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The Deadliest (Part Three - Chapter Twelve)

Not a sound was made after Namjoon spoke. The silence was overtly dramatic, his words sinking into the three girls' heads.

Taehyung clenched and unclenched his fists, standing ready to catch them a few feet away from the furniture if they decided to try and run.

Hoseok stood by the window, never having left when he pulled the curtains closed. Walking around the table, he moved to stand by Tae in case he needed backup.

Everyone waited in silence for their response.

A loud snort ripped through the air as Lacey slapped her knee. Linzy and Madi burst out in giggle fits, Linzy slamming her fist on the red-leather seat beside her, Madi holding her stomach and throwing her head back, laughter getting louder and louder by the second. Tears beginning to form at her eyes, Madi went to wipe them away under her glasses, but poked herself in the eye instead, causing the trio to become hysterical.

Confusion seemed infectious, spreading quickly from member to member. Suga and Jin exchanged incredulous looks, shifting their weight from one foot to the other in anxiousness.

Jungkook couldn't quite grasp what was happening, and Jimin couldn't quite grasp his hand over his mouth to conceal his grin.

Tae was just as lost as Jungkook, eyes sliding from girl to girl and back to Namjoon (who had brows furrowed and eyes squinted, trying to understand what they found so comedic). J-Hope, on the other hand, giggled just as hard as the girls. He was hunched over, hands-on-knees, unable to breathe.

Linzy sucked in just enough air to utter a hardly comprehensible "NICE JOKE!" before falling to her side, lying down now.

J-Hope's cackling immediately ceased. Slowly standing straight up again, his hands slid up his thighs from his knees, fingers dragging over wrinkles in his jeans.

"This isn't a joke," he said flatly.

The three were still laughing too hard to hear.

Anger shooting through his gut, J-Hope yelled, "HEY!"

Silence filled the room once again, the sudden outburst unexpected, all heads snapping to Hoseok.

"I said," he growled through clenched teeth and curled fists, "this isn't a joke."

Sitting up again, Linzy timidly asked, "Then what is it?"

Lunging at all the girls on the couch, Hoseok screamed in frustration. Madi plastered herself against the back of the couch, gasping in fright.

"Hyung, no!" Tae tackled J-Hope to the ground, Hobi trying to wrestle him off.

Jimin ran over to the scene to help.

"No!" Taehyung struggled, seeing Jimin out of the corner of his eye. "I've got it!"

"Tae, swallow the damn pride and let him help!" Yoongi stepped forward in earnest.

Jimin and Taehyung got a grip on Hoseok the best they could, pinning him down as he squirmed and fought to get away.

"Hoseok!" Namjoon hit the table he was sitting on with his fist. He had had enough.

"Okay! Okay," J-Hope's squirming and yelling had ceased, his body going limp and his rapid breathing slowly calming.

Looking at each other, Jimin and Taehyung were hesitant to release Hoseok for fear that he would lunge again. They checked for reassurance from Namjoon, gazing up at their leader from the floor. Receiving a nod, the two let go of J-Hope and scooted away, giving him some space.

Hoseok was unmoving as his members stood up from the floor, dusting off their pants and straightening their shirts.

"Now, Hobi, don't ever d--" Namjoon was interrupted by Hoseok's second outburst. 

J-Hope jumped up and tried to lunge again, but Jimin caught him in time. Holding him by the back of his shirt, Jimin yanked J-Hope back and away from the couch.

"C'mon, Hyung," Jimin grunted as he grabbed Hoseok's wrists and held them behind his back. Moving forward, he pushed Hoseok on, speaking lightly, “We just need to cool down."

"I don't need to cool down," Hoseok spit.

"Tae, come help," Jimin called over his shoulder.

As Taehyung followed Jimin and Hoseok toward the hallway guarded by Jungkook, Tae leaned over Jimin and patted Hoseok on the back, saying calmly, "It's alright, hyung. I'll help you out."

"Sorry about that," Namjoon breathed, rising from the table.

"It's alright..." Lacey trailed off, standing up to join him. She looked around the room, shoving up the sleeves of her sweater. "So, you were being serious?"

"Deadly."

Breathing deep, Lacey looked back at Namjoon.

"I'm sorry, I just... don't know if I can really believe this?"

Forming his lips into a tight line, he nodded.

"I see."

"Well, I don't get why you would just tell us something like that," Madi sat up from her seat and leaned around Lacey to see Namjoon. "I mean, you didn't even build up to it. You just sat us down and told us something hardly believable and your friend tried to attack us for not believing it. And you expect us to just go along with it? How do you know we won't just leave and tell the whole world your secret?"

Suga chuckled deeply as he left Jin by the entryway to the room. Standing in a spot beside the table, he asked, "Do you really think anyone would believe you?"

"True," Linzy shrugged and looked to the ground, not noticing Suga studying her every move like a cat.

"Tae's got him under control," Jimin strolled back into the room, having changed into tight pants and a cutoff.

"Shorty, it's too late to make an impression now. You already came out in your sweats earlier," Jungkook snickered, walking to the cluster by the sectional. Laughing bitterly, hatred shined through Jimin's eyes.

"Ah, Jiminie~" Jin singsonged, still by the door, "I think you look great."

Beaming, Jimin spun in a circle.

"Why, thank you, hyung."

"Stop showing off, Jimin," Namjoon chuckled.

Silence fell over the room again.

Namjoon gestured for Madi and Linzy to get up from the couch.

"Why don't we get to know each other a little like we talked about in the car?"

"How about we spread out and make a system of sorts? That way you guys can come to us one at a time?" Jin suggested from the door.

"Well, that sounds good to me," Jimin made his way to the center of the room and used a shy "come here" gesture to the girls (being such a tease like usual).

Laughing, Madi and Linzy ran over to him and began asking him thousands of questions. Jimin basked in the glory of the attention.

Jealousy overcoming Suga, he tried to subtly make an appearance by standing behind Jimin, his arms crossed.

The organized plan Jin had come up with was completely forgotten at this point, most of Bangtan clustered in a group, Madi and Linzy joining in mesmerized conversation with them. The room was filled with hearty laughter and warmth.

Lacey still stood with Namjoon, heart fluttering at the sight of her friends so happy. In her peripheral vision, she saw Namjoon still beside her, smile splayed from ear to ear.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" she looked forward, trying her hardest not to crack a smirk.

"You."

Ears burning, she internally rejoiced for her long hair.

Changing the subject, she asked, "So if you really are the seven deadly sins," she stole a glance at him, "then who is what?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he chuckled.

Leaning down a few inches to get to Lacey's level, he said, "I'd like to see if you can guess. What do you think of Jimin?" he pointed to the boy flexing his arm for Linzy, laughing cheekily, then backing away shyly.

"Hmm... Pride?"

"Nope. Guess again," he leaned closer to her ear, whispering through her hair. "Break it down."

Blocking out the world around her, Lacey observed Jimin's interactions with everyone.

The way he showed off, the way he teased. Getting reactions from his audience of two. He looked starved for the attention, seemingly addicted to it. He needed all eyes on him. It was like he'd do anything for it.

"Greed."

"She really is smart, isn't she?" his breath puffed her strands of hair into the air. "What about Suga-hyung over here?" he pointed to Suga eyeing Jimin with Linzy. 

“Easy. Envy.”

"Yes, good. How did you know?"

"Well," Lacey's tongue swept her bottom lip in concentration, shifting her weight onto one foot. "You notice how he looks right now?" she nodded in Suga's direction. "See where he's looking? He's so jealous of Jimin, he's practically turing green."

Taehyung came strolling into the room, cocky grin plastered on his face. "What kinda party is this?" he joined the group. Madi's eyes lit up as she slowly left Jin with a shy Jungkook. 

Seeing Madi approaching him, he fidgeted excitedly. "You're Madi, right?"

Smiling, she nodded.

"Knew it."

Stepping a little bit behind Lacey, Namjoon pointed in front of her field of vision to Taehyung bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. "What about Tae?"

"He's too cocky not to be pride."

"You're too good at this. Can you guess J-Hope?"

"Wrath."

Turning his face just the slightest, he studied Lacey's profile, eyes tracing the jutting of her cheek bone and the slope of her nose. "Jin?"

"Don't you think that's one obvious? "Eat Jin"? Gluttony?"

Laughing he brushed her hair off her shoulder. Speaking even lower than before, he kept one strand of her hair between his fingertips, playing with the end.

"Now this one's going to take a bit of thinking. But even then, I doubt you'll get it. Jungkook is... hard to figure out..."

"Are you challenging me?"

"Am I challenging you?"

Tilting her head, Lacey was determined to prove Namjoon wrong.

"Process of elimination, Lacey. Not greed, not envy. Not gluttony, not pride. Not wrath either... too shy to be lust."

"Sloth. I don't know how, but he's gotta be," she chewed her lip, still analyzing everyone as she spoke.

Snaking an arm around her side, Namjoon laughed joyfully, squeezing her tight.

"Yes!"

Smiling, Lacey allowed herself to be squished a little by him. She remembered how different things had been between them this morning.

Her smile faltered the slightest.

"Namjoon, are you lust?"

He let go of her gently, allowing her to turn around to look him in the eyes. 

"What if I am?"

"I'm still struggling to grasp it."

"Why?" it was his turn to cross his arms.

"You just look so... human."

The corner of his mouth turned up the slightest.

"Even monsters smile.”

"You're back, Hobi," Jin smiled as Hoseok joined the laughing group, patting his shoulder.

Smiling, J-Hope replied, "For now."

His hand found the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry. I apologize to both of you," he bowed to Linzy and Madi.

The two girls let him know that it was alright, smiling and beginning their own conversations with him.

Jin chimed in a few minutes later, "We should get food. I'm starving."

Laughing, Taehyung pulled out his phone. "I can order takeout. How does everyone feel about Thai?"

After the takeout was delivered to the dorm and splayed on every possible surface in the living room, everyone feasted heartily, bonding and laughing around that tiny black coffee table. It was the perfect picture of happiness.

"So, he's greed?" Linzy spoke around a bite of spicy squid (which Namjoon informed her that it was called "Muk Ka Tiem"), jutting her thumb at Jimin beside her.

Jin excused himself from the group to go downstairs.

"That's right. But Lacey thought he was pride," Namjoon laughed, leaning back to see Linzy around Jin walking away.

"WHAT?!" Taehyung looked as offended as one could be. "You confused ME with someone else?"

"Oh, chill. it's not like I meant to," Lacey rolled her eyes.

Laughing, Madi and Linzy were informed as to who was which sin by Namjoon and Lacey, both reminiscing on the moment they had a mere half hour ago (although they acted like it had been years prior).

"No, you don't understand, Jungkook. You know what dabbing is. I know you do. You do it all the time," Madi showed Jungkook a picture of himself dabbing onstage.

"But what does that have to do with my name?" the boy questioned, confused.

"Dabkook. It's replacing the first part of your name with "dab" cause you're a crazy dabbing boy."

"But I'm Jungkook."

Laughing, Madi swiped left on her phone to open a video.

"Here, let me show you a video of your insane dabbing across the stage. Whether you understand the joke or not, it's still funny to watch."

The video wouldn't load, a poor connection established between her cellphone and the internet.

"Your wifi really sucks," Madi chuckled. "Hold on, I'll be right back. Maybe I can get a signal outside."

Standing up from the couch, Madi walked slowly out of the room, raising her phone up in every angle possible to try and get any sort of signal.

She made her way down the steps, through the kitchen, all the way outside, when she heard a quietly muffled sound. Almost like a stifled grunt.

It was so soft, she thought she had imagined it at first. Madi had forgotten to turn on the outdoor lighting before she stepped outside, so it was pitch black to her on the concrete porch in front of the dorm.

She heard the sound again, this time confirming that she had not imagined it before. It was clearer this time, and she could tell it was a retching sound--not a grunt at all.

Shining the dim light of her phone's screen into the night to try and see, she squinted, begging her eyes to hurry and adjust.

What she witnessed next made her regret wanting to see.

Jin with his fingers down his throat, body hunched over the delicate, black-iron railing on the left side of the porch would haunt Madi in her dreams.

"Jin?" Madi whispered, still trying to get her eyes to focus completely.

This time, Jin was successful on what seemed to be his third try; throwing up everything he had consumed minutes ago.

Placing his hands on the railing once he was finished, his body trembled for a few seconds, his head hanging low.

"You weren't supposed to see that."

"Jin..." Madi began, shaken to her core, fighting to keep calm. "Why would you do this?"

He stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before walking to her.

"My life is measured in my beauty."

"But that doesn't mea--"

"You try to find a compromise between sin and reputation. The only thing you'll see is a broken mirror and an impressive facade."

Jin continued inside, passing Madi.

She thought it was hard to see in the pitch black of the night, but she had never been in such a state of shock until after seeing that much darkness.

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EX'POSED - Part II.

When the twelve young men first enter the hotel, Madi can tell they��re tired. They look as if they’ve been traveling, rubbing at their eyes as they remove glasses and mouth masks, shedding heavy coats in the lobby’s plush warmth.

Two of the group – a silver-haired man with severe brows and a short, thin man with pink hair – look dead on their feet, hanging behind the group, stifling yawns. Another, blonde, stands a bit away from the group, looking slightly uncomfortable. The rest seem fairly close, a few leaning on each other in their exhaustion.

Two of the group step forward, brushing off the groan from the kitchen with enviable grace. The older introduces himself as Junmyeon; the younger, Baekhyun. At Madi’s inquiry, Junmyeon goes to dig through the tote hanging from his leather-clad shoulder, and the younger yawns, peers at Madi from under his feathery bangs. Madi smiles, lets her eyes fall to his shirt. Her eyes widen, and she meets Baekhyun’s eyes again.

“Hey, I love Daft Punk!” Baekhyun stares at her for moment, seemingly confused, and she quirks an eyebrow at him. He lowers his own gaze to his t-shirt and starts.

“Oh!” He brings his eyes back up, smiles sheepishly. “I don’t really listen to them. This isn’t mine.” A flush is creeping its way up his neck, and Madi finds herself internally cooing at the way he twists a tawny lock of his hair between his fingers. “Sorry.” She opens her mouth to reassure him, because it’s totally fine and she honestly knows like three songs anyway, but stops at the snort sounding from behind the shuffling boy.

Another of the guests steps forward, looking more alive than any of the others, grinning at Baekhyun. His hair is silver, and it’s messy. “You really need to stop wearing my clothes, Baek.” The shorter lets out a chuckle, balking halfway through as it morphs into another yawn, and the lanky man laughs again, stepping forward to shake Madi’s hand. She shoots a glance at Junmyeon, still digging through the tote, now muttering irritated to himself. Another man, young, with meticulously styled auburn hair, strides over to him, snarks at him as he helps paw through the bag. Madi turns her attention back to the silver-headed man.

“The name’s Chanyeol.” His grin is cheeky, but he seems kind, and Madi returns his warm smile.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

He flashes her a grin. “Now,” he begins, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the front desk. “What’s your favorite Daft Punk song?”

Madi’s eyes widen. Well, shit.

Lacey is about to flip her shit. She’s standing behind her desk, shoulders rigid as one of the men steps forward, addresses her.

“Lacey? Is that you?” He grins at her, and her jaw hits the floor. His pointed canines and slanted eyes paint him feline as he steps closer to her, long strides bringing him to her desk. Lacey rakes her wide eyes down his form. He’s wearing all black – leather jacket, ripped jeans, and all. Her eyes catch on the pendant dangling on his chest, a strange hexagonal piece, but she doesn’t waste much thought on the jewelry, opting to drag her eyes back to his.

“Zitao.” His eyes light up at the recognition, and he laughs, runs a hand through his tousled blonde hair. Lacey can’t believe it. Tao? As in studying-abroad-in-Barcelona Zitao? She internally grimaces. As in ditch-me-cut-me-off-and-never-talk-to-me-again Zitao?

“Yeah, hey! It’s good to see you! It’s been… a while.” His smile falters a bit, and he nervously scratches at the nape of his neck as Lacey struggles to maintain her smile.

“It has, hasn’t it?” Her tone is too-sweet, cutting, and Zitao’s smile falls. Youngmin clears his throat and steps forward, boring holes into Lacey’s skull as he goes. Fuck.

“Perhaps,” he begins, addressing the guests, who are shifting their gazes between the blondes, drinking in the tension. “Perhaps we should continue our tour later. I understand some of you just arrived in Seoul? You must be tired.” A few of the group nod, a particularly tall one huffing out a laugh, rubbing at the bags under his eyes. Youngmin smiles, kind but professional. “Allow me to take you to your rooms, yes?” He gestures, herds them out, shooting Lacey a thin-lipped glance before exiting the office.

She wilts as soon as he’s gone, flopping back into her swivel chair, shooting her staff glares when they won’t stop gawking at her. Hoseok comes back into the office, sitting gingerly next to his friend.

“So… I totally eavesdropped on that whole thing from outside the door,” he begins, and Lacey just nods. She’s learned to expect things like this from Hoseok. He meets her eyes, curious and concerned. “What the hell was that?” Some of the staff’s conversations suspiciously lull, and he glares at them, leaning closer to Lacey, who sighs.

She meets the younger man’s eyes, a bizarre range of emotions swimming in her eyes. “I know him.”

Hoseok huffs, rolls his eyes. “I gathered that much.” He narrows his eyes. “How?”

Lacey sighs again, rubs a hand down her face. She doesn’t particularly want to tell the story, but Hoseok is nosy and persistant (and, honestly, just a good friend caring about others’ wellbeing but whatever) and she knows she won’t be able to keep it from him. So, she pulls herself up in her chair, and lowers her voice.

“He was an exchange student at Seoul National during my freshman year, a junior from China. We both signed up the study abroad, and we roomed together in Barcelona. He was kind of a baby – and not in a good way, mind you,” she remarks, frowning at Hoseok, who’s nodding along enthusiastically. She sighs. “He was a friend, though. A good one. We were all we had there.” She laughs. “Neither of us could even speak the language. We got really close during our semester there. We made all these plans for when we got back. We were gonna get a three-person apartment with Linzy, we were gonna get jobs together… We’d even planned to get matching tattoos.” Her eyes are unfocused, and her expression hovers between sorrow and contempt. Hoseok drinks it in, rapt. “But when we got back…” She swallows, looks at her hands. “He didn’t exactly follow through on our promises. He started avoiding me, started spending time with these dumb guys – I honestly kind of thought he’d joined a gang. He started wearing all black, caking on the eyeliner. I mean,” she huffs out a laugh. “It’s not like he couldn’t pull it off, I just… It’s like his whole personality changed. He refused to answer my calls, and rushed out of classes to avoid talking to me. When I finally confronted him…” She stops, glares at where her nails have pressed crescents into her palms. “Let’s just say he was an asshole, yeah?” She meets Hoseok’s eyes, gaping. He nods, slowly, leans back in his chair.

He regards her, questioning. “The others – were they his ‘gang’ or whatever?” Lacey froze. She hadn’t gotten a great look at all of them, shocked as she was by Zitao’s appearance. The more she thought about it, the more familiar they looked. The gelled hair, the black, the leather.

She looks a bit agape. “Yeah. A little older, with a little less makeup, but that was totally them. Exo.”

Hoseok furrows his brow at her. “What? Exo?”

“That’s what they called themselves.” She snorts, shakes her head clear, makes to get back to work. “Super lame.”

He hums in agreement, pulling out his phone. Lacey grimaces as she goes over her notes for guest requests from earlier. She tries to focus on the work in front of her, but it keeps bothering her. Huang Zitao, crybaby and fashionista, one of her closest friends and bitterest enemies, is here, staying in the hotel, longterm. She was mad – and she had right, didn’t she? He’d cut her off completely, treated her like garbage. She frowned down at the paper in her hand, now crinkled from where she’d clenched her fists.

Why did he look so happy to see me?

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The Deadliest (Part Three - Chapter Eleven)

“Watch the shoes. Jungkook has a habit of leaving them by the door,” Namjoon spoke as he led the girls into the dorm. “JUNGKOOKAH. COME HERE!”

The three girls were trying to fit into the cramped entryway of the house, taking in every detail they could as they entered. The hardwood floors were nicely polished and shiny, walls seemingly white (a struggle to truly tell with all of the clutter). Everyone couldn’t fit in the doorway, Namjoon already a fourth of the way down the hall just to let them all in. Lacey the first behind Namjoon, Linzy the second, and Madi trailing last, there was hardly any room for Madi to get both feet in the house and on the “Not Welcome” doormat.  The front door had about four feet of space in front of it before a wall with a large Bangtan poster was displayed.

“Isn’t that a bit… egotistical to have you own merch hanging in your doorway?” Lacey cocked a brow, looking to Namjoon.

Turning around the slightest (or as much as the cramped hall would allow him) he shrugged. “Tae hung it up. We don’t question him. And I advise that you don’t eithe– Oh, hey Kook.”

Everyone looked down the extremely cramped hallway (actually seeing how cramped it was for the first time with the metal-portable shelving against both walls filled with hats, lotions, perfumes, and shoes), just in time to see a predictably white-teed Jungkook sliding down the hall in his socks. He stopped short, almost tripping, when he caught sight of new people.

“I brought company, ” Namjoon smiled to him. “Go tell the others to meet us in the living room. And hurry too. We don’t have all night.”

Bowing to the girls still leaning to see him, he hurried off–slipping a few times on the slick wood–moving as fast as he could.

“Well, that seemed about right,” Linzy said aloud.

Looking over his shoulder and continuing forward, Namjoon asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well from the videos and stuff that I’ve seen of you guys, Jungkook always seemed like an awkward little bean. So it would make sense for him to almost fall on his face when he sees us, then not say two words before bailing with his tail between his legs.”

“Awkward little bean,” Namjoon mumbled under his breath, chuckling. “You all are really something, you know that?”

Namjoon led them down the cramped hallway, which opened up into their kitchen and dining area. Smaller than they all expected, but still nice, it had a black table with a wooden top (that matched the flooring), along with fairly new appliances to the right of the kitchen’s entryway. Although nice, the kitchen was still awfully cluttered with more lotions and perfumes stuck wherever there was room, and shoes skewed here and there too. Continuing straight, another doorway led into darkness, seeming to be a computer-room of sorts.

A supporting beam to the house was right beside the oven, a small Spongebob piñata hung high on it.

“Nice decor,” Lacey snickered, pointing at the cartoon character on the beam.

“Thanks,” Namjoon replied flatly. “Hobi hung it there a while back, actually.” He stopped in his tracks to look at it. Studying it, he seemed to reminice. “He thought it would make everyone laugh when they saw it. Give us all a little joy,” he tilted his head. “But it makes him cry quite often. We should probably take it down,” he continued walking, turning left to go through another doorway.

Looking back over her shoulder, Lacey looked to her friends, eyes wide and brows creased. Her friends had matching expressions.

The next room was small too, containing only a flight of stairs leading up on the left, and a flight of stairs descending on the right, both beginning about six feet before them. Another door was positioned in the corner directly to the right of them, some distance before the stairs.

Namjoon began climbing the left set of stairs, but stopped and turned around. “If the boys want to, they can show you some other rooms in there,” he pointed to the door in front of the stairs, “but none of you can ever go down these stairs here,” he pointed to the descending stairs beside him, “without me. Do you understand?”

All girls slowly nodded, feeling puzzled.

“I’m being serious. Do not go down there with anyone but me. I mean it. Now c'mon,” he turned around and continued up the stairs.

Hesitating, the girls took a moment to continue following Namjoon. They just kept getting more and more confused.

At the top of the stairs, they met another doorway which led into what seemed to be the living room. To the right, a large, obnoxiously-red sectional was placed where two Bangtan members were seated. A black modern coffee table was in front of it.

An overhead view of Seoul was outside the window, cream curtains drawn back to show the stunning nighttime view. In front of the sectional and table, a flat-screen was placed on a wooden entertainment center, movies and games crammed into the shelving.

The room was oddly shaped, a wall jutting inward diagonally from behind the sectional, shelving placed against that wall containing what seemed to be gaming systems and comics alike. 

Another entryway (this one without a door) was the last thing on that wall. The rest of the room was filled with more shelving, but other than that, it was rather bare.

“Guys, I apologize for not calling and telling you, but I’ve brought some people over,” Namjoon said to the other members, stepping to the side so the three girls could be seen.

The trio instantly recognized the two idols on the couch to be Suga and Jin. “Hello,” Lacey bowed, Madi and Linzy doing the same. “We are journalists from Lorem, Inc. and we have been brought here by Namjoon to do an interview with him. It’s great to meet you all,” Lacey tried to sound as proffesional as possible in front of the other men, making sure that they knew she meant business.

Lacey earned a nice, “Pleasure to meet you too,” from a smiling Jin, but all she got from Suga was a head to toe look and a menacing glare. Gulping, she took a step back to be in line with her friends.

“My name is–”

“Hyung, did you see how great I did?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I am so much better than you. It’s incredible.”

“The only reason you did better was because I was actually using the chatroom. You should talk to all those people when you play. You get so much attention when you tell them you’re from Bangtan.”

Two boys entered the room, carrying a conversation about who-knows-what, Jungkook following close behind them.

“Oh, hello,” one of the boys stopped, seeing strangers in his living room.

“I would’ve changed if I knew we had company,” he turned around to glare at Jungkook, feeling insecure in his sweatpants and t-shirt.

“So this is why you wanted us in here. I just thought you wanted me to beat you at Mario Kart again, Jungkookie,” the other boy walked over to the couch and plopped down beside Suga.

The girls instantly recognized the new people just like they did with Jin and Suga. V sat on the couch, while Jimin stayed standing by Jungkook.

Madi and Linzy smiled and bowed to the boys that had just walked in. Lacey tried to continue, “As I was sayi–”

“Jungkook? Did you just LEAVE ME IN MY BEDROOM?!” a shriek resinated from the entryway that Jungkook and the other two had just come from. Stomping, a fuming J-Hope entered.

“JUNGKOOK,” he pointed his finger at the boy, Jimin scurrying over to stand behind the couch, Jungkook turning around to fully face the man.

“Why would you do that?” sentence toned in complete despair, a sob broke from J-Hope’s mouth.

“I’m sorry, hyung! I thought you were behind me, I really did!”

“Oh, Kookie,” J-Hope flung himself at the other boy, embracing him while he whaled into his shirt.

“I won’t do that again. I’ll make sure you’re with me next time, hyung,” Jungkook patted his elder on the back.

“It’s okay!” he instantly perked up, all signs of sorrow completely gone.

J-Hope took a seat by V, Jimin still standing behind the couch, Jungkook moving to stand with him too.

“OKAY. I would really like to introduce us, is that cool with everyone? Anyone else going to show up?” Lacey asked, a bit annoyed and a lot confused.

“Nope. This is it,” Namjoon replied, still standing to the left of the girls.

“Okay, so my name is Lacey,” she waved to them all, (Jimin, Hoseok and Jin waving back enthusiastically), “and these are my friends. Madi,” she pointed to her right, “and Linzy,” she gestured to her left.

“We are here to interview Namjoon for Lorem, Inc. I am the head journalist, Madi is the head translator, and Linzy is the head of the visuals department. If it’s alright, we wouldn’t love anything more than speaking with all of you too. But we completely understand if such a short notice causes you to decline an interview.”

They all nodded, Jimin speaking up, “I think we all should do it. It’d be good to give an interview to our fans since it’s been so long.”

“I agree,” Namjoon nodded, stepping in front of the girls. He turned around to face them. “But first, we’ve got to do some talking,” Namjoon spoke darkly.

Madi was too busy admiring Taehyung in all of his smuggish glory on the sectional to hear what Namjoon said, but Linzy heard it loud and clear. Senses heightened, she began to feel trapped.

Turning around to the other members, Namjoon nodded at them. “You know what to do.”

Getting up from their seats, Jin and Suga walked over to the doorway from the stairs and stood in front of it, blocking the trio’s way out. J-Hope stood up and drew the curtains to the outside, Jimin going to the other end of the room with Jungkook to stand in the entryway on the opposite side of the room. The only person left was Taehyung, who got up and stood a little ways away from the couch.

Lacey felt panic ripple through her body. They were going to kill them. Or hurt them. She was right. They shouldn’t have came to the dorm at all now they were going to be killed and there was nothing anyone could do an–

“If you’d please sit,” Namjoon gestured with his hand toward the red furniture. Not seeing a way out of this situation, Lacey complied, Madi and Linzy following her.

Lacey sat rigid, Linzy on the left and Madi still on the right. Namjoon made his way over and sat on the edge of the black coffee table a few feet in front of them.

The room was silent and terrifying to Lacey and Linzy, Madi just beginning to catch onto the wrongness of everything as she sat.

“What’s going on?” Madi looked from one member to the other, trying to find an answer.

“We need to tell you three something if we’re going to get to really know one another,” Namjoon replied, hands clasped in his lap.

Madi swallowed, looking to her friends. Linzy sat, deep in thought of how to get out of the situation. Lacey was on high-alert, noting every move made by every person in her field of vision.

“Now, each of you obviously have seen or heard some weird things since coming here, right? J-Hope’s extreme mood swings–cause c’mon no one can miss those–the “no downstairs rule”? Right?“

The girls nodded slowly, blinking as they anticipated what would come next.

"Well, I hope you all will believe what I have to say. Because if you don’t, there is going to be a world of trouble for you. Do you understand?”

More nodding and blinking.

“Lacey,” Namjoon looked straight at her.

Head snapping up, she tensed at the sound of her name, fear coursing through her veins.

He continued, “You know first hand what I mean by "weird.” Just this morning, I seemed like a complete douche. Not at all what you were expecting from Rap Monster, were you?“

Shocked at his self-acknowledged behavior, she nodded curtly, silently begging for him to get on with it.

"My behavior completely changed when you met me for the second time, am I right?”

She nodded again.

“There was a reason for that. And what I’m about to tell you will explain it all, okay? So you have to know that I didn’t have control over that. The real me is the me I am now. Remember this,” he leaned forward just the slightest to get his point across.

“I believe you,” she said without thinking.

Smiling a bit, the short sentence made what came next a little easier.

“All of the subtly odd things add up to one truth. And this is, seriously, the truth.”

The girls held their breath.

He looked at all of them before speaking.

“We are the seven deadly sins.”

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part Two - Chapter Ten)

The ride to the dorm was anxiety-ridden. Lacey's guts twisting and turning, Linzy feeling alert with skepticism, and Madi excited about meeting the rest of the boys.

The van was driven by the manager, Kim Namjoon sitting on the passenger side.

Linzy sat closest to the driver's side window, needing the outside view to keep her from feeling claustrophobic. Lacey sat in the middle, eyes trained to the road to make sure Jigaemae was driving safely, leaving Madi to sit next to the opposite window.

No one spoke for a good five minutes, leaving the atmosphere thick and awkward, until Namjoon finally broke the silence.

"I liked the idea that you had this morning, Lacey. The one about getting more comfortable with each other before we talked," his eyes met Lacey's in the rearview mirror, but he didn't miss Jigaemae's hand tighten on the wheel. "Y'know, so the questions come easier for us both."

Lacey averted his gaze, but not before making eye contact. "I'm glad you liked it."

"How about we start now then? We've still got some time before we get to the dorm, and once we get there, it'll run a lot smoother if I know you better. Linzy, what’s your job at Lorem?"

Her elbow was resting on the side of the door, chin propped on her fist. Linzy watched the night pass by outside the window before she spoke. Turning her head to meet his eyes in the mirror she grinned a bit. "I am the head of the visuals department at Lorem, Inc. I am in charge of the graphics and photography. I design and supervise the creation of everything thrown into the articles from the Seoul office."

"That's impressive. How long have you worked there?"

"Going on a year, come June. We all started at the same time. Right after we graduated college."

Turning around in his seat, Namjoon's expression was shocked. "You all have only been working at that company for less than a year?!"

"Uh huh," Madi added. "Like Linzy said, we got in right after college. We got together and did an internship sponsored by Lorem. They placed us here in Seoul. The company thought we had quite a bit of potential, and hired us within our first month of interning."

Shaking his head, he returned to his position, facing forward. "That's insane. You're all really intelligent, aren't you?"

"Well you are too, aren't you, Namjoon?" Lacey asked sweetly.

Namjoon questioned her innocent tone in his head. Suspicious, he answered, "I'd say I am. What about you, Lacey? What's your job?"

Tone meant to get a rise out of Namjoon, Lacey was a bit frustrated. She wanted to see the same Rap Monster that she spoke with this morning. The one that tried to get with her. So her answer was short due to lack of result. "Journalist. I interview and write what I hear. 'Bout it. What about you, Madi? Why don't you tell him what you do."

A little confused, Madi reluctantly replied, "Uh, okay... I am the head of 'Lingual Translation and Dynamic'. For example, once Lacey finishes her interview with you and gets an article finished, it will go through an editor. Then it gets passed onto me and my team. We will translate it into whatever language we are told to at the time, and make sure it flows well. You know, "translate by meaning, not by word"."

"Sounds like all three of you must work really hard then."

"Yeah, we pour all of our time and effort into special jobs. What really sucks is when we get treated like trash during certain parts of our assignments. Oh well. I've been through that before, but at least it makes for a good story," Lacey looked straight ahead at the road in front of her, seeing Namjoon go rigid in her peripheral vision. She smirked slightly.

Not knowing what to say, Namjoon turned his head to look out the window. Anger made him clench his jaw, but he was understanding and saw her point of view. He had been completely unproffesional, yes. But if she saw his side, she'd know why he had been that way. It really wasn't under his control.

The rest of the ride was quiet from then on, the only sound the tires whirling down the street and toward Bangtan's dorm.

Pulling into the driveway, Jigaemae let out a sigh. "Well, this is your stop, girls."

"Thank you so much for the ride. We really appreciate it!" Madi thanked him, the other girls following suit.

The three slid out of the second row, shutting the doors behind them. Namjoon was about to get out of the car himself before Jigaemae snatched him by the wrist.

"Boy, I was serious when I told you to tell them the truth."

Namjoon met his eyes. "I know. I will."

"I'm serious. If you don't there will be consequences."

"Alright, I get it," Namjoon wrestled his wrist out of Jigaemae's grasp. Rubbing his arm with his other hand, he asked, "Man, why are you so hellbent that I tell them anyway?"

"I think they can help."

Looking up at his manager, his eyes were unbelieving. "You aren't talking ab--"

"You know I am."

"What makes you think they can?"

"I've got a feeling. Trust me. Tell them the truth and see how they react. Once you get that out there, you'll see exactly why I think so."

Nodding, Namjoon opened the door and slid out. "Thanks for the ride."

"Not a problem."

Jigaemae watched Namjoon lead the three girls inside the dorm.

"I think they’ve finally come.”

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part Two - Chapter Nine)

There weren’t enough details.

Not enough for Namjoon to wait patiently for Lacey to snap out of her shocked state. Not enough for Madi to agree to his proposition so quickly. Not enough for Lacey to be gently pushed to the side as he let go of her, hurrying out of the room to get a ride back to the dorms with Jigaemae before he left. Not enough for Linzy to call Lorem and cancel their driver’s arrangements to pick them up after the interview.

There just wasn’t enough information given for her to comfortably agree to someone with such bipolar tendencies (or so it seemed). Not enough.

“And what would that be?” Lacey squeaked, bringing her head away from Namjoon’s closeness, still in his grip.

“Why don’t you three come to the dorms with me? Not only will you be able to interview me in my own home, but you could talk with the rest of Bangtan, if you’d like. That way you go back to your boss with not only one interview, but seven,” Namjoon’s wink was sleazy, only adding to Lacey’s discomfort.

Swallowing, Lacey seemed unable to speak, fearful expression still plain on her face.

Linzy took a step back, unbelieving. This is the Namjoon that Lacey had been so distraught over before? Obviously Lacey wasn’t lying due to her own shocked behavior, but this was a completely different person than she had described before. Something was definitely off.

She was about to grab Lacey by the wrist and drag her out of the entryway to the practice room (that they were still stuck in front of), but Madi spoke before she could.

“That sounds like a great idea! We’ll just call our boss and let him know that we won’t be needing any driving arrangements later,” Madi smiled, stepping around Lacey to better face the idol. Not only were these girls going to write a killer article involving Rap Monster, they were also offered the perfect opportunity to get to know the others. The CEO was a huge douche, but this would definitely make him happy. Plus, she couldn’t deny the fact that she really, really wanted to meet Taehyung. All the others, of course, but especially Taehyung.

Mouth dropping, Linzy looked to Madi, who was smiling, waiting for Namjoon’s response.

“That’s great! It’s settled then. I’ll go try to catch manager-hyung then so we can get a ride back to the dorm with him,” Namjoon smiled, all dimples, and gently pushed Lacey to the side, running out into the hall and toward the steps.

Once he was out of earshot, Lacey finally got ahold of herself.

“MADI WHAT THE HECK?!” She brought her hands out in front of her in angered questioning, turning on her heal slightly to face the other girl.

“What?” Madi asked, taken aback.

“Why did you just agree to interview him where he lives?”

“This is a great opportunity for us! We’ll be able to get so much more personal with him in his home environment, and we’re getting six extra interviews on top of that! Plus, who in their LIFE gets invited to a celebrity’s home (Korean or not) let alone seven celebrities’ homes? I mean, they live together, but my point still stands.”

Forming her lips into a line, Lacey couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Something felt wrong with Namjoon. His behavior was the polar opposite of before and she didn’t trust the situation one bit.

“We just don’t know him, Madi. I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems off. He’s an entirely different person now than he was this morning. I don’t know how a person can be that different so quickly. Usually a trash bag is a trash bag. Not a jerk then a gentleman.” Raking a hand through her hair, she bit the inside of her lip. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to us.”

“I get that,” Madi nodded, “but it’s an idol group. They wouldn’t do anything seriously stupid for the sake of their careers. Even if they did attempt anything—which I highly doubt—we could get out quickly. We’re smart. We can think our way out of situations.”

“I agree,” Linzy came closer to the other two, arms crossed. “We can fight our way out of anything. IF anything were to happen. I admit, it’s suspicious, but we’re fighters,” she uncrossed her arms and cracked her knuckles.

Looking to both of her friends, tongue in cheek, Lacey sighed, “Well, you already agreed to it. Now we’ve gotta let our driver know not to come back here to pick us up.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Linzy already had her phone out, scrolling through her contacts to find “Lorem Inc.”.

“Wait. Don’t tell Asthen about the extra interviews. Just say something like he wanted to be more comfortable so he took us home, I don’t know,” Lacey rushed.

“I gotchu man, I’ll come up with something,” Linzy stepped back out into the hall to talk on the phone.

Namjoon had ran down the stairs as quickly as he could in order to find Jigaemae before he left.

Whipping down flight of stairs after flight after stairs, he rushed to get down to his manager's office as quickly as possible.

Skipping the last step, he jumped and skidded across the waxed flooring, shoulder slamming into the wall.

Laughing, he kept running. There was no need to stop. It’s not like he could feel the pain.

He barged straight into Jigaemae's office, not even bothering to knock.

Looking up from the paperwork he was finishing, Jigaemae sighed. "Namjoon, we've talked about this. You must knock before entering my office.

Shutting the frosted-glass door behind him, Namjoon plopped down in the black-leather seat opposite his manager.

"I don't see why," he huffed. "We're friends, so why be so formal?" he leaned back, rolling his eyes, propping his feet on the rickety desk in between them both.

Slapping Namjoon's feet, Jigaemae yelled, "Get your feet off my desk! It's barely standing as is."

Namjoon chuckled as he slid his feet off the desk, Jigaemae shooing him with his hands.

"Why did you come down here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in an interview with those girls upstairs?"

"Ah, right," Namjoon nodded curtly, sitting up straight.

"I came down here because I invited those three over, and I was hoping you'd give us a ride."

Jigaemae's face slowly contorted, a disgusted grimace gracing his features.

"Namjoon, you can't be serious. All three? I understand you've gotta do what you've gotta do, but this isn--"

"No. It's not like that at all. This is a friendly gesture. Good revenue for the journaling company, great recognition for BTS. Getting the three on our good side will surely gain us more fans internationally, the company being well-known globally and all," he shrugged, nonchalant.

"What's with the sudden change?" Jigaemae crossed his arms, eyebrows raised.

"What're you talking about?"

"I saw how Miss Cobb stormed out of that interview this morning. I bet you were just being friendly with her too, weren't you?"

"This morning was before I found another. You know how I get. I can't help that."

Forming his lips into a line, Jigaemae thought for a moment.

"Alright. I'll give you a ride over there."

"Thank you so mu—"

"On one condition," the manager crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh?" Namjoon tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"You have to tell them the truth when you get there."

By the time Linzy got off the phone with her boss at Lorem to cancel the driving arrangements, Namjoon was already on his way back up to the girls. She pocketed her phone after ending the call, beginning to take a step forward and back into the room, when Namjoon came jogging lightly down the hall toward her.

"I caught him just in time!" Namjoon slowed to a halt before Linzy.

"Looks like we're going then," Linzy turned to the other girls in the room.

Lacey sighed, "Well we better get a move on.”

Leaning to whisper in her ear, Madi reassured her friend. "Everything will be fine. Trust me."

[readmoreof-me-blog]

Do You Hear What I Hear?

They will not shut up. Everyone, in every lecture hall, never gets quiet. No matter how many times I “hush!” everyone, it’s completely useless. It wasn’t always this way though. I remember the beginning of this year in college. I was so nervous and excited to begin. But as the stresses of college started piling on---exams, projects, and what not--- everyone began to get loud. I suppose it’s understandable, when overwhelmed, for a person to talk a lot with other people, but this is downright ridiculous. Not even during TESTS do these people stop. Not even when the professor, Mr. Barnes, is giving instructions about our final presentations. You’d think these students would care at least a little about their grades. It’s not just in this class though. Everyone is so loud no matter where I go. I’ve been going to the library a lot recently to prepare myself for the required inner-ear presentation I have to give, but I don’t ever get much done there. I can't concentrate with all the noise. Aren't libraries supposed to be quiet? Even my dorm is loud at night. I can hear them through the walls---the voices---and it's like no one is concentrating on their final presentations and exams. They're only focusing on partying and having the great “college experience”. Today is the day that I'm scheduled to present. I've worked so hard on this. Probably harder than necessary due to all of the noise wherever I go. I feel my exhaustion dragging my feet behind me as I throw all of my weight into footstep after footstep. I climb down each descending step of the lecture hall seats. It's evident that I'm slowly deteriorating by how pale I've gotten and the deep purple circles that have formed under my eyes. I trudge another step and another step up to Mr. Barnes’ desk. He's writing my name and a few other things that I can't quite read on a rubric, then he looks up and asks for the flash drive containing my presentation. He glances over my face as I hand the flash drive to him and his brows furrow in concern. “Are you sure you're ready to give this presentation, Eric? We can wait until tomorrow if you'd lik---” “No no no,” I cut him off. “There's no need for that. I'm more than ready.” “Well, alright then.” I watch him push back his chair with a sigh and speak out to the class, “Okay, everyone. Please give Mr. Grant all of your attention.” I feel all eyes on me and in that moment, I feel at peace. No noise. None at all. Complete silence. Professor Barnes pushes my flash drive into his motum and I watch him click on my PowerPoint file and take a remote, aim it at the overhead projector, and turn it on. “Whenever you're ready, Eric.” I turn toward the projector screen as I pick up a clicker off of Professor Barnes’ desk. “My name is Eric Grant, and today I am going to be teaching you about the several parts of the inner-ear, and their functions together.” I click the button to move to the next slide. “Now first, I’d like to start by introducing the various parts of the main canal of the inner-ear. Now, as you can see, I have a diagram showing everyth---” I turn around and find the screen completely blank. I keep clicking and clicking and clicking through all of my slides, but everything in every slide is gone. I begin to hear the noise---that godawful familiar cluster of voices. But this time, they're growing louder. Dear God, they're yelling! I whip around to the class feeling my pale flesh fade crimson from the embarrassment and anger that I'm feeling. “SHUT UP!!!” I'm screaming and I'm shaking. I can feel my legs wobbling so I buckle my knees. I'm clenching my fists as I grind my teeth and my eyes dart around the room. Everyone’s eyes are huge, but why? Do they not expect me to be angry with them?! Everyone is getting louder and louder. They're yelling and screaming at me and I'm yelling and screaming back in an effort for them to stop and take me seriously but now they're laughing. They're laughing and yelling at me and I can't take it. It's been weeks since I've gotten rest and this is what I get?! My presentation flopped and now I face torment??! I don't feel my throat burning raw or my lungs gasping from the screams I'm uttering or my face dripping with tears from my anger. I stop screaming at them. It's no use. All I can feel are my feet tingling from how hard my stomps are as I go up to the professor’s desk. I grab the first thing I see---scissors---and decide the only way to silence the uproar is to prevent myself from being able to hear it. I hold the scissors up to my right ear and look out into the crowd. It seems to just get louder. “SHUT UP!!!” I'm screaming and I feel the cool metal jam into my ear and then I'm opening and closing my hand and I'm slicing everything in my ear and I feel such immense pain that it brings me to my knees. I can feel myself screeching in agony but its muffled. Everything on the right side of myself is gone. There's nothing. I look up and people are hysterical. Some are running around, some are crying. One guy is throwing up. But I still hear them from the left. I've gotta keep going. I switch hands. I'm not as coordinated with my left hand because I'm right-side dominant, but shredding the innards of my left ear with my right hand is too awkward of an angle to slice what I need to. I'm opening and closing my left hand now, but I'm not as smooth with my movements as my right hand. My left hand stutters and I can feel my eardrum get caught in my scissors. You know how your preschool and kindergarten teachers would always assign crafts with construction paper to you? And you were always given the small child-sized scissors that were never sharp enough to cut through folded construction paper, so that whenever you would close the scissors, the blades wouldn't slice the paper, but would scrape and overlap the paper? The scissors in my hand operated just like that with my clumsy left hand, pinching my ear drum in between the blades. I felt my neck snap back and rolled my eyes into the back of my head at the intense wave of pain that came from my left ear. I rip out my ear drum and the organs attached to try and stop the agony. I throw the blood-slicked scissors on the ground, my gore still pinched inbetween the blades. It's done. I'm waiting. I listen. I hear nothing. Tears are still running down my face, but the cause behind them is different now. I am free. For the first time in I don't know how long, I hear silence. I slowly get up off of my knees and look out at the room around me. It's completely empty. Everyone must've run out of the room. “Eric.” I hear a whisper. How is this possible? “What?” I feel my answer vibrate through my throat, it I can't hear it. I'm hearing them again---the voices. But they're the loudest they've ever been. They're not talking. They're screaming and shrieking. But no one is in this classroom except me. How is this happening?! All of the parts I need to be able to hear are on the floor, shredded and damaged. “‘How is this happening,’ you ask? My dear Eric, it's because we're inside your head.” I don't understand. Why are you here now of all times? “We've always been here, but we've never had a way to get out. Luckily though, your college stresses put just enough pressure on you to snap the wall that was holding us back. “We’re finally home. And we’re never going away.”

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part Two - Chapter Eight)

While the other two were getting ready in her room, Lacey called the office to let them know Linzy and Madi would be tagging along with her this time around.

On the second ring, one of the receptionists picked up.

“Lorem Incorporated, this is Youngbae speaking, how may I help you?”

“Yes, this is Lacey Cobb. I was calling to inform the office that two other people will be coming with me for a job.”

“Let me transfer you to the CEO then. He personally deals with all employee-related calls.”

Gritting her teeth, she did not wish to speak with her misogynistic boss, but begrudgingly replied with an, “Okay, thank you.”

A click on the other end of the phone signaled the call transferring.

“This is the CEO of “Lorem Incorporated” speaking. How can I be of service?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Lacey bit back anger at hearing his voice.

“This is Lacey Cobb calling to inform you that Madison Childers and Linzy Clark have accepted the invitation to join me later this evening.”

“Ah, they must be thrilled to have the opportunity to accompany you. Especially with the payment increase,” a dark chuckle resonated through the earpiece of the phone.

“No,” Lacey walked toward the door, further away from her friends in the other room. She spoke lowly into the phone, “I didn’t tell them about the money.”

There was a pause before his tone turned cold.

“Arrangements will be made for the three of you to be picked up at your address. Be ready by 6:15.”

He hung up, not giving Lacey a chance to respond.

Hours later, the three had successfully cleaned up. Linzy pulled her inky hair up in space buns, huge flannel rolled up at the sleeves. Madi had opted for vivid-blue jeans and fuzzy cardigan, graphic tee comfortably worn underneath.

After what seemed like years of unrelenting persuasion, Lacey had changed out of her previous business-casual clothing for a more casual outfit, her favorite high-waisters, timberlands, and light sweater, attitude indifferent to top it off.

Time had passed and it was approaching six o’clock. Linzy was packing her camera equipment in a traveling bag, Madi helping her carefully. Lacey walked through the apartment, securing unlocked windows and unplugging curling irons.

After they checked, double checked, and triple checked the apartment was locked up and safe, they headed for the first floor of the building downstairs.

Linzy was the first to see the same limo Lacey had rode in this morning pull up, anticipation beginning to bloom in her stomach. These ritzy people had forced her friend into doing something she didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help that her interest had definitely piqued.

“It’s here,” Madi nudged Lacey with her elbow.

The trio walked out and onto the sidewalk together, slipping into the vehicle one after the other.

“So this is how it was for you this morning…” Linzy trailed off, admiring the expensive leather seating.

From the seat opposite her, Lacey smirked “Mhmm, this is the same limo I rode in this morning.”

“But you’re having a better time with us, right?” Madi winked cheekily, attempting to lighten everyone’s mood.

Honestly, Lacey was having a better time with her friends. Her nerves had dissipated and she wasn’t anxious anymore. Meeting Kim Namjoon had been bittersweet, but she wasn’t afraid. If he were to be out of line again, Lacey had people to back her up.

“If Rap Monster tries anything again,” Linzy stuck her pointer finger at Lacey, “Madi and I will personally have our own meeting with him,” she cracked her knuckles.

Bursting out in laughter, Lacey wiped a stray tear from her eye. “I appreciate you having my back and all,” she held back her giggles, “but I think we’d have the mightiest lawsuit against us in the history of South Korea if you beat up the leader of BTS.”

“I mean….” Madi trailed off.

Linzy finished, rolling her eyes, “True.”

Pulling up to BigHit for the second time, Lacey wasn’t at all fascinated. But Linzy and Madi on the other hand, weren’t quite able to contain their jubilation.

“Oh my FRICK!” Linzy plastered her face to the window, hands on either side. “What the heckie, it’s huge!”

“What’s it like on the inside?” Madi peered over Linzy’s shoulder to sneak a peek too.

Checking her nails, Lacey shrugged (no big deal that they were at BigHit Ent. or anything), “Pretty much how you’d expect.”

“Is that the manager? I think I’ve seen him in some Bangtan Bombs on YouTube before.”

The same squat man that Lacey had seen earlier was outside the entrance again, exact same spot, exact same smile. Exact same warm greeting that Lacey had got this morning was used to welcome them all, exact same tour was given as they traveled through halls and up stairs.

“This may take a while, so my sincerest apologies, but the room that you used this morning, Miss Cobb, is not available at this time. We will have to travel up to one of the higher floors of the building instead.” Jigaemae turned around, hand on railing, bowing.

“That’s alright, I need the exercise anyway,” Lacey smiled politely, earning a kick in the shin from Linzy and a shove to the back from Madi (both of which were the least excited to travel up more stairs).

Too many stairs to remember later, they arrived to a level identical to all of the others.

“Here we are,” Jigaemae said under his heaving breath. “You ladies can go to the last door on the right. Namjoon is already in there waiting for you."

Stepping past the middle-aged man, they all bowed deeply in gratitude.

Lacey led the way, Madi and Linzy trailing close behind.

She held the doorknob in her hand, hesitating to open. Cracking her neck, she opened the door with a sudden wave of courage.

“Ah! You’re here!”

A confused look spread across Lacey’s face, as well as Madi and Linzy.

Clapping once and skipping closer to the door, a sincere expression made its way to his face.

“I’d like to offer a sincere apology for my behavior this morning. I was completely out of line and you had every right to leave. If you’re willing to forgive me, I’d like to offer you something special. As well as your friends here,” he leaned around Lacey and waved to both girls.

“Uh,” Lacey was speechless at such a change in demeanor since the last time they spoke.

Smiling, Kim Namjoon stepped closer to Lacey and grabbed both of her shoulders, eyes growing more sinful by the second.

“It’s a once in a life-time opportunity.”

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part Two - Chapter Seven)

Linzy and Madi had tried their hardest to stay upright after Lacey had left for the day, but the wine’s alcohol content from last night was taking a toll on the both of them. They had agreed to watch some television together while they nursed their hangovers, coffee and aspirin passing between the two as they flipped through the channels.

 They were out within minutes, snoring so loud they drowned the television out. Only an hour later were they woken up by furious stomping through the house.

Groggily sitting up, Linzy wiped the sleep from her eyes. Madi stretched with a yawn, too lazy to stifle it with her hand.

“What time is it?” Linzy groaned, trying to peel her eyelids open.

Lacey didn’t acknowledge her, passing left in front of the TV, she stalked into the bathroom. Slamming the door shut, she made the TV on the wall rattle and the other doors in the house shake, causing the others’ heads to throb. Whining, they both flopped back down onto the couch where they had been lying.

They both had almost fallen asleep again when they heard her fist make contact with the bathroom sink.

Slamming the door shut behind her, Lacey felt tears prickle her lids.

“Stupid. Stupid, don’t cry,” she slapped both hands to her cheeks and pulled at the skin violently, trying to feel something.

Rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her palm, she didn’t dare let any tears escape over some stupid anxiety attack.

“You’re so ridiculous why are you crying? So what some guy wanted to get with you? If anything you should be flattered.”

She turned to face the mirror, observing her features. She saw the red pinch marks on her cheeks and messy tear stains. Her eyes caught sight of the black smudged all around her eyes from rubbing them too hard. Slamming her fist against the white marble of the sink, she held her breath to not make any noises.

Head hanging low, she turned on her heal until her back hit the door. Sliding down, she felt the cold tile hit her bottom through the black skirt. She let her legs slide out from underneath her, body sprawled across the floor, propped against the door.

Seeing the tears on her palms, she closed her hands to save them from falling.

Eyes flying open, Madi sat up, immediately concerned for her friend in the bathroom.

“What was that?” Linzy blinked away her grogginess, confused.

“I’m not sure…”

Madi stood up, a little wobbly at first, and made her way to the left of the television.

“Lacey?” she knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you okay? I heard a noise?”

“Y-yeah I’m fine! Just dropped something.”

“Okay…” Madi furrowed her brows. She saw right past her lie.

Turning back around to look at Linzy, her eyes skimmed over the clock on the wall, then back again.

“It’s only 9:30?” she whispered.

“Lacey, come out here and tell me what’s going on. This isn’t making any sense.”

Hearing the soft rattle of the doorknob twisting to open, she took a step back to let Lacey out.

Seeing her friend look like such a mess tugged at her heart. Her shirt was half untucked, black tear stains trailed down her cheeks, origin her black rimmed eyes, bloodshot. Her cheeks were crimson and chest blotchy, hair wild from what looked like tugging.

“Lacey…”

The three girls sat on the couch, Lacey in the center, Madi and Linzy flanking her on either side.

“I can’t believe he was that rude! You had every right to walk out of there. Just because he’s an idol doesn’t mean he is any better than you.” Madi patted her on the back.

“I completely agree. You have nothing to be upset or ashamed about, okay? How about we get you changed.” Linzy stood up.

“No, I should stay in these clothes.” Lacey pursed her lips.

“Why?”

“Asthen is making me go back tonight at 7 to do round two with him. I’ve gotta get an interview in. He’s won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Lacey sighed, exhausted.

“Are you kidding me? He’s making you go back again?!” Linzy threw her hands up in the air.

Lacey laid back on the couch. “I wish I were.” She sat up again, remembering the deal she had made with the CEO.

“But uhm, I don’t have to go alone this time… Asthen said I could bring you guys along… Linzy to take some shots of him if you’d like and Madi if for any reason we’d need a translation, I guess…”

“Wait really?” Madi asked. Why did this offer come around the second time?

“Yeah, really. I mean, you guys don’t have to go of course. But you are more than welcome t—“

“We’re going,” Linzy interrupted. “There’s no way we’re letting you go see Namjoon alone again after the first encounter. This all really sucks, but Madi and I are with you 100 percent,” she looked to her friend for confirmation.

“Of course,” Madi nodded.

Lacey smiled and felt a tinge of guilt at leaving out the deal with Asthen. But the money was going to help them so much, she didn’t mind leaving a few details out.

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EX’POSED - PART I.

In the beginning, the four girls blame each other for the mess they stumble into. It was Lacey’s fault because she landed their jobs at the hotel, putting them in the hellscape to begin with, Madi’s for being nosy, eavesdropping on their tenants’ whispered conversations, Linzy’s for peeking into Minseok’s room that stormy night, when she’d normally mind her own business, Josie’s for snapping, punching three-too-many people. Later, they’d agree on who to blame, and it wasn’t one of them – it was twelve other men.

They get their jobs at the Exodus Inn in February; Madi’s just turned 21, and the others are soon to follow. They rent two adjoined apartments in a dingy building a mile from the hotel. Josie and Madi share their apartment comfortably, caring for an inordinate amount of plants in their grey little home. Linzy and Lacey take turns sleeping on the couch (which, being honest, was better on the back than the mattress’ stiff springs) and arguing about who has to do laundry. It’s a difficult life, scraping by, but they’re happy, able to build up slow-growing savings accounts with the Inn’s less-than-generous pay.

Their lives had gone a bit awry after high school, faced with obstacles formerly incomprehensible. They moved to Seoul, stayed at the wrong hotel once, and found themselves scammed out of all of their savings. Linzy and Madi cut off their educations after obtaining their Associate’s degrees, unable to pay tuition. Josie continued to take online classes, slowly but surely working her way toward a Bachelor’s, and Lacey took night classes, sustained by her earnings and a peculiar inheritance left by her late great-grandmother.

Lacey meets the Inn’s manager in one of her classes, finds herself spilling her guts to him over 3 a.m. coffee. He takes pity, reveals that his hotel is dangerously understaffed, faced with several long-term residents, and invites them all to be interviewed. They’re all hired, each finding her own place in the hotel’s staff, serving under the manager, Kim Youngmin.

Now, nearly two years past, they’ve climbed the hotel’s rungs. Josie has found herself head of Accounting, banking on years of experience with Greg, and keeping the hotel financially sound. Linzy toils in the kitchen, co-Executive Chef with Kim Seokjin. Lacey is Supervisor of Guest Services, dealing with guest complaints and requests (strange as they might be). Madi reigns as front desk Supervisor, keeping a watchful eye on the new, young clerks (and, by extension, the kitchen staff that slack off in the lobby). The hotel is still drastically understaffed, and she finds herself working more often than supervising, often doubling as a makeshift concierge when Lacey is swamped. They’re busy, but powerful, and paid fairly well, so they get on just fine.

x

Things are especially bright on this Wednesday morning, Madi shuffling into the building, yawning as she relieves the boy from the night shift. She frowns him as he gathers his things, light falling on his silk bandana and numerous earrings.

“Tae,” she starts, ready to reprimand him for breaking dress code, but falters when the boy, only 19, turns his tired eyes to hers, mid-yawn.

“Yeah?” he asks, and his voice is deep and tired. He blinks at her, bronze hair flopping lazily over his bandana.

She sighs. “Get some rest.” He blinks at her, then smiles, boxy. He nods and bids her goodnight, trudging to meet the short boy waiting by the lobby doors. Madi shakes her head, tutting to herself as she tidied up the desk. She had effectively cleaned the desk of its scattered papers – covered in doodles of Taehyung and his friends, of random hotel guests, and of men with ponytails in strange traditional clothing. She smiles, regarding the drawer she stores all of the drawings in with fondness. She settles down in her seat, and makes to log in to the front desk’s achingly slow computer. Just as it finally chimes that satisfying sound, someone squeezes her shoulders, effectively scaring the living hell out of her – she nearly leaps from her chair. There’s a chuckle, and she turns, meets eyes with her attacker – Josie. She’s smirking at her, and Madi huffs, flicks her nose.

“You scared me,” she mumbles, leaning forward to intertwine their fingers, taking a piece of the taller’s hair in her other hand. Josie snorts, swats her hand away.

“Quit. I’m here to scold you.” Her tone is teasing, and their hands still folded together. Madi squints at her, nudges her glasses up her nose. “You go too easy on him, love.”

Madi groans, loud, flops back into her seat, arm thrown across her eyes. “I know. I just…” She lets her arm fall to her side, meets eyes with Josie over her glasses. “He’s dealing with a lot, y'know? He’s got class in,” she stops, glances at the computer’s clock. “Two hours.” She turns back, pouts. “He doesn’t need me nagging him.”

Josie sighs, but smiles, crosses her arms. “He needs his job, babe. If you don’t call him out, Kim Sa Jang will.”

Madi sighs again, admitting defeat. “I know.” She locks eyes with the younger again, smiles, exhaustion still lingering in her expression. Josie squeezes her hand, once, then drops it.

“Have a nice day,” she says, and leans forward, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead. Madi grunts in response, spins her seat around to face the door. She yawns, but Josie can see her already beginning to perk up, chuckling as she makes her way to the elevator.

x

The elevator is bright and plush, but small, almost claustrophobic. Josie’s used to it, at this point, but she still grimaces as the tiny room lurches, begins to descend into the basement – to mission control.

She exits the tiny box into an even tinier hallway, striding toward the door at the farther end, swiping her keycard through its lock, pushing through into a dimly-lit office area.

Yoongi’s already there when she arrives, half-asleep where he’s draped himself between two rolling office chairs. Josie rolls her eyes, pulls the one supporting his feet as she walks past him, yanking it out from under him and back to her desk, where it belonged. He doesn’t even have the decency to yelp, simply huffing as his legs flop to the floor, grumbling at her as he rights himself.

“Good morning to you, too,” he yawns, turning back to his own desk, strewn with sheafs of paper and stray paperclips. Josie hums in response, struggling to make sense of the mess of notes she left herself the night before, settling down into her plush chair. They get to work, Yoongi pulling oversized headphones over his mint hair, Josie’s music playing softly from the laptop on her desk.

They relax few hours later, sitting down at the small coffee table in the middle of the office for brunch. (They skip breakfast, and eat lunch late. The hotel’s restaurant is always ridiculously busy at the regular time.) Josie pulls a large thermos from her bag, setting it on the table as Yoongi works at their kitchenette (a request they’d made only a week after being moved downstairs, two full flights beneath the main floor, and the kitchen), busying himself with a small tea kettle. Josie pulls two bowls from cabinet, makes to pour the Soup of the Day servings for each of them.

Yoongi turns around, sniffing. “Potato today?” Josie nods, and he grabs the shredded cheese from their mini-fridge, absolutely smothers his soup with it. From then, the water doesn’t take long to boil, and he pours them both cups – Japanese green tea, this time. Josie takes hers, warms her hands about it, inhaling and smiling contentedly.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, ravenous. Finishing his soup, Yoongi leans back in his seat, his spoon clattering in his bowl. He takes his tea in hand, regards Josie over the rim.

“So, you were late this morning.” His tone isn’t accusatory, just curious as he sips at his cup.

She huffs a bit of a laugh, mouth full – she didn’t scarf food nearly as fast as Yoongi. She wasn’t sure anyone did. When she speaks, he can hear her smiling. “Madi slept in.”

He makes a noise of affirmation, sets his cup on the table, and draws his legs up to his chest. “Kim Sa Jang came in before you were here.” Josie freezes, looks at him with wide eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but Yoongi stops her. “You’re not in trouble. This hotel wouldn’t exist without you.” His voice is teasing, but he means it – and he’s right. Josie smiles into her spoon. “Apparently we’re getting twelve long-term guests today.”

Josie furrows her brows. “Why? We’ve never taken long-term guests before.”

Yoongi shrugs, speaks over his cup. “Dunno. He seemed excited about finally getting the top floor’s suites full. It was weird, though,” he says, frowning into his tea. “He was nervous.”

Josie snorts. “Considering our regular guests, he should be.”

“Well, yeah, but it was different. He was all jittery, and his eyes were crazy.” Yoongi takes a long drink, downing the rest of his green tea. He stands up, takes his bowl and cup, and sets them gingerly in the sink.

Josie hmms, finishing her soup, and brings her dishes to Yoongi – he always washes on Wednesdays. She leans against the counter as he works, readies a drying cloth. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.” Yoongi nods, and they finish cleaning in silence.

x

Linzy is going to kill Youngmin. She didn’t work her way to (co-)Executive Chef to do shit like this.

Her, Seokjin, and a ridiculous amount of kitchen staff are slaving over piles of fresh fruit, cutting and arranging pieces to form dreadful fruit bouquets, instead of, y'know, cooking. She slices through a watermelon particularly violently, squirting pink onto her and Seokjin’s uniforms. He laughs, dabs at it with a paper towel, waving away her apologies.

“It’s fine, Linzy.” He crinkles his eyes at her. “I like this color better, anyway.” She smiles, turns back to the fruit, but can’t bring herself to cut it – not with 14 others to follow it. She was tired of this. “You seem unhappy,” Seokjin is looking at her, expression difficult to read. Suddenly, his face brightens. “You know what would make you feel better?” She widens her eyes at his sudden excitement, holds her hands out instictively. She nods, skeptical. He grins, wide. “A joke!” Her eyebrows come down, fast, and she groans as he begins chuckling, unable to even start the joke without laughing. She puts her head in her hands.

“Let’s get on with it, then.”

“What should you do if a watermelon sues you?”

He says the joke in English, accent improved after time spent with the four girls. She peeks through her fingers, finds him practically bouncing in place, cheeky smile playing on his lips. She groans, picks up the knife in an effort to get something done, and asks him, deadpan: “What do you do?”

He giggles, struggling to get the punchline out. “Subag!” (Note: “Subag” or “수박” is pronounced “Sue back!” It is also Korean for watermelon.) Linzy chuckles a bit despite herself, breaking the stony visage she turns to Seokjin, unable to stay angry when he dissolves into his squeaking laughter.

They get back to work shortly after, arranging the delicious (and wasteful) bouquets for the coming guests. Linzy doesn’t understand the hype for these guests, and grumbles as she positions a few strawberries so that their bruises don’t show. (She also doesn’t understand why they couldn’t just order the arrangements that the men probably won’t even eat.) Seokjin begins humming as he decorates (a slow tune Linzy vaguely recognizes – maybe something by Mate?), seemingly content with his task. Linzy rolls her eyes, but smiles, finding some comfort in his optimism.

They finish their respective bouquets in little time, calling for a waiter to retrieve them. Linzy and Seokjin both smile when Jeongguk comes to retrieve them, flashing bunny teeth as he takes them out to the restaurant’s tables. The two give their leftover fruit to the subordinate kitchen staff, aiming to take a quick lunch before they begin making others’.

They gossip over modest sandwiches, Linzy teasing Seokjin when he flushes at the mention of the hotel’s assistant manager. (“He’s just so cool.” “He wore overalls the other day, Seokjin. He’s not that cool.”) They clean up, and set about donning their uniforms, fussing about each other – mutual mom-friends.

Ten minutes later, Linzy is dicing tomatoes for an early diner’s puttanesca, and Seokjin laughs to himself, so quiet she barely catches it. She looks up, regards him over the counter they’re sharing, eyebrow quirked. He meets her eyes, smile eerily similar to earlier’s. She waits as he debates his word choice, and opens his mouth, tripping over the English words.

“What did the dog say to the wall?”

x

In the lobby, twelve young men file into the lobby, all dressed in heavy coats, sunglasses, and mouth masks. As Madi opens her mouth to greet the (quite obviously wealthy) strangers, an impressively loud groan resounds from the kitchen.

x

Lacey only made it a few hours into the workday without a headache – an uncomfortably common occurrance, if she dwelt on it. She arrives, takes the elevator down to the basement, waves at Josie in her office, and makes her way to the opposite end of the hall. When she enters, only a few of her staff are present, no one loud. No Hobi, she thinks, and immediately feels guilty. He’s not that bad. He’s just… loud. She nods to herself, justifying her judgement. She fusses about putting her things away and setting up her desk, preparing to answer questions from the guests – current and potential.

She’s gets about two hours of productive work in before Hoseok comes in, even more boisterous than usual. He practically bursts into the room, shoots the workers a dazzling smile, and, she swears to God himself, he nearly skips to his seat. On a J-Hope scale from 1 to 10, he was falling dangerously close to 10.

He sits down hard, lets himself bounce with the rolly chair, grin still plastered on his face. He makes to set up his computer, but his phone keeps buzzing, and his thumbs fly across the screen at incomprehensible speeds.

Lacey snorts, calls out to him. “Good morning, Hobi.”

He looks up from his phone, nearly blinds her with his heart-shaped smile, letting out a sing-song “Good morning!”

She quirks her eyebrow at him. “You’re happy today.”

He chuckles, looks back at his phone, speeds his way through a flurry of texts. “I’m always happy.” Lacey rolls her eyes. “Well, yeah. But you’re particularly… extra today. Why?”

Hoseok stops, eyes wide, and looks at her. “Then… you haven’t heard?”

Lacey raises her eyebrows, regards him skeptically. “No?”

At that, Hoseok laughs, sets his phone on his desk. He spins his chair, turns his full attention to Lacey, leaning forward, perching his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers. A strange smile plays on his lips, and Lacey squints, slowly turning to face him fully.

“We are getting new guests.” He starts slow, accompanied by an inordinate amount of eyebrow wiggling. Lacey presses her mouth into a line, amused.

“We get new guests almost every day, Hobi.”

Now he rolls his eyes. “They’re not just any guests, Lace.” The corner of her mouth twitches up at the nickname, but she gestures for him to continue. “We’re getting twelve new long-term guests, and they’re super hot.” He drags the last word out, eyes wide and smile mischievous. The other staff have turned to look at their conversation, a few whispering amongst themselves.

Lacey leans back, interest admittedly piqued. “Is this good for you, or both of us?”

Hoseok blinks at her, feigning innocence. “Why, whatever do you mean?”

“Hobi.”

He snickers. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” He leans back, props his legs on his desk, pretends not to notice Lacey grimace at the action. “They’re dudes. We can fawn together this time.” Lacey meets his eyes, tries to find some sense of jest in them, but he seems genuine. She allows herself to smile, to get a little excited. She leans forward, hungry to learn more, and Hoseok mirrors her, eyes sparkling. They basically huddle, temporarily abandoning their posts at the prospect of new faces.

Kim Youngmin chooses this exact moment to walk in.

x

Lacey and Hoseok survive the scolding, but not without injury – injury to pride, that is. Lacey is nearly seething, head pounding mercilessly, and even her fake-nice voice for guests sounds hostile. Hoseok’s mood is sufficiently dampened, though it doesn’t last long. He perks up again as soon as his phone buzzes with a text – from Taehyung, Lacey would assume.

Later, after a few hours of grueling work, her cell phone buzzes. She looks at the screen, scowling, then furrows her brow at the displayed contact: ‘The Squirmy Oracle 🐍’ Madi? She picks up the phone and answers the call, intrigued.

“Hello?”

“Lace, oh my god.” Madi’s voice is hushed, but excited.

“What? Why are you whispering?”

Madi chuckles. “Kim Sa Jang is like, right here, but I had to warn you.”

Lacey’s eyebrows shoot up. “Warn me?”

Madi’s tone is simultaneously reverent and amused. “They’re here.”

Lacey’s eyes widen, still a bit bewildered. “Oh. Okay…?”

Lacey can almost hear Madi rolling her eyes. “They’re young, they’re attractive, and they’re headed your way. Kim Sa Jang wants to show you off.”

Lacey nearly chokes, sweeps her gaze across the room, taking in a girl asleep under her desk, three in the corner playing… Twister?, and Hoseok, laying backwards across his desk, FaceTiming with Taehyung. If Youngmin brought twelve obviously wealthy tenants into the room like this, she’d lose her job immediately. She spluttered out a stream of ‘thank-you’s and 'I owe you my life’s and 'okay but like, how hot?’ before stopping herself and hanging up.

She gets the room in order in a little less than two minutes, safely putting Twister away in the room’s spare closet (What the others have apparently dubbed the Game Closet. She really needed to pay more attention to what they were doing.) She has everyone’s desks looking neat but used, and is perched on the edge of her seat, posture perfect. (She even almost gets Hoseok to hang up on Taehyung, but he opts to head to the bathroom for Youngmin’s tour, considering his outright refusal of dress code.)

She’s halfway through a guest call when Youngmin enters, asks her to free herself, and she transfers it to a concierge. She sits up straighter, paints on her brightest smile, and braces herself. Youngmin opens the door, and ushers the men in.

Her smile falters, eyes widening in recognition. Oh my god? One of the men steps forward, pulling his mask from where it’s looped about his ears.

He grins, wide and a bit shocked. “Lacey? Is that you?”

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part Two - Chapter Six)

The ride back to work was a blur for Lacey, not paying a bit of attention to the outside world, using all of her concentration to sort out all of her chaotic emotions.

On the one hand, she was still in awe at seeing her idol in person for the first time. This was something she had dreamed about for years, always wondering how her first encounter with him would go. He was even more attractive than she ever imagined. The photographs did no justice for his lean muscles and smoldering eyes. And thinking of his voice sent ridiculous chills down her spine.

But on the other hand, she was hurt and angry. He didn’t take what she was doing seriously at all, turning her biggest job opportunity into a possible-hookup. He had looked at her like a piece of meat to chew on, and nothing more. She felt let down and lied to. The Namjoon in her head was so nice and respectful.

Before she knew it, the limo had pulled up to the curb in front of Lorem Inc., the driver waiting patiently for Lacey to get the hint and get out.

Apologizing for not paying attention, she rushed to leave, grabbing her things and climbing out of the car.

Huffing as she stood on the pavement outside the Seoul office, she looked up to the top of the building. It seemed to touch the sky, the dark “Lorem Inc.” a stark contrast to the powder blue above.

After traveling through the lobby, up the elevator, and into her office, Lacey sat down, finally letting out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Placing a hand up to her head, she leaned onto her elbow resting on the chair.

Closing her eyes, she relaxed. “I should probably try to get a meeting with Mr. Asthen,” she looked up slowly, leaning toward her desk to press the call button on her office phone.

“Yes?” a voice sounded through the phone’s speaker.

“Hey, Amber. It’s Lacey. I’m back early from that interview I was scheduled to do, and I was wondering if you’d be able to squeeze me in a short meeting with Mr. Asthen?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Ending the call, Lacey sat back in her chair again and opened up her desk drawer. Taking out a notepad, she decided to figure out exactly what she was going to say to the CEO by writing it out on paper.

Realizing she didn’t have anything to write with, Lacey opened up her bag by her feet and sifted through the contents, looking for her favorite red pen.

“No way,” she stopped sorting through her stuff. “I left it on that stupid table at BigHit.”

Having received a call back from Amber the receptionist, Lacey was now on the top floor where the CEO resided.

She sat, legs crossed and back straight, outside Mr. Asthen’s office.

“You can head on in now,” Amber put the phone in her hand down. “He says he’s ready for you.”

Standing, Lacey bowed, thanking Amber.

Mr. Asthen’s office resembled a den of sorts, the entire room dark and wooden and gray. The only light coming in was through a large, glass window behind where he sat at his desk.

Bowing deeply before entering, Lacey greeted her boss. “Hello, Mr. Asthen. I apologize for such a sudden request to speak with you.”

“Ah! Miss Cobb. No need for apologies. Come in,” he gestured for her to take a seat on the other side of his dark mahogany desk.

She smiled and took her place in the chair, clasping her hands, waiting for her cue to speak.

“So,” Mr. Asthen made direct eye contact with Lacey, smile stretching wide.

The CEO had paled skin and dark circles under his eyes, which Lacey assumed was from his obsessive dedication to his inherited company. The man had gray flecking though his inky hair, but no one actually knew his age, so it was commonly assumed that he was nearing his fifties. Always cleanly shaven and in a black suit, he was intimidatingly professional, but approachable.

Mr. Asthen continued, “you’re back rather early! You must’ve done such a fantastic job then. Just as I expected of you,” he winked.

“Well,” Lacey paused, swallowing, “that’s what I’m here to talk to you about.”

His smile faltered just the slightest.

“Mr. Kim was… less than cooperative. Or, I guess I should say he was more than responsive to my questions.”

“Then what was the problem?”

“He was beyond inappropriate from the get-go. I couldn’t even get to the questioning portion.”

Mr. Asthen hesitated, absorbing what she said. Then, he nodded his head curtly.

“Did he kick you out?”

“No, I walked out. I was going to be treated like a person. Not a toy.”

“You’re going back then.”

Brows furrowing, her brain raced to grasp what she was just ordered to do.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going back to BigHit Entertaiment to interview Rap Monster. He did not kick you out, if I understood correctly, meaning you left at freewill. So, if anything, you were the one at fault.”

Blood draining from her face, Lacey felt panic bubble in her stomach.

“How was I—“

“Listen. You were given a task, and I expect you to complete that task.”

“I—Mr. Asthen, how do you expect me to interview someone that’s only interested in getting up my skirt?!” Lacey snapped before she could stop herself. Her chest blotched and ears flamed as she pursed her lips in embarrassment. But she dare not break eye contact.

Laughing coldly, he grasped the edge of his desk with both hands. “Miss Cobb,” he grit his teeth, “I do not care what you’ve got to do in order to successfully conduct this interview.” Throwing his hands in the air, the man bitterly continued, “Sleep with him for all I care! Maybe that’ll give you some headlining quality!”

Lacey stared holes through the man sitting opposite her. Chewing the inside of her lip, she shoved her frustration deep down.

Leaning forward, he studied her, narrowing his eyes.

“Because I like you, I’ll give you an offer.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “If you go back and do this interview, I will let you bring those two friends of yours with you. Miss Childers and Miss Clark. I know you’re inseparable. I also know how cramped Miss Childers’ flat is and how Miss Clark hasn’t had heating or air conditioning since she first moved into her place.”

Pausing, he tilted his head.

“Do this interview—using any means necessary—and I will give them both a considerably generous raise.”

Tongue in cheek, Lacey looked down at her hands. They had balled into fists, resting tightly on her lap. She closed her eyes and shook her head at what she was about to say.

Closing her eyes, she couldn’t make eye contact with the man as she quietly mumbled, “When do I go back?”

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THOT7 pt. 6

“Okay, so I guess I’ll like, lift your shirt up. Raise up your arms so I can get it off in one go. I’m going to try my hardest not to get any of it in your hair…” Lacey walked around Linzy, trying to find the right angle to begin peeling off the fabric.

“Please hurry. I’m going to actually puke and my skin is starting to burn,” Linzy shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“Here, let me hold your hair up away from the mess in the front,” Madi took Linzy’s hair in her hands.

It took about ten solid minutes to finally separate the soaked material from her skin, the flesh already covered in a burning rash of inflammation.

“We need to wipe her off. There’s still gotta be bile or something on her,” Lacey‘s eyes swept over the painfully irritated patches on Linzy.

“Linzy,” Madi suddenly got an idea. “Do you still have that water that Lacey got you before we left? And the tissues?”

“Well… the water’s kinda used up, being in Yugyeom’s nose and all. But there might be a little left? As long as I didn’t slosh it all out. I only used a few tissues too so they should still be in the back of the car.”

Walking over to the Suburban, Lacey tried the door, which turned out to be locked.

“Hold on, let me get the keys from Youngjae,” Lacey shook her head, walking around the car.

“My head is killing me,” Youngjae was propped against the front tire on the passenger side of the car. When he passed out, he had toppled over JB, causing him to collapse too. JB had cushioned most of the fall, but Youngjae still managed to smack his head on the asphalt.

JB had carefully rolled Youngjae off of his body, leaving him lying down until he woke up so he could talk to Lacey about buying Linzy new clothes as a result of the vomit-centered situation.

After waking up, Youngjae was too disoriented to move, so JB dragged him over to the car and propped him against the tire so he could try to get the dizziness to go away.

���I don’t care what you have to say, Mark. I’m the more successful of us—actor prodigy and all—so I am going to be the one who takes Linzy shopping,” Jinyoung spat. He was about to snap, Mark always trying to get in his way of Linzy. He was the one that had locked his feelings in his heart away from her so he wouldn’t affect their friendship, so Linzy obviously meant more to him. Now that he was finally beginning to gain some courage to confess to her, Mark was completely throwing his plan off course by becoming involved.

“You may know how to act, but at least I’m real with how I feel about her,” Mark retorted, anger building up in his chest. Just because Jinyoung hid his feelings like a coward didn’t mean Mark had to. Mark had always found Linzy attractive, but tonight he really began to feel a connection with her. She was just so small and perfect to him. So perfect, he wasn’t going to let his hyung steal an opportunity for a wonderful relationship.

“You have no idea how real I am. I’m confessing to her tonight. How’s that for ‘real’?” Jinyoung cocked a brow, crossing his arms.

“Oh, really? Cause I was going to do the same,” Mark smirked.

Jaw dropping, Jinyoung was filled with a cold hatred that frightened him. He was chilled to the bone, having to walk away with his eyes watering.

“Oh, hey Lacey,” Youngjae smiled weakly from the ground. He was still holding his head as he sat.

“Hey, Jae. How’re you feeling? Fainting take a toll on you?” Lacey crouched down.

“I actually think I smacked my head on the ground when I fell,” Youngjae winced.

“I’m sorry,” Lacey frowned in sympathy. “As soon as we get Linzy’s situation figured out, I’ll go find you an ice pack.”

“Ah, thanks so much, Lacey,” Youngjae smiled affectionately.

“I actually need the keys for the car in order to help Linzy. She left some water and tissues in the back, and we need them to help wipe her off. Could you give me the keys?”

“Of course,” Youngjae reached into his pocket and drew them out, handing them over to Lacey.

“Thanks so much, Jae,” Lacey smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Standing up, she walked over to JB to let him know that it wouldn’t be much longer before they could leave.

“Hey, JB,“ she approached him, holding keys in her hand.

"Hmm?” He turned around from watching the traffic rush by.

“Linzy—“

"Linzy?” Yugyeom asked from his place on the ground with Jackson against the car.

 "I’m gonna go check how she’s doing,“ the tall boy hopped up, covering his bare torso with his arms to warm himself up a bit. It wasn’t cold out, but without a shirt, he was bound to catch a chill.

"NO DONT WALK AR—“

“I hope Yugyeom doesn’t think I’m mad at him,” Linzy shook her head. “I was trying to talk to him right after he threw up, but I couldn’t get out what I wanted to say because I was gagging.”

“Even if he does think you’re mad at him, you’ll be able to clear it up as soon as we get you changed,” Madi reassured her.

“Linzy, I just wanted to say how sorry I am. I never meant f—“

Yugyeom had walked around the car, thinking that Linzy must’ve changed by now, especially with Lacey coming back to talk with them like she said she would when the cost was clear. Looking at the ground in shame when he first began apologizing, he didn’t realize that Linzy was only covered by her bra until he looked up a little too late.

Face crimson, Yugyeom began to sweat as his eyes threated to pop right out of his head.

“AH!” Linzy screamed and contorted frantically, trying to cover her body the best she could.

Madi, stunned at seeing Yugyeom, didn’t know what to do until Linzy screamed, “CAN YOU HELP ME?!” Snapping out of her daze, she stepped in front of Linzy, holding out either arm to help shield her.

“YUGYEOM!” Lacey ran around the car and snatched him by the back of his neck.

Too stunned to say a thing, Yugyeom let Lacey do whatever she wanted with him.

Lacey drug him away from the embarrassing scene, back over to the other side of the car.

“I never said that Linzy was dressed!” Lacey all but screamed.

Still in shock, Yugyeom looked at Lacey, eyes like saucers, mouth hung wide.

“Jackson, can you take Yugyeom? I need to get back to helping Linzy like I was trying to do a minute ago!”

“What happened?” Jackson stood up off the ground where he had still been seated.

“Yugyeom saw Linzy basically naked, to put it in a nutshe—“

“Yugyeom did what?!” Mark marched over to the trio.

“It was a complete accident so don’t even think about giving him any crap for it,” Lacey scolded.

“Why don’t you have a shirt on?!” Jinyoung was still seething from his bickering with Mark, but was slowly beginning to cool down.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Lacey was beyond annoyed. “If you two would stop fighting like three year olds, you’d have a freaking clue as to what’s been going on for the past twenty minutes!”

Stomping away, Lacey left Yugyeom with Jackson, Mark and Jinyoung trying to figure out what was going on, and Youngjae with JB, both snickering at how angry Lacey had become.

After getting the keys and walking around to the other side of the Suburban, Lacey unlocked the car and climbed in, finding enough water to wipe Linzy off, along with three tissues.

Lacey and Madi wiped her skin off, cleaning off the burning residue to try and give Linzy a little relief. Linzy slipped Yugyeom’s shirt on after she was clean, the clothing so large it went halfway down her calves.

The three girls walked back around to the rest of the group.

Awkward was a complete understatement.

The group’s dynamic completely changed after Linzy was cleaned up.

Yugyeom couldn’t say a word to Linzy. He couldn’t express how sorry he was for being so involuntarily disgusting—like he tried to earlier—or how seeing her in his shirt made his heart flutter.

Mark and Jinyoung had silently agreed to a temporary truce so they could help each other figure out what exactly happened while they were preoccupied.

Youngjae and JB were stuck together more than usual—mainly because JB was afraid Youngjae had a concussion.

Lacey asked Madi if it were okay if she left for a moment to thank Jackson for taking Yugyeom when she couldn’t deal with him, and Madi replied with an “of course, dude.”

Walking over to Jackson—whom was standing oddly alone—she made sure to step over the vomit still on the asphalt.

“Hey,” Lacey spoke softly to Jackson who was inspecting a concrete pole in the complex, hands in pockets.

Turning his head to look at Lacey, he smiled, then returned to observing the street lamp

“I wanted to say thanks for handling Yugyeom when I asked you to.”

He nodded, never looking at Lacey.

“Are you okay?” she asked behind him, worried.

“Why do you ask?” Jackson replied, sounding clueless.

Stepping around him so she was in his line of sight, she crossed her arms.

When he did nothing, she leaned her head against the pole so he’d have to look at her.

Cocking an eyebrow, she waited for acknowledgement.

Slowly looking away from the pole and into her eyes, he softened.

“I saw you kiss Youngjae on the cheek,” Jackson turned to her, smiling weakly.

Lacey scoffed, “Are you jealous?”

“No! No, I’m really, seriously not. I promise,” Jackson stepped toward Lacey.

“Then what is it?” Lacey blinked.

“I was hoping you’d kiss me on the cheek too,” Jackson pulled puppy eyes.

Laughing, Lacey could not believe how ridiculous Jackson was being.

Giggling, she stepped closer and whispered, “I’ll give you something better.”

Rising on the balls of her feet just the slightest, Lacey placed her hand on the back of his neck, the other softly resting on his cheek. Leaning into his lips, she waited for just a moment, allowing her breath to tingle against his skin. Then she kissed him softly.

Eyes closed, she pulled away smiling. Walking away, she never waited for Jackson’s reaction.

She didn’t need to. The girly squeal she heard while walking away was enough to know she had made the right move.

“These people are absolutely no fun,” Bambam lay down on the asphalt, checking his nails as Lacey and Madi escorted Linzy behind the Suburban to help her change.

“Oh, baby,” Bambam murmured as he got an eyeful of a half-nude Yugyeom.

“He’s too innocent for me though…” Bambam rolled onto his stomach and laid his head down on his arms.

“You know what?” Bambam spoke to himself again. “I’m gonna go have some of my own fun. Then,” he grinned wickedly, “maybe they’ll want to play.”

His eyes caught a sign of a popular attraction in the city from across the street.

Army-crawling away from everyone, Bambam quietly made his way to the ramp of the parking complex that conjoined the various levels of the lot, disappearing into the lower sectors of the night.

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The Deadliest (Part One - Chapter Five)

Watching the city of Seoul pass by in a blur, Lacey quietly rode in the back of the sleek black limo, observing the atmosphere outside the window. The CEO personally provided Lacey with the transportation, stating that she “must look as high-end as possible in the eyes of this idol in order to get a good interview out of Rap Monster.”

Lacey felt ridiculous riding around in the luxury vehicle being no more than a journalist.

She had declined the coffee offered to her by the driver, feeling too jittery to even think about consuming any caffeine. Instead, she opted for texting her friends, who were currently lounging in her apartment.

                                             Monday 8:10 a.m.

Lacey 8:10 a.m.     I’m on my way to the interview now… feel like I’m about to                                   hurl.

Linzy 8:11 a.m.       AH! Don’t do that! You’ll do great dude! I promise! Madi                                     and I support you 100% no matter if this goes good or                                       bad, so don’t worry about a thing

Madi 8:11 a.m.        ye man!!! dont worry one bit youre gonna do so great                                         youre gonna be so happy cause this is totally your                                             journaling break!!!

Linzy 8:12 a.m.       TOTALLY MAN! also… I just wanna point out that Madi                                        and I made you look 10/10 so dat boi gon be askin fo yo                                    digits just sayin

Lacey 8:15 a.m.      Awe guys, you’re the best :) but Linzy omg no that isn’t                                       gonna happen so don’t even put the idea of that in my                                       head. I’m already dying as is. Don’t need more stress DX

Madi 8:16 a.m.        lmao why would you be stressed about a hot idol askin for                                 yo num??

Lacey 8:17 a.m.       Idk man! I’m just freakin out. Ughhhhh

Lacey 8:17 a.m.       Guys… I just got to BigHit… wish me luck. Tell my cat I                                       love him. I’ll probs die

Madi 8:19 a.m.        youre so dramatic omg XD but good luck bruh. you’ll do                                     great. call us as soon as you get done!

Linzy 8:20 a.m.        Yea! You’re gonna do fine!!! But I’ll tell fat bob that you                                        love him dearly hahaha

 Swallowing hard, Lacey’s mouth was dry and her feet were beginning to sweat in her shoes. Her legs felt weak, and she scrambled to get her phone into her bag again. Running her fingers through her hair, she fluffed it and closed her eyes, breathing in.

‘You can do this. You were specifically assigned out of every other journalist at Lorem to do this job. That’s all this is. It’s just a job. Just be your quirky self and forget that it’s Namjoon. Forget it’s Namjoon. Just forget. Forget.’

Climbing out of the back of the vehicle, Lacey was thankful for the lack of wind. One leg sturdy on concrete, hauling huge tote with interview-things, she slipped the other out behind her, shutting the door carefully after she was completely out. She was met by a squat little man, smiling warmly at the entrance to BigHit Entertainment HQ.

“Hello, Miss Cobb! You’re right on time!” The man waved for her to come closer.

“I try to be as punctual as possible,” she laughed, giggly with nerves.

Leading her into the building, the man went on to introduce himself as whom she spoke with on the phone—BTS’ manager, Jigaemae. Nodding to the man as he gave a mini-tour on the way to their destination, Lacey really couldn’t pay much attention.

“Right in here,” Jigaemae opened a door on the second floor.

The room was painted white, two chairs in the center of the carpeted room for the interview. A small table was placed beside one chair for Lacey to write on, the room set up completely for her convenience.

Walking to the seat on the other side of the room, Lacey turned around to the manager and bowed deeply, thanking him very much for showing her the way.

“It’s no problem at all,” he smiled. “I’ll bring Namjoon down now that you’re here.”

Shutting the frosted-glass door, Lacey watched his blurred silhouette walk away.

Breathing deeply, she opened her black tote and took out a trapper keeper with notepad and questions ready. Digging for a pen, she found her favorite—red—and clicked it.

A minute passed turning to two, only adding to Lacey’s anxieties. She began to read over her questions again to ready herself, putting the tip of the pen in between her teeth as she concentrated.

The ‘click’ of the door opening broke her gaze from the cards.

Tall and blonde, Kim Namjoon slid around the door, turning around to quietly close it.

Drinking him in, Lacey looked the man up and down, and back up again as he faced her and made his way toward his chair in the center of the room.

Pen still in mouth, Lacey’s eyes never left his face, memorizing every feature that she possibly could. Only did she snap out of her daze when he stopped two feet in front of her.

“Oh, hi!” Lacey slid the pen out of her mouth and placed it on the table beside her. Standing up, she pulled down the back of her skirt and smiled.

“I apologize, I zoned out for a moment. Was just going through questions,” Lacey extended her hand and smiled widely, internally punching herself in the face for mentioning her nervous habit of over-preparedness.

Absorbing her appearance, the idol smugly shook Lacey’s hand and chuckled.

Taking a seat, she gestured for him to join her.

The two held eye contact for a moment too long, causing Lacey to bite her lip and blush, looking down at her notepad again.

Clearing her throat, she crossed her legs and looked up at him.

“Before we start the interview, I thought we could talk and become a bit more comfortable with each other so the questions come a little easier for you. Is that alright?” Lacey cocked her head as she tried to hide a smile.

“I think,” Namjoon spoke, his voice layered with a rasp, “I would be more than happy to become a little more comfortable with you before this interview,” he smirked leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees, hands clasped together.

Swallowing, Lacey’s smile faltered a bit, her mind racing to comprehend the double entendre.

“Quit overthinking. He’s just being nice.”

“Uhm, r-right,” she stuttered, only causing Namjoon to smirk more. “Well, what can I call you in the interview?”

“You can call me anything you want, babygirl,” he replied with a wink.

Sitting up straight, Lacey uncrossed and crossed her legs again, hot under Namjoon’s gaze.

“W-well, how does ‘Namjoon’ work? Is that too informal?” she tried playing it smooth, mind the few stutters here and there.

Sitting back in his chair, he crossed his arms and made himself comfortable, resting his foot on his other leg and licking his bottom lip. “Babe, be as informal as you want with me. Please.”

Lacey’s jaw clenched as she fought back a wave of anger. “Okay, I understand that you get interviewed quite a lot. I really do. But I’d really appreciate it if you’d take me seriously.”

“Baby, I’m taking you more seriously than you know…” his gaze traveled from her eyes to her mouth, to her chest to her legs.

“Mr. Kim, you are being extremely inappropriate right n—“

“You’re the one breathing like you just ran a mile,” Namjoon leaned forward. “Your pupils are blown, you keep crossing and uncrossing your legs, which mind you, we both know what that means. If anyone here is being inappropriate, I believe it’s you, Miss Cobb.”

Standing up, Lacey snatched her things and stomped over to the door.

“Just because I’m a woman does not mean I will sit here and take that crap. You don’t know a thing about me, so don’t pretend that you do. Thank you for your time, and I’ll see myself out.” She opened the door and slammed it behind her, already making her way down the stairs to the main level before Namjoon had an opportunity to respond.

Biting his lip, Namjoon chuckled at the journalist’s reaction. Eyes catching red on the table, he saw that she had left her pen.

Picking it up, he examined it further and spotted a deep shade of wine smudged on the end. Remembering Lacey sticking the pen between her lips when he first walked in, he smiled. Slowly, he sat back in his chair again and stuck the pen between his own.

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The Deadliest (Part One - Chapter Four)

Red heels clicking on the stone flooring of the lobby, Lacey passed the front desk and continued into the elevator, turning around just as the doors were closing.

She leaned against the railing, tote hanging around her wrist, hands tightly gripping the metal, turning her knuckles white.

Hair curtaining her face, Lacey’s loose ringlets fell in pieces in front of her eyes as she looked down at her feet. She checked out her polished shoes and smiled, thinking of the night before

“You can stop pushing me, oh my gosh,” Lacey chuckled as the smaller girl moved her to the center of the bedroom.

“Stand over there and turn in a circle…” Linzy stepped away and crossed her arms, squinting her eyes in concentration. Humming, Linzy walked over to Lacey’s closet and began rummaging.

“Lacey, your phone’s ringing!” Madi called from the living room.

Scurrying out of her room, Lacey ran straight, coming into her kitchen. The Caller ID was an unknown number, but she figured it was someone from the office.

“Hello?”

“Is this Lacey Cobb from Lorem Inc.?”

“This is she! May I ask who is calling?”

“This is the manager of BTS.”

Lacey almost dropped her phone as she leaned back against the granite-top island.

About ten minutes later, Linzy had laid out several options for Lacey to choose from.

Lost in thought, Lacey sat down on her bed, returning from the kitchen after ending the call.

“Hello?” Linzy waved a hand in front of Lacey’s face. “You there? You haven’t even looked at what I have picked out.”

“What? Oh, sorry… that was uhm, the manager of Bangtan on the phone.”

“SERIOUSLY?” Madi ran around the couch and into Lacey’s room, grabbing ahold of the doorframe to stop herself from sliding on the wooden flooring.

“Y-yeah…”

Linzy sat down by Lacey and put her hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

“And what exactly did he say? You look out of it dude.”

“I’m just…nervous,” Lacey shook her head. “I’m sorry. Let’s see what you’ve got picked out,” Lacey smiled and stood up to look at the outfits assorted on her bed.

“I shouldn’t have picked the white one,” Lacey huffed.

White, silk, and long-sleeved, Lacey’s top was guaranteed to get a stain on it. Her outfit just added to her nerves, but she was grateful that she looked presentable. This was of course due to her friends’ help. They had gotten a little too tipsy on that wine Lacey had bought when she was last grocery shopping, so the girls stayed the night, agreeing to help her get ready in the morning (hangover or not).

Sucking in a deep breath, oxygen tickled in her chest as she glanced up at the rising numbers. Hearing the ‘ding’ of the elevator as it arrived on the seventh level, Lacey stood up straight, adjusting her too-tight skirt. The elevator doors opened, and Lacey walked out and onto the journalism branch’s floor.

[readmoreof-me-blog]

The Deadliest (Part One - Chapter Three)

“And he put the wrong freaking particle after the subject placement! AND HE WANTED TO ARGUE WITH ME ABOUT IT!” Madi snorted, lying back on Lacey’s beige couch, fits of giggles escaping her.

“That’s unbelievable!” Linzy threw her head back laughing too. “Some intern-noob wanted to fight the HEAD HANCHO OF LINGUAL TRANSLATION AND DYNAMICS. AND ON TOP OF THAT HE WAS WRONG?! WHAT A BIG DUMB.”

The two girls laughed and gossiped in Lacey’s homey living room, box of pizza opened on the rustic coffee table and wine glasses filled halfway with the grocery store’s cheapest bottle in their hands. TV playing South Korea’s latest news in the background, it was a laid back Sunday night.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Madi calmed down a bit, clearing her throat. “Whew, I haven’t laughed that hard since…”

“Last weekend!” Linzy choked out.

“Honestly, yeah,” Madi giggled. “We’re over in Lacey’s apartment more than our own. Why the heck is she still changing anyway? She was supposed to have already shown us like, three outfits to choose from by now.”

“LACEY,” Linzy shouted, sitting up and slamming her wine glass onto the table, sloshing a little onto the floor. “Good thing she’s got hardwood lmao.”

“Guys,” Lacey’s muffled voice came from her bedroom behind the couch. “I don’t think I can wear any of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just come out and let us see.”

Lacey shuffled into the living room, nude wedges paired with black slacks and navy blouse.

“What do you mean you can’t wear this?!”

“Lacey, you look amazing!”

“Why did you take so long?”

“You’re gonna kill that interview!”

Lacey’s skeptic gaze shifted to the TV.

“Ever-rising to the top, popular boy group Bangtan Sonyeondan is stirring up trouble yet again! New concept rumors are circling the public with talk of another comeback releasing within the next upcoming months. The group’s leader ‘Rap Monster’ was contacted with questions regarding the comeback, but he would not disclose…”

A snapshot of Kim Namjoon floated onto the screen, catching Lacey’s attention and making her knees wobble.

“I can’t do this,” Lacey thought out loud, grabbing the wall beside her for support.

“You can’t do what?” both girls turned to the TV.

“Oh…” Madi whispered.

“Okay,” Linzy got up off the coach. “I’m going into mom-mode right here, right now. Get your butt back in your room right now. We’re going to get you an outfit picked out so you’re confident. You’re going to do this interview tomorrow, no matter what you say.”

Linzy pushed Lacey back into her bedroom. “Get in there!”

“Okay! Okay, geez.”

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The Deadliest (Part One - Chapter Two)

Founded in 2008, the ever-growing online publications network “Lorem” has spread world-wide, gaining attention from countries around the world. Internationally friendly—hence the name—Lorem came to fame with culturally relevant stories, each translated in over a dozen languages. Users found this new and innovative, allowing them to easily access articles written from offices located all around the globe, conveniently in their own language.

Lorem was created to publish and communicate only the completely honest and truthful stories, using facts and other reliable sources to back their articles up. Everything was meant to be manually coded and created for the page, allowing Lorem to run sufficiently and entirely on its own.

Because of the ‘homemade’ ideals that the site was founded on, the company consists of many branches, comprised of many teams, meaning many jobs and positions.

A journaling team was established to interview interesting people and travel to intriguing places so the world can read the rawest stories. A translating branch consists of numerous teams of translators, each group in charge of their own language. An editing branch is responsible for finely-combing through submitted works, checking for accuracy and the best quality possible. A photographing branch is responsible for their fantastic imagery, creating entirely original graphics and visuals to aid the articles. Finally, a coding branch was established to upload and customize the site, making it easy on the eyes and entirely user-friendly.

The founders of Lorem thought they had created the perfect online news source. There wasn’t a single flaw they could find in their plan.

And there wasn’t, until the company was handed over to the current CEO.

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The Deadliest (Part One - Chapter One)

                                             Friday 10:23 a.m.

Linzy 10:23 a.m.         hey guys. You wanna grab lunch? im having a                                                   Sherbet day.

Madi 10:50 a.m.          sorry for taking a long time to reply!!!!! I’ve been v busy                                     with my report today. it’s due tnite instead of monday!

Linzy 10:51 a.m.         that’s okay bro! where is lacey tho

Lacey 10:53 a.m.        IM RIGHT HERE SORRY JUST GOT OUT OF A                                                 SURPRISE CONFERENCE.

Lacey 10:53 a.m.         I would love to go to lunch today with you guys! I                                                have some news that I’ve gotta share.

Madi 10:56 a.m.           like wat??? :o

Lacey 11:00 a.m.         You’ll see. Let’s meet downstairs in 5

Black flats leaping down the building’s stairs, Lacey rushed to meet her friends in the company’s lobby on time. Puffing, she kept pulling her satchel’s strap up over and over again, her speed knocking it off repeatedly as she raced to not disappoint. Reaching the final step, she whipped around the railing and passed through the door separating her from the main lobby.

Stepping into the open space, Lacey shielded her eyes from the intense sunlight coming in through the revolving doors and all-glass panes at the entry way to her left. She scanned the large, open area, finding Linzy and Madi sitting across from each other on gray wingback chairs.

“I’m here!” she pushed off her foot to run through the expansion of the room.

Both seated girls turned to see Lacey sprinting toward them, looking completely disheveled and out of breath.

“I’m here, oh my God, I’m here,” Lacey hunched over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

“Whoa man, you okay?” Madi laughed, eyebrow raised.

“I-I’m fine. Just tried not to be late,” she stood up, tilting her head to look at the high ceiling.

“Guys, not to interrupt or anything,” Linzy chimed in, “but my blood sugar is bottoming out like, as we speak. I gotta eat soon.”

“Right, right. C’mon, let’s go,” Lacey nodded as Madi and Linzy stood up from their seats, “What’re you guys in the mood to eat?”

“There’s this outdoor café a few blocks away that we could go to since it’s pretty out today,” Linzy suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Madi began walking toward the entryway.

Following her, Lacey sighed, “I don’t care where we go. I just need to talk to you guys asap…”

“NO WAY,” Linzy slammed both fists on the black patio table outside the restaurant.

Madi’s broccoli fell out of her mouth and back onto her plate, fork clattering on the concrete ground.

“I promise. I walked in today and went to my office like usual. Then I was paged to have a meeting with the CEO! I had no idea what was going on,” Lacey couldn’t help but feel jittery retelling the events of the morning.

“So, let me get this straight,” Madi wiped her hands off on a napkin. “The head of the company asked you to intervie—“

“Shhh!” Lacey’s eyes went huge as she put her finger up to her mouth. “Im sorry,” Lacey whispered, moving closer to the other girl, “I just don’t know if he wants anyone else to know yet. So like, whisper so no one hears.”

“Okay. Sorry. Like I was saying,” Madi lowered her voice, “you were asked to interview Kim Namjoon?”

“Yes! The boss read my work with other interviews and he thought they were great! He also liked that I could speak both of Namjoon’s dominant languages, so he figured I’d be perfect for this!”

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” Linzy breathed, exasperated. “I mean, in high school we always dreamed about meeting them, right? But I guess I kinda lost sight of that once we graduated.”

“No, I totally get it. It’s such an honor being asked to do this, but I’m kind of overwhelmed right now… all of my high school feelings are like, resurfacing at the same time,“ Lacey blinked, still in shock.

“So, when is this interview?” Madi popped the question.

“First thing Monday morning.”

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THOT7 pt. 5

Scrambling out of the car, everyone tumbled out, feeling a little disoriented stepping onto solid ground after their flight over Seoul only minutes ago.

“Is everyone alright?” JB leaned against the car as everyone tumbled out.

“Just a little dizzy, but I’m sure it’ll pass,” Madi held the sides of her head.

“I’m just gonna…” Linzy slowly fell to the ground and lay down.

Seeing Linzy on the ground, Yugyeom teetered over to her, worried that she may be sick.

Bending over her, Yugyeom asked, “Linzy, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I—“

Linzy rolled over to Yugyeom. What she was met with was projectile vomit all over her.

“OH MY GOD!” Jinyoung screamed.

“OH MY GAWD THIS IS SO GROSS!” Linzy flung vomit off her hands.

“I’m so sorry Linzy. I just got really sick all of a sudden! Like, I wasn’t even feeling dizzy!” Yugyeom wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Yug,” Jackson grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away from the scene. “Just hang back for a second.”

All of the rest of GOT7 crowded around Linzy to see what exactly happened.

“JB, we gotta…” Lacey was speaking lowly with the group’s leader.

Nodding, JB replied softly, “But you guys aren’t paying. GOT7 will take care of everything you buy her because it’s Yugyeom’s fault. Well, Youngjae’s really, but either way they’re both a part of the group.”

“Are you sure? Okay then…” Lacey made her way toward Linzy, but tripped over her own feet, landing on her knees and scraping both hands bloody.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?!” Jackson bent over to inspect Lacey, but fell on top of her in the process.

Mark fell trying to help Jackson, Yugyeom threw up again, his body wrenching so hard his knees buckled. Jinyoung stumbled and landed on his side while trying to make his way to comfort Yugyeom, and Youngjae fainted from the stench of vomit, knocking JB over in the process.

“Hey, I don’t wanna be left out!” Bambam whined, throwing his body onto the ground to join the others.

GOT7 and the three girls lay on the ground, completely overtaken with vertigo.

“Jackson,” Lacey moaned, breathless.

Eyes popping open, Jackson raised up a little to look at Lacey’s face. Swallowing, he rasped, “Yeah?” He wasn’t expecting Lacey to feel that way about him—not yet—but this was great news as far as he was concerned.

“Y-you’re crushing me. I can’t b-breathe,” she gasped for air.

“OH SORRY,” Jackson rolled off of Lacey onto the asphalt beside her.

“Guys, this vomit wreaks. I might get sick too if we don’t figure something out!” Linzy peeled her bile-soaked shirt off her body, only to have the soaked clothing slurp back onto her body, molding to her skin.

“Let me help you up,” Jinyoung reached for Linzy, but Mark beat him to her.

Taking Mark’s hand, Linzy’s brows furrowed. “Didn’t Jinyoung just say he was going to help me?”

“No that was me,” Mark said with a completely straight face.

Jinyoung tried to interject, “WHAT?! NO I—“

“Jinyoung why would you try to lie omg are you feeling sick let’s sit down I’ll make you if you don’t listen,” Mark got in Jinyoung’s face and pushed him closer to the street, away from Linzy.

“What the heckie,” Linzy shook her head.

Everyone else slowly got to their feet, vertigo beginning to fade away. Youngjae blinked, eyelids fluttering as he began to wake up.

“Alright, like I was trying to say,” Lacey pushed up off her knee to stand, “We’re going to hit up the nearest store and buy you something to wear so you don’t have to smell like Yugyeom’s insides all night.”

Yugyeom’s face went pale and his eyes began to shine. “Linzy,” he took a step forward. “I’m really, really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Linzy got out quickly before she began to gag.

“Guys, we need to get Linzy out of these clothes now,” Madi began to panic, “Unless you want someone else to spew chunks or something like Yugyeom.”

“Let me pay for your new clothes. C’mon, I’ll take you to that store across the street. We’ll have such a good time together!” Jinyoung took Linzy by the hand.

“Excuse you, she is not going to that store,” Mark stepped in between the two. “If anything, she is going to my favorite store two blocks away from here,” Mark snapped.

The two boys began bickering over Linzy, said girl looking back and forth between the two, quite confused.

Shaggy hair brushing his forehead back and forth, Yugyeom shook his head and began to slip his large, multi-colored shirt off his body. Taking off the shirt, he stood, upper-body bare, and handed the shirt to Madi. “It’s my fault she’s got puke on her. She can wear my shirt.”

Too caught up in bickering with each other, Jinyoung and Mark didn’t notice any of this.

Shirtless, Yugyeom walked to the Suburban and leaned against it, foot on the door to support his weight.

“No, Yugyeom. I can’t. You’re not gonna walk around without a—“ Linzy dry heaved.

“Okay, c’mon. Let’s go on the other side of the Burb. Everyone, stay on this side and make sure not to look no matter what. Madi and I are going to go help Linzy change over here,” Lacey placed her hand on Linzy’s back and guided her to the other side of the vehicle.

 Burying his face in his hands, Yugyeom slid down the passenger door of the car and sat down.

“Hey,” Jackson sat down beside Yugyeom. “You good?”

“No,” Yugyeom spoke, voice muffled through his hands. “I’m really not.”

“You still feeling sick?”

“Yeah, but not because of Youngjae’s driving. I just threw up all over Linzy. That’s so gross, she’ll never speak to me again…”

Shifting to get more comfortable, Jackson let out a sigh, trying to find the words to comfort his dongsaeng in this situation.

“Yugyeom, calm down. She was trying to talk to you before she, uhm, gagged…” Jackson winced as Yugyeom shook his head again.

“But I’m sure everything is completely fine!” Jackson quickly continued. “She is your best friend,” he put a hand on Yugyeom’s knee to shake his leg reassuringly.

Arms going limp, Yugyeom rested his head on the suburban, stretching his neck to make contact with the door. Laughing coldly, he looked to the sky. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

“I just don’t get what?” Jackson slid his hand off Yugyeom’s knee.

Turning his head to look at Jackson, Yugyeom clenched and unclenched his jaw, trying to find the words to explain.

Looking down again, he nodded toward Mark and Jinyoung—still bickering—about five feet away.

“My hyungs want to be happy—and I want that too, believe me. But she’s been mine much longer than she’s known them. Even if I’ve been a best friend.”

Jackson’s eyes slowly grew rounded as he understood.