"What?!" Jonghyun hyung exploded, "Are you being serious?"

I nodded, "Unfortunately."

My brothers sat before me, each with a dumbfounded look on their face. We silently glanced around at each other, assuring ourselves that this was real and that this was really happening. After a good five minutes of silence, Key hyung some air through his teeth and asked, "Can they really do this?"

I slammed a fist against my thigh, "That's exactly what I thought! But they keep blackmailing me with abeoji's health problems. I wish there was something I could do to stop all this!"

"What about the company?" asked Onew hyung.

"They companies are supposed to combine into one afterwards, and all our money problems would be over," I responded.

"Are you going to go through with it?" Minho hyung was curious.

I stared at him, a bit offended, "Of course I'm not!"

"Then how are you planning to get yourself out of this?" Jonghyun hyung frowned.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, "I don't know. Make the girl hate me, I guess."

"What if that doesn't work?" Key hyung added.

I jumped up threw my hands in the air yelling in frustration, "I don't know hyung! I don't freaking know! The last thing I want to do is think about this!"

They pleaded for me to calm down and we sat in silence for a while. This time Minho broke it with a daring question, "What about Laila?" My head snapped towards Minho and I stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch and his eyes grew wary, "What are you going to tell her?" I looked away and placed my head in my hands. I inhaled deeply a couple of times before I opened my eyes and looked at all of them, "I don't want her to find out just yet. Please. I want to be the first to tell her. But give me time."

Minho's eyes widened and he began to argue, "So you're going to lie to her?!"

"I don't want to hurt her hyung!" I hissed, "This is all too much! Too sudden!"

"She doesn't deserve this Taemin!" he frowned.

"So what?" I crossed my arms, "Are you going to tell her hyung? Are you going to betray me?"

Minho's expression remained alarmed and angry for a few seconds but it fell with a deep sigh, "No. Of course not."

"Why don't we all just go to bed?" Onew hyung suggested, "It's been a very long and eventful day, we're all just tired, and we need rest." The rest of us agreed and we parted ways. Half-awake I stumbled into my dark room and closed the door behind me. I carefully tried to picture what my room would look like if it was lit up and tried to make my way to bed. As I walked I slipped out of my pants and lifted my shirt over my head. I set my phone on silent because I was planning to sleep for days. A smile crept up on my face as I lifted the covers of  my bed and slipped inside. I was so happy to be home and away from the hell hole. After slipping under the covers I began to move around and comfort myself. 

Then my behind met with something. I gasped and sat up. After turning on a bedside lamp, I could make out a body underneath the covers, lying next to me. I carefully tiptoed out of bed and around it. Kneeling over beside the bed, I carefully stripped the covers off of the body, until a face was revealed. A lovely, angelic face. Laila's cheek was squished on her side against the bed and her lips were slightly parted as she slept. There was a small wrinkle between her eyebrows and I wondered if she was having a bad dream. I tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and watched her sleep while sitting on the floor beside her. Constant thoughts of guilt running in my head over and over again.

Minho was right. She did not deserve this. But I'm afraid I'll lose her for good this time. I can't help but keep this between me and my hyungs. I let my head fall in my hands and sighed in defeat. No matter how much I argue with myself, I can't let Laila go. I will keep Laila by my side. No matter who or what gets in my way. Determined, I stood up and claimed my former place on the bed. I turned off the lamp and fell asleep hugging her closely from behind. 

As I regained consciousness, I could feel the sun sting my eyes. Laila's finger began to trace over my skin lightly from my cheek to my jaw. When her finger reached my lips, I puckered them and lightly kissed it. She giggled softly and I felt a smile take over my face. I slowly lifted my eyelids and meet her big, light brown eyes.

"Good morning," I said quietly.

She smiled and placed both her hands underneath her cheek, "You're here."

I her cheek gently, "Well this is my room after all."

Laila swatted my hand away and smiled playfully, "You know what I mean, pabo."

I chuckled lowly, "I missed you." I pulled her closer to me and kissed her forehead. She pouted and leaned her face up to mine. Amused, I stood still and watched her pouting face, teasing her. After realizing I wasn't going to kiss her, she scoffed and settled back down in my arms. 

"What's that?" she asked. I frowned and wondered what she was talking about until I felt her knee press against my morning .

I suppressed an grunt and answered with a smirk, "Morningwood."

Laila moved back and looked at my face. Her cheeks became pink in a matter of seconds and she then she sat up on the bed. My lips parted into a smile as I reached out to touch her hand, "You're so cute!"

Laila remained seated with her back towards me. Worried, I sat up next to her and asked if everything was alright. As she turned to answer me I saw that she was concealing a smile and that her cheeks were tinted red. Bemused and a little , I placed my hand gently on her shoulder and fixed it so that her shoulder was revealed.

I it gently with my finger and I heard her breathing hitch. I pressed my lips on it and lightly her shoulder, "We can make love if you want."

Laila cleared and shrugged me off of her shoulder, "It's too early for that." I ignored her rejection and began to kiss her neck. She tilted her head to the opposite side and intertwined her fingers with my hair. I gently pushed her back against the bed and began to the spot on her neck that I was kissing. She moaned in response and shifted her body towards mine. As I was finally sure that we were going to have , she pushed me away and sat up.

Annoyed and confused my voice rose up, "What are you doing?"

She turned to me and smirked, "I'm going to go freshen up." Laila then got up, and promenaded into my bathroom. I laid down on my bed, stumped and filled with rejection. I wondered if I should go back to sleep but had an epiphany as I heard the shower turn on. 

Smiling, I got out of bed and quietly made my way to the shower.