#taeil x you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

multific3 · 2 years

Text

Catch the Moon

Pairing: f!reader x Haechan (nct) & f!reader x Taeil (nct)

Genre: Fluff, Smut, Angst (happy ending tho)

Warnings: Haechan and Taeil are brothers, they're rich, but they're not idols. Unrequited love (at the beginning). Mentions and descriptions of attempts of suicide (pls do not read if it can trigger you or make you uncomfortable). Oral (f receiving), Masturbation (f receiving), Multiple orgasms (f), car sex.

Word count: 20k

Summary: Based on Sabrina (1954 film starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden). Y/n is the chauffer's daughter of one of the richest families in Korea and she's been her whole life in love with the youngest son, Haechan. But after spending 5 years in another country trying to get overcome her unrequited love for him, she'll come back really changed. That's so that she will not only catch Haechan's eye but his elder brother's too, Moon Taeil. Or so she thinks.

The Moon family owned large multinational companies that spread throughout Korea. To be a family formed only by Mr. and Mrs. Moon and their two sons, they lived in a luxurious and enormous mansion in the most refined and glamorous residential area of the capital, in which every weekend they celebrated great galas and parties. That filled the extensive garden with music to your room.

Above the Moon family garage were a couple of small, cozy apartments for the Moon's chauffeur and his daughter, you. You, who spent your days and nights dreaming of the youngest of the Moon family brothers. Moon Donghyuck, called Hyuck by his family, known as Haechan to the rest of the world and “the love of your life” for you. He was simply different from all the men in your life. It's not like you had many, and even if you did, it's not like you'd paid any attention to them. Haechan was your world since you fell on your skates when you were ten years old and he worried about you. He helped you up, got you a band-aid, and after healing the scratch and placing it on your knee, he kissed it.

And if anyone wonders how you can still remember such a small moment, it's because that was the only time Haechan gave you more than a glance. The only one in which he treated you as more than a background character in his life. Because almost eight years had passed since then and you had grown up together, in different worlds, so close and so far, and that memory was all you needed to know that, as hard as Haechan tried to be a scoundrel with everything the world, deep down he was a good boy. He was attentive, warm and gentle. Simply different from all the others.

But today you were nothing more than the driver's daughter to him, just like that, without even a name. Something invisible that lived in his house. And as strange as it sounds, you took advantage of that invisibility. Next to the window of your room there was a tree, with the thickness, the height and the perfect amount of leaves to be able to climb it and observe everything almost peripherally without being seen. And “everything” means everything Haechan did during those garden parties, all his moves.

You could see how he always chose the flashiest girl at the party as his prey. How he asked them for a dance. How he stuck them to himself, with hardly a inch of air between them to breathe, while he whispered things in their ear causing their laughter. How he was slowly leading them to a standstill behind the mansion where no one but you from your tree could see them. And how he kissed them and kissed them again until the laughter died down.

For a few months, when he had already come of age, he had added a couple more steps to his tactics and they had not gone unnoticed by you. How he would take them to a corridor that could lead to his room and ask them to wait for him while he went for a couple of glasses of champagne, which he always put in his back pockets, and went to meet them, where you couldn't see what else was going on anymore, but you could imagine it.

And of course it hurt, but the sight of it made it easier for you to daydream that you were one of those girls, to imagine that it was you who he was holding in his arms and carrying to his room. And you knew that imagining it was the closest you were going to get to living it. You really knew it but sometimes… Sometimes you let your dreams cloud your judgment a bit and you allowed yourself to fantasize that one day he would look into your eyes again and realize that he had been in love with you all his life.

Your father often admonished you for it, when he saw you doodling pictures of the two of you together, when you danced alone in your room with the music on your headphones or on the patio, with the accompanying hose instead of using it to clean the cars, or when you gawked at him when he went to the garage to get one of the sports cars. You knew he scolded you because he cared about you, but you were sick of hearing his phrase. "Stop dreaming of touching the moon, Y/n, it's unattainable." Because you already knew it, but was it so bad to fantasize that there was a possibility that it wasn't?

And with that mindset, the night before your eighteenth birthday, when you saw Haechan walking around on his cell phone near your tree, you decided it was worth a try and quickly ran down it until you jumped right in front of his nose. He would see you today.

And so much that yes, because a ragged girl, with worn jeans, a wide T-shirt, her hair in a messy ponytail and her face without makeup, coming down from a tree in her garden during one of the most elegant parties of the season could not pass unnoticed.

But still, after Haechan's initial shock, he put his hand to his chest and exclaimed, “What a shock! I thought there was someone.” And he continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

"Well, you see there isn't..." You responded in a whisper, watching how he walked away from you, feeling the sting of the slap of reality that life had just given you.

And when you got back to your room moments later, it didn't get any better. There your father was waiting for you with your birthday present, a white envelope in hand. "Y/n, we need to talk."

You already knew what that was about. "I do not want to go". You answered bluntly, trying not to let it show in your voice that you had been crying. “Here I am happy”.

Your father sighed. “If you want to continue living here all your life, you can't be the driver's daughter forever. You have to be useful. I'm not going to be here forever and starting tomorrow you'll be of legal age”.

You didn't answer. You knew that, as usual, he was right. But you didn't want to hear it. One reality slap a day was more than enough. However, he continued.

“It is a unique opportunity. I've been saving the money for this trip ever since Mom died. In Spain you will learn cooking, like her. And the distance will serve you to overcome... whatever you need to overcome even if it was an obvious lie, when he added, "It's what she would have wanted." And that disarmed you.

Unable to bear it any longer, you fled from your room, slamming the door behind you and into the garage. The truth is, that for a garage, it was a really comforting place. Surrounded by luxury cars and the smell of gasoline and new bodywork, you had your safe corner there. Where the noise from outside did not reach, nor could anyone from outside hear you. And there you went when you wanted to cry or think. And that you did. For an hour you were pondering your options. They weren't many. You never had many. But there was one that had always been there and, dramatic as you were, you decided that perhaps not reaching eighteen might be the best decision, given the circumstances. So you went to the nearest car, started the engine, and quietly stood behind the exhaust pipe, breathing in and out of the toxic air that came from it, until you began to cough in a desperate urge of your body to expel it from your lungs. But you clung to the car tightly, determined to accomplish your mission, until the engine died and a voice startled you.

“Y/n? What are you doing?" Moon Taeil, Haechan's older brother, asked. He was six years older than you and he had always scared you. So serious, so distant, so formal, so intimidating... But at that moment you couldn't see his face, it was just a blur that spoke to you from afar. When had he arrived? Was it there from the beginning? You hadn't heard him come in. Seeing that you didn't answer him, he approached you.

“Y/n! Are you okay? Get up from there, come on." He said lifting you to your feet almost effortlessly but in doing so you collapsed on top of him. He clucked his tongue and swept you out of there in a hurry.

When he left you lying on your bed, he began to shake nervously, having thrown your bedroom window wide open. When you opened your eyes and sat up coughing, he got up quickly feeling how the tension of the moment evaporated in a sigh. He didn't wait for you to finish coughing to start berating you.

“Listen to me, whatever you were trying to get down there, it's the last time you're trying, you understand me?”

You looked at him with your head down, and nodded while fighting the cough that didn't want to stop. You couldn't hold his gaze for more than two seconds. It was going through you. When you were finally able to speak, you said in a whisper, “I'm sorry I was a bother. Please excuse me". And if it wasn't because the silence between you was deafening, you would have thought that he hadn't heard you, because he didn't answer anything, causing you to look at him again. And once again, you lowered your eyes when you realized that he was still staring at you stoically.

Then he looked down too and his eyes found the ticket sticking out of the envelope on your bed. He wasn't supposed to look but he did anyway, frowning.

"You're going to Spain tomorrow." Great, it was what you needed to be reminded of at the time. You nodded without finding the will to speak. So he added, "I'll accept your apology if you promise not to try anything like that again while you're there."

You looked at him strangely and for a thousandth of a second you perceived in his eyes something of sincere concern and, moved by it, you nodded again. "I promise you".

"Good. Well, rest now, your flight leaves the first hour in the morning. You'll be fine." And before you had time to thank him, he left your room, closing the door behind him.

···

Even if you hadn't promised, you would have kept it just the same. Because Spain turned out to be wonderful. At first it seemed overwhelming but soon you fell in love with its landscapes, its gastronomy, its culture, its climate and its people. You made friends inside and outside the cooking academy, also something more than friends and, what was originally going to be a one year course, turned without planning into a five-year stay.

You kept in touch with your father and the staff of the mansion, your second family, through messages, calls and video calls. They were interested in your progress in the kitchen, your friendships, your travels, and you… you asked them about Haechan. During the first years it was almost obsessive, along your lines, but you asked about him less and less often and they couldn't be more relieved to think that you could finally be getting over him. Still, from time to time you upset with news like you named your cat Haechan or learned how to cook a dish Haechan would love or showed them a hyper-realistic portrait you painted of him without reference. Still, your father interpreted it as a desperate act of your subconscious to cling to that last thread that held you tied to him.

But the truth is that it was not like that, you thought much more about him than you had learned to show. Even with other men you couldn't help but imagine it was him. You just carried it inside, like Ina had taught you to do.

Ina was a woman fifteen years older than you whom you met during the cooking class and who, unexpectedly, became the feminine figure that you had always needed in your life. A best friend, a sister, a mother… Be that as it may, you became intimate in a very short time, confidants. She was somewhat of a mentor to you, teaching tips and tricks that ultimately brought out a whole new version of yourself. It showed you another way of seeing life and living it and, surely, it was the main culprit that your stay there lasted longer than planned. The last three years you had lived together in her penthouse, in one of the most important skyscrapers in Madrid, and the night before you went back home, you two were lying on the sofa in front of the large window overlooking the busy city, in silence until she broke it by telling you.

"Are you sure you want to come back?" You looked at her. She knew you like the back of her hand. As much as you know her. She was worried about you. You sighed.

"Yes. It’s time to face old ghosts”.

“Yes, except that they are not ghosts. He's a guy, living and walking, and not old at all…” You laughed at her point and nodded. You knew she understood what you meant, and you knew what she was implying. In these years no one had heard you talk about Haechan as much as Ina and you had not once felt judged for your obsession. Quite the contrary. Not that she encouraged it but she had certainly made you think that it was not something impossible to achieve. “There are rockets that go to the moon. Nothing is impossible now”, replied the first time you told her about your father's famous phrase.

"I'll be fine".

"I know that. But if it's too much for you, you know you can always come back, right? Here you will always have a second place.

“A second home. I know. I don't know how I'm going to give you back everything you've done for me these years, Ina. You have changed my life".

“Just live it. With that I'm fine. No watching anyone live it from a tree and certainly no wasting it behind an exhaust pipe".

"Never again. I promise".

And that reminded you of a certain boy to whom you made a similar promise, also the night before an important trip. And you smiled.

···

Your father was supposed to pick you up from the airport but as soon as you landed and reconnected your mobile to the network, you received a message from him apologizing that he had to pick up one of the Moons. You rolled your eyes. Obviously, work always came first.

But you stopped cursing your luck when, as soon as you walked out the airport door looking for a taxi, your eyes met that of a certain boy who was none other than Moon Donghyuck himself, Haechan for friends, the love of your life for you. He was saying goodbye to a girl and you looked in another direction while trying to compose yourself quickly. Not even ten minutes back in Korea and life was already putting you to the test. Well, you got this.

Once the girl disappeared behind the doors you looked at him captivatingly again. So much so that he not only looked back at you, but smiled at you and walked over to you.

"Hello, have we met before?" You wanted to laugh in his face. Of course he didn't recognize you, he hadn't seen you in five years and at least thirteen without looking you in the eye. So you decided to start a game.

"You tell me". You said smiling. And he swallowed hard.

“I'm sure not. I wouldn't forget that face." To say that at that moment you could fly if you had set your mind to it was an understatement. You felt explode and still you kept your composure, raising just one corner of your lips and then your eyebrows. “D-do you need a car? I can take you wherever you want."

Haechan was stuttering? For you? Somebody pinch you. "I would greatly appreciate it". You accepted going to his car, with him on your heels and not hesitating for a second to load your bags for you, a gesture that you thanked him with an amused smile, about to laugh. Please hold on, you told yourself.

The driving tour was interesting to say the least. He asked you where you came from, you talked about Spain, if you were going to stay a long time, he avoided telling you what he was doing there even though you knew it very well and, when you took the road that entered the city, he asked you the question you were waiting for. "Where are we going?". You bit your lip suppressing a smile that could betray you and responded by giving the address of the residential area. He nodded as the information sank in and when it did he looked at you like a spring. "You live there? I also do! We're neighbors? Wait, what's your name?" And that already made you laugh out loud.

“At good time you ask me my name, don’t you, neighbor?"

He didn't know what you had but your voice, so sensual, and your aura of mystery were driving him crazy.

“It's just… I could swear I know all my girl neighbors. I mean! All my neighbors. And I don't know, I'm just surprised we haven't met before."

"Maybe we have, but don't remember me."

He laughed, shaking his head “I already told you. I would remember you."

"Maybe you didn't pay attention to me..."

"If that was the case, I'd be a complete idiot."

You nodded pleased, trying not to let it show how much you were loving this conversation. But unfortunately for you, you arrived in the blink of an eye and avoided looking at him when you asked him to stop right outside his door because you knew his face would be a poem.

"Here?! But this is my house, are you sure-”

He was interrupted by a lot of people, the employees, who ran out to greet you and as soon as you got out of the car they showered you with kisses, hugs and words of welcome. Haechan couldn't believe it. He hadn't finished adding one plus one when another car pulled up behind him. The chauffeur got out of it, hastily opening the passenger seat and then said “Stand aside! Let a father see and embrace his daughter." And laughing you jumped on him to engulf him in a huge hug.

When Taeil got out of the passenger seat, Haechan gave him a puzzled look, as if hoping his brother would share his confusion. But Taeil didn't. His eyes were fixed on you, as serious as ever and as he passed by your side he nodded saying "Welcome home, Y/n".

You broke away from your father's embrace in time to look at him but he was already staring straight ahead, walking through the door. You then looked at Haechan, who was watching the scene with her mouth open. Were you Y/n? When he realized everyone was looking at him, he cleared his throat, giving the staff a look that had everyone hurrying back to work. And when your father went to the trunk to get your luggage, Haechan stopped him by the shoulder. “Don't worry, man. I got this".

"Oh, no need Mr. Donghyuck, it's my-"

"It's no bother." He said smiling and then smiling at you. But since knowing who you were didn't seem to have daunted him, you pulled yourself together soon enough to stop him before he took another step with your bags in hand.

"Actually, I can do it by myself”. And you took the chance to get very close to him, without looking away, and you could see how his adam's apple moved up and down his throat. "But you can come with me, if you want." You winked at him, without your father seeing it. And when you turned around, Haechan let out the breath he'd been holding and nodded walking behind you for the second time in one day, apologizing to your father as he walked past him and left both cars there for him to park. And your father, watching you go, shook his head in disappointment. You kept thinking you could touch the moon…

When you arrived at your small apartment, a lot of memories swirled in your stomach, but you decided to leave them for later when you heard Haechan enter after you. You turned to look at him, smiling, you were dying of curiosity. "So?"

He let out a snort that sounded like laughter. "What a neighbor..."

"Does it make you mad that I played with you a little?" There it was again, your sultry voice. How could he be mad if you put that voice? That voice made him want you to play with him in every way you could think of. So he laughed, shaking his head.

"You couldn't have done it if I had paid enough attention to you." He said in reference to what you insinuated earlier about him not recognizing you. “So it's my fault for being an idiot. Let me make it up to you."

You raised an eyebrow suggestively and Haechan had to look away. Not now. “Tonight there is a gala in the garden. There will be music and half decent food. Not like the one in Spain but I'm sure you'll like it. Do you want to attend as my partner?”

You were amused that he thought that taking you to one of their fancy parties as his companion could excuse years of being totally ignored. You were amused because it did indeed.

"I'll wear my best dress." You said nodding but, when you saw that he calmed down by your answer, you decided to make him nervous again. "An easy one to unbutton..."

And although you yourself were incapable of believing that you had dared to say it out loud, the blush on his cheeks encouraged you to get closer to him and with an inch from his face and with your hands leaning on his chest, you gently pushed him out of your apartment. "See you tonight, neighbor." You said slowly closing the door in his face.

And Haechan, after a few seconds, put her hands to his hair and snorted. He couldn't be more excited. What happened to him? It's not like he's never flirted with a woman. He had done it with hundreds! But maybe that was the point. That he is used to being the hunter and not the prey. And this role reversal was driving him crazy in the best possible way. So he left there counting the hours until nightfall.

···

While you were waiting for it to be a decent hour in Spain to call Ina and tell her everything that had happened to you in the short time you had been home, you had time to shower, unpack and take a short nap , long enough to combat jet lag for the next few hours. Ina couldn't be more proud of you and you agreed because being honest, you felt the same. So freaking amazed by yourself.

Then she helped you choose the dress. You didn't know if it was as easy to undo as you promised, but you made sure it was the most eye-catching one at the party. It was black with a semi-transparent navy blue overlay that had sparkles reminiscent of the constellations. Fitted at the waist and draped across the neckline and a leg opening that slit down the thigh almost to the hip. Today you were that girl. The one you've been dreaming of being all your life. And you were going to nail it.

As soon as you set foot in the garden, the eyes of everyone around you were on you. But you didn't say hello to any of them. You only cared about the look of one person only and it was the only one you were looking for. That face you could recognize from miles away in any crowd. You advanced, noticing how wherever you passed you were creating silence in their conversations and then murmurs behind your back. A boy approached you and then two others, cutting your way, you assumed they were asking you to dance, but you didn't even listen to them. Instead you nodded at them absently smiling as you kept trying to locate Haechan. And just as one of them was about to grab your hand to lead you out onto the dance floor, two hands appeared from behind you and grabbed your hips, holding you in place.

"It's my date." And it didn't take more for everyone to return to their places and for you to catch your breath, casting a glance at the sky and suppressing a smile before turning to face Haechan.

“I couldn't find you…” You admitted, sliding your arms around his shoulders.

"Here I am..." He replied, pulling you closer. As he always did. But never before with you. And, while you were dancing, he proceeded to come close to your ear to tell you things you already knew, like how beautiful you were and that he had been thinking about you all afternoon. Even so, the fact that he was telling you all that there and then and, above all, that was telling all that to you, was something that was still hard for you to assimilate. That it wasn't a dream, not this time.

Impatient, you ended up being the one who guided him to the “secret corner”, after all, you knew exactly where it was. But he didn't know how you could know that and when he asked you, you decided you could afford to be honest with him.

"See that tree over there?" You said giving away your old lookout post.

"Mhm," he replied, following your finger with his eyes and then looking back at you.

“From there I watched you at every party. I saw how you danced with all those girls and then brought them here… You don't know how long I've wanted to be the one in your arms, instead of them”. You admitted. And that was nothing more than an ego boost for Haechan, who without hesitation slammed your back against the wall in his arms.

"Yes? And what else did you wish to do from that tree?”

You didn't even need to think about it. "This". And holding the neck, you drew him to you effortlessly. It was a rushed kiss, almost ravenous, and you couldn't help but smile as you let his tongue play with yours at will.

When you parted to catch your breath Haechan looked at you, holding your face with both hands. "You drive me crazy," he said and, before you had time to respond, he went straight to your neck, making the heat in your lower abdomen more and more accentuated. And from the bulge you felt against your stomach, you could tell that he wasn't doing much better than you.

"Haechan…" you said in a choked whisper and he responded with a groan, just before returning to your mouth. You had never heard that sound come out of it, it was not something you could hear from your tree, but you knew you wanted to hear it again and again. So up your knee brushing against him just enough to elicit a couple more moans from him. Then you brought one of his hands to the dress opening at your thigh and let him caress you, teasing yet another one.

On the fifth moan, he broke away from you, “God, Y/n, I can't take it anymore. Listen, do you see that corridor over there? It goes to -”

“Shh”, you said, placing a finger over his mouth and then you kissed him again. When separated you smiled at him “I know. Go get the champagne glasses. I wait for you there".

And you left, letting him look at your figure from behind, your swaying butt and your bare back. Never before had any woman turn him on so much. It was that security that you squandered, walking, talking, as if the world were yours and he had to ask your permission to breathe in it. You definitely controlled his breath at will.

As soon as he saw you come in, he turned around and headed for the glasses. As always, he placed them in his back pockets, in front of everyone, but with total subtlety and practiced discretion. And when he was about to leave that place to meet you, a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Hyuck."

"Brother". Haechan answered, taking his hand off his chest with a smile. But Taeil spoke again.

"Dad is looking for you."

“Yeah, well, right now it can't be. I have plans”.

"That will have to wait. It's mom."

"What's wrong with mom?" asked, rolling his eyes.

“She had seen you dancing with Y/n... She's hysterical, you know her. Dad has asked me to take you to his office immediately, they want to talk to you.”

Haechan snorted and looked at her brother pleadingly. “Hyung, not now. Can't you entertain them? Tell them you haven't found me."

“Hyuck, you're engaged. If you're going to go ahead with whatever it is you want to do with that girl, at least take a moment to think first."

"There is nothing to think about. I don't want to get married."

"Then tell them. Behave as a grown man for once.”

He took a deep breath wanting to give him a hurtful response, but it was Taeil, the only one in that family who really cared about his happiness. He couldn't be mad at him. After all, he was right.

"It's okay. But it has to be speedy."

"It will be like removing a band-aid." Taeil replied, comforting him as he led him to his parents' office holding him by the shoulder.

···

"Donghyuck, sit down." His father ordered him as soon as he entered the door.

"No, I am fine. Thank you. Whatever you want to tell me, I ask you to be quick”.

"Don't be impertinent, Hyuck." His mother answered immediately. “And the one who has to say something is you. Who was that girl? What were you doing dancing with her so sweetly? This morning you have taken your fiancee to the airport and tonight you are already in the arms of another girl. Do you have no decency? Your in-laws have seen you!”

As Haechan started to turn red, maybe from anger or maybe embarrassment, Taeil interfered for him. “Calm down, mom. I'm sure Hyuck didn't mean to give that impression. She is nothing more than the daughter of Mr. Y/l/n, who has just returned from Spain. He was just being friendly with our guest, right Hyuck?”

"Hm," he replied. Obviously it wasn't true, but if Taeil thought telling that lie was the best procedure to follow, he would go along with it. After all, he was the smarter of the two, the negotiator, the diplomat of the family.

“Our driver's daughter? Are you listening to that?" Mrs. Moon asked her husband, incredulously. “Was that girl Y/n? I can not believe it. She looked like a movie star, a whor-” Taeil cut her off before she could finish.

“Believe it or not, it is. And I recommend you, dear Mom, that you watch your words when you address any member of the service. We've already had this conversation. It is not proper behavior for a woman of your social class.”

“You're right, I won't lower myself. But she's not from the service anyway, nor our guest. And if she wants to continue living under our roof, she'd better abide by our rules."

Haechan snorted a laugh, shaking his head. He had been raised under the same threat. And he was already immune to it but hearing how it was directed at Y/n made his blood boil. Screw the plan, he had to intervene.

“She has done nothing wrong. I have invited her. I am the one who has danced with her. And not only that, I plan to ask her over and over again until she's as crazy about me as I am about her. I plan to take her everywhere and not only do I not care who can see me, but I want them to see me. And let them see her. And that you see her too. Take a good look at her because if one day you succeed at making me marry anyone, it won't be with someone other than her”.

Mrs. Moon felt like she was going to faint while Mr. Moon sat up with wide eyes. "Are you crazy?! Taeil, tell me, has he gone mad?”

Taeil looked at his brother without fully understanding what kind of spell was on him. He knew what Hyuck was like and what he thought of their family's rules. He had never been given to follow them and had managed to stay out of the family business as much as possible, despite having a third of the shares in his name. And yet, the marriage of convenience, although he disliked it, was a procedure he had agreed to go through as a way of adding something to the business. His fiancee's family was the perfect business partner. But if he didn't want her, there were at least ten others with families who could also fit into a possible transaction of business interests. He just had to pick one. But Y/n? Y/n couldn't bring them anything and Haechan knew it. Was that why he'd hung up on her so abruptly? For pestering his parents? Did he even like her that much or was it just another way of rebelling?

"Why don't we all calm down?" proposed Taeil “Dad, sit down. Hyuck, you too.”

"I don't want to sit down. I'm serious. Didn't you want me to behave like an adult, hyung? Here I am. I'm not going to get married, is that clear? Sorry to be the disappointing son once again. Luckily, you also have Taeil, the perfect son, to compensate. And now, if you'll excuse me…” He said starting to head towards the exit. But before he could take a step, Taeil grabbed his arm and yanked him to a sitting position.

To everyone's surprise, a terrifying scream came from Haechan's mouth, ending the conversation.

···

At least an hour has passed and you got up off the bed to select another playlist, something maybe a little more moving, to lift your spirits and keep you awake. What was taking him so long? You didn't want to create stories in your head, so you decided to concentrate on choosing good music and just at that moment, the door opened and closed behind you.

"I already thought you wouldn't come..." You said smiling but, when you turned around and saw Taeil in front of you, the smile disappeared.

"I'm sorry". He said, reading the disappointment in every part of your skin.

"Where's Haechan?"

“He had an accident…with a couple of glasses of champagne…”

“Is he okay?”

“He will be. They are sewing him stitches. But he asked me to come here and tell you that he was sorry and that, as soon as he recovers, he wants to ask you for at least a hundred dates.”

You couldn’t help but smile sheepishly at those words. He was getting stitches and he was worried about you? Thinking of taking you on dates?

"A hundred?" You asked happily and Taeil, without really understanding why, kept trying to widen that smile.

"At least. Until, I quote, you're as crazy about him as he is about you."

"Did he say that?" You asked, putting your hands to your mouth, unable to hide the smile that spread across your face. Taeil had never seen you so happy. The view even almost made him want to smile too. He nodded and you admitted, “Then it will be much less, I'm already crazy about him. I've been all my life."

And you dropped it as if it was no news for anyone, as if you felt that Taeil knew it very well. And so it was. Because unlike Haechan, Taeil did see you. He had always seen you. And anyone who saw you could read in your face the love you professed for Haechan. He had even seen you up in your great tree. Adorable. Pathetic though. Adorably pathetic.

But he didn't care in the least. What you wanted could not be in any way. And he felt sorry for you, but Haechan had to marry some girl who would benefit the company financially in the long run, and you weren't an option. So he had to get you off the map somehow. That was his true mission, for which he was here, even if he had been distracted trying to make you smile.

"I'm glad it's mutual then." Taeil lied and you saw it in his eyes.

"Really?"

“Sure, why not? You have always been a ray of light in this dark house. Having you back is a joy and if, on top of that, Haechan plans to marry you…-"

"M-marry me?" You had forgotten everything else already. Had Haechan talked about marrying you? “Now I'm sure you're lying to me”.

“I swear. He mentioned something like that . He even called off their engagement.”

You flopped onto the bed, unable to keep on your feet. Could it be true? It was more unreal than any of your fantasies.

"You know? When I saw you there, at the door, I thought you came to get rid of me...", you admitted out loud. Now, after his words, you could laugh at that prospect.

"Get rid of you?"

"Yes, you know. Like in fairy tales, when the prince falls in love with a cook lady and the King sends the Prime Minister to deal with her. To bribe her out of his life. Five thousand crowns? No, she says. Ten thousand crowns? No, she says..."

"Twenty thousand crowns?" Taeil then asked curiously,

"No." You replied amused by his interest in the story.

“Twenty-five thousand crowns?” He asked again, and suddenly you sensed that his curiosity wasn't about the story…

"No…"

"Twenty-five thousand dollars?" …But to see how much you would accept.

"Why are you talking about dollars?" You asked him, looking very serious.

“Crowns are hardly quoted. Dollars are more international. No self-respecting prime minister would offer crowns.” He said nonchalantly with a shrug, dismissing it.

"And no self-respecting cook would accept dollars." You pointed out. Taeil almost smiled, nodding and placed his hand on your head.

"Atta girl. Do you want to dance?" He said then suddenly, extending that same hand in front of you,

"Dance?" You asked in surprise. You didn’t quite get this boy.

"Yes, you have chosen the music, right? It's beautiful. Give me this dance, Y/n. Dance with me as if I were him. After all... it's all in the family."

And you let him lift you up by pulling your hand gently, placing it on his shoulder and holding the other lightly. You hadn't exactly put on Lo-fi music to dance with Haechan, but the thing is, you discovered that it was the perfectl music to dance like you were doing with Taeil. You let your head rest on his shoulder and breathed in his jacket. He smelled so good. And you felt so comfortable in his arms that the music went from one song to another and there you two were, dancing in silence. Until your eyelids began to drop and when you moved an inch away to look at Taeil you found that he was already staring at you. And before you could tell him you should go to sleep, Taeil kissed you.

When he pulled apart from your lips softly, he returned to rest your head on his shoulder, unable to hold your gaze, and repeated once more, "it's all in the family."

···

“He kissed you?!” Ina asked on the phone the next day. "Why??"

“Do you think I know?! For a moment I thought I was so tired I was dreaming."

"Maybe you were."

"I don't dream about being kissed by Moon Taeil, Ina."

“I know… you dream of his brother. By the way, have you go to see him?”

“No, I'm going now. I had to talk to you first."

“Well done, but go now. I'm going to sleep because it's very late here. We’ll talk tomorrow."

"Ok rest. Ina! Ina! Wait!"

"What?"

“What do I do if I run into him again?”

"Haechan?"

"Taeil!"

“If he pretends nothing happened, so do you. And if he tries to kiss you again, you say no. Unless you want him to kiss you again… In that case, enjoy it, baby.”

"Of course I don’t!"

“Okay, okay… Well, what I said. Enjoy!"

···

As soon as you left your apartment to go see Haechan, your father's voice behind you startled you.

"Y/n, can we talk for a minute?"

“Tell me, dad”, you said, turning around. You knew what he wanted to tell you, but you were no longer afraid to listen to him.

"You know he's engaged, right?" He didn't want to be so direct, but it was better than beating around the bush.

“For weeks. They told me about it, in one of the last video calls before returning.”

"And you don’t care?"

"Not the slightest."

“Do you no longer feel the same way about him? I thought -"

"It's not that. It's just that he's already canceled it. For me." You said with a triumphant smile.

And your father frowned. "Y/n... I don't like it. You keep trying to reach the moon and-"

"No, dad. Now it's the moon trying to reach me now."

And, turning around , you continued on your way with a determined and happy step.

···

When you stopped in front of his door, just before knocking, the memory of what happened last night in that same room swirled in your stomach, but you shook it quickly and promised yourself that from that moment on you would act as if nothing at all had happened. After all, that's what that kiss had meant to you: nothing at all.

You called then and could hear Haechan giving you permission to come in with a sorrowful voice. Tone that changed completely the moment she saw your face peeking through the doorway.

"Y/n!" he said surprised to see you there."God you don't know how much I've missed your face"

"Hahah don't be excessive, you saw me last night.”

”That was centuries ago. Since then I've only seen doctors, nurses, and worst of all, my family... It's been horrible, Y/n, you really don't know what it means to me to see you right now."

There were the butterflies again. Despite having Haechan faced down and with his ass bandaged in front of you, you only felt that your crush on him continued to rise by the second, and that you had thought you had reached the limit for years.

"I'm so sorry about last night." He continued as you weren't responding and thinking that you were probably upset with him. He clearly couldn't see your face very well. You moved closer to him, to get into his angle of vision and crouched down to be at his level. Smiling. But he went on, "What a shitty welcome I gave you… And all because of… Well, that doesn't matter. At least tell me my brother didn't make you cry."

The mention of Taeil shook something inside you, but again you shook it away. "Only when I saw him appear in your place. But it's not his fault that he's not you…"

Haechan smiled at you and brought her face close to yours so she could kiss you, but just as you were about to do the same, a voice cleared your throat at the foot of her bed. Taeil standing there. Again. With his impeccable suit and serious look.

"Luckily I'm not my mother either. You would have killed her in disgust if she were the one to find you here like this." He said, turning his gaze to Haechan, who buried his head in the pillow with a groan. Then he looked at you. "Y/n." He greeted with a slight shake of his head and you responded with another, in silence, staring at the ground. Why was it always so difficult to keep Taeil's gaze? You always felt so analyzed, so judged, so ashamed. As if you had just admitted to his face that he could never be his brother, which in fact had just happened, and he challenged you with his eyes to dare to repeat it again. Looking at him. After that kiss...

Seeing how the blush took over your face, he smirked and tried to press even more buttons into you, "Did Y/n tell you how much fun we had last night, Hyuck?" Your head snapped up. And Taeil quickly erased the smile on his face to stare at you again.

"That's what he was about to tell me. Was he good to you, precious?" He reached out to grab your hand and massage its back, and although you melted with the gesture and the tone of his voice, you were grateful that he couldn't see your face well at that moment, because you were throwing daggers to Taeil who, without taking his eyes off you, turned his head to the side, waiting to know your answer.

"Yes". You said dryly, squeezing Haechan's hand back. And Taeil smiled slightly.

"We danced, we chatted, she told me a story…" Taeil continued, and you were about to glare at him again when Haechan craned his neck further to look at you.

"A story?" You had to quickly put your eye assassination session on hold to transform your face into one of sweetness, directed at Haechan. "Mhm", you nodded smiling. And Haechan laughed. "Sounds innocent, I like it, something else?"

You didn't want to look at Taeil again, but you felt his look at your temple. You didn't know what you were so afraid of. What difference would it make if he told him? You did not do anything wrong. He was the one who kissed you. Besides, Haechan and you weren’t an official couple yet, no matter how much he had talked about a wedding. If it was true. If there was anything that came out of Taeil's lips last night it was true.

The kiss. That was true. You didn't know why but you felt that way. Honest and desperate. If the rest was true or false you couldn't swear, but that kiss was. Maybe that's why you didn't want him to tell. Because maybe, it was more than nothing at all. For both.

"No". Taeil finally answered. "That's all. I kept her entertained to distract her from your absence, like the good brother that I am."

"Good? The best. Thanks hyung. I owe you one."

"Don't be silly, it was a real pleasure. She managed to keep me distracted too. And you know how hard that is to do."

"Well yeah. If you got him to stop thinking about deals, negotiations, numbers and money, you've already succeeded. Congratulations, Y/n."

"I don't think I did." You answered still smiling, but it was a cold smile. And Taeil knew what you meant.

"Oh, but you did." He assured you. "I was actually thinking that if it's okay with you, we could keep distracting each other until Haechan gets back on his feet." You looked at him alarmed and he continued as if nothing had happened. "There's a fair in the city, near Itaewon, I was thinking about going but I don't have anyone to go with, can I pick you up at five and we go together?"

You looked at Haechan waiting for him to say something against it but to your surprise you found him smiling as if it was a great idea. So you had to reject it yourself. "Ehh, I don't think it's necessary, I -"

"Nonsense, it'll be fun. At five o'clock, be ready, I'm extremely picky about punctuality."

And before you could fully decline the offer, the door opened once more, and Mr. Moon appeared behind it. You swallowed, immediately letting go of Haechan and Haechan tried to get up to find out the reason. As soon as he sensed his father, he buried his face in the pillow again, with another groan.

Mr. Moon was clearly incensed at your presence there, it was palpable, yet he maintained his poise and greeted you with a slight bow. "Miss Y/n. What a nice surprise. Is everything okay?"

You nodded, returning the salute. "Yes, Mr. Moon, thank you very much."

It was awkward and fake. Tension could be cut with a knife and Taeil, unable to take it anymore, proceeded to remove his father from your sight. "Dad, I wanted to talk to you. If you give me a moment, you can talk to Donghyuck later, this is more important." And he took him out of the room, not without first addressing you and repeating in a whisper. "It's all in the family. See you at five," winking at you and closing the door behind him.

A shiver ran through you. Or was it nerves? In any case, you didn't like it.

"Haechan, I don't want to go anywhere with your brother." You admitted out loud.

Haechan laughed and held your hand again, pulling you down to crouch down in front of him again. "I know. It's pretty boring, right? But he's a good person. And the only one who supports us. Did you see what he just did? Taking my father away to leave us alone again... He'll help us to get the family to accept us without me being disinherited. And this is the least we can do to return the favor. He is very lonely, you know?” You were not sorry about him. It seemed incredible how biased Haechan was for his brother. But then he said, "If you don't do it for him, do it for me. For us." And no more was needed.

You would go anywhere with Taeil for Haechan's happiness. For you.

···

"Okay". Mr. Moon finished, thus ending the business conversation that Taeil had just pulled out of his sleeve in his bedroom, which also served as his in-house office. "And with that said, can you please explain to me what the hell that girl was doing there? You promised me last night that you'd get rid of her."

Taeil let out a kind of laugh through his nose. "You sound like a mobster. What did you think I would do? Kill her?"

"No, but offering her money to go away… What we've done with so many other runaway girlfriends of your brother's."

"This one is different." Taeil replied in a serious tone.

"Bah, different in what? She's just another slu-"

"Dad, save the vulgarities. She's not interested in money."

"What does she want then?"

"Love".

"Bah… Nonsense. And what is your plan?" Taeil looked at him amused, and proceeded to take off his suit jacket, while looking in his large closet for a more appropriate outfit for his date with you. "What? Don't look at me like that. You always have a plan. Tell me."

"Isn't it obvious?" Taeil asked rhetorically. "I'll get her to fall in love with someone else."

"Another? Who? No idiot we know would stoop to-" Then Taeil's gaze settled on his head. "WITH YOU? Have you gone crazy?! I have two fucking idiot kids! What the hell does that girl have between her legs? Diamonds?! Oil?! I can't understand!"

"Well, if you stop yelling, I'll gladly explain it to you. It's quite simple. I get her to fall in love with me, I convince her to go live in Spain -or anywhere else, the destination is the least important thing- and once on the plane she'll find out that my seat will go-"

"Empty! Haha! Great idea! Thank goodness at least one of my kids has a head!"

"It won’t be empty. I also have a heart, you know? There will be an apology letter, a check with thirty thousand dollars, 2% of our shares, a house in the destination that is with the property in her name and a restaurant too" .

"Isn't that excessive for a chauffeur's daughter?"

"It's the bare minimum to play with her feelings, don't you think? Besides, the goal is for her to stay there, wherever we send her. So if she has to choose between staying in a city with all the comforts possible or going back to where they have done nothing but break her heart, she will choose to stay."

"You're a genius. Sometimes you even scare me."

"Yeah. Me too... Anyway, go now, I have to change for my date."

"Your date… The only thing that worries me about your plan is that you don't have the slightest idea of how to conquer a woman."

Taeil looked at him offended. "Just because I haven't walked them around like Haechan does, doesn't mean I haven't had girlfriends, Dad."

"Pff centuries ago. For years you only go from work to home and vice versa."

"And you're delighted with it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't worry. It'll be like riding a bike."

···

You were expecting tension, one-way flirtation, and some more Haechan and money talk. But you were dead wrong. Taeil was not at all as you had imagined him all your life. Not how he showed himself in front of his family or how he had shown himself before you until now. He was very kind and warm, funny even. You caught yourself laughing non-stop at his jokes and his take on things. Who'd say?

No, seriously, who could tell? How many people had he shown that way of being? Because even Haechan, who loved him so much, had admitted that he was a bore. So even he hadn't been allowed to see this version of his brother. Why? You couldn't help but wonder because the more time you spent together at that fair, the more you liked this part of him and you didn't understand why he didn't show it to the whole world. Although… to be honest, it made you feel a little special that he was letting you meet it.

"You keep smiling. Can I assume by it that you're having a good time?" He asked you as your big wheel car climbed to the top. You didn't have vertigo but being alone with him in such a small space gave you a similar feeling and yet you had accepted immediately when he promised you that from up there you could see all of Seoul. Which was funny, because you couldn't care less about those views.

"You can". You responded by smiling even more, as you looked out your window, but just then he had to bring it up.

"Even though I’m not my brother?"

Mentioning Haechan had been a mistake on his part. He knew it the moment he noticed you had stopped smiling. But before he could fix it, you pulled yourself together.

"Despite that and everything else." You replied looking at him playfully.

"Everything else? What does that mean?" he asked, handing the game back to you.

Your response began with a shrug. "That I didn't expect you to be like this. I made you the iceman, the eagle of negotiations, on his skyscraper, always alert to the ups and downs of the stock market, watching the world move under his invisible strings, moving millions from here and there with nothing more in his heart than numbers, numbers and more numbers".

"Wow...funny way to insult someone, you make it sound like a compliment, but it's full of daggers. Thanks." He said laughing lightly and you laughed back. "And have you realized that I'm not like that? How do you see me now?"

"Funny". He raised an eyebrow, waiting for you to say something else. Wishing for it. And you please him. "And interesting even."

"Ouch, again. That “even” wasn’t necessary, you know? Was it so hard for you to imagine that behind that icy facade there was a human being who joked and felt, just like everyone else?"

You thought about it for a few seconds. It's not that it was hard for you to imagine it, it's that you had never given more than a minute of your time to think about it. To think about him. And you discovered that, with just a few seconds of thinking about it, a question was born, grew and needed to be answered as soon as possible, running from the back of your mind to out of your mouth.

"Taeil, have you ever been in love?"

You could notice him swallowing. He didn't wipe the smile off his face, but he did lower his gaze. And that caused a couple of alarm bells to go off in your head. Because although you hardly knew him, you did know something for sure and that was that this was not normal for him. Either it was a topic that really affected him, or he was going to lie.

"Once. But it was a long time ago, I don't like to think about it."

It didn't convince you. You needed to know if he was lying or not and for that he had to tell you something else.

"Why? Did it go wrong? Did she break your heart? Did you have to leave her because your family didn’t approve?"

Maybe you had gone too far, or so you thought at the moment he raised his gaze and locked it in your eyes. Suddenly you didn't know why you had loaded those questions with so much poison, why you had launched them with such contempt.

"Yes to everything. Is that what you wanted to hear?" You shook your head embarrassed, you felt that he was recriminating you. "Yes, you wanted details. I'll give them to you. I fell head over heels in love with a girl from a lower social class than me, indeed. I knew my family would never accept it, but for once in my life, I didn't care. What I felt for her made me realize how much I despised my lifestyle and social status. How little it would cost me to let go of all of it and find a new way of living, by her side. I didn't care if they disinherited me.But she rejected me as soon as I told her so. At first I thought she did it because she cared about me. But a few weeks later I found out she was going after my brother too. He was younger than her, and like so many others, he let himself be led. I was the one who had to take care of it, as in your story, to offer her money in exchange for leaving him alone. And she accepted it. To my stupid surprise she accepted it and left. There and then I realized how foolish I had been for thinking that someone could love me for something more than my money. After all, I'm just that. Money. A shell of ice, with an empty heart and a mind full of numbers, numbers and more numbers, right? And that's what I ended up becoming. No one could imagine that on top of that skyscraper I wasn't watching the world move under my strings, but that I was considering throwing myself into it".

And having said that, he fell silent. As if he had already said much more than he wanted to have said. But there was more. You knew it by the tears that were piling up on his lower eyelids.

He tried to take his own life out of love... It touched you so closely that you couldn't ignore it. He had to know that you understood him and that nothing was wrong with that.

But then you remembered that he had been there when you tried. That in fact he was the one who prevented you from achieving it. And a doubt that you had left parked in your mind since that night, resurfaced and you were able to answer it now that you knew his story.

"You didn't just try it once." Taeil frowned and you cleared it. "Kill yourself. That night in the garage…the night that…”

“I know what night you're talking about”.

“You were already there. I didn't hear you come in, you had to be there”.

"I was. I was about to start the car to go to the Dongjak Bridge and surely complete what I had failed to do that afternoon on the balcony of my office. But you showed up. Desperately crying. And I decided to wait for you to leave. I didn't want anyone to know I was gone until it was too late. But you weren't leaving. You were crouched behind my mother's Rolls Royce and you wouldn't get up. Then I started hearing you cough and the rest is history. Watching you also trying it made me never want to try again. I had barely spoken two words in my life with you and just thinking that you had died, right under my nose, scared me so much. I didn't want to do that to anyone. That guilt, that fear. That night we saved each other”.

"I never thanked you…"

“Did you try again when you were in Spain?"

"No." You said, remembering how happy you had been there, and smiled as you did so.

"That's all the thanks I was hoping for."

"Have you ever been to Spain?" You asked suddenly, with an idea running through your head. Taeil thought about it for a second and answered.

"Once. Thirty minutes in Madrid”.

"Thirty minutes?!"

"It was a plane transfer, during a business trip”.

"Pff of course it was." You rolled your eyes disappointed, but not surprised. "Well, you should go. Not for business. For pleasure. Spain is that, you know? Pleasure. And not only Madrid, you have to go through it all, from North to South. And for much more than half an hour. I think it would come in handy for you”.

"You make it seem like I had to cure myself of an illness”.

"Oh, no. It does not seem. That's how it is. It would cure your sadness, monotony and the reluctance to live. With me it worked. I came back as someone else".

"Indeed…" You looked at him trying to figure out if he was saying it in a derogatory tone or not, but he had his eyes downcast and immediately spoke again, leaving your doubt in the air. "But I'm not like you. I wouldn't know how to function there".

"Of course you would! Firstly you should undo the first two bottoms of your shirt and then I'd give you directions!" Taeil looked up at you once more and, realizing what you seemed to have just hinted at, you added quickly, "before you left, I mean."

And he smiled slightly, nodding, as he turned to open his door, with your ferris wheel car already stopped and on the ground. After leaving, he held out a hand to help you. And although you noticed his gesture, you pretended not to, jumping out on your own and starting to walk without him.

You were suddenly nervous and you didn't know why. But it didn't take Taeil more than a couple of minutes to fix it. Once on dry land everything went back to the way it had been before he got on that ferris wheel. Fun, laughter, funny anecdotes and, before you knew it, the night had fallen upon you and you had had a great time. With his hand holding yours the whole time, with the excuse of not getting lost in the crowd.

When you arrived at the Moon mansion, Taeil asked you if you wanted to go see his brother or if you would rather him to accompany you to your apartment over the garage. And without thinking about it for a second you answered, "It's late, I'll go see him tomorrow." It was only when you noticed the poorly concealed triumphant smile on Taeil's face that you understood what had really just happened.

He had given you a choice, between a few more minutes with him or a few minutes with Haechan, and you had chosen him without hesitation. Silly, silly, silly. Were you really tired enough not to go see Haechan? Or did your subconscious really prefer to scratch those last minutes of the day with Taeil? No. It couldn't be that.

"But you don't have to come with me. I know the way." You added then, you didn't really know why. Maybe for punching him in the ego. Although you also felt it in part as a punishment towards yourself.

"I'm happy to do it, it's not a bother-"

"I know. But I'm very tired." You lied. "It's been a long day. Thanks for everything. Good night." You said often, starting to walk in the direction of your room.

"Y/n, wait." Taeil stopped you, holding you by the wrist, a gesture from which you got rid of immediately, as if it burned, turning towards him. But if he noticed it, he completely ignored it. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at ten o'clock. It's going to be a great day and I thought we could go to Daecheon, spend the day on the beach. It's three hours by car, but in the Ferrari it will be two. Do you feel like it?" " When he noticed doubt forming between your brows, he added, "We'll be back in time to see Hyuck, don't worry."

And smiling, thinking of Haechan, you nodded. It sounded like a good plan. After all, you had a great time with Taeil today, what could go wrong?

···

The real question was, could anything go right?

You used to think that money solved everything. That none of this ever happened to rich people. But it turns out that not even all the gold in the world could control the weather.

Only halfway down the car, a giant cloud covered the sky with dark gray. Taeil assured you that he had checked the weather the night before and that by the time you reached your destination the sun would have risen, but as you got closer to the beach, the drops began to fall. First a light spark, followed by consistent rain and finally a tremendous downpour.

To make things worse, Taeil had insisted on taking the Jeep instead of the Ferrari convertible at the last moment and, although at first this might seem like a wise choice given the circumstances, how could it be otherwise, it had not been properly checked before to leave —being one of the least used cars by the Moon family— and if you didn't find a gas station soon, I would leave you stranded in the middle of the road.

And finally it happened. Just a few kilometers from your destination, the car stopped in a small field on the side.

Taeil fumed. You could see how he was punishing himself internally because nothing was going the way he expected.

Rich people are not used to unforeseen events that cannot be solved with money. Luckily you weren't rich, so you decided to take charge of the situation.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll call someone to pick us up and-

"No signal. I've already tried it." Taeil cut you short.

"Well, in that case…" You said keeping an optimistic tone, "we could walk to the nearest house and ask for help there”.

"In this rain? We wouldn't walk two steps”.

“It's just water, Taeil. I'll go if his highness doesn't want to get a little wet." You said with a sarcastic roll of your eyes.

"Not a little, Y/n!" Taeil said, rising above you to remove your hand from the door handle and close it again. "It's pouring rain and we don't know the area, you could get lost and…"

The volume of his voice dropped as he realized the position you were in. With him on top of you, half a breath from your face. However, he didn't move an inch, while his eyes wandered from your eyes, wide open like a frightened fawn, to your lips... Your very attractive lips. And under his watchful gaze, you moved them again to propose something else.

“We could also stay here to wait for it to clear…" You said in a whisper. And Taeil nodded without taking his eyes off them.

"Good idea". He murmured, closing the distance even more. You closed your eyes hoping to feel his mouth on yours in a matter of seconds. But instead you felt the back of his hand gently caressing your cheek my As you walked in, he ran his thumb across your lower lip.

"Do not kiss me". You said suddenly, and even yourself were surprised by your own words, opening your eyes suddenly. He pulled away slightly then, frowning in confusion. "I-I don't want you to kiss me again."

Although the tremor in your voice betrayed the uncertainty of your words, Taeil respected your decision, moving away completely and settling back in his seat. Looking away from you.

And then you felt cold. For the absence of his hand on your face, of his body on yours, of his gaze on your lips. You were beginning to miss them and mentally slapped yourself for it.

Taeil wasn't supposed to be the one you missed, let alone having him a meter away from you.

Haechan. That was. You missed Haechan. His laugh, his hair, his voice, his kisses…

And then your mind, rebellious like you, made you remember the kiss with Taeil instead of Haechan's. Only with that you noticed how the heat rose from your feet to your crotch, and from there to your cheeks. And, angry with yourself for not being able to control it, you opened your door and got out of the car without warning.

This really was like stepping under a cold shower with your clothes on. But one thing was clear and that is that the heat had suddenly left you.

At least until you heard another door close behind you and hands grabbing your shoulders and turning you around.

"May I know what the fuck are you doing?!" Taeil asked you, yelling through the noise of the rain, already soaked to his socks as well. Since you didn't answer, he asked you again. "Have you gone crazy?!"

"I think so". You answered more for yourself than for him, since he couldn't hear you. But before he had time to ask, you pulled him close to the back of his neck and kissed him as if you were thirsty and he was the only source of water for thousands of miles around. Ironically.

After a few seconds of initial surprise, Taeil immediately returned the kiss with the same eagerness. Pulling you closer to him at the hips, bringing your pelvis together.

Your subconscious began to seek the warmth of his body rubbing against him while your hands played with his soaked hair. You hardly gave each other time to breathe. You could only catch your breath when he broke away to whisper in your ear. "Let's go inside."

And a minute later you were on top of him in the backseat of the car, shedding his sodden clothes as he did the same with yours.

As soon as his torso was in sight you began to feel him, first with your hands, then with your lips and finally with your tongue, on his neck. You could feel Taeil's shaky breathing on your shoulder and his racing pulse under your teeth.

Meanwhile your hand slid down again, until you found the button on his pants, but instead of unbuttoning it, you decided to make him wait a little longer, caressing him through the fabric. A growl escaped his throat and he could feel how you smiled victoriously as you kissed his collarbone.

"Come here". He said raising your face to his, guided by his hand on your chin and, erasing your smile by kissing it, he joined you, with you on his lap and turned you both until you were under him. Only then did he stop kissing you, to watch you from above.

You were a mess. The wet hair spread and messy all over the seat, the little mascara makeup you were wearing, smeared under your eyelids, the puffy lips, the cloudy look, as if you were drunk with lust. And he could swear he had never seen anything so perfect.

On the other hand, he wasn't doing much better. From your perspective you could clearly see how the facade of a neat and impassable businessman had been totally destroyed by you. That and all its other layers. You had literally and figuratively stripped him naked, leaving only the most vulnerable Taeil before you. At your mercy, willing to do anything for you.

Despite your position with respect to him, again literally and figuratively, you felt that at this moment you had the power.

But you didn't care in the least. You didn't want power, you didn't want money, right now all you wanted in the world was Taeil. Taeil and her lips. And his lips on you.

And as if he could read your mind, he came down from the heights to kiss you whole. Entertaining on the inside of your thighs and back up. When he got to the crease of your pants, he didn't hesitate. He unbuttoned them as he did everything, savoring the moment and, before burying his face in you, he asked for your permission with his eyes.

You were far less patient and polite than he was, so your response was to tangle your hands in his hair and push him into it, arching your back to get even closer to him, letting a groan escape your mouth the moment his began to play with your clitoris.

After a while you weren't even able to finish uttering the swear words you were spitting without thinking. Such was the orgasm that was forming in your lower abdomen that you didn't even care to notice the laughter that you seemed to feel in your crotch. That bastard Taeil must have been having a blast seeing you so desperate to break up.

"When you cum, say my name." He then said with a deep voice vibrating inside you. And that was what caused you to climax in his mouth. Moving your hips spasmodically until Taeil stopped them with his hands and his name coming out of your throat like a mantra.

And of course, he couldn't stop as long as he kept listening to you. He continued to overstimulate you, all the while seeking the friction of the seat to soothe his erection. Tears streamed down both sides of your face as he parted from you.

It bothered him to see your glazed eyes, but immediately you got up to savor yourself in him, simultaneously taking your hands to his pants, this time unbuttoning them in a hurry. But his hand stopped you and he separated from you asking immediately. "Are you okay?".

You nodded and went back to him but he stopped you again. "Are you sure? We don't have to do anything else if you don't want to. You're crying…"

Exhausted, you dropped to your knees. You knew you were crying but until then you had taken it for ecstasy, for pleasure. Until that moment.

Then you thought maybe it was also guilt, remorse, regret even. And you put your hands to your face, drying your tears and covering yourself with shame.

It was not a pleasant sight that Taeil beheld at the moment. It was clear that you were realizing the mistake you had made and he hated being that mistake. So without hesitation he said "Looks like it's stopped raining for a bit. Get dressed and wait here, I'll go get help." And without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his shirt and left, leaving you there alone with your inner fight.

Three-quarters of an hour had passed when Taeil returned with a large can of gasoline. It looked heavy, and under other circumstances you might have found the image quite interesting. But not now. Now you barely looked at him for a second, just enough to make sure it was him, and you looked back at your lap, where your hands played with your hair tie, knotting and undoing it over and over again; a little hobby of yours that helped calm your nerves.

Once the tank was full, Taeil turned the car around and you headed home. The rain had not subsided enough to continue with the plan for the beach and, although that was the case and suddenly the sun were blazing, the atmosphere was now very different.

Taeil waited patiently for you to say anything, whatever, during the three hour drive, but all that was heard in the car was the faint music on the radio and the windshield wipers clearing away the rain until he pulled into the mansion's garage. .

However, you didn't move a muscle to undo your seat belt and Taeil was looking at you wondering if he should do something.

"It's all in the family… isn't it?" You said then, with a small voice, without looking at him. And yet Taeil nodded instead of answering. You imitated his gesture and got out of the car without looking back.

"Y/n, wait." He said getting out of the car too and running after you but, to the surprise of both of you, when you got out the garage Haechan was waiting. With a radiant smile.

"The doctor told me that I can now take little walks around the house! Isn't that great? As soon as I saw the car enter the gate of the urbanization I thought that I had to come and meet you and give you the good news. What a day huh! Hyung is always unlucky with the weather hahaha, but don't worry, in a couple of days I'll take you to the beach myself and you'll see how the sun shines. And until then we can spend time together here. You don't need to keep each other company anymore. Haechan is back! Hahahah what... What's wrong with you? Why are those faces? Aren't you happy?" He said approaching you, holding your face with his hand and noticing that you seemed about to cry. "Has something happened to you?"

Taeil knew you couldn't talk right now so he answered for you. "It's just that she's tired, it's been a long trip and... Anyway, I'm happy for you, Hyuck, you've always known how to recover quickly from everything. Congratulations. Take care of her."

Haechan watched his brother go, amused at his strange behavior. If it weren't for knowing him too well, he'd swear he was nervous and even…sad. But shaking off that absurd thought, he looked back at you. "Hey, are you sure it's just tiredness? If that idiot Taeil said something to you-”

"Haechan, kiss me please." You begged him and Haechan, although a bit surprised by the sudden request, immediately agreed.

What started as a tender kiss soon turned into a more heated and passionate one. You were trying to elicit possessiveness from him. You needed to feel him claiming you as his own. You needed him to get it.

Because you were slipping through his fingers like you were sand and you didn't want to consent to it.

Not now, not after so long dreaming that he loved you back. Obsessed with having his love.

Now that you had him, you couldn't allow your heart to fall in love with someone else. Even less with Taeil.

And yet …

"Hey, you're crying. What's wrong with you?" Haechan said, separating from you, more and more worried.

You shook your head, while you wiped your tears with your forearm. "It's nothing, I’m just tired, I'm…" and when you finally could look at his face, you slipped from saying, “Haechan, tell me I'm yours”.

“What? Of course you are, only mine". He replied smiling, holding you in his arms and kissing your nose. "Tell me what happened… Was it Taeil? Has he said something to you that made you doubt my love for you?" No. He made you doubt your love for him. "Don't mind him, Y/n. My brother has no idea about love, he wouldn't recognize it even if it danced the mambo in his face." He said laughing, trying to make you laugh too. But you kept looking sadly at him.

"Promise me I won't have to see him again. That from now on all my time is just for you. That you won't let him even get close to me”.

"It can’t be that bad! Can I know what the hell he did to you to make you say that?"

Eat your pussy, among other things... But you weren't going to say that to Haechan.

"Nothing, it's just that... Now that you're better I just want to spend time with you. You owe me a hundred dates, I heard." You said forcing a smile and he completely believed it, wanting to see you smile again

"A hundred and so for you to recover from these horrible couple of days with my brother's nuisance, hahahaha. But now it’s time to rest, do you want me to walk you to your room?"

You didn't want to. You didn't understand why but you didn't want to. But you forced yourself to want to.

"Yes, please. And stay with me until I fall asleep. I need it."

Haechan frowned a little but nodded and kissed your forehead, linking her hand with yours and walking you upstairs.

He waited for you to get out of the shower and once you got into bed, he lay on his side next to you and watched you fall asleep while he tried to figure out what could have happened to you with Taeil. He had done something to you. You were changed. You were no longer the confident girl you were three days ago. Sensual and dominant. Now you suddenly seemed so fragile, so compliant...

And it's not that he liked you less that way, but he surely hoped that it would be over by the next day.

···

It wasn't like that. Several days passed and indeed, you hadn’t seen Taeil again. But not Haechan or anyone else either. Just Ina, through facetime, or your father, who would come in from time to time to bring you something to eat and try to find out how you were

Everyone thought you had caught a cold because of the rain. But you knew you wasn't. You knew that if your body's defenses had failed, it was not because of the rain but because they were busy fighting off intrusive thoughts. But no one else had to know that.

You hadn't even dared to tell Ina yet… You felt so ashamed. You judged yourself so much that you didn't know if you could bear to be judged by someone else. But Ina wouldn't judge you, would she?

"Ina… I have to tell you something."

"It's about time! Come on, pour it out." You looked at her strangely and she clarified, "It was clear that something happened on that little trip to the beach... You don't catch a cold because of three drops of rain. I was wondering how long it would take you to tell me, I didn't want to pressure you..."

You smiled at your friend, it was amazing that she knew you so well. But then your face turned serious when you started to confess. "I kissed him again, Ina. This time I started it. At first it was him but I told him to stop because I was afraid. I was afraid of how much I wanted him to do it. And in the end I ended up doing it."

"But that's great! I'm glad you didn't let fear get the best of you, Y/n!"

"No, Ina, you don't understand. We ended up in the backseat of the car and at that moment I could only think about him. As if Haechan had never existed. That had never happened to me."

"Y/n, it would have been a bit shady to think of Haechan while you were screwing his brother-”

"We didn't! Well, not quite… But that's not the point. It's just that it's with Haechan that I want to be with, not with him!"

"Okay… Well, keep going for Haechan, you already have him actually, what's the problem? That you don't know whether to tell him about your affair with his brother?"

"No, well yes, I suppose that too… It's not the kisses or the sex that worries me. After all, Haechan and I are not dating officially, I don't owe him fidelity or explanations but... If I want to have something serious with him —what do I want! Of course I want—, I want it to be feeling for him what I felt for him until a week ago".

"And don't you feel it now?"

"No…" You said, bursting into tears, recognizing it out loud for the first time. "It's gone. And I don't know how to make it come back. I've been in love with him all my life, I don't know how not to be, and yet here I am, having feverish dreams about his brother!"

"Do you think you've fallen in love with Taeil?"

"No." You answered immediately, stopping crying. Scared because of the turn your heart had given when hearing that question.

"Okay…" She said, but you started ranting.

"It's impossible, Taeil is… He's not my type. And besides, even if he was, I'm not his. It would be getting out of the frying pan to get into the fire. I'm not so dumb. Taeil kissed me the first night because he thought it was fun to make me nervous and the car thing was because he was horny. Same as me. It was an outburst without more. No feelings. Zero feelings. How can there be feelings? Until a week ago we didn't even really know each other. A couple of deep conversations, a kiss and a session of oral sex, no matter how insanely good it was, doesn't make you fall in love with someone”.

"I've fallen for less... And so have you. If I remember correctly, your infatuation with "the love of your life" began with a shy kiss on the knee…"

"Yes, but this is different…"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a kid anymore".

“Yeah, that's why Taeil didn't give you a kiss on the knee, but higher up." Ina said laughing.

"Shut up!" You answered laughing too. "No, no, this is not right. It's just not right”.

"But why not? Your feelings have changed, it can happen! You are human, not a stone. Don't beat yourself up for it, Y/n. Let yourself go”.

"No. Because if I get carried away… If I let Haechan go, after all, to end up in Taeil's arms and then it turns out he doesn't even reciprocate… It wouldn't just be like starting over, it would all seem fake. It would seem that I really want their money and that's why I jump from one to another, I would agree with all those who already think that of me".

"AND WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT WHAT ANYONE THINK OF YOU? You would know the truth. Only you know your feelings and you would know that you act from sincerity towards yourself and towards them. You know what would be dishonest? Ignore your feelings and stay with Haechan for fear that Taeil will reject you or that someone thinks something bad about you. That's the only thing that could embarrass you. Not being true to what you really feel.

What you did on that trip to the beach was not bad of you. You said it yourself, you only thought of Taeil. You acted according to what you felt. You had a good time and realized that your feelings towards Haechan were no longer where you left them. Well, better for you. It would be worse if they were. It would be more complicated… A three-way relationship with two brothers… I don't know to what extent-"

"Ina!" You interrupted her, not wanting to know where she intended to go. "Okay. You're right. I will think about it. I'll see Haechan and find out if it's really all gone or if there's still something left and make an honest decision”.

“That's right. That's my girl, aren't you feeling better now?"

And yes, miraculously you even breathed normally and it seemed that your fever had completely gone down. You said goodbye to Ina after thanking her, you took a shower, you wrote to your father informing him that you were recovered and that you were going to go out and went to look for Haechan.

You were yourself again.

···

Your father received your message while waiting behind the wheel for Moon Taeil to get into the car at the entrance to the offices of the Moon Building, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Seoul.

As soon as Taeil got into the car, he drove towards the mansion, without the need for him to say anything. After all, it was always the same route. One day after another.

For once Taeil had allowed himself to go off his usual itinerary, he had ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere, on his way to the beach, with a huge rain above him and a beautiful girl below him

It wasn’t worth it.

Not like this.

Not if it meant going off course to get rid of you.

Not if you were going to be sick for a week afterwards just to avoid him.

He had underestimated your eternal infatuation with his younger brother. Or maybe he had overestimated his ability to make you fall in love with him.

Be that as it may, he was tired of that topic. To think of you every time. Of wondering if he should go to see you or if you would continue to ignore him or look at him like he was the worst person on earth. Whether you would hate him now for… he didn't even know what for For stopping? For not stopping before?

He was fine. Enough. He wouldn't think of you again, he didn't care.

"Mr. Y/l/n," he said then, before he could control it.

"Yes, Mr. Taeil?" replied your father, looking at him through the rearview mirror to make sure he was okay, the claim had already sounded a bit desperate.

"If it's not too much of an indiscretion, may I know how your daughter is?"

"Oh, just now she just wrote me that she feels much better, Sir. Thank you for your concern."

"I don’t care". Taeil said with a small mouth, annoyed with the idea.

"Escuse me?" Your father asked, sure he hadn't heard you right. That attitude was too unlike Moon Taeil.

"I said of course I care, Mr. Y/l/n. Not only is she the daughter of our dear chauffeur, but my brother's girlfriend as well. She's practically family." Although her face showed something resembling a smile, his eyes rolled towards the window.

Your father, however, missed that gesture trying to keep his composure behind the wheel, holding it tightly. He didn't like this situation at all. That you saw yourself involved in that family, with that boy, being one more of his innumerable conquests... No. You would come out badly.

"If it's not impertinence, Sir…" your father then added, drawing Taeil's attention, again. "I've noticed that you two get along quite a bit lately…"

"Well, not exactly-" Taeil started to try to excuse himself, but your father continued.

"Please, if you have any influence over her, try to keep her away from that whole world. She's a very sensitive girl and I'm afraid she'll get hurt…"

Taeil swallowed hard. Nodding. "I'll try, Y/l/n. I promise." And it was not an empty promise, of course he would continue trying to take you away from that world. But as for ending up hurt… a lump was beginning to form in his throat and he didn't understand why.

"Because she is a very special girl, you know?" Your father said once more, connecting his eyes with Taeil's through the rearview mirror, as if answering his thoughts. He continued, "Her place is surely not in a stately mansion…but not in a garage either. She deserves more."

And Taeil looked out the window again, reflecting on it, on you, without being able to help it.

···

Haechan was fully recovered and happy to see you again. Judging by the way he kissed you against his bedroom wall.

This wasn't the kind of conversation you intended to have with him, but you weren't upset either.

As soon as he'd seen you appear on his doorstep, he'd pounced on you like he was in heat. "Finally. I've been dreaming of this moment ever since I saw you that day at the airport." He said as he threw you onto his bed.

You had been waiting for him much longer, but you didn't answer him. Instead, you began to undress.

Perhaps it wasn't necessary to talk in order to find out if your feelings for Haechan were still there or not.

Maybe all it took was this.

Him to fuck you until you forget your name. Or a little less, until you forget Taeil.

And that he was doing. Dilating you with his index and middle finger while his thumb took care of your clitoris and his tongue of your nipples.

You didn't want to compare, but it was clear that Haechan had more experience in this than anyone you'd ever been with before. He was taking you to the ninth cloud in a matter of a few minutes and you knew this wasn't even the starters.

As soon as he got you to cum on his fingers, he turned you around and ordered you to get on your hands and knees while he put on a condom. And your orgasm hadn't completely disappeared yet when you felt his thick member slide inside you, drawing a gasp from you.

"Moan without fear," Haechan whispered in your ear as he deliriously rammed you over and over again. "We're alone".

And you knew it wasn't true, at least all the staff of the mansion were in the house. What you didn't know was that the one who had also just arrived was Taeil, nor that just at that moment he was on the other side of the door, about to knock until he heard your moans.

Because of course you listened to Haechan, you couldn't control them anyways, not with the way he was getting you to come again for the second and third time before he finally culminated in the condom. Which was removed when leaving you, falling to your side exhausted.

"Fuck…" he said breathlessly. "It's a shame. I wouldn't mind repeating this every day of my life."

In another time, that last sentence would have created butterflies in your stomach. But at that moment, the previous one caught your attention. "And why is it a pity?"

"Because you have a crush on my brother."

He answered so calmly, while your blood ran cold.

"...What?"

"I had my doubts, after the other night. But having heard you scream his name instead of mine while you came, you won't dare to deny it to me."

Had you called out Taeil's name? Not consciously, that's for sure. But what now?

"Haechan…" You started to say without really knowing how to continue. Luckily, this one interrupted you in time.

"Don't worry. I also stole his girlfriend once. Now we're even, I guess. Besides, he must be very much in love with you if he's willing to go to Spain with you."

Again, what?

"What are you talking about?" You asked, sitting up suddenly. Taeil in love with you? Go to Spain with you? You felt like you had skipped a couple of chapters at least.

"Didn't you know? Maybe it was a surprise. Well, fuck it. If he was going to go off with the girl of my dreams without saying anything, what less than crush the surprise. You're leaving tomorrow I think, congratulations".

Even the fact that he had labeled you as "the girl of his dreams" did not stop you from thinking about Taeil and his supposed crush on you. That's how you decided at that moment that you had to go find him and find out what was going on.

"I…I have to go. I'm so sorry." And after dressing in a hurry you went straight to the garage. But when you got there you saw his car parked and, surprised, you went to look for your father.

"Dad?", you said knocking on his door and as soon as he opened it, you didn't give him a chance to speak, "Is Taeil home?"

"Eeh yes, we arrived a while ago. He will be in his office, as always. Why? Is something wrong? You still have a bad face, are you sure you're okay now?"

"No, no, I mean yes. I just need to talk to him." You responded by walking away, while your father told you:

"Better not bother him, Y/n! He's a very busy man!"

Fuck it.

When you arrived at the door of his room, you didn't even bother to knock, entering like a gale and suddenly, seeing him there so surprised, sitting at his desk, so... so Taeil... You didn't even remember why you had come. You could only suddenly realize that you hadn't seen him for days, except in dreams. And that you had missed him.

"Y/n?" He asked then, snapping you out of your reverie. It made no sense to him to see you standing there, not when about ten minutes ago he had heard your unmistakable moans in your brother's room. He knew they were yours because, since the day on the beach, he heard them every time he closed his eyes.

"Is that true?" You said with a small voice, as you approached his table, trying to contain your emotions but unable to prevent a tingle of happiness from running through you as you anticipated the answer. And you swallowed hard before speaking again, louder this time. "Is it true that you intend to take me to Spain with you tomorrow?"

Oh... Taeil thought. So you already found out. Anyway, it's not like his plan had any chance of success from the start. And also, for some reason that he didn't want to analyze, he felt so much anger at this moment... And letting himself be carried away by it, he answered you.

"No. I intended to take you to Spain without me."

You almost laughed thinking he was joking, until you noticed the boredom in his eyes. The man before you was once again the Taeil everyone knows. The cold and calculating one. The one who would never go on a date with you because he had too many more important things to do. And then, like a switch clicking in your head, you understood everything. But the deluded part of you couldn't believe it and the masochistic part of you wanted to hear him say it.

"Without you?"

"Yes, that was the plan. You have everything on this list. The tickets, the letter of apology, the money, the shares, the property of the house and the restaurant. Everything to keep you from coming back."

You took the list from him with trembling hands and read it from top to bottom. And meanwhile you wondered how you could have been so blind.

You thought you were discovering a new Taeil, feeling special and important, while for him it was just a game. Worse still, a task.

They had only been a couple of dates, but how long they may have felt to him... Pretending to be someone he is not in order to get rid of his brother's last whim.

Of course you wanted to cry. All the years being ignored by Haechan hadn't hurt you as much as Taeil was doing now. But you wouldn't give him the pleasure to see you crumble.

"I'm sorry for all the inconvenience I've caused to you and your family. Especially you. I know how much you appreciate your time and I'm sorry I made you waste it on me. I'll only accept my ticket from this list. And don't worry, I won't come back." You said in a monotone voice as you stared at him. This time it was him the one who had trouble not lowering his eyes.

Before walking out the door, you added, "I was happy in Spain and I will be again. You would have been too. In another life, perhaps. Good luck in this one."

And after saying goodbye with an elegant nod, you closed the door behind you and went straight to your room. To get your bags ready. Again.

···

"Have you called me, Hyung?" Haechan asked, walking into his brother's office hours later.

"Yes. Everything is already organized. Tomorrow morning you will travel with Y/n to Spain on the plane at 12 a.m. At that same time, in my office in the Moon tower, the meeting will take place in which I will officially break the agreement of your engagement. You'll be free to do whatever you want with her. Be happy. I'll deal with mom and dad's anger and by the time you want to come home, I'll make sure you're welcome. You don't have to worry, your hyung takes care of everything".

Haechan watched him as he spoke hoping that at some point the mask would fall off. Why was he faking it so well? He seemed so serious, so calm, so as always. And yet Haechan knew that things had changed.

"What are you talking about?" He then asked, trying to figure out what this was all about.

"About you, Hyuck, focus." Taeil answered, beginning to lose his patience. It was one thing to give up the deal of the century for love…of his brother, but he couldn't waste his time wasting time on this, either. Everything was already arranged, what more did he want?

"But…"

"But nothing, go pack your bags before you're late."

"It wasn’t my name the one in those tickets but yours…" Haechan remembered.

"A mistake. It's already fixed. I told you, you don't have to worry-"

"She loves you." He interrupted him, remembering another even more important detail. Remembering your voice moaning his brother's name, remembering your tears while you slept the night you came back from that excursion to the beach with him, remembering your not-so-concealed excitement when he announced Taeil's plans for the future with you.

But Taeil couldn't remember any of it because he didn't know. And even if he did know, he couldn't allow himself to think for a moment that it could be true. It would complicate everything. He knew that was the goal from the beginning. But he didn't think that he… It doesn't matter.

"...Another fixed mistake. I can assure you that if at some point she thought she did, she no longer does. You will be very happy together. You love her, don't you?" He asked, looking at his brother intently, demanding with his eyes that the answer was yes.

"So do you". was his answer.

"Do not". Taeil clarified at once. And he felt a part of him disappointed in himself, but he ignored it.

"Really?" Haechan asked incredulously. Not that he was used to a Taeil in love, in fact he didn't think he had ever seen him in love. But it surprised him not to hit this time. Everything indicated…

"I don't have time for those things, Hyuck. It seems incredible. As if you didn't know me… Now if you'll excuse me, I have to continue with this". He said pointing to the mountain of papers in front of him.

Of course, Taeil and work. Now that was love. Maybe Haechan was wrong after all. Perhaps it had indeed all been a miscalculation on his part.

There was only one way to find out.

"Okay. Thanks for everything, Hyung. What a good brother you are." He finally said, smiling at him before leaving.

And as soon as Taeil was alone in that room again, he pushed the papers off his desk and stared at the closed door for a few minutes. Thinking about what he had just done. He knew it was the right choice. His brother would be happy with you. You would be happy with him, after all, you had been in love with him all your life. How naive he had been to think that he could change that. He never could before, why would it be any different now?

Because now he had tried and he never did before. Not when you were a kid up a tree. Being pathetically adorable…and gorgeous too. But watching his brother instead of him.

That afternoon on the Ferris wheel he was not entirely sincere. It is true that there was a girl once and it is true that she ended up in the hands of her brother until he offered her money. It is even true that to some extent it hurt. But he never thought of giving up anything for her. She wasn't the one who made him rethink life. It was you. Climbed on that tree. Dancing alone in the garage patio with the hose, instead of using it to clean the cars. It seemed like your only concern in life was being hopelessly in love. And that shattered his whole world.

He wanted that too. Feel that madness of love. Feeling more than just tension from the rise and fall of the stock market. He wanted what you had. But he couldn't afford it. So he lived it through you. Watching you on the sly when he went to the garage. Those seconds before getting into a car and going to work or getting out of the car and going back into his mansion, those scratchy minutes at the eternal garden parties, where he caught you doing your thing, those were his little breaths. His little reminders that you could live in another way, with other interests, with other feelings. That not everything in life was work for everyone. There were those who had time to love. There were those who only had time to love. He doesn't, but you do. And living it through you was worth it.

He wasn't lying when he told you that you were like a ray of light in that dark house. To him you were. Totally necessary in your life. But he never acknowledged it until the day you left. That gray day with his five gray years behind him. There was no love in that house when you left.

Not even Donghyuck, with his hundreds of girlfriends, was even close to that feeling. The Hyuck thing was pure boredom. It was a desperation similar to his own, to find some excitement outside of this loveless life.

It was no lie that he thought of ending his life. But it wasn't for a woman. It was no lie that you saved him from doing it that night. But you didn’t do it just that night. Because the truth is that you saved him one after another. Whenever those thoughts overwhelmed him, urging him to end this life that had nothing more to offer him, he thought of you. Climbed on that tree. Dancing with that hose. Behind that car. Passed out in that bed.

No, you remembered him. Life is much more than what one lives. There is more. There is much more.

And then you came back.

You and your stupid—and revitalizing—crush on his brother.

And like an idiot he took on the mission of getting rid of you. Perhaps for living more closely all that. Maybe because he really was rotten inside and, not only was he not capable of love, but he served to destroy any shred of love that was found a thousand kilometers around. Or maybe… Maybe a small part of him desperately wanted you to teach him how to do it. To love.

It did not matter. It was all the same now. Obviously it hadn't happened that way. What he had achieved was what was expected of him. That you left, this time forever, and that in that house, in that life, there was still no room for love. Who cared about what he wanted? Nobody. Not even himself.

It was done. The next day at twelve, everything would be over forever. With you out of his life, his light out of his life, forever.

And everything would return to gray once more for good.

···

One minute past twelve. And Taeil, from the balcony of his office at the top of the Moon Tower, had suicidal thoughts again as he could see a plane take off in the distance. There you were, with his dear brother. At least you would be happy. And that thought turned him away from the balcony, once again.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, please have a seat." He said turning to the group of people, made up of lawyers, executives and family, who were in his office at the time.

"But Taeil, your brother hasn’t arrived yet. He's late again, like always." Mrs. Moon said, then gave an apologetic smile to Haechan's fiancée's parents, who were also there, somewhat annoyed at this unexpected meeting.

"No, mom. That is precisely the first topic of the day and the main reason I have gathered you all here today. Because, at this very moment, my brother, Moon Donghyuck, is -"

"Running late, as usual." He finished the sentence himself. Smiling as he drew all eyes to him.

Taeil paled.

"What are you doing here? Where is she?"

"On that plane that's going over there, I guess."

The gazes of those invited to the meeting passed from one brother to another trying to understand what they were talking about.

"You left her alone…"

"Who? Who are you talking about?" Mrs. Moon asked nervously.

"Y/n, of course, who else?" Haechan replied amused.

"And what's the point of talking about that tramp here? Let's start the meeting now." Mr. Moon decreed, causing Taeil to clench his fists.

"No". He answered seriously, more seriously than ever. And Haechan, always opposed to him, let out a laugh.

"No, of course not. And watch your language dad, you're insulting your future daughter-in-law. Isn’t he Hyung?" The Moons immediately looked at Taeil for answers but Taeil was staring at Haechan, trying against the clock to figure out what all this theater was about. "Or at least that's what she would want. She doesn't care about one or the other, as long as she has a piece of our fortune. That has always been her goal, right, Hyung?"

"Hyuck…" Taeil threatened. It was not true. None of that was true and his brother knew it. Why was he saying that then?

"What? Don't tell me you believed her. I made you smarter than that, big brother…"

"Who are we talking about?" Haechan's fiancee's father then asked. And Haechan answered again.

"Our driver's daughter. A clever and manipulative bitch who has tried to get our money through trickery."

"Donghyuck, say one more word and I'll smash your face in." Taeil said then, in a tone of voice that did not give rise to the joke. Everyone was speechless at the threat, being the first time they saw that murderous look on the businessman's face.

"Why?" Except for Haechan, who was still pressing buttons, testing to see how long it took for his brother's mask to fall off completely. "I just want to know one thing, Hyung, tell me, when she was fucking with you, did she also confuse your name with mine or did that only happen to me?"

The punch was quick and effective, causing Haechan to collapse against the conference table. Everyone had put their hands to their faces in fear when Haechan started laughing.

"Come on, Hyung! I adore her, but you love her!"

Taeil looked at him confused.

"I just wanted to know how much and -" massaging his face he continued, "apparently a lot. So what are you waiting for? Get on the jet, you'll get there before she does. Live, Hyung. Love. This life is too small for you. You want more. And she wants you. Don't worry about me, I've always known how to recover quickly from everything, you know me. And as for all these people... let me take care of it for once." He finished, winking at him.

And Taeil, who didn't know whether to laugh, cry or throw himself to hug his brother, didn't do any of that. Instead, he began to undo his tie as he headed for the door, picking up the pace until he was finally running. Leaving everything behind. His parents, who yelled insults at him to come back, his brother who laughed like crazy, his boring business, his elegant office, his gray life… He wanted none of this. What he wanted was far above, in the air, floating like the moon, and he was going to reach it. He was going to reach you.

···

Almost thirteen hours on the plane was a lot, but it wasn't enough to stop punishing yourself for everything that happened. You felt so pathetic. Five years of "training" to return even two weeks later, with your tail between your legs. With a broken heart. And Haechan hadn't even broken it for you. How absurd.

Why had you let it happen? Why had you been taken in by Taeil so easily? You knew his intentions. From the beginning you were clear when he was lying and what he wanted from you. And yet, you believed it.

In his eyes you must look so silly… A silly girl who falls in love with the first one who gives her a silly kiss.

You knew you weren't. You had received much more than silly kisses in those five years and no one had taken Haechan out of your mind for a single second.

That had only been achieved by Taeil. And you couldn't understand how or why. And it didn't matter anymore.

You would get over it. If it had come fast it would go fast too.

Or so you wanted to believe. But every time you dozed off you remembered his hands intertwined with yours while you walked through that fair, you remembered his head between your legs leading you to delirium, you remembered his eyes fixed on yours, undressing you completely and making you believe that you were undressing him too.

And you felt stupid again. No, you didn't think it would go away fast.

But quick or not, it would pass. You would forget all this sooner or later. Maybe focusing on work. Like stupid Taeil does. Maybe you even opened a restaurant. Like stupid Taeil suggested in his stupid list.

Well, Ina would help you. With her advice and her infinite wisdom you would get over it shortly after arriving. As soon as you landed, she would pick you up from the airport and take you home.

You didn’t had time to tell her anything, just that you were coming back and that you weren't well. The details could wait. You needed to get it out of your chest as soon as possible. Leave it behind.

But your plans were frustrated when you landed and connected the data, a message from Ina informing you that she could not pick you up and that you would meet at home when you arrived. Brilliant.

History seemed to repeat itself over and over again. And, again, when you left the airport looking for a taxi, a Moon appeared before you.

Taeil.

It couldn't be true. You were hallucinating, there was no doubt. How hard had he hit you?

But then the hallucination came to you and spoke to you.

"Forgive me, please".

"What are you doing here?" you asked with a frown, looking to the sides to see if someone was looking at you strangely for talking to no one. Maybe it wasn't a hallucination…

"I don't want to let you go. It took me too long to realize it. I didn't know that I was capable too."

"Of what?" you asked with a lump in your throat. He even wore his shirt with his first two buttons undone. Maybe you could blame it on the lack of sleep...

"To love. To live. To leave everything behind and fight for my happiness. For you."

"Are you real?" If you didn't ask, you burst. And when you did, the tears that you had been holding for so many hours began to come out.

And Taeil laughed at your question, bursting into tears as well, as he nodded and moved even closer to you. And he held your face in his hands. And her perfume intoxicated you once again.

“You remembered to unbutton your shirt…” You pointed out.

“Of course. Now I just need your indications”. He answered, making the both of you laugh between the tears.

You could see him, you could hear him, you could touch him and you could smell him. So all you needed to do was taste him by kissing him.

And that kiss confirmed everything. That he was real. That he loved you. And that you weren't going to get over it sooner nor later. Because there was nothing to overcome.

Finally the moon was yours.

The End~