New World Network

Your lungs burnt, your clothes had tears from low hanging branches and you had lost one of your shoes about… you actually had no idea how long you've been running. All you knew was he was behind you. You didn't dare look back. Any second wasted would mean defeat. The woods were illuminated by the full moon, a blessing and a curse. You were able to see where you stepped but he was able to see you as well. All your thoughts were focused on running, trying to get away and not let him win. 

Quickly, you turned around a corner, trying to disappear in a thicker part of the woods. You tried to listen for his steps but the rushing of your blood in your ears drowned out all noise. In the distance you saw the cabin, your destination. Relief ran through you and you pushed yourself harder to make it before he caught you. 

But your relief was short-lived. Before you could reach the wooden steps a hand tangled itself in your hair and pulled. Hard. With a scream you fell backwards, the growl coming from him echoing in the dark empty woods. You scratched at his arm, trying to claw your way out of his hold. He let go of your hair, letting you fall to the ground. You caught yourself on your forearms and tried to scramble forwards, wanting to make it to the cabin, to safety. His hand caught your ankle, dragging you backwards on the dirty ground. Your nails dug into the dirt while you used your free leg to kick back at him. He caught your other ankle with ease and dragged you to him. In an attempt to throw him off, you grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it at his face. His eyes flashed dangerously and you knew any mercy he might have shown you was gone. He flipped you onto your back and yanked you to him by your ankles, wrapping your legs around his waist. You scratched at his face but he just pinned your wrists to the ground. You looked up at him, your face wet with tears, dirt smeared on your cheeks. He panted on top of you, his lips pulled into a smile with his teeth glinting in the moonlight that made him look more predator than man. He had won. 

“Mine.”

The grumble that left him made you weak. You figured he was going to drag you to the cabin now and claim his prize but to your shock he let go of your wrists and grabbed the hem of your shirt, ripping it down the middle. Your nipples hardened from the cool air. Your pants didn’t stand a chance against him, the fabric seeming to part like butter at his strength. He ripped your soaked panties next and stuffed them in your mouth. He pinned your wrists to the ground again.

“Stay,” he growled. It seemed like all humanity had left him, leaving only his animalistic side. You kept your hands on the ground next to your head while he unbuckled his belt. The clinking of his belt and his dark eyes staring down at you had you shivering in fear and arousal. He freed his hard cock, not bothering to pull his pants off. He held eye contact with you as he spit on your cunt and you knew that was all the preparation you’d get. His hands gripped your thighs, spreading you open while he positioned the tip of his cock at your entrance. You clenched in anticipation and fear at the inevitable stretch but you didn’t dare move your hands. 

With a low growl he pushed inside, hard and with no regard for your comfort. You let out a scream, your pussy trying to accommodate his size but he gave you no time to adjust as he started thrusting into you. His form loomed over you, the only thing in your field of vision was him. Despite the burning stretch, your cunt sucked him back in with every thrust. Sticks and leaves were scraping against your skin but the feel of his cock inside you made you forget everything else. You were still crying but your screams had turned into needy moans. He grunted on top of you with every thrust, his teeth found your neck. He bit down hard on your shoulder, drawing blood. Your hands grasped at his back, nails digging into his skin. You drew blood yourself as your nails dragged down his back and he let out a loud growl, right into your ear. He licked the tears from your cheek, all the way to your eye. His pace got rougher and more erratic, only focused on driving his cock into your cunt like he was trying to hammer his shape into it. One of his hands left your thigh and gripped your breast. He squeezed hard, his big hand closing around it completely. You cried out and it only made him thrust harder into your cunt. Your orgasm came like a wrecking ball, you screamed into your panties stuffed into your mouth. He let out an answering roar as he emptied himself inside of you. He kept thrusting, like he was trying to make sure his seed was in your womb. Fully his. Claimed. When his orgasm was completely done, he collapsed on top of you, still softly growling into your neck, licking and biting at your skin. 

Very few people seemed to appreciate you the way that Jihoon did. There wasn’t a single day that went by where the man you loved either told you or showed you that he loved you just as much, if not more. He cherished every single thing you crocheted for him, whether you were satisfied with the end result yourself or not. He listened when you needed a shoulder to cry on, whether the problem you were having seemed big or small. He even sang you to sleep most nights, with a voice that sounded like the epitome of warmth and comfort.

Over the past few months, however, Jihoon had grown distant. You didn’t really understand why, though. At first, he blamed family obligations and extra stress at work, and you believed him, because they seemed like reasonable explanations. As time passed, however, and the obligations that should have been met with no issue were stretched seemingly endlessly, you started to doubt him.

A small part of you felt guilty for even entertaining the thought that Jihoon might be cheating. After all, he’d never given you a reason to doubt his loyalty before. As time went on, however, and the man that you loved seemed to stop treating you like he loved you too, you couldn’t help but wonder if he was really up late texting his sister like he claimed.

It was a matter of time before the combined loneliness that stemmed from the ever-growing distance between you and Jihoon and the anxiety that ate away at you as you wondered if he still loved you grew to be too much for you to handle. With no idea what else to do, you decided to just have a conversation with him and hopefully clear the air once and for all.

Of course, things rarely played out the way you hoped that they would.

The conversation with Jihoon was a disaster. In his defense, you probably shouldn’t have started the conversation immediately after the two of you got home from work, but you couldn’t help but think that the conversation would have ended poorly regardless.

It started when you called Jihoon to your shared bedroom shortly after arriving home and said, “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course. Is everything alright, my love?” he asked, hands and voice shaky.

“What’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been distant lately. Is something wrong? Did I do something?”

“Nothing’s wrong, baby. Just been busy with work, and you know how Nayeon is,” he answered with a roll of his eyes at the mention of his sister.

“The way you’ve been acting lately makes it seem like there’s more to it than that. Just tell me what’s really going on, please?” you said, desperate for answers.

“That is what’s really going on. You know that Seungcheol has been up my ass lately about project deadlines, and you know that my family hasn’t left me alone since the fight with Nayeon a few weeks ago.”

“Then why are you so much more distant than usual? You’ve had work and family problems before, and you’ve never shut me out like this. Again, I have to ask, what’s going on?” Jihoon refused to answer until you sighed and mumbled, “Is there someone else?”

“No, there isn’t,” he spat, insulted that you would even ask. “Why the fuck would you think that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you’ve spent weeks pulling away and refuse to work with me to find a solution?”

“Look, it’s not my fault that everything decided to happen at once.”

With a defeated sigh, you said, “I know, but I’m fucking tired, Ji. I miss when you made me feel loved. Like I was the love of your life. Where did that go?”

Jihoon didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at you like he didn’t recognize you anymore, and that hurt more than even the possibility that he’d been unfaithful.

“I need to know what else is going on,” you said again.

“There’s nothing else going on. Honey, please. Just trust me.”

There was a beat of silence before you sighed and said, “Forget it, Jihoon. I’m going to Jeongyeon’s tonight.”

“Love, please let me-” he began. When he saw the look of venom in your eyes, however, he stopped and instead said, “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You stepped out of your apartment without saying another word to Jihoon after that, calling Jeongyeon and asking if you could spend the night at her apartment once you were outside. Once she reminded you that you didn’t need to ask, you left, trying desperately to let yourself have a little bit of hope that you could clear your mind and figure out how to move forward. As you thought about the situation more, however, the hope that had started to bloom in your chest wilted like a dying rose.

When you decided to approach Jihoon about the problems that the two of you had been having, you were certain that whatever was going on could be resolved together. As you drove through your city, however, screaming along with the songs about heartbreak and loneliness that blasted from your radio and thinking about everything that had gone wrong during the actual conversation, you found yourself feeling less certain about your relationship than you’d ever felt about anything before.

As Jihoon watched you leave your apartment, clearly fighting back tears, he was overcome with guilt. Sure, he’d been stressed lately, between mounting responsibilities at work and constantly arguing with his family, but he honestly hadn’t thought that he’d let it affect your relationship. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized that he’d fucked up.

For the first time in the entirety of your relationship, Jihoon was terrified of losing you. For years, he’d been so sure that the two of you would be ok, no matter what this life decided to throw your way. However, when he remembered how utterly defeated you looked as you left the apartment, he wasn’t exactly as confident as he had been when he left for work that morning.

Regardless, Jihoon was determined to make it right and prove to you that he loved you more than anyone he’d ever loved before. The only problem was that he wasn’t quite sure how. For the first time in his life, he had no earthly idea how to fix the problem that he’d created. That didn’t mean that he was going to do nothing, though. While he considered bigger, more elaborate plans to show you just how much you meant to him, he decided to start with a note.

Jihoon must have written and rewritten that note a dozen times before he settled on something that he was satisfied with. He knew that it was too soon to try to talk to you, so he just left the note on your nightstand, figuring that you’d see it when you came home from Jeongyeon’s place. Then, he lay down in your shared bed and tried to sleep.

When you got to Jeongyeon’s apartment, you softly knocked on the door and waited for an answer. You didn’t have to wait long, though. Before you knew it, your best friend was opening the door and pulling you into a hug that threatened to crush your bones as she asked, “What happened?”

“We got in a fight,” you answered, fighting back tears.

“Do you wanna talk about it, or do you wanna play some games and do bad karaoke?”

You laughed softly at her offer and said, “All of the above?”

“Sounds good to me. Come on in,” she said as she let go.

You followed Jeongyeon through the door and into her cleaner-than-usual living room, where your friends Dahyun and Tzuyu sat on the couch talking about something you couldn’t quite hear. When they heard footsteps, however, they turned toward you with smiles on their faces, and Dahyun practically yelled your name as she jumped up and threw her arms around in a hug that threatened to knock you off your feet.

“Where have you been?” Dahyun asked, ecstatic to see you again.

“I’ve been busy with work and Jihoon problems,” you answered.

“What happened with Jihoon, by the way?” Tzuyu asked quietly, like she wasn’t entirely sure if the question she was asking was the right one.

“We got in an argument,” you said with a sigh of defeat. “I thought he was cheating, and he says that he wasn’t, keeps blaming work and family, but he’s been so distant lately. We argued because he just won’t talk to me. I got tired of it, so I called Jeongyeon and came here.”

When you were finished your explanation, Dahyun seemed like she’d deflated, Tzuyu looked like she wanted to comfort you but didn’t know how, and Jeongyeon looked like she was about to kill someone, probably Jihoon. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop until Jeongyeon took a deep breath and said, “You don’t deserve that.”

And that was when the floodgates finally opened.

You hadn’t cried at all during your argument with Jihoon. You were too angry about what he said to you in the moment to acknowledge the underlying sadness that his actions had caused. Now that the flames of anger had cooled, however, you were a wreck. It started small, with a few stray tears that left your eyes as you remembered the way that your relationship used to be. When you felt your best friend pull you into another hug, however, the few stray tears escalated into heart wrenching sobs that made your entire body shake.

Jeongyeon held you through your tears, rubbing your back while Dahyun and Tzuyu whispered soft reassurances that everything would be ok. It took a long time for you to stop crying and catch your breath, but having your friends by your side still made it easier than it would have been on your own.

Once you collected yourself, you sighed and said, “Thanks, guys. You’re the best.”

Tzuyu was the first to speak, replying, “We’re always here for you, (Y/N).”

A comfortable silence settled over the room while the four of you enjoyed each other’s presence and truly found peace in the knowledge that you would always have each other’s backs. The silence didn’t last, however, since almost as soon as it began, you started to cry again. This time, however, your tears were tears of joy instead of pain, the happiness that you found in your friends suddenly feeling overwhelming.

You weren’t sure how much longer you cried before you were able to catch your breath. Once you collected yourself, though, you grinned and said, “Now, how about some card games and karaoke?”

Dahyun let out a laugh that almost sounded like it came from a cartoon villain before she said, “I’m singing the first song!”

The four of you started your evening of fun with a game of Uno that you were sure would have ended your friendship if it hadn’t been for the situation that had brought you to Jeongyeon’s, with Dahyun deciding early on in the game to sabotage everyone else as often as humanly possible. In the end, however, it was Tzuyu that won, with her quiet demeanor and the fact that she seemed to struggle to understand the rules of the game lulling everyone into a false sense of security.

After the game ended, and the karaoke started, you and your friends didn’t have a care in the world. You took turns singing your favorite songs, with Jeongyeon even joining in for a turn or two, and in between, you talked about anything and everything. As you laughed at a dumb joke that Dahyun told, you felt noticeably lighter, and you couldn’t help but feel grateful that you had friends in your life that you knew would always be there for you.

Once you and your friends got to the point that you could barely keep your eyes open, you sighed and said, “Thanks, guys. I really needed this today.”

“It was no problem,” Jeongyeon replied with a grin of her own. “You know I love spending time with you.”

“I should probably go soon,” Tzuyu said apologetically. “I have to get to work early tomorrow.”

An exaggerated pout formed on your face before you said, “It was great to see you. We should do this again soon,” and pulled her into a hug.

Dahyun sighed and said, “I should leave soon, too. I want to go to sleep,” hugging you before she left.

When it was just you and Jeongyeon left in her apartment, she turned to you with a soft smile and said, “Guest room is ready. I got out the good pillows earlier.”

“Thanks. Seriously.”

“Don’t mention it. Good night.”

“Night!” you said as you made your way to Jeongyeon’s guest room, your friend heading to her own room for the night. Once you were settled in bed, you found that you didn’t dread going home to Jihoon in the morning like you thought you would. Instead, you felt refreshed and ready to take on whatever came your way when you saw your boyfriend again.

The next morning, Jihoon was devastated that he woke up without you for the first time since before the two of you moved in together a year ago. Still, he knew that it was his fault, so he couldn’t really be upset, could he?

Yes, he could.

Not wanting to think about how upset he was anymore, Jihoon decided to try and come up with solutions to the fact that you were feeling unloved. He struggled to think at first, but all it took was a quick look around your shared bedroom to come up with something that he knew would cheer you up: he would learn how to crochet and make you a tangible reminder of just how much he loved you.

Jihoon didn’t want to use any of your yarn, since he was worried about you noticing it missing and ruining the surprise. So, he took advantage of the fact that he had a rare day off from work and drove to the nearest craft store. As he drove, he remembered the first time that you’d tried to teach him how to crochet. He could barely hold the hook and yarn the right way, and the seemingly simple stitches themselves were an unanticipated challenge, but the time with you was worth the hand cramps and frustration, in his eyes.

After choosing yarn in colors that he knew you’d like and finding the appropriately sized hook, Jihoon went home and looked for a pattern. In hindsight, he probably should have selected a pattern before he bought the yarn, but it was too late to go back.

Once Jihoon found a pattern that looked easy enough to follow, he got to work. It was a struggle, to say the least, but every moment of frustration was worth it. After all, he was determined to show you a fraction of the love that you’d shown him over the years.

When Jihoon heard you come in the front door, he carefully put the yarn and hook back into the bag he’d brought it home in and tucked it under your shared bed, not wanting to ruin the surprise. Then, he sighed and made his way to the living room, stopping in his tracks when he finally laid eyes on you.

Your smile fell when you finally saw Jihoon standing in your living room, but you reluctantly pulled him into a hug and said, “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel like I don’t love you. You have to know that,” he responded, eyes welling with tears as he spoke.

“I know,” you said with a defeated sigh. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. More than you’ll ever know.”

The two of you stayed where you were in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity, taking in each other’s presence as you each made silent promises to the other to keep trying. You were the first to break the silence when you asked, “Don’t you have to get ready for work soon?”

Jihoon shook his head and said, “I asked for a day off a few weeks ago. I wanted to surprise you.”

Your eyes filled with tears as you asked, “Really?”

“Really. What do you wanna do today, love?”

“Can we just stay in and cuddle today? I’ve missed you.”

“That sounds perfect, my love,” Jihoon replied as he let go of you and made his way to your shared bedroom. You followed him, and once you both reached your room, he grabbed your hand and pulled you toward your nightstand, earning a soft laugh from you.

Once you were in front of the nightstand, you noticed a piece of paper sitting on top of the book that you’d been reading. When you saw it, you turned to Jihoon and asked, “Did you leave this here?”

He nodded and said, “It’s everything that I wanted to say last night and couldn’t.”

With a hint of a smile on your face, you turned back toward your nightstand and picked up the tear-stained piece of paper. In Jihoon’s neat handwriting, the note said:

“I’m so sorry I ever made you feel unloved, my darling. Truthfully, I’ve pulled away because the combined stress of extra responsibilities at work and the constant fighting with my family has been overwhelming, and I was concerned that I’d be a burden if I clung to you like I really wanted to when life got to be too much. But now that you’ve left, and I find myself worrying that you won’t want to come back, I don’t know what to do with myself. You’re the only person that I’ve ever loved the way that I love you, and there are no words for the way that you make me feel. I need you to know that regardless of when or even if you choose to come home, my heart will always be yours.

All my love, Jihoon”

Your lover was filled with anxiety as he watched you read the note that he’d written the night before. However, when you carefully placed the note back on your nightstand and threw your arms around him, almost knocking him over in the process, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Your bedroom was silent for what felt like an eternity until you let out a shaky breath and said, “I love you. You know that you’re not a burden, right?”

Jihoon let out a shaky breath of his own, fighting back tears as he said, “I love you too. I was just so worried about being too much.”

“You could never be too much, baby. Next time, just tell me that you’re feeling stressed, ok? I’ll understand, I promise.”

“Ok. I’m sorry I pulled away.”

You didn’t respond verbally, but the way you hugged Jihoon, like he’d disappear if you let go for even a second, was enough of an indicator that you’d forgiven him. He didn’t speak either, too relieved that you were still there to think straight.

You and Jihoon stayed still for what felt like an eternity before he let go of you just enough to look you in the eyes and asked, “How about we move to the bed? I think it’ll be more comfortable.”

You chuckled at his question and replied, “So do I,” as you pulled him into bed with you.

You and Jihoon spent the entire day cuddled up in bed, talking about whatever came to mind as you took advantage of the surprise time to just enjoy each other’s company. As you relaxed in your boyfriend’s arms, you felt the tiniest bit better about your argument the night before, and the feeling of hope that you’d desperately needed started to settle inside of you once again.

When the day finally turned to night, Jihoon made sure that you fell asleep first. Once he was certain that you were asleep, he got out of bed, taking care not to wake you in the process. Then, he dug the bag out from under the bed and settled in your living room, struggling through the bag that he was attempting to make for you to keep your crochet hooks in. After he made what he felt was sufficient progress for the night, he got back into bed with you, grateful that you hadn’t woken up while he was out of bed.

The next day, Jihoon had to go back to work. A small part of you was anxious that the peace that you’d found in each other the day before wouldn’t last if you were completely honest. But when he smiled at you as he walked out the door, you found yourself feeling much more confident.

After your argument, Jihoon didn’t let a single day go by without telling you, and showing you, that he loved you. When you were feeling down, he was there with cuddles and your favorite movies ready to watch. When the two of you had free time to spare, you played board games and chatted about your day. You let yourself hope that the two of you could be ok.

What meant the most to you, though, was the fact that Jihoon actually let you in when the stress of the world around him got to be too much. On the days that he was overwhelmed by the amount of responsibility he had at work; he talked to you instead of pushing you away. On the days that he was too angry to speak because of yet another argument with his mother and sister, he wrote you notes to tell you how he was feeling and make sure that you understood that he wasn’t upset with you. Progress was slow at first, of course, but as time went on, you finally felt like you had the man that you loved back.

For the next several weeks, Jihoon spent basically every free moment that he wasn’t with you adding on to your gift. The pattern was simple once he got the hang of it, so he didn’t struggle with making it. The problem with that was that his time to work was limited to an hour or two after you went to bed, since both of you tended to go to bed late. Still, he used the limited time that he had well, and before he knew it, the bag was ready.

Still, Jihoon finished the bag relatively quickly, all things considered. Coincidentally, he finished the last few steps of the project the night before your birthday. He honestly couldn’t believe his luck, considering he’d been so distracted he hadn’t had time to go out and buy something like he typically did. A small part of him felt guilty for that, but when he looked at the finished bag, he felt a sense of pride at the fact that he made something that he knew you would use, which eased the guilt.

When Jihoon was finished admiring his handiwork, he carefully stowed it away in its hiding place and got back into bed with you. After he found a comfortable position, he held you close and took a deep breath, finally letting himself relax.

When you woke up on your birthday, you were disappointed to find that Jihoon wasn’t still in bed with you. You wondered if he’d gone to work early, but you didn’t have long to wonder, since you heard his voice coming from the kitchen almost immediately.

You got out of bed and walked out to the kitchen, and what you saw almost made you burst into tears. There was Jihoon, cooking pancakes and singing along with the music that was playing from his phone, looking lighter than a feather as he danced at the stove. With a soft smile on your face and butterflies in your stomach, you said, “Hi, handsome.”

“Happy birthday, beautiful,” he said, smiling when he heard your voice. “Pancakes are almost ready.”

You stepped closer to where he stood and kissed his cheek before you said, “Thank you, baby.”

“Go sit down at the table, and I’ll bring everything over when it’s ready.”

“Ok. I love you.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

You sat down at your kitchen table, singing along with Jihoon’s playlist with him while he finished cooking the pancakes and fixed two plates. Once the plates were ready, he brought them to the table and sat down with you. With a smile on your face, you said, “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do for my darling on their birthday.” You smiled at his words, and he added, “Wait here.”

“Why? What are you-” you started to ask, but before you could get the words out, he’d disappeared into your room.

You waited patiently for Jihoon to come back, wondering what the hell he was doing. You figured he was probably looking for something, though, considering the muffled swearing and the sounds of things falling that you could hear from your place in the kitchen.

When Jihoon came back, he was clearly out of breath, but he was also visibly excited, holding something behind his back and smiling like he knew something that you didn’t. You opened your mouth to speak, but before you could, he said, “I hope that you like it,” and handed you your gift.

You looked down at the familiar-feeling item in your hands and realized that it was a crocheted pouch, brightly colored and carefully made. You carefully examined it, running your hands over the stitches and admiring the colors. Then, with tears in your eyes and a smile on your face, you hesitantly asked, “Did you make this?”

He nodded and said, “I thought that it might be helpful to have one place to store all of your hooks since you always seem so frustrated when you lose one.”

“Thank you. I love you,” you responded as you stood from your chair and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

“I love you too, my darling,” he said, his voice breaking as he tried to fight back the tears of joy that threatened to spill over. “I just wanted to show you that.”

There was a brief silence before you asked, “Can we stay in today and cuddle?”

“Of course, my love.”

“Thank you.”

With that, you let go of Jihoon and placed your gift on the table, and the two of you worked together to clean your shared kitchen, taking your time since both of you were off from work for the day. When you were done, you practically dragged him to your bedroom and plopped into bed. Then, he carefully got into bed next to you and pulled you close to him. Once you were both settled, he sighed and asked, “Are we ok?”

You kissed his nose and answered, “Yeah, we’re ok.”

“Thank you. Happy birthday, my darling. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Ji.”

Thank you for reading, everyone! If you enjoyed this fic, please like and reblog! If you wanna check out my other works, my masterlist is here. If you'd like to see some of the things I have planned to post in the future, my upcoming works list is here. If none of that interests you, or there's something specific that you'd like to see, feel free to send a request via asks or dms! If you want to be tagged in future posts, my taglist form can be found here!

“He looks busted.” Hongjoong said and Seonghwa nodded in agreement with him. 

“Can you blame him? He’s probably been through hell and back when Sopro corrupted him.” Yeosang argued gently. 

“Speaking of which, what’s going to happen if we rescue Y/N’s… ex-husband from Sopro? Like where will we go from there?” San asked. 

“I’ll take care of Sopro.” Wooyoung volunteered. 

A mini argument soon broke out between San and Wooyoung and Yeosang was trying hard to resolve the issue. The last thing they needed was a petty fight ruining their plans. Matz had to step in while that was happening. In another corner of the ship, you were fighting for your life. Even though Jongho, your boyfriend, made it abundantly clear that you were taken, he was allowing Mingi to flirt with you and make you feel all flustered and whatnot. Perhaps there was some agreement they made while you were chatting with Yunho. Or perhaps it was something else. Either way, you were trying so hard not to melt from the breathy and deep voices going back and forth as the two men flirted with you. 

“Look at Y/N, Jjong. So cute when they’re squirming like that. Are you that flustered just by my voice alone, baby?” Mingi practically purred in your ear. 

“I agree. And trust me, Mingi. Once you get your hands on Y/N behind closed doors, they’ll certainly be done for.” Jongho chuckled smoothly as he leaned in closer to you. 

“Can you two leave me alone?!” You fought back meekly. Truth be told, you were living for the fact that two hot men such as your current boyfriend and the best friend of your ex were making you feel this way. You just didn’t want to give them the satisfaction that they were getting to you.

“Wow. I didn’t think those two would work together to be such menaces towards Y/N. Should I do something about it?” MITO stated in a half amused & half concerned voice. Yunho, who was watching the ordeal unfold with 100% amusement, shook his head. 

“Nah. She’ll be alright. Help me break up the fight between San and Wooyoung.”

MITO nodded and walked with Yunho towards the duo that were split apart by the other three men. Yunho threw Wooyoung over his shoulder while MITO blocked San’s view so the mountain of a man wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. Matz and Yeosang sighed out of relief and looked at each other. 

“I’d give it at least three hours tops before Wooyoung comes crawling to San, apologizing about this whole mess.” Hongjoong wagered. 

“Three hours? More like three minutes. Three seconds is pushing it so I’ll stick with minutes.” Seonghwa countered. 

“I also say three hours, but knowing Wooyoung and his petty hater nature, San will be the one crawling to him and apologizing for this whole mess.” Yeosang proposed and both men nodded before shaking each other’s hands and giggling to themselves. 

“I’M FREE!”

Matz and Yeosang heard you shout as they saw you bolting towards them. You hid behind Hongjoong specifically since you knew that he’d help you out due to his captain status. Mingi and Jongho casually strolled up to the trio and raised an eyebrow at you poorly attempting to shield yourself from them. Hongjoong looked back and forth between you guys and an evil idea popped in his head. 

“Gentlemen! Are you looking for Y/N? If so, here you go.”

Hongjoong pulled you out of your hiding spot and gently shoved you towards them. Jongho wrapped his strong arms around your waist while Mingi chuckled deeply. Seonghwa and Yeosang felt bad for you since they knew how these two could get yet at the same time, they couldn’t help but be amused by this whole situation. 

“How long until we reach that abandoned bank, captain?”

“I’d say about 30 minutes, but we’re not in a rush. I felt like taking the scenic route today.”

“Y’ALL ARE SAILING IN THE SKY!”

Hongjoong pretended to ignore your protest and giggled quietly to himself as Mingi nodded in acknowledgement of this information given to him. 

“Ok that’s good. We aren’t done with Y/N yet, but if you do need them, you know where to find us.”

“Noted. Have fun, you two~”

“SEE THIS IS WHY YOU BUILT LIKE A MINION, YOU BACKSTABBER!”

MITO, Seonghwa, Yunho, and Yeosang busted out laughing while Hongjoong’s face grew red in embarrassment by your comment. You were soon dragged away by Mingi and Jongho and you would remain with them until you guys reached your destination. 

---------------------------------------------------

“I don’t like you right now.”

“Oh come on, honey! Surely you can’t give me the silent treatment forever, right?”

“You know we make you feel good, babe.”

You grumbled in annoyance as Jongho laughed at your current form. Even though he was behind you, he knew you were crossing your arms and frowning slightly from the never-ending teasing they delivered unto you. When he heard you huff out in slight anger, that’s when he knew it was enough. Jongho sighed and approached you slowly, wrapping his arms around your waist once more and placing his chin atop your head. You relaxed under his touch yet you remained on guard. Jongho kissed your temple and lowered his head to talk quietly into your ear. 

“Ok look. I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t think you’d be this annoyed. We’ll stop, alright? I don’t want the love of my life to be angry with me forever. I already had to live through that once. I don’t want to experience that ever again.” 

You softened up upon hearing Jongho’s sincerity and you angled your head so you could kiss his cheek. Mingi watched you two and found the sight endearing. He grabbed your hand gingerly and kissed the back of it. 

“I agree with Jjong here. We kind of took it too far so we’ll stop for now. We good now, mami?”

Out of all the petnames you’ve heard, this one took you by surprise. Mix the pet name with his soft baritone voice and you found yourself a whole new type of flustered. Not trusting your voice, you simply nodded and Mingi smiled softly before leaning in to kiss your cheek. 

“L-Let’s just proceed with the rescue.” You murmured quietly and both men nodded before the three of you caught up with the rest of the group. You looked up at the entrance of the abandoned bank and sighed to yourself. If your ex-husband was truly trapped inside there, you would try your mightiest to make sure he is rescued and out of there safe and sound. Even though you no longer felt the love you once had for him, you still cared for him as a friend. 

“Let’s do this…”

---------------------------------------------------

“SO NO ONE CARED TO WARN ME ABOUT THESE BIG… THINGS CHASING US?!”

All eight pirates and MITO shouted their apologies as the 10 of you sprinted for your lives. The rescue mission was a success and the recovery of the red Sopro jewel was also a success. However, none of you were aware that by robbing both things, it would trigger an alarm. To be fair, Hongjoong had the blueprint of the building’s schematics in hand and Yeosang confirmed that there was nothing worth hacking so all of you assumed it would be easy. Looks like this Z guy was smarter than you made him out to be based on what you’ve been told by the pirate kings. 

“LOOK OUT!”

Alongside the android guardians (that’s what the huge white manly lookly humanoids with silver spiked chain masks were called) chasing you down, falling debris was another obstacle amongst all of you. You were impressed by everyone’s agility, especially since one of the pirates had to carry your unconscious ex-husband in his arms. 

Spoiler alert: It was Mingi carrying him. 

You saw the faint outline of the ship coming into view and temporary relief washed over you. This gives you more adrenaline and energy to run even faster. As you neared the ship, you saw Seonghwa reach into his pocket and extend his arm to press a button on a black fob with an A on the back of it. The ship came to life and the ramp descended so you could climb aboard. As soon as all 11 of you hit the deck, the ramp disappeared and it ascended into the sky quickly. Below you, you heard the distorted and robotic voices of the android guardians admitting defeat. 

“He’s waking up!”

“Give him some space!”

The eight pirates backed up, leaving only you and MITO to tend to Dabin. He didn’t have the black veins like in the simulation, but he looked paler in real life. There were no visible injuries on him, but the sight of the half moons under his eyes tore your heart into two. 

How long was Sopro torturing him like this?

“Dabin? Hey. It’s me. Y/N.”

When he heard your soft voice for what seems like the first time in forever, he lunged forward and crushed you in a hug, sobs racking his entire body as he held onto you for dear life. While the rest of the pirates sympathized with him, Mingi and Jongho looked at the exchange with one question on their mind. 

How will Y/N break the news of the divorce to Dabin?

You helped Dabin stand up and let him take a minute to breathe in some fresh air before introducing him to his saviours one by one. You saved Mingi and Jongho for last knowing that you had some explaining to do. Deep down, you prayed he understood. When the crew dispersed to busy themselves with whatever tasks were available, you took this opportunity to take Dabin and Jongho into a separate room so you could break down everything that happened. Mingi wanted to go with you, but he decided against it since he didn’t want to overwhelm his cousin.  

“Dabin, what I’m about to tell you is going to be bizarre. Please bear with me.”

---------------------------------------------------

Awkward silence. 

That’s how it was for the next few minutes or so. Suddenly, Dabin spoke up. 

“I should be mad, but… I can’t find it in myself to do so. I guess I feel more… guilty in a sense. I disappeared on you for a while, he swoops in, you two fall in love, and the next time you see me, I’m this gross monster that you’ve probably seen from Outlast or Until Dawn or something.”

Despite the grim setting of the situation the three of you are in, you giggled lightly at Dabin’s comedic timing. He knew just the right thing to say in order to bring some light to this situation. Jongho couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. He was expecting only one outcome of this whole discussion. 

He was definitely not expecting this. 

“All I can say is… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I left you alone all this time and with an assumption I never wanted ingrained in your brain. You know me, Y/N. I’m loyal until I truly fall out of love. To be honest, I’m still in love with you.”

Both you and Jongho expected that. 

“However, I can see it in your eyes, Y/N. You care for me, but you love him. And I’m not going to be that dude that keeps his partner away from someone they love just to satiate my happiness. Will it hurt seeing my… I guess ex-wife with another man? Yeah. But is letting you go worth seeing the bright smile on your face? Yes. Absolutely.”

Your eyes welled up with tears upon hearing the touching words Dabin spoke out of his heart of gold. You hoped that one day, someone will be able to return that same love to him. You surged forward and hugged Dabin tightly. Dabin returned your embrace equally as tight before letting go. He turned to Jongho and grinned.

“I’ll spare you that stupid lecture since I know for a fact that you’ll take care of Y/N well. However, I will say this. If you do mess up, I won’t hesitate to swoop in and take her back.”

Jongho respected how forward Dabin is and he took this as a challenge to always make sure that you are happy and loved. They shook hands firmly before letting go. A knock on the door sounded and all of you turned to see Wooyoung’s head pop in. 

“We’re almost at Dabin’s place. Have you said your final goodbyes?”

The three of you nodded. 

“Great! Grab something to eat in the meantime so you won’t feel hungry by the time we land.”

Linking arms with your ex-husband and your boyfriend, the three of you went into the galley to feast on some of Wooyoung’s finest dishes. 

---------------------------------------------------

“Will you be ok with these guys?”

You nodded firmly as you approached the entrance to Dabin’s house. He decided that for the time being, he’ll stay with his parents while you sail with the pirate kings. He was worried that this intense pirate life would be too much for you, but you insisted that you’ll be ok. He hugged you one last time before watching you walk back to the ship. As it ascended into the sky, he waved goodbye before heading inside his house. Aboard the deck, you were looking out into the distance, caged in between Jongho’s arms. Your hand was holding Mingi’s hand and you sighed in content. 

“Thank you for joining our cause, honey.” Jongho said to you softly and gratefully. 

“You’ll make a great addition to our team, babe. Trust me.” Mingi added. 

“Your mission is something I now take to heart.” You stated to both of them as you looked at the clouds soaring above you. 

“After all…

The halls were decorated with tinsel, christmas baubles and snow, the fires in the pillars making the castle feel cozy and warm. Christmas was your favourite season at Hogwarts. You loved the huge tree in the Great Hall, the stockings in the common room, the food at dinner. You were now in your third year as a professor for Charms at Hogwarts but Christmas was still your favourite season. Seeing the students chatter about presents, hearing the other professors talk about the upcoming feast. It made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside but maybe that was the mulled wine. 

You were just walking through the corridors on your way back to your quarters. Headmistress McGonagall sure could hold her liquor. Maybe you should have stopped at the second butterbeer and not had those three goblets of mulled wine with her and the two firewhiskeys because those moving stairs are a bitch to climb when buzzed. finally you made it to the faculty tower when you bumped into a hard yet warm wall. Before you could fall to the ground, two large hands grabbed your hips and steadied you. You looked up and looked into the eyes of professor Jeong Yunho.

Oh fuck no.

He was the last person you wanted to see. Basically ever. You had known Yunho since you were a first year yourself and safe to say, you both disliked each other. Even then he was loud and obnoxious, always laughing in class, trying to distract you. Over the years your dislike of him had only deepened. He grew particularly annoying when he joined the Gryffindor quidditch team in fifth year. That summer he had grown to be about three heads taller than you, his shoulders had widened and his ego had doubled. A typical beater. You had hated going to quidditch games when he joined the team but it's not like you had had a choice. Gryffindor was your house too and you still wanted your house to win. But Merlin, he was a prick. Always flying his broom by your face, winking at you with that shiteating grin when he beat the bludger away. It was like he lived to make you irritated. When you graduated and went into the world to master your charms skills you had thought you were finally rid of Jeong Yunho. Only to be floored when you started your first day as a professor to see that he had become a professor too. So now he was professor Jeong, for Defence Against The Dark Arts. 

You tried to take a step back from him only to realise you couldn't move your feet. It was like they were glued to the floor. 

“Not very observant, are you, darling?” Yunho chuckled. Oh how you hated that nickname ever since he started using it in third year.

“What are you talking about, Jeong?” you glared up at him. He just snickered and pointed up above your heads. 

A fucking mistletoe.

“I'm not kissing you,” you exclaimed and crossed your arms. He simply chuckled at your defiant stance.

“Well, then prepare to stand here the whole night,” he flicked a strand of your hair. You brushed his hand away with a huff. 

“What?” you furrowed your brows. You hated that arrogant handsome smile of his. Shit, maybe you were more drunk than you thought. He leaned closer to you.

“It's an enchanted mistletoe, darling. You and I are stuck here until you pucker up those pretty lips of yours,” Yunho stated, giving you another shit-eating grin.

“Y-you can't be serious,” you sputtered, your cheeks flushing and this time you couldn't blame the alcohol. 

“It's just a little kiss, darling. Or are you too scared?” he teased you, his face close to yours and you could smell his breath. His hand reached up to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. You huffed and weighed your options. You could wait until professor Sprout found you and hopefully knew how to get you out of this. But you did not know when that would be and if she even could. Maybe you should have paid more attention in herbology. Your only other option was to kiss him. Kiss Jeong Yunho. 

“Fine,” you gritted out. But Yunho just shook his head.

“Come on, darling. A bit more enthusiasm,” he quipped. You huffed and glared up at him.

“Yes, you may kiss me,” you managed to get out. 

“Use my name,” he cupped your cheek. You rolled your eyes. Even now he was teasing. He was just infuriating.

“Kiss me, Yunho,” you said, trying to keep the irritation out of your voice.

“Gladly, darling,” he grinned and pulled your face to his.

You expected a quick peck, small but efficient to get you out of this predicament. But when his lips met yours he didn't pull away. His hand slid from your cheek to the back of your neck and his lips moved against yours. You let out a small squeak and he immediately took advantage. His tongue pushed past your lips and started exploring your mouth. You could taste butterbeer on him and something that seemed to be just him, heavy, manly and oh so intoxicating. His other hand found your hip and he pulled you closer. You were so distracted, you didn't even notice your feet moving. After a few moments he broke the kiss. He looked down at you, his eyes flickering to your lips. His expression was unreadable for a moment until he went back to his usual smirk.

“That should do the trick. Good night. Professor,” he swiped his thumb over your bottom lip before pulling away and walking to his quarters.

You stood there, trying to catch your breath. 

Everyone liked to think of Seonghwa as this untouchable man who gets what he wants at just the snap of his fingers. Boys want to either be him or fight him, professors always swoon over him, and every single girl wants to sleep with him. Every single week or two weeks, there’s always a different girl on his arm. He’d use his unique charm to sneak his way into the pants of anyone that basically breathes his way. He’s got it all! The only downside to his reputation is that whenever he hangs around a girl for far too long, they start to get attached. The more they become attached, the harder it is for Seonghwa to reject him. Despite his fuckboy tendencies, he has a soft heart. He swore he could hear the vital organ chip away every time words of rejection leave his pretty mouth. Then he’d have to go through the rollercoaster of said girl spewing some bullshit about how she felt a connection and that he’d regret his decision when time passes. It was annoying as hell, but what can he do? He is the way he is and nothing could change that.  

Except you. 

Long story short, you definitely weren’t like the other girls and Seonghwa found that not only challenging but intriguing as well. He was so used to girls falling at his feet fast that sometimes, he would struggle to form a coherent sentence without overthinking it. In the end though, you saw his efforts and decided to give him a chance. Even though there were obstacles standing in your way (i.e. past flings for the main part), your love for him and his love for you surpassed everything. 

“Darling, touch yourself for me.”

You were currently facetiming him and it was slowly inching its way towards video chat sex. He was in a dimly lit car torturing you. He said that he was on his way to see you, but being the little shit that he is, he decided to park somewhere and proceed to do this. You were taken aback by what he requested. Usually, you were a good girl and obeyed his orders. However, you also decided to be a little shit by resorting to brattiness. You sassily said no and hung up on him. The giddiness you felt took over your entire body and you knew that he’d probably take away your ability to walk if you kept this up. Determined to receive the roughest sex of your life, you quickly changed into a specific lingerie set you knew he would like.

“Well then… isn’t this quite the surprise you had in store for me.”

While you were giggling and putting on a show for him, Seonghwa was seated in your desk chair, raking over your form with glazed and lustful eyes. He bit his bottom lip and chuckled darkly once you plopped yourself down onto his lap.  

Butlers!Ateez who cater to your every need, that means EVERY need. No matter what it is, they’ll do it. No hold backs.

Butler!Ateez who watches you and is on edge, waiting for your every command. Don’t get me wrong. They WANT you to order them around. Sometimes even fight over who attends you.

Butler!Wooyoung who will push aside his coworkers just to get to you first. Even if you can do it yourself, the boys insist on helping.

Need a bath? They’re helping. Privacy is not a thing in this house.

Butlers!Ateez who feel more like lovers who follow you around rather than butlers.

Need a massage? Butler!San is on his way to put those muscles to use. His fingers digging into your skin, flexing those strong muscles. Your moans excite him. It’s his favorite part of helping you. It goes straight to his head. Pervert.

Speaking of perverts.

Butlers!Ateez who keep their eyes and ears ready just in case you decide to hang out in your room. Butler!Mingi is the worst. He’s scrambling over to your door if he hears one sound coming from it. The others would have to drag him away in case it was something more.

Their punishments for not listening were the worst. They weren’t allowed to attend to you for the rest of the day or longer. That’s sheer torture to them.

Butlers!Ateez who don’t know why you need eight butlers but at this point, they don’t care. They’re just happy to help you with anything.

Butler!Wooyoung who whines when the chef won’t let him cook for you. The poor man just wants to spoil you with his dishes. You gobble them up every time and enjoy each meal he makes. So don’t deny it.

Now it’s time for your escapades with some of your butlers.

Butler!Hongjoong who revels in the faces you make when he bends you over the balcony. His glove covered fingers pushing inside your dripping cunt while his lips curl up in a smirk. His voice so sultry as he teases you, “Look at you, making such a mess that I’ll have to clean up. Maybe I should have you lick it up for once. Such a dirty one.”

Butler!Seonghwa who takes you in the bath. The water sloshing while his thrusts pick up in speed. His clothes were drenched and heavy, not bothering to take them off. Don’t slow him down because he won’t. Seonghwa needs your tight cunt wrapped around his cock, “Fuck, you take me so well. I’m gonna cum if you continue to squeeze me like this, Y/N.”

Butler!Yunho who takes pride in his size. The couch in the study creaking under the shared weight. His hips rocking against yours while you rode his cock. Yunho never thought having a job as a butler would mean getting some delicious cunt and enjoying the job as well, “I can’t believe how well you ride me. You take it so well. Look at this.” His fingers press against the bulge in your stomach, “Look at how deep I am. Can you feel that?”

You really did try to act like you were interested in Jisung. You weren’t, not even a little bit, but you did try. You showed up on time, something you struggled to do in most scenarios, and you wore an outfit that was nice but not too much for the setting. You laughed at his jokes, no matter how bad they were, and you listened intently to every story from his college days, like accidentally setting the chemistry lab on fire during his first year. Sure, the stories weren’t particularly interesting, and neither was he in general, but you were certain that he couldn’t tell that you were uninterested. At least, if he could tell, he didn’t say anything.

You truly did not understand why Yeji was so determined to set you up with one of the men that she worked with. You asked her every time she took it upon herself to plan dates for you, and every time, her answer made your blood boil.

“I just want you to be happy!” she always replied, a fake grin gracing her catlike futures. “What’s wrong with that?”

There were a few things wrong with that, but she never did like to listen to you. So, you had no intention of trying to tell her again that you were perfectly happy by yourself, even if there were occasional lonely nights. You wouldn’t even dare to mention that you’d lost interest in dating completely since your relationship with Minho went to shit.

So, there you were, sitting in a café with a man you never planned to see again and fighting the urge to check your watch every five minutes. You grew especially anxious to leave, however, after Jisung finished telling a story about his job in IT and asked, “So, what do you do?”

For the first time all night, you hesitated to answer the question. Still, after a sigh, you answered, “I’m a bartender, but I write songs sometimes too.”

You saw Jisung’s expression shift to something that you couldn’t quite name before he snapped himself out of it and said, “Oh, that’s cool.” The dismissal in his voice, however, told a different story.

Honestly, you were used to reactions like his when you shared that you’d spent years trying for your big break. It was the reason that you still hesitated to tell people despite the fact that music was the only thing that you were really passionate about. Still, the familiar disinterest that masked the preconceived notions that he’d made abundantly apparent already chipped away just a little bit more of your passion.

For the rest of the night, the date dragged on with shallow conversations and awkward glances until Jisung declared that he had to go home to take care of his dog. You wanted to say something sarcastic in response, but you were already tired of sitting in the café. So, you plastered a fake smile on your face and said, “It was nice to meet you,” before walking out.

When you got back to your car, you sat down, turned on the radio, and sang along to every song that blasted from the speakers as you tried and failed to ignore the feeling of disappointment that had settled in your chest. Of course, you had a feeling that the date wouldn’t be the best one you’d ever been on, but you still had some hope that there would be a spark of some kind, especially when you saw how gorgeous he was as you walked into the café. But, like always, that hope was snuffed out like a flame once he actually started talking.

Once you got back to your apartment, you continued to think about the events of the day. Honestly, you didn’t usually mind bad dates. In your opinion, they were a chance to learn more about compatibility and at least find out which cafés in your city had the best coffee. But something about your evening with Jisung had soured you a little bit. You had no idea what it was about that night specifically, though. Was Jisung that bad of a companion, even for a single night? Were you just tired of Yeji sticking her nose where it didn’t belong? Were you still missing Minho? Was it a combination of two of those possibilities, or even all three? You didn’t know anymore. All you really knew when you finally went to sleep was that the best part of your night was the drive home.

Thank you for reading, everyone! If you enjoyed this fic, please like and reblog! If you wanna check out my other works, my masterlist is here. If you'd like to see some of the things I have planned to post in the future, my upcoming works list is here. If none of that interests you, or there's something specific that you'd like to see, feel free to send a request via asks or dms! If you want to be tagged in future posts, my taglist form can be found here!

“Do you want me to carry you?” Mingi immediately offered just for you to climb off his lap.

Still a bit flustered from Jongho’s newest pet name for you, something he had only called you on a handful of occasions over the last few weeks, you tried to play it off cool. “No- no we can head up.”

The two of them flanked you in silent agreement, staying one step behind that almost made you feel like you were the one in charge. If you were in a better mood you might make a joke about it. Instead you were silent as you took the stairs up to the next floor, stepping into the shared home of the Black Pirates to find the remaining six scattered about.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong were the first two that caught your attention, both talking with Minjae who, as far as ranking goes, was just under the 8 pirates. He was the one giving direct orders to the others in most face to face situations, and if a meeting was to take place, it was usually him that was sent. He had his own pick of men that worked closely with them, as second-hand to the pirates themselves.

It was the outfits of the two mafia head’s that had your attention. Seonghwa was wearing a fashionable jean top with a leather cape draped over the shoulders in the front and dangling in the back. It matched the leather pants, leather gloves and boots. Leather seemed to be a theme, as Hongjoong had some elements himself. Leather jacket over a loose white shirt with some pieces of lace that dangled off with light blue jeans, ripped around the knee. His leather cap was pulled at an angle to hide his eyes with the slightest tilt of his chin down. You could feel the heat of his gaze on you though neither he nor Seonghwa paused in their conversation to acknowledge you, probably because only Hongjoong did notice your presence.

Mingi stepped away which drew your attention back to him, taking note he was now pulling on a black leather vest over the white button up he wore, which Yeosang had just given to him. His hair was red now, the realization striking you with guilt. When did he change it? Why didn’t you know about it?

Are you even someone he would tell about such changes when they’re made? 

The thought made the guilt heavier, which weighed more at the sight of Yunho stepping behind the two as he pulled on a leather trench coat over a black turtleneck. His hair was now a metallic blue, his makeup done and frameless glasses sitting on his nose. The jeans took away from the sheer intimidation of the outfit, just for you to notice metal like claws on his fingertips when he pushed the glasses up.

Wooyoung no longer had blonde in his hair, both his and Seonghwa’s hair was much longer than you remember even, but Wooyoung, Yeosang, and San were more casual outfits lacking the leather.

Something was up, and none of them were addressing you. Not even San and Wooyoung who were in the kitchen looking over some papers and pictures. Even Jongho stepped away to make himself comfortable on the couch.

For some reason… it hurt.

Three months since you had seen most of them, let alone all at once, and none of them were looking at you.

Your concerns over how to face them felt futile now, unfamiliar emotions and doubts weighing in your chest instead. Annoyance bubbling among them. Clearing your throat, you demanded an explanation at least. “Why am I here?”

Now it seemed like too much attention, all nine eyes were on you, a few gazes dipped down briefly, just to avoid you all together. Tension had your back straightening, as if you were standing on the edge of a knife.

“We have a meeting with the Green Vipers tonight. As a Pirate, you need to be a part of this.” Hongjoong’s voice rang out, steady and calm, cutting through the tension that was growing.

Tension that, you realized, was not at all because of you. “Should I change?”

“Yes please before I pop a boner.” Wooyoung blurted out, explaining why he suddenly found the back of Jongho’s head oh so interesting.

“Because that’s what she needs right now, a horny simp.” Jongho drawled out, not even glancing back at him.

The way you flinched unintentionally you know was noticed just from the way the tension felt thicker in the air.

With a sigh, Hongjoong dismissed Minjae before finally turning his full attention your way. “You have two options. Stay here with Yeosang and San and observe the meeting behind a screen, or come with us. I will not have you coming along if you feel like you cannot handle it.”

“I can.”

“No.” Hongjoong stared you down, a harshness to it that poked at your vulnerability. “You can’t.”

“Joong-”

“She needs to hear it, Hwa.” The shorter man cut off the other, taking a step closer and peering at you under the brim. “As your lover- if I can even call myself that right now- I want to give you all the time you need to work through what happened and heal properly. But as your boss, as the head of this organization you willingly joined, I cannot. I know you are aware of it, how badly this is affecting your work. Haru won’t say anything, she’s soft on you because of Wooyoung but she’s expressed concerns.”

His words felt like perfectly aimed blows but no retort could be formed in your mind. He was right. He was so fucking right but it hurt.

Of course he could see that it did, softening as he took a few more steps closer. “Firecracker… you need to stop this. If not for us, for yourself.”

It felt like an intervention, all eyes on you but no one speaking up in your defense. Not even Seonghwa had spoken another word. They all agreed, and you didn’t fault them.

You had been handling it so poorly, but how does someone get over what happened? How do you move on from it? How do you stop seeing it, feeling it?

It had been entirely selfish and reckless of you to agree to join when you knew you were in no position to actually do the job properly. Selfish of you to leave, to distance yourself after agreeing to be theirs- asking to be. Ignoring these emotions, the triggers, and them, like a fucking coward.

“I’m not a coward.” You mumbled it to yourself, but those nearest to you heard.

“No one is saying you are.” Mingi’s deep voice rumbled from your right, reaching up just to halt when you flinched at the sudden intrusion into your space. “Captain is pointing out that this way you have been coping is failing, both you and us, and it’s time to try something different.”

“I-”

“Do you think anyone knows how to recover from that?” Yunho now interrupted, staring you down over Mingi’s shoulder. “Doing it alone isn’t working. You willingly agreed to be a Pirate, to be ours, just to immediately detach yourself. We do things together, Butterfly. Meaning we are here for you to lean on. We want you to.” There were a few hums of agreement that followed

With a deep breath, you met his gaze. Then Mingi’s and finally Hongjoong’s. “Okay. Okay you’re right. I was… avoiding it. All of it. But I still want to be of help, Captain.”

“You can be, just not in the field, at least not for this. Go change, we have a bit before we have to leave and since you won’t be ignoring us anymore there are some things we need to fill you up on.” Hongjoong ordered, sending you away with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Taking it as the order it was, you headed upstairs, immediately searching for the small bin of clothes that was given you when you had first stayed here.

Meanwhile, the tension was still just as thick downstairs.

The moment the door had shut, San was grabbing Hongjoong by the shirt. “What the fuck Captain?”

The man’s expression lacked surprise, a tell he knew San would act this way. “It took the same for you San, don’t act like that.”

“I had more time!”

“You also suffered for three years!” Hongjoong immediately spat out. “And not during crucial points in our operations nor were you as involved as she is. So drop it.”

“Sannie…” Wooyoung gently peeled the man off of him, reaching up and cupping his cheek. “She needs this okay? You know that.” The man’s glare softened, malice gone by the time he met Wooyoung’s gaze. “She’s different from me. And what she went through isn’t any less than what I did. We don’t rank trauma.”

“I know, baby. I know. You want to just stand by her side until she’s ready. I wish we could. You know I do.” He pulled San against him, letting the bigger man melt in his embrace.

Yunho stepped up, rubbing his large hand between San’s shoulder blades as he spoke not just to him, but the others. Seonghwa and Yeosang appeared rather guilty, watching the door to the master bedroom longingly and it wasn’t unnoticed. “But we can’t ignore how it’s hurting us all, and the Pirates, so we have to do something. She’s not going through this alone, she’s one of us now.” He didn’t need to go into details, they all felt your pain. They all were hurt by the way you pushed them aside, ignoring them.

They cared for you, and they knew it was mutual, but this was more than just trying to cope with what happened. You hadn’t been ready, not for this. To be with them, to be a part of this organization. Granted it would have been easier if it was just your trust they had to win over, but now it was much more than that. And during such a crucial time, as Hongjoong pointed out, they couldn’t afford to wait for you.

That was perhaps what hurt the most.

They wanted you here, with them, but they couldn’t wait for you to be ready. Something had to change.

By the time you came back down, wearing someone’s jeans and by the looks of it Mingi’s oversized shirt half tucked in, the others had calmed down. San was still leaning against Wooyoung, both now sitting on the couch holding hands, while Yunho sat next to San with his arm thrown over the back and resting on Wooyoung’s free shoulder. The taller man noticed the way your eyes took them in, tilting his head and meeting your gaze with a challenge there. 

To say something. To challenge him back. To incite the banter the two of you had before it all went to shit.

But you were quiet, taking the open seat by Mingi and Jongho, Seonghwa now standing next to Yeosang while Hongjoong cleared his throat and demanded all attention. “A recap then.”

There were nods and hums in agreement.

“We were honestly just running business normally until your little suggestion, Firecracker.” Hongjoong started, looking right at you. “About pitting two of them against each other. The easiest targets were the Vipers and the wolves but- we might have jumped the gun.”

“We didn’t realize the Vipers would involve San in a turf war.” Wooyoung threw out. “They didn’t, at first, but part of the contract we loosely signed was San was hired muscle, for the fights mostly but they weaseled in a sub-contract of back-up muscle in emergencies. And while we could back out and risk San getting beat nearly to death- we'd lose the connections we made.”

“Wait… you said my suggestion?” 

Hongjoong nodded when he met your curious gaze, but Seonghwa was the one who answered. “When we asked you what you would do, you said you'd get them to take each other out. So we had Yunho and Mingi plant some drugs and evidence that the Vipers had been encroaching on Wolf territory. Both are hot headed enough to punch first and ask questions later.”

You could remember the praise Seonghwa had given you that day, then the way he had left you to defend yourself from San who enjoyed teasing you. Had he immediately gone to talk to Hongjoong about it? Did they really value your ideas to that extent? Hongjoong had asked you about what to do back in the gym before you sucked him off, and later you had found out that the Vipers did get help.

They listened to you. Before you were even part of their organization.

“I… see.” The realization was enough to relax you, a smile tugging on the corner of your lips but you pushed it back. You could express your feelings for that another time, right now was business first. “So the Wolves took the bait and retaliated, the back and forth started.” You asked to confirm, looking at Hongjoong specifically to keep yourself calm.

The leader nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as his weight shifted. “Yes, and the wolves probably would have taken a good deal of the men out. We suspected the Guardians were already working behind the lines to contain the Wolves however, as the damage should have been worse.”

At that your eyes immediately glanced at San, concern pushing your brows together. Did that mean you had gotten a lot closer to losing him than you had thought? That didn’t sit right with you at all, especially when the man avoided your gaze as if he could read your thoughts. You never did find out what injuries he would suffer to be put on bed rest.

“Then there was the kidnapping situation.” The second the words were out of his mouth, the tension grew unbearably thick again, chin tilted down but he was gazing up at you with some concern. You didn’t have to look at the others to know they had similar expressions.

Right, you had been so adamant to avoid those days that you never bothered to ask why, and neither had they. Even now you didn’t want to think about it.

Hongjoong was so right, you couldn’t handle it.

But you wanted to. Fuck did you want. In this moment you needed to be able to handle it, to hear what was being said, the events that lead up to this meeting. You needed to know all the context if you were going to be any help. “So… what was that about?”

Mingi turned his hand palm up and rested it on his thigh, an open invitation for comfort- one you took. This was the first chance to show you could face it, that you wouldn’t keep running away, wouldn’t keep hurting them or hindering them by the way you were handling it. 

“Well- we believe they realized Yunho and Mingi were the ones who planted the evidence. Which, the safe house you had been in was the one they were operating out of at the time. We hadn’t used it again until we brought you there, I think they had been watching it.” Hongjoong said it slowly, eyes searching your face for any signs of panic or triggers.

Ah right, the safe house they were going to interrogate you after you pulled a gun on Hwa and- fuck, you hadn’t thought about that night or unpacked any of it. The way Yunho had looked pinning you down, the gun in his mouth and wild excitement in his eyes-

With a shiver your eyes met his, as if he was thinking the same thing. You hadn’t even begun to scratch at the surface of how that made you feel, the excitement of it all that was so quickly ripped away from you in the following days.

“Their questioning backed up that they had little information, just knew who the safe house belonged to. They didn’t know our ranks, names, didn’t know your connection.” Seonghwa continued softly, a tremble in his voice that shocked you. “We’re sure that they only… did what happened to you because that fucker was sick and twisted and made a guess.” Not even he could put a name, call it what it was.

“So he raped and beat me for three days for fun??” You felt like the wind had been knocked out of your chest, squeezing Mingi’s hand as your throat felt hot from bile wanting to rise.

The slightest of nods from Seonghwa was another punch to your lungs.

Part of you already knew that, you heard what some of the red wolves had said before, the way they treated the Boas on the street. You had to help Handong with a few of the women, but when they looked bad, you ran.

A pathetic habit you developed.

You tried to quell that urge now, shutting your eyes and counting down from ten while focusing on the grounding grip of Mingi’s. It was easier with his hand there, hearing them right by you. Why did you think it was such a good idea to leave?

Fear. Fear made it feel like your only choice.

“Which he paid the price for.” Hongjoong’s tone was dark as he finally spoke, at least waiting until your breathing wasn’t so pained. “They all will. We thought about it after that, especially since we as the Pirates had worked with the Vipers to steal some wolf territory. We’ve been in talks since the bloodshed had died down but there is some serious rivalry between the two now.”

“The Vipers aren’t stupid though. After the casualties and the debt they wracked up for help from us and the Guardians, they can’t function properly anymore. So-” Yunho jumped into the conversation, sharing a look with the two older men before the three stood up. “Tonight we have a meeting with the head’s of the Vipers to discuss a merger of sorts.”

Your eyes went wide, realizing now just how important this was. A merger? Really?

It would increase their territory, double their man power, and with a little investment would double income. It also brought them closer to Red Wolf territory; whether that was a good thing or bad was yet to be determined.

Reluctantly, Jongho and Mingi stood up next to you, leaving you alone on the couch. Only Wooyoung, San and Yeosang stayed where they were. “The meeting is in an hour, we have to head out. Your job tonight is to help Yeosang with monitoring as he’s made sure he has access to the location. You’ll be able to hear what is said, and if anything sounds off to you, we want to hear it.”

“We can go over everything with you Goddess.” Wooyoung reassured you when Yunho looked his way to pick up where he left off. “We wrote down our own demands and goals so you can follow along and all that too.”

With a nod, you didn’t reply further. As the others readied themself, once more debriefing and checking their equipment, you stared down at your lap, processing all this new information. You said goodbye to the five, taking note that half of them were there for intimidation more than anything, but wondered idly how the Vipers would react to the more fashionable outfits of the two leaders, entirely different than what you expect of a crime lords.

But that was part of the reason they had such outfits, wasn’t it? As if they needed to look the part of crime lords, you knew damn well they were capable of getting their point across. At least, you saw with your own eyes what two of them could do, even if you had been too shaken to take notice. There was no need to worry about them, not against the Vipers.

The Red Wolves though?

“Sweetcheeks? Are you ready?” San was kneeling before you, brows furrowed.

“I… one question though, Sannie.”

“Ask away.” You were sure that they weren’t going to just stop with the Vipers, the Pirates had their hands in all the families so… ultimate power over the crime world? Or at least, a majority of it? Meaning each family would have to be dealt with in one way or another.

“The Wolves… they’re going to be destroyed right?”

His eyes widened at the tremble in your voice, only to nod quickly, determination settling on his features. “Every single one of them, baby.”

A sense of relief washed over you, no remorse for the bastards who found it fun to destroy people the way they destroyed you. “Good.”

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