#yixing angst

[synthetickitsune]

X-EXO!Lay (EXO) | Possession - based on the prompt: finding dark bruises all over your body you have no recollection of getting by @urfriendlywriter angst | 1k | gn!reader

It's been three weeks now since it started. You'd wake up each day with new bruises covering your body. Now - occasional bruise or two that you had no recollection of getting were fine. But this was getting concerning.

These are bruises that never fade. It seems like they change places, as if they mysteriously heal overnight only to appear in slightly different spots the next morning. These are bruises all along your collarbones, inching closer each day to your neck it seems. More yet there is on the inner side of your arms, covering some areas of your ribs. You went to the doctor to have it checked up but for all their tests, they didn't find anything out of the norm, not even a new allergy that could be causing this. They told you to watch out for other symptoms and come back if there are any.

Of course they didn’t find anything. Of course there weren’t any other symptoms.

Yïxing swoons when he sees you. The white uniform they have you wear at your job is just slightly see-through, just enough that the marks he left on you are visible. Though to be fair, he might have taken it a little too far this time. He can hear the people talk, gossip, and he sees how uncomfortable it makes you. But that can be dealt with later.

Right now he gives you a very appropriate smile as you bring him his order that is conveniently the exact same as what you're getting when you're ordering coffee. You seem just a little too relieved when he meets your eyes instead of ogling the marks hiding under the fabric of your uniform. Just as usual, you seem happy to see him. You seem excited to hand him his cup, although you never do it with other guests. No, he thinks contentedly, you always set the cup down in front of them, but for him you make the exception.

He also notices you're stalling. As if you were reluctant to go back to the front. He can't blame you, and he definitely doesn't mind.

"Looks like you're having a terrible day," he notes quietly and gives you a sympathetic smile.

"Something like that," you admit and it's so clear that you'd rather stay and chat but the manager is already calling you back to the front. They take you to the office off to the side, which Yïxing disapproves of because it's the one place where he can't see you. When you come out, you're obviously uncomfortable, and also now sporting one of those awful sweaters they have you wear during winter. He can't imagine that feeling great since the heating makes it feel like it's the middle of summer inside the cafe.

You're too busy to pay him much attention afterwards and his mood sours. He can't leave without politely asking to talk to the manager and explaining in no uncertain terms that their behavior is unacceptable. Seeing the staff in discomfort ruins the experience for the guests, surely they don't want that? Somehow, he actually manages to look concerned when he says that.

Before he leaves, Yïxing makes sure that the injustice is fixed. He catches the grateful smile you shoot his way. Yeah, he could get used to that - you smiling while wearing his marks so beautifully.

Nobody should blame him for visiting you on this night too. How could he resist? You look so peaceful when you sleep, your expression free of worries, and you’re so cute all curled up in your blanket. Only the bed is too big for you to sleep in alone. He sits down on the edge carefully. He doesn’t want to wake you, doesn’t want to make you scared of him. Should it happen, then he can of course take responsibility. He’s more than ready to take you with him, to care for you and cherish you as you deserve to be, but alas… these things are easier if one has patience. 

He moves some hair away from your forehead and caresses your cheek. You lean into his touch and he smiles. He loves how affectionate you are. Sometimes when handing him his order, your fingers brush together and you never shy away, never flinch, and what means the most - never apologize, only blush.

He lets his fingers trace your face, down your cheek to your jaw and then lower to your neck. Bruises begin to bloom under his touch, faint splashes of red and purples. He can’t wait for the day he will get to mark you for real, with his lips right against your skin. He can’t wait for the day you will be all his to keep, and so there won’t be any need to work, to hide the marks declaring you as his. 

He’s almost given in to the temptation many times. He could be careful. He could do it without waking you up, he’s sure of that. But he respects you more than that.

You stir in your sleep and roll over, the blanket and your shirt sliding up just enough to expose a patch of your skin on your ribs that has not yet been painted. He takes full advantage of it and remedies it straight away. Patches of yellows and purples blooming under the soft touch of his fingertips. He admits he hates to be the cause of your distress, but he knows once you’re his, you’ll feel so silly for ever worrying about the strange bruises. He’s sure you’ll beg for his forgiveness that you did not treasure them more.

He’s sure you’ll beg him to keep you despite making him wait for so long. 

And he will.

He will keep you forever.

[jongbross]

Exo reaction making their s/o cry??

xiumin: i think he doesn't care at first. like, when he looks at you and sees your eyes tearing up he wouldn't be that fazed. he would bother though as the tears starts to fall, the expression on your face telling him he had gone too far. his heart falters, and he sighs because he knows he screw up. minseok might not apologize right away, but he'll do it the next morning or something, just give him time to also process his feelings.

suho: this is kinda tricky. junmyeon can either react by giving you the cold shoulder and letting you cry because you also hurted him (and he might cry himself), or by pulling you to his chest as soon as the tears starts falling and apologizing straight away. i think it depends on what's the reason why he made you cry - was it something stupid he said? he will apologize in a heartbeat. was it because of an argument that you two had and he still thinks you're being unreasonable? he will let you cry, sorry.

lay: "please, stop crying" is the first thing ypu hear once your eyes get wet - not because yixing is mad at you or anything, but because he can't stand the sight of you crying. it doesn't matter the reason, if you two were fighting, even if he's right about the argument; he hates seeing you cry, and the moment he does, it's all gone for him. he even forgets what he was going to say, what his point was, whatever. can't tell which one is hurting the most, you (who are crying) or yixing (who has the saddest eyes ever as he watches your tears roll down your face).

baekhyun: he has a soft, soooft heart. baekhyun can't stand seeing people cry, it breaks him too, so it wouldn't be different with you. let's say you two had an argument, and things escalated kinda quickly; firstly, baekhyun is the one to start crying, even though he tries to hold back as much as he can. secondly, the moment you start crying as well, he shuts up and reaches for you. he uses his thumbs to caress your tears away, not saying a damn word and fighting the urge to kiss you to make you calm down.

chen: another tricky one. jongdae can be kind of a fucker and not care if you're crying IF what you said back at him hurt him too. as he doesn't cry so often, maybe you won't know that you've hurted him, but if you did... you can cry all you want, he thinks it's only fair (as you don't know the damage you did inside him). but if not, if he messed up something "small" but that it still mattered to you, jongdae will sit beside you and talk about what he can do to show you how sorry he is (and he really is).

chanyeol: actually you're the one who's making him cry, shame on you (because i honestly think chanyeol is the most sentimental one out of all the members and he tries to be careful with his words because he knows the damage they can make).

d.o: kyungsoo is very logical about things, i think. i picture him as being the type of person to let you cry as you need to put it all out of your chest, but once you're done he will approach you and hold your hand as he apologizes, probably not for what he said/done but for hurting you, and say that if he's hurting you then maybe you two should think about your relationship because "i love you and it isn't supposed to be this way. are you sure i'm good for you? am i not doing the opposite of what i should?".

kai: it will all depend on what happened, to be honest. jongin is very soft hearted, but he will stomp his feet and not give in if he believes he's right about something. if he's not, then he will try to hug you and apologize, bu he won't like if you push him away because it's eating him up the fact that he was the one who got you messed up like that. jongin will pout and say things like "please, don't do that, i'm really sorry". i don't think it's that healthy, but that's something he has to work on.

sehun: he doesn't know how to react. sehun doesn't know if he should reach for you and take you into his arms, or if he should give you some space to deal with your own feelings. some emotions can make him uncomfortable, and it's not necessarily his fault, he just doesn't know what to do. but sehun is a mature guy - more than we think, actually -, so he will find by himself the balance between respecting your space and trying to apologize, which is actually learning how to read you and your body language. if you're crying silently, then he knows you might want him to make it up for you asap; if you're crying and swearing, not at him, but at the world in general, then he knows that you're just trying to settle your emotions down and that maybe it's better if you two don't speak for the rest of the day.

[cyberexo]

S I R E N PT 2 | Byun Baekhyun x Fem Reader

“What the hell are you?”

word count: 2.9K

warning: includes cursing, unprotected sex, & 18/21+ scenes that are not suitable for minors.

🫧

You pulled yourself up from the sand, tail fully shedded off, revealing your delicate & untouched skin, your face was tinted a light pink with slight embarrassment and emitting shyness from Baekhyuns' eyes taking in every detail of the sight in front of him.

You wobbled a little here and there before yoh managed to maintain some balance by spreading your arms out, looking up at Baekhyun to see he was still staring, jaw lowly hanging. Finally you broke the intense silence, "I know you've been coming here for the past couple of days to look for me, I was busy trying to get my steps in," you half joked, pulling him out of his enthralled state, painting a bashful smile on his face the second he pieced it all together.

"You learnt how to walk for me?" he squealed, moving himself your side, "Come on, I wanna see," he pushed, giving your waist a light nudge.

"You'll catch me if I fall right?" you asked, now that someme was watching you do something that wasn't within your nature it made you more nervous and prone to messing up for sure. But this entire situation wasn't within your or his nature at this point.

"Of course," he softly cooed, offering you a soft smile, you took your first couple of steps carefully, still a little wobbly but who could blame you. Baekhyun adored the sight in front of him, it was for sure one of the best things anyone has ever done for him, it was really cute but of course being the man he is, he couldn't help but feel slightly turned on by your efforts to impress him.

He lingered behind you, taking slow steps to give you some space, he couldn't help but let his eyes get distracted by your figure, scanning and taking in every detail you had to offer. He felt the familiar tension in his pants starting

to rise, quickly snapping himself out of his trance, he casually tried to hide any possible outline that was on display without you noticing.

After a couple of more steps, you felt your legs starting to give out, Baekhyun took notice and hurried behind you to catch you in case you suddenly collapsed, "Just a couple more steps, I don't want to be close to the water," you announced, Baekhyun looked back, scanning the waters for possible unexpected company. He knew you didn't want any other sirens coming up to see what you were up to, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to depict that much.

🫧

You both settled in the sand, far away from the shore and away from any path where anyone could easily spot you together, Baekhyun had gone around collecting wood for a small fire, even though you insisted you were fine, the icy feeling of your skin wasn't very convincing to him.

"Are you going to roast me?" you joked around, earning a hearty laugh from the man in front of you as he finally managed to get the fire going, "No, but I do plan on other things," he spoke, his tone was suggestive & you knew what he was implying but playing the dumb card was too good to pass up, "What do you mean?" eyes wide and innocently looking up at him. He'd pull himself back next you, automatically wrapping your arms around one another like it was second nature to you both, even though it was the second time you've met.

You let your fingers travel up his torso, admiring the crates and crevices that adorned his toned body, feeling him tense underneath you, the fire did nothing for your skin, but he didn't mind it that much, he actually enjoyed the icy feeling.

He didn't answer your question, instead he leaned down, lifting your head up with his slender finger, and stared into your eyes before planting a soft kiss on your lips, It was your first meaningful kiss with a man, and his first with a siren that wasn't planning on eating him. It wasn't that long till the intensity of it started to rise, hands roaming one another. You weren't oblivious to Baekhyuns' erection, you could literally sense it.

Lips still connected in a hot make out session, you allowed your hand to travel to the waist band of his shorts, while his stayed hooked on the nape of your neck and another cupped the soft flesh of your chest. "You really thought you could hide this from me?" you teased, feeling him smile into the kiss, "Shut up," taking the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth.

This feeling was all very new to you, having a vague idea of what was going on, everything was much different when you were in your human replica form. If you ever found yourself doing anything sensual with another siren it was always over as quick as it started, there wasn’t an exchange of heartfelt emotions or words, it was demanding and cold. Almost felt like a chore. But here, with Baekhyun, it felt so different you swore you could get addicted to the emotions he was making you feel.

You tugged down on his shorts, leaving him in his boxer that hugged his hardened length, he can't be comfortable, carefully placing your fingertips on the hem of his boxers. You felt his hands fall from your face and placing them on top of yours as if to guide you, before you could expose the last of his skin you pulled away from your electrifying kiss that made the both of you dizzy.

"What's wrong?" noticing your sudden shy expression, "Nothing!" you were quick to reassure that he hadn't done anything, you continued, "I just don't know how to do.. this?" you said, looking up at him with a puzzled look in your eyes, he just stared back into yours, his brown orbs pooling with lust and curiosity of how you'd react to this new experience.

"I'll teach you," he offered with a soft smile on his face, contradicting the lustful hunger in his eyes.

Finally pulling down on his boxers, releasing his hardened length, you stared in awe, captured in a trance that had your stomach churning with a burning desire for the man in front of you. Baekhyun cradled your jaw, landing a soft long-lasting kiss whilst he laid you down on the warm sand, situating himself in between your legs.

Disconnecting your lips, you let out a whimper already missing the feeling, he left a trail of purple kisses along your jaw, down to your neck, collarbones, and stopped in the valley of your chest. Looking up to admire your blissed out face, Baekhyun let his hand travel to your heat, his long and slender fingers having a feel of your slick folds.

"Look at you," he cooed, "You're wetter than the ocean," you scoffed at his choice of words, trying to hide away the reddening of your face but your slicked back hair wasn't being much help.

He slipped a finger into your heat, catching you off guard, throwing your head back and letting out a pleasurable sigh, there was no way a mere human was making you feel this good with just a finger, but then again, what did you know about love making with a human. Baekhyun slowly pumped his digit in and out of you, curling it before allowing himself to push in another whilst guiding his thumb to press down on a bundle of nerves you didn't know you had.

You let out a strangled breath, it was all too much but at the same time it was too little, you craved more, "Come here," pulling him back up to your face you landed a soft yet hungry kiss which he happily reciprocated.

Wrapping your legs around his waist to bring his manhood closer your aching core, the phantom feeling of his tip nudging your clit sent you into a frenzy, moans muffled by his soft lips, you found the strength to pull away to ask,

"Is it going to hurt?"

"Maybe just a little, I'll be gentle," he assured, intertwining your hands together, planting a kiss to soften the blow of the sudden penetration. It was overwhelming, you felt like pushing him off almost immediately, the pressure of his length pushing through to break your hymen could be felt everywhere in your body and you didn't know if it was normal or maybe because of what you were, it made it more intense.

Baekhyun noticed your face scrunched up in pain, your walls clamped around him like a vice, it was almost unbearable for him too but he pushed through nevertheless, feeling the breaking of the barrier that was stopping him from filling you.

Both sighing in relief, the hardest part was over and now it was just time to adjust and wait out the pain to be taken over by pleasure, Baekhyun allowed his hands to travel up and down your torso, trying to distract you from the ache in between your legs, peppering kisses alongside your jaw and down to your breasts, gently suckling on a nipple whilst his hand fondled with the other, nothing could be heard but the soft moans that escaped your throat, tugging on his luscious locks lightly enjoying the conjoined sensation of pain and pleasure.

Soon the pain washed over and was replaced by a pleasurable feeling of his cock stretching your walls, yoh lifted your hips up slightly before sinking back on his length, indicating that you were ready for him to start moving.

His thrusts were slow and deep at first, you could tell he was holding himself back from the way his hands were digging into your waist, sure to leave a bruise by morning. Baek-“ his hand found its way to your mouth forcefully making you shut up, “I’m sorry but if you say anything whilst sounding like THAT, I’m going to lose it,” he stated, still thrusting into you whilst subtly picking up the pace.

You let your eyes roll to the back of their sockets, hand clasping his own that was keeping you quiet, the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fire a couple of feet away from you and the lewd sounds your skin was making every time his hips would meet yours. “You’re so tight,” he breathed out, sweat was starting to form on his face, hair sticking to his forehead.

He looked ethereal.

It didn’t take long for him to find your g-spot, causing you to arch your back, yanking his hand off your mouth letting the rope of profanities escape your lips, “Fuck- please, please do that again,” you pleaded, looking up at him with drowsy eyes, it took him a second to realise what you meant before he angled himself properly and pulled your hips closer to him as if that was even possible before pushing himself back into you, his strokes picking up in pace but still accurate, the feeling was too much, jaws slacking and eyebrows furrowing in pleasure, neither of you could form a coherent sentence.

“You feel so good,” he let out in a strangled breath, leaning down to pepper your neck & jaw with kisses before finally pressing a pleading kiss to your lips, you couldn’t get over the feeling. How could this mere human have this much of an effect on you- kissing him back with as much passion, your hands found their way to his back, tracing his flexing muscles before your nails lightly pressed into his skin, bringing him closer to you.

The knot in your stomach was starting to get bigger, it felt like you were going to explode at any given moment, dragging your nails down his back, you were for sure going to leave more than just a mere scratch for the next couple of days.

Sirens’ couldn’t orgasm the same way a human does, it was internal, nothing was ever ejected from the body, the feeling of the churning juices inside of you was almost concerning, considering how foreign the feeling was.

Baekhyun could feel the way your walls clamped down on him, twitching uncontrollably, it took everything in him to hold himself back from filling you up before you received your own pleasure, he threw your leg over his shoulder, hitting at a new angle that drove the both of you insane, whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ear, “I- I think I’m gonna cum-“ you breathed out, letting your head fall back into the sand whilst trying to muffle your pleasured screams.

"Cum for me baby, let me hear you" Baekhyun huskily whispered into your ear, still relentlessly penetrating your sopping core, “Shit-“ his hands found purchase on your aching clit, applying the lightest pressure- that’s all it took for him to send you over the edge, yelling his name out along with incoherent curses, your eyesight went blurry and the stars in the sky seemed to multiply, the hot feeling of your juices gushing out of you was nothing like you’ve ever experienced before.

Baekhyun still pumped himself into you, riding out your high while chasing his own, the wet mess in between the both you, the way the sheer layer of sweat that had formed on your figure and made you shine under the moonlight was more than enough for him, in a frenzy he released himself into you, filling you with his seed to the brim, the sensation, the view- it was incredibly erotic and quite literally out this world.

Riding out both your highs while you tried to catch your breath, he finally pulled himself out of you, already missing the full feeling, the feeling of being completed like a puzzle, he laid next to you, face nuzzled into the crook of your neck, convinced he could feel your racing pulse.

“That was amazing,”

You pulled him into a kiss, this one a lot softer than the ones you’d shared before, you pulled back first, locking your eyes with his own, offering him a soft and satisfied smile. “What did I have to do to come across such an enchanting creature like yourself?” he whispered, “I don’t know.. scream like a girl as you get pulled into the water?” you answered, recalling the first time you caught a glimpse of him, Baekhyuns’ jaw fell open- not expecting the sudden not so romantic answer, “I want you to erase that from your memory this instant!” he demanded, forming his lips into a pout that just looked so kissable.

“Never-“

He didn't let you finish whatever it was you were going to say before attacking you with tickles, taking advantage of the upper hand he had over you since weren't the most mobile human replica on earth.

Soon the laugher and teasing died down after you let out desperate apologies, settling into each other's warm embrace, watching the fire in front of you die out- and watched the sun come to life from a distance.

You felt the shiver of Baekhyuns' skin against yours. You were already a cold blooded creature so the sensation of the cold wind of dawn wasn't much of a bother but you knew he wasn't like you, "Baekhyun?" he said nothing but hummed in response, "Can you carry me back to the water?" "So soon?!" he exclaimed, looking at you wide eyed, he clearly didn't want to let go of you just yet- or maybe even ever!

"I can't stay out for too long, i'll dry out!" you countered, making him sigh in defeat before he swiftly swung you up into his embrace, he was so strong, the temptation of staying here for as long as he wanted started to look a lot more appealing than it already was, but you knew better. Your worlds were too different for either of your likings.

Gently he placed you down into the water, submerging himself as well, he watched your tail come back to life, seeing how it wrapped itself tightly around you, adorning your every curve and detail, he was in a state of adoration. You dunked yourself into the water, missing the way it felt on your skin, before going back up to meet Baekhyuns’ eyes, you could see the sadness pooling within them. You were the first to break the silence

“I hear that you’re leaving soon,”

“In two days,” he sulkily spoke, his gaze not breaking away from your face, he wanted to have the image of you burned into his brain forever, “You won’t forget me will you?” you asked, a lump in your throat started to form, “Are you kidding me, I’d die with you on my mind Y/N, I’ll never forget you- please wait for me.. I don’t know when I’ll be back but I will come back one day” he pleaded, placing his hands on your shoulders to pull you in closer to him.

Finally you met his gaze after a few seconds of avoidance just to stop yourself from bursting into tears, pulling him into an everlasting kiss before pulling yourself away, a few more seconds and you know you’d completely lose yourselves in each other’s touch.

“I’ll wait, no matter how long it takes,”

🫧

back to masterlist

[yeolsaintlaurent]

yeolsaintlaurent's MASTERLIST

Series

Nocturnal Reverie - PCY :ongoing: *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ Chapter 1: City of Shadows Chapter 2: Unveiling Secrets Chapter 3: A dangerous game begins Chapter 4: Unveiled Desires Chapter 5: Operation Shadow Veil Chapter 6: Threads of Deception and Dilemmas Chapter 7: Echoes of the Past Chapter 8: Unexpected Encounter Chapter 9: Harmony in Midnight melodies Chapter 10: Glimmers of recognition

Crimson Veins, Midnight Flames - BBH :ongoing:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ Chapter 1: Freshman Impressions Chapter 2: Intoxicated Whispers of Realities

One-Shots

Kyungsoo request coming soon~~ Baekhyun request coming soon~~

[proudahgase-exol]

Exo masterlist

Here you will fine everything I had made for exo. :)

-𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 ♡

Last updated: 11/23/23

Guide: ♤ angst - ❀ fluff - ♡ smut - ✧ text au

𝕄𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥

-

Nothing here yet….

𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 ♤ ❀ ♡

𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 ♤ ❀

𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕪 ✧

Nothing here yet….

ℂ𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 ♤ ❀ ♡

𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 ♤

ℕ𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕖’𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ❀ ♡ ✧

𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖? ℍ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕘𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 / 𝕨𝕚𝕗𝕖…… ❀ ✧

𝕊𝕟𝕒𝕡𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕓𝕠𝕪𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝔻.𝕆 ❀

Nothing here yet….

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖 ♤

𝕊𝕖𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙 ✧

ℍ𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕠𝕪𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 ✧ ♡

𝕊𝕖𝕙𝕦𝕟 𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕪/𝕟 (ᴍɪɴɪ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ) ♤ ❀ ♡

ℝ𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝔹𝔽!𝕊𝕖𝕙𝕦𝕟 ✧

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕣 ❀

𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕫𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕘 ❀

𝕊𝕖𝕩 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕩 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕖𝕩𝕠 ♤ ❀ ♡

𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ♡

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 ♡

𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕡 ♤ ❀ ✧

ℙ𝕝𝕦𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕫𝕖 𝕘𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕 ❀ ✧

ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕡 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕖𝕩𝕠 ✧

Love fool

1:54 ━━━━⬤─────── 3:24

⇆ㅤ ||◁ㅤ❚❚ㅤ▷||ㅤ ↻

If you don’t see a member’s name here is because I haven’t made nothing for them. Photos aren’t mine found them on Pinterest *credit to owner*

[rancidtae]

ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 5

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: ANGST. fluff. mentions of near-death experiences. mentions of drug use. emotional tension during breakfast. chanyeol crying. Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 11k+ chapter summary: the one where shit gets real and sehun just wants everyone to talk about their feelings and let him have his breakfast in peace. a/n: WE'RE SO BACK. (we're so over) but make it old-friendship-turned-sour core.

guess what you need isn't always what you want from me

masterlist - meet the characters

082809 - 5:34 pm.

13 years ago

“Yo, open up.”

It was the third time he knocked.

Chanyeol pressed his ear against the wood and heard the muffled murmur of a news anchor.

“C'mon, I can hear the TV, I know you’re in there.”

Not one to be patient when people were purposefully being assholes, he fished the set of spare keys Mr. Kang gave his mom from the pocket of his ripped jeans and jingled them extra hard. Just to piss her off and warn her.

“Wow, this is depressing.” he blurted out, closing the door behind him.

His 15-year-old neighbor did not look surprised, nor tried to pretend that his presence wasn't unwanted. Chanyeol, however, had never worries about being on her good side. They'd been annoying each other all their lives.

Tall piles of books covered the living room, some even went over his head. They were playing videos of the memorial with the president giving a speech in the background on the TV. A steaming bowl of noodles and some side dishes waited on the small dining table.

It was the anniversary of the Seoul Metro bombings. 

As always, every year the city shut down for the memorial. No one was allowed to forget such a dark stain on the country’s history. Over 900 casualties, even more injured.

Chanyeol remembered the day of the attack. His mom rushing to pick him, his sister Yoora and Rina from school, earlier than usual. She didn't answer their questions until they got home and she locked the door behind her. Mr. Kang didn't pick up Rina until the next afternoon, and he looked like a ghost.

That was the day he learned the meaning of the word terrorism.

He took a look at the family picture by the entrance and picked up the remote, turning the TV off.

“What is that?” Rina suddenly asked, making him jump on his feet.

She was curiously looking at the pale pink box under his arm, and it took him a second to remember he'd brought it with him. With every year that passed, Rina only looked more and more like her mother, the resemblance was scary sometimes.

He fixed his throat. “Pastries from Swimmy’s”

Of course, she knew that. It was her favorite bakery.

Rina, however, turned around with feigned disinterest.

“Ah. How’d you even get them? Aren’t they closed today?”

“I don’t know. Yoora’s boyfriend sent them, but she hates him right now so she gave them to me.”

“Cupcakes?” she asked over her shoulder, rattling things inside the fridge.

“Multiflavor.” he nodded, fighting back a cruel grin when she stills.

“You want some?” she asked, pointing at the bowl of steamy noodles.

Chanyeol couldn't remember her ever willingly offering him a bite of anything.

“Nope, I’m good.” he chirped.

Her face dropped. Suddenly deciding that there's nothing inside of her interest, she slammed the poor fridge door.

“Ok, let’s go,” he finally said, feeling like he annoyed her enough for the day. He did not lie when he called the scene depressing.

Her sitting down on the floor and eating overcooked noodles alone when there was a perfectly nice summer afternoon right outside kind of softened his heart.

“Where? Why?”

“Seriously? We’re not gonna sit here and eat them alone, that’s some loser shit. Plus, it’s way too much sugar.”

“It’s not” she protested, struggling to put on her worn-out white Converse.

“Maybe not for me, but it is when you spend your life slugging inside. When’s the last time you went for a run, huh?”

Naturally, they ended up making their way inside Arcadia, her father's arcade spot just a few blocks away. They entered through the backdoor, using Rina’s spare key that she religiously wore around her neck.

Baekhyun nearly landed on his ass when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, hand to his chest when he recognizes them and immediately lighting up at the prospect of eating pastries.

Rina found a seat on the countertop, while Chanyeol brought two chairs for himself and his legs from the backroom. Baekhyun picked up his copy of Rebirth and saved his strawberry-flavored gum for later, carefully wrapping it in a sticky note, much to Rina's disgust.

The three indulged in a cupcake each, humming in bliss.

“So," Baekhyun smacked "where you been?” 

“Busy.” she said, legs swinging happily, licking buttercream off her pinky finger.

“Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"Like what, sleeping inside a coffin? You look like you haven’t seen the sun in months.”

Chanyeol agreed. “You’re gonna regret staying inside once we’re back to school.”

Rina was not about to tell them she'd been reading those books at home, one per day like an apple. Her father kept bringing new ones, leaving them stacked up on every surface he could find, building a labyrinth out of them.

The last was Fahrenheit 451. Baekhyun would've liked it if, but he was more of a manhwa guy.

She took a look around the room, all the machines were on. She remembered something. “Wait. Why are you working today?”

Baekhyun pointed one finger at the door. The open neon sign was off, and the door was locked. “I'm not. My aunt and my cousins are visiting and I needed some alone time. And they’re all on because–”

“He doesn’t like the silence.” Chanyeol said, mockingly, with his cap on sideways and clearly finding Baekhyun childish.

“Please don’t tell your dad.” he requested with his customer service voice. “That reminds me, you think he’ll give me a raise if I ask him?”

“Aren’t you only covering shifts for Yuan? I don’t think he even knows you work here.”

He did not take well to that. Sitting up straight and dropping what was left of his cupcake on the box, he put his hands on his waist.

“Only covering– what are you talking about? I know this place better than Yuan ever could. I’m more of an Arcadia member of staff than he is or could ever be” he started counting down with his fingers, Rina took a deep breath. “I’m the general manager, I’m HR, marketing, I’m the cleaning and security staff, I keep an eye on Mintchoco at the back and even–”

Thank god, a knock at the front door interrupted his rant. Jongdae was leaning over the glass, cupping his face and pointing at the lock on the door. Minseok stood just behind him on the sidewalk.

Standing up with a groan and still complaining about the disrespect under his breath, Baekhyun let them in.

Minseok was hugging a ball against his side, had dry blood on his left knee, and his usually squeaky clean soccer shoes and white socks all dirtied up. Jongdae was no better, face dripping in sweat, fanning his shirt, complaining about the heat.

“Swimmy’s?” Minseok asked, eyes wide.

“Like I said” Baekhyun continued. “Arcadia is me. I am Arcadia. I know the consoles. I love this place. This is like home to me. I absolutely, totally, most definitely deserve a raise.”

“If you love it so much shouldn’t your pay be enough?” Asked Jongdae, standing under the a/c vent.

“Right. He makes a good point. You should be doing it for free, even”

Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol. “So what are you suggesting? Unpaid labor? I have a family to feed.”

“Your parents do the feeding in your family” Laughed Minseok, asking Rina to pass him a strawberry cupcake. One of the same strawberry cupcakes Rina had threatened Baekhyun and Chanyeol not to touch.

Chanyeol gave her an odd look, she pretended not to notice it.

“Just say you’re saving up to buy yourself a laptop.”

“That I will get my hands on soon if our dear Rinrin here tells Mr. Kang how good of an employee, and friend I am.” he paused. “Maybe just mention the employee part, nepotism goes against my values.”

"Ok” she agreed. But then she crossed her arms and lifted her chin, and Baekhyun’s cheerful grin crumbled. “But you’ll owe me”

“Ah. What’s this?” he sucked on his teeth “I thought we were friends.”

"You said nepotism goes against your values.”

“So you’re blackmailing me.”

“We’re negotiating.”

“Woah. This is unbelievable. You're really growing into an evil little thing.”

"Speaking about evil little things, we saw your boyfriend on our way here. He was totally asking to get his ass kicked.” said Jongdae through a full mouth. “Ith wath him, right Mintheok?”

Minseok tried to telepathically get him to keep his mouth shut, but he kept going, clueless.

“Looked like he pissed Youngjae off again. You know how he hates being stared at”

By her boyfriend, they were talking about Kyungsoo, who was nothing of the sort. He was, though, known for being excellent at getting on the bad side of people. It wasn't his fault, some just read him wrong.

Kyungsoo was just misunderstood. Often. And Youngjae was a bully.

“And now she has been summoned. Our peace maker.” Chanyeol announced, watching her expression drop. She jumped from the counter and started putting her hair up on a ponytail.

Extra tight, extra high. She meant business.

“Wait. For real?”

“You know, just because you’re a girl and your dad’s a teacher it doesn’t mean Youngjae and his friends won’t beat you up one of these days” Jondgae called out, finally noticing his mistake.

“Hold on, wait wait wait! You’ll tell your dad, right?” Baekhyun asked, watching her walk behind the counter and get the pepper spray from its secret spot.

“You’ll owe me.” she said, and walked out of the door.

The guys saw her cross the street and disappear from view.

"What was that?" asked Jongdae.

"Pepper spray."

Chanyeol groaned. “Dude, why did you tell her? Mr. Kang’s gonna be upset if she’s home late.”

Jongdae did not take well to that, and quickly started firing back questions about how is it his fault that she likes to take on other people's problems.

Sighing, Minseok rubbed the crumbs off his hands and silently made his way to the door.

“Really, you too?”

Minseok shrugged. “She shouldn’t be going alone. And you shouldn't have let her take the pepper spray.”

Jongdae, not at all surprised, only shook his head and stuffed his mouth with another bite. The outcome came as no surprise, he was just glad that the possibility of Rina getting in trouble and Mr. Kang being upset about it had significantly decreased.

Minseok wasn't much of a fighter, but he knew how to make younger kids respect him.

“Are these fresh?” Jongdae was frowning at the cupcake. “How’d you even get them today?”

“Mr. Kang asked me to pick them up. I don't know how he did it, but he got them to bake these for him.” Chanyeol answered, pausing for a bit before adding. “He asked me to get her out of the apartment.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun nodded in understanding, no more questions on the subject were asked.

081322 - 05:12 pm 

Consciousness comes in waves.

First, pain. Second, something warm and blinding.

Sunlight.

Third: white.

The room slowly comes into focus. White walls. Wood framing the window. Sheer curtains.

Fuck. It really fucking hurts.

She can deal with that. The disorientation? That’s different.

A burst of anxiety threatens to come to the surface at once.

Everyone has cycles waiting to be kickstarted at the beck and call of the smallest trigger. Good or bad, but most importantly, unavoidable.

Jiah spent a good chunk of her life testing out remedies for the bad ones. Prescriptions. Therapists. Thoughtfully curated lists of habits; healthy for the long term, destructive for a quick fix. 

And even though nothing could have prepared her for this, time has worked on her.

So as the events from last night come back to her and the doorknob turns with a click, she stays calm and lets her eyes close again.

The person lingers for a moment, doing god knows what. His shadow flickers through her eyelids. Eventually, she’s alone again.

When she opens her eyes again the drowsiness has faded. There’s a classic mid-century flip clock on the nightstand. A piranha plant figure stares back at her with its teeth all bared out, and her transmitter’s politely placed next to it.

She knows right away whose bed this is.

Painfully, she props herself up to a seated position and inspects the sling and the dressed wound. No ethical doctor’s gonna give her the dose of painkillers she’ll need for that.

She’s wearing a thin, depressing hospital gown, and that will not do.

He's definitely loaded. The house is enormous, enough to get lost in and fit her apartment maybe five or six times. Several doors line down the hallway leading to a vast, asymmetrical set of stairs. Vaulted high ceilings top up a communal area, with a long skylight that washes everything in abundant natural light.

She pads down the stairs, following the sound of voices and laughter.

And there he is, stomping out of what looks like some kind of office made of glass walls.

“Hey, hey, wait. No. That is not fair, how was I supposed to–”

He locks eyes with her.

Bewildered. Like he forgot she was there and that just a few minutes ago he was in that room with her.

She looks back at him, like she didn’t know it was him the second her eyes landed on that piranha plant.

A tremor goes through his body before he starts coughing violently.

“Fuck— what the fuck?” more coughing, he plucks something from his mouth. A ridiculously chunky piece of pink gum covered in thick saliva.

Heads turn at the rough edge of her voice “That’s what happens when you try to chew a whole wheel of hubba bubba tape at once.”

Byun Baekhyun stares back at her like she just said the most offensive thing possible, gum still between his fingers.

“Well you can’t just stand there and– lurk looking like– like Shanks and not expect to scare the shit out of innocent people.”

Two figures by the kitchen entrance watch them. One looks kind of confused, the other one crosses his arms and holds back a smile.

“One Piece? Are you twelve?”

“Says the grown woman who can’t get her arm through an oversized sleeve.”

��I'm wearing a sling, you asshole.” she snaps. Baekhyun looks down at the fluttering sleeve, sucking in his lips between his teeth.

And then, like switch is flipped, their expressions shift. Her brows soften, and a wry grin tugs at the corner of her lips. A lighthearted smile spreads across his face.

Jongin gives the person next to him a bewildered glance.

“What’s up with the hair?”

Baekhyun runs his fingers through it. “You don’t like it?”

“Let me rephrase that, did you go to Lady’s Room and talk to the girls?”

Silence.

“I don’t know what–”

“You still touch your hair when you’re lying.”

“Ok. Yeah. No.” He points a finger at her “You’re not going Sherlock on us when you just woke up after a near-death experience.”

“Says who?”

“Says me," he snaps with an attitude, quickly adding “Doctor’s orders.”

“So first Yixing’s a cop and now you’re a doctor?” Startled, Baekhyun opens his mouth and closes it. “What’s next, Kyungsoo’s a wedding planner?”

“Youth pastor, actually. Very successful. The youths love him. And I could be a doctor if wanted, by the way.” he scoffs.

She cocks an eyebrow.

“Whatever. Ah, this won’t do. You suck at reunions. Go back upstairs, we’re doing this again.” he waves his arms at her, urging her back up the stairs. Surprised, she spurts out a laugh. The rebound pain from her shoulder makes her stop and hiss.

“Alright, leave her alone.” 

That face she’d recognize anywhere. It’s unfair that they’ve all aged so nicely. Kim Jongdae looks like an upgraded version of himself, just with different hair and somehow, better skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Lucid enough to steal my clothes, clearly.”

She realizes she's been staring at him like an owl and fixes her throat.

“Been better.” she nods, bowing quickly, awkwardly waving at the end. “Hi.”

Baekhyun snorts. "Did you just bow?"

Jongdae bows back and waves, amused but ignoring Baekhyun. “Wanna take a seat? I bet you're starving.”

She’s famished. The thought of food is enough motivation to postpone the thinking about everything that is happening right now. And since she's not escaping anytime soon, she might as well acknowledge the other person in the room.

“So, is Jongin your real name, or is this another Juyeon/Sehun thing?”

The kitchen is ridiculously huge, with another skylight at the top and an island at the very center. She sits down, leaving an empty stool between her and the impostor, who shares a look with the other two men.

“Yixing slipped up, wasn't hard to figure out.” she explains.

Jongin fixes his throat. “Jongin is my real name.”

“And how do you know Taemin?”

“We used to go to the same dance studio for a while.”

“And he just introduced us. By coincidence.”

Baekhyun steps in. “You had a horde of mercenaries on your track. We were trying to get them before they got you and Jongin was there to keep an eye on you. Him being Taemin’s friend was a happy coincidence.”

It's not convincing at all, and the thinking starts.

That’s for being so fucking stupid. Do you realize what you got yourself into?

Go ahead, big guy.

“Where’s Chanyeol?”

“What, are we not enough for the welcoming party?”

Jongin, however, knows what she's thinking. She doesn't like it.

"It wasn't him. The man in the bathroom came with backup. We thought we’d handled all of them, but a stray one took us by surprise and shot you.”

“I mean, we can show you the footage of him following the guy.” Baekhyun offers immediately. “But come on, you don’t think he–”

“No need.” patching her up defeats the purpose of taking her down, but that doesn't make up for several loose ends. “However, the manhandling was unnecessary.”

“You did kick Jongin in the balls.” Jongdae reminds her, putting a glass of cold water in front of her. 

“If you guys knew I was being followed then why didn’t you just give me a heads up?”

How did they know?

And where’s the rest?

Baekhyun smiles. "You made it abundantly clear to Yixing that you didn't want us near."

"So why didn't he come?"

“He was out of town, but he asked you to be careful. Several times, he said.”

He did. And she rejected his attempts at helping her beyond getting Haneul protection. Several times indeed. He was very insistent. She brushed him off every time.

Disoriented, she sticks to nursing her glass of water in slow sips. Several details keep her alert.

One, eyebrows/Tuxedo Mask/Sehun had or has been protecting Lee Chungjae, despite Yixing’s insistence that they’re not involved with his people.

Two, Baekhyun definitely went sniffing around Lady’s Room, and if she knows anything about him, he didn't just stop at that.

Three, Junmyeon and Minseok are members of the syndicate.

The sound of a motorcycle roaring outside grows closer and gets her out of her head. The conversation has moved in a completely unexpected direction without her.

“This might be out of my expertise, but I don’t think you can compare periods to getting shot.” Jongdae says, unbothered by the noise.

“Why? Blood is blood, no matter where it comes from” Baekhyun argues. “And I’ve heard scary stories about cramps” 

The steel door is slid open just enough for a tall man to come in, balancing piled up pizza boxes and complaining about someone needing to lube up the damn rail.

“This is the last time you use me as a delivery guy” he declares, dropping the boxes on the counter. He stops when he notices her. Stoic as ever, a face impossible to forget. “You look rough. Bet you wish you listened to my advice about not getting in the way of bullets.” 

She frowns, but then another figure walks in. He's holding two helmets, sliding the door shut with a nudge of his shoulder. He takes a look at her, evidently unimpressed.

“I heard you were begging to see me. How you managed to live all these years without me, now that’s an unresolved mystery, one of many.”

“I don’t know how I held up, honestly” she replies, voice flat. “Every day I woke up feeling like my life was missing something.”

“Poor thing.” He tsks, mockingly pouting at her, hanging both helmets on the wall. “But I heard you’ve had some interesting characters keeping you company, so at least you weren't lonely, right?”

The bitter undertone is unexpected.

“Rin,” Baekhyun calls, a smile on his face, and a sideways less friendly glare at Chanyeol. “You still like orange soda, right?”

They move like protocol, opening the boxes and taking drinks out of the fridge, Jongin walks out of the kitchen after losing a match of rock paper scissors to Jongdae.

Chanyeol stares at her like she's about to stab someone. The pizza looks too good for her to care.

“So, up to anything exciting?” 

“Not much. You?” 

“Oh, come on. Half of the city’s freelancers are searching for you as we speak. Those were some expensive mercenaries following you around.” 

“Makes you wonder how shitty the cheap ones must be.” she points out.

“You also looked too calm for someone who thought she had a gun pointed at her face.” he finishes, folding a piece of pizza in two and devouring half of it with one generous bite. "Definitely wasn't your first time."

“I didn’t think you had it in you.” she shrugs, taking a first bite. It's good. She has to close her eyes and sigh for a moment. “And it wasn’t my first time, he ruined my favorite jacket the other night, remember? Got my ear ringing for a few days.”

Sehun shrugs. "You got in the way."

“Right, how’d that happen anyway?” He points at his big ass ear. The left one. Eyeing hers like he didn’t get the point across. Her hair is covering the transmitter, but of course, they don't need to see it to know it's there.

She snorts, not amused at all. “Aren’t you too comfortable?”

Jongdae calls his name, something like a warning. Chanyeol drops the subject and focuses on getting his hands on a second slice, Sehun chuckles at the scene.

“You guys couldn’t wait for us?”

Jongin reappears, followed by a familiar face that feels like a punch to the chest.

His eyes scan the room, curious about the sudden silence. It ends when he notices her. There's a flicker there, but whatever he's really thinking is quickly guarded by a stoic expression.

“Why is she here?”

“She’s feeling fine,” Baekhyun shrugs. “I’d be dying to get out of bed after 15 hours of sleep too.”

Do Kyungsoo offers no answer, doesn’t even spare her or Baekhyun another glance. He washes his hands in silence, takes the spot next to Jongin, grabs a slice of pizza for himself and that's that. Her eyes stay on him, surprise slowly dissolving from her face.

And then Baekhyun claps, starling her.

“Shit, I almost forgot. Dessert first!”

It happens at once—a sloppy plan set in motion by Baekhyun’s insistence. Ignoring whatever he has in store, Jiah beats Chanyeol to the last slice of neapolitan while Jongdae helps Baekhyun look for something in their endless cabinets.

"The drawer by the coffee machine,” Kyungsoo mutters.

Someone must cover her eyes for this, Baekhyun insists. Jongin gives her a careful look waiting for her consent. She shrugs, pushing the last bit of crust past her greasy lips, and soon her eyes are engulfed in the warmth of his hands.

There’s the sound of hushing and Chanyeol’s poorly contained laugh, then a click.

“Ok, ready? Jongin, hands off. You can open them.”

She blinks away the flash of white and frowns at them before looking down.

Cake. 

Pink frosting and strawberries. It’s decorated in terrible piping work, topped with those colorful sprinkles that taste like nothing and several thin and tall candles scattered around.

There’s a message in red jelly, off-centered.

“Sorry you got shot on your–”

Whoever wrote it miscalculated the space they had available, so the word birthday has all the letters stuck together and get increasingly smaller.

Baekhyun’s satisfied grin stays put even when he ducks as a strawberry flies over him. Jongdae yelps dramatically when another hits his shoulder, his hyena laugh is interrupted by a long string of complaints.

Jongin warns her not to eat the frosting, because Baekhyun got excited with the food coloring and it tastes like medicine.

“Did you bake this?” she bites down on a strawberry. It's just a hint of sweet but perfectly juicy, it bursts in her mouth “It’s looks like a 4 year old decorated it.”

“Ok, It’s her." Baekhyun says. "Good job, team."

“Do you think I’m some kind of impostor?”

“You have a whole new name, we had to make sure.”

“Wait, so that was your birthday?” Sehun asks, shaking his head when Jondgae offers him a paper plate with a slice of cake. Only Chanyeol seems to be interested in trying it, taking his sweet time getting rid of the frosting.

The cake itself isn’t that bad. Just the usual vanilla cake mix flavor, a little dry but easy to eat.

“No, today is her birthday.” 

“Is it?” Jongin asks, scanning her face.

“Yeah. August 13th.” Baekhyun stops. “Wait, you didn’t–”

The question trails off when all she does is shove another piece of cake inside her mouth.

“I usually celebrate it in December.” 

Several weirded-out looks come her way. 

“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Sehun mumbles, and now he's getting looked at wrong. "What? I’m just saying, if I had two birthdays I’d celebrate both."

Jiah closes her eyes and blows on what's left of the candles. “That'd be hard to explain to other people, though. My friend Irene gets me flowers, but that’s about it."

Irene. Yeri. Taemin. How could she forget? They must be worried about her. Before she jumps down from the stool, once again Jongin answers a question before she gets to ask it.

"It's ok, I told Taemin we left together."

Jiah stares at him in disbelief. "No, it is not. He knows I don't leave parties with random dudes and--"

Jongdae makes a face. "Jongin's definitely not a random dude."

"He knows me too. He'll have fit, but he knows you're safe with me, trust me."

"But Yeri-"

"Fine. He dropped her off at her dorm."

"Where's my phone?" she asks Baekhyun.

"I'm afraid it didn't make it through the night, but--"

“Question,“ Chanyeol asks out of nowhere. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Excuse me?"

“Someone put a price on your head, and they’re being generous about it. But you're... worried that your friends won't believe you had a one night stand?”

“It's not my head they want.”

"Excuse me?"

Chanyeol’s lips part, a burst of surprised laughter escaping his mouth.

“Yeah. No, totally.” he frowns, nodding. “They put a hole through you just for funsies. They were just trying to start a tickle fight.”

“He could’ve easily taken me down in the bathroom, but he didn’t.” She gets different looks of disbelief.

Jongdae frowns. “You still got shot after that, and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t just a warning.”

“Those were expensive mercenaries, right? If they wanted me dead, I would be.”

“And this, everyone, is why they tell kids not to do drugs,” Chanyeol gives the room a look, pointing his hand at her “She wasn’t this delusional before.”

“Shut up and eat your pizza, Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says, much to her surprise.

Baekhyun agrees. “Yeah, don’t be a dick.”

Sehun sucks his lips inside his mouth, subtly eyeing everyone.

Jiah shakes her head. “That's fine, I’m not exactly worried about convincing you.” 

“They want you dead.” Chanyeol enunciates slowly, like he’s talking to a foreigner “You were lucky we were there.”

“Probably, yeah.” She’s not gonna deny that. “I appreciate what you did."

He shakes his head at her like she’s fucking stupid.

“What? You want me to suck your dick or something?”

“Alright, this is fun.” Jongdae exhales loudly, moving away to get a glass of water, slapping Sehun’s back.

Chanyeol pushes his tongue against his cheek, nodding at her. “Right. What’s dying for you anyway, right? You’ll just pop right back up in another decade.”

Jongin doesn’t let Chanyeol’s jab sink, he turns to her in genuine curiosity. “Sorry, but can you explain where you're coming from?”

“You leaked those voicemails. Your name might not be on the story, but they know it was you.” Kyungsoo turns, stirring iced tea with a glass straw “You destroyed Lee Chungjae’s reputation right after his father announced his candidacy.”  

“Im Nayeon leaked those voicemails.” she corrects him, and no one notices, but Baekhyun smiles, a spark set in his eyes. “I only did what was necessary to get them to the public. Therefore, I’m the only connection to her.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re some– kind of medium?” 

“She’s saying Nayeon is alive,” Baekhyun says, leaning over the island and looking at her with excited eyes. “That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Yes. How did you—?”

“A week after her death her name came up, just like yours.”

“Her name came up?”

Though Baekhyun’s smile stays intact, he visibly pales, and that’s when Jiah knows she just hit a spot.

The question has without a doubt and without her meaning to, landed somewhere. Jongdae and Chanyeol share a look. Only Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo are doing a decent job of keeping their faces straight.

She just knows they’re gonna have a conversation about this later, once she’s gone.

“Why would someone put a mark on a girl who’s already dead?” They visibly relax at her answering her own question. Kyungsoo just barely squints at her. He knows better.

“Shouldn’t you know that? You’re the one claiming she somehow survived that fire” Chanyeol juts his chin at her.

If she had to put a name to the look on Baekhyun’s face, it’d be all work and no play.

“There’s something I think you’ll want to see”.

081422 - 02:58 am

“You know what’s weird?” Baekhyun mutters as she hands him a photograph.

Fresh out of the printer, the girl smiling in it is Yoo Jeongyeon. She was 23 the last time she was seen last year and attended the same university Nayeon did. The only string connecting the two is a few common friends on Facebook. 

Baekhyun tapes her picture next to the other seven photographs on the board. Like the rest of the room, the board’s made of glass, worn out and opaque by the constant use of tape on the surface, unlike the transparent, clean walls around them. 

The station is rather impressive, she had to just stand there when she first entered and stare at the computer station sprawled before her on the only brick wall at the back. 

A cluster of screens stands tall, commanded by a main, curved, and wide monitor, flanked by a couple more of them on each side. And just in case that’s not enough, an extra trio of monitors hangs above, suspended from the ceiling by sleek metallic arms that sell the illusion that they’re floating. All of them on cast a gentle light on the surrounding consoles, keyboard, touchpad, and devices she does not recognize, each meticulously organized and aligned for optimal efficiency.

Her curious eyes took it all in while Baekhyun scratched the back of his head and acted like it was just some humble setup. Honest work, he called it, still in progress. She still can’t figure out what else he can add, or how he can rearrange what’s an already pristine network of wires hidden at the back, and she’s too afraid to ask.

“None of Nayeon’s friends have posted anything about the investigation or the voicemails. That’s weird, isn’t it? If there was a possibility that your friend was murdered, you’d be outspoken about it, right? You’d want answers.”

“They could’ve been threatened” Jiah reminds him, staring up at the eight pictures on the board.

A line of girls stares back at them, all of them undergrad students, just like Nayeon. There’s a pattern in there, difficult financial situations, complicated and sometimes no familial affiliations or support network, and they’re all seriously attractive under current beauty standards.

Two of them are orphans. Two are foreign. The last one, Jeongyeon, makes an exception by keeping in touch with her mother until the time of her disappearance. Baekhyun started working on the list and gathering info with Yixing last year, and so far, every single case has turned cold. Not for a lack of investigating, she has their files, courtesy of Yixing, splayed around her.

“Still…” he mumbles, leaning his head to the side and reaching for his glass of iced coffee, looking startled when nothing but ice cubes hit his upper lip “If one of the girls at the salon were in that situation, you’d ask for the truth, threatened or not.”

Her stomach twists at the thought. She would not stop at asking for it, she’s confident that she’d turn the city upside down until she found them, but who’s doing that for these girls?

“It’s different. It’s my job.”

“Pretty sure you’ve gone past the limits of journalism.” Baekhyun tuts. “But you see it, right? There’s something here. I’m not being a conspiracy junkie.”

“I see it, yeah.”

“Have you tried talking to Nayeon’s friends?” 

“I don’t think we should be focusing on her friends like that, we might not even be focusing on these girls the way we should,” she says, rushing to explain when Baekhyun opens his mouth “Don’t get me wrong, there’s a pattern, but Nayeon was– she left a message and everything, and these girls are all…”

“Silent?” Baekhyun offers.

“Yes.” she sighs, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. “They’re all silent, it can’t be a good sign.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Baekhyun says, breaking her out of her trance. 

She frowns and snorts. “Did you just quote Wilde at me?”

“The Importance of Being Earnest” he smiles proudly. “Kind of out of context, but it’s true.”

She smiles at him, sighing and looking back at the board. “In my experience, most of the time the truth turns out to be boring and people end up disappointed. Everyone wants a conspiracy.”

“That’s true. But when it’s not boring–” He gives her a meaningful look, and she wonders if that’s what she looks like to other people.

“Yeah.” she agrees, he doesn’t need to finish that sentence for her to know what he means. “This doesn’t look boring at all”

“And it doesn’t look fun either, does it?” he sucks in a sharp breath. "Maybe they’re not silent, we’re just not listening the way we should.”

As it turns out, The station has no semblance of soundproofing. When someone comes in through the kitchen, they can hear the low hum of voices, the sound of keys being dropped and groans of relief as shoes are taken off at the entrance.

A few seconds later there’s a soft knock on the glass.

She doesn’t know what she expected, but it was certainly not Kim Junmyeon dressed in casual attire instead of a suit like the last time she saw him, fresh out of a syndicate debut. Now he looks more like an older brother checking on his little siblings. A dad even.

“Baekhyun, it’s 3 am. I know this is how you choose to live but she needs rest” his eyes look as tired as he sounds.

“Do you think she’s here against her will?” Baekhyun asks, offended.

He walks in, leaving the door open behind him. Jiah thinks she sees a shadow walk past through the living room, but it’s gone before she can notice anyone.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.”

He nods. “It’s what we do”

“And for the lawyer, the other day. Yixing told me” she adds. And maybe it’s the meds kicking in, or the emotional exertion of the day and having to see so many old new faces, but fatigue is beginning to weigh down on her. 

“You did well,” Junmyeon says. “The girl needed help, he had it coming.”

He buries his hands inside the pockets of his jeans, pointing at the board with his chin. There’s a signature curious pout on his face. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t be nosy. We’ll explain in the morning” Baekhyun answers, fingers dancing all over his keyboard with speedy clicks. Junmyeon doesn’t look too convinced, letting out a loud sigh that makes her feel even more foreign in this place.

Do they all live here? Together? At their age? What about Minseok?

“Alright. There’ll be a lot of that in the morning.” he gives her a look she does not reciprocate. “I’m going to bed, you two should get some rest.”

He stops just as he’s about to walk out the door.

“We don’t have a guest room ready, since someone decided to use it as a storage room, so I hope you won’t mind taking Baekhyun’s bed”

“She’s getting the coziest room in this house, she doesn’t mind” Baekhyun speaks for her, standing up and leaning over her to start shutting down his monster of a station.

She catches a glimpse of Junmyeon's reflection on the dark screen that Baekhyun turns off first. He stands there for a moment, looking at them with a pensive expression before he turns around and closes the door behind him.

Some rest might be nice, she thinks, as Baekhyun starts talking her ear off again.

7:34 AM

A few hours later she’s closing his bedroom’s door behind her as quietly as she can.

The house is silent. No one can be bothered to be up so early on a Sunday, and she counts on that being the case until she figures out where her—

“Hey there. You looking for these?”

She can’t escape him, can she? A very sleepy and messy-haired Baekhyun has a hold of her boots and her bag, closing the door across from his room behind him. She gets a glimpse of someone’s sleeping form.

“I hid them, just in case you tried to sneak out,” he explains, rubbing his puffy eyes before stretching loudly. At this pace, he’s going to wake everyone.

“I need a shower” she winces at how loud her voice sounds “And I already stayed here for too long. Can I have them back?”

“Shower?“ he pretends to think over, nodding "We have plenty of those around here, I believe. Soap, towels, shampoo. You still take them at hell temperature?”

She blinks at him.

“Baekhyun.”

“Rina.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I! You can’t just leave on your own until we’re sure it’s safe for you out there, you’re not exactly in the condition to bite attackers either.”

“Am I a hostage?”

She doesn’t like the sweet little smile he gives her. “You’re a guest.”

“But you’re telling me I can’t leave.”

“We can negotiate after breakfast. Come on, I’m giving you a tour of my favorite spot.”

Thirty minutes later she’s waiting for him to pay for a ridiculous amount of overpriced breakfast sandwiches with different fillings. The cashier, a lanky guy with a bored expression on his face and ginormous red headphones swallowing up his ears puts everything inside a bag. 

Baekhyun sends a cheeky smile in her direction, making sure she’s still standing by the end of the counter, shifting uncomfortably in a huge pair of slippers. The lack of socks makes the experience even worse.

“That’s a lot of food,” she points out.

“We’re feeding ten adults, I promise you it’s never too much of anything in our house” he answers, starting the engine.

“Ten adults?”

“I texted Yixing. It’s been a while since we all had a meal together. I don't remember the last time we used the dining table.”

She sighs, leaning her head against the passenger window and trying to find any familiar street.

“Slept well?”

“I’m very uncomfortable with this and I don’t appreciate you withholding my things”

“Oh-kay, someone’s grumpy in the morning.” he chuckles, leaning over the steering wheel as he takes a turn. “Consider this your punishment for trying to leave without saying goodbye. You got a deadbeat father complex or something?”

She glares at him, half-heartedly. 

“Come on, it’s just breakfast with the boys. Best meal of the day, with the boys.”

“It’s not just breakfast, you know that” she mutters, closing her eyes to rest them for a second. 

“Hey, it’s just us,” He surprises her by finding her wrist resting on the seat. His fingers curl around it, giving it a light tug, like a kid trying to get a grown-up’s attention “No one will jump you or anything. I know things are awkward, but they won’t have to be once we all talk and catch up, yeah?”

The red light goes green after what feels like an eternity. It takes him a second to notice, and he’s back to quietly driving them across the street, still not letting go of her wrist. 

“You trust me, right?” he asks suddenly, giving her a glance.

“Seriously, out of nowhere?”

He doesn’t laugh, only turns to look at her with a serious look on his usually relaxed features. “Cause I trust you, Rin. I hope you know that.”

The fuck? 

“Ok? Thanks–” 

“I mean, I don’t know what you’ve been up to, obviously, or what– you know? Happened, but I know I trust you.” he nods firmly, fixing his throat and suddenly avoiding her eyes. "Whatever happened, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy to see you again."

She feels the sudden need to get out of the car, but her shoulder would probably combust, so she gives him the softest of nods. The feeling that it's a mediocre reply lingers.

Eventually, he lets go of her wrist.

About half an hour later, she's watching Jongdae fix a generous batch of coffee while singing his heart out to an OST only someone over 30 could recognize. He was the first to wake up, walked into the kitchen, took a look at her and immediately scolded Baekhyun for not getting her slippers closer to her size. 

They belong to Chanyeol and he thinks it’s just hilarious that she walks like a duck in them.

They all come down one by one in different states of sleepiness. All Jiah can think is that life has taken a seriously strange turn, and there’s not much she can do about it other than hold on to a cup of coffee and watch in silence, hair still wet.

“How are you feeling?” Junmyeon asks once again, taking some multivitamins and eyeing a plate of fruit that Sehun tries to keep safe from Chanyeol’s prying hands, asking him for the third time if he washed his hands.

He looks like Jongdae had to drag him out of bed, bed sheet imprints leaving red lines on his left cheek, swollen eyes and messy hair. There’s even dry drool on his chin. She wants to point it out, but they're not comfortable like that with each other.

He eyes the third spoonful of sugar she drops on her coffee but keeps any comment to himself.

“We can ask Dr. Jangmi for something stronger if you need it, just let me know.”

“Alright, thanks. I appreciate that,” she says for what feels like the 20th time in the past 24 hours.

Thanks. I appreciate that. This is weird as fuck though, can we not do this?

“Huh? What's this? What’s going on here?”

There is a soft giggle at the end of Yixing’s question. He's taking his shoes off, stumbling a bit, not closing the door behind him, holding a coffee cup carrier.

“Breakfast.” Jondgae says, and Jiah suspects he made a face. Whatever that means.

“Hey,” he makes his around the island and engulfs her in a careful hug. He's warm to the touch from being outside. “How are you feeling?”

"I’m ok.” she smiles, not being able to help her lips from pouting. “My shoulder’s kind of fucked, though.”

He frowns, shakes his head slowly, hands moving up and down her good arm, leaning down to press his lips to her temple. "I know. I'm sorry. But the more rest you get, the faster you'll feel better again, so don't rush yourself."

She nods, letting her weight rest on him for just a bit, eyes fluttering open when white cotton and a head of thick black hair passes by, startling her.

Kim Minseok is putting two extra carriers next to the one Yixing left on the island top. The door is now closed, but she never heard him come in. And now he's handing people coffee.

Chanyeol thanks him a thousand times. It seems like Jongdae's coffee making skills are controversial, he nags at them about being ungrateful, but walks over to get his cup anyway.

"Oh, that's–"

Jongdae's extended hand stops abruptly at Yixing's interruption. The cup Minseok was just about to give him is now being held by both of them.

"Dirty chai. That's Rina's." he explains.

Jiah, unsure about how to proceed, stares at the cup in front of her face, neither releasing it. Jongdae drops his hand, eyes shifting between them.

Yixing blinks curiously at Minseok, whose face she's avoiding to turn to look at.

Sehun leans over and grabs a cup of his own with his ridiculously long arms.

"Are you guys gonna give it to her, or–"

HIs comment wraps it up. Yixing gives her the cup, smiling down at her and paying no mind to the tilt of Jongdae’s eyebrow or Junmyeon's side eye.

“Oh, before I forget. I told Haneul you're taking a break. He sounded worried, maybe you should give him a call?” 

Right. Haneul. She’s been so distracted that she forgot about him as well. Yixing offers her his phone, but Baekhyun cuts him off and tells her to focus on breakfast while it's still warm.

Kyungsoo is the last one to take a seat at the table, lazily scrolling through his phone. There’s a pair of thick-framed glasses perched on top of his nose. He sighs at Baekhyun’s loud moan when he takes the first bite.

“Just as good as I remembered.”

The table is filled with the sound of eating and the low hum of someone's lofi playlist playing from the speakers. The moment lingers just long enough to become awkward.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I love uncomfortable silences during breakfast, I heard they’re good for digestion,”

Junmyeon stops mid-bite and gives Sehun a look.

“What? I mean she’s here now, can’t you just catch up? Ask her what happened on the third day?”

“Ok, Sehun. Just finish your sandwich.” 

He rolls his eyes, pointedly taking a big bite.

“Didn’t you have something to show us?” Jongin asks helpfully. Jiah has noticed that him and Sehun stick to each other, despite being on opposite ends of several traits.

“Glad you asked,” Baekhyun claps his hands, standing up as he licks his fingers having successfully devoured his sandwich. He disappears for a bit and comes back wheeling the glass board behind him.

Yixing turns to the side in his seat, pointing at one of the pictures. 

“There’s another girl?”

“Yep,” Baekhyun beams, the excited smile on his face melting immediately. He fixes his throat. “Long story short, these girls all are missing, they’re also all students, and they could be connected to Nayeon’s disappearance. We’re thinking they might help us find her.”

“Did you just say find her?”

“I did,” Baekhyun points his finger at Junmyeon, happy that he caught that “Nayeon is alive.”

Other than Sehun noisily blowing on his drink, the silence is heavy with skepticism. 

“We’re keeping a positive mindset here. There is a big, big chance she didn’t die in that fire. The body they found at her apartment was declared burned beyond recognition, and Nayeon didn’t have recent dental work done on her, so they couldn't even look for a match. And before you accuse me of being delusional, Rina came to the same conclusion all on her own.”

“Is this true?”

Jiah nods at Junmyeon. “She sent her brother the recordings through a shipping company days before the fire and scheduled the delivery. He got the package in the mail exactly two weeks after the fire.”

“So she knew she was in danger.”

“Creative.” Chanyeol mutters, impressed “She found a way to let her brother know without putting him in direct danger.”

“And then he tried to end Lee Chungjae himself.” Sehun adds.

“If she went through that effort, she would’ve tried to hide, right? It was only a theory, but Lee Chungjae probably has a reason to believe this as well, and he doesn’t want any loose ends.”

Junmyeon’s face is unreadable. 

“And well,” she points at her shoulder. “I think that night proved my theory.”

Yixing leans back on his chair, crossing his arms. It’s followed by a dry chuckle at the other side of the table.

“Can we just tell her?”

"Baekhyun tries to interrupt, but Chanyeol has a point to make.

"Nah, let her know, or she’ll go out there and successfully get herself killed this time just because she thinks she has backup.”

Jongdae tries as well, not without giving her a careful sideways glance that she doesn’t return, staring back at Chanyeol with just a slight narrowing of her eyes. Her lack of reaction so far has made his demeanor get a little more vicious.

“Let’s not–”

“How do you think they knew it was you, even with your editor protecting you?” Chanyeol finally asks “Your protector snitched on you, didn’t think twice before selling you out to Lee Chungjae’s team. He’s putting good money on his dad's campaign, did you not know?”

“Protector?” she blurts out, neither a question nor an affirmation. “Are you- wait, you mean Namjoon?” 

She snorts.

“I mean, yes? He knew about the investigation. I let him know before it came out.”

“You’re full so of shit. It's just sad.” Chanyeol shakes his head slowly.

“Like I said before, I’m not worried about convincing you.”

“Why?” he dares.

She can't judge him for being so remarkably slow. He doesn’t trust her, he’s probably terrified of whatever he thinks she represents. Yixing didn't lie about people being wary of her.

It’s disappointing to see him handle what he thinks is a threat so poorly, but then again he always was a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy. 

Others keep their silence and listen. Kyungsoo, even Junmyeon. Minseok's glare is impossible to ignore.

“Because sometimes being underestimated can work in your favor.” she speaks slowly like it’s a child across from her and not a man two years her senior.

The tension spikes. All these resources, a wide range of skills, a seat at the syndicate, and just a few harmless words make their mood drop.

Junmyeon leans in. “So what I'm hearing is that you put yourself at risk just to... prove a theory.”

“Of course not,” she wonders if he paid attention at all to what she said. “I hoped they’d come expecting to find Nayeon through me, so I set up a lead. It’s not about if they take it but who does. Chungjae's not doing this alone.”

“And did it work? The bait?“ Jongin sounds hopeful.

"I’m hoping it did.”

“You’re hoping it did?” Junmyeon repeats. “It’s been 48 hours, what if they realized you’re bluffing and decided you’re not useful anymore?”

“I’ve got it handled.”

“You never mentioned any of this” Baekhyun says, breaking his silence.

He has a look of disappointment on his face she wants to get rid of, and then she remembers that pale grin he gave her yesterday, like he was about to break into a cold sweat.

“I’ll let you know what I find.” 

There's something happening right in front of her eyes. As much as she wishes she could trust Yixing, his explanation about them being wary about her association with Namjoon doesn't cut it.

Her eyes find Minseok's and she hopes he's better than Baekhyun at subtlety. If getting himself a seat at the table is any indication, chances are he is.

Something indeed, and she's nearly convinced that it goes against the deal he signed a few days ago.

But that's not it, isn't it? There's more to it.

He lifts his chin, just barely, it feels too much like a silent warning. It has the opposite effect he wants. The dirty chai kicks in at once.

“Frankly, I don’t think you’re in the state to be handling anything right now.” Junmyeon’s amused little chuckle kills her momentum.

“I agree,” Yixing says, much to her disappointment “Even if you’re right, it doesn’t mean you're in any less danger.”

“I know how to take care of myself."

“Do I need to remind you that just almost bled out on the way to the hospital? This is obviously getting out of your hands. I won’t have your picture next to those girls'.”

Junmyeon points at the board. He's wearing a ring on his index finger. She's surprised it fits. Maybe he had it resized.

“You can leave it to us this time, we’ll handle it.”

“I appreciate the concern, but it's not your decision to make.”

"Question," Baekhyun says, a surprisingly serious look on his face. "Would it be so bad to let us help?"

“That's not the point. I promised Im Haneul I’d see this through.”

“Wouldn't be the first time you let someone down. He'll survive.” Chanyeol coldly replies.

Her blood starts to boil. They're cornering her, and her patience has a limit.

“Alright, I don’t know what your problem is, but let’s get it over with."

A deep voice has heads turning to the right. “You know what his problem is. Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you.” 

If Chanyeol’s voice was venomous, Kyungsoo’s tone feels like battery acid.

Chanyeol wastes no time. “Only a handful of people survived Hwacheon's fire, how did you make it out?”

“You shouldn’t believe official records, the prison system in this country is a joke.”

“So no complex escape plan? I was expecting some prison break shit from you.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

He shakes a finger at her.

“I heard rumors, you know? About this girl that worked for Kim Namjoon. No one knew where she came from, not even back in their hometown. They said she was a witch, could sniff out a traitor from a mile away,”

Jiah has to give it to him, he sure knows how to set the mood with the storytelling.

“And then one day, she disappeared without a trace. People said he killed her after she tried to turn on them, others said someone in their circle knocked her up and he sent her away. Whatever happened, she vanished.”

“A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang." Sehun says, arm coming to rest around Jongin's shoulders. He pretends not to hear him.

“I don't know what you want me to say."

“Was it him, Hwacheon’s fire? Is that how you got out?”

To her utter disbelief, he's being serious. All she can do is open her mouth and close it, look around to see if anyone else understands how stupid that is.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “You’re not denying it.” 

“No, Kyungsoo. Kim Namjoon didn’t blow up a federal facility to help me escape. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. I didn’t even know them back then.”

“Hwacheon is just ten miles away from Songju, isn't it? Right where Namjoon’s operation started. That was you. November 10th, the prosecutor's kids, the clean up, the start of the syndicate. You were there.”

"I was." she says without hesitation, still not understanding what's the big deal.

"Why?"

"Because they helped me out. And I because wanted to."

“Well, since we all know he cashes in all his favors, I guess the big, scary question here is what did you have to do to pay off your debt after they helped you out? Was it witchery, or was it-” 

“Ok,” Junmyeon interferes, putting one hand on the table. “You’re crossing the line.”

“Don’t worry, he’s not even close.” she says with a light tone, but the slight curl of her lips betrays the cutting edge behind her words.

"I just hope that if you got knocked up, you had the sense to get rid of it. Otherwise, you're an asshole for putting yourself in danger when you have a kid somewhere."

“Wow. When did he become this fucking pathetic?” she asks, genuinely curious, but they're all either too uncomfortable or embarrassed to grace her with an answer.

“Ok, I’ll translate for him.” Sehun chimes in, leaning forward with a serious expression on his face. Jongin closes his eyes and expects the worst. “What he's trying to ask is, did you engage in premarital sex with Kim Namjoon and/or any of his associates?”

Yixing drops his head. Jongin looks kind of mortified but kind of amused at Chanyeol's immediate response, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“That is not what I’m asking.”

“No? So you’re worried about my hypothetical kid now?”

“Ok. Chanyeol, drop it. Let’s get back on track.”

But she likes this track. She doesn't see the point in dropping it yet.

"If you’re taking the misogynistic route, at least do it right. Don’t be a half-assed piece of shit, it’s pitiful.”

“Rina.”

“I’m not finished, Suho.”

A quick oop follows.

"I get it. I know what this is about. I see you. You're still dealing with your abandonment issues, but that’s not on me."

Chanyeol's face drops.

She carries on, no remorse. "What? You think you're special because your daddy wasn't around to play ball? Give me a break."

“Jesus. Ice fucking cold.”

A sharp grating sound. He forcefully shoves his chair back.

“Hey, hey–”

“Park Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol stands up at full height and others follow. Jongdae tries to talk some sense into him. Yixing doesn’t hesitate to do the same when she mirrors Chanyeol's stance, arm extended in front of her, shaking his head.

Sehun seems to be out of little quips. Like him, Minseok remains seated, looking at the scene from the end of the table.

Poor Jongdae, he's still trying. “Sit down, man. C'mon.”

But Chanyeol's not listening, his jaw is locked in, teeth gritted together. Finger pointed at her, spit spraying in the air.

”You let us all think you were dead.“ 

"I had my reasons.” 

She’s trying her best to not lose it against his stupid loud voice that takes up the room. Her head, her shoulder, her back, they all hurt. She should’ve left the moment she woke up, barefoot.

Chanyeol throws his arms in the air, growling.

“Your reasons? To let everyone mourn you for what? A decade. What the fuck is that about? Who does that?”

“I'm sorry, what’s the acceptable protocol for you? Enlighten me.”

“Dude, you’re seriously not asking that.” he winces, like he'd rather not look at her. “Kim Namjoon, seriously? That was your only option? You. Everything you tried to preach to us. Looking down at us, talking about better ways and shit, like you were some kind of paragon of virtue."

“Ah, fuck off. Seriously, fuck off." she repeats with closed eyes, an exhausted mantra. "Don’t selectively bring shit from the past into this."

"Was that just to make yourself feel a little less bad about, huh? About getting Yuan killed because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”

It feels like the air was sucked out of the room. No one was ready for that, perhaps not even Chanyeol. For a fleeting second he looks like he caught himself off guard.

Jiah lets out a shaky, hoarse little laugh, mumbling to herself. "You don't know shit. Not even now."

"You know you can repeat that all you want but that's still the truth."

“You wanna talk about the truth? The only reason I was there that night was to warn you, but you treated me like I was out of my mind. Everything I tried to tell you would happen, happened. That's the truth,"

Silence, she's not done yet.

"And then you got in that stupid car and sped down the fucking street,"

Not even near.

"You didn’t look back. You had the chance to leave it all behind and move on with your life while mine wasted in jail. But now you wanna act like I owe you an explanation?”

There's no way they remember that night as vividly as she does. Every tiny detail, the smell of shitty sewage water against her face, the weight of some asshole’s knee on her back pinning her to the street, the overlapping of people yelling in panic. Red and blue lights blinding her. Blasting sirens.

“I don't blame you. I fucked up time and time again and it’s not like you could’ve done anything to get me out of it.” she admits. 

“That’s right. You fucked up and we fucked up. So you decided that was it? You couldn't reach out for help or at least contact us? Did you not think of the consequences of letting people believe you were dead?”

She can’t help the bitter smile, half of her wanting to ask Chanyeol what he knows about consequences, but he’d mistake that for her wanting to hear an answer. Ten years later it’s not something that interests her.

"Pretty much, yeah,” she replies shamelessly, after a moment of consideration.

“That easy, huh?”

“Honestly, I was miserable back then. I was a kid, I only had you, I thought I could fix it, but everything kept getting worse.” she says, and the dam has not cracked yet, but it might. Any second now. “So yeah, after the fire, when I realized I had the choice to start over, I took it. That part? That was easy, yes.”

Chanyeol blinks at her, like he's not sure he's looking at someone.

“I was very careful. Don't think this situation here happened because of me being sloppy. I never planned to see any of you again, and I was at peace with that.” 

She wants to carry on but her throat feels raw, and Chanyeol’s breathing through his mouth. A couple of fat, anime-like tears spill down his cheek.

The dust has settled and it's clear that the room has shifted. Yixing was just sitting right next and now there’s some distance between them, like she’s exuding toxic fumes. Baekhyun looks like a kid with glassy eyes and a red nose. It’s too late to take back, it’s all out of her chest, too heavy to cage it back up.

“I do have a question though, why are you wearing my rings?”

Kyungsoo stands up, walking past her and stopping just to throw something on the table. The metallic rattle is enough to let her know what it is.

“They meant something,” he replies, chillingly calm. “Back when we thought you were dead.”

“But now that I think about it, I don’t think you made it out of the fire.”

[yourdreamsyourwish-2]

🌟Reaction #26: Tears

Baekhyun

You didn’t know why you decided to hurt yourself again.  You thought he had cut off contact with his ex, yet here he was having dinner with her and some other friends.  When your friend texted you that they saw Baekhyun with another girl at a karaoke bar, you never thought you would catch them out in the hall standing too close, his relaxed smile on his face while his ex seemingly played with his jacket.  You knew how much she meant to him, she was his first love, yet you never knew he could be so cruel.  Tears fell as you turned leaving them alone in the bar, trying to remember how to pick up the pieces of your shattered heart.  

Junmyeon 

“I’m done.”  Junmyeon shook his head looking at you from across the kitchen table.  

“What?”  You blinked up at him.  

“I’m done.”   he stated, no tears, or emotions.  That’s when you noticed his suitcase by the door.  He placed his house key on the table, before getting up and walking out with what he packed.  You stared at the house key, tears blurring your vision, wondering what went wrong, and when.

Sehun 

“Yeah, she doesn’t know.”  You heard him say into the phone.  You hid behind the wall, listening to his conversation with someone else.  “I know, I can’t stand it much longer.”  Tears welled up, while he continued joking into the receiver.  “Yeah, she’s not home yet.  No she has no idea either, which I don’t know how she doesn’t know.  It’s not like I hid things very well, I never have.”  You couldn’t listen anymore, feeling a sob echo through your chest.   

Yixing 

You stared at him from across the couch.  His head was in his hand, while you held the bracelet in her hands.  It wasn’t yours. 

“What did you do?”  You asked quietly looking at the gems twinkling in the light.  

“I was drunk.”  He dropped his hand, but didn’t look up. “I thought…I thought I could hide it.”  You shook your head, dropping the bracelet on the ground.  “It was a mistake.”  Tears fell from your eyes.  

“I think the mistake was me being able to trust you.” 

Request

Reaction Masterlist

Masterlist

[namj00m]

Exo Masterlist

All writings belong and were created by me. If you’re posting my work anywhere please be sure to either credit me or inform me that you are using my writings. Hope you enjoy!

MASTERLIST

✞ - Smut

❁ - Fluff

✄ - Angst

⚐ - One Shot

⚑ - Series

Kim Junmyeon ↳

coming soon!

Kim Minseok ↳

coming soon!

Byun Baekhyun ↳

coming soon!

Kim Jongdae ↳

coming soon!

Zhang Yixing ↳

coming soon!

Park Chanyeol ↳

coming soon!

Do Kyungsoo  ↳

coming soon!

Kim Jongin ↳

coming soon!

Oh Sehun ↳

coming soon!

[baekxytocin]

100 Days My Prince - Part 6

Part 6 – 95 Days Left, Still, Long Way To Go

Slight fluff, Slight Angst

Character:

Baekhyun and Reader

Lay

‘You can do anything’

1218 words

“I can’t believe you cancel going to Lay hyung’s dance practice.”

“And I can’t believe you also cancel to return to the camp”

Silence is in the air.

“When will you reschedule to practice dancing with Lay hyung?”

“When you return to the camp”, and you can he him scoffing.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

He finally burst out a laugh. He gets closer to you and gives you a big, warm hug, follows by a hot smooch. “Do you miss me that much?”

“Nope, not at all. Yeah, I can stay the night without you.”

He continues to laugh as he sees you pouting. “95 days left, sweetie. Still, long way to go. Are you sure you are okay to stay the night without me?”

“Of course! I was alone, every night before we get married, why shouldn’t I now?” but all you hear is his laughing as you keep pouting.

You feel a bit upset as he keeps laughing, thinking that he must have mocked you in some way. You stop the pout, break the hug, sigh, and prepare for dinner.

“Oh gosh, I feel tired from the social work just now, I’m going to shower first”, but replied with silence.

When your husband is in the shower, you hear your phone ring but are not able to answer it on time. You put the phone near you and continue work in the kitchen. Soon, another call comes. “Hello!”

“Hey! Sorry to disturb you. So, since you cancel the dance practice today, you don’t want to practice the dance?” Lay speaks on the other line.

“I want! How long will you stay here? Since Baekhyun is staying here tonight, I want to spend time with him…. But I don’t know, he keeps laughing, he thought I am that clingy or something” you report to Lay.

Lay laughs. “Nah, I don’t think he thinks that you are clingy. You are a strong girl, you can do anything. So, what about tomorrow? If you think he thinks that you are clingy, you better come tomorrow. I mean, yeah, girl power!” and you laugh at his response. “By the way, I’ll be here for another week, so you have time to practice until next week. Come by anytime, we can practice and if we have time, we can even record this challenge and post it in the EXO group chat!” he continues.

“Oh, that’s great! Thank you for giving me a new goal. Sure, this time I won’t cancel anymore. I will come tomorrow! See you tomorrow, good night!” you hear his happy response as well.

Your husband has done showering and having dinner with you. However, you still feel upset about his laugh just now, and what Lay has mentioned to you seems true at some point as well.

On the other hand, while having dinner….

“Thank you for the food sweetie, I love it so much.”

“Okay” and you continue eating without looking at him. At that point, he knows something is off, but he still tries to converse with you. You also know that when you are starting to answer short, he will know something is wrong right away; he is your husband, after all, but you just don’t care. You come to an agreement with yourself that maybe your husband wants to return to the camp to have some alone time with himself.

After dinner, you take the dishes right away and head to the kitchen, but Baekhyun stops you. “I’ll do it.”

“I can do it” you reply fast. You continue to the kitchen, but he stops you again.

“Sit. I’ll do the dishes tonight” and this time, you don’t stop him. You just let him do what he wants to do. You silently go to the living room and finish some work that you brought from the office. Meanwhile, after Baekhyun is done with the dishes, he sits near you, trying to hug you, but you coldly say “Don’t disturb me” and continues doing your work. He sighs, but he doesn’t go anywhere. He waits beside you until you are done with the work.

Your disappointment slowly fades as you are done with the work. You close your laptop, pack your bag, go to the toilet, and head to the bedroom. You see your husband already sitting on the bed, but you still ignore him. As soon as you sit on the bed, he hugs you. “I’m sorry.”

You look at him. “Why?”

“Sweetie. I am your husband. I know when you are upset. I know that you are upset with me. And for that, I’m sorry. Whatever the reason is, I’m sorry.”

You inhale deeply and exhale heavily. “I’m sorry too. I should respect whatever your decision is. I know that you need to think about yourself too” as you let out another sigh.

“Can you please at least tell me what’s making you upset? I don’t want us to go to bed angry, and wake up angry, especially with each other. I just…. hate it” he finally sighs as well.

“You keep laughing at me just now. When you told me on the phone earlier that you cancel returning to the camp, I feel delighted. That’s why I cancel the dance practice with Lay. If I don’t cancel it, I will be so tired by now, and I don’t get to spend the night with you, I’ll be heading right to bed, sleeping. Not even a dinner will be prepared. I am your wife, hubby. I know what my responsibilities are as your wife. How do you feel when you come home and you see your wife is already sleeping, don’t you feel sad? When you question me why did I cancel the dance practice, I try to reason with you, but you laughed. I keep pouting, but you keep laughing. No need to mock me….” you end the long explanation with another heavy sigh.

“Oh no. I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so sorry. I don’t know that you were thinking and feeling that way. I am so sorry…. No, no, I don’t mock you at all. I never had the intention to mock my own wife. I laughed because you were pouting, and I thought you were just jokingly pouting at me for cancelling the return to the camp…. I don’t know that you were upset about the laugh. And…. I am so happy to hear too that you cancel the dance practice because I want to spend each second tonight with you too. I’m so sorry…. Please forgive me, hmm?”

You finally let out a smile, nodding. “I’m sorry too for being so sensitive….”

“It’s okay, sweetie. I should understand you more too” he replies as he tightens the hug.

“No. We should be understanding and reciprocating to each other. What we do tonight, is the right thing. We sit and have a conversation. We solve things before sleeping. Not going to bed angry” your smile lit the warmness in his heart.

“You are right, my love” as he kisses your forehead. “But I’m still curious about one thing.”

You look at him.

“When will you reschedule a dance practice with Lay?”

Hearing the question, you answer, “whenever I want” and you burst out laughing.

“Yah~~” and he laughs with you.

To be continued….

Uploaded on: 3rd November 2022

Previous part

Next part

Back to Main

Back to Baekxytocin's Reading List

[kwanisms]

please note that I am no longer actively writing for exo and that by putting this groups in the 'archive' does not necessarily mean I will stop writing for them entirely. Any series originally planned for any members in the archive have either been put in the vault or recasted.

🔞 many of these works contain sexual content (18+ mdni) 🔞 ♤ — angst :: ♡ — fluff :: ♧ — smut ✍ — ongoing :: ⊝ — hiatus :: ⊗ — discontinued :: ✓ — completed

— drabbles

»» New Friends ♡ p.chanyeol

➥ 436; Y/N meets and befriend a very tall stranger.

»» But You're Warm ♡ d.kyungsoo

➥ 527; Y/N spends a rainy morning in bed with her boyfriend, Kyungsoo.

»» No Ties ♡ o.sehun

➥ 617; Sehun is very adamant about not wearing a tie to Y/N's company's holiday party.

— oneshots

»» Burning Bridges ♤ k.minseok

➥ 1.5k; Y/N always ended up coming back to Minseok, no matter how many fights nor how many times things ended. He was like a magnet, always drawing her back in and at some point, she knew she was going to have to cut him out of her life. It was time to burn bridges once and for all.

»» Aviophobia ♧ z.yixing

➥ 2.8k; Y/N has always hated flying. If she didn't have to fly, she wouldn't. The only thing that makes her trip better is the handsome stranger sitting next to her.

»» If I Kissed You ♡ b.baekhyun

➥ 2.5k; moving in with her best friend's ex-boyfriend sounds like nothing but trouble for Y/N, even if he has a girlfriend. But what happens when they break up?

»» the Doctor Will See You Now ♧ p.chanyeol

➥ 4.5k; Chanyeol was the type of man any woman would fawn over. Tall, handsome, smart, and compassionate. All the nurses in the trauma department are head over heels for him, especially when he volunteers his free time to watch over the newborns in the maternity ward nursery. He has everyone in that hospital wrapped around his finger. All except for one stubborn and hot-headed doctor— Y/N.

ⓘ DISCLAIMER :: MONSTER/ALIEN FUCKER ENTHUSIAST ⓘ ©️ kwanisms 2024 | all works on this blog are protected under copyright. Do not repost, continue, or translate my works. All graphics made by me. Content and support banners made by me using cafekitsune's template found here.

[jazzaiko]

Come Back (Promise) (2k words)

Pairing: Lay/Chen Rating: Explicit Tags: Obsession AU, missing person, mystery, angst, hurt/comfort Written for Shine On Fest @shine-on-fest

archiveofourown.org/works/38533597

[proudahgase-exol]

Sehun hates y/n P.T 9

summary: y/n graduates from the medical field and the boys celebrate her than one night Sehun send a few messages to y/n confessing his feelings for her and asking her to be his girlfriend but she already have a boyfriend……

𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.1 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.2 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.3 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.4 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.5 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.6 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.7 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.8 - 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱.9

Ps. Sorry for taking so long to update, I was not feeling the best every time I was working on this chapter I would check it if it was good, but I would end up hating it and restarting I hope this chapter is good, please comment your thoughts and don’t be afraid to correct me on my bad spelling also please reblog my work if you liked it, it will help me a lot. :)

[rancidtae]

ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 4

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: non-consensual drug use Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 5k chapter summary: while the team is tailing Rina, Baekhyun gets hit with a feeling he thought he'd forgotten. a/n: I feel like a bunny calico critter scattering easter eggs here and there. btw this is where our flashbacks start, so keep an eye out for the date tags at the beginning of each scene

remember what's gone before not loaded with regret

masterlist meet the characters

081222 - 11:00 pm

Byun Baekhyun's a homebody. Always has been.

As the overseer of, well... everything, project manager, and human tech support, his days consist of sitting at the base of operations, otherwise known as home. You’ll find him surrounded by his monitors, headset always in place, eyes everywhere at once.

If there’s a security camera or a mic near, he’ll have eyes and ears on the scene.

Guaranteed, baby.

But he's not against changing the routine from time to time. If anything it’s healthy for his back. He’s 30 now. Paying for years of bad posture is proving to be unavoidable. 

And when it came to this, he had to see it for himself, right?

Because what better opportunity than being hit with the discovery that your childhood friend, who you considered dead for the past decade, is out there, alive?

And if that’s not enough of a plot twist, get this: someone just put up a generous price on her head. 

He’s here to make things a little less invasive after tampering her security system. Sending Sehun, a stranger, to enter her personal space while she’s out at a party simply felt wrong. Granted, he hasn’t seen her or spoken a word to her for at least a decade, but that’s what happens when you think someone’s dead and you’re not the type to fuck around with the Ouija board.

But they spent their childhoods and the uncomfortable purgatory that teenage years are together. They held a funeral for mintchoco, the tiny little lizard at Arcadia, her father’s Arcade joint, and buried him at the park two blocks away. She framed some guy for distribution of tentacle porn at the church youth club because he burned him with a cigarette. He was there for her first breakup and her emo phase. She burned his eyebrows off playing hot potato.

You don't just forget about things like that. It all must count for something, that’s what he tells himself as he pushes the door to her empty apartment open.

“Hi, Rina.”

“You know she’s not here, right?” Sehun says behind him, the entrance corridor’s light turning on make him jump and clutch his heart.

He forgot the guy was there. It's always the same with him and Jongin, they walk so quietly, it’s like dealing with a couple of overgrown cats.

“Yep, I’m aware. I’m just practicing.”

He’s spent the last week thinking about what he’ll say to her once Yixing stops gatekeeping her attention, suggesting a sturdier doorlock might be too much of a giveaway. 

This is it. A typical small loft made of white walls and laminated floor. A small bathroom right by the entrance, a compact c shaped kitchen with a short bar table and two chairs tucked in. The living room consists of a simple green Ikea sofa with a table and a tv in front of it. There’s also a desk next to a globe lamp and a bookcase. It has little to no space available, all the books fit snugly into place.

It’s… cozy, homely down to the details; small potted plants, a quirky variety of mugs, more plants by the balcony, a cat rug on the narrow stair leading up to the open mezzanine. There’s a messy bed up there, just on top of the kitchen.

Sehun hates those. It's common knowledge. He always hits his head on the ceiling.

Speaking of, he's flicking through her vinyl collection. “She’s got good taste.”

“How is it?” Junmyeon asks through the line. He’s back at home with Kyungsoo. They're overseeing the operation while Jongin, Jongdae and Chanyeol are tailing her.

Fucking weird. 

It’s undeniable; someone lives here. This is the space of a functioning adult. It’s hard to picture her when she was neither of those things when they last saw each other.

“You can take a look for yourselves,” Baekhyun says, finding the perfect spot for the nano cam on a frog figurine. “All good, Kyungsoo?” 

“All good,” he confirms. He sounds stiff, more than usual.

Baekhyun’s not any less uncomfortable than him about planting spying devices on her, but everyone agrees and understands why it’s necessary. Usually, he’d just hack into her tv camera or her laptop, but none of those devices gave a decent POV. 

One camera is aimed at the entrance and another is angled from the kitchen. He puts the last one on a corner of the living room, looking in from the balcony. He does his best to avoid her bed upstairs.

“You hid them well?” Jongdae asks. Everyone’s on the line tonight except for Yixing and Minseok. “You know it won’t be pretty if she ever finds out.” 

“I’ll come back and take them off myself once we’re sure she’s clear.”

“She can throw a fit if she likes. Faking her death means she loses privacy rights.” Chanyeol says.

“Alright Vladimir,” Baekhyun shakes his head at the amused glance Sehun gives him from the kitchen. He looks like a Barbie trapped in a Polly Pocket house.

“I’m just saying. Be an asshole, get treated like one.”

The recent discovery of Jung Jiah has had polarizing effect on the team. No one’s been more vocal about their discontent with her than Chanyeol, but that’s to be expected, and Kyungsoo’s sulky as well, spending more time with his plants on the terrace.

While Jongdae and Junmyeon remain as neutral as they can, Yixing’s with him on this one. The two agree that as long as they’re in the dark when it comes to her whereabouts, passing judgment on her is not a fair move.

Minseok, on the other hand, has been making himself extra busy at work, all death-trap eyes when he thinks people are not looking, no feedback during meetings when she's brought up, so that’s bound to be interesting. 

There’s of course a Kim Namjoon factor around her that they can’t ignore.

Minseok and Junmyeon got home that Friday night with the certainty that he knew, and that he intended to drop the revelation on them. 

One thing is clear in the middle of all that confusion, he wants to use her as leverage. He waited until Minseok signed the syndicate deal, successfully infiltrating the organization after months of negotiations, and put her on the table like all five of Exodia's card reunited.

But that doesn't explain the biggest mystery of them all. How did Kang Rina go from being locked up in a federal prison in the middle of nowhere, to the center of Seoul's crime ecosystem as a uni student/journalist under the name of Jung Jiah?

New name, new life, writing for a newspaper, pissing off the wrong crowd, a deadly post it note with Kim Namjoon scribbled on it attached to her head.

“How’s it going in there?” Sehun asks.

“So far so good. Jongin approached her. She's acting tough, but she doesn’t look too upset about it.” Chanyeol says.

It’s too bad that Jongin turned off his mic. There’s a bet going about whether or not she’ll respond to his charm. Jongdae swears Jongin’s everyone’s type when he works his magic, but Baekhyun disagrees. He’s too tall, too young and he’s missing the cat eyes.

For now, Baekhyun's putting the emotional shock to the side and handling this like she set a life-sized board game for them to figure out. If there’s one thing he had in common with her, is being a mystery enjoyer.

There are smartly placed storage cabinets everywhere to save up room like in most of these small single-bedroom apartments. She’s made good use of her entryway closet, it’s stacked with winter shoes, coats, all sorts of bags, and two or three umbrellas.

“Sehun, get your hands out of the fridge, you didn't even wash your hands.” Kyungsoo scolds. 

“She has cat food, but I don't see a cat” Sehun hums. “And for the record, Baekhyun was going through her underwear drawer before he set up the cameras.”

“What?”

“See how he’s not even denying it?"

Baekhyun might’ve fought the false accusations, but he happened to be going through her coats and just noticed a barely noticeable irregularity on the wall– a seam where there shouldn’t be one. Pushing everything to the side and inspecting the interior more closely, he runs his hands along the smooth wooden surface.

Wood, not wall. 

And exactly like he was hopping, there’s a line there, he feels it.

“Kyungsoo, I left the security UI tab open, can you do something for me real quick?” he asks, using his phone flashback to inspect the sides of the closet, finding a blank outlet. 

“Sure.”

“Look through the 220 volts outlets and devices. Uh– there should be one for the ac units, the washing machine, the water heater, cooktop…” he starts counting with his fingers “It’s definitely a circuit of its own.”

“I see a weird one, it doesn't have a name though.” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“It’s a date,” Junmyeon says. “October 10, 2020. Does that sound familiar?”

No, but they can figure that out later. 

“Can you try that one? Just poke it, see if anything happens.” 

And just like that, a section of the wall springs forward with a quiet click. Baekhyun just can’t help the delighted grin that takes over his face. He loves his job, he really does. It's unfortunate that her name came up and she's in danger, but she doesn't disappoint.

“Gotcha, Rinrin.”

“Can you stop talking like she’s there in the room with you? It’s creepy.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol calls his name. "I think you’re losing that bet."

“What makes you say that?” he asks idly, pushing the door open. 

“She just looked at Jongin like he’s nothing more than a piece of meat.” 

“Jongin, if you’re listening, reel it in, alright? Overdoing it might blow in your faces.” Junmyeon warns.

Fuck the bet, Baekhyun thinks, he’ll pay for Jongdae’s meals for the rest of the year after this. This, right now, is promising to be a goldmine. 

He crosses the threshold, exits another closet just like hers, and finds himself inside the adjacent apartment.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun calls out. He crawls out of the closet and looking around in awe. “Wow. She’s definitely wacky.”

“Kind of” Baekhyun laughs airily, making his way inside and turning on the lights on.

It’s the exact same layout as hers, only mirrored, absent of any furniture other than a desk and a simple chair. It feels more spacious like this, and the temperature is not warm, nor cold, just at the right spot to feel comfortable. 

But there's a wall, and things take another turn. Sehun and Baekhung stop and take it in.

“Not kind of, totally wacky. Something is seriously wrong with her.”

“She got it from her dad.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Kyungsoo asks like he fears they'll say they found human bones.

“I’ll send you pictures in a bit,” Baekhyun assures, attention sucked in.

Now standing in the middle of what should be the living room, the grin slowly relaxes to a curious, careful little smile.

Just what have you been up to, huh?

“Wait, hyung, how’d you know she’d have something like this?”

271111 - Eleven years ago

She called his name and said,

“There’s something I want to show you,”

Baekhyun gave up on the Spiderman-themed decorations. The guys would arrive in about half an hour with drinks, food, and cake for Chanyeol's 19th birthday party, just before the rest of the people they invited, and if Minseok made it, he'd absolutely fix and organize everything to his meticulous standards.

So he jumped from the chair, dusted his hands, and followed her into the backroom.

There was a time, when they were kids, when he envied her so much he sometimes questioned their friendship.

How could he not? Her father owned an Arcade, and that alone gave her a 1% kind of privilege over all the kids at school. Mr. Kang was probably the coolest adult he knew. Everyone liked him at school; he was the teacher that let people hang out in his office and gave free coding lessons on the weekends.

To sum it up, Rina always had it good. She inherited his smart genes, so she didn't have to work herself to the bone to get into a good school, and even if she failed academically, she'd definitely inherit Arcadia.

Now, as a 19-year-old and as a part-time worker for her father's Arcade, Baekhyun had started to feel a hint of pity for her.

It began when she brought up her suspicion about her father hiding something—a family on the side, a shady job, gambling addiction. Chanyeol and Jongdae dismissed her worries and called her paranoid.

And honestly, Baekhyun kind of agreed with them, he just wasn’t that upfront about it. Eventually Rina moved on, started dating some flower boy that was way more into her than she was for him, got her hair done, and that was it. 

But late afternoon, when he was getting rid of paperwork from months back and had nothing better to do, curiosity and boredom got the better of him. He sat down and paid attention to the numbers.

Things didn’t add up.

Arcadia was barely making any profit, sometimes not even enough to cover his salary. Granted, Mr. Kang had inherited the building, so he didn’t have to worry about rent. The electricity bill, the water bill, and maintenance costs were consistently covered. Baekhyun had no idea how much being a math teacher paid, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t nearly enough to get Mr. Kang out of the red.

That was two months ago, and Rina didn’t have much of a reaction when he mentioned it, so that was that. Assuming that she’d moved on for good, it didn't cross his mind until pay day came and Mr. Kang acted as relaxed as always.

It definitely didn't come up as he followed her into the dreaded utility closet where they had once encountered the biggest, fattest spider ever.

Then, she opened the wall right inside the closet.

A door. Where he never knew there was one. Because it was a wall. And walls usually don’t open or have hidden hinges like that. 

But this one did.

Hesitating but kind of curious, he followed her down a dimly lit set of stairs, his hands trailing along the wall.

There was always something about stairs when you don’t know where they lead you. Fear pulled at his gut. 

“Say rinrin...” he began, voice wobbly.

“Mhm?” she responded, her unbothered tone added to his unease.

“This seems kind of unsafe, don’t you think?”

“You’re good, don’t worry,”

That didn't reassure him much, but being Rina, how bad could it be?

Before he could play off his concern with a joke, cold lights blinded him. The peeling paint on the walls and outdated vinyl floors gave the basement an eerie feel. A chill started to get to him, this room wasn’t heated. 

Not that they could afford that anyway.

Rina waited for him at the bottom, red beanie on top of her head, washed-out strands of blue highlights coming down her shoulders.

“Dude.”

“Alright, I’m going. You kind of look like a zombie flick character in this lighting, by the way. Like you just got bitten, but people just can’t tell yet.”

The basement sprawled out before them, larger than any basement Baekhyun had seen. Endless pipelines crisscrossed the ceiling, and despite the layers of dust, it looked and smelled relatively clean.

It really was cold as fuck.

The was a desk in the middle of the room, with a chair he recognized—a high-end, back-friendly model. Crazy expensive. 

But that wasn't it. Several empty server racks lined the back. Baekhyun had never seen that many in his life.

“Wow.”

“Right?”

On the desk were two quad monitor mounts, a keyboard and mouse. Everything covered in a light layer of dust.

“I looked through the paperwork the other night,” she said, watching him curiously hit some keys. “I found blueprints. They didn't include this, but the utility plans mentioned a basement.”

He counted up to fifteen rack cabinets around them, all empty except for one, tucked away in the corner.

“You’re the only person who knows about this,”

His head whipped in her direction. 

He felt kind of proud first, knowing that he’d been the first person someone trusts with something. She had Kyungsoo, Minhee, Minseok, and now her lovesick boyfriend. Chanyeol and Junmyeon as well. But she chose him. 

But then it settled on him. She’d just put the responsibility of being the only other person to know about this place.

She’d been right all along. 

Mr. Kang was hiding something, and it all led down to this basement. Baekhyun knew it looking at the cluster of servers. It just had to.

081222 - 11:30 pm

Sehun is, once again, going through her personal belongings. So far he’s found a loaded 22 under the bed, a brand new set of throwing knives wrapped like a Christmas gift inside her closet, and a hideous khaki jacket with tangled up faux fur on the lapel and cuffs.

“Why is Baekhyun quiet?”

Baekhyun’s sure taking his sweet time back in the eerie mirrored apartment, deep in a trance induced by all the information on the wall-sized bulletin board.

Sehun took a look at his eyes, realized that he wasn’t even listening to him, and decided to give the guy some alone time.

Everyone’s emotional these days.

Earlier today, Baekhyun told him that things could ultimately fall into his and Jongin’s hands, seeing that they're the only members of the team not compromised by personal involvement. He didn’t think much of it then, now it looks like he might've been right.

“He’s busy.” he mumbles, eyeing the small desk just opposite her bed. He has to bend his back to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, his neck is starting to strain.

Stationery junkie. Explains the bulletin wall. She must take her Pinterest boards extra seriously.

Junmyeon is not happy with the lack of explanation. “Doing what? Why is he still in the closet?”

Chanyeol cuts in. “I’m not gonna make a joke out of that sentence. But I could, if I was in the mood. I’m just not.”

“He found a hidden door inside the entryway closet, it’s connected to the other apartment. She has the creepiest bulletin wall. She has pictures, documents, maps. Nothing related to Lee Chungjae, I think.”

Whatever intel she has in there, it looks like years' worth of work. 

Sehun is more concerned about how a journalist can afford double rent in this economy and how she got a secret security door installed without the building owner finding out and getting a hefty lawsuit.

He's kind of impressed..

Chanyeol sighs. “She has a fucking death wish.”

“No. She has a job.”

“Oh. That's definitely not a work thing, that shit is personal. Stalker levels of information. And she definitely doesn’t want anyone getting their hands on it.”

He would've approached it differently—nothing as flashy as a whole wall filled up with evidence. But he respects her for staying on the analog side of things.

If there's something they know in their line of work, is that digital means vulnerability.

But still, it took Baekhyun less than an hour to find his way in there, perhaps even less time than it would've taken him to find it if she stored everything in a bulletproof server.

All the effort, surely a few paychecks of investment, all for someone to go through that door and just find hard evidence on everything.

“Guys, this is gonna be awkward,” he says, pausing before further investigating her pink skincare mini-fridge. “But she’s got– uh, a fuckton of downers in here.” 

He’s seen some shit in his own time, but nothing like this. Several crystal bottles neatly lined up next to her toner pads and chemical exfoliator.

“Ok,” Junmyeon says, very carefully. “What– what kind?”

“Isoflurane.”

"That's not even a thing. You just made that up."

“You're joking.”

“Isn’t that... anesthesia?” Jongdae asks, but it looks like he already knows the answer.

"Anesthesia!?"

Sehun would love to know how she gets her hands on it. Few substances are as meticulously handled as anesthetics. 

He holds a bottle in his gloved hand and reads the label. If he remembers correctly, isoflurane vaporizes at room temperature, so it makes sense that she keeps them here. Inside a skincare fridge, though? Who even thinks of that?

But she sleeps with a 22 under her, so there’s that. Absolutely fucking wacky.

“But she doesn’t look– you know? She seems healthy. Yixing says she looks great.” Kyungsoo argues, sounding really against the notion that she might be using. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“There’s something called high-functioning addiction.” Chanyeol counters.

“I know that. But it doesn’t make sense.” 

Sehun agrees.

We’re missing something here.

Frustrated, he moves on to a plastic storage box under her desk. The first thing he finds, much to his surprise, is a bunch of packaged gas masks.

She’s meticulous. She carefully set up the door and the wall at other apartment. But Baekhyun found it. Easily. Like it was child’s play.

There’s a package underneath the gas masks. Blue filter replacements. Enough of them to make him stop in his tracks and his stomach drop.

He recognizes this grade. They’re made specifically for toxic fumes and chemical substances.

He slams his head against the ceiling.

“Fuck!”

“Sehun?” 

Sehun rips the plastic with his teeth, hastily puts a mask on. And runs down the narrow stairs.

“It’s a setup.”

He runs down the corridor. 

Inside the closet.

Pushes the door. Enters the mirrored apartment.

And there’s Baekhyun, sprawled on the floor, motionless.

Unconscious.

081322 - 01:45 am 

They’re usually better than this.

As in, most days in this job don’t end up with two people in the emergency room, and someone donating blood.

Turns out he has the same blood type as Miss Nut Nut. 

The night came to an end in a blur, and then things slowed down to an almost unbearable pace. Thankfully Dr. Jangmi picked up Junmyeon’s call immediately and made sure Baekhyun and the girl –who got in the way of a bullet, successfully this time– both had the best attention. As soon as possible.

Naturally, and thanks to the fact that they knew what substance he was on, Baekhyun gets discharged first, within hours.

He looks like he’s seen better days, pale skin, dry lips, IV drip next to him as Jongdae wheels him inside the private waiting room. Still, he flashes a boxy grin, rolling his eyes at the different looks of concern he gets.

“Wait, listen– it wasn’t that bad. I think I could be a drug addict in another life.”

Some find that funny, some don’t. Overall, everyone’s relieved to see that he feels fine enough to joke around.

“How’s she?”

“Still in surgery,” Kyungsoo says, holding an empty cup of coffee between his hands. 

It’s been a while since they’re all in the same room at the same time. There’s always more than one person missing, even when they go out for a meal and drinks at night. Usually, it’s Jongdae and Minseok, sometimes it’s Yixing.

“Is it bad?”

Jongin blinks down at the floor, fresh out of the shower, with a fresh set of clothes on. His whole shirt and lap were soaked in blood. Through and through. Sehun took a look at him and let him know that he would kill it in any Japanese horror movie, and congratulated him for surviving his interaction with Miss Saw.

“She lost a lot of blood, but they have it under control. They’re fixing up an artery right now.”

Minseok walks in, tie undone, bags under his eyes, a cloud of tobacco around him. He closes the door behind him and nods at Baekhyun, coming to rest a hand on his shoulder.

Jongdae offers to get another batch of coffee.

“You alright?” 

“A little drowsy, but it’s cool.” he fixes his throat. “It’s like waking up from the best worst nap ever. Uh– she knows, by the way.”

Minseok’s fingers running through his hair still, Baekhyun fears for a moment that his fist will close. His scalp is too sensitive.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Jongdae, be a sweetheart and get me some water, please. I’m still,” he grabs the handles of the wheelchair, ignoring the awaiting eyes on him. “figuring this thing out.”

“What does she know?”

Jongdae forgets about the coffee and gets him a bottle from the fridge.

"For fucks sake, Baekhyun."

He holds a finger up, taking short sips and making sure to wet his lips. Kyungsoo stands up and swiftly grabs the bottle from his hands.

“Talk.”

“That is incredibly rude, I almost died tonight.”

“And you still can. Start talking.”

“Ok. Alright. Look, she doesn’t know know, but she’s… well on her way there.”

All eyes are on him, as if waiting for the punch line to drop, or for him to start laughing and tell them how bad they fell for it. 

Junmyeon’s careful blink means he knows there is no such thing as a joke going on at the moment. “What are you saying right now?” 

“She knows about High Tide. She doesn’t know know about the Arcadia Initiative, but she’s… I don’t think she’s that far off. Oh, and there was... something called Project Selene." 

“Is it ok to talk about this here?” Sehun asks, side-eyeing Jongin, and finds that his face is contorted in a strange grimace. 

Junmyeon stands from his seat, running both hands through his hair, sounding breathless. “How’s that even possible?”

“She talked to Krystal, they met at some point. She must’ve been one of her sources.”

Sehun wonders if his ears are deceiving him. “What?” 

“I’m sure of it. She saw my tattoo and mentioned a friend who had one just like it. Red, back of her neck. It had to be Krystal.”

Chanyeol’s voice is hoarse and quiet. His hands hang between his thighs, a grimace wrinkling his face.

“That’d be shitty, wouldn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“After Mr. Kang... you know. She was right about him from the start.” he chuckles humorlessly “And now when she’s close to finding the truth, if she-- if she doesn’t make it--”

Baekhyun cuts him off.  “That’s fucked up, man.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I was angry and I got distracted. This wouldn’t have happened if didn’t stall.”

“It’s not your fault.” Kyungsoo protests, put off by the fact that he’s considering such a thing, looking around for backup. 

“We all made the call. I could’ve stepped up, talked to her and got her out of the city for a while, and we could’ve avoided this.” Yixing follows, putting his hand on Chanyeol's shoulder. “So don’t blame yourself, Chanyeol. We’ve had a rough night, but she’s stubborn. She’ll pull through. Dr. Jangmi's helped us out of worse before.”

“It was a delicate situation, we all knew there was an added risk.” Minseok's tone is unreadable. But there’s nothing new about that.

“You’re right.” Yixing nods. “We’ll discuss what we’ll do about... everything Baekhyun found in its due time, once she recovers. And we’re all cool-headed.”

“Yeah. Let’s just... deal with this later.” Junmyeon says. There’s a haggard look on his face, but his bloodshot eyes keep staring at a specific spot on the floor, probably already thinking of the implications of this revelation, of the consequences, and the possible moves to make.

Jongin and Sehun share a look. The tension has risen again, as it has several times this week when the subject comes up. Every single time it feels like an argument is imminent and shit will hit the fan, though it never quite gets there. 

And it only adds up for the next time.

“What’s there to discuss?” Minseok asks in a tone that leaves no space for answers, regarding Junmyeon and Yixing with a coldness in his expression that takes Sehun by surprise. "Isn't it obvious?"

His tired expression from before and heavy eyelids have sharpened to a stern mask they’ve seen only a few times since he met him. It’s not usual that Minseok talks like the eldest, so when he does, the room stills and holds its breath.

“The second she learns the truth this will make it to The Chronicle’s front page. When that happens, this all goes down, we go down, and she goes down. They won’t be this sloppy.”

Junmyeon looks away, jaw clenched. Chanyeol keeps his eyes on the floor. Jongdae looks out of the window at the view from Kyunkook Hospital. It started to rain a few minutes ago, and he can’t tell if the timing is terrible or soothing. 

“She's not a risk we can afford to take.”

Baekhyun looks down at the diluted blood filling up the drip chamber in his hand.

Only Yixing looks directly at Minseok while he’s speaking. His expression gives away nothing.

“Jung Jiah can never know the truth. She got close, and that’ll be it. We'll make sure of it.”

[yourdreamsyourwish-2]

Reaction #12: Password is related to their Ex

Baekhyun

You weren’t breaking into his computer without his permission. You had asked, to use his computer for something and he agreed.  You typed in the number code quickly.  Day - Month - Year…It was only after you typed in the numbers he had given you did they remind you of something.  You’ve been together for three years now, and you remembered last year he had given you flowers on this day.  You couldn’t remember why you remembered until he had written an anniversary card with it.  The day, the flowers, and the card clicked in your mind.  

His password to open up his laptop was his ex’s anniversary date.  Your fingers hovered over the keys looking at the open screen, eyes on the post it note.  You’ve been together for three years and he still hasn’t changed it.  

“Hun? You okay?”  Baekhyun called from the couch.  He looked over to see your frozen face.   Blinking, you gave a smile, closing the laptop quickly.  

“Yeah. I just remembered, "I have something else I need to do first.”  You stood up, heading to the chair to grab your jacket.  

“___?” 

“I’ll call you later okay?”  You wave goodbye quickly running out of his apartment, allowing yourself to cry only when you get to your car.  

Jongin

“I got it, don’t sweat it.”  You told Jongin over the phone when you opened up his tablet.  “I’ll send it right over okay.” 

“Thanks, you’re the best.” 

“I know I am.”  You smile into the phone.  Plugging into the tablet, you tried using the code he had for his phone, the same number for your birthday.  It didn’t work.  You tried the four digit date of your anniversary, nothing.  You tried his birthday, yet still nothing.  Sending a quick text about what number was his tablet, he responded just as quickly.  You stared at the four digits, hands slightly shaking when you used them and it opened.  You knew whose birthday that was.  Your ex-friend and his girlfriend from high school.  She had cheated on him, and after college you two had reconnected.  It had taken up all your courage to finally ask him out on a real date, and he said yes.  Taking a screenshot of the data he needed you sent it over in a text message real quick before closing the ipad.  You know it shouldn’t hurt you, that he still uses his ipad everyday, typing in her number but it does.  Despite being with you, you always felt he compared you to her in some way.  A comparison you never have been able to stand up with.

Minseok

You were going through his mom’s calendar to try and figure out a good day for everyone to get together.  You were heading to August, when you noticed a small note on July 8th.  Minseok’s ex-fiance's birthday was staring up at you.  0708.  You had known both of them, when they were together.  You knew his family would compare you both, never to your face, but still.  Sometimes when his mom looks at you, you see her eyes, maybe thinking how his ex could have done it better.  

“___?”  His mother called from the other room.  Minseok had been helping her get lunch ready.  “Yeah, I’m just looking.  Minseok, do you mind if I check your phone’s calendar?”  You, hoping they wouldn’t come out and see you panic.  

“Go ahead.”  He called out, with your hands shaking you clicked his screen on, typing in the password you had in the past so absent mindedly done.  0-7-0-8.  The phone unlocked, with just a simple click, and a small tear in your own heart.   

Yixing

He always called you peaches.  Yixing had said the way you smelled reminded him of the fruit he loved growing up.  It was a weird habit that he would relate people to food, yet he was a pastry chef, so it made sense in your mind.  In fact you were trying one of his strawberry tarts.  He stood behind the counter, helping customers and smiling with his chef hat.  In fact you looked around to see most of the delicacies he served were strawberries.  You even knew his password to get into the system was strawberry.  It was a weird thing you just started noticing after running into his ex the previous month.  A week ago, she had contacted you asking to meet as well.  Where she made a reference to her own fruit nickname.  

“I ate so many strawberries when we were together, I even have earrings with it.  I guess it’s an ongoing joke, I grew up on a strawberry farm you know.”  

Now you realized, everything pointed back to her.  Your eyes went to the small tray of mini peach pies in the corner of the display.  They were the only peaches he was selling currently, sad little treats that were still full from this morning.  No one had bought any.  You looked around gazing at the signs, to see if there were peaches anywhere, but in the fruit display decorations you had helped put up, there were no peaches.  

“Peach?”  Yixing asked, standing next to your table.  “You okay?”  He looked at you concerned.  For a second you thought about telling him, thought about asking, but you knew the moment you did, your relationship might end.  The woman he had lost, the one whose nickname decorated his life so elegantly no longer had any obstacles in her path.  The only one now was you.  But looking up at your boyfriend of two years, you didn’t want to let him go.  He was the first one who made you feel loved, even if it seemed artificial.  

“Yeah, it’s just a little too tart for me today.”  You gave a smile, hoping he wouldn’t see the sadness brewing.  You didn’t know how long you were going to be able to be with him, but you were going to enjoy it while it lasted.  

Reaction Masterlist

Masterlist

Liked Yixing's? So did I, I got an entire one shot stuck in my head.

In The Way is out Now!

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Jeonghan: Sold (Part Three)

Characters: Jeonghan x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst, loooots of mentions of the black market/human trafficking, people in cages, shock collars, violence, murder, guns, possible minor character death, just a lot of bad things happening here and it's very chaotic lmao

Word count: 3,253

Summary: If Jooyeon and Baekhyun never went snooping around the black market, they would’ve never discovered the human trafficking ring and wanted to help. They would’ve never discovered you inside one of the many cages full of people, and Jeonghan would’ve never went against the alphas and demanded they help. But for you, Jeonghan would do anything, even if it means bringing back trouble from a past he never knew about.

a/n: things in bold are meant to be in english

Previous | Next | Sold Masterlist

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t do it if it were Jooyeon in there. Or Yeji. Or Soomin. Or any of the girls in this household. You’d see your mate laying in a cage, dirty, exhausted, knowing they were being sold off to a pack of mate-collectors, and you’d just let them go?”

That was enough persuasion for the pack to finally cave and agree to help Jeonghan. Those who had mates understood how it felt. The others could imagine how horrible it must’ve felt to see that, and the determination Jeonghan felt to do anything possible to get you out of that situation. 

Junmyeon’s pack was hard to persuade – well, except for Chanyeol – but they eventually agreed to help.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to overtake whoever’s behind the ring, though,” Junmyeon admitted. “We don’t even know how many people are involved.”

“Hanbin will no doubt help us,” Kyung said.

“I can ask Chris, too,” Cooper shrugged. “At least having Felix or Changbin would be helpful.”

“Either way,” Seungcheol interrupted, “we’re going to plan this from all angles. Whether we have four packs or just two – we’re going to make sure we can pull this off.”

“Our main goal is getting Blue out of there,” Jihoon added on, “but we’re gonna try to save as many people as we can.”

Jongdae stopped the explanation, “Who’s Blue?”

“That’s what Jeonghan started calling her,” Joshua explained. 

“It’s the color of her collar,” the boy in question shrugged. “What else am I supposed to call her?”

“That rhymed!” Soonyoung smiled, pointing to Jeonghan enthusiastically before taking Jihoon’s palm to the back of the head.

“Where are these captives expected to go after they’re free?” Sehun wondered. “Just…wander off into the woods? They’ll just get caught again.”

“Cooper and I worked together with an ally of mine to find some safe housing for them,” Kyung explained. “Her and her partners work under the table as werewolf doctors. Besides, the public already views werewolves as horrible creatures so I’m sure anybody would be willing to take someone in who was almost a part of a werewolf kidnapping.”

“And how long do we have to figure all of this out?” Yixing questioned.

“That’s the problem,” Seungcheol sounded a little afraid and unsure now, “...we don’t know. Which means we have to plan this and execute it immediately.”

-

You felt absolute fear watching the girl be thrown to the ground, blood covering half her face. But you didn’t scream or even move. You learned not to. You did anything you were told to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Anything to not get hurt more than you already were.

“Can you be fucking careful?” one of the other men snapped gruffly at the one who’d thrown the girl to the ground by her hair. “If they’re damaged, they’re not gonna pay as much!”

“They already paid half and it was more than enough,” another said.

“But I want the other half in full!”

You knew about whoever had bought you. The men kept saying you were going to be ‘slaves to monsters’, but you were pretty sure they were the real monsters. You’d heard all the stories about werewolves, but you didn’t feel any fear knowing you were soon going to be shipped off to a den of them. However, you didn’t trust any human anymore. Your whole life, all they’d done is hurt you and betray you. None of them were compassionate. All of them just looked for personal gain, and you were somehow always in the crossfire.

Maybe a life with werewolves would be better.

In the cage next to you, you heard a scoff. You already knew it was Saoirse. She seemed to always be doing something to get in trouble, but she was the only person there that you talked to. She was the only human you’d met that wasn’t completely horrible.

“They’re gonna be in for a rude awakening when these cages are empty one morning,” she muttered.

You scooted a little closer to the edge of the cage closest to her, “What?”

Saoirse was the only person you ever spoke to. You wouldn’t necessarily consider her a friend considering the trouble she got herself in, but she was someone that you could keep at arm's length. She’d been nice to you a handful of times, so you’ve gotten her out of trouble with her language barrier in return. You spoke to each other here and there to pass the time and relieve boredom, but that was really it.

She glanced over at you like she just now noticed you were there before she looked back at the scene in the middle of the tent, “Some creatures showed up here last night. They looked human but their eyes were something else, and they promised to get us all out of here.”

You were both speaking quietly so as to not draw the attention away from the men bickering among themselves, but you still kept stealing glances over toward them to make sure they didn’t notice the two of you talking.

“And you trust strangers to save us?” you questioned.

She shrugged, “What reason would they have to come here and find us? And why would they lie about saving us?”

“What reason would they have to save us?” you countered, looking back at her.

She tisked, “Let me have something to be hopeful for, will ya?”

“Hey!” one of the men yelled, making you jump but Saoirse didn’t even seem phased. You whipped your head around while her eyes just glanced behind you to the three men. “Do you two wanna be next?”

You quickly shook your head.

Saoirse never understood what they said, so she just muttered for them to fuck off like she always did, which then angered the men because they couldn’t understand her. Typically, they’d do something to punish her, but today, the man scoffed and waved the issue away.

“The freaks will have a field day with you,” he spat before the three of them left the tent.

“Guess lunch time isn’t happening…” she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“You need to stop making things worse for yourself,” you huffed, your voice tired.

Truthfully, you were still feeling quite groggy. You always were, but you’d woken up only a few minutes prior to the girl getting beat for whatever reason the men found to do so. You didn’t want to go back to sleep but it was hard keeping your eyes open.

“I’m not letting shit like this happen to me without a fight,” she scoffed. “If I’m capable, I’ll do anything to stop what’s happening to us. I mean, those people last night wouldn’t have come and offered to free us if I didn’t stay awake.”

“We’re all going to the same place either way,” you finally snapped, sending her a glare. “You’re fighting for nothing and making it worse for yourself – and you almost dragged me down with you. Leave me out of your…righteous bullshit or whatever.”

You rarely snapped at Saoirse, but she still didn’t seem phased by it, “You need to stop letting bad shit happen to you, Girl. That’s why it keeps happening. You don’t do anything to try and fight back.”

“And which one of us have gotten beaten the most?”

Before Saoirse could come up with a snappy reply that you knew she’d have, the tent flaps opened again, and two different men showed up with stale bread. They tossed half a loaf in each cage that everyone would fight over and tear apart like animals. Some hurt each other in the process, so hungry that they were feral for every single crumb they could get, even if it meant scratching and grabbing at each other.

As always, you stayed away in a corner and watched the other six people in your cage dive after the bread tossed in, snarling and yelling and fighting over it. You didn’t get food, but at least you weren’t injured even worse.

“Hey. Girl.”

That’s what Saoirse called you. You didn’t have a name – not that you could remember. So she always called you Girl to get your attention.

You turned your head just in time to see Saoirse tossing something through the bars and into your cage. You quickly cupped your hands to catch whatever it was. A piece of bread half the size of your fist.

You glanced back up at her and she offered you a small smirk before biting into her half of the bread. Nobody in the cage dared fight Saoirse over the portion she’d managed to get because she was infamous for fighting back. They knew fighting against her would be a losing battle because she dared to even fight back against the men holding them all captive.

Maybe it was smarter to fight back like Saoirse, even if it meant worse punishments. But life had punished you so much already, and you were tired of fighting.

As you nibbled on your bread, turning so your back was to your cagemates, you decided one really couldn’t teach old dogs new tricks.

-

The locked gate in front of the flaps to the tent was no issue for Soonyoung before, but the pack needed him focused. So the question stood as the pack planned for the prison break: how to get into the tent in the first place without running into the werewolf traps set around the perimeters?

“Okay…” Cooper began slowly and softly, afraid to speak the plan she was brewing out loud because she didn’t want it to be considered bad or stupid, “what if we had someone on the inside who could unlock the gate? Like…maybe a mouse?”

“A mouse?” Chanyeol had scoffed.

Jihoon considered the idea and shrugged slightly, “I mean, that’s not a bad idea, actually. Small enough the guards probably wouldn’t see him.”

“Where the hell are you guys gonna find a trained mouse?” Baekhyun asked with an incredulous laugh.

Chris simply pointed with his thumb to the boy sitting beside him, “Perfectly trained, right here.”

“Make that two,” Jaesang said as he raised his hand to head-level.

And that’s exactly what step one of the plan was. A tiny gray mouse scurried around the perimeter of the outside of the tent, alongside a dark brown one, going up toward the black iron gate. The outside of the gate wasn’t protected this time, but Felix and Jaesang could see two men inside the gate that were a few feet away from the entrance. 

They shimmied up one of the bars to the latch and together, managed to push it up, jumping down as the gate swung open so they could hurry inside before possibly getting stepped on, knowing they couldn’t see the people who would be following right behind them.

The two guards looked up, their conversation falling silent as the gate swung open seemingly out of nowhere.

“How the hell did that happen?” one of the men asked as they both stepped up to inspect the gate’s latch before closing it. “Did the latch break?”

“No, it looks–”

The man didn’t finish his sentence as his head was suddenly thrown back like he’d been punched in the face. The other guy looked up in surprise, only for his neck to get twisted at an unnatural angle, and with a snap, he fell to the ground. His companion soon met the same fate as a human Jaesang snuck up behind him while he was distracted with the pain in his now bloodied nose.

Seungcheol and Cooper appeared behind the first man’s body, Cooper’s hand on Seungcheol’s back being removed now that they were safe to be visible.

“There’s more guys around the back,” Felix informed them as the rest of the group began rushing in through the front gate. “We’re gonna have our work cut out for us.”

“We’ve got four packs against some humans,” Jinyoung chuckled, clearly feeling good about the odds. “It’ll be a piece of cake.”

“Just don’t get too cocky,” Hanbin warned.

“Cocky’s his middle name,” Kyung muttered before going off with her group to subdue the men keeping the people in the cages.

-

“Alright, get up! Everybody up! Let’s go!”

It wasn’t the first time you’d woken up to a man yelling for you all to wake up, but this wasn’t a voice you’d heard before. This one was softer, but still sounded urgent. Your eyes groggily peeled open as you tried to sit up, your bones and joints stiff and aching. Your vision was blurry so you thought you were surely just seeing things when you saw someone grab ahold of the metal bars and pull them open almost effortlessly. You sat up completely and rubbed at your eyes, only to see someone with blonde hair, yellow eyes, and a kind smile standing right in front of you, his slender fingers wrapped around the bars. He looked like an absolute angel with his perfect teeth, pink lips, and kind eyes that looked right at you. He made your heart flutter.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he said before pushing the bars apart enough to create a gap for the people in your cage to get out.

He was quick to scoop you up before the other six people in your cage trampled you to get free. But as soon as you were too close to the bars, your collar went off with a continuous shock that had you letting out a strangled yell.

Jeonghan was quick to grab the collar by the black box and rip the blue collar from your neck. 

Unfortunately for the wolves, it was chaos trying to free these people. Of course, they were panicking trying to run away and weren’t going to listen to those trying to guide them safely outside the tent and to freedom. Some were guided out and made it to those waiting at the perimeter to guide them toward the safehouses they had set, but others were ignoring all instruction and running for their lives, getting hurt or killed in the process. Some of them ran out, clutching their necks as they were shocked to no end as they tried to make their escape. 

Jeonghan wasn’t focusing on that. His only job was to get you out and get you back to the house as quickly and safely as possible. Once he had you, he was supposed to run for it, and that’s exactly what he was doing, dodging other captives and wolves as he ran for the exit with every wolf he ran passed covering him so he could make a safe escape with you.

As you were being carried out, you saw another man prying open the bars of Saoirse’s cage. She immediately leapt out and followed where the man was pointing to, running to follow after you and the strange man who was carrying you. Her eyes caught yours over his shoulder, and she seemed to brighten a little and give you a knowing smile as if to say ‘I told you so’.

The man jogged through the gates before he bolted for an escape.

“Jihoon!” he called. “Cover me!”

Jihoon stopped what he was doing as soon as he spotted Jeonghan, then his eyes looked behind him to see a guard chasing after them. His eyes glowed to life as he held his palm toward the man before flinging him backward toward the tent, his back hitting the iron bars of the gate.

You looked around, seeing absolute chaos around you as giant wolves tore apart men, and captives ran for their lives or were shot down. Then you looked behind you to see Saoirse still running behind you.

If you weren’t looking at her, you wouldn’t have known the scream that came from her mouth was hers before she hit the ground. You could see blood staining the back of her shirt, the pool of it spreading. 

“Saoirse!” you cried, reaching your hand behind the man.

He skidded to a stop, turning to see who you were yelling for. He looked over at Jihoon again, and the alpha nodded, running toward the girl. 

Jeonghan didn’t wait to see what would happen to Saoirse. He couldn’t wait. He had to get you home. He had to get you to safety. So he turned back around and continued running the way he had been.

While he was focused on your safety, though, you were fixated on Saoirse’s. Sure, she was trouble, but she was the closest thing you’d ever had to a friend. So while Jeonghan ran, you watched over his shoulder to see what her fate would be.

-

The scream cut through the tense air. Everyone had clamped their hands over their ears, eyes closing tight as if it could help drown out the scream. Mingyu’s eyes were watering just from the sharp noise.

Finally, it died off, leaving everyone to look to Eunjin standing in the doorway of the den, hands still holding a plate of food like nothing happened. But her blue eyes were locked on the girl at the end of the hallway, clinging to the back of Jeonghan’s shirt with fear in her eyes. Eunjin’s eyes were glossy and filled with tears, and the two wolves who had been left behind to take care of the mates began to panic.

Eunjin was staring at you.

“What happened?” Joshua asked urgently as he rushed over to her. He stood in front of her, gently gripping her upper arms and searching her eyes, but it was like he wasn’t even there to her. It was like she was still staring through him at you. “Eunjin? Did you hear something? Do you sense something? What is it?”

The three wolves waited for her response, but they knew her scream woke up every single mate upstairs and they would no doubt be down to ask questions soon. Immediately, they feared the worst. One of their own had died. Hell, maybe you were going to kill them. That wouldn’t have caught Eunjin’s attention like that. She would’ve sensed or heard something more significant than that.

And you were even more confused than anyone else because that was the first thing you experienced after Jeonghan opened the door.

It felt like time was frozen until Eunjin’s lips quivered and she said in a whisper, “I have a bad feeling again…”

The small group looked around at each other with a mix of worried and grim looks. They all knew what that meant. It was a feeling she got when she had met Hansol before. She screamed when she saw him, and then Jiung died and things went downhill with Kyung. 

Then three pairs of golden eyes were on you, along with Eunjin’s blue eyes that sent a shiver down your spine for reasons other than her screaming at you.

But Jeonghan didn’t care. He didn’t care if you brought death or something, if he were honest. Maybe Eunjin just sensed death associated with you because of what had happened. He’d make up any excuse in his head for you. He’d defend you in front of his entire pack if he had to. All he wanted was you to be safe, and now that he had you in his arms, he could make sure you always would be. And he’d never let you go.

»»————-　　————-««

Tag list (italics are unable to tag): @choiminjae0325 @dumbasslonelybisexual @yoonbabe-d @exuwu @lets-get-1t @vintageot5 @sehunnies-hunnie96 @childfmoonn @ash-is-psychotic @haoareyou @wobwobkpop @dirinast @joshwoah @wreckedbytae @salty-for-suga @xu-miseo @uglyratlmao @onewoowonderboy @artistic-rendition @mrsfandomz @psshwa @peachy-hoon @chaseyui @haven-cove @belledamsceno @saxtaee @k-pop-ology @uglychildd @eclvpe @killcomet @coupsiekkuma @sunlightwoo @jelly-fishy-babie @valtxy @birthday-prinxess @sooooofrench @seungsanhun @svtbubs @ada-lucia @queenofhimbos @soonwoosz @babyminghao @hao-are-xu @onefinecarat @patat-boi @shawkneecaps @dinosvvrs @apple-m @cheolliehugs @jisungsdreamy @imtaehyungry @superheros-and-others @semicolorn @gyaaah @whimsicalwoodlands @aunty-tiger-potato @sbnchaos @seventeensdaesang @sleeplessdailyhours @junuoyi @yiyi4657 @randombandit77 @restless-nights-thoughts @allpiecesofmybrokenheart @charlieshelves @allie-mcginn @peachescherryheart @brattybunfornct @henloiamaweirdobye @anissanightyoung  [if you’d like to be added to the tag list, please fill out this form!!!]