AJ

Your head snapped to him and you nodded, "pretty impressive, actually." As you both walked inside, Mingi began explaining about the team, "So, they actually had just moved to this building not long ago. There are not many members because the founder's very picky and is a perfectionist so he literally handpicked each of us," he said.

"He sounds scary," you muttered. Mingi caught your words and laughed, "Maybe when it comes to his work, but he's truly a nice guy. He trained every single one of us personally and even helped my senior develop his skills like crazy," he said in awe.

With the way Mingi was talking about his team, you could see how passionate he was by the twinkles in his eyes.

The both of you walked 3 flights of stairs and as the voices grew from the floor, you both slowed down. You turned to look at Mingi and he had a reassuring smile on his face, "I'll help introduce you to everyone, so don't worry, okay?" He then offered a hand to you. You looked down and slowly reached forward until your hand's enveloped in his.

After giving your hand a gentle squeeze, he moved forward and open the door.

But before he could fully walk in, someone had pushed him back out which automatically also pushed you out.

From behind Mingi's broad shoulder, you saw that Jongho was the one who pushed both you and Mingi out so quickly. "Jongho, what the fuck man?" Mingi grumbled, eyebrows furrowed and the corners of his lips pulled down to make a frown.

Instead of saying sorry, however, Jongho jabbed a finger onto Mingi's chest, "me what the fuck? YOU what the fuck," he growled.

Mingi's initial annoyance morphed into confusion at Jongho's words, "what the fuck are you talking about?" He asked. Jongho moved his body to the side and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the room that he just exited, "why the fuck are you working with him?" he hissed out.

Still confused, Mingi squinted his eyes at Jongho, "who the fuck are you talking about?" he hissed back.

Jongho suddenly turned to look at you, "we can go if you want, I swear, this party isn't worth it," he said. Usually, you'd be able to take note of his playful tone, but this time the tone was absent.

"Of course this party is worth it, Jongho, this is Mingi's event," you rolled your eyes playfully at him.

Despite the anxiety brewing and pressuring your chest, you made a leap for your friend.

As soon as the door opened, you felt as if you had just been splashed by icy cold water and pushed out to face the freezing, rigid winter wind. Oh, how you wished you listened to Jongho and ran out when you had the chance.

Stood not far from where you are was Kim Hongjoong.

The same Kim Hongjoong that aided in your trauma, the same Kim Hongjoong who turned his back on you, and the same Kim Hongjoong that convinced his friend that you had an insidious motive after you came to him with a problem.

Both yours and his eyes widened in surprise. He seemed to be shocked as well. It was obvious that he had no idea that you'd be in the same room with him again. Especially in his office.

"Oh my God, is that who I think it is?" a voice broke you out of your trance.

You glanced over Hongjoong to find Maddox, the guy who you knew as Hongjoong's senior a year ago, grinning at you widely. His announcement made everyone shift their attention to you. You'd usually be uncomfortable, but you'd take the discomfort of being the centre of attention amongst a group of men than to have to deal with Kim Hongjoong.

Plastering a smile, you walked past Hongjoong towards the others, accidentally brushing your shoulder against him.

For the whole night, you answered the others' questions about your whereabouts. You learnt that they had made Hongjoong a permanent member of their team not long ago. They questioned you about your sudden departure and as much as you want to tell them how much of a bad guy Kim Hongjoong is, you know you couldn't. You shouldn't. You kept your answers vague yet direct, indirectly telling them that it's private. Thankfully they didn't pry.

Though you were preoccupied with everyone in the team catching up with you, asking you how you knew Mingi, and explaining your relationship with Jongho, you couldn't help but cower slightly under Hongjoong's eyes.

Lucky for you, Jongho seemed to briefly told Mingi that you and Hongjoong aren't exactly on the best terms and that he was to make sure that you weren't alone all night long.

With two men on your sides at all times, you felt kind of safe. Sure, they weren't San and Wooyoung (you were sure they'd be too lazy to come by if they concluded their meeting even only 5 minutes later than expected), but you did find solace being hidden by their broad bodies.

Still, from time to time, your eyes would find Hongjoong's. Within those split seconds, you were able to discern some of his emotions. There was confusion when you first came, then there was terror when Eden mentioned that he hadn't seen you for over a year, then yearning when you reminisce with the others, and the most prominent one was longing that stayed throughout the changing topics.

You weren't sure how you felt about the situation, but one thing's for sure, the rest might find out about your whereabouts quicker than you'd expect them to.

And that is terrifying.

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