When I woke the following morning, I was snuggled quite comfortably into Jonghyun’s warm embrace. Somehow during the night we must have inched even closer, my body fitting perfectly into the natural curve of his. He was still holding my hand, his other arm draped casually over my hip.

He was still sleeping, though his expression was troubled. He had too tight of a grip on me for me to even think about wriggling away, his breath warm as it ghosted over the back of my neck.

It wasn’t exactly the way I’d expected to wake up. Not now or ever. But I knew that this would bother him more than it did me, so I lay very still and pretended to be asleep until I felt him wake up on his own. I felt him shifting and stretching behind me as he crawled from the depths of sleep.

His body stiffened when he woke up enough to realize the intimate position we’d managed to get into during the night. He very carefully withdrew his arms, and I loosened my fingers so he could let go of my hand a bit more easily. I felt the mattress move as he got out of bed, followed by the soft click as the bathroom door shut.

I sighed and rolled onto my back, reaching for my handphone that was sitting on the nightstand. I didn’t know how long Jonghyun would take in the bathroom nor how much battery I had left on my phone without charging it overnight, so I needed to make this phone call as quickly as I could. I punched in one of my speed dials and waited for the call to be answered.

“Rae.” Yongguk’s deep voice failed to cheer me up for the first time ever. “What’s up? Why aren’t you in school?”

I took a deep breath. During the night, I had gone through every single option I had and this was the only one that had any chance of working – but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous about it. “Oppa, I have a favor to ask you,” I said grimly. “And it’s a very big favor.”

He chuckled nervously. He knew that if I was asking for something – which I very rarely did – it had to be something tremendously important. “Anything for you, Narae-yah. What’s going on?”

I kept my voice low; I didn’t want Jonghyun to accidentally overhear my conversation. “My friend’s father has been kidnapped by the Gongpo,” I explained grimly. “I have proof that they’re holding him in their basement room, and I don’t think they’ll keep him alive much longer. I need help getting him out.”

There was a long pause, and I could practically hear the wheels in Yongguk’s brain turning as he tried to figure out a way to diplomatically refuse my request. It was incredibly dangerous, after all. “I don’t know, Rae,” he finally sighed. “I don’t think it’s a very good idea for us to go picking fights with the Gongpo right now…”

“Please!” I practically begged, though I didn’t know why I cared so much. It wasn’t like Jonghyun had ever done anything for me.

Yongguk sighed again. I knew he hated saying no to me. It had always been that way with us, ever since we were kids. “Why have the Gongpo kidnapped this guy anyway?”

“He made a business deal with them and it went bad, from what I can figure out,” I explained, glancing over my shoulder anxiously. This conversation was taking far too long; Jonghyun would come out of the bathroom any minute.

There was another tense pause. “Look, Narae. You know I would do anything for you. But we’ll get in a lot of trouble if GD finds out we’re sticking our noses in Gongpo business for nothing and-”

“What if I can get you a reward?” I interrupted him, getting desperate.

He stopped mid-sentence. “What are you talking about?”

“This guy, the one who got kidnapped,” I explained breathlessly. “It’s Kim Yoohyun, oppa. He’s worth a fortune. I’m sure if we help him out, he’ll repay you. Generously.” I was going out on a limb here and I probably should have checked with Jonghyun first, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

There was another too-long pause, presumably while Yongguk weighed the pros and cons of getting involved. Eventually he gave in with a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. But there’s no way we can accept anything less than ten grand, Narae. GD will have our hides if we-”

“Ten grand is fine,” I cut him off impatiently, even though that sort of extreme sum was something I could hardly comprehend. “But it has to happen tonight, oppa. Okay?”

“Got it.” Yongguk was all business now, the way he got when important and dangerous things were going down. “If you’ll just give me the information-”

“I’ll give it to you in person,” I said shortly. “I’m coming too.”

And of course that’s when his big-brother mode decided to kick in. “No ing way, Narae. This is way too dangerous and I’m not going to let you-”

I interrupted him again. “Look, I’m the only one who knows exactly where they’re keeping Mr. Kim. And I can handle myself. I’m just as good as Zelo, if not better. We both know this. Besides, I’ve already gotten in and out once on my own. I’m coming and that’s final.”

He growled but didn’t press the matter; we both knew that I could be alarmingly stubborn when I wanted to be. “Meet me outside my apartment building at one o’clock,” he finally barked out. Even though I was sad that he was annoyed with me, I was relieved that he’d agreed to help.

“I’ll be there,” I answered. “Thanks, oppa.”

I had barely hung up the phone before the bathroom door swung open and Jonghyun stepped back into the bedroom. He was wearing baggy sweatpants that hung low on his hips and a v-necked t-shirt that stretched tight over his chest. I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. Since when had dino-face gotten so attractive?

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who was that?”

“A friend,” I answered evasively, not quite sure how much to reveal of my connections with the Tagyeog. “I’ve got a plan. We’re rescuing your father tonight. But it’s going to cost you. They want ten thousand dollars to do it. I told them that the amount would be okay.”

He didn’t even bat an eye at the gross amount. “That’s fine,” he said dismissively. “When and where are we meeting them?”

“I’m meeting them at one am,” I answered stiffly, still sitting in his too-big bed with his expensive sheets pulled up around my waist. Jonghyun’s shirt was too big on me, hanging askew to reveal one bare shoulder. “But you’re not coming with me.”

His dark eyes flashed dangerously in my direction. “If you think I am sitting this one out, Kitten, you are seriously delusional. This is my father we’re talking about. He may be a heartless bastard and a grade-A , but he’s still my father and I’m going with you. The end.”

It reminded me alarmingly of the argument I’d just had with Yongguk, so I chose not to press it. “Fine,” I gave in shortly. “Then we’re meeting them at one in my part of town.”

“Good,” he huffed, a little taken aback that I had given in to him so easily. I guess he, too, had figured out just how stubborn I could be. He hesitated, glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was just past eight in the morning. “I guess we should go back to bed and try to get some more sleep,” he finally suggested. “Since we’re going to be up all night.” I could tell from the way his voice shook that he was nervous about our plan.

I motioned to get out of the bed, his long shirt falling about mid-thigh on me. “I’ll just go to a guest room,” I offered quickly, thinking that he probably wanted his bed back and was regretting ever inviting me to stay the night.

“Lay the back down,” he growled, and I did so quite promptly. Jonghyun could be pretty scary at times, especially when he was stressed out like he was now. I snuggled back down into the pillows and he resumed his own spot.

For a while we lay unmoving, enough space between us for two more bodies to fit comfortably. Then he sighed and scooted closer, closing the distance between us. I felt his arms snake around my waist, drawing me flush against his hard body.

“If you tell anybody about this, I’ll ing kill you,” he growled threateningly in my ear.

My hands came to rest gently on top of his, letting my fingers play through his absently. “I won’t tell anyone,” I answered honestly. I knew all too well that sometimes, you just needed a bit of comfort. 

/le sob/ i want jonghyun TT.TT