#HATE new york standards like the days here feel short and meaningless and then up there even tho we take our time they feel shorter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starryevermore · 3 years

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A Gift For a Gift

I’m sorry this is so long and if you see any grammatical errors, no you don’t <3 lol anyway I just wanted to write something for you since you write so much for us! Thanks so much Kayla, we love you! (I also cannot for the life of me figure out the read more thing, so I am sorry again lol) (Kayla here! I added a read more for you 🥰)

Colby fucking hated Valentine’s Day. For most of his teenage life, if he saw those stupid hearts and those goddamn teddy bears, he was instantly in a worse mood. Most years, it made sense why he hated the holiday. He’d been single a long time, and even when he had a girlfriend, he hadn’t had the money to give his girl a proper date. He always tried, but it never seemed good enough. His mind would always go back to one year in particular where he’d tried to set up a picnic for a girl in the living room of his house. He was 15 so he had no car or money, and it was Kansas, so there was a foot of snow on the ground anyway. He’d gone all out. He asked his mom to bring home some balloons and flowers and all that gross shit just so the aesthetic was perfect. He then tried to actually cook food. Himself. At fifteen years old. For the first time. When he tells this story and says Mama Brock came running with the fire extinguisher, he’s not kidding. His mom made the meal.

At the cost of his whole day (and nearly his home), his girlfriend came over and laughed. Not in a cute way or in disbelief, but laughed in his face over his efforts. She picked apart every inch of the room he had decorated and told him it was ugly. Apparently he had used the wrong shade of red? He hadn’t realized that it mattered, but “barnyard red” was not right. She said the balloons were tacky and the flowers were meaningless because they weren’t roses. She refused to eat the meal because it was cold (since she’d shown up an hour late), and then broke up with him on the spot.

So yeah. Colby fucking hated Valentine’s Day most of the time. This year was different, though. He had met the love of his life. He was convinced you were the one he was supposed to be with all this time. He’d waited and it was worth it. And you loved Valentine’s Day. The pinks and reds made you happier than anything else. He’d never seen someone get so giddy over seeing a pink bear with a heart on it’s foot until he’d met her. Every trip to Target was punctuated with a visit to the dreaded candy section. But he saw you smile at every silly pun on the backs of the card boxes. You laughed at the ridiculous couples games. You hugged at least one bear every time and forced it to hug him too. You were happy. This time of year and celebration made you happy. And damn it that was enough to put aside his petty hatred for this capitalist cash-grab of a holiday and come up with the most kickass Valentine’s Day date he ever could.

He hadn’t realized how hard that would be. He was a hopeless romantic, but he was also hopelessly self-destructive. He would come up with an idea and every scenario started beautifully in his imagination, but every time each scenario ended with something awful. He thought you two could go to the beach, but then he imagined you falling into the water and getting salt in your eyes. Maybe you two could go to the movies, but then you could get stuck in front of two teenagers who weren’t aware that just because a room is dark, the sounds they were making weren’t audible.

This cycle went on for a long time. It took so long, he actually forgot what day it was. He’d begun planning the second February hit. He checked the calendar and realized he only had a week until The Day. Fuck. Had it really been a week? He felt like his head was swimming. His final brain cell was short circuiting and his head literally had no thoughts left in it, only fuzz. His head hadn’t felt this empty while still spinning since he’d learned about imaginary numbers in Algebra II. And he’d never actually learned imaginary numbers. Sam took that test for him. Suddenly, he had one thought.

“I gotta ask Sam.”

Sam Golbach, per usual, had about a million suggestions. Colby reasoned that since he’d had more experience having an actual girlfriend on The Day, Sam should have more ideas than himself. The only issue is that the brain cell Colby had frazzled trying to come up with a date was usually shared between him and Sam, so Sam had all of the same ideas Colby did. He suggested the beach and the movie and the dinner and blah blah blah, so Colby was literally at square one. Sam was supposed to fix all of these issues. He had the brain and the longer relationship, so what the fuck? Why had he picked this time to not have any original idea?

“Colby.” Sam shook Colby’s arm.

“Jesus dude, you scared me. What?”

“You’ve been staring at the carpet for like 30 seconds. I know what it looks like when you’re mentally drifting. That’s the only kind you can do, if our video had anything to prove.” Sam smirked, knowing full well that Colby had taken second place in that challenge.

“Shut up, dude. You had more time driving manual. I just learned there.” Colby knew his defense was weak, but it was a defense nonetheless.

“And you did well.”

“Don’t patronize me. I killed that car like twelve times. It feels like I’m going to end up doing the same with this relationship.” Colby sighed and rubbed his face. He held his hands there, flush against his cheeks. He could feel himself heating up and the cool metal of his rings, one of which you gave him, always helped keep him grounded. Sam grabbed his shoulder and shook him again.

“Would you shut the fuck up?”

Colby removed his hands from his face, side-eyeing Sam, surprised “What the hell, Sam?”

“Someone needed to say it. You’re talking yourself down again. Yeah, you killed the car. But you learned. You’ll do the same thing here. If you mess up, who cares? You tried! You need to realize that perfection isn’t attainable, so stop trying to attain it. You don’t have anything to be afraid of. Anything you do will make her happy. Because it’s you. She loves you. Any situation or plan can go wrong. We of all people should fucking know that. But don’t let fear stop you. You never have before. So what is your problem?” Sam asked, softening the harshness of some of his words by rubbing comforting circles into Colby’s shoulder.

Sam knew Colby. He knew Colby was afraid. He’d been hurt so many times, and sadly many of those times, the hurt was self-inflicted. Colby held himself to an insane standard that he’d never expect anyone else to live up to, but this was Colby and Colby deserved harsh critique apparently. He refused to let his friend scare himself into doing nothing and then letting that nothing ruin what he had going. (Y/N) and Colby were made for each other. Anything Colby did made your heart swell and just knowing he put in effort would be more than enough. But Colby didn’t know that, or rather, refused to acknowledge that. Sam was getting tired of it.

“You know her. Just do something she’ll like. Not whatever anyone tells you you should do. She loves you” Sam said, squeezing Colby’s shoulder one more time before dropping his hand to the arm of the chair. Colby smiled and looked at him.

“Thanks Sam. You’re right, once again. I don’t know how you always know what to say. I love you, dude.”

“Hold up, I’m not your valentine. I said she loved you, not me. Save all that mushy shit for her. You’re wasting your soft energy.” Sam laughed, standing to leave.

“Oh shit, you’re right. Us emo boys can only express positive emotions twice a week and I’ve wasted once on you. How could I be so dumb?” Colby shot sardonically back, returning to his computer to look up restaurants.

Sam laughed again and walked to the door. He went through and closed it behind him, but Colby knew he was still on the other side, hand on the handle. Colby turned just as Sam quickly stuck his back into the room, quickly whispering “I love you too” before slamming the door again and audibly running down the hall to his room. Colby laughed out loud that time. His friend was an idiot, but they’d be so lost without each other.

Time to plan the date Colby knew you would like, not the date that was in the movies. He still hated Valentine’s Day.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

Well everything was going to shit, just as Colby had feared. He had been so proud of himself. He thought of an amazing night. First, you two were going to go to your favorite restaurant and have the meal you’d been saying you craved for two weeks. He’d even called the place ahead of time, asking if they could play your song at a certain time, since they had a live band. He may have had to use some of that influencer clout to get that request, but it was okay. Did he feel like an absolute rat that just ran through the New York City sewer system for doing it? Absolutely. Would he ever do it again? If you asked him to, probably. But not for a long time.

However, what had failed to happen was a valid reservation. It was Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles, after all. There would be no place in the whole city that wasn’t booked to full capacity. Colby knew that. That’s why he made the reservation directly after his talk with Sam. A week ago. The restaurant accidentally double booked your table. And the other couple had come before you two. Directly before you. As in they were the ones in front of you in line.

“Well, is there anything we can do?” Colby asked

“Not really, the whole place is booked all night. I’m so sorry. You’ll get a full refund?” The hostess looked down and cringed, seemingly preparing for the Karen reaction. You and Colby just looked at each other and looked back at her apologetically. It must be hell to work here on The Day and deal with all of these rich assholes with an elitist complex. Which is exactly what you said to her. She just laughed lightly and brushed it off, but you and Colby saw the look of acknowledgement in her eyes. You both said your thank yous and goodbye while walking towards the main sidewalk where you’d parked. That had gone right, at least. You both were ecstatic that you’d actually found reasonable, legal parking close to the restaurant in downtown LA. That was a feat.

Or at least, Colby thought the spot was legal. The ticket on his windshield begged to differ.

“What the hell? We were gone for like ten minutes!” Colby exclaimed, annoyed but impressed at the dedication of the PEO in the area.

You laughed heartily. Colby’s little cloud of poor luck seemingly didn’t take a holiday. Just one of the nuances you loved about him. You’d always have a story. You could see the doubt creeping into his face and you were about to reprimand it, but you faintly heard your favorite song playing in the distance. The band inside had taste! You gasped and smacked his arm, flapping your other hand excitedly.

“Listen!” You said, pulling him back from the car and taking his hands.

Colby looked down and checked his watch.

“7:45. That’s right.” He flicked his eyes up to your face, coughing awkwardly as he rubbed his neck.

“You planned that?” You smiled, taking his hand back again and pulling him a little closer.

“Yeah… I tried anyway. I planned to be able to hear it a little better, but this is a lesson in using Instagram followers for special treatment I guess.”

You laughed again and wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him close to you.

“Well, don’t ever do that again obviously, but let’s dance like we did that one time the bouncer wasn’t convinced we were old enough to get into the club.” He giggled at that, remembering the look of bewilderment you two shared when Sam and Kat walked in with no issue. Of course you’d both forgotten your IDs that night. You decided to dance right outside anyway.

“Okay, but aren’t I supposed to be the one taking the lead?”

“Fuck gender roles.” You smiled, pulling him even closer and tucking your head beneath his chin, swaying him to the song playing from inside. He laughed again and let you move him around. He wasn’t good at dancing on his own anyway, so maybe you leading was the better decision. He was just letting things happen, slowly allowing himself to just let go and enjoy dancing with you. He felt silly and like he’d failed already, but he was keeping it together. There was still more planned. Where he couldn’t keep his poker face was when you -attempted- to spin him but actually just smacked his face with his own arm. You both giggled lightly and you decided to seal the deal with a sorry attempt at a dip. You forgot that he was taller than you, so gravity decided to join the forces against you two that night. Thankfully you were both near the car still, because Colby was able to keep both of you from the pavement by hitting his back against the door and grabbing onto the handle. You both were laughing hysterically at this point, unable to really form coherent sentences.

“Just get in the car,” You got out eventually, wiping the tears from your eyes. “And never tell anyone.”

“I don’t plan on it.” Colby said, opening the door for you.

“This is one of the chivalrous acts that I will accept, so don’t ever stop doing that.” You joked, kissing his cheek lightly as you got in.

“Note taken.” Colby laughed, closing the door behind you.

“So Romeo, now that the masquerade is bust, where are we headed?” You asked once he got in and started driving.

“I know that was supposed to be a reference, but I haven’t thought about that play since I was twelve,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Anyway, we’re going somewhere I think of when I think of you.”

You smiled softly at him with that. This boy was a big ol’ softie and he really pretends he’s not. You never bought it. He was incredibly sentimental and sweet, so you knew that wherever you all were going was going to mean a lot to him. Therefore, it would mean a lot to you too.

You were driving for a long time. You were no longer anywhere close to downtown and you couldn’t help but ask a million questions. Where are we going? Are we there yet? Why are we going here? Where are we going?

“You’ve already asked that.” Colby smiled, endeared by your only-child behavior but slightly annoyed nonetheless.

“You got me there, Brock. But where are we going?” Colby groaned, leaning forward into the wheel. He reached to his phone and handed it to you with the Aux cord.

“Please, pick something and stop asking!”

You smirked and went to his music. Usually, you would go straight to the songs you wanted, but you were being nosy. You decided to go to his playlists and see what he had saved. You were scrolling past the expected “editing” list or the “late night” playlists, but stopped when you saw it. The most recently added list was one simply titled, “Her” with a small heart next to it, the black one of course. You cocked your eyebrow and clicked it. You started looking through the songs and saw all of the songs you’ve recommended to him over your relationship, along with some outliers. You glanced over at him, seeing if he was paying attention.

He wasn’t. His brain was going at a million miles an hour. He felt like a comeplete fuck up. How was he the one table that was double booked? How had they managed to hit intense traffic at eight and made this drive take half an hour? How were you not bored out of your mind? There’s no way you were having any fun. He continued to stew in these intense thoughts when he’s snapped back to reality by the opening chords of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

Shit. She found it. He thought. He risked a glance at you, blushing bright red. Please don’t…

You were smiling widely at him. “You have a playlist for me?”

“Oh god.”

The rest of the drive flew by, you two screaming lyrics at the top of your lungs once Colby’s embarrassment faded. It reminded you of the first time you had hung out, just you two. You’d discovered a mutual love for early 2000’s emo music, so you two screamed your voices away to the sweet dynamics of My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy until two that morning. You smiled quietly, remembering the fun of that day. You knew this was one special dumbass that day, especially after figuring out he had misheard “down in an earlier round” from Sugar, We’re Going Down as “down on a merry-go-round” for literal years. You had scream-laughed at that and corrected him, laughing even harder as the realization spread across his face.

“Holy shit.” He’d whispered. “It’s been years…”

“Hey, we’re here.” Colby startled you out of your daydream. You smiled at him as he climbed out of the car and sprinted to open your door. You laughed, remembering your comments at the restaurant. He opened the door and let you out, beginning the walk towards the location. You recognized this location. It was the neighborhood of the chandelier tree from one of his earliest vlogs. You had seen it and begged for him to take you there. It seemed so cute. You smiled widely at him, placing your hand in his. You swung his hand lightly as you walked, knowing it drove him crazy.

“Would you stop that?” he playfully asked, feigning annoyance. You responded by swinging his arm as far back as you could, saying,

“Careful Brock. Watch the tone or I’ll try and dip you again.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about that?” He asked cheekily, taking the piss.

You laughed again and smacked his arm as you turned the corner to the tree. Or the location of the tree, as there were no chandeliers.

“What?” Colby asked, mostly to himself. You both looked at each other, confused. You got closer, deciding to let go of each other’s hands as Colby went ahead, trying to see if it was just around another corner or if he was on the wrong block. You pulled out your phone and asked Google.

“Oh, baby. They took this down last month!” You frowned, calling out to him.

“Seriously?” Colby asked, clearly disappointed. Another fuck up. He hadn’t even thought to look up if it was still here or not “Shit.”

You could see the wheels in his head turning, trying to figure out what to say. You were about to reassure him when he lights up, turning to you and exclaiming,

“The park! That pretty lookout Sam and I used to go to all the time! It’s like ten minutes from here, we could go there. I’m sure it’s awesome right now.”

You smiled and were nodding in agreement when a loud bang made the two of you jump ten feet. You looked quizzically at each other when your mutual question was answered by a sudden downpour of rain and flash of lightning. A thunderstorm, of fucking course. Colby removed his jacket, holding it above your head as you both made a break for the car.

After your dead sprint, you both sat in your seat, heaving breaths and looking out in pure wonder. You looked over to Colby, ready to laugh at the absurdity of the whole night when you saw him slumped forward on the wheel, refusing to look at you, shoulders shaking slightly.

“Colby, baby, are you okay?” you asked lightly, grabbing his arm. He turned even farther away, opting to lean his head against his window to cool his heating face. He refused to let you see the single tear that was leaving his eye.

“I’m sorry.” was all he muttered.

You were shocked. “Baby, you don’t control the weather. If you did, I’d be pissed you haven’t fixed global warming yet.” You attempted to joke. He didn’t laugh.

“I failed again. I just wanted to make something special for you. I know you love Valentine’s Day and it means a lot to you. I hate this fucking holiday but I wanted to make you happy. But I fucked it up. Just like I do everything. I mean, it’s raining! In L.A.! What the fuck! There’s nowhere open that’s not booked and it’s already nine and I haven’t even gotten you food and you probably have never had a worse valentine’s-” he tried to rant, but you covered his mouth with your hand. His eyes darted to you, surprised.

You were beyond hurt. You couldn’t believe he didn’t see how much fun you were having or how much pressure he’d put on himself to make everything perfect. You should’ve guessed as much. You reached your other hand around the back of his neck, moving the one from his mouth to his cheek, kissing him.

“Would you shut the fuck up?” you said, pulling back. He barked a short laugh out, surprised.

“You know, you’re not the first one to tell me that about this whole thing.”

“You talked to Sam about this date?”

“How’d you know?” He looked at you again, fully flabbergasted. You laughed.

“Do you talk to anyone else about stuff important to you?” He shrugged, clearly thinking it through.

“Other than you, no, not really.”

“Anyway, he’s right. I don’t care that stuff didn’t work out. You put more thought into this night than anyone else has ever put into any date I’ve ever been on. You poured your heart into it. You thought every little thing through. You tried. And even when things didn’t work out, we had fun. We reminisced on our relationship so far. We danced, screamed songs, and ran through the rain. You tried to give me a super involved date. You gave me a damn movie instead.”

Colby scoffed at the irony in that. He did exactly what he was trying not to do. Fairly typical. You swiped your thumb across his cheek, getting his attention again.

“You’re drifting, stay with me.” Colby laughed and rolled his eyes. You stilled your thumb, confused.

“You and Sam are literally on the same wavelength.”

“Or we are the ones who know you best. I think I’ve got him beat on the loving you, though,” you paused. “Maybe.”

You both chuckled again.

“But seriously, Colbs, if you’re here, I’m happy. You make anything fun. That’s why I’m in love with you. I know you think about everything and try your fucking hardest. You are the sweetest man I know. That’s why I picked you. Remember, I had a line of suitors waiting,” you winked, knowing Colby knew that all too well.

“God, don’t remind me.” He groaned. He leaned his cheek into your hand, allowing you to hold him. That’s how you knew he loved you. He let his guard down and let you love him. He doesn’t do that for many, and you knew that. You loved that he let you in. He lightly kissed the hand that was still caressing his cheek, smiling when you pulled him close again. You two stayed like that for a while, kissing softly while the rain pattered against your windows. It really was like a movie. The gray, swirling clouds and soft wisps of the wind lulled you both into a serene sense of young love. You belong here. This was you two. Shit was going to go wrong. And you were going to love each other through it. That’s what made you two special. You don’t want perfection. You want each other.

“So,” Colby said softly as he pulled back. “How’s about we pick up some In-And-Out and binge watch Attack on Titan in the big theatre?” You smiled again, squeezing the back of his neck one more time.

“Fuck yeah.”

So, that’s what you all did. And it was the best night ever, just you two being goofy and in love. And okay, Colby may be coming around to Valentine’s Day. Or maybe it’s just you. He thinks it’s just you. Either way, he can’t wait to spend the rest of them just like this.

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heebiejbies · 7 years

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Homme Fatal - Part One

Characters: Yuta (With apperances from Johnny, WinWin, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Taeil, and Xiumin of EXO.)

Warnings: Mentions of drinking, assalt/violence, strong language, blood, broken teeth, etc.

Word Count: 7.8k

Note: This originally was ~11.2k words, so I decided to split into two parts so it wouldn’t be so long. Also, surprise! Something that isn’t EXO. NCT is actually my bias group tbh but I haven’t written a lot for them and that’s gonna change.

Homme Fatal - A fatal man

New York City—the city that never sleeps. The nightlife was proof enough that the city lived up to its infamous nickname. The streets were not nearly as crowded as they are during the day, but that is because most of the people are inside. The city had countless bars and clubs, but none were as elite as this one. Any regular person couldn’t come stumbling in off of the streets, they had to know or be someone to even get in. With that being said, it did not mean all who came in were the cleanest of people. Wealthy businessmen who removed their wedding rings at the first sight of an attractive woman, gang leaders that needed a public but also a private place to discuss their next deal, politicians looking to buy support for their next campaign; even hit men, con men, and spies have been known to frequent the club.

Along with those people, there were also many patrons much like his next target. Her family just so happened one of the biggest and wealthiest families in the pharmaceutical trade. Seeing as she was the only child her parents had, she was the heiress to the entire business. He had been following her enough to know that every Friday night she came here with two of her close friends—the twin sons of the governor. She started her night off sipping on Strawberry Daiquiris and Sangrias, then if she had a bad week she would be downing shot after shot of Whiskey by the end of the night.

Yuta had watched her enough Fridays to know that she had a very high alcohol tolerance, so convincing her to leave the safety of her friends and come with him wouldn’t be easy. She was a very intelligent girl, she knew better than to do that. He knew he would have to gain her trust, maybe even befriend her a bit, before she would even consider going anywhere with him.

Right on time, her and her two friends entered the club. Yuta sat with a friend of his in a booth just far enough away from their booth so that he couldn’t be noticed, but also close enough so that he could keep an eye on them. Sicheng was rather young to be in this business, but Yuta had taken him under his wing to teach him the ropes of the job. Once they got their drinks, they began discussing the plan for the night.

“From her file, she’s not the usual girl that we are assigned to,” Sicheng noted. He had read up on her file previously, making sure to get a very well understanding as to what type of person she was. Even if she wasn’t his target, he could help out his friend if need be.

“I know. I’m going to have to take a different approach than my usual one. Not so much of a mysterious, dangerous, and sexy vibe. I’ll keep the mysterious and sexy, but I’ll go for a more safe and friendly vibe. Maybe I will spice things up and toss a little cuteness in there too. She seems like a girl who would go for a charming and cute guy.” Yuta picked up his drink and took a sip, focusing his eyes back on the three young adults.

She could feel his eyes on her. She looked around slightly as to not raise suspicion. When her eyes met Yuta’s, she knew that he was the one looking at her. His gaze started off as mysterious and focused, but then a smile came to his face and his expression turned to a more friendly and laid back one. She bit her lip and let out a small laugh, his eyes not leaving hers. She smiled at him slightly, then broke their eye contact.

Throughout the rest of the night, she and Yuta stole many glances at one another. There was even a moment there where Yuta thought she was coming over to approach him, but she was merely going to the bathroom. He began to wonder why this girl wasn’t falling for his charms, by now most girls would have already introduced themselves to him and he would be halfway through with completing his mission. This girl was proving to be more trouble than she’s worth, but he had a job to do and he couldn’t back out of it.

When her two friends left to go to the restroom, Yuta took that moment to approach her. He stood at the end of their table and stuck his hand out to shake her own.

“Hi, my name is Yuta,” He introduced himself.

She told him her name and offered for him to sit down with her. He slid into the seat across from hers, “I apologize if this is odd, but I noticed you earlier and I just had to introduce myself.”

“No, no that is perfectly alright. I noticed you as well, actually,” She admitted. She didn’t completely look him in the eyes which struck him as odd. He knew that she wasn’t a shy girl, but he deduced that she simply felt awkward by his presence. Maybe she wasn’t used to such charming and handsome men being interested in her? He had to admit that some of the men she associated with were attractive, but none of them could compare to himself.

Yuta saw that the twins were coming back, so he took this as his sign that he needed to leave. “I hate to rush off quickly, but I should be getting back to my friend,” He motioned to Sicheng, “Here is my number. If you’d like, I would really enjoy getting to know you.” She accepted his number and with that he left, just in time for the twins to return.

“Who was he?” The eldest of the two asked.

“Oh, just an acquaintance of mine is all.”

Yuta returned to the booth with both a sense of accomplishment and a sense of failure. He had accomplished making her interested in him, but he also failed seeing as he couldn’t do anything to speed this job up.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, sometimes a job isn’t as easy as the ones before.” Sicheng hadn’t had many jobs himself, but he knew how to handle the stress and pressure from them far better than Yuta did. That just so happened to be one of the many things that he admired about the younger man.

The next day, Yuta decided to try and get closer to her. He started texting her earlier that morning, and they had been texting back and forth all day long.

So, what do you want to do with your life?

My father actually owns Lockhart Industries, it’s one of the largest companies in the pharmaceutical trade. I’ve been studying and learning since 16 so I can take over the company when he retires.

Wow, that seems like a stressful situation! Are you okay with it?

It is stressful at times, but I think this business runs in my blood. My great-great-great grandfather started the company decades ago, and it has been passed down since then.

Has the company ever had a female CEO?

Actually, no. The position has been handed down to the eldest child or the one who is the most capable and all before I have been males. There are not that many females on my father’s side anyway. I have only one female cousin and she just turned 5.

Oh so in that case you’re a rarity? 😉

Hmm, I guess you could say that 😉

Yuta had managed to learn quite a bit about her family and their business. He hadn’t learned anything private yet, though. He hadn’t even learned anything about herself personally, but he knew he had to change that.

So, those two guys you were with last night were they friends or?

When she didn’t reply, he feared he said the wrong thing.

I’m sorry if it was rude of me to ask that!

No no, it’s alright! Sorry, I had a meeting to attend with my father. To answer your question, yes they were friends. What else could they have been?

One could have been a boyfriend?

Oh heavens no! Those two are not boyfriend material at all. They’re great friends, but that’s all I want them to be. I actually haven’t had a boyfriend as much of a dork as that makes me sound.

It doesn’t make you sound like a dork at all! Why is it that you’ve never had one?

Honestly? I think part of it is that I was raised to keep only the best of the best people around me. To have someone pass the high standards my family has would be hard. Then the other part is the lack of time. A boyfriend wouldn’t have fit in my schedule at all.

Don’t you want to get married or have kids?

Maybe. I haven’t really thought about it before.

If it’s any consolation, I think you would be a great wife and a great mother.

Yuta smiled to himself, he had found a way in and he knew that he just became one step closer to finishing the job.

Aww, thank you, Yuta. You’re so sweet :) How about you?

He had made his way in.

Check mate.

After talking for a few more days, Yuta finally convinced her to go out to dinner with him. He planned to get into her house and he hoped he wouldn’t have to use a lame excuse to do so. If tonight went well, she’d invite him in herself.

He took her to a nice Italian restaurant just outside the city. They shared mostly small talk throughout the night, but Yuta also found a way to ask her about her home life.

“Despite what most others say, my father is very dedicated to family. My mother and I are the most important things to him. You would think that being the CEO of such a large company he would miss out on lots of things, but he is the exact opposite. He’s made sure to attend every little thing, even if he has to cut a meeting short or leave a business dinner early. He always tells me that your business and career would be meaningless without having a loving family at home. He also says that family comes before all, no matter what. I remember when I turned 16, he actually told me that he would be okay if I didn’t want to take over the company. Of course, I said I wanted to take over the company, but the fact that he would be okay if I didn’t want to really meant something to me.”

Yuta smirked when he heard firsthand how dedicated her father was to his family. This would only make his job easier, much easier in fact. A lot of the children whom he had previously been assigned to have had parents that were not so loving. In some cases, the parents hadn’t seen their children in months—years even.

“Your father seems like a wonderful man. He has raised a wonderful daughter as well,” He flashes her a charming smile. He saw a tint of red come to her cheeks. ‘Well isn’t that an absolutely adorable sight?’ He thought.

“Alright, enough about me. How about you? You mentioned your family but you never really went into detail about them,” She mentioned.

“Ah, my parents are both lovely people. They live abroad so I haven’t seen them in quite a long time. There isn’t much to my family, just your run of the mill family background. It’s not nearly as interesting as yours,” He forced out a shy smile.

“I’m sure it isn’t that boring, Yuta.” She wanted him to continue the conversation about his family, but he knew that he had to cut to the chase. He checked his phone to see that Sicheng had messaged him to let him know that the house was ready for her to be brought to. That’s when the mission officially began.

As Yuta walked her to her front door, he knew he had to find a way inside. He decided to test and see if she had fallen for his charm yet.

“So, would you mind if I came in for a bit? Maybe we could watch a movie and have a drink or two,” He pushed her hair behind her ears, exposing her collar bones so he could trail his fingertips across it. He looked into her eyes and flashed her his signature smile. By the way her pupils dilated, he knew she had taken the bait.

“I would love that.”

They found themselves roaming the halls of the New York penthouse. The sound of her heels clicking against the marble floor echoed throughout the halls. Yuta was surprised to learn that they had no staff at their home, but that made his job even easier. When they entered the entertainment room and she went to put a movie on, that’s when he pressed the cloth to her face. She fainted within seconds, falling limply into his arms.

“I’m sorry…” He found himself whispering.

When she awoke she found herself tied to a chair in what seemed to be a basement of sorts. The room smelled of mold and mildew, and the chill of the air sent shivers up her spine. She looked around her surroundings, but all she found was an empty room. Wait—no, not empty. Another man stood in the corner of the room silently observing her. He had an innocent face, but the gun strapped to his side said otherwise. He was absolutely adorable, to say the least. He had a dangerous vibe to him though, one that made her tremble under his stare.

“If you’re done with checking me out, I’d like to give you a rundown on what you’re here for.” He came over to her and ripped the duct tape off of her mouth. “Now, be a good girl for me and when your boyfriend comes back with a camera make sure to send daddy a convincing message,” He cackled.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re going to be bait for your daddy, sweetheart.”

Yuta came in shortly after, a camera in hand. When he saw the look of betrayal on her face he felt disappointed in himself. He quickly came back to his senses and made his way over to her. He focused the camera on her, “Alright, dollface. Give your father a good show, maybe cry and scream a little. Hearing his little girl screaming and crying will be enough persuasion.”

‘How did this happen to me?’ She thought. She felt ashamed that she had regrettably trusted this man so blindly, even letting him into her home unsupervised. She had been raised to know better than this, but something about Yuta made everything she learned fade away. How she wished she could go back to that night at the bar and stopped their insidious relationship before it got to this point now.

Yuta looked up from the camera to her, finding that she kept a cold glare focused on him—not minding the camera in the least. He could see the betrayal and hurt in her eyes, even when she tried to mask it with malice and hate.

“I don’t care what you do to me, I will never let you hurt my father,” She spat. She would never let anything bad happen to her father, not after all he has done for her. She knew neither of the two men could ever understand the bond between a father and his daughter, it was a bond that not even death itself could break. She accepted the fact that she would die if it meant he would be safe, she didn’t know what they wanted to do to him but she didn’t care.

“You foolish brat! Have you any idea what could happen to you if you don’t comply?” Growled the man whose name she still had not learned. “Johnny! We need you in here now!”

In walked a rather tall, black haired man. He didn’t look like the type to be mixed up in this business, but she learned that judging someone based off of their looks had only gotten her in bad situations. Sicheng took the gun from its holster and aimed it at her temple, “You will do as we say or you will suffer the consequences.”

“Go ahead, kill me! I don’t care, I won’t let you-” Before she could finish, Johnny’s fist collided with her right cheek. The force from his punch caused the chair she was restrained in to topple over, her head smacking against the cold concrete. She yearned for her consciousness to fade, never once had she even witnessed violence such as this—much less be the subject of said violence.

When she refused yet again, the man called Johnny untied her from the confines of the chair. He gripped her jaw and pulled her on her knees. He crouched down to her level so he could speak to her, “Just do as you’re told and I will end this all,” He bargained. Once again, she kept her mouth shut. He frowned, before standing up with her still in his grasp and tossing her across the floor towards Yuta. Yuta hadn’t noticed, but the only thing he had focused on the entire time was her. The camera was still rolling, Yuta didn’t have the nerve to stop recording. He had seen Johnny assault many targets before, but something about this time left a sour taste in his mouth.

Johnny grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, “Are you going to do as we say now?” She shook her head ‘no’. He slammed her body back against the floor, then repeated twice more. This time she let out a loud cry of pain. He rolled her over onto her back, you could now see the damage that the impact had done to her face. Her mouth was parted slightly, blood dripping from each of its corners. Yuta could feel something pulling him to her. He aimed the camera at the floor, filming the small puddle of blood and the few teeth that had been chipped on impact. He panned up to her face that was scrunched up in pain. He could tell that her nose had to be fractured, if not broken. He could see that her two front teeth and one of her canines had been chipped off. He crouched down to get a closer look at the blood that was dripping from her mouth and now also her nose. He knew he had to shake whatever feelings he had that were knocking him off of his A-game.

As the camera got closer to her face, she turned her eyes to look at the device in her once friend’s hands. “Y-yu…ta,” She stuttered. He got closer to her face, expecting her to finally do as they asked. She spit in his face, blood splattering all over his face. He slung the camera in a fit of rage, all worry from before now gone. How dare she do something like that to him? He hadn’t laid one finger on her since she woke up, and this is how she repaid his generosity?

“Who the hell do you think you are, princess?!” He exclaimed. He straddled her hips and wrapped his hands firmly around her throat. He pressed down on her windpipe and restricted her airflow. He was surprised when she still had enough fight left in her to claw at his arms, trying to get him to release her. He could see her eyes slowly fading, eventually falling shut and her body going limp under him.

He could feel Sicheng and Johnny’s questionable looks, “She isn’t dead. Just unconscious.” He got off of her body and went over to the camera that Sicheng’s had retrieved from the floor when Yuta threw it across the floor. He pulled the facemask over the bottom half of his face so he could face the camera, “She’s unconscious right now, but she won’t be alive much longer. You have until 9:00 PM tomorrow or else. He then motioned for Sicheng to stop the recording.

“Send this to her pathetic father. She didn’t cry out for him, but once he sees what we did to her he will do anything to get her back safely,” He ordered Sicheng and Johnny, the two leaving the room with a curt nod. Yuta turned back to look at her body, the bruises now starting to form around her neck and on her face. Her blood had also started to dry, she looked absolutely wrecked. For reasons unknown to him, he dragged her body to the corner and laid her sitting against it. He then looked back to the puddle of blood and teeth that still laid on the floor. He cursed himself for not stopping Johnny sooner, knowing then that he had to be the one to clean up Johnny’s mess.

At 9:00 PM the next night, Yuta sat alone in a car parked on the outskirts of town. He had arranged for their meeting place to be some abandoned factory that hadn’t been touched in years. Yuta looked to see a black Rolls Royce driving up the dirt road, a closer inspection lead him to learn that the car was a Phantom. It was Mr. Lockhart. They exited their respective cars and met in the middle. Mr. Lockhart handed over a duffle bag to Yuta, Yuta looking inside and counting the bills and laid inside the bag.

“Where is the rest of it?” Yuta counted only half of what was requested from the CEO, “Do you want your daughter to die Mr. Lockhart?! Embezzlement is really damn serious, your daughter might have to pay the price for your crimes.”

“No! Please, don’t hurt my daughter anymore! I can’t get the rest of the money until Monday! I will get it first thing Monday morning and bring it to you, I promise,” The man had fallen to his knees and started begging for his daughter’s safe return, “Please, just let her come home. Take me instead, leave her out of this.” Yuta had a small amount of sympathy for the man, in his experience he hadn’t had a father cry for his kids like this one was doing. He underestimated how much his she meant to her father, even when she told him how close she and her father were.

“9:00 AM. Monday and not a second later. Meet me here,” Yuta raised his foot and kicked Mr. Lockhart in the gut, his body toppling over into the dirt, “Unless you want to receive your daughter’s head in a box.” With that, Yuta took the bag and got in his car to drive away. He looked in the rearview mirror to see that Mr. Lockhart only had gotten to his knees, even from the distance he could tell by his shaking shoulders that the man was sobbing uncontrollably. Only one word came to his mind. Pathetic. As the man’s sobbing figure disappeared from sight, Yuta could feel an emotion that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Guilt.

When she awoke after Johnny attacked her, her entire body had a stinging sensation to it. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip to try and moisten them, she could feel where her teeth had chipped off. She shuddered at the sight of her teeth lying across the floor. If she had been hydrated enough she probably would have cried. The thought of how Yuta, whom she had thought to be her friend, betrayed her crushed her. What an idiot she was to honestly trust this guy. She promised herself that if she ever got out of the situation she was in, she’d never trust someone so quickly again.

Her thoughts drifted to her father, what was he doing right now? Sicheng had wanted her to send a message to her father, but what for? What could they want him for? Money? Drugs? Did they want to kill him? What about her mother? Was she okay? She thought of her friends—Jaeho and Jaewoo—were they okay? Their father was the governor, could they have been kidnapped too just like her?

Her worries were interrupted when another unknown man entered the room. This man had honey blonde hair, his face was slightly chubby, and she could see dimples poking out from his cheeks. When he walked closer to her she studied his height, he seemed to be taller than Yuta and Sicheng but shorter than Johnny. He had a tray in his hand, along with a bottle of water. She refused to let herself cower to this man, even if she was petrified as to what he would do to her. He made his way over to her corner and crouched down beside her.

“I’m not going to hurt you like Johnny, I’m here to clean you up,” He explained, “This is just a saline solution but it should take care of the dried blood.” He picked up the washcloth from the tray and washed the blood from her face. He asked her to open her mouth so he could see the damage done to her mouth, “That looks gruesome, but I wouldn’t worry that much. A good dentist can make it look like it never happened,” He then handed her the bottle of water, “Do you think you can drink by yourself?”

“I think so,” She whispered. With shaky hands she grabbed the bottle, bringing to her mouth and taking a sip. She could taste blood, but she was just thankful to be having something to drink.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you all want to do with my father?” The blonde man whose name she had still yet to learn looked frazzled. He seemed to be racking his brain for an answer, “I’m not sure, to be honest. Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Quickly after, the man left her alone in the room. She had taken the sandwich—not noticing it on the tray at first—and started eating it. ‘At least they gave me food,’ She thought.

She sat alone in the room for hours, not one person coming down to check on her. Yuta hadn’t even come to see how she was holding up. She scoffed at the thought of his name, the infuriating man who betrayed her. Her fear slowly turned to anger during her alone time. So much so that Yuta heard a few harsh words upon entering.

“You know, the least you could do is come check on me. Since you, oh you know, KIDNAPPED ME AND LET ONE OF YOUR GOONS ASSAULT ME,” She snarled. When Yuta didn’t reply she had more to say, “Silent again are we, Yuta? Go figures. Seems you’ve lost your spine since bringing me here.”

Yuta was across the room in a millisecond. He had her arms pinned up against the wall, “Do not say things like that to me!”

She snickered at how he was fuming, “Hate hearing the truth, do we?”

“If you were smart you’d keep your mouth shut and be a good little girl.”

“Sorry, being alone today has given me lots of time to brew my anger. You know that if you kill me you won’t get anything out of my father,” She smirked. Yuta wasn’t used to other women being so mouthy with him. Usually, they would stay quiet and simply obey the orders given to them. What made her so special? Whatever it may be, it made Yuta’s blood boil and his heart swell.

“Smart girl,” He patted her head, “Have any requests for dinner? I’m heading out to pick something up and since you haven’t eaten today I thought I should offer.”

Her eyes bulged out of her head. Was he freaking bipolar or something???

“Actually, I have eaten today. One of your friends gave me a sandwich this morning.”

His eye twitched, “What friend?”

“How am I supposed to know? He didn’t say his name. He was blonde and had dimples. That much I can tell you.”

Yuta grimaced, then turning on his heels and exiting the room again.

“Jaehyun!”

Yuta couldn’t explain why hearing about Jaehyun being around her made him angry. The girl was an absolute brat, to say the least, and a stupid one at that. But something about the way she spoke back to him made him excited. She should have started submitting to him after Johnny did what he did to her, but today he found none of the traces of the broken girl he left lying on the concrete.

He stood in his makeshift bedroom, carving into the drywall. It pissed him off, but why did he feel lighthearted about being pissed off? It wasn’t any secret that Yuta had one of the worst tempers out of all of the guys, so he should have exploded at the mere thought of backtalk. What is it about this brat?

Mr. Lockhart called an emergency meeting with the governor after his encounter with Yuta. The governor flinched as he watched the video Mr. Lockhart had brought with him. His twin sons Jaeho and Jaewoo had refused to leave, so they saw the entire video as well. Jaeho rubbed the back of his older twin, seeing their friend being beaten like that filled them with sorrow.

“Do you know who did this?” The governor replayed the video to get a closer look, pausing the video when Yuta was face to lens with the camera.

“I’ve never seen him before.”

Even with the mask on, Jaewoo knew he had seen that face somewhere, but where exactly had he seen him? “Jaewoo, isn’t that the guy from the club? The one that she went out with?”

“That’s right!” The two older men turned their attention to the twins, “He met her at the club a few weeks ago! I remember seeing him leave our table, and later she told me he introduced himself to her and they started talking. They were supposed to go out on a date a couple of days ago.”

“What was his name?”

No reply from either of the twins.

“Jaewoo, what was his name?!”

Jaewoo flinched at the tone in Mr. Lockhart’s voice. He had never heard the man sound so angry, he’s known him his whole life and he has never raised his voice such as this. The governor patted the other male on the back to try and calm him down.

“I-I don’t remember. I’m sorry!”

Mr. Lockhart pushed his chair to the floor, taking quick strides over to the window overlooking the city. He pressed his palm against the cold glass and sighed, “She could be anywhere in this city, and I don’t even know if she’s still alive. He said she was, but I won’t trust his word for it,” He let his hand fall from the window, “My poor daughter… My little girl is hurt because of me. I’m such a terrible father. I should have been there to protect her.”

“We’ll find your daughter. I promise. I’ll get my best guys on this as soon as possible. We will find her, I promise you that.”

The only condolence the governor could offer his friend was his hand resting on his shoulder.

Yuta spent the entire Sunday before his deadline with Mr. Lockhart’s daughter. He hoped that spending more time with her would help him understand what exactly it was that he was feeling for her. Maybe it was the fact that he had gotten close to her before abducting her—something he had never done before.

“Yuta, can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“Do you really plan on letting me go once my father gives you what you want? I mean, I’ve seen your faces and I know your names. Isn’t that dangerous for you all?” It had been on her mind the entire day. If she were them, she wouldn’t of let her see their faces at all, much less know their names.

Yuta didn’t give her a response, what was he supposed to say? She had a point, it would be dangerous to release her after what she has learned about them. Just their first name and a description of their appearance would give the police the push they needed to find them. Something about killing her made him uneasy, though. ‘Maybe I could just keep her?’ He thought.

Despite the bruises on her, Yuta could see her beauty. Getting to know her, he also learned that she was an absolutely dedicated, loving, and genuine person. Yes, he had to admit that she had a smart mouth and had made a dumb decision not listening to them her first day here. Something about her, though, he could see bright potential. Potential for what, he didn’t know. She had the personality to get people to trust her easily, but she also had the mouth and the headstrong attitude for this job.

A plan formed in his head, so he went to their leader to discuss his options. At first, Taeyong was absolutely against the idea. He saw nothing but recklessness coming from Yuta’s idea, so Yuta had to do more convincing.

“Taeyong! Listen to me, we could really use her. She’s a very trusting and friendly girl, we could use that! Do you know how hard it is for me or one of the guys when we get a male target? It would be so much easier to have a female to get friendly with them and gain their trust, and then we swoop in and grab them. It’s much easier than having to ambush them and take them by force or actually trying to get them to trust us.”

“Do you really think she’d agree to this, Yuta?”

“No, but,” He grinned, “We won’t give her a choice. If she still tries to resist then, Johnny did a number on her so I’m sure he could convince her if I couldn’t.” In all actuality, Yuta didn’t plan on giving Johnny the chance to lay another hand on her. Even saying that made him disgusted with himself. He decided that he would do whatever it takes to get her to stay with him. He just had to figure out how he’d get the money that Mr. Lockhart owed without handing over his daughter.

He allowed her to sleep in an actual bed that night, he hoped he could regain her trust this way so it would be easier to convince her to stay. It would be a long shot, but if she stayed on her own free will then it would be better on Yuta.

He watched her from the door, his eyes trained on her sleeping figure. The corners of his mouth turned up into a grin, he felt happy about the plan for the next morning—the deadline for Mr. Lockhart.

She sat between Sicheng and the man who she now learned to be called Jaehyun. Johnny sat in the passenger seat and Yuta was behind the wheel, they arrived at the meeting place around fifteen minutes before 9:00 AM. Despite it being daylight already, once you pulled down the road to get to the warehouse you couldn’t see anything and no one could see you unless they were within the premises. Little did they know, someone was watching them from the woods. Not just one, but four someones.

The sight of Mr. Lockhart’s Rolls Royce coming up the road brought joy to his daughter. It had been only about a week, but she missed her father more than anything at this point. She was ushered out of the car by Sicheng and Johnny, Jaehyun choosing to stay in the car. Mr. Lockhart saw his daughter and immediately burst into tears. He called her name, she calling after her father as well and attempting to run to hug him. Johnny caught her before she could get to her father, pulling her harshly against his body.

“Here’s your money. Give me my daughter back, please!” He pleaded.

“Give me the money first.”

“No! I want my daughter first.”

“Do you now, Mr. Lockhart?” Yuta smirked, Sicheng pulling his gun out and placing it to her temple.

“Don’t! You can have the money! Here!” He tossed the duffel bag, stirring up dust as it hit the ground. Sicheng put his gun away; he expected Yuta to give her back to her father. What Yuta did next, none of them expected. Johnny released her from his grip, but as she tried to run to her father Yuta grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a harsh hug.

“Now that I think about it Mr. Lockhart, you can’t have her back. She’s too precious of a gem to give up, I’m sure you know this well.” His eyes seemed sincere but his words came out as a taunt. She struggled to free herself from Yuta’s grasp, but he simply guided her head to the crook of his neck and rubbed her back, “Calm down, princess. You’ll be happy with us I am sure of it. I will take good care of you.”

“We had a deal!” Mr. Lockhart became livid. Sicheng pulled his gun back out and aimed it at his head, “We are taking the girl back with us.” Mr. Lockhart made a split second decision and grabbed the arm which held Sicheng’s gun. He twisted the younger man’s arm behind him to get him to drop the gun. At the same time, two of the four unknown observers came out of hiding—bearing their own guns. One aimed his gun at Johnny and Yuta, whereas the other went and grabbed Jaehyun from the car. He slung Jaehyun to the ground, then aiming his gun up at the others.

Mr. Lockhart had successfully managed to get Sicheng’s gun from his hand, he then held a gun towards the criminals as well. Yuta’s heartbeat increased, he’s never been in a situation like this before. He could feel the uneasiness coming from the girl in his arms, having so many guns aimed in her direction made her nervous. Yuta found himself wrapping his arms around her tighter as if to protect her from the men that were trying to save her.

Yuta looked out from the corner of his eye to Johnny. Johnny nodded his head, then nodded at the other two men with him. Johnny, Jaehyun, and Sicheng launched themselves at each of the three men, giving Yuta a chance to take her and run.

“Where are we going?” She questioned in between pants, having a difficult time keeping up with the fast pace that they were having to run.

“Away from here, I know a place we can wait for them at,” He explained. They arrived at a brick home nestled in the woods. Where exactly this place was, she was unsure of. The shutters were falling off of the house and the plants had grown up around the house, making it difficult to see the house well. If you weren’t looking for it, you’d probably never notice the house. Yuta walked up on the porch and knocked and knocked seven consecutive times, seeming like a secret code for whoever waited behind that door.

“Xiumin! Thank God you’re home. We had a code red, is it alright if we wait for the guys here?” A man a little bit shorter than Yuta answered the door. A closer inspection showed that this man—much like Jaehyun—had a rather cute, chubby face and his eyes were that of a kitten. He stepped aside for both of them to enter his home. The outside of his house did not do the inside justice. The inside looked like that of a home interior catalog. It seemed that this Xiumin guy took very good care of the inside of his home and completely neglected the outside.

“So, what happened? Why are you two on the run?” He handed a glass of water to the two fugitives. “We ran into a bit of a problem. Some guys ambushed us during a deal.”

“Why didn’t you leave me? Those guys were with my father, they wouldn’t have hurt me.” Yuta couldn’t reply, despite knowing those men were with Mr. Lockhart he still wanted to protect her. He couldn’t explain it, but his first thought was that he had to run with her and get her out of there. “Oh, wait, you took me so they wouldn’t hurt you or your friends. I know how you are,” She mumbled.

Yuta could feel it again. Guilt. “I can’t explain it to you, but just know that I didn’t only do this for me. I know you don’t believe it, but I actually care-” He forced the words to stop, he would never actually admit that he cared for someone other than himself and his friends. Especially not this girl, he’s not supposed to feel anything for her.

Yuta’s friends made it back a day later, and from there they stayed with the man named Xiumin for a month and a half. A month and a half of not seeing anyone but these men. A month and a half of not knowing what happened to her father. They all avoided her questions when she asked what happened that day, but what did she expect from the men who kidnaped her.

Yuta seemed to be very bipolar around her. One minute he was doting and the next he seemed to resent her very existence. She could feel her sanity slipping away as each day passed, she began to see some of the most horrendous things she never thought she would see. Yuta wanted her to work for them, so he took her along on missions and forced her to watch whatever they did to their targets.

Nine months passed. Nine months of torture and murder. Nine months of blood and gore. Nine months of madness inducing sights. Nine months of being stuck with him. She held onto a sliver of her sanity, but the rest faded away with each crime she watched happen. She had grown rather fond of her capture. Truth be told, though, it was only because at times he showed her a peculiar fondness—one that she had forgotten as time passed. It was Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. Her father, the governor and his twin sons scoured the entire city and the areas surrounding it. They were determined to find her, no matter what it took. By now, the news media and the police suspected her to be dead, her body never to be found. Little did they know, Yuta and his crew had simply relocated to another city miles away.

“The heavy police presence is dying down now, do you think we will be able to go home soon?” After that day, all of Taeyong’s men had to relocate. Yuta, Johnny, Sicheng, Jaehyun, and a recent newcomer named Taeil they had recruited a few weeks before having to leave. Jaehyun had grown homesick rather quickly, and hearing about the police presence lifting up now that the police suspect her to be dead gave him hope that they would be able to return soon.

“I think we should scout out the area first, just to make sure that none of the pigs are lingering around our old headquarters.”

They all sat around a table playing poker, Yuta looked over to the couch in the far corner of the room where she sat quietly with a book in hand. He struggled to find a reason not to blame himself for what he had dragged her into. Afterall, it was his idea to keep her. He mentally scolded himself for such a foolish idea. He was a fatal man, he shouldn’t have gotten someone as innocent and she involved in this.

Alas, what was he to do? She had been through too much now to ever go back to her normal life. He had dragged her into the most dangerous of lifestyles, he should have known better. He let his own selfish wants control his actions, and he regretted it to an extent. As each day went by, he could see the life dulling in her eyes, he could see the girl he fell for slowly turning into a mere shell of who she used to be. Each murder she witnessed, each drop of shed blood she saw, it took and took from her and if he didn’t do something about it then she would cease to be anything. All because of him.

However, he did see something else blooming inside of her. As who she used to be disappeared, a new ‘her’ appeared in its place. Yuta couldn’t quite explain what the new ‘her’ was, but it drew him even more towards her.

“It may be too soon to say this but… I love you. I love you so much, I should have never gotten you mixed up with this life. I tainted you, everything that’s happened to you is my fault. But, you’re different than you used to be. Whatever this new you is, I can’t help but love it just as much as the old you.”

“No, Yuta. You can’t love. It’s impossible for you to feel anything for anyone but yourself.”

He struggled with the sides of himself, one wanted to let her go and one wanted to keep her with him. He forced her into a hug despite her resistance, muffling her words by forcing her head in the crook of his neck. He pulled something out from the waistband of his pants and slowly brought it to her head. A tear pushed its way out of his eye, “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

A gunshot echoed. She found herself jolting up from a bed, screaming. People rushed into her room to her bedside, two holding her down by her arms and one injecting her with a sedative.

“Ms. Lockhart, please calm down! You’re okay, it was just a dream.” Once the sedative started kicking in, she fell back on the mattress and looked up at the nurses that were holding her down. The voice that spoke to her belonged to the woman standing to her left, “He can’t hurt you anymore, he is gone. You are safe here, trust me.”

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