[title song: bad luck - khalid + senorita - shawn mendes]
[will edit later, 3k, technically part 2 to last chapter]

5.

Sunhee sits up on her knees, eyes wide, and Baekhyun just watches her movements, still scratching at the tip of his chin.

Sunhee swivels, takes in the room they’re in a small supply room, of sorts, the window too high up to reach and too small to climb through, a couple chairs and supply boxes barricading the door. The room is tiny enough that Baekhyun’s knee keeps brushing against the side of her leg as she turns, hair whipping against her face as she tries to understand why she’s here and what the hell is going on. Sunhee’s tone is sharp, irritable, when she snaps, “What the hell does that mean?”

Her voice rises in pitch at the last word, the tone shrill even to her own ears—a little too panicked for her comfort, especially around a stranger who she isn’t at all fond of.

She expects Baekhyun to roll his eyes, to say something that’ll only justify her anger. He continues staring at her, for fifteen very long seconds, and the irritation, the anxiety and itch under her skin only seems to grow.

But then—

“Breathe.”

Baekhyun’s voice is strangely kind. She blinks, taken aback. A part of her wants to tell him to off, because she knew this would be a bad idea and if Baekhyun and Kai didn’t show up at their house asking for Seulgi, none of this would be happening, and—

“We’re screwed, not dead. So, just breathe, okay?” He reaches out and places his palm flat over her limp forearm. She jolts at the touch, just a bit, and, surprisingly, he removes his hand immediately. He looks very serious, right then—a look she’s quickly come to realize is uncharacteristic of him—as he looks at her, his eyes matching the kindness in his tone.

“I am.” She manages, snaps really, and, frankly, she’s surprised he hasn’t snapped back at her yet. He certainly seems the type to do so, but maybe he can tell that she’s coming apart at the seams and has been since they arrived at this stupid club. She takes a deep breath, both for good measure and to wipe the skeptical little eyebrow raise he gives her off his face.

(She knows that she has been anything but herself since Kai threatened to out her to Seulgi and she wonders if all that has been building up to this, to showing entirely too much vulnerability to a stranger in a tiny supply closet at a seedy club.)

“You’re going to be okay.” Baekhyun says, with so much confidence, she starts to really believe it. He pauses, glancing at the door briefly, before he looks her right in the eye, “Say it.”

She grimaces, “Is this some weird pep talk?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun states, smiling slightly, his eyes twinkling underneath the hair falling into his eyes, “Now, say it.”

“You’re not very good at this.”

“Did I ask for criticism?”

“I’m just saying. Motivational speaking is not your calling.”

“I—”

He snaps his mouth shut at a faint scream from beyond the door. Sunhee snaps back to reality, right then, back to the situation at hand, her eyes widening.

“There was an explosion and it knocked you out. I guess someone figured out what we were up to back there and decided to raid the club.” Baekhyun explains, without her prompting him.

“Someone?” She repeats, slowly. “Who?”

Baekhyun just shrugs, “We have a lot of enemies.”

Sunhee purses her lips, “With the way you all act, I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”

Baekhyun snorts. “And to think you were on the verge of a panic attack a couple minutes ago.”

“I like keeping people on their toes.” Sunhee mumbles, tone dry, reddening slightly in embarrassment at the reminder.

“Good.” Baekhyun grins, with all his teeth, as he gets to his teeth, holding out a hand for Sunhee to take. “We’re going to need that.”

Sunhee blinks up at him, at the way he grins down at her, pretty hand outstretched for her to take while he digs in his pocket with the other hand. Sunhee eyes Baekhyun’s hand warily and, in any other circumstance, she wouldn’t take it. Baekhyun knows that as well, knows that this isn’t any other circumstance either. He raises a brow, challenging. She takes his hand, narrowing her eyes as she does it, making her begrudging acceptance clear as day. He presses a switchblade into her hand before he lets go of her hands, flipping up his t-shirt to reveal a black band wrapped around his bare torso, a black gun strapped there. Her heartbeat picks up at the sight, at the memories it conjures up, the red.

(The anxiety and panic, she knows, is still there, still lingering, waiting to prey on her as it always does.)

“I’m an excellent shot.” Baekhyun explains, with easy confidence and a small smirk. He looks her in the eye, though, despite his casual demeanor, as if to emphasize his next sentence as he says, “Do as I say, and, hopefully, you won’t have to use that.”

The switchblade feels heavy in her clammy palms. She blinks at the sharp glint of metal before she nods, slowly, begrudgingly, and she wonders why she finds that she truly does believe Baekhyun right then. She doesn’t like Baekhyun, not entirely, but he knows how to be reassuring and his easy confidence in his own abilities quells the panic in her more than she’d like to admit.

(She also thought he’d be overbearing and creepy, like most gang members she’d seen on television, but he maintains a certain distance, despite the cramped space they’re sharing. He doesn’t touch her longer than necessary. Despite his flippant comments, he seems to be monitoring her reactions—something she honestly didn’t think him capable of from her first impressions of him. She almost feels bad for thinking badly of him all this time, but he’s still a gang member who enables murder. She shouldn’t feel bad for thinking he’s terrible because he probably is.)

She watches as he slowly drags the chairs and boxes away from the door, watches the way he his gun, the way his expression switches so quickly and easily from that easygoing, perpetually amused expression, to something focused and deadly.

Anxiety creeps up her skin at the sight, but she remains behind him, waiting for his cue.

~.~.~.~.~

It’s an absolute show. Her eyes widen at the wreckage. Where the hallways and door they had entered the room in had once been, there is now nothing but rubble and dust and steel beams balancing precariously. The club itself is destroyed, though the back of the club seems to be intact and still standing. She can hear police sirens in the distance. She can hear crying in the distance, groaning, someone shouting for help, voices.

“This way.” Baekhyun ignores all of that, all of the injured and possibly dead people from that club, instead turning to the intact part of the club, the sound of glass crunching under his feet jarringly loud. She follows, as if she is on autopilot.

They enter a room where this is a single lightbulb dangling out of its light fixture, blinking on and off, on and off, on and off, the room transitioning between light and dark, back and forth. It’s headache-inducing. She flinches, doesn’t notice Baekhyun stopping, and runs straight into his back.

“Duck.” Baekhyun says.

That’s the only warning he gives, aside from him yanking her downwards. There’s a gunshot, ringing loud and clear, and then there’s an even louder gunshot, right near her. She’s startled by the sound, but her brain provides the details, the fact that that had been Baekhyun shooting someone. She hears a gasp, a gurgling sound, as if someone is choking on blood. She blinks. Baekhyun pulls her along by the elbow without another word.

She’s running on a sort of autopilot right then, like she is watching the events around her unfold outside her own body. The sirens sound closer. The gunshots echo in her head, bang, bang, bang. Baekhyun’s one-worded instructions are loud, too loud.

She feels like she is underwater and the world around her is faint. Her brain shifts to the thought of Seulgi. She wonders if she’s okay, or if Seulgi is dead under the rubble back there, like so many other clubgoers.

That thought alone triggers something in Sunhee. They stumble into an alley. They hear voices, shouts from behind them.

Baekhyun says, “Come on.”

She runs. And runs, and runs, and runs, and runs, and so does the blood under her skin.

It thrums and her brain is all out of sorts and she can’t breathe, she really can’t breathe, it’s like she’s drowning and—

“.” Sunhee stops, dropping to squat right there.

She barely registers that she is the middle of an empty street in an unfamiliar part of town. Her head is spinning, and she clutches her chest tightly, her fingers trembling. It takes her another too-long moment to register that she is the one shaking, not just her hands.

“Sunhee.” His voice isn’t the voice she wants to hear.

Still, she latches onto it, because otherwise, she’d be all alone, and she doesn’t want to be alone right now, not with her thoughts running a million times an hour like this.

She sees his shoes first, the white soles stained a rusty red. Her stomach flips, so she looks up, neck hurting at the strain.

He lets out a long, low breath, before he, too, drops to a crouch in front of her. She presses her hands together, so tight she’s sure she’s digging cuts into her skin.

Baekhyun says, “You’re safe.”

It’s funny, how convincing Baekhyun can sound. For a moment, she really does believe him. But, she has never truly felt safe in the world since she realized that she wasn’t solely attracted to men.

She can’t help it when she whispers, “What about Seulgi?”

Baekhyun’s gaze lingers on hers, flitting back and forth, too inquisitive, too insightful. He says, with so much ing conviction, “She’s safe, too.”

She knows he’s just saying that. But, it’s still comforting to hear.

Slowly, she nods. Slowly, she forces her panic far, far away, refuses to let herself acknowledge the feelings rushing through her, gathering at the pit of her stomach. She wants to deal with it later, when she’s alone.

What she doesn’t expect is the way Baekhyun sighs, low and soft, nor does she expect him to crane his neck, peering up at the sky, the moonlight and dim streetlamps casting shadows all over his face, hiding his eyes, emphasizing the almost melancholic smile gracing his face. He wraps his arms around his knees, mirroring her position. He doesn’t look so amused anymore. He just looks strange, an emotion lingering in his expression that she doesn’t know him well enough to decipher.

Her chest still feels so tight, still hurts, so she remains crouched, as well, the two of them just sitting there, in the middle of a random empty road.

Baekhyun’s voice is so quiet, she thinks she would have missed it completely if she wasn’t crouching so close to him. Her fingers still, clutching tighter around the fabric of her shirt. His words drift around them, settling over her like a heavy blanket, a burden.

He murmurs, “So, you’re in love with her, huh?”

Her breath catches in . For a moment, the world is pure, unending silence.

Then Baekhyun drops his chin, turning to stare at her, his dark eyes, sharp, intuitive.

She stutters, “I…I don’t…I’m not…”

“You’re not?” He’s so blunt, but he’s not unkind. He sounds genuinely curious, maybe even a bit skeptical.

“I…” Her chest hurts with the amount of emotion, the building anxiety, and the fear Kai had evoked in her, and it all seems to come to a head right then, under the moonlight in the middle of some random road, under Baekhyun’s almost understanding gaze. It’s the opposite reaction of what she’s imagined people would give her and, somehow, it causes a dam to break in her. Tears well in her eyes that she refuses to let out, only because it’s embarrassing.

“You are.” Baekhyun sounds almost sad as he says that, his eyes so gentle that she finds that she’s wiping at her eyes, just so her tears won’t spill over. It’s a gentleness that she didn’t think she was allowed.

Still, she mumbles, “Is it that obvious?”

Baekhyun nods, “Extremely.”

She sighs.

“Does she know?”

“Of course not.” Sunhee pauses before she tacks on, “But, Kai does.”

Baekhyun is entirely too perceptive, she decides. Because it only takes him a second before he puts two and two together and his eyes widen, his mouth dropping into a small ‘o’. “He threatened to tell her, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“ing .”

“Aren’t you guys friends?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean I condone him being an absolute piece of human being.”

“But, murder is fine?”

Baekhyun shrugs and makes a non-committal sound, grinning with all his teeth right after. She can’t help but snort at his expression, which seems to make a genuine smile bloom across his face.

“Seriously, though. He shouldn’t do that to you. I can knock him out for you, if you just say the word.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“No, I’ve just been wanting to fight him for years. This just gives me a good excuse.” Baekhyun laughs when Sunhee’s smile turns into a grimace.

Sunhee sighs, though, clutching tighter at her knees. Her fingers have stopped shaking. “It doesn’t matter. I mean…Seulgi likes him, so, I don’t want to—it’s not like—”

She cuts herself off, biting down on her lip. The silence between the two of them stretches on and on, at least until Baekhyun finally breaks it.

“I don’t mind sabotaging it, though.” Baekhyun states, blunt and to-the-point.

Sunhee’s brows shoot up so high, they nearly disappear into her hairline.

Baekhyun rests his chin on his forearms, tilting his head as he looks at her, his eyes twinkling with mischief and annoyance. She is a bit mesmerized by the sight because he reminds her so vividly of the mischievous fairies from the classical stories she used to love to read as a child. Of playful fairies, of midsummer nights and a fairy named Puck. For a moment, she is stricken.

“Look. I’m sure Seulgi’s a great person, but she’s a distraction to both Kai and Suho. And, in this profession, distractions are going to get us killed. Or worse.” Baekhyun lifts his head, dragging a hand through his hair, “I don’t want them together. What about you?”

Sunhee stares. “I…” She doesn’t want to admit it. She doesn’t want to prove Kai right about her own intentions. She has no right to sabotage her best friend’s relationship because she’s upset. Still, logically speaking, she knows that that’s not the only reason she doesn’t approve of Kai. She speaks slowly, carefully. “I just…I think his—your—work is dangerous. I don’t want me or my best friend to be involved in like what happened tonight. I don’t want her to die because of him. That’s it.”

Baekhyun nods, slowly. His expression tells her that he’s skeptical of her reasoning, as if he just wants her to admit that sometimes she sees green when she sees Kai and Seulgi together, but Sunhee loves Seulgi as he best friend, first and foremost. She’s not lying when she says she doesn’t want her to die because she’s infatuated with some stupid gang member boyfriend. Sunhee doesn’t want to risk her own death because Sunhee seems to involved now, too.

Baekhyun nods, “That’s fair.”

There’s a pause. Baekhyun stares at the moon for a long, long time, so long that she wonders if the conversation is over. But, then Baekhyun continues, “You want to make a deal, then?”

“A deal?”

“A pact, I guess?” Baekhyun turns to face her fully, his eyes alight, but all too serious. “Let’s kill their love before it gets the chance to become something serious.”

Sunhee hates that his proposition makes her pause and contemplate it, even as she says, “Isn’t that a ty thing to do?”

Baekhyun shrugs, “Probably.”

Sunhee blinks.

Maybe it’s the look in his eyes or the strangely comfortable, serene atmosphere. Maybe it’s the way the moonlight washes over them. She doesn’t know. All she knows is that she’s speaking without thinking.

“Okay, fine.” Sunhee says. “...I’m in.”

a/n: is this technically a double update??? anyways thank you to everyone for reading and commenting omgfkjsdfj please do let me know what you think of the pacing because I'm not used to keeping things short and concise, so I feel like it's a bit off :/// also, all the characters in this are fun to write because they're all super selfish (which is something I don't often write so kjsndj ayyyyyyyy). anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!! love u guys <3