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technologyculturedneo · 1 year ago

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SOS: Am I Alive?

“As long as I’m still here, you’re still my bitch.”

SUMMARY. Tending to commit crime and causing havoc, Mark and Haechan tagged along with their brothers find themselves trapped in a rich mansion with two spoilt wealthy girls. Dae and her sister Yezi pray for their father (Chenle) or even the police (Jaemin and team) to save them as they’ve failed to hold their own ground. With no saving arms in reach the girls end up submitting to all of the boys request, including degradation and demoralization- all in the name of preventing bloodshed.

PAIRING(s). Burglar, Delinquent!Mark, Haechan, Jeno, Renjun; Police!Jaemin, Jisung; Husband!Chenle, OC (original character)

GENRE. Longshot. Angst. Crime. Strangers to lovers. Smut (non-consensual).

WARNINGS. Alcohol, smoking, marijuana use, toxic relationship, family, swearing, s content (non con, choking, restrains, intercourse, degradation)

Read next: SOS: Poison In My Mind

S1: E1-7

"But mum I've got tickets-"

"Even if you have tickets, the answer is still no if you don't place all your assignments on my desk." Our step mum, Chungdae, drones out like a machine to my 16 year old sister, Yezi, while focusing her mind on preparing a meal for my dad. “Just because you’re homeschooled shouldn’t give you the right to flunk on your assignments whenever you want.”

"Come one mum, Professor Doyoung said it'd be okay if I hand in my work on Monday. Which means, I still have today, tomorrow to finish the work." Yezi points off her fingers seemingly desperate in trying to convince mum. “Come on mum,”

“I’m not off. And I don’t care how many days you have. Those are my rules. You’re not going anywhere until your work is on my desk. All of your work.”

One thing Yezi tremendously fails at doing is trying to get mum to say yes to anything. Already knowing that, it would be fair to not even approach mum with any proposal, unless of course it’s educational content- not some kpop meet and greet.

"Come on mum. You let Dae do it all the time. It’s not fair." Yezi nags, slowly losing her cool and temper. But mum is immune to it all by moving back and forth from the cooking book to the pot on the stove that’s steaming hot.

Pointing my fork, that has a pineapple slice, to Yezi, I chip in to defend myself. "That's because I'm in college, responsible and go to events that actually benefit me in the future." Yezi rolls her eyes. "Not what you do-"

"That's because you're boring. B O R I N G. Boring." Yezi deadpans leaning over the kitchen counter, blocking my mum from reading the ingredients book with her hand. “And mum you don’t need this book. I hate all the dishes here-”

“It’s for dad you idiot.” I remark getting irked by her nagging tone. “Not you.”

“Did I ask you?”’

“I don’t need your consent to speak.” I counter back munching on the rest of my pineapple salad.

Mum picks up the homemade cooking book that Mrs Chittaphon gave her, a book given in order to prepare new and cultured dishes for my dad.

Mrs Chittaphon is our Thai neighbor who over the weekends (for free) teaches Yezi how to speak Thai. She’s also the person I blame for influencing Yezi in a lot of weird eastern side culture. Not that it's a bad thing to learn about another culture, but I think it’s personally annoying hearing Yezi continuously watch 'Thailand dramas' and claim that their history facts are all that.

But regardless, at this point Mrs Chittaphon is almost like family, simply because she's Thai who speaks Chinese and is familiar with Chinese culture- and we're half Korean half Chinese, who speak no Chinese or Thai.

I think my dad just wants us to keep the ‘Chinese culture’ by being with someone of our own, and someone like Mrs Chittaphon who speaks many languages being Korean, English, Thai and Chinese. Her presence is essential to my dad, as he gets the piece of mind that culture is not lost. So thus, she's almost like family. Almost...mostly to my dad and Yezi, to me and mum she's a mean lady from Thailand who's married to a monk man, Mr Chittaphon. Or as we like to call him Ten, because it takes 10 seconds for him to curse us out whenever we step foot on his perfectly trimmed garden whenever we visit.

The reason Mrs Chittaphon is so close to us, is because my dad mentioned that it would be nice if mum learnt a few Chinese dishes, so that he would feel more at home instead of eating salads and unseasoned Korean diet meat. The other reason is so that mum could also become 'friends' with Mrs Chittaphon and learn Chinese. Which is impossible, the lady and her husband basically hate mum- having to do with the reason that she’s my dad’s second wife and that she knows nothing about China. Can they blame her, she’s never been to China before, she’s full Korean and knows very well about her motherland, our motherland.

Fine culture is what graces our lives, yet mum is more humbled and not as flashy as dad, me and Yezi.

"Sweety don't call your sister boring," mum says distantly, trying to focus on the ingredient list. Crinkles appear on her forehead when holding garlic and ginger. “Which one is it?” She mutters.

"Okay fine mum, I promise before 4 p.m. I'll get all my homework done and it’ll be on your desk ready for Professor Doyoung who'll come Monday. Then can I go?" She proposes with perky attitude. Shaking my head and placing my bowl in the sink washing it- I wonder on the final verdict from my mum.

"You can go. As long as Dae goes with you."

"Oh my fucking god. What?"

“Language Yezi.”

"I don't wanna go to her stupid thing." After drinking my glass of water, I turn around drying my hands. “It’s useless to me.”

"Mum she can't go! She'll ruin the whole thing!" A frown and sharp stare attacks Yezi’s eyes as we stare brutally at each other. “Just look at her.”

"Oh come on sweety she won't ruin the whole thing-"

"Yes she will!" Yezi boils out and screeches- catching us by surprise. "Come on mum, she's the best at all she does and all she does is make people hate her!"

"Sweety don't say that about your sister-"

"Mum I don't even want people thinking we're related!" Yezi exclaims again. "I could get stoned for knowing someone like her."

"You pissy brat!" I throw a spoon at her to which she dodges and throws back her shoe.

"Girls! Girls!" Mum stands in front of me. "Dae you're 19 years old, act your age, you're too old for partaking in this behavior."

"Tell her again, and don’t forget to mention she’s too old to still be living in her parents house." Yezi folds her arms fuming. "Mum pay attention to me leave her alone," She whines again.

Cooling down, I take a seat down on top of the counter and fold my arms glaring at her. "Why are you screaming when she's right here? You're so annoying."

"And you suck."

I roll my eyes mocking her tone. "You suck."

"Ugh! I'll just have to go ask dad," She huffs.

"Sweety, don't. Listen. He came in late last night. Let him him rest." Rigidly leaving the ingredient book on the counter, mum walks to Yezi holding her shoulders.

Our dad, Zhong Chenle, an infamous Architect designer and real estate agent for his own housing and company creations. He works around the world designing and building houses for rich and partly famous people, he showcases a lot of his work in London, the States and China, thus making him constantly on the move and travelling. Being the heir to the family business, he’s often on work mode and hardly gets time to rest. On the days that he does have time to catch a break, he prefers to spend it with us, yet mum advices and convince him to catch a break before engaging with the family.

Right now if Yezi had to go to him, disrupting his sleep, he would allow for her to go to that meet and greet and also for her to go alone because of the guilt he feels for not being around- if anything Yezi has a sharp tongue and can make anyone upset with her words. Unfortunately, my dad is weak to that. He’d even go as far as giving her extra money to waste. There’s always something about him throwing money at us to cover the guilt he’s feeling, it somehow makes us all feel better. It’s something dad constantly does, to the point where I also believe that throwing money at all my problems will make them mysteriously hush down. But seriously, money talks and has the ability to shut out all the guilt. So even though mum doesn’t like that we disrupt him from his sleep and make him feel guilty, we still prefer to run up to him just to get the dad bank. If we don't bother him then who will?

"I want all your homework on my desk before 4 pm and you’re going with Dae end of discussion." Mum says walking back to the counter and book.

Yezi's face becomes as red as a chili pepper about to explode. She stomps her way out the kitchen- like every other time when things don’t go her way.

"Oh shame are you going to cry because things aren’t going your way again? Spoilt brat." I mumble the last part when her door slams loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. “Such a brat.”

Mum lets out a breath going back to her station. She clears her throat, "Your sister is something else. It feels like she’s a riffle gun just shooting out nonstop." She sighs. "I wonder how your mother did it."

I smile at her. "You know mum, you're too nice for your own good. You need a back bone,"

"What do I do now?"

"Don't give up. Just have a little more strength and stop treating her like a baby, she's already spoilt." I hug her from behind hanging my head on her shoulder. I don't like seeing her stressed out because of Yezi or anything. She's a really good woman who I've grown to love. “Plus, dad will enjoy this dish. You know he loves it tradition style,”

“Yezi said he’d hate it.” She laughs a little, "I am glad that she's not the only child."

"And I'm glad that my dad remarried,"

Haechan, a young thug, drives to his usual parking spot which is by a small arena venue. He isn't expecting a mob of girls to be flooded at the parking rentals. Turns out there is an occasion this evening, in the small assembly.

It’s in the afternoon when he parks his car, and together with his partner in crime Mark, they carefully snuggle into the cars around to get out a ‘thing or two’. Easy money is following a large crowd and getting lost in a sea of people. So while Haechan only came to park his car, he found himself staying longer because this spot right here was gold free of charge. And as the sun slights sets Haechan and Mark’s eyes peer over at all the girls that leave the venue. “Who are we gonna rob?” Mark enquires having his eyes fixed on the cheer filled girls leaving the arena and entering their cars- some of which Haechan and Mark had already stolen from.

Now the sun is out of sight and the once fully packed arena is now almost vacant with about 8 or 9 cars. Throughout the wait, he and Mark drink light beer beverages and smoke in the car to not draw any attention to themselves. The only thoughts in their head is who to rob next.

After the meet and greet: 6pm on the dot.

"OMG did you see the way he looked at me!" Yezi squeals beside me jumping up and down with all her gift bags and posters in her hand.

"Please there were 3 other girls behind you whose breast were practically begging for attention,"

"Do you enjoy sucking the fun out everything or are you naturally a bitch?" Yezi sends sharp eyes in my direction but I ignore her. I'm missing out on spending time with my friends for her stupid meet and greet and she's bitching. "You're negative because they didn't look at you,"

"Neither did I." I fake a smile going back to texting my friends in our group chat.

The event went successfully well and was kind of fun, as much as I don't want to admit. A lot of girls were there wearing nothing but the most revealing of clothes, few were decent but majority were overruled by revealing clothes. Yezi wore a black jumpsuit with a white top inside- upon seeing the styles in which the girls were dressed in she nagged and whined about how she should've worn a skirt too. I on the other hand wore all black, long sleeved shirt and high waist skirt with my black knee high socks and black boots. I dressed up, because I was still going out and thought I might as well be presentable. But eventually after getting bored, I found myself outside texting with my friends and waiting for Yezi. But now that she’s done, I have to multi task in ‘talking/ignoring’ her as well as texting my friends.

Hendry: u still out?

Me: Yep and my sisters bitching

Hendery: send her over, we've got an ancient Chinese healing that will whip her back into shape

Xioujun: I wonder why ur sister likes those type of music- Chinese melodies is where it's at!

Yangyang: You guys clearly haven't heard of WAP. That’s literally where it’s at.

I end up sending a message to my dad once Yezi is done mingling and getting contacts with some of the other girls. Feeling lazy to walk to the bus stop or order an uber and listen to my sister talk non stop about her experience that's not even interesting- I text up my dad.

"Are we walking?"

"No, I sent dad a message." I answer. "He'll be here soon,"

Yezi sighs joyously staring out into the empty. "Imagine I marry him and become Mrs Min-" I burst out laughing at what Yezi says.

"That name is awful. It sounds like that house cleaning product Mr Min,"

"Dae you are so heartless. Every time I try to talk about the things I like you shut me down."

I roll my eyes but stop halfway when catching something behind her. A guy. He’s leaning on a wall, drinking on a glass bottle of what looks like Terra beer. Chugging a mouthful of the alcohol- he downs the remaining in one gulp. He does all that with his eyes on me... Uneasiness washes over me. But I try to ignore it.

The event ended half an hour ago resulting with majority of the fans and people leaving. There’s only a few people loitering around outside the building and inside as well. Yezi and I are part of the few inside the building sitting on the vacant chairs, as the workers clean up... so maybe that’s why he’s looking at us...at me. Maybe because he works here and is possibly a manger trying to lock up...otherwise it wouldn’t make sense why he’s looking at me.

The man downing down his beer for a living propels himself to lean on the wall. He looks zoned out and not here, yet his whole figure screams out that he’s not acting normal. He’s got such a defined face, and his eyes although small are distinctively on me. My heart beats in speed when he tilts his head to the side his eyes going down my sitting figure-

“It’s like you don’t even care about me.”

Yezi’s voice brings me out of the trance I seemed to have gotten myself in with that guy. Peeking back only for a little bit, his lip curls up into a sly smirk. This time he preys open another can taking a big gulp of the can still with his eyes on me. I gulp down and look away feeling uncomfortable watching him drink on while using me as some sort of muse for him to watch.

“Earth to Dae? Hello?”

Shaking my head and blinking my eyes away from the guy, I pane my view back to Yezi only to be irritated by the sight of her face- which is so close.

“Look Yezi, if I don't care, I don't care. Go marry that cleaning product and leave me alone."

"That's his name." She says clinching her jaw and looking away while shaking her head. “And I wasn’t even talking about that.”

“Yezi piss off, I’m busy.” My eyes focus on the chats sliding up by every new incoming message.

Trying not to mind the drunk gaze that heavily lingers on, I try to focus on the chats. I finally relax and we fall in deep silence. She takes selfies with her items while I chat on, but then she stops, her eyes looking back occasionally.

"Dae," she whispers my name.

"Hmm,"

"Is it me or has that guy been looking at us?" She tilts her head nudging to the side. I follow her head and my eyes land on that guy again. This time he’s seated on one of the chairs.

He’s seating backwards on it, while leaning his drowsy head on his arms as his lazy eyes directly rest on me. Our eyes meet again, and just like before, he doesn’t back away maintaining a firm stare. Aside from this present moment, a part of me feels like I’ve seen him before. His jet black hair and his buff build being contained by the leather jacket he has- only enhances his appearance as if I’ve seen him before.

"Uh let's go outside and wait for dad." I end up saying feeling a bit creeped when his eyes begin to travel down my body.

Yezi and I make our way outside instantly spotting one of our dad's black vehicle’s pulling in. "Thank the heavens." Yezi begins jogging towards the car, while I take my time walking on the parking lot- afraid I might slip with my high boots if I run.

However I quickly regret my decision when hearing faint whistle sounds. My head turns to the side spotting an almost faded rusty car, with some guys whistling out. “Yes babygirl, fuck, yes,” A guy moans out looking at me. “Just like that, fuck-”

“Shut the hell up.” The bitter tone of my dad can be heard resonating out the car, and I can only assume he’s talking to the boys because no sooner then later, they let out mocking laughs.

“Fucking sexy girl,” The rude insolent boy comments again. Getting to the car, I finally get in the front seat hearing the boys whistling grow louder in praises. “Yes baby,”

“What- what-” My dad’s about to get out his seat and open the door but I close it shaking my head. As irritating as it is, I can’t have my dad about to lose his mind on his day off.

“Dad, just ignore it. They’re a bunch of low, poor class, hooligans who don’t deserve an ounce of our energy.” I fiercely comment. “Are you really gonna get mad, when they’re car looks like that? They’re not worth it dad. It’s okay.”

My dad’s sharp glare leaves the window as he takes a deep breath and looks to Yezi behind. Yezi’s eyes immediately calm down and she tries to change the atmosphere in the car. “Dae’s right dad, besides look what I got! San threw it to the crowd and I caught it!” She announces brightly- easily getting my dad to smile tightly. The anger and irritation still evident on his face- yet it fades for Yezi’s sake.

"What did you get?" He asks with a clear genuine interest, even though his eyes shoot glares towards the car once more time before he drives off. Meanwhile the question sends Yezi over the top as she basically starts to yell about the event pointing at her items.

My dad laughs surprisingly being stunned by the ‘shirt’ Yezi caught, as he drives out the venue. I look out the window shaking my head and not wanting to listen. I end up making eye contact with the guys who made those idiotic comments. One of the guys licks his lips and sends me an air kiss. I fake a smirk his way giving him the middle finger mouthing out 'fuck yourself' before rolling up my tinted window.

He laughs and slowly waves.

Creeps.

Minutes before...

A luxurious black Range Rover slowly drives past Haechan’s small red and rusty old car, catching his attention behind the wheel. He stares at the big car as it drives past and stops by a parking space. “This is it.” He mumbles.

Something about the way this car carries itself turns Haechan on.

"What a sexy car," Haechan's cold eyes checks out the car mumbling out praises. Sternly looking at the black posh Range Rover he adjusts himself on his seat wanting to see clearer. "Mark, Mark look at the car, look at the car." He whispers out.

Mark, on the passenger seat adds more ‘relaxation’ to Haechan’s high when he blows gusts of weed into the air, before placing the bunt between his lips inhaling again. With all the windows up, the smell lofts around the car leaving the boys in all zooted smiles and high. Mark turns to the spotted car that Haechan motions to and sits up.

Just like Haechan, he’s struck by the glossiness of the car. Seeing the lavish car, his head lights up with another idea. “This night is already beginning with a bang.” Mark comments.

In the back seat Renjun, Haechan's adopted brother, tries to sleep with his head against the window, with his neck in an uncomfortable angle as he half listens to what the two in front were talking about, while also keeping his nose stuffed in his mask to avoid the weed smell. Unlike Mark and Haechan, Renjun only wanted a ride from campus and back home, and was not a part of their crew. To his surprise, he was dragged everywhere and witnessed the menacing actions and robberies his brother performed.

The two juvenile boys, Mark and Haechan watch the car as their minds wonder darkly in the same orbit. They give each other mischievous smiles, having the same idea. "Are you in?"

"Let me finish my bunt," Haechan snickers just as Mark puffs out another wave of smoke out in the car. “Here comes Jeno, he looks drunk as fuck.”

Jeno, Mark's young brother stumbles into the rusted car in silence.

“Geez man, how much did you drink?” Mark turns to his brother in the back seat catching his drowsy state. Before Jeno can answer, his eyes look out the front window getting a glimpse of the last two young girls leaving the center and going towards a Range Rover. A few minutes ago, he found himself inside the building drinking can after can without his brother’s watch, meanwhile his eyes also kept still on the two girls lounging around. Most specifically, he kept his eyes on a girl named Dae. His mind wondering around on how it must feel to be rich.

"This night keeps getting sexier, look at those girls Haechan," Mark breathlessly chuckles.

Mark’s gaze holds onto the girls, or rather the one trailing behind with her arms folded and her hips moving hypnotically. Her skirt is short and shows a portion of her milky legs, and the way she walks seems almost too purposely- otherwise his pants wouldn’t be bugging so much. Maybe it’s the weed, but he’s pushed into ecstasy wanting to have the girl.

“I need to have that,” He opens his door, stepping a foot out, leaning over the doorframe and begins whistling. “Hey babygirl, come over for a bit?”

“Mark get in the car-” Haechan starts laughing when the man in the fancy rich car gives them a sharp look, glaring at them.

Mark, despite the warning, ignores the gnawing and death eyes of the man continuously cat calling the girl. “Yes baby fuck, yes,” He moans, his hand patting his bulging member. “Just like that-” Profanity words can be heard from the car however that doesn’t stop Mark from hooting his mouth towards the girl, leaking his lustful comments. The girl even goes further to ignoring him. “Fucking sexy girl,” The moment she gets into the car Mark- like the dog he is hypes her every moment whistling out and praising her. “Oh yes, yes, yes, bend that body for me. Oh- oh yes, just like that, fuck. Yes baby,”

The posh car abruptly stops once the girl closes the door and Mark can see the man in the car trying to come out. Must be the father. Mark takes on the challenge now directing his attention to the supposed father. “Big boy wanna come out? Come out big boy,”

“Idiot,” Haechan is bowling in laughter when Mark gets back in the car, closing his door shut chortling a little when nothing happens.

“2 baddies,” Mark comments inhaling the bunt getting high again. “And a grumpy man,”

“Mark you fucking shit head.” Haechan finally calms down from his goofy laugh. He drinks his last can of beer in one big gulp letting out a strong groan by the substance hitting his throat bitterly- yet tasty. “Let me get in on some of that,” He sticks his hand out to Mark, who offers him to take a huff and puff of his weed. Haechan gives back the stick shaking his head exhaling out.

Haechan rolls down his window with force while applying speed wanting to see the fuming pretty girl in the massive car more clearly. Mark chortles rolling down his murky window too, wanting to see her face. "Ah, fuck, she’s so sexy," Mark puffs out from his weed bunt again. "Jeno you seeing this?"

Renjun’s eyes are grave serious when looking at the mess the two boys in the front wheel caused. “Is that Dae? What the hell are these two idiots doing cat calling her like that?” He quietly asks to Jeno, who’s is extremely quiet yet drunk. “You need water.”

Jeno watches on, stuffing his hands in his leather jacket while looking out the window to the car and ignoring Renjun's words.

"She's looking, she's looking," Haechan gets on cloud 9 sitting up on his seat and blows her an air kiss. Jeno in a calm daze watches her, she casually throws her middle finger up in the air.

"Who taught her to do that?" Mark asks taking a whiff of his bunt and puts it in his mouth breathing in. “Rich bitch,”

Haechan laughs bitterly, "Daddy's little rich princess."

“I’d love to be her daddy,”

"Can you guys stop that. She’s got enough intel to call the police on you guys. Her and her father." The 'sleepy' Renjun states in a raspy sour voice as he watches the girl in question roll-up her window. He suddenly sits up groping his neck in pain. “You should just be lucky they didn’t get your number plate.”

"You know the girl?" Mark asks in bewilderment.

"Yes. Dae, proud, top of her class, rich, narcissist. We go to the same college," He enlightens both Mark and Haechan. “Her father is a real pioneer. He’s known to have built some faculty buildings on our campus, as well as upstate houses and penthouses in extremely rich areas.”

“He said rich right?” Haechan chortles. “Rich bitch,”

“I don’t know about rich, but I would love to teach that brat a lesson,” Mark scoffs throwing his finished bunt out the window, already beginning to roll up another one. “She should learn to respect her elders,”

"Let’s just go home." Jeno speaks up with an irritated throat and throbbing head, either trying to deprive the older ones dirty thoughts into something else or, away from Dae.

The Range Rover already begins to drive out the entrance gate, causing Donghyuck to quickly start up his own small car, with a little rustle his car starts. “We’ve been waiting all afternoon for something. Should we follow it?” He peeks in Mark’s direction who nods his head.

Haechan and Mark exchange quirky looks again recalling their initial plan.

While Jeno and Renjun share worried looks, Renjun is the one to voice out a question that seems to already be answered the moment the car starts moving in a similar direction as the classy car. “Donghyuck, what are you doing? Why are you following the car?”

"If it’s not already clear,” Donghyuck, just a few cars behind the black vehicle watches as it takes a left turn to a road he’s never gone on before. “I want that car."

"Don't forget to do the dishes Yezi!" Mum reminds while forcing her foot in a pair of white heels going together with her sun dress. “Do I look okay?”

I nod my head watching her frantically moving around her wardrobe looking for a scarf or jacket.

"Don't forget okay. I left sticky notes on the fridge and in the cooking book." Mum says running around her room making sure all her stuff are in her carrier bag. “Don’t leave Daegal outside, nowadays she seems to like being outside,”

"Don't worry mum, Yezi and I will be fine. Besides, Dad will be here." I point behind her to dad who's putting on his black blazer. “It’s not like we’ve been left motherless before,” I darkly joke, causing dad to peek up from his phone shaking his head. “What? Too soon?” I chuckle.

“Yes honey I will be here, stop freaking out,” Dad states while going back on his phone. “She’s arrived at the airport, c’mon let’s go.”

Him and mum are going to the airport where Mrs Chittaphon is at.

Mrs Chittaphon mentioned that she was going to China for a few weeks and offered to take mum along with her, dad gladly accepted on mum’s behalf. It was exciting at first since dad thought he could go too, but Mrs Chittaphon sternly said she wanted mum, so not wanting to ‘disappoint’(?) Mrs Chittaphon she agreed to going. Still scary and shocking since they don't get along that well, but my dad assured mum that it would be a bonding experience.

Escorting mum with her bags, we follow dad out to the garage as he selects a car. Switching on the brown Jaguar with the remote he opens up the boot while mum and I fill the boot with her bags. Our little dog, Daegal barks around the tires of the wheel keeping my dad in a smiling trance as he looks down at her. Daegal loves this car the most. This is like a special car for them, since this is the car he had when he was still in the dating phase with my mum and he got Daegal for the first time too.

Yezi finally comes out the parking with silk pink pajama shorts and a merch t-shirt with a face of one of the guys we saw today... it’s probably the shirt they tossed out and she caught. When we came back from the venue Yezi went straight to her room, posting pictures and unwrapping her merch. She has been there ever since asking for nobody to disturb her, but yet as soon as my dad starts the car she's out the house. She gives dad a tight hug and walks over to us. She smiles and gives mum a big and tight hug. "Have fun in that country with no internet. We'll miss you and also thank you for letting me go," she let's go of mum and looks at me sticking out here tongue. "I hate you and I still think you're annoying."

"The feeling is mutual." l I can't hide my grin. I know Yezi loves me. “Isn’t that the cleaning supply husband you wanted to marry?” She hits my shoulder mumbling profanities going back in the house.

"Guys don’t fight.” Mum lets out closing the boot and turning to me. “I guess this is it," mum says.

"Don't say it like that, we'll see each other in like a few weeks time." I open the front door for her and she gets in. I bend down to see dad in the car busy with Daegal on his lap while massaging mum’s hand.

“Why are you shaking,” Dad laughs teasingly. “Daegal, why are you shaking? I wanna know, I wanna know,” He plays with the dog on his lap gently setting her in the backseat. I guess he's taking her with him.

"Dae make sure to lock the house and close the front door, I left it open for Daegal to enter, but she’s already here. Make sure Yezi sleeps on time, she's got a bad habit of sleeping past midnight," Mum says rubbing her hands together looking to dad. "Okay,"

"I'm coming soon." Dad says and drives out. I head back in the house looking at the control panel waiting until I hear the car out the driveway. Meanwhile I switch on the lights outside. When I hear the car drive out I press the button that closes the garage.

Haechan's car comes to a stop, parking down the road and away watching from afar. They’ve been seated in the car for some time, simply taking in the view of the enchanting residence. The neighborhood is built on exquisite land and even the air itself smells different. All the boys in astonishment take in the sight of the various mansions around.

Haechan blames it on the cream sunset that slowly sets behind the dwelling place of the deluxe rich family, creating a luxurious and costly aura around the house, for him to be taken aback and in almost tears. “This is bank,” He mumbles already scheming inside his head.

The house the boys arrive at is everything one would desire. A palace, a fortress, a gold dripping tap with four stories stacked high adorning lavish balconies and vast verandas covered by gardened fence built on polished bricks- even the garden itself was cultivated, refined and neat. The design, the layout of the house, is something out of a novel, a comic book, a past that with held old money and a future that would take over the rich. The scenery itself is ingenious and and screams out rich. The house itself looks grand and high class, even the heavily guarded gates are artistic with the layers of polished Chinese ancient styled stone.

Jeno, partly drunk looks out his window to a particular floor on the house- the one which he knows is her room. Dae. She was breathtaking and he couldn't help but become attached to her. What started off as something small, turned into stalking. He didn't consider it to be stalking until he realized that he had more pictures of her in his photography collection them anything else.

Following Renjun one time to school, he found himself becoming obsessed with Dae and her charming glow. There was something about her that he couldn’t put his finger on. Although arrogant and proud, she seemed like the type of person to wear a mask of faces, and that’s what made Jeno curious about her ever since. He followed her once or twice back home escaping her glances- the days he followed her was when she would sneak some guy back to her place. Those where the only days where she’d walk from school to home. It only took one to three trips for the sight of her house to be so deeply engraved in Jeno’s mind.

He took pictures of the neighborhood and her house, in particular her room when the curtains where open. It was tough taking from the ground level especially since the house was tilted high- but taking pictures none the less only made him fascinated, especially whenever she was by her window. He’d snap a shot avoiding any preying eyes. Whenever he would take a picture of the residence he was greatly reminded and would feel belittled by the differences between their two worlds.

Their house itself was a stone mark of being high in status and above everyone else. In some parts, Renjun was telling the truth when he said she’s a narcissist. It came out naturally for her because her family is beyond rich and wealthy, they’ve entered god mode. It’s something she tried not to show to others lower then her, but it still showed by her appearance. She was prideful and like Haechan said, a rich princess in her daddies castle.

“How long are we gonna sit here?” Jeno asks when the throbbing pain slowly kicks in is head. He leans forward on his seat taking the can of beverage in the cup holder. Picking it up, he drinks on it letting out a satisfied grunt. Being an alcoholic had it’s perks. He’d drink and feel woozy for a certain amount of time before returning to a hinged conscious version of himself- even though he’d still be tipsy, he’d still be conscious. Right now more than anything, he wanted to be unconscious of the actions he knew his brother and friend would take.

Mark and Haechan hold similar thoughts being, tonight would be a fortuitous night. 'The bigger the better' Mark always said. The mansion is situated on the far side and Southern hills of the city. In this area all the house's are far away from each other, almost by a bridge gap, but yet this house is steep and the highest on the hill sitting at the top. It should’ve scared the boys away, but for some reason Mark and Haechan were determined. They’ve only robbed one floored houses, and to at some point robbed apartments- yet looking at the wide spread mansion and all it’s charms, they know this is something new for them and should tread carefully.

"Until the sun goes down. We wouldn’t want god to disturb our luck,” Haechan mumbles with lustful eyes, raping the house bare. “Rich people," He scoffs. "They just can't relax without making the rest of us feel like shit," His awestruck emotions quickly turn sour after digesting the house for way too long.

While following the Range Rover they had to refuel, almost got lost, nearly got pulled over by the police- twice! At some point there was a security border gate for the area of houses situated on the hill, fortunately for them, Mark who was already used to cracking safe boxes, put his skill to the test when entering a 4 digit code. He got it wrong 2 times, but was lucky on his third try.

Despite all the drawbacks, it seemed like the mansion they were going to rob wanted to be robbed- nothing held them back at this point. It was all worth it since the prize would lead to a glorious landscape of house. "They've never walked a day in our shoes, might as well teach 'em a lesson," Mark runs his fingers through his dark hair that was unevenly cut with scissors.

The mansion is perfect for the plans Mark and Haechan had. Jeno, still half drunk, saw it as an opportunity to get closer to Dae and see where she lived up close. His fantasies coming to life.

"Guys this is wrong. Please can you just turn the car around and let’s go home. Please." Renjun on the other hand, the only one feeling petrified for his life, urges the boys for them to snap out of their high and return home. Never in his life has he ever gone through the motions of being mad- but right now in this car he felt as though he’d gone mad. How is he the only one to realize that this is wrong?! The only one sober and trying to wake up the conscious of the drunk and high guys. "Guys you need to snap out of it!" Renjun fusses getting quiet and then louder by the second. "You know the embassy will send me back to China if I get caught in this mess. Or worse, we could all be sent to jail! Donghyuck!”

"Jail isn't a place I'm afraid of." Haechan leans back in his seat, eyes dead set on watching the house. “Besides, we didn’t do anything yet. Stop crying like a little bitch.”

"Jeno! Don't tell me you're also going along with this?" Renjun asks his friend, confused and shocked that he too would even consider what the others were thinking.

"Renjun I’m just sitting. Please stop screaming in my ear-" Jeno pushes Renjun off his side. “Just enjoy the view-”

"No!" Renjun yells again gaining a glare from his brother in front.

"Listen here you twat. You're only here for a ride so shut up," Haechan glares at his brother from the rearview mirror.

"No Donghyuck! You know this is wrong. Mum can't handle any more of your troubles." Renjun points at the silent and not interested Mark. “Mark, do something, why are you allowing this to happen? It’s all your fault why we’re here. Just say something, anything and Donghyuck will listen to you.”

Mark thought about the fortress and also wondered about the girls, in particular the one with the stunning legs. His fantasies already playing out like a movie in his head. Waiting outside felt like hell especially since he had to bounce his knee to ignore the poking in his pants. Rolling up another wrapped weed bunt, he smoked it and let the lucid fantasies play out in his mind.

Feeling and groping her body, her breast, her ass, those juicy thighs- tearing off her clothes from her body and slapping her around until she was red. Choking her while his fingers worked inside her slippery wet pussy. He could almost feel the stickiness between his fingers and how good they’d taste in his mouth. Grabbing her by her long hair and making her suck his long cock and-

"Mark!”

His head jerks away from the distant thoughts hearing a wailing Renjun in the backseat. “Why can’t I have my thoughts in peace?” He mutters turning his head to Haechan. “Did you really have to bring your orphaned brother here? He’s starting to piss me off.”

Renjun abruptly cuts Haechan before he can even speak. “You turned Donghyuck and Jeno into thugs-"

"Listen up you ass whip, I didn't change anyone. The thug life chose Haechan and as for Jeno," Mark smirks at his young brother, who watches the house intensely. "He liked what I offered."

Mark rolls up another weed bunt feeling good and settling himself to be comfortable to let his imaginations wonder off again.

"Besides, do you see any police around? Live a little Injun," Mark smiles while licking the edge of the wrapper of his bunt. “Now shut the fuck up.”

"It's Renjun. And we’re all going to go to-"

"I’m gonna say this once, since you didn’t catch me clearly. I said shut the fuck up. If I repeat myself again I’ll deport you back myself to the border that you jumped over." Mark sits upright on the seat and turns to Haechan once dismissing a defeated Renjun once he’s finished making his weed bunt. "Do I look high?"

“Nah you’re good.”

“Good.” Mark nods his head stashing his wrapped weed bunt in his pocket along with a packet of cocaine from the dashboard.

“What’s that for?” Jeno in the back asks curiously.

“My dear brother, this is for when the fun will begin.” Mark drapes his black hoody over head. “What are we waiting for?”

"Nothing." Haechan replies leaning over to his side opening the dash panel, grabbing and gripping his pistol by its edge taking some bullets. He fixes his snapback on over his black lengthy hair, making sure his eyes are covered.

"Jeno you coming?" Mark asks.

"Mmhm." Jeno silently replies making Renjun’s jaw drop.

“I thought you said you’re not gonna-”

“I just wanna see inside the house.”

Renjun scoffs. “And you’re saying that confidently as if you know that you’ll excel in getting in the house.”

“Hey border jumper,” Mark slurs on Renjun with a cocky laugh. “If you could jump over from your country to here, what makes you think we can’t do just that?”

Renjun humphs. “Because this isn’t some country you can jump into. This is a freaking house- a house you can’t get caught in! This is Zhong Chenle’s house-”

“I don’t give a fuck of who this Zhong Zhong guy is. Clearly he’s also a border jumper-”

“He is a multi millionaire. This home is a line straight to hell if you get caught in it!”

“Clearly you don’t know me or your brother.” Mark chuckles picking at his own gun. “I gracefully walk into prison when I’m caught. Besides, what will a border jumper do to me? Haechan, I like your brother.”

Haechan rolls his eyes, finding the whole encounter between Mark and Renjun hilarious. He’s partly sober, yet also partly drunk, but one thing in his mind that’s clear, is the mansion. “That house is calling my name, are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Mark confirms and Jeno simply sticks out his thumb, taking another can of beer in his pocket.

"One more thing," Haechan says. "Let's use codes instead."

"Mark." Mark says not bothering with a nickname knowing that none of them ever called him. “You don’t even have to call my name, just look at me and I’ll understand what you need. Jeno?”

"Uhm, I don't have one."

"How about Zeno?" Haechan suggestions making Jeno breathlessly laugh.

“You really hate me, don’t you.” Referring to a nickname Jeno once gave himself when he was young. Zeno Zee The Zuperzero.

"Okay then Zeno and Haechan." Haechan points to himself turning to Renjun. "Stay in the car and if you wanna piss do it outside, not inside."

"What are you even saying? You guys do know you're gonna get in trouble? Big trouble. Donghyuck you can't be serious. Are you guys really going in there?" Renjun asks but no one answers him, they all leave the car treading carefully along the sides of the neighborhood before making it to the edges of the house.

“It’s either I’m high or this house is fucking huge.” Mark mumbles looking up the walls. Seeing no sharp barricades he pats Donghyuck. “Let’s climb over the wall.”

As the wall is built on furnished stone, they find it simple to go over the wall with their climbing skills, jumping down to the soft grass. Briefly chuckling amongst themselves and preying closer to the house.

Haechan being the lead, walks along the sides of the house deciding to move to the back. The front door was off limits knowing that they would immediately get caught, even though it was wide open they couldn't do it. The temptation too real.

The boys crouch by the wall of the house reaching a large back open space with a covered swimming pool. "How do we get in?" Jeno asks, his heart pounding loud from the adrenaline rush he felt.

“C’mon,” Haechan speaks as though he’s been around the house before. One thing Haechan always knew about breaking and entering houses, was that the layout was always the same. Small houses had joined sets, while big house had disjoined sets. Meaning that either everything was outside, or it was all inside. And by the tough exterior of this mansion, Haechan knows it’s a joined house. He just had to find another opening- and as if luck is truly on their side he spots a long drive way with a garage and right at the bottom there’s a little box. “Bingo.” He nods his head. “You got a knife?”

“Always,” Mark nods his head understanding that he needs to defuse the box, to make it easier to enter. Whether their are security camera’s or not, Mark and Haechan continue by chance.

“What if they catch us?” Jeno asks wondering why everything felt easy.

“It’s always like this.” Haechan speaks lowly. “Rich people with such high security, don’t really think they’ll get robbed and so they don’t keep their guards up. They think that nobody else is around them- so why look around when they can only look up? The only problem, is that they don’t see the troubles down below.”

“It seems too easy.” Jeno mumbles chuckling.

“They’re never prepared for the unexpected.” Haechan speaks again. “They think, their untouchable. That they can’t get robbed.”

“What happens when we go inside?” Jeno curiously asks.

This time Mark turns to his brother with high red eyes. “Just follow us, and you’ll be okay.” Their about to sneakily run through the drive yet right on cue- the garage slides up very slowly and majestically, revealing a brown Jaguar that’s making it’s way out.

"Shit!" They all say and duck hiding themselves behind the wall and tall garden bushes. Mark spots two people behind the dark tinted windows of the car as it drives out.

"There there there!" Haechan silently yells, the boys speed up while crouching towards the open garage before it closes. Pressed up against walls, still crouching and panting hard Mark hits his brothers side, feeling ecstatic that his brother tagged along.

“Fuck yeah!” Mark whisper yells hitting on Jeno. “Nice, boy, nice.”

"Holy shit," Haechan lets out when the lights of the garage dim down and he sees what’s actually inside the garage. “Mark, fucking look at this shit.” Standing up looking around the garage, he’s joined by Jeno and Mark who peek around. The two boys look around too and their eyes light up in the car. Rows of gleaming glassy fancy rich motherfucking cars, all different brands and colors. “You gotta be shitting me.”

Haechan practically jogs to the cars touching each one and checking their brands. Mark looks around a smirk placed on his face, "I told you, the bigger the better."

Jeno bites his lips and heads towards the wall of keys. "Is it this easy?"

Haechan notices the keys and pushes his gun in his back pocket. "Damn." Haechan mouths. "Mark start working on the fuse box. We need to get the garage door open if we’re going to get them out."

"Look," Mark nudges to a door that's by the corner. "Fuck me, let's cause some trouble first before we go,"

“Nah, that’s too risky.” Jeno shakes his head still a bit drunk but well aware of the pressing conversation and the two boys already walking to the door. “You guys only wanted the car.”

“You pussy,” Mark laughs walking towards the door regardless. “I saw two people in the car leaving, if I’m correct it looked the grumpy man and a high class maiden with a tote hat. Let’s cause shit, come on, Zeno.”

Jeno nervously sighs feeling hot. “Shit, okay.”

"Dae!"

"What?" I ask entering the kitchen, where Yezi's washing the dishes. I open the fridge taking out a can of cold drink.

“Those guys at the parking lot were pretty rude.” Yezi mumbles. “Are you okay?”

I turn to Yezi hearing her concern and feel a bit touched. “A bit disgusted by it, but I’m okay. I just hate that dad had to be there for that,”

“Did you see his face?” Yezi asks peeking at me with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen him look so dead ass cold. He even stopped the car ready to jump out and fight.”

“He was about to explode, I know.” I lean on the counter shaking the image of my dad in anger out my head.

“Low life boys are such fucking pricks. Which is why try your best to keep up the standard when it comes to guys. No disorder, just respectable men in suits with paper. I don’t even wanna marry a guy from here, I want a man from Thailand,”

“Those pricks in the car could be from Thailand.”

“Ew no. They weren’t from Thailand, you could see them, they’re from here, the disgusting and filthy side though. I want a respectable intelligent Thailand man.” Yezi states blissfully. “I mean, a respectable man who prides himself yes, but also a man who isn’t all about intellect. No.”

“What? Why?” I question.

“Because I want to have fun. And a guy who’s studied his whole life, won’t understand when I tell him ‘we should have fun’. He’ll look at me and say I’m a child.” Yezi reasons. “For example, that sugar daddy guy Kun, the one you were dating,”

“It was just a fling, we weren’t dating. What could he offer me that dad hasn’t already gotten me?”

“Uhm sex?” Yezi laughs.

I shake my head blushing at the mention of him. A nice sweet rising businessman who wanted to spoil me rotten with gifts and everything money can buy.

Yezi’s eyes widen. “He was so fucking hot and he knew how to have fun. I wouldn’t mind him taking care of me for the rest of my life. I want someone like that, chilled and not too serious but still respectable and decent enough for dad,”

That makes me laugh. “I think dad’s a bit disappointed that I didn’t want to take over the family business. So I’m gonna have to pass on a man taking care of me. I need to sustain myself and prove to dad why I chose journalism,”

“Uhm because you suck at math? Thought it was obvious,” Yezi jokes around. “I also don’t want anything to do with architecture. You better pave the way nicely for me,”

“What do you want to do?”

“Duh, a man who knows how to have fun? That’s what I want to do.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’ll cross that bridge when I’m there. Hey by the way, where's Daegal? Mum left the front door open for her, but she still hasn’t come in,"

"Dad took her. Please don’t forget to close the door," I mumble yawning a little. "I'll be in my room."

"Wait, wait. Dae, look over there by the corner," she motions with her head to the window. I walk to her being confused by her stricken face. Looking above the sink window out to the street below, right across the street at the far end there's a small car, all rusty and crispy.

"What's wrong?" I ask shrugging my shoulders opening my can.

"Its on our street, dad didn't call any one over and Mrs Chittaphon isn't here, so who is that?" She asks watching the car. She washes her hands wiping them with the cloth. She goes out the kitchen into the living room, I follow her just in time to see her sending a silent alarm to the police station.

"Really Yezi? Like seriously? Dad's gonna be pissed. That isn't a toy you can just play with you know." I walk past her and to the kitchen to throw away the can while picking up a banana. I begin walking up the stairs eating the banana. “Yezi lock the garage door as well as the front door,”

“But you were in the kitchen just now, why didn’t you close the garage door?” Yezi whines.

"Because I didn’t open it,”

“Well neither did I,”

“Oh well, you’re gonna have to close it. I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when dad's back, I wanna be present when he yells at you for playing with the silent alarm," I head to my room leaving her in the living room watching TV and ignoring me.

I enter my room closing the main light switch but suddenly feel eerie when thinking of the car that was outside. Come to think of it, it looked like the crispy car from that center. Opening the twinkle lights setting the color mood to red, I pounce on my bed picking up my phone.

Feeling skeptical again, I get off my bed and walk over to the window. Checking the window, I pull open the curtains only a little watching the car.

That car does look suspicious. All the way from the the second floor of my room, I can see light coming from the front door. Damnit, Yezi being stubborn in her not closing the door will- Before I can even close the curtains to my room to go downstairs and close the door- I catch a glimpse of a person getting out and running towards... our house. The person disappears down below and I can’t see him anymore. After waiting a bit trying to determine if I’m being paranoid for no reason, my eyes enlarge when seeing the person’s hand gripping at the top of the bricked wall and hurling himself over. Shit! “Yezi! Close the-

"DAE!"

My heart accelerates at the sound of Yezi's blurted scream and I pounce out of my room sprinting from my floor and the long corridor all the way to the stairs. My heart bloating and swelling up as I try not to panic rapidly going down the stairs- I instantly freeze in my tracks, by the door of the living room as something cold and hard presses against my head stopping me altogether. My whole body trembles in cold sweat and I look to the side when my eyes meet Yezi's bloodshot stare in pure fear looking up to the man that has her trapped on the chair. His whole body lunges close to her with a sickening smile as she has both her hands covering her mouth. My body shivers just looking into her tears fall from her eyes as she trembles in uneasiness. The hooded guy resembles the pervert who kept patronizing me while I walked to my dad’s car, he even sounds like him.

I focus my attention on the guy who's holding the gun to my head, disgusted by that same dirty smile plastered all over his face, my mouth shakily opens up as I gasp out in horror. It's that guy from that center, the guy who was in that car. "Oh my god.”

“We decided to come out because the sun went down. We didn’t want god to see this.” He smirks. “Oh sweet cheeks, why do you look so nervous to see me?"

"Please. What do you want?" I ask holding back my tears from spilling but fail as they start blurring my vision. I gulp down the lump in my throat, yet my tears still fall over my cheeks. I back up just as he positions himself in front of me.

"Awe, where's the confidence now?" He chuckles running the barrel of the cold metallic gun down my chest and over my stomach. My body is paralyzed in a gripped dread as I feel the gun pass over my skirt before he puts it underneath and pushes the barrel in between my thighs rubbing it against my shaken core.

“Please,” I tremble when he begins to rub it while forcing both my hands above my head.

“Please what baby?” He darkly laughs whispering in my ear. “You want it?” I briskly turn my head to the side. Seeing Yezi now up on her feet visibly trembling while the hooded guy positions himself in front of her. She still has her hands covering her lips with tears streaming down her face.

“How old are you?” The hooded guy smiles and runs his long slim fingers down her chest and over her silk pajama shorts. “16? 17? You’re so perky, I bet you would be such a good fuck.” He then positions himself behind her and wraps one arm around her abdomen before thrusting his covered member into her. Her gasp is mixed with a sob and I cry.

“Please stop, we’ll give you anything you want, just stop please.” My croaked voice trembles to the guy who’s hands play with my exposed skin by pinching and groping my bare things underneath my skirt, yet still with his gun in hand.

"Anything? He laughs out. “I want your pretty little middle finger," he smirks. "In my mouth.” He pushes me hard against the wall with his gun now moving away from underneath my skirt and between my legs to his pocket. Freeing his hand and allowing himself continue to touch me while his teeth sink into my warm neck causing me to squirm and whimper. "You're so fucking hot you know," he whispers in my ear. I quiver as his fingers go up my exposed skin under my crop top fumbling with breast that’s covered by my bra. Cowering and shaking under his control my hazy eyes meet Yezi’s pain stricken eyes as she’s now seated on some guy I never thought was in the room.

“You still a virgin right?” The hooded guy asks to the man who Yezi sits on. The guy shamefully nods his head but moans when the hooded guy stretches open Yezi’s legs and grips her hand forcing her to palm the man underneath her. “You can’t have a big boy body but have never been touched before. Come on girly, make my brother feel good.”

“No!” Immediately I push the guy off me with shock strength panicking and coming back to my senses. He stumbles back but gets back at me with speed slapping my face tightly.

“Don’t play with me rich bitch,” The guy in front of me warns forcing both my hands up.

"Haechan she's mine," The hooded guy says forcing Yezi up with a playful smile. “Take this one, she’s a fucking virgin. She’s still tight.”

I now notice that the other guy in the room is the same guy from the center. My eyes widen when I do realize that it is truly him, the one who was watching me while drinking. He palms himself before taking something out his pocket- a beer can and opening it. Drinking, my eyes watch his adams apple and I’m stunned that it’s actually him. Silently observing, he sits on the chair shaking his head and ruffling his hair groaning out. I should've known from the moment that I saw him that something bad would happen. But not only that- he looks familiar again.

“Dae! Dae!” My eyes snap to Yezi who’s now being forced on her knees while the hooded guy lifts his hoody and starts fumbling with the belt on his pants.

"Please let go of me!" My attention is forced to the guy with a snapback. I try to push him away but he pulls out the gun and straight into my mouth.

“What’s wrong?" He dangerously whispers in my ear with a cold laugh. “I thought you had a sugar daddy. You should have experience in this stuff. Be a good rich bitch and open your legs,” he leans in closer to me again his hands going back to where they were. I bite my lip feeling the urge to beat him away from me.

"NO!" Yezi shrieks out loud when the hooded guy grabs a handful of her hair, leaning down and whispering to her. "NO! PLEASE DON'T!" Yezi urges in piercing screams.

Finding fear strength again, I sharply knee the guy in front of me in the groan and he doubles over yet grips the gun to my head.

"Fuck. Why’re you being so difficult sweet cheeks, just give me what I want and I'll let you and your sister go." He says. I spit on his face and try to run to Yezi but the guy grabs a handful of my shirt pushing me back to the wall roughly. "You fucking cunt. How dare you spit on my face?" He whips of my spit, pressing me harder to the wall.

Yezi screeches and fights the hooded guy with her hands and legs- the adrenaline finally kicking in her when she tries to resist the man with his belt open. The guy is strong and rapidly turns her around and plants her face roughly to the pillow on the chair. "I like rough sex, so if that’s what you’re into I’ll gladly comply. So stop squirming!" he says and then looks at me pulling down his hoody. "I wanted your sister, but you’ll have to do." I gulp feeling all the nerves in my body heighten. “You’re gonna watch me fuck your sister.”

"Zero get me something to tie this girl up." The guy in front of me says. The guy on the couch, Zero, gets up and walks out to the tv set, ripping out the cables from the various power supplies coming closer to me. His eyes are hooded and he looks a bit unstable- he’s drunk. Now that I think of it, they all look like their not conscious with their red eyes and uneasy postures.

Haechan grips both my hands and uses the cable ropes from the TV, that the Zero guy hands over. “Haechan, don’t tie it too tight.” Zero mumbles out to the Haechan guy in front of me.

"Alright here's what's gonna happen," Haechan presses himself against my back leaning to my ear. "Show me daddy's possessions and goods and then I let you go okay sweet cheeks?" My face is red as all the blood and tears rush up. Regardless I nod and he pulls me up and pushes me out the living room but I bump into another body and both me and the person scream out.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO!!?" We all get startled by the loud voice. The hooded guy and Haechan rapidly turn with their guns ready to shoot. I turn to look up at the guy in front of the living room entrance and see a panicked looking guy- Renjun?

"Renjun!" I call out his name and try to escape to him but Haechan's hand grips my shirt and brings me back to his hard chest.

"DONGHYUCK WHAT THE HELL! YOU SAID YOU ONLY WANTED THE CAR-" Renjun is on panic mode and looks to all the guys in the room. His breathing is uneven and he grabs his hair.

"Oh great the border jump decided to join. Haechan handle your brother before I do." The hood guy says. I look to Yezi noticing that the Zero guy ties her hands behind her back with her legs also in the process of being tied. She squirms and shakes but the hooded guy holds her down firmly with the pistol in her mouth. He looks up and smiles at Renjun. “Came to have fun?”

I look back at Renjun whose eyes are wide open and his hands are still on his hair. Is he confused at what's going on? "Renjun do something please!" I yell with a trembled tone.

"JENO WHAT THE HELL?! DONGHYUCK! MARK PLEASE LET HER GO! YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO JAIL! HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GUYS EVEN GET IN?!" Renjun yells walking over to Haechan, who points the gun towards Renjun.

"How the hell did you get in? Don’t tell me you walked in the front door like a little bitch. I told you to stay in the car!" Haechan says pushing me back and I stumble falling to the ground- into the arms of the drunkard Zero guy. He pulls me down on the chair laying my back flat. I'm about to scream but he forcefully puts his hand against my mouth.

"Don't scream I’ve got a fucking headache already. I won't hurt you, I promise. Just don't scream please, please." He begs in a whisper tone looking sincerely tired.

My tears slowly start to come out and I can't handle or control the flow that leaves my eyes while hearing the two boys fighting. Now there are four boys in total. Renjun, the one complaining and fighting, Zero (or rather Jeno as Renjun called him) the drunkard, the one hooded guy called Mark, who’s sitting by the edge of the chair smiling at the two fighting. And finally the ‘sweet cheeks’ guy Haechan. My heart pants when Haechan grabs Renjun by the collars before harshly punching him down.

“Give him another one!” The Mark guy cheers Haechan on. Haechan gets on his knees holding Renjun’s collar again. “Come on border jumper, show him-”

Suddenly the house makes a noise, making everyone fall dead silent. It sounds like the doors and windows are closing, imprisoning us! Haechan gets up moving to the curtains by the corner living room pulling them open. I see the metal bars locking the house and I gasp- the control panel. Snapping my head to the control panel I see the Zero guy with his finger on one of the buttons! He pressed on it, the lock down button.

"What the hell is happened?" Haechan asks with befuddlement.

"Calm down it's just on lock down mode." The Zero guy says breathing out. "There's bars around the windows and main doors leading to the outside.”

Haechan moves back to Renjun. “Take your ass back in the car and wait for us. We won’t be long-”

“Speak for yourself Haechan, my dick is loaded-”

"Fuck you Mark!" Renjun gets up on his feet again glaring at Mark before turning to Haechan again. "Donghyuck this is serious, if we don't-"

"Stop saying my name." Haechan lands another punch on Renjun’s face and I shut my eyes crying out. I can hear Yezi crying out when the Mark guy on the end of the couch leans closer and slaps her butt. His knee sinks on the couch and he places his body on top of hers with a dark chuckle-

Bzzzzzz

All heads turn to Jeno who looks back to control panel when the buzzing sound comes again, it's the outside buzzer connected to the monitor panel. He presses on a button and waits.

'Hello? Mr Zhong Chenle?’

Oh my soul! It's Officer Suh Johnny from the police department. I hope he didn't come alone. My heart raises up in anticipation.

Renjun raises his hands to his hair ignoring the blood that slowly travels from his hair over his head as he crouches down, a string of curse words leaving his lips. “Donghyuck-”

“Shut up you bitch.” Haechan growls out and in an instant draws closer to me, pulling me up and heading towards the speaker pushing the Zero guy away. He places the gun on my head again pushing it against my head. He breathes heavily in my ear, "If you dare defy me I will blow your brains out and rape your sister. Do you hear me!" I rapidly nod not having time to think about it. "Answer it." Haechan leans close and presses the ‘answer’ button on screen. Johnny’s face appears on the screen taken from the outside camera.

"Ye-s he-llo," I say trying to make my voice come out natural as possible.

'Miss Dae is that you?' The male police officer asks.

I look to Haechan and he nudges me to answer. "Ye-es it's, it's me." I squirm a bit, making Haechan angry he pushes the gun harder against my head making me cry.

'Miss Dae what's going on? Are you okay?' He looks around concerned.

I think of a lie quickly and answer, "Yes I'm okay- it's just it's just, I'm watching this movie with Yezi and it's so sad." I lie holding in my tears.

The police officer seems to believe it as he smiles a little. 'I understand. There was a silent alarm sent to the department and I was close by deciding to check on you guys. Is everything alright?'

"Tell him it was an accident," Haechan whispers in my ear- strangely calm as if he’s used to this.

"It was an accident." I repeat.

'That's okay this happens all the time, but may you please come to the gate for a bit.' I look at Haechan who shakes his head. 'There seems to be an abandoned pick up trick on your street and your house is under locked.’ The officer says seriously. ‘Are you sure everything's okay?'

"Tell him some people are fixing the lights," I repeat what Haechan says.

I look over to Haechan who looks tense and looks over to the couch. I follow his gaze watching the hooded guy get off Yezi with a gun in hand. They eye each other down before the hooded guy nods, hastily taking off. Haechan presses a button- the unlock button- and the house starts to unlock itself.

“OFFICER SUH! THERE ARE 4 MEN IN THE HOUSE! PLEASE WE NEED HELP!”

Haechan’s eyes enlarge the moment Yezi yells out. “MARK FUCKING SHOOT THE POLICE!” Haechan yells out and ditches me running out of view the same place Mark ran to. The Zero guy quickly comes and stands next to me as we both watch the screen of Johnny on full alert with his gun positioned forward as he looks at the gate.

“OFFICER SUH RUN THEY’RE COMING-” Jeno is quick in shutting me up frantically covering up my mouth with his whole arm while he forces me back.

BANG!

A gun fire breaks out but I can’t even see where it’s from as Jeno drags me back.

BANG!

Mark shoots again from far sprinting forwards when he sees he’s landed a shot. The gun fire echo's around the whole house and also around the quiet deserted street. Mark uses the front door to escape running down the driveway before reaching the house entrance gate, he holds the gun steady in his hand and watches the police male figure try to crawl away. He doesn't get far, only two walking feet away and Mark chuckles.

Officer Suh Johnny holds onto his radio by his collar still pushing and dragging his body forward. The thoughts running in his mind is to protect the girls and send backup quick. "Back up.. please. Mr Zhong's residence. 4 men. Pick up truck aban1doned. 2 girls inside. Hurry. I've been hit."

Mark watches with fascination, the thought that the police had a shot at escaping death makes him chuckle.

Haechan appears at the doorway seeing Mark between the bared gates at the end of the walking way. He runs to where Mark is and his eyes fall to the police officer. He looks over at Mark, who's still smiling and looking at the male. "What the fuck Mark. He's still moving." Haechan says calmly. “Kill him already.”

"He won't get far," Mark smirks and points the gun once again aiming for his back unaware of the bulletproof vest.

BANG!

While he shoots, Haechan watches the officer. “He’s got a bullet proof vest.” Johnny’s back arches obviously in pain and he wiggles on the floor, a crimson color of blood trailing behind him as he still wiggles and moves on the floor - trying to get away.

"Damn, he's strong 5 bullets and he's still going on. Wow, what it means to be a fighter." Mark pouts his lips loading his gun again with an evil smile and red high eyes looking ahead in delight.

“Shoot his head.” Haechan says. “We need to take care of those bitches fast and leave.”

“Let's see how many it'll take to finish him." Mark is deaf to the rest of Haechan’s words and aims his gun at the polices head. “You ever seen a head explode Donghyuck?”

“No.” Haechan shakes his head still with his eyes trained on the wiggling police officer who was now closer to his car.

“I have.” Mark’s lip twitches in a pained smile that’s quickly covered by his horrendous laugh. “It was my father’s head. It bursted out like...” Mark pulls the trigger on the police officer and splatter chunks of blood spurts out. “Bang. Just like that. And I shot one more time, to make sure he was dead.”

BANG!

Similar actions are done back in the living room by Renjun as he holds onto his chest every time the gun goes off. His bottom lip trembles, and just like the crying girls he’s also in tears and afraid. Standing up in absolute fear he tries to breath but gets his heart shocked when the gun fires three more times and it becomes silent again. The silence too tense and almost tangible.

Yezi wails around the couch tears streaming down her face, Dae on the other hand didn't even budge from the floor with Jeno right on top of her. Jeno held her down with his eyes trained on the monitor screen. Dae knew that something was wrong when Jeno’s eyes widen every time a gun shot was heard. Officer Suh must’ve been on the receiving end of those bullets otherwise Jeno wouldn’t be letting out a breath of relief and grabbing his canned drink and downing down another lump.

Renjun roughly pulls his short hair back and furiously marches to Jeno pushing him back. "Jeno, they killed him. Stop drinking we need to get out of here." He pushes him again and Jeno falls on the ground- losing his balance totally- the alcohol merging with his senses.

Dae takes her chance and tries to get up even though her hands are tied up behind her. She runs with speed to another corridor in the dark hallway, to where another monitor is. Her teary eyes see the still body of the officer on the ground with blood pouring around him and she trembles and with her tongue she firmly sticks it on the screen trying to send another silent alarm. Her tongue hazing on the screen until it’s sent.

Her whole head snaps back when hearing Yezi wail out louder. She panics and carefully goes back to the living room seeing Haechan squeezing her neck tightly slapping her cheek again. Cowering back in fear she tries to run back to the hallway again but hits into a hard chest falling back down. Mark is in front of her with a smirk. He pulls her up by her hair clicking his tongue. “I found her.”

"You think you can get away from me sweet cheeks huh," Haechan bitterly laughs walking away from Yezi. “I was teaching your sister a lesson for opening up her big mouth. Jeno told me you snitched as well, so I think you deserve this too-” The moment Haechan reaches Dae and Mark his hand swings back and he gives her a wild back hand slap sending her flying to the ground as Mark let’s her hair go. This time Haechan grabs her hair pulling her up. “I hate when my plans go south-”

"Please! Let me go! Donghyuck-"

He slams her back on the floor before grabbing her hair and dragging her to get to the living room. He throws her on the floor once they’re in the living room again. She let her tears fall down screaming out when seeing Yezi’s red face with tiny bruises. Haechan points his gun at her and clicks his tongue. "Don't you dare say my fucking name ever again!"

"Donghyuck! What the- what the hell!?" Renjun taunts out again hurrying over to his brother gripping his shoulders. "Mark shot the police! He shot the police! You said you were gonna steal the car! Not tie up the girls and shoot the police!"

Haechan becomes silent in hearing that, the image of the police’s head being shot several times still fresh in his mind, he gulps and points the gun to Renjun. "This wouldn't have happened if you stayed in the car like I told you." Haechan says holding the gun back down. "You could've warned us that someone was coming or you could've told the police a lie!"

"What lie? That my brother went to hijack a car!"

"I didn't say the truth! I said lie! Lie! You could've lied for us!" Haechan grabs his hair feeling stressed not knowing where his 'in and out' plan would lead to. "We need to get the hell out of here before more police come. We need a plan Mark. Jeno lock the house again, just in case somebody comes unprepared."

He looks over at the girl on the couch and the older girl on the floor, he sighs and scratches his head removing his cap letting his black long hair fall over his forehead as he scratches his head.

Breathing out he begins talking. “Right. We’re gonna take a car-”

Sirens are heard outside startling everyone in the house but not as much as the bursting gunshots that shoot from the outside.

Renjun curses ducking his head down. Yezi and Dae look around in relief thinking they're safe but it’s when Dae notices that Mark is nowhere to be seen that she begins to panic. Especially with Jeno leaning on the wall watching the monitor, struggling to stand straight still downing the last bits of the can before smiling. “Mark is fucking awesome.” He whispers out. The sirens stop but the gunshots continue on. After some time the gun stops too.

Dae's view:

The hooded guy appears by the door, looking jolted, signaling Jeno to lock the house. Jeno presses the button and looks around as the house makes the imprisoning sound again.

"Yah! Mark what the fuck? Were those sirens?" Haechan quizzes.

"I don't know." Mark leans on the door putting more bullets in his gun. He pushes the gun in the front of his jeans, he pulls up his jersey revealing another gun, he pulls the other gun out and puts bullets in that one too. I watch his actions, afraid that he might kill Yezi and I. "I pretended to be a fucking gardener and they said another silent alarm was sent." Mark scoffs. "It's either that or that dead cop called for backup."

Haechan eye's immediately snap to mine.

"Another silent alarm was sent. Oh fuck I hope you had nothing to do with it sweet cheeks." He comes close to my face pulling me up to my feet his black eyes burning into my brown eyes. "Aggh!" He throws me back on the floor making Mark quickly hover above me. He makes me sit down properly and rubs my back lightly.

“Don’t worry baby girl, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Are you okay?" Mark darkly chuckles laughing out. Why is he laughing as if everything is funny? His red eyes, show how high and wasted he is, just like Jeno who can barely stand straight. My body shakes by his touch and I gasp out when leans his head and dives straight for my neck. I close my eyes and twitch a bit when his teeth nibble on my skin, as his hand immediately spreads my legs while his palm cups my-

“Mark you can’t be serious- we’re about to get caught in a cross fire and you’re fucking making out with her?” Haechan questions pacing around. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Haechan yells out. Pulling his dark hair back. He puts on his cap backwards and sits on the couch.

"Jeno tie her legs up." He points over to me. "Put that one in a room," he points to Yezi.

"What? After all that's happened you still-"

"And I certainly don't want you around!" He points to Renjun dead shot. "You're gonna keep an eye on that girl and Jeno, watch her." Haechan bosses around. "Put them in separate rooms. Mark and I are gonna scoop the place, get what we can and fill it in a car. When we’re done, we leave."

“Be good baby girl,” Mark gets up following Donghyuck, not before patting my head.

Jeno and Renjun are silent but soon obey.

"Now how do I carry her?" Renjun asks looking at Yezi, who looks like a net.

Jeno picks me up gently putting me up on my feet. I look back at Renjun who's trying to lift her up. Renjun’s soft eyes turns to me, his eyes in pain as he looks at me and Yezi's hands tied. He looks down with shame. "I'm sorry.."

I'm unable to reply as Jeno pushes my back.

"Lead the way to your room," his deep voice makes me shiver. I walk slowly, climbing the steps.

"I like your style, I couldn’t stop looking at it at that center," he says very quietly. The alcohol can be smelt from his breath. I look down, seeing my crop top exposing my bare stomach and my high skirt exposing my bare legs.

S1:E8-15

Zhong Chenle's pov:

"Please take care of the house and the girls and-"

"Don't worry, my love. Everything will be okay." I kiss her lips softly drawing her body near, ending with a sweet peck. "Now go before Mrs Chittaphon takes the flight without you. It’s a miracle she waited for you." We both turn our heads to where Mrs Chittaphon is by the terminal gate staring at us. Seeing that our attention is on her, she turns around and is out of sight.

"Shoot." Chungdae laughs kissing my lips again before quickly walking off.

"I love you!" I scream out waving my hand. She turns around her face pink, revealing a row of nervous perfect teeth. She blows out a kiss and I cringe while catching it and looking down at the heart before shaking my head and placing it in my front pocket. Knowing she’s expecting one back, I peck the palm of my hand and blow it out towards her. She catches it like a giddy little girl before speed walking to the terminal gaze. Standing in place simply watching her until she’s out of sight I breathe out feeling suddenly empty. I already miss her and the aeroplane hasn’t even yet taken off.

We were under the impression that the plane would leave exactly at 7pm, so by 6.30 we were already pulling into the parking lot (as our home isn’t that far from the airport) to our surprise the plane is said to leave at 8pm. The reason we even came late instead of at 5pm like Mrs Chittaphon suggested was because Chungdae didn’t want to spend hours talking with Mrs Chittaphon. But even though coming late, she still has a hour hour and 30 minutes to chat with Mrs Chittaphon.

Oh well. Two weeks. I’ll see my wife again in two weeks.

I get to my car moments later getting myself some coffee, seeing how two lurking people are staring at my car. "Daddy look, is this Jaguar as fast the real Jaguar?” The kid’s eyes light up as he bounces up and down. “The Jaguar! The Jaguar!" The boy's father looks over at me smiling an embarrassed smile taking a hold of his son’s hand who was about to touch my car.

I return an awkward smile and get in the car thankful that the little boy didn’t set a print on my car. Making myself comfortable and seeing Daegal still sleeping on the passengers seat, I place the little treat bag on the chair and turn on the engine. Wanting to be bit spontaneous, I put on a show for the little boy by making my engine roar to full maximum power.

As expected:

The kid

Loses

His mind.

He begins to jump up and down literally screaming in joy, "Oskar vrrrr ! Oskar vrrrrr! Oskar vrrrrrrr! vrrrrr! vrrrrr! vrrrrr! vrrrr!~~" he chants aloud bouncing around his father.

His father gripping him trying to bring him back on Earth. I laugh silently carefully driving out the parking spot and eventually out on the road, pushing down on the accelerator making my car go as fast while passing the other cars on the highway. Taking my eyes off the road for a second, I peer at my phone that’s planted by the phone grip. I press long on it’s side turning it on. I chuckle to myself when thinking of my wife and how she always nags about me having a phone when I hardly even use it. While it switches on, I turn on the radio switching through the channels to find any music station as my CD record has no CD’S of my taste whatsoever- most likely because of Yezi, it would explain those random Thai CD’s.

Upon turning the radio, my face frowns when I hear my name on one of the stations. I quickly go back, finding the chatting team.

‘From what we hear the police have barricaded and surrounded the mansion, it’s also been reported and said that his two daughters are inside with those burglars.’ The hostess speaks causing my anxiety to rise. I’m sure that I heard my name a second ago- but among hearing that two daughters are trapped in a mansion with potential burglars my heart pounds harder. Did they just say police have barricaded and have surrounded the mansion? ‘But can you just imagine the intense amount of fear traversing through the father at this moment? His own home that he built with his very hands being used as a prison for his daughters. What sick cruelty.’

‘It’s moments like this when you realize that even millionaires who try to live amongst the ordinary- still get picked on by burglars.’ A male hosts comments. ‘I personally thing it was a mistake for Zhong Chenle to pick out a situated area like that. I understand he’s humble enough to reflect that he’s richly ordinary, but maybe a more reserved area would’ve been well fitted for him and he wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament of having his daughters trapped in a building,’

Did I hear right?

I’m not even sure because all I can hear are the heavy thuds of my heart.

‘I agree. Let’s just hope the situation gets better,’ The hostess comments. ‘This has been Build Architect Talk on 94.7 highveld stereo, send your comments through twitter on what you think about the-’

My heart races to the same speed of the car, the wind swamping through the little space of the window. I slow down the car seeing the traffic lights a few pints away. I stop at the red light picking up my phone urgently now noticing the white light that flashes through HOME LED. Oh my god.

_____________________________________________________

|*⚠3 ALERTS FROM: SYSTEM HOME

______________________________________________________

|*▶1 NEW VOICE MESSAGE

______________________________________________________

|*↙ 9 missed calls

______________________________________________________

|* ✓ FRIEND REQUEST(s) ON FACEBOOK

___________________________________________________________

|*Yezi: Dad please buy some takeaway for us?

____________________________________________________________

|*$ Cash Transfer/Deposit

____________________________________________________________

Why are there three alerts from system home?

I click on the Alerts patiently waiting for the system to load. I breath out only expecting to be proven wrong by what I just heard from that radio station. How could the radio station be informed before me? But then how would I have been informed if my phone and any other gadget used to contact me were off- Two silent alarms sent?! My head begins to throb as I read the feedback report and the times the house was locked? If two alarms were sent on different times it means that it was not accidental and the girls sent it for valid reasons. But now reading the report of the house being locked multiple times only sends me in a frenzy. What the hell is happening? The 9 missed calls are all from different people- but none from the girls. 4 are from the police?

Speed dialing Dae’s number- her phone rings and rings until my call is directed to voice mail. I try again two more times- but they all go to voice mail. I try Yezi-

HONK! HONK!

Getting startled by the car behind and the bright green light on the traffic light I curse out. I press on my paddle at the green light speeding down the road ignoring all the speed limits and pass the other cars in a flash.

“Please be okay. Please be okay.” I mumble continuously while swerving through the other cars my heart beating on raider and loud for the whole world to hear.

I'm startled again when my phone vibrates on my lap. I pick it up immediately answe’ring the call, swerving the car avoiding accidents.

"Dae?" I call out my voice rising.

"Mr Zhong Chenle. Thank god we finally got a hold of you. Sorry for the intrusion but this is urgent-”

"I'm sorry I can’t right now- I need to get to my home-”

The guy over the phone calmly interrupts with a bold statement that paralyzes my core. "This is regarding your house with your two daughters. I think it would be best if you drove to your residence as soon as possible," The officer cuts off sternly. I hear my heart pound hard against my chest, my vision becoming blurry.

"My god what happened to them." My emotions get heightened and the words from the radio all come back to me.

"Mr Zhong please be calm everything will be okay. Drive safely and get home as soon as possible.”

Once the call cuts- I drive anything but safely on the free way continuously pushing the limits to the point where I’m even unaware of the trial of traffic cops following behind me, my only concern; that my girls are safe. It’s only when I drive into the residents housing area do I notice that on my street- a large gathering of police cars and men in uniform surround the house all proactively doing something. I barely shut the car off but all I know is that my feet are hot when running out and straight to the gate of the entrance gates. I’m about to open up the gate with my remote key but I’m hurled back by strong arms holding tightly onto my whole body.

“My girls! My girls! My girls are in there! LET ME GO!”

“Unfortunately we can’t do that.”

A voice cuts me short of breath as I stare wide eyed to one person I’d really not like to see.

“Zhong Chenle, CEO of G.H Constructions, the same man who evicted me and 29 other people from a main land building, all in the name of building a fucking bus station-”

“Moon Taeil, is this really necessary now?” Chenle yells out. “My daughters-”

“Yeah they’re in house, we know. We’ve been trying to reach you, but you were M.I.A. on all the calls, so we had to proceed without you. And for your information it is General Moon, respect the initial-”

“General I don’t think that’s necessary right now.” A punctual and straight voice interrupts Taeil’s ‘superior speech. I pant out frustrated when the hands of the Officers around me let me go and I turn to the new officer showing me a screen on the tablet. I dive in closer gripping the tablet seeing an image that’s been zoomed in. It’s Yezi’s window. She’s pressed against the window with a gun to her head. “The moment we tried intruding, this is what happened.”

“Tried?” I stand back looking at all the cars around. “You mean to tell me that even with the number of police officers out here- you still haven’t done anything but tried?!”

Moon Taeil steps forward with stern eyes. “Mr Zhong. We are tying to do our job-”

Staring at him in disbelief I grab him by the shoulders shaking him up. “If you’re considering this just a job then you should go! My two daughters are in there and all you can do is brag around about your new job and title? I can make one phone call right now and you’re entire career is over-”

Taeil tsks while scoffing. “You’re children are hostages in that stupid mansion and all you can think about is ruining me? Haven’t you already tried that? I wondered why you never even cared about the 29 people who were left homeless, I should’ve realised back then that it’s because you’re a narcissist. Even your own girls are there but you just want to-”

“That’s enough General Moon. You placed me in charge of this case, now with all due respect I need you off the premises effective as of now.” The Officer commands with his hands sharp out the ‘General’. He sharply turns to me with stern eyes. “Mr Zhong I need you to calm down. Engaging in trivial matters right now isn’t good for your blood pressure or ours. We need to stay clear and focus. Now if you may, follow me.”

“Who the fuck is that?” I glare at the Officer man walking away.

Moon Taeil scoffs. “If you must know everything, he’s the man you will be answering to if you want your daughters to leave there safely. Now if you’ll excuses me, I’ve got errands to attend to. I would say all the best, but I don’t even think you care.”

I try getting a grip of myself and not allow myself to lunge at the parting General. My daughters are trapped inside the house right now, and all the barbarian officers can think about is their stupid titles and power over me.

“Uh Mr Zhong, I’m Officer Park Jisung,” An officer appears in my face looking a bit hesitant. “Officer Na Jaemin sent me to fetch you-”

“I’m coming.” I sharply glare. “And who is he?”

“Officer Na Jaemin?” The Officer Park’s eyes widen. “He is second in command and one of our youngest military transfer. The Chief and General recruited him after an impressive take down of a kidnapping situation. He did that all by himself." Jisung chuckles. "Chief calls him a man team."

“Youngest? How old is he?” I ask before looking up and down at him, seeing he’s also young. “And how old are you?”

"Oh," Jisung chuckles again. "He's 23 years old. Don’t let the age fool you, he’s a gifted prodigy recruit straight from the highest military academy. He's got honor badges and was the top of his class, passed with flying colors and dignity. He respects and handles all situations well, so he’s age is just an age, but mentally, he’s on fire." Jisung continues rambling on about the achievements of the Officer as Chenle zones and follows in the direction the stern serious Officer Na Jaemin left to.

After turning around several police cars I finally find the ‘Officer Na’ and make my way towards him. “Officer Na, tell me if you’ve got a way to end this right now. If not then I can make a phone call to National Security and end it quick.”

Officer Na raises an eyebrow in my direction seemingly trying to refrain himself from making a haste comment. “I understand your dying urge to save your daughters from the scene, I have kids of my own, but they’re mice and their trapped inside my apartment with a frenzy crazy cat.”

My eyes enlarge. “Did you just compare my precious daughters to your-”

“Here’s what we know so far.” Officer Na cuts throws revealing a journal with hand written notes. “You’ve got two daughters by the name of Dae and Yezi. They were in the house until they sent a silent alarm to the station around 6.57pm. By the details of Officer Suh, now in another place, he stated there was an abandoned car parked by a distance on this street. This car right here-” Officer Na turns to the vehicle on the side and I pane my eyes as well doing a double take. I’ve seen this car bef-

“My god.” My eyes enlarge. “Those perverts.”

“You know this car?” Officer Na asks and I bite my lip in fury.

“Continue with what you’ve gathered.”

“Upon checking the security footage by the neighbors house, there car seemed to have arrived minutes after yours drove in. And that was around 6.10pm. It stayed and rested there with no movements. Around 6.30pm we saw 3 boys exit the car and make a straight bee line for your house. They climbed the gates and that was the last we saw of them. Moments later we saw your gates opening and a car getting out, we assume that was you and your wife, and that was around 6.45. From our calculations between 6.45 and 6.57, 13 minutes were in between. And we assume that the 3 boys somehow entered the house, to our surprise one more guy left the car at 7.00pm and climbed the gates over and entered, resulting to their being 4 boys in total. Officer Suh, who’s now in... critical condition, arrived at your house at 7.09pm and constantly kept speaking into the monitor. He mentioned your eldest daughter Dae answered the monitor and her voice sounded shaky, he heard voices in the back and persisted to ask about the abandoned car. She stated somebody was fixing something inside, and that’s when he knew something was wrong. He offered for her to come to the front, but before any movements could be done he heard the girls over the monitor yell out that they were trapped with four boys and that they were going to kill him. Just like that rapid gun fire came his way. He sent a distress call of a hostage situation of 4 burglars and 2 hostages- from the security footage, it shows he was shot about 7 times while trying to make it to his car.”

“Where is he now?” I ask in worry. If they shot him mercilessly, how sure am I that my daughters are in ‘safe’ hands.

“Right there in the ambulance truck.” Officer Na motions with his hand. “Like I said, he’s in critical condition.” Officer Na states, avoiding to mention that Officer Suh is now dead, after being shot on the back of his head. “After he sent the distressed call around 7.12, another silent alarm was sent 7.13pm and 4 officers we’re already on the move in 2 separate cars. Upon reaching the house and seeing the Officer Suh’s body on the ground they proceeded with caution where they met a ‘gardener’. They explained the situation and the ‘gardener’ supposedly shot out to them to which they returned in a shoot out battle, where unfortunately the ‘gardener’ had the upper hand. By now we know you have no gardener and that it was actually one of the boys. From the means of it, after searching their car, we’re 100% sure that most, if not all the boys are under substance influence as we found marijuana and weed plants in the car, multiple of beer cans scattered around and dust of cocaine on the dashboard.”

Officer Na turns the pages of his book, but I quickly ask. “What else did you find in the car? Anything about those boys?”

“We looked for anything else to identify the boys as the security camera couldn’t capture there faces- we found nothing but a school bag. Within the school bag there were art supplies and sketches and drawings of flowers and portraits of people- that’s not important, but what is important is that it belongs to a scholarship student Huang Renjun.” Officer Na points to the hood of the rusted car, were smiles files and notebooks were place. “We did background detail on him and found out he was adopted by a widow, Mrs Lee. We gave her a ring, but she was at church. She ended up calling back and we asked about her adopted son and the mishaps he caused. To which she was flabbergasted as Renjun would never do such a thing. The usual mother talk. However, as she was completely against the idea of her adopted son Renjun causing malicious crimes, she was purely certain that her own son Lee Donghyuck was involved. Lee Donghyuck, a mastermind of schemes and trouble, he’s a regular at juvenile prison. Commits minor crimes and serves his time for a short sentence, before doing the same thing. He’s a kid who’s seen trouble one too many times. And from that information we know for certain that Lee Mark is also involved.”

“Brothers?”

“No.” Jaemin shakes his head. “They first met in juvenile prison when they were 13. Know Mark, is one of those kids you never want your child to come across. Buys and sells drugs to minors, is always in possession of illegal cocaine and frequently gets into fight with anybody that looks at him. So it’s no brainer that him and Donghyuck are a match made in heaven. They were inseparable since meeting, they mixed up in the wrong crowds together, caused twice as much damage then they did alone, served their sentences together, and eventually joint by the hip by a common love for crime. Where one is, you’ll most likely find the other. So now we know for certain that Lee Mark, Lee Donghyuck and his brother Haung Renjun are there. As for the fourth guy, we assume it could be Lee Jeno, as he’s Mark’s younger brother and every time Mark isn’t with Donghyuck, he’s with his brother, Jeno. But we don’t know yet. Jeno has no criminal record, went to primary school and dropped out of high school performing side jobs here and there.”

“What side jobs?” I ask.

“He’s a self proclaimed photographer.” Jaemin answers, spreading out the printed photo’s of all the boys on top of the car. Where Mark and Donghyuck both are mugshot photos, Renjun and Jeno are seen in high school photo’s. Renjun an honor student, and Jeno a shabby looking boy who barely smiled.

“They are so young.” I mumble. “How old are they 17?”

Jaemin grunts. “These are old photos. They’re all in their 20′s currently. Mark and Donghyuck are both 21, Mark being the eldest and Renjun and Jeno are both 20, Renjun being the eldest.”

“We assume they’ve got eyes on the premises outside, partially because as soon as we tried to enter from the back, they held up your daughter Yezi by her window and we withdrew from anything further.” Jaemin says yet, he leans over the car unwrapping a white A3 folder. “As we’re talking now, a team led by my best man Officer Sungchan are hidden inside the premises outside the garage door. On my go, they’ll enter as soon as I give them the greenlights. Speaking of greenlight, are their any surveillance cameras in the house- so that we can get our setup guy to activate?”

I shake my head. “My family disliked the ideas of the cameras in the house. They didn’t like the idea of being ‘watched’ so I took them out. The only camera’s we have are outside of the house.”

“That’s okay. With your 2 daughters in there, we need to be extremely careful otherwise-”

“Officer Na! Officer Na!”

We both turn our heads to a an out of breath officer. It’s Officer Na who grunts. “Jisung I told you to stay off the scene. And what the hell are you doing with that damn dog?”

Seeing the white fluff ball in his hands, I instantly go over and pick up dog from him. “Oh Daegal, where you sleeping in the car?”

“That’s yours?” Officer Jaemin questions with confusion before looking to Jisung.

“I was outside off the scene like you said, but I saw Mr Zhong’s door open and I could hear a dog barking. When I went closer, I saw the dog and also-” He looks down when the large phone in his hand began ringing. “The phone keeps ringing.”

I take a hold of my phone seeing Yezi’s contact ringing on the screen. My eyes widen instantly answering the call. “Yezi-”

“Shhhh. I’m sorry sir. My name’s Huang Renjun and-” I place the phone away from my ear setting it on loud speaker for Officer Jaemin to hear. Surprisingly I can hear stone hard Chinese leave the young boy’s lips. “- telling you this to help get us out of here. I don’t know what was going on in there minds but I swear they didn’t hurt the girls. I just need help- I’m not sure how long they’ll be down there but we need help.”

Yezi watches as Renjun keeps one of his hand on the phone and the other on the cold cloth covering his bruised cheek. “Are you sure he’ll answer?” Renjun looks to Yezi on the bed still with her hands tied up. Feeling bad that she was in this situation he untied her legs and allowed her the space to cry until she composed herself. Now after having charged her phone it was 15% he opened and searched through the contact until finding her dad. She said, her dad would know what to do.

“Yes he will.” She whispers. “I saw the police outside when they pressed me against the window. I’m sure he’s there now.”

“But it’s been ringing and he’s not- oh.” He’s stunned when hearing the connecting sound.

“Yezi!”

He hears Zhong Chenle speaking into the phone and he can’t help but break out into Chinese while feeling panicked. The words flow out so fast that not even the people on the other hand get a grasp of a word he says. He silences down when hearing a voice over the phone.

“Listen here. I need you to calm down and breath okay? The only thing we heard was your name, Renjun right?”

“Yes.” Renjun answers in a much calmed tone while standing up pacing nervously.

“Okay good. It’s Renjun on the phone, he somehow has your daughters phone-” Renjun can hear the voice, but the male isn’t talking to him. Meaning he must be on speaker. “Where are you now?”

“I’m in...” He looks to the girl nervously. “What’s your name?”

“Yezi.”

“I’m in Yezi’s room. They sent me here to make sure she doesn’t escape.”

“Yezi’s room?” The Officer asks and from the outside they look up as soon as they see a figure approaching the curtains. The curtains open up a little and Renjun places his hand on the window. “Hold your fire,” He hears the Officer speak. “Okay Renjun, I need you to listen to me and answer my questions. We already know you, your bother and his friend are in the house, failure to come to a middle ground will put you all in danger-”

“No disrespect sir, but I’m already in grave danger talking to you. My brother could appear any moment and I can see the police want to shoot me-”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Relax,” The Officer interrupts hearing the panic through the phone. “Renjun remain calm okay, we’re not going to shoot you okay? Listen to me, can you confirm this? Are their 4 boys in the house?”

“Yes.” Renjun looks carefully to the door. “Me, my brother Donghyuck, his friend Mark and his brother Jeno.”

“Did you guys bring any weapons?”

“I don’t know but I saw Mark and Donghyuck with guns-” Renjun scratches his head pacing around and walking to the window again looking at the scene outside before, seeing a hand wave.

“That’s me, you’re talking to me.” The Officer comments. “Are-”

“Officer I’m scared right now, but I can’t go to jail! My mum is sick and-”

“Renjun I need you to calm down buddy, it’s alright-”

“No it’s not- Donghyuck goddamnit. He just likes following Mark around and-”

“Lower your voice.” Yezi whisper yells in panic, feeling scared nervously looking to the door. The fact that Renjun was badly beaten on the face and shaking like a fish out of water only made Yezi more anxious that something bad would happen to him if he was caught.

“Okay I’m sorry. I got carried away for a minute- they’ll be finished in any moment.”

“Do you know what the other boys are doing now?”

“Donghyuck and Mark said something about filling up a car with materials. So I think they’re both downstairs. Jeno and I are upstairs in each of the girls rooms.”

“Were you the one holding the girl Yezi by the window?”

“No- that was Donghyuck.” Renjun answers remembering the scene. “They tied her hands and legs up, so when Jeno helped me carry her to her room, I undid her legs but she tried to run away and then Donghyuck held her at gun point shoving her to the window telling her he’d kill her for everyone to see.”

“Where’s Yezi now?”

Renjun looks back at her. “She’s on the bed, she told me where her phone was and said to call her dad.”

“You guys did good, don’t stress.” The Officer says before speaking into the radio monitor to which Renjun makes out. “Stand by.” The Officer looks back up and clears his throat. “If it’s possible, I need you to stay on the phone with me okay? We’ve got a plan, but we need your cooperation, cool?”

“C-cool.”

“Something’s wrong.” Donghyuck mutters looking out the creak of the window behind the blinds. As soon as they put the girls in their rooms, him and Mark searched around the place for anything valuable and began stashing it inside the car. Upon Yezi’s outburst and attempt to escape, Donghyuck warned her by forcing her against the window. His initial plan was to scare her by throwing her out- but as soon as he saw the arrival of the police cars and the officers outside he panicked. He placed the gun to her head before closing the curtains and commanding Renjun to watch her.

When he got downstairs, he was surprised to see mugshots of himself as well as Mark. Mark was sniffing in powder of cocaine while watching the news. After much convincing for Mark to hurry up in stalking the car with materials- he found himself inspecting the downstairs window again. The police were outside...doing nothing.

Which was strange at first, but then Donghyuck thought that maybe it was because of holding Yezi at gun point. Even so, right now there still seems to be no movement. No one is doing anything, they’re just standing outside. Plus, one of the officers keeps looking up- not to the window he’s peeking out of, but instead to one of the girls’ room- most likely Yezi.

“Yho Haechan, you need to see this,” Mark stands by the living room door. Donghyuck get’s up from his position against the wall following Mark who goes into the kitchen and then gets to the door leading to the garage and stops before peeking inside. “Look,”

Donghyuck leans against the door looking inside. The light are switched on and the large black Jeep car has the trunk open. It’s the car, they plan on taking. “Do you see that?” Mark asks.

“What?”

“Under the garage door.”

Taking a look at the garage, my dead tilts to the side upon seeing something weird. There’s a twig like stick poking from underneath the door. “Is that...”

“A tactical electronic under door camera from Call of Duty? Yes.” Mark nods his head. “I was walking around and noticed it, I tried not to be obvious but I purposely moved around it enough to see it’s a camera. They’re watching us. Follow me again.” Following Mark we make it to the living room where the monitor is set. “I kept fiddling with this trying to see if I could turn on the garage light, and as soon as I saw this-” He points to the screen where there are buttons of: Porch, Garage, Swimming Pool, Back Yard, Veranda, Hot tub, Garden and many of the outside areas. “When I saw this, I thought is was the lights for outside, but then when I clicked garage, I saw this.”

He clicks on ‘Garage’ and surely a surveillance footage of the outside comes up. The area around the garage, the drive up path and the little bush around.

“Check this out,” Mark points to the long thin black stream line- the same one we saw in the garage- it’s connected and it’s leading straight to the bush, where Donghyuck makes out a hand. “Do you see it?”

“They’re gonna come in through the garage?”

“I counted and saw 6 here.” Mark comes out of the garage footage and moves to the yard footage. “Counted 4 here,” Mark comes out again, while going to the next footage and the next. “Swimming pool 2, veranda 2, porch 2, hot tub, 2 and garden, there’s only 1 guy. In total there’s 19 guys around the house right now, ready to take us out.”

“I bet they’re waiting for a signal.” Donghyuck’s eyes widen and he drags Mark to the living room blind where he was. “If they wanted to take us out, they would, but look.”

“Wait a minute-” Mark leans closer squinting his. “Is that Officer Na Jaemin?”

“The parole officer?” Donghyuck going to the other side of the curtain. He can’t see the faces clearly but still sees that one officer looking up. “With one command they’ll come barking in.”

“We need to stop it.” Mark comments rubbing his red nose. The extra intake of cocaine in his system made him extra alert and attentive to any small movement around. “Is he on the phone?”

“He is.” Donghyuck answers, still wondering why they’re not doing anything.

“Oh I know that look,” Mark laughs while looking at Donghyuck’s face structure. “We’re about to have some fun aren’t we?”

“They don’t know who we are if they think they can fuck up our plans.” Donghyuck mumbles with a pissed off tone and trudges towards the stairs- having a feeling that the Officer is surely looking at something on the window. Perhaps the same window where he threatened the girl-

“C-cool.”

Donghyuck barges into the room instantly catching Renjun off guard as he was talking into a phone. Balling his fist Donghyuck lunges to Renjun punching him on his already busted up face. “Fucking knew it!” He lands a fierce punch and grabs the phone placing it to his ear ignoring Yezi who cries out in the back worried about Renjun. Donghyuck points a gun towards Yezi causing her to rapidly silence up. “Get the fuck here.” He grates through his teeth at her.

Meanwhile over the phone, he hears the familiar voice. “I assume this is Lee Donghyuck on the phone,”

“How do you know my name?” Donghyuck asks already anticipating to connect the dots to what Mark said. It really could be the Parole Officer, Na Jaemin. “You know what, let me make this quick and clear. I spotted some of your men by the garage and around the house. Get them off or I start shooting.” Donghyuck is quick to pulling the curtains open before grabbing Yezi by her neck and slamming her against the window throwing the phone after placing it on speaker and pulling out his gun.

“Donghyuck w-”

BANG!

Yezi screams out shutting her eyes as soon as Donghyuck shoots out the glass window. “CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU?!” He yells out the window down to the officers.

“SEIZE FIRE DON’T SHOOT! I REPEAT DON’T SHOOT!” Officer Na Jaemin yells out to the other officers, with his hands up. “Seize your fire Donghyuck! Don’t shoot!”

“Give me the phone Renjun!” Donghyuck yells out to Renjun on the floor. Like a wounded puppy, Renjun gets up with more blood pouring out on his mouth and nose as he scampers to the phone and hands it to Donghyuck. Grabbing the phone from him, Donghyuck continues to point the gun to Yezi, who’s got her eyes shut tight as she’s trembling with tears running down her face. “Get them out now or the next thing I target is her.”

“Tell him about that Officer I shoot in the head.” Donghyuck hears Mark from behind. Mark leans by the door lighting up his brown wrapped weed stick. He looks down seeing the carpet is stained with blood from Renjun, who’s face is botched up making Mark chuckle. “Border jumper, what happened?”

“He was snitching like a bitch.” Donghyuck comments for Mark to hear before talking back to the Officer. “If you think I’m bluffing, you’ll see blood flying out.”

“You’re going out of line Donghyuck-”

“I didn’t ask any questions! Get them out now and then we talk!” Donghyuck cuts the call closing the curtains- yet the wind still blows lightly on the curtains. He pushes Yezi to the ground next to Renjun before pointing the gun to the both of them. “I’m asking this once,” Donghyuck shoots the floor making both Renjun and Yezi yell out by the blowing wind of the gun shot on the floor. “Who’s idea was it to call the police?” Donghyuck asks, knowing very well that if the Officers couldn’t hear the screaming, then they most likely heard the gunshot. “Mark check on the monitor, make sure their all going.”

Mark puffs out once before leaving, he winks to Yezi on the ground. “I’ll be back for you babygirl,”

“Renjun, do you want to end up with a bullet in your head?”

With her hands and legs tied with a scarf that Jeno found resting around the room, Dae’s laying on her bed with her mouth stuffed with socks that Jeno found in her drawers. Ever since being placed in my room, he walked around lazily and wobbly as he tried to tie her up. His headache only irritated him more. The fact that he was trapped in a room with a girl he’s watched from afar, a girl that he had fantasies about- the fact that he was trapped with her and his head kept pounding only made him irked with annoyance. Maybe he shouldn’t have drank so much. After tying her up, he warned her not to do anything stupid and ended up going downstairs to help Renjun carry the younger sister into the room upon helping Renjun, he went downstairs (while Donghyuck ran upstairs because Yezi tried to escape) and found Mark sniffing some cocaine on the table.

“Mark we should get out of here.” He said to his brother who was down on the table blocking one nose airway while sniffing in the powdered substance from the table.

“Jeno, you’ve got a beautiful girl laying on her bed right now.” Mark started, his reddened eyes telling Jeno just how high he was. “Seize the moment, everything you want to do, simply look around and do it. You’re free. Enjoy these minutes right now, because what will happen next, will be dark. Which is why I’m preparing myself.” Getting back on the table sniffing out the lines, Jeno got up leaving Mark alone. Not wanting to confront the girl who he’s admired since, he walked into the kitchen taking his brother advice. Everything and anything he wanted to do... he didn’t want to remember hurting anybody or even remembering what his fantasies wanted to do to her- so he looked around the fridge and cabinets for anything strong like alcohol or even wine.

Getting out the kitchen, he ended up finding a wine cellar. With various flavors and brands from all around the world, this wine collection was absolute heaven for Jeno. Best part of it was that the flavors where from the weakest to the strongest. He took 4 bottles the absolute strongest and found himself in Dae’s room- chugging down the 2lt glass bottle of a bitter drink until his mind went blank. His eyes couldn’t help but admire the red mood lighting around her room. Not only did it create a dim sensual feeling but it made Jeno feel really drunk as the only color he saw was red.

He walks around her room, touching on all her stuff, opening and closing drawers either observing or blanking out. Dae’s eyes observe his every move- the fear of running away so strong but after what happened and how she heard Yezi screaming out and some bullets shooting out- she didn’t want an encounter with the person shooting the bullets. Her best option was to comply, and so far the only thing she could do was sit still and watch a drunken Jeno barely standing up straight and leaning here and there every while.

He leans forward on her desk as an attempt to get balance, but also because of a book that’s wide open. Her handwriting looked so decent and modest, as if she herself were a machine. Even in his drunken state he felt her superiority. Something as simple as handwriting showed her status and her level in society. Jeno liked that she didn’t even need to try to show how powerful she has, the air she breathed showed that she was a somebody. Picking up the book and stumbling back a bit, he trips his way over to the bed before sitting down with a hard fall. He groans from his head being dizzy before placing the book on her lap. “R-read it,” He slurs out before swinging the bottle back into his mouth.

Dae looks down to the book in her lap and back to the drunk male who could barely keep his eyes open. “Why?” She shrieks back when his body fumbles on the bed over her legs before weakly placing himself beside her.

“I said read it,” His words come out slower then before but his eyes are now open- attempting to stay open as he looks down on the page.

Taking a deep breath trying to calm her heart, her eyes scan over the words. She wrote this entry today after getting back from the meet and greet. “I swear on my entire life that I will work as hard as my father, to achieve all that I’ve reached out for. I will work my ass off until I see myself going higher instead of lower. After the sight my eyes bare witnessed to this evening, I know for sure that I never want to be poor. Upon finishing my home school studies and started attending an actual university, I was stunned by the different types of people who’ve walked crazy journey’s to get to where they were. One of the guys who I’ve recently started to get to know, was this boy from China. I mean, he’s lived here most of his life, but I found it interesting how he’s from China. His name is Renjun-”

“I knew I wasn’t tripping when I saw his name.” Jeno mumbles upon hearing his friend’s name. “Carry on,”

Dae bites her lip, feeling aware and cautious of her writing. She knows what it’ll led to but she prays that Jeno’s half conscious doesn’t hear a thing. Little does she know, Jeno’s conscious is wide awake upon hearing his friend’s name. Why would she be writing his name?

“His name is Renjun. He’s an Art student. I think he mentioned something about art therapy...Can’t you do something else? Like-huk-” Jeno’s hand lifts up to her throat, slapping it before carefully massaging yet squeezing it. Dae feels his fingers tightening on her neck and she shrieks in pain.

“Is there something wrong with your voice box?” He questions blinking his heavy eyes. “I said read it.”

Once letting go, Dae pants out and looks down on her book feeling angsty. “Art therapy. He’s a top achiever in all his classes. On Monday, we were told that all the top achievers would be treated lunch at the ‘Royale Cuisine’. I thought it would only be the rich and smart students, little did I know that he would be there. You could just see it, he didn’t fit into our type of world, but yet he tried. As if thinking that coming to our country and working hard will get him somewhere. I hated him at first, because it was funny how he thought he had a chance, but now believe it or not, I’m actually intimidated by him, by how he thinks he has a chance. After the trip, his invalidated self came up to me and he actually spoke. I can’t even believe that he had the nerves to come and talk to someone like me. His conversation was too useless to remember but I do remembering telling him that my dad owned part shares to the school and that anything he said badly against me would only get him in deep trouble- basically just letting him know of my position above him and him below me.”

Dae licks her dry lips feeling hot and embarrassed reading her words out loud, trying to lower her tone to one of humility, her words still strike so hard and are so condescending on their own.

“Someone like him, can’t just walk up and talk to me. It’s humiliating and embarrassing on both hands- for me to be seen with him and for him to think he even has a chance. I watched him walk off and he went off to this other boy who I’ve started to notice more. I don’t know his name- but I’ve caught him a few times secretly taking pictures of me. I don’t want to be retarded and think he was taking pictures of me when he wasn’t- but I will say I’ve caught him on multiple occasions with a camera in his hands and aimed at me. So to make it easier for him, I walked up to Renjun and told him to take me a picture and keep it for his friend- so that his friend will stop taking pictures of me. He was confused but took it and went his way. I saw that creepy stalker again today, I saw him enter a car with other low class friends and I even think that Renjun was there. Someone like him, like Renjun, should never be allowed out of the cage he crawled out of. In their poverty stricken world, they are the dogs that scamper around for food- they are the type to run around with their brains gone and rob stores to get money so that they can even try to afford food. How can he even dream that big to think he can talk to me? That’s why I have to work hard- to make sure that someone like him will never forget his place. Someone like him will always be made for the - AHHH!”

Dae finds herself yelping out squeezing her eyes shut when he throws the glass bottle roughly against the wall- he rolls and stumbles out of bed bending down to get another bottle. “Why’re you yelling princess? Are you disgusted that someone like me from my poverty stricken world, managed to get in your highly praised house? You’re a bitch. A heartless-”

He scoffs still standing woozily and forcing the thub off the green beverage bottle. Popping it open he takes a deep swing of the liquid, his face imitating the harsh taste as it pours down his throat. Barely even finishing the bottle his legs loosely lumber to Dae on the bed and he grabs her cheeks tightly crushing and squashing her jaws inflicting hot-blooded pain on her. Tears form by her eyes and her face becomes red- just what he wanted to see.

“You think you’re so high above the clouds?” His lip quivers with anger. “I bet if I punched you in the face right now you’d bleed like every other low life dog, wouldn’t you?"

“No- please don’t-”

“Please?” Jeno babbles out. “You know that word? Someone like you, a rich narcissistic bitch, knows the word please?” Jeno jerks her head once with vigorous anger. His grip tightens on her jaws as he still squashes her cheeks watching the tears leave her eyes and her lips quivering. His words come out flimsy and fragile while looking deep into her eyes. “Tell me Dae. Why am I poor and you’re rich?” Dae looks into his wobbly eyes while her own tears pour out silently. “Is your money guaranteeing your safety right now? Is it protecting you from someone like me? You’re such a bitch.”

Jeno seems to come back to his senses when he blinks. He clenches his jaw before picking some socks on the floor and stuffing it in her mouth.

“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to die.” He pushes himself off her looking around her room. “I may be a low life, but at least I can keep my room clean.”

He bends down still with a heavy brain mixed with alcohol and begins cleaning. Once in a while, he slits his finger tips accidently while trying to pick up the broken glass pieces on the floor. He groans wiping off the blood on his jeans before carrying on to clean the floor, until there’s nothing left on it. He rubs on his eyes picking up another drink and laying on the edge of the table drinking, while looking at her. His alcoholic mind blurred with her belittling words- looking at her was beginning to piss him off.

Upon finishing 2 and a half (not to mention that one bottle he broke) out of the 4 bottles he brought in, he takes a seat on the edge of the bed, holding onto his head jolting straight whenever his body slightly jerked back. He feels tired and weak- but Mark and them aren’t yet done.

Dae gets startled with shock when his heavy body falls flat on the bed passing out completely. Her eyes widen seeing the weightless body of the big man on her bed. Hastily, she fumbles with the scarf tied tightly on her wrist trying to get it off. Her wrists buckle and turn in uncomfortable angles while her teeth grip on the scarf material pulling with all her might. Whatever this knot was- it was messy, drunk and complicated but eventually she breaks free from the hard material with red bruises around her wrist. She quickly tries to unfasten the material around her ankles too, realizing it’s faster to attempt to get one leg out.

Picking the sock out her mouth throwing it on the floor when she gets one leg out with a struggle, she carefully sets on foot down on the floor glancing down at his sleepy face. Finding balance while setting her other foot down on the ground, she attentively gets up hearing her heart race against her chest.

The moment she lets out a shaky breath of relief his eyes snap open- his pupil freezing her in place. Her gasp is shortened as she bolts for the door but is instantly grabbed from her shirt before both his heavy arms haul over her mouth and body- one tightly over her mouth and the other compressed around her torso. Even though drunk- his grasp around her is paired with precision and weight. With much pain being inflicted upon her, her arms shoot up grabbing onto his own arm around her mouth trying to prey him off so that she can breath.

His tongue pokes against the side of his mouth as he shakes his head at her poor attempt. “With all the riches you have, you couldn’t even afford lessons on self defense? What bull crap are you trying to do?”

In that moment, her door opens up with Renjun. Dae’s eyes are wide open when seeing his clobbered face full of swellings, bleeding forehead, nose and lip and raptured busted lip and nose. He holds onto his jaw with his own hands his eyes enlarging.

“What the hell happened to your face?” Jeno too is in shock upon seeing his friend’s face.

Meanwhile Renjun’s eyes are engulfed by the red lighting room as he witnesses Jeno manhandling Dae to her bed- picking her up and swinging her back with ease. He grabs the scarf she broke free from and begins tying her up while also kneeing her stomach down on the bed. She cries out in pain- causing Renjun to watch defensively. His face already hurt from Donghyuck using brute force against him- when he took the blame for Yezi’s suggestion.

He was sure that her room was red instead of his own blood blurring his vision. But the sight of Jeno being violent has him blinking in pain. With his lip being slit, his mouth hurt whenever it opened by he needed to stop Jeno. “Jeno stop-”

Jeno groans out holding onto his head when he’s done tying up Dae on her wrists and ankles even tighter. “Shut up Renjun. My head hurts like a bitch Renjun.”

“Please let her go-”

“Why do you even care right now?” Jeno bursts out asking his friend who’s following behind him while he attempts to open up another bear bottle. “Why do you care so much about these heartless girls?”

“Because this is wrong.” Renjun lets out weakly and closes the door behind him. “Did you hear those bullets earlier? Jeno, Donghyuck is losing his mind and the police are outside right now. Mark and Donghyuck both know what they’re in for- but we don’t. Jeno just stop for a minute-” Renjun rounds around Jeno holding onto his shoulder trying not to cry. The only person who would listen to him was Jeno, and if that didn’t work, then he’d have to kiss everything goodbye.

“Why’re you crying Renjun?” Jeno asks seeing the brim of tears pool by Renjun’s eyes.

Renjun ignores Jeno and ask. “Why did you even agree to join them when you know deep down that this is wrong?”

“I wanted to see her.” Jeno rolls his eyes pointing to her. “But that was a complete waste. Fuck my head hurts.” He snorts a dark chuckle. “She’f fucked in the head-”

“Jeno! Look at you right now! If she’s fucked up in the head then what about you? You were supposed to be the bigger and better man out of-”

Jeno grabs onto his hair backing away with boiling rage. “Fuck Renjun- better man for who when those police are out there aiming at us? It’s no use fighting at all when we’re already being accused-”

“I’m angry too! I’ve done nothing but worked hard but now I’ll be charged as a criminal with my stupid brother.” Renjun pants out. “Jeno, it’s hard being wrongfully accused but it’s even worse when the people looking down on you are are clods who have never read a book or traveled more then twenty miles from the place where they were born. Please, Jeno.”

Looking up into Renjun’s eyes seeing that one is clogged with blood and the other is swelling around, Jeno can just imagine the amount of pain Renjun has endured this night alone just wanting to stand up for this being wrong. Jeno breaths out even with his throbbing head- he can barely stand up straight but when he does he nudges his head towards Dae on the bed. “Is she a clod?”

Renjun breaths out lowly holding onto his left eye. “Jeno we need-”

“I don’t want to do anything without cleaning you up,” Jeno gets down picking up his beer bottle. “You look like shit,”

Renjun gulps down a lump acknowledging the discomfort and soreness all over his face. He looks to Dae on the bed who has her eyes wandering all over his face. “I’m sorry to ask this but, do you have medicine?”

Dae nods her head her heart swelling in pain upon the face of a person who has been trying to simply get his friends out the house. “There’s medicine in the washroo-”

“Save it princess, we don’t need your help.” Jeno’s groggily lets out, still bitter about her view on Renjun. The door creaks open causing all eyes to move to the direction of the door.

Mark’s eyes are in awe looking up to the twinkling lights that set a red mood theme- unaware of the eyes that fall on him. His eyes move over to the bed where Dae is placed and he can’t help but be lust struck by her position, especially combined with the red lightening around the room.

“Your sister should really know when to shut her mouth, I wish her luck with Haechan, he’s sure gonna lose it,” Mark chortles inhaling onto his weed turning his gaze to Jeno crouching on the floor and Renjun with one hand to his face. “Border jumper, things would’ve gone easier if you stayed in that car. You wouldn’t have been beaten to a fucking pulp? You’ve chosen death.”

"Why are you here?" Jeno asks when he senses his brother glaring holes into Renjun’s head. It’s hard enough feeling like his whole world is spinning, but to have his brother on the edge and influenced to knock out Renjun has Jeno trying to focus and stay clear of his brother. Jeno gets up grabbing Renjun’s wrist making wearily line for the door- only to be blocked by Mark.

“You wanna leave?”

“We can’t leave him alone with her,” Renjun whispers hoping Jeno can hear.

Jeno rolls his head around lazily looking at Mark. Mark sees the impatience in his brothers eyes, not only is he dead drunk, but he’s pissed, only making Mark laugh.

“Are you guys done searching the house? We’ve overdue our stay.” Jeno grunts out bitterly.

“You can make yourself comfortable in the car,” Mark moves out the way but Renjun un-grips his wrist from Jeno’s hold looking at Mark.

“What are you planning on doing now?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know snitch,” Mark walks away from Renjun edging close to the bed where Dae lays. “How you doing baby girl?" He asks causing her to shift uncomfortably and away from him. He gets one knee on the bed with a coy smirk on his face looking down at Dae. He wanted her. Badly.

“Mark-”

“Why can’t I have my thoughts in peace?” Mark groans shutting his eyes. "I'm not gonna repeat myself border jumper. Get out.”

Renjun on the other hand enquires again while forcing Jeno’s weak grip away- again. “Mark haven’t you guys caused enough trouble? Can’t we just leave? Enough is enough-”

“Enough is enough.” Mark mimics in a high pitched voice. “You sound like a fucking little girl nagging. Leave.”

“No.” Renjun surprisingly stands his ground.

Mark turns his head to Dae leaning over with the bunt in his hand passing it through her lips. “Since you like expensive things, why not put this in your mouth. Don’t drop it.” Mark cheekily warns before shutting her eyes with his other two fingers.

Before anything else can happen Dae hears ruffling and pounding going against the wall. She peeks her eyes open before shutting them tight again sharply inhaling her own breath to not draw out a cry and also not to make the stick between her lips fall.

“How many fucking times do you want me to remind you that I’m not your brother? I’ll kill you with my bare fucking hands and deport you back to your fucking country you cunt.” Mark has Renjun hurled up against the wall with his bare veiny hand around Renjun’s throat.

Renjun’s face is red tightened in grief while gripping onto Mark’s hand. Jeno lunges in trying to get Mark off of Jeno- but it’s too late when Mark lands a straight punch right into Renjun’s face causing him to get knocked out on the spot.

“Fucking cunt.” Mark mumbles when being pushed violently from the back just as Jeno attends to Renjun. Crouching down and picking up his friend from the shoulder, Jeno struggles to be balanced straight and sways to the side from Renjun’s heavy lumpy body to his own mass weight.

Dragging his own mass as well as Renjun’s body weight out the red room, Jeno leaves behind a panicked Dae alone with Mark. The bedroom closes shut with Mark cockily turning around as he nears the bed with Dae slightly trembling. To Mark, her vulnerability is the hottest thing he’s seen. Hand tied in front, legs trying to break free of the knot around her ankles, weed stick in between her lips and the coated sinister red room, he can’t help but bite his lip at the sight of her.

“You know, we were in the house when you and your sister had that little chat about ideal types and whatnot. And I’m curious to know, did you really have a sugar daddy? Did you have sex with him? Even with all the money your father has, you still went ahead and had a fucking sugar daddy?” He chuckles removing his own jersey remaining in a black t-shirt. “So tell me, how good did he fuck you?”

His hands gently skim the scarf material tied around her ankles, before his attention diverts to her shoes and he begins to unfasten them. His eyes preying up on her slim and juicy thighs with such lust. A leering smile coats his lips once he gets her shoes off and looks at her small feet. He sinks into the bed like a predator about to devour his prey slowly crawling up her legs while his head lowers allowing his nose to smell on her smooth delicate skin.

“I’m guessing he was old,” Mark lowly laughs when pressing little kisses over her belly that’s exposed by her crop top. “You know guys with money, they only have sugar babies for sex because no rational girl can climb up on their tiny dicks. So tell me baby girl, did you climb up his tiny dick?”

Dae’s breath hitches when his lips move up to trail against her neck planting kisses. Feeling him suck a hickey on her neck she shuts her eyes feeling mixed emotions swirl in her stomach. Unintentionally her body reacts to his teeth that graze up her earlobe. Her reaction edges him to breath down her neck lapping his slippery wet tongue over the bruised hickey spot. With his legs on either side of her body, he feels himself growing hard with how heated up she was. Moving back a little, he admires the hickey he gave her as he removes his weed bunt from her lips. In haling it and blowing it on her trembling lips he chuckles.

“If you did climb on that fucker’s little dick, you’ll be surprised when you see my massive cock,” Without wasting another moment, his tongue brushes up against her lips before he sucks-hastily getting into her mouth with his greedy tongue. The kiss is sloppy, messy and Dae finds it the most difficult to breathe.

“I bet you’ve never been kissed like this before.”

S1:EP 16-20

5 minutes before

“If I even so see one cop car tailing us, we’ll kill them.” Donghyuck spits out through the phone before cutting it and turning to Mark who leans by the door way of Yezi’s room.

“Where’s your brother?”

“Who knows?” Donghyuck glares at Yezi on the bed. She’s back to being tied on her hands, as Donghyuck can’t trust her. The tears are still running out her eyes. It’s because of her he had to beat up his brother and now she’s crying as if he hit her. “What the fuck are you crying about now? Do you want me to give you a reason to cry?”

“Leave her alone,” Mark chuckles a little. “What the hell was that about? On the phone?”

“Bargaining with the officer. They intersect and the girls will get hurt.” Donghyuck gets his eyes off her crying face to her hands that are wrapped around a tight fabric of a scarf.

"Are we taking them? As sex slaves?" Mark questions, the thought of touching the girls tingles his senses.

"No, as wager so they don’t think we’re bluffing." Donghyuck shakes his head closing the curtains walking over to the bed. He runs his fingers through his hair removing his cap completely shaking his messy tossed hair. Mark takes a whiff of his weed. “This whole thing has fucking been brought out of proportion. We can’t afford to take them with us.”

"Actually, they could become sex slaves while we’re on the move.” Mark suggests.

"We go with them in the car, drive until we lose the cops and then ditch them when we're done?" Donghyuck thinks out his head. Following as his brain connects the dots to what Mark says. Donghyuck is hesitant in agreeing but his lips move and his voice projects what he knows Mark wants to hear. "Good plan,"

"I know." Mark says cockily.

"We still need a backup plan.” Donghyuck says. "For instance, we’re shot down while pulling out the driveway, even if we had to hurt the girls, we’d still be caught. We can’t afford getting caught. Or the drive way-"

"Burn it."

Donghyuck pauses, trying to figure out what Mark said. "Did you just say..."

"We.." Mark looks around Yezi’s room just as she looks up in horrid fear and he gestures around with his bunt. "Burn the house."

Donghyuck twists his head and this time it’s evident on his face that he doesn’t want to agree. “Mark I think you’ve smoked enough weed for tonight, put it down and-”

"The officers can't see with smoke around. They’ll be too occupied in the girls wellbeing. We find another way out and make a run for it,”

Donghyuck sighs.

“Come on Haechan.” Mark peers into his friend’s withering eyes. Mark knows how much Haechan hates when things don’t go according to plan, he also knows how stuck and conflicted his friend is, considering it’s not just the both of them but their brothers as well. Mark can only imagine how much pressure Donghyuck is feeling for involving Renjun. “You, me, Jeno, Renjun settle around and linger on for a few more minutes and then we burn it. The cops come charging in and we run off- with the duffle bags no need for the car if we’re at risk.”

Hearing the logic behind Mark’s words, Donghyuck nods his head seeing a plan he can agree to. “That sounds like a plan.”

“Good. How much time did you bargain for?” Mark asks before scoffing. “Do you really believe he’ll stick to his words? Officer Na? We can’t trust him, you know that right?”

Donghyuck nods his head. “I asked for 20 minutes, but I know they’ll be barking down in 10. All I know is that we have to leave as soon as possible. Have you have a duffle bag?��

Mark nods his head throwing the duffle bag over his shoulder to the ground. “Found these in the master bedroom. How much do you think we’ll get selling these?”

Donghyuck crouches down on the floor opening up the bag. His eyes enlarge as his hands run through his hair. Jewels, gold pieces, other ornaments and gadgets. “Fuck. Their filthy rich.” Donghyuck mumbles.

“Fucking bastards. The only filth here is you. Scampering around like dogs looking for bones.” Yezi quivers with tear venom in her eyes. “You don’t even have shame. You wanna burn down our house so you and your useless brothers can escape? You fucking beat him up without mercy.”

“Speaking of which,” Mark snickers at her outburst and pats the door. “I’ll check for your brother.” And he closes the door leaving an unbothered Donghyuck with a possessed Yezi. Possessed by anger.

“You people are monsters.” Yezi continues to tremble out of sheer anger more than fear. “Have you no mercy at all? No remorse? No humanity?”

Donghyuck ignores Yezi, still looking around the bag at the different jewels adorned, his hands scheming the different gadgets. According to Renjun, the owner of this house is an architect, so business related matters would be within all his gadgets. No humanity? Donghyuck rolls his eyes feeling generous. He picks them all up; the phones, laptops, tablets etc. getting up and planting them on the table. However looking down on her table he’s surprised to see an expensive laptop on the desk along with a tablet. Of course their father would also buy them these. Taking her gadgets instead, he places them inside the duffle bag- ignoring her continuous hate speech.

“What the fuck is wrong with you people? What the fuck is wrong with you!? Normal people don't do this. Do you think just because you've robbed us you'll gain something? You're so pathetic.” Yezi’s mouth firing all the words that strike up in her heart. The distaste too severe for her to shut up. “You’re so fucking worthless. No amount of money will ever change that.”

Donghyuck finds himself looking around her room, nonchalant to her blabbers. His eyes scan for anything else that may be of value. Before scoffing up when finding something appealing to his eyes.

“You say I’m worthless?” He holds onto a test paper. “If I’m worthless for doing the unexpected, then you are worthless for these marks? 58 out of 100, is that your best? I scouted 80′s and 90′s in my school days. You’re even more worthless with these marks, but let me guess, since you’re some big shot family, society will overlook these marks right? And give you anything you want on a silver platter right?” Donghyuck taunts. “Worthless.”

Yezi being baffled curses out. “Fuck you. How dare you call me worthless you filthy bastard?”

“How dare I not.” Donghyuck mumbles going back to opening up her wardrobe and picking out anything that catches his eye. Without all the father's gadgets in the duffle bag, there's still room for more things the he and Mark can sell. Ignoring her tantrums, he continues to stuff the bag with clothes before moving to the window watching the officers outside. Hopefully Mark's plan works out well and they can leave without any eyes on them.

“Jewelry, electronics, thrifts, even clothes. You’re parents must be so ashamed of you.” Yezi ends up saying in huffs of anger. “Their lousy son, breaking into homes to create self worth by selling stolen goods. Are you even proud of yourself?”

Donghyuck picks up the phone, Yezi's phone, that’s on 7% and begins his search on locations. “What’s the address of this place?” Donghyuck asks unbothered.

“Why? You’re really planning on using me as a sex slave to fulfill your fucked up plan and escape?”

“Fucking hell,” Donghyuck sighs in disbelief. “Can’t you just cooperate for 2 fucking minutes? Aren’t you tired of bitching? Don’t you want to see your fucking rich father already? Just cooperate and I’ll fucking leave.”

“Fucking leave to your fucked up family?” Yezi pants out. “No. How can I cooperate with you, when you're planning to use me and my sister for you sick deeds! And why can't you cooperate with the police for 2 fucking minutes?"

"You're a pain." Donghyuck holds onto his neck. "I need to leave before I lose my brain here."

"You won’t leave. You need to go to jail for all this mess you’ve caused! Let your useless family see their shameful son!”

“Useless family? Is this how your parents raised you? To look down on families. What can I expect from a worthless class bitch.” Donghyuck turns his head in her direction with stern eyes. Not expecting his reaction, Yezi feels the urge to pounce on his family some more. He's getting tired of hearing her voice. “What’s the fucking address?”

She’s pissed that he feels no remorse whatsoever about what he’s doing. “You’re so shameless!”

“Fine. You wanna be stubborn? Be that way.” Donghyuck sighs, deciding he doesn’t want the address anymore. He's about to look away but the pent up frustration builds up in him and he turns towards Yezi to complain. "I fucking hate you rich people. Always feeling entitled to everything and wanting the fucking law to be taken seriously on those who aren't up to your level. What if I told you right now, that you and I aren't any different? I bet you the second you're in trouble or in a puddle, someone else takes the blame for your mess. The system is fucked up and you're just as fucked. It’s clear you lack the skills to live in the 'ordinary' world.” Donghyuck responds. “Otherwise you would’ve known that the world is a dark place. You getting robbed, is something that happens every where so get over it. You're not as special as you think.”

“You’re so awful. Is that what your family taught you?” Yezi shakes her head with tears brimming in her eyes. Tears of anger. “How dare you come in my fathers house and try to rob us and have the nerve to say the systems fucked? Hello am I the one disgracing my family?”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes sitting by the edge of the bed trying to think while ignoring her words.

“What can I expect from a low class worthless scumbag as yourself? No value, no integrity, no humility- nothing but cheap upbringing by-”

Donghyuck sighs leaning his head back with his eyes closed. "You and I both sweet cheeks. You're just like me.”

“You’re wrong. I am nothing like you.” Yezi spits. “I was raised much more privileged and dignified then you. Because I have two parents who love me. What would you even know about love? Nothing! You look like the type of guy who was rejected, thrown to the curb- all because your parents didn’t love you. My family raised me with love. Something that you can’t relate to-”

Yezi's tantrum speech is endless and her nagging voice is the only voice fueling up the room, Donghyuck tries not to be enraged by her words. Yet the images coming to his mind of his family, sets him on edge. What would she even know about love when it was given on a silver spoon? His own father’s prime example of love was to follow his heart and leave his family behind so that he could unit with his new lover. His mother’s prime example of love, that can even be described as the bane of her existence, is to always be together and survive as a family. If it weren’t for his mother, Donghyuck knows that he would’ve long abandoned his mother the way his father did. But because she’s been consistent in keeping the family together- no matter how much trouble he caused or how long he would’ve been locked up for- his mother always had her arms open for her son to return-

“You’re not worthy of love, or any type of affection. You are a crude pathetic excuse of a human being. Instead of taking the blame you're throwing it to far more superior people then yourselves. You've got two legs and hands, yet the only thing you can think of is causing trouble and expecting to bare fruits. The only fruits you bare are of pain, so it’s no wonder your parents never showed you any love.” Yezi’s voice continues to nag, bringing Donghyuck out of his own thoughts and into Yezi’s hateful spite words. “Your parents failed at raising you. You are nothing but a product of failure who resorts to using his useless brain to fucking up people’s lives. It's clear that you're only this way because of your pathetic fami-"

“You're talking so much crap right now. Can't you just shut up?” Donghyuck groans out in anger. He gets up running his hand down his face. "You think you're better then me? Right now you're the one proving to me how much of a bitch you are-"

“You’re the real bitch here.” Yezi strikes. "A low life bitch-"

Donghyuck grumbles as he gets down to zip up the duffle bag. “You’re getting on my last nerve. Shut up.”

"Why? Because I'm telling the truth? Because you're a disappointment to your family?"

“It’s either you’re the biggest disappointment in your family or you just like talking a lot of shit.” Donghyuck’s jaw tightens when spotting the Officer Na who sticks out 10 fingers.

"Talking shit?" Yezi pipes up after a second of silence. "I don't know anything about shit, so tell me, does your father talk shit, or maybe your mother? In fact, while talking about your mother, tell me, does she ever regret giving birth to you?” Yezi voices out while watching him stand by the window. He stands there, peeking out the window and attempting an escape in his mind, meanwhile, Yezi thinks of her dad. The thought of these boys using her and sister makes her so upset that the only thing she can do is cry. The tears well up by the brim of her eyes, but she doesn't want to let them out. Not in front of a low life. Her crying would only make him feel good. “I wish your whole family dies.” Yezi spits out with venom sniffing back her tears.

"Just shut fucking shut up already!"

“I really hope your stupid family dies. Your pitiful brother, your scornful friends, your hopeless family-"

"Aren't you tired of talking-"

Yezi yells out again. "All of them! Your garbage father, your disgraceful mother! I hope you all die and go to hell! Just die! Die! Die! Die!"

"You finished?" Donghyuck asks after closing the curtains when seeing the other man who's standing with Officer Na, peek at the window. That must be their father. "I need you to shut up now."

However Yezi's eyes are drenched as the tears spill out nonstop. "I wonder if your mother ever feels ashamed of you, out of all of you, I hope she dies the fastest. For giving birth to such a thing like you, she should be punished in hell for committing the greatest sin of all."

By Yezi's ill mouth begging for his mother to die, he can't help but stop in place. His death glare egging Yezi. “Don't talk about my mum.” Being triggered by Yezi's sentence he deeply breathes in and tries to regain his composure. His mum is sick right now. She's been looking for means to pay off her medication refusing for any help from him. The last thing, he'd want right now is for his mother to die without him helping her to get the money she needed for treatment.

"Why shouldn't I talk about your wicked, shameful mother who's spoilt you rotten-"

"Shut up." He whispers trying to breathe in and out while closing his eyes.

"A disgraceful woman like her should be hanged and burnt and go straight to hell-"

By her absentminded sentence his hand is faster then her lips' when he sharply slaps her head to he side glaring down at her. "I said shut up!"

“Why should I stop? If I too had a son like you, I’d want to die! To be put into an early grave-”

He grabs onto her neck banging her against the headboard of her bed. “Do you wanna die-”

“At least if I die I have a clear conscious unlike you and you’re trashy-” Donghyuck bangs her again but her mouth doesn’t stop talking- only cutting him with her words with full force matching the fire in his eyes. “Your useless worthless mother will go to hell for raising such a disgusting-”

“Are you fucking deaf?”

“I’m not deaf you shitty bastarded! I'm just saying facts about your worthless, useless, pathetic mo-"

“I said close your fucking mou-”

“Or else what?” Yezi challenges not being able to back down even with Donghyuck grabbing her by her hair pulling towards his face. “You’ll teach me a fucking lesson?! What am I going to learn from someone with no value who's unlucky?”

“Do you want to be taught a lesson?” Donghyuck pants with rage.

“On how to be a useless mother who gives birth to disap-”

“Bitch.” Donghyuck’s hand, hard and tight when he smacks the side of Yezi’s face. Yezi’s breath hitches and she peeks back into Donghyuck’s burning red eyes.

“She must be so ashamed of you! You’re an unlucky bastarded only making those around you suffer-” Yezi’s eyes bulge out again as she gets another tight back hand across her face.

Donghyuck spits out. “I dare you to speak again!”

“You'll pay for this! You filthy! Cheap! Vain! Unlucky! Worthless! Useless! Pathetic! Miserable! Fucking–”

Donghyuck pins her tied hands above her head. “Unlucky? Me? Really?” In a quick move he grabs the material of her merch shirt ripping it off her body completely exposing her. She yelps kicking her legs up but he gets on top of her pinning her down on the bed. “I’m gonna enjoy making you my bitch.”

While Donghyuck throws the ripped material of her top on the floor, he reaches in his pocket for his corkscrew knife. Cutting the material of her white bra from the middle- he’s eyes darken as her boobs pop out and splatter side ways. From the way she rambled on and on made her sound like a child, however upon seeing her body Donghyuck feels excited and doesn't waste a second instantly covering her mouth.

Even though her mouth ran too much for his own liking, the sight of her breasts gives him edge to be inside of her.

Just as Donghyuck positions his hardened member against her shorts penetrating her covered core- Mark is in another room turning Dae over and allows his hands to go up her spontaneous sides and gifted behind, lifting up her skirt taking in the glorious view of her black lace underwear. His eyes are enlightened each time he takes in the sight of her body. In reality he never cared if a girl was rich or poor, all that mattered was for the girl to look after herself, and looking at Dae, he can tell that she pays extra attention to her body. His hands roam over her two firm and smooth behind instantly feeling pleased by how soft they feel. He smacks her ass once just to watch her butt shake. A sight to behold, he licks his lips his hands kneading on her flesh with desire and lust. But unlike Donghyuck, he takes his time in admiring Dae's precious ass. The cold rings press against her warm skin making her shiver arousing him more when seeing what the cold does to her shaking ass.

Dae grunts and whines softly when his hands begin massaging her- a little then she likes. Her eyes flutter closed when feeling her half thong slide in between her cheeks when, Mark, in his own world, grips her underwear watching the material disappear between her ass. He chortles in pleasure before sinking his face lower until Dae can feel another form of heat. His teeth biting on her ass- leaving kisses and hickies- The feel of his teeth sinking in makes her grunt and arch her back trying not to make a sound. She didn't want to make a sound, making a sound would only mean that she enjoyed it and that's the last thing she wants him to know- OR EVEN THINK. He paws her ass and grips her flesh smacking it and watching it change color. Mark takes his time, despite the time limit and enjoys each tingle when his pants seem to get tighter. His eyes were practically being mind fucked and his hands were stimulating his own urges. As Mark takes his time, giving Dae's body attention- Donghyuck is nothing like Mark.

Yezi is short of breath and trembling begging the predatorial eyes of Donghyuck.

"Please don't-" She cries, her voice lowering by how he's going. Reaching his sweatpants he pulls down his front releasing his hardness barely looking into her face when his knife breaks through her shorts watching her squirm and shakes. He smirks and viscously pulls aside her white panties- his dick having it’s own brain as it pokes into her. He spits down into her core and by a rapid instant she gasps by the moisture being stunned and truly afraid. Her lips are frozen shut only quivering as her eyes watch all that's happening to her.

"Don't-”

Her ear piercing scream erupts throughout the whole room the moment Donghyuck thrusts straight into her. He roughly pushes deeper into her smirking by her cries. He quickly let's her hair go covering her mouth while pushing the knife close to her neck as he continuously thrusts his hardness into her slamming himself roughly as pleasure shoots all over his body especially lower abdomen. "Ah fuck you're so tight shit." He fills his cock inside of her making sure his whole dick enters her warm, squishy core- "Ah shit! You feel so good aguh shit, oh fuck, agh," Donghyuck moans out incoherent words laying himself over her body his hips moving extremely fast. It's been a while since he's last been in a girl, but all the girls he's been in- have been so loose. However her body was just right, the feeling of her heat taking him easily after a while. "Ah shit, you're a virgin right?" Donghyuck can feel her mouth opening up and his ears can hear her inaudible sounds of desperation. Tossing the knife on the bed, he grabs her neck straggling her and blocking her airway. Looking into her tear filled eyes that shut with a mixture of hatred and the burning slow pain...that slowly turns into something else. Her mind is muffled with extreme stress as she refuses to let those feelings out...the feelings of pain turning into...sadness of being used? She refuses completely refuses- her tears still pouring out while she squeezes her eyes shut. Her hands struggle in the knot using her tied hands to try and push him but Donghyuck uses the hand on her neck to pin her arms down again.

“Fucking bitch.” Donghyuck moans out- his strokes hitting differently and deeper. “I’m gonna fill your pretty little whole with all of my cum.” He whispers into her ear licking on the brim still having his way- getting dizzy from all the pleasure he’s in, he’s so amerced into her that he accidently lets her mouth go- she shakes her head screaming out her sisters name but as quick as his hand leaves her mouth- it's back and he slaps her cheek forcing her head to the side and keeping his hand on her hair grabbing the knife planting to her neck. “I dare you to make a sound.” He grabs her face forcing her on her headboard as he changes his thrusts into rough strokes pounding into her- her cries coming out arousingly for Donghyuck- who thinks she’s moaning. But at some point- as all the pain subsides, she grunts angrily at the pleasure boiling into the pits of her stomach. She didn’t want this. “Dae-” Her mouth keeps rambling- yet her voice gets hoarse with each pump his cock produces into her.

Jeno downstairs- hears the scream the first time Yezi let’s it out and ignores it. He lazily continuous to whip out the blood with a damp warm towel on his passed out friend- as he failed to find the first aid kit. Renjun, still knocked out- jolts up when Yezi screams out again. In pain his eyes widen and his head snaps to Jeno. His heart beats with worry and he peeks at Jeno. “Why haven’t you helped them? Why are they screamin- Jeno-”

“Renjun-”

“Jeno I don’t like this.” Renjun breathlessly talks out feeling dizzy and drowsy. The adrenaline over his body striking up his nerves and paranoia.

“Renjun-” Jeno groans out when Renjun flinches by the contact of the hard cloth.

“Jeno-” Renjun gets up grumpily. “Please-”

“We’ll help them after- you’re in-”

“How can you be so heartless?” Renjun panics with stress. “We’re here and they’re screaming!”

“Sh- shit” Donghyuck in the room groans as he thrusts into Yezi once more, his hard heavy thrusts turn into slow, long strokes as he feels himself pouring out in pleasure erupting in pleasure. Staying still for a few seconds as he fills her with his cum. “All mine-” he pants as he kisses her trembling lips roughly before going slowly and eventually softly. Her mind still hazy from the fucking, mascara running down her cheeks as he chuckles at the fucked out image of her in front of him.

“Still wanna run your mouth?” he softly asks as he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear- he pulls out slowly. A tiny whine escaping her from the emptiness of his member. Her worn out eyes going down to his cock that was coated in cum- tears filling up her eyes again. She watches a wet string line of whiteness flowing from his member.

Her eyes still in black out dots cries out silently filling unclean- still crying out her sisters name. Her low shaky breathes and pants reach Donghyuck’s ears and he groans out sitting on the edge of her bed cleaning himself with the torn shirt.

Dae, on her back, in her room struggles to close her legs when the baby blue vibrator Mark found under her bed fits perfectly into her tight hole as his fingers work on her swollen clit. Cum trailed down her pussy, lubricating her asshole which Mark still found fascination upon- while pumping his own cock. He changes her position again, wanting another view. With her face stuffed to the bed and her butt propped out with her legs spread open on demand, it’s difficult for her to closer her legs- even harder to stop them from shaking and trembling.

Eyebrows pushing together, her mouth slowly gapping, legs shaking and sweat coating her chest and forehead- feeling her stomach twirl with the need to let go, she edges on refusing to please his oggling eyes. "Come on babygirl, let me taste you, fuck. I wanna see you leak," Not ready to let go, a small grunt leaves her lips, curling her toes as the coil in her stomach tightens- she’s taken by surprise when the vibrator bursts out of her tight whole by the amount of squirts that leave her whole by force. She closes her eyes in tears- her legs shaking while Mark marvels out by her squirts.

"Ah, Ah! Yes, fucking cumming... I'm gonna cum!" He says as the other hand that was on his dick stroked hard and fast. Mark slaps her ass multiple times turning her body around on the bed so that her face was now in view. Not minding the tears- he grabs her shirt pulling her up and in a quick movement both his hands grab the edge of her shirt and he pulls roughly tearing it up watching her boobs pop out- “Fuck yes.” Mark moans out- fapping harder, his own set of cum flows out his dick onto her chest and he moves up trying to force his hard dick in her mouth. She twits and turns her head- but when the knife comes out and parts her lips- she has no choice but to look into his eyes in unease as her tongue comes out and licks his tip.

Mark hisses at the contact. He grabs his own base rubbing his cock in onto her mouth. He fucks himself in and out of her mouth grabbing a hold of her hair. Watching her gag before closing her eyes tightly.

“Fuck baby,” he groans out, “So fucking good.”

Dae doesn’t know why she let Mark use him- when minutes ago she was fighting and resisting his touch. But the moment she heard her sister- her baby sister scream out her name- her whole body froze. The pain in Yezi's voice- blocked out the sneaky fingers of Mark that entered her when she was distracted from the scream. From what Mark mentioned- Dae only thought of the worst. Could Donghyuck be doing what Mark was doing to her?

She feels useless alternating between fast and shallow when swallowing and taking in Mark’s dick in her mouth. Mark edged himself- loving the feel of her warm mouth that got him on the brink of bliss.

The sounds of his ecstasy fills the dark red room. Deep gasps, shorts breaths, hisses, throaty grunts, quiet moans. He was basically masturbating with her body and mouth- so when a clouded Jeno busts into the room in attempt to proving to Renjun that the boys where doing nothing with the girls, catching his brother on top of Dae and fucking her mouth- he’s beyond enraged and his eyes are snapped in paralyzing shock. Snapping out of it, he pounces on his brother tackling him to the ground- his fists catch his brother, Mark, off guard as he continues to strike blow after blow-

His intoxicated and tipsy brain is in pure dejection when seeing the girl he’s admired lay motionless on her bed, her legs open and her eyes trained to the ceiling as the tears slowly leave her eyes. While Mark is still on the ground- Jeno gets on the bed taking off his own jacket pulling her skirt to cover her wet parts. He can’t even bring himself to look into her eyes- but when he lifts her stiff body up covering her with the jacket - he lightly hits her cheek. “Hey, hey, stay with me Dae, stay with me,” As drunk and clouded as his brain is, the complete zoned out stare she gives- springs all his attention on her. “Dae- Dae- I need you to listen to me-”

Dae doesn’t even hear a thing when looking into Jeno’s lips. She can see they are moving, she can feel his hand wiping on the cum that’s dripping out her mouth, she can see him-but all that’s in her head is her sister. Her little sister, being defenseless against a grown guy forcing himself in her. “I couldn’t even protect her,” Dae cries out weakly. “My sister,” She hiccups but Jeno consistently shakes her, his own eyes suddenly watering.

Is this what Renjun was feeling? Powerless to stop all the deeds being done.

Whatever Renjun felt- Jeno knew it was nothing like the emotions he felt when looking into the eyes of the girl he failed to protect from the destruction him and his brothers have caused her family. “Dae, you need to listen to me. You can save your sister-”

Jeno’s words are cut off when a heavy blow knocks him off the bed. Mark stands up whirling his hand around as he glares death eyes at his brother. “What the fuck is your problem-"

“Dae go now!” Jeno yells out when Mark goes over to him grabbing his shirt.

Prior to Jeno entering Dae’s room- Renjun limps around the empty living room waiting on Jeno- as seconds turn to minutes Renjun feels oddly strange. His eyes looking out the curtains watching the officers climb the fence and running towards the back where he couldn’t see. Time is moving fast and it only makes him worried- especially after seeing the cop- he tries to climb up the stairs, but his leg stings. He keeps forcing himself- if only he can get himself on the first floor. If only he can reach Donghyuck and try talking to him again. He knows Donghyuck has a limit to when it comes to hurting people.

And as Renjun takes a step at a time up the stairs- Donghyuck is still seated on the edge of the bed flicking the corkscrew blade in his hand open and shut. His eyes are fixed on the broken window as his ears listen to the little girl behind him let out weak cries. He’s emotionless, trapped in a state of limbo just listening to her sweet cries of sorrow. Broken and sad. Her cries sounding similar to the one he'd hear his mum weep alone in her room whenever she felt hopeless. It feels like a trance, he can't see Yezi, but he sees his mum. Vulnerable, alone and sad. The last thing he wanted was to have sex with Yezi- to rape her, the last thing he wanted was to disappoint his family. Again. Fail his mum, again. Make his whole family ashamed. Once again, he let his emotions get the better of him and as a result he's brought back to the days as a kid when it was only him and his mum.

Single mother. Broke. Heartbroken. Lost. The only thing he remembered about his dad was how much he hurt his mum and degraded her so much that he allowed for others to do so as well. When his dad left, he left his mother burdened and shattered. While Donghyuck was just a boy, who wanted his mum to no longer be in pain, Haechan (his alter ego) had a bad temper and hated seeing his mum in tears. From an early age, he would lash out whenever and where ever, because people would bad mouth his mother. He wasn't the type of kid to take nonsense, so it was engraved into him at an early age- in order not to let people talk bad about his mum, he would let people talk bad about him instead. He could take it, he really could. He couldn't stand to hear his mother crying and thinking suicidal thoughts. So he allowed himself to be the bad guy, to take on all the hate anyone would throw. The more gruesome and dark he'd be, the more attention was off his mother and on him. Of course some would say it dates back to how she was a bad mother- but to his own mother, Donghyuck would never allow himself to look down on his mother.

Maybe it's how all women sounded when they cried, but Donghyuck can't differentiate the voices between his mum and the girl behind him. Her tears seclude him from the personality he evolved into. Haechan seems nowhere in sight- it's only the little boy Donghyuck feeling ashamed and remorseful for his actions.

The moment the room is silent, Donghyuck carefully turns his head to the side.

The pain still there. Tangible in her heart and soul, she whimpers while hugging her body shielding herself from the preying eyes of the cruel rapist. Donghyuck quietly sighs out. He wants to say something. He wants to apologize, but her bare back causes a heavy weight to befall upon his shoulders. Would his mother be proud of him?

"Stop crying." He lets out lowly. "Please don't cry..." he whispers.

Yezi's hoarse voice breaks into the silence as she quietly cries, quietly calling her sisters name and choking on her own tears.

Donghyuck’s jaw trembles. He kept falling, failing, getting tricked and losing a piece of himself every time he was out with Mark- and if he’s honest, also when he was out alone. As time passed, it no longer became about shielding his mother, it just enveloped into him to be ruthless. To others although he looked worthless, pathetic and a bad son, what those people never saw were the times he’d pay for his mother’s surgery, buy food and groceries for the house, or pay for his brother’s high tuition fees- All he wanted to do, was make the people he cared for to be happy.

Who could ask for a better life then that?

But seeing the girl, Yezi shivering and exposed- his walls crack and break. He raped her.

He gets up from the bed picking up some clothes on the floor. Getting close to her, his eyes flame in remorse when seeing her red blotched face and torn clothes. He really did that?

“Are you cold?” He finds himself asking as he clings onto her hands and breaks the scarf off that tied her- holding tight when she tries to pull away. Having changed his mother many times when she was weak- his grip on Yezi doesn’t wither while he dresses her up in a yellow short that seemed long enough, keeping silent as she whispers for him to die and how much she hates him and how he’s a rapist.

BANG!

Donghyuck’s head snaps to the door and he holds onto his own gun when the door bursts open and Jeno stands there panting and bleeding and alert.

“Are those gunshots?” Donghyuck asks blaring wholes at Jeno.

Jeno points out and looks back into Donghyuck’s eyes. “M-Mark shot Ren-Renj-”

Donghyuck’s eyes widen even before Jeno can finish his words. Donghyuck bursts out the room anxiously running passed the red room and furiously down the stairs. Spotting his brother at the bottom of the staircase with blood- Donghyuck breaths out rigidly sprinting down until-

In an instant an explosion erupts from downstairs causing the bottom of the house to erupt in flames. Donghyuck’s eyes widen and he yells out. “RENJUN!” Getting up weakly on his feet and still sprinting down into the heavy smoke of fire that’s coming from the garage with all the cars- Donghyuck makes out Mark’s figure shooting out to the open garage door. Quickly pulling his brother’s arms and coughing out- Donghyuck’s eyes water with the stinging from the smoke. He moves his way towards an empty hallway that’s clear of flames. Looking down at Renjun’s bloodied form- Donghyuck’s eyes search all over until he finds the new source of bleeding from the side. He presses down with his hand earning an aching grunt from Renjun who flickers his eyes.

The tears pour out by themselves when Donghyuck tries to remove his hoody to try and wrap it around Renjun. “RENJUN! STOP PLAYING!" Donghyuck’s shaky fingers get in contact with Renjun’s skin slapping him lightly, trying to keep his eyes open. His cheeks bounce softly with every pat. "Please Renjun you twap, don’t die on me, don’t die on me,"

[flashback]

“How’s my mum?” Donghyuck rushes across the corridor upon seeing Renjun. Renjun is seated on the plastic chair his leg bouncing up and down in worry.

“She’s my mother as much as she’s yours-”

“You’re not her blood child, so don’t you dare try and pull that card orphan boy.”

Renjun glares upwards into Donghyuck’s eyes. “You really wanna do this here? Oh yeah? Okay you, her blood child who's full of worth, is that right? Oh god help me! How can you be so cruel, inconsiderate and so self involved? She’s in the hospital because of you. She got a phone call from the police department again- because she somehow had to look for money to bail you out of prison- do you even know how much she’s owing our neighbors? Do you know how much weight she’s lost just because of you, her blood son? Do you even know that her stress levels are above the maximum limit- only because she worries about you? The left side of her whole body isn’t working because of her blood pressure- she went into hyper shock this morning all because of you- her blood son! Every time she’s in pain- it’s always because of you. Every time she’s drowning deep in stress and debt is always because of you- for crying out loud- I gave all the money you gave me for school fees just so that she wouldn’t stress about money- do you even care about her? Why do you keep flaunting that blood son title if you don’t even act like a blood son? I may be an orphan but she’s given me a life more than my own mother could ever given me. I recognize all the struggles she’s undertaken just so that I could be a part of her and your life. She’s given me everything and for that I’m eternally grateful. She’s clothed me, fed me, given me the love and warmth I never thought I could receive- but yet here you are. You only show up when she’s in trouble- you only show up when she’s in pain- you only show up when we’re at the lowest and right now you’ve got the biggest nerve to bring out blood son? Are you serious right now Donghyuck? Her blood son hasn’t even seen her smile once but he’s got the nerve to own up and claim to that position. You haven’t even been living with us for the longest of time, but you’ve got the balls to barge in here and say you’re her blood son? Idiot. Please leave. Please leave before something bad happens to her because of your presence.”

Renjun glares at his older brother in pure anger and resentment. Every word he said came from the depth of his heart. Renjun, from the first day he stepped foot into his new 'home' was grateful for all that his new mum had done for him. Upon meeting her son, Donghyuck, Renjun assumed that he'd get along well with the older boy. But Donghyuck would always show his superiority over Renjun and the fact that he was the only son to his mother. No matter how hard Renjun tried to befriend the older one- Donghyuck wasn't kind enough to roll out the welcoming carpet. But after that day- after that day when his mother almost died, Donghyuck had a change of heart regarding both his mother and orphaned brother.

[End of flashback]

It happened 3 years ago, but till today- Donghyuck would never forget the urge he got to want to be like Renjun. Renjun was adopted yes, but the way Donghyuck’s mother would put Renjun on a high pedestal only made Donghyuck want to keep the state of happiness around his mother. He liked the peace and joy his mother was in when being with Renjun. Although it was a working progress, Donghyuck tried as hard as he could- to accept Renjun. After all, Renjun was remarkable. He'd bring back home marks that were astounding, he'd get scouted by top businesses wanting to work with him and he'd especially get praise for his artwork whenever he'd win competitions. With all those marvelous achievements, Donghyuck felt some sense of pride towards the boy considered his 'brother'. From that day on, he vowed to be Renjun’s brother.

The change happened bit by bit- he would suddenly pick Renjun up from school- try to initiate conversation with him- he would go supply shopping with him and even going as far as attending Renjun’s stupid award ceremonies. Donghyuck knew himself- he had a high temper and easily irked, but something about being with his mother who looked upon Renjun with angelic eyes made Donghyuck content.

Even though he was never his mother’s pride and joy, as she constantly was quick to pick Renjun over him any day- somehow made Donghyuck want to be close by to where Renjun- because wherever Renjun was, his mother was always there rooting on for him he was glad that she could be proud and joyous of his brother.

So seeing Renjun in pain and bloated with beatings- Donghyuck feels himself about to lose his mind. Did he really do this to his brother?

[Flashback]

"So, I want to run something by you," Renjun says sitting on the grass, next to Donghyuck who's smoking weed while taking in the warmth of the sun on his skin.

"What?" Donghyuck asks with no emotion, his eyes closed, his lungs breathing in and out the toxic fumes of air.

"On what conditions would you willingly beat me up?"

The question causes Donghyuck to hold the air in his mouth a little longer then usual. When puffing out the air, his eyes open squinting at the bright sun, before he turns his gaze to Renjun who's got his fingers scissoring the grass- trimming it with his fingers. "What?"

"I want you to beat me up."

Donghyuck blinks once. He sits up and sighs out. He offers Renjun a smoke to which Renjun refuses. Donghyuck puts it back in his mouth only staring at the boy. "You wanted to run this by me?"

Renjun nods his head. "So, in order for me to get a grant at the Social Security Agency as a foreigner, I'd either need to be disabled or married, however upon reading over the conditions there were sections that kind of resonated with our current living. Such as the foster child grant, whereby a foster child is placed in your custody by court and if ever the family needs aid- extra cash for the child then they can fill a form. However, right now my identification documents aren't in the right state and mum doesn't want to take any risks in changing them because of how they threatened to deport me. So it's out the way. There's also a section that states if you've been a victim to gang fights or fraud, or government fights or fraud file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission online- and I'd be willing to do that, but going up against the government is not my cup of tea. Which then results in this non-profit organisation that I saw in our area. It helps abused children and their families with a free counselling service. It deals with issues such as physical and sexual abuse and so on. The 'requirements' are being abused or mistreated by either a family member or community," Renjun takes in a deep breath waiting upon Donghyuck's words.

"So you want me to beat you up to get money?" Donghyuck concludes watching Renjun nervously nodding his head. Puffing out some smoke Donghyuck runs his hands through his hair. "Where's mum?"

"She went to church."

Donghyuck nods his head. "What do you want the money for?"

"She told me not to tell you because you might do something crazy again..." Renjun anxiously let's out before taking in a deep breath. "She went to the hospital for her regular check up and the Doctors discovered something-"

"What?" Donghyuck stops smoking urging Renjun to speak on.

"She's got a brain tumor and since they found it early in it's developing stage they're willing to remove it. The surgery sums up to 7k maximum. They set a date for 2 weeks from now, but she said she'd get back to them in order to sort out her account funds and records. Donghyuck, I went with her to the bank and she doesn't have enough. So, she wanted to reject the surgery and go for treatments instead. But...brain tumors are deadly and she could die-"

"Don't even finish that sentence. She's not going to die." Donghyuck breathes out. He sinks back in the ground and smokes on the weed bunt again. "I'll get the money and I want you to give it to her. If she asks where you got it from just say you won a prize or something. There's no way I'm beating you up for a grant that may or may not be approved - or even helpful."

Renjun's eyes widen. Although he's grateful, he's also on edge of where Donghyuck will get the money. "What will you do?"

"I've got a friend-"

"Mark?" Renjun questions. "You do crazy things when you're with that guy."

"Listen here twat." Donghyuck sighs sitting up once again. "Mark isn't someone I want you to linger around. He's not your friend, neither is he mine. If you think I'm 'crazy' then it means you haven't crossed Mark yet. He's dangerous. Profoundly dangerous and smart and that's a deadly combo. We just get along because we find common interests in things- making money by the means of extracting from people who don't deserve it. Okay, I'm no hero or Robin hood or whatever, but that's just a logic to keep me sane. As long as mum's happy, as long as you're happy, automatically that makes me happy," Renjun smiles a little. Donghyuck never says sappy sappy things like that, so for him to be saying it now means that he's being vulnerable. "So I'm not gonna beat you up. I would be absolutely crushed if something had to happen to you especially on my account. You're my brother and you make mum happy and I don't want to take that away by hurting you,"

Being flustered by all the strange praises and acts of brotherhood Renjun's ears turn a shade red. "Hey," Renjun clears his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

"You've been talking, I don't know what's different if you ask a question. You'd still be talking," Donghyuck mummers.

"Would you go to rehab?"

"I don't need it," Donghyuck answers simply. Taking one last breath of the weed, Donghyuck throws it behind him to somehow prove a point. "I can control myself."

"I..." Renjun shuts himself up quickly before shaking his head.

"I'm in a good mood today. Say what you want to say or go away." Donghyuck closes his eyes now wanting to sleep under the sun.

"I've seen that you get pretty violent when you're on drugs." Renjun says. "And I'm just hoping that you can really control yourself, because if you get the money and mum gets the operation, we'll need to be on our best behavior to not cause her stress."

[End of flashback]

Mark full of anger dodges the blasts of flame as well as rapid fire that blazes all around the kitchen. He sprints away reloading his gun with his last round of bullets. As he's away from the flames and engulfed in smoke- by a specific hallway where he once saw Dae hiding in, he spots Donghyuck on the floor cradling Renjun. There's only one way this plan will work without them having to carry excess baggage or being tailed by the police- and that's to leave the excess baggage.

"Haechan we have to move right now." Mark announces. "Let's go, both of us."

Donghyuck hearing the low voice of Mark before feeling a hand grab on his shoulder instantly turns his head to Mark with bloodshot red eyes. "You shot Renjun?" Donghyuck's voice comes out low but the growl and grunt that follows afterwards makes Mark stunned. "Did you?! Huh!?"

"Fuck man chill! Now's not the time to-"

Before Mark can finish his sentence he's sprung backwards as Donghyuck furiously tackles him to the ground rapidly landing a good rock hard solid punch over Mark's cheek. Blood bursts out of his mouth as Donghyuck lands another aggressive punch on the other side of Mark's face. Being dizzy by the impact Mark lays motionless panting out while Donghyuck grabbed his collar. It's true they were both skilled in combat, however compared to themselves, Donghyuck was actually a much better fighter while Mark was a better gun man. So when Donghyuck hurls out his fist tightly to knock out Mark- Mark is quick to pull out his own gun and blow out straight on Donghyuck's abdomen.

"Fuck!" Donghyuck aches whilst Mark uses the opportunity to elbow him in the face. Getting up lazily on his feet, Mark pants up spitting out the blood before pointing the gun one more time towards Donghyuck's leg.

"See you in prison." Mark mummers quietly. "Or not."

BANG!

Jeno is mindful when carrying Yezi bridal style trying to maintain all his strength and composure on not dropping the girl. Upon bursting into her room and informing Donghyuck of Mark's madness- Jeno quickly went to Yezi's side. However the blood stain that was on the bed and seemed to be dried out on her leg only made Jeno more weary of what Donghyuck did to the poor girl. Renjun was right. He was right about the girls being defenseless against the hard cold boys in their homes. As soon as he lifted her up he could hear her crying lowly and calling her sisters name. But now upon going up the stairs of the third floor where their parents master bedroom is, he jogs to the open door going straight to the private bathroom where he left Dae.

Dae is still motionless hugging her knees staring at the shower. Hearing footsteps she snaps out of the nothingness and sees Jeno with- "Yezi! Yezi!" Dae crawls over to where Jeno lays down Yezi. Jeno gets up grabbing a shower head and flickering it on splashing his hand with some water to sprinkle some on her face. Yezi awakens from her trance of trauma and shoots up blurting out tears and sounds of pain. The sight of the two sisters grabbing onto each other hugging, comforting and embracing their sorrows almost makes Jeno feel so ashamed. He was late at doing what's right, stopping his brother, rescuing the girls and failing to keep his best friend alive. Sinking down against the polished wall far from the girls he lets himself finally breath out as he sniffs back a cry.

This is not how this night was supposed to go.

And as far as he's come, he still needed to save the girls. Sniffing back and getting up he walks out the bathroom moving around the enlarged brown themed room until he sees the curtains leading to the balcony. He opens it up, seeing their at the back of the house. Down below there's a swimming pool and... two officers. He quickly runs back to the bathroom looking down at the two girls. "Can you walk?"

Dae's legs were weak and she couldn't even make a run for it when Jeno was still occupied with Mark. After mindlessly giving Mark a fisted backhand, he managed to dodge his brothers grasp as he ran to Dae on the bed, throwing her over his shoulder and running to the door slamming it shut with the key before he ran and ran- and went up the stairs where he saw an open door. Getting inside, Dae instructed him where the bathroom was. Her legs were sore. As for Yezi, the blood stain alone made him feel uncomfortable. Yezi buries herself deeper into Dae while Dae looks up with dark eyes that are smeared with her messed up make up, she shakes her head.

Jeno gulps and runs his hands through his hair. "Alright, look." He blinks sharply trying to focus. "There's some cops outside near the swimming pool. I don't think you guys can get out through the front door, so this is the only way."

"Take Yezi, I'll try to walk," Dae attempts to get up balancing on the basin. Jeno picks up Yezi who is wildly trembling. He wants to apologize, but the words are stuck on his throat when thinking of the blood. For fucks' sake why Donghyuck and Mark have to go so far? Going over to the balcony door the lights are all turned off and the floor shakes after a loud explosion. Yezi squeaks covering her ears. Jeno hurriedly moves to the outside seeing the two officers running to the cause of impact getting out of view.

"Shit." He curses. He sets Yezi down avoiding her eyes that are worriedly moving around. He hurries back inside trying to make his way in the darkness using the moonlight. Dae is shaken up when Jeno puts his hands on her. "It's only me."

She breaths out and slowly her grip on her skirt stiffens and her eyes open wide. "What happened?" She whispers, the pitch black bathroom suddenly has a threatening view. Jeno's arm wraps around Dae carefully bringing her close to him. The distant sound of crinkling fires and the light wave of smoke passing in the air makes Dae more panicked.

Mark curses as the power erupts, only leaving the flames to bear out light through parts of the house. He secures the baggage of goods in the duffle bag over his shoulder as he quietly wakes out of Yezi's room. The air is hot. He covers his nose with his hand. Going upstairs will only corner him, so he seeks to go downstairs again. But at this point, downstairs is spreading with rapid hell flames and he can hear the police calling out.

Hearing the police march in union, he ducks and finds himself in the darkness of Dae's room- he feels on his temple when the heat wave brushes past the open wound given by Donghyuck. Thinking about Donghyuck, Mark hopes that Donghyuck isn't caught or trapped in the fire. The blood drips down his forehead and he groans, he grips the bag in his hand...

Looking at his hand, notices a little red light beam. He's quick in moving away grabbing the alcohol bottle and flicking it out the room. He grabs a few more bottles- mostly likely Jeno who drank and he charges out the room in speed towards the staircase where he thrusts his hand to throw the bottles watching it catch flames and shatter over the police who are covered in protective gears. Shit! He won't be able to escape. Running back to Dae's room he grabs the nearest piece of material and stuffs it in the bottle before taking his lighter and lighting up the material and letting his lighter touch the tip of the blanket with the fire- he watches the fire spread all over the blanket- leaving it inside and he runs out the room running into the hallway before jogging up the stairs. He turns back when hearing the loud explosion again burst and erupt from Dae's room. Now two floors are burning he stands up and throws the bottle near the police officer on the carpet. The fire from the bottle crushes to the floor creating an explosion.

Outside, Chenle cries on his knees on the ground as he watches his house burning up in flames. Officer Na and the rest of the police squads had gone inside after the sign was clear for them to go. It first started with the garage explosion that Chenle knew that the mission wouldn't be easy. He thought after waiting a couple more minutes that the police Officers would be out hand cuffing the boys- instead he watched as two officers with heavy bodies on their backs ran out placing the two bodies on the stretchers. Whether those were one of the boys or their officers- it was difficult to tell.

Chenle hauls himself up from the floor with tears running down his face to the snots mixing with the streams, he begins to run to the open gate where the rest of the squad disappeared to.

"You can't go in! You can't go in!" He's stopped by an alarmed and panicked Jisung. "Officer Na-"

"FUCK MY KIDS ARE GOING TO BURN! LET ME GO!"

In him yelling out loud at the top of his lungs, he hears a distant yell. "Daddy!" Both him and Jisung's head snaps to the opposite side of where the Officers left.

"I'll go and check it-"

"Fuck you!" Chenle fits off running in the direction of the open yard with Jisung hot on his heels.

S1:EP18-20

"I have to go," Jeno suddenly says. "Go to your sister."

"No, no, no, please don't leave us." Dae begs trying to see him in the dark while holding his top, fear crawling all over her.

Jeno is flushed by her grip and holds onto her hands. "Get yourself and your sister out of here. Yell or something." Jeno gets up and moves to the door. He carefully moves along the passage going down the stairs but is completely stunned when his eyes are engulfed by the flames. He turns his head back when hearing a voice yell out "Daddy!" in distress and he hopes the girls are getting out safely. He goes down the stairs avoiding the fire and heat it causes and without a plan he attempts to look for his brother yelling out, "Mark!"

Little does he know that as soon as he got out the masters bedroom, Mark instantly hid himself behind the corridor wall. Watching his brother leave, he hears the yell of one of the girls calling out to their father. It's too late to use the girls as sex slaves, but if he wanted to get out of here in one piece, it was worth a try. He gets inside the dark room instantly freezing when hearing low pants.

"Jeno?"

It's Dae. Mark matches her voice and hastily while being stealthy he covers her mouth backing her up against the wall while she tries to fight with her fists. Yezi is still outside screeching out her father's name being unaware of Dae who tries to fend for herself. The tears are brimming by her eyes as her fists really try to get rid of the man in front of her. In the dark, she makes out his eyes and she can't forget the wild look he generates.

"YEZI JUMP!" Dae yells out when Mark lets go of her mouth in order to pull her close to him. Just as fast as his hand is off her mouth it's back against her mouth but this time he drags Dae behind and out the room as he legs kick and struggle to follow on.

Yezi's head snaps back when hearing Dae yell out. Panic overcomes her again and she hesitates on whether to jump as told or go back. Her legs ache when she stands so she takes it upon herself to jump instead. Getting over the rail her legs throb and hurt in pain before the adrenaline pushes her off and she jumps. The bind of the pool net catches her gripping her with the tight rope and cold waters. All the new felt pain is gone when seeing her father running with speed towards her- while few other officers are behind him. He's quick in tripping his way on the net securely getting closer to his daughter, his last daughter who is bloated with tears upon seeing her father.

"Dad!"

Tears are overflowing when Chenle holds onto his daughter with all his might his hands moving all over her head and back- the pain his ears feel when hearing her weeping. "It's okay baby, it's okay baby, daddy's here, I'm here now okay. Nothing's going to happen to you, you're alright, you're alright, don't cry my child, don't cry. Oh god, my Yezi," Chenle digs his head into the side of her head. "My Yezi, my girl, my baby, don't cry,"

It's as if he already knew the traumatic experience she faced in the house, from the way she was crying and gripping onto him, to the way her tears were ever flowing and voice was hoarse. His poor daughter was so shaken up that she began hyperventilating and shaking badly.

"My baby," Chenle leans back removing her hair from her face trying to look into her red eyes that are filled with horror. "Come on," Too overwhelmed to ask for Dae he helps her off the pool net and follows the Officers as his heart pounds in his chest for his eldest daughter. "Come on Dae," his lips tremble.

The house is falling apart, some of the ceiling is on the floor with hoards of flames. Jeno only realizes now that he has no plan. As he thinks to himself he is down the last step his eyes enlarge when he's being grabbed and forced against the wall as soon as the flames that were in front of him gage furiously.

Officer Na grips Jeno by the collar while Jeno panics. "Please I'm innocent!" He screeches.

"Innocent?" Officer Na scoffs. "Where's your brother?"

"I- I don't know," Jeno's eyes enlarge when panicking that Mark still hasn't been found. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Dae! Dae! She's with her si-sister- the master bedroom- Mark, Mark could be th-"

"Come here," Officer Na roughly picks up Jeno by the collar, "You're gonna help me look for your brother," Jeno struggles to stay on his feet as Officer Na runs side ways avoiding the fire while strongly gripping to Jeno's jersey. "Good working men and a women died this evening because of the chaos you boys erupted," Officer Na grunts when heavy wood from the ceiling lands on his shoulder. "Damn," He grunts as he and Jeno try to climb the stairs only to fiercely stop when a fire bottle comes out of nowhere shattering against the wall. Jaemin and Jeno both shift forward by the blast of the bottle erupting in flames behind them.

Jaemin saw something similar to this, a bottle flying out from the darkness and hitting one of his Officers in the face- instantly burning him up. At first he thought it was mishap disaster but now seeing it again- he knows it might be Mark, after all, Donghyuck was rushed out of here in terrible condition.

"Is that your brother?" Officer Na looks up through the empty staircase spotting a shadow move away. Holding Jeno by his collar with his gun pointing Jeno in the back- he runs up the stairs as quick as possible pushing Jeno forward. Once away from the smoke lit second floor- he holds out his gun shooting once to alert Mark.

"EHY MARK YOU RASCAL!!" Officer Na yells. "COME AND GET YOUR BROTHER!"

A fire bottle comes out of nowhere at their direction yet again. Officer Na is quick to duck dragging Jeno along with him.

They run up the long criss crossed stairs, up to the top- getting on the third floor where the fire was still at bay simple steaming the smoke everywhere. A smoke screen of air. Shooting a couple of bullets in the direction where the bottle comes from, Officer Na ignores Jeno's plead of not killing his brother.

"Watch out!" Jeno eyes enlarge a second too late as the bottle thrushes against Jaemin's shoulder setting his leather coat jacket on fire. Catching fire and nearly plunging the Officer in smoke, he's quick in removing the leather piece stepping it quick to not let the fire spread on the carpeted ground.

A laugh is heard somewhere in the midst of the clouded air. Mark. "Be careful Officer Na, you might hurt her."

Her?

"You rascal!" Officer Na yells holding Jeno close. "I'll kill your brother this second. Where are you? There's no where to go."

"Maybe you're right, but I know you're bluffing. You won't kill him." Mark says, sounding close. Mark peeks his eyes around the corridor revealing himself. Across from him with a large gap separating him from the Officer, he walks carefully. Right through the smoke, Dae's pleading body comes into view. She's cuffed in his shirt and her mouth is stuffed with something not clear. Mark picks her up tightly holding her neck. "You won't do it, because if you do, I kill her. And you know I'm not bluffing."

Officer Na clinches his teeth together looking at Dae. Her eyes are puffed and she's bloody resembling Mark's state. The burn mark over her arm is evident to Jeno and he cusses inside when her eyes swell up in tears staring at him.

"Hand her over now!" Jeno snaps his eyes to Mark by the words of the Officer.

"Fuck Mark! Let her go!" Jeno yells out. As much as he tries to understand Mark, he can't seem to wrap his head around why Mark is going over board and literally fighting till the death. "Come man, just give it up already. You're surrounded man."

Mark chuckles. "By who?" He looks around. "Everyone's already dead, except him." He points to Officer Na.

Officer Na walks slowly closer to Mark holding the gun sharply to Jeno. "Do you wish for your brother to die?" Jeno holds his jersey at the back struggle to keep up with the police harsh grip almost tightening around his neck.

Mark doesn't budge but holds Dae tightly on the back of her neck now forcing her on her knees with the gun at the back of her head- causing Officer Na to freeze. "I killed one of your Officer's like this." Mark presses the trigger and Dae's eyes pop out in patronizing fear when nothing happens. The sound is voided by the sock stuffed in her mouth- but she lets it out. Officer Na and Jeno both have widened eyes hearing the gun go off and watching Dae quivering so hard that she's practically levitating from the ground. Mark's raspy laugh gets their gripped horrored eyes on him. "Safety's on."

Pressing on the trigger again- Dae feels her skull heavy and sore. But nothing happens again. She can't see anymore. The tears drowning out all her senses.

"Fuck it! Stop!" Officer Na feels useless watching a psychotic Mark toy around with their emotions.

"The guns empty." Mark mumbles tossing the gun down- yet in a sharp move he spins Dae around strangling her neck while picking her up. "You're such a fun sized human being," Mark laughs looking into her blotched eyes before turning to Jaemin. "You want her? Too bad, because I want to get out of here."

"Are you willing to negotiate?" Officer Na questions trying to maintain composure.

"I've watched my prey choke before, but they were all men," a raspy laugh leaves Mark's throat. "I've never seen a girl choke before."

Weapon less? Officer Na acknowledges. He nudges Jeno to stand and tosses his gun aside. "Mark." With his arms out but Mark quickly gets her underneath his embrace.

"One more step and I'm cracking her neck." Mark warns with red eyes. "I'll twist it so hard she'll die in an instant. Do you want that?"

"What do you want?" Officer Na grumbles.

"Get out the way. And don't follow me." Mark shifts his eyes between both the men. The fact that they were both standing only made him on edge. It's a 50-50 percent chance. Anything can happen. Literally anything. Because when Dae hastily beats her head backwards colliding into Mark's face- both Jeno and Jaemin gallop to the delinquent. Jeno with a bold diving punch and Officer Na with his taser- they both get Mark in a haste that when Dae can even open her eyes- she's in Jeno's arms just in time for the floors to creak and fragments of the cement below compresses and tramples-

"Run!"

Jeno takes the lead caring Dae and with her passed out weight he dashes towards the masters room with Officer Na bearing a knocked out Mark picking him up by his torso over his shoulder. The floor collapses from within however Jeno hurls himself over the balcony fence jumping straight into the net with Jaemin doing the same as well- just as the house tramples and bursts up into flames from the inside out- not to be caught up in the distortion of the building Officer Na gets out his knife and rips the net allowing them to sink into the water. Jeno thrushes straight into the water holding onto Dae shaking her body to wake her up quick in enough- but she's completely passed out from fear.

From the outside, where the other Officers and news crew watch the house detonate and bursting in flames- the firemen make their move as the other Officers move in hopes of finding Officer Na. Chenle shelters Yezi from the view- but still Yezi bursts out screaming when seeing their house compress and explode in flames. Chenle tries to be strong but the words exit his mouth and all his emotions are set wildly. "DAE!" He let's go of Yezi moving out of the ambulance truck and runs to the scene being stopped by a set of Officers.

"She's alive, but unconscious. The impact from the burns, the frantic emotion imbalance, the aggressive intake of smoke as well as water and distorted state set her to a mild panic which gave her a heart attack. In covering, she'll survive, all she needs now is rest." Officer Jisung explains to Jaemin, Dae's state of condition. Jaemin breathes out nodding his head.

"Thank goodness. Thought we really lost her back there," He recalls how fast Jeno kept trying to breath air back into her before the other Officers stepped in. At this moment, standing with Jisung in the hospital foyer, Jaemin sips on the plastic cup filled with dark coffee. After this hectic night, he needed 8 more shots of coffee if he was going to survive the war and rage that the millionaire Zhong Chenle was charging into for the full physical actions and trauma set and cost of both his daughters and of the damages to his home. "What about the boys? I would not want to be them right now."

Jisung lets out a breathless chuckle. "Likewise. Renjun and Donghyuck are actually in severe surgeries right now. Renjun might not make it. Several broken ribs, his face is erratically beaten up, dislocated joints, critical fire burns, apparently was also shot on his hip, severe intake of smoke and fractured hips and spin. Donghyuck was shot twice, once in the abdomen and the other by his leg, critical burns, heavy intake of smoke and raptured kidney, but he'll live. However on the other spectrum, Mark and Jeno are both in scathing health. Jeno had drunk one too many bottles and was running on adrenaline out through the night. His intake has now kicked in and he's in a deep sleep like coma. So deep that the doctors patched up the burns without a dosage of anesthesia. Mark very strangely is fine. The doctors haven't yet discovered why he hasn't woken up yet, although they assume it could be because his system is filled with cocaine."

Jaemin nods his head after hearing all their conditions. He turns to Jisung. "Thank you for rescuing me."

"Oh," Jisung looks flattered and blinks twice shaking his head. "It's no problem-"

"No seriously," Jaemin insists. "I prefer fire over water any day. So diving into the pool was my worst nightmare. I can't swim for shit. After I cut the safety net and fell inside that pool to stay alive, I drowned just trying to stay alive. Mark shot up like an eel and began choking me. Hell in water. So when I say thank you, I say it with every breath I have. If it weren't for you, I would've been in there with them, or worse, dead. And now that I think of it, you're actually pretty good and handy on the field. You really jumped in and fought underwater, carrying both Mark and Jeno, going back Dae and swimming down in the deep to get me. Despite the house burning up and shooting fragments of scorching cements and walls, you got us all out. By yourself. That bravery deserves a medal."

Jisung humbly places his hands to his side smiling down. He recently entered the police force as an intern and was partnered up with Jaemin. Jaemin being an idol in the police force that he's always admired and wanted to be like. But it wasn't easy even talking to him. For 3 months now Jaemin never acknowledged his existence- except for when he needed paperwork to be done. They never went on field missions together, Jaemin did his things privately and never asked for help, Jaemin moved through his work as if Jisung wasn't even his partner. In fact Jisung wasn't even supposed to be at the Zhong resident mission, he just happened to overhear and ended up going- only to be reprimanded by Jaemin. That's why it feels like such a huge honor to be praised for doing his job, his skills that he acquired over the years in military bootcamp, he feels honored to be acknowledged for something that landed him the position as an intern in Korea's most respected police institution- next to Officer Na Jaemin.

"Thank you sir,"

"I'm the one thanking you, don't steal my spotlight." Jaemin jokes before turning serious again when seeing Mr Zhong Chenle. "Has your daughter Dae woken up?"

Chenle shakes his head his jaws clinching with anger. "I'm from speaking with Yezi." He breaths out angrily. Having Yezi, his loudest daughter, talk in a muted way because of what one of those guys did to her breaks his heart. They raped his daughter. They deserved to die. "I want them, all of them, to suffer the highest punishments'."

"Mr Zhong Chenle, from the highest billionaire family of the Zhong's, is a self-made millionaire, a CEO at the world's top 10 best architectural planning's, G.H Constructions, with favorable clients, world wide recognition and enlightened public views, has finally taken to court a case that's been on lively and well-known by the democratic public, after 3 full weeks of silence. The attackers have awakened from their coma and are expected in court today. We hope that justice will be served. This has been Build Architect Talk on 94.7 highveld stereo, be sure to send your comments through our twitter page on what you think will be the outcome of the case."

The court building at the central House of Law, is ruled off by police officers who barricade the parameter from journalists, news crews and the general public. Zhong Chenle is seated inside one of the prestigious high court rooms looking at the peace symbol of justice hoping for the highest punishments to be served. Seated on the front row is the family of Chenle; their step mother Chungdae, Dae, Yezi and Chenle. Beside them is their lawyer, Lee Taeyong. Behind them, or scattered around the spacious court room are 4 Officers who were at the scene that will testify as witnesses, Dae's friends; Xiaojun, Yang Yang and Hendery are seated on one row a couple of seats behind. Officer Na Jaemin and Jisung sit some rows behind keeping mind of the door and whoever enters. Chenle strictly ordered that no press should enter. On the other side of the court, there's a lady in a heavy black padded jacket, she has strands of grey hair and looks agitatedly worried and sick. Yezi doesn't know the lady, but from a flashback that reaches her mind she wonders if that's Donghyuck's mother. If anything she didn't look like a wicked monster, she looked like a shriveled stressed out mother. Yezi almost forgets that Donghyuck isn't the only son being charged, Renjun was well. She turns to Dae by her side and holds onto her hand tighter.

"I'm scared," She whispers.

Dae, someone who's always realistically aware of her own capabilities, but also aware of her own limitations, not tempted by vanity or self-importance, is seated with her legs together in worry. For the first time in her life she looks precarious and anxious. She gulps holding onto Yezi's hand tighter. "Me too." They look into each other's eyes coated with fear before leaning onto each other embracing and comforting the other. Chungdae who's on Dae's side rubs onto her back while Chenle rubs onto Yezi's back, he and his wife make brief eye contact before the front door opens and all eyes move forward.

The public defender walks in, making brief eye contact with Taeyong in front. One thing that always made court cases troubled were public defenders- especially if they were defending guilty attackers. Why were they defending the attackers? The court appointed lawyer, or rather the public defender, Nakamota Yuta takes a seat on the opposite side of the court placing all his materials down. Despite being on the enemy side, he had reason to believe that if the boys where to be charged, then they would be charged correctly and not through bribery of the wealthy. Justice had to be served through the proper means of the penalty not because a rich father wants what he wants. No sooner then later the door opens and instantly Dae and Yezi tense up.

Donghyuck is the first to walk out in a white shirt and white pants, in handcuffs, he looks cold and angry. The next to walk out in handcuffs is Renjun, he's got a thick plaster over his arm with a sling attached and his neck is wrapped in thick bandages, while also his face is red and only his cheek is merely a yellow purplish blue with a plaster on over his jaw, he looks abashed and remorseful as he follows behind Donghyuck. The police guard in charge helps them enter the attackers zone and makes them sit removing their handcuffs.

The lady in the heavy padded jacket hesitantly stands up getting the attention of both Renjun and Donghyuck, it’s their mother. She walks up cautiously being cautious of the strict eyes of the police guard. She holds out a yellow file that Yuta gently takes knowing it's contents. Instead of taking a seat at the back where she was before, she sits on the row right behind them timidly. Renjun feels the tears prinkle from his good eye, but he refrains from crying, especially with straps of bandages being laced over and under his eye. Even though he was grateful to being alive, there's nothing in this moment that makes him grateful. He wished he were dead. While the public defender Yuta opens up the file and explains to Renjun what's going to happen to him, Dae's breath is uneven while facing the door at Mark who enters in the white uniform as well looking emotionless. He turns his head towards the girls and upon making eye contact with Dae, he smirks.

Nothing but fear runs down her spine and her grip gets tighter to which Yezi also returns when seeing the sinister smirk. Jeno, too in handcuffs follows behind Mark with his head down. He had a headache, from staying up all night to stressing about today, he hated the lights in the room and the fact that he would be facing the girls again. If anything the headache probably came from thinking too much about the girls- it only made him stressful. He and Mark woke up from their coma sleep earlier then Renjun and Donghyuck. So the two brothers had faced a lot of time together, which ended up being pretty ugly and made the boys bitter towards each other and towards the girls. Jeno couldn't even remember the full night. He remember drinking in the car and breaking in but from their his memories fogged up, but one thing he remembers is Dae and her biased rich mentality. However when Dae spots Jeno, her heart simmers down... he was alive. For some reason, a reason yet to be discovered, she felt fond of him. Perhaps she wanted to thank him. After him reading her diary, him saving her from his brother and helping her escape has her heart in esteem.

Hatred boils in Donghyuck upon seeing Mark, who betrayed him at the last minute and shot on him and his brother. Mark takes a seat next to him. It takes everything in Donghyuck not to lose it and hit Mark- but by his own will power he can't, instead it's the hand that lands over his clutched fist that he stops and takes a breath. Renjun holds firmly over Donghyuck's fist the moment he sees it forming. The last thing he wanted in the court room was another hectic scene- especially in front of their mother.

The judge in his black robe with maroon straps enters the room with everyone standing up as instructed by the officer. The judge takes a seat fixing the glasses on his face. "Trail case of Zhong Chenle against juvenile boys. I am Kim Jungmyeon Suho, present for the position of primary judge. The court is now in session." After the Judge Suho introduces himself he beats his gavel on the desk and an Officer closer to the stage stands up presenting the case to the jury of people who sit on the opposite side of the stage. He goes over each of every time slot and the given description of what happened on the day within the hours that the boys attacked.

Lawyer Taeyong stands up introducing himself to the judge and jury before mentioning the girls, the victims, and briefly tells the story of what happened using quotes and phrases the girls had said. He explains his theory of the case, the key elements to be proved, photos and evidence of the scenes, he touch basis on the side witnesses and what they'll testify, as well as emphasizes with conveying emotions of the themes expressed in the house. He looks to the jury stating what he wants from them, to punish and convict the boys of their crimes if possible at the same level and degree punishment. He takes up to 5 minutes but for Dae and Yezi, it feels like they were reliving the traumatic moments in the house being trapped with the boys.

The public defendant Yuta stands up introducing himself, and already the way he speaks brings Taeyong to the trials he recalls fighting against Yuta. Yuta is no ordinary public defendant, if not, he's the best lawyer, but for some reason he was always on the contradicting side and took favors of the attackers. Any case he fought against, he'd usually win, but the same goes for Taeyong, any case he'd pursue, he'd also win in it. So hearing Yuta speaking on the point of view of the boys, he wonders what's up the man's selves.

"The facts of this case are straightforward, nothing to defend there. My clients are charged with penalties and the evidence will show their participation in breaking and entering, offence related to fraud and theft, dealing in drugs, smuggling of ammunition and attempt at human trafficking-

"You're forgetting rape and murder." Taeyong raises his hand stating boldly.

Yuta looks to his side nodding his head firmly. "Of course. Rape and murder. In this case you will see the evidence leading to their crimes. However this I'll be countering with acts from the article laws. This is a civil case and the boys must prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence." As Yuta speaks, Donghyuck is puzzled as much as pissed off by their defendant who seemed to be digging their early grave. For sure by this rate they would get the full penalty and more. "Articles such as Article 14, 15, 17 and more stating negligence, justifiable acts, crimes committed through commission and omission and more. Seoul's Neo Cultured Law exists to protect, as well as encourage individuals to report illegal activity in their communities. My clients here aren't responsible for the full claims given, for these reasons after you've heard all the evidence, at the end of this trail I ask that you return a verdict in favor of each of my clients. Or rather at the end of the trial, I ask you find the defendants guilty of the severity of what each one did."

"So he wants the punishments to be fair?" Jisung whispers to Jaemin, who nods his head. Thinking back to what the father wanted; whereby all the boys be punished with the same crimes.

"That would mean each of them will have a punishment given according to how severe they acted." Jaemin briefs before Taeyong calls out to him as the first witness. As soon as he's finished, Jisung goes up next answering the questions from the lawyer and so do all the other witness officers. Yuta is up next bringing to the witness stand the mother of both Donghyuck and Renjun. As respectful as he can be, Yuta creates a story based on values and needs, making sure that the elder woman is not ridiculed by any of the people in the room- he knows how biased the rich and wealthy could be. His one witness.

Everything seems to be going well, the whole ordeal and flowing of movements is going in favor of Taeyong- as the boys crimes are evident and in need of punishment. Yuta is well aware of the bricks he has to place in order to get a fair sentence and knows that his chance of favor will begin when the judge speaks. Although it might be harsh, he knows his way to get the right sentences out of the jury and judge. The attackers are told to stand in front of the judge as their pre verdict would be given. Facing the judge, Renjun, Donghyuck, Mark and Jeno all anticipate their sentence. Mark and Donghyuck knowing the judge Suho, knows that if he gives his verdict, they might spend a long time in prison, meanwhile Renjun and Jeno are petrified of the daunting eyes of Suho. Being placed with chairs behind them, they sit and wait on the judge.

"Lee Jeno rise." Judge Suho calls out. Jeno stands up and moves over to the seat in front that's close to the podium of the judge. Sitting down he keeps his head down and his hands on his lap. "The crimes to be charged given by your public defendant are detention, fine and house arrest. Lee Taeyong, do you agree?"

"Negative." Taeyong stands up peering at Jeno, who still has his head down. "On the offender Lee Jeno, we'd like a full maximum sentence of imprisonment for breaking and entering, dealing in drugs and offence related to theft."

"Nakamota Yuta, is there an agreement?" The judge asks.

"Negative." Yuta stands facing Taeyong who still stands. "As I stated in the beginning I'll be referring to Article 15 for Lee Jeno's case. Article 15 states, Misunderstanding of Fact. Jeno's act was performed through ignorance of the facts which constituted especially more to severe crimes performed by the other members. The act states that he shall not be punishable for such severe crimes not committed by him-"

"Your honor-"

Yuta quickly dejects Taeyong's protest. "If anything, the witnesses and even victims can testify to his innocence."

Taeyong snaps his head to Yuta's direction. "Which victims?"

"Miss Dae." Yuta calls while picking up a sheet of paper. "In your questioning with the police you stated and I quote, 'He only tied up our hands because he was told to do so, but throughout the night he did nothing more but drink and eventually helped my sister and I escape. He also helped out Renjun.' Are those your words Miss Dae?" Dae's eyes are wide when looking at her dad and lawyer, the words were true.

"Y-yes," She meekly answers causing Jeno to look up. According to what Mark said, Dae turned her back against him. So to hear that he helped out and get a blurry image of bursting in her room with Mark being on top of her gets him to snap his eyes in Mark's direction. Did Mark lie to him?

"Not only Dae your honor, but the Police Officer Na Jaemin, witness, can testify in the last minute assistance of Jeno in capturing the real offender. There is a recording of him saying that and a questioning of him thanking Jeno. Officer Na, am I lying?"

Jaemin composes his reaction, avoiding the intense eyes of Zhong Chenle from the front. He simply blinks. "No."

"Another testimonial is Officer Park Jisung, who stated as that Jeno performed CPR, well mannered and well trained if I can add, on Dae who had drowned. So you see your honor, Lee Jeno is only guilty of breaking and entering. Because the dealing of drugs was not performed by him-"

"Your honor-"

"According to the doctors report and Dae's statement, his system was only filled with alcohol, no drugs as being claimed." Yuta pauses briefly peeking at Taeyong who clinches his jaw. "As for offence related to theft, Jeno clearly left the house with nothing in his hands but a dying Miss Dae as everything was burned down, so no charge there. And for that, we ask for the minimum sentence of detention for his participation in breaking and entering, a fine for his drinking actions and house arrest to keep him in one place."

"You're honor that's preposterous-"

"Is it?" Yuta questions. "What's actually preposterous is you throwing in drugs- which is something he didn't even do, all that to get him a sentence? If the police officers and victim herself can testify in his non involvement in the severe matter what makes you butt in? In fact, before the fire erupted, a police recording by Renjun stated that Jeno was the one who patched his injuries, injuries given by Lee Donghyuck. Your honor, my client is only guilty of breaking and entering."

Taeyong clinches his jaw staring wide eyed at Yuta. So he was going with that approach huh? Not only Taeyong but Chenle has fierce eyes. If Jeno was off the leash so easily- what would that mean for the others? "Taeyong?"

The judge beats the gavel dismissing Jeno and calling up Renjun. Taeyong gathers his papers on Renjun making sure that he would at least pin him down as he's an immigrant who performed illegal activities in Korea.

"The crimes to be charged given by your public defendant are suspension of qualification, minor fine and house arrest." Renjun's eyes are widen when hearing suspension of qualification. This would mean they'd kick him out of school...or worse. "Lee Taeyong, do you agree?"

"Negative." Taeyong firmly responds reading from his deck of papers. "On the offender Huang Renjun, a Chinese citizen, we'd like a full maximum sentence of imprisonment for breaking and entering, Offense related to exchange control, extortion, fraud, document forger and compelled rape."

"Nakamota Yuta, is there an agreement?" The judge asks unaware of the eyes that widen up by the surprise word.

"What do you mean compelled rape?" Yuta questions strictly looking to Taeyong, before looking to the judge. "No your honor, I do not agree."

"I didn't r-r-rape anybody-" Renjun's bottom lip trembles and his eyes water switching his eyes from the judge, to Yuta, to the girls briefly before looking at his shocked mother and brother. Donghyuck shakes his head knowing very well that Renjun didn't rape anybody- because the coward is still a virgin. He knows that he raped the girl Yezi and Mark had his way with the other girl Dae. So what where was this coming from?

"Your honor. My client did not... should not be charged for rape as he-"

"Your honor, my client Yezi, is the victim of rape, underage rape, that was forced on her-"

While Taeyong gives a brief description of what he's client Yezi testified, Yuta scampers though his papers to Yezi's statement remembering that he read she had no memory of who raped her. His eyes widen when realizing that the closest description of her rape was detailed as Renjun was in the room with her. What's strange is that Donghyuck who stated to raping her is not even mentioned by the lawyer Taeyong - who pines that Renjun is the rapist. Renjun is a stuttering mess and is crying while trying to defend himself.

"How can you be certain that from the description given it was Renjun? From her statement-" Yuta tries to speak above a wailing Renjun still trying to be respectful to the present girl, Yezi in the room. If it's something she truly can't remember then Renjun is in trouble. "My client did not-"

"My client was traumatized by the force of the grown man that she blacked out-" Taeyong continues looking firmly at the judge but when Donghyuck bangs his fist on the table standing up- everyone is in shock.

"Judge Suho I don't know what bullcrap their talking but I'm the one who raped that underage girl-"

"Donghyuck-"

Yuta's warning call is in vain as Donghyuck continues his speech directed to the judge who beats his gavel. "Order-"

"Fuck this order! Renjun did not touch that girl-"

"Control your individual Yuta." Taeyong warns. "We can charge him for being indifferent to sensitivity and being-"

"And what the fuck do you mean she doesn't remember?" Donghyuck continuously raises his voice, his anger shooting up the roof when he glares back with hell flames in his eyes as he peers at Taeyong before looking down at Yezi. "You fucking bitch- You don't remember who touched you? Do you need me to remind you who? Huh?! Who ripped off your clothes-"

"Donghyuck control yourself!"

"Who cut your shorts with a knife?! Who fucking ripped off your white panty?! Who kissed you?!-" In a quick movement he gets off the front row of chairs charging towards Yezi who panics- her father, Dae, Chungdae and Taeyong all have wide eyes ready to throw the guy off.

"Donghyuck!" Even as his mother and Yuta, yell for him to stop it- Donghyuck still speaks up above all the noise even though he's instantly strained by the guards.

"Order!"

"You still don't remember? Did that jog up your memory?!" Donghyuck is forced against Lee Taeyong's table as they try to restrain him but his eyes are firmly on Yezi who pants out unable to look away from the rageful eyes of the man. "Bitch who touched you?! Broke your fucking virginity?!" Staring at Yezi with blazing eyes, Donghyuck doesn't hold back even as the tears pour out her eyes vigorously. Looking into her eyes, he knows that's she knows that he did it. He knows she's lying and pretending- and that only enrages him since she's the one who caused him to take drastic measures to shutting her up from talking about his mother. "Do you not remember my tongue on your nipple?! Your pink nipples! Do you not remember me slapping you?! Do you fucking remember saying my mother should die!? Do you?! So who!? Who?! Who touched you?! Who fucked you black and blue? Who fucked you?! Who?! Who?!"

"You!" Yezi cries out as Dae and Chenle cling to her side while the Officers take him away as he grunts out. "You- it was you!" Yezi yells out all the rage coming back to her of that night. Her fingers pointing on Donghyuck. "You fucking monster!"

"Order!"

"Yezi calm down-" Chenle shields his daughter tightly holding onto her feeling his heart break when her cries get louder. "Baby it's alright, okay? Please just-"

"No." Yezi cries softly her words being a mumbling mess. "It was him, only him. He raped me. Daddy it was him. He raped me." Yezi breaks down into her fathers arm as her cries are pained by the memory. "It was him."

"Fucking bitch." Donghyuck grunts out when they restrain him against his own table cuffing up his hands again. "I fucking told you didn't I?!" Donghyuck still yells at Yezi. "You fucked up rich people always feeling entitled and wanting the law to be taken seriously on those who aren't at your level. What did my fucking brother do to you huh? I told you we aren't any different! The second your weak ass pathetic self is in trouble someone else takes the blame for your mess. You fucking mess with my brothers future again and I'm gunning for you! How dare you!? How dare you! You fucked up bitch! Fucked up system! Fucked up court! Fuck!"

Just as Donghyuck is dragged out the court room by the officers including Park Jisung, Mark pays attention to the continuous gavel that's been beating on the podium as the judge tried to maintain order. Even for Mark, that felt personal. Blaming the border jumper for a crime he didn't commit- he'd also get upset. Renjun has his head face down on the table as he silently cries- for the crime that he was about to be charged with. He didn't even remember her name, but he knew that he helped her the most between the girls- he even took a beating for her from the person who actually raped her. But she was about to blame him.

A 10 minute break is given by the judge who's astounded by the down turn.

The girls and their father are in the separate room with their lawyer. "At this rate I don't think it's possible for the boys to get the same punishment. At the rate Yuta's going, it's best we stick with the crimes' they committed rightfully. Are you okay dear?" Taeyong asks when Yezi is done drinking her beverage of coffee. She nods her head.

When Taeyong told her not to say anything without a lawyer, she stuck to silence. And when the father suggested that all the boys serve the same sentence, Taeyong said it would be possible to do so if they committed a sexual offense or if they committed murder. Only Mark and Donghyuck would be charged higher, but it was his suggestion to use the 'amnesia' technique to pin point Renjun- if her word would be stronger then anything Yuta would say- but then Donghyuck just had to stand up and confess- dramatically.

"What about you sir?" Taeyong asks. "We can take drastic measures to get them all in the same sentence but we'd be playing dirty and Yuta likes the dirt. Plus, it wouldn't be worth it if the girls aren't mentally strong for this."

"No forget it. As long as they all go to prison, then fuck it." Chenle immediately answers still rubbing Yezi's back. "Let this be over with. Opt for a restraining order as well, if they do get out of prison soon then I don't want them anywhere near my family."

Getting back inside the court after 10 minutes, Yezi and her mother Chungdae are watching from the empty room through the camera feed as Yezi feels too nervous to return. Dae sits next to her dad as they bring Renjun back on stage.

"Have your charges changed, Lee?" The judge asks.

Taeyong nods his head. "Yes your honor, we want to charge him with breaking and entering and offense related to exchange control, extortion, fraud and document forging."

"Yuta-"

"Negative. I don't agree with the charge. My client has renewed papers-" Yuta lifts up the yellow file with the renewed documents of his passport.

"But when committing the crime, his papers where out of date and expired. Meaning we had an illegal citizen breaking and entering into a Korean household-"

"Your honor-"

"If we take it a step forward, he forged his papers and identity while getting into Korea's high institute-"

"That has nothing to do with this case-"

"Yes it does." Taeyong firmly speaks picking up a paper. "Huang Renjun entered the same institute as Dae. He tried to get closer to her and even at some point took pictures of her. Who knows, maybe he's the real mastermind behind this whole plan-"

"What the hell are you people even talking about?" Donghyuck questions out furiously whilst his leg bounces in anger. "I was the one-"

"Okay fine. Mr Lee Donghyuck wants to take the blame for that too? Fine. Can Renjun at least admit to the crimes of forging his documents?"

"I-I-"

"My client-"

"You illegal foreigner, entering into our country with wrong papers, you have the nerve to go to school with forged documents, you break into a home and did who knows what to those girls- and sit here with a busted up face, broken bones claiming you did nothing?" Taeyong fires out glaring wholes into Renjun's eyes. Renjun's lip trembles and he cowers looking away from the lawyer. His mother sinks in her seat shedding light tears. Donghyuck breaths out heavily- restraining himself remembering the warning he got. "Your honor those are our charges. If the public defendant can't agree to it, we leave it in your hands." Taeyong ends his charges firmly, being fueled by anger.

The boys were the bad guys in the situation, why is that even a question?

The judge beats the gavel when Yuta says nothing else looking at Renjun with remorseful eyes. If anything, Renjun didn't deserve to be punished, after everything he said, he and Jeno were the ones who helped the girls. Up next to Donghyuck and he sits down.

"Permission to speak." Donghyuck firmly starts even before the judge can speak.

"Granted."

"I know what I did, I wasn't drunk or high, so I can remember every single word that left my mouth, all the actions I did and most certainly knows who snitched on me." Donghyuck starts. "I plead guilty to all my crimes, only the crimes I committed. I stand by the book of law, every word that comes out of my mouth is the truth. I'm the one who forged my brothers papers-" It's a lie. Donghyuck knows it, Renjun knows it, his mother knows it and Taeyong and Yuta are both puzzled knowing very well that he's lying. "I forged his papers for him to go to school and try to at least have a good life because the fucking goverment didn’t want to do shit for him. I planned out the entire scene of breaking into that rich man's house. Renjun didn't break into the house- I forced him in the house and threatened to kill him. I had weapons with me, a gun and corkscrew knife. I tied up the girls and sent them off to their rooms with my brother Renjun to watch the underage girl and Jeno to watch her." He points at Dae before firmly looking to the lawyers again. "I stole from all the rooms. I barged into my brother when he was on the call with the cops using the underaged girl's phone. I beat up my brother with my fists. I raped that underaged girl and I beat up Mark who shot my brother." Donghyuck leans back in his seat with burning eyes. “I smoked weed too, but that’s not illegal.”

Yuta said it was best for them to admit to their crimes in hopes of perhaps getting the judge and acclaimed sit in jury to see how sincere he was.

"Your honor. For Lee Donghyuck we want the charges of breaking and entering, forging of documents, offense related to theft, smuggling of ammunition and firearm and rape." Yuta states.

"Mr Lee do you agree?" The judge asks.

Taeyong turns his head to Chenle as confirmation. Chenle nods his head with his arms around Dae. "Positive."

"Good." The gavel is beaten down. Donghyuck gets off his seat going down the stairs before passing Mark.

"Why didn't you take responsibility for my crimes too?"

"Fuck off-" Donghyuck attempts to hit Mark but the guards following behind him quickly hold onto him.

"Order!" The judge immediately says hearing Mark chortle lowly.

Yezi watching from the room, recalls his words and the argument that led up to her being raped. From the way he confidently said his crimes- including his brothers crimes as well, Yezi feels how much his family means to him. The fact that he's willing to take the whole bullet and weight and punishment over his brothers crimes- shows how Yezi that the words he spoke to her that night were true. He may be a low life, but just like her, he was raised more dignified with honest values. And since he's a low life, he knows the spectrum of how the world works against him. Maybe his parents didn't love him, but he loved them. In him defending Renjun the way he did, just shows Yezi that he would willingly die for his brother- even though things in the house looked fragmented, Donghyuck's security and protection over his brother showed mightily. Even though he raped her selfishly, Yezi knows through her own words, it's what provoked him to inflict on her, the pain.

As Mark sits down, he doesn't say anything and waits on the judge. Being caught wasn't in his plan at all, he tried to avoid prison. But now that he's caught, he doesn't mind serving the sentence assigned to him as long as he's with Donghyuck. They really needed to speak.

"Mark you're charged with, murder, attempted human trafficking, smuggling of firearms, dealing of drugs and breaking and entering with intent to commit crime." The judge reads and turns to Taeyong. "Do you agree?"

Taeyong nods his head and while the judge asks Yuta, Mark's eyes pane over to Dae. She holds in her breath not being able to look away from his eyes. He forced her into sexual activity that she didn't want...rape. But for some reason, it's not listed as a charge.

"You having pity on me babygirl?" Mark asks, not aware that he interrupted Yuta's speech, who tried to debunk the other claims- even though they were all true.

The sight of Mark on top of Dae with his cock inside of her mouth burns in Jeno's head as he pants out. Especially when he thinks of how he held her and she cried in his arms. Why wasn't she telling that he used her?

"Order!" The judge beats the gavel. "Mark you may sit. We'll have a 5 minute break and we'll call you back in for the final sentence."

Mark doesn't say anything not even hearing what the judge or lawyers say as his eyes are still on Dae. It's either she didn't confess it because she didn't want him to suffer more punishments, or could it be that... she liked it. The thought of Dae being aroused makes him chuckle with excitement. "That was fun," He mutters out.

Meanwhile Jeno turns his head to the back where her father is now hugging her. With her head over her fathers shoulder, she accidently meets his eyes and he begins to wonder why she didn't confess it. He was lucky to leave with a light charge, but barging out like Donghyuck did for Renjun could only affect his charge more. So silence it was. But the burning image in his head doesn't sit right with him, especially since Dae's eyes seem to understand his conflict. Something must've happened for her to keep her mouth shut.

While the rest leave, Yuta walks forward to the boys with his hands in his pocket. He breaths out running his hands through his hair. "We asked for the minimum sentence for both Renjun and Jeno, so your serving might be 1-2 years of imprisonment. Donghyuck and Mark, minimum could be 15 years and maximum could be 25 years. With parole I can simmer it down to 5 years. That's only if you've truly learnt your lesson. Despite your charges, Renjun you asked me if they'd charge you for burning the house. The answer is no. Miss Yezi claimed that Mark stated he would burn the house, but when checking the footage outside, the house erupted in flames due to the oil leakage from one of the cars before it bursted. So damage of property is not in your case, besides he's got insurance for that." Yuta adds. The only person who needed parole was Renjun and Jeno, the rest should be convicted, but Yuta isn't about to say that. As long as his job is finished and he got the rightfully claimed punishments then he was satisfied. "Actually Renjun, even with your renewed papers, there's a high chance they might send you back to China for imprisonment, so try not to be shocked when they give that sentence."

Donghyuck clinches his jaw the whole time, even as Yuta leaves the judge comes back and everyone is seated again and their told to rise. He knows he deserves punishments, Mark deserves it, Jeno... the point is, Donghyuck knows that it was his fault in the first place why Renjun was dragged into all of this. Is wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve the punishments. So when the Officer spokesman begins to read the servings, he hopes in his head that Renjun will get a lighter sentence.

"Lee Jeno. Guilty, of the said charges. His sentence, 10 months in county jail and 2 months of community work in house arrest. Huang Renjun. Guilty, of said charges. His sentence, 12 months imprisonment and will be deported to China for another 6 months of serving."

"Th-that's 1 year and a half," Donghyuck whispers and turns to Renjun. "Yuta can probably simmer it down. Don't worry okay, it's cool."

Renjun bottom lips trembles but he nods his head agreeing with Donghyuck. He's just upset that he has to be deported back to China.

"Lee Donghyuck. Guilty. His sentence 10 years in prison with parole and community service of 2 months. Lee Mark. Guilty. 15 years in prison with parole."

While the boys are stunned by the minimum sentence received Lee Taeyong as well as Chenle are enraged with the sentences. What the fuck is 15 years? For rape and murder? 10? 15? Chenle can only sigh in bitterness as his hands move up and down Dae's side.

"Your honor. My client opts for restraining order as well."

Yuta nods his heads. "And my client Renjun opts for a recheck on being deported. He's got his papers in order and article 16 of Mistake of facts, applies for today's time. He's papers are in order."

Taeyong rolls his eyes. "Even if his papers are in order, he should still be punished and learn never to walk around a foreign country with fabricated documents. Does he even have legal adoption papers?" Renjun flinches by Taeyong's harsh tone.

"That's not-"

"Your honor." Taeyong cuts Yuta in anger. "We do not agree to the appeal."

Judge Suho beats his gravel. "All sentences are to be carried out with no changes. Restraining order granted. This court is now dismissed."

5 Years later

The metal gates slide close after Donghyuck steps out. He rubs his wrists looking up to the hot sun taking in the air of his new freedom. Finally. He’s out.

Getting out of prison with a warrant wasn't easy at all, but not as much as it was to get a job of any kind with so many prison charges. Thankfully, Donghyuck's mother came to his rescue. She worked as a day care teacher assistant and their school was in need of a cleaner. It wasn't a luxurious position, but Donghyuck took it just to prove to his mother that he was serious in mending their relationship.

So being a 'janitor' his main responsibilities included getting on the school grounds early, cleaning up classes when students were not inside, disposing of trash and waiting until the school day was over and all the kids went home to clean again. Those were his responsibilities, but it became tough when parents didn't pick up their kids on time at 13.00. Donghyuck hated when parents would fetch their kids late. Reason being, because he'd need to make sure that the school was 100% empty before him to go home. And if it was not 100% empty, then he wasn't allowed to go home.

Donghyuck picks up the heavy green plastic of trash consisting of used but not limited to dirty recyclable materials, and walks out the classroom and onto the hallway that would lead to the playground field where all the different sets of dumpsters would be. After dumping the trash inside and closing the lid he digs into his pocket to his buttoned phone to check the time.

15:29.

Thirty more minutes until he could knock off. Upon walking back to the classroom, his eyes squint into the playground distance to the empty entrance gate- well not so empty. What catches his eye, is some sort of homeless looking guy in dirty black sweatpants and a faded out red Coca-Cola t-shirt with holes, walking towards a child sitting on a bench. Donghyuck sighs and walks towards the entrance. His whole presence alone causes the homeless guy to deviate and part away crossing the street. The vulnerable child isn't even aware that she's been spared from danger as she continues humping on the bench. Getting a bit sexual and seemingly trying to reach her pleasure.

Getting closer to the bench, Donghyuck notices the child seating down yet rocking her hips back and forth on the bench- almost grinding herself on it.

The sight is perverse.

However for Donghyuck, he'd gotten used to only one of the day care students who was consistent in grinding on anything and everything when she was bored. Areum.

Making himself more visible to the young girl, Donghyuck sits on the bench next to her. Her motion stops and she peers to the elder sitting next to her, a bright smile coating her lips. "Hi Mr Sunshine!"

"Hey Kid." Donghyuck greets in a mumbling tone making the girl chuckle. With his hands in his pocket and peering down at the girl who slowly continues to grind herself again, Donghyuck sighs. "Where's your parent?"

The child blinks causing Donghyuck to internally roll his eyes groaning lowly.

"Where's the person who's going to fetch you? You mum or dad or guardian?"

"Oh! Mummy's at work." She says nodding her head. "Uncle Jung is going to fetch me."

Donghyuck nods his head allowing the silence to take over. However his attention draws to the girl once again when she rocks her hips back and forth again. It's not the first time she's done this, however, every time that she does it, Donghyuck feels slightly uncomfortable. He's caught her on this bench all by herself on multiple occasions grinding for pleasure, not only the bench, but sometimes in class as well, on her chair. Donghyuck just wonders what exactly is going on in her head, while she literally dry humps the bench.

"Why are you doing that?" Areum peeks up and blinks her eyes. Donghyuck breathes out. Not wanting to say foreign words or words she's never heard before, he motions with himself and dry humps the bench similar to what she was doing. Areum catches on and smiles.

"It's a secret!" She leers. Despite her words, she seems excited to share the so called secret. And Donghyuck takes advantage of that, throwing his best cunning and charming personality.

"Can I know the secret?" Donghyuck asks with a pretense stunned face, being cunningly friendly. "I thought we're friends?"

"Okay." Areum looks around skeptically. "It's a secret." And laughs. "Uncle Jung said I should tell no one, even if its nice."

Donghyuck's brows furrow. "What's nice?"

Areum laughs covering her mouth frantically. In Donghyuck's head she looks the happiest while trying to be cryptic. She stands up and jumps up happily before her fingers begin to move. Donghyuck's eyes widen when she lifts up her white skirt revealing her yellow panty. He hesitates for a second until he realizes that her hand fumbles and makes it's way inside her panty. He's quick to taking her hands out while having a morbidly shocked face.

She giggles, being way too excited. "Let me show you."

The secret? The secret has something to do with an uncle and a child? This only makes Donghyuck widely panic. "Fuck,"

"Oh oh." She covers her mouth in sudden surprise. "Do you also play fuck like Uncle Jung?" Before a smile latches onto her face. A chill runs down Donghyuck's spine. "Uncle Jung said fuck is a game. It's my favorite game." She whispers out.

His eyes widen. In all his years of being in prison, he sorta had the chance to reflect on where he'd like to be once he's out. And right now, talking to this girl feels dangerous. It's a problem. And this is not what he wants at all. If he tells his mum, there might be a high case of him being in a feud with the family of the young girl's parents. At the same time because the daycare already don't like him, he and his mum might both be fired from god knows what- Donghyuck is aware of how much they're waiting for him to slip up. But yet, he can't stop himself from asking. "Can you tell me more about his game? I don't know it."

"Don't tell anyone. Not even Mrs Chittaphon. Or mummy. Only Uncle Jung and I play this game," She nods her head and smile. "It's a nice game. I get to sit on him and ride the horsey!"

Donghyuck's eyes burst out of their sockets. Just as his lips become dry. He clears his throat asking. "Does he remove your clothes?"

She shakes her head. "No." She smiles. That sort of makes Donghyuck cool down again, however he's still in edge by the word horsey and what exactly she rides or what exactly has he shown her. "Can I show you?"

Donghyuck shakes his head with a tight smile, feeling bad for the little girl who seems brainwashed. "It's fine, I don't want to play the game today,"

"Uncle Jung likes to play it after work," Areum smiles. And that literally breaks Donghyuck's heart. Such a small, sweet and innocent little girl being manipulated by a ravaging uncle wolf.

"What does he do in the game?" Donghyuck asks after gaining her trust by sealing his lips shut with an invisible key.

"He tickles me here." Areum points to a part in her skirt (most likely her private area) and that makes Donghyuck mad. The urge to telling his mum growing. "And does like this," using her middle finger, she surprisingly rubs it on her yellow panty causing Donghyuck to quickly hold her hand.

"Your fucking uncle is raping you." He can't hold himself back when he glares into her eyes while shaking his head.

"My playing uncle is raping?" She asks with a puzzled face. "What's rape?"

Donghyuck sucks in a breath, and with distress he runs his hands through his hair. Before he turns back to Areum his eyes latch onto a black vehicle pulling up on the street. "Shit. Hey sweet cheeks, I need you to listen alright. Don't tell Uncle Jung that you told me, okay?"

She instantly nods his head. "I won't tell him. He'll be angry with me. Don't worry Mr Sunshine, it'll be our little secret."

The black vehicle parks right in front of them, with Donghyuck creating some distance while Areum can't stop giggling at her secret. A man, smartly dressed in a suit with parted hair, steps out the car with a charming smile growing on his lips when Areum jumps from the bench running to him. Donghyuck stands up with his hands stuffing in his pocket.

"Uncle Jung!" Areum cheers hugging him by his legs. Upon hearing the name, Donghyuck's eyes do a double take towards the man. The man squats all the way down with an antagonizing friendly smile, and puckers his lips allowing for Areum to kiss his lips before she giggles like the naïve little girl she is. She begins jumping up and down in place while the man stands. "Did you buy the toys?"

"My little puppy, I bought you so many toys for you to enjoy. They're gonna make you feel real good," Hearing the voice of the older male, his underlying tone of condescension and how much authority he has over the little girl, Donghyuck can't help it when his fists tighten into a ball. His jaw clinches when the male with a charismatic smile grins his way. "She wasn't a bother was she?"

Donghyuck's jaw locks and he looks away, only making Jaehyun continue as if he didn't get ignored.

"Either way, thanks for keeping her company."

Placing Areum in the backseat and placing her bag in the boot, the man known as Uncle Jung gets into his driver's seat and begins driving away. Donghyuck can only stand with his fists balled up as he watches the car stride away. In his head, although the situation was sickening, he already told himself he wouldn't get involved. His mum's reputation, as well as his own reputation was on the line.

"Poor girl." Donghyuck sighs walking back in the school. Little did he know that the little girl in the car of the grown old ‘uncle’ was his own ‘bastard child’ from the night he raped Yezi.

*****

The End: to be continued in SEASON 2: SOS: POISON IN MY MIND

WC. 47k if you like reading longshots then this if for you

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ohmygs-blog · 1 year ago

Text

to be dating na jaemin…

❀ boyfriend texts

bf texts.

bf texts ii.

bf texts iii.

bf texts iv.

memes jaemin would send you.

wearing the sweatshirt.

❀ idol! boyfriend texts

idol! bf texts.

idol! bf texts ii.

nct nation.

❀ other messages

fwb / situationship.

fwb / situationship ii.

fwb / situationship iii.

jealously.

angsty texts.

angsty texts ii.

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lavenderbexlatte · 1 year ago

Text

day 8: seduction

nct 1.6k words female reader insert Reader x Na Jaemin suggestive/SFW

🖤 warnings: a reader with no game, jaemin turned out a little mean but in a sexy way just trust the process🖤

kinktober masterlist

connect with me! / masterlist

"Oh, you're gonna lose that bet."

You look at Giselle, taking in her unamused face under the weird half-lighting in the corner of the library. She has one side of her over-ear headphones slid off, her phone open in her hand to her messages.

"How d'you figure?"

She raises a brow. "What exactly did Yeri bet you?"

Yeri snitched about the bet. Of course she did.

"That I couldn't seduce one of the guys who always use that study room by the time the library closes." You point across the library floor, to the row of doors along one wall.

"Yeah. At about 12 midnight, you're gonna owe her..."

"A week of meals," you supply helpfully.

Giselle sighs.

"You're doubting my game?" you ask.

"No, I just know-"

"You should be on my side about this, what the hell?"

"Have you ever spoken to any of them?"

The guys who use that study room are a bunch of loud, beautiful performing-arts types. Their hair changes color on the regular, but it's always shitty, like they exclusively do it at home in the bathroom. Usually, you can hear them clear through the walls, but since this floor is almost always empty (hence why you yourself study here), they don't get in trouble. They also seem to know the tall bespectacled student staff who runs the front desk, so you suppose that helps.

"No," you say.

"Then why do you think you'd suddenly be able to pull one?" she asks.

You're resolute. "Don't doubt my game!"

"I'm pretty sure at least two of them are dating each other," Giselle says.

"That's not my fault."

The side-eye is strong. "Sure. But don't blame me when you're starving to death because all of your meal swipes are going to Yeri."

Giselle snaps her headphones back on, and ignores you like she'd been doing all evening.

You have two hours to seduce one of the guys.

Might as well start.

You're thinking maybe the mop-haired one who always wears the Warriors jersey. He's cute, and he's got something desperate about him. Like maybe just the attention would be enough to seal the deal. And if not him, there's the skinny jeans guy who's always hanging around Mark and Jaehyun from the graduate music department.

But when you get to the study room and peer in the tiny window, there's only one guy inside.

It's one of them. But it's the most enigmatic one.

A generic, soft, handsome face, unassuming in a big sweatshirt. You remember seeing him in a tank top earlier in the fall, though, before it got cold, and you know he's got some shoulders and arms under that heavy fabric. You'd watched him for just a little bit too long, that day.

He's not the one you were going to pick, but he might just be the one you secretly wanted most.

You're just kind of staring, and after a moment, he looks up. Suddenly, as if you'd thrown something at him. He furrows a thick brow.

Sheepish, you point, asking wordlessly if you can come in. He nods, still a picture of confusion.

"Hi," you say, as you close the thick wooden door behind you.

These rooms aren't quite soundproof, but they are meant to at least partially muffle the noise from group projects and stuff.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

It's an odd question.

"Nothing," you say. "Um. I just wanted to...say hi."

He tilts his head to one side curiously, kind of puppylike. "Why today?"

You're thoroughly caught off-guard. "I'm sorry?"

"I see you here every day. Why today?"

"Less embarrassing when you're alone," you say, and though that is not the reason, it is true.

He nods once, firm. "Okay."

"What's your name?" you ask.

"Jaemin."

Jaemin is exceptionally off-putting. Usually, you have game. You weren't lying to Giselle about that. But this dude...you already don't understand him at all.

You tell him your name, too, and he just nods.

He's off-putting, but you might as well get started. You've met college guys before. Usually, the bare minimum of concerted attention is enough to catch their interest. They're easy like that, always desperate for some ass. You smile.

"You're really handsome, Jaemin."

He nods again. "I know."

Most of his attention is still on the textbook open in front of him.

"You know," you repeat.

"Yeah. I own a mirror."

He should be infuriating, what with the things he's saying, but he's speaking so matter-of-factly. Not arrogant, just assured. Rather than making you want to leave, his bizarre manner is making you want to pull up a seat.

"Do you mind?" you ask, gesturing to one of the seats across from him.

Another nod. "Doesn't look like you have anything to study, though."

"That's okay," you say. "What's that?"

"Book."

"Obviously. For what?"

"Pre-med."

He's pre-med. Of course he is.

"Cool."

Slowly, so slowly, Jaemin closes the book. He looks across the table at you, gaze even. "What do you actually want?"

He doesn't even seem annoyed, but still, you wilt. "Do you want me to be honest?"

"Sure."

"My friend bet me that I couldn't seduce-"

"Seduce?" he interrupts. "That was you seducing?"

Jaemin smiles. It's incredibly charming, flawless teeth and matching eyesmile, the kind of big childish smile that changes his whole face.

You shrug, helpless. "I mean, kinda."

"No offense, but were you even trying?"

It's hard not to be offended. You scoff. You stand up again, and take a few steps backward toward the door.

"I was trying," you say.

"That's worse, then."

He stands up too. He's taller than he looks seated and slouching. He tilts his head again, looking at you curiously. You could probably duck out right now and then just hope that he never talks to you again, but then he asks you the most ridiculous question.

"Do you want me to show you what it's supposed to be like?"

Your stomach drops. "What?"

Jaemin's smile is so bright and empty, but he has terrifyingly intelligent eyes. Like he's putting on a show, and he knows that it's working.

"Do you need me to show you how to seduce someone?" he asks.

"I...I mean..."

"It's an offer," he says lightly. "You can say no."

You'd be fucking insane to say no.

"Sure. Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." You swallow your nerves. "How do you seduce someone, then?"

His smile drops into a pout. "Easy. Someone just has to want you."

Jaemin has his hands in his jeans pockets as he wanders around the big wooden table toward you. He's slouching again, shapeless in terrycloth, but suddenly, visions of his bare arms fill your mind. He stops short just in front of you, making you look upward to meet his eyes. His tongue pokes out between his teeth, daring.

"I think it's already working," he comments.

He leans down a little, forcing you to bend backward to keep a respectable distance between the two of you.

"Do you want me?" he asks.

Skilled, measured, his gaze drops from your face, down your chest, down and down, and snaps back up to your face. You can tell this is formulaic for him, that he really is just showing you the method to his charisma. But you can't help how it's making you feel.

The bloom of butterflies in your stomach from the close attention, the buzzing under your skin as he checks you out so openly. He's gorgeous. He smells pretty. And he's so close to you.

"You can tell the truth," he adds.

You realize you're still bending your spine awkwardly, so you duck away from him, seeking refuge against the table edge, behind his turned back.

He laughs, full and a little shrill. "Come on, now."

The table is solid against the back of your legs as you catch your breath. Jaemin does turn around, though, and he laughs again at whatever expression he finds on your face.

"Oh, you want me," he says.

"I didn't say that," you answer.

Jaemin's smile twists, just a little, taking on an edge of the cold intelligence in his eyes. "Then tell me you don't."

He gets closer, again.

He walks right up to you. Nearly chest to chest. One of his hands is gentle on your side, a little bit of persuasion, until you're sitting on the tabletop. It makes you a good head shorter than him, perched as you are. Jaemin nudges in to stand between your spread knees.

He's not touching anywhere he shouldn't be, not saying anything. He's just looking at you.

It's good that he's not touching you, and good that you're wearing pants today, too, because you can feel yourself fucking throbbing at his careless attention.

"Tell me you don't want me," Jaemin repeats.

He's playing chicken with you, now, as he leans in close again. His eyes are so brown. The ends of his hair are absolutely fried.

His face is inches from yours when you break.

"I want you."

That tongue pokes back out between his teeth. He's way too pleased. "I knew it."

It occurs to you, then, that as much as he accused you of not doing anything to seduce him, he didn't have to do a goddamn thing to seduce you.

You shiver.

"Tell me," Jaemin says. "What were you going to do with me, once you seduced me?"

"I mean..." You blink at him. "I mean...I just...nothing, I guess."

"Hm."

He taps you on the tip of your nose with one pointer finger. It's fond in a way that sends the butterflies into a frenzy.

"Then that's what I'll do with you," he decides.

Like a switch flipping, Jaemin's smile turns bright and sunny again. He pivots on the spot, and goes to open the door again. He gestures you out.

Dumbfounded, you obey, weak legs taking you right out into the library again.

"Try again next time," he tells you, cheerful.

The door shuts.

Giselle is never going to let you live that down.

#kinktober 2023 #kpop kinktober #nct fanfic #nct jaemin fanfic #na jaemin fanfic #nct jaemin smut #na jaemin smut #nct smut #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction

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gonelike-ach00 · 3 months ago

Text

ꜱɪx - jaemin

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summary:

They weren't aware of it but they were beginning to write their future as the days finally welcomed their youth. Now, as the sun begins to rise and the cold days of childhood leave them, they are welcomed into the warm—sometimes too hot—hug of youth.This was their start--the first taste of the warmth of youth.

Jaemin and Naeun have nothing in common except their common friends, until he starts working for her family's restaurant and they shared a lot more things in common than they thought.

genre:

fluff, angst, slice of life, high school romance, recurring anthology

word count : 2.3k

pairing: high school! jaemin x high school! female character

ꜱɪx - jaemin

“Would you like to introduce yourself to the crew?” Jaemin stands in front of an odd group of people. He was sure that two of them were university students, he wasn’t sure but they were older than he was. Not to mention that they oddly remind him of someone. Besides Jaemin was a manager a bit older than a university student, but someone who wasn’t in their 30’s. The family-owned small business had a management team of family members and he predicts that this manager of his is probably fresh out of the military with that buzz cut of his.

“Hi!” He bows his head towards those who are older than him. “I’m Jaemin.”

“I’m Lee Seungho,” the taller one of the university students points to himself and then puts his arm around the other university student next to him, “This is my twin Seungmin.”

“Twins?” Jaemin’s words come out as more of a question.

“They’re fraternal, which is why they don’t look alike.” His manager, who he found out was named Lee Hajoon, answers the question he never fully formed.

It takes him a moment of realization to finally understand why the two of them looked rather familiar. His head doesn’t hide as he compares how the twins, Seungho and Seungmin, looked and how the manager shared the same familiar look as the twins. This was why Jaemin thought they felt a little more familiar than usual. Of course, the family business employed their kids as their employees instead of hiring outside.

“You’re a bit slow, aren’t you?” Hajoon pats Jaemin’s back. “Don’t worry, you’re lucky we’ve dwindled in size over the years.”

“There’s more of you?” Jaemin had no intention of sounding rude, but his mouth spoke before he could process anything he just said.

Hajoon, Seungho, and Seungmin laugh at his comment. “Imagine this, Jaemin,” Seungho puts his arms around the high schooler, “we can go up against each other in basketball with two full teams.”

The analogy was great, because it was easy to count that there were always five people on a basketball court, but the analogy wasn’t really for someone like Jaemin who had no knowledge about basketball except that you have to throw a boucy ball into a basket that was really high up in the air.

“How many is that exactly?” Jaemin shyly asks.

Seungho doesn’t answer as he drags him over to the cashier where a family portrait sat. Amidst the chaos of plaques, celebrity pictures and signatures, there was a picture that sat on a pretty wooden frame. It stood out as nothing like the laminated signatures and pictures on the wall. There he stood staring at a twelve-person photo. In the middle, there was a couple carrying two small babies in their arms, the smaller child looked like a newborn, while the other could sit upright. Then on their right two boys of the same age stood there with the goofiest smiles on their faces—it was hard to miss that they were the twins, Seungmin and Seungho.

Then on the left stood a boy that looked like a small Hajoon, except he wasn’t entirely sure about it himself. Then behind them were five more boys that varied in age of pre-teen to late teens.

“For the longest time, we were an all-male household. A living nightmare for our mother.” Seungho then points his finger at the newborn in the mother’s arms. “Until the sweaty little angel came along. The first girl—”

“The only girl.” Seungmin corrects Seungho.

Seungho nods his head. “Mom’s pregnancy was risky, aside from only having given birth to Minjae,” he points at the other baby in their father’s arms, “not even a full year before she came along.”

“Couldn’t exactly tell you how nervous everyone felt—I was a bit too young—but, from their stories.” Seungho shakes his head and takes his arm off of Jaemin. “It was a rough time.”

Seungmin stands there with his arms crossed over his chest and shakes his head. “We should be teaching him about what to do, not the family history.”

Seungho turns to look at Seungmin and mocks him by pretending to mimic him. His head was bobbing side to side more than usual. After a few more exaggerated movements, Seungho turns his attention back to Jaemin. “Right, we should get you changed into the uniform.”

“We don’t have a uniform,” Hajoon calls out.

Seungho looked at his older brother then down onto the apron he was wearing and then back towards Hajoon, who had long gone into the kitchen. “Then what have I been wearing all along?”

This is where Jaemin finds out that Hajoon didn’t really understand that the apron he was asking the servers to wear was a form of uniform to distinguish themselves from the crowd that ate in their family restaurant. In the midst of the siblings bickering back and forth, he finds himself sitting at the edge of the dinner with the apron over his body. Sitting by the counter, he figured that they didn’t have a lot of customers around 4 p.m. There were barely any customers. ‘Barely’ would even be considered a stretch, the family restaurant was empty.

Until he hears the door of the restaurant finally slide open and he stands up from his seat ready to greet his first customer.

“Welcome!”

She stopped midway and looked up at whoever it was that greeted her. Once she raised her confused expression, Na Jaemin knew exactly who she was. The side braid she was known for and her pastel pink bag that he was sure was larger than her were hard to miss when he walked home and caught a glimpse of her.

“Jaemin?” Lee Naeun’s voice called out his name as she realized he was standing in the middle of her family restaurant.

“Jaemin?” Another voice pops out from behind Naeun. His bright eyes greet Jaemin with a sense of familiarity and confusion. “What are you doing here?”

In rare cases, the group has played with a few older boys in the field after lunch. That group of older boys included Lee Minhyun, who Jaemin knew was Naeun’s older brother. Standing in the middle of the empty dinner, he realizes that Minhyun is the youngest son to eight older brothers, and Naeun is the youngest girl of nine brothers.

It smells like a nightmare to the only child Jaemin.

“Right,” Seungmin’s head pops out from the kitchen, “forgot that you all go to the same school.”

“When I heard about the new part-timer, I didn’t think it would be you.” Minhyun walked up to Jaemin to give him a brief side hug. “My brother’s have been raving about getting some time off from the restaurant thing.”

Naeun walked up to Jaemin and Minhyun. “You were looking forward to it too.”

Minhyun nods his head in embarrassment. He rubs behind his neck and nods his head. “Ever since, Kiyoung left for the military there just aren’t enough hands to go around.”

Jaemin nodded his head as he was situated between two siblings with Seungho standing by the counter watching them. Sure, he has his group of friends, but this was the first time he was situated between siblings bantering, talking, and interacting.

He wasn’t exactly sure what he needed to do.

When they all returned to the locker room, he finally had the time to think to himself—to hear his thoughts. Jaemin finds himself sitting down on the chair by the counter as he waits for someone to enter the shop. Until he hears the locker door open and he was preparing himself mentally to hear everyone’s voices interlap with each other’s again.

Jaemin turns his body around to check on who is making their way towards him. Instead of seeing five out of the ten siblings, he sees Naeun walk out first. She changed out of her uniform into something more casual—a white tee and denim pants. Her hair was now placed into a ponytail as she wore the same apron Jaemin was wearing where the print ‘10 siblings’ were now beginning to fade.

“I thought my brother’s just scared you off with how loud they were.” She admits walking up to the counter Jaemin was sitting beside.

Jaemin shakes his head.

“Well, I wouldn’t be so surprised. Only children get a little overwhelmed with my family,” she was checking something on the touch screen computer. “I remember the first time I brought Eunji home—she looked so pale from being so overstimulated by my brothers’ yapping.”

Jaemin nods his head completely understanding where Eunji is coming from. “I’m friends with people who are the same.”

Naeun snickers at the comment. “Well, that’s great practice for the family.”

“I just—didn’t expect such a large crowd for a family restaurant.”

Naeun stops whatever she is doing and slowly turns towards Jaemin. “You do know, that’s barely half of them.”

The moment of realization hits Jaemin’s face.

“My older brothers already have families of their own. So, there’s even more of them now.”

Staring at Naeun, he finally understood why she was so eager to become part of the library committee (the only one there). She has been surrounded by a lot of louder people in her life. The thought of living with nine older brothers sort of even overwhelms him—and Jaemin was only thinking about them. He couldn’t imagine living through it himself.

“I should warn you about the dinner rush.”

“Dinner rush?”

Naeun sighs and turns her attention back to the screen. “Just prepare.”

This was her last warning before he hears the ruckus of the five older guys. Little did Jaemin know that this would be nothing compared to the dinner rush that Naeun had just warned him about.

No one told him that he would not catch a break from the orders to be taken, orders to be delivered, and the tables to be cleaned. After a certain amount of orders taken, orders delivered, and tables cleaned, it was like he was acting on autopilot. There was now way he would think about what he was doing at a certain part in hour two. By the third hour, Jaemin’s feet were beginning to swell from the pain. As his feet began to swell the amount of people were beginning to finally subside.

Jaemin finally sits down on the chair by the counter as he stares at the hall with chairs on top of the tables after cleaning beneath the tables. He sits there blankly staring at the once full-to-the-brim restaurant, which is now empty and cleaned out.

“For someone’s first time, you did a good job.” Naeun appears right behind him and pulls a chair for herself.

“The warning wasn’t enough.” He complains and shakes his head.

Naeun snickers at the paler Jaemin, who is catching his breath.

There was nothing particular about how Jaemin caught his breath, but something about it was catching hers. He had pushed his hair out of his face earlier in the night and was sitting there with his hair slicked back and his forehead exposed. She caught a glimpse of the face so adored by the rest of their school. His bright eyes, tall nose bridge, and soft kissable lips were always the topic of various female friend groups. He was hard to miss when he walked down the hallways.

She understood exactly why he was always talked about.

“Hope you don’t quit too soon.” Naeun stopped staring at him and turned her attention back to what she was supposed to do, which was to double-check the tabs.

“Aside from the absolute hell hole of work—your brothers are nice.”

Naeun snickers. “Nice to you.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

This comment physically makes her freeze. Then a look of absolute disbelief was all over her face.

“I mean, I have cousins—”

“Brother, Jaemin, brothers. Imagine if your cousins would throw you around just because they can. Oh my god,” she throws her hand in the air, “think of it like this, what do you do when you’re bored?”

“I think of something else to do—”

“You can’t do that. No, because if you’re bored, they’re bored and they would find it fun to bother you instead of looking for something else to do. Bothering you is that something else. Now, normally people only have one other sibling with them, but imagine it multiplied by nine. There is no silence in the house.”

Jaemin sits there as Naeun is now completely facing him with absolute passion. She was even catching her breath by the end of it. She stands there with her passionate residue still calming down with her realization that she just absolutely broke it all off when he didn’t understand what it was like to have siblings.

“Sorry about that.” Naeun turns around and runs her hand through her messy pony tail.

Jaemin shakes his head with a smile planted on his face. “No, its fine.”

Naeun stands there completely taken aback by his response. There was an air that she wasn’t sure what it was, an air she wasn’t exactly familiar with. Bona was someone she would rely on when it came to matters like this, she was just better at understanding these kinds of things. Yet, she stands here in absolute confusion of the sudden shift in the air with a simple word he said.

Naeun shakes her head. “You tend to flatter people around you, don’t you?”

“What?” Jaemin doesn’t catch on.

“You’re a bit—”

“Alright, that’s a wrap!” Hajoon walks out of the kitchen completely satisfied with his handywork in cleaning the kitchen for the evening.

Naeun didn’t really realize that she was standing a little too close to Jaemin at that moment. Maybe in her monologue, she had taken a step towards him and stood a little too close for comfort. When Hajoon announces his presence, she takes a step back and looks away.

“What just—”

“Nothing.”

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su11yoon · 1 year ago

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a queerplatonic relationship with na jaemin !!

“Queerplatonic relationships and queerplatonic partnerships are committed intimate relationships which are not romantic in nature. They may differ from usual close friendships by having more explicit commitment, validation, status, structure, and norms, similar to a conventional romantic relationship.” Wikipedia

contents: lowercase intentional, gender neutral reader, self indulgent, headcanons, queerplatonic relationship/partnership with jaemin, aromantic character(s), friends to friends who hold hands and kiss, not beta read

a/n: i’m writing this after realizing i want this with one of my friends haha

⋆ you had been looking for a roommate and through mutual friends met jaemin who had been needing a place to live

⋆ he moves into your apartment and at first you were nervous you wouldn’t get along, but the two of you hit it off pretty well

⋆ you had the same interests and jaemin just seems like he would be so easy to talk to

⋆ now jaemin is very affectionate, so hugs and words of appreciation are abundant once you get closer

⋆ it first starts off with side hugs and compliments but then it turns into asking to hold your hand while out in public and cuddling together while catching movies

⋆ you’re very comfortable around jaemin and he’s very comfortable around you

⋆ one of your friends asks you about all the touching and you simply brush it off

⋆ because it’s just so nice and awesome and sweet :)

⋆ your friend doesn’t really get it and just kind of. assumes you have a crush on him

⋆ but you don’t, and you know you don’t

⋆ but what if jaemin does like you?

⋆ it wouldn’t be jaemin’s fault if he did have a crush on you, but the thought kind of makes you feel uncomfortable

⋆ it’s odd being viewed in a romantic light and you’re not sure you like it the thought of it

⋆ jaemin notices the lack of affection from you and while he does miss your little cheek kisses and good night hugs he doesn’t wanna say anything and make you uncomfortable :(

⋆ after seeing how jaemin steps back from your friendship you begin to feel guilty because you know he’s probably overthinking it

⋆ you decide to be a responsible and reasonable roommate and have a talk about what’s been going on and why you’ve been kind of off

⋆ you tell jaemin you really enjoy the way you two act, but you don’t think you would ever want a romantic relationship

⋆ you would have hated for him to get the wrong idea from your actions

⋆ jaemin only smiles because :) he also really enjoys how you two function and he’s perfectly fine with never involving romance into your relationship

⋆ phew

⋆ what a relief

⋆ you aren’t dating, but you’re also not, not dating

⋆ you’re more than friends but less than lovers

⋆ it’s a little hard for others to understand but it makes perfect sense to you two

⋆ you hold hands, and you kiss, and you share the same bed, and you say i love you all without any sort of romance in your relationship

⋆ jaemin’s favorite part of the day is when he gets to wrap both of his arms around you and squeeze as tight as he can

⋆ and then he gives you a little smooch on the cheek or wherever he feels like

⋆ and then the two of interlock your fingers whenever you’re out and about <3

⋆ and you force out awkward thank yous whenever someone compliments you on how cute your boyfriend is

⋆ but then at night when it’s time for bed you and jaemin lay next to each other and whisper jokes to each other and try not laugh too loud and it’s like you’re having a sleepover every day

⋆ and it doesn’t really make sense to most people, but it makes sense to you and that’s all that matters

©️su11yoon 2023, please do not translate or repost this anywhere else

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illumins · 1 year ago

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════ஓ๑ ᴄʜᴘ.5 ๑ஓ════

“Lena!” The Captain's urgent shouts had been chasing after her ever since she set off in pursuit of the haunting sound. His initial surprise had sent him stumbling backward into the water, an audible curse mingling with his call of her name. She had spared him a fleeting glance, offering a hasty apology, but her momentum had carried her on, heedless.

Her fingers clung tenaciously to her damp and heavy trousers, the water’s weight serving as an anchor. Her blouse clung to her skin as the wind bore down on her, ruffling her hair and battering her ears. Her eyes teared up from the force of the wind, her mouth slightly agape as she gasped for precious lungfuls of air. Every fiber of her being ached, her body practically screaming at her to stop, yet her insatiable curiosity ignited a reservoir of courage within her. Lena's decisions had never been guided by logic or rationality, but by the tumultuous currents of emotion. This trait had led her into troubles as a child, inviting scoldings from Mr. Freed. It had propelled her to seek refuge with a captain, to escape her future, and now, to dash headlong into the depths of a jungle forest.

The sensation of sand prickling the soles of her feet was accompanied by a burning ache in her lungs, a silent mantra repeating in her mind—I should stop. But she couldn't yield, not now, not when the melody might vanish again, perhaps forever.

With the sun now set, the sky unfurled in a canvas of deep blues and purples, mirroring the abyssal depths of the sea below. The birds' daylight songs had gradually faded, replaced by the nocturnal chorus of those that ventured out under the cover of darkness. The day's heat had surrendered to a cooling chill, carried on the wings of the night breeze. It was in this altered ambiance that she suddenly came to a jarring halt, her feet brushing against the softness of grass. Gazing upward, she beheld a verdant canopy, a tapestry woven from the foliage of tropical trees. Though the full moon attempted to pierce through the dense foliage, only a smattering of pale streaks managed to break through, casting uneven patches of illumination onto the jungle floor. And just as abruptly as it had begun, the haunting melody ceased, leaving her heart plummeting with a sense of loss—no, no, no.

Just as she was poised to launch herself into another sprint, a sudden and firm tug brought her to a jolting halt. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she found Captain Canary gripping her left arm, his breathing labored, hair damp and disheveled. His free hand rested on his hip as he struggled to draw deep breaths. “Lena—” he began, but before he could continue, she attempted to wrench her arm away from his grasp. He promptly tightened his hold, pulling her arm towards him with a force that unbalanced her. She stumbled, her trajectory halting abruptly against his chest, where he held her ensnared. His gaze was fixed upon her, a mix of exasperation and something more evident in his eyes this time—annoyance.

His gaze averted from her, focusing on the dense expanse of the jungle ahead. As his eyes met hers again, they held a deeper, more palpable anger. "Do you have a death wish? Is that it?" he demanded, his tone edged with frustration.

Confusion swirled within her. No, of course not. “I—” Her words faltered as she realized the unyielding grip he maintained on her arm. In a renewed attempt to break free, she pushed against his hold, but her efforts proved futile. “Let go! Hey!—”

“So you can sprint off again? No. Talk,” he asserted resolutely, both of his arms now encircling her, effectively imprisoning her within his embrace.

A surge of exasperation welled up within her, prompting her to mutter, “Why does it matter to you?” Her complaint was abruptly cut short by a startled yelp as his head collided with hers.

“Quit being dramatic, Lena,” he retorted, his voice carrying a note of impatience.

She battled the impulse to speak, determined to display the stubbornness she was known for, yet his expression mirrored her own. A maddening realization struck her—this standoff could well persist into the night, regardless if it kills him. “There's something that's been gnawing at me,” she forced the words out, her teeth clenched with each syllable, irritated by how effortlessly he had broken through her defenses.

“What?” he urged her.

Summoning every ounce of her willpower, she released a frustrated breath and compressed her lips. Redirecting her gaze away from him, she directed it towards the vacant stretch of beach, where the moonlight fragmented across the ocean's surface. An unsettling notion she had strived to avoid crept back into her thoughts, persistent in its grip—‘What if I'm turning into her? Will I succumb to madness as she did? Did it all start with a mere melody and then spiraled into delusion?’ She felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation, not solely because of his presence, but due to the impending reality of her deepest fear. “I need reassurance that it's real,” she confessed, her voice fracturing with emotion.

“What do you mean?” For the first time, his tone softened to a mere whisper.

Meeting his gaze, she found herself unable to conceal the vulnerability that lay within her. She fought back the urge to pout or the potential for a sob to slip through if she allowed herself to speak too much. “I need to be sure…” She drew in a steadying breath, her inhale audible in the silence that hung between them. “I can't become… like her,” her voice trembled, her breathing growing increasingly rapid.

His grip around her began to loosen, his fingers trailing from her arm to her shoulders, sensing the tension that gripped her. As her head shook in silent desperation, she managed to speak through the surge of emotion, “I can't…” Another fervent shake of her head, “I can't, Captain.” The dam holding back her pent-up emotions finally burst, and a sob escaped her, punctuating her confession.

In the whirlwind of her thoughts, she couldn't help but imagine the alternate reality where she had departed for Canoga, married as planned. Would the haunting melody have pursued her there relentlessly? Would madness have claimed her in that distant place as it seemed to be doing now? And would her husband, perhaps mirroring her father's actions, have eventually cast her aside, just as her mother had been? Yet, here she was, surrounded by pirates on an isolated island, and the elusive melody had once more slipped through her grasp.

“Alright, okay,” he responded, attempting to offer reassurance. His gaze shifted upwards, fixated on the densely wooded expanse ahead. “We'll search for it,” he conceded, a hint of determination in his tone, “but you'll stay close behind me.”

Lena nodded in agreement and stepped back, allowing the Captain to take the lead. He pushed his hair back from his face, moving forward with a sense of vigilance, acutely aware of their surroundings. He even pointed out the potential dangers of her being barefoot, warning about the possibility of snakes or unnoticed spiders lurking in their path. A shiver rippled through her, goosebumps prickling her skin as she imagined the unsettling possibilities. Her hands trembled with a mixture of disgust and fear before she hurriedly closed the distance between them.

“So, what exactly are we looking for?”

She toyed with various ways to explain it to him, but finding none that conveyed her thoughts clearly. “It's a melody,” she finally admitted, her voice barely more than a hushed confession. “That's what I've been hearing recently, but this time it's stronger.”

The Captain came to an abrupt stop, his expression inscrutable. She wondered what unkind thoughts might be swirling in his mind. Maybe he’ll say them, she pondered anxiously. “You don't have to come,” she added, struggling to maintain a semblance of dignity. “I never asked you to.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I was trying to figure out how to find something we can't see,” he confessed, offering her a moment of insight into his thought process. “We'll head to a place I know is safe. If we find nothing by then, we'll turn back. Alright, Lena?”

Every fiber of her being longed to refuse, to stay behind and unravel the enigma of the haunting melody. But she recognized that he was the one with a crew, a ship, and a way off this island. She doubted that a solitary existence on this island was the path she truly desired. “Fair,” she reluctantly agreed.

He nodded, his gaze sweeping over her before he turned to lead the way to what he considered a safer location. The leaves overhead swayed with each gust of wind, creating a symphony of screeches and calls from the various birds and creatures that inhabited the jungle, lending an eerie weight to the atmosphere. Slivers of light trickled through the dense canopy above, briefly reminding her of how light had pierced the water's surface when she had plunged beneath it. Minutes slipped away, and her ankles throbbed with discomfort, tension coursing up her legs to her knees and lower back. She couldn't help but emit a quiet hiss of pain, which he noticed but chose to ignore. The entrance they had come through had long vanished, replaced by an endless sea of lush greenery.

“When do we set sail for Canoga?” she inquired in a near-whisper.

“In two days,” he replied without looking back, his focus still fixed on the path ahead.

“Oh…” She wanted to bring up the idea she had floated to Mark earlier, about potentially staying aboard until they reached a new land or made it to Pearl Reef. But she couldn't shake off Mark's words and the realization they had prompted. She hadn't earned his trust or respect, nor did she deserve it. She could only imagine how exasperating her antics must have been for him. She had darted about and behaved like a child throughout the journey, and now, for the first time, she glimpsed what Mr. Freed had endured her entire life as her caregiver—a child.

Breaking the silence, he cast a brief glance back at her. “So, may I ask why you left your life of luxuries?”

She hesitated initially but reminded herself that falsehoods wouldn't serve any purpose now. “I wanted my freedom,” she confessed, her voice tinged with determination.

Observing the subtle shake of his head and the disapproving raise of his index finger, she felt a pang of unease. “Everyone wants freedom, Lena,” he chided gently. “What's the real reason?”

“Forced marriage,” she replied curtly, her grip on her clothes tightening until her knuckles turned an almost ghostly white.

He emitted an amused 'ooh,' his tone dripping with curiosity. “To whom?”

“Marquis of Li'Pold,” she stated, her voice carrying a bitter edge.

He turned around, continuing to walk backward as he narrowed his eyes. “And you are…” he pointed at her, awaiting an answer.

She rolled her eyes, a touch of annoyance coloring her tone. “A daughter of a Knight.”

He clicked his tongue in acknowledgment. “So high up you go,” he mused, before turning forward again, resuming their trek through the jungle.

“What about you?” She deemed it only fair to inquire about his life since he had probed into hers.

He responded with a hint of teasing in his voice, drawing out her name, “What do you wish to know, Lena?”

She arched a brow. “How did a child come to be a Captain?”

“Like all men do, force,” he replied succinctly.

In response, she quickened her pace until she was walking beside him once more. For a fleeting moment, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. The moonlight cast a gentle glow on his honeyed skin. His red hair, now slowly drying into a tousled mess, somehow seemed effortlessly stylish. Long lashes brushed against his full cheeks each time he paused to rest his gaze on her. He met her eyes with a sly smirk. “Yes?”

She caught herself and continued, “Fine, how did a child end up with a group of pirates?”

He halted in his tracks, his brows furrowing. “Do you see me as a child, Lena?”

What? Her own question now made her ponder the age difference between them for the first time. She had never really questioned it before; it had seemed absurd to think of anyone as young as a Captain, even among pirates. But as she observed him, she couldn't help but notice his youthful appearance, although he did not look as young as Jisung.

He tilted his head slightly and drew closer than she felt comfortable with. He had done this before, and every time, it left her feeling either with fear or breathlessness. She looked up at him, attempting to take a breath, but the scent of sea that wafted from him, tinged with a hint of citrus, heightened her awareness of how she might smell, drenched in sweat and surrounded by the musk of men.

His hand reached for her face, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So do you, Lena?”

Flustered, she placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. “No, I don't.”

She didn't quite understand why, but her response elicited a smile from him, and he signaled for her to walk ahead. “So, what did Gus tell you?” he asked.

“How—”

“Your obsession with calling me a 'child.' I like to think I'm older than you,” he quipped. She rolled her eyes, and he scoffed. “Would you like to know that too, Lena? I was born on June 6th, 1700. How about you?”

“April 18th, 1701,” she mumbled.

“I can see why your father married you off then,” he remarked, attempting a joke.

His comment caught her off guard, and she gasped at his poor attempt at humor. “That should have been a choice.”

“In what world? You're twenty-one. A woman five years younger than you would have had three or four children by now,” he stated matter-of-factly.

For some reason, his words stung more than any of his previous thoughtless remarks. Perhaps it was because, deep down, she believed there was some truth to them. She could have been a wife by now, tending to a brood of children and complaining about them to her husband. She could have had that life with the Marquis, even though none of it would have truly belonged to her.

Fueled by a sudden surge of anger, she retorted, “So what? Do you believe a woman's duty is limited to procreation and entertaining house guests while her husband goes off on important quests?”

He abruptly stopped once more, his expression confused. “I never said that.”

She bit her tongue, irritated with herself for taking out her frustration on him. “Sorry,” she muttered.

He shrugged and continued, “So, what did my amazing cook tell you about my younger years?”

“That you tricked the previous Captain into believing you were older than you actually were. You did everything I did—”

His arms now rested across his chest as he nodded. “Ah, so all my bad moments, then.”

She smirked. “Were there any good ones?”

He looked at her, surprise dancing in his eyes, but a hint of amusement too. “And she jokes.” Lena inclined her head in acknowledgement, smiling in return. “Well, I'll have you know, yes, I do believe I had great moments before I became Captain.”

Now it was her turn to walk backward as she moved in front of him. “Oh, then do tell, Captain Canary.”

“Haechan,” he stated.

"What?" She was aware that Haechan was his real name, but she couldn't understand why he had suddenly brought it up.

“You can call me Haechan, I’m not your Captain, never was.”

“But aren't names kept for those close to you?”

He remained silent, his gaze fixed on her, and she could see the confusion in her eyes mirrored in his. As if breaking from a trance, he quickly redirected the conversation. “I believe my greatest moment was when I overthrew the old Captain. He was a nasty one, always toying with others' lives, abandoning his crew if he deemed them unfit for the journey. Loyalty wasn't earned but bought with him.”

“Then how did you do it?”

“I killed him.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and once again, that familiar mix of fear and breathlessness washed over her. This time, it was both at once.

A sudden sound of rushing water enveloped the night, and his face lit up with happiness, a childlike delight. Lena turned around and saw a hint of a waterfall in the distance, resembling an opalescent pool that had captured all the stars from the sky. She gasped in amazement and glanced at him, sharing in his newfound excitement.

“Is this it?” she asked.

He nodded. “I may not know what you're seeking, but I thought you'd at least like the sight of a waterfall.”

Lena agreed, but a pang of disappointment pricked her heart. The melody hadn't returned, or at least she hadn't noticed it.

The Captain took her arm and started hurrying toward the waterfall. “Even if you don't find it today, Lena, there's always a tomorrow.”

As they made their way, she couldn't help but think about his earlier admission. The hands of a killer held her with an unexpected tenderness, and it left her feeling strangely conflicted. She wasn't sure why she was surprised; after all, pirate stories were filled with violence and death, and he was no exception. Yet, a small part of her had hoped that he might be different, that he might be the exception to the dark tales that surrounded his kind.

The waterfall's bed rippled, casting a mesmerizing dance of moonlight on the gently undulating surface. Overhead, the canopy that had concealed their path earlier now opened up, revealing the night sky. In this newfound light, Lena's eyes were drawn to a multitude of birds nesting above them. Some of them took flight, displaying their vibrant, colorful feathers, and she couldn't help but gasp in wonder.

From behind her, there was a sudden shuffling sound followed by a playful splash. She yelped as water splattered her right side. Laughter rang out in the night, and despite her attempt to put on an annoyed expression when she met his gaze, his bright smile and excitement were infectious. Lena found herself laughing as well, a rush of delight and nervous energy coursing through her.

The Captain waded out of the pool, his pants sagging low on his hips, and Lena couldn't help but notice the scars that marked his stomach and sides. Yet, her attention was captured by his extended hand, reaching out to her. She looked at him, water cascading from his hair, down his face, and dripping from his jaw. His gentle smile invited her to join him, and it warmed her from within.

“I promise the water isn't cold,” he reassured her, waving his extended hand softly.

Lena didn't hesitate. She took his hand.

Beside her, he led her into the water until they reached the edge of the rocky floor, which dropped away into a dark abyss below. He mentioned how he had once dived in and discovered a school of colorful fish and, as far as he could tell, perhaps underwater caves. Lena wasn't entirely sure how safe she felt knowing that beneath them lay more than just solid rock. When he noticed the unease on her face, he offered reassuring words, assuring her that it was safe.

He released her hand, and for a moment, panic surged through her as she imagined herself sinking effortlessly. However, he demonstrated deep breaths, and she followed suit, allowing herself to float.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized, his voice tinged with remorse. Confused, she encouraged him to explain. “I didn't mean for you to drown, it was a trick that went wrong,” he clarified, regret etched across his features.

She thanked him with a warm smile, and he returned the gesture. The ambient sounds of rushing water and the gentle serenade of silent bird songs provided a backdrop to the thrumming of her heart. He was close, and for reasons she couldn't quite fathom, she longed to hold him again, just as she had done on the beach. Her fingertips tingled with the desire to wipe away every drop of water that clung to his face, delicately tracing her touch along his cheek. The small black moles that adorned his face and neck seemed more pronounced now, and under his gaze, she felt small yet warmly embraced, a stark contrast to the vulnerability he had often evoked in her.

“Lena—”

She caught herself getting too close; hastily clearing her throat, she redirected her attention to a large rock that jutted out beside the waterfall, extending over the pool they were in. She nodded toward it. “Do you think we can get a better view from up there?”

He glanced behind him, and his excitement surged once more. “Oh, absolutely,” he exclaimed, beginning to swim toward the edge of the pool. “Come on!” he called, urging her to follow.

When Lena reached the edge of the pool, he didn't wait for her and dashed towards the rock, immediately beginning his ascent. Lena clung to her clothes, now soaked and weighing her down. They felt like an anchor pulling on her body. However, as her strength gradually returned and her lungs filled with air, she mustered the energy to follow his lead. She copied his movements, scaling the jutting edges of the rock and adhering to his guidance whenever she hesitated.

Upon reaching the top, her legs felt wobbly, and she fought off a wave of embarrassment as he steadied her. Embarrassment tinged her cheeks as he held onto her for support. While her courage could be attributed to some of her more adventurous actions, she couldn't deny that her upbringing had shaped her into a lady of the court, not one accustomed to wandering through jungles at night.

With her in his arms, he brought the two to the edge and she overlooked the pool below and the waterfall still above. Yet, the trees were now at eyesight and she saw the trail of smoke from the campsite they had left. She felt untouched, like the birds she’d seen tonight; the world too small to grab onto her. And when she turned to him to see if he shared the same admiration for it all, she was met with his eyes. Has he been staring at me?

“Do you know what my favorite part about coming up here is?” he asked.

She shook her head, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “Besides the view?”

“The fall,” he replied, nodding toward the precipice below. Her eyes widened, and she instinctively took a step back.

Her heart raced as memories of her plunge into the ocean flooded back, reigniting her fear of the water. She continued to retreat until he grabbed her hand, halting her and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Come on, Lena,” he urged. “Do you want to be scared forever?”

His words resonated with her, slowly coaxing her forward. Each step felt both dreadful and exhilarating. Where her strength waned, he seemed to infuse her with more. As she neared him, he wrapped his right arm around her left, their fingers entwining. Together, they stood at the precipice, with her feeling more dread and him more excitement. The pool below now appeared darker, and the waterfall's roar echoed the crashing waves from her fall. The rock seemed like a narrow plank, threatening to tip her over, but he steadied her, guiding her through the breathing exercises he had taught her.

Before the fall, before the countdown, he had uttered simple words, “Bravery is faith.” And as the wind tried to snatch her, mistaking her for a bird perhaps, she slipped right through its grasp. Her breath caught in her lungs as the water drew closer with each passing second. The last thing she saw before her feet broke the water's surface was Captain Canary's wide smile gazing down at the water below.

Then came the deafening silence that followed the condensed whoosh. It was the part she hated the most, the one that made her wonder if she had died and was experiencing mere fragments of seconds before life slipped away. Her eyes remained closed, fearing that it was all true. She felt light yet heavy all at once, and the firm hand she had gripped before her fall had also slipped away. Loneliness, darkness, cold, and nothingness enveloped her. Where is he? she begged herself, blindly reaching out, just as she had done so many times in her dreams. Please, she wanted to cry out, her heart racing as her throat constricted, yearning for air. I'm alive, she reassured herself.

Lena continued to search for him, and when an arm encircled her waist, she clung to it, her hands reaching for his face, tracing the features she remembered. She needed to make sure it wasn't a ghost. His hand cupped hers briefly, then it moved to her face, gently brushing her closed eyes. At that moment, Lena understood what he meant. He invited her to see, to trust.

When Lena finally opened her eyes, the world was a blurry, stinging mess. Her instinct was to rub them, but Captain Canary signaled for her to blink, so she did. Slowly, her hazy sight began to clear, and she saw him smiling, giving her a thumbs-up. He pointed below them, revealing partially lit caves and schools of fish gliding past. Giddiness filled her cold body, bringing a semblance of warmth to her.

He then motioned for them to ascend, and he went first. Following closely behind, Lena took big strides upward, heading for the surface. That's when she heard it—the melody. It sounded closer than ever. She looked down toward the depths, ready to dive, but Captain Canary's grip on her arm prevented her.

He pulled her up, and when her head broke through the surface, she gasped heavily, coughing out bits of water that had begun to infiltrate her mouth before she resurfaced.

“What in the world, Lena! You could have drowned!” he scolded her between heavy breaths.

With her legs feeling like jelly, she continued to float, pushing her wet hair away from her face and taking deep gulps of air. She scanned the area, searching for any trace of the elusive melody. “It was right—here,” she gasped and coughed.

“What was?” he asked, still sounding angry.

“The melody!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with exhaustion and frustration. She slapped the water in frustration. "It was right here!"

“Lena—”

She cut him off, her voice resolute. “No! No. You said you would help me, remember?” She rubbed her face, trying to calm herself and wiping away droplets of water. “I'm staying here.”

“I understand, but you need to rest—”

She took a deep gulp of air and dove down, just as he had taught her. Underwater, she felt a sense of being lost, desperately needing to hear the melody again to guide her. Lena closed her eyes, searching for it in the silence, determined to find it. Her fingers began to grow cold, but she clenched them and focused. Come on, she begged, her heart and mind yearning for the peace of knowing.

Amidst the silence, a thought struck her—she hummed. Every note she could remember before the melody's song was abruptly cut short. With each note, she felt her chest tighten as her air supply dwindled. Instinctively, her hands reached for her chest and throat, but there was no air to be found. As she sang the last falling note, she heard it again. The melody sang in harmony with her, like a call meant just for her. Her eyes sprang open, scanning the dimming darkness, until she saw it. A blue glow emanated from the walls, etched into them. From a distance, she couldn't discern its nature, only that it was what had been summoning her.

But as before, she was abruptly pulled away by him, the weight of the water tugging at her limbs as she was hauled to the surface. Coughing and inhaling vigorously, she welcomed the cool air that kissed her skin. This time, he didn't stop, taking her out towards the pool's edge until he forced her to crawl out of the water and onto the grass.

As her lungs filled with air through tired aches, she glared at him, demanding an explanation. “Why!”

He slammed his hand onto the ground in frustration. “Why? Because I'm not letting you die!” he yelled, his outburst startling her.

She didn't know how to respond; she had never seen him like this. He stared at her for a moment, his frustration palpable, before rolling his eyes and sprawling out on his back, exhaling wearily. She sighed inwardly. Fine. Rising to her feet, she extended her hand toward him, offering help. He hesitated for a moment, then grabbed it abruptly. She stumbled as his weight unexpectedly pulled on her, but she managed to steady herself once he was on his feet.

He patted himself down, and she gestured toward the pool. “I saw it.”

“We moved on from hearing?” he mused, his usual charm returning.

Ah, there he is. “Sure,” she quipped. “I saw it. I think it's stuck on the rock walls. Since you're feeling like a savior today, why don't you go get it?”

He stepped back into the pool, splashing some water. “And what is it, may I ask?”

“I couldn't properly see it. It glowed blue, on the left side, slightly further down.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, his bitterness evident. She watched as he swam further and further into the pool until he reached its center. There, he paused for a few moments, taking in deep breaths, before submerging himself completely. His red hair vanished beneath the water's surface, leaving only the occasional glint from the moonlight reflecting on the ripples.

She waited for him by the edge, letting the cool water caress her feet. The waterfall continued its ceaseless descent, and she found herself lost in thoughts about what it would be like to sit beneath it, to feel the weight of the cascading water on her shoulders, only to step away when the pressure became too much.

As seconds turned into minutes, a nervous unease crept over Lena. She absentmindedly stretched and scrunched her fingers as she scanned the water's surface, searching for any sign of him. Is this how he felt when I was underwater? she wondered. Had he been standing here, waiting for her and fearing the worst as she explored beneath the waters? With growing anxiety, she took a step closer to the pool's edge, prepared to jump in. Just as she was about to act on her worry, his head emerged from the water, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Small doses of guilt washed over her as she sprinted towards him. He was tirelessly trying to swim back to the edge. The water had risen to her hips by the time he caught up, and she looped an arm around his torso, guiding his left arm over her shoulder. With every ounce of strength she could muster, she assisted him in walking towards the grassy floor and helped him lie down.

As he rested there, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession, her eyes widened at the sight of a blue vintage pendant hanging around his neck. It glimmered in the moonlight, and her fingers lightly grazed its intricately carved surface.

“What you were looking for…” he said, his voice exasperated, “was a necklace.” He pushed himself up to sit, steadying himself on his elbows.

Lena watched from her kneeling position as he removed the necklace from around his neck and then gestured for her to tilt hers. She obeyed, and felt his hands move over her head, placing a cool metal chain around her neck and collarbone. The pendant hung at the center of her chest, slightly longer than she would have preferred, but she held it delicately.

He flopped back onto the grass and rested one hand on his chest, exhaustion evident in his eyes. “Can we go back now?” he pleaded, looking at her.

She nodded, and out of guilt for how exhausted he looked, she patted his resting hand. “Thank you, Haechan.”

With closed eyes, he offered a faint smile. “You're welcome, Lena.”

𔘓⁩ ᵗⁱᵖʲᵃʳ

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hoonieyun · 2 years ago

Photo

life is still going on

pairing: na jaemin x reader

genre: heavy angst

plot: jaemin is trying to find a way to overcome your death, when clearing out your shared apartment to move back home with his parents, he finds a box of letters you wrote for your untimely death dedicated to him and making sure that he doesn’t give up because life is still goin on.

warning: major character death, reader passed away, major signs of grieving

notes: first time writing something pretty sad, please let me know your thoughts! the series of text that is all italicized and bold are just short excerpts of each letter

includes: mark as reader’s brother and mentions of jeno

words: 1486

a rainy day, suited for the setting that jaemin was in. standing in a powder room, hands gripping the sink as he stares at himself in the mirror. jaemin’s head was running wild, so many thoughts, so many worries, and such little effort to get it together. he’s brought out of his thoughts when there’s a knock on the door, “hey jaem.. they’re looking for you. the ceremony is about to start.” mark says through the door. jaemin shakes his head, trying to clear his brain before having to face the group of people mourning your death, knowing that he had to put on a strong and brave stature, not for them, but for you.

mark is about to knock on the door again when the door suddenly opens, unveiling a jaemin, a jaemin he hasn’t seen before. pale skin, red eyes, stuffy nose, and slumped shoulders. they look at one another momentarily before mark pulls the younger into an embrace. an embrace that jaemin doesn’t know he needed as when he comes into contact with mark, he breaks down. tears start to puddle on marks shoulder and jaemin begins mumbling a string of words, none of which mark can decipher but he knows its jaemin crying out for help. mark tells jaemin to go home, letting him know he’ll take care of the ceremony.

3 months later

jaemin had spent the last 3 months locked in your shared apartment. after leaving your funeral before it even began because he couldn’t handle the pressure of accepting your absence from his life, he hasn’t spoken to anyone except mark and jeno who would occasionally stop by to check in on him but are only met with a conversation through a closed door. he hasn’t eaten normally, he hasn’t felt the warm embrace of the sun, and he hasn’t felt the same since your death. it isn’t until he receives a phone call from his mom that he finally does something other than lay in bed in complete darkness. his parents offer to help him move back home but he refuses to let anyone in, afraid that if anyone were to come in, the memories and your presence there would disappear.

5 months later

he’s begun to clean out your shared apartment, but only mark was allowed to come in. mark has been someone he could rely on, an actual shoulder to cry on, and a pillar of support for him. “hey, imma head out and take this box of trash out with me. anything else you want me to take while i head out?” mark asks as he bends over to pick up a box of stuff jaemin carefully looked through, making sure he didn’t throw away anything that you cherished for he would feel eternally guilty. “no, you’re good…” jaemin responds. as mark is heading out the door jaemin says, “thank you, hyung. i know this is just as hard for you. so thank you for being strong for the both of us.” mark halts and looks at jaemin, “there’s no need to thank me jaem. you’re family to me, y/n loved you so i love you. you’re like a brother to me… but like not an actual brother because that would be weird because my sister dated you.” mark says, making the two of them chuckle at his silly comment. when mark leaves it was that moment that jaemin realizes that was the first time he’s laughed since you’ve been gone.

6 months later

your whole apartment has now been cleared out except for your shared bedroom. a room that jaemin is too afraid to clean because it would mean accepting that you were gone.

9 months later

“jaemin, i just got off the phone with your landlord. he’s terminating your lease early so you don’t have to pay for the full year, but that does mean you’re going to have to clear out the rest of your apartment soon. call me when you can, love you.” *beep* his mom’s voicemail ends.

jaemin sighs as he falls onto his bed, face into the comforter as he takes this moment to think. he shifts his head to the side, his view now the closet and something catches his eye. under a stack of blankets and bedsheets he sees a white string with gold hardware. he gets up and makes his way to your closet and pulls on the string, to which a drawstring bag shaped like a strawberry reveals itself. jaemin doesn’t even revolt at the idea of a strawberry because his curiosity is piqued. his phone begins to ring, not even checking who is calling he answers and says, “i’ll call you right back, i’m busy.” and drops his phone back on the bed.

he sits inside of your closet and begins to open the bag, dumping out it’s contents to find a bunch of handwritten letters, all of which are adorned with the letter “J” and a red heart sticker next to them. he’s never seen these before, when he flips the letters over he sees they have numbers on them, to which he assumes that’s the order they should be read. he opens the first envelope and pulls out the letter, he unfolds the paper and reads the first line, “Dear Jaemin, my love. I know it may be corny but if you’re reading this then that means I fought my battle against cancer and wasn’t strong enough to win…” After reading the first line his eyes start to pool with tears and his chest starts to feel tight and heavy.

thank you for taking care of me. your endless love is what helped me stay strong, i’m sorry i couldn’t be strong enough to grow old with you and love you eternally.

i hope you know that there wasn’t a moment during my chemo process that i wasn’t thinking about you. you are the reason i lived for so long, the reason why i never gave up, and the reason why i know how it feels to be loved.

your love truly meant so much to me. YOU meant so much to me, more than you could ever know. the way you made me feel loved outweighs any sickness and pain i felt, and i hope this pain never made it’s way to your heart that is so filled with love, joy, and everything i loved about you.

jaemin, i don’t know how you’re taking my passing but i hope it isn’t too hard on you, but i know it probably will be because you’re a crybaby… just kidding… not really but it’s okay because you’re my crybaby.

don’t forget to eat and shower please. if you don’t eat i will be mad at you! and please shower… you don’t want to be stinky!

jaemin has read these letters, changing from crying and laughing, but filled with love and joy as it feels like he’s just talking to you again. he’s on the last letter when he releases a big sigh. it’s as if he’s talking to you for the very last time and he just stares at the pink envelope. this one specifically has been sealed with a strawberry sticker, making him laugh as he knows you did this because he wasn’t very fond of strawberries. he opens the letter and realizes it’s somewhat shorter than the rest.

the final letter

okay, jaemin after so many letters this will be my final one. i wish i could write more but my fingers are feeling a little tired and the medicine is making me feel dizzy. i know i may have said it a million times, but a million times isn’t enough. i love you, i haven’t felt anything greater than the love you have shared with me.

your love is like the warm feeling i get when i wear your sweaters.

your love is like getting into bed after a long day.

your love is like the comfort of being embraced.

your love is learning how to love every part of myself the way you loved every part of me.

your love is like when i roll over in the bed in the morning and feel that you’re still there with me.

your love is when i’m stressed and seeing you immediately calms me down.

your love is like the endless journey of growing together.

please continue to spread your love. we may not be together but i feel your love endlessly and eternally. there is so much left in the world to love and i would be selfish to say i’m the only one that deserves your only. your love is everything i love about you, jaemin.

please continue to love. love every single part of your life, the parts before me, with me, and after me. life is still going on.

i love you endlessly.

eternally yours, y/n.

all writing here is fiction & not in any association with characters mentioned.

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from-izzy · 9 months ago

Text

[01:34] | nct na jaemin

Your ceiling fell.

pairing » nct na jaemin x gn!reader (lmk if i missed anything!)

trope/au » established relationship au!, non-idol au!

genre » boyfriend na jaemin who picks you up even though he's tired, summer is annoying to the reader (sorry, i'm really hating summer rn), fluffy fluff with a tinge of angst, clothes stealer reader!, but you never end up using it because you got too tired and fell asleep, i love na jaemin (can you tell?), reader is the little spoon, jaemin is so caring and cute (i'm in love with him), jaemin brushing his hand through your hair

word count, estimated reading time » 2496, ~9 mins

warnings (lmk if i missed anything!) » jaemin is taller, outside clothes on the bed (i don't do this but it's cute here 😭 forgive me), oh...it's not proofread 😭

navi/masterlist!! 🤍

recently went back to my wips and found bits and pieces that could work together and meshed them together as best as i can 🤣 just whipped up this little thing whilst i was at it hehe

also, not going to be specific but will you believe if i said that this is based on a (my) true story? 🤠 it's been...messy 🤠 to say the least.

thank you for proofreading (when you're supposed to be focusing on school) @cupidjyu !! 💕

Your ceiling fell.

Well...

To be exact, there isn't a hole that lets the spiders and birds able to look down and see the base of your kitchen sink but when the inside surface of the roof fell, so did the insulator that kept the house warm during the frosty winter, and cool in the scorching summer. Because of the unstable roof condition, your whole family was wary of putting the air conditioning system on. The vibration from the machine and the sound waves themselves may be the little push it needs to send other parts of the roof crumbling.

You hate the hot weather so much.

In this period of the summer, when opening the windows was barely an option as it also let the heat through, it has been hard even to do anything remotely productive. With every move of your body, it generates heat and energy, which when mixed with the thirty-five-degree heat, all you want to do is lay on your bed and let the sweat evaporate off your skin with the help of your tower fan. That's how the mornings would go. Sometimes when you're not too tired from the previous day's work, you would go and take shelter in the library, turning confused heads when you would be wearing a jacket as overtime, it became too cold.

The worst thing is that there has been no word from the insurance company or the people who could help to fix the hole in your ceiling. Unfortunately, it did fall during the peak holiday season but at this point, when it’s no longer the festive season, no one in your family understands what’s going on with the back-and-forth messy conversations to fix the issue.

The past three months have been full of frustrating calls to your boyfriend but Jaemin has been picking up your phone call at the second time his ringtone rings, greeting you with that emphasising smile of his as he sees the layer of moisture on your face. At first, you tried to give him the best smile you could, but you eventually broke down after the first month, completely done with changing your clothes every day in every hour. Jaemin, though busy with his own responsibilities, never fails to take you out whenever he can, accompanying you in your aimless night time walks or accompanying you to the library where he would start reading a random book while you snooze on his shoulder.

Today is one of the nights where you can’t handle sleeping in the house, too hot and uncomfortable for your eyes to even think about closing. You guiltily text Jaemin, asking if he’s able to have you over and within a few minutes, the black-haired arrives at your house, air conditioner blasting in his car and a genuine smile greeting you as soon as you step in. He waits outside his car with his oversized shirt and short pants; his usual summer attire. He kisses your frown away as soon as you rush into his arms, dropping your bag of clothes to the floor. His affectionate gaze for you grows, cupping your cheeks in his hands to hush you from the apologies that you would say for going out so late at night even though you insisted that the five-minute walk was fine to do.

“No,” Jaemin juts his lower lip to you adorably. “Not letting you do that!” He presses another quick peck on your lips that makes your cheeks heat up and makes you a stuttering mess. “I’m hungry! Let’s go grab some food first!”

You let out a knowing chuckle, shaking your head at him fondly as you know that just means another movie night that will go on until five am. To Jaemin, this is the best kind of date: the one that is unplanned but is planned at the same time. With the way that you’re literally having the worst summer ever as well, all he wants to do is to make sure that at least when you look back on this summer, you will remember his air conditioner blasting in his room. Bonus, the later you sleep, the more time you’ll have in a cooled, comfortable and private environment.

But you know deep down, that you will always remember his warm, kind heart first out of all.

With hands full of takeout from the nearest fast food to his house, Jaemin talks you through his list of movies that he wants to check out before you both fall asleep. He was so excited that he nearly missed the step up to his room, almost waking up the whole house with how his body would tumble down the staircase otherwise. But oh how much he would if it meant that you wouldn’t be crying on the humid, summer night.

"It's perfect, Jaem."

You comment when Jaemin asks you about the temperature of his room and he gives you a relieved look, smiling in satisfaction to know your thoughts. Jaemin starts to unload the snacks in his arm on his study table, prompting you to do the same. He turns his sleeping laptop on, waiting for his device to start up.

In the meantime, his attention falls on you once more. "You must've been overwhelmed." His arm spreads open, silently asking if you would accept his gesture.

All you gave was a quiet hum and it momentarily worries him before you step to bury your head into his broad chest. You sigh into his perfect body temperature that balances the coolness trapped in the four walls. The corners of Jaemin’s lips rise as he starts shifting his body side to side, giving the hug a little more dynamic and comfort as he starts to sing your favourite tune to your ears. His fingers rake across your hair, not minding the whines and complaints you gave about how your hair is disgusting and oily, even pressing a kiss to your scalp to ease your worries.

Your arms start to find home around his waist and your palm grips the fabric of the shirt even more, feeling eternally thankful for having a loving person in your life. A mutter, “Thank you for all this.” Your voice trails off, eyelids heavy and honestly, quiet snores could leave your lips at any moment now.

“Always, bubs,” he muses back. “Maybe we can skip the movie night today?”

The suggestion pulls your lips into a sour smile but you can’t hide the drowsiness in your system after getting small hours of sleep for the past week. “We have food.” But truly, it’s nothing that food can’t fix.

A raised eyebrow meets you when you slightly pull back to see the reaction on Jaemin’s face. “Food and horror movies.”

The shared favourite genre makes you break out into a genuine smile, excited for the movie marathon cuddled up in his bedsheets and the smell of food as you both expose yourself to the light from the computer until the sun replaces the moon. Jaemin watches you excitedly walk back to the door of his room where your bag slumps over on the wall next to the frame.

“You don’t want to wear mine?” The suggestion is said with a smirk from him and your hands stopping to unzip your bag halfway. “Guess not!”

“No! I do!” You drag the last syllable out and when you turn to face him once more, Jaemin only lets out a teasing smile. “Let me steal!”

Indeed, Jaemin already has everything prepared for you, tilting his chin to his bed where some of his and your favourite hoodies are spread across the duvet. You spot the emerald green one, immediately jumping from your kneeling position on the floor and making the neat pile topple over at your eagerness.

Jaemin feigns fake offence and an exaggerated gasp, “All my hard work!” He weeps to which you just roll your eyes as a response, continuing to take out your shower and night necessities to prepare for the night.

“Alright.” A heavy sigh follows after, “I’m going to sho—”

But before you could take another step towards the bathroom, a pair of arms pulls you backwards, your back colliding with a chest that you know all too well. You can’t see the expression on his face but another thing that you know about Jaemin is when he leans down to press his cheek on yours, humming once more into your embrace, his cheeks are painted with hues of red and pink—his love for you overflowing from the simple back hug gesture.

“What you doing, Nana?” It deepens his blush, melting with how the nickname naturally sounds lovelier coming from you.

“Just go brush your teeth and shower in the morning.” He mumbles against your cheek. “I want to go on this movie marathon with you right now.”

“But you hate it the most when someone lays on your bed without washing up.”

That’s also true. He does hate that a lot.

The idea of outside germs reaching the place where he would be closing his eyes and be in another space for hours never fails to bring a scowl to his face and he always makes sure everyone who visits his space is aware of that fact.

But it’s you—and Jaemin loves you more to overlook that fact for a day.

“I’m planning on changing the sheets anyway.” He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, “Plus, I literally get grease and pieces of chocolate on there anyways so I think I may need to change my mindset about that rule now…”

The mention of the substances makes you gasp, a similar one to the one he directed at you before. “Na Jaemin!” The playful slap on his arm only makes his hold against your body tighter, sending you both into a fit of laughter.

Amid the chaos you created, Jaemin makes his point clear with the previous topic, throwing himself still clad in his dirty clothes onto his bed and taking you down with him. You yelp at the sudden fall, throwing everything out of your hands to muffle the sound of your mouth, aware of the sleeping couple not too far away from this room.

“Oops! Gotta change it tomorrow, I guess!”

“Na Jaemin, stop! I’m still going to shower anyway!”

So begins the shoving and wiggling for you to escape his strong grip on his bulky arms. You know shortly after running out of breath that it’s a better choice to rest your head on his pectoral, giving up on both the shower and possibly the movie night. The laughter dies down, but never the love that Jaemin shows for you. On the back of your head, you can feel his thumping heartbeat, the rhythm making your eyelids fall naturally.

Jaemin carefully slides you over to the mattress on his side, turning his body to face the girl he loves the most in this world. His eyelashes flutter quietly, quieter than the humming of the white rectangular machine stuck high onto his wall. He doesn’t bother waking you up, content with the tiny snores you let out through the small gap between your lips.

“And to think you were scolding me minutes ago.” Bopping your ice-cold nose with the pad of his pointer finger. “Okay, at this point you’re going to freeze.”

Though exhausted and body screaming to just fall asleep then and there, Jaemin pulls himself back to the edge of the bed, standing and stretching his four limbs. He quickly retreated to the connecting bathroom, picking up your discarded items that he made you toss to avoid his parents from waking up and scolding the young couple in love—though he knows they will just scold him given how much his parents adore everything about you.

Scared that you would soon wake up in the very uncomfortable posture that you have right now, more than half your feet dangling off the bed, Jaemin swiftly completes his night routine, skipping the one that would make his dentist question his habits but he pushed the thought aside for now. As quiet as he could, he makes his way over to your still peaceful figure. His knees sink into the bed, eyes observing you while he holds his breath to avoid any more unnecessary movements than the ones he’s making right now.

An arm lifts your upper body, and Jaemin quickly jumps behind you. You did stir a bit in your sleep when Jaemin undoes the noisy metal zipper of your jacket but nonetheless, he succeeded without bringing you back into full consciousness. In his head, he imagines himself doing a little celebratory dance under the shining disco ball, all the fluorescent light on him on the dance floor. Then, the same arm is placed on your upper back once more but now paired with his other arm tucked under the back of your knees. You quickly adjusted to the position, Jaemin raising your body high enough for you to relish in the remnants of his cologne on the crook of his neck.

“I love you, Nana.” You confess to him earnestly. “I love you so much…”

Jaemin stands on one side of the bed, scanning the curves of your face intently as if he has never noticed the small mole on the slope of your nose. He couldn’t fight off the want to steal another kiss from you, bending his neck down to slot his soft ones to hug your plump ones. A satisfied hum is brought out after, Jaemin mirroring your content heart with another lingering press on your forehead.

Soon enough, your body is finally between his bouncy mattress and his weighted polyester. Immediately, your hands roam over to the other side of the bed where Jaemin would usually be, groaning when all you felt was the crinkles of the cotton that is not his shirt.

“Okay, okay. I’m here.” He assures the dissatisfaction painted on your face first by flicking the light switch off and then by wrapping your smaller frame into his own.

The muscles of your whole body relax for the first time in a while at the thought of going to dreamland—maybe it’s the Jaemin effect. A hand makes its way to the curve of your head, fingertips half-buried into your strands. A slight gush of wind can be felt on your nose but you don’t mind the proximity, even continuing to scoot even closer, pleased with the hand on your lower back that pushes you in closer.

“Sleep tight.” His eyes landed on the brown bag across the room and his muted laptop that plays your favourite comfort movie. He lets the movie play, strategically moving his forearm to block the blue light emitted. When he confirms that his shadow falls upon your lids, he places the lightest kiss as a final ‘goodnight’. “I love you.”

So maybe, you don’t hate the hot weather as much as you thought.

navi/masterlist!! 🤍 tags (send a dm/ask if you would like to be here or removed!): @k-labels 💙🤍 @k-films 🤎🎞️ @kflixnet 📺🍿 @sanaxo-o

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susicheng · 21 days ago

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.𖥔 ݁ ˖⌗﹒ the truth we share

chapter 1: the girl in the tunnel

wc: 1459 . . . next in series: quietchaos is typing

secrets left behind: the girl in the tunnel

uploaded by user: nosecrets

audio file: 38m 24s

*play audio file*

you’re currently listening to secrets left behind, where the untold and the unseen become part of the narrative we can no longer ignore. as always, here is your disclaimer that sensitive topics will be discussed in today’s episode, including: murder, suicide, drug use, foul play, and a deep dive into why this death occurred. if you or a loved one are unsafe, or are struggling with any of the above mentioned topics, please reach out to the appropriate hotline linked on my page. i have spoken to and received permission to share this story from the victim’s family.

. . . a pause. a breath.

lily morris. a name that is likely familiar to many, especially those around the area. found dead in an abandoned subway tunnel at the age of 17. she had been reported missing for days, her body showing clear signs of having been rotting for some time. what was ultimately ruled a possible suicide or overdose, but is surrounded by speculation, both by theorists and the general public. but what about this is so unusual? why would so many question this declaration by those more capable than ourselves? lily was a high school senior, with a bright and promising future laid out ahead of her. a gleaming acceptance letter to NCU still fresh in her inbox. her plan was to major in law, with the goal of becoming a criminal lawyer. her parents have told me about her passion for the unknown. much like myself, she was determined to uncover the secrets of criminal acts. many believe that she became too close to doing just what she dreamed of. lily morris wasn’t just a high school senior with a dream— she was the kind of person whose determination left an impression on everyone she met. according to her parents, lily loved challenges. whether it was solving puzzles with her dad as a child or debating moral dilemmas in her AP government class, she thrived on uncovering answers. her favorite shows were courtroom dramas, and her bookshelves were lined with everything from legal thrillers to true crime memoirs. teachers described lily as focused, ambitious, and unafraid to ask hard questions, even when it made people uncomfortable. her guidance counselor mentioned that lily’s NCU application essay centered on her desire to fight for justice and to give a voice to those who had none— a sentiment that resonates tragically now.

despite her outwardly strong demeanor, lily had a softer side. her best friend shared with me how much lily loved photography. she often took her camera into the city, capturing forgotten corners and weathered graffiti, piecing together their stories. could her passion for exploring the unspoken have led her to the tunnels? then came a day of overwhelming tragedy. during the early hours of january 27th, 2022, lily morris’ body was discovered by a group of urban explorers. there were no signs of struggle at the site, nor on her body. she sustained no injuries, besides a bruised ankle, presumably from her initial descent into the abandoned subway system. there was evidence to suggest her body had been there for upwards of 3 days. lily’s parents were and still are devastated but have no information to provide regarding why she was in the tunnel in the first place. in the months leading up to her death, lily’s parents noticed a shift. she began keeping odd hours, leaving the house late at night and returning early in the morning. she offered vague explanations, brushing off their concerns. at one point, her father recalled overhearing a conversation where lily mentioned “the tunnels” to someone on the phone. when pressed, she said it was nothing, just a place she liked to visit.

a few of her closest friends have offered their own statements, most of which further assured the public that a drug overdose or suicide were both outlandish conclusions for a girl like lily. one statement in particular, from lily’s apparent best friend, highlighted that lily did have a peculiar interest with the tunnels. her best friend told me that lily had become “obsessed” with the subway tunnels— she’d even convinced her to explore them a few times. “she wasn’t there to mess around like the rest of us,” her friend explained. “she’d bring notebooks and maps. she was... serious about it, like she was looking for something.” a girl enraptured by the unknown, found dead in the very place she wished to learn. when you combine these excerpts with the rumors of a below-ground society that utilizes the tunnels regularly, things start to click together.

lily’s fascination with the tunnels sparked speculation about her untimely death. one of the most persistent theories involves the rumored underground society said to operate within the city’s abandoned subway systems. of course, this underground society is only a rumor. there is no solid evidence of anything like that even existing in the first place. though, maybe that’s what lily had. with hard proof of the existence of this secret society, her life would be in danger. her knowledge is exactly the type of thing they wouldn’t want to get out. you could never expect a girl with a love for revealing the unknown to keep a secret, so killing her was the only option. how they did it without her putting up a struggle, no one can figure out. the idea of such a society— clandestine, dangerous, and fiercely secretive— has persisted in urban lore for decades. there are whispers of illicit activities: smuggling, illegal gatherings, and even human trafficking. could lily have stumbled upon something she wasn’t meant to see? could she have documented something they wanted hidden? if this theory holds weight, the lack of struggle at the scene raises chilling questions. did she know her attacker? was she subdued with drugs? or did they lure her into the tunnels under the guise of trust? some believe lily’s death might not have been tied to her investigation at all but was instead the tragic result of foul play by someone closer to home. could her absence during late hours have made her a target for someone she trusted? could she have been followed by someone aware of her patterns? the official ruling of suicide or overdose remains contentious, especially when considering lily’s meticulous nature. those who knew her insist that lily wasn’t reckless, and her interest in the tunnels had purpose.

finally, there’s the troubling matter of what’s missing: the autopsy report, toxicology results, and much of the evidence surrounding her death have been kept confidential. why would this level of secrecy be necessary if the case were as straightforward as officials claim? what really happened to lily morris? a question that haunts her family, her friends, and everyone who’s heard her story. a question i’ll continue to explore in future episodes. before we close out today’s episode, i want to take a moment to reflect on the life that was lost: lily morris was more than a mystery to be solved. she was a daughter, a friend, and a young woman with aspirations that deserved to be realized. it’s easy to get caught up in the intrigue of the unknown, but at the heart of every story like this is a human being who deserved more time. to those listening, remember that stories like lily’s happen far too often. young lives are taken, questions remain unanswered, and the truth is buried under speculation and silence. but it’s our responsibility to keep these conversations alive, to push for transparency, and to demand justice for the voices that can no longer speak for themselves. thank you for listening to this episode of secrets left behind. if you’re as determined as i am to uncover the truth, join me next time as we dive deeper into lily’s story until then, stay curious, stay kind, and stay safe.

*audio file end*

. . . successfully uploaded

a piercing squeak filled the silence hanging in the air when you pushed your chair back, slamming your laptop shut and slipping it into the canvas bag at your side. it was late- later than you had wanted to be out- but your schedule didn't allow many other slots to occupy this. plus, the studio was booked beyond imagine during the day. cheap prices meant no availability.

a quick wave goodbye to the staff, all tired beyond belief, and you were off into the cold of night.

as you passed by what you knew was a more "mainstream" entrance to a distant part of the tunnel system lily morris was found in, a shiver ran down your spine.

truly, what did happen to her?

.𖥔 ݁ ˖⌗﹒ the truth we share

taglist: open - comment or message to be added #: @sunghoonsgfreal @yukisroom97 @ayukas @f6llsun

#🍡 susicheng #nct #nct dream #nct x reader #jaemin #jaemin x reader #jaemin x you #jaemin x female reader #na jaemin #na jaemin x reader #nct fanfic #nct fic #nct fanfiction #jaemin fic #jaemin fanfic #na jaemin fanfic

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technologyculturedneo · 1 year ago

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SOS: Poison In My Mind (Pt 1)

PLAYING NOW: Season 2 of SOS: AM I ALIVE

“We met in the worst circumstance possible, but yet, even if we had to meet in different circumstances, I’d still fall for you.”

SUMMARY. A series of events following the aftermath of the break in/hostage situation has everyone feeling tense. The Zhong family is torn with disappoints, from Yezi deciding that she wants to keep the rape baby, to Dae leaving the family wanting something else from her life. With months and years treading by, the family is met again in uncanny situations with the same old boys who can’t seem to get away from them.

PAIRING(s). Delinquent!Mark, Felony!Haechan, Boyfriend!Jeno, Brother!Renjun; Policeman!Jaemin, Jisung; Husband!Chenle, Boyfriend!Jaehyun X OC Dae, Yezi (original character)

GENRE. Angst. Longshot. Slow burn. Crime. Strangers to lovers. Smut (non-consensual/consensual). Family.

WARNINGS. Drugs abuse (Alcohol, smoking, marijuana, cocaine, heroin). Sexual content (consensual, child abuse, pedophile). Slow burn (unlike the first book filled with edge and action, here’s a more toned down and summary filled action after the aftermath, lots of convo.)

S2: EP1-7 The moment the judge hits the gavel, Dae unknowingly lets out a sigh of relief. Laying her head against her dad's shoulder, some tears pouring out of her eyes causing her to hiccup, sniff and fall into a breaking emotional state. Her dad, Chenle hugs her tightly. He feels such an overwhelming amount of pain. He doesn't even know what to say when he watches the police handcuff the boys and makes them line up against the opposite doors, preparing them for their new prison life.

Dae gets her head off his shoulder and with her eyes smudged in tears and nose running just as badly, her face red and voice barely above a whisper. "Dad, I can't breathe," She hiccups terribly struggling to say.

Chenle is attentive and assists her up as he navigates her outside of the Court room. With his arms around her shoulder, he walks with her steadily and his eyes peer around trying to find a specific door, which was right next to the court room. Entering into the room whereby his wife and Yezi are, his heart grows heavy upon seeing Yezi in a similar dreadful position crying her soul out.

Yezi upon seeing her dad gets up as well and runs into her dad's arms. Chenle holds tight, embracing them generously the same way when they cried that he and his ex-wife were splitting. His lips kiss the top of their precious heads just as his eyes shut by the overflow of tears bluring his vision. His daughters sadly crying only causes his heart more pain that as their father he couldn't protect them against the evil of the world. Chungdae, Chenle's wife gets up slowly and makes her way towards her family. She moves behind Chenle and back hugs him, her own tears building up.

Yezi and Dae stretch their arms in sync backwards to wrap around Chungdae. No matter how much she was reminded of being their step mum, no matter how much she fought with Yezi, no matter how much Dae was nice to her without actually allowing her to know her real feelings, and no matter how much Chenle tried to always make her feel a part of his family even though deep down she knew she had a long way to acceptance with the whole family, right now being here with them somehow feels like a new level of depth.

The fact that she cut her trip half way- once her plane landed and Chenle called her to tell her the details she booked the next flight back- and came to serve as support for the girls as well as her husband who continuously blamed himself. It's like she had unlocked a new sacred bound with each and every one of them- although it was because of a traumatic experience, she’s somehow happy to feel included in their suffering of the moment.

Chenle loved his kids, and as Chungdae loved his kids as her own only made him love her more. And right now, as Chenle has all the loves of his life around him- it only tears him down more. If only this was a much pleasant occasion instead of a horrifying one.

Meanwhile, in the courtroom similar feelings and emotions are being done. However, it's only directed at Renjun and his mum.

Renjun is an incoherent speechless dreadful mess as he’s plunged in tears. He wants to shout and cry out loud but he can't even express his overwhelming pain as his own physical state hurts him with every move he makes causing him so much discomfort. All he does is sink his head into his mother's shoulders and shudders as the tears furiously plunge out of his one good eye.

His mother with immense loving arms tightens her embrace- shielding him from the emotions of right now. Her scent sips into his nostrils and despite the ache, he appreciates this comfort which in all his life has always sought out for. The sincere and dear love of his mother. Her heart shreds due to how she failed to protect her son from the boy she gave birth to. Her eyes have sprinkles of water, and her head throbbing with the new forming headache from holding in a load amount of tears. From the moment she took in this lost little Chinese boy as her own son, for the first time in her dark miserable life she could say that she had hope. To see her hope of a son bearing his soul out for a crime he did not commit, stains her soul of feeling like a failure again. She failed with her first son. But right now, she didn’t want it to be the case of her second son. And so she holds in her voice of agony, of pain and whispers with strength. "You're going to be alright okay? I'm not mad at you. You did what was right and I swear it’ll all pay back some day. It looks dark now, but I promise you Renji that…everything will work out.” Her eyes let out some tears before she sniffs. “I promise that I’ll be waiting for you when you come out. Don't be scared my boy, be brave in there. Don’t let them break you. You are my hope and I know this world doesn’t deserve you, but come back to me in one piece okay? I love you so much Renji, so so much you have no idea. Just stay strong for me okay?"

“Okay,” Renjun hiccups out trying to hold it in but the devastation is too much to bear.

Standing in line behind Mark, Donghyuck watches vulnerably.

It pains and even hurts to see his mum in tears and wrapping all her love upon Renjun. Even when the guards break them apart and Renjun gets back in line behind him, he prepares himself for the hug that he knows his mum always gives. He's expecting for his mum's love and attention, even though she might be angry at him, Donghyuck knows that she always gave the best hugs of comfort.

But when she looks at him…

Donghyuck is only able to make out the look of humiliation. Disappointment. And so much sadness as though she’s failed with him. In her eyes that were so full of adoration and affection for Renjun, he gets her capital look of sadness as she covers her mouth and closes her eyes filled with tears and turns away.

Donghyuck sucks in a sharp breath, his glossy eyes stinging from how much tears he's holding back. He gets pushed out of the court room by the police and he follows them to a waiting room. Upon waiting they get taken in for their final prints. Still with cuffs around his wrists, he’s aggressively assisted in getting his finger prints inked and pressed on paper. He does his signature, gets a court mug shot and then initially given a see through plastic bag of a blue standard prison uniform. Mark gets the same color.

Yet, upon seeing Renjun walk out of the prints room with a bag of orange prison clothes… he can't hold in his tears. Renjun sits on the other side of the hallway but still in front of Donghyuck, when he sees that his older brother’s shoulders are sagged so low and he hears sounds of anguish, sounds of agony, does his heart remind him of how much he’s put up with Donghyuck. All he wanted was to be his brother’s friend and getting to know his brother. Unfortunately, trying to get to know his brother would mean becoming him and that’s not something Renjun ever wants again. And so, also silently he weeps again out of his one good eye.

Meanwhile Jeno and Mark have such emotionless looks towards one another. Unlike the other bags, Jeno’s see through bag had a green prison uniform. Mark is so distorted to reality and unfazed with his brother that when Jeno gets ushered out by a new guard he finds himself speaking. “Good luck bro,”

Jeno, in his own unfazed and worn-out actuality mummers. “You too.”

In honesty, for Jeno everything was one big blur. The fact that it was night and he was in the car with his brother, to somehow him waking up in a hospital 3 weeks later with minor burn patches just chaotically threw him off everything he knew as reality. And then he hears that he’s being charged with breaking and entering into a wealthy mansion. It’s the most absurd nightmare he’s ever woken up from- everything was one big drunken blur of memories popping up here and there, but he has no recollection of actually living in those memories. To say he was beyond confused was an understatement. He was just numb yet puzzled that all this happened. All he remembers is being drunk and waking up in a hospital bed weeks later.

The one thing he can remember lividly, was when he entered into the girl that he has admired, when he entered her room and saw his brother forcing her to mouth fuck his crotch- that felt like something he would never ever be able to forget. That is a spare moment that he can’t get out his head. So walking into a prison statement with the least amount of knowledge of why he’s being sentenced, Jeno sucks it up and follows.

Donghyuck can’t stop stifling his cry at this point. Even if his voice is low, Renjun and Mark can hear it. Although it’s awkward for Mark, for Renjun it’s a painful and pitiful reality that shit hits hard. Donghyuck’s eyes are shut, as painful reminders of how he not only disappointed his mother and brother, but he also proved Yezi’s words to be true. The words of her telling him how worthless he is. Because truly, he feels like a worthless, filthy, cheap, vain, unlucky, useless, pathetic, miserable and pain for his whole family.

Donghyuck is in tears and can't even say anything when they take Renjun away to his respective bus leading to the county jail center. Renjun can't even say anything when seeing Donghyuck's head hung so low as his shoulders shake and light sounds of grief in emotions are heard from him. In fact, in this moment where he looks at his brother…there’s a slight mounting anger of how he should’ve never tried so hard to get his approval in anything. Donghyuck never ever cared about him. And as he leaves the court and gets into his bus, a slowly fueling hatred grows in him.

It’s only left Donghyuck and Mark in the corridor as they wait for the arrival of their bus that would probably be filled with returning criminals going back to the same prison. At this point, Donghyuck knew the cycle all too well.

He knew that there would be new second time offenders, old gang cliques who committed hard crimes, gang members who’re coming in to deliver a message to one of their old boys in prison, crime offenders who somehow always get away with petty charges instead of life sentences and lastly the guys who had nowhere else to go but prison…and so committing a petty crime to be charged at least 5 years would satisfy their life- these were the people that Donghyuck knew were going to be with him. Donghyuck knew of the type of people he’d see again, and how ecstatic they’d be to see him. Prison life was his home. The only home that welcomed him with open arms every time, with ‘friends’, people who protected him, the officers who alarmingly treated him ‘well’ and the all-time shelter and food that was provided to him each and every day.

If anything, he should’ve been happy to be going back to a place of ‘rest’, but there’s a weight on his chest that’s anchoring him down, there’s a heavy burden on his shoulders that’s sinking him. The fact that it’s not a thought but it’s now his reality. He always joked that one of these days he’d come back as a rapist, but now the dawning weight of his reality sets him in such a dark hole. He has added onto his record something that once hurt his mother. He has added onto his record a pain that’s deep and unfathomable, something that would define him as an ‘experienced criminal’. Donghyuck shudders and blurts out another cry as he sinks his head in between his hands. His own mother couldn’t even stand to look at him. Donghyuck feels so shut out right now. Enraged at himself for being such a fuck up. He can’t believe that he crossed over to a side he’d never thought himself of crossing.

When he feels the harsh hand of the guard, he knows that this time as he’s going to prison it won’t be the usual years of rest, but instead a commencement time of guilt and punishment. He deserved punishment for all that he’s put his family through. For all that he’s put everyone that he has hurt through.

He sucks up his tears but keeps his head down with his jaws locked. Unlike getting in the bus and always going to the back and greeting the old timers who joyously call unto his name- he takes the front seat close to the window. Mark, not obliged to follow, feels in him that his partner in crime isn’t himself and so he takes a seat next to him after acknowledging some of the returning inmates. Mark seated beside Donghyuck feels uncomfortable but can only endure it. Donghyuck has his head against the window his head pining on him. It doesn't sit right with Mark and all he can do is lay his hand upon the ladders shoulder. He had no words because he didn’t understand why he was moping.

Donghyuck can't take his eyes off his mum as she stands outside waving her hand towards Renjun's bus. She's crying, holding onto some tissue papers and looking defeated. Donghyuck's eyes sting when he sees her crouching down still in tears.

She used to look at him like that. She'd cry for him like that. But now she can't even stand to look at him.

As the bus begins moving out the court parking, Donghyuck’s eyes unconsciously catches onto the news crews and reports all withering and surrounding the court as they try to get to the ‘Zhong’ family. His eyes don’t mean to, but they go to the girls who are rushed into such a high class, superior and posh maroon looking car.

It all started with a car, an envious yet spiteful car that seemed in hands reach and just for him. A car that was a whole Pandora’s box. If only Donghyuck could go back in time, to the time that stupid spoilt car carrying those fucking high social brats passed his own rusty faded red car, if only he could go back and peal his eyes off that car and to his brother who only wanted to go home. He would’ve never lusted over the car if he knew what he knew. He would turn to his brother and agree to just take him home- far away from the lives of the rich people. Far away from the life of chaos. And far away from the life he was living.

•

After a decent and mouth sovereign dinner in a luxurious five-star restaurant, Chenle and his family quietly went back to their respective rental guarded home whereby their new life would begin.

Sitting around the living room, Chenle explains that the insurance company that insured their house will finish in about a month's time. But he wanted to know whether or not they felt safe moving back into that neighborhood or wanted a new place.

It's basically nonnegotiable for them all as they all want a change of scenery. Ever since the incident, the Zhong family were the communities most talked about family for (not only) the outrageous verdicts that the boys got, but also for how 4 lowlifes managed to break into such a secured residential area and well-guarded home. Few of the neighboring families moved out immediately, while others were already preparing to move out, most enhanced their security, so it only made sense that the people in the area didn't feel safe and were contemplating on leaving or staying.

"Another thing we need to address," Chungdae starts, laying her hand on Chenle’s knee, sensing his hesitancy. "Yezi,"

"Yes?" Yezi nervously squeezes Dae’s hand having an idea of what the conversation would be about.

Chungdae silently sighs looking at Chenle before focusing her attention on her step daughter, who had sadly and traumatically become pregnant but had said nothing ever since the confirmation at the hospital. "It's been a month and some days since you've been pregnant-"

"I know." She counts the days every day. "Can we not talk about-"

"And every time we bring it up you try to turn it down. Chungdae has got some pills you can take now to neutralize the thing moving in your stomach. Tomorrow is Wednesday and we’re taking you to the hospital to get it removed." This time Chenle speaks, his voice not too welcoming as if he has an idea of what his 16-year-old daughter is thinking. "If you're thinking about keeping it you can forget it."

Yezi's head strikes up at her dad with wide saddened eyes. She sits on the edge of her seat with prompt and firm lips. But the thing that speaks most to Chenle is the look of fortitude, of resilience of some sort of willpower. "Dad-"

"Absolutely not.” Chenle springs back in distaste of high disgust. “Not in my house. You are not-”

“Dad you didn’t even give me a chance to speak-”

“Speak about what?” Chenle’s got his eyes bulging out of his socket. “This is not a discussion we’re having. You’re going to remove-”

“No!” Yezi suddenly cries back and gulps back holding in her tears.

“You can't tell me you've been seriously thinking of keeping that damned thing-"

"Dad-"

“Yezi that’s enough!” Chenle never yells, but when he does it catches everyone off guard. “Have you gone stupid?”

“Honey-”

“No have you gone mad? Retarded maybe? Yezi this is not up for discussion. You will not have that thing grow in you!”

“Why? It’s my-”

“Have you fucking gone retarded-”

“Dad this is my child!” It takes Chungdae holding Chenle back by his arm when he shoots up from the couch, while Dae holds tightly onto Yezi’s hand when Yezi bursts out in franticness. The tears now streaming out. “I’m not going to remove it. It’s mine.”

“Yezi,” Chenle and Chungdae both call out in a morphed sadness filled with disappointment.

"Yezi," Dae calls in bafflement. Ever since the accident, they hadn’t left each other’s side. Their bound had never ever been like this before, whereby they hardly spoke to each other yet felt distant in their experiences- but at the same time they wanted to protect each other, they wanted to love each other more than ever. But not even Dae could understand the sudden twist and burst of emotions from her little sister. "You want to keep it?" Dae asks quietly.

With the question hanging in the air and all ears attentive to Yezi, while their brains are in astonishment of the seemingly new revelation, Yezi presses her hands to her stomach and nods her head slowly. There's a long pause in the air causing Yezi's heart to beat rapidly and she's afraid to look up. She already knows what her dad will say, what Chungdae will say, what Dae will say, but she doesn't care. “I want to keep it, I need to keep it.”

There’s such a strong tensed silence that moves around the room. Chenle’s chest is mounting with such boiling anger when looking at his daughter.

“Why?” Chungdae asks in confusion, distress and fear especially when feeling her husband’s hand bulging. “Yezi-”

“No.” Chenle's ‘no’ serves as a mind snapping effect for Yezi.

She looks up to her dad with tears in her eyes, her jaw trembling. “Dad.”

“No.” Chenle is firm when saying his final verdict. It doesn't matter that Yezi full of sadness attempts to speak- Chenle doesn’t want it. "No. You are not keeping it. No daughter of mine will-"

"But dad-"

"I said no Yezi." Chenle shakes his head again trying to calm himself down. "You're not keeping it. You're not keeping that bastard of a child. You are going to take the pills now and tomorrow-"

"Dad I'll never forgive myself for killing it-"

"Forgive yourself? You're not at fault here." Chungdae adds with confusion seeing that Yezi shakes her head and seems determined. "And it's not alive yet, you're not killing it. You're removing it."

"Mum please." Yezi sits on the edge of her seat looking desperate. “I can’t do it. I can’t go on with allowing this little thing in me to die. I don’t have the heart to go through with the abortion. I would never forgive myself-”

“For fuck- Yezi!” Chenle can’t believe what he’s hearing. From the corner of the room, the little Daegal is quivering and shivering by the uproar of Chenle’s voice. “No-”

“Dad you’re not carrying this so you don’t understand.” Yezi finds herself breaking free from Dae’s hand and standing up with her arms covering her womb. “You don’t understand how long it took me to get to this point. I’ve thought about it ever since I found out. I will keep the baby. Not because I am excited to have it, but because I don’t want to kill it. I cannot square it with my conscious. It's also a living being and has a right to life, and I shouldn't decide whether it gets to live or not. I don’t have that right and it’s heartless and inhumane even thinking about taking away-"

As Yezi hits nerve after nerve Chenle is so close – a pinch away from forcing his daughter to have no choice, the words that she’s saying only make his blood boil. Her words render Chungdae silent as her thoughts are suddenly on her past mistakes. Not only Chungdae, but Dae as well knows that whether it was intentional or not Yezi was hitting on and referring to the reason her parents split and that was because of Chungdae and her ‘babies’.

“Do you know what pain I’m feeling at just the thought of giving it up-”

Dae can feel the tension slowly rising in the room, and if Yezi didn’t choose her words correctly then most assuredly she would be in big trouble. “Yezi-”

But Yezi’s already so hot with her words and can’t back down as she speaks over Dae shaking her head. “What if I’ll never get a chance like this again? Huh? Living with you and Chungdae is proof that after so many abortions- I won't ever get a chance like this”

Chungdae feeling jabbed shakes her head. “That’s not- Sweety please let’s not-”

“You can't even give birth anymore because of all those abortions you’ve had while having an affair with my dad behind my mum’s back. You both took the right away and now you want me to make that same fucked up decision as-”

She’s not expecting the rough hand of her dad gripping onto her wrist and dragging her with such force and strength. “Honey please-” Chungdae has to suck up her pride and wipe her eyes when trying to follow Chenle.

“Where are those pills?”

“Honey please let’s just sit and talk-”

“No.”

"No?" Chungdae follows rapidly behind Chenle who busts opens into different drawers around their room while Yezi yells for her dad to let her go. “Honey please, she’s crying and-”

“Where are the pills?!”

Chungdae is taken aback at Chenle shouting when directing his attention to her.

“This is my daughter! There’s no way in hell will I ever allow her to even consider keeping that thing in her womb! It’s not hers and we’re not raising that thing!” Chenle’s jaw locks when his eyes take notice of the sullen look plastered over her features.

“That ‘thing’ was in my womb too, and I…” The look of guilt coats Chungdae’s face, dampening his mood when seeing how teary and weary eyed she gets. At this point it’s by instinct how he always tries to wipe the tears off her eyes before they fall off. Letting go of Yezi instantly just so he can attend to Chungdae only leaves Chungdae in a remorseful crying mess as she covers her face with shame. “If I hadn’t had all those abortions then maybe we would’ve been… I would’ve been able to give you the child you wanted-It’s all my fault, I’m sorry honey-”

“No, no.” Chenle’s voice simmers down into a low tenderly octave when hearing how broken and crushed his wife’s cry is. He walks carefully towards her, his hands holding onto her shoulders looking just as vulnerable. “It wasn’t your fault. Don’t do that baby, don’t,” Straightaway he wraps his arms around her securing her from the emotions that have resurfaced. “Baby… we made that decision t-together. It’s not your fault.. You didn’t…I don’t blame you at all my love. Please, don’t cry,”

“Yezi’s right-” Chungdae whimpers, not being able to stop the tears as well as remove her hands from her blotched crying face.

“She’s not right, don’t listen to her. She will not disrespect you like that and-”

Chungdae shakes her head, knowing exactly what Yezi meant. Chenle would never understand what it’s like to live with that conscious memory of having done an abortion, only for it to affect everything years later. He would never get it because he refused to come to terms with the fact that she took away the one thing he was really excited about, and that was to have kids with her.

The first few times when they found out she was pregnant was in their mutual decision to remove baby after baby in hopes of Chenle’s former wife not to find out, but after the cat got out the bag and Chenle came clean to his wife of his affair did Chungdae unintentionally decide to remove the baby thinking that this would’ve been the last time she’d see him ever again. Little did she know that it would’ve been the last time she’d ever be able to conceive again.

Her tears are all over the place, loud enough for Dae to even hear. Upon seeing Yezi frantically walk towards the door- Dae stops her. “That was a low blow Yezi. Did you really have to?”

“But it’s true.”

“Just because it’s true it doesn’t give you the right to just bring stuff like that up. You know Chungdae is sensitive to -”

“She’s sensitive because she fucked up-”

“You think you’re not being a fuck up right now?” Dae yanks Yezi by her arm when she opens up the main door. Forcing Yezi to look at her they both look at each other intensely. “Look, I probably don’t have much of a say in you and wanting to keep it but don’t drag mum down-”

“You keep forgetting she’s not my mum,” Yezi rips her arm away from Dae. “And plus. I already spoke to mum- our real mum. She said I can keep it.”

Dae has a puzzled almost annoyed face. “You’ve been talking to her? Yezi do you even know-”

“Just because she used dad, and you didn’t get along with her doesn’t mean she’s not my mum anymore. She’s still a mother to me, I love her more than I ever did you and dad, she’s still my mum and she gave me enough clarity to decide for myself.” Yezi doesn’t look hurt, but her eyes do look somber upon talking about her mother.

Dae can only try to breathe in as she finds the right words to say despite her anger slowly rising. “You’re forgetting that she’s the one who cheated first and asked for that divorce not dad. She’s the one who left us for her new free life. She didn’t take us with her because she didn’t want us- so what could she possibly tell you about child birth that would make you consider even keeping that thing? The mother that I know would’ve never even allowed you to keep a rapist’s child.”

“It’s not a rapist’s child, it’s my child. And do me a favor, stop pretending like I'm the fuck up. I know that Mark did something to you too.” And with that Yezi opens up the front door and bangs it. She has no real destination when leaving the house- all she knows is that she needed to clear her head. It’s past 10pm and she doesn’t even-

“Going somewhere?”

She stops, being startled for a second. Standing by a black vehicle, she spots the Officer Na Jaemin. “Officer Na,” Her gaze being fazed by his presence. “What’re you doing here?”

Jaemin simply stares at the girl. “Patrol work. Your father wanted tight security while being here in the rental house.”

“Tight security by yourself?”

Jaemin shifts his weight a little displaying the black tinted window of the car. He knocks twice on it, causing the window to roll down displaying a shy smiling Officer Jisung. “Yes?”

“Jisung and I are here, there’s two at the back, two on each side, and two at the gates. We’re tight if the time calls for it.” Jaemin points out. “Once again, are you going somewhere? If so we’ll escort you.”

Yezi shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.” Being pissed by the sudden securing of protection she walks back the path to the house but stops midway with a nonstop chaotic mind and walks back towards the Officers. Jisung’s window is rolled back up while Jaemin has his head down within his padded jacket. He blends in so well with the car being black and everything he has on being black- including his hair.

“Officer,”

He peeks up again, and Yezi can see that under his eyes there’s faint marks. He looks tired. “What.” He doesn’t seem the least bit interested in what she has to say, all that he wants to do is sleep.

Yezi however pants in and out looking like a fish caught in water. “I… I want to keep it. I want to keep the baby that’s growing in me.” Yezi’s eyes water. “But I don’t want anyone to hate me for it.”

Jaemin can stare as his ears adjust to the words coming out of her mouth. “You… Did you just say you want to keep it?” How old is she? It’s probably the reason she’s even outside, maybe she wanted a clear head to think better. And if so, Jaemin had to stop her because he was the wrong person for this type of conversation. “Should I call your dad?”

“No-” Yezi shakes her head before hanging it down with trembling lips.

“Look, I’m only 23. I’m a male. And I’m not a part of your family, so you can’t just tell me all these things,” There’s nothing that he could say that would be of any assistance to this girl who’s 16…7 years younger than him. However, when she doesn’t move and her shoulders shudder, he grows uncomfortable in his padded jacket and inwardly cusses. He was always the worst when it came to giving some sort of relief. He turns his head to the car just in time seeing Jisung look away.

After a long silence, it takes Yezi blurting out a little cry does Jaemin breathe out his nose and licks his lips looking at her. Yezi tries to contain herself by remaining silent and sniffs back her tears (which made Jaemin feel tight in place) while wiping the back of her sleeve over her eyes. She doesn’t look up, but her body turns around and she begins walking away. It only takes a few steps before Jaemin’s voice comes out. “I can listen.” He speaks out. “If you want to… talk,”

If she came outside, it’s because she most likely had an argument with her family. And the last place she probably wants to go is inside.

That makes her stop in her tracks, and ever so slowly she peers up into Jaemin’s eyes. He looks nervous and almost worried. Nervous to the point that he even stands straighter and gets his hands out his padded jacket. “I don’t think I’ll be of any use,” He shrugs his shoulders scratching the back of his head. “But, I can listen,”

Yezi turns her body around in a slow manner, her eyes are slightly teary but upon gazing into his sincere eyes does she fully turn her body around to face him.

“So,” Jaemin clears his throat uneasily. “You want… to keep it?”

“Yeah,” Her voice is low and shaky. “We were in the hospital with my mum and dad, and they did an ultrasound.” A gloomy look gets on her crestfallen face, but Jaemin’s eyes are on the watery glaze that coat her eyes making them crystal clear as if they’re twinkling. “On that screen I saw… this tiny little dot. This little pea in me is so small… when looking at it, I felt something come alive in me again. I remembered thinking that, I couldn’t protect myself, you know.” She sniffs and her hands gently cup her abdomen. “I fought and I really tried to stop him from touching me. I fought so hard and I tried. I tried but… there was nothing I could do. So looking at the screen, seeing that there was something moving in me, that this tiny ball was moving around as if it already had life… I knew that even if I couldn’t protect myself, I could protect that baby, because it’s my baby. It’s coming from inside of me, this little pea will somehow become something, will somehow bare it’s own life.”

Jaemin blinks slowly no expression on his face except an honest concern for the girl. “You want to keep the very thing that’s come from something so painful?”

“I don’t even like kids that much, but I don’t want to remove this baby in me. This doesn’t feel like the trauma of rape…but this is me protecting this baby,”

“Protecting it from what?” Jaemin whispers. “What’s your reason for keeping it?”

“It’s the fact that it’s a life-”

“It’s not a life,” Jaemin lowly inputs making Yezi shake her head.

“It’s in me Officer Na, I can feel that there’s something in me.” She breaths out. “Just because it’s a product from something so painful… doesn’t give me any right to take away something as precious as life from it, that’s not even born. I… Do I really need a reason in order for me to keep it? Why do I need a reason that will be good enough for anyone to listen? This…” Yezi’s eyes flattering with tears make Jaemin alert in getting his back off the car and stepping forward to the girl. “What would make me any different from a person sitting in a prison cell because they murdered another person? Murdered another human being?”

“That doesn’t count,”

“The only difference is that taking an unborn baby’s life away is somehow legal. That’s not fair.- other people can get rid of it if they want, but why is it wrong for me to want to keep it?”

“Hey,” Jaemin’s hesitant and alert when the tears won’t stop falling from her eyes. He carefully lays his hand on her shoulder and clears his throat. “Hey, don’t cry about it.”

“I just wanted some air, I just wanted a break. I don’t want my dad to take this little baby away from me,” Her tears don’t stop pouring out, resulting in Jaemin hesitantly stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the girl. He sighs quietly when she takes another step forward and wraps her arms around his torso crying out.

“It’s okay, just cry it out,” Jaemin finds himself soothing and consoling her. “Hopefully everything will be okay,” He mummers out.

But 3 months later…prior to what Jaemin said, everything was not okay. In fact, things kept falling apart.

The only thing that’s been uplifting or of any sort of good news, is the media outlets dying down and Yezi being able to continue her homeschooling with Doyoung without getting bombarded by some news crew. Another good thing that Yezi kept looking forward to is surprisingly her new ‘friendship’ with the Officer Na Jaemin. At this point, with her sister turning into somebody else, and Chungdae becoming more motherly towards her, the only person she would truly and freely chat to about everything falling apart and a way to clear her mind was Jaemin. For the most parts he only listened and barely looked like her cared, but Yezi knew better because he’d always be ready to listen to her, and Yezi found it caring that aside from getting Boba coffees for himself and Jisung, he’d also get for her as well (and sneak in some of her pregnancy cravings that Chungdae wouldn’t approve of).

But right now, it’s 5pm in the afternoon and already she can hear the back and forth arguments from her dad and Dae.

Lately, it’s become a habit of her dad and older sister fighting back and forth. Dae found refuge in going clubbing with her friends, getting wasted, getting drunk and coming back home dumb out of her mind, out of her senses... maybe it was her way of dealing with the terrible situation she faced. Dae, under the overwhelming pressure of everything; dropping out of college, being forced to work with her dad, to getting intense nightmares about being sexually assaulted that night by Mark, to getting pressured from her friends to let loose and party with them- to Dae ultimately deciding that her life is nothing but one big joke.

Slowly, right before their eyes, Dae was becoming an addict to a lifestyle that was highly frowned upon in their family. The once head strong girl of the family was crumbling and numbing her senses to intoxicating alcohol….and worst of all drugs.

And so the days go by, with Chungdae and Yezi growing their bond through their mutual love and interest for the coming baby. Going to the hospital together, seeing the ultrasound in high-frequency and hearing sound waves of the baby’s heartbeat create in Yezi a desire to keep pushing despite the pain she feels in her heart of her family falling apart. The house felt so lonely, and reminds Yezi of the first few days of how it was like when their mum left them. The house was void without a motherly touch until Chungdae came around. And up till now, Yezi without a doubt aspires to be the light that Chungdae is, smiling despite the pain and remaining strong for everyone.

Chungdae comforts Chenle whenever he lays in bed with her, she comforts Yezi in all times whenever Yezi calls, and she tries so desperately to be there for Dae- who has completely shut down. It’s hard to believe that Dae is her sister, she’s become unrecognizable in the family. It doesn’t help that slowly she started looking like a stranger, skinny form from all the intake of cocaine and alcohol, shaved eyebrows, dyed bleach blonde hair, cutting her hair so short, piercings and a slow growing tattoo kink all over her arms.

6 months later, still with their new house being built and them still living in the rental house Yezi thought their situation would’ve calmed down. However, it just got worse.

“And she keeps sleeping with random guys in the house. I feel bad that I can’t do anything to even help her out,” Yezi mutters while eating on a secret pack of chocolate balls that Jaemin bought. Jaemin, leaning against the car while watching Yezi (who is seated on the hood of his car) and dipping his fingers in the pack of chocolate balls while listening to her.

“Do you still speak to her?”

“It’s hard to,” Yezi responds. “She’s barely in the house, and when she’s in the house she’s occupied with some boy locked up in the room- but it’s only for a moment before mum or dad barge in and she storms out,”

“Damn,” Jaemin mutters. “Your parents must be the most stressed people in that house right now.” Jaemin acknowledges.

Despite not being on duty of being on night patrol, he’d always come for his weekly chats with Yezi. In some way, he ordained himself as her therapist. Maybe it’s because he wanted to simply be of help to the girl, but in some distorted way…he enjoyed having a ‘friend’ in Yezi. It was odd calling their late night talks as some sort of stress relieve, but Jaemin felt that there was no other way to describe his new found friendship with her. He didn’t have any friends aside from Jisung, but yet when it came to Yezi he found it easy to be around her and just not try to force anything. All he had to do was listen, and she’d do the rest. It became interesting when she’d do the same for him and allow herself to listen to all he had to say.

“Speaking of which, any progress with your dad?” Jaemin asks.

“It’s been months since I last spoke to him. It feels even awkward being in the same space as him. Even if there is an issue between us, I still believe that as a healthy parent he’ll discuss the problem openly with me. Silence is not a solution, but it somehow sums up my relationship with him now.” Yezi mutters and shrugs her shoulders. “He doesn’t even look at me,”

“I’m sorry about that,” Jaemin says sincerely.

“Mum says I should just give him time, that he’ll come around. But I doubt it. Whereby I would talk to him day and night, all we do now is say good morning and good night, at times we go a full day without even greeting each other.” Yezi sighs and puts her hand on her stomach, which was a healthy looking bump after 6 months. “I’m just afraid that the day I give birth to my child, my dad will- oh my god.” Yezi’s eyes grow in brightness her hand quickly pressing and feeling onto her stomach. “Officer Na-”

Jaemin is alarmed and panicked by the smile on her face. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Feel it,” Yezi’s mouth is left agape as the wondrous joy surrounds her. Jaemin doesn’t even need to put his hand on her belly to know that it’s kicking. The way her stomach flamboyantly moves creates a smile to grow on his face. “Feel it,” Yezi urges as her mouth grows wider in joy. “Oh my god, look,”

Jaemin is hesitant when lifting his hand since he sees that even the layer of the shirt is moving up and down from the bumps on her stomach. She’s not even focused on him, but Jaemin’s smile is radiant when seeing how happy she is. The only times he’s seen her happy was whenever they’d talk about the baby- and seeing how her face lights up makes him drawn to her smile.

“Look, look, look,” She presses her shirt down so that her bump is revealed more and so that Jaemin can see how flamboyantly the belly bulges are- the baby kicking or punching and being free with the belly of it’s soon to be mother.

“Wow,” Jaemin chuckles. “That’s a boy right?”

“I don’t know yet,” Yezi smiles and looks up to Jaemin. “Feel it,”

Jaemin lifts his hand up to her stomach and wonders where he should put it on, but then Yezi points to a spot and Jaemin gently lays his hand down. He doesn’t press or remove his hand when in a flash where his hand is that’s where he feels several bulges popping out- beating him. “My fucking soul- Doesn’t that hurt?” Jaemin is startled in shock but laughs nervously when Yezi starts laughing.

Chenle, from his room on the second floor carefully looks out the window when hearing his child laugh. He felt the most pain in him for neglecting his children. Lately, he’s fallen on his path of drinking more wine than he should. He couldn’t help it. He had two daughters who were out of his reach now, and there was nothing he could do to bring them back to him. And just like now, he can only stand and watch from afar how one laughs, while the other is nowhere to be seen but is for sure having a good time.

“Hey,” Chenle doesn’t shift his eyes off of Yezi’s smile. Even when Chungdae wraps her arms around his waist and lays her head on his shoulder. “You know it’s not too late to reconcile with her,”

Chenle sighs and closes his eyes and leans on the window frame as he lifts his arm around Chungdae’s shoulders. “I don’t think she’d want to reconcile with me,”

“What are you talking about honey, you know she’d love to talk to you,” Chungdae whispers while looking up to Chenle. “It’s all she ever talks about. About if you’ll ever forgive her,”

Despite Chenle respecting Yezi’s decision by not interfering in a forceful manner, he believed that silence between them is the only way.

“You know if she was somehow pregnant with someone she knows and wanted to keep the child at this age, I wouldn’t be as hard, but this… It’s an omen. A bastard’s child.” Chenle whispers only for Chungdae to lay her head on his shoulder.

“I know, but a child isn’t an omen,”

Chenle shakes its’ head. “Forget what the media is saying, that bastard child will grow up and will look just like the person who raped her. How do you think the child will feel knowing it’s a product of rape?”

“How do you think the child will feel in a house that’s unwelcoming?”

“It doesn’t belong here,” Chenle whispers. “It’s difficult to wrap my head around her wanting to give birth to that damned child.” He mutters and opens his eyes looking outside again. When he hears another loud laugh from her and the Officer Na rapidly removing his hands and flapping them, a meek smile grows on Chenle’s lips as he whispers. “When she was still in the womb, she’d kick like crazy. It terrified the shit out of me,”

“She needs you the most right now honey,” Chungdae whispers back before turning her gaze outside.

“And I need my daughter back too, but it’s clear she’s not coming back,” Chenle mummers. “That girl right there is going to be a mother to a bastard child, and I don’t think I want to be a part of that life.”

And so it is. The 9th month mark hitting on the calendar alerting Yezi to being ready for any day that her surprise child would come out. She’s saddened that both her dad and Dae are nowhere near her during those days. The new year passes and days progress with Yezi, barely being able to walk with her stomach on full display of the big pregnancy she has. While being small- despite the little weight she gained, she still looked so young and to think she’d bring in life to the world encouraged her to carry on.

February comes along with Yezi getting nervous that she’s not going into labor even when the month is close to ending. Already being worried and terrified, even when sitting on top of Jaemin’s car and expressing her worry- she’s not expectant at all when feeling wet and water dripping from her uterus. “Jaemin?” She nervously calls while having her eyes wide open.

“What? What’s wrong? Yezi, calm down,” Jaemin doesn’t know what’s going on when her face is drained of blood, but when she struggles to get off the car and holds unto the bottom of her stomach- looking shitless scared Jaemin takes a wild guess to know; “Don’t tell me it’s time now? Is it time?”

Yezi can’t speak or produce coherent words when she squeezes her legs together and bends trying to hold under her belly trying to maintain the weight that feels like it’s going to fall out. “Mum! Jaemin call mum! Mum! Oh mu god! Oh my god! Mum it’s coming out!” She implores when the pain kicks in her stomach.

With Chenle not being in the house and Chungdae not knowing how to drive, is panicked when hearing Yezi crying out for her life. Jaemin thankfully is alert and eager to assist when taking both Chungdae and Yezi in his car driving them. Yezi is on the verge- panting and moaning in pain in sweats and looks like any time soon she’ll faint. Chungdae is panicked and in heats of trying to calm down while also telling Yezi to breath and relax. Thankfully even despite the roads being hectic, Jaemin uses his siren and police advantage to cut the stop signs and traffic lights trying to get as fast as he can to any hospital nearby as the one they retained to was too far. It’s close, with Yezi almost collapsing in the backseat does Jaemin eventually get to a hospital carrying Yezi and lunging to the doors.

Triumphantly, the nurses don’t give them any problems and instantly assist when seeing the blood staining her pants and Yezi crying out for her dear life. Chungdae is inside the hospital room with Yezi, while Jaemin is outside reminiscing on such an experience. He’s never felt as heavy weighted as he did and hearing as well as seeing Yezi succumb to pain terrified him.

Jaemin is awakened by a jolly nurse who comes out with all smiles. “It’s a girl.”

Yezi, at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning of late February, almost having driven herself to the brink of death when assertively pushing out of her tiny body- weighing 5 pounds and 8 ounces (2,500 grams) a beautiful miniature and petite baby girl.

Yezi is in heaps of sweat, her legs shaking in pain and uterus throbbing yet a gleeful and prideful smile lights up her entire face even when she cries after holding onto the little baby girl in her arms. She can’t stop crying for the reasons of both joy and sadness. The little, healthy, bundle of radiance in the baby girl shines so bright and takes away her family not being present. Yezi can’t believe her eyes. A tiny little thing with eyes pressed close and body rigid yet having it’s arms out and gripping onto her hair only overwhelms her, and the joy spreading all over her makes her cry blissfully.

“My baby.” Yezi whispers upon kissing the top of the fragile little head of the baby girl. “Oh my god she’s so tiny.” Yezi cries holding tightly onto the baby- and even in return as the nurses gently try to take her away to clean her up- do her tiny little fingers grip onto Yezi’s hair crying when they try to pull her away. The scene is surreal and makes Yezi cry even more.

No amount of happiness that Yezi has ever felt in her life can ever top this moment of paradise and bliss.

“Everything went well,” Chungdae smiles with tears running down her face, while watching the nurses take care of the baby and the doctors closing Yezi’s uterus. “It’s a baby girl,”

Chenle despite not being present still feels in his heart pain for the departure of his daughter upon the new arrival of her daughter. “I’m happy they weren’t any complications,” But despite it all, he still smiles when Chungdae speaks so highly and positive of the baby.

While Chungdae chats with Chenle in a peaceful manner she laughs when watching the nurses change and hand the baby to Jaemin who’s panicked at how Yezi passes out with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, downtown (2 a.m.) in a local club that’s drowning its customers with music, Dae grinds her body friskily all over Hendery’s toned body blurring out the world around her. Ever since she walked in partly sober, all the way till she heavily inducted herself in the drinks and stashed drugs Hendery had- did she feel as though she was being watched.

Not paying mind to it, her and Hendery take it over to the co-ed bathroom having a rash and messy quickie with both of them barely conscious of their actions. Dae is sloppy when sucking off Hendery and Hendery is lacking when it comes to thrusting with power- but they’re both so high that they barely care and yet still cum to the thoughts of sexual pleasure and having a good time. They’re drunk and high out of their mind when returning back to the dance floor to have another go at wasting their lives away.

Jeno, being sober and cleaning on the counter after the spilt drinks of the dozens of intoxicated bodies, finds it hard to believe that the girl he’s looking at is the same girl he had a crush on. As time goes by, his eyes are only hooked to her in uneasiness as she’s not in her right senses and doing things that he’d never thought she’d do. From grinding with one too many men, to making out with anyone that puts their lips on her, to some point even groping and gripping on her like a ragdoll- Jeno can only watch in shock that this lady with short bleached out blonde hair, bright red bra and tight exotically short red leather skirt, dancing her life away is supposedly the same person that he saw in court 1 year ago.

There’s no way this was that same girl, there’s no way this unhealthy looking skimpy dancer is Dae. There’s just no way.

He was just in prison for 12 months, yet upon coming out and managing to get a job as a cleaner in a bar- he’s shocked out of his mind at how much a year can change a person. He only started working some weeks ago, but the moment his eyes landed on Dae and he began seeing her every single night at the club.

And for 2 weeks of Dae not being in the house, and Yezi being discharged and being the happiest she can be when being around her child, no one can take away her joy- not Dae’s messy life, not her father’s absence and lack of response to her- nothing can take the smile off her face. Even when her own baby cries.

“Areum you’ve got the most gorgeous smile, I have ever seen in my entire life, so tell me why, why are you crying so much? Is it because you don’t like your nappy being changed?” Yezi playfully plays with her child while changing the pampers and applying the medicine on her baby’s umbilical cord. Despite the baby girl, Areum crying, Yezi still coo’s cutely and playfully plays with her child while hurriedly changing her and giving her new pampers.

Chenle, who can’t stand the wails, goes into his room where Chungdae is ironing the baby’s clothes. “The baby’s crying.” He proclaims in irritation.

“Be a grandfather and help your daughter,” Chungdae sneakily answers with a mischievous smile. “Come on honey, there’s a first time for everything.”

Chenle despondently rolls his eyes and walks out the room going to the living room continuing to watch the news informatics while he works. He puts the volume louder blocking out the sounds of the whining crying child. In the room, Chungdae can only chuckle as she finishes ironing and walks back to Yezi’s room and coo’s. “Oh oh oh oh oh, why is my Areum crying? Why is my beauty beauty little girl crying huh? Does she want to be warm? Does she want to be warm?”

Truly speaking, this child, Areum brought a wide smile to her face. There’s a first time for everything, and helping Yezi look after her child felt like such a huge privilege for her. She never had this opportunity of caressing and even holding onto a baby- but yet Yezi gave her that integrity and honor of being there as a mother to her child. Chungdae more than anything loved the idea of having children, but when she found out that she was unable to, it crushed her. But now, being a premature grandmother gave her a glimpse into the life of what it’s like having a child. And she so badly wanted to have this experience with Chenle. Which is why when Yezi nervously questions, “Is he mad?”

Her answer is always. “Leave him, he’ll come around sooner or later. He can’t be too angry at our little Areum, hm,” Chungdae brushes her face on the little baby’s belly causing the dressed baby girl to squirm in delight and joy. “Look at that smile, look at that smile, my baby, my little Areum,”

Chenle shakes his head when for a spilt second the silence that consumes the living room from the pause break on tv, Chenle hears both the ladies dumbing down their intellect to speak in foreign baby voices and act cute.

Having the full support of her mother, Yezi is at peace when living her life around the house. Not only does she feel the weight and responsibility of being a mother, but she gracefully embodies and embraces a whole set of accountabilities. When waking up next to her baby, she’s always reminded of how she so badly wants to change her life and make sure that she’s a good, fit, role model and mother for her child. It pushes her to study to the best of her ability. She wasn’t born with a smart brain, but she has been applying herself and trying. And in the same way the nurses cared for her during her whole stay at the hospital, she also wanted to be a nurse who’d help people.

It seemed laughable at first, but when talking with Doyoung (her tutor) and he encouraged her to pursue her growing passion- her life seemed to be heading in a tremendously great path. Every day her face glowed brighter because of her Areum who would always look at her with the most caring of smiles. Her smile reminded her so much of Dae.

But Dae is different now. Everything about her moved differently, her brain started working inversely, even her words weren’t giving life but breaking down and slowing down her speech, her posture was altered, her eye contact was unalike and her lips were always dry, even when she’d lick them they’d always turn white and cracked rapidly. It’s like her sister was morphing into something else, and sadly it wasn’t even a transitional phase, it was a reality that Dae couldn’t escape and Yezi’s heart was in pain seeing her sister like this, every day, without even knowing what she could do.

“Why won’t you let me see her?” Dae asks. This wasn’t her loving sister anymore- this was a corpse living in her sister’s body. And there’s no way she’d allow for a skeleton with no soul to see her baby.

“She’s sleeping and I don’t want to wake her up,” Creating excuses and avoiding her sister has become such a huge burden for Yezi.

“Stop lying!” Dae yells and alarms Yezi. “You’re ashamed of me and don’t want me near your fucking child! Who cares anyway, she’s nothing but a pathetic resemblance of the fucker who raped you! You bitch. You dumb fuck always refusing me to see that fucker-” Yezi holds her ground when watching her sister break down all types of slurs. She turns around when hearing her baby crying in the room and ignores Dae shutting the door in her face just as Dae barks louder and emits all types of curses. “She’s also a huge fuck. She’s gonna rob houses, take advantage of people, she’s gonna hate- just like I hate you-”

“Dae? No, stop it.” Chenle holds onto Dae, but Dae thrusts her arms off her father and pushes him back.Dae shuts her room door still slurring out. Chenle shakes his head, and turns to Yezi’s door.

He carefully knocks on it and moments later, Yezi opens it up cautiously, but when seeing her dad she opens the door a little bit wider. “Are you okay?”

Yezi nods her head gulping down a little lump. Chenle nods his head looking in the room towards the bed where the child was, and after looking at her for a bit he nods his head again and walks off.

Not a minute later, Dae opens up her room door before running out the house in the shortest black mini skirt and nothing on but a leopard bra. That's her breaking point. The truth is, she began drinking in hopes to forget the horrible dreams she'd have of 'that night'. But as the dreams never went away, she turned to drugs and even sexual acts with other people, hoping that it would make her forget. But she never forgot. It was always in her head. Her family wouldn't understand. She wasn't even counting on it. The way they ignored Yezi, they'd ignore her too. So, she decides to live with friends instead. With no arms at savings reach, and no family to care for her, Dae dance alone while consuming the drugs every night. But that too also became numb to her. She just wanted to die now. She hated life.

Her prayer is answered when one night she gets to the club and begins dancing her life away before getting into a petty fight with Hendery (on who gets the bill), to storming out the club in a wobbly unsteady dizzy mess only to be hit by a speeding car with her whole lanky body flying up and knocked off her feet straight into the pavement ground with such crude force, rendering her knocked out and unconscious, almost like death.

They always say that the few seconds of death, you’ll get a 7 second flashback of your entire life flashing before your eyes. Dae is convinced its death because within the seconds of her death she sees a face… Mark made Dae feel numb to everything that night, even while she heard her sister crying and yelling when Donghyuck was raping her, Dae can only remember Mark cumming in her mouth and she felt so worthless and like a failure for her whole family-

Despite her mind in pure intoxication and dejection, Jeno from the club rushes out to the scene when seeing the car drive away after it swept Dae and knocked her off her feet and brutally against the floor. Jeno as he’s running to Dae on the floor, gets a flash memory of how he recalled seeing her the same way in her room. Despite being a rich girl, she seems to be caught in these situations of being lost and broken.

Instantly he cradles her up and looks left and right to see who can help, but there’s no one in sight or on the street or sidewalk- just the club full of ignorant dancing fools who ignore her and him outside. She’s breathing slowly, her face covered in blood pouring from her head, her eyes shut and body trembling rigidly. He pats her cheek lightly. “Come on, come on,” He begs before cursing when feeling her bleeding from her sides and he gets up on his feet with her weak body. He puts her on his back and makes sure her hands are around his neck while his arms are over her legs as he begins running as fast as he can.

Dae doesn’t even hear a thing when feeling the wind blow past her face- looking into Jeno’s side, her vision is blurry and all she can see is death. She hiccups but to Jeno that’s assurance that she’s alive and not dying.

“Stay with me Dae, just a little bit longer.”

Chenle can’t explain the discontent he’s been feeling with his new reality of life. In a normal life, he’s with his wife and two daughters who go to school, come home, talk about their future, ask him to buy things for them, eat all that they can eat, talk to him and ask for advice or even life lessons. In his dream he’s even gone as far to marrying them off to good men who have wealthy families and he knows that their generation will be able to sustain his wealth and inheritance. He even used to envision his grandchildren and how they’d be and how happy he’d be when dying of old age surrounded by his perfect family.

Yet in some distorted way, Chenle wakes up every day to his real reality being everything he loathes. Falling behind on work, being slow to building their new home because his mind is constantly wrapped around his daughters and all the chaotic decisions they’ve been making.

First it was Yezi and her bastard child, now it’s Dae and her spiraling life going into flames. Truly as a parent, he tried everything that he could to at least even get her to talk to him. Because that was always the first step into redemption; talking. But talking to Dae was impossible. His daughter had shut down in the worst way possible, and he didn’t know what to do.

The longest that Dae has stayed away from home was 4 days, but with a turn of events the longest that she’s stayed away from home is 2 weeks.

“Where could she be?” Chenle grows particularly concerned and troubled. He tries calling, texting but to his disappointment she doesn’t answer her phone or text back, it hardly gets to ‘seen’ and all calls go to voicemail. Chungdae tries calling, Yezi tries calling and emailing but still no answer. They call on her friends, especially Yang Yang, Winwin and Hendery who last claim that the last time they saw her she was in the club.

Before Chenle could take it a step further into filing and reporting her as a missing person, he felt bad as a parent and wondered where he went wrong. It came in an email, of Dae announcing her departure from his life. She made reference to how she didn’t want to carry on the family business, how she hated living her life like nothing happened especially after the aftermath of the accident. But what broke Chenle’s heart the most, was how she begged for him not to look for her or reach out to her, that she didn’t want him as a part of her life anymore, that she wanted to cut all ties with family and go her separate way.

The fact that this was a personalized email only sent to him and not her mother or sister, made Chenle believe that he was at fault for Dae coming to this decision. He didn’t even know where she was.

All he knows is that two months have passed and he hasn’t heard a word from her. If this is what she wanted to pursue then he didn’t want to hold her back.

That’s what he thought, but to Chungdae seeing her husband deteriorate and morph into a gloomy glum man made her miss the fluffy, peculiar, mischievous man she married. There was no light in her husband anymore. He just went to work, came home, ate in his study and fell asleep and repeated the same things everyday but like a droned out machine with no means of survival. Even when finally moving into their enlarged mansion and away from the rental home, he seemed the most distant.

The move in took about a week to settle in as the women were pampering around the house making it more suitable to their liking while at the same time modernizing it to their taste. Despite its beauty on the outside as well as inside, the house was very lonely for Chenle and he hated spending time with his family. And that was because of how they drifted apart. Chungdae and Yezi loved the baby, and Chenle didn’t.

That’s until 4 months later. He gets an off day and decides to spend it at home instead of the office. As predicted Yezi’s with her baby and Chungdae nearby Yezi. Chenle has the first layer living room all to himself and catches up on the latest informatics, however he gets up from his seat deciding to get his laptop and wor while watching the news. It’s on his way walking through the wide hallway does he get to the staircase and sees a little body bag on the floor dressed of a crocodile onesie.

It’s Yezi’s child. She’s on the top of the staircase, seemingly getting her way down by crawling on each step carefully. Chenle, like usual whenever seeing her, pays her no mind and climbs up the long flight of stairs and ignores her getting into his study room and getting his light weighing laptop as well as gadget bag before going back down the stairs. Expecting to see her still at the same spot his heart jumps out of his chest when seeing her on the last few steps but somehow tumbles and rolls down the remaining steps before smacking her head on the tiled ground.

“Shit-” He rushes down the steps and looks at the little girl who’s flat on the floor. He gets near her and gets stunned when she’s kissing the floor. Upon seeing him, she laughs joyously and crawls to sit up on the floor. He sighs in frustration. “Honey! Come get the baby.”

He walks past her and heads outside the backyard porch. He takes a seat on the veranda table with which had a serene view of his large backyard. Sometimes the thought of being rich made him feel better about his problems, as long as he had money he was okay to provide for himself any vacation he needed. With his iPad channeled to the news, while his laptop focused on the project and the tablet on notepad mode, upon seeing nature and the sky Chenle’s able to work effortlessly and soundly with no disruptions.

But he speaks too soon because Areum (being somewhat around 8 months) creeps her way outside on the wooden floor before scrambling out on the grass. Chenle has his eyes on the screen but yet after spotting her he exhales in annoyance. “Honey!” He yells out hoping that she can come and take this baby back inside. “Reckless.” He hadn’t set any barricades for the baby because the baby was always with Yezi, so he didn’t feel the need to secure any areas in the house.

And because of not securing the baby crawls on the grass outside of the shade and explores around. She’s a walking and falling mess- but with a joyous and jolly laugh, whenever she falls down she gets back up and carries on walking. In her onesie she’s playing on the floor by laying down, scampering around, attempting to stand up- she’s like a dog and it doesn’t help when Chenle notices Daegal too surrounding the baby and playing with her.

Her loud squeal in pain causes him to snap his head away from the screen and to her. She wails out after stomping with her hand on the sprinklers and the water splashes on her, and Daegal joins in barking at the sprinklers when it starts spluttering out water. Chenle tsks and ignores her crying, placing his air pods on focusing on his work. That wasn’t his problem… but at the same time he can’t help but be cautious of her moves. “Chungdae!” He yells out.

With no success in getting Chungdae to come and get the baby, Chenle continues with work and ignores the child almost entirely. It’s not until she finds her way back in his line of vision under the shade and sitting down on the wooden floor playing with things, assembly Daegal’s toys does he sigh out. He doesn’t care about her, he only cares that the baby was disturbing his peace and has somehow been set free to move around the house. Where’s Yezi? Where’s Chungdae?

Meanwhile Areum in her own world attempts to stand and walks a few steps only to tumble on the ground in her onesies, what catches his eyes is that every time she’d fall there would be a smile on her face, and unknowingly a smile would also be on his face for a spilt second. He tries as best as he can to overlook the little baby girl, but she makes it so hard, when slowly but surely she moves closer to him.

The next to time he looks away from the screen, she’s standing by leaning on the table bouncing to inaudible music. Upon getting his attention, Areum smiles and moves by hurriedly walking to the chair where he’s sitting and leans on his leg.

“No, no.” Chenle scolds. “Don’t touch me.” Chenle shoves her hands off his thighs.

Areum can only sit on the ground while looking up to the older man with wonder in her eyes. Her eyes that are just so precious and almost melt Chenle’s heart, but his quick in shifting away. In shifting away she only gets closer to him before yawning and rubbing on her eye in a messy state.

She gets back up and holds onto his thigh while minding her own business and playing with Daegal’s toy. Chenle tries not to shove her away, afraid he’ll hurt her but at the same time his eyes constantly move to her wondering if she’s okay.

She’s banging the toy on his thigh and making gurgling sounds while playing with herself, leaving Chenle to simply work and not mind her.

However, after some time, she grows quiet, and still while balancing on Chenle, she slides down his leg and leans her head on his leg. Chenle notices this and tentatively shakes his leg. “Hey,”

Areum looks up, her eyes blinking and wipes on them before making herself comfortable again on his leg. He leans back on his seat after a certain time and looks at her. Her posture looks bent and surely uncomfortable but it doesn’t stop her from sleeping. It’s when her neck starts wobbling and craning does he find his arms stretching down and his hands carrying and lifting her fazed sleepy state.

“You’re heavy,” He mummers before she hurriedly fixes herself comfortably in his hands by laying her body on his chest and her head against the croak of his neck. Chenle is stiff for a minute, and snaps out of it when feeling his dog by his foot. Looking down he sees Daegal wrapping herself in a ball and making herself comfortable. Chenle leans back on his seat and gently rests his hand on the baby’s back, the other arm holding her in place.

He soon finds himself dozing off after listening to the commentary with ear pods in his ear and his vision blurring while he succumbs to the sleep.

“Mum? I can’t find Areum anywhere,” Yezi looks panicked when waking up her mum. Chungdae blinks in haziness but after hearing Yezi’s concern she’s up on her feet.

“She was sleeping with me,”

“Well where is she?” Yezi in heaps of fright dashes out the room and continues to search all over the house, calling her name. She even gets upset that the house is so big. The only place she ever spent time with Areum was on the second floor where her room was- but after searching the entire second floor her heart is in frantic panic when looking all over. “Areum?”

In seeing Daegal stretching by the outside porch door and entering the house- Yezi scampers towards the door being breathless hoping to see her child. But her eyes are too stunned to move when she takes in the sight right before her. Right underneath the shade of the veranda, she sees her dad carrying her baby. The sight itself is wholesome with her dad’s eyes closed and embracing her child in such a manner of protecting her. Her heart fills up with an overwhelming longing. Seeing this sight only enlightens her.

Despite having non-verbal communications with her dad, Yezi had a slight assurance that her father still cared about her every time he paid for her private lessons with the tutor, every time he gave Chungdae money to give her, or even the little moments when he’d stoke up on her favorite foods whenever they’d run out. Despite not talking, Yezi knew that her dad still cared for her. And seeing this sight of him holding her child, gives her some sort of hope. Ever since Areum was born, Chenle never ever held her and refused to do so even in private when Chungdae would ask for help.

But now seeing how comfortable her baby is sleeping on her dad makes her smile. Deciding not to interrupt them, she moves back in the house and informs Chungdae that Areum is safe. After an hour or so, Chenle is awakened when Chungdae lightly tries to get Areum off his sleeping figure. He finds himself holding tighter onto the little girl, but eventually slowly let’s go, nodding his head when Chungdae states that her nappy is full. However, much to Areum’s distaste and drowsy state- refuses to let go of Chenle and holds tighter even whimpering out for the touch of the man who rarely holds her.

“What do you wanna do again?” Chenle asks, while removing his earphone and seemingly looks a little more awake then before. Especially when noticing that the child doesn’t want to let go of him.

“I want to change her diaper, it’s full and she’s gonna get rash,” Chungdae tries again to pull Areum off and Chenle gently tries to stretch her towards his wife, but Areum cries only resulting in Chenle holding onto her again.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay, let’s go,” Chungdae is surprised when seeing Chenle stands up with the child and they both embark inside the house going up the stairs. All this while Chenle holds onto an awake yet sleepy Areum and pats her back lightly. “Where’s Yezi?”

“Studying in her room, we can just go to our room,”

Chenle nods his head and upon getting to their room, he carefully lays Areum down while assuring the little wailing baby of his presence by playing with her hand while Chungdae begins removing her clothes and changing her. Her whimpers die down when Chenle holds onto her hand and playfully tells her it’s okay. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just a nappy change,”

Chungdae hurries on to changing and cleaning the baby, but at the same time she pays attention to how Areum watches Chenle in awe and silences down whilst smiling and being entertained by him. When she’s done and dresses Areum in another onesie, Areum being tired yet awake and seemingly just staring at Chenle warms Chungdae’s heart.

“What’s wrong with her?” Chenle gently asks while lying on the bed and looking into the young baby’s black eyes. “She’s tired but she doesn’t want to sleep,” Chenle whispers.

“She can’t stop looking at you, at her grandfather,” Chungdae whispers back.

Despite Chenle not liking that word especially used for this child… his heart can’t help when he sees just how much curiosity is in the little girls’ eyes. “Sleep,” he smiles lightly when her features get into a drowsy sleep but her eyes are quick to open to make sure that Chenle is still in front of her. “You won’t miss anything. I’ll still be here. Sleep okay,” Chenle adjusts his posture on the bed to be at the same level as her while he also makes himself comfortable. Soon enough, after much ogling Areum falls asleep.

In Chungdae’s head, the little girl just wanted to take in this special moment of her bonding with her grandfather and didn’t want to miss out on seeing his face close to hers.

And for a few more days, although its scarce to see Chenle with Areum, Areum feels a tad bit comfortable in always approaching him. Whether by running to him whenever her mum would chase her and tell her it’s time to bath, or even by following Chenle around once she’s spotted him. In all honesty, at first it was annoying for Chenle to be followed by the miniature creature bastard child. However, he got used to her petite figure and he’d always be cautious of her movements. Chenle purposely acknowledges her and on other days it seems like he’s almost waiting for his chance to pick her up. And always waits for the signaling. It can be Chungdae asking for help with the little girl, and Chenle simply carries her and holds her while Chungdae works. Other times it’s when he gets back from work and already sees the baby crawling on the floor but when seeing him she attempts to stand and scampers in his direction.

Yezi only having seen the sight once, is surprised when one day, a Saturday, her dad is at home instead of being at work. And it so happens that when Chungdae leaves the house to go to the market, Areum won’t stop crying while Yezi is studying.

“Areum, please stop crying.” Yezi slightly raises her voice being upset. She stands up and bobs on Areum while holding her notebook in the other hand and tries to study, but Areum carries on crying. “Areum!”

That only makes Areum wail out more even going as far as hitting her mum wanting to get down.

“Areum what do you want!? I just wanna study-”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Chenle opens up the door stepping into the room cautiously. “What’s wrong?” He asks while struggling to hear through Areum’s screeches.

“I just wanna study but Areum keeps crying, I gave her milk and food, gave her bath but she won’t stop crying, I don’t know what to do and mum isn’t here-” Yezi herself also looks like she’s on the verge of crying, both from stress of the exam as well as her crying baby. She’s so overwhelmed by her emotions that when her dad offers to watch over Areum, she agrees without a second thought and continues studying while her dad shuts the door and disappears with Areum. It’s only when she’s calmed down and easily studies does she realise that her dad actually spoke to her in a somewhat decent conversation and even offered to take Areum.

Her heart, for a second, seems like it stops beating because of the shock that just happened. Carefully, no longer being interested in studying and wants to see with her own eyes, she walks out her room and tries to spot her dad with her child. She moves all over the house and even outside, but when she doesn’t see her dad, she panics and before she can even call out to them both- she’s surprised when seeing Chungdae block her mouth looking ecstatically pleased and happy. Gently pulling Yezi to the kitchen, they’re both caught in a trans of watching Chenle and the baby.

Chenle is holding on Areum on one side of his hip while holding a piece of a pineapple on a fork. He nibbles only a little and then moves the fork towards Areum. Areum sucks on the fruit and backs away with a sour look on her face just as Chenle moves the fork back silently laughing at her reaction. However, when Areum pounces on and eagerly tries to grab the fork from Chenle’s other hand with extreme force.

And it seems that it’s through that one little moment that a serene feeling of joy passes through the house for everyone. It’s through Areum that somehow the sense of ‘family’ began making sense again. As days pass, it seems like all the family wants to do is build their life and remain connected and not look back anymore. They each continue to strive in building a better life for themselves, Chungdae as the joy of the house continues to encourage as well as bring the family together, Yezi as a persistent graduate embarks on a journey of making her dad proud as well as herself and her baby, Chenle rightfully taking the head in making sure that this time his family is safe and that nothing can hurt them. At the same time, Areum grows in the love and embrace of all her family.

And Areum’s first word much to all their surprise is “Gwanpa”. Chenle never knew the excitement he’d feel when hearing the form of words leave the little girl’s mouth, his little bean. And hearing the word from her mouth, makes him wish that his whole family be together and that he’s willing to reconcile with Dae. No matter what. Which is why, when he sends her an email years later, he’s heart is open to accept whatever the outcome is- but he mostly leans onto the best. He hopes that his daughter Dae, will come back to him.

Especially since she approves his email and accepts his invitation, asking if she can come with her boyfriend who’s helped her get back into shape. Chenle at first is surprised with joy to hear from his daughter, but his surprise turns to stun when he learns who she’s been dating and spending time with for the past years. But all in all, he figures that it’s time to let bygones be bygones, especially within their 5th year, a parole letter from the court comes in and asks whether or not they’ll accept Donghyuck’s appeal for parole.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Chungdae asks while sitting next to her husband on their bed late at night, as they stare at the email together.

Chenle inhales in deeply, re-reading his email before nodding his head. “We’ve moved passed the past and all I want to do is move on. I’m sure from his appeal he won’t be a bother to us. And I sure as hell don’t want to receive emails about them anymore. Granting his parole as well as accepting never to receive emails like this again, will allow our family to finally have the peace we’ve been seeking for. Nothing bad will happen,”

Once Chenle sends in the email, the receivers are prompt to already writing up Donghyuck’s release paper’s and setting up for him to leave within a 5-day notice.

S2:EP7-14

[5 days later: Thursday 9h30 a.m.]

Donghyuck is up and refreshed before anyone else in his cell. His eyes are trained on the barred windows to the light pouring out of the clouds. This is the day he would step foot outside of this damn prison in hopes never to return again.

“Can’t believe you’re leaving so soon,” Mark mumbles looking up to Donghyuck from his bed. Still being under the covers he watches his friend who’s got bruises on his nose, chin and cheek bone, but still his enthusiasm spreads all over his face. “You’re a free man but you’re already looking so beat,”

“Fuck off Mark.” Donghyuck runs his hands through his head taking a seat on his own bed. His head running free and wild with thoughts. But the one thing that’s pressing his head is that he never wants to come back to prison again. He misses his mum (who has not been sending in her letters to him), he misses Renjun who he heard from the ward guards that he was released 3 years ago. He misses his family, and he knows that they might not be too excited to see him when he gets back, but he wants to show them just how much he’s changed in his mindset. He wants to try and be the son his mum has always wanted, and he wants to be a big brother to Renjun, but most importantly, he wants to live his life the right way. “Even though I’m fucked up, I want to live honestly,” He whispers out.

Mark scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You’re all talk but, you’ll be back here before you know it. There’s going to be something that will just piss you off and make you go crazy,”

Donghyuck tries not to pay attention to Mark and only focuses on the positive, and he gets relieved when he hears his prison cell buzzer ring and looks up to the door that has a square space with bars. Seeing the officer Park Jisung call his name, Donghyuck eagerly stands up placing his hands behind his head as procedure. Officer Park Jisung gets in the cell accompanied by another guard (who stands like a guard dog and watches Mark and the other prisoners making sure that they don’t try and move). Jisung pulls Donghyuck’s hands down and into handcuffs. “Good morning Lee Donghyuck. My name is Officer Park, I’ll be in charge of settling your release papers and getting you out of here. Any questions you have will have to wait until we get to the holding center.”

Donghyuck feels relief wash over him that his appeal had been approved and that he can hear his freedom being doors away. He thought surely that he’d be rejected, but much to his surprise they granted him freedom.

“Why’d they say yes?” Donghyuck asks regardless of what Jisung said.

“Any questions you may have will have to wait until we get to the holding center.” Jisung repeats sternly.

This makes Mark snicker a little while watching his friend being taken away. Donghyuck looks back to Mark with a formidable smile. “Good luck Mark,”

“See you soon bro,” Mark winks his eye and breathes out when their door is banged shut causing the metallic locks to seal up the door again. “I’ve gotta get out of here,”

The metal gates containing the prison facility closes after Donghyuck steps out. He takes a look back to the buildings that enclosed him and kept him for 5 years. He rubs his wrists looking up to the hot sun taking in the air of his new freedom. Finally, he’s out.

He expects to see his mum as usual, yet when there’s no sign of humans around the area he hangs his jacket behind his back before looking left and right and beginning his walk.

By the time Donghyuck’s legs wear out and he’s tired both physically as well as mentally, he stops by a gas station hoping to make a phone call. He barely has enough coins to make a calling, but he manages with the little he has. He leans by the wall and taps on the memorized phone numbers calling on his mum.

Thankfully the phone clicks. “Hello?”

“Mum,” Donghyuck’s voice is raspy but it can’t contain his own happiness when hearing his mum’s voice. She doesn’t sound sick.

“Oh,” Her voice fades. “Donghyuck is that you?”

“Yes, uh, I got released today,”

“I was aware.”

There’s a moment of silence that passes between them, with Donghyuck waiting eagerly to hear her voice but yet she doesn’t reciprocate his enthusiasm. Sensing that she’s not going to speak he speaks before his minutes run out. “Uhm, I was wondering…if you could let me stay over at your place…” He scratches the back of his head, feeling small and crushed that his mother doesn’t sound pleased to even hear him. “Just until I can find a place to stay,”

Her silence lasts long only causing Donghyuck to worry.

“Please…please mum?” He begs. “I… I won’t stay long. Please, I promise to be on my best behavior, I-”

“You have less than 1 minute.” The operating voice cuts in between, causing Donghyuck to curse. When the line connects again, he waits a bit to hear from his mum, but she still doesn’t speak.

“Okay fine. Just for tonight.” Donghyuck lets out as a last resort. “I’ll be gone in the morning.”

Just when Donghyuck isn’t expecting his mum to accept, she does. “Fine. But we changed the address. Right now, I’m at work, Renjun will arrive in an hour or so, you’ll have to wait outside. We no longer live in 84 Guryong. We’re in Estate Pent Thirty-f-”

“Shit.” Donghyuck tries to look for pocket change to carry on the call, but it hangs and he curses. “Fuck.” A few seconds of rest leads to him looking at the street map outside the gas store to find the address the his mum mentioned. “Estate Pent…” His eyes widen slightly seeing that the new residence is in an area whereby he’s never lived in.

It’s also quite far from where he is. He takes a deep breath and begins walking…

“Need a lift?”

Donghyuck’s ears are alert when hearing a voice. He looks behind him to a guy smiling at a girl. The girl continues walking minding her own business and not focusing on the guy who tries desperately hard to get her attention including whistling. Donghyuck breathes out a chuckle. “Still a dick.”

Jungwoo much to his own dissatisfaction rolls his eyes when the girl ignores him. “Fine. Go away with your flat ass,”

“I gotta advice you bro, chasing chicks decades younger then you will lead you to prison,” Donghyuck speaks loud enough to get the attention of the male in the car. Jungwoo peers to the voice and instantly a smile coats his face.

“Ehy, the boy who went to prison,” Jungwoo stops his engine and gets out the car just as Donghyuck walks over to the man. They get into a bro hug doing a little handshakes before Jungwoo goes all in for a hugr causing Donghyuck to stand in shock before he pushes Jungwoo off him. Jungwoo laughs it off fixing his cow boy hat on his head looking jolly. “Man, how the hell are you out? Did you escape? ‘Cause I know for sure your sentence was much longer then this? Where’s your other half by the way? You hungry? I was heading to lunch, come on. There’s a new joint that opened up serving amazing lobster- you know what it can be my treat, order and eat as much as you like. It’s good seeing you, the streets have been crazy with this boy by the name of Shotaro being all over the place causing havoc on every territory. Thank goodness you’re back, you can teach him a lesson. Wait, did I actually tell you about Sungchan? He was sentenced life in prison just yesterday, but wait that brings me back to you, how are you out? How-”

One thing Donghyuck liked about his old friend Jungwoo was how he always did the talking and never really allowed anyone else to talk but himself. He’d not only ask questions, but he’d answer his own questions and most of the time Donghyuck thinks that Jungwoo doesn’t really care about anyone’s opinion because he’s always talking and likes hearing his voice. So Donghyuck simply sits in the front seat, resting out his legs and allowing his seat to recline backwards so that he can take time to breathe in from his heavy walking. Hopefully when done eating, he’ll set the street address of his mum’s new place.

After a heavy and amazing meal, Donghyuck is seated outside on a bench in the park under a tree facing in the direction of a clean and solid apartment building. Not only did it reside in a well off area, but the people themselves walking in and out of the apartment looked stable. At first he wanted to go in, but seeing how he was dressed in dark clothes from the night of the accident, he knew that the guards wouldn’t let him in. So now he sits outside, waiting for Renjun or even his mum to show up.

He waits for a really long time until his eyes squint a little by the appearance of a person which resembles Renjun. However, this person has got short black hair, looks angry and is dressed in all black clothes… well his jersey is a mixture of black and white stripes, but it sure as hell makes him look so different.

“Renjun!” Donghyuck yells out the name of his brother. There’s a fleeting happiness that gets upon Donghyuck’s heart when seeing the boy. Just two days ago, he reminisced on the feelings of how he felt for disappointing Renjun. So seeing him causes him happiness. He stretches his legs and begins moving towards the exit of the park going over to Renjun who stands frozen looking at Donghyuck as if it’s a horror movie. “Hey,” Donghyuck greets with a wholeheartedly.

However, Renjun is anything but cheerful. Up close, there’s a permanent resting scowl on his face, and with the short hair Donghyuck can see the faint lines of wrinkles which help to make Renjun look even more angry. “What are you doing here?”

Donghyuck is confused by the tone tilting his head with a confused face. “What’s up with the glum face?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Renjun remarks looking closed off. “What are you doing here?”

“Mum gave me the ad-”

“The hell she did.” Renjun says distastefully. “Why’re you out? Didn’t you have a full sentence of 15 years?”

Donghyuck tries not to get angry, by holding in his tongue and poking it on the corner of his lip. “You also don’t want me here?” It’s clear how from his reaction that he also didn’t want him around. And to be fair, Donghyuck can understand why, but the fact that Renjun doesn’t even look the least bit fazed makes Donghyuc upset. “Well I called mum and she said I could stay here for-”

“You’re not gonna stay here. Her health’s been good for the past years now, she doesn’t need stress in her life anymore. Neither do I, so go back where you belong behind bars and out of everyone’s hair.” Renjun gives Donghyuck a dirty look before walking past him.

Donghyuck is quick in stopping his brother by the arm before looking to him. “Look Renjun. I’m sorry-”

“Save it. And leave me alone.” Renjun yanks his arm away. “I don’t care if she gave you the address, you’re not getting in. Find another place, in fact consider yourself cut from our lives. We don’t want you here.”

Donghyuck is about to comment out he has no right to speak, but he holds his tongue shutting his eyes tightly when thinking of just how much he tried his best to change in prison. If he continues to allow his tongue to be the master of everything, he’ll end up in prison again. Which is why he lets Renjun go. He stands in place and sighs, before going back to the park and sitting down on the bench with his brain raging but seemingly trying to remain calm. He reminds himself, that he deserves Renjun’s anger. But mostly Donghyuck fears just how much prison has changed his brother. Not only appearance wise, but internally as well. The Renjun that Donghyuck remembers was timid and always on edge, was always looked down upon and was a whining coward. This Renjun is gritty, unwavering, strong minded and angry. Donghyuck can blame it on the prison experience and also with the fact that he may or may not be his brother’s favorite person right now- but damn he’s changed so much. Was this his behavior everywhere, or was it only because Donghyuck was there. Whatever it is, Donghyuck hopes that it’ll pass.

With all the time he spent in prison trying to change his ways and character, he can’t come home to everyone already given up on him. He wanted one more chance, to redeem himself as well as prove that he wasn’t an unlucky fuckup. He needed just one more chance.

And so when the afternoon rolls in and the sky changes colors from blue to a cream shade of orange, Donghyuck gets up when seeing the all too familiar posture of his mother. Donghyuck can already tell that so much has changed. He’s not only happy to see her walking strongly and with a smile on her face, but also she looks really good. She’s dressed in a beautiful floral dress and her back is actually not hunched over. She looks strong. And that makes Donghyuck’s emotions flatter. Seeing his mother after so long causes him to be slightly emotional. Because he knows that soon, her smile will fade when looking at him.

It doesn’t even take a second for her smile to disappear upon noticing him crossing the street over to where she is. Her smile instantly vanishes when Donghyuck’s gaze meets hers. He tries not to break down, but the tears are already building up. His mum hates him. He can’t even look at her, as his eyes blur and he hates on himself for ever using her to the point where he takes away her smile.

However, when Donghyuck’s head hangs and he stops walking, his mum sighs sadly upon seeing her son. She slowly makes her way to him. When standing in front of him, her hand lands on his shoulder. He doesn’t look up and neither does she try to get him to look up. Honestly when he called, she just wished that she changed her number because she didn’t want to speak to him. And seeing him now, she thinks of how much worry he’s put her through. In all the times that he went to prison, she would work her hardest to try and help her son. Everyone called her names, called him names, and it tore her image not only as mother but a woman. Her son was her greatest embarrassment, but he was all she had. And despite the humiliation she’d go through, she still tried, she would drain herself day and night to get some sort of money to bail him out, some money to feed him, cloth him, help him start afresh because this was her son whom she loved so much. At some point, she even became religious and prayed for her son to change. She believed that he would change someday.

But that day, 5 years ago at the court room, she realized just how far gone her son had gone. He seemed beyond saving, and there was nothing she could do. When Donghyuck led Renjun to prison, something in her snapped. She didn’t want to be mother who failed. She knew she did nothing wrong and always corrected him, but his behavior was not a character she raised. So upon Renjun, beaten, in cuffs, accused, mocked and even humiliated- she saw herself in him. That day, her heart broke in ways that her abusive husband had never broken her before. Enough was enough. She needed to break free from the chains of being broken. All she wanted was strength and chance to set her life straight, so when they both went to prison, she was left alone and had been granted a chance to change her life. And when Renjun finished serving his sentence, she made sure that she would be strong for the son she didn’t deserve. She tried to be the mother she had always envisioned herself to be. And thankfully, day by day with a grateful son in her corner she slowly regained the strength she had lost, she became into a better and healthier version of herself.

With a good son in her corner, who always took care of her, reminded her everyday why she was special, she knew that her life was finally making sense. Life was supposed to be this way. And she never wanted to let this moment go. But now standing in front of Donghyuck, her son, her past- she’s expecting to be warm and welcoming to him, but she can’t find it in herself to even smile for her son. But as a way of moving on, she rubs his back. “You’re staying for tonight. You leave in the morning.”

Donghyuck tightens his jaw and nods his head. His heart broken. But he can’t say anything as he feels the lump clogging his throat. He ends up walking, following behind her. The guard is alert when seeing Donghyuck, as hours before Renjun warned him not to let him in. “Good afternoon Mrs Lee,”

“Hi Chanyeol,” She smiles warmly. “Any letter for me?”

The man smiles and shakes his head, always being kind and friendly to the middle aged woman who had nothing but a big heart whenever seeing him. “No, your son took them up,” Chanyeol clears his throat motioning to Donghyuck. “He informed me that, I shouldn’t let the gentleman in.”

She looks back to Donghyuck who still had his hand holding on his leather jacket. Sighing, she turns back to Chanyeol and shakes her head. “I’m guessing he was upset right?”

“Very,” Chanyeol smiles politely. “Haven’t seen him that angry before.”

“Hopefully it’s short lived,” She motions behind her. “This is a guest, he’s only visiting for the night, so don’t worry,”

It’s more than a blow for Donghyuck when he hears his mum calling him a guest. Did he really lose her trust? He tries not to say anything and follows behind his mum who makes her way to the elevator of the polished looking apartment.

Donghyuck doesn’t look around and simply keeps his head down, his own thoughts weighing him down. There’s a feeling of loneliness that engulfs him in anger, but he refuses to display or manifest it. He’s so deep in his thoughts that he doesn’t even hear his mother who speaks. “Have you eaten?”

Hearing the silence, she’s reminded of how her son barely even spoke to her decently in the first place, and so she doesn’t even try to create small conversation with him when entering the elevator. They make it to the 7th floor and Donghyuck follows behind until his mother stops by a door.

Before even opening the door, Donghyuck’s nostrils sniff the scent of a delicious aroma. Hearing his mother laugh, he looks up when seeing the door open revealing a delighted looking Renjun. “Guess what I made? Come in quick before it gets cold, I just took it off the stove now,”

She unlocks the gates and walks in, allowing for Donghyuck to follow in the lively lit home. It feels like a home with all the warmth and love. Already he feels out of place, but there’s nothing he can do but follow in. His mum closes the gate behind still chatting on with Renjun who disappeared somewhere. Donghyuck turns his head to the walls, seeing portraits and pictures of just her and Renjun. There are some medals hung on the wall and trophies as well. “Wow,” He mutters underneath his breath.

The entrance of the house is a narrow hallway, leading to a living room and there’s a door on the side for the kitchen. Donghyuck follows his mum who enters the kitchen. He stands by the doorway watching his mother walking to the stove where Renjun is. The kitchen is large enough that it even has a table and four chairs around it.

Donghyuck wants to walk in- but the moment the lively chatter stops between his mother and Renjun- he looks up. And just as he guessed, Renjun has stern cold eyes fixed on him. “What the hell.” He mutters and peaks at his mum. “You let him in?”

“Just for tonight sweety, he said he’d be gone by the morning,” She gives him a pat on the back.

“But why’d you let him in?” Renjun’s shoulders slump and he crosses his arms. “I thought you said you’re done with him?”

“Renjun, please,” Donghyuck notes how she tries to calm Renjun down by holding onto the sides of his arm. “I know what I said, but it’s just for tonight-”

“I hate to break it to you mum, but that’s how it always starts. You let him stay the night, and the next thing we know he’s out and about causing trouble and continues hiding out here until we’ve got a whole bunch of unwanted debt collectors and police officers barking down on the door-”

“Renjun.” She calls earnestly. “Don’t talk like that, stop it. He’s your brother you-”

“He’s your son, not my brother. He never was.” Renjun drops his arms and turns back to the stove causing for Donghyuck to poke on the side of his mouth with his tongue, while he watches his mother look nonchalant. “I only made enough for you and me.” Renjun turns around and begins plating his meal as well as for his mum. Before he takes a seat grumpily eating on his food.

“You’ve gotten awfully comfortable-”

“And you’ve outstayed your welcome and family privileges.” He sharply remarks glaring at Donghyuck. “You’re making everyone uncomfortable, do us a favor and just-”

“Renjun.” A warning tone leaves their mum’s lips. “Eat your food.” She inhales sharply running her hand through her hair. “Are you hungry Donghyuck?”

He only ate the meal that Jungwoo gave him in the morning, and even if he kind of felt hungry, he didn’t want to. He shakes his head. “It’s okay you can enjoy your food. Uh, while moving did you take any of my stuff-”

“Yes-”

“I threw them out.” Renjun cuts his mum off. Her gaze that penetrates the back of his head is strong in shock. “They were an omen and reflection of bad luck.”

“Renjun-”

“You know what,” Donghyuck grates his teeth before biting on his lip. “Fuck this. I’m leaving.”

“Donghyuck-”

Donghyuck shakes his head pulling his leather jacket back on and moving the door. He opens it only to be stopped by the gate.

“Donghyuck don’t leave.” His mum carefully holds onto his arm looking disheartened. “You said you’d stay for the night-”

“I’m not wanted here anymore, clearly, so just fucking open the gates and I’ll be out of your life forever. You wanted me gone anyway, so I’ll do you a favor and leave.”

“Donghyu-”

“Mum please.” Donghyuck stresses out through his teeth closing his eyes feeling the tears. “You’re clearly fucking healthy and you look great. I don’t want to fuck things up again, so just please open the gates. I’ll go and I promise not to fucking disturb you again.”

For some reason, that only makes her heart hurt. “Just for tonight- I’ll make dinner, please-”

Donghyuck shakes his head and wipes his eyes before forcing his arms out of his mother’s hands and walks back to the kitchen. “Come fucking open the gates or else I’ll break it open.”

“No need to tell me twice.” Renjun grumbles leaving his chopsticks and digging into his pockets bringing out keys. Renjun moves to the gates ignoring his mum who gives him upset eyes. Once he unlocks the gates, Donghyuck pushes past him and leaves.

“Donghyuck.” She calls once, but it’s useless when he turns the corner and instead of using the elevator takes the stairs all the way down.

The security guard, Chanyeol notes that Donghyuck is leaving and he doesn’t say anything.

Donghyuck is angry. Enraged by the stupid tears that clog his vision as he keeps walking away. He wants to hit something- to punch someone- to scream- to shout- to find some way to let his anger out- any other way except through tears. He finds his way back on the park bench underneath the tree as he holds his head in between his hands and stays silent. He sniffs here and there but he doesn’t cry. He allows for himself to feel the emotions of frustration. It’s the fact that there’s a whole in his heart and that he can feel it bleeding- it’s the fact that he wants to let it out but he knows that he can’t let it out without harming someone. But he doesn’t want to harm anyone- he doesn’t want to prove to Renjun or even Mark that he’s the same. Which is why when the first few come out, he doesn’t hold back and allows his shoulders to shudder and his voice to croak as he let’s out his emotions, his tears, his cry.

The whole night, Donghyuck covers himself in self-pity while contemplating on what to do in his life, where and how to try and live an honest life. Unlike when he was in prison, seeing his mother again made him realize that she’s always been there through thick and thin, even though he let her down she was everything a mother could be- he just never cherished her enough and that she was the only one. In her soul she would sacrifice for him to have the best in life…and because he took her for granted, he needed to let her know that he wants to make it right…he wants to touch her soul again, to at least bring a smile on her face. So before the early morning, he’s up from the bench and walks around the area. He cleans up his face in the public toilet washing his face and looking himself in the mirror giving himself some encouragement.

“I look so pathetic.” He mutters before leaving the bathroom.

Donghyuck doesn’t fret when the nearby stores don’t have any positions open, he doesn’t fret when he gets approached by some the old friends he knew who used to steal and sell on the sides of the roads, he walks away from them and persists on his journey to find work. It would’ve been easier if he didn’t get many employers asking for paperwork, degrees or even cv- it was even worse when they recognized him as someone who had a prison record, much worse when they didn’t know and they asked and he had to be honest with them. It’s hard work looking for a job, but just thinking of his mother allows him to try.

Day in and day out, Donghyuck finds himself barely making it through. On the first night he slept in the park opposite his mother’s apartment, but after much nights of sleeping on a bench- welcoming arms came from another homeless man who told him about a shelter that took in ‘straymen’ like himself. A nonprofit organization that helped to feed the needy and gave water once a week. He somehow got attached to the group of stray kids… homeless stray men who stuck together and would share everything they had with each other. Donghyuck didn’t fret when within a week, he found himself sleeping under bridges, on street corners and even sleeping standing up against a building. It wasn’t much, but he got work as a car washer. It wasn’t much because it wasn’t even professional as they’d randomly go up to cars by a traffic light and offer to wash windows. Not only washing cars but he got multiple side jobs; handing out newspapers, collecting any forms of plastic to get recycled and even helping people carry bags that were heavy.

It’s the most humiliated Donghyuck had ever felt, but as long as he was making money- he endured it. He just needed to reach his goal, to at least go to an internet café and forge out documents with his qualification. He didn’t make it far in school because of lack of funds, but Donghyuck did do side programs and got some degree. Even though forging out documents was wrong, Donghyuck had enough of being humiliated.

Together, on most days, he found himself attending ‘church’ with the group of stray kids who would go to pray.

When he thought of religion, he only thought of his mother. There was no one else committed like her when it came to going every day, praying every day and even giving in money she didn’t have. Donghyuck only came because it felt as a way to be close to her.

So he wasn’t expecting when one Sunday after the service he’d see a bright eyed woman waiting for him. His heart felt heavy for a second when seeing his mum standing and smiling. The automatic tears that seemed to only come when he acknowledged her. He looks behind him, wondering whether Renjun was around, because ever since he came out of prison she never smiled at him- so it wouldn’t make sense that 2 months later she’s outside with a warm smile.

Donghyuck scratches his neck and looks away already disqualifying himself from her gaze. Yet he freezes when hearing his name being called. “Donghyuck,”

His head slowly turns back to the spot whereby he saw his mum. His shoulders hang when he notices that she’s approaching him. He can’t even look at her in the eye knowing that he can’t contain the tears just as much as he can’t contain the anger.

Her eyes take in his appearance. He’s dressed in the same clothes that she last saw him in. Although his pants looked faded and bit dirty, his leather jacket was worn out and had some leather falling out. His hair was messy and looked combed down only with his fingers. Even though she’s not able to see his face, she can see how much weight he lost. Prison must’ve fed him well because when she last saw him he looked in good physical shape, but now he looks starved with his jaws smaller and face small. Her son…

It took one tiring, long and so heartbreaking conversation with Renjun, for her to feel so much anguish and guilt for neglecting her son. Despite all that he has done, he was still her son, and if she could protect one and groom him well, then surely she could try again with another. Especially when acknowledging that something was different about him.

“How was the service?” She asks warmly, her smile radiating joy as it covers her sadness.

Donghyuck clears his throat and looks back. Despite it being a welcoming place, he could sense the stares of the people around him and even with a message and word so strong, Donghyuck has never felt so empty before in his own life. His eyes turn back to the ground and he shrugs his shoulders not uttering a word.

This break his mother’s heart. Her son… “Are you hungry?”

Donghyuck sniffs back, blocking out the tears that attempt to fall. He hated how glum and gloomy he’s been feeling and he especially hates how his mother is here. “Uh, I actually have to get going.” Donghyuck doesn’t look to her when he turns around and carries on walking without stopping, even when she calls out his name on repeat. He shuts his ears and even runs- it hurts so much. His heart hurts so much, but he doesn’t allow himself time to grieve as he carries on his walk getting to the back of the shelter where he spent most of his days when he had nothing to do.

He busks on the ground sniffing and wiping his eyes trying to compose himself.

“Donghyuck-”

His head snaps up to the panting woman who holds onto her side bending down trying to catch her breath. “Mum? Did you follow me?” Donghyuck asks, panicked as he moves towards her but doesn’t touch her. “Why did you follow me? You could’ve hurt yourself,” Donghyuck stresses.

“I was trying to talk to you, but you just ran away from me.” She breathes out still hunched and trying to catch her breath. “I wanted…to talk to you, let me catch my breath,”

Donghyuck meekly stands back and watches her. She’s got on a long dress that end by her ankles, it’s black and she has a white cardigan over her dress. Her grey hairs are neatly tucked in a low ponytail. It brings Donghyuck, some form of happiness, when seeing that her health was booming and despite being tired, that she had strength. His only form of happiness was seeing his mum being well. Without him in the picture and with Renjun being by her side she regained the health that he had taken away from her.

“I can’t come back to you mum,” Donghyuck finds himself saying. “I’ll only cause you stress, and you’ll lose weight again, and you’ll get sick again because of me, and i… I don’t want to be responsible for your unhappiness and misery. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be okay…and now that you’re well, I need to find my own way…you don’t need me holding you down,”

These are words to her ears. Hearing her son being so vulnerable causes her to recall of a time when she cradled him in her arms when he was just a child. She vowed that no matter what, she would protect him. Little did she know that his own way of doing things, were for her and not out of selfish reasons. She limps forward and holds her hand out. “Are you hungry?” She asks calmly looking up to him who still had eyes for the ground. “We can talk after you’ve had a meal. Are you going to deny my request to spend time with you?”

Donghyuck visibly hesitates and gulps before shaking his head.

When his mother takes him to a causal diner serving pastry, Donghyuck’s eyes light up when seeing all the meals but his eyes don’t linger long on the food as he focuses on the table. He was so hungry, he only ate once a week during a Thursday when the shelter people would come, but otherwise he lived on water from public fountains.

“What would you like, I’ll pay for it,”

Looking at the menu, Donghyuck looked for the cheapest bun which was a doughnut. “T-the simple doughnut,”

“Are you sure?” His mum asks looking at the menu seeing that it’s the cheapest and most plain. “Come on son, don’t be afraid. I’ve got more than enough,”

Donghyuck chokes up on the word ‘son’ but still shakes his head. “I’m not that hungry though. It’s alright you can eat,”

“The son I knew loved eating,”

“I just don’t want to waste your money. You can use it on something else,”

“I want to use it on you,” She tries to ensure, but the look on Donghyuck’s face showed that was adamant. Even though he didn’t say anything, she could see right through his façade. Something surely changed in her son.

The afternoon he left her house, she couldn’t shake off the guilt she felt for letting him leave. Even though she had a piece of mind without him, it’s the mere fact that he came to her and she turned him away. As his mother, her soul still ached for her son.

“We’ll have the lunch brunch,” She says when the waiter returns. Donghyuck’s ears perk but he says nothing. He waits for his mum to speak, but his nerves get the better of him and he’s legs begin to shake by the heavy silence.

“The pastor told me, that he had seen you a couple of times wandering the streets,” She speaks when noting his anxiety. “He asked me, why I had neglected you.” That makes her pause to take in her son’s fragile and vulnerable state. He looked neglected and deprived of a mother’s love. “His words hit me straight in the heart because he reminded me of all the prayers I made for you. Prayers for you to change, to become my son again, prayers for God to help you find your way. His words, reminded me why I shouldn’t give up on you.”

Those are words to Donghyuck’s ears, they even make him turn red.

“We can start over,” She proposes. “We can put the past behind us, and try again. Are you willing to try again? To rekindle our relationship?”

Donghyuck feels his neck growing hot, but he still manages to clear his throat uttering out a tiny ‘Yeah’ but he’s even afraid of confessing the words out loud just in case it’ll jinx his luck.

“I’m happy to hear that,” She smiles warmly again leaning over the table trying not to push his nervousness. “A position recently opened up in the place where I work. They’re looking for a janitor and security guard, two wedged type of work. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a private kindergarten school and they pay very well. If you’re interested, I can arrange the necessary documents for you, and put in a good word for you. I’m well-respected in the school, so I believe that despite your record, I can put in a good word and it’ll be enough to cover your past,”

- 2 Weeks later.

15:29.

Thirty more minutes until he could knock off. Upon walking back to the classroom, his eyes squint into the playground distance to the empty entrance gate- well not so empty. What catches his eye, is some sort of homeless looking guy in dirty black sweatpants and a faded out red coca cola t-shirt with holes, walking towards a child sitting on a bench. Donghyuck sighs and walks towards the entrance. His whole presence alone causes the homeless guy to deviate and part away crossing the street. The vulnerable child isn't even aware that she's been spared from danger as she continues humping on the bench. Getting a bit sexual and seemingly trying to reach her pleasure.

Donghyuck scratches his neck wondering if he should be stopping the child or tell his mum once again. Even though they still weren't on good terms, he promised to be on his best behavior if it meant his mum helping him out. Getting out of prison with a warrant wasn't easy at all, but not as much as it was to get a job of any kind with so many prison charges. Thankfully, Donghyuck's mother came to his rescue. She worked as a day care teacher assistant and their school was in need of a cleaner. It wasn't a luxurious position, but Donghyuck took it just to prove to his mother that he was serious in mending their relationship.

Getting closer to the bench, Donghyuck notices the child seating down yet rocking her hips back and forth on the bench- almost grinding herself on it. The sight is perverse. However, for Donghyuck, he'd gotten used to only one of the day care students who was consistent in grinding on anything and everything when she was bored. Areum.

"Hey Kid." Donghyuck greets in a mumbling tone making the girl chuckle. “What?” He asks when looking down at her.

“I have a joke,”

“Go for it,” Donghyuck sighs, already knowing she’d bring another terrible pun joke. She loved doing that for some reason.

Areum giggles and looks up to Donghyuck. “A book fell on my head when I was in the library. I guess I only had myshelf to blame.” She begins giggling. “Did you hear the joke about the little mountain? It was hill-arious!”

“I’ve got one,” Donghyuck finds himself saying. “What do dogs do when they need a break while watching a movie?”

“What?”

“They put it on paws.” Donghyuck shakes his head smirking when the little girl begins dying of laughter. A little back and forth of her terrible puns fills the silent, but after some time she becomes silent. With his hands in his pocket and peering down at the girl who slowly continues to grind herself again, Donghyuck sighs. "Where's your parent?"

The child blinks causing Donghyuck to internally roll his eyes groaning lowly. This job really tested his patience especially when talking with kids.

"Where's the person who's going to fetch you? You mum or dad or guardian?"

"Oh! Mummy's at work." She says nodding her head. "Uncle Jung is going to fetch me."

Donghyuck nods his head allowing the silence to take over. However, his attention draws to the girl once again when she rocks her hips back and forth again. It's not the first time she's done this, however, every time that she does it, Donghyuck feels slightly uncomfortable. He's caught her on this bench all by herself on multiple occasions grinding for pleasure, not only the bench, but sometimes in class as well, on her chair. Donghyuck just wonders what exactly is going on in her head, while she literally dry humps the bench.

"It's a secret!" She leers. Despite her words, she seems excited to share the so called secret. And Donghyuck takes advantage of that, throwing his best cunning and charming personality.

"Can I know the secret?" Donghyuck asks with a pretense stunned face, being cunningly friendly. "I thought we're friends?"

"Okay." Areum looks around skeptically. "It's a secret." And laughs. "Uncle Jung said I should tell no one, even if its nice."

Donghyuck's brows furrow. "What's nice?"

Areum laughs covering her mouth frantically. In Donghyuck's head she looks the happiest while trying to be cryptic. She stands up and jumps up happily before her fingers begin to move. Donghyuck's eyes widen when she lifts up her white skirt revealing her yellow panty. He hesitates for a second until he realizes that her hand fumbles and makes its way inside her panty. He's quick to taking her hands out while having a morbidly shocked face.

She giggles, being way too excited. "Let me show you."

The secret? The secret has something to do with an uncle and a child? This only makes Donghyuck widely panic. "Fuck,"

"Don't tell anyone. Not even Mrs Chittaphon. Or mummy. Only Uncle Jung and I play this game," She nods her head and smile. "It's a nice game. I get to sit on him and ride the horsey!"

Donghyuck's eyes burst out of their sockets. Just as his lips become dry. He clears his throat asking. "Does he remove your clothes?"

Donghyuck shakes his head with a tight smile, feeling bad for the little girl who seems brainwashed. "It's fine, I don't want to play the game today,"

"Uncle Jung likes to play it after work," Areum smiles. And that literally breaks Donghyuck's heart. Such a small, sweet and innocent little girl being manipulated by a ravaging uncle wolf.

"What does he do in the game?" Donghyuck asks after gaining her trust by sealing his lips shut with an invisible key.

"He tickles me here." Areum points to a part in her skirt and that makes Donghyuck mad. The urge to telling his mum growing. "And does like this," using her middle finger, she surprisingly rubs it on her yellow panty causing Donghyuck to quickly hold her hand.

"Your fucking uncle is raping you." He can't hold himself back when he glares into her eyes while shaking his head.

"My playing uncle is raping?" She asks with a puzzled face. "What's raping?"

She instantly nods his head. "I won't tell him. He'll be angry with me. Don't worry Mr Sunshine, it'll be our little secret."

"Uncle Jung!" Areum cheers hugging him by his legs. Upon hearing the name, Donghyuck's eyes do a double take towards the man. The man squats all the way down with an antagonizing friendly smile, and puckers his lips allowing for Areum to kiss his lips before she giggles like the naive little girl she is. She begins jumping up and down in place while the man stands. "Did you buy the toys?"

"My little puppy, I bought you so many toys for you to enjoy. They're gonna make you feel real good ," Hearing the voice of the older male, his underlying tone of condescension and how much authority he has over the little girl, Donghyuck can't help it when his fists tighten into a ball. His jaw clinches when the male with a charismatic smile grins his way. "She wasn't a bother was she?"

Donghyuck's jaw locks and he looks away, only making Jaehyun continue as if he didn't get ignored.

"Either way, thanks for keeping her company. "

"Poor girl." Donghyuck sighs walking back in the school to lock it up.

•

"Jaehyun, thank you so much for looking after her," Yezi smiles giving her boyfriend, Jaehyun, a peck on his lips looking up into his eyes while picking up Areum from the floor and positioning her on her hip. "I hope she wasn't a bother,"

"She's never a bother to me," Jaehyun smiles placing his finger over his lip causing Areum to giggle hiding her face in her mother's neck.

"Did you have fun baby?" Yezi asks with a dashing smile making Areum cheerfully nod her head.

"Yes mummy! Uncle Jung and I played together!"

"Yes we did. She's so obedient," Jaehyun has a proud smile looking at the little girl in her mummy's arms, before he looks back to her mummy. "Are you sure you don't want her to spend the night with me while you're on your family dinner? I don't mind, it's Friday."

"I really wish I could leave her with you, but my sister's coming for the first time in such a long. She'd really love to see Areum,"

"That's alright, my darling," Jaehyun pets on Areum's head puckering his lips waiting for her to place her lips on him and she does.

At first for Yezi it used to be weird that Areum allowed for Jaehyun to do that when she was very conservative with people, but after some time and after getting used to it, she found it adorable how Areum opened up to Jaehyun in so many ways. "Have fun alright my little puppy,"

"Okay Uncle Jung," Areum grins and waves her hand. “Bye-bye uncle Jung,"

"Bye puppy,"

"Mummy is your sister really coming?" Areum asks with hopeful eyes, causing Yezi to frantically nod her head. "I can't wait to see her! I have a joke for her?”

“Let me hear it,” Yezi laughs slightly while walking.

“What do dogs do when they need a break while watching a movie? They put it on paws.” Areum begins laughing hard when her mum laughs as well.

“That’s a good one,”

“Mummy are you happy?" Areum asks.

Yezi laughs and places Areum down so they can hold hands and walk in the house. “I’m so so happy,”

•

18:50

"How do I look?" Jeno asks for the upteenth time, nervously adjusting his long sleeved shirt into his fine ironed black suit pants. He clears his throat testing out his voice with the syllable 'ah'. Dae, standing in front of him with her hands on his shoulders, peers into his wandering eyes waiting for him to relax. "How do I look? Do I look good?"

"You keep asking me the same question?" She lightly smiles, finding his whole nervous state funny.

"That's because you haven't answered me," Jeno inhales and exhales.

"Well, the first time I said you look good, the second time I said you look charming, and the third time I said you look handsome, the fourth time I said you look spot on, and for the tenth time, I said you look, just fine babe." Dae ends up holding onto his fidgeting hands, giving her best smile radiating joy as she leans in close and embraces her lips upon his. Jeno freezes, yet he meekly indulges into the kiss. After a minute, she parts from him. "Baby, relax. It’ll all be alright."

He takes in a deep breath holding onto Dae's waist as he closes his eyes. Taking in another breath, he tries to calm down his nerves. Feeling Dae's hands against his chest, he feels reassured that nothing will happen today, because she is with him. “You look beautiful as always, but tonight you look really happy. I’m happy that you’re sharing this happiness with me,”

After several years- specifically 3 years of them dating, and of them living together and encouraging each other- Dae's father had finally had a change of heart in wanting to see and reunite with his daughter again, and meet the man she chose to love.

Although it happened about 5 years ago, the sight was deeply plunged into Dae's father, Zhong Chenle's mind. It's something that made him feel guilty and responsible for his children’s sufferings. The works of his hands, enclosed and trapped his daughters inside of a hell hole. But as years progressed, and Yezi's child, Areum, grew, he found his stone cold hateful heart slowly melt. The little baby girl looked so much like Dae. Despite being a child of a rapist, she inherited features of the family. Chenle couldn't help but warm up to the little girl whenever she called him 'gwanpa'. With his heart melting by the innocence of the child, he slowly got the strength to look his daughter Yezi in the eye and talk to her. The first few days were tough, as she had been longing and praying for her dad to finally notice her, but eventually she took the same pace as him and slowly they rekindled their relationship of father and last born. And this evening, Chenle was ready to open up his heart again, for his eldest daughter Dae and her new...boyfriend.

The first born, the first daughter of his family, the daughter which always shared her worries and joy with utmost elevation to her father, his first love ever since his ex-wife walked out on him. He wanted to reconnect with her, and never let her go again- even though she chose the path that she was on, he wanted to stand by her and at least try to be in her life again.

So as the sun sets and Chungdae walks around the dining room table adjusting the utensils and making sure the table was set and ready to eat, Chenle buttons up his traditional outfit and fixes his hair in the mirror.

Areum bounces around the room playing with the little dog Daegul, and from time to time looks up to her grandfather. "Gwanpa?"

"Yes my little bean," Chenle responds carefully pressing his hands down his clothes.

"You look nice." Her smile enlightens on her face when he turns around with a smile and picks her up.

"What did I tell you about that word ‘nice’?”

Areum giggles and stands straight. “Nice is dead. Gwanpa you look smart, and rich!” She cheers causing Chenle to smirk with pride.

“Thank you, my little bean." He tickles her stomach. "You don’t look too bad yourself, you look like a royal queen going to a ball,"

"Thank you gwanpa! Gwanpa I have a joke I want to tell mummy’s sister." She circles her hands around her grandfather’s neck as he carries her outside his room and down the stairs.

“She can’t take jokes easily,” Chenle suppresses a laugh when remembering how bad his daughter’s jokes used to be.

After the whole incident that went down and his house burning up, he made arrangements and building construction started again before he instantly moved from the secluded area and settled into a stronghold of fortification that was suitable for his status- in other words, he moved far away into a house of more wealth and power. Just like his previous home, it was situated on a barricaded hill, however instead of it being guarded within a residential gate, he hired his own secretary to look over the massive barricaded land that enclosed his mansion.

So as Jeno and Dae are driving along the road following the GPS signal of the new address of the Zhong Chenle residence, Dae instantly feels little, very tiny when coming to see her father. All that her father was able to achieve in his life time, all his inheritance, fortune, wealthy, position, status, level, money, all of it belonged to only him. A great man, with great power and authority.

"You have reached your destination." The GPS lady says.

Both Jeno and Dae's eyes are enlarged, dazzled and awestruck by the large high-end white concrete border building. "T-this is the house?" Jeno meekly asks. "Fuck me. We literally drove parallel to this wall and you're telling me, that this is the place?"

"There's the gate there," Dae notices the gate a distance away.

Jeno starts his little polished wagon and drives forward to the black high gates. He washed his car and polished it so many times, and even took it to the car wash and had it washed more than 5 times, all so that he could impress Dae's father and have him see himself as a suitable partner of his daughter. But now driving with his red wagon towards the gate, he feels worthless and poor all over again. Who did he think he had become? Just because he loved a rich girl and a rich girl loved him back- didn't make him rich all of a sudden. He was still a poor boy from nowhere.

Dae, seeing the distraught and down casted look shadow on Jeno's face, sets her hand on his thigh that nervously bounced up and down. He takes in a deep breath and presses his lips together when reaching the gate. The gate is completely black and doesn't give any view of what's inside.

Looking at the white wall that has a little black tinted window view, Jeno rolls down his window and awaits for the tinted window to open up. He sticks out his hand and presses on the little poll that had a little intercom.

"Hello?"

No response. Upon waiting for a response Jeno turns to Dae after a while. "Should I knock on the window?"

"No, wait, let me try and send my sister a message and see what we should do," Dae says, bringing out her phone and texts Yezi for the first time in 5 years, stating that she's outside. Yezi responds in a heartbeat making Dae feel much more relieved about there being no hard feelings between her and her family. No longer feeling awkward for being outside for more than 5 minutes. "Yezi says we should tell him our names and that we were invited by Mr Zhong."

"Alright," Jeno nods his head and takes a deep breath. "I suddenly don't feel like wanting to see your family,"

"Me too," Dae replies honestly chuckling lightly.

Living with Jeno, in his world, has really casted some kind of spell on her. From recovering from her overdose and intake of drugs, to being thankful for the hospitality she received from Jeno… the beauty of enjoying life at the expense of very little, is something she grew into. For so long, being away from a prestigious lifestyle, she got to appreciate and adore the simplicity of everything (even though she really had to adjust to many things, she enjoyed the simpler life). "I feel so small,"

Jeno opens up his palm looking into Dae's eyes with assurance. Dae places her tiny hand in his and he lightly squeezes it. They sit silently simply looking at the daunting gates of riches in which resides Dae's family.

"You know," Jeno gently speaks. "On that night, the night Mark, Haechan, Renjun and I invaded your house, we were actually sitting outside, in the car. We came when the sun was slightly still in the sky. We sat outside and watched your house as the sunset over it..."

Dae listens. To think that of all people to save her, Jeno would be the one who helped her escape a deadly fate only made her appreciate the good that was hidden in the rough. As much as she'd like to forget that horrible incident, she knew just how much more guilt Jeno felt every time he brought it up. It still kept him up, and as much as you wanted to heal from the night, Jeno as well wanted to heal from everything he had done that night. And it’s in moments like these when he speaks, you listen and allow him his moment to reflect, just as he allowed you to freely use him as much as you wanted so that you could heal. As he speaks, even though Dae has told him countless of times that she forgives him, Dae knows that every ounce of him wants to move on and feel forgiven. So she quietly sits, and listens. If he was going to forgive himself, she needed to always listen.

"The house, your house...was everything my brother and I always wanted. It was a palace, a fortress, four stories high, huge balconies, large veranda and just so homely. It was modern and even the air itself was something I'd never breathed in before. It was a home we've never had before." Jeno acknowledges. "I just wanted to see how it looked inside. I really wanted to know how the inside of a rich house looked like." Dae turns her head to him, when feeling his eyes on her. She moves between his left and right eye and he smiles. "You left a house that had more than 5 massive rooms, 2 spaciously large bathrooms and enormous backyards to literally cramp up with me in a one-bedroom apartment?"

"Spaciously is not a word and yes," Dae smiles lightly. "I left it all because it was all just material,"

Dae softly says smiling when Jeno leans closer and plants a kiss on her forehead. "Do you want something like this? Do you want materials again? Because I am promise you that I'll-"

"I only want you Jeno," She smiles when whispering softly. "I need you more than anything to survive in this world that was cruel to me. You're my home, and I really mean that. No materials on his earth can replace a soul that saved another soul,"

This time their breathing is in sync when they both embrace in a warm kiss, breathing in and out together allowing this moment to settle in. With their hands still clasped together as Jeno looks out his window to tell the guard who they are he’s stunned when the black metallic gates crank open in a slow manner and Jeno's head snaps to Dae who has her eyes on the road ahead. The gate is wide open with another path to follow, but Dae and Jeno are still in shock.

Jeno turns his head when a voice comes from the intercom. "Please move your vehicle inside the premises, Miss Yezi is waiting by the house."

“Miss Yezi?” Dae has a playful smile on her face. “Wow. I bet you she’s been treated like a princess,”

Jeno snickers while slowly driving his car past the gate and into the premises. The first thing that the couple takes note of, are the lights that are shining down on the pathway. Jeno and Dae's eyes are widely opened and are all over the large sets of trees that enclose the drive way- the long drive way with various gardened plants and flowers. It's absolutely breath taking watching the garden bloom with so much colors of wealth prosperity. In between the curvy path on the driveway, Dae's eyes look out by Jeno's side of his window to the slight view of the mansion that they were soon gonna get inside of.

Finally driving into one straight path, their view gets sidetrack by the large fountain statue of two angles pouring out water. Not only the fountain, but after passing another set of black gates that are already opened and rounding their car past the fountain, the lavish sight of the ever green garden with white little flowers enclose the garden really making the mansion seem like a heavenly fortress.

The houses theme is white. There are high pillars towards the front entrance of the house as well as arched pillars on each side that lead to different roads. Behind the pillars stand 3 large structures of the fortified mansion. The middle portion is the largest with a high double deck structure where all the windows are top to ceiling and are covered with gossamer curtains. The side building structures that are still connected to the middle portion are identical in terms of design and the layers of floors.

Stopping the car right by the side of the path, Jeno's mouth hangs open, not closing at the slightest. "At this point, your dad is trying to show off,"

"You don't say," Dae is marveled by the sight, that she doesn't notice her sister who walks down the lit up stairs heading towards their car.

Yezi's eyebrows furrow when neither of the people in the car get out. She stands there for a bit before walking towards the passenger’s door and knocking twice on the window- knocking both Jeno and Dae back to their senses.

Dae removes the seatbelt and laughs lightly. "This is it,"

"This is it," Jeno nervously says. "Best of luck to us,"

"We need that," Dae leans close to her boyfriend placing a light peck on his lips before opening up her door.

"Finally." Yezi states with a snickering laugh and a smile that eagerly begins to grow. "What was taking you guys so long? After I sent the message and you didn't come right in, I had to check with the gateman and he said the car was just there. But of course knowing you and your ever stubborn behavior, I knew you wouldn't tell the gateman anything,"

"Why should I? I'm my father's daughter, I don't need to introduce myself as a guest," Dae jokes being happy to see her sister. The tears sit on the brim of her eyes, and just like Yezi they instantly embrace each other in a tight hug. Yezi whimpers and holds even tighter.

“Dae,” She sniffs and can’t stop the tears from pouring out. “You look so good, I’m so happy to see and your beautiful eyebrows and hair being a beautiful black,” This only makes Dae laugh.

“Don’t remind me of those times,” Dae can’t stop laughing when hugging her sister. “Seeing you, seeing this house, dad outdid himself this time in making me feel bad,"

"Oh please, don't fuel up his ego," Yezi chortles shaking her head but still holding tightly onto Dae with her eyes closed. "He barely leaves the house now,"

Dae laughs at that patting Yezi's back. "Your poor freedom is gone,"

"Oh please, I can leave the house whenever I want," Yezi jokes out laughing with Dae. "I just need to take a bodyguard with me,"

"Bodyguard?" Dae's eyes widen and leans her head back still enclosing her sister in the hug. "Fuck, things have changed,"

"Language." Yezi's eyes widen. "We now refrain from cursing, I don't want my little girl latching onto that stuff,"

"Ncawww, Areum, right?" Dae squeals getting into the hug again as they both scream like little kids. "I can't believe I finally get to see her,"

"Dae! You have no idea how much I've missed this, missed us,"

Dae leans her head back with loving eyes looking into her sister’s teary eyes. "Don't cry, if you cry you know my tears will flow out as well,"

"I know, but I can't help it," Yezi chuckles before sneakily landing a kiss over her sister’s lips. Dae is stunned for a whole minute before laughing out and squeezing Yezi into a greater hug again. After a minute of laughing and saying out their 'I love you', they finally part and Yezi's eyes go down her sister’s attire. "Oh my soul you don’t know how amazed I am by your eyebrows and your hair, and your body and your health! You look nourished and healthy and soo soo good! My sister is finally back!"

Complementing Dae's healthy figure, her black hair in curly waves tucked behind her ear to show off her twinkling earrings, stunning legs in a white tight dress that ends mid-thigh, matched together with a black long sleeved turtle neck inside, white daring heels and finally a tiny white purse.

Dae's hand goes down her dress and she models for Yezi with a joking tone. "I know, I know, I tried," Dae laughs acknowledging her sister and nodding her head. Jeno can only stand by his car smiling at how gorgeous Dae looks. This was the Dae that he always admired, and now that she recovered she looked as stunning as ever.

"I'm not even one to look at, you're wearing designer? Vera Wang?" Dae's eyes marvel at the designer black sleeveless dress that showed off her toned arms and a bit of her belly. And finally the black see-through flowing skirt that has a little tight black skirt inside and is long yet has a long slit up to her thigh.

Yezi also playfully models out and flips her hair. "I knew my sister was coming today, so I had to dress to impress," Yezi laughs.

“You killed it!” Dae encourages with sass making Yezi laugh.

“No you killed it!”

“I just wish I was somebody else to admire how we both killed it,” Dae flips her hair dramatically before Yezi holds onto her sister’s hand and leading her forward.

"Wait till you-"

Dae grips onto Yezi's hand tightly before motioning back to Jeno who is calmly standing like a doorman. When noticing the eyes of the girls on him, he quickly bows his head nervously, making Dae smile brightly. “My person here inspired me to kill it. Come on baby,” Dae marvels and walks to him bravely intertwining their hands. “This is my sister, Yezi,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Yezi,” Jeno bows again maintaining a positive smile.

"Oh, hi," Yezi's tone simmers down but she tries to maintain the forced fake smile on her face. While Chenle was ready to give Jeno a chance, Yezi wasn't too fond of allowing her sister to be with a lowlife and someone who was involved in keeping them hostage. But aside that, she bows her head as well. "Wow you guys are matching." She takes in the view of Jeno's elegant face that comes out dashingly with his styled and parted hair that gives off a sense of superiority. His style of clothing consists of a white buttoned down long sleeved shirt and black suit pants with his polished dress shoes, and Yezi notes how he's standing and how humble he looks. He can try to look like them as much as he wants, but Yezi still had bitter feelings. "Well, welcome. Come on in," She smiles and stretches her hand out to the stairs leading to the mansion and eventually the people inside, that are awaiting them.

Dae stands close to Jeno, abandoning Yezi's hand to securely wrap it around Jeno's bicep. "Babe, you've got this. Just relax okay,"

When dressing up for the occasion, he thought he went overboard with the dress pants as he never wore suits too much- but seeing how Dae followed his lead and decided to dress up as well, he praises the heavens that they didn't second guess their outfit. What would've happened if they dressed in normal clothes?

Climbing up the lit up stairs together, Jeno and Dae are finally in front of the door.

The double doors are wide open and upon entering into the new ambiance of the home and removing their shoes, replacing them with the white slippers available, Jeno rubs his sweaty hands over his black pants and swallows a clump of saliva in his throat to give it some moisture. He felt like he was going to die, by the pace his heart was beating.

"Babe, you've got this," Dae encourages and holds onto the sides of his face massaging his neck. Jeno nods his head, suddenly feeling selfish. Here Dae was, giving him some air and encouragement, even though she's the one who walked out on her family and was also seeing them for the first time after years.

"You too," He holds onto her hands on his neck and smiles lightly.

Yezi watches from afar, seeing how strangely, adorable they both looked. Her sister, who she never thought could fall in love with someone who had no money, is suddenly looking up into the eyes of her lover with so much care. And the lover, Jeno, who Yezi once thought was just a sick criminal, looks like a little cute boy under the embrace of his mother. Even though she doesn't say it, and refuses to acknowledge it, deep down, they look happy and peaceful together.

Walking over to Yezi with their hands together, Yezi leads them in the house and Jeno has to keep himself from ogling at the house for too long. After passing a long corridor and walking into the entrance of the living room, Jeno's heart stops beating.

In the living room, Chenle and Chungdae stand side by side, with little Areum clinging to her grandmother's hand. When entering the living room, the first face that lights up instantly is Chungdae when seeing her gracious step-daughter who she loved the most. Her teeth are bright and so inviting that Jeno feels at peace when seeing a friendly face. Chenle on the other hand looks composed and modest- but his face morphs into shock when both Jeno and Dae get on their knees and bow down completely with their heads touching the floor.

He and Chungdae share eyes of surprise. Chenle tries not to laugh maintaining a sincere face again, just as Chungdae speaks up. "Oh, much appreciated," She says as Jeno stands and helps Dae up on her feet. The loving eyes from Chungdae and the warm smile, makes Dae want to cry by how familiar her mother's face was.

"Hi mum," Her own smile brightens up her face as she bows again, this time her head lowers slightly. Her mother is dressed in an elegant traditional styled hambok, and Dae's afraid to wrinkle or mess the dress, but when Chungdae steps forward with loving open arms and embraces Dae- Dae's can't help but wrap her arms tightly around her mother's frame "Mum," she lightly cries, laughing a little when her mother kisses her ear.

"My sweet," Breaking up the hug, Chungdae squeezes Dae's cheek and let's her go before looking to Jeno.

Jeno awaits for the smile to wither from her face, but is surprised when it's still there. "Good afternoon madam," Jeno bows down in a 90-degree angle, thinking that when he looks up her smile would've disappeared, however, when it's still on her face, he's completely stunned.

"Welcome," Chungdae bows her head as well patting his shoulder. "And you can call me, Mrs Chungdae, you're welcome here. It's good to finally see the both of you,"

Chungdae steps back and turns to Chenle. Dae and Jeno fix their positions to look at Chenle. Dae is hesitant, when looking into her dad's eyes, but regardless still tries to do so. Her smile is shaking and all she feels like doing is crying. The last time she saw her dad, a lot of harsh words were exchanged- she was not even in the right state of mind for most of those times. Her smile is rocky and her eyes blur up with tears that she can't even look at her father anymore, she hangs her head in shame. Jeno from the side, feels his heart wear down when watching her silently break down in front of her dad. He breaths in and gently slides his fingers in her hand before squeezing it, for comfort and strength.

He then turns to Chenle, who still has his somber eyes on his daughter. "Good afternoon sir. Thank you for your invitation. For allowing your daughter to bring me here." Jeno bows down in a 90-degree angle humbling himself completely. Dae follows as well, bowing down with her eyes closed to maintain herself. Standing up straight again, Dae clears her throat.

"Hi dad. Thank you..." She softly speaks and her voice shakes again not being able to meet his eyes and thus bows down again- and Jeno willingly follows. "Thank you for your invitation. And I'm so sorry for everything I've done. Please can you forgive me, for all the words I’ve said, the stress I caused you and mum, the hate I spread in the house, please forgive me dad. I truly apologize for all that I’ve done, and I beg you to forgive. I said a lot of things to hurt you, but I didn’t mean any of them and I’m sorry for how I left. I’m sorry dad."

"My daughter," Chenle meekly raises his hand laying it on his daughter's head. Feeling his hand on her head, she squeezes her eyes shut to not break down again. Chenle's face is holding back so much on emotions, but it slips out when he feels the head of his daughter. "I forgive you, please don't cry. You know I don't like it when I see you cry,"

"Thank you, for this invitation," Dae stands up straight again with a smile on her face and her eyes still watery. Chenle's hand retreats but he’s taken aback by the wave of emotions that pass over him when Dae engulfs him in a hug so dear and deep. Chenle can’t resist and sets his arms over her shoulders in protection like he had always done. Finally, his daughter has returned.

Smiling when feeling her dad’s arms around, she nuzzle’s her head a little more on his chest, before she separates from him and bows her head down again. Chenle’s face is glowing with pride and excitement and he turns to Jeno who also stands straight. Chenle bows his head quietly acknowledging Jeno.

"My name is Zhong Chenle, you can call me Mr Zhong." Chenle addresses Jeno in a fluid tone, with no harshness or strictness, simple and calm. "What's your name?"

Jeno bows lightly. "Thank you Mr Zhong. My name is Lee Jeno,"

The name makes Chenle tense but he nods his head. If his daughter chose him, then he’d need to get down to the bottom of it and see why. It was up to Chenle to see how serious they were. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lee Jeno," Chenle greets and turns his head to the side, down to the little girl who just looked up with an erratic smile. "This little bean right here is Zhong Areum,"

Chenle introduces them to Yezi's daughter, making Yezi smile. Ever since Areum was born, Chenle refused for the baby to have his surname. So seeing the love traverse from him to her daughter, a flow of content joy washes over her.

"Hi mummy’s sister!" Areum chirpily greets, brightly before shyly leaning on her grandfather when Dae puffs her cheeks in delight. Chenle picks her up patting her back telling her to carry on. She waves her hand to both Jeno and Dae who wave back with big smiles.

"Areum, this is Dae, your aunty," Chenle speaks in a soft cradling voice making Chungdae laugh. "And this is Mr Lee, your aunty friend,"

Jeno doesn’t feel any jab from Chenle referring to him as a friend, but Dae does. She was hoping that her dad wouldn’t diminish Jeno into that position.

"Areum what do we do when we greet people?" Chungdae questions calmly watching Areum.

"Gwanpa, can you put me down, so I can greet?" Areum asks cutely with big eyes. Chenle sets her down patting her head.

"Of course, my little bean,"

Areum places both her hands over her stomach and dress and bows down. "Hello Miss Dae and Mr..." she quickly looks up and looks to her grandfather.

"Mr Jeno," He assists patting her head again as she returns to bowing.

"Hello Mrs Dae and Mr Jeno." She finishes her bow and does a little curtsey with her dress gaining an applaud from Chungdae, Yezi and Dae- automatically making Jeno clap his hands. In his head all he can think of is how she looks like Dae…but as a little girl. “I have a funny joke, what does a clock do when it's hungry?”

“What?” Dae smiles.

“It goes back four seconds?” Jeno asks but gets surprised when Areum begins laughing and giggling suggesting that it’s correct. That makes the family clap again, making Jeno shake his head with a little smile on his face. Chenle coo's in a baby voice.

"Aigoo, my little bean sprout is all grown up," He picks her up again with a dashing smile, before turning to Jeno and Dae. "Make yourselves comfortable, you can follow me to the dining room,"

Jeno turns to Dae squeezing her hand tighter. His nerves were still high, but upon the warm welcome and the tension sliding down because of the little baby girl, Jeno feels slightly relaxed. "This is it,"

Dae nods her head, following behind Chungdae and Yezi, who follow behind Chenle who is still carrying Areum and whispering into her grandfather's ears. "Gwanpa, is that really really mummy's sister?"

Chenle nods his head with a smile. "Yes, she’s your mummy's sister,”

"Gwanpa, if I’m a queen would that make her a princess? I wanna make her a queen because she looks nice- beautiful,” Areum corrects herself before charmingly complimenting Dae. “Why does she look beautiful?”

"Because she's my daughter," Chenle cackles a little, he never got tired of the endless questions that left her mouth or how much of a chatterbox she was. It's moments like these, where he hopes that his little granddaughter, didn't inherit any bad or foul manners from the savage rapist. She was such a passionate young and vibrant soul that Chenle easily found intriguing and alluring.

“Gwanpa, Mr Jeno looks like a prince, I think he likes her a lot and wants to become a King,”

"You should ask him if he wants to be a king," he pats her nose still answering to her questions, meanwhile thinking of all the questions he wanted to ask Jeno.

"Do you think daddy will go hard on Dae and him?" Yezi asks calmly to her mother.

"Let's hope not," Chungdae replies. "I feel like he might want to embarrass him a bit. He kept talking about that nonstop all through the night, but he did also mention how he wants to reunite with Dae again,"

Yezi groans. "Fingers crossed, it doesn't get awkward."

Meanwhile Jeno holds onto Dae's hand like he's on life support. Dae wraps her fingers tightly against his as well. "No matter how intense it gets, just answer honestly. My dad will try everything he can to belittle you, but remember what I said at home, don't let him break your spirit, he hasn't walked a mile in your shoes, so don't mind if he doesn't understand." She says, words that always made Jeno feel more drawn to her.

The dining room is large, and has an extremely large round circular table, with various of decorations and platters of food on a rotating stand. Areum waves her hand to her mum as one of the servants walks away with her. Jeno and Dae, wait for the family members to take a seat before finding themselves next to each other and sitting. Chenle acknowledges that and is impressed.

Dae smiles secretly, knowing that her dad loved order and discipline. And if Jeno could at least show that he was capable and worthy to dine with him, then Chenle would ease up a bit on him. He simply wanted to see how well-mannered the boy was, since he was groomed by misfortune, Chenle wanted to test out how well he could be for his daughter.

Yezi is seated on the right of her father, while Chungdae is seated on the left of her husband and Jeno and Dae sit next to each other- being in Chenle's direct eyes vision. "Shall we eat?" Chenle asks and they all take in their utensils ready to feast.

As the rounding table makes the rounds and the servants walk around the table adding little side dishes here and there, Jeno feels much more overwhelmed then starved. From the many utensils on the table, to the little plates the servants put with tiny looking leaves, Jeno places his hand underneath the table lightly placing it over Dae's leg.

She turns her head to him, seeing him panic. Calmly she leans in and begins explaining that he can eat whatever, which plates he has to put the food in and which plates he dumbs the bones and what's not. Her whispered words of encouragement don't go unnoticed by anyone at the table, especially Chenle who picks up his chopsticks and watches the pair while he eats. Much to his distaste Jeno snickers and Dae does so as well- he ignores it and clears his throat gaining their attention.

"Dae," Chenle starts.

Chungdae nervously turns to Chenle. His first target. Dae looks up and adjusts her sitting position before smiling. "Yes, dad,"

For some reason, Chenle's heart feels a little touched when hearing her say the word dad. It's been a while, a really long while. “It’s wonderful seeing you in strong health. For how long have you been clean?”

Dae clears her throat with a little smile. “2 years now.”

“Rehab or self-rehabilitation?”

Dae answers honestly. “Self-rehabilitation. Actually, the night I left home and went clubbing, I was hit by a car,” This causes all of them to look at her in worry. “I, uh. I broke some ribs and nearly lost my life because I barely had enough blood in my body. A blood transfusion was done, and when I woke up… I felt as though, a second chance of life has been given to me,”

Chenle’s heart aches hearing the story. “Why didn’t you come home after that?”

Dae briefly looks to Jeno, who offers a somber smile before rubbing her thigh. “I didn’t want to live my life like before. I felt trapped, and it wasn’t because of you,” Dae immediately clears up, holding onto Jeno’s hand. “I just, wanted to live alone for a bit.”

“A bit turned into years,” Chungdae speaks sadly but a smile regains on her face. “May I ask you this, this blood transfusion you did that saved your life, was it the young man’s blood?”

Dae nods her head with a smile. “He’s the one who helped me that night. Paid the bills, gave me blood, offered me a place to stay, he was always by my side,”

The warm tone settles upon Chungdae seeing her child look so bright and happy. “Well thank you Mr Lee for that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to see our beautiful girl.” Chungdae smiles. “Please enjoy the food,”

Once again, everyone begins eating in a calm atmosphere. Jeno has never eaten so slow, as well as tiny bites in his whole life, however seeing everyone eat in a slow and paced manner, Jeno adjusts himself. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Dae as she snickers here and there covering it with a little cough.

Subsiding his friendly character, Chenle has his eyes on Dae who constantly looks to Jeno. "Dae,”

“Yes?” She instantly looks away from Jeno and to her dad feeling caught. She gulps, just as Chenle prepares himself.

“I’ve tried deviating from my culture merely because I didn’t want my daughters to be bounded by tradition. I’ve given you a good life, good education and have paved a way for a future that you can maintain. The family business of architecture as well as our lifestyle, you left it all for your own self satisfying pleasure because you felt ‘trapped’. I’m assuming you have a lot to showcase for your disobedience. Have you made a name for yourself by walking over our tradition?" The question alone brings Jeno into a front line of defense. Even though Chenle was her dad, Jeno wouldn't allow her dad to walk over how hard she had worked to get to where she was now. She worked extremely hard and Jeno was ready to defend. Unconsciously. However, Chenle unaware of the set eyes on him, continues on. "How's that going? What do you do?"

Dae feels heavy by the sharp arrow that was aimed for her heart by his words. “First of all, I am grateful for all the opportunities I was able to get while being here. Second of all, I never intended to disobey you dad. But I needed to do it for a clear mindset in what I wanted to do, in where my heart felt good. And lastly, I'm a Junior Editor."

"Editor? Junior?" Chenle poses in disbelief. "That's in the writing field. Meaning you don't get paid much, as for junior, you probably don't do much. What do you write about?"

Dae breaths in and nods her head looking up to her father. "I write articles on and for the youths of today and the struggles they face."

"That's like freelancing work." Chenle sighs out trying not to make it a big deal, but he's disappointed. His daughter. His first daughter scrapping by. He glances at Jeno. "And you Mr Lee. What do you do?" Chenle slurps on the fresh vegetable in a bowl, looking already bored.

"Photography."

"Wow, another freelancer." Chenle sounds dishonored much more then disappointed, and he continues to eat his dish of food. Yezi savagely tries to hold in her laugh replacing it with a cough and quickly looking down when Chungdae shoots her a glare. The couple of Dae and Jeno briefly glance to each other in hesitancy, but regardless they eat.

Just as Chenle is about to say something else, Dae along with everybody else get surprised by Jeno's voice. "You know Mr Zhong, not to be rude, and I say this with 'respect'-" only Dae catches on to his mocking tone, and gets worried for him. "Since you brought up your culture and tradition, according to the Zhong's line of history as well as your own private company's humble beginnings, small beginnings was were you started. So pardon me if this comes out rude, but truly I don't think you've got any right to be pissed off, you also left your family to please your own self satisfying pleasure-"

Dae's eyes widen and she places her hand over his thigh. "Jeno-"

But nonetheless Jeno still continues to speak. "To be pissed off at her career would mean neglecting her small beginnings. I don’t know much about your family, but what I do know is that your family’s legacy only grew into millions of because of you. What if Dae’s small beginnings allow her to reach your peak-"

"Comparing my family's legacy and personal company with Dae's quote on quote small beginnings sounds radically obscure. Do you even know who I am? My small beginnings lasted within a year, and I've been making millions ever since. Dae's small beginnings are small beginnings on a scale of failure," Chenle starts while setting his dish down, taking the next set of food while Chungdae grumpily adds some soup for him. She didn't like how his words sounded too harsh. Meanwhile Yezi has wide eyes glancing with a shocked face at her dad and then Jeno. “So tell me Mr Lee-”

Jeno breaths out, feeling Dae sinking in shame when she looks at her food and quietly eats. "You're talking about me as if I'm not here," She mumbles. “And my small beginnings aren’t on a scale of failure, you don’t know how hard I work-”

"Your lover is the one who started with the comparisons and small beginnings. You want to be mad at the truth? Suck it up and continue to embark on your sma-"

"Honey." Chungdae warns looking at him.

Chenle sighs. He nods his head whilst eating as if he's not having the conversation. "Do you believe that she'll make it big in her field Mr Lee?"

"I believe in her."

"I didn't ask if you believe in her. Because I also believe in her. And I much more believe she has a brighter career elsewhere, but what's important now is do you believe that she'll make it big in her field?"

"Yes-"

"Dae who never ever pays attention to the news, the same girl who barely gives an ear to those less 'fortunate' then her? My daughter? That same daughter who would never be interested in anything if it wasn't about her? The same daughter who got involved in hardcore drugs- that same girl caring for people seems unusual. A journalist? On top of that a youth journalist? Youth? Smart mouths with foul brains, those youth? Those same youth? Maybe she gives you a speck of patience, but I know my daughter. Does she really love what she does or is it just some passing want from feeling trapped? Does she have tolerance and patience for others? For you? My daughter wants to do journalism? That doesn't make sense to me," Chenle states out nonchalantly yet sternly. "I've seen her writing. And although phenomenal, she'd need a spark of light in her to empathize with youths. Regardless of what you say, I know my daughter much more then you. I know she's merciful, but in the field of journalism, it'll be used against her. With her temper, she'll easily get frustrated and allow for anyone to walk over her. I can't see, or even bare my daughter within a career where she constantly has to fight,"

Dae's stunned by his words. Never ever had he ever told her why he refused for her to be a journalist, he simply had a strong distaste towards any career that had a lack of funds. "Dream crusher much dad?" Dae chuckles sadly to cover up the pain.

"Dae, are those even dreams? To waste yourself away behind a screen writing for others? Dae. I'm…” Chenle refrains from using the words disappointed, but he’s already hinting at it. “I’m trying to understand. Why- why, why a journalist?"

Dae looks up to her dad in disbelief. "Because I’m a spoilt rich girl who’s gone through an experience that fucking changed my life forever-"

"Language Dae." Chungdae softly peeps being uncomfortable by all the slurs.

Dae stops and takes a deep breath. "I’m saying the truth of my life to reach people in dark-"

"Truth?" Chenle scoffs. "In the world we live in? Truth and people don't go together, because this world loves to be blinded. It’s why the rich are rich and the poor are poor, those who have eyes don’t help those who can’t see. Today a journalist would rather break an untrue story and say an apology later, they could break thousands of hearts, but one apology and everyone forgets. You're telling me you haven't seen those cases?"

"I've noticed that lately."

"You can spend years putting together a story to help someone see the light, only for some toddler with a social media account to just tweet it out, with low grammatical words. As for professional objectivity, try maintaining that while competing against teens dancing at the news, or on TikTok and what not, and in the rare case let's say you do get a real story, you will be backlashed because all you did was your job. The truth hurts and rubs on people the wrong way."

"So what are you saying dad?" She asks seriously trying not to be discouraged. Jeno, places his hand on Dae's thigh, running his hand up and down as a way to calm her down.

"I'm saying." Chenle stops setting up his bowl to look at his daughter. "As my daughter, it's really my desire that if there is anything else you see yourself doing, do that instead." Chenle ends the discussion without much say, getting his next bowl. "You’re smart and if you want people to see the light, use your intelligence to-”

"Mr Zhong, I really do apologize if I'm being rude," Jeno interrupts not being able to be calm anymore, especially after noticing Dae's sagged shoulders. Truly Mr Zhong was a businessman with ideals and head on strong facts. However, that could never beat how much effort and change that Dae has put in. Which is why, Jeno with resilient courage speaks up for Dae. "I hate to break it to you, but the Dae that left your house years ago, isn't the Dae sitting in front of you. Her intelligence has changed and she’s adapted to street smarts too. I agree that Journalism isn't possibly the career that you invasion your daughter in, but she's similar to you in many ways. You started out with a master’s degree in Research, you left Research to join your family’s legacies of Doctors, before leaving it all together and had to dump it all including your family to finding out what you really wanted to do. But I digress, how can you put her down when I read that you even went as low as being a brick man and laying bricks for a living? You eventually decided you wanted a career in construction. Humble beginnings should never be neglected. If you didn't disqualify yourself, why discourage her, your own daughter? And if you're talking about money, then let me I’ll say it now, she makes money more than me-"

"Are you giving me street psychology now?"

Jeno breaths in deeply smirking a little when seeing a challenging look in her father’s eyes. "Street psychology makes you learn lessons the hard and painful way. Being rock bottom teaches you of success that being rich can’t. I've been with her ever since she left your home, so I know what I'm talking about when I say she's had a fall from your grace. But look at her now," Jeno turns to her, throwing a little smile and lightly patting her cheek (causing Dae to smile a little) before turning to Chenle, who even stopped eating to firmly be attentive to Jeno after publicly displaying such a manner. "I too, worry about the giant dumpster fire of twiddling toddler's, but I also don't care about that and I know she doesn't care about that. She writes for a living you know, she's always been writing and has tweaked her personalities here and there to adapt to the life that she's wanted. And if she can write a piece that has touched an orphaned boy's heart and stopped him from spiraling down into a dark path of drugs, then I know and have the belief that she's broken through the noise you’re projecting. I don't know why she isn't saying it now, but she always says, she wants to make a difference in all the ways that she can. That’s a fucking huge commitment if you ask me. And I'm not trying to take your place or anything like that, but even if she does fails in her projects, I’m here for you no matter how many times. You haven't been there for her, so you don't have that right to criticize or be disappointed in her achievements so far. I’m saying all this respectfully. I don't mean to sound rude or come of impolite, but the truth is the truth, and it can rub you the wrong way, so swallow it like a bitter pill."

“Well said, you’re the one living with her.”

Dae has a warm look in her eyes when looking to Jeno, her boyfriend, her choice, her messed up but one of the many right choices. How passionate he's been in defending her, whether it was to someone he never knew or someone she knew, and not allowing anyone, not even her dad, to walk over her. He's made it clear, time and time and time again, how he won't let anybody ever talk down on her or disrespect her. And its kind of alarming for Dae that Jeno just said all that while being ‘respectful’.

It's tensely silent with Chenle paying mind to his food instead, Chungdae and Yezi holding in their breaths, Dae smiling while eating on her meet- and Jeno returning back to his senses and freaking out. "Fuck." He mumbles, but instantly feels Dae's hand on his thigh. He turns his head seeing her reassuring smile. She mouths out a sweet thank you. It's enough to subside his irrational thoughts and focus on how calm she is.

Chungdae smiles when noticing the adoring look in Dae's eyes. Chungdae faces Chenle and picks up another bowl of rice before placing it before him. He looks to her, still eating his own bowl of meat and soup, and as if being summoned by the rice Chungdae lightly grins, and nudges her head towards Jeno and Dae. Chenle takes a look for himself, his eyes catching a sight too traumatic and so heartbreaking.

Dae looking at Jeno, the same way she used to look at him as a child. As a father, his child will always be his child. No matter how irrational, no matter how unclear, no matter how confusing she might be, even when she's falling in love with a foe, she's still his daughter. His first daughter. His first love whom he loves with all his heart. He doesn't know what's the name of the emotion that covers his whole heart when seeing Jeno, an unknown peasant briefly gazing at his precious daughter with stars in his eyes. And his daughter equally having eyes of fierce approval. He doesn’t like it, but he can’t put down how real it looks. He looks at Chungdae the same way too. And that scares Chenle because he doesn’t want her to marry such a guy.

She just came back home. His heart doesn't want to see her go just yet, especially not to a man who he still isn't too sure about. "Mr Lee."

Jeno peeks up and sits up. "Yes sir- I mean Mr Zhong,"

Chenle breathes out. "Are you treating this such as an interview?"

"Interview?"

"Seeing as though you've read my biography and probably Wikipedia, you seem to think that you have an understanding of my background," Chenle drinks a glass of water, firmly gazing into Jeno's stunned eyes. "Is that true?"

Jeno clears his throat, fumbling with his lips before nodding his head. "To be honest sir, I've known your work. The apartment my family and I lived in when we were little was actually designed by you."

"You could afford it?"

"Dad." Dae's shoulder slump.

Surprisingly Jeno chuckles. "It's okay babe- Dae, I mean." He quickly corrects himself, before turning back to Chenle. "I couldn't afford it, but my old man could....sort of. We lived with another family, so although tightly cramped, we all fit in together. To get back to you, being in that complex for a very short period of my childhood was sincerely the most mind blowing experience of my life."

"How so?" Chenle tilts his head. "And which complex was it? Situated where?"

"It's was called Clearview Water Hill. Situated in Goum NC."

Chenle nods his head. "I recall, it was amongst my first private building going public for government uses. It was labeled to be for the rich."

"To be honest, I felt rich as a young boy. The walls, corridors, rooms, even the water was so different. Not only that, but my dad was a construction worker so we watched a lot Construction channels. I had seen you appear time to time on tv. So regarding to me researching about you, I didn't have to do much except read it from Dae's pieces. The things I know about you are actually words Dae had written in her article pieces. She spoke extremely highly of you, it even gave off an impression that being in your presence is surreal. And it is… if I’m being honest."

Chenle is astonished (just when his mind slowly began to wonder if his daughter wanted to replace him), as his quick mind reflex suddenly pauses. His eyes turn from a sharp stare, to being enlightened. "You wrote a biography about me?"

"You used dad for clout?" Yezi laughs a little.

"What's clout?" Chenle asks, causing Yezi and Dae to snicker.

"It's slang dad," Yezi giggles.

Dae runs her hand through her hair swinging it back. "Not necessarily a biography, but advice on how to solidly build a future, brick by brick. I paid almost all my references to you and how successful you've been in paving the way brick by brick for your future,"

Chenle's face remains unchanged, yet Chungdae is in awe because she knows that Chenle is catching butterflies. Yezi is the one to voice it out. "Dae I told you not to boost his ego,"

This snaps Chenle out and he begins laughing. A sound which jolts Jeno out from his crave for the meat. His reaction makes Yezi laugh inwardly.

"Before I feel too honored. I still have to read what you wrote," Chenle remarks. "Word count?"

"2,500."

"Blog?"

"No, it's an article."

Chenle nods his head, shuffling in his seat bringing out his phone. "Name of website?"

"NationsWide,"

"Hmm," Chenle nods his head in approval. He's silent when scrolling through his phone, going through the about page and finding out the ratings of the website. Although it has a 8.8 out of 10 rating due to faulty writers and time consuming management, it has a high rating when it comes to work pieces. "It's a big shot company."

Dae finds herself smiling gladly turning to Jeno who pats her head- forgetting one of the rules that Dae put in place to not make any unnecessary physical contact. But she's happy non the less. “What’s the title?”

“I’m bad with titles, by it’s called Future Bricks Are Better Then Past Bricks.”

“It’s too long girl,” Yezi comments.

“I told her that too,” Jeno remarks smiling ligtly.

“Hey, I like it sounds good,” Dae cutely puffs her cheeks tempting Jeno to kiss her cheek, but he refrains from doing so.

Chenle searches up the title and immediately is impressed when seeing 5 stars in gold next to her article. That's his girl. He nods his head, as a smile crawls up his lips. "5 stars Dae, good job."

Her heart feels good. If it took Chenle simply reading from her article, then it would’ve saved time from Jeno backing her up. It's always difficult to get a reaction or compliment from him, so getting an actual reaction makes her feel joyous. Especially for something that he complained about minutes ago. In his silence of taking interest and suddenly reading his daughter's piece, Chungdae takes it as a cue to speak to Dae and Jeno.

"Are you two living together?" She smiles, causing a smile to grow on Jeno's lips as well.

"Yes,"

"Oh," Chungdae is a very traditional woman and always counters culture over modern society. So hearing that Dae and Jeno live together without having gotten married is a bit...it makes her feel uncomfortable for them. "Living together is such a huge commitment. It requires both of you to have an entanglement that you'll never leave each other,"

Jeno already being informed by Dae that her mother had the tendencies of being culturally educated, clears his throat in answering. "If it sets your heart as ease, we sleep in different rooms...to prevent us going too fast,"

"In going too fast, I assume you're talking about children?"

"Mum?" Yezi chokes on her food. "Please not that conversation, people are eating."

Okay," Chungdae nods her head letting out a little laugh with a hint of ease settling over. "That does set my heart at ease. I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable but, may I inquire about your financial status Jeno? You mentioned photographer, right?"

"Right," Jeno nods his head.

“Could you tell me more about it?”

"Uhm, mainly I work as an advertising photographer, so I range from models, to houses, to products even nature. So as a whole, I guess that’s stock photography. I have side jobs here and there as part time so yeah," he nervously peeks at Chenle wondering if he'd get pissed. However Chenle isn't even looking or paying attention to them, but instead continues to read, paying his whole mind to the article he's reading. He’s nearly done reading, but his ears also give an ear to hear the conversation.

"Hm." Chungdae nods her head. "Well, it's something. Who supports financially?"

"I pay house rent and Jeno buys our necessities," Dae mentions. But is unaware of Chenle's sharp gaze.

"Excuse me?" He suddenly perks up. "You're paying the rent?"

"Our apartment is under my name so-"

"Because of his felony charges?" Chenle perkily asks to which Dae shakes her head.

"Felony exceeds one year, so no. And he doesn't have a felony charge. It's because of his prison record of 10 months."

"And you're proud to say that?" Chenle mumbles doubtfully while shaking his head, continuing to read. Whilst Chungdae continues to ask Jeno, some more basic questions such as if he's religious, has siblings, has parents, if they know about Dae and his relationship- so on. Some questions Dae had never heard the answers to, as Jeno would completely ignore her or change the subject. Questions pertaining to his family. She never knew his dad died...no wonder he always made dark jokes about not having any.

"Meaning you're much closer with your mother right?" Chungdae questions with a sympathetic smile.

Jeno throughout all the questions that he doesn't want to answer he kept his head down and occasionally looked up from his food- even going on to eating more just to avoid the question or staying silent to ignore. But not knowing Chungdae, he isn't expecting her to nag on and on, and not wanting to make Dae's mother upset or cause Chenle to pin him out again he answers. "She kicked me and my brother out when we were teens."

"Now we’re getting somewhere." Yezi mumbles while folding her arms. "Who's your brother again? Was it-"

"Mark." Jeno stuffs his mouth again. Dae knowing that not only is he (slowly) getting enraged by the endless questions, she also knows how much he hates talking about his family.

So being alert she clears her throat. "Okay, mum I think you've got a pretty broad idea of who he is now,"

Chungdae smiles meekly. "You know Dae, when I first met your dad-"

Much to Yezi's disappointment, who hated this story with a passion (due to the fact that in her mind Chungdae was still considered a side woman) gets up going to look for her baby. "I'm going to check on Areum."

Meanwhile Chenle sets his phone down when he's done reading. Impressed with what he’s read, he approves by giving it a rating.

"As I was saying. When I first met him, he was already self-made, financially stable and had a big job. Everything was already there. However, he didn't tell me any of that. And I, didn't have a clue on who he was at the time. Meaning to say, I didn't have a pretty broad idea of who he was until I found out the basics as: what his beliefs were, what his priorities were, what his family thought of him, what he thought of himself deeply and what flaws made him human. Only when I found out all those things, was I... almost ready to be with him." A masked smile comes on her face. The type of smile that's ready to offend but not wanting to seem blunt. "Jeno, you seem like a fine young man right now. However, I'm worried that it might not be who you are when you're outside of our house. I don't know how you treat my daughter-"

"Mum-"

"Let your mother talk." Chenle blinks once turning back to Chungdae. This was supposed to be a grilling session for him to get to know Jeno. Yet with the way Dae gazes upon Jeno's face, worries Chenle. His heart isn't used to seeing this gob struck look of so called love on her face. Especially since he just met her. It's been years, so he doesn't want to cause tension that'll make her leave again.

It's better Chungdae does it and Dae listens, rather then him doing it and never seeing Dae again.

Up till now, and with the way that Jeno spoke on Dae's behalf on something that she was 'passionate' about, Chenle just doesn't like the idea of his daughter already being tethered to a man.

She still has a long life ahead of her, however being in a relationship limits her life and choices- oh gosh especially on her financial status. He wants his daughter to enjoy life to the fullest. And Jeno can't give her all that.

All that he can give her is words wrapped in love. And he doesn't want that for his daughter. His daughters deserved much more than cheap love and words.

"She has a point. The least you can do, is listen." Chenle says again a bit softly when looking into Dae's eyes. Dae inwardly groans, yet when turning her gaze to Chungdae she sighs with an upset face.

"Even though I didn't give birth to her, I know who she is. And I'm not trying to poke holes in your bubble but I am saying that you're from two different worlds. Two completely separate worlds. You won't clash on a lot of things. And right now, as happy and giddy as this relationship has been, remaining faithful together or even growing together won't be that easy. Jeno, judging from your lack of family touch, and your upbringing from your brother, I'm not too comfortable with my daughter being down below with you. I do see your passion and will to have a better life, but it might not be enough. Right now, I can most likely hope for your future to be filled with growth. Because I don't think it'll be easy. Based on your foundation, of how you both met, I'm still a bit... hesitant in accepting you. I just don't want this to end in foulness."

The silence lingers in the air with both couples, Chenle and Chungdae gazing at both Jeno and Dae. Jeno sets his empty bowl down having being full and listening to all the advice. Dae places her hand on his knee and he sighs. "If I'm completely honest Mrs Zhong, you're right."

Dae peeks her eyes to Jeno, hoping that what he’d say would contradict his statement.

"I do feel out of place at times when I'm with her. I feel that she deserves much better than me. Much much better than me. When driving here I even said that she left a mansion to cramp up with me in a little apartment. Look, I can't understand this, but I really really like your daughter and think that... she can do much better than me." Jeno nods his head agreeing. "But every time I think about her, or me, or, of us being together, I think of how much we've been through. It's true we met in uncanny circumstances but... The fact that she made the biggest sacrifice to stay with me, even though I gave her countless of reasons to leave, she still wanted to be with me, and that gives me the chills. Because she left your world, her world to be...in my world. And I can see where your concerns are, believe me when I say we've had this talk one too many times, but we always come to the same conclusion." His hand securely holds onto hers on top of his knee. "Only time will tell, if really this will work out, but I believe that when I stopped comparing her life before and her life now, it's made my head clear. And when she stopped seeing me as just that guy who broke into her house, we gathered a mutual understanding."

"What conclusions have you come to?" Chenle asks softly, his eyes on Dae yet he asks Jeno, because Dae's eyes are still on him.

Jeno clears his throat. "The conclusion that we're both humanly real and not perfect. And we can't be perfect, but if we keep trying to understand and love each other than yeah. I never knew how to manage my account and all that shi- stuff, but Dae's been really adamant on teaching me. I never knew how to cook. I only lived off by water and bread, but she knows and has taught me so many great dishes, especially the Chinese ones. I never mediated or did yoga before, but with her, every morning we're both up and yoga-ering as a way to restore our mental health. I've never been good at getting attention or knowing how to market, but Dae's a real professional at that and has helped me market my work. Not only to say she's an important aspect of my life, but she came from recovering from overdosing, not that I helped much but I made sure she worked out, ate healthy, spoke her thoughts, gave her a change of scenery, made sure she always saw the sun… I mean, if I also have to list the bad stuff, I can just say, she doesn't know how to keep her stuff organized. Always cluttered, everywhere and plain right messy- respectfully messy-"

"That's true." Chungdae chortles.

"But she's been improving, she now puts the toothpaste back in its case, instead of living it open and on the toilet seat. Not only that, but she used to stress so much so that she never slept, always up at night and working, but along the days I used to show her that she's got enough time to drop he shoulders, breathe, to unclench her jaw, to meet people who will understand her instead of being a kiss ass, to rest without feeling guilty, enough time to try as well as fail, to change paths, to close her eyes, to sleep and rest, to do so many things that she wants to do, her life is long. Another thing, she never knew how to be active, she's ambitious, but lacks the effort to actually move to get things done, she's always online. Yes she does yoga, but she always sat down behind her screen or desk slouching and writing, but now I can genuinely say she's keeping fit by constantly jogging, she exercises as well, and can throw a punch for self-defense, not to say I taught her how to be violent, but for a lady in her form I'm pretty proud that she can throw a man twice her size over her shoulder."

"I did it to him," Dae marvels cheerfully.

"I simply taught her what I know and she taught me what she knows. We're both taking the good in our lives and presenting it to each other trying to make our lives better and throwing the bad away. We read the newspapers together, watch the news, read psychology books and talk to each other and learn about each other. Because I love her and just want her to be happy without any restraints. We are both new to this love, so we're learning with each other not only how to receive love, but also how to give love. You know, she expresses herself through writing, she always writes, she struggles in speaking up for herself or formulating the right words for the right moment, thus it's why she used to be condescending and using her privileges to walk over people. But now, I don't know why she's not doing it now, but she gradually speaks and pushes herself to be genuine and understanding. Mrs Zhong, I understand that you don't trust me with your daughter, but I'm telling you honestly that I'm careful and gentle with her. I don't want to hurt her again, or even allow myself to lose her to a successful man who's got everything. I want to be everything for her. I'm working my ass off in getting to where I want to be, and making sure that she's happy and securely in her field. I don't have it now but I know that I'll get it. I'm trying my hardest, I'm putting my all and investing literally my whole life into this. I don't know what you want, but your daughter is here and she chose me, I can promise you that I won't put your family to shame."

Mr Zhong's ears are perked at Jeno's whole plea. He can see the ambition and drive in his eyes.

"Can I be honest with you right now." Chenle starts being equally respectful as Jeno has been. "I disliked you because you were poor and seemed unable. But. After reading what I've read, I can say that the Dae sitting before me, isn't the Dae with qualities that the world would reject like before. I'm still not for this relationship. But if I can at least have my daughter willingly help others, as well as herself, it gives you, Mr Lee, a mark in my books. It shows me how much you're invested in her. And another thing, if you, Dae, can't be pushed away from following your dreams, I think you'd be an excellent journalist."

"Thanks Dad," Dae smiles looking with admiration at her dad, causing Chenle to return the genuine smile.

"Keep writing pieces about me though," Chenle grins.

"Don't boost his ego," Yezi chuckles covering her face.

"Are you still hungry Jeno? Don't be shy if you want another round," Chungdae speaks up when seeing Jeno look at all the empty dishes. "There's plenty casseroles in the cuisine."

"Oh, no it's okay." Jeno smiles shyly. "Thank you Mr Zhong, and Mrs Zhong for the food. It was delicious,"

"I'm surprised you complimented Dae's cooking." Chungdae laughs before turning back and calling one of the maids names to come and remove the food. "Dae fights a lot when it comes to spices, especially with chili,"

"Well mother," Dae has a smug face. "Jeno here doesn't mind the spice or chili. He likes it hot,"

Jeno teasingly mumbles for only Dae to hear. "We're still talking about the food right?"

She playfully hits his thigh before turning to her mum. "I know what he likes to eat,"

"Honestly if you ask me, I still find it weird how you're with him." Yezi comments when the laughter dies down. Dae's jaw clinches but she eats on her rice (that she asked one of the maid to leave for her) remainign silent. But that's not the case for Yezi who glances up at her sister. "It's strange because I know you, and I know that this is not the type of guy you'd quote on quote fall in love with."

"Yezi." Chungdae calls out calmly, with intentions of warning her.

Chenle nods his head setting down his chopsticks when he's done swallowing a lump of meat giving his plate away to the maids. "No, Yezi's right. It's strange to see this, no disrespect to you Mr Lee, but it seems like Stockholm syndrome."

"That's so unfair. We just finished that discussion." Dae mumbles glaring at her sister and dad. "It's not-"

"I know," Chenle nods his head with a gentle smile. "With the way he's spoken about you, my ideas of him shifted. Perhaps it's not a forced love. I just need to get used to the idea of seeing you with him. That's all,"

"You can't force him down our throats, we still have to get to know him," Yezi comments.

"So Jeno, how about I get to know you more. If it's possible, drop me an email on your availability and I'll set up a date for you to come to my company."

Jeno's eyes widen. "Really?"

"I wanna see how good you are at your work of photography. There's some houses that will be completed within a week from now and I need some photographs. Will you be interested?"

Jeno gulps nodding his head. "Yes sir- I mean Mr Zhong."

"Good. Now if we all may, there's a resting area waiting for us,"

•

S1: EP14-16

22:48

"I can't believe you lied to my mum that we sleep in different rooms," Dae chuckles when entering the comforts of their shared room turning around to eye Jeno who unbuttons his shirt.

Jeno has a smug look on his face before tilting his head. "I mean, it's sorta true. I told you to take the other room, but somehow you’re always here even though your stuff is there,”

"That’s because it’s lonely sleeping alone.” Dae smiles when kissing his lips. “But still, I don’t know if she bought that.”

“If she did, then it’s best if we keep it under the wraps of how much of a freak you are in my room, in bed.” Jeno lightly chuckles, watching Dae walk backwards while running her hands up her body giving him teasing eyes.

“Regardless, I'm glad it went well.” She notes as she removes her shoes and gathers some wet wipes to clean off her makeup. “Gosh I'm so happy it went well. Seeing my dad and mum and Yezi and Areum was such a serene moment that I’ll never forget.”

Jeno removes both his blazer and buttoned down shirt turning to Dae who’s removing her makeup. “They were welcoming, I’m glad you invited me to experience this experience with you. Seeing you with your family only brought peace to my soul. At least you’re reunited with your family again, your mum, dad, sister…and even that little child. Although, I won’t lie, I’m surprised that your sister…kept that child,” Jeno tries to say without saying it. “It’s just odd,”

“I know,” Dae finishes cleaning the makeup off her face and applying some cream before she stretches her arms moving to the night stand lamp turning it on. “But you know what, she’s still my baby sister’s baby and I’m a proud aunt who gets babysitting rights.” Dae smiles brightly. “I just can't express it in words. I'm so happy right now." Dae smiles and bites her lip innocently. "Hey. Can you help me undo my dress?" Dae moves to the bed sitting down a little bit too exotically but Jeno still makes his way towards her.

Holding onto her calf, he kisses on her knee smiling before trapping her in between his body as he gets on the bed. “You’re so happy you’re getting turned on, I think this will be a problem,” Bending his head down, he softly smudges plentiful kisses along the side of her neck, licking and biting on her soft skin. He groans when Dae's hand secretly finds its way down his covered member and palms him soothingly.

"You forgot to tell my dad how good you make me feel,"

"Is that so?" Jeno rhetorically asks leaving envelope kisses on her collarbone whilst undoing the back of her dress. "Should've told him how well you suck me off,"

Dae giggles when her dress becomes loose, allowing her freedom to remove her arms and then her turtle neck- only resting in a corset and bra. Her lips crash onto his as he mouths his way down her neck undoing the strings of her corset. Having his warm fingers on her skin arouses her body to beg for him. She feels his big hands going behind her back unclipping her bra.

"Is this okay?"

"Mmh," She whispers. “Just do it,”

He continues to mouth his way up her body, her warmth on his tongue when he kisses her again. In sync they move together while staring into each others eyes. He’s panting, holding her tight while his stamina takes over him and he holds her into him, allowing her movements and his to be fluid, going up and down, moving together. She was his first and every time he’d get at it with her, he always felt the same as the first time. Special. He loved being inside her, how she made him feel. Under her skin and inside his head, he can’t help but press her into her hugging her tight as he pounds into her, his eyes on solely on her. Even though the struggle to keep her eyes open, his eyes are on her loving her every expression. She was so beautiful that he didn’t even know what to do.

When they both cum into each other, she’s left shaking on his member from the pleasure and that makes Jeno laugh. “I love when your legs do that, was it good?”

“Mhm,” She moans and slowly rides him circling her hips and bouncing lightly on him again. It goes on for another round, until they're both panting on the bed fully naked with steamy smiles. Jeno groans and curses out when Dae disappears underneath the blanket with a giggling laugh. “Fuck, are you not tired?” Jeno pants, feeling her mouth wrap around his shaft. “You don’t have to do it-”

Aside from having intercourse, the one thing Jeno didn’t ask for was blow jobs. Not only did it remind him of what his brother did to her, but he was afraid that her mentality consumed the behavior from the trauma she dealt with when Mark made her suck him off. Continuing to suck and blow, Dae doesn’t stop bobbing her head and taking him whole. For her, it allowed her to have control over the situation, rather than thinking that she had no power of her own. In general being with Jeno, slowly allowed her mind to cope with the fact that something happened to her, she can't change it, she has to come to terms with it, deal with it, and now move passed it. It was a cycle she was slowly overcoming, and with Jeno beside her, it severed her as a means that even if something bad came out, something good as well could come out.

"I'm going to shower," Dae gets off the bed being breathless, skimpily jogging seductively to the bathroom before peeking at Jeno who's eyes latch with adoration, she speaks up. "You should join me,"

"I'm coming," he smiles tiredly. Getting up from the bed stretching his arms, he picks up his own towel walking towards the bathroom however stops when hearing a faint knock on the door. He checks the time, frowning when it's late into the night.

He walks quietly to the door wrapping his waist with the towel. His eyes searching through the peephole. His eyes widen when noticing a familiar figure lighting up a cigarette.

Jeno ducks from the door when the figurine sends his fist flying to the door knocking on it. "Hello?"

Mark?

The person knocks for a while on, still smoking his cigarette. Jeno still ducked is confused and gets startled by Dae walking into the living room with a grin. "They you are,"

"Shh," Jeno mumbles with a panicked voice.

Dae's brows furrow. "Who's there?"

"Uh, I'm looking for someone,"

Dae suddenly hears the voice outside. She was asking Jeno, but hearing the answer come from outside she's perplexed. Looking back to Jeno who's chest goes up and down, she moves closer carefully. It seems he's hiding from someone. "Who're you looking for?"

"Does Lee Jeno, Lee Jeno live here?"

"Uhm.." Jeno sharply shakes his head in panic and Dae catches on. "I'm sorry but it's past midnight, and Lee Jeno doesn't live here,"

"Are you sure about that? Hey, please can you open the door. I'm a relative of his."

"I said Lee Jeno doesn't live here. Can you please leave before I call the police."

It's silent on the other hand before the man speaks again. "Fine, I'll come back in the morning. Let him know." Dae's about to speak in confusion but the person speaks again. "Tell him Mark came by. His brother. Alright. I'm going."

"Brother?" Dae quietly whispers and her eyes enlarge. Feeling exposed as though being ripped of her robe, Dae securely grips on her robe trembling back. "Jeno..." She pants out. "Was that, M-Mark?"

"I went to the address you gave me. Some woman was there, said he didn't live there." Mark yawns laying back on the ground next to Donghyuck who's looking up to the stars. "And what're you doing here bro?"

Laying down on the green freshly trimmed grass Donghyuck groans and opens his eyes. "I'm not your bro man. You shot me and my brother."

"You're still at that? Let the past be the past. Now that we’re both out, we should be looking out for each other," Mark chortles.

Donghyuck shakes his head. “I never got a proper apology from you,”

Mark fidgets around trying to find a good position. "I'm sorry for shooting at you and your bro. I keep saying that I thought that maybe it was the end for us. You weren't moving and we needed to go. At least shooting at you would permit them to focus on you while I escaped."

Donghyuck turns to Mark with frisky eyes. "You fucking say that with confidence."

"I'm sorry man." Mark apologizes lowly having a smirk on his face. "Should've had your back."

"Whatever." Donghyuck mumbles and sighs out. "Anyway. I saw that address in Officer Park’s visitation book. It literally said Jeno's residence, so I assumed it's where Jeno lives."

"The apartment looks too fire for Jeno. I don’t even think he lives there.” Mark scoffs. “Then again, it wouldn’t be so bad crashing with him.”

"Your brother seems to be in good terms with the police, he occasionally speak to his Parole Officer, Officer Na. So, I don’t wanna crash there." Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders not interested in talking about Jeno. "D'you find a job yet?"

"None. I just came out last week and am not willing to go back, but my patience is wearing thin on doing things the quote on quote right way." Mark sighs. "It's why I'm out here sleeping with you in a park like a homeless kid."

"I’m actually homeless dude." Donghyuck snickers lightly.

"Nah, your mum can take you back any time. You're just choosing not to go. Stubborn."

Donghyuck scoffs. “The day I stepped into prison was the day my family and loved ones began their ‘prison’ time as well. My bad decisions caused me to be separated from my family for years. Life for my family still went on and they had to learn how to navigate through the ups and downs without me. The harsh reality of losing my freedom was that I could not truly help my loved ones in times of need compared to as if I were present. It was a bitter pill to swallow knowing that I had also sealed their fate by my own hands. When I was there with them, I felt so out of place. I don't know how many years have passed, but her and Renjun are like an oil machine. They're so tight together and it makes me feel honestly like a fuck up son and brother. A fucking loser who only goes over when he’s hungry. I..Just left." Donghyuck finds himself honestly opening up. "Life would be better if I wasn't around them. And besides, I see her at work..."

After coming out of prison, he honestly tried to get back in his mum's good books, but it seemed really pressuring. Especially with Renjun ignoring him and pretending he doesn't exist. Donghyuck could feel the tension in the air whenever he was around them and he hated that. Even though he didn't want anything to do with Mark ever again, they surprisingly found each other again. Mark came out of prison by probation and was constantly kept on a leash. So obviously when he found Donghyuck under a large oak tree in a secluded park, he knew that his friend had been staying out of trouble, and joining him wouldn’t be so bad.

“But come one man, don’t you miss having a bed?” Mark asks. “We could crash at Jeno’s place until we get some shit together,”

“You do that. He’s your brother.” Donghyuck mutters. “And judging from the fact that he hasn’t contacted you should tell you that he may not be looking forward to reuniting with you. You said you heard a chick?”

“Yeah,” Mark mumbles. “She was like, Lee Jeno doesn’t live here. But I knew she was lying,”

Donghyuck chuckles lightly. “Well if that’s the case, and he’s got a girlfriend or something, he won’t let you back in easily,”

Mark groans. “I’m his fucking brother,”

“That’s what I said about Renjun, and he hates my guts,”

“Nah that boarder jumper-”

“He’s a citizen now,”

“Wow,” Mark snickers. “Either way, he was never your brother to begin with,”

For some reason that hurts Donghyuck, because he slowly started considering Renjun as a brother and everything he did was always for his mother as well as Renjun’s wellbeing. And despite being in okay terms with his mum, he also wanted to get back on Renjun’s good books. “Well if you wanna get back with your brother, I suggest getting him to sympathize over you because if he’s anything like Renjun, he won’t let you in his house,”

“That’s some brother,” Mark shakes his head. “But it’s cool, I’ll stay with you,”

Mark doesn't want to say it, but it's evident that they only have each other. While Mark didn't want to lose the friend he had, Donghyuck wanted to stay away as far as possible from him. “I thought maybe getting myself in an accident, like breaking my arm or starving myself, would have them take me in easily. But no, they’ve got stone cold hurts. But the little I know of Jeno, if you hurt yourself he could take you in,” Donghyuck plants the seed into Mark’s head. Now he’s just hoping Mark will take the bait.

It's why before dawn, before the sun comes out of its blanket, Donghyuck awakes early and gets ready for his day by simply wearing his leather jacket. His eyes go over to Mark before getting up and heading to his day job.

His mum was kind enough to buy him 2 extra pairs of trousers as well as 2 clean shirts, and Donghyuck kept them in the school’s janitor closet. He knew it wasn’t professional, but it’s not like the school would know- since the school also offered him janitor uniform which was a grey shirt with the school’s logo and white pants. So after cleaning his face in the male washroom, he heads into the tiny janitor’s closet to change up into his work uniform. The choice in color not only made him look approachable, but it singled him out as the cleaner.

Most of the time Donghyuck didn’t have to do much cleaning since the young kindergarten students would always clean up their home room classes early in the morning. Donghyuck only had to handle the staffs’ resting room, bathrooms, hall ways and occasionally cleaning outside the jungle gym. The kindergarten school was a moderately rich school with a big yard and no other buildings around. It had students from the age of 5 to 7, and only 7 staff members (including his mum), 1 principle and 2 janitors- in total 10 workers. The school had 6 working days, so Donghyuck worked Thursday’s to Saturday. With only a number of staffs team, the school wasn’t that big, but it was decently strong in the education department of training young students. One thing Donghyuck liked about it, was that it was a private school, meaning the young students were taught much more than the average kindergartener.

Donghyuck had students politely greet him, had some helping him with picking up trash and throwing it in the bin, and even (on some rare days) shared with him some of their merit sweets. But none of the students were like the little female student known by the name of Areum.

While she was like the rest of the students, politely greeting him, helping him after school when all her friends had gone and even giving him some of her merit sweets- ever since that day that they spoke on the bench, she was attentive to him.

“Hi Mr Sunshine,” She greets in a tiny voice that echoed loudly with a big bright smile.

Donghyuck turns his head down to the little kid, just as his mother who’s walking down the hallway towards him notices the little girl. “Hey kid,” Donghyuck greets noticing she has a basket and opens it up revealing some creamy cupcakes. She digs her hand inside and picks up one with a glittery label on a toothpick that said, Mr Sunshine. Donghyuck’s brows furrow with a little smile. “What’s this?”

“Today is my birthday,” She smiles brightly.

Donghyuck takes the glittery cupcake bending his knees and crouching down to be almost at eye level with the little girl. “You’re a leap year baby? How old are you now?”

“I’m now 6 years old,”

Donghyuck tries not to laugh. “Technically, you’re 1 years old because this is the first leap year in years, but I’m not gonna judge.” She smiles. “Well happy birthday kid. Did you make for your whole class?”

She nods her head.

“You’re a very kind little girl,” Donghyuck lightly pats her head smiling before he stands up. “Thank you for making me a cupcake. I don’t have a present for you now, but I can tell you a joke,”

“Okay,” She gets excited.

“Why did the clown go to the doctor?”

“Why?” Even before Donghyuck can finish, she already starts giggling.

“He was feeling funny,” Donghyuck puts emphasis on the funny as he moves his hands in a wave manner- and of course she loses her mind and topples over while laughing. Donghyuck pats her head cautiously. “Why don’t you head on to class. The bell’s about to ring, hurry,”

“Okay, bye Mr Sunshine,” She cools down from her laugh.

“See ya,” Donghyuck gets back up and drags the rest of the cleaning supplies back into the janitor’s closet. While opening up the door and goes inside, his mother (who stopped walking to watch the interaction) begins walking to the janitor closet only for her to freeze in her steps when noticing an all too familiar face…faces.

“Areum, don’t go too quick,” The lady in a navy nurse uniform turns into the corridor and finally sees the little girl. “Hey, wait up,” She walks with one large brown bag as well as a covered cake in the other hand just as a little girl, the same little girl Donghyuck was talking to, comes over and walks alongside her.

“Sorry mummy,” She smiles. “The bell’s going to ring,”

“Don’t worry about the bell, you’re going to mess up the cupcakes and doughnuts if you run too quick,” A man, standing next to them in a police uniform smiles down at the little Areum.

“Okay, I was just excited,” She bounces up and down. “I wanna give everyone a cake already,”

“Then let’s not keep you waiting,” The man has his hands filled with several plastic bags but still managing to hold onto the little girl’s hand. Donghyuck’s mother blinks twice and has to turn away while the pair and little girl walks past her.

His mother is in shock after recognizing that the police officer was Na Jaemin and the nurse looked exactly the same as the girl that had her house broken into by her son and friends, her name was Yezi. After they pass she quickly goes into the janitor’s room but stops midway when Donghyuck pulls the door open and dusts his hands while eating and chewing on the cupcake, being surprised to see his mum.

“Mum?”

“H-hey,” She greets with a tight smile, but then grabs his arm and quickly dashes outside of the building holding him tight.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Donghyuck asks as he’s being dragged out the building. “What did I do?”

“Donghyuck, who’s that little girl that keeps talking to you?” She asks when they’re outside taking in one big breath.

Donghyuck tries to think for a second when trying to get this mum’s question. “I don’t know, Areum, why? Is it because of the cupcake? It’s her birthday and she gave me one,”

“That’s not what I’m asking, I’m asking whether you know who this girl, as in her parents?” His mother tries to calmly ask out.

Donghyuck furrows his brows and shakes his head while shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know her parents. Why? Did she get hurt?”

Donghyuck’s mother can only stare at him with wide eyes feeling her heart beat fast. Her son just got out of prison and had been doing fairly well for some weeks now. She can’t allow anything bad to happen to him. “Look,” She breathes in nervously. “This little girl, just like all the other girls and boys have parents and families who are stacked with money and power. I just want you to be careful whenever you talk or engage with them. I doubt any of them would approve that an ex prisoner is a janitor at this school, they would lose their minds. I know these people. Which is why, I’m saying this. I don’t want any problems so I’m asking you, please Donghyuck, do not- and I repeat, do not find yourself in a problematic situation involving these kids. Okay?”

Donghyuck nods head when seeing how serious his mum looks. “I won’t. I promise,”

“Especially that little girl who’s always around you.”

Donghyuck nods his head again.

“In fact, I want you to stay as far away from her.” She pats his arm slightly and heads back into the school allowing her hand to massage her neck that became slightly stiff. “I hope he listens,”

Donghyuck doesn’t even have to think of the situation, especially regarding that little girl. If his mum was warning him, it only meant that this girl had parents who would cause havoc in his new path. So continuing to eat his cupcake he walks to the corner of the building and connects the hose pipe to begin watering the grass.

Yezi has to do a double take when seeing the man. Of course she can’t see his face but his backside has her in wonder. Especially since he’s eating a cupcake.

“Are you coming?” She snaps out of her thoughts when hearing Jaemin.

“Yes I am,” She smiles when buckling her seatbelt. “I hope Areum has fun today,”

“Me too,” Jaemin notes and starts up his car. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something,”

“Sure, as long as you’re still taking me to work,”

Jaemin begins driving turning his gaze lightly to Yezi before looking back to the road. “I was taking Areum to school the other day, and noticed something weird,”

“What? She picks her nose? Tells bad puns? Laughs and talks alone? I was worried too, but dad said it’s a natural thing for kids so it’s okay.”

Jaemin’s ghost smile fades when recalling what Areum was doing. “She was...” Jaemin sighs deeply as he himself didn’t even know how to say it. The sight was unusual and made him question what was going on in her head. Yezi takes note of his chilling tone, and watches him. “She’s an odd child, but I worry about her. I know it feels like I’ve pushed the boundary between work and your family, but I really do worry about her,”

“I’m grateful that you’ve always been there for me and my family whenever we called. And ever since Areum was born you’ve almost become like family to me. So I appreciate you so much Mr Na,” Yezi acknowledges Jaemin by meekly smiling in his direction. He was 7 years older then her, but whenever looking at him she always got butterflies. Much to her family, Jaemin was just an officer, but to her- he was like her best friend. “So to have you worried about her, makes me kinda feel anxious. What’s wrong? What did she do?”

“It’s not what she did… more like where did she learn it from,” Jaemin licks his lips peeking at her. “How active are you with your boyfriend? Sexually speaking.”

The question makes her cheeks and neck glow in warmth. She even shifts in her seat trying to remain calm. “Uh, Jaehyun and I… don’t really…we haven’t gotten on that boat yet,”

That’s news to Jaemin’s ears. “Really?” Yezi nods her head. “You haven’t had any inter-”

“It’s kinda hard thinking about sex when I was raped as a child.” Yezi mutters. “Did Areum say something odd?”

“No, no,” Jaemin runs his hand through his hair. He tries to be respectful considering Yezi’s history. “I’m just asking. A-actually, tell me about him. Jaehyun.”

“Pardom?” Yezi has to blow air out of her mouth when finding the atmosphere warm and a little bit too much for her. “You hate when I talk about him,”

“That’s because he’s 9 years older than you,” Jaemin mutters covering up with a cough. “I mean, I don’t have anything against the guy other than he’s 30 and you’re 21. He’s a great guy, has a good looking face, egotistical personality-”

“Jaemin,” Yezi drags out a sigh with her smiley face. “He’s nice to me. But what does asking about him have to do with what Areum did? What did she do, tell me?” Jaemin’s nonchalant face doesn’t budge only making Yezi much more adamant. “Jaemin?”

“I’m just looking out for her,” Jaemin says. “I know you work over time, and your dad doesn’t get back until late and your mum started attending some afternoon yoga classes- but really is there no one else you can trust Areum with? Nanny even?”

“The last time I trusted a nanny, I found her hitting Areum as a form of discipline. I’m not going down the nanny line again. Plus the one’s we have at home only work for my dad and mum. They can watch Areum, but I don’t want them too. She’s my little girl and I don’t want them to pontificate her mind,”

“Come on Yezi, and Jaehyun?” Jaemin’s eyes widen. “He’s a 30-year-old man. Just because he’s got a lot of free time doesn’t-”

“I trust Jaehyun because he makes Areum happy, she doesn’t get nervous or scared around him. And because he’s older he takes his responsibilities seriously. It’s not his responsibility, but he’s passionate about her and that makes me feel some form of safety.”

“The best I can do is drop her every morning to school while you go off to work early in the mornings. If I could look after her, after school, would you allow me too?”

Yezi has an unknown sad frown on her face, but subtly nods. “She doesn’t open up much to people and with you she’s afraid because you have a gun and deal with ‘bad people’, but if it’s what you want to do, I can consider it. But you already have so much on your plate,”

“Trust me Yezi, Jaehyun’s great. But there’s something off… maybe it’s not even Jaehyun. Maybe it’s her friends at school,” Jaemin begins second doubting himself.

“Jaemin what did she do, that has you so worked up?” Yezi pleads this time feeling worried.

Jaemin sighs. “It’s not a big deal, just…” Jaemin’s eyes brighten. “What about your sister? You said she’s clean again, can’t you ask her-”

“I’m not gonna ask her until you tell me what happened with Areum?”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes, before the nerves kick in again. How would he tell her that he caught her daughter bouncing and even dry humping herself on the backseat of his car? She would be in a frenzy state. But then again, Jaemin could be over thinking it and Areum wasn’t doing anything scandalous and he could’ve saw wrong….no he couldn’t have saw wrong for 18 weeks now. “She humps her seat every morning I take her to school.” Jaemin reveals. “And she does it excessively, like she’s trying to pleasure herself. I, I could be reading too much into it but I can’t help but wonder why she does that. I’ve tried asking her but she stops and then says nothing.”

“So, you’re suspecting Jaehyun of-”

“No, I’m not. I just.” Jaemin stops himself before finding the words. “She’s a little girl and takes things in easily. In a way, if he’s the one watching her afterschool, don’t you think she’s learning things from him? Plus I could be wrong about him, and it’s not him but instead it’s the students at her school. Maybe some male student or even the female students, I don’t know Yezi. If I’m reading too much into it, then there’s nothing wrong and it’s nothing to worry about, but if it’s something true then I think you should check on the people around her because she’s learning some bad things for her age. She just turned 6 today,”

Yezi is in silence as well as astonishment from everything Jaemin says. “Humping her seat how?”

Jaemin doesn’t say anything but then his body starts awkwardly moving back and forth before he starts bouncing lightly on his seat. The scene is erotic and has Yezi’s eyes widening. “Like that,” Jaemin says before stopping and resting back on his seat.

Yezi sharply intakes some air and looks away. Her cheeks are flushed and the tempo of her heart changes. However, for the rest of the ride, she says nothing until Jaemin reaches the hospital in which she interns in. “Have a good day,” Jaemin says, a small smile sipping onto his lips just as his eyes look guilty for causing her tension so early in the morning.

Yezi stiffly smiles and unlocks her door stepping out. She shuts the door and heads to his boot to bring out her work bad- afterwards she goes back to the window and knocks on it. “I’ll call Dae and see if she’s available. Uh, do you mind picking me up afterwards?”

“Time?”

“Half past six,”

“Sure,” He nods his head but he can’t help when asking. “Will Jaehyun be with Areum?”

She stiffly nods her head and tilts her head to the side looking anxious. “I’ll talk to him during my lunch break. Thanks for telling me.”

For the next coming of days, Yezi is highly cautious of Areum. She tries spotting or even catching Areum when ‘humping’, but just like Jaehyun said perhaps Areum wanted to pee on those days that Jaemin picked her up. Jaehyun assured Yezi that Areum only acts like that when she really wants to use the bathroom. Her suspicion died down when Jaehyun assured her that Areum is a good girl and doesn’t know things like that- and if she did, then he would put it down immediately. And even when Yezi tried investigating by talking with teachers at her school, and with her dad and mum- they were confused by the brass topic. ‘How could she know such?’ They’d ask. Even when Yezi would hump the floor and ask Areum what was happening- Areum didn’t seem to know what her mother was talking about or even doing. So while Jaemin never brought it up again, Yezi was able to relax and hoping that indeed Jaemin might’ve seen Areum in her pressed state and in need to use the toilet.

However, for Donghyuck who constantly watches Areum rub herself on the bench when everyone’s gone gets bothered by it. Like his mother said, he tries to stay away from Areum as much as he can. But he can’t help it, when day by day it really looks scandalous. This little girl was being sexually abused and mind fucked by her uncle.

Donghyuck doesn’t know the depths of it, of how much the little girl knows, but it surely gets on his nerve every time he’d see the smirking uncle touch the girl. Areum, even though Donghyuck didn’t know her, was a sweet little girl who loved making friends with everybody. She was a little class clown who brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Donghyuck remembers when on one assembly, while the students were watching their entertainment of the week by some dancing clowns, Areum got up as well and began dancing- challenging the clowns, bringing smiles and laughter to everyone’s faces. Donghyuck even acknowledges how smart she is, from always getting golden sticker stars on her forhead to the amount of merit sweets she’d get- this tiny little girl was oblivious to the fact that she was being used by her uncle, all in the name of playing.

And so when approaching her after school past 3pm on a Thursday, he notices how tired she looks when dragging her pelvis slowly on the bench.

“Hey kid,” He pipes up with a tiny smile, causing her little drained face to meekly smile.

“Hi Mr Sunshine.” She tries smiling but she looks so tired.

Donghyuck takes a seat next to her on the bench taking a look at her. “No joke today?”

She stops humping hanging her head down.

In her lack of response, Donghyuck clears his throat speaking again. “Waiting for your uncle?”

She looks up and nods her head. Donghyuck feels strange watching her look so drained of energy before her gaze goes back to the ground. It’s silent for a little while before he speaks up again.

“Do you still play that game with your uncle?” The question itself makes Donghyuck itch the wrong way, but when Areum tenses up his face thickens with anxiety. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like playing fuck with Uncle Jung anymore.” She murmurs out. “But he likes playing it.”

Donghyuck’s jaws lock before he tries asking another question. “Why don’t you tell your mum? Or dad?”

“Mummy likes him too much,” She answers. “And I’m scared she’ll be angry with me,”

Donghyuck finds himself feeling bad for the little girl. She must not have a father, and her mother might be a strict rich parent or something along the lines- Donghyuck thinks to himself. “I think you should tell mummy. If you tell her what uncle does to you, she’ll tell uncle to stop.”

She shakes her head timidly and looks nervous. “Uncle Jung will punish me. He told me to never ever tell mummy or else fuck will become harder,”

Donghyuck’s brows furrow in distaste. That fucker, he thinks. “How about this,” Donghyuck breathes in. “I can tell a teacher and then your teacher will tell your mum-”

“Nooo,” She shakes her head looking petrified. “Uncle Jung doesn’t like bad girls. If I’m a bad girl, he’ll punish me.”

Aside from her outburst in stress, Donghyuck can tell that something has changed in her. Whereas the first few days she looked content of the ‘game’, she now seems more reluctant. “Do you like playing that game?” He asks lowly.

Areum shakes her head before getting up from her seat when a black vehicle stops in front of them. Donghyuck is deep in his thoughts until a car comes. He bites his lip to hold back his anger, but he gets up and walks with Areum until her uncle is out the car.

“Hey puppy,” He greets with the pet name. Donghyuck’s ears are sharp when hearing the ‘happiness’ sip out of Areum. Poor little girl is so afraid that she even fakes her happiness. “She wasn’t a bother was she?”

Donghyuck’s head turns to the man and he shakes his head. “She never is. Hey uh, sir.”

“Yes?” Jaehyun peers back at the man after shutting the door when Areum gets in the backseat.

Donghyuck can’t find the words to say when looking at the little girl in the backseat. He only feels anger boiling in him. She’s trapped in the car with an abuser. “Whatever game you’re playing with her you should stop.”

Jaehyun’s head tilts to the side and he blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Donghyuck turns in his step and walks back to the school.

Little does Donghyuck know when Jaehyun gets back in the car he turns back to Areum who has her head hanging low. “Areum were you a naughty girl today at school?”

Areum looks up and shakes her head.

“Are you lying to me?”

She shakes her head again.

“Does that guy know about the game?”

Areum hesitates a little and her eyes look down. Jaehyun starts his car being angered. He doesn’t say anything except plays his jam as he drives back to his house whereby he’d stay with Areum until 18h30 and take her back home. Upon getting to his house, he helps Areum undress into the spare clothes her mother left over at his house, and begins assisting her with her homework. When they’re done, he allows her to watch tv while he works on his laptop. Initially, they’d have ‘play time’, but Jaehyun is heated with anger that he denies her request of play time and goes into his room. Not long after, Areum knocks on the door and pushes it open.

“I’m sorry Uncle Jung.” Areum apologizes when standing by his door. “I won’t tell anyone again.”

Hearing that, Jaehyun exhales lowly. Recently he started doing things a little bit different with her, perhaps it was too much for her. “What did you tell him? And don’t lie to me.”

She keeps her head down, being scared to look up. “I don’t know.” She admits. “That I play fuck with you and that you touch me here.” She points to her lower part.

Jaehyun rolls on his chair and faces her. It took him only a few conversations for him to convince Yezi that he wasn’t doing anything inappropriate with her daughter. And truly speaking he wasn’t…he only liked to show Areum how her body worked and what she should do to relieve herself. He liked to touch…and see how she liked it. Aside from that, he didn’t think that he did anything wrong. She would soon forget about it as she grew up, but for now he was aroused at how the little girl’s body worked. Despite being so young, she reacted pleasantly to all the games they’d play together. He didn’t want to stop, and he surely enjoyed himself while playing with her- if anyone else found out about this, they’d have him imprisoned. “Do you want to see me go to prison?”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “No Uncle Jung.”

“Do you want mummy to stop us playing together?”

She shakes her head.

“Then next time, don’t tell anyone. If you don’t like the games anymore, tell me and I’ll stop. But never ever tell anyone again, or I’ll be forced to punish you, and you don’t want to be punished right,”

PLAY: Season 2: Part 2

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johnnysuhbmarine · 22 days ago

Text

Too Good to be Fake

Pairing: Jaemin x reader Description: If there was one thing Na Jaemin was known for, it was being a fuckboy with no interest in commitment. If there was one thing you knew him for, it was being your best friend…and long-time crush. When his group of guy friends gets tired of the roster Jaemin seems to be running through, they propose a deal - they’d each give him $100 if he could settle down with one girl for at least three months. But that was easy money to Jaemin. After all, he could just fake-date you. Content warnings: swearing, talk about sex, mentions/consumption of alcohol, a panic attack (not the reader), one punch gets thrown, reader has a somewhat bad relationship with her parents, their obliviousness to the other’s feelings makes you want to slam your head against a wall, some angst but it’s mainly through unaddressed fluff. Please let me know if I’ve missed anything. Word count: 31,947 A/n: I didn’t know I could write this much, but after making my smau, I was ITCHING for written work ahahahhahahahaha. Please enjoy, though who am I to tell you what to do…as always, feedback would be greatly appreciated. I love you :) also because I must tag @fullsunstrawberry in everything I do...here you go - I love you the mostest!

The semester was in full swing for just over a month, and Haechan was already tired of the amount of girls Jaemin had brought over to their apartment. The first two years of university cemented Jaemin’s image as resident fuckboy, but no one cared about the fact that they couldn’t keep him for more than a night because he was hot enough to make the one night worth it. Similarly, Jaemin couldn’t care less about being labeled a fuckboy - at the end of the day, all it meant was that he was able to get his dick wet with no added pressure from the expectation to ever commit; the concept seemed like heaven to him.

However, the start of junior year had his best friends thinking it was time for a change. As Jaemin sat down in one of their usual cafés for lunch, all eyes were on him. “Alright, Jaemin, we figure you’ve had your fun for the past two years now,” Chenle said with a gleam in his eyes.

“Too much fun…” Haechan adds under his breath.

Jaemin looked around at the group with furrowed brows. “Whatever is going on, can we stop it and just have our coffee and sandwiches like normal? Why am I being targeted for the amount of fun I’m having? You’ve all had your fair share of fun, too.”

Jeno let out a small laugh at Jaemin’s defense. “Yeah, but we aren’t nicknamed the campus fuckboy. Plus, we’ve all been in actual relationships during our time in college.”

Jaemin’s face drops, no longer interested at all in the conversation they were clearly wanting to have. “I could be in a relationship if I wanted to be, I just don’t want to,” he’s quick to mutter in reply.

“Why not?” Renjun asks, raising his eyebrows in wait.

Jaemin lets out a scoff. “All that love and commitment is stupid. You guys put so much effort into your previous relationships and yet, we’re all currently sitting at this table single. There’s no one who makes me want to even try being in a relationship. Why would I want to risk wasting all that effort on someone?”

His six best friends eyed each other around the table, either not buying it or not caring. “Look man,” Mark starts, getting Jaemin to turn his attention over to him. “Regardless of how you feel about love, Haechan is tired of listening to you and whatever girl you bring home that night…and he’s especially tired of it always being a different girl to walk in on him while he’s singing in the kitchen making breakfast. So, to maybe help him out, and also to test your ability because honestly, I don’t know if any of us think you’re capable…in the nicest way possible, of course. We wanna propose a bet- or a deal is probably the better word for it.” Jaemin shoots his gaze over to the rest of them, but no one bore a look of amusement, they were all curiously locked in. “If you can get a girlfriend and settle down for at least three months, we’ll give you $600.”

Well originally, Jaemin had no interest in any part of this, but if everything worked out the way his brain was planning it, that $600 could potentially be easy cash…not to mention a lot of it.

“I’m in,” he pipes up immediately, truthfully stunning his best friends at the table. Nevertheless, they all shake on it, and then Jaemin only has one thing to do…after finishing his coffee and sandwich, of course.

One day later, you get a text from Jaemin. Free to catch up today? Your cheeks blush warmly at the message. It wasn’t anything special, but after being glued to each other’s sides during high school, college saw you and Jaemin having considerably less time for each other; so it was always nice to see you were still a thought in his mind because truly, you missed your best friend like no other.

Free to catch up everyday :)) You respond, and Jaemin’s reply comes instantaneously.

Perfect ;) meet you at the café in two hours

You check the clock before mapping out how you would spend all your time in between now and then, quickly deciding most of it should be directed towards making yourself look presentable, seeing as you’ve done nothing but rot in bed all morning.

Fast forward two hours and you were already sitting at one of the café tables when the bell rang as Jaemin walked through the door. He scans the inside before his eyes find you and he lights up. “Hi, best friend!” He says overenthusiastically as he pulls out the chair across from you. You furrow your brows at his tone, not to mention his usage of ‘best friend,’ when you think you remember Jaemin calling you that only once before when you were both still in high school, and had since never labeled you like that again - not that it was an incorrect label, but one that he typically didn’t make a huge deal about unless…

“Oh, god,” you start sarcastically. “What mess did you get yourself into now?”

“Hey!” Jaemin shoots back in mock hurt, moving a hand over his heart as if you’ve just shot him. You let out a light laugh, rolling your eyes.

“Sorry, Jaem, please continue.”

He immediately ducks his head to face his lap, his tone bearing a fraction of the force it previously had. “Okay so, I got myself into a mess.” You can’t help the genuine laugh that escapes you as you shake your head. Jaemin whips his head up to face you in response, but as you manage to stop your laughter, all you can do is meet his gaze with a softness in your eyes that perfectly balanced the playful smirk on your lips.

“I’ve missed you a lot, you know,” you respond, and Jaemin rolls his lips inward to try and stop the smile as he directs his gaze somewhere off to the side.

“Yeah, hoping you’re still thinking that after I explain,” he replies hesitantly, and your face falls in an instant.

“You got me into a mess?!” You ask in disbelief, and Jaemin lets out a light sigh.

“Not yet, but that’s kind of the goal,” he answers, scrunching up his facial features as he waits for your reprimanding. Though it never comes, and instead, you speak plainly through a sigh.

“An explanation needs to come out of your mouth in three, two-”

Jaemin curls himself into a ball as best he can while sitting in the café chair, wanting some kind of physical defense before explaining himself in a rush. “I need us to fake date for three months so can you please please please be my fake girlfriend?” When he doesn’t get coffee thrown at him, he takes a moment to unfurl himself and look over at you again, his gaze met with your indifferent expression.

“Why?” You ask neutrally, and it seems to finally hit Jaemin that you were still the same sane, comforting presence you always had been, even if the two of you hadn’t properly hung out in over a year. He settles more decidedly into his chair, though he still frames his words through a lens of embarrassment, figuring that might be the best way to get you to agree - if you knew he knew he was stupid.

“$600 and to prove something to my friends,” he replies, his words light but his demeanor dead serious.

“And why me?” You toss back, causing Jaemin to roll his eyes as he throws his gaze off to the side again with a scoff.

“Cause every other girl I know has a crush on me and it’d make this very weird. I’m not trying to actually be in a relationship. That’s the last thing I want.” His words this time are firm enough to match his demeanor, and it has you taking a sip of your coffee to fight back the awkwardness you would’ve otherwise choked on.

“...Right,” you say in agreement, because out of all the times you could come clean about your huge crush on your best friend, right after he tells you that he doesn’t want a relationship is probably the worst time to do so.

“So?” Jaemin inquires hopefully, snapping you out of your thoughts. You flick your gaze up to him before immediately darting it back to your coffee on the table, one of your hands messing with the straw absentmindedly. Then you give in, because you suck at saying ‘no’ to your best friend.

“...Fine, but then we’re making a contract,” you say plainly, swirling the ice around in your americano. Jaemin lets out something like a laugh, shaking his head.

“Y/n, you’re taking this so seriously-” He starts, but you whip your head back up to him in an instant, cutting him off with sincerity.

“They’ll see right through it if we don’t,” you state, and you watch Jaemin’s adam's apple bob up and down in his throat as he swallows awkwardly.

He shakes out of it before putting his hands up in defeat. “Okay, whatever. Go ahead,” he replies, disinterested. You roll your eyes, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from your backpack. Then you get to writing, because you were gonna need to set some intense boundaries if you were hoping to make it out of this alive.

“Alright, I think this should be good for right now,” you say after a few minutes, sliding the piece of paper his way. He takes one glance at it before letting out a laugh and directing his gaze back to you with raised brows.

“‘No kissing?’ I don’t mean to alarm you, but that’s actually the quickest way for them to see right through it,” he quips. You run your fingers through your hair awkwardly as you dodge his gaze, finally nodding your head with a sigh.

“Okay fine, we can change it. No kissing unless they bring it up or get suspicious. Good?” You ask, finally looking up at him again. He lets an amused smile paint its way across his lips as he stares at you across the table.

“Ha, we’ll keep it for now,” he agrees before turning his attention back to the paper and looking over the next thing you wrote. “‘No weird nicknames?’” He reads, popping his head back up to look at you for clarification. You roll your eyes, slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah, like sugar, pumpkin, honey, buttercup, sweetie, sweetheart, cutie pie, baby, babe, darling-” You’re cut off by a genuine laugh from Jaemin, helping you realize you’ve missed the sound of it a lot, and not at all helping the awkward situation you’ve gotten yourself into.

“Okay, you’re just naming every pet name imaginable,” he counters as though you were crazy.

You roll your lips inward, hesitating on how to respond before opting with a near-whisper. “I don’t like them,” you admit quietly, and Jaemin’s demeanor falls from playful to understanding. He opens his mouth to reply but closes it again before any words get out, instead taking another moment to think.

“They’re gonna expect me to call you something,” he finally says, speaking as though it were an apology.

You sigh, knowing he wasn’t lying. Idly messing with your hands, you reply quietly. “...are they gonna expect me to call you something, too?” You ask, and Jaemin contemplates with a sorry nod.

“Yeah, probably. Look, you can call me whatever you’re comfortable with, and if that’s just ‘Jaem,’ that’s fine.”

A more lenient answer than you were expecting, you shoot your head up to look back at him again, though your brows slightly furrow as you address the part he didn’t. “What about you?”

Jaemin lets out a soft sigh. “How about I just limit my usage of pet names, and I won’t call you anything food-related,” he suggests lightly, figuring those nicknames having made up your first seven examples meant you hated them the most. You roll your eyes but a smile crosses your face regardless because he was right, after all…and caring enough to actually realize that.

“I can live with that,” you relent, and a big grin comes back onto Jaemin’s face at the progress. He moves his attention back towards the contract, but immediately is whipping his gaze back to you in hurt.

“Why can’t I be the one to break it off?” He pouts, and you have half a mind to laugh, but you know he’s serious.

“If you date me for exactly three months and then break up with me, no matter how believable we make it, they’re either going to know it was set up or they’re going to assume you learned nothing and probably not give you the money,” you explain, and Jaemin’s pout turns into an impressed nod.

“You have a point…” He breathes out, causing you to smirk.

“I know.”

He bites on his bottom lip, deep in thought before turning back to you again. “We probably shouldn’t date for exactly three months then, either,” he adds, and you flash your eyebrows in recognition.

“That’s also true,” you say before putting together a calendar in your head. “Well, if today’s September 27th, three months is December 27th, so…we could have New Year’s Eve be our last night together?” You suggest awkwardly. Though, when you look back up towards Jaemin, he’s putting your timeline together with a nod.

“Works for me,” he cedes, scribbling your end date somewhere off to the side before continuing to scan down the list. His next question comes with the very last bullet point on the contract. “‘Come home with me for Christmas dinner?’” He reads before looking up at you in confusion. You shake your head with a laugh.

“Well, you didn’t think I’d do this for nothing in return, did you?”

Jaemin flashes his eyebrows in acknowledgement. “Okay…so why Christmas dinner?” He asks, and you drop your gaze back to your coffee.

“My family keeps riding my ass about not having a boyfriend. If you come back with me and pretend to be my boyfriend there, too, then even when we end things, they’ll at least be off my case for a while,” you admit, embarrassment tainting your voice before you rush to make the request sound more appealing. “And it’s not actual Christmas dinner! It’s that first weekend after finals week. You remember the big dinner we always had with other family friends and all that,” you drag off with an awkward laugh.

“Okay,” Jaemin agrees immediately, and you look back up at him in shock.

“Really? You’re agreeing to that?” You question, but he just shrugs his shoulders.

“Y/n, you’re getting me $600, the least I can do is one dinner with your family. Besides, they’re practically my second set of parents. I’m pretty sure I had at least a hundred dinners with them during high school,” he jokes, and the tension in your shoulders falls. You guys were really doing this…all of this. The two of you left the café and parted ways soon after agreeing to the terms of the contract, Jaemin feeling $600 richer already with how easy this was going to be.

Jaemin picked you up from class on the first day you would be meeting his friends, five days after the two of you signed your contract to fake-date. He greets you with an easy smile outside of your classroom door. “Hey, you ready?” He asks, and you send a nervous smile back up at him.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” you reply with a laugh. He flashes his eyebrows in acknowledgement, feeling much the same way seeing as this was probably the least conventional thing he’s ever done.

He leads you outside and towards the guys’ regular lunch spot at one of the tables set up in the campus commons. Jaemin had told his friends beforehand that he had gone and gotten himself a girlfriend and thus, to start the three month timer, and they were the ones who begged him to bring you to one of the lunches so they could meet you, and now here you were - walking casually towards the lunch table with Jaemin…too casually, Chenle noticed, because you weren’t even holding hands. He keeps quiet, but lets an easy smirk come across his face as you and Jaemin sit down next to each other.

“Alright, guys,” Jaemin starts as the rest of the friend group pins their full attention on you. “This is y/n. My girlfriend,” he says with a smile. The label sends ice through your veins. You could not believe Na Jaemin was introducing you as his girlfriend…it didn’t matter that the label was fake, the words sounded real coming out of his mouth. You turn your head to look at him, as if to get some kind of confirmation that it really was Jaemin next to you, calling you his girlfriend. By the time your gaze reaches him, he’s already looking over at you with a cheesy grin, nudging your side playfully with his arm and getting you to relax a little.

The guys go around introducing themselves, but as they make their full way around the table, Jeno immediately speaks up.

“So, how did the two of you get together?” He asks curiously. A valid question, which is why the guys all lean forward in interest, because of course they would be dying to know how their fuckboy best friend got an actual girlfriend rather than a hookup. It was a horrible question though, because it was one you forgot would ever come up, and you had no game plan to go about answering this. Though, it seemed all you had to worry about was keeping your eyes from going wide, because Jaemin did have a game plan for this, and he answered smoothly.

“I just asked her out,” he says with a shrug. “It’s always been so easy with y/n, I take it for granted most of the time. Every time I’m with her, I’m reminded that it takes no effort to breathe, that I’m standing on solid ground. We met up for coffee the other day and she said she missed me and I-” He falters for a moment, and you finally bring your gaze up from your lap to face Jaemin, just to see him shake his head as if he were breaking himself out of a nostalgia trip. “I wanted to hear that again and again,” he finally says seriously, and you can’t stop the smile from reaching your face. “So, though now it just sounds embarrassing saying it out loud, I straight up asked her to be my girlfriend right after that,” he adds through a laugh. “I had been waiting for the butterflies that everyone always talks about, but the fact that I’ve never really felt that with her just made me more sure I wanna be with her - there’s no discomfort or anxiety,” he says, and with your head ducked back in to face your lap, you miss it when he turns to look at you softly. “She’s just always felt like home.”

Jaemin’s answer seems to have done its job in convincing everyone, and it definitely did its job in reminding you that you were in deep trouble. Though, as the rest of the guys take in Jaemin’s words with an impressed nod, Mark tries to fill in his holes. “Wait, how long have you known each other?” He asks, which was another valid question seeing as Jaemin talked about you with history even though you had never met his friend group before.

“We’ve been friends since high school,” Jaemin says coolly, though this time, you’re the one to nudge him with a laugh.

“Best friends,” you add teasingly, and Jaemin chuckles as he looks over at your figure before nodding his head.

“Yeah, best friends,” he agrees fondly. “But, I’ve liked her for a while now,” he says, turning back towards the group as his face falls and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “I just- obviously have the image that I do and I never wanted to get her tied up in it. She deserves more than being labeled as some fuckboy’s latest infatuation,” he says, and as you furrow your brows at him, he just shakes his head, moving on with a light smile. “Though, obviously, I saw her last week and couldn’t help it anymore.”

Sorry smiles cross most of the guys’ faces - they were no help when it came to keeping labels away from Jaemin, and he was sure putting on a convincing show, making it almost seem like it was their fault the two of you hadn’t already gotten together.

Haechan swings his gaze over to you with raised eyebrows, shifting gears to try and not to let the dampened mood actually settle in. “And you? How long have you liked him?” He asks, and you have to stop the laugh from leaving your system. Instead, you just shake your head fondly.

“Forever,” you answer truthfully, turning to face Jaemin before immediately pulling your gaze back down to your lap in embarrassment. “Any girl will tell you, it’s impossible not to fall for Na Jaemin.” At this, all the guys roll their eyes, but Jaemin just turns to study you softly, biting on his bottom lip in contemplation as he tries to sort out whether any part of your statement was true or if you were just really good at acting.

However, with the rumbling of Jisung’s stomach, he quickly discards the topic of you and Jaemin, deciding that after all the intro questions were out of the way, food was much more interesting. The guys laugh along as Jisung rips through his paper bag lunch, but it does its job in getting them to focus on their own food in front of them, too.

Casual conversation occurred over lunch, and you were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t awkward at all. Not that you were expecting the guys to be awkward with each other, but you typically weren’t great at meeting new people; and now you were meeting six of them at once, somehow fitting right in, your occasional remarks causing the whole table to laugh - something you’d have to pat yourself on the back for later. The only disturbance comes from Chenle, who had begun leaning way back from the table, carefully balancing his weight on the bench as he seems to examine the ground by your feet.

The entire friend group eventually catches on to his antics, turning their attention towards him with raised eyebrows. “What are you doing?” Renjun finally asks, the question coming out as though he thought Chenle were crazy…which probably wasn’t too far from his actual stance on the matter.

Chenle shakes his head, pulling himself back into a normal sitting position as he locks his gaze onto you and Jaemin. “Don’t most couples have a hand placed on the other’s thigh or something while sitting? Why are you guys like- a foot away from each other?” He asks plainly. Your face drops and your eyes widen.

“We are not a foot away from each other,” you remark firmly, but then Jisung peaks beneath the table as well, pulling back up with a shrug.

“Uh, you kinda are,” he says, causing Jaemin to roll his eyes.

“Didn’t think you guys were big pda enthusiasts,” he says, trying to laugh it off, but Chenle is relentless.

“Have you kissed yet?” He asks immediately, and you almost choke.

“What?!” You return in shock, but Chenle looks between the two of you with uninterested brows.

“You’ve liked each other for forever and you’re this awkward?” He shoots back in a taunt. You sigh, collecting yourself because you knew what you were about to have to do.

“You’re right, Jaem,” you say, pulling his attention your way as you place a hand on his cheek and smile in disbelief. “Your friends are annoying,” you continue, and then you lean in and kiss your best friend and long time crush.

Admittedly, you’ve imagined this moment more times than you could count, but none of those fantasies could have prepared you for what it actually felt like to kiss Na Jaemin. His lips were perfect, he was perfect, and you knew that already but now you felt it. You remind yourself of where you’re at, why you’re kissing him in the first place, and bring yourself to pull back after the one soft kiss, trying your best to make it seem as though that alone didn’t cause you to lose your breath.

As the two of you pull away from each other, Jaemin’s gaze locks on you, running over every inch of your face with an unreadable look in his eyes to contrast the softest of smiles on his lips. “Yeah, angel, they are,” he says through an exhale, and as your face goes completely pink, his smile eases into a familiar smirk. “But if you kiss me every time they piss you off, I might have to have them stick around.”

You roll your eyes, nudging him in the side again as you focus on the playful banter and not on the fact that Jaemin just rewired your brain chemistry with one ‘angel.’ “Whatever, we both know I kiss you all the time anyways,” you tease, but as you try to shift away again, Jaemin catches your hand in his and looks at you as if you were crazy.

“No, I kiss you all the time,” he rushes to correct, and though you whip your head back to face him in offense, your eyes instantly soften upon contact, a tight smile playing at both of your features instead.

Your only thought was to kiss him again, and you’re thankful when Chenle cuts off any chance of that happening. “What is going on?” He asks in disgust, causing Renjun to laugh and shake his head.

“Hey, you were the one jumping their asses for their lack of public romance. This is your fault.”

With the conclusion of lunch, Jaemin kept you company on the walk back to your dorm. As soon as you’re out of sight from the rest of the guys, you let out a heavy sigh and accompanying drop of your shoulders. “Well, there goes rule number one…” You say in defeat. If you couldn’t even follow the first rule during your first outing as a ‘couple,’ the rest of these three months were not going to bode well for you.

Instead of matching your demeanor, Jaemin takes offense. “What, no! We changed rule number one to no kissing unless they brought it up or were suspicious, and they both, brought it up and were suspicious,” he claims firmly, but the playful tone underlying his words makes it so that all you can do is let out a small, wry laugh.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” you say with a shake of your head, though the smile has made its reappearance on your face. Next to you, Jaemin stops walking, pausing for a moment as he stares at the pavement beneath your feet. As soon as you notice his absence at your side, you turn back around to face him and his small grimace.

“Thank you, by the way,” he says gently, and any remaining tension you were carrying falls away; because any time Jaemin fell softer, you were reminded of how you’d do anything for your best friend. “I don’t know if I really thanked you for letting me talk you into this. I know it’s stupid, but it’s nice to have them attacking me for whether or not I’ve kissed you rather than attacking me for my body count,” he finishes, and it feels as though all your joints had immediately locked up again.

Jaemin’s title as the campus fuckboy was not lost on you, but talking about anything close to relationships was never a strong suit for you guys; and with him quickly finding his place within a new friend group here at college, it meant you were even less in the know of his whereabouts on any given day. The last thing you were expecting was for Jaemin to keep you updated on who he just fucked, but the entire realm of conversation was always so unreachable for you two. You knew nothing of what the campus fuckboy was truly getting up to; there was sometimes talk in your class when a girl would come in beaming as she told her friends she managed to spend a night with Jaemin, but instances like that were all you got informed by, and you never dared pry deeper into those overheard conversations.

Sometimes your jealousy would damn near kill you - all these girls boasting about the fact that they had spent a night with Jaemin…you wanted to turn around half the time and tell them to forget about one night because you’ve spent countless days with him; that your entire high school career was covered in his handprints and bright smile which you were sure was laced with drugs - a smile you knew he wasn’t throwing around in the bedroom.

You never did snap, though, because it was easier to keep your ‘best friend’ label with Jaemin under the radar at college, unless you wished for tens upon hundreds of girls to line up in front of you and ask your advice on how to win his heart. Jokes on them, you were still figuring that out, yourself.

“What is your body count?” You ask with a hesitant swallow, your curiosity getting the better of you now that he’s finally brought it up.

Jaemin shoots his head up to face you but instantly dodges your eye contact again. For the first time since you’ve met him, he looks genuinely embarrassed. “Another time, y/n,” he says in soft dismissal.

You swallow harshly, in disbelief at what you were about to tell him, but as much as it would sting, it would keep your own feelings at a very needed bay. “If you still want to have sex, you can. I don’t mean to force you into celibacy. Just make sure it’s at the girl’s house so Haechan doesn’t find out,” you say lowly, and Jaemin immediately makes wide eye contact with you.

“Really?” He asks in something like shock. You act as though it’s no big thing, and you’re sure it probably shouldn’t be, anyways.

“Yeah,” you respond with a shrug.

Jaemin takes in your words with a contemplative head nod, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth before his eyes light up in alert, finding another caveat to address. “What do we do if the girl starts talking about the fact that she hooked up with me?” He asks seriously, but you’ve finally found humor in the situation, shaking your head as though there were hardly a need for the question.

“Jaem, just about every girl wants to sleep with you, or at least make it seem like she did…a random girl claiming to have hooked up with you one day is just going to sound like she’s desperate for attention. No one’s gonna take it seriously,” you say with a playful roll of your eyes. Absolutely nothing you said was wrong, and with a deep breath, Jaemin seems to accept that fact.

As he exhales, he resumes his continuation on the walk back to your dorm, a light nod of his head accompanying his next words. “Okay. Thank you-” His casual start is broken as he turns his head back over to you at his side in question. “Are you gonna be okay? Are you gonna like- hook up- uh…with other guys?” He asks curiously. All you can do is laugh at him.

“Casual hookups aren’t my thing and no way am I getting an actual boyfriend while we’re doing this, but of course I’ll be okay. I’m pretty sure your sex drive is at least ten times greater than mine. I can handle three months,” you reply lightly, and seemingly all of Jaemin’s worries about this new implementation fade away - it seemed perfectly doable without getting caught.

As you get to your dorm entrance, you and Jaemin turn to fully face each other. “Thanks again for today. I think we got them somewhat convinced,” he says through a small laugh, and you flash your eyebrows in acknowledgement.

“No reason to thank me for that - you did most of the talking,” you rebuttal playfully.

Jaemin’s laugh turns into a knowing smirk. “You were the one who kissed me,” he teases, and you shake your head, but a wide grin spreads across your lips, regardless.

“It's not my fault that they both, brought it up and were suspicious,” you remind him, putting your hands up in defense. Jaemin takes a moment to laugh again before settling into a more fond look that was reminiscent of your high school days.

“We’re gonna have to start hanging out more again since they think we’re dating, but even before all that, I think it’d make me happy if we started hanging out more again just cause I’ve missed you…and I know it’s my fault we haven’t talked as often! I got a friend group of guys and an- agenda…with girls, and as such, my entire college career up to now has unfolded in that way. But I miss you because you’ve always been my friend, not because of some agenda or fake-dating scheme.”

“Mmmmmm, best friend,” you correct with a sure smirk, making Jaemin drop his head with a laugh of defeat.

“Yeah, best friend,” he cedes, and your smirk turns into a soft smile.

“I never do anything, so just text me when you wanna hang. I’ll be there.”

He looks back up at you with a small grin and a nod. “Same goes for you,” he replies. Then, all that was left was saying ‘goodbye’ in a much more awkward way than usual, before you went back up to your room to decompress from whatever the hell just happened.

It was a week after that first lunch when you were alone and bored in your dorm. None of the guys mentioned anything about having plans for the weekend while at lunch, which you had begun to join in on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So, although you just saw him, you figured Jaemin wouldn’t have anything better to do than hang out with you some more today. You shoot your gaze over to the clock, agreeing there was more than enough time left in the day to make a hang out worth it, and then grabbing your phone to text Jaemin.

Hey, I’m bored. Wanna do something? You send, and Jaemin’s reply is instantaneous.

With a girl rn

For a text that’s letting you know he’s following your directions, it hurts more than you thought it would to read. You know it’s for the best that this be your reality. Jaemin had been your best friend for so long now, the last thing you wanted was to ruin that with your feelings; and while fake-dating wasn’t helping, this reality-check definitely did. He’s not just your best friend anymore, he’s the campus’ heartthrob…the campus’ fuckboy. It was the entire reason behind the bet his friends made in the first place - a circumstance like this was only expected. So, you’d have to forget about the hollow feeling in your stomach right now and instead support your best friend in a best friend way, cause no matter how many times in the next three months he’s destined to call you ‘angel’ or look over at you softly every time you talk in the group, ‘best friends’ is all you are to each other. Oh, look at you go! I figure I’m your alibi, so I guess I’ll stay in for the rest of the night so there’s no possibility of one of your friends seeing me

His reply this time took about thirty minutes to get to you, and even his last text didn’t prepare you for the brick wall that faced you with this one. Thanks

Jaemin isn’t selfish, Jaemin is busy. It’s the mantra you kept repeating to yourself, because you know he’s not selfish; and while you were expecting a reply more aligned with an apology for forcing your Friday night to be spent indoors and alone, taking the time to text that out probably was not something Jaemin could manage while another girl was surely sucking him off.

The next Thursday, it’s Jaemin’s idea to hang out after classes. The two of you decided to chill at your place so that you didn’t have to constantly pretend around Haechan, should he be in their apartment. As you swing the door open to Jaemin’s presence, he looks at you with a big grin on his face. “Hey, angel,” he says, patting the top of your head as he walks into your dorm. You track his figure deeper into the living area, looking at him quizzically because the whole purpose of him being here was that he didn’t have to call you ‘angel.’

You just shake your head with a smile as he plops down on your couch. “Hey, Jaem.”

He looks up at you with innocent eyes. “What did you want to do tonight?” He asks, and you shrug your shoulders with a laugh.

“You’re the one who wanted to come over; my plan was to do homework.” Your answer has Jaemin’s face falling, and you watch as he gets up from the couch and immediately walks out the door, leaving you completely dumbfounded. You didn’t think homework was that repulsive to him. Though, moments later, there’s another knock on your door, and you answer it to be met with Jaemin again, this time his own backpack slung across his shoulders. “Wha-?” You question with a laugh of disbelief.

Jaemin sends a smirk your way before once again walking past you and towards the couch, immediately unzipping his backpack and placing its contents on the coffee table. “Homework,” he says casually, looking up at you with raised brows and a smirk. “Best friend, fake girlfriend, study buddy…you get all the fun labels,” he teases, causing you to shake your head before relenting and joining him at the coffee table.

It was an incredibly normal night. After the two of you finished up the last of your assignments - though getting distracted every five or so minutes with stupid jokes, complaints of coursework, or a sudden remembering of a story that needed telling did not help push things along, the two of you watched a movie. You ended up making hot cocoa, because the privilege of thermostats meant that it wasn’t a crazy option, regardless of the outside temperature, and then sat on the recliner, Jaemin taking up considerably more space on the couch in response.

The two of you had always been good movie watchers with each other. You both liked to enjoy movies in the same way - the lights off, no talking, no distractions from phones…even if it was a movie you had seen a hundred times. The two of you took movie nights seriously, mainly because with each other, you could. At least, you had yet to find anyone else who would sit and watch Coraline with you and not take a break to say something about how they find it creepy or flatout don’t like the movie when it’s not even halfway over. Though, Jaemin always happily watched, saving his only comments (typically about how “they just don’t make movies like that anymore”) for the credits.

Just like that, it was like a night from high school, and it ended much the same way - a side hug with Jaemin and his promises of getting home safe, though it was you rather than your mother that he was making that promise to now.

Walking back into his apartment, Jaemin immediately catches the attention of Haechan, currently making late night ramen in the kitchen. “Did you just get back from y/n’s?” He asks, pulling his attention away from the stove to turn his head towards Jaemin.

“Yeah,” Jaemin answers casually as he makes his trek through the front space and towards his room, only getting distracted when Haechan speaks up again with a playful lilt and a matching smirk on his face.

“Good night?” He asks, causing Jaemin to furrow his brows before realizing what Haechan was actually getting at.

“What-? Oh, shut up,” he dismisses. Turning back around to face Haechan revealed him to be completely distracted from his ramen - his back now leaning against the countertop as his casual crossed arms added to the tease in his raised eyebrow. Jaemin rolls his eyes at the antics, especially considering Haechan was the main reason this whole deal was made in the first place - because he was tired of Jaemin having sex. “We didn’t have sex. We did normal couple things,” he states confidently before turning around again to actually make his way inside his room and behind his closed bedroom door.

This meant Jaemin missed the way Haechan’s playful brows furrowed in confusion, his face falling flatter as he spoke through a soft exhale. “What?” Any more time he could have had to actually question it was overridden with the need to tend to his now boiling over ramen; so Jaemin got off easy the rest of the night.

Haechan was not as forgiving the next time he saw the guys at Monday lunch, though. With you still nowhere to be seen and Jaemin in his line of sight ordering food, he addresses everything in a more serious tone than any of the guys were expecting.

“Does anyone else find it odd that they haven’t had sex yet?”

Eyes go wide at the rest of the table. “They haven’t?!” Jeno practically shouts before immediately getting embarrassed and making himself as small as possible. Haechan just shakes his head.

“They haven’t even spent the night at each other’s places yet. He always comes back home after hanging out with her and it’s always just him.”

“Maybe they’re taking it slow,” Mark replies with a shrug, but all eyes lock on him with ample skepticism.

“Does ‘slow’ seem like a Jaemin thing?” Haechan rebuttals. “I mean, come on. We’re talking about the guy who’s notorious for getting his dick wet at any available opportunity.”

“So, we think they don't really like each other? They’re faking it?” Renjun asks with pursed contemplative lips.

Haechan’s the one to shrug this time in mystery. “$600 is a hefty amount. He’d do anything he can for that, including but not limited to getting a fake girlfriend and lying to us,” he states more firmly, but that’s as Jaemin joins the table; his brows furrowed and mouth hanging slightly open as he looked around at the guys in something like disgust.

“What in the world did I just walk in on? Y/n is not my fake girlfriend. The deal money is nice but I’m at least honorable about these things,” he argues, and immediately all the guys whip their gazes towards him, varying expressions on their faces as Jisung speaks up in genuine question.

“Why haven’t you slept with her yet?” The seriousness of the question and the sheer interest in the rest of the guys’ faces gets Jaemin to roll his eyes.

“You guys are atrocious, you know that?” He says in place of an answer.

Chenle raises his brows. “The question remains,” he taunts with a smirk.

Jaemin looks him dead in the eyes as he responds. “She means more to me than that.”

“Means more to you than that?” Jeno reflects back with a laugh. “Jaemin, are you forgetting your love language?” This is the first thing you can pick up as you finally get to the table after questions from your classmates held you for more minutes than should be allowed. Regardless, you immediately jump right into conversation.

“Love language?” You echo with a smile. “There’s something I’m knowledgeable about. How’s my words of affirmation boy doing?” You continue, all your attention directed towards Jaemin as you shed your backpack from your body.

He looks up at you still standing by his side, eyes soft and speaking through a small smile. “Better now that you’re here,” he answers, and you don’t stop the bashful smile from coming across your face as you finally get situated sitting down next to him. The gentle moment is broken, though, with Jeno asking a question in total shock.

“Words of affirmation??” He begs for clarification, and the rest of the guys lean in at the table some more in apparent interest. You look at them all as though there was some joke you weren’t getting.

“Yes? What did you think it was?” You question back, and they respond in almost perfect unison.

“Physical touch.”

You can’t stop the small laugh from leaving your system as you look back at all of them seriously. “Jaemin’s good at showing love through physical touch, no doubt, but words of affirmation is by far his favorite way to receive love, it’s not even a question. And sure, part of that is how he smiles like an idiot whenever I tell him he’s the most handsome guy on the planet - which is stupid because ‘handsome’ honestly doesn’t even begin to describe it…” You trail off awkwardly before shooting your head back up to face everyone.

“But have you ever seen him receive a compliment that has nothing to do with his body or looks? The way his eyes light up like something just clicked for him? I mean, he’s so many more things before he’s physically attractive, and all he was waiting for was someone to recognize that. Every time we meet up after class and I say something like ‘I’ve been longing to be in your presence all day,’ or ‘thanks for bringing me more happiness than I’ve ever known,’ he’s practically on the verge of tears every time. It’s why when I told him I missed him that one day, all he could think to do was ask me to be his girlfriend. He’s been waiting to be missed on a level that had nothing to do with his body. He’s been waiting to be affirmed in a way that isn’t physical.”

That seemed to get everyone else at the table to shut up, swallowing awkwardly as they instead turned their attention to their food. You let out a small sigh of relief as you dig into your own sandwich, but Jaemin doesn’t think he can even take one bite anymore; a weird feeling in his stomach and his mind going a million miles an hour. When he does pick up his sandwich, it’s not because he’s finally convinced he can keep it down, but because not eating now would be incredibly suspicious to everyone…including you.

Jaemin walked you back to your dorm after lunch, something that became typical since it wasn’t always possible to pick you up from class for lunch. You were walking in comfortable silence; in fact, an element of awkwardness was only introduced once Jaemin spoke up with a strange sort of cough and hesitant words. “I didn’t know I was a words of affirmation guy,” he finally says after a couple of minutes.

With the two of you out of sightline and earshot of the others, you let your actions and reactions express more naturally. So, you paused completely, making him eventually stop and look over his shoulder at you in question. “Oh…really?!” You say in light shock before shaking your head and resuming your pace so you could catch back up to him and continue casually. “I mean, maybe you’re not then, but just from what I know-”

You’re cut off with a small laugh from Jaemin as he shakes his head softly, matching his contemplative tone. “No, I think you’re right. Everything you said I- I think you’re right.” He says it as though he were almost embarrassed by the fact, and you decide that’s the last thing you’re gonna allow him to feel in this situation.

“Oh, well, would you like me to affirm you more often then?” You ask seriously. “We aren’t exactly meeting up after class everyday and I’m not exactly telling you I’ve been waiting for that very moment, but I can.”

Jaemin is quick to dismiss the idea. “No, it’s okay. No use doing that when this whole thing is fake. I mean, rule number three or something is that everything is immediately dropped when we’re in private,” he tries to play off with a laugh, and as you finally reach the entrance to your dorm, you turn around to face him solemnly.

“Jaem, that’s not me putting on an act. You do know I love spending time with you, right? And-” You shake your head, frustrated with yourself that this is something you obviously didn’t do a good job of communicating earlier. “Take us out of this whole situation thing,” you command, finding your footing in what you’re wanting to say. “Just- as friends. I love spending time with you. I want you in my life forever, yeah?” You finish softly, and when you look back up at Jaemin, he’s quick to break eye contact.

“Yeah.”

The next few weeks saw to it that you and Jaemin were hanging out more than ever. What you saw as insane luck meant that every time you texted asking if he could hang out, he was never ‘with a girl’ at the time; and Jaemin was texting you and being the one to make plans at a far greater rate than you were, anyways. Instantly, your relationship reflected that during your time in high school - the only difference was that sometimes in the midst of trying to pretend you didn’t have the hugest crush on your best friend, you were also having to pretend you did have the hugest crush on your best friend.

Hang outs were still mainly at your place so that the two of you never had to worry about Haechan, though sometimes you’d purposely have a night in at Jaemin’s to keep Haechan convinced. This was not one of those times. Instead, you opened your door to Jaemin as you have for the past three Friday’s now, which the two of you decided would be ‘date night’ in everyone else’s eyes while really, you’d just keep a low profile and do whatever you wanted. Due to schedules, you always had an hour for homework before you’d be met with Jaemin’s presence, and he was right on time today. “Hey, Jaem!” You greet with a smile as you swing the door open and step back to allow him inside.

“Hey angel,” he replies casually, because calling you ‘angel’ was now a very typical occurrence, regardless of who was around to hear it. He flashes a smile in your direction, but instead of beelining for the couch like normal, he stops to stand kind of awkwardly in front of you before continuing hesitantly. “Mark is having a Halloween party if that’s something you’re interested in…we could go together. I know parties aren’t really your thing.” He speaks as though it were an apology, and all you can do is chuckle at his antics.

“Don’t worry about that. I am your fake girlfriend, aren’t I?” You tease in reply, and Jaemin raises his eyebrows as though he didn’t know where you were going with this.

“...Yes,” he draws out slowly, and you just shake your head at him fondly.

“So, if you’re going, then I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you answer sincerely, and though you’d never be able to convince yourself of it, you made Jaemin blush - just the tiniest bit.

He lets out something like a sigh of relief before nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Okay, I’ll tell Mark we’re going, then,” he says happily, and then suddenly it’s right back to routine as he heads for the couch to chill before the two of you could decide what all you actually wanted to do that day.

The next time you saw Jaemin was two days later when he asked if you wanted to accompany him to the store. It was all light and casual conversation as you strolled through the aisles, most of the time pointing at random items and saying ‘you’ to try and see who could get the other to laugh more. The bit promptly ended when you pointed at a Scrub Daddy to relate Jaemin to, but he instead teased you endlessly for using an item with “daddy” in the name. The only thing to veer his topic of conversation away from that was when you passed the aisle that had been repurposed into Halloween decorations and costumes, making him stop in his tracks.

“Have you decided on a costume for the party yet?” He asks curiously, and you turn back around to face him and redirect your path to peruse the Halloween aisle, touching random bits of costumes before dropping them back to the rack with a shake of your head.

“Well, I was gonna go as an angel since that’s kind of what you call me now, but if we do it as a couple’s costume, then you’d end up as the devil or a demon or whatever, and I don’t love the idea of that. So…would you wanna go as Team Rocket instead?” You ask in return. Jaemin swallows awkwardly as he takes in everything you just said, but he can’t take too long to explore the slightly comforting feeling brought on by you saying the idea of him as a devil wasn’t your favorite…because that wouldn’t be very ‘I don’t care what anyone else thinks’ of him. Instead, he resorts back to a familiar tease, an eyebrow raised as a playful smirk crossed his lips.

“Who said I wanted to do a couple’s costume?” He shoots back and your face immediately goes red as you scramble for words.

“Oh! You don’t- I was just- it’s not-” You’re cut off with a warm laugh from Jaemin.

“Breathe, angel, I was just messing with you,” he reassures with a shake of his head.

“Maybe you would make a good demon,” you deadpan in return, and Jaemin’s eyes light with fire as his jaw drops.

“Hey!”

“Just messing with you, Jaem,” you banter back, and Jaemin bites on the inside of his cheek to stop a wide grin from making an appearance at your behavior.

“I’m fine going as Team Rocket, as long as I get to be James,” he says with a mock seriousness, effectively getting you to smile as you roll your eyes.

“Well, I wasn’t going to suggest you be Jessie,” you assure in the same manner, and Jaemin nods his head, seemingly content with the plan before another question comes to mind.

“Are we dying our hair?” He asks, and this time he’s actually serious. You think about it for a second before giving into the idea with a contemplative nod.

“We can get the spray that lasts up until you wash it,” you suggest, and with a nod from Jaemin, your Halloween costumes were set - all you had to do was make them.

Fast forward a week and the only thing left to do was iron on the ‘R’ decal on Jaemin’s top, which was exactly what you were doing in his apartment as he took the time to spray blue in his hair. You look up from the heat press as Jaemin walks out of the bathroom. “Huh,” you let out involuntarily, and if you were any less close with Jaemin, you would’ve been embarrassed beyond words. However, he just looks at you with furrowed brows and a curious grin.

“What?” He asks, and you shrug your shoulders as though it were nothing big.

“You look good with blue hair,” you answer, trying your best to be casual about it.

Jaemin’s curious grin had turned into a shiteating one. “Oh, yeah?” He digs, trying to get under your skin; though, you thwart the attempt immediately, instead responding with nonchalance - the exact opposite of what he was reaching for.

“Well, no more than normal,” you reply, and Jaemin’s brows raise impossibly.

“Now, what does that mean?” He asks playfully, but you just shake your head.

“You’re the fuckboy, Jaemin. You know what I’m getting at.” With that, your attention was back on the iron as it beeped and let you know his shirt was ready. You pull it out from under the heat and turn it around so Jaemin could see the final product, and with a nod of approval, he grabs it from your hands and heads back to the bathroom.

“Looks great, angel,” he finally says, studying his appearance in the mirror before walking back out to the living area. You just drop your head as you feel your face heat up at the compliment.

“I’ll uh- go get ready,” you say quietly, and then you grab your own costume and hair spray before trading places with him in the bathroom.

Jaemin doesn’t hide his small smile as he watches you walk back out to the living area in your matching costume with him, and you try your best to pin your focus anywhere other than his soft gaze. “Um- drinking at parties isn’t really my thing so- I can drive us back here afterwards. You can drink however much you want,” you get out awkwardly before moving to sit down next to him on the couch.

Jaemin chuckles lightly in response to your behavior. “Are you sure?”

You nod your head profusely. “Of course. You enjoy parties a lot. I don’t want you to change an aspect of it just because I’m there, too. So, however much you normally drink…go for it.”

Jaemin studies your figure with ample doubt covering his features. “I don’t know. Me drinking while knowing I have a ride home typically means I turn into too much to handle,” he jokes, but any form of negative self-talk from him always grounds you, and you’re quick to refute it.

“Not for me,” you say, turning your head to make eye contact with him. “Never for me.” Your soft reassurance has Jaemin simply staring at you, and you quickly turn your head back to face your lap as you overthink every little embarrassing thing you’ve already done tonight. On the other hand, Jaemin didn’t even think twice before leaning over to place a kiss on your cheek.

Your cheeks puff out with a smile in immediate response to the contact, but as you lift your gaze back up to face Jaemin, your attention is caught by Haechan, who had just walked out of his room in costume - a vampire costume that was already iconic and he hadn’t even done anything yet.

Your soft smile turns into a full-on grin as you address him. “Woah, Hyuck. You look great!” You say with a laugh, and Jaemin whips his head around to face his roommate just to fall into his own bout of laughter.

“Oh, fuck off,” Haechan replies with a playful roll of his eyes as he walks towards the door. “Are you two gonna head out soon?” He asks more seriously, and Jaemin gives a light nod.

“Yeah, we won’t be too far behind you. Y/n just isn’t a huge fan of parties, so we opted for fashionably late rather than fashionably early.”

Haechan flashes his eyebrows up in acknowledgement before turning back from the front door to face the two of you again. “Alright. Don’t violate the couch too much in the meantime. It’s my favorite couch,” he banters, and this time it’s you and Jaemin to roll your eyes.

“You fuck off,” you say through a grin, and Haechan drops his head with a loud laugh before bringing his gaze back to the two of you with a soft smile.

“I’ll see you guys soon,” he says happily, and with that, he’s out the door.

It was about thirty minutes later when you and Jaemin entered the party house hand-in-hand. As soon as you got in, you realized your friend group was a lot more popular than you ever thought, because seemingly everyone you went to school with was here. For parties already feeling overwhelming, parties where you could hardly move without bumping into someone were even more so. Though, in the midst of the blaring music, a hundred different conversations, and all the dancing, your attention is turned to your interlocked hand with Jaemin as he gently rubs his thumb across the back of your hand.

You shoot your gaze up at him just to see he’s already staring back down at you softly. Unlike you, he looked completely at home in the party scene, though you figure one can’t truly get labeled a fuckboy without being so. That’s also why you assume he was able to tell you were already uncomfortable from the second you stepped inside.

Hardly a few feet from the entrance, he leans down to you at his side, speaking slowly in your ear so you could make it out from the rest of the noise. “We’ll stay only as long as you want, okay? If you wanna turn back around right now, we can.”

You shake your head minimally, turning to face him and realizing that action placed your lips dangerously close together. You roll them inwards in hesitation before shifting your gaze to his own. “I’m not going to make you leave super early. You like parties.”

A smirk plays on Jaemin’s lips as he raises an eyebrow at you. “I like you more,” he replies playfully.

You dart your gaze off to the side, ripping your hand away from his in the process. “I’m fine. Let’s just go find our friends.” You take a step out from the entryway but quickly notice Jaemin isn’t following. You whip your head around to face him just to see his hand outstretched for you again.

“If we’re going to go find our friends, your hand better be in mine,” he quips, causing you to roll your eyes before obliging and lacing your fingers back together. He gives your hand a light squeeze as he flashes you a wide smile and drags you to where he already saw Haechan, Jeno, and Renjun.

“Hey, you guys look great!” Jeno says with a bright smile as the two of you join their circle. Jaemin finally slides his hand out of yours to instead place it on the small of your back. Despite yourself, a small smile comes onto your face, not at Jeno’s words, but at Jaemin’s touch, and you relax a bit more against his hand.

Jaemin is the one to actually respond as the other two guys turn their attention to the both of you as well. “Thanks! My incredible, beautiful girlfriend made the costumes,” he says, tossing his gaze over to you at his side. You roll your eyes at him, but your smile grows.

“Making it is not the same as making it look good. You did that all on your own,” you shoot back earnestly. The three guys in front of you throw on a look of disgust, as if they weren’t the ones telling Jaemin he needed a girlfriend. Jaemin just looks over at you with a soft gleam in his eyes, his mouth straining as he tries to conceal a smile. He opts to just kiss you on the cheek instead, then reaching for your far shoulder and pulling you his way. He snakes his arms around you to keep you there in a hug from behind, his thumb gently rubbing up and down your waist. The five of you stood in a circle just talking for at least an hour. Occasionally, one of them would leave to grab drinks for the group, though you were sure to just stick to water the entire night as everyone around you became a comfortable state of tipsy.

Eventually, Jaemin unwound his arms from your figure, causing you to turn your head and look up at him in question. He lets an easy smile paint his lips. “I’m just running to the bathroom real quick. I’ll come find you again in a few.”

You nod your head, and your eyes follow Jaemin for as long as they could before he became completely indistinguishable from the rest of the crowd. You turn your attention back to Renjun, Jeno, and Haechan. “I’m gonna go find Mark,” you start with an awkward laugh. “I don’t know if he even knows Jaemin and I are here.” The three of them nod at you, Renjun racking his foggy brain for where he thinks he last saw him. You nod, thanking them for their company so far, and then heading off towards the kitchen under the guidance of Renjun’s memory.

When Jaemin steps out of the bathroom, he almost immediately runs into the body of another guy. Opening his mouth to apologize, the guest beats him to words.

“Jaemin, nice costume,” he says, and Jaemin loses his tension at the compliment.

“Oh, thank you-” He starts, but is quickly cut off again by the stranger.

“You got another one of your hoes to match with tomorrow?” He slurs with a smile, throwing an arm around Jaemin’s shoulder.

Jaemin’s eyes widen as he snakes out under the touch, guiding their hand back down to their side. “Uh, no, y/n’s my girlfriend. It’s just her and we’re just out for tonight,” he replies, turning his gaze away from the man to instead scan the crowd and try to lay eyes back on you.

“Ha! Good one,” the guy laughs out, and Jaemin snaps his gaze back to him in confusion.

“Good one?” He echoes back in question, but with a hard slap on his back that Jaemin thinks was meant to be playful, his conversation partner quickly leaves. Jaemin stands there for a moment puzzled, but he tries to shake out of the uncomfortable feeling as he directs his gaze back to the big crowd, looking for where you may have wandered off to once he sees you’re no longer with the previous group.

He quickly realizes he wouldn’t be able to find you by standing in one place, so he picks up his feet and starts weaving through the crowd again. When he feels a hand on his back, he assumes it’s you, and he whips around towards the figure. His face quickly drops when he realizes it isn’t you, and suddenly he’s extremely conscious of how everyone’s been touching him tonight.

“Such a shame your costume shows so little skin,” the girl says with a small pout and a fake innocence in her eyes. Jaemin tries to take a step back, just to bump into more people dancing and forcing him back into close proximity. He swallows hard, accepting the fact that he was having to engage in this conversation now.

“My girlfriend picked it out,” he says firmly, and the girl in front of him just tilts her head to the side, now rubbing a hand up and down his arm.

“Well, she’s ruining the fun,” she replies, something like pity in her eyes as she looks at Jaemin. He furrows his brows, his breath getting heavier as the air seems to get thinner.

“Um, I- I think I’m still fun without showing skin,” Jaemin fumbles out, and the girl just laughs, finally letting her hand drop from his arm as her doe-eyed expression turns mean.

“You’d like to believe that,” she says, shaking her head and walking off.

Jaemin stared after her in a weird mix of hurt and confusion that he hadn’t ever felt before. “What?” He asks in defeat, but there was no one there to give him any clarification.

He desperately starts looking around for you again. If he could just get back to you, if he could just slip his hand into yours, he was sure the heavy weight that’s found its way onto his chest would disappear. He was shaking, he didn’t know when he had started shaking, but it seemed to take the place of his breathing, and now he was worried about whether or not he would even have time to find you before he suffocated. Almost all the effort he was placing into finding you was now being placed into holding back his tears. Everything was too loud, he couldn’t hear his own thoughts, couldn’t hear his voice if he spoke aloud, suddenly not sure if he was even getting any words out when he opened his mouth, which only worried him more because he was dying and he couldn’t tell anyone.

Holding your hand, it was the only positive thought he could seem to cling to, the only thing keeping him from collapsing to the floor in a ball - he had to find you, he wanted to hold your hand. He thinks it’s a miracle that his feet are able to start moving again, especially when someone definitely put 50 lb weights in his shoes without him knowing.

He finally lays eyes on you, now in the kitchen talking with Mark, Chenle, and Jisung. Though you were maybe ten feet away, it might as well have been miles, as another hand gets placed on his chest from a random girl in front of him. “James, let me know if you get bored of Jessie later. I can give you a good time,” she says with a smirk, and Jaemin feels like he’s going to throw up; though he can’t quite tell if that was because of her words or the whirlwind of the past three minutes. In fact, if he knew just how badly he was shaking, he would’ve questioned how she didn’t feel it when she placed her hand on his chest.

He shakes his head as quickly as he could without getting too dizzy to continue his trek towards you. “No, I quite like Jessie,” he says through hiccups, not sure when the first stray tear made its way down his cheek. He pushes past the girl without giving her time to respond and make him feel worse. All he wanted was you, and when he finally got close enough to place his shaky hand in yours, all he could manage were whispered words that he prayed would reach you, or at least leave his mouth at all.

“Please don’t leave me.”

Still in conversation with Mark, Chenle, and Jisung, you don’t turn too much attention to Jaemin slightly behind you as you settle your hand into his touch, but that’s when you feel how badly he’s shaking. “Jaem, are you okay?” You ask at your side, though your eyes remained trained on Chenle as he told the least dramatic story in the most dramatic way.

“There’s a lot of people here,” Jaemin whimpers out, the answer confusing enough to pull your focus away from Chenle.

“I know-” You start, your gaze following from your interlocked hands up his arm and to his face, but that’s when you actually see the state he’s in and your face instantly falls into worry. A steady stream of tears cascaded down his cheeks, his eyes tightly shut to block out the extra stimulation, only opening them to look at you before promptly getting embarrassed and turning away. You immediately squeeze his hand a little tighter in your hold, getting him to train his eyes back on you. You pick up your words as he does so, careful to hide your immense worry in your tone and instead speaking softly for him. “Hey…let’s get you to a quieter room, okay?”

Jaemin nods his head minimally, able to let out a choked response. “Okay.” You take no extra time in telling the others that you were going to have to get filled in on the story later. Instead, you just make sure your grip on Jaemin’s hand is enough to not lose him while navigating through the crowd as you immediately lead him upstairs and into an empty room.

“Talk to me, what’s going on?” You say, closing the door and turning on a soft lamp light before you whip back around to watch Jaemin pace the entire floor, his fingers running frantically through his hair.

“I don’t know. Everyone keeps talking to me and touching me and everything is so loud and my head hurts and it’s so hot I’m sweating and dizzy and freaking out-” He spoke all at once, and you knew the last thing he needed was to run out of breath while explaining. You jump to cut him off, still trying your best to make your voice as calming as possible for him.

“Hey…it’s gonna be okay. Can you sit down for me?” The second you said it, Jaemin was on the floor, his heavy breaths visibly not making it to his whole body. Your eyes soften some more as you look at him. It didn’t take a genius to tell you he’s never been in this situation before, and all he knew to do was trust you. You let out a soft sigh as you move closer to him. “I know you said you’re hot and sweaty and overwhelmed with touch, but is it okay if I hug you?”

“Please.” The word comes out weak, riddled with enough tears to make you break. You sit down behind him, placing your legs out along his own outstretched ones as you gently hug him from behind.

“You can close your eyes, just focus on my voice. You’re gonna be okay,” you state with confidence, rubbing a thumb gently up and down his side. Jaemin is quick to refute, shaking his head with an intensity you wish he wouldn’t right now.

“No, y/n, it feels like I’m dying,” he says, fear covering every aspect of his voice. You let out a soft sigh.

“You’re not dying, you’re panicking.” This, too, he refuses to accept. His response comes out as firm as it could through tears.

“I don’t panic. I’m the cool guy. I’m not panicking, I’m dying.”

Despite yourself, a small laugh escapes you through an exhale, and you hug Jaemin to you extra tight. “Baby, no matter how cool you are, there’s not a person in the world completely immune to panic attacks.”

Jaemin stills for a moment, the sudden switch confusing you before he speaks and confuses you even more. “I thought you didn’t like that word,” he says, wiping his face of tears and then placing his hands on your own arms around his torso.

You furrow your eyebrows, though with him in front of you, there was no point. “What word?” You ask. Surely he wasn’t talking about the word ‘panic attack’ but racking your brain, there was nothing else you said that wasn’t just a normal word.

“You don’t know you said it,” he says curiously, a small sniffle coming from his figure as he tries his own attempt at a light laugh.

“What are you talking about, Jaem?” You question again. At this point, you were sure one of you was going crazy, and you really were banking on it not being you. Though, Jaemin just dismisses the subject, and with you sitting behind him, you missed the small smile that now covered his features.

“Nothing, please just continue holding me like this,” he begs softly, and you nod your head, squeezing him tighter for a second.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you reply seriously, and there you and Jaemin sat for at least another ten minutes; the only noise to break the silence was his occasional cries as he still tried to rid himself of tears and calm down completely.

When you couldn’t remember his last sniffle, you start to rub your thumb up and down a portion of his waist, disrupting the physical stillness before you spoke and disrupted the silence.

“I wanna get you some water soon,” you say gently, but any attempt to move from your position was shot down as Jaemin quickly fumbled to grab your arms and press them firmly back down across his torso, his body beginning to shake again at the idea of you getting up.

“No! Don’t leave! Please,” he chokes out, and almost all of the progress you thought he made in the past few minutes was erased.

You sigh, and refusing to think about the fact that you were practically breaking your own rule, you lean forward to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m staying right next to you, Jaem,” you start, and you watch as he basically forces his breathing to get back to normal at your words…or at least tries to. “Do you want me to call Jeno and get him to bring up water for you, or do you want to follow me down to the kitchen, grab a water bottle, and leave?”

Jaemin thinks for a moment before dropping his head in what you assume was shame, which was the last thing he needed to be feeling. “I- can we leave?”

You squeeze your arms around his body once more in acknowledgement. “Yeah, come on,” you reply, and the two of you slowly make your way off the floor and into a standing position. As you let go of his waist, you immediately grab his hand in yours, looking up at Jaemin for confirmation that this was what he wanted to do. He stared back down at you with a teary smile and nod, and with that, you led him out of the bedroom and back downstairs.

Thankfully, Mark, Chenle, and Jisung were still in the kitchen, meaning you had to cover no extra ground to fill Mark in on your departure.

“Hey, I’m gonna take Jaemin home,” you say, turning to face Mark after grabbing a water bottle from the fridge he was standing next to.

Mark furrows his brows. “Everything okay?” He asks, knowing Jaemin wasn’t one to leave parties early, nor was he one to have tear streaks painted across his face.

You try to smile but it comes out more as a grimace. “Yeah, he’s just a little overwhelmed today. Thank you for inviting us, though. It was a blast.”

Mark nods his head in understanding. “Thanks for coming. Are you driving?”

“Yeah,” you reply, and Mark forces some sobriety back in his system.

“You haven’t had anything to drink, have you?” He asks in worry, and you let a grateful smile paint your face as you respond.

“No, I’m okay.”

Mark nods before taking another sip of his own drink. “Okay. Be safe. I’ll see you guys soon.” You reciprocate his nod in acknowledgement and then immediately lead Jaemin towards the front door and back to the car.

You make sure he’s all taken care of in the passenger seat before you start messing with the controls in the driver’s seat to move it to where you could actually drive. You make a mental note to apologize about changing the position of his seat and mirrors tomorrow after everything’s calmed down, but as you start driving, Jaemin is the one to beat you to an apology.

“I’m sorry,” he says weakly, and you risk a quick glance over at him with furrowed brows.

“Huh, why?”

Jaemin fiddles with his fingers in his lap, unable to look anywhere else because of his embarrassment. “For making you leave the party. You were having fun,” he answers softly, and despite your best efforts, a small laugh escapes you.

“Jaem, I was having fun because all we did was hang around with our group of friends. I don’t care for parties in and of themselves, you know that. Truthfully, I’d rather just be with you right now,” you say, and as you pull up to a stop sign, you look back over at him again. Defeat riddled his features as he spits out a response.

“But I’m just crying.” He speaks those words as though he were mad at himself for it, and you don’t understand how your best friend came to believe that he always had to be some perfectly presented guy.

You let out a sigh before turning your attention back to the road. “It doesn’t change the fact that I like spending time with you. Besides, you’d be crazy to think I’d rather be anywhere else right now when you’ve got me so worried about you.” When the only response from Jaemin is another sob he tries to cover up, you frown. “I’m not mad at you for making us leave the party early, and I’m not mad at you for crying,” you add on, and Jaemin finally lifts his head to look over at you in his driver’s seat. He seems to scan your figure up and down, processing your words and the fact that you were actually taking care of him right now. He sniffles once more before abruptly turning his focus back to his lap, and the car ride is silent the rest of the way to his apartment.

As soon as Jaemin gets into his own room, he already looks a thousand times better; the tension in his shoulders finally falls and his breathing gets more regular. You scavenge around his apartment for anything he may need during the night and next morning, because outside of his panic attack, he was still tipsy, too.

With a fresh water bottle and ibuprofen set on his night stand, you bid Jaemin goodnight, running a hand gently through his hair as he laid down in bed. However, before you can fully turn around and leave, Jaemin catches the hand you just had in his hair. In shock, you whip back around, just to be met with wide pleading eyes.

“Please stay,” he says softly, and your breath hitches for a moment before you resume your cool, or at least try to.

“Jaemin-” You start, your tone already giving way to your refusal. Though, Jaemin cuts you off in an instant, his grip on you getting slightly tighter.

“You said you wouldn’t leave me,” he shoots back, and his voice is already shaky again from the sudden raise in volume of his claim.

You sigh, trying to slowly snake your hand out of his grip as you reply. “Yeah, but I was kind of meaning that for while we were still at the party, not…now, when you’re going to sleep.”

He refuses to let you out of his hold, and he pulls you even closer to the end of the bed. “What if Haechan comes back?” He starts, trying his best to talk normally. “He’d be really confused as to why you didn’t stay over after the night I had.”

Despite yourself, you let out a small laugh. “There’s no shot Haechan makes it back tonight or is sober enough to think about anything but getting in bed himself. You’re just saying that to try and convince me.”

He finally lets his grip on you drop as he lets out a heavy breath bordering on the dividing line between defeat and hope. “Is it working?” He asks, and though you were finally free from his grasp, able to just say a final goodnight and leave to head back to your place, you don’t. Instead, you drop your head, speaking so softly you’re not sure Jaemin would even be able to hear.

“I want the side next to the wall.”

With your gaze facing the floor, you couldn’t see the sudden warm glow behind Jaemin’s eyes as he pulled back the comforter on that side and pulled his legs up so you could crawl over by the foot of the bed, neither of you saying another word as you do.

Jaemin didn’t know why he was so captivated by watching you fall asleep in his bed. The two of you must’ve been at least a full foot away from each other, as you immediately made sure to press up against the wall and make yourself as small as you could. That was fine by Jaemin. He wasn’t asking for the two of you to cuddle in the first place - this was still a fake relationship after all, and he was very much aware of that. In fact, that truth was probably more plaguing than ever at the front of his mind. Now instead of a reminder that he had to pretend to date you, it was a reminder that this was ending in two months. Jaemin’s tipsy brain couldn’t put together what the sinking feeling in his chest meant at the realization of that. So, he pushed it away, and just looked over at you sleeping peacefully right up against the wall. He didn’t need to have his arms around you - knowing you were next to him was enough, and for the first time that night since the party started, he was completely at peace.

When you wake up and realize you were more comfortable than usual in your bed, you open your eyes and figure out that it’s because you’re not in your bed. In fact, you’re hardly resting against a bed at all. Instead, one of your arms is lazily thrown over your best friend’s waist as your head rested comfortably, incredibly too comfortably, on his chest. The discovery that your legs were some kind of interlaced didn’t make things any better, and the full realization that you were practically on top of Jaemin had you jolt. This, of course, didn’t do anything but wake him up. With your head now propped up on his chest, you watch as he slowly peeks open one of his eyes, exhaustion still written over all his features. However, the second his gaze lands on you, he shoots open both eyes. Embarrassment quickly floods your being as you address everything. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

You’re cut off with a light chuckle and softly spoken words from Jaemin. “You’re okay.” Regardless of his response, you can’t shake the embarrassment. Jaemin’s arms fall from around your body as you try to get up, and that’s when you realize both of his arms were wrapped around you in the first place. You push the thought to the back of your head, turning to get off of his bed completely.

You’re stopped by his hand grabbing yours. You quickly turn your attention back to Jaemin, who still had yet to move any part of his body but his arms as he looks at you softly, pleading. “Can we go back to sleep?”

You swallow awkwardly, your throat now suddenly dry. You dart your eyes around his room before sighing and just landing your gaze back on him. “Um, do you still need me here for that?” You ask genuinely. Jaemin breaks eye contact this time, as he just looks down at your two hands still holding onto each other. He gives a slow nod of his head, humming a little.

You bite your lip to stop a smile from coming onto your face. It wasn’t often that you got to see your best friend looking as gentle and small as he did now. Jaemin, with the larger than life personality just wanting to stay in bed with you, it was hard to say ‘no.’ So, you don’t. “Okay.” Though when you move to resume your position back by the wall, he chuckles a bit and uses your still interlocked hands to pull you back onto him.

The next two days after you woke up on top of Jaemin (again) were filled with an awkward period of zero contact between the two of you. You couldn’t blame him for not responding to your text to hang out the day after. You were both really good at never crossing lines back in high school, but Halloween put a blur on every single one…and it didn’t help that he was tipsy that night, too. Outside of whatever rules in your contract were broken, you were sure Jaemin was also just embarrassed to no end.

There was a lot of pressure on him to be this man with no emotions; his label as a fuckboy meant people typically started and stopped all their thoughts about him at the sexual level, and he did his best to live up to their many expectations in that department, neglecting all the other parts of his being that needed tending to. Vulnerability was not a Jaemin specialty, largely because it’s never what anyone was looking for from him; and anything that lessened his sex appeal, and thus meant he couldn’t make a call and immediately have any girl he wanted, was a possibility he sought to avoid.

You didn’t necessarily mind the no-contact, though. Your heart was doing flips and spins in Jaemin’s presence on Halloween, and you had to give yourself a cool-down period before seeing him so that you could act normal around him again - whatever it was that ‘normal’ looked like when you were having to convince a group of friends that you liked your best friend while convincing your best friend you didn’t actually like him.

Jaemin made up an excuse for your absence at Monday’s lunch, but on Tuesday he finally messaged you again and asked you out for ice cream, which you of course said ‘yes’ to. He meets you at the entrance to your dorm and smiles at you with something like a sigh of relief when you smile back at him; though, with his messy hair, thick-framed glasses, and a hoodie adorning his figure, it was hard to do anything but smile - he looked criminally boyfriend.

“Hey, I’m- sorry…for it being weird these past few days,” he gets out somewhat awkwardly as you start on your walk towards the best ice cream parlor by campus.

You shake your head with a small laugh. “It’s okay. You’ve been going through it recently,” you joke, and Jaemin licks his lips before bringing himself to laugh as well.

“Thanks for uh- putting up with me on Halloween.” He speaks as though the words were bitter on his tongue. “I’m sorry about forcing you to spend the night.”

You let out a sigh. You wanted to stop and force him to see the sincerity in your eyes as you told him that you weren’t ‘putting up with him,’ but you knew you needed to keep this moment more casual so he wouldn’t find these vulnerable bits overwhelming and consequently shut down. So instead, you just keep walking with a small shake of your head.

“You don’t have to apologize for that. You just had a panic attack - if I didn’t spend the night, I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. I would’ve stayed up all night worried about you. It was better that I was with you.”

Jaemin lets something like a grimace cross his features as he responds with a wry laugh. “You care about me a lot,” he points out, making you look up at him by your side with raised brows.

“Of course I do. You’re my best friend,” you say seriously, and Jaemin looks down to meet your gaze, giving away the distant look in his eyes.

“Ha, fair,” he begins. “I care about you a lot, too.” As he continues, he drops his head to face his feet. “But I don’t think I’d know how to take care of you while you’re having a panic attack,” he admits regrettably, but all you can do is give a soft smile.

“I’m not expecting you to. All I ask is that you let me be there for you again if you have another one…and that you stop being so embarrassed about showing emotions,” you tack on, causing Jaemin to laugh a bit in defeat.

“Okay, angel, but only with you. I have a hot guy persona to keep up in the real world,” he says through a smile, but you shake your head.

“You’re hot, regardless,” you deadpan, and Jaemin’s face lights up as he nudges you in the side playfully.

“Well, look at that! You sweet talker. Maybe I’ll pay for your ice cream today,” he banters, and soon the two of you are in shared laughter as you elbow him back.

“Whatever. I’m 80% sure you were gonna pay for my ice cream even before that.”

“80%?” He echos, bringing a hand up to his chest as though he’s been shot. “Such little faith,” he tuts, shaking his head and making you roll your eyes playfully.

“Am I supposed to have more faith in a fuckboy than that?” You tease, and Jaemin’s face falls into a mock seriousness, holding open the door to the ice cream parlor for you as he looks at your figure with raised eyebrows.

“No, you’re supposed to have more faith in your best friend than that,” he says as you pass through the door, and you look back at him to share matching small smiles.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I have nothing but faith in you,” you reply as he, too, fully steps inside and lets the door swing closed behind him. The proximity has you looking almost directly up at him as he stares down at you in much the same manner; playful gleams in your eyes and fond smiles adorning your faces. At once, he nods his head towards the counter behind you.

“Go order, angel. It’s on me today.”

You scrunch your face up at him with a big grin. “Thanks, handsome.” Then you promptly turn around and head towards where the cashier was waiting to take your order, not even taking one chance to look back and see how red Jaemin’s face had gotten in response.

Jaemin knew it was coming, that was the funny thing. He just wasn’t expecting the disconnect between his head and his heart to be remedied all at once; but looking at you standing in line and pointing at what flavor you wanted, he had never wanted to do this with anyone else, but he really really wanted it with you, today and every day after that.

Sitting down and actually eating ice cream included the most normal of conversations between you and Jaemin. He wasn’t your best friend for nothing - the two of you could talk forever and never run out of things to say or comfort and joy to find in each other’s presence. As such, when you finished your ice cream cones and left the parlor, interaction flowed as it always had while he walked you back to your dorm…meaning the two of you looked like just best friends; close enough on the sidewalk to hear each other but far enough apart so that there was no possibility of accidentally grazing the back of each other’s hands or anything. You were hardly conscious of it, elated at the fact that you and Jaemin were so close and consistent again after the past few years, but Jaemin could practically only focus on the distance between the two of you.

You had basically just stepped foot back on actual campus when Jaemin abruptly stopped, grabbing your wrist and turning you towards him as he spoke in a rush.

“My friends are looking, kiss me,” he says in something close to a panic, and so you immediately oblige, pressing up on your tiptoes to kiss him firmly. You place your hands on his chest to steady yourself as you break away, catching your breath - something that Jaemin always seemed to make you lose - as you turn your head around to look at the surrounding area.

“Where are they?” You ask through a light pant, turning back to Jaemin once you checked and double checked but caught no sign of his friends.

Jaemin licks his lips hesitantly, shaking his head. “They must have left already,” he says through an exhale, and you take a deep breath, finally allowing yourself to step away from Jaemin’s body as you face the ground, trying to regain your footing from the whiplash it felt you just went through. Jaemin lets out an awkward cough before speaking up again. “We should probably hold hands all the time when we’re in public, though. I’m pretty sure Chenle’s the only suspicious one still out of the friend group, but it’d throw anyone off if we’re dating and not holding hands. And if there’s one thing I learned from the Halloween party, it’s that people don’t know we’re dating, and that should probably change so it doesn’t just look like an act put on for the friend group…or Chenle’s never gonna believe it.”

He wasn’t wrong, and you knew that - you knew that before all of this even started. Rule number three was that the act is immediately dropped in private, but that came with the other side of things being that you had to put on an act while in public, regardless of who was around to witness it.

You nod your head slowly. “Yeah, okay,” you cede, and Jaemin’s hand immediately finds yours, the warmth from the contact making you realize how chilled your bones currently were. There was no more hiding it from girls in your classes now - you were Jaemin’s girlfriend to the general public, not just to his six best friends. You needed these next two months to pass by quickly, because with the promise of Jaemin’s hand being in yours more than ever, you were sure your chances of survival just decreased dramatically.

That Friday, your date night was replaced with a night in at Jaemin’s apartment. As soon as he shot you a text saying he was home from class, you made your way over to his place. He opened the door with the bright smile he typically revealed just for you, stepping back to let you inside with a fond, “hey angel.”

You step inside with a smile and small greeting in reply. “What do you wanna do today?” You ask, turning around to face him once you realize you were aimlessly crossing the span of his apartment for no reason. Already preparing for the question, Jaemin moves his hand from behind his back to reveal a thick blu-ray case in his grip.

“Harry Potter movie marathon?” He asks with a smirk.

You look back at him with raised eyebrows and a small grin of your own. “You know I can’t say ‘no’ to Harry Potter at any point in the Fall or Winter seasons,” you reply, and Jaemin’s eyes find a new glow behind them.

“That and Gilmore Girls; though I’m much more in the mood for Harry Potter because if we started rewatching Gilmore Girls now, we’d have to get through all those episodes with that floppy-haired jerk and really, Jess is so much better,” he adds on seriously, and all you can do is laugh.

“Hey, Dean is at least better than Logan,” you respond, and Jaemin lets out an actual groan.

“Please don’t get me started on Logan…can we instead get started on Harry Potter?” He asks again, waving the disc case around invitingly and causing you to laugh some more as you walk towards the couch.

“Just waiting on you,” you answer as you plop down on the couch, making Jaemin roll his eyes playfully before turning around to set everything up on the TV. As the familiar soundtrack fills the room, Jaemin places himself next to you like normal, handing you a blanket to make the cozy night-in complete.

Two hours later, as Jaemin got up to switch out the discs from The Sorcerer’s Stone to The Chamber of Secrets, you got up for a bathroom break, and when the two of you sat back down, there was maybe an inch less space between you both than previously. Not much else changed. That is, until not even ten minutes into the second movie. You catch in your peripheral as Jaemin moves his hand up to scratch at the back of his neck. You don’t think anything of it until that arm doesn’t come back down to his side, but instead wraps around the back of your shoulders.

“Is Haechan here?” You ask lightly, trying to talk over the sound of your breath hitching. Haechan’s room was closest to the bathroom, and you don’t remember any sign of life coming from nearby while you were in there, but nothing else explained this, because this was not normal between the two of you.

“No,” Jaemin answers shortly, and all you can do is swallow hesitantly as you fight for words again.

“Then why is your arm around my shoulder?” You ask, trying to make it sound as though your words were a playful tease and not a desperate question.

Jaemin looks over at you with raised eyebrows and a playful smirk. “Because what if he comes back?” He replies casually, and you try to roll your eyes in much the same manner, as though his arm around your shoulder wasn’t single-handedly making your heart rate spike. He was right, anyway - if Haechan came back, it would be weird for the two of you to be sitting any other way.

It was during Prisoner of Azkaban when Haechan inevitably walked into the apartment. Busy with locking the door behind him, he was caught off guard when locking eyes with the two of you as he turned back around. Though, all at once, his gaze softened as he looked between you, Jaemin, and the television. “Hey guys,” he says warmly, and you mentally high-five yourself not only for the fact that you and Jaemin seemed to have truly won Haechan over, but also that you had won Haechan over; the main reason this bet was even made was because Haechan couldn’t stand whatever girl it was that Jaemin had over, but here he was, excited to see you cuddled into Jaemin on the couch, and that win was not lost on you.

“Hey,” Jaemin replied with a smile. “We’re watching Harry Potter if you want to join,” he continues, but Haechan shakes his head at the extended invite as he moves to grab something from the mess that was the kitchen counter.

“Tempting, but- I’m all good. I’m about to head back out, actually. Mark and I are gonna hit a few bars and try to unwind from this bullshit week,” he says with a weak laugh. You and Jaemin flash your eyebrows in acknowledgement.

“Let me know if you need a ride back home. We’ll swing by to grab you and Mark, or- I will, at least, depending on what time it ends up being. Regardless, be safe. I enjoy having you as a roommate,” Jaemin says, his tone turning more playful with every word.

Haechan rolls his eyes with a smile. “Yeah, yeah. I won’t drink and drive. We all know I’m smarter than that,” he says, but when he makes eye contact with you and Jaemin again, he meets your wide-eyed stares of doubt, causing him to shake his head with a more hearty laugh. “You guys suck,” he says with a smile. “I’ll keep you updated throughout the night. It was nice seeing you, y/n,” he continues seriously, beginning to fiddle with the front door lock on his exit.

“You, too,” you reply genuinely, and with one more nod and wave goodbye, he was out the door. It wasn’t even five seconds later when Jaemin’s arm detaches itself from your shoulder, instead finding comfort at his side again. He didn’t pay any mind to it, his attention pinned solely on the movie. You do your best to not show any physical reaction to the absence of his touch, especially when you were the one giving him a hard time for it in the first place. You’re almost shocked by how well Jaemin is able to turn it on and off, though you figure the real problem was how poorly you were able to do the same. Jaemin was just doing his part, exactly as he said he would.

Your heart had to stop looking for hidden meaning to every touch, every “angel,” because he was your best friend and crush, but you were his best friend and fake-girlfriend. Unbeknownst to you, Jaemin ran through the same spiel in reverse inside his own head, figuring if he kept his arm around you now with the promise of Haechan being gone, you would surely catch onto the fact that he craved your touch more than typical of best friends - which was exactly what you both were going back to at the start of the new year.

It was the first Tuesday after you and Jaemin agreed to ramp up your public dating facade, and you were already the center of attention as you walked into class at 11:00. You tell yourself no one’s gaze locked onto you as you opened the door for class - that you were making it up; but at least some percent of that story was false, because as you sit in your chair and start pulling out your notebook for class, your name gets called from the seat diagonal to you. “Y/n, rumor has it that you and Jaemin are actually dating,” this girl, Hana, says. You knew she was looking for a response, so you don’t give her one, instead focusing on your pen mindlessly rolling between your fingers.

“You? With a guy like him?” She continues, adding more bite and disbelief to each word. You keep your gaze focused in front of you, jaw tightening as you try to hide more robust reactions. That is, until she continues. “You can’t be that good in bed.” Your fist clenches as you whip your head towards her; furrowed, taunting eyebrows matching the fire in her eyes and the smirk on her lips, the rest of her friend group snickering behind her. You have the patience for none of it - you were not going to sit here and take this.

“Actually,” you begin, your kind tone dripping in sarcasm. “I know this is something you don’t have experience with, so bear with me, but Jaemin genuinely likes me as a person and so I didn’t have to win him over with just my skills in bed. Yeah! He actually wants to hold my hand and tell me pretty things and I’m just so sorry that he never had the desire to do any of that with the likes of you!” You give her one last look before shrugging a bit, even your fake smile completely ridden from your face. “Actually, I’m not sorry at all.”

Hana looks mortified, her friend group in the surrounding desks all watching the exchange now with wide eyes. You don’t even think any of them saw it coming when Hana got up from her seat and lunged towards you, swinging at your face. “You bitch!” She yells at you, her fist making contact with the area around your eye. You wince slightly but you refused to give her the satisfaction of a bigger reaction - you’d leave that for when you were alone. You move your hand up to touch the area, making sure none of her rings caught your skin and drew blood, but when your fingers came back clean, you just move your gaze back to her in disinterest.

“Are you done now?” You ask monotonously. You catch her fist clench again in your peripheral and prepare yourself for another hit because seemingly none of the other students were concerned with stopping the exchange. However, your professor finally walks in before Hana can even get another word out, and instead she’s told to take her seat as you swing back to face the front of the room in your own chair. The throbbing that half of your face was currently experiencing would have to wait an hour and twenty minutes to be addressed, you weren’t letting her win.

Thankfully, that was your last of two classes for the day, so you were able to head back to your dorm directly after. You throw your backpack down in the entryway and immediately head for your bathroom to assess the damages. “Fuck,” you whisper under your breath. The hour and a half was enough time for a proper bruise to start forming, and it wasn’t necessarily the prettiest of black eyes. You move a hand up to touch the area again, this time just the light pressure already putting you in horrid pain. With a defeated groan, you leave the bathroom and dig through your freezer for an ice pack to hold up to the area instead.

Settling yourself down on the couch, you decide the last thing you need is for Jaemin to see you like this. With a sigh, you open your phone and pull up your texts with him. Hey, just a heads up, I don’t have a lot of time to hang this week or make it to friend group lunches.

Jaemin’s reply is almost instantaneous. Is everything okay?

You frown at the message. You hated lying to your best friend, but explaining what was up would defeat the whole purpose of saying you couldn’t hang out anyways. Yep! You reply instead, thankful when Jaemin didn’t press any further. You’d give yourself a week to heal, and then you were sure makeup would be able to cover what little would be left of the bruising by then.

Those plans didn’t even last twenty-four hours. There was a knock on your door after classes on Wednesday and you figured it was your RA here to remind you not to leave your windows open while out at class with the chances of snow ever increasing. Though, when you lazily throw your door open, it’s your best friend on the other side. Your eyes go wide and you immediately move a hand up to cover the left half of your face where your black eye was still very much at its peak. “Jaemin, what are you doing here?!” You ask in a rush, but he doesn’t match your demeanor at all.

Instead, he shrugs, a light smile painting his lips. “I missed you, angel-” He answers as he brings a hand up to your wrist and gently guides your own hand down away from your face…and that’s when his energy completely flips, eyes going wide as he rushes to place a hand on your cheek and assess the damage himself. “Oh my god, what happened to you?!” He asks in a panic. You shake your head adamantly, trying to move his hand away from your face as you reply with a serious bite.

“Nothing, it’s fine,” you reply dismissively, and Jaemin’s eyebrows furrow as he scans your entire face.

“Is this why you said you couldn’t hang out?” He asks, almost mad if you had to put an emotion on it.

You shake your head, dropping your gaze to face the floor. “Jaem, don’t worry about it-” You start indifferently, but he cuts you off with enough emotion for the both of you.

“What happened?” He questions again, this time his tone much firmer than any of his previous questions. His gaze bore into you, and you knew there wasn’t any getting out of this. You let out an annoyed sigh, shrugging like it was nothing as you go to reply.

“This girl in my class found out we were dating, and apparently that pissed her off because she didn’t think I deserved you or I was taking her spot and all that. And I snapped back so she punched me,” you finally answer, and Jaemin’s body language immediately softens as he looks over you once more with a frown and wide eyes.

“Y/n…” You don’t want to deal with his sorry tone. Instead, you move to meet his gaze again as you shake your head, the frustrated tears in your eyes rather revealing themself in your fractured tone.

“Please just sleep with her, Jaem. Tell her we broke up or something and then sleep with her. Or pretend you’re cheating on me with her…she’d love that, and no one would believe her if she said so, so we keep our cover,” you suggest in a rush, and Jaemin looks at you as though you just committed murder.

“No. Absolutely not,” he replies instantly.

“Jaem-” You start through a defeated exhale, but hearing you out was currently the last thing on Jaemin’s mind.

“I’m not fucking sleeping with someone who hurt you,” he states with force, and you don’t know why this is such a big deal to him, not when the solution was this simple.

“I would just rather have her satisfied and dealt with,” you respond hollowly, and Jaemin actually lets out a laugh.

“Oh, I’ll be sure to deal with her, don’t worry.” His angry promise makes you sigh, and all you can do is respond in defeat.

“Jaem-” You begin, and you’re not given any time to decide how you want to continue as he cuts you off. Passion still courses through Jaemin’s body as he shakes his head, taking a break from clenching his jaw to speak again.

“She should know better than to lay a hand on my girl,” he argues, and now you absolutely know you need to get him to calm down.

“I’m not really your girl,” you state plainly, and if you weren’t already feeling deflated, you sure did now as you admitted that. Jaemin seems to react to your statement in much the same way, his features softening for a moment as he looked at you again, bringing a hand up to run through his hair in frustration; though this time, the frustration was aimed towards himself.

“I- I know. I’m sorry, I never should have asked you to do this for me. I was so selfish, goddammit,” he rambles under his breath absentmindedly as he begins to pace back and forth. You shake your head softly, reaching out to catch Jaemin’s wrist and force his movements to still.

“It’s fine, handsome,” you state firmly, and you watch as a million emotions run over Jaemin’s face, him just sucking on his bottom lip in hesitation. The hand that was previously caught in your grip comes up to cup your cheek again, his thumb lightly grazing your bruise as he studies you with a sad look on his face.

“No, angel,” he begins with a sigh. “It’s really not.”

You falter under his soft gaze and sure words, shaking your head as you fumble for words of your own. “It will be fine, then. Just let me lay low for a bit. I probably won’t be at lunch on Friday…I don’t necessarily need your friends seeing me beat up like this,” you try and laugh off.

Jaemin looks at you quizzically. “They wouldn’t-” He begins, but you cut him off with pleading eyes.

“Jaem, please,” you counter, and he just nods his head solemnly.

“Okay.” He lets out a breath before darting his gaze around from you to the rest of the living area, locking eyes with your backpack and giving him a reason to stay in your presence for a bit longer. “Can we do homework together?” He asks, and you lightly sigh as you nod your head, guiding his hand down from your cheek so you could instead head towards the couch and set everything up on the coffee table for the two of you.

Your main distraction from homework came in the form of whatever was on the television. Jaemin’s main distraction came in the form of you; he could hardly finish one part of an assignment without turning his head to look over at you, chewing on his bottom lip as he studied you softly, then whipping his gaze back to his laptop before you could ever feel his eyes on you. It was the least productive he's ever been.

Friday was the next time you saw Jaemin, when he came over as per usual for your ‘date nights.’ However, with you missing the friend group lunch for the second time this week, he immediately greeted you with a related request. “Hey, the guys miss you. They wanted to know if you were down for a movie night tomorrow,” he says casually as he closes the door behind him.

You turn to face him with a straight face. “Jaem, my black eye isn’t going to be-” You watch as Jaemin rolls his lips inward and dodges your eye contact, and all you can do is let out a heavy sigh. “You told them, didn’t you?” You ask instead, and Jaemin’s hidden lips reappear to form a weak don’t-be-mad grin. That is, until he meets your eyes again and lets out his own sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he resets his facial expression to something more casual again.

“They wanted to know where you were,” he says in defense. You watch as the memory of lunch replays behind his eyes and he tilts his head slightly as he looks at you with an anticipatory cringe in how you were going to respond as he continues. “…and now they’re all pissed and want to be there to make you feel better, too,” he finishes with a dorky smile, as though his full set of teeth would fix everything. Unfortunately, he was right about that, and all you can manage is a huff of laughter as you shake your head.

“Oh my. Sure, we can have a movie night,” you give in with a smile, and Jaemin lights up before pulling out his phone to text the group that the plans for tomorrow are a go. Then, your Friday night with Jaemin consisted of a large pizza, red wine, and board games.

That Saturday night, Jaemin came to pick you up and take you back to his apartment where the movie night was being held, insisting that Haechan could hold down fort as he came to pick you up…and that no boyfriend would let his girlfriend drive herself over to his place when he had a perfectly good truck and an excuse to kiss you under the porch light before joining all the guys; you told him he was an idiot, but he met that with a kiss on your cheek, claiming that you were the idiot for not taking a free kiss under the porch light with the Na Jaemin…a low blow considering the reason behind your bruising eye.

When you step inside his apartment, the rest of the guys silence mid-conversation, instead turning all of their attention to you. Their shoulders drop as your black eye comes into the light. Embarrassment flushes your cheeks as you turn into Jaemin’s chest, and he wraps his arms around you lightly with a warm laugh, kissing the top of your head before turning his attention to his friends. “I’m pretty sure you guys promised me you would be chill about this if she came over,” he states playfully, causing the rest of them to drop their heads with a small laugh of their own.

“Our fault for caring about her,” Jeno banters back, and all you can do is sigh and pull away from Jaemin’s chest, facing the rest of the group again. He was right, not about it being their fault, but for the fact that their frowns just meant they cared about you, and it wasn’t like you didn’t feel the same way towards them - you’d frown, too if one of them walked in battered and bruised.

You roll your eyes playfully with a mellow shake of your head. “It’s fine. I’m fine,” you assure, turning your gaze to Jaemin before tossing your head side to side with a small smirk. “Besides, I’d say Jaem’s worth a punch or two.” The guys in front of you laugh but Jaemin furrows his brows.

“Or two?” He echoes worriedly, making you turn to him again with a soft, sure gaze.

“One,” you promise him and watch as a bit of relief washes over his figure, nodding his head as he takes it in.

“Um, you guys wanna watch Transformers?” Jisung speaks up awkwardly, shattering whatever tension you and Jaemin just created and instead making everyone chuckle.

Mark whips his head over to Jisung. “I thought we were watching Spider-Man…?” He adds sulkily. Jisung’s jaw drops, because apparently he had been looking forward to a Transformers marathon nonstop since the plans were made; but Chenle cuts off any chance of a response from him, instead just shaking his head rapidly.

“It doesn’t matter. Just choose anything before they take the pause in activity to make out,” he says as though he were horrified by the possibility, and Renjun lets out a sure laugh as he places a hand on Chenle’s shoulder.

“Still traumatized by the pda you asked for at that first lunch?” He asks, and Chenle looks at him with wide eyes.

“Can you blame me? So, they’re in a relationship…that’s great. Slightly cringe, but whatever. You know what’s not cringe? Spider-Man.”

“The Transformers!” Jisung corrects adamantly, getting everyone to laugh again.

“Sure, the Transformers,” Chenle agrees automatically, and Haechan rolls his eyes with a soft smile as he moves to set up the TV.

The eight of you got situated before another beat could pass. Mark on the recliner, Chenle and Jisung on the small couch, and then you, Jaemin, Jeno, Haechan, and Renjun taking up the big couch in the middle of the room. You cuddled easily into Jaemin as he threw an arm around your shoulder, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on the side of your arm.

For the group of you typically being a mess of chaos when you were all together, the eight of you somehow all followed the same unspoken rules when it came to movie night. There was no talking and, surprisingly, no one distracted by their phone. However, the peace of the perfect movie night was broken maybe twenty minutes into the first movie, when a chill ran through your body and the resulting shiver didn’t go unnoticed. “Do you want a blanket, y/n?” Mark asks softly. All at once, the guys whipped their heads towards him, furrowed brows adding to their glares at his disruption. That is, until it registers for them what Mark just asked, and all their gazes soften as they draw their attention to you in wait for your answer, Haechan pausing the movie entirely.

You let out a laugh under your breath, shaking your head at Mark with a grateful smile. “No, I’m okay,” you say quickly, trying to get everyone’s focus back on the movie because one shiver was not enough reason for concern. The guys all flash their eyebrows at your answer, immediately accepting it as they turn their attention back to the movie.

It isn’t long though before you shiver again, and while your attempt to cover it up was stellar, it wasn’t enough to get past the man holding you in his arms. Jaemin leans down so his lips are by your ear. “Go put on one of my hoodies,” he whispers slowly.

You shake your head minimally in response, eyes still trained on the Transformers. “I’m okay-” Your whispered words are cut off when the movie pauses, and you whip your head over to face Jaemin now, remote in hand and raised brows as he stares back at you seriously. A chorus of complaints erupt from the rest of the guys but Jaemin is only focused on you, and you can’t do anything but let out a light sigh. “Are you sure?” You ask, and Jaemin’s brows go from raised to furrowed.

“Am I sure? Of course I’m sure. You’re my girlfriend. Please go dig through my closet and wear my clothes,” he replies firmly, nodding his head now in the direction of his bedroom. You dodge any further eye contact with him as you instead slip out of his arms and towards his room. You don’t spend too much time in there, more than aware that they were all still waiting on you before unpausing the movie. You throw on the first hoodie you see, trying to ignore how much it smelled like him - how comforting it was to be wrapped in that scent.

You put on a straight face as you walk back out to the living room, though you begin to think it was unnecessary considering their reactions, or- Jaemin’s, at least. He immediately broke from the idle chatter he was having with Jeno as he instead locked his gaze on you, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. You fall shy under his gaze, looking around at the rest of the guys to see if you missed something before accepting the fact that it was just Jaemin who had the answers. “What?” You ask hesitantly, and it forces Jaemin to snap back to reality and collect himself.

He lets out something of a defeated laugh, shaking his head as he concludes his look up and down your body. “You should’ve been swimming in my hoodies for the past two months already,” he answers seriously, and suddenly your cheeks are on fire. You hide your face in your hands and the rest of the guys let fond grins paint their face at the interaction between the two of you. That was the first time it truly hit all of them that they were each about to lose $100 soon. Though it was hard for them to even be mad about it, because in everyone’s eyes but your own, Jaemin was whipped, and that was all they ever wanted for their best friend.

The group got through three movies before everyone started fading, eyelids feeling heavier by the minute. Renjun was the one to turn the lamp on at the side table beside him, putting everyone on the same page as they all got up from their seats and started getting ready to leave. Chenle is the first to say his goodbyes and head for the door, but as he places his hand on the knob, he whips back around. “Oh, wait!” He starts, louder than any of you were prepared for as you stare back at him in question. He shakes his head, the volume of his voice apparently even getting to him, but then he looks back at you all seriously. “I’m having my big New Year’s Eve party again. You’re all invited, obviously. I don’t know anyone’s plans after finals week, so I figured I’d just tell you now before we’re all in different places - if you wind up back at NCIT by December 31st, I’d love to have you, and if you wind up back at NCIT even earlier than that, please please please please please-”

“Chenle,” you all cut him off in unison, and he gives an awkward laugh.

“Please consider helping set up,” he says flusteredly. You all let out fond chuckles as you nod your head at the boy, and he lets a wide smile grace his features before finally opening the door and leaving with a soft ‘thank you.’

Dropping you off at your dorm, Jaemin fumbles for words before you can even open the door back to your place, and you turn around to pin all your attention on him instead as he speaks up awkwardly. “Uh- about Chenle’s party…”

“Yes, I’ll go. We said that would be our last day together so we might as well be…together,” you say, and Jaemin nods his head slowly.

“Okay; and for next weekend…?” He leaves the question at that and that’s when you realize you truly hadn’t given him much to plan with yet. You shake your head with a small laugh.

“We’ll leave Saturday morning for my parents’ house. I have finals up until Friday anyways. The big dinner you have to be there for is Saturday night, so you can do whatever you would like with your break after that.”

Jaemin processes the information with a distant expression before pulling it into a smile. “Alright, angel. Good luck with finals next week. I’ll be ready to go Saturday morning,” he says happily, and all you can do is match his smile.

“Good luck on your finals, too-” You start, but as you move to wrap him in one last hug, you catch sight of the hoodie covering your arms and jump back. “Oh! I’m still wearing your hoodie. Sorry-” You speak in a rush as you work to try and slip out of it, but Jaemin shakes his head.

“Don’t worry. Keep it,” he responds seriously, making you whip your head up at him and causing him to laugh. “It would be really suspicious if I came back home with the hoodie that I just said you looked cute in, and I’m not taking any chances with us so close to the three month mark now. Just don’t lose it…it’s my favorite hoodie.”

You let out a flustered laugh. “Well, are you sure you don’t want it back, then? Haechan is probably asleep already-” You reason as you start pulling one arm out of the hoodie again.

“Just keep it,” he cuts you off with a warm chuckle before continuing more somberly. “Our three months are almost up. I’ll get it back in no time.” If the words were bitter on his tongue, you didn’t notice. You were too preoccupied trying to neutralize your own emotions at the notion of this all ending soon.

You’re scared your voice would betray you if you opened your mouth again to speak, so instead you just nod your head, finally wrapping him in that goodbye hug and then turning to let yourself into your dorm.

Finals week somehow went by in a flash, and you’re scared to add up how many hours of it you spent in Jaemin’s hoodie. Though, the atypical schedule meant that you didn’t really have to worry about that - you only ever ran into Jaemin on campus for friend group lunches, and those were canceled this week since half of you would be in the middle of finals during the usual span of time; so, Jaemin never had to find out that you were practically living in the very same hoodie you had tried so hard to give back originally.

Come Saturday morning, that hoodie was packed with all of your other clothes in your suitcase, currently in the trunk of your car as you drive over to pick Jaemin up before heading to your house. He places his luggage next to yours before opening the passenger door and sliding in. “Hey, angel! Ready to pull all this off for your parents, too?” He asks with a devious smirk. You roll your eyes, trying to buy into the playfulness to forget about the dread filling your system at the idea of heading back home right now.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Thank you again for agreeing to this,” you say seriously, and Jaemin looks at you as though you were crazy.

“Of course I’d agree to do this. Do you realize how much you’re doing for me?” He banters back, effectively getting you to laugh a bit as the tension in your shoulders drops. “Besides,” he continues more thoughtfully. “It’ll be nice to see our hometown again.” His words are much more mellow this time, and you look over at him with a sad grimace before shifting into drive and actually getting out on the road.

As soon as Jaemin went to college, his family moved to Jeju Island, and for as often as the two of you talked about traveling there one day, it was much less exciting of an idea when it was already Jaemin’s home base and it’d just be you traveling to visit him. Even outside of that, you knew he missed the city - moving away from everything you know is only nice if it’s your choice, and moving to Jeju was definitely not his choice.

It’s not like his relationship with his parents was impacted, though. He understood, and was very appreciative of the fact that they held out on the move until he graduated high school. Truly, if they were wanting to move, this was the time to do it. He’d graduate college and get his own place wherever he wanted; it’s just that now his place to go back to was Jeju rather than Seoul.

On the other hand, your family stayed put in the same house from childhood, but your relationship had gone through rough waters since you started college; something not even Jaemin knew, and now you were wondering how oblivious you could keep him of your current home-situation.

The verdict was ‘not very long.’ As soon as the two of you walked in your front door, your parents seemed shocked to be laying eyes on Jaemin with you. You push past them and towards your bedroom to put your stuff down, sending just a meek ‘hi’ their way. Jaemin watched you disappear with ample confusion, but his face quickly straightened up into a smile as he greeted your parents with hugs and gratitude for having him over.

Your mom pulls back from the hug with a look of disbelief, shaking her head solemnly. “Jaemin, it’s wonderful to see you. I apologize for not having a space set up for you to stay. To be honest, when y/n said she was bringing a guest home, the last thing we were expecting was for it to be a guy,” she laughs off, and Jaemin’s eyebrows immediately furrow. Your own muscles tighten as you move to close your bedroom door, deciding that was already enough for you to hear.

“Why?” Jaemin asks in return, trying to match the laugh from your mom, though his was half-hearted at best.

Your mom shrugs it off like it’s nothing new. “Well, you know our y/n…doesn't exactly have a lot going for her-”

“Y/n’s gorgeous, actually,” Jaemin cuts off with force, now taking a full step back from your mom and causing her hand to drop from where it was still at his forearm. “And sure, she has her guard up most of the time but that doesn’t change the fact that once she’s comfortable enough to be herself, she’s incredibly easy to love,” he continues, brows furrowed as he makes sure to get his point across.

Your mom passes her gaze from Jaemin to her husband, taking a moment to exchange strange smiles with him before turning back to Jaemin. “Sorry, I seem to have offended you. I didn’t know you cared about my daughter that much.” She speaks every word as though she’s only half serious, and all it does is frustrate Jaemin even more.

“Of course I care about her but that’s not even the point. You shouldn’t be saying that about your child and you used to know that, cause you never said anything like that when we were growing up. So, I don’t know what changed but I can tell you it wasn’t the worth of your daughter.” Setting all your stuff down, you open your bedroom door enough to catch his last sentence and immediately let out a heavy sigh, knowing you had to go out there and do something.

“Jaem?” You start, walking back out from the hallway. His face instantly changes from disgust to warmth as he snaps his head in your direction.

“Yeah, angel?”

You nod your head back towards where you just came from. “My room is still the same one it’s always been. Since we’re apparently bunking together, if you want to go put your stuff in there so you’re not carrying it around throughout the house, you know where to go,” you say casually, trying to make it seem as though the sleeping arrangements were all you caught of his conversation with your mom.

Jaemin nods with a tight smile. “Alright, I’ll be back in a second,” he says, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head as he passes you in his walk to your room and you take his place with your parents in the living room. You and your mom both watch as your dad looks between the two of you before immediately leaving to go outside, shaking his head as he does so and leaving just you, your mom, and the suffocating tension in the room.

You drop your head to face the floor and your mom is the first one to speak. “I didn’t know he liked you,” she says plainly, eyes darting towards the room Jaemin was currently in before landing on you again, your head now whipped up to face her with raised brows.

“Didn’t know he liked me or didn’t think I was capable of having him like me?” You ask in return, and your mom falters for a moment.

“Y/n…” She starts, but you shake your head.

“Am I good enough now? Is this enough for you? That I brought an attractive guy home who cares about me? Are you even the tiniest bit proud of me now?” The fire in your eyes soon matches that of your mother’s, her disproving gaze that you knew so well baring into you.

“Y/n, that’s not fair and you know that,” she counters, her voice raising with every word.

Your jaw drops as you look at her in disbelief. “What’s not fair is you judging me by the man I do or do not have to hold my hand at any given time.” You’re thankful when the words come out firm; you’ve never stood up to her like this, and when your mom studies you with intensity, it’s as though she doesn’t know the woman in front of her this time.

“Well,” she breathes out, bringing her gaze back to your own. “Being with him has apparently given you some confidence…or a voice, at least.” Her tone borders between indifference and slight disgust, and all you can do is shake your head, unsure of how your relationship with your mom ever turned into this.

“I refuse to believe that you find an issue in the fact that he makes me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world,” you say in almost a plea for her to tell you it’s not true, but she never does; instead, it’s just Jaemin’s breath hitching in the hallway that he tries to cover up so you wouldn’t know he was listening. When neither you nor your mom turn your heads towards him, he realizes he was still under the radar. So, he prepares himself to walk back into the living room as though he just got done putting everything away in yours.

When he gets back by your side, he lightly kisses your temple, turning to face your mom as he sneaks a hand to rest on the small of your back; your mom stares at the physical contact and you think her eye actually twitches. Jaemin opens his mouth to start casual conversation back up but your mom cuts him off before he can even begin. “Your father and I are going out for the day. We will be back to cook dinner,” she states, and your eyebrows furrow immediately.

“You haven’t seen Jaemin in years and you’re just gonna leave right when he gets here?” You ask in shock, and your mom glares back at you.

“Dinner,” she replies sharply, and then she’s out the door.

Jaemin’s hand on your back begins to rub lightly up and down, and as you turn to bury your face in his chest, he wraps you in a full hug. “I’m sorry,” you mumble out, and Jaemin shakes his head. With one hand, he lightly guides your chin up so that you make eye contact with him, a soft smile on his face as he looks down at you.

“Nothing to be sorry for, angel. It’s all okay. How about we just watch TV or something, go outside maybe…what’s gonna destress you?” He asks, his hand that was underneath your chin maneuvering to instead caress your cheek.

You shrug, doing your best to dodge eye contact as you reply. “Anything in your presence,” you say seriously, missing the way warmth just reached every corner of Jaemin’s being at your words.

“Okay,” he responds surely, and that’s how you found yourself walking the streets of your hometown, hand-in-hand with Na Jaemin. You visited his old house, the old playground, anywhere you could before the cold air finally caught up to you and you had to retreat back inside for some hot chocolate and more Harry Potter from your last unfinished rewatch session.

Jaemin never brought up the obvious tension between you and your mom, something you were thankful for, but it also left you feeling guilty because you knew it was on his mind - the equation of where things went wrong between you and your mom after he left Seoul was continuously being worked out behind his eyes. When you explained this part of the fake-dating contract, he wasn’t expecting for your parents to actually be on your ass about not dating anyone, but stepping into this house was like a minefield, and any conversation around the topic turned into an explosion.

He wasn’t gonna make you talk about it though, you obviously weren’t ready to. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around you as best he could, making sure you and your cocoa were always kept warm throughout the duration of your latest movie marathon.

Surprising you, when it was finally dinnertime, the atmosphere was lighter by the tiniest bit. Your parents were engaging with Jaemin, at least, and the presence of other long-time family friends put you at ease, too, because you knew a big fiasco is the last thing your parents would allow to happen in front of others.

“Are you staying with us all of break?” Your mom asks as she puts her fork down and places all of her attention on Jaemin. He gives a sorry grin in return as he shakes his head.

“No,” he begins, and your face immediately drops, forcing you to take another bite so it’s less noticeable. “I was thinking I would surprise my parents. I haven’t seen them since the summer, and I figure that means it’s time to fly out and see them again,” he continues with a light laugh. “Though, when y/n asked me to come back with her for this dinner, I- well,” he drags off, taking a moment to turn and face you at his side, a fond smirk on his lips before he turns his head back to face his lap before you can notice. “I realize I’ve gotten incredibly bad at saying ‘no’ to her,” he finishes, his own light chuckle following his words.

Gazes soften all around the table as they listen to Jaemin, but you can’t bring your head up to look at him, sure the look in your eyes would give away how desperately you were wishing for those words to be real.

Your dad is the one to pick up the conversation again. “Well, we’ll be sad to see you go so soon, but it’s sure been a pleasure having you fill our house again,” he says with a tight nod that Jaemin reflects back to him, slightly softer in his perfect Jaemin way.

That night, you and Jaemin went to bed before the rest of the adults did, but they had the advantage of alcohol to keep them occupied, and while that option was technically open to you and Jaemin, you both decided it would probably be best to stay under the label of ‘innocent youth’ with your parents and family friends.

You walk back into your bedroom after washing your face and putting on pajamas to see Jaemin already laying down. You trace his outline underneath the covers and sigh when you realize how little room was left in your full size bed. You slip under the covers and begin to turn on your side so you could take up the smallest space possible, but Jaemin evidently has other plans as he reaches over and pulls you so that you’re laying against his chest. “What are you doing?” You ask, propping your head up on his chest as you stare at him in confusion.

He looks back at you as though there were no need for the question, his smirk playing lazily against his lips. “If you’re going to end up on top of me anyways, I’d rather just hold you there,” he replies, and all at once you’re vividly reminded of Halloween night. You don’t argue back, instead just rolling your eyes and resting your head back against his chest as you try to hide most of the blush on your cheeks.

Jaemin idly draws shapes on your back as he watches you fall asleep on him. He swallows awkwardly, remembering what your mother said about you…what you said to your mother, and a kind of frustration fills his chest. He listens for any signal that you were still awake, and when he finds none, he presses the lightest kiss to the top of your head. “You’re so beautiful, y/n,” he whispers. His mortification comes when he feels you tense under his hold.

“You don’t have to pretend when it’s just us, you know,” you whisper back, and his heart breaks in his chest. His tone is firm as he replies, because if you were going to be awake to hear him say that, he might as well get his point across.

“Some stuff I never had to pretend for. Some stuff is just a fact.”

You let out a heavy sigh, flipping which way your head was facing on his chest before speaking softly. “Go to bed, Jaemin,” you say, and he doesn’t quite know what to do with the feeling of defeat that arose knowing you don’t believe him. He thinks about saying more but he figures now is not the time for it…that in your friendship, it may not ever be the time for it. So, he lets out his own light sigh, his grip around you going slightly tighter as he gets to work on actually falling asleep.

The next day, all you really had time for was breakfast before you had to drive Jaemin to the airport. As you pull up to the curb for departures, Jaemin doesn’t even think twice before leaning over the center console to press a soft kiss to your cheek. “Thank you for dropping me off,” he says sincerely amidst the rustling of him gathering his bags from various spaces of your car. You laugh as you open your own door, sliding around to the back of your car to pop the trunk and grab his suitcase.

“I’m coming inside with you, you know?” You tease lightly, missing the way Jaemin’s eyes soften at the care before he quickly vetoes your carrying of his luggage and rips his suitcase from your grip, causing you to laugh some more as you turn to face him now at your side. “But, of course, it was no problem,” you say genuinely, stepping inside the airport with him and too quickly facing the security checkpoint where you’d finally have to split. “Have a safe flight,” you continue, and with each word he’s now taking a step further than you dare to. “Tell your family I said ‘hi.’”

Jaemin looks over his shoulder to smile back at you. “I will,” he promises firmly with a matching nod, and you throw a grin and final wave his way as he turns back to actually face where he was walking towards the entrance for security. As soon as you’re out of his line of sight, you allow your face to drop slightly alongside your gaze, letting out a light sigh at the feeling of him walking away from you. However, your attention is caught by the increasingly loud sound of heavy footsteps. You shift your gaze back in front of you to see Jaemin had changed his path and was instead heading straight for you again.

“Jaemin-?” You question, but you’re cut off the second he gets close to you because he wastes no time in dropping his bags, cupping your cheek with his hand, and pressing a sure kiss to your lips. You melted right into it, something you would have to kick yourself for later, but at the present moment, all you could think about was his soft lips still lingering against yours.

“I’ll see you in a week, okay?” He says in a near-whisper. His words weren’t so much a statement as they were a reassurance, like he needed you to know that all you had to bear without him was a single week, like he intended to never leave you again once he came back. All you can do is swallow awkwardly, nodding as you look up at him through your lashes.

“Yeah.”

Jaemin’s gaze roamed over your entire figure as best it could with the two of you still in close proximity. You wanted to press up on your tiptoes and kiss him again for the hell of it, or maybe for the comfort of it, but Jaemin is the one to take action first, simply running his thumb gently across your cheek with a small smile before immediately turning to grab his bags and actually make his way through the security checkpoint. All you can do is stand and watch helplessly as he walks away from you. You’d see him in a week, sure, but then it’d be New Years before you knew it and all of this would slip right out of your hands…it practically already had.

You were back at NCIT before Christmas, trading in family-time for time with Chenle, who was the only other one of your friends on campus for most of that duration. He tried to pretend that he needed to meet up with you to talk about plans for his New Year’s Eve party, but most of it was just excuses to hang out when he got lonely. One by one, the guys all made their way back to NCIT, Jaemin being the last to do so, coming in on the evening flight December 26th.

You had brought Chenle with you to go pick him up, mainly because Chenle begged you to let him tag along. The two of you stood at the baggage claim for maybe fifteen minutes, Jaemin’s hoodie adorning your figure and providing you with comfort amidst Chenle’s constant nagging that you guys should have brought a sign saying that Jaemin was coming back from prison or something else more embarrassing.

The baggage claim carousel had already begun spinning for Jaemin’s flight, and eventually even Chenle stops talking to instead join you in a frown as the two of you search for Jaemin. The verdict was that he must have just been the last person off the plane, because around five minutes later, you catch sight of his figure. “There he is- what’s he doing?” You ask confused as you look at Jaemin speed in your direction.

“Running towards you,” Chenle answers as if it were the most casual occurrence ever. He tosses his gaze over to you with raised eyebrows before continuing. “And I think you should probably start running towards him unless you’re prepared to catch his weight, cause I’m pretty sure he’s ready to jump on you.”

Your eyes go wide at his words as you shake your head. “God, having a lunatic boyfriend is a lot of work,” you respond, feigning exhaustion. Chenle throws his arms up in defense.

“Hey, you chose him, not me,” he quips, making you smile before realizing you really had to start on your run towards him, because of all the things you were prepared for, catching Jaemin’s weight was not one of them.

You take off from where you and Chenle were standing, running up and meeting Jaemin somewhere in the middle as he lets go of his carry-on and puts his arms out for you. “Jaem!” You exclaim, jumping into his arms and wrapping around him like a koala.

“Angel!” He replies just as enthusiastically; hugging you tightly and spinning around once with the momentum.

“Chenle’s here so you have to kiss me,” you whisper in a rush, cupping his cheek with your hand as Jaemin steadies himself again.

He lets out a genuine laugh, catching your gaze with the brightest of smiles in his eyes. “Well, I wasn’t gonna run all this way towards you for nothing,” he says surely. Then he presses his lips to yours, and the resulting warmth in your body should’ve made the snow outside impossible.

Jaemin breaks away from you when he feels a tug on his shirt sleeve, and the two of you turn to make eye contact with Chenle. “You’re being cringe now, can you please take me home?” He asks plainly, making you and Jaemin laugh as he puts you down on the solid ground again, slipping his hand in yours as the next best option. Then, after making sure Jaemin had all of his things, the three of you were on the road back to NCIT.

The next day, Jaemin and the guys went out for lunch, one you weren’t invited to because it was one you “couldn’t know about.” Sitting around the table in a perfect reflection of the start of the semester, the guys around Jaemin all wore a mixture of looks on their faces, ranging from impressed to sulky…though that last one was only Chenle, who despite having the most money in the group, hated giving it out.

Mark is the one to finally address the reason they were all there. “Well, you did it. I’m sure we don’t need to be the ones to tell you that you’ve been dating y/n for three whole months now,” he says with a light laugh. Jaemin can’t bring himself to join in on the smiles and playfulness around the table.

“I can’t believe it’s been three months already,” he says hollowly, but both his tone and the distant look in his eyes go unnoticed by his friends, their tunnel vision on their childish bet covering over Jaemin’s anguish at winning.

“Here’s your $600,” Haechan says after having collected everyone’s shares from around the table. “Can't wait to have a new PS5 in our apartment,” he quips, but Jaemin whips his head up at him, grabbing the $600 from his hands defensively.

“I’m not spending it on a PS5…” He begins, dragging off as the fire dies from his tone and he returns to a contemplative state of being. “I’m gonna buy y/n something nice.”

Gasps are heard from quite literally everyone else at the table, all of them looking at Jaemin with wide eyes. “Really?” Jeno asks in disbelief, and Jaemin makes passing eye contact with all of his friends, giving them all odd looks for being so caught off guard.

“Yes, really. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me, and I don’t know how to give her the world, but I can at least get her the best that $600 will buy,” he explains surely, and the rest of the guys all exchange glances with each other before turning back to him, Renjun being the one to take a jab this time through a hesitant laugh.

“Are we still talking to Na Jaemin?” He asks, making the rest of the guys laugh as well. Jaemin just lets out a sigh, finally able to find a bit of humor as well as he shakes his head, tucking the money away and turning the afternoon into a regular lunch hang out.

Two days later, you get a call from Jaemin sometime after dinner.

“Angel?” He says softly once you pick up, his tone making you smile on the other end.

“Yeah, handsome?” You respond warmly.

“Wanna go on a drive?” Jaemin asks, giving away no hints as to his current state of emotions, and your eyebrows furrow as you pry more.

“No destination?” You ask, and Jaemin shakes his head, not that you were able to see it anyways. His response is sharp.

“No.”

“Everything okay?” You question, the warmth in your tone turning into concern.

“Yeah,” Jaemin responds immediately. You let a beat pass in silence and it’s enough for Jaemin to want to fill it again on his own. “Just want some more time with you,” he explains shyly, and you let out a small breath of laughter as you oblige.

“Let me get my shoes on.”

“I’ll be there to pick you up in five,” he replies firmly before immediately hanging up.

True to his word, it only took five minutes before you’re opening the door to Jaemin. “Hey,” he says as soon as you make eye contact, leaning down to press a quick kiss to your cheek.

“Hey,” you reply, your face hurting as you try not to smile too widely at his actions. Jaemin wouldn’t have noticed if you did, though, because he immediately turns to face the floor sheepishly.

“Sorry if you were in the middle of something,” he finally says, making you furrow your brows at him - this wasn’t a Jaemin you were used to.

“Nothing that couldn’t wait,” you assure him before prying some more. “What’s up?”

Jaemin pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he shakes his head hesitantly. “Nothing. It’s just our last few days together. Figured we could hang out before you go off and get an actual boyfriend and I-” You watch as he fumbles for words, eventually giving up with a shrug as he finally makes eye contact with you again. “Go back to doing whatever it is I do.”

His answer doesn’t relieve you of any worry, and you move a hand up to cup his cheek as you tilt your head in study of him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jaemin nods his head slightly against your hand, a fond smile at your touch replacing the distant expression he previously held. “There’s just a lot on my mind. Nothing for you to worry about. Just wanted to hang out with you and kind of escape it all for a bit,” he explains casually, eventually bringing both hands up to guide your own back down from his face, idly playing with your fingers as he asks his next question. “Do you still like cloud watching?”

“You know I do,” you reply with a laugh, and Jaemin finally bares his teeth as he smiles back at you. He checks to make sure you actually did put your shoes on already before switching his grip so that he was just holding your hand as he walked the two of you to his truck.

You ended up at one of those nature parks, where the fields are preserved for fields-sake rather than playgrounds. The two of you got out and made your way around to the tailgate of his truck and you register that he already had blankets and pillows in the back, completely reminiscent of high school.

You both sat in silence for a while, staring up at the sky and giving yourselves a chance to be at peace, at least somewhere away from the false sense of urgency that always seemed to be around. Eventually, you move your gaze from the clouds above to where your arms were wrapped around your knees, debating with yourself before finally breaking the silence.

“Jaem?” You call softly, and he turns all of his attention towards you.

“Yeah, angel?” He replies in much the same manner. You dart your tongue out to lick your lips, anything you could do to prolong your question - which you were currently thinking should’ve lost in your inner debate.

You finally let out a sigh, still focused in front of you as you talk. “You know you’re much more than the image you’ve picked up around campus, right?”

Jaemin’s face immediately whips back to the front so there would be no chance of making eye contact with you. “Um…” He begins, but that was the only word he could come up with before forfeiting with an awkward swallow. You know that means it’s up to you to continue.

“I know that day I first met your friend group, you had to make up a ton of stuff on how we got together and everything, but I don’t know if you were necessarily lying when you were talking about how I deserve better than getting tied into your fuckboy image. I just- wanna make sure you know, in case that has ever been your thought process for anyone you’ve had a crush on, that there’s so many more sides to you than that. An image is an image, okay? Don’t let it get to you.” Your courage is built with every word and you finally turn to face Jaemin as you continue softly, surely. “They don’t know you like I do.”

Jaemin’s lips part with a heavy exhale before he rolls them inwards in hesitation. “Do you mean it?” He finally asks, and there’s just a trace of sadness riddling his voice.

“Of course I do,” you say firmly, and Jaemin takes in your answer with a slow nod.

“It’s been hard. I-” He grimaces before letting out an awkward laugh. “Oh, this is kind of weird to talk about with you,” he continues, making you laugh, too as the atmosphere lightens.

“Whatever,” you say, rolling your eyes playfully. “It’s me.”

Surprisingly, that seemed to do it, because the tension in Jaemin’s shoulders falls as he lets out a light sigh and finally finds his words for what seemed to be the first time that night. “I used to not care. If they wanted to label me as a fuckboy, that was fine. Truthfully, if I was getting my dick wet, I was good-” He cuts himself off at the sound of a slightly louder exhale than normal from you, and he whips his head your way with a pout. “Don’t laugh, I’m being vulnerable.”

You stare back at him with a fond smile on your face and raised brows. “I’m not laughing,” you assure, and Jaemin turns to face his knees again as he accepts your denial of the claim without a fight. Then he starts back up with his explanation, his tone heavy and contemplative.

“Lately though, I’ve just been thinking I want so much more out of life. But, I spent so long under the fuckboy label I didn’t know if I would ever be able to break free from it, if I could ever be more.”

Your gaze on him softens but your eyebrows furrow; there was something so weird about knowing he’s never viewed himself in the way you do. “Na Jaemin, you’ve always been more,” you respond firmly. The lightest of exhales escapes as laughter from Jaemin, and he lets a weak smile play at his lips before responding.

“And you’ve always felt like home…” He says, matching your tone as he finally turns to look at you again. “That’s another thing I wasn’t lying about that day.”

You immediately dodge eye contact, knowing it’d reveal to him in milliseconds your real emotions towards all of this…towards him. Probably against your better judgement as well, you lean into him at your side, resting your head against his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’ve had a nice three months with you,” you say, your own weak grin making an appearance.

“Yeah,” he agrees, wrapping his arm around you casually. “It hasn’t been too bad, has it?”

There it was, the reason you needed to snap out of it, because for Jaemin, it just wasn’t ‘too bad,’ and meanwhile you’ve been over the moon these past three months. You’d come to your senses eventually - remember that ‘breaking up’ was the plan all along, that the last thing Jaemin wanted was to be in an actual relationship, and that you were going to have to be as okay with that as ever. However, for now, you figured you’d just lean into him a bit more while you still can.

The next day saw all eight of you at Chenle’s place, helping him decorate and prepare for the big party, and then it was New Year’s Eve. Only you and Jaemin knew that it was your last night together before the ‘break up;’ and neither of you knew that the other didn’t want it to ever end, meaning when you placed Jaemin’s hoodie in his backseat as a way to return it before the party, you didn’t know the idea of giving it back nauseated him possibly more than it did you. As such, the air was tense and awkward between the two of you, trying to keep hidden how devastated you knew you were going to be at the end of the night, and too dumb to realize the best thing you could do is talk about it.

Hand-in-hand with Jaemin, the two of you join the rest of your friend group, already standing around in a circle somewhere on the outskirts of the set up dance floor. They greet the two of you with bright smiles, none of them plagued with the knowledge that their favorite relationship was ending tonight. However, with the eight of you chatting about anything imaginable, the night became incredibly casual, despite the overwhelming amount of people flooding in around you all.

Eventually, the group divides up, deciding a range of different activities sounded best for the time being. You ended up with Chenle and Jisung, the three of you indulging in the indoor s’mores kit that was set up. Jaemin never moved from where the big group of you originally were. Instead, he let the crowd all pass around him as he stayed focused on you, gaze aimed in your direction with a fond smile as he watched you interact with his friends.

The only thing to break him from his staring is when Mark taps him on the shoulder and hands him a cup of water. “Man, I hope you know you’ve turned into a completely different person,” he says as he does so, making Jaemin furrow his brows in question; though Mark shakes his head as though it were no big thing. “You got this glow about you that scares me, and the look in your eyes when you’re staring at her…I didn’t think I’d ever see that from you - you know, being so against relationships and everything,” he ends with a light laugh.

Jaemin drops his head, his own laugh escaping his lips. “It’s just what happens when you’ve found your person, I guess,” he replies seriously. “I mean, to me?” He begins, finally looking up at Mark in sincerity before throwing his gaze your way. “For her?” He shakes his head, his smile turning into a dumb grin on his face as he finally admits to what’s been on his mind for three months. “Everything’s worth it. All the risk, all the effort, I’d do anything for her.” He looks your way once more before his gaze turns distant and he lets a grimace slip across his features. “It just took being with her to make me realize…I want to believe in love,” he finally says, meeting Mark’s eyes once again.

Mark’s smile was painted widely across his face, though he stared at his best friend in something like disbelief. “Want to believe it? Jaemin, you’re in it,” he says firmly, and Jaemin immediately lets his gaze fall to his feet as he lets out a heavy sigh.

“It’s less scary than I thought it’d be,” he finally says, and Mark’s smile turns fond as he gets a glimpse at how his best friend operates. He puts on his best voice of comfort as he replies.

“You said it yourself, it’s what happens when you’ve found your person. You should tell her,” he says, tossing his head in your direction casually, but Jaemin’s muscles tense up.

“No, I can’t,” he says in a rush, and Mark lets out a laugh.

“From the one who says he isn’t scared,” he teases, but Jaemin shakes his head - it wasn’t that.

“I- it’s a weird situation,” he says, letting out a huff with his bad explanation. “I can’t tell her. Not tonight, anyways…she won’t want to hear that from me,” he concludes, dragging off miserably. Mark’s face completely flips as he stares at Jaemin quizzically.

“But- she looks at you the same way, you know?” He says surely, but Jaemin shakes his head again.

“No, that’s just how she looks at me. Even when we were in high school.” He takes a moment to pause, tongue darting out to wet his suddenly dry lips before continuing with conviction. “No, she doesn’t love me. Not like this,” he says, and then he’s walking away, leaving a very confused Mark standing there with parted lips.

“...I thought she’s liked you since high school,” he says under his breath now that he knew there was no way Jaemin would hear anyways. He looks between you and Jaemin before shaking his head - the last thing he needed on New Year’s Eve was to engage in overthinking.

You had just broken away from where you were talking with Chenle and Jisung to instead make your way over to the punch table. Grabbing yourself a glass, when arms wrap around you in a hug from behind, you know the only person it could be. “Hey, handsome,” you say with a smile, turning your head to the side to try and lay eyes on him.

“Hi, angel,” Jaemin replies, taking the opportunity to place a small kiss on your cheek before continuing. “Are we kissing at midnight or are we ending things before then? I’m not sure if you want to start the new year with me or not.” His tone borders on defeat, and you turn around in his arms to stare at him with raised eyebrows and a playful smirk.

“I’ll be your new year's kiss if you’ll be mine,” you reply, and Jaemin lets out a small chuckle. “Besides,” you continue more seriously. “Ending this doesn’t mean you aren’t still my best friend. You’ll be a part of my new year no matter what. We can kiss and just pretend that was our way to say ‘bye’ to dating, cause you know, I guess it will be.” For a moment that you always knew was coming, admitting its near occurrence now felt like you just had the wind knocked out of you. Jaemin just stares down at you with a wide grin, nodding his head along to your words in approval.

“Alright best friend, then I’ll make sure to find you again before midnight,” he replies, the entire thing making you swallow awkwardly as you nod your head back at him slightly.

“Yeah…” You respond in something like a whisper, and with one light kiss on your forehead, Jaemin vanishes again into the crowd.

The rest of the New Years party was a blast, no doubt, but the knowledge of what was coming, or more so ending, plagued your thoughts and eventually you just needed to slip away from the rest of the noise. You ended up on the balcony attached to some random bedroom, the cool air something of a relief for your current state.

The only pull back into reality was when the ever-present loudness turned into synchronized cheers, and you catch as the entire party starts counting down from fifteen seconds. You whip around to start on your rushed journey back inside, realizing you never told Jaemin where you would be; but as you turn, you make eye contact with him, just stepping onto the balcony himself, an easy smile crossing his features. “No need to rush. I told you I’d find you before midnight,” he says with a light laugh, and you drop your head with a small exhale as your own form of laughter. “Ready to say ‘bye’ to all this pretending?” He asks, stepping up to where he was directly in front of you.

No. “Yep,” you respond with the best fake smile you could. You already made it this far with no problems, you refused to let it slip that your heart was fully in this right when it was about to end.

Jaemin matched your smile, and as the crowd’s counting reached the ‘3, 2, 1,’ his hand came up to find its favorite spot at your cheek again. Then he leaned in and kissed you right as the party erupted with cheers of ‘Happy New Year.’

Your hands gripped tightly at his shirt, keeping you steady and keeping him close to you; though he wasn’t necessarily going anywhere with one hand cupping your cheek and the other placed firmly on your waist. Unlike any of your other kisses, this one…lingered. The two of you kept steady pace with each other, you gently sucking on his bottom lip and figuring for as long as he’d let this go on, you would take it for all it was worth, trying to pretend you could ever kiss him enough for a lifetime.

When you think he’s breaking away, you’re instead met with the feeling of his tongue running across your top lip, asking for permission - permission all too easily granted by you as you open your mouth to let him explore. Your New Year's kiss turned into a greedy make out session, which was probably the last thing you were expecting, but you couldn’t take the time to question it because you were too busy drowning in his taste. You loved the taste of Jaemin on your tongue, and his own soft moan - which he tried so desperately to cover up but that you still very much heard, let you know he was currently feeling the same way; and you’d mark that down as a tiny win in the midst of the huge loss you were about to incur.

Against your better judgement, you finally break away when you truly couldn’t breathe anymore, and Jaemin rests his forehead against yours. The air was just filled with the sound of panting as the two of you tried to catch your breaths. You swallow awkwardly once you do, taking a small step back as you process what just happened, Jaemin’s hand running down your body until you were no longer in reach. “You’re awfully good at ‘goodbye,’” you say in between breaths.

Jaemin immediately dodges your gaze, facing somewhere off to the side as his adam's apple bobs up and down. “I’ve had a lot of practice,” he responds quietly, to the point where you were practically just reading his lips, and then he’s gone, leaving you alone on the balcony to deal with your flooding emotions on your own…not that you could do so in his presence anyways.

You hated that it hurt this much - that a goodbye you knew was coming still seemed to blindside you. You had allowed your heart to indulge in his every romantic gesture, and while on the surface you knew they meant nothing, you held onto hope in some deep dark corner of your heart that maybe it wasn’t all just pretend; and yet here you were, grouped in with the vast category of girls he’s said ‘goodbye’ to in the way he knew all too well. You were his best friend but you were no one special, and you didn’t expect the resurgence of a fact that you already knew to affect you as much as it did - to make it feel as though you had been hollowed out, bones chilled from the empty space your soul used to occupy.

You and Jaemin weren’t in contact the entire first day of the new year, though you couldn’t complain because talking to him right away was not something you figured your heart could handle. Instead, you went to work out at the gym and run errands and all those other things people do when they’re single and making a point to say they’re okay with that. To be fair, it kind of worked. Not that you were okay with whatever you and Jaemin had gotten yourselves into coming to an end, but that day of productivity and endorphin-inducing activity helped you ground yourself - these past three months were you helping out your best friend, that was all it was ever supposed to be.

The next day was far less productive, but you were still functioning like normal. The only disruption from your typical daily routine came with a phone call from Haechan. As soon as you pick up, he starts speaking.

“Why did you go and break Jaemin’s heart all of the sudden?” He asks angrily.

You furrow your brows, though it wasn’t like he could see it anyways. “What do you mean? The breakup was mutual,” you counter in confusion, and Haechan lets out an actual ‘HA’ in disbelief before he replies with animosity.

“I need to know what the hell your definition of ‘mutual’ is because Jaemin hasn’t stopped crying for the past twenty-four hours.”

You think he’s kidding, like this is one last stupid test of whether your relationship ever added up - but you shake the idea away, he already got the money, it was a week past three months, there wasn’t anything for you to mess up now, the story you’ve been telling would work as it always had. “Crying? What? We both agreed we worked better as friends,” you reply instantly, confusion adequately painting your voice.

Haechan cannot believe his ears, and he makes sure to let you know so. For as much as you were confused, he didn’t understand why you were acting this way, ten fold. “No, I don’t believe you at all now. He wouldn’t agree on that. I don’t know how Jaemin talked to you, but he talked about you as though he’s never held anyone’s hand before until he held yours. Y/n, it was like you were the one to put every star in his night sky, I swear there’s no way this breakup was mutual.” Your whole world stops and you go speechless on the other end. Haechan was being dead serious, or else he wouldn’t be angry, he wouldn’t be pushing the subject. His words turn over and over again in your head. Jaemin talked about you, evidently when you weren’t around. You were fake-dating and yet Jaemin went out of his way to speak of you fondly to his friends. Jaemin, who never saw the point of getting romantically attached like that, doing more than what was needed in expressing his feelings about you. You push down the feeling of nausea and instead let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll be over in five minutes,” you say quietly, and then you hang up the phone before ever getting a reply from Haechan.

You race over to their apartment, and before you could even knock, Haechan is swinging the door open for you. The two of you make eye contact and about a million emotions pass between you, but it was easiest to pick up on the uncertainty. Haechan opens his mouth as if he’s about to bombard you with questions, or maybe yell at you again…you weren’t sure, but instead he just lets out a breath, nodding his head back in the direction of Jaemin’s room with a soft, “in there.”

You throw a thankful smile his way, not that you were necessarily guessing at where Jaemin could be, but you were very grateful he was letting you off so easily. Even by looking at Haechan, you could tell Jaemin had truly been crying for the past twenty-four hours…Haechan looked exhausted.

You lightly tap on the door of Jaemin’s room before entering, breath hitching as you lay eyes on his figure, curled up in a ball and clad in his favorite hoodie that you had given back - the hoodie he now knew you had lived in for the past few weeks because he already caught your own scent on it. Tears raced down his face, and he immediately turned away from you to hide them as he squeaked out choked words.

“Please go away,” he says, and reality hits you all at once. It wasn’t like you thought Haechan was lying, but now you truly had to face the fact that you were the cause of Jaemin’s tears; he wanted you to go away.

“Jaemin, I’m not going anywhere,” you say softly, shaking your head to emphasize the point. Though, as you do so, your gaze catches onto a gift bag on his dresser, a label with your name written on it in his stupid perfect handwriting.

You walk up to it, swallowing hesitantly as you turn your attention from the bag to Jaemin and back again. “What is this?” You finally ask. Jaemin shoots his gaze your way, not having previously realized what had caught your intrigue.

“Please don’t-” He rushes to say, but in the pause, you had already pulled out a diamond necklace, holding it gently between your shaking hands. You shake your head, eyes wide and jaw dropped as you’re unable to form a coherent thought. You turn back around to face him, your gaze darting every which way because you’re not sure you can confidently hold eye contact with him.

“Jaemin, what-? Why is this in a gift bag labeled for me-? When did you-?”

He cuts you off, visibly annoyed. “It’s what I used the bet money on. Now please go away,” he demands more firmly, but you wouldn’t be able to follow through on it even if you wanted to, because as you process his words, you lose the ability to move.

“You spent the $600 on this?” You ask in disbelief, turning your attention fully towards him to try and find any cue that he was lying. “On me?”

Jaemin turns his head to the side, and you watch as his adam’s apple bobs up and down with an awkward swallow. When he finally answers, his voice has lost its tension, his words instead coming out as though he were ashamed. “$700,” he corrects. “I didn’t want it to feel like I was just gifting you something from the guys.”

You think you’ve gone crazy, or maybe Jaemin has, but all you can do is stare at him in disbelief. “I-”

He quickly finds his fire again, apparently having had enough embarrassment for a lifetime in those few seconds. “Please leave,” he spits out. He dares look up to make eye contact with you before immediately regretting his decision and staring back down at his bed again, wiping more stray tears from his eyes as he fumbles out his next words. “You can take the necklace if you want but just- please leave.”

“Jaem-” You say softly before he can cut you off.

“What?!” He quips, though when he shoots his gaze back to you in irritation, he realizes you’re no longer standing at his dresser, but sitting at the edge of his bed with him. Your fingers barren of the necklace, you instead occupy one hand by placing it on top of his own.

“You could’ve told me you fell for me, too,” you say seriously, and Jaemin stops breathing for a moment as he looks up at you with wide teary eyes.

“Too?” He echoes weakly, and all you can do is give a tight smile, moving a hand up to wipe under his eyes as you try to hold back your own tears.

“I refuse to believe I played off my huge crush on you since high school that well.” You reply with a hoarse laugh.

Jaemin finally recovers his ability to breathe as he lets out a heavy exhale. “You like me?” He asks through tears, and you finally break, having to wipe your own stupid tears off your face before nodding at him with an embarrassed smile.

“I always have. Why do you think I made all those stupid rules to try and make sure we acted like a couple as little as possible?” A bittersweet laugh gets caught in your throat as you think back on it. “If I had to listen to you call me cute names all the time, I wouldn’t have survived knowing it was eventually going to end,” you continue seriously.

Jaemin’s finally able to let out a bashful smile and sorry laugh. “...I called you cute names all the time anyways.”

You nod your head with a fond smile. “I know.”

“I couldn’t help it,” he explains as more tears rush down his face, though this time, they’re at least sliding down next to an embarrassed grin.

You look at him with playful raised eyebrows. “Just like how you couldn’t help it when you kissed me every time you saw me? Or looked over at me super fondly?”

Jaemin softens as his eyes trace over your figure, the distant look in his gaze letting you know his mind was rather preoccupied with reliving the past three months. “Exactly like that,” he says lowly, and you let out a breath, forcing your gaze away from Jaemin as you instead focus on the way your fingers were idly fidgeting with each other.

“God, Jaem. I’m sorry. I should’ve realized-” You speak apologetically but Jaemin cuts you off again.

“No, I should’ve communicated. Well…” He lets another soft laugh leave his system, the tears finally drying on his face as he works towards fully collecting himself. “I should’ve communicated when you knew I was serious.”

You smile at his words, shaking your head again as you relive every moment of the fake relationship. “I didn’t even know you had time to catch feelings for me,” you begin with something like wonder in your tone. “I mean- weren’t you still hooking up with-”

When Jaemin cuts you off this time, it’s with the most flustered of cheeks and the weakest of laughs. “Um, about that…the very first girl I hooked up with after we added that rule-” He shakes his head with a small smile as he corrects himself. “Well, I say that…she was also the last girl I hooked up with.” Your eyebrows furrow slightly as you process the information, but Jaemin doesn’t give you much time to do so before throwing in another wrench. “I uh- accidentally moaned your name.”

Your head whips in his direction, your wide eyes straining against your dropped jaw. “Jaemin! You did not!”

“Why would I make that up?!” He quips back with a hearty laugh. You move a hand over your gaping mouth, unsure at what exactly you were supposed to do with this news. You shake your head in disbelief.

“Oh my god, what did she do?” You ask, curiosity dripping from your voice. Jaemin bites on the inside of his cheek before giving in again with a light sigh.

“Well, we immediately stopped because we were both mortified, I think. She said something about how I obviously had to go figure some things out, to which I agreed, but for different reasons than she thought…” He drags off a bit but instead just shakes his head and goes in a different direction. “I practically begged her not to say anything about it, but she laughed and said I was crazy if I thought she was going to tell that story and humiliate herself,” he finishes with a small chuckle, and you just stare at him with no less shock than before.

“I can’t believe this,” you manage to get out playfully.

Jaemin flashes his eyebrows in acknowledgement before his eyes light up and he rushes through more words. “Oh! The best part is, a week or so later, she saw us holding hands in public and texted me saying that she’s rooting for us,” he recalls with a shiteating grin.

“Stop!” You get out, the idea of it damn near killing you. Though, before you can end up dying of laughter with Jaemin, another piece of information fits itself into the puzzle and you come back to your senses in seriousness.

“Wait wait wait,” you begin, focusing your gaze fully on Jaemin again. “So, you’ve been celibate for like…three months now?” You ask in shock. Jaemin isn’t even the tiniest bit regretful as he responds with a shrug, his sincere gaze meeting your own.

“I only wanted you. Wasn’t going to waste mine or anyone else’s time pretending any different.”

Your gaze softens immediately as a fond smile plays against your features. “Jaem…” You aren’t necessarily sure where you were going from there, but Jaemin picks it up anyways with a small shake of his head; his own weak smile making an appearance again as he recounts those first few moments.

“You kissed me that first day and I assumed I was fucked,” he explains casually. “Everything felt like it changed, and not because it was affection but because it was you.” His cheeks puff out again with a bigger grin as he continues. “Then I had that slip up and I knew I was fucked. Couldn’t get you out of my head for even a moment. It was starting to drive me crazy how much I wanted to make you happy.”

His eyes meet yours again as he finishes, and you search them for answers you knew you would have to ask for. “A good crazy?” You question hesitantly, but Jaemin is quick to shut down any worries.

“The best,” he assures, moving his hands so that he could interlace them with yours. He moves his gaze from your physical contact back up to your face before continuing seriously. “I love you, y/n.”

You swallow hard, trying to not let any more tears run down your face, albeit happy tears weren’t so bad. You squeeze his hands in yours as you nod your head. “I love you, too.”

“Can we date for real?” He immediately asks, his wide pleading eyes making you chuckle.

“It’s been ‘for real’ for a while now,” you say warmly, but Jaemin shakes his head, not having it.

“Yeah, but we’re currently broken up if you don’t remember. The entire reason you’re over here is because I couldn’t stop bawling my eyes out…which was the worst feeling in the world, by the way,” he banters back with a weak laugh. You let a grimace cross your face before pulling it into a fond smile.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll never break up with you again,” you assure him softly. Jaemin doesn’t hide his wide smile as he shifts himself so he can easily lean in and kiss you softly, resting his forehead against your own as he pulls back to smile against your lips.

“I’m holding you to it, angel.”

#Jaemin #Na Jaemin #NCT Dream #Jaemin fic #Jaemin x reader #NCT Dream x reader #nct x reader #Jaemin fanfic #NCT #NCT Dream fic #Jaemin fluff #NCT Dream fluff #nct dream imagines #nct imagines

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ujisworld · 2 years ago

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rediscovered this gem omg

top of the world [na jaemin]

SUMMARY | things had always been the same in the world of na jaemin— him sitting on a throne above everyone else. that was the natural order. but the world as jaemin knew it began to shake after a few fated encounters with someone at the bottom of the food chain. PAIRING | rich kid! na jaemin x female! reader GENRE | private school! au, one sided e2l lmao, a dash of fake dating, romance, heavily suggestive themes, lots and lots of sexual tension and power dynamics HSFJHF WARNINGS | bullying (lots of it), public humiliation, mildly nsfw, borderline smut, implied smut, swearing, jaemin being a literal asshole, this fic might not be for everyone JSFDH so if you’re uncomfortable please look away <33 also please tell me if i missed anything thank you WORD COUNT | 15.6k TAGLIST | @capablemork8299 @grungiejaems @bat-shark-repellant @radiorenjun @patchi-chi @perfchimchim @junglekooks @jjongsmystar @yourmagnanimousholiness @jjikyuu @lavender-rain @lilycrystalll @ovelha-colorida-v @jenoji @goldenclosethobi @jimjamjaemin @yoongischeeksluv @lvingjaem @danishmiilk @softietaeyong @victorriasworld @miyrisa @justineasian @fullsuhnshine @sehunniepot @neoct-zen @dreamlesswonder86 @netwrkluv @blu-blooded

a/n: FIRST OF ALL i’m very very sorry this took so long to finish ; - ; but it’s here now so!! yeah!! to be honest, there’s no actual plot because once again this stemmed from my desire to be stepped on by a na jaemin <33 that being said, please don’t picture this as our angel nana and instead the devil that was na jaemin during the make a wish promotions, enjoy

Na Jaemin was on top of the world.

He had everything at his disposal— diamond rings, designer jackets, and a line of people bending themselves backwards just to appease him. His future was already secured; laid down on his feet and all he had to do was walk. It was everyone’s dream to have both a pretty face and zeroes that seemed to have no end. Jaemin knew well of that.

Perhaps that was why he had an ego that reached the skies.

Na Jaemin was on top of the world, and everyone else belonged underneath his feet.

As they should be. The blonde boy hummed to himself as he walked down the halls of Neo Academy, people making way for him as he passed by. It was amusing to Jaemin, the familiar glint of fear in their eyes as they scurried to move away, refusing to meet his gaze because they knew that one stray glance will have them pressed face down on the floor by his leather Testoni’s. Jaemin smiled, satisfied, because it was the fear that gave him power.

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#legendary #good reads #na jaemin x reader #jaemin x reader #na jaemin fanfic #nct x reader #nct dream x reader

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hyuckiefluff · 1 month ago

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dr dreamy | na jaemin

pairing: doctor!neighbor! na jaemin x fem.reader genre & wc: smut, fluff, crack (ish) | 18k summary: in which your infuriatingly hot neighbor ends up getting your box of sex toys delivered to his door by mistake content warning: explicit smut, breast play, oral sex (fem.receiving), brief mentions of sex toy usage, teasing, marking, dry humping, cowgirl (yeehaw), alcohol consumption, monster cawwwk jaemin (i didn’t make this up it’s real) a/n: hiiiii yes yes i know, it’s been forever and ive neglected you all so bad i’m so sorry ! i can’t even use the excuse of being too busy bc i was just in the worst writing slump of my life. but i hope i can make up for all those 10 months of radio silence with this long fic :) also it’s pretty different from what i’m used to writing. for once i wrote it all in lowercase bc i felt like this was lowkey a pretty unserious fic and that was the vibe it required lol it’s also my first time trying to write something “funny” but my humor is not that good still i tried lolz. also i'd like to add that i know as much about doctors as the next person so don't expect much accuracy in that regard. anyways hope you enjoy :)

your leg bounced anxiously as you stared at the photo the delivery guy sent, trying to figure out which door your package had ended up on. every single door in your building was the same plain white with no decoration, no plants, no quirky doormat to offer a clue. just a long, boring hallway of identical doors, and somewhere behind one of them was your package.

"great," you muttered, already feeling the creeping frustration in your chest.

your phone buzzed in your hand, and you barely had time to glance at the screen before answering.

"sooo," came minnie's voice, far too chipper for this disaster, "did you like my gift?”

“i’m gonna strangle you,” you hissed, rubbing your temples.

“woah, you know i’m not into that freaky shit.”

“i’m serious, minnie,” you groaned, dragging a hand through your hair. “the package got delivered to a different apartment. you must’ve put the wrong number on it.”

“no way,” she gasped, already on the defensive. “i literally double-checked. triple-checked, even. it’s apartment 235.”

"what?” you yelled, nearly dropping your phone.

this can’t be happening. out of all the apartments in your building… it had to be that one?

“minnie…” you took a deep breath, forcing yourself to stay calm, "it’s 236. apartment 236.”

she paused. “oh.”

you heard her laugh nervously, and it took everything in you not to throw your phone across the room.

“minnie…” you groaned, pressing your forehead against the wall. “i swear, if it’s what i think it is based on our last conversation…” your voice trailed off as a sinking feeling settled in your stomach. “my next-door neighbor, minnie. MINNIE. jaemin…oh my god.”

“wait,” she said, voice sharp with interest. “is that the doctor you said is too hot for his own good?”

“i did not say that.”

“you did.”

“no, i said he’s just… a nice sight for my eyes, okay? in a building full of old people, sue me for appreciating the view.” you rubbed at your face. “but i can’t face him if he saw what’s in that package. i just can’t.”

“listen…” minnie drawled. “what if he’s into it, though? think about it.”

“i’m hanging up.”

“no, wait—” but you pressed the red button before she could finish.

the most mortifying experience of your 24 years on this planet, and it hadn’t even fully happened yet. but you could see it clear as day: the box, him opening it innocently, and its contents—oh, god, the contents.

the thing is, you and minnie had a dumb tradition. whenever life got a little too miserable or stressful, you’d send each other gifts. random, stupid stuff. a manga you’d been talking about, or a plushie of your favorite sanrio character. the catch was you could never reveal what it was until it was opened. it was supposed to be a surprise.

except this time, you were sure minnie’s idea of a "surprise" was directly inspired by your recent rants about being, well… frustrated. as in, the sexual kind of frustration. you had a strong hunch about what she’d sent.

you sank into the couch, letting out a long sigh. you had two choices: go over there and pray he hadn’t opened it, or stay here and hope the ground swallowed you whole. both seemed equally unlikely.

as you stared at the ceiling, someone knocked on the door.

three soft knocks.

your heart stopped, your body jolting so hard you nearly rolled off the couch. no. no, no, no. not him. please not him.

you tiptoed to the door like a cartoon burglar, eyes wide with panic. don’t answer. if you don’t answer, he’ll just leave it. you could grab it later. it’s fine. everything’s fine.

but as you got closer, you heard the softest shuffle from the other side. he was still there. you peeked through the peephole and there he was indeed… jaemin. your very handsome, very distinguished doctor neighbor. standing there, holding your box.

you backed away from the door like it was about to explode. no, nope, you’d just wait until he—

you bumped into the side table. hard. and in a moment of unfiltered pain, you yelled, “FUCK!” loud enough to echo down the hall.

a long pause.

“hello?” his voice was clear through the door. smooth, polite.

you shut your eyes so tight you saw stars. letting him think you weren’t home was six feet under now.

"just get it over with," you muttered to yourself, quickly checking your appearance in the mirror to make sure you didn’t look at destroyed as you felt.

you opened the door with the kind of smile you'd give a police officer who just pulled you over. "oh! good morning, neighbor!" you practically chirped, voice too high, too fake.

he smiled, sleepy but devastatingly handsome. his scrubs hung perfectly off his frame, and his hair was tousled like he'd just came from a long night shift…which he probably did. he had the kind of face that made you think life has favorites.

“morning,” he said, nodding his head. “sorry to bother you so early, but this…” he held up the box, fingers tapping the side of it. tap tap tap your eye twitched. “this got delivered to my place by mistake.”

he was so calm. too calm.

“oh,” you squeaked, your voice barely functional. “uh, yeah! no worries at all! my friend sent it, haha, she’s… forgetful like that. really bad with numbers. haha…” you trailed off. kill me now.

“right,” he said, eyes flicking to the box. “well, here you go.” he held it out to you.

you reached for it but your hands, slick with nervous sweat, betrayed you. the box slipped.

“oh no-”

thud.

everything.

everything spilled out.

time slowed. your heart dropped straight into hell.

boxes. bottles. wrappers.

and then the pièce de résistance.

a sex doll.

a life-size, anatomically correct, male sex doll.

you didn’t know what kind of sound you made, but it was something between a gasp and a whimper. your knees hit the floor as you scrambled to grab everything wishing you could somehow erase the last five seconds of reality.

“oh my god,” you whispered, cramming the boxes into your arms. “oh my god. oh my god.”

“uhm,” he cleared his throat and you didn’t even have to look up to know what kind of face he was making. there were no words for this. none. zero.

“thank you for bringing it to me! bye!” you choked out, voice cracking on the last syllable as you grabbed what you could and slammed the door shut with the force of a hurricane.

you pressed your back to the door, sinking to the floor, arms full of colorful boxes of shame. you stared at them.

a vibrator. a bottle of lube. a very, very anatomically correct doll still half in its box.

"minnie." you said her name like a curse.

your phone buzzed. it was a text from her.

minnie (6:18am): how’d it go?

“hell,” you muttered, tossing your phone across the room.

you sat there for what felt like hours, the weight of embarrassment crushing down on you. moving out suddenly seemed like the only reasonable option. scratch that, you were moving countries. or planets. was mars habitable yet?

♡ ♡ ♡

for the next few days, life was nothing short of miserable. you called in sick to work because there was no way you could leave your apartment and risk running into jaemin. the idea of seeing him again made your stomach twist into knots. to anyone else, it might seem dramatic—after all, owning sex toys wasn’t some scandalous crime—but the sheer context of it all was unbearable.

the cherry on top was that the box had clearly already been opened. jaemin had definitely seen what was inside before you’d even dropped it. and the fact that he just pretended everything was normal while standing there with a straight face? it was almost worse. no, it was worse. because now he probably pitied you for dropping it in front of him even after he tried to save you from the embarrassment.

you groaned, burying your face into the couch cushions. where was the armageddon when you needed it?

you hadn’t left your spot in the couch days, and your body was starting to hate you for it. your back ached from the awkward angle you were lying in, and your stomach growled because you’d panic-eaten the last of your food last night.

“this is pathetic,” you muttered, grabbing your phone.

after scrolling aimlessly for a few minutes, you reluctantly opened your food delivery app. you ordered enough food for at least two days and prayed the delivery guy would bring it to your door. but of course, life hated you, so when you got the “can’t find parking” text, you sighed loudly.

“naturally,” you mumbled, dragging yourself off the couch.

you threw on the most disguising outfit you could find: a black beanie, your puffy winter coat, and oversized sunglasses. did you look like a wannabe celebrity trying to dodge the paparazzi? sure. but desperate times called for desperate measures.

you texted the driver a quick be right down and bolted to the elevator, keeping your head low.

when you reached the parking lot, you practically snatched the bag out of the driver’s hands and mumbled a quick thank you before rushing back inside. you were so close to safety now.

you stepped into the elevator and leaned against the wall, finally letting out a sigh of relief. but, as fate would have it, you celebrated just a tad too soon.

just before the doors closed, a hand shot through the gap. you froze.

you smelled him first.

that cologne. you’d know it anywhere.

your heart sank as jaemin stepped into the elevator, looking unfairly handsome as usual. you, on the other hand, looked like a fugitive.

“good afternoon,” he said politely, his voice calm and smooth.

“hi, uh…afternoon,” you mumbled, holding the bag of food up to your face like a shield. maybe if you hid behind it long enough, he wouldn’t notice it was you.

“y/n?”

shit.

you glanced at him reluctantly, offering an awkward laugh. “oh, hey, jaemin… didn’t realize it was you.” you pushed your sunglasses up onto your head. “these things are so dark.”

he chuckled, tilting his head slightly. “didn’t recognize you either. are you coming from an event or something?”

you blinked at him, realizing how ridiculous your outfit must look. “oh, no, i—uh… i have a cold,” you stammered. “just trying to stay warm, you know?”

“ah,” he nodded, his expression softening. “well, you should rest up. drink plenty of water and maybe some tea with honey, it helps soothe your throat. oh, and—”

he started rattling off doctorly advice and you could only stare at him, dumbfounded. because, of course, not only was he handsome, but he was kind, too. unfair. completely unfair.

“thanks,” you said, cutting him off before he could get too deep into his list of remedies.

he smiled at you again, and for a moment, you swore your heart skipped a beat. “i was actually a little worried,” he admitted, leaning against the elevator wall casually. “i haven’t seen you around the past few days.”

“oh. uh… yeah,” you said weakly, shifting the food bag in your hands. “just been laying low, don’t wanna get anyone sick.”

“i see,” he said, his tone light but teasing. “you’re not hiding from me, are you?”

your eyes widened, and your breath caught in your throat. was it that obvious?

“what? no! why would i be hiding from you?” you forced out a laugh, but it sounded fake even to your ears.

he raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching like he was fighting a grin. “hmm. just checking.”

“yeah, it’s because of the cold” you muttered, fidgeting with the handle of the food bag. “it’s nothing serious, though. i appreciate the concern.” you tried to sound nonchalant, but the tremor in your voice betrayed you.

“good to hear,” he said, his eyes still on you. “but still, if it doesn’t get better in a few days, you should probably see a doctor.”

“right. definitely,” you nodded quickly, eyes glued to the little numbers above the elevator door, silently willing them to move faster.

but of course, the universe hated you lately. the elevator suddenly jerked to a stop, too soon for your floor. you flinched, and before you could even begin to hope it was just a regular stop, the overhead lights flickered once, then twice, and then… nothing.

darkness.

“oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” you groaned, tilting your head back against the cold elevator wall.

“well,” jaemin’s voice came through the darkness, and you could hear the grin in it, “this is bad timing, huh?”

“this is my villain origin story,” you muttered, crossing your arms as you slid down to sit on the floor. “this is how i finally snap and become one of those people who yell at customer service workers.”

he laughed, and you hated how nice it sounded. like melted chocolate. warm, smooth, and way too easy to get addicted to.

“guess we’re stuck for a bit,” he said, sitting across from you. you could only make out the faintest outline of him in the dim emergency lighting. “not a bad person to be stuck with, though.”

“yeah, lucky you,” you deadpanned, cradling your bag of food.

there was a pause. not an awkward one but it felt somewhat intimate and you didn’t like it. not because you felt uncomfortable but because you were scared of embarrassing yourself further.

“hey,” he spoke up again, softer this time. “about the other day…”

no. absolutely not. this was not happening.

“nope,” you cut him off, waving a hand like you could physically swat the topic away. “we don’t talk about that. ever.”

“but i think we should—”

“we don’t, jaemin,” you said firmly, pointing at him like a scolding parent. “it never happened. you never saw it. i never dropped it. in fact, none of it exists. it was a shared hallucination caused by gas leaks in the building. that’s my story, and i’m sticking to it.”

he snorted, hiding a laugh behind his hand. “gas leaks?”

“yep. toxic fumes. real health hazard,” you nodded, doubling down. “you should probably get management to check that out, doctor.”

“i’m a neurosurgeon, not an HVAC technician,” he shot back, amused.

“same difference,” you muttered.

another pause. you could feel him looking at you, even in the dimness.

“for what it’s worth,” he started slowly, like he was choosing his words carefully, “i wasn’t judging you.”

“good,” you mumbled, picking at a loose thread on your coat. “because i’m not like ashamed of it, just… mortified, you know?” you finally glanced up at him, feeling a little braver in the low light. “there’s a difference.”

he nodded, eyes warm and understanding in a way that made your chest ache. “there is.”

you sighed, letting your head fall back against the wall. “i’m moving. i’ve decided.”

he laughed, full and bright. “you’re not moving.”

“i am, actually,” you insisted. “gonna change my name, get a new identity. maybe move to the mountains. live off the grid. it’s the only way.”

“you’re ridiculous,” he said, still grinning.

“you say that like it’s news.”

silence settled over you both again, but this time it was lighter. less suffocating. you could hear him shift, stretching his legs out in front of him. he tapped his fingers against his knees like he was keeping time to a song only he could hear.

“so,” he said after a beat, voice low and casual. “was that, uh… the first time you ordered something like that?”

your whole face went hot.

“jaemin,” you warned.

“what?” he asked, the picture of innocence. “just curious.”

“don’t make me call those toxic fumes back in here,” you threatened, pointing a stern finger at him.

he threw his head back laughing, and despite yourself, you smiled too.

"fine, i won’t bring it up anymore,” he said with a tired smile, rubbing the back of his neck. his fingers pressed into the muscle there, and he winced slightly.

“you okay?” you asked, glancing at him with concern.

“yeah, just a long day at work,” he replied, rolling his shoulder like it’d been bothering him for hours.

“yeah, i can imagine. the life of a doctor must be pretty hectic,” you said, eyes flicking to his hands as they worked over the tense muscle. “but you gotta know your limits too… you’re not made of steel, you know.” there was a hint of worry in your voice, and you tried not to let it show too much, but judging by the way he glanced at you, he caught it.

he looked at you for a moment, longer than usual, before nodding. “you’re right,” he let out a short breath. “i guess i’ve been burying myself in work lately. but it’s hard not to when it’s this time of the year… i’m a pediatric neurosurgeon and too many kids get sick and hurt during the summer.”

“oh, definitely. i’m not even a kid and i always get sick in the summer,” you joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

he laughed at that, his grin easy and genuine. “never too late to have fun during the summer,” he said, leaning back against the elevator wall. “just not too much fun. can’t party too hard with a cold.”

“do i look like the kind of person who parties too hard?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“hmm,” he tilted his head with a slight (cute) pout. “i wouldn’t know. we don’t know each other that well.” he glanced at you, eyes flicking over you just once before smirking. “but you’re young and pretty, so why not?”

your heart stumbled in your chest, and you fought to keep your face neutral. did he seriously just call you pretty so casually like it was a fact of life? the dim lighting of the elevator became your saving grace, hiding the warmth that crept up your neck.

"want a piece?" you asked, anxiously trying to change the subject, raising the bag of fried chicken in your hands. you shook it lightly to emphasize. "i have a feeling we're gonna be stuck here for a while, and it's still warm."

he raised an eyebrow, his grin widening into something a little playful. “don’t mind if i do.”

he moved closer, close enough that your shoulders almost brushed, and you set the bag down in front of you both. “dig in,” you said gesturing with your hands toward the chicken.

“so… you’re a doctor…” you said after a couple minutes of eating in silence.

“last time i checked, yeah,” he replied, glancing over at you with a faint smile.

“so why’d you move into this shabby building with elevators that haven’t been serviced since the stone age?” you asked, pausing to tear into a chicken wing with zero grace or subtlety.

he stared at you, and you couldn’t tell if it was because of your question or the feral way in which you were eating.

“i’m a resident, so i don’t make nearly as much as people think. plus, med school debt is no joke. this place fit the budget.”

“oh,” you muttered, suddenly feeling a little awkward. “sorry if that sounded kinda judgy. people tell me i’ve got a chronic case of big mouth syndrome.”

“it’s fine,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “at least you’re honest.”

“what about you?” he asked, tilting his head toward you.

“me? oh same story, different font. drowning in student debt, and this place was… available,” you said, popping another wing into your mouth.

he nodded, and after that, the conversation picked up, flowing so naturally you forgot you’d technically only been speaking to him for a week. before that you had only shared neighborly greetings in the hallway.

you didn’t even realize how much time had passed until the elevator jolted suddenly, the lights flickering back on with a low, mechanical hum.

by then, the bag of chicken was empty, and you knew more about jaemin than you ever expected to learn in one night.

♡ ♡ ♡

“i thought elevators had some kind of emergency backup power for blackouts,” minnie said, her face pixelated on your phone screen.

“yeah but this building’s like 60 years old,” you muttered, adjusting the camera so she could see you better. you were sitting on the floor, painting your toenails a fresh shade of lavender. “the fact that it even has an elevator is a miracle.”

“true, true,” minnie nodded, chewing on a piece of candy. her eyes lit up suddenly. “by the way, why does your sexy doctor live there? i thought doctors were supposed to be loaded.” she propped her chin on her hand.

“he told me he just started his residency,” you explained, blowing gently on your freshly painted nails. “and he just started a new job at the hospital. they don’t get paid that well when they’re starting out.”

“hmm,” she hummed knowingly. “so you spend a few hours stuck in an elevator with him, and suddenly you’re an expert on the medical field, huh?”

you rolled your eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck. “it’s called having a normal conversation, you should try it”

“i’m just saying,” minnie teased, tossing a gummy bear into her mouth. “you went in there hiding from him, and you ended up sharing chicken and life stories. i see you.”

“there is nothing to see,” you shot back, tossing a pillow at your phone screen like she could actually feel it.

“mm-hmm,” she hummed, leaning forward “so, did he mention it?”

“mention what?” you asked, narrowing your eyes.

“the box,” she said ominously, dragging out the word like it belonged in a horror movie trailer.

you froze. “he tried to,” you admitted, tapping your fingers on the pillow in your lap. “but i shut him down real quick.”

“oho, look at you,” she said, leaning back impressed. “miss assertive, didn’t think you had it in you.”

“i have more pillows to throw, minnie. don’t test me.”

“yeah, yeah, violent tendencies aside,” she waved you off, completely immune to your threats. “i hope this new confidence means you’re finally putting my gifts to use.” she tilted her head with the most innocent smile, which made it all the more sinister.

your face went hot. so, so hot.

“i haven’t,” you lied, voice a little too high.

“liar,” she sang, leaning closer to the camera. “i can see your shifty eyes. you definitely tried it.”

“okay, fine, i did!” you snapped, throwing your hands up. “but it was a disaster.”

minnie perked up with curiosity. “oh?”

“yeah, oh,” you repeated, scratching your head. “it just… didn’t hit. it felt weird and i got frustrated, so i just gave up. plus i don’t know where you got that vibrator from but it almost burned my girlypop”

“rookie mistake,” she sighed shaking her head dramatically. “that’s why you need someone with experience to help you out.”

your brows furrowed. “what are you even saying right now?”

“i’m saying,” she grinned like the devil himself, “that you have a perfectly qualified medical professional living right next door. i’m sure dr. mcdreamy wouldn’t mind giving you a consultation.”

you blinked once. “minnie, you’re actually sick in the head.”

“oh, please.” she tossed her hair over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. “he’s hot, he’s single, and you’ve already done half the work. you were sitting there eating fried chicken, and you’re telling me he kept throwing compliments at you? we all know you eat chicken like a truck driver, and he still thought you were pretty. use your resources, babe.”

“he was hungry and stuck. he was probably grateful i offered him food. what else was he supposed to do?”

“it’s so much more than that,” she said, holding up a hand, a clear signal for you to shut up and pay attention. “i know when a man is laying the foundation and trust me, he’s building a whole mansion with your name on it.”

“you’re fully overreacting right now.”

one of minnie's strengths was that she wasn’t one to give up easily. but that also ended up being one of her flaws. you knew for a fact she wouldn’t drop this jaemin thing until she proved he had a thing for you.

“seriously, though,” she continued, leaning in so close her face was the whole screen. “he’s a doctor which means he’s like literally obligated to help people. it’s in the oath or something.”

“your point is..?”

“you know” she raised her brows suggestively “experienced hands, medical precision, and he owes you one for that chicken dinner. it’s the perfect setup.”

“you’re insane… like actually seek help.” you shook your head, trying to sound firm, but you were laughing too much to sell it.

“i’m serious,” she laughed along, “you literally blush whenever you talk about him. oh and you can’t even say his name without smiling.”

“that’s not true,” you said, shifting your position on the couch like that would somehow make your denial more convincing.

“mmhm,” she squinted her eyes, clearly not believing you.

“and for the record,” you added, jabbing your finger at the screen, “not every attractive man i meet is getting sexualized in my head. i’m not a beast.”

“no, you’re just a liar,” she shot back with a wide grin. “be real for like two seconds. i can see you smiling so hard right now.”

“you can’t see anything,” you said, voice sharper now. “it’s the pixelation. your wifi is ass.”

“nice try,” she said, drawing out the words. “i know a bashful grin when i see one.”

“you stress me out,” you muttered, twisting the cap back on your nail polish with a little too much force.

“and yet, you call me every day.” she propped her chin on her palm, smile pure menace.

“i guess i’m a masochist,” you sighed, leaning back on the couch. “tragic, really.”

“mmhm, tragic is right,” she said, eyes narrowing into little crescents. “because now i’m gonna be your maid of honor at this wedding i didn’t even prepare for.”

“goodbye, minnie,” you deadpanned, reaching for the end call button.

“goodbye, future mrs. mcdreamy.” she winked at the camera, and before you could curse her out, she hung up.

you sat there for a second, staring at your phone’s home screen, lips pressed tight.

delusional.

she was delusional.

but that didn’t stop you from thinking about jaemin’s stupid grin. the way he’d looked at you while eating fried chicken, casual but present, like he was really there in the moment with you. the way his eyes lingered, just for a second too long.

you shook your head, shoving the thought away like minnie’s words had wormed their way into your subconscious.

nope.

you capped the nail polish, shoved your phone aside, and focused on literally anything else.

♡ ♡ ♡

over the next few days, something shifted. not in a big, dramatic way but in a way you could feel.

jaemin wasn’t just the polite neighbor you exchanged pleasantries with in the hall anymore. now, every time you saw him, there was this unspoken acknowledgment hanging in the air like: we shared fried chicken in a broken elevator for three hours.

this new attitude towards you was giving you whiplash. he was… extra friendly now. he smiled more, spoke to you first, acted like you were both in on some kind of inside joke. it wasn’t bad… but it wasn’t normal either.

“morning, y/n,” he’d say as you both waited for the elevator, eyes crinkling like he’d already thought of something funny.

“morning,” you’d reply, your gaze locked firmly on the floor. the tiles were suddenly fascinating.

but then you’d catch the faintest trace of his cologne—the same one you’d inhaled way too much of in the elevator—and suddenly, the tiles weren’t so interesting anymore. so you’d try to sneak a glance or two, and when he wore his doctor’s coat and glasses, you couldn’t help but ogle. he was so ridiculously handsome. everything about him practically begged for you to admire. his sharp jawline, his dark eyes framed by impossibly long lashes, his lips always pink and effortlessly moisturized, his hair neatly trimmed in the back but just a bit longer in the front, falling perfectly right above his thick brows.

and he had the most captivating smile, so white it almost blinded you, and despite thinking he was the serious type at first, you quickly realized he was incredibly expressive. he communicated so much with just his brows, and it seemed impossible for him to speak without a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his lips. like what was so funny? that you were crushing hard on him and it was kind of disrupting your life?

he was also too relaxed around you. way too relaxed. how was he so calm when he’d seen you in your most unhinged states? meanwhile, you could still feel the ghost of that moment hovering over you like a neon sign flashing "dildo girl spotted."

the third time you ran into him that week, you almost turned around to take the stairs, but you weren’t fast enough.

“caught you,” jaemin said as soon as he spotted you, his grin sharp but not unkind. “thinking of bailing on me?”

you paused like you were actually considering it. “don’t flatter yourself,” you said, walking forward like you’d planned to all along. “the stairs are just bad for my knees.”

“oh, is that right?” he asked, stepping aside with a sweep of his hand. "good thing elevators exist, huh?”

“lucky me,” you muttered, slipping inside. he followed right after, too close for comfort but not close enough to call him out on it.

“lucky me,” he added, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, head tilted just so. "would’ve missed you otherwise."

you had to bite back the cough that almost escaped when he said that, his lazy smile firmly in place like always.

you glanced at him, squinting. "what's with you lately?"

“what do you mean?”

“this,” you gestured at him vaguely. “all this… talking. you weren’t like this before.”

“maybe i just needed an excuse,” he said with a nonchalant shrug “and three hours in an elevator with you was a pretty good one.”

you blinked, momentarily at a loss. what were you even supposed to say to that?

“did you rehearse that?,” you muttered, turning away before he could see the corner of your mouth twitch.

“why, is it too corny? but you’re smiling,” he pointed out, you could hear his smile.

“no, i’m not.”

“you are,” he said confidently, leaning in just a little like he was trying to see it up close. “it’s cute.”

you flinched back, eyes wide. “don’t say that.”

“why not?” he grinned wider, clearly pleased with himself. “it’s true.”

“oh my god.” you turned so far away from him it was a miracle you didn’t phase through the wall. “stop talking.”

“can’t,” he said, all too happy to keep going. “we’re closer now. shared chicken trauma and all that.”

“that is not a thing.”

“it is,” he nodded confidently. “you can’t just sit in a powerless elevator with someone for hours and pretend you’re strangers afterward. that’s, like, scientifically impossible.”

“scientifically impossible?” you repeated, eyebrows raised. “you’re making things up.”

“and here you are listening to all of it,” he shot back, tilting his head toward you, his gaze a little too sharp.

checkmate.

you opened your mouth, ready to respond, but your brain was buffering..

"that’s what i thought," he said, his voice low and too satisfied, just as the elevator dinged.

the doors opened. he didn’t move right away, gaze lingering on you as if he was waiting for something…or maybe just seeing how long you’d hold it.

“you talk too much,” you muttered, stepping out with your head high like you had the upper hand.

“I think you like it,” he called after you, the amusement in his voice so obvious you could practically hear the grin on his face.

your heart did that annoying skip thing, and this time, you didn’t have an excuse for it.

♡ ♡ ♡

things only got worse after that.

jaemin, apparently, had decided that you were fun to mess with now.

he wasn’t over-the-top about it, though. no, he was too smooth for that. he played it cool, weaving little comments and actions into your interactions. a smile that lingered too long, leaning in just a little too close when he asked a question, throwing casual compliments like they didn’t mean anything.

it was unfair, really. he’d gone from the quiet, polite neighbor, the one who worked long shifts at the hospital and mostly kept to himself, to an actual menace in the span of three days. and somehow, you were the target of all of it.

the first time it happened, you brushed it off as coincidence. the second time, you thought maybe he was just being nice because you shared food with him so perhaps he thought that he owed you. by the third time, you realized: this man was having fun at your expense.

“new hair?” he asked casually one evening as you struggled with your keys outside your door.

you froze, glancing up at him in confusion. “what?”

“your hair,” he repeated, nodding toward you. “looks good.”

your brows furrowed. “it’s the same as always,” you muttered, turning back to the lock that was absolutely refusing to cooperate.

“huh.” he tilted his head, as if he were genuinely surprised. “then i guess it’s just you.”

what does that even mean?!

your hands fumbled, and the key slipped from your fingers, clattering to the floor.

jaemin’s laugh was soft but unmistakably amused. “you okay there?”

“don’t you have patients to save or something?” you snapped, crouching down to snatch the key off the ground before he even had the chance to get it for you.

“off duty,” he shrugged, leaning against the wall next to you. his smile had that easy confidence you were beginning to associate with him now. “but i’ll step in if you need medical attention. emotional support counts too.”

you groaned so loud it echoed in the hallway. “i swear, i liked you better when you were quiet.”

“oh, you like me?” he asked, his grin widening just enough to make your stomach flip in protest.

“past tense,” you shot back, finally shoving the key into the lock and turning it with more force than necessary.

“if you say so,” he replied, drawing out the word like he didn’t believe you for a second.

“you’re insufferable,” you muttered, turning around with your key in hand, gripping it like a weapon. “how do you live with yourself?”

“one day at a time,” he replied, dead serious.

you shot him a glare as you finally shoved the key into the lock. it turned smoothly this time.

“maybe you should try it,” he added, just as you opened the door.

“try what?” you asked, already regretting engaging.

“living with me,” he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. he even had the audacity to wink.

you nearly slammed the door in his face.

“goodnight, jaemin,” you snapped, stepping inside.

“sweet dreams, love,” he called after you, his voice warm and smug in a way that lingered.

you closed the door, locked it, and leaned your head against it with a groan that could only be described as deep emotional fatigue.

“then i guess it’s just you.”

you stayed pressed against the door for a little too long, thinking about it.

he’s the worst.

the absolute worst.

♡ ♡ ♡

then came the visiting.

you heard a quiet, rhythmic knock knock knock on your door one night. not frantic, not loud just steady enough to make you pause in the middle of scrolling through your phone.

you frowned. minnie wasn’t the “surprise visit” type, and you definitely hadn’t ordered food. so who…

when you opened the door, he was right there.

jaemin.

he leaned against the doorframe, one arm propped against it, the other tucked into his pocket. his posture was relaxed, but his eyes sparkled with that familiar glint of mischief.

“what do you want?” you asked, gripping the door like it was a shield between you and whatever ridiculousness he was about to say.

“so rude,” he said, mock-offended, though the lazy grin on his face betrayed him. “you invite a guy to share fried chicken once, and suddenly you’re heartless?”

“oh, please.” you stepped back slightly, but you didn’t close the door. “i offered it. don’t act like i saved you from a tragic famine.”

“true,” he agreed, his gaze dropping for a split second, flickering over you like he was trying to catch you off guard. “but since you brought it up, i was thinking about how we never got dessert.”

you blinked, thrown off by the randomness. “what?”

“dessert,” he repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “fried chicken’s great and all, but it’s not a complete meal. we missed out.”

“and what, you came to my door at 9 pm to tell me that?”

“yep.” he rocked back on his heels, completely unbothered. “i figured you owed me by now.”

“owed you?” you repeated, narrowing your eyes. “for what, exactly?”

“emotional support,” he said, grinning like he’d been waiting for you to ask. “that elevator ride? life-changing experience. bonded for life. it’s only fair you buy me dessert.”

you tried to fight it. you really did. but the laugh slipped out anyway, betraying you.

his grin widened, the kind that wasn’t just smug… it was triumphant.

“fine,” you sighed, grabbing your phone off the counter. “but you’re paying next time.”

“next time?” he echoed, his voice tilting upward just slightly. he leaned forward, close enough that the space between you suddenly felt smaller. “so you’re already planning our next elevator date?”

oh, this man.

“don’t push your luck,” you muttered, pointing a finger at him while you tapped through your food delivery app. “i might close the door on your face next time.”

“you like me too much to do that,” he said softly, and this time his tone wasn’t teasing.

it was smooth, confident, and just low enough to make you glance up without thinking.

your thumb hovered over your screen for a second too long before you forced yourself to break eye contact. you picked the first dessert you saw just to escape the moment and right before you got to pay he snatched the phone from you and put in his card details.

“so annoying,” you muttered.

“gentlemanly,” he replied easily.

“you’re lucky i’m too tired to throw you out,” you shot back, already regretting how much you were letting him get away with.

“lucky?” he asked, smirking. “i’d say you’re the lucky one. who else brings dessert and great company?”

you groaned, loudly, just to drown him out.

♡ ♡ ♡

thirty minutes later, you were sitting side by side on your couch, barely an inch between you, sharing a container of chocolate lava cake like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“don’t hog it,” you grumbled, jabbing at his hand with your spoon when he took an extra-large bite.

“it’s called portion control,” he argued, entirely unapologetic as he went for another.

“it’s called stealing,” you shot back, scooping up a bigger piece just to even the playing field.

“maybe,” he said, glancing at you with that maddening grin. “but you’re letting me get away with it.”

“only because i don’t want to waste food,” you countered, though your voice lacked the conviction you wanted it to have.

he leaned back slightly, his shoulder brushing against yours in a way that felt too casual to be an accident.

“you’re really bad at lying, you know that?” he said, his voice dropping just enough to make you pause.

you turned to glare at him, spoon still in hand, but the words caught in your throat when you saw the way he was looking at you.

he wasn’t grinning anymore. not exactly.

it wasn’t a smirk or a joke or one of those teasing little quips he always threw your way. it was… softer. almost curious.

your heart stuttered before you could stop it.

“and you’re annoying,” you said again, but this time it came out quieter.

his lips twitched, like he was holding back a laugh.

“you already said that but i think it loses meaning when you let me hang out with you for this long,” he murmured.

you didn’t reply. you couldn’t. not when the air felt so… different.

so instead, you turned back to the TV, grabbed another spoonful of lava cake, and shoved it into your mouth as an excuse to not say anything.

he chuckled softly, the sound barely audible over the hum of the TV.

♡ ♡ ♡

the next few days went by pretty much the same. whenever you bumped into jaemin in the hallway, the parking lot, or even at the local cafe, his eyes would lock on you like a heat-seeking missile, ready to tease you in a way that you hated to admit was starting to feel oddly enjoyable.

but everything escalated the day minnie came to visit you.

it had been a while since you two last saw each other, given that she lived in a different city. as soon as she arrived, you were buzzing with excitement. but you’d forgotten one crucial thing… minnie had a rare, borderline supernatural ability to drive you absolutely insane.

“i can't believe you had a second chicken date with him and still didn’t jump his bones… have i taught you nothing?” she said, exasperated as she popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth. dawson’s creek reruns were playing in the background, and as if that show didn’t depress you enough, minnie’s relentless criticism of your non-existent love life was making it worse.

“it wasn’t a chicken date,” you groaned. “we had cake. and why would i jump his bones when we’ve only just started speaking more than two words to each other like, last week?”

“you don’t get it,” minnie said, turning to face you with the gravity of someone about to lecture you. “a man doesn’t just knock on your door asking you to have dessert with him unless he has a different idea of what 'dessert' is.” she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“ew, don’t make that face,” you winced.

“i’m serious, y/n. if you keep shutting down every man that’s interested in you, the only dick you’ll get is that inflatable one i got you.”

“not even,” you sighed, slumping against the couch. “i haven’t taken it out of the box yet. and i won’t. that thing already embarrassed me enough for the next two lifetimes.”

“but if you think about it, if it weren’t for tom, you’d still be secretly crushing on dr. mcdreamy.”

“you did not just name the sex doll tom,” you said, eyes narrowing.

“i think we should at least go out tonight since you’re clearly not gonna put the moves on your sexy neighbor.”

“absolutely not,” you shook your head, pulling the blanket tighter around you. “ i’m not about to waste my night talking to any guy who thinks 'intellectual debate' means arguing about protein powder.”

“okay, harsh… no wonder you’re single,” she muttered as she got up and started tapping away on her phone.

“who’re you calling?” you asked, squinting at her suspiciously.

“there’s only one person who can drag you out of this apartment,” she muttered with a sly grin. "hold on—hello? jake? yeah, guess who i’m with right now?" she paused dramatically, glancing at you with a wicked smile. "your favorite girl, obviously!" she snickered, tilting her phone just enough to snap a photo of you mid-protest.

“dude, c’mon, i’m in my grandma pjs right now,” you said, pointing at the flowery pajama top you were wearing.

“how about we meet up at the neo club? yeah? awesome, and bring one of your hot friends,” she added, grinning like a cat that just cornered a bird.

she hung up, looking triumphant, but you folded your arms with a scowl.

“there’s no way i’m going out,” you said flatly.

♡ ♡ ♡

you still ended up going out.

but only because they offered to pay for all your drinks, and who were you to refuse such a generous offer?

it didn’t take long to spot jake. he was already stirring up trouble at the bar, his charm dialed up to 100 as he leaned in close, tossing out some line that had the bartender blushing so hard she had to look away just to keep it together.

“ugh, casanovas make me sick,” you grumbled, scrunching your nose as you watched him.

“stop harassing the lady, jake,” minnie said, grabbing him by the collar and tugging him away from the bar. he turned around with a mock-offended gasp.

“excuse you, she was absolutely enjoying that,” he said with an infuriating level of confidence. he wasn’t even wrong—the bartender was still grinning.

“whatever, tiger. look who’s out of her cave!” minnie announced, shoving you forward slightly.

jake’s eyes lit up the second he saw you. he practically lunged forward, wrapping you in a bear hug and lifting you off the ground.

“no way! my y/n! it’s been, what, four years since i last saw you?” he spun you in a small circle before finally setting you down.

“please don’t be so dramatic. we saw each other last year on your birthday,” you laughed, shoving his chest.

“too long for me, babe. you know seeing you is always a treat,” he said, giving you one of those overly saccharine smiles he knew would make you roll your eyes.

“when are you ever not flirting? is that your default mode? is there any way to reset you?” you said, tapping his forehead like you were trying to reboot a broken phone.

“you know you love it,” he winked, and somehow it was both annoying and charming at the same time.

“anyways, where are the drinks i was promised?” you extended a hand expectantly.

“here you go, princess,” he said, handing you a tequila sunrise with a flourish. “and here you go, troll,” he added, handing minnie a margarita.

“i’ll kill you,” minnie slapped his arm hard enough to make him flinch.

“ow, abuse! abuse!” he cried dramatically, clutching his arm as if he’d been mortally wounded.

“you’ll live,” minnie muttered, taking a sip from her glass.

the night was already off to a wild start, and you had a sinking feeling it was only going to get worse.

♡ ♡ ♡

“so you’re telling me the box with all the freaky shit minnie sent ended up being delivered to your neighbor?” jake was practically doubled over, clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. “and he opened it?”

“yeah, laugh it up,” you said, unamused as you swirled the straw in your drink before taking a long sip. you’d lost count of how many drinks you’d had, but the warmth in your chest and the slight buzz in your head told you it was definitely more than a couple.

“if i were you, i would’ve moved,” he said, wiping at the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. “i’m trying to think of a time i’ve been that embarrassed and not even my drunkest moments come close.” he shook his head like he genuinely felt bad for you, though the grin on his face said otherwise.

“believe me, i tried to avoid him,” you said, gesturing with your drink in hand. “but somehow, after that, he started sticking to me like gum on a shoe.”

“i’m telling you, he wants you!” minnie slurred, her eyes barely staying focused as she swayed slightly in her seat. clearly, she was the drunkest one at the table, her words carrying that telltale wobble of too many cocktails.

“don’t start with that again,” you shot back, tossing a napkin in her direction. “he doesn’t want me. he just likes messing with me because he figured out i’m an easy target.”

“oh, really?” she said, eyes narrowing like she’d just come up with the most brilliant plan. “then call him right now. and if he answers, put him on speaker.”

“like hell i will,” you snorted, glancing at your phone. “it’s-” you checked the time “…literally 3am. why would i disturb him just to prove your silly little theories?”

“coward! coward!” minnie started chanting, slapping the table. jake immediately caught on and joined her, their voices syncing up in a way that only drunk friends could manage. “coward! y/n is a chicken!” they sang in unison, making sure to drag out the last word obnoxiously.

“ugh, why do i have friends like you two…” you muttered, covering your ears as their chanting grew louder. “okay! fine! stop that right now, i’ll text him. once.” you jabbed a finger in the air for emphasis, giving them both a stern glare that did absolutely nothing to dim their excitement.

“what do i even say…” you groaned, staring at your empty chat with jaemin.

“send him a picture,” jake suggested.

you thought about it for a second, chewing on the inside of your cheek. “fine,” you muttered, lifting your phone. fueled by alcohol and peer pressure, you decided on the classic "oops, wrong person" strategy. you snapped a quick selfie, pursing your lips into a kissy face for maximum effect. you didn’t even care that it was blurry or that you looked very obviously drunk. in fact, that made it funnier. you snickered to yourself as you hit send.

“he won’t reply, guys,” you said confidently, tossing your phone onto the table face-down. but barely ten seconds passed before you heard the unmistakable ping of a new message.

“you were saying?” minnie arched a brow, crossing her arms in mock satisfaction.

“it’s probably just some random notification,” you said with a shrug, but your voice wavered as you picked up your phone. you tapped the screen, eyes widening slightly at the name that appeared.

jaemin neighbor (3:02am): ‘thought you weren’t one to party hard?’

the message was punctuated with a little smirk emoji that somehow made it worse.

“what’d he say?” minnie asked, leaning in so far you thought she might topple over.

you barely had time to answer before another message popped up.

jaemin neighbor (3:03am): ‘don’t drink too much though, you’re still recovering from that cold. and don’t let strangers hold your drink.’

your eyes stayed glued to the screen, heart doing an odd little flip that you refused to acknowledge.

“oh my god, he’s worried,” minnie gasped, hands flying to her face. “he’s literally whipped!” she squealed, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you back and forth with unhinged glee.

♡ ♡ ♡

after seeing jaemin's message, you decided you needed to get drunker to drown out the thoughts swirling in your head. by the time you got back to the apartment, your uber driver had to practically haul you out of the car. you were a complete mess, your feet barely cooperating with the ground beneath you. minnie ended up hitting it off with jake’s friend so she decided to leave with him to do god knows what dirty things.

“woah there!” you yelped as you stumbled, nearly falling backward.

“ma’am, what’s your apartment number?” the driver asked. all you could do was laugh and mumble some random string of numbers that didn’t come close to making sense.

“y/n?” a familiar voice cut through the fog in your mind, sharp and clear like a bell. it almost sobered you up on the spot. he was wearing his scrubs and his tired appearance told you that he was coming back from a long shift.

“mr. doctor is here!” you announced with unrestrained glee, throwing your arms up. the sudden movement made you lose balance, and you tilted sideways bumping into the driver.

“you know her, sir?” he asked, his forehead shiny with sweat, clearly desperate for an exit out of this.

“uhm, yeah, she’s my next-door neighbor. i’ll take it from here, thanks,” jaemin said, stepping in with the calm authority of someone who’s seen this exact scenario a dozen times before. with zero effort, he crouched down and hoisted you onto his back, his hands steady under your thighs to keep you secure.

“wheee!” you squealed, your cheek smushed against the back of his head.

“hold on tight, yeah?” he muttered, his tone dry but fond as he adjusted his grip on your legs.

inside the elevator, you got bold. maybe it was the tequila, maybe it was just you accepting your undeniable attraction to jaemin, but your hands found their way to his arms. you gave his biceps an experimental squeeze and then hummed, thoroughly impressed. “do all doctors got big, muscular arms or just you?” you asked, squeezing again as if conducting a very important scientific investigation.

jaemin’s lips twitched, like he was fighting back a smile. “do you always get this touchy when you’re drunk?” he replied, shifting you slightly higher on his back.

“oh wow, you smell so good,” you said, burying your nose in his hair. “like… like one of those fancy candles you’re not supposed to light cause they’re too expensive.” you giggled against his head, completely oblivious to the way his ears flushed pink at the compliment.

“i told you not to drink too much,” he said, his voice soft but firm. “this is dangerous, you know.”

“sorryyyyyy,” you whined, dragging out the word. “but you know what they say about alcohol… uh, ‘wine before whiskey, you’re feelin’ frisky’?” you squinted, clearly thinking very hard.

jaemin tilted his head, giving you a side-eye full of disbelief and amusement. “that’s absolutely not the saying,” he said, his voice low and warm with a hint of laughter.

“no?” you pouted. “then it’s… ‘drinks before thoughts, memories get lost!’” you declared with absolute confidence.

he let out a full, genuine laugh, his shoulders shaking under you as he carried you down the hallway. “close enough,” he muttered.

♡ ♡ ♡

in front of your door, you squinted at the digital lock like it had personally wronged you. you pressed one button, then another, and frowned when the screen blinked angrily. your brain felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and trying to remember your code right was harder than trying to solve a riddle while underwater.

“ugh, whatever,” you groaned, letting out an exaggerated sigh before plopping down on the floor, legs sprawled out.

“what are you doing?” jaemin's voice came from above, and when you tilted your head back, you saw him crouched in front of you, eyebrows raised.

“can’t remember the code, so m’ sleeping here. duh,” you replied with the kind of lazy confidence and lack of urgency only drunk people have. you reached out and booped him on the nose simply because he looked cute like a bunny in your inebriated mind.

he blinked, clearly thrown, before a grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “no, you’re not,” he said, shaking his head. he stood up, offering his hand. “come on.”

“ugh, fiiine,” you groaned, letting him pull you up, though you were basically dead weight. he slipped an arm around your waist to steady you, and the warmth of his hand pressed against the bare skin where your shirt had ridden up. the touch was casual but it sent a sharp jolt of awareness through you.

you bit your lip to distract yourself from the sudden rush of heat. blame it on the alcohol. definitely the alcohol.

“i never sleep in a guy’s apartment ‘til…” you held up your hand and started counting on your fingers, lips moving as you mumbled to yourself. “like the 6th date.”

“that so?” jaemin glanced at you, his voice raspy in a way that made something flip in your stomach.

“mmhm,” you hummed, leaning your weight against him. “gotta have rules, y’know? safety first.”

“you’re not wrong,” he replied, guiding you toward his door with slow, careful steps. “but that logic’s got a flaw, don’t you think?”

you squinted up at him, skeptical. “what flaw?”

“you’re here with me, and we’re not even on date three,” he said simply, giving you a pointed look.

you tried to ignore the fact that he considered the elevator and that night at your apartment as dates.

“that’s different,” you countered, waving a hand like that somehow made you right.

he glanced down at you, eyes sharp but soft in the way they flickered across your face. “how?”

you blinked, suddenly too aware of the space between you two — or the lack of it. his arm was firm around your waist, and you could feel the rise and fall of his breathing.

“you tell me, doc,” you muttered, avoiding his eyes.

there was a brief silence, just the quiet hum of the hallway lights and the soft shuffle of your feet. his fingers curled slightly against your hip, the pressure grounding but gentle. when he spoke again, his tone had shifted — quieter, steadier.

“i’d never do anything to hurt you,” he said, voice sure like a promise. his eyes met yours, serious in a way that knocked the air right out of your lungs.

you didn’t have a quick comeback for that one.

he held your gaze for a moment longer before clearing his throat, eyes flicking away. “anyway,” he said, his voice back to its usual steady calm, “you can sit for a bit. i’ll get you some tea and food, sober you up.”

“huh?” you blinked, your tipsy mind still trying to catch up after that intense moment you just shared.

“sit,” he repeated, guiding you toward the couch like you were a stubborn cat. “tea. food. you’ll thank me later.”

you flopped onto the couch with zero grace, still buzzing from everything.

your head was throbbing, but that wasn’t half as uncomfortable as the rapid thumping of your heart against your chest. it wasn’t normal. it couldn’t be normal. you pressed a hand to your chest like that might somehow slow it down.

“what is this…” you muttered under your breath, tilting your head back against the couch.

you were spiraling, no doubt about it. overthinking everything. it’s just jaemin, you reminded yourself. your neighbor. your kind neighbor. of course he’d say stuff like that. he’s a good person, and good people say things like "i’d never hurt you" all the time, right? it didn’t mean anything. didn’t mean a single thing.

calm down, y/n.

you blew out a slow breath, trying to trick your heart into believing you were unbothered.

jaemin came back moments later, a cup of tea in one hand and a small plate of buttered toast in the other. he’d ditched his jacket, now in just a fitted black t-shirt and scrub pants. you weren’t sure what was more distracting… the way the fabric clung to his chest and arms, or the way the veins in his forearms stood out as he set the plate down. you stared a little too long, gaze following the flex of his muscles.

he’s just a guy, you thought, just a guy with arms that look like they were carved out of marble.

“okay, drink this,” he said, nudging the tea toward you. his voice had slipped into his "doctor tone", soft but firm, like he fully expected to be obeyed. “you’ll feel better. if you feel dizzy or like you’re gonna throw up, let me know. i’ll go shower real quick, and you can shower after.”

he disappeared into his room before you could respond

you sat there for a second, letting the silence settle around you. without him there, you finally took a proper look at his place. it was weirdly nice for a building as old and shabby as this one. sleek, modern furniture, spotless floors, a faint scent of something woodsy and clean. candles lined the windowsill, and he had an at-home gym tucked neatly in one corner.

of course he does, you thought, he’s probably too busy saving lives to hit a real gym.

you bit your lip, remembering the way his arms had felt around your waist. the heat of his skin seeping through the fabric of your shirt. and now, after seeing how built he actually was, it was starting to make a lot more sense.

“ugh, stop it,” you muttered, shaking your head. it was just the alcohol messing with you. that, and the fact that you were definitely ovulating because there was no way you’d be acting like this otherwise. the combination was lethal.

you reached for the tea, eager for something to snap you out of your head, but the second you took a sip—

“ah—!” you yelped, dropping the cup. hot liquid splashed onto the floor, the mug clattering after it. thankfully, it missed your legs but your tongue throbbed like you’d just bitten into molten lava.

“shit,” you hissed, sticking your tongue out like that might cool it down.

“what happened?” jaemin’s voice came from the bathroom, sharp with concern.

“‘s fine!” you tried to call back, but with your tongue still stinging, it came out garbled. “ihz ohkaay!”

the sound of the shower stopped. you barely had a second to panic before jaemin burst into the living room, dripping wet, a loose towel slung dangerously low on his hips.

you froze.

oh.

oh my god.

if this were an anime, you’d have shot out a nosebleed so powerful it’d blast you into another dimension.

“what happened?” he asked, eyes darting to the mess on the floor, then back to you. he crouched beside you, eyes scanning you likely looking for injuries. water dripped from his hair, trailing down the sharp planes of his face, his chest, his abs…

his abs.

your gaze locked on the V-line that dipped beneath the edge of his towel, and your brain short-circuited. every coherent thought you’d ever had dissolved on the spot. you didn’t even realize you’d spoken aloud until you heard your own voice.

“oh my god.”

jaemin blinked, eyebrows drawing together in worry. “what?”

“n-nothing!” you stammered, face heating faster than the tea had. you slapped a hand over your eyes like that might erase the image from your mind. it did not. it was burned in.

he frowned, his puppy-dog concern on full display. “i’m sorry, i should’ve warned you the tea was hot.” his gaze shifted to your tongue, still sticking out as you tried to cool it with air. his frown deepened.

“izzokay,” you said, or at least tried to. with your tongue swollen and numb, it sounded more like “iz okeh, iz my fauwt.”

“hold on,” he said, his tone dropping into doctor mode. “stay put. you might cut yourself on the glass.”

he moved with quick precision, ducking into the kitchen and coming back with a towel and some paper towels to clean up. you, unfortunately, had nothing to do but sit there and watch him. and watch him you did.

the way his muscles shifted under his skin with every movement. the flex of his back, the dip of his hips, the subtle pull of his abs as he crouched to pick up shards of glass. you sat there like a fool, cheeks blazing, unable to look away.

he could model for anatomy textbooks, you thought, completely mesmerized. like, imagine turning to page 47 and seeing this man labeled as "muscular system: front view."

every part of him moved with that annoying grace certain people just had. the kind of grace that was only possible when you were stupidly, unfairly attractive.

he wiped the floor clean and tossed the paper towels aside, giving one final glance at the spot to make sure there wasn’t a single shard left behind. then he turned to you.

“all clear,” he said, standing to his full height. the towel on his hips slipped slightly lower, and your gaze shot to the ceiling so fast you almost got whiplash.

“thanks,” you muttered, trying to keep your eyes anywhere but there. you still saw it in your peripheral vision.

he tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “you sure you’re okay?”

am i okay? absolutely not. your tongue was burnt, your pride was in pieces, and your brain was playing a slow-motion highlight reel of his abs. you were the furthest thing from okay.

“yep,” you croaked, voice cracking at the end.

“here you go,” he said, handing you a glass of cold water. “it should help your tongue.”

“thanks,” you mumbled, cradling the glass with both hands. you refused to look directly at him, eyes darting everywhere in the room. the slow drip of condensation on the glass suddenly became the most fascinating thing in the world.

“are you hot? you’re sweating,” he asked, leaning forward, his gaze landing on you with that soft concern he wore too easily.

you nearly spat the water back out. of course you were hot. this whole situation was hot. the room was hot. he was hot.

“it’s fine,” you blurted, shaking your head a little too quickly. “i’ll just shower.”

“yeah, sure. go ahead,” he said, nodding toward the hallway. “bathroom’s the door on the left.”

he glanced down at you, eyes flickering over your dress just briefly. instinctively, you tugged at the hem like that would magically make it longer. you should’ve known minnie was setting you up when she called this look “casually dangerous.”

“your clothes…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. “they don’t look super comfortable to sleep in, so if you want, i can lend you something.”

there was no reason for your heart to leap into your throat the way it did. it was a normal offer. a completely normal, helpful offer. but your brain decided to be weird about it. suddenly, you were picturing yourself in one of his shirts, fabric hanging loose on you, the scent of detergent and him faintly clinging to it. god, you needed help.

“okay,” you said, trying to sound normal, but it came out too fast.

“i’ll grab them for you,” he said, already heading toward his room.

as soon as he disappeared, you collapsed against the couch, exhaling hard like you’d just survived a boss fight. you dragged your hands down your face, letting out a muffled groan.

“pull it together,” you hissed at yourself.

walking into the bathroom didn’t help. the warmth hit you instantly, soft steam curling in the air. it smelled like aftershave and clean skin, and if there was a single coherent thought left in your brain, it got drowned out by the sensory overload.

“seriously?” you muttered under your breath, tilting your head back with a groan. “what am i, thirteen?”

the mirror was fogged up, so you wiped at it with your sleeve, only to be faced with your own reflection staring back at you like girl, really? you pressed your hands to your cheeks, feeling the warmth that had nothing to do with the steam.

“i’m normal,” you announced firmly to no one but yourself.

except you weren’t, and you knew it. it wasn’t just the alcohol making your brain short-circuit anymore. you were sober now, and this was just you being ridiculous. the neatly folded clothes on the counter didn’t help. a plain white shirt and a pair of sweatpants sat there, fresh and clean.

you eyed the sweatpants, then glanced down at your legs, already knowing how this was gonna play out. still, you gave it a shot, pulling them up your legs after taking a (very) long shower. unsurprisingly, they swallowed you whole, the cuffs dragging behind you. yeah, no. you’d trip over yourself in less than a minute. sighing, you snatched up the shirt instead and pulled it over your head. it slipped down past your hips, the sleeves flopping well past your hands, turning them into little paw-like stubs.

“this will have to do,” you decided with a sharp nod to yourself.

when you finally stepped out of the bathroom, jaemin was lounging on the couch, scrolling on his phone. his gaze flickered up at you, and for a split second, he just blinked, eyes tracking down your frame before quickly darting back to his phone.

“where are the pants?” he asked, lips quirking up just slightly at the corner.

“too big,” you said.

“hmm” he hummed, looking up and letting his gaze drag just a little slower this time, eyes sharp with mischief. his tongue pressed against his cheek, a lopsided grin threatening to break free. “i see”

if your heart was pounding before, it was in full percussion solo mode now. but you just flopped down beside him, acting like everything was cool, like you weren’t hyperaware of every inch of bare skin peeking out from under the too-big shirt.

you glanced at the clock on the wall — 4:30 a.m. blinked back at you in dim red light. too late to be awake but too early to call it morning. your eyes shifted to jaemin, and you could see the weight of exhaustion hanging on him. his blinks were slower, his body slouched deeper into the couch cushions.

“jaem…” the nickname slipped out without warning, soft but certain. his eyes lifted to you immediately.

“you can go to sleep. i’m fine,” you said with a small smile, hoping it was convincing. “and… thank you. for everything. you’re too nice to me.”

his gaze lingered on you, steady and unguarded, like he was committing you to memory. then, his lips curved slowly into a smile. not his usual teasing grin but something gentler, sweeter. it hit you square in the chest, and you had to physically fight the urge to lean forward and kiss him.

you did not win that fight.

instead, you moved on instinct… leaning in and wrapping your arms around him. the moment you did, you panicked. it felt stiff, clumsy, like you’d misread the whole situation. you were just about to pull away when his arms slid around your waist, slow but sure.

he pulled you in, pulled you all the way in, until you were practically draped over him. your breath caught in your throat, heart thudding so hard you swore he could feel it.

his head dipped down, face tucked into the curve of your neck. the warmth of his breath hit your skin in soft bursts, and his hold on you tightened just a little more.

“it’s my pleasure,” he murmured, voice low and raspier than it had been all night. his lips brushed against your collarbone as he spoke, “always.”

good god, you nearly let out a sound you’d never be able to live down. every nerve in your body was on high alert. it had been so long since you’d been held like this.

his nose nudged against your neck lazily. you felt the butterflies in your stomach riot, wings frantic against your ribs.

“jaem…” you said, but it came out too soft, too breathless to sound like an actual warning.

“you smell good,” he muttered, voice all sleep and satisfaction. “you always smell good.” he breathed you in.

lord, have mercy.

“i think we should both sleep,” you murmured, but neither of you moved. neither of you even thought about moving.

“yeah,” he said, voice low and uneven.

“yeah,” you echoed, but it sounded less like agreement and more like an excuse for staying right where you were.

he pulled back just enough to look at you, but his arms stayed firmly around your waist. his eyes flickered down to your lips. on reflex, you wet them with a quick swipe of your tongue, suddenly self-conscious. his gaze darkened and you swore you felt the shift in the air.

“stop me,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

but stopping him didn’t even cross your mind. not when he was looking at you like that. not when his face inched closer, closer…

his lips met yours softly at first, hesitant, like he was waiting for you to decide. you decided quickly. your hands slipped into his hair, pulling him in as you kissed him back with everything you’d been holding in all night.

he responded instantly. his hand cupped the back of your neck, his fingers threading through your hair to hold you in place, deepening the kiss until it wasn’t soft anymore.

his other hand found your hip, gripping you firmly as he shifted you on top of him, his touch guiding you like he knew exactly where he wanted you to be. dangerous. this was so, so dangerous.

because you were only wearing that stupidly oversized shirt and the flimsy scrap of underwear underneath it. and when you settled fully onto his lap, you felt everything.

he must’ve felt it too, because his breath stuttered, and a needy groan escaped him, muffled against your lips. you felt it vibrate through your whole body, made you shiver as if he’d pressed his mouth to your spine instead.

his hand on your hip squeezed, fingers digging in just a little harder.

the kiss grew messier, wetter, breaths and tongues tangled together in a way that felt far past the point of no return. it didn’t help that his other hand left your neck, sliding down, fingertips trailing along your side before slipping under the hem of the shirt.

his hand slid up and up until…

he froze the second he realized. his palm pressed against bare skin, no bra, no barrier. you felt his breath hitch at the same moment you heard it.

“fuck,” he groaned into your mouth, his voice rougher now, heavier. his fingers spread wide, covering as much skin as he could reach, his palm warm and steady against your ribs.

and when his thumb brushed up, grazing just barely under the curve of your breast, the sound you made was far too needy. his gaze flicked back up to yours. like he was asking. like he was giving you one last out.

you didn’t take it.

his hand moved again, bolder this time. his palm slid over the curve of your breast, warm and firm, fingers curling around it as if it belonged to him. you sighed at the contact, eyes fluttering closed as your head tipped forward. it wasn’t enough. you didn’t know what “enough” would be, but it wasn’t this.

he must’ve felt it too, because his other hand rose to cup your cheek, his thumb stroking your skin in slow, soothing circles. he tilted your face up, and for a moment, you thought he’d kiss you again. you tilted toward him, lips parting, but he had other plans.

instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips just beneath your ear. the warmth of his mouth sent a shiver down your spine, and before you could even process that, he was moving lower. he kissed his way along your neck, slow and steady, with the kind of patience that made your heart feel like it was on a countdown.

and then the kisses changed. his teeth grazed your skin, his lips sealed over the spot, and he sucked hard enough to make you gasp. your hands flew up, gripping at his shoulders as he trailed love bites down to your collarbones, marking you in a way that felt possessive, the kind you’d see after he was gone.

“jaemin,” you whispered, your fingers digging into his shirt. his name barely sounded like a name anymore.

his only answer was a low hum against your collarbone, his hand still working under your shirt. his fingers traced lazy lines along the sensitive skin beneath your breast, and just when you thought he was going to stay gentle, he pinched your nipple between his fingers.

you gasped sharply, hips jolting forward on reflex. “oh—”

he didn’t stop. he rolled it slowly between his fingers, feeling out every little reaction you gave him, every twitch and shiver. your body betrayed you, arching into his touch, and the way he smiled against your neck told you he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

instinct took over before you could think it through. your hips rocked forward against his lap — once, twice — chasing relief from the ache that had been building low in your stomach for too long. you felt the slickness between your thighs, hot and damp, soaking through the thin fabric of your underwear and seeping onto his sweatpants.

he felt it too. you knew he did from the sharp intake of breath he took, from the way his hands squeezed tighter his fingers digging into your hip, his other hand cupping your breast with just a little more pressure.

“fuck,” he groaned, head falling forward, his forehead pressing against your shoulder. his hips shifted beneath you, his arousal impossible to miss now. he was hard, and every roll of your hips dragged against him perfectly, making him curse under his breath.

the heat of it all was unbearable, and you had no one to blame but yourself. but at this point, did it even matter?

he lifted his head, jaw tight, eyes half-lidded. his gaze flickered from your face to where your hips met his lap, his tongue darting out to wet his lips

“i don't know how much longer i can hold back…” his voice was strained.

you blinked down at him, heart thudding hard against your ribs. every nerve in your body felt like it had been lit on fire, but somehow, you still managed to smile.

“who told you to hold back?”you said, voice soft but sure.

“shit…” he muttered, his voice low and wrecked. his fingers dug into your hips, guiding them down against him with a deliberate pressure that had your breath hitching in your throat.

it wasn’t just you moving anymore. he was moving you, rocking you back and forth against him faster, tired of pretending you weren’t both desperate for it.

your head tipped back as a broken moan spilled from your lips. the friction was too good, just the right amount of pressure to have your thighs trembling. the heat between you had gone from warm to blistering, every grind making you more sensitive, more aware of the damp mess you were both making between his sweatpants and your underwear.

his eyes locked on you, not wanting to miss a single second of it… the arch of your back, the part of your lips, the way your breath caught every time you sank down a little harder.

“look at you,” he breathed, voice rough and half-laughing. “getting this worked up over a little humping”

you leaned forward, pressing your forehead to his. “i’m clearly not the only one,” you shot back breathlessly..

his lips were back on you in an instant, rougher than before, all teeth and tongue. his hands slid up your back, under his shirt you were wearing, fingers dragging against bare skin. his nails scratched lightly at your spine, sending chills down your whole body, and you gasped into his mouth.

he didn’t let you pull away. his lips chased yours, like he’d been starving for this, like now that he’d had a taste, there was no way he was stopping. he tilted his head, deepening the kiss, and your body moved on instinct, hips rolling harder against him.

“fuck, that’s it,” he groaned, head falling back against the couch as he sucked in a breath through his teeth. his hands slid down to your thighs, gripping them tight as if to ground himself, but all it did was spur you on.

you leaned forward, trailing kisses down his jaw, his neck, biting just enough to feel him shudder beneath you. his pulse was wild under your lips, and when you grazed your teeth against it, his hips bucked up so hard it knocked the air out of your lungs.

“you’re making it so hard to be soft right now,” he said through gritted teeth, head tipped back, neck bared for you like an invitation. his eyes flicked down to where you sat on him, where the line between you two had blurred so badly it didn’t seem to exist anymore.

“then don’t be,” you whispered against his ear, biting down on the lobe just to hear him curse again. “nobody asked you to be soft.”

that was all it took. his grip on your hips tightened, his fingers digging into your skin with purpose. his next move was fast—you were on your back before you could register it, his body hovering over you, his weight pressing you down in a way that made your heart race in your chest.

his eyes met yours, pupils blown wide, hair falling into his face. he looked like a mess and it was perfect.

“say that again,” he said, voice nothing but gravel and breath. his hands slid up your thighs, pushing them apart, the slow drag of his touch enough to make you squirm. “say it again so i know you mean it.”

your chest rose and fell with each shallow breath, and you reached up, fingers threading through his hair.

“nobody,” you whispered, tugging his head down just enough to make sure he heard you, “asked you to be soft.”

for a second, he didn’t move. just stared down at you like he’d never wanted anything more in his life than to eat you up.

then he leaned in, and when he kissed you this time, it wasn’t soft or tentative or testing the waters. it was raw, hungry, and so deep it knocked the air out of you. his hands moved with purpose, sliding up your thighs, pushing his shirt higher and higher until the air hit bare skin.

everything was heat and pressure and need. he was all you could feel, all you could hear — his breath heavy and uneven, his name falling from your lips like it was the only word you knew.

and when he finally pressed his forehead to yours, eyes squeezed shut like he was fighting to hold himself together, you knew you’d both already lost.

the next thing you know, his hands are tugging your shirt up and over your head, the fabric barely brushing past your arms before it’s gone. the cold air hits your skin for half a second before jaemin’s mouth replaces it, hot and relentless as he traces the curve of your collarbone, his lips dragging lower, slower.

when his mouth finally closes around your right breast, it’s warm and wet and just enough to have you mewling. his tongue flicks over your nipple before sucking it into his mouth, his teeth grazing it just lightly, sending a sharp jolt of heat straight down to your core.

his free hand slides lower, fingers trailing down your stomach, over your hip, and slipping beneath the waistband of your lace underwear like it’s the most natural thing in the world. he moves without hesitation, fingers seeking out the slick mess waiting for him, and the second he finds it, he lets out a low, rough groan against your skin.

“god, you’re so fucking wet,” he mutters, pulling off your breast with a slick pop, his breath fanning across your skin. he glances down between your legs, his gaze so heavy you feel it like a touch. his eyes darken, his tongue darting out to wet his lips like he’s hungry just looking at you.

he hooks his fingers into the sides of your underwear, dragging them down in one slow pull, eyes locked on you like he’s scared to blink and miss it. the fabric barely makes it past your knee before he’s already looking back up at you, his pupils blown wide, lips parted with the kind of need that makes your chest feel too tight.

“let me eat you out,” he says, and his voice is rough and desperate.

you bite your lip like you’re thinking it over, but you know you’re going to say yes. you just like seeing him like this — all unsteady and breathless, too far gone to hide it.

“please,” he says again, this time more ragged, his voice cracking at the end like he might actually lose it if you make him wait any longer.

“okay,” you say, and it’s all he needs.

he’s on you in a heartbeat, sliding down your body so fast it’s dizzying. his hands are firm on your thighs, pulling them apart, spreading you wide until there’s nowhere left to hide. his gaze flicks up one last time, meeting yours like he’s checking, like he’s giving you one last chance to stop him.

but you don’t. you won’t.

he presses his fingers to your folds, parting you slowly, exposing everything to him, and the breath he takes is deep, like he’s savoring the moment before the fall.

then he leans in.

his nose brushes against you first, just a soft nudge that has your hips twitching on instinct. then his tongue follows in one long, slow drag from bottom to top that has your breath stuttering in your chest. his grip on your thighs tightens, fingers digging into your skin like he’s steadying himself as much as you.

he moans against you, a deep, satisfied sound that you feel as much as hear, and his tongue dives back in, licking at you like you’re his favorite thing to taste. the movements are slow at first, deliberate, his tongue exploring every part of you like he’s trying to figure out exactly what makes you fall apart.

and you are falling apart.

your head tilts back, eyes fluttering shut, lips parting as you let out a shaky, breathless moan. your hips twitch up, and his hands are right there to hold you down, keeping you still as his tongue moves with more certainty, more purpose, licking you with long, messy strokes that make you gasp.

his mouth doesn’t slow, if anything, it grows more determined. his tongue moves with precision now, circling that sensitive spot before flicking against it in quick, teasing bursts that have your hips jumping despite his firm grip.

“fuck, jaem—” your voice breaks on his name, your hands gripping the sides of the couch, searching for something, anything to ground yourself. but there’s nothing. nothing but him, his mouth, the obscene, wet sounds filling the air, and the heat building low in your stomach.

he groans again, the vibration shooting through you, his tongue flattening against you before he drags it up,

“taste so sweet,” he murmurs into you, his voice muffled, every word spoken straight into your skin.

“could stay here all night.”

the heat in your belly twists tighter at that, something about the way he says it, like he means it, like he’d ruin himself for this… for you. you’re already too close, and he knows it. he can feel it in the way your thighs tense, in the way your breath catches and your hips press up into him like you’re chasing something you can’t quite reach.

he hums in satisfaction, his lips wrapping around that sensitive bundle of nerves, sucking just once, just enough to make your whole body jolt.

“god, jaem, i’m—” you don’t even finish the sentence before it hits you, crashing over you in waves so intense you forget how to breathe. you squeeze your eyes shut, mouth falling open on a silent cry as the pleasure hits you all at once, white-hot and overwhelming. he doesn’t let up, his tongue flicking against you through it, coaxing every last tremor from your body.

your fingers find his hair, tugging hard, half to ground yourself and half to make him stop because it’s all too much. he groans at the pull, but it only seems to spur him on, his hands tightening on your hips, keeping you pressed against his mouth.

“jaemin,” you say it firmer this time, tugging again, and finally, finally he pulls back, his lips and chin shiny with evidence of what he’s done.

“couldn’t help myself,” he says, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth like he’s savoring every last bit of you. his eyes are wild, pupils blown wide, his hair a mess from where you tugged at it.

“you look so pretty when you cum,” he says, voice low and husky, and you hate the way your heart lurches in your chest as if he’s just said something sweet.

“you’re crazy,” you mutter, still catching your breath, wiping the sweat from your forehead.

“crazy for you,” he fires back, grin widening like he knows how corny it is and says it anyway.

and for some reason, it makes you laugh. a soft, breathy thing you can’t hold back.

in one smooth motion, he’s crawling back up your body, his hands framing your face as he settles his weight over you. his lips press to yours, soft at first, then deeper, hungrier. reminding you exactly where that mouth has just been. you taste yourself on him, and it sends a fresh wave of heat through you.

“not done with you yet,” he says against your lips, his hips pressing down against yours, and fuck, you feel how hard he is, the thick, solid pressure pressing right where you need it.

“then don’t stop,” your fingers slide down his back, nails scraping lightly.

he flashed a wicked grin, and before you could process it, you let out a startled squeal as he hoisted you over his shoulder like you weighed nothing. his arms were firm around your legs, his shoulder pressing into your stomach, and you could feel the strength in every stride as he carried you from the living room to his bedroom.

"jaemin!" you protested, your fists lightly tapping his back, but it only made him chuckle.

"keep squirming, baby. see where that gets you," he teased.

he laid you down on the bed with surprising gentleness. the cool, fresh scent of his sheets surrounded you, soft fabric meeting warm skin. it was a fleeting comfort, though. you both knew they wouldn’t stay this neat for long.

jaemin peeled off his shirt with one smooth motion, revealing the sharp lines of his chest and the taut muscles of his stomach. you bit your lip as he kicked off his sweatpants, leaving him in just his boxers. his gaze was locked on you, dark eyes brimming with heat and amusement, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking.

you watched mesmerized as he pulled open the drawer of his nightstand, fingers searching until they found a small foil packet. he ripped it open with practiced ease, and when the condom rolled out into his palm, your eyes widened.

"that’s not the right size," you blurted out, half-laughing. "no way."

his eyebrows lifted, a challenge sparking in his eyes. "oh? wanna bet?"

then his boxers hit the floor.

oh.

your breath caught in your throat as your eyes dropped, taking in the sight of his dick. heat flooded your face. what the hell.

“close your mouth, baby,” he said, smirking. “unless you’re planning to put it to use.”

"shut up," you muttered, glancing away, cheeks blazing. "are you gonna do it or not?"

“do what?” he asked innocently, even as he climbed onto the bed, caging you in with his body. he hovered just above you, his grin infuriatingly smug.

“you know what.”

“hmm. don’t think i do,” he murmured, eyes dropping to your lips. “wanna say it for me, pretty girl?”

you pressed your lips together, heart thudding in your chest harder every second. you could feel the weight of him, his warmth, the tension that hung in the air like a live wire.

“fuck… me, jaem,” you muttered, voice barely above a whisper.

he tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “louder, baby. i know you can be louder.”

he wasn’t wrong. flashes of earlier moments filled your mind, the way you were moaning and whimpering definitely wasn’t quiet. you swallowed the last bit of your hesitation.

“fuck me. please.”

he hummed, satisfied, his grin softening as he hooked his hands behind your knees and tugged you down toward him. you let out a quiet gasp, suddenly flat on your back, with him positioned directly above you. his body hovered just close enough that every shift of movement made you feel him.

your eyes flickered up to his face, and for a second, he wasn’t teasing anymore. his gaze was steady, searching, his eyes dark but kind. he reached out, fingertips tracing your jawline with such tenderness it made you ache in a different way.

“you okay, baby?” he asked softly, letting you know he’d stop everything if you said no.

your heart swelled at the care in his voice.

you nodded, fingers curling around his shoulders.

he leaned in, close enough for his breath to fan across your face. “need words, love.”

“i’m okay, jaem,” you said more firmly, gazing up at him.

his eyes lingered on yours a moment longer before he nodded. he took a pillow and carefully placed it behind your lower back

"good girl," he murmured.

he shifted, his hands steady on your hips, grounding you as he lined himself up. the anticipation coiled tightly in your stomach, a nervous, thrilling buzz. you felt him prodding at your entrance, he swiped his tip up and down, the action made you clench in anticipation. he eased in, inch by inch, the stretch stealing every ounce of air from your lungs.

his head dropped, forehead pressed against yours, jaw tense as his eyes squeezed shut. a soft curse left his lips. “fuck, so… so tight,” he groaned, his voice wrecked. his fingers dug into your hips, holding you still.

the moans spilling from your lips mixed with his name, coming out soft and unrestrained. every inch of him felt like too much, the kind of stretch that made your breath catch and your nails press into his shoulders. it had been so long since you'd had sex that you'd almost forgotten what it felt like, and even back then, no one had ever filled you like this. jaemin was thicker, longer, and the difference was impossible to ignore.

"baby, if you keep squeezing me like that…" he laughed breathlessly, his fingers drawing slow, steady circles on your hip like he was trying to soothe you. “i might not make it all the way in.”

“s’rry, you’re… just too big,” you muttered, voice coming out more wrecked than you intended.

he bit down on his lip, eyes flicking down to where you were connected. the sight alone was about to undo him. "yeah?" he breathed, a little too satisfied with himself. his hand slid up, fingers pressing into your waist just a bit harder, grounding you in place as he pushed in deeper.

the pressure was overwhelming, every slow inch making you feel like you might fall apart right there beneath him. and the deeper he went, the more you swore you wouldn’t last long. the tight, aching pull in your stomach was already coiling up, twisting tighter with every second.

“you okay?” his voice was softer this time, the restraint obvious in how still he stayed once he’d finally bottomed out. his forehead pressed lightly to yours, lips hovering just close enough to brush your skin.

“mhm,” you nodded quickly, legs shaking around him.

“words, baby,” he said, and his fingers tilted your chin so you’d look at him.

“i’m okay, jaem. just…just move, please,” you said, the words tumbling out before you could stop them.

"since you asked so nicely," he said with a grin that was all teeth and trouble. his hands gripped your thighs, pulling them higher against his sides. his hips pulled back, just enough for you to feel every inch of him drag out slowly, before he pushed back in.

the breath punched out of you. you didn’t even have time to recover before he was doing it again, sharper, testing just how much you could handle.

"god, you’re taking me so well, princess," he groaned, eyes flicking down to where your bodies connected. his hands slid up your sides, the warmth of his touch a sharp contrast to the way he was slamming into you. "like you were made for me."

“jaem-” his name was the only thing you could manage, high-pitched and broken. your head tipped back against the pillows, eyes squeezing shut, but that only made everything feel sharper.

“what's that?” he asked, voice rough as he leaned in closer, his lips ghosting over the corner of your mouth. "love it this much, huh?"

you didn’t answer, didn’t need to. he could hear it in every shaky breath, feel it in the way your body reacted to him.

his mouth was on yours a second later, messy and hot, his teeth dragging over your bottom lip before his tongue slid past it. he didn’t kiss you so much as claim you, taking everything you gave and then some. your fingers knotted in his hair, desperate for something to hold on to. the sounds between you were wet, frantic, each one making the coil in your stomach twist tighter.

you were close… so, so close.

but then he pulled away again, leaving you gasping at the sudden loss. before you could even think to complain, he grabbed your hips, flipping you over like it was nothing. your cheek pressed into the pillow, hips lifted, and you barely had a second to brace yourself before he was back inside you.

the first thrust knocked the air out of your lungs. it was deeper now, sharper, because he’d found a whole new spot to ruin you from. your fingers dug into the pillow, muffling the sounds spilling from your mouth, but even that wasn’t enough. the angle had you seeing stars, the kind of pressure that made your legs shake with every thrust.

“feel that?” his voice was right at your ear, low and rough. “feels different, doesn’t it?”

you nodded frantically, too gone to answer, but that wasn’t good enough for him. his hand slipped up, tangling in your hair, gently tugging you up just enough so he could hear you.

“talk to me, baby.” his voice was a rasp now, barely hanging on. "tell me how it feels."

“s’good…so good, jaem,” you gasped, words rushed and jumbled but still clear enough. "i’m- i’m gonna…”

“go ahead, baby," he said, lips brushing against your ear before he bit down softly on your earlobe, making you jolt. "want you to cum for me."

your whole body shuddered as the release crashed into you, slow and unrelenting, like a wave that just wouldn’t let up. it didn’t hit and fade away like usual — it lingered, making your muscles seize and tremble with every pulse. you felt boneless, your limbs heavy as you sagged against the bed, head turned to the side, cheek pressed into the pillow. jaemin stayed inside you, his grip on your hips loosening just slightly but his eyes stayed locked on you, dark and intent. you could feel him watching every little twitch of your body.

“look at you,” he murmured, his voice rough and low. “so pretty like this.”

he eased out of you slowly, and the emptiness that followed had you sucking in a sharp breath. your thighs shook as you tried to press them together, but his were still on you, thumb brushing softly along your inner thighs admiring how your cum slid down your dripping core.

you glanced down, lips parting at the sight. his cock was flushed, standing firm against his stomach, the condom showing nothing but a hint of precum mixed with the mess you’d left behind. a slow heat pooled in your belly again, your body already responding before your mind could catch up.

“you didn’t—” you started, but the words dissolved in your throat, eyes flickering back up to meet his.

you didn’t wait for him to say anything. your hand shot out, fingers curling around his wrist, and you tugged him forward. he followed easily, letting you pull him in close, his lips already parting like he was expecting a kiss. but just as he leaned in, you braced a hand on his chest and shoved him down flat on his back.

“oh?” he breathed out a soft, surprised laugh, his eyes widening as his head hit the pillow. “what’s this, huh?”

“shh,” you muttered, climbing over him, one leg swinging over his hips until you were straddling him. your palms flattened on his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat under your hands.

“bossy now, are we?” his grin stretched wider, his hands sliding up your thighs with a slow, deliberate touch. he squeezed just above your knees, fingertips pressing into your skin.

“quiet,” you said leaning forward, your breath warm against his ear. “thought you’d like a girl who takes charge.”

his head tipped back with a breathy laugh. “oh, i do,” he said, voice trailing off into a low hum as his eyes dipped to where your hips hovered just above him. “but i like it even more when she can keep up.”

the corner of your mouth tugged up into a grin. “we’ll see,” you muttered, reaching between your bodies to wrap your hand around him. he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, his whole body going rigid beneath you. even with just the faintest pressure of your hand, you could feel him twitch, his hips bucking up slightly.

“s-sensitive,” he hissed, jaw tightening as he pressed his head back into the pillow. but he didn’t stop you, didn’t even try. if anything, his fingers dug harder into your thighs, holding you steady like he was afraid you’d pull away.

“thought you could keep up,” you shot back, glancing up at him. his brows furrowed, his eyes squeezing shut for a second before they flickered back open. the teasing look on his face was gone now, replaced with something hungrier, more focused.

you lined him up with you, heart thudding hard against your ribs. you’d done this before, but it felt different now… the weight of his eyes on you, the way his hands gripped you just a little tighter as you slowly lowered yourself onto him. the stretch was slow, inch by inch until you felt him fill you completely.

“f-f—” his curse broke off into a low groan, his chest rising sharply as his hands slid up to your waist. “god, you’re—” he didn’t finish. couldn’t finish. his eyes screwed shut, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip so hard you thought he might draw blood.

you braced your hands on his chest, fingers curling just slightly as you adjusted to the feeling. the heat in your core burned brighter, the ache of it twisting into something sharper, more desperate. you shifted your hips just a little, testing it, and the friction hit you so perfectly you gasped, nails digging into his chest.

“you okay?” his voice was strained, barely more than a whisper, but there was a thread of concern woven through it. his eyes cracked open, heavy-lidded but focused on you.

“mhm,” you nodded, breathless as you lifted your hips slowly, feeling every inch of him slide out before sinking back down just as slow. his head tipped back, throat bobbing as he swallowed hard, a low groan rattling from his chest.

“yeah, just like that,” he muttered, his grip on you loosening as he let you set the pace. “take your time, pretty girl.” his words slurred just a little, as if he wasn’t fully in control of them anymore. “feels so…” his breath hitched, head tilting back against the pillow.

his hands never stopped moving, though. they roamed up your waist, across your ribs until they found your boobs, they played there for a minute before sliding down to grip your thighs again. every time you dropped your hips, you watched the way his face twisted — brows pulling together, lips parting, his eyes half-lidded and glassy. his fingers twitched, his grip faltering like he wanted to touch you everywhere at once.

“harder,” he breathed, his voice so quiet you almost missed it. his eyes flicked up to yours, gaze locked, lips parted and shiny with spit. “don’t hold back.”

you bit your lip, grinning through the burn in your legs as you shifted your pace and started going faster. the sound of it echoed in the room and you felt the warmth building low in your belly again, tighter and tighter with every roll of your hips.

“y-yeah, just like that,” he gasped, voice cracking, his eyes fluttering shut again. he pressed his head back, the veins on his neck on full display, and you watched the way his adam’s apple bobbed with every uneven breath. his hands slid to your hips, guiding you in sync with his shallow thrusts upward. the movement was messy, desperate, his body seeking more even as he tried to hold on.

“gonna—” he bit out, breath hitching sharply. his eyes flew open, wild and unfocused as he stared at you like he wasn’t even sure what he was about to say. “gonna— oh, fuck—”

“yeah?” you gasped, leaning forward, your hands braced against his chest, fingers curling into his skin. “feels good, hm?”

he didn’t answer with words. he answered with his body, hips snapping up to meet yours, his fingers dragging down your back, hard enough to leave little streaks of heat in their wake. his breathing grew choppy, his body locking up beneath you as his grip on your waist turned bruising.

“don’t stop,” he panted, his voice rough, broken. “don’t— oh, fuck.”

you didn’t. not until you felt every last bit of him give in. his whole body went taut, muscles straining beneath you, his grip locking you in place as he let himself go. he groaned so deeply it sounded more like a growl, his breath hot against your neck as he pulled you down to him, holding you close.

“what’s the verdict, doctor?” you asked, tracing circles on his chest, still sat on top of him.

“hm,” he hummed with his eyes still closed, lips tugging up at the corners as if he was fighting off a grin. “patient shows signs of extreme confidence. possible cause: being too good at driving me crazy.”

you snorted, tilting your head to look at him. “is that your professional diagnosis?”

“oh, absolutely,” he said, cracking one eye open to meet yours. “might need to run some more tests, though. you know, for accuracy.”

“yeah?” you leaned in, your lips ghosting over his jaw. “what kind of tests, doctor?”

his hands slid up your back, fingers splayed wide as they pressed you closer. “thorough ones,” he muttered, his voice rasping against your ear. “real hands-on approach.”

“sounds serious,” you teased, letting your nails drag lightly down his chest. “hope your credentials check out.”

“i’m overqualified, baby,” he breathed, tipping his head back against the pillow with a lazy grin. “let me show you.”

my inbox is always open for any comments about the fic!! thank you<3

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