Chapter Nine:

"Yah! I'm going to take out this bag of trash to the bin!" Minjun yelled back into the living room, putting on his snow boots after fumbling with the sleeves of his snow jacket.

"Wait wait wait!! Take this beer bottle with you!!" Jay sprinted quickly towards the guy, almost knocking Minjun over as he slipped dangerously on his socks. As Minjun picked up the empty beer bottle left from last night, Jay opened the door, only to be greeted by a shivering, pale Im Yoona.

"Holy ," The two men muttered in unison. "OK TAECYEON!" Dropping everything they held, one scurried to get a blanket to quickly cover the almost frozen girl, and the other proceeded to usher the said girl into the warmth of their dorm, and out of the icy weather.

She didn't know how long she had been standing out there for, in front of the door. Sure, Yoona knew she was back for good, she was done running, and she knew that Taecyeon loved her. But there was still that voice in the back of her mind when she brought her knuckles up to knock on the wooden door, screaming doubt. Every time she talked herself out of her hesitant state, that voice came running back. She wanted to be back, but did she need to be back?

So when the doors opened for her, she was thankful. More so because it hadn't been Taecyeon at the door, but rather her Jay and Minjun oppas. She didn't know what she would have said or done if it had been Taecyeon himself.

And when Minjun had yanked her inside, to the warmth of the house and Jay had run off to fetch a blanket, her gratitude grew. Her mind was frozen as well as her body.

If only the right words would come to her mind. What was she supposed to say to Taecyeon when she saw him?

*

Hearing both Jay and Minjun shouting out his name, Taecyeon stopped doing the dishes. What was it now? He had already gotten up and started cleaning, what could his older hyungs want from him now? If this was going to be some silly prank they wanted to pull at him, he would not have it - his head throbbed in pain, hungover from last night. "I'm coming!" He yelled.

Previous thoughts of his 'brothers' pulling a prank on him flew out the window. Before him in the living room, wrapped up in a blanket was the one person who could stop his beating heart. Im Yoona.

As he neared, he took the time to study her. She hadn't noticed his footsteps yet, and for that he was grateful. Taecyeon noticed her lips were almost a shade of blue, her hands were shaking, and her complexion pale. His eyes wandered to his friends, who sent him signals in return that they had no idea what was going on. A second later, they left the room, giving the two lovers some space.

"Yoona," he whispered quietly, not quite sure if he was still asleep and dreaming.

Her head bounced up at the hearing of her name.  

He crouched down in front of her, hands reaching her knees, eyes at the same level. Seeing the blanket Jay had brought in sitting on the edge of the sofa, he picked it up and draped it around her. "Baby," he softly whispered again.

"Taec, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she broke apart. Arms flailing around him, eyes darting everywhere, unsure where to look. They moistened at the thought of what she had done, to him, to them. "I'm sorry for running away! I'm sorry for being my stubborn self, I'm so sorry for everything!"

He didn't care about any of that, and the fact that she was so torn up about what she had done caused an aching in his heart as it didn't matter to him, not anymore. "Shhh, it's okay," he hushed her, bringing her to stand up while he cooed into her ear, his big warm hands trying desperately to calm and warm a fragile and pale figure. "What matters is that you're back. That's all I care about," he looked her in the eyes before sealing it with a kiss on the side of her head.

Hearing those words, she released a held breath. She felt her muscles start to relax into him, and her mind began to ease.

He felt her relax into him, and his heart was finally at rest that she was back, unharmed, and still his. Or so he thought until her legs gave way and she would have fallen to the floor if he wasn’t holding her up. He screamed her name, but there was no response.. only the quick shuffling of feet and concerned voices of his brothers as they rushed in to help.

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So this is a really short chappie, I know >.< I wasn't actually going to upload it, but I thought that because I have been MIA for so long, I needed to give you guys something. One more chapter to go, and this fic will be completed, a little saddening, but hey - I'll be able to finally work on that other fic of mine that I don't think I've updated in six months.