You found it unnerving how you were suddenly sitting on the couch with your dad, Luhan, Kris, and with a man you were vaguely familiar with, surrounding you. They were each on their respective seats.

You were weirded out with how they just automatically quieted down once they got to take a look at you. You thought you were just going to stand there and have them stare at you the whole day, but your dad eventually directed you to the living room.

It was not, by all means, a comfortable silence. It was the kind of silence that was b with tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

No one dared to talk.

You looked at your dad. But when he met your stare, you guiltily lowered yours.

You didn’t know if you should start explaining things. But then, what would you say? Would you tell them ‘Hey, I just found myself in my ex-boyfriend’s house, and I was busy having with him that I wasn’t able to go home earlier’?

You’d be asking for an instant death.

You had no lies to back you up. And so, you opted to prolong this agony and watched silently as everything unfolded. Your hands resumed playing with the hem of your sweater dress as you waited for the inevitable.

It was hard for you to keep your attention in one direction. You were purposely avoiding looking at Luhan and Kris.

Normally, you would’ve been more scared about your father’s reaction. But right now, there was a weird aura surrounding the two men. And that was making you scared as hell.

What you didn’t know was that the moment they saw you, they knew. Maybe you should treasure your naivety because if you knew, then you would’ve had a grand panic attack.

They were all men. They have already been there. They have already seen similar scenes before.

A freshly -showered woman who went home with the same clothes from the night before … what a sight you made for egoistic and protective males!

Luhan didn’t know what to feel. He didn’t know which emotion to pay attention to. He was relieved that you were finally home. But when he saw you, he just didn’t want to see you anymore for fear that he might actually hit you. And he had never done that to you before.

He was infuriated. The rational part of him was telling him that you were a grown woman already. But his overprotective side just wanted to beat the hell out of you for shoving to his face his worst nightmare.

He trusted you. He didn’t take too well to any form of betrayal before. Imagine what he was feeling now that it was you who did this to him.

On the other hand, Kris was in an even more complicated emotional dilemma.

He didn’t know how to react. He didn’t know how to take things. It was reasonable for him to be mad. He was supposed to meet you and you suddenly failed to show up! He was in the position to get mad at you for the fear that you brought upon him. He was responsible for your disappearance if that ever happened! You just didn’t know and probably wouldn’t know how frightened he was for thinking that something unfortunate happened to you.  

He was so worried that he even asked for Sehun’s, his flat mate’s, help to look for you. And Sehun was not the kind of person who would easily put aside what he was doing to help other people. He might’ve sensed Kris’ deep worry to willingly help him out in an instant. 

But was Kris in the position to get mad at you for being with another man?

You’ve been telling him countless times before how you didn’t want to be with him. He wasn’t stupid, and definitely not a masochist. He approached you with guarded emotions. Truth be told, he had this urge to try things with you. But with how your heart was occupied already, he only knew too well that it would prove to be rather difficult.

He already had a sinking feeling that you were with Lay. You had been mentioning him more frequently nowadays. That was why Yin called up Lay anyway; it was upon Kris’ insistence. Of course, it was a fact that you would never know. And being in denial, and the prideful man that he was, he pushed it to the back of his mind and accepted whatever answer Lay had given Yin.

But when he saw you a while ago, he felt like the truth just punched him right across the face.

Finally, Luhan’s patience seemed to have run out.

“I suggest you start explaining now, ____. Don’t you think you’ve already made us wait long enough?” he said slowly and with emphasis, showing his barely contained anger through his clenched jaw and murderous look.

You opened and closed your mouth, trying to make the words come out of your mouth. “O-oppa. I-i…”

“Don’t stutter on me, you inconsiderate brat!”

You paled at Luhan’s obvious hostility, and you knew better than anyone how Luhan was just starting. There was more to come.

You didn’t know what to do, what to tell. It seemed like if there was one thing you excel at, it would be your ability to effectively anger the men who were dearest in your life. 

Your head instinctively turned to your dad, and saw that he was staring holes into you now. He was watching you with almost the same look. Your only chance of salvation was ripped out of you. If your dad was letting you get it from Luhan, you knew your dad was more infuriated than he looked. He was the kind of person who only stays silent whenever he has the urge to kill a person with words.

You passed a look at Kris and then to the man whose name you forgot. They were looking as stern and pissed as your family. You felt as if you were a puppy thrown in a pack of wolves. You suddenly felt the urge to cry, but you wouldn’t.

“I know that no form of explanation could justify my actions. I’m sorry and I know it’s my fault. I did wrong. I’m sorry for worrying you! I’ve been inconsiderate. It won’t happen again,” you lowered your head and closed your eyes, as you apologized to them while clenching your fist on your lap.

You chewed on your bottom lip as you waited for them to respond.

Nothing.

They offered nothing.

You opened your eyes and looked tentatively at all of them. Your fear was slowly escalating at their silence.

Suddenly, you made a wrong move and fixed your gaze on Luhan. He was looking at you intently, daring you to break your eye contact. “Who were you with?” he firmly asked.

You felt your soul leaving your body.

“I…” you were close to having a heart attack now, “I won’t tell you.”

“What did you say?!” he slowly asked through gritted teeth. You were a brave soul for saying that. But you failed to consider how these men wouldn’t take it easily.

 “You wouldn’t want to know! It’s better if you don’t know,” you were itching to look away from him but you knew that wouldn’t be wise. Luhan was on edge enough as it was.

Suddenly, Luhan was out of his seat.

Everybody jolted in their seats from the out-of-the-blue action. Your body jerked backward from surprise, ice cold fear pouring over your being.

It was unexpected when Kris quickly stood up and flashed his hand out to Luhan’s arm, holding him still. You weren’t expecting him to come to your aid. Luhan threw Kris a scathing look and angrily removed Kris’ grip on him with his other hand.  

Thankfully, your father seemed to have finally snapped out from his initial surprise.

“Luhan! That’s enough!” your father’s stern voice suddenly boomed.

Luhan clenched his jaw tight and fisted his hands, but he listened to your dad nonetheless. He could feel his nails digging through his flesh. He seriously wanted to hit someone right now.

“____!” Your father heavily sighed and massaged his aching head. The sleepless night and the stress you were giving him now were finally taking a toll on him. “This will not happen again! I won’t have you disrespecting me, especially when I am here! Being away most of the time doesn’t mean I’m giving you the right to ignore my authority. Do you understand?!”

Your mouth quivered a bit as you subtly nodded your head.

Luhan then turned around and gave you the most hostile look he had ever thrown your way.

You had a sinking feeling that things between the two of you would never be the same.