𝕎𝕆ℕ𝔻𝔼ℝ𝕆𝕌𝕊

The cold gush of wind hits you like a ton of bricks as you exited your school, shivering as you tried to keep yourself warm by hugging yourself. You eyed the numerous students chattering away with their friends, making you look around to search for your friend in the midst of the unknown faces.

When you spotted your friend, Iseul, near the entrance gate, you slowly walked towards her before stopping yourself. You smirked when you noticed the tall boy she's been talking for the past few months, quickly snapping a photo before walking away, wanting to not disturb their moment.

You sighed when you walked quietly to where you parked your bike, buying bungeoppang near the market before eating it as you observe the quiet atmosphere. Your small town just outside of the city was nothing special nor exciting, that's why almost everyone moved out when they can. A few stayed as to live with their family, but only a few instances such as yourself, living with your mother and aunt.

Iseul wants to get out of this 'shit hole' as she deems when she graduates high school, already applying for a scholarship. You on the other hand, can't even imagine yourself in the future on what you could possibly do. Your mother never went to the city, only working as a farmer. Your aunt did go, going to university to get a degree yet she can't even get any work after graduating, getting paid as a bartender before she quits to help your mother.

Deep down, you're scared of failure. Your whole life you're only a mediocre student, good yet not astounding grades and not having a big social circle like Iseul. You can't imagine going to the city to actually live there for a few years just to be met with failure when you can't even get a job, thus making you move back to your old town.

That sounds like a nightmare.

Forcing yourself out of the bad thoughts, you jogged to where your bike is, before stopping yourself when you notice the broken chain. You groan loudly, looking around to find the culprit only to find no one standing near you.

You placed the half eaten bungeoppang inside your bag, assessing the broken chain as you tried to think on what to do. This bike was your only transportation. Sure, you could use the bus but you're already so low on money that you'd rather risk walking by foot to school everyday.

You sighed, perking up at the sound of the bus stopping near you, the temptation of going home and leaving the old bike here is already growing. But you squashed that feeling when you remembered that it's your mother's bike.

The sound of quiet footsteps reached your ears, you glancing back before making eye contact with a boy. He seems startled, quickly moving around before walking back the opposite of you. He's around your age, maybe he knows one or two things about how to fix the bike.

"Hey, school boy! Can you help me?"

The boy stopped in his tracks while you wait for him to do anything. Thankfully, he walks back to where you're crouching, eyes downcast as he moved the plastic bag containing...oranges? To his other hand.

The boy seems familiar, his uniform shows that he's another student from a school nearby yours. The red scarf hides almost half of his face, only his sharp cat like eyes showing to you.

"Can you help me?" You asked, noting how the boy's ears turned slightly red before shaking his head. You sighed, standing up as you looked at the bike with frustrated eyes. You glanced at boy once more, finding him staring the broken chain a bit too hard. You look away, hiding the amused smile growing on your face.

"—fix it."

"Eh?" You asked, not hearing what he said clearly. "What did you say?"

"I think I can fix it."

"Thank you for your help," You say as the both of you walked side by side, your bike now temporarily fixed. "I can't imagine leaving the bike there on its own. I mean, it's my mom's bike after all but still! It's really old and I think we should buy another one...maybe."

You secretly glanced at the boy, not sensing any noise of acknowledgement or any head nod towards what you've just said. You pursed your lips, softly nudging his shoulder with yours. "You don't want to talk to me, huh?"

The boy's eyes only widens slightly, before looking down. You huff playfully before you remembered you haven't even asked his name. "Hey, what's your name? My name is (name)!"

You waited for any response from him, sighing in disappointment when he didn't say anything back. You stopped when you've reached your house, the boy stopping as well as he nervously looks back and forth between you and the house.

You're yelling internally deep down, wanting the awkward moment to end. Maybe the boy's too shy, and you feel bad for forcing him to talk when you just met him a few hours ago.

"Soo, thanks again. I'll just...go home now," You say as you slowly walk with your bike in tow, closing your eyes in embarrassment at the interaction. Hurried footsteps stopped you in your tracks, eyes widening when the boy placed one of the oranges inside your hand.

"San," He utters gently. "My name is San."

You smile softly at him, but before you could say anything, San walks away with hurried steps. "Nice to meet you, San! Thank you for helping me!" You scream loudly, giggling when you see San glancing back and forth at you.

When San disappeared from your sight, you continued your walk towards your house, the slight dirt from the orange makes you question as to why San even had dirty oranges in the first place.

Entering your house, you notice how quiet it is, your mother's slippers nowhere in sight nor your aunt's running shoes. You shrug to yourself before entering the kitchen, placing the singular orange near the fruit basket your mother received from her friend. Noticing the small note on top of an old takeout your aunt probably ordered two days ago, you assume that's going to be your dinner.

A normal occurrence in your household is your mother staying with her friends if she's not working, probably to talk and gossip. Your aunt is a different story though, you never know what exactly she's doing on her free time, and she never really told you either. So you kept quiet and let her be. She's an adult after all.

Heating up the food and eating it alone in the living room whilst watching TV was also a normal occurrence for you. You're used to it because ever since you're young, your mother rarely ate dinner. She doesn't really like eating anyways, especially inside a house that holds a reminder of her past.

Your aunt sometimes joined in, asking you here and there about school or maybe reminiscing about her old life in the city. Either way, it usually ends up with her drinking away her regrets.

You shivered, clicking your tongue when the kitchen window was slightly open. It's already getting dark, the only lights you see are the ones from the nearby house or you could say mansion, by how big it is compared to the other houses in town.

You remembered San walking towards the mansion's direction. Maybe he lives there? You never really see anyone besides two men, but you did overheard your mother one day about a woman supposedly living there.

Placing down your food on the small foldable table, you turned on the prehistoric TV that's probably already there before you're born. You didn't find anything interesting though, so you picked a random news channel before eating your food.

A few hours into eating, a small knock came from your front door, making you pause from peeling the orange San gave. You glanced at the clock, too early for your mother and aunt to come home. Plus they never knock anyway.

"Coming!" You yelled, slowly walking towards the entrance before opening the door slowly. Surprise is probably written all over your face when you see San standing there, his gaze flickers down when he notices you staring at him.

"San?" You questions. "A bit of a surprise visit, don't you think?"

"Sorry, I—Uh, if you don't like me here—"

"Nonsense! What's up?"

His posture became tense, so you glanced down at the plastic bag he's holding tightly. A bit too tight in your opinion.

"I-I need a place to eat, my house..."

"Your house?"

"It's, um, not a good place to eat right now," San finishes, looking up towards where the big mansion is located.

Turns out you're right all along.

"Oh, you live there?"

"Yeah, but I can't stay there right now."

"Can I ask why? You don't have to answer me if you're not comfortable, of course," You gently added, not wanting San to feel pressured. He shrugs, shifting from one foot to another. "Just some stupid argument between my father and...my uncles."

You hum, glancing back at your house before finally deciding. "Yeah, sure, you could eat at my house." You hold back a smile when you notice San's slumped posture turned straight right away, as if he's not expecting you to say that. "R-Really? I can eat here?"

"Sure, but my house is a bit cramped because of junk. If you want, we could eat at the veranda. Not to brag or anything but the view is beautiful."

San lets out a small smile, tilting his head which made your heart squeeze at how cute he is. "Really? I never really notice."

"Meh, it's something," You shrug, opening the door wider, inviting San to follow you inside. "Come on, my food's getting cold."

San nods hesitantly, murmuring a small 'excuse me' before slipping out of his shoes before he just stands there, waiting for you to walk first. You giggle at him, showing him where the veranda is before excusing yourself to grab your food.

"Pretty, right?" You ask as you sat down besides him, looking out towards the view of the city. Your house is located a bit further than the city, your house shows the perfect view of the small number of lights the city shows. It's somewhat calming to you, mix that with the sounds of cicadas and you have the perfect night to just clear your mind.

"Yeah, it's calming."

You hum, glancing as San takes out a small container, pulling out a sandwich before eating it in silence. You followed suit, offering small bites of food to him when you notice he only brought his sandwich. "Did you make it yourself?"

"No, my...eomma made it."

Noticing the tense tone in his voice, you only hum in acknowledgement before continuing to eat. It's nice to have someone eating with you, the silence isn't uncomfortable, both of you appreciating each other's presence in silence. It's kinda funny to you that you're comfortable enough to invite a boy you just met a few hours ago. Then again, it's partially because your mother nor aunt is here to bother you.

"Thank you for letting me eat here," San quietly says, playing with his fingers nervously as he waits for your response.

"It's fine. I quiet like having someone here to eat with," You smile. "Plus, you're a good company. Well, better than my mother and aunt anyway."

"Really?" San sounds excited, before he coughs as he looks away, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "Sorry! That sounds rude of me—"

You laugh, patting his back in a friendly manner. "No, no, it's fine. I'm thinking the same thing as you."

You didn't notice how red his face is after you patted his back, but he did let out a small laugh, joining you before you both fell silent once again.

"Do you, uh, do you mind if I could eat here? Not always! Just when...home gets a bit too tiring," He asks, looking at you with hopeful eyes that it almost made you want to ask what exactly is going on in his house.

"Sure, but it's better if no one's here except me. My mother will deny any visitors this late at night while my aunt will just ask us about anything to annoy us."

San lets out a small laugh, which made you smile as you notice the dimple on his face. He really has a nice smile. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind."

"How 'bout this," You say. "We exchange phone numbers, you'll text me if you have a situation, and we'll agree on where to meet up to eat together. Maybe we could eat somewhere else if my mother and aunt are here."

San nods enthusiastically, shyly grabbing his phone before you enter your phone number. "So, we got a deal?" You offer your hand to shake hands with him.

"Deal," He smiles, grabbing your hand gently before shaking it. Inside your mind, you hope whatever relationship you have with San will last longer than whatever you had in the past. Deep down, you want to have someone else besides Iseul to hangout with. But you've never had the chance, until now.

Fast forward a few months, you and San are still going with the promise. It's nice to have someone to talk too, even though San usually just sits there and listens to you. You felt bad to be the only one talking, since you mostly tell stories about your family and Iseul. San tells you that it's fine, he didn't mind one bit that you're the only one talking.

You did ask him once about his family. Yet the tense posture and tone made you realize just how uncomfortable San is on about his family. So you never asked about it to him again.

Turns out, you and San are in the same year, but he's in another school that's considered by your school the 'enemy'. Probably because of the football feud both of the school has. But you didn't mind, the feud is mostly contained to the football team.

Iseul asked you about San one day, claiming that there's a boy from another school that's been hanging out around the school recently. And she's shocked to see you know about the boy.

"Choi San? He's in our year? He looks younger though!"

"Yeah, that's what I first thought as well. But he claims he's in our year," You shrugged, playing with one of the dolls Iseul has on her bed.

"Mystery solved! I was wondering why he's wandering around our school anyways."

"What do you mean?" You curiously asked Iseul. So far you've never encountered San around your school, only bumped into him once when you're buying groceries after school.

"Well, Jihwan told me that he's been seeing a boy from the other school a few times. He thought the boy was in the football team but he's never seen him before."

You hum, thinking back from the conversations you had with San. "No, I don't think he plays football. He likes drawing, so I guess it's not his style."

"Ooo, an artist," Iseul cooed.

"Oh, shut up!" You whine, playfully shoving Iseul before each of you grabbed a pillow before proceeding to hit each other with it. It felt nice hanging out with Iseul again. Although you did feel a bit weird after coming here, like there's someone staring at you.

You dodged the pillow Iseul throws when you catch a glimpse of black moving outside of her window. You frown before walking closely to the window, opening it slightly to see nothing outside.

"Why? What's wrong?"

You turned back to her, already sensing her panic rising when her tone wavered from your hard stare. You quickly masked it with a smirk, not wanting Iseul to hyperventilate just from a shadow. "Ha! Did I get you? You're so easy to scare."

"Asshole!" She screeched before pouncing on you, tickling your sides as you tried move away from her grasp. The squealing laughter from Iseul made you not realize the snapping of a branch outside, nor the figure running away into the darkness.

"San? Is that you, boy?"

San flinched, slowly looking towards the source of the voice, finding a man sitting in the darkness. San noticed the red stains covering his shirt right away, the man slowly wiping a bloody knife clean.

"Yeah. It's me, appa."

"Where were you, huh? You made Seokjin all worried," The man pointed towards a closed room. But from the screams emanating inside the room, it's obvious his other father is inside with his...mother.

"Sorry. I was out helping a friend."

"A friend?" The man, Taecyeon, whistled with a smirk. "Don't tell me you've found a girl to fuck?"

San felt annoyance rising inside his body at how his appa talked about you, but he composed himself as he shakes his head. "No, a friend wanted me to help them with their homework." He lied through his teeth.

Another man, Byungho, typing away in the darkness, chuckles lowly as he blew a puff of his cigarette. "Yeah, whatever you say, kid. Go wash up, you don't have school tomorrow. We need to train for your first mission! How exciting is that?"

San nods as the two men laughs, Taecyeon ushering San away so they could start training. San ignores as the screaming intensifies, throwing his school bag carelessly as he huffs. He glances at the lone picture hanging on his wall.

Five men. One woman. One boy.

His appa is Taecyeon, the so called leader of the assassin group. The others? San only calls them as his uncles, even though he knows they're all not really related. Seems like almost all of them owes something to his appa, but they stick together throughout the years for some reason.

His eomma is a mystery. San notices very early how different they are. He has no similarities to his eomma nor appa. But that really didn't matter, he loves his eomma nonetheless. Yet the abuse she suffers everyday makes him wonder why she hasn't run away when she's usually all alone in the house when they're all busy.

His eomma only smiles tight when he ask her about this, changing the topic swiftly that it made San feel guilty. So he tries to be the good son that his eomma always dreams off.

"Sannie?"

San whips his head towards the now open door, his eomma hiding half of her face with it. But he always notice the blood and bruises anyway.

Always.

"Appa's already waiting for you. Why don't you go wash up so he doesn't get mad at you? Hm?"

"Okay, eomma."

San watches as the door slowly closes, making him sigh as he cracked his neck to ease the tension. He needs to be careful after almost getting caught by you. He's training as an assasin like his appa for God's sake! He can't even walk quietly without you noticing.

What a loser.

Maybe he does need the extra training his appa suggested. Sure, it could be useful for missions in the future. But what's most important is so that he could always be with you without you noticing.

"Hey, did you hear the news?"

You hum, doodling away on your notebook as your teacher excused himself to the toilet. "What news exactly?"

"You know Mr. Huang? The one who lost his child a few years ago?"

"Yeah, I know him."

"He's dead," Iseul whispers. "Like...murdered. Not because of some natural death, literal murder!"

You frown, looking at Iseul with concerned eyes. "Iseul, how do you even know that?"

She shrugs. "I heard from the lady next door. Said that police from even outside of the city came here because of how gruesome it is."

"Wow, that bad?"

"Real bad," She mumbles. "My dad told me to stay away from the area since apparently the government is handling it."

"Wait, what about his wife? Is she—you know, dead?"

Iseul thinks silently for a few seconds, before shaking her head. "Not that I know of. The lady did told my mom that Mrs. Huang survived the whole ordeal, but she hasn't woken up yet."

"Poor woman. Already losing a son and now her own husband," You grimaced at the thought.

Rumor has it, both Mr. And Mrs. Huang's son was kidnapped in an apparent ransom act. But when they paid the money, their son never came back to them. Some say he's dead, even Mr. Huang. But a few still holds hope that the boy is still alive to this day, and Mrs. Huang apparently still believes that.

People gossip about how her son's room stayed untouched for the past few years. How Mrs. Huang once went mad at her own friend when they entered the room without permission. Soon after, her mental health started declining, making her stay at home most of the time.

"—from your lover boy?"

"Huh?" You snapped out of your head. "What did you say?"

"I said—have you heard from lover boy?"

"Shut up, Iseul. And no, I haven't heard from him for the past few days."

"You really should just visit his house," Iseul remarks softly as Mr. Kim entered the classroom again. "Didn't you say his house's near you?"

You never really say this to Iseul, not even San. But you did once visit his house to ask for his whereabouts. The result? Only a blank stare from the woman who answered the door. Her makeup barely covers the bruises marking her face, making you realize why San didn't want you to find out what's happening inside his house.

"Yeah, maybe I'll go after school," You replied back, knowing deep down you're hesitant to even step onto his family's land ever again.

Biting into the juicy meat, you hum happily as you munch on the braised beef your mother cooked a few hours ago. Your aunt is watching TV, laughing away on some random game show you haven't heard off. Your mother ate silently across you, her eyes empty as usual before she softly coughs to get your attention.

"(Name)? Have you ever stepped foot to the Choi's residence?"

You stopped chewing, looking towards your mother where she holds a grimace. "Um, no. I've never—"

"Answer me truthfully, girl."

Sheesh, she's really mad. Your mother rarely says that to you, only when she meant serious business only.

"I have. But only once! After that, I've never went there again."

Your mother hums, her grimace gone, changed into a more somber expression. "From now on I forbid you to go there, okay?"

"But—"

"No buts," She glares at you. "I don't care what's happening inside of that house, but what I do care is about your well-being."

You huff. "Why are you like this anyway?"

"Something happened. A few police came to the house this afternoon asking about the certain people living there. Turns out it's about the case of Mr. Huang, they suspect the killer—or killers— are living inside of that house right now."

Your eyes turned wide, mouth hanging open as your mother clicked her tongue before closing your mouth with her hand. "Don't do that. It's disgusting."

"Wait, hold on—what do you mean suspects? Are they suspecting everyone there?" You ask. Is this why San hadn't replied back to you?

She only shrugs. "As far as I know, the police are still investigating it. But...they have a strong evidence against the people living there."

"Strong evidence?"

"No clue. They didn't tell me anything again. What they did tell me though," Your mother paused her chewing as she thinks of her next words. "Is that whoever killed Mr. Huang was not only one person."

"A group then?"

Your mother shrugs. "Maybe. They're trying to find some of the stolen goods from his house, like jewelry and expensive items. And police started to search here when they got a tip from someone that one of Mr. Huang's expensive vases were found outside of the house."

God, this only made you more panicked as you tend to overthink about every little thing. San not replying to your texts, him disappearing for a few days. And apparently he's living with murderers? Then again, this should not surprise you ever since your first and last visit to the house.

"Go to sleep," Your mother tells you as she cleans the table. "You still have school tomorrow."

You can't even talk back to your mother, saying that tomorrow's Saturday, but you follow her order nonetheless. Too busy thinking about San in your head.

Entering your room, you softly closed the door only to be surprised by a hand covering your mouth. You scream loudly yet the person behind you shushed you gently. "Please, (name), be quiet."

San?

"San? What the fuck?" You whisper aggressively as he slowly drops the hand from your mouth. You gasp when you're met with the sight of him being bruised and bloody, his eyes tired as his posture turned from tense to weak.

"Oh my—what happened?!"

"Um, can I sit first? I don't think I can't stand much longer."

You quickly usher him to sit on a pillow you throw haphazardly on the floor, pointing at him with hard eyes as you open the door. "Wait here. Don't move. You need to answer questions first before you're off the hook."

He sheepishly smiles, giving you a thumbs up. "Sure, I'll wait here."

You exited your room quietly, walking slowly towards where your mother kept a small first aid kit near the bathroom. Placing it under your arm, you notice your mother and aunt are too busy doing their own thing. You took this advantage to walk quickly to your room, closing the door and locking it before you turn to San.

"First question, how did you get into my room?"

"Um, the window was opened and your mother's here. So I just—" San motions towards the open window, making you huff as you closed the window shut before covering it with the curtains.

"Second question, what the fuck happened to you?"

"It's...a long story."

"We've got time." You glare at him. "Tomorrow's Saturday, so talk."

San lets out a small laugh before he quiets down, nervously playing with his bruised hands as you sat down in front of him. "I'm very private on family matters. I don't want anyone to find out about it, but let's just say I reached a breaking point when I discovered some...new informations."

You pause, before dabbing one of his cuts with curious eyes. "New informations?"

He eyes you silently, the silence didn't really made you uncomfortable, but his gaze did things to you. You've never been this close to him, usually him keeping a distance whilst you respect the boundaries he put.

"I don't want to tell you any of it."

"Can I ask why?"

He hissed when you clean the cut near his eyebrow, apologizing quietly as you continue to work on his wounds. "Do you know what happened to Mr. Huang?"

You frown and eyed San with suspicion, dropping your hand towards your lap as you nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry what happened to him and his wife. I heard she's still alive."

San sighs, quickly rubbing his eyes as you notice the lone tear escaping. "Yeah, I'm sorry for him too."

"Why are you crying for a man you don't even know?"

He stayed quiet, looking away before he glances at you with hurt in his eyes.

"Why? What's wrong?" You whisper, hesitating to hold his hands.

"(Name), I'm a killer."

Your heart dropped, eyes wide as you tried to comprehend what he just said to you. "W-What? You're joking, right?"

San shakes his head silently, still eyeing you with his hard gaze. You laugh nervously, inching yourself away from him as he stayed in place.

"Choi San, this better be a joke. And if it is, it's not funny!"

He sighs, grabbing something out of his pocket before slowly sliding it towards you. "What do you see?"

It's a ring, and it looks pretty expensive from its appearance. "A ring?"

"Look closer."

You silently move closer towards it, eyeing it suspiciously as San snorts. "Why aren't you touching it?"

"Because I don't want to, San! Ever think of that?"

You huff, eyeing the ring on the floor before you noticed a hint of dark red on the ring. You bit your lip, glancing at him as you pointed towards it. "Is that—is that what I think it is?"

"You mean blood? Yeah, it is. But that's not what I want you to see. Look closer, inside of the ring."

His nonchalant response should've made you bolt the fuck out of your room, but you cast away the fear, moving closer again towards the ring.

And that's when you notice it.

A small carving inside of the ring. Initials.

'H.J'

It quickly clicks to you as to who owned the ring.

Huang Jeongcheol. The man who just got killed.

You stand upright quickly, already moving towards the door when San grabs you by the waist. Holding his hand towards your mouth, he shushed you gently as you scream and bite at his hand.

He placed you on your bed, pinning your hands with only one of his hands. You wonder to yourself, has San ever been this strong? From his appearance, you don't want to sound mean, but he looks like a normal school boy who doesn't like to workout nor doing sports.

"(Name), please listen to me. I know you're scared of me right now, but please listen to me. I'm begging you right now to please believe me because after this...I don't think we'll meet again for a long time."

You stare at San with distrust, but you can't help but feel a tad bit of sadness when he looks so dejected at you.

"The family that I know all my life—lied to me," He started. "They used me, trained me to be their apprentice, to kill people."

San looks away, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back at you. "They're not my real family. They never have. Especially after what they've pushed me through, to kill my own father."

You frantically move your head, allowing his hand to move away. "W-What? What do you mean?"

"I've always wondered why Mr. Huang cried at me when I stepped forwards to kill him. I just...did what the others did—kill them to get rid of the evidence," San whispers.

"But then, I started to get uneasy at seeing the house. How it all felt...familiar. And when I saw myself with them in pictures, when I was young—" San laughs wetly, tears running freely down his face. "—I knew, I instantly knew that I just killed my father. My own biological father! I thought I was hallucinating all of it but then I saw how the little boy is wearing my favorite jacket. The one that I own! I can't, I just—"

"Woah, San, calm down," You whisper as his breath became more erratic. You slowly raised his hand towards his chest, allowing the other one placed against your own. "Follow my breathing, good, that's it. Breathe in and out slowly."

"I can't stay here anymore," He whispers after his breathing became normal again, making you frown in confusion. "I killed one of them," He interrupts you. "I told him to tell me the truth, yet he persist that I'm better living with them. And that my father, my biological one, deserved to die."

You're lost for words, you don't even know what to say to him. You only hold his hand tighter as a sign of comfort. But you don't know if you're actually comforting him or yourself.

"I need to go, (name)," He slowly stands up, moving closer to your window to peek between the curtains. "It's not safe for me to be here after what I did. Especially for you."

"F-For me?"

"Yes," He stares at you with hard eyes, yet you can see how his eyes glisten with tears. "I can't let them hurt you. You—I care for you. I appreciate all of the nights we hung out, talk about stupid things and our dreams away from this small town. I want you to achieve your lifelong dream, but that can't happen when you're always the target of a group of killers."

"Why am I a target?" You ask with a quivering tone, fright creeping up on you as San looks on to you with pity. "Please, San. Tell me. Why am I the target?"

"Because they know I'm always here every night."

You can't stop the whimper coming out of your mouth, yet you remember your mother and aunt are still outside. You cry silently with your hand covering your mouth, kneeling to the ground as your breath became erratic.

"Am I going to die? I don't want to die, I can't die, San. I'm scared," You sob silently, crying even harder when he puts your face to his shoulder, his hands holding you tightly as you weep more and more.

"I know," He whispers, tucking your hair back as he hugs you tighter. "That's why I need to lure them away from this town. I don't need any of them in town."

"What? What about your mother?"

San pursed his lips, looking away as he sighs. "I was too late. I can't...protect her."

"Isn't she in the hospital?"

San shakes his head slowly, grasping your hand in his as he exhales a shaky breath. "I was too late, they reached her first."

You bit your lip as you imagined the only blood related family San has now is already dead. You flinched slightly at his hand brushing the tears away from your face, the hand slowly moving your face towards him as he pecks your mouth. A light one, but you've never kissed a boy—or really anyone—before.

You gasp in surprise, finding San smiling softly at you as he placed his forehead to yours. "I love you, (name). I don't know when or where, but I hope we'll meet again soon. Promise you'll wait for me?"

You closed your eyes, holding his hand tighter as a sign of promise. "I will. I'll wait for you."

The cold wind hits your body roughly, making you hug your thin coat tighter as you weave your way between people to get to your apartment. Readjusting the mask you open the building door as you nod towards the owner of the building, an old man who likes to smoke at late hours.

He nodded back before you walked slowly towards your designated floor. You avoid making eye contact with your neighbor, ignoring his staring as he waters his plants.

Such a weird habit. Who waters their plants at night?

Closing and locking the door, you sigh loudly as you pulled the mask from your face, brushing your hair away from your face as you lazily throw your shoes near the door.

So much has happened in the past five years.

Well, not that interesting to be honest in your life. Ever since he left.

San quickly left after the promise you've made to him, you staring at his back as he walks towards the darkness. Never to be seen again.

You've held on to the hope of him returning maybe for a year. Going about your day, ignoring the whispers from people around you about the murders and a missing boy. Paranoia started to slowly grow because of what he said to you, about being possibly killed.

Before you realized that it's all an empty promise and lies.

Then again, you were both young so you can't really blame younger you.

As for older you, or yourself currently, you're now living in the big city! Sure, you may be having a bit of a trouble handling money for university, having to work two part time jobs while studying, living in a small shitty apartment; but you're alive at least. And that's what matters.

Kicking what seems to be paper, you picked up two envelopes, one familiar and one you didn't recognize. You decided to shower first, grimacing at your sweaty skin as you quickly entered the bathroom.

Grabbing the convenient store bento on your way home, you smile as you open the first letter from your mother. Your relationship kinda got better when you left, feeling that deep down your mother missed you. She's just awkward on showing it to you.

Now, the other letter.

It's more high quality, more smaller than the one your mother sent. You looked for any names or address, but nothing. You chewed as you opened the letter, finding a small written letter.

Hello. You might not recognize me now, but I'm finally at a place where I feel I've accomplished enough to ensure your safety. I'll see you soon.

You frowned, looking at the back of the letter to see if there's anymore writing. When you see none, you folded the paper back to its envelope before chucking it towards the mess that is your desk.

A lone paper slips past you, probably from the envelope. You grabbed it only to get more confused and creeped out because it's a drawing.

Of you.

Tossing the drawing alongside the rest of the letter, you contemplated on what to do.

You don't know who it is, probably the letter was sent to a wrong address or it's someone messing with you. Then again, you don't really know whoever would waste their precious time on you anyways.

Cracking your neck with a sigh, you continued to eat before deciding to sleep in for the night. You're not that busy tomorrow, only a few classes and one part time schedule at the convenience store. You laid down, charged your phone, and closed your eyes as you waited for sleep to come by, waiting for tomorrow for you to repeat the same cycle.

"Hey, (name)," Your coworker, Chaemin, greeted with a tired smile as you nodded back in greeting. "I'll go change, wait here."

You hum, standing behind the cashier as you waited for him to finish. Nothing much happened today. Classes went by as normal, a few friends invited you to a party but you sadly declined as you're now working, and that's it.

Entering the staff's room as Chaemin exited, he bid you goodbye as you changed into your uniform. Grabbing your phone before exiting, you held back a yawn as you sat down behind the cash register, looking around the dead and empty convenience store. You don't expect much customers this late at night so you proceeded to play a new game on your phone.

Not long after, a ding was heard indicating a new customer, making you glance up, eyebrows raised in confusion as to who just entered.

A man, wearing a dark grey three piece suit, holding a briefcase as he slowly walks towards the drink isle. Who wears black gloves anyways?

Not something you would see this late at night, but it's better than some drunkards yelling profanities all around. You realized you're staring too hard on the man, flicking your gaze towards your phone once more as slow steps rang throughout the store.

"Excuse me?"

"Y-Yes?" You replied back with surprise, not expecting the man to talk. You noticed the man smiling as he holds the drink in his hand, smiling slightly making you notice the small dimple on his cheek.

He's pretty handsome, you'll give him that.

"Is this the 'buy one get one' drink promo?"

"Yes, but you can only buy the same flavour to get the promo, sir."

"Sir? Do I really look that old to you?" He chuckles softly, grabbing the drinks and continue to look around to grab snacks.

You scratched your head in embarrassment. "O-Oh, sorry. Just formalities and all for me, you know?"

The man hums, walking towards the you as he placed the small basket on the counter before smiling at you. "No worries, don't be scared. Just jokin' with you."

You smile politely, scanning the items before stating the price, accepting the cash as you tried to ignore his hard stare at you. Sure, he's handsome and all but he's just a passing customer that you'll soon forget in a few days. Besides, nothing exciting ever happens to you anyway.

You waited for the man to go away, surprise in your eyes as he slides one of the drinks to you. You looked up to him, pointing at the drink. "Um, what's this?"

"A treat."

"For?"

He shrugs with a smile, "Just something to make your day better."

"Alright...thank you?"

"You're welcome," He replies softly, grabbing the plastic bag that seemed so out of place with the rest of his outfit. As he exited the store, you squinted your eyes when you saw a flash of red splatter behind his suit.

You sighed heavily, rubbing your eyes in frustration and tiredness. You really do need to fix up your schedule or you'll pass out anytime soon.

Blood?

You thought that one encounter was going to be the last time you'll ever see the man. That's what you had in mind as you've worked through your other part-time jobs, just going with the flow.

It's a surprise when the man entered once more, greeting you with a smile. His suit is immaculate as ever, black with unopened buttons at the top, sleeves rolled as he walks around the store.

"Rough night?" He asks, sliding the drink to you as he finished paying.

You shrug, thanking him halfheartedly as you open the drink given to you. "Just tired."

"Well," He starts. "I hope tomorrow will be a better day for you. You never know what's going to happen, huh?"

You know those words were supposed to make you feel better, but somehow, it only does the opposite for you. You nod with an awkward smile. "Yeah, sure."

"Goodnight then—" He squints behind his glasses, reading your name tag. "—(name)."

"Goodnight."

You stare at his retreating back, noting no sights of red splatter on his back. That is, until you're eyes reached his shoes that you notice the red small imprint it left behind.

Yeah, you're definitely not going crazy from sleep.

"What?! You've never dated anyone in that big of a city?" Iseul hissed through the phone, making you scoff at her. "Uh, yeah? Too busy making money so I could live the next day is pretty important to me, you know?"

"Oh, I know. I didn't mean it that way."

"No," You held back a yawn behind your hand. "I kinda agree with you here. I just—I don't know, I don't have time? Sure, dating sounds like a dream for me. But I'm afraid I'm to busy to manage a relationship and I'll get dumped."

"That's why communication is important!" Iseul replied back with vigor. "Look, I'm not going to force you but my boyfriend has a friend there, coincidentally, that's also single."

"Is that why you called me?"

"No! Well...maybe," She laughs nervously. You smirk in amusement but told her to go on.

"Right! His name is Donghyun, goes to the same university if I'm not wrong. He's older around three years than you. Sounds good?"

"Uh, any other information that you know besides that?"

"Sorry, I don't really know the guy. But, my boyfriend says that he's really nice. If you're down, I'm gonna give your number to him."

You sigh, thinking about the dangers of meeting a stranger for a date. Then again, you really need something other than working your ass off in your spare time. You contemplated for a minute, before cutting off Iseul's rambling on the phone. "Hey, I'll go."

Iseul started to scream loudly, making you pull away from the phone in an instant. "My ears!"

"Sorry, sorry! I'm just so happy for you!"

You laugh lightly, "I haven't even met the guy, Iseul."

"Well, I hope he's good to you. If not, then I can go to you and find him to beat his ass up if he ever hurts you."

"Alright, I hope you protect me from whatever danger there is," You hum.

The conversation between you and Iseul goes on until the morning. Thankfully, you only had one class and no work since you covered one of your coworkers shifts and in return, now they're covering yours.

It's a surprise when an unknown phone number texted you, introducing himself as the man himself, Donghyun. He texted cutesy enough, adding cat stickers every now and then that made you laugh. He wanted to meet you today, which made you think about how he's really desperate but deep down you're desperate too.

You agreed to meet up after your class this afternoon, meeting at a cafe nearby so you assumed he also has classes today.

Wanting to make a good impression, you decided to dress up a bit more nicer with a dress. You kept your hairstyle simple yet pretty, using some light makeup before deciding to go to class after a big brunch.

You ignored the curious glances you received at class, quickly leaving when it finished. You texted Donghyun that you're walking to the cafe, surprised that he's already there and asked if you wanted any drinks or food.

When you arrived, you looked around before seeing someone waving their hand at you. You held back a noise of surprise at the sight of a familiar face. You've seen him before a few times at university, what a small world.

"Donghyun?"

"Yeah! You must be (name), it's nice meeting you," He smiles widely as he gestures towards the seat across him. "I already ordered the drinks and food here. So, uh, dig in!"

"Thanks," You smiled at him.

Donghyun really is a nice guy. Very attentive to your needs, a true gentleman. But a few times he sounds a bit...ignorant.

"Oh, wow! You work two part-time jobs and go to university? That's really admirable."

You nod along. "Yeah, it sucks and tiring. But I need the money, ya know?"

"Why can't your parents pay for it? It seems like a parents duty to pay for their child's education."

You held back a grimace, hiding it with a shrug of your shoulders. "Yeah, that's true. But they don't have much money to support me plus themselves. So I had to resort to working."

"No wonder you look tired all the time. No offense, but you look like a zombie every time I see you."

You laugh along with him, noticing how he opens his mouth once more probably to ask you the same questions. But you diverted the topic to him, asking what major he's in.

You learned Donghyun was a business major, following along his mother's footsteps to continue their oil tycoon. Everything suddenly clicks as Donghyun tells you his story.

He's old money and super rich. Whilst you're an ordinary country bumpkin.

Basically two different worlds.

But you really don't care about that now. He seems like a sweetheart, and you're tired of the same cycle you're going through every fucking day.

You need a breath of fresh air.

So you agreed to date him. Scheduling seems a bit hard because of your schedule, but Donghyun seems to be fine with it, asking you to message him if you have any spare time.

One date turns to two. Two turns into three more dates. Until you realized you've been dating Donghyun for the past three months.

He really is a sweet guy. But you know it's never going to last long from the expectations his parents had for him about his life, so you took everything lightly and just enjoyed the flow. Besides, he likes to spoil you with gifts. You're not going to decline that, especially if it's necessary needs like foods and clothes.

One thing that never changed though is the man that routinely visits the convenience store once a week. New suits, same old face, and the always changing positions for the blood. Because of this, you kept your distance from him. Always setting boundaries when he asks you personal questions, but never getting mad since you don't want to make him pissed off.

"New bracelet?"

"Huh?"

"Is that a new bracelet you bought? Looks cute," The man smiled, pointing towards the beaded bracelet you had on.

"Yeah, my boyfriend bought it for me," You replied back nonchalantly, scanning the items in front of you. Not noticing how the man posture snapped in an instant from relaxed to tense.

He hums, tracing letters on the counter. "Boyfriend, huh? Who's the lucky guy?"

"No one you know, of course. But it's someone from my university."

The man nodded once more, scoffing before he quickly replaced the frown with a smile. "How long you've been dating?"

"Not your business."

"Aw, I thought we were friends—"

"Uh, no? I don't even know your name. Why would I be friends with you?" You stared at the man with a confused gaze, quickly averting your eyes when he only blankly stared at you with no expression on his face.

"Of course, my apologies. Here, take the drink. You need it."

You hesitantly grabbed it. "Thanks, I guess."

He nods once, grabs his things, before walking out of the store. You let out a relieved sigh, pushing the drink out of your way. "Fucking creep."

You glanced into the empty streets outside, relieved the man was nowhere to be seen. You grabbed your phone just in case when you saw a text from Donghyun.

You: when?

Dodo: coffee date? <3

You contemplated for a while, knowing you have a shift tomorrow. But one of your coworkers could cover you for one day, it wouldn't hurt.

Dodo: hoping tmrw is ok?

You: sounds good :)

You ignored the sinking feeling growing inside you, wanting to have fun once in a while without overthinking it.

But maybe you should've listened to your gut this time.

"Wow, this place is really secluded," You commented at the small indie cafe. Donghyun shrugged, pulling out a chair for you. "I know, but the reviews are really good. And my friends told me it's worth it."

"Alright, did they recommend anything?"

"The croissant looks good, but they recommended we buy the red velvet slice."

You nodded, giving out your usual drink order to Donghyun as he walks up to order. You looked around and noticed how empty it is for a supposedly popular cafe. Yeah, two people are outside right now, drinking and smoking. But other than that, the place looks deserted.

"Here you go," Donghyun placed the drinks and food. "Pretty fast but they don't have any customers besides us right now."

"Yeah, doesn't it feel weird to you? A popular cafe this empty on a Friday?"

He shrugs, already drinking away. "Like you said, it's a secluded place. It's popular, yeah, but only a few people know."

"Really?"

"Not a lot things on social media, but maybe this cafe runs from word of mouth? You know, people talk to their friends who in return come here."

"Maybe," You answered, but there's still doubt lingerie in your head. You brushed it off as Donghyun started to talk, asking about you and telling stories about him and his friends.

The cake was honestly really good, you can't get enough of it. But you stopped eating when you notice Donghyun yawning for the fifth time in a row. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just—" He yawns widely before continuing. "I don't know why I feel really sleepy."

"Did you not sleep well last night?"

"I did! I just—I don't know why I'm suddenly so tired."

You opened your mouth to reply back but only met with your own yawn passing through. "Woah, that's a surprise."

Donghyun laughs. "Are you tired too? Damn, we're meant to be." His head slumps towards the table, no sounds from him other than soft breathing.

Your gaze started to get weird, looking around as your head started to get dizzy. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw the barista talking to someone, someone in a suit. You tried to move away from the approaching figure, but felt your body too weak to even move.

In the next few seconds, your eyes started to get droopy before you succumb to the darkness.

You don't know how long you're out, but one thing for sure is you got a massive headache. And you're tied to a chair in a small room.

You groan at the light hitting your eyes as you open your eyes, grimacing at the painful headache growing rapidly.

"—Thank you again, for the help."

"Well, don't got much choices do I?"

"Yes, that's true. But thank you nonetheless."

"Hey," You spoke out loud. "Hey! Where the fuck am I?!"

"Sounds like your lover's awake," A gruff voice replied.

The door besides you opened slowly, making you glare at the familiar man smiling widely at you. "Hello, headache?"

"No shit!" You hissed at the man who only innocently smiles at you. "What did you do? Where's Donghyun?"

"Now, now, you don't have to worry about some other man," He gently replied, grabbing an extra chair out of nowhere. You glared at the man as he fixed his cuff links, clicking his tongue when he noticed a small patch of red staining his white clean button up.

"Who's blood is that?"

"No one you need to worry about," He laughs, fixing his glasses as he smiles at you. "I'm sorry we need to reunite like this, but you gave me no choice."

"What the—wait, reunite? What do you mean reunite?" You whispered in shock.

He laughs softly at you, brushing a piece of hair away from your face as you flinched away from him. "I don't blame you for not recognizing me. I have to...alter my appearance because of my job."

"Just tell me who you are!"

"I've killed my own biological family members, who's been searching for me every since a group of assassins kidnapped me for ransom," He starts, playing with the ring on his finger. "Huang Jeongcheol, the innocent man that I've killed without knowing. And Huang Hyorin, who I've failed because I was too late to save her."

Your head started to ache painfully, your breathing becomes more ragged as you stared at the man you once knew in your past, suddenly here with you.

Kidnapped you. And could possibly hurt you.

"S-San?"

"Hi, (name)," San smiles as he moves closer to you. He coos as he brushed away the tears that escapes your eyes. You didn't even notice you're crying, you didn't know why. Maybe because all this time you've let go of the past with him, finding it to be near impossible when he didn't even tried to contact you.

"Why are you crying, love?"

"Wha—I thought, I thought you're dead!"

"And why would I be?" He hums, continuing to brush your hair softly, a smile etched on his face as you tried to calm your breathing.

"You said people were after you! Tried to kill you!" You screamed loudly, glaring at him with wild eyes. "And you said they're also after me! How can I not conclude that you're dead when you didn't contacted me whatsoever!"

He sighs, sitting again in front of you whilst he holds your hands to his. "I know. And I've wanted to meet you after I've sent the letter—"

"You've sent that creepy letter?!"

"Yeah, I gotta admit it is creepy," He laughs. "But anyways, back to the story. I didn't contact you because I've been working."

"You got a job? Here?"

"Not necessarily here," He explains. "Let's just say I've become what I've been trained for since my younger years."

Dread grows inside your body, looking at San with weary eyes as you hoped whatever suspicions you had about him was wrong. "You kill people for a living? L-Like them?"

He nods once.

"Oh, San...why? Did anyone force you to work this—"

"No one forced me!" He yells, making you jump as you closed your mouth in an instant. His eyes now wild with fire, glaring incessantly at the wall as his hold on your hands turned tighter. He lets go of your hands as you yelped in pain, mumbling a small 'sorry'.

"No one forced me, (name)," He continues. "Yes, I've been living like hell just so I could live another day! Hiding in slums, stealing, begging to strangers for food, whatever I could do to hide from that bastards!"

"But I've had enough one day, I've just had it with them," He hissed, pacing back and forth in front of you as he crossed his arms. "So I become a hitman, for the people who need it. I need the money and the relations to get back at them, and I've become weak over the years because I didn't train enough. But one job turned into more and more, and suddenly people in the industry know my name. They respected me for my work ethic, cleanliness, and no bullshit attitude."

"A-And did you—"

"Yeah, I did it," He smirks in triumph. "I killed the last one just two years ago. Bastard didn't even put up a fight, fucking beheaded him. It felt so...euphoric to see the light slowly disappearing from his eyes."

You flinched when his gaze turns to you. "And you, (name), I've never forgotten you once in my life. I've prayed to whatever God is there to always be there for you when I'm not there. I've hold on to the promise we've made, and when I first saw you here—" He laughs happily. A lovesick look on his face as he sighs, "I couldn't believe my eyes. You look the same yet you look so angelic and beautiful when I first saw you. I thought about the future we could have together, just us together. Maybe we could get a pet. Besides, I'm respected now! I have money to spoil you and you don't have to even work. But..."

"But?"

"But you broke our promise," San hissed with venom. "You said you'll wait for me! You said you wanted to be with me. And I find you all of a sudden with a boyfriend!"

He looks at you with hurt and betrayal, hands clenched tightly as you tried to look away from his stare. "What was I supposed to do? Wait for you?!"

"Yes! You promised me, (name)!"

"We were young!" You bellowed out to him, chest heaving with anger as he looks at you with hard eyes. "We were young, San. It's stupid for me to just wait in that damn town. I was scared to move away, yes, but I wanted to get out of that small town since forever."

You looked at him desperately, ignoring the warning signs ringing inside your head from the look on San's face. "I have to think for myself and my family. I moved here to get better education, and I worked my ass off to get money so I could buy food and pay for my utilities! I was stressed out thinking people were out to get me, before I realized it's all bullshit!"

"It's not bullshit, (name)!"

"Oh, I know," You mumbled. "But I can't live my life just for some promise I made to them in the past. It's called moving on, San."

He's quiet as you cough lightly, now feeling how dried your throat is as you glanced around the room for any escape. You turned to look at him as he lets out a breathy laugh, hands wiping his face in an obvious attempt to hide his anger.

"So, the promise you made...it doesn't mean anything to you, huh?"

You looked away, closing your eyes before answering. "It used to mean something. But at one point, I just—I just let go of my worries. I got into a good university, I moved away, worked hard for money so I could sustain my life. I've met good friends here—"

"And a boyfriend."

"Yes," You glared at him. "A boyfriend. Whom I've choose to date because I wanted to. I know it's not a serious relationship, but I wanted to get out of the stress for just one moment. And you're mad at me for that?!"

San shakes his head, looking away from your gaze. "I'm not mad, just disappointed. I wanted for us to be together, and now you're protecting this asshole like you love him."

"I do love him," You answered. He scoffs loudly, laughing loudly as he shakes his head. "Like you've said, this relationship wasn't meant to last this long. And I think I should end this now."

You're eyes widen as he stood up, cracking his knuckles as he stretches. "S-San? What—What are you doing?"

He smiles, not in a loving way, but more sinister and mocking. "Don't worry," He pats your head, messing up your hair even more. "I just need to get rid of him. Then, we'll finally be together."

"What?! No, wait!"

You tried to move, tried to get help by screaming, only to stop when you hear a loud scream outside. You whimper when a thud was heard outside, trying to find anything to cut the ropes tying you up as the screams started to get even more desperate.

"No! San, please! Leave him be," You cried out.

Another scream.

"Please, please! Just let him go! He didn't do anything wrong!"

A groan from Donghyun before he pleads for his life.

"San! Please, don't kill him."

A final 'thud' was heard outside.

No sounds.

You cried and cried, tears running down freely from your eyes as you whimper. Donghyun is dead because of you.

You didn't look up when the door opened, too exhausted to even lift up your head as you continued to sob silently.

"Thanks again, Jongin."

You glanced up to see the barista standing near the doorway. "Whatever," He mumbles. "I need to clean up anyways. The usual?"

San hums happily, brushing away the strands of hair that has fallen down his perfectly styled hair. "Yeah. Make sure to cut him up, place him in different areas. I'll tip you even more money."

"You got it."

With one final look from the man, he closed the door.

Leaving you with this psychopath.

"Look at me, (name). I know you're tired, but please look at me," He cooed.

"No," You whispered, not able to see the blood stains on him.

He sighs, walking up to you to grab you by the hair. You yelled in pain, before shutting your mouth as his grip turned tighter.

"Here's a warning for you," He starts. His eyes crazed and face covered in blood. "Do stupid things that'll make me mad, and others will face the consequences."

He points towards the door. "That's warning number one."

"I don't want to hurt you anymore," He whispers, grip turning more loose as he lets go of your hair. He walks around you, eyes cold and emotionless. So different from the one before. "But, if I have to—I will kill others you love."

"No, please."

"And if you do something that steps over the boundaries I'll give you," He stops in front of you, cupping your chin so you'll look at him. "I will kill your mother."

"No!" You scream, desperation in your tone. "Please, not her! Don't kill anyone," You cried out to him.

San smiles, his expression turned more soft in a matter of seconds. He kneels before hugging you, kissing your lips deeply like he's a starved man. He bites your lip enough to make it bleed, making you whimper in pain. He sighs, happily, brushing your tears away with his thumb before smiling.

"Be mine, (name). All of your worries will go away, and no one will ever be hurt because of you."

From the things you only have, he really needs to spoil you more. He thinks about the new clothes he could buy, some nice accessories for you to wear, maybe even some naughty things for the both of you to enjoy—

San hums a happy tune as he moves the boxes from your small apartment. He can't believe you live in this dump when you could've lived with him in a nice apartment. Then again, you lived according to your budget so he can't really blame you.

Plus he had other things to work on, planning the apartment, making sure you're comfortable there. Maybe killing a few people to make sure nobody gets suspicious as to where you are. Families are usually the most bothersome people to handle with, that's why he needed to make your last remaining family member die. He's skilled enough anyways to make it seem like an accident.

Your mother, a heart attack.

Your aunt, car crash.

Your friend, Iseul, killed by her boyfriend.

You don't know of course. He'll make sure of that.

"Hey, who are you?"

San looks around before seeing an old man standing at the end of the hallway, voice gruff probably because of the cigarette he's smoking. He smiles in ease, knowing it's your landlord after the stalking he's done throughout the years.

"Oh! I'm (name)'s boyfriend, sir."

"And what exactly are you doing?"

"Just moving out some of her stuff," He shrugs. "We decided to live together now."

"And why isn't she here?"

His smile turned more tense, already feeling annoyed from questions. Can't this old fart just go away?

"She's sick, sadly. So I'm tasked with moving the rest of her stuff."

The old man only nods. "Good, take care of her. She's too coped up here, she's still young."

San laughs, "That's what I've said to her too!"

You've been planning this for a while. You're going to break into Silas’s safe and take the money you need, take Silas’s car and go to the airport. You know that if you ever want to get away from him, you need to leave the country for a while. If he can’t find you, maybe he’ll give up after a while. Your moral tells you that you shouldn’t steal the money and the car, but the devil camping on your shoulder mutters that after everything Silas has done to you, you should be allowed to take something from him. After all, he’s taken everything from you. 

You carefully pry Silas arms off of you. He grunts and hugs you closer. You squeeze your eyes together in frustration. The embrace causes your heart to beat quicker in pure fear. If they don’t leave you soon, you’ll start to have a panic attack and then he’ll wake up … and then you’ll not be able to leave. The second Silas knows that you’re not feeling well, you’ll have even more eyes on you. That’s the least thing you need now.

You try to pry his muscular arms off again. This time, you manage to get out of the bed. Silas start to move in bed, quickly noticing that something’s missing. With your heart in your throat, you look around for something to put in his grasp. You take your pillow and stuff it in his arms. 

Every motion is quiet and terrified. You’re horrified you’ll turn around and see him stand right behind you with his death glare, ready to throw you back into the basement. You’d rather die than end up there again. You don’t think you can take another day, week or month in the basement. To be fair, you never know how long you’re down there. One time you entered when the snow was falling outside and came out when the first flowers bloomed. 

You dress yourself in a pair of gray sweatpants and black hoodie, shove some necessities into your backpack, grab Silas’ keys and sneak out of the room, silently hoping that the floor planks won’t snitch you out. The only reason you’re able to sneak out of the room is because of how well you’ve been acting lately. You’ve finally gained Silas’s trust! He doesn’t lock the bedroom door anymore and doesn't keep you chained to the bedpost. 

The house is filled with men ready to put a bullet in intruders heads … hopefully they won’t think you’re a thief if they notice you. Thankfully, the ones who aren’t asleep are working in the office. You run past and unlock the front door. When the door is unlocked with the key, the alarm doesn't go off. You’ve learned that the hard way.

You jump into Silas’s black car, put in the keys and start the engine. The car roars like a beast. You gasp loudly. 

“No, no, no!” you breathe out. “Shh, please! Fucking monster car!”

Quickly, you drive out of the driveway, out onto the street. Most of the time you hate that there aren’t any buildings nearby, but tonight, you’re happy that there’s no one that can see you escape. No one that can snitch you out. 

You pull up the map on the screen in the front of the car, following the GPS to get to the airport. Your hands are sweating on the steering wheel. Every car you see in the rear view mirror seems to be Silas’s men, but you tell yourself that you’re being paranoid.

You suddenly realize that the car can be tracked and that one of the cars behind you could very well be one of Silas’ men … or Silas himself. You shiver at the thought. When they track the car to the airport’s parking lot, you need to be on the first best flight. 

As soon as you park, you run through the airport, going through security and booking a last minute flight to who-knows-where. You didn’t even check. You cover your face with the hood of your black hoodie to hide your face, scared that someone, anyone could recognize you. You know that Silas could have contacts anywhere. Anyone could work for him. 

When you slump down on one of the benches in the waiting area by your gates, you can finally breathe out. Everything’s going to be okay, you tell yourself, you’re going to be safe now. Soon, you’ll be out of the country, away from Silas. 

You look at the clock. Three am. Your flight to who-knows-where leaves at five. With a yawn, you cross your arms and sink down in your seat. A few minutes of sleep shouldn’t do much harm. 

“Boss, wake up!” second in command shouts and slaps Silas across the face.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” he shouts and grabs the man by the collar, wrestling him down into the mattress. “Slapping me, are we? I’m going-”

“Silas, wait, wait! Listen! Y/N’s gone!”

He freezes and quickly looks around the empty room in horror. “Gone?”

“Yes, when the men looked at the security footage this morning, they left the house and took your car!”

“My car?” Silas hurries up from the bed and grabs a pair of black pants and white shirt. “Where did they go? We have to find them!”

“One of our colleagues just messaged us that they were seen at the airport. They work there at the cargo department. Before you freak out, they’ve banned their passport. They can’t leave the country and if they try to leave the airport, the security on our side will take them aside for you.”

Silas smiles cruelly. “My stupid, little baby thinks they can escape me? How silly. I’m going to make them regret being born. Let’s go get them home.”

“You should eat something.”

“Geetting this fucking treatment when waking up is better than an energy drink. Shut up now and go get the other car. I’m not wasting a single second.”

You can see the sun rise outside the big windows and the airplane coming to the gate. When it’s boarding, you walk over to the lady by the check in. She scans your passport and frowns. 

“I’m sorry, but it seems like your passport has been blacklisted”, she says.

“What?” you ask in confusion. “No, it shouldn’t be. I haven’t done …” Realization kicks in. “Shit!”

“What?”

“N-Nothing.”

You grab your bag and back away, heart hammering in your ears. Someone recognized you! You’re not safe here. You have to get out of here quickly before they alert Silas. 

Just as you’re about to run, you can see two security guards marching over to you. In horror, you stumble backwards, shaking your head as tears start to run down your cheeks. 

“N-No, please!” you shout in desperation, voice breaking with panic. 

The other passengers look at you with pity in their eyes. For them, this is just another airport freak out … but for you? The end of the world. The men grab your arms firmly. 

“Be nice now”, one of them says. “Come with us without resistance and we won’t have any trouble.”

“Hell no!” you shout and start to kick. “Leave me alone!”

They start dragging you with them. You make yourself as much of an inconvenience as possible. You make yourself as heavy as possible, you kick and scratch and twist. They don’t budge. Panic is spreading like fire in your veins when you realize that they’re not using a taser on you or anything that could ‘calm’ you down. They’re definitely working for Silas. 

They drag you throughout the airport until you reach a closed off area used for staff only. An empty white room. You’re thrown into the corner. 

“You’re a little bitch, aren’t you?” one of the men says, massaging his hand. “Got in a few scratches there.”

You curl up into a ball in the corner of the empty, white room, wishing that you could melt into the walls. Your body is shaking as you hug yourself tightly with tears running down your cheeks. 

“You work for him, don’t you?” you whisper with a thick voice, not looking up from the floor. 

“What a little genius you are”, the other man says.

You’re silent for the next thirty minutes. If people didn’t know better, they’d think that you were a statue. When the men leave the room, you glance up at the closed door. 

“Good morning, sir”, one of the security guards says. 

“Good morning”, he says shortly. 

You gulp at his harsh voice. He’s going to kill you. 

“Are they in here?” he asks.

“Yes, they tried to run away, but we managed to catch them”, one of the security men says. 

“Are they hurt?”

“No.”

“Good. Stay here, I’m going to talk to them alone.”

You flinch when the door handle presses down. Quickly, you look away and start to tremble again. In the corner of your eye you can see a pair of legs and the bottom of a black coat entering, closing the door behind. He sighs heavily, making you whimper involuntarily. 

“What am I going to do with you, hm?” he murmurs and squats down in front of you. 

You turn your head away and press your body closer to the wall. He reaches out and removes your hood, the only shield you have. You start to cry heavily now that you’re all vulnerable to him. He cups your cheek with one hand and you squeeze your eyes shut tightly, whimpering. 

“Did you really think this would work?” Silas asks, trying to meet your eyes. “You can’t hide from me, baby. I will always find you.”

“I-It’s not fair”, you spit through gritted teeth, glaring at him with a blurry vision. You have come to the part where hiccups crash through your voice. “Y-You have thousands o-of people working for you! I h-have no one!”

“And that’s life, little thing. I don’t play nice.” He tilts his head. “Haven’t you learned that by now?”

“F-Fuck you, Silas. I hate y-you.”

He scoffs and pulls you into his arms. You try to push him away with your hands and feet, but he’s stronger, trapping you against his chest. 

“Let me go!” you scream, voice getting muffled into his clothing. 

“Stop resisting”, he growls, pulling you closer. 

You scream and shake your head. Silas locks your head into his shoulder with one hand and wraps the other around your waist. 

“Shh, baby”, he hushes loudly, rocking back and forth. “Shh, calm down. I’m going to take care of you. We’ll make sure this never happens again. Shh, shh.”

You continue to fight, but grow tired quickly. All these hours spent awake and on edge have caught up. It’s no use fighting against him, you’ll never win. You’re sitting limp in Silas’ arms and all you can do is cry into his shoulder. You were so close to getting away. If only you had been a bit more careful. 

“There, there, little thing”, Silas whispers in your ear and kisses your temple. He runs his hand over your back. “I have you, you’re safe now.”

He hugs you tighter and exhales, satisfied over having you back into his arms. You fit so well in his embrace. 

“Let’s go home”, he says and is about to stand up. 

“N-No!” you say, grabbing his coat. “No, please, Silas-”

“Listen, baby, you have two choices. Either, you come with me like a good little pet and don’t cause trouble. That way, your punishment will be much lighter. Or, you can continue to act like a brat and I’ll knock you unconscious and throw you into the basement until you grow mold. What do you say? Are you going to behave?”

You clench your jaw, muttering something he can’t hear. 

“What was that, baby?” he asks with a smirk on his face. “Can you repeat?”

You mumble again. 

“Louder, baby”, Silas says mockingly. “Use big words.”

“I’ll behave …”, you mutter. 

“Good job.”

He stands up and pulls you up on your feet by your armpits. Silas removes his black coat and hangs it around your shoulders, caressing your wet cheek quickly. He hangs your backpack over one of his shoulders. You stare at the hand he offers for you before hesitantly taking it in yours. He opens the door and brings you outside. The security guards avoid looking at you now. The second in command must have warned them. 

“If you make any noise, I’m going to use this”, Silas says and shows the hidden revolver tucked in his shirt. “Got it?”

You nod quickly. Together, the four men take you out of the airport by the back door. 

“Oh, right, baby”, Silas says, turning to you. “My keys.”

You pull them up from your hoodie pouch and dump them in his hand with a glare. He smiles, thanking you. Silas takes you to the car you escaped in and sits you down in the front seat while he takes the driver's seat. His second in command drives the other car. 

“You should try to sleep a little”, Silas says. “You are not going to sleep for quite some time.”

“What are you going to do to me …?” you whisper. 

“Oh, I’m going to torture you. Badly.”

You give him a wide eyed look and he chuckles, eyes disappearing into half moons. 

“Okay, not badly because you did come with me without problems”, he smiles to calm your nerves. “However, I’m going to make sure you know who you belong to. When I’m done with you, you’ll only know me. You should start getting comfortable with the basement because you’ll spend a lot of time down there.”

You gulp. 

“You’ll never try to leave me again, will you?” Silas asks and takes your hand in his. 

“No”, you say quickly, shaking your head. 

“Good.”

You stare at your thesis, picking at your hair. It’s pages long; filled with theories and hypotheses on how you can better the animal science industry, changing a whole portion of the structure. You’ve been working on it for months on end, trying your best to perfect the numbers and hopefully, presenting it to your dream graduate school.

“Still working on that paper?” San asks, holding two cups of coffee in his hands. He passes one off to you and you thank him with a tip of your baseball cap, taking a sip. You nod at the taste, eyes flicking up to him.

San’s your lab partner and your best friend, a constant by your side. He plops down next to you, glancing at your textbook. “You’ve been at it all day, time to take a break.” He pulls at his coat, tosses it across the bench next to the two of you.

“Can’t. It’s due in a few months, San. Every minute wasted is a moment that I’ll only regret. And don’t you have yours to work on?” You gesture to the space in front of him piled with research mimicking yours. He glances at them, letting out a deep sigh.

Adjusting his glasses, he begins organizing. “I do, but I know when it’s time for me to take a break. Like you, right now.” He pulls your papers away from you as you groan, lazily reaching for your documents. He gives you a pointed look, putting them back into your bag.

“Take a break, seriously. Those bags under your eyes are getting a bit too hard to look at,” he glances at you once, before beginning to pile his things away. “Why don’t you go and look at the local circus? I know you’ve been trying to shut it down for a while, so might as well see what’s really going on there.”

“It’s too obvious with these clothes on. They’ll never let me in,” You glance down at your lab coat, a pout on your lips.

“I honestly don’t think that would change much. They take the money they can get. We aren’t exactly a tourist town.”

You expressed your concerns to San constantly about the unfairness of your local circus, the animals there under the eyes of people who could care less about them. Even though there’s nothing you can do about it, you’re still stuck on it. There’s no reason for them to have exotic and big animals in there, and you’re sure their licenses are way past expired. But you know that despite it all, deep down you’re afraid; confrontation makes you queasy and you try your best to avoid it at all costs.

“Don’t you want to change the animal industry?” San points out, taking another sip of his coffee. He winces at the flavor, glancing inside the cup. “Tastes like pure grind.”

You switch with him, tasting him. Moaning in contentment, you pass him yours. He takes a sip, and nods, continuing to drink.

“What if they call the police on me or something?”

“Doesn’t your old crush Jongho work at the station?” San asks, and you feel the heat coming to your cheeks. “It’ll be fine then. He gets a boner just from looking at you, so I’m sure he’ll let you off the hook.”

“He does not get a fucking boner, you pervert,” You grumble, and San merely shrugs.

“He stumbles through his words like we’re in elementary school, and always blubbers something about doughnut puns since he’s a cop. It’s a bit embarrassing if you think about it.”

You hit his shoulder lightly and he laughs, wiggling his brows.

-

You sit on one of the benches, your coat tucked into your bag as you wait for the show to start. It’s against your morals to give anything to this piece of crap place, but your “of the moment” investigative journalism relies on you getting the scoop without being spotted. And San insisted that sneaking inside the local circus would only make matters worse, you begrudgingly agreeing. Jongho can’t save you from a bad reputation.

You’re in the far back, surrounded by dozens of people too tired from their long drives, probably seeking some reprieve from their loved ones or their stir crazy children. You listen to the cheesy music as you flick through your phone, waiting for the show to start.

Your town sits between two big cities. It’s unnoticed by the biggest television network near you, always skipped over in the weather forecast and news briefings. You’d think it didn't exist if you didn’t live here. A big reason why you’re ready to leave this silly town of yours, and see something different and new.

Since you were young, your neighbors sparingly moved away; everyone knew everyone. Being left alone was and still is, not an option. All of your partners and crushes know one another, and you never get away from San; you two are literal peas in a pod. San shares your dream of seeing the door out of this place and living a life being unknown, being able to walk down the street without saying hi to a familiar face every five seconds. The big city is the place you both want to go, and becoming a doctor seems like a big way out.

The lights dim, sliding your phone into your pocket.

The ringmaster walks out, introducing himself as Kim Hongjoong. You’re not sure if he and the Kim Family that dominates your town are related, but you keep an eye out for him, taking small notes. He’s too far away to pick out his face, but you watch in silence. Acrobats and gymnasts of all types jump and twirl around the stage, and you can’t help but respect them. It takes great strength to move their body that way.

The animals finally come out, and you lean forward, narrowing your eyes. You curse yourself for not taking a seat closer, but you digress. Monkeys play tricks for the audience who laugh in delight. You watch the dog trainer let the dogs jump and play, and the lights dim even more.

“And now it is time for our showmaker, our South Chinese Tiger!” Hongjoong shouts, taking a step back. A cage rolls out, and you tense up.

A‌ loud roar erupts throughout the crowd as a child cries. The tiger comes out with a chain around his neck, looking around the crowd. It’s huge, and it makes you wonder if it’s actually the breed that he said. They’re rare; it’s impossible and illegal to own one on your own. You see the tremors of its body, performing the tricks the trainer asks of it. You watch as the rest of the patrons leave once it ends, the laughter and music fading. Your eyes flick to a tent that says animals. You can hear San’s voice in your ear right now, telling you that this is definitely a bad idea and you should just go. But your curiosity cannot be tamed, and you need to know what’s exactly going on.

You stand outside the tent, your heart pumping in your ears. You hear the yelling of the man who takes care of the animals, loud sounds as he bangs something against the cages. You hear the monkeys squeal and whine, but surprisingly, you don’t hear the growl of the tiger. After a few moments of silence, you peek into the area, eyes flicking around for any movement of people. Making sure the coast is clear, you pull back the flap slowly, softly, closing it behind you.

You look at the tiger’s cage, surprised to see that his eyes are on yours, unmoving. You know not to antagonize him, flicking your gaze away and holding up your hands in submission. A small grunt falls from his lips, and he rests his head back down. You see the scars that cover his cheeks, the number 69 stamped into the side of his coat. You take slow steps as he watches you, making sure not to alarm him.

“What’s your name, big guy?” You ask softly, glancing around. Your eyes land on the metal plate on the bottom of his too small cage.

Yeosang.

"What are you doing here?"

You move away from the cage quickly, turning to see whoever showed up. It's a younger man, holding a small hose in his hands. He stares at you warily, covered in dirt from head to toe. He must be one of the assistants at the circus; hat and the blond hair dripping with what you can only assume is sweat. He shrugs off the hose, slowly walking towards you.

"The show closed a while ago, lady. No free behind the scenes shit."

You glance at the tiger, and his eyes are still resting on yours, as if he's waiting for you to make the next move. You hold your hands up in surrender, shaking your head.

"No, I'm not here for a free show. I saw your tiger—" You hear a low growl from the cage— "Yeosang, and I just noticed how malnourished he is, along with the other animals."

You look at Yeosang's side, his breaths quick but steady. The outline of his ribs worry you; he has to be getting way less food than he's supposed to. Tigers eat, a lot. Several pounds a day. But from the dull color of his fur and tired gaze, you can only assume that he's been given much less.

"And what's it to you? Are you the feds or something?" He asks, narrowing his eyes. "You need a warrant before coming in here."

"No, no. I'm a vet student. I'm in my last year. I'm not from the government or anything like that."

He crosses his arms against his chest. You listen to the monkeys shriek as he takes you in. Holding out a hand, he twirls his fingers in a give me motion.

"Show me your school identification."

You thank the heavens that you left it in your pocket instead of in the car like you usually do. You take it out, placing it in his hands. He looks at the ID, flicking his eyes between it and you. Passing it back to you, he sighs, scratching the hairs that fall from his cap. He glances at the animals for a moment, before speaking.

"They're beautiful, aren't they? But unfortunately, the head man doesn't care too much about their health. Just wants them to perform a little dance and sit in these tiny ass cages at the end of every show. Poor animals are probably plotting their escapes everyday."

His eyes flick to you. "I don't like the way they're treated either. But the only thing I can do is try to get some food in them and rinse them off. They probably haven't gotten their shots either." He takes off his cap, resting it on one of the standing posts.

He gestures to the tiger. "That boy there's been bred in captivity and hasn't seen the wild one day of his life. Too young to even remember his parents. And you don't see much of his species around here, or anywhere, really. South China tigers don't exist in the wild anymore."

So Hongjoong is telling the truth. He doesn't look like any of the tigers you've treated, but you just couldn't pinpoint which one he is. But those words falling from this man's lips, he is in fact, a rare tiger. One of the types that are sold on the black market for millions of dollars. And here he is rotting away in a too small cage, performing at a local zoo.

"He seems to have grown attached to you though. Never let someone that close to his cage except for me without throwing a fit. You must be good." Blondie smiles at you, cheeks plump. "Nice to meet you, by the way. My name is Wooyoung. Jung Wooyoung, but I hide the surname for people I don't know."

He holds out his hand, and you take it, shaking it lightly.

"Then why tell me?" You ask, and he clicks his tongue before speaking.

"Yeosang trusts you, so I do too."

Wooyoung goes through the procedures of what he does to treat the animals on a day basis; from their early meals, to exercise, to the end of shows. You're not sure how he even has time for himself since he's always here, the only trainer that's able to be this close to Yeosang without getting their arm bitten off. Without years of education in animal medicine, the knowledge that he has impresses you to the highest degree. He's even more educated than some of your classmates. But he explains softly that he doesn't get paid much, and he can only do with what he has in taking care of them.

"The city controls this circus. They know that our animals need more, but are too frugal and never mention it to anybody. I bet if those animal people came in they'd have a riot." Wooyoung cleans the bottom of an empty cage, monkeys watching him as he does so.

You feel Yeosang's eyes on your back but you don't turn to look at him. He's a bit strange from other ones you've interacted with, more solemn and quiet. Even the slow flip of his tail is different. But you're sure he's just curious about a new visitor, and nothing more than that.

Probably.

“We’ve been looking for more help around here,” Wooyoung mumbles, wrinkling his nose at a bit of grass one of the primates throws at him.‌‌‌ A quick point of his finger, he turns to you. “The rest of the animals don’t really need much work, but Yeosang is a bit of a mystery. He’s not too old, but he acts like a grumpy old man.”

Yeosang huffs in response, turning around in his cage. Wooyoung looks on in amusement as he gives his caretaker his back in defiance. Wooyoung looks back at you, grabbing his hat and placing it back on his head.

“I know you must be busy and all, but Yeosang needs another caretaker other than me, you know?‌ On my days off, no one dares go over to him, except for tosses of some raw meat at him and water. Not really taking care of him? I think he’s only really taken care of when I'm around. I‌ don’t think they fed him when I was gone for two days. He looked almost sickly.”

Wooyoung looks at the tiger in pity. “Even though he sleeps most of the day, he still needs food. They treat him like he’s worse than an animal, it’s disturbing.”

“Have you done anything to try and stop it?”‌ You ask, and Wooyoung looks at you sharply.

“What can I do? I’m only a lowly assistant, nothing I say would faze them. I went to the county and the sheriff, but all he did was kick me out and said mind my own business. These government people only care about the money in their pockets, they don’t care about the animals. Not like we do.”

He tilts his head. “We don’t know much about each other, that’s why I think when you come and volunteer, I can be there to watch you take care of him. At least for the first few weeks. After that, I can finally take a bit of a vacation.” Wooyoung grins widely.

You can see that he’s been trying his best to take care of them, but being a one man show could only work for so long. He’s young. You don’t know much about him, but from the passion in his eyes as he speaks about the animals, you think that’s all you need to know. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t have the resources to test and take care of them. And if you think about it, you don’t have the resources either. But helping him with the care, you’re not sure if you have the time.

Your thesis is due soon, and it takes up most of your free time. You usually have about five minutes in the day to eat dinner or chat with San. But you can see the defeat in Wooyoung’s eyes, the pure exhaustion. No one that young should look that way. He’s probably the same age as you, and looks like he’s been through Hell and back.

You nod.

“I can help you when I can. I go to school during the week, but I‌‌ can help a couple of hours a day, and during the weekend.”

His smile almost cracks his face at how wide it is.

“Did you hear that, Yeo?” Wooyoung yells, seeing the tiger’s ear twitch at his voice. “We got a new caretaker just for you buddy!”

You giggle softly at his excitement. Wooyoung finishes up his job, whistling softly at Yeosang. The tiger turns to look at him, tail still moving slowly. His eyes move to look at you. It’s a bit strange how human his eyes are, scanning yours with curiosity beyond your comprehension. You can’t quite understand how people can treat animals so harshly when they hold your eyes with such intelligence.

His large paw scratches the bottom of the cage, claws making you wince. They’re a bit overgrown; he’s supposed to have scratching posts around his cage, but it’s so small that all he can do is walk in a circle. You wish that you could do something, anything, to help him. But you suppose that being here is enough for now.

“See you later, bud. Gotta show y/n around the tents for a bit, before taking one off.” Wooyoung waves you to follow him. You take one last look at Yeosang, before closing the flap behind you.

Wooyoung walks you around the premise, introducing you to members of the circus that walk past. You see a man with bright pink hair waving at you from the top of a pole, balancing on one leg as he eats his dinner. His eyes are soft as they watch you continue on. You later learn that his name is Yunho.

Wooyoung peeks his head inside a trailer, groaning at what he sees.‌ A head full of hair pops out. He winks at you, reaching out and pressing his lips against the back of your hand. He’s the ringleader; Hongjoong. You can see he’s quite a seducer immediately upon hearing Wooyoung calling you a doctor. Wooyoung has to drag you away from him, scolding him as he does so. You’re still not sure if he’s related to the Kim’s, but at the moment you’d rather not dwell on it.

The other faces blend amongst each other, until he finally reaches the back entrance of the fairground. He leans against the fence, adjusting his cap again.

“You can come right after the performance, if you have time tomorrow.”‌ His eyes widened before taking out his phone. “Ah, can you put your number in here?” He hands you his phone and you type it quickly, giving it back to him. He nods slowly, tucking it back into his pocket.

“Thanks,” You start, and he raises a brow, “For not calling the cops on me.”

Wooyoung shrugs. “Eh, I wasn’t gonna anyway. Yeosang hasn’t eaten yet,” He winks at you, and you laugh. “I’m happy you agreed to join, Dr. y/n.”

You wave him off, your face getting warm. “Not a doctor yet. But close.”

“Close enough for me,” He turns back, waving at you. “See ya later, doc!”

He disappears into the tents, leaving you at the back entrance. You let out a small chuckle, before turning around and walking back. That night, you dream about honey eyes staring at you in the middle of the forest.

-

“A circus? You’re working at the local Kim circus?” San scoffs, shaking his head. “You know how they treat animals there, y/n.‌ It’s not a good idea to involve yourself in something like that. It’ll only lead to bad endings. One day they’re going to get raided and you’re going to go to jail.”

“Love that optimism,” You mumble, sipping on what had to be tenth coffee. “Not digging the vibes, San. You’re sounding a bit too much like those prep kids in our senior year bio class.”

“I’m sorry,”‌ he says, staring at his textbook in front of him. “I just don’t want to see you being in some shady shit. I know you want to save the animals, but sometimes you have to save yourself.”

“Choi San.”

You put your coffee to the side.

“You can’t say that when you’re the one who stopped in the middle of the highway, blocked three lanes of traffic with your body only, so that you could pick up a turtle and let him go into the river.”

He looks at you from his textbook, disgruntled. “That was necessary and you know it!"

You raise an eyebrow. “Say that to the thousands of people on that highway. I’m pretty sure you’re being sued right now by the state.”

He waves you off. “No, it’s the city. But that’s besides the point,” San pushes his book to the side, eyes on yours, “It’s weird. The only people who go to that stupid animal zoo are the tourists who stop in our town for some medallions at Jongho’s dad’s tourist trap shop. I know you want to save the world, I do, but some things are just too risky. Even more risky than me stopping three lanes of traffic.” He points out.

“San, this circus is like my turtle. I have to take care of those animals, I‌ won’t be able to live with myself if I‌ told Wooyoung no, and left him alone to fend for himself. They need someone in there who has some semblance of a clue on what they’re doing. And I know I’m not certified yet, but I‌ can still assist.”

San sighs loudly, leaning back in his chair. Before you can tell the clumsy man how bad of an idea that is, the chair cracks, and he falls backwards to the floor. People in the coffee shop look at him for a moment, before getting back to their posh coffee talks.

You lean over the table, looking down at your best friend. He gives you a sheepish look, before getting back to his feet. You hold back your grin as he situates himself, sitting back down in his spot.

“Is there any way I’ll convince you to say no?”

“Absolutely not.”

He frowns. “Well, at least take care of yourself, yea? Make sure that this is strictly volunteering, without pay. Don’t need anyone coming after you and saying that you’re accepting payment from this place,” He mumbles, adjusting his glasses.

Your phone vibrates, and you glance down at the message.

(unknown): show just finished. whenever you're ready, Yeosang needs his cage cleaned. already moved him out of the oc, so lmk if you're coming in.

You look at San. He’s right; if the town or better yet, the government decides to raid this place, it’s a big possibility that you may be somehow intertwined in politics that surround the death trap. You sigh, knowing what you’re going to say anyway. San’s right, you are soft.

(you): be there soon!‌ just have to finish up some assignments.

He messages back quickly.

(blondie): oh you actually gave me the right number? good. I'll see you soon. ^0^

You snort, tucking your phone back in your pocket. San shakes his head at you, but you ignore his pessimism. You want good energy, not the negative vibes he’s sending your way. You pack up your things, blowing him a kiss before kicking the door open to the shop, excited to see how your first day goes.

-

"Ah, y/n! You came back!" You turn your head to the bright voice, Yunho smiling at you. He's not on the top of a pole, stretching as he eats a granola bar. His eyes flick to the books in your hand. "Just came back from school, I presume?"

You nod quickly. "Yup. Work hard, get smart?" You mentally slap yourself. Yunho snorts, holding out his bar to you. Your eyes flick to his legs, noticing that he's doing a split, unfazed at your gaping mouth.

"Want some?" He waves it again, and you shake him off.

"Do you know where Wooyoung is? He told me to meet him, but I don't have the slightest idea where."

He nods, pointing behind him. "He's cleaning up the main tent, but you can just go into the animal arena. Pretty sure he wants you to be there anyway. Be careful of the poop, though. The monkeys have been out of it today. Almost got some in my hair." He touches his strands with a pout on his lips.

You thank him, walking quickly through the fairgrounds. You try your best to blend into the crowd, but your plain clothes are obvious among the colorful attire of everyone else. Many people you met yesterday give you soft hellos and smiles, and some you didn't stumble across look at you with curiosity, wondering who you are.

You slip into the tent, closing it softly behind you. Your eyes look around, dropping your books on the steps just before the sand. Animals turn to you lazily, before going back to whatever they're doing. Yeosang looks up from his spot, tail tirelessly swaying back and forth. He seems to examine your figure, eyes still sleepy. He's in the smaller cage, his bigger one a mess on the inside.

"Don't mind me, boy. Just here to help clean your cage." You glance around, and notice a broom and picker on the left side of the tent. You grab it and walk into his cage, sweeping. You feel the tiger's eyes on you the whole time; what sounds like purrs rumbling in his chest. You know that big cats couldn't purr even if they wanted to, but it's interesting to listen to him.

"So, how was the show?" You ask as you gather his droppings in a pile, glancing over at him. You're not sure why you expected him to say something but you hear a slight huff, his head dropping onto his paws. "Not good, huh? Well, I'm sure tomorrow will be better. There's some parade coming through, so there will probably be a lot of people for you to entertain."

He doesn't seem to like that idea, blinking slowly before closing his eyes.

"Yea, yea I get it. But there's nothing I can do, you know? I'm just here to help, I can’t stop the circus," you glance around the clean cage in pity. He's probably craving the vast fields to run in, desperate to hunt and be free. But he's stuck in this small cage, stuck performing to people who couldn't care about what condition he's in.

You hear the hose turn on, and you turn back quickly, seeing Wooyoung appear. He's wearing all black, hat still flipped around. He nods at you, winking at Yeosang.

"Good afternoon, y/n. Surprised you got here before me," he says, passing you the hose. You thank him, slowly rinsing away the mildew and other buildup that sticks to the bars of his cage.

"How was today's show?" You ask, and Wooyoung rubs the back of his head.

"If I'm being honest with you, big guy over here was a bit lazy. Didn't want to move at all, and the head man is a bit mad about it," Wooyoung takes a step closer to you. He glances over at Yeosang, before speaking. "Talking about putting the poor animal down. I tried my best to convince him otherwise since every person had a bad day, even tigers like our Yeosang."

“Hongjoong?” You ask, and Wooyoung raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“No, the only thing Hongjoong is in charge of is that trailer of his. Be thankful for only that.” Wooyoung turns back to Yeo. "Right, big boy? Just a bad day, huh?"

Yeosang flicks his tail in response, eyes still closed.

"Could they do that? Aren't there laws since he's an endangered animal? This can't be legal—"

"It's not," Wooyoung mumbles. "He's not sick or has a deadly contagious disease. He's not perfectly healthy, but his problems don't affect anyone or anything else. I honestly have no clue what to do," He looks at Yeosang, worry in his eyes. "Big guy is the only thing I look forward to everyday. Can't see the circus without him."

You feel terrible. Being a vet student, you know that you sometimes have to make the ultimate decision and put the animal down, for mercy. But seeing an animal that just needs a bit more food in his system being killed for simply being tired, or in a mood... It's irresponsible. The doctors at your college would have a fit.

Wooyoung and you fill up his water tub and food. You're a bit surprised at how nonchalant Yeosang is. Usually tigers would immediately smell the scent of the meat and pace around, ready to chow down. But he barely flicks an ear, head still resting on his paws. You move out of the cage as Wooyoung opens it up, moving the large barrier between you, and the tiger. He taps on Yeosang's cage as a warning, opening the small gate.

Yeosang opens his mouth in a long, loud yawn, slacking his lips together as he drags himself back to his cage. He walks past the meat, sitting in the far corner of the cage, dropping his head back into his paws.

Wooyoung sighs.

"I don't know what's up. He's been like this since you left yesterday. Not wanting to eat, to do anything. He looks a bit brighter since you've shown up, but..." Wooyoung taps on the cage. "Yeo, eat the food! There's not much around here these days."

Yeosang's ear flicks to the sound of his name, but he does nothing to move to the raw meat, breathing in and out slowly. You don't see anything odd about his vital signs, at least from where you're standing. You take a step closer to the cage, tapping lightly on the metal. Maybe talking to him would work? You know it's a long shot, but he seems to listen to Wooyoung when he wants to.

"Yeosang?" You say, and his ear twitches. "You haven't eaten all day, you know that's not good for you.“ You walk a bit closer to his cage, hands inches away from the steel bars lining his cage. His eyes open, breathing in and out slowly. “Why don’t you take a bite? For me?” You ask softly.

Wooyoung snorts behind you. “Don’t think that’ll work, y/n. He's stubborn. Never really listens to anyone but his thoughts.”

Yeosang huffs slowly, tail flicking. You point at the food, rubbing your hands together as you plead for him to eat something. He watches you for a moment, before shaking off his fur, standing and walking to the meat. He looks at you, and you nod. He takes the meat, turning and walking into the corner again.

You cheer, pulling your fist down in excitement. Wooyoung rolls his eyes at you, pointing to the other cages.

“Time for some monkey shit.” He mumbles, and you give him a strained grin as he laughs at you, guiding you along.

Soon, the two of you are covered in sweat from the manual labor. Wooyoung tosses you a wet towelette and you thank him, wiping off your forehead. Yeosang is fast asleep, ear twitching ever so often. The other animals are sleeping as well as Wooyoung walks around, dimming the lights. He gestures for you to follow him quietly in which you do, not noticing the glow of yellow eyes watching as you go.

You close and lock the door behind you, letting out a sigh of relief. Wooyoung shakes his head at you, guiding you along the grounds.

“You’ll get used to it. Animal shit sticks to you after a while,” He mumbles, sniffing his clothes. His face scrunches up at the smell, and you giggle. The smell of crap is everywhere around you, but Wooyoung never smelled like anything but hard labor.

“It’s not that bad, you always smell good, you know. Never like shit.”

You see the red rise to his ears as he looks away from you, saying nothing. You reach for your bags but he only glares at you, continuing forward.

“We’re having a welcome dinner for you. Can’t leave until you meet everyone.‌ And I’m not letting you carry these bags and books on your own. Wouldn’t be gentlemanly of me,” He explains.

“Thanks,” You say, and he gives you his cheeky smile, opening the flap of a tent. He holds it open as you dunk and enter, seeing everyone you’ve met and some unfamiliar faces across the table. They all say hello to you as Wooyoung introduces you.

Yunho waves, tapping the chair next to him. You thank him as you sit, Hongjoong across from you and Wooyoung sitting on your opposite side. Hongjoong winks, and you wink back, causing him to erupt with laughter. Yunho tsks at him, holding out a plate for you. You stare at the food in front of you, bowing again.

“Ah, stop thanking us. You’re one of the circus folk now, no need to bow.” Yunho eats his food happily, and this is the first time you’ve seen him sitting normally. “Plus, Wooyoung has a bit of a crush on you, so you’ll be in the family soon enough.”

He leans away from Wooyoung’s grabby hands, laughing loudly. Wooyoung mumbles some obscenities underneath his breath, shaking his head.

“I hate the performers,”‌‌ he grumbles, chewing on some rice.

“Thanks,” You ignore the glare Yunho shoots at you,“For inviting me into your family. It’s nice to see so many welcoming people,”‌ You grin at the people around you.

Hongjoong stands at that, “Ah, toast to the new lady!‌ Hopefully she’s here for more than a few days!” He laughs, and everyone follows along with him, tapping their plastic cups against one another. You laugh along with them, taking a sip.

-

Months pass by before you know it. Your free time is spent at the fairgrounds, already on friendly terms with everyone. Even Hongjoong, his teasing with you endless, and Yunho and his strange sitting positions. Once, you saw him hanging from ropes as he ate rice upside down. Wooyoung and you even text everyday, his feelings for you dissipating into more of a friendship. Although Yunho constantly insisted that Wooyoung was never over it, there aren't any signs that say otherwise. He hasn’t even asked you on a date.

You don’t mind it; schooling occupies most of your time.‌ San and you studied for hours on end, sometimes drooling onto your work into the early morning. And now, as you wait for your grades and acceptances or rejections to your graduate schools, you bite your lip, eyes on the computer. They said it would be released at ten a.m., and it’s already five minutes past.

“Relax,” San says, sipping his green tea. But you notice at how anxiously he taps his feet, eyes glued on his laptop. “It’s a lot of grades to put out at once, you know? They’re probably doing it in batches.”

Your laptop shakes on the table as San rocks his leg, and you glare at him over your shake. “How about stop shaking that leg so I can concentrate on the results, huh? You’re making my head hurt.”

He stops, offering you an apologetic look. You roll your eyes, refreshing your page again.‌ A gasp falls from your lips as you push your drink to the side, eyes glued on the screen. San comes over, looking at the laptop.

“Oh shit.”‌‌ he says, cheeks lifting into a grin. You both scream, pulling into each other’s arms and laughing loudly. There’s several people who shush the two of you, but you’re too excited to pay much mind.

San’s laptop dings as well, and he almost spills his tea at the results.‌ Another scream, and the waiters are telling you two to shut up before they kick you out. You grab your belongings, shoving it into your bag and running out with San.

“Holy shit, what the fuck-”

“Choi fucking San, we got accepted to the best vet school in the country. What the fuck?!” You scream, and pull each other into your arms again.

“Drinks?” He asks, eyes bright. You nod quickly, before you remember your volunteering. San sees the drop in your eyes. “Gotta go to the circus, huh?” He asks, tilting his head. “No worries, we can go another time.”

You bite your lip. “No. I’ll just text Wooyoung and tell him another time. We only get accepted into our dream colleges once in a lifetime. Can’t push that aside.” You say, wiggling your eyebrows at him before messaging a quick sorry to Wooyoung, before running off with San, screaming into the night.

-

“The university is only a few towns over,” San mumbles over his sparkling lemonade. You two sit in your living room, laughing at the TV while sipping non-alcoholic drinks. When San and you go out for drinks, it only means that you sit in your living room and drink whatever’s in the fridge.

“That means that technically, you don’t have to buy a new apartment. You can still live here and just commute,” he explains, but you shake your head, taking a sip of your water.

“Absolutely not. I know it’s more expensive, but being here any longer will only give me back cramps.” You mutter, rubbing your lower back for emphasis. San rolls his eyes as you continue. “And we dreamed of getting out of here, San, I don’t want to stay here longer than I have to.”

“What are you going to say to the circus then?” He asks softly.

You blink, putting down your cup. He’s right, and you’ve been trying to push that to the back of your mind. But it’s better to just tell Wooyoung and get it over with, rather than waiting until the very end to say something. He’d only be more annoyed with you if you waited until the last second. You’ll miss spending time at the circus, even if you won’t admit it out loud. They’ve become your home away from home.

Even the animals have grown to like you. The monkeys squeal in delight when you arrive, letting you groom them without much protest. Even Yeosang, the aloof tiger, lets you brush his hairs. He even licks your hand, even as you stick out your tongue in disgust. You haven’t seen them in a couple of days because of finals, but they’re always the highlight of your week. You’re not sure if you’d get over not seeing Yeosang anymore. You glare at San.

“Don’t make the mood drop, asshole.”

“Fine, but you know I’m right.”

“Yea, yea.”

Your phone rings, and you glance down. Furrowing your eyebrows, you answer it quickly.

“Hey Woo-”

“y/n, I need you here right now.” You can hear the panic in his voice, and you stand quickly, grabbing your coat as you listen to him. “Yeosang’s not listening to any of us, and he’s been avoiding food. He hasn’t eaten since you've last been here, and we all don’t know what to do. You're the only one that we thought we could call, and I know you're busy but we ran out of options.”

“It’s okay! I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Just hang on a bit, alright?”

He agrees and you hang up the phone, tucking it into your back pocket. San watches as you quickly pack up your things, grabbing your first aid. He stumbles from the couch, grabbing his coat as well.

“San, the tiger, is sick. He’s not eating and he’s probably acting really aggressive because of it. Wooyoung just called me and I have to go there-”

“I’m coming with you,”‌ San says simply. “It’ll be better if two almost-vets are there, rather than one. We can see what’s up with him and hopefully diagnose him.”

You send him a thankful look, running out with him close behind you.

-

You pull the flap to the side, eyes flicking around. His low growls fill the room, and you quickly walk over to Wooyoung. He stands there worried, glancing at you. His expression loosens slightly at your appearance, before flicking to San.

“Who’s the newbie?”

“San,” You say, “He’s here to help me figure out what’s wrong.”

You look at the growling tiger in question. His eyes narrow on you, flicking between you and San before settling on Wooyoung.

“He’s been like this for days. Never listening to us, going on and on and growling. I gave him a treat a few days ago, a deer, and it’s still in there. I tried grabbing it while he was sleeping, but he tried pouncing on me.”‌ Wooyoung rubs his arm, and you glance down, seeing blood run down his wrist.

You pull him to the side, taking out your human first aid. He scoffs, trying to pull away but you merely glare at him, pulling his arm back.

“You can’t just walk around a predator’s cage with a bleeding arm. And you know that this could get seriously infected, right?"

"Did you check his temperature? Usually tigers in the wild could last days without food, did you give him a big meal before?"

Wooyoung shakes his head, San looks at him curiously. You clean off Wooyoung's arm, putting small butterfly stitches on the wound.

"He's never attacked me before," Wooyoung says, eyeing San as he takes steps closer to Yeosang. He keeps enough distance as to not scare him, but you see the tenseness in his body as he keeps his eyes on your best friend.

"Yeo isn't one to fight. Thought he might have a bug or something."

"San, don't get any closer. Helooks like he wants to bite your arm off," You look at him, worried. "Yeo's a bit unpredictable right now, it's best to stay away until we figure it out."

Yeosang looks at you, then stares at you cleaning up Wooyoung. You don't see anything obvious on him, it's probably something that you just can't pinpoint with a look. You nod at Wooyoung, before walking over to San.

"Think it can be a bug or something?" You ask softly, staring at Yeosang as he walks away from the both of you, sitting in a small grass patch in his cage, flicking his tail quickly. He's anxious or annoyed, that much you can tell.

"When I got close to him, I didn't see any marks. And he would have been scratching if it's really a bug. His coat is in good condition and he seems much healthier than you last described. Maybe he's just in a bad mood? You haven't seen him in a few days, right?"

You roll your eyes. "He's a tiger, San. He doesn't care if I'm gone."

A roar erupts from Yeosang's mouth, clawing on the grass. San sighs.

"Seems like the big guy disagrees, huh?"

You look at the meat laying closer to the cage, and you grab it. Yeosang watches your every move, body still tense. He's never been like this with you, so you can't help but be confused at his actions. You know that he's healthy from what you can see, although you'd love to give him a shot and sedate, see if anything is physically wrong with him. But you don't have the luxury; only certified doctors carry that, and neither you or San is qualified.

You feel Wooyoung and San standing close behind you, and you turn back. "Guys, he's a bit anxious right now so I think it's best if you back up a bit. Give him some room to breathe."

The guys grunt at your words but follow your instructions, taking steps backwards. Once they're several more feet away, you look back at Yeosang. His movements are more calm now, and you sigh in relief.

"Hey bud. I know I haven't been here in a few days to see you. I'm sorry. I've been busy with school and all, but I'm here now okay? Why haven't you been eating?"

You hold up the meat in your hand. "I know you didn't eat much last time, but you gotta eat this, okay? It's good for you."

Yeosang doesn't move.

"I won't leave you again. I'll come by more often, alright?" You feel a bit guilty at your words, knowing you're leaving soon. But he can't read your mind, he's just an animal. "Just eat some food, okay? You gotta be a big and healthy boy for me." You glance back at the guys, and lean forward. "And you're my favorite friend, just saying. These guys behind me? Lame."

San snorts at your words. "I can't believe you're putting a tiger above me."

You put a finger to your lips, hushing him. You place the meat at the edge of the cage, sliding your hand between the bars before stepping back.

"Trust me, Yeosang. You need to eat, you can't starve yourself while I'm not here."

Yeosang huffs. You watch him as he shakes off his coat, slowly coming to the edge of the cage. He sniffs at the meat, before picking it up with his teeth and walking back. He chews on it, eyes flicking up to yours ever so often. You breathe in relief, turning back to the others. They stare at you, mouths agape.

"Are you some animal whisper?" Wooyoung says, eyes wide. "Can you speak to tigers?"

You laugh, shaking your head. "Yeosang's not some ordinary tiger. All you have to do is speak to him like he's one of us and he'll listen. Hopefully over the next few days we won't see anything strange happening with him. I just think he was nervous." You shrug.

"Cause you were gone." Wooyoung says simply. "He's grown to be your right hand tiger, doc. Can't leave the circus now." Wooyoung grins.

San exchanges a look with you, before clearing his throat. "I'll be in the car if you need me, y/n. Let you guys talk it out."

Wooyoung raises his eyebrows in confusion as San quickly walks away, not before tripping over a rock as he does so. But he doesn't look back, quickly closing the flap behind him.

"Why is he in such a rush?" Wooyoung asks, shaking his head. "Your friend is strange."

"I have something to speak to you about, Wooyoung." You glance at Yeosang. "Outside, preferably."

Yes, he's a tiger. And yes, he doesn't know anything that you're saying and there's really no reason for you to speak outside because he wouldn't understand anyway. But those eyes are a bit too curious, it makes you wonder if he could comprehend every word that falls from your lips.

Wooyoung closes the flap behind him, arms resting against his chest as he looks at you. "Quitting?" He asks simply. "I know you have school, so I presumed this would have happened sooner rather than later."

You nod, rubbing the back of your neck. "I honestly didn't expect my favorite grad school to pick me, I thought I would've stayed at a more local college. But this one is too far away for me to come back and forth everyday." You look at him sheepishly. "I love working here, I do. But—"

"But you have a chance to have those big town dreams, darling. I’m not going to stop you from living your life, doc." His smile stretches across his cheeks. "Plus we're going to need your help when you get back. Yeosang is going to miss you while you're gone."

You don't have the heart to tell Wooyoung that you don't plan on coming back here. That you plan on staying as far away as you can from this town of yours, leaving it in the dust. And seeing Yeosang struggle with being separated from you for a few days, you're a bit concerned when he realizes that you won't be able to come back.

"Do you think I should tell Yeo?" You ask softly. Wooyoung purses his lips for a moment, before speaking.

"No. As you know, he's a big ol 'ball of sensitivity. Would probably starve himself until you come back. It's best to stay away and not tell him. Saying goodbye like normal isn't going to hurt though." Wooyoung looks down at his dusty shoes, trying his best to hold back his true feelings. He's grown attached to you being here so often, but it's not a shock that you're leaving. He just didn't expect it to be so soon. He thought he had more time to spend with you.

"I'll miss you, y/n. Really." He says, looking up at you. You see the blush rise on his cheeks but you say nothing. "You've been a delight around here; everyone loves when you pop in. And circus people are pretty picky. Including myself." He takes his cap off, clutching it between his fingers. "I thank you y/n. From the bottom of my heart and soul. You helped me take care of these animals, and without you, they would've been very ill. You are a caring and loving lady, and I know you will be an amazing veterinarian. I wish you the best of luck."

Shit. You can feel the tears tugging at the corners of your eyes, but you take a big breath, holding them back. It's too early in the night to cry.

"Thank you, Woo. Truly."

He winks.

—

The last couple of weeks go by quickly. You spend as much time as you can with Yeosang; watching him as he practices his tricks with his trainer and staying at almost every show. You can see that he's loosened up quite a bit, his roars less exhausted and more rambunctious. You giggle when he huffs and whines at Wooyoung, and brushes his coat while he's deep in sleep. You know it'll only hurt more when you leave him there, but you hope that he's not as attached as you are to him. Hoping that he just sees you as another trainer at the circus.

Hongjoong makes your farewell party in his style. Overdramatic, inviting every single person that has gotten into contact with you and more. You insist that he'd not throw one, but he ignored your pleas, confetti everywhere as you stared at him in annoyance. You've grown to love his crazy behavior, as much as you scold him for it. Yunho cries as you say your last goodbyes, pushing his head into your shoulder and letting out dramatic sobs. You only pat him and laugh, wiping away your tears. But separating from Wooyoung has to be the worst.

He holds his hand between his hands as you pull him into a hug, and you feel the trembling of his body as he tries to hold back his cries. You kiss his cheek and tell him that you'll message and call all the time, at least twice a week. He's become one of your best friends, and you're sure you won't even lose contact with him.

But the one encounter you aren't looking forward to is saying goodbye to Yeosang. You hold your breath outside of his tent, trying your best to control your face. He's an animal, yes, but he can sense when something is troubling you, and you'd rather not upset him. But sitting outside his cage as he sleeps only makes your chest clench.

"Hey, big boy Yeo," You whisper. You see his ear twitch, but he makes no move to open up his eyes.

"Gotta say goodbye. I won't be here for a few days because of... testing, but you better be a good boy for Wooyoung and the others. I'm counting on you to eat your food all the time, and not give any trouble. No temper tantrums, alright? I'll be back as soon as I can."

You close your eyes, feeling your voice begin to crack. "I love you, you know that right? You're my favorite tiger, Yeosang. No one can ever replace you. I'll see you in a bit, alright?" You stand, glancing one last time at your sleeping tiger, before jogging out, your sobs too much for you to hold back anymore.

—

"Already at my place! I'll see you when, next week?" San asks through the video call. You nod, munching on an apple.

You already packed up all of your belongings, just a few essentials before you leave for your new apartment. You've lived in this one your whole adult life, but you've decided that it's time to move on. Freshen up, and see the big world out there.

"Yup. Don't eat all of those candies your mom gave you, San. I'll fight you if you do."

"Kinky," he mumbles, and you roll your eyes. He laughs loudly, mentioning something about cleaning up before you say your goodbyes, hanging up the phone.

You put your phone on the charger, flopping yourself back into your bed, tossing the apple in the trash. It's been a few weeks since you've seen the circus, and your heart aches, but you don't dare to go back. Not when you know you'd probably want to stay.

You glance at time, rubbing your eyes. It's already almost midnight, and you still have a few things to unpack. But your head is throbbing and you're too tired to even think straight. You flick off the lamp next to your bed, throwing the cover over your face. Your eyes flutter close, and you hope that you can get think about that home renovator fucking you to Tuesday. But of course, nothing actually goes as planned.

The doorbell rings, and you let out a huff, screaming internally as you throw the blanket to the side and stomp to the door. Not bothering to even look in the peephole, you fling it open.

"What?"

Your eyes move up to the person standing there. Before you can yell again, he jumps into your arms, making you stumble backward into your apartment. The door shuts behind the two of you as you scream, enveloped in this man's embrace.

"I'm calling the police!" You scream, pushing him off of you. He falls back, landing on the floor.

You stay still, eyes on him. A light yellow, almost honey like color looks back at you. Scars cover his cheeks, and you see something on his neck. A tattoo, maybe? He's too far away to tell, and you'd rather not get close. He has a nose piercing, two small silver rings in his left nostril. His clothing is a bit small on him, shirt fitting like skin and pants high above his ankles. A distinct mark on his temple feels all too familiar. His eyes flutter, before his smile slowly goes away.

"Why did you leave me?" He asks simply.

"Get out of my house right now, and I won't call the police." You'd make a run for it, but you have no idea if he has a weapon on him.

His eyes look up at you, and you can't tell if it's mock innocence or not. He stumbles to his feet, your eyes flicking to something moving behind him. You tilt your head, and a tail appears. You stumble back, hitting your back on the counter.

"Shit," You curse, a small whine falling from your lips. You grab the pot from behind you, holding it out in defense as he moves closer. "I don't know who the hell you are, or why you're in my house, but you need to go. Now."

He shakes his head. "I can't go back there, y/n. Not without you. You left me without saying goodbye." Moist eyes look at you. "And you do know me. You're the one that's been with me for months, y/n. How can you forget me?"

You see his hair twitch, and you narrow your eyes. Fluffy triangles peek out of his long, soft orange locks. You blink quickly. No.

No fucking way are those ears.

"Who are you?" You say again, and he narrows his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"How can you forget me so easily?"

His velvety voice rumbles through the room. He sighs, pulling down his shirt and turning his neck so you can see what's there. A sixty-nine is in his skin; burned into it rather than traditionally tattooed. You can see a faint outline of a scar that follows the dark letters. You only know one tattoo that looks the same as his, and you shake your head, hand trembling as you hold the pot.

"No, you can't be."

He smiles softly. "It is me. Why don't you believe me?"

The tail comes out, rubbing his thigh absentmindedly. You feel like your world is slowly ending as you take him in. You can't forget those eyes that stared at you with intelligence beyond just a simple animal’s. But it's not possible. This can't be Yeosang standing in front of you.

"What's your name?" You ask. "I need to know if it's really you."

"Yeosang." He says simply. "I am a South Chinese Tiger hybrid. I am half man, half beast. And you are y/n, the trainer that used to come in about three times a week to take care of me alongside Wooyoung. Although recently, she has left without a trace."

It's him. You know it's him from the mischievous look in his eyes, to the scars and markings across his skin that are too similar to ignore. He's your tiger. It all makes no sense but you can’t quite come up with another solution.

You drop the pot slowly. "How... How are you a human, Yeosang?"

He furrows his eyebrows, deep in thought. "I would rather not talk about that, if you don't mind." He has two sets of ears, the human ones on the sides, and the animal ones on the top. You can't help but stare at his animal attributes, too fascinated to continue to question him.

"Why didn't you say goodbye? You told me that you would never leave, y/n. You said that you would always come back. But then I heard Wooyoung talking to Yunho about you leaving the town, and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to come and see why you're leaving me."

You hear the desperation in his voice as he looks at you. Your head is so confused; trying your best to process that your tiger is now a fully functioning human hybrid, and that he's standing in your apartment. And you can't help but notice the sharp edges to his features, the thick brows and clenched jaw line. You glance at Adam's apple moving before you shake your head. He's handsome.

Get out of your thoughts, you think.

"I never planned on staying there, Yeosang—"

"Don't call me that." He says sharply. "Call me Yeo."

You tsk. A low growl rumbles in his chest, and your eyes widen. "Yeo...?"

He sighs in satisfaction as you continue.

"I don't want to be here anymore. I always planned on going to the city for college, taking a job there and moving away from this town. I've hated it here. I can't stand being in this place. It makes me sick, if I'm being honest with you."

"This is our home," Yeosang says simply. "How could you leave our home?"

"Did you like being there, at the circus? Stuck in a cage all day, and then performing for people?"

His ears lower as he looks away, tail swaying slightly. "I am grateful that I'm not dead. Luxuries of open fields and hunting like a true beast are desires, but I've accepted that I'm not ever going to have that. And that's okay."

Your brain is foggy as you strain to keep yourself awake for the conversation. Yeosang seems to notice your tiredness as he looks at you with concern.

"You should rest, y/n."

"Are you going back to the circus?" You ask, and he raises his brows as if you'd asked a stupid question.

"Why would I do that? You're here, I'm not leaving you."

Oh no. You did not sign up to babysit a handsome tiger man, you're leaving for school. The last thing you need is the government coming to you and arresting you for holding back a rare creature. You rub your face, knowing that you won't refuse him because one; you're a punk and two; no one in their right mind would believe a word that you say about a hybrid tiger.

"Have you eaten today?" You ask softly. He furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought.

"No, but I can wait. I can wait until you're ready to prepare something else. I don't want to be a burden on you."

You shake your head. "No, I'll grab you something from the kitchen and we can figure out whatever's going on right now." You glance on your TV, flicking it on. "Do you mind waiting in here while I go and grab you something?"

He shakes his head, sitting softly on the edge of the cushions. He looks back at you with those curious eyes of his, before turning to the TV in front of him. You see his tail rest lightly next to him as his eyes focus on the late night cartoons.

You walk into the kitchen, grabbing some leftovers out of the fridge and heating them in the microwave. You sit on the edge of the counter as you wait, legs swinging back and forth slowly. It's too late to think about how Yeosang became what he is, or how he found your home. You're not sure if you want to tell San about what's happening; afraid that he'd only laugh and brush it off. You want to believe that the man in your living room is lying to you, but you know it's not true. That's your Yeosang, no matter how much you deny it.

The beep pulls you out of your thoughts, and you jump down, grabbing the food and a fork. You walk into the living room, eyes flicking to the TV. A news report is running, and you almost drop the food in your hands.

Local Circus Tiger Missing from Its Habitat.

Yeosang gladly takes the food from your hands as your eyes stay glued to the program.

"Trainer reports that he heard a large cracking sound before running into the tent, seeing the coveted rare South Chinese Tiger gone. The cage was in stable condition, and no one suspects that the tiger has left on his own. Since it is one of the very few left in the world, many suspect that it was stolen. Police are currently searching the area for a trace of where this tiger named Yeosang has gone. As a precaution, please stay in your homes and do not go outside unless absolutely necessary, in case this tiger is on the loose. If spotted, please contact the police immediately and do not engage. This is..."

You look at Yeosang as he munches happily, fingers scooping the food from the bowl without a care in the world. You sit next to him, making sure not to land on his tail. You've got a rogue tiger in your apartment, and the city is searching everywhere for him. You glance at Yeosang's ears, letting out a sigh.

He pauses in scarfing down his food, cocking his head towards you. His ears twitch as he looks at you. "No one will find me here." He explains. "I'm a human now, they can't tell it's me, you don't need to worry."

"Yeosang, you should go back." You say, and he freezes completely at your words. "Being here, with me... this isn't where you belong, Yeo. You deserve more than what I can provide. You need to go back home."

"That's not my home." He states simply, licking his fingers. You pass him a wet towelette, and he stares at it, before wiping his fingers.

"This isn't your home either—"

"Yes it is."

"Yeosang—"

"My home is where you are, y/n," he looks at you seriously. "You are my mate, I'm not leaving you. I can't leave you."

You blink quickly. Mate? There's so many meanings and ways to take that, but your lids are so heavy and you can't quite think straight this late. You rub your face, tapping your cheeks to wake yourself up.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow, alright? We both need sleep. Do you mind sleeping here? I don't have another bed for you, Yeo."

"Can I not sleep with you?" He asks, following you to the kitchen with the bowl in his hand. You point as he drops it, and instructs him on how to wash his hands. As he scrubs, you answer.

"It's... complicated. Humans don't do that with people they don't know well. It's kind of, for being together?" You're not quite sure how to explain it to him, since, as you're watching him scrub his hands, he's not exactly... Human. You grab his hand as you see him scrubbing a bit too hard, probably close to tearing his skin.

He looks at you in confusion. "Are we not together?"

"Not in that way." You say simply. You see the curiosity in his eyes but he doesn't push you further, nodding slowly.

"Do you have a cage that you want to put me in then?" He asks softly, eyes cast downward. You see his ears drop as he waits for you to guide him to one. How long has he lived as a tiger? It seems like he's never been a human, mind still stuck in his animal body.

You shake your head. "I'm not putting you in a cage, Yeo. You can use the blankets I have on the couch and sleep."

His ears perk up. "So no cage?"

"No cage."

His grin spreads across his cheeks as he pulls you into a hug, thanking you softly at your hospitality. You wrap your arms around him slowly, head tucked into his chest. He smells like rain mixed with the outdoors, natural and fresh. You pull away slowly, before gesturing to the couch.

"I'll be in my room if you need me. Don't do too much damage around here while I sleep, alright?"

He blinks slowly, before nodding. "I won't do anything like that to my trainer."

"I'm not your trainer anymore, Yeo. And you're a human now. You don't need anyone to own you or train you, alright?" You say sternly. He wiggles his head up and down quickly. You flick off the TV, whispering a soft goodnight to him before walking into your own room and closing the door slightly.

Your head is spilling over with how many thoughts you have, but your exhaustion hits deeper than curiosity, immediately shutting your eyes closed.

—

Yeosang stands in the living room, tail flicking around anxious as he stares at the couch in front of him. How do humans sleep? He hasn't been one in a while, and he's not too sure how to do anything. The strange look that you gave him when he was eating out of the bowl is enough to tell him that he's not humaning correctly. You're already fast asleep, your soft snores making his tiger ears twitch. He moves the blanket to the side, slowly lying his body down as he stares at the ceiling.

A part of him misses the smell of the tent; enveloped with the sounds of the other animals around him as he slept. Opening his eyes to see you almost everyday, taking care of him in every way that you could. The way your eyes brightened up when he followed an instruction you said without much effort on your part. How you called him your big boy, your eyes shining lightly on him. Ever since you've entered the tent he couldn't keep you out of his mind.

He used to wake up every morning, ready to follow the same routine. Wooyoung grooms him, feeds him, he performs, he eats again, and he sleeps. He cares for Wooyoung, but the repetitiveness of his life dragged on, and he isn't sure how long he's been doing that same thing. But hearing your laughter as you practiced your jokes on him, your soft cries after the stress of a test got to you, and your content gaze as you read a book to him. You've changed everything, and once you left; things weren't the same.

Wooyoung didn't tell him anything, not one word fell from his lips. Not even a mention that you won't see him again.

Yeosang rubs his face, pulling the blanket over his body. He's not sure how he'll be able to rest, knowing you're in the room next to him. He breathes in the scent of you in the fabric, comforting to his nose, calming his rising heart. Your mere presence makes his anxiousness go away; he's not sure if he'll ever be able to leave you. His mate.

His.

—

The bright sun shines down on you as you tighten your lids, letting out a strained groan before blinking slowly. You try to stretch, but a grip on your body keeps you in place. You blink once.

Twice.

His body is pressed against yours, soft breaths tickling the hairs on your neck. His grip on you is strong, your behind pressed up against him with no room for surprises. You feel his fingers resting just above your crotch, lightly holding you. Before you could turn around and yell at him for being in your bed, you feel it.

His morning wood presses lightly against your ass. You try pulling away, but he groans softly. His tongue drags across the skin below your ear, hips lightly humping you. You feel your face flush as he continues licking and pressing himself into you, hands slowly sliding lower. You finally struggle out of his arms, and his eyes lazily open, looking at the panicked look in your eyes.

He furrows his eyebrows, cocking his head. “y/n? Are you okay?”

“I… fine, I’m fine.”

He reaches out to you but you take a step back. His eyes flick to the small movement, pressing his lips in a straight line. “I’m sorry if coming into your bed made you uncomfortable. I didn’t see anything wrong with it, but I’ll try not to do it again.” He rubs the back of his neck, shrugging his shoulders. “Where is the restroom?”

“Down the hallway,” You point, and he nods, dropping your blanket back on the bed. “There’s a blue toothbrush in there. Do you know how to do that?” You avert your eyes as you ask, the heat coating your cheeks.You hear him scoff softly.

“I’m a tiger hybrid, y/n. Not a child.” He disappears down the hallway away from you.

You grab your toothbrush off your side table, avoiding the bathroom and walking into the kitchen. As you brush your teeth over the sink, you stare out the small window, deep in thought. You’re not sure what to do. There’s only a matter of time before someone comes knocking on your door, and if they see Yeosang; tail and all, it’ll only lead to more questions with little answers. Neither of them you have to give.

“I wasn’t sure where to put the brush, so I left it on your sink,” Yeosang says, walking into the room. Thankfully, there’s no more boner, but you’re still annoyed. “I’m sorry if I offended you.” He confesses. “I should have controlled my instincts better, I’m no longer a full tiger.”

“Why did you come into my room?” You ask.

“I… I couldn’t sleep there alone. And your scent swirls in the air. It’s comforting, but that wasn’t enough. I needed to know that you were okay, so I followed where your scent was strongest and rested with you. I haven’t been a human in a whole, so I didn’t realize that something like this would offend you. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

You see the regret on his face as he looks at you, and you nod. He’s learning, he’s trying his best and you can’t fault him for that. “I forgive you. Just, next time ask if you can sleep with me, Yeo. I would’ve had a heart attack…” If you didn’t wake me up with your humping. But you think it’s best to not talk about it. If he doesn’t remember, then you’ll just forget about it. He’s still a tiger, after all.

You rub your neck, the feeling of him licking your skin still there. You glance at his tight clothing, shaking your head. “Let’s get you out of those clothes-”

Your doorbell rings, and you tense up. You look back at him, pointing to your room. “Close the door and stay in there until whoever it is leaves. Some of San’s clothes are in my drawers, just grab one of them, alright?”

Yeo widens his eyes, “y/n-”

You shush him, watching as he disappears, tail following behind him.

You open the door slowly, eyes glancing up. His brown hair is as messy as usual, a bright smile on his face as he tips his hat to you. His dimples shine at you softly. His belt rests low on his hips, and you glance at the police officer badge that rests on his chest.

“Haven’t seen you in a while, y/n.” He smiles at you, tilting his head. You like seeing him, but you have other crises to deal with. His eyes flick behind you for a moment, before looking back at you. “H-How are you?”

You raise an eyebrow at the stutter. “I’m good, how are you? Still dealing with Jihoon and his wife?”

Jongho rubs his face, sighing loudly. “He keeps on bothering that tattoo parlor guy, you know? And then he comes to us and talks about his wife, I don’t think the boys want to hear about it anymore.”

You giggle, shaking your head, “Well, hopefully he’ll stop soon. So, what’s up? Here to arrest me, sir?”

You see the blush creep up his neck as he laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and looking away, “Ah, you jokester. No, I presume you’ve heard about the missing tiger from the Kim’s Circus.”

Your blood runs cold as you try your best to keep a poker face as he continues.

“Yeoyang, I believe his name is?”‌‌ He frowns. “I’m not really sure, Wooyoung was in a panic and I couldn’t quite understand him. But then he mentioned you and I know you're doing that veterinarian thing, and-”

“You think I know where a thousand pound tiger is?”

"You know I have to check all of my bases," Jongho mumbles. "I know you'd never hide a tiger—" your eye twitches— "but I have to check anyway. Plus the guys at the station won't let me live it down if I didn't come up here." He looks at you sheepishly. "We haven't seen each other in a bit, do you mind inviting me in for some coffee?"

He tilts his head to the side, smiling softly at you. Any other day you would immediately say yes and invite him in, but from the loud drop in your room and thankfully, he didn't hear it, you have to resist his little dimples. You shake your head.

"I can't today Jong, I'm sorry. But maybe some other time? Raincheck?"

He nods quickly, smile never fading. "Of course! I didn't mean to bother you, I'll be on my way." He glances behind you again. "Call me if you see anything suspicious or get weird phone calls. Usually, there's someone who contacts people close to the animal and bribes in exchange for its safety. We can't have that, now, can we?"

You sense a shift in his tone as he looks at you. You've known each other for years, so he could probably notice that you're on edge, but just not know about what exactly. And you're thankful that Yeosang hasn't come out of the room.

"I'll tell you guys immediately, no questions asked."

"Good, well I'll see you around, y/n. Tell San I said hello!" He tips his hat once before turning around, walking down your steps.

You waved goodbye, closing the door softly. You hate to lie to him, and you honestly wish you could tell him the truth about Yeo. But it's best to be safe and not mention anything about him to anyone, unless absolutely necessary. Putting him in danger is the last thing you want to do. You wouldn't forgive yourself if he got caught or worse.

"Is he gone now?"

You jump at Yeosang's voice, turning to him. He stands there, soft yellow eyes narrowed as he looks at you. His face is scrunched up in disgust, eyes flicking over your figure.

"You smell like him," He moves a strand of hair away from your face. The featherlight touch of his fingers makes you shiver, his eyes still focused on yours. "Did he touch you?"

"No. And it doesn't matter if he did, anyway," You grumble, walking around him.

You don't see the way his jaw clenches, eyes closing to hold back his frustration. It isn't your fault; you don't know the meaning of a mate. Tigers usually have several in their lifetime, but he hasn't ever been moved by anyone other than you. And because of your human instincts, you don't even notice his advances. He thought it would be easier because you're a veterinarian, but it seems more complicated. He lets out a soft sigh, before following you to the kitchen.

"Where are you going to go after this?" You ask, drinking your water slowly.

He cocks his head to the side. "Where will I go? After what?"

You gesture to the boxes around you. "I'm moving out, Yeosang. I'm going to my graduate school soon. I can't stay here and babysit you."

His folded hands tighten slightly. "I'm not a baby, or a child. I am a hybrid y/n; just because I haven't been a human for long doesn't mean anything. I can take care of myself. I don't understand why you're being like this." He rubs his eyes, shaking his head. "You don't remind me of the y/n that took care of me. You seem distant."

Did he expect you to be filled with joy at seeing your tiger as a human? He's handsome, no doubt, but you have goals, things you want to do. And he's just a roadblock. You thought that you'd move on from the circus and explore bigger things. But him sitting there, tail resting behind him and two pairs of ears, all you can think about is the problems he brings you. Is that being selfish? Maybe. But you've been selfless your whole life. Caring about yourself once in a while is self care.

"I... Yeo—"

"Do you not respect me as a human?" His eyes widen as a realization hits him. "You've always been comfortable with telling me your feelings and ideas when I couldn't speak back properly, but now that I can, you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You are afraid of me,” his gaze flicks down to his hands, “You don't care for me the same way. Ever since I've walked into here, you've treated me like I am a stranger to you. I can see why this might be a bit scary, but I don't know if I can handle the space between us." He stands up, glancing around. You gave him some of San’s clothes that he left behind, and he wears it loosely on his figure, a bit too big on him. He closes his eyes for a moment, before opening them again. “I can leave.”

“Yeo-”

“I don’t want to be in a place where I’m not wanted, y/n. It’s okay, I’ll leave.” He nods once at you, before glancing down at his clothing. “I know you feel more comfortable with me not being able to say anything, and that’s okay. Your care is my utmost priority, and I was being foolish, not seeing it last night. I can hear your heartbeat and feel your anxiety, but I assumed it was just from excitement.” His lips twitch. “I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“Yeosang, can you just listen to me for a second?” You say, your irritation growing. He stops talking, looking at you.

“This is all new to me, okay?‌ I don’t, I didn’t expect all of this to happen, alright? I never thought that you would ever be a human, and I’m honestly just confused and yes, I am afraid.‌ But not of you, just this situation. But I don’t want you to think I hate you or dislike you, because I‌ don’t. I just… I’m not sure how to deal with this. And yes, a part of me just wants you to disappear and go away. But now, I think, if you want, you can come with me to the city. My apartment has three bedrooms there, so you’ll be able to fit in there comfortably.”

His ears perk up at your words.

“I know it’ll take me a while to get used to you being you, and I’m sorry about the way I’ve been acting.” You smile at him softly. It’s been less than a day, but you’ve already grown a bit attached to him. It’s not like you want him to go, you’re just terrified. What if the people who made him half human, half tiger saw the news? They’re probably looking for him, and he could be in danger right now.

“It’s quite alright, and I wouldn’t mind going there with you.” He isn’t going to mention the mate thing for a while. He’s noticed that you avoid the topic. You haven’t even said a word about what happened this morning. “If you want me there.”

“I do.” You grin, and his tail flicks back and forth in excitement. More like a canine rather than a feline, but you’re happy that he’s happy.

His limbs twitch, wanting to pull you in a hug.‌‌‌ But he holds himself back, knowing that you’re not exactly comfortable with him yet. He glances around the room, before looking back at you. “So when will we be leaving?”

“In a few days.”

-

The few days passed by rather quickly, Yeosang becoming accustomed to being around you.‌ The incident from the first night didn’t happen again, you bought him a mattress to rest until you move to the new apartment. He’s kept his distance from you, similar behaviors from before when he was upset. But you’ve rarely seen anything but a smile on his lips as he walks around with you, eyes always on yours. The 69 on his neck catches your eye each time he displays his neck, although you’ve noticed that he prefers the long sleeved sweaters that you have. He curls himself up onto the couch most of the day, in and out of sleep. None of that is very much out of the ordinary.

The last few days he’s been strange. Immediately rubbing himself all over your clothing whenever you finished cleaning. Staring at you, and whenever you asked him what’s wrong he’d just sigh and look away. Tail sometimes curling around your leg as you wash dishes, scolding him before he moves away. His hands sometimes brush against your neck, his constant excuse that you had a piece of dust sitting there.

Growling lowly whenever you chatted with San, ignoring you. His chest would puff out as an act of aggression, tail completely still as he watches the screen. Until, you scratched behind his ears and he’d huff happily, quickly getting over his annoyance. You asked him what it was all about but he’d just change the subject. Those are only a few things that’s been bothering you, but you’re just not sure how to properly act around him. Maybe he’s noticed that you’re always on your toes?

The drive to your new apartment is about three hours long, Yeosang preferring to lay in the backseat, gaze on your sunroof. He doesn’t say much on the drive there, his body purring lightly as he feels the soft breeze from the open windows. You glance back at him from the rear view ever so often, your lips unable to hold anything but a smile. You can’t help it; you like him being around.‌

You’re used to staying at home alone, San sometimes coming over and bringing warmth to your home. But with Yeosang here, you look forward to opening the door and seeing him laying on the floor in front of the television set, ears twitch slightly when he hears you walk in. Lazily coming up from a nap to ask you what’s for dinner, and about your day. He hasn’t mentioned how he came to be or why he’s a hybrid, and you never push it. He’ll tell you when you’re ready.

You park in front of your new apartment, reaching back and poking Yeosang’s cheek. His eyes flick open, narrowing once they meet yours.

“Time to get up, sleepy head. We’re here. Remember to grab the hat and hide your tail underneath your clothing, alright?” You say softly, rolling up the windows. You hear a frustrated sigh as he puts on the beanie, curling up his tail into his sweater.

“There has to be more hybrids like me,” he mumbles. “The lab had so many.”

You look at him but he says nothing more about it, stepping out of the car. You lock the doors behind you, Yeosang running ahead, glancing back ever so often to make sure you’re there. You open the door, and he stands outside, glancing around before entering. He runs his hands along the walls of your new apartment, ears twitching at the new sounds. You say nothing, letting him grow accustomed to it as you walk into the bathroom to freshen up.

You come out quickly, hair wet from the quick shower you took. You look around for Yeosang, until you hear a large thump coming from the back of the house. You widen your eyes, jogging down the hallway before swinging the guest room door open.

Yeosang sits in the middle of the room, tail resting lightly behind him. He looks at you, a wide grin on his lips. “You made the room feel like a forest, y/n.” He points to the humidifier in the corner of the room, your biggest purchase and your bank account is definitely crying right now.

You painted the walls a dark green, almost black. You’ve researched that South Chinese Tigers live in damp forests, and you hope your poor man’s attempt at making him feel comfortable is enough. You put several plants around the room, decorating his bed with fake leaves. It’s the best that you can do with your pitiful almost-doctor salary. The bigger humidifier spoke to you, but that’s an investment for another time.

“The rug I bought and the sheets are coming soon. I know you like to lay on the floor a lot, so I bought that just in case you don’t feel like resting in bed.” You say, feeling your cheeks burn. It’s a bit warm in the room, but you’ve noticed that Yeosang hates the cold, always tucked under several layers of blankets.

“… You didn’t need to do this,”‌ he says softly. “I would have been fine with anything. I wouldn’t have complained.”

“I know, and that’s why I did it,”‌ you say simply. Yeosang isn’t one to voice his concerns, keeping to himself often. You realized that he hated well-done meat after a few days, catching him sighing as he looked at the meat placed in front of him. You’re not sure how much the tiger side of him affects his human body, so you cooked the meat for him rare. Right when you placed it in front of him, his ears perked up and he ate it quicker than anything you’ve previously given him.

“I want you to feel comfortable while you’re in our home,” You say, gesturing to the room. “I hope you like it, and if you need anything please just let me know. I’ll try my best to give it to you.”

He stands up from his spot, taking small steps toward you. Only a foot away, you see the flush of his cheeks, eyes focused on yours. Flicks of brown are in the bright yellow, something you haven’t noticed before.

“Can I hug you?” He asks softly. Your heart swells at his care for you, and you nod.

He immediately wraps his arms around you, pressing you against his cheeks. He sighs in content, and you feel his tail curl around your legs, nose sniffing your hair.

“Thank you for not pushing me away. I know this is hard for you to do, taking care of someone while still being in school. I know that, and I’ll try my best to help you in any way that I can.”

“You don’t have to do that, you being here is enough for me, Yeo,” You tease, combing your fingers through his soft locks. He leans into your touch, pressing you harder against him. You let out a small oof, and he laughs, pulling you away.

“Sorry, it just feels good, when you do that.”‌ He says simply. You pull your hand out of his hair, laughing awkwardly as you look away.

“Ha, well… I’ll go make lunch. Come out whenever you’re ready.” You say softly, and he nods, watching as you go.

He curses at himself, closing the door behind you. He’s overstepped, again. But he doesn’t know how to make you see that he’s yours, in every form of the word. Right when he breaks through one of the barriers you’ve put between the two of you, you build it up again. He glances around the room, seeing the small nuisances you’ve made, just for him.

It’s a comfortable warmth in here, but he saw how sweaty you were, wiping your forehead constantly. The dark colors that he would see if he was out in the wild, splashes of color ever so often. He always wondered why you were gone for hours at a time; seeing you covered in paint and tired. His eyes wander around the room, brushing lightly against the plants you’ve placed in there.

Tears coats his eyes as he sees the care you’ve done, all for him. When weeks ago, you told him that you didn’t know what to do with him. But now, you only give him smiles, tell him that you’ve missed him. And making this room, all for him, is only another extension of your care. Your love. Something you won’t admit to yourself.

He sits on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his light locks. Telling you how he became who he is, it can bring you great danger. And that’s the last thing he’d ever want to do. But, he can’t comprehend you being out of his life. Maybe telling you is the best thing to do. He looks down at his hands, seeing them tremble.‌ He swallows, nodding to himself.

He’ll tell you today.

-

You look at Yeosang as he pushes around the meat on his plate in deep thought, eyebrows furrowed. His tail flicks back and forth anxiously, ears perked straight up. He’s in a T-shirt, a rarity since you’ve bought him mostly sweaters. Is he uncomfortable? You know that it takes a second for animals to adjust, but the way he’s acting, you thought that he liked it.

“Yeo?” You say softly. He doesn't look up from his plate, eyes still furrowed. “Is something wrong? Did you need anything else?”

“No.”

You take the last bite of your food, standing up and walking into the kitchen, washing off your dish slowly. He’s always been open about his feelings, but now, you’ve never seen him so closed off. Maybe he doesn’t like the room? But he seemed so happy about it, it had to be something else…

Oh.

You pushed him away again, running away to the kitchen after playing with his hair. Is he offended?

“y/n?”

You jump at his voice, turning around.‌‌‌ His eyes are usually always on yours, but he’s distant this time, lips in a straight line.

“Can we talk in the living room? I think it’ll be best to explain it there. Don’t worry, this isn’t about you.” He says quickly, playing his dish in the sink. You follow after him, sitting in the chair across from Yeosang. He rubs his fingers together, before touching his neck softly, fingers running across the tattoo burned into his skin.

“When I was born, I was in a lab. I wasn’t a tiger in the beginning, and I wasn’t a human either. The people who took care of me told me that I am only a weapon, nothing more or less.‌ And that I needed to follow their every order, or else. I listened. I was taught how to move between being a tiger and an almost human,” He gestures at his tail. “I lived there with others. There were several different species along with myself, all predators. I don’t know the process, but I know that I wasn’t exactly born. I woke up in a closed room, I can still remember everything from then until now. I remember taking my first steps and turning into the tiger you’re used to seeing.

“But I got tired of listening to them. I am a predator. I couldn’t do it anymore.‌ So I broke out and left. Ran until I couldn’t run anymore. Lived in people’s backyards and abandoned homes, until I realized that becoming a tiger might be better. So I let the circus people take me. I learned that people don’t question animals, although the scars that cover me and the 69 pressed into my skin from the lab raised eyebrows, many assumed I was just a rogue black market tiger. And I was a cute cub at that time, so I wasn’t killed.

“The others, I have seen some. They’re not too far from here, and you probably haven’t noticed. Their appearance is more human when they transform. Jeong Yunho, Kim Hongjoong, those are only a few. Ah,” His eyebrows raise as he thinks. “Choi Jongho, your police officer friend.‌‌ He knew I was in there, in the apartment, but he didn’t say a word. I am forever grateful for that; he always told me that it’s a hazard for all of us to be in the same town, but I thought it was best for us to separate.”

He finally looks up from his hands. “It’s better to not mention the types of animals Yunho, Hongjoong and Jongho are. I want you to know as little as possible, in case someone comes and tries to figure out if you have me with you. I‌ haven’t been a human in a while, so they might not recognize me. At least, until they see the ears and tail.” He touches his ears lightly.

“I kept this from you to protect you.‌‌‌ But over these weeks, I've realized that we’ll be in each other’s lives for a long time. You’ve accepted me with open arms, and I’m forever grateful.” His smile grows as he looks at you. “I’m sorry I’ve kept this from you, but I can’t get into much more detail than that. If you want me to leave, do not hesitate. I will leave right now if you want me to.”

Silence fills the room as he finishes his words. You close your eyes, rubbing your face.‌ Yeosang is an experiment.‌ The government planned, or plans, to use him as a weapon. The lovable, wide eyed and big hearted Yeosang is supposed to be a deadly weapon. You completely understand why he didn’t tell you this immediately. The old you would’ve pushed him out of the door, scared out of your mind. You’re still scared, but you can’t imagine Yeosang being back out there. Even if there’s other hybrids, he’ll be at risk.

And you think it’s best if he stays with you.

“I don’t want you to leave,”‌ you say softly. “I can’t imagine you gone, Yeo. I think you’ve grown on me.” You tease, and he chuckles lightly. “Thank you for telling me this. I can’t even understand what you’ve gone through, but I’m happy you trust me enough to tell me.”

He nods happily. “I trust you, y/n, with everything. I just hope one day you feel the same about me.”

"What do you mean? I do trust you, Yeo. Why do you think I don't?"

He sighs, rubbing his neck slowly. You see him trace the outline of the numbers before he opens his mouth. "You... You trust me yes, but you keep yourself closed off from me. I try to push past those barriers that you have, but it's only so much I can do. I want you to feel comfortable enough with me. But I can wait."

"It's not that I'm not comfortable with you, it's that, I don't know. I don't know if something that I'm doing is bothering you, you know? Like earlier, when I put my hand in your hair—"

"I purred, y/n," he deadpans. "I like it when you touch me."

You look away from his piercing gaze, too overwhelmed with what to say.

"Have you thought about what I've said? About you being my mate?"

Yes. It occupies your mind more than you like, consumes your thoughts constantly. Yeosang keeps on saying that he's your mate so nonchalantly, as if he's telling you the weather. And you're not even sure.... No, you are sure that you feel the same. But your insecurities just continue to pile as you look at him, knowing that he can do so much better than you.

"Please tell me something, y/n. I can help you. I just need you to tell me." He says desperately. You shake your head, looking down.

Holding back how you feel will only gnaw at you until you can't take it anymore. You sigh, eyes fluttering close.

"I am, I, well... Ever since you told me that first night, I can stop thinking about it. Tigers, they have several mates over the years but many do stay with the one that they've chosen. So you telling me that you consider me yours, it's a big fucking deal. I just want to know why."

A knock on the door interrupts the two of you, and you throw Yeosang's hat to him, quickly wiping away your almost tears before rushing to the door. Thankfully, this one has a peephole. San stands on the other side, leaning against the wall as he looks out. You sigh, leaning your head on the door.

Before you open it, Yeosang's hands envelopes yours, stopping you from turning the knob. You look back at him, confused.

"Don't open it," he says softly, almost too low for you to hear. "I didn't tell you the last thing about me." His tail is stiff, pupils thin as he keeps his eyes on the door.

"I can't ignore him, Yeo. And it's San, he won't hurt a fly."

"No, y/n. He's not who you think he is. He pulls your hand away from the door, and you stumble back, confused.

"What the hell—"

"He's one of them," Yeosang shakes glancing at the door. "One of the new predators, y/n. I can smell him from here. He smells like—"

"y/n! Are you going to open the door or am I going to stand out here all day?"

Yeosang looks at you desperately. You glance between him and the door, weighing your options. You've know San for most of your life, growing up with the dork. He's never been weird or suspicious, always helping you when he can. Why would he be one the predators that Yeosang is talking about?

But the pure fear in Yeosang's eyes as he stares at the door, tail straight up and ears perked. His hands dig into the couch fabric behind him, frame rigged. He won't lie about something like this, that you know. He puffs out his chest, low snarls falling from his lips. His eyes are almost a brown as he focuses on the door, fear slowly replaced by anger, waiting for San to break down the door.

If San is who he says he is, he'll understand that you can't see him right now. You grab your phone, shooting him a quick text.

you: hey San! i hear u but i can't really talk right now! got too many boxes to sort through Hhhhh. ill call you when you can come over? drinks on me!

You hear the notification sound from outside the door, listening silently as he types into his phone.

san: u sure? i can help ya out if u want!

you: thanks ;; but im good for now! ill probably message u in the next couple days or so! ❤️

san: fine,,, u owe me gas money for driving over here :/ see you~

You hear his steps fade away, letting out a breath of relief. You look to Yeosang, the anger in his posture not at all gone. You walk over, wrapping your arms around his torso, listening to the rapid beats of his heart. His form slowly molds into yours, before you feels his arms resting on your back. His breaths slow down as he presses his nose into your hair, your smell comforting.

"Thank you for trusting me," he says softly. "I know San is your friend, but I know that something is off about him. He smells like the labs, y/n. He smells like the labs."

You nod your head as you listen to him.

"There are predators that are better than me, faster than me. He's one of the more evolved ones, easier to blend into normal human life. I didn't think I'd need to explain this, but the better hybrids know how to camoflague. Take the lives of existing humans and replacing them easily."

You pull away, looking up at him. "What are you saying?" His eyebrows are tight as he looks at you. His hand brushes against your cheek, before he rests his forehead on yours.

"Your friend, San. He was gone long ago. That is not the same San that you know."

—

Weeks go by and you've ignored San to the point where he doesn't call or text you. Your last conversation ended in anger, you telling him that you needed some space to adjust and him screaming at you about being unreasonable. You believed Yeosang, of course you did, but that conversation proved it to you. San and you, you never fought that hard before. He never called you a bitch so easily, never daring to cross that line.

But the San that you spoke to on the phone did. He called you every name in the book and more, before not contacting you again. You're not sure if he knows about you harboring Yeosang, but he gave no indication of it, thankfully.

Yeosang's been your only friend every since you've moved. You video call Wooyoung every once in a while, listening to his low drawl as he told you about the adjustments the circus made. They bought another animal in, a gorilla. You aren't sure if it's actually legal to own one in a circus, but you don't mention it, you just like speaking to him.

After the incident, Yeosang stuck to your side like glue. Everywhere you went, even to the bathroom, he's always close behind, tail constantly curling into your figure and hands always brushing against your skin. Sometimes, he rubs his head against the clothes you wear, encouraging you to run your fingers through his blond locks. His eyes always watch you as you do so.

You spend time in his room as he reads books softly; the deep timbre of his voice resonating around the room. Your sleeping arrangements are the same, you two in separate rooms. But once during the night you opened the door to him curled against the entrance, on guard as you slept. You scolded him softly before pushing him back to his room, but you suspect that he does it every night, going back to his room just before you wake up each morning.

You've accepted the title of being Yeosang's mate, not that you've told him of course. The threat of fake San barging into your apartment is high, and the potential for others to come is even higher. Yeosang is already stressed enough, and you think adding your feelings into the mix would only make it worse. Because, you love him.

It's strange to think about it. You've only met him as a hybrid a couple of months ago, but you can't even see yourself without his presence. He makes you happier than you've ever been, and his level of caring for you supersedes anything you've ever felt. You wake up and fall asleep, only thinking about him. As long as you see those golden eyes of his every morning.

You sit in the living room, combing your fingers through Yeosang's hair as you both watch a movie. You're lying back on the couch, his body resting over your legs, head on your stomach as you feel his chest rumbling in satisfaction at your touches. Your leg is falling asleep but you don't dare tell Yeo; he's just a big cat after all. He’d just grumble in irritation and whine for the rest of the night.

The scene flicks to the main characters pulling off each other's clothes, and you tense up at that. Yeosang doesn't move at all, watching in silence. The remote is too far away for you to skip, so you settle on watching it, fingers stopping in his hair.

The man begins fucking the woman against the wall, and you widen your eyes. What the hell? Do they not censor anything on TV these days? Yeosang’s hold around your waist tightens slightly, and you feel his head turn. You look down at him, seeing him sniff just beneath your stomach. You widen your eyes as he nuzzles your stomach, untangling himself from around your waist. He pressed his tongue just below your navel, eyes flicking up to yours.

“Yeosang, you can’t–”

“I know you want me, y/n. I can smell you,” He pushes his nose into your crotch, taking long breaths. “I can’t stop, not when you smell so good.”‌ His voice deepens, a dark gleam in his eyes. You’ve never seen them so blown out, pupils completely consuming the gold.

His nostrils flare, moving his face between your legs. You feel his fingers tease the lining of your sweats, keeping his eyes on yours.

“I can’t wait to fuck into you, feeling your pussy tightening around my cock, fucking into you so hard you can’t breathe. Wouldn’t you like that, y/n? Don’t you want me?” You can feel the sheer arousal emitting off of him, the desperate need that threatens to wrap around you. He leans down, eyes focused on yours.

“Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me, and I’ll go away.” You feel the hardness of his cock pressing into your leg, his lips dragging across your cheeks as he waits for you to say something.

You clench your core, eyes fluttering as you feel the room suddenly become hot. “I want you, Yeo. I do.”

The pure evil smirk he gives you is sin incarnated. He pulls down your pants quickly, ripping off your underwear with ease. You lift your legs as he tosses your pants to the side. He tilts his head as he looks down at you, thumbs teasing your sweat up lightly. Despite his feverish behavior, he presses wet kisses up your torso as he slowly pulls your sweater over you.

You’re not wearing a bra, and he sighs in content as he sees your beautiful breasts on display for him. His rough tongue wraps around your nipple, nipping it with his teeth lightly. You moan softly as he moves to the other breast, sucking it softly. He continues to press kisses into your skin, paying special attention to the crook in your neck, licking it slowly.

“Yeo, please,”‌ you groan, feeling him smile into your skin. His lips trail along your jawline before his eyes finally level with yours.

“You’re so beautiful, and all mine.”‌ His words are filled with so much love as he looks at you, nose brushing lightly against yours. “I have to tell you, I don’t know what will happen when I‌ mate with you. Hybrids aren’t exactly animal or human. I wasn’t made for the purpose of reproducing, but I‌ have the instincts anyway.”

He presses his lips lightly to the corner of yours, shuddering softly. “I might be too rough. I don’t want to hurt you, so tell me to stop whenever and I will.”

“You won’t hurt me, Yeo,”‌ You say softly. He smiles, softly pressing his lips against yours. He tugs on your lower lip lightly, and you sigh softly, opening your lips up for him. He slides his tongue between your lips, slowly moving his against yours. His hand slides down your torso, lightly pressing against your lower lips.

Your hips buck into his palm as he dips a finger between your folds. He moves his middle finger slowly over your clit, enough to keep you just on the edge. You try humping against him but he laughs against your lips, other hand holding your hips down. You groan in frustration but he ignores you, moving agonizingly slow.

“Yeo-”

He shoves two fingers into your cunt before you could finish, you gasping against his lips as your hands tangle into his hair. One of your hands brushes against his cat ears and he shudders, biting onto your lip a bit too hard. You feel his teeth pierce the skin and he pulls back, eyes wide.

His fingers stop moving inside of you, the cloud of lust gone as he looks at the strands of spit and blood. “y/n, I’m-”

“It’s okay, keep going.”‌ You say, and he shakes his head. Your fingers rub against his ears again, and he stutters, biting his lip. “I kind of liked it.” You admit softly, and his eyes flick back open, desire rolling in them. He shoves his fingers back into you, moving in and out as he curls against your g-spot. Your breaths pick up as your desperate for release, telling him that you’re going to cum over and over.

He nods slowly, eyes on his hand moving in and out of you. “Come for me, kitten.”

The playful word has you convulsing against his hand, his fingers stuck inside of you as you let out a loud moan, humping softly against his hand. He watches you in awe, eyes bright. You let his hand go, and he immediately takes his fingers, sucking on them. He groans in ecstasy, licking off every last drop of you from his hands before lifting up his shirt quickly.

You clearly see the 69 on his skin now, but you didn’t know what was under his shirt. He always wears big hoodies around you for comfort, never wearing anything tight against his skin. His body is lean muscular, but scars are carved into his skin, tracing from the bottom of his neck to the middle of his stomach. He looks at you nervously, biting his lower lip. But you only lean up, lightly pressing your lips against his skin.

“Look at my tiger,” You say softly. You see the blush rise from the bottom of his neck to his cheeks, before he pulls off his pants. He’s not wearing any underwear, but you’re a bit surprised.

His cock has dark, jagged lines across it, the same pattern that he has as a tiger. He has a bit of fur were his ball hair would be, pink head standing at attention. He leans down, slowly humping against your cunt. You feel his thick length slide between your folds, coating his skin.

“You’re so wet for me, y/n,”‌ he says softly. After a few loose strokes and a whine from you, he presses himself into you slowly. His head is larger than any you’ve seen, and you groan, feeling the stretch of him open you wide.

The growl that emits from his throat is anything but human, cock pushing into you with a low pop. His girth stretches your walls as he slowly bottoms out, small whimpers falling from your lips as you feel all of him enter you. He presses soft kisses against your face, trying his best to alleviate your pain. You feel so full, his sweat dripping onto your body. You run your fingers along his back, slowly going down until you reach his tail. Before he could tell you to stop, you touch it lightly.

He thrusts completely into you, tears springing to your eyes. You feel his cock throb inside you, almost pulsating.

“Are you okay?” He says through clenched teeth, forcing his eyes open. “Shit, you’re so tight.”

“Yes, yes, start moving,”‌ You moan.

He goes slow, long strokes in and out of you as he grunts, trying his best to hold himself back. Your cunt sucks him in with ease, tightening each time he moves out.

“Fuck, y/n, I need to fuck you, alright?” He says, and you immediately know what he means. Before you can say yes, he slams his cock into your cunt. His strokes are quick and deep, your body flung up and down as he pushes into you. Your fingers clutch his hair, and he pulls his arms around you, pressing his chest against yours. Whimpers of pleasure fall from your lips as he slams into you, the wet sounds of your arousal echoing around the living room. He drags his tongue against your neck, sucking and pinching the skin.

“Want to breed you,” He says, hips thrusting into yours. “Fill you up with my cum,” He runs his hand along your belly. “I can see myself fucking you, I can feel you right here.” He presses lightly on your lower stomach, but you can only moan in response.

Yeosang’s pace is unrelenting, the head of his cock presses against your cervix each time he thrusts inside. He rubs your clit quickly, groaning into your neck. “Cum for me, pretty. Cum all over my cock.” He drags his teeth against your ear, biting your lob lightly.

He suddenly picks up his pace, hips pounding into you. The intense feeling of him rubbing your clit and fucking you into the cushions is too much, your moans echoing around the apartment as he pulls himself into you, cumming at the same time. His cock explodes, the white coating your walls. His cock pulsates as he slowly grinds himself into you, sighing into your neck.

After his cock goes limp, he pulls out of you slowly, holding his hand over your cunt, keeping himself inside. A small part of you panics; will you actually have kids with him? You haven’t even gotten your license to practice yet.

“You won’t have offspring,” Yeosang explains softly. “We’re two different species, it’s not possible, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

He brushes his hands through your hair, humming softly. His eyes are filled with love and adoration, pressing his lips to the corner of your brows lightly as he looks at you.

“I love you,” You confess, and he only laughs into your hair.

“I love you too.”

-

San stares at the monitors, glaring at the screen in front of him. He glances down at his cell phone as it rings, and he picks it up, keeping it on loud.

“Have you located SCT-69?” His voice says.

San nods solemnly, watching as Yeosang carries you from the couch, pulling your body close to him as he walks out of the camera’s view. His eyes flick to the next screen, seeing him take care of you.

“Affirmative. They’ve just mated, and he still believes that he won’t impregnate her.”

“Good, then let’s monitor until she is pregnant. We’ll take the thing when it’s born.”

San sighs, “But isn’t it just a kid,‌ Jongho? We shouldn’t…”

“It’s not orders from me, and you know it San. There’s no room for discussion, okay?” Jongho’s says, his voice irritated. “Call me when you need me, I’m hanging up.”

He hears the dial tone, and throws his phone to the side, deep in thought. He feels his friend’s hand rub his back lightly as San looks at the screen. All of this, everything just for an experiment. All that he’s built…

“She’ll be long gone before the specimen rips out of her stomach. It’ll be fine, you don’t need to worry,” Hongjoong murmurs into his ear, pressing his lips lightly against San’s temple.

“You’re right, I know,” he says softly. “This all will be over soon enough.”

_____

For the past few days, you're trying your best on ignoring the game with work and socializing. Sure you may not be the most social person ever, but you do have friends.

At the end of the week, Irene and Seulgi invited you to brunch near their workplace. Wendy and Joy were too busy so it's only you three.

The anomaly however was Yeri didn't show up.

Hell she didn't even reply to your message when the incident with Hwayoung happened.

You debated whether or not to ask Irene or Seulgi, but your curiosity won over as you cleared your throat before looking at the two.

"So," You started. "Have you guys seen Yeri? Or... talked with her?"

Irene chewed on her croissant as she shook her head, while Seulgi frowned. "Yeri? No updates on her, but Wendy did say that she's busy with work right now so it's probably why she hasn't been active on social media."

"Or replying to your texts," Irene continued. "I invited her to join me for dinner a few days ago but no answer. So she must be really busy."

"Yeah. Probably because of the new game her company's about to launch."

"Give her some space," Seulgi shrugged. "She's always like this when she's in the zone. Remember last time when she blew up on Joy when she spammed her during a meeting."

You grimaced at the memory, remembering how big the fight was that it made Joy and Yeri didn't talk for a month.

"Believe me, I do not want to relieve that experience," Irene sighed.

Soon the conversation shifted from Yeri, from work to relationship problems; you're glad it's taking your mind off the game and Yeri for a while. Irene said goodbyes first when her manager called her, cursing under her breath making you both laugh in amusement. Seulgi left after an hour, promising to take you and Yeri out for drinks when you all have the time.

Walking back to your apartment, you bought some snacks to eat when you're working. Thankfully the project did wonders to your company, so you're only working light tasks with your coworkers whilst waiting for an update from your supervisor.

"—Yeah! And then she stupidly asked me if I still love her?! Ugh, as if!"

You laughed at what your coworker, Yeonjun, outbursts along with another one, Soobin. Both were also in your team when developing the project, and you got along pretty well so sometimes you liked to call them or have zoom meetings together to spend some time.

"Hmm, told you she was delulu. It's like she's in her own fantasy land that she created," Soobin hums as typing could be heard from his side.

"Yeah," You agreed. "Remember when she visited our work to state she's the new intern? Holy shit was that a fiasco."

Soobin laughed even louder as Yeonjun could only groan. "Man, how could I forget that? Supervisor Kim blasted my ear from having him yell at me for hours."

"Not hours," You and Soobin replied together. "It's only like, five minutes," Soobin continued.

"Felt like hours," He grumbled.

Doing your work whilst talking to them made the bad thoughts go away, especially one residing on the corner of your computer, but you ignored it. What you can't ignore is how your computer likes to glitch and freeze when you're working.

Well, not your computer perse, but the programs you're currently running likes to have problems when before that it's totally fine.

"What the—Are you kidding me?" You hissed as Photoshop didn't respond, making you groan as you slumped down on your chair.

"What? What's wrong?"

"My Photoshop is acting up," You whined.

"Ha! What're you doing on Photoshop anyway?"

"Making your ass even more uglier," You grumbled towards Yeonjun, who squaked in offense.

"Awesome. Can you send that to me after you finished it?" Soobin asked as the both of you ignored Yeonjun's yelling.

"Sure. Maybe I'll finish it today since I've finished my part of the work."

"Wait!" Yeonjun yelled. "You're finished making the poster and banner? You've already sent it to Supervisor Kim?"

"Yup, a few hours ago. So relieved I actually finished it since my computer has been fighting me the whole time."

"Soobin! How about you?"

"Actually thanks for reminding me to email my work."

"Am I the only one who hasn't finished yet in the team?" Yeonjun gasped dramatically.

You hum teasingly, before remembering that he was the only one not finished yet. "Actually, yeah. Eunchae and Chaewon finished theirs already."

"Fuck!"

"Honestly, Yeonjun," Soobin teased. "We're only supposed to make posters and banners ideas for the next event. It's easy."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just say that I'm lazy and—"

Crackling noise from your headphones cut Yeonjun off, making you frown in confusion before clicking back at the call, noticing how it's still going but their voices have disappeared.

"Guys? Hello?"

No answer.

You shrugged before ending the call, whipping out your phone before texting both of them.

You: heyyoo seems like we got disconnected

Soobin: ???

Soobin: wdym

Yeonjun: (name) you're still on the call

You're heart dropped, tension started to rise in your body as you scrambled to text them back.

You: what?? I literally disconnected from the call like a minute ago

Yeonjun: well i mean...could be a lag? You're not talking

Soobin: let's just end the call

Soobin: wanna call again?

You huffed, glancing back at your computer. Shaking your head, you decided to decline his offer, stating that you need to check your computer first if you want it to work properly.

Yeonjun: aight, update us

Soobin: yeah and send me that picture of yeonjun

Yeonjun: TRAITOR

You let out a small smile, sighing in relief because of their antics. You decided to restart your computer, of course after you saved the photoshopped image of Yeonjun. After it turned on, you checked numerous times if it's starting to lag or freeze as you open websites, tabs, or even applications.

Humming happily when you found none, you're startled when a call from Yeri rang from your phone. But the call ended before you could answer, making you stare at your phone in confusion. A text from Yeri seemed concerning enough for you to accept her offer.

Yeri <3: hey

Yeri <3: sorry for not answering

Yeri <3: can we call rn?

You sighed heavily at the reply, your heart easing at knowing that Yeri's actually alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere. Well, that's a hyperbole but you can't help but feel like that when your friends disappeared from the face of the earth.

Waiting for the call to load, you anxiously bit your lip aa you waited for her. When Yeri's icon appeared, you quickly turned on your camera, waving sheepishly as you smiled.

"Hey—uh, do you mind turning on your cam? If you don't want to, that's fine! No pressure."

You're only met with silence, but you waited patiently for Yeri to answer.

"Yeah, hold on."

Shuffling could be heard from Yeri's end, before you heard Yeri move around stuff around her desk. She did had a lot of clutter, but the sounds coming from the call seems excessive. You frown hearing plastic water bottles and what you assume to be cans of energy drink fell down, making Yeri curse loudly.

Yeri finally turned on her camera but you realized why she's so hesitant on turning it on in the first place. It's dark in her room, the only light present is from her own computer.

Boy, did she look like a wreck.

Eyebags deep enough to give a hint that she didn't slept for almost a week, hair disheveled like she didn't brush it everyday, her room being a mess like a bomb was dropped.

"Yeri," You whispered. "What happened?"

Yeri looked away as she bit on her thumb, shaking her head as she sniffed. Her eyes glisten with tears as she gasped before looking back at the camera. "I—I tried, I'm working on the game. Alone! My team disappeared when I needed them, and now they're gone!"

You're eyes widen, jaw slack as confusion started to plague your mind. "Disappear? Like, Johnny?"

"Yes! I don't—I don't know where they are right now. I've tried texting them, I've called them, zero! Zero answers! The company's launching an investigation about where my team went, why I'm the only one left!"

You flinched at her voice, sounding loud and angry yet so small. It's obvious it's taken a toll on her, yet you can't do anything except listen to her and try to support her in the best way you can.

"And get this," Yeri laughed maniacally. "The company still wants to me work on the game, alone! Can you fucking believe that shit? They're trying to find people who wants to work on the game but noo they're too busy gossiping about how Yeri's a whore, Yeri's a bitch! We can't work with her because she's too difficult!"

You frowned, yet confused at what she's saying. Yeri seems happy working there, everytime you went out for lunch or dinner she always praises how her company is so good and caring towards their employees, that even Wendy and Seulgi are complaining about how unfair it is.

"Yeri? Hey, what do you mean by that?" You asked gently, trying to calm her down as she's only one second from a mental breakdown. That seems to shut her up, her mouth agape yet no voice comes out, before she's quickly wiping her tears away. You sighed before leaning back on your chair, deciding to not push Yeri further out of her comfort zone. It seems like she's having a hard time, but you don't want to force her.

"No—no, forget about that. Let's just talk, I need your help."

"My help?"

Yeri nodded. "I need you to continue to play the demo game, (name)."

Your heart dropped to the ground, coughing to hide your uneasiness from Yeri. You did sent her the list of glitches, even so far as telling her you don't want to continue playing the game after the last incident. But now you're conflicted.

"I—I know you're hesitant to play it, but I've tried to fix the game as best as I can! Your feedback is actually helping me make things right, and I'm really grateful. But now that I'm the only one working on the game, I can't talk to others people about it to make it good."

Man, she really does know how to pull your heartstrings.

"So...can you play it again, (name)?"

You glanced nervously at Yeri, playing with your fingers as you're having a debate inside your head on what to do.

"Can't you just...send the demo to Wendy or Seulgi? I'm sure they'll be happy to play it. I mean more feedbacks are better, right?" You offered.

Yeri shook her head adamantly, her shoulders tense as she continued. "No! I can't, if the company knows I'm giving the demo to people then I'll be fired. It's supposed to be confidential and I broke the agreement when I gave you that demo."

You groaned, holding your head between your hands. Of course it's not that easy, you didn't even think about the consequences you'll receive when playing a game that's not even released yet. Taking a deep breath, you looked at Yeri before nodding.

"Alright, I'll do it."

You're hoping the game isn't so bad after she fixed it.

♡

Pacing around in your room was not a good thing to do, especially to ease your nerves before playing that damn game. It's already loaded, the cutesy theme song playing in the background as you're having a breakdown before you play it. Yeonjun and Soobin invited you to go have drinks together, but you lied, saying you were busy hanging out with your family.

You felt bad, seeing as they're actually close to you now, but they reassured you that you could always join them on their nightly movie nights next Friday.

You took a mental note, wanting to actually join them because everyone seemed busy with work and other things.

"Okay!" You yelled loudly, punching the air repeatedly before sitting down, clicking the start button as the game loads. "I can do this! I'm not a pussy!"

Day 3

"Shit, it's only day three?!" You hissed.

Not having any time to complain, the game loads you to your dorm, reminding you to take classes to earn more coins and items. Everything seems...fine. Then again, you just started the game, so you're expecting a jumpscare midway playing the game.

Cautiously clicking from classroom to classroom, the task of doing mini games kinda made you relaxed. You're still tense, waiting for Hwayoung specifically to jump and surprise you.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, you're greeted with a new face, well two exactly.

A boy so tall that he could rival Mingi's or Yunho's height, with slicked back brown hair and an easygoing smile. Next to him is a girl you thought is an AI character, straight long black hair with a beauty mark under her mouth.

"Hey, fresh meat!"

The boy's deep voice boomed through your speaker, making you wince as you turned down the volume.

"Did you see a cat nearby? White with black spots and a purple collar?"

You, of course, wanted answered no. Thinking an option will show up, you're surprised the text box from Yunho's encounter popped up, making your hands hover on top of your keyboard instantly to type a response.

No, sorry. I didn't see any cat, just got here |

"Damn, good luck finding it, Karina."

"Oh shut up, Johnny!"

Johnny? Named after Yeri's friend who disappeared? You push the thought away, thinking of it as a coincidence. You've never even see the guy, why act so worried?

"Really sorry to bother you. My name is Karina, this is Johnny. If you see a cat with the same description please call us! We can't let the principal know."

No worries, but why can't the principal know? |

"Because the principal is a loser who doesn't like animals, so he'll call animal control to solve the problem."

"Johnny! Shut up or Seonghwa and Hongjoong will hear you!"

You hummed, curious as to why both of them are mentioned.

Why so scared? I think Seonghwa and Hongjoong are nice people |

"Oh, no one's denying that they're nice. They're just...very strict around what to do here."

"Rules are rules, and for them everyone has to follow it. If not you'll end up like—"

Johnny didn't get to finish his sentence before the game glitches out again, making both of them freeze as Johnny's voice paused every now and then. You anticipated this, trying to hope that nothing scary happened. Thankfully nothing did, as Johnny only continued as if nothing happened. Like his dialogue was cut.

"—Yeah, good guys. But really scary when someone's not up to standards. Well their standards."

You could see Karina rolling her eyes, making you giggle at their cute interaction.

"Whatever. It's nice meeting you, new kid. If you ever want to hangout with us, find us at the club rooms."

Sure! I'll be happy to come by |

"Great! Bye then, (name)."

"Peace out!"

There's the feeling of relief bubbling inside you, the interaction between Johnny and Karina made you a bit relaxed to face off any of the boys right now. Heaving a big sigh, you continued to play mini games and looking around the school.

Not encountering any of the boys, you suck up your fear as you debated who to meet first.

"Maybe I'll meet Yeosang first. I haven't seen him after the first encounter."

Confused as to which place you're visiting first, you picked the library, seeing as you've never actually visited the location before.

Surprise, surprise, Yeosang was actually already there. Surprisingly enough, he's smiling in your direction.

As if he's been waiting for you.

But you brushed it off as a coincidence. Yeosang's character beamed happily when he sees you, waving his hand as he tried to be quiet.

The scene changed as now you're sitting besides him near the window, the light perfectly illuminating his face, making him even more angelic.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. You okay?"

The text box popped up again, making you assume that maybe the system could change after a certain encounter. Changing from options to actually typing out the response. Then again, it's really impressive at how fast and human-like the response from the characters are, sometimes even fast enough to make you believe you're actually talking to a human.

Yeah, just...got busy with personal things |

"Well, that won't do. You're new here, relax for a bit. It's not like you have other stuff occupying your life."

You felt like it's a jab to your own real life, but you shrugged it off.

"Anyway, I realized we haven't spend that much time together. So, I was wondering if you want to stay here with me? I wasn't really studying, just wanted some alone time."

Alone time? Then am I intruding? |

"Nonsense, I'm inviting you right now. So, do you accept?"

Of course you agreed, wanting to increase your relationship with him since his percentage was still pretty low when you started. Maybe you'll meet San after this, remembering how the last time the heart didn't pop up for him.

Sure! I have nothing to do anyway |

For the next few minutes, you and Yeosang talked about vague topics, favorite foods, favorite animals; harmless stuff. But every now and then, you had a feeling that a few of the questions are very...weird and invasive.

"Where do you like to spend time out of school?"

"Have you ever dated before?"

"Do you like to sleep with stuffed animals?"

The last question made you glance at a few of the dolls on your bed, before lying to him since your real life persona should be different than the one inside the game.

"Hmm, interesting."

Was Yeosang's only answer before going back to innocent questions like before. The change of questions made your head dizzy as you're typing out what answers would suffice since you don't want to tell things in your real private life.

Yeosang stopped talking after the thirtieth question, seemingly frozen before smiling softly at you. You noticed how his eyes turned blank with no emotions before switching it up in the last second.

"Well, look at the time. I have a meeting with Hongjoong about club developments, so I guess this is goodbye."

No worries, Yeosang. I had a great time with you |

The heart finally popped up on top of his head, you predicting the percentage would at least be more than five percent, but the final number made you tilt your head in confusion.

37%

"Holy shit," You gawked. "From 2% to 37%?! That's wild."

As you're looking directly at the numbers, you didn't notice how Yeosang's eyes shifted away from you, lookinv around as if he could see the room your in. His face still smiling, before his eyes shifted back to you when he noticed you finally snapping out of your daze.

"I'll go now, (name). Goodbye."

With that, Yeosang was gone from the screen, leaving you with an empty screen. Remembering where exactly to meet San, you choose the gym as the next place. The only reason you chose that location is because of how buff he looks under his uniform.

"Can't believe I made that assumption just because of how broad his shoulders are," You grumbled.

Lo and behold, San was actually there. At first you thought he meant the school's gym, as in for sports and other school activities. But your mind is blown away when you notice an actual gym near the school area. And God must be somewhere laughing maniacally to himself as you saw how San is basically drenched in sweat, making the flimsy material of his top clung to his body like a second skin.

"(Name)! Hey, what's up?"

San smiled so brightly that you physically have to look away as if the sun just hits your eyes. "Focus, (name)! Don't be tempted by his cute smile!"

Hi, San! Nothing much, I have nothing to do so I was strolling around. I didn't know there's two gym's, what's up with that? |

"Oh! Yeah, I guess the school wanted to blow some of the money that they have, plus a lot of the students here wanted a real gym of sorts."

Still, pretty fancy for a school to have like two gyms |

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Time passed as you continued to have a conversation with San, having a great time as he's always so energetic and fun to be around with. Suddenly remembering of the items you have in your inventory, you decided to use it to San since the heart didn't pop up for him.

Hey, San! I have a gift for you |

It seems like San didn't expect you to say that to him, as his face turned bright red before he smiled sheepishly.

"A gift? You didn't have too!"

You clicked on your inventory, deciding on the cute teddy bear you got on your first day. Dragging the item from your bag, you placed it on San's character, resulting in him smiling widely as he now holds the teddy bear in his hands.

"A teddy bear! How cute, it even has a little bow. Thank you so much, (name)."

Suddenly the heart popped up, squinting your eyes to look closely as the percentage was shown to you.

58%

You let out a shocked laughter. "Damn, I didn't know the items were that helpful." You're conflicted whether or not the items were actually helping that much, or it's just the glitch happening again. In the end, your objective to raise your relationship status with San was already done.

"Um, (name)? Even though you're new here, I feel like you're perfect here. Like...you're the missing puzzle piece."

Weird thing to say after receiving a gift, but you'll go with it.

Come on, I'm not that important for you to call me a missing puzzle piece |

You noticed the pout on San's face, yet you saw how his face darkens for a second, as if your words annoyed him.

"Don't say that! A lot of us say that you're perfect! Even though you feel so far away, there's always a chance you'll be much, much closer to us."

"And it's starting," You groaned. Did the creepy dialogue really had to be amped up after Yeosang? It's as if the game knows these things scare and annoy you at the same time. But curiosity did peek out of your mind, wanting to know why exactly San phrased it that way.

What do you mean far? I'm right here |

"You know what I mean, (name)."

No? I really don't, it's like your saying I'm not physically here when I am |

"It's...complicated. I'm not supposed to even talk to you about this or Hongjoong will get mad. Just know that we're always here for you, and I really do hope in the future, we could be together."

You really do wanted his words to affect you as much as he intended too, but you're still creeped out by his choice of words that you can't help but grimace at the thought. There's a frown on your face as you noticed San looking quiet sad, almost changing from his hopeful expression.

What's wrong? |

"Nothing—just that, you seemed hesitant to be here with us."

Your frown deepened when he said that, as if he could look through your computer screen to see the facial expressions you pull. You glanced away for a while, head disappearing yet your eyes are still looking at him.

You might be hallucinating, but you really thought San's eyes seems to follow your every move, his eyes now off to the side where you disappeared. He's still standing like usual, but you noticed how his eyes are silently trained onto you.

Creepy.

Suddenly, you wanted to prove a theory that just popped up inside your head, actually thinking you're slowly loosing your mind over this game.

You silently grabbed your phone, pretending to scroll for a few seconds as you discreetly tried to look back and forth between San and your phone. Nothing suspicious happens, just that San's pout deepened as seconds passed by.

You needed proof. Especially considering what Yeosang said to you earlier.

You pressed Soobin's phone number, turning it on speaker as you waited. You acted nonchalant, tapping your fingers on the table whilst you still glanced at the screen. San's pout was gone, only replaced by a confused stare as he stands there.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Soobin! What's up?"

"Eh, not much. Why you callin?"

"Actually," You moved away, now sitting on your bed. "I wanted to invite you guys to my apartment! Maybe a movie night, you know?" You continued, voice loud enough so your target could still hear the conversation.

"Really? That would be awesome! I gotta ask Yeonjun first though, I don't know if he has plans or not."

You glanced at your computer screen, noticing San now looks tense and furious as he only stands there, as if he's forced to listen.

The change of emotions are really weird, since you haven't touched the game since your call. But you continued, wanting to see what happens.

"That's alright. We could have movie night next Friday, you could stay at my apartment."

"Ooh, like a sleepover!"

You laughed at his enthusiasm, "Yeah, basically like a sleepover."

The conversation continued on, before Soobin excused himself as he wanted to meet his friend in a few hours. Bidding goodbye, you ended the call, walking to your chair before sitting down.

You hummed to yourself, placing down your phone on the table as you typed your reply.

You're acting really weird, San |

You looked at him, hiding your wince as San's face didn't hold his signature dimpled smile. His eyes holds a certain anger, his jaw clenched in annoyance as his hands turned into fists.

"Why did you do that?"

His voice came out gruff, as if he's holding back a growl coming out of his throat. You decided to play innocent, tilting your head in confusion before typing back.

Do what? I just stood here, talking to you |

"(Name), please, don't do that. It hurts us when you do these kinds of things without thinking about our feelings."

A scoff came out of your mouth before you could stop it, feeling annoyed now.

Jeez, I didn't do anything! What are you guys even talking about? |

"Inviting those—"

You waited and waited for him to continue, but nothing happened. The sounds of crackling came out of your speaker for a few minutes, before it stopped. You saw San's desperate face still on your screen, pursing his lips as he looked away. You're wondering what's going on until Hongjoong appeared, smiling as he now stands next to San.

"Hello there, (name)! Funny meeting you here."

Thought you had a meeting with Yeosang about club developments? |

He seems surprised at how blunt you are, but his smile turned into a smug one as he placed a hand on San's shoulder.

"Ah, that. We're already done talking. Seonghwa is handling it now, so I wanted to grab San for a few minutes to...talk."

You frown, already feeling suspicious about how sudden Hongjoong appeared.

"But, hyung! I was—"

"We need to have a talk, San. The others are already waiting for us."

You grimaced at his tone, already feeling uncomfortable at how scary Hongjoong was now.

You guys should go, I need to meet with a few friends anyway |

"What friends—"

"San!"

You jump in surprise, eyes wide at Hongjoong's outburst. San closed his mouth before glaring at Hongjoong, to which the latter only glared back. They seemed to be having a conversation only with their eyes, the tense silence made you uneasy before it broke when San spoke first.

"Bye, (name)."

Yeah...bye |

In a matter of seconds, both if them disappeared from your screen. You groaned loudly at the headache forming inside your head, massaging your head as you closed your eyes.

"Can't this game be normal for one day?"

You quickly continued on day 3, wanting it to end fast enough so you'll be done for today. When night comes, you hurriedly exited the game, closing it before turning off your computer. You sighed, standing up as you walked out of your room.

"I need a drink."

♡

"The coast is clear," Yunho sighed when he no longer felt your presence inside his body, his posture relaxing a little as he sat next to Mingi. "She's gone now."

"San, you almost crossed the line today."

"Almost? He acted way out of line for her to feel suspicious towards us!" Wooyoung screamed.

"Fuck you," San hissed. "Yeosang started first when he asked stupid questions."

"Oh, believe me, I know. I've already reprimanded him enough," Seonghwa darkly answers, crossing his arms as he stared at San. "Now, it's your turn."

"You all can't blame me!" San yelled, standing up from his seat as he slams the table with enough force. "You all heard her! She's inviting other people, other men, to her home!"

"No one's blaming you, hyung," Jongho sighed. "But we need to act normal after she didn't show up for so long. Do you want that to happen again?"

Jongho was only met with silence from San, who looked away as he shook his head. "No...I don't—we don't need that to happen again. I feel empty without her, I can't stand the emptiness. That's why I had to stop her!"

"We all do," Mingi shrugged. "But we have to be patient, especially if we want our plan to go well."

"I just," San sighed, slumping down to his seat. "I don't want her to be with anyone else besides us. We all felt the connection when her face showed up in our eyes. I want her to be here with us."

"We know, San," Hongjoong sighed. "It's not easy to only be able to watch her this way. So far yet so close. It's torture for only being able to see her for only a few hours, even minutes, for just one day."

"Thank God we're able to access her computer freely now," Wooyoung added. "Not interacting with her was torture. But I know I can't just watch her from a far in the long run, that's why we need to stick to our plan."

"Well, if we want to stick to the plan we can't just pinpoint and blame San here," Yeosang frowned. "All of the other trash needs to act as well."

Mingi and Yunho snorted at the way Wooyoung growled, slapping his back teasingly. "What? Got reminded of Hwayoung?"

"After the little stunt she pulled...I can't even be mad at Wooyoung for killing her," Seonghwa shrugged.

"Fuck her for scaring (name) like that! I can't believe she'll corrupt her own data like that," San growled, Wooyoung nodding along with him.

"Less trash to be bothered though, sounds good to me," Yeosang shrugged.

"We still need to keep an eye out on the new ones," Hongjoong hums, looking at a few folders on the table. The names are written on the cover, Hongjoong opening one of the folders, finding a picture of Hwayoung crossed out with a red marker. "They're a risk, but they were essential on pushing (name) back to playing the game."

"Pushing (name)? More like pushing her friend," Jongho laughed loudly, making the others smirk in union.

"Can't believe at how easy she complied to us."

"More like backstabbing. It's obvious she thinks her life is better than our darling," Yunho answered, the pet name slipping up from him making the others tease him.

"Can you blame her? We targeted her remaining friends," San hums. "Then again, she's really fucking stupid if she thinks we could make contact with anyone if they haven't played the game yet."

"Whatever, we'll deal with her later when our darling comes to our arms," Seonghwa huffed.

"Deal how?" Wooyoung smirked evilly, Mingi snickering alongside Jongho as they discussed the best way to torture said girl.

“Stop pouting and come inside,” he’d said.

If anybody else had spoken to you that way you would have cursed at them, but something about Seonghwa’s demeanour was so commanding that you obeyed without hesitation. His smile had turned from teasing to something you couldn’t name, and you felt as though you were on the edge of your seat the whole time you were around him. 

When you confronted San about him a few days later, the other had only sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes.

“I’ve had a lot going on,” he’d told you over cheap, burnt coffee one day during your lunch breaks. “New case at work. It’s a miracle your lot haven’t caught on yet.”

Your lot. Journalists. You’d never understand San’s disdain for your profession. You did your best to convey the truth, the same way most of your colleagues did. If an article or two came out exposing law enforcement’s mistakes it was because they were real and had affected the public, not because you had a secret vendetta against them. Not that San seemed to understand this.

“He seems nice,” you said. The words almost sounded like a question. He had been nice after all, even if there was something about him that made your insides squeeze. 

“He is,” San mumbled. “I put an ad in the newspaper” – You bit back the urge to tease him for putting an ad in the newspaper in this day and age. – “and he was the only person who answered. I thought it was the best way to find someone more sensible.”

“Makes sense,” you hummed. San smiled weakly at you. You wondered briefly what exactly his latest case was. You’d never seen him so worn down by his work, especially not when the case was so fresh. 

“I’ll get back to work then. But come over one of these days, alright?” he said, standing up from his spot at the coffeeshop table. The second you stood up he wrapped you in a warm, tight hug. You tucked your face into his shoulder and he giggled, kissing the side of your head. “I’ll tell Seonghwa you said hi.”

“Okay. Take it easy, Sannie,” you hummed, before letting go of him and watching him leave to go back to work. He looked different when he was out of your reach, fitting into the grey of the city with a sad ease. You sat back down and opened your laptop to get back to your own work, pushing thoughts of Seonghwa’s enchanting smile and San’s tired eyes to the back of your mind. 

You and San’s professions had rarely caused any problems between the two of you. Of course, rarely didn’t mean never. The two of you had already been through occasional spats throughout your friendship - growing up together will do that to you - but the added tension from your lines of work was something newer and more precarious. By the time you were both a few years into your established careers it became clear that you were starting to tread on thin ice.

It had never crossed your mind before that journalists and police detectives could be so at odds with each other, but as time passed it seemed to become more and more obvious why that was the case. Between the corruption and things swept under the rug on San’s side and the rushed distribution of flawed information on yours, it was hard to keep work talk civil. Still, most of the time your aversions were kept quiet and there were even times in which your professions overlapped in a way that allowed you to help each other. This new case, however, allowed for the exact opposite to happen.

“You wrote this?”

San’s voice was deep. Harsh. You hadn’t even heard him walking up to you, still standing outside your usual meeting spot when San pushed the day’s newspaper into your face, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. You were met with your own headline when you looked at the paper and took a deep breath to steel yourself. You should’ve known he would bring it up.

“Police’s refusal to inform the public costs three lives?” he hissed, shoving the paper into your chest and jabbing a finger against it. 

“It’s not about you, San,” you said, even though it was very much about him. He was one of the main detectives on the case after all. 

“It’s about all of us!”

“Well it’s not personal!” you insisted, unable to stop yourself from getting defensive. “Is it not true, anyway? That you withheld information from the public while there were three bodies going cold?”

San paled in front of you even as he gritted his teeth. It was true, no matter his feelings on the article. It hadn’t taken much digging to find out about the supposed murders that the police had tried to keep quiet for nearly a week now. People whose bodies had been peeled open, explored like caverns, whose organs had gone missing and whose limbs had been maimed. Three horrifying murders, all supposedly connected, and not a word from police. You wouldn’t have been surprised if their silence had allowed for more of them to take place. But San wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of admitting it. Not when he’d obviously been working so hard on the case.

“Don’t recite the lines of your bullshit article to me,” he muttered, and while you knew that he didn’t really mean it, that he had never thought your work was bullshit even at the worst of times, you felt your hands shake as you shoved the newspaper back at him.

“As though your department’s statement was any better,” you shot back. San stepped forward, and though the two of you were only centimetres apart you had never felt so far away from him. His hand closed around your wrist, his grip loose but still forceful, and in that second the space between the two of you grew impossibly larger. He opened his mouth to speak but was immediately cut short. 

“I wouldn’t have thought it appropriate to touch a close friend like that.”

San’s eyes widened the same way yours did and you turned simultaneously to find that it wasn’t a stranger interfering with your argument. It was Seonghwa who was standing there on the pavement, a smile on his glossy lips and the corners of his eyes creased. You noted that he was not the only pedestrian looking at the two of you. 

Seonghwa’s smile was different from the one you’d encountered at San’s apartment the last few times you’d visited. It wasn’t teasing or courteous, nor was it friendly. It was strained. Cold. It was more telling of his temperament than a frown would’ve been. San let go of your wrist, embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t-”

“But you were, weren’t you?” Seonghwa asked. The tone of his voice made your blood run cold and your heart skip a beat at the same time. San scowled and snatched the newspaper back from you.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled to you, not unlike a small child who had just been scolded by his mother in front of his friends. You weren’t sure what to make of the apology, not when it was so inauthentic. Instead of replying, you turned to Seonghwa.

“I can defend myself,” you told him. Seonghwa’s smile turned softer, and when he looked at you you found yourself feeling stripped bare beneath his gaze.

“I’m sure. I was just looking out for a friend,” he said. At this, San scoffed.

“Friend?” he asked, raising a brow at Seonghwa. More out of spite toward what San had said than out of affection for Seonghwa, you hummed in confirmation.

“Yeah. Friend,” you emphasised.

San’s frown turned into something closer to a pout, his brows drawing together to form a furrow in the middle. He looked down at the paper in his hands, eyes moving over the headline over and over, as though he might find a word or two in there that would dispute the claim that you and Seonghwa were friends. Eventually he gave up, handing the newspaper to you and shuddering like a bird trying to straighten out its ruffled feathers. 

“I’m going to head back to work. We can see each other tomorrow instead,” San mumbled, and you could find it in yourself to nod back and do nothing more. He glanced into the coffeeshop where the two of you usually shared lunch and turned away to head back to his job, but not without shooting Seonghwa a glare first. You sighed softly and watched him blend back into his life as a cop who couldn’t stand seeing his best friend’s comments on his work. The cold space between you both grew just a little bit wider.

“Hey,” Seonghwa murmured, pulling you out of your own head. He reached out with one arm, slowly, so that you would have enough time to reject him. When you stayed still he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and squeezed you gently, fingers kneading into your shoulder while you both looked down at the newspaper in your hands. He stopped after a while, sliding his hand down to your waist. Something about the way he touched you made you relax rather than tense up the way you expected yourself to do. “Come on, let me buy you coffee.”

“Oh, there’s no need,” you replied, folding up the newspaper and meeting his eyes. 

“I insist,” he pushed. His hand squeezed your waist tight before he let go of you entirely. The moment his touch was gone you found yourself feeling cold and vulnerable. You resisted the urge to reach out for another hug and instead held the newspaper close to your chest. Seonghwa laughed, a sound that should’ve been sweet but instead sounded like an upbeat song twisted into a minor key. “For what it’s worth, I thought the article was good. Well-worded.”

It was your turn to laugh a bitter laugh. 

“Thanks,” you sighed. You met his eyes and allowed yourself to fall into them. “Coffee sounds good.”

You never asked yourself why Seonghwa had arrived at the exact moment San had grabbed your wrist. All you did was smile when he placed a gentle hand on the small of your back, and hoped that he wouldn’t notice the way your grip tightened on the newspaper in your hands.

Just as you’d predicted, the murders grew in number. Three jumped to five and five turned to six. The public was appalled, the police were scrambling to handle the fallout of their silence concerning the first three murders, and every news outlet was fighting to connect the dots and figure out the case before anybody else did.

There were close to no connections between the victims. Spread far and wide across the city, it was hard to tell where the next body would be found and which area officers should be guarding. Three women and three men had been found so far, four killed methodically and almost surgically while the other two were killed brutally, bones smashed and abdomens torn open. At first there was doubt as to whether they could have been committed by the same person, but the way all six crimes coincided made it hard to believe that they belonged to different perpetrators.

Pathologists determined that the victims had been cut open while they were still alive. The murders were close to being vivisections, perverse and calculated in nature. It was just as horrifying as it was intriguing, perfect for triggering the shameful part of human nature that caused humans to stop and stare at car crashes, greedy for the tragedy missing from their own lives. It was always fun to be a spectator when you suffered no consequences after all.

You were working on a new article on the case, mind racing to piece together every new scrap of information that was being handed out to journalists and the public alike, when there was a knock at your front door. You figured that it would be San, coming to talk about your articles or perhaps even apologise, but when you opened the door it wasn’t just your best friend standing in the doorway. 

“Hey,” San exhaled, as though he’d been holding his breath since the last time he saw you. Beside him, Seonghwa smiled at you. 

“Hi doll,” he greeted. You ignored the way San seemed to almost bristle at the pet name that Seonghwa used and instead focused on swallowing down the butterflies fluttering in your throat. When neither you nor San spoke, Seonghwa continued. “We brought some food we cooked. Can we come in?”

Only then did you notice the bags Seonghwa was holding and the box of chocolates in San’s hands. San smiled tentatively as he held them out to you, waiting for you to accept his proposal for a truce. While part of you wanted to keep being bitter, you weren’t strong enough to turn San down. You never had been. You took the box of chocolates from him and snorted when he pulled you into a hug, holding onto you with something close to desperation. 

“I’m sorry. I should never have grabbed you like that,” he mumbled. He was right, but you didn’t feel like pressing the subject any further. You kissed his temple and pulled back from the hug. 

“It’s alright,” you reassured him, stepping aside to let them both into your apartment. 

You didn’t mention out loud the look on Seonghwa’s face as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He was tight-lipped, his jaw hard as stone and his brow bones an icy cliff that gave way to frozen eyes. Even so, he must have noticed the way you looked at him, because his features thawed once San was out of earshot and he glanced at you as though he’d never frozen over to begin with.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said. 

“It’s good to see you too,” you replied, breathless for a reason you couldn’t name. At this, Seonghwa grinned. You found yourself even more winded than before.

After you’d eaten, San volunteered to stay in the kitchen and do the dishes while you and Seonghwa retreated into the room you used for your work. He looked over the notes and news clippings you had tacked onto the wall, eyes drawn to the images you’d obtained from pathologists and morgues of what the various bodies looked like. His expression was different from those you’d seen so far. He remained quiet while he looked over everything, his perfectly manicured fingers trailing over the images. 

“Who do you think did it?” he asked, looking at you. It wasn’t curiosity that was in his features but something else entirely. Something like a high school teacher asking a question that had a painfully obvious answer. You stepped closer to him so that both of you were looking down at the same picture and chewed on your bottom lip.

“A lot of people at work have been saying that it might be a surgeon or an ex-surgeon,” you started, resting your fingertip atop a particularly gruesome picture. “But I thought it might be something different. Like a hunter, maybe. I think that someone who hunts would have more of a capacity for violent murders but they’d know enough to dissect the bodies as well.”

“The word would be vivisect. It was done when they were alive, right?” Seonghwa corrected. Despite his expression just a moment ago his voice was smooth and nowhere near chiding. He placed his fingertip beside yours. His skin was well kept and his cuticles were perfect, but there was something brownish and dark gathered beneath his nail. “I think you’re almost right.”

“Yeah?” you asked, shifting your fingertip only for his to follow. You did it once again, amused by the game of cat and mouse. Not once did you lift your eyes to look at him. You preferred this. The warmth of him standing next to you, his perfect hand and stained fingernail chasing after your finger. You felt him turn his head slightly and shivered when his breath hit your ear.

“It’d have to be both,” he said simply, as though he knew he was right. “An ex-surgeon has no need to murder and a hunter has no need to meticulously take apart. But together?”

His free hand moved to rest on your back, fingers tracing your spine. You finally turned your head to look at him, confused both by him and by the warmth that filled your belly at the sound of his voice. A warmth that was far too close to arousal for your liking. He smiled at you with those glossy lips that always unnerved you and held your gaze with dark, bottomless eyes. 

“Think of it like a butcher,” he said. 

“Butchers kill animals for people to eat,” you replied, glancing between his face and the image of the body still beneath both your fingertips. “There’s no evidence of cannibalism.”

“Well there have been so many missing organs. Do you think it’s an organ trafficker instead? Someone keeping trophies?” he asked. You chewed on your bottom lip again, teeth playing with the flesh until it became soft enough for you to tear a chunk away and swallow it. You looked back at your spread of information, eyes roaming over it all while Seonghwa’s fingers roamed over your back. 

“I don’t know,” you admitted with a sigh. “San’s team hasn’t figured that much out yet.”

“Forget San’s team,” Seonghwa hummed, pressing his hand flat between your shoulder blades. The touch felt safe and loving and, as his blunt fingernails pressed into your skin through the fabric of your shirt, hungry. “You have enough to figure it out. You’ll get there before them.”

Your eyebrows drew together in confusion, your mind struggling to understand what he could possibly mean. But before you could get far San was calling out that he was done with the dishes and that he was putting water to boil for tea. You barely got another glimpse of Seonghwa’s nail and the substance caked beneath it before he was pulling away from you and gesturing for you to follow. 

“Think about it later,” he commanded. 

Not for the first time, you followed his instructions in a heartbeat.

The bodies continued to pile up. The police continued to struggle. The journalists continued to milk money out of the story. The public began to scream of incompetence and carelessness and corruption. The skin beneath San’s eyes grew dark and the collage of images and writings on your wall grew to occupy an alarming amount of space, like something out of a tacky cop TV show. Through it all, the only thing that remained the same was Seonghwa. 

Seonghwa and his perfectly planned outfits, Seonghwa and his carefully applied makeup, Seonghwa and his guarding touches and teasing smiles and minor key laughter. His presence was just as eerie as it was grounding and soon enough you found yourself unlocking the door to San’s apartment not to see your childhood friend but instead to see his roommate. And while San began to shoot you bitter looks each time his department was mentioned in one of your articles, Seonghwa only seemed to grow prouder and prouder, eager to discuss your thoughts and to provide new context and theories that you never would have thought of by yourself. 

This was the case when you let yourself into their apartment early one Saturday morning. You were expecting to find San getting ready to leave for work but it seemed that he wasn’t home. You were toeing off your shoes and hanging up your jacket when Seonghwa emerged from his room, eyelids heavy from sleep but the eyes beneath them just as sharp and alert as they always were. 

“He’s still at the station. Didn’t come home last night,” Seonghwa explained. 

It was odd to see him bare faced after seeing him in makeup all of this time, but he looked just as pretty and alluring now as he did when his lashes were curled and his lips were painted. You nodded in response to him and walked further into the apartment, making your way to the kitchen to put the kettle to boil. 

“This case is really doing him in,” you sighed softly. You thought of San’s worn out face and his irate reactions to the headlines in the newspapers. In all the years you’d known San you’d never seen him so beat down. It was all foreign to you. “Twelve bodies and not a clue as to who’s behind them all. Stuff like that doesn’t even happen nowadays.”

Seonghwa hummed as he followed you, standing beside the counter and watching you. When you’d first met him you’d shrunk beneath his gaze, shying away from his analytical eyes and trying to pull out of his magnetic field. Now, you turned to look at him and found yourself relieved to be close to him. Pulling away wasn’t even a thought in your mind.

“What about you?” he asked. “You’ve been working with it but you don’t seem beat down at all.”

“Well I’ve had you to keep me afloat,” you replied, not thinking twice about the words. The corners of Seonghwa’s lips twitched upwards and you felt your face heat up. 

“I’m enough to keep you afloat?” he asked. While he was only teasing you, the words had enough truth to them to make you face away from him, unwilling to let him notice how your heartbeat had suddenly picked up its pace or how your stomach was suddenly tying in knots. But Seonghwa would have none of that. Though you couldn’t see him, you could hear his footsteps as he came closer to you. When he rested a hand on your hip from where he stood behind you, your nerves melted. You shut your eyes and felt lips pressing against your temple for a heartbeat or two. “You’re closer than you think.”

The words were spoken right up against your ear and the grip on your hip grew tighter. Hungrier. You sucked in a sharp breath and turned to look Seonghwa in the eye. Your noses brushed and the roar of the boiling kettle grew louder and louder until you couldn’t hear your heartbeat rushing in your ears. You wanted to ask him something, anything, to try and understand why he had so much faith in you. Why his touch always felt so protective. Why his smiles always made it seem like he was telling a joke that was too complex for anyone but him to understand. Why he was so good to you when he was so indifferent to his own roommate. But then the kettle clicked at the same moment as the front door’s lock clicked and you were startled out of your train of thought. As though he could read your mind, Seonghwa gently took hold of your jaw and looked between your eyes and your lips, looking like he was arguing with himself. Finally, he let go.

“Hold that thought,” he told you, and stepped away from you. The air of the apartment was cold around you as it took Seonghwa’s place and you found yourself speechless. You were left staring at his face, his expression neutral once again, and found yourself wanting something more. Found yourself hungry.

“Good morning,” San greeted from the doorway of the kitchen, breaking off into a yawn as he waved at you. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Yeah, I just,” you paused to steel yourself, using every ounce of concentration in your body to avoid looking at Seonghwa sitting at the kitchen table. “I thought we could go out and get breakfast together. I didn’t know you were working overnight.”

“It was a last minute thing,” San sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“New body?” you asked, trying to be sympathetic. San seemed to appreciate the gentle tone because he smiled at you more genuinely than he had done in weeks. 

“New body,” he confirmed. “I don’t know what to do. If we could just get an idea of what this person looks like I’m sure we’d figure it out. Someone like this… I think all it’d take is one look at them and we’d know.”

You didn’t miss the way Seonghwa’s face twitched at this. He was amused. You weren’t sure why. You didn’t ask either. 

“I’m sorry Sannie. Go get some rest, it’ll be good to look at it with fresh eyes,” you said, which only drew another sigh from San. He turned and left anyway, leaving only you and Seonghwa in the kitchen. When you both made eye contact, he drummed his fingers against the kitchen table. You noted the filth caked beneath his nails again but this time you didn’t dwell on it. You turned and picked up the kettle, making mugs of tea for all three of you. Seonghwa kept you silent company, and the moment of closeness from earlier went unmentioned. 

Seonghwa didn’t leave you hungry for long. 

For the first time you invited him over alone, not bothering to invite San as well when you knew that he was unbelievably busy. Seonghwa came over the same as usual, all smiles and mundane chit chat and eagerness to hear about your days and what you’d been doing lately. He even let you show him your growing board of images and clippings, eyes never leaving your lips while you told him about all of the new evidence and what it said about the old evidence. He looked at the new images on your desk and picked one up, rubbing his thumb over the picture of somebody’s empty abdominal cavity.

“I didn’t know journalists investigated this much,” he murmured, setting the picture back down.

“Not all of us do,” you replied with a shrug. “But this is what we all study and work for. A big story. They don’t come often, we should do our best with them.”

Seonghwa grunted in response. You turned to look at him, wondering if you’d said something wrong. But then he turned his head to look at you and you felt your heart practically come to a standstill in your chest. His eyes became strangely focused the same way they did when he looked at the gory pictures you had printed out and stuck up for analysis. 

“You’re brave, you know that?” he asked. When you raised an eyebrow in question, he raised one in return. “Don’t you think it’s dangerous to meddle with the affairs of someone who’s so willing to maim and kill? Do you think they aren’t reading all of this? Watching what you’re doing?”

For the first time since the murders had started, you felt a pang of ice cold fear in your chest. 

“No, I… I didn’t think of it like that,” you whispered, looking at your wall through a new lens. Maybe Seonghwa was right. Maybe all you were doing was making yourself a target without even coming closer to an answer for the case. Seonghwa grunted once again. 

“You have to look closer, and never think that they’re not looking back at you,” he said. Before you could even register what he was doing he pushed aside the papers on your desk so that there was a clear space in the middle. He guided you to sit down with the intoxicating touch that you were starting to become more and more familiar with and you followed. You followed again when he stepped forward to stand between your legs and leaned in so that his nose brushed against yours. You looked at his hands and, after weeks of fleeting glances and trying to figure it out, you understood what was stuck beneath his nails. “Look at me. Are you looking at me?”

You looked away from his hands, the icy fear in your chest melting into the warmth of attraction in your stomach, until you couldn’t tell what was horror and what was desire. In the end, both feelings fostered an aching hunger deep in your belly.

“Yes,” you breathed. “I’m looking.”

Seonghwa lifted a hand, allowed you to stare at the blood beneath his nails before he held your jaw and gave it a calculated squeeze. 

“I’m looking back at you,” he said, words ghosting over your lips. 

When he kissed you it was hungry. You felt as though your stomach had opened up into a black hole. His teeth dug into your bottom lip and you let them, even when the pain of it became sharp enough to make you wince. You let him kiss and bite and lick even when the skin broke and the kiss began to taste of metal and flesh. His nails dug into your skin as he pushed his hands up beneath your shirt, no doubt leaving behind indents in the shape of crescent moons, and his breaths came out heavy and unsteady. 

“Keep looking,” he demanded, voice rough and unlike anything you’d heard from his lips before. “I’m looking right back at you.”

The crimes only seemed to escalate after that. In tune with them, the hunger you felt around Seonghwa escalated each time you saw him. You wanted more from him, but he only ever gave you half of that. He pressed you against his kitchen counter and bit into your skin, teeth digging in hard enough that you were sure he’d break past it and make you bleed the same way he did to your lips. But he never did bite that hard. You were starting to learn that Seonghwa was a master of self-control, even though the number of murders in the city only seemed to climb. While you still had no real reason to believe that he had anything to do with them, you couldn’t keep yourself from trying to connect the two dots.

You barely saw San anymore. Instead you sat with your legs over Seonghwa’s lap while you told him about the latest autopsy report and he clued you in on what you weren’t looking at closely enough. He pushed a hand beneath your shirt and traced each of your organs as you described what had happened to those of the victims. Some of them had been removed with the utmost care, while some of them had been torn out with the same aggression a five-year-old would use to tear the limbs off of their Barbie dolls. Seonghwa seemed to enjoy listening to you describe that sort of aggression, and if that was suspicious to you in any way, shape or form, you kept that suspicion to yourself. You never posed any questions, just kept looking closer. Each time you did, you found that Seonghwa was looking right back at you. 

It was late one evening when there was a furious knocking on your front door. You were half-asleep already, sitting in front of the TV with a book in hand, and you stumbled when you got up to answer the door. Unlike weeks ago, it was Seonghwa who you were expecting to see at this time, not your childhood friend. But it was San’s face that greeted you, not his roommate’s.

“Hey Sannie,” you mumbled through your drowsiness. When he didn’t immediately reply, you blinked at him, slowly zoning in on the anger and discomfort in his eyes. You stepped out of the doorway but he made no move to come inside, instead shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

“You know something,” he said. A statement, not a question.

“What do you mean?”

“Your articles are different. The speculation isn’t speculation anymore,” he said. This managed to wake you up.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you said, but the words were only half true.

“I know how you write. I’ve read your articles for years,” San continued, his discomfort becoming more and more obvious. “All this stuff about the killer being a surgeon and a hunter? Speculating that they’re a cannibal? That the killings are like the work of a butcher? You’re not guessing. You’re writing things that you know for sure.”

You froze. You hadn’t even noticed the tone in your articles shifting. You realised suddenly that you might have written about something you weren’t supposed to know, something that hadn’t been revealed to the public yet. Your blood ran cold. You couldn’t even remember how much of Seonghwa’s words had weaved their way into your own. 

“Are they things that you know for sure?” you asked, unable to keep the shake out of your voice. Something akin to disappointment, maybe even betrayal, passed over San’s face. 

“You have to tell us why you know these things. You have to tell us or else they’re going to make you,” he said quietly.

“Don’t you trust me?” you asked. 

“It’s not about trust. This is my job,” San said. He paused for a moment, looking as though he might regret what he was going to say. But he said it anyway. “If I have to throw you under the bus I will. If I have to arrest you or take you to court to solve this case, I will. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t you.”

You weren’t sure what to say to that. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t you. He didn’t even care who he was sacrificing, not if it would get this case off of his back. He didn’t really care about solving it. He cared only about washing his hands of the matter. The two of you did nothing except look at each other for a long while, and that gap that had surfaced when you wrote your first article about the case appeared again, wider and deeper than it had ever been. You wondered for a second if you would turn San in for something he hadn’t done, but it took only a second and not any longer for you to dismiss the idea. Of course you wouldn’t. Who would do something like that?

You shut the door and locked it. You stood there until you finally heard San’s footsteps retreating, finalising the divide in your friendship. 

“You can’t tell me anymore than you already have,” you told Seonghwa days later, taking down your scraps of paper and pictures of evidence and packing them all up into a shoebox. Seonghwa watched from the doorway of the room, his expression stiff enough that you couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or displeased. 

“You don’t want to look anymore?” he asked. You glanced at him, felt your cheeks turn hot as he looked at you. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” you mumbled. “San’s going to turn me in if I say anything else.”

“What makes you think he’d be able to?”

This time when you looked at Seonghwa he looked something close to livid. 

“What makes you think anyone can hurt you anymore? That they could do anything to you that you don’t want them to do?” 

You tried not to think about what the words implied when there was dry blood beneath his nails and a dark look in his eyes. You pushed the last of the pictures into the box and set it down on top of your desk. You sealed it shut with copious amounts of tape, working silently even as Seonghwa came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. Finally, you were done, but you stayed still as Seonghwa pulled you closer to him, nosing at the back of your neck. 

“Keep looking, okay?” he whispered. “I’ll keep looking back.”

Pulling and pulling, swallowing and swallowing. It was all Seonghwa knew how to do. Not for the first time, you let yourself be pulled in and swallowed down. Only this time, you were finally aware of it. 

It didn’t take long for another body to be found. Only that this time, you knew first. You knew before the emergency service operators did, before the police did, before any other journalist did. You knew first, and you kept looking and looking and looking while it looked back all the while.

This was the first time you’d seen somebody die and it was the first time you’d seen somebody kill. It was also the first time you’d seen somebody open-mouthed and bloody-lipped. Breathless, beautiful. Exquisite, intoxicating. Hungry. Hungry, hungry, hungry. 

Hungry even when he pulled you close and kissed you with blood in his mouth and all over his face and beneath his nails. He swallowed down flesh and you kept looking. He tore open skin and you kept looking. He got blood on his peachy eyeshadow and you kept looking. The shameful part of your human nature wouldn’t let you pull your eyes away. 

“C’mere doll.”

His voice was magnetic and he knew it. You moved closer to him, shuffling alongside the body beginning to turn cold beside you both on the bed. Seonghwa’s hands slid beneath your underwear, squeezing your ass tight enough to make you gasp. He stained your skin with blood and grinned at you. He leaned forward to kiss your neck and this time his teeth broke the skin. He lapped up the blood that surfaced, kissed at the wound like a mother kissing her child’s scraped knee. 

“Are you still looking?” he asked, sounding something like tires crunching on gravel. 

“Yes,” you replied, kissing at his iron-coated lips. He hummed, satisfied. If he wanted to eat you whole you would have let him in that moment, spellbound by his touch and gaze the same way you had been when you first met him. But for the first time since you’d laid eyes on him he was satisfied, less of a blackhole and more of a bottomless pit. Less of a bottomless pit and more of a man. 

“Good. Don’t take your eyes off me.”

Even as the case spiralled, even as dry blood began to accumulate beneath your fingernails, even when your best friend’s name appeared in your headlines, you did exactly as he said. The fear subsided into curiosity, and curiosity subsided into admiration, and admiration inevitably subsided into hunger. Through each and every body and through each and every bump in the case, your eyes never left his. And he kept looking

right

back

at you.

.

taglist: @i-luvsang @peanutpmingib @sannierio @lokai-fi @w-iill @cutie-wooyo @xirenex @sanjoongie @talkbykhalid @itsjustwinter

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"You're really going to wait and pretend to leave when she gets here and then sneak your way inside?" Seonghwa's arms crossed, shifting his weight against the doorway to the front office when he saw San idling near the building's entrance. "Just so you can 'accidentally' bump into her and introduce yourself."

"Yup," San replied without any hint of shame, simply bouncing on the balls of his feet next to the entrance. "It's only right that I go out of my way to introduce myself since we will be living right next door to each other and make sure she knows I'll be right there if there's ever anything she needs."

"Oh, wow, really? Who would have known?" Wooyoung's voice floated out from further within the office, heavy with sarcasm. "It's not like you haven't rubbed that fact in about a hundred times by now."

"Shut up, Woo. We all know you, Seonghwa, and Yeosang are going to get to see her the most." San's smirk slipped. "After all, you are the ones who'll be getting to work with her."

"Perhaps, but why do I get the feeling someone will be abusing their power to tweak the schedules and benefit themselves." Wooyoung's voice grew louder as he left his desk and made his way to the doorway Seonghwa leaned against, stretching out the muscles in his back from sitting. "I wonder who that would be, huh?" His eyes narrowed in Seonghwa's direction.

"Well, I am the senior manager." The elder made no attempt to rebuke Wooyoung's statement, simply smirking at the implication.

"A title you only got by fucking age, you bastard." Wooyoung rolled his eyes. "And if I start to notice a trend, I'm going to tell Hongjoong someone hasn't been playing fair."

"And you don't think he's not going to use his seniority to influence her either?" Seonghwa asked, shifting his position against the doorway. "We might all be sharing, but that doesn't mean it won't come down to every man for himself when it comes to who gets to have her first. And we all know playing fair won't be a part of this game."

At the thought of finally having you, finally tasting you, San was unable to keep his fangs from growing as a newfound thirst took over. His tongue rolled over their sharpened points, the image of your body beneath him and the supple skin of your neck bare and exposed just for him, all but begging for him to take you, filling his head.

"It'll be a while until we fully get to savor her though," Wooyoung interrupted San's thoughts, taking note of the direction his mind had gone from the fangs that had extruded past his lips. "Yeosang says she reeks of him. It'll be a few weeks before we get his blood out of her system."

"What was it I said?" Yeosang interrupted their conversation when he suddenly rounded the corner from the stairs, a cup of tea in hand and looking like he had just tumbled out of bed with the messy state of his hair and the yawn that followed. "Oh," his face fell, "she's not here yet."

"Fucking hell," Seonghwa sighed, shaking his head. "You too?"

"Me too, what?" Yeosang cocked his head, an overtly innocent expression on his face as his thumb pointed to the mailboxes at his right. "I'm just here to get my mail."

"Dressed like that?" Seonghwa's eyes glittered dangerously as he took in the casual outfit Yeosang wore, the tight-fitting sweatpants and loose tank exposing his sides all but screaming for attention. For your attention. "And precisely," he paused to check the time on his watch, "two minutes before she's supposed to be here?"

"Precisely," Yeosang smirked and took a sip of his tea, making no further move to get his mail like he had claimed.

"And here I was thinking you were better than this."

"Then clearly you don't know me half as well as you think you do if you believe I'm going to waste an opportunity as this one." There was a slight edge to his tone, yet his expression remained playful, reminding Seonghwa and the others of the darker side beneath Yeosang's generally easy going attitude.

It had been a long time since someone had piqued his interest anywhere close to where you had, and his reaction only served to excite the others even more. If you had him this riled up, this eager for your attention, you must have been something quite extraordinary.

"I am the one who found her, after all," he quipped, leaning back against the wall behind him, "and I won't just stand aside to let the rest of you catch up."

"You didn't find shit, Sangie, and you know it." San shook his head, rebuking his statement. "She came to us, remember? Willingly. You just happened to be the lucky bastard who was working that day."

"Perhaps," Yeosang shrugged, "But that doesn't change the fact I was the one who convinced her to fill out the application and I'm the one she'll be thanking for helping her get accepted."

"God, why the hell did you give the open house to him?" Wooyoung whined.

"Because the one time I left you in charge of an open house, you ended up killing one of the attendees and then Hongjoong and I had to spend the rest of the day fixing things," Seonghwa answered, giving Wooyoung a pointed look. "And we all know Yeosang has the best sense of smell out of all of us, so it's only natural he's the one that picks. He hasn't failed us yet, has he?"

"It's a good thing I did it too because I highly doubt the rest of you would have been able to pick it out," Yeosang replied. "Sure, I was suspicious as to why another vampire's scent was all over her, but it wasn't until we were outside and the wind blew just right that I noticed the subtle hints of her own scent coming through. And trust me, there's no way she's not a-"

Yeosang was interrupted when the office phone began to ring, alerting them all to what was about to happen and ending their current conversation. In a matter of seconds, each man was moving towards the task at hand to ensure your first interaction with them was nothing but flawless.

Wooyoung collapsed into his chair, hurrying to press the button that would open the front gate for you, more than eager to finally see you face to face. He had seen the pictures Yeosang had snapped of you without your knowledge, and these had only added to his excitement, your beauty more than evident.

San kept his place next to the front door, checking his appearance one last time in the nearby mirror as he waited for the perfect moment to 'leave' the building and bump into you.

Yeosang took his time finding his mailbox, casually shifting through the few pieces it had contained while he waited for you to enter the building and have a chance to speak to you once more.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes as he strayed for just a minute longer, eyeing both of their childish antics with partial annoyance. He couldn't really blame them, not when this day was something each of them had waited centuries for. Not when this was something they had all begun to believe would never happen to them, all but losing hope someone like you would come walking into their life. If the roles had been reversed, he knew he would have been acting similarly to them, but today's events were important. What happened today would dictate your future with them and the last thing any of them needed was to fuck it all up because some of them couldn't be patient.

He knew their behavior wasn't really a cause for concern, however they might have annoyed him. You may have not been legally theirs yet, but you had sealed your fate the moment you had stepped into their domain and nothing you said or did would change that.

When neither one showed any intention of giving you space for the time being, Seonghwa sighed before following Wooyoung back into the office, taking a split second to check his own appearance in the mirror. Over the centuries they had been together, he had long learned there was little he could do to control any of the others. No matter what he said, they would do whatever it was they wanted and damn the consequences. Instead of concerning himself with their shenanigans, he needed to focus on the task he had been given and ensure you sighed the contract.

And you would. Willingly or not, it didn't matter. You wouldn't step a foot outside this building until it was signed. And if you showed any sign of hesitation, he would simply push you in the right direction with a little coaxing, your kind's mind weak and powerless to his power of persuasion. In the next few hours, you would sign your way over to them. He would make absolutely certain of it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Oh, sorry!"

You stepped out of the way as the door to the building swung open before you had a chance to find the button to buzz the office. A man stood on the other side, head and attention directed behind him as he finished up his conversation with whoever was back there before he left.

At your soft apology, he turned to face you and you had a hard time stopping your cheeks from tinting pink as you took in his features. He was beautiful. A few inches taller than you, black hair effortlessly swept back from his face, bringing full attention to his strong cheekbones and sharp jawline. All of which made it more difficult to control the blush blooming at the back of your neck. And when he smiled down at you and motioned for you to come through first, you knew there was no way your cheeks weren't at least a little bit pink by now.

"Thanks," you reply, returning a timid smile of your own before tucking your purse closer towards you and slipping past him inside.

"Oh, hey, y/n!"

Your gaze was directed past him and to the right when you entered, surprised to hear your name being called out. A man stood near the mailboxes, smiling and waving at you as he shuffled through his mail. It took a few seconds for you to recognize him, the addition of glasses and casual wear a stark difference from the man who had been your tour guide a little over a week ago.

"Are you here to sign the lease?"

"Yeosang, hi!" You returned the wave, unable to stop your eyes from momentarily roaming over the rest of his body and wondering how you hadn't noticed just how attractive he was before. "And yeah, I think so. I was told to come in and meet with Seonghwa to finalize everything."

"Oh, you must be the new tenant of 604 then," the man who had opened the door for you spoke up behind you, directing your gaze back towards him. "I'm Choi San. I live in the unit right next to yours, 603."

"Oh, hi." You hesitantly took the hand he had extended in greeting. This? This was who you would be living next to? God, you could already hear the jokes Felix would start when he found out who your new neighbor would be. "I'm l/n y/n. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," San replied, an easygoing smile still stretched across his features. "I'm also one of the people in charge of maintenance here, so please just let me know if you ever have any issues with anything and I'll be more than happy to help."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

You had to admit that having maintenance right across the hall from you was nice, but as sincere as his willingness to help seemed to be, you knew it would be a while before you ever approached him for any help. The last thing you wanted him, or any of the other workers here for that matter, was to think you would be taking advantage of them in any way. They had already done so much for you with the new job and new housing, the last thing you wanted was for them to think you were trying to wring more out of them. No, you would do your best to pay them back for the kindness they had shown you and ensure you weren't a burden on anyone. Ensure that you didn't need to depend on anyone anymore.

"y/n, I presume?"

You turned in the direction the new voice had come, finding yet another very attractive man around your age leaning against a nearby doorway. He appeared slightly taller than the other two, hair dyed a bright, startling white.

"I'm Park Seonghwa, the senior manager here at the Paradigm."

Shit.

This was Seonghwa? This was the man who would likely be serving as your new boss?

"Hi, yes, I'm l/n y/n." You nodded, making your way over towards him. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I had some issues getting a few of the documents you needed and then there was a wreck on my way here that slowed everything down."

And by issues, it seemed someone had conveniently forgotten to give back the key to your lockbox that you kept on your keyring. It wasn't until after nearly ransacking the apartment looking for it that you remembered you had stowed a spare key in your car a year ago that you were finally able to get the identification documents you needed without having to call your boyfriend and ask him where the hell he had taken it and raising unnecessary suspicion.

"Don't worry about it," Seonghwa waved your concerns away, motioning for you to follow him inside. "I had a few things I still needed to finish up for your arrival, so your timing is perfect."

"Oh, well, I'll still apologize nonetheless. I'm incredibly thankful for this opportunity you've given me here and I don't want you to think I'm taking any of it for granted."

"I assure you, it's fine," Seonghwa replied. "Things are pretty relaxed here for the most part, so no one's worried about a few minutes here or there. And it's not like I haven't had to drag Wooyoung or Yeosang out of bed before when they've slept through the first hour of their shift."

"You're one to talk, Hwa." Hearing his name mentioned, the other man inside the office spoke up, alerting you to his presence. His head was propped up in his hand and a teasing smile was directed towards the man in front of you. "Or have you forgotten how you missed half your shift the morning after your birthday last year."

"Like I said," Seonghwa's eyes narrowed back at him, but he didn't try to rebuke his statement, "we're fairly flexible around here."

"I'm Wooyoung by the way." The red haired man's eyes moved towards you. "We spoke on the phone earlier."

"Right." You nodded, returning his smile and fully realizing how much more awkward you would have felt in that conversation if you had known just who you had been talking to in that moment. "It's nice to meet you, Wooyoung."

With greetings out of the way, you followed Seonghwa to his desk in the back, sitting down in the chair he pulled out for you. As he began to go over everything pertaining to your time with them, you slowly began to relax. Despite being originally intimidated by his appearance and status, Seonghwa truly was nice. He was easy to talk to and just as it had been with Yeosang, you felt a pull towards him and could see yourself fitting in well here with them. Easily slipping into the casual workflow they had here, much less stressful than anything you had to deal with at your current place of work.

But before you got around to signing the multiple documents to seal everything in place, Seonghwa walked you down to the on-site clinic to get your blood drawn before the doctor on schedule closed for the day. The nerves that had previously been quelled by Seonghwa and the others' affable personalities slowly crept back at the notion of having your blood drawn. You had done your best to push the thoughts aside when Wooyoung had mentioned it earlier, but you had a hard time remaining calm as you followed him, your fear of needles beginning to get the best of you.

You didn't know what you had expected when Seonghwa mentioned Yunho would be the one to draw your blood today, but it sure as hell wasn't the tall, gorgeous man smiling at you when you entered the room. But then again, after everything else you had experienced here this far, should you really have been surprised by the real life equivalent of Carlisle Cullen - minus the vampiric qualities of course.

"Are you okay?" Yunho asked as he sat down on the stool next to you, taking the arm you extended towards him to begin prepping it.

"Yeah," you nodded, attempting to still your fidgeting nerves and praying you wouldn't come close to passing out like you had the last time you had been stuck. "I'm just not the biggest fan of needles, but it's fine." You were quick to add the last few words before he could say anything, not wanting him or Seonghwa who was still hovering near the entrance to the room to think you were trying to talk them out of this. "I used to give occasionally when I was younger, but then something must have happened because the last time I attempted to give, it didn't go well and I haven't been able to give since. I've wanted to start giving again though, so perhaps this is just the push I need to get over the fear."

You really didn't know what had happened to cause the fear. You had never liked needles before, but you had always been fine with them. It wasn't until two years ago that you had your first panic attack from them when you had gone in for your flu shot and very nearly passed out. And when you had tried to give blood a few months later, you had passed out and found yourself growing antsy at the mere thought of needles. You had no idea what had caused this sudden onset, having no bad occurrences with them in the past, but whatever it was, was enough to keep you avoiding them.

"Well, I assure you I will do my best to make this as quick and painless as possible." The smile he sent your way nearly had you melting in your spot and you felt your nerves begin to relax the slightest. "Just try and focus on me instead, okay?"

You nodded, unable to stop the blush that tinted your cheeks at his words, embarrassed at how your childish fear was playing out in front of him and all the more flustered by him because of it.

"So, y/n, tell me about yourself," he began in an attempt to distract you from the needle sliding in, but you still flinched, turning your head in the opposite direction. Looking at it was only going to make you more woozy than you already were. "What do you like to do?"

"A little bit of everything, I guess. When I have the time, I like to read, but with school and work, I don't have nearly as much time as I used to. I also enjoy both volleyball and skiing, but only really get a chance to do either of those during school breaks," you began, doing your best to focus on the conversation at hand and not on the fact there was a needle inside you at this moment, a thought that had you closing your eyes and sinking further into the chair. "And then I do quite a bit of art as well, which I suppose I would have to, seeing as I am getting a degree in graphic design."

"Seonghwa, I think we're all good here now. Feel free to head on back and I can walk y/n back to your office when we're done." Yunho diverted the conversation for just a second, turning his attention to the other male in the room before focusing on you once more. "You said you're getting a degree in graphic design. What do you want to do with that when you're done?"

"I'd love to work in the video game industry, but it can be a tricky field to get into and make a living off of, so who knows." You took a sip of the drink Yunho had handed you before he had begun, hoping the sugar from the juice would help keep your head level. So far, you were still feeling okay, but knew it could change in a second if you let your head dwell elsewhere for too long. "But my friend Felix is a computer engineering major and is also interested in gaming, so we've actually been working on creating our own game this past year. He handles all the coding and logistics, while I work on the artwork, animation, and story design."

"What's the game about?"

"Oh, well, it's still in pretty early development as neither of us ever have much time to work on it, but the gist of it is that you play as a character who has been transported to the middle of a giant labyrinth and must survive long enough to find a way out before it's too late. As you journey through, you'll find both enemies and potential allies and it's up to the player to decide just how you'll escape and who all will make it out with you. And with the labyrinth randomizing with each game, you'll be guaranteed a different playthrough each time. Or at least that's the goal."

It was hard to tell if Yunho was truly interested or not as you began to ramble on about your project, but his trick to get your mind off the matter at hand was working and you didn't dwell on the matter too long before you continued, unable to stop yourself from rambling with the nerves coursing through you.

"Felix also thought it would be cool if there was some form of romance in the game, so we've also recently started working on implementing some sort of relationship aspect to it. One which will not only allow you to form romantic relationships with the companions you meet along the way, but also friendships and enemies as well. So, if you end up making one of the npcs mad, you might just want to sleep with one eye open. Otherwise, you might just wake up with all your supplies stolen or a dagger to your throat depending on who you upset."

"And it's just the two of you working on it?" Yunho asked, to which you nodded. "That's impressive. It sounds very cool."

"You think?" You took a risk and turned your head towards him, attempting to gauge his response.

"Of course. It sounds like something I would enjoy playing." His eyes lifted upwards for a moment, giving you a reassuring smile.

"Oh, well, maybe I can show you what we have done so far sometime."

"I'd like that."

His smile was infectious and you couldn't hold back your own grin at his words before turning your gaze away once more. Was there anything about this man that wasn't perfect?

"Does that mean you like to play video games too?" you asked after a few moments, taking another sip of your drink to try and get a hold of yourself once more.

"Maybe not as much as some of the others here, but yes, I have played quite a bit over the years," he replied. "In fact, there's a group of us that usually gets together on Tuesdays for a game night. You should join us sometime when you're all settled in and feeling up to it. We'd love to have you, though I must warn that things can get heated at times. Some of us have a harder time taking a loss than others."

You laughed, knowing all too well what he was talking about. Your friend Felix also fell in that category of people. "Sounds like fun. I'll have to keep that in mind."

"And on that note, we are just about all done here," Yunho said as he applied a cotton ball to the crook of your arm to stop the bleeding before beginning to bandage you back up.

"What? Really?" His words surprised you, too distracted by your conversation to notice he had slipped the needle out already. "Wow, you're good. I didn't even feel it."

"Not so bad then?" he asked, collecting the vials of your blood and standing up to properly store them before they got sent off for testing.

"Well, considering I passed out the last time my blood was drawn, I'd say this was a vast improvement." You could feel the endorphins kicking in now that it was over, a huge wave of relief washing over you. "After that, I sort of stopped going around needles as a whole. My mother wasn't very happy when I stopped getting flu shots, but seeing as I haven't gotten sick in years, I'd say I'm okay."

"Here, why don't you eat one of these." Yunho extended a plate of cookies in your direction. "I didn't take too much since we just needed a sample, but you should still probably eat just in case, especially if you're going to be driving later."

"Did you make them?" you asked, taking one from the plate and giving it a try. "They're really good."

"No, sadly that credit has to go to Wooyoung. Despite how he may appear at times, he's actually a really good cook."

"Really?" Like Yunho said, this fact did surprise you. You hadn't pictured the playful redhead as someone who might have enjoyed cooking, let alone be good at it. But here you were. Was there anything about these men that weren't perfect? "I'll have to let him know if he's still around when I get back."

You waited there with Yunho until he was done putting everything away, taking the time to recover and sneak another cookie or two before getting back on your feet. Once you were good, and certain you wouldn't be passing out anytime soon, you followed Yunho back towards the front office when he had closed everything up.

You chatted idly with him as you went, finding him just as engaging as the others. When you arrived back at the front office, however, your attention was stolen by Wooyoung. You were too distracted by praising him for his baking skills that you didn't notice the additional male that had made his way into the room in your absence. It wasn't until you had finished up your brief conversation with Wooyoung and began making your way back to Seonghwa's desk that you finally noticed the man beside the senior manager. He was seated on the edge of the desk next to Seonghwa, and though his back was directed towards you, his head turned in your direction when he noticed your hesitant approach.

"y/n, this is Kim Hongjoong, the owner of Paradigm."

Once again, the introduction took you for a spin. Of all the mentions you had heard about the man, the person sitting before you was the very last thing you had ever imagined in your head. He looked no older than the rest of the occupants here, including yourself, making you wonder if he had inherited this place from a family member or bought it with a fortune he had inherited. It was the only two plausible explanations you could think of.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim." You had a hard time stopping yourself from wriggling in your spot as he took you in. Not just from knowing this man was the one responsible for your admittance here and his role as your boss, but also from his appearance, easily just as attractive as the other coworkers you had met up to this point. "I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity you've given me here."

"Please, just Hongjoong. Mr. Kim makes me feel old." He smiled, alleviating a bit of your nerves. "And after everything Yeosang and the others have had to say about you, we're all excited to have you on board with us here. I just came down to introduce myself and make sure Seonghwa had everything in order."

"I believe we've just about gone through everything." Seonghwa motioned for you to sit down. "All that's left is to sign everything and you'll be all set." He pushed a stack of papers alongside a pen towards you. "Feel free to scan through these, but all of it is just a reiteration of everything we've already gone through or just a part of the lease agreement attached to the email Yeosang had sent you earlier. I've also gone through for you and highlighted each of the sections you need to sign or initial to make things easier."

You nodded, taking the pen that sat on top of the stack before beginning to go through and sign the various documents. You briefly scanned through the first few pages before signing them, but upon seeing Seonghwa was right, and each sheet was just a repeat of everything you had already talked over, you eventually began to just skim through the pages in search of the areas Seonghwa had highlighted for you.

"I think that is everything," you began, finishing your signature on the last page and briefly flipping through the previous documents in search for any spot you might have missed before handing the stack back to Seonghwa across from you.

Seonghwa took a second to flip through the pages as well, double-checking your work. "It appears everything is signed and in order." He dropped the stack back on his desk before opening one of the drawers to his left. "Congratulations on your new apartment, Miss l/n." The object he had reached for was a small bag which he now extended towards you. "I know you said you wouldn't be able to move in or start until two weeks from now, but your unit is ready and everything is in order, so here are the keys to your apartment and mailbox, alongside the card you'll use to unlock the doors to the building and the sticker you'll need to put on your windshield to unlock the gate to the garage. So, feel free to come and go as much as you'd like until then because for all extents and purposes, you are now officially a resident of the Paradigm."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Felix, I swear to all things holy, this place is going to be the death of me." You could hear the laughter this statement elicited from your best friend through the car's speakers, and you had a hard time hiding your own flustered smile despite knowing he couldn't see it. "No, I swear, Felix, how the hell am I supposed to work and act normal when everyone around me looks like the physical embodiment of a god. We're talking Haneul level here, Felix. Haneul."

High on finally finding a place of your own, and at The Paradigm no less, you had gone up to see your new apartment one more time before you left. You had spent longer up there than you anticipated, fully basking in the realization that this was now yours and no one else's. Just yours.

It hadn't taken long for the thought to overwhelm you, causing you to break down in the upstairs bathroom for a few minutes. The realization you were finally getting out and starting over hitting you hard.

Once you had finally gotten a hold of yourself, you had taken a picture of the lower level with your newly acquired keys to the place and sent it to your best friend in order to update him on your decision. It had only taken a few seconds after you sent the photo for Felix to call you, nearly as excited as you were.

"Haneul level?" At the mention of the coworker the two of you had both been admiring from afar the last few weeks, Felix's voice took a slightly more serious tone as you were finally able to drive your point down to him. "All of them?"

"Well, all of the ones that I've met so far, but yes!" you cried, though the hint of a giggle did break through, still giddy from the day's events. "Now do you see my predicament?"

"y/n, I don't think that's a predicament," he began, "I think that's heaven. And as your best friend, I think it's only right for you to let me come see your new place in person... and perhaps these gods in the form of your new coworkers."

You giggled once more at the way Felix quickly spit the words out at the end, rushing them to make it harder for you to make out. "Well, Felix, you're in luck because I just so happen to need some help moving a few things into the place this Saturday."

"I thought you weren't moving in until the following weekend."

"I'm not, but I figured I could get some stuff done this weekend since Jae is still on weekends." Despite the joyous occasion, you still felt your spirits fall at the mention of your soon to be ex-boyfriend, wondering just how you were going to pull this all off successfully. "I thought I would go out and get some of the items I need and move them in so I don't have to worry about all of it the following weekend."

"And you still plan on keeping it all a secret from him until the last moment?"

"Yes," you sighed, running a hand through your hair and wondering just how you were going to make it through the next two weeks without letting anything slip. If you had it your way, you would have moved in today, but knew that wasn't a smart move to make, not when you planned to finish up your scheduled shifts at your current job. If you were to break things off with him now, you knew he would come find you and convince you to change your mind and go back with him. "I know it's not right, disappearing with little more than a note after all these years, but I'm terrified of what might happen if I try to tell him in person. You know what happened last time I tried, Lix. What if it happens again and I ruin everything I've finally managed to set up for myself."

The last time you had pulled the courage to end things, Felix had offered you a spot at his place until you got back up on your feet. Everything had been set up and packed, and yet, when you had stopped and told Jae what was happening when he came home from work that evening, he had flipped. You didn't remember much of what happened afterwards, but just as before, all your belongings had been put back up and away. He had been extra attenuative to you that following week, even calling out of work to spend more time with you, making you wonder for a moment why you had ever tried to break things off.

"I'm not judging you, n/n. The guy's a piece of shit and doesn't deserve a proper break up after all the shit he's put you through," Felix replied, taking note of your fallen mood. "You, however, deserve the fucking world, including this new start with your supposed godlike coworkers, and I swear if he tries anything to fuck it up, I will personally kill him."

"Thanks, Felix. I don't know what I would do without you," you mumbled back, comforted by his constant support and friendship. You truly didn't know where you would be without him. "But if I'm being honest, as attractive as these men may be, I think it's time to take a nice, long break away from any sort of relationship and focus on myself for a little bit."

Sure, they were attractive, but you truly didn't have any intention of acting on anything at the moment. And even if you did, the chances of them not already being in a relationship or even remotely interested in you was slim to none and setting yourself up for something that was never going to happen would only make you feel worse than you already did. Though time had numbed the pain, you knew you were hurting after years of being stuck where you were now. Pain that would quickly resurface if you attempted to bounce back into the dating game before you were ready. You needed time to heal, time to recover from the shit you had been put through these past years. And the only way you were going to do that was if you spent a good bit of time focusing on yourself.

And this might have been what happened if you were heading to some place normal, some place sane. If you hadn't just unknowingly signed your entire being over to the very men you were just talking about. Each of whom had no intention of letting you do anything on your own now that you were theirs.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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