Chapter 18 - The Dark Horse

The sun had set not too long ago as I glanced out of the window just when a blonde head of hair came towards our house and my eyes widened. I turned to Changkyun and Jooheon. “Into your rooms. Now.”

The elder was skilled at reading my face and didn't question my change in demeanor but the youngest wasn't quite as understanding. “Wait, I don't have a room. And why in the first place-”

“Shut up. He'll explain later”, Jooheon shot me another glance and I nodded when he dragged a loudly protesting Changkyun upstairs while Hyungwon frowned at me from his spot on the sofa with his back turned to the door.

I didn't have any time to speak up when the front door opened and Wonho met my gaze immediately while casting away his shoes and taking off his thick jacket. I swallowed and Hyungwon tensed up as if he knew who was coming for him there. Wonho strode into the room, closed the door and loosened the tie around his neck while the other male rose to his feet in a hurry and distanced himself from the blonde as much as he could. “Minhyuk, leave the room. I want to talk to him.”

I decided to do as Wonho said after just a short moment of hesitation, ready to leave the two of them alone. I could trust him, no matter how ed up his methods seemed to be. He would not break Hyungwon like that again if the latter played out his cards well but before I could actually go, slim fingers grabbed my upper arm so tight I could feel the blood getting stuck. “Minhyuk will stay.”

Hyungwon's voice was steady but when I saw his eyes they were frantically observing Wonho's every move and he shifted a little to have me stand in between them. I didn't say a word and just exchanged a glance with Wonho as the blonde began smiling brightly. “I see you have learned your lesson, Hyungwon. You don't want him to leave you? Such a good boy.”

The younger male seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly let go of my arm while lowering his gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“It's as simple as you said.” Wonho got a few steps closer and Hyungwon's back hit the wall but the former didn't spare him another glance, stopping in front of me instead and raising my chin with one hand to make me look at him. “He said 'Minhyuk will stay', I heard it loud and clear. He's right, right, Minhyuk?”

I frowned, searching his eyes for answers. He had to have a motive – reverse psychology was something he was extraordinarily good at – but I couldn't find it. “Why am I in the center of attention all of a sudden, I thought this was about Hyungwon? Let go.” Wonho pouted and leaned a little closer, his face just inches away from me and his hot breath my skin but I simply raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed. It wouldn't be the first time if he kissed me, I stopped caring about that long ago.

“You know, Hyungwon wasn't all that fun yesterday.” Now that was a little different.

Why exactly am I the one surrounded by crazy people? I took his hand and forced him to release my chin while talking, unable to watch Hyungwon and my friend at the same time. Still, I felt like Hyungwon was tensing up at the other's words. He was thrown over the edge again. “Wonho, what is this, let go and focus. You need drugs, right? I want you to let go and say what you want to say to Hyungwon. Just. Spill it.”

“I really just wanted to clarify this: You'd never resist us, right? You'll always be exactly where we want you to be. Where he wants you to be.” His eyes clouded with something dark for a short moment and he leaned even closer. “Where I want you to be-” He stopped and glanced over my shoulder with a calculating gaze, his eyes widening for a split second before everything happened really fast.

It was just one second. He let out an unhealthy splutter while I was finally freed of his grasp and suddenly, Hyungwon stood between us and had Wonho's arm trapped behind his back with rage burning in his eyes. “He told you to ing let go. He doesn't need to tell you a thing. Talk to me if you have to”, he growled, but Wonho just laughed out loud.

“This is getting better with every day! Hyungwon, why didn't you do that yesterday when I-ah!” He stopped with a wince as the dark-haired male kept twisting his arm with an indifferent gaze.

“You're pitiful, latching on everything within reach. Minhyuk isn't your property. Nor is he anyone's. We're no objects”, Hyungwon muttered, looking like a completely different person and I reached out with my hand to touch his arm. He flinched and breathed in, looking at me for a moment before he released the elder and brought two steps between us again like an animal crouching in a bush right next to its prey. “You might want to apologize. For today. And maybe for yesterday as well.”

“I don't think so. Why should I apologize to you? It's not like I did anything bad.” The blonde kept smiling at the two of us and his lips, burying his hands in his pockets. “It was you who reacted like I was-”

“Not to me”, Hyungwon whispered and Wonho raised his brows as he followed his gaze to... me. “Him. He cleaned up after you. Some friend you are.”

My eyes widened while the blonde's bright smile just turned into a calculating and serious expression. “Clever boy. There is so much more to you than we thought, right? More than even you can handle, so you try to hide it all at once.” The other's eyes were guarded but he lowered his head a bit.

“Maybe. So what?”

“Even if he does, it's not important, right?”, I interfered, panicking because the dangerous growl of Hyungwon's voice didn't vanish. This was not our Hyungwon who was socially awkward, shy and unapproachable, no, this was a Hyungwon of the past. And he was scary as . “We all have secrets, even I do. Look, we're all a little on edge today and we should talk this out tomorrow when we can think straight, okay?” I shot Wonho a warning glance and he raised his hands in defeat.

“He was the one snapping at me in the first place, I already said all I wanted to say anyway.” More like he did all he wanted to do. I figured that he knew exactly how he was invading Hyungwon's space on a psychological level though he didn't know why. Like I said before, Wonho is Monsta X' dark horse and he is so quick witted one can barely follow him. Before he got to work at the bank he used to gamble and he was so good people soon didn't want to play with him anymore. He didn't lose a single time. They said he was in league with the devil.

And now he had done everything right without even knowing the rules of the game he was playing. Hyungwon had buried himself in a pitch black hole and Wonho just floodlit it, rendering the prior helpless. It was for everyone's best. But the way Hyungwon sat in the cold garden the evening before was a picture I couldn't get rid off and I felt my fist shake with frustration. I was mad at Wonho for playing sick psycho games with someone I'd consider to be a friend by now. But I was even more mad at myself for letting it come this far.

I could have let it go, but something inside of me didn't want to and I glanced back at Hyungwon who just stood there motionlessly. I spread my fingers and slapped Wonho's cheek in one swift movement, the smacking sound echoing in my ears. “That's for triggering Hyungwon's panic attack yesterday”, I hissed, immediately feeling bad for the red imprint on his face. “I don't want your apology.”

And yet, Wonho kept smiling. “You're welcome, honey.” He glanced at Hyungwon once more before turning around and grabbing his bag to leave for his room. “See you later.” He opened the door to the corridor and cocked his ears for a moment just to chuckle a second later. “I guess you won't need to explain anything to the youngsters”, he mumbled more to himself than anyone else. “Those brats got so good at eavesdropping, I wonder who taught them.”

He left us on our own and I looked to Hyungwon in worry. “A-are you okay?”

The corner of his mouth twitched and he returned my gaze with a neutral expression. “Sure. Have to. You?” I nodded out of reflex and only then noticed that he had asked me if I was fine on his own accord. One step at a time. “Good.” He clenched his teeth for a few seconds before clutching at his side, something I had seen him do whenever he was stressed out. “Look, I know this is just a game he's playing. And you're probably involved in the planning.” My brows raised and he returned my gaze with a pained glint in his eyes.

“I'm not-”

“I know and yet I can't do anything about it.” He thinks I know what Wonho wants to achieve? “Why can't I keep calm? Why are his actions getting to me?”

“Hyungwon, I really don't know what he's doing to you. I have no idea. I'm just as clueless as you, I swear.” I slowly raised my hand to reach out to him but he dodged by reflex and I gave up on physical contact with a sigh. “It's the Delphinium. You get vicious mood swings, I can tell. That's because your body is getting too accustomed to the high. I'll have to manage your consumption a little, I guess.”

Hyungwon stared at me steadfastly for a