nuit étoilée | ia for school

You were born with a weak heart. No, you don't have some sort of illness or anything. It's just that you were very sensitive when it comes to risky things. Street racing was one of them, so now you're wondering why you're here with your friend Mark beside you, watching the very thing you don't want to see.

Oh, now you remember. Mark had promised to buy you ice cream for the whole week and that he'll introduce you to a guy. You were actually immediately sold because of the ice cream but being introduced to a guy was a bonus so why not. There you were, clad in a grey sweater with black ripped jeans and worn out sneakers, half watching and half wincing. Everything was just so scary, what if the racers missed a turn?

Mark kept glancing at you every time you yelped at the bikers' little actions and laughed when you actually jumped when the biker almost missed his landing.

"Shut up, Mark. It's your fault I'm here and suffering," you said as you hit his arm.

"Your presence here is completely voluntary, though! You clearly said okay."

"That's because you didn't tell me we'd be watching street racing! I wouldn't have come even if there was ice cream involved. Why did you invite me anyway?"

"Well... I had a fight with Hyuck so I had no one to go with," your mouth formed an 'o' at the revelation. "Also, you're my best friend."

You flashed a wide smile at Mark, feeling touched. He smiled back but his attention shifted to the race when the Johnny, one of Mark's older friend, spoke.

"Now we have Jaehyun against Sehun!"

Jaehyun's black and gold car was covered with stickers and scratches, showing how long he's been doing this. Only his silhouette was visible through the car window but you could tell that he was a good looking fella. Just the aura around him and the way he revved the engine screamed handsome (how is that possible, you thought).

"Stop drooling."

Your hand flew to your mouth but found no drool. Mark laughs as you hit him on the shoulder.

Soon, the race started and you couldn't help but keep an eye on Jaehyun's car, heart almost stopping every time he makes a sudden turn.

You didn't know how long you held your breath until you found yourself gasping for air after the race. Jaehyun had won. You finally had a chance to see his face when he steps out of the car, pulling down his jacket's hood as he accepts the cash.

His dimples were mesmerizing especially when paired with the way he smiled so widely at Johnny. His looks didn't fit the scene. He looks like someone who would be in the library, studying for finals or in a dog park with his golden retriever.

Mark snaps his fingers in front of your face as he calls your attention.

"I said let's go, I'll introduce you to my friend," he said with an amused smile.

You followed Mark with eyes on Jaehyun the whole time. Well, that is until a crowd covered your view of him. You pouted a bit. Seeing a cute guy was rare for you.

Kicking dirt off the ground as you walk, you continued following Mark until you bumped on his back when he stopped.

"What the hell, Mark Lee?" He completely didn't hear you though as he was too busy talking to the guy in front of him.

"Yeah, this is my friend y/n. She's the one I've been talking about," was all you heard before you were pulled onto Mark's side rather painfully.

"Ow, Mark," you quietly complained while rubbing your arm. You then faced the man in front of you and was surprised to see no other than Jaehyun, the cute guys you've been ogling on for the whole night. He gave you a smile and reached out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jaehyun. I don't see you around here," he said as you shake his hand.

"Street racing is really not my scene. I have a weak heart, you see."

He nods his head in understanding before wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

"I'm sure if you experience it first-hand then you'll get used to it."

"Oh, no no no. I don't think so. I might just die on the spot," you protest. "Plus, I can't drive."

"Who says you're driving? Chivalry is not dead, princess," He pulled open his car's door. "Hop in."

"Look, you're cute and all. But my heart literally won't be able to take that."

He laughed then approached you. Like, really approach you, you could feel his breath on the side of your face.

"Tell you what, you ride with me then I'll give you a reward. It's a win win situation, you get to drive with me, someone you've been staring at, and I get to drive with you, someone I've been staring at."

You felt embarrassment wash over you as you listen to him speak. He noticed that?

"Of course I did. You've got quite a heavy gaze, I could feel it."

You thought of what to do as to not look like a flustered fool in front of him.

"Well, deal then," you reached up to whisper to him. "As long as I get to pick my reward."

He smiled, "You got it, princess."

"And drive me home. Just because I'm pretty sure Mark would dump me if I make him wait for like 10 minutes. He just-" you stopped. "I'm rambling. Sorry. Let's go."

You both hopped into the car, Jaehyun opening your side for you, uttering a soft 'milady'.

D-457.

You reach up for your alarm clock to turn it off. Sighing, you sat up. Only the sounds of your air conditioner were heard in your empty apartment. Well, it’s not actually empty. It just felt like it. It’s felt empty ever since 262 days ago. Suddenly remembering, you grab the little notepad from your bedside table’s drawer then drew the 263rd line to represent the 263rd day you’ve been waiting for him.

It’s not that he hasn’t come home. It’s just that he doesn’t come home enough. You wondered whether he’s been eating well. If the higher ups don’t tire him too much. You wondered how hard the training was. If he’d been frustrated for not having someone to rant to when he’s exhausted.

Not wanting to dwell too much into the aching pain in your heart, you decided to pull yourself together and start the day.

D-243.

You reach up for your alarm clock to turn it off. Sighing, you sat up. Only the sounds of your air conditioner were heard in your empty apartment.

‘This again’, you thought.

With tears stinging your eyes, you grab the little notepad from your bedside table’s drawer then drew the 477th line to represent the 477th day you’ve been waiting for him.

'Just a little bit more’, you thought again. 'I swear I’ll smack him the next time I see him’.

And that you did.

D-3

You’ve been staring at the alarm clock minutes before it’s supposed to ring. When it does, you smash the button down then almost jumped off your bed to start the day, eager for it to end.

D-1

It’s the night before he came home, permanently. And you can’t seem to sleep. You tossed and turned in bed, hoping to find a comfortable position to fall asleep. Until,

Doyoung: I know you’ve been waiting for me

Your smile faltered and your heart dropped at the message. It can’t be…

Doyoung: But there are things we need to sort out. I’ll try to go home as soon as possible but for now, I’ll have to stay here for at least two more months.

Tears drip down onto your phone screen as it clouds your vision. You’ve waited for years, heck you’ve suffered for years for this? You start typing a message. You wanted to be mad and lash out at him but you know it’s not his fault. You know he also didn’t want this and that he’s more tired than you are.

You: I understand. Don’t skip your meals and take care of yourself. I love you.

Doyoung: Thank you. I love you too. I miss you.

You: I miss you too. Now go to sleep. It’s late and you have to be up early tomorrow.

Doyoung: Okay. Just know I really do love and miss you.

You: Of course. Good night, love!

With that, you shoved your phone underneath your pillow then cried and cried until you found the sleep you were looking for.

D-60.

The sound of your phone ringing and vibrating brought you to reality. Your best friend’s named was written on the screen. You answered.

“Hey. Doyoung texted me what happened. Wanna go out?” You’ve never felt so thankful for your friend in your life, given that she’s been helping you throughout your life.

“I’d love that. Thank you.” You mumbled with a hoarse voice.

“You’re welcome, bub. I’ll be there in five.”

You’ve showered and dressed up. Now you were in front of your mirror. You sigh as puffy eyes stare back at you before doing all that your makeup can do to cover it up.

It felt almost perfect. Almost. If only Doyoung was the one beside you on the bench while eating ice cream. Of course you were thankful for your friend for being there but you just missed him so much. He should be here right now. Most likely using cheesy pickup lines and rare PDA to make up for the time lost but no.

Salty tears mixed into your sweet treat. You immediately feel your friend wrapping her arms around you for comfort. Silent sobs were the only things heard from you but it somehow halted when a familiar tune from a guitar reached your ears. You would’ve brush it off but how could you when you hear a familiar sweet voice singing.

Dropping your ice cream, you shot up then turned around. There he was in his uniform, accompanied by his friend Taeil playing the guitar while he sang, one hand holding a bouquet of red roses. Tears streamed down your face again before you ran to him and actually tackled him onto the ground, completely forgetting about the probably expensive bouquet.

He chuckled as you cling onto him tighter. He wrapped his arms around you as well, burrying his face on your shoulder as he inhales your scent.

“Hey.” He whispered.

You pulled yourself away from him, taking the sight of him before you. You hit him on the chest once. Then again. And again. And again. Each time making you realize more that he is actually there. You break down in front of him, incoherently babbling about how you missed him so much with a mix of 'how could you’s for tricking you into thinking that he’d be gone for two more months. Laughing at your ramblings, he gently pushed you off of him. Your heart aches slightly at the action but what he did next made up for it.

Now there he was, kneeling in front of you with a ring.

“I know I’m an ass for lying to you and making you cry but I couldn’t come up with a way to surprise you. I wanted to propose to you before I enlisted but I knew that if I did that, I’d be too impatient to wait 2 years to finally marry the love of my life. I hope you forgive me for last night and how unprepared I am for this 'speech’ but know that I really, really, really do love you with all my heart and that I’ve wanted to marry for years now. Let’s cut this short because I really want to marry you. So, Y/N, will you marry me?”

You cried even harder this time, taking a few moments before finally answering him.

“Yes.”

“Oh, it is,” you froze. A lump formed in your throat when you felt something pressed against the back of your head. A gun. “Who are you?”

You shut your eyes tight then raised both arms as a sign of surrender. The man grabbed your shoulder and dragged you harshly to what’s probably a warehouse.  He pushed you down to kneel on the rough floor.

“Who do you work for?” he pressed the gun to your forehead.

“No one,” the tremble on your voice didn’t go unnoticed by your captor causing him to laugh lightly. Tears sting your eyes out of fear. He was about to say something when you both heard the door open. You heard footsteps from your right but didn’t dare lift your head to look because of the gun pressed to your head.

“Ten, what’s happening here?” another man said. He glanced at your kneeling form and felt something weird. A tingling feeling running down his spine but he brushed it off. “Who’s this?”

“I caught her snooping around,” the cold feeling of the gun on your forehead disappeared as the second man in the room crouched in front of you. He had unnaturally red hair and an eyebrow slit to go with his brooding aura. “Probably working for JYP or YG.”

Your brows furrowed at the mention of the two companies. They were well known to be very successful companies along with SM, gaining profits left and right. You wondered why they thought you were working with them.

“Hey,” you snapped back to reality when the man in front of you spoke. His gaze was menacing sending shivers down your spine. Or was it something else?

“Who do you work for? Who sent you here?” you shook your head at him and answered.

“I told you, I work for no one! And send me? Why would someone send me?” His gaze remained unchanged. He opened his mouth to talk once more but was interrupted by the sound of the door bursting open.

“Cops are coming,” the tall man you saw earlier said hurriedly. The man, Ten, shot you a glare, one that accused you of calling the cops. He was about to raise his gun on you once again but the red-haired man in front of you stopped him.

“Bring her along. We don’t want her babbling to the cops,” fear resurfaced on your chest. This time, the tears really did fall from your eyes. You wondered if this would’ve happened if you just chose to starve this morning, or if you had just gotten in your damn car instead of following a group of obviously dangerous men. But it’s too late for regrets, especially now that you were practically being dragged to a van.

The tall man from earlier got into the driver’s seat while the one he was carrying stuff with sat beside him. Ten, the only one you somehow knew his name of, and the other one who had ordered to bring you along were on either sides of you. You, having accepted your fate of probably dying that day, stayed still as a rock. The whole van was silent except for the sound of the engine. Moments later your ringtone interrupted the somehow comforting silence between you and your captors. Ten gave you a look that urged you to answer the call so you did.

“Hello?” you answered quietly, careful not to say anything that wouldn’t please the men with you.

“Hey, hun. Where are you?” It was Eun Young. Of course it was.

You glanced at the two men beside you before answering. “I… went out to buy groceries. I ran out of food for breakfast.”

“Oh. Well, I was going to invite you to the watch a movie with me this afternoon.”

“I can’t. I, uh, have plans today,” you silently prayed for her to notice that something was wrong, fiddling with your fingers.

“Really? Where are you going?” It dawned to you that everyone in the car was now paying close attention to your conversation so you chose to end it immediately.

“To my parents. Something came up so I’ll be there for a while,” you knew that she was going to say something else so you stop her. “Listen, I have to go. Take someone else, okay? Bye.”

“I’ll be taking this.” Said the other man in front before taking your phone from your hands, breaking it in half and launching it out the window. You were going to protest but you remembered the situation you were in when Ten pulled you back down to your seat.

After the excruciatingly long ride, you finally arrived in front of a gate that leads to a wide property obviously owned by someone extremely wealthy. The distance you’ve travelled with the van upon entering the gate was already quite far but you had yet to see any building in sight, only gardens with beautiful decorations.

Soon enough, there was a fountain. A big one at that and a mansion a few metres from it. You would’ve let your jaw drop and admired the architecture if only you were in a different situation. Now that you had reminded yourself of the situation you were in, you felt your heart beat fasten in fear once again. Suddenly, your vision was blocked by a piece of cloth being tied around your head. Of course, you thought.

Strong hands grabbed your upper arms, guiding you out of the van and into the mansion. It wasn’t until you were seated down that they gave you the privilege to see once again. It took you time to adjust to the sudden brightness but once you did another unfamiliar man was sitting across you with a table separating the two of you.

“Hello,” the man with fox or bunny (you couldn’t quite tell) like features spoke, smiling gently at you. “I’m Doyoung.” He reaches out to shake your hand and you comply, confused.

“You must’ve been scared, huh? Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you unless we need to,” he shifted in his seat. “Now, we just need your name to confirm something. Once you’re clear and we’ve found put about a way to keep you quiet, we’ll probably let you go.”

Probably, he said. Well, it’s definitely better than having no chance of being alive.

“Y/N,” you quietly muttered. Doyoung’s smile brightened then called another one of the boys named Mark over. You heard him mention your name to ‘Mark’, probably telling him to search you up or something. He then turned to you again.

“So, care to tell me why you were there? I don’t think anyone sane enough would be around that area on a Saturday morning.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, I guess.”

He laughed. “It sure did.”

You felt a shot of pain on your left shoulder causing you to flinch and reach to massage it.

Doyoung looked at you confused. “You okay?” he said, to which you nodded a yes.

“Doyoung,” you both turned to where the voice came from. It was the man with red hair from earlier. He was massaging his left shoulder with his right hand and holding a folder on the other. He placed the folder on the table before sitting down next to him.

“What happened to you?” Doyoung asked.

“Hit a wall on the way here,” the man answered.

Doyoung glanced at the two of you before finally opening the file. He paused for a while after reading it and slammed it shut with a look that looked like he just had the best idea in the world.

“100% safe,” he said to the man beside him. “She’s safe, why don’t you escort her back to where you found her, Taeyong.”

Taeyong’s brows furrowed. “Doyoung you were supposed to be the group’s properly functioning brain cell.”

“And that I am. So go, here are the keys to the car.” He shoved the car keys to Taeyong. “Oh, but we’ll still be keeping an eye on you, Ms. Y/N. Don’t do anything you’ll regret, okay? I’ll be off.”

Doyoung left the room with the file in hand. You looked to the man in front of you, asking for an explanation but he was just as confused as you were. He sighed in defeat then stood up.

“Come on. I don’t trust you but I trust Doyoung more than anyone so let’s go.” With that he led you out of the mansion, the room you were in was surprisingly far within it. You gazed at the man escorting you. He was in a pair of black ripped jeans and a simple black shirt. Throughout the long journey you took notice of many more males, some around your age and some younger. A few of them shot you a confused look while some actually gave you a smile.

At last, you arrived at the expensive looking car that fit perfectly with everything you’ve seen until now. Taeyong opened the door to the driver’s seat and went in so you do the same on the opposite side. The ride was quiet, like before. Staring out the window, everything felt like a very strange dream. Starting from the moment where you stepped out to your house until the very moment you were in now. You reached for your thigh and pinched it hard to confirm if everything was a reality or not. It did hurt, but what surprised you was the sound of the man beside you also yelping in pain. You looked at him in shock, his own expression mirroring yours. He pulled the car over then proceeded to look at you in shock.

“I- you- this… oh God,” you sputtered out then ran a hand through your hair. He grabbed your left hand and as expected, you felt the connection between the two of you. “Now what?”

He cleared his throat, pulled back his hand then spoke, “The mart we were in earlier is just close. I think you can walk to there.”

“Wait, what? I mean… okay,” you opened the door muttering a ‘thanks for the ride’ before stepping out and slamming the door.

--

“You were what this morning?!” You covered your ears at Eun Young’s scream. “And you didn’t go to the police?!”

“Trust me, I thought of doing that too. But things are complicated.”

You yelped at the feeling of being shoved onto the sofa.

“What do you mean things got complicated?” She gasped. “They’re threatening you, aren’t they?”

“Kind of, yeah. They said they’ll be keeping an eye on me.”

“Oh my, Y/N! What to do?”

You sighed and placed your feet on her lap. She immediately grabbed onto them, almost massaging them. Concern was written all over her face. It was obvious that she was thinking from the way she chewed harshly at her bottom lip. You tapped her chin with your toe to stop what she was doing but she only brushed you away.

“Anyway, the thing is… one of them is my soul mate.”

This time she finally stopped as her jaw dropped. She then debated on what to say for a moment. “Then did you…?”

She pressed her fingers together accompanied with a kissing sound effect. You separated her hands with a kick. Just a while ago she was worried about what had happened to you but now her priorities swayed.

“I didn’t.”

“So you’re saying that you got kidnapped by your soul mate and his friends then he just dropped you off and leave?” you nodded at your friend. “You didn’t even make out or hug when you found out?”

Your friend sat on the opposite side of the couch you were perched on. You went to her house that afternoon to ask her for advice on what to do but that clearly wasn’t the best choice.

“That’s your main concern? Dude, I was held at gunpoint by one of them, they brought me back to their ‘lair’ with a probable intention of locking me up until I die and I was supposed to think about making out with my soul mate when I found him? I think the fuck not.”

“Yeah, that does sound wrong,” Eun Young muttered and cleared her throat. “Let me do that again, how are you? You weren’t harmed in anyway? Traumatized or something?”

“No, I’m fine, I guess. I’m mostly confused. I have been since this morning and the past few months.”

“I can tell,” she started playing with your toes on her lap. “So what now?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. They looked like they were some kind of illegal group or something and I do not want to get involved in that,” you sighed.

“You already were the moment he joined.”

“Can’t I just trade soul mates or something?” you groaned. “Why is life like this?”                                                                                                                                           

“You can’t do that. Do you know what they say about rejecting your soul mate? They say it’s like hell.”

“I bet it’d be like hell either way. Why am I suffering like this?”

Your friend placed your feet down then patted your back and you leaned closer to her. “I’m sure everything will be fine soon.”

A room of white surrounds you upon opening your eyes. Having read and watched this trope a lot of times, you knew that you were in a hospital. Another thing you also know is that your body was aching in every way you knew possible. Glancing around the room, you spotted a head of long hair resting on your bed. You smiled to yourself and reached for your best friend’s hand.

Her head shot up at the feeling, “Oh my God! Are you okay now? Does it hurt anywhere? Do I need to call the nurse? The doctor?”

“I’m fine, Eun Young,” you chuckled. “A bit battered up but fine.”

“Don’t laugh! I almost had a heart attack when I received a call from the hospital! Where are your parents, anyway?” she asked.

“They’re out of town. Mom won tickets from a raffle,” you tried to sit up but your body refused. “Help me sit up, please?”

Eun Young complied while being as careful as possible. The look in her eyes screamed concern for your well-being.

“So, that means that your soul mate is fine,” she paused. “I mean the not dead kind of fine not really fine… you know what I mean.”

“I guess so. But now I’m wondering what happened for him to be beat up like that,” you stared up onto the ceiling as if it held the answers to your questions.

“You don’t think your soul mate’s part of a gang or something dangerous do you?” she said.

“I hope not,” you said, frowning. “But enough about him, when did the doctor say I could go?”

She started filling you in with information throughout the night, not even bothering to head home.

--

“This is your home now, Taeyong,” the older male said. “There are other trainees as well so don’t worry about being alone.”

At his side stood Taeyong, lazily taking in the sight before him. The place was luxurious, from the polished stone floors to the chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. Even the simplest decoration looked like it cost more than the money he’s ever earned in his life. Multiple men walked everywhere, all dressed in casual all black outfits or formal suits. Most of them seemed to be around his age while others looked fairly young.

“Boys,” all heads turned to the man beside him. “Gather ‘round. I have to introduce you to someone.”

Everyone did as told, they gathered at the bottom of the grand staircase they were on. Taeyong shifted uncomfortably when he felt everyone’s attention on him.

The man placed a hand on his shoulder. “This is Taeyong. I’m assuming you all know of him. Starting today, he’ll be training with all of you. Do your best to teach him our ways,” he said, dismissing them right after. “A word, Taeyong.”

He followed him down the stairs.

“This is a unit I will put you in charge of after I deem you ready enough. This is NCT and I trust you to be a good leader to them in the future. When the time comes and you’re ready enough to lead the whole corporation, the baton will be passed on to you,” he said, leaving immediately after, giving Taeyong no chance to ask questions.

The men of ‘NCT’ approached him one by one to introduce themselves after he was left alone. One of them on the shorter side with dark brown hair and shaved sides offered his hand first.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Taeil, training to be a medic,” he flashed a gentle smile as Taeyong shakes his hand. “I hope we get along well.”

Before he could even reply, another person replaced Taeil in front of him. His eyes were wide and something about his face made him seem like a bunny. He smiled brightly at Taeyong before pulling his hand for a shake.

“I’m Doyoung, the group’s strategist along with Kun over there. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll introduce everyone to you.”

Walking over to the luxurious furniture, Taeyong obliged. Doyoung took a seat beside him and everyone followed suit.

“First we have our hackers, Mark, Chenle and Donghyuck,” he pointed at the three younger looking males. One had lightly tanned skin, the other had an innocent look to his face while another had protruding cheekbones.

“Then we have our conmen, Xuxi or Lucas, Yuta, and Jungwoo,” the three seated across him gave him a nod. “Our medic along with Taeil is Jaehyun.”

“Next we have our gunmen or snipers, Jeno, Jaemin and Johnny,” the tallest one gave him a small wave while the other two smiled. “Now our arsonists, Sicheng and Renjun. Both from China. Then lastly, our spies, Jisung and Ten.”

As soon as the introductions were over, no one volunteered to speak anymore. To break the silence, Doyoung stood up and said, “Right! We better return to our rooms so we could rest for tomorrow.”

Everyone agreed silently then walked to their respective rooms, except for Taeyong who decided to walk around the place. He went over to what looked like a kitchen. Like the previous room he was in, it was grand. It had its own chandelier, a huge counter in the middle and elegant designs. Next room was what he assumed was the dining room. It contained a long dining table which could definitely fit at least twenty people. He marvelled at how big a dining room can be. For the next few moments he continued going from room to room before deciding to retire for the day. He went back to where he first woke up, finally having the chance check out the room.

After checking out his room, he showered in yet another grand bathroom. His mind drifts back to how he was forced to join a dangerous group as water trickles down his body. This wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to stay away from danger as much as possible for his soul mate’s sake and the situation he’s in right now is not helping. He sighed then finished up, lying down on the bed to sleep.

--

A week or so later, you were allowed to be out and about again so there you were, third-wheeling your best friend while eating ice cream. Exactly a day after you were hospitalized, Eun Young met her soul mate while she was on the way to pick up some food for you. You don’t usually care whenever they’re together because you were happy for your friend and you support them 100% but they seem to be extra cringeworthy on this particular day. You sat there quietly for a good hour before they finally deemed you worthy of their attention.

“So, Y/N, how’s your soul mate?” Eun Young asked.

“I think he’s fine. A few occasional cuts and bruises here and there,” you said then finished off your ice cream. “I’ll leave first, is that fine?”

The couple nodded and said their goodbyes. You went straight home, thankful that nothing happened this time.

A month passed and everything went on like how they usually were, quiet with a few appearances of minor injuries. You liked how things were going and decided to keep it like so. Although one day everything changed when you found out you ran out of cereal. At first you had shrugged it off then opted for having a different breakfast. But the world didn’t seem to cooperate with you when you saw your (almost) empty fridge. Sighing, you trudged back to your room to change into clothes more appropriate for going outside.

Even the trip to the grocery store was peaceful, with only a few people shopping at the same time as you. Now everything seemed to be suspiciously going your way, except for the breakfast incident. You were in the process of recalling what good you’ve done to deserve the past month’s kindness when you saw a few men that were even more suspicious.

“Just go,” you said to yourself and went around your car. Check it out, check it out, check it out. You stopped in your tracks, eventually listening to your mind. You gripped your car door before slamming it shut then headed to where the men had went.

“This is a bad idea,” you whispered to yourself while watching two tall men carrying boxes to a truck.

Ever since you were a kid you hated the idea of having a soul mate. Why? Simply because you hated worrying your parents every time you wake up with new injuries all over your body. You also hated not being able to go out because you had to wait before your wounds heal. You grew up with a lot of hatred for your soul mate because of the many troubles he had cause you.

Meanwhile, Lee Taeyong was there locked up in his own room feeling ashamed of himself because he knew that because of him his destined other half is hurting. He never experienced pain caused by her which made it even harder for him to forgive himself.

By the age of 17 he left his abusive household with nothing but the clothes on his back so he could save the both of you from his cruel mother as her mental condition worsens. Ever since then, he’d done his best not to get in trouble. He’d been doing well for months that despite your initial feelings for him you also felt concerned. You were aware that if your soul mate died, the link that you shared would disappear.

“Hey! Hello?” You snapped your head to Eun Young, your best friend, waving her hand in front of you. “Are you alright? I’ve been calling you for like several times. Is something bothering you?”

You smiled before shaking your head to assure her that you were fine but she wasn’t convinced. “You can talk about it to me you know.”

“It’s nothing that big, really,” you started. “It’s just that… remember what I told you about my soul mate?”

“You mean the one you called a pain in the ass? Of course I do, you made forgetting about him hard,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. “What about him? Did he hurt you again?”

“No, and that’s the thing. I’ve been surprisingly living my life peacefully for the past few months and now I’m genuinely worried. As much as I hated having to constantly treat myself because of him I don’t really want to lose him.”

Eun Young nodded, urging you to continue as she sips her drink.

“I ignored it for the first few weeks because I thought that he finally had some senses knocked into him but I remembered what my mom told me about soul mates dying and how links would be cut off. What do you think happened to him?”

She sipped one more time before speaking, “I honestly don’t know but I do hope he’s alright.” 

You sighed and picked up your drink to finish it and go home.

You were walking to the bus station to head home when you felt an excruciating pain at the back of your head. This caused you to stumble to the floor, causing passers-by to turn to you. You then started to feel pain from different parts of your body. A crowd started surrounding you as only a few actually offered help. Clutching as much of your hurting body as you can, tears flowed out of your eyes before you fell into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

---

Taeyong was on the way to his third part-time job for the day in complete silence. His gaze avoiding everyone as he walks with his hands tucked into his pockets. As tired as he is right now he continued because he knew he needed it. Slowly, the thought of his soul mate lingered into his mind as it always does every single day. He thought about how she was doing and what she thought of finally having peaceful days. He went on with thinking when he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his head.

‘Shit,’ He thought. Taeyong did his best to fight against the mysterious men pulling him by his arms but to no avail. Before he could even attempt to do something again his back slammed hard against the wall as his attackers throw him.

“Lee Taeyong,” his eyes shifted to one of the men clad in all black. “We’ve been tasked to take you with us.”

“To where? And by whom?” he asked. 

“Better not to ask.” The other spoke as he raises a piece of cloth to Taeyong’s eyes. He felt his body being raised into the air by his arms.

“Let go of me, fuckers!” He grabbed the arm of the man to his left and started kicking and punching in different directions. He had managed to give a few blows to them before they started hitting him back. He did his best to defend himself as he lies to the ground, silently apologizing to you for causing you trouble once again before he blacked out.

---

Taeyong woke up to a grand looking room surrounding him. His wounds and bruises were patched up and his worn out clothes were replaced by ones more grand and expensive looking. His head turned to the sound of an opening door which then revealed a slightly aged looking man. Upon seeing Taeyong, he smiled widely.

“Ah, I see you’re awake,” he approached the bed he was in before taking a seat on the chair beside the bed. “I’m sorry for what my men did to you. I gave them permission to be rough when you resist. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” he simply said. “Who are you and why am I here?”

“Oh, pardon me for not introducing myself earlier,” the man set his wine on the bedside table before extending a hand to Taeyong. “I’m Lee Sooman, head of SM Corp. I’ve been looking for you, son.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened at the man’s words. Son?

The man, Lee Sooman, chuckled before proceeding to talk. “You see, I’m part of the mafia and I need an heir to train. As my son, it will be your responsibility in the future.”

“I don’t want to be a part of this,” he answered with a sharp gaze.