The living room was a mess. A mess of 19 boys pacing around the wooden floors, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. Minhyuk looked like a mess. His face was stricken with a hearty mix of anger and anxiety. His balled fists were so tight that the veins in his arms were becoming more and more obvious. How could they lay even a finger on you?! It took all of his self control not to run next door, a knife aimed at a certain boys head. As you lay limply in bed, beads of cold sweat forming on your forehead, the question ringing in the air was what left the BTOB members especially worried. What if you woke up, the same broken girl you were a year ago, the girl so scarred that no one could even touch her. “What happened to her?” Suho asked quietly, his demeanor calm yet demanding. The BTOB members exchanged worried gazes, unsure of how kindly they would take to your incident a year ago. “Please hyung… Tell us what happened to Noona”, Sehun bit his lower lip anxiously, tugging on Eunkwang’s sleeve. With a loud sigh, the leader recounted the incident from the start. “She was almost … I hate to think of what would have happened if Minhyuk hadn’t found her in time”, Eunkwang muttered quietly. “Noona… was almost…” Kai stammered, hand covering his mouth in horror as he struggled with the truth. “My poor poor Miyoung”, Suho almost whimpered, stricken with grief and hurt. Kris laid a firm hand on the leader’s shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze. “Was that why she flinched when Sungjae grabbed her?” D.O asked and Sungjae couldn’t help but shrink in guilt. “She wouldn’t let any of us go near her after the accident”, Minhyuk broke his silence to explain. “It took so long… almost months for her to heal… for her to regain her trust. I can’t imagine things happening that way again”, Minhyuk whispered, eyes glistening slightly. “I’m heading right there this instant to teach them a lesson!” He growled suddenly, launching himself for the front door. In an instant, Kris Chanyeol and Hyunsik blocked him, while Eunkwang and Peniel held him back. “Hyung….” Peniel whispered, trying to calm his brother down. “I can’t let them get away with this”, Minhyuk pleaded desperately as the boys struggled to keep him back. “Minhyuk, you have to stay here”, Luhan muttered definitely. “You have to be here for Miyoung”, he added with a small desperate smile on his lips. “But I…” Minhyuk started to say when Hyunsik patted his shoulder. “You’re the first person Miyoung would want to see”, he explained. “She needs you, hyung”, Ilhoon repeated convincingly. With a defeated sigh, Minhyuk stopped struggling. “Don’t worry Minhyuk”, Kris growled as he furrowed his brows. “We’ve no plans on letting them get away”, He added, giving some of the members around him a knowing gaze. Hyunsik smiled in understanding. “Go, take care of Miyoung”, He pushed Minhyuk towards the stairwell. “Leave them to us”.

You were running. Running away from something, someone. All you could see was an endless path before you, & a sense of dread behind. Someone, something was chasing you, & you felt more alone then you ever felt before. Looking behind your shoulder, you saw them catching up on you. Your foot tripped over an upturned rock & you stumbled onto the hard gravel path. It was all too late now. You could feel them closing in on you. Soon it would be all over. Wait, why hadn’t they caught you. Looking up fearfully, you saw 19 boys standing in the distance, forming a wall between what was chasing you. Their silhouettes were different in size & stature, but you were sure you knew them somehow

Wait… Was that a voice calling you?

“Miyoung.., Miyoung! Wake up!” A desperate voice rang in your ears, snapping you out of your nightmare. Your eyelids fluttered open, and you looked up to see Minhyuk hovering over you, wiping the beads of cold sweat off your forehead. “Oppa…” You whispered weakly. Minhyuk let out a sigh of relief. “Hang on. Let me get you a glass of water”, He smiled, turning to walk away when you grabbed his wrist. “Please… stay with me”, You plead softly. Minhyuk slowly placed your cold palm in his hands, enveloping your fingers tightly. Taking a seat beside your bed, he gave you a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere”, he whispered.  At his words, your lips curled into a small grin. “Miyoung… I’m sorry. Forgive me for letting them do this to you. I should have never agreed to let you go over alone…” Minhyuk spoke, voice strangled with remorse. Your heart clenched at his pained expression, and you squeezed his hands tightly. “I’m alright aren’t I?” You smiled, looking into his eyes. You cupped the side of his face with your palm, before patting his head lightly. “It’s not your fault oppa. But if it really matters to you, I forgive you”, you whispered by his ear, giving him a affectionate smile.

“Are you really… alright?” Minhyuk asked, unable to keep the hint of worry out of his voice. You smiled, placing your small hands over his. “Look, nothing’s changed. I’m still me”, you muttered, wanting to reassure him that you were physically okay. Unlike the previous incident, you wanted him go know that you trusted him. Your Minhyuk would never do anything to hurt you, & your understanding of that meant that you could maintain physical contact without cringing. “I touched you- I touched you!” Your voice grew frantic, happiness and relief spreading through your veins. “Minh-“ You were about to call his name, when he wrapped his arms around you rapidly, pulling you close. Your cheek was pressed tightly against his broad chest, and you felt the corners of your lips tilt upwards in a smile. “Miyoung”, he whispered as you felt his warm breath on the crook of your neck. “You’re alright..” He said softly and seemed to be convincing himself more than you. You nodded against his chest, letting your hands tangle in his tousled brown hair.  “It’s because of you”, you whispered audibly. Minhyuk cradled your head gently, and you could almost feel him smiling into your brown locks. “Me?” He asked curiously, lifting your chin to meet his gaze. You nodded brightly. “It’s the way you look at me with love. The way you hold me as if I was the most precious thing in the world. The way you can always read my thoughts. The way we’ve progressed from being almost siblings to best friends to lovers. The way you’re my tower of strength. The way you’ve helped me to step out of the past. The way you’ve-“… You never got to finish your sentence because Minhyuk’s lips silenced yours. Pressing ever so gently against your lips, he ran his hands through your hair and you felt the pressure on your lips building up. Closing your eyes, you ignored the hammering of your heart, allowing yourself to just live in the moment. It was amazing how after so long, it never faded away. The fireworks. You could see them, feel them, and in that single moment, it was as if every other detail of the world had paled. You couldn’t help but smile, and Minhyuk took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your cavern. As the kiss grew more passionate, you were pressed so close to him that you could feel his heart beating almost as fast as yours. Letting your hand slip upwards, you placed your palm on his left of where his heart would be. Minhyuk chuckled at your touch, his lips ghosting over yours as he pulled away. A flush was on your cheeks as he placed his palm over yours, bringing your soft hand away from his chest and towards his lips. Kissing your fingers lightly, a feverish smile graced his handsome face. “I love you”, he whispered, and you softened with each word. Leaning forward, you pecked his lips once again. “I love you too”.

“Kyungsoo hyung! What else do you need us to get?” Sungjae shouted across the kitchen, nearly bumping into Kai and Sehun who were carrying a sack of groceries from the nearby supermarket. Lay and Luhan were scurrying across the kitchen, busy tending to the pots, stove and ovens. “Awww man, there’s no more kimchi in the fridge!” Ilhoon groaned, earning a nudge from Peniel. “We’re gonna need some for Kyungsoo hyung to make a mean kimchi stew though”, Kai grumbled teasingly. “Hey smarty pants. Why don’t you go get us some then?” Chen chided mischievously. “How in the world are we going to find some now?!” Sehun whined at his hyung. Baekhyun strolled into the kitchen, shooting them a look of disbelief. “Did no one see the kimchi shed in the backyard?” He groaned and the other boys gasped. “You could have told us sooner Baek”, Suho patted the younger boy’s back sympathetically. “Come on maknaes , it’s time to make yourselves useful”, The leader teased jokingly, chasing Kai and Sehun out the door. “Changsub hyung, stop eating up the cookie dough!” Lay nudged the cheeky boy desperately as they finally sent the batter to the oven. Getting back to their own respective cooking tasks, the silence in the kitchen went un-noticed until the maknaes were back. Panting, red-faced and wide mouthed, the boys set a jar of kimchi on the table loudly. “Whatever in the world happened?” Luhan asked curiously. “Hyung. There’s a freaking door in the hedge”, Sehun exclaimed.

Xiumin walked through the door, tossing the car keys to a plate on the counter. “Xiumin hyung! Over here! “ Chanyeol waved the older boy to the centre of the living room, where members of Exo and Btob were huddled in a corner. In a circle sat Kris, Chanyeol, Tao, Xiumin, Hyunsik, Eunkwang and Peniel. “There’s no way we’re getting into the house next door without first finding a way past those reporters”, Kris sighed as he addressed the other boys. “We’re gonna need another way in”, Hyunsik muttered. Their meeting was disrupted when Chen scrambled into the living room, flushed and looking like he had something important to say. “Hyung. Come on, you have to see this”, he urged.

Hai guysssssss <3
*waves & runs away. I'm finally finally back after a really long hiatusss! Had a really un-anticipated writers block, coupled with just how busy I am with packing for my term in Korea! I'm leaving really really soon, in fact in 2 days & I'm totally panicking. Help meeeeee~ btw I'm sure many of you have been to Korea before, & since I'm gonna be there (alone) for a while, I would love to just explore the city! If there's anywhere you guys have been to that you think I should go, please let me knowww!! <3 Thank you everyone for sticking with me <3 I love you all my dear readers/subbies (: The next time I update would probably be from the Sunny city of seoul ^^. Hope you enjoy the chapter!