audacious [ôˈdāSHəs] adj. - to be recklessly bold or daring

“Sehun, let’s talk,” Mihyun stated firmly as she stood in front of the male who was lounging across the bed reading a book. He glanced up at the girl and immediately averted his gaze, knowing exactly what the other wanted to talk about.

“I’m kind of busy right now, but you can try again later,” Sehun mumbled out as turned his back on Mihyun by flipping to his side.

Mihyun rolled her eyes at Sehun’s behavior and tugged at his upper arm to pull him back. “Sehun, come on.”

“No,” Sehun responded, refusing to obey the girl’s wishes. He yanked up the blankets to tuck around his body just for good measure.

Mihyun huffed out a loud sigh and climbed onto the bed hoping to get better leverage. “Sehun, don’t be such a child.”

“No, I’ll be a child all I want,” Sehun replied with crossed arms and pouty lips. “You can’t make me do anything.”

Mihyun blew a string of hair away from her face, and sat on the bed with folded legs. “If you’re not going to face me to talk, then I’m just going to talk to you like this.” She sighed when Sehun didn’t bother to respond, and poked at him gently with her foot.

“I want to talk to you about what happened yesterday,” Mihyun began slowly, gauging Sehun’s reaction from her only view of his back.

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say,” Sehun finally replied after a short period of silence. “I’m not listening.”

He didn’t have to hear her words to know what she wanted to tell him. She was just going to tell him how a relationship between the two wouldn’t work. How dangerous it would be in the eyes of society, and how hard a life they would have to lead. He didn’t want to hear it if he already knew it himself.

“Sehun I—”

“Mihyun, could I talk to you? It’s about the… trip,” Jaesuk called out as he popped his head into the room. His jaw dropped slightly when he observed the couple that was seated on the bed, and stuttered a continuation, “I-I me-mean, if-if you… you have t-time, anyways.”

Mihyun glanced back to Sehun’s still figure that continued to lay unmoving on the bed, and let out a quiet sigh. “No, it’s alright Jaesuk.” She uncrossed her legs and slid off the bed to head towards the other. “It’s not like we’re doing any talking here, anyways.”

Sehun winced at the harshness of Mihyun’s tone, but refused to budge from his position on the bed. The sound of her footsteps faded away, and the door closed shut to signal that she was gone. Despite her absence, Sehun continued to remain in that uncomfortable position on the bed, his bottom lip tucked into his mouth as he thought hard about what was to come.

He registered the click of the door reopening, and held his breath as light footsteps approached him, hoping that the girl hadn’t returned for another round of one sided talking.

He felt the bed dip beside him, and a hand reached out to gently shake his upper arm. Realizing that the new presence wasn’t Mihyun, he glanced over his shoulder to see the white board that Luhan was holding up.

What’s wrong?

There was a long pause of silence, in which both Luhan and Sehun held a steady gaze on each other.

“I told her that I liked her,” Sehun spoke into the open air as he stared up at the ceiling, his hands tucked behind his head. “Yesterday.”

He was met with silence and finally glanced over at his Hyung when the silence stretched on.

“I shouldn’t have done that, huh?” Sehun said flatly as he observed the elder’s expression.

Luhan stared at him uneasily before hesitantly nodding his head.

“But why?” Sehun huffed as he jolted up right in his seat. He crossed his legs and folded his arms as he turned to stare at his Hyung. “Why is it so wrong?”

Luhan bit down on his bottom lip as he gazed at the younger. The corners of Sehun’s lips drooped, and his eyes stared at him with such sadness and longing. Luhan stretched out an arm and patted Sehun’s head sympathetically, knowing, yet not knowing, what pain the younger must have been suffering emotionally. He pulled Sehun in for a tight hug and gently caressed the other’s back, silently reminding the younger that he would always be there for him.

“Hyung,” Sehun spoke softly, clinging to the front of Luhan’s shirt like a child would to his mother. “Why are people so cruel? If it doesn’t affect them, why can’t they just let others be happy?”

Luhan didn’t know what to tell him.

The room remained silent; the only sounds made consisted of the clicking of Mihyun’s keyboard and the whips of air from Sehun’s harsh page flipping. Luhan sat cross legged on his bed, turning his head from side to side to observe both of the room’s inhabitants. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he finally decided that he could no longer stand the tension between the two of them, and opted to seek out Jaesuk.

He threw a sock over at Sehun to catch his attention, and held up his board when Sehun glanced up.

Fix it!

 He made sure to toss Sehun a noticeably annoyed expression before gliding out of the room.

Sehun mentally scoffed at his Hyung. Did he really think that Sehun didn’t want to fix the problem between him and Mihyun? Well, he technically didn’t, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to sit in tense silence with him pretending to read a book that was way too complicated for him to comprehend.

He peeked up from his book to see Mihyun diligently typing into her key board. He open and closed his mouth multiple types, summoning up enough courage to speak just for a split second before it disappeared. He mentally scolded himself for being so cowardly. Just do it, Sehun!

“I’m going to be gone for a few days,” Mihyun spoke out suddenly.

“What?!” Sehun whipped the blankets off of his lap and sat upright to gape at the girl. “What did you just say?”

“I’m going to be gone,” Mihyun repeated, her eyes still trained on the document she had been in the midst of typing up. “For a few days.”

“Why?” Sehun jumped out of the bed and stomped over to the girl’s work area. He grabbed onto the top of her leather chair and spun her around in her seat, forcing her to pull away from her work. “Why are you going?”

“I have something I need to do,” Mihyun answered as she stared into the boy’s eyes without even an ounce of hesitation. “Out of town, and it’ll take me a few days.”

“What? What do you need to do? Is it for the rebellion? You don’t have to leave for the rebellion, you don’t have to do that for them,” Sehun responded without even thinking about what he was saying.

Mihyun raised an eyebrow at his selfish words, “It’s not for the rebellion.”

“Then is it…” The inside of Sehun’s mouth suddenly went dry, and he swallowed hard before muttering his next words, “Is it because of me?”

Mihyun glanced up in surprise, and frowned at the hurt that was swimming through Sehun’s eyes. She lifted a hand and pressed it gently against Sehun’s warm cheek, “No, it’s not because of you. It’s because of me.”

“Are you leaving to try to erase your feelings for me? To try to get me to forget my feelings for you?” Sehun whispered slowly, his heart clenching painfully from the words that spilled from his lips.

There was a moment of silence, and Sehun allowed his fears to get the best of him.

“No,” Mihyun responded firmly. She cupped his chin and forced him to look at her. “That’s not why I’m leaving, Oh Sehun. So get that out of your head this instance.”

“Then why?” Sehun whispered as he stared back at her, insecurities swimming through his eyes. “Why are you leaving?”

“Just… just trust me, okay?” Mihyun asked after a pause. “Trust me, Sehun. I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”

Sehun opened his mouth to argue, but the look in Mihyun’s eyes told him not to even bother. He could trust her, couldn’t he? He’d have to.

“When are you leaving?” Sehun asked as he pulled away from her so their bodies weren’t within such a close proximity. There was another pregnant silence, and Sehun let out a soft, bitter chuckle. “Tonight? You’re leaving tonight, aren’t you?”

Sehun knew he was right when she didn’t respond. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and chuckled at the sight of her expression. “Don’t look like that,” he sighed as he disheveled the front of her hair. “You don’t have to look so guilty.”

“I was going to tell you earlier,” Mihyun mumbled as she stared down at her fidgeting fingers. “I just didn’t know how.”

He crouched down to be at eye level with her and pressed his finger against her cheek. “You have to finish your work as quickly as possible and come back to us, okay? We can’t work without you, you know that.”

“Yeah,” Mihyun murmured under her breath, already beginning to regret her decision to leave. “Maybe I should just—”

“Yah, if you’re going to abandon your trip now, then you would have made me suffer through those horrible past 5 minutes for nothing,” Sehun scolded as he nudged her forehead with his forefinger.  He turned around and began to walk back to the bed in what he hoped was a cool manner. “Will Jaesuk be going with you?”

“No,” Mihyun answered as she stood up from her chair to stretch.

Sehun spun quickly around on his heels with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean no?”

“I need Jaesuk to stay here and watch over you guys,” Mihyun responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I can’t trust anybody else to.”

Sehun rolled his eyes and plopped down on the side of the bed, “We’re not children, Mihyun. You might remember that Luhan and I are older than you by a couple of years.”

“Mm, maybe I phrased it wrong,” Mihyun replied thoughtfully as she tapped her chin. “I need him to watch over my Appa.” Her eyes flashed dangerously and she added bitterly under her breath, “I don’t know what kind of stunts he’s going to try to pull if I’m not here to protect you guys.”

“Then who’s going to protect you on your trip?” Sehun asked with narrowed eyes. “I mean, Jaesuk Hyung makes me feel nervous because he’s kind of good looking, but if he has to stay with you to protect you then I’m all for it! How can you go off alone without him?”

“You think Jaesuk’s good looking?” Mihyun asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Is that the only thing I said that you heard?” Sehun scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

“I’m more than capable of protecting myself, Sehun,” Mihyun smiled at the other’s thoughtfulness. “But if it makes you feel better I’ll be traveling with an… acquaintance of mine.”

“No that makes me feel worse, actually,” Sehun responded without skipping a beat. “Who is this acquaintance?”

“Yixing, or Lawyer Zhang,” she answered as she began saving her documents to shut down her computer. “I’ve known him since we were children, and he’s helped me through some rough times.”

“So he’s a man?” Sehun asked with folded arms and a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I feel about that?”

“I would if I cared,” Mihyun replied as she fumbled with the clasp of her bag. She glanced up at him, “But I don’t.”

“You guys act like a married couple already,” Jaesuk chuckled as he leaned against the door banister. He glanced cautiously between the couple and deemed it safe enough to intrude. “It’s time to go, Agashi. Are you ready?”

“Are you really not going to go with her?” Sehun demanded with narrowed eyes as he stared at Jaesuk.

The latter male held his hands up in defense, “I’m just as upset as you are, Sehun, but Agashi refuses to let me go.” He eyes Sehun out of the corner of his eye with a knowing smile. “It looks like she values you and Luhan more than she does herself.”

Luhan pushed his way past Jaesuk who was blocking a majority of the doorway, and held up his white board with a frown. Are you really leaving?

“I’ll be back quickly, Luhan,” Mihyun smiled as she tiptoed to ruffle the front of the boy’s hair affectionately. “Make sure you keep an eye on Sehun, he seems to like making trouble.”

“Yah!” Sehun cried out in protest.

Luhan let out a silent giggle, and the side of her arm affectionately. I’ll miss you.

“And I’ll miss you too,” Mihyun smiled warmly as she pulled the boy down so she could press a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll see you soon, Luhan.”

“Hey,” Sehun coughed under his breath as he tugged at the back of Mihyun’s sleeve. He coolly turned to the side and tucked his hand into his front pocket when Mihyun turned to look at him. “Aren’t you going to say bye to me?”

“Oh,” Mihyun stared blankly at the boy’s hopeful expression. “Bye.”

Sehun’s jaw dropped when she turned to leave, and decided to discard his pride and pull her back. He wrapped his hand around her wrist to forcefully prevent her from moving further. “Yah!”

Jaesuk smacked him on the back of his head, “Who do you think you’re saying yah to?”

“You really are such a child behind your cold exterior, aren’t you Sehun,” Mihyun smiled fondly as she brushed her knuckle against the boy’s cheek. She slid her arms around his waist and squeezed them tightly around his torso. “I’ll see you soon, Sehun,” Mihyun murmured as she buried her face into his chest, taking a final breath of his unique scent.

“Jaesuk is going to drop me off at Lawyer Zhang’s house, so I will see you all in a few days, okay? Please be safe, and you can call me with Jaesuk’s phone if you need to speak to me,” Mihyun smiled as she gave each of them an affectionate squeeze. She picked up her laptop bag and slung it across her shoulder. “Let’s go, Jaesuk.”

“Wait, Hyung,” Sehun called out as he held onto Jaesuk’s upper arm.

“Hm?”

“This Lawyer Zhang guy, is he okay? Will he be able to protect Mihyun properly? Do you like him?” Sehun asked with his lips curved into a frown.

Jaesuk scoffed and side eyed him, “I don’t even like you.”

“Fair enough,” Sehun shrugged. “But can I trust him to watch over Mihyun?”

There was a small pause before Jaesuk nodded his head. “Yeah, we can trust him to take care of her.”

The corner of Sehun’s lips curved up slightly, and he released his hold on the older man. “Okay, Mihyun should be waiting for you.”

Jaesuk nodded his head and gave Luhan a small wave before heading down to meeting his Agashi.

“I’m trusting you, Jaesuk,” Mihyun murmured when he climbed into the driver seat of the car. “I’m trusting you to take care of Sehun and Luhan with your life. I know it’s unfair of me to ask you to do so, but I’m going to do it anyways.”

“And I wouldn’t expect anything else, Agashi,” Jaesuk nodded his head as he stared the car. “I’ll make sure to keep a watchful eye on both of them.”

“The Noye house won’t let them in because they’re not with me, so it scares me that they’re going to have to stay inside the house all the time. You have to take care of them, especially… especially against my father,” Mihyun spoke softly.

“You can count on me, Agashi,” Jaesuk smiled at her through the review mirror.

Mihyun bit down on her bottom lip as she turned to stare out the window, her small hands tightly clumps of her dress. She would try to finish her trip as soon as possible, and was grateful that Yixing had agreed to travel with her as the Han Corp lawyer. In the few days she would be gone, however, she feared that her father would seek out Sehun or Luhan, or both of them. She knew that Jaesuk would put his all into protecting them like he would with her, but even somebody as great as Jaesuk wouldn’t stand a chance against her father if he was eager enough to pursue his desire.

She let out a shaky breath and silently prayed that her boys, all three of them, would stay safe during her absence. Hopefully, she could muster all the luck she had together and pray that her father would leave the boys alone.

“President Han would like to see you.”

There was the sound of a slight thud as Luhan’s white board hit the bed. His now empty hands began to shake as his eyes darted to Sehun who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“What does he want to do with Sehun?” Jaesuk asked with narrowed eyes, placing his book down on the table to go to Sehun's side. He mentally cursed their foul luck. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since Mihyun’s departure and her father was already seeking out one of the two boys.

“I don’t believe that is any of your business,” the guard responded without even glancing at the other. “Come Noye, he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Normally Sehun would have growled at the way the man called for him as if he was the lowest scum on the earth, but he was honestly too frightened to do so. What did Mihyun’s father want to do with him? He knew what the man was capable of, for he had never failed to show off the power he held in society in the cruelest of ways.

“I’m going with him,” Jaesuk growled as he took a protective stance in front of Sehun.

“No, you have to stay with Luhan,” Sehun managed to mumble out as he gently pushed the other aside so he could step forward.

Jaesuk turned to him with an incredulous expression plastered across his face. “Sehun, I’m not going to—”

“Please hyung,” Sehun pleaded as he wrapped his fingers around Jaesuk’s wrist. “Stay with Luhan.” His gaze traveled to his hyung who was already beginning to shake in his seat, and he swallowed hard to recollect himself. He forced a smile onto his face and gave Luhan a small wave, “I’m going to go talk with Mihyun’s father for a little, okay Lu? I’ll be right back.”

He trained his gaze back on Jaesuk and gave him a firm, tight lipped nod. “I have to go see what the President wants now. Take care of Luhan.”

“Follow me,” the guard nodded as he turned around to head out of the room.

Sehun reluctantly turned to follow, but stopped when a hand gently grabbed his upper arm. He turned slightly back to see Jaesuk staring intently at him with hesitation.

“Try not to get hurt,” Jaesuk offered after a pause of silence. “Because Agashi will kill both of us if you do.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sehun responded dryly.

Jaesuk released his hold on him and gave him a small nod. “You better go catch up or he’ll come back and forcefully drag you to President Han’s office.”

Sehun gulped, “Thanks for the heads up.”

Jaesuk clapped him on the back and gently pushed him out, “Stay safe.”

Sehun could feel his palms begin to sweat as he climbed up the spiral staircase to the third floor of the house. He had never been to this area of the house, for Mihyun’s bedroom was on the second floor so that was as far as he needed to travel.

His heart was nearly beating out of his chest by the time they finally arrived, and Sehun wiped his sweat palms against his jeans as the guard knocked on the door to signal their presence.

Sehun’s heart stuttered in its bats when a voice on the other side of the door called for them to come in, and Sehun took a slow, deep breath before stepping inside. The room was brightly light, for the curtains were all pulled open to reveal the bright sun of the afternoon.

‘Good,’ Sehun thought. ‘Now people will be able to see if he decides to beat me.’ He paused for a few seconds. ‘Although it’s not like they would care.’

“Noye,” Chando spoke out in a loud, authorities voice. “Aren’t you going to greet me first?”

Sehun’s eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly lowered his head into a 90 degree bow. “I apologize for my rudeness, sir, I m-mean Pre-President.” Sehun winced at his mistake, and he remained with his upper body completely parallel to the floor before Chando finally spoke up.

“That’s enough, boy, come sit here.”

Sehun immediately stood up straight, and he stared at the chair in front of Chando’s desk that he was gesturing to.

“I… Please excuse me,” Sehun mumbled as he nervously took his seat in the respective chair.

“I think you know why I’ve called you here today, boy,” Chando spoke as he took a bite out of the sandwich he had been in the middle of eating.

“I... n-not really, Si- President Han,” Sehun responded nervously, training his gaze on the crumbs that littered the top of his desk.

“Will you not look at me when I speak to you?” Chando snapped.

Sehun’s head immediately darted up, and he swallowed hard as he stared at Chando, “Forgive my rudeness, President.”

“That’s better,” Chando nodded as he drummed his fingers against the polished desk. “I called you here today because I want to offer you a proposition, Noye.”

Sehun gazes at him with furrowed eyebrows of confusion, “I don’t understand what you mean, President Han.”

Rather than answering, Chando picks out a piece of bread that got stuck in between his teeth as he rummaged around his desk with his free hand. He pulls out a long, thick envelope, and slides it over to Sehun.

Sehun didn’t even need to look inside to know what the envelope consisted of.

“1 million won,” Chando stated as he tapped his hand against the large white envelope. “I will give you one million won to run away with that other Noye, one million won to start your lives somewhere else far away from my daughter.”

Sehun’s mouth went dry. Was he honestly offering him money? He was offering him money to stay away from Mihyun? Part of Sehun was actually rather grateful. The man could have easily beat both him and Luhan to the brinks of death as a warning to stay away, but rather than that Chando had offered him financial compensation.

Chando must have known what he was thinking, because he then continued with, “You should be grateful, Noye, that I am even offering such an amount to somebody as low as you.”

The other half just wanted to punch him across the face.

“I… I don’t believe I can take this, President,” Sehun replied as he slowly pushed the envelope back to Chando. He gripped the handles of his chair and began to push himself up and out of the seat, “If that’s all you have to say, then—”

“You will sit until I tell you to leave!” Chando ordered in a loud, demanding voice.

Sehun clenched hard on his teeth and slowly sank back into his seat.

“I thought you would be stupid and decline,” Chando stated as he pulled the envelope back to tuck into his drawer. “You should have just taken it, but now you have to turn me into the bad guy, don’t you, Noye?”

He lets out a drawn out sigh as if it hurts him to say what he does next, “I will hurt you, Noye. I will hurt you and all those other damn Noyes if you don’t listen to what I say. I will hurt Mihyun, if you don’t listen to what I say. If you don’t obey my wishes. You might think I’m bluffing when I say I’d hurt my own daughter, but I think you should know well enough that I don’t bluff, Noye.”

“I believe you will do everything you say, President,” Sehun nodded in response. “But my answer is still no. I don’t mean any disrespect, President, but I highly doubt you will be able to lay even a scratch on Mihyun. You and I both know that she is capable of doing amazing things, things that will far surpass anything you will ever be capable of doing.”

A small voice in the back of Sehun’s head was telling him to shut the hell up and beg for forgiveness while he still could, but he decided to ignore it for now.

“As for myself… well, you can go ahead and hurt me. I… Life for me would be far worse than not being able to be by her side than it would being beat every day,” Sehun murmured as he pictured the girl’s face in his head. A warning bell went off in his head, and he immediately continued with, “That’s the job of a Noye, President. Since the second we are bought, we must dedicate our lives to our owners and not allow our emotions to take any role in our actions.”

Chando stared at the Noye in front of him and gritted his teeth together in annoyance. Just how stubborn did he plan to be in the face of a president? Deciding that his second approach didn’t work, he decided to go for his last and final one.

“Don’t try to fool me, Noye, I know you and my daughter have a relationship that borders being romantic, and if you think I will stand by and allow such an atrocity to happen, you sure as hell thought wrong! If you really love her with your so called love, then you will leave her. You will leave her because that is what is best for her,” Chando growled as he stared sharply into Sehun’s eyes. “Do you know what would happen if she chooses to be with you?”

Sehun holds his breath.

“Nothing,” Chando spat. “Actually worse than nothing because she’ll lose everything. She’ll lose everything and then she will become nothing. She will become meaningless, because there is no place in this world for Noyes to associate themselves with people of higher class. You will ruin her, do you understand? You will destroy her life. She will never be able to build her career back up, she will never be able to lead a normal life, and that will be all your fault.”

Sehun’s mouth went dry, and he clenched his fists so tightly he could feel jolts of pain rush through his hands. He remained silent for a few minutes, and Chando leaned back in his chair with a victorious smirk, knowing that his final rounds of attack must have gotten into Sehun’s head.

If this Noye loved his daughter as much as he thinks he does, then how would he be capable of bearing the responsibilities and guilt of destroying her future?

“You’re wrong,” Sehun whispered quietly.

Chando’s eyes flashed in alarm, “What did you say?”

“I said you’re wrong,” Sehun repeated himself in a firmer tone. “Mihyun is stronger than that, you would know if you paid more attention to her. She wouldn’t let this destroy her; she’d only allow it to make her stronger. She… she’s not a coward. She’s not a coward like the rest of us.”

He swallowed hard and glanced up at Chando with hard eyes. “And I won’t leave her. You said it yourself, right? Noyes are the scum of the earth, and you can’t get any lower than that, so why not add being selfish into the description? You thought I would leave her for her own good, but what if I don’t care? What if I don’t care about her own good? What if I’m selfish enough to let her own good break into pieces as long as it means that I can stay by her side?”

“I’m a selfish man,” Sehun stated as he stood up in his seat, the legs of his chair scraping against the wooden floor as he pushed it back. “I’m the most selfish, lowest scum on the face of the earth. I am a Noye. I am poor, I am stupid, and I won’t be able to provide any type of benefit for your daughter. But I won’t leave. Even if you have to kill me and drag my body away, I still won’t leave.”

He bowed a stiff 90 degrees, “I apologize for my rudeness today, President. I don’t want my measly existence to take up anymore of your time, so I will leave you alone now. Good day to you.” Sehun was out of the room before the President could even open his mouth to respond.

Sehun let out a shaky breath as he leaned his back against the cold, wooden door. Half of his was proud that he was capable of standing up to a man as intimidating as Chando, but the other half was basically damning himself to the pits of hell.

He knew his words wouldn’t go without consequence, and he was a idiot to have lost control and let them escape his lips.

He meant every single word he had said, however. He wasn’t willing to let Mihyun go without a fight, and he was willing to sacrifice everything he had if it meant that he could remain by her side.

His fists unclenched and his heart stung with pain as he sadly stared down at his bloody, crescent engraved palms. He just wasn’t sure if Mihyun was willing to do the same.