The first time he comes to work without his phone, in all of his years of bouncing around as an associate from one ty retail job to the next, it had to be at his new job, in a rather sketchy area, when he'd be closing for the night.

Alone.

Well, he hopes he'll be alone. Kyungsoo makes sure to send the message out to the universe that any serial killers or wayward weirdos in the area would not be welcomed. There’s nothing he could do about the phone situation. It wasn't as if he could call and tell Minseok that he'd left It in his car, he was phoneless after all. And, even if he could find a payphone, there was no guarantee he would remember Minseok’s number as he'd grown accustomed to using his contacts and not remembering any numbers, not even his own. Well, that settled it, he was doomed to scramble his way home on public transportation on a hope and a prayer that nothing went wrong. For a fairy like him, that was awfully risky. His species isn’t exactly intimidating.

Besides, Minseok is also at work anyway and Kyungsoo doesn't want to bother him after the other had already driven him there earlier out of the kindness of his heart. It had taken him until the middle of his shift to realize, too. He'd been so caught up in the first day haste that he had hopped out of the car and stuffed his belongings straight into the locker in the staff room before going on cashier duty. He didn't even think about his phone until his coworker, who had been a distraction and delight to chat with, had ended her shift and headed home, leaving him bored.

And so, with one more hour to go until closing, he decides to switch on the little beat up radio they keep behind the counter to drown out his own foreboding thoughts. And maybe it could provide him some entertainment as well, the place is as dead as it can get. He isn't complaining about that though, no customers means no potential for trouble. Until he gets outside, at least. But even then, he plans to hightail it like he’s on rainbow road. No one and nothing will be catching him tonight.

The radio clearly isn't enough because he finds himself dreaming up fatalistic scenarios anyway. What if there are vampires in the area and they’re looking for a taste of fairy blood? He was really too young to die, the tender age of twenty two.

He has a cat at home to feed as well, what will happen to Buttercream in the event of his untimely demise? Maybe Baekhyun would take pity on the lil fluffball and take over Kyungsoo’s fatherly duties. Continuing with that train of thought, he contemplates whether he should jot down a quick will and testament so that Baekhyun inherits all of his measly worldly possessions if anything happens to him. There isn't much for the other fairy to gain but Kyungsoo doesn't trust anyone more than him so he goes ahead and grabs a pen and some scrap paper.

He’s about halfway done with his impromptu will when a shrill ringing makes him jump, what he estimates to be, twenty feet into the air, off of his seat. It takes him a moment to gather two things; the first being that the sound was from the bell directly in front of him, alerting him of a new customer and the second being said new customer. The man looks him directly in the eyes and Kyungsoo quickly clears his throat and looks away.

He feels his heart rate increase as he thinks about the fact that the man is ready to check out. That means he had entered, scanned the shelves full of brightly packaged junk food and gotten whatever he planned to purchase all without Kyungsoo noticing. Not until the patron was literally right in his face.

Maybe they should put a bell on that door. A voice whispers in the back of Kyungsoo’s mind that maybe he should have also been paying attention but he ignores that fretter for the moment being.

He puts his pen and paper aside, pretending that it’s the reason he’s broken eye contact. He looks back at the man and greets him, taking his items to quickly scan them. The man looks...odd. He’s wearing slacks with a matching blazer and a button up beneath that. The outfit isn’t odd in itself, the fact that he’s dressed so well in this neighborhood is what has Kyungsoo questioning it. Of course, he could’ve just been driving by and really needed something, but the snacks and pack of gum don’t exactly scream necessity. The man swipes his credit card and Kyungsoo bags his things up, sending him on his way.

There really was something odd about that man. Maybe it’s just Kyungsoo’s earlier paranoia that makes him think this but he can’t shake it. There’s no way that man was just a human passing by. He picks the pen back up and scribbles down instructions for taking care of his plants, knowing Baekhyun would just let them die if he doesn’t say anything specific.

He peeks at the clock and sighs, ten more minutes to go. Then he’ll have to dash home. There’s no way he’ll have another customer before then either so he’s grateful. He folds up his (more or less) complete will and slips into the back pocket of his dark wash jeans, patting it once. It should be safe there. He figures he can balance the register now and gets ready to leave from behind the counter and go lock up but the door opens again, Kyungsoo being able to catch it this time, and another man walks in.

The newcomer smoothly strolls up to the counter and Kyungsoo notes that he’s wearing an identical outfit to the first man. Definitely not a coincidence. He gives his customary greeting and waits for the man to speak.

The stranger scratches behind his ear, as if he’s nervous which, in turn, makes Kyungsoo nervous. “My friend, he was just in here,” Kyungsoo nods in affirmation, “He and I were wondering if you wanted to hang out with us after your shift?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes double in size because this is not what he’d expected. But the again, he hadn’t really known what to expect, he just knows this isn’t it. “Uh I, uh,” He stutters, “I have to go home, sorry.”

The man drags his gaze up and down Kyungsoo’s body, well, what isn’t hidden by the counter separating them, and Kyungsoo suddenly feels like he’s in danger. He doesn’t feel like this man is just hitting on him anymore, there’s something more going on.

Before anything can come of it, the man simply smiles, dimple forming in his cheek, “Alright, such a shame. Hopefully we catch you around again.” And just like that, he’s walking back out the door, as casually as he entered.

He can’t shake that feeling as he takes the drawer from the register and brings it to the back room to count.

Who were those men? Maybe the two of them were important people, rich people? They gave off that vibe. He finishes up with counting the cash and everything is there, not bad for his first day on the job and he won’t have to take any heat for coming up short. He puts the starting amount back into the drawer and the rest of the cash in the safe and heads out to get his stuff from his locker and lock up the store for the night.

There’s no one around when Kyungsoo gets out to the parking lot but there is still a car parked there, no one sitting inside. He squints suspiciously at it, as if that would give him the answers he needs about who left it there. It’s a souped up classic car though, looking like it costs tens of thousands, so he can take a guess at who it belongs to. He should hurry away before he runs into either of those men.

Taking one last glance at the car, he takes a few steps in the direction of the bus stop when something stops him in his tracks. There’s a noise, several consecutive noises to be more specific, that has caught his attention. He whips his head around in alarm only to realize that it’s banging. His heart drops into his stomach once he realizes the current predicament. Someone, or something, is banging from inside the trunk of that classic car. The car he planned to avoid because he just knows that it belongs to those two creepy men from earlier.

What is he supposed to do? He has an internal debate. He did want to avoid trouble, his whole night was spent trying to do just that, but there’s no way he can just leave without doing anything, There could be someone in need of help. Of course, those seedy looking men must have abducted someone, they’re exactly the type of people who do things like that, Kyungsoo concludes.

He takes a deep breath, trying to gather what little courage he can muster up, and cautiously walks over to the trunk that hasn’t gone quiet since the ruckus started moments ago.

“Should I…” He feels weird talking to himself as he tries to think of the best way to get the trunk open but there’s really no social etiquette for when you find a possible kidnapping victim in the trunk of an unoccupied car.

He starts looking around for any latches or emergency buttons that could open the trunk but he’s not exactly a car expert, especially when it concerns ones older than him. He’s starting to lose hope of just quickly helping and going on about his business when the banging gets louder and more forceful until he hears a startling crack and the trunk flies open sending him falling ungracefully onto his on the pavement.

His breath comes out shallowly and he feels the cold ground beneath his hands as he pushes himself up and back onto his feet. He looks into the trunk to see a man, bound and gagged.

Kyungsoo was honestly anticipating finding exactly this but now that he’s looking at it, he has no idea what to do. He’s absolutely terrified and looks in every direction to see if the two men are somewhere nearby before deeming it safe enough to look back at the man.

The guy is curled up, attempting to cradle his head but his arms simply won’t reach all the way up. Kyungsoo thinks it looks so pitiful because the guy definitely seems to be in pain on top of being stuffed into someone’s trunk. He gives up, realizing that his head is on it’s own for now, and looks at Kyungsoo for the first time, blinking in confusion and curiosity.

The first thing Kyungsoo thinks is, this man has beautiful eyes. The second thing he thinks is, he should get this man out of the trunk. He puts his hands up slowly to show the guy that he means no harm and he thinks it works because he doesn’t flinch or recoil at all as Kyungsoo reaches to untie his gag.

The man wets his lips with his tongue, preparing to speak, and Kyungsoo wonders what he’ll have to say.

“You smell amazing.”  His slightly raspy voice breaks the silence of the barren parking lot.

Kyungsoo blinks and blinks again, trying to process the current situation. He feels that he should thank the man for the compliment but he’s too shocked to respond to him. He hasn’t been around any abduction victims before but he knows that this isn’t the type of thing any normal person would say in that situation.

“Thanks for the help. Would you mind just uh...undoing these cuffs for me?”

“How? I don’t have the key!”

“It’s in my back pocket, they thought it’d be funny. And, to be honest, it is pretty ing funny but the joke’s gone on long enough.”

Kyungsoo feels relief wash over him, “So this is all a prank, pulled on you?”

The guy’s eyebrows shoot up, “Oh, no, don’t misunderstand. Those two lackys have the means and motive to murder me. I would say that I’m surprised they haven’t already done it but I know that Sehun likes theatrics, so, here I am.”

“Who likes theatrics?” Kyungsoo asks, confused.

“Not particularly important right now. I’m Jongin, by the way. Could you reach into my back pocket and get the key out? And be careful, these cuffs are silver.”

“Why would that matter?”

“Are you not a wolf? These will burn you pretty badly, you know.”

“No, I’m a fairy. Are you a wolf?”

“Yes, I am.” Jongin looks at him skeptically. “And I see this night just got that much more complicated.”

“What do you mean?” More complicated than abduction and potential murder? Kyungsoo isn’t sure he wants to stick around and find out what that looks like.

“Just ignore me, I’m talking to myself. We should really get out of here before those two bottom feeders get back, though.”

“Right.” Kyungsoo awkwardly reaches around to Jongin’s back pocket and slips his hand in, feeling for the key.

“Other pocket, I think.” Jongin supplies and Kyungsoo feels his face heat up because he’s basically just d Jongin’s for no reason.

“Sorry, got it.” He grasps the little metal piece between his fingers and unlocks Jongin’s hands first earning a satisfied groan as he removes each cuff from his wrists. He does his ankles next and winces to himself at the raw red marks there and on Jongin’s wrists.  “This must have really hurt.”

“Yeah, I could barely move my arms or legs. I actually have to take a second to gain some strength before I get up, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind, just don’t want us to get caught.” Kyungsoo bites his lip in worry, looking around the empty lot again when he suddenly thinks of something. “Hey, If you couldn’t move your arms or legs, how did you break the trunk open?”

Jongin sits up now, legs hanging out of the trunk casually as if he wasn’t forced into it in the first place, and flexes his wrists. “Well, you know what they say; if you’re ever in trouble, just use your head.” The smile he sends to Kyungsoo is dazzling and he swears he feels his heart skip a beat at how breathtaking this guy is.

He also finds himself fighting the urge to laugh at Jongin’s little joke but a smile does crack through. That explains why Jongin was trying to cradle his head earlier. Kyungsoo knew werewolves were strong but it’s still baffling to him how Jongin managed that.

“Okay, let’s get you up now.” Kyungsoo grabs his hand to help him stand and Jongin’s grip is firm, his hands a little rough compared to Kyungsoo’s own.

After Jongin learns the devastating news of Kyungsoo not having a phone on him, Kyungsoo decides the only place he really knows to go is home. He and Jongin start walking the route to the bus stop

“So, tell me a little about yourself. How did you end up...yeah” Kyungsoo doesn't want to say the rest out loud, there could be people overhearing their conversation.

Jongin had assured him that they didn't have to worry too much about the two vampires because they had apparently gone to feed and would be otherwise occupied for a while. They'd definitely catch the bus in time.

“Well, I'm the son of a very powerful alpha. So I just kinda...fraternize most of the time. And I crossed the wrong person this time. Although, it wasn't exactly accidental.” Jongin seems amused at his own word choice. “I'm supposed to take over at some point, not sure how I feel about that. What about you?”

“Uh, I'm just a regular guy. Well, a regular fairy. I have two roommates, Baekhyun and Junmyeon, and a cat.”

Jongin perks up. “Oh, I love animals, what's it named?”

“Buttercream.” Kyungsoo blushes at the silly name.

“Cute.” Jongin says, looking ahead, but then he turns to look at Kyungsoo, “Really cute.”

Kyungsoo reddens even more, clearing his throat. “We're here.” He points to the bus stop with a beat up bench and graffiti all over the protective glass casing.

Jongin quirks an eyebrow. “Lovely.”

“Sorry,” Kyungsoo snorts, “I know you're used to luxury. But desperate times.”

“No need to apologize.” Jongin dismisses his worries. “You saved me. I don't think I can ever repay you. But I'll try.” Jongin is boring holes into Kyungsoo’s eyes, it's like he's trying to see what he's thinking.

The screeching of the bus engine breaks their intense staring contest, making them focus on not being left behind. Jongin makes sure Kyungsoo gets on first, letting him choose their seats.

“Okay, so once we get to my stop, we should just run to the apartment. Then you can call whoever you need to call.” Kyungsoo thinks that once Jongin had whatever werewolf backup it is he needs, he'll be fine.

“Well, it should all be fine then.” Jongin nods.

Kyungsoo doesn't live very far so they arrive in about ten minutes, and a bunch of shy glances, later.

“So just three blocks to walk from here.” Kyungsoo announces as they get off the bus, barely anyone around at this hour.

“Okay, not a problem.” Jongin nods, following Kyungsoo’s lead.

“You know, I've never really been much of a city person.” Kyungsoo says, “But when I decided to move away from home my friends begged for me to be the third roommate they needed to make their rent more affordable.” He giggles at the memory. “Baekhyun was so dramatic about it.”

“I'm with you. I love living near nature. I'm sure with you being a fairy, you love being surrounded by plant and the forest.” Jongin says.

“Yeah, our apartment is full of them. Potted plants can never really replace the real deal though.” Kyungsoo sighs.

“Maybe you can get back to it soon. Sooner than you think.” Jongin smirks, leaving Kyungsoo utterly baffled.

“What do-”

Kyungsoo’s sentence is cut off by a honk from a car behind them.

They both tense up. “We have to run.” Jongin gets prepared to pick Kyungsoo up and bolt but soon a voice is following the honking.

“Kyungsoo?” The yelling can only be one person, Kyungsoo knows all too well.

“That's my friend.” He grabs Jongin to halt him, “It's Baekhyun.”

“Oh?” Jongin wears a comically confused expression.

“Yeah, I don't know what he's doing out here either. But this is good, he can drive us home.” Kyungsoo drags Jongin down the block as Baekhyun drives up a bit to meet them.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun narrows his eyes at Jongin. “Who's uh, the guy?”

“He's a new friend. Can we get in?” Kyungsoo asks.

Baekhyun gives him a look of disbelief. “Of course dummy. Come on.”

Kyungsoo opens the back door, practically shoving Jongin into the seat, so grateful for the safe haven.

“I was on a late night snack run. Junmyeon kept whining about cheetos so here I am.” Baekhyun waves his hand dramatically. “So, what about you two?”

“Well, I was leaving after finishing my shift when I found Jongin here in a trunk. And it turns out he's like a werewolf prince and some vampires are trying to feed him to their leader, or whatever. And he needs help to prevent that.” Kyungsoo finishes with a deep breath. “So we need to get home so he can call for help.”

“Um okay, holy ?” Baekhyun turns around to look at them. “Here, you can use my phone now. I don't see the point in waiting.”

Baekhyun hands it over to Jongin in record time and then stares at the boy, waiting.

“Thanks.” Jongin begins dialing and Kyungsoo finds himself just staring and waiting like Baekhyun. Finally, someone on the other end answers and relief washes over Jongin’s features.

“Chanyeol, I need you to meet me somewhere. At uhh…” Jongin cranes his neck to see the closest cross streets and tells this Chanyeol guy on the phone before hanging up.

“That's it?” Baekhyun asks, “He doesn't need to know any specifications?”

“He'll get the specifications when he gets here.” Jongin assures.

“I haven't even gotten the specifications.” Kyungsoo tells Baekhyun.

“Well, this should be interesting.” Baekhyun chuckles nervously. “This isn't exactly what I meant when I said you deserved more exciting weekends, Kyungsoo.”

“Yeah, this isn't what I pictured either.” Kyungsoo winces. “Although, I am glad I met you.” Kyungsoo bites his lip shyly, looking at Jongin.

“Oh, I get it now.” Baekhyun giggles to himself.

“What?” Kyungsoo demands to know what Baekhyun thinks is so funny.

“Oh, nothing. Just, I understand why you're you're being such a good samaritan.” Baekhyun nods, tapping the steering wheel.

“Which is?” Kyungsoo prys.

“Nothing. You're nice. Let's just wait for this dude to get here.” Baekhyun dismisses the situation, offering the two in the back seat cookies instead.



About five minutes later they all jump at the sound of someone tapping on the passenger seat window.

“When in the ever loving did this guy get there?” Baekhyun shrinks into the corner of his seat and door.

“Well you didn't hear him because he's stealthy. He's a natural predator, so-”

“Right, how pleasant to hear. This the one? Something-Yeol?” Baekhyun looks at Jongin skeptically.

“Yes, that's him.” Jongin nods.

“Okay, I'm gonna roll down the window.” Baekhyun whispers, like it needs to be kept a secret.

“Hey, Yeol.” Jongin says, awkwardly.

Chanyeol shoots him a very unimpressed look. “Why did you call me to the middle of nowhere with these…these?”

Always leave it to Chanyeol to vaguely mask his displeasure and pompous nature. Jongin looks at Kyungsoo apologetically.

“It would be more discreet if you just let him into the car.” Jongin says. “He's a but It's in all of our best interest.”

“Duly noted, Prince of Darkness.” Baekhyun presses the button to unlock the car and the newcomer opens the door.

“I’m not the Prince of Darkness. Oh Sehun is, and he's probably on his way to kick my as we speak.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol says, tone one of disbelief, “This sounds like a monumental headache already.”

“This is Kyungsoo and his friend Baekhyun, they're fairies. “ Jongin introduces.

“Cute. Why the hell am I here?” Chanyeol says dryly.

Jongin sighs, clearly knowing Chanyeol is not going to take this easy. “I may have done something.”

“You may have? Or you did do something?” His patience with Jongin has always been a bit thin. He doesn't like the runaround that Jongin is oh so infamous for. “You're always messing with that guy, an endless back and forth.”

“Okay, I'll just come right out and say it. I did something a little inconveniencing. I may have taken some money from one of Sehun’s establishments. The bar on Green St.”

Chanyeol closes his eyes, preparing for whatever Jongin will say next. “How much?”

“Fifteen, give or take.” Jongin shrugs and Kyungsoo really thinks this is way too much trouble for fifteen dollars.

“That's it?” Chanyeol exhales in relief. “I can write him a check for fifteen thousand and he can shut the hell up, problem solved. But you owe me.”

Oh, that's a lot of money. Kyungsoo was clearly mistaken.

“I mean yeah you could but…” Jongin let's the sentence hang, hoping Chanyeol picks up on it.

“But what, Jongin, what the else is there?” Chanyeol growls.

“That would barely cover the balance, is all.” Kyungsoo swears he sees Jongin gulp. “It's uh, fifteen mil-”

“I'm going to kill you myself. That's it. I knew it would come to this, it's always been leading to this point. I just have to put you out of your misery, always making a mess of literally everything. This is why your father doesn't trust you for .” Chanyeol is borderline shaking and Kyungsoo sees Baekhyun inching closer to his own door, just in case.

“Yeol,” Jongin tries, “Let's all just take a deep breath here. Don't get so worked up.”

It's the wrong move. Chanyeol only turns around to shoot daggers at Jongin, eye to eye.

“Are you hearing anything I'm saying? Am I screaming into the ing void?”

“No, just talking to someone who's void of any intelligence.” Baekhyun throws in an unexpected comment, which seems to catch Chanyeol off guard.

“Let's just think, there's gotta be something we can do.” He's tired of sitting and listening to the two werewolves argue.

“A pretty little pixie thinking? We're gonna be here all night.” Chanyeol abases, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Baekhyun forgoes reacting to that snide comment and instead reacts to Chanyeol's action. “You're not doing that in my car, it's disgusting. And your lungs are gonna rot.”

“My lungs will be fine, I'm not some weak human.” He pulls out a lighter, resting the stick between his lips.

“Well it's still disgusting.” Baekhyun grabs the cigarette out of Chanyeol's mouth and throws it out of the window, leaving Chanyeol gaping at him like a fish.

“Well it's great that you two are suddenly a nagging, married couple but does anyone have any idea how i keep my spine inside of my body indefinitely, or…?” Jongin questions, annoyed.

“Don't take that tone with us, you're the one who ed everything to hell.” Chanyeol isn't having any of his . “You always do some dumb and I end up having to clean up the mess. Just lay low for the rest of the night, I'll figure something out. Like I always do.”

Kyungsoo feels a little bad for Jongin. The guy just got ripped a new one. But he also feels bad for Chanyeol, it seems like Jongin is not easy to handle.

“Sorry dad.” Jongin's frown is genuine but it doesn't take away from the fact that he's still joking around, even at a time like this.

Chanyeol puts the unused lighter back in his pocket. “I can't ing stand you.”

Jongin hums, “Funny way to say ‘I love you’.”

Chanyeol gets out of the car angrily, lowering his head to look back into the window, jabbing a finger in Jongin's direction. “Stay alive until I get there.”

“Can he stay at our apartment?” Kyungsoo offers.

Baekhyun sighs. “I might as well say goodbye to all of my belongings if vamps burn down the place but yeah, he can. I'll text Junmyeon.”

“Thank you.” Chanyeol straightens up and walks away into the darkness to do whatever it is he has planned.

Kyungsoo hopes, for all their sakes, that it's something good.



Junmyeon had apparently fallen asleep, to Baekhyun’s annoyance, and never answered the text.

They drive the short trip and Baekhyun pulls out his keys, putting them in between his knuckles like they show in those self defense classes.

He uses the same keys to let them all into the dark, quiet apartment.

Buttercream runs up to greet them but takes one sniff at Jongin's leg and runs to go hide.

“Okay, I'm going to try to sleep. I don't know if I can after all this excitement to be totally honest.” Baekhyun sighs.

“We should do the same.” Jongin says, looking at Kyungsoo. “You need your beauty rest.”

Baekhyun’s eyes go wide and he suppresses a laugh. “Right, that's my cue to leave.”

Kyungsoo is too embarrassed to even touch on the comment so he goes straight to talking about sleeping arrangements.

“You can have my bed and i'll take the couch.” He says.

“No way,” Jongin dismisses the idea completely. “I can sleep on your floor, to keep watch, and you take the bed.”

Kyungsoo doesn't see much room for argument in the way Jongin is already heading towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

“It's the last door there.” Kyungsoo says, quietly.

Jongin opens the door slowly, as to not make any creeks.

“It's cute and cozy, fits you.” Jongin whispers.

Kyungsoo smiles at that. “Thanks.

He never saw the beige walls and fuzzy carpet as anything special but he can admit it does give a warm feel.

“How about we compromise. Instead of you sleeping on the floor, you take that chair.” Kyungsoo points to the armchair he'd found at a thrift shop and had reupholstered with a leafy green pattern.

“Okay. Deal.” Jongin agrees, going to take a seat, making himself comfortable.

“Here.” Kyungsoo hands him a coffee colored throw blanket.

“Thanks.” Jongin nuzzles it and Kyungsoo has to hold back a squeal, quickly turning to go get into bed.

He would prefer to get out of his icky work uniform but he can't undress with Jongin sitting there.

He swaddles himself in the blanket and rolls over so his back is to Jongin, suddenly feeling too many butterflies in his stomach to look at him. Even in the dark room.


He stirs in his sleep and awakens with the feeling that something is strange. There’s a weight pressing against his back and he doesn't dare open his eyes. A blush begins to stain his cheeks as he thinks of any reason why Jongin would be, well, spooning him.

“I know you're awake.” A kiss is planted on his temple.

He’s instantly frozen in fear. He wants to look at the chair across from him and confirm it because he's shifted in his sleep and is now facing where Jongin is supposed to be. But he also really doesn't know what he’ll see.

The person holding him is not Jongin. He doesn't recognize that voice but he could bet anything that it's none other than the Oh Sehun.

“Jongin, it seems hiding out in hovels is your new thing, huh?” The stranger says.

Kyungsoo, eyes still closed, hears shifting and he knows Jongin has woken up.

“Get away from him, Sehun.” Jongin's cool, even tone, even after just having woken up, makes Kyungsoo feel a little better. If Jongin if confident, maybe he'll be okay.

“Is he yours? He's beautiful.” Sehun noses Kyungsoo’s neck, causing him to whimper, and inhales exaggeratedly. “Mmm and he smells heavenly. I know your kind doesn't know how to properly appreciate the fine things in life. Give him to me and I’ll knock a million off your debt.”

The silence that follows makes Kyungsoo’s anxiety spike. Jongin is considering the offer. Kyungsoo doesn't know why he expected anything else. He's nothing to Jongin, a nobody at the bottom of the food chain.

“Sehun, leave him out of this. It's the last time I'm going to warn you.”

“You're in no position to be warning anyone. You're currently indebted to me, in case you've forgotten. And I want him.”

“Well, tough , because you can't have him.” Jongin stands up from the chair, shoulders squared.

“And why not? What's so special about this one?” Sehun scoffs at the notion that Kyungsoo could actually be worth anything.

“That one is my mate. And if you don't get your filthy bloodsucker hands off of him, you're going to wish we were still dealing with the petty feud we've had going for years.” Jongin smiles after his statement and it makes Kyungsoo’s hair stand on end.

“Liar, you cannot have a fairy as a mate. It's impossible.” Sehun laughs, as if he's just won some prize.

Jongin's expression doesn't change. “I don't care what is and isn't presumed to be possible. I know he's my mate and I'm going to count to three and you're going to let go of him.”

“And if I don't?” Sehun teases

They never do get to find out Jongin's response to that question because Kyungsoo’s bedroom door is slammed open, a tall figure silhouetted there.

“Doesn't matter, because you will.” Chanyeol says, throwing a duffel bag onto the foot of Kyungsoo’s bed.

Sehun's grip on Kyungsoo does let up, and he looks at the bag, interested. “What is this?”

“This,” Chanyeol gestures to it dramatically, “Is fifteen million principle, two million interest. Take it and go. It's over, Sehun. You have no valid reason to be here harassing them anymore. And you heard what Jongin said, that's his mate, so you need to back the off unless you want this to become a species versus species issue.”

Sehun sighs. “I wanted a fairy play thing so badly. Guess I'll take this instead.” Sehun finally gets up takes the bag, disappearing out of his bedroom door.

Kyungsoo never thought he'd see someone underwhelmed at the prospect of seventeen million dollars.

Jongin rushes to Kyungsoo’s side, embracing him. The butterflies are going wild now.

“I ing hate that guy.” Chanyeol says after Sehun has left.

“Tell me about it.” Jongin shakes his head.

“Shut up, I hate you too. I had to wake our fathers up and ask them to somehow get me all that in cash.” Chanyeol says, taking a seat on Kyungsoo’s bed. “Do you know how stupid I looked? All because of you.”

“I'll make it up to you.” Jongin says, putting on puppy dog eyes.

“How?” Chanyeol's expression is incredulous, through and through.

“You're going to be the best man at me and Kyungsoo’s wedding.” Jongin cheekily grins now.

Kyungsoo’s eyes bug out of his head. “You want to marry me?”

Jongin kisses his forehead. “Of course, you're my mate. Someday, when the time is right, I'm going to ask you.”

“That's garbage in comparison. God, you're never going to stop being a pain in my , are you?” Chanyeol ruins the moment. “Kyungsoo, I suggest you run while you can.” Chanyeol stands up. “I have to go...do anything else but this. See you back at home, Jongin.”

Kyungsoo is peeling with laughter as Chanyeol walks out of the room. “I like him.”

“Well, hopefully not more than you like me.” Jongin noses his cheek and Kyungsoo blushes.

Kyungsoo does the same in return, liking how surprisingly soft Jongin's skin feels. “Never as much as I like you. I'll never like anyone more.”