A/N: New update for today! alright everybody, strap yourselves in. It's gonna be a wild ride. xoxo

//

Dinner consisted of cheap and greasy night market food, delicious in every way possible.

Something seemed to blossom as the two of you pulled each other to various stands, pushing against the swarms of people, the sounds of shouting and advertising filling your ears.

Night began to settle in, stars peeping back out, and yet the two of you couldn’t care less.

The night market was a frenzy of bright lights and steam and hot food. Games decorated the back rows of the lot, a silent challenge to win the highest score calling to both you and Taehyung. Fighting ensued, the vendor secretly smiling as you two fought each other determinedly.

Laughter. Lots and lots of laughter, letting you settle into somebody that you used to be.

The way that you used to be.

Loud and boisterous, never fearing a thing in the world.

Hot summer air whipped around the both of you, humidity turning up up up the longer the two of you buried yourselves into the crowds of people.

“These are pretty,” you commented, passing by a rack of earrings.

They were little ruby studs, tiny golden chains falling from in a pattern that reminded you of a waterfall.

“You want them?” Taehyung asked. A hand was already in the back pocket of his shorts, wallet poised.

You shook your head. Both of you knew that you shouldn’t be wasting money on non-necessities.

“Let’s look around first, Tae.”

His grasp on your hand faltered slightly.

Realizing what you had just said, you looked over your shoulder to see the hugest grin spreading across Taehyung’s face, eyes beading in that way that made him the epitome of adorable.

Absolutely adorable.

He was giddy, and you knew it.

“Come on, Tae,” you said again, teasing. “Let’s go.”

“Is that my nickname?” he asked. “‘Tae’?”

You rolled eyes, unbelievable that he was so smitten over one word of his name.

Boys and their egos.

“Yes, Taehyung, it is.”

“Say it one more time.”

He pouted cutely, one finger in front of you to complete his request.

You chuckled, stepping closer to him.

Tweaked the fat of his cheek with your forefinger and thumb.

“Come on, Tae.”

There weren’t enough words to describe the happiness that practically exuded from him when he heard it.

Just for him.

Tae.

//

It was nearly midnight when you returned to the apartment complex.

It seemed that whenever you returned back home with a Host Club member, your heart filled up with warmth like a hot air balloon. A good mood was something that rarely came across you, yet when you were in the boys’ hands, it was all too easy for you to forget your worries.

Hot air whipped around you in your light romper, ruffling the light fabric against your skin. You took a deep breath. Exhaled. Smiled.

“Did you have a good night?” Taehyung asked you, grabbing you by the hand to face him.

“Yeah, I did,” you admitted. “I really enjoyed it.”

“And it was cheap, too.” Taehyung laughed.

“That’s always a plus, isn’t it?”

It was something that the other Hosts didn’t really get, which was understandable. When they came from families just like theirs, they didn’t need to tread carefully with money the way that you and Taehyung did. They just didn’t get it—the way that kids like you had to suffer. You weren’t treated to luxurious ponies or brand name clothing. If you got a small tub of ice cream, that was what made you happy.

To be full. To be thankful for a roof over your head and food to eat on the table.

You stopped right in the front of the lobby entrance, where the doorman usually stood.

Moonlight cast shadows along Taehyung’s face, red and green and yellow traffic lights washing you both with bright color.

You didn’t know why you stopped. You didn’t know what to say, what to speak. You liked Taehyung a lot. He was funny, he was handsome, he was a person like you, knew the same things that you did. No doubt he had struggled within his own family as well. Scholarship kids somehow always had a story like that, didn’t they?

But even if you weren’t quite sure what to say, Taehyung certainly did.

He quietly took both of your hand in his, practically swallowing your tiny palm with his huge fingertips. His movements slowed in time with your breathing.

You felt the gentle brush of him pulling up your sleeve.

And then you remembered—

Bruises.

You slapped a hand onto your wrist, stopping him.

“Tae, I-I—”

Even as you tried to desperately cover up what he already knew, you could feel yourself flailing.

You weren’t convincing, not one bit.

He was looking at you.

No, not looking.

Staring.

Something seemed to change in his demeanor, the way that his gaze fell upon you. Eyebrows faltered downwards atop his forehead, his lips slightly parted, deep breaths falling from those very lips.

And his eyes.

Oh, his eyes.

Deep pools of warm brown, filled with an emotion that you couldn’t quite read. Emotional, passionate, absolutely loving from every iris to every pupil. Slightly glossy, the way that they were when he was Host Club Taehyung, not Scholarship Student Taehyung.

Knowing.

As if he knew what he was getting into, the minute that he placed his hand atop your wrist.

As if on some level, he understood what you were going through, knew what he was suggesting.

Fingertips, ever so gently, unfurling yours.

It’s okay.

And then he pushed up the sleeve of your romper, revealing—

Horrid, awful purple-yellow, splashed along the expanse of your skin.

You ducked your head, averted your eyes. How would Taehyung react? You didn’t know, your heart was too busy running a million miles per minute.

Perhaps he would think you to be disgusting.

Perhaps he would think you to be sick, filthy, the way that you had tried to convince him before.

There was no telling what he would say.

Junmyeon’s words rang in your ears, even at this moment, even at this hour, when he was nowhere to be seen—

Disgusting.

You are nothing.

You should be glad that I took you in—nobody else ever would, anyways.  

When Taehyung finally spoke, his voice was deeper, choked with emotion.

The pads of his fingertips, dancing along the bruising like it was something to be…

Treasured.

“I heard you, the other night.”

Shocked froze your veins in place, forced you to gape at Taehyung the way a fish would, unable to do anything but breathe and suffocate at the same time, gasping and gasping.

“W-Well I’m sorry,” you hurriedly lied through your teeth, finding anything, grasping for anything to make up on the spot. “We’ll try to keep it down.”

Junmyeon, bringing you to the precipice of ecstasy over and over again.

That’s what Taehyung was referring to, right?

It had to be.

“That’s not what I mean.”

Something tightened in his eyes, his voice, like it pained him to say the words.

“I mean,” Taehyung his lips.

“I heard you screaming.”

You nearly fell backwards, more than astonished. His grip on you pulled you back, refusing to allow you to escape.

All you could hear was a faint buzzing in your mind, a high pitched noise that rang in your ears yet did nothing to cover how much of a disaster you were internally.

He knows.

He knows he knows he knows he knows

You were gasping for air, unable to breathe, yet no matter how many times you inhaled or exhaled you seemed to be forever choking, a noose wrapped tight around your throat and forcing you to suffer, to remember.

It must have been the first hit.

When you were so shocked, bewildered by the fact that the monster had come to pay a visit.

And so you had screamed. Too late to hide it.

Your body trembled all over, goosebumps erupting like tiny volcanoes all over your skin, your mind bleeding at the thought that Taehyung, of all people, knew.

He knew how much of a piece of you were.

You couldn’t stop shaking. You forced yourself, tried to scream at yourself to get a grip, to stop, or else who knew what Taehyung was going to be like. But the more you tried, the more out of control you began to get, teeth biting down so hard that you could taste blood, body shaking so violently it was as if you no longer had any control over your body.

He knew.

Taehyung knew.

You wanted to convince yourself that he was lying. He didn’t know anything, he didn’t know a single thing at all. Nothing, nothing nothing nothing—he knew nothing.

You were becoming hysterical.

“Hey hey hey,” Taehyung caught you, wrapping his arms around your waist to prevent you from falling. You had your hands over your mouth, unbelieving, mouth open.

A wretched noise came out of your throat.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Taehyung chided. He was both calm, but also hurried in his movements. Pulling your hands away. Wiping tears and sweat away. Trying his best to take your fear away.

“It’s not okay, it’s not okay—”

You nearly choked in your frenzy.

“Listen to me!”

His voice was demanding, controlling.

Taking over the situation because lord knew that you most definitely weren’t.

Taehyung grabbed onto your hands, refusing to let go. He forced you to look at him. Stand right in front of him.

There was a fire in his eyes.

“That guy that showed up at the gallery yesterday? He might seem all perfect, but I just know…”

A vein in his throat twitched.

“I know that guy isn’t your boyfriend.”

Junmyeon.

He was talking about Junmyeon.

It was as if the air had been stolen out of your lungs altogether. You couldn’t breathe, could only think about his words. How sure he was of himself. How firm in his words, to reassure you. To make sure that you were okay.

He saw the bruises and he heard the screams and he knew, he knew that Junmyeon was not somebody to be trusted.

Never before in your life had such a relief washed over you before.

He believed.

He believed.

And you didn’t even have to say anything.

Hearing his words, his utter trust despite not even knowing you that well… It brought back memories of the rest of your family: your father, Aunt Josie, Lily.

All of them had chosen to not believe you, even when you had gotten down onto your knees and begged and begged and begged.

But Taehyung—

You hadn’t even said one word, but he was already on your side.

He knew how awful Junmyeon was, the way that he was dual faced and harmful and violent. Not the person that he made himself out to be.

And Taehyung understood this.

In that moment, if everything had been so perfect, you would have thrown your arms around Taehyung, buried your face into his chest, burned with that auburn vanilla scent. You wanted to drown in the relief and the way his comfort washed over you, enveloped you in the sweetest little bubble. A bubble that Taehyung would never pop, not for you, not for anybody.

But you remembered.

“I want you to come with me.”

The memory had been put on the backburner of your mind, but now it was back at full force.

You wanted to scream and cry and thrash about.

The minute, the very second you had discovered somebody who believed you, who you could finally, actually trust, Junmyeon came back. He would never leave, would he? He would always be a forever presence, never to be eradicated completely the way that you wished for him to be.

You wanted to be with Taehyung.

You could not be with Taehyung.

You had to be with…

You gagged internally.

Junmyeon.

There was a slight tug on your fingertips.

Taehyung could see it in your eyes, the way that they fogged up, becoming glassy. Two neat tears trickled down your cheeks, but it wasn’t because you were upset.

No.

You were so, so happy.

Another scholarship student? That had been a miracle.

But now, this? Understanding your pain that was Junmyeon, accepting it without any more questions asked?

Taehyun had to be some sort of angel sent from heaven.

His voice interrupted your thoughts. His lips curled a teensy bit, seeing the stress alleviate from your face. You were brighter, lit up the way the stars seemed to blink against their expanse of black.

Finally, you were looking at him in that way he had wanted.

Wanted for so long.

“I know he did this—” Taehyung rubbed your bruises slightly, “—and I know he did this.”

He cupped the side of your face, the one that had been slapped. The one that had been swollen.

His touch was so warm, you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning into the palm of his hand. He thumbed your cheek affectionately. Gently. As if trying to soothe away the invisible pain that was once there, letting it know that he was here now, it was going to be okay.

“I just want to let you know,” Taehyung said, “I would never be like that. You deserve better. Much better. That guy—no matter what he says, he’s never going to be your boyfriend, is he?”

You shook your head.

Sniffed.

“No, he won’t. He isn’t.”

It was strange, to not have to lie. You’d been lying for so long.

But Taehyung was here. He made it okay. He made it—

He made it fine for you to be you.

And that’s what you had been doing all night, hadn’t you? You hadn’t even thought of it until now, the way that you so carelessly threw your head back in laughter, quarreled with Taehyung like elementary schoolers. It was the way that you used to be, before all the drama happened. Before Junmyeon.

When it had just been you and Lily and Piper.

Piper, Lily, and you.

Taehyung glanced up at you, a slight tinge of hesitation upon his tongue. But he cleared his throat. Continued firmly, reaffirming his grip on your hands.

“Do you think you could give me the honor of being your first one?”

//

A/N: thanks for reading! :D