“Noona, the fire’s ready!”

Myungsoo watches with a small smile as she helps Baekhyun put in the meat. They are having an outdoor barbeque party, complete with sparklers and all that jazz. Myungsoo’s mentors were excited when he told them that he was going to bring Seohyun home, and they’d been planning the dinner for a week. This is what Myungsoo loves about his family, they are always excited to see one of the boys bring a friend (or girlfriend) home, and they try to be as warm and as kind to everyone as possible.

He watches as she cooks the meat and chats with Baekhyun. She has taken a liking to the younger boy, with good reason, too. Baekhyun is cheerful and kind and always smiling. Myungsoo is glad that she is brave enough to make another friend.

Before dinner, Baehyuk and Jinseok dragged Seohyun around the house to meet the boys, and she greeted every single one of them with a small smile. Then the boys decided to follow her one by one as she continued meeting more members of their family. First it had been only Baekhyun and Jinseok, with Myungsoo holding onto her hand, then Donggeun had joined them, then Heechul, and Jiho and Maru. Seohyun’s eyes had lit up as she recognized the young, dark skinned boy from the photograph in the living room. After she had been introduced to the boys at home, they sat down in the living room, watching TV and chatting. Or rather, Baekhyun talked, and the other boys joined in, and Seohyun smiled and listened.

Then the sun began to set and the remaining boys came home one by one, and Seohyun was introduced to more new faces, amongst them his quiet roommate Taekwoon. Tablo returned, with Dasom in tow, and the little girl’s face lit up as she saw Seohyun. Myungsoo smiled as Seohyun picked Dasom up and gave her a hug.

Now, the barbeque is in full swing. The fire crackles pleasantly as the smoke rises up into the night sky, bringing the scent of cooked meat into the air. A gentle breeze wafts through the trees lining the compound. The radio plays in the corner, adding background music to the chatter all around the backyard. Seohyun has a pair of tongs in her hand, and Baekhyun is teaching her how to toast bread.

Myungsoo’s breath catches in his throat when she suddenly turns around to give him a small smile. It was a tiny action, but he is stunned nonetheless, stunned by her beauty, both inside and out. He cannot believe that she is here, that she is his, and that he is hers. It seems too good to be true. His heart swells at the thought that they belong together, and Myungsoo feels invincible. He hasn’t felt invincible in a long time, perhaps never. This feeling beats drinking or smoking any day.

Getting up, be brushes the dirt off his pants before making his way to her, relieving Baekhyun of his barbequing duties with a soft “My turn,” to the younger boy. Baekhyun whines, sad that his time with his new noona has been cut short, but immediately hands over the tongs when Myungsoo gives him a silent glare. Seohyun bites back a chuckle.

“You,” she says, shaking her head as he stands beside her, flipping the bread around.

“Me,” he acknowledges, laughing at how happy she looks. The moment is perfect, like a scene from fairytale, a picture from a postcard. He wants to capture this moment in his heart forever.

“Come on,” he says, placing some food on a plate. “These are ready.” He calls Taekwoon and Jiho over, and the two boys take over the barbequing, so that Myungsoo can finally have some alone time with Seohyun. He hasn’t had the opportunity to talk to her alone since that time in his bedroom, for the boys were all excited to meet her and had not let her out of their sight ever since they were introduced. She had been dragged around by Baekhyun and Jinnie, then sat between the two rascals while watching TV, and then whisked off to be introduced to his mentors when they came back with ingredients for dinner. Myungsoo had barely enough time to grab onto her hand whenever the boys wanted to bring her somewhere. He just followed them, proud that his family is so accepting of Seohyun.

Taekwoon wordlessly takes the tongs from Seohyun, with just a tiny nod of acknowledgement, and Seohyun manages a small smile back. Taekwoon hardly talks—she’s heard him utter about five words since she met him—and she can’t help but find him slightly threatening, with his jet black hair, small eyes, and stern expression.

“Don’t worry,” Myungsoo says, taking her hand and leading her to the benches. “Taek’s actually pretty shy. He’s not good at meeting new people and it takes some time for him to warm up to them.” He gives her an encouraging smile, and she returns it with all her heart.

“How’re you holding up?” He says, as they dig into their food. She eats cautiously, picking at the pieces as if she’s not quite sure how to eat with her fingers. She sees him looking at her, and blushes.

“I’ve never done this before,” She confesses. “Never eaten with my fingers like this.”

He is astonished. “Never?”

She shakes her head, melancholy in her eyes, and Myungsoo just smiles.

“It’s fine. We’ll have lots more barbeques from now on, and you’re invited to all of them.”

--

It is soon almost ten at night, and Myungsoo has to bring Seohyun home. He knows that her father is away on a business trip, and that her mother always works late, so Seohyun isn’t pressured to return home early today. But he still feels that it’s best for him to bring her home soon, for the streets are dangerous, and although he knows that he can protect her, he’d rather have her home safe and sound before her mother returns and finds that her daughter is still out.

They make a round of goodbyes, and then another, thanks to Baekhyun’s reluctance to let Seohyun go. Dasom comes up to Seohyun and hugs her leg, and the elder girl bends down to pick the child up, cradling her in her arms how a mother cradles a child.

“Will you be back?” Dasom whispers to Seohyun, and although she doesn’t know it, the people around her stop breathing to listen to the little girl talk. It is rare that she talks to strangers, for she hardly uses her voice at all. To have Dasom asking Seohyun a question is so monumental, that everyone looks at each other in hushed silence. Tablo’s face lights up in a smile. Dasom has always been a timid girl, but she seems to be stronger when Seohyun is around.

“Yes,” Seohyun says softly, confidently. “I’ll come visit soon.” She places a kiss on Dasom’s cheek. “Or you can come visit me with Myungsoo anytime.”

The child nods in obvious delight, a tiny smile spread across her lips, and Seohyun kisses her again before putting her down.

“Thank you for the dinner,” Seohyun bows to everyone, her voice soft yet sure. Myungsoo cannot be prouder at that moment.

There is another chorus of goodbyes, before Myungsoo takes her hand and leads her down the road to catch the night bus.

The walk from the Home to the bus stop is fairly long, but the road is lit all the way with street lamps, and Seohyun doesn’t feel afraid, not with Myungsoo by her side. She leans closer into his side as he intertwines his fingers with hers, glancing down to give her a contented smile.

“Did you have fun?” He asks, and she nods, her eyes sparkling.

“Your family is beautiful,” she says. He catches the hitch in her breath, and he knows what she thinks.

“Hey,” he mumbles, catching her attention. “Don’t be sad.” She looks up at him, surprised that he could decipher her feelings. He chuckles. “Your parents have to work to make a living. Besides, there’s no need to feel lonely anymore, remember? I’ll always be here. You’re a part of this family now.”

Her heart cannot decide between stopping and pounding at a million beats a second. He is too perfect, too loving, and Seohyun does not know why he loves someone as imperfect as her. She never wants to let this feeling go, for with Myungsoo, she has felt the most content in all her eighteen years of life.

They stroll past the entrance of a park, which is empty safe for a few boys lounging on stone benches. Neither of them pay attention to the boys, until one of them lets out an incredulous laugh.

“Myungsoo?”

His ears perk up immediately, for he can recognize that voice anywhere. He turns sharply, towards the six boys on his right, and his eyes darken.

“Myungsoo!” The others follow the first boy’s cry, getting up to greet him. He pushes Seohyun behind him, but of course, it is too late and they have all already noticed him. His grip on her hand tightens.

One of the boys goes up to them, standing slightly in front of the others. He has spiky hair, small eyes and is obviously the leader.

“Fancy seeing you here, Myungsoo.” The boy gives him a polite nod of the head, and Myungsoo returns it with a short acknowledgement of, “Sungkyu.”

Sungkyu tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans, accessing Myungsoo, up, and down. Myungsoo has grown since leaving his gang. Where he was once scruffy and thin and gaunt, he now filled out properly, and he had lost that unkempt look about him.

“This is a surprise,” another boy speaks up, this one with big eyes and an oval face. Even from the distance, Seohyun could see that he towered over the rest.

“Indeed,” Myungsoo answers curtly.

His former friends laugh. Seohyun does not know what to make out of it; she cannot tell if they are genuinely good-natured or if their chuckles hold threats beneath them. She watches warily from behind Myungsoo’s shoulder.

“Come on,” Sungkyu says, spreading his hands out in a peaceful gesture. “Why so curt? Surely all those years of friendship have not gone down the drain.”

“You let me leave,” Myungsoo says suddenly, feeling like he is being caged in. The timing is horrible. He wouldn’t mind if he had met his former gang members while he was alone. He was worried for Seohyun, worried that she would be afraid by these threatening presences.

“It’s not like we found you on purpose,” one of them retorts back. That is true; they were just hanging around in the park when Myungsoo and Seohyun happened to pass by.

“So you’ll excuse me while we leave,” Myungsoo answers quickly, getting ready to pull Seohyun away from the danger.

“A moment,” someone calls. Myungsoo should have walked away, should have grabbed Seohyun and run, even, but years of having respected his fellow members cause him to stop out of habit. He curses internally.

“And who’s this lady with you?”

Myungsoo bites the inside of his cheek. It is the question he dreads the most.

“It’s none of your business,” he spits hastily, trying to keep a menancing front. Myungsoo can be quite fierce when he wants to, but now he is struggling to hold up that façade, when on the inside he really just wants to whisk Seohyun home safely, far away from these six men.

“I don’t mean any harm,” says the boy, who has taken quite a few steps towards them and is now standing scarily close to Myungsoo and Seohyun. He raises his shoulders in a shrug, drops his head, shaking it slightly, and laughs. “Forget it, Myungsoo.”

He gives them another nod, before turning away, Seohyun’s small hand tight in his.

But then he hears a squeak, and then Woohyun whispering, “Maybe if you could tell me your name, sweet thing…”

And Myungsoo loses all reason. His vision colours red and he lets out a feral snarl, pushing Seohyun behind him and twisting around to land a solid punch on Woohyun’s jaw. The elder boy falls back, not expecting the blow, and Seohyun can see that his eyes have darkened. He gets up from the ground, a smirk on his face as he cracks his neck. Like a wolf, Myungsoo snarls, his body bent in a half crouch, and is about to launch into another attack when Sungkyu pulls Myungsoo away.

“Enough.”

The single word from the leader is sufficient to stop them from attacking each other further. Myungsoo is trembling with barely controlled fury. How dare Woohyun, how dare that dirty scumbag touch his girl? He was going to pay for scaring her, he was going to pay for making her afraid and for daring to flirt with such a pure beautiful girl. Woohyun was scum and Seohyun was precious and Myungsoo just wanted to tear at the boy’s face in sheer fury. He was going to make him pay-

“Myungsoo.” Sungkyu’s stern voice brings him back to reality. Myungsoo turns, and sees Seohyun with her eyes wide, a hand pressed to . Immediately, he rushes back to her, enveloping her with his arms, as he tries to soothe her with his presence. His body is wrecked with guilt; he feels sorry that she has to see him this way, this out of control.

“You idiot,” Myungsoo turns to hear Dongwoo slapping Woohyun on the head. “Always causing trouble.”

“Apologise,” Sungkyu commands, and Woohyun, however cocky, has to obey his leader. Giving a small bow, he wipes at the corner of his lip and mutters a quick apology.

“Go,” Sungkyu then says. A small cry of dismay emanates from the youngest boy, as if he were disappointed that their reunion had to end this way. Myungsoo glances over at Sungjong, his brother in anything but blood, the only one out of the gang that he could still bring himself to call his brother, before taking Seohyun’s hand once again, and walking off, leaving his past behind.

______________

Not proof-read yet, but I really need to go study now.

Thank you for patiently waiting :)