#nct horror

[epinebleue]

maniac (m) | lee taeyong

when you try to summon your older brother, things don’t go as expected.

pairing: evil spirit!lee taeyong x reader (female)

genre: horror!au, mature, angst.

warnings: heavy depiction of death and blood, possessive behavior, explicit sexual content.

author’s note: i suck at writing horror, i’m so sorry. happy halloween!

You’d always remember that night.

How the moonlight sneaked through the white curtains, how the shadow of the naked trees in your garden formed strange shapes that stretched across the floor and walls of your bedroom.

Not a sound could be heard, as if the world itself had gone mute.

You moved in bed to press your back against the wall behind you, wishing you could blend with it. That way, you would be safe from the horrors of the night.

You squeezed your teddy bear to your chest, looking for comfort. You had tried everything, from counting sheep to mentally singing lullabies, and all your efforts had been useless: you just couldn’t sleep.

And suddenly, there were lights.

You snapped your eyes open, glancing at the blue and red lights dancing around your room.

It took you seconds to realize that they weren’t coming from the inside, but from the street. Curiosity had always been a personality trait of yours, so you got out of bed to look through your window.

The lights belonged to a police car that had parked right below it, from which a man and two women came out, the man fixing his hat as he walked.

You watched them turn around the corner, disappearing. Seconds later, the doorbell ricocheted around your house. Once, twice. The third time, you heard your father's voice in the hallway. When you opened the door, he was walking past it.

“Stay in your room.” He said, rushing to the staircase with bed hair and struggling to keep his eyes open, still sensitive to the sudden light. Your mother followed, putting on her thick, blue robe.

“Mom?” You called, the teddy bear still caged in your arms. You didn’t know much, but you knew that police officers coming to your house in the middle of the night couldn’t mean anything good.

“Don’t worry, honey.” She patted your head on her way to the stairs. “Matt, stay with your sister.”

But once your parents were on the ground floor, you exchanged an accomplice look with your older brother. Matt kneeled at the end of the stairs and signed you to join him in the rebellious act of peeking through the bars.

One of the women spoke, addressing your parents by their last name. Each of them showed their credentials.

“I’m Officer Walker. This is Officer Gallagher, and she’s Doctor Edwards. May we come in?”

As your parents allowed them in the house, the doctor looked up, catching you red-handed. A soft smile appeared on her face, but you went stiff, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

“Hello.” The doctor waved in your direction. “I’m Doctor Edwards. I’m really, really thirsty. Would you mind giving me a glass of water?”

Your brother frowned at the doctor’s request. He thought about it for a moment before grabbing your hand and walking down the steps, heading to the kitchen. You locked eyes with your mom on the way, encouraged by her quick nod. 

You took your usual seat at the table, the doctor sitting right in front of you. Your brother grabbed a glass and poured water into it, then handed it to her.

“Thank you very much.” Doctor Edwards took the glass to her lips. She drank a little and spoke again. “May I ask for your names?”

Your brother answered so quietly that she had to ask him again. When it was your turn, you spoke louder.

“Those are so pretty.” She left the glass on the table, away from you. “And what’s your other brother’s name?”

“Jackson.” You answered. Matt was distracted, looking towards the kitchen door as if something had caught his attention. “He’s in high school. He’s really smart, he’s top of his class.”

“Well, there’s something I have to tell you about Jackson.”

You could see right through the doctor. She wanted to say something but struggled to find the words. It happened to you weeks ago when you couldn’t tell your parents that you had lost your brand-new pencil case.

A sob reached your ears, followed by the heart-breaking cry that only loss could cause. Your little brain started to connect the dots as you jumped off the chair and ran to the living room and straight into your father’s arms.

The sudden realization that you wouldn’t see your brother ever again punched you in the gut.

You closed your eyes and wept, hoping it was all a nightmare that would end soon.

You would discover that, even though it was indeed a nightmare, you would never escape from it.

There had been a time when you thought you would never place the last box on the floor of your new home.

For two years, you shared a house with other students. However, you were at a point in your life where you desired full independence and privacy. All it took was a little help from your parents and brother to find a cheap but cozy apartment on campus.

“This is pretty nice.” Matt said, poking his head through the kitchen’s pass-through window that connected with the living room.

“I know, right?” You rested your hands on your hips, glancing at the empty space. “I’m so looking forward to decorating it, maybe painting the walls. What about white with an accent? Yellow would fit…”

“I’d prefer green or blue.”

“No, I like yellow.” You shook your head at his recommendations, pressing your lips together. “It reminds me of the sun.”

“Only you would choose the ugliest color ever.” He teased. The kitchen supplies clinked as he shoved them in the drawers.

“You’re wrong. Red would be the worst.”

“Red’s cool.”

“It’s cool if you’re going for the “somebody died here” vibe, that’s for sure.” Your brother kneeled to store a pair of pots inside your oven. “I’m going to need your help for one last thing.”

You grabbed the biggest box and opened it. The vintage gold frame was the first thing to catch your brother’s attention, but you saw his eyes shine the moment he noticed what it surrounded.

It was a photo your dad had taken during Easter at your grandparent’s farm. You were a year old, wearing a green dress with tiny yellow flowers embroidered all over it that your grandmother had knitted. On your left, Matt, who didn’t like having pictures taken, frowned with his arms crossed. He looked tall for a five-year-old, but then again, he had always been taller than the average. At your right, Jackson, ten, smiled brightly as he bent over to hold you by the waist, preventing you from falling headfirst.

According to your mom, you had seen something moving in the grass and you were trying to grab it with your little hand.

The picture had been the family’s Christmas postcard that year.

“We looked adorable.”

“Talk about you, look at me!” Matthew pointed at his younger self in the picture. “I was so grumpy then.”

“Just then?”

“That’s pretty bold, given the fact that I’ve helped you move in.”

You decided to hang it right next to the entrance door. That way, your brothers would be the last thing you saw before leaving the house and the first when you arrived.

The wave of nostalgia caught you off-guard.

Living alone was another milestone you had hit, one Jackson would never witness. You were getting closer to yet another graduation he would miss.

At some point, you had stopped grieving your brother to start grieving those things that would never happen. It made the overcoming of the trauma much more difficult.

Not only were you sad, but also angry. Out of the people in your family, you had been the one to know him the least.

Matt could look back and reminisce on the good times he spent with Jackson. He had been the one who taught him to play sports. You had also shared meaningful moments with him, of course, but the connection hadn’t been strong yet.

Yet.

Three letters that set your insides on fire. His time on Earth had been so brief, his departure had been so unfair. Many times, you found yourself wishing it had happened to somebody else.

Four people in that car, but your brother had been the only one to not make it out alive.

“Are you okay?” Matt muttered. You didn’t answer, simply rounding his waist with your arms. He stroked your back, letting you hug him and hugging you back.

“Thank you for helping me.” You said against his shoulder. “Thank you for always being there for me.”

“I’ll always be.” Matt glanced at Jackson in the picture. He missed his older brother, the person who had been his hero, so damn much, but it wasn’t the right time to tell you so. You needed a rock, and he would be it. “And he’ll always be, too.”

You had absolutely forgotten how big the campus was.

Your brain had told you that assembling your new bed at midnight was a bad, bad idea, but you weren’t known for being rational.

You were running a spicy four hours of sleep when the sound of your alarm hit your head like a hammer, a reminder that you had to be in class in less than half an hour.

By the time you made it to class completely out of breath, the teacher had already explained the final project and grouped students in pairs. So you sat there, waiting for someone to adopt you into their group, aware of the fact that you had made a horrible first impression.

“Professor?” A girl at the back of the class raised her hand. “She can do the project with us, we don’t mind.”

God bless you, you thought as you stood up and walked over to the girl and her partner. You sat beside them in silence, only speaking to thank them.

For the rest of the class, you took notes and paid twice the attention you usually would, trying to make up for your late attendance.

The clock struck noon, signaling the end of the class. As you put your stuff inside your bag, one of the girls called your name.

“Do you want to go to the cafeteria to speak about the project?”

“Yes, please.” You nodded, hanging your bag over your shoulder. “I’m so sorry, I’m usually on time!”

You proceeded to explain the pain and suffering you had gone through at 1 AM after losing a screw in your wooly rug. Several hours later, you were able to sleep on a bed instead of on a mattress on the floor.

“It happens to the best of us.” The girl who had invited you to the group laughed, showing her perfect set of teeth. You couldn’t help but notice how stunning she was. “My name’s Heejin, by the way, and she’s Mihyo.”

The girl beside her waved at you, shyly.

“It’s nice to meet you, guys.” You said, opening a blank document on your tablet as soon as you sat on an empty table at the café, ready to commit to the project.

“So, you live alone?” Heejin took the spot in front of you, placing her things on the chair next to her, forcing Mihyo to sit by your side. “God, you’re so lucky. I’m tired of sharing my oxygen and personal space with horrible people.”

“I totally get it.” You replied, tapping the pockets of your jacket to check that your phone was still there. You had a bad habit of leaving your stuff everywhere, and your parents had made clear that they wouldn’t pay for another phone if you lost your current one. You had to be careful. “I grew up with two older brothers, so living alone has been a pretty big step for me.”

Mihyo and Heejin exchanged looks, a mischievous smile on their faces, before looking at you again.

“You have two older brothers?”

“How old are they?” Mihyo spoke for the first time. “Are they cute?”

“I think so?” You laughed, awkwardly. “Matt’s twenty-four.”

“What about the other?”

“Oh, he…” Even after all those years, you struggled to say the word. “He died.”

It slapped the smiles off their faces. As they rushed to cover their mouths in shock, you couldn’t help but be glad. That would teach them not to be so nosy when it came to other people’s business. You would excuse them, though, for the sake of your education.

“I’m so sorry.” Heejin said, attempting to grab your hand as if comfort from a stranger was exactly what you needed. You rushed to place them on your lap, avoiding any kind of physical contact.

“It’s fine, it happened years ago.” You rose to your feet, grabbing your bag. “I’m going to get some coffee and a muffin, do you want anything?”

You walked over to the queue, checking your messages in the meantime. Being away for some minutes allowed you to forget about the conversation and gave them some time to gossip about you. Two birds with one stone. You texted Matt about the weird interaction, promising to tell him everything over the phone that night.

Shoving it down your back pocket, you looked around as you waited.

There were students on their way to class passing by or just chilling with their friends on the grass. A certain someone caught your eye, a boy you hadn’t seen in months, only getting updates about his life through Instagram.

Moon Taeil was sitting underneath a tree with an open book in his hands. By his side, you recognized two familiar faces: Lee Haechan, a computer major, and Na Jaemin, a fashion student. Haechan turned around to check out a boy who walked past them and whatever he told Jaemin and Taeil about him made the pair laugh.

Taeil had the most beautiful smile you had ever seen, and you would’ve spent the rest of the afternoon admiring him if it hadn't been your turn to order.

During the first project-related session, which took place at Heejin’s apartment, you realized that she wasn’t joking when she said her roommates sucked.

One of them, who greeted you with a growl as soon as you came in, had brought their boyfriend to the dorm, and the echo of the headboard hitting the wall was, to say the least, fucking annoying.

The other didn’t seem to understand that people were supposed to talk when working together, and she knocked on the other side of the wall every time you, in her opinion, were too loud.

No wonder Heejin wanted to run away.

“I’m so sorry about that.” The girl apologized to you and Mihyo once you were at the door, in the hallway, ready to leave.

“It’s not your fault,” Mihyo said, her backpack hanging from her shoulder as she struggled to shove the notes she had taken inside, “but we’ll need a different place next time.”

“You can come to mine.”

You were quick in your suggestion, refusing to go through that hell again. Heejin waved you goodbye as she closed the door, and you walked along with Mihyo towards the staircase, the air around you tense and heavy.

“Have you ever tried to speak to your brother?” The question took you by surprise, almost making you stop dead in your tracks. As you went down the steps, you allowed yourself to think about it.

“You mean like praying?”

Mihyo shook her head. “I mean like summoning him. One of my friends did it in high school with his dad, and he sent him a message from the grave.”

The want to laugh was so strong that you couldn’t help but snort as you opened the entrance door of the building. “That’s bullshit.”

“It’s not!” Mihyo snapped. “He told my friend something only he knew.”

“Yeah…” You cleared your throat, making Mihyo roll her eyes at your skepticism. “I’m sorry to break it to you, but they were totally pulling your leg.”

The girl shrugged. “Don’t believe me, then.”

And you waved at each other before parting ways.

The idea of summoning your late brother was ridiculous. It would be a stupid thing to do and totally wouldn’t work. It sounded like the start of every bad horror movie. 

You repeated it to yourself, trying to vanish that what if that constantly showed up in the back of your mind, slipping through the cracks of your most rational thoughts. What if it worked? What if you got to speak to your brother even for a minute, tell him that you loved and missed him so much?

Trying wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Mihyo and Heejin rang your doorbell at exactly 7 PM three days later. Mihyo was carrying a rectangular board under her arm and a plastic bag from where she took out six tall, white candles.

“Are we really going to do this?” Heejin asked, throwing you a look of concern, shocked that you had accepted to participate in the nonsense.

Mihyo scoffed, surprising you. She had been so quiet when you first met her, Heejin having the upper hand every time. Now, she behaved like a different person.

“We haven’t even started and you’re chickening out already?”

“I am not chickening out!”

“Then come here and help me light up the candles.”

Not convinced at all, Heejin walked over to the center of your living room, kneeling beside her friend, who handed her a lighter. You observed the scene from behind, your arms crossed, biting your lips in hesitation. But curiosity had taken over, and there was nothing your rationality could say or do to stop you.

Embarrassing yourself once you realized that invoking spirits wasn’t possible was the worst possible outcome you could think of. More than half of the world’s population had used an Ouija board at least once in their life, you were sure.

The sun began to fall and darkness covered every surface of your apartment with its black cloak. The only light in the room came from the candles. You felt chilly all of a sudden, the tiny hairs on your nape bristling.

“Everything’s ready.” Mihyo announced, placing the Ouija board on the floor, in the middle of the circle she had formed with the candles. “Come sit.”

You sat beside them, careful not to knock any candle over. The last thing you needed was burning the whole building down.

“Just in case you don’t know how this works,” Mihyo grabbed a triangular pointer with a hole in the middle and showed it to you, “we place this on top of the board and ask a question.”

“And then?” Heejin’s voice was incredibly shaky.

“Then, we wait.” Mihyo’s dark irises fell on you. “Ready? Oh, and don’t you dare remove your fingers until we properly close the session. It would be a disaster.”

Trying to swallow the knot in your throat, you placed your index fingers next to Minhyo’s on the pointer and waited for Heejin to do the same. You pitied her a bit. She had been shoved into this mess for no reason other than friendship. Eventually, the girl had no other option than to add her index fingers, too.

“What was your brother’s name?” Mihyo whispered after a few seconds of silence in which you questioned your sanity.

“Jackson.”

“We want to talk to Jackson, her older brother.”

The girl spoke loud and clear, with no trace of hesitation. It made you wonder how many times she had done this, as she seemed so familiar with the procedure. An empty hole was starting to form inside your stomach, growing bigger with every second. You felt dizzy and sick.

“Jackson, are you there?”

Anxiety crawled into your skin. By the look on her face, it was crawling in Heejin’s skin, too. She reminded you of a statue, with her eyes fixed on the board and her fingertips glued to the pointer. You couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.

“Jackson, we would like to talk to you. Are you there?”

You had to blink twice to believe what your eyes were seeing.

The pointer had started to move, slowly, to the side, as if pulled by an invisible string. With wide-open eyes, you looked at Mihyo. The girl had gone speechless. The pointer’s hole reached the letter H, then I, and stopped.

“Hi.” Mihyo said, trying to remain calm. “Are you Jackson?”

This time, the pointer moved even before Mihyo could finish the sentence. It slid to the right, stopping on the word No.

Who are you then?, you thought, following the pointer as it moved again.

“C, A, R…” Mihyo chanted out loud. You stopped bile from reaching your mouth. “E, F, U, L…”

“Careful?” You frowned, glancing at Mihyo. “Wh-”

A screech ripped your throat, only drowned by Heejin’s screams.

The pointer had been lifted and thrown across the room as if someone had launched it. The object hit the wall to your back, then fell to the ground.

You couldn’t move, you couldn’t breathe. Half-lying on the floor, you couldn’t look away from the static item lying on the floor.

You missed when Heejin, who was a crying mess, got up to turn on the lights, the yellow glim flooding your living room.

You definitely missed the figure that hid in the darkness of the hallway, watching the scene with amused eyes.

Two weeks had passed and you still couldn’t find a reasonable explanation for what had happened.

There were too many options on the table: a bad dream; a joke from Heejin and Mihyo, or even just Mihyo. But the dent on your wall proved it hadn’t been a dream, and Heejin’s reaction had seemed too genuine to be staged.

The three of you didn’t address the issue during your next meet-up, but Heejin refused to go to your apartment anymore, forcing you to book one of the rooms the library offered for group study sessions.

Weeks passed by, and you started to forget the event. Everything felt back to normal; everything, except for one thing.

You felt more tired than usual and it had reached a point where, sometimes, you even fell asleep without noticing. It was starting to become a problem. You had things to do and assignments to turn in. You couldn’t afford to lose that much-needed time.

“I’ll send you a photo of some really good vitamins.” Your mother insisted over the phone. “I’ve been taking them for months now and they work wonders.”

“I’m not a fan of pills, mom, you know that.” You closed the front door behind you, leaving your bag in the hanger next to it.

“Yes, but these are like gummies… Are you there, honey? I think the line died.”

“Send me the pic, yes. Mom, I’ve got to work on my homework, so I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh! Sure, baby. We love you!”

“Bye, mom. I love you, too.”

You ended the call, eyes glued on the dark, still hallway. Homework had been just an excuse to hang up on your mom. You swore you had heard something in your room, similar to footsteps. Your mind, trying to ease your nerves, told you it probably was the neighbors upstairs.

Even if you wanted to go and check, your feet stayed rooted to the floor.

And then, the sound of glass shattering made you run to the front door, holding onto your phone for dear life. When you opened it, a figure in front of it made you scream.

“Wow!” Moon Taeil was holding his hands up, as scared as you. “Are you okay?”

“I think there’s someone in my apartment.” Your heart pumped like crazy inside your chest, close to suffering an attack.

“What do you mean you think?”

“I don’t know! I just got here, I was on the phone with my mom and heard footsteps in my room and then…”

“Calm down, calm down.” Taeil gently pushed you to the opposite wall of the hall, away from your door, and leaned in a bit to peek at the inside of your apartment. Then, he turned around and whispered. “Is there anything I can use as a weapon? An umbrella, perhaps?”

“My dad gave me a baseball bat but it’s in the kitchen, under the sink.” You whispered back.

“Where’s the kitchen?”

“On your right.”

You watched Taeil disappear behind your door. Anxiety was eating you alive, you could barely breathe and there was a possibility of falling if you stepped away from the wall, but you couldn’t leave him alone. So, walking as softly as possible, you got in on time to watch Taeil grab the bat.

“Which one’s your bedroom?”

“The door at the end.”

“Stay behind me, just in case.”

“Wait!” You looked around the kitchen, trying to find something you could use as a weapon. A knife would suffice to scare off whoever was in your room. “Alright, let’s go…”

The boy made his way out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Your trembling hands held onto the knife, so hard that your knuckles turned white. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears.

He stopped in front of the door, glancing at you over his shoulder. He grabbed the handle before opening it abruptly, the wood panel hitting the wall. Taeil stepped in, swinging the bat, trying to catch the person inside by surprise.

But it was empty, and you stood there holding the knife up, dumbfounded.

Taeil lowered the bat. “Are you sure you heard footsteps?”

“I am!”

You brushed his shoulder as you walked past him, having noticed something missing. You rounded the bed to see what you were looking for lying on the floor: a photo your family had taken in Canada while on holiday, a few days before Jackson’s death.

Pieces of broken glass fell as you lifted it by a corner to leave it on your bedside table, where it usually was. 

“That must be what you heard.” Taeil supposed, leaving the bat on your bed.

“I guess so.” You muttered, glancing around to check if something else was broken. Weirdly enough, everything seemed in its place.

“I don’t want to come off as nosy, but,” Taeil scratched the back of his head, “do you have any idea who would want to break into your place? A toxic ex-boyfriend, maybe?”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I doubt it.” You picked up a piece of glass from the floor and left it beside the picture. You would throw them away later. “I’m so sorry about this. You have places to be and I just… kidnapped you for nothing.”

“Don’t apologize, you seemed on the verge of passing out.” Taeil opened his eyes as if remembering something very important. “I’m Taeil, by the way.”

“I know.” You tried to fight the smile that was about to appear on your face. “You’re the golden boy of campus.”

“I thought people had stopped calling me that.” You told him your name when he asked. “You should change the lock, by the way, just in case.”

“Yeah, I better do that.”

After a few seconds of silence, Taeil spoke again, with genuine worry. 

“Do you want me to stay a bit longer? I don’t mind.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you thanked him. Your heartbeat seemed to have gone back to normal, but you were still shaken. And confused.

Maybe you were lacking sleep, but you weren’t making up stuff. Someone had been in your room, someone had broken the picture.

But who? And why?

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine.”

A pair of orbs followed you both as you left the room, the pieces of broken glass, the bat, and the knife long forgotten. He clenched his jaw.

He hadn’t expected an obstacle.

Thanks to the cozy lighting of your lamp and the smell of lavender coming out of your diffuser, you truly relaxed for the first time in weeks.

You didn’t even flinch when the footsteps in the hallway approached, slowly. The moment they reached your door, they ceased.

You didn’t have to wait much for the visitor to reveal himself.

In front of you, there was a boy. A pair of black sweatpants was the only garment he wore. It allowed you to admire his pale skin, which contrasted with his charcoal hair. 

He stood by the door, admiring you from afar. Then, he spoke.

“Are you scared?” To your surprise, you shook your head. “Why not?”

“I like the company.” You replied, giving him a sad smile. “I feel lonely.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Again, you shook your head. The boy walked towards the bed, his gaze on you the whole time. “What do you want?”

On all fours, you crawled to the edge of the mattress, hands going up to touch his neck. The skin was cold. It made you shiver, but you didn’t find it uncomfortable; quite the opposite. You craved more contact.

“I want you.”

The boy looked down, getting lost in your eyes. He smirked, realizing that kneeling like that in front of him made it seem as if you were worshiping him. In a way, you were. You just didn’t know it yet.

He caressed your cheek with a stone-cold finger. You closed your eyes at his touch, mouth falling open.

“What’s my name?”

And although you didn’t know, it rolled out of your tongue naturally.

“Taeyong.”

You heard him hiss.

“Open your eyes.”

You obeyed. His skin was no longer pale, but it still felt cold against yours. You swore his eyes had gotten darker. At the sight, you pressed your thighs together.

“Now, lay down.”

You did as you were told, falling on the messy covers of your bed. Taeyong’s hands found your ankles. He caressed the skin with his palms, all the way up to your panties. Your breath hitched as he hooked his fingers in the elastic band, pulling down and letting them fall on the floor.

What followed was your pajama shirt, and soon you found yourself naked in front of Taeyong. No one, except for your mother, had ever seen you naked.

He scanned your body for a few seconds, his eyes finally landing on your breasts.

“You’re a beautiful creature.” Taeyong whispered, placing one knee on the mattress. Your stomach tingled in anticipation as he settled in the space between your legs. “Have you been touched before?”

You avoided looking at Taeyong’s face out of embarrassment. However, his breath hitting your wet core kept you well aware of his position. “No.”

Next thing you knew, he was pressing his open mouth against your entrance, sighing at the taste. You gripped the blue sheets beneath you, getting lost in the foreign but amazing feeling.

His tongue was warm and soft. He licked you eagerly, as if he had been waiting for this moment for years. He dragged his tongue from your folds to your clit, closing his lips around the sensitive bud. 

Something cold pressed against your entrance, and the contrast between it and your burning walls had you squirming away, only for Taeyong to grab your thighs to keep you in place.

Taeyong inserted a long digit inside you, your velvet walls especially welcoming. The tightness of your pussy reminded him that he was the first person to ever stretch you like that. It made his dick twitch in his pants. He was greedy, and the way you swallowed him served as an encouragement to pull out, shoving two fingers instead. He heard you curse as his mouth released your clit.

You were a sight for sore eyes: moans spilling from your mouth, holding onto the sheets to ground yourself. 

“Does it feel good?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes.” You sighed, licking your dry lips.

The boy pumped his fingers slowly, enamored by the way they disappeared into you and the noises your arousal made each time. Soon he found himself setting a faster pace that had you arching your back, hands falling on his dark hair.

It didn’t feel like your first time at all.

There was no pressure, no doubts. Taeyong knew how and where you liked being touched. There was a connection between the two of you, something difficult to explain.

Taeyong’s tongue found your clit again, and you grabbed a fist of his hair. The growl he let out made you grind against his face. Taeyong stood still, letting you fuck his tongue, but never ceased the movement of his fingers, pushing them further.

Your orgasm wasn’t far, you knew even though you had never felt anything like that. It was like a wave that hit you hard, bruising your skin.

Taeyong, amazed, watched as you came. Your walls hugged his fingers so tightly, you tasted so fucking good. He couldn’t stop, he just couldn’t.

But the overstimulation was unbearable and, eventually, you moved away.

Under your attentive gaze, Taeyong took off his pants. He was thin enough for his hip bones to stick out. His biceps flexed as he grabbed your thighs once again, sliding your body down the bed. His pale skin glowed under the light in an iridescent effect that got you hypnotized.

It was easy for Taeyong to slip into you, being fresh out of an orgasm.

You had seen a lot of movies about first times, fantasizing about your own. Not in a million years would you have imagined all the sensations it would bring.

It hurt a little, but you bit your lower lip, not wanting to look like a loser who couldn’t take dick. Taeyong caressed your frowned forehead in an attempt to ease your pain, but he kept on pushing, only satisfied once he was balls-deep in.

The sting of pain was an open wound that Taeyong tried to stitch up by leaning down to whisper words of encouragement in your ear.

And it worked.

He had barely been inside you, but you wanted him to move. You wanted to know what sex felt like. You wanted the pleasure, the passion, all of it.

Moving your hips made Taeyong understand. He pulled out slowly, only to thrust back again roughly, making you gasp and whine.

Taeyong leaned down, pressing his bony chest against yours, and took the opportunity to make you round his hips with your legs. You fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle.

“You take me so well.” He confessed, quietly, as if the walls could hear. “You’re made for me.”

And, for the first time, Taeyong grabbed your face with his long digits and kissed you. It was passionate, messy, needy. His lips and tongue, once cold as ice, were like a spring day now.

There was a subtle change in the mood. Taeyong was well aware that something had shifted inside him, a change of priorities. You were top on the list now, and he would treat you as such.

He increased his pace with every thrust. You embraced his shoulders, further pressing him against your chest. Not once did Taeyong stop kissing you. He would swallow your noises like the most expensive wine.

“You’re close.” Taeyong said at your walls trapping his dick. You simply nodded, eyes shut, looking for his lips in the dark. He sat up, grabbing a handful of your breasts and squeezing them.

Your hands flew up to grab his wrists.

“Taeyong…”

“Yes.” That proud tone was such a turn-on. You wondered if you were losing your mind. “Say it again.”

Your voice barely made it out as he pounded mercilessly into you. There was a weird feeling in your tummy.

“Taeyong!”

An electric shock crossed your body from top to bottom. Taeyong exploded into you, letting out a grunt that covered your skin in goosebumps.

You were awake. Strands of hair stuck to your sweaty forehead, and the sheets beneath you were uncomfortably damp.

You touched your entrance with your middle finger, moving your hand away the moment you felt the wetness.

What the hell had just happened?

Forming a friendship with Taeil wasn’t on your bucket list for the year, but you guessed it was bound to happen.

Ramen nights on Fridays became a tradition and meeting up to study in the library was mandatory.

Everything you have heard about his persona before actually knowing him turned out to be true.

He was the kind of person to choose his words carefully, speaking his mind with the utmost respect towards everyone. Always the smartest person in the room, you couldn’t help but stare at him with tender eyes, amazed by the knowledge he carried.

Falling in love with him was bound to happen.

“I’m choosing the movie next time.” Taeil grunted at your words, putting his coat on.

“It wasn’t as bad as you’re making it seem!”

“I literally predicted the ending as soon as it started.” You smarted, your only purpose being as annoying as possible. “It was bad.”

“Fine.” He walked over to your door but didn’t open it. “Should I bring candy next time as an apology?”

The fact that he knew you loved sweets made you smile.

“It’ll do.”

None of you moved. Taeil glanced at the picture by the door, giving you the feeling that he was trying to stick around a little more.

You wouldn’t complain.

“I want to ask you something, but I don’t want to look stupid.”

You quickly responded.

“You’d never look stupid.”

“Do you have feelings for me?”

You wondered if your sincerity would take a toll on your friendship. But if Taeil was asking, there had to be a reason.

“Why are you asking me this?”

“Because,” Taeil sighed, “I have feelings for you.”

You couldn’t help it. You tiptoed and crashed your lips against his. They were soft, just like him.

The kiss was a dream come true. You held onto the collar of his coat and he grabbed the sides of your face, both pulling each other closer, and giggled when you had to break it off to catch some air.

He left shortly after, having set a day for your first official date. You had wondered if you should have invited him to spend the night, but Taeil was a gentleman.

He would never.

That night, Taeyong burst into your room like a hurricane. He threw every single item on your vanity to the floor. He punched the mirror, which broke under his fist, yet not a single drop of blood stained his skin.

There wasn’t an ounce of fear in your system, deep down knowing the reason why Taeyong was so mad.

He locked eyes with his disfigured reflection in the mirror before turning around.

“Do you love him?” He asked, his nostrils flaring up.

You shrugged. “I like him.”

“Do you love him?” Taeyong repeated. Finding no answer, he straightened his back. “What’s my name?”

“Taeyong.”

“Do you love me?”

“I desire you.”

He wasn’t satisfied with your answer, though knew better than trying to change your mind. He told you to turn around, his dark voice sending shivers down your spine. You got on all fours and waited.

Where Taeyong had been kind and gentle the first time, he was rough and violent. He ripped your underwear in half, making you gasp, and he grabbed your hair as he forced his way into you, ignoring the whimper you let out.

His thrusts were erratic. You knew he wasn’t chasing his high or yours, he just wanted to cause pain, inflict dominance. He wanted you to know who was in charge, who you belonged to.

And you allowed him to have you his way, equally drown in pleasure and worry. You weren't yourself when you were with him, he unleashed a side of yourself you couldn't recognize.

Taeyong freed your hair, but his hands soon closed around your neck. Air got stuck in your throat as you desperately tried to inhale.

He wasn’t playing.

“If you bring him here again…” He growled, his demonic tone ringing in your ear. “I’ll kill him.”

You lurched awake, gasping for air.

There was no way that had been just a dream. It had felt too vivid, too real for it to be a figment of your imagination.

The hairs on the back of your neck stood up, adrenaline still pretty much flowed through your veins.

Something felt off. 

The light coming from the streetlamps was dim, yet it allowed you to scan the room. 

The door was open, but you couldn’t put your finger on whether you had left it that way before crawling into bed. Your eyes moved towards your vanity and mirror; nothing out of place. You caught movement from the corner of your eye in the wall beside your window. Squinting, you tried to make out a figure in the darkness.

And you found it.

He had been observing you way before you saw him, inhaling your fear like the best drug ever made.

With no reason to keep hiding, Taeyong took a step into the light. He looked at you with the intensity of a predator about to kill, but you couldn’t move.

Taeyong opened his mouth.

“Hi.”

You jumped out of the covers, falling to the floor because of your numb legs. You looked back to Taeyong, who had taken a step closer, and crawled towards the switch on the other side of the room.

His footsteps were light, but his presence was strong. You knew where he was even if you couldn’t hear him.

You punched the switch before turning around. Under the lights, everything seemed perfectly fine.

But your uneasy heart and shaking body knew better. They knew that Taeyong was still hiding in the darkest spot he could find, observing.

Waiting.

Your apartment was haunted.

Nothing else could explain all the things that had been happening ever since the Ouija session went wrong.

Getting help was urgent, and you knew exactly where to find it.

That’s how you found yourself knocking on Mihyo’s door eagerly on the morning of the next day. A wave of surprise washed over her face as soon as she saw you.

“Oh…” She muttered. “Hey.”

“Hi.” You hesitated for a moment. “I have to talk to you. Can I?”

Mihyo took a step to the side, letting you in. You sat on her couch, drying your sweaty palms by rubbing them against the rough fabric of your jeans. Mihyo sat on an armchair, in front of you, and waited.

You didn't know how or where to start. Although Mihyo was familiar with the paranormal world, you feared she would think you were losing your mind. Hell, even you did!

“So, what’s wrong?”

“Please, don’t think that I’m crazy.” You began, aware that the phrase would set a difficult start. “Ever since the… incident, weird things have been happening in my apartment.”

“What do you mean by weird?”

You breathed in, trying to calm your nerves. Recalling the events gave you chills.

“Some weeks ago, I heard footsteps in my bedroom, and even though no one was there when I came in, a picture I had on my bedside table was on the floor. But the worst thing is that I’ve been seeing someone, a man, in my dreams. And not only in my dreams. I think he’s haunting me.”

Mihyo bit her lip throughout your confession, finding it hard to make eye contact with you. During the few seconds in which nothing, not even your breath, could be heard in the living room, you thought that perhaps you were a little bit crazy. You definitely sounded like it.

“I’m going to ask you something, but don’t take it the wrong way.” Mihyo spoke. “Have you, like… had sex with this man? In those dreams?”

The fact that she was asking gave you goosebumps, because it meant she knew something that you didn’t, and judging by her tone, it wasn’t good news.

Slowly, you nodded.

“Are you a virgin?”

Awkwardly, you switched your position on the sofa, playing with your fingers. “Yes.”

Mihyo straightened her back, sighing.

“Well, the good news is that you aren’t insane. The bad news is that you’re right.” As you rubbed your face, unable to form any coherent sentence, Mihyo continued. “Apparently, there are some ghosts that prey on virgins, using sex as an energy drainer. Have you felt more tired lately?”

“I have, but I thought I was just burnt out.”

“He’s feeding on your energy to get stronger. That way, he’ll be capable of crossing the threshold and stepping into our world. If he does so, he’ll be able to do whatever he wants.”

You blinked twice, speechless. The situation was simply overwhelming.

“So, basically, I’m fucked.” Mihyo couldn’t even disagree. “But if we were invoking Jackson, why did he appear?”

“An Ouija board isn’t a phone, you see? The person answering might not be the one you were calling.” You cursed under your breath. “I guess he has been waiting for someone to open the door, you know?”

“What do I do, Mihyo?” Your lip trembled, and upon seeing you on the verge of tears, Mihyo sat down next to you, patting your back. “Should I move out?”

“The apartment isn’t the problem. He’s stuck to you. He’ll follow, wherever you go.” A sob ripped your throat. If only you had known better. “But don’t worry, we can fix this. We must open the session again and close it properly this time. The only problem is, those who were there the first time should be there again.”

Obviously, it was Heejin Mihyo was referring to. To be honest, you wouldn’t blame her if she refused.

“How’s she doing?”

“We barely speak now.” Mihyo admitted, rather sadly. “She’s been avoiding me, but her roommates told me she has been acting weird: she can barely sleep, she’s having nightmares, and she’s not doing well in class.”

The burden of guilt felt right on your back.

“God, how could we’ve been so stupid?”

“I’ll convince her.” Mihyo took your hand, trying to give you the illusion of safety. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix this.”

Much to your surprise, you found them both waiting at your door.

Mihyo was right, she looked terrible. She had bags under her eyes and had bitten her nails to the point of gnawing on the skin. Although the wounds had been tried to be covered with bandaids, you could still see them. It looked like she hadn’t washed her hair in weeks. Heejin muttered a low hello to you, and nothing else came from her mouth.

A blast of cold air hit your face the moment you stepped into your place, making you shiver, but not from the cold. It came from a window that you didn’t remember leaving open, but you knew better than to scare Heejin to death. You simply walked towards the window and closed it.

Just like the first time, Mihyo lit up candles and placed them on the floor, forming a circle with the Ouija board in the middle.

You couldn’t shake the eerie feeling of something possibly going wrong, very wrong. But, if you wanted your old life back, you had to suck it up and solve it, so you were the first to sit in front of the board and place your index fingers on the pointer. Mihyo followed and, after a moment of hesitation, Heejin.

“What’s his name?”

“Taeyong.” Mihyo nodded, letting you know that the session was about to start.

“We want to talk to Taeyong.” She said out loud. “Taeyong, are you there?”

He didn’t take long to answer, the pointer moving to the word yes.

“It’s not you that we wanted to contact, Taeyong. It’s time to go back where you belong.” The pointer remained in its place, and you allowed yourself to fantasize about the idea of him being gone. “We’ll close the session now.”

“No.”

That familiar voice ricocheted against the walls of your living room, turning your stomach. You thought you had just heard it in your head, but as you glanced at the girls before you, you understood that it hadn’t been the case. Heejin was white as paper, on the verge of passing out. She made the pretense of separating her fingers from the pointer, only for Mihyo to scream at her to stay where she was.

“Taeyong, you don’t belong here!” Mihyo screamed. “You have to go!”

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Taeyong appeared where the Ouija board was, stomping on Mihyo’s hand. The girl let out a gut-wrenching scream as she held her hand, eyes fixed on her crooked, broken fingers. Taeyong slapped her with the force of a thousand men, and she fell limp on the floor.

Your first instinct was to grab Heejin and drag her up with you, making a run towards the door. You tried to be quick but Taeyong was quicker, grabbing Heejin’s hair and yanking her back, causing you to fall. Pain spread from your shoulder to your wrist.

You looked up in time to watch Taeyong slam Heejin’s head against the wall, the noise of something cracking flooding the room, and watched in horror as he threw her away as if she was nothing, a string of blood sliding from her forehead down to her cheek.

The apartment fell silent.

“You.” His black eyes fell on you. You were paralyzed. “How could you do this to me?”

You opened your mouth, trying to say something, but nothing came out.

“I tried to be understanding. I allowed him in here, thinking that fucking you like a bitch would make you develop the slightest loyalty towards me. And what do you do?”

Taeyong took a step forward, snapping you out of your trance and forcing you to crawl back.

“You try to send me back. As if I meant nothing to you.”

For every step he took, you moved away. Eventually, there was nothing but a wall behind you. You pressed your back against it, thinking that if you pushed enough you would go through it.

“I’m not a monster.” He said. Then, he crouched down and pointed at the girls. You couldn’t bring yourself to look. “This is your fault.”

A single tear rolled down your cheek as you opened your mouth once again. Struggling to find the words that got stuck in your throat, you ended up whispering.

“I’m sorry.”

Taeyong tilted his head to the side. For a second you thought that you would get away alive. He looked at you with nurturing eyes, the way you glance at a child who has said something incredibly innocent and naïve.

“I know you are. I am, too.”

You didn’t have time to process his words as he straddled your lap. Desperation and fear flooded your mind as Taeyong closed his long, bony fingers around your neck, stopping any air from getting to your lungs.

But you wouldn’t go without a fight. You kicked the air, you scratched his face, his eyes, but it was like trying to catch vapor.

You thought of your parents, of Matt. Losing another kid, another sibling, would break them. You thought of Heejin and Mihyo, who had lost their lives because you didn’t know better. You thought of Taeil, lamenting not having said something sooner.

As you slowly lost consciousness, you came to terms with the fact that you were going to die. Through your half-closed eyes, you took your time to take in the face of your murderer.

He was insanely beautiful, like the fallen angel.

You breathed in so quickly that you choked, coughing as you got up. You jumped over Heejin’s dead body, repeating to yourself that there was nothing you could do for her or Mihyo other than find help.

You left the door open and ran down the empty hallway. When you turned around the corner, you found yourself inside your apartment again, in your hall. You could see your furniture from your position.

You swore you had left your apartment. You tried again, and again. Yet every time you turned around the corner, you appeared in your hall.

No rational explanation could make you understand what was happening. It felt like a sleep paralysis experience: knowing that you were dreaming but unable to do anything to wake up. Except this was real life, and you were trapped.

Then, you saw it.

It hadn’t been Heejin’s body the one you had jumped over. It had been yours. Your open eyes pointed to the ceiling, devoid of any life.

Your body collapsed and you fell to the floor, on your knees, weeping like a child. You called for your mom, your brother, Taeil.

“There’s no need to cry.” Taeyong’s words were sweet like honey, but they made you want to vomit. “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” You cried. “Why, why?”

“You told me you were lonely.” His faked innocence didn’t go unnoticed. “I was lonely, too, but now I have you.”

“Please, please, let me go…”

“Now we have each other.” The smile on Taeyong’s face was prominent but never reached his eyes. “For eternity.”

No reposting or translations allowed.

© epinebleue 2023

#nct smut #nct taeyong fic #nct fic #taeyong smut #nct taeyong #nct taeyong smut #nct taeyong horror #nct horror #taeyong imagine

[mrkis]

blood & lust. (l.yy)

PAIRING: liu yangyang x reader GENRE: smut, horror WORD COUNT: 5.8k

SYNOPSIS: you're invited to one of the biggest halloween parties of the year. unbeknownst to you, the host's vampire costume isn't as fake as you think it is.

CONTENT WARNINGS: vampire!yangyang, horror aspects, minor character deaths (some are mentioned, others are briefly hinted at) heavy mentions of blood, blood sharing, blood drinking, biting, marking, dubcon themes (reader is unsure at first but yangyang is adamant), yangyang is mean and cocky, light breast play, breast biting, humping, unprotected sex, yangyang is kinda rough, he is fucking for his pleasure but you cum too, open ending? maybe?

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” You say with uncertainty, struggling to readjust the straps of the white swan wings that cling uncomfortably to your shoulders as you stare up at the decorated halloween mansion in sight. 

Carved pumpkins scattered amongst the front lawn, fake cobwebs and spiders wrapped around hedges and potted plants, fancy lights of dark purples and oranges illuminating the windows and the cracked cemented path that leads up to a wooden door that’s splattered with fake blood, the words ‘ENTER IF YOU DARE’ written in smudged black paint. You’re thoroughly impressed with the decor, but it does nothing to hide your hesitancy in entering this unknown house.

“The website said; ‘all are welcome’… This is a great idea!!” Ningning grins with excitement, adjusting her own black swan wings, her outfit perfectly matching yours despite having opposite colours. “Chenle sent me the link and you know how trustworthy he is”

Your face twists, “That’s questionable”

Ningning’s shoulders sag slightly, “You’re right… But he’s the only person we know that can get us into places like these, and I refuse to let us go to some shitty low quality halloween party again when we have the perfect opportunity right here! This is the real deal”

You hate how right she is. Not only is your shared friend Chenle remarkable at getting you both into some serious events, to which you’re unsure of how he’s even able to even do in the first place, but the last halloween party you had both attended was a complete disaster that ended with pathetic drunken fights and police turning up to shut the party down for people causing too much chaos.

You couldn’t blame Ningning for wanting one good night, especially on her (and yours) favourite night of the year. Halloween. As an icon once said: Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it. It was a tradition that you both went by, digging out your savings to buy the sluttiest outfit you could find, matching ones to be exact.

Last year you went as slutty cops and robbers and the year after that it was slutty Ghostface and Michael Myers. But this year you went as white swan and black swan, sticking to your slutty theme of short dresses and showing as much skin as possible. You, admittedly, loved the tradition.

“Okay, fine, whatever” You give in a little too easily for your liking, swayed by the puppy dog eyes she’s giving you. “I’m sure I can hear the tequila shots calling out our names”

“I love you!!” Ningning squeals, smooching your cheek loudly before clasping your hand in hers to drag you up the pathway, heels scraping against the concrete.  

You’re far more impressed by the interior of the house when you step inside: another fake set of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, fake blood splattered up the walls that you’re positive would be a pain to get off of the white paint, caution tapes stuck to doors and smoke machines hiding in every corner of the room that creates a misty atmosphere. You almost want to go around and find the person that had managed to make the perfect halloween party, but with the amount of people that overcrowd this house, you’re positive you won’t be able to even find them. 

Although being absolutely astonished by the decorations, the hairs couldn’t help but stand at the back of your neck and shiver runs down your spine when you see what’s written on the opposite side of the front door. ‘NO ONE LEAVES’. It has you feeling a little unsettled, but you know that’s the whole purpose. It’s Halloween after all. 

“BOO!” A voice screams loudly in your ear above the bass of the music that thumps from the speakers, fingers digging harshly in your ribs to catch your attention. You and Ningning jump in shock, your grip on her hand tightening as you both whiz around to find the suspect and you face Chenle who is dressed head to toe in his The Nun costume you knew he was making, fake yellowy green contacts staring at you both in amusement, screeching a laugh throw fake bloodied teeth. “Oh my god, I got you both so good—”

“You’re a dick” You grumble, but the anger washes away almost in an instant when you finally get a good look at his costume, even taking a step back to get a full view and you hum, “Impressive. Another ten out of ten this year”

“What else did you expect from me?” Chenle teases, doing a little twirl in his spot before his arm curls around Ningning’s waist to pull her close to his side. His fake rubber pointed nose nudges against Ningning’s tiara and she whines, immediately putting it back into place. “Looking slutty as always, black swan”

“And what else did you expect from me?” Ningning repeats his words and Chenle smiles proudly, pressing a slobbery kiss to her cheek before leading you both out of the foyer and towards a door that has bats dangling from the doorframe, but once you walk through the opening, you realise you’re in the kitchen. 

Endless amount of red coloured punch bowls fill the dining table, ice cubed hands floating above the concoction, but what throws you off the most is the empty blood bags that hang off the bowls, the spouts dipping into the drink to insinuate that the alcohol is ‘made’ out of blood. Creepy, but creative. You’re impressed yet again. 

As Chenle fixes the three of you a drink, you take it upon yourself to nosely search through the pantry, on the hunt for something more of your taste. But weirdly, and much to your dismay, everything is completely bare. There’s no other beverage in sight, or food for that matter. You find it strange even though you try to convince yourself that this was supposed to be a part of their ‘Halloween Party Plans’... you still find it odd. 

“So, which one of your rich, geeky friends owns this place?” Ningning asks the question that's resting on the tip of your tongue and you turn just in time for Chenle to hand you a drink. You take it out of his hands to nurse it in your own, staring at the liquid that stains the plastic cup. 

“None of them” Chenle passes Ningning her drink next. “Belongs to a friend of a friend. He told Kun to invite as many people as possible because this is apparently his last night in town… wants to make it a night he never forgets or something like that”

“That’s not suspicious at all” You chuckle softly, trying to make a joke out of a strange situation. “How does Kun even know this person?”

“I have no idea” Chenle shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, not seeming to care about the host as he raises his cup high. “Anyway! Cheers losers!”

“Cheers!” Ningning says with enthusiasm, knocking her cup against yours and Chenle’s before downing her drink. You say your cheers with a little less enthusiasm, bringing the beverage to your lips to take a sip and you’re instantly confused at the thick consistency that slides down the back of your throat, the taste of copper overwhelming your tastebuds. 

You grimace, coughing and rubbing your neck as you struggle to swallow the punch. Chenle and Ningning seem to have the same problem as they stare at their drinks quizzically and you take this opportunity to put the cup down, refusing to drink anymore and possibly choke to death. Although it would be fitting for Halloween, dying wasn’t exactly on your list of things to do tonight. 

You’re surprised when you see Ningning and Chenle both shrug at each other before chugging down the remains of the drink, although you shouldn’t be too surprised when you know what they’re like. As long as it gets them drunk, they’ll drink anything. 

“Definitely needs more vodka” Ninging confesses, handing her cup over to Chenle who happily refills it even though he nods his head at the suggestion. 

“He’s trying to keep it as real as possible, which is why you probably can’t taste the vodka” A voice speaks up from behind and you slightly turn to see who was talking. You’re met with a black haired male who seems a little bit older than the three of you, dressed in a white silk shirt and black pants with a black cloak hanging off his shoulders, red eyeshadow blended underneath his eyes and lips shaded the same colour. 

“Kun!” Chenle greets happily, handing the drink over to Ningning before slipping through you both to throw an arm over his broad shoulders. “Guys, you remember Kun right?”

“Briefly” Ningning eyes him suspiciously even though a smile sneaks its way onto her lips. “You’re the guy that picked up Chenle from the bar we was at last weekend”

“That’s me” Kun chuckles softly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I’m surprised you even remember that night seeming as you were too drunk to walk to your taxi”

Ningning shrugs her shoulders, “I surprise myself sometimes”

“Aren’t you a little old to know Chenle?” You poke, arms coming up to cross over your chest as you stare at him questioningly. Chenle shoots a blank look your way, clearly unimpressed with your choice of words but all Kun does is chuckle again.

“I am. But I’ve known Chenle for quite a while… His brother and my grandfather are a part of the same company” Kun explains to you without even batting an eyelid, clamping his hand down on Chenle’s shoulder as he grins. “We’re good friends, possible upcoming CEOs—”

Ningning immediately throws up her hand to silence him, “We don’t need to hear about how rich you both are”

“Noted” Kun smiles, eyes flickering around the kitchen before they settle on Chenle. “Have you met Yangyang yet?”

“Yangyang?”

“The host. The owner of this house. He’s lurking around here somewhere… making sure everyone is having a good time” Kun’s voice trails off slightly, his eyes beginning to wander around again. Your brows furrow at that, watching him suspiciously as his face lights up, gently tugging Chenle in a certain direction out of the kitchen that has you and Ningning following closely behind. “That’s Yangyang. He’s the one that arranged this entire party”

Your eyes dart towards the person in question, seeing a blonde haired man dressed all in black with a drink in hand and a girl dressed in a nurse costume in the other, his hand resting dangerously low on her hip. The dark circles under his eyes and the pointed fangs that peek through his lips when he smiles lets you know that he’s dressed up as a vampire tonight, similar to Kun, but minus the cloak. 

You’re somewhat impressed with knowing that this is the guy that owns this incredible mansion as he seems a little young. It makes you wonder what type of person he is or what job he has to even afford a place like this, you come to a conclusion that maybe he’s in the same wealthy group as Chenle and Kun, or maybe he’s just using his parents money. 

Yangyang takes one look at the crowds that fill his humble abode before turning to the nurse hanging off his arm, dipping his head low to make eye contact with the girl as he whispers something which makes her nod slowly, allowing him to wrap his arm securely around her waist as he leads them both up the spiral staircase. 

“He wasn’t lying when he said he wants to make it a night he won’t forget” Ningning jokes and you snort, finding her comment far too funny. Chenle smiles too but Kun’s lips form in a straight line, his facial expression blank to make you unable to figure out exactly how he’s feeling which you find strange, but you don’t question it further as Ningning slips her hand in yours, dragging you through the mass of sweaty bodies to find a perfect place to dance.

Chenle tugs Kun along despite his attempts at trying to rip his wrist away from his grip, not wanting to join in on the fun but he resists after a while, allowing Chenle to sway his body back and forth as Ningning does with yours, keeping you as close to her as possible as you both happily lose yourself in the music.

“Where are you going?” Ningning shouts over the music after a few hours of dancing, lips forming into a pout as she tries to tug you back into her embrace, wanting to continue to dance with you but you shake your head, claiming how desperate you are to go relieve yourself in the bathroom. Ningning offers to come with you, wanting to stick by your side but Chenle’s already swooping in to steal her away, screaming the lyrics at the top of his lungs as he spins her around.

Due to Ningning being distracted, you take this opportunity to leave, muttering small apologies as you push through the crowd of people, heading up the staircase to locate the nearest bathroom, pausing in your steps every so often to stare at the portraits on the wall, admiring the unusual art of half naked bodies sprawled in different ways with a shadowed figure hovering over them, blood splattered and pouring from open wounds.

This really is the best decorated Halloween house you’ve been to. 

You’re almost out of breath as you trek up the, what seems to be, endless amount of stairs before you reach the top floor, eyeing the multiple doors to try and figure out which one could possibly lead to the bathroom and you head towards the closest one, twisting the doorknob in your grasp and pushing open the wooden door, immediately met by darkness. 

You quietly curse to yourself, stepping further into the room as you blindly reach out for the light switch, flicking the little button just as the door closes behind you, illuminating the room and granting you the access to see, but your eyes widen when you realise that this is not a bathroom… and you’re not alone in the room. 

Yangyang, you remember his name, has the nurse pushed up against the wall of the bedroom, head buried in the crevice of her neck with his hand gripping tufts of her hair, pulling so hard you’re afraid he is going to snap her neck. She remains still, blank eyes staring directly into yours, mouth slightly ajar as if she’s taking short gasps of air, trying to find her breath, but that’s not what concerns you. 

It’s the blood that’s pouring down her white nurses' outfit and dripping to the floor that does, pooling at both of their feet and creating a puddle for them to stand in. A part of you believes that this must be some sort of ‘vampire act’, that maybe he was hoping someone would walk in and capture this happening for the effect. But this seemed too realistic to you, especially with how the disgusting sounds of his mouth slurping ravishingly at her neck with low, pleasant hums. It makes you stumble back in surprise. 

Hearing the heels scrape against the floor, Yangyang retracts his head from the girl’s neck, slowly turning to look over his shoulder at you, eyes completely blacked out and you struggle to remember if he wore contacts prior to this, but your thoughts are answered when you see dark red veins slithering unhuman-like beneath his eyes as his iris turns brown and the sclera dissolves into a normal white, the black disappearing. 

Neat trick, you want to say, but the words never come, not when you’re so conflicted with what you’re seeing in front of you.

“Well… you’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” Yangyang speaks first, the boyish grin that slips onto his face fails to ease the nerves that bubble in your stomach, all too focused on the blood that stains his lips and drips from the corner of his mouth as he fully removes himself from the girl, her body thumping to the floor almost a little too lifeless for it to be apart of the ‘vampire act’ you had in mind.

Your attention darts down to her chest, praying that you’d see any type of movement that indicates she’s breathing or that she’ll hopefully raise her hand and give you the thumbs up to tell you all is well. But she doesn’t, and your blood immediately runs cold as you take a cautious step back, your hand flying behind you to try and find the handle of the door.

Yangyang snorts in amusement, shaking his head as he steps over her body. “The door locks from the outside, little swan… Unless, that is, you have a key”

The way he dips his bloody hand beneath the collar of his shirt to pull out a silver chain necklace with a key attached to it is almost taunting, and instead of the fear, it’s anger that rises inside of you as he begins to sway it back and forth, daring you to come closer and take it from his hands. 

“Enough with this fake act” You find your voice, even though you don’t believe your words so much anymore. You glance down at the body once again before meeting his eyes that are filled with excitement. “You win best Halloween costume of the year… happy?”

“Fake act?” He repeats with a laugh, tucking the necklace back into the collar of his shirt. “I wasn’t aware I was putting on a show”

You swallow thickly, “I think you’re taking your party and your costume too seriously—”

“Why don’t you come closer and find out how fake this costume truly is?” The change in his tone and facial expression is enough to have you spin around and try the door handle again, jiggling it with force in hopes that it would miraculously open without the need of a key. You hear him laugh at your failed attempts, not realising how close he is until you feel his chest press up against your back, moving your white swan wings out of the way so he could connect his mouth to your shoulder in a wet kiss. 

“Don’t touch me!” You spit, shoving him back with as much strength you can muster. Yangyang doesn’t move far, much to your dismay, maybe a few steps back but it was enough to create some distance between the two of you. Your hand reaches up to your shoulder, frantically wiping away the blood off of your skin with a grimace. 

“I was only kissing you” Yangyang fake pouts, reaching to stroke the white swan feathers in your hair but you whack him away once again and he grins widely, tilting his head to the side as he looks at you. “Are you afraid of me, little swan?”

“No”

His grin falters slightly, face hardening. “I don’t like liars”

“Give me the key” You ignore his words, opening out the palm of your hand towards him as if he’d straight up give you the key.  You’re hoping he would. “I’ll scream if you don’t”

His brow twitches upwards, “Nobody will hear you up here”

“My friends know I left” You try again. “My friends know I left and they will come looking for me if I—”

“No they won’t” Yangyang braces his hands on either side of your head, resting against the door as he leans closer to your face. Your eyes dart down to the dried up blood around his mouth before looking back up to his eyes, trying to ignore the smell of copper that emits from his breath. “They’re already stuck”

Your heart drops as you repeat with a whisper, “Stuck?”

Yangyang hums with a nod, hand coming down to rest on the side of your neck, thumb rubbing against your jugular, putting a slight pressure that has your heart rate picking up. “No one leaves… not even you”

“Wh—”

Your words die in the back of your throat as Yangyang lurches forward, sharp teeth piercing the skin of your neck and a silent scream rips from your lips, trying your hardest to rip this animal away from you and free yourself from the pain that spreads around your neck and chest, feeling a burn surge through your veins. Your fingers pry at his shirt with voiceless pleases, head whirling at the sounds of him ripping into flesh, vision going blurry to the point you struggle to make out the details of the bedroom. 

Yangyang retracts his mouth away from your neck suddenly and your body slumps forward, too dizzy to stand straight and he captures you with ease, letting you fall slack against his chest. Your neck feels numb, but you can still sense the blood pooling out of the wound, ruining your costume of the night. 

His hand caresses the top of your head as he walks backwards from the door, leading you both to what seems to be a bed as you’re laid down against something cushiony and soft. He climbs above you, knees resting on each side of your hips and you manage to faintly make out his face through blurred vision, tears springing in your eyes at the blood that drips down his chin. Your blood. 

“You taste absolutely divine, little swan…” Yangyang compliments. “I almost don’t want to kill you”

“Please” You pathetically whisper. “Please, let me go—don’t kill me”

“But where’s the fun in that?” Yangyang chuckles, fingers dancing across your shoulders and over your wound, making you flinch at the tenderness. Something flickers in Yangyang’s eyes as they meet yours, “Do you want to have fun with me?”

“I—”

“I can make everything go away” Yangyang says to you lowly, licking at his lips and sighing in content as he swallows the blood from his mouth. “I can make you feel good too… I can make you feel good while I’m feeding off of you, doesn’t that sound better?”

“I don’t want to die” You splutter out through tears. “Please, I don’t want to die”

“You won’t die, little swan” His voice is soft, but you know deep down that he’s lying. You’re going to die tonight. There was no way you were getting out of this alive. As if he could hear your inner thoughts, Yangyang sighs softly as he brings his wrists up to his lips, pricking the skin with the edge of his fang before forcefully shoving his arm against your lips, the blood from his wrist dripping into your mouth and on your tongue. 

You try to fight back immediately, stiff limbs trying to push him away but it was no use, not when his blood was sliding down the back of your throat. You gag instantly, the taste making your face twist and turn in disgust to which Yangyang laughs at, dropping his wrist from your lips to lean over you again, eyes watching you intently.

You’re shocked at how your body suddenly seems lighter, the slight tinge of pain in your neck disappearing into almost nothing and how your vision clears up, now being fully able to see the man that’s hovering above you clearly. Your hand shakily comes up to touch your wound and you bring your hand back to inspect, surprised to see the dried blood on your fingertips. You stopped bleeding?

“What did you do?” Your question with a whisper.

Yangyang grins at this, tilting his head to the side once again. “I told you, little swan. I can make everything go away”

Incredible, you think. You slightly wonder what else he can do but you mentally slap yourself for thinking that way, not wanting to succumb into his wants and needs. He’s going to kill you. You blink as the thought repeats in your head. He’s going to kill you. There is no way out of this. You’re going to die.

“Let’s have fun” He insists, caressing your cheek softly. “It won’t hurt anymore… It’ll feel good, I promise”

“I don’t believe you” You admit, swallowing thickly. “You’re a… you’re…” You can’t bring yourself to say the word and you shake your head. “It’ll hurt”

“Does this hurt?” Yangyang asks you, taking your hand in his own hand and bringing it up to his lips, opening his mouth wide to show off his precise fangs before sinking them into your palm. You wince instantly, awaiting for the pain to come but there’s nothing, absolutely nothing. You can feel him drinking from your wound, how his tongue laps over the holes he’s created in your skin, but you don’t feel the pain you once did when he bit into your neck. 

You watch mesmerised as he drinks from you, those dark red veins appearing under his eyes again, slithering around beneath his skin as the black pools into his eyes, completely overtaking any other colour present and you feel yourself relax into the pillows, head becoming a little too fuzzy and lightheaded, but there was no pain. The pain was gone. It felt… good. Almost too good. 

A light gasp leaves your lips as you feel Yangyang’s lower half rut against your stomach during this, harsh thrusts making the bed squeak beneath your bodies, the air knocking out of your lungs. You struggle to form a sentence as Yangyang drops your hand from his mouth, letting your arm flop to the sheets motionlessly as his fingers roam over your white dress, fingers digging into the fabric before ripping the material apart with ease.

He isn’t gentle as he pulls the ruined dress from your body and the broken swan wings from your shoulders, his mouth dropping to your breast and sinking his teeth into the flesh with a guttural moan, brows furrowing at the blood that rushes down the back of his throat. You hiss at the slight sting you feel, but it morphs into something a lot more pleasurable and bearable which makes you let our airy moans of satisfaction.

It makes you sick at how much you're enjoying being ravished by a monster, how your mind overcrowds with lust and want, something you know you shouldn't be experiencing. You should be screaming, you should be pleading for him to spare you and to let you go, to fight back with a much strength as you can must, but you can't.

His teeth retract from your breast with droplets of blood rolling down his chin, dark eyes staring at you through his blond strands of hair that hang in front of his face, lips curling into a smirk that sends a wave of fear and lust through your body, goosebumps rising to your skin.

“You’re doing so good for me, little swan” Yangyang praises, tongue swiping over the wound he’s made on your breast and teasing over your nipple. You gasp, back immediately arching into his touch. Yangyang chuckles, “Are you enjoying this?”

Your voice wavers, “No”

“Liar” Yangyang snorts, head dipping down to leave wet bloody kisses down your stomach, nipping gently at the skin before breaking the surface at your navel. A whisper of his name leaves your lips involuntarily and you swear you can feel him smirk against you, hands caressing your body as he slurps hungrily and the bulge in his pants grows against your leg, desperate to be let free and touched as he ruts.

He travels further down your body, fingers hooking beneath the waistband of your panties before being torn apart, the flimsy material being carelessly thrown to the side. You’re now completely bare to him and you shiver at the cold air that hits your skin, hands splayed across the bed sheets, tugging the blanket in hopes to cover yourself but the low growl that comes from Yangyang has you dropping it instantly.

Although, when you feel his fangs graze over your mound, you shriek with a frantic shake of your head, hands flying down to his hair and gripping the roots, trying to yank him away from you but Yangyang remains still, only raising his gaze to look at you quizzically.

“No” Your voice is stern. “No, not there. Please”

“It won’t hurt” He tries to tell you but you refuse to listen, shaking your head once again and you hear the deep sigh that leaves his lips. You calm down for a brief second before you see him crane his head to the side, now choosing to sink his teeth into your inner thigh instead. You mewl at the feeling, legs snapping together and closing Yangyang in between your thighs to which he laughs at, holding your thighs with an iron grip to keep himself locked in as he feeds from you.

You grunt, tears pricking your eyes at the weird sensation of his fangs tearing through skin, slurping and lapping up the blood that’s now mixing in with your arousal that leaks from your pussy. Whether you’d like to admit it or not, you yearn to be touched by him, to make the ache between your legs disappear.

But instead, it’s his weight that disappears off of you and you stretch your neck to see what was going on, your heart thumping wildly in your chest at the sight of Yangyang unbuttoning his shirt and unbuckling his pants in inhuman speed, revealing his toned body to you. Although, your eyes zone in on the key that dangles from his necklace, just a small reach away.

“Don’t even think about it” His voice grumbles and his weight returns over your body, slotting himself between your legs that he rests upon his shoulders, bending you in a way that has your body burning and you whine at the uncomfortable feeling, trying to move yourself in a comfortable position but Yangyang’s already burying himself back into the crevice of your neck, biting down on the opposite side as his cock slides into you roughly, not giving you time to adjust to his size.

Gasps and moans combine with his low grunts and pleased hums, hips feverishly snapping against your own, his cock hitting all the right places at once which has you seeing stars in your eyes. Yangyang’s ruthless as he drinks from your neck, tongue hot on your skin as his cock plunges in and out of the warmth of your walls.

“You are unbelievable, little swan” Yangyang groans between slurps, pulling back slightly to stare into your eyes that flutter with each harsh thrust. The cocky smile returns to his lips, “Feels good?”

You weakly nod, tears streaming down your face. “Yes”

“I like it when you tell the truth” Yangyang hums, pressing his hips further into yours to hit even deeper, chuckling at the way you moan loudly for him. His fast strokes have your head spinning and lolling to the side, drool seeping from your lips and onto the pillow, mixing in with the mess of your blood.

The knot in your stomach tightens with each sharp movement of his hips, nearing you towards your climax as he pounds into you, fingers fisting the hair on your head and tugging your neck to the side awkwardly to dive back into the wound, tongue lapping and sucking up the blood. It’s enough to have your orgasm hit you intensely.

Your legs tremble on his shoulders, pussy convulsing around his cock as you cum, unable to control the sounds that leave your lips as a moan rips from the back of your throat, back arching off of the bed.

Yangyang’s rhythm falters at the tightness of your pussy, jaw locking around your neck with a grunt as his dick pulsates, hot cum spurting around your walls, choking out a deep groan that rumbles in his chest as he empties inside of you.

You both lay still for a moment, the nerves returning in your belly as you await your pending doom, wondering if Yangyang would be kind enough to let you go after everything that happened. He’s still drinking from you and the pain from earlier slowly emerges, the effect his blood had on your moments prior no longer keeping you safe from the pain and discomfort. You fidget beneath him, legs dropping limply from his shoulders as you whine at the sting, it’s enough for him to remove himself from you.

“Thank you for making this a night I won't forget, little swan” Yangyang whispers to you in your ear before climbing off of you, reaching down to grab his pants from the floor to dig his hand into the pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch that reads midnight. “Looks like fun for everyone else is just beginning… Can you hear them, little swan?”

The music cuts off abruptly and a familiar scream echoes throughout the mansion, followed by others that make your body tense up. “W-wait—”

“Shhh…” He coos at you as he crawls back above your body, licking at his lips that are smudged with your blood, droplets dribbling down his chin. Yangyang cups your face in his hands, the gesture almost seeming sweet if it wasn’t for the tight grip and the slight sting of his blunt nails digging into your skull.

The sounds of the screams outside of the door makes you feel utterly sick, trying your best not to imagine what’s happening but the smirk that Yangyang gives proves that it’s nothing but good, it’s evil. A sob blubbers past your lips, tears streaming down your cheeks and Yangyang hums softly as his thumbs brush your tears away a little forcefully.

“It’s okay… It’s going to be all over soon, my little swan” His fake reassurances do nothing to calm down your nerves, already seeing through his pathetic little lies. You wish you could move to throw him off of your body but with your weakened limbs and his unbelievable strength, you know you wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort.

Yangyang dips his head down to hover over yours, his lips pushing against your own in the form of a kiss that you didn’t reciprocate, yet the metallic taste of blood sits on the tip of your tongue and the nausea hits you, throat tightening with the urge to throw up. Yangyang creates a slight distance between you, still feeling his breath fan across your face and his eyes bore into yours. The grip he has on your head becomes too much to handle and a pained squeak leaves your lips, your hands slowly coming up to wrap around his wrists but it's far too late.

A loud pop rings through your ears as he forcefully twists your head to the side, darkness immediately overcrowding your vision, dipping you into complete nothingness.

tag list :- @hall0ween-twn . @skzzznct . @jenoslutie . @yujaemna

©mrkis

#nct smut #wayv smut #yangyang smut #nct horror #wayv horror #liu yangyang smut #nct yangyang #wayv yangyang #nct vampire #yangyang vampire #oneshot: blood & lust

[nctstar]

hurry, i'm worried

labyrinth | ch. 1

It was that damn…melody. That sick, haunting tune. Once again. Over and over and…over again.

pairing: hyuckren x fem!reader

word count: 3.5k

genre: mystery-thriller, horror, angst

warnings: profanity (use of the f word), mental illness (some allusions to s/h, please don't read if sensitive), mentions of medications and psychiatry, polyamory, police, mild mention of sexual activity (minors proceed with caution)

disclaimer: this is a fanfiction purely from my imagination. I don't know the nct members and don't claim that they act like this in real life. I also don't condone any of the activity by any of the characters in this fic. I'm not a mental health expert and don't claim to be at all, if you are struggling please find some resources to help yourself or dm me for support <3

a/n: ahhh it's finally here! the series I've been wanting to write for SO LONG. I hope you enjoy the first chapter because I got this random burst of inspiration yesterday and wrote it all and I'm so happy with the set up! hopefully as it progresses it becomes spookier and creepier and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing this already <3 lav out p.s. can you tell I love my mystery-thriller movies and kdramas hahah (send me recs!!)

It was that damn…melody. That sick, haunting tune. Once again. Over and over and…over again.

You wake with a gasp, shooting up in your bed, blood rushing upwards and dampening your hearing with a blunt drone. You groaned at the jolts of pain in your temples, your cold hands caressing the supple skin as you squeezed your eyes shut. 8:09am.

“Renjun-ah?” Your voice came out a lot harsher than you expected, but there was nothing you could change about it as you watched your boyfriend’s petite frame walk into your shared room, his soft, nimble fingers tying the buttons on his wrist.  

“Yeah?” He barely looked at you. His attention was divided, long lashes flicking up and down his wrists, and you realised with a sick nausea that you were starting to become annoying.

You swallowed, throat dry and eyes burning with tiredness. “Um, nothing. Just wanted to check if you had left already.” It took everything in you not to mention the dream, the song, but you knew how he would react. As if like clockwork, he had the same reaction every single time.

“You just miss him, _. That’s why you keep having these dreams. Take your meds, and get some rest today, okay?”

You were sick and tired of hearing the same line every single day, almost as much as you were tired of having the same dreams. If there was something worse than being stuck in this insane loop of same same same, it was not having Renjun the way you always did.

But could you complain? Ever since…well, you were only a shell of the person you were before. You were bitter, grating, much like the shots of expresso you had once downed with your lover, squealing ‘Oh! That’s so strong!’ much to the disgust of the haughty young waiter watching from the corner. You felt your chest tighten with a tender nostalgia as Renjun walked over to peck you on the forehead, his lips as fleeting as that memory passing through your brain.

Take care of yourself today, honey. Okay?

“Take care of yourself today, honey. Okay?” You smiled, gritting your teeth at the irritation of his newfound predictability. Falling into this routine of stark distance and hospital-grade perfection. You were truly and utterly sick of it.

You counted to 383…no, 384. Three hundred and eighty…(I don’t know what I should eat today)…Three hundred and eighty-one...(Renjun’s probably sat at his desk by now…)…Three hundred and eighty-two…(…wonder if he’s thinking of me…)…Three hundred and eighty-three…(…is he eating well? What if he gets sick from all the takeout?)…Three hundred and eighty-four.

You dragged yourself out of bed, looking at the date glaring back at you from your bedside alarm clock. August 6th, 2022.

Three hundred and eighty-four days since Haechan had gone missing.

∞

“We should have studied French properly instead of just-“

“Oh, our French sessions were pretty fun,” Renjun raised his eyebrows while Haechan smirked at you suggestively, swiftly followed by you giving him a playful kick under the table to shut him up. “She’s pretty damn good.”

“Gross, Haechan. We’re on vacation in a nice place. You should have left your shameless thoughts at home.”

“Hmm, but we are in the city of love, aren’t we?” Haechan outstretched his arms like a comical cartoon character, making you and Renjun both look down in embarrassment, Renjun cursing softly under his breath. You watched a young Timothee-Chalamet looking waiter side-eye the three of you in the corner and your cheeks grew warmer. Yet, you didn’t really care. He was right. You were in the city of love with the only two men you had ever loved in your entire life. What was so wrong about that?

“Waiter!” Haechan yelled out, raising his hand like he was a primary school student in class, and both you and Renjun lunged out to make him stop being so loud. “Hyuck, oh my god, everyone’s looking.”

“Yes?” It was almost a blessing the waiter had come regardless of your collective bickering, and Renjun went first, speaking in perfect French. “We’d like number 3, please.”

“All three of you?” He frowned through his glasses, peering through the lens like he would look at spectacles at a freak show. You suddenly felt self-conscious, but Haechan started leaning over towards Renjun, acting like the waiter wasn’t even there. “What was that? What did you say? Number 3? I don’t want that one. Tell him I want number 4.”

“The young man over there will have number 4, please. And for me and my girlfriend, number 3.” You swallowed a smile at the way Renjun exasperatedly acknowledged Haechan, and the way Haechan looked just as confused as before. Once the waiter stepped away, you smacked Haechan’s thigh playfully. “You’re so embarrassing!”

“Am I embarrassing, or do you just wanna impress mister oui oui baguette over there?”

“Haechan!” You laughed. “What do you mean?”

“I saw the way you were oogling him. Tsk, tsk.” He should his head exaggeratedly and added. “You have the hottest guy sitting next to you and you’re just gonna eyeball him?”

“Leave _ alone, Haechan.” Renjun was now peering at the menu, squinting intensely. The soft morning sun illuminated his body, giving him a tender glow and making your heart feel warm with affection. He shook his head to the side to move his fringe away from his eyes. “Baby, I think I might have ordered you a shot of expresso. Do you want to change it?”

“Huh? No, that’s okay, honey.”

“Are you sure?” You felt Haechan’s breath on your shoulder, and you rolled your eyes, pulling his arm closer to your side as you looked up at him. “Yes, I’m sure. I can handle it.” The smell of dark coffee from the kitchen mixed with Haechan’s natural musk and your light perfume, and you breathed in deeply.

Haechan’s chest vibrated as he chuckled. “I’m keen to see this.” In front of you, Renjun smiled at the table, a mix of love and playfulness, and you scoffed. “I-It’ll be fine. It will taste good. I will drink it all!” You fake-slammed the table in front of you with your fist as both men started giggling slowly.

∞

You remembered the memory fondly as you watched the milk swirl and dissolve into the brown instant coffee mix. Too tired (lazy) to use the coffee maker, you settle on a bland concoction of going-to-expire-today lukewarm milk and instant coffee powder that’s at least 2 years old for your everyday morning fix. Taking a sip, you sighed. Yep, just as disgusting as ever.

You flopped down on the couch, turning on the TV at the same time, like a trained reflex. The rain outside poured heavy and relentless, just the right amount of ambient noise to send you right back into your slumber. But you stayed awake. You couldn’t be sleeping all day again. It just wouldn’t be…right.

Turning on an old favourite show, Gilmore Girls, you let it play as you opened your laptop. The battery reader on the bottom right corner shone nice and bright. 0%.

Of course. You groaned out loud, cursing underneath your breath. Of course, the day you felt the tiniest twinge of motivation to do something, your laptop was dead. Getting up from the couch, you felt a warm-hot liquid pour all over your pajama bottoms.

“Ah! Fuck!” You swore out loud, watching the coffee stain your crotch and drip onto the skin of your thighs. Clutching your laptop to your chest, you ran back into you and Renjun’s shared room.

You stared at his pajamas on the shelf, neatly packed and folded, as if he was so ready to move on. You looked to your side of the bed, messy as ever, the oldest bra you ever owned strewn across the covers.

How embarrassing.

You felt a mixture of anger, first at Renjun, then at yourself. Stupid fucking perfect Renjun with his crisp ironed clothes and his tidy side of the bed and his take care of yourself, honeys. Gosh, I hate him. As you said these in your head, hot, frustrated tears poured down your cheeks and dripped onto your collarbones. I fucking hate that man. I fucking hate myself.

You didn’t know how long you were standing there, but after a while, you rubbed the rest of the rolling tears off your face and walked out of the room. You plugged in your laptop, walked to the kitchen for some paper towels and half-heartedly wiped down the almost-dried coffee (if you could even call it that) on the couch, took off your soaked pajama pants and lay on your side, facing the TV. You watched Lorelai and her mother fight for what seemed like hours, you watched Lorelai cry on the shoulder of some hunk of a man who very clearly loved her, and then you felt yourself slip into a sad, restless slumber as the credits rolled.

∞

You woke at the sound of your phone buzzing next to your ear.

You blinked once, then twice. Then you closed your eyes and opened them again.

There was no way.

my teddy

i’m coming home

What the actual fuck.

You grabbed at your phone, fumbling, shaking. You dialled Haechan’s number – once, twice, three times. It was going through. It was going through.

“Renjun!”

“What’s up, honey? Are you alright?”

You sobbed uncontrollably into the phone, the screen now wet with tears.  

“Shhh, I’ll be there soon, okay? Please don’t hurt yourself again. Thank you for calling me. I’ll be there, baby, in just a few minutes. I love you so much. I’m coming.”

“No…n-no…” You rubbed your nose, hating the way it squeaked. “No, Renjun, it’s about H-Haechan.” Silence on the other side, as if you had said a bad word. “He’s coming home.”

You could feel the gears in Renjun’s head clicking, choosing his next words wisely. “Let’s talk about it when I get back, okay?”

“Renjun, no, you don’t fucking get it. He’s coming back. My baby’s coming back…”

“Honey…”

“Don’t fucking call me that! Fuck you!” You shouted into the phone, you had no idea why. You were trembling with a mixture of anger and sudden fear.

“Okay.” You heard Renjun’s voice tremble on the other line, the sounds of the rain louder now, pitter-pattering over the line. “I’m sorry. I’ll be home soon.”

“So will Haechan.” You said, before ending the call.

∞

“Please, please, don’t tell her.”

Those words haunted Renjun every single day he thought about Haechan. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. No, now was not the time to think about that. He kept side-glancing at the time on the dashboard, as if minutes would pass without his permission. The windshields scraped the glass with a jarring squeak everytime it moved, the rain pouring as strong as ever. He prayed silently for there to be no traffic on the main road he was about to turn into, not wanting to leave you home alone for another second.

His heart ached, thinking of the phone call, the bad signal in his car breaking up your cries. His eyes welled up with tears, but he quickly blinked them away, not wanting to get distracted. I need to get home right now.

Luckily, traffic moved at a steady pace, it not quite being rush hour yet, and he was pulling up to the driveway quicker than usual. He needed to remain calm and composed for you. He knew you didn’t mean any of it, and that you were having one of your episodes. He tried to think about what your psychiatrist had said, but his brain felt so heavy, like a burning lump of coal, black smoke shrouding any helpful thought he was trying to have. Dammit. I just need to go inside.

“_?” Not wanting to spook you, he started speaking from outside as he typed in the code for your shared apartment. “It’s me, Renjun, baby.” He paused slightly, wondering if he should wait for you to open the door. You clearly needed some space. Maybe he was imposing too much. Maybe you felt intruded, not in control. Maybe he should let you do small things like open the do-

“Renjun?”

At first it didn’t register, but as Renjun slowly turned around, his heart started pounding louder and louder in his chest and his legs felt like jelly. He knew what – or who – he was expecting to see, but the sight of him still threw him against the apartment door with a gasp.

There was no way.

“Oh my god. It’s really you.”

Renjun didn’t know what to say for once. Always the easy talker, known for making awkward situations normal, always known to have something smart to say. Nothing. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth, immobile, weighed down with the weight of a thousand stones.

“Renjun. It’s me.” He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Renjun. He felt like a ghost for a split second, like his arms weren’t quite there. But then he smelt it. That faint smell of his best friends’ cologne he had used since their university days, back when they would go out for dinner after long days. Back before they had even met you.

Renjun inhaled sharply as the realisation hit him, his arms feeling more and more solid around his frame. “It’s really you. She wasn’t…but how did she…” Snapping out of his daze, the two men parted and Renjun thought about you.

Haechan called out first. “_! I’m home!”

∞

“So, you say you received a text message from Lee Haechan today before he came home?”

“Yes, yes. Here.” Your lit up screen illuminated the face of the officer, speckles of his stubble becoming visible. “Right.” He frowned, before handing your phone back to you, the charm jingling as he did. The tips of your fingers slightly touched his as you took your phone back, still staring at him with more questions than answers strewn across your features.

His chair made a high-pitched creak as he leaned back. “So, we have questioned him, as well as your, well…” The officer looked uncomfortable, almost squeamish, you reckoned at the thought of you having seduced not one, but two men in your lifetime.

“Yes, Renjun.” You spared him the misery. He nodded.

“Yes, and his story lines up with yours in terms of the disappearance. Lee Haechan, however, is saying that he cannot disclose where he was this entire time, because he just does not remember anything. We will continue to investigate his whereabouts for the past year. We have tried tracking his phone already, and we actually found its location.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, in your apartment.”

“Our apartment?” You were confused, and a weird feeling started brewing in the pit of your stomach.

“No, miss. At your apartment.”

“You mean the one I share with Renjun.”

The officer looked at you wordlessly, before flicking through the papers in his hands and passing one across the table to you.

You looked at it in utter disbelief. “W…what…”

“It was strange to us too. You didn’t mention to us that you had an apartment. Yet, we were able to find this under your name. We asked the owner, and she said you had indeed bought this four years ago. In person, too.”

“No way,” you breathed, your eyes as big as saucers. “Four years…” You would have been fresh out of high school, just about to enter university. You remembered being penniless then, having cut off your parents and working bizarre jobs just to get by. There was no way you would have even been able to afford an apartment. And the most important part was, if you had indeed done that, you would have remembered. Despite everything that had happened, and parts of your memory being faded due to the stress of the past year, there was no way you would have forgotten something so big as an apartment.

You sighed out loud, resting your head in both hands. You kept having those weird dreams…it always felt like, maybe they were…like…lost memories?

“I think my memory is just bad,” you chuckled uneasily, letting the officer ease back into the chair, some of his worry lifting off his shoulders. “That probably was me. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He drawled out the words, as if he didn’t really mean them. “We just wanted to inform you before we applied for the warrant because we’re going to search it.”

“Right.” Somehow, even though you had found out about this apartment 2 minutes ago, hearing that it was going to be searched made you feel kind of violated. The fluorescent white light started to feel hot against the skin of your face, and you were becoming aware of the stretch of time you had been here. Your leg started to jump, one of your many restless tics.

“Can I come?”

“Hmm?” The officer looked confused.

“Like, when you search. Can I come?”

He made a sorry kind of smile with his mouth and shook his head. You felt stupid for even asking, but the feelings dissipated when you watched the officer look increasingly uncomfortable, suddenly avoiding eye contact with you as if he was scared of you.

“So,” you leaned in, and watched as he cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “What does this mean? So, someone sent a text message using Haechan’s phone the day he came back. He said it wasn’t him, and now his phone is at my apartment?”

The officer gave you a blank stare, and all of a sudden, it all clicked.

“No, I-“

“Look, miss. We need to consider all possibilities. And your boyfriend told us that you’re…struggling with your mental health and currently on anti-psychotics…”

You gaped at him, not believing the words that were coming out of his mouth. “You think that’s supposed to make me uncomfortable? Yes, I’m batshit off the walls crazy, sir, thanks for acknowledging it. But I’m just not that kind of crazy to send myself a text from my missing boyfriend to soothe myself, I do know that.”

“That’s not what we’re- okay, look. Personally, I think it’s probably, like, a hack or something.” You recognised his ability to go off script, no matter how much he fought it, and you appreciated it, just a little bit. “We just wanted to check all the possibilities. We’ll be checking the footage around the apartment and finding out if anyone’s been coming and going, and we will search for the phone and check its usage.”

You nodded sharply. “Okay.”

The door opened, and a younger looking man inaudibly signalled at the officer in front of you. “That’s all for tonight. You are free to leave. Let us know if there are any updates, and we’ll do the same.”

∞

“So, what did they talk about with you guys?”

Renjun was slowly starting to come out of the shocked state he had been in for the past few hours as you nuzzled deeper into Hyuck’s warm body in the backseat of the car, the rain still roaring on outside.

“It was weird. They asked me about an apartment I own.”

“An apartment?” Renjun sounded curious, but you were distracted by the feel of Haechan’s slightly dry lips on your forehead, grazing the skin teasingly. “Haechan…”

“Let’s just forget about this for now. I missed you so much.” He pressed his lips against you, the kiss resounding in your skull.

“I missed you too.” You wanted to cry, laugh, scream. Everything was pouring out of you all at once, slow and viscous like thick honey on bread. “So much. You have no idea.”

“Yeah.” Renjun’s voice was silent. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

That night, your bed for two was a bed for three. Warm and safe, smelling like three instead of two. You were finally home. The dinner you three shared for the first time in over a year was quiet, all of you overwhelmed by the new familiarity that was now your new normal. Or old normal. It was all a bit strange. But it just felt so…right.

For once you drifted off to sleep naturally, not crying, or needing your pills or something to watch to distract yourself. It was like Haechan’s arrival repaired you, piece by piece, with nothing left over or loose from the reconstruction.

Everything felt right until the next morning, when you woke up to no Haechan next you, and you felt an insidious wave of anxiety waft over you, threatening to paralyse you. But then you heard chatter from the kitchen.

“She likes it like that now. Extra chilli. Make sure you don’t burn it.”

“Yes, ahjussi.” The unmistakeable nasal tone of your lover’s voice calmed you, and you were convinced you weren’t dreaming this time. This was real. Haechan came home.

You rolled over in bed and checked your phone. Old habits die hard.

Chills ran through your body.

my teddy

don’t worry. i’m staying inside.

#nct #nct fanfiction #kpop #kpop fanfiction #nct scenarios #nct dream #nct fanfic #kpop imagine #nct imagine #nct dream fanfic #nct dream x you #nct dream x reader #nct angst #nct dream angst #nct horror #nct thriller #nct dream horror #nct dream thriller #haechan imagine #haechan scenario #nct haechan #haechan x reader #haechan angst #lee haechan #huang renjun #renjun scenario #renjun angst #renjun imagine #renjun horror #nct renjun

[princesstaeille]

Heatwave

summary: it’s the hottest day of the year and haechan wants to find something to do.

genre(s): body horror

warning(s): blood/gore, character death, graphic descriptions of decaying(?) bodies (pls let me know if there are more)

wc: 900

notes: if you enjoyed reading, pls like/reblog and comment! thank you xxx

It was the hottest day of the year.

It was the type of heat that Haechan could see rippling in the air. A heat that made the atmosphere feel heavier, a leaden weight that slugged down his legs. A heat that suffocated him when he opened his mouth, sweltering to the point where panting like a dog only caused more harm than good. If he held out his palm, he could feel it coat his sweaty fingers in an uncomfortable thickness.

Although turned on its highest setting, the fan didn't do much except blow hot air into his face. It didn't help that the AC happened to be broken, but Haechan figured it wouldn't be any different from the fan, except maybe louder.

He stared outside the open window, watching blankly as the buildings wiggled and wobbled in the distance. It was the only thing he could do. He couldn't go outside, or he'd probably melt. Scrolling mindlessly on his phone wasn't an option either; the heat was affecting the Wi-Fi and causing everything to overheat.

Haechan sighed and tried blinking away the glaze in his eyes. He could hear the fluid squelch under his lids. Even doing that was exhausting. 

"There's gotta be something around here that I can do..." he muttered, swiveling lazily in his chair. He scanned the hazy room, eyes glossing over the blank TV, the discarded magazines on the couch, and the dead Nintendo Switch sitting on the coffee table until they landed on some puzzle boxes underneath the coffee table. 

When did we ever buy those? Haechan thought as he dragged himself over to the table. He pulled out the first box, which was coated in a healthy layer of dust. After wiping it away, the cover revealed a nook of a lush forest. At its center stood a rushing waterfall that filtered into a ready stream below, surrounded by smooth gray rocks and vibrant green pines. Though he was sure it was a painting, it looked so much like a photograph. He could almost hear the water rush and rumble, the millions of drops joining together in one crystal pool. Cool drips would sprinkle onto his cheeks while the towering trees shade him from the sun's rays, leaves swaying in the chill breeze. Haechan would give anything to shed the unbearable heat that clung to him like a second skin and lounge underneath the blue cascades all day.

Unfortunately, the closest he would get to that was putting the puzzle together.

Haechan forced himself to his feet and sighed. He studied the puzzle cover once more before deciding to try it. It'd be a nice distraction, he told himself as he walked across the living room. He knocked on Mark's bedroom door, which had been closed longer than Haechan could remember. He wasn't sure if Mark had left his room at all today.

"Hey Mark, wanna complete this puzzle with me?" The words clawed their way out of his throat, and Haechan began to wish for a cold glass of water. When no reply came, he twisted the doorknob, which almost slipped out of his sweaty grasp, and cracked the door a bit to peek inside.

The back of the black leather gaming chair at Mark's desk faced the door. Instead of being tucked into the underside of the desk, the chair sat parallel to it, facing the wall. 

Haechan glanced around the rest of the room but spotted no other presence. "Mark?" He called out once more as he took a step inside.

He approached the leather chair, wondering if the insufferable warmth lulled his roommate into an afternoon nap. The thought dismissed itself as the scent of metal wafted into his nose. 

Haechan grabbed the edge of the chair and cringed at the contact his hand made with the leather. He felt like the skin on his palm was sizzling away with each passing second it stayed touching the burning material. Quickly, he swiveled the chair around to face him.

Mark sat in the chair, slouching to one side while his neck craned in the opposite direction. But he wasn't napping. His eyes were wide open; one had tumbled from the socket and slid down the thick, bloody sludge that coated his shirt. The other pointed down and off to the side, staring into nothingness. Thick globs of tender skin and flesh sloughed off his bones and settled onto the floor with unsettling plops before disintegrating into the stained carpet.

Mark wasn't ignoring him; he had no mouth to respond. What Haechan assumed to be his lips slid down his chin, skin peeling and flaking, sinking into the bloody mass below. In their place was a bony grimace stretching from ear to ear, pearly whites stained in crimson that oozed from the crevices and dribbled down his chin. His skin sagged, dark hair lost in the rising flood that bubbled up, overflowed, and crept down his forehead, pooling into his sockets, coating a glassy, vacant eye.

The stench grew with each passing second, intensified by a warmth so great that Mark's blood boiled. 

Haechan felt his begin to as well. Beads of sweat raced down his back. Though his throat was incredibly dry, he felt his stomach churn and the burning sensation of bile rising up. 

Haechan dropped the puzzle box. The smell made his head spin. He stumbled out of the room but couldn't tear his gaze away from Mark's. The puzzle could wait. 

thank you so much for reading! please leave a like and a comment. reblogs are appreciated too!

#nct #nct fanfic #nct scenarios #nct fiction #nct fic #nct drabbles #nct 127 #nct horror #horror #fanfic #writers on tumblr #writing #nct imagines #haechan #nct haechan #lee donghyuck #mark lee #nct mark scenarios #nct mark #haechan scenarios #kpop drabbles #kpop boys #kpop fanfic #markhyuck #mahae #nct dream #nct reactions #nct dream scenarios

[pearl-neo]

Paranoia

Pairing ⬩ Reader + Johnny

Genre ⬩ psychological thriller \ suspense \ mystery \ angst

Length ⬩ 13k — one shot

Plot ⬩ After a year spent living as a shut-in, you finally agree to go on a drive with your sister. When a storm steers your plan off course, you find yourselves brought closer to two charming strangers—but an unsettling tension lingers in your mind.

Warnings ⬩ anxiety; agoraphobia; implications of depression; ongoing feelings of helplessness, general discomfort, self-doubt; mental breakdown; minor violence; character death

‹ Note › The feelings/mannerisms that come as a consequence of (mild?) agoraphobia in this story all come from a personal place. I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s experience with mental illness.

Disclaimer! I don’t know any of the nct members personally, and would never claim this is how they behave/think in real life. They only inspire me to write these stories, and I think of them as a cast of actors like in a drama or movie. It’s never my intention to project on or disrespect any of the people mentioned.

A sliver of light escaped through the window blinds as your fingers pulled at one of the blades. Despite the clear and sunny sky outside, it was dim in your apartment. It often was. Your eyes rejected the foreign light for a brief moment before they readjusted.

Outside, a pale pink Cadillac convertible was parked in front of the building’s entrance. The kind where the back just above the tail lights rose in a theatrical peak on either side. The roof was down, revealing the velvet white interior. You liked the velvet, it was comfortable; you could almost remember what it felt like.

Although, right now, it only served to remind you of how much time had passed since you were last in it. Maybe a year, maybe a little longer than that… Right before your driver’s license got revoked and you gave up entirely.

“Are you gonna keep staring at it, or are we gonna go get in?” Your sister quipped from behind you, resting her chin on your shoulder. “Not that this isn’t a killer view.”

Even though you appreciated her keeping up a humorous air for your sake, you could still feel the tension. She had been trying to get you to go outside for at least an entire year. Yet you still always managed to back out at the last second.

“We’re absolutely not going to get out of the car?” You asked, probably for the tenth time now. For the whole duration of this past month, you would ask and she would reassure. Over and over again, that it would’ve made anyone else sick of you by now.

She squeezed your shoulders. “Nope, just drive around. Eat something nice. Drive back home before sunset. We’ll get on the coastal highway so there won’t even be that many cars.”

Opening the front door wasn’t a problem—online shopping was basically your lifeline. The slight nausea began only after you stepped out for the first time. Autumn was coming to an end, with the beginnings of a fierce winter approaching eagerly on its heels. The cold wind bit at your flushed cheeks, and you closed your eyes to take it in before willing yourself forward.

It almost didn’t feel real. That somehow made it easier.

The sky was so blue, the trees so green, you couldn’t quite stop staring as everything sped past you. The sun breathed life into the colors of its surroundings in a way that it could never fully achieve inside your apartment. Even having the sun directly on your skin felt foreign. Car roof down, the chilly wind engulfed you in waves.

Soon, you were on a curving highway by the sea. The road was flat and stretched as long as you could see, with only the odd car here and there. What you could only describe as psychedelic pop music played in a pleasant volume in the background.

The drive would be four hours long, two to the end of the coastal road and two back, but you took that as an excuse to stop by three different drive-throughs to assemble what was surely going to be a magnificent spread. A car picnic was part of how your sister had managed to entice you, after you saw some characters on a TV show do it. She even let you pick all of the food.

Breaking the trance-like silence, you said, “I don’t know if I can stand the smell of that food much longer…”

“Same,” she said, “we’re almost there, you see that?”

She nudged her head at a square brown building in the distance. It looked like one of those rest stops that would have a shabby family pool up front. You felt a sense of relief that you wouldn’t have to go in. Maybe you would get the courage to venture out of the car next time. Or maybe the time after that. You let your mind wander as you got closer and closer.

There was one other car already parked there, a jet black Brabus G Wagon. It was a monster of a car, so big and square you thought it almost looked like an armored hearse. When your car pulled over a few spaces away from it, it still managed to dwarf you by comparison.

The music kept playing as the pair of you laid out all of your food, placing it on a checkered picnic blanket that you had covering the trunk of your car, and pushed the front seats as far as they could go for you to stretch your legs out on.

Thankfully, the food was still hot when you took it out of the thermal containers. You had yourself to thank for that idea, so you mentally patted yourself on the back.

“The chicken is all limp,” your sister whined after she picked one up. Just as you reached out for a strip yourself, a drop of cool water landed on the back of your hand and slid off to the side. The colors had grown faded, and the air felt different.

“Oh no.”

And just like that, in under a minute, a few stray drops turned into one of the quickest downpours you had ever experienced. A strong wind came and blew some of the smaller containers off, while you both rushed to hold down whatever you could.

“This doesn’t look very partly cloudy,” your sister laughed. You admired her ability to laugh it off while you panicked and scrambled around dramatically, making a mental note to never trust the weather forecast again.

“Go on, you bring up the car roof and I’ll take care of these,” she called to you over the wind that was continuously growing louder.

The moment you let go of what you’ve been holding down, they slid away from you but mostly held their place (for now). The retracted roof only budged by the tiniest margin despite your incessant pulling. All this rain must’ve done something to it…

At that moment, the door of the black SUV opened and a young man with soft facial features half-jogged to your car. Fighting your instinct to recoil, you found yourself avoiding his eyes instead. You really weren’t ready to talk to anyone. Not to mention, you didn’t get a chance to do any mental preparation for it.

He, on the other hand, had an effortless smile on as he approached, and you almost rolled your eyes at yourself for noticing his dimples right now. But you didn’t, your brows furrowing instead.

“Hi,” he called, “let me help you.” Smoothly, he joined you in pulling the roof up. You could only manage a small “sorry” but your sister added a friendly “thank you!”

He was only wearing blue jeans and a lightweight white sweater. The expensive kind of fabric you wouldn’t want to get wet. So you glanced at him with guilt as it got wetter and wetter.

“It’s like it’s nailed down,” he laughed, eyes squinted in what looked like embarrassment.

“Oh!” he added, looking behind you. You turned to see one more young man coming out of the rest stop this time. It was a bigger guy dressed all in black. Despite his tall and muscular build, something about him was gracefully cat-like.

“Johnny! Could you give us a hand?” The dimpled guy beckoned him over, although he was already on his way to you.

“What’s up? Ah.”

Soon, it was all three of you yanking at it together. Ridiculous. For some reason, it didn’t feel any different than when you were pulling on it by yourself. You prayed that it would be over as soon as possible. You could already feel your breath constricting—even looking their way was difficult. Like they were radioactive.

“Okay, I don’t think this is working out. We might actually damage it if we keep this up,” Johnny said, looking between the three of you, “you’re better off coming inside for now. At least until this storm is over.”

You looked over at your sister, who had just successfully put away all she could save from the food, which was now stacked in a corner in the back seat, getting pitifully hammered by the rain.

Her smile was stretched from ear to ear. You tried to catch her eyes and somehow telepathically communicate to her how uncomfortable you felt, but she had already moved on to observing the dimpled guy’s physique.

Under other circumstances, you would’ve found it funny that you could see the exact moment she snapped out of it. But you were sad to admit that over the past year you rarely found anything funny anymore. A few moments later, her eyes found yours, apologetic.

“Actually, we really need to get going,” she turned to them. “Thanks for your help, though!”

Owing to the storm, it had gotten darker much earlier than anticipated. A glance at the road ahead only discouraged you further when you saw just how thick the fog had gotten—even with the roof up, driving in this weather would certainly be a questionable choice… You would never forgive yourself if you were the reason your sister got into an accident.

Frozen with your hands clenched by your sides, you mentally talked yourself into it. Just one night. Clearing your throat, you gave a hesitant “okay. Let’s go in.”

Her eyebrows shot up in response. “You sure?” Even though she was offering otherwise, you could see how tired she already was. You could also feel the eyes of the two men on you, although you didn’t look up to confirm it.

“Yeah. It’s too dark. We’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up, okay?” Although your words were directed at her, part of it was also said to yourself for reassurance. You continued in a low voice, forcing yourself to look up at them, “uh, thank you so much for trying to help.”

“No worries,” the dimpled guy smiled at the both of you.

If your sister had a tail, she would’ve been wagging it. It was hard not to see that she had a type. The dimpled man, who had a laid-back demeanor and a twinkle in his smiling eyes, was exactly the type she always gravitated towards. The type that looked like he would never hurt you.

A stagger in your step, you found your body resisting the walk inside. Something felt very wrong in your gut, twisting a knot into your stomach. Sharp feelings of regret started to find their way into your mind at having offered to stay. Today wasn’t supposed to go this way. You weren’t supposed to run into anyone.

It could’ve been your imagination, but you felt Johnny’s stare linger on you as you finally followed everyone inside.

*

You were wrong about there being a pool by the entrance of the rest stop. That was probably for the best, because everything else looked fairly uncared for, and the rain only exaggerated all the dirtier aspects.

Past the small courtyard covered in dead (and now, wet) leaves, and a lone vending machine with a few snacks covered in a thick layer of dust, the four of you walked through a smaller door leading to the lobby.

It was just as shabby on the inside as it looked on the outside. Dim, warm-toned light-bulbs provided less-than-ideal lighting so that you could only just make out your surroundings. A musty smell wafted your way almost as soon as you stepped in.

“I’m Jaehyun, by the way,” the dimpled guy’s voice made you turn, and you saw that he still had a relaxed smile on. You and your sister introduced yourselves as Johnny went ahead to the front desk, which was manned by an old woman and her cat. The cat sat with its front paws tucked into its chest, unfazed by the new guests.

“Are you guys staying here, too?” Johnny called back to the two of you.

“Go on,” your sister encouraged. You shot her a look, and she returned it with two thumbs up, miming you can do it.

Keeping any further signs of discomfort to yourself, you agreed that you were in dire need of practice. Given that you hadn’t spoken to anyone other than your sister for the past year, even the thought of a brief exchange with a clerk was enough to set you on edge. You approached the counter with heavy feet.

“Good afternoon,” you started, but the woman spoke right away in a sharp tone. “No vacancy. Under repair, dear.”

“Oh. Well… We’ll just wait in the lobby then, if you don’t mind.”

Your sister had moved on with Jaehyun, the pair of them talking by the entrance. Sopping wet and looking giddy, their laughter and voices were drowned out by the storm outside.

Johnny looked down at you then back to Jaehyun across the lobby before offering “you guys can crash at our room if you want.”

His smile was cat-like to boot, and he was even bigger up close. Absurdly attractive, too. Something about that almost made you queasy, but you passed it off as your nerves building up. How long was the storm going to last?

“We couldn’t. Thank you for your offer, though.” You managed to return a small smile, but by then there was something else in his eyes that you couldn’t decipher. Interest? Amusement?

It must’ve been something you didn’t like, after all, because you hurried away and hooked your arm through your sister’s. She took her time before finally turning away from Jaehyun and back to you.

Deciding it was best to speak away from Jaehyun’s ears, you dragged her farther away. Just in case he felt charitable enough to repeat the same offer—at this point, you weren’t so sure she’d turn it down.

“No vacancies. We can just wait in the lobby for now,” you relayed, steering her towards the waiting area. At least you would get it to yourself.

There were only two shabby couches facing each other, with peeling wooden legs and faded out green fabric. With a start, you noticed for the first time that it wasn’t empty after all.

There was someone sleeping with his legs stretched out on the floor in front of him, ankles crossed. His head slumped forward so that his red hoodie obscured his face, his arms folded against his chest. He was only as big as you or maybe a little taller. Strange. You hadn’t noticed any other cars parked outside.

“Is he with you?” Your sister whispered to Jaehyun, who had followed the pair of you and was suddenly looking around the lobby awkwardly, brows slightly furrowed. He shook his head no.

There was still water dripping from the ends of his hair. He must’ve noticed you unconsciously stare, because he said “I’ll go get us some towels” and went up a narrow set of stairs to their room. Johnny glanced up at him only for a second, before going back to playing with the cat on the counter. The cat squeezed itself past his hands and stalked away into the shadows somewhere.

Why was Jaehyun sitting in the car, if they already had a room with their things in it?

“She doesn’t like us very much,” Johnny said to himself, his tone light. You don’t know why your heart did a little jump. He was talking about the cat. Not you. Right?

That was a non-ideal time for him to look straight at you. But nevertheless he approached, and his quiet walk reminded you of the cat he had just been petting. When he got close enough that it made your body tense up, you were relieved that he didn’t stop and instead kept walking past you.

“Forgot something in the car,” he said to no one, and left the lobby.

A pang of guilt sounded in your chest. You knew you were coming off as stand-offish, but you had your set limits. Especially today.

Your sister had her back turned to you, and was observing a large, muted painting of a tall ship sailing through turbulent waters. There was an ornate but faded golden frame around it.

Reaching out for her hand, you opened your mouth to say something, and—

“Towels?” A smooth voice spoke up behind you, and you spun around so quickly that you almost twisted your neck.

“Aww, thanks!” Your sister took one and let it fall over your head before taking another for herself. That made Jaehyun laugh, twinkles in his eyes. Everything seemed to make him smile or laugh, like he didn’t have a care in the world.

You grabbed the towel off of your head and absentmindedly held it out to your sister until she took it, then you turned to follow Johnny out into the rain.

A cold hand gripped your arm, stopping you. Turning around, you saw Jaehyun’s pale face staring back at you. “You’re gonna catch a cold if you go out there again. Do you need me to get you something? Your roof is open anyway, so I don’t need your keys.”

Next to him, your sister was looking at you with a puzzled expression. You hoped your voice wouldn’t crack, and said “uh, no… No, nevermind, it’s nothing.”

“You okay?” Your sister put her arms around you. “Long day, huh,” she said, rubbing your back.

“Yeah.”

When Johnny came back, you noticed he didn’t have anything in his hands.

What did you forget in the car? You wanted to ask him. But you knew better than to share what was on your mind, with everyone around.

You cursed under your breath at Jaehyun, who was still buttering up to your sister. The curse wasn’t only for how stuck to her he was, or how taken she was with him. It was also for how despite that, he still wouldn’t let you follow Johnny outside.

Although you supposed you had yourself to blame for that, too. It’s not like he forced anything on you. But somehow, when he told you not to go, you felt rooted in place and could no longer do anything other than what he told you to do. Somehow, your body was under other people’s control more than it was under your own.

The whole past year, you had felt yourself slowly slipping—you had been at a war with yourself that went on for so long it left you only as a ghost of who you once were. A silent shadow etched onto the pavement you once sat on.

All the new activity must’ve been noisy, because the sleeping man (boy?) took a deep breath in, sat up, and stretched his arms out in front of him. When he looked up at the three of you and his big eyes caught the light, you decided it would be more accurate to call him “boy” rather than “man.” Wide, circular glasses framed his youthful but angular face.

He immediately looked away and awkwardly drummed his hands on his knees. His clothes were wet, but his hair was dry underneath his hoodie, so you guessed that he must’ve ran in just before your group did. Probably while you were all struggling with pulling the roof up.

“Hi there, storm messed with your plans, too?” Your sister scrunched her nose at him playfully. “Sorry if we woke you, by the way.” She was still rubbing your back.

“No, not at all! Um, I wasn’t actually sleeping or anything. I just ran in a few minutes ago, actually,” he said, “that storm really came out of nowhere! And there was nowhere else to stop… so, yeah.” he paused, then added “I’m Mark.”

You introduced yourselves, and Jaehyun asked if Mark wanted him to check the front desk for a towel for him.

“No, I’m okay, thank you,” he pulled his hood back and shook out his hair, running a hand down its front to calm it down. Something made you instinctively look to your side, and you caught Johnny quietly staring at Mark. His eyes looked different when he wasn’t smiling. He glanced back at you, and that blank expression disappeared just as quickly.

Johnny took that as a chance to address you. “Hey, could I talk to you for a second?” When you nodded, his hand brushed gently against your wrist and led you to a more private space.

“I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier.” He leaned into you, his voice soft. “It wasn’t my intention…”

“Don’t worry about it,” was all you could scrape together. You’d be lying if you said this hadn’t caught you off-guard. That being said, you still kept your defenses up. You were a naturally wary person. To be honest, you weren’t even sure what he was apologizing for.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, so…” You trailed off. You used to be so much better at talking.

“Didn’t I? Asking you to share a room with a stranger you barely just met,” he gave a soft laugh, and you could feel his warm breath on your face. Peppermint. Was it just you or was he closer now than when the conversation started?

Feeling the heat rising to your cheeks, you realized you needed to end this exchange soon—you weren’t ready for whatever this is. Willing yourself to continue, you said “you were just being considerate. I can understand that.”

“Is that so? Well, we’re in room two if you change your mind,” he countered, only half-joking, a glint of whatever you caught in his eyes earlier still there.

“But hey,” he said, as he reached to take his jacket off, “it’s chilly out here, so at least let me give you this.” He draped it over your shoulders and walked away, letting his reiterated offer hang without rejection.

* *

The rain outside was relentless. The gaps in the wood of the windows had the cold wind whistling through them, and rattled the glass rhythmically. It made your bones feel damp. Your sister had you wrapped in a tight hug both for her warmth and yours.

Quite the opposite from how you were feeling, these circumstances had her vibrating with excitement at all the possibilities. She adored movies where a random ensemble of characters were stuck together and had to find ways to get along.

Much to your sister’s disappointment (and your relief) Jaehyun and Johnny had went up to their room soon after that encounter. Thanks to the lack of Wi-Fi, she had spent her time so far pestering Mark out of boredom. As the conversation went on, he had loosened up and politely entertained her with whatever random topic she sprang on him.

It was just like your sister to quickly get people to open up to her wherever she went. But soon enough, even she was running out of things to talk about with Mark.

The pause in the conversation left enough room for your sister’s ears to perk up, picking up on the noise coming from down the hall. Considering the fairly small size of the rest stop, and the fact that you watched the two men walk into the room right across from the few steps leading up to the corridor, you could somewhat see their door from here if you strained your eyes hard enough at the dark.

The gap between the door and the floor told you that their lights were still on, and seeing the shadows moving around was the final push your sister needed to bounce up and practically skip there, dodging your desperate hands that clambered to pull her back down.

“Shh, I’m bored, I’ll just go see what they’re up to, that’s all!” She giggled. Your heart just threw itself against your ribcage miserably, in slow but heavy thumps. All the will in your legs escaping, you accepted that you probably wouldn’t be able to get yourself to stand up and follow her. You were under an invisible binding spell. So you and Mark watched her disappear down the short corridor.

She knocked a musical tone on the wood of their door, and it opened in no time, unleashing the light from their room and illuminating their silhouettes. Judging by the size of it, you guessed that it was Johnny. His head bobbed, going along with whatever she was saying to him.

He stepped aside, and your body tensed even more when you saw her go in. From here, it was hard to make out his features as he stood still, facing you. Was he looking your way? He held that position for a little longer before finally closing the door and drowning the corridor back in shadows, making it seem darker than it was before.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the corridor. It was as though everything stood still as you watched that door. Almost like all your surroundings shifted, steadily bringing you and that door closer, everything else around you disappearing.

Mark cleared his throat, asking “are you okay?”

That made you snap out of your hyper-focused state, sparing him a glace before returning it to the corridor. “I think so. Sorry.”

“Um… Do you wanna, like, go after her?”

You nodded, almost as though you were given validation to move. Just as you braced yourself to get up, the door opened again. The sight of Johnny stalking down the corridor and coming towards you made you stop, confused.

He sank down into the space next to you, casually flashing you a smile. “Hi again.”

You gave him a curt nod in reply, before impulsively shifting your gaze away. When your eyes found him again, through a great deal of effort on your part, they lingered this time. At that, his eyebrows went up inquisitively.

“Is everything okay?” He finally asked.

Before you could answer, you jumped at the sight of your sister already approaching you with Jaehyun on her tail. You really must’ve been out of it staring at Johnny…

As they maneuvered to find an empty spot to sit, the pair had ditzy smiles across their faces, and you could even see a hint of childish mischievousness.

“You won’t believe what Jaehyun here had in his suitcase,” your sister teased, both of her hands holding something behind her back. “Which was immaculately organized, by the way. But…” She pulled out a long rectangular box, and it took you a moment before you recognized that it was a Jenga tower. “Who the hell travels around with this thing?”

All four of them laughed at your sister’s presentation, and you felt like the odd one out for not having it in you to laugh along with them. Your sister plopped down in the space between Jaehyun and Mark, and began setting up the tower on the short coffee table that stood between the two couches.

“We might as well make use of it, right? You’re all playing,” she said. After that, it was mostly quiet as she finished working on it. It wasn’t plain wood like what you usually saw on TV, but instead with blocks tinted red and green.

“How about you go first?” You found your sister pointing at you excitedly. Now that she was guaranteed time spent together with everyone for at least the duration of one game, she was practically bouncing in her seat. And you knew perfectly well that she didn’t plan on letting it end after only one round.

“Let’s go!” Mark clapped, saying your name to hype you up.

You reached out and plucked an easy red block towards the top of the tower, which you were eager to set back on the very top to get everyone’s eyes off of you.

“Not so fast,” your sister said, finger twirling playfully in the air, urging you to pick the block back up. When you did, you noticed a line of small print on the underside of the block:

Whisper one of your deepest, darkest secrets to the person on your left.

Truth or dare. You never thought it was something that you would have to come across again as an adult. When participating was unavoidable, you had always defaulted to truths. But looking at it now, you concluded that the green blocks must be truth and the red ones must be dare. Although this one felt awfully a lot like both.

“Well?” She pushed, “read it aloud!”

“Whisper one of your deepest, darkest secrets to the person on your left,” you read, and Johnny perked up as he held his long hand up to his ear. Pathetically, your own hand shook as you leaned forward to set the block back.

“The darker the better,” Johnny winked at you.

“Oh. Well…” For starters, telling him anything personal was out of the question. What was something believable you could come up with on a whim? Finally, you leaned into him as close as you could get yourself to go (which wasn’t very close at all) and whispered “I cheated on my college final.”

“That’s all you got?” He feigned an expression of disbelief.

“That’s all I got.” You said, deflecting.

“You’re welcome to give us a dark secret of your own then, mister the darker the better,” your sister teased, earning a playful nudge from Jaehyun, who seemed to be enjoying driving Johnny into a corner.

“Oh, trust me, I have plenty,” Johnny’s tone was lighthearted, but your eyes met his and you caught that same look from before, lurking just beneath the surface. He didn’t look away, almost like he was pausing to savor your discomfort, so you broke eye contact first and cleared your throat.

“Mark, your turn.”

When you glanced up at Mark, you caught his eyes darting from you to Johnny. Too caught up in whatever was going on between you two, you had failed to notice that Mark was somehow under the same blanket of tension. Or at the very least, he was an observer. Had Johnny noticed?

Mark mirrored you in clearing his throat, then pushed a finger into a block towards the middle of the tower. A green one stuck out on the other side, and he reached around to take it. Truth.

“What is the most childish thing you still do?” He read.

“And try to limit it to one, kid,” Johnny stared ahead at Mark, his calculated smile delayed.

So he had noticed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark said, although he was visibly trying to keep his tone light. Meanwhile, a laid-back Jaehyun still had his amused smile on as he watched Johnny. When Johnny didn’t comment, Mark moved past it and gave a half-baked answer to his prompt.

“Finally!” Your sister gave an exaggerated sigh, probably relieved to have the focus shifted away from Mark and Johnny’s strange tension. She went straight for a red block, picking out a dare. “Hm, dance with no music for one minute… See, no, that’s no way to treat the game master.”

“Game master?” Jaehyun echoed, grinning.

“Yep. You may be the landlord for packing the Jenga, but I dug the thing out, so I hereby officially declare myself game master. Everyone kneel—or actually, I’ll settle for some singing this time.”

Johnny held a conceding palm out to Jaehyun, who pondered for a moment before slipping into smooth singing. You weren’t surprised by how it sounded just as rich and smooth as his speaking voice did.

“I fall in love too easily,” he sang extra slowly, earning a smack on his shoulder from your sister for picking a ballad, followed by some passionate head-banging as she pretended to dance at a rock concert.

“I fall in love too fast,”—his voice broke at ‘fast’ as he held back his laughter—“I fall in love too terribly hard,”—it was getting harder for him to maintain his composure when Mark and Johnny didn’t share his reservations, with Mark clapping like a seal right next to him—”for love to ever last... Okay, okay, I think the minute is up. You’re gonna dislocate something.”

Out of breath, she flopped back down onto the couch, hands busy fixing her wild hair. “Your turn,” she panted to Jaehyun, “And don’t be lame. Dares only.”

“Okay, dare it is,” he laughed. Then proceeded to laugh even harder when he read out his dare. “Serenade the person of your choosing.”

Needless to say, of course your sister was serenaded twice in one night.

The game went on for a while, with Johnny, Jaehyun, and your sister routinely picking dares. The group would eventually get loud enough to warrant an occasional scowl from the old lady at the front desk, until it was late enough for her to call it a day and disappear into a door tucked away behind the counter.

Meanwhile, you and Mark had mostly stuck to truths, as the Jenga tower grew more and more unstable. It was Mark’s turn again when he picked yet another green block.

“Name one thing you’d do if you knew there would be zero consequences.” He read in a drowsy voice, going on to give a quick answer. “I don’t know, I guess I’d knock some snacks out of that vending machine. I don’t know why I said that, I wouldn’t actually do that. I really am getting kinda hungry, though…”

“Your mind went straight to burglary? You guys better watch your bags tonight,” Johnny said, and what you assumed was supposed to be a humorous jab came across a little too sharp-tongued. Everyone’s energy levels had been depleting over the past couple of hours spent on the lobby’s less than ideal couches.

“I’m sorry, do you have some kind of problem with me?” Mark retorted.

“I don’t know, should I?” Johnny said.

“Dude, if you have something to say to me, just say it.”

Your sister pushed herself off the couch. “Well, I’ll go use the bathroom until you guys figure this out like big boys.”

“Nice and condescending, yeah?” Johnny said, not bothering to look up at her as she retreated to their room.

Jaehyun hid his evident enjoyment long enough to hold both of his hands up and say “okay, guys, how about we take a break?”

“Nah, I’m good.�� Johnny shot back, his face anything but. His demeanor was scarily calm throughout the entire exchange.

That cold atmosphere went on for the next few rounds. You hadn’t forgotten that you were merely attempting to get along with strangers you knew nothing about. Johnny with his two sides, all calculated smiles and concealed stares. Jaehyun with his eerily laid-back demeanor and strange enjoyment of the conflict. And Mark. You didn’t know what to think of him yet.

With the added tension, you stopped trying to look up at any of them.

Before you knew it, it was your turn again. Would this cursed game ever end? So far, you had exclusively picked truths and lied your way through all of them. Your eyes scanned the tower over several times, before you gave up finding a green block that was stable enough. You picked your second dare of the night, this time voluntarily.

Let the group look through your phone for one minute.

A whole host of reasons rushed through your mind at how bad of an idea that was. At the very least, they would know that the only contact on your phone was your sister. You had virtually no pictures, and no apps. Everything pointed to your ghost-like life, so empty and unremarkable that it was practically a burner phone.

“Well?” Jaehyun said.

“I don’t want to do this one.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Johnny asked.

“She just told you she’s not comfortable with whatever it is, though.” Mark spoke up, having mostly kept his silence for the past few rounds.

Johnny reached for the block in your hand, and your body flinched involuntarily, the block flying out of your hand and skidding across the floor.

“Whoa,” Johnny hung back, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t gonna do anything.”

“I think you’re scaring her, Johnny.” Jaehyun said, his voice ominously quiet. Was there a hint of a smile in his voice? Were you imagining things?

“Am I?”

No one said anything for what felt like a long moment, until finally, as if on queue, your sister was back in the lobby.

“What did I miss?” She said, entirely missing the atmosphere of the room.

Johnny reached forward and tugged one of the legs the tower was supporting itself on. The entire thing came crashing down.

“Oh.” She stopped midway, hovering awkwardly next to them. “Okay then.”

“Good night.” Johnny said, getting up and giving you a brief pat on the head, before slowly making his way back to their room. Your scalp felt like pop rocks as you watched him walk away.

* * *

It was past midnight. Now it was just the two of you again, along with Mark. Your sister was sleeping soundly next to you, her head on your shoulder.

Mark was still awake on the couch across from you, but he was back to sitting quietly in the corner and avoiding eye contact. Save for the occasional accidental eye contact with you, which he responded to by sending a small smile your way before going back to aimlessly staring away.

His hands were curled around the warm thermos your sister had given him earlier. He set it down when the owner’s cat sauntered towards him, and patted his lap for it to come up. It deliberated for a moment, then jumped and curled up on him as he stroked it.

Your mind couldn’t help but go back to your interaction with Johnny, running it over in your head again and again until you had positively squeezed the life out of it. One minute he was cold and calculated, and the next he was the gentlemanly romantic lead. Or at least he knew how to make people perceive him that way.

You shivered—the weather was getting colder.

“Mm?” Your sister looked up at you, eyes barely able to open.

“It’s nothing, go to sleep,” you reassured her, then took the chance to get up now that her head was no longer resting on you.

The front desk was empty now, but you attempted to ring the bell on the counter anyway. A while of waiting made you accept that no one was coming. It was probably safe to assume the old lady ran this place by herself, and was most likely asleep by now.

You needed to go to the bathroom. A quick look around led you to a door with a sheet of paper taped to it, reading “Staff Only.” You twisted the doorknob, your guilt a second priority right now. Locked.

It might have been the hope of almost finding a bathroom, but suddenly your mild need for it turned into a more urgent one. You looked around some more, before cursing under your breath and going up the narrow staircase that led up to the rooms.

To your surprise, the hallway was very short. It was even darker than the lobby, so you gave your eyes some time to adjust. There were only three doors, the one in the center had a brass number 2 on it, and was right across from the staircase.

We’re in room two, if you change your mind, Johnny’s captivating voice played in your mind for what felt like the hundredth time. Feeling your heartbeat speed up again, you took deep breaths and willed yourself to calm down. The other rooms were under repair, but maybe their bathrooms weren’t.

First, you attempted to open the door with the brass 1 on it, but it didn’t budge. Then the one with the brass 3, but that one wouldn’t open either.

You clenched your fists and cursed your terrible luck. Would they even be awake?

After a lengthy struggle, consisting of an internal argument about whether you’d rather ask them for help or go out into the nearby wilderness in the middle of a storm, you knocked on the door of the second room.

As you waited, you glanced back down the stairs behind you, your eyes searching for your sister. She was now lying down on the couch, breathing deeply…

The door springing open made you jump, and Jaehyun was positively beaming in the center of the door frame. Following a quick scan, his smile faltered when he realized your sister wasn’t in tow.

He looked like he had just showered, his hair damp again, and his skin glowing. Johnny was stretched out on the bed behind him, awake.

“Welcome,” Jaehyun said, picking his spirit back up. “Did you change your mind?”

“No, but would you mind if I use your bathroom?” You died a little on the inside.

“Of course not, come in,” he made way for you, and you abandoned your last remaining shred of dignity as you sprinted to what you assumed was the bathroom. Jaehyun giggled behind you before you closed the door and finally got some privacy.

Despite being done, you stalled going back out, probably out of dread. You supposed it was in your favor that the bathroom was by far the cleanest place in the entirety of this pit stop. A quick look around told you that Johnny and Jaehyun were comfortably settled in. An electric shaver was strewn on the counter, and a travel-sized toothpaste tube lay feebly next to the sink, almost all used up. Peppermint.

Finally, you took a deep breath and opened the door. You were immediately met with Johnny, who was leaning on the wall by the bathroom, not even an arm’s length away. Behind him, Jaehyun was nowhere to be seen, and the door leading out of the room was closed.

Momentarily dizzied from the blood rushing to your head, you took a step back to create some distance.

He smiled sweetly, “the storm sure is taking a while to settle down. Where were you two on your way to, again?”

“Just a short trip. They’re expecting us back at work tomorrow.” You lied, knowing full well there was no one there who would notice your absence, save for your sister.

“Oh, you two work together? Jaehyun and I work together too, actually.”

His eyes watched you patiently as you flipped imaginary pages in your head, scrambling for something normal to say next. You felt like it would be the polite thing to do to continue the conversation, but your heart was beating too fast for that, which made you that much more nervous and jittery. Johnny seemed to be enjoying your visible anxiety. You weren’t sure if it was your imagination that his smile was getting wider. Something about it wasn’t so sweet anymore.

“I should get back. To the lobby, I mean. Thanks again.” He didn’t lock the door, did he? The nausea was creeping back up.

You speed-walked to the door like you used to do when you were little, when you were alone in the dark and scared of whatever thing that might snatch you and drag you away before you reached the light. You could only feel fear. Fear of how powerless you felt about everything.

It felt much longer than it should’ve but you reached the door. The hair on your neck stood and your breath quickened. You turned the knob, and it swung open.

In a hasty moment, you tripped at the first step of the stairs, and a big arm grabbed you around your waist. You could see Johnny’s profile in your peripheral vision, curling down for his cheek to meet the side of your head, slow breaths against your ear. His chest rose and fell gently against your back; he was holding on so tightly.

He felt like a solid wall, and you knew it was impossible for you to get away unless he was the one who chose to let go of you. He alone should’ve been able to pull up the car roof with ease.

“Back when we were playing that game,” he said, his voice so low you could barely hear it, “did you feel like I was gonna hurt you?”

What was he saying? You left his words unanswered as you were still engulfed by your silence.

From here, you could see that your sister was still sleeping peacefully, and Mark had his head turned away. Nevertheless, just having your sister in your sight helped soothe your nerves. That feeling was fleeting as Johnny spoke his next sentence.

“Are you scared of me?”

Trapped in what felt like an iron embrace, you opened your mouth but you still couldn’t make any noise come out. Some hunch or instinct, or maybe just pure chance, must’ve been what made Mark’s head turn your way out of nowhere.

He was staring for a while with an expression that told you he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. His eyes must’ve finally adjusted to the darkness of the hallway, because he suddenly got up, making the cat on his lap scuttle away offended.

“Dude, what are you doing?”

The entire building let out a groan, and whatever dim lights were there all blinked out simultaneously, plunging you into complete darkness. Johnny held on for a few more seconds before finally letting go. You ran down the steps without looking back.

Mark called your name, his voice alarmed, “is everything alright?”

Your throat was still squeezed shut, as you walked into something and stumbled in the dark until you felt your way to the couch your sister was on. Your hands found her sleeping from, and you shook her awake.

“Get up, we’re leaving,” finally finding your voice, you spoke sternly. She was still in a daze and clearly confused.

“Wha- what? What?”

“We’re leaving. I’m gonna call us a ride, I just need you to be awake with me,” you stammered. Your sister sat upright, most likely still processing.

Mark’s voice spoke up. “It’s pitch black outside, the roads around here aren’t lit very well. Did something happen? Are you okay?”

You couldn’t put it into words. The familiar dread that built up in your gut.

At this point, you just wanted to go home and shut yourself in again.

You ignored Mark, and ruffled through your bag for your phone. You went through every corner of it four times, your heart sinking deeper with each try. “My phone is gone. Where’s my phone?”

Without waiting for a reply, you tossed your bag aside and felt around for your sister’s this time. Also gone.

“Wait, mine’s not there either? That’s weird…” Your sister went through hers again for good measure, her voice thick with sleep. “Do you think we left them in the car?”

“No, I always have mine on me.” Something suddenly occurred to you. “I was awake the whole time, wasn’t I?”

You felt your sister shrug next to you. Hesitantly, Mark answered instead, saying “I don’t know, you both kinda drifted off at some point.”

“And you? You were awake?” You pushed.

“I was, yeah. I went to check on my Vespa for a second.” You couldn’t quite grasp what it was, but something was off about Mark’s voice.

Paranoia now had you firmly in its grip. You decided it was best to watch your words until you could see again. But you couldn’t stop a wave of helplessness from washing over you, making your limbs go cold.

“Could we borrow your phone, maybe?” You asked Mark. One final attempt.

“Oh, man, I sent it for repairs this weekend,” Mark said, apologetic. Why did his voice sound like that?

“Let’s go.” Resolute, you grabbed your sister’s arm and attempted to head towards the exit.

“Just give me a minute!” She said, releasing her hand from yours. “You go on and get the car started, okay?”

You hesitated, before making up your mind and following the only source of light, out into the storm.

The rain immediately battered down on you, and if you thought it was cold in the lobby then this was absolutely freezing. You could only barely make out the silhouettes of the parked cars.

If you just turned on the headlights all the way, the two of you could probably drive through the dark. And if you kept moving, the rain wouldn’t bother you. You had the keys ready in your hands, and you were grateful that at least they were still in your sister’s bag. Maybe you really did forget your phones in the car, after all.

But something was squirming in your gut, making your stomach do desperate flips as you jumped into the driver’s seat, slamming the door behind you.

You slid the key in the ignition and turned. Nothing. Not even the sound of the engine trying to start. The sounds of the howling wind and heavy rain carried on.

Reaching for the glove compartment, your hands found the flashlight, and a weak beam of light pierced its way through the darkness. You stepped out of the car, wrapping your other arm around yourself to stop from shaking. When the hood of your car was open and you shined the light at its interior, you doubted your eyes.

The battery was gone.

You were just silent. Your own worse fears coming into realization right before your eyes. After what felt like a second and an eternity of staring down at the empty spot in the hood, you felt a light touch on your arm when your sister joined you by your side. She looked exhausted, her breathing heavy. Calling over the storm, she said, “should we ask them if they can do something about this?”

Your head snapped to her in bewilderment. Could you be wrong? You doubted yourself for a second, but then got a grip back. There was no other explanation. You were stuck here, and it was too late to speak up. The words collided into themselves and were left mangled somewhere in your throat. But you had to say something, anything.

“Listen,” you started, and she looked at you attentively, concern clouding her face, “I think—”

“Is something wrong?” A voice spoke up from behind you. Jaehyun. Again.

“We were just talking about you!” Your sister chimed. “Take a look at this. Think someone stole it?”

You were dumbfounded as he leaned in between the two of you to take a closer look at the car’s contents.

“Mmm,” he didn’t look very surprised. He turned to your sister and said “we can give you a ride tomorrow morning. You might need to get it towed.”

“Okay... I can barely hear you. Let’s go inside?” She turned to you. Your face must’ve looked terrible because she did a slight double take and put her hand on your shoulder. “Come on.”

Shining the flashlight ahead, the three of you walked back to the rest stop.

When you were back inside, Mark was gone.

* * * *

At least an hour must’ve went by until Johnny was back. He didn’t acknowledge anyone as he came in, just silently sauntering past the lobby. He was completely soaked again from head to toe. Drops of dark water trailed behind him as he made his way back to their room.

You resolved that you would find a way to take your sister and leave any way you could. Maybe you would find a way to take their car. They were only human, they had to sleep sometime.

For now, Jaehyun was still in the lobby with the both of you.

“You don’t think he took our car battery and our phones, do you?” She was talking about Mark. Your sister was sitting next to Jaehyun and mostly addressed him, since she hadn’t gotten a word out of you after you failed to leave. Having Jaehyun hovering around took away any of your will to speak up.

“He didn’t seem like the type…” She trailed off, still thinking about Mark.

The night felt longer, probably because of the changing seasons, but it might as well still have been midnight. You lost track of how much time was going by and doubted yourself when you remembered that this has all been just one long day. The power was still out. You had the flashlight off to conserve its battery.

Down the hall, you heard the room open, and after a minute you felt the cushions next to you gently sink with a familiar weight.

“I found some candles and lit them in our room,” Johnny’s voice spoke up. You could only see his outline and features like a hazy dream. You avoided looking at his face. You were too tired.

There was a soft, dancing reddish light coming from their room now. Gently, Johnny spoke again. “It’s too dark out here, isn’t it? Let’s go inside.”

Your sister shifted, and you noticed for the first time how close she had been sitting to Jaehyun. Were they holding hands? You didn’t know if your mind was playing tricks on you. She got up before your eyes could decide what they were looking at.

“I need to wash up,” she said, sounding just as tired as you felt. Getting up, you followed her to their room. You couldn’t care less if you looked completely unhinged, sitting on the floor right in front of the bathroom door after she closed it.

“You two are so close,” Johnny spoke though the dark, face hidden in the shadows cast by the candle light. You still refused to look up at him, but you could hear the tone of amity. The candles on the night stand behind him exaggerated the size of his shadow and made it dance over you.

“You look tired,” his voice was gentle, surreal, “get some rest.”

You hugged your knees closer to your chest, fighting to keep your eyes open. The sound of the water running in the bathroom was steady. Your eyes kept rolling back into your head, and you kept dragging them back into focus…

But they were so unfocused…

And the steady stream of the shower ran…

And everything swayed in the candle light…

Everything swam…

and the water ran…

and ran…

You dreamed that Johnny was carrying you and wading through a crimson sea. Gently. Gently.

You were floating in crimson.

Or was he the one floating?

Daylight. Your body woke up with a jolt, eyes snapping open. The first thing that screamed out at you was how incredibly sore your body was. It must’ve been from all the tension that you had built up. You were curled up on your side, holding your own body close.

Small mountains of white sheets were piled up around you, and strips of sunlight draped over the bed and made their way to your skin. It was so silent; last night’s storm almost felt like a distant dream.

Moving excruciatingly slow, you lifted your head and looked around. Your heart hammering in your chest when you saw that Johnny was sleeping over in the other bed, his large frame rising and falling slowly with each breath.

The bathroom door was open, and you could see from here that it was empty, too. It was only the two of you in this room.

Logically, you knew that there was still a possibility that Jaehyun and your sister chose to sleep on the couches outside. But there was a pit in your stomach that crippled you. It made it hard to move. Hard to think.

As quietly as you had it in you to move, you left the bed. The cold floor against your feet made you notice for the first time that you were barefoot. Good. With quiet footsteps, you made your way to the bathroom to double-check. The floor was wet under your feet, like someone had walked in from the lobby straight to the bathroom not that long ago.

But just like you suspected, it was empty. The curtains drawn shut over the bathtub caught your eyes, but one look at the material told you that it would be too noisy to try and move it right now. It was too quiet for anyone to be sleeping there, anyway.

You turned back towards the bedroom door, taking glances behind you to make sure Johnny was still asleep. You didn’t take your eyes off of him as your hand gripped the doorknob and turned it. It opened without resistance, and you peeked outside at the lobby past the staircase. Empty.

Trying to slow your breaths and breathe more quietly only proved to make things worse for you. It was as though you were running out of air. Before you could give your brain more time to panic, despite your overwhelming instinct to just run out and start calling for your sister, you walked back towards Johnny, who looked so peaceful in his sleep that your own panicked state was almost laughable.

At this point, you must’ve gone out of your mind, because suddenly you found yourself fighting the urge to laugh. You were hysterical. You had to stop and put your hands over your face, as your body shook with silent laughter, but tears started to stream down your face.

Thoughts of your sister were racing through your mind. Maybe she really was cuddling up to Jaehyun last night. Maybe they went somewhere together. Maybe she thought she’d be back before you woke up.

But you knew deep down that she wouldn’t leave you behind. You were so convinced of that, that any what ifs you tried to feed to your worry, to keep it from consuming you, just felt forced.

You knew she wouldn’t leave you because she knew how fragile you were after what happened last year. You were so fragile, you saw everything through the lens of a horror movie. With your own little cast of strangers.

Something caught the light just outside of your line of vision, halting your chaotic train of thought. Your hands wiped away any tears that lingered on your eyelashes so you could see more clearly. There, carelessly tossed away on the nightstand by his bed, a set of keys were reflecting the sunlight. Among them was a car key.

Well, if you really were crazy, then you might as well see where it led you.

The closer you came to Johnny, the harder it was to breathe. Until you couldn’t bear to do anything but hold your breath. Finally, when the keys were within your reach, your hand closed around them. There was only the slightest sound of scraping against the wood of the nightstand.

With no time for you to worry about the sound the keys had just produced, Johnny’s hand shot up and grabbed your wrist. But it didn’t stop. His grip got tighter and tighter until the ends of his fingers yellowed, and your hand shook and dropped the keys with a clatter. Even so, he didn’t release his grip.

“Where were you gonna go?” He spoke slowly.

“It depends—where’s my sister?” You shot back, voice shaking.

He laughed quietly. He had a gentle laugh. Finally letting go of your wrist, his hand instead brushed through his hair. “I told her you might get worried. You must’ve gotten a scare… Sorry about that.”

You turned to him with an inquisitive look, hanging onto his words. He looked sleepy and relaxed, his hair tousled. Not like someone who almost broke your wrist less than a minute ago.

“Jaehyun told me about all our phones going missing, and your car battery. That Mark might’ve made away with them or something. He and your sister went to pick up a new one.” He explained. And as you listened, your heart sank.

“Okay. Please take me to her, then.”

“You know, I think they wouldn’t have minded some time alone, too,” he chuckled, “but sure, if you’re so worried. I’ll take you.”

Passing through the lobby, you noticed the old lady was back at the front desk. Were you brave enough to finally say something? Everything in your body screamed at you not to, straining your muscles into place.

Your heartbeat quickened, and you used any strength you had left and turned to approach her. Before you could go on, you felt Johnny’s hand hold onto your upper arm and pull you closer, wrapping you into a hug by his side.

“Let’s not waste any time,” he whispered, and held on as he led you all the way out of the rest stop. He only let go of you when you were in the shadow cast by his giant car.

The day you stopped for the car picnic, you had parked farther away on the left side of it, but as you approached the other side of his car this time, you saw what had been obscured by the SUV. A turquoise Vespa came into view.

Mark’s.

Seeing it sent goosebumps down your back and up your neck, but you dragged yourself away. You couldn’t afford to comment on it right now, not to Johnny. You would talk to your sister when you saw her…

A sting creeping into your eyes warned you of incoming tears, but you blinked them away rapidly, not ready to face a possible reality. When you saw your sister, you would tell her everything you had on your mind and you wouldn’t care who might be listening in.

Johnny was making his way to the driver’s side when you spoke up abruptly, before you could help yourself. “One more thing?”

“What is it?”

“I just want to get something from the car. My sister’s car.”

“Go ahead,” he leaned an arm over the car roof as he waited for you.

In the trunk, a few thermos flasks were stacked neatly to the side, with small labels taped to them, reading “12” and “24” and “48.” Your sister had always been meticulous when it came to packing. This would be all you had of her with your right now. You found the one labeled with the number twelve, and hugged it close to your chest. Twelve would do.

For now, you walked with your own two feet right to what felt like your doom, and hoisted yourself up into his car. A second after you got in, all the locks snapped shut.

* * * * *

He drove with the two of you in silence for a while, his eyes focused on the road, one hand on the steering wheel. You were getting farther and farther away from the rest stop, in a stranger’s car, your sister nowhere in sight.

Reality finally crashed into your chest like an icy wave. The tears you were holding back fell down your cheeks, making your chest heave in small, irregular breaths.

Incoherent thoughts raced through your head, and you started hyperventilating, your seemingly never-ending tears threatening to choke you.

“Hey, hey,” Johnny reached his other hand out, the one that wasn’t on the steering wheel, and brushed his long fingers against your face, lulling you, “deep breaths. In… out… that’s right. Just like that. In… out…”

Your rattled breathing slowed, your mind halted.

He didn’t turn your way once, his cold stare on the road, face expressionless. But his voice was gentle. Effortlessly soothing. If you looked hard enough at his face, maybe you could find something you wanted to find. Maybe it wasn’t cold. Maybe he was just tired.

“What are you so afraid of? You’re safe. Everything’s going to be okay.”

He sounded so reassuring that for a long moment you doubted that anything out of the ordinary had happened today. Maybe you were just imagining everything. Maybe your isolation had finally gotten to you.

You were glad someone kind like Johnny was here to look after you.

Taking his outstretched hand into your own, you nestled your face into his palm and closed your eyes.

“Good girl,” he said.

That was the last thing he said for a while.

Hours must have passed by the time you realized you had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. Orange hues now stretched across the sky in broad strokes, clouds almost dissipated. Next to you, Johnny was still silently driving, soaked in the orange light. Everything was so saturated, it looked like a painting.

“How did Jaehyun leave without his car?” You asked, your voice coming out small.

“This is my car,” Johnny said. “But we came with two. I told you, we work together.”

“Oh.” Somehow, the more time you spent with them, the more you didn’t have it in you to know more about them. Ask about their life or what they did for a living.

“You know, I had this car modified. It’s sound proof. And bullet proof, even.”

“Hm.”

The silence was strangely comfortable now. You closed your eyes and leaned your head back on the headrest.

“You cold?” He asked.

“No.” You said, your hands unconsciously pulling in his jacket tighter around your frame. “I never thanked you for giving me your jacket… Here. I want you to have this,” you handed him the warm thermos. The last thing you had of your sister’s.

Somehow, you felt like everything would be okay. Just like he said it would be. He gave a grateful smile and took slow mouthfuls from the flask, as you watched the sun outline him through his window.

The trees that were scattered more sparsely before now gathered into denser bunches the farther along the road he drove. Before you knew it, you were driving into the middle of a forest thick with pine trees. The car rocked left and right underneath you as the ground grew wilder. At some point, all directions started looking identical.

Eventually, the car slowed into a stop and he cut the engine. You were surrounded by nothing but trees, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. “Get out,” Johnny said, not looking your way.

The silent bubble you were in was broken by a rush of cold wind when he opened his own door, stepping out. Following him out into the forest, the smell of pine twined with the cold air seeped into your lungs. The silence was only broken by the sound of Johnny’s and your shoes against the vegetation.

Your body felt so heavy with sleep, it only exaggerated your dream-like state of mind. The orange light of the sunset warmed you to your core. You were the calmest you’ve been in a very long time, as you followed him deeper and deeper into the forest.

“Where are we?” Your own voice sounded jarring against the silence.

“Jaehyun likes it here. It’s quiet, and there are no eyes around. I’m just making a guess that they made a stop here.”

The trees parted and the sea revealed itself for the first time. It had been years since you were this close to it, and the air coming through over the water felt nice on your face.

Johnny had stopped walking ahead of you, and you were now the one in the lead. You stopped as soon as you got to the edge of the water, staring down at the crimson ripples.

There was a trail in the sand that looked awfully a lot like something heavy had been dragged away, back towards the thick of the trees.

“Why are we here, Johnny?”

Johnny’s arms reached around from behind you, slowly, wrapping you into a snake-like embrace, his broad hands curling around your frame. His movement was tentative, like he was giving you a chance to pull away.

It was quiet for a while before either of you said anything.

“Back when we were playing that game,” he repeated, before stopping to recollect his thoughts, and starting again, “look, I know I haven’t known you for long. But this whole time, I was watching you, you know.”

“It’s just… Something about you seems off,” he continued, “You’re scared of everything. And there’s the way you walk all folded into yourself… I wasn’t sure at first. I thought maybe you were just having a bad day. Then I thought maybe that guy Mark was bothering you or something. Until you flinched at me like I was gonna hurt you.”

For the first time, nerves were evident in his voice, “like… I don’t know, like that’s something you’re used to. Like you’re in trouble… Or you’re trying to hide from it.” He paused to take a shaky breath, his words dripping with uncertainty, his voice odd. Just like Mark’s had been.

“You seemed like you’ve been trying to say something these past couple of days. No one is around here right now, you can talk to me. Whatever is going on with you, I think I can help.”

You kept your eyes ahead of you, watching the sea. There was nothing you could say or do now. You understood now that last year’s events had their claws on you too deep to shake off. You were a haunted house.

Like how he had been holding you back at the corridor, his embrace lingered. But this time, he let it linger indefinitely. It was comfortable.

You don’t know how long the two of you just stood there in silence. Over time, his grip loosened just a little but kept hold. Then it loosened more, until it completely slipped away from you. There was a loud thud behind you when he hit the ground, but you didn’t turn around. Caught on watching the crimson ripples for a moment longer.

You still had twelve hours.

That would be enough.

When you finally turned around to face his slumped body, your eyes didn’t go up to scan the forest. Instead, you trained all of your focus on Johnny, because you knew everything counted on these next coming moments. Because you couldn’t let things end like they did last time.

Getting down on your knees, you pushed his heavy body until he was flat on his back. Then you put your hands around his neck and squeezed.

You knew how hard you needed to do it to cut off someone’s air supply. How long you needed to keep it cut off until it was too late. So you knew your limits perfectly well, and how to do it just enough to be convincing. Just enough not to really hurt him.

And when your hands finally withdrew from his neck, you stayed perfectly frozen in place, not moving a muscle or making a sound until you could make sure that he was drawing the shallowest of breaths again.

Finally, your hands roamed his pockets until you found his car key. Your grip wrapped around it tightly.

A rustle and the crunching of leaves told you that your spectator had finally come out of hiding. The crunching stopped as your sister walked onto the sand of the small beach. She was scanning your face carefully. In her hand, a long metallic baseball bat.

“I almost thought you wouldn’t be able to do it.” She said, proud.

“You told me I would develop a taste for it sooner or later.”

“And I guess I was right, huh,” she teased, nothing different from the usual way she spoke. She didn’t let go of the baseball bat as she raced towards you and drew you into a big hug. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe it’s finally happening! We’ll be so good together!”

Your body tensed up, and she withdrew to look at your face. “Something wrong?”

“No! No. I’m just… tired.” You pulled her back into the hug, spinning your bodies ever so subtly. Shifting her view away from Johnny.

“You’re acting weird. Are you mad at me?” She said.

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“You could barely stand looking at me after last time.”

You mustered up everything in you to stop your voice from wavering. “Because it was my first time ever seeing anything like that. There was… so much blood. There was so much blood on you, I would see it again in my mind every time I looked at you.”

She drew away from you again to give you an understanding look, before saying “Well, now you can do things your own way. No blood. Right?”

“Right.”

“We’re in this together, right?” She beamed at you. You nodded in a silent reply.

“You’re avoiding my eyes again,” her face dropped into a cold stare almost instantly.

“I’m not… I told you, I’m just tired. I wanna go home.”

“I know I promised we wouldn’t do anything this time… But you know I can’t keep doing this alone. It just doesn’t feel the same. We’ve always done everything else together, and I wanted you to finally accept this side of me.

"You accept it now, don’t you? You just did it, too. You just killed someone! We’re the same now,” her eyes were shining as she kept filling the silence. “How did it feel?”

“It felt… It- it felt,” you stuttered, “I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. I want to go home now. Please?” You felt the urge to throw up, which you held down by swallowing your bitter saliva repeatedly.

Thoughts of Jaehyun and Mark weighed heavy on your mind, and thoughts of what she would do if she noticed Johnny’s shallow breaths made your body start shaking out of your control.

“Wow, you’re really taking this hard. Shhh,” she held you to her side, supporting you back into the woods, “it’s okay. It’s okay…”

“Is Jaehyun here? Is he somewhere in this forest?”

“He is.” Her reply was curt.

“And Mark?”

“Poor baby…” she cooed like she was talking about a wounded puppy, “he followed me right out into the storm. So eager to help. After I was done with him, he had to spend the night out in the rain. I had to lay his body in the bathtub the morning after, early enough while you were all sleeping.”

“Oh.” Bathtub… Bathtub…

You left her with him. Why did you leave?

“Anyway, we’ll need to actually go get a battery now. I don’t think the one I took out is usable anymore.”

“Hm.”

“Which car do you wanna take back? I got Jaehyun’s keys. It’s a pretty nice car. He had good taste in music, too.”

Had… You were the one who agreed to stay at the rest stop.

And it cost two people their lives. 

Your step faltered. “Johnny’s.”

She side-eyed you, “you’re talkative. Okay then, lead the way.”

It felt as though your blood had entirely escaped your body by the time you were back by the car. The keys were clutched so tightly in your hand that you wouldn’t have been surprised if they drew blood. You doubted that you would’ve felt it right now.

“Can I drive?” You asked.

“Ooh. Are you sure?”

“I think so.”

She gave you a proud look once again, and she threw the baseball bat into the car before she finally got into the passenger seat. You, on the other hand, had been pretending to circle around to the driver’s side after having used the remote control key to activate the locks. Ten more seconds before deadlock would be activated.

Nine… You walked as slowly as you could, but not slow enough to draw any suspicion.

Eight… What would happen to her if you turned her in?

Seven… What would happen to Johnny if you didn’t? And every other person after?

Six… She said she wanted you two to be together. You would be. You were just as guilty.

Five… You were positive that these were the longest ten seconds of your life. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Four… Your eyes betrayed you as they stole a worried glance at her.

Three… She held your eyes for a moment, before you watched a slow change in her expression.

Two… Her eyes went wide, realization dawning on her face. She lunged at the door, and—

One.

You couldn’t hear her screams as she thrashed at the door handle, shouting something at you. Then, all at once, she stopped. There was a crazed expression on her face as she pulled out her baseball bat. She waved at you before pointing at it, giving you a wild smile.

Your heart sank. Your knees weakened under you and made you slump to the ground like a rag doll, using your arms to brace yourself against the soil of the forest.

It was over.

You had ruined everything.

Of course it wouldn’t have worked.

You betrayed her.

What were you thinking?

She swung the bat at the window by the passenger’s seat, and you couldn’t do anything but watch in stunned silence as she bounced right against the glass. Coming back for a more charged swing than the one before it, she bounced back as harshly as she had swung.

And then you remembered why you couldn’t hear her screams one bit from out here. Johnny had modified the car. It was soundproof. Bulletproof.

You scampered away from the car, your legs still refusing to carry you. She wasn’t giving up, baseball bat bouncing off the glass over and over again. When she finally stopped, staring into your eyes like an animal whose leg got caught in a bear trap, your heart hammered so loudly that it was all you could hear.

Please, she mouthed at you.

She was bargaining.

You weren’t sure which stage weighed heavier on you, this or the anger from earlier. She dropped the bat and splayed both of her hands against the glass.

Her eyes were so wide, so scared, that you had to fight the urge to run back to her and unlock the door. She was all you had. Your sister, your best friend. You only had each other.

But you knew that more than anything you could give her, she needed help. And you needed help. If you went on living like this for any longer, you were sure you would only lose your mind more and more. That was if you hadn’t already lost it.

You took a deep breath and looked her squarely in the eyes, then you shook your head no.

Her face broke down into a silent sob as she slapped her hands at the unmoving glass. Crying for the freedom she knew she had just lost. Grieving for it.

Then you were reminded that the stages of grief weren’t always linear. Because just as quickly, she was back to anger, and your hand went up over your mouth as you watched her bang her head against the glass.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Maybe she was hoping you would let her out before she hurt herself too much. And then it dawned on you that this wasn’t anger. This was really just her final bargain.

You couldn’t do anything but sob quietly to yourself as you watched your sister. Before long, she grew sloppier and swayed against the glass until she finally gave out and collapsed.

Turning away, you walked back to where you had left Johnny, and followed the trail you had spotted earlier in the sand. Where it looked like someone had been dragged away.

Surely enough, Jaehyun was at the end of that trail, propped up under one of the thicker trees. His face was pale and peaceful, his back leaning against the tree as though he were sleeping. Your movements stuttered as you approached him.

Getting a grip on either side of his face, you pulled him forward. One look at the back of his head was enough to tell you that it was too late for him. You cried for the lives ruined and lost because of one reckless decision.

The more your adrenaline tapered off, the more your muscles reminded you of how sore you were, and the more the hammering of your headache increased. What now?

Call the police? None of you had your phones.

Drive back to the rest stop and do it from there? Your sister had the keys to Jaehyun’s car. The thought of unlocking the car and attempting to get the keys from her unconscious body spiked a horrible fear in you that you couldn’t possibly face right now.

Getting on your knees next to Johnny, you lied down on the sand and watched him as he slept.

You wondered if his neck would bruise, and whether he would be as sore as you were when he woke up.

You wondered how many hours were left until the sedative from the flask weakened in his system.

You wondered what he would do when he finally woke up.

You wondered about what kind of person he was, and whether he would still help you after he found out how much trouble you were really in.

When you noticed the first signs of his understanding, you were nothing short of terrified. The past year felt incredibly lonely. But the thought of someone finding out about the burden you carried was frightening.

You had never taken a life, but you were there when your sister did—and you were too damaged to say anything about it. All you had in you to do was shut yourself away from the world and live the life of someone who had died a year ago.

And as you wondered many things, your eyelids grew heavy. From here, it almost looked like Johnny was floating on the surface of the crimson sea. So you watched him and watched him until you couldn’t anymore.

copyright 2022 - 2025 © pearl-neo all rights reserved.

This work is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, but is licensed and protected under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international license. Any instances of plagiarism will be dealt with accordingly. Do not re-post or translate without my permission.

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[hwxnghyynjin]

Bloody Valentine

Pairing: jaehyun x reader, winwin x reader Genre: horror, angst, fluff Warnings: horror themes, gore, character death, swearing, mention of suicide, food mention, alcohol consumption Words: 16,406

Valentine's Day. The day that you hated with a passion. You hated seeing people in love, being all affectionate and lovey dovey in public. Why can’t people just do that in private? Whenever you saw people being in love, you felt sick. You don’t know why, maybe it’s because you didn’t have a great relationship with your parents, so you became this sort of affectionless person.

You didn’t have many friends in school, always staying by yourself. You were known as the ‘loner’, a nickname which stuck with you. You just didn’t really like people, always preferring to stay by yourself, avoiding all sorts of conflict with others. 

Every year when it was Valentines, you would see people throughout school giving love letters to their admirer, or sneakily hiding letters in someone’s locker for them to find. People never understood why you hated Valentine's Day so much, but you never told them why. Honestly, even you didn’t understand why, you just thought it was because you didn’t know how to love someone.

It was a few days before Valentines and, yet again, you were dreading it. You were sitting at the back of your class, doodling in your notebook while the teacher talked about something relating to society. Suddenly, the door opened and in came a boy that you don’t recognise, panting. It looked like he had run a marathon.

You had to do a double take because, who was this boy? A feeling inside your stomach that you don’t recognise bubbled up inside you. “Mr. Jung, why are you late?”, the teacher asked. “Sorry miss, I uhh missed the bus and had to run here”, the boy said, trying to catch his breath. 

“Just, don’t do that again please. There’s an empty seat at the back there next to y/n”, the teacher said as she continued on with the lesson, the boy sitting next to you. You took sneaky glances at him every now and then, wanting to get a good look at him. How have you never seen this boy in school before?

Here you were, at 18 sitting in the back of a classroom, admiring a guy that you’ve never met before. This was a new feeling for you and honestly, you were confused. Hell, you don’t even know the guy's name, only his last name. You felt stupid for feeling like this.

The guy next to you was looking through his bag, trying to find his pencil case, only to find out he forgot to put it in his bag. The only option he had was to ask you for one, but he felt nervous to talk to you. He always saw you by yourself and sorta felt… sorry for you? He didn’t know why. He wanted to talk to you but didn’t want to be rejected by you, so he opted not to. Only now, he had to talk to you.

“Uhm, y/n? Sorry to bother you but, do you have a pen? I forgot my pencil case at home”, he said, interrupting you from your doodling. You slowly lifted your head and looked at him, seeing him looking at you. “Uhhh, yeah, here you go”, you got a pen out of your pencil case and handed it to him, before going back to doodling. 

You suddenly remembered that you didn’t know his name so you stopped doodling in your notebook and turned to the boy next to you. You tapped his shoulder and he stopped writing, looking at you. As he looked at you, you noticed a sparkle in his eye, his orbs a chocolate brown. His lips twitched up into a small smile as you continued to look at him, not saying anything for a few minutes. A chuckle broke you out of your trance, shaking your head and looking at him with wide eyes.

“You ok there? You were staring”, he started smiling and you noticed he had dimples, which you just wanted to poke. Stop y/n, why are you thinking like that about someone you just met?

“Oh uhh yeah. I forgot to ask you. What’s your name?”, you asked after clearing your throat. “I’m Jaehyun. Nice to meet you, y/n”, and he put his hand out for you to shake, which you did. You shook his hand, which lasted for a few seconds. Everyone around you looked at the both of you, shocked by the fact you were actually interacting with someone.

You wanted to have a full conversation with him but you were scared, so you didn't talk to him for the rest of the lesson. The sound of the bell ringing alerted you, making you pack your things into your bag and dash out of the classroom, avoiding Jaehyun. You didn’t like the feeling bubbling up inside you and you wanted it to go away, so you avoided him, hoping that would work.

You continued on with your day as normal, sitting alone in the library when it was your break, and pretended as if Jaehyun didn’t exist. Jaehyun, however, continued to look at you from afar, feeling kinda hurt that you’re avoiding him. Yeah, he knows you’ve only just met and that you weren’t used to hanging out with people, but he still felt hurt.

The last bell of the day rang, telling you school has finally finished for the day. You dashed out of the front doors and ignored the shouts of your name, putting your headphones in and listened to music loudly. 

Cars drove past you as you walked home, music playing loudly in your ears. You were minding your own business, watching your feet as they step on the cracks in the pavement. You suddenly started thinking about Jaehyun again, his smile and dimples imprinted into your mind, butterflies forming in your stomach. You tried shaking the feeling away, but nothing worked. 

10 minutes later, you finally got home, unlocking the door and closing it once you were inside. You took your shoes off and placed them on the shoe rack, taking your headphones out of your ears and walked further into the house.

You saw your mother in the kitchen, cutting up some vegetables. Your father was nowhere to be seen, which didn’t surprise you. Your father was always working, so you never saw him. You didn’t know much of the company your father works for, but you do know that it’s something important, hence why you hardly see him.

Your mother felt a presence behind her, and saw you standing in the doorway, your backpack still on your back. “Hey, love. How was school?”, she asked as she continued focusing on chopping up some vegetables. “It was ok. Same old, same old”, you replied, not bothering to mention the boy who you met, wanting to forget about the new sudden feeling that still isn’t going away. 

Your mother just hummed at your response, not bothering to turn around to look at you. You’re not surprised at this point, turning back around and heading towards the stairs. Before you took one step, your mother called your name. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour”, she said, making you hum in response and heading up the stairs to your room. 

The only time you and your mother talk to each other are when you’re sitting at the dinner table, eating, whether it’d be breakfast or dinner. Other than that, you’re locked up in your room, listening to music or scrolling through social media, or sleeping.

You headed into your bedroom, closing the door behind you. You put your bag on your chair and jumped on top of your bed, sinking into the softness of your duvet.you laid on your back, staring up at the ceiling. You suddenly felt yourself smiling, thinking about Jaehyun. His cute smile and his dimples, his eyes filled with stars and his cheeks that look squishy.

No, y/n, stop it. You literally only just met him. He might be a creep for all you know.

After lying down for a few minutes, you thought it would be a good idea to get changed, so that’s what you did. You got up off your bed and went to your wardrobe, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. You stripped your current clothes off your body, threw them in the laundry basket and slipped on your sweats and t-shirt. 

You continued to lie on your bed, scrolling through social media. You scrolled through twitter, some kind of drama happening but, what’s new? It’s goddamn twitter, there’s always some sort of drama happening. You’re not sure how long you were scrolling through, but the distant sound of your mothers voice could be heard through your closed door, telling you that dinner was ready.

You got off your bed and left your bedroom, opening the door and patting your feet against the floor, you wandered downstairs and headed into the kitchen, seeing your mother putting two bowls onto the table. You sat down at the table, the aromas of chicken and vegetables hitting your nose. You grabbed a spoon and ate a spoonful of the soup, noises of content leaving your mouth.

You both ate in silence, the silence deafening, but you liked the quiet. The only noises that were heard were the sounds of slurping as you happily ate the soup. Though you enjoyed the quiet, you felt the need to tell your mother the truth about what happened in school.

“Mum? I need to tell you something about what happened in school today. I met a boy and I don’t know, I keep getting this feeling in my stomach whenever I think about him and I don’t know what to do about it”, you said to her, your mother looking at you. Your mother only chuckled at that, the first time you heard her chuckle in a while, which made you confused.

“That feeling that you’re experiencing? If I’m correct, I think you’ve developed a crush”, your mother said as she put her now empty bowl and spoon in the sink, washing them both before putting them away. She then walked out of the kitchen, leaving you alone at the kitchen table. You just sat there, your empty bowl just sitting there in front of you. You thought about what your mother said, and honestly? You were scared. You’ve never experienced having a crush on someone, so this is all new to you.

You tidied up and went back to your room, lying face down on the bed. You shoved your face into your pillow, and screamed into it. Luckily it was muffled so your mother wouldn’t hear it. You suddenly felt really tired and wanted to sleep, so you closed your eyes and drifted off.

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It was finally Valentine's Day and for the first time in your 18 years of living, you were sort of looking forward to it? Maybe it’s because of this new feeling you were experiencing. You did your usual morning routine and went downstairs. You didn’t bother getting any breakfast and rushed to put your shoes on, going out the door with your back hanging off of your shoulder. 

You managed to reach the school, seeing a couple of people walking through the doors as you followed them inside. You didn’t see a certain boy anywhere, and headed towards your locker. You put the things you didn’t need inside your locker, making sure nothing fell out. Suddenly, you felt a tap on your shoulder, and you turned around.

There stood the person who has been occupying your mind the past few days: Mr Jung Jaehyun.

You just stood there, frozen. He had a small smile on his face, and his dimples were showing. “Sorry, did I scare you? I didn’t mean to”, Jaehyun chuckled at your expression. You cleared your throat and stood up straight, fixing your bag on your shoulder. 

“No, you didn’t, it’s fine. What’s up?”, you awkwardly asked, not used to talking to someone, let alone a boy. “I was wondering if you wanted to be friends? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I understand that you like to be by yourself”, Jaehyun said, not wanting to be too forceful with his words.

You thought about his question for a moment. On one hand you wanted to agree. Like, yeah, you love being by yourself but at times, you do get lonely. On the other hand, you don't want any conflict if you do become his friend, since you’ve seen a lot of people around you have arguments with their friends. You opted for the first one, cause he seemed really sweet.

“Sure. I mean, I do get lonely at times so it would be nice to have someone to talk to. Besides, having a friend might bring me out of my shell and I’ll learn how to, you know, not act so cold”, you said, laughing lightly at the end of your sentence.

The bell suddenly rang, indicating that you should be in your first class of the day. “You have English first, right?”, Jaehyun asked as you both walked together. You nodded in response to his question, and saw him smile in the corner of your eye. “I do too. Let’s go”, Jaehyun said and lightly grabbed your arm, speed walking towards your class, nearly tripping in the process.

You entered the classroom, sitting in the back. The both of you sat down, getting your things out of your bag. “You remembered your pencil case today, right?”, you asked cheekily, remembering that he forgot his pencil case last time. And that he forgot to give you back your pen. Jaehyun chuckled at you, lightly kicking your leg so it didn’t hurt you.

Throughout the lesson, instead of doodling in your notebook, you spoke to Jaehyun and interacted with the class, surprising everyone. They weren’t used to seeing you so talkative, but they weren’t complaining. Even the teacher was happy to see that. You don’t know how you changed from this quiet, cold person to a happy, talkative person in a matter of minutes of becoming Jaehyun’s friend, but you’re glad.

As the day progressed, you felt yourself becoming more and more happier with yourself, and made you forget about why you hated Valentine's Day. You ate with Jaehyun, hung out outside instead of the library, opting for a change in scenery and environment. You can’t remember the last time you laughed so much. You didn’t realise how much you needed someone to talk to, and someone to be friends with. Luckily you managed to find that person.

The end of the day finally came, and you and Jaehyun were walking out the doors together. You were walking side by side, laughing at something he had said. You walked out the school gates and before you parted ways, Jaehyun stopped you. “Hey uhm I was wondering if you’re free on Saturday?”, he asked while shifting nervously on the spot. “I think so, why?”, you asked, your curiosity getting the better of you.

“Is it alright if I take you out on a date? Just to get some coffee or something, it doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be”, he scratched the back of his neck nervously, waiting for your answer. You thought about it for a moment, wanting to tease him. “That sounds nice, I’d like to”, you answered with a smile, looking forward to the weekend.

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

Saturday came around quickly, and you were sitting on your bed, wondering what the hell you were going to wear. You were only going for a coffee so you didn’t want to dress fancy, but you also wanted to make an effort. You end up choosing a pair of jeans, a simple blouse and a jacket, just in case it gets cold. You decided to put on a little bit of makeup, something that you don’t usually do. You wanted to at least look decent. Just some concealer, eyeliner and mascara, and some lip gloss.

You went downstairs, a slight spring in your step. You put your boots on and grabbed everything you needed, like your phone, purse and keys. You went to head out the door but your mothers voice stopped you.

“Where are you going?”, your mother asked. You never went out of the house unless it was for school, so she was confused. “You know that boy I told you about? Well, we’re going to get some coffee”, you said as you scratched the back of your neck. Your mother smiled slightly and told you to have fun, and at that, you left the house, closing the door behind you. 

Before you parted ways after Jaehyun asked you out (as friends or lovers? We’ll never know), you exchanged phone numbers and Jaehyun texted you the coffee shop you’ll be meeting at. Luckily it was within walking distance so you didn’t have to get the bus, which made you happy.

You arrived at the coffee shop in a span of 5 minutes, heading inside. The bell chimed as you opened the door, seeing no sign of Jaehyun. You decided to order your coffee while waiting for him. You ordered your usual coffee, which was a salted caramel latte, loving the combination of bitter and sweet. You also ordered a slice of chocolate cake to go with it, the sudden urge to eat something sweet. You sat down at a table near the window, waiting for your order to be ready, and for Jaehyun. 

A few minutes had passed, and your order was ready, but still no sign of Jaehyun. You sat there, eating your slice of chocolate cake, humming happily at the sweetness. The sound of the bell chiming caught your attention, a certain brown haired boy walking in. Well, more like, running in. You called his name, his head turning to find you, sitting by the window. He smiled as he waved with a smile, going to order himself a drink.

After he ordered, he sat down opposite you. “Sorry I’m a bit late, I received a present this morning and I couldn’t wait until later to open it so I did it this morning before I left”, he explained, making you confused. Present? Jaehyun could sense your confusion as he chuckled at your expression.

“It was my birthday a few days ago. More specifically on Valentine’s Day”, he said, making your eyes go wide. “You’re literally a Valentine’s boy”, you said out loud, not expecting Jaehyun to hear it. But he indeed did hear it, as he laughed. Suddenly, the barista called Jaehyun, and he collected his drink, which was a standard coffee.

During your time inside the coffee shop, it was filled with laughter and smiles, getting to know each other better. You found out he loves sports, and he loves singing. You also found out he lived in America for 4 years, so he’s fluent in English, which you found interesting. You’ve always wanted to learn another language, you just never found the time. 

You spent a couple of hours inside the coffee shop, just talking. After the third hour, you both decided to leave the coffee shop and go for a walk in the park. The park only had a few people in: children and their parents, as well as an elderly couple sitting on a bench. You walked in silence, hands slightly brushing against each other. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was rather comfortable. 

You saw little kids playing together, giggling as they chased one another. You chuckled at the sight, though it was more of a sad chuckle since you didn’t experience that as a child. Jaehyun could sense the change in your mood as he stopped. 

“Hey, you ok?”, he asked as he held your hand gently, squeezing it. The sudden gesture made you want to hug him, but you didn’t want to scare him. Also because you were afraid. You’ve never actually hugged someone before so you don’t know how to do it. “Sorry, I just saw the little kids playing over there and felt sorta sad since I didn’t experience that as a child”, you said sadly, Jaehyun nodding at your words as he hummed. 

“It’s not too late, you know?”, he said as he suddenly walked away from you, making you confused for a moment. You then caught on to what he was on about as he ran away, giggling. “Jung Jaehyun, you little shit”, you laughed as you ran after him, people in the park looking at the two of you. You laughed as you chased after him, your laughter being heard throughout the whole park. 

You finally caught him as you came up behind him, wrapping your arms around him. The gesture made him jump as he stumbled, falling to the ground, bringing you with him. You both fell into a fit of laughter, lying on the ground, looking at each other. The people who didn’t know you would think that you’ve known each other for a long time when, in reality, you’ve only known each other for less than a week.

“How do you feel now?”, Jaehyun asked, lying on his side while looking at you. You were looking up at the sky, calming down from your laughter. “I feel good. Great, actually”, you said with a smile, now looking at Jaehyun. His smile appeared, his dimples showing. 

Jaehyun got up off the ground, helping you up. You dusted yourself off and started walking out of the park, Jaehyun walking behind you. He caught up with you, walking beside you now. You gently took your hand, hoping you would allow him to hold it. You looked down and up at him, closing your hand around his palm, a small smile on your face. You were slowly opening up to affection, it made Jaehyun really happy.

Jaehyun, like a gentleman, walked you home and didn’t let go of your hand the entirety of the walk. You reached your house, standing in front of your door. The both of you shuffled awkwardly on your feet, not sure what to do next.

“So uhhh I guess I’ll see you then”, you said, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear while looking down. “Yeah, I’ll see you in school”, Jaehyun replied and was about to turn around until a question popped into his head.

“Is it ok if I hug you?”, he asked nervously, hoping you would agree. Fortunately, you did agree and you awkwardly opened up your arms for him to hug you. He wrapped his arms around you and you froze, not sure what to do next. “You wrap your arms around my neck, or waist if that makes you more comfortable”, Jaehyun said gently, you doing as he said. You opted for his torso, resting your head on his shoulder. 

This is the first time you’re actually hugging someone and you’re enjoying it. Jaehyun felt really warm, and he smelt like vanilla. You couldn’t stop smiling, not wanting to let go of the hug.

The hug lasted for a few minutes, neither of you wanting to let go of each other. Though you had to let go of each other some time since you needed to head inside, so you were the first one to let go. Without thinking, Jaehyun kissed your cheek, making you let out a squeak. Jaehyun’s eyes went wide when he realised what he did, apologising profusely. You held the cheek that Jaehyun kissed, and started smiling. 

“It’s ok, I-i liked that”, you said, suddenly feeling shy after admitting it. After reassuring Jaehyun that you liked it, the guilt left him and he now felt happy. He kissed your cheek again before saying his goodbyes, making sure you were inside before leaving.

For the rest of the day, and night, you couldn’t stop smiling. Your mother isn’t used to seeing you smile so much, but she wasn’t complaining. It was nice to see you smile, especially after everything. She didn’t want to ruin this for you. Not now.

She couldn’t tell you why your father isn’t coming home. Not yet.

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

It’s been a week since your ‘date’ with Jaehyun, and you’ve gotten closer. You’re on the line between friends and lovers, confusing everyone about your relationship with each other.

You were in the middle of class, when someone knocked on the door. The teacher allowed the person to enter, and everyone, including you, turned to look. It was the head teacher, which made you worried for some reason. “Sorry to disturb your lesson but, can Lee y/n come to the front office please”, she said as everyone turned to look at you. You got up out of your seat and left the classroom, following the head teacher.

When you reached the front office, you saw your mother there. It looked like she had been crying, which worried you even more. “Mom? What’s going on?”, you asked, the worry evident in your voice. “y/n, can we both go outside for a moment? I need to talk to you about something. It’s about your father”, she said as she took you outside. You leaned against the wall while your mother thought of the right words to say.

“Do you want to know why your father hasn’t been around the past week? I know I said it’s because he’s been working a lot and he comes home when you’re in school and works all day and night on the weekends. But that’s not the truth. The truth is…”, your mother choked up on her words and you had tears in your eyes seeing your mother so upset. 

“Mom, what happened?”, you asked softly, already having an idea about what happened but not wanting to believe it. “Your father died in a car accident. I got a phone call about a week ago, saying that he had been hit by a drunk driver and he died immediately. I didn’t want to tell you because you looked so happy, I didn't want to ruin that for you”, your mother crouched down to the floor, not able to say anything else as she broke down in tears.

You on the other hand, you were frozen. You couldn’t believe it. You wanted to scream, but you couldn’t. You wanted to cry, but you couldn’t. You wanted to feel upset, but you couldn’t. You just felt numb, empty. While your mother was crouched on the floor, still crying her eyes out, you walked back into the school, your face expressionless.

You walked down the empty hallway, going back to your class. You entered the classroom, everyone’s eyes looking at you. The teacher thought you were just going back to your seat so they carried on with the lesson, but when you reached your desk and started packing your stuff away, they got confused.

You ignored the chants of your name as you left the classroom, dragging your feet against the floor as you headed towards the front doors. You didn’t bother looking back as you left the school, the cold air hitting your face again. Your mother was in the distance, walking out of the school gates. You assumed she was walking back home so you didn’t run after her, not having the energy.

You walked away from the school, heading out the metal gates as you just kept going, not knowing where you were going but at this point, you didn’t care. You just wanted to be alone, away from people, just you and your thoughts.

You went wherever your feet took you, and you ended up at the park. Luckily the park was empty so you could be left alone with your thoughts. You know you shouldn’t since being left alone with your thoughts could potentially make you do something stupid, but you didn’t care at this point. You were tired, numb, empty. You didn’t know what emotion to feel. You might not have seen your father a lot since he worked most of the time but, you still missed him. 

You missed seeing the smile on his face whenever he saw something he liked on the TV, or when he enjoyed the food your mother cooked. It was rare, the three of you eating together but when you did, it was sometimes special. There would be laughter, the occasional joke from your father. You can’t remember the last time you spent time together, all three of you having an actual conversation.

You sat on a swing, putting your school bag on the floor. You looked up at the sky as you swung slowly, the sky suddenly getting cloudy, the once white clouds turning grey. You continued swinging, the swing squeaking with every movement. You sighed, your voice shaky. You had the sudden urge to scream, so you stood up and looked up at the sky, and screamed. You tugged your hair, messing it up. Your throat hurts from screaming at the top of your lungs.

Suddenly, you felt a drop of rain on you, then another and another. It then started pouring down with rain, drenching you. The sky turned dark as the rain got heavier, your clothes now sticking to your skin. The sudden sound of people alerted you, making you turn around and seeing people walking from school.

It’s the end of the school day already?

You continued to just stand there, not knowing what to do. You didn’t want to go home yet, but you also don’t want to be alone anymore. You suddenly heard the shout of your name, not bothering to turn around as Jaehyun ran towards you.

“y/n! Where were you? You weren’t there at lunch? Wait, are you ok?”Jaehyun asked question after question, noticing the gloomy look on your face. You went to talk, but your words got trapped in your throat, causing you to make a noise that sounded like a sob. Jaehyun pulled you into him for a hug, holding the back of your head as you buried your face into his neck.

You stayed like that for a few minutes, Jaehyun continuing to stroke your hair. You finally pulled away, looking at Jaehyun. He looked worried as you looked at your expression. “You wanna tell me what happened?”, he asked softly as he stroked your cheek gently before cupping it. “M-my father passed away. He was in a car accident and d-died on impact”, you said, stuttering due to the cold. You suddenly started crying, the tears falling down your cheeks one after another. You finally broke down after a while of not being able to, Jaehyun watching you as you crumbled.

Your sobs got louder as you hugged him again, burying your face in his neck, trying to hide your face. You’ve never cried in front of anyone before so you were sort of embarrassed. He rubbed his hand up and down your back, trying to calm you down. Jaehyun felt your pain, having lost a family member in a car accident before, so he understood the way you were currently feeling.

You’re not sure how long you were in that position but it felt like hours. You pulled away from the hug and Jaehyun cupped your face between his hands. “You ok now, sweet?”, the sudden pet name made you smile a bit as you nodded. You kissed his palm and put your hand over his hand.

“Why don’t we get you home, yeah? Get you where it’s nice and warm”, Jaehyun said and you nodded. You grabbed your bag and held his hand, and walked out of the park. The rain had subsided, the rain now lighter. 

You finally reached your house, unlocking the door. Before you opened the door, you turned around to Jaehyun. “Do you want to come in?”, you asked softly, hoping to get him out of the rain too. Hopefully your mother wouldn’t mind. Jaehyun accepted your offer and went in after you, closing the door behind you.

You took your shoes off, replacing them with your slippers. Jaehyun took his shoes off too, walking in with just his socks on. “Mom, we’re home”, you said, saying ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ without thinking. 

You continued to call your mother, but to no avail, there was still no sign of her. You went upstairs while Jaehyun stayed in the hall, waiting for you to find her. You checked in all the rooms, seeing no sign of her, making you worried. The last room you had left to look in was the bathroom. You slowly made your way to the bathroom, seeing the door closed. You opened the door, not expecting to see the sight inside, making you scream.

Jaehyun suddenly heard you scream, running up the stairs to see what happened. He looked around to see where you were, and noticed you standing at the end of the hallway. He ran over to you and looked in the bathroom to see your mother on the floor, her wrists bloody as they continued to gush. There was a knife lying on the floor, the blade covered in blood.

“Call an ambulance”, you ordered, Jaehyun getting his mobile out of his pocket. You dropped to your knees in front of your mother, grabbing hold of her arm. She was cold, like she’s been lying there for hours.

“The ambulance will be here soon”, Jaehyun said as he sat next to you. “It’s all my fault”, you sobbed as you felt the guilt eating you up inside. “What do you mean? You didn’t do this, did you?”, Jaehyun asked, wondering why you said it was your fault. “I know but, if only I came home straight away instead of going to the park, I would have prevented this. If I came home straight away, I would have stopped my mother from killing herself. Now both of my parents are gone”, you shouted, your breathing getting heavier, making it hard to breathe properly.

Jaehyun noticed immediately and brought your body closer to him, no space in between the two of you. He tried calming you down, rubbing his hand up and down your back and whispering comforting words to you. After a couple of minutes, you managed to calm down as your breathing became normal again.

Suddenly, the door went, telling you that the ambulance had arrived. Jaehyun went downstairs to let them in while you stayed in the bathroom, holding your mothers hand. Two paramedics came up the stairs and stood behind where you were sitting. “What happened?”, one of the paramedics asked as they put your mother in a body bag, zipping it up once she was in.

“We came home and I just found her like this. I-i wouldn’t have suspected she would do something like this. She seemed fine. Unless she was really good at hiding her emotions”, you said to the paramedics. “First my dad, and now my mom. Could this day get any worse?”, you started crying again, hugging Jaehyun.

“I’m so sorry for your loss. Hey, if you need to talk, don’t keep it all bottled up, ok? It’s better letting your emotions out than keeping them in”, the paramedic said before taking your mothers lifeless body away, heading down the stairs and out the house, Jaehyun closing the door after they left.

As soon as you two were alone, Jaehyun went over to you and gently grabbed your hand, leading you towards the living room. He sat down and made you sit on his lap (not before asking you of course, he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable). You sat on his lap, wrapping your arms around him. You buried your face in his neck, getting comfortable. He kissed the shell of your ear, making you smile slightly.

You stayed like that for a long time, just sitting in a comfortable silence, neither of you wanting to say anything. That was before Jaehyun broke the silence. “Hey, y/n?”, he asked, hoping you didn’t fall asleep. “Yeah?”, you replied. 

“W-what’s going to happen now?”he asked cautiously, not wanting to say anything that will trigger you. “I’m not sure. I know I’m 18 but I’m not sure I’ll be able to live on my own yet”, you said before sighing, not looking forward to the whole ‘looking for a place to stay’ situation. That worry went away when Jaehyun asked a certain question.

“Hey, how does coming to live with me sound? I mean, only if you’re comfortable, since we have known each other for, like, almost 2 weeks”, he continued to ramble on as you just sat there, smiling. You suddenly placed a hand on his cheek, stopping his rambling. “That sounds like a nice idea. What would your parents think though?”, you asked, slightly worried his parents would be against the idea. “Hopefully I can convince them”, he said, making you laugh slightly. 

The atmosphere around you changed slightly as you both just looked at each other. You could still see the sparkle in his eyes, his pink lips suddenly look so kissable, but you didn’t want to cross any boundaries, just in case it could ruin something between you. It was when Jaehyun asked a question when you knew he felt the same.

“Can I kiss you?”

And at that, you leaned in and placed your lips on his. His lips were soft and pillowy, his lips moving against yours. The kiss was only short, but it was sweet. It was your first ever kiss, and it was something you’d remember for the rest of your life.

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

It has been a year since both of your parents passed, and a year since you moved in to live with Jaehyun and his parents. Jaehyun’s parents were so supportive, immediately taking you into their home after what happened. A year later and you’ve grown closer to them. They attended the funeral with you, comforting you and making sure you weren’t alone.

You were currently in your bedroom (which used to be a guest room, but Jaehyun’s parents converted it into your bedroom), lying on your bed, staring at the ceiling. You suddenly felt lonely and bored in your room, so you left your bedroom and headed downstairs.

You saw Jaehyun’s parents in the living room, watching some TV. It was some drama you’ve never seen before, but you still sat on the other sofa, wanting to have some company.

“Hey Mr and Mrs. Jung”, you said as you sat down. “Hey, there, kiddo”, Mr. Jung said, taking his eyes off the screen to look at you. Ever since you moved in with them, he always called you kiddo for some reason, not that you minded. “Where’s Jaehyun? I haven’t seen him since this morning”, you said, noticing his presence is nowhere to be seen.

“He went out somewhere, though he didn’t say where, he just said he’ll be back later”, Mrs. Jung said, the screen now paused as both of their attention is on you. You nodded at their words as you suddenly got up and left the living room. You headed into the kitchen to get yourself a glass of water, feeling thirsty all of a sudden.

You grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up with water, downing the water. You put the empty glass in the sink and left the kitchen, heading upstairs towards your bedroom. You closed the door behind you and laid down on your bed, sleepiness starting to take over you. You closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.

While you were asleep, Jaehyun came back home about half an hour later, holding a few bags and smelling of perfume. His parents saw him and greeted him, but stopped. “Why do you smell of women’s perfume?”, his father asked, suspiciously. Jaehyun froze, not sure what to say. Should he tell the truth or make up a little white lie? He didn’t want to spoil anything so he chose the second option.

“I like wearing women’s perfume?”Jaehyun said, his voice not sounding convincing, but luckily his parents didn’t say anything else. He made his way up the stairs, heading towards his room. Before he opened his door, he heard a door open and the sound of your voice, making him stop in his tracks. 

“Jaehyun? You’re back. I haven’t seen you all day, I missed you”, you said sleepily, only being asleep for half an hour until you heard the sound of the front door closing, waking you up. You sleepily walked over to him, going to give him a hug. That was until you smelled the scent of a woman’s perfume, stopping you.

“Is that women’s perfume on you?”, you asked, taking a step back. Jaehyun went to say something but you were already back in your room, closing the door. You laid back down on your bed, just thinking about how Jaehyun was wearing women’s perfume, which wasn’t yours. You felt silly for feeling hurt cause, yeah you weren’t in a proper relationship but the feelings were still there. You ended up going back to sleep, pretending like nothing happened.

Over the next few days, you avoided Jaehyun, which you knew was a silly thing to do, but you didn’t know what else to do. You couldn’t just confront him about it, because what if you ended up getting even more hurt? So you just decided to avoid him. Which was kind of difficult since you lived together.

Whenever Jaehyun entered a room, you left the room and went into a different room. Jaehyun was confused about why you were avoiding him, making him frustrated. That was until he did something about it.

On the fifth day of you avoiding him, he knocked on your door. You, thinking it was one of his parents, you told the person to come in. When you saw it was Jaehyun, you went to leave your room when he stopped you.

“Can you please stop avoiding me?”, he asked sternly, narrowing his eyes at you. You just stood there, not looking at him. He sighed, gently holding your hand, hoping you wouldn’t push it away. Luckily you didn’t, missing his touch. “Get dressed into something nice and meet me downstairs”, he said before walking away, heading to his room.

You were confused but listened to what he said anyway. You went to your wardrobe and looked through it to find something to wear. You chose a simple black dress, which reached your knees. You changed from your comfy clothes into your dress, choosing a black leather jacket to go over it. You chose to wear some light makeup: foundation and concealer, some eyeliner and mascara, and nude lipstick.

You chose a pair of black heels, slipping them on your feet. You checked yourself in the mirror, feeling happy with how you looked, and grabbed your purse and phone, before leaving your bedroom. You headed downstairs and saw Jaehyun leaning against the wall. He was wearing a simple black button up shirt, along with black jeans that fitted his legs. The both of you ended up wearing all black, not even realising it.

Jaehyun looked up from his phone and looked at you, before looking down again. He did a double take and ended up staring at you. “Wow, you look beautiful. I mean, not that you’re not already beautiful because you are”, Jaehyun continued to ramble on, which made you giggle.”You look very handsome, Mr. Jung”, you said teasingly, giving him a wink. You completely forgot about how you were supposed to be avoiding him.

Jaehyun’s parents walked out of the living room, seeing the two of you dressed up. “Well, what’s going on here? You two look very fancy”, Mr. Jung said as Mrs. Jung stood beside you. “My dear, you look beautiful”, she said, making you blush. “I assume you two kids are going on a date so, have fun. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do”, Mr. Jung said as he winked, making Jaehyun roll his eyes, making you laugh.

Jaehyun grabbed your hand and headed towards the front door, grabbing his keys from the basket before opening the door. You headed towards his car, him opening the door for you. “Wow, such a gentleman”, you said as you kissed his cheek, which shocked the both of you, since you’ve never done that on your own before.

You got in the car, Jaehyun closed the door once you were inside and buckled up. Jaehyun went to the driver's side and got in, closing the door. He put the key in the ignition, starting the car. He drove off, going to the secret destination that Jaehyun won’t tell you about, saying ‘it’s a secret, now hush’.

Jaehyun drove for about 20 minutes, you looking out the window, admiring the scenery that went past. Suddenly, the car stopped and you noticed you were near an entrance to a little garden, flowers surrounding the area. You were amazed that Jaehyun found this.

Jaehyun got out of the car and went to your side, opening the door for you. He held his hand out, you taking it as you got out of the car, Jaehyun closing the door behind you. “Oh my god Jae, where did you find this? It’s beautiful”, you said, your voice full of admiration. “Oh, you know, I am a man of many talents. And that includes finding places like these. Nah I’m kidding, a friend of mine told me about this as he took his girlfriend on a date here”, he said, taking your hand again and walking you towards the entrance.

You both walked through the garden, admiring the flowers as you walked through it. Jaehyun picked out a rose and put it behind your ear, smiling at the image in front of him. You looked like a work of art, wanting to admire you for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, a pergola came into view, decorated with fairy lights. The sight was beautiful, making you cover your mouth. There was a table under it, along with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. “You did all this?”, you asked him as you tried taking it all in. “I did. I wanted it to be special”, Jaehyun replied, kissing your cheek. “Oh and that perfume you smelled on me the other day? The reason why I smelled like that was because I was trying to find a perfume that I think you would like but uhh I don’t know what kind of perfume you wear”, Jaehyun added, playing with his fingers.

So that’s why he smelled of women’s perfume. You thought he was secretly hooking up with someone.

Jaehyun led you towards the table, moving the chair for you to sit on it. He sat down opposite you, opening the bottle of wine. He poured the wine into both wine glasses, you taking a sip. The fruity taste hits your taste buds, you make a noise of content. Jaehyun suddenly grabbed some bags from on the floor near the table, putting them in front of you. “I didn’t know what you liked so I got a couple of things”, he said nervously, scratching the nape of his neck.

The first bag contained a little box, tied with some silver ribbon. You opened it gently, revealing a beautiful necklace with your name on it, coated in silver. The second bag contained a bottle of perfume, which had the same scent as the one Jaehyun had one a few days ago. The last bag, and the biggest out of the three, contained a couple of books, ranging from romance novels to thrillers. You loved reading so you felt really touched that Jaehyun did this for you.

“I-i can’t believe you did this for me. Thank you, Jae”, you said, feeling yourself tear up as you stood up and went over to him, hugging him and kissing his cheek. You sat back down in your seat and took another sip of your wine, when Jaehyun got up and stood behind you. “Do you want me to put your necklace on for you?”, he asked sweetly and you nodded, giving him the necklace he got you. He put it round your neck, clasping the necklace together. 

Once the necklace was on, he went towards a bush, making you confused. That confusion soon went away when he grabbed a basket. “How many more surprises do you have?”, you jokingly asked, making him chuckle. “I know it’s nothing fancy but, I hope you enjoy the food”, Jaehyun said as he opened the basket, taking out some sandwiches, cheese and crackers, some cupcakes and strawberries. 

He sat back down in his seat, grabbing a strawberry. He went to eat it, but he offered it to you instead. You opened your mouth, Jaehyun putting the strawberry on your tongue. You ate the strawberry, the juices hitting your taste buds. You smiled in content as you swallowed the sweetness, giggling happily. Jaehyun looked at you in admiration, thinking that you’re the cutest person in the world.

You ate the food in front of you, the both of you just talking while drinking wine. Your laughter was music to Jaehyun’s ears, his dimples showing whenever you laughed. You never felt so free in your life.

You finished eating the food that was on the table, feeling satisfied as you sat back in your seat, patting your belly. Jaehyun thought that was adorable as he continued to chuckle at you. “Yah, why are you laughing at me, Mr. Jung Jaehyun?”, you said teasingly, narrowing your eyes at him. “You’re really cute, you know that?”, Jaehyun said, shocking you. You felt your cheeks heating up, blushing from the sudden compliment.

About 2 hours later and the sun had gone down, replaced with the moon. Stars painted the sky, you admired them while Jaehyun admired you. You both had 2 glasses of wine, the now empty wine bottle in the basket along with the empty wine glasses.

Suddenly music could be heard, the soft sound of classical music being played from god knows where. That was until you saw Jaehyun holding a remote, realising he was the one who played the music. He got up out of his seat for the nth time, going over to you. “May I have this dance, m'lady?”, he asked as he bowed, making you giggle as you took his hand. You got up and walked further away from the table, standing in the middle of the garden.

You took off your heels since your feet started to hurt, but also because you didn’t want to hurt Jaehyun’s foot if you stood on it, so you went barefoot. Jaehyun placed a hand on your waist and held your hand with the other, whilst you placed your free hand on his shoulder. You started slow dancing, looking into each other’s eyes.

Jaehyun twirled you around, the both of you laughing. Thankfully you didn’t step on his feet, which you were happy about. The song came to an end and you both stood there, just staring into each other's eyes. “Can I ask you something?”Jaehyun suddenly asked after a few minutes of silence, making you nod.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a long time now, but I just couldn’t find the right time to ask. I think now is the right time. Will you do the honour of becoming my girlfriend?”, he asked nervously, patiently waiting for your answer. Instead of answering, you smiled widely and leaned in close to Jaehyun, pressing your lips on his. You could taste the mixture of wine and strawberries, your lips moving in sync.

The kiss got more passionate, Jaehyun pulling your body closer to him. He placed his hands on either side of your waist, gripping it slightly. You wrapped your arms around his neck, playing with the little hairs at the nape of his neck. The kiss was passionate and sweet, neither of you letting the kiss get heated, just enjoying the moment.

Jaehyun was the first to pull away, trying to catch his breath from the sudden passionate kiss. “That was… amazing”, Jaehyun said with a smile, adjusting the rose that was behind your ear, stopping it from falling. “So, did that kiss mean yes to my question? Or are my lips just so kissable that you couldn’t resist?”, Jaehyun asked teasingly, making you roll your eyes. 

“Well, it was a yes but if you keep teasing me, mister, I’m going to change my answer”, you said, pretending to be angry, as you turned around to put your shoes back on. But Jaehyun stopped you, wrapping his arms around your waist, burying his face in the crook of your neck. He placed a few kisses along your neck, making you sigh. “Ok, ok, I accept your offer of becoming your girlfriend”, you said, stopping Jaehyun from kissing your neck, the feeling in the pit of your stomach making you nervous.

“Yes! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time”, he said, picking you up and spinning you around, making you squeal. He put you down, your feet hitting the floor. He placed a kiss on your nose, causing your nose to scrunch up. You parted from Jaehyun to put your shoes back on, slipping them on your feet.

“So, what did you think of this evening? I hope you enjoyed yourself cause I sure enjoyed it”, Jaehyun said softly but loud enough for you to hear, packing up everything ready to head back to the car. “I enjoyed tonight, thank you for everything”, you replied, kissing his cheek. Jaehyun held the basket in one hand (along with the empty bags that had your gifts in), and with the other hand, he held yours.

You both left the garden, heading back towards Jaehyun’s car. Once you reached the car, Jaehyun opened the door for you, letting you inside. He closed the door as soon as you buckled yourself in. He opened the trunk, put the basket inside and closed it, and got inside the car himself. He put his keys in the ignition, starting the car and drove away, going back home.

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On the drive home, Jaehyun noticed you had fallen asleep, the sight beside him making him smile. He turned the radio down, loud enough that he could still hear the music but quiet enough so it wouldn’t wake you from your slumber. 

He arrived back home, parking the car. He stopped the car and got out, closing the door gently. Before you got you out of the car, he took the basket out from the boot, taking it inside. He knocked on the door, which opened a few seconds later, revealing his mother. “Where’s y/n?”she asked, seeing no sign of you. Jaehyun explained that you were fast asleep in the car and wanted to bring the basket in first, wanting to make sure that he didn’t disrupt your sleep as soon as you arrived. 

Mrs. Jung took the basket off him, taking it inside as Jaehyun went to get you. He opened the door, gently taking your seatbelt off and carried you bridal style, closing the door behind him. He brought you inside and closed the door behind him, accidentally slamming the door. Luckily you were a heavy sleeper so the loud noise didn’t wake you up, which made Jaehyun sigh in relief.

He headed towards the stairs, walking up them carefully. He managed to reach the top, going towards your room. He walked into your room, carefully placing you on your bed. He took your shoes off, placing them in your wardrobe. He then left your room and went towards the bathroom, grabbing some makeup wipes and moisturiser. Walking out of the bathroom, he entered your bedroom again, seeing you in the same position that he left you in.

Being careful not to wake you, he gently used the makeup wipes to wipe off your makeup, making sure it was all off. Grabbing the moisturiser, he put some on his hands and applied it to your face, being gentle and careful. Heading back to your wardrobe, he grabbed some comfy clothes for you, taking your current clothes off, putting them back in your wardrobe.

Once you were in your comfy clothes and barefaced, he put you under the covers and kissed your forehead. As he was about to turn around to leave, he felt a hand grab his wrist. He turned to look at you, seeing your eyes still closed. “Please stay”, you said sleepily, not letting go of Jaehyun’s wrist. “Baby, I need to get changed myself”, Jaehyun said, moving a piece of hair out of your face. “Don’t be too long please”, you said before letting go of his wrist, snuggling further under the duvet.

Jaehyun made sure he wasn’t too long, going to his room to get changed into comfy clothes, which consisted of his favourite sweats and a plain black oversized t-shirt. He entered your room again, closing the door behind him and walked over towards your bed. He got under the covers, wrapping his arms around you as you snuggled up to him, burying your face in the crook of his neck. The sudden gesture made him smile as he got comfy. The sound of your snores made him giggle, the adorable noise coming from you is something he could get used to. He soon felt himself drifting off to sleep, closing his eyes, and entered dreamland.

While the two of you were asleep, Mr. and Mrs. Jung both went upstairs, checking on the two of you. Mrs. Jung opened your bedroom door and saw the two of you asleep, cuddling up to each other in bed, the only sound coming from the room were your snores. They smiled at the sight in front of them, closing the door gently as they headed back down the stairs.

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The sunrays shone through your curtain, hitting your face. Your eyes fluttered open as you adjusted to the brightness. You realised that you fell asleep cuddling up to JAehyun, making your heart skip a beat. You looked at Jaehyun, noticing he is still asleep, which gave you time to admire his face properly. The sun hitting his skin made him look more ethereal, his honey skin glowing. His long lashes fluttering against his skin, his nose begging to be kissed as you looked at it, and that’s what you did. You lightly kissed his nose, seeing it scrunch up, making you panic as you thought you woke him up. Luckily he didn’t as he continued snoring lightly.

You continued to admire his face, leaning on your hand as you moved some hair out of his face. You were like that for a few more minutes until Jaehyun woke up, noticing you looking at him. He smiled as he saw you, bringing your body into him, burying his face in your neck. 

“Good morning, love”, you said, playing with his hair. He hummed in response, still feeling tired. He placed kisses on your neck, tickling you, making you squeal. “Ok mister, let's get up”, you said as you went to get up, but got pulled back down on the bed. “No, let’s stay like this for a few more minutes, please”, Jaehyun said, his voice hoarse from sleep. You knew he wasn’t going to let you get away that easily, so you laid back down with him for a few more minutes, hoping you weren’t going to fall back asleep.

Luckily for you, you didn’t fall back asleep but the sleepy boy next to you did. Instead of leaving him there, you decided to climb on top of him, straddling his waist. You leaned down, pressing kisses all over his face, trying to wake him up. You felt him stir underneath you, but didn’t wake up. You pouted, opting for a different solution. 

You remembered at one point, he told you that he was ticklish, and you smirked at the memory. You moved your hands to his waist, digging your fingers into it before tickling him. Jaehyun suddenly woke up, his body thrashing around as he started laughing. You didn’t stop, enjoying the sound of his laughter.

“Ok, I surrender, p-please stop”, Jaehyun said through laughter. You stopped the tickling session and got off him. “I’m hungry, can we get some breakfast now”, you pouted, earning an eye roll from him. “Let’s get some food in that cute tummy of yours, shall we?”, he said as he patted your stomach, making you chuckle.

You both went downstairs and headed into the kitchen. You sat down on the counter while Jaehyun prepared everything to make some breakfast. He started frying some bacon in a frying pan, putting some bread in the toaster while the bacon was frying.

Once everything was prepared, Jaehyun plated up breakfast. He placed 4 plates on the table, which had bacon, toast, eggs and sausages. Mr. and Mrs. Jung suddenly walked into the kitchen, the smell of food waking them up. 

“That smells nice”, Mr. Jung said as he looked at the breakfast on the table. The four of you sat down at the table, digging into your breakfast. Small conversations between the four of you happened round the table, the atmosphere peaceful. “I could get used to this”, Jaehyun said, looking at you with a smile. “Waking up with my lover, cooking breakfast for the both of us”, his words made you smile as you continued eating your breakfast.

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Almost five years later, and you’re still together. You moved into an apartment together, you got yourself an office job. Yeah, you didn’t like it but it was good pay. Everything in your life was going well and it was perfect. Well, it was until recently.

It’s a week or so before Valentine’s Day, and you and Jaehyun had gotten rather distant. You argued a lot, the arguments mainly about not spending enough time together due to your job. You worked long hours, making it hard for the two of you to spend time together. Whilst you worked in an office, Jaehyun worked at a small coffee shop close to your apartment, so he didn’t have to walk far.

You both worked 9 to 5 jobs, but Jaehyun only worked 3 days a week, whilst you worked 5. You sometimes worked the weekends, but that was rare. Because of that, you only spent time together on the weekends, but you were too tired to do anything so you just spent time inside.

Also recently, you’ve noticed that you’ve slowly started falling out of love with Jaehyun, and honestly? It scared the shit out of you. You were worried this was going to happen to you eventually, and now it has, and you’re terrified.

The both of you were currently in the middle of another argument, Jaehyun yelling something along the lines of you not taking care of yourself and working extra hours. You were sick of it, all you wanted to do was rest but the moment you came home, he started yelling at you out of nowhere.

“Jaehyun, please, I’m tired. Can we do this another time?”, you asked nicely, not wanting to anger him even more. “You always say, ‘can we do this another time, ‘I’m tired’. Of course you’re fucking tired, you’re overworking yourself. I’m worried about you”, Jaehyun yelled, making you hold your head. 

“You don’t need to worry about me, I am perfectly fine. Now can you please shut up, you’re annoying me with your constant shouting”, you said through gritted teeth. Jaehyun didn’t like the tone of your voice as he held the bridge of his nose. “You know, I hate us arguing all the time. It seems like the only thing we have been doing recently. I miss the old us where we used to go on cute dates and have fun”, Jaehyun said as he walked over to you slowly, putting his hands out to hold your hands, but the sudden gesture made you flinch slightly. You hoped Jaehyun didn’t notice it, but he did.

“Woah, what’s wrong?”, he asked, rather concerned. You took in a deep breath before clearing your throat. “Do you really want the truth?”, you said, not ready to tell him, but you had to. He nodded his head for you to carry on and you felt yourself welling up.

“The truth is… I feel like I’m falling out of love with you and I’m terrified. I’m terrified of losing you and losing myself”, you managed to say as a single tear trickled down your cheek. You saw the change in Jaehyun’s facial expression. From anger, to worried, to sadness.

Before Jaehyun could say anything, you ran towards the front door, grabbed your purse and keys, and opened the door, slamming it behind you. You walked towards the elevator, pressing the button. You waited for it to open, impatiently moving on the spot. You heard the sound of your name being called as the elevator opened, not bothering to turn around as you entered it.

You pressed the ground button, the doors closing. The elevator music was the only thing you could hear, the music annoying you. You reached the ground floor, the doors opening. You left the elevator, heading towards the front doors of the apartment building. It was then you noticed you’re still wearing your work clothes, but you didn’t care. The sound of your heels clicked against the pavement as you headed towards the nearest bar, wanting to drink to forget about your problems.

You reached the bar, opening the door and going inside. Luckily it only had a few people inside. You made your way to the bar, sitting on a stool. “Just a double vodka and coke please”, you asked the bartender, not taking a proper look at him as he made your drink.

You looked around the bar while waiting for your drink, noticing a few couples sitting at tables. The sight of the couples being all lovey dovey made you scowl, turning back around. “Here’s your drink, ma’am”, the bartender said, and that was when you looked at him. You grabbed your drink and just stared at him. He looks like an angel, one of his ears pointed, which you thought was cute. You didn’t realise you were staring until he cleared his throat.

“You ok, there? You uhh were staring”, the bartender awkwardly smiled at you. You apologised and downed your drink in one go, putting the glass back on the bar. “Another one please”, you asked, the bartender getting straight to it.

Another few double vodka and cokes later, you were starting to feel the effects of it. “You ok? You look rather stressed”, the bartender asked, looking rather worried for you. “Not really. Me and my boyfriend have been arguing recently and we had another argument before, and I admitted to him that I think I’m falling out of love with him and I’m scared”, you rambled on, the bartender listening to you.

“I’m sorry about that. Hey, this might sound strange since we’ve literally only just met but, how about I give you my number and you can call me if you ever need someone to talk to, ok?”, he said as he gave you a piece of paper, which had his phone number and his name.

Dong Sicheng

You may have had a few drinks, but you’re sober enough to know that his name sounded… different. “I hope this doesn’t come off as rude but, you’re not from Korea, are you?”, you asked as you tilted your head to the side. Sicheng laughed. “No, I’m actually from China, but I moved here a couple of years ago. Most people actually call me Winwin”, Winwin said as he smiled at you. God, that smile gave you butterflies in your stomach.

“Well, Winwin, I am y/n. And I’ll gladly take your phone number. I’ll give you mine, one sec”, you realised you didn’t have a pen on you, until Winwin gave you one. You grabbed his hand (with his permission of course), and wrote your phone number on it with a smiley face, making him chuckle.

You spent a couple of hours in the bar, just chatting to Winwin. The way he didn’t even try making you laugh, but you were laughing at everything he said. Maybe it was because you were drunk, which everyone around you could see, since you were laughing loudly.

“Ok y/n, I think you’ve had enough to drink, don’t you think? I don’t want you feeling the effects in the morning”, Winwin said rather worriedly, caring about your health. He may have only just met you, but it feels like he’s known you for ages.  You were about to protest when you saw the look on his face, pouting. “Ok, I won’t have any more”, you said, huffing. Winwin snorted at your behaviour.

You went to get up to leave, but you ended up stumbling over, grabbing onto the stool. “Ok, you’ve definitely had enough to drink. Hey Kun, would you be able to look after the bar for a while, so I can make sure this young lady here gets home safe?”, Winwin said to his coworker, to which he agreed. Winwin came out from behind the bar and held you, making sure you didn’t fall over. He helped you leave the bar, an arm slung around your waist while your arm was slung over his shoulder.

He asked you where you lived, which you replied with your address, and he walked you home. You managed to reach your apartment building in a couple of minutes, mumbling out random words that Winwin can’t make out. The both of you went through the doors and headed towards the elevator, Winwin pressing the button for the doors to open.

You both got inside, Winwin pressing the button for the floor that you live on, the doors closing. The elevator started going up, the both of you waiting to reach your floor. “Are you going to be ok once you reach your apartment?”, Winwin asked you, hoping you were listening. “Yeahhhh, I’ll be fine. I just hope Jaehyun doesn’t give me shit for drinking”, you said, Winwin nodding along. 

The elevator reached your floor with a ding, the doors opening. You both left, heading towards your apartment. You reached your door, Winwin knocking on it. You waited for a few minutes, the door opening to reveal a shirtless Jaehyun, his hair wet.

“y/n? Where the hell have you been? Why do you smell of alcohol? And who the fuck are you?”, Jaehyun asked, not intending to sound harsh, but he was worried when you randomly stormed out the apartment a few hours ago. “I’m Winwin and I was the bartender that gave y/n her drinks. Don’t worry, she’s not too wasted, she only had a few drinks before I stopped her. I wanted to make sure she got home safely so I came with her”, Winwin explained to the man in front of him, Jaehyun thanking him before taking you off him. 

“Thanks again, man. I was worried sick for the last few hours”, Jaehyun said, Winwin nodding as he left, heading back towards the elevator. Jaehyun closed the door behind him and took you to the bathroom, cleaning your makeup off you since you were too tipsy to do it yourself. “I was worried sick when you randomly ran off like that. Just don’t do that again, ok?”, Jaehyun said, making you look at him. 

“Yes dad”, you said with a laugh, Jaehyun rolling his eyes, kissing your now bare face. “Let’s get you changed and then get you a glass of water”, Jaehyun said softly, taking you towards your shared bedroom. He got a pair of comfy clothes, undressed you from your work clothes, threw them in the laundry basket, and put your comfy clothes on you. While you were sitting on the edge of your bed, Jaehyun went to the kitchen to get you a glass of water and some painkillers, so you didn’t have a major headache in the morning.

He went back to your shared bedroom, finding you now lying down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He went over to you with a glass of water and painkillers, asking you to sit up so you can take it, which you did. You took the painkillers and drank the glass of water, accidentally spilling some down yourself. You put the empty glass on your bedside table and lied back down again. 

“Do you want me to lie down next to you? Or will you feel more comfortable if I laid down on the couch?”, Jaehyun asked, remembering what you said before you stormed out of the apartment. You didn’t respond as you were already fast asleep, little snores escaping you. He wanted to respect you so he took a blanket and a pillow and went to the living room, lying down on the couch.

He just laid there, looking up at the ceiling. All he could think about was your words. I feel like I’m falling out of love with you and I’m terrified. I’m terrified of losing you and losing myself. While you were fast asleep in the bedroom, Jaehyun couldn’t fall asleep for hours, his mind not shutting off.

He managed to fall asleep during the early hours of the morning, the clock striking 3am. The both of you slept until the afternoon, you waking up with a headache. It was bearable, but it was still annoying.

“Ow, my head. Why did I drink so much last night?”, you said as you stumbled out of bed, heading towards the kitchen, not even bothering to notice the body still asleep on the couch. You grabbed a glass and filled it with water, downing the whole glass. You put the glass in the sink and headed back towards your room, not even taking a glance in the living room. 

While you were in your room, scrolling through your phone, you got a random message. 

From unknown: hello there :D you probably don’t remember me but I’m the bartender that helped you last night, Winwin hehe. I hope the hangover isn’t too much for you

You vaguely remembered someone helping you last night, but it was still a blur. Still , you replied anyway.

From y/n: hello :D i remember you vaguely but since I had a bit to drink, everything is still a blur lmao. Thank you for helping me last night ^^

You replied back instantly, feeling yourself smiling as you waited for him to reply. The sound of your phone pinging indicates that he replied back, making butterflies form in your stomach. You texted back and forth for god knows how long, your focus on your phone as you block everything out. Well, that was interrupted when the bedroom door opened. 

“What are you giggling at?”, Jaehyun said as he rubbed his eyes. You didn’t even realise you were giggling before he told you. “Oh, the guy that helped me last night? Well, he texted me asking me if I’m ok and he’s really sweet”, you said as he told Jaehyun about him (well, at least everything you remember). 

You talking about another boy in front of him made Jaehyun feel annoyed. You’re still his girlfriend, why are you talking about someone else that isn’t him? You continued to talk about this ‘Winwin’ guy until he had enough.

“OK! Please shut up about him, you’re annoying me”, Jaehyun said, sounding more harsh than intended. You frowned at the sudden outburst. “Sorry, I guess I just got carried away”, you said softly, rubbing the back of your neck. Jaehyun felt guilty for lashing out at you, sighing. “Sorry for lashing out at you, I’m just tired”, he said, which wasn’t exactly wrong. He was annoyed at you, at himself, at the world. Maybe your words were the cause of it all. He just doesn’t want to lose you, but it seems like he already is.

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Over the next few days, you got more and more distant from Jaehyun as you talked more to Winwin. You actually ended up spending more time with him than you did in your own apartment. After work everyday, you went to the bar to have a drink, but mainly to talk to Winwin. You found yourself falling for him. The more you talk and hang out with him, the more you realise how sweet and kind he is. There’s only one thing you have to do though in order to be free.

You have to break up with Jaehyun.

After you left the bar (thankfully you were sober this time), you headed back to your apartment, thinking about the right words to say to Jaehyun. You entered the elevator, your heart beating faster as you got closer to your apartment. 

The elevator dinged, alerting you that you’ve reached your floor. You left the elevator, walking towards your apartment. You opened the door, taking a deep breath as you went to find Jaehyun. 

“Jaehyun?”, your voice sounded shaky, like you were about to start crying any minute. He walked out of the bathroom, sweaty and his tank top sticking to his body, his abs showing through. His muscular arms were on show, making your mouth water. It looks like he’s not long come back from the gym. That didn’t distract you from the main issue though.

“I-i need to tell you something”, you said, making Jaehyun furrow his brows. “What’s up love?”Jaehyun let the pet name slip, not realising it until you flinched. “I’m sorry that I have to tell you this but uh… we need to break up”, you said as you closed your eyes, not wanting to see the look on Jaehyun’s face.

“I knew the time was going to come eventually but, a few days before Valentine’s Day? That shit sucks”, Jaehyun said, chuckling bitterly, which shocked you. You were expecting him to be upset, but he was far from that.

“You’re not even upset? What the fuck?”, you asked confused. Surely he feels a bit upset over the breakup. “y/n, you’ve literally fucked me off and gone off with another guy. I’m more annoyed than anything else”, Jaehyun rolled his eyes at you, making you scoff.

“Ok mister, I have NOT fucked off with another guy. I literally told you that I’ve fallen out with you, unless that slipped your mind”, you said, your voice lower than usual. Jaehyun just laughed at that, which sounded rather sad. “Oh I remember that perfectly clear”, he said, walking towards the kitchen.

“Look, it’s not my fault I’ve fallen out with you. It just happened. That happens to a lot of people and honestly? Just be fucking glad I actually told you instead of cheating on you”, you huffed, making Jaehyun turn around to look at you. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”Jaehyun asked as he narrowed his eyes. “I was at the bar today, the one that Winwin works at? Yeah, I was going to kiss him, but decided not to because even though I have fallen out of love with you, we’re still in a relationship and I didn’t want to cheat, because that’s fucking wrong”, you explained, making Jaehyun sigh.

“So, what are we going to do then? We still live together, you know? It’s going to be awkward for us since there’s only one bed”, Jaehyun said, of which he has a point. You thought about it and an idea popped into your head. “We have the spare room, right? One of us can sleep in there”, you said as Jaehyun thought about it.

“Tell you what. Before either of us finds somewhere else to live, why don’t I sleep in the spare room. Unless you want to kick me out”, you said, the last sentence rather bitter. 

“As much as I would love to kick you out, you can sleep in the spare room”, Jaehyun said as he walked away, leaving you alone in the kitchen. You sighed, feeling slightly glad that you managed to do it, but also feeling guilty. I mean, it was for the best, right? You didn’t want to lead him on, so you had to break up with him.

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

It was now Valentine’s Day, and Jaehyun’s birthday, and to say you were excited was an understatement. It was your day off and you were going on a date with Winwin. You also remembered the gift that you got for Jaehyun, which was under your bed.

“Happy birthday Jae, I hope you like your present”, you said as you gave him a small bag, waiting impatiently to open it. He opened the bag slowly, finding a velvet box. He opened it to reveal a silver watch, his eyes widening. “You got me a watch? Thank you y/n”, he said as he smiled. “Ok, I gotta go get ready now”, you said as you squealed in excitement.

“Get ready? For what?”, Jaehyun asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “I have a date with Winwin. He’s taking me to a fancy restaurant and I’m excited. I’ve never been to a restaurant before”, you said, your voice filled with happiness as you got yourself ready. Jaehyun felt jealousy bubble up inside him, seeing you happy about going on a date with someone, a few days after the both of you broke up. He suddenly felt angry, but decided not to show it as he put on a fake smile.

“That’s great. I hope the date goes well”, he said as he entered the spare room, slamming the door. The sudden loud noise made you jump, your body froze. You didn’t know that you going on a date would make him angry, but you didn’t blame him. Maybe he was still getting over the break up.

You looked through your wardrobe, wondering what to wear. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, you wanted to choose something red. You found a red dress, which you haven’t worn before, and took it out. It was an above the knee dress with a v-neck. You put the dress on the bed, getting everything you need to get a shower.

You headed into the bathroom, making sure the door was locked before un stripped your clothes off, putting them inside the laundry basket. You turned the shower on, making sure it was the right temperature before getting in.

You stepped under the water, the warm water running down your back, relaxing you. You grabbed your fruity shampoo and squirted some in your hand, and lathered it into your hair. You washed it out, and proceeded to do the same with the conditioner.

You finished washing yourself in the shower, and then got out, wrapping a towel around your body. You left the bathroom, heading towards the bedroom quickly, not wanting Jaehyun to see you like that. Yeah, he’s seen you naked before but you're not in a relationship anymore.

You sat in front of the vanity table, drying your hair, brushing through it. Once your hair was dry, you proceeded to get yourself ready. You slipped on your red dress over your underwear, zipping up the back. Unfortunately, your arms aren't long enough so you couldn’t zip it all the way up. That means asking Jaehyun for help.

You left the room and knocked on the door to the spare room, waiting for the signal for you to go in. “Sorry to bother you but, could you please help me with my dress?”, you asked as you turned around, moving your hair so the zipper was easier to get to. The sight in front of him made him gasp. He tried to keep his hormones in check as he helped you with the zipper, trailing his fingers up your back in the process.

Once the zipper was up, he put his hands either side of your neck, squeezing the skin. You suddenly felt uncomfortable as you flinched. “Ok, thank you Jaehyun, I’ll leave you alone now”, you said quickly as you left the room, closing the door behind you. Jaehyun smirked at the way you reacted, sitting back down on the bed.

You entered the bedroom again, sitting back down at the vanity table to do your hair and makeup. You did a simple brown smokey eye, applying the eyeliner and mascara on. You then did your foundation and concealer, and contour your cheekbones and jawline. You then did a bold red lip to finish the look.

You curled your hair and added accessories to your outfit, like a necklace and earrings. You looked at yourself in the mirror for a moment, holding the necklace that you were wearing. It was the necklace that Jaehyun gave you the night he asked you to be his girlfriend, and you were contemplating whether to wear it, or take it off. You loved the necklace, but it also brought back memories. You weren’t together anymore, so was it worth keeping it?

You took it off and replaced it with a simple chain, putting it on. You took another look at yourself in the mirror before standing up, going to put your shoes on. You chose a pair of black heels, and grabbed your black leather jacket (the jacket was sort of your signature look). Your phone pinged, receiving a message. You checked your phone and saw a message from Winwin.

From Winwin: I’m outside :D I’ll see you in a bit xx

You find it adorable how he always used emojis whenever he texted you. You grabbed your phone, purse and keys, and put your jacket on. “I’m leaving”, you shouted to Jaehyun, seeing him come out of the spare room. He took a glance at you, and his eyes shifted to your chest. He saw your cleavage, and he suddenly got jealous that someone else was going to see you like this. He didn’t like that, but he didn’t want to cause a scene.

You noticed he was staring at you for a bit too long, and you cleared your throat. “My eyes are up here, you know?”, you said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Jaehyun finally looked at your face and a fake smile was plastered on it. Well, you didn’t need to know that it was fake.

“Bye! Enjoy your date with lover boy”, Jaehyun said rather sarcastically, making you roll your eyes in annoyance. You left the apartment, slamming the door behind you, the loud noise making Jaehyun jump. His anger started to show as his eyebrows furrowed and his breathing got heavier. He punched the wall beside him, making a hole in the wall. He let out a scream of frustration, hurt and anger.

You were too far ahead to hear the scream as you entered the elevator, pressing the button to the ground floor. The doors closed and started going down, the elevator music, once again, annoying you. You really wished they changed the damn music. 

You reached the ground floor as the doors opened, leaving the elevator. You made your way to the front doors, seeing Winwin standing in front of his car. You didn’t realise that he was rich as standing before you was a red Ferrari, a very handsome and dressed up Winwin leaning against it. Your jaw dropped, making Winwin chuckle. “I didn’t want you riding in a pickup truck to a fancy restaurant, so I thought it’d be nice if we rode inside a ferrari”, Winwin said as he took a good look at you.

“You look beautiful, m’lady”, Winwin said as he bowed, making you giggle. “You look very handsome”, you said to him, making him blush. You’ve never made a boy blush before so you felt happy. During your relationship with Jaehyun, he was the one who always made you blush, so making someone blush made you feel powerful in a way.

Winwin let you in the car, opening the door for you. He closed the door when he saw you were buckled up, and got in the drivers side. He started the car, the engine roaring as it came to life. He drove off, heading for the restaurant.

Whilst you two were having fun at the restaurant, Jaehyun was in the apartment getting all worked up, the feeling of anger and jealousy getting stronger. He was sitting in the living room, balling his hands into fists. The glass coffee table in front of him just annoyed him for some reason, so he tipped it up, the table shattering into tiny pieces, some of the shards hitting his arms and face, grazing the skin.

That was what turned a switch on inside of him, making him destroy the entire apartment. Broken picture frames, glass shards all over the floor, furniture flipped upside down and the entire apartment was a mess. He let out a scream, not caring if he disturbs his neighbours. He was beyond caring at this point, his anger and jealousy taking over him.

You and Winwin were happily eating a meal together, drinking wine. The night was going well. You were sitting on a balcony, overlooking the city of Seoul as the sun got replaced with the moon, stars shining in the sky. The food was amazing, the staff were really sweet and the whole atmosphere in the restaurant made you feel comfortable.

The date was unfortunately coming to an end as Winwin paid for the meal, thanking the waiters as you left the restaurant. You walked hand in hand, going for a walk before Winwin took you home.

“I don’t want this night to end, I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. I hope I get to see you more”, Winwin said, smiling at you. The way his hand fits in your perfectly, the warmth and softness of his palm making you not want to let go.

“I really hope I get to see more of you too”, you said shyly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Winwin placed a kiss on your cheek, his lips warm against your skin. They lingered on your cheek for a moment, Winwin contemplating whether or not he should give you a proper kiss. That was when you decided to be bold and moved your face, his lips pressing against yours in a short but sweet kiss.

The sudden gesture made the both of you shy as you both giggled, heading back towards Winwin’s car. You both got in, and Winwin drove off once you were both buckled up. The radio was playing, some rock band playing on it. The windows were open, the breeze hitting you in the face as Winwin drove along the road.

You reached your apartment as you were laughing at something Winwin had said, and the car stopped. You both got out, hand in hand as you entered the apartment building. You entered the elevator and went up to your floor.

The elevator reached your floor as it dinged, the doors opening. You left the elevator, walking hand in hand towards your apartment. You grabbed your keys, put them in the keyhole and unlocked the door. The door opened and all you saw was black. Everything was dark since all the lights were off, confusing both you and Winwin.

“Jae?”, your voice wavered as you called out to him, entering the apartment, Winwin following behind you. As you walked further into the apartment, trying to find the lightswitch, you felt something break under your feet. 

“Ah, I see you’re back. And you’ve brought lover boy with you”, the sound of his voice was close, but you couldn’t find him. “You know, I was going to enjoy my time with you after you came back after your date, but since you brought your lover boy, I’m going to have even more fun with you”, Jaehyun’s voice sounded different. He sounded more sinister and his voice deeper than usual.

“Jae, where are you?”, you asked, still trying to find the light, but it was too dark so you couldn’t. Plus, you have had a bit to drink, so your coordination wasn’t the best. Thankfully Winwin was still behind you as he grabbed your hand, squeezing it.

Suddenly, the lights turned on and your eyes adjusted to the brightness. That was when you noticed the mess of the apartment: glass on the floor, broken picture frames, furniture tipped over, a hole in the wall.

“Hello sweetheart”, was the last thing you heard before everything went black.

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

When you came to, you found yourself strapped to a chair in your bedroom, Winwin nowhere to be seen. “Winwin!”, you shouted out, hoping he would answer you. He didn’t answer you, but he was thrown into the bedroom with you, Jaehyun pushing him to the ground.

“Now, you two be good and stay there for me, ok?”Jaehyun said as he left the bedroom, heading somewhere inside the apartment, which you were too scared to find out. You heard banging coming from the kitchen, wondering what he was up to.

He soon came back with a few sharp knives, a scalpel (you don’t even know why you have that) and some duct tape. That made you fucking terrified. What the hell is he planning? All different types of scenarios ran through your head, making you panic even more. You’re not ready to die yet.

Jaehyun could sense the fear in your face as he chuckled. “Oh don’t worry sweetheart, I’m not going to touch you. At least, not yet”, he smirked at you as you whimpered. He put the tools on the bed and then went over to Winwin, dragging his body over towards the bed, letting out a scream.

“If you stop screaming, this will be easier for me”, Jaehyun said, Winwin still screaming. “Get off me, you fucking psychopath”, Winwin kicked him in the face, making him fall backwards. As Winwin was about to leave the room, Jaehyun grabbed him and threw him on the bed. He then grabbed the duct tape and taped Winwin’s mouth, his screams now muffled.

“Jaehyun! What the fuck is wrong with you?!?”, you asked, voice laced with anger, fear and disbelief. “Oh baby, don’t act all dumb. You know you’re the reason I’m like this. Now shut up”, Jaehyun snarled at you, shutting you up.

After he finished taping up Winwin’s legs, and tied his hands together, he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned chest. He then grabbed the scalpel, gliding it across the skin, making Winwin whimper. “JAEHYUN, STOP! PLEASE!”, you cried out, not wanting him to kill Winwin. “I-i’ll do anything. Hell, I’ll even go back to you, as long as you don’t kill Winwin, please”, your makeup now ruined from crying, you pleaded for him to stop.

“Aww darling, you really think I’m going to believe that?”Jaehyun said, digging the scalpel deeper into Winwin’s chest, earning a muffled scream from him, you struggling against the restraints. 

A trail of blood appeared on Winwin’s chest as the scalpel cut him open, making him feel faint. He passed out within a few minutes, making Jaehyun disappointed. “The poor boy passed out on me! I was hoping he would stay awake to see the fear on your face, but guess we can’t get what we want all the time”, Jaehyun said as he chuckled darkly, earning a scream from you.

As time went on, the scene in front of you got messier. Blood splattered on you and Jaehyun, covering your clothes. The Jaehyun in front of you was unrecognisable, you didn’t even know who he was anymore. You kept screaming, hoping your neighbours would hear you and do something. 

Suddenly, Jaehyun ripped Winwin’s heart out from his chest, making you scream out of terror. “You can’t date lover boy if he doesn’t have a heart, can you?”, Jaehyun said as he got up, walking over to you as you were shaking in fear.

“Happy fucking Valentine’s Day, baby”, Jaehyun said as you were whimpering, tears still streaming down your face. The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance, hoping that one of your neighbours had called the police.

Your gut feeling was right as, not even a few minutes later, the door was busted down, a police officer tackling Jaehyun to the ground, handcuffing him. A female officer untied you from the chair, helping you up. “You ok, ma’am? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”, she asked you, to which you shook your head no. 

“We only broke up a few days ago. I went out on a date today and everything was going great, until we came here. My ex boyfriend murdered my date. I didn’t even get to say bye to him”, you were a crying mess, the female officer comforting you.

Winwin’s dead body was taken away in a body bag, you watching them as you continued to shake. You literally have no one to turn to now, feeling all alone. Your father died in a car accident, your mother killed herself, your ex boyfriend got arrested for murdering your date.

The only thing you can do now is start a new life by moving somewhere that nobody knows you. You don’t think you’re going to be in another relationship for a long time. Or ever. Because of what happened, Jaehyun has ruined the experience for you, and ruined your life.

It took you a long time to recover from the traumatic experience, and you were left with nightmares and panic attacks. You had to see a therapist because of it, and luckily, your therapist was really patient with you and made you feel comfortable. Your therapist's name was Johnny, and he was only 2 years older than you. You found him rather attractive, and whenever you were around him, you felt safe, the safest you’ve been since that day.

Little did you know, he was secretly a murderer, and you were his next victim.

#jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun angst #jaehyun horror #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun #winwin scenarios #winwin imagines #winwin angst #winwin horror #winwin fluff #winwin x reader #winwin #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct angst #nct horror #nct fluff #nct x reader #nct #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 horror #nct 127 angst #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 x reader #nct 127

[yellowsbuttercup]

| 00:45 |

(warnings: yandere/psycho au, mentions of blood, possible murder, restraint, let me know if i missed out on anything!)

apov.

Her feet led her to absolutely no destination in mind but she hoped she'd end up anywhere out of this hell of a mansion. She ran in a blistering speed in this endless hallway as her sweat dripped down the side of her face to leave droplets on the floor and her breath ragged. She takes a glance behind her and she saw no one, but her steps never stopped nor slowed down.

She looks down on her hands that were still restrained by the tight wraps of a thick rope. Too tight to see indents on her skin and the visible sign of her disrupted blood flow as her hands turned quite numb and paler than the rest of her.

There, a door was in sight which gave her a glimpse of hope until she had fallen over. Eyes closed as an instinct to open to her tied hands covered in glistening crimson blood. Fresh as it was to reveal a puddle of it. Heart beating rapidly, eyes widening in disgust and disbelief, suppressing a shriek to have herself still escape unannounced.

"Well, I see you've seen some evidences of my last victim. I told them to clean it up!" She gasps to herself upon hearing the voice. Left with no choice, she turns her head to attend to the owner of the voice who she despised him so much. But for him, it was a different story.

"What do you think you're doing, anyway? Escape? Oh that'd be absurd, my love!" He laughed but it soon went quiet when he calmed down. Oh but this silence, it was eerie and suffocating.

With the strength she had left, she stands up ashamed especially with how much she struggled to do so with her hands still tied up together. Her clothes were drenched in blood, the metallic scent taking over her system and it almost caused her to faint.

"Oh, stop with the bullshit Taeyong and let me go!" She cried, shoving her hands right in front of her face but he remained unfazed. Still recovering from the run she just had, her sweat drips to mix with a tear drop that fell to mix with the red puddle beneath her.

"And why would I do that?" He pouted mockingly, leaning down to her eye's level as he stepped closer, tilting his head as well for the cherry on top.

"You psycho-"

"Psycho? Oh baby, I'm no psycho." Taeyong scoffed as he rolled his eyes. He met eyes with his victim, grinning before bringing his hand up. From the past events that she had seen his hand up like that, she flinched and instantly turned the other way. Feeling a soft caress on her cheek, delicate yet there was no romance felt. Only terror. Soft yet could cut like a knife and scar her forever.

"I just...love you so much. But indeed, you do drive me crazy."

#°︎☆︎•︎𝄈︎·︎․︎·︎yebu #nct 127 imagines #nct angst #nct yandere #nct imagines #nct u imagines #nct fanfiction #nct horror #nct psycho au #lee taeyong #taeyong imagines #lee taeyong imagines #taeying imagine #taeyong blurb #taeyong timestamp #nct timestamps

[jaesqueso]

You’re next

pairing: co-worker!xiaojun x female!reader (feat the rest of the lets play ball unit as other co-workers)

summary: You go to the middle of nowhere for a team building of a company you joined only a few weeks ago, but can there be other games involved?

for the Game of Survival collab by @neo-shitty​​ and the What Makes Us Sinners collab by @junjungsunwoo​

word count: 5,132

warnings: strong language, suggestive but no actual description of anything, death, blood, descriptive murders, mentions of Squid Game, inspired by the movie “You’re next”

a/n: ok so here it is, my first time trying this genre, I had a lot of fun writing it and it ended up turning out bigger than I thought but I hope it’s not too bad and all these years of watching horror movies paid off 😅 hope ya’ll enjoy it! ❤

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

Nervousness runs through your veins as you approach the door. You just hope you got the wrong place, who would plan a team building event in a house in the middle of nowhere, so outside of town? But recognising the familiar vehicles on the drive way you must be right.

Taking a last glance at yourself on your phone you take a deep breath before lifting your hand to ring the doorbell. You hear steps inside approaching the door until it opens.

“You came!” You’re greeted by the adorable Shotaro that engulfs you in a hug. “Come on in, everybody’s in the living room. Well, not everybody, we’re still missing Yangyang, but he should be arriving soon.”

“Thanks.” With a small smile you let him take your coat and follow him to meet the rest of the guys.

Breathing in and out slowly, you try to calm yourself down. You’ve joined the company just a few weeks ago and you’re still not very familiar with your team so you spent way too much time debating on wether to come or not. ‘Please come, it will be good to get to know the guys better!’, you remember Jungwoo saying and honestly it was just a few hours before you’re back in the comfort of your bed, and you’d make points with the others, even if it was way too intimidating to be the only woman in the team.

“Guys, Y/N is here!” Shotaro announces you and everybody warmly welcomes you.

“You can sit over here.” Xiaojun scoots over on the couch giving you some space next to him.

The air between you two is intense, since you joined the company he was the one that has been guiding you and you could feel the sexual tension from miles away. He’s an incredible attractive man, not that the others aren’t, but there’s something about him. And you could tell he wanted to jump on your pants just as must as you wanted him to, you just hope the others don’t notice.

“Yangyang just texted me, he’s late so he said we could start without him.” Doyoung announces and everybody agrees.

You start playing all sort of team games set to “bond and build team spirit encouraging the communication” or whatever bullshit taken straight out of one of the most cliché books on the subject. But at least you get to share some laughs and find out more about the guys and you honestly feel like you’re growing a little tiny bit close to them.

And then there’s this one game. In pairs you have to draw randomly assigned shapes on a piece of paper over the other person’s back and they try to guess what it is. And who did you get paired with? None other than your office crush.

Xiaojun sits down first and you try your best to stop your hands from shaking as you hold the paper over his back. The thin layer of his perfectly fitted dress shirt allows you to feel every single muscle and you gulp, mind already imagining the piece of clothing gone.

Like a mind reader, he guesses every single shape you trace placing you two right in front of the race. When it’s time to switch you’re nervous you might not be as good and end up lowering your score but his touch, apart from leaving your heart beating faster, goes straight into your brain and it’s like you can see the paper on your back. With a flawless score you win the activity leaving the others cheering yet jealous.

“How can you not get it right? These were basic shapes!” Doyoung slaps the back of Haechan’s head.

“It’s all your fault, you’re the one who doesn’t know how to draw!” Haechan bickers back.

“Sorry Mark, I tried my best…” Shotaro lowers his head.

“It’s ok, it’s just a game.” Mark rubs his back giving the other an encouraging smile.

“But wait, I think there’s a tie.” Jungwoo points out and everybody looks at the score chart where it seems like the other two teams are in fact tied.

“I demand a new round!” Haechan quickly gets up with his hand in the air.

“I think we should swap partners though.” Doyoung rolls his eyes.

“That’s not fair, guys.” Jungwoo calms the atmosphere in the room. “We’ll do another round, each pair chooses which one will draw. And I guess Y/N and Xiaojun can sit this one out, it’s a clear win for you. Everybody agrees?”

Looking around the room you see everybody nodding and after deciding the roles they all get ready to re-start.

“I’m gonna get some more snacks.” You get up and head to the kitchen as Jungwoo initiates the round.

-

While you’re opening some packs of snacks placing them in bowls you feel another presence in the room, right behind you.

“Need help?” The whispering voice against your ear makes you yelp, a few chips falling to the ground.

“Xiaojun, you scared me.” You place a hand on your chest trying to calm your racing heart.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.” With a smirk on his lips he helps you clean the mess. “I didn’t know you were that good at these games.”

“I didn’t know you could draw.” You grin turning your head to him.

“What can I see, there’s a lot of things about me you don’t know about.” He steps closer but you don’t move.

“I guess there are, I mean, we haven’t known each other for that long.” Biting your lip, your eyes never leave his.

“True,” he steps even closer, trapping you against the counter, “but we sure do make a great pair.”

“I’ll have to agree to that.” Your gaze drops to his lips as his tongue swipes across them before he closes the distance between you.

The kiss is hungry and desperate like both of you have been waiting for this moment since you walked into the office on your first day and you laid eyes on each other. Hands start roaming over the clothes as the your lips move more intensely and you get lifted to sit on the counter.

But suddenly there’s a noise, like glass breaking.

“Did you hear that?” You push him slightly.

“I’m sure it was nothing.”

Xiaojun pulls you back to his lips and you try to ignore the noise and succumb into your desires but then you hear screams.

“Something’s happening, we need go check it out!” You push him further and get your feet on the floor, running back into the living room where the noises came from.

Cursing under his breath, Xiaojun follows you.

-

“Get down!” You hear someone yell as you get to the door and instantly follow through.

Looking around you can see the windows are broken and there are pieces of glass all over the floor. All your co-workers are hiding behind furniture, except one.

“What’s happening?” You ask Mark which was the closest one to you.

“I d-don’t know, we were j-just doing the game and s-suddenly arrows started coming through the w-window…” Mark stutters clearly terrified with the situation.

“Arrows?” You scrunch your eyebrows. “What the hell is going on? And why is Jungwoo just laying there?”

“Shit!” Mark curses as you all take a closer look noticing an arrow pierced straight across Jungwoo’s chest.

“Jungwoo!” Doyoung crawls to him trying to wake him up but it was too late.

“What the fuck?!” Mark joins the lifeless body unsure on what to do.

And then you see Shotaro sitting next to where Mark was, hands on his head, torso moving back and forward as he whisper “no” over and over again.

“It’s gonna be ok.” Crawling to him you grab your arms around Shotaro’s frame trying to calm him down. “Where’s Haechan?”

At the sound of his name, Haechan groans from a hidden corner. Mark hurries to him only to see an arrow pierced through his thigh.

“He’s hurt!” He shouts in panic.

“Keep your voice down!” Doyoung warns him. “They might still be out there.”

“Who the hell is doing this?” Mark tries to pull the arrow from Haechan’s leg but the younger just groans more.

“Why are they doing this to us?” Shotaro’s voice is small as he looks at you with watering eyes.

“I don’t know…” You bite your lip trying not to cry too. “Does anyone have their cellphones? We need to call the police!”

“No service.” Xiaojun speaks for the first time since you two got to the living room, after checking his and placing it back on his pocket. “ But I think there’s a phone in the hall. I’ll give it a try.”

“Did you see anyone outside?” You ask still trying to understand what’s happening.

“It’s dark already and there are no lights outside.” Doyoung explains still trying to figure out how to help Haechan.

“How’s idea was it to come to the middle of nowhere anyway?” Mark sounds desperate.

“I think it was-” Doyoung recalls but gets interrupted when Xiaojun comes back.

“Phone’s off, whoever’s doing this probably cut the line.”

“Fuck!” Haechan screams and Shotaro’s cries become louder.

“It’s gonna be ok.” You hold him tighter. “I’m taking him to one of the rooms until we figure this out.”

Wrapping one of Shotaro’s arms around your shoulders you carry him to an empty room and help him lay in bed.

“We’re getting out of this.” You hold his hand. “We’re going to find a way to call the police and they’ll come to rescue us in no time.”

“Promise?” His pleading eyes begging you to be right.

“Promise.” Without certainty you just hope you’re not lying. “I’m going back to see what we can do.”

“No!” He squeezes your hand tighter. “Don’t leave me alone, please!”

“It’s ok Shotaro, I’ll be right back. Lock the door behind me so nobody comes in and only open if it’s one of us.” Nodding reluctantly he lets you go.

Once you’re gone, he starts to get up, grabbing the key on the night stand, when he notices a silhouette behind the door. He squints his eyes trying to understand what it is but before he can say anything he feels the cold of a blade swiping across his throat. Blood squirts all over the room, his hands not enough to stagnate the bleeding and his voice is gone right before his life.

-

Back in the living room Mark’s nerves kept getting the best out of him.

“Fuck!” He shouts. “What are we going to do?!”

“Calm down!” Doyoung yells back, hands holding his cardigan around Haechan’s wound, the boy still groaning at the pain. “We just need to find things to defend ourselves and maybe wait until the morning to go seek for help.”

“Wait until the morning?” Mark snorts. “Fuck this, I’m gonna get the police myself.”

“Mark wait!” Doyoung calls but the boy is already grabbing his car keys and walking out the door.

“Where’s he going?” You ask having just arrived to the living room.

-

Outside Mark runs carefully to where all the vehicles are parked, looking for his until he notices a particular one.

“Is that Yangyang’s car?” He tilts he head walking closer but suddenly his eyes widen. “Wait, is he doing this shit?”

Upon closer look he notices there are some words written on the window in red.

“You’re next.” He reads. “What the hell does that mean?”

Mark reaches for the door, opening it surprised it was unlocked, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw inside.

“Yangyang!?” His hands start shaking as he reaches for him, removing the jacket that was draped over the man’s torso. “Fuck!”

With a hand on his mouth he steps back from the vehicle after seeing Yangyang’s chest and stomach slashed, guts going past the skin. He keeps walking backwards, in shock with what he saw until he feels a hand on his shoulder. But instead of looking back he looks down to his stomach where the bloody blade of a sword shines against the moonlight.

The weapon slides back from where it came from and he falls on his knees, blood bursting through his mouth. The attacker’s foot pushes him all the way to the ground making Mark turn around to face him.

“Is this a joke!?” Mark’s last words before the sword pierces through his chest as the attacker finishes the job.

-

“We can’t just sit around and wait, we have to do something.” You mutter.

“Should we check on Mark?” Xiaojun questions. “It’s been a while since he went outside and we haven’t heard any car.”

“I think it’s too risky.” Doyoung comments. “If something happened to him we might be next.”

“We should find some weapons.” You look around the living room searching for things you can use.

“You’re right, maybe we should go into the kitchen and gets some knifes and other sharp objects.” Doyoung suggests.

“Yeah that makes sense.” You already make your way to the kitchen before you hear Haechan groan yet again.

“I can’t, I can’t!” He tells Doyoung who tries to help him up.

“Alright, you just wait here and we’ll be right back.” He puts him back down.

“But don’t leave me here alone!, I don’t want to die, please!” Haechan whines.

“I can stay here with him and you two can go get some weapons.” Xiaojun offers, already walking to the wounded boy.

“Let’s go then.” You tell Doyoung and you both leave the room.

Instantly you start checking every drawer and cabinets placing everything you can use over the counter. You can’t believe just moments ago there was a high chance you were going to get lucky right here and now you’re trying to find a way not to get killed.

“Was that door open when you came here earlier?” Doyoung asks noticing the exit to the backyard of the house was only partially closed.

“I don’t know… ” You tilt your head as you walk to it but stop when you see red marks on the floor. “Is this b-blood?”

“Damn it.” Doyoung follows the trail into the kitchen storage and carefully place his shaking hand on the knob slowly twisting it open.

You both scream when Mark’s lifeless body hits the floor, more and more blood spreading around the tile floor. In the wall behind where he was, the words “You’re next” are dripping in blood.

-

“What was that?” Haechan’s eyes widen and the muffled screaming sounds.

“I’ll go check it out.” Xiaojun starts to get up but Haechan grabs onto his arm.

“No, no, no! Don’t leave me here by myself!”

“What if they need help?” Xiaojun explains. “I’ll be right back.”

“Oh man, why do I have to go along with every work activity?” Haechan keeps whining as he holds onto to his leg being left alone in the living room.

-

“Is he d-dead?” Doyoung stutters and you finally see a trace of fragility when he has been the most rationally and put together so far.

“I think so…” You state the obvious before turning around. “We need to go back- Doyoung watch out!”

Pulling him to you, the sharp weapon on the attacker’s hand that was sneaking behind Doyoung barely misses his arm. As you two try to avoid getting hurt by the sword that swings in your direction, Doyoung ends up slipping on Marks blood when you’re able to go around the counter heading towards the door. The boy sees his life flash before his eyes having become an easy target for the masked killer.

The sword lifts into the air and Doyoung closes his eyes but then nothing happens. He re-opens them and sees the attacker’s body falling right by his side, butchers knife stuck on his skull.

“Shit…” You pant having saved Doyoung but killed someone else instead.

“Thank you so much, Y/N.” He quickly gets up and away from the killer.

“No worries.” You take a deep breath, calming your heart that’s filled with adrenaline. “What’s up with the Squid Game masks though?”

“I don’t know, but let’s find out who’d behind it.”

Doyoung scrunches down and reaches for the black mask with the square shape, removing it to reveal the attacker’s identity.

“Jaemin?” He gasps.

“You know that guy?” You ask in confusion.

“Yeah, he was in the team before you joined.” Doyoung stands back up still shocked with the reveal. “He and this other guy, Jeno, were apparently doing some shady work and ended up getting caught transferring company funds into this bank account they had under a false name.”

“Is this revenge then?” You wonder.

“Mostly likely, after all, it was me that exposed the case to management… But they didn’t know, they just knew it was someone on the team.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “I knew they were crazy, I just never knew they’d do something like this.”

“We need to tell the others. That Jeno guy is probably here somewhere too.” You suggest handing him the biggest knife on the counter. “Take that and go get Shotaro, he’s in the room next to the stairs. I’ll take what I can and go to the living room.”

“Ok.” He grabs the weapon and looks back when he reaches the door. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

-

“Get away from me!” You yelp startled by Haechan’s scream almost dropping everything on the floor.

“It’s just me.” Walking to him you start laying out what you brought on the floor.

“What took you so long?” He sighs in relief. “And what were those screams a while ago?”

“It’s Mark. He’s…” You can’t even say the others.

“No!” He cries.

“Haechan, where’s Xiaojun?” You suddenly remember. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here with you?”

“He went looking for you after you screamed, didn’t you see him?” He explains but you just shake your head. “Where’s Doyoung though?”

-

“Shotaro?” Doyoung knocks on the door where he believes he will find him but there’s no answer.

Reaching for the knob he opens the door only to see Shotaro sprawled over the bed in a pool of blood and the words “You’re next” written on the wall.

“Damn it, not you too…” Running his hands through his hair, Doyoung can’t help but feel like this is all his fault, if only he had kept his mouth shut.

-

“Doyoung!” You finally see him back in the living room but he comes alone. “Where’s Shotaro?”

“He…” His voice trembles and you can tell he no longer has strength in him to act strong. “He’s dead.”

“No!” Haechan groans both in pain from is leg and one more of his friends gone.

You remain silent, guilt taken over you. If only you hadn’t taken Shotaro to a different room and left him alone, maybe you’d have been able to save him, maybe he’s still be here with you, alive.

“Where’s Xiaojun?” Doyoung asks. “Don’t tell me he…”

“No!” You suddenly say. “Well, I hope not. Apparently he went looking for us but I didn’t see him, did you?”

“No. Should we look for him?” He suggest.

“Oh come guys don’t leave me here alone again!” Haechan whines.

“Here,” you pass him a couple of sharp knives you brought from the kitchen, “use this if someone comes in. But please don’t attack us.”

“Just…” He sighs. “Hurry back, please.”

“We will.” You promise and take two of the knives handing it to Doyoung, “Take one too.”

“Thanks. I’ll check upstairs and you search down here, ok?” He instructs and you nod. “If anything happens just scream and I’ll come running.”

“Same.” You two take a deep breath before silently going on your ways.

-

On the upper floor Doyoung glances inside every room, knife held high ready to stab anyone that crosses his path. Well everyone except the person he’s looking for. Suddenly he passes by an half open door and sees someone inside.

“Xiaojun?” He whispers grabbing the attention of the man inside.

“Oh, Doyoung.” He turns around with widen eyes. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Y/N.”

“I was but then you disappeared so we came looking for you.“ He explains. ”Why do you have that?”

“This?” Xiaojun looks down at the black mask with a white circle. “I found this here.”

“That’s what they’re wearing, maybe they’ve been here.” Doyoung wonders.

“Who?”

“The killers. Me and Y/N ran into one in the kitchen, he came at me and she…” He gulps, hard for him to recall the situation. “She saved my life.”

“She killed him?” Xiaojun’s surprised you’d actually be capable of doing it.

“Yeah…” Doyoung sighs. “But you’ll never guess who it is. Jaemin. And we think Jeno might be on it too.”

“Our ex co-workers? The ones you got fired?” Xiaojun recalls.

“How’d you know?” Doyoung’s eyes go wide.

“You just told me.”  With a smirk Xiaojun continues. “Hey Doyoung, do you mind taking a step to your right?”

“Sure, but why?” He asks while moving to the side.

Xiaojun’s grin is the last thing Doyoung sees before feeling blood running down his face when an axe punctures through his skull. His body falls on the floor, face down, like a rug doll. The killer with a black mask and a white triangle steps his foot on Doyoung’s head as he removes the bloody weapon.

“So it was really him, huh?” Jeno says lifting up his mask. “Fucking dick, I knew it.”

“And now we know for sure.” Xiaojun adds. “Good thing I wasn’t caught as well.”

“Yeah lucky you.” Jeno rolls his eyes. “But now we got something more important to discuss.”

“What?” Xiaojun steps back as the other gets closer, tightening his grip around the axe.

“You said she’d cause no trouble, just an innocent girl. And now Jaemin’s dead.” Jeno speaks through clenched teeth.

“I had no idea that was going to happen.” Xiaojun shrugs. “Who knew that little bitch had it in her.”

“I know she’s supposed to be your witness to get out of this mess but you know there’s no way she’s coming out of here alive, right?” Jeno scoffs.

“Well, you could’ve at least gave me some time to have fun with her in the kitchen earlier, but you just couldn’t wait to start the Robin Wood feast could you?” Xiaojun roll his eyes. “Can you at least let me try to get some before you do it?”

“Is that all you think about?” Jeno tries hard not to shout. ”She killed my fucking best friend!”

“Jeno.” Xiaojun places his hand on the other’s shoulder with a grin. “Collateral damage. The deal’s still on, and now it’s all for you.”

“Collateral damage!? Who the fuck do you think you’re talking about-” Suddenly there’s a noise coming from the stairs. “That bitch dies now and who knows, maybe you’re next.”

Putting the mask back on his face, Jeno walks out the door searching for you.

“Yeah, no problem, I’ll take care of this.” Xiaojun rolls his eyes staring at the lifeless body on the floor. “You’re welcome!”

-

After searching the ground floor without any success you wonder if you should go up and find Doyoung. Taking the first step it makes a cracking noise that echos all around the silent house so you hesitate to take more. While you’re pondering you hear someone approach the stairs.

“Doyoung?” You ask but when the figure turns the corner you recognise the outfit. “Shit!”

Jeno comes running down the stairs as you head to the kitchen and out the back door. He follows you closely, axe in hand and a mad thirst for your blood. Once outside you have no idea where to go so you just run and run until you find yourself in the woods. You can’t exactly see where you’re going but you know he’s right behind you so you know you just can’t stop running.

But since you can’t see the floor you also don’t see the aerial roots of a tree that you can’t avoid tripping onto and fall on the ground. You try to get up and back away but Jeno quickly hovers you and you can almost see the smile behind the mask. Your hands roam on your side trying to find something to save yourself as he straddles your lap lifting up the axe.

“Good girls should know to stay quiet and not get on big man’s business.” He laughs but then stops as he sees a grin grow on your face. “What’s so funny?”

“You.” Grabbing the rock you found on the floor you swing it against his head with all the strength in you, making his body fall to your side. “Well, big men should know to stay out of good girl’s business.”

-

“Step back!” Haechan screams ready to throw a knife at the person that entered the living room.

“It’s ok, it’s me.” Xiaojun calmly says lifting up his mask.

“You guys need to stop scaring me like this!” Pressing a hand on his chest, Haechan sighs in relief. “Why are you dressed like that? Don’t you know that’s what the attackers are wearing?”

“You know,” Xiaojun shrugs as he walks to the other, “just trying to blend in.”

“Well you should take it off, Y/N and Doyoung might accidentally hurt you.” Haechan advises dropping his weapon. “Where are they by the way.”

“Oh, they’re gone, Haechan.” Xiaojun gets on his knees next to his colleague.

“What!?” Haechan cries. “No, that can’t be true!”

“But it is.” Xiaojun grabs the knife the other was previously holding, running his finger through the blade. “I guess it’s just you and me now. Who do you think is next?”

“Next to what? What are you talking about, Xiaojun?” Haechan doesn’t know what’s happening but his body knows it’s time to be scared.

“Wrong answer, Haechan.” Xiaojun lowers he lips to the other’s ear and whispers. “The right answer is you.”

Haechan gasps as he feels the cold blade slowly and painfully enter his stomach. Xiaojun twists the knife around making sure to destroy his insides and make more and more blood come out of him. Haechan is quick to take his last breath, already weak from his first injury that has been bleeding for hours.

Getting up, Xiaojun gathers some blood on his fingers and starts writing the famous words on the wall: “You’re next”. But then he senses someone in the room. Before turning around he slowly lowers his mask to cover his face.

“Oh it’s you.” He lets out a relieved breath as he recognises the Squid Game outfit with the triangle shape on the mask. “Did you finish her? This one is gone too so there’s no one left and we can just end this.”

The other person stays quiet but Xiaojun is too much inside his plan to even notice, throwing his mask on the floor and continuing his rambling while he finishes the message on the wall.

“So you made me lose my witness but we can still make this work. They’ll just have to believe my story of the ‘bad men that came and killed all my friends so I had to pretend I was dead to save my life’ or whatever.” Xiaojun laughs thinking he’s a genius for this plan. “So it will take me a while to go back into the office, you know, emotional damage and what not. But I’ll say two weeks until they offer me that promotion because, well, there’s literally no one else. Then in no time I’ll be in the management board and get you back in so we can finish what we started.”

“So that’s why you did it?” Xiaojun stops in surprise as he expected to hear Jeno’s voice behind the mask. “All for a fucking promotion?”

“Y/N, it’s not what it looks like.” He turns around with his bloody hands in the air as he sees the axe Jeno had earlier on your hands. “Just let me explain.”

“You just explained everything, Xiaojun.” You remove your mask to reveal Jeno’s blood all over your face. “I had no idea you could do something like this. And you were in on their money scheme too? I guess a few weeks is definitely not enough to get to know someone. You’re insane.”

“Am I? That was not your opinion earlier when your legs wrapped around my waist, begging me to fuck your brains out.” He smirks. “C’mon baby, with those two idiots out of the picture you can be my new ally. Like I said before, we do make a great pair. In just a year we can be swimming in money on paradise island in the pacific ocean. What do you say?”

“I say fuck you, Xiaojun.” You swing the axe his way but he smoothly avoids it.

You chase him around the living room trying to hit him with the axe until he gets a hold of a bigger knife and starts attacking back. Somehow he’s able to get a hold of your wrists and knocks your weapon off your hand but your don’t give up pushing him onto the floor as you hold his knife away from you.

An intense battle as your bodies rolls on the floor suddenly stops when you hear skin being pierced with a blade. Blood starts coming out of his mouth as he looks down and see you were able to flip the weapon and stab him with it.

Rolling your bodies once more, you straddle his lap, removing the knife from his hands and holding it in the air. You take a deep breath as you watch his bushed face. Only know you notice the sun is rising as the light from outside shines illuminates his bloody features.

“Tell me, Xiaojun, was it worth it?” You ask for his final words. “Betraying all your colleagues for a few bucks?”

“I’d do it all over again.” Xiaojun has the audacity to speak with a smirk that makes the anger boil in your veins.

With a scream you lower the knife straight into his heart, finally ending the nightmare. But before you can celebrate the fact that you managed to survive this crazy night someone bursts through the front door.

“Police! Drop your weapon and step away from the body with hands in the air!”

Before you turn around and claim your innocence, you look down and realise you’re the one wearing the killers clothing with a knife in your hand and you’re pretty sure they saw you kill your colleague, how are they going to believe you?

Fuck.

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

taglist: @yokshi-unbeliebubble​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @nc-teen​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @yutahoes​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @dimplehyunn​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @iknowyuno​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @bebskyy​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @ne0cultur3technology​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @nurenciye​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @luvjeongjaehyun​​​​​​​​​​

unable to tag: @chenleyang @doahflix @criminalmindsz

#cznnet #nctcreations #xiaojun angst #nct angst #wayv angst #xiaojun horror #nct horror #wayv horror #haechan angst #haechan horror #jeno angst #jeno horror #doyoung angst #doyoung horror #shotaro angst #shotaro horror #jaemin angst #jaemin horror #mark angst #mark horror #yangyang angst #yangyang horror #jungwoo angst #jungwoo horror #nct 127 angst #nct 127 horror #nct dream angst #nct dream horror

[smileyneos]

Okay so I've been making progress (albeit slow) on the WayV horror story I've been working on. I'm thinking of splitting it into two or three parts but I'm not sure yet...

#just a small update #wayv x reader #kpop horror au #horror!kpop #nct horror

[skz-haunted-house]

Hell house ~ a multi fandom story ~ ch. 1

Warnings: none this chapter

a/n: my first story on this account! I plan for this one to go on for many chapters so I hope you enjoy <3

The knock at the door nearly startled mark out his skin. He was sitting in the living room watching television, choosing to ignore the knock. It was just he and Johnny home. The others out doing their own things. Johnny walked into the living room to question mark.

“Who was that?” Johnny asked, sitting next to mark on the couch.

“Don’t know.” Mark responded “I didn’t answer it.”

Johnny rolled his eyes but got up to check the door himself. He opened the door to find no one there. As he looked around for any sign that someone had been there he noticed something at his feet. Two letters.

“Weird” he thought as he picked them up and shut the door. There was no return address or even the address of their dorm on the envelopes, the only thing present on them were their names in large, intricate lettering. A chill ran down Johnny’s back.

“What was it?” Mark was looking over curiously, now invested since Johnny had something in his hand. “I didn’t hear anyone leave after the knock… that’s weird.”

“Someone just left these.” Johnny replied slowly. “I think we should turn them in the the company. There’s no mailing address or anything… something feels off.”

Mark walks over to Johnny to take a closer look at the envelopes. “Creepy.”

Johnny nods. “Whoever delivered them knew we were here alone I think.” Johnny looks over at mark with a worried expression

“Well obviously it has to be staff or the others playing a trick on us then. Who else would know we’re here alone?” Mark responded, trying to sound confident.

“That’s a good point, but something still feels wrong.” Johnny sighs.

“It’s just a letter. If it’s something weird we can just report it to the company later.” Mark said, Curiosity taking ahold of him.

“What if it’s someone threatening us, accusing us of something, trying to cause a scandal. I could go on as to why this is a bad idea.” Johnny responded almost immediately.

“Point taken. If it is something like that we can report it like I said. Plus chances of it just being the others playing a prank on us are high. I say we open them, just to see.” Mark takes the envelope with his name from Johnny and starts to tear it open.

A part of Johnny wanted to reach out to stop him, but the other part was equally as curious. He watched carefully as mark pulled a folded piece of paper out of the envelope. Mark unfolded it, quietly reading its contents to himself.

“Weird,” he said

“What is it?” Johnny asked, nerves starting to build up once again. Mark didn’t seem nervous so Johnny hoped it really wasn’t something bad.

“It’s an invitation!” Mark sounded intrigued, handing the paper over to Johnny. His eyes instantly catching the large lettering reading “you’re invited” at the top of the page.

Johnny was surprised at how formal it was, almost reading like an invitation to a ball. Carefully Johnny read over the words. When he finished he looked up to meet marks eyes.

So.” Mark said with a grin. “What are we wearing?”

#kpop horror #kpop horror au #kpop au #nct horror #nct horror au #nct au #kpop imagines #nct imagines

[princesstaeille]

Seeds

summary: donghyuck gets distracted while picking strawberries, so doyoung goes to find him.

genre(s): farm!au, horror

warning(s): gore, food as horror, mentions of dead animals (pls let me know if there are more)

wc: 636

notes: inspired by this post. if you enjoyed reading, pls like/reblog and comment! thank you xxx

"Donghyuck, supper's ready!"

Doyoung trudges through the tall, yellowing grass and searches for the boy in the vast field.

A calm wind blows in from the west and sends the wheat dancing, swaying gently. The delicate smell of strawberries weaves through the field and leads Doyoung to where the wheat becomes sparse, and the sea of golden grain mingles with bright green leaves until it's no longer. Now, before him, lies rows of strawberry plants that house hundreds of small jewels, which glisten when the sunlight kisses them.

There, he finds Donghyuck, who, in the company of Daegal, plucks a ruby from its stem and drops it into his mouth. Occasionally, he tosses one into the tan and worn wicker basket beside him.

Doyoung wipes the sweat from his brow and sighs. "You know you're supposed to pick the strawberries, not eat them all before everyone else, right?" He lightly glowers, but the brunet pays no mind.

Donghyuck brings another strawberry to his lips; this one is big and plump and succulent, such a stunning red that it almost resembles the heart. He takes a big bite and savors the sweetness that floods his tongue and overtakes his senses. Juice seeps from the corners of his mouth and dribbles down his chin, staining the collar and cuffs of his shirt bright pink.

Doyoung watches as Donghyuck swipes another strawberry from its stem and notices that his fingertips are painted the same color. The juice makes a home underneath each nail and spreads thin when any pressure is applied, only to coalesce once more in a translucent pink thread.

Donghyuck uses Daegal as a napkin and rubs his sticky hands into her fur, turning the pristine white to pale red. Then, he picks up the wicker basket at his knee and holds it up. "Oh, come on, hyung. You see I picked all of these right here, don't you? This is plenty. I was just having a small snack." He smiles cheekily and tilts his head. "A reward for all my hard work."

Doyoung wants to roll his eyes at the comment but freezes at seeing Donghyuck's smile.

His lips are dyed the same red as his fingertips, and the color trickles down his neck, but he makes no move to wipe the mess from his mouth. Skin and flesh stick to his gums and sink into the crevices; the juice coats his tongue and teeth and drips from his canines. Seeds are caught between the gaps, and his tongue tries to push them free. Like trapped golden beetles, they crawl and squirm, only to be crushed by their enamel cages.

Doyoung recoils with a scowl. "Make sure to wash up before supper. You'll scare away everyone's appetite if you show up like that."

A slight pout supplants the grimace that once rested on Donghyuck's face. His tongue, hidden by pursed lips, wiggles around his mouth some before he spits a wad of seed and saliva out into the grass. He wipes his mouth with a sleeved hand for good measure.

"This year's harvest seems extra ripe." Donghyuck hoists the basket up and holds it on his hip, staring proudly at the picked strawberries. "And we probably have enough to sell. Make a nice cake or something with them, maybe a lemonade since it's getting warmer."

Doyoung peers into the basket and studies them. They are ripe, and full of juice, too. Bursting with it, almost. The strawberries bloat and bulge, skin stretched thin and transparent. The juice courses throughout like blood. A basketful of tiny hearts, thrumming with life. "Mhm," he replies half-heartedly.

Donghyuck chirps at Daegal. "Come on, girl," he bids, and the dog rises from its place in the grass where it rested so peacefully it almost looked dead, pristine white fur tainted red.

thank you so much for reading! please leave a like and a comment. reblogs are appreciated too!

#nct #nct 127 #kpop boys #nct fanfic #fanfic #horror #nct dream #nct horror #nct scenarios #nct doyoung #haechan #nct imagines #kpop drabbles #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #nct drabbles #writers on tumblr #writing #nct haechan #lee donghyuck #kim doyoung #doyoung #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 imagines

[p-oisn]

ㅤHeaven KnowsㅤI'mㅤMiserable ㅤNow

 o ⃝   ♡ྀི  @v-ari  ( ྀི ◞ ◟ )ᰍ

#vivi: alphabet event #div cr chaemingly #lhc (⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠) #messy moodboard #moodboard #random moodboard #grunge moodboard #dark moodboard #nct moodboard #haechan moodboard #retro moodboard #carrd inspo #pink moodboard #black moodboard #clean moodboard #pastel moodboard #white moodboard #twitter headers #horror moodboard #fatal frame #coquette moodboard #gif #nct dream #nct u #nct 127 #wayv #emo moodboard #lq moodboard #unfiltered moodboard #dreamcore

[neobubz]

Hunter (M) - Prey Sequel

this is the sequel to my story prey (m) if you haven’t read that please stop and go read that one first before continuing. for those who have, thanks for taking a look at the sequel! i truly hope you enjoy this wicked little story. this is of course like the other one going to jump back and forth between time frames so please be aware of that. once again, i hope you enjoy and i hope to see you in my future stories 💜

Word Count: approx. 26.7k

Paining: fem reader x jaemin feat. jeno and haechan

Warning(s): time jumping (past and present will be divided by a header don’t worry), mature audiences only, explicit language, crime drama, crime solving, psychological thriller, house fire, very slow burn, storytelling, m*rder, spouts of anger (ch*king), sex, smut, abusive relationship, a long ass story ^^

Disclaimer: though it doesn't need to be said, this is just a story. i do not know any of the parties involved, don't take this sh*t seriously. also, as i am not one familiar with crime/court proceedings/durations of time involving solving a crime/police business some of this information (if this is your job) will be wrong. i tried my best with the dozens of crime dramas i watch XP

Preview:

“Depends on what you tell me here.”

“Do they really think that I would do something as deliberate as to set my home on fire with my child and I barely escaping it unscathed?! What kind of lunacy are they snorting down at your precinct?!”

“I know you would do anything to protect your kid. We all know that but my boss doesn't. So I need you to tell me EVERYTHING. The events leading up to the fire and what happened afterwards. I need to know it all and DO NOT leave anything out.”

Gulping your head slowly turns to Haechan. “Exactly how much of everything do you need to know?”

Holding up his work phone he shows you the voice recording app. Turning your head away he says, “everything.” 

ⓗ ⓤ ⓝ ⓣ ⓔ ⓡ

Staring blankly ahead of you not even bothered by the flashing red and blue lights you watch as men and women bolt towards a fiery beast. This couldn’t be…this wasn’t supposed to happen. And yet it was…

One by one they line up and spray water on this creature trying to tame it — an opening is created and another group rushes inside their silhouettes getting lost in the smoke that pours out of every opening. They were looking for any survivors, or rather one survivor.

Glued tightly in your arms your sons’ whales bring you back to him. Your white button down shirt soaked through from his tears. Wrapping him tighter in your arms you shield him away from the unfortunate event befalling your family. His face buried in your chest he repeats ‘mommy…mommy…mommy…’

If it wasn’t from the shock of everything you  know tears would cascade down your cheeks uncontrollably as are his. Nothing went the way it should have today... There shouldn't have been an accident … this wasn’t supposed to happen… 

The brave souls who tried to tame the beast run away coughing and falling to the ground. Their teammates rush to pull them away before they’re snatched by the beasts’ flames. Inside was far too hot for anyone to withstand for long periods of time. A man giving orders tries to get his team to spray water straight ahead to allow yet another team to enter, but just as a new round of men and women prepare to go inside another massive explosion sends those closest flying back and all others to duck.

Your sons’ cries become louder. Turning away tears finally fall onto the top of your son's head. Your home, the place you’ve lived together with your child for the past seven years, gone. All the memories of his first moments…destroyed. 

“Ma’am… Ma’am!!!” A voice says next to you. “MA’AM!!!!!” They scream startling you. A woman dressed in a paramedics uniform holds her hands out in front of you. “Ma’am, I’m sorry that I startled you but I need to check you and your son for injuries.” She says calmly.

“W-We-We’re fine…” you say but your voice cracks.

“I need to make sure, please,” she gestures to an ambulance that sits a few feet away from where you’re standing.

Looking down at your son, you see a few scratches on his cheek. “O-Okay…”

Leading you away from the firefighters who are desperately trying to get the raging fire under control, you and your son are placed inside the ambulance while two paramedics look both of you over for any type of injury. Your mind drifts away from what the female paramedic is doing, eyes laser focused on the entrance to your home. Your jaw tightens as bile threatens to erupt from within you. You jackass…why did you let this happen?!

“Ma’am,” the female paramedic calls you to attention. “You have a pretty nasty burn on your arm. I don’t think it’s severe but you should still get it looked at.”

Glancing down at your fiery skin you turn to where your son is being fully examined inside of the ambulance. “And my son?” 

“He’s alright ma’am,” the other paramedic smiles happily. “Isn’t that right buddy?” He asks your son who doesn’t speak.

“I’m sorry,” your voice comes out weak and tired. “He’s a little shy around strangers.”

“There’s no need to apologize. What the two of you went through – ” the male paramedic stops speaking, his head lowering to the floor of the ambulance.

“My daddy…Where’s my daddy?”

You freeze at the word daddy. Turning to the paramedics they both give each other unreadable looks.

“Ummm, we’ll go and find out right now. Don’t worry little man,” the male paramedic says before hoping out of the ambulance. “We’ll be right back.” He nods down at you.

Watching them like a hawk they walk over to who you assume is the fire chief. He at first waves them off aggressively. His eyes cold as ice. He appeared to not want to be bothered as he focuses on keeping his team safe. The paramedics, however, don’t leave. Instead the male paramedic steps forward whispering something in the fire chiefs’ ears. Immediately, his head turns to you. The coldness in his eyes vanishes the moment his fall to yours. Instead his eyes show sadness or pity — you can’t quite tell at this distance. Turning back rather rigidly he says something before waving the paramedics off. Moments later both of the paramedics start their trek back to you and your son, but as they get closer there is an eeriness surrounding them.

“The fire chief said he’ll be over to talk to you personally in just a minute. They’re still trying to get everything under control. Also, there were a few firefighters inside when the explosion happened so —” the female paramedic starts. 

“Th-There are people inside?!” You interject. 

“Don’t worry ma’am, he said that they are the best of the best. They’re okay and looking for a safe way out. So it’s best to focus on yourself and your son right now, okay?”

“When will they get out? They need to get out before another explosion happens! Good lord!!!” You start crying uncontrollably. “How in the world did this happen?”

“Mom…my…” your son whispers beside you before clambering in your arms again, “don’t worry… daddy will be okay…” he tries to soothe you but your tears come out faster than before.

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Standing before you gleaming from ear to ear is the man who has single-handedly fucked up your entire world. His brown hair slicked back, eyes sparkling with promise and unfortunately, admiration – he wears a black suit jacket, white button shirt, black tie and black trousers. You, a white wedding dress…

How did this happen? How could your life get twist turned upside down like this? Just a year ago you were in your own apartment climbing up the corporate ladder and now you’re about to get…

“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The judge asks you.

Lawfully, the small sliver of who you once were snickers at the word. If only the judge before you knew what hell you’ve been through. If she knew what this piece of shit did she would arrest him on the spot and open up a whole investigation! 

Taking in a deep inhale, you close your eyes savoring the last moments of your freedom.

If only she knew… if only you could tell her, to give her a hint that the union she was about to officiate is a fraud, but you can’t…

Gripping your hands tightly the man you’re supposed to be in love with smiles his repulsive cheshire-like smile as he awaits to hear those faithful words ‘I do.’ Exhaling once more you do what’s best for you and your child that is currently kicking up a storm inside of you. Either telling you to marry the ass hat in front of you or trying to knock some sense into you and blurt out what you desperately want to say to everyone around. 

“I do.” You speak but your voice is broken and flat. 

You fall prey to the pressure of what would happen if you did reveal everything. The twisted web of lies this snake may whisper to others — it was too much of a risk. You can’t risk anything, not in your current state. 

“Well, if there are no objections,” the judge pauses for a second.

Objections? Why would there be any objections? This fox waited for the perfect opportunity to have this sham of a wedding. Your parents who are currently in a luxurious cabin in their mountain getaway for the next four days – that was so lovingly paid for by the demon in front of you. This little trip is sadly your own dumbass fault. You foolishly let it slip one night that your parents like to travel and remember why they decided to spend the rest of their lives together – away from you, away from distractions, where they can be with each other and remember all the years filled with memories. And of course, the devil used this information against you…

“No objections here!” Your mom shouts a glass of wine in hand via zoom call.

Glancing to the people around you, a group of men whom you’ve never seen before, your actual witnesses to this horrible union — all eyes are bright and happy for the two of you, all except one. Their eyes pierce through your soul as if they can read every thought, every movement of your body. Quickly, before he notices something he shouldn’t, you avert your eyes and focus instead on the hem of your dress as the judge looks around and gives everyone a chance to speak up.

“Well, if there are no objections, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

As if you were in some twisted romance movie, Jaemin eagerly leans in. His hands cupping your cheeks ever so gently, he places his lips against yours. His lips are glossy and soft while your painted red lips are stiff as a board. Like hell you were going to kiss him! You played your part. You weren’t going to give him anything more than the bare minimum. But that didn’t stop him at all. His one hand, closest to the judge, drops to your waist as he pulls you to him. The room erupts with cheers and applause from his guests and your parents. Tears prickle at your waterline, the last hope of freedom leaving you as your tears fall to the floor. 

“Congratulations!” Your parents shout.

Putting on your mask you smile gleefully at the screen. “Thank you mom and dad,” your lips quiver for a second. “S-Sorry you couldn’t be here.”

“We are too!” Your mom wipes her eyes. “We need to get together the moment we’re back in town.”

“Of course! A celebratory dinner,” Jaemin wraps his arm around your waist. “Plus, I know my beloved wife will want to talk to her mom about the nursery.”

“Ahhh!!! I can’t wait to get back! We’ll go shopping and help you two set everything up, won’t we honey?” She turns to your dad.

“Of course! Cheers my boy! May nothing but blessings fall upon you both.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Your parents end the zoom call by stating they’ll call later but to enjoy the rest of the day and have fun. As your parents say their goodbyes, Jaemin's guests swarm the two of you. 

“Dude! You did it!”

“Didn’t think you’d be the one to marry first but congrats!” 

“How does your mom feel about this one?” Another glances at you. “On second thought, fuck’em, you’re gorgeous!” He swoops down giving you a hug. “Welcome to the family!” 

“Hey! Hands off my wife,” Jaemin jokes.

“Hands off his wife and future baby,” a soft voice catches your attention. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Jeno.”

“Baby!” Jaemin wraps his arm around Jeno’s shoulders, a huge smile on his face, the same smile that captivated you when you first saw it. “This is my best friend, Jeno! Jeno, this is my beautiful wife! Told you she was gorgeous!”

Nodding and smiling Jeno keeps his lips pressed together tightly before speaking. “You did, you did.”

“Come on! We need to celebrate!” Getting behind you a shorter and rather petite young man smiles sweetly. “I’m Renjun, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, I know this is going to seem weird but I need to put this blindfold on you.”

“N-No!!!” You squeak and try to move away but strong arms keep you from going anywhere.

“It’s okay.” Jeno chuckles. “Just a small, very small party we put together to surprise you guys. I promise nothing will happen. See,” he gestures with his chin towards Jaemin who is already blindfolded. “Everything’s fine. I promise.”

As you look into Jeno’s eyes your rapidly beating heart starts to calm down. There’s something about his gaze that makes it seem like it’s okay to believe him. That it’s okay to put your faith and trust in him. Then again, you fell for that trap before too.

“I can put it on myself.” You state bluntly.

“Independent woman, I like her already. Hey toots! The names Haechan! How this guy ended up with a beauty like you is beyond me, but once you’re done with him come and find me!” He winks.

“Really, Haechan? They just got married!” Shoving him aside a rather nervous yet charming man reaches out his hand. “I’m Mark.”

Shaking his hand you then slide the blindfold over your eyes. Hands grip your shoulders as a soft and soothing voice fills your head. 

“The rest of the introductions will have to wait, but if you’ll just keep your hand in mine I’ll safely lead you out to the car.” Jeno whispers. 

“Why exactly do we need the blindfolds again? Isn’t the party at our house?” Jaemin chuckles.

“Who said it was at your house?” Haechan’s voice booms next to you. “Renjun, Mark, get Chatty Cathy out of here. Jeno and I will handle his beloved bride.”

“Princess!!! Don’t worry you’re in safe hands!” Jaemin shouts his voice getting farther away as he continues to speak. “Haechan don’t you dare touch her or this nice judge will have to charge me for murder!”

Giggling behind you the judge speaks up. “Have a wonderful day you two and congratulations!!! But please, no murdering anyone!!!!”

Strong hands intertwine with yours, their hand warm and comforting. “Okay, start walking forward.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Through a crowd of first responders you hear your name. Turning to the voice you see Jeno thrashing his way through trying to get to you and your son.

"Jeno..." you whisper. "JE-JENO!!!!" You scream for him to find where you are.

“Will you move?!" He shouts at a few firefighters. "I know the people of this home! Move!!!" With one final shove he bursts through the barricade they tried to make and sprints to you. Engulfing you in his arms he holds you tightly. “Are you okay? When I saw the news I came right away.” Pulling back just enough to inspect you, he cups your face in his hands. “What the hell happened? Did you get hurt? What did they say?" He checks your face for any injuries.

"Jeno,” you start sniffling. “I don’t… I don’t know what happened. It just…it just…”

Pulling you back to him he holds you in his arms. “Don’t worry, everything's going to be okay now. Is everyone safe?” 

Nodding you step aside so he has a view of his nephew who is still sitting inside of the ambulance. “Little man!"  He shouts, grabbing your sons’ attention. 

“Uncle Jeno,” he starts to cry again. 

“Hey Buddy!” He scoops him up into his arms. Your son’s tears keep pouring down his cheeks just as yours start up again. “There…there…everything's going to be okay."

"Da-Daddy..." he mumbles through his tears. "Daddy was..." he cries more.

Turning slowly to you Jeno’s eyes widen with shock. "Where is Jaemin?"

Covering your mouth you shake your head. "He-He...He…” you can’t bring yourself to utter the words. 

Everything happened so fast. One second the three of you were in the kitchen the next you’re outside with your son taking cover before the house went up in flames. It just doesn’t make any sense…

“Where…is Jaemin?” Jeno asks again.

“He was still inside when the house went up in flames,” you start choking on your tears.

"Mommy got hurt," your son points to your arm. "She saved me!"

Staring down at your arm, Jeno’s grip on your son tightens. "Of course she would," he smiles at him. "She would do anything to make sure you're safe."

"Is that so?" A gruff voice pulls everyone’s attention. "Would you do anything?"

Immediately getting in front of you, Jeno blocks you from this stranger's view. "Who are you?!" He demands.

"I believe I'm the one who should be asking all the questions. I'm the one who will be overseeing this investigation."

"Investigation..." Jeno mumbles. "Wait, this is just a house fire, shouldn't the fire chief be in charge?"

"It would have just been a house fire but now we're investigating a possible homicide."

"HOMICIDE?!" You and Jeno shout.

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Your hand grazes over the pictures that were taken from your wedding reception. The smiling faces of Jaemin's friends who have strangely become quite important people in your life since that day. Renjun and Haechan bickering after Haechan shoved some of your wedding cake on his face. A slight smile tugs at the corner of your mouth at the hilarious memory. Those two are like Tom and Jerry, constantly doing things to piss the other off but at the end of the day would feel incomplete if the other weren’t around. 

Then, there is Mark, Chenle, and Jisung smiling sweetly for the camera, but the best part of the picture are Chenle's fingers behind Mark and Jisung's heads while he smiles extra bright for the picture. The little sneak thinking that he would get away with giving them bunny ears – he would have too if Jaemin hadn’t sent everyone copies of the pictures. 

When the guys came over for a meal that’s when the arguing began between those three ensued, thank goodness when you brought out the food they forgot what they were fighting about — making the rest of the evening quite pleasant. 

Finally, your hand stops at a picture of yourself, Jaemin and Jeno. This one being your husband's favorite picture… You can hear his voice ringing in your ears when he printed out the picture,

'My two favorite people in the world... We should frame this one, don't you think?'

After the fake wedding and reception and when all his friends left to go back to their homes the mask you were wearing shattered. You didn’t have to pretend anymore to be happy about what was supposed to be the best day of your life. You could let your sorrow show and make sure the man that has single handedly ruined your life know exactly how you felt. Which meant going back to avoiding him every chance you got. There was no talking, no listening, and no doing anything that he requested you to do. The only thing you did was sit on the window seat staring out at the world that is no longer your oyster. This wasn't a marriage, this was a life sentence.

Slamming the album closed you place it back on the bookshelf next to all the other fake memories he's created to fit his twisted fantasy. The only memories that are real are the moments with your son. Everything surrounding the child you fortunately, yet unfortunately share with him are the realist moments between the two of you.

Opening up the album specified for your first pregnancy, you stare at a picture of the two of you from your first doctor's appointment, the memory playing out in front of you as if you were watching a movie. Jaemin couldn’t stop fidgeting despite the fact he knew you were pregnant before the doctor confirmed it. Whether his fidgety behavior was due to the anticipation of you blurting out that you’re being held against your will, or because he was truly excited to hear if your symptoms were in fact true that the two of you would become parents — you still don’t know to this day, but shockingly his behavior must have been normal for first time dad’s because it sure didn’t flag as unusual to the doctor or nurse. 

Turning the page you push down the memory of wanting to shout to the doctor, to the people in the waiting room that you were a victim of the man sitting next to you. Deep down you were desperately screaming for help, for someone to call the cops but from the moment he approached you at the last gate and told you that you were pregnant you lost the will to fight. The only will you have left in you is to make sure that your son has a happy life and knows NOTHING of what befell you. 

Looking down at the next picture you gently giggle at your first ultrasound photo. That day Jaemin said your son looked like a little lima bean. Strangely, it was a sweet moment. His eyes were glued to the monitor as a trickle of sweat dripped down the side of his face. He was always nervous when it came to your checkups. It was as if he was waiting for someone to pull the rug from underneath him. But the moment the nurse found the tiny little bean shaped baby growing inside of you, his shoulders slumped down and his body relaxed. 

He earnestly asked if you guys can have a photo and turned to you smiling brightly. As if this picture would cure all diseases, as if the child inside of you would solve all the world’s problems — he grabbed your hand gently, pulling it up to his lips where he gave your knuckles a kiss.

‘Thank you.’ He whispered. 

‘For what?’ You asked. 

‘Thank you for making me a father. I swear I will do everything in my power to ensure that you and our baby are safe. I promise.’ 

And you knew he meant every word…

After your son’s first ultrasound there are plenty of photos of your growing belly. Jaemin becoming quite thrilled watching the growth of you and your son. At first it was a little weird to you. You didn’t like seeing how big your stomach was getting and the small stretch marks that started to appear, despite rubbing cocoa butter on your stomach every day. But Jaemin being Jaemin reassured you every day…

‘Princess, you’re not fat, okay? You look amazing!’ He says holding up the camera. 

‘I told you I don’t want to take any more pictures.’

‘Don’t you want our son to see these when he’s older? To know that he has the best mother in the world?! To know that she took the best care of herself as well as him?’

‘Yeah, like a picture is going to show all of that,’ you roll your eyes. 

‘Please, just one more?’

‘Fine. Take it.’

In hindsight these pictures are some of the ones you treasure the most. Knowing the best gift you could ever receive in your life was with you – growing with you day by day, both of you getting stronger helped to heal some of the wounds you’ve suffered. 

But nothing will ever top the moment that both Jaemin and yourself saw your son’s face for the first time with the three-dimensional imaging. This was the moment where you knew everything was real! That this was happening! That you were about to be a mom! And Jaemin's words after seeing your son's face for the first time darn near broke you...

'You did it,' he whispers next to you. 'Look at him... he's gorgeous... great job, mom.'

Those words of validation for some strange reason had your heart and mind playing games with you. The Jaemin you first met was in that room with you, looking at the beautiful life you both created, together. His eyes glistening with tears despite his lips trying to hold back the proudest smile the world has ever seen. At that moment, you had the Na Jaemin back...

But those moments didn't last. The moment you left your appointment realization came crashing down. This isn't real. These moments are fabricated to fit one person's psychotic fantasy. Even the child that grows within you was not created out of love, but out of survival. Those weeks where you submitted to him while you painstakingly planned your escape, only for this gift and curse to keep you tethered to him.

"You know it doesn't have to be this way, right?" An all too familiar voice whispers behind you. "We can make this work between us. For the baby at the very least," his arms wrap around your waist pulling you to his chest. 

The numbing sensation you’ve grown accustomed to starts to slither up your body. It starts from your toes to your ankles, sinking deeper and deeper into your flesh. These past couple of months since the wedding you’ve learned a new skill — how to completely shut down any and all feelings. Letting whoever has control do whatever they please. 

"I've asked for your forgiveness so many times. I've been on my hands and knees for you. I've bowed my head on the ground before you. Yet you haven't forgiven me..."

But just like the venomous beast he is, Jaemin finds a crack in this new skill of yours. Bursting through like a bull he shatters everything before facing the one emotion that is always below the surface, rage. 

"Do you really think you deserve forgiveness, Jaemin? What if the roles were reversed? What if I bowed my head to you? If I begged and pleaded for you to forgive me after kidnapping you and gas lighting everyone in your life for my own fucked up fantasy, would you forgive me? Would you forgive me if I had forcefully rode your dick to kingdom come until I ended up pregnant further linking us together? Knowing full well no matter where you go in this world there will always be a part of me attached to you!! Would you still forgive me?!" You shout, your eyes and fists clenching.

Squeezing you tighter in his embrace, his forehead falls to the top of your head. "No.” He whispers. 

Startled, your body freezes up. Did he… wait, he didn’t just say, “no?” You ask.

“No. I wouldn’t be able to forgive you. I’m not going to pretend that I would. I won’t and I can’t lie to you like that. What I did was,” he pauses sighing, once again his arms wrapping tighter around you. “Is, wrong. The past few months since you’ve started to ignore my existence I’ve done a lot of thinking.

“I was scared that you were going to leave me. I was scared that the one source of happiness I found on this earth was going to disappear. Logically, I know if it was meant to be we could have made it work, but I had never fallen so fast and hard for someone in my life. In fact, I’ve tried to avoid falling in love completely.

“I can say that it was because of my parents, I can say that it’s because of crappy exes who didn’t care about me but about the money my family has, but that’s not the complete truth. When I lost my grandmother a piece of me broke that day. She was the only person who saw me. She was the only person to look me in my eyes and see Jaemin, not Na Jaemin, the son of a multimillionaire, the one to take over the company one day.

“She just saw me, her grandson. When you came into my life and we started talking, it was like I was seen,” he sniffles. “Someone was finally looking at me for me.”

“And you’re telling me your friends don’t see you for you?”

“They see me as the kid who’s from a rich family. Plus, it’s not like they aren’t from well off families either.”

“You’ve doubted their loyalty?”

“Never.”

“Then you trust them and accept that they see you for you.”

“Only one person.”

“Jeno?” You inquire.

Nodding he nuzzles his face in the crook of your neck, his arms loosening for his hands to rest on your round belly. “Please…tell me what I can do. Tell me what I can do to start over. To show you the kind of man I truly am…please..."

"Confess."

His body stiffens behind you. His heart pounding against your back. Closing your eyes you wait for any type of reaction from him. Whether it be anger, tears, or worse…

“Confess?” He asks, but his voice sounds distant.

“Yes. Confess all of your crimes towards me.”

Instead of answering you, he wraps his arms around you, pulling you flush against him. His breath hot on your neck, you pray that he won’t do anything drastic. “I…I need help…” He chokes back a few tears. “Please, I need help… don’t make me… I’m sorry…”

“You need more than help, Jaemin. You kidnapped me, locked me in that room, and had me play that fucked up game for lord knows how long! You need to pay for your crimes!”

Jaemin buries his face into the crook of your neck. “Aren’t I paying for them already? You don’t talk to me. You won’t even look at me! You barely let me touch you. The only time you show an ounce of your true self is when we’re at your doctor's appointments. That’s it…”

“And how exactly am I supposed to act? Do you want me to put on a mask and pretend like I’m happy that my life was uprooted? That I barely get to see my family, oh, and the only time I do is when I’m around you? Come on, Jaemin…”

“Fine…” he sniffs and tears himself away from you. “Just… just let me at least be here when the baby is born, okay? After that…” he takes a deep yet shaky inhale. “I’ll confess to everything, okay? I’ll turn myself in.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

“There we go, all better!” The nurse says as she finishes bandaging your right forearm. “Now, you’re going to need to avoid getting your arm wet for a while until it heals properly,” she starts.

“How long exactly?” You inquire.

“Well we’ll schedule you for an appointment in about a week at the wound center. There is a hospital across the river that specializes in the treatment of wounds and Dr. Andrews, the one who came in and initially inspected your arm,” you nod. “Well, he’s the head doctor there so he will be checking on your healing progress. He said that you’re very lucky and it’s not a serious burn, but to be safe for the next seven days if you can avoid getting water on your arm it would be for the best.”

“Wh-What about bathing? And my son, I need to give him baths!”

“I wouldn’t mind volunteering,” a snarky voice startles both you and the nurse. “That is if you don’t mind disrobing in front of me.”

Exhaling deeply you let out a loud groan. “What are you doing here, Haechan?”

“Jeno called us,” he steps forward. “Now, now, don’t look so miserable. You’ll break my heart.”

“He called you and you decided to sprint over here? How nice of you.” You spat.

“Look, I was just joking about the bathing thing. My sister can help you with that if you want,” he shoves his hands in his pocket shrugging. “As for the little guy, aren’t you staying with Jeno?”

“Yes…”

“Well, there you go. Plus, the little dude is like what 10? He can handle a bath by himself.”

“He’s six and a half,” you growl. 

“Easy now,” he smirks. “I was just playing.”

The nurse's eyes bounce between you and Haechan confused. “Exactly who are you, sir?”

“I’m the guy who’s going to be interviewing her for the homicide of Na Jaemin.” 

“WHAT?!” You scream. 

“Shit woman! Do you have to make my ears bleed?”

“I swear!” You look at the nurse. “I swear I didn’t do anything! Haechan! You jackass! What the hell is going on?!”

“Look,” he holds up hands trying to calm you down. “We both know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Jaemin, especially not with your son around. The problem is that they found a body in YOUR home where there was a fire and Jaemin is nowhere to be seen. I’m not sure about the condition of the body but it’s already on its way to the coroners. 

“To be frank I shouldn’t even be on this case since I know you, but I can’t let this go to anyone else. Jaemin was my friend and when he married you, you became family to me. Until everything is resolved I’m going to make sure you and your son are safe. So just relax, okay? Tonight I’ll come over and explain everything that’s going to happen to you and Jeno. Call it a courtesy visit because we’re friends.”

“Haechan,” tears form at your waterline. “Please, you have to help me… I didn’t do anything! I swear! I could nev —”

He hushes you with his pointer finger against your lips. “I know and I hate knowing that right now you’re the prime and only suspect.”

“But I…”

“Ma’am, if this is your friend I’m sure he’ll do all that he can to help you. And if you said you had nothing to do with this incident you’ll be fine. The most important thing to focus on right now is healing so you can take care of your son.” The nurse rests a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“She’s right. It’ll be fine and I promise I will find out what happened to Jaemin.”

“Thank you, Haechan…”

“Of course.” His attention goes from you to the nurse, a somber look deep in his eyes. “So, is she able to answer a few questions now?”

“I don’t see why not, but please nothing too stressful. Ever since you showed up her heart rate has acted up,” the nurse teases. 

“I always knew you were into me,” he wiggles his brows and blows you a kiss.

“Go fuck yourself, Haechan.”

“If you don’t mind can we have a little privacy please?”

“Oh, yes.” The nurse nods and leaves. “If you need anything just press the button I gave you.”

“Thank you.”

You watch the nurse leave and close the door behind her leaving you and Haechan alone. Letting out a huge breath Haechan joins you on the bed. 

Looking out the small window in your room you ask the dreaded question. “How bad is it?”

“Depends on what you tell me here.”

“Do they really think that I would do something as deliberate as to set my home on fire with my child and I barely escaping it unscathed?! What kind of lunacy are they snorting down at your precinct?!”

“I know you would do anything to protect your kid. We all know that but my boss doesn't. So I need you to tell me EVERYTHING. The events leading up to the fire and what happened afterwards. I need to know it all and DO NOT leave anything out.”

Gulping your head slowly turns to Haechan. “Exactly how much of everything do you need to know?”

Holding up his work phone he shows you the voice recording app. Turning your head away he says, “everything.” 

“That’s a little personal don’t you think?” Peeking back at him you see him press the button and know there is no way to get out of this. 

“Why don’t we start from the beginning? Actually, none of us know this, but when did you first meet Jaemin?”

You shrug, “almost two years before our son was born.”

“How did you meet him?”

“I got lost while taking a back road and ended up at his grandmother’s estate where he was staying. I had gotten hurt while trudging through the woods near her home and he allowed me to stay until I was better. He even invited my parents over so I wouldn’t miss spending the holidays with them.”

Shocked, Haechan chuckles. “Damn he did all that?”

“Yes it was very nice of him.”

“When did the two of you become official?”

“New Year’s Day.”

“How long did the two of you date before getting engaged?”

Rolling your eyes you start growing irritated. “Are these questions necessary? I mean really?!”

“Yes they are. We need to figure out if you had any reason to harm him.”

Turning away from Haechan you can’t help but remember all those months that you were locked up in that fucked up labyrinth of a home. How Jaemin made you play that perverse game hunting you down like you were a rabbit and he the wolf. Not to mention the use of his pride and joy, Nana… 

Your head springs up. “The dogs!!!!” You scream. “How could I have forgotten?! What the hell is wrong with me?! Where are the dogs? Are they okay?” 

“The two males seemed to have run away because they were located a few miles away in a different neighborhood. They’re safe and currently staying at a shelter until you’re able to care for them.”

“And Nana! What about her?”

Haechan shrugs, “we don’t know what happened to her. No one reported a dog that was found. I’ll check with the fire house, but as of now she may have perished in the fire.”

“She’s…she’s gone?” Tears spring to your eyes.

“I’m sorry, I know how much she meant to everyone.”

“Oh, Nana…” you cover your mouth as tears fall onto your hand. 

Your lips hidden from Haechan lightly tug at the ends. Fighting back the urge to smile, you let the appearance of grief take over your body. That hellish beast will no longer haunt you! She’s gone! Finally out of your life for good! 

It’s terrible to admit that you’re ecstatic she’s gone, but you are. She never got used to you being around. She would snap, bare her teeth, snarl, and bark at you. Not to mention all the times she purposely rushed past you making you lose your balance. The only sad part is that you will need to tell your son that his favorite dog in the whole wide world has passed away. Now that is going to be hard.

“So,” Haechan starts the interview again. “You were going to say how long you dated Jaemin.”

“We dated,” you sniff, “for about seven months and got engaged three months after I found out I was pregnant.”

“After your son was born, how was your marriage to Jaemin?”

“M-My marriage?”

“Yes, how was it being married to Jaemin? Did the two of you fight a lot? How did you manage being a new mom and a wife?”

“I… u-ummm —”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

“Okay, I’m going to need you to give me one more biiiigggg~ push, okay?” The doctor instructs you.

“I can’t! I can’t do it!” You cry out.

“Princess you need to, okay?” Jaemin holds your hand in his. “You can do this, you can do anything you set your mind to.” He kisses your sweat drenched forehead.

“No! Seriously I can’t!” You start to cry. “It hurts!”

“Sweetheart, just think in one more push you’ll be able to hold your son in your arms. In one more push it’ll all be over,” he lays his head on top of yours. “I can’t imagine how much pain you’re in, but you just squeeze my hand as hard as you need to, okay?”

“Okay!!! On three I’m going to need you to push!” The doctor says enthusiastically.

“I can’t!” You now hold onto Jaemin’s hand with both of yours.

“You can do this!” He kisses your forehead once more.

“One…two…” taking a huge breath in, you brace yourself and squeeze the living daylights out of Jaemin’s hand when the doctor says, “THREE!!!”

“Yahhhhhhh!!!” Both Jaemin and yourself shout for different reasons. 

“We’re almost there just a little more,” the doctor instructs.

“Ahhhh c’mon!!!” You growl.

“You’ve got this princess just one more push!” Jaemin winces when you squeeze his hand again.

“AHHHHHHH FUCK!!!!!!!!” You scream.

And after the longest push of your life you hear the first cry of your baby boy. Immediately your body falls back onto the hospital bed, drenched in sweat. Your chest rises and falls quickly as you desperately try to catch your breath. Peeking down at the doctor, Jaemin’s eyes widen when the doctor holds up your baby.

“Princess! Princess!” He wraps his arm around your shoulders. “Look!”

Opening your eyes, you see the most beautiful baby in the world. Bursting into tears, Jaemin holds you close to him repeating ‘you did it! You did it!’ While his tears fall onto your cheeks.  

“Okay, we’re going to cut the umbilical cord now,” the doctor informs the two of you. “So, would you like to do the honors, dad?” 

Jaemin glances down at you. “C-Can I?”

“He’s your son, go ahead.” You reach up a clammy shaky hand and place it gingerly against his cheek.

Giving your wrist a quick kiss, Jaemin rushes over shaking from top to bottom. He’s given a pair of surgical scissors and the doctor tells him where to cut. After he is finished, they quickly take your son over to get a quick checkup, weigh in, and clean up, before he is placed in your arms. 

Consumed by this unspeakable feeling of pure love and adoration you stare at this beautiful baby. Feeling his breathing start to match your own, you wrap your hand gently around his. 

“You’re so beautiful right now,” Jaemin whispers next to you. 

Scoffing, you roll your eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m all sweaty, my hair’s a mess and sticking to me, I must look like a mess right now… So, don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. You’re glowing right now. And I never want to forget this sight for the rest of my life.”

Peeking up at him you gasp at the state Jaemin’s in. Eyes and nose red from the tears he’s fighting hard to hold back, but the smile on his face could make the devil himself change his ways. It’s simply angelic. Then again, the bright ceiling light above him helps to create this angelic atmosphere around him. Bending down he rests his forehead against yours as his hand cups your cheek.

“I love you so much.”

Closing your eyes, you bite your lips before uttering, “I know, Jaemin.”

Letting out a hurt laugh he kisses your nose before pulling back. “Thank you for allowing me to be here.”

“Jaemin,” you whisper.

“I’ll set everything up for the two of you to be taken care of for the rest of your lives.”

“Jaemin.”

“I’m sure the guys will be there to help you with whatever you need so you don’t have to worry —”

“STOP!” You raise your voice but not too loud as to wake the baby. “Just… stop, okay? You don’t… you don’t have to say anything…”

“A deal is a deal.”

“This is your son! Even if I’m not ecstatic about it, he deserves to have his father in his life and not through a plate glass window. And before you get some twisted idea that I’ve suddenly forgiven you, I just don’t want to know that you’re in some jail cell counting down the days before you can see us again. I think that would make you crazier than you already are.”

“But I thought…”

“I will never forgive you. This is just me showing you some compassion and leniency which you DO NOT deserve. I’m doing this for my child, but you WILL seek the help you need. The moment you stop going to therapy is the moment I change my mind and go to the police.”

“Absolutely! I swear I won’t…” he chokes out a cry. “I won’t let you or our son down. I know you said you would never forgive me but I will do everything in my power to show you I can be a man you can rely on. I’ll become a man that will be there for you and our child.”

“There will also be a few rule changes!”

“Rule…changes?” His head tilts.

“You will no longer accompany me when I leave the home.”

“BUT –” he starts.

Holding up your hand you stop him. “I am not going to leave you. Not now with our son. I will also not speak a word of what happened in regards to the two of us. I will not speak a word to your friends either of the events that occurred between us and I will keep up my role as the happy dutiful wife. All I ask in return is that you trust me. I need to leave the estate at some point, Jaemin. I need to be free to visit my parents on my own. I need to be able to go to the store without having you tag along. Let me have the life of a stay at home mom, deal?”

Closing his eyes tightly, he nods his head reluctantly. “Okay. Deal.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

The car ride to Jeno’s house is dead quiet. Your son has since fallen asleep with his head resting on your lap. The two of you are sitting in the back of Jeno’s car so your son can stretch out a little more. Across from you in the driver’s seat, Jeno’s hands grip the steering wheel tightly. It’s weird… this morning you had a home, a life, belongings, dogs, and a husband — now you’re homeless with a child, no job, and your parents… well, you can always live with them but after everything… 

“What did Haechan want to talk to you about?” Jeno whispers.

“He wanted to know about my relationship with Jaemin.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m the only suspect so far,” you sigh while stroking your son's hair. “He needed to get background information on my life with Jaemin.”

“What the fu —”

“Jeno!” You quickly interject.

Staring him dead straight in the eyes you look down towards your son. Instantly realizing his faux pas he gives a curt nod. “Sorry, I guess I’ll have to watch my language from now on. The two of you can stay with me for as long as you need to.”

“I’m sorry that this happened, Jeno. This must be such an inconvenience.”

“You’re not an inconvenience, you’re family!” He reaffirms.

“Thank you.”

The car goes quiet again. A thickness in the air of questions yet to be asked and answers that you honestly don’t want to give and can’t give. You’re still trying to wrap your head around what happened. How did the house become engulfed in such a short period of time? 

“So, what exactly did Haechan ask you in regards to Jaemin?”

“He wanted to know when we started dating, how our marriage life was like. I guess just your typical background information on the prime suspect. Jeno, if anything happens to me I need you to promise me one thing. I need you to —”

“Nothing is going to happen to you!” He grips the wheel tighter. “Do you hear me? Nothing! Haechan, the guys and I will never let anything happen to you. Plus, we promised Jaemin that a long time ago.”

“Wh-What?”

“When your son was born and after the plethora of baby pictures, I mean geez did the guy have to send every single one he ever took?” He chuckles, making you smile gently. “Anyway, after all that he called us out to have a round of drinks and said that he was the luckiest man in the world. 

“That he can’t believe that he had you in his life. He was just so happy. He asked us to promise him that if anything were to happen to him, anything at all, that we would take care of the two of you and we all promised without any hesitation.”

“He said that?”

“Mmmhmm. But now…” Jeno’s voice grows quiet. “Now that I’m thinking about it he was talking as if something would happen to him soon. It was strange. He was happy but at the same time he was scared.”

“He was scared?”

“Maybe scared isn’t the right word…worried, perhaps?”

“Worried…?” your gaze drifts off into the dark night. 

“Yeah it was almost as if his whole world would be swept away in an instant. It was strange we’ve never seen him like that before.”

“Did he ever say what was going on?”

“Ahhh!! We’re here,” Jeno states as he pulls into his driveway. “Haechan said he’ll be over in about two hours to talk to us about what will happen next. In the meantime I’ll make you guys something to eat and you can get cleaned up.”

“W-We don’t have anything to…” you whisper.

“Haechan said he’ll bring over some clothes for the two of you. His sister left some of her stuff at his place before she moved out. Tomorrow if the two of you are up for it we can go shopping for some essentials.”

“I promise Jeno I’ll pay you back! I swear!” 

Turning back around he cracks a wide smile. “Don’t worry about it. And I’ll say it here and now so listen up. There will be no saying ‘I’m sorry about this,’ or ‘No, you can’t. This is too much,’ or anything like that, okay?”

“You’re an amazing person, Jeno. Thank you for everything. Truly. We'll forever be in your debt.”

“Nonsense,” he gets out of the car. “Now let’s get you two inside and some food in your stomachs.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Sitting on the front porch on the swing Jaemin and Jeno put together for you a year ago during the early spring – you watch your son gleefully play with all of the dogs on the massive front lawn. It’s bizarre to imagine that three years ago you were holding your son for the first time. That he was this tiny precious baby and now, he’s running, laughing, and playing with all the dogs. He’s learning new words each and every day. How many clothes he’s grown out of, but one thing hasn’t changed – his love for you grows stronger and stronger each day.

“Mama!” He waves.

“Hi baby!” You wave back.

Nana barks, grabbing your son’s attention and he laughs while climbing on top of her. The smile you were proudly wearing starts to fade as the little shit of a creature wags her tail enthusiastically towards your son. Well, if there was one plus side with having Nana around, it was her loyalty. She would probably rush into a burning building to save your son before you took your first steps to do the same. She might be a bitch to you, but she loves your son dearly and for that, you’ll cover your disdain for her with a clench of annoyance with your jaw.

“I made some lemonade,” Jaemin says, coming out onto the front porch. “It’s extra sweet, just how you like it.”

“Ah, thanks,” taking your glass you mix the liquid around with the straw before taking a huge gulp. “It’s good.”

“It’s not too sweet?” He asks taking a seat next to you.

“No, it’s perfect.”

A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad. I put in a little more sugar than last time. I’ll have to remember to make it this way from now on. So, what is on today’s agenda?”

“I need to go into town and do a little more shopping for his birthday party. Did you call the caterer?”

“Yep, they’ll be here an hour and a half before the party starts. The only problem we might have is the weather. It might rain in the afternoon, so I pulled a few strings and we’ll have a big tent set up the night before in the backyard as a precautionary measure.”

“It’s supposed to rain?” You ask worried. “Should we reschedule?”

“It would be too much of a hassle to reschedule. Plus, it’s just a smaller party this time around. Everything will be fine.”

“I just want his third birthday to be one to remember…” you pout looking out at your son who is still playing with the dogs.

“He’s not going to remember this birthday party at all so why worry? I mean do you remember your third birthday party?” Jaemin chuckles. “Once he hits seven that’s when we’ll have to up the ante.”

“Great, I'll have three years to plan the best party of all time.”

Jaemin starts to swing the porch swing gently, a huge smile on his face. “I know I’ve said this a million times already but I need to thank you for everything. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here for moments like these. I wouldn’t be able to see him grow up at all, to see him laughing and playing with the dogs, or see his first steps. It’s all thanks to you that I’m able to experience all of this.”

“It’s not a big deal,” you mumble. “Plus, who else would take care of Nana? She hates me and only likes the two of you.”

Chuckling, Jaemin reaches over and puts his hand on top of yours. “She doesn’t hate you.” Glaring at him he starts laughing more. “Okay, maybe she highly dislikes you, but I mean, you did try to kill me, remember?” He tilts his head.

“It’s not like I wanted to!” You snatch your hand from under his. “You left me with no other choice!”

“I know I didn’t leave you any other choice. It was a joke, I’m sorry.”

Glancing over you see the smile that Jaemin was boasting to the world has since disappeared. These past three years have been turbulent to say the least. You’ve sporadically burst out in pure rage towards him which could be a combination of many things. Blaming most of these outbursts on fatigue, which you felt was true considering your son would not sleep right until a few months ago – deep down both of you know it’s because you’re still harboring the hatred you felt for being trapped by him. Though admittingly, the feelings have become less and less as the years go by.

Jaemin has been an excellent father. He’s gone above and beyond anything you could have thought of. Even when he was barely getting two hours of sleep a night he would wake up and take care of his precious baby allowing you to sleep. The only time he ever woke you, was when there was no milk in the fridge that you pumped. Jaemin wanted to be present for everything in his child’s life, all of the little moments and all of the big moments. He’s been amazing…

“No, I’m sorry.” You rub between your brows. “I shouldn’t have shouted. Plus, I knew what I was doing back then. I wanted to do it…”

“You wanted to kill me?” He asks quietly.

“I wanted to be free.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

“Okay, what are we looking at?” Jeno asks Haechan.

“Geez, can’t a guy get himself comfortable before you jump down my throat? Plus, where’s your hospitality? No drink? No offering of food? Tsk, tsk, not a very good host at all.”

“Haechan cut the crap!” Jeno growls. “This is serious! We need to know what’s going to happen!”

“Okay, okay, I know,” Haechan turns to you. “I sent in the transcript of what we talked about to my boss. He glanced over a few things but he’s still not satisfied. Now, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he wants to look into the specifics of your relationship. I’m supposed to talk to your parents and try to get a feeling of how Jaemin and yourself were like during your relationship. He said something doesn’t feel right and he wants me to look into it.”

“Something doesn’t feel right?” You ask.

“For him, the timeline doesn’t make any sense. Honestly, I can’t blame him.”

Jeno runs an aggravated hand through his hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means while I was doing some research I found myself asking the same questions as him. How does someone who was so close to being a major player at her company just up and leave one day, out of the blue? How does she never go back to her job EVER and how does she not go back to her home? I talked with your landlord; he says he hasn’t seen you in over eight years. What’s up with that?” Haechan asks you.

“Why the hell are you looking into her like she’s some kind of suspect? Do you think she had anything to do with this? Whose side are you on?”

“That’s because as of right now she’s the prime suspect! It’s always the spouse who we dig into first with a fine-toothed comb, you should know this already. Look I’m on her side, but I’m going to do my job whether you or,” he looks you in the eyes and you knew what he was about to say, “you like it. This is my job! My livelihood. I can’t just sweep things under the rug. I promised that I would protect you and I will, but you’ve got to throw me a bone, some things just aren’t adding up.”

“So she quit her job and moved in with Jaemin. What does that have to do with anything? Plenty of couples move in with each other. If this is the kind of talk you wanted to have you can just leave!”

“Why are you getting so pissed? I’m keeping the two of you in the loop of EVERYTHING that’s going to happen. I’m not hiding anything.”

Jeno rises from the couch. “Because you’re making it seem like she’s guilty!”

“And who’s to say she isn’t?!” Haechan shouts while standing up as well. “Just because she’s family doesn’t mean she’s innocent!”

“Can we just keep our voices down, or take this conversation outside?” You ask.

“We made a promise to Jaemin! WE, as in all of us, promised to keep her safe as well as her son if ANYTHING were to happen to him.”

“And why did he make us promise something like that? Hmmm?! Maybe he expected that something would happen to him!”

“Are you fucking serious? Why would he think his life is in danger?”

“I don’t know, why don’t we ask his corpse that is in the fucking morgue!” Haechan screams as tears fall down onto his cheeks.

“H-Haechan…” you grab ahold of his hand. “Please, stop, both of you.”

“No! He’s being an asshole!” Jeno shouts.

“I’m trying to put together a picture so I can prove she had nothing to do with this!”

“And looking into her work history is how you do this?”

Sighing, you stand up between them. “Jaemin and I,” you start to speak but stop. “Jaemin and I had a fraudulent marriage!” You shout.

Silence fills the room as you finally speak some of your truth. Frankly, it felt nice to speak about things. Having kept this secret, this charade up for the past seven years has been tough. With Jaemin gone, perhaps…you can finally be free…

“What did you just say?” Haechan grabs your shoulders.

“I mean it wasn’t fraudulent in the literal sense. I lied to you when I said that Jaemin and I had been dating. We, well, the thing is –”

Scoffing Jeno rolls his eyes flopping down on the couch.  “So Haechan is right,” he shakes his head. “You’re going to sit down and tell us everything. No more secrets.”

“E-Everything?”

“Everything,” Haechan sits down as well. “This is only going to help you in the long run. If everything checks out then you won’t have anything to worry about.”

“What if I do have something to worry about? What if I say what happened between Jaemin and I and I lose everything?” Tears start to trickle down your cheeks. “Look, all you need to know is that towards the end, we were working on things. We even started to sleep in the same bed again! I swear!”

“You weren’t sleeping in the same bed?” Jeno questions.

Shaking your head anxiously, “I shouldn’t have said anything. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“Tell us what happened!” Haechan states firmly and while you shake your head, your eyes close tightly, repeating ‘I can’t, I can’t’ over and over again until Haechan grabs your hand and soon you hear it click.

“H-Haechan!” Jeno gasps. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Haechan!” You squeak.

“Tell us everything or I’m going to take you down to the precinct and interrogate you the proper way. I’ll put you in our holding cell until you decide to talk. So, which do you prefer?” He holds up the other end of the handcuffs making your arm raise slightly.

Your eyes bounce back and forth between your hand and Haechan’s intense gaze. He wasn’t joking at all. He’s being dead serious. Gently turning to Jeno he motions for you to just talk, clearly exhausted from this situation and most likely today’s fiasco. Nodding, Haechan lowers your arm. Reaching into his pocket he pulls out his phone and goes straight to the audio recording app. Clicking the button he asks you the question, ‘what exactly happened between you and Jaemin?’

“Jaemin and I were married legally but we weren’t in love,” you start your sorted tale. “Well, at least I wasn’t in love. Jaemin, he was the one who was in love with me. I guess the real truth was he was madly, enthusiastically, crazily, in love with me. When we were married, I hated him. I was numb from the inside out. I only went through with the wedding because of my son.”

“Why would you marry someone you hate just because of your son? You were making quite enough money for yourself and any children you would have, so why go through everything to marry someone you hate?”

Shrugging you coil in on yourself. “That’s something I can’t explain. Like I stated I was numb. I had shut down all thoughts and feelings for the most part. It was as if I was looking at my life from outside of my body. I liked Jaemin when we first met. I even thought I found the person I would spend the rest of my life with, but he went crazy when I told him I had to go. He started acting erratic and, well, there’s really no other way to say it, but he kidnapped me.”

Haechan stops the recording quickly after you finish speaking. “What the fuck do you mean he kidnapped you?!”

“Jaemin slipped something into my drink the night before I was going to leave. I fell asleep in his arms in his bed and when I woke up I was in a different room chained to a bed. The chain was long enough for me to move around the room and to use the bathroom, but I couldn’t leave. He had Nana, for the most part, watch the door I was in. That little bitch hated me.” You roll your eyes. “The tears I was shedding in the hospital when you told me she was gone, were tears of joy. I couldn’t stand that dog. She would always try to trip me, she would bark at me, snap at me. She was acting like a jealous ex-girlfriend. She was like that the moment I stepped into Jaemin’s life.”

Shaking his head, Haechan stands up. “No. This… This didn’t happen.” He grabs his phone.

“It did happen, Haechan! I was locked in a fucking room for months and was made to play some stupid game where he was hunting me!”

“Shut up!” Haechan growls.

“No! You wanted to know what happened between us, so I’m going to tell you what happened between us. Every week I had to attempt to escape the estate. That was the game. Try to get through the fucking maze below the house to the main floors and escape past the three gates that were locked – the kicker, he had put the key to the locks to the gates on my collar that he had me wear around my neck. I was given breaks only at dinner time and at night where I had to enter a designated room.

“Once I was inside there was a light that turned green indicating that the game was officially on hold until the next morning. He would use Nana to sniff me out which made escaping damn near impossible. When he found me, he’d hook a chain to my collar and drag me back to the room I was staying in like a fucking dog! But when I got hurt, the games stopped and I was put on bedrest –”

“I’m not hearing any of this,” he puts his hands over his ears.

Standing up you grab hold of his wrists tugging at his hands. “So I did what I needed to do to survive! I pretended that I wanted him. I gave into every touch,” you hiss venomously remembering those moments. “That’s when the numbness started,” a dark cynical smile spreads across your lips. “I shut down completely and surrendered to him.

“I let him fuck me how many times a day he wanted to. I begged and pleaded for more like a wanton whore!” You shriek tears pouring down your face. “But that only gave me a chance to think about my escape. I waited until he felt comfortable around me. Until he could trust me, until he would free me of my chains that held me back from doing the one thing I couldn’t do before…”

“What did you do?” You hear Jeno’s shaky voice behind you.

Turning back your eyes darken over with a chilliness that has him shrinking back. “I tried to kill him. I thought I did honestly. I used a pillow to suffocate him in his sleep. I made my escape only to be stopped by Nana at the top of the steps. I pointed to where Jaemin was, and just like the dutiful dog she is, or was, she went to go and check on him.

“I sprinted through the halls that I mapped out many times in my head to get to the main floor as quickly as possible. I was afraid that at any second he would materialize before me. I made it out of the house and through the first two gates. I could barely breathe. My body was so tired, I don’t know how long I was locked down in that labyrinth of hell, but the brightness of the sun almost blinded me. When I got to the final gate and opened it, I was about to take my first steps to freedom when the gates closed automatically. And that’s when I realized I made a huge mistake, and the rest, well you guys know the rest of this fucked up tale.”

Out of nowhere Haechan lunges at you, his hands wrapping around your neck. “You fucking bitch! You killed him! You did this!”

“WHAT THE HELL!!!!! HAECHAN!!!! LET GO OF HER!” Jeno shouts as he rushes to stop Haechan.

“You wanted him dead! You made sure to end him this time didn’t you? Didn’t you?!” His grip on your neck tightens.

You claw for Haechan to let go of your neck when you start gasping for air, your vision beginning to gloss over from your tears. Maybe this was for the best. Haechan’s anger, though delayed, is justified. You did try to end his friends’ life, but it failed, and you were still trapped with that monstrous beast.

“Haechan! Stop! She’s turning purple!!!” Jeno screams. “She didn’t kill him! He lived you jackass!”

“She waited seven years to finish the job! I know she did!”

Your hands that were gripping Haechan’s wrists go limp at your sides. Jeno will take care of your son, you know he will. Plus, now your baby will never know what happened between you and his father. The secret of his conception will forever be hidden from him. No questions like ‘mommy how did you and daddy meet?’ ‘Mom what did dad say that won you over?’ ‘Mom, how long did it take for you to plan your wedding?’ Tears sprinkle down into your ears. The only sad thing is, you won’t see your baby boy grow up.

“Fuck man! Stop!!!!!” Jeno uses all his strength to punch Haechan square in his jaw and only then are you freed from his grasp. Not bothering to gasp for air, Jeno catches you in his arms. “Breathe!” He screams as the two of you fall to the floor, your body resting in his lap.

Why? You ask yourself. Why breathe? No matter what happens, no matter what truth comes out you’ll be thought of as guilty, so why bother?

“FUCK BREATHE!!!!!!!” Jeno’s tears fall onto your face. “PLEASE!!! BREATHE!!!!! FUCK!!!! HAECHAN CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE!”

“Let the bitch die, it’s what she deserves,” he hisses.

“What the hell are you talking about? Shit! D-Don’t worry, just stay with me, okay? Stay with me…” Jeno scrambles for his phone in his pocket.

“She deserves to die after what she did. How can you sit there and defend her?! She tried to kill Jaemin once, what makes you think that she didn’t try to kill him again?”

“For fucks sake man! I knew all of this shit already! I knew everything!”

Your heart pounds loudly in your ears. Your body is now screaming for air to fill your lungs. What did he mean he knew everything? He…He couldn’t have. Jaemin would never tell anyone his secret…he wouldn’t…

“…When you came into my life and we started talking, it was like I was seen,” he sniffles. “Someone was finally looking at me for me.”

“And you’re telling me your friends don’t see you for you?”

“They see me as the kid who’s from a rich family. Plus, it’s not like they aren’t from well off families either.”

“You’ve doubted their loyalty?”

“Never.”

“Then you trust them and accept that they see you for you.”

“Only one person.”

“Jeno?” You inquire.

Nodding he nuzzles his face in the crook of your neck…

“Mom…my…” You hear your son’s voice enter the room.

GO AWAY! BABY!!! PLEASE!!!! You scream in your head.

“Little man,” Jeno’s body trembles under you. “U-Ummm… your mom is just sleeping, go back to bed, okay?”

“Mommy…” you hear your son’s voice again. “Mama!!!!!” His voice comes closer to you. “Mommy!!!!!” He cries out your name.

AHHHHHH FUCK IT!!!!! 

And finally, you gasp for air. 

“Finally!!!” Jeno holds you in his arms. “Are you okay?”

“Mommy?” Your son sniffs. “What’s wrong with mommy?” He starts to cry.

“Uhh, she was just sleeping deeply,” Jeno lies. “Hae-Haechan, why don’t you tuck him back into bed, okay?” Haechan doesn’t move, his face blank and unreadable. “Haechan!” Jeno cries out. “Please, take him back to bed. It’s past his bedtime.”

“We’re not done here,” he replies, his voice cold as ice.

“Yes, yes, now go…”  Haechan reaches out for your sons’ hand and you watch your little boy disappear into the darkness of the shadowy hallway. “Shit woman,” Jeno exhales, his head resting on top of yours. “What the fuck were you thinking? You have a kid!”

You try to answer him, but your voice doesn’t come out. Again, you try to speak, but nothing.

“Don’t you ever do something like that again, got it?! Shit… I thought I’d have to bury two friends and I can’t do that. I can’t!”

“He’s back in bed,” Haechan returns into the living room entryway, leaning against the wall. “Now, would someone care to explain to me what the actual fuck is going on here?”

Suddenly tears well up in your eyes as you stare at Haechan. The numbing feeling that coursed through your body when he was beyond pissed at you vanished, now the only thing in its wake is fear. Fear that you’ve ruined your chances of freedom. Fear that you won’t be able to clear your name when you did absolutely nothing this time around. Fear that you were actually going to let yourself chase the white light and leave everyone including your son behind.

Holding out your hands you lower your head in shame and let everything out. Your body quakes as tears fall onto the floor beneath you uncontrollably. You deserve to be behind bars. You deserve to face your fate for so many things. Lying, manipulating, gas lighting, attempting to… you can’t even think of the word, for even contemplating ending your life, you deserve all the hell you’re about to face. Every bit of it…

Footsteps ring out into the quiet room, getting closer and closer to you until they stop right in front of you. You feel Jeno’s arm wrap around your waist protectively. A burning sensation pierces the skin of your hands, they are hit away. Peering up you see Haechan’s cold gaze staring you down as if you’re a piece of shit. His hand goes up again and Jeno’s grasp on you tightens even more, his body starting to turn you away from Haechan.

Clenching his hand, Haechan sighs. “Pull yourself together; you’ve got a kid to take care of.” He gets up, shoves his phone in his pocket and grabs his jacket. “We’re not done talking about what just happened.” He states before heading out the door.

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Leafing through the papers on his desk, Haechan rolls his eyes annoyed. How could things have gone unnoticed for so long? How were you able to keep up the charade of a fake relationship with Jaemin the whole time the two of you were together? Staring at the home you and Jaemin shared he starts to bite his nails. The answer to everything felt so close and yet so far. Were you being honest about the happenings between the two of you early on? Were you hiding something?

The chatter and phones fill the precinct, but he’s since blocked out all of the noise. Three weeks have passed since he last saw you. Three weeks since he lost his temper and tried to…

“Shit!” He groans. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” He whispers to himself.

“Everything alright there?”

Haechan raises his head to see his co-worker, Mikayla. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Mmmhmm, is that the reason why you look like hell because everything is fine?”

“Don’t you have a job to do? A case to solve or someone else to bother?”

Sliding her chair into her desk she looks across from her, smirking at Haechan. “Nope. But, if someone doesn’t mind handing over one of their cases I wouldn’t refuse.”

“You want the murder suicide case that badly huh?”

“Who wouldn’t? It was at the Governors’ Ball! Plus, it’ll look good with the higher ups.”

For the second time in five minutes Haechan rolls his eyes before opening one of the drawers at his desk. “Here, be my guest.” He grabs a file and tosses it over onto Mikayla’s desk. “I’ve got too much to deal with on this case anyway.”

“Are you talking about the house that burnt down?” She pouts. “What’s there to solve with that one? Didn’t the fire chief say that it wasn’t an act of arson?”

“Yes, but something isn’t sitting well with me. He stated that a gas pipe had a crack in it, but even then his words were ‘things happen sometimes. The house was old and didn’t have any updates to make sure that things were up to code. If it wasn’t a cracked pipe it would have been something else.’”

Nodding she looks through the case she’s just been handed. “And you don’t think the fire chief of all people knows what he’s talking about?”

“It’s not that…”

“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for the lady of the house already,” she chuckles. “Or,” she gasps. “Do you think she’s the one who caused this?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” he runs a tired hand through his hair. “I think I need to take a break for a second and clear my mind.” Pushing his chair out he takes out his keys and unlocks the front drawer, grabbing a pack of cigarettes. “Care to lend a friend a shoulder for a bit?” He asks her.

Heading outside Haechan and Mikayla bow their heads and chit chat lightheartedly with a few of their fellow detectives and cops before heading around the corner to an alley next to the precinct. Leaning against the wall of the precinct, Haechan pops up a cigarette and offers one to Mikayla.

“You know I don’t smoke.” She waves a dismissive hand.

“Not now you don’t,” he puts the cigarette between his lips. “Wait a couple years, it’ll either be these or drinking – pick a poison now so you won’t be blindsided later.”

“What’s gotten into you these past couple weeks? Obviously you’re not sleeping well. Your eyes look like a panda’s. It was a house fire, it’s terrible but what more could there be?”

“There was a victim of the house fire, a body, but I don’t know how it all connects together.” He lights the cigarette and takes an extra-long inhale. Blowing out the smoke he turns to Mikayla defeated. “Would you ever stay in an abusive relationship?”

“What kind of question is that? No!”

“Even if the person started out kind in the beginning, you still wouldn’t?”

“It doesn’t matter if they were a saint in the beginning, no one man or woman should deal with an abusive partner. Why are you asking me this?”

Taking a smaller drag of his cigarette Haechan puffs out another round of smoke. “The woman whose house burned down, I know her. I’ve known her for the past seven years. She’s practically family at this point.”

“And you’re working on her case? Haechan you know you shouldn’t be near this case!” Mikayla pushes herself off the wall to stand in front of him. “What were you thinking?! If the captain finds out about this you’ll be dead meat!”

“I’m the only one who can work this case. Plus, I promised her husband that no matter what happened to him I’d be there to protect her and her son. I’m not breaking that promise, no matter what.”

“Even if it comes back that she was somehow involved in the death of her husband? Haechan you’re not thinking clearly, pass this case on to someone else, let them look into things with an unbiased mind.”

Flicking off the butt of his cigarette Haechan chuckles, “you know I watched them get married. I was there the day her son was born. I've smiled and laughed at all the dinner parties, birthday parties, every Christmas holiday, but it was all a lie.” He takes another long inhale of his cigarette letting the smoke fill his lungs before blowing it out once again. “He kidnapped her,” he mumbles.

“Wh-What…?”

“My friend, the man I thought I knew was a monster this whole time. According to her, he kidnapped her, kept her locked in that house for God knows how long before she tried to fight back and get free.”

“What did she do?”

“She tried to kill him,” Haechan’s jaw tightens. “With a pillow apparently. That was over seven years ago.” He blows out another puff of smoke.

Shaking her head, Mikayla takes her spot next to Haechan once more. “An attempt of murder?” She whispers.

“At that point it would be self-defense, would it not? Worst case scenario most she’d get is a couple months or a year if the news of this was brought out.”

“If? You’re not going to put that in the report?”

“Is it necessary?”

“It would show that she had a motive in the past to hurt your friend, why wouldn’t you clarify this?!”

“Because she said they were making things work, that’s why…” with one last inhale he finishes his cigarette, puts it out on the wall next to him and flicks it off to the side. “If you were in my shoes would you let this go, or would you put it into the report?”

“How long was she married to your friend?”

“About seven years.”

Lowering her head, her arms fold across her chest. “Get the full story and then come back and ask me.”

“Or, you could listen in on an interrogation. I called her in to be here after lunch, so you down to do this?”

“Yes.”

“Right this way,” Haechan opens the door to the interrogation room and you walk in. “Do you need anything to eat or drink?”

Pulling out the chair on one side of the table, you sit down placing your purse on the floor. “No.” You answer curtly.

“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” He asks taking a seat in the chair across from you.

Clenching your jaw, you unwrap the scarf that was around your neck, folding it neatly off to the side. “Why would I be mad?”

Haechan’s expression falls quickly. Traces of his outburst are still visible on your neck, red bruising that anyone with decent eyesight could tell that someone had tried to hurt her. Scooting his chair uncomfortably, he leans forward. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened… I –”

Interjecting you ask, “what exactly did you want to discuss?”

The three weeks Haechan stayed away from both you and Jeno gave you a lot of time to think. It wasn’t that you were mad at him for what he did, hell if the roles were reversed you might have tried beating the shit out of someone who dared tried to kill your best friend – that being said, he would never be able to empathize with you. He’ll never know what kind of pain you were in psychologically, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Talking to Jeno before he dropped you off here before heading out for some light shopping, he mentioned one thing that stuck out to you. Jaemin and Haechan had a very interesting relationship, though they were friends, they had their fair share of bad blood in the past. Arguments that resulted in small misunderstandings, fist fights that broke out because one said something they shouldn’t have. Their relationship was always swaying back and forth like a pendulum from good to bad. There were only a handful of moments where their relationship was neutral, but even then – even in the bad moments, Haechan respected Jaemin.

“Please, I’m sorry… I was just so angry and I wasn’t thinking…” Haechan tries to explain.

“I’m not mad but I’m also aware that your loyalty is with Jaemin more than it is with me, it always has been and always will be. No matter what, you are his brother and I am his wife. Now, what did you want to discuss?”

Glancing behind him, he sighs and pulls out his phone. Going through the motions of setting up the recording for the interview, he starts with the basics, your name, age, and association with the deceased. Information that you’re sure is well known by all.

“When we last talked you mentioned that your husband hurt you, is that correct?”

“Yes I did.”

“In what ways did he hurt you?”

“Like I stated I’m not 100% sure but I believe Jaemin slipped something into my drink the night before I was set to leave to go back to my apartment in the next city, approximately three hours from here. I woke up on what I assume is the following morning and I was no longer in his bedroom, but in another room deep below the main house. The rooms were white and at first it hurt to open my eyes.

“My clothes were different from what I went to sleep in. I was only given a white shirt and white leggings, white undergarments, and white shoes. I then noticed that I had something wrapped around my neck, it was a leather collar and attached to it was a long heavy chain. As stated it was long enough for me to move around the room, to use the restroom that was inside of this bedroom, but to get out and leave, there was no way I could. I tried tugging and using anything I could to break free, but it was no use.

“In the beginning he just came in and provided food and drinks for me. Brought in some books for me to read, but no matter how much I begged and pleaded he wouldn’t let me go. After a while, during this time I had no concept of time or how many hours passed, how many days. There were no windows, but after a while he came in and said that he wanted to play a game with me. The concept of the game was for me to get out of this long maze of corridors underneath the house and make it out of the house and past all of the gates on the property.

“He put a key onto my collar, removed the chain, stepped aside and told me to go ahead. I bolted out the door and from down the hall, where I was staying in — he said if I don’t make it out we’ll keep playing until I do. He knew very well it was going to be impossible for me to leave.”

“Why did he keep you in this room and chained up?”

“He stated that when I told him I was going to leave and go back home he started freaking out. He was right, he did start acting really weird. I mentioned this as the second week of the New Year was rolling in. He started to become extra clingy, and begged me not to go back. He said things like ‘I can provide for you,’ ‘please don’t leave me, please!’ ‘What do I need to do to get you to stay.’ I was slowly starting to think this might not work out because of how he was acting, and then suddenly, he stopped acting like this. He simply asked, ‘are you serious about this relationship?’ To which I said, ‘yes.’”

Haechan’s brow quirks up in confusion. “You mean to tell me this is all because you were going to go back to your home and to your job?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry but that doesn’t make sense.”

“When someone has a psychotic break a lot of things don’t make sense. He confessed that he was scared that he would never see me again. He was scared that after all these years someone who saw him for him and not as some rich guy was going to leave his life forever. That wasn’t true. I liked him a lot. I wanted to be with him. I fell for him, fast and hard, as he did with me. The only problem is that I wasn’t alone locked up in a house in the middle of nowhere, like he was.

I didn’t have a job that for the most part kept me away from people until absolutely necessary. I didn’t have a family that seemed to not care if I spent the holidays alone. Actually, speaking of the holidays, why didn’t any of you spend time with him?”

Pressing the pause button on his phone Haechan lets out a deep sigh. “Let’s keep this about you, shall we?”

“What? I can’t ask questions when you know the victim as well?” Tilting your head you smile. “Or does everyone still think you’re not involved in any way?”

“Only one person knows and I’d prefer to keep it that way until we solve this case. As for your question, off the record, Jaemin never told us anything. If we’re talking about the time period of seven years ago, he secluded himself from the rest of us. We didn’t even know he was at his grandmother’s house. So there was no way we could have talked to him about getting together.”

“I see.”

“Shall we get back to the real line of questions?”

“Proceed.”

Pressing the pause button again the recording starts up. “You said he had a psychotic break, how are you so sure?”

“I don’t know, I would assume chaining someone in a room for months would be defined as a psychotic break, wouldn’t you agree Detective Lee?”

Rolling his eyes, Haechan smirks. “Okay, let’s say that I believe you and he kept you in this so-called room, where is it exactly? There was nothing about an underground room in the blueprint of the house.”

“Why would there be something on the blueprint when it’s supposed to be used for something you’re not supposed to be doing. It’s like having a hidden passageway, not really hidden if it’s in the blueprint. Or, having your safe room listed in the blueprints. If an intruder had the blueprints to the house, for whatever reason, it would be really stupid to have that room listed, now wouldn’t it?

“But to answer your question, the room itself was the last room in a long corridor of many corridors. I can’t tell you how deep below it is, but there was an opening behind a large painting on the main floor. It was right before you would head up to the second floor. You pull the painting away, unlock the door – Jaemin always had the key on hand, and go down a long narrow staircase. Once you reach the bottom it’s like a secret bunker.

“The hallway is this bright light gray tone that almost blinds you. You keep walking down that hallway and you reach a door. Now this door was always unlocked, unless Jaemin wasn’t down there with me. If I somehow managed to free myself he would need something else to keep me down there until he could subdue me once more.”

Shaking his head, Haechan clicks his tongue while leaning back in his chair. His arms cross over his chest as he sports the cockiest grin you’ve ever seen. “You expect me to believe all of this was underneath his grandmother’s house? Are you serious?”

“I’m telling you the truth. You just refuse to believe it because it sounds outrageous.” Leaning forward you lean your elbows on the table, propping your head up with your hands at your cheeks. “There are a lot of things in this world that are beyond imagination Haechan. There are people in this world who do terrible and evil things all the time. Perhaps think back on one of your cases that shocked you beyond imagination. How did you feel before you knew the truth versus after?”

Readjusting in his chair he turns away from you. “Continue.”

“There were cameras everywhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jaemin didn’t have a room that was for watching me during our downtime. No matter where I was in the house, I was being watched. The only place where there were no cameras was the hidden passageways. They’re not exactly escape friendly. There are a lot of rusted nails sticking up from the floorboards, broken glass, not to mention the dust and bugs.

“I favored those routes, but Jaemin learned this after a few failed attempts. As soon as he figured out my plan he had Nana sniff something of mine and she always led him directly to me…” you pause, closing your eyes slowly. “Sometimes he would taunt me. He would pretend as if he had no idea where I was, but I knew that was a lie. I knew that with the sound of her footprints walking next to him, her nails clicking against the white tiled floor. I tried to keep moving, to keep a good distance so I could at least make it to the first floor, but I was always caught. Always.”

“The last time we talked you had mentioned off the record that you had gotten hurt, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get hurt?”

Sighing, you give an I-don’t-know shrug. It wasn’t that you didn’t know, it was that there were plenty of times you ‘got hurt,’ but the incident he wants you to talk about is what you told him in front of Jeno, when you confessed shortly after that you tried to kill Jaemin. To say anything on record is certain doom.

“I’ll repeat the question,” he says sternly. “How did you get hurt?”

“Which time?”

“Pardon?” He looks confused.

“Which time are you referring too? There were a few cases that I needed bed rest before his twisted game started up again.” Snickering, “I guess I have to give him some credit. He didn’t want his little rabbit to be hurt while he hunted.”

“The last time you were hurt.” Haechan specifies.

“I got startled by how close he had gotten to me and tumbled down the stairs. I sprained my ankle and when he got me –” you pause.

It wasn’t as if these past two years of working things out with Jaemin have wiped everything he did off the face of the earth. It wasn’t as if you forgave him for keeping you away from your loved ones, but spending time with him, seeing him in almost the same light that you saw him when you first met… It almost was like a scar showing the first signs of healing, but talking to Haechan is like picking at the scar and opening it up.

The pain, the hurt, and psychological damage that you both faced resurfacing once more. What’s worse, he doesn’t believe you. He doesn’t believe anything that you’re saying and even if you could prove that it’s true… there’s no evidence…

Clearing his throat Haechan gestures for you to finish. “When he found me he linked the one end of the chain into my collar, and started to lead me away as if I was some animal on a leash. I told him I was hurt and he got mad. He brought up the rules and –”

Haechan interjects. “Rules?”

“There are seven rules to this game. Seven rules that you need to follow or else,” you stop again shocked. “Or else something bad would happen. It took me months to learn all the rules, but once I did I didn’t dare break them. I mean I was already being held prisoner, the logical thing that would happen if I break all the rules would be…”

“Death?” Haechan asks.

Shrugging you fidget in your seat. “I don’t think he would have ever killed me, but I wouldn’t have, during this time mind you, put it past him to destroy everything I loved so there was nothing else in the world I could have and hope for.”

The room falls silent. It was true you never tried to break every single rule in one round of the game. Yes, getting hurt is bad and it would hinder your escapes so you always tried to at least notify him of your injuries. Denying him once he caught you fair and square – with the help of his most loyal companion, was like whining after losing rock, paper, scissors. Jaemin never mentioned what he would do but the eeriness in his voice that first time he read you the rules still chills you to the bone.

 ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Everything around you is dark. A few minutes ago, Jaemin had placed a blindfold over your eyes and stated that he wanted to play a game with you. A strange aura started to radiate from him and immediately you crawled away from him. Something about this game didn’t feel right, though it hasn’t even started. Pulling you back to him by your ankles, your body pulls the freshly made covers down on your bed.

“Don’t make this harder on yourself, princess,” he whispers close to your ear. “This is going to be a fun game, you’ll see. Plus, you’ll be able to leave this room. Don’t you want this?”

“I want to go home,” you whisper.

Grabbing your arm from under you, he manages to flip you over to your back, climbing on top of you. Your blindfold exposes one of your eyes, but he simply pulls it back down. “What have I told you a million times?” He asks, taking both of your hands into his grasp. Something cold touches your skin and before you can put two and two together, Jaemin has your hands bound by a zip tie. “You are home.”

Tugging on your neck you try to escape Jaemin’s grasp, but it’s no use. He has a firm hold on the chain that is attached to a leather collar around your neck. The sounds of his loyal companions' nails click on your right hand side, while Jaemin is on your left a few feet ahead of you.

“Please Jaemin! Please, just let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone what you’re doing, okay? I just want to go back home!” You beg.

“Princess, I’m not in the mood to argue with you over this matter. You are home, this is your home. Your home is with me.”

“Jaemin, please, you have to stop this! Why are you doing this? I thought you liked me! Is this what you do to someone that you like?”

“Oh, I don’t like you,” he stops walking and you bump into him. Feeling his hands run up your arms, you scrunch your shoulders close to your ears, visibly uncomfortable with the gesture. “I love you,” he kisses the top of your head. “I want us to be together forever. I want us to start a family, to get married, to grow old together.”

“Then why are you doing this?! Huh?!” You scream only to notice your voice echoes around you. Startled you look around like an imbecile. There is no way you can see anything with this blindfold, but it was a natural reaction to the sound of your voice.

“I’ve waited for people to return before,” his voice grows soft. “I’ve waited and waited for the people I love to return to me but you know what princess,” his voice leaves your side and ends up behind you. “They never came back. I waited and waited and waited like an idiot for someone who I loved to come back into my life. For that person who I cherished more than anything to save me and I was left alone!” He shouts causing you to shrink down in front of him. “But,” he clears his throat. “I’m a reasonable man. I want you to stay with me because you desire to, but until you see this, how about a little game?”

The black fabric that was tied around your head slowly unravels before you. Squinting at the brightly lit room your hands come up to cover your eyes. “Wh-Where am I?” Your voice comes out barely a whisper.

“Take a look around,” Jaemin moves back in front of you. “Now for these,” he digs into his pocket bringing out a Swiss Army knife and removes the zip ties from your wrists. “There we go.”

Rubbing your wrists, Jaemin steps to your left side allowing you to get a view of where you’re at, but what you see doesn’t make any sense. In front of you are four different hallways. All of which are the same light gray color, all of which appear to be the same length. The area you find yourself in is like the end of a road. A small enough area for someone to choose what path to go, but that’s about it.

“Wh-Where am I?” You start to shake.

“You’re at the starting line. Every time we play this game you will start here. But, before you begin, I think it’s best if we go over the premise of this game as well as the rules. So listen up, okay?” Nodding in shock you stare down each of the long hallways, your heart starting to beat faster and faster. “The premise of the game is for you to leave this underground maze and reach the main floor of the house. After you reach the main floor, you’re to leave the house and go through each of the three gates on the property.”

“We-We’re still at your grandmother’s house?”

“Yes. We haven’t left. This is an underground maze of hallways that my great-great-great grandfather had made during a time of war. This was to insure that the family would be able to escape unharmed if the home were to be invaded for any given reason.”

“B-But why am I down here?”

“To play a game, silly.” He chuckles. “Think of this as a HUGE escape room. There are plenty of secret passageways, doors that you can enter, and plenty of hallways that you can travel down,” he starts walking around the room, his eyes closing shut with a little smile on his face. “Grandmother and I liked to play hide and seek down here. She knew this labyrinth like the back of her hand. From generation after generation, all of the kids came down here to play, so that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to play!” 

Your body starts to tremble uncontrollably. “I-I don’t want to play! Wh-What if I get lost? What if I can’t make it to the main floor?”

“The game will last for four hours. You have exactly four hours to get from down here, to upstairs and out of the house and off the property. After four hours, if you are down here, whichever door you’re near will have a green light above it. That is to signify the end of the game for that day, and for a meal and sleep break. You’ll hear an alarm and that is when you wake up, get dressed, have another meal, and get ready for another four hours to try to escape. This will continue until you get to the main floor, or if you get hurt. Simple, right?”

Shaking your head you back away from him and the strange hallways. “I don’t want to play this. I…I want to go back to that room.”

Tilting his head, his lips pucker out in a pout. “It’s either we play this game, or you’re trapped down here until you submit to me, forever.” He smiles brightly when he says forever, a cold chill raking across your body. “So, what’s it going to be? A shot at freedom, or a lifetime with me?”

He can’t be serious… This is just some joke that he’s trying to play. An ‘I got’cha’ moment where he says it’s all a joke and that he was just messing with you this whole time and you can pretend this nightmare never happened. No… no… this HAS TO BE a dream, no! A fucked up nightmare! There’s no way the man you were cuddled up against, after a beautiful romantic dinner, and a night of making love is the same sick sadistic monster in front of you. This has to be a nightmare…it has to be!

“Tik tok, princess, we don’t have all day.” He leans down so he can look into your eyes. “Should I explain the rules so you can understand better?”

“YES!” You squeak.

“Okay,” he moves away from you and starts walking back and forth, waving his arm as if he’s giving some grand speech. “Rule 1, 'the one being hunted may try to escape the property by any means necessary unless they are in a safe room, or have been injured. Rule 2, if the party being hunted finds themselves hurt they are to call out the safe word 'red' or push the red button that is located on the wall outside of all of the designated safe rooms signifying that the game is over.

“Rule 3, the hunter will give their prey a specified amount of time as a means for a head start before starting the hunt. They may extend or cut back on the amount of time given per round. Rule 4, it would be wise for the prey to keep themselves well-hidden and keep quiet to ensure the game does not end too soon. Rule 5, if the hunter catches their prey, the prey needs to come quietly as the round has ended. Rule 6, the hunter will then inspect the prey for any injuries once they have been captured. This is by no means a rule that can be skipped or looked past. Rule 7, if the prey tries to resist – the hunter will have to make their prey submit by any means necessary.”

Stopping right in front of you, a gentle smile on his face that makes him look like a sweet angel in disguise he asks, “do you understand the rules, princess?”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Plopping back in his chair Haechan stares at you in disbelief. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but instantly closes his mouth and looks away from you.

“I’m not making anything up. I played that sick game for months. I tried and tried and tried again to escape. Every time I thought I was so close to reaching the main floor he would randomly appear, with Nana by his side. It was only then I discovered that he was using her to help sniff me out. Then, I found the secret passageways and started to learn how to navigate them. The games were prolonged for more than just a day. He enjoyed it. But there was one thing I wasn’t going to do and that was to submit to him.”

“So then why did you submit to him and let him have his way with you?”

“I was at my wits end and I thought if I gave him the idea that I was his and his alone, he would just take me up to the main floor. But he saw right through me. After I made it to the last gate he said –”

“You mean after you tried to kill him with the pillow?”

Your jaw tightens. How could he just utter this out as if it’s okay? He promised to protect you. He promised to keep you safe and to make sure that nothing was going to happen and now it feels like he’s trying to throw you under the bus. Was he this mad and upset? Could he not see how terrible Jaemin was?!

Letting out a shaky breath your head lowers, “yes.”

“You may continue what you were saying prior.”

A tired pathetic laugh passes your lips. Running a hand through your hair, you peek up at the man sitting across from you. A man that was supposed to be your friend, but is now a complete stranger to you. “Does it even matter? You got what you wanted. It’s done, it’s over with. No matter what I say from here on out it won’t be taken seriously. I can scream it to the heavens that I had nothing to do with Jaemin’s death but no one is going to believe me because of what you just made me say. Which if I’m remembering correctly, was supposed to be kept private after I talked to you, at Jeno’s house, off the record that is.” You decide to throw in this tidbit of information into the recording. If he wanted to take you down, you were going to be sure he was going to get accosted in some shape or form too. “So,” you look up, eyes clouded with anger. You place your hands as far out in front of you as you possibly can. “Slap the cuffs on me. I know you want to. I know you want me to be in jail. You made that clear the other night.”

Haechan reaches forward and stops the recording on his phone. “You’re fucking ridiculous,” he hisses. “Do you think I want you behind bars? Do you think I want to take a mother away from her child? That’s not what’s going on here.”

“Then what is going on? You made me confess that I tried to end someone’s life! You think I don’t feel guilt over that? You think I didn’t look at him every day and realize what I tried to do? I never wanted to do that in the first place. I didn’t want to be put into a position where I would contemplate ending someone’s life. But I was forced into that position. My rights, my freedom, my life was taken from me. I tried fighting for it by getting out of that damn maze, but I couldn’t escape. No matter how many months I was down there I never won once. I never got close to getting to the front door until I thought he was gone.

“When I finally made it to the front door and past the first two gates and attempted to step across the line to freedom the last gate closed and he materialized out of nowhere. He said he knew what was going on because I changed my behavior. He knew everything so he pretended to die. It was just another sick game of his and I fell right into his trap.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why did you get married to him? Why were you with him all these years?” He shouts, tears running down his cheeks. “This is the part that I don’t understand. If he was so fucking terrible why did you stay?”

Seeing Haechan unravel before you has you pulling back your wrists. Sitting back into the chair more comfortably you let out a long exhausted breath. “I lost the will to fight, Haechan. I was tired. I was scared, I was disgusted with myself most of all. I ended up pregnant because I thought I could win. Like the stupid idiot I am, I thought by showing him what he believed was love I could be let out of my cage, but I was wrong and ended up pregnant all while simultaneously trapping myself in a whole new cage.”

“Why did the wedding even happen then? Why didn’t you give us a sign?”

“I was a zombie for the longest time. I didn’t feel anything. I was only alive and breathing because of the child I was carrying. Everything else didn’t matter to me. So, I put on a mask and played a role. Even if I wanted to say something, he would have stopped me or tried to switch the subject. I hesitated for the tiniest second while I was standing before the judge with him, his hands holding mine – for a millisecond I was going to tell the judge as quickly as possible I was being held against my will, but with a strong squeeze of his hand in mine, I knew he would stop me the moment I tried.”

Suddenly a knock is placed on the door. Haechan quickly wipes his tears away before standing up. “Give me a second. Do you need anything at all? A drink? Something to eat from the vending machine?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Walking out of the interrogation room, Haechan closes the door behind him seeing Mikayla is the culprit who interrupted him. “Why did you call me out here?” He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “We were finally getting somewhere.”

Mikayla tilts her head, “that’s not what I saw. By the way, she’s innocent. Her entire body language is screaming it so you can cut her some slack. Also, if someone was willing to work out the relationship after that shit show, they are in love. Whether or not it’s a strange form of Stockholm Syndrome is a topic for another day. But, that’s only a part of why I pulled you out here,” she hands Haechan a vanilla colored folder. “It seems you’re going to be working on this case for a little bit longer.”

“What do you,” he opens the folder, his eyes scanning over the documents. “Mean…?” He looks up shocked.

“I know,” she sighs. “Good luck, you’re going to need it.”

Slapping him on the back she takes her leave. “What the fuck did you do, Jaemin?” Haechan whispers.

Haechan returns to the room with a somber look on his face. He heads straight to the table, and presses the pause button again, starting the recording once more. “You mentioned things were getting better?” He asks tirelessly.

“U-Ummm, y-yes…” You eye him suspiciously. “When our son was born he actually was ready to turn himself in. Two months prior we had a discussion and he asked me how he could make everything up to me. I knew he was sorry. I could tell with just a glance into his eyes he regretted everything, but he did what he did. I wasn’t going to forgive and forget all the pain he caused just because he spoke the words ‘I’m sorry.’ I told him the only way that he could make up for even the smallest bit of what he did was to turn himself in. He said he would, but asked for one thing and that was to see the birth of his son.

“However, just after he saw his son for the first time he was talking about making arrangements for the two of us to be well taken care of in his absence. I knew what he was talking about. I knew why he was saying everything. He asked for one thing, I obliged and he was prepared to face the consequences, but I don’t know what came over me. I didn't want him to leave. I didn’t want him to be in prison miserable, and long for the life he could have had if he didn’t fuck it up in the first place. I told him I thought it would have made him crazier if I kept him away from his kid. So, I asked instead that he seek professional help and if he did I would keep his secret.

“If I’m being honest I wouldn’t have told anyone of his wrong doings. So, the next day he sought help and went every week to a therapist. In the beginning we both went and talked about what our issues were but afterwards it was Jaemin who needed the help. He never broke that promise to me. Then, on my birthday things started to change. I don’t know if you remember the birthday party he threw for me but that’s the moment I decided to give him a second chance.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

“Happy! Birthday! To! You!!!!” Everyone sings out.

Eyes brimming with tears you glance around at all of the smiling faces. Everyone showed up for your big day. Your mom, dad, all of Jaemin’s friends, and of course your sweet little guy all day has made it his mission to make you the happiest mom on the planet. Blowing out your candles your only wish is to have more days like this.

“Thanks everyone,” you wipe your eyes before any tears fall onto your cheeks. “But you really didn’t need to do this.”

“Are you kidding?” Chenle chuckles. “How else are we going to get free food?” He jokes.

“Plus, we technically didn’t do anything,” Renjun wraps his arm around Jaemin’s shoulders. “This guy right here planned everything. He just told all of us when and where and we showed up.”

“Y-You did this?” You ask Jaemin.

Scratching the back of his head he nods bashfully. “We haven’t really celebrated your birthday. I thought I would give you a birthday to remember.”

Without realizing you spring up from your chair and wrap him in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Jaemin, truly.”

His face falls into the crook of your neck, his arms wrapping around you tightly. “Anything for you…” He whispers. And just like that the moment was gone. “So, who wants cake?” He asks stepping away from you.

One by one your friends and parents come up for a slice of cake, laughing and smiling together as if these people were always meant to be in your life. As if this very moment was supposed to happen all along. Placing a hand on your shoulder, Jeno leans down, handing you a piece of cake.

“Happy Birthday,” he gives you a kiss on the cheek.

“Ehhh?!!” Haechan starts pointing. “What do we have here?! I didn’t know we could kiss the birthday girl!” He puts down his cake and charges towards you.

“N-No!! Haechan!” You start backing away.

“Don’t you dare run from me, woman!” He starts laughing while approaching you. “Now give your favorite person in the world a kiss,” he puckers his lips.

“YAH!!!!” You scream but a giggle comes from you when he starts chasing you around the backyard.

“Mama!!!” Your son giggles. “Run, mama!!! Run!!!”

“I’m trying, baby!!!”

“Al…Most!!!! THERE!!!!!”

Haechan sprints for you, reaching out his hand when you collide into a body knocking the person down. A low grunt comes from beneath you. Quickly scrambling off of the victim you see Jaemin was the person who you crashed into.

“Jaemin!” You squeak. “A-Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

Snickering, he sits up smiling at you. “I’m fine, but I couldn’t let anyone else kiss you before I kissed you.”

Suddenly your heart skips a beat. His smile softens, his hand reaching out for yours as he pulls you down to him. Gulping your eyes scan his for some sign that he’s joking, that he wasn’t really going to kiss you especially not in front of everyone. Behind you you hear Haechan complaining that Jaemin stole you away, but his complaints are soon muffled by the pounding in your ears, your heart picking up speed the closer Jaemin’s lips get closer to you.

“Happy Birthday,” he whispers and just as your eyes flutter, and the tips of your noses touch, he slides his hand around your neck pulling you down to him. “I love you,” his warm minty breath cascades down onto your face and just when it feels like he’s going to kiss your lips he pulls you down further to give you a kiss on your forehead.

He chuckles, sliding away from you. “Go ahead, Haechan,” he winks at his friend. “Okay so who hasn’t gotten a piece of cake yet?” He asks everyone.

“Me daddy! Me!”

“What?!!! Well come here!” Jaemin scoops up your son into his arms and walks off with him.

“Well, now you’re all mine,” Haechan’s voice brings you back to the reality you’re about to face. Before you can even object, he plants a wet kiss on your cheek. “Finally!” He laughs. “Now I can get back to my cake!”

Sauntering off, head held high you’re left on the ground still in shock. Your mind races with thoughts you’ve kept quiet for the past five years. Feelings you thought were completely gone, but now have resurfaced. 

How? When?

“Need any help?”

Looking up, Jeno has his hand stretched out. “Uh, yeah, thanks.” You take hold of his hand and he helps you up.

“Don’t mind Haechan, he's just being…well, himself.” He laughs. “I guess I should say sorry for starting all of this.”

“Oh no, it’s fine. Really.”

“Now, I know that you haven’t opened any of your gifts yet, but I wanted to give you mine personally.” He holds out a cutely wrapped box with a sparkly pink bow wrapped around it. “It’s nothing much but I saw it and thought you’d like it.”

“Je-Jeno…” you feel tears starting to well up in your eyes again. “You didn’t need to get me anything. You’ve done so much already,” you unwrap the gift to find what looks like a jewelry box inside. “Wh-What is this?” You ask opening it.

Inside is a beautiful silver heart-shaped locket. Pulling it out, he instructs you to open it and when you do one half has a picture of your son, the other, a picture of yourself, but only you. A little surprised he takes the locket from your hands.

“I had asked Jaemin what I could get for you. He said he had no idea and to get you something that would make you happy. So I said what about a locket with all three of you inside, but he said to make it extra special for you and have it of you and your favorite person in the world.”

Jeno claps the latch for you, and the new piece of jewelry dangles around your neck. “He’s a dumbass,” you mumble.

“He is, but I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries.” Jeno laughs.

Reaching in, you hug Jeno tightly. “In any case, I love this. Thank you, Jeno.”

“No problem,” he hugs you back just as tight. “And just between the two of us, inside the box there are alternate pictures for you to put into the locket, but don’t tell the dumbass I told you.”

“I won’t!” You start giggling.

The rest of the party went by without a hitch. You couldn’t have spent your birthday any better than how you spent it today. Being around those who you’re close to and sharing such a beautiful memory will go down as one of your favorite birthday’s to date, and the best part, having your little guy part of this big day as well.

“Rest well, sweetie.” You kiss your son on the cheek.

“Night night mommy,” he yawns.

Quietly you exit his room, but not before turning on his nightlight. Closing the door halfway, you peek at him one more time before heading back downstairs. In search of your husband, you head straight for the kitchen where he was last seen hunched over doing the dishes. His back turned to you, you watch him quietly. Leaning your back against the wall, your hands grow clammy as you attempt to speak to him. For the past five years you’ve barely uttered a word to him that didn’t have a purpose behind it. Not knowing how to talk to him anymore you clear your throat before walking up to the kitchen table.

Turning around at the sound of you clearing your throat, his sleeves rolled up to the bend of his arm, an apron wrapped around his waist, Jaemin stares shocked to see you… alone, in the kitchen… with him. 

“Ummm, I… I thought I would tell you juniors in his room sleeping, so if you wanted to say goodnight you might have to do so at the door.” You mumble.

Nodding, Jaemin turns back to the dishes and continues. “I’ll do that. Thanks for letting me know.”

Your fingers run down your face, exasperatedly – pulling at your bottom lids, as they stop at your cheekbones. Was talking to him always so hard? You ask yourself. “I, uh, I wanted to say thanks for today. I really appreciate it. You didn’t have to go through all the trouble, but I’m truly grateful.”

Shaking his head he turns to place a dish on the drying rack where you see the faintest hint of a smile. “It was no trouble at all. You’re a terrific mom and I wanted to do something to celebrate you. There’s no need to thank me.”

“No,” you move from the kitchen table, and head straight for him. “I really do need to thank you and for more than just the party. I’ve given you a hard time these past couple of years and while I want to apologize, I still feel like because of what happened I shouldn’t.”

Placing down the dish cloth in his hands he turns to you. “You shouldn’t apologize. What I did… I should be on my knees everyday thanking you for allowing me to be in our son’s life.”

Holding up your hands you shake your head in protest. “I want to make things better between the two of us. I want our son to grow up in a healthy household. So, I believe in order to do this I should change the picture on the one side of the locket.”

Jaemin snickers and returns to washing the dishes. “Jeno told you what I said?”

“He did. While I don’t know how to feel exactly you deserve to be in the locket as well. I wouldn’t have been able to raise our son by myself. Those first few months when he wasn’t sleeping you stayed up with him every night so I could rest. You fed him, bathed him, and played with him more than I did and it was all because you saw how exhausted I was. You’ve sacrificed so much of yourself for him as well as me.”

“It’s the least I could do after everything. I’ve royally fucked up my life, your life, and our sons’ life.”

“Jaemin…” You whisper while your heart pounds in your ears.

Turning to face you his eyes widen when your lips press against his. You hear the dish cloth plop into the water and immediately after, Jaemin grabs hold of your upper arms and pushes you away from him.

“Pl-Please…” he keeps you at arms length, his head bowing down before you. “You don’t want… You can’t do this.”

“Why can’t I do this?”

“You’re not in the right headspace. What I’ve done to you, you shouldn’t even have to look at me unless absolutely needed. Please, just get some rest. You’ve had a long day.”

“No,” you place your hand on top of his. “I kissed you because I wanted to. And if you wouldn’t mind lowering your arms, I would like to kiss you again. That is, if you’re okay with it.”

Jaemin’s arms start to lower, but he keeps a firm hold of you. “I don’t deserve your kindness… I don’t deserve your… your…” his voice gets softer and softer as you draw closer to him.

“What I give you from here on out will be what you deserve for your actions going forward. I want us to have a clean slate,” your hand slides up his chest, causing him to shrink inward. “I want what could have been, what should be, and what may be a life with you.”

Your hand travels up from his neck, skates over his collar bone, to his neck as you pull him closer to you. His eyes flutter wildly as if he’s unsure if he should accept this or flee. Then again, your eyes were doing the same weird dance as his. His pulse pounds crazily against the palm of your hand, mirroring your own. A strange desire to feel his lips on yours, and possibly (at least you hope) yours on his. Mere inches apart, Jaemin’s hand slides onto your hip making you gasp, and before you know it, his lips land on yours. 

Not wasting a single second, you wrap your arms around his shoulders trapping him in your grasp. He complies, by wrapping you in a tight embrace as well. Your lips sliding across each other’s in a feverish kiss. It felt like after years of fighting, years of distance, years of hatred, pain and hidden lust — everything was pouring out from the two of you in one single moment.

Jaemin’s tongue skates across your bottom lip asking for entrance and as if you’ve been kissing him this whole time your lips part. The once sweet gentle kiss turns to hot then wet in a matter of seconds. Your tongues sliding across each other’s a battle for dominance ensues and has both of you breathing heavy. Jaemin’s lips wrap around your tongue and immediately you become putty in his hands. Your knees give way, and quickly he pushes you against the counter for support. Holding your face in his hands he switches between sucking the shit out of your tongue, and shoving his down your throat.

Eyes watering, you grip onto him for dear life while you try to keep your wits about you. Pulling back for air both of you breathe heavily. His skin kissed with redness as he stares into your eyes like he did that night when he stole your heart. The memory smacks you in the face and before you can think about anything else, you grab the hem of your shirt and rip it over your head – tossing it onto the floor next to the two of you.

Scrambling, Jaemin unties his apron from his waist, and with shaky fingers you unbutton his button down shirt until he swiftly throws it down with yours. Your bottom lip snags between your teeth as you stare at the still sexy man in front of you. His muscles, though smaller still have your legs clenching together tightly. Jaemin grabs the back of your neck and pulls you in for another kiss, this time softer, this time sweeter.

“Where to?” He mumbles against your lips.

“Your room?” You ask. “I don’t want to risk the chance of you know who seeing.”

“A little risk adds to the excitement of it all,” his lips travel from yours and down to your neck.

“And last time was my father, I don’t want this time to be our son.” Jaemin clamps down on your neck roughly causing you to moan. “J-Jaemin… please…” You beg.

Turning from you, he grabs hold of your hand and both of you rush out of the kitchen a lightness in your steps and a massive amount of giggles coming from you.

Maybe this can actually work out, just maybe…

The moment you enter Jaemin’s room, he closes the door behind you and locks it. Pressing you against it, his lips capture yours. The moment your lips touch, everything becomes blurry as you sink into the lust you’ve kept at bay. Jaemin’s hand grabs hold of your waist, pulling you closer to him. He nips your bottom lip before his lips travel to your cheeks and back down to your neck. Your eyes flutter, a smile rests on your face – lord knows how badly you’ve needed this moment, to feel someone touch you, kiss you, and caress you.

Suddenly you feel a sense of freedom. Looking down, you find your bra straps inching down past your shoulders. Giggling, you quirk a brow at Jaemin who smirks before stealing another kiss from you.

“I need to see your body again,” he confesses.

Wiggling out of your bra, he throws it across his room. His eyes go from yours down to your face, to your décolletage, and down to your breasts. Feeling a little shy, you cover yourself, but he grabs hold of your wrists pulling your arms apart.

“Never cover yourself. You’re still as beautiful as the first day I saw you,” he reassures.

“R-Really?” You ask, your face warming up by the second.

“Actually,” he takes a step back, his hand resting under his chin as he glances you over, a dark hunger in his gaze. “Now that I’m looking at you, I have to say no.”

Your head shoots up in shock, eyes instantly becoming watery. “Wh-What?”

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you.” He smiles sweetly. “It must be the glow of a strong, beautiful woman and mother,” he wraps an arm around you. “Honestly, you’re a lot hotter than before too.”

“Jae-Jaemin!!!!” You slap his bare chest lightly.

“If things go well,” he dips his head down placing a kiss at the center of your décolletage, “maybe we should try again – this time however, with both of us on board.” He glances up at you.

“You mean another little one?”

His lips slide to one of your breasts. Jaemin keeps a firm hold of you, your back arching up as he wraps his lips around your nipple. Nodding he sucks on the erect bud before giving it a playful nibble causing you to squeak. With one final suckle he pulls back smiling from ear to ear.

“That is, if you’re okay with the idea.”

Whether it was the crazy storm of emotions roaring through your body, the lust of wanting Jaemin to take you here and now, or deep down you would love to see your little boy have a brother or sister to play with – you eagerly wrap your arms around him, jumping up and down where you stand.

“Let’s do it!”

Jaemin chuckles as he watches you turn into the cutest person in the world before him. “Are you sure? I mean we could talk to Dr. Kwon and see if she –”

“Na Jaemin!” You state firmly. “If you do not drag me over to your bed and plow into me in the next two seconds I will never forgive you for ruining the moment!”

Before you even realize it, you’re dragged from the door and flung onto the bed with Jaemin crawling on top of you. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I ruined this moment. Your wish is my command, my love.”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Haechan covers his mouth as he turns from you. “So essentially you two –” he becomes quiet.

“Had sex and started to restore our relationship? Yes, we did.”

“But that was a long time ago. There is no saying things didn’t turn south once more.”

“It was not even three years ago, Haechan. How can you think that I would not only lie to you about what happened but actually hurt my husband? Yes, in the past I was in a different head space but that doesn’t mean that I was or am even remotely in the same headspace. We were once a family. I know what I was about to do was wrong. I know, I understand and I myself regret telling you. It was something that Jaemin and I promised we would never bring up again.”

Glancing your way, his face looking exhausted he asks, “did he really do those terrible things to you?”

Standing up you grab your purse. “If you want to know the specifics of Jaemin’s state of mind and what happened to not only myself but to him, I suggest talking to Dr. Kwon. I stopped seeing her personally after the first year. I got what I could from her, but Jaemin –  he kept his promise to me, he promised he would keep going so nothing like what he put me through would happen again, and he kept it! And I kept my promise as well by keeping my mouth shut of all the shitty things he did to me.

“The only people we ever told were Dr. Kwon, apparently Jeno (which I didn’t know Jaemin told him), and now you – or should I say and now anyone and everyone who will hear that stunt you pulled. You can be mad all you want, you can hate me, you can try to end my life yourself because what I did was terrible! But unless you were there, unless you went through what I did you have no fucking idea how badly I wanted to escape, how badly I wanted to get back to my life, to my parents!”

Opening your purse you take out one of Dr. Kwon’s business cards you took from her office. Slamming the card down onto the interrogation table in front of Haechan you turn to the door. “Call her before coming back to talk to me. I’m not running and I’m not hiding anymore. But I swear to you Haechan, I didn’t hurt him. I could never hurt him!”

You head to the door and just as you are stepping out Haechan calls your name, halting you before you take one more step. “The body,” he utters. “It’s not…it wasn’t,” he twitches with irritation. “The body wasn’t Jaemin and there are absolutely no traces of a dog there at all.”

Slowly you turn back to him, eyes widened and mouth hung open in shock. “What did you just say?”

“When I was called out I was handed that vanilla folder.” He looks down at the table before him, your eyes following as you both stare at the folder sitting haphazardly at the table's edge. “Inside is the report from not only the coroner, but also the officers on site and pictures of the scene. It’s of a person’s body, badly burnt, but they are not Jaemin’s remains. According to the coroner they seem to belong to someone by the name of, Michael Krest. Do you know who this person is?” He asks.

In that moment your body gives out and you crash to the floor, hard. “Shit!” Haechan rushes over. “Help! Please!” Within seconds multiple officers plow through the door, some almost running both you and Haechan over in their haste. “Please someone get me a water and damp towel. She just fell.” He orders the others.

“On it!” You hear one of them speak.

“You know who the man is don’t you?” Haechan asks you while you’re lifted off the floor and placed back in the chair. “Who is he?”

How can this be? You haven’t seen him in years. What was he doing at your house? Why was he at your house? And why is he dead?!

“Here’s the water!” The officer who left rushes over to you handing you the bottle but instead of taking it from him, he starts to freak out. “Ma’am, ma’am,” he gets down on his haunches trying to get you to respond. “Ma’am, please say something…”

“H…H…” you huff out the sound of the letter h.

“H?” He looks at Haechan who shrugs.

“He’s…He’s…” your body starts to tremble. “H-How?” You look at Haechan. “HOW?!” You scream as if you’re seconds from being killed – scaring Haechan, everyone in the room and those outside of it. “Why in the hell was he at our home? Why is he dead? How did he die?!!! What the fuck is going on?” You grab at the roots of your hair. “I dumped him!!!! I haven’t seen him since I left him?! Why the hell was he at my home?”

“He’s an ex?” Haechan glances down at the folder shocked.

“He never tried to contact me before. I never heard from him after I left him. Why was he at my house?” You ask Haechan, tears pouring from your eyes.

Scratching the back of his neck his eyes dart from the folder to you. “I believe I’m supposed to ask you that question.”

“Well how the fuck do I know?!” You scream once again – this time those not involved in the interrogation slowly start exiting the room, leaving Haechan alone to face your wrath. “Honestly,” your bottom lip quivers. “I haven’t seen him since I broke up with his cheating ass. There’s absolutely no reason for him to have been at my house. Hell, how did he even find me?!”

“There is a reason for him to have been at your house, and that reason is you. As to how he got there, I don’t know, did your parents meet him or something?”

“Yeah they met him once or twice in the later stages of our relationship. I thought he was going to be the one before I found him balls deep in some slut backstage.”

“Backstage?” Haechan raises a curious brow.

“He’s in a band, or was… I guess… When I saw him cheating on me I dumped him right then and there. I even cleared out his belongings from my apartment and left them at the front desk for him so I wouldn’t have to deal with him personally.”

“So you had an issue with him as well?”

Your head whips around towards Haechan, a furious glare in your eyes. Not again, not this time. He will NOT try to blame you for Michael’s death.

“Did I have an issue with him, yes I did. I was cheated on. I caught him in the act of cheating. I was pissed the fuck off – hence throwing his stuff into boxes and taking them down to the front desk. I didn’t hear from him after a simple apology note after a week of me catching him, with a simple ‘I’m sorry ~ Michael’ on it. I never once looked for him, or cared to look for him. But despite the dislike I have for him I would never wish any harm such as this to come to him. I swear, Haechan. I do not know why he was at our home.”

“I believe you,” he rubs the bridge of his nose. “But now we have a whole new set of problems. Why was he at your home in the first place? What happened to him prior to the fire before his death which appears to be smoke inhalation due to the fire. And where the fuck is Jaemin?”

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Wiggling about in ecstasy on the couch, your hands at the bend of your knees while your legs are spread wide open for Jaemin – you let out whimper after whimper as he runs his fingers up and down your glistening folds. His eyes staring daggers into yours, he watches as you come undone before him.

“J-Jaemin,” you cry out. “Please!!!”

Snickering he brings his fingers up to his lips and one by one he slides his fingers into his mouth coating them in his saliva. When he’s finished he brings his fingers back down to your pulsating core and slides them over your sensitive nub.

“Does my baby need a little attention?” He asks you sweetly.

“Mmmm…” you respond, lips clenched tightly together.

With the flick of his middle finger he starts to toy with your clit. Closing your eyes tightly you do your best not to make a single sound that would wake your sleeping child. At night and his nap time are the only times the two of you manage to have time for yourselves. And while you were expecting a little quickie when your baby is asleep – the sensational feeling of Jaemin teasing and edging you has you thinking otherwise.

“Wow, look at this,” he grabs your attention. Holding up his hand he shows you how his fingers are now coated in your juices. “You’re so wet baby,” he smiles before popping each finger into his mouth. “So good,” he hums delightfully. “But I think you can do better, don’t you?”

“B-Better?” Your body starts to grow warm all over. The goosebumps you felt in the beginning have multiplied, your breathing starts to get faster turning into small pants. Your toes wiggle and curl the more he rubs his fingers over your bundle of nerves.

“Yes, a lot better, or should I say wetter?” He gives you the darkest smirk you’ve ever seen before plunging two of his fingers into you.

Your head and eyes roll back as your grip on your legs tighten. “Jae-Jaemin!!!” You squeak. Chucking with glee, he lowers his head down to your pulsing clit and slurps up all of your juices he’s caused to spill from you. “Shit!!!” You say a little too loudly.

“Shhh, baby, don’t wake him.” Jaemin warns. “I have another round planned for us during this break.” He smiles against you.

“Th-Then go easy on me, please…” you beg.

“I can’t do that, not when you’re this irresistible.”

And with that he dives down again smothering his face into your folds. His tongue and fingers working together at lightning speed to push you closer and closer to the edge. Your chest rises and falls quickly, your mouth hangs open as saliva trails down onto your chest. Small whimpers and moans keep coming from you the more Jaemin lapse over you and rams his fingers inside of you.

“Jae-Jae-Jae…” you can’t get out his whole name as your body starts to loosen up from your grip. Your hands unclenching from your knees has them lowering down to Jaemin, but with a quick reaction he catches one of your legs which causes you to stop.

Popping his head up for a second, his lips swollen and coated in your slick he gives your clit a little lick which has you clenching around his fingers. “Keep your legs up and open for me baby. As much as I wouldn’t mind being smothered by your thighs, I want to see your beautiful face when you cum, okay?”

“Shit!” You clench around his fingers once more.

“Tell me when I’ve found the spot, alright baby?”

“Mmmmmm…” you slide down further into the couch.

Curling his fingers inside of you, Jaemin feels around trying to find your most sensitive spot. Only having found it a few other times (purely by accident as he pounded his cock inside of you until you came around him) the exact location is still trying to be blueprinted. While one hand is coaxing you into bliss, his other hand hovers over your clit, his middle finger occasionally brushing against you.

“Jaemin!” You whine.

“Not until you tell me when I’ve gotten the right spot,” he pulls his fingers out of you, but not completely.

“WAIT!” You gasp, alarming him. “Slowly push them back in,” you instruct.

Doing as instructed, Jaemin pushes his fingers back inside of you until he feels your body shake below him. Not needing a word of confirmation he curls his fingers, and goes to town pushing you beyond your wildest dreams. In a matter of seconds you go from feeling wonderful, sweetly nestled into the couch – to scrambling to sit up a little, almost as if to get away while Jaemin’s fingers work you over from both inside and out.   

“Jae-Jae-Jae!!!” You start chanting. “Faster, faster!!!!!” Foregoing your clit, Jaemin holds onto his wrist and uses both his arms to shove his fingers inside of you. “Yes! Yes! Yes!!!” You scream behind your hand to keep your voice to a minimum.

Suddenly a burst from you has your eyes rolling to the back of your head, your body quivering and shaking. Your hands grip onto the couch while wet noises come from you and fill the room along with your panting.

“That’s my girl!!!!” Jaemin smiles proudly when he sees your pussy squirting, coating his forearm, fingers, shirt and lap. “I knew you could do it.”

As you come down from your high, Jaemin drinks up the remaining juices that drip from you before standing up. “Ready for round two?” He asks while unzipping his pants. Not saying a word you open your arms wide for him – inviting him into your space to do whatever he pleases. Sliding out of his jeans and briefs he runs his soaked fingers up and down his shaft while his bottom lip is trapped between his teeth. “Shit, baby…” he runs his other hand through his newly dyed blonde locks. “I could get off just staring at you like this.”

“No…” you pout and whine sitting up onto the couch. “I want you inside of me,” you pull him towards you, his hand moving away from his cock. “Deep,” you take hold of his length. “Deep,” you give the tip a little smooch. “Deep inside of me,” you state before wrapping your lips around him, sliding your mouth and tongue up and down his shaft coating it with your saliva.

“Fuck,” he curses. “Keep it up and I’ll need to eat you out again before I’m ready to go once more,” he chuckles.

Pulling back a sinister look on your face and a speck of mischief in your eyes you wiggle your tongue across the slit of his cock. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

“Neither would I,” he pulls back from you, dipping down for a kiss. “But like you said so sexily, I want to be buried deep,” he starts moving down to you, your body moving away allowing him more space on the couch. “Deep,” he hikes up one of your legs while he settles in between them. “Deep inside of you,” he mumbles against your lips as he slides his cock inside of you.

Hissing at the feeling of entering you, he resituates himself until he’s comfortable. “We’ll need a third, fourth, and fifth round tonight.” He chuckles and starts to move in and out of you. “Fuck baby,” he smiles while ramming his hip into yours, your hands instinctively go to his wrists as you hold on tight. “You feel so good…” he grunts and starts moving faster driving you deeper and deeper into the couch.

Your hips meet every single thrust of his pushing both of you further into sensuous bliss…

ⓗ  ⓤ  ⓝ  ⓣ  ⓔ  ⓡ

Sitting in the car next to Jeno your mind races while your fingers are snagged between your teeth. What the hell is really going on? Your leg shakes nervously as the conversation with Haechan replays before your eyes again and again. Jaemin…He’s… but if he was why hasn’t he shown himself yet? If he was alive he wouldn’t just leave you and his son alone, right?

As you draw closer to your old neighborhood the memories of that fateful day start to replay before your eyes…

‘Babe,’ you call out to Jaemin who was upstairs in his office. ‘Can you come down here please?’

‘Mama, where are we going?’ Tiny little hands tug on your shirt.

‘Well, we’re going to have a little picnic so I can tell daddy some good news!’ You boop your son's nose.

‘What news?’

Playfully putting your hands on your hips, you puff out your cheeks. ‘Not so fast you little trickster. You’ll know when daddy knows.’

Mocking your pose he pouts. ‘But I wanna know now!’ He whines.

‘What do you want to know, little man?’ Jaemin swoops down picking him up and causing both of you to giggle.

‘Mama has a secret to tell us!’ He squeals with laughter as Jaemin throws him over his shoulder.

‘A secret? What is this secret?’ His brows wiggle.

Sighing you shake your head and turn to the picnic basket you have in your hands. ‘Like father like son,’ you wave both of them off. ‘I was hoping you could spare the afternoon for a nice picnic at the park. We can bring Nana and the boys with us too!’

Huffing behind you, you leap forward at the familiar growl of discontent from Nana. ‘Speak of the devil (literally…)’ You whisper under your breath.

‘I…’ Jaemin puts your son down, sighing. ‘Why don’t you go outside and play with Nana and the boys, okay buddy?’

‘Okay!’ He squeaks and pats his tiny lap. ‘Come on Nana, let’s go play!’

Rushing out of the kitchen you watch your son and the happiest demon dog to ever walk the face of the earth, gleefully leave out the front door to the front yard.

‘Babe, I can’t go out this afternoon. I’m expecting a call from a client. Is there any way we can reschedule?’

‘I thought that call wasn’t going to be until tonight,’ your shoulders start to slump forward. ‘Can’t you just bring your cell phone and step away when the call comes through?’

‘It’s a business call, you know I don’t take them on my personal phone. Plus, it’s an important call. I can’t exactly bring on a new client while our son is screaming –” as if knowing his cue both of you jump at the sound of your son's laughter coming through the opened door. ‘See,’ he points to the door. ‘I can’t have that going on.’

‘But I mean… not even for two hours? You can’t spare us two hours?’

Running an exasperated hand through his hair, he looks from you to the basket, to your son. ‘Really babe, I’d love to but I can’t… Not this time…’

‘I see…’ you turn from him and grab the picnic basket. ‘I guess we’ll just go and give you the evening to have your business call. We’ll be back after dark.’ You head out of the kitchen and into the living room.

‘Babe! Please!’ Jaemin shouts behind you. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I understand, Jaemin.’ You wave him off. ‘Sweetie, head over to the car and I’ll meet you there.’ You shout to your son.

‘Why does daddy look sad?’ He stops immediately when he sees Jaemin’s solemn expression.

‘Daddy can’t join us, he has a very important phone call to make.’ You bend down to him and stroke the top of his head. ‘He said he’ll join us another day.’

‘B-But the sandwiches, the secret…’ he looks back at Jaemin. ‘Daddy we need to hear mama’s secret…’

Glancing at you, you quickly turn from Jaemin. ‘We’ll find out another time buddy. Don’t worry I’ll make sure mommy doesn’t forget.’

‘Promise?’ He walks up to Jaemin holding out his tiny pink finger.

‘I promise…’ Jaemin bends down to him and wraps his finger around his baby boy's finger. ‘Now, as the man I’m going to need you to protect your mom for me while we’re apart, okay?’ He asks. ‘If any strange person tries to approach her, what do you do?’

‘GET BACK YOU CREEPY MAN!!!!!!!’ Your son shouts loud enough to scare both you and Jaemin. ‘Right, daddy?!’ He asks proudly.

Holding back a laugh, you roll your eyes. ‘That’s right,’ he gives him a kiss on the cheek before standing up. ‘Really, I’m sorry. We’ll do this again soon, okay?’ His eyes quiver with uncertainty.

Nodding, you take hold of your little boy's hand. ‘Of course, I still have a secret to tell.’

‘I’ll see you when you get back sweetie,’ he wraps his arm around your waist bringing you in for a sweet kiss.

‘Maybe we’ll be back a little earlier than expected,’ you wink. ‘Okay, let’s get to the park before all the good swings are taken!’

‘YEAH!!!!!!!!’

‘Be safe!’ Jaemin shouts as you leave through the front door.

‘We will. We’ll be back in about two hours.’

‘I’ll be here!’ He waves before closing the door.

Just as you were heading for the garage you realize you left the bag that has a blanket and a few treats and toys for the dogs inside.

‘Sweetie, come back here for a second. Mommy forgot something inside.’ You call back to your son. He runs back up to you with the two boy dogs, Nana having walked into the home after you parted with Jaemin. ‘Do you remember where you left mommy’s bag with the blanket inside?’

‘I left it by the door.’ He points to the front door.

‘Okay we just need to –’

Shaking your head you stop the rest of that memory from resurfacing. In the matter of seconds a loud, powerful, gust of wind blasted through the door sending both you and your son back and the dogs running away. Covering him up with your body you kept him safe from what felt like a raging ball of fire spewing from inside of your home.

When you felt it was safe enough to move you told your little boy to run and to not look back, but you yourself looked back to see your beautiful home engulfed in a beastly fire. Tears poured down onto your face, your legs froze where you stood – your heart reaching out to where you knew Jaemin was still inside. Almost dragging you back to the fiery beast if not for your son’s small hand clenching your own – no one could have survived that… not even…

Pulling into his driveway Jeno parks his car, turns it off and immediately you hear a tired breath come from him. “What happened?” He turns to you. “What happened with Haechan? You’ve been eerily quiet since I picked you up. Did he say something? Or,” he pauses and gulps loudly. “Did he try to hurt you again?”

“Jeno,” you whisper quietly. “What are the odds of someone surviving that fire?”

Taken aback he takes off his seatbelt so he can turn to you. “What are you talking about? You were there… and I drove back a few days after. Your house is completely leveled. No one, not even Superman himself could have survived that fire.”

“The police found a body…”

“Yeah but we both knew that, remember? That’s why you were down there to talk about the body. Did they prove you didn’t do anything?” He takes hold of your hand worriedly. “Is this mess going to end?”

“Not even close,” slowly your head turns to Jeno, a wild look in your eyes. “The body they found wasn’t Jaemin’s. It was of Michael Krest…”

“Michael Krest, who the hell is that?”

“My ex-boyfriend.”

Jeno drops your hand from his ever so slowly as he leans back, his back now resting against his car door. “What the…”

“Jeno, I think Jaemin is alive… and I think… he had someone else trapped in that maze after me…”

Speechless, both you and Jeno sit in his car in an eerie silence. Both of your heads spinning out of control with the news that you’ve just found out and uttered. Jeno was right, no one could have possibly lived through that fire, hence Michael’s body. The real questions still remain: why was Michael at your home in the first place? Did Jaemin do something terrible to him? Did he lock him down in the maze as he did to you? What caused that explosion? Is Jaemin still alive and if so, how did he escape? Is Nana with him? If he did escape and is out there why hasn’t he come to get you and your son?

“We-We should get inside and you can tell me everything that happened at the precinct. Alright?” Jeno asks in a shaky voice. “None of this makes sense…”

“You’re telling me,” you sigh, undoing your seatbelt. “Haechan did say that he was going to stop by at the end of the week so maybe he’ll have found more information by then. I just… none of this makes any sense, Jeno. None of it…”

“I’m sorry,” he reaches out and places his hand on top of yours once more. “I’m sorry for everything he’s caused and is still causing. I should have said something years ago when I found out, but I…”

Shaking your head you pat the top of his hand. “It’s okay, I did this to myself. I chose him once, then hated him, chose him again, and now I just have question after question for him. Maybe when this is all said and done I’ll finally have all the answers to them, hopefully that is.”

“Yeah, hopefully...”

Jeno gets out of the car and quickly comes over to your side and opens the door for you, and helps you get out. Giving you a secure arm to lean against the two of you walk up to his house to find a piece of paper taped to his front door, with your name on it.

“Were you expecting someone?” Jeno asks, taking the paper and handing it to you while he opens the door.

“No,” you open it up. “I…”

Immediately all the blood drains from your face, and for the second time your knees give out and you fall to the ground.

“Yah!!!!” Jeno quickly grabs hold of you and pulls you back to your feet. “What happened? Are you okay? Here, let’s get you inside…”

“Jeno…” you start crying. “Jeno….”

“What happened? What hurts?” He leads you to the couch in his living room. Crouching down in front of you, he holds the side of your face in his hands as he looks at you terrified. “What is it?” Holding out the paper to him, it shakes and jiggles frantically in your grasp. “The note?” He asks. Taking it from you he opens it and just like you, the blood drains from his face and he falls back onto his butt on the floor. “What the fuck is going on?”

Rule 8, if the hunter finds himself incapable of being the hunter then the title of hunter goes to his former prey. When this change happens it is now the new hunters job to seek out the prey.

Come find me, hunter.

~ Jaemin

#jaemin smut #na jaemin smut #jaemin #jaemin fanfic #jaemin horror fanfic #jaemin nct dream #jaemin nct #nct jaemin #nct fanfic #nct fanfiction smut #jaemin fanfiction #jaemin fanfiction smut

[hwxnghyynjin]

Bad Blood

Pairing: nct 127 x reader, jaehyun x reader Genre: horror, angst, slight fluff, suggestive Warnings: horror themes, character death, injury detail, gore (if you're sensitive to stuff like this, please don't read if you're uncomfortable <3) Words: 6,163

Jaehyun has been running for god knows how long. All of his friends are dead, and they were all murdered by him. Someone he thought to be his best friend. All he knows is that he needs to get away from him as far as possible. 

The sound of leaves crumpled under his feet as he ran through the woods, his breathing becoming heavier as each minute passed. The pain in his shoulder and chest started to get worse, but he didn’t think about that. All he could think about was getting away. “You can’t get away from me”, he said, getting closer to Jaehyun.

Who knew someone you used to call your best friend could turn into a psychotic killer?

About 48 hours ago

Jaehyun woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ear, moving his arm to turn it off. He sat up and ran his hand through his hair, before getting out of bed to get ready for the day. He walked into the bathroom and did his usual morning routine, and then went to get dressed. He decided to wear black ripped jeans, black boots and a grey hoodie. Once he was dressed, he grabbed his phone, wallet and keys, and left the house towards his car. 

The drive to the coffee shop wasn’t long, only a 10 minute drive. Once he arrived, he got out of his car, locked it and went inside. The sound of the door opening alerted the barista behind the counter, who is a friend of Jaehyun’s. “Hey Johnny”, Jaehyun greeted him. “Hey Jae. The usual?”, Johnny asked, to which Jaehyun nodded. As Johnny was making the drink, he suddenly spoke up. “Did you hear on the news this morning?”, Johnny said, making Jaehyun confused. “No, what happened?”

“Another body was found in the woods last night. They said there were multiple axe wounds on the body”, Johnny said, and shivers went down Jaehyun’s spine. “Shit”, Jaehyun exclaimed, and collected his drink from Johnny. “That’s the fifth one this month”, Jaehyun said before taking a sip of his drink. Suddenly, the sound of the door opening again got both of their attention, and Yuta walked in. As soon as he walked in, Johnny and Jaehyun both stared at his face. 

“What the fuck happened to you?”, Johnny asked, noticing the black eye. “Me and Areum had another fight last night and, uh, she hit me. So I ended it with her”, Yuta explained. “I’m gonna be honest with you. I didn't like her to begin with. She seemed too… obsessive and pushy”, Jaehyun said, earning a glare from Yuta but he agreed with him. 

The coffee shop started to get more crowded as more people entered. Suddenly, a flustered y/n came running through the door, startling others in the coffee shop. “I’m sorry I’m late, I overslept”, she explained to Johnny, and ran to the back to get ready for her shift. Jaehyun’s eyes didn’t leave her once, until he felt someone flicking his forehead, making him yelp. 

“Dude, you’re making it so obvious that you’re in love with her”, Yuta said, chuckling. “So what if I am?”, Jaehyun said, sipping on his coffee and making Yuta choke on his. “Did you really just admit you’re in love with y/n?”, Yuta asked and Jaehyun realised what he said, making his eyes go wide. Yuta chuckled at seeing his wide eyes and changed the topic of the conversation. 

All of a sudden, the sound of Jaehyun’s phone got his attention and he checked it to see what it was. It was a message from Taeyong.

Taeyong: yo, where you at?

Jaehyun: I’m at the coffee shop where Johnny works, I’m with Yuta if you want to join :)

He replied back, waiting to see what Taeyong says. Not even a minute later, Taeyong replies back saying he'll be at the coffee shop soon. “Who was that?”, Yuta asked. “Just Taeyong asking where I am. He’ll be joining us soon”, Jaehyun answered. 

10 minutes had passed and Taeyong entered the coffee shop, his eye bags darker than usual. He saw Jaehyun and Yuta in the corner and went over to them. “Hey guys”, Taeyong said. “You look like shit. Have you not been sleeping?”, Jaehyun asked, worried for his friend. “Not really. Had trouble sleeping last night. Think I fell asleep around 3am”, Taeyong explained. He sat down opposite Jaehyun and they all continued on with their conversation.

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

A couple of hours had passed and when they decided that they should leave, Taeyong spoke up. “Hey, this is going to sound really weird but, I was wondering if you guys wanted to check out this abandoned building I found in the woods”, Taeyong said, which made Jaehyun and Yuta look at him suspiciously, but they agreed anyway. I mean, it’s not like they were going to get murdered. Right?

Yuta and Taeyong left the coffee shop, whilst Jaehyun decided to stay, wanting to be there for when y/n finishes her shift. He scrolled through his phone to pass time and checked the news about the body found.

Body found in woods early this morning with numerous wounds on the body which was suspected to be inflicted by an axe. When the body was found, the temperature of it was cold, so the time of death must have been around midnight.

As Jaehyun was scrolling through his phone, he didn’t notice someone walking up to him. “You’re still here?”, y/n asked him, making him jump and causing her to laugh. “Yeah, I wanted to stay here until your shift finishes. I mean, if that’s ok”, he said, making y/n smile. “If you want to stay here for a few more hours, go ahead. Why don’t I get you something to eat while I’m here”, she said, Jaehyun noticing a twinkle in her eye as she spoke to him. “Now that you mentioned it, I am kind of hungry. I’ll just have a slice of cake”, Jaehyun said and y/n nodded, walking back to behind the counter and Jaehyun looked out the window. 

y/n came back with a slice of cake and gave it to Jaehyun, thanking her. Before she was about to turn back around, Jaehyun lightly grabbed her wrist. “Uhm, this is going to sound strange but, Taeyong mentioned about going to this abandoned place in the woods tomorrow and I was hoping you’d come with me because I ain’t going to lie, I’m scared. Especially with these murders that’s been going on and…”, Jaehyun continued to babble on so y/n held his cheek to get him to stop, which startled him. “Don’t worry, I’ll come with you if you’re that scared. I’ll be your knight in shining armour”, she smiled, causing Jaehyun to chuckle, and he unconsciously nuzzled his face into her hand. y/n saw that and it caused her smile to grow and she rubbed her thumb along his cheek. “Right, I’ll leave you to eat your cake in peace”, she said before turning back around and heading back behind the counter. 

Jaehyun ate his cake while scrolling through his phone (also accidentally getting crumbs down his t-shirt) and once he finished it, he placed the fork down on the plate. He continued to scroll through his phone and his mind kept wandering back to the body that was found, and what Taeyong said when he first arrived.

“Had trouble sleeping last night. Think I fell asleep around 3am”

No, it had to be a coincidence. Taeyong would never.

A few more hours had passed and y/n’s shift had ended, and she collected her stuff from the back and left with Jaehyun. “They found another body in the woods?”, y/n asked, her voice full of fear. Jaehyun nodded and a shiver went down y/n’s spine. They arrived at y/n’s car and Jaehyun hugged her goodbye, y/n returning the hug, melting into him. She could smell his cologne, the smell of vanilla, and along with the chocolate cake he ate and the coffee. To some, that wouldn’t appeal to them but to y/n, she loved it, she did work in a coffee shop after all. As Jaehyun pulled away and turned around to leave, y/n put her hand on his arm. Jaehyun faced her again and wondered why she stopped him.

“You know, you’re not very good at hiding things”, she said, making Jaehyun confused. “What do you mean?”, he asked, causing y/n to laugh. “For the record”, she got closer to his face, “I’m in love with you too”, and at that, she placed a kiss on his lips. It was soft and sweet, she could taste the coffee and chocolate on his lips. Jaehyun moved forward and y/n’s back was pressed up against her car, Jaehyun’s hands on her hips as their lips moulded together. Little did they know, someone was watching them. He sat in his car, watching the two of them kiss, a frown on his face. He wanted Jaehyun all to himself, but he saw that he’s in love with someone else. 

“I’ll get you all to myself Jaehyun. You’ll see”, he said with a smirk on his face. 

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

Jaehyun and y/n arrive at the abandoned place in the woods, which they come to find out is an abandoned mental asylum, mid morning. Jaehyun thought instead of both of them going separately, he picked up y/n on his way. They saw Taeyong, Yuta and Johnny there, along with others. The other people there were Haechan, Mark, Taeil, Doyoung and Jungwoo. “Ah, I see you two finally showed up”, Taeyong said when he saw Jaehyun and y/n. His focus went to their hands, he saw they were holding hands. “Wait, are you two together now?”, he asked, making Jaehyun and y/n look at their hands. “I guess we are”, y/n replied, kissing Jaehyun’s cheek, making him smile. 

Taeyong took a deep breath and carried on talking. “Ok, let’s check out inside, shall we? Unless you guys are cowards”, he said jokingly. Everyone looked at each other and hesitated, but they all went inside eventually, Jaehyun and y/n the last ones to enter. 

“Ok, why are we here again?”, Doyoung asked, kinda annoyed that he’s awake at this hour. “Just wanted you guys to explore with me, that’s all”, Taeyong said, everyone getting suspicious about why he wanted them to go ‘just exploring’ with him. “Ok then, let’s split up then”, y/n suggested, everyone looking at her. “Since there’s 10 of us, why don’t we go in 2’s to explore”, Jaehyun suggested and everyone agreed. The pairs were Jaehyun and y/n, Mark and Haechan, Johnny and Taeil, Yuta and Jungwoo, and Taeyong and Doyoung. Once the pairs were decided, they all split up and went their separate ways to explore. 

Little did they know what was going to happen. 

Mark and Haechan walked around and checked in rooms, making sure nothing popped out to scare them. Suddenly, Haechan stopped and Mark looked at him confused. “Mark, something doesn’t feel right”, Haechan said, fear evident in his voice. “Why, what’s wrong?”, Mark asked. “I don’t know, I just know something bad is going to happen”, Haechan started to get anxious and Mark tried to calm him down. “Hey, hyuck, look at me. We’re in an abandoned mental asylum, remember? Thousands of people have probably died here from when this asylum was open. Maybe that’s why you’re feeling anxious so, just try not to stress, ok?”, Mark tried to reassure him, which seemed to work as Haechan nodded and continued to explore. 

Yuta and Jungwoo were joking around while walking, trying to lighten the atmosphere around them. “Hey, Yuta?”, Jungwoo asked out of nowhere. “Yeah?”, Jungwoo replied. “Since we are inside an abandoned mental asylum, do you think a lot of people, you know, died in here?”, Jungwoo asked out of curiosity. Yuta stopped and thought about it. “I think so, yeah. I think some people were tortured, some died due to suicide and I don’t know, some were probably just too ill and died from natural causes”, Yuta replied, the whole atmosphere around them becoming more depressing from that conversation. “Well, whatever happened to them, I hope they’re in a better place”, Jungwoo said. Jungwoo has always been a sweetheart and wanted the best for everyone, he never wants people to be in pain or distress.

Johnny and Taeil were also looking around, checking rooms, when they came across something that spooked them. An axe. With blood on it. “Uhm, why is that there?”, Taeil asked. “Didn’t you say that the body found in the woods had wounds from an axe?”, Taeil asked again, Johnny nodding. A shiver went down both of their spines, both of them now regretting coming here. 

Jaehyun and y/n walked hand in hand, talking about whatever came to their mind. y/n was looking at the graffiti on the wall when all of a sudden, she felt herself being pushed into one of the rooms and the door closed. It was only until she realised it was only Jaehyun that she relaxed. “What are you doing? You freaked me out, you butthead”, y/n said making Jaehyun chuckle. He pushed her up against a wall and put one hand against the wall by her head and the other hand on her waist. “Would it be weird of us if we made out in an abandoned mental asylum?”, Jaehyun asked y/n, making her gasp. “Unless you want to walk through this creepy ass asylum back to the car to make out”, Jaehyun said while chuckling, y/n lightly hitting his chest. 

Before they knew it, their lips were against each other, moving in sync. Both of Jaehyun’s hands are now on y/n’s waist while her hands were in his hair. One of Jaehyun’s hands moved from her waist down to her thigh, and wrapped her leg around him to push her further into the wall and the kiss got more intense. Jaehyun bit y/n’s bottom lip, making her gasp, which gave him the opportunity to stick his tongue in her mouth. A moan left her mouth and she tugged on Jaehyun’s hair, causing him to grunt and the grip on her thigh and hip tightened. Jaehyun pulled away which made y/n whine, but he started trailing hot, open mouthed kissed down her jaw and neck, sucking and biting, eliciting a loud moan from her. He sucked purple spots onto her neck, happy with his work as he placed kisses over them.

The hand that was on her hip travelled under her t-shirt and y/n felt his hand on her stomach, the skin burning. Jaehyun then proceeded to take her t-shirt off and threw it on the floor and attached his lips back on hers. He grabbed both of her thighs and picked her up, placing her on a table on a table near the wall beside them. He spread her legs and situated himself between them, his hands playing with the waistband of her sweatpants, his hand going inside her pants ever so slowly she didn’t realise it until she felt Jaehyun’s hand cupping her clothed core, causing her to gasp into his mouth, feeling his smirk against her. 

Taeyong and Doyoung were looking in a random room but when Doyoung went to turn around to talk to him, Taeyong was nowhere to be seen. “Taeyong?”, Doyoung called out, hoping to get an answer. He turned around again when suddenly, someone whacked him over the head, causing him to fall to the floor. 

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When Doyoung woke up, he saw that he was in a weird room, which had no windows. He noticed that the door was locked and he was panicking. “Well, well, well. I see you’re awake”, someone said. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”, Doyoung asked him. “Because, you see, I don’t like that Jaehyun has other friends. And I want him to myself so, I’m sorry”, he said, and he got a knife out, and Doyoung tried to get away but it was too late. Doyoung screamed before the knife slit his throat, blood dripping onto the floor. 

Everyone heard Deyoung's scream which caused them to stop. “Was that Doyoung?”, Yuta asked, and starting running to where the sound came from, Jungwoo following after him. They managed to find where the scream came from, the others arrived not long after. Jaehyun and y/n were the last ones to arrive, both of them straightening out their clothes. “Did you….. Di you guys fucking makeout?”, Johnny asked them, making both of them flustered. Yuta opened the door, and the scene in front of him made him scream. Doyoung’s lifeless body on the ground, surrounded by his own blood. Everyone started to cry at seeing their friends dead body. But there was someone missing. 

“Hey, where’s Taeyong?”, Jungwoo asked. Suddenly, Taeyong showed up out of nowhere, and when he saw Doyoung’s body, he also screamed. “What the fuck happened?”, he yelled to no one in particular. “He was obviously murdered. Someone slit his throat”, Yuta said, noticing the slit along his throat. '`Taeyong?”, Yuta asked him, making Taeyong look at him. “Yeah?”, Taeyong replied.

“Where were you around the time Doyoung was murdered?”, Yuta suddenly asked, wanting to know as the others aren’t likely to be near as they arrived at the scene after him and Jungwoo. “Wait, you’re not thinking that I did this, are you? Cause that’s absolute bullshit”, Taeyong retorted, sounding annoyed that he’s being accused. “Who else could it have been? There’s no one else here”, Yuta yelled, about to hit Taeyong burn Johnny stopped him. “Yuta, stop. There might be someone else here with us for all we know. Don’t just assume it was taeyong just because he wasn’t here when all of us arrived”, Johnny exclaimed, Yuta sighing and nodding his head.

No one saw the smirk on Taeyong’s face as he looked down. But they did hear the low chuckle from him.

“Why the fuck are you laughing? This is not fucking funny you ass”, Yuta yelled, making Taeyong look up. “Oh, I’m laughing because you guys are so stupid. You guys honestly agreed to come here without giving it a second thought? Wow”, Taeyong said and his laughing got more manic, scaring Mark and Haechan. Taeyong suddenly walked off into the darkness and everyone else realised.

Taeyong murdered Doyoung. But why?

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”, Yuta started shouting and Johnny tried to calm him down but nothing seemed to work. Out of the corner of his eye, Jaehyun saw y/n shaking from fear. He turned to her and hugged her, her melting into him while more tears flowed down her cheeks. 

“I knew something bad was going to happen”, Haechan said to no one in particular. “I thought maybe it was because we’re in an abandoned mental asylum where thousands of people had died but, no. Oh god, Doyoung is dead”, Haechan said and he started hyperventilating, realising what’s just happened. Mark tried to calm him down by holding him. 

Suddenly, Yuta stopped yelling and started walking in the direction Taeyong went. “Where are you going?”, Johnny said, alarmed by Yuta’s sudden movements. “I’m going to find Taeyong and beat the shit out of him. Don’t even think about following me. If things go south and something happens to me, get the fuck out of here, all of you”, Yuta said, making everyone worried about how reckless he’s acting. “Yuta, are you sure that’s a good idea?”, Mark asked, now managing to calm Haechan down. “He murdered Doyoung, what else do you expect me to do? Nothing?”, Yuta said, sounding pissed. He then turned around and went to find Taeyong. “Not to sound pessimistic but”, Taeil said, “this isn’t going to end well”, to which some nodded and others just stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

Yuta looked everywhere, trying to find Taeyong, but it seemed like he’s nowhere to be seen. “Taeyong, show yourself, you fucking coward”, Yuta yelled, hoping to get his attention. Out of nowhere, Taeyong showed up, startling Yuta, But what startled him even more is what Taeyong is holding: a gun. Yuta stood his ground, trying to show that he isn’t afraid when, in fact, he was terrified. But he didn’t want Taeyong to know that. “You know, that’s not very polite”, Taeyong said, pointing the gun at Yuta, aiming the gun at his chest. “Why are you doing this? Yesterday, you seemed…. Not psychotic. What changed?”, Yuta asked calmly, trying not to anger Taeyong even more. Taeyong just laughed and cocked the gun, making Yuta jump. “You see, I don’t like that Jaehyun has all you guys when I’m supposed to be his best friend. I enjoyed being his only best friend before you showed up”, Taeyong said and Yuta scoffed. “I see, so you’re just jealous. How pathetic”, Yuta soon regretted saying that as he felt a sharp pain in his side: Taeyong shot him. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain and held his side where the blood was coming out. Taeyong dropped the gun and straddled Yuta, punching him. “Guys, run! Get the fuck out of here”, Yuta shouted to the others, hoping they could hear him. Taeyong’s hands then went to Yuta’s neck and wrapped his hands around it, gripping it in his hold. Yuta struggled against the grip, trying to get Taeyong to let go but unfortunately, his fate turned bad as Taeyong grabbed the sides of his head, and twisted it to the side, snapping his neck. “I’m so sorry it had to come to this, Yuta”, Taeyong said, stroking Yuta’s cheek. He got off his lifeless body and just stared at the body.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction where Yuta went when they suddenly heard him scream. The shock soon turned into horror when they heard a snapping noise. “Oh shit, no, I’m out of here”, Taeil said, running towards the exit to get out. Everyone else followed Taeil but, since the abandoned asylum is so big, it’s like a maze so they were afraid they would end up lost. 

Taeil was the only one who managed to get out, running out the exit and through the woods. He turned around to see if anyone followed him but he saw no one. He stopped and seemed confused. “Hello?”, he asked, wondering why he was the only one out. He started walking back, until he felt something sharp clamp around his ankle. He screamed in pain, falling backwards. He saw what was on his ankle, when he saw a bear trap. Blood was pooling out of his ankle, making Taeil feel a little lightheaded.“What the fuck!?”, he yelled. Suddenly, Taeyong popped up in front of him. “You stupid, stupid guy. You really thought you could escape?”, Taeyong said, smirking down at Taeil, tears rolling down Taeil’s cheeks. Taeyong walked towards Taeil and Taeil tried to move backwards, but unsuccessful as Taeyong grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him towards a tree, and sat him in front of it. Taeil was shaking with fear, wondering what Taeyong was going to do to him, when he saw Taeyong reach into his pocket.

“You really shouldn’t have agreed to come here. I knew you guys were too naive”, Taeyong said as he held what looked like silver wire in his hands. “W-what’s that for?”, Taeil asked, not knowing why he asked that, and Taeyong chuckedl. “Guess we’re going to find out”, he said as he grabbed the piece of wire and wrapped it around Taeil’s neck several times, making sure it dug into the skin of his neck, and tied it behind the tree. Taeil struggled to breathe as the wire dug into his neck, nearly cutting off the circulation. Taeyong smirked at Taeil struggling and decided to make him suffer even more by pulling the wire, making it go further into his neck. Blood started trickling down his neck, and the colour in his face started turning blue in colour. Suddenly, Taeil stopped breathing and his whole body went limp. 

y/n was running and she looked around her, realising she’s lost. “Jaehyun? Johnny? Guys?”, she yelled, hoping anyone would answer. She arrived at a flight of stairs, and she decided to walk up them, wondering if any of the guys were up there. But, to her dismay, she became even more lost, causing her to shake. She turned around at the sound of someone calling her name. “Jaehyun?”, she called out, getting a response back. “y/n?! Where are you?”, he asked. “Stay there, I’m coming to you”, y/n responded and went to walk down the stairs when, suddenly, she felt someone push her from behind and she fell with a scream. She tumbled to the ground and hit her head, knocking her unconscious. “Y/N!”, Jaehyun called and ran to her, and that’s when he saw Taeyong at the top of the stairs. “You fucker, just leave us alone”, Jaehyun yelled at him, making Taeyong walk down the stairs. “That’s not how you talk to your best friend, is it?”, Taeyong said, causing Jaehyun to scoff. “Best friends don’t murder people”, he said, and Taeyong raised his arm when suddenly, Jaehyun was knocked over the head and then he saw black.

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When Jaehyun woke up, he felt his whole body in pain. He touched the back of his head and he felt something warm and sticky, so he looked at his hand and saw there was blood. He noticed that y/n is nowhere to be seen and he got worried, hoping something bad hasn’t happened to her. He got up and went to find the others. He stood up and stumbled, but managed to get his balance and tried to run, but opted for walking fast instead due to the pain. “Johnny? Mark? Anyone?”, he called out when suddenly, he ran into someone, scaring both himself and the other person. He soon realised that it was only Haechan, but he then realised that he was shaking in fear and crying. “Haechan? What happened?!”, Jaehyun asked and Haechan tried to form a sentence, but couldn’t so Jaehyun told him to breathe.

Once he was able to form a sentence, he spoke. “It’s Mark. He.... he’s dead”, Haechan said and the colour from Jaehyun’s face drained. Haechan left and Jaehyun followed him. And that’s when he saw Mark: hanging from the ceiling, a noose around his neck. Haechan fell to the floor, crying his eyes out and continued shaking of fear. Johnny and Jungwoo suddenly showed up and saw Mark’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling. “Oh shit. Oh god, why is this fucking happening?”, Johnny said, tugging at his hair out of frustration and anger. “Wait, where’s Taeil?”, Jaehyun asked. “I saw him heading for the exit so I’m assuming he left. I hope he got out so he can, maybe, get some help or something for us”, Johnny said. 

“Sorry to burst your bubble but, poor Taeil is dead too”, Taeyong said, making everyone look at where the sound of his voice came from. “For fucks sake, just leave us the fuck alone, you bastard”, Jaehyun yelled. “Sorry, no can do. Not until I have you all to myself Jae”, Taeyong said and everyone just scream in both terror and frustration and Jungwoo and Haechan ran in the same direction whilst Johnny and Jaehyun ran in the opposite direction, wanting to get far away from Taeyong as possible. 

Haechan and Jungwoo ran upstairs to try and hide from Taeyong, hoping to find a safe hiding place. They ran and suddenly stopped when they looked through a window, and saw Taeil tied to a tree. His neck was covered in blood and his skin pale. His head nearly severed off from his body from the wire tied around his neck. Jungwoo suddenly started feeling sick at the scene in front of him and Haechan screamed. 

“I see you found Taeil, then”, Taeyong said out of nowhere, Jungwoo and Haechan turned around and saw him standing there, and they saw he was holding an axe: a bloody axe. “Why the fuck do you just keep popping up out of nowhere? It doesn’t make any fucking sense. You literally turn up where we are and I don’t like it”, Haechan said, trying to sound brave. “Poor little Haechanie, are you scared? Well, I’ll get rid of your fear for you”, Taeyong said and Haechan was confused about what he was going to do, when suddenly, Haechan felt himself being thrown out of a window and landing on something sharp. “Haechan!”, Jungwoo called, and he saw that Haechan landed on a sharp piece of wood, piercing through his chest. Haechan started coughing and blood came out of his mouth and his chest, the blood staining his shirt. His body suddenly went limp and he stopped moving. 

Jungwoo turned around and went to hit Taeyong, but Taeyong was faster, and he striked Jungwoo with the axe. The axe hit his shoulder, making him cry out in pain. Taeyong pulled the axe out of his shoulder and struck again, this time in Jungwoo’s chest. He pulled the axe out of his chest and dropped Jungwoo’s body to the floor, leaving him there to bleed to death. “One more person to go, and then you’re mine forever Jaehyun”, Taeyong said to himself, smirking.

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Jaehyun and Johnny ran towards the exit, hoping to at least get out of here uninjured and alive. They both managed to escape and saw that it’s now darker outside, and started running through the woods, when they saw Taeil’s lifeless body. “Oh, my god, oh Taeil”, Jaehyun said with tears rolling down his face when he felt Johnny patting his shoulder. “J-jaehyun?”, Johnny said, his voice wavering. Jaehyun looked at where Johnny was pointing to, and saw Haechan’s body, also lifeless, on a sharp piece of wood. His face pale with blood dripping from his nose, mouth and seeping through his chest. They were both crying at this point, just wanting to leave and go home. 

They both started running again when Johnny suddenly fell, his ankle caught in something. “What the…?”, he said when he felt himself being pulled. “Jaehyun, help!”, he called and Jaehyun tried to help him but he wasn’t quick enough. Johnny found himself being lifted into the air and saw that his ankle was tied to some rope. “Oh, look what we caught. A Johnny”, Taeyong said when he saw Johnny in the air, Jaehyun's body froze in fear. “I’m sorry it has to end this way for you”, Taeyong said to Johnny and, suddenly, a bunch of arrows aimed for Johnny and they struck him. Some struck him in the chest, some through his head and one in his neck. Blood started trickling from his chest, neck and head onto the floor and that’s when Jaehyun unfroze and started running again.

Present

“Just fuck off and leave me alone Taeyong”, Jaehyun yelled, still running from him. He heard laughter behind him getting closer, and he tried to run faster. Until he tripped and fell. He tried to crawl away as Taeyong got closer, now walking this time, and Jaehyun backed up into a tree. “If I can’t have you, then no one can”, Taeyong said, and raised his arm. Jaehyun closed his eyes, tears flowing down his cheeks, while he waited for impact. But, out of nowhere, someone whacked Taeyong over the head, knocking him to the ground. Jaehyun opened his eyes and that’s when he saw the person he loves with his entire heart: y/n. “y/n? I thought you were dead, oh my god”, Jaehyun said and got up and kissed her hard, her kissing back. When they pulled away, Jaehyun hugged her and cried into her neck. “Hey, sshh, I’m here”, she stroked his hair as she tried to calm him down. “They’re all dead and I couldn’t do anything”, he cried even harder and y/n cried with him. They both pulled away when they heard someone behind them moving. That’s when they noticed Taeyong had gotten up.

“You fucking bitch, I should have killed you when I had the chance”, Taeyong spat, and y/n and Jaehyun started running again, hand in hand, through the woods. They came across a little cabin as they were running and decided to knock, hoping someone inside would help them. “Hello? Please help us”, y/n called out. Suddenly, an old man opened the door and saw them. “What are you two kids doing out here? Oh no, what happened to you?”, the old man asked, and that’s when they heard shouting in the distance. 

“You can’t hide from me, you bastards”, Taeyong shouted, and the old man looked confused. “How is that even possible?”, the old man asked, making y/n and Jaehyun confused. “What do you mean sir?”, y/n asked. “That young boy who’s chasing you?”, he asked them, both of them nodding. “Yeah, his name is Taeyong and he murdered all of our friends”, Jaehyun said and the old man's eyes went wide. “Lee Taeyong? But…. he died last month. He was murdered in that abandoned asylum in these woods. He was strangled to death”, the old man said and that’s when it clicked for them. No wonder he was able to move around so quickly in there. “And your friends who were murdered by him? I’m pretty sure that they’re stuck here too, their souls I mean, from what I heard from this myth”, the old man explained. 

Jaehyun and y/n were confused about that so the old man explained that if you get murdered in a certain place, your soul is stuck there forever. Suddenly, the old man saw Taeyong getting closer so he went back inside his cabin and came back with a shotgun. “You two kids better move”, and both y/n and Jaehyun did. As Taeyong started charging at them, the old man pulled the trigger of the shotgun and it hit Taeyong, making him disappear. “What was that?”, Jaehyun asked. “Rock salt. Helps get rid of spirits”, the old man said. “Now, you kids better get out of here”, and they both hugged the old man as a thank you and they ran out of the woods, and back to Jaehyun’s car and got inside. Jaehyun started the car and they both got as far away as possible. 

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Jaehyun drove for about 20 minutes, before he pulled into an empty parking lot. He stopped the car and looked at y/n. “Come here”, he motioned for y/n to straddle him so she unbuckled her seatbelt and went to straddle Jaehyun, him helping her. Once she situated herself on him, he held her hips and admired her face. Some cuts and cruises on her from when she was pushed down the stairs, but apart from that, she looks fine and Jaehyun is relieved. “Are you hurt anywhere?”, he suddenly asked, making y/n shake her head. “Thankfully, no. What about you? Are you hurt?”, she asked him. “I’m pretty sure I have some bruises on my chest and there’s still a slight pain in my shoulder but apart from that, I’m fine, he said. y/n leaned in and hugged him, placing her head in the crook of his neck and Jaehyun suddenly felt tears on his neck. Sniffles escaped y/n as she cried into his neck, Jaehyun rubbed his hand up and down her back as he comforted her. y/n stopped crying after a few minutes and she moved her head to look at Jaehyun. Jaehyun wiped the tears from her face and stroked her cheek. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Jaehyun leaned in and kissed y/n softly. 

The kiss was sweet yet passionate, full of emotion. Jaehyun parted, looking into your eyes and gently kissed the top of your head. “Let’s go home, shall we?”, he said and y/n got back in her seat, buckling her seatbelt. Jaehyun started the car and drove away, the image of the abandoned asylum in the rearview mirror getting smaller the further he drove away.

They are really horrified and upset with what’s happened to their friends, but they’re glad they still have each other. Yeah, they feel guilty for just leaving their friends dead bodies in the woods, but they were too afraid to stay there. Hopefully they’ll carry on with their lives and start afresh, now that Taeyong isn’t coming back for Jaehyun.

Right?

#nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct horror #nct angst #nct x reader #nct #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 horror #nct 127 angst #nct 127 x reader #nct 127 #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun angst #jaehyun horror #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun

[yunogf]

movie posters for NCT 127s gothic horror film “Favorite”

10.25.2021

#nctinc #nct 127 #gfx #mine*works #mine*gfx #i tried . #i didnt have a plot in mind when i made these so i dont totally love them but the mv is v uninspiring so #the 4th one is v twilight breaking dawn-ish hopefully the tumblrinas like that <3 #first one isnt giving vampire so much as 90s action romance movie oh well #pretend theyre all horror movie-esque #also the lyrics r so dramatic lmao

[newspaper-similar-food]

#80s horror #nct reactions #amor propio #pie #country #Legends of Tomorrow #heartbroken #绝对领域 #dad jokes #dirty talk