"Where's Minho...?" Key asked hesitantly, propped against the door frame. His arms were crossed against his chest and he eyes Jonghyun with such intensity I was surprised he hadn’t burned a hole in his forehead. His voice broke the eerie silence which fell upon the living room, a dark blanket of tension and unspoken thoughts. I sat silently on the couch, as directed by Jonghyun once I awoke, knees pulled to my chest. My eyes darted between the two, and immediately I buried my head into my hands. Following the earlier events which had occurred, I had fallen into a heavy sleep, awoken by the low voice of Jonghyun, who has issued the new rule that I must remain in his sight whenever and wherever possible.

    “Does it matter?" Jonghyun seethed, jaw clenched at the mere mention of my molesters name. He sat comfortably beside me, a mere two inches apart, arm draped along the back of the couch. Why I was being held out here instead of confined to a bedroom was beyond me. Was it Jonghyun's fear of my escape? In truth, it had crossed my mind, but of course, so many fears invaded my sense of reason, and escape was possibly the last thing on my mind. Instead, survival occupied its place, and I was in a constant war with myself on whether I wish to submit, or die trying. Part of me was leaning towards the former.

     ”Actually yes." Key replied. He stood straight and away from the frame, tone bleeding the irritation he felt, and allowing his hands to fall from his side, he shook his head, “He’s my partner, I’d like to know where he is." 

      Agitation radiated from Jonghyun’s body like an aura, and I could see he had clenched his fists. Instinctively, I flinched, shrinking away, afraid of being struck. “Taemin." He growled, and at the sound of my name, my head shot up, ice filling my veins. When I didn’t answer, Jonghyun made a low sound, emitting from deep in his chest. “Tell him." His eyes were cold, and I shuddered, clearing my throat in attempts to find my voice, which had miraculously surfaced after a bit of attempt.

     ”H-he... strangled me..." I stammered, hiding my face once again. Jonghyun chuckled icily, and then gestured towards myself.

     "." He hissed, and at the word, I clenched my eyes shut. The memories of the night before, Minho’s icy touch, his venomous voice, flooded behind my eyelids, and I let out a small whimper, going unacknowledged by the others. Although what Minho did wasn’t quite up to standards with the term, it explained enough of what he was trying to explain, and so I kept my mouth shut, not daring to correct him.

     "Isn’t that what we do?" Key asked in disbelief. His voice was laced with suspicion, and I kept my head in my arms, hearing Jonghyun shift beside be, as if to sit on the edge of the couch.

     "Yes. But this one is mine." He emphasized, speaking each word slowly as if talking to a child. My ears perked up slightly, now listening more intently to the conversation, trying to decipher Jonghyun intentions. His odd possessive nature towards me, despite his resistance to violate me was extremely ironic, and still I had no complaints, seeing as it served as a temporary protection from his men.

     "Since when do we claim them?" The other male scoffed, taking a few steps towards where we sat. "You've never done this, what makes him special?" He asked. Something in key's voice said he knew just as much as I did that something was off, and at the new information that I was the first cause of Jonghyun behavior, I found myself further confused. Jonghyun didn’t move, eyes glaring intently at key, who in response backed away. "Fine, don’t tell me. But when he finds out, he'll have a fit." I blinked; unsure of whom the two men were now referring to. I heard Jonghyun scoff beside me before slumping back.

     ”Yeah, well I stopped being afraid of him a long time ago." Jonghyun said, followed by a low chuckle. I took to tuning them out, no longer following on what they were talking about. Eventually, Key left, out in search of his partner while leaving Jonghyun and me alone. Tilting his head back, Jonghyun rested his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes, and for a moment I felt forgotten.

     ”You sleep in my room. Don’t ever enter any one else’s. Understand?" He asked tone still firm but having lost its dangerous edge from before. He almost sounded worn out, and at his demand I nodded.

     ”Yes...sir...” I mumbled, unsure of what to refer him by. He scoffed.

  “Jonghyun." He corrected me, “Just Jonghyun." For a while he remained silent, and despite my fear of speaking out, I cleared my throat.

     ”You’re not going to sell me...why?" I asked hesitantly, it was a while before he actually responded, as if he himself was mulling over the question, trying to figure it out himself.

     ”I just decided you're mine." He declared. I sighed at his overly repetitive answer. Shaking my head, I let my knees fall from my chest and gripped the edge of the couch gently.

     ”No, I mean...why? And on top of that...You haven’t tried anything since-"

   ”You’re mine." He growled. “There’s no need for me to explain myself." He said, and before I could process his words, I felt myself being yanked across the little distance between us and onto his lap. I was left straddling his hips, and immediately I struggled, wanting to climb off and away from his grip. “I’m not doing anything." He said firmly, to which I froze. Jonghyun looked at me a moment before slumping his head forward onto my chest. Confusion was the least of my problems, and I sat wide eyed at the seemingly normal gesture. “I’m just so tired..." He breathed. I looked down to see his eyes were closed and he had his arm around my waist in case I tried to run. I settled, still completely shocked at our position, plus the fact I was allowing it. Silence soon followed, and I sat in what seemed like an eternity of quiet breathing and calm heart beats. Looking down, I blinked a few time, unsure of what to do. Jonghyun seemed so, calm, so docile in that moment. His grip not angry or stern, but just a simply gesture that expressed what I had seen the day of my attack, the true layer beneath his rough skin. Like an onion, peeling back layer by layer, and I actually found myself sympathizing with him, the fear I felt in the beginning diminishing with every second we sat like this. 

     “Jonghyun...?" I called softly, afraid to say the wrong thing and settling for just his name. With that, he seemed to snap out of whatever he was in and released me, pushing me to the side and standing. 

     “I’m getting you food. Don’t move and don’t run." He said voice back to its usual hard and cold tone. I sighed, sitting up and nodding slowly. When I felt his hard grip on my chin tilt my head, I was forced to look up at him. “Seriously. Don’t. There are worse things out there than what’s in here." He said, and part of me felt as though that was a sincere warning. Again I nodded quickly and was released, suddenly left alone in the main room, staring after Jonghyun who was becoming far more complex than I would have ever anticipated.

____________

A/N

I am the worst author on the face of the planet.

Yes its been 254 years since i updated, and if you saw my recent update (non-update) you'd seen why.

Now here you go, short chapter because as you all well know, i and my wirters block is so bad. 

    So dont hate this chapter too much and ...yeah. i have nothing else more to really say. I'm still kinda upset with myself. And the pressure of updating has literally given me an anxiety attack today. 

FUN~

     SO....YEAH.