#i got him interested in murder drones too after a while

[umblrspectrum]

SIKE MOTHERFUCKER I LIED

GET FUCKING SNOWBALLED LOSERS LET ME THROW SNOW AT OTHER BLOGS I WANT TUMBLR PVP AND THE V STANDS FOR VIOLENCE

[todomemolesta18]

More Nuzi comparison~

"Uh, you cant compare them to Stolitz, uh, because they are two different ships and, uh..."

Blablabla, idc. This is for fun and to show my reasons to why I like a ship and not the other 😌

If you dont like Nuzi, fine. If you LOVE Stolitz, fine. Is okay, this is, again, personal opinion and kinda subjective, so dont take it as an attack please.

(This is super long, so I apologize for that)

So... lets talk about something else that makes a hug difference betweent these two ships. (This is gonna be long).

Respect and equality.

I think is kinda obvious, but just to be clear. What do I think is respect and equality in a relationship? That they both see each other as equals. They respect each others boundaries. They have basic empathy.

Oh, boy, this is gonna be fun...

Lets start with Nuzi! (Spoilers if you havent watch it!)

In ep 2, as I said in another post, N constantly ask Uzi if she is okay. But what I didnt mention is that, later, after a very traumatic experience, N tries to touch Uzi´s shoulder, but she backs up, looking scared, and N looks at her worried.

Then... Uzi asks a question that breaks him...

You can see on his face. That question got him. He understood that Uzi is scared of him, and has good reasons to be. So, without insisting, he just leaves, even if this makes him sad.

Next ep confirms what Im saying, with a brief flashback of this moment, and him saying that he and V cant interact with Worker drones because they are dangerous. All of this with sadness on his face.

N respects how Uzi feels, and even understands why she feels like this. Even when this makes him sad, he doesnt selfishly impose himself on her and respects Uzi´s boundaries.

N is not a bad person for feeling sad, because even when feeling like this, respects Uzi. Well, and the other Worker drones. But specially Uzi!

Damn, they only interact again by accident, because he goes back to stop V from murdering other worker drones, not because of Uzi. By this point, Uzi has calm down, but N doesnt know this. Actually, when they meet, there is a brief moment that I like and is this one:

When they see each other again, he aproaches her, and Uzi instinctively flinches, maybe because of the surprise, or because she is feeling akward because its been a while since they saw each other, and last time they spoke was... uh... well, you know.

But, anyway. It doesnt matter why, because N notices this, and stops. Uzi didnt need to say anything, he noticed her face and movement. N, not forgething last time, understands that she may still be scared and moves away from her.

They keep talking (akwardly) and when Uzi tells him that maybe something bad is gonna happen, N offers her help...

He says "could". Again, not forcing himself on her and just making an offer that Uzi can reject. N wants to respect Uzi and her feelings, even if it hurts him. Because he is a cinnamon roll. And, AGAIN, this obviously makes him sad, but that doesnt make him bad. We can understand why he feels like this.

Like Uzi, N has been alone, with V ignoring him, and J abusing him. Its not weird that N cares about Uzi so much.

And she cares too.

N turns back when Uzi clarifies that she is okay with him being close, even blushing.

And he finally hugs her when knowing that Uzi is okay with him being close.

Another moment is ep 4. Is not exactly the same, but is important for this post.

So, Uzi just did something... shockin. And runs off, because she is scared.

The other drones, including V and N, are shocked. V tries to go and kill Uzi, but N stops her, and says some interesting lines after V *lies* says that she is not afraid:

He is scared too. Uzi just did something very scary and weird. We can see it on his face too on that moment. The shock.

But still, N noticed how Uzi was scared too and thats why she run away. And stands by her side.

The "She is a kid, like us" line makes me think that N sees him and Uzi as equals, even if he is a Disasembly Drone and her a Worker drone. They are on the same level. Equals.

Later in the ep, we get the beautiful falling scene, where he tries to understand whats going on in her mind, and actually calms her down and makes Uzi feel less alone, by reasuring her that they will stick together.

But I talked about this moment in another post.

Buuuuuuut my absolute favourite moment that shows that they BOTH see each other in the same level, is this line from Uzi in ep 6, when Tessa says "dont date my robot":

... Do I even have to say anything? My girl Uzi is not being posesive, and even defends him when they treat him like and object.

Damn right he is, Uzi! Proud of you. Thats a green flag right there!

... you wanna know who is the opposite? Who is a red flag?

Lets get this quickly out of the way, because everyone, including the shipers, already know.

THE POWER IMBALANCE.

And no, not because Stolas has more powers than Blitzo. Is because both of them are not equals in any shape of form.

Stolas has literal power over Blitzo with that book. Stolas made the deal, and he decides when to get the book back, like in ep 5. And also HOW to get paid.

We all know how.

So, yeah, in that sense, they are not equals at all. But thats not all!

Obviously Stolas doesnt see Blitzo as an equal, and the same can be said for Blitzo.

Stolas treats him as a sex toy, and fetichizes him. He is basically a racist, calling him "my little imp" or "my impish little playting". Stolas also infantilizes him by talking to him on a baby voice, saying "he is cute when he is serious". Or calling Blitzo by a nickname he dislikes.

Stolas chooses a lot of the time to act in a sexual manner with Blitzo, even when having the oportunity to say something actually nice about him but he doesnt do it.

"Im calling the only man who can fuck me".

"Hello, my big dick Blitzy".

"Good luck to you all. Especially that sexy one there".

"Blitz, if your perfomance on stage is as good as it is in bed, you leave them breatles".

There isnt a moment where Stolas says something nice about Blitzo, only how sexy he is.

And yeah, he laughs at his joke. But thats it. He doesnt say anything nice to him. He could have said something like "I always found your jokes hilarious" or "they have bad taste on jokes, because yours are amazing. You get it.

From Blitzo, is super obvious that he doesnt see Stolas as an equal either. The alucination just confirms it. And he even says that Stolas only wants him to feel the dick of someone from a lower class (and he is right). He sees Stolas as someone who is more powerful and over him.

Now, about boundaries. Stolas doesnt respect Blitzo´s boundaries. He steps on them. Even when Blitzo is looking at him annoyed, Stolas is just like "hehe, how cute" not taking him seriously, and keeps filtring with him.

EVEN WHEN BLITZO IS HAVING A FUCKIN PANICK ATTACK, HE IS COMPARING BLITZO´S HABILITIES WITH HIS SEXUAL ONES.

And never forget that Stolas did the full moon agrement. In a life or death situation.

Or lets not forget how in ep 6, after saving their lifes he asked for a reward to Blitzo. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

"Oh, but he only asked!" Yeah, and is not like Blitzo cant say no, because Stolas has the book he needs for his job, and Stolas can take from him anytime, like in ep 5 where he took the book before the full moon.

Mhm, sure.

And now, one last thing. Remember what I said that being sad isnt the problem? Well, how does Stolas react when Blitzo lets it clear that their relationship is only sexual because STOLAS made it that way, and that he cant pretend it is otherwise?

His reaction feels more like "Oh, poor me! The man I love doesnt love me back, oh, poor me, Im so alone!" What about Blitzo, uh? How do you think he feels being used as a toy, uh?

But you dont care, you keep sexualizing him when you can. And you only are giving him the Asmodeus crystal because you cant have what you want, that is a real romantic relationship.

I hope that he stays away from Blitzo. But I know thats not gonna happen.

[devilmen-collector]

Night Walk

Ft. Klein (my MC), Leraye, Satan, Sitri, Paimon, Ppyong

SFW (still minors and ageless blog DNI)

C/W: assassination attempt, murder, mention of crimes, bank robbing, selling weapons, corruption, etc. Also very dubious morality here. Suggestive at the end.

"Ugh... Another sleepless night." Klein sighed. The Overlord was lying on the bed of his room inside Gehenna's royal palace, but he couldn't sleep at all. Maybe his conscience was biting him or his alertness against assassination attempt, Klein had been lying on bed for who knows how long but still couldn't rest.

"Maybe I should go for a walk." Klein mumbled to himself and got up. Normally, he wouldn't dare to go for a walk while he's staying in Gehenna as Satan doesn't like to stay in a safe place like the palace, but today was different, Satan had to go back to the palace for some business, and the Overlord went back with him.

"Klein, what are you doing here in the hall at night?" As Klein was admiring the portrait of Satan in the hall, he heard someone calling his name. He turned back and it turned out it was Leraye who called him.

"Oh Leraye... Well, I couldn't sleep so I'm walking around. What's about you? Patrolling for the night?"

"Yeah, some of my legions have the duty to protect the palace today, according to the schedule, and I have to lead them. Though if you are walking around at night, let me accompany you." Leraye said with a smile.

"But wouldn't that hinder your patrol?" Klein asked but Leraye replied while smiling, "Not at all. After all, I have to walk around the palace for the patrol anyway. So let's go together."

"Okay, then let's walk together."

Leraye then started to escort Klein like the gentleman he is. While they were walking, Leraye also explained to Klein about things displayed in the palace, like a dedicated tour guide.

"By the way, Klein, can you tell me more about yourself?"

Klein was surprised with the sudden question from Leraye, but he remembered when they first met, Leraye had said to him that he wanted to know more about him. Plus, it would be weird if Leraye was the only one talking in their night walk, like a tour guide, while this wasn't a tour, but a leisure night walk.

"Well... What do you want to know?" Klein asked.

"Anything about you." Leraye answered.

"Anything about me, huh... Well, most of them are boring, anyway, maybe except my Evil Overlord career."

"Then I want to hear about how you became the infamous Evil Overlord."

"Umm... Okay, where should I start?" Klein thought to himself for some time before he began to tell his story.

"Well... It's all started when I was kid. I loved watching Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Power Rangers and other shows with a hero or a group of heroes fighting against the evil villains. But I was different from other kids, they love heroes, while I love villains, the more wicked they are, the better they are to me."

Klein stopped for a bit to check if Leraye was still interested in his story. And he was caught by Leraye's piercing but warm and attentive gaze. Seeing that Leraye was interested in his story, Klein continued.

"After that, I began my chuuni years when I pretended to be great villains. I definitely got into it too much that I began my own research into DNA and robotic science. I managed to create small but weak mutants and some simple drones."

Klein looked at the starry sky outside the big window before continuing.

"However, I need money to advance my research and creations. When I was considering what to do, there was a bank rob in our area. The three robbers managed to escape from the police, but not me. My camera drones were following them. And when the robbers thought they could escape, I ambushed them, with the help of Minhyeok, whom you already met, and his brother. They joined because they wanted to make sure that I would be safe. After the ambush succeeded, Minhyeok and his brother wanted to spare the robbers and only take the money. But I said no, and I shot them. The first time I ever killed someone. For other people, they would be shaking and scared after their first murder. But for me, it was excitement."

"Oh Klein, you are definitely made for Hell." Leraye commented.

"Well, maybe I really am. But I have one regret in that incident. Even though Minhyeok and his brother never said anything after that, it was I who pulled the two into the incident and I killed three persons right in front of their eyes. I was only 13 then, same with Minhyeok, his brothers was a couple of years older. Years later, Minhyeok still sticks with me and my evil plan. However, his brother got married and decided to cut ties with me. It's not like I don't understand though, I know he did that to protect his small family, but it still weighs on my conscience."

Seeing Klein being sad, Leraye held his hand and said.

"Klein, I'm a devil and I don't care about human moral standards, but I can see your friend being loyal with you until the end, he may not agree with what you do but he will not turn his back to you until the end. And one thing I can assure you, even if the whole humanity condemns you, Gehenna, no not just Gehenna but the whole Hell will be on your side."

"Thanks, Leraye." Klein said as he held the sniper's hand tightly. And the two walked out to the garden of the palace.

"The day I killed the three robbers could be said to be the day I began to walk on the path of becoming the feared Evil Overlord. After everything dies down, I used the money to expand my research and created stronger creations. Then I used my stronger screatures to rob more banks, and then I expand my research more. It repeats a few times until I got bored of it, so I decided to switch to research on weapon. After that, I started to sell my weapons to gangs and criminals. And soon enough, I became an infamous merchant within the outlaw circle. And I literally trade everything illegal, including porns, which led me to seize control of the porn industry. Then I began to move to politics, using my money to bribe politicians, providing them with porn stars for them to have fun, connecting them with the outlaws to provide them illegal ways to get rid of their political opponents. Then I started to interfere with the country's elections to elect my puppets. I became the ruler of the country behind the scene. But then I have to enact laws to put limitations on all of the evil things I have done before on the society because I need to ensure my rule is stable."

Klein looked at Leraye again, fearing a disapproval look because of the duality in his actions. However, Leraye only smiled at him.

"And then I have to deal with all the downside that comes with it." Klein began to get melancholy again. "Conscience is one. Sometimes I just ask myself if maybe I could have done something differently, even though it's useless to worry about it now. Or assassination attempt, I have to be careful with what you eat. Or trying to avoid a moving red dot from aiming at your vital points..."

Then, Klein noticed the horror on Leraye's face.

"What?"

"Klein!" Leraye shouted and embraced Klein before dodging out of the way and both of them fell to the ground as the young Overlord heard a gun shot.

Klein looked at the place he just stood and saw a sinister red dot moving on the ground and a bullet which had already been shot near the dot.

Klein glared at the the assassin. What he saw was an angel flying mid-air, he had an extremely big mutanted left eye.

"The Son of Solomon. My prey." He said and roared in spontaneous laughter.

"Don't worry, I will take care of him." Leraye said as he took Klein to behind a big tree an pulled out his gun. But as he revealed his head to aim at the enemy, the angel shot at him right away. Luckily, Leraye dodged in time. But the angel was having an advantage by not allowing Leraye a chance to raise his sniping gun at all.

"Damnit, I can't shoot him like this."

"Leraye, let me help you." Klein said and pulled out a tiny jar. To Leraye's amazement, inside the jar was a tiny winged frog. The Overlord opened the jar.

"Neutralize him!" He ordered.

The frog then flew towards the angel from the other side of the tree.

"What, scared? Then just keep hiding there, I will shoot your patrolling subordinates when they get here. After all, I'm an angel with the power of the whole legion." The sniper angel said laughed hystericallly but when he suddenly felt something heavy on his head.

"Ribbit... Ribbit..." The frog made the sounds before opened its mouth and its long tongue poked the angel's mutanted left eye.

"Gahhhh...damnit... I will kill-"

BANG

Before the angel could finish his sentence, a bullet went through his skull and his body dropped to the ground. The sniper angek was dead in an instant.

"Sir Leraye!!!" A moment later, a bunch of demon soldiers showed up, even other Gehenna nobles and even Satan appeared.

"An angel managed to slip into the palace courtyard but I killed him." Leraye reported to Satan.

"Good work." Satan said before turning to the angel corpse, grinded his teeth and kicked his head, making the head detached from the body and flew far away. Meanwhile, as no one was noticing him, the winged frog returned to Klein's tiny jar.

"Good work, my first creation." Klein praised the frog.

"Ribbit... Ribbit..." The frog replied, it seemed it was happy that it could please its master.

After putting the jar back in his pocket, Klein secretly grabbed the sniper gun of the angel and hid it in his cloak.

"Kleinnnnnnn!!!!" Paimon noticed Klein and clung to him.

"Klein-sama, why are you here?" Ppyong asked, surprised.

"Ah, I was just...*yawn*...having a night walk." Klein said while yawning.

"Your Majesty Satan, the lone angel was trying to kill Klein." Leraye continued his report.

The fact that Klein's life was in danger made Satan clenched his teeth again, while Sitri and the other nobles grimaced, the soldiers inside the courtyard also showed their anger.

"It seems the problem has been solved. Leraye, escort Solomon back to his room." Sitri said.

"Have a good restttt!" Paimon kissed Klein's cheek, making Satan on the side scowl, before pushing him to Leraye.

...

"Today was fun." Leraye said and Klein made a "What!?" face as he heard the former.

"Because I got to hear many things about you, even though our conversation was interrupted." Leraye smiled. "Let's talk more once you have rested up."

"Okay." Klein said while rubbing his eyes. "By the way, don't tell anyone what I have told you today. It's not like it's a secret between us two, but I want to tell them myself."

"You got it." Leraye said while smiling again.

After some walking time, the two finally reached Klein's room.

"Goodnight, Klein!" The sniper said

"You have some rest after patrol too, Leraye!" Klein said.

"Ah... Before you sleep," Leraye wiped the dust on Klein's face with his hand, "I think you should wash up first, you got dust all over yourself from that fall in the garden earlier."

"You are the one talking, you also got sweat and dust all over you", Klein said. "You should join me in wash up." Klein stopped for a moment before blushing after he realized what he had said, which made Leraye blush too.

"A-alright, let have you wash up before you return to you patrol." Klein pulled Leraye inside his room as his face blushed like a red tomato.

I have this fic's idea while I was laying lazily on bed in the morning XD

[glassvines]

Now that it's been a little over a week since the finale was released, I'm going to give some of my final thoughts on Murder Drones.

While I'm going to miss this series a lot, I really do think it's for the best that it ended here on a high note, as all the mysteries being setup throughout the series concluded in ep 7/Mass Destruction.

Absolute End was twenty minutes worth of satisfying wrap-ups.

Thoughts/comments in order:

⋅ Nori and Uzi briefly interacting at the beginning of the episode was great. LOVE that there was a little semi-realism here: no sound can be heard in space. Nori and Uzi having to find ways to communicate was clever.

⋅ N finally getting to pilot a spaceship :').

⋅ The VERY CUTE convo between N and Uzi that they are, in fact, dating was perfection. While they're falling through the atmosphere. While on fire. This was so good you guys. They are such a great main couple. Have loved their slow burn throughout the show <3.

⋅ V IS BACK. Was already 100% positive Lizzy's "secret friend" was V, so this was not a surprise.

⋅ Now, while I was hoping for J to see the light in the final episode, I was happy with what we got instead. Confirmation that she knows what has happened to Tessa, and that she has ultimately taken the cowards way out. She won't fight the inevitable.

Love the brief hint that she has TRIED to make things right with V in the past; warn her about Cyn's plans.

"If I promised you anything, it tricked me too."

:(

Also props to Shara Kirby here. J didn't play a huge role in the series, but the few lines she did get in the finale were great.

⋅ Legit my favorite part of the episode is that corny bit N and Uzi do while they're still falling towards Copper 9. Uzi blasting Cyn with the solver (null-solver? blackhole-solver?), THE WINK, Uzi and N: The Drone Killers, and the final sunglasses pose.

ABSOLUTE DORKS ILTHEM SO MUCH.

⋅ I also love that they are IMMEDIATLEY completely fucked up beyond belief by Cyn moments after this. That was devastating holy shit.

⋅ CYN IS SO SCARY IN THIS EP. Cannot believe how good the "call back ping" scene is.

⋅ N has never had problems with panic attacks throughout the series, so I can only assume this is due to him having access to his own memories now? Cyn could keep his personality intact by, as Uzi put it in ep2 "turning his memories to soup".

Which gives me the impression that he could potentially go comatose without Uzi there to hold his hand.

JFC.

⋅ V's heartfelt confession that everything she did was to keep N safe was a fantastic scene too. I went into this episode assuming 99% of the cast would survive, but I was definitely panicking here.

Me: "Do something N. DO SOMETHING."

N: *does something and is immediately ko'd*

Me: "NO, NOT LIKE THAT!!!"

⋅ Khan was redeemed early on the series for me, given how much effort he immediately put into trying to be a bigger part of Uzi's life after the pilot episode.

That being said, it was nice that he managed to come through in a clutch and save N :).

⋅ "Weirdly hot robots" Uzi lmao. Further confirmation that this entire show really is YA/Twilight spoof.

⋅ "I think dumb things are figgin' cool and I. AM. FREE." Yeah no, I can understand why this is a very niche show. The humor is very. Um. Look, I love her so much, this was so funny to me. The final message of the series is literally "be your dopey, cringe self - get the guy" hahaha. Teenage-me would have made this series my entire personality. Or, I would have at the very least appreciated the message.

⋅ BOSS BATTLE!! It's insane how good this scene looks. This was an absolute joy to look at. Adored the addition of Nori's ipod nightcore mix as the main battle song.

⋅ Allanah Fitzgerald is a riot actually.

⋅ I was not fooled by the N fake-out death lol. Good setup to further prove the trio are absolutely in sync now though. Probably my favorite part of the fight scene.

⋅ The fight against Cyn ending in a very grounded way was...interesting? Literally just Uzi making an appropriate strategic decision in a split second.

⋅ Tessa's ribcage oh my God.

⋅ Nori still being infatuated with Khan is so funny.

⋅ Uzi not coming out of this scot-free makes sense. The setup for that reveal was great.

V: "Oh, she's still a cringelord it's her UGH".

⋅ N twirling her around and squeezing her and crying into her shoulder omfg why are they so cuuteee.

⋅ Uzi coming full circle from the pilot scene presentation, complete with an updated "protag/heroes journey" slide:

"Forget about all of this insanity. Get tunnel visioned on spooky corpse robot reveal. Work backwards from there."

LMAO

⋅ Khan excitedly cheering about the fact that Uzi essentially decided she should have never gone outside. Blink and you won't notice that Nori is with him, but she iiisss.

⋅ Final classroom scene and end credits were fun:

- "THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND!" - N is learning to draw manga (from one of those awful Western "how to draw manga" books from the early 2000s) - V is very affectionate/proud about this - V and Lizzy are very close now - Doll's body is for some reason there too (??) - V is definitely drinking from a dead worker drone in this scene lmao - The group shots of Lizzy, V, Thad, Uzi and N together were cute - J is STILL ALIVE. Why is she obsessed with leaving via the ship...? - Gin Rummy game finally happened. Also Nori again. - "Pog in chat!!" Why. - Doll's funeral (or well - memorial presentation by Lizzy) at the prom. I love how pissed N and Uzi look lmao. - V playing chess against the sentinel

⋅ AAANND we get the final confirmation that Uzi is in fact, permanently stuck with Cyn/the Solver, as it can speak to her. I'm not buying the "everything's a hologram and everyone's actually dead" theory because the show is simply not that cynical. But I do love that this certainly leaves the audience with questions at the final moment.

Again, I'm gonna miss this show and these characters. Would love to see them explored more in the future *emoji eyes at Glitch*.

Cannot wait to see what Glitch has in store, in terms of new shows. I'm shocked at how high quality indie animation has gotten in the last half decade, and I'd like to see more of it.

[rippeanuts1950-2000]

OKAY SO, a while ago I had a very bizarre crossover idea while I was half asleep that seemed entertaining to me when i got more sleep. Anyway, the crossover is for Grojband and Murder Drones. Weird combo I know, but hear me out.

it would be a human au for md with Nori being Kin and Kon’s triplet. I feel like it works a little too well than it should.

She’d be super close to the band but wouldn’t be a part of it. She’s just hanging out, giving constructive criticism on their music, and helping them get the diary from Trina. I envision her as kinda like the band’s publicist and helps them stay out of too much trouble. However, my girl is a chill gremlin so she wouldn’t be above tormenting Trina.

Her relationship with each band member I like to believe would have some fun dynamics too. I think she would be great friends with Laney, constantly correcting the boys when they misgender her.(i.e Corey saying, “Boys and Nori” to get everyone’s attention and Nori responding with “Boys, Nori, and Laney.”) Nori would tell her, “The two brain cells gotta stick together.” She’d also hype Laney up when it comes to her crush on Corey and she’s definitely listened to Laney rant about Corey being oblivious.

Her dynamic with Corey would be chill gremlin and adhd gremlin. You cannot leave these two alone together because if you do Nori will hype up Corey into doing something stupid. She loses the brain cell when she hangs out Corey though, so she’ll also probably be doing something stupid. She would affectionately call Corey the blue haired idiot and he in turn would call her the purple haired nerd.

Her dynamic with Kin would be two geniuses who respect each other but also piss each other off repeatedly. She has to constantly tell him not to try and take over the world. He calls her a buzzkill for it. But the two do help each other a lot with projects. Kin would really care about his female triplet. He just would show it in weird ways, like giving her a cd of whale sounds and book to decode dream meanings after an argument. Nori would in turn go to the dump and get him the pieces he needs for his most recent project or just broken things people have thrown out that she thinks he would like to repair.

Kon is basically her best friend. The two are super close and Kon knows everything about her and she knows everything about him. She does find his obsession with cheese odd though while he finds her obsession with drones odder. Nori is totally against Kon’s crush on Trina but when he starts to like Konnie, she’s like “oh that makes sense.” More than once these two have pretended to be giants with the tiny soaps together.

Oh! And she would meet Khan at one of Grojband’s gigs! That would need to be another post though which I will probably do even if people don’t like this crossover. This is fun!

Hope this makes some sense and was slightly entertaining! You can send me asks about this, I’d be more than willing to explain more if you’re interested, I kinda want want to info dump about this crossover lol

[commenter2]

"Absolute End" review (Murder Drones finale)

After almost 3 years since the first episode, we are sadly at the end of Murder Drones. SPOILERS!

I thought the finale would be longer, at least the same length as the previous episode.

Gravity is acting up and massive earthquakes are happening, which I bet the drones can handle BUT UZI GETTING AN A-, that is a sign that the world is ending.

Even at the end of the world, the Teacher Drone is just done with everything.

Is CYN pulling a Dead Space 3?

Again the Teacher is just done.

So how did Uzi get into space exactly? Last episode had her falling down to the hole in the church to the planet’s core, did gravity and the Absolute Solver program cause her to go straight through the planet and fly into space?

Smart thinking on the writers here having Uzi and her mom be able to control space rocks, as they such things do have metal in them.

New feature for screen faces, they can use it to communicate if there isn’t any sound.

How is Uzi’s mom finding all the space for her words? :3

A nice mother/daughter moment, also Uzi has a parental lock XD.

Of course Uzi’s mom still has her iPod XD

Who is that! Whoever that is, let’s just hope Uzi’s mom doesn’t survive planetary re-entry

N! Wait how was he able to get to a ship so fast?

PILOT N! Wait does he remember how to fly that thiAPPARENTLY HE IS STILL REMEMBERING!

Wait are Uzi and N about to ki-SAVED BY THE VILLAIN! Ehh I was kind of hoping for Uzi X Thad and N X V to become canon but this is fine too...for now but more on that later. At least Uzi is still herself, though I question anyone who wouldn’t want to hug N.

It is still funny that the bus is also sentient in this series.

V! And of course she was able to tame one of the raptors.

“character not interested in epic battle that is occurring” trope.

GET THAT BRATTY TEEN DRONE ROBO DINO! I never thought I would ever say that.

Khan T posing XD

Clever robo girl! Wait didn’t I already use that?

Uzi would have been so proud hearing V use her catchphrase, especially on J of all drones.

Uzi can make blast that can go through planets. Write that down Death Battle fans.

(Uzi and CYN fighting)

J; Want to get out of here?

V: Why?

CYN just caught Uzi attack like its nothing.

The world ending threat still loves a fool after all this time. Have I mentioned how great this show is?

Look at them protecting each other!

HOLY CRAP UZI!

Crap CYN is going pissed off yandere on N!

Okay we got it, N X Uzi is canon.

While nice to see V showing love for N, it was kind of a coward move of her to try and work with CYN/Absolute Solver again at this point.

Heh, I guess CYN has parental controls too XD.

Doorman with the universal door remote FTW!

Okay that was a dumb move on Thad’s part. Guess he just assumed Uzi was nearby given he has seen her around the Disassembly Drones every time they met.

(Uzi and V smile at each other)

MK ANNOUNCER: FRIENDSHIP!

An old time iPod in the future can survive the reentry of a planet, yet iPhones can’t survive a small fall from one’s hand to the ground without cracking in half.

According to the subtitles the song playing is AJ Dispirito song called “BiteMe”. Is this where Uzi got her catchphrase? Seeing how her mom acts, I wouldn’t be surprised if she sang that song as a lullaby to baby Uzi. The song is really good.

Friendly fire on CYN’s part. Then again if they can regenerate, is it really that bad?

(Me seeing Uzi stabbing N with pickaxe)

Yami Yugi voice: It’s not him!

N has a valid point, nice to see him getting his heart ripped out and almost eaten by his yandere stalker didn’t mess up his lovable personality.

Cheap move with the puppy dog eyes CYN. Then again it is canon that all dogs are immortal, so N could have attacked her without fear of killing any digital dogs.

NOW ISN’T A GOOD TIME TO BE MAKING THAT SPECIAL HANDSHAKE UZI AND N XD.

Now Uzi is just learning to tell apart holograms form the real thing! Admittedly that is a bit cheesy, but at least it led to that epic scene of her ripping out the CYN’s heart Mortal Kombat style.

Finally its OVE- what is that?

That fight scene must have been so expensive that they had to cut the color budget!

ZA WARUDO

I’m getting flashbacks to the Death Battle episode “Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash”.

So is eating the "Solver heart" going to make Uzi the new Absolute Solver master? Horror is one of the themes of this series, and “monster still being alive” is the genres most known tropes. Guess we’ll find out in the next 5 minutes.

Kind of hard to read the text coming up on Uzi’s face near the end. I can see NULL, escaped_data=sent, escaped_data=str_replace [arry] and escaped_data=str_replace[global entites]. This sounds like it isn’t the end of CYN and her Absolute Solver control.

Who knew Thad was a skater! Also where did he get that skateboard? Still nice to see him being nice, even if its towards Lizzy.

Khan and Nori are going to meet. Okay THAT scene was hilarious, and that “kind of hot” line XD.

The Teacher survived, still not wanting to get involved in anything XD.

A robot raptor riding a sentient bus. Thank god the Jurassic Park movies are done as I feel like that franchise would try and do something dumb like that in their movies.

Uzi is very far from where she was a second ago. Again what is up with teleporting in this series?

So Uzi is the new absolute solver master. Luckily she doesn’t want to kill everything like CYN wanted. Then again it’s pretty much confirmed that all humans are dead so what else can she do, kill the worker drones?

Was that a Gaz Membrane reference in the “I’m not solved” pic. Also the pic file is labeled as “nothing”, which makes me wonder if the writers are again telling us that there won’t be any more episodes. Again more on that at the end.

The Heroes journey pic. Wait is that text a refence to when Game Theory did an episode where they used said Heroes’ Journey pic to theorize what was going to happen?

So are the others drones not going to find a way to cure N, V, and likely Uzi’s need to drink drone oil?

Doll is still dead. Odd to bring that clip up, but fitting with this show's humor.

N is pretty good at manga art. Also again nice seeing V being the one in love with N.

I wonder if there was going to be a difference between Uzi’s purple colored power and her yellow colored one. I guess we will never know.

During the credits we see: J is still alive and building a ship, likely to get back to JCJensonINSPAAAAACEE!!!!! HQ

N and Uzi hanging out with Khan and Nori (does Khan know it is her?) at door security. Is that really necessary now that nearly every serious baddie is dead?

A hint at the possibility of CYN still being alive. That or its Tessa’s ghost.

The Murder Drones are still killing drones for oil

A Murder Drones anime drawn in the same art style as Liam Vickers other works, like the underrated Cliffside pilot.

Lizzy being nice and holding a funeral for Doll. Thad your kindness is wasted on her.

V wearing N’s hat and playing chess against the raptor and the robo bug, which I totally forgot about. Looks like the raptor made peace with Lizzy too.

A callback to the 2nd episode with the robopede.

Hologram Uzi?

CYN IS THE TAIL! Personally I never did like the tail design, so it’s a good excuse to get rid of it now.

Cliffhanger ending. VERY FITTING FOR THIS SERIES! ALSO I KIND OF CALLED IT.

A very entertaining ending to a series that I wouldn’t mind getting a sequel series one day BUT has given me enough closure that I can be happy if it never does. Then again in this era of media you never know.

Sure it would have been nice if the show had been a few episodes longer, going over more things like dealing with other kinds of Disassembly Drones (something I was hoping to see since the very beginning) and more moments of unique character interactions like Uzi and Thad as well as N and V regaining their memories together.

Now that the series is over (again maybe for now) I wonder what Liam Vickers will work on next. PLEASE let him go back to work on his Cliffside series, as that has a lot of potential. After seeing how good he is at 3D animation, imagine what he can do with a 2Dish show like Cliffside! Seriously people go watch the Cliffside pilot when you can.

What were your thoughts on the Murder Drones finale?

[handfulofmuses]

I do like the difference between Doll‘s and J‘s loneliness.

Doll pushed everyone away. She watched in absolute horror as her parents got murdered and then witnessed the same almost happening to Thad while the defense force, the ones who are supposed to protect them watch just as helplessly. She gets a virus that grants her powers and she decides it’s revenge time. The downside? You need to drink oil now to keep yourself alive - alright, let’s weaponize that thing and use it for your goals if you want to survive.

She is deadset on that she NEEDS to do it alone. Uzi says “whoever started this wants us to fight! We move forwards together or not at all!“ but Doll says that she doesn’t need help.

Doll is alone by choice and more often than not, her emotions get in the way.

J? J is different. She was isolated. Compared to Doll, J is more social by nature. She wants to connect with people, does not let her own pride get in the way and knows when the odds are stacked against her.

J is not driven by emotions like Doll is ; she goes after what is the most logical for her. Most of her emotions appear to be repressed - she does have a lot of repressed anger that she then takes out on N (and likely V too)

She wanted an allyship with Uzi. She knows when she is beaten and was willing to give up, so she offered a partnership in the only way she knows how - but since it was another buzzword, Uzi killed her due to pettiness. J was never granted the same chance as N and V (or even Doll) and her death in the pilot sealed her fate and was what brought her closer to the clutches of Cyn.

When J is back, N and V seem delighted to reunite with her.

“It is you!!“ N has no reason to be happy to see her return, not with how she treated him all this time. Not after she installed something into him that slowly shuts down his systems.

“Hehe, Classic J“ V is more amused than anything else, she’s not ugh J is so full of herself, she’s just haha typical.

Regardless of how she treated them, as far as they are concerned J is one of them. J was with them since the mansion, J was their boss - their reaction makes me think that she can be treat them decently as long as everything goes swimmingly.

J doesn’t share the same sentiments, but she does not seem to hold what happened in the pilot against anyone - she doesn’t even seem to care much for Uzi. She’s here for a job and that’s it.

But once again she is denied to tag along and is tasked to guard the ship instead. J seems confused / upset about that order, hesitatant even. It isn’t when N and V turn to her that she collects herself “of course boss“ (she keeps hiding her emotions).

It seems like she wanted to come along. What I find is interesting is that she only quickly obeys when N and V look to her - like she does not wanna show weakness.

It’s revealed that J has been working for Cyn all this time - Cyn said that as long as N and V keep doing their jobs, it will leave them alone. It kept that promise.

In episode 2, we find out that J was getting orders from someone. J was not so lucky in that regard and was kept close to Cyn.

N and V are the hound dogs that are allowed to run free, but J was a leashed dog.

It isn’t until she offers V a chance to join that she bitterly goes after getting rejected “I never needed either of you“ that she puts walls around her. N was not part of the fight but she mentions him too - the tone and bitter / jealous expression gives it away.

And of course she would think that way. From her perspective, N and V betrayed her in favor of that purple drone. Suddenly N starts questioning his orders because of that drone - V was still fighting alongside her in the pilot but then she gets killed and suddenly V is fighting against her too when, in her mind, V knows exactly what Cyn is like - she doesn’t understand why V and N would rebel against that.

J never had her administration rights changed - J faced Cyn alone at the cost of the person that mattered the most to her. N and V had Uzi, but J got denied her only willingly by Uzi in the pilot.

Which is why I am glad that in the end battle, J didn’t just switch sides because she has no reason to trust Uzi or think that this worker she barely knows would win a fight - and she didn’t. Uzi had troubles on her own, and even then, she didn’t win. All she did was buy time and it’s only a matter of time until Cyn comes back.

[xx-psych0-rabbit-xx]

top 5 robot characters

ok brain do noooot fail me now lets recall some cool robots.also ive decided to rate them on both how much i like them n how interesting i find the usage of them being robots.tho apology before hand it seems two robots who r only those in quotes due to technicalities made their way in

5.five pebbles (rain world)

ok so i love pebbles V dearly.character i heavily sympathize w, frankly one of my only favorites who actually expresses regret over doing bad things.that being said.hes.hes a giant computer im only letting him in here bc the iterator puppets border on being robots, n i think the way theyre used is cool! its a rly neat way of making iterators able to communicate w the player n the way theyre kinda puppeteered around by that giant arm is rly cool.but again barely counts.thin ice buddy.if anything moons a bit cooler bc she lost most of the computer part yeah actually pretend shes in the title of the entry too my girl deserves it.she put up w sm.

4.susie (kirby)

susie.is a weird case where.idk man we just dont know! shes a robot *to me* but ive seen ppl treat her like a cyborg some other mechanical being or straight up just some fucked up looking alien.n theres not a lot of robot thingies going on w her either.this always disappointed me a bit so its my lifes work to make my susie gijinka as explicitly a robot as possible.that being said still got no explanation for how she eats.shes just superior ig

3.metatton (undertale)

the trans allegory w how his body was made perfect for him n he loves it is rly cool but its been literally nearly a decade since my undertale phase so i sadly have lost a lot of my attachment, hes a rly entertaining character n all of his designs r rly good (someone saying they were struggling w beating his boss bc they were scared of their mom walking in on them fighting him n having to explain why the robot has such sexy legs lives in my head rent free) (also neo deserved better?? im still mad toby made it a fake out comedic fight </3)

2.gir (invader zim)

i have to obligatorily bring up gir bc.cmon this is a 2000s scene girl blog.he just has such a cute little design n bc its a cartoon its all squishy n stretchy n its so fun.that being said.idk i just dont have a lot of robot centered points to give him hes just a nifty little man made out of rubber metal

honorable mention:metal sonic (sonic)

i cant go without reminding everyone my boy exists.cmon its metal sonic.tragic guy ever.trapped in a narrative in a cell of capitalism bc any development to him would change too much from the status quo.i love him.his design is so fun its such a neat way to make a robotic sonic.his counterparts like chaos n shard n all the other robot sonic models all got cool points too ! great guy

1.cyn (murder drones)

ik ik i just bought her up i have her in my icon i kin her this is a safe blog for painfully biased ppl.but the reason cyn of all the drones wins number one spot for me is bc of how she moves n talks ! being a zombie drone she doesnt seem to function properly, shes constantly fixing her head from falling over n walking around a bit cowered n generally seems her movements dont flow naturally, she announces her actions while doing them (likely bc of some error from the zombie thing just making her naturally do that) n fully borrows her voice from the absolute solver (likely bc of some issue w her own) n generally the fact shes a robot that accidentally rebooted after being discarded n is clearly not running as intended is rly visible n i love it !!! i love robot characters whose roboticism is extremely relevant to their whole character instead of just being a quirky design thing.n ofc this all also resembles how puppets move which is such a fun double meaning thing to how shes the absolute solvers first host

[michigo-eevee-trainer]

Murder Drones

Murder Drones is a new animation made by the people on the Glitch YouTube channel. It takes place on a planet that is not Earth. The humans there were using robots to mine the resources on the planet. However, the human, being stupid, wiped themselves out on that planet. The Robots were free to do what they wanted but the people still on Earth didn't like that fact. So they sent Disassembly Drones to the planet to try and wipe all of the Robots out. This story follows an angsty teenage named Uzi who accidentally befriends a Disassembly Drone named N. Already this story has an interesting set up and makes you wonder where all of this is going to go. There is quite a bit of comedy in this one but it also does the serious moments quite well too. It's a good mixing of both. Sure there are characters cliches we've all seen a million times before but, for me at least, that's not enough to ruin anything for me. So I'm going to talk about the show while going over some things I would like to see happen in Murder Drones. So far, there's only 3 episodes and I will be talking about things that happen those episodes. If you wish to watch them first, go right ahead.

1. Absolute Solver

This seems like it's one of the two major points of the story this season. From what we know, the Absolute Solver is a program inside of the Disassembly Drones that helps them recover from any kind of injury. However, it's also shown that Worker Drones can have this program as well and can use it to manipulate the things around them. I would love to see the cast discover more about this program and who made it. And how did the Worker Drones get it? Was it from their parents or did they get it after encountering a Disassembly Drone and surviving? I don't really want to think about these Robots reproducing but....well....Also I get the feeling that Doll will return at some point. After all, Doll seems to know a lot about this Absolute Solver program as she is one of the Worker Drone who can use the program. She's a very good source of information so they would probably want to find her. We also need to figure out what the Absolute Solver actually does to a Worker Drone. Doll seemed to be upset when she found out that Uzi could use the Absolute Solver as well. Even promising to help her once she found what she needed. This program can go a number of different ways and I can't wait to see where this goes.

2. Disassembly Drones Needing Oil

So this is something that was told to us by N in the first episode. How the Disassembly Drones need the oil from the Worker Drones in order to stop from overheating and dying. This feels like it's the second major plot point of the series. After all, N is a Disassembly Drone and, if this is true, then he's going to need the oil sooner or later. So far, he seems to be doing alright as he's able to fight and pull himself back together again. There are two ways I can see this plot point playing out.

One is N does need the oil in order to survive. Not only with what N said but with what happened last episode. N got injured in the 3rd episode though he was able to pull himself back together just fine. But the thing is, he wasn't completely healed. He still had some of the injuries he had from the earlier attack when normally those would have healed right up. It actually took until after the fight for the injuries to seem to be healed. This might be pointing to the fact that the lower oil he has, the less likely he is to heal off injuries or the longer it will take for him to heal. I can see it playing out like N knows he's running low on oil and tries to play it off. Uzi, however, can see right through it and makes him spill the beans to what is going on. From there, it would be up to Uzi to find some oil to help N. She would probably have to find some that Doll stashed somewhere or find a way to make it herself. This girl built a working railgun from straps. I'm sure she could figure out how to build a machine that would make the oil N would need. This way would actually give them a bit of a bargaining chip against the Disassembly Drones. After all, if the Workers can make the oil, then there's no reason to kill them for it. I can also see N becoming more feral as he starts running out of oil. Kind of like a instinct thing in order to get more. I can also see him immediately snapping back to normal once he has it, like nothing had even happened. It would just depend on what the writers want to do about this. Though there is that super obvious third option but I don't think either of them would go that far.

Second is I can see this need for oil thing being just something that was programed by the humans and it's not actually necessary for them to have it. Let's face it. Humans are cruel and will do what they have to in order to get the job done. They wouldn't feel anything lying to something they only see as a Robot. There's not any evidence to support this but I think it's an interesting take on it. It would not be good for N's mental state or even the other Disassembly Drones to learn that truth. N would probably feel so guilty knowing he killed a lot of Drones for the oil that he didn't even need.

3. N Rebelled

This point kind of got glossed over in the past episodes but the fact remains that N went against his mission. He went against the other Disassembly Drones, against the company, even against his own programing. This is bound to do something for N one way or anything. With that new characters Tessa being introduced at the end of the third episode, I think this spells bad news for N. Tessa seems to be some kind of technician which means she probably knows how the Disassembly Drones work. Which means she might be able to do something to N. She might make him go against Uzi and try to get N to kill her. I'm sure if she did do that, Uzi wouldn't want to fight N, considering they are friends, and would have to figure out how to return him to normal.

Also something else I thought about. Since N is no longer trying to kill everything, I think it would be really interesting for him to rejoin the Worker Drones where Uzi lives. It would be cool to see him interact with more of the Drones and learn more about the Worker Drones. Also this would give him more of a chance to actually interact with Uzi. Which is always a good thing since these two are the main characters of the show. And because he can't be in the sun, it would give him a place to hide out when the sun is out. I just want to see N somewhere else other than hiding out in the weird tower.

4. Uzi's Mom

Now this might seem like a weird thing to talk about but I feel like it's important. I just feel like she's a bigger part of all of this. One reason being is that the Absolute Solver program inside of J said it knew Uzi. But when it showed the hologram, it looked like someone who was older holding a baby. That Baby had the Absolute Solver symbol on their eyes. Uzi even states when the hologram disappears 'What's up with the Mother Hologram?'. This tells me that the hologram wasn't of Uzi but of her mother. That baby she was holding was most likely Uzi which, if this is true, also confirms that Uzi had that Absolute Solver program since birth. For some reason though, it's only coming out now. We never see Uzi's mother in the show. By the time the show starts, her mother is dead. Uzi's Dad says he had to finish her off when she was mortally wounded by the Disassembly Drones. I wonder how true that story is and if maybe there is another reason for Uzi's mother death.

5. Uzi and N's Relationship

Episode 3 was about Prom though a lot of other stuff happens in this episode. One being that they seem to be slowly bringing these two together as a couple. Which is a good thing. I like that they're taking this slowly as it would make more sense for them to build the relationship up slowly. I can't tell you how annoying it is for people to shove two people together who have no chemistry on screen but they managed to spend a few moments on screen together. I like that these two are starting off as friends and could possibly go to more. They work off each other really well and I could see these two becoming a couple if the creators wish to go that way and continue building it up. They also give each other something they've lacked. For N, Uzi gives him the respect that he never got before. For Uzi, N gives her the support that she never got for her Dad. It will help them both to grow into better characters if they keep up with this. Hopefully, we get some more cute moments between the two of them as the series goes on. A few situations that would be funny and cute to watch.

For one reason or another, Uzi invites N to stay at the bunker with them. N is excited as he thinks it'll be a super fun sleepover. This could include some shots of them just being goofy which they really need after everything that has happened. At one point, Uzi dozes off so N turns off the light and goes to sleep himself. When they wake up, they realize they are cuddling. They quickly move away from each other startled by this. N starts trying to apologize while Uzi brushes it off as not a big deal. You know, friends do that sometimes, or so she's heard, so it's no big deal. N drops it there while Uzi is freaking out a little bit internally due to it.

After more interactions between the two, Uzi is in her room and N is in the Drone tower. Both are alone and pacing. Jump cut between them as they try to figure out what the other means to them. They list off what they like about the other and some quirks they have. How they are so easy to talk to about anything and how accepting the other is. N would address his crush on V but say he no longer feels anything for her. This keeps going until both come to the conclusion that they're in love with the other. Uzi kind of has that why him kind of thing going on while N just straight up panics because he had no idea what to do with this. From there, it could be the two of them trying to hide the fact that they do love each other while making it stupidly obvious to everyone else around them.

Basically I just want them to spend more time together and how some more moments between the two of them. If the creators want to make these two a couple, then I really hope they keep going with this set up. If they want them to just stay friends, then fine by me. Either way will be good. Though I can also see Uzi like giving N a kiss on the cheek in the heat of the moment and him just falling over in a daze because he doesn't know how to react to it.

And that's it. Those are my thoughts on Murder Drones. I can't wait to see where this is going to go as it's already shaping up to be an amazing series. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go order a N plushie.

[semi-imaginary-place]

more 13 sentinels 60%-?? spoilers

Kisaragi: oh yeah kidaragibot got put into sentinel 16.

Ogata: so natsuno has the d-code key and is calling the kaiju and 426 izumi is protecting her. Moral dilemma time ogata. Wonder how yakushiji got involved.

Amiguchi. Wow he had to deal with kurabe being so weird didnt he. Yeah ida has control issues, took away kisaragibot's free will because she wasnt happy to see him and is now torturing robot izumi for answers. This dude is like a case study for bad ethics technology. 13 sentinels goes hard. Was not expecting to spent my afternoon torturing someone for information. Like as the player i actually have to go and in gameplay inflict pain on this incapacitated person. You didnt lock the door before your torture session? Izumi's right ida's like incredibly self centered its all about him. Oh so 426 as been running around in kisaragibot for a loong time. ... Then the kisaragibot sekigahara met was also probably 426.

Takamiya: nurse morimura calls tamao(bot) tamao but by this point they should be taken over by 426, does morimura know or not? Probably goven she gave yuki the note. Yuki... You are confronting the very dangerous mass murderer conspiracy plotter bomber alone? Without a gun? At least get ei or something to back you up. Ah good it was a trap, because some of the characters here would be stupid enough to do this alone. Another hard to parse conversation. Izumi accuses morimura of derailing the interstellar project to save her own ass, sacrificing 15 lives. Morimura claims the 15 will live happier lives thus way, that "we" can make it out alive. Izumi: denied their future without every knowing why. Oh yeah if the city just ends where the hell in grandma tamao who is suppose to be out of town visiting family?

Kurabe: hold up are you saying the entirety of kurabe's story happens after yuki confronts 426/erika aiba/tamaobot/izumi juro. That really recontextualizes the story becuase that pushes natsuno's story way back and amiguchi's forward. So nurse morimura + yuki + siu trap 426 and shoot him a bunch, he jumps into the river but crawls to the shrine, ei shoots him some more and leaves him for dead when kurabe finds tamaobot with 5 min left and 426 infects kurabs's nanomachines creating shiba.

Shinonone: i dont like ryoko on a personal level as a person but i do think she's a more interesting character than yakushiji who is also primarily romantically motivated (fuyusaka and hijiyama avoid this by being interesting in their own rights). Wow its been years since I've seen a yandere character. Ryoko while pointing a loaded gun: i don't mind you using me but i draw the line at you liking another girl. There are so many things wrong with you the lesbians on tumblr would love you ryoko. Oh the 15... its tamao and okino. I forgot to count tamao last time. Ai hijiyama was in the 2064 fight too? Miura and kisaragi i wonder who else i should make a list some time. Read her mystery file and hey is this the first confirmed kill wow she really did shoot ida dead good for her.

Area 2-5 finally died on intense because i didnt know they had armor so half my team couldn't damage and the ones that did were like single target so i got swamped. I did it... Everyone's half dead but im through

Natsuno: bbbbbjjjjjjjjjjjjj shinonome's whole thing is loss of identity and memory but bj miura lost his human body then his sentinel body then got a hardware downgrade to a cheap drone, had 72% of his memories deleted, and the rest fragmented and and inconsistent, also got repeatedly tampered with. Baby professor chihiro: d-code attaches to the part of the brain where memories are stored and must be physically severed to be removed. Hey isnt that what the dd-426 virus thing does so 426 izumi was trying to remove d-code. I wonder if the magic gun was giving d code back... i need to recheck the mystery files... Ok yeah 426 gave natsuno the d code but also infected the sentinels withe the thing that severs d-cods(and usually kills the pilot) was that all just to control who the pilot was?

Miura: oh 72% stuck in sentinel 17. Natsuno ends up piloting 17 in the final battle though. I'm still not clear what the sectors are physically like are they different parts of a giant spaceship, on different planets, etc. 2188 miura says they have orbital positions but what are they orbiting and are the 3km diameter disks attached to anything?? Nanomachines somehow ended the world? Welp mystery files confirms that the sectors are virtual and i am malding. And there's also space colonies thats the confusing part. There are 5 physical space colonies called sectors and also the virtual reality the game takes places with 5 eras called sectors. If sectors are "virtual residential districts" why would there even be the matrix that amiguchi and takemiya sneaked into. I guess because its recreating the space colony satellite. It's just a weirdly physical constraint to put on something that doesn't have the constraint. Like the virtual spaces/3d models of the sectors are connected but they dont have to be. But then also why are the kaiju there well i guess since project ark is carrying just dna they do have deimos on board or the capacity to build them so the data in there...

Hijiyama: bro... 2188 hijiyama in thicc, but not as thicc as nurse moriyama. 2188 okino literally put humanity in a kaiju survival videogame. Wow that was the most overtly romantic scene yet good for you vanillaware. Hmm i remember from the 2188 miura prof takemiya log earth is lost but the final 2188 hijiyama log something happened to the space colony, a fight broke out? Whether energy should be allocated to project arc or to life support (of the orbital space colony?). He's so stupid, did not have any plan about how to distract nurse morimura (though tbf not sure i could have done better). Scratch that i could have done better. Actually now that i think about it why did the 1940 deimos stop attacking the mainframe (or any of the other destroyed sector's kaiju). There should be a ufo in each sector underneath the school (unless I'm misunderstanding something). Or maybe they stopped because they captured the ufo? Okino says once the deimos contact the mainframe it triggers the shifter which teleports civilians... Somewhere. ...he just eats like 5 yakisoba pan and downs 3 sugary drinks ah youth... I was misunderstanding, deimos successfully reaching the mainframe causes all the people to disappear in the sector. The d-code key being in 1985 means its the last sector to be attacked. The deimos are being manufactured in sector 1 (2105?), So it is a closed system i wondered if the deimos were coming from outside the pentagon but instead they're being shifted around. Whats up with the satellite tomi saw. Mystery file time: yeah kts sooo confusing that the space colony sectors are 1-5 too like 2188 hijiyama died in sector 4 but he didnt die in the 1984 sector 4 of the game. Okino is also a brain surgeon because of course they are , implanted a linking component into hijiyama and miura, wonder what that is.

Finishing off quite a few more stories. With Miura's so they're breaking into a government facility to steal the sentinel wonder how they pull it off. Ogata and takamiya clear.

Natsuno. Wait wait a new pilot will reset a sentinel's stored memory. They need sentinel 17 to retrieve the data logs. But to retrieve the data logs and sentinel 17, it needs a pilot. I can think of 2 solutions that dont involve deleting bj. First find another scout unit or like a usb or a laptop or whatever okino was using or capture one of the droids. Second transfer sentinel 17 to 1944 miura thus keeping the id the same. ... ... And that's how the writers killed my boy.

Sekigahara: siu wanted to show him which log? I dont remember. Oh at the very begining? Didn't that have a recording of himself? Oooohhhh ei was the assassin 2188 gouto hired. 2188 morimura chihiro was a leader in nanotechnology and former executive of the company shikishima absorbed. Morimura's interstellar project was used as part of the justification for buying newman. And this was a cover to move money somewhere else (where?). Morimura continued to work on the interstellar project and this threatens to draw attention to 2188 gouto's illegal finances so he called a hit on her. So morimura alone led the battle of 2024, ida was busy pretending to be dead. Now tht i think of it i havent seen the ida of 2188 yet. Ooooh thats how morimura and ida "went back" 16 years when all shifts are 40 year intervals, the worlds were destroyed in year 16 and recreated setting back to year 1 (or 0 depending on how we are counting). Good use of dramatic irony since the audience knows from the start that ei does eventually agree to operation aegis and gives up on resetting. So ida was probably the one of the other end of sekigahara's communication device. One thing that isn't adding up is ida's role in 1984. He's playing dead for morimura but head of siu and in contact with shinonome and takamiya. If he's ordering sekigahara around why is he sending the black suits after him, like could have eased off a little or sent them on false trails. Wow im so happy ryoko kills ida.

More mystery files. There it is! Nanomachone infection! Thats what caused the end of the world! Somehow... wait not just an infection there was a whole ass nanomachine war. The loops/eras/sectors are specifically the years when the compatible are born, they are created the year they are born and are destroyed when they are 16. When did the izumi murder spree happen then? Oh i see several loops ago morimura and izumi skipped being reset izumi killed the compatible, morimura killed izumi but he escaped death somehow, morimura died getting ida to safety. Ida went to sector 0 and and waiting out the reset and found the younger morimura who had also skipped a reset and now i think these are the ida and morimura that show up in the game... I think

Was just about to say of idas dead i wouldnt put it past him to make an ai of himself he is the android engineer. So before losing his memories ei switched sides and decided to back operation aegis. Aaaahhhh sealing the terminals cuts the city off from universal control, there's the key info. And universal control controls everyone except the compatible so sealing the terminals leaves only the 14 (idk whats up with tamao she got dropped out of the plot) and everyone else disappears. What is up with that satellite! If it's orbiting the real world how have... Kisaragi .... Amiguchi(?) Interacted with it! Damn all the info bombs are dropping in ei's route. 2188's prof morimura sold nanomachines on the black market to fund project arc that is what kickstarted the nanomachine infections that doomed humanity and Earth. 2188 sekigahara bombed the power generators and took out life support for orbital sector 4, is this what led to the fight with ogata, izumi, hijiyama, and okino? Yeah it was the nanomachine infection that wiped out humans. And baby chihiro was the one that killed nurse morimura! Wait if sectors restart the year the compatibles are born why is baby chihiro a different age or is she a newly made clone she probably is i dont remember. My question is how did ei remember morimura in the alley? He should only remember up to the backup not anything after it or am i thinking about this wrong. What is up with that satellite!! Anyways the whole system has become so unstable that there wouldn't be another loop after the current one anyways because sector 0 would be gone or something.

Back to the mystery files. the real world satellite is orbiting around a planet which means the "facility" (sus) that "houses the entire world" (sus) must be nearby to be able to receive data from it. If sector 4 gets taken over all data will be wiped including sector 0. "The lives that everyone has experiences through time would cease to exist for good" what is with that phrasing?? What does that mean?? Oh right sentinel 17 was on a satellite was it the real world satellite morimura is sekigahara's story was talking about?

[limeinaltime]

What do you think would have happened if V was the one Uzi had met instead of N? Assuming V doesn't kill her right away, that is.

Given the limited bits and pieces of V's character we've already gotten from the pilot, this would be an interesting scenario if it follows the pilot format. She's a lot sharper and more cutthroat than N, but not entirely unfriendly, so she'd probably at least sit through Uzi's whole "your creators are sus" speech and it would probably get the gears in her head turning. She'd break into the bunker because like hell she's letting her prey get away (even though said prey made some admittedly good points about the situation she and her fellow murder drones are in), but after seeing Uzi get abandoned, she'd maybe start to feel kind of... sorry for her? What???

As much as V finds killing fun, it's kind of hard to have fun killing something when they just give up with a thousand-yard stare instead of screaming and begging for mercy. Her hesitating is more of a "Stop looking so sad and pathetic it's making it difficult for me to enjoy killing you" moment but she still gets virus-ed by J (albeit more of a "I'm disappointed in you, V" kind of way) when she starts asking a few questions about the company (she words them better than N but still).

She and Uzi exchange some harsh words while V literally starts dying but the two eventually form a (begrudging) mutual agreement that they kind of need each other right now and that honestly? Both of them are sick of this whole song and dance. Uzi's tired of hiding and running away and V realizes that she's getting burnt out on killing worker drones all the time. They can't possibly do this on their own, but maybe the can form a temporary alliance, at least until the whole "fixing the pod" thing is over and maybe she can help V not have so many system redundancies and flaws (and maybe touch sunlight one day). The two don't like each other but they agree to at least not try to kill each other.

The fight ends the same way, with some slight differences. V doesn't bother reasoning with N and manages to kick his ass until N asks why she's doing this and she tells him about how fucked up the company actually is and that his loyalty will get him nowhere. Maybe he joins them without much hassle, maybe there's more of a fight, I'm leaving that up to you guys. Uzi still kills J, and V maybe gains a sense of begrudging respect for her. The girl's got bite, she can admire that.

Basically, Uzi and V become begrudging allies and maybe becomes friends along the way. Maybe they kiss. Maybe N's there, too. I don't know.

[sepublic]

Escaping Expulsion!

           LUMITY! LUMITY DEVELOPMENT! LUZ REALIZING HER CRUSH!!!!

           Amity calling her MY Luz… Amity and Luz back-to-back! Playing tricks together that’s so ADORABLE!

           There’s so much to this episode, I… I…!

           Gus! His growth spurt will take a lot getting used to, it’s like watching your favorite kids grow up… At this point he may as well go back to Augustus! And Perry, I love seeing more of him!

           WILLOW’S DADS! They’re GOOD parents I tell you, they talk a lot about grounding or whatever, but then IMMEDIATELY drop their jobs for Willow’s sake!? To home-school her, to have fun! GOOD PARENTS! And the Glasses Dad, he’s a really chill dude, sees Willow going behind the back and is like “I won’t tell!” Nice. VERY nice…!

           BUMP! Not only do we get confirmation that he’s in the Abomination Coven, BUT HE’S A SWEETIE! He’s an utter sweetheart! This really all adds to my headcanon that he felt bad about what happened with Eda, and I bet he was being reminded a LOT of that when he had to get rid of Luz, Willow, and Gus… At least with Eda she more or less left of her own volition, but these kids WANT to come back! I love this principal and his layers… Also Frewin’s tail moving?

           I agree with Alador, and I find it hilarious that he doesn’t seem to understand Frewin that much either… Or he does but he’s still curious! Al IS interesting like Odalia said… Not exactly a good parent, but he is a man of his word! Also WOW he looks like an utter mess, nothing like the prim and proper noble we all expected! I guess Alador from Amity’s flashback was in dress clothes for Amity’s birthday and all that… But yeah he IS fascinating as Dana said! I guess he is the inventor as some people suspected…

           His whole demeanor matches his brief depiction in YBOS pretty well; Looking like he’s mostly just kind of THERE, just kind of chilling for the ride. Has his head in the clouds and focuses on the inventions, on the technical know-how, on carrying out the orders and seeing them through, while Odalia is the leader who instructs things- Just as we suspected! I can already see the neurodivergent Alador headcanons… If Amity is autistic, does she get it from him?

           ODALIA… Ugh. I mean, she’s about as rancid as we all expected, but it’s interesting that she DOES listen to Alador, so there is still that respect there! But JEEZ, she’s an attempted child murderer?! Goes back on her word!? I have to wonder if Alador was the original Blight actually, and Odalia was the one who married in; That, or Alador just has actual integrity and acts as like… The second voice who helps rein in Odalia and remind her of things every now and then. Interesting… But yeah, I loathe her!

           Of course, back to Al- He may not necessarily be so great himself. He does seem to prefer the easy path, the path of least resistance; He adapts to Amity standing up to him and Odalia by instead considering how she could replace the current Abomination Head one day… Which makes sense, that’s HIS expertise, and daughter takes after father! And Odalia really is an Oracle as we thought… Oracle magic for spying, makes sense, but that necklace…

           UGH… Remember when we all liked that necklace! How we thought it was SO CUTE? How Amity wore it at first in Adventures in the Elements… But then she rarely wore her casual outfit? WELL NOW WE KNOW… Here’s hoping the intro changes to remove the necklace, but WOW I was genuinely feeling sick in my stomach when I saw that!

           And Odalia and Alador are even WORSE, because they’re literally arms-manufacturers! Do I even need to explain why that’s awful? But I’m really having a lot of fun with the idea of Abominations as robotics; I’d considered the idea of Abominations melding with Automatons, and the show just confirms and validates that! I love this show… I have to wonder if we’ll see Amity and the Abomination Head interact more? And I like how Abominations is basically shape-shifting and form-changing, but applied to a magical goop that Abomination Witches can control…

           Belos and the Golden Guard! More worldbuilding- Of course Belos is monopolizing and taking things into his own control, he’s expanding his influence! And of course, as Golden Guard pointed out- Not only does he want soldiers –glad we’ll see more of these Abomination things in practice- but also… He doesn’t want anyone raising a private army against him; Which again fits with how Belos operates! 

          But the way Odalia and Alador look at one another… WERE they intending to raise a private army? Or were they always open to selling out to the highest bidder- With their desire to install Amity as the new Abomination Head, we might see them ally with a rebellion, but for their OWN purposes… With how their audience and customer base was cloaked, they may have been unknowingly selling to people with a vested interest and stake in taking down Belos!

           EDA AND LILITH! This show once again confirms my read on glyphs; Not containing magic, but more commanding the magic around them! Lilith is SO smart, figuring out how it works… And YES, I love delving into the mechanics! How glyphs are about COMMUNICATION with the Isles, that calls back to Adventures in the Elements! I wonder then if Belos can communicate with the isles too, possibly through glyphs…

           But we get more insight into their dynamic! Eda was always that talented kid, so she could always breeze the basics and get right into experimentation! It was good for critical thinking, but as we see, she can be really hyperactive and impatient… And of course, this frustrates Lilith, who is very stoic and rule-bound! God she was adorable this episode, how she clearly wants validation… She really is the embodiment of “My child is fine!” “Your child was a pleasure to have in class.” Couldn’t get validation from Gwen, so Lilith went to teachers…

           AND JEEZ, no wonder Belos’ approval meant so much to her! Maybe like Marcy and Andrias from Amphibia, Lilith kind of latched onto Belos as a potential found family figure for her… But as we know, she still had her own desires and wants because she IS a person and not a mindless drone.

           BUT YES, I love the show delving into how Lilith and Eda work as different people! Lilith is by-the-book, and Eda recognizing that Lilith’s methods have value, because Eda is really out of her own element here. I love seeing Eda experiment with glyphs, just the way they experiment with glyphs- I’m glad it’s not just Luz! Also it’s interesting… The show seems to imply that there really are only four glyphs in existence; Light, Ice, Fire, and Plant! That’s a shame because I’d have liked to see more glyphs in the future, just a few more…

           BUT YEAH, this hearkens back to that shot of Luz combining Glyphs in the trailer, and I’ve always hoped that mashing Glyphs can unlock more complex spells! I love this kind of worldbuilding where basic elements are combined in certain ways to yield more specific things, it’s making my worldbuilding brain buzz happily! And I love Luz just freely giving out stars… Lilith is SUCH an Elsa, and her friendship with Hooty is adorable! And here’s hoping that Eda uses that messed-up spell anyway, against enemies…

           Overall this was an AMAZING EPISODE, so strong! Luz isn’t dense, like Alador she’s just distracted… Oh dang, maybe my Luz and Alador parallels idea wasn’t so far off? BUT YES this show promises and delivers through on these characters! I do wish we got to see more of Willow’s thought process about Odalia and Alador interrupting her life again, but with how the episode is already jam-packed with glyph lore AND Luz’s own thing, and I can see why they had to leave it out- 

          But give her some more spotlight, please! I wouldn’t be surprised if some things had to be cut out thanks to Disney downsizing the show… Also again, it’s interesting that based on what this episode implied; The Plant Coven is the ONLY Coven to have such a close basis in nature. If there are only four glyphs in nature, theoretically there should only be four main covens…

           Belos, your system is beginning to look even MORE sketchy now! And dang, the revelations, the lore, the reveals… Not much of Emira and Edric alas, but what we got was short and sweet, and I love how they felt the need to be nice but also sneak in a prank, but Amity just sees them! And also CAT ABOMINATION, the fanart came through! 

          And Amity just immediately recognizing her girlfriend’s work to figure out Luz was there, I love it so much! Overall, an AMAZING episode that blew my expectations out of the water! Now after this we have Echoes of the Past, which promises even MORE in regards to King! I love that these characters are getting a lot of focus now.

           Also it just occurred to me, but yeah- Edric’s occasional air-headed moments, Emira being a bit more bossy and strict… As we all speculated, they get it from their respective parents!

           (Also Hop Pop cameo I see you TOH crew.)

[waayix]

I'd be interested in some N x J! Mostly because I wanna see what you mean by it being healthy.

Looks like some are curious!

Guess I'll introduce yall to

Redemption J au!

with maybe a ship on the way because i'm fucking based.

TL;DR: J regenerates and forgets everything. N stops by the colony to retrieve Uzi's belongings. J doesn't know how to feel about him.

Long answer? Look below, shawty.

Kinda thinking about if J somehow regenerated and lost most of her memories of her time as a murder drone so the colony decides to use that to reinforce J into a guardian for the colony, while also civilizing her with the rest of the worker drones and eventually she becomes very civil.

She still has aspects of her old personality like her temper and pride, but they're handled more carefully so they don't overtake her and so she's a bit better, even a bit more smiley, esp towards the little workers who absolutely adore her.

However, there was always something a miff. One day, she found a strange male drone that looked a lot like herself and for some reason he got really scared of her at first. However, after a bit of back and fourth it's figured out his name is N, and he came back on behalf of a worker who was exiled from the colony to get her belongings.

For some reason, he's really shocked when she offers to show him around so she can find that worker's room. She tries prying, but he doesn't say anything, saying it's just his "imagination."

As they walk however, J finds herself very very confused. She wants to do many things, one of them for some reason was to say 'sorry', but that didn't make sense. Why would she want to say sorry to another 'guardian drone' that she never met? But then again, she felt...familiar with him. But it was in a way that planted a seed of dread in her gut. She found herself quieter than usual around him.

Maybe it was because he was another guardian drone? He said he was with an exiled worker, so maybe he was appointed as her guardian?

She didn't know. However, when he's about to leave, she can't stop herself from grabbing his sleeve before he takes off.

--

"Ah- Wait..-!" Her voice came out before her mind could think of anything, but for some reason, N seemed extremely stiff in the way he moved to look at her, a nervous smile adorning his features. She couldn't explain the anxiety building in her chest. Why was she so scared?

A long silence filled the air, before N snapped her back to reality.

"...J?"

"AH! O-Oh, right, right. Uuuhh..."

The words were just at the tip of her tongue, eventually finding herself forcing them out, despite the fact almost every part of her program was telling her not to.

"P-PLEASE-!" She forced it out, feeling her fists clench as she fought against her own program that for some reason, forbid her from speaking so easily.

"...Please?" N questioned.

"....Please...c-come...back soon, okay?"

Silence wandered again, before a chuckle came from N. It made her heart jump, but she couldn't explain it. The sound of N being happy....

"Heheheh....S-Sure..! I can...talk to her about it, or somethin..." By 'her', J assumed it was the worker drone.

For some reason he was careful to not reveal her name.

The weight on J's shoulders lifted slightly.

"Really?" She didn't mean to sound as childish as she did now, but N was still slow to respond.

"....Yeah. Really. We'll...We'll see." He avoided eye contact as he said this.

"Ah, okay..."

Thankfully N responded quicker, giving her a wave. "Yep! So uh...take care, okay, J?"

"Mhmm! Y-You too, N.."

She found herself holding her tongue again.

Eventually N flew off with those belongings in hand, but J found herself standing there for as long as she did.

It didn't mean anything, right?

This strained feeling didn't mean anything, right?

She was just confused. That's all.

She was just confused because she found there were more guardian drones like her.

That was it. The yellow arm band with the skull didn't mean anything.

J didn't have one like N had. The workers said she lost it.

The urge to bite down on someone when she got hungry was nothing.....

Most of all, these feelings were nothing. They weren't supposed to mean anything.

She was built to protect, that was all she knew.

"Miss J!" "AH!" "Oh, sorry!" A worker chuckled as he casually approached the taller drone, ushering her back.

"C'mon, Lizzy's lookin for you."

J furrowed a digital brow. "Again?"

"Whaaat? She says y'got good taste or somethin'. Probably a teenage thing. Anyway, come on, you got work in the morning."

"Mmm..Okay. I'm coming." She did her best to ignore the seed of dread planted in her chest as she walked back in.

She did her best to ignore everything.

As she walked in, as the worker closed the doors. She walked back to find Lizzy and Dolly. Those two always liked her for some reason.

She did her best to ignore the hints of fear when N looked at her. Whenever she spoke to him.

Whenever he flinched when she touched him, whenever he avoided eye contact when her emotions flared up.

He was just timid. That's right, that's all it was.

She didn't do anything wrong to him...

Right?

[bookishofalder]

Joke of a Batman

Spencer Reid x Male!Reader

Request: @meowiemari Okie dokie!!! So Spencer x male reader where the reader is the driver for the robbers. They arrested him after finding him in a gas station getting snacks. While driving in his car with Morgan, Reid, and Hotch, the reader is in the passenger seat telling them the location because he was just there for the money. Hotch and Morgan went while Spencer stays to keep an eye on him. Reader’s playlist in his car plays old Justin Bieber songs and it’s gonna be me by NSYNC. Spencer sees his embarrassment and  awkwardly sings a bit so he doesn’t feel shame. Later in absolute a few minuets the two started singing and as soon as Morgan comes back with Hotch, they both quickly turn off the playlist and exchange numbers. :)

Warnings: Swearing, implied SMUT (super brief)

A/N: Thank you so much for the request! I loved writing this, and hope I you enjoy. This was my first time writing the reader as male-so please tell me if I can improve! Tried to keep reader description as vague as possible. Thank you to @mermaidxatxheart​ for encouraging me to get writing :) 

“That’ll be $11.75, please.” The bored gas station attendant droned, staring at you expectantly. You began to pull out a few bills from your wallet, ready to get home and eat your pint of ice cream in peace, but before you could count out what you needed, a voice behind you cut in.

“He’s no longer going to be making a purchase today, actually,” Spinning around in alarm, you find yourself face to face with two imposing men, one with a deep frown and overall authoritative air with his crisp suit, the other a handsome but tall and physically intimidating specimen.

With a gulp, you stuff the cash in your wallet. Who were these guys?

“Y/F/N?”

You nod as heat creeps up your neck, burning your face. Fucking Peter Robbins, you always knew, was going to be the death of you. And now it looked like your latest foray into his questionable life was going to land you in jail. These had to be cops.

You knew you should have ignored his call. You’d been telling yourself for years not to help him, he was just going to get himself in trouble again and call again, and you got nothing out of it. He used you because he knew you liked him. The two of you had been friends for years, and it didn’t take him long to realize the ways he could manipulate you because of how you felt.

It took you a lot longer to catch on to what he was doing.

But fuck, you still came running when he called, didn’t you? Like you were some joke of a Batman and he was shining his light into the sky calling for you. If only.

“That’s, yeah, that’s me.” You replied, slowly shoving your wallet into your front pocket before holding your hands in front of you in surrender. Whatever happened, you decide at this moment that you never want to see Peter again. Because giving that man a ride in hopes he’d one day say he was interested was not worth this.

“Mr. (Y/L/N), we’re placing you under arrest,” The frowning man held out his badge, showing you he was one Agent Hotchner from the fucking FBI. You tuned him out, your ears suddenly ringing, alarm shooting through you. Getting arrested was one thing, but the FBI? What in the living hell had Peter gotten into? Got you into?

He called you for a ride. It was just supposed to be a ride.

You were surprised when they didn’t cuff you, but you weren’t stupid enough to question them. They led you outside, where the gas station was quiet, only their large black SUV and your Honda Civic parked out front. You kept your eyes down, a sting threatening the corners but you were not going to cry. You needed to take this one step at a time, and not overreact. You surely didn’t fuck up that badly, did you? They’d said ‘suspicion of aiding a crime’, only suspicion.

“Listen, kid,” The bald Agent whose name you learned was Morgan turned and faced you, his expression serious. You bristled slightly at him calling you ‘kid’, but based on the crows' feet around his eyes, maybe he was older than he let on. “We know that you were just the driver today, and that you’d probably have no clue what’s going on right now.”

You raised your eyes to meet his, “Peter Robbins has ensured I fuck up my life at least once a year for nearly a decade. This is just...a new level for me.” You shrug, trying not to think of what your family was going to say when they found out. Would you lose your job?

“We’ve been watching Peter and his associates for a while now,” Agent Hotchner replied, and your brows raised in surprise. “Yes, he’s escalated from petty crimes that upset the local sheriff to armed robbery. Unfortunately, one of his partners happens to enjoy killing. Which is why we were called in.” He stops speaking abruptly when another Agent, you assume from the gun on his belt, steps around the SUV and up to your group.

For a moment, you’re caught off guard. This Agent is stunningly handsome, much younger than the other two. His eyes, which met yours for only a moment before flitting away, were a soft honey brown that sucked you right in. He had a bit of a shadow along his jaw, his wavy brown hair unkempt in the best kind of way, as though he’d just rolled out of bed looking that perfect. And you could tell he didn’t even realize the power he had. Standing next to two burly, thick muscled Agents, you could understand why. But in your brief assessment of this new man, you could see the lean strength of him, the muscles of his lower arms, veins in his hands. He was tall, too, taller than either of the other men, which was saying something.

“What’s up, Reid?” Morgan asked, and the new arrival-Reid-held up his phone.

“Garcia can’t pull anything from the Honda, it’s, her words, an ancient species.” He spoke quickly, almost as though the words couldn’t find their way off of his tongue quickly enough. You tried not to fixate on his mouth, because damn it, his lips were perfect.

Absentmindedly, you crossed your arms across your chest, feeling tense and tired. When Reid’s eyes followed the movement, you felt frozen under his gaze, watching with your breath held as it dragged slowly up to your face. His expression was unreadable, yet you still felt your cheeks grow warmer.

“Listen, (Y/N), we know you don’t have any real part in Peter’s crimes. We intercepted his calls and texts, we know he asked you to pick him up today, last minute.” Agent Hotchner said, his eyes burning into yours.

You looked away from the other men, shame flooding through you. “Peter always calls, and I always answer. But I really don’t know anything about what he does, I didn't know he was even with anyone else today. He asked me to pick him up right out front of the pharmacy, that’s all.” You couldn’t help the edge to your voice, the wordless plea that they understand you had no clue what was going on. And if innocent people were dying, you would do anything you could to help them put a stop to it.

Reid tilted his head slightly as he watched you, “We’ve seen the messages, (Y/N), we know how he treats you, giving you a little, yet taking a lot,” The tears almost threaten now, so you glance away, looking at the ground as you nod, “And he doesn’t even tell you what he’s taking, the danger he’s putting you in. He’s going to go away for a long time, but you don’t have to.”

At this, your head snaps up and you look between the three men, expecting them to laugh and finally cuff you. But they all wear the same neutral expression, all watching you.

“Like I said, I don’t know much abou-“

Reid shook his head, politely interjecting, “We understand. But you know where you took him today, right?” At your nod, Reid stepped a little closer, peering down at you, “We need you to take us to him. And tell us any other addresses you can remember picking him up from or taking him to in the last year. Can you help us? You won’t be under arrest if you can give us what we need to stop Peter and the men he’s working with.”

You almost wanted to laugh. Of course, you would help, regardless of whether you were still under arrest; you had no loyalty whatsoever to Peter. You only ever showed up for him because you hoped, each time, that it would be the time he would go beyond flirting. That the feelings were mutual. But if he was committing crimes-fuck, robbing people, working with a murderer, then you were done with him.

“I can tell you addresses, and I can show where he is now, I just,” You paused, closing your eyes briefly to pull in a breath, steadying yourself, “Please, don’t hurt him, if you don’t need to, I mean.”

Reid’s eyes, which you found the moment you opened yours, visibly softened at your words. He seemed a little surprised, you thought, though it was hard to tell. He was difficult to read, and you’d only just met him. He nodded reassuringly before looking to Agent Hotchner expectantly while you waited, your insides in knots.

“(Y/N), Spencer is going to go with you in your vehicle, and we’ll be following behind. Take us as close as you can without being obvious. Reid,” He turned to the handsome agent, “We’re going to check the car first, can you-“ He gestured wordlessly in your direction, which made you frown in confusion.

Reid nodded, and you watched as the two other agents moved to search your car, while he moved toward you. “I’m going to search you for weapons, okay?” He explained, holding his hands out as if waiting for your permission.

You stared, perhaps a beat too long, at his long-fingered hands. With a shy bob of your head, you looked to Reid, “Of course, I understand.” And the agent began to pat you down as you stood awkwardly.

It wasn’t as though the action was intimate or affectionate, but for whatever reason, you did feel his touch was hesitant. He was gentle, considerate...it surprised you. And then his hands slid up your back as he stood in front of you, and you became acutely aware of the thin cotton t-shirt your wore, instantly becoming self-conscious. You wondered what he thought of you, of your body.

Mind out of the gutter, you told yourself.

It was then, when Reid leaned back, his hands sliding from your back to your chest, that time seemed to stand still, just for a moment. They moved across your stomach briefly, and as they began to pull away, the search complete, you looked up. Reid was staring at you, his cheeks flushed, eyes heavy. You caught your breath, his gaze was so intense, but before you could even try to think of what to say, he was swiftly stepping back, breaking eye contact with a heavy swallow.

You were kind of relieved. That had been almost too intense, whatever that was. The relief lasted only moments until Agent Hotchner called out that your car was good to go, and you remembered you had a twenty-minute car ride alone with the Reid.

Fuck.

+

The first few minutes of the drive are bearable enough, Spencer takes the wheel as you give him directions to the subdivision where you had dropped Peter off. It’s when the silence starts to press in, and you don’t know what to say to fill it, that things swiftly change.

Sensing the tension, no doubt, Reid reaches out to the audio power button and hits your stereo on. With an internal groan, you suddenly wish you could just jump out of the moving vehicle when the song you’d been listening to picks back up.

'Cause I've had everything But no one's listening And that's just fucking lonely I'm so lonely Lonely

You had put on a playlist you considered your ‘sad songs’ compilation for whenever you were let down by Peter or any other man. You enjoyed wallowing in self-pity for just a little while after each encounter. But now, as Justin Bieber crooned sadly, you didn't feel sad, just humiliated. You were in your car with a fiercely hot FBI agent who had given you some kind of fucking bedroom eyes just minutes ago as he pats you down, and this song plays.

Your expression must have been obvious, as you saw Reid look at you a few times out of the corner of your eye, frowning somewhat. When the song ended, you didn’t get a chance to be relieved before ‘Somebody to Love” began playing. This time, you sighed aloud, sinking somewhat into your seat and wishing you could dissolve into a pile of goo like the Wicked Witch.

Until that is, you glanced up and saw Reid’s fingers tapping gently on the steering wheel to the beat. Surprised, you looked around to the agent and he was mouthing the words, singing along with the chorus. Stunned, you just watched him for a moment, quickly finding yourself enraptured by the way his plump lips moved around the words, how his tongue would wet them between lines, how his eyes-

Fuck, he was looking right at you. You smiled quickly but looked away, your hands fidgeting in your lap. You really had much bigger, more important shit to be concerned with right now, yet here you were wondering what the hell this perfect man, this FBI agent that was far too handsome for his own good, was doing singing along with the silly song, and why the look he gave you had butterflies erupting in your stomach.

Not to mention, the guilt that accompanied those thoughts, brief as they were, of what the lips would feel like on yours. What they would feel like on your body. Wrapped around your cock. Fuck.

He hadn’t said anything, but his fingers continued to tap along with the beat with ease. Eventually, when you directed him to the final turn, you chanced another glance at him. As if expecting your gaze, he turned his head and smiled at you, “I’m Spencer, by the way, Dr. Spencer Reid.” You blinked. Doctor?

“Oh, uh. Wow. Nice to meet you, Dr-“

“You can call me Spencer,” He cut in, his expression somewhat amused.

You nodded, “Nice to meet you, Spencer. Though I wish it were under different circumstances, perhaps where I wasn’t a criminal piece of shit.”

He pulled the car over, stopped at the community mailbox you had described as the perfect place to park. Once he’d turned the engine off, he turned to face you, those warm eyes giving you a gentle look. “You aren’t a criminal piece of shit, (Y/N),” Oh, you loved the way your name sounded coming from him. “I’d go as far as to say you’re a victim in all of this.”

You scoffed, waving a hand in protest, “No, I really should have known better than to help Peter.”

But Spencer shook his head, “As I said earlier, we saw the messages. He manipulates you, and he doesn’t ever tell you what he’s actually doing. He just gets you to give him rides, acts like it’s a way to hang out when really he’s using you as a cover because, in reality, you’re a law-abiding, hardworking, kind man. Men like him don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, (Y/N).”

Letting out a breath, your mind went blank at Spencer’s words, failing you entirely. You believed every word he’d said, and you felt warm all over at the intense way he watched you, it was almost...protective.

Before your mind could reboot and you could trust yourself to open your mouth and not simply drool, a tap on the window drew your eyes beyond Spencer. Agent Hotchner stood there, waiting patiently with his arms crossed.

Spencer climbed out of your car, but you stayed put, glad for a moment to close your eyes and try to steady your beating heart. After this was over, you were climbing into your bathtub and staying there for the rest of the week. Maybe the rest of the month.

“Prentiss and JJ are parked at the North end, they’re going to come with us. Can you wait here, with (Y/N), and call Garcia and have him give her the other locations?”

You heard Spencer agree and bid his fellow agents goodbye before climbing back into your car. He smiled warmly at you, and you couldn’t help but return it, your own shy and uncertain. “You heard what our task is?” He asked you, his head tilted again, watching you curiously.

“Yes.”

“Okay, good. But first, can you give me your phone, please?” He held his hand out expectantly. You handed it over, first pointing it towards your face to unlock it. His fingers brushed yours when he took the phone from you, and if you hadn’t been looking at him already, you wouldn’t have believed it was intentional. But it was because at the slight contact, your eyes had widened and Spencer...Spencer had smirked.

He clicked around on your phone for a moment, hit one final button and then passed it back to you, looking satisfied. When you took it back, his phone chimed in his pocket. Confused, you peered down at your screen to see he’d added his name to your contacts and sent himself a text from your phone. Well fuck.

He was watching you with an amused expression, “Once this case is over, (Y/N), I’d love it if you would allow me to take you to dinner.”

“I, wow,” You stammered, nervously running your hair through your hair. His eyes followed your movement, and you saw a glint behind the warmth, of desire. Hunger. You didn’t think twice. “I’d love to, Spencer.” He grinned at you.

And surprising even yourself, you reached out and squeezed his hand. And when he returned the pressure and ran his thumb softly across the back of your hand, all thoughts of Peter left your mind as *NSYNC played in the background and you didn’t feel lonely anymore.

Did you enjoy this story? Please consider reblogging or commenting to ease my inner turmoil as a writer. Likes are basically just a bookmark!

✨Taglist: @mermaidxatxheart @paintballkid711 @snitchthewitch

[white-queen-lacus]

Wondering...

I noticed something which could probably be a sum of coincidences, but... That lovely and blessed Shinkane scene we got in First Inspector has some interesting clues.

First of all:

Akane didn't know or could imagine that Kougami was the one who would picked her up. Her face here is genuinely astonished, or incredulous. Probably, Akane was expecting a random drone or Mika, at least. Instead, Kougami was waiting for her. 💖

Then her expression soothes, like she was able to realize that he was there, in flesh and blood, just for her.

Then an interesting frame: while Kougami is in the light, Akane is in the shadow. Apart from the general structure of the scene, I found it interesting because while Kougami is now a free man (well... Actually we know that he's not, since he works for the MoFA now and unless the brains haven't remited Makishima's murder they still would gladly see him dead) and Akane is a statutory Enforcer now. So not, they're not ordinary human beings yet... Also, we still don't know anything about the SAD's true agenda but we know that both Frederica and Kougami, at least, don't approve Sibyl... Mhhh... And who is the one who knows all the truth and is trying to take Sibyl down in the shadows?

Then these frames:

Those three shots made me think of something... The moment is right after Kougami apologizes. Meaning that he was sorry for what happened to Akane, meaning that he was sorry for what she had to endure or for the ass@le he's been for being away for all those years leaving her... Mhhh... I just think that whatever happened to Akane could be related to Shinya! Look at her face (yes, Saiga-sensei taught me as well 🤭🤭): the way she reacted to his "sorry" screams "I did *whatever* for you but I don't regret since you're here again". And then she smiles and all of us knows what happens next...

So, in conclusion: I think that the incident may be related to Kougami's return in Japan (yes, we know that it happened three years before and Akane was jailed two years before), but I still think that something occurred... And it also involved Kei's brother (I still think he was in the SAD too). Maybe the System tried to kill Kougami and Akane was forced to act against it to protect him? Awwww Shiotaniiiiiiii, the answers!!!!!!

[jooniyah]

Poison Apple : The Second

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Fem Reader ; Min Yoongi x Fem Reader

AU: Yandere!au, Moneylender!Taehyung

Genre: Angst, Mature, Smut rated R

Warnings: NON CON, Hard Yandere behavior, kidnapping, implied forced pregnancy, emotional abuse, violence, blackmail, character death, voluntary starvation, degradation and physical abuse, slapping, cum play, manipulation, profanity, smut, blood, knives, guns, assassins, and murder.

Word count: 22.91 K

Disclaimer:  This is a work of fiction and I do not condone any of the actions of the characters in this fiction. This is to be treated as pure fantasy, and should not be misconstrued to be demeaning the idols in any way. If any of the above warnings cause you discomfort, kindly refrain from reading.

This is a non-consensual setting, please proceed only if you are not triggered by the warnings. All warnings for Chapter 1 apply. I repeat, please be sure to read all the warnings carefully.

Author’s note:  This is the second chapter of the Poison Apple Trilogy. Please make sure to read Part 1 before proceeding. 

Chapter 1   |    Chapter 2 

The man clad in black adjusted the scope of his M107 rifle, making sure his reticle was in perfect position. As he waited for his target, he did a quick sweep of the terraces of the adjacent buildings. No one was about. A faint slippery sheen of dew covered the cracked floors of the terrace he was positioned on. Any time now. He looked at the neon digits glowing on his watch.

Overhead, his skilled ears could pick out the droning of an approaching airplane. His skin felt clammy, possibly due to the side effect of his beta-blockers. Well, he’d finish the job and go have a well-earned vacation. Cold hands weren’t a big side effect, not when his pills gave him razor-sharp precision at shooting. The gangway of the cruise liner was slowly opened to allow passengers on board. The time had come.

He carefully combed his eyes through the influx of passengers, seeking the one face he was looking for. He didn’t even need to take the photo out of his pocket. He had committed the face to memory. And no disguise could fool him, he was ready for everything the target might try to pull off.

Time ticked on. People were walking on the gangway, boarding the ship, waving to their loved ones. But the target was not to be found anywhere. The described person hadn’t arrived, and the sniper had assumed that he could catch the target on the gangway. But as his professional eyes raked through the humans on board, he knew he was wasting his time. He remained in position, watching on as the ship sounded the final horn before gliding smoothly out onto the sea. He dialed the only number on his burner phone.

“Yes?” The tone sounded shrill and eager.

“A no-show. I repeat, it was a no-show.”

“What? Are you sure you didn’t miss-“?

“I never miss a target.”

There was a deep frustrated sigh.

“Fine. Abort and return.”

The sniper proceeded to pack up his gear and prepared to leave.

On the other end of the line, the figure exhaled sharply, muttering curses and bemoaning the failure. Just then, a dark outline materialized in the doorway, causing the figure to jump up, body numb with defeat.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“I won’t repeat my question again, Mrs.Min.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Then, answer me.”

You remained motionless, staring at the hard-grey table, fingers interweaved.

“Well?” The officer raised his voice, rapping on the table.

“I told you the truth.”

The man scoffed, leaning back in his chair.

“Listen, lady. You know your story sounds shit stupid, right?”

Your voice broke into a whisper.

“But it is true.”

He rolled his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Mr. Kim killed your husband? For you? He’s obsessed with you?”

“Yes.”

“You are giving yourself way too much credit, lady.”

You gritted your teeth, refusing to look at him. He clicked his tongue.

“Well, if your absurd story is true, where is your husband’s body?”

“I don’t know.”

He tsked under his breath. “So what proof do you have to tie Mr.Kim to this alleged murder?”

“None.”

He got up abruptly, shaking his head in irritation. He pointed a finger at you.

“You’re wasting my time. And for the record, Mr.Kim has been nothing but helpful in this investigation.”

You slowly raised your head. “What? What did he say?”

“Do you good to hear it and weave another absurd story, wouldn’t it?”

You watched him hesitate at the door, his hand resting on the handle. “If you are so innocent, Mrs. Min, why didn’t you report your husband missing?”

An angry fuse went off in your brain.

“Why would I report him missing, if he was already dead?”

“Can you afford an attorney, Mrs.Min?”

“I-What?”

The officer stared at you, pursed his lips, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The court-appointed attorney was a tall, curvy woman in her early thirties. She looked calm and had an air of high maintenance about her. You wondered how she could have accepted to defend you. Maybe the woman did pro-bono work. She probably had rich clients. Rich. You were once rich. When Yoongi was alive. Yoongi. A bitter feeling coursed through your heart.

Another detective accompanied the officer who had previously interrogated you. They settled across you and the attorney, scraping chairs on the floor as they took their seats.

“Well, Mrs. Min,” the officer began, “we understand you have mortgaged all your property.”

“Yes.”

“So, what happened to the money?” The officer flicked through papers on a clipboard. “50 million dollars, wasn’t it?”

The second detective pushed himself forward. “More importantly, where is your husband?”

A dull throb started in your temples and seared across your skull. You could shout yourself hoarse that Yoongi was dead, but none of these people would believe you.

When he received no reply, the detective persisted.

“You got rid of him because you wanted the money to yourself, didn’t you?”

The attorney interjected in a harsh tone.

“My client will not answer that.”

“You hid the money someplace, so you could go and retrieve it later.”

“Officer, you will not harass my client like this.”

“I won’t, if she agrees to speak the truth.”

The woman turned to you; harsh impatience evident on the curl of her lips.

“Not a word, Y/N.”

You nodded weakly. You had told everything to the cops already. No one believed in you, not one soul believed that Kim Taehyung murdered Min Yoongi to obtain you. It was nightmarish to go on a walk, people threw such malicious looks your way. What had you ever done to deserve this?

The officers poked and prodded for some more time, and finally packed their papers and left. While you walked out of the interrogation room, your attorney asked you to join her for lunch. You attempted to decline; you weren’t in the mood for lunch. Or anything for that matter.

But you had nowhere to return to, except straight into Taehyung’s world. It was better to prolong the journey back. Besides, the attorney told you that she wanted to discuss a few case details with you over lunch. Automatically, your feet started following her.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The minute you sat down to lunch, you understood that it was a ruse. She neither ordered food for herself nor did she suggest you to. As soon as the waiter turned, she dipped her head low and spoke rapidly:

“I hear that they are bringing in a solid witness to testify against you.”

The surprise caught you off-guard.

“But I didn’t do anything. What is the person going to testify about?”

“That you knew Yoongi was mortgaging your property and you jumped on the opportunity to get the money.”

“But that’s insane! I never-“

There was a haughty roll of her eyes that sparked bitter anger in you. She looked at you as if you were kidding.

“Oh, come on, doll. You can tell me the truth. I’m the only person you can trust.”

Her judging gaze made you want to punch her in the face.

“You think I – I am guilty? You don’t trust me?” Your tone grew louder and a few people turned to glance at you. “Why the hell did you agree to defend me then?”

“Pipe down,” she hissed, looking around herself self-consciously. “They have a witness and a story that sounds better than yours.”

“And that means I’m guilty? Because my story sounds ridiculous?”

She shrugged as if she didn’t care. She took her phone out, swiping on it mindlessly. There was nothing except for the clink of glasses and cutlery around you before she spoke again.

“I want you to consider a plea deal.”

“And why would I, when I’m clearly not guilty?” You folded your hands defiantly, surveying her with a hard stare.

“This is not a simple Missing Person search. You are a person of interest in this case as a possible murderer.”

“They haven’t yet found the body.” Your tongue had a metallic taste when you uttered the word.

“Yet.” She let the words sink in. “But they have proof that you stole the money.”

“Stole? That’s my husband’s money! I was taking it to save him.”

“You know what, Y/N? This story is so silly. You are going overboard with the obsession angle.” She leaned back and lit a cigarette. “You know what really happened?”

She paused and exhaled smoke in your direction, tilting her head to look at you more closely.

“You knew your husband owed Kim Taehyung money. You urged him to mortgage your property. He was probably unwilling. So, you pledged all your property and got the money. The money was in your house. It was easy cash. Min Yoongi was anyway going to be penniless after that, so-“

“Stop it!” Your scream turned a lot of heads.

“Allow me to finish.”

“No, stop it! Stop it right now!”

She smirked lazily. “-So why lose the cash and end up with him? It’s easy, you killed him and took off with the money. You stashed the money and never intended to show up again. Not before someone reported Yoongi missing, that is.”

“It wasn’t like that! You are fucking wrong!”

She blew a smoke ring, not minding your distress in the least. “But that is what the prosecution is bringing to court. And they have a witness who saw you lugging all the money and fleeing the house in your nightclothes.” She paused to laugh. “Couldn’t wait to even get properly dressed?”

Her phone chimed, and she looked down. Just as quickly, she grabbed her coat and briefcase, making haste to get out. You stood up to follow, but she laid a hand on your shoulder and sat you down again.

“He’ll be coming now. Remember what I said, the prosecutor’s going to have a field day with your story.”

She was out of earshot even before you could frame the words: “He? Who?”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

You knew who was walking towards you before you even saw his face. Him. The man who had killed your husband. The man who you were trying to prolong going back to. Kim Taehyung.

He weaved his way through the tables at the restaurant, reaching your side like a piece of metal drawn to a magnet. He took his Aviators off, mussing his dark bangs out of his eyes as he sat down opposite you.

You got up to leave, and his hand shot through the air to grip your forearm.

“Sit down, honey.” His face was open and pleasant, but his eyes were unreadable. “You haven’t had lunch yet.”

The grip tightened, and you settled back down, a scowl on your face as you did so. You never dulled your scorching glare while he called the waiter and ordered food. After the waiter left, he turned to you.

“It’s been two weeks since it happened, Y/N. How much longer do you want me to wait?”

Tears pricked your eyes. Two weeks before, you had kissed Yoongi in Taehyung’s basement for what you hadn’t known would be the last time ever. You had been taken to another cottage of Taehyung’s after it happened. You had refused to eat or talk; you had been consumed in grief. Suddenly, a day ago, Wo Bin had tossed you in a car, and he had dropped you off at a hotel room. That same afternoon, the cops had found you and taken you in for questioning.

“Y/N?” Taehyung’s deep voice broke into your thoughts. “I’m talking to you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you.”

“I’d rather go to prison; I’ll at least be free from your clutches.”

He snickered, flashing a boxy smile at you. If you didn’t know better, you’d call that an innocent grin. He leaned towards you, the smile still turning up the corners of his mouth.

“You? In prison? Oh , baby, that’s not a place for a princess like you.” His gaze dropped down before he looked into your eyes again. “Especially a pregnant princess.”

He watched the way your face twisted. The waiter brought the food, laying down the plates swiftly before you. Taehyung smiled at him in amiable politeness, waited for him to leave and resumed without missing a beat:

“You will have to give birth in prison, you’ll lose your baby after 18 months anyway. You don’t have relatives, so your baby will most definitely go into the system for foster care. Do you want that?”

You had no answer. You hadn’t thought of it ever happening, to be honest.

“It’s also possible you’ll be sentenced to many long years in prison. By the time you get out, your baby would be an adult.”

He saw the way your lips trembled as you digested the facts he was presenting. He bent down and sipped a spoonful of his soup. You looked at his bent head, weighing your options.

“It’s better than-“

Before you could say any further, he cut you short, raising his hand.

“I must say I look forward to adopting your baby.”

He grinned smoothly as he saw you sputter in dismay. God, you were so cute.

“What? Why would you? You don’t care about Yoongi’s baby.”

“Well, true, but the baby is part bastard and part angel. I like to focus on the fact that half of you will be with me as I await your return.”

He slurped the noodles in his soup with a flourish. “I can pull some strings to get the baby assigned to me.” He wiped his mouth with a tissue delicately, watching you the entire time.

“Don’t make me hate you even more, Kim Taehyung.”

He reached over the table, trying to take your hand, but you flicked it away. He sighed and shook his head.

“Eat up, Y/N. That attorney of yours kept you waiting without even offering food.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. She was probably working for him. He seemed to have a lot of people wound around his little finger. Except you. You fell silent, eating without looking up once.

The table was silent until he cleared his throat.

“I want you to think all this through and decide if you want me to help you.”

You scoffed at him. “Help me? How? Do you own the Justice Department too?”

He looked unfazed. A tiny smile played on his lips. “Eat and we’ll talk at the hotel.”

You fell silent again, but the question wormed its way out of your mouth despite your control.

“Why am I staying in that hotel? You didn’t take me to your house.”

“Because you mortgaged your house, you ran away with the money, and I don’t know you apart from the occasional meetings in the elite parties. In the past, when poor Mr. Min was alive, of course.”

“You don’t know me? Are you fucking kidding me, Taehyung?”

His boxy smile returned. Though these were not exactly favorable circumstances, the fact that you were so prettily angry made his heart warm. You were mad at him because he said he didn’t know you? A small jealous part of his heart sang in joy. Even if those words were uttered with hate, he was certain you would love him if you got to know him better. Until then, the subtle undercurrent would have to suffice.

“Like I said, we’ll talk about this at the hotel, Y/N.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

When you reached the hotel room, Taehyung opened the door, motioning for you to go in.

“After you, my darling.”

Once you were inside, he took off your coat, brushing his fingers against your bare arms, his fingertips leaving goosebumps in their wake. You could hear him sigh heavily behind you, and you spun around to face him.

“Get on with it.”

He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “You mean, get on with making love to you?”

You swatted the hand that was ghosting your shoulder, your tone drenched in spite.

“You know what I meant, Taehyung. What the hell were you talking about at the restaurant?”

He pouted his lips and his face fell. “Oh. That.” He sighed again, walking over to the bed.

He sat down, patting the bed to indicate that you were supposed to sit down too. When you didn’t comply, he yanked you by the arm, making you sit in his lap. A hand reached to your side to pinch you in case you squirmed. By then, you knew better than to resist. He rested the side of his head on your shoulder, whistling softly.

“Baby, you’re going to be sent away for a long time.”

“For what? Don’t play your games with me, Kim Taehyung.”

He turned you so you were facing him. There was animation in his eyes, so unlike the usual blank stare. It looked almost as if he were sad.

“You’re going to be tried for the murder of your husband.”

You tried to jump up, and a sharp pinch stilled you into position. “But I didn’t kill him.”

He used his free hand to brush away the tears, his touch feathery light and exceptionally gentle.

“Even if they don’t find the body, there’s a lot of evidence for reasonable doubt, and that’s enough for the jury.”

A sudden tic made your lips tremble. He held you patiently, waiting for it to subside.

“What evidence?”

His eyes softened.

“Some blood. DNA.” He watched your expression as he added: “The fact that you mortgaged the property, got the money, and fled.”

“But I didn’t-” Your brows furrowed for a second before it struck you. “Bong Ju.”

He nodded without answering. He watched you work things out in your mind. He always admired your smartness. But after Yoongi died, you had become kind of slow at thinking through stuff. He wished you would get better quickly so he could pounce on you.

“So, what happens next? You kill my husband, put me in prison, and then take my child?”

He didn’t say anything, quietly looking at the beaded tears on the corners of your eyes.

“I can help you. I can make it all go away.”

Something made you squirm on his lap. To your utter horror, you discovered what it was. You hit his jaw, making him gasp. Pushing yourself off of his lap, you screamed, boiling with rage.

“You’re hard? This is making you hard? What kind of sick bastard are you?”

The scream didn’t have any effect on him. He kept staring at you, eyes burning with primal hunger. Watching you stand before him, face red in anger and nose flaring, made him feel things.

His voice was soft, almost inaudible. “You do that to me.” He reached out to grasp your hand again, and pulled you down so you were almost straddling him.

“Listen Y/N. You have made me wait long enough. I will say this only once, so you better pay attention.”

You struggled in his arms, trying to get away from him. But a hand firmly cupped your jaw and pulled you close to his face.

“Fucking. Listen.”

You nodded wordlessly, and he relaxed his hold on your jaw.

“Two scenarios. One, plead guilty and go to prison. They’ll try you for the murder too. Two, plead innocent and still go to prison. I’ve planted enough evidence to support both scenarios. And you’ll lose the baby in both cases.”

He looked at you chastely, eyes wide and sincere.

“I have both the prosecutor and the defense attorney ready to handle it either way. Any proof of your innocence turns up, your attorney will quash it down. She is very thorough. Your friend Jung Hoseok is already being watched.”

“You bought both the prosecutor and the attorney?”

“Money, baby. It’s what drives them all.”

“And? You want me to dance to your tune, don’t you? What is it?”

He smiled again, and the smile reached his eyes.

“Three, you walk away from all this. Innocent. Your baby lives.”

“In exchange for what?”

His eyes sparkled, and his hands softly squeezed the side of your hips.

“Marry me.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“What do you want, Se Jong?”

The man perched on the hood of the car didn’t flinch.

Wo Bin exhaled in irritation. He had other pressing matters to deal with. He had errands to run for his boss. The white folded paper was still in his pocket, making his mind itch to get on with it. The boss had given him the paper and asked him to find the man matching what was written on it. Strange order, but his boss probably had his reasons. He shook the thoughts away and focused on the man who was eating his time.

“Unlike you, I have work to do, Se Jong. Spit it out.”

The man addressed as Se Jong shrugged his shoulders, leaning back lazily on the car’s windshield.

“I don’t know man.”

Wo Bin ground his teeth.

“Why did you ask to meet me then?”

“I want more.”

“You already get more than enough.”

“Not as much as you do.”

Wo Bin’s nose flared. Having served in the military, it always hurt his pride to be compared to a civilian goon.

“I am not a bank robber like you, Se Jong. You’re not even a good shot. It’s a mystery why the boss still has you around.”

It was already a known fact that Kim Taehyung only employed the best of the best.  Wo Bin often wondered what a dimwit like Se Jong was doing in his Taehyung’s fleet.

“Banker. How do you think the boss stashes his money if he doesn’t have people in the bank pulling strings for him?”

“Get to the point, Jong.”

“I said it already I want more. I want you to talk to the boss for me.”

“Consider it never done.”

Wo Bin turned his back and stormed away, leaving the man on the car seething in anger. Little did he know that Se Jong wasn’t as harmless as he seemed.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The courtroom was jam-packed. Your attorney had told you that the first sitting was just to warm the jury up to the facts of the case. But the sheer number of people in the gallery made you feel intimidated. Well, it was a case concerning the Min family. More importantly, Min Yoongi’s wife was on trial.

The prosecutor, Kang Minsook, made his opening statements, addressing the jury and accusing you of grand larceny. You watched on, neurons firing in your brain, as the prosecutor spun a splendidly woven tale of how you married Yoongi for money, felt cheated when he fell into debt, decided it was time to take the money for yourself, and fled.

Kim Taehyung was seated in the spectator area, dressed in his best of blacks, watching on as the prosecutor piled wrong information, wrapping up the lies smoothly with a few bits of truth so that it looked dirty, but believably so.

Your attorney made her opening statements, but they fell flat in front of the prosecutor’s powerful story of lies. One glance at the jury told you that none of them were buying the version of the case that the defense was presenting.

The judge turned to you.

“Mrs. Min, in this accusation of grand larceny, how do you plead?”

Your eyes swept over the jury. No soft glances were aimed towards you. You then looked at Taehyung, sitting with an air of regality as if he were presiding over the courtroom. Stretching yourself to your full height, you replied quietly:

“Not guilty, your Honor.”

A smile slowly spread across Taehyung’s lips.

The prosecutor was on his feet as soon as he got permission to start.

“I’d like to call the prosecution’s first witness, your Honor.”

You strained to see who was the witness. A tall man you knew only too well rose from the bench and took the witness stand. It was surely not the bald man you were expecting to see.

“Mr. Kim, please state your name and occupation for the sake of the court.”

The man looked straight ahead, flexing the muscles in his jaw. It made him look arrogant, giving off vibes of a man not to be messed with.

“I am Kim Namjoon. I’m the Executive Director of Park and Kim Motors Inc.”

“And how were you related to Mr. Min?”

“We were family friends.”

“Please elaborate on the nature of your relationship, Mr. Kim.”

The witness gazed at Minsook, and suddenly his eyes wore a brooding look.

“Min Yoongi and I were friends through our parents’ societal ties. I used to play Chess every evening with Yoongi before he got engaged.”

“So, your friendship with Mr. Min goes long back.” The prosecutor stopped to wipe his spectacles, leaving you wondering what he was up to.

“May I ask, Mr. Kim, as to why you stopped playing Chess with Mr. Min after his engagement?”

Your counsel shot to her feet.

“Objection, your Honor. The prosecutor is wasting the court’s time with irrelevant questions.”

Minsook looked at the judge with surprised eyes.

“But it is a relevant question, your Honor.”

“Overruled.”

Smiling broadly in a way that made your insides turn, the man turned again to his witness.

“Well, Mr. Kim?”

Kim Namjoon stared at you, so much malice concentrated in his eyes.

“His fiancée didn’t want me spending too much time with Yoongi.”

There was a pause. And then with a condescending tone, the next question was thrown:

“Maybe there was an innocent reason, Mr. Kim? Maybe the defendant wanted all the attention to herself?”

Once again, your counsel stood up with a loud “Objection, speculation, your Honor.”

“Sustained.”

With a wicked grin, the prosecutor threw a careless apology to the judge, looking at the witness expectantly.

“I don’t know. But now I know she wasn’t as innocent as she seemed.”

“Why exactly do you say that, Mr. Kim?”

Namjoon glared at you again.

“She didn’t even bother to search for Yoongi. She ran away.”

The prosecutor took a sealed evidence bag in his hand, turning so he was facing both the witness and the jury.

“And who filed the Missing Person report about Mr. Min?”

“I did. She didn’t. Because she was too busy counting the money.”

“Objection!”

“The prosecution will advise their witness not to make assumptive statements.”

But the damage had already been done.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

You sat and listened as your husband’s best friend told the court how Yoongi had been increasingly agitated in the months prior to his disappearance.

“He was in so much trouble, it was clear as day,” he said.

“And did he tell you what was bothering him, Mr. Kim?”

Namjoon clenched his jaw again. “He was missing his mother very badly.”

The wicked gleam in Minsook’s eyes returned.

“What happened to his mother, Mr. Kim?”

“His mother had been institutionalized. His wife and mother were not on good terms. It broke Yoongi’s heart to part with his mother like that.”

“So, Mr. Min’s wife sent her mother-in-law away?”

The jury watched Namjoon affirm that with a curt “Yes.” Your attorney made no attempt to object. Things were beginning to look dark for you.

“Why do you think the elder Mrs. Min was sent away, Mr. Kim?”

The judge waited for your counsel to object citing speculation. But she made no move. With a withering glance, the judge advised the defense to not indulge in speculation.

The question was rephrased with a sly grin.

“What did Mr. Min tell you about his mother being sent away?”

Namjoon looked at the jury with sincere eyes.

“He said that his wife was in danger because of his mother. Mrs. Min accused her mother-in-law of trying to stab her with a knife.”

“Did Mr. Min say that the accusation was correct?”

“He only arrived in time to separate them. So, there’s no proof of who instigated the fight.”

Your palms started sweating. A delicate web of lies was being spun around you, and the spider at the center of it all sat watching with quiet enthusiasm.

“Did you know that Mr. Min was in huge financial debt?”

Taehyung watched the witness shake his head, followed by a curt “No.” He slid his hand to his pocket where his phone buzzed. There was a single message on the notification shade.

“Done.”

He looked back at the man who was talking, turning his phone’s display off and allowing himself a smile.

The prosecutor was going on.

“Why didn’t Mr. Min confide in you, if you were such close friends? He could have even borrowed from you.”

Namjoon shifted in his seat, his thick brows crumpling slightly as he processed the question.

“I don’t remember exactly, but I heard in passing that his wife shopped extravagantly. I assume it was his wife who wrung him dry. So, he was probably unable to confide in me about his wife.”

The prosecutor beamed.

“Naturally.”

Your attorney interrupted with an objection citing speculation, which was sustained.

At that, the prosecutor produced another plastic bag of evidence.

“These are the receipts that prove Mrs. Min purchased exquisite jewels, your Honor.” He flourished the bag at the jury, eyes bright with emotion. “Each purchase cost more than the previous one, amounting to millions of dollars.”

Wearing a proud smile, the prosecutor thanked the witness and gave your attorney the nod to cross-examine the witness. The woman slowly got up, adjusting her robes as she approached the witness box.

“Let me start with the easiest question, Mr. Kim.” Her face took on an innocent expression. “Wasn’t Mr. Min already very rich? Why would he ever get into debt? He already owned the Min Group.”

Namjoon looked at her in confusion. “He didn’t own the Min Group. His father did.”

“The late Mr. Min?”

“Yes. Yoongi was only the executive director of the Min Group until his father died.”

You watched your attorney look suddenly uncomfortable. You didn’t understand the need for this line of questioning. The jury looked confused too. Until the next question tore through the silence.

“How did the late Mr. Min die, Mr. Kim?”

“He was involved in a car accident. He died of multiple organ failure.”

“So, both of Mr. Min’s parents were out of the picture shortly after he married the defendant?”

You couldn’t believe your ears. Was your own attorney suggesting that-?

“Yes.” Namjoon’s voice interrupted the thoughts racing through your mind.

The judge looked sharply at your counsel. Was she out of her mind, to hand such an insinuating lead to the prosecution?

“Are you going anywhere with this, counsel?”

Your attorney nervously bit her lip.

“No, your honor.”

She turned to Namjoon.

“Couldn’t the defendant have purchased the jewels even when the elder Mr. Min was alive?”

Namjoon wondered if this woman had even researched her case properly. What kind of attorney gave away their client like this in court? He looked at you, weighing his words.

“Mr. Min handled all the finance of the Min family. Yoongi could have bought her the jewels, yes, but his father had to okay any big expenses he made.”

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Kim.”

Namjoon was excused from the witness stand. You were in utter disbelief. You were being framed. By your own attorney. Taehyung was right. You were going to prison.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

 You couldn’t bring yourself to munch the sandwich that was before you. It was court recess, and your attorney was by your side, eating busily. She was completely oblivious of your apparent resentment towards her.

“How could you give me away like that?”

She looked up; eyebrows raised.

“Like what?”

You had to control yourself from shouting at the top of your lungs. Clutching the table hard, you rocked yourself, trying to be calm.

“You almost accused me of killing my father-in-law.”

She rolled her eyes with a blank “Eh.” On seeing you intensify the burning stare; she grumblingly munched the last bit of her steak.

“You’re already on your way to prison, dearie. Nothing I say or don’t is gonna help you.”

“You are my fucking lawyer!”

A few lawyers seated on the adjacent table murmured in disapproval in your general direction.

“Mind your fucking business!” You shouted at them, eyes blazing in anger. The woman clucked her tongue in disapproval.

“That temper won’t help. Don’t incriminate yourself even more. I did tell you to accept a plea deal, Y/N.”

Three tables away from yours, Kang Minsook was seated with his associates, deep in discussion.

“Something about this case makes me feel weird,” an associate was saying. “Why would the defense point out the senior Mr. Min’s accident? It only makes sense if we do. What is that attorney up to?”

Far back in the cafeteria, Taehyung sipped a cold strawberry milkshake as he watched you. Ugh. He had to endure the disgusting milkshake just for you. For you. Yes, he would do anything for you. But the obvious artificial strawberry flavoring was almost too much. You would pay later for making him drink such cheap stuff.

As his juniors droned on about the case, Minsook glanced over at your gloomy figure staring down at the table. It made him wonder how you were going to handle what was coming next.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

You were sure you were going to be called up for cross-examination as soon as the court was in session. Bunching the hem of your skirt tight, you bent your head in apprehension. They were going to call out your name. They were going to prove that you killed Yoongi. They were going to send you to prison. Your knuckles tightened around the fabric, the dampness of your palm transferring onto it.

“The prosecution summons Mr. Kim Taehyung, your Honor.”

All the fear in the world rolled into one tight ball that got caught in your throat. Taehyung was going to testify?

The black-haired man took confident strides as he made his way to the witness stand. Everything about him suggested a successful, genuine, and well-respected man. The ladies in the gallery murmured about how rare it was to see not one but two families in the elite circle pitted against each other. The thumping of your heart was so loud and deafening. Taehyung composed himself with a sincere look in his dark eyes.

“Please state your name and occupation for the sake of the court.”

He raked his eyes through the jury. “I am Kim Taehyung. I am the CEO of Kim Automotive LLC.”

Minsook considered the witness carefully.

“What kind of relationship do you have with the Min family?”

“We were both rich families.” Taehyung masked the bitterness in his voice. “We met at social gatherings.”

“Do you know the defendant?”

“Yes.” The answer was abrupt, leaving unsaid words hanging in the air. The prosecutor pressed on.

“How do you know her?”

Taehyung batted his thick eyelashes innocently, looking square into the eyes of Minsook.

“She came to me trying to pledge the Min estate.”

There was a sharp gasp from the spectators and the low murmuring started to grow louder before the judge pounded his gavel.

The prosecutor waited for all the hushed voices to completely dribble down into sharp silence before asking the burning question:

“The defendant sought you out by herself?”

You closed your eyes lest someone see the beaded drops that were threatening to fall. All the memories of what happened half an hour ago flashed in your mind in full throttle.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

You had been walking back to the benches outside the courtroom, when a man bumped into you, causing you to gasp out loud. As you clutched your shoulder and glared crossly at the retreating figure, you noticed chewing gum on your suit. Wincing in disgust, you tried to peel it off when you noticed a small neatly folded bit of paper sticking to it. You opened it, only to find four words written on the slip.

‘Barristers’ chambers No. 3. -KTH’

Turning just in time, your eyes caught Taehyung as he slowly watched you and walked ahead, leading the way.

── ⋆✩⋆ ──

“Well, sugar? Ready to change your mind yet?” were the words that greeted you upon entering the chambers.

The blinds were drawn, lending a dark ambiance to the room. Taehyung was half-leaning on the table, supporting the weight of his body on both his arms. He watched you, fascinated by the pencil skirt and the tailored suit jacket that fit you so well. It was a shame that you had to go through all the court drama. The worry on your forehead made him want to reach over and kiss all the tension away. Only if you let him. He sighed.

He pushed himself off the table, reaching you in determined strides, his face alight with emotion. With an arrogant flick of his wrist, he crooned in his deep voice:

“20 more minutes before the court is in session, darling.”

His long fingers gripped your jacket, pulling you into his chest. The fingers roamed on your person, finding purchase at the nape of your neck. The heat of his body accompanied by the firm grip of his fingers left you frozen in place.

Taehyung rang his tongue over his upper lip, curling his mouth in a suggestive smirk.

“So, yes or no?”

“I- How can you make it all go away?” your voice came in a bare whisper.

“Baby, I always get my way. Do you still doubt what I’m capable of?”

He nuzzled his forehead against yours, sighing deeply in content. His eyes fluttered closed, the steady rise and fall of his chest falling in rhythm with yours.

“So? What is it? Endure me, or spend a lifetime in prison wondering what I did with your child?”

“Plea-“

His finger shushed your lips, stopping you from saying anything he didn’t want to hear. His eyes were still closed, but there was a soft smile kindling in the corners of his lips.

“18 minutes left, Y/N. Say it. Yes or No?”

Your mind was a maze of emotions. Say yes and live with Taehyung? The man who killed your husband? You’d have to be insane to do that. Say no and go to prison? What would you do without your baby? Why did all of this happen? Where exactly did you go wrong? Why were you trapped in a room with your husband’s killer draped all over your bosom?

“15 minutes.”

A giant sob rocked your body, tears streaming down your face as you spat it out:

“Yes.”

His eyes opened slowly, a euphoric smile making his face glow in radiance. You could have sworn there was a glossy film on his eyes that suspiciously resembled tears.

“Oh Y/N. I love you.”

He peppered soft kisses on your cheeks and nose, leaning back reflexively at the wetness of your cheeks.

“Why the tears, my sweet?” He brushed the trickling tears with the tip of his thumb. “Anyone would think you hate the idea of marrying me.”

When he didn’t get a reply, his eyes went from soft to dangerous in one quick flash. He leaned over you so that you were arching yourself backward, his hand supporting the small of your back securely. He made as if to kiss your jaw, but flicked his tongue out instead. His hot tongue swept over the trail left by the tears, licking your face from jaw to cheekbone in one long stroke.

His other hand gripped your squirming hips hard, the dangerous glint was fixated on your pupils as he continued his stroke above your eyes, stopping only momentarily when your eyes fluttered at the wet feeling of your lashes. He finished the trail at your eyebrow, landing a soft kiss on the arch of your eyebrow.

“No makeup,” he observed, looking deep into your eyes. “And just as beautiful as always. Delicious too. Pity you didn’t wear lipstick; I’d have loved to have your lip prints on my cock.”

His grip of your waist loosened, and you pushed yourself upright, shuddering all over. You tried to wipe off his saliva with the sleeve of your jacket, but his hand stopped you with a harsh jolt.

“Never, remember, never wipe off anything I give you.”

You glared at him, the sticky wetness still bothering you.

“You disgust me, Kim Taehyung.”

His eyes crinkled in delight. “Aw, I love you too, darling.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Taehyung considered the question, ruminating on his thoughts.

“Yes.”

Minsook chose his words carefully.

“Can you tell the court what Mrs. Min said, Mr. Kim?”

“She said ‘My husband is in debt and I want to mortgage our property. He doesn’t want anyone to know, so I came to you instead of going to his friends.’ She looked very upset. “

“And you didn’t talk to Mr. Min about this before agreeing to the request?”

Taehyung looked annoyed.

“I trusted Mrs. Min’s words.” It looked like referring to you by that title made him sick. “I didn’t want her husband to feel uncomfortable, especially because she said that he wanted it to be discreet.”

You felt bile rising to your chest as you watched the bastard stack lie upon lie as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

Minsook considered the witness closely before asking his next question.

“Do you have witnesses to corroborate your story, Mr. Kim?”

Taehyung simply smiled, his eyes briefly flitting over to you. He ran his tongue over his lips as if your taste was still on them.

“At least twenty of my staff were present when she arrived at my mansion.”

Wrong. There were more than 50 guys that day when you went to him, dragging a suitcase in your pajamas. Of course, they would testify against you. The case was going to be a nightmare to get out of.

Taehyung was excused in haste. Turning to the judge, Minsook spoke so fast that you almost couldn’t keep up with his flow.

“Your Honor, the state pleads more time to prove that the accused mortgaged the Min property, took the money- “he glanced at the jury with emotion “-and killed her husband to get rid of liabilities. We have enough evidence for reasonable doubt.”

He appealed to the jury with strong words, trying to rock them in his favor.

“An innocent man loses all his money, his wife flees, she never reports him missing, his house is a bloody mess, with blood matching his DNA all over the place. The police found one airplane ticket in the defendant’s personal effects. Just one. Not two, if she is to be believed.”

He let the magnitude of his allusion sink in before throwing the next bombshell.

“As the defense uncovered, the elder Mr. and Mrs. Min were conveniently removed from the defendant’s life. The defense also confirmed that the defendant alleged that her mother-in-law was a threat to her life and sent her away. This raises doubt into the elder Mr. Min’s tragic accident.”

You were shocked into silence; the pain was overwhelming. You felt like you were floating above your body, detached and dead from all the pain and hurt.

Minsook was going on.

“While we can’t definitively prove that the defendant was involved in it, we do have the responsibility of looking keenly into the case at hand to make sure that justice is served.”

There was a brief interruption as the side doors opened, and a man walked in, making straight to your attorney. He handed her a package, whispering into her ear. She immediately stood up and asked for permission to speak. All eyes were on her, and no one noticed the brief looks exchanged between Taehyung and the mysterious messenger. Except you, of course.

“Your Honor, the defense wishes to continue this hearing in camera.”

The judge peered over his glasses at the counsel.

“What is the necessity for it, please?”

You saw the defense attorney wave the package at the jury, addressing the judge and jury at the same time.

“We have proof that Min Yoongi is alive.”

What? You gasped in shock, the news bringing you back to reality and grounding you. The brief respite was replaced with deep hurt when you looked at Taehyung. His single raised eyebrow uttered the unsaid. He had gotten his way. Just like he had said he would.

A loud babble of voices broke out in the spectators’ area, the droning of voices so loud that the judge pounded the gavel furiously.

“And what proof is there to confirm this news?”

Your attorney passed a few pieces of paper over to the clerk.

“These are Min Yoongi’s shell company records that prove that he is in possession of the 50 million dollars, your Honor.” She passed on more papers. “This flight manifest shows that a passenger named Soo Yeongguk was on board, carrying a passport with the same name.”

“And?”

“These surveillance camera pictures show that it was Mr. Min who used a fake passport in the name of Soo Yeongguk to flee the country.”

Minsook sputtered, “But Your Honor, the blood and DNA,” he was wringing his hands, “He couldn’t have flown with those injuries.”

It was explained away by the defense as non-conclusive.

“Mr. Min could have easily planted his blood just like he did everything else to frame his wife, your Honor. There is no hard evidence that he bled to death. Or even died, for that matter.”

“Why has the defense wasted the court’s valuable time when all these facts were already known?”

“We only got confirmation of the false identity a few minutes ago, your Honor.”

The judge rose up to stand, and immediately the whole courtroom followed suit.

“This will be further discussed in camera.”

The judge turned and left, and both the prosecution and defense scurried to fetch their documents and hastened to the judge’s chambers. The bailiff escorted the jury and left.

There was pandemonium and confusion after they left. People were restless, talking in hushed tones about all the drama that had just happened. As for you, it was pure shock that kept you standing on your feet. Shock at how easily justice has been swayed.

It felt like you were treading clouds when you were taken into the judge’s chambers. How could they have cooked up all the proof? You saw your husband’s death with your own eyes. Was there not an inkling of sunshine at the end of the tunnel? Not a drop of justice in the universe?

You felt numb and empty as you stood watching the judge reprimand your counsel for wasting the court’s time and resources. He also fined the defense. You weren’t listening. You didn’t care. Because you were declared innocent. And condemned to marry Taehyung.

You didn’t stay back to see Taehyung and the judge shake hands in solidarity. Nor did you hear Taehyung whisper:

“Good show. Expect the money in one hour.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The cold water pricking your skin did nothing to assuage the hurt eating away at your heart. The incessant flashes of the cameras as you exited the courtrooms, the reporters calling your name out, the overpowering smell of sweat and stale coffee, everything came back with such force that you squatted in the shower, hugging yourself.

You had come back to the hotel alone. No Taehyung. Because he apparently ‘didn’t know you that much.’ Snake. And you couldn’t find a way to escape him. He had kept his side of the bargain. You had to keep yours. The cold water was a far better company than the man outside your door.

“Y/N!” The knocks on the bathroom door were growing impatient. “Come on out already.”

You looked at the flimsy contraption that was dividing you and him. You had to go out. He couldn’t be avoided forever.

“Want me to break the damn door?” The deep voice hollered in irritation.

Taehyung couldn’t wait to see you. You were now his. No force on Earth could take you away from him. Not on his watch. He had already received a text from Wo Bin. So that matter had been taken care of. He was in a jubilant mood.

The lock clicked, and you emerged, wrapped in the hotel’s complimentary white bathrobe. Taehyung thought that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Wet hair clumped in loose coils around your shoulders, slowly dripping water on the robe. His heart sang, believing that you had been cleansed of Min Yoongi and his touches. You looked angelic; damp body covered in nothing but a robe. A strange feeling raged up from his gut, catching in his throat and smothering him in emotion.

His hand reached you as if it had a mind of its own. The fabric was rough. Wouldn’t it chafe your delicate skin? He balled his fist to contain his annoyance. His slender fingers bunched around the sash, pulling you into his arms. He gasped at how cold you were.

“You’re so cold, Y/N.”

Your face was blank. He got no response. Tracing his steps backward, he landed on the bed, pulling you into his lap.

“So cold,” he repeated again, gently nudging the robe away from your shoulder blades to press soft kisses. You squirmed, and he didn’t like it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he snapped, cupping your jaw.

The hurt was too much and you broke.

“It’s- I – Yoongi.”

He held you in his arms, waiting for the violent sobs to subside, gently shushing you. He didn’t like that you were still thinking of Yoongi. But he had foreseen this. And he had already made arrangements.

“What about Yoongi, baby?”

You sniffed, unsure if you were supposed to tell him. Hell, what else did you have to lose?

“He- I- “More sobs and hiccups before you continued: “-I want to see him.”

He blew out his cheeks softly.

“And what good will that do?”

He attempted to wipe your tears, but you slapped his hand away.

“I’m his wife.”

“Not anymore. He’s dead.”

The words twisted into your heart like a cold iron dagger. The fighter in you returned with a vengeance.

“But Yoongi is alive. At least legally. You just proved that in court.”

He chuckled, the vibrations of his chest transferring onto your own body, sweeping you into the reverberation too.

“Yes. And unfortunately, he died an hour ago.”

You tried to push yourself off him in vain. The hold grew tight, and his eyes became harder. Your voice broke again.

“What do you mean?”

He cradled your head into the crook of his neck, and you revolted angrily by hitting his jaw and pulling back.

“Tell me, you fucking prick!”

He grinned, his irises dark, the danger swimming in them climbing out and coloring his features with malice.

“You’ll find out yourself.”

He sat motionless, looking into your eyes, as you hurled cuss words at him, shaking his shoulders, demanding an answer. You grew tired eventually, and stopped your tirade, choosing to go silent instead.

It was all quiet in the room, with Taehyung holding you in his lap, sniffing your wet hair, when the ringing of a cell phone screeched and cut the silence. The sound was coming from his pocket.

“Take it,” he urged, his voice dark and mysterious. “It’s for you.”

Grimacing, you dug your fingers into his pockets, scowling when he moaned at your touch. Upon finding the phone, you accepted the call and breathed out a shaky “Hello?”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“I don’t have the faintest idea why Yoongi did this,” Mrs. Park said, dabbing her eyes as she patted your hand. “He was such a good boy.” She shook her head sadly. “Maybe I didn’t know him that well after all.”

To say that her words amplified your hurt would be an understatement. You were surrounded by people who were willing to believe that Yoongi had deserted you, ending up dead by a twist of fate. Your Yoongi would never do that. Never.  Yet, the groups of people clustered in the hall seemed to think otherwise.

You looked around at the familiar yet strange faces. Did any of them even care? You thought not. And yet again, the man who destroyed your husband made his appearance, weaving his way through the flood of faces.

“My heartfelt condolences, Mrs. Min.”

You shook your hand free from his clasp. The venomous anger bubbling inside you made you choke on your words as you bit out a forced “Thank you, Mr. Kim.”

“Talk about Karma,” he went on, unmindful of your hostile countenance. “He left you desolate and Karma caught up with him.”

Before you could snap, Mrs. Park nodded her head, acknowledging his words.

“Mr. Kim is right, child. Yoongi got into trouble because he left you. No decent man fakes his death and pins the blame on his wife.”

She became agitated, the sorrow of losing her best friend’s son hitting her hard.

“I wish he hadn’t gotten involved with the mafia, though. He might have come back to you. Alas.”

More tears welled up in your eyes as you listened to Mrs. Park. How you wished you could scream that Yoongi was dead only because of Taehyung!

“I’ll call on Sung-Hee at the Klammer when I leave.” She patted your shoulder delicately.

You nodded with a soft whisper: “Please give her my love.”

Kim Namjoon had come to bid his friend farewell. He was silent as he surveyed the closed coffin, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he controlled his choked emotions. He paused to hiss in your ear when he was leaving:

“You killed him, bitch.”

The funeral was very difficult to get through. People kept walking up to you, expressing their disappointment at the way your husband had met his death. And all the while the killer stood at a corner of the hall, not caring in the least about the gross injustice Min Yoongi was being subjected to, even in his death.

When everyone left, you were standing alone in the hall, working up the heart to bid goodbye to the love of your life. Taehyung had left long ago, playing his part of an innocent visitor.

Your fingers traced the wood, feeling the ridges and following the embossed floral patterns. It was going to be very hard. Biting your lip to contain the trembling, you slid a finger under the coffin lid.

“I would advise against that.”

You looked up with a start. It was him again. You glared at him as your fingers pried under the lid again. He stepped forward with an urgent whisper.

“Y/N, don’t.”

You had already seen the worst happen right before your eyes. What more would frighten you?

Taehyung wasn’t fast enough, and you had already screamed and leaped back when he arrived at your side.

“I told you not to.” His arms embraced you, holding you tight while you continued screaming your heart out. You turned on him with vengeful fury, hitting his chest, throwing a volley of punches with your balled fists. He let you punch him, not even trying to shield himself.

When you were spent from all the screaming and punching, he hugged you as softly as he could.

“I hired the best mortician. But-” he sighed heavily “-yeah; Min still looks bad.”

He was met with no response. He continued hugging you, rubbing soft circles on your back.

“But-”

He bent down to look at your red eyes. “Hm?”

“Where’s his…” You swallowed the lump in your throat. “… his wedding ring?”

Taehyung shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

It didn’t matter. You knew that the man inside the coffin was Yoongi. You would recognize those fingers from anywhere. Those long beautiful fingers that had traced lines of love on your skin ever so often. He was indeed gone.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Taehyung was silent as he watched the numbers on the elevator as it climbed up to his penthouse office. It had been three days since he had last seen you. You were at his mansion, alright, but you had locked yourself in a room and had refused to come out. He hadn’t seen you ever since the funeral. He idly wondered if you were still wearing the black dress from that evening. A small conscious cough interrupted his thought train.

So Na Yeon, his personal secretary, nervously fished in her pocket for a kerchief. “Please excuse me.”

He didn’t react. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone. Her lipstick was a shade too bright for his taste. She was interesting to look at. But no one could ever match to you. And thus, he found himself thinking of you yet again.

When the elevator dinged and opened, she followed Taehyung briskly, sailing into his office right behind him. She waited for him to be seated, and then got on with briefing him about his appointments for the day. But when Taehyung waved her away, she remained in place, biting her lip anxiously.  

“Well?”

She creased her forehead, deciding if she should tell him.

“Mr. Wo Bin reported that one of the men is rebelling, sir.”

“In what way?”

“It appears that he asked for a raise and Mr. Bin turned him down.”

“What did Bin say about it?”

She shook her head.

“He said that the man isn’t good enough and that he’s already a waste of your money.”

Taehyung lost interest. He wanted to get his work done with so he could think of you more.

“If Bin said so, I don’t doubt his opinion. Tell him to handle the guy in whichever way he sees fit.”

“Yes, sir.”

She turned and left. And Taehyung noticed her short business skirt for the first time. She seemed really proud of her figure. And then she faded out and his mind wandered to you once again.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

You could hear him fiddling with the doorknob. You knew he had a master key. You had expected to see him break into the room angrily as soon as you had slammed yourself in. But Taehyung did nothing of that sort.

Every morning, before he left, he would try the doorknob. Every evening, as soon as he arrived, he would do it again. There would be heavy sighs outside the door and he’d leave. It was like a ritual, and it went on for six days since the funeral.

On the seventh day, however, he lost his patience. He had waited and given you time to come back to him. He wanted you to walk into his arms willingly. But his patience was wearing thin.

“Open the door.”

He was pressing his forehead against the wood, gritting his teeth in suppressed anger. When there was no sound of movement, his voice rose to a high growl.

“I said open! Now!”

His large palms made contact with the wood as he pounded on the door. Suddenly, the door gave way and opened, the darkness inside the room making it hard for him to see you. It didn’t help that you were wearing black too. At last, he made out your outline.

He reached over to flick the light on, and gasped as soon as the light hit you. There were deep dark circles under your eyes. The straps of the dress were loose and ready to fall from your shoulders.

“God, Y/N, you look like Death.”

He cautiously approached forward, running his eyes over the clavicles that were jutting out sharply.

“It’s been six days. Seven, almost.” He took your hand, pressing it gently. “Come out.”

“No.”

Your voice was so low that he tilted his head to catch the words.

“You need to eat.”

“No.”

He tugged on your hand hard, anger rising in his chest.

“It’s not good for- ” he eyed your belly, “-that thing inside you.”

Hatred lit a spark in your blank eyes.

“It’s a baby,” you hissed, pushing against his chest with all your might. “It’s Min Yoongi’s baby.”

“Yeah, whatever. Do you want it to die? Come out and fucking eat.”

The glaring eyes were better than the blank ones, he noted. He liked you better when you were all animated and furious.

“I wasn’t starving myself. The mini-fridge…“

“I don’t think fruit would nourish your bastard enough. Stop arguing and come out.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Taehyung knew the answer before he even asked the question out loud.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

You were dressed in a soft cashmere sweater and jeans. Yoongi used to love that sweater. He would always comment on how it made you look like a fairy cloud.

Taehyung knew the clothes only too well. He had seen you wear the sweater on multiple dates with Yoongi while he was following you around. It made him mad to see you still dressing up for him.

You didn’t even turn his way, throwing the answer at him sullenly:

“My husband’s grave.”

Taehyung leaned back on the sofa, propping his legs up on the coffee table.

“And who exactly is buried there?”

You turned and stared at him, confused.

“Min Yoongi?”

Taehyung chuckled heartily, crossing his arms and gazing fondly at you.

“Oh honey, how naïve you are!”

“What do you mean?” Anxiety pooled in your chest as he continued chuckling without answering.

He took his sweet time to answer, leaving you standing puzzled.

“Do you honestly think I’d let you visit that bastard in his grave, Y/N? Just so you can make him a martyr? Do you think I’m a fool?”

“What- what do you mean?” you repeated again, feeling your chest tighten.

“He isn’t buried there. There’s another dead guy matching his description buried in his stead.”

“But- the coffin-“

“Oh, yeah it was him in the coffin, all right.” He yawned lazily. “Switched bodies on the way to the cemetery.”

He watched all the emotions flashing on your face, the quiver of your lips, the unblinking eyes as you grasped all the information he had just stated. Finally, a cold blank stare replaced the myriad of emotions that had lit up your face. Slowly, you walked back into the bedroom, locking yourself shut. Taehyung sighed deeply. You were finally his.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

It was obvious to Taehyung that you were suffering him just for the sake of your baby. It was bittersweet to him that the only reason you would stay alive was Yoongi’s child growing inside you. He wished fervently to get rid of that tiny Min seed, but he knew the aftermath would be disastrous.

You talked to him in barbed tones only if it was absolutely necessary. The rest of the time, it was as if he was invisible to you. He had forced you to sleep in the master bedroom with him. But it hurt him to see the wide gap in the sheets between him and you every night.

Sometimes, he would turn in his sleep and a finger would brush against you. And he’d stay wide awake watching you huddle on the corner of the bed, sobbing quietly. It became increasingly apparent that you weren’t sleeping at all. If he so much as shifted in his side of the bed, you would immediately flinch.

Part of him wanted to understand, to hold you, and say that he loved you and wouldn’t hurt you. Another part of him was fueled by jealousy, that even in death, Min Yoongi was winning your attention. It was frustrating to him that his enemy wasn’t alive. Who could fight a dead man’s memory?

It was that part of him that broke loose, when he saw you crawl on your side of the bed, wearing an oversized hoodie that reeked of another man. Not letting him touch you was already a sore point. And the hoodie just made him go ballistic.

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

“Huh?” You looked down at Yoongi’s hoodie. “I am cold.”

“Wear something else or strip naked for all I care.” His nose was flaring with the exertion it took to control himself.

You glared at him for a hot second.

“Fuck yourself.”

Without another word, you turned your back to him.

There was a sudden jolt as he pranced to your side, pulling you so you were lying on your back. His whole countenance was flashing with murderous rage. His knees were on either side of you, his arms pinning your shoulders to the bed. Hot breath fanned your face as he dipped his head down.

“Throw everything away. Everything that belonged to Min.”

You stared at him in defiance.

“What about me? I belong to him.”

His lips twitched ominously.

“He is dead.”

You didn’t back down in the slightest.

“Yes. You killed him.”

You could see the internal struggle he was going through to stop himself from hitting you.

He took a deep ragged breath and dipped his head even closer to your face.

“Listen, Y/N. Everything I did, I did because I love you.” He gripped your jaw hard when you rolled your eyes. “I went through a lot to get you. And I will not let you screw this up for me.” He paused with a haunted look in his eyes.

“Why is it so hard to love me?”

He looked at your lips as if they were curling around the words that would be his lifeline.

“Because you are not Yoongi. You killed him.”

His hot sigh fell on your lips, the heat sucking all the moisture from the soft flesh. You were scared that he was going to kiss you.

He leaned back a bit, catching hold of the hem of the hoodie.

“Are you going to remove this, or should I?”

He got off you, turning his back to you as he rummaged in his closet. Without looking back, he tossed his grey oversized sweater at you. He didn’t wait before adding:

“Wear that or sleep naked. Your choice.”

It gave him wicked joy to see you dressed in his clothes. His scent would be all over you, washing away that bastard’s. He made a note to throw away everything you owned and buy you new ones. Nothing should remind you of Min. Even the most inconsequential thing would have to go. He looked at your back wistfully. Everything but that thing inside your belly.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Two weeks passed uneventfully. Taehyung had given you a restricted phone. You could only call Taehyung with it. Calls to Hoseok and others never went through. You felt like your world had suddenly shrunk to one individual.

There was nothing to do in that big house. You weren’t allowed to work, because, apparently you were ‘not ready yet.’ Sometimes, it crossed your mind that you hadn’t received any letters or calls from your clients and friends. But it was probably because Taehyung screened everything. You were sure he’d filter the air you breathed if he had a way to.

You wondered how your mother-in-law was. Why was it that she went crazy but you didn’t? Had your love for Yoongi not been strong enough? Were you not anchored deeply with Yoongi as Sung-Hee had been with her husband?

Would you end up in a room next to your Yoongi’s mother? But you were sure they would take away your child if you went to the Klammer Institute. No, you shivered in disgust. You would never let Taehyung destroy the little piece of Yoongi left in the world.

The next morning, you emerged from the bathroom, body drained in exhaustion. Nothing you ate seemed to stay in your tummy. Wearily, you padded over to the full-length mirror in the dressing table.

You were pulling the shirt up and gazing at your belly when there was a click behind you. Taehyung stood immobile at the doorway, mouth agape.

His eyes were fixed on the mirror, looking at the tiny flab on your erstwhile flat belly. You had been only a couple months pregnant when Yoongi died, so the bump hadn’t shown. But nature was going her way, and soon you would be heavily pregnant, belly rich and round with child.

Taehyung gazed silently, not uttering a word. It was as if he were on mute. When he opened his mouth, at last, the words that shot out were:

“Time to marry.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Your plea to wait longer fell on deaf ears. Taehyung didn’t want to delay marrying you. He wanted to protect his ego. He would marry you before your pregnancy showed.

You pointed out that people would call you an unscrupulous woman who remarried even before flowers took root on her husband’s grave.

“Do you want everyone to hate me?”

He didn’t even flinch.

“Everyone already hates me. At least you’ll be on my side.”

No matter how you pleaded, he refused to listen. He reminded you of the jail time he had saved you and your baby from.

“It wouldn’t take me a minute to get you arrested again, you know.”

He looked at your midsection. “Want me to sign up for foster care?”

There was no way out. You slumped your shoulders in resignation. It was part of the deal, after all.

“Nothing lavish.” You licked your lips nervously. “Just take me to the fucking courthouse and get it over with.

Taehyung smiled, eyes dancing. The sunny smile lit his face aglow, a strange softness shading his sharp features.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“Y/N, you really are a mystery. So soon?”

Mrs. Kim didn’t care to lower her voice.

“Leave her alone, Mrs. Kim.”

Hoseok’s tone was clipped, annoyance evident on his face.

Bo Na was holding your hand, patting it slowly, her eyes assuring you that she understood why you had to do what you did.

Taehyung smiled, finger grazing the rim of the champagne glass. He was wearing the tux he had bought months before you married Yoongi. He had spent countless nights running his fingers over the dreamy satin, his mind dreaming up heady concoctions of how sparkling you would look as you walked down the aisle, on his arm. He had woven all his dreams into the very fabric of that tuxedo, and the fact that he had, at last, attained what he wanted, made his heart warm.

“To tell you the truth, Mrs. Kim,” he sipped some champagne, waiting until all the attention was on him, “Y/N is pregnant with Min Yoongi’s child.”

Bo Na gasped, her hand flying to her mouth to contain the shock.

Mrs. Kim looked just as shocked. She couldn’t stop lowering her eyes to your belly.

Taehyung continued:

“She needs a person by her side, especially after losing Yoongi so tragically. I was Yoongi’s friend, and I can’t let Y/N suffer by herself.”

You wished the champagne were laced with poison. When had you become so weak? How was it that you let him puppeteer you into silence? Should you have tried and killed him before things got so complicated?

“Lost in thought, lamb?”

Taehyung grinned. No water on Earth would have doused the fiery glare you threw his way. Mrs. Kim called out to her son who was passing by.

“Namjoon!”

Yoongi’s best friend clenched his jaw and exhaled loudly before making his way to his mother.

“Yes, mom.”

“You were wrong about Y/N, boy. The poor girl is pregnant.”

His thick eyebrows arched at you in surprise.

His mother went on.

“And Taehyung only wanted to help, poor darling. Such a good man, he is.”

Namjoon’s eyes locked onto Taehyung’s. The air felt electric as they stared each other down. Namjoon deflated eventually.

“Yeah, I’m sure he is. Excuse me, please.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

There were no words to describe how embarrassed you were by the whole wedding affair. Everything was the opposite of nothing lavish. The decorations were all extravagant, sophisticated, and gaudy in the face of the fact that you had been widowed only months ago.

Taehyung had invited every person who had attended your first wedding with Yoongi. It was almost as if he wanted to flaunt you and brag about how he had fooled them all right under their noses. He was everywhere, flitting from one guest to the other, flashing his boxy smile, playing his part of the perfect host.

The guests were confused if they had to offer their condolences or wishes. It was very awkward for you, the little rip in your heart deepening with each guest’s flustered greeting.

Wow. Everyone pretended as if Yoongi never existed. As if he had never been killed. Killed by the man who danced through the halls as if he were the epitome of innocence.

Hoseok took your hand, leaning in to whisper.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I wish I could kill Taehyung.”

You blinked away the tears.

“Yeah, so do I.”

The sound of a spoon tapping a wine glass cut through the chatter.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please!”

Everyone stopped chatting and looked expectantly at Taehyung’s uncle, who was all smiles.

“I’d like to say what a fine boy Taehyung is, deciding to take Y/N under his wing, after the terrible misfortune that befell her.” He raised his voice to a higher note. “Especially because he didn’t want her child to be fatherless.”

If you ever had the power to vanish, you would have loved to use it at that moment. There were several gasps and turned heads that looked your way.

“Congratulations, to the new couple!”

Taehyung’s uncle raised his glass, and scattered applause sounded, and grew louder as people digested the news.

Taehyung stood with his head bent, a shy smile painting his cheeks pink.

That devil.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Going through the whole ordeal of the wedding was emotionally taxing. Every little thing about the ceremony reminded you of the gummy-smiled beautiful man you had married with so much love. When Taehyung slid the ring on your finger, you felt a wave of nausea that certainly wasn’t related to your pregnancy. He lowered his head to kiss your knuckles, loving the way the beautiful cushion-cut diamond adorned your pretty hand.

As you were walking out, trying not to cringe at Taehyung’s grasp on the small of your hip, a woman stumbled and dropped her glass, splashing wine all over the front of your dress.

“Oh! I am so sorry!”

Your brain couldn’t get irritated enough to lose your temper. Not when a man had already forcibly married you and assassinated your darling Yoongi’s character just before your eyes.

“It’s alright, Na Yeon.”

Taehyung waved her away, not angry in the least. He then leaned in to whisper in your ear:

“I’m going to rip that dress off your body anyway.”

The ride to his mansion was the longest. You had been living there, yes, but as Mrs. Min. You had hidden behind that name as if it were a consecrated circle. But this time, you were going as Taehyung’s bride. Nothing was going to stop him from claiming you.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Kim,” Taehyung sang to you as the car pulled into the driveway.

“Taehyung-“

He laid his slim finger on your lip, shushing you.

“Call me Tae.”

You scoffed in disbelief.

“You really think I’d call you that? What, do you think I love you?”

He grinned happily.

“You do. You just don’t accept it yet.”

There was a battle of stares and you turned on your heel, stomping away to change out of the stupid wine-soaked wedding dress.

It was confusing when you stopped outside the bedroom door. Because the knob wouldn’t turn. You were fiddling with it for a good five minutes when Taehyung’s chuckle fell in your ears.

He was leaning against the banister, a set of shiny keys in his hand.

“It’s customary to give the lady of the house all the keys,” he drawled, twirling the silvery loop that jangled in his hand. “Our bedroom is upstairs, Mrs. Kim. Newly decorated just for us.”

Irritated, you plucked the keys out of his fingers, huffing your way up to the damned bedroom. When you threw the door open, you understood that he was telling the truth.

The whole room was painted in pastel cream colors, books and music stacked neatly on the glass shelves. There was a huge closet, with mirrors for doors. The closet directly overlooked the giant white bed. Rose petals were strewn across the bed to make a big flower heart.

You knew he was behind you when you heard the brisk step of his shoe.

“Like it?”

You could almost hear his smile in those words.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The petals stuck onto your thighs as you rolled out of bed. Taehyung was sleeping, his chest pressing against the bed, his arm strewn over a pillow. His rhythmic breathing confirmed that he was asleep.

You shuddered at the shrunken petals, crushed under the weight of your bodies. Taehyung’s dark hair fanned over his arm, and you could see his veins bulging underneath his skin. So strong. Yet, he hadn’t thrown himself at you as you had feared.

In fact, he had gone straight to shower upon entering the new bedroom. You had changed into shorts. Strangely, all your long night pants were missing from the new closet.

Taehyung hadn’t made any sudden moves. He had emerged from the bathroom, stood before the closet-mirrors, tightened the cords of his pajamas, and turned to you.

You had been absolutely sure that you were going to be claimed harshly. But he had simply knelt down, both hands on either side of you, and leaned in to press a kiss to your forehead. Accompanied by the distinct sniff of his habitual smelling of your hair. And then he had risen up and gone to his side of the bed.

Sneaking a look at the man sleeping across the bed, you couldn’t understand why he hadn’t thrown himself at you forcibly. Had he not done it in the glass room?

The bedside clock ticked on, and you decided to pay your parents a visit. You hadn’t been to see them in a long time, ever since Yoongi had started having money troubles. The last time you had visited them, you were Mrs. Min. Something inside you just wanted to get away from the sudden overload of being married to your husband’s killer. Your mind craved something to keep you from going insane. Something that was a constant in the troubled times of uncertainty.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Months ago

Yoongi was at home, all alone. An empty whiskey bottle was lying on the table, rolling to the sides a teeny bit every now and then. He couldn’t believe he had gotten into so much trouble. All those years of hard work his parents and grandparents had put into the Min Group, all the effort, it was all falling apart. Because of him. The heir who wrecked the family. He could almost see the headlines in the newspaper.

His breath was probably smelling like whiskey. You would find out. He sighed.

You. Beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful you. Why had things gone so bad? Why did he ever trust Wo Bin, that bastard?  A thousand questions raced in his mind, the drunken haze making them even louder. How could he ever tell you that he had let you down? That he had let his entire family down?

He glanced at the digital clock on the counter. 3 pm. You would be home soon. Good gosh, was it Wednesday already? Kim Taehyung had threatened to show up at the Min house if he didn’t pay up by Friday. What was he going to do in such little time?

A clang of the doorbell startled him. You carried your own key. Who else was at the door?

Yoongi stood up and the headrush made him stumble around a bit. When he finally opened the door, a delivery girl was standing outside. She was carrying a bouquet of lilies. Lilies. They were your favorite. He was confused. Who sent you lilies at your home?

“Delivery for Mrs. Kim?”

Yoongi stood stunned. What the hell?

“You’ve got the wrong address.”

He tried to shut the door, but the girl persisted in a shrill voice.

“A person called Y/N? Does she live here?”

“Yeah- why…?”

The girl thrust the bouquet in his hands, grinning cheerfully.

“Then these are for her.”

She hopped away, leaving him standing at the porch, wondering what in the world just happened.

When Yoongi went back in, his gaze fell on the little card attached to the bow on the stems. It read:

‘To the future Mrs. Kim.

All the love, KTH.’

The words made Yoongi so angry that his fingers started shaking alarmingly. There was a band of sweat under his collar, even though the AC was on full blast. Anger coursing through his veins, Yoongi clawed at the card and tore it to pieces. He had never been so insulted in his life.

Outside, the delivery girl dialed a number and waited for the man to pick up.

“I delivered the flowers to him, Mr. Bin.”

She paused to listen.

“Yeah, he was alone.”

Yoongi was on his way to dump the flowers in the trash can when his phone rang. Swearing under his breath, he threw the bouquet on the counter and picked up.

“Min Yooooongiii…”

The deep booming voice drawled in his ear. Yoongi felt his cheeks heat up. Sweat was beginning to trickle down his forehead.

“Quit playing your games with me, Taehyung.”

There was a throaty chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Do you think your wife will like the lilies?”

“I swear I’ll-“

“I am sure she received another delivery at her studio.”

Yoongi went mute. What did the card on that one say? He started panicking.

“I’ll fucking kill you, Kim Taehyung.”

The caller laughed in a way designed to specifically irritate Yoongi.

“We’ll see. Remember you only have till Friday to pay up.”

The line disconnected and Yoongi was left fuming, unable to collect his thoughts. He needed alcohol. Something. Anything. Just to douse the white-hot fire burning in his chest.

── ⋆✩⋆ ──

“Mrs. Min?”

You had moved into the new studio only a couple months back. You primarily operated from home, but the studio was needed when you met other clients. Yoongi had set you up with a beautiful studio complete with hand-picked designers who assisted you.

“Yes?”

“Miss Yung is requesting to meet you tomorrow, for lunch.”

You looked at the calendar. Thursday was when you always went to see your parents. But Yung Min-Ji was a wonderful client, and you did have a lot to discuss with her about the styling of her new condo.

“Tell her I’m available.”

“But your usual schedule-“

You smiled lightly.

“I’ll go today instead. No worries.”

It wasn’t a sentiment to go only on Thursdays. It just happened to be that your schedules were light on that day of the week. You glanced at the time. 2 pm. You could use some fresh air.

There was a cool breeze when you stopped by the florist to get your mom’s flowers- carnations. You were walking absent-mindedly, coming to a stop in front of the headstone. You looked at the grave, confusion creasing your eyebrows.

There was a beautiful bouquet of white carnations laid neatly on each of your parents’ graves. The flowers were fresh as if someone had just laid them out. But no one was around. You were the only living person in the cemetery. You knelt down, finding a pool of molten wax. It was hard to the touch. Someone had come by earlier. Further inspection showed that both graves had indeed had carnations and one small lit candle on them. But, they were left by whom?

── ⋆✩⋆ ──

The sound of gravel crunching under the tires of your car woke Yoongi up. His head was throbbing. He held his head, steadying himself before getting up.

“Baby, I’m home!” your melodic voice chirped at the door.

Before he even got to hug you, he was met with your screeches, as you were hollering in excitement. You were jumping up and down in his arms, eyes shining in delight.

“Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongiii-yaahhhh,” you crooned, grinning eagerly, “The flowers- was that you?”

There was a catch in his throat while Yoongi racked his brain.

“Uh- yes. Liked them?”

You swung yourself on his arms, giggling.

“Like? I loved them!”

Oh shit. He remembered the forgotten lilies on the counter. He had meant to throw them away. Damn. How would he explain them?

“Y/N,” he whispered, catching hold of you. “Go on and shower, I’ll be right back.”

You nodded, suddenly transported back to reality.

“Yoongi- you smell of whiskey.”

He turned his back to you, advancing in swift steps to grab the cursed lilies.

“I’ll be back.”

You made your way to the bedroom, mind still buzzing in happiness. You hadn’t even looked at the lilies.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Present day

The soil was wet under your shoes, from all the dew. The guards had shut up and let you leave on foot, without insisting on approval from their boss. Fucking privilege of being Mrs. Kim, ugh.

The faint smell of cut grass kissed your nostrils as you walked absently. It was still early in the morning, and the cool air helped ease your feverish tension. A man was raking leaves near your parents’ graves.

You walked faster, reaching his side just in time to see a bouquet of shrunken white carnations, withered and sad. There was molten wax on the cold marble, just like there had been before. The man sank to his knees, scraping off the wax gently. He didn’t even look your way.

But the flowers and candles? Who was it?

“Excuse me, um, sir?”

He raised his head, one good eye looking expectantly at you, while the other was clouded with cataract.

“Yes, miss?”

You gestured towards the graves.

“Those flowers… do you know who-“

“Aye, them flowers,” he shook his head, “I don’t know nothin’ about who leaves them.”

You crinkled your forehead.

“But you were cleaning the wax, so I-“

“Aye, miss. I been paid to keep these two graves clean. Good money for an odd job.”

Your heart started fluttering wildly.

“Paid? By whom?”

He made a stern face as if he were concentrating.

“Dunno. I been paid to take care of the graves as long as I live.”

He resumed scraping the wax, talking slowly.

“Man paid five grand, one time. Said ‘em graves should be kept spick and span.” He paused to turn around self-consciously. “He said he be checking on me, makin’ sure I ain’t skipped town with them money.”

You didn’t know what to think. It was a weird piece of information to process.

“How long since he paid you, sir?”

He closed his eyes, maybe he was thinking.

“Four years? Maybe five-ish,” he said when he finally opened them.

“Miss, tell him I be doing the work all right!”

The man hollered at your retreating back, nervous that you were spying on him.

You nodded, walking rapidly away. It was incomprehensible. It was a dream. Yes. You had probably dreamt it up. You would wake soon and find your husband’s killer draped all over you.

When you returned gloomily to the mansion, Taehyung was lounging on the sofa, flicking through the pages of a business magazine. You ignored him and made straight for the bedroom. It was only when you hit the shower that you remembered what day it was. Thursday.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“I’m going back to work.”

Taehyung lowered his glass, eyelashes almost dusting the rim of the glass.

“Doing what?”

You folded your hands, staring him down.

“Designing homes and offices.”

He grinned, sipping juice innocently as you tapped your foot in impatience.

“And who do you think wants Mrs. Kim to design for them?”

You hadn’t forgotten that the title alienated you from the rest of the elite. But hadn’t you a uniqueness of your own? You were sure they wouldn’t discriminate you. They were all your friends and Yoongi’s, weren’t they?

“I have friends.”

He took another long sip, smacking his lips just to annoy you.

“No, baby, you don’t. To them, you’re nothing but a traitor.”

“I’m not.” You were sure that he was just manipulating you into his twisted theories.

He tilted his head like a confused puppy.

“Don’t believe me?” He thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, extending it to you. “Go on, try calling someone.”

Your instinct was to dial Hoseok’s number. But you knew he would stay by your side forever. Calling him would be like mistrusting his friendship. You thought hard. Maybe you could call Mrs. Park.

You dialed her number feverishly, hoping she would pick up. You didn’t know you were holding your breath until the line clicked and a voice spoke out:

“Yes? Mrs. Park here.”

“Oh hello, Mrs. Park, I’m Y/N, how ar-“

She cut you off swiftly.

“Y/N? What is it, child?”

You nervously looked at Taehyung out of the corner of your eyes. He was leaning back, a bored look on his face as he blew raspberries. Twisting the hem of your tee, you chuckled consciously.

“I was wondering if you knew anyone who’s looking to-,” you licked your dry lips, “You know, to redo their apartments and stuff.”

There was an awkward pause.

“Ah Y/N, I wish I could help you. But you know, Jaewon found a new designer who specializes in Earth tones and my daughter says it’s the craze right now, so-“

“I see.”

Mrs. Park heaved a deep sigh.

“So, yeah, everyone is more interested in following that trend, naturally,” She was rambling to neutralize the awkwardness, “Besides, you’re pregnant and… I hope you don’t mind, dearie.”

“No, Mrs. Park, it’s fine.”

“Call me if you want anything, Y/N.” More like ‘Don’t disturb me again, Y/N.’

“Yeah. Thanks.”

You couldn’t bear to look at the gloating face that smirked at you. He was right. Everyone loved you only when you had been a Min. But as soon as Yoongi died, their allegiance had crumbled to dust.

You couldn’t find it in yourself to hate them, though. You had married Taehyung just months after Yoongi died. Married Kim Taehyung, of all people. It was a wonder that Mrs. Park had even picked the call.  

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Every morning, you stood before the mirror, gazing at your belly. There was no significant bump, but you could just feel the little piece of Yoongi stir inside you. It made your heart sing. How happy Yoongi would have been! How wonderful life would have been with him! Raising your child together, loving each other, looking into each other’s eyes, watching your skin sag and wrinkle; growing old, but your love never lessening.

It was ironic that every day felt like an eon with Taehyung. You were in constant tension around him, like an elastic band stretched to its maximum limit. Even his slightest moves made you nervous. If he reached over for salt, you were left trembling. If he walked out of the shower in his boxers, your heart raced. Everything about him kept you on edge, scared that he would pounce on you without a moment’s notice.

Things came to a head the next Tuesday. You were getting ready to go out for your doctor’s appointment. Taehyung emerged from the shower, rubbing the towel against his wet hair as he walked to the closet mirrors, standing next to you.

His studied your yellow floral dress, only the slightest hint of belly was proof that another human was growing inside you. A tight thread of jealousy snapped inside Taehyung. Yoongi had made love to you, cummed in you, leaving you pregnant. He fumed in jealousy, getting into his pants and picking out his shirt.

He was adjusting his tie when he saw you swirl the tube of lip balm. The same brand you had used for years, lending that delicious glossy sheen on your lips that kept haunting him in his dreams. His tie was left forgotten, and he reached his hand out to gently pull you closer. The sudden rigidity of your body reminded him of a startled kitten.

“What, babe?” He crooned, drawing you nearer. “Go on, wear it.”

When you didn’t comply, he plucked the tube out of your fingers, smearing a glossy coat of lip balm on your lips. He could see the visible heaving of your chest as you struggled to maintain your composure.

Pinning you with your back against the closet mirror, he dipped his head to ghost his breath over your lips. The fruity smell made him go crazy.

Without warning, his tongue licked a hot trail over your upper lip, following the natural curve of your cupid’s bow. He smacked his lips, groaning in lust, and went in to savor your lower lip too.

“Your lips look better with my saliva, baby,” he murmured, gently nibbling on your lips and sucking on the plump soft flesh.

He was heady with need, nibbling harder and pushing himself closer against you. When you tried pushing against his chest, he got mad.

“How long do you think I’ll wait? Huh?” His voice was thick in a mix of anger and want. “Think I’d just fuck my hand forever?”

Your throat felt hollow and itchy when you voiced out:

“I don’t want to-“

His face crumpled in anger.

“Well, too bad, because I want to.”

Still in his pants, he thrust his clothed crotch into your pelvis, the floral skirt allowing him to feel the mound between your legs. He used his knee to keep your legs spread, while he went on thrusting against you. The friction made him curse out loud. One of his hands sneaked to catch hold of your throat, and he nestled his forehead against your shoulder blade, never stopping his thrusts.

His moans grew louder, quicker, and more intense. He bit the soft skin on your shoulder as he reached his climax. He panted in your ear, deep breaths reverberating through his body. With a heavy moan, he licked the bite mark and straightened his back, watching you warily.

Your eyes were closed, face frozen and impassive.

He hadn’t been able to control himself. When he thought about it, he hadn’t even touched his dick once, and yet his seed was all over his underwear. That was how much you affected him.

When he pushed off of you, you still hadn’t opened your eyes.

“Thought I’d change,” he drawled lazily, biting his lip. “But on second thought, I’ll go to work in my creamed pants. It’ll remind me of you all day.”

A drop of salty water rolled down your closed lid.

There were only sounds of him moving around, grabbing his phone, keys and stuff, and then silence.

He hadn’t even touched a button on your dress. But you had never felt so open and vulnerable in your entire life.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Taehyung was in a serious discussion with his board when the intercom rang. He threw an angry glance at Na Yeon, who bowed so deep he could see her cleavage clear as day.

She hurried to answer, looking at him beseechingly.

Taehyung did not like his meetings interrupted. Calls were always screened while he was in discussion. Only an important person or an important matter could bypass the screening.

“What?”

“I am to put it on speakerphone,” Na Yeon replied meekly.

“Do it then.” He was losing his patience.

“Kim Taehyung, you fucking son of a bitch!”

Everyone in the boardroom was startled, looking at each other in panic.

“How dare you take advantage of me like that? You insufferable, disgusting prick!”

Taehyung leaned back in his chair, playing with his pen.

“You miserable bag of shit, I swear I’ll cut your balls off!”

Taehyung drummed his knuckles on the desk, waiting for the tirade to stop.

“You are the vilest asshole on earth!”

The line went dead, and a stunned silence prevailed in the room. Taehyung rose again, going back to the whiteboard. He huffed at the mute people staring at him. He didn’t lose an ounce of his cool.

“So, let’s pick up where we left off…”

After everyone left, Na Yeon stayed back to apologize. Taehyung noticed that there was a beauty mark on her chest, right near the button of her blouse. Well, it wouldn’t have been visible if she had buttoned up her blouse. Maybe she felt sexy. Whatever. He didn’t really care.

“I’m sorry about the phone call, Mr. Kim.”

“It was nothing.” He shrugged it off, he wasn’t very bothered.

She continued unmindful of his disinterest.

“I should have tried to cut the call, I shall screen her next-“

His features suddenly flashed with annoyance.

“She is my wife. She should never be screened. Besides, she has every right to yell at me.” He sneered at Na Yeon as he bit out his words. “You don’t have any right to cut my wife’s call.”

With that, he stormed out of the boardroom, leaving his secretary shocked into silence.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

That evening, when Taehyung returned home, you were in the sitting room, legs crossed. Your mouth was set in a straight line. You were giving off a stubborn aura, and Taehyung fought the smile that threatened to curl his lips up.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss your husband, Mrs. Kim?”

The hot glare didn’t alarm him in the least.

He loosened his tie, sighing in that deep voice of his. It made the hair on your arms stand up. He settled down on the couch, just next to you.

“I enjoyed the telephonic love note today,” he said, fiddling with his cufflinks. He proceeded to unbuckle his belt.

“Especially because my pants were crusted with cum.” He threw his belt on the floor. “Thanks to you.”

You jumped to your feet, wagging a finger at him, screeching in mutiny.

“Don’t ever do that again, you scumbag.”

“Why not?” Mock surprise danced on his face. “Didn’t you agree to marry me?”

“I didn’t agree to be violated, Kim Taehyung.”

He puffed out his cheeks, disinterested.

“You didn’t leave me any other choice.”

You couldn’t believe your ears. Did he expect you to jump on his lap and love him? After he snatched everything you loved away from you? Was he insane?

You threw your arms up, scoffing incredulously.

“How on Earth do you think I’ll ever love you?” The very idea made you gag. “After you killed my husband? Do you have no regret?”

He scanned his fingernails, pouting his lips in mock hurt. His voice was soft.

“I didn’t kill him on my own.”

“What?” The tic on your mouth made your face twitch. “What the fuck are you saying?”

He lifted his eyes to meet yours.

“Everything I did was because I loved you. For you.”

You stared at him, no words coming to mind. You had been sure that you were only the spoils of the war between his family and Yoongi’s. You didn’t believe for one second that Taehyung loved you.

“When you think about it, the reason I killed him was you.”

Your jaw dropped. The sputtering of your mouth made it impossible to frame comprehensible words.

“Me?”

“Mmhmm. In a sense, you killed Yoongi.”

No, no. this wasn’t happening. You had never done anything to hurt Yoongi. He was your love, your precious baby. No, Taehyung was babbling nonsense.

“Shut up,” you whispered, voice shaking.

He smirked at you.

“Think, baby. He wouldn’t have died if you had said ‘Yes’ when I asked you nicely.”

Memories of that fateful day at his office, clad in pajamas and feeling his bulge pressing against you came tumbling back.

It was a struggle to find your voice. “No.”

“Accept that you killed him, Y/N.”

Your vision blurred with tears and you repeated again, “No.”

A shit-eating grin spread on his face. He unzipped himself, sliding into a more comfortable position.

“Would you rather say you killed him or suck my cock?”

The first drop rolled down your cheek, and he repeated his question, voice darker and laced with lust.

You grasped for words. “Don’t do this to me.”

Your plea made him impatient. He wanted the cold war to end already. How long were you going to mourn Yoongi? He didn’t really want to fuck you when you were heavy with that man’s child.

“Either suck my cock or admit that Min died because of you.”

He waited with bated breath, observing the whirlpool of emotions flashing on your face. And then, to his utter delight, you wordlessly sank to your knees.

He unzipped his pants, giddy with excitement. Your face was devoid of emotion. The tears had stopped, leaving stains on both your cheeks. He waited for you to reach and touch him. When it didn’t happen, he lifted his hips off the couch, annoyed.

“My cock isn’t gonna pop into your mouth on its own, babygirl.”

Nothing.

He reached out and grabbed your head, pulling you in so your nose was against his clothed dick. He felt like he would burst at the feeling. He moaned out as he rubbed your face against him, the groans coming out harsh and strained.

He couldn’t wait for you to take him out, so he fished himself out of his boxers, grazing the tip against your lips. The blunt disgust on your face only made him even hornier, and he coated all his pre-cum onto your lips.

“Fuck, Y/N, my cum looks better on you than my saliva does.”

He pressed the sides of your jaw to pucker your mouth open, placing himself inside your warm mouth.

“Go on, baby. Suck.”

He caught your eyes and added in a dangerous tone, “Don’t you dare bite, I’ll fucking kick that bastard to death.” He looked ominously at your belly. He knew your sore point.

Swallowing your pride, you let his muscle glide in and out of your mouth.

“That’s not sucking, babygirl.”

Your spat at him in fury. “Fucking suck yourself.”

He made as if to kick your midsection, and you screamed in alarm. The tips of his toes made slight contact with your ribs and you yelled for him to stop.

“Stop it, stop it, don’t,” you never wanted to sob in front of him, but it just happened out of your control.

“Well, suck it then. And don’t close your eyes.”

You worked on him robotically, trying to trample down the sick guilt that rose up in your chest with each bob.

He groaned and growled, cursing at the sensation of your velvety tongue. He wouldn’t mind if he died and went to heaven. Before he even knew it, he was close to his release. He panted out, cumming hard into your mouth.

You remained in position, not attempting to swallow. He knew you were going to spit it out as soon as you humanly could. His fingers closed around your neck.

“Swallow. Now.”

The pressure slowly increased, threatening to choke you. Your delirious brain conjured a coroner’s report. Cause of death: Choking on cum.

Reflexively, your body fought by opening and closing your pharynx, effectively making you swallow his slimy essence.

Taehyung felt the bob of your throat, his chest puffing up with pride. He lifted you up gently, holding onto the nape of your neck. He gazed at your glistening cupid’s bow, and slowly pressed his lips on yours.

He had never seen your naked breasts, but that could wait. He was already swimming in rabid delight.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“Thank you for agreeing to do this interview, Mr. Kim,” the man said, setting up his notepad and pen.

Taehyung grunted in answer. His mind was somewhere else. He had been in a fight with you over names. He had wanted you to officially change your family name. But you had refused. He hated the Min that rang along with your name. It made him want to puke when someone ever addressed you that way.

“I will not change my name,” you had said, stubbornly set in defiance.

He adored your stubborn trait, but when it came to matters involving that damned Min Yoongi, he hated your obstinacy.

“You fucking will.”

“Make me.” You had folded your hands, indicating that you would not be swayed.

Taehyung was at his office, thinking of ways to coerce you into taking his name. That was when the reporter arrived for a quick interview.

The man started off with questions about Taehyung’s business, his financial turn over and assorted boring stuff, which he answered robotically.

Out of nowhere, the question popped up, making him raise his eyebrows mildly.

“Is it true that Mr. Min and you were friends?”

Taehyung shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

“Of course, we were.”

“But, Mr. Kim, a lot of people expressed surprise at your claim of being friends with him.”

“People like who?”

“People who thought you married Mrs. Min a bit too soon.”

Taehyung snapped in annoyance: “She’s Mrs. Kim now.”

“Exactly my point, Mr. Kim.”

Maybe you would consider changing your name if he compromised. But how?

“Well, Mr. Kim?”

“Huh?” Taehyung had a hard time not thinking of you. “I wanted to help her out, especially after he deserted her, while she was pregnant.”

“How did you know she was pregnant? You testified in court that you didn’t know her too well.” The man leaned forward eagerly. “How did she consent to marry you so soon?”

Taehyung could smell a bait from a mile away. The man wasn’t interested in him after all. He was scoping out facts about you.

“What is it that you want?”

His tone made it clear that he knew what was going on. The man cut to the chase abruptly.

“Did you kill Mr. Min?”

Taehyung swiveled on his chair, taking his sweet time.

“Yes. I killed him.”

The abrupt admittance started his opponent, making him open and close his mouth like a goldfish. When he saw how flustered the man was, Taehyung continued:

“You got your answer, what more do you want to know?”

“But- but why did you –” the man was bewildered. “Mrs. Min, she was on trial, you testified against her.”

“Yes, I did.”

“She could have gone to prison.”

“Right again. Don’t beat around the bush.”

“Was it-” the man swallowed, “-an affair? Did you both plot to kill Mr. Min?”

Taehyung laughed. How he wished that had been the case. He would have been spared a lot of trouble if that were true.

The man wiped his forehead nervously.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Nothing, I’m just imagining how your head would look like on a stake.” Taehyung smiled fondly. “You know, my children would happily play with it.”

Children. Name. Maybe he could compromise on that bastard child’s name? Would that make you think again?

Taehyung’s attention snapped back to watch the man gulp several times, obviously shaken.

“So, did you get the answers you wanted?” He exhaled lightly, adding, “My secretary has your name and contact details, my men would pay you a friendly visit if you blabbered anything anywhere.”

“I- yes, I understand.” The man got up in a hurry. “Please excuse me.”

── ⋆✩⋆ ──

When the reporter left the building, his phone vibrated with a message.

‘Any news?’

He called the sender.

“There’s nothing to report. I’m pretty sure neither Mr. Kim nor Y/N had anything to do with Mr. Min’s disappearance.”

The call ended, and Namjoon sighed. He knew something had happened. Something had gone wrong.

But the reporter couldn’t glean anything from Taehyung. The seeds of doubt took root in his mind. Was it possible that he had imagined the conspiracy? What if there had been no conspiracy and Yoongi really had fled?

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“I have a proposal.”

You looked up from your curled kitten position on the deckchair, overlooking the pool. You were cross that Taehyung had interrupted your attempt at sketching Yoongi.

“Not interested.”

He pranced forward, plucking the sketchbook and tossing it away. The splash of it hitting the water sent droplets flying up and raining on your feet.

“What the hell d’you do that for?”

The reflection of the sun in the ripples of the pool made his face light up and sparkle. He placed both his hands on the armrests, trapping you.

“You will take my name.”

“Forget it.”

“In return,” he whispered softly, “You get to name your baby whatever the fuck you want.”

“I am the mother and I don’t need you to offer me what’s already my right.”

He butted your forehead with his own, clucking his tongue in impatience.

“You really don’t want your baby to see the light of day, do you?”

The scowl on your face was reflexive. It was a bother that he always used your baby as an excuse to get his way.

“Fuck off, Taehyung.”

He threw himself bodily on you, willing a strangled gasp to escape your lips. He spread your arms and upper body to align them with the chair, opening your torso up to him. He was already panting, cursing out as he spread your legs with his knee.

“C’mon now, babygirl, stop being so stubborn.”

He sunk his whole weight onto you, crushing your body underneath him.

The graphite pencil you had been using to sketch was still in your fingers. Mustering up all your strength, you dove it into the back of his neck.

He hissed in pain, jerking involuntarily and pulling the pencil off your grasp. When you struggled to let it go, he placed a well-aimed slap on your cheek, making you freeze in shock.

“You little brat,” he spat out, still pissed about his neck. His palms made contact with your cheeks twice more, sending your face jerking left and right.

“I’ll teach you to stab me, you little-“

He bunched both your hands by the wrist, holding them up above your head. His other hand sneaked between your legs, pushing your thighs apart.  When you tried to wriggle and throw him off, his knee dug into your midsection.

“Want to destroy what we have?” He sunk his knee a little deeper. “Huh, sugar?”

His finger was rubbing circles on your core, making you bite your lips from moaning out.

“Fuck, I’m permanently hard around you.”

His hard length was obvious in the tent of his pants. But as before, he humped against you, not unzipping himself. The friction was making him go wild. He thrust his hips into yours, the knee remaining ominously on your navel.

“Ah ssibal,” he cursed, throwing his head back, consequently making his long dark hair flip and reveal his glistening forehead.

“Oh… Oh.. I’m cumming,” he breathed out, spasming violently all over you, digging himself out of you and spilling his cum all over your clothed belly.

“Ew, Taehyung, you bitch, you’re fucking disgusting,” you screamed, pushing against his chest even as he shuddered in the aftermath of his orgasm. He smiled dumbly, panting out in ragged breaths. He placed his mouth near your ear, tickling your earlobe with his hot breath.

“I want to cum inside you.”

He sighed deeply as if he was thinking quietly about it, before adding:

“Soon.”

He pushed off you, grinning as he ruffled his hair back into place. Whistling softly, he walked away, leaving you trembling in a mix of shock and anger, looking down at your ruined dress.

He had cummed exactly on your belly, like he had carefully meant to.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The annual costume ball invitations reached your house, one addressed to Mr. Kim and one addressed to Mrs. Min. Taehyung had torn the envelope into pieces before handing you the card. It was probably a snide attempt to snub Taehyung and you knew that it had worked, judging from the annoyance on his face. You wondered if the hosts had intended to send you late invitations, because the ball was slated to happen that night.

You threw it on the coffee table, not caring in the least about some stupid party. But Taehyung had other ideas.

“We’re going tonight. Get ready.”

If the stuck-up Min empaths thought they had made a statement by sending two fucking invitations, they would have to think again. He would show them what fools they were. You were his Mrs. Kim.

The burgundy dress had a cowl neckline, which he absolutely loved. He had picked it out carefully, mind giddy with excitement on how perfect it would look on you. Finally, a day had come for the glamorous dress to do you justice, flattering your body, much to the envy of those losers.

“Wear the burgundy dress I bought you. And the studded heels.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He opened his closet, apparently searching for something. When he turned, a classic Tiffany box was nestled in his palm. He opened it, and a sparkling silvery bracelet was reflected in your eyes, lending them a beautiful twinkle that made his heart sing.

Delicately, he placed it on the dresser.

“This will compliment you.”

He stood silent for a second, thinking if you would wear it on your own. Something told him you would just leave it sitting on the dresser forever.

“Here,” he took your hand in his, gently placing the bracelet on your wrist. He clasped it and admired the way it looked even more beautiful on you. To him, each fiber of your being was infinitely more precious than the rarest diamonds in the world.

He had never seen anyone more beautiful, and he wished not to. When you descended the porch steps, he felt like a footman taking out a princess on her ride. He was mesmerized by the simple yet graceful features that taunted him, inviting him in.

Taehyung had Wo Bin drive you both to the ball. Taehyung handed you a sparkling rhinestone mask, the wings around the eyes rising gracefully in showers of gemstones. The costume ball was essentially a masquerade, and he had gotten the best masks he could lay his hands on.

“Take my hand, remember, no silly behavior.” He briefly glanced at your belly, driving home his point.

“Stop fucking threatening me all the time, bitch,” you hissed, scowling when he responded with a lazy grin.

The entire ballroom was abuzz with people clad in their best clothes, complete with masks of every color, style, and material. Taehyung’s chest was stretched to the max with pride as he waltzed through the floors with the most beautiful woman that night on his arm.

A couple hours later, you were weary to the bone. “I’m tired, I wanna throw up.”

He rolled his masked eyes. “Right. Stay here, I’ll get you water.”

He turned around as an afterthought. “Want me to walk you to a bathroom?”

You shook your head, indicating you were fine enough to just sit.

“ ’Kay.”

He went off, leaving you seated in a comfortable chair.

He was, however, interrupted mid-way by a woman dressed in a jade green dress with a deep neckline that left almost nothing to the imagination. The Venetian mask lent an air of mystery to her ombre eyes.

“Mr. Kim,” her voice was hauntingly thick with desire.

She placed her index finger delicately against his tux, poking him. “I’ve been fantasizing about you for years.”

He couldn’t form a coherent comeback. He was a man who prided on never being tongue-tied while facing a woman. But the simple statement had such force that it knocked his thoughts out like bowling pins.

“Uh, excuse me, I have to-“

She traced her fingers on his arm, patting him slowly, whispering:

“Please stay.”

He couldn’t believe how tongue-tied he was. He flashed his left hand at her, declaring in a harsh tone:

“I’m sorry but I’m married. Very happily so.”

“Is that true, though?” Her voice dropped even lower. “You are married, yes, but have you been loved back? Why pine after a hopeless fruit while another aches for you?”

He shook his hand free, annoyed. Very much annoyed that she was stating the bitter truth that his heart refused to believe.

“Excuse me, I have to go back to my wife.”

“Maybe you could at least dance with me once?”

His jaw tightened.

“No, thank you.”

She pouted her crimson lips, sadness clouding her eyes.

“I thought so.” She touched his elbow with a smooth “At least a peck on the cheek for your admirer?”

He bent his neck, intrigued by the strange woman, but she took him by surprise, going instead for his lips.

Her tongue snuck out and outlined the curve of his upper lip before her mouth pressed against his. Startled, he took a step back and his gaze dropped to the cleavage she was generously offering. She giggled naughtily, winking at him. Damn the woman.

The hot feeling in his cheeks didn’t go away for a good five minutes, and he was still pink when he returned with the glass of water he had set out to get.

He frowned when he saw a tall man talking to you, bending in half to address you.

“You, you are just a gold-digging bitch, you whore,” the masked man was saying, just as Taehyung materialized behind him.

“Excuse the fuck, did you just fucking insult my wife?”

The man straightened up, turning to glare at Taehyung. His mask did nothing to hide who he was. The hooded eyes, the tall lithe frame, the rich timbre of voice, all screamed Kim Namjoon.

He dug his hands into his pockets, staring at Taehyung with menace.

“Yes, I called her out for jumping on another dick as soon as she could.” He focused his most hostile leer at Taehyung before adding “The dick being attached to you of all people.” He didn’t stop, spewing more hate as he addressed you:

“Are you sure the baby is Yoongi’s, Y/N? Did he ever know what a cunt you are?”

The anger was so hot that Taehyung felt like his brain would short circuit. He balled his fists, ready to shatter the mouth that had spoken so ill of you.

Before he could do any damage though, you grabbed hold of his hand, tugging at him harshly.

“Take me home, I feel sick.”

He sent Namjoon one withering glance and exhaled angrily. Namjoon would pay later. He would make sure of it. He guided you out, practically shaking in fury. He texted Wo Bin to meet both of you on the porch. He was zoned out, and you asked something that just flew out his ear. When you slapped his elbow, he caught your words just in time.

“Is that lipstick on your mouth?”

Taehyung creased his eyebrows, turning back to consider something. The masked woman, she had licked his mouth before kissing. It was a kink of his to lick your lips. How did she know that he loved doing that to you?

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

The way Namjoon had spoken to you felt like a cold slap to the face. If that was what he thought, was that what everyone else thought of you too? The whole social circle of which you and Taehyung were a small intersecting arc, did it think you were a gold-digger too?

The shame enveloped and consumed you, the flames of hatred licking at your heart. Your entire life was ruined by Taehyung. Only he was responsible for all the mess. Everyone seemed to focus only on you. He was in the background like an innocent bystander; but all the while, he was the puppeteer who pulled all the strings, bending everything to his will.

A bitter cold war was brewing between you and him, growing in intensity by the second. You had avoided him for days, slipping like an eel whenever his footsteps sounded. Every night, you slept on the couch, only to wake up on your side of the bed in the morning.

It was hard to sleep. Because you were constantly worried that he would violate you while you were sleeping.

You didn’t know that Taehyung spent three-quarters of the night perched on the steps of the staircase, waiting for you to drift to sleep. He silently swooped in and carried you to bed each night, making sure to tuck you in comfortably.

A few weeks later, you dressed up in a loose black hoodie and attempted to sneak out for a walk. But just as always, he caught you. He had casually blocked you with an outstretched hand, looking at you oddly.

“What the heck are you wearing?”

You tried to force your way out, but man was he strong.

“Get out of my way, Taehyung.”

He blew out his cheeks, shaking his head in disapproval.

“That hoodie is the opposite of flattering on you, honey.”

Curling your fists, you hit him on his arm, trying to make him move.

“I don’t care, so let me go,” you hissed at him.

“I care about my wife’s fashion choices,” he replied, reaching out to grab the hoodie. But just as quickly, he drew his hand back in shock.

“What the…” he whispered, horrified, reaching his hand out again.

His fingers gingerly pressed against your belly, feeling the small bump that was evident to the touch. He started back in horror. It really was growing. The reality hit him like a harsh slap. Min’s child was really growing inside you.

In one swift motion, he gathered you up in his arms, deciding that he couldn’t waste any more time. He couldn’t wait forever.

Dragging you upstairs to the bedroom, he led you to stand by the bed. His face was ablaze with hot emotion, his dark eyes gleaming with fiery hunger. He shrugged his suit off in haste. Long slender fingers gripped your hoodie, lifting it up to reveal the soft protrusion he had touched earlier. He looked panicked, like a guy who had missed the last airplane bound home.

“I can’t wait any longer,” he breathed, gently trying to undress you. “Forgive me, I am out of time.”

He pressed kisses on the side of your neck, lifting the hoodie up inch by inch until the cups of your bra were visible.

“Oh, Y/N, I-“ his voice was strangled, “- I can’t,” his hands found purchase at the small of your back. “I can’t take you when you are ripe with his child, I can’t wait that long.”

He eased you out of the hoodie, holding your hands to prevent you from covering your bra-clad breasts. He had only entered you once, he hadn’t forced himself into you since the day Yoongi died.

It had been his desire to wait for you to want him. But nature always liked complicating things. He couldn’t bear to think that you would be heavy with child in a few months, and would be busily occupied with the baby for months after that. No, he had no choice.

He was sliding your pants off when you half-choked out: “You could just… let me go.”

The wetness of your cheeks broke his heart. But your words had hurt him more.

“No. No, I can’t. You are all I have.”

“You know that’s not true,” you whispered.

The pained look returned to his face.

“No. It should have been me.” He gestured to your belly. “That should have been mine.” A tear rolled down his cheek, and he sniffed. “It should have always been me.”

“Taehyung- “

His lashes were moist and he shook his head, not wanting to listen.

“You were meant to be mine. Don’t you see?” His haunted eyes were tender, his raw feelings on display just for you.

“Do you- do you even like me?”

You remained silent, nothing but underwear bridging the gap between you and nakedness. His face contorted in pain.

He shuddered and shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling both your hands above your head and pinning them in position. His other hand gingerly traced the outline of your bra. He licked his lips, looking into your eyes as he dipped a finger between your breasts, running it along the elastic strap and leaving your skin riddled with goosebumps.

His finger continued running down your midriff, stopping at your belly button. He closed his eyes and pretended that the bump didn’t exist, hurrying to slip his hand into your undies. It fanned his ego to feel your wet folds.

“See, your body likes it, hm? Why do you rebel so much?”

He leaned down to sniff your hair, greedily inhaling the scent like a man dying of thirst. He removed the hand pinning yours with a warning squeeze. Just as quickly, his hands flew to your breasts. His touch was ever so tender. He gently kneaded the soft flesh, moaning out as a little bit of areola peeked out of your bra. The self-control snapped, and he pulled the cups down, exposing your squished breasts.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he sounded so raspy, “Fuck, you’re so goddamn beautiful.”

Like a man in a trance, he dipped his head in the valley of your chest, nestling there, letting out the weakest of whimpers. His fingers worked feverishly to get the damn bra off you. He threw it across the room, burying his head in your bosom with a contented sigh.

There was a stark contrast between you and him. He was fully clothed, and you were in only your undies, entire chest open to his view. It led you to feel even more weak and vulnerable. When your hand tried to shield your breast though, he caught it, his voice came out from between your soft mounds in a muffled whisper:

“Don’t.”

He gathered both your breasts in his hands, moaning thickly as he rubbed his face against them. His tongue found your nipple, giving tentative licks before full-on sucking on the nub. He was a passionate man, and your breasts were glistening with saliva by the time he was done worshipping them. His mouth let go of the nipple with a soft plop, the dark eyes focused on your own the whole time.

His tongue drew a line from the middle of your ribs down to your navel. He paused at the elastic band of your undies, working on tugging it down. But impatience got the better of him, and he cursed, ripping the fabric easily as if it were the weakest of paper. He touched the wet patch on the crotch and looked at you, dangling the ruined fabric above your forehead.

“See. Y/N? See how wet you are for me?”

You didn’t reply. He gripped your chin, yanking it so his breath fell directly on your mouth.

“Kiss me, Y/N.”

When you didn’t attempt to kiss him, he straddled your hips, crashing his mouth down on yours. But the kiss wasn’t passionate, nor was it anywhere near romantic. You just wouldn’t open your mouth and let his tongue in. He could have kissed a pole and gotten a better reaction than yours.

It kindled the embers of rage in his heart, and he undid his tie, tying it around your neck like a noose. His shirt and pants were still on, and he rolled the long end of the tie until the fabric started tightening around your neck.

“Up,” he said, tugging the tie and making your head rise from the bed a bit. Holding onto it like a leash, he pulled your upper body was hovering precariously above the bed, both your hands holding onto his shoulders lest you fall and snap your neck.

“Now,” he hissed, “Lick my tongue”

The tie-noose tightened around your neck, threatening to cut off your airflow. You hoisted yourself up, shaking as your sight started to blur.

“Can’t” you heaved, “breathe.”

The fabric didn’t relax one bit.

“Hurry up and lick my tongue then.”

You blindly slashed at the air to find his mouth. Right on the verge of blacking out, you thrust yourself at him, begging entry into his mouth with desperate licks. Once you felt the hot muscle, you lapped at it, and just as quickly, the tightness eased, making you gulp mouthfuls of him, your body struggling to get your respiration back to normal.

“You bast-“

He thrust himself at you again, muttering:

“Shh. Lick me again,” and dipping his tongue into your mouth.

He moaned, chest vibrating against yours with the intensity of his strangled groans. When he broke the kiss, a string of saliva connected your mouth to his, a big bead hanging in the middle, the weight making it drop and splotch on your thigh.

He leaned back working on his shirt buttons. They didn’t open fast enough, and he started ripping the buttons off, eyes locked on your nipples. When he tore the fabric away from his body, his whole wide chest was naked, save for a thin chain around his neck. It had what looked like a silver key for a pendant, you weren’t sure as it kept dangling with his every move.

He remained in his pants, gathering your body and pressing you against his chest. A strained moan escaped his lips, and he trailed kisses down your neck, past your shoulder blade. His tongue flicked out to reach places his lips couldn’t.

One hand cupped the slight hint of your bump, prodding gently but also warning you against doing anything stupid. He pulled your hand towards his crotch, placing it on his clothed bulge.

“See,” he moaned, “See what you do to me?”

He stroked his bulge with your hand, fighting the urge to close his eyelids and lose himself in bliss. He had been hard for so long. Too fucking long.

“Take me out.”

His whisper sent a shiver up your spine. But you didn’t move. You didn’t have a choice to stop it. But you had the choice to not comply.

He cursed, too impatient to reprimand you. He unzipped his pants, leading your hand to his hard dick. He closed his hand over yours, effectively jerking himself off with your hand.

“Fuck, baby, that’s it,” he threw his head back, snapping his eyes open just as quickly when you gripped his dick too tight. Intentionally, of course.

“What the fuck?” He pushed you onto your back, dragging you by the legs into position. All the tenderness had evaporated from his countenance.

“You really want to screw this?” He hovered his body over yours, menace evident in the curl of his lips. The squirming pissed him, and a swift slap landed on your cheek, accompanied by an angry “Fucking behave, Y/N.”

“Get off me,” you bit out, aware of the drool sliding down your chin.

“No,” he said, humping his dick against your pelvis. “You are mine. Don’t fight this. He’s not coming back. He’s dead.”

He saw the tears kindling, and added cruelly:

“Because of you.”

“Stop saying that,” you screamed, trying to knee him in the groin. But he only laughed.

“You always complicate things, Y/N. I only want to make love to you.” He sighed innocently. “But you just make it so difficult.”

His forearm dug into your neck, preventing your head from moving. His other hand snaked down to your soaked clit, rubbing circles on your sensitive pearl.

“Who was always a bitch in heat for Min’s dick, huh?”

The question left you speechless. He smirked.

“Who loved to ride his thigh and get her ass spanked?”

“Shut up, shut up.” you couldn’t think of any other reply. How did he know all of that?

He simply shrugged.

“Okay, sure. I’d rather fuck you than talk about your dead man.”

He really wanted to eat you out. But he knew you would kick him in the face if he tried to. Maybe he should get restraints before trying that. Besides, his dick was already aching with being hard for so long. He slid his pants off completely, getting in position, aligning himself with your entrance.

He placed his forearm against your belly, deciding it gave him better leverage that way. Looking down, he inched himself forward, watching in fascination as he disappeared into you, your bodies becoming one. Just like they had always been meant to be.

The silky walls were tight around him, and he held on for dear life. You were going to be the death of him.

“Fuck, ah, fuck,” his breath constricted, the finality of actually being inside your velvety folds driving him crazy in exhilaration. He set a fast pace, snapping his hips into yours as if his life depended on it.

“Tell me how it feels, baby,” he cooed, “to know you killed Yoongi for this cock.”

Your whole face burned in rage.

“No, you tell me, how it feels to know you killed a good man for a piece of pussy.”

He chortled, not slowing down in the least.

“Awesome, really,” he panted out, licking his lips as he kept thrusting. “I can kill a whole army for this pussy.” He was not ready yet to say ‘It’s not just your body, it’s you I want. The whole you.’

He pulled the tie around your neck, telling you to get on all fours.

“I can’t dumbfuck, I’m pregnant,” you spat out.

He simply flipped you over, crossing both your hands over your chest so you were kneeling on the bed, with his hands pressing your wrists against your breasts.

“Shit, baby, how are you so tight? Guess he never filled you like I do, huh?”

His tongue licked the back of your ears as he kept thrusting. You were doing your best to not make any sound. You didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.

“Tell me,” he panted, driving himself deeper, “Tell me I’m bigger than him.”

His finger slipped into the tie-noose, twisting the knot.

“Say it.”

You were sure he wouldn’t stop. Panic flooded your body, jumping into escape mode.

“Fine, you’re bigger.”

A dark chuckle rang throughout his chest, making your breasts bounce as aftermath.

“Be more specific, baby. Describe it.”

There was another tight twist, and you gave up.

“Your dick, it’ bigger, it’s- Fuck, I can’t breathe- It’s thicker, it’s longer, okay?”

He smiled into your skin. Gently loosening the tie, he kissed the light welts around your neck.

“Let me hear it again.”

“You’re bigger than him,” you repeated in defeat.

“Fuck yeah, that’s my girl. Cum around me, baby.”

His groans were loud and animalistic, like those of a man possessed. His pounding got frantic, rattling the headboard and eliciting curses from your parched throat.

God, how he wanted to fuck Min’s spawn out of you and fuck his seed into you instead! The thought sent him spinning into his climax, releasing hot ropes of cum into your tight walls. The growls from his chest chilled your blood. He held you incredibly tight against him, riding his wave out, clutching onto your ribs in passion.

The shivering sigh blew against your ears, and he gently pulled out, kissing down your shoulders and back as he did so. Your knees gave out, sending you collapsing down, but his hands caught you just in time.

When he had finished prodding and poking his fingers in your clit to feel his cum, he uttered in a ghost of a whisper:

“You cummed for me, baby.”

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

Were you ready to kill Taehyung? To be frank, you didn’t really know. It was an idea that had crossed your mind millions of times. But taking another life was too horrible to even comprehend. On the other hand, it was a fact that he would continue to make your life hell.

It was a difficult decision, but one you had to face. Were you doomed to live forever with him? Take all his obsessed declarations of love for you? Live in constant fear that he would hurt your child?

Was it worth killing a human for peace? You looked down at your baby bump. He was going to be a terrible father to your baby. The orange canister by the lawn was just alluring. Was all the solution you ever needed in a can of garden pesticide?

The throbbing of your heart was so loud you were sure the guard could hear it. But now you were not just any woman. You were his boss’s wife. Hell, every guard in the fucking house addressed you respectfully.

“Mrs. Kim?” The man stepped towards you with a question on his eyebrows.

“I want the lawn to myself for some time.”

Usually, there were no guards by the pool. Taehyung would pluck their eyes out if any of them snuck up on you while swimming. But the lawn was a different story. There were a lot of guys walking around with guns. It surprised you to see them file out of the lawn like a bunch of disciplined kids.

But you knew their focus would be on you anyway. They didn’t serve you, they served Taehyung.

Making an elaborate show of tending to flowers and picking weeds, you loudly muttered at the gardener’s apparent failure to keep the flower beds weeded out. Kneeling down near the orange can, you unscrewed the lid with an air of ignorance.

“Foul smelling shit, what the hell is it?”

The can toppled over your dress, soaking the cotton. Just like you had expected, a man shot out of nowhere, hurrying to your side.

“Are you alright, Mrs. Kim?”

You batted your eyelashes inoocently at him.

“I- yes, I need to change. I think gardening and I don’t mix.”

He accompanied you inside, turning back to leave. Once upstairs, you nervously wrung out the poison from your soaked skirt.

✧ ═════ ✥.❖.✥ ═════ ✧

“What’s that?”

Taehyung had asked sooner than you had expected. You feigned surprise at the question, looking over to where his eyes pointed.

“Oh, nothing.”

Much to your chagrin, he nodded and went back to tapping on his phone. What if he didn’t ask again? Well, you could try again later. Patience. You couldn’t get caught.

Getting up slowly, you danced your way to the fridge. You peeked at the contents, closing it with a sigh. Turning to look at the counter, you absently reached for the cup. You were cradling it in your hands, and just as you let your lips touch the rim, he raised his head.

“Coffee?”

You shook your head. “Protein shake.”

He placed his phone on the coffee table, gazing intently at you.

“Well, aren’t you going to drink it?”

“Oh, yes.”

You sipped from the cup, not minding his stare boring into your face. He leaned back, spreading his arms on the sofa. His face was unreadable. When your throat bobbed after the last bit of drink, he raised his eyebrows mildly.

“Done?”

You shrugged your shoulders, without answering. He considered your face for quite some time, before his curiosity got the better of him.

“So, should I call the ambulance?”

You bit back a grin.

“What for? I’m not in labor yet.”

He watched you suspiciously before giving up.

“I know about the pesticide.”

You stifled a yawn. “Of course you do. And?”

He knew you were smart. You were a fighter. There was no way you would drink a cup of poison to get away from him. The poison surely had been intended for him. But he had just watched you down the cup without flinching.

“And,” he said, face serious, “Why don’t you get on with it?”

“What exactly do you mean?”

His passive demeanor broke, leaving his face twisted in vulnerability.

“You want to kill me.” You flinched at the word ‘kill’.

“So, go on and kill me, Y/N.”

Your eyes met, and you reached for a cup wordlessly.

“Not a fresh cup. I want to drink from yours.” He pressed his fingertips together, watching you as you poured out milk. He hated coffee. And you knew. He saw you drop one sugar cube in, just like he liked. The warm flutter in his heart died just as quickly when he saw you reach into the spice cupboard, extracting a pill bottle.

You tipped the bottle and liquid fell out of it, rippling and disappearing in the small white whirlpool of milk. Without a word, your fingers reached for a spoon and stirred the cup. His stare was burning into your skin. Your own heart felt like lead, so heavy and drenched with guilt.

His fingers had a subtle tremor when he reached to accept the cup. Placing it on the coffee table, he smiled at you.

“I love you, Y/N.”

It was a lie, you were sure. He only wanted to ruin Yoongi. He never loved you.

There was nothing to say. You didn’t believe him.

He drew a sharp breath, meditating if he wanted to speak his mind.

“If I die in your hands, your baby and you will be left alone, Y/N. Penniless. But you will get your independence, yes.” He paused, a suspicious watery film glinting under his lashes. “You can be happy and raise your child on your own. But you will return to me in the end.”

The arch of your eyebrows creased your forehead, asking the question your lips failed to.

The smile reached his eyes, a manic shadow casting a fearsome look on his face.

“Whenever, wherever you die, you will be interred in the Kim crypt, just next to me. We will be together even in death.”

The entire breathing mechanism of your body stopped working.

“What? But that’s –“

He flowed on, seemingly uninterrupted.

“And Y/N, the place where Min Yoongi is buried, the secret, it will die with me.”

Without hesitating, he grabbed the handle and drew the cup to his lips. The warm milk touched his lips, the fumes from the poison overwhelming his nose.