Baekhyun turned to face you. Your nose was crinkled, your brows furrowed. You were whimpering which meant you were screaming in dreamland. He sighed. He pulled you closer to his chest and your whimpering reduced. He placed his forehead on the crown of yours. He knew this was coming. He warned, talked you over and even stopped you from ever seeing Yongguk. The only one time you ignored him and never took his word for it.

"Miyoung, please. Can you not live with him?” Baekhyun begged, holding tightly

You flicked his hand away. “Stop it with the rumours about Yongguk hitting his girls. Just stop it! He treated me well all this time. I now what I’m doing so leave me alone!”

He sighed. You left in such a rush that you left his birthday present to you on the table. It was a watch which had a pager installed. Yeah it was old fashioned but Baekhyun knew how Yongguk was with his girls. He wanted you to alert him when those days come. He knew how ‘protective’ he was with his girls. It wasn’t rumours he heard, it was recounts told by his previous girlfriends themselves.

Most of his relationships ended badly. Whether physically or emotionally, all of them resulted in the female to willingly leave. Yongguk was referred to as the man who can’t be controlled. Especially when he is intoxicated, his mind would be totally out of the norm. He was never normal to begin with actually. He actually seemed to enjoying watching others suffer very much. No one knows why exactly he did those horrendous doings. Not even his parents.

Contrary to Baekhyun’s theory of him being brought up like that, Yongguk’s parents were down-to-earth and stayed by the motto, ‘Treat others how you want to be treated’. They only heard about his impulsive behaviour through his second girlfriend who moved in with him. They became very concerned and consistently worried about their youngest son. Every single time, he somehow managed to lure the parents into allowing their daughters to move with him. They all had a good first impression of him; they thought he was as innocent as an angel, so polite. But as looks can be deceiving and people are not what they seem to be, he was a devil to those ladies. A devil’s devil perhaps.

Baekhyun heaved a sigh. “I tried to protect you.” He never wanted it to end you this way but he was glad you ran before you were gone forever. Unknowingly to even Baekhyun himself, you were sleeping peacefully in his embrace.

You felt the sun shining on you and your eyes fluttered open. That was the first time you’d ever sleep in comfort. You couldn’t even recall the last time you actually had peace. You blinked twice.  You had fallen asleep in his room when you’re supposed to leave.

This was what you hated about yourself. ‘This’ was your one and only weakness; being too naïve. And though this was Baekhyun, you shouldn’t have trusted him so easily, you thought.

“I hate seeing myself break down; I have nowhere to depend on now. Why am I withering away like a fool every day? “You mumbled as you hugged yourself.

So you sat there, realising with these tears rolling down from your eyes how stupid you were.

Months passed yet you’d never let the past go. The scars disappeared but the memories didn’t. Although you slowly opened up to the world, that bitter memory was holding you back. Baekhyun stayed by your side the whole time. He comforted you; made sure you were emotionally well and caught you every time you fell. He tried to make you forget, but forgetting what was permanently left behind was difficult.

Baekhyun took the liberty to explain your situation to your parents. It took him quite some time to convince them that their daughter was physically and mentally scarred. He took you out on certain occasions but always made sure no one recognised you. The once confident woman he knew had turned into a timid mouse that even the slightest touch could bruise.

You knew Yongguk was hot on his heels. He had his ways to get to you; he could locate you faster than anybody else. Baekhyun was contacted at least once a month by Yongguk to check if he knew your whereabouts. He would call again and again until Baekhyun picked up. He had a hunch that you were with Baekhyun but wasn’t sure enough to say you were. Until that day.

You were tagging behind Baekhyun as he suggested shopping for you. The usual Saturday afternoon crowd had Baekhyun constantly reminding you to walk closer to him. However, out of the blue, you’d hear your name being repeated. You kept glancing around yet everyone else are minding their own business. And you kept losing Baekhyun whenever you did that.

“Miyoung. Stay close okay? I know you’re still afraid to get nearer to me, but stay close,” Baekhyun kept repeating. You nodded and took swift strides behind him. As he lined up to buy some street food, you heard your name again but this time, louder and sounded so much closer. You turned around to find the source and the crowd was as though pulling you with them.

You became a little claustrophobic after living almost three years cooped up in a small area. Everywhere around you were unknown people moving back and forth rapidly. Your knees were wobbly, standing up was torturous. Yet your name was called back and forth from either sides.

Someone tugged on your hand hard from the back and your body plunged to the ground. You turned behind to look and saw a familiar face right behind you. You wanted to get away so badly but your body seemed to have glued itself onto the ground.

"Hey, baby. Nice to see you again,” Yongguk whispered in your ear. You couldn’t look at him; not even his shoes. He helped you up and brought you to the side. Your whole body was shivering not from the cold, but of fear. You desperately needed Baekhyun. Yell his name out or even have the courage to hit Yongguk and run.

Yongguk reached out for your hands but you shoved his away. He tried to brush away the hair covering your face yet you moved away from him. Anyone could see that you were in no agreement with Yongguk. You tried to block his voice and the stares you garnered as he ‘apologised’ to you.

“Miyoung. Oh god. I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Are you okay?” Baekhyun ran up to you, taking you in an embrace. He knew Yongguk was there and it was better to leave him alone than to kick up a fuss. However, Yongguk didn’t.

Yongguk grabbed you by the shoulders and pull you away from Baekhyun. He cussed and tried to slap Baekhyun but the latter was strong. People from all sides gathered to watch the brawl. The ladies at the nearby food stalls scampered away from the scene in fear of getting injured.

Baekhyun stood and keep still. There was no use in hitting him back but Yongguk found that to be retaliation and arrogance coming from his emotionless reaction. You couldn’t talk; to even scream was hard. Baekhyun once again stuck his hand out to take you away. He wasn’t happy but anything was better than putting up a fight with the beast.

Yongguk, out of vexation, threw one of his shoes and hit spot on Baekhyun’s head. “THAT’S MY GIRL. MY GIRL YOU’RE TAKING AWAY. YOU HAVE NO ING RIGHTS TO DO SO,” he yelled. By this time, everyone had already sided you and the men around the area tried holding Yongguk back in fear of him going on a rampage.

You felt Baekhyun clutching your arms tightly. The impact from the shoe was stinging and furthermore, he hated men like Yongguk. Agitated, he was tempted to even the score by leaving a bruise on his face. You tugged his arm, indicating it was better to leave.

The sudden arrival of the police had panicked Yongguk. He twirled left and right in attempt to run away. Which was so stupid because if he didn’t do wrong why run? He was cuffed and taken away as a wanted man. He had a report filed against him for the abuse of women and misuse of security guards.

Sentenced off for 5 years. “You’ll be fine Miyoung. Don’t think of him anymore okay?” Baekhyun hugged you as you both watched reminisces of him being burnt away.

I think I prefer oneshots better? Sorry for a month's wait. :(