Poster by en-deer-ing

13/06/2015: Since this was the chapter that I posted on the day TBBC got featured, I didn't want to add to the already lengthy a/n at the bottom, so I'm just going to do it here.

1. To those of you rereading (and, I guess, to those of you reading this for the first time), I'd just like to say that once TBBC has finished reposting, there will be a 4500-5000 bonus chapter going up, sort of like a second epilogue.  Good reason to hold on, right?

2. As I'm going through tidying TBBC up for typos, I decided today that I'm also going to be removing most a/ns.  Some will stay if there's a particular occasion I put it up for, or if the information in them is relevant, and I won't be getting rid of the birthday well wishes or anything.  I will also still be crediting the posters in each chapter if they're not the cover one done by Yifanforever, but I just wanted to neaten up the clutter and some of the a/ns are rather long.

Happy reading!

“I think we should get out of the house,” Xiumin muttered around a stifled yawn.  “The temperature is getting ridiculous.”

He’d actually resorted to a cold salad and ice cream for lunch, and the latter was melted almost faster than either of them could eat it.  Semi itched at the strap of her tank top as she considered, but it seemed like a good idea, so she agreed.  But not before making a mental note to ring Jongin and curse him out.  She had a feeling he’d only laugh, though.

The contrast between the apartment and the outdoors wasn’t even funny.  It was so cold Semi felt like she’d walked into a wall of ice, even with three thick layers of clothing.  Both of them were silent as Semi let Xiumin take the lead and they headed off to the nearest park.

It was a few minutes before either of them spoke.  Xiumin was the first to break the silence, turning and beckoning to her.

“Come on, keep up.  We should walk together.”

Semi quickened her pace to come up alongside him.

Xiumin tucked his hands into his pockets.  “How’s university going?” he asked, taking her by surprise.

“So-so,” Semi answered with a shrug.  “Some of the lectures are really dull.  And I have a lot of holiday work.”

“Do you reckon you’re going to have a couple of days where work won’t be necessary?”

Semi frowned.  “Why?”

“Christmas is coming.  You need a break, and it would be nice to do something fun together out of the apartment.”

Semi wasn’t totally sure how she felt about going somewhere alone with Xiumin, and he seemed to gather that from her expression.

“It’s not like I’m going to do anything to you,” he added.  “I’ve already told you I’m too closely watched to get away with that, even if I wanted to.”

“That doesn’t really make me very confident, you know,” she grumbled.  Xiumin chuckled.

“I have to admit you’re taking your whole situation much better than I thought you would when the police first proposed this to me.”

Semi’s curiosity got the better of her.  “Why?  What were you expecting me to be like?”

Xiumin took a few moments to consider.  “I don’t know,” he admitted.  “But not like this.  More talkative, I guess?  Or more afraid of me.  And significantly less mature.”

Semi stopped walking with a blush colouring her cold cheeks.  “M-mature?” she stuttered.  She couldn’t really think of anything she’d done that was mature.

Xiumin pursed his lips as he also came to a halt.  “Maybe mature isn’t the word I’m looking for.  Strong-willed, perhaps.  You’re quite stubborn.”

“Am I?”

“Yes,” he said with a hint of amusement, starting to walk again.  Semi jogged a few steps to catch up to him.

They lapsed into a companionable silence until they reached the park.  This time, it was Semi’s turn to speak first as they wandered around.

“I want a dog,” she said wistfully as they passed the fourth one being taken out for a walk.  “My dad was allergic, so we never had one.”

“They’re a lot of work,” Xiumin pointed out.  “There was a stage when I had a couple of Alsatians as guard dogs, but it got a bit too much on top of everything else I was doing, and I decided I just preferred having human bodyguards.”

“What exactly….”  Semi’s voice trailed off, and she swallowed.  “What exactly did you do?  Apart from prosti—”

Xiumin’s gloved hand made its way swiftly over Semi’s mouth.

“Not out in the open,” he told her.  “And really, I don’t think you want to know.  Haven’t we already had this discussion?”

Semi removed his hand.  “You’re very weird, you know.  You don’t seem to have a problem with reminding me or anybody else that you’re a criminal, but why do you have such a thing about not telling me what you’ve done?  You’ve already told me some of it and I already have my own judgement and suspicions and I could be imagining far worse than what you actually did.”

“There are things that it’s not necessary or appropriate for you to know,” Xiumin said tersely.  “And believe it or not, there are some things I don’t want to talk about, either.  Do you know how many years I got sentenced for?”

Semi blinked at him.  “No….”

“Nearly a hundred and fifty.  That’s three life sentences, no parole, no good behaviour.  And that was with a plea bargain.  Doesn’t that give you some kind of indication of what I did?  There are still news articles on it.  The police probably wouldn’t object to telling you if you asked, too.”  He sounded a little bitter.

Semi was silent.  She wasn’t totally sure how to respond to that.

“I told you before,” he muttered.  “I’m human too.”

The talk in the park completely killed the mood between them, and Semi was left thoroughly confused.  She didn’t really know what to make of what Xiumin had just told her, or why he’d told her.

When it began to snow, Xiumin suggested going into the nearby mall.  He seemed to sense Semi’s uneasiness before it even became obvious.

“I forgot to tell you,” he said as they wandered down one of the hallways under the Christmas decorations, eating free food samples from a pop-up store just inside the door, “Mr and Mrs Kang stopped by yesterday and asked if we could look after Taeyong overnight again.  Some kind of business trip abroad and Mrs Kang is seeing an elderly relative in whichever country it is.  Taeyong’s got a really nasty ear infection and the doctor told him not to fly.”

“Is this tonight?” Semi asked, coming to a halt.

“No.  Monday and Tuesday.”  Xiumin paused and looked back at her.  “By the way, you have sauce.”  He pointed to the side of .

“Oh.”  A little embarrassed, Semi it away.  She thought she saw him grinning as he turned his head back.

“Be dignified,” he told her as he continued walking.  “We’re in public.”

“I’m sure you’ve done worse in public,” she grumbled, running to catch up.

To her surprise, it made him laugh.  “Touché, darling, touché.”

The apartment was still sweltering when they got back.  Semi considered ringing Jongin yet again, but decided against it.  It was quite late and he was probably going to be obnoxious.  Quietly, she got rid of her coat and hat and gloves and went to hang them up in the cupboard.

“Give me them,” said Xiumin, suddenly appearing behind her.  “Your scarf too.  I’ll put them in the utility room with a bucket so the snow can melt without damaging anything else.”

Semi handed them over without complaint and went back to the door to pick up the shopping bags.  She paused halfway back down the hall to take off a few layers of clothing, ending up in a t-