The sleeve on one arm was pushed up and he could see the bruising on you wrist in the barely lit room. He reached out to touch it, running his fingers over the scars that held so much nightmares. For both of you. Your eyelashes fluttered over your cheekbones and you opened your eyes to look at him sleepily. A lazy smile spread over your face as you blinked a few times. He leant over to brush your hair from your face and kissed the top of your head. “I’m going to take a shower.” He said and you nodded, pulling the covers closer. The tension between the two of you was there, an unfamiliar feeling that made his stomach churn again. So he walked into the bathroom and quickly stepped under the shower. He showered hot, and washed off cold. With his hair towel dried he stepped back into his room, looking at your position. You only ever slept curled up like that when something was wrong, and something was definitely wrong. In your 3 and a half years as friends you’d never fought, over anything. That this would be the reason you’d fight he’d never think, he felt stupid and guilty and a lot of other things that just made him want to go back and change the way he handled things. He should maybe also apologise to Kyungsoo, but he wasn’t sure if he could forgive him for hurting you. You opened your eyes again and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling him into the bed. He followed, slipping under the covers and into your warm embrace. The way you wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face in the crook of his neck almost brought tears to his eyes. How a simple embrace could convey such emotions. But you’d always been able to read each other, there were no secrets, not when it came to each other. “Jongdae.” You whispered against his skin. He shook his head and cupped the back of your head, pulling you closer. “Don’t, don’t say it.” He pressed his nose against your hair that smelled like it always did, honey and vanilla. “I’m so sorry y/n. God, I don’t know what came over me. I should’ve handled it differently, I should’ve listened to you, and I most of all shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m so sorry.” You shivered from cold, and he felt a single tear from you running down his skin. “I’m sorry.” You whispered it against his skin. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He said, kissing your temple. “Nothing.” “I do. I slapped you, I upset you, I shouldn’t have.” He shook his head against, rubbing a hand slowly up and down your back. “I was a dick, I deserved it.” There was a silence between the two of you, and you just held each other like life depended on it. “I don’t want to fight with you Jongdae.” You said. He pulled away and came down to eye level with you, wiping away the tear from your cheek. “It’s alright, we’re strong enough to come through this.” You nodded, and smiled a little. “Where’d you go?” “To do stupid things.” “Your hand is bandaged up.” “I punched a wall.” “Well at least the wall doesn’t punch back.” You chuckled. He bit his lip, playing with the ends of your hair. “I just…felt like you were choosing him over me and I felt like I was being replaced.” Shock spread over your face, eyes widening. “Jongdae.” You pulled him closer hugging him again. He pressed his face against your shoulder. “Nobody can ever replace you. Ever. I…I don’t care what happens. If I fall in love, or you do, or you move away. You’ll always be my best friend, there’s nobody that will ever be to me what you are.” He knew you couldn’t feel his single tear falling through the material of the sweater, but you definitely heard the sniffle. “Jongdae you are everything to me, don’t say such things. Okay? Don’t ever doubt the fact that I love you.” Jongdae nodded, and you pulled away to look at him, cupping his cheeks. Your fingers were soft against his skin as you looked into his eyes. “Jongdae promise, no matter what happens, that you don’t forget that.” “I promise, I love you too. But Angel, just…promise me then, that if he ever lays a hand on you again, that you’ll leave him.” He almost whispered it, scared to ask. But he couldn’t bare seeing you go through that again. You smiled, touching your nose to his, a gesture between you to that meant a lot. “I promise. But you need to trust me, I know what I’m doing.” “You really like him don’t you?” “I do.” He chuckled. “I never thought it’d be him, out of all of us.” “What, you thought it’d be Baekhyun? Or Suho?” It made Jongdae laugh, and it was a welcomed feeling. “Chanyeol maybe?” You snorted. “Never.” Jongdae laid down, and pulled you to his side. You fell into place next to him, stretched out and face against neck. “Let’s sleep.” He said, yawning, I’m tired. “Can we sleep in?” “As long as you want.” You nodded, and he felt your liprings press against his skin, familiar and a little cold. “Goodnight Dae.” “Night y/n.”

You were sitting on the couch starring out of the window front. It was dawning outside. The sun had nearly vanished behind the horizon. Four days had past. In these four days you had used the phone a lot. Mostly you called the reception to bring you food or as you were very bored to go swimming. It had been a little strange. A bodyguard about twice as big as you guided you to a swimming pool which no one else was using. Eve though it was in the afternoon. And it was a decently warm day which actually wouldn’t really matter since it was inside. You wondered if this one belongs only to Baekhyun since it kinda already felt like he owns the whole fucking place.

Chanyeol, as Baekhyun called him visit you two times. For like ten minutes maximum. He brought you clothes. The first time you mouth gaped open as you saw the clothes. They all were summer clothes or to put it otherwise just short and revealing. Maybe you could have expected that when a man is accountable to choose your wardrobe.

“Are you dumb?! I don’t give a fuck if he dislikes it or not but I guess I must continue to wear his clothes! I won’t wear any of these with the knowledge that cameras are filming me from every possible angle!”, you had protested.

Luckily Chanyeol was quick to persuade so you made a list for him with things to bring you. He still had left you the clothes. “Just in case you change your mind”, he said. The next day you found five bags full of clothes placed in the living room. You had to admit that these clothes were of high quality. And of brands you normally didn’t really cared about. All of these still had their price tags on. 300 bucks for a pair of sweatpants is really a lot to spent.

But he seemed to not really care about money. As much as you didn’t liked your current position you had to admit that you also were pretty curious about him. You were so sure that you already heard his name but the whole time hadn’t really brought you further. Lost in your thoughts you watched the last sunrays disappear. You sighed. For four days you hadn’t seen him. Maybe I won’t see him till he can make use of me. You stared at the phone in your hand. The name Baekhyun was on the top list of the contacts. You finger itched a little but you didn’t gave in. But the curiosity that had piled up for four days was bothering you and you wanted to know more.

I could just delete the browse feed when I’m done. You told yourself as you typed in the name. Immediately about 20 news site showed up. You scrolled through them till you clicked on an article posted on a private blog of a Jean Linda. You began reading.

“Byun Baekhyun is the twenty-four years old heir and leader of the Byun Clan. He undertook the empire after the former leader Byun See-Young died in a shooting in 2013. The Byun Clan is known for trading with an enormous amount of properties all over the world. For more then 30 years they had been under suspicion to only use that business as a cover up for much more illegal trading.

But although the police could link them reportedly to several murders around the area and a lot of drug and weapon deliveries from South America, East Asia and Europe they never got arrested. In addition to that the police also stated in 2009 to found evidence that perhaps proof that the Byun Clan also participated in human trafficking. But up until today they hadn’t been able to catch “the big fish”. That may also be because Byun Baekhyun lives like a ghost upon us. He is rarely seen at public occasions and if he ever showed up never without two hand full of men who would freely give their lives for him.

Byun Baekhyun is an enigma which may never be solved.”

The phone fell out of your hand. It landed on the ground. You choked nearly at your tears. You were crying out of shock. Out of disbelief. This article told you that you were held hostage by a person who is worst then any criminal.

He is a monster! What if he wants to sell me?! It shook you. As you remebered the cameras you wiped over your face. You got up to spray your face with water and wipe your nose. Every evidence should disappear that you had cried. As you padded back to the couch and picked up the phone before sitting back down again. You stared at it for a little before you typed in another name.

Park Jongdae, Nam Jongdae, Lee Jongdae, you read. No that’s not it. I don’t know his last name. I never asked. Your job required discretion since a lot of your clients had been very important men in different positions. A lot of politicians and actors. You grew frustrated so you cleared every evidence that you ever used the internet. You stared at the ceiling for some time.

“Put this on”, you winced as you heard a voice behind you. You spun around to see Baekhyun placing a dress in a big see through plastic bag neatly over the backrest.

You tried to gulp down the lump that had formed in your throat instantly.

“You scared me! I haven’t heared you coming”, you tried to controll your anger.

“Oh I’m sorry. Next time I make sure to annouce myself when I enter my own building!”, he said sarcastically.

“What is this?”, you mumbled.

“A dress. Isn’t it obvious?”, he knitted his eyebrows.

“Hmm”, you hummed in response, “What for?”

“You’ll see after you had put it on.” he surrounded the couch and sat down at the armrest. You could feel your body tense at his presence. He can’t know that I know! You straightened your shoulders and turned towards him.

“Please tell me where we are going“, you pouted and tried to sound a little whiny like you normally do it when you want something. It always worked with Jongdae. He couldn’t resist you like that.

“We are heading out to a little party. You will be my accompaniment so could you hurry up or we’ll be even more late then we already are!”, he argued.

You picked the dress up and walked upstairs.

“You know, you don’t need to bother leaving the room. I had watched you change about twenty times already”, he called after you.

You slammed the door with full force. Not only a pyscho but also a perv!

About fiveteen minutes later you walked the stairs back down. It was a deep red cocktail dress with bead work all over the décolltage. You also had put on a little make up and braided your hair.

“You look stunning! Just like I imagined it!”, he praised you and it sounded truely. As much as you were disgusted by this man his compliment still made you blush a little. That caused that a knot of anger formed in your stomach.

“Well something is missing”, he remarked and opened a box which had lied in his lap. Some red high heels were in it. Matching with the dress of course.

“May I?” You sat down on a leather armchair next to the elevator. He kneeled down in front of you and gently put on the first shoe. It fitted perfectly and your thoughts shot to the fairytale of “Cinderella”. How the prince put on the glass sliper that was tailored only for her foot. Also one of the thoughts for which you could have slapped yourself. You have to think straight Y/N!

You got up quickly as he had put on the second one ignoring his hand to help you. “Let’s go”, you ordered. You heard him chuckle.

“Whatever you want, princess.”

The car was rumbling over a uneven street which let you butt against his shoulder multiple times. After that it stopped fully.

“Sorry”, you mumbled and gathered your things to get out.

“Before we go in there you should know that you only speak when you are asked. Else I don’t want to hear any noise from you”, his tone was firm which should indicate you that there should be no backtalk.

“What?! Am I a dog?”, you yelled. Your plan had become irrelevant right now. You were never a person who would submit so easy.

“Act like one and maybe you'll get a reward”, an evil grin spread over his face as he exited the car.

You followed him while pouting. Stupid asshole! The car had parked in a merely dim lit side street. Does he ever use normal entrances? A quick nod towards the doorman and he opened the dorr for us. 

“Ladies first”, he pointed you to go forward.

“I rather not”, I huffed.

“You women are such a pain in the ass”, he stated clearly amused by you attitude. You wanted retort something sassy but you couldn’t think of as fast as he had already walked in leaving you outside. You snorted and stomped after him. Your high heels were clacking on the wooden floor of a narrow corridor. It ended in a big room. A very fancy looking one you had to admit. You hadn’t expected it to be honest since the building itself looked more rundown from outside.

Black graphit floor with black and white walls. It definetly looked very exclusive. You felt out of place. Baekhyun took place at your side and guided you with his arm on your lower back towards a big set table. Minimum fifteen pair of eyes had focused on both of you and a lot of murmuring had begun. It hushed as you arrived the table.

“Ah Byun Baekhyun! How nice of you to honour our little gathering with your attendance”, a man maybe at the end of twenties had approached them and shook Baekhyun’s hand. You though you had heard a hint of irony ghosting in his voice.

Baekhyun seemed to ignore it and responded in a overly polite tone: “I’m also very thankful for the invitation and I’m sorry for our tardiness. But you know how women are. They always need their time to get ready”, his head nudged into your direction and he laughed out. Clearly a fake laugh. You suppressed to roll your eyes and just put on a fake smile.

“Well don’t they say real beauty needs time”, his eyes had scanned you thoroughly. He took your hand and pressed a sloppy kiss onto the back. “I would  wait decades for such a gorgeous sight ”

You withstood the urge to puke. Sleazeball!

“I’m afraid your patience would be wasted”, Baekhyun interrupted your his touch by pulling you back to him. You were actually a little relieved. The man and Baekhyun seemed to fight a little starring contest till the man turned around to the other guests.

“Dinner is served! Please sit down!”, he requested everyone with a open arms.

Several “Thank you’s” came back before everyone searched themself a good sitting spot. Baekhyun dragged you towards the other end of the table and sat down. He forced you on the place next to him and caressed over you back. To outsiders it must looked like a loving gesture but it didn’t felt like that for you. It made your flesh crawl.

The dinner went by pretty unspectacular. Baekhyun was occupied with holding a chit chat with men around him. While you were poking in your salad you racked your brain what kind of meeting this was and which relationship they may have to Baekhyun. You came so far that you surely conntected it to something related to his “business”. And they don’t really seem to be friends. It is more like a forced kidness among everyone. One after another you glanced at each member at the table. There were some couples where you had ascertain in shock that some of the women could be the daughters of their companion. The single men you sorted in a age span from 16 to 65. 16 fucking years. How fucked up must your life had been when you end in such a business.

You really pitied them till a thought came to your mind as you watched them for a longer time. They were really flirting with everything that had boobs and a short skirt. Clearly enjoying their time. Maybe they also had choosen this life.

You suddenly felt sick. You tugged on Baekhyung’s shirt sleeve to get his attention. At first he seemed to ignore you so you shook his arm gently.

“Darling can’t you see I’m talking to someone?”, he tried to controll his temper.

“I need to use the washroom”, you responded rueful.

“Oh I see”, you understood it as you had his consent so you wanted to get up. He stopped you and leaned closer and whispered into your ear: “Kiss me.”

You pulled back to present him your very confused face. “What are you talking about?”, you kept your voice low.

“Didn’t you noticed all of them starring at you. Already undressing you in their minds. If you don’t want any of them follow and harass you, you should kiss me. Now”, he stressed while resting one hand on your back to pull you a little closer.

“I don’t think they would do something like this at such an event”, you pointed out.

He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Your naivete is really sweet but don’t think too highly of these rats! They had done WAY worst.” His words hit you hard. “But when they get to see that you belong to me they won’t dare to lay a finger on you. They know who to fear!” His hand caressed over your back to encourage you. You felt by the severity in Baekhyun’s voice that he was actually telling the truth.

These people sure as hell doesn’t hold a lot of moral values. Or maybe they had created their very own version of them to justify their actions. To be honest I don’t want to find out.

You took a deep breathe and leanded in. Your lips collided hard. It wasn’t supposed to be a romantic kiss. You tasted white whine and peppermint from his soft lips. A really delicious combination as you thought. While you pulled back you bit into his lower lip lightly.

“Don’t miss me too much”, you winked before leaving a panting Baekhyun behind. You took your time and swayed your hips until you were out of sight.  You began to hurry and looked behind you around five times till you finally locked the bathroom door behind you. The whole time you couldn’t breathe normally. You exhaled noisily.

This is too much…

After over an hour of endless strolling through dark alleys and places you shouldn’t come when it’s dark he passed his old house. He didn’t know he was going there, but his heart must’ve taken him. He looked up at the building, two stories, small, pushed in between other houses of the same state. Some windows were broken and open, others were nailed shut with wooden boards. The door was hanging on it’s hinges. Nobody lived here, nobody had lived here after his family. It was a small house, 2 bedrooms, 1 tiny bathroom, a kitchen just enough for a family of three, and a living room where they’d had a roughed up couch and a lounge chair. Why he found himself in tears, he wasn’t sure, but he blinked them away and walked past. There was something heavy sitting in his gut and he wanted it gone, whatever it was. Whether it was about Angel, or Kyungsoo, or his familial house, he didn’t know. But it made his skin feel uneasy and his hands were shaking. Soon, or well, soon, he actually had no good idea of what time it was, but it was closing in on midnight. That’s when he passed the Flying Dutch, the bar Sora had taken him too last time. And he thought why not, he could use a drink. So he unzipped his leather jacket and stepped inside, it was warm and bustling. He shrugged his jacket off and placed it over the barstool beside the one he sat on. The guy behind the bar was the same one as before. “Red wine?” he asked. “Yeah.” He was younger than him, maybe 22, blonde hair, swept back. He handed him his drink. “You should get that checked out.” He said, pointing at him hand. Jongdae looked at his knuckles, there the skin was broken and there was blood staining his fingers. “I’ll be okay.” He mumbled, and took a big gulp of his drink. He put his phone on the counter, and found he had 8 missed calls from Angel, and 3 from Kyungsoo. Not that he felt the need to call back, not now. The youngster behind the bar kept eyeing him suspiciously, and he just let his eyes glide over the people inside. Most of them were around his age, college students. Girls in too short skirts and guys with v-necks that were too deep for his liking. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” This girl stepped up to him, dressed in skinny jeans and a tank top that showed a sliver of skin around her stomach. “I don’t usually come here.” “Can I get you a drink?” she offered, leaning on the bar beside him. She cocked her head to the side, running her fingers through her black hair. He noted she wasn’t wearing a bra, and it didn’t suit her right her top was way too thing.   He held up his glass to her. “I still have.” That’s when she noticed his hand. “Jeez, are you okay?” she reached out for him and he pulled back. “Don’t, I’m not interested in you, you’re flirting with the wrong guy. “ “Are you taken?” she narrowed her eyes. “No, I’m not interested.” He repeated. She scoffed, flipped her hair over her shoulder and pranched away, swaying her hips. He was sure she’d find some other guy who was in for a quick fuck. He unlocked his phone, and scrolled through his contact, quickly passing Angel’s name as if he hadn’t seen it. There was that knot in his stomach again and he just closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He ordered another wine and twisted his phone on the counter. What he did next, after his third wine, he didn’t know why, but he did it. He dialled the number and waited for her to pick up. “Sora.” She answered. “Come drink.” “Where.” “Your sketchy place, I’m having a drink by myself, and I want company.” She paused. “So now I’m your booty call?” “Booze call, come on.” “Fine.” She mumbled, but he knew she wouldn’t have denied. He waited for her, ordering another red wine and a beer. She came in wearing the same ripped black jeans but now paired with a loose v-neck sweater and right then and there he thought she looked good. Really good. Even though the cleavage might’ve been too much for her. Her long legs carried her over to where he stood, and she brushed her red hair away from her face. As she reached her arm up he saw a bit of skin on her side and he wanted to touch it. “Hi.” She said, but she frowned. “What happened to your face?” Sora reached out and grabbed his chin, turning his face to the side. “Did someone beat you?” He pushed her hand away. “Leave it, it’s fine.” “Jongdae you have a cut under your eye.” “Huh?” She reached inside her purse and shoved a mirror in his face. He blinked a few times and then spotted the cut, it was under his eye along his cheekbone. It wasn’t big, and there was a little smear on his cheek. Probably where Angel’s ring caught his skin or something. He reached out with his hand to touch his cheek that was still a bit red, and found it sore. It might bruise a little, she packed some power. “Jongdae your hand, what the hell.” She roughly grabbed his wrist, and inspected his wrecked knuckles. “Did you get into a fight?” “No.” “Jongdae?” “No! Leave it, I called you here to have fun, not to judge me. Jesus.” He grumbled, and drank a bit of his wine. “So, you’re going to drink or not?” She sighed and grabbed his jacket, placing it over her lap and sitting down. “I’ll have one drink with you, tell me what happened.” She grabbed the beer and put it to her lips. There was a faint sheen of what seemed like lip balm and she kept eye contact while swallowing, on purpose. “Did you get into a fight?” “No, listen Sora, it’s personal, I don’t want to talk about it really.” This wasn’t making him feel better, he just needed to relax. She rolled her eyes and took another sip. “So, it’s about a girl.” He choked on his wine and coughed loudly. “Excuse me.’ Sora got up from her chair, her own coat over her arm. “She’s calling you right now Jongdae, Angel, sounds like a girl to me.” Jongdae looked sideways at his phone and saw that Angel was indeed calling him, again. “I’ll be leaving then, I’m not doing this when you’re dating someone.” Jongdae took her wrist to hold her back. “Angel is not my girlfriend.” “But this is about her?” He contemplated, looking at his phone and then at Sora. The hurt look in her dark eyes, he hadn’t meant to cause that. “Not here.” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Then where Jongdae? Ha? Listen I’m not investing my time in a guy who’s hooked up on someone else, I’m not that girl.” Jongdae stoop up and touched her arms. “I know you’re not, and I’m not that guy either. But Angel she…she’s my best friend and we got into a fight and-“ “She did that to you.” She pointed at his hand. “What is she? An animal?” “No, I did that to myself.” It dawned on her, “Let’s go to my place. It’s 10 minutes from here.” He stumbled over the edge of the door when they left, and she almost fell with him. “Jesus, how much did you drink?” “I’m not drunk,” he grumbled. “Might be tipsy, but I’m not drunk,” She chuckled lightly as they reached her car. It was a small one, red model Kia, cute. The interior didn’t smell new but it looked nice and clean, organised. No left over McDonalds boxes in the back, or clothes or something. “You didn’t intend on drinking a lot? I mean if you came by car.” She shook her head and turned into a parking lot under an apartment building. “No, I have school tomorrow. I was studying when you called.” “I’m much more fun than you’re books.” He said, looking at her. She looked to the side and he winked. She blushed and it was cute. “Here were are, let’s go.” They got out of the car, and took the elevator up to her room. She was looking at him, taking him in. “You look good though, I mean apart from the blood and upcoming bruise.” He smirked at her, lightly. “I know.” “I normally don’t like cocky guys, but it looks good on you.” She opened the door to her apartment, he trailed behind her with his good hand in his pocket. “This is my apartment, please make yourself at home, but don’t ruin anything.” He nodded and walked for the couch. “Nice place, this what you were studying?” he touched the papers on the table that were strew about by the laptop. Something about legal aspects of journalism. She came by him, put two glasses on the table and poured in whiskey. He was about to open his mouth. “This is all I have, so suck it up.” He grabbed the glass and threw it back in once, which earned him a smack over the head. “If you get drunk I don’t care, if you get so drunk you can’t get home I’ll kill you.” “Hmm pretty lady, come at me.” He winked slyly. She rolled her yes and disappeared into the bathroom, so he poured himself another glass. Sora returned with, of course, a first aid kit, and sat down next to him. She was warm, and he felt it, her thigh pressed against his. Why was he so hyperaware? Without a word, the took one swig of the glass and then grabbed his hand and placed it on her leg. The material of her jeans was soft, and so were her hands. Delicate thin fingers, that took good work of disinfecting his wound, wiping away the blood. She was so gentle, and he silently watched as she wrapped his knuckles in some bandage. “There. Now tell me, Angel?” He sighed, leaning back. “She’s my best friend and, we got into this fight. We never fight, and I got angry and I lashed out at her, verbally, so she slapped me. And I felt like I got pushed aside and I don’t know. I’m pissed.” “You’re sad.” “No I’m angry, don’t confuse.” “You’re confusing your own emotions, but hey if you like to drink them away be my guest. Just don’t puke on my carpet.” She laughed, and her laugh made him laugh. His eyes fell on the clock and it was well past 2am. He downed the glass and held it out to her. “Well then let’s do it, but drink with me.” She couldn’t help but chuckle, and leant up to grab the bottle and pour in some more for both of them. He clanked his glass with hers, and she watched him intently. For a second he let his eyes slide over the curve of her body, her legs crossed over each other, leaning back. The soft dip by her collarbone where her sweater had dropped of her shoulder and the strap of her bra was exposed. Her skin was dotted with little freckles, even there, and she looked so so soft. He remembered the shirt she was wearing previous time, and noticed she was probably wearing a pushup bra. It didn’t suit her, she didn’t need it. “So, you’re staring at me.” She mused, looking at him. “Can’t I?” “I thought you didn’t like me.” “Hmmm I don’t have a thing for you, but you’re attractive.” He said, and it made her blush and scoff at the same time. She had that attitude, but she was more affected than she lead on. He wasn’t sure if he was playing with her, but he liked it. Her phone rang, and she sighed. It was beside him, on the arm of the couch but he didn’t make a move of getting it. He arched an eyebrow when she did, and she grumbled something and stood up. When she placed one of her legs past his he made his move. Jongdae pulled her down, and she landed straight in his lap, straddling him. He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her. He devoured her mouth, it was on from the first moment. She parted her lips eagerly and he delved inside her mouth. He groaned deep in his chest at the feeling of her hands reaching in his hair. The easy way in which he pulled small moans and whines from her only spurred him on. His tongue piercing ticked against her teeth, and he pressed it against her pulse point when he kissed down her neck. She hissed when he sank his teeth into the same spot, sucking harshly. Jongdae practically growled when she tightened her fist in his hair and pulled. He dragged his tongue along her collarbone, and she pressed closer. With his fingers now splayed over her back, he felt how warm she was. He wanted to drown in her, she tasted so nice, and smelled nice to. Like chocolate and coffee. When he was done sucking little quick fading red marks on her shoulder, he reconnected their mouths. He slid his hands down past her ass to her thighs, and he pulled her a little closer. His fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs, even through the skinny jeans, and he relished in the feeling. Her chest pressed flat against his, and with every little shift of her hips he felt himself twitch in his pants. “Fuck.” He grumbled against her lips, especially when she decided to suck his bottom lip into her mouth and lightly nibble on it. She slid a hand between them, up from his stomach to his chest where she brushed her thumb over his nipple piercing. He moaned into her mouth, and she smirked against his lips. She’d obviously found something there, as she did it again, less accidental this time. It sent shivers up and down his spine and his jeans grew more and more uncomfortable. She kissed him deeply, hands sliding up his arms slowly and softly. It was nice to feel how pliant she was, how soft she was, there was no hard feeling of muscle beneath the skin. He could squeeze where he wanted, and he did. Causing her to let out a little whine as he grabbed her ass. He lifted her a little, trying not to break the sloppy kiss. The kiss was loud, and handy, and wet, and he couldn’t care less. All he wanted was to feel her against him as he lifted her up and shifted them. With her legs now encircled around his waist he pressed her against the couch. The cushions dipped, and he found place between her thighs. Sora tried to find a more comfortable place, shifting underneath him, and he let out a groan when she bucked up right against his hard on. It startled her, and he noticed. Her hand pushed at his chest. “Jongdae.” She mumbled, and he kissed down her neck. “Jongdae stop.” He pulled back, a little in shock. Her lips were red and swollen from the kissing. “What?” he asked. “Jongdae we shouldn’t do this.” “You don’t want to?” “You’re hurt Jongdae, it’s not right.” She pushed him up a little, and sat back down against the armrest. “Don’t get me wrong, that was by far the best kiss I’ve had, but I’m not sleeping with you when you’re like this.” He looked at her, sighed and moved over, sitting down on the couch with his elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, and leant his head in his hands. God what did he just do. He’s angry and upset because his best friend slapped him and didn’t pick his side. And here he is, ready to sleep with the girl who obviously likes him a lot and he doesn’t originally want anything to do with. There was a fog of alcohol clouding his head and for a minute he wondered what would’ve happened if she hadn’t stopped him. Would he have gone through with it? Slept with her? That made everything seem even worse and his stomach twisted. “Sora, where is your bathroom.” He asked, not looking at her. “Oh down the little hall there and on the left.” She pointed and he looked up at her, nodding. He stood up on shaky legs, feeling his head spinning for a second. That’s when he knew he got up too fast. He bolted down the tiny hall and made it just in time to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach in the toilet bowl. The bitter scorching taste of alcohol over his tongue only made it worse. He kept going until nothing more would come out, and his stomach muscles hurt and hit throat was sore. Sweat was beading his forehead as he leant his chin on his arm that was keeping him up. A warm hand touched his back and rubbed up and down soothingly. “Anxiety puking, sit up.” She said softly, placing a cold wet washcloth against the back of his neck. It cooled him down a little as he sat up on his knees. He didn’t dare look at her, feeling ashamed of himself. And she just rubbed his back until his frame stopped trembling. “It’s alright.” He now sat back against the wall, and looked at her. She handed him a glass of water, and he used it to rinse out his mouth and spit the water back into the bowl, flushing again. He drank the rest of it, it soothed his throat. “You alright?” she asked, brown eyes concerned. Jongdae sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m being a dick. I was ready there to undress you and fuck you like the next girl on the block.” Sora look at him and reached out for his clammy hand. “I know. And to do that it’s not okay. But you’re obviously hurt and upset and…as much as I like you, and I really like you Jongdae, it’s not right. Why did you even call me?” “I actually don’t know.” He said, and he felt the sting in his heart when she confessed easily to him like that. She sat across from him, leaning back against the wall with her legs outstretched. “This Angel, she hurt you?” He shook his head then. “She…comes out of a rough relationship, and this new guy she’s dating, I don’t know if I trust him. We got into a fight about it, and then I said something really nasty, she slapped me, I left.” “You’re protective over her, she’s your best friend, I get that.” “Sora, she’s everything to me.” He whispered. Jongdae could see the comment struck her wrong for a second. She clicked her tongue. “If that’s true then you should go talk to her.” He scoffed. “You’re hurt, I understand, but if she means that much to you, you must mean a lot to her too. Otherwise she wouldn’t keep calling you. Just go home and see her.” Jongdae looked at her. “Will you drive me?” “Of course.”

The other arched an eyebrow and took him in. “Okay. “ He said unsure, and Jongdae just asked him to keep open a tab. “I never took you for a red wine person.” Sora’s lithe voice sounded from behind him. He turned to face her. She was wearing black washed skinny jeans, ripped at the knee, and a simple tight dark grey t shirt. Of which the cut might’ve been a little low but he expected it. Her hair was down, almost straight, falling just past her shoulder blades. Fiery red, adding to the freckles scattered over her nose and under her eyes. “Hello to you too.” He spoke flatly. She laughed. “You’re going to act all sourpuss with me again? Then why did you come ha?” He rolled his eyes and finally noticed the object she was holding, a pool cue. “You’re playing pool?” “Billiard.” “Okay, sure.” “You in?” He chuckled, taking a sip of his wine, rolling the taste over his tongue. “I’m not.” She pouted, pushing her hair back, setting a hand on her hip. “Oh come on, live a little. We can make a bet. You came here for a reason, lets just have some fun.” The bet sort of peeked his interest and he had to try not to show it. Then she reached out to touch his arm, fingers skating over the leather of his jacket. She stopped at his wrist and pulled him along by the material, and he kind of stumbled along to the pool table. Or billiard table. Whatever. “I say we play for drinks.” She stated, grabbing a beer from the edge and taking a big gulp. Unattractive. “That’s a shitty bet for you little girl. Because wine here is at least one and a half times the price of a beer. Maybe twice.” “Twice. This is a student place, people from my sorority come here. Beer is cheap.” She walked around the table looking at him. “But I’m willing to make the bet. I mean, I’m good enough. So we might just say that you’re lucky that beer is cheap.” It ticked him off and he gritted his teeth. Her cockiness was surprising, but then again, he should’ve known. “Don’t be so sure of yourself sweetheart.” He smirked, unable to contain himself. She stepped up to him, slowly going around the table, holding his gaze. When she reached him, she looked directly into his eyes. Sora was the same height as him. She put a hand on his shoulder, slowly gliding it down his chest. He took her wrist before she reached his stomach. “What are you doing?” “What are yóú doing?” she smirked. He pulled her close by her wrist, and almost with his nose against hers he said. “The first turn is yours.” She smirked still, shaking her head as she pulled her wrist from his grip. “Take of your jacket.” She said as she bent over the table. “It’s warm in here.” With a sigh he shook the material off his shoulders, hanging it over a nearby barstool. He caught her watching him, eyes roaming over his arms that were exposed in the tight black shirt he was wearing. So he flexed his muscles for good measure. She bit her lip, probably unconsciously and he caught her again. He cocked an eyebrow at her when she looked at his eyes finally. “You’re going to take your turn or not?” “I’m white.” She said, taking the first shot and put the balls in play. This meant he played with the yellow ball, he played billiard a lot. He actually preferred it over pool. “So till how much do we play?” he asked, when he potted the red ball on the first turn. There was a twitch of annoyance on her face. “I say ten turns each? The one who has the most points wins.” “Bring it.” He said, handing her the cue. She took it, fingers brushing along his, and he watched as she swayed her hips. Sora was attractive, that was for sure, she had a slim build and long legs. There was something mischievous in her eyes as she bent over the table again and gave him a full view of her cleavage. Nothing wrong with that either. But she was trying way too hard. The line of her body was long as she stretched, she looked taller than she actually was. She pocketed his ball, and he saw that the way she played showed experience. Whether she was good he wasn’t sure. Another swig of his wine and he took his turn. They went on in silence for a little, playing, looking at each other. “You’re good.” She said, as she came back with another wine for him, and a beer for herself. She sat on the edge of the table and drank her beer straight from the bottle. “Where’d you learn how to play?” “At home.” “Where’s that?” “None of your business.” She clicked her tongue. “You still not up for an interview?” He took her chin, forced her to look at him straight. “I told you, we don’t do interviews. It’s against our rules. If that is the only reason you wanted me to come here I’m going to leave.” Jongdae stepped away from her and she hooked her finger in his belt loop to stop him. With a tug she had him turning back, and she gave him a half lidded gaze and did things to him he wouldn’t like to admit. “So then what did you come here for? I mean I never specified my own reason, but you did come.” He set his jaw, slapping her hand away. “To shut up that pretty little mouth of yours.” She scoffed. “You’re playing foul with me.” “Am I?” “Yes.” She stated simply and hopped off the table, purposely brushing her chest against his. Fuck, wasn’t she wearing a bra? Was the first thing he thought as he clearly felt her nipples brush against his shirt. “I see you have nipple piercings.” Sora bent over the table, flinging her hair back, looking up at him through her eyelashes. He stared at her for a moment not answering. “I see you’re not wearing a bra.” She chuckled and winked. “Bras are overrated.” Then she shot the ball, and pocketed it as if it was nothing. Had she been playing him? It took quite a while for her to mess up and him to get a turn again, and she handed him the cue, smirking lightly. “Game on.” She whispered in his ear. Jongdae bit his tongue, and took his turn. But he wasn’t in any way capable of catching up to her. So it was him next going for drinks that time. He took a sniff of her beer and thought it smelled disgusting, scrunching up his nose. He handed it to her with the same face. “How can you drink that shit?” She took a big swig and chuckled. “You sound like a spoiled girl. Only drinking wine.” Jongdae again rolled his eyes at her and went to the table to take his turn. He felt her eyes on him, gazing, smirking. “Stop looking at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like I’m some peace of meat.” She scoffed. “And you haven’t looked at my breasts once tonight?” “You put them on display purposely. I’m not trying to get anybodies attention.” He grumbled taking a shot and pocketing the red ball and his ball. “Plus I didn’t call you here to sleep with you.” She cocked an eyebrow when he pocketed the white and yellow ball after that. Then she strutted over as he leant back up. Sora’s hand was cold from her beer as she touched his bicep, gliding it up to his shoulder down his back. “Listen, I didn’t call you here to sleep with you either.” He arched his own eyebrow now. “You’re feeling me up.” “That I didn’t call you here to sleep with you doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” She whispered it, almost against his lips. He could smell her perfume, sharp but sweet. Her eyes were a light colour brown, a bit greenish. They were gorgeous, she was gorgeous. But she was 21, she was a journalist, she wanted something. He was sure of it. Her hand was inching down his back and suddenly she stopped and narrowed her eyes. “You really are some spoiled white girl.” She moved to get her hands under his shirt and he was quick enough to pull her wrist away, flip her over and push her against the billiard table with a leg between hers. “Stop doing that. Take your turn.” He said, as close as she had to him. With a twitch in her eyes, showing anger, she pulled away and grabbed the cue. “Venus dimple piercings Jongdae? Really?” she asked, as she rubbed the cube over the cue. “I mean the nipple piercings are really hot, but those? Why?” “Because I like them.” “Sure you do. What you also got a bunch of tattoos?” He nodded. “Does it matter?” She sighed and put down the cue. “Let’s find somewhere to sit, talk.” “Why?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. And she rolled her eyes and pulled him along to a table somewhere in a corner. It was one of those tables with benches, so they were sort of closed off. “What do you want?” he asked when she sat down and leant against the wall to look at him. He was sitting beside her, taking her in, how she leisurely leant her head back against the wall and looked at him. Studied him. She pushed her hair back, and it fell in waves, darker red in the dim light. “Where are you from?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “I mean, you live here, but where were you born?” “Here.” “What did you study?” “Nothing.” “So what did you do then, to make a living, between high school and EXO?” He was sensing that she was feeling for something. Searching for a particular answer or bit of information in his speech. “Restaurants, bars, whatever came my way. I’m not one to study, it was never my thing.” She nodded. “I didn’t either, but I loved writing, discovering. I was always curious as a kid, about a lot of things. My mom always said I’d get myself in trouble one day.” Sora licked her lips, slowly, never breaking eye contact. He chuckled dryly. “Cut the crap Sora. What do you want?” With a shrug she propped foot onto the bench and leant her arm on her knee. She came closer. “What are you guys hiding behind those walls?” “Ah, Sora. You need to let that go. You’re not getting an interview.” She clicked her tongue. “I just wonder about you though. You’ve taken my interest. Can’t I get a special scoop? Just on you?” Her hand again reached out for him, nimble fingers dancing over his forearm, up his upper arm. He would lie if he said he didn’t enjoy it, the feeling of someone touching him like this. Wanting him like this. But it was wrong, dangerous, warning signs went of in his head. He leant in closer too, cocking his head to the side. “I don’t think so. But tell me, the fact that you’re digging into my business, it means you have found something already. What is it?” There was a change in her face as he looked at her, stared her down. “There’s no way this brings in enough money for all of you. There’s something going on. Your boss, I’ve seen him, he’s an eccentric type, but he looks filthy rich. I’ve done the math, it doesn’t end up. Also, the guy he hangs with, he works at the hospital up east. That’s a bit odd don’t you think?” This was just bad luck, that she’d remembered Lay. “So, a surgeon can’t do things like that?” “You’re doing something illegal, I can sense it.” “You can’t prove anything.” “I will.” “You won’t.” He whispered. “Because you’ve been feeling me up all night and it’s not an act. You want me, you might even like me, I’m not sure. But you’re not here to expose me, or us for that matter.” She swallowed thickly, but her hand spoke differently to him. As she trailed her fingers over his cheekbone, and ran her fingers through his hair. “Can’t I do both?” He tipped his nose against her, a soft swipe. “You’re threading dangerous territory here little girl. I don’t think you can handle it.” What she did next he should’ve expected, maybe he gave her too much leeway. She tightened the hand in his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. He stopped right before her lips, he could feel them, just the slightest brush. The strength it took. He wanted to kiss her, feel her against him, see if she’s soft. If he can make her moan with just a kiss. But she was playing a dangerous game, and he wasn’t up for getting her killed. So he smirked, tipped his nose to hers, and leant to the side, whispering in her ear. “I’m not that easy, you know. You’ve practically thrown yourself at me. But I’m not that desperate.” He brushed his nose to her ear, and than ran it down the side of her neck. She shivered, and he placed a hand at her side. When he pressed a kiss over her pulse point she gasped and dropped the hand in his hair to his shoulder. “This is not your usual game. I assume you get a lot of attention from guys. But you’ve never played it the other way around. I can notice. Although I wouldn’t pass up, you’re attractive and you talk well.” Another kiss a little lower. “I like that.” She tried to form words but all that came out was a shallow gasp. Then she swallowed and took a shaky breath. “But you know, I wouldn’t stick your nose into my business. At all. You shouldn’t play with dangerous things like that. Even if we aren’t doing what you think we are, don’t. You’re going to get yourself in trouble.” He kissed her neck again, the corner of her jaw, then he ran his tongue over the shell of her ear. His tongue piercing made contact with her skin and she stilled. “We wouldn’t want that now would we?” Jongdae moved his lips back, open mouthed kisses on her neck, until he settled for a spot. He made sure not to leave a mark, but she was easily reduced to a trembling mess by his lips and tongue. “So leave us alone, you’re not a detective.” He dared to trail a finger up along the neckline of her shirt, so he could hold her neck, thumb brushing her jaw. Back up to her lips he said. “You’re just a little girl.” Her lips were parted and he playfully took hold of her bottom lip with his teeth, pulling at it. “Innocent.” Then he kissed her. Fiercely so. He pressed his lips against hers and she parted them immediately, meeting his tongue with hers. She was eager, fingers digging into his shoulder trying to pull him closer. He backed her up against the wall, his chest pressed against hers. Her one leg was laid out along the back, and he was sitting close to her. One hand on her hip, the other now sliding into her hair. It was soft, like the little moans in the back of her throat as he pressed his piercing against her tongue. Or sank his teeth into her lip, pulling, grazing. It was a kiss that took his breath away too. It’s been long since he was kissed like this, like someone wanted him. So full of desire. He leant back a little and let her take control, show him what she got. She was tentative but a good kisser, she’d definitely done it before. The way she tried to get to his piercing, and see what it does, experiment. Made his hairs stand up, more than he’d admit.  Chen moved his hand to her lower back, his fingers just slipping under the hem of her shirt that had ridden up there. Her skin was warm and she arched into his touch, sighing contently. His other hand was skimming down her leg, and she wrapped it around him, pushing him closer. Both of her arms coming around his neck now, a hand running through his hand and scratching his scalp in a way that gave him shivers. As the way her tongue moved against his did.  She was the one who broke the kiss, panting against his lips, chest heaving against his. Her eyes were darker now, and she scratches his scalp lightly, cocking an eyebrow. He spoke first. “Bye Sora.”And with that he was up and out of the door, leaving a generous tip on the bar.

Engraved Chat Time Open for Sora and Chen until 12pm CET 170417

But there was that little crack in the surface. Like a spot on the wall that you both tried to avoid but knew was there. That showed through that there was something not okay right there under your eyes. Something about him wasn’t clicking in your head. The bruises, the anger, the way he fights. Suddenly your phone rang and you groaned, detangling yourself from him and reaching over for it. Junmyeonnie “Why do you have him in your phone like that?” Kyungsoo chuckled from behind you. “Because it annoys him.” You shrugged and picked up the phone. “Angel.” “Hey Angel, it’s Suho.” “Oh I saw.” You said, laying back down on the bed, and you signalled for Kyungsoo to stay silent with a finger over your lips. He frowned a little but didn’t speak. “How was the weekend? Was it nice? Did she like it?” you said, wiggling your eyebrows for just Kyungsoo to see who now even looked more confused. “Can you not for a second?” Suho asked, and you heard the edge in his voice that didn’t signal anything good. He sounded aggrevated. “I need to talk to you about something. Seriously.” You frowned now, pursing your lips. “Is something wrong?” “To be honest, yes.” He grumbled, and you heard a door close behind him, steel. Was it the car. “I’ll be home.” “Hey, Suho?” “What?” he snapped, and you were shocked by his tone towards you. You sighed. “Don’t get angry with me okay. Whatever it is I’m sure it’s going to be okay.” “You have no idea what this is about Angel.” “You’re right, I don’t, but it can’t be anything big because otherwise you wouldn’t call me.” You clearly heard him walking up the iron staircase, and greet someone. “To me it is.” Then it clicked in your head what this was about. “Listen I have a client at 9, and then I have something I need to do. But I was planning to come over by 3 or something anyway. Will you be there?” “I will be, thank you.” He said and then hung up the phone. Kyungsoo was off the bed by now, exchanging your sweater back for his shirt. You caught a quick glimpse of the bruise on his shoulder, that was starting to fade from black to more purple blueish. The one on his cheekbone was far gone, still visible, but nothing compared to the other one. “What was that about?” He asked. You shrugged and got up. “Nothing really, he wants to discuss something.” “That comment of yours, you know where he went off to? I though he was gone for work. That’s what Xiumin told me.” Kyungsoo grabbed his jeans from your chair and slipped them on. “Ahh, I shouldn’t be telling you.” You mused and went through your closet to find clothes for the day. Simple skinny jeans and a tight turtleneck. You stripped of your sweater and you felt his eyes on you, then a hand around your wrist pulling you into his chest as he kissed you feverishly. Despite the fact that neither of you had brushed your teeth. He grazes his teeth over your bottom lip, tongue slipping into your mouth. You moaned softly as he pressed a hand to the centre of your back to press you closer. He was fully clothed and you were…not. And he tangled the other hand in your hair angling your head back a little and you grasped at his good shoulder trying to find something to hold onto. There was something hungry and sloppy about the kiss, but you didn’t find the strength to break it so you let him pull you closer. You were a little unsure about yourself almost being naked, but the way he massaged your tongue with his was so enticing. The roughness of it, the groan rumbling through his chest. “Fuck.” He whispered against your lips, breaking the kiss and panting against your lips. Your chest heaved against his. “You’re hot.” “Ah, someone has a thing for girls with tattoos.” You smirked, trailing a hand up his shoulder to his neck. “Then it’s a good thing I have quite a few.” You winked and walked from his embrace. You felt his eyes roaming over you from the other side of the room, the lace like tattoo under your breasts, the stag on your thigh, the henna on your foot, the roses that slipped up your other thigh, to peek back up above your panties and up to your ribs. The angel wings, the rose on your hand, the suits on the other. He came close turned you fully towards him, and he traced his finger up from your navel, all the way to the underside of your bra. “I like this one.” He whispered in your ear. “It’s a shame I can’t see all of it.” You chuckled lightly. “That’s for another time.” Stepping away from him again, you pulled the turtleneck over your head. The shoulders were open and showed through your signature tattoos. “You’ll be the death of me.” He grumbled, following you to the bathroom. “Ah, Soo. Be a little patient.” You pulled him closer to you by his belt loops after you both brushed your teeth, kissing him more softly. Just a peck. “Let’s get something to eat, I have an appointment in 45 minutes.”

***

You walked into the room with the file in your hands, and felt the small displacement of air right by your cheek. It didn’t startle you, but you felt it catch on to a hair on the side of your head. The soft thump indicated that the knife was lodged in the wall beside your head. Or better, in the piece of plywood that was trimmed there for this very reason. “Are you serious?!”  Jongdae snapped from the lounge chair, looking at the leader with wide eyes. “You’re going to hit her at some point.” You pulled the knife from the wall and twirled it in your hands, “He’s just trying to scare me.” With your eyes trained on Xiumin and not Dae you balanced the knife on the palm of your hand. “He’s using you as target practice.” Jongdae bit. “So?” you didn’t really care, once way back he had managed to knick your ear and all you’d replied with was that he was out of shape. With a practiced flick of your wrist you threw the knife back across the room. It sunk right into the leather material of the couch, dead centre between Minseok’s legs. “Angel,” He snarled. “You’re paying for that.” You frowned. “I was aiming for the backrest.” Which only aggrevated him further, you saw it in the ways his eyebrows pulled together and he angled his chin up. Clenching his jaw. “Maybe you can pay it with all the money you never give me for working here.” You deadpanned and walked  around the couch. Lay was sitting in the back corner of the room by the large window, perched on a chair with a book in his lap. You didn’t acknowledge him, as for the novelty of it, he didn’t acknowledge you either. “Is Suho in his office?” you asked, peering through the hallway that lead to the offices. “Yes.” Minseok stated, changing the channel on the tv. “Why?” “You’re coming with me.” You said, turning around to face him and crossing your arms over your chest, still holding the folder. He scoffed. “Don’t think I am.” “Oh yes you are.” You walked up to the back of the couch, leaning on it behind him. “Because Chanyeol and Baekhyun are getting food right there in the kitchen, and someone is coming this way right now. So unless you want me to expose your ass right here, you’re coming with me.” You looked over at Jongdae, who pretended to casually scroll on his phone but you noticed he was paying attention to you. Especially when his eyes flickered up for a moment, but he immediately went back to looking at his phone. Which probably had more to do with the leader glaring at him. The older one got up, standing not much taller, but taller than you. He wore simple ripped jeans and a tight white shirt. The outline of the dragon tattoo on his ribs was clearly visible. You remember the 8 hour process of that tattoo like yesterday. Because it was the first time you’d tattooed someone’s ribs and were the one who needed a break after 4 hours and not him. He stood up and glared at you, and his eyes flickered to the file. “Walk.” He snapped with a quick jab of his chin. And you held up your hand in defence, walking in front of him to Suho’s office. You opened the door and Suho looked up from his phone that was on his large mahogany desk. His legs crossed under it, foot tapping nervously, told you something was wrong. He looked off, eyes red, which he had tried to cover with eyeliner or something, and it just didn’t look right. His hair was falling over his forehead, shiny silvery grey. He looked younger now, like he did 3 years ago. There was a hint of something in his eyes that you hadn’t seen for years. Was it fear? Desperation? “Hey,” he said, and then his eyes landed on Xiumin and he froze. Junmyeon never gets scared by the leader, ever. You two are the only ones, and you just saw his shoulders tense. “Come in.” He said, voice sounding strained and he coughed. There was a line of tension in the room, and it wasn’t anything to do with you this time. It was the other two. Xiumin stood behind the chair next to the one you sat down in, sinking into the leather. “Sit.” You said, pointing at the chair. “I’ll stand.” “You’re not going to try and control this situation. You’re going to sit your ass down and listen to what I have to say. Or I’m going to make sure they all know what danger you’re bringing onto them.” You growled, looking up. Minseok’s eyes were free of makeup, but even still his eyes were strong on you, one and all anger, contempt. The chair made a high scraping sound over the concrete floor and Suho flinched, very visibly, at it. You looked at him, and shot him a soft smile in the hope it would calm him down. He had to be on your side for this or you would be done for. You dropped the file on the table with a smack. “So, Minseok, tell me, what are you up to?” The leader raised his pierced eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “Spit it out Minseok, I know what you’re doing.” You growled between your teeth. Suho sighed shakily. “Minseok…” he started. “Junmyeon, don’t!” He snapped The younger ones shoulder slumped and he chewed his bottom lip. “If she alread-“ “Let her walk the walk.” He turned his eyes on you, voice rough and demanding. You crossed one leg over the other. “You don’t have to snap at him like that. Can’t you see he’s upset?” Something was seriously off. Xiumin’s eyes flickered back to Suho who was now nervously fidgeting with a string on his blazer. Something flashed across his face, sympathy, worry? You knew Xiumin cared deeply for Suho, and Lay, especially. They’ve been with him for over 6 years now, they’re the core of this group. They’ve been through so much together, lost and gained all they had and have. “Now tell me Minseok, why are you doing this? Do you have a death wish?” you asked slowly and calmly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He said innocently. You sighed, getting angered quickly. “You’re trying to bring him here, and you’re going to lay off. Now.” “I’m not.” “You are.” “Why do you think so.” “Because he works with the Smuggler and you know it!” you yelled. “You know his contacts, you know what he’s like. He always has eyes here. If he senses you digging into his business he’s going to come back for you.” “Why do you care, you have nothing to do with this.” Minseok shrugged, leaning back in his chair. You tried to calm yourself down, dropping tense shoulders. “I don’t??” you asked, voice straining. “No, you don’t y/n. You’re not a part of this group, you actually have no business with what I do and do not do behind your back.” “Minseok, you’re going to get them all killed.” You whispered. His eyes bore into yours, and it made you suppress a shiver. “That is none of your business.” “She’s right.” Junmyeon suddenly spoke up, voice soft and calming. “You are endangering the others. You can’t blame her for worrying.” Minseok practically growled. “I’m not letter her tell us what to do. She’s not part of this.” “I’m not a part of this?!” you yelled, getting up from the chair. “You’re bringing back the darkest thing I ever dealt with. Minseok, this was never about you, this was about ME. He wants ME. YOU are the one who was never a part of this, you made this your own business, you caused the death and despair to this group. And I am fed up with putting up with the blame for it.” He stood up chair falling back and tried to back you up towards the wall, but you didn’t move. You were nose to nose with him. “This all happened because of you.” He growled. “It didn’t!” you yelled. “I never did anything. Never, you saw me Minseok. You were in that doorway, you saw me there. The suffering I had gone through to make sure you guys were safe. I was barely alive.” You whispered the last part. Minseok scanned your face, nostrils flaring. “I should have left you there.” “You should have left your nose into your own business!!” “I want him dead.” “I don’t want him here!” you yelled. “Because he’s going to come for me and you know it! Do you want me dead!” He took a deep breath, and you felt it coming. Before he had enough breath to say it you punched him square in the jaw, sending him stepping back a little. He spat onto the floor, bloody staining his lips now as he wiped it on the back of his hand. “HELP! GUYS!” Suho bolted towards the door and screamed through the hallway. “JONGDAE! CHANYEOL!” Xiumin closed in on you, his arm gripped your upper arm so tightly you knew it was going to bruise and he slammed you with your back into the desk, pushing you to lean back over it. He pressed a knee between your legs, pushing the still healing cut in your leg firmly against the edge of the of the table and you felt the sting. “I. Do. Not. Care. If you live. Or die.” He growled and you felt him shift your weight onto your now bad leg and you stumbled, grabbing for his face, but he twisted away and you saw your face nearing the surface of the desk. If it wasn’t for the pair of arms that suddenly wrapped around your waist and pulled you up off the floor and to the other side of the room, your nose would’ve been shattered. You thrashed for a little until you recognised who it was. Chen, he backed all the way to the wall, trying to clam you by resting his cheek against your neck. “Angel, calm, calm.” His whispered, his heart thumbing against your back. Chanyeol and Suho had Xiumin pressed against the opposite wall. Eyes full of rage and a mania you hand’t seen for a long time. Footsteps were coming down the hall, thumping loudly, more than two pair. Baekhyun, Sehun and Kyungsoo rounded the corner and spilled into the room. Finding Xiumin with a bloody lip and you with blood slowly staining your jeans where your cut had opened up again. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun came over to you, looking at you worryingly. “Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asked as Chen sat you back on the floor, but not removing his arm from around your waist. You saw Xiumin’s glare, but it was trained on your friend and not on you, “Angel?” Kyungsoo asked, touching the wet stain on your leg. “What did he do?” You pushed his hand away. “I threw the first punch, don’t worry about me.” You said, shooting him a weak smile. Baekhyun touched your arm briefly, not sure of what to say, but you felt that he was uneasy. A last pair of footsteps entered the hallway, and Lay moved in to lean against the doorway. “Well, that was long coming wasn’t it.” He smirked. You rolled your eyes and looked at Suho, him and Chanyeol were trying to calm the leader down with hushed voices, and he was still on edge. “Can you leave?” Suho asked, looking at you and Chen. You knew that not everyone in the room was understanding what just happened, but the tension was so clear. This was not what you expected, you never expected him to be like this about it. You were trembling on your feet, as you moved towards the door leaning on Chen’s shoulder for support. But before you left you turned around one more time, Jongdae tried to hold you back but to no avail. “Angel.” He hissed, trying to pull you along, but you shushed him. With your eyes on Minseok you sighed. “You could’ve left me for dead Xiumin, because you already left me years before that.” There suddenly was an eerie silence in the room, nobody spoke, it sounded like nobody breathed. “I wasn’t going to say it, because of you Junmyeon. But,” you looked back at Xiumin again, “You, Minseok, need to think about what you and Kris did. Don’t let history repeat itself. You’re playing with lives.” Suddenly there was a movement in the corner of your eyes, and Jongdae pulled you away. Kyungsoo was faster, stronger, and he managed to get a hold of Lay’s arm before he could reach you. He swung his against the wall with a thud, a similar move like he’d used on you back in the shop, and he held him there. “Don’t you dare.” He growled, and he let him go with a push. “Angel,” Suho said again, desperation in his eyes. “Please.” His voice almost cracked. You nodded and limped out of the room, to the living room. Where you felt someone catch up to you and pick you up into his arms. Your eyes closed at the familiarity of it for a second, resting in Jongdae’s embrace. Until he unceremoniously dropped you on his bed and you yelped. “What the hell?” He whisper yelled. “Why did you punch him?” You rolled your eyes and sat up to remove your jeans from your legs. Not caring if anyone would walk in. They were stuck to your wound, and you felt the stitches pull at the skin causing you to wince. Kyungsoo walked in with an emergency kit and he dropped it on the bed next to you. “Don’t complain.” He mumbled as he took out disinfectant and went to work at trying to remove the stitches. You looked at Jongdae, who stared back at you. “What did you say to him.” “Nothing important Jongdae.” You sighed. “Don’t worry about it.” But it was a lie, because you knew that if he really came back here, he would also come her for Jongdae. “I heard what he said to you Angel. I thought you guys were on better terms.” “I thought so too.” You whispered softly. “But I expected too much I guess.” Your best friend sighed and sat down on his desk. “Please don’t tell me this is about what I think it’s about.” He said, pain in his voice, giving you a pleading look. Your eyes casting down onto the floor was all it took for him to know. “Fuck!” yelled, and he threw something across the room that caused you to flinch, but Kyungsoo steadily removed the last stitch. He wasn’t as careful about it as Lay was, not trained to do this, but he tried his best. “Hey.” He tapped your other leg and you looked at him. “I think the stitches caused the bleeding, so I’m not going to try and stitch it back up now. But if you think you need it you might want to call someone who knows how. I don’t think you need it though.” He lifted your foot onto high knee, lifting your thigh as he pressed a gauze to the wound and started to roll a bandage around your thigh. You were too scared to look at Jongdae, to see his fear. He was always steady, upbeat, he knew how to make the best of things and this would kill that. Because you knew Xiumin might care less about his wellbeing than yours, and it scared you. The scenarios you could imagine of how this was going to end. With all 10 of you dead and burned. “You’re good to go.” Kyungsoo said, putting your foot back on the floor. “You okay?” Truth be told you weren’t, you were afraid. Beyond afraid. And when you looked into his eyes, that were big and full of concern, you couldn’t say yes. So you slowly shook your head and waited for his response. He took your hand in his and squeezed it lightly. “You want to rest?” he asked. “You want to go home? Be alone?” He sounded so considering and your heart clenched, and you pushed back tears that were on the brim of falling. “Angel, talk to me.” He said, trying to avert your attention from Chen, who looked so scared it fuelled your own fear. “Can we go to your room? I don’t want to be home.” You whispered, and looked down to where his hand held yours. “Okay.” He said, and he stood up, helping you but you were weak and he caught you when you wavered. Kyungsoo supported you as you walked towards the door, you stopped him briefly to stumble over to Chen and wrap you arms around his neck. His arms came tightly around you waist and he hid his face in your neck, letting out a shaky breath. “It’ll be okay Dae, I promise, I wont let you get hurt again.” You said and brushed a hand through his hair as you let him go and went back over to Kyungsoo. D.O. helped you to his room, only two doors over, and lifted you onto the bed. “You want to take a shower?” he asked, and you nodded silently looking at the blood that was staining the bottom of your sweater now. It had probably gotten there when he was fixing you up. “I have like underwear in Kai’s room, in his wardrobe, upper left shelf. Would you mind? He’s not in today.” You asked, and you voice sounded little and weak. He nodded and helped you to the shower first, where he left you with the door unlocked to get your room. You heard him talk to Chanyeol, or maybe it was Sehun, and say that you were in the shower so they shouldn’t go there. And you really appreciated it, he was so nice to you. He didn’t even ask what happened, and it made you want to cry. Because he was in danger too, they others didn’t deserve this. Something in you wanted to hope that he’d come back and tie a noose around Xiumin’s neck, but you couldn’t. Never, because where Xiumin would probably never again care about you, you couldn’t let him go. You wouldn’t drop him like that, thats not what you do to family. So you took of your sweater and underwear to step under the warm stream of the shower, it eased your tensed muscles and relaxed you. Why had you done that, you wondered. This wasn’t the right way. Why was he so off about this, why would be do this? It made no sense. Was he really that blinded by revenge? You knew that in this life revenge was an inevitable disease that is hard to get rid off. You rinsed the blood away and used the first body wash you could find, keeping your hair away from the water. It smelled quite mild and you noticed it wasn’t kyungsoo’s, his smelled stronger last time he got out of the shower. So it was probably Baekhyun’s. You didn’t care, and rinsed off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around your body and waiting till he got back. Which didn’t take long because a knock on the door soon followed. “Can I come in?” he asked. “Yeah.” You answered, sounding more normal now. He nervously entered, and looked at you, his eyes didn’t wander anywhere right now. Not down your body like they usually do when he takes you in. He handed you the underwear and bit his lower lip, chewing his piercing. With a more steady hand now you reached out to him and pulled his lip from his teeth. “You’re going to cut yourself like that.” You said. His eyes wandered now, to your arm, where Xiumin’s handprint was red slowly going blue. “Does it hurt?” he asked, and he trailed his fingers over the swollen mark. You shrugged. “It’s nothing I haven’t experienced before. Not form him, but it’s okay.” He reached behind you, for a towel and wet it a little with cold water, holding that against your arm. All you had around you was a towel, nothing more, and he was close, toes touching yours. “Kyungsoo?” you whispered. “Angel?” “Please don’t ask me.” He looked up at you, confused. “Why not?” “Because I don’t want to have to lie to you.” “Should I be afraid.” “I don’t want you to be.” “Should I be?” he asked again, stepping a little closer, noses almost touching. You took a shaky breath, and it fanned out against his lips. “Yes.” He pushed a strand of hair behind your ear. “Are you?” You nodded and he pulled you closer immediately, not caring about the fact that you were practically naked. He pressed his cheek against your head, his hands warm even through the towel. “I hate this feeling.” You said against his clothes shoulder, one hand resting on his lower back and the other still holding the towel. “I hate it so much.” “It’s okay.” He said, and you felt he rocked you slightly from side to side. “Everyone is afraid once in a while, it’s normal. I’m here, Chen’s here, Kai’s here. We’re all here for you.” You nodded again, trying so hard to stay calm. “I’m not going to let you get hurt.” He said, and it made you pull back to look him in the eyes. But there was sincerity, care. “I promise.” Kyungsoo rested his forehead against yours and then kissed you lightly. “Go change, you’ll catch a cold.” He stepped away and out of the bathroom, leaving you indeed cold and shivering without his warmth here. Dropping the towel, you grabbed your underwear from the side of the sink. You found he also brought you a sweater to wear, it was the same one you had worn when you were there previous time. The grey one with the long sleeves. You pulled it over your head and his scent filled you nose. Carefully, you opened the door and peered through the hallway. It was empty, and silent, apart from a few murmurs coming from one of the rooms. So you quickly tiptoed back to Kyungsoo’s room, where you found him just pulling another shirt over his head, darkly inked skin disappearing beneath the fabric of his black shirt. “You feeling any better?” he asked, as you laid down on the bed stomach down. The bed dipped beside you and you rolled over to your side. “Yeah, thanks for the sweater.” You said, turning the sleeve a little inside out to feel the soft fabric on the inside. He trailed a finger up your thigh, tracing the pattern of your tattoo. “I’m sorry this is all so complicated.” He sighed and laid down next to you, on his side facing you. The two of you laid there like little kids, knees pulled up and touching, as he reached for your hand between you. His eyes were dark but warm, not cold like Xiumin’s, not sharp, but soft. “It’s not your fault.” He said. You smiled softly, leaning over to kiss him, and he pulled you closer by the fabric of the sweater so you were over him. He stretched out his leg and you fitted one of yours between them, deepening the kiss a little. It was different from this kiss this morning, that was quick and wild, this was endlessly slow and so soft. You turned and he brushed his nose against yours with a smile, reconnecting your lips and starting all over again, because you could. The sweater trailed up a bit, and you felt his hand hesitantly move down to come to rest at your bare waist. Unlike this morning when he’d touched you strongly and without any hesitation. You smiled into it and laced a hand through his hair, the other trailing down his shoulder so you could slip your fingertips just under the edge of the short sleeve. He started to softly suck on your bottom lip while he slid his hand all the way up your back and pressed you against his chest fully. He lifted one leg a little and you felt his own fingertips trace along the edge of your bra. Not asking, not doing anything, just tracing the material. He pushed lightly and you let him roll you over, onto your back. His lips breaking from yours to kiss along your jaw, a playful nip to your pierced earlobe that made you gasp, before he went down your neck. Slowly, and his lips were so soft and warm and your skin was tingling as you tightened the hand that was still in his hair a little. He shuddered and you took a note of that with a click of your tongue. Obviously, he noticed that because soon you felt him stop on a particular spot by your collarbone piercings that had a little moan pass your lips. He sank his teeth into the skin, and moved the sweater aside for a bit better access as he went to work right there till your body went limp underneath him. Your breathing heavier, lightly flush on your cheeks, and he looked satisfied as he stopped and stared at you underneath him. Something so soft in his features that you’d always known to be hard. You reached up with the hand that you had dropped from his hair and brushed your fingers over his cheek. “Thank you.” He chuckled lightly, but you understood what he had tried to do. “I’m not good with words.” He said. “I know, it’s okay.” You were relaxed and he rolled away from you so he could pull the sheets over, covering you both. “Soo, it’s like 6pm.” “So,” he shrugged, “you could use a nap, we can eat something later, there’ll be leftover.” He pulled you against his chest and you listened to his steady heartbeat. “Aren’t you supposed to cook?” you asked, yawning. “I don’t think we’re having family dinner tonight.” He said, and got a little more comfortable, sinking into the mattress. You hummed and closed your eyes, counting his heartbeats, still wondering how you and him fell so fast like this. Will that always be a mystery? It was the last question on your mind right before you fell asleep.

***

Kyungsoo woke you from your nap, lightly shaking you. “Hey, y/n,” he whispered. “Wha?” you mumbled. He chuckled. “Jongdae and Baekhyun ordered in food for us, they just texted me. You want to go eat?” “Is it Chinese?” you asked, muffled by his chest. “Yes.” You shot up. “Then always.” You got up from the bed and went to his closet, as you weren’t wearing any jeans and your spare pair of them at Jongdae’s room wasn’t here anymore. So you took a pair of his jeans that looked about right to sit on you like your boyfriend jeans. “Can I borrow these?” you asked. “I’ll wash them and leave it at my place in case you ever need anything.” He nodded and laughed. “You’re not going to fit though.” “Oh watch me.” You said, pulling them on, bending down to roll over the bottoms. They were ripped over your knees and didn’t look that bad. “You look ridiculous.” He snickered, and you did to be honest. Because the sweater was way too big. “How old are you, 6?” You glared at him and went through his things, finding a shirt that looked like it would fit tightly on him. White, and it was probably going to show through your bra, but you didn’t care. You switched it out with the sweater and put the edge in the jeans. “Better?” you asked, facing him. “Yes.” He said, getting up and kissing you once, twice. “But you generally look good in my clothes. Even if you steal them.” “Hey! I didn’t steal anything!” “I lost that sweater! It’s my favourite, you left it in Jongin’s room!” he defended and pouted. “Ahw, I’m sorry.” You said with a fake pout, matching his. He laughed and pulled you along. “They’re hiding in Baek’s room.” When you got in there, Chanyeol, Sehun, and Kai were there too, all sitting somewhere in the room with food on their lap. Baekhyun was sitting on his bed, Chanyeol next to him against the headboard. Sehun was perched on the desk, legs pulled up, Jongin in the chair. Jongdae was on the other end of the bed, and held out your food to you. “Your favourite?” “My favourite?” you squinted. “Yes, with extra soy sauce.” He mused, knowing well that he forgot to ask last time. You leant down and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.” He smiled back but there was still the worry hiding behind it that you had learnt to discover. You sat down on the floor, leaning against the bed and Kyungsoo sat down beside you with his own food. “So…” Baekhyun started slurping his food way too loudly and talking with his mouth full. “Angel…” “What?” you asked, breaking your chopsticks apart. Sehun spoke up instead of the redhead. “Are you guys a thing now?” he asked pointing between you and kyungsoo with his chopsticks. And suddenly the whole room had their eyes on you while you took the first bite of your food. “Or are you just fucking?” the youngest continued. Kyungsoo tensed a little beside you. “Hey Chen, are there extra chopsticks in that bag?” you looked up, and he handed you another pair over your head. So you clicked them open, and flicked one at Sehun’s head, hitting him. “YAH!” he yelped and shot you a glare. “What the fuck, that was just a question.” “My romantic or sexual life is none of your business.” Behind you Baekhyun poked your cheek with his own chopstick. “Ahh Angel, come on. We won’t shame you.” So you threw your other chopstick his way, but he ducked and it hit Chanyeol against his ear. The taller one was deep in thought and jumped, almost dropping his food. “Shit, sorry Yeol.” You said. “Oh,” he looked a little taken aback. “It’s fine.” He mumbled, his eyes met yours and you saw that he was wondering what had happened today. Because he had heard Xiumin say it, that he didn’t care , that he didn’t care if you died or not. “Hey, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” You said to him. He frowned. “He didn’t mean that did he?” You sighed. “I have no idea Chanyeol, to be honest.” “Angel?” Sehun asked now, and you turned to look at him. But you also saw Kai looking at you, who had more of an idea what was going on now. “What’s going on?” So you sat up a little straighter, taking another bit of your food first. “I’m not going to give you the details, because it’s not my job, and because I promised I wouldn’t. But I feel like you are all way to involved to be in the dark.” “Huh?” Baekhyun mumbled. “Listen, your boss is getting involved in some shady business, and I was trying to warn him. He didn’t take my opinion that well.” You tried to make it seem as light as possible without brushing it off. “So?” Chanyeol asked. “This whole thing we do here is shady.” Kyungsoo leant a little against you, and you appreciated it. “I know. But even in this life theres shady and shadier things. Just be a little cautious when he sends you out okay?” There was a moment of silence where everyone ate until Baekhyun spoke again. “Can’t you just tell us what happened, why you and Xiumin are so on and off, and why Lay wants to kill you?” “It’s not my place, if Xiumin wants you informed on his personal and past businesses it’s his job to do so. If after tonight he wants you to be, he’ll send Junmyeon to do the job. I’m sorry.” You reached over the bed to grab a can of coke, washing a bit of the salty taste and spice from your mouth. “Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. I am sure that if it’s serious enough that you need to be informed, he will do so.” Chen touched your shoulder. “Guys can we just not keep talking about this?” You smiled up at him, and he winked. But when Byun Baekhyun was in the room, together with Oh Sehun, nothing gets unnoticed. “You know something don’t you.” They both spoke at the same time, pointing with their chopsticks. You sighed. “Guys.” “Why does he know?” Sehun asked. “Does that mean Kyungsoo knows?” Baekhyun chirped. Kyungsoo groaned covering his face with his hands. “I don’t know.” Kai mumble, looking around with big eyes. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” Always the saviour, you thought. Sehun squinted his eyes at his friend. “Is she picking favourites now?” This scene was becoming more and more uncomfortable, and not only for you. “Ah Sehun, she always had favourites. But we all know she loves Chen the most.” Baekhyun shrugged. Chanyeol was still a lot quieter than usual, not joining his friends usual banter. It made you sad, he might’ve heard more of it than the others though Suho trying to calm Xiumin down. Or seen more of the aftermath of it on his side. The thing about Minseok is that if you hit a wrong snare, he will lash out and he won’t stop until he got you. His anger is a dangerous problem, and he learnt to deal with it over the years actually. You haven’t seen him like that since the others died. And you wanted to say he deserved what you said to him, because deep down you knew it was the truth, but you still felt guilty for it. Because you had pulled the others in it, and that wasn’t your intention. The door of Baekhyun’s room suddenly opened and Suho stepped in. Having changed out of his suit now, wearing sweatpants and a vest. “Angel, can I talk to you for a second.” “Ahhhh,” Baekhyun laughed. “Someone’s going to get ittt.” You threw your other chopstick at him, hitting his nose. “Shut up you kid, or I’ll punch you in the face see how you like it.” You grumbled as you got up to follow Suho outside. “Come on.” He guided you along the hallway past the living room to where he, Lay and Xiumin has their rooms and bathroom. Everything was split up in 3. “Sit,” he said, opening the door and letting you in. You hadn’t been in his room for ages really. It was messy, clothes littered around, papers, shoes, but the light blue and grey was nice on the walls and furniture. “Junmyeon?” you asked, turning around to look at him. His eyes were worse than before, and you saw that you actions and Xiumin’s hadn’t made his mood any better. “What’s going on?” His sigh was so shaky you could hear the tears. “She found out.” He whispered, and let himself fall on the bed, a single tear escaped and ran down his cheek. “Hey,” you said, sitting down beside him and rubbing a hand  up and down his back. “It’s okay, I’m sure she’ll pull up, if she loves you she’ll see through it.” “You don’t understand,” he was still whispering, “She found guns, pills, bloody clothes, in the back of my car. I don’t even know who left them there.” “Jeez, hey.” You sighed, pulling him into a hug, and he rested his chin on your shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. Did you talk to her?” you asked He was trembling a little and it made you feel so bad for him. You knew he liked her but you never knew it was this serious, he must’ve loved her a lot. “She won’t answer my calls, or texts, she left me back in the hotel.” You pulled away and cupped his cheek. “Okay, listen. I know it sounds hard, but you need to give her some time. I’m sure that if she loves you, she will accept who you are.” He shuddered, more tears making their way down his cheek. “But y/n, she said that she’s not sure if she can love me if that’s who I am. And I don’t know what to do.” “Hey, hey,” you were till rubbing his back trying to calm him down a little. “Shhh. Junmyeon, you really loved that girl didn’t you?” He nodded and looked at you with a pained expression. “I don’t want to lose her, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” He wiped the tears from his cheek with the back of his hand. “I should’ve told her sooner, I know, but I couldn’t. I was so happy with her, y/n.” You pulled him in for another hug and he returned it tightly. “Do you want me to go and talk to her?” He looked at you and pursed his lips. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.” “Why so? Do I need to take out the piercings? Cuz I will.” “She’s not that fond of the fact that you’re the one who pierced me.” He mumbled. You laughed. “I understand that, I wouldn’t like another girl to touch my guy down there either. But the fact that I’m from the same life as you might help in her understanding where you come from. Your story is not Xiumin’s, it’s not Chen’s, or Baekhyun’s. You grew up here, this is your life and legacy, you didn’t make this choice.” “I could’ve chosen to leave.” He interrupted you. “Listen okay. You could have, but you didn’t. I never told you this. But I once had that choice, and I was scared to choose the safe option, I had no idea if there was even place for me there. So I chose to stay here and I’m happy with that decision. But anybody I meet will have to take that, and live with the fact that this is who I am and what I do. You were brought up here, thought to be this, your morals, your values, they are better than a lot of people I meet here. She’s lucky it’s you Junmyeon, she really is.” He stared at you for a second. “Thank you.” “That’s what friends are for Junmyeon.” You winked and got your phone from your pocket. “Here, put her number in, I’ll call her.” Suho took your phone from your hands and typed in her number. “I appreciate this.” “It’ll be okay.” You said, and walked to the door. “Is Minseok okay?” The elder sighed. “I have no idea what’s wrong with him actually. He’ll get a bruise.” “Good.” You mumbled before you left. Back in the hallway you felt his eyes on you, condescending, burning holes into your skin. It made you shiver, uncomfortable, want to crawl into a ball. And it wasn’t Xiumin, it was Lay. The pressure behind it, the hate. He didn’t say anything, and you didn’t dare look around to face him. So you quickly moved back to Kyungsoo’s room, where you found the other in the bed. He looked up from his phone, sleepy eyed. “You got reprimanded?” “No, I mean he’s not the boss he technically can’t.” Kyungsoo scoffed. “Reprimands the others all the time if they step out of line.” On the chair you found the grey sweater, and you exchanged your clothes for that. You got under the covers with him, head on the pillow. “Because in the hierarchy you’re under him. Suho sees me as an equal.” “That’s not fair.” “It is, because I’m an outsider. He sees it more convenient to keep me as a friend. Minseok thinks he’s better than me.” Kyungsoo hummed in agreement and turned off the light to get properly under the covers with you. He pulled you against his side, sighing. “Lets just sleep, this day was long enough.” You nodded, closing your eyes and quickly drifting off.

***

The next morning you woke up together, and he had mumbled something about having a job. So he got up off the bed and walked into the shower scratching the back of his head. You got up too after a little while, getting up to change and get ready for the day, because you had an appointment later. The door opened but you didn’t pay much attention to it. You were standing in front of the closet, you felt him, his gaze. His footsteps were barely audible when he came closer, so close you could feel his warmth, authority, power. His lips dangerously close to your ear. “You know y/n I care for you, you wouldn't be alive right now if I didn't. But I don't want you here, around my team, getting close to them. Because as much as I want to trust you, you know I can't. People like you are never completely honest, there's always something in it for you isn't it? In everything you do? You sleeping with Chen I can deal, but not DO, they're not the same. You can't play him like that. If I find out you have ulterior motives here, I will let Yixing have a go at you. Because he's been itching to get into that pretty skin of yours." There was no sound that came from your lips as you parted them. There was the feeling of fear lingering in the corner of your senses, dangerously close, like him. He stepped back and walked away, hands in the pockets of his suit pants. “You know y/n, your boy, he has a switch. Pray you don’t flip it.”

Lay was throwing a pencil on the other end of the table, not giving you the time of day as Minseok stood next to you to observe your findings. “This helps us find their location.” You turned to the map and pointed out the blue tips where the cars were often parked. “They’re smart enough to not park their cars near their location, that is clear. But they don’t park their car near their rental house or hotel rooms either. And I bet they don’t go there in general. So if you look at al of this, you can draw a red circle around the places where they could be. Most people try to not get this much of a circular location, but they unintentionally always do. The parking spaces, the hotels, the atm’s, it all comes back to this area.” You drew a black circle around what you’d always known as the old law district, or district 8. EXO was located in district 14, mainly warehouses and older buildings. The old law district was made up of old parking lots and tall buildings that were no longer in use. Popular for homeless people to relocate in, but also home to a lot of apartment buildings rented by people who didn’t have a lot of money. The crime rate there is high, so it was no surprise they chose to relocate there. They should be easy to find as a big group. “You think they’re in the old Kappa building?” Xiumin asked, frowning. You nodded. “The old Kappa building is a five story office building that’s up for demolish in another 3 months. They will be constructing a new apartment building there, the whole district is up for rebuild since the city is expanding. It’s the perfect place for them to go because not a lot of people come there since it’s up for breakdown.” “Couldn’t they be in any of the other buildings?” Chanyeol asked, pursing his lips. Where the boy was extremely well informed in weapons, his planning and searching could use some….work. The door opened. “They’re in there.” Sehun said, and he slid a large camera across the table. “Third floor, large conference room. They have stashes in other rooms, drugs, weapons, explosives. I caught 8 of them, but they were heading out. If you go now you might be able to get in.” Sehun was the youngest of all of you, but he was good at what he did nonetheless. He was skilled on finding information of people, scouting them out without them seeing. Being a rich kid, he knew a lot of people around the city and got in at places you’d have no chance at without falsifying information. You grabbed the camera and went through the pictures. Three women, five men, lots of weapons and drugs, explosives stashed neatly on tables. “Yeol, come here for a second.” You motioned the tall one over and he looked at the pictures with you and Minseok. “How much is this?” “A lot. Enough to blow up a quarter of the city. But I don’t see anything else, it’s just the C4 in the back. I think it’s for trade, not actual use. Same for the weapons, they’re generally not put together, they might be selling separate parts. Sehun, did you notice anything up the trade scenes?” The young one brushed a hand through his dark hair and unzipped his jacket, revealing the bird tattoo on his throat. “I did notice a spike in the heroin, but I thought it was random, not enough to be suspicious. There was also an accident with faulty meth, killed four teens. Might’ve been them, not sure. Happens all the time to be honest.” “Well,” Jongdae started, “If we know where they are, why don’t we go get them?” He was leaning back with his feet on the desk. “I mean, it seems easy enough right.” Minseok nodded. “What’s your plan?” he asked, looking at you. The room had all eyes on you, and you felt the slight pressure of being in Suho’s place. “Jongdae, Jongin, get changed. Chanyeol, get a laser sniper, Baekhyun get me a hacker drive. We’re going to have a talk with them.”

***

The office was largely empty, except for a cheap desk and some drawers to the side. Crouched on the edge of the window you fished a set of lockpicks from your pocket and removed the gloves of your hands with your teeth. With the gloves in your mouth you stuck the picks in the lock and felt securely if you moved the pins in the right place. And slowly but surely the last pin fell and you were able to turn the lock over with a practiced motion. You stepped inside just as the lock on the other side started jiggling. “I’m in.” You said into the headset. Baekhyun answered calmly. “Okay Angel in position, that’s a record, how did you get there first when you had to go through the window?” With a small proud smirk on your lips you sat down on the chair with your boot clad feet on the iron desk. Dead centre in some paperwork which you were not interested in at all. The lock jiggled some more, and you wanted to call out but didn’t. He’ll get it. “Well, you know, I’m just that good.” You said as you sat up straight and pushed the hacker drive inside the computer that was standing on the desk. It was locked, but that didn’t matter for Baekhyun. “I swear I thought Dae would beat you there.” “Nah, he wanted outer position. Can you get in?” you asked, watching the screen. It was silent for a moment and then the screen flashed on. “Yep, got it.” Baek answered. “Chanyeol, you in position?” you asked as you turned around to the now closed window and was met by the red flash of a laser in your eyes. “Okay, good.” The door in front of you opened and Jongin stepped in, dusting his black jeans. “That makes three. Jongdae you good?” The other line was silent for a second or two. “Yep, I’m good. Now it’s just waiting for them to come home.” You nodded as Jongin came up beside you to watch Baekhyun move things on the screen from back home. With him was Sehun. Minseok and Lay were outside in the car in case things got messy or they turned up with all eight. But you didn’t expect that. . The camera in the upper corner turned towards you suddenly and you saluted. “See anything outside yet?” Jongin asked. “No sight of them yet. What if they don’t come back soon?” Baekhyun asked. There was a rumbling sound on one of the lines. “They’ll be back.” Jongdae said. You sighed loudly. “Are you looking around or what the hell are you doing?” “Hmmm I’m just checking the perimeters. We should take some of this stuff home you know, could get a lot of money from it.” He mused and you shook your head. “I know, I’m getting back to the post. Don’t you think it’s a little sloppy that they keep everything around and don’t instal an alarm?” Nobody really answered. Jongdae had a bad habit of blabbering a bit too much on the other end of the line for jobs like this. Sometimes it was nice, but something inside of you was tense. Maybe just because you knew that there were connections to him, or just because you’d been out of it. But you were tense, and almost jumped when Jongin placed a hand on your shoulder from beside you. He moved, sitting on the desk, facing you as you leant back in the chair. He raised his eyebrow at you, questioning. You nodded, as if to say everything was okay. But he cocked his head to the side and frowned. Trying to get a read on you. “Guys I see a car pulling up.” Xiumin said, and Jongin stood up straight. You didn’t move, still leaning back. “I thought you said they didn’t park here?” “Well, they usually don’t. But if they went to deliver they might’ve brought stuff back.” The lines were all silent, and you sighed. Jongdae was the first to speak up again. “Well isn’t it stupid of them to leave everything out in the open though?” “No,” you and Sehun answered at the same time, and he laughed. “After you Angel.” “Thanks my friend.” You shook your head, and Jongin rolled his eyes. “If they blind the windows people will get suspicious, and nobody will come here until the next few months. Which means they aren’t here to stay. Anybody getting out of that car?” “Yeah,” Xiumin trailed. “A man, and two other guys. I think it’s the one were looking for. The woman isn’t here though.” There was a flash of red in the corner of your left eye and you saw the red laser dot move over the wall to set steadily on the point beside the door. “Chanyeol, turn it off. Once I give you the signal you turn it back on.” “Wait, what signal?” he asked, but he turned it off. “You’ll know.” “Shhh.” Dae suddenly whispered. “They’re inside.” His voice was low and a little hard to follow over the static. You were still leaning back, but the screen of the computer flashed black now.  Baekhyun was probably done by now, having copied all their files and deleted the ones that he deemed problematic. “Angel if you need us, you say the word.” Xiumin said, knowing you couldn’t answer him anymore but you knew what he meant nonetheless. The code for danger, fire. Suddenly the lock on the door jiggled, and Jongin tensed up beside you. You briefly touched his hand that was resting on your shoulder, and gave it a soft squeeze. He was off, like you, but for him it could end bad. You sensed it in his stance, so you prayed he was going to be able to flip the switch. The door opened and the man that stepped through had wide eyes when he saw you. So you arched an eyebrow and took him in. Broad shoulders, tall, dressed in an expensive suit that wasn’t tailored perfectly. Sloppy work. His hair was pushed back from his face, ashen black like his eyes. Deep and dark, staring at you. His thick eyebrows furrowed and the men behind him reached for their guns. “I wouldn’t if I were you.” You mused, and saw Jongdae behind them with a gun pointed at the man’s head. “Or your boss dies.” So they put their guns back in their pockets and let Jongdae push them into the room. Your friend stayed behind them, gun still raised, eyes not moving to you but staring at a target on the back of the man’s head. “Let me get things clear before we start. We’re here to talk with you, I have no intentions of this getting dirty. But do know that we have full control over your camera recordings, and nothing that happens here will be saved to your hard drive. We have full copies of all your files and my gunman if up on the adjacent roof in case you guys decide that this isn’t going the way you want to. Yeol.” You stated, and on cue a red light flashed up on the guys chest, dead centre to his heart. “Let me also tell you that this isn’t going to go the way you want. This is going to go the way I want it to go. So you’re going to listen to me, and answer my questions honestly. If I think you’re lying, I wont hesitate to give my man the signal. He’s a perfect shot.” The leader narrowed his eyes at you, hands in his pocket. Jongdae moved, Jongin did too, as they switched places slowly. Circling all the way till Jongdae was at your left and Jongin locked the door and came to your right. Both clad in dark jeans, a white shirt and jackets tailored to perfection. “Are we clear?” you asked, hands folded in your lap. He nodded. Jongdae moved beside you, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’re here to request your departure from this city.” The man opened his mouth. Jongin spoke first. “Don’t protest, our request isn’t an open one. You go or we force you to leave. Your choice. That is, if you answer our questions first.” There was something in the eyes of the guy on his right, that you could’t quite place. The quiver of his lip, the twitch in his hand. His hair was blonde, and curled smoothly at the ends, but it was seemingly dry in the terrible lighting. Thats when his hand reached for his pocket. You let him pull the gun out and point it at your head. “Leave, or I’ll shoot you.” A smirk played on your lips. “Go ahead, pull the trigger.” He did, and the gun clicked but nothing else happened. Jongin beside you reached into his own pocket and emptied his hand on the table, 7 bullets rolling out over the metal desk. “A little precaution.” He smirked. Jongdae did the same thing, emptying his hand of 14 bullets, belonging to the leader and the man on the left. The sound was hard in the small room, and one bullet rolled to the edge of the desk, rolling, rolling, and tipping of the edge to fall to the floor and roll further there till it came to a stop by the door. “I see you elevated the desk. Smart. Old building sag easily around here, that’s why it’s up for demolish. Not such a smart move of you to leave everything out in the open for us to see. We had you scouted out easily, and your tracks weren’t covered properly either. I’d say your work is quite sloppy.” You trailed, and grabbed a pen from the desk to play with it. “What do you want?” the man asked again. “We told you, we want you to leave this city.” Jongdae shrugged. “But we also want to know who you work for.” Jongin cocked his head to the side and frowned a little. “Who requested you to be here?” There was hesitation in his stance, and his eyes briefly flickered up to the camera. “Oh don’t worry about that.” Jongin said. “We got full control, whoever owns you and your brother can’t see a thing right now except for an empty office. The Smuggler, right?” The man nodded, but his eyes stayed trained on you. No matter which of the two boys spoke. Jongdae continued. “It’s weird though, he specialises in gathering things up and getting them across the border. So what would he do in a central city like this, selling his goods?” The leader shrugged. “I just follow orders. I’m a dealer” “Ah, like your brother? Or does your brother give you the orders?” Kai mused. “Is he the one who makes you do all the dirty work? I mean, I get it you know. He’ s a big shot underboss for the Smuggler and you’re…well you’re probably next to nothing compared to that. I wonder how that must feel.” Kai did his thing, trying to rile the man up. There was anger contorting in his face and you clicked your tongue approvingly. “I see, a little family feud I guess? Was he always better than you when you were a kid? How about this, you give us information on their whereabouts, and we let you get off alive and well. Including all of your men.” He doubted, before he spoke slowly. “What are you doing here, you’re not part of their crew. This shouldn’t be any of your business.” “Ahhhh,” Chen said. “But you made it her business, it’s what you get when you invade someone’s house. Break their stuff, attack them, attack their friends.” He grabbed a bullet from the table and twirled it between his fingers, as if inspecting it. “These bullets are nice, but your gun is nicer. It’s an old model, seems familiar. A lot like the ones that used to be on display in the Majors house. He collects old guns. But a few have gone missing a couple of weeks ago. I wonder who did that.” You chuckled when the man’s eyes widened. “Lesson one in thievery. Never use your stolen goods, always get rid of them. You did a good job though, getting in there. But you should know better than to steal from the Major. They’ll find you eventually and everything will go up in smoke.” “We’ll be gone from here by the end of the month.” The man snarled. You pointed an accusing finger at him. “Don’t use such a tone with me. You’ll leave today, before nightfall. Or we’ll come after you.” “We’re not going anywhere, this isn’t part of your territory.” Kai sighed. “Well I guess you were misinformed then, this city is ours. And anything that happens on here is monitored by us. You leave this city tonight, by traffic or by bodybag. The choice is yours.” “I WILL N-“ he started but you held up your hand. “If I have to get up out of this chair and teach you a lesson you’ll be in much more trouble than you already are. Don’t provoke me, don’t yell at me, don’t speak when I’m speaking. Or when any one of us is speaking.” He narrowed his eyes again, obviously not impressed by three young people trying to get one up on him, the corners of his lips quivered with contempt. So you sighed deeply. “It’s so sad that you don’t see the trouble you’re in.” And on cue, a short fired through the closed window, glass shattering behind you. The bullet lodged itself straight into the right guys chest. He collapsed to the floor, dead immediately. Blood slowly started to pool below him and you looked at the body with spite. Jongin shook his head in mock defeat. “Such a shame it had to go this way. You could’ve been gone towards the airport by now, but you chose to take the hard path. Don’t argue with us, give us the Smuggler’s location and leave. There is nothing more we request of you.” “We don’t know his location.” “Then give us your brother’s, I’m sure he knows.” Jongin smiled sweetly. “Or don’t you want to endanger your dear sibling? Because he knew we were here, he knew the way this city is ruled, and he threw you out for the wolves.” There was a silence in the room, and someone’s breathing was clear on the other line. Jongin’s and Jongdae’s lines were cut of from yours so that there wouldn’t be any echo, but someone was nervous on the other end. Or they had their mic way too close to their faces. Yours was hidden in a collarbone piercing, as was Jongin’s. A little black ball Baekhyun designed that went perfect with the jewellery. It wasn’t on display, but the opening of the first few buttons of your white blouse gave it enough space to record what needed to be recorded. Jongdae’s was in his earring, which was why he was sometimes hard to understand. Most of they time you opted for giving him a regular headset but that wasn’t an option today. “So what do you say?” Jongdae asked. “What is their location?” The man was still doubting, he eyes you, always you. He didn’t even look at the boys beside you. He knew you were in charge, his nostril flared, and you knew he was afraid of you. The way you nonchalantly sat in his chair and pretended that you owed the place. “How did you even get in here?” he asked, almost a growl. He was stalling time he didn’t have. Probably waiting for the rest of his crew to come back. “Roof.” Jongdae shrugged. “Front door.” Jongin answered. “Window.” You pointed behind you to where there were jagged edges sticking out from the open window. Glass was strewn over the floor and some probably got in your hair. “Really, your security lacks. Give us the information we want, the long your stall the more chance that I’m going to shoot you.” His eyes suddenly darted up to the roof, where Chanyeol was. “He could offer you a job, he’ll give you much money for it. Girls like you get around.” He offered, and you were utterly disgusted by it. “Let us finish business here, and you could be rich beyond you beliefs by the end of the year.” You laughed. “You’re so sad.” Another shot fired, killing the man on the left instantly too. “I’m not a whore, I won’t be traded of to rich guys. I play these rich guys, I take their money in the field they think they own. I’m not going to be his new hooker. Because I know what he does to girls like me and I want nothing to do with it.” “This is your last chance.” Jongin said. “Give us the location or you die.” There he was, standing like a grown man who tried to not put his tail between his legs. Trying to keep strong. To see if he could get one up on you, but he wouldn’t. There was something that searched your eyes, but you didn’t know anything. His gaze moved over your features, and you turned them from calm to condescending. Tipping up your chin. It wasn’t until his eyes moved to your hands that something clicked. “Looking for something?” you asked, uncrossing your legs from atop the table and putting them down on the floor. Leaning over the table to quirk an eyebrow. Most people would tell you to never sit during conversations like this. And that’s why your two companions were standing, to exert authority. You didn’t need it. Your nonchalance and way of talking did enough for you. Sometimes being calm did more to people than screaming at their faces. “Have I met you before?” he asked. This better not be what you thought it was. “You seem familiar, is that possible? I mean a rogue like you isn’t something to forget easily.” Fear shot through your body like the bullet through the window, shattering your demeanour, breaking it into pieces to pull it’s claws at you heart. The boys beside you felt it, because Jongdae tensed too. Jongin was the one who saved the situation before the man could reach over the table. “Chanyeol!” he called. A silent shot in the air, flying past your ear so close you could feel the wind move. Right as the man lunged out for you, hand reaching for your throat, it hit him in the eye socket. He fell on the desk, but he was still moving. Jongin was the first one with his gun out to finish him off. Blood splattered over your face ad white shirt. “What happened?!” Minseok yelled through the microphone, you heard the sound of a slamming car door on the other side. Nobody else spoke, nobody. So you took out your earpiece before he could yell at you more. Jongdae’s hand came to rest at the back of your neck, squeezing reassuringly as you let out a deep breath. Jongin sat on the desk across from you searching your eyes. “Are you okay? I’ve never seen you tense up like that.” He moved closer to wipe the blood from your face with the sleeve of his jacket. You covered your face with your hands, leaning back. Jongdae took your hand in his, letting you know he was there, that you weren’t alone. Because you knew that he knew what this was about. The moment you tensed he tensed just as quickly. “I never told him I was a rogue. He’s not supposed to have information like that on me. He’s not supposed to know that I’m more than just a tattoo artist that beat him up and works for a gang on her off-time. I have no connections to people who work with the Smuggler, at all. I know everyone I work with.” The small circles Jongdae rubbed on the back of your hand with his thumb calmed you down a little, and you just waited for the verdict. Minseok stepped into the room, slamming the door against the wall and not even giving the bodies on the floor a glance before he pointed a finger at you. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck just happened. We almost had him.” “He’s dead, they’ll be gone.” “What if the rest of them comes home now? What are we going to do, shoot them too? What the fuck happened Angel?” He walked around the table and you got up, pushed it back. His shoulders were bunched his eyes full with anger. Your hand broke away from Jongdae as he stood nailed to the floor while Minseok cornered you. “You’re going to fix this too?” You opened you mouth and closed it. Looking him straight in the eyes, trying your best to keep your chin up. Because it wasn’t Minseok you were afraid of, you were never afraid of him and will never be. But your system was malfunctioning and you couldn’t do what you supposed to do. “Angel, I think I asked you a question.” The door opened and Lay stepped in, only to cross his arms over his chest and lean against the wall. Here to enjoy the show. That’s when you spoke. “Don’t poke the bear Minseok. You’re playing a dangerous game here.” He narrow his feline eyes, dark and dangerous, but familiar. The slightest smudge of eyeliner at the corners, the small ring in his left eyebrow. “What are we going to do with the rest of their group.” “Nothing.” Jongin spoke first. “If their hierarchy is the way we think it is they’re not going to do anything but gather their things and leave. So they can report it to their boss.” Minseok chuckled darkly. “Yes, and then they’ll come for us with a whole lot more men than we can handle.” “The won’t.” Jongdae said, stepping up next to you and touching Minseok’s shoulder. “If we leave their stuff here nothing will happen. They’re going to take it, finish their deals, and leave. The Smuggler isn’t know for violence against other groups when it comes to killing their men. If you touch his stuff, his money, thats when you anger him.” He was right, and his eyes flickered over to you for a second. Minseok stepped away, a snarl on his lips that he didn’t speak out. Lay’s proud look in the corner of the room made anger well up in your stomach. And Chen moved to run a hand down your back, telling you to not act out right now. “What if she’s wrong?” Lay asked, looking at you instead of at his boss. You scoffed. “What if they come for us and we have to fight for our lives, again.” “They won’t.” Xiumin sighed. “The Smuggler isn’t known for violence against other groups. He doesn’t give shit about his people unless they mess with his money. So lets leave.” A hurt look crossed Lay’s face. “You’re going to let her get away with this?!” he spat. You clenched your jaw. “I didn’t do anything.” “You fucked up!” “And you never fuck up?” you spat back, stepping from Chen and Kai’s reach, closer to the surgeon. “Never, Lay?” He stared at you, thinking, and realising what you meant. “You’re filth, you know that. Whenever you’re involved, things go wrong. This has nothing to do with me.” “The only thing hat went wrong is that we didn’t get the location, we’ll get it some other way. This guy was nothing.” Lay just shook his head and stepped out of the room, Minseok following without a word. Jongin reached out for you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you against his chest. His head resting on top of your head. “It’s okay.” He whispered. Chen came up beside you to run his hand up and down your arm, trying to calm you down. “Nobody got hurt Ang, everything is okay.” You nodded and looked at the two of them, your best friends. “What would I do without the two of you?” They smiled and synchronically answered, “Crumble and die.” The three of you laughed as you moved outside to where Chanyeol was waiting in the van. “You kay?” he asked as he leant out the small window. You nodded and moved to the back with Jongin, there wasn’t enough space for all four of you in the front, so you and Jongin would just have to sit in the back. It was a small space, but the other could just stretch his legs out in front of him. “This van is too small.” He grumbled, touching the opposite wall with his toes. You chuckled lightly and leant your head on his shoulder. “Thank you, for saving me, for staying calm when I couldn’t.” He didn’t say anything, but his hand found yours, easily intertwining your fingers in a way that was comforting while it shouldn’t be. There was always an edge when it came to being with Jongin, and it was your fault. But he was happier, calmer, in a way. And now that you were together alone you decided to ask him. “So, what’s her name?” you said softly, looking at his hand in yours. He gasped lightly and leant back to look at you. “What?” “Oh don’t play stupid with me Nini, there’s a girl. You like her, what’s her name.” “How would you know.” “Because I know you.” He sighed and leant his cheek back on the top of your head, leg against yours. “Her name is Miyong, I met her at work.” Jongin was doing an internship at a law firm via his university. Minseok was paying for it, but it was getting them in places they couldn’t dream of before. He already made a lot of connections. A pretty smirk really got you places. “She nice to you Nini?” you played with his fingers, long and slender. He leant against you more as you took a sharp turn. “She is, but she’s normal Ang.” “So?” “How will it work…I mean, I can’t drag her into this.” You squeezed his hand. “You won’t be here forever. Chose love over this Jongin, promise me that.” He didn’t answer your question, but you knew he would. This life wasn’t it for him, he wasn’t meant to be here. He should have 3 kids, a wife and a dog. Married, trying to pay of a mortgage, fighting over what they’re going to eat. He shouldn’t be scamming and killing people. No, not Jongin. “You’ve paid your debt sweetie, Minseok doesn’t keep you here. All the money you’ve made him surpasses anything he’ll owe you still for your degree. Finish you school, fall in love, leave.” You said. “I’m guessing this only applies to me?” he asked. “There is not place outside this life for me Jongin. It’s where I was born and where I shall die. But that’s okay, because it’s who I am and chose to be. You have something better waiting for you.” You took his hand that was holding yours with your other, encasing his hand in both of yours. “Look. After what happened to you, you lost your wings that granted you the world. But you didn’t lose the world. You’re in a safe cage now, where you’ve regrown your wings so that you can fly again. And soon you’ll be ready to leave it, and it’ll open you again to that world that was once at your feet.” You opened your hands, releasing his, and he looked at it in wonder. “Thank you y/n.” He whispered, and he looked up at you with tears in his eyes. “I…” he stammered, and you wiped your thumb under his eye. “Don’t cry sweetie, it’s not worth it. Things will get better.” You winked at him. The van came to a stop, and either one of the guys punched the wall, and opened the door. So you got up to leave, opening the door before Chen reached it. Jongin pulled at your shirt, and you turned around. “I’ll miss you Ang.” He said, and you smiled at him before you left. Jongdae shot you a knowing look, and he pulled you back before you left, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. “It’s okay, really. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” You were still smiling and nodded. “I know Dae, I know.” Your house was quiet, but warm. The heaters turned on lightly. You toed of your boots and hung your jacket on the hanger by the door. It was clean, apart from a mug on the table and a plate in the sink. The couch blanket was neatly hung over the back and there was a book on the armrest with a small marker inside about a third through. The first thing you did was throw your dirties white blouse in the bin. Blood stains weren’t worth washing out of white. You found Kyungsoo upstairs, sleeping in your bed. Red hair messy and features calm and rested. He was wearing a shirt, but the bruise peeked out lightly from under the collar of it. A faint trace of reddish purple against his pale skin. You moved a little closer and ran a hand through his hair, which caused him to scrunch up his nose. His hair was soft, and you pushed it back from his forehead. The bruise on his cheek had gone down quite a bit after some ice, but it was still swollen and purple. Suddenly his hand came up to wrap around your wrist and he pulled you over to the bed, rolling you when you squealed and hovered over you. Pinning you hand down he smirked. “Has nobody ever told you to not touch people when they’re sleeping?” he asked. A laugh escaped your lips and, you trailed a hand down his side to slip your fingers under the hem of his shirt. His back was warm and firm and you dug your fingers in a little. He dipped down to press his lips against yours, kissing you slowly and easily. Your lips pliantly parted against his and you sighed deeply. Enjoying the feeling of coming home to something like this. His chest fell, pressing against yours fully, hand leaving your wrist and tangling in your hair. He shifted again, legs tangling with yours. But he hissed as his weight moved over to his bad shoulder and you parted. “I’m going to take a shower.” You kissed his cheekbone lightly, and got up from the bed. In the bathroom you leant down on the sink, smiling stupidly and shaking your head. Was this moving to fast? How did it even get to this so quickly? The comfortable feeling of him against you, kissing you, seeing his shoes at the door, him in your bed. Was it normal? Small butterflies tickled the inside of your stomach and you took it into the shower, rinsing of the bad taste of work and stepping out cleaned and still smiling.       He was waiting for you on the bed, sheet around his waist as he was scrolling on his phone. You sat beside him and rested your chin on his shoulder, not really looking at what he was doing. “You hungry?” he asked yawning. You nodded. “I’ll make something.” He moved to get up but you wrapped your arms around his waist and held him there. “I have pizza in the freezer, turn on Netflix, pick a movie.” You whispered it without intention, but you enjoyed the silence of the moment. He turned to you, kissing your nose. “I thought you hated freezer food?” You hummed. “I do, but I don’t think either of us is up to cooking a meal right now. I’m tired, you’re tired, lets relax.” So you went downstairs and took some time to put two pizzas in the oven, waiting patiently. Kyungsoo appeared in the doorway to the stairs. “What movies do you like?” You hadn’t really noticed before but you saw now that he was only wearing boxers with his shirt, short socks on his feet. “Surprise me.” You said. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.” So you went and waited for the pizza, took it upstairs and saw he had chosen a simple thriller/romance movie. You never really watched a lot of movies but you were fine with anything. The two of you sat closely together as you at your pizza, watching the movie, laughing together when something funny happened. You felt him shiver at a certain point, the time on the clock told you that by now the heater would’ve turned off. You paused the movie and went to get a sweatshirt from your closet. It was a really big one, the clothing company delivered it two sizes too big for you, so it should fit him fine. He’s not that broad anyway. “Here.” You said, throwing him the sweatshirt. He frowned at it. “Don’t girls normally wear the boys clothes?” You rolled your eyes. “Put it on, you’ll catch a cold.” You got back on the bed, putting the now empty plates on the floor. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you cuddles close to him, head resting on his chest as you watched the rest of the movie that was left. A particular scene featured a couple in a theme park, high up in the ferris wheel. Neither of you had said much, but he spoke now. “I’ve never been to a theme park before.” With a frown, you looked up at him. His eyes were trained on the screen, but his jaw was set a little. You reached for his hand, your arm over his lap, entwined your fingers. “I’ll take you some time, it’s fun.” He looked down at you with wide eyes. “I promise, really.” You were sincere, and something cleared in your mind. The fact that he came into the fighting life this young, and he was good. But also his anger that was ferocious and quick. Something must’ve happened to him when he was a kid. Not a lot of the guys in the group had an easy past. Just Sehun and Chanyeol had it easy. Not that you struggled a lot either, but it wasn’t normal. “You’re going to take me to a theme park?” he snickered. You nodded. “Well, maybe just a place that has a ferris wheel. But I promise, it’ll be fun.” He smiled and kissed the top of your head, going back to the movie. You pressed your face into the crook of his neck, lips ghosting over his collarbone. Soon you fell asleep, before even the movie could end, but you were woken up by him trying to shift down and get comfortable. So you moved with him and tangled up your bare legs. “Goodnight Angel.” He whispered. “Goodnight Soo.”