You ran your fingers through your silky locks, a sigh escaping your lips. You took a long sip of your moscato, allowing the red liquid to linger on your ruby red lips. A strange itch haunting your mind. You were being watched. You didn’t know by whom or what, but you knew. The predatory pressure. The quick movements of shadows. You weren’t that naive to ignore the obvious signs. It wasn’t terrifying as it was tiring. Making sure your girls were extra cautious as they returned home. Acting as if you were not affected by the thought of being watched. You would rather have your stalker reveal themselves to you so that you could end it, rather than waste time wondering. 

You let out another exasperated sigh as you took another swig of your poison. Your annoyance and frustration was starting to break through your professional facade. Even some of the boys began to notice…

Cat got your tongue, Ms. Bonnie? I kinda miss hearing your voice.

A furrowed brow doesn’t suit your pretty little face, Andenium.

Streak of bad luck? Looks like I might have to be your lucky charm, Fortuna.

No teasing today? What in the world happened to get little miss Artemis upset.

It wasn’t until the sound of laughter and giggles filled your ear, ripping you away from your thoughts. You looked up to find Daehyun flirting with some of the girl patrons in the club, winking at one of your girls as she handed him his drink. He took a quick sip of his copper poison, his eyes suddenly meeting yours. A small flirty smirk graced his plump lips as he walked towards you, placing his glass on the counter.

“Long day, beautiful?” He grinned a pearly white smile as he leaned his arms on the countertop.

“You could say.” A small smirk revealed itself for a brief moment.

“Then how about,” He hovered over the counter, a small gap of air separating his lips from yours. “You and me get out of here and have a little fun.” A playful smirked revealed itself. A scoff escaped your lips as you playfully rolled your eyes.

“And leave my business unattended? You must think I’m a frivolous woman.” You swirled the sweet liquid in your glass.

“I would never think that, gorgeous,” Daehyun chuckled, the sound soothing and sweet to your ears. Unlike many of the gruff, smoke filled voices that filled your ear, there was a dash of something pure in his voice. Not innocence like Zelo. Rather it was something raw and heartfelt. You couldn’t quite describe the sensation, but there was a sense a familiarity. The last time you heard a sound like that, you were young, naive and in love. “There’s a new dance club down the street and I think you could blow off some steam.”

You pondered for a moment at his proposition. It had been quite a while since you had any fun. Your life had been wrapped up in a whirlwind of work and business and no pleasure. Plus with the added stress of a possible stalker, blowing off some steam on the dance floor seemed very tempting. “Go ahead, Y/N!” One of your girls called from the back. “I can watch over the club, business is on the slower end tonight so you don’t have to worry about it.” Clarisse, one of your older girls grinned at you.

“Are you sure, dear?” You came over to the sweet dove and cupped her face gently. “Some of the patrons can get a bit cranky.” A small frown appeared on your lips, imagining the possible troublemakers that would appear and hurt your girls.

“We’ll be fine! You’ve overworked yourself lately. You need to have some fun too, Y/N.” Clarisse laughed as she placed her own hand on top of yours.

“Thank you, sweets,” You grinned, placing a quick peck on her forehead. “Looks like you got a ‘date,’ ’” You chuckled as you ran your fingers through your hair, placing it on one side of your shoulder as you approached Daehyun. “But let me get into something more comfortable.” You winked at him, a bubble of excitement boiling inside of you. You hadn’t been dancing or partying in some time. It wasn’t that you were old and worn out. You just recently turned 23. Rather life pushed you to grow up a little too fast, too soon. Parties and dancing became something of dreams and fantasies. 

“Do you need help with that?” A playful smirk flashed on Daehyun’s lips.

“No,” A devilish grin of your own your lips as you placed your pointer finger on his lips. “I don’t wear much anyway to require help.” You could feel a smug grin form against your finger.

“All the more reason to help, right?” He placed a small kiss against your finger. You rolled your eyes playfully before you sauntered to the backroom. Daehyun leaning back against the bar stool, watching your hips swaying as you went to the back.

Daehyun fiddled with his pocketwatch as he waited for you to be done with your preparations. He gently traced each curve and engraving of the watch, memorizing every detail. His eyes softened at the object, an endearing, loving smile peeked through his flirty, cheery persona. You stood in the doorway of the back room and watched the image before you. This was the sensation you felt when you heard his voice. This purity. Purity of endearment, care, of heart. Love. It was a sensation that you had abandoned long ago. Daehyun must have felt your stares since he immediately shoved the pocketwatch in his coat pocket when he made eye contact with you. 

“Wow! I didn’t think you could be anymore beautiful, but looks like you proved me wrong.” Daehyun chuckled as he scanned your figure. You exchanged you long dark red violet, high slit dress, for a short scarlet red dress that had a simple v cut. Your lips the same shade of ruby red as before but now were accented by your black stiletto heels. Everything just fitted you so well in all the right places.

“You’ll learn that I do that often.” You smirked as you booped the top of his nose before heading out the doors of Le Noir, Daehyun eagerly following suit. 

The flashing of lights and booming of stereos filled up the room. A mob of young bodies moving to the beat of the music, free and uncaring. The sounds of laughter, cheers, and drunk outburst seemed to blend with the fast pace melodies of the song. The scene was so strange and unfamiliar to you. It was exciting. Fascinating. 

“Let’s dance.” You couldn’t hide the excitement in your voice as you went down the stairs towards the dancefloor that presented itself before you.

“Love to, beautiful, but I need to get a few more shots in me before I can dance properly.” He winked at you as he headed towards the bar. You merely shrugged. This was time for you to party and have fun. You definitely didn’t need a man to do that. 

You quickly joined the mob of people on the dance floor, moving and swaying to the music. A few young men came beside you and began to dance with you, pressing their bodies against you. You didn’t mind the close contact or the skinship. This was a dance club. It was expected that body contact would occur. You could handle yourself and if they even tried to step over their bounds, they would be met with the barrel of a .380 ACP. After dancing for sometime, you decided that it was time to get some alcohol in your system. You could still feel the tightness your body felt due to the unfamiliarity of the place and situation. You needed to loosen yourself up with a few Cosmos. 

As you approached the bar, you saw Daehyun flirting with a young brunette, a flirty grin on his lips. A cocky smirk began to form on your lips as you watched the scene unfolded. It was entertaining to say the least. Daehyun had said something to cause the girl to roll her eyes and walk away, leaving the young man to sigh and scratch the back of his head at his failed one night stand. 

“We can sense it you know?” A teasing smile on your face as you took the bar stool beside Daehyun, your Cosmo in hand. “When a man is taken.” You leaned back against the bar counter, resting your elbows against the surface. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, gorgeous,” He chuckled, running his fingers through his soft, dark brown hair as he leaned closer to you. “Give me a night and I can prove how single I am.” A devilish smirk of his own appearing on his lips as he tilted your chin upwards so that he could stare in your calm, unfazed eyes. 

“That’s not what this little gem says,” You presented Daehyun’s silver pocket watch in front of him. The silver chain dangling in your perfectly manicured fingers. Daehyun’s eyes went wide for a moment as he patted his coat pocket to see if you had really swiped his watch. “This has ‘taken’ written all over it.” You chuckled as Daehyun quickly swiped the watch from your hand. A small glare appearing on his usually jovial face. 

“It’s not like that.” His voice became low as he looked elsewhere and shoving the pocket watch back in his pocket. 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night I suppose.” You shrugged, sipping on your sweet drink. Daehyun let out a small growl as he quickly trapped you within his arms. He hovered over you as you watched him nonchalantly. A smug, devious grin forming on his lips. 

“I told you, beautiful,” He leaned down so that his lips were mere centimeters from your ears. His soft, melodious voice filling your ear. “Give me a night and I’ll prove to you I’m not tied down.” 

“I could give you a hundred and that wouldn’t change the fact that your heart belongs to another,” You grinned at him, simply and calmly pushing his arm aside so that you could return to the dance floor. “So rather than trying to seduce me, dance with me.” You offered your hand to Daehyun. He couldn’t help but let out a breathe of disbelief, a playful smile appearing on his lips, before taking your hand and joining you on the dance floor. 

The two of you simply moved to the beat, dancing however way you wanted. Both of you chuckling at the silliness that was occurring as each song passed. Daehyun couldn’t help but enjoy the little flirty dances you were doing as your body rubbed against his, his hands automatically moved to your waist. The moment he did so, you would and remove yourself from him, give him a wink, before dancing with someone else. A scoff would escape his lips, but that didn’t stop him from the chase. The little game you two played was quite enjoyable until a loud shrieking voice broke the lighthearted atmosphere. 

“You !” A young women clad in a skin tight leopard print dress, her face beat with at least 4 layers of makeup approached you. “What the hell are you doing with my man!?” She screamed, causing your face to scrunch at the sound of her nasally high-pitched voice, 

You glanced back at the buff man behind you. “Dancing with him, obviously?” You looked at the girl in disbelief. Was she really trying to pick a fight with you?

“More like grinding your against him, you !?” She screamed before raising her acrylic nail filled hand to slap you, but before she could even try, Daehyun grabbed her wrist. A polite smile on his face.

“Now, a pretty girl like yourself shouldn’t get so fired up. It ruins your beautiful features.” He gently tapped the young girl’s chin with his thumb. You could tell by the dumb grin that had appeared on her face that the young woman was taken by Daehyun’s words.

“You f**ker, what are you trying to do with my girl!?” The buff man behind you growled as he pulled Daehyun by the shoulder forcefully, ripping Daehyun away from the young woman. 

You let out a sigh and shook your head in dismay. You simply wanted one night of fun. “This could all have been avoided if your girlfriend did not have the temper the size of an elephant and a brain the size of a pea.” You flashed them your professional smile, causing both of them to fume. 

“Why you little !?” The man swung his fist towards you, but Daehyun quickly grabbed the man’s arm, using the man’s own momentum to flip him over. Daehyun let out a huff of air at the sudden work out as he wiped his hands on his ripped black jeans. 

“You know I could have handled that on my own right?” A confident smirk on your lips as you placed your hands on your hips, watching the man groan and struggle to get up.

“I don’t doubt it. But I like playing the good guy once in awhile too.” He cracked his knuckles, releasing the tension between his joints.

The man, however, was not down and out yet and lunged at Daehyun, ensuing a large mob fight to occur on the middle of the dance floor. Screams and shrieks could be heard as the smell of blood filled the air. You held yourself well as you dodged random attacks that landed without a target. You rolled your eyes at how ridiculous this was. Maybe this was the main reason you stopped going out dancing and partying. You weaved through the crowd, attempting to find Daehyun and leave. Afterall, he did ‘save’ you. In the mess of bodies, you saw Daehyun in the back fighting a few men. You saw a playful amused smile on his face as he dodged their attacks easily, tiring the men out rather than beating them to a pulp. A small smile spread across your face. He was soft-hearted. Other men would simply knock the lights out of those young men, which based on Daehyun’s skills he could do, but he chose a more ‘peaceful’ tactic instead. You were about to call Daehyun out when you felt a strong grip pull your shoulder to turn you around, ripping your dress. You turned around to find the crazy girl’s boyfriend glaring you down and gripping your wrist in a vice wrap. He attempted to lay a punch on you, but you quickly ducked. Your movements were inhibited by the man’s grip. Though you would have rather left on a more cordial note, you concluded that you weren’t getting out of this club without a bit of roughhousing. You shook your head in dismay. This was your favorite cocktail dress. Before the man could swing another punch at you, you swung your leg around, landing a side kick on the man’s temple. The large man fell down in a thud as you shook your wrist that he grabbed. 
“Now that, that is taken of.” You rubbed your wrist and returned to your mission to collect Daehyun when you felt an arm wrap around your neck in a choke hold. 

You let out a cough at the sudden force as you were being dragged away. This was different. This was not some ordinary tough guy wannabe. The blood thirst and danger poured off your captor. Your nerves were on high alert. This was the aura you had felt these past weeks that made you unsettled. Watched. Like prey being hunted. You struggled to rip away the arm around your neck, but the more you struggled the tighter the grip, causing a growl to escape your lips. A small window of opportunity appeared when your captor paused as a group of men fell in the middle of the brawl. You immediately slammed your heel into your captor’s foot causing the man to let out a growl as he instinctively loosened his grip. You swung your head back full force, headbutting the man in the face causing him to stumble to the ground. You quickly turned around to see your assailant and stalker. The asian man was dressed in an all black suit, blood pouring from his nose from your attack. A yellow dragon tattoo decorating his left arm. Your face scrunched at the sight of the tattoo. You could have sworn that you had seen it before, but with the rush of adrenaline running through your veins, you couldn’t think properly. As your assailant struggled to get up from the floor, you saw a glint of a semi-automatic, signaling that you needed to get out of their immediately. You gave your assailant one last high kick, landing on his chin and causing the man to fall back unconcious. 

You ran towards Daehyun, not wanting to test your luck on your assailants ability to wake up from a comatose state. “We have to go!” You shouted as you grabbed Daehyun’s wrist, pulling him through the crowd and exiting through the backdoor of the club. The two of you ran for several minutes, Daehyun confused at the panic state you were running in. Once the two of you were far enough, your steps began to slow to a walk, your chest rising and falling heavily as your heartbeat settled. 

“You okay?” Daehyun raised a brow at you, his own breathe heavy from the sprint.

“I’m fine.” You kept your answer short. A million thoughts began to run through your head about the identity of your assailant. If it had been one of the men from your club you would have recognized him. But the main question that ran through your mind was why he was targeting you. Your expression became stern as you chewed your bottom lip, lost in your thoughts.

“Are you sure?” You could hear the genuine concern in Daehyun’s voice as he leaned down to get a better look at your face.

“Yeah, I am. Thank you,” You let out one more breath and decided to keep your suspicions in the back of your mind for now. “Well that was eventful. When you said you would take me out for a little fun, I didn’t think I would get into a brawl tonight.” A small chuckle escaped you lips as you flipped your hair back, running your fingers through your hair to allow the cool night breeze to blow through your locks. 

“Don’t tell me you didn’t have fun kicking ?” He chuckled as he placed his hands in his coat pockets, the two of you strolling down back towards Le Noir. 

“Tons,” The sarcasm rolled off your words. “Too bad my dress didn’t have as much fun.” You sighed as you picked up the pieces of shredded cloth that was formerly part of your dress. You continued walking, not knowing that Daehyun had slowed his walk so that he was behind you. As you wrapped yourself with your arms to keep warm, you felt the soft, warm fabric of Daehyun’s jacket over your shoulders. The smell of subtle, husky cologne was a good chaser for the former smell of blood. 

“What a gentleman,” You chuckled as you wrapped the jacket tighter around your body. “Your girl is one lucky lady.”

“I told you it’s not like that...exactly.” He sighed, giving up on trying to convince you otherwise. “Me and her....” Daehyun’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m just her protector.” 

A small genuine smile graced your lips. “Well she’s lucky she has someone thinking about her and caring about her as much as you do…” Thoughts of love and relationship. It was something so beautiful. Fragile. Pure. Something that you lost long ago. 

“If you want, I can protect you too, princess.” Daehyun teased. He couldn’t help but let out boisterous laughter as you cringed at the sound of being called ‘princess.’

“Uhg, don’t call me princess. It seems so pretentious.” You mimicked a puking sound before shaking your head in displeasure. 

“But I think it suits you. A mob princess to be exact.” Daehyun chuckled.

“Call me whatever you want, but when your real princess pops up and starts questioning you, I’m not coming over to save your .” You chuckled. The both of you immersed in the sound of each others laughter, not noticing that you were already in front of Le Noir. 

“We’re back at your castle, princess.” Daehyun continued to tease, which you replied by rolling your eyes. 

“Even after I warn you, you’re still going to call me princess?” You raise a curious eyebrow. 

“I can be stubborn.” He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

“And so can I,” You smirked before leaning up and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for giving me an….interesting night.”

“You’ll learn that I do that often.” He gave a quick wave goodbye and gave you an over the shoulder wink as he left.

Your eyes went wide for a moment at his familiar remark. A scoff of disbelief escaped your lips, a smile growing on your lips as you entered Le Noir.

Thanks for reading! 

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