CHAPTER 10 IS ALREADY UPDATED.

Read that first before this one.

Thank you. =]

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11. Tantum Nocte

Tantum Nocte: "Only For The Night"



"I fear you and what we have shared..."


She succumbs to temptation tantum nocte.


"... but for this one time, I'll give in. "



= = = Soundtrack: Super Junior - Andante = = =

"Hyung, could you please pass me a cup from the rack?" Song Chanho had called out to Song Seunghyun as he took a pitcher of water from the fridge. The older Song complied, passing him a blue drinking glass from their rack of kitchenwares.

"Komawoyo." Came the younger Song's immediate reply before he poured water into the glass. Once the cool liquid had come in contact with his throat, he revelled in it, giving out a sigh of relief afterwards. He then placed the cup on the dinner table before proceeding to wash his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Chanho-yah, Jaejoong Hyung called me up earlier before we went for Shirin-ah. He said that he didn't mean for casualties to arise, especially regarding Shirin-ah, and promised twice more the number of guns for the next war that the Skullbeaters would wage against us. He also told me that he's gonna send medical assistance for her when the need arises." Seunghyun said, reaching for the drinking glass that Chanho used and pouring water into it as well.

"Oh. Okay. I was thinking that maybe we should go to him and ask what the hell he was planning to do now that our sister was hurt. But since he beat me to it, I won't do anything else." Chanho replied with a smirk on his lips. Seunghyun just chuckled.

When Seunghyun finished gulping down his glass of water, the two Song leaders returned to the living room where a certain young man was sitting silently, staring blankly at the fixture on the coffee table. The brothers looked at each other before looking at the youngest man of them three, silently deciding to cut his train of thought.

"Yah, Taemin-ah, what's with the long face? Didn't you already get what you wanted? You came with us to rescue Shirin-ah..." Began Chanho who sat beside Lee Taemin on the couch. The younger man just shook his head slightly in response.

"Don't feel guilty with what happened to our sister. It was nobody's fault. Besides, she was the one who asked you to come back and report, right?" Seunhyun added while he sat down on Taemin's other side and ruffled his head.

"I can't help but take responsibility for what happened to her, you know? I mean, when I looked at her earlier... she seemed desolate. I really don't know what I should do, especially since she's really part of the brotherhood now..." Taemin finally let out his feelings with a shaky voice, covering his face his both his hands.

 But not for long.

"I'll tell you what. Chanho-yah and I have to be back at the brotherhood warehouse in an hour, but we don't wanna leave Shirin-ah alone in this house. With how quiet she is, it's going to be really freaky when she explodes. She usually does when she's alone." Seunghyun began with a smile, removing Taemin's hands from his face.

"So you mean..." Taemin tried to ask, but he was cut off by Chanho.

"Yes, we'll be leaving you here with Shirin-ah. Treat it as way of getting back at her for leaving her alone during your escape. It could help you get over the guilt, you know."

When Taemin looked into the eyes of his hyungs, he saw sincerity and concern in them, which made him nod his head in agreement.

"We'll be back tomorrow morning, so take care of our little sister, arasso?" Seunghyun asked Taemin playfully before ruffling his hair once again, earning him a nod. Chanho bumped fists with Taemin, too, which in return the younger man smiled.

"I'll stay here until then, Hyungs."

= = =

Click.

I huffed a sigh as the door of my room became lateral with its frame. I looked around me, seeing my room once again after the many months of not being able to return to it. Back when the training started for me, I had been coming to sleep in one of the gang-owned hotels, and not in my room. Truth be told, the house is actually quite far from the gang base, which made me praise my brothers for the fact that even if it's already late at night, they still get back here.

They make sure they get back here for me.

I silently sat on the edge of my bed, once more familiarizing myself with the supposedly familiar sheets of my bed. I let my hands roam on the surface of my blankets.

But the image that comes to my head is nothing connected to my real bedsheets.

I only see brown... and a young man with his lips connected to mine.

"Aish!"

I let myself shout out my irritation for the scene that kept playing in my head. I know I shouldn't be thinking of Jongin-sshi and his room, nor the first room I stayed in when I was still in the huge mansion of the SkullBeaters gang. But I couldn't get it out of my head. I couldn't erase the sight of Jongin-sshi's sad eyes as I stood before Seunghyun Oppa to shield him from the bullet that he was going to send my brother.

"AISH!"

My hands balled into fists as I once more tried to purge the images from my head, getting hold of the sheets in the process.

No. Get out.

Get out of my head Jongin-sshi!

"GET THE HECK OUT!"

I scrunched my eyes close and kept my hands, letting unwanted tears fall from my eyes.

Shirin-ah...

No! Get out of my thoughts!

Shirin-ah!

Shut up Jongin-sshi! Shut the heck up!

"Shirin-sshi!"

And I felt arms wrap themselves around my frame, coaxing my anger and letting me loosen up my very stiff body. I heard some hushing sounds as I broke out into sobs and let myself succumb to the fear and nervousness. The hold on me just became tighter upon the moment of my breakdown.

"I don't want this anymore! Stop invading my head!"

I continued to exclaim as I gave in to my worries and negative emotions, my sobs the only things being heard in my room. I began shaking, but gradually came to a stop upon feeling a comfortable aura keeping me intact. I had managed to subdue my sobs into soft whimpers... and I tried to look at my savior.

"T-T-Taemin-sshi?"

"Hush. Don't speak too much. Just take deep breaths and calm down. I'm here." He softly told me while running his hand through my hair. He had this concerned look on his face which had a hint of slight confusion, but I saw in his expression that he's trying to hide it.

He just continued to soothe me from my tears, and with gentle touches on my shoulders and back, he had coaxed me into tranquility.

"Are you okay now?" He asked me after a few moments of letting silence take over the both of us, and I replied with a nod. He then took a deep breath before leaning back on the covers of my bed.

"Would you mind telling about what has you technically traumatized at this very moment?" He asked, and I looked at him, his back flat on my bed and his eyes closed.

"It's about the Skullbeater member who had me hostaged... Kai." I surprisingly found it in myself to reply, leaning back on my bed beside Taemin-sshi, where I had his arm as my pillow. I had used, and will perhaps always use the name, Kai because I remembered what he had said regarding his names.

"...That's how I'm called here in the brotherhood..."

"Oh. I haven't seen him clearly in person, though. But he's the second in command, if I remember correctly. " Taemin-sshi added, and I just kept silent for I don't know if he was correct or not.

"Waeyo? He tried something on you?" He asked me again, yet I couldn't answer.

DID that Kai-sshi try something on me?

I shook my head, wondering if I had answered correctly or not. He surely didn't try anything worthy of note to me like ual assault.

But he DID kiss me...

At that thought, tears once again sprang up my eyes and I began to shake again. Taemin-sshi took notice of this, I guess, for he sat up, pulled me into a sitting position, and held me once again in his embrace. My body seemed really cold, but I felt a warm presence very close to me... one of a familiar warmth and possessivenes.

I looked at Taemin-sshi, but the face that I see in him is of a different person.

However, I didn't find in myself the will to break free of the illusion.

A question lingered in my head as I looked into the dark orbs of Taemin-sshi... which reminded me of the eyes of someone else.

Why was I afraid of Kai-sshi?

= = =

I cannot deny it in myself. I might fear him, but at the same time, I must admit...

... I am fascinated by him.

When I first saw him again at the party, he had showed me a different side of himself. I never knew someone could be as chameleon-like as he was. One moment, he has a fierce and tough aura, and he holds you like you're someone precious the next.

I am confused by Kai-sshi.

He had that hopeless look in his eyes many times during the time I was with him. He had this certain gentleness in his actions when I was concerned. And he even covered for me when he told Myungsoo-sshi something else instead of telling the truth about the blood in the room. He could've chosen to spill everything and let me be beaten or by his gang leader.

But he didn't.

Had he dared to trust me when I let myself become vulnerable to him?

Did he actually... hope that I would let myself be held captive by him?

And to whom did he compare my eyes to?

Is he more of a human that I previously thought of him?

Taemin-sshi had alreaady released me and made me lie on the covers, with him sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. He silently watched me as I tried to close my eyes and let sleep take over me. But I couldn't let darkness invade my system.

I might have nightmares.

That's why when Taemin-sshi made a move to stand up and leave me... I held on to his arm and pulled him back to the bed. His eyes widened in confusion, but I just took his arms and wrapped it around my frame.

"Don't let go of me for tonight, please?" I whispered to his chest, and I found myself imagining a different man again when I felt a nod in reply.

Kai-sshi...

Tomorrow morning, I shall begin to despise you.

But just for this moment...

...I'll let myself give in to your spell.

= = = = = =

Important Note:

[credits for taemin pictures are given to fy!leetaemin. Taken from tumblr and google.]

[credits for chanho pictures are given to respective owners. Taken from google, tumblr, and 10mans.co.kr]

[credits for seunghyun pictures are given to respective owners. Taken from google, various wordpress accounts and photobucket.]

All pictures used are for the sake of clothing recognition and venue identification, which aids in better visualization of the story. The pictures are not mine, and I stake no claim on them. No copyright infringement intended. Were only re-uploaded for the sake of complation and assurance of long-lasting viewing activity. Thank you.