A/N Mentions of the fight is the same fight in the N-CITY Epilogue so you guys don't get confused. 

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2020

And she smiles
She's talking to angels
She's counting the stars
Making a wish on a passing car
She's dancing with strangers
She's falling apart
Waiting for Superman to pick her up
In his arms

- Waiting for Superman, Daughtry

All I ever wanted was a normal life and a normal life I did lead.

A simple girl navigating the world. I knew what I wanted to be and I live my life going through simple routines. Waking up, saying hi to my roommate, going to class. On some days, I had games to play being in the volleyball team, and sometimes after that, I would go and see my boyfriend.

Wonwoo and I have been dating for a while and I wasn’t one for short-lived relationships. Relationships were made for me to hold onto and Wonwoo and I started off as friends then to lovers before we ended up vowing that we would end up marrying each other.

Three years after, it seemed like our promise would be broken and I found myself staring at the phone screen with text messages from a couple of my friends from volleyball. I hardly went out and preferred to stay home. Wonwoo was the same… Used to be the same. After he and his friends got into a gang, it seemed like all that had changed.

“You need to talk to him. I saw him at the party last night. He had a girl all over him.”

“You okay? Call me if you need to talk.”

I closed my eyes. I should have seen it coming. I should have known when he stopped telling me where he was going. When he stopped telling me loved me and when he began to tell me that maybe it was time we tried to go on a “break”. Me being me, I thought that it would go back to normal once he realized that I wasn’t going to go anywhere.

Maybe he’d appreciate me a bit more.

But that wasn’t the case.

He didn’t tell me about the party when he should have. A few days ago, he refused to let me unlock his phone to take a photo of the meal, and the whole date he had a sour look on his face. Now, people had spotted him with other women and that was the last straw for me.

I knew I deserved better.

I got up, pulling on my coat and dialing his number just for it to be cut off.

I inhaled sharply. He also had been cutting my calls.

I hated confrontation. It wasn’t in me and if people ever asked my friends how I was the words that would be used to describe me would either be bland, sometimes “always confused”, and maybe a simple girl who prefers to follow orders rather than lead.

I often went with the flow and that was what Wonwoo liked about me. I didn’t like to fight and I didn’t enjoy trying to be dominant. I believe power should be shared. It could be soft and it could be vulnerable—that if I showed him I loved him, the trust would come along naturally after that.

I refused to control him and now I was beginning to think that it backfired.

My roommate seemed to know what I was going through but she didn’t say anything. I felt her eyes on my back as I exited our shared apartment and headed to the one place I knew Wonwoo would be at.

His stupid gang mancave.

When I reached there, it was a small warehouse that had been given down to SEVENTEEN, the place restructured and developed into what seemed like a game room. Pledis’ gangs, the current group of friends going by the name SEVENTEEN, were always into bike racing. Of course, it was illegal.

Did Wonwoo listen to me when I told him?

No. Definitely not.

This wasn’t the first time I had been here, Wonwoo bringing me over to meet his friends on some occasions. I hated all of them—Mingyu, especially. A part of me blamed him for the change in Wonwoo, knowing that he egged Wonwoo onto other girls despite knowing he had a girlfriend.

Me.

Vernon was alright. He was quiet but it was those who didn’t talk that scared me the most. Hoshi was friendly at best but he too, had a notorious reputation of sleeping with women and discarding them the next day like they were litter. It was all fun and games for them.

It wasn’t always like this with Wonwoo until they corrupted him. While Wonwoo was once a good boyfriend, he had his insecurities. His need to act the way he was may have come from the fact that he needed to please his friends.

But three years?

Down the drain?

It was funny how I didn’t feel nervous at all when I walked in, my hands tightening into fists when I saw him on the couch with his biker jacket on his shoulders. I wanted to rip it all away and yell at him for losing himself in the process of trying to have a social life.

This wasn’t the same Wonwoo I had first dated.

“Why are you here?” A voice asked and I turned to see Mingyu coming out of the bathroom, his smile wide. He knew why I was there. He was half-, the male rubbing his hair with a towel. “Come to pick up your precious boyfriend?”

Wonwoo smirked and he didn’t say anything.

Was this planned?

I took a deep breath, stopping in front of him when our eyes connected. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw that his gaze soften and I felt him shift, leaning forward to reach out to grab my hand when Mingyu’s drawl could be heard from behind me.

Mingyu placed a hand on my hip and I slapped it away just as Wonwoo snapped out of whatever he was feeling and he leaned back, leaving my hand untouched.

“A couple's quarrel?”

“Not anymore,” I quipped and I applauded myself at how my voice didn’t shake. “But this is between me and Wonwoo, Mingyu. I’d like it if you don’t interrupt.”

As much as I wanted to blame Mingyu for the change in Wonwoo, it was Wonwoo’s fault. It wasn’t like Mingyu had a gun to his head. It wasn’t like me to shift the blame to those around him when it was entirely his decision.

“I know what you’re doing,” I told him and Wonwoo cocked up an eyebrow. “I know you’ve been going on dates.”

Silence.

There were sounds of shuffling and I saw Vernon quickly stand up to move out of the room to give us privacy. When Mingyu didn’t budge, I saw Vernon give his friend a glare, Mingyu finally moving away from both of us to give us space. The rest of SEVENTEEN weren’t around and I thanked the lords for that—I didn’t need twelve other people listening to me breaking up with their newest member.

When the room was void of people except me and my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, Wonwoo sat up, frowning.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, the cocky smirk no longer on his features. It was replaced with confusion and… concern. A part of me wondered how he could switch so easily. “I didn’t call you.”

“You didn’t. I’m here to break up with you.”

With my words, he frowned. Then he chuckled, crossing his arms across his chest.

“You’re joking,” he stated it as if there could be absolutely no way I would break up with him. Not me! Not the one who promised him that I’d be by his side no matter what. “C’mon. Over what?”

“You know exactly what, Wonwoo.”

I was to remain calm, I told myself. I was calm. Maybe because I could have seen it coming or maybe because I imagined it in my head a thousand times before. That’s the problem, the moment you imagine it, it’s one step closer to you wanting it to happen.

“Really? That’s how you’re going to respond after asking for a break-up? No explanation—”

“You know how I am. Of course, there is an explanation. But if I have to tell you about it then that means you think it’s okay to do what you have been doing.”

“And what have I been doing?”

“Wonwoo, I know you have been going on dates with other women.” I was frustrated now and my frustration was evident with the wringing of my fingers. Wonwoo must have caught on and I knew he thought I would never ask for a break-up, the male reaching out to hold my hand but I moved away. “This relationship is tiring. I’m breaking up with you.”

“You don’t want this,” Wonwoo said, standing up and towering over me. “You know you don’t. You know why I’m doing this—”

“I don’t care if you’re so insecure about yourself, you need to act like you need to have girls on your arm. I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of knowing the things I know and you doing the things you do, Wonwoo. It’s…” my tongue poked the side of my cheek and I looked up to see Wonwoo still trying to comprehend the situation. “I’ll leave your things by the front door or I’ll give it to my roommate. You are friends with her. You can contact her.”

“Hey—”

I knew he couldn’t stop me but if he had hugged me right there, I would have caved.

Good thing there was a slam and Jeonghan walked in, Wonwoo clearing his throat and I saw how he shifted back into the persona of someone I didn’t know.

“Oh. Was I interrupting something?” Jeonghan asked and I gave him a small smile, shaking my head. “Good. Wonwoo, dinner?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo could be heard saying from behind me and I told myself to cry at home.

I asked for it, I knew what was best for me.

The moment I left and reached home; I saw my roommate waiting for me.

To have a best friend and a roommate in one person was a blessing because the moment I was in her arms, she had hugged me tightly and I burst into tears.

“Oh, honey.” She rubbed my back and I sniffled, the female pushing my hair away from my face. “You did so well, didn’t you? Come. Let’s Netflix and chill?”

I nodded, laughing at the phrase when she kissed my forehead.

“You’ll be my one-night stand tonight.”

“Geez, thanks,” I answered, and she dragged me to the couch.

While the movie proceeded, I saw my roommate yawn. She tucked her short hair behind her ear and pursed her lips a certain scene I knew she didn’t approve of. When she turned to see me stare at her, she cocked up an eyebrow as if to ask if I wanted to talk about it.

When my lips turned down, she put off the TV and smiled at me.

“Do you think he’ll regret it?” I asked and she nodded slowly. “Do you think he will regret doing this to me?”

“He will. You gave him nothing but love,” she answered and I quickly shoved a spoon of ice cream into my mouth. “And one day, you’ll find someone who will appreciate you every single day and you won’t have to second guess whether he’s in love with you or not.”

“You think so?” I asked, my voice coming out small. I wasn’t like her. My roommate was a strong woman while I hid behind those who were able to lead.

“I know so,” she replied, dragging a hand over my forehead. “You deserve the world.”

Little did I know, the world I would get.

By the name of Hendery Wong.

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A few weeks had passed and it wasn’t getting any better.

I mean, three years of being in a relationship was hard to turn away from. Wonwoo didn’t text me at all and I hated the fact that I found myself hoping that he would. I wouldn’t admit it but I did. I did hear a couple of rumors about him that irked me.

'Your ex-boyfriend was in a fight with the members of N-CITY,' someone said to me one day and I frowned. 'Apparently, he was there and trying to hit on one of the girlfriends. Kim Bunny—The sister of Kim Doyoung. There was a video that surfaced, too.'

I remained quiet, my teammates continuing to talk.

“And Johnny and Doyoung showed up. It was a double date, I heard. They were in N-CITY Territory and Wonwoo should have done his research.”

“I heard Kim Bunny’s boyfriend isn’t in the gang though, right?”

“No idea who is in a gang and who isn’t. At this point, everyone might as well be in a gang. Lucas WongYuKhei showed up.”

“Yeah, he’s hot.”

“He beat Mingyu into pulp.”

“I thought that was Johnny Suh?”

“Nope. Johnny Suh watched. He’s going to be a policeman; he can’t have any of that on his record! Jeno was the one who beat Wonwoo, being the boyfriend of Kim Bunny and all.”

“Well… then who filmed?”

“Kim Doyoung.”

“Kim Doyoung? Filmed the whole thing? Why would he?”

“Beats me. I heard he was already drunk when he arrived at the bar.”

That Thursday night, I went home and cried for the last time. A day later and it was a Friday. Being a scholarship student, I had classes on the weekends too but it was better than staying home. My roommate, however, decided that it was time for me to go and work it.

Upon asking her what work it meant, she had made a fist with her hand and shoved a finger into the hole.

Ah, .

I had been with only one person and that was Wonwoo. Even then, it took a while.

My roommate loved and she was vocal about it. She was a huge feminist and even though she knew what my thoughts were while discussing the topic she told me that it wasn’t fair.

“Why is it that men can sleep with whoever they want and yet when it comes to women, everyone calls her a ? I heard of a quote the other day “A key that opens many doors is a master key but a door that can be opened by many keys is just an easy door.” Why is a a door? Why can’t a be a key?”

I didn’t know what to say to that and respected her point of view.

“I’m not going to start randomly sleep with people,” I pointed out to her and she nodded, telling me to ignore what she just insinuated. “But I guess I do need to get out of the house.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“But where?”

“Do you know Johnny Suh?” she asked and I could already see her thumb through my outfits. She frowned and I knew she hated my fashion sense. I was a T-shirt, sneakers kind of girl.

“Of course. Everyone knows Johnny Suh. He parties every Saturday.”

Like the rumors I have caught on about Wonwoo, I knew the names that flittered through the grapevine from time to time. Johnny Suh, very famous for his weekly parties. He had a house of his own and his father was said to be in Chicago while his mother was working somewhere else. A product of divorce, they called him, maybe that’s why he partied so much.

He utilized his freedom and the house given to him.

He was also known to move back to Chicago from time to time and when he came back, the party that would follow would be called the party of the year. He, however, had banned drugs from his parties. Strippers? Sure, there were a couple who tried to make money from Johnny’s parties and gotten their fair share of wage of the night. VIP rooms? I didn’t have to think about the nasties that would happen in the bedrooms of his house.

Johnny’s parties were huge to the point he began to receive a few sponsorships from local beer brands. Very smart of them, if I say so myself.

But that was only for the N-CITY District and Jessie Ho, a female in PSY Nation was also known for her crazy parties. Now her parties were filled with drugs. She had stopped a few years back because of the gruesome death of her brother one night. The parties just recently started up again and that was also the talk of the town.

“Yeah, well. Time to party.”

“Why would I go to a party with people who are literal enemies with Wonwoo?” I asked, frowning. My roommate looked at me as if she was judging me.

“You’re not dating Wonwoo anymore,” she pointed out and I blinked.

I forgot.

“Besides, isn’t it good? It means that none of the people you know would actually be at Johnny’s party. Except maybe Hoshi. That guy is a bit too friendly for his own good.”

That, I knew. Wonwoo had complained to me one day that Hoshi loved mingling with the enemies.

“You can go to whatever party you want…. Red or black? I think you look great in red,” she told me and I just shrugged. “We’re bigger than their fights of ego and dominance. Red, it is.”

I got a notification and checked it when I saw the day, my eyebrows furrowing.

“Wait. Isn’t it a Friday?” I asked, frowning. “Why is Johnny Suh holding a party on a Friday night?”

“Yeah… About that,” my roommate said, throwing me my clothes. “His best friend is trying to get his ex back who just recently came back from New York. Do you know Jung Jaehyun?”

“No?”

“The president of the Entrepreneurial and Innovation club in SMU? He beat our university by a margin last year. Apparently, their concept was better even when we came up with a better financial plan.”

“Okay, but why do you know more about their university than ours?”

“Please. I socialize with people who aren’t my roommate and my boyfriend—” she paused, tugging on a black jacket and looking for her cigarettes that she thought she had placed by my mirror. I knew this because every time she tried to find her cigarettes, the first place she would feel would be her pockets then everywhere around her. “Ex-Boyfriend.”

She quickly corrected herself and I smiled at her. Despite her hard surface, she was a very thoughtful friend. I began to get ready, my roommate going back to her bedroom to find her cigarettes when she yelled out for me that she was ready.

“Come on!” she called and I went out to see that she had darkened her lipstick, a hand combing through her gray short hair. “Oh, you look good.”

“You look spicy,” I complimented and she kissed my cheek.

“Of course. It’s all going to the lucky winner who gets me after midnight,” she said to me and I chuckled.

We all knew what that meant.

“Maybe that’s too late. Maybe the window of time of your one-night stands should start from 10 pm—”

“Mhm-mm.” She shook her head, tucking a strand behind my ear before winking at me. “That’s when the flirting starts.