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dollyyun · 6 hours

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𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬' 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐲 | 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟔.𝟏

SYNOPSIS: The mystery behind whoever orchestrated the incident has yet to unravel, and the very same incident is the start of the palpable rift in your relationship with the four leaders. Things get gradually worse, and problems after problems keep piling up, especially having discovered a shocking revelation that causes you to develop mistrust towards them, but at the same time, you are caught in a dilemma where your mind and heart are in dissonance. In spite of it all, your heart still desires for them — the one whom you have given your heart and soul to.

PAIRING: non!idols enha hyung line x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ (mdni), semi-college au, adulthood, reverse harem, dark themes.

WARNINGS: mentions of christianity, profanities, explicit themes, dramas, angst, sexual assault, coercion, violence, blood, mention of death, manipulation, corruption, toxicity, lots of crying, dubcon theme, unprotected sex (no!), name calling, degradation, manhandling, mild bondage, blowjob, fingering, pussy slapping, edging, crying, squirting, creampies, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, threesome (kinda)

WORD COUNT: 24.7k

FEATURING: enha maknae line, txt, stray kids, le sserafim, ive, aespa.

DISCLAIMER: this fic is inspired by devil's night series written by penelope douglas! also, i am not a Christian, and i didn't bother to do thorough research on the religion, so pardon any false facts or errors.

PLAYLIST: Disturbia - Rihanna, Animals - Maroon 5, RUNRUNRUN - Dutch Melrose, Gods & Monsters - Lana Del Rey, Poker Face - Lady Gaga, The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez, Church - Chase Atlantic, Right Here - Chase Atlantic, Circles - Post Malone, Kiss It Better - Rihanna.

RUBY'S NOTE: the (poor) smut here is not much and not as intense as the next part so hold your horny horses until then <3

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3.1, PART 3.2, PART 4, PART 6(TEASER), PART 7 ✘ SERIES MASTERLIST ✘

An excruciating pain plummeting into your head precipitously pulls you out of the dreamless slumber, drawing out a wince from your lips, while the gradual return of your consciousness enables you to feel an indescribable affliction that aches tremendously in every part of your body.

You force your heavy eyelids to pry open, and once you do, your vision slowly adjusts to the red neon luminosity that provides such dim settings of your surroundings before you finally gain clear-sightedness, in which the view beholds stagger you. Though you remain immobilised with your cheek pressed onto the floor, you are acutely aware that there are dozens of mirrors ahead of you.

Soon, the confusion fuzzing your head is eclipsed by fear, impelling you to hasten away, but even the simple task of lifting a limb exhausts you as your body feels like it weighs a ton. You can feel your immobilised body shivering from the sheer coldness despite being adorned in a wool cardigan, denoting the protracted duration of your unconscious arrival at this unknown place.

As you remain motionless on the numbing hard ground, questions begin to surface in your muddling mind ─ who was responsible for knocking you out cold ruthlessly and why have they brought you to this place? Most importantly, what did you do wrong to deserve this?

For a moment, you nearly fall tempted to concede defeat and succumb to the inviting darkness that threatens to consume you once more, but when you immediately spot your phone just a reach from your outstretched arm, determination sparks in your eyes before you decide to rally every strength and courage from your inner core. The next thing you know, you force your upper body to rise from the ground despite the incessant aches.

You quickly retrieve your phone while silently thanking whoever is your kidnapper for being foolish enough to leave your phone with you, be it intentionally or not. Your eyes are fixed intently on the phone screen while your trembling fingers are trying their utmost to remain cooperative with the firm resolution to call the first person that comes to mind.

“Come on.” You mutter to yourself as you press on Yunjin’s contact, desperation lacing in your tone before the sheer disbelief comes forth as you are unable to reach out to her because of the deficient network, possibly due to the location you are at.

You try again as you raise your phone a little higher in hopes of gaining a better signal, and this time, you attempt to reach out to Wonyoung, Karina, and even the four men who no doubt will come to your rescue. A glimmer of hope tingles in your chest at the moment you are able to reach Jake as the signal stabilises, just nearly, but disruption returns before he could even answer your call.

You refrain from erupting into waterworks as you tuck your phone inside your pocket. Refusing to remain a damsel in distress any longer, the firm resolution morphs into one that has you miraculously regaining vitality as you find yourself rising from the ground, now standing on your feet. You curl your slightly trembling fingers into a fist, grasping the courage that fuels your determination to save yourself from whatever possible imminent loom before it gets you.

Swallowing enough spit to moisturise your parched throat, you begin the first step to your escapade venture with the intention to find any doors that lead to the exit, but as your eyes wander to the mirrors that no doubt provide illusions and tricks, your determination falters as you find yourself questioning your perception and sense of reality altogether, especially as you reach out to touch the cold surface of the mirror before you can even carelessly bump into it.

You retract your hand, your eyes darting to your surroundings, which only daunt you further due to the unknown labyrinth filled with infinite reflections and endless hallways. Your chin wobbles and your breaths go slightly uneven as you grapple with maintaining equanimity while the panic expands in your chest painfully. How are you even going to find your way out of here?

Still, you advance forward with your arms latching around your figure to provide a semblance of security in an attempt to alleviate your inner turmoil, while the hauntingly cold atmosphere only feels progressively oppressive, as though there is more than just one predator awaiting the right moment to pounce on you.

A wince leaves your lips just as you bump into a mirror, your fingers ascending to rub your throbbing forehead that only seems to worsen your persisting headache while your palm presses on the mirror to support your body just when you nearly stagger back. Forcing yourself to focus and return to the right track, you release a sigh before lifting your head, but just as you do, you are being greeted with a manly silhouette from a few distances ahead of you.

Whoever they are seems to be taking a step forward, and this time, the red neon illuminating the figure allows you to gain a clearer view of him ─ clad in an all-black ensemble with the hood covering his head, but what sends you a huge wave of relief is the familiar yet distinct red mask he adorned.

It is peculiar because, despite the compelling urge to run into his arms, something is strongly holding you back as you remain rooted to the ground. Just before you can call out his name, the small smile on your lips falters as soon as your eyes catch sight of a gleaming hunting knife in his hand.

“Jaeyun?” Amidst the palpable fear that churns in your tummy, confusion laces in the echoes of your voice throughout these hallways as you call out to the man who you thought wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. “Jaeyun, stop it. This isn’t funny.” You muster the courage to sound as stern as you can, but cowardice soon influences you at the moment he begins to advance in the direction of your transfixed figure.

A part of you wants to believe that Jake is simply trying to give you a good scare, just as he did on that one night where he embodied ghostface, but you should know better than to defy your better instinct, and so you heed it, turning around with the intention to flee from the man who you thought wouldn’t hurt you.

Little did you know that you had been too inattentive to your surroundings to notice an ominous presence looming over you from behind, resulting in you bumping into a solid figure that nearly sends you plummeting to the ground, but you quickly regain balance before you look up with your breath hitching in your throat when you recognise the silver mask he adorned.

“Sunghoon.” You utter his name in a splintered whisper as you slowly back away from him, discerning the malevolent mockery just by the mask’s visage alone. A whimper clogs in the back of your throat as you spot a vaguely familiar axe in his grasp, which he used on Devil’s Night and was dripping with blood.

“S-Sunghoon─” Just when you decide to implore him, stark terror strikes you as he raises his axe with the intention to attack you, drawing out a genuine scream of horror from you before you swiftly dodge his wilful aim as he brings down his axe with such skillful precision that you know your body would be butchered into half if you had remained standing in front of him.

Refusing to dawdle any longer, you pivot on your heels in the other direction and dash forward in trepidation, fleeing from your two predators. It is as though you have mastered adroitness in countering the illusionary as you manage to avoid bumping into transparent glasses and mirrors, but you are too concentrated on getting out of here, hopefully unscathed, to marvel at your agility.

Tears begin to accumulate in your eyes while anxiety tightens your chest upon hearing their footsteps echoing from behind you, spurring you to pick up the pace despite your temporary vitality on the verge of teetering as the effect of the unknown substance they injected into you gradually returns.

In the face of peril, the tempestuous hurricane of emotions threatens to sweep you away, each vying for dominance, but you know that you can’t be distracted. Just as you drift to a corner, a terrifying shriek tears from your throat upon the appearance of another predator, adorning himself in a familiar black mask.

You scream as soon as he swings the sledgehammer, aiming for your head before you deftly dodge his attack, only for him to hit the mirror at the side as it shatters. Amidst the fear pumping in your heart, heartbreak is palpable as you watch him in horror. He is relentless, aiming for your head with his weapon while you continue to elude him.

“Jay! Please! It’s me!” You decide to implore in the hopes of knocking senses into him while your voice blends in with the sound of shattering mirrors due to his aims. “Jay.” Your voice trembles while your throat hurts from inhibiting a bundle of emotions that threatens to implode.

Finally accepting defeat in your failed attempt to reason with him, you run in the other direction while silently thanking God for the multitude of hallways that allow you to choose either one to continue your escapade. This time, however, your depleting vitality impedes your coordination to elude your predators, as evident in your laboured breathing.

Exhaustion begins its descent on you, followed by the weeping as you finally allow the brimming tears to cascade down with strangled sobs leaving your lips. Could this be what the anonymous guy meant after those cryptic messages he sent you regarding your safety and whatnot? Could he have also known that the reason behind Jinae’s death was because of the four men who have each captured your heart?

You grit your teeth while unrelenting tears continue their descent on your cheeks as you inwardly berate yourself for stubbornly refusing to listen and heed your best friends’ words of advice and warning after all this time. Yet, your mind is battling an internal conflict with the rational part of you, which adamantly urges you to expunge any affectionate feelings you harbour for them, but you can feel it in your pumping heart; your love for them outweighs your rationality.

Unbeknownst to you, another impending danger is set off to inflict harm upon you as he sees the apparent exhaustion in your tapering pace and how you are preoccupied with wiping your tears languidly. Lacking focus, you accidentally bump into a transparent glass, resulting in you losing balance and almost plummeting to the ground if it weren’t for strong arms holding you steady from behind.

Instead of gratitude, you become highly alarmed by the touch of your predator while your widening eyes are staring at the mirror just a few distance away from you, which reflects your figures, allowing you to soak up the haunting image of the familiar white with a vertical red stripe on half of the mask. Instantly, you force your way out of his chilling grasps before turning around to face him.

“Missed me, sweetheart?” The familiar voicemod device he uses to manipulate the pitch of his voice brings you back to Devil’s Night, taking you by surprise, which is your first mistake, because just as you blink your eyes, you feel the force of his gloved hand ramming your head into the mirror.

As soon as you hit the mirror, you feel a splitting pain that has struck you deeply in the side of your head, while the brutal impact caused the mirror to crack in a rippling effect. You don’t even have the opportunity to recover when he clutches a handful of your hair into a makeshift ponytail to seize control over you, ramming your head into the mirror once more and this time shattering the broken pieces of the mirror that have been stained by your blood while a cry tears from your throat due to the agonising pain that eventually melds with the effect of unknown substances flowing through your veins.

The rough release from him causes your weakened body to collapse to the ground as your buckling knees have given up on you. You can feel warm liquid trickling down your temple before your eyes flicker at your reflection in the mirror, only to spot blood oozing from the wounds on your head as it trickles down your temple.

“Give it up, sweetheart.” Heeseung─ no, White says with a sickening delight in his tone as he revels in the way you are pathetically trying to crawl away from him with sobs leaving your lips. Before you can crawl any further, he stops you with his booted foot on top of your leg by applying pressure, prompting you to look up at him with sheer fright.

“H-Heeseung.” You whimper out his name while he becomes enamoured by the sight of your pretty eyes glistening with tears as well as the crimson smearing your skin. “Please don’t do this.” You implore him in between fearful yet heartbreaking sobs amidst grappling with the torrent of emotions within you, especially when he is now holding a fairly long melee knife, the blade promising pain.

“On the contrary, I do need to do this.” He crouches down to your level, toying with his knife idly before bringing it to caress your cheek with the sharp tip, causing your heart to rattle against your chest. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

Despite the fear, a palpable heartbreak carves the hurt that was punctured in your chest while you stare at him with glistening eyes of betrayal. “I should’ve known that you were going to make me end up like the girl you toyed with the same way you did to me. Jinae.” You choke back a sob, wanting him to hear the remaining last words from you if this is indeed your last moment.

“So you finally learned about Jinae.” The tip of his knife is treading dangerously on your neck. Although he uses the same voice-mod device, you can discern the cruelty in his cold chuckles, sending involuntary shivers down your spine. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. After I fuck you, I’m going to kill you and carve out your heart to keep it in a pretty box. I’ll store it along with my other prized possessions.”

“You’re downright mental!” You manage to find your voice as it comes out strong, but soon the dam breaks as you weep again. “How could you do this?! I thought I meant something to you! I thought you loved me─” In a blink of an eye, your head is turned sideways due to the impact of his slap on your now-stinging cheek, while the ruthless action only seems to amplify the splitting pain in your head.

“Shut the fuck up, or I’ll cut off your tongue.” He nearly growls out before seizing your chin, forcing you to look at him again while feeble sobs leave your lips. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t foolishly invited and spread your legs like a filthy whore so easily, but I guess you’re just the same as your mother. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all.”

The mention of your mother manages to send you a jarring sensation amidst the splitting pain that threatens to consume you whole as you stare at him confoundingly. “My mother? What do you mean?” You dare to inquire adamantly, despite knowing that he can end your life with a single swift drag of his knife across your neck.

“How pitiful.” He lets out a faux sigh. “You have no idea the dirty secrets they’ve been keeping from you, but just know that your mother is not the devout Catholic you thought she was.” His answer is vague, and just before you can ask him for more elaboration, he makes the disapproving sound of a tut. “A mouthy thing, aren’t you? Even in the face of death.”

“The only mouthy thing here is actually you.” You have no idea what possesses you, but it may stem from the fact that he insulted your mother, and thus, you take him by complete surprise when you use your foot to hit him in the sack hard, resulting in him falling to the side as he groans out in pain.

You try your utmost to gather whatever strength is left in you as you rise from the ground before wasting no time in fleeing from him. “Y/N!” You hear him roaring in sheer anger from behind you.

This time, your better instinct strongly beckons you to go in the specific direction in which you feel a sense of anticipation that you’re most likely able to find the exit, but he is not far from you, as evident in the sound of his footsteps. A terrifying shriek is elicited from you just as his melee knife hurls straight ahead of you, nearly hitting your head if you hadn’t been on time to dodge it.

“You can run for as long as you want, but you’re not going to live to see the next day!” He roars out to you again, but you choose to ignore him as you navigate your way to find the exit, remaining persistent. Finally, after every twist and turn, you spot it while hope and relief mingle in your chest.

Before you can have your mini celebration in your head, a pounding pain plummets into your head, nearly impeding you, but you quickly refocus and proceed on while strands of your hair are stuck to your sweaty skin.

The passage of time appears to be slowing down, with the red neon luminosity encompassing you gradually fading into a blur, while the bright sign of 'exit' ahead remains a beacon to your fortitude, but your quest to the road of freedom grows languid as the eventual exertion dawns on your body.

Tears welling in your lower eyelids are a recrudescence of terror, parallel to your inner turmoil that remains unabating, and you feel as though it is eating you alive from the inside, dwindling the hope you so desperately clutch onto.

Your ears perk up at the sound of familiar, heavy-booted steps from not far behind you, eliciting a forlorn cry from you before you force your weary body to pick up the speed in spite of the unknown yet lethal substance streaming through your every fibre and returning to take its major effect on your whole being.

No, this is not how you imagined facing your demise. You never would have thought that one of your worst nightmares had manifested itself and plunged into your reality.

Your skull is throbbing painfully, with blood seeping from the fresh wounds that trickle down the side of your face, while your heart aches tremendously. A sob emerges from the back of your throat before waterworks cascade down on you, but you refuse to allow yourself to die tonight, not when you’re nearly getting the taste of freedom.

Before you know it, you use the force of your body to push the door open as it swings outward violently, and you continue to run on the asphalt ground, having no clue of your current location, while your heaving chest is starting to hurt with how ragged your breathing is that mingles with the sobs.

“Please.” You choke out, your tearful eyes blurring your vision, while you feel as though more needles are piercing into your skull. “Please let all of this be a nightmare.” You manage to whisper in between broken sobs, nearly succumbing to the hyperventilation that renders you unfocused on your surroundings as your body remains in a fight-or-flight mode.

The next thing you know, you bump into a solid chest that nearly has you staggering back if it weren’t for strong arms latching onto your trembling form. The moment your eyes meet his concerned eyes that soon blaze with anger, a frightful shriek tears from your parched throat before you push him away from you, as though he is a disease.

“Princess?” Sunghoon, whose head is fogging with confusion, frowns visibly as he sees the way you are looking at him as though he is a terrifying stranger.

The movements from Jake and Jay catch your heightened sense, prompting you to cower away from them as you back away. “Stay away from me!” You shout at them, the fear is palpable in the tremor of your voice, to which they halt their movements.

“Baby, it’s us!” Jay exclaims while trying his utmost not to give away the tempest of wrath that storms within him upon seeing the state you are in.

“Lovely…” Jake takes cautious steps towards you, but even his loving, gentle tone is not enough to dispel the betrayal and heartbreak you are still reeling from.

“I said don’t come close to me! Please!” To see you hyperventilating as you sob hard hits them in the face, but what pains them is the terror you exhibit right now because they never wanted you to fear them as though they would really hurt you.

You turn around with the intention to run from them, but this time, Heeseung’s figure is a hindrance as he blocks your way. His hands find their way to hold you firmly while you attempt to thrash and struggle in his captivity.

“Let go of me!” You become relentless, your fear is now eclipsed by anger that stems from the fresh betrayal.

Despite the confusion upon seeing the blazing anger in your crystalline eyes, Heeseung remains calmly collected as he holds you effortlessly yet is unable for you to escape from. “Sweetheart─”

Being utterly overwhelmed and blinded by the maelstrom of pain, betrayal, sadness, and anger, you raise your hand and bring it down to land a harsh slap to his now-stinging cheek, shocking the other three from behind.

“Do you think this is meant to be humorous to you?!” The rage in your voice is unmistakable as it sounds foreign to your ears, but your focus remains on his face as he slowly turns to look at you while you are oblivious to the raging storms in his dark eyes. “Is this really your endgame?! Once you’re satisfied after fucking me, you'll kill me?!”

Heeseung’s deadly silence only seems to fuel your wrath, and so you begin to throw punches into his chest that don't even have any effect on him. “Fight back!” You scream in between sobs, tears relentlessly streaming down your cheeks. “If you want to kill me, do it now!”

“Y/N, stop.” Jake and Jay appear from behind, intervening as they grab you away from Heeseung’s defeated grasps while you continue to struggle and fight against their strong hold valiantly despite feeling debilitated.

“What are you talking about?” Heeseung’s calm voice manages to reach your ears despite the sound of your hysteria.

“Yeah, what do you mean by killing you, lovely?” Jake asks with a frown as soon as you shoot him a glare. “We would never do such a thing─”

Miraculously, you manage to escape from their grasps, and your glaring eyes penetrate into each of them. “Don’t lie to me! I know you’re the ones who kidnapped me and brought me to this God-forsaken place, and for what? To kill me!”

“We didn’t!” Jay objects vehemently, disbelief lacing his tone. “Why would we ever want to kill you?”

“Liar!” You retort before breaking down again, the sound of your cries only fuels their anger to hunt down whoever dared to hurt you. “If you weren’t the ones back there, then how did you even know where I was?”

“I installed a tracker on your phone. It’s the reason why we managed to track your location.” Jake steps forward, his softening eyes seem to balm your hysteric nerves. “But you have to believe us, love. We would never do anything to jeopardise your life.”

You open your mouth to speak, but a whimper comes instead as you feel the familiar pain plummeting into your skull, prompting you to clutch your still-bleeding head, and Sunghoon, being the nearest to you, holds you steady against him just as your body sways lightly.

“You’re still bleeding, princess.” Sunghoon murmurs, his gentle tone and his touch send you into a whirlwind of confusion. Disappointment seeps through him as you push him away while your mind is waging a battle of internal conflict, recalling the girls’ words about them, but at the same time, your love for them remains palpable, which only makes your head spin.

“Don’t touch me.” You protest weakly as you attempt to yank your arm from Heeseung’s firm grasp, but the substances injected into you that flow in your system wholly revoke the remnants of your vitality, rendering you debilitated as you find yourself leaning into him.

Without a word, Heeseung effortlessly carries you in a bridal style, with your whole body going limp as your consciousness slips away faster than you like before the darkness welcomes you once more.

“Gather all the knights from your respective houses. We’ll be having a meeting tomorrow morning.” Heeseung orders calmly, causing the three to exchange glances. “All of them, and not a single person is to be left out.”

“You got it.” Jake gives him a firm nod.

Heeseung catches Sunghoon and Jay’s eyes, and they immediately understand his deadly intent. “Find those fuckers inside and do what you need to do. Bring their heads to me.”

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It turned out that no heads were brought to Heeseung last night, much to their discontentment. Both Sunghoon and Jay have conducted the hunt throughout the entirety of the place, not missing out on every nook and cranny, which took them approximately an hour just to find no one other than shattered mirrors alongside your blood. But the four of them have shared a mutual understanding and collectively concluded that the likelihood of who was responsible for what happened to you must have been orchestrated by their very knights, especially when they are more than aware that they have enemies even within their fraternity. It’s just a matter of time before those said enemies finally decide to drop their amiable pretences.

Hence, with the exception of those who are currently travelling abroad for the holidays, every junior and senior knight from their respective houses has been summoned to the meeting, which is highlighted as crucial. Those who dare to defy will, of course, face the consequences.

The cold atmosphere in the general meeting room is patently imbued with a palpable tension that derives from the four leaders as they stand before these suspected knights. The intimidation emanating from the four silent leaders seems to dominate the entirety of the fraternity in the room as the sound of their incessant chatter and exchanged conversations decreases.

“This meeting won’t end unless you come forth and confess that you did what you did.” Sunghoon raises his voice with a distinct authority that has almost the majority of knights feeling dreadful, especially as they recognise the signature callous smirk drawn on his lips. “We can wait all day.”

“Or better yet,” Jay toys around with the metal baseball bat in his grasp, evoking fear from some. The smirk on his lips mirrors Sunghoon's, while his eyes gleam with a familiar delight at his penchant for brutality. “We can do this the hard way by beating the confession out of you. Every single one of you.”

“This isn't fair! Us juniors did nothing!” One of the juniors, who goes by the name Taesan, bravely speaks for his fellow peers, earning him murmurs and whines of agreement. “At least I know I did nothing.” Taesan adds, his tone lacing with sincerity.

“Yeah. We weren’t the ones responsible.” Another junior, Jaehyun, says this as he stands next to Taesan. “As a matter of fact, the juniors were out partying at Sunoo’s crib last night.”

“Sunoo?” Jake looks over to the familiar blonde-haired male, who has been occasionally checking himself out on the camera phone. “Is it true that you hosted a party at your crib last night?”

“Oh, yes.” Sunoo, alongside Jungwon and Riki, doesn’t appear to be the slightest affected by the leaders’ intimidation, as he beams with a lopsided grin on his face, scrolling through the gallery on his phone before showing them a video. “Look! Seunghan went completely wasted and sprawled by the dance floor after puking up─”

“Dude!” Seunghan’s loud groan can be heard amidst the snickering amongst the juniors, while Sunoo shoots him an innocent smile.

“They’re all right.” Jungwon steps forward, drawing the four leaders’ attention to the intense conviction written across his features. “You told Sunoo, Riki, and I before that you have complete faith in us and trust us, so trust me when I say that the juniors were not the ones responsible for whoever captured and attacked Y/N.”

“Even if any of our juniors dared to, you know that I wouldn’t allow for this to pass.” Riki adds on, the austerity he exudes is clear in the way he casts a momentary yet warning glare at his fellow peers. “We knew better than to mess with someone else’s prey.”

“Right, prey.” This time, someone else from the senior batch decides to speak up, drawing their attention to Choi Soobin, who adorns a smirk that is clearly a mockery as he stares sharply at the leaders. “It does beg the question: why do you care so much about your prey?”

“Yeah, who cares if she has gotten injured because of what happened last night?” Hyunjin scoffs, agreeing with Soobin. “Preys are meant to be hunted down by hunters, which is us.”

“I personally think that you should be grateful that someone else is doing the job for you by hunting and hurting your precious prey.” Taehyun remarks with a cynical smile that only adds more suspicion to the leaders. “Plus, she was probably hallucinating or even fabricating shit when she might be the mastermind behind the attack on herself.”

“Hallucinating?” Jake is seething with anger, taking the others by surprise with his unexpected shortness of temper. “You dared to spew shit about my girl, Kang? For fucks’ sake, she was bleeding out of her head! Who in their right mind would inflict harm on themselves?!”

“Easy.” Heeseung, with ease, holds back Jake as he places his hand on the latter’s chest before directing his sharp attention on Taehyun. “Congrats, Kang Taehyun. You’ve just become our number one suspect.”

“Y/N could’ve died if she hadn’t gotten immediate medical attention.” Sunghoon says, clenching his jaw as he tames the tempest of wrath within him upon the obvious agreement to Taehyun’s statements.

“Even if she had died, why does it matter?” Hyunjin asks, and a smug smile dawns on his lips as he leans back on his seat leisurely. “I mean, look at what happened to Jinae. She was your prey, just like Y/N, and yet her death didn’t seem to affect you in the slightest.”

“Who is Jinae?” A collective murmur of confusion emanates from the juniors, including Sunoo, Jungwon, and Riki, whereas the seniors look equally dreadful, and some are sighing at Hyunjin’s idiocy.

Sunghoon and Jake exchange wary looks while Jay is more than ready to launch his attack on Hyunjin, but as they finally look at Heeseung, they find it surprising to see his calmly collected demeanour.

Hyunjin continues to run his mouth idly, not affected by the foreboding tension in the air. “Either way, you guys are going to end up killing your prey─” Seated beside him, Jeongin punches his shoulder in an attempt to silence him.

“Meeting dismissed.” Heeseung announces in a low rumble that this is enough to send almost all of them scurrying from the meeting room. His eyes meet Beomgyu’s for a fleeting moment, and yet, despite Beomgyu’s small smile, which he knows is supposed to send some form of supporting assurance, it only seems to stir his inner turmoil.

“We have two suspects. Taehyun and Hyunjin.” Jake informs his best friends once all the knights have made their departure except their three apprentices.

“Add Choi Soobin as well.” Sunghoon rolls his eyes in annoyance, followed by a disdainful scowl etched on his face. “Did you see the way that fucker smirked? I bet he’s involved too.”

“What are you guys still doing here?” Jay asks sternly, his attention directed to their three apprentices while they exchange glances with apparent curiosity in their eyes.

“Yeahh, you see, we’ve been wondering who the hell Jinae is. So we’re not leaving until you tell us.” Jungwon voices out, his face is devoid of any mischief as he crosses his arms over his chest. “And what did whatever Hyunjin meant earlier mean?”

“And how come we’ve never heard of this Jinae girl?” Sunoo frowns, his lips jutting into a pout. “I thought we were all the best of friends to share secrets!”

Riki, ever the most observant, whose sharp eyes are scrutinising the four leaders who have been silent, notices the sombre casting shadows over them alongside the irresolution written across their features. “This Jinae, the girl you’ve preyed on before, is dead. Isn’t she?”

For a moment, the air in the room shifts uncomfortably with palpable intensity. Heeseung catches Jay’s eyes and gives him a head nod before the latter steps forward with a sigh. “Since you guys are so annoyingly adamant, I’ll tell you the truth, but not a single word goes out to the others.” They don't miss the edge of warning in his tone.

“I don’t understand. If it’s the truth, then why does it matter if it goes out to the others?” Sunoo inquires rather bluntly while his eyebrow is arched inquisitively.

A muscle pulses in Jay’s jaw as he briefly looks away. “Because the truth is more complicated than you think. Come. Let’s head to my office.” Like a bunch of ducklings, Jungwon, Riki, and Sunoo begin to trail behind Jay without any objections.

“We should check in on Y/N.” Sunghoon tells Jake and Heeseung as soon as the others leave the room, earning him nods of agreement before they proceed to venture their way to your room with silence wrapped around them.

After you passed out in Heeseung’s arms, they wasted no time in bringing you to the hospital where Heeseung’s older brothers were working. Coincidentally, Daehyun and Jaesung were working night shifts when you were referred to the emergency department instead. To say the twins were shocked upon seeing the dire state you were in was an understatement, but nonetheless, they offered to be the ones to oversee you as their patient. You had only been admitted to the emergency ward after your wounds were treated and the drugs in your system were excreted, until Heeseung adamantly requested that you recover in the palace instead.

Of course, the older twins could never refuse Heeseung, and so here you are, currently asleep and tucked comfortably under the covers on your bed as Sunghoon, Jake, and Heeseung watch as Jaesung has just completed another medical check on you, especially since your body is still recovering from the drugs injected in your system. Their hearts ache upon seeing the white bandage wrapped around your head. They recall when Daehyun informed them last night that if they hadn’t brought you to the hospital sooner, you would’ve been in a coma or worse.

“She needs plenty of rest and sleep over the next few days since the drugs that were previously in her system strongly affected her body.” Jaesung informs them with a mask of professionalism that immediately recedes when his eyes narrow at his brother. “You owe me, brother. Now, care to explain what the hell happened?” Before any of them can speak, Jaesung heaves a deep sigh as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “For the love of God, please don’t tell me that you’re doing what I think you’re doing.”

“And what do you think we’re doing?” Sunghoon asks rather rudely, to which Jaesung dismisses since he has long since gotten used to the bunch being so ill-mannered, even towards their elders.

“You know exactly what I meant. Toying around with Y/N just as you did three years ago.” Jaesung’s lips press thinly while a sombre shadow casts over his features. “I understand that the preying has always been part of the devil’s knights’ tradition, but to the point where their lives are endangered─ don’t you think it’s too far? I don’t know what Y/N did, but she most certainly doesn't deserve to get hurt or worse.”

Heeseung scoffs coldly, his eyes are ablaze with seething anger. “You thought so lowly of us just because of what happened three years ago when we would never dare to harm Y/N.”

“Heeseung’s right. If we were the ones who harmed her last night, Heeseung and Jake wouldn’t have brought her to the hospital quickly.” Sunghoon intervenes before Heeseung can get further pissed off at Jaesung. “Besides, Y/N is different.”

“Y/N is not like Jinae.” Jake adds, his clasped hands raising to support the back of his head as he leans.

A humourless smirk plays on Sunghoon’s lips. “Yeahhh, our girl is not crazy pants.”

“Guys, the least you could do is to talk about the dead girl respectfully.” Jaesung shakes his head, expressing his disapproval, before he glances down at his wristwatch. “Since my job here is done, I’ll be taking my leave, and don’t forget to feed her the medication I’ve given you.” Jaesung pats Heeseung’s shoulder firmly before exiting your room.

“Wonyoung texted me earlier. She and the other girls will be coming over to visit Y/N.” Sunghoon breaks the silence, watching as Jake heads over to the bed and crouches down next to you, holding your cold hand in his to give a gentle kiss on your knuckles. Sunghoon tears his gaze away from you to look at Heeseung. “I tried refusing, but you know, Wonyoung being Wonyoung.”

“Let them. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have known that Y/N were taken by some fuckers.” Heeseung clenches his jaw while his callous eyes harden. The thirst for vengeance is palpable in his veins. He looks over to Jake, who remains by your side and whose longing eyes are tethered to your angelic face. “Jake, what’s the progress of cracking the code? It’s highly possible that whoever the anonymous texter who pestered Y/N before is responsible for this.”

“It’s getting nowhere.” Jake releases a soft sigh, and his shoulder slouches in defeat. “Trust me, I tried, and I even got extra helping hands from Sunoo and Riki, but it’s as if their firewall is made out of an impenetrable shield for us to hack through.”

Sunghoon’s phone chimes loudly in his hand, prompting him to look down at his phone screen. “Be right back. Wonyoung and the girls have just arrived.” He informs them before departing your room.

Jake places one last kiss on the back of your hand before standing, and he even reluctantly releases your hand gently from his grasp. He walks over to Heeseung, who appears to be in deep thought.

“Heeseung, what do we do when she wakes up? You’ve already seen how terrified she looked at us last night.” Jake sighs out in frustration as he brushes his long strands to the back. “I’m suspecting that whoever attacked her impersonated us in some way.”

“Our masks.” Heeseung blurts out as a bulb lights up in his head. He meets Jake’s storming gaze that parallels his wrath. “It makes sense. If not, why else would she be so afraid of us?”

Before Jake can voice out his thoughts, a knock on the door interrupts them, prompting them to look over to see Wonyoung, Karina, and Yunjin. The two spot Sunghoon behind them, who beckons them to give the girls some privacy with you, and they do, but not before one of the girls speaks to them.

“Has she not awakened since morning?” Karina asks sadly, the only one who doesn’t entirely have her guard up around them, unlike Wonyoung and Yunjin. Though they did inform the guys about the commotion Yunjin heard over the line last night that resulted in your sudden disappearance, that doesn’t mean they trust the leaders.

Jake shakes his head in response as the two are standing at the entryway. “She might be awake in the next few hours or so, hopefully.” He tells them curtly.

“Heeseung.” Wonyoung’s cold voice draws their attention while her unwavering eyes penetrate into Heeseung’s, to which his eyes narrow as he senses such hostility from the tall girl. “You guys may be the ones who rescued Y/N, but if I ever find out that you guys were the mastermind behind all of this, you’ll be sorry.”

“Is that a threat I sense?” Heeseung’s voice drips with callous mockery while a smirk plays on his lips and his eyes glint dangerously. “Careful, Wonyoung. You might want to remember who you’re speaking to. I can only tolerate much.”

Jake shields in front of Heeseung in case the latter decides to do something unpredictable. He casts a charming yet wary grin at the girls upon noticing how Wonyoung is fuming. “We can assure you, ladies, that we weren’t the ones responsible. We care for Y/N more than you think.”

“Oh, really? Do you really?” Wonyoung lets out a sardonic chuckle while Yunjin is holding the girl by her arm. “If you had cared for Y/N, you wouldn’t have preyed on her in the first place.”

“Enough.” Sunghoon intervenes with a low warning rumble, his stern eyes meeting Wonyoung’s. “We’re not here to fight you. We’re all here for Y/N, aren’t we?”

In return, Wonyoung scoffs before turning her back on them at the same time the guys do as they proceed to leave your room. The longer they are in the vicinity of the ones you called your best friends, the more they find them insufferable.

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The sound of murmurs and the heavy dip on your bed rouse you from the deep slumber you were in before an incessant pounding pummels into your skull, causing your face to contort into a grimace, as well as a whimper that emits from you alarms them. You can hear them calling for your name, but they sound muffled as your mind decides to focus on collecting the fragments of the events that transpired last night, which eventually coalesce into one account.

You have been hoping that it was all just a nightmare, but the tremendous aches throbbing in your body as well as the splitting pain in your head counter otherwise. The sensation of a warm hand enveloping yours causes you to flutter your eyes open, to which you are greeted by the ray of sunlight filtering through the window that casts shadows across your ceiling.

Everything feels languid, even as you turn your head to look at the person who is holding your hand gently yet with familiar reverence. Upon meeting the tenderness of his warm eyes, a soft smile unfurls on his lips. “Hey, baby.” Jay greets you softly, his tone holds an unmistakable affection that is only reserved for you.

“Jay.” Your throat feels dry as sand as you whisper his name, longing, but at the moment he squeezes your hand in return, it is as though something in you has triggered off, prompting you to immediately yank your hand from his while your abrupt change of demeanour startles them.

A frown touches Jay’s lips before he attempts to reach out for you again. “Baby─”

“Go away!” You yell, tears accumulating rapidly in your eyes as you attempt to scoot further away from them until your back hits the headboard. Your body is trembling, emanating an intense fear, while your mind is in tumultuous chaos, as manifested in your irregular breathing.

“Princess,” Sunghoon, who has been sitting next to you on the bed, holds your arm firmly while his concerned eyes examine the borderline hysteria you exhibit as you are reeling from the transpired event that serves as a playback tormenting you in your mind. A frown pulls at his lips as he sees you struggling in his firm grasp. “Princess, it’s us.”

“Get out!” You scream in between sobs as tears descend on you. You are more than conscious to know that they were not the ones responsible, but you can’t help with your mind as the sight of their hands reminds you of the weapons their impersonators possessed and attempted to murder you.

“Sweetheart, you know that it wasn’t us.” The mellow tone of Heeseung’s voice miraculously manages to break through the whirlwind of hysteria you are in as you flicker your eyes at his towering figure by the bed. Despite his benign demeanour, you tremble under his gaze, recalling his impersonator's brutality towards you that nearly cost your life.

“I-I─” The words you wish to utter are stuck in your throat, and a whimper emits from you instead as you shake your head in protest while your chest feels encircled by pressure, rendering your breaths alarmingly uneven as though something is choking you.

“Princess, hey!” Sunghoon holds you by the shoulders as he forces you to look him in the eyes, but your vision is in an unfocused blur while the sound of your irregular breathing gets frantic, and your pounding heartbeat is going rapid as it drums loudly in your ears. “I need you to calm down and focus on me.” But Sunghoon’s stern instruction only seems to worsen the situation as you weakly attempt to push him away from you, recalling his impersonator with the lethal axe.

Your surroundings feel disoriented, as do the muffled murmurs from them in the background. Finally, Sunghoon’s hands slip from your shoulders, only to be replaced by another pair of warm hands cupping your tear-stained cheeks. Before you can even jerk away from their touch, his gentle tone serves as a temporary balm.

“Breathe, love. Slow and steady.” Jake says so softly yet firmly, enough to draw your focus as you finally meet his warm brown eyes that hold an unmistakable affection amidst the solicitude. Your hysteria ebbs away at the moment his warmth touches you, and you begin to follow his guidance as you attempt to regulate your breathing, earning you an encouraging head nod from him. “That’s it. Good girl.”

“J-Jaeyun,” Your voice sounds hoarse as you utter his name brokenly. Another sob escapes you, rivulets continuing their descent on your vulnerable countenance. “Jae─”

“I got you, love.” Jake pulls you into his warm embrace, hugging you closely while you don’t hesitate to cling your arms around his torso, your face burying into his chest as you continue to weep into him.

Oddly, there are no ill feelings as they watch Jake, who has successfully managed to be the one to calm you down, comforting and holding you close. Only a huge wave of relief washes over them. Jay makes a gesture to Heeseung and Sunghoon, beckoning them to leave Jake alone with you, and they do before Heeseung, being the last person to exit your room, closes the door quietly.

With one arm around your heaving body, the other ascends to run his fingers through your soft locks and occasionally massage your head, careful enough not to come into contact with the bandaged area. He presses a gentle kiss on the side of your uninjured head before dipping his head down to kiss your earlobe and whispering, “I’m here. We’re all here. No one is going to hurt you ever again.”

You only squeeze your arms around him in return, while the sound of your weeping gradually ebbs as you continue to silently bask in the comfort he emanates, providing you with a blanket of security. The weight in your eyelids seems to be pulling down, and before you know it, you flutter your eyes closed as you slowly go lax in his arms.

You have no idea how long it has been since the moment you returned to your slumber, but long enough to be awakened by a strong arm encircling your waist and his hand cradling the back of your head as he tucks your face into his chest, prompting you to briefly glance up just to see Jake being asleep.

Your heart warms at how protective yet intimately he has secured you in his embrace, even as he is sound asleep. But then comes the cold reality as your mind recalls a certain memory you don’t wish to revisit.

“You have no idea the dirty secrets they’ve been keeping from you, but just know that your mother is not the devout Catholic you thought she was.”

Maybe you would turn out to be wrong, but you have a strong sense that whatever Heeseung’s impersonator meant is highly correlated to the four leaders, which also involve your mother.

However, the big question remains: Why would your mother be involved? And why did he speak in a manner that you would’ve assumed he knew your mother personally?

So many questions are throbbing in your head, and yet you know you should unravel whatever secrets have been kept from you sooner, even if it means that you’ll be destroying established trusts.

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When the next day arrives, the compelling urge that derives from your fervid intuition for you to start the investigation beckons, resulting in your intrusion into the familiar yet prohibited part of the palace once again. With steely eyes of determination, you recall the distinct memory of when Anonymous’s instruction the last time enticed you to invade the forbidden, as you now find yourself entering Heeseung’s office.

This time, however, you could care less if either of them discovered of your abrupt rebellion, especially when your wilful mind is set straight with one ultimate goal, and that is to discover what sort of association your mother had with the devil's knights. Sure, you could turn out to be proven wrong, and the likelihood of you getting punished by Heeseung or any of them is high, but you adamantly wish to dispel your vehemence of curiosity.

Still, despite the steel of your resolve, your fingers are trembling slightly as they hover over the keyboard while your stomach churns with turmoil, but you immediately fix your composure, distinctly recalling Anonymous’s instruction the last time he enticed you to do this with the exception that you are now doing this of your own accord.

The familiar sight of the computer screen displaying files arranged meticulously in rows greets you before your keen eyes begin to search for the familiar folder named ‘001’, and once you do, you use the mouse to click on it.

Naturally, you expect a pop-up webpage that requires you to enter the password to appear again, but this time is different because, when you click on it, it reveals a few different files listed, bringing a frown to your lips and your face contorting into confusion.

Ding!

Your phone chimes in your pocket, and you quickly fish it out to check, only to be greeted at an eerie notification from an unknown number to which you have a strong inkling that it is the same anonymous as before.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: You’re welcome :)

Goosebumps arise on your skin, ignoring the fact that he is undoubtedly watching you, and you have no idea how or where. Instead of replying, you shove your phone back into your pocket and redirect your focus to the computer screen.

As your eyes scan these mysterious files, something feels odd as you recognise that some of the files are saved as images. Slowly, as you hover the cursor over the first file, your pulse drums loudly in your ears while your stomach begins to churn violently. Before you allow hesitation to seize you, you begin to click on it.

What greets you isn’t anything you expect. It’s pictures in sequence of your mother and the familiar face of Heeseung’s father in a car. The images seem to look recent, but the file's name states otherwise, as it was saved a few months ago.

Your eyes narrow at your mother and Heeseung’s father’s interaction, noticing how intimately close they are in the first picture, while the second picture looks like he is caressing your mother’s cheek with his eyes full of unmistakable affection. The third picture has you gasping in sheer disbelief, as they are undoubtedly in lip lock.

Haphazardly, you close the file and proceed to open another, and this time, you recognise Jake and Sunghoon’s fathers in this sequence of pictures, seated in a cafe with your mother. In the first few sequences, they seem to be catching up, and you would’ve thought that they were long-lost college friends if it weren’t for the fact that one of them embraced your mother in an intimate hug before the next image shows the other kissing her forehead.

You can feel the sheer betrayal and hurt squeezing around your pounding heart. You know you should not continue, yet you find yourself going through another file, showing images of Jay’s father and your mother standing on the porch of your home in an intimate hug as well as in a lip lock unabashedly.

“No. This can’t be true.” You murmur to yourself, distress is written across your features as you decide to close the file, unable to look at your mother’s unravelling infidelity.

You don’t understand why your mother would do this when her declaration of love for your father has always been consistent, and most importantly, how did she know them?

It is as though something is beckoning you to the answer you seek as your eyes spot a video that looks starkly different than the others, and the date indicated on the file shows that whatever is contained in it is older than you think.

Swallowing down the bile of emotions harshly, you proceed to click on it and brace yourself, or perhaps you didn’t prepare yourself enough for what is presenting to you.

“Oh my god….” You whisper brokenly as tears fill your waterline. More gasps emit from you, prompting you to cover your mouth with your palm. The longer your eyes remain fixated on the obscene orgy that their younger selves were engaged brazenly alongside their lewd noises, the more you feel utterly revolted, wanting to puke up as the churns in your tummy become intemperate.

Upon the atrocious revelation that entailed the dark history your mother had with their fathers, you decide that what you have just unravelled is enough as you quickly close the file and proceed to shut down the computer.

In a state of complete distraught, with tears flowing down your face, you continue to make your departure from the prohibited territory. Fortunately, the four of them are nowhere in the palace, as Jake texted you earlier that they had some business to settle. You wouldn’t know what to do if you had to face any of them sooner, or maybe you don’t wish to see them at all.

As you wallow in the overwhelming tumult of emotions on your bed, all curled up and underneath the covers, you weep. You can’t believe that your own devout Catholic mother would do this, but above all, confusion mingling with resentment and betrayal is directed at Heeseung and the rest for storing such videos, and for what?

You simply don’t understand what benefits them, as they keep this dark revelation to themselves. Had they known all the while that their fathers had always harboured some form of affection and lust for your mother, even back in their college days?

After having had enough of wallowing, you decide to head into the bathroom to wash your face. As you look at yourself in the mirror, momentarily grimacing at the visible exhaustion on your complexion, which denotes how mentally drained you are, a firm resolution hardens your once-bleary eyes.

You don’t have the heart to meet them or even to see a glimpse of their faces. You should’ve known that they were more than capable of anything, especially after killing Jinae. You feel genuinely sick and disturbingly uncomfortable at the thought of being around them any longer.

No longer are you able to withstand this incessant dread that crawls on your skin, and so with a heavy heart, you proceed to pack whatever minimal necessity into your sling purse before heading into the walk-in wardrobe to change your clothes into something a little presentable, but you end up choosing an oversized hoodie.

Biting down your lip harshly, you look down at your phone, where the screen displays your group chat, before typing away with your trembling fingers.

Y/N: I’m going back to my dormitory.

HEESEUNG: Why?

SUNGHOON: Is something wrong, princess?

JAY: Yeah, are you feeling too lonely, baby? We’ll be returning soon.

Y/N: No, I just miss my best friends and I want to reconcile with them so I won’t be returning to the palace. Please understand.

JAKE: Of course, lovely.

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Arriving at the lobby of your dormitory gives you a whiplash as you recall when the lights fully blacked out before you were attacked and rendered ruthlessly unconscious, causing you to wrap your arms around your frail form before you hasten your steps to the elevator while you ignore the odd stares you receive from the other students.

However, with each step nearing the door of your dormitory, the nauseousness you forced yourself to keep at bay surges while your mind is still reeling in revulsion from the prior discovery. You wish to wash your eyes with bleach and erase the stark images of their obscenity.

With a shaky hand, you fumble with tapping your access key card on the smart lock, and once it chimes, you quickly push down the handle and open the door, haphazardly entering the household that is filled with distinct chatter from your roommates.

“Y/N!” Karina is the first one to spot you by the living room, but you overlook the genuine surprise written across their faces upon seeing your unexpected appearance as you dash for your room. You hear them calling for you, but you are too preoccupied with the pain of holding back your nauseousness.

Finally barging into your bathroom, you head for the toilet bowl before crouching down with your back hunched as you lean over to throw up liquid content into the bowl. It appears that the alarming sound of your retching reaches the ears of your best friends, and before you know it, you hear footsteps rushing from the outside to your bathroom.

“Oh my god! Y/N!” You hear Karina gasp loudly amidst the echoes emanating from your retching throughout these bathroom tiles, but you don’t turn around to see them as the pain from your stomach and your throbbing head consumes you, as does the pain that stems from the fresh betrayal.

“Y/N.” Wonyoung’s worried voice manages to break through before you feel her presence next to you as she assists you in holding your hair up to prevent the strands from getting in the way before you continue to puke for another time while Yunjin crouches down on the other side to rub your heaving back soothingly.

After what feels like forever, both Yunjin and Wonyoung assist you in bringing you over to the sink for you to wash your mouth, while Karina heads out to the kitchen to grab a mineral bottle for you. Yunjin and Wonyoung exchange confused yet wary glances at your resonating silence as they hold your frail body, walking out of the bathroom.

“Here.” Karina jogs into your room, one hand holding the bottle as she extends her arm towards you. Without meeting her gaze, you shake your head before taking a seat on your bed, with Yunjin and Wonyoung refusing to leave your side. Karina releases a sigh. “You need to hydrate yourself after throwing up nothing but water.”

“For that matter, why are you here?” Yunjin inquires worriedly, and her tone indicates that she wants to chide you. “You should be resting in the palace, and even if you wanted to come back here, you should’ve at least texted one of us to fetch you. What would’ve happened if you had fainted on your way here?”

“Jen’s right, Y/N.” Wonyoung places her hand on your tensed shoulder, taking notice of your loud silence and your avoidance as your head hangs low. “What happened? Are you feeling sicker than usual? Or are you─” Wonyoung pauses as her eyes widen, mirroring the same expression as Yunjin and Karina. “Are you pregnant?”

You barely flinch at the obvious wince in her tone as you remain reeling in pain from the betrayal. A part of you wants to confide in your best friends, but you also don’t wish for them to know the revolting truth about the history your mother had with the four leaders’ fathers, fearing that they would abandon you again out of sheer disgust.

“No. I’m not pregnant.” Your voice sounds scratchy due to all the puking that leaves a bitter acid on your tongue. “I um─” You pause, swallowing harshly as you look down at your trembling hands on your lap before you clasp them together, but the tremor in your voice remains. “I couldn’t stay there any longer.”

“What? Why?” Wonyoung asks, her tone sounds firm. “Did they hurt you? I swear if they hurt you─”

“They didn’t.” You shake your head, the instinctive urge to always defend them is still strong, which is perplexing because you know that you no longer feel comfortable being around them, and yet the emotional attachment you have towards them remains unchanging. You bite down on your lip hard, completely frustrated with yourself. “They’ve never hurt me, but I don’t think I want to be around them any longer.”

“But aren’t you in love with them?” Karina inquires, treading carefully with her words as she kneels down in front of you to get a better look at your face. She places her hand on top of yours. “Y/N, we don’t understand─”

A sharp sob leaves your lips, unable to articulate muddling thoughts and feelings that are parallel in a tumult, and alas, the waterworks erupt with uncontrollable sobs emitting from you, prompting Wonyoung and Yunjin to offer you their comfort with their hugs while Karina holds your hand firmly. The three share the same sympathy despite feeling genuine confusion at your abrupt emotional breakdown.

“I know they wouldn’t hurt me, but─” A hiccup escapes you just as you manage to speak in between sobs. Wonyoung pulls you into her side embrace, allowing you to fall weak as you rest your head on her shoulder. “But I’m honestly scared. I really love them, and I don’t know what to do.” You continue, letting your established feelings be known to them, no matter if they vehemently disapprove.

“Y/N, if you really love them, then you should let them know.” Karina tells you, encouraging you with a small smile, but you shake your head in return.

“It’s complicated.” Wanting to tell them the truth is so close, but you force yourself to hold back. Instead, you resort to another path, and only you know that they wouldn’t do something so deplorable to you, or at least you hoped. You lean forward as you clutch your head with your elbows on your thighs, supporting you. “Maybe it isn’t love, or maybe it is, but what you girls said about Jinae the other night got me reevaluating my feelings for them.”

“It’s true that she died because of them, but Y/N, as much as we hate to admit it, we can see that they care greatly for you.” Wonyoung rubs your back comfortingly. “I think they love you the same way you do.”

Silence is all they receive from you for a moment before the sound of your sniffle comes, watching you wipe your tears away from your cheeks. You finally lift your head to look at the three of them, your nose and eyes red from the relentless weeping from earlier until now.

“I still don’t understand why they killed her, and how did she die?” You allow yourself to voice out one of the many questions lingering in your head.

“Initially, we didn’t know what to believe because of different speculations circulated on campus, but at the end of the day, it had been confirmed that Jinae did something to piss all four leaders greatly.” Karina unravels, and it does seem like an uncomfortable subject for her to talk about, as evident in the grimace on her face.

“She was found dead in their palace.” Yunjin continues for Karina after a brief, sombre silence. Her lips press thinly while her eyes search for yours, seeming to be studying your expression. “But since they’re the sons of affluent figures in the eyes of the government, they were not arrested for committing another crime.”

“It’s one of the reasons why I despise them.” Despite Wonyoung’s declaration, her tone remains gentle as she speaks to you, matching the way she offers you a small smile as she tucks a hair behind your ear. “But I’ve long since realised that you couldn’t help with who you’ve fallen for, even if they turned out to be the ones I despise most.”

From your inner core, you are terribly shaken up by this new information. To be honest, you never really wanted to believe that the four leaders were responsible for Jinae’s death, but upon hearing the undeniable truth that she was found dead in their palace, it genuinely fucked you up in the head.

Tears well in your waterline as you look at them with a pained expression. “Do you think they’ll kill me just like they did to Jinae?” You ask in a splintered whisper, and you feel as though a vine has wrapped itself around your heart, squeezing it painfully with the jagged ends prickling you.

“I don’t think they would ever do anything to hurt you, Y/N.” Wonyoung reassures you with her balming tone, but as she looks at Yunjin and Karina, you can see the glimpse of uncertainty in her eyes.

“What if you’re wrong?” A fallen tear trickles down your cheek at the agonising thought of your life being ended in the hands of your loved ones. “I did something, Wony. I broke one of their rules again.”

“What did you do, Y/N?” Yunjin inquires sternly, but you know that she is concerned for you. Yunjin flickers her gaze at Karina and Wonyoung. “Should we do something? I don’t know about you two, but I don’t want to risk anything concerning Y/N’s life.”

“Calm down. We’re only adding more panic and stress to Y/N.” Karina tells Yunjin with a disapproving frown before returning her gaze to your face, her eyes softening. “What do you want to do now?”

The thing is, you have already made up your mind about your next move. They see it in your eyes—the firm resolution that is familiar to them whenever you are determined to get what you want. “I need your help.” You tell them.

“Of course. Whatever you need.” Wonyoung gives your shoulder a firm squeeze.

“Yes. We’re here for you, Y/N.” Karina reaffirms this, earning nods from the other two.

You meet Karina’s eyes. “I need you to drive me home tomorrow afternoon. I want to visit my parents.”

The three of them exchange wary glances, feeling an immense sense of guilt after being the reason why your mother has practically disowned you.

“But why?” Yunjin dares herself to ask, her eyes studying your expression carefully. “I don’t mean to burst your bubble, baby girl, but aren’t you on bad terms with your parents?”

She is more than right, but frankly speaking, you’re still in contact with your father, whereas your mother refuses you. You don’t meet any of their gazes as you discreetly curl your fingers into a fist. “I have something important to confront my mother.” You say curtly, and just the tone of your voice is enough for them to avoid prying.

“Okay. I’ll drive you home instead.” Karina offers as she rises from the ground. She checks the time on her phone. “We’re actually planning to dine outside. Do you want to join us?”

“No, thank you.” You politely decline, giving her a weak smile. “I still don’t feel good.”

“I’ll check if there are any medications for you. Stay put.” Yunjin instructs you, like a mother to her child, before she walks out of your room.

“Rest, Y/N. We’ll buy some food for you.” Wonyoung tells you as she assists you to get comfortable on your bed, tucking you under the covers.

A faint chuckle leaves your lips while you hold back from crying again, feeling touched and nostalgic about this dynamic with your best friends. “I’m not a baby, Wony.”

“Nonsense, you’re our baby girl.” Wonyoung insists before pausing, almost as if she is contemplating whether to take back her words. “In a good, unrestrained way, of course.”

“What Wonyoung meant is that no matter what, you are still the same Y/N we know and love.” Karina adds, and it doesn’t help that you are gradually getting sappy as you smile at them with tears blurring your vision.

Not too long later, the whole of your dormitory is filled with complete silence as your best friends have left to dine outside. At first, you feel the familiar comfort of your old, homey room as you get snuggly under the covers, but soon, a profound sense of loneliness dawns on you.

Your eyes turn crestfallen as four handsome faces appear in your mind. There is no denying that you are already missing them, despite your rationality, which has given you a litany of reasons why you should not have given your heart to them in the first place.

Your phone buzzes next to you, and you reach for it to read the message from a certain individual.

SUNGHOON: Can I video call you? I’m already missing you, princess.

Tears immediately spring in your eyes as you choke back a sob. The strong yearning in your bleeding heart consumes you. But you don’t reply to him, knowing that you’d only cave in to your yearning, and so you choose to sleep without any of their warmth embracing you that you have grown accustomed to.

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Old habits really do die hard. It is something you have always done, ever since you were young. Throughout the two-hour journey from your dormitory to the town you grew up in, your fingers would occasionally ascend to fiddle with the silver cross in an attempt to seek a semblance of alleviation from your churning inner turmoil.

Unlike Wonyoung and Karina, who are currently settled in the backseat and comfortably sound asleep, you chose to forgo the calling of sleep that beckoned you, only focusing and thinking about any worse possible outcome of the impending confrontation, and you have no idea if you are being ignorantly foolish about this, which resulted in you remaining frozen in the passenger seat.

“It looks like your parents are having guests over.” Karina remarks as she leans forward, her folded arms resting on the leathered steering wheel. Her eyes trail over to you while you are staring at the same sight of four different car models parked on the massive asphalt road outside of your two-story house. “Do you recognise those cars?”

“No. Not that I know of.” You frown, your face contorting into confusion, and yet, your inner turmoil seems to worsen at the mere sight. You look at Karina, giving her a wry smile as you busily unbuckle your seatbelt. “Wish me luck.”

“Call us if you need some help.” Karina offers you an encouraging smile that does nothing to ease your incessant perturbation.

The crisp afternoon air greets you as soon as you exit the vehicle before making your way to the sidewalk. Your steps feel heavier on the concrete pavement as you feel daunted. Your palms are starting to feel clammy, to which you wipe them on your skirt as you now walk on the gravel path that leads to the familiar front porch of your humble abode.

A wave of nostalgia washes over you as your eyes flicker to the creamed wooden swinging bench on the front porch, alongside the lovely adornments. You recall the times when your father would find you seated there to wallow in sadness, which prompted him to accompany you and engage in talks with you in an attempt to cheer you up, or whenever you willingly helped out your parents in decorating the front porch to match the seasons.

But the sentimentality that softens your features immediately fades away, only to be replaced by something so sour that embitters you as you vividly remember the picture of your mother and Jay’s father on this very porch.

The vehemence of resentment you now harbour towards your mother sets in motion, storming towards the ajar door and pushing it open as you break through the threshold, not forgetting to remove your shoes and wearing the house shoes you retrieve from the rack.

Your eyebrows arch inquisitively upon seeing four different polished shoes that no doubt belong to businessmen, before your ears perk up at the sound of chatter coming from somewhere in the living room. You amble further, but those manly voices accompanying their laughter evoke a tremendous dread in you. You hope that they’re not the ones you think they are.

Mustering whatever bravery you have left, you increase the pace, and alas, the sight of the four men being amicable with your mother appals you, causing you to flinch visibly as though you have been smacked in the face.

Upon your obvious presence in the room, all eyes are on you, each mirroring the other, filled with genuine shock, but your blazing eyes are fixed intently on your mother’s soon panicked expression as she rises from the single couch.

“I’m home, mother.” You announce your arrival calmly, and the word itself comes out of you as though it is poison, to which your mother flinches. A cold smile plays on your lips, wickedly revelling in the way she becomes flustered amidst the apparent panic. “Where is Dad, by the way? Does he know you have guests over?”

“Y/N Kang, I taught you better than to be discourteous.” Your mother reprimands you, but the tremor in her voice is palpable, eliciting a low scoff from you. Your mother flashes ingenuine smiles to the four men in distinct sumptuous suits as she heads towards you. “Forgive my daughter’s lack of manners. Please continue. I have to speak with my daughter privately.”

You fold your arms over your chest, displaying your defiance, while the coldness in your eyes mirrors your mother’s. “I, for one, feel that we should have our conversation here since, after all, it involved these intruding guests.”

“Enough, Y/N Kang.” Your mother is practically seething with anger beneath her composed demeanour as she holds your arm tightly. “I won’t tolerate this disrespect any longer. Follow me.” It is not as if she gives you a choice, as you find yourself being dragged by her.

Once you are out of their sight as your mother finally brings you to the kitchen instead, you yank your arm from her tight grip roughly, adding to the palpable tension that sizzles in the air before you meet her glaring eyes.

“How dare you even step foot into the house when you are not permitted to come home, let alone disrespect those four gentlemen? Do you even know who they are?” Your mother speaks harshly—nothing to the mother you once knew and viewed her as—because the woman standing before you is someone you no longer recognise.

“Should I know them? I mean, sure, they look classy and rich, but don’t you think it’s a little inappropriate to have male guests around while Dad is away for work?” You are more than conscious that you choose to cope with sarcasm, as your voice drips with mockery, which only fuels your mother’s indignation, as evident in the way she is fuming.

“Don’t you dare teach me what is appropriate and what is not.” She snaps back coldly at you, and you can see it in her eyes that her firm, scowling demeanour is teetering due to the unceasing panic. Disgust forms a sneer on her features. “What do you know about morality when you’re the one who spreads your legs like a shameless whore for their sons?”

You ignore the pang of hurt in your chest, masking it with a humourless grin that smears across your lips. “Like mother like daughter, don’t you agree?” Your coy remark makes her go visibly flinching, and you know you managed to hit a spot.

Your mother quickly recovers with a glare, but her trembling hand is enough for you to be satisfied that she is feeling disturbingly antsy. “What are you talking about? If you’re here to show your insolence instead of sincerely apologising and redeeming yourself, then get out.”

“Oh, don’t feign ignorance, mother.” You sneer at her, unfolding your arms as you stalk towards her. “I know what sort of relationship you have with them. I know about you.” Your tone holds a tint of darkness that is foreign to you, but you are driven by the resentment towards your mother as you continue with the cruelty deepening your smile. “Ah, the lovely irony of whore-shaming your own daughter when you’re just the same. The apple indeed doesn’t fall far from the tree─”

A loud smack resonates throughout the kitchen as your head is flung sideways from the impact of your mother’s palm, and there comes the stinging pain on your cheek, but you refuse to allow the waterworks you have been keeping at bay to erupt any sooner, and so a chuckle leaves your lips instead as you slowly divert your attention back to your now teary-eyed mother.

“How could you stoop so low to disrespect your own mother?!” She raises her voice, and the betrayal in her tone elicits a disbelieving scoff from you while she continues. “You don’t know anything, Y/N Kang!”

“Don’t I, really? I’ve only recently discovered your infidelity, but I know for a fact that you had an immoral history with them! Yet you dared to chastise me for fucking around with their sons when you don’t even have the right to!” It has now become a screaming match, no longer are you bothered by the fact that they might hear you.

“Y/N!” Your mother gasps loudly as though you have just physically attacked her, but you are relentless, and this time, tears begin to spill from your eyes. “I am your mother! And you have no idea what I feel for them─”

“I don’t give a damn about your feelings, but for fuck’s sakes, you are a married woman!” The veins in your neck are protruding as you overpower her sound. A sardonic yet broken chuckle falls past your lips. “Oh, so now you want to remind me that you’re my mother, but weren’t you the one who declared that you no longer recognised me as your daughter? Because to you, I’m apparently a whore!”

You cut off your mother before she can open her mouth to speak, hurling your pent-up emotions, including resentment towards her, like shooting bullets. “You’re a hypocrite, mother!” You spit out while hot angry tears continue their descent on your face. “You condemned me for spreading my legs and fucking around, but you’re even worse! You sneaked behind Dad’s back to pursue your trysts with them! Do you even realise how disgraceful that is?!”

It seems that your words are impactful because this time, any traces of indignation in your mother’s firm demeanour completely dissipate, replaced by the fear and indignity dawning on her. Her lips tremble as she attempts to reach out for you. “Y/N─”

The fresh pain of betrayal and hurt consumes you as you back away from her. “Dad has always worked hard for this family, and no matter how busy he gets, he always makes time for us and for you.” You sob out at the same time she does. “I thought you’re in love with Dad. I thought you’re happy with him.”

“I do! I still love your father!” She defends herself, lacing with such desperation, and yet her declaration doesn’t deter you. “Please, honey, my feelings for your father have never changed, but you have to understand that my history with the four of them is something that is complicated. I still care for them, but the one that I truly love is your father!”

“But those pictures said otherwise.” You sniffle, wiping the continuous tears away from your cheek.

“What? What pictures?” She asks, confused.

“It doesn’t matter, but what matters is that you ruined what I thought the love you had for Dad was.” You manage to utter something in between the weeping as you stare at her with betrayed eyes. “I feel so fucked up because, throughout my life, I have known you as a doting mother who is a devout Catholic. You even instilled the teaching of Christianity in me, and yet what I discovered has ruined the version of my mother I viewed in my head.”

“I’m so sorry.” Is all she can utter, covering her mouth with her palm as she looks down due to the mortified realisation and sheer humiliation.

“Like what you’ve always said, seek forgiveness from God instead.” You say wryly. “Oh, and maybe seek forgiveness from Dad too, if he has yet to learn of your infidelity.”

“Y/N! Wait! Please, wait!” Your mother frantically calls for you just as you turn your back on her, wanting to exit from the kitchen, and she manages to grab a hold of your arm. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done what I did to you!” A sharp sob heaves from her, and the sound of it only seems to clench your heart. “I’m so sorry for disappointing you.”

Of course, you’re not about to forgive her just so easily. Without a word, you force yourself to escape from her flimsy clutch and hasten as you navigate your way around with the intention to leave the house, choking back more sobs before you cover your mouth with your palm.

Just as you walk past the living room, Heeseung’s father stops you as he calls for you, causing you to halt your steps before turning to meet his eyes. You hate how he is gazing at you kindly while guilt is written across his features.

“We admit that we overheard your conversation with your mother.” He pauses to look over his shoulders, meeting the others’ gazes as they nod their heads before continuing. “But don’t put the blame on your mother. Blame us.”

“He’s right.” Jay’s father steps forward, and it takes everything in you not to cower away due to the icy intimidation he exudes despite his neutral gaze. As you stare at the man, you can only see him as a pathetic excuse for a father who abused his son. “It was our fault. Your mother is a great woman, and she has always wanted the best for her baby girl.”

“Do you guys still love my mother?” You inquire sharply, wanting to get straight to the point. The silence from them and the way they avoid their gaze tell you all you need to know, which only brings a sneering disgust to you. “You are married, and yet you dare to love my mother? Do you think this is a game to you?”

“Y/N, I can assure you that nothing is a game, including our feelings for your mother.” Sunghoon’s father firmly counters, and you recall when Heeseung told you about Sunghoon’s father wanting his son to be erased from the face of this earth.

“I don’t care about your feelings for my mother or that you still love her, but please don’t ruin my parents’ marriage.” You plead in a cry, tears springing in your eyes once more before you cast them a withering glare. “Don’t fucking ruin my family just because yours are fucked up. I don’t want any of you to be around my mother like you always have.”

You don’t wait for their response as you flee from the living room, making your way to the door. After hurriedly putting on your shoes, you are ready to leave when the door swings abruptly open, revealing your father, who looks delightfully surprised to see you.

“Honey! What a pleasant surprise.” He stops as soon as he notices the tears staining your cheeks, the redness on your cheeks, and your lower lids from the relentless weeping. He cups your cheeks with his callous palms while his eyes go stern. “Baby girl, what’s wrong?”

You only manage a whimper in response as you shed tears silently. You open your mouth to speak, your chin wobbling with sadness, but it is as though you lost your voice, and with a heavy heart, you shake your head at him before gently pushing him away and running past him.

Yes, you hate your mother, but seeing your father after so long, you don’t have the heart to reveal the truth about your mother’s infidelity to him. You decide to sob out whatever is left in you, wiping your tears with your sleeves as you make your way to Karina’s car.

Forcing yourself to compose despite the annoying hiccups emitting from you, you startle the girls as soon as you open the door and shove yourself inside the car before slamming the door.

“That was actually longer than we thought.” Yunjin remarks from the backseat, oblivious to the sadness you emanate, but Karina, who has been examining you the moment you entered, is no stranger to the redness of your eyes and nose.

“Y/N, what happened?” Karina asks quietly, and her question draws Yunjin and Wonyoung's full attention before they lean forward to get a better view of your side profile.

You don’t meet any of their eyes as you lean back comfortably, your eyes gazing out to the window instead. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we go somewhere else, please?” Your voice sounds hoarse from the crying and screaming.

“Of course. We know just the place you need.” Wonyoung chimes in hopes of livening the atmosphere in the car, but you remain the same. With a resigned sigh, Wonyoung’s eyes meet Karina’s with a certain knowing. “You know where.”

“I, in fact, don’t.” Karina replies as she proceeds to drive off from the curb, earning a glare from Wonyoung, but Karina, in fact, knows exactly what you need.

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“So, do you feel better now?” Yunjin’s voice pulls you out of the stupor you are in, prompting you to gain full consciousness of your surroundings and spot Karina and Wonyoung making their way to your table from the restroom.

Apparently, the three of them thought that bringing you to the ice cream parlour, which is located near your campus, was a good idea and may lift your spirits, but honestly, you feel even worse. Never mind the fact that the strawberry cheesecake-flavoured ice cream tasted amazing.

“Ice cream won’t solve my problems, you know.” You state this flatly while Wonyoung and Yunjin return to their seats.

“But you love your ice cream, though.” Yunjin points out, earning hums of agreement from the other two. “Come on, you must’ve felt at least slightly better.”

“Alright, fine.” You concede, and maybe you do feel a little better now as you find yourself adorning a faint smile before your eyes glaze with gratitude as you look over to them. “Thank you so much for being my moral support. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Consider this as our apology.” Wonyoung grabs your hand to give it a squeeze. You notice the guilt in her delicate features. “We didn’t mean what we said to you before, and we shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

“Wonyoung’s right. We’re sorry for what happened.” Yunjin offers you an apologetic smile. “To be honest, we’ve missed you so much.”

“We’ve missed being with you like this, just us girls.” Karina adds, turning the once lively atmosphere in the parlour into a pensive sadness. “Let’s never fight like that again.”

“What happened in the past is already in the past, so let’s not dwell on it.” You reassure them with a smile before proceeding to engage in another topic, gradually losing track of time due to getting immersive to the point where you almost forget all sorts of problems in the back of your mind until the night has fully ascended.

“Is it possible to get full just by eating three ice creams?” Karina asks with a groan as she pats her belly while your arm is interlocked with hers. The four of you are currently walking along the pavement to make your way to the parking lot.

“Maybe it’s just you, but I can easily finish off five ice creams and still have room for other desserts.” Yunjin tells her, and a smug smile on her lips earns her a playful scowl from Karina, to which you chuckle as they proceed to engage in banter, and soon enough, you have reached the nearly empty parking lot.

“Uh oh. It looks like we have unwanted people coming this way.” Wonyoung’s remark prompts you to look at her, spotting the sternness in her face with her eyes looking straight ahead, which you follow as you turn your head just to see two familiar figures clad in leather.

Your eyes instantly meet Jay’s steely ones, and from his expression, you have a feeling that you may or may not be in trouble. Before you can speak, Wonyoung shields you from their sight, prompting the other girls to follow her protective stance.

“Move.” Jay’s cold voice cuts through the nightly air sharply, but his stern command doesn’t deter your best friends. “I don’t have time to fuck around with you. I said, move.” You flinch slightly at the hint of warning in his flinty tone.

“No.” Yunjin seems to match the level of his austerity, and as you try to take a peek, your eyes widen at the stark, raging storms in the glaring eyes of Jay, whereas Sunghoon’s demeanour appears to be collected, but you know that he is just as pissed off as Jay. “Why are you here?”

“We need to speak to Y/N.” Sunghoon answers, his vehement tone indicates that there is no way they are leaving unless they get what they want. “Alone.”

“Whatever you need to say to her, you can tell her now.” Wonyoung counters strongly, as she has her arms over her chest in an intimidating stance.

“Didn’t you hear him? He said alone.” Jay glowers at them, but they remain unmoving, to which Jay no longer bothers to conceal his detestation towards them. “Why the fuck are you acting like her bodyguards? For fuck’s sake, it’s not like we want to hurt her!”

“Do you, really?” Karina asks in an annoying mockery that has their eyes twitching. “You guys are beyond predictable, so we don’t trust you to be alone with Y/N.”

Before things can get worse between them, you decide to step in, moving out of their body shields and revealing yourself in front of Sunghoon and Jay, whose eyes immediately latch on your figure.

You offer your girls a small smile in an attempt to assure them. “It’s okay. You girls can go ahead and wait for me in the car. Besides, they won’t do anything to hurt me in public.”

You can feel the sheer disbelief emanating from Sunghoon and Jay as their eyes drill into the side of your face. You ignore them as your eyes meet Wonyoung’s, giving her a firm nod.

Wonyoung releases a sigh, denoting her resignation, before nudging the other two. “Let’s go.” She says, and they eventually acquiesce, but not before shooting the guys a withering glare.

As the girls make their retreat to the car, you finally shift your attention to the disbelieving males, and this time, there are no traces of austerity or callousness they exhibited in front of your best friends. Just noticeable hurt glinting in their eyes by your previous statement, but they composed themselves with the rare sternness patch on their countenance.

“Do you know how much trouble you’re in?” Jay initiates the confrontation, his steely eyes penetrate into yours. “You shouldn’t have done what you did. Have you forgotten that there are always consequences to your actions?”

Your lips press thinly, refusing to back down despite feeling gradually small under their dark, pinning gaze. Your arms latch around your form, feeling the chilly wind hitting you. “I don't know what you’re talking about.” You lie so easily, and yet there is a palpable tremor in your voice.

“Heeseung is furious at you, princess.” Though Sunghoon is just as austere as Jay, the softness in his tone is so unmistakable that it almost impels you to cave into your longing and run into the comfort of his arms.

“We’re furious at you.” Jay seems to correct Sunghoon’s statement, and you nearly deflate like a balloon under the intensity of his dark gaze as he takes an intimidating step forward. “We don’t know why you did what you did, but you better have a good, reasonable explanation.”

“Stop.” You force your voice to come out strong as you back away, just before Jay can reach out to you. Your glare of hostility throws them off, and it is as though they are back to square one with you. “I’m not going anywhere with either of you. Just leave me alone.”

“Why are you being like this? Did we do something wrong?” Sunghoon voices out his frustration, while there is a hint of longing in his tone. “Talk to us, princess. Don’t shut us out.”

You shake your head, fighting against your vehement longing for them. “I just think it’s better for us to distance ourselves from each other.” You utter a broken whisper as you look away from their confused yet hurtful gaze. The tumult of emotions threatens to come down on you, springing tears to accumulate in your waterline. “You guys overwhelmed me, so please give me the space I need. Tell Heeseung that I’m sorry.”

Just as you are prepared to leave, Jay grabs you by the arm, pulling you close to him until he has you flushed against him. Your heart pumps rapidly at the warm contact of his body on yours and the way his dark eyes bore into yours deeply.

“You’re not going to walk away from us until you tell us why you’re avoiding us.” He demands calmly, while the low rasp in his voice awakens a familiar flutter in your beating heart. You notice the way his eyes flicker at your parted pink lips briefly. “I don’t want to force the answer out of you, baby.”

“Just go away!” You attempt to push him away from you in the chest while he still seizes control over your other arm, so you struggle in his unyielding grasp. Tears prick your glaring eyes as you look back at him. “I don’t have anything to explain to you! I’m not even your girlfriend!”

“Princess, calm down.” You feel Sunghoon’s presence behind you before his hands land on your tensed shoulders, alarming you at the fact that you are now being sandwiched between them.

You remain adamant, shaking your head vehemently before trying valiantly to escape from their possession, but exhaustion dawns on you more quickly than you like. “Just please…” You plead, and your voice has a noticeable crack in the end as you are caught in a whirlwind of emotions.

Succumbing to defeat, you hang your head low, hiding the sight of you in tears from them, before you instinctively lean your forehead against Jay’s chest. “Please let me go. I don’t want to argue with you two any longer. I’m tired.”

Sunghoon resists the urge to wrap his arms around you from behind, and when his eyes flicker to meet Jay’s, he gives him a firm nod, causing Jay to loosen his hold on you, but you remain in a defeated stance, unmoving.

“Fine, we’ll give you the space you need, but don’t think for a second that this is the last time you’ll ever see us.” Sunghoon speaks in a low murmur next to your ear, his cold breath fanning your earlobe.

Sniffling, you finally look up and push them away from you. Avoiding their gazes, you hug yourself in an attempt to provide some warmth amidst the chilly wind. “Forget it. I don’t want to see any of you anytime, sooner, or ever.” Despite your declaration, your heart vehemently disagrees. “I’ve decided to revert to the girl I was before she foolishly allowed herself to fall for your charms.”

“Princess…”

“Baby…”

You muster the last of your courage as you glare at them through your teary vision, unable to see the expressions they wear. “Whatever we had before, it’s over. We’re over.”

You don’t give either of them the opportunity to speak or counter-remark, as you immediately flee from them, heading towards Karina’s car, where your best friends have been watching the entire interaction closely. As you shove yourself in the passenger seat and slam the door, Karina wastes no time in driving you off, and alas, you release the restrained waterworks.

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You stayed true to your firm decision about reverting to the good Catholic girl you were before all the corruption you allowed to break you from the inside, because when Sunday morning arrives, you find yourself entering the familiar divine building alongside other churchgoers. Settling on a pew in the right aisle, you grab your bible from your tote bag and place it on your lap while your other hand clutches the rosary as you await the service to begin.

It feels foreign to you to come back here after so long, but above all, stepping foot on these holy grounds evokes an immense guilt in you, and you feel as though you are undeserving after having your impurity ripped off due to your immoral willingness. Nevertheless, you know that those thoughts are whispers of the devil in order to lead you astray again.

As soon as the service commences, you attempt to direct your full attention on the pastor as he delivers his preaching, but your eyebrows furrow at the feeling of eyes watching you, nearly dissuading you from your focal point before you force yourself to refocus again while clutching your rosary.

Perhaps it is your paranoia at the possibility that whoever attacked you the other night is back to hunt you down, but you can’t shake off the feeling of eyes fixated on your figure, especially in the way the back of your hair rises and goosebumps on your skin hidden underneath your white cardigan that matches well with your cute white floral dress.

Okay, maybe you are being paranoid, and those eyes probably belong to people seated in the rows behind you since you are seated in the very first row, but you have this strong urge to turn around, and you do so slowly. As your eyes briefly scan these people, their focus seems to be on the preaching. Just then, you feel a burning sensation drilling into your face, prompting you to shift your eyes elsewhere.

At the moment your eyes lock with his, your breath goes hitched in your throat while your heart pounds hard against your chest. Seated amongst the other churchgoers somewhere in the backrow in your aisle is Lee Heeseung.

The bill of his cap does nothing to shadow the wicked glint in his dark, mesmerising eyes, and a devilish smirk plays on his lips. Your eyes follow the movement of his tongue gliding across his bottom lip, which is adorned with the familiar silver ring. Despite the forbidden arousal stirring in your core, confusion fills your head.

What is he doing here? At least to your knowledge, Heeseung has never gone to this church, nor is he someone who is religious, so his unexpected appearance greatly confounds you. Nevertheless, you force yourself to break the devilly yet heavenly trance from his eye contact, facing the front again.

When the service ends, you exchange polite greetings and farewells to the others in your vicinity before abandoning your seat to make your way through the departing people to greet the priest, and midway, you look over your shoulder to check if Heeseung is still there. A frown touches your lips at the empty spot where he was seen earlier. His sudden disappearance only seems to unnerve you.

You grace your countenance with a polite smile as soon as the priest greets you warmly. The thought of Heeseung immediately dissipates as you engage in a meaningful conversation with the priest. However, you feel weirded out upon noticing his lecherous gaze and how often he compliments your overall look, not forgetting the way his eyes linger on your revealing legs even though the length of your dress reaches just above your knees.

You inwardly shake your head and silently berate yourself for such ill-thoughts of the priest when he has always been kind to you. Besides, your intention is to make a confession entailing your sinful pursuits, and so the priest begins to guide you to the sacrament of penance while the church gradually becomes quieter due to the others’ departure.

However, uneasiness is gnawing at you while your stomach churns, noticing that something is indeed off as he guides you to a different route and the atmosphere gets ominous.

You bite down your lip, contemplating before deciding to act upon your better instinct. “Um..Father, from what I recall, this isn’t the way to the─” You are cut off when he grabs a hold of your arm tightly, feeling as though he has stopped the blood flowing in your arm.

“What are you doing?!” You try to yank your arm from his deadly grip as he continues to drag you with him into one of the rooms where the lights are dim, shoving you inside. Panic and anxiety expand in your chest as you feel helpless against his strength.

Something dark casts a shadow across his features as he looks at you, his lips curling into a wicked sneer while you grimace at the lecherous gaze of his. “I’ve waited a long time for this, for you, my sweet child.” He says so amorously, pulling you closer until his prominent bulge is pressed against your thigh.

“Get away from me, you perv!” You scream, trashing against his hold, no longer do you hold such respect for him. “Help! He’s trying to─” He slaps you hard on the cheek and shoves you to the ground, standing over you.

You choke back a sob while tears prickle in your eyes, not understanding why the priest would do this to you. Just when you think there is no hope, the door is violently pushed open, with the handle being wholly destroyed. Before you know it, the priest has been shoved away from you, manhandled by an imposing figure.

“You sick hypocritical fucker!” Jake’s enraged voice startles you as it reverberates throughout the room. When you look at the side, you gasp upon seeing Jake deliver brutal yet skillful punches to the priest’s face as he hovers over. “You dared to assault my woman?!” He roars out, making you go flinching.

Jake is seeing absolute red and becoming relentless. Another punch, and this time, you can’t bear to see the violence as blood begins to spill.

You stand with shaky legs, getting ready to bolt your way out of here, but when another figure enters the room, you gasp again upon seeing a melee knife in Heeseung’s grasp while his eyes are ablaze with rampant storms. His focus is solely on the priest, who is being beaten relentlessly to the pulp.

You should be running away by now, but you remain frozen with fascination and horror as you watch the vicious element Jake revels in, as evident in the way he smirks. Clutching the nearly half-dead priest by his blood-stained shirt, Jake casts a glance at Heeseung. “Should we kill him off quickly or painfully slowly?

Heeseung mirrors Jake’s smirk as he toys around with the knife. “The latter is music to my ears.”

Your heart drops to the pit of your stomach at the dreadful realisation of their firm decision to kill off the priest. Sure, you now loathe the priest and feel completely revolted by his assault, but killing doesn’t sit right with you.

Just when Heeseung brings the pointed tip of the knife near to the priest’s bloodied face, you stop him with a plea, “Don’t kill him!”

The sound of your voice draws their attention in an instant, but the expressions they wear on their faces cause your stomach to churn unpleasantly. Jake scoffs, his gaze burning into your face. “You don’t get to decide the fate of this sick bastard. He fucking assaulted you, Y/N. He must pay the price.”

“N-Not like this. Please.” You try to reason with them, and a tear trickles down your cheek while you tremble with a palpable fear for them. “We can report him to the police instead. Just please, no killing.”

“You don’t seem to understand that you are in no position to make demands.” Heeseung says lowly, the warning projecting in the rasp of his voice while his dark eyes penetrate into yours. A cold smirk plays on his lips as he diverts his attention to you. “For that matter, you had the audacity to stop us and tell us what to do after what you did.”

“H-Heeseung…” You whisper in a panic, your tearful eyes bringing him a wicked delight as you slowly back away from him.

Heeseung stalks towards you, chuckling softly. “Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t think I’d forget your rebellion, did you? It’s time for you to face the consequences, and how fitting it is to punish you on these sacred grounds.”

Entering fight-or-flight mode, you decide to flee from them, bolting out of the room and navigating your way back to the pew since you had left your belongings there. You hear thundering footsteps from behind you, eliciting a fearful sob from you as you know that Heeseung is relentlessly chasing after you, and unbeknownst to you, he is catching up fast.

When you arrive at the crossing, you are greeted by a desolate sight, bare of any churchgoers. It is eerily silent too, with the exception of your harsh panting as you halt from running, needing to gasp for air while your chest feels tight. Running really is your weakest suit.

You spot your belongings at the previous spot you were seated at, and just before you move forward, the door ahead of you from afar opens, revealing Sunghoon and Jay sauntering into the church leisurely with equal boredom on their countenances, and in their manner, it is as though they are on the grounds of their territory.

“You two are just in time.” Heeseung startles you from behind, but your reaction in eluding him delays, resulting in you being caged in his possession with his hands seizing your arms now being interlocked behind you securely.

“Heeseung! Let go of me!” You struggle valiantly against him despite apprehension coiling within you, and when a rising anticipation at the feasible thrill of what they have in store for you stirs in your inner core, you silently berate yourself for nearly forgetting your morality.

Your eyes flicker to Sunghoon and Jay as they continue to advance forward, their neutrality at the sight of you being held captive in Heeseung’s possession confounds you. Nevertheless, you have no idea why you desire their help when they are probably in it too. “J-Jay, Hoonie…” You utter their name weakly, feeling dejected by their indifference.

“They’re not going to help you, sweetheart.” Heeseung chuckles lethally and softly beside your ear, sending shivers down your spine. “They’re here to take out the trash, and who knows if they want to watch us as well?”

“Heeseung, please.” You whimper out, fear is palpable in the tremor of your voice, and yet you can’t seem to put a stop to your stirring arousal in your core at the deliverance of your punishment from him. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, but you did mean it, sweetheart. The camera in my office captured everything. You just couldn’t keep your pretty hands to yourself and stayed curious like the good fucking girl you were supposed to be.” He snarls coldly, evoking more dread in you that soon mingles with your unbearable arousal, causing you to discreetly squeeze your thighs together.

The commotion coming from the side prompts you to turn your head, and your eyes widen in horror at the sight of the fucked-up priest, whose face is close to wrecked with blood smeared all over, being dragged across the floor by Jake with ease.

“Thank fuck, you guys are here. He’s heavy as fuck.” Jake groans loudly as he releases the priest’s limb without any thought of gentleness when Sunghoon and Jay approach him. “Handle him, and I don’t care how or what you choose to do with him.”

“What did he do again?” Jay inquires rather uninterestedly, wanting this to be done as soon as possible.

“Sexually assaulted young girls for the past few years and threatened them into staying silent.” Jake lists them down, whereas you become genuinely appalled by the revelation. When his eyes flicker at yours fleetingly, you flinch slightly. “The fucker assaulted our girl too.”

“Say less. We’ll get the job nicely done.” Sunghoon affirms, adorning a smile that gives you the chills. You watch as Sunghoon and Jay drag the priest by his arms, seeming to be making their way to the other exit and leaving you with the very two predators you should be evading.

“Lovely.” Jake drawls out, his charming grin is a deception you recognise, while his eyes are overtly displayed with a mingling displeasure and lust. “Where are your manners, my love? We did save you from that pretentious bastard.”

“T-Thank you.” You stammer, your cheeks flushing pink with humiliation, under their burning derogatory gaze.

“Awww, isn’t she adorable, Heeseung?” Jake coos, his gentle tone dripping with mockery, as does the way he looks at you, akin to how a predator is ready to pounce on their prey before devouring them alive.

Heeseung hums in agreement as he strokes your cheek in a hauntingly loving gesture. “You’re right. She’s so fucking adorable.” You hear the sneer in his voice before he directs his speech to you. “Just like how adorable you were trying to escape when you should’ve known that I’ll always win over you, sweetheart.”

“I wasn’t trying to escape!” You accidentally display your defiance, denying the obvious truth, and you smack your lips shut together while berating your idiocy once more.

“So she lies as well.” Jake tuts disapprovingly. “The list just keeps adding. First, you broke one of our rules by trespassing on Heeseung’s office for the second time. Second, you didn’t want to see us anymore. Now, this?”

“Someone needs to be taught a lesson or two.” Heeseung chuckles darkly, eliciting an enticing whimper from you that goes straight to their cocks. “It really is fitting for our girl to be punished on these sacred grounds, right, Jake?”

“Definitely.” The sensation of Jake’s eyes raking all over you feels scorching. “Bad girls need to be taught some lessons, and it looks like our sweet angel has fallen. We can’t have you become bad. No, you need to be good just for us.”

It is really confusing. You are caught up in a predicament where the rational part of you beseeches you to follow your morality and refuse your awaiting predators, but another part of you, which you regard as corrupt, is pulling you to its side, lulling you to succumb to their depravity.

“Did you know that Jake was such a good boy, just like you?” Heeseung purrs in your ear, dripping with his seductive allure that projects in his husky voice.

You shudder lightly as you feel his wet muscle licking a stripe on your earlobe before speaking to you in a deceptive, gentle tone that belies familiar darkness. “Oh, yes. He even took his studies in religion to a higher level, which almost granted him the opportunity to become a preacher. It’s rather fitting for him to preach and correct the errors of your ways now, yeah?”

A whimper leaves your lips when Heeseung seizes your chin without any gentleness to forcefully turn your head to look at Jake, whose dark eyes penetrate into yours and bear such wicked intent, while a smirk unfurls on his lips as he stalks towards you.

“Please.” Your voice is barely above a whisper, while a tear escapes from the corner of your eye as Jake caresses your cheek in a hauntingly loving gesture. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to─”

“Oh, you’ll be begging for forgiveness, alright.” Jake chuckles coldly, no traces of his usual charming mirth are detectable. His thumb brushes across your bottom lip sensually before tugging it down, causing your lips to part open while you remain helpless in Heeseung’s impenetrable hold.

“I’m your fucking preacher now, and since you are so desperate to seek forgiveness, you’ll be confessing your sins to me while I fuck you until I decide when you can be pardoned.” Jake says so harshly, causing more tears to accumulate in your eyes. His dark eyes bear zero ounces of clemency, while his countenance reminds you of the night when he embodied a serial killer. “Now face the damn cross and get down on your fucking knees.”

Once Heeseung releases you, you know better than to delay further, following Jake’s instruction despite the humiliation descending on you before you finally find yourself kneeling on the ground and facing the imposing cross.

“On your fours, sweetheart.” Heeseung instructs firmly, his gentle tone does nothing to ease your frayed nerves. You swallow down a whimper as you reluctantly lean your body forward with both palms pressed on the floor, feeling exposed from the back since you are bare of any safety shorts.

You feel Jake’s hands manoeuvre from behind you, lifting the entirety of your dress to fully expose your ass, with your white lace underwear barely covering the expanse of it. You don’t have time to grasp the sensation of his callous palm landing on your ass cheek hard, as it sends you a shocking wave in a painful ripple through your body before he does it again.

“Ah! Jaeyun!” You yelp out, your body jerking forward due to the impact, before you feel fingers tangling in your hair to grab a fistful of your hair and apply enough pressure to pull your head to the back, making you face the high grand ceiling.

“I’m not hearing any apologies from you yet, lovely.” Jake tuts as he rubs the soreness of your ass cheek soothingly before taking you by surprise when he smacks it twice hard, eliciting a sob from you, and yet, you can feel your arousal staining your underwear as it leaks from your needy cunt. “I can do this all day.”

“Please! I’m so sorry! I made a mistake by breaking your rule!” You begin your confession, apologising through sobs as well, while tears are prickling in your eyes as he remains unforgiving in spanking you. “I promise I won’t do it again! Please! It hurts!”

“Oh yeah? If it hurts, then why are you so wet from your punishment, lovely?” He chuckles sardonically as he finally ceases the spanking, only for his fingers to migrate your lace underwear and stroke the outer of your cunt, where he spots a visible wet patch on the material. “Naughty, dirty angel. If you wanted to be punished like this so badly, then why didn’t you say so?”

You feel him releasing your hair, allowing your strained neck to rest. “I-I don’t─” A gasp leaves your lips at the moment Jake practically tears your underwear savagely and tosses it aside. “Jaeyun! My underwear─”

“Shut up.” Jake cuts you off sharply, earning him a dejected whimper from you while he loosens his slacks, freeing his erection that desires to be buried in your warmth after so long. “I’m going to fuck your sweet cunt, and you’re going to fuck Heeseung’s cock with your mouth. You’re going to take us both like the well-trained slut you are for us.”

It isn’t really helping when your cunt keeps clenching anytime either of them delivers their degradation to you, and it’s even worse when you are eagerly anticipating for their cocks and for them to ruin you once more.

“Come on, sweetheart. Open up.” Heeseung towers over your figure in front of you while your hungry eyes are staring at his erection, the pink tip is engorged. You part open your lips, inviting him to push his cock into your hot cavern, and he does.

You try your best to avoid gagging as the head gets further away, grazing against the roof of your mouth. A pleasurable sigh leaves Heeseung’s lips as soon as you begin to fuck him with your mouth, your tongue swirling around the head before deepthroating him skillfully like a pro, earning you an approving rumble from his chest while his dark eyes watch you.

Seeing as you are too distracted with Heeseung’s cock, Jake smirks softly and aims his cock directly at your cunt, just for the head to rub against your slick folds, eliciting a muffled moan from your stuffed throat as the head continuously bumps your neglected clit.

Without any further foreplay, Jake thrusts the entirety of his length into you as your walls welcome him, despite the tightness that has him biting down his lips. The sheer girth of his shaft has you whimpering and moaning that are restricted by Heeseung’s cock, causing you to stop as Jake unyieldingly delivers his slow yet hard thrusts into your needy cunt with the walls fluttering around him.

Not satisfied with your performance, Heeseung grabs a fistful of your hair while your jaw goes slacken, and your teary eyes meet his stern ones. “I didn’t say you could stop, did I?”

You immediately shake your head at him before resuming, but it is getting harder to focus on Heeseung when Jake is fucking you from behind so deliciously as the sound of his thighs smacking against your bums resonates throughout these sacred walls.

“Oh, fuck, lovely.” Jake throws his head to the back, gritting his teeth at the delirious sensation of your fluttery walls practically vacuuming his cock, as though they never want to let go, prompting him to deliver shallow thrusts while picking up the pace. “You must’ve missed my cock that much, yeah?”

There is no possible way to verbally respond to him other than muffled moans. Heeseung uses your hair as leverage to fuck himself into your mouth; each thrust gets shallower as the head hits the back of your throat.

“Good girl. Take my cock like the champ you are.” Heeseung coos, admiring your tear-stained face and how sinfully innocent you look with your eyelashes fluttering as you look up at him while your mouth is stuffed full by his cock. A muscle pulses in his jaw, unable to prolong the impending orgasm as it reaches its climax. “I’m gonna cum, sweetheart. You know what to do, yeah?”

You nod your head, eager to please him, and hurl him to the edge as you play around the sensitive tip with your tongue before deepthroating him and going still as he finally cums into you while you gladly swallow every drop.

“That’s it. Oh, my beautiful sweetheart.” Heeseung continues to shower you with compliments that make your heart swell, whereas Jake feels neglected by your lack of attention.

As soon as Heeseung steps away from you, Jake grabs you by the hair and pulls it back while he fucks you harder yet precisely shallow, which has you nearly seeing stars in your vision.

“Oh God!” You moan out, lost in a haze of intense pleasure, with your eyes rolling to the back of your skull as he sets a brutal pace that you never knew you needed from him.

“No God, baby.” Jake rasps, his voice thick with gratification and his eyes darkening as he revels in the sweet sound eliciting from you, adding to the symphony of your sinful intercourse in front of the holy cross. “Only Jaeyun for you. I’m your God now.”

“Jaeyun!” You begin to blabber, deprived of complete coherence, as you begin to fuck yourself back on him, wanting to feel him deeply, and when the head manages to hit that spot deliciously, a loud moan tears from your throat. “Oh! Jae! Right there!”

“Right fucking there?” Jake growls as he tightens his grip on your hair, drilling his cock deep into you, and fuck, he feels it, the head hitting something spongy inside you while the repeated action of his draws out more moans from you. “Yeah? That’s your spot, lovely?”

“Please! More!” You sob out, completely delirious to the sensation of his cock that consumes your every sense, and unbeknownst to you, more than one pair of eyes have been watching you.

“Don’t be greedy, love. It’s a sin.” Jake chuckles, mockery lacing his tone, but his voice sounds nearly strained as his impending orgasm comes forth, rendering him teetering at the edge while his vigorous thrusts don’t let up. “Fuck. I’m going to cum in you, lovely.”

You whimper out while tears cascade down your cheeks, and at the same time, your orgasm hits you violently when his hips go completely stilled with his cock burying to the hilt, dumping his cum into your womb to mix with yours. Still, you feel dissatisfied, as evident in the way your walls go clenching around him like crazy, eliciting a breathy chuckle from the male.

Jake gently pulls out his cock from your nearly battered, fluttery walls, earning him a needy whine from you, which he clicks his tongue at. “Don’t worry, lovely. You’ll get what you want. Now get up.”

Slowly, you stand on shaking legs while your thighs and knees are evidently sore. Heeseung takes you by surprise when he grabs your arm firmly to guide you forward. Your confusion is mingled with immense guilt as you feel the weight of the holy cross glaring at you while he guides you until you reach the altar.

“Sit and lay down with your legs spread open.” Heeseung calmly instructs you, but you remain frozen, shaken from the core at the realisation of what he is about to do. “I’m not going to say it again, sweetheart.”

Not wanting to piss him off, you obediently follow his absurd instructions while ignoring the wicked thrill in you. As you sit on the altar and face the front, your heart nearly drops at the sight of Sunghoon and Jay, who seem to have been watching you from the spot where Jake had fucked you, while one of them is clearly recording you with his phone.

In a blink of an eye, Heeseung has you laid down on the altar, your legs now spread flexibly for their eyes to feast upon your cunt that pulsates with the incessant need to be stuffed full again.

“Greedy for more, aren’t you?” Heeseung looms over your vulnerable figure in front of you, whereas Jake stands behind you to bind your wrists above your head, denying you any possible defiance against what Heeseung is about to do. A smirk plays on Heesueng’s lips, seeing the heavy lust amidst your teary eyes. “It seems you’ve forgotten that this should be your punishment. I guess Jake didn’t execute your punishment properly.”

“Fuck you, I did.” Jake retorts, but Heeseung merely ignores him as his eyes trail to your pink, slick folds from both Jake and your cum. A breathy moan leaves your lips as his fingers stroke your throbbing clit before rubbing it for good measure, just to take you by surprise when he suddenly lands a sharp slap on your pussy.

“Heeseung!” You scream as he does it again painfully, and another comes that has you struggling in Jake’s firm hold while your hips jerk at the impact. You sob out, feeling your pussy being abused by his relentless slaps and teasing of his fingers, occasionally rubbing your aching clit, as though to edge you in an agonising way. “Please! No more!”

“No more? But you’re fucking wet, sweetheart.” Heeseung unfurls a soft smirk as he finally relents, just to slide his fingers down on your slippery folds that are coated with your slick arousal. “Gonna baptise you, pretty girl.”

“Our sweet angel just loves the pain, doesn’t she?” Jake smirks down at you cruelly, his eyes marvelling at how docile you are being displayed like this and how your legs seem to be spreading for more room. “Oh, you do want this, yeah? Fucking give it to her, Heeseung.”

You flinch again when Heeseung delivers one last smack on your drenched-reddened folds before he lowers himself to level with your throbbing cunt and wastes no time delving into you, his hands pressing on your inner thighs to keep your legs from closing.

You gasp at the abrupt intrusion of his wet muscle thrusting into your cunt, but as his tongue dances across your sensitive flesh, licking your every wall with his nose rubbing your clit, you arch your back as you move your hips in tandem with his expert tongue delving into your cunt and the way he teases your quivering walls with his lip ring. His cap has completely fallen off as he becomes utterly drunk in your sweet pre-essence, his hunger for your cunt is insatiable.

Jake watches as your angelic face contorts into pleasure with your eyes fluttered close and moans spilling from your lips that go straight into his now-twitching cock.

The slick sound emanating from your slick cunt is utterly obscene as it reaches to your ears, only turning you on more as does the

“Oh my god! Seungie!” You mewl at his uninhibited movements, ravaging you as though your pussy is his last meal. You feel him humming, sending vibration through your quivering body, before he drags his tongue across your slick folds to find your clit and sucks on your nub, setting your bundles of nerves aflame.

“Fuck!” You cry out when he bites down on your nub without any ounce of mercy before he laps it up to soothe the pain, and yet it is a pain you have grown to crave. “Seungie.” You mewl again, moving your hips sensually as his tongue expertly swirls and licks your sensitive clit, and you become wholly consumed by the pleasure.

Without letting up his tongue, Heeseung plunges two fingers into your sopping cunt, thrusting vigorously with primal abandon. The sheer intensity of his tongue and fingers hurls you to the teetering edge, your pleasure building to a crescendo while wanton moans spill from your lips, surrendering to the rapturous onslaught.

Your tearful eyes meet Jake’s, whose eyes darken with a primal lust as he watches Heeseung unyielding punishment to your sopping cunt, and you begin to feel it—the familiar white-hot sensation sizzling through you at the same time his fingers curl in you, hitting that spot unrelentingly. “I’m gonna cum.” You moan brokenly, sobbing.

“Do it, lovely.” Jake coos as he brushes away the messy strands from your face, his eyes hold an unmistakable affection amidst the lust. “Wanna see you squirt for us.”

With Heeseung’s one last flick on the nub, your orgasm comes crashing down like tidal waves, and your release gushes out messily with fluid while your body convulses uncontrollably on the altar as you sob out at the sheer intensity of the overwhelming pleasure. Just when you think he is done, his fingers resume fucking into you, even as you continue to squirt.

Heeseung looms over your figure, his face is demented with primal lust, and a devilish smirk plays on his lips. Your heart flutters at how good he looks, his sheeny nose and chin dripping with your slick essence while his hair is tousled and his dark eyes gleam with insatiable lust for you. You whimper as he roughly removes his fingers to deliver a slap on your wholly drenched pussy.

“Look at you. Being fucked and ruined by us on these holy grounds.” Heeseung's husky voice is laden with lust, while his dark eyes gleam with familiar corruption. He slaps your sensitive clit sharply, drawing out a cry from you as he continues to degrade you while you remain powerless against Jake’s hold. “You should be ashamed of yourself, sweetheart.“

“I’m sorry.” You sob out, unable to think straight as your mind has melted into a puddle, only wanting to succumb to the exhaustion.

“That’s right. Seek forgiveness only from us.” Jake says so softly, his caress on your cheek feels deceptive, and yet you lean into his touch, your lidded eyes struggling to stay open. “We’re your salvation, lovely. You need only us.”

You nod your head slowly, feeling languid, but just as you are about to succumb to the darkness that nearly consumes your every sense, you manage to spot them holding their phones, snapping shots of you, before you finally pass out on the altar from the sheer exhaustion.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

As soon as you gain consciousness, the soreness in your lower region serves as a reminder of the event that transpired earlier in the holy church, and the recollection hits you with an unadulterated mortification as you remain numbly unmoving from the bed, facing the familiar ceiling that is painted in delicate tapestry from the soft glow of the moon filtering through your window.

You can’t help but feel surprised when they bring you back to the palace instead of abandoning you and leaving you half-stark naked on the altar, considering that you did displease them and how their cruelty was punctuated in the way they gave you both pleasure and pain.

Yet, despite the gratification that satisfies your longing lust for them, you are still caught in the dilemma of whether you want to be closer to them or to listen to your rationality and depart from their lives for good. Tears prickle in your eyes, frustrated at the clear dissonance of your heart and mind.

Not long later, you are freshened up. The whiff of your shampoo scent hits you as you march your way around to find them, your eyes hardening when you vividly recall one of them recording the entire obscenity in the church earlier, spurring you into confronting them while a stab of betrayal plunges into your heart.

After long minutes of searching for them, you finally found them across from the arcade room, where they are in the middle of playing billiards. The lighting in the room is aesthetically dim, exuding an air of allure, especially when the entire space is dominated by their tantalising presences.

You ignore the familiar jitters that flutter in your tummy at their distinct, sharp gazes on your figure, while the cold atmosphere feels oppressive, punctuated by the cadence of your rapid heartbeat. Ignoring the jitters, you focus on the resentment that stems from the betrayal, which has deeply stained the mistrust you have developed for them.

“I know you guys recorded and snapped pictures of me earlier.” The coldness of your voice is tinged with utter disbelief while your steely eyes glare at their seemingly neutral demeanour, with the exception of their equally callous gazes. A muscle pulses in your jaw, refusing to back down from their oozing intimidation. “I did not consent to any of it. So please delete them.”

Still, your sensibility has been hoping that they would listen to you since they always do, but the air of nonchalance exuding from their imposing figures shatters that hope, and the cruelty shines through in the way Heeseung smirks.

“We knew that you’d be confronting us about it, but we’re not going to delete them unless you confess to us about why you did what you did.” Heeseung says calmly, leaning his lower back against the pool table with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh, so you’re trying to blackmail me? Is this what you’re doing now?” You let out a disbelieving chuckle while you feel as though a knife has slashed your beating heart. “And if I don’t confess? What do you plan on doing with them, then? Posting and spreading those pictures and videos online?” You bombard them with rhetorical questions.

Heeseung narrows his eyes at this, and you notice a flare of protectiveness in his eyes. “No, sweetheart. We would never do any of that, because your body is meant for our eyes only.” He nearly growls out, as if the thought of anyone who dares to get a glimpse of your nudity enrages him.

Nevertheless, you scoff, rolling your eyes as you fold your arms below your chest. “That doesn’t change the fact you guys took them without consent from me!”

“How else are we going to get your undivided attention when all you’ve done is avoid and try to escape from us? Especially after knowing what your mistake was.” Sunghoon counters firmly, his eyebrows arching at you.

“That’s the second time you broke one of our rules, Y/N.” Jay remarks, the austerity he emanates reminds you of his father, to whom the elder managed to leave an impression. “We didn’t expect such behaviour from you.”

“Speaking of behaviour, you’ve become different after going through Heeseung’s computer.” Sunghoon points out. “Clearly, you’ve discovered something that led to your avoidance, princess.” You ignore the way your heart lightly flutters at the endearment.

“And we don’t usually give second chances to anyone’s rebellion, not even you.” Jake’s statement deepens the hurt in your chest, which springs the tears in your waterline, and when you look at him, he seems to regret the words left in his mouth before the steeliness in his eyes melts. He releases a soft sigh, settling on the single couch at the side. “Just tell us the truth─”

“I found out about our parents.” You cut him off sharply, trying your utmost to maintain your composure and not go all hysteric on them. You continue, even when the cold atmosphere feels foreboding. “I saw those pictures of them, and what disgusts me the most is that you kept an old tape of theirs─” You inhale sharply as you turn away from them, unable to continue when the recollection of that God-forsaken tape resurfaces in your mind.

From your peripheral vision, you spot Jay moving towards you rather cautiously. “Baby, we can explain─”

Your eyes are ablaze with anger and hurt as you return your gaze to them, every fibre of your being surging with unbridled tumultuous emotions that you have been keeping at bay. “What is there to explain?! That it’s beneficial for you to keep such sickening content?” You lash out at them, and fuck, you hate it whenever you are caught up in the haze of your anger, tears will always spring up in your eyes.

Jake clenches his jaw, his eyes storming dangerously with pique. “Lovely, if you just allow us to explain─”

You cut him off with a sardonic chuckle, which escapes you as your chin wobbles with sadness that derives from their betrayal. “Oh, I know. Those pictures and videos you took of me, you’re going to keep and jerk off to them just like you do to our parents’ orgy.” You can see it in their countenance—how greatly angered they are by your statements, which they deem false.

“Fucking hell, Y/N. Why would we jerk off to their sex tape when it’s meant for blackmailing our fathers?!” Sunghoon exclaims, his eyes in utter disbelief at your accusation. “Fine, if you want to know why, it’s because we’re going to blackmail our fathers once the time is right.”

“For what? Revenge against them?” You press on the matter, scoffing as you wipe away your tears. “I don’t care about whatever grudge you have against your fathers, but to involve my mother in your revenge scheme? How could you─”

“It’s not in any of your business, Y/N.” Heeseung’s low voice serves as a warning. His callous gaze seems to hurt you more. “You don’t have the right to question what we do.”

“It is when my mother is involved!” You retort angrily before sobbing, as tears are unrelentingly cascading on your cheeks. “If I had known that you were this deplorable, I shouldn’t have given my heart to you in the first place.”

“Baby.” Jay attempts to reach out to you, but you back away from him, shaking your head.

“I can’t do this anymore with all of you, and this time, I mean it when I say that whatever we had, whether I’m just your fuckdoll for you to toy around or whatever, we’re over.” You force your voice to come out strong, and yet you falter with the pain expanding in your tightening chest.

But Heeseung stops you just when you are ready to egress. “Y/N Kang, don’t you dare leave this room without taking back your words or─”

It is as though something so profound snaps within you as you whirl around to glare dementedly into his eyes. “Or what?! You’re going to kill me just like you did to Jinae?!”

This time, your strident exclamation staggers them into a complete silence that is deafening throughout the room, with the exception of your harsh breathing. The look on their faces dispels any lingering doubts about them being Jinae’s murderers, although it is not a telltale sign of guilt but rather something so cryptic as you scrutinise them for another time.

Nevertheless, your resolve remains unwavering, determined to get the entire truth out of them, wanting to listen to their side of the story of what exactly happened three years ago.

“No more hiding anything from me. Tell me the truth.” You demand, and the palpable tremor in your voice punctuates your qualm. Their deafening silence only seems to aggravate you as you clench your fist. “Why did you kill Jinae?”

“It’s been three years since her passing. Why bring it up now?” Jake deftly dodges the question as he looks away from you, his chiselled jaw goes clenching.

“How did you know about her?” Sunghoon asks sternly, his thick eyebrows furrowing at you.

“It doesn’t matter how I know about her, but I know enough that she was your prey, just like I am now. That’s why you guys targeted me in the first place, right?” Your resolve in the way you firmly speak slowly wanes as hurt flickers in your gaze at the dawning realisation. “I’m not anything special to you. I’m just your prey for you to fuck me over until you decide to end my life the same way you did to Jinae if I ever cross any of you, right?”

“Do you really think the worst of us, sweetheart?” Heeseung asks quietly, something that is akin to the hurt reflecting in your eyes glinting in his. “Do you really think that we would ever do anything to jeopardise your precious life?”

His questions hit you like whiplash as you blink away your tears, and a shaky breath leaves your lips, unable to think of anything other than the look in his eyes. Never have you ever seen Heeseung being hurt, especially by you.

Still, you don’t relent, acting upon your ego as you swallow the painful emotional lump in your throat. “Yes.” You answer shakily, looking away from them. “But by all means, you are welcome to prove me wrong. Until then, I don’t want to be around any of you because I no longer trust you.”

Like a bolt of lightning, you depart from the room before any of them can stop you, your hasten steps guiding you back to your room with the intention to pack whatever necessities and head over to your dorm.

You sniffle, wiping the remnants of tears away from your cheeks with the sleeves of your blouse, unaware of your surroundings to even hear heavy footsteps behind you that punctuated his vehemence in preventing you from ebbing away from his reach any longer.

A startled gasp tears from your throat when a hand latches on your wrist to spin you around. Transient confusion fills your muddling head. “Sunghoon─”

Without a word, Sunghoon manoeuvres you swiftly, being quite nonchalant in the way he does as he carries you over his shoulder effortlessly with one arm hooked around your waist for security before he advances forward.

You gasp once more before vexation takes you over, swinging your legs and delivering puny punches to his toned back in defiance. “Park Sunghoon! Put me down!” You squeal just as his palm smacks down on your ass cheek, causing your cheeks to turn rosier while the stinging pain of the impact renders your silence.

Not too long later, Sunghoon pushes open the door to his room and brings you over to his bed before settling down as you stand by the edge of his bed. It seems that he has already predicted your next move, because before you can dash for the door, he grabs your wrist tight and spins you around.

“Park Sunghoon─” You don’t have time to process anything when he yanks you into his chest and silences you with his lips slamming into yours.

The faint taste of cigarettes on his lips pervades your overwhelming senses, and just when you have every intention to push him away, the way he is kissing you dissolves your resistance as you melt against him like butter, reciprocating the kiss with equal fervour while your hands go winding in his hair.

Sunghoon manoeuvres you over his bed without breaking the lip lock. Your back is pressed against the mattress with him hovering over you as he kisses you like he needs air, prompting you to force yourself to pull away from his chasing lips.

The sound of your bated breath mingles with his as you gaze into his dark, penetrating eyes that swirl with unfathomable emotions. His hair is just as tousled as yours, tempting you to skim your fingers through his soft locks once more.

Before you can speak, he silences you again, capturing your lips in a kiss that is a reflection of the depths of his feelings for you while the fluttering butterflies remain in their wake.

“Sunghoon,” You manage to utter in between the kisses, your hands latching on his nape. You gasp when he gently nips at your bottom lip before placing a chaste kiss at the corner of your lips. “Sunghoon, wait─”

“Don’t leave, princess.” Sunghoon’s desperation is accentuated by the uncharacteristic softness of his deep voice, which throws you off guard, his lips ghosting yours and pressing a deep, tender kiss on your lips while his arm slithers beneath your back, hugging you close to him with a longing sense of raw intimacy.

You gasp for air as soon as he pulls away, and when your eyes flutter open, your breath hitches at the glinting vulnerability in his eyes. You swallow harshly, looking away from him. “You can’t change my mind, Hoon.”

“Please, I─” Sunghoon dips his head into the hollow of your neck, mapping his kisses on your skin, each a testament to his desperation and affection reserved for you and only you. You hear him whimpering, or maybe you heard wrong, but you swear something stirs in your fluttery heart. “I can’t bear the thought of you leaving for good. I need you, princess.”

“You don’t need me. You never had.” You whisper, choking back a sob as you are overwhelmed by emotions. Your feeble attempt at pushing him away ceases, and you surrender yourself to his addictive kisses on your neck.

“Just don’t leave.” He remains adamant as he murmurs against your neck before trailing his kisses upward and reclaiming your lips in a searing kiss. “Let me fix this, yeah?” He rasps hotly against your lips before forcing his tongue into your mouth, exploring every inch and dancing in an intimate tango with your tongue, eliciting a breathy moan from you.

His kisses and his touch feel like a scorching brand all over you, enticing you to succumb to his overpowering allure. Finally caving into what your yearning heart desires, you slowly wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him close to you and deepening the fervent passion in the exchange of your kisses.

Maybe it won’t hurt you to indulge your heart, but you know that, at the end of the day, you need to put some distance between you and them for the sake of your sanity.

Losing track of time since the moment you made out with him, Sunghoon now basks in the warmth of your arms in silence, his head comfortably on your chest while his cheek is pressed against the plumpness of your boob with his arms around your waist, never letting go of you. Your fingers gently treading through his soft locks lull him to sleep, and having fallen for your deception, he allows himself to drift into the realm of sleep.

But Sunghoon is roused awake by the missing warmth of your body and your scent, which he has grown addicted to. Sitting up on his bed, he ruffles his tousled hair in frustration, silently cussing himself out for falling deep asleep, as evident in the soft glow of the moon filtering through his room.

Just as he has every intention to go to your room, his door pushes open, revealing Jay. Sunghoon’s frown deepens upon seeing the sombre casting a shadow on his best friend’s countenance.

“Don’t bother. She left the palace a few hours ago.” Jay tells Sunghoon in a grave tone as he leans sideways against the doorframe. A muscle pulses in his jaw. “As much as I oppose the idea, maybe it’s better if we give her some space to think.”

“What if we lose her for good?” Sunghoon voices out his worst nightmare while his eyes harden. “We can’t lose her. There's no way in hell I’m about to let that happen.”

Jay opens his mouth to speak, but footsteps approach from behind him, prompting the two of them to look at Sunoo, whose face is adorned with a mischievous smirk while Riki’s countenance remains ever so stony.

“We have good news.” Sunoo informs them in a cheery manner, totally ignoring the grimaces on Sunghoon and Jay’s faces at his bright demeanour.

“Yeah? Unless it’s Y/N coming back, then fuck off.” Sunghoon shoots him a scowl, earning him a pout from the latter.

“Well, if you don’t want to know the identity of Y/N’s anonymous texter,...” Sunoo drawls out, smirking as he sees the obvious shifts in their demeanour. “Oh, yeah, we finally cracked the code. But before we tell you who, Heeseung and Jake are waiting for the both of you in Heeseung’s office.”

“Just tell us who the fucker is, damn it.” Jay says impatiently. “Is it any of the guys on our suspected list?”

Sunoo and Riki exchange glances. Riki releases a sigh before finally revealing, “It’s─”

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#enhypen #the devil’s knights’ prey #enhypen smut #heeseung #jay #jake #sunghoon #reverse harem

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