A/N: First of all, I would like to scream from the tops of the heavens that I am SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF YOU, especially those who have commented on my work with such a passion and love for this story! There is nothing that makes me happier when I see you all going nuts over my writing lmao <3 That being said, I have so many chapters lined up already, I'd thought that I would post this one early as a gift to you all. Thank you so much for your endless support. New and old subscribers, I love you all. MUAH!~ xoxo

//

Thursday

Birds were chirping outside, and you were absolutely dead-beat rotten.

Stress and decisions and Suho—everything had taken over your senses the minute that you dropped dead at your apartment last night. Thank the Lord that your teachers had excused you from doing any work due to the Scholarship Student Art Gallery yesterday. You wouldn’t have had the ability to get anything done.

Your alarm clock beeped insistently, telling you to get up and get ready. You didn’t want to get up. You didn’t want to get ready. School was the last thing that was on your mind. The only thing that you could think of was Chicago and moving and Suho and Piper.

Had being put in charge of his father’s company really changed Junmyeon’s ways? You thought it too good to be true—but even after you had slapped him, he had still managed to keep under control and not let the monster out right underneath. What was wrong? Was he seeing a therapist or something? But that was impossible—in the past, if you so much as mentioned the word “therapy”, you were immediately shot down with the venomous mouth of the monster.

Maybe he really had changed.

He was so sweet, so kind. You never had particularly liked Junmyeon, but when he was with Suho, he was the epitome of a fairy tale Prince Charming. You knew from the bottom of your heart that if you were with Suho, if you moved to Chicago with Suho, no harm would ever come to you. As long as he stayed Suho, you would be fine. Perfect, in fact.

Though you couldn’t bring yourself to think that for a second.

There would always be something around to trigger him. Maybe he had become immune to slapping or physical violence, but it was as if there was an invisible button that you didn’t know how to push until you had already activated it.  

And that was what scared you—the fact that you would literally be voluntarily moving away to live with the human equivalent of a land mine.

But it wasn’t as if you could outright say “no”, either.

You thought back to Suho’s words last night:

“But what I said to your father before you came here to The Academy—I still mean it.”

When he was Suho, you knew that he meant it.

But when he was Junmyeon, when he was the monster…

You shuddered.

//

“Thank you so much, Junmyeon.”

Your father’s voice was nothing but earnest and grateful as he shook hands with Junmyeon firmly.

Junmyeon just smiled brightly, the way a top academy student would after receiving a perfect score on their test.

“It’s the least I can do,” he said easily, practically dripping with politeness. “Even though Piper is gone, it will forever be my duty to look after you and your family.”

You saw the tight wrinkles form around your father’s eyes at the mention of Piper. It was only the first month since her passing, and you and him both were not taking it lightly.

“Well,” he said gruffly, “at least I feel a bit reassured knowing that you’ll be here for my daughter.”

You, Junmyeon, and your father were at the airport, surrounded with busy people carrying luggages and air conditioning that was much too cold for your taste. The sounds of other people parting echoed around the huge security lines. Your father had to leave on an important business trip, and of course, of all the people he could have chosen—he had chosen Junmyeon to take care of you. To look after you.

The thought chilled you to the bone.  

For the millionth time that day, you wished that Lily was here to help you. Lily would at least give you a sense of protection, of comfort. But alas, she was at the beaches with her own father, no doubt living the life that she deserved live, filled with summer romances and hot flings.

While your situation was the exact opposite.

Of course. You were here with Junmyeon, knowing what he had done, while your father didn’t…

You didn’t have the words to express your utter discomfort.

Your father clapped Junmyeon on the shoulder affectionately, as if he were his real son. You flinched.

“Alright then, I have to be off now. My plane’s in about an hour or two.” He turned away from Junmyeon to look at you, spreading his arms for a hug. “Come here, girlie.”

You flew into his embrace, heart screaming for him not to go. You didn’t want to be locked up with the monster, didn’t want to spend your first year at a new school alone, with no company but somebody who made you felt like rotting into a hole in the floor.

“Don’t worry,” your father comforted, patting you on the back. “The trip will only be for a couple of months. Junmyeon will be here to take care of you, okay?”

You didn’t respond, just nuzzled into his chest a bit further.

“You should get going, sir,” Junmyeon cut in. Words like thin, sharp ice.

Your father let you free, and you just stepped back, not letting yourself wander too far. You would not stand near Junmyeon, near the monster.

Silent, you could only watch as Junmyeon sent your father off to the airport security check. Watch, as the only hope you had left disappeared from sight, turning the corner of the hall.

Watch, as your father became nothing but air, and your lungs filled with Junmyeon instead.

“Honey, are you alright?”

Locked.

You were locked in with the monster.

He smiled at you, but you saw nothing but rows upon rows of sharp, piercing teeth.

He took a few steps towards you, freezing when you stiffened at the sight of his hand coming up to brush through your hair.

“Don’t be afraid,” he cooed. “I’m here, honey.”

You could only let out a horrid, shaky breath as he pulled you in for something that resembled a hug.

Hot breath steaming across the crest of your ear.

“Forever.”

//

Knock knock knock.

Sharp rapping on your door startled you out of bed.

You sat up quickly, sudden realizing what state you were in: pajamas wrinkled, hair a rat’s nest, and you breath—

Bleh. That was bad.

You threw the covers off of yourself, ran to the door. Double, triple checked the peephole. You weren’t going to be hasty this time. There was no possibility it was Suho, you chided yourself, trying to stop the frantic pace of your heart. He had said he would be back on Saturday. It was Thursday.

Thursday.

The thought should have comforted you, but all you could think was, Oh my God, is that Taehyung?

You unlocked the door and opened it up.

Yup.

That was Taehyung, alright.

Hair resembling a ripened cherry, Taehyung stood at the door of your apartment, all grins and happy, bubbling cheeks. His eyes winked at the sight of you—

And then his gaze took a darker turn.

He his lips absentmindedly, that naughty tongue slipping out, pupils raking across your figure.

“Babe,” he said. “You look smoking hot and all, but I’m afraid that you’re gonna have to put on more clothes than that.”

And then you realized—

You were still in your pajamas.

“Pajamas” didn’t seem to cut it. It was borderline lingerie, the sleepwear that you preferred—only a tight cotton tank top and chiffon shorts that had the nasty habit of riding up a little too high.

But other than that, they showed skin.

Bruised skin.

Blubbering like a fish, you sputtered a quick, “OhmyGodI’llberightback!”, slammed the door right back in Taehyung’s face, and promptly raced back into your bedroom to change.

You could hear his loud laughter even through the door.

You practically tossed your uniform up and over your head, pulling on the stockings and buttoning up your collar at the speed of light. Your brain worked just as fast as your hands—memories from last night, before Suho had showed up, beginning to filter back in.

The art gallery.

Photography.

“V”.

And then Taehyung, his words still ringing in your ears:

“I like you a lot.”

You swore your heart was about to burst through your chest any minute, everything flooding back to you in an instant.

When you had finally gathered yourself together enough to be deemed presentable, you fluffed your hair up one more time, and returned to the door.

Of course, he was still there.

He was scrolling through photos on his camera, which was laced over his neck, causally leaning against the doorway. Patiently waiting for you, not a single complaint on the tip of his tongue.

He stood up when you opening the door again.

“I didn’t agree to go on a date with you,” you said firmly. You crossed your hands in front of your chest. You had enough on your plate already, and while Taehyung definitely earned points for determination, you were in no mood to deal with this ordeal today.

His casual response startled you.

“I know,” he said. He set his camera back down again, eyes glimmering with the quality of a fox’s as he met yours. “But it’s my turn to court you. It’s not a date, it’s just courting.”

He winked at you.

The sly son of a .

There was no way out of this.

“Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?” You still weren’t one hundred percent on board. Lips pursed, eyebrows smashed down in an expression of suspicion.

He was dressed casually, blue blazer and dress pants nowhere to be found. Instead, he wore a scoop neck t-shirt and jean shorts, a backwards cap pulling his flame-colored away to show the expanse of his forehead.

It was the first time you had ever seen a Host Club member out of uniform.

And admittedly, you liked it.

“That’s right,” he said. Pointed a finger at you. And then, with an excess flourish of his other hand, he produced a piece of paper.

“Lucky for us,” he announced, “both you and I have been, ah, ‘dismissed from attending classes due to artistic purposes’.”

He read from the slip of paper smoothly, clearly proud of his achievement.

You snatched the paper out of his hand, eyes squinting hard to examine it.

“From the Scholarship Program Director?” you gawked. You held the paper away from you, as if the scribbled signature at the bottom would change if you did so.

Nope.

Still there.

“How did you get this?” you asked Taehyung in wonderment. What did he have to do to get off so easily?

Taehyung just shrugged, holding up his camera and waving it at you. “I just told him that we needed to go out, get some air for inspiration. All we need to do is bring back a few photos as proof that we actually got something done.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’ at the end. He slipped the paper out of your fingertips, folded it in half and pocketed it neatly in the back pocket of his shorts. “The Scholarship Program actually brings in buckets of money for The Academy, you know? If we said that we wanted to take an impromptu trip to Fiji just for creative purposes, I’m pretty sure that they’d let us.”

You were speechless. You had nothing to say. Were you supposed to be offended because the school treated you and Taehyung like cash cows? Or were you supposed to be elated at the thought of not going to school? Were these people really so easily to persuade?

“That being said,” Taehyung continued, “we should really get going. I suggest that you wear something that is not the Academy uniform, please and thank you.”

“You literally just told me to change ten minutes ago!” Though you were excited at the thought of taking the day off, you were still grouchy from being woken up so abruptly.

“Hey,” Taehyung said, spreading his arms out in front of him, like nothing was his fault. Carefree. “How could I resist?”

Before you could ask what he meant, he grinned at you.

“You look gorgeous in that uniform, babe.”

//

A/N: Awww, isn't TaeTae just the cutest, iest little puffball of cheesiness and unbelievable rudeness? I love him with a passion. If you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to upvote, comment, and SUBSCRIBE! (bc I have said many chapters now that is about to go down, and IS about to go down. Soon!!! I swear!!!) If you like reading angsty yet fluffy things that make your heart and brain melt simultaeneously, this is the story for you. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :D xoxo