek. Mostly for effect.

“Of course. Why?”

Why? You bristled in frustration. Was he being obtuse on purpose? Probably. You expected more of a reaction from your passionate lover. He never hid his emotions from you. He cried freely. He told you he loved you endlessly.

Your brows stitched. “It doesn’t bother you that they’re here, knowing what you know?”

Yuta countered, “Should it?”

Fuck’s sake, were you arguing with a mirror? He was using all your usual tricks on you, avoiding the dialogue you were trying to get rolling. You were the queen of deflecting and he was the king of digging.

Okay. Then, you would play his role.

“Answer mine and I’ll answer yours,” you smarted, just like he would if the positions were reversed.

Yuta gleamed, recognizing you at the end of your rope. “Fine. It doesn’t bother me. Your past is your own. I can tell you don’t love them. I think you never did.”

That sent a shiver up your spine. “But you watched those videos. Did it make you angry, seeing me like that?”

“Do you want me to be angry?”

You heaved a pensive sigh. That was the question. What reaction were you looking for exactly?

Truth was, you didn’t know. This was uncharted waters for you and your relationship.

Yuta cocked his head cutely. “No answer I give will satisfy you, baby. If I’m angry, you’ll think I hate you. If I’m hurt, you’ll hate yourself.”

You searched his face and found nothing. “You’re not hurt.”

“Not even a little,” Yuta said, and you believed him. “You didn’t belong to me when you were with them.”

“I didn’t belong to them either,” you huffed.

“I know. And that’s why I’m not angry.”

You wanted to smile in relief, but you couldn’t. The knot was still in your chest. The mystery wasn’t solved and the question wasn’t answered. “This isn’t about the videos, is it?”

Yuta fixed you with a look that rooted you in place. You’d never seen it before and had no way to describe it. “Jeno slipped out the back,” he told you, ignoring your question entirely. “I think he’s leaving. You should say goodbye.”

You’d been dismissed by your husband. It was a feeling you knew all too well and you took it in stride like a champ. “I will, but I’m getting hungry.”

“Food will be out any second now.”

Your stomach growled and you made your way to the back door, grumbling like a disgruntled employee being told to kiss the ass of your least favorite manager, but it distracted you from the confusion at the way your husband had looked at you.

You didn’t want to think about that right now. The sooner you made sure Jeno was leaving, the sooner you could sit down and enjoy dinner with Yuta.

The cold air smacked into you when you stepped outside behind the building. Fortunately, you didn’t have to look around for long. Jeno was slouched against the brick wall, puffing on a cigarette.

“Can’t wait to get out of here?”

“I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone with how far up your husband’s ass you are.”

You held up your middle finger, earning a short laugh. Jeno offered you the cigarette, but you shook your head and told him, “Yuta made me quit cold turkey when we were dating.”

“Damn,” Jeno chuffed, blowing out smoke in your opposite direction. “Must be some god tier dick.”

You folded your arms to stave off the cold and leaned against the wall beside him. “Yep.”

Jeno lilted in your direction and teased, “But I’m still the biggest,” making you roll your eyes.

“Bigger isn’t always better.”

“That’s not what you said when you were on it.”

“Dick makes me say a lot of things,” you deadpanned, shaking your head.

Unfortunately, there was video evidence. Even though you were on top, Jeno was giving it to you hard, both of his hands around your neck, fucking into you from underneath.

If Johnny taught you to give up your power, Jeno taught you how to take it back.

Jeno let go of your throat only long enough to reel his hand back and land it on your ass, sending a loud crack through the hotel room in Manila. When you’d asked if you could film, Jeno replied with an overly eager, “Fuck yes!”

You braced your hands on his muscled chest and fucked him back, trying to keep pace with his thrusts, wanting to slap that smug little smirk off his face. Which you did when he came, spilling over inside you and promising never to give you shit again.

A promise he did not keep. No matter how many times you fucked him.

Jeno lingered his eyes on you, wondering why you’d gone quiet and having zero inclination that you were reminiscing about riding his dick. I miss you, he wanted to say, but would never allow himself to be so weak. Instead, he lashed out, “You were a master manipulator, you know. You worked me so good for months.”

You recoiled. “Believe it or not, Jeno, I had nothing to gain from ‘working’ you. What we had after the jobs were over was genuine. No matter how short it was.”

It wasn’t a lie. Jeno got you smiling and laughing again. If not for him, you never would have given Yuta a chance when you met. You would have thought yourself too unworthy, too broken beyond repair.

Jeno flicked away the cigarette and hissed, “Nothing about you is genuine.”

That wounded you a little and made your voice go soft. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“There you go.” He pointed at you squarely in the face. “Fake as shit.”

“Fine. You want to know how I really feel?”

“No.”

Your eyes flickered.

Jeno inched closer until his lips were a breath away from yours. You could taste the smoke on your tongue when he said, “I’m still under your goddamn spell. I always will be. Even though I hate you, I’d run away with you if you asked me to.”

You blinked up at him sadly. “You know I’ll never ask.”

“I know.” Jeno stroked your cheek with his thumb like Yuta had moments before. “But the feeling still stands. It doesn’t go away.”

You took his hand gently, but steered it away from your face. It was forbidden; another man touching you intimately. Every inch of you belonged to Yuta and Yuta only. “I thought I lost you a long time ago,” you murmured, more vulnerable than you intended.

Jeno slouched back against the wall again, no longer able to look at you. He shuffled his feet, kicking at a small rock. “Yeah, I thought you did too. But just seeing you up close again instead of from a distance made me realize how pathetic I am for you.”

Confusion furrowed your face. “From a distance?”

“I’ve seen you here and there sometimes.”

Your guard fell, slipping down farther. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You look happy with your husband,” Jeno said with a shrug. “Who am I to intrude?”

“I am happy,” you asserted.

“I hope to God he is too,” Jeno sighed, looking behind you at movement that caught his attention.

“Everything alright?”

You turned around, facing Yuta. “It’s fine, baby.”

Without a word, and scowling all the while, Jeno trudged back inside.

Leaving you to face down your husband and ask bluntly, “I don’t get it. You invited my exes, but you don’t trust me to be alone with them for five minutes? You think I’ll mount him right here in the alley?”

“You’ve ‘mounted’ me in worst places,” Yuta retorted.

“That’s fair.” At the sight of his familiar humor, you instantly relaxed. It disarmed you for the moment.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Yuta said, turning serious on a dime. “I just think they aren’t as trustworthy as you think they are.”

“There’s no bad blood, Yuta,” you told him demurely. You didn’t want to argue that point, because it had its validities, but you didn’t want to lend any support to it either. Your hands were tied in this little dance.

“Darling, with someone as beautiful as you, of course there’s bad blood. You’re covered in it.”

You remembered the red silk gown you were wearing. The one Yuta had bought you for this occasion.

The woman in red. The girl covered in blood. That was your legacy, the one you’d gone to great lengths to hide from your husband.

If he only knew. He would never look at you the same way again.

Yuta brought you back to the party and you said nothing else. You clocked a split-second glimpse of Jeno talking to Johnny, drifting away from him when you appeared. Not very subtle, but then again, Jeno never was the subtle type. Slapping on a happy face, you pressed harder into Yuta, hanging off your husband for effect.

Ten crossed into your path, tugging on his jacket.

“Leaving so soon?” Yuta asked coyly.

Ten slipped into your arms and hugged you tight. “I have to be on an early flight for work. I’m so sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” you said, and Yuta added, “Thanks for coming.”

With Ten gone, the seat beside you was empty. Yuta sat on your other side and took a gulp of champagne. There was an uncomfortable sort of tension between you and your husband. You were annoyed, but not enough to do anything about it. So, you just simmered in your annoyance and Yuta was fully content with letting you boil.

Dinner’s first course was brought out and the chatter mostly died down as everyone ate. The soup was delicious. Butternut squash, your favorite. You poked Yuta’s thigh beneath the table, smiling as you were reminded how much he remembered where you were concerned.

You were relieved the soup seemed to settle your stomach, but a knot still lingered that you knew had everything to do with your exes. Jeno, to your surprise, hadn’t left and was seated at his table, wolfing down the soup. Johnny and Jaehyun were at tables behind you, but one of them was burning holes into your backside.

Johnny, presumably. Jaehyun wouldn’t have the confidence to so boldly glare at you.

The longer you sat there and stewed, the more willing you were to just let things go. Yuta had spared no expense with this party. He’d invited your exes to talk to them. About what, you had no idea. But the bottomline was, you didn’t want them talking.

You couldn’t let them tell your husband what you were.

Your lips parted, about to apologize to Yuta for getting mad at him and being bratty. He didn’t deserve it. It was your own insecurities funneling to the surface, getting control of your mouth.

How could you explain to him your body was built for survival? And that seeing your exes triggered all of your self-preservation instincts? It was hard to describe what it was like building an invisible wall against something that appeared harmless to everyone else.

Were you expected to deal with your trauma and keep a smile on your face? That was hard to do, even for someone as skilled as yourself. Your feelings were erratic, responding to the pulses of adrenaline, and it was spilling over into your behavior.

Yuta wasn’t a mind reader. He couldn’t see the chaos in your head, and if you were to explain it to him, you would have to come clean about your past and the many, many skeletons in your closet.

You weren’t ready to know if Yuta’s love for you had a limit. So, you kept your mouth shut.

As the bowls of soup were cleared from the tables, Yuta stood before you could speak up and said, “I need to check on the main course.”

You grabbed his hand. Now, both seats beside you were empty. “Don’t leave me,” you fussed. “I’m sorry for being cunty, but in my defense, you paraded my exes in front of me.”

“Don’t apologize,” Yuta replied, kissing your hand. “I’ll be right back. You big baby.”

He was being funny, but it bounced right off you. You slumped back in your chair, meeting the eyes of Sasha across from you and hoping she couldn’t read the frustration marring your features.

She could, and that’s why she simpered at you and said, “It’s a lovely party.”

“Thank you. My husband has really outdone himself,” you replied, using your most flowery tone.

“He must be a very good businessman,” said Jacob, who valued money above everything and often lauded you for marrying wealthy in addition to your own ill-gotten gains.

You took a sip of water. “I have no doubt he is.” Yuta was good at everything he did.

“What kind of business is he in?”

“I actually don’t know,” you replied honestly, earning some intrigued reactions around the table. “I don’t ask questions about his work and he doesn’t ask questions about mine.”

“Wise,” Sasha said with a wink. “Ignorance is bliss.”

Tattoo that over my fucking chest, you thought bitterly, your hand trembling for the bottle of champagne. Knowledge is eating me alive.

The servers filed out with the main course - perfectly cooked steaks with a side of sauteed vegetables. You licked your lips hungrily and your stomach practically roared.

But before you dug in, you glanced around discreetly, wondering what the heck was taking your husband so long. At this point, you assumed he was avoiding you on purpose.

“His loss,” you muttered to yourself, cutting a piece of steak and popping it into your mouth.

Yuta didn’t return as you ate dinner. The tables were quiet again, save for a few scattered comments about how delicious the food was. You received a few more compliments on your husband’s behalf, which you accepted gracefully, and continued to hide your annoyance as it escalated to anger.

“I guess my husband is making the next course himself,” you joked under your breath, getting a few snickers.

Your irritation was palpable. Wiping your lips with the napkin, you dropped it on the table with a huff and that’s when you decided to text Yuta and give him a piece of your mind. The longer you sat there without your husband, the more Johnny was loading it like ammo to use against you.

You couldn’t allow them to think they had any leverage.

Just as you reached for your phone, there was a loud groan and the lights snapped off.

A few cries of surprise echoed through the hall, but not many. Like most of the people there, you immediately stiffened and got yourself under control.

Individuals in your line of work didn’t allow themselves to be surprised.

“Everyone, stay calm!”

You recognized that voice as belonging to your boss. Naturally, he was already taking charge, but it was your job. These guests were your subordinates and in that moment, you realized you were in no position to command them. Not when there was disarray in your own house.

Bright phone screens began to shine in the darkness. You roamed your eyes over the faces you could see as Sasha said, “Must be a blackout.”

You dared not voice your disagreement. Calmly, you stood and migrated over to Johnny’s table. He was standing, on his feet and ready to go, also using his phone as a flashlight.

“Are you loaded?”

Johnny snorted. “Babe, I’m always packing.”

You nodded, scanning the room like a seasoned predator. “Good, but don’t call me babe.”

“Old habits die hard.”

You went silent. In situations where you were at a disadvantage, it was best to stay quiet and let information come to you. Johnny taught you that.

He taught you everything you knew.

“Are you scared?” Johnny asked under his breath.

You mocked, “Of the dark?”

“Of your husband.”

There was no chance for you to eviscerate him on the spot for that suggestion. Someone let out a blood-curdling scream as you opened your mouth.

Then, another scream and another. Soon, there was a symphony of wails and cries, choking and shrieking.

The scent of blood and stench of vomit grew heavy and metallic in the air. It was familiar. Death was no stranger to you.

You knew what was happening. You knew exactly what you would see.

Johnny was unmoving as the hell continued and you instinctively molded to his side. Old habits die hard.

The seconds dragged by and the room began to quiet of its horror. Not a moment later, the lights kicked back on.

As already established, you weren’t surprised.

Your guests were dead. Blood covered the tables and floors. Bodies lay draped in their chairs or had toppled onto the ground. They bled to death from every orifice or asphyxiated on their own vomit. Whichever took them first.

Everyone, save for you and your exes.

Jeno started slow clapping and called your name. “Hell of a party.”

“What the fuck?” Jaehyun exclaimed. He was halfway across the room, having stumbled through the dark to get away from the chaos.

“Alright, kids,” Johnny began, stepping over bodies and surveying the remains. “Who was the intended target here?”

Your phone chimed. As Johnny glanced around and Jeno rolled his eyes at a jittery Jaehyun, you read the incoming text from an unknown number.

Kill Johnny first.

Your eyes widened.

It hit you all at once - Yuta was in danger. This was no longer one of his little games. The shock was delayed, but the gravity began to seep in, tearing at the edges of your vision. Your coworkers - subordinates that were your responsibility - had been poisoned. Given your line of work, this would have rippling repercussions up the chain of command.

Looking at your supervisor’s body, you knew the immediate command was effectively dead. Johnny now outranked you.

“I have to find Yuta,” you said, lowering the phone.

“Is that really your biggest concern right now?” Jeno exclaimed angrily, gesturing around the room.

You made a beeline for Johnny, stepping over bodies, and held out your hand. “Give me your gun.”

Johnny leveled a stern look at you, one you recognized. He was not to be toyed with.

Softening, you asked, “Do you still trust me?”

“With my life,” he replied without missing a beat.

“Well, ironically, that’s what’s in my hands right now.”

Johnny propped his foot on the table and yanked up his pant leg, drawing the gun from its holster and pressing it into your open hand.

“Did we have any jobs in common?” Jaehyun asked.

“If that were the reason, the four of us would be dead, not the others,” you said emotionlessly.

Johnny already came to that conclusion as well, which was why he said nothing as he watched you check the gun, ensuring it was fully loaded.

“This has nothing to do with our work,” said Jeno.

“Then, what else could it be?” Jaehyun grimaced at the blood pooling close to his shoes.

“What’s something we have in common?”

Johnny pointed at you. “We slept with her.”

You glanced up.

“And your husband is the only one that isn’t here.”

“My husband is harmless,” you argued, exasperated. “And for all I know, he’s being held hostage by whoever did this.”

Jeno laughed. “Baby girl, how long are you going to wear those blood-colored glasses?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your husband is a walking red flag.”

“So are we,” Jaehyun said, running a hand through his hair. “We killed people.”

“Maybe the time has come for judgment,” said Johnny icily.

You didn’t want to be under his watchful eye anymore, full of scorn. And jealousy. “I’m going to find Yuta. He has to be in the building.” You made to leave, but stopped to add, “Stay here or go. I don’t care.”

They let you walk away. Jeno couldn’t stop you. Jaehyun dared not get in your way. And Johnny wouldn’t challenge you until he’d nailed down a guaranteed winning strategy.

You’d taken them down before. You could do it again if you had to, but for the moment, time was your greatest threat.

As you entered the hallway where you last saw Yuta, you took out your phone and dialed Ten.

He answered with a drunken, “Yeah?”

“You don’t really have a flight in the morning. Do you?”

There was a pause. Ten shuffled a bit before admitting, “No. I don’t.”

“You’re his best friend,” you whispered softly, putting your back to the wall and looking down at the gun in your hand. “He got you out.”

“And that’s all I know.”

You hung up without another word. Ten wasn’t a liar. He was frankly terrible at it. If that was all he knew, you absolutely weren’t going to fill in any of the gaps for him.

Next, you dialed your husband. Though you hoped he would answer, you knew you would end up leaving a voicemail. “Yuta, baby. Come out and talk to me,” you pleaded, as if he’d left his keys at home and not just murdered an entire party of people. “You know none of this matters. I can make it go away. Just tell me what you need and I’ll fix it.”

Fuck. You were talking to him like you would manipulate a mark. Putting away your phone, you continued down the hallway, knowing your husband had to be lurking somewhere.

You weren’t wrong.

As you passed the bathroom door, where you hooked up with your husband barely an hour before, someone leapt out and got their arms around you. You’d been in this scenario before and you were about to free yourself and retaliate when the scent of Yuta’s cologne hit your nose.

You went slack, folding into him, your shoulders against his chest.

Yuta pressed his lips to your neck and asked, “Since you’ve been with me, have you fucked them?”

You shook your head, still holding the gun, but letting it rest against your thigh where he couldn’t see. “No,” you replied firmly. “I’m faithful. I’ve always been faithful to you.”

He nibbled at the sensitive spot beneath your ear.

His silence was unnerving. “I don’t want anyone else but you. Is that what this is about?”

A knife suddenly dragged across your waist, but not hard enough to tear through the material of your dress.

There was no fear to be found in you. You knew he would never hurt you.

“I love a good mystery and you are my favorite, but I think I’ve solved it,” Yuta whispered. Once again, he was unreadable, painfully so.

“Oh?”

“Nothing scares you. You’re not afraid of anything.”

Your voice was small, submissive. “I trust you.”

“My little psychopath. Aren’t you, baby?” Yuta left a kiss over your steady pulse. “Are you just like me?”

I’m worse.

As the knife slid over your thigh, closer to your core, you grabbed his wrist sharply and warned, “Yuta, I love you, but don’t think I won’t kill you.”

“There she is,” Yuta growled with delight.

You heard a tap and a beep, and the lights switched off again. Lost in the pitch black darkness, Yuta released you and you immediately reached out for him, but he was gone, his steps fading down the corridor.

“Yuta,” you yelled in desperation, trying to follow the sound. “Yuta!”

When the lights flipped on, he was nowhere to be seen.

Tears pricked your eyes. Your pulse thundered. You traced your hand over the lowest part of your stomach, where the blade had tickled your skin over the silky gown.

The realization hit you like the weight of the world on your chest. Your husband was hell-bent on terrorizing you. And you were prepared to kill him if he went too far.

There was too much at stake.

“Fuck,” you swore aloud, wiping a tear roughly with the back of your hand. Naively, you thought the days of turmoil and death were behind you.

“That’s why I taught you to never fall in love,” Johnny crooned, walking toward you.

“Go to hell,” you snapped. You were not in the mood for a lecture. Nor did you want to be reminded that while you had loved Johnny with everything you had, his love was conditional.

If what you had together could even be called love.

“You’re getting emotional. That’s not how I raised you either.”

You pointed the gun at him and cocked it. “I’m supposed to kill you first. Those are my orders.”

Unaffected, Johnny held up his hands, feigning surrender. “Get it over with.”

Your hand trembled. You couldn’t do it. Not without knowing who wanted you to kill Johnny. It would be a mistake.

And deep down, part of you - that broken girl you didn’t recognize - still worshiped him.

Lowering the gun, you hung your head in shame.

Johnny descended on you fast. For his size, he was deceptively quick. He snatched the gun away before you could react and fisted his hand in your hair, yanking your head back.

“Don’t you dare point a fucking gun at me. Have you lost your mind?”

You knew he was livid and you whimpered at the harsh tug on your hair. “My husband will kill you for this.”

Johnny sneered, “Not if I kill him first.”

A tiny jolt of terror was washed away by a sea of rage. You hardened your gaze on your former lover, but held your tongue.

Johnny let go and shoved you away from him with just enough force to send a message.

A message you received loud and clear. You managed to stay on your feet and watched him warily, preparing for his next move.

“He ruined you. He deserves to die for that,” Johnny said, making you bristle.

Your lips parted. You were going to threaten him, scream at him, but you stopped. That wouldn’t work on Johnny. Silence was your best option. To let him think he was in control.

Johnny walked away and even though you couldn’t see it, you knew he was smiling that victorious smile of his. Johnny never lost. He always won, especially at your expense. His empire and reputation were built on your back.

The perfect little monster he created. Isn’t she pretty? A siren to lull you to your death, so good at what she does you won’t hold it against her for drowning you.

You shook your head. There was no remorse or guilt to be found in you. That was the problem. You weren’t capable of it.

My little psychopath. Yuta had figured you out. He solved the mystery.

Now, it was time to play.

You marched down the hallway, considering your options as you did. As you turned the corner, you nearly collided into Jeno, who was scurrying about like the world’s worst burglar.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jeno.” You scolded, “Why are you sneaking around?”

“Uh, your murderous husband is looking for me.”

You rolled your eyes and brushed past him, wanting to put as much distance as possible between you and Jeno. He would only cause more problems and you were stretched thin enough.

Jeno had other plans. He grabbed your arm and pulled you back, asking, “What makes you think you’re not on his hit list too?”

You snatched your arm back roughly. “Why would I be?”

Scoffing back a laugh, Jeno said, “I can’t believe you were the best. How the mighty have fallen.”

You glared at him, pinching your lips shut. Don’t fall into this trap. He’s just trying to get a rise out of you.

Jeno took your chin in his hand delicately and stroked your cheek with his thumb.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” you snarled, batting his hand away.

“I hate how easy it was for you to leave me,” he said, a collision of rage and devastation. “You are the most evil human I’ve ever met.”

“You’re about to piss me off,” you warned quietly, your body going rigid as Jeno stayed dangerously close to you. Johnny would have noticed the clue you were about to get violent, but it soared right over Jeno’s head.

“Good. I love when you get angry,” Jeno taunted, reaching for your face again with a look in his eyes like he was going to steal a kiss.

You swatted at him and Jeno grabbed your wrist, yanking you toward him. You were not keen on being touched by anyone other than your husband and you’d be damned if you let another man kiss you. You were on edge, all instincts heightened. It crept up your neck; the familiar heat.

Your body went on autopilot, knowing exactly how to protect you and neutralize a threat. You traded hits with Jeno, both of you effectively blocking each other’s strikes, a loud collision of forearms echoing down the hall.

He was toying with you. You knew that. So, you grabbed him, kicked off the wall, and took Jeno to the ground with every ounce of your weight. Anything less would have come up short to his strength.

“Triangle hold?” Jeno giggled as he held your thighs, which were clamped firmly around his neck. “Baby girl, you haven’t changed a goddamn bit.”

“Are you going to behave or do I need to choke you the fuck out?” You squeezed your legs for emphasis, like a constrictor would tighten each time it felt its victim take a breath.

Jeno wheezed. As much as he enjoyed being between your legs, this was not ideal. “I’ll behave,” he rasped, tapping out by patting his hand hurriedly on your hip.

You let him go and got to your feet gracefully, adjusting your dress. A tiny swear escaped you. The slit in your gown had torn in the scuffle, stopping halfway up your thigh.

“God, I miss you,” Jeno groaned as he dusted himself off.

“Well, good luck with that,” you deadpanned, smoothing back your hair.

Eyes on your perfect ass, Jeno watched you leave with a tilt of his head before going back on the hunt for Yuta, hoping he would find him first.

You took out your phone, hands steadier than ever after the exchange with Jeno, and texted your husband, I need you. Please. Let me see you.

His response was almost immediate, as if he’d been waiting by the phone. I’m in the kitchen.

You glanced around, ensuring you weren’t followed, and jogged down the back hall. By now, you’d abandoned your high heels, needing to be silent and fast.

Pushing open the loud, squeaky door, you released a breath when you saw Yuta sitting on one of the counters, swinging his legs back and forth like he had not a care in the world.

“Yuta,” you cried, rushing over to him and burying your face in his chest.

“There, there,” Yuta crooned, stroking your hair.

You didn’t appreciate the mocking this time and you pushed him, taking a step back. Yuta hopped down to his feet, but you paced away from him, snapping, “You left me out there, exposed and vulnerable.”

Submission had failed. You would try anger.

“You are never vulnerable,” Yuta argued darkly.

You didn’t want to ask how he knew that. You wanted to linger in your denial that Yuta, the love of your life, hadn’t learned the depths of your depravity. You weren’t ready to accept that he would be incapable of forgiving you. And no longer capable of loving you.

Tensing with tears, you said, “You promised to always protect me.”

“And I am,” Yuta replied, gathering you in his arms. “You’ll see.”

You weren’t convinced, but you let him press a gentle kiss to your lips that felt vaguely apologetic. “Give me a hint, at least. What’s this about?”

“I knew there would never be a situation where the four of you would be together, so I had to make one.”

“Why?”

Your husband narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. “To see what you’d do. To see what they’d do.”

This was the most intimidating Yuta had ever looked to you. You could almost feel the dark cloud billowing around him like an invisible force, but you didn’t know if it was lust for revenge or something else.

Something much worse.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” you whimpered, slumping into his chest again.

Yuta scoffed. “You don’t have a choice.”

You went still, your body taut. The heat coursed up your throat again. Those words were blasphemy in your ears. Yuta seemed to notice the change in you as you stepped back from him, but he said nothing. “I always have a choice,” you hissed, your true self emerging again like a cornered animal. “If I want to leave, no one can stop me.”

Yuta conceded. “Play my game a little longer.”

“Why should I?”

He smiled. “Because I love these little glimpses of you. I want to see all that you hide from me.”

“No,” you said softly. “You don’t.”

Yuta grinned, biting his lip to hide it. He looked like he wanted to swallow you whole.

And you would have let him, but there was a sinking sensation in your stomach. You didn’t know if he was telling the truth. Yuta was the one person that could lie to your face and you couldn’t tell the difference.

So, you left, before he could leave you first, and cursed the tears pricking at your eyes.

Play the game, you thought vengefully. I’ll beat him at it. You lowered your head. Give him something to remember me by before I run away.

The clock ticked as you searched for Jaehyun. He was the best at hiding. Jaehyun had the uncanny ability of fading into the background when desired, which was impressive for someone with his bone structure and perfect proportions.

You found him tucked away in the corner of a back hall, scrolling through his phone as usual. Without hesitation, you sat right on the arm of his chair, close to him.

Jaehyun shifted ever so slightly, nervous at feeling the warmth of you against him. And that was exactly what you wanted.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” You played coy.

Jaehyun snorted. “Johnny said he already called the clean-up crew.”

“He doesn’t waste time.” You traced your fingers over Jaehyun’s shoulder and purred, “I need to know if we’re on the same side, Jae.”

“Which side is that?” Jaehyun asked, your name barely a whisper on his lips. Like he couldn’t utter it without giving you total access to his soul.

“The surviving side.”

Setting down his phone and finally meeting your eyes, Jaehyun frowned. “You haven’t changed.”

You cocked your head. “How do you mean?”

“You took Johnny’s gun, because you know he’s the biggest threat to you.”

You glared at Jaehyun through narrowing eyes. It wasn’t like him to be perceptive.

He met your stare, unblinking.

“I think he could be behind this,” you said in hushed tones.

“No, you don’t.” Jaehyun pursed his lips, showing contempt. “We both know who’s doing this.”

You rose from the chair and exclaimed, “He’s a fucking businessman!”

“Technically, yes.”

You stopped dead in your tracks and Jaehyun’s gaze faltered.

“What do you know?” You moved toward Jaehyun with enough aggression he assumed you were prepared to beat the answer out of him.

That wouldn’t be necessary. Jaehyun folded. He was itching to tell you what he knew. “He’s not who he says he is.”

None of us are. “Did you look into him?”

“Maybe.”

Briefly, you weighed if you wanted to spin this to your advantage. Yuta appeared in your mind with that shit-eating grin.

Play the game.

“Why?” you asked. Jaehyun responded to emotion. You could give him a steady, calculated dose of it.

“Because I care about you,” Jaehyun said sincerely, hanging his head in embarrassment. It was shameful; falling in love with a woman that would never love him back. “I wanted to make sure you were with someone safe.”

“And am I?”

“No, beautiful. He’s just like us.”

Those words made you tremble. Just like us. So, Yuta had blood on his hands. Yuta would never see the gates of heaven. Yuta watched the light die in someone’s eyes.

You grit your teeth. “You’re lying.”

Jaehyun recoiled. “Why would I lie about that?”

“Because you want me back.”

His eyes filled with sadness and Jaehyun accepted he would never get anything past you. “What happens now?” he asked after a moment, the tension too high for him to stand.

You closed the distance and reached out, brushing some of the hair back from his brow with your fingertips. It was a gentle, sweet touch reserved for someone you didn’t want to hurt. Jaehyun was one of the few who didn’t deserve it.

But you had nothing to give him.

“I’m going to walk away before you do something I’ll make you regret,” you whispered softly, but dripping with venom.

Jaehyun nodded and after you’d made it a safe enough distance away from him, he called after you, “Congratulations, by the way.”

You spun on your heels, lips parted in disbelief. The world around you went blurry. Rage? Fear? You couldn’t tell anymore. They blended together from the same root deep in your core.

Jaehyun locked eyes with you, his stare suddenly cold and unnerving, and then he walked away to find a dark hole to crawl into until his handler arrived to dig him out.

Your heart was thundering in your chest. Everything you loved was in danger of being ripped out of your hands.

The exact fate you always feared you were destined for after all you’d done.

Jaehyun was the wild card. Most underestimated him. The wise few did not. When under conviction, he was as lethal as Johnny and as vicious as Jeno. If given the order to remove all evidence of you from the world, he would do it. No matter how much he loved you.

You should never have given up the gun.

Moving swiftly down the corridor, glancing over your shoulder, you cried into the phone, “Yuta, we have to get out of here.”

“Not yet, baby.”

“Why are you trying to scare me?” You were shouting now, devolving.

Your husband replied back heartlessly, “Because I need to know if you are capable of fear.”

You sniffed, stifling back the tears. Under no circumstances would you cry. You slumped back against the wall, panting for breath, your hand shaking as it held the phone to your ear. You were being torn in half between wanting to give up and accept your punishment, or to fight for your life and your future.

“I think I hear it, darling,” Yuta crooned. “Are you scared?”

“Not for me,” you replied lowly.

He went silent.

You swallowed the knot in your throat and set your jaw. “Do you want me to kill them? Is that what you’re pushing me to do?”

“I haven’t pushed you to do anything,” he said harshly. “You’ve been dropped into an environment you can’t control, with people you can’t manipulate, and you’re falling apart.”

You flinched. Your blood ran cold. The tears surged into your eyes and tumbled down your cheeks.

“Believe it or not, my love. This was never about you.”

“It’s about them.” You shook your head, feeling blindsided even though you’d seen it coming all along. “Because I was once with them.”

“Because one of them never accepted that you no longer are.”

You opened your mouth to ask, but the line went dead. Lowering the phone, you tipped your head back and took a deep breath.

Who? Who couldn’t accept that you got out of the business? Who resented your happiness and hated you for moving on?

Only one person came to mind. The answer bounced around your skull, clear as day.

You returned to the main hall, where the bodies still lay in blood. Johnny was perched beside a table, thanking someone on the phone before hanging up.

When you approached him, Johnny raised his brows at you expectantly.

Nothing worked on him. He’d see through faux confidence or a damsel in distress. All you could do was be honest. You threw up your hands before letting them fall limply at your sides and said, “I married a monster.”

Johnny smiled. “How fitting.”

You felt like a naive teenager again standing in front of him. That was the last time you’d been clean, pure. Before he got his hands on you. And yet, you wanted to fall to your knees at his feet and beg for forgiveness and absolution.

He was a deadly infection. And though you recovered long ago, the remnants of him stayed in your blood, written into your cells. Your body would always and forever recognize him as something to be survived.

You sidled next to him, sitting on the edge of the table, indifferent to the corpse at your bare feet. Blood stained your toes. You’d left crimson footprints on the floor. “You were my mentor for years,” you started, hesitating.

He was far more than that.

“And?”

“What’s your current assessment of me?”

Johnny almost laughed. Instead, he jeered, “You’re a demon masquerading as a housewife.”

You shook your head. His vitriol was more palpable than ever. All the years he put into you, making you flawless in every way the job required, and in the end, you just walked away for a better life.

And a better man.

Johnny curled his hand around yours. You didn’t recoil. You were stiller than stone as your body demanded submission. “I thought you’d end up with me,” he said silkily.

“You’re not the only one.”

“Why did you leave?”

You chewed on your lip. If you lost Yuta, you had nothing left. He was the only person that had loved you, truly loved you. For who you were and not what you were capable of. He’d given you a clean slate when you spent years trying to scrub away the stains.

There was a chance he knew what you were and now, he hated you for it. You couldn’t fault him for that, but without him, your new life was over. All you had left was the old shell, and you could forsake what was left of your heart and crawl back into that void.

“I wanted to try and have a normal life,” you whispered sadly. You missed it already.

Johnny, to your surprise, didn’t mock you for that admission. “But you can’t.”

“I can’t.” You blew out a breath. “I’m not normal. We’re different. You were right. We’re fucking animals.”

Sweet, delicious victory. Johnny was burning with it. He gingerly tucked your hair behind your ear and said, “Leave with us.”

You looked at him, wide-eyed. “What?”

“The four of us. We can do jobs again. It will be like old times.”

Old times. The memory flooded back. Johnny pressed the barrel of the gun to your head, prepared to destroy you if you challenged him. He could do as he pleased, but you? You could only do what he said.

You studied him, searching his eyes. They were as hollow as you remembered, and they haunted your nightmares that kept you from sleep unless you were in Yuta’s arms. “Is that why you came tonight?” you asked curiously, tiptoeing back into the game.

Johnny smirked and that told you everything you needed to know. “You don’t belong at the desk, giving orders. You’re the one meant to pull the trigger.”

Everything inside you rebelled. “My life isn’t my own anymore.”

Johnny glanced down at your lips. You could tell he was dissecting you, seeing how much of you he had and how much still belonged to Yuta. “We could make it work,” he said with an edge to his voice.

That was the answer you’d been looking for.

“I love him,” you spoke up, unshakeable. “I do, Johnny. I meant it when I said those vows to him. And I know it’s hard to believe, but I know he’ll fight for me.”

Johnny darkened with jealousy. You watched the arrogance drain from his face. “What is it about him that’s so special?”

You laughed and gestured around the room that reeked with the metallic bite of blood. “He threw this whole goddamn party just to kill the three of you for fucking me.”

“If that’s not love, I don’t know what is,” Johnny quipped dryly.

You looked down at your feet in acceptance. No matter what you did or where you went, you always ended up in blood.

He’s just like us, Jaehyun had said. That meant Yuta was an animal too. He wouldn’t hate you for being who you were. He would understand you.

You were one and the same.

Johnny rose to full height and stepped between your legs, leering down at you. “What if you’re wrong?”

You tipped your head back and met his eyes, unafraid. He was trying to assert dominance over you, but it wouldn’t work. You saw right through him.

“What if he threw this party to kill you?”’

You shrugged. “Then why are you here?”

“To watch you die,” Johnny hissed through his teeth.

You scowled at him, gripping the edge of the table tightly to keep yourself from socking him in the throat.

“He’s doing us a favor,” Johnny said with loathing. “I will finally move on from you.”

“Fuck you,” you spat.

“Come with me now and I’ll get you out of here.”

He was grasping, clawing, but there was no part of you he could have. Bravely, you stood up to him. “I don’t need you. I haven’t for a while.”

Johnny’s hands trembled with the urge to grab you, but he knew it would only undermine him. You would know it came from a place of desperation. He hated no longer having leverage over you. It was eating him alive.

You watched him step back from you and grab his jacket, but you stayed wary. Johnny never let go without a fight.

“Suit yourself, but look at the optics here.”

“I already have,” you replied, bobbing your head. “The whole department has been poisoned at my party, including my direct supervisor. It looks like I staged a coup or I was bought by a rival to destroy the competition.”

Johnny glanced over the bodies.

You were quick to add in your defense, “I still have friends in the agency. They know I don’t operate like this.”

“But in your current condition, you may have changed.”

The fire rushed up your neck. You let it consume you. “You would use that against me?”

Johnny shrugged. “Anything to protect my own skin.”

“Unless I run away with you?”

“Then I’ll protect you. We can pin it all on Yuta, seeing as how - you know - he’s the one behind this.”

“Wow.” You muttered with disdain, “I knew you were a dick, but the bar has never been lower.”

Johnny closed the distance slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. “I made you,” he said under his breath. “I could destroy you if I wanted.”

You smiled, accepting your fate, and purred, “I would love to see you try.”

Johnny looked you over, committing you to memory before slinking away.

You didn’t realize how hard your pulse was pounding until he walked away, allowing it to settle back to normal rhythm. You survived him once again, but his words kept rolling and repeating in your head.

Johnny wanted you back. Jaehyun wanted you back. Jeno wanted you back. You got each of them to admit it. Now, you just needed to know how far they were willing to go to take you away from Yuta.

Or take Yuta from you.

You opened your texts with your husband and typed, Meet me in the lounge or I’m leaving. Without you.

His response came in seconds. OMW.

You arrived at the lounge first. It was a small, cozy room with chaises and velvet armchairs. You could picture men puffing on cigars as they discussed their women and wealth, the room filling with smoke.

Drained and exhausted, you sat in the chair closest to the fireplace and watched the crackling flames. And though it hurt like hell, you pictured your life without Yuta. What would it look like - to go the rest of your days with the better half of you missing?

Yuta saved you. You could freely acknowledge that now. For as long as you could remember, you were an empty, hollow vessel, used by every man that touched you for their own needs and desires. Yuta patiently and gently brought out the best in you, and you’d love him forever for that.

Time was still the enemy. You were running out of it. This matter would be kept in-house. Killers much worse than the likes of you would descend soon to clean up the mess and make an example of you. If you didn’t play your cards right, the door would slam shut and your chance to escape would go with it.

But it was worth the risk to see Yuta one last time. Maybe you could even put into words what he meant to you. Whether or not he believed any of it was up to him.

The door to the lounge opened, but you didn’t take your eyes from the flames. Yuta approached you eagerly, but his demeanor read cautious. He could feel the emotions radiating off you like the heat from the fire.

Resting your head in your hand, you willed yourself to look at your husband. This was the man you committed yourself to, who you were bound to by blood and promises for eternity. And for the first time in all your years together, you both didn’t recognize him and had never felt so irrevocably entangled with him.

“Are you hurt?” Yuta asked worriedly, lowering to his knees before you.

You knew he meant the dried blood on your feet. You shook your head.

“Talk to me.”

You shook your head again. You were weighing your words carefully. They were possibly the last things you would ever say to him.

Yuta spread your legs, making room for himself, and pressed close to you, winding his arms around your waist. Johnny had done the same, but this was different. Where Johnny instilled terror and control, Yuta was warm and secure. You could feel the intent in his touch; he wanted to hold you, to protect and comfort you.

A tear spilled down your cheek as you blinked. I don’t want to go, you thought miserably. What if I would rather die than be empty again?

Yuta called your name and it sounded so unfamiliar and distant.

“They were right,” you finally spoke, sighing heavily. “You want to kill me.”

Yuta said nothing. His face was devoid of emotion, giving no inclination as to how he felt.

You let out a small, mirthless laugh, and you echoed the cruelest words Johnny ever said to you, “That’s what every man wants when he’s obsessed with a woman he can’t control.”

Your husband frowned.

“He has to destroy her,” you finished, your heart beating steadily in your chest. Your pulse didn’t race. Adrenaline didn’t prickle against your skin. Your body knew you were safe and sound in Yuta’s arms.

Now, the moment of truth. Were you wrong?

“If I destroyed you,” Yuta rasped, shaking his head. “You would take all of me with you.”

You touched his cheek before sliding your fingers into his hair. The tension went slack, like you could finally take a full breath again.

“I would kill God himself before I ever kill you, baby,” your husband whispered, pressing a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“Then I’m done playing your game.”

“I thought you knew?” Yuta flashed you a smile. “You won before it even started.”

You snapped back to yourself. If he wanted you - the real you - the monster you kept under lock and key, then you would give her to him.

Grabbing his collar with both hands, you pushed Yuta to the ground and straddled his hips, smashing a kiss on his lips just as he opened his mouth with a guttural groan. You planted your hands on his chest, using every ounce of your strength to keep him pinned underneath you while Yuta kissed you back eagerly.

It didn’t matter. He could very easily overpower you, but he didn’t. He let you have him and in that moment, it was everything you needed.

Your dress was too restrictive, you began drawing it up your body and Yuta helped get it the rest of the way over your head. The second your gown was flung across the room, Yuta fisted a hand in your hair, drew you close to him, and buried his face in your neck. Your breaths staggered as he kissed and sucked, making you grind your hips against the familiar hardness in his pants. His hands roamed your body hungrily, fingertips caressing your bare skin.

“Fuck,” Yuta swore as the heat of you stroked over his clothed cock. He caught himself panting already. Goddamnit. He was inside you an hour ago and was already desperate to have you again. “You make me insane.”

Without warning, you shoved him and pinned your husband to the floor again, earning a very aroused growl. You sidled back on his thighs, going to work on his pants, teasing your fingers over his hard cock and freeing it from his clothes. Yuta sat up just long enough to strip out of his dress shirt before laying back down obediently.

You got his pants and boxers halfway down his thighs and gripped his stiff cock, moving your panties to the side and steering him into your entrance. Yuta held onto your hips and watched you sink down on him, his chest rising and falling in too fast a rhythm. Once you claimed every last inch of him, Yuta let his head fall back as he moaned your name.

“Yuta,” you sighed, rolling your hips slightly to adjust, aching and sore. You scraped your nails down his abs and traced a hand over his tattoos, lingering on the butterfly you’d gone with him to get. “I love you,” followed next, breathless and trembling.

He looked into your face, drowning in your eyes. “Why do you sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

Because you were going to run for your life.

Saying nothing, you propped your hands on his chest and started to ride him. It was the best tool in your arsenal. Sex. This was how you won every game against every man that challenged you: Johnny, Jaehyun, Jeno, …and Yuta. They were stronger and faster, maybe a little smarter, but you had what they were willing to kill for.

Yuta held onto your thighs and moaned. The question was already long gone from his mind. He couldn’t think when he was buried inside you.

You stared down at him as his face tensed with pleasure. I thought we would grow old together, you mused to yourself. I pictured myself by your side forever and ever, no matter what came our way. It didn’t matter, because I had you.

“I was ready…,” you whispered, a tiny noise escaping you as he pressed deep into the pit of your stomach. “To die for you.”

Yuta never took his eyes from your face, like he was at worship. His hands gripped your sides harder, losing himself to the vice of your body. His voice staggered. “But?”

“But I will never let you have my blood on your hands.”

Your husband’s lips parted. His lashes fluttered. You rode him faster, propping yourself over him to get the angle and pace that would finish him. He wouldn’t be able to hold back or fight it. He would empty himself inside you until he was utterly spent.

Yuta sucked in a breath between his teeth and winched his eyes closed as he moaned again. His fingers left bruises in your skin, desperate to slow you down. You knew you had him, and you ignored the burn in your hips and thighs to ride the soul out of him, leaning in and nipping at his lips.

“Say it’s mine,” you hissed, digging your nails into the floor, needing an outlet for his cock slamming into your sweet spot.

“I’m yours, baby,” Yuta panted. His moans pitched higher, a mangled cry leaving on his every breath.

Then, came the swearing; the endless string of profanity as you rode him mercilessly until he released with a raspy groan.

You allowed yourself to smirk as you felt your husband unravel beneath you, his body jolting with shocks of pleasure, his cock thrusting into you raggedly to empty the last of his load into your tight pussy.

But you didn’t stop.

Yuta gasped for air as he came down from his high, his eyes going wide when you kept riding him. “Babe…,” he started, wrapping his arms around you roughly. He grit his teeth. “I can’t.”

You gave him a single heated kiss as consolation. “But you will,” you said coyly, grabbing his hands from your waist and pinning them to opposite sides of his head.

The overstimulation wracked through his body. Yuta shook like a leaf under you and his face contorted with pleasure teetering dangerously close to pain. Had you not done this to him before - many, many times - it would have worried you.

Except you knew this man intimately. He was yours. And at any given moment, he could tap out, flip you over, and take back control.

The fact that he didn’t sent the power rushing to your head. His total, all-consuming submission to you.

Yuta stayed rock hard inside you, like you knew he would, and you were tempted to tease him for it. At the very least, you should praise him for powering through, but you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Not when he was peering up at you, eyes glazed over like you held his life in your hands.

“That’s it,” you crooned, speeding up again. “You got more for me?”

Yuta swallowed to wet his throat from panting. He looked down to watch your bodies connect, slack-jawed at how hard you were still riding him, making his cock pulse inside your wet cunt. This was a far cry from the tryst in the bathroom, where he bent you over and had you begging him for release.

It was his turn to beg.

“Come with me,” your husband said, trembling. But he wasn't just talking about the sex.

You watched him lace his fingers through yours, but let you keep his hands pinned to the floor. It brought a tear to your eye that he still craved being affectionate with you when you were hell-bent on ruining him.

Yuta rasped, “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”

You shook your head. I will go where you can’t follow. If I don’t want to be found, no one can find me. I’ll be the ghost of someone that never existed if that's what it takes.

It was like he could read your mind. “I’ll never stop chasing you.”

“But you’ll never catch me,” you said, squeezing his hands as you fucked him, bouncing up and down on his cock. Yuta’s teeth dug into his bottom lip and he staggered out your name like a prayer.

There was a wet slap as your bodies met, his cum and your arousal. It made him slide back and forth inside you like silk. Though Yuta was your focus, you weren’t immune to him. Your body was shaking, fiending for ecstasy. The knot inside you was winding so tight you thought you would burst.

You tugged on Yuta’s hands, bringing them to your waist, and he followed your movements, sitting up with you in his lap. The moment you were face-to-face he kissed you, cupping your head and sapping the air from your lungs. Your bodies moved in perfect tandem, hurried and desperate.

Yuta broke from your lips and hid his face in the crook of your neck. You held him close to you, clinging to his shoulders, both of you soaked with sweat. Tears mingled with the drops down your cheeks.

You missed him so much already. There was an ache in your chest far stronger than the one between your legs. You were floating away and he was your anchor. The woman he loved was dying in his arms so the broken girl could take control again.

Your husband thrust to meet you, biting the soft flesh at the base of your neck, because it felt so good his body almost couldn’t take it. He spilled over again, driving into you hard and fast, more of his cum painting your insides. All the while he crushed you in his arms, whimpering your name.

At the height of his moans, you came, drunk on the power and passion. Your head fell back and your vision blurred. If not for Yuta holding you tightly, you would have slumped to the ground, spent. Every inch of you shivered with release; it flooded through your veins and chased away the torment.

Then, clarity. Like a wave of cold water crashed over you, breaking on the shore. Your mind was clear again.

Both of you stilled. Only heavy pants and the last of the aftershocks remained. Yuta collapsed to the floor, taking you with him. You kept him inside a little longer, feeling him go soft, and pressed a few tender kisses over his collarbone. His fingertips brushed up and down your back, before steering your head so he could kiss your lips.

“I love you,” he whispered, so quietly it was almost carried away by the sound of the crackling hearth.

“I know,” you said, gracing his beautiful face with one more kiss before clambering off him.

Yuta sat up and watched you gather your red dress, pulling it back on. He shimmied into his boxers and pants, and slipped into his shirt, but didn’t have a chance to button it. Once you were clothed, he knew you were already eyeing the door.

She’s going to bolt.

You weren’t surprised when your husband grabbed your arm.

“Where are you going?”

“Away,” was all you said, avoiding his gaze.

He grabbed your chin tenderly and made you lift your head, fixing you with a look. “Without me?”

You pried his hand from your face. “It doesn’t make sense,” you said, shifting your weight thanks to the soreness between your legs. “You killed everyone I work with for what?”

The need for answers hadn’t left like you hoped.

“Because they were evil,” Yuta said plainly.

You blinked. He’s not just like us. “Then why are Johnny, Jaehyun, and Jeno still alive?”

“I want them to suffer.”

“Why?”

Yuta took you in his arms, looked you dead in the eye, and said, “I want you to kill them.”

Your blood turned to ice in your veins. Your jaw started to drop, but you quickly corrected it. Scowling, you clenched your fists and turned on your heels, storming out of the room.

Yuta didn’t back down. He didn’t let you get far, yelling in your wake, “Kill them and it will be over. We can go home.”

“No one tells me what to do,” you snapped over your shoulder. You saw it again - Johnny cocking the gun and putting it to your head, demanding you kill for him.

“I’m not giving you an order. I just set the perfect stage for you to take them out. You won’t get this chance again.”

You kept walking. This was it. You were leaving and you would never look back. You shook your head vehemently. No matter how hard you tried, you always ended up in blood and with a man that wanted the monster in you.

Yuta’s voice cracked with emotion. “They came here tonight to take you away from me. Don’t you get that?”

The heat flickered in your chest and you fought it. I don’t want to be a killer anymore. Is that all I’m worth?

“Fucking hell,” Yuta cursed, shouting your name in reproach. He grabbed you by the arm to spin you around and shout in your face, “You’re a killer - kill them!”

You were shouting now too. “I can’t!”

“Why?” He shook with wrath. “Because you love them?”

“Because I’m pregnant!”

Yuta’s expression fell. He blinked and the tears rolled down his cheeks. Suddenly, it all made sense. You saw his body go slack as the revelation smashed into him like a freight train.

You stood there, cold as the grave. When Yuta’s hands touched your waist and his arms wrapped around you like a snare, as if he had no intention of ever letting go again, you didn’t push him away.

“That’s why you haven’t been drinking,” Yuta said in shock. “And telling me to be gentle.”

You kept quiet and let him process it. He would put it together. All the pieces would click into place.

“I didn’t see it. Why didn’t I see it?”

“I’ve only known for a week. I was thinking of a cute way to tell you,” you said gently, in case he thought you were hiding it. In reality, you were scared shitless. You wanted this baby so badly you couldn’t breathe. It was redemption. You prayed to whatever gods would listen that you would spend the rest of your life atoning for your sins by being everything your child would ever need.

Something in that comment made Yuta’s gaze change. He cupped your cheek and tilted your head to meet his oncoming lips. You closed your eyes, anticipating a kiss, but instead, you got a vicious, “Fuck you.”

Your eyes snapped open. “Yuta?”

“You think I did all this because they slept with you?”

“Didn’t you?”

Laughing, Yuta let go of you and drifted to the wall. He folded his arms and slouched back against it, like he had no cares in the world again, and said, “You broke the rules.”

It made your blood boil. That soft singing lilt in his voice. The carefree air while you were trapped in a building with men that wanted you dead if you didn’t give yourself completely to them. You pretended not to care. You tried to hide the sheer terror flooding your veins that you would never get to bring your child into the world.

“Which ones?” you asked blithely.

“Don’t fall in love with a mark.”

“You were never my mark.”

Yuta grinned. “You are mine.”

You swallowed the bitter taste on your tongue and took an instinctive step back, wanting to put distance between you and him. You didn’t want to believe it. You couldn’t. Your sanity was clawing out the window like a wild animal.

“Mm-hm.” Yuta unfolded his arms and looked down at his hands. “We’d just come back from our goddamn honeymoon and I got the order to take you out. Imagine my surprise. That was when I learned the woman I love was a monster. Just like me.”

You went painfully still. Though your heart begged, your body recognized a threat and prepared accordingly. “Who are you?” You made yourself ask, even though you didn’t want to know the answer.

“I did my research. Whew, baby. You were a ruthless little thing, weren’t you?”

He sounded impressed, but you didn’t trust it. Jeno was right. You saw him through blood-colored glasses. That’s why you could never tell if he was lying to you.

“I told them someone with your reputation and contacts would draw a lot of vengeance if you were killed. So, I made them a deal. Instead of killing you, I would domesticate you. Take you out of the field. And it worked. You retired.”

Your mind was racing. You analyzed your memories. There was no moment that your relationship with Yuta shifted. You would have sensed it. Right?

Remembering where you were and what was at stake, you asked, “What changed now?”

“Just of curiosity, you said you found out you were pregnant last week. What day was that?”

“Thursday.”

Yuta scoffed back a laugh, but it was unnerving. “What a coincidence. On Thursday night, I got your contract again. Take her out. Non-negotiable. Would you like to know how much your death is worth?”

You snapped, “The price of our child?”

Yuta frowned. His voice came out a low hiss, “I’ve been played.”

With no fear to be found in you, you approached your husband. “Thank you,” you said, reaching for his hands. “I don’t care what your motives were or how much you lied to me. You made me feel alive again. You made me so happy and I thought I would never know what that felt like.”

Yuta reached up to cradle your face, holding you delicately.

Your tone changed as you gripped his wrists. “But I swear on our baby, even if we’re both about to die at your hands, that I’m not easy to kill. So, if that’s what you decide to do, you’re only going to get one chance.”

Yuta nodded. He didn’t hesitate to seal his lips on yours, kissing you passionately. Willing himself to stop, Yuta told you, “I never lied. I just didn’t tell the truth of what I was. Neither did you. We’re the same, you and I.”

“I just wanted a clean slate,” you whispered, blinking back tears. “With you, I felt like I could finally be the person I always wanted to be.”

That made Yuta smile faintly. The tiniest spark ignited in his eyes. He kissed you once more before parting. Your husband paced, rubbing at his chin, tired and unsatisfied.

Your window to escape was gone. You gambled it away for a chance to know if your lover was unequivocally on your side, because you’d changed your mind. No longer were you concerned with self-preservation.

Even if you escaped, you wouldn’t be safe. You would be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. You would sleep on the floor next to your child’s bed every night, wondering when the monster that wanted you dead would come knocking.

You waited. Yuta was debating what to do next and you wanted to know his decision, but you were seething. All the pieces were adding up and the picture made you thirsty for blood. You put a hand on the lowest part of your stomach and silently apologized.

Though you tirelessly tried to keep your hands clean for the sake of your child, you would do anything to keep them safe.

“For the record,” Yuta finally said and you were relieved to hear him sound lighter. “I loved you long before I knew what you are.”

You cracked a smile. “And I love you, even though I have no idea what you are.”

“If you’re a monster, I suppose that makes me a monster hunter.”

“An assassin that kills assassins?”

Yuta nodded.

That sealed it. Your face flushed with anger and you spat through grit teeth, “Someone hired my own husband to murder me.”

Yuta studied you. He’d never heard you so angry and it was completely justified. He watched you rub your stomach again.

This surpassed betrayal. They would have to construct a new circle of Hell for this level of evil.

“First, the order to kill me after we got married,” you spoke quietly, more to yourself. “Then again, when I found out I was pregnant.”

“Someone does not want you to move on from this life,” Yuta murmured.

You shook your head. “It’s more than that. What are you leaving out?”

“I told you, I wanted a situation with the four of you together. I wanted to see what they would do.”

That made a bitter taste root in your mouth.

“Your therapist has been telling you for years that you’re paranoid,” Yuta continued, tapping his foot. “No one is following you and keeping tabs on you, but what if she’s wrong? What if three people from your past have been watching you, darling?”

The signs were there. Johnny knew about your current condition, as he put it. Jaehyun congratulated you. I’ve seen you here and there, Jeno had said. It caught you off-guard then, but you didn’t realize the implications.

“You think it’s one of them.”

Your husband asserted, “I know it’s one of them.”

“You wanted me to kill them,” you said shakily before meeting your husband’s gaze again, your anger mirrored back at you. “They wanted you to kill me and our baby.”

Yuta ran a hand through his hair, pulling the strands from his face. “You sure do have a type, my love. Dark, dangerous, and crazy obsessed with you.”

You were at a loss for words, wishing you could laugh, but it didn’t come. The betrayal singed your skin like fire. For all that happened between you, you had naively trusted Johnny and Jaehyun, even Jeno.

Never in a million years did you think they were capable of this.

Yuta marched over to you and asked, “What’s the plan?”

You simpered. With him on your side, the others didn’t stand a chance. You lifted to your bloodied tiptoes and kissed him, sealing a promise. Draping your arms around his shoulders, you asked, “How good are you at your job?”

“Take a wild fucking guess,” your husband growled, stealing one more kiss.

“I want to buy a contract from you.”

“Whose?”

“Mine.”

Yuta blinked. You watched the emotions pass over his handsome face. He asked playfully, “What will you give me in exchange?”

“A baby,” you quipped.

Yuta chuckled. Music to your ears. Then, he frowned as he warned, “You know they’ll never stop hunting you.”

“I know,” you said. You weren’t afraid anymore. “That’s why they want me dead. They know I want this baby. And I want you.”

Yuta took a deep, steadying breath. He was prepared to do whatever it took to protect his family.

You carded your fingers into his hair and drew him close, pressing your foreheads together. For a moment, you closed your eyes and told yourself - and your child - that everything would be alright.

We’re going to meet each other. I promise.

“Convince them I’m dead,” you told your husband.

“They’ll think they won.”

“Dead men don’t think anything.”

Yuta nodded. Orders received loud and clear. Without another word, he took out the knife from his pocket and made a sharp cut down his palm. He barely flinched when it pierced his skin.

You remained still as he smeared the blood on your neck and your chest. He added a little to your cheek and your hands, as if you’d fought back with all you had. Finished, your husband enveloped you in his arms and kissed you with abandon, making the blood stain his white dress shirt. You tasted the coppery scent on your tongue as you kissed him back and knew your husband was the closest thing to hell on earth.

“This is what you wanted,” Yuta announced loudly, his voice echoing through the main hall.

One-by-one, Jaehyun, Jeno and Johnny darted their eyes to the opening where your husband appeared, walking slowly as he carried your limp, lifeless body stained with fresh blood.

Johnny cocked his head. Jaehyun’s eyes went wide. “She’s dead?” Jeno exclaimed in disbelief.

You were lax as Yuta set you down reverently on the table. You kept your breaths shallow, knowing Yuta wouldn’t let them get any closer to you.

“I got a little carried away,” Yuta said blithely, taking out his phone and typing.

A few seconds later, Johnny’s phone chimed.

“You canceled the transfer.”

Yuta kept composure, but the moment Johnny uttered those words - revealing himself - your husband’s hands itched with the need to choke the life out of him.

You held your breath, fighting the tremors rocking through your body.

“Yeah, change of plans. Someone else bought out her contract,” Yuta replied and you could hear the disdain like a weapon being fired. “And they paid way more than you.”

“Who?” Johnny asked.

Yuta pointed at you. “She did.”

The three of them looked to your seemingly dead body on the table.

“Just had to take the power away from you one last time,” Yuta jeered, grabbing a pretzel from the overturned bowl next to you and plopping it into his mouth.

Johnny shook his head, shivering with fury. “She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Especially with a baby inside her.”

Yuta pretended to be shocked. “She’s pregnant?”

“She was pregnant. Sorry about that,” Johnny said cruelly.

“You knew?” Jaehyun asked, while Jeno slowly turned to Johnny and hissed, “This was all about jealousy?”

“Hm?”

Jeno scoffed. “She was never a liability. You just wanted to get rid of her because you couldn’t have her anymore.”

Johnny waved him away as if a fly was buzzing around his head. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“That’s what every man wants when he’s obsessed with a woman he can’t control,” Yuta sang, bracing his hands on the table, hovering above you, flaunting his victory.

Johnny met his eyes, recognizing the words he told you so many years ago when you were young and naive and innocent. When you were his to ruin. Before he molded you into his little monster.

Yuta grinned devilishly as the scene unfolded before him.

Johnny figured it out. You weren’t dead. Yuta should have been screaming with grief and rage at murdering his wife and unborn child. Instead, he was smiling. Johnny had truly and utterly lost, and his hand twitched, hungry for his weapon.

A gunshot rang out through the hall, making your eyes snap open, followed by the familiar sound of a body hitting the floor.

At last, you felt it - fear. Real, painful fear. For the first time in a long time, you shuddered at its vicious sting.

Yuta was there as you lurched up, frantically reaching for him.

Your voice and body trembled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he assured you, holding you to his chest.

With Yuta’s arms wound tightly around you, you looked to the others. There stood Jaehyun and Jeno, the former holding a gun in his hand as he stared down at Johnny in a pool of blood.

Jaehyun finally lifted his head, a tiny flicker of emotion crossing his face when he saw you alive and well, and said levelly, “I drew the line.”

Jeno held up his hands and joked, “I just came for the shrimp.”

All eyes were on Jaehyun, who returned the gun to its hidden holster behind his back. “Good to see you’re not dead,” he said with a faint smile.

You snorted at the dried blood all over you and clambered down from the table. “I needed to know which one of you ordered my husband to kill me because I’m pregnant with our child.”

“You should have known,” Jaehyun replied bluntly.

Jeno folded his burly arms, shaking his head like he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “I never thought he’d go this far,” he muttered to himself.

“Then why are you both here? If you weren’t part of his plan.”

“He told us we could try and convince you one last time to come back. I knew that wouldn’t matter. You’re obviously happy, so I just came to fuck with you,” Jeno replied with a mischievous grin.

You rolled your eyes, but the corners of your mouth ticked upward.

Jaehyun said solemnly, “I came to say goodbye.”

Your heart swelled in your chest. You blinked and a tear rolled down your cheek.

Yuta gave Jaehyun a single, grateful nod of his head, which Jaehyun returned. Your husband looped his arms around you, kissed your temple, and whispered, “Say goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Jae,” you sighed, sniffling back more tears. Jeno waved his fingers and you said, “Goodbye, Jeno.”

Jaehyun watched Yuta embrace you, and he felt nothing but peace and resolution, like a long chapter was finally coming to a close. “You have five minutes to get out. Cleanup crew has been here for ten, waiting for our signal to come in and get to work.”

“What will you tell them about her?” Yuta asked protectively.

“That she’s dead and none of us will ever see her again.”

Though Jeno was saddened by Jaehyun’s obvious order, he didn’t argue.

“Thank you,” you told them sweetly, to which Jaehyun smiled, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Good luck with the kid,” Jeno told you with kindness and sincerity, before switching to playful chiding, “And for the love of god, don’t let it grow up to be like us.”

Emotion overflowed inside you, knowing you would never see them again, but when it counted, Jaehyun and Jeno had been on your side.

You would never forget it.

Yuta ushered you to the back door and into a familiar SUV a few steps away, wiping your tears with his gentle hands. Once he pulled onto the highway and hit the gas, putting more and more distance between you and your past’s final resting place, you both relaxed.

Quite a sight the two of you made; dressed in formal attire, covered in blood.

“Where’s the ideal place to raise a baby?” Yuta asked, hoping to ease the tension.

It worked. You held tight to his hand resting on your thigh. “Oslo?”

Yuta’s jaw dropped dramatically as he exclaimed, “Norway? Shit’s cold. My balls will shrivel up and die.”

You laughed and it felt so good you let fresh tears cascade down your face in contentment. “We can’t have that,” you said, mulling it over. A thought struck you, and you squeezed your husband’s hand. “Buenos Aires?”

He made a very pleased noise. “You know I love Argentina.”

“No one will ever think to look for us there.”

“It will be like a permanent second honeymoon,” Yuta flirted.

You grinned when he laced his crimson-stained fingers through yours and brought your hand to his lips for a reassuring kiss.

But nothing reassured you more than his words.

“And if anyone comes looking,” your husband growled darkly. “There will be blood.”

hey if you enjoyed this story please consider leaving me a tip or buying me a coffee so I can keep writing. my venmo is leighwashere. thank you :)

copyright 2020 - 2023 © yutaholic (formerly zenyukhei) all rights reserved do not copy or translate without my permission!

[neo-dwie]

You don’t know why you bother . Did the constant reminder of you not being wanted not bother you ? It’d explain why you’re on your way to slip another love letter in mark lees locker … or were until you felt a harsh grip on your hand “ again ? Y/l/n, give it a rest . I thought the little crush was cute in middle school but I can’t stand to throw another one of your pathetic colorful love letters away for another day . “ his grip on ur hand was starting to hurt and all you could do was look down /“ It hurts .” U murmured “what ?” Mark said “it hurts minhyung “ you snatch ur wrist back and crumble the love letter throwing it in the nearest bin . You and mark distanced away from eachother freshman year , regardless you’ve always made it your life’s mission to greet him and start a conversation with your old friend. You two grew up together but at some point mark steered into a different world , one in which you didn’t exist. For as long as you’ve known mark a little piece of your heart beats and grows for him . Over the years the little piece has spread out and your friends try to give you remedies to get rid of the god forsaken disease called unrequited love . “I’m sorry for causing you all that trouble lee, I’ll be more self aware starting now “ you said these last words to mark in the most monotone voice you could gather. Using the names he used to hate being called by you . Names he knew you’d only ever use when you resented him . Truth be told this Friday was the senior picnic and all your other friends had dates to sit with . Your letter today wasn’t a love poem like any other day . It was a formal invitation for mark to be your picnic date with a slim chance of rekindling an old friendship . You weren’t oblivious; you knew mark and you fell off . But with your tragic home life and low social battery 24/7 you could never just find another best friend let alone another mark . So with the little self respect and hands in clenched inside your sweater pockets you walk past mark lee one last time …….. or so you thought. In such a cruel gloomy world you would always make the sunshine for yourself . You could smile at anything and anyone at anytime . It felt nice knowing you could not only get yourself through the day but your classmates too ; So when people found out someone could be so rude to such a genuine person like you they just couldn’t believe it . You went on with your day as normal . It still stung but it’s nothing you wouldn’t get through . You were strong and could take criticism right ? Not like the pink stuffed octopus mark won you freshman year would hear abt this later with a side of tears . As you packed your things to leave a ping comes out of your phone and catches your attention

Ml: two people came up to me and asked me why I hate you sm

Ml: for one I don’t even know you enough to hate you

ouch

Ml: and second I’m fucking annoyed , you used to be different and now all of a sudden you’re a nice Chic everyone has the nerve to defend

Ml: wtv , I hope I was clear today . Stay out of my way

You thought about replying something horrible like the old bitter naive y/n would . But she’s better now …. Or atleast trying to be

You: right , sorry again .

less is more you always said ….. you wish mark thought that way . You undoubtedly weren’t enough for him . And here you are talking to the pink octopus again .

You get up and look at yourself in the mirror

You got all pretty today

You might aswell take some pics

You haven’t posted on insta in forever .

Y99_ posted on story !

You whipped up a pretty picture and posted it to babyboys interlude by agclub.

You totally didn’t purposely post to a song mark sent you when you were at your lowest point

Yeah Totally…..

Totally .

You once again feel like getting your hopes up when you realize minhyung is the first to watch your story .

You start feeling embarrassed at how much you care . But thats the new you right ? The one who cares . Old you would’ve been over all this . Old you would’ve put a stop to this at the first sign of disrespect. You miss old y/ns character / not her way of life .

So what’s wrong with bringing her back for a little spin

Starting today you’ll ignore everything that doesn’t belong or want you .

It’s time to focus on being the best y/n

The picnic is 3 days away , there’s plenty of time to find a new date .

Ping!

⥄ J3N0 replied to your story: pretty .

⥃you: thx🫠

[neo-dwie]

Best of the Best

Author: @wildernessuntothemselves

Pairing: sub!Taeyong x reader

Genre: Smut, angst & slight fluff

Words: 4 048 | 4 152

Summary: You promised yourself you’d never fall for another clingy, needy boy who demanded you gave him all your love, only to leave you after he has sucked you dry. Yet here you were, making that same mistake again.

Part 1 | Part 2

[neo-dwie]

Omggg it's Taeyong's turn yayy!! Could I please request a sweet smutty drabble where reader visits taeyong at the dorms and he's in the middle of playing a game on his computer but when she comes over to kiss him hello before going over to relax on his bed, taeyong notices the mini dress she's wearing and immediately turns off his game to go over to her and show her just how sexy he thinks she looks in that dress 👀👀 please and thank you!! I absolutely love your writing btw ❤❤❤

Taeyong was acting perfectly normal when you came into the room. He was talking to the game or to whoever he was playing with (you weren't really sure which it was, honestly), and he barely looked away from it as you came inside his room, closing the door quietly behind you.

You walked over to kiss his cheek and tell him hello before you turned to his bed. You laid down on it, rolling onto your back, stretching your arms above your head with a groan.

It's once you settle back down that you realize the room has gone quiet.

You look over at Taeyong. He's staring at you. Mostly, he's staring at the narrow gap of skin showing between the bottom of your mini dress and the top of the cute stockings you're wearing. You think you look cute today. You'd gotten lots of compliments on it today while you were shopping with friends earlier.

There's a sound from his game, a small barely audible voice that you think sounds like Baekhyun, but Taeyong doesn't look away from you at all. He just lifts his hand to his headset, says, "Hyung I have to go." And then he's shutting the game off and climbing into bed with you.

"Do you know how sexy you look right now?" He asks, skimming his hands up your thighs, fingertips pressed to the soft skin at the hem of your dress. "Did you go out like this today? It's indecent."

You laugh, smiling brightly at his compliments, and you curl a hand up the back of his neck, fingers playing with his hair. "I think I look cute."

"You do." Taeyong groans. “Distractingly cute.”

You hum in delight when he gets his hands under your dress, but teasingly you shake your head at him with a light smile. “I didn’t come over here for this. I just want to hang out with you.”

Taeyong whines, dropping his head to your stomach. “But you look so good. Like something sweet, and I just need a taste.”

He kisses just beneath your belly button, and you shake your head again. But you don’t mean it. You love to rile Taeyong up, to have him absolutely beg to get you on his tongue.

“Ah, please,” he sighs, kissing again, this time just a bit lower. “Please” Another kiss. “Please, just a little taste.”

“Okay, oppa. Just one.”

Taeyong makes a muffled sound of victory, his hands on your thighs moving until he has your knees bent up, and he can tuck his head beneath the short, short skirt of your dress.

Panties are no obstacle for him, quickly tugged out of the way so he can lick you up, tasting you so sweet on his tongue, ravishing you with his mouth like you’re the sweetest treat he’s just been waiting to devour.

Soon he has you mewling, your hips lifting off the bed, grinding against his mouth, against his talented tongue, and you have to reach for one of his pillows or his stuffed animals, holding it over your mouth to muffle your cries as he gets you off.

Taeyong draws his head out from between your thighs, and you look down at him. He licks his lips, sucking the bottom one into his mouth just to savor the bit of your wetness that lingers there, and he grins, sliding up the bed until he’s level with your face.

“Alright, sweet one, what would you like to do today?”

[neo-dwie]

get in, loser 1

Pairing: Taeyong x female!reader

Themes: smut | mafiaboss!taeyong | carthief!reader

Word count: 6.2k

Summary: How to get noticed by the most dangerous man in the country? I guess stealing his sport car and dying it hot pink must catch his attention.

Warnings: car theft | speeding | alcohol consumption | jaehyun being taeyong’s henchman | hardcore brainstorming | taeyong being touchy | more in next chapters

A/N This series will be around 5 chapters long. New updates shall be posted once every two weeks I hope. Also, @starlightbebes challenged me into posting chapter 1 on Taeyong’s birthday, so I won. ^^ Pay up.

***

Considering it was Saturday night, the city seemed oddly serene. Any other night, I’d witness some wild shit, yet tonight, it was quite peaceful. No prostitutes were arguing with no-cooperative customers, no inexperienced adolescents throwing up in the public trash cans, no aggressive football spectators fighting with their rivals.

Despite the calm aura, the city was vibrant; colorful neon signs were blinking, inviting people into different liquor establishments, cars honking on drunken pedestrians jaywalking across the streets, a few undiscovered musicians playing on the main square with plenty of tourists recording them.

Each establishment promised an unforgettable night, and for some people, it would be a real dilemma to pick one among such a rich palette of entertainment. I, on the other hand, had a pretty well-defined plan of stealing a fancy car – a precious possession of one, infamous crime lord in the country.

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

NCT MAFIA AU (taeyong)

Dare the devil, make him smile (pt.5)

taeyong x Y/N

“Taeyong noticed the bleakness in your voice. He shouldn’t have brought up the past. This was the closest you had allowed him since the two of you reunited. He’d have to be more cautious about how he spoke.”

| masterlist | profile | yuta | lucas | doyoung | winwin | kun | ten | taeil | jeno | johnny | jaehyun | mark | jungwoo | jaemin | hendery | xiaojun | haechan |

(pt.1) - (pt.2) - (pt.3) - (pt.4)

Could you luck get any worse?

You stared absently at the pale white ceiling, your room was silent apart from the steady beep that came from the monitor that was clipped to your index finger.

Your thoughts drifted to Jen, your wild housemate. Did she make it home that night? Does she wonder where I am? Does she worry? And then to Yebin, your wilful foster sister. You were teenagers when you last saw her. Is she still causing havoc? Is she still giving her father grief?

They were the last of who you wanted to protect. Whether it be from Taeyong, Nait, or any other forces from your past that were destined to return.

You had decided you would behave, bluff, feign a friendship with Taeyong. No matter how much he frightened you. He had kept you alive this long for a reason… You would play on that. Use that to your advantage.

You would outlive all those that opted to harm you.

I’ll be the last one standing.

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

call me by your name (M)

pairing: Yuta (NCT) + you (reader)

genre: tattoo artist; spicy and sweet and everything in between; smut

word count: 17.1k (i was tempted to make it longer but this is perfect)

summary: After getting out of a less than healthy relationship, you decide to finally get the tattoo you’ve always wanted. There’s an obvious attraction between you and Yuta, your tattoo artist, but the last thing you want is to date again and Yuta reluctantly agrees to keep things casual. At least until he can convince you he’s worth the risk of getting your heart broken again.

warnings: mild language; alcohol use; dialogue related to toxic relationships; descriptions of getting tattoos and piercings; explicit sexual content

a/n: listening to call me by your name by lil nas x; this is a one-shot, there will be no sequels; check the masterlist in my description for other one-shots in this collection; happy reading!

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

jen the babysitter masterlist!

warning; this contains mature content! so minors do NOT interact! thank you!

note; if you have a jen the babysitter request, send it in! i enjoy writing these for you guys!

also, gif isn’t mine!

part one!

contains: pussy eating, car sex in the front seat, creampie, riding.

part two!

contains: confrontation, failed seduction

part three!

contains: failed seduction, drunk jen, jaehyun gets horny by reader

part four!

contains: fluff, jealousy, flirting, making out, kitchen counter makeout sesh cause why not lmao

part five!

contains: unprotected sex, creampie, being pushed around, spanking, rough sex, dirty talk, jen being nosy

[neo-dwie]

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun (NCT) x fem!reader

Genre: Smut

Contains: Dirty talk, kissing, name-calling, hair pulling, humiliation, thigh riding, orgasm denial, jealousy, possessiveness, bondage

Word count: 3122

___

“Perfect,” you hum to yourself as you finish checking the tightness of the bindings, then take a small step back to take him in properly.

“Is that it?” he asks, adorably tilting his head to the side.

You nod, smiling as you look him up and down. It was a truly great decision to tie his wrists behind the chair he’s sitting on: this position emphasizes his broad shoulders beautifully, drawing the attention to the sharp collarbones and thick neck. Your eyes wander over his muscled chest for a moment, before your stare follows down the dark path of the hair on his lower abdomen. His cock is resting comfortably on his thigh, not even half-hard yet, but it’s slowly starting to swell under your hungry gaze. Good.

“You think those are gonna stop me?” Jaehyun questions, genuinely curious, the muscles of his arms flexing.

You take a step forward, positioning yourself between his spread legs.

“Of course not, love. I’m perfectly aware that you’re more than capable of freeing yourself this very moment,” you answer, your fingers lazily playing with his thick locks.

“Then why did you tie me up in the first place?”

A devilish chuckle leaves your lips before you press a sweet kiss to his forehead.

“Because you’re a strong man, right, Jaehyun?” you say, your voice sweet but your eyes darkened already.

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

jealousy (M)

pairing: Mark (NCT) + you (reader)

genre: almost step siblings; messy and chaotic; smut

word count: 16.4k (another one that feels much longer than it is)

summary: You never expected to form a bond with Mark; a friendship that became love no matter how much you fought it. There’s just one problem - his father is dating your mother. Mark made you a promise. When they break up, the two of you can finally be together, but when your parents get engaged, things slowly but surely start to fall apart.

warnings: strong language; marijuana and alcohol use; a very brief drunken fist fight between boys; explicit sexual content

a/n: listening to jealousy by always never; this is a one-shot, there will be no sequels; check the masterlist in my description for other one-shots in this collection; happy reading!

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

Summary of A Cup of Coffee ☕️part 3:

Mark🐯: Zennie keeps ignoring me but she seems to like the rest of y’all 😔 I thought she only liked me 💔

Johnny🐱: Nah man she’s my bff I don’t have feelings for her but she likes me 🤗

Taeyong🌹: Zennie and I have ✨something✨ going on. ☺️💕🥰

Jaehyun🍑: *out of nowhere* Ohhh Zennie? I’m with my friends rn. What did you say ? You love me ? Okay 😏

Jisung🐹: I should call Zennie also 🤔

Meanwhile there’s Xiaojun🦕: Zennie ? Yea I don’t know her 🤨

[neo-dwie]

A cup of coffee part 3 made me feel like I’m in a love triangle with my boys and idk whether to be happy or cry 😭

[neo-dwie]

Looks can be deceiving | Short Series

pairing: religious!mark × female!reader

summary: You're known for sleeping around but since you got a crush on Mark you stopped doing so as he was really religious and your reputation would make him dislike you. What you didn't know is that he already hated you. But one day he decided to take advantage of the little crush you had on him.

genre: smut, angst

warnings: mark is really mean, like seriously, he's MEAN, choking, crying, use of derogatory names such as 'slut', kinda has a plot (?), cursing, reader is in love with Mark Lee, slapping, spitting, oral (m receiving), use of force, drunk characters, the nickname 'church boy' is used a lot, pet play for like two seconds, revenge, lying, fights between friends, fake people, and probably more

❥ taglist: @lilacboba @mark-wife-renjun-whore @chenlewifey @silent-potato @fitecuddles @hwasatiny @haechaniewattoyeo @moonwalkun @jwoosfavouritee

Part one → Looks can be deceiving

Part two → Nothing is what it looks like

Part three → It looks like I'm sorry

[neo-dwie]

Since the original post was probably fake

Everyone who reblogs will receive a pokemon based off of their blog in their asks!

[neo-dwie]

nct writings.

🌙 Luna. she/her.

Below is my collection of one-shots for members of NCT. Please be advised that all writings involve rated, mature content and are for adults only. Each one-shot will come with more detailed warnings.

disclaimer: the members written about are just my muses. I don’t know any of them personally and would never say that they would actually act in the ways in which they are portrayed in these stories.

Keep reading

[neo-dwie]

The Cam Baby Series

Interactive, your choice, cam girl universe, for thirsty kpop multi’s

How it started…

“You know we’re all going to support you.” Johnny says, taking a seat next to you to engulf your crying form in a warm hug. He smells like Jaehyun, and you worry that maybe they’d been together when you’d called to tell Johnny you’d been fired and needed him.

“I can’t ask you guys to do that for me.”

“Support you?” Johnny laughs as if you’re being crazy. “Supporting you is what friends do.”

Except he’s not really your ‘friend’, and supporting doesn’t mean simply being ‘a shoulder to cry on’.

“You’re not my sugar daddies.”

You hear Johnny scoff. “The necklace you’re wearing would beg to differ.”

His large hand wraps around the nape of your neck, tugging at the pearls he’d gifted you when you’d been hired- and stolen away from the job that had allowed you to meet him and all your other idol fuck buddies in the first place.

“If you feel bad about just ‘taking’ our money then…” Johnny sighs, nosing your cheek so you look up at him, “become a cam girl for us or something.”

“A cam girl?”

“Yeah. Record it when you fuck us. I’m sure we’ll all watch, and pay tips.” He presses a kiss to your nose, wiping away your tears.

Money. Tips. Filming while you have sex. The idea is intriguing. 

“I don’t know if anyone will go for that-” You shake your head.

“Just think about it baby. You’ll be surprised.”

Groups with men in the cam room so far:

NCT, Got7, Stray kids, Wayv, BTS, Monstax, Ateez, Seventeen…

Keep reading