The sun shone bright through the window, illuminating the room, letting daylight enter through the windows. The day looked cloudy, and with it, snow was starting to fall. The day was chilly, and in a few days, the streets would be covered with the white diamonds, freezing everything at its way. Chaerin stirred on bed as she felt the rays of sun hit her face. She grabbed the pillow to put it over her face, and as she did, she touched what was unmistakably a human body besides her. Widening her eyes, she instinctively grabbed the dagger that was under her pillow and moved quickly on top of the person besides her, putting the dagger to his throat. As she did, the grogginess on her slowly faded, and the constant movements under her made her move her head sideways to clear the remaining grogginess on her.

Jiyong, who was laughing underneath her, slowly grabbed the dagger and let it rest on his side, then put his hands on her hips, and slowly put her aside, moving with her. “Exhaustion has its ups and downs, but I think killing your boyfriend while he’s vulnerably sleeping it’s a definite down honey.” He said, slowly caressing her face. She took a deep breath, trying to remove the shock from her chest. She looked around; she has never seen that place before. Clean white sheets covered the bed while white curtains covered the windows, white sparks of now were being visible through the rays of daylight, reason why the Sun so abruptly interrupted her much needed sleep.

The room was stupidly clean; the relaxing scent of lavender could be smelled, on the curtains, on the bed sheets, on the floor, everywhere. The vanity was clean, no bottles of perfume, no brush, nothing was on top of it besides the mirror. There was a black sofa on a corner of the room – which was quite big – and a coffee table with a crystal top on the center, it looked like some sort of living room. There was no T.V on the room, and the spacious place gave of a feeling of modernity.  She looked back at Jiyong, who was sitting up, and smiled.

“Where am I?” She asked, to which Jiyong responded with a chuckle.

“It’s one of my apartments.” He said, now standing up from bed, he wore no shirt, only his skinny jeans, also, he was barefooted, to Chaerin’s surprise. His hair was a golden mess, and as he moved, Chaerin could see the wounds on his toned body, the tattoos that surrounded it. She looked at him as he turned to look at her, his left eye was swollen and his lips looked purplish, as if they were also bruised, there was a red wound on his neck that went down his chest, under it, a terrifying wound ran through his abdomen like a snake, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she saw that perfect body covered in wounds, and as she looked closely, she could identify some old scars, a history of his most hated past, she thought.

“One of your apartments? Wouldn’t they find us here?!” She said, realizing the obvious. Jiyong shook his head smiling.

“No, this one no one knows about, only Youngbae, Seungri, and Daesung and… Seunghyun…” He said the last name with such despair even Chaerin felt saddened.

“Seunghyun is TOP, right?” She asked, to which Jiyong nodded. She had known Seungri as Seunghyun all her life, so it was sort of weird for her to call someone else as that.

“Yeah, we bought this place as a hideout, always thinking something like this could happen, and, well, it came out handy sometimes too.” He said, and now walked towards his vanity, opened a drawer and pulled a black t-shirt from it. Chaerin slowly moved to the edge of the bed, the sheets falling from her body as she did. She stood up, and as she did, a cold breeze hit her legs, and she looked down, only to find out she was wearing only a long shirt and her underwear.

“May I know how I got here?” She asked and Jiyong nodded as he put the shirt over his head.

“You passed out on James’s car. You’re a heavy sleeper you know?” He said, to which Chaerin raised an eyebrow, she had never been a heavy sleeper before. “Or that was probably because you were dead tired, I don’t know.” He said and walked towards a white door.

“Where are James and Dara?” Chaerin asked and Jiyong shrugged as he opened the door which led towards a bathroom.

“Sleeping in one of the spare room I guess, those two have something going on, I’m telling you.” He said and entered the bathroom, without closing the door. Chaerin walked towards it and stood on the doorway, almost blushing as she saw him, his back facing her, and a bit crouched in front of the toilet, he was peeing.

“We have to find Hyunseung.” Chaerin said and Jiyong nodded and threw his head back, the loud noise of his pee falling on water was the only noise heard, aside from their voices.

“Do you mind? I’m peeing, and if you talk, I may get shy.” He said, and Chaerin nodded and crossed her arms. He finished peeing and zipped his pants, then face Chaerin with an annoyed expression. “Look, why don’t we get through the morning as normal people, then we think of something? I’m not a morning person honestly, and it’s a bit annoying if people boss me around while I’m on this mood.” He said, one hand resting on the sink, the other making gestures as he talked.

“Fine, but hurry there, I want to have a shower.” She said and walked towards the other door on the room. Before she opened it, she heard Jiyong slapping the door shut, and she narrowed her eyes. “And I’m not your girlfriend, just so you know!” She yelled as she opened the door.

“Yes you are, now shut up!” He yelled back, and Chaerin rolled her eyes and exited the room.

As she walked out of the room, she found herself on a hallway, six doors were visible and at the end, there was some sort of large living room. She heard voices coming from there, and she walked towards them. As she had thought, she entered a living room with a set of white furniture, a large white modular sofa and two white armchairs. On the wall there was a large T.V hanging, and under it was a metallic table with a crystal top, a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox could be seen. To her right there was a wall of full panel windows and in the center of it, there was a sliding door, to which led towards a terrace full of flowers and a few chairs, now starting to look white as layers of snow fell on them. She smiled as the sun illuminated the room, and the flowers moved to the rhythm of the wind, spraying white diamonds to the floor. To her left there was the front door, and to the side of the wall that had the T.V there was an archway which led towards the kitchen and dining room, and the voices were coming from there.

She walked towards it and stood on the archway, in there, Dara and James were talking to someone else, someone who she recognized as Youngbae, or Taeyang. They saw her and smiled, greeting her. She bowed her head slightly, blushing a bit as she realized she wore no pants, even if the shirt was long enough to look like a dress, she still felt slightly uncomfortable, it was one thing being with James and Dara like that, but with Youngbae, well, it was awkward.

“Have you eaten yet?” Youngbae said as he walked towards the kitchen counter. Chaerin shook her head no and he smiled, his eyes almost closing as he did. “I made breakfast, did Jiyong wake up?” He asked her and she nodded.

“Yeah, he was using the bathroom when I left.” She said and Youngbae nodded.

“I might as well put his food on the microwave.” Youngbae said absentmindedly as he put Chaerin’s food on the kitchen counter. The aroma of it made her stomach grumble, and she realized with an amused face she haven’t eaten in almost two days. She walked towards the counter and grabbed her plate full of eggs, bacon and bread, and walked towards the dining table were Dara and James were.

“It’s really good, eat well.” James said as he ate another piece of bread. She smiled and nodded, quickly munching on her food. As every bite she took, she felt more hunger, so she started to dig out on her plate, approvingly to the delicious taste of the food.

“I think she might have an if she continues like that…” Dara said after watching her eat a few minutes, resting her head on her left hand. Both James and Youngbae laughed as they looked at Chaerin munching on her food.

“Wouldn’t it be weird if she actually while eating?” James asked and Youngbae blushed, shaking his head no and lowering it. Dara chuckled and nodded.

“It would be absolutely weird…” She said and Chaerin glared at them.

“It’s not like having an is bad, and if the food’s good,” She said drinking a bit of the juice Youngbae put next to her. “Then I don’t see the problem in having an with it.” She said and grabbed another piece of bacon.

“Well, as long as we don’t have to see that, you may have all the s you want.” James said, drinking from his juice.

“Who’s having an ?” Jiyong said as he entered the kitchen. Chaerin looked at him and smiled, he was wearing black skinny jeans, the same black shirt he took in the morning, and some black and blue flip flops. His hair was wet, and he had a towel around his neck, his face looked bright, and his eyes looked more alive, she thought.

“Chaerin’s having one.” Dara said and Jiyong widened his eyes.

“What?” He said with a raised eyebrow.

“I saved your plate, it’s on the microwave.” Youngbae said, and Jiyong nodded, then walked towards the microwave and grabbed his plate of food. He sat next to Chaerin and started to eat, but this time, he was the one with the manners while she even smiled at him with full.

“Who are you and what did you do to my Chaerin?” He said, and Chaerin swallowed the chewed food on .

“I’m eating.” She said and grabbed another piece of bread.

“She’s so messy.” Youngbae said and James laughed.

“You should had seen her on her early teens, she was worst.” James said, earning laughter from the people on the table. Jiyong, however, grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“I still need to know the real you.” He whispered and she nodded, cleaning with a napkin.

“I still need to know the real you too.” She said and Jiyong smiled.

“You pretty much met the real me, I’m not so different from what you saw.” He said. Chaerin gulped down the last piece of her breakfast and looked at her hands. She suddenly felt a guilt running through her, and as she imagined herself talking about her real life to Jiyong, Youngbae stood up, grabbing both her plate and Jiyong’s.

“We need to leave soon; Daesung’s going to be waiting for us on a black car at exactly 10 minutes from now. Jiyong, did you take your medicine already?” He asked while looking at Jiyong, who automatically nodded, not really looking at him. “Are you sure? I heard you almost died yesterday…” Youngbae said, his voice sad and his eyes almost in pain. Jiyong nodded again and extended his left hand, showing him the place he had injected himself.

“I’m a good boy.” Jiyong said without any humor on his voice, to which Youngbae nodded absentmindedly and put the dishes on the sink. “You’re cleaning that up.” Jiyong said standing up, then grabbed Chaerin’s hand and pulled her with him towards his room. She walked quickly, trying to match his pace. He opened the door quickly and let her in, then closed it behind him. He looked at her, a hint of mischievousness on his face. Chaerin pulled her shirt down, suddenly feeling exposed.

“What?” She said, and he his lips and slowly walked towards her. “You heard Youngbae, we have 10 minutes –“

“I only need five.” He said in a husky voice, now a few inches apart from her. He pushed her with his body towards his bed, his hands not touching her at all, but his body, all of his body, was touching her. She could feel the warmth of his body close to her, and his heartbeat, calmed and steady, drove her crazy. As she touched the edge of the bed with the back of her legs, he grabbed her with his right hand around her waist as his left hand grabbed something from bed. She smelled the familiar scent of mint and cigarettes on him, and she wondered just when he had smoked that the scent was so strong on him. He straightened her and pulled apart, handing her some fabrics.

“Here, wear this.” He said as she grabbed them, totally flushed, her hands sweating and her breathing uneven. She realized what he had given her, clothes, and her eyes narrowed. She looked at him as he took out a cigarette from a little white box and put it on his lips. He lighted it up and smirked at her, inhaling the cigarette. “Don’t look at me like that; you will not go out wearing that.”

“You could just give it to me without the sensuality.” She said, and found herself staring at him. He just shrugged and grabbed the cigarette with his left hand as the right one found its way to his pocked.

“I like the drama.” He said and Chaerin rolled her eyes, walking towards the bathroom. She heard him chuckle and slapped the door shut, quickly changing into the clothes he had given her. She looked at herself in the full mirror next to the shower and smiled. He had given her black leather skinny jeans and a black, long-sleeved blouse. It was slightly transparent, showing her black laced brassiere, and she noticed it was some sort of Steampunk fashion. She scoffed and walked out of the bathroom and found him sitting on his bed, sliding his foot into his black boots. His hair was pushed to the side, one of the bangs hiding his swollen eyes while the good eye looked dark, she realized, he had dark circles under them. When he finished lacing his boots, he looked at her and smiled.

“It does fits,” He said smiling, and Chaerin nodded.

“Were they your ex’s?” She asked and he laughed.

“No, I bought them.”

“When? And for what?” She said and he smiled as he stood up and walked towards the third door on the room and opened it. He bent down and grabbed a big black box and gave it to her.

“The night of the party I was hoping I could bring you here. I was planning to do so, and I knew you wouldn’t be bringing any clothes besides the dress I bought for you, so… here you go.” He said and Chaerin opened the box. Inside there were some Gucci black stiletto boots, the heel was almost 6 inches, and the boot was knee high. She smiled and took them out; they were laced in the front, giving the Steampunk fashion sense. She realized it matched perfectly the black blouse and the leathered pants, a set of Steampunk fashion, and she loved it.

“Well, thank you.” She said as she sat on the black sofa, and before she could slid her foot in, he handed her a pair of socks. She smiled again and grabbed them. She quickly put them on and then the boots and stood up. She walked towards the mirror and smiled, even if her body felt sore, even if her muscles felt like breaking, she felt like her again, as badass and beautiful as ever, and it was all thanks to him.

“You look beautiful.” He said and she smiled and looked at him. He walked towards her and removed the pins from her hair, letting it loose. The golden hair covered her back until it reached her waist. The bangs fell on her face, and she slowly moved it behind her ear as she looked at him. She saw him smiling tenderly as he slowly moved the other bang behind her ear and gave her a light kiss on her lips. “Just promise me that I will have you by my side tonight.” He whispered on her lips, his voice husky, full of sorrow and longing. She closed her eyes and nodded.

“I will.” She said, but she knew too well that it was an empty promise, that even if she wanted, she couldn’t know for sure if they would be together that night, or even if they should. 

Gily's Notes: This is some sort of bridge, so stay tuned! lmao!

Happy Reading ~

Gily ♥