Venenum [1/3] Baekhyun x Reader
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Word count: 5k
Genres: Romance, Suspense, Action
AU: Gangs/Mafia
Masterlist
Summary: Due to an unfortunate accident, you get entangled in the crimes of a local gang. From that moment on, you constantly have to fear for your life, being stalked wherever you go. The only ray of light left in your dark days is the handsome stranger who visits your coffee shop every morning. He easily steals your heart and you fall for him, unaware that he is a notorious criminal. However, when a dangerous gang leader learns of your connection to him, he forces you to make a fatal choice. You only have two options. How far will you go in order to survive?
They were following you. You saw their mirror image in the shop window you passed, felt their eyes burning holes into the back of your head. Hugging your shivering body, you ducked your head and stared at the wet asphalt. The artificial light of the streetlamps was reflected in the puddles covering the ground. Your heart palpitated in fear and you acted on instinct when you hastily turned into a small alley. It was darker here, the shadows of the night swallowing you up. The sound of your heavy breathing and your shoes hitting asphalt were the only things that could be heard in the eerie silence.
Fear had become a constant companion to you in the past week. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Your stalkers were elusive like smoke. You often caught glimpses of them from the corner of your eye, but when you would look a second time, they would be gone. Ever since that fateful night one week ago, they had been on your tail, and you could do nothing but wait as their eyes laid on you constantly. You knew why they did it. They wanted to make sure you didn’t run to the police—that would be their cue to silence you. What you had witnessed that night had been disturbing, it haunted your sleep. You desperately wanted to get it off your chest, but that would cost your life. And you weren’t ready to die at the hands of criminals.
So you kept your mouth shut and went on with your daily life, pretending everything was fine. You didn’t know for how long you could keep up the façade with endless fear crushing you but you would do your best.
You hurried down the stairs leading into the subway station and caught the first train that arrived. Once inside, you allowed yourself to take a break, leaning your back against one of the seats. It was late evening, and usually, you would have been home already at this time, but your co-workers had insisted to meet in town to have dinner together. You worked at a coffee shop where you spent most of your days. It wasn’t a fancy job, but it brought you joy and that was what mattered most to you.
You had a few regulars you enjoyed talking to—and one of them you were particularly fond of. Thinking of him had your cheeks turn pink. Only three weeks ago, you had finally found out his name, and since then, you hadn’t stopped thinking of him. Even now, when you were afraid, the memory of him put a faint smile on your lips.
Baekhyun came by nearly every morning to buy a coffee before he headed to work. It had become a habit of his to talk to you for a bit, and that way, you had gotten closer. He was good at telling jokes, and a real charmer. Nonetheless, he was surrounded by a veil of secrecy. There were things he never told you—for example, where the bloody scrapes on his hands had come from, or why he suddenly had a split lip. He had told you he worked for a trading company, but you didn’t buy it. However, you had never pursued the matter, knowing that everybody had their secrets.
Just like you.
The secret you had been keeping for a week was a sinister one. It made your skin crawl with fear and abhorrence whenever the memories came back. You wanted to erase them and pretend you never saw anything, but you couldn’t. The images had been burned into your mind. They would haunt you for the rest of your life. You felt guilty for not going to the police, felt terrible for being unable to speak about it. Maybe that would have lightened the burden on your shoulders.
Through an unfortunate coincidence, you had become the sole witness to a murder committed by one of the local gangs. Their feuds with each other often ended in senseless bloodshed, and Jiwon’s gang was particularly ruthless. It was his people that now had their eyes on you.
Jiwon, at first, had wanted to kill you in order to silence you forever, but he had changed his mind at the last second. Apparently, you could still be useful to him, and so he chose to keep you around. Ever since then, his gang members had been following you wherever you went. They watched your every step.
You had no idea how in the world someone like you would ever be useful to him, but you would soon find out.
***
They were watching you.
A shudder ran down your spine. You kept your eyes on the register as you handed out the change to the customer who had just bought a coffee and a muffin. It was early Monday morning, and the coffee shop was busy as usual at this time. The stream of customers thankfully directed your attention away from your stalkers who watched through the windows, standing on the other side of the street.
You took another order, handed out another steaming cup of coffee to a tired-looking student, and turned to the next customer. Your co-worker Amber Liu was just as busy as you, standing at the counter next to you and taking care of incoming orders. She was a ray of sunshine and always smiled at everyone even when the customer was rude. It was a trait you admired since you didn’t have that kind of patience.
An hour passed and by the time the coffee shop became emptier, it was nine o’clock. Most people were at school or work now which meant you would have some time to breathe. Amber had gone back into the kitchen to take care of the dishes while you stayed at the counter. Your eyes drifted over the few people sitting at the tables nearby, some of them reading the newspaper or typing on their phones. Quiet music originated from the speakers in the corners of the ceiling. It could have been a perfectly normal and relaxed Monday morning if only your anxiety stopped tormenting you.
Finally, you were distracted by the ringing of the bell when someone else entered the shop. Looking up, you met the brown eyes of Baekhyun, and a smile bloomed on your lips. He wore a button-up shirt and black pants, his light blond hair styled as usual.
“Good morning, love,” he said flirtily as he stood in front of the counter.
“Morning. How are you, Baekhyun?” you asked, flustered by the nickname he liked to use. “You’re later than usual today. I hope you’re not in a hurry to get to work.”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, no. Something unexpected came up this morning and that’s why I’m late. But my colleagues will understand.”
“That’s a relief,” you smiled. “Do you want the usual?”
“Yes, please.”
You nodded and went to the coffee machine, starting it. As you waited for it to finish, you went back to him to talk some more. He’d become a ray of light in your dark life—someone you always looked forward to meeting every single day.
“You look tired,” he remarked. He put his palms on the counter and leaned closer, scrutinizing the shadows under your eyes. His brows furrowed, showing his concern.
“Ah, yeah,” you mumbled, fidgeting around. “I… I just… can’t sleep well lately. It’s nothing to worry about though. I’m sure it will pass.”
“If you say so,” he answered, not sounding very convinced. “Maybe you should rest after work.”
“Are you worried about me?” you joked.
“Of course I am,” he answered, sounding playful yet looking sincere. “Do you think I come here every day just for the coffee?” He winked, making clear what he meant.
You blushed, your heartbeat speeding up. The fact that he was openly flirting with you made you a little nervous, but not in a bad way. “You’re here for something else?” you asked, pretending to be clueless, though your blush gave your thoughts away.
“Someone, not something,” he corrected amusedly. “I like talking to you. It’s rare to find people like you nowadays… and I think it’s great that you’re into photography too.”
Your passion for photography was one that you shared. And it was the reason why you had begun to talk when he had first come into the coffee shop. He had carried around an old camera, a model that was quite popular even today, but hard to get your hands on. You had been unable to hold back your fascination and asked him so many questions that his coffee had turned cold in the meantime. You’d apologized and made him a new one, prompting him to stay longer just to talk.
That had been the start of your friendship. Over time, you had developed a strong crush on him, even though you barely knew anything about him. You mostly talked about your shared hobby or your work while he stayed reluctant to reveal things about himself. At first, you had assumed he was shy, but later you realized that he was simply a closed-off person.
“I’m glad we met,” you answered cheerfully. “It was quite the coincidence, really.”
You turned to the coffee machine and collected the finished beverage, carrying it to the counter. You added in a little bit of sugar just the way he liked it before you handed him the cup. When he picked it up, you noticed a piece of white bandage sticking out from under his sleeve. Curious, you decided to ask him about it.
“Did you hurt yourself?” you said and nodded your chin towards his hand. He stiffened, caution taking over his features.
“I cut myself by accident when I made dinner last night,” he muttered. The warmth in his brown eyes receded and made way for a cold that you weren’t familiar with. Surprised, you wondered whether you had said something wrong.
“Oh. Be more careful,” you said. “And don’t worry, you’re not the only one who’s bad at cooking.”
“I see,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Put off by his strange behavior, you frowned. “I need to get going. Thanks for the coffee and see you tomorrow!”
“Bye,” you called after him, feeling slight disappointment as he left. You had the sense that your remark about his injury was the cause for his sudden departure. When it came to certain topics, he tended to become repellent, as if he had something to hide. You had no clue what exactly it could be, but you had a hunch that he was involved with the wrong crowd, judging by his tendency to get injured.
Amber came back from the kitchen and joined you at the counter, watching Baekhyun walk down the street. “Something about him makes me uneasy,” she said, furrowing her brows.
“What do you mean?” you asked curiously.
Your friend put her hand on her chin, staring at the tiles on the floor. “Sometimes, he has this cold look in his eyes… I think he could be involved in something bad.”
“Maybe…” you said unsurely. When even Amber had noticed, could your suspicion be true?
“It’s strange that he comes here every single day,” Amber replied with a sigh. “I think he likes you… but still, be wary of him.”
***
By the time your shift ended, it was four pm and you were quite tired. This whole time, you had been feeling terrible for obvious reasons, and now you wanted nothing more than to lie in your bed and shut out the entire world.
However, only moments before you could walk into the subway station, someone grabbed your arm and dragged you into an alley. A hand roughly covered your mouth and pressed your head against the wall of a building. Within a second, your heart was racing. You stared into Jiwon’s dark eyes, felt the blade of a knife at your throat. It hurt, digging into your skin, and it would draw blood if he continued to put pressure on it.
“If it isn’t the little bird,” he whispered into your ear. You were shaking uncontrollably as you realized why he had intercepted you on your way home.
He was here to kill you. There was no doubt. He wanted the witness to his crime to be silenced. You looked around fearfully, but aside from two other gang members, you were the only people in the alley. You had to face the harsh truth: you were on your own and nobody would help you.
“If you scream, I’ll slit your throat,” Jiwon threatened before he removed his hand from your mouth. His ruthless tone made you cower away, but you couldn’t get away from him. He held you in an iron grip and the knife was a cruel reminder that your life could be snuffed out any second now.
“Wh-What do you want?” you whispered, your voice breaking in fear.
“You are going to do something for me,” he hissed. “And if you succeed, I’m going to spare your life. If you don’t, I’m going to kill you.”
Your eyes widened. “D-Don’t kill me,” you pleaded. “I’ll do anything!”
“Exactly what I expected to hear,” he smirked. “That guy you talked to this morning, Byun Baekhyun. I want you to get rid of him. He needs to die.”
All color left your face. Your stomach dropped and you forgot to breathe in shock. Kill Baekhyun? No, this had to be a cruel joke. Why would Jiwon want Baekhyun dead? Why would anyone want that? You didn’t understand what was going on.
“Are you listening?” Jiwon snapped when you failed to answer, pushing your smaller body roughly against the wall behind you. The back of your head hit solid stone. Pain flared through your skull.
“Y-Yes,” you said through clenched teeth. “Why do you… want him dead? He never hurt anyone!”
To your horror, Jiwon began to laugh, looking genuinely amused by your question. You hated him so, so much, but you couldn’t do anything. He had a weapon, he was stronger, and the two gang members looming behind him didn’t make you any more confident to escape.
“You really don’t know anything,” he mocked you. “That Byun bastard belongs to a gang that keeps getting in my way. He in particular has been a major pain in the ass lately and I need to take him out. Preferably without casualties on my side, so I figured I could send you instead of my people. He seems to trust you which makes it easier to catch him off guard.”
That was the second shock you were confronted with in such a short time, and this one felt like a punch to your gut. If Jiwon hadn’t been holding you against the wall, your wobbly knees would have given out. You couldn’t believe that Baekhyun was one of them. How could he be a criminal? While you had been suspecting that he had some sort of secret, you wouldn’t have thought him to be in a gang.
Jiwon didn’t care about your shock and continued to explain his plan to you, shoving a small vial filled with liquid into your palm. “This is highly concentrated poison. Put it into his drink when he doesn’t notice,” he said threateningly. He kept the knife close to your throat. “You have three days. If you don’t do it within this period, you are dead. If he finds out, you are dead. The only way for you to survive is if he is taken care of.”
***
The following night was a blur. You barely slept at all. Fear, guilt, and helplessness clouded your thoughts. You were contemplating what to do, how to proceed, staring at the vial that was sitting on your desk. You had looked at it for so long that you even saw it in your mind when you closed your eyes.
Pulling the blanket over your head, you curled into a ball and cried. You didn’t want to kill anyone, but you didn’t want to die either—you wanted to live. Why was it you that had to get caught up in a feud between two dangerous gangs?
Not only did you think about your future actions and their consequences, but also about Baekhyun. You had to redraw the image you had of him, suddenly feeling like he was a stranger. Had he lied to you this whole time? Had the nice attitude only been a façade? What did he even want with you in the first place? You were just a normal woman, nobody special. If he really was in a gang, why bother hanging out with an ordinary person like you?
Your head was filled with countless questions that continued to steal your sleep. In the early morning hours, you finally managed to fall asleep, but your alarm clock soon roused you. Sluggishly, you got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for work, doing all you could to mask your tired complexion with make-up. You skipped breakfast, feeling sick to your stomach as you grabbed your purse and left the house.
Even without seeing them, you knew that your stalkers were already onto you. The moment you stepped outside, you felt their eyes on you. You hated the feeling. It aggravated your restless and desperate state, made you pick up your pace as you hurried to the subway station. Your hands were clammy when they reached for your phone in your pocket. You put on headphones and switched on some random music to distract yourself while you entered the train. Not that it helped much.
You arrived at work a tad late and had to hurry to get to the counter since the shop was already swarmed with customers who were on their way to their workplace. Amber had her hands full and looked relieved when you showed up to help her. Her eyebrows raised seeing your obvious exhaustion, but she bit her lip and swallowed her questions. You were both busy this morning, and for a little while, you managed to push your concerns aside.
That was until a certain someone entered the shop. Normally, you would have been happy to see him, but not today. Your hands curled into fists, clenching so hard that your fingernails dug crescents into your palms. He grinned cheekily at you, but you didn’t have it in you to return his smile.
“Good morning,” he said lightheartedly, leaning his hips against the counter.
“Hello,” you mumbled, lowering your head to look at the register. You wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Jiwon had probably handed you poison because he knew how easy it would be to sneak it in Baekhyun’s coffee. You hadn’t brought the vial to work though. Not yet.
“Can I get you the usual?” you asked.
“Yes,” he replied. His tone conveyed astonishment since he didn’t understand the reason for your reluctance.
You quickly went to the coffee machine and stood in front of it as you waited for it to finish. With shaky fingers, you took the filled cup to carry it to the counter. You were fidgety and accidentally knocked the cup over, spilling the coffee over the countertop.
“Shit,” you hissed, turning to get paper towels to clean the mess up. Baekhyun watched you, scrutinizing you with narrowed eyes. He took some of the paper towels and helped cleaning.
“You’re not yourself today,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
“No, don’t lie,” he persisted. You took the paper towel from his hand and threw it away, readying another coffee for him.
“Something is wrong. I’ve known you for a while, but this past week, you have changed. You’ve never been this nervous and distracted.”
His eyes were piercing as he gazed at you, and you were almost sure he could read the answer to his questions in your expression. You froze under his watchful gaze, being all too aware that he wasn’t who you had thought him to be. While you shared your love for photography, there was something crucial that divided you. He was a criminal, and perhaps just as dangerous as Jiwon.
However, other than Jiwon, he had always been kind to you and never threatened you in any way. Then again, his friendly demeanor might as well just be a farce. The conflict in your heart tore you apart. Criminal or not, you didn’t think you had it in you to kill. But were you ready to sacrifice your life for him?
“Baekhyun, there’s nothing wrong, I can assure you that,” you said with a nervous smile.
“You can tell me. Maybe I could help you out,” he muttered. “Honestly, you look like someone’s after you or something.”
You swallowed. How had he figured that out so quickly? He took your ongoing silence as confirmation. His brown eyes hardened.
“You’re in trouble, aren’t you?” he prodded, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “I can help you, love.”
His proximity was intoxicating like the most addicting drug, and even though you tried to stop yourself, you were drawn to him. Your cheeks reddened and your heart fluttered. Whenever he called you love, you were confronted with the strong urge to kiss him, to close the distance between you.
You drew in a breath, concentrating on avoiding his perceptive eyes. “What if I am? How would you help me?” you asked.
His fingers held your chin and tilted it up gently but firmly. Your gazes met. “This isn’t the best place to discuss it,” he whispered. “How about we meet for dinner tonight and have a talk?”
“O-Okay,” you breathed, overwhelmed. Your brain stopped working and all you could think of was how incredibly silky his voice was, how soft his light-blond hair looked.
“Good,” he replied. His lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he pulled out his phone. “Tell me your number and I’ll send you my address.”
Your flustered self somehow managed to tell him your phone number while your heart continued to pound furiously in your chest. He saved it in his contact list, sliding the phone back into his jeans pocket.
“Don’t look so glum, love. We’ll find a solution for the problem,” he said, picking up his coffee before he turned to leave. “See you soon!”
The door to the shop closed and you were alone, standing rooted to the spot for minutes. Your eyes were locked to the door, dazed.
“What the fuck are you doing?” you told yourself, stumbling back until you hit the wall. You raked your hands through your hair exasperatedly and sunk to the floor, sitting in a hunched position. Why had you agreed to a damn dinner? You were supposed to kill him, not go on a date with him.
“This is sick,” you muttered and tiredly rubbed your aching temples. “How could I ever kill him?”
***
It was your fear for your life that drove you to put the vial with the poison into your pocket that evening. He had sent you a text just half an hour earlier, inviting you to his home. And that was where you arrived right at this moment.
You stood in front of his apartment door, ringing the doorbell. Uneasily shifting around, you clutched your purse with one hand. The fingers of your other hand drummed on your thigh restlessly. You had put on make-up earlier and chosen an elegant outfit for the evening. If the circumstances of your visit had been different, you would have considered this a date.
It wasn’t a date at all, though. What would you call this? A premeditated murder about to happen? Bile rose in your throat. You were nauseous, and with every second that ticked by, the feeling grew worse. How could you even look him in the eyes? Even though you hadn’t acted yet, the guilt was eating you up from inside, torturing you.
When he opened the door for you, your heart almost stopped. He was dressed up as well which you noticed immediately. It aggravated your guilt. He must have been looking forward to seeing you—not knowing what you were about to do. You bit down on your lower lip so hard you tasted iron.
The white button-up he wore emphasized his lean built, his broad shoulders, and his slim waist. He had tucked it into his black pants and rolled up the sleeves to his elbows. His hair was a little disheveled, suggesting he hadn’t had time to comb it before you arrived. Some blond strands hung into his forehead, making him appear more attractive than he already was. You were torn between blushing the color of a tomato and feeling awful for your intentions.
“Hello, love,” he grinned and let you in, closing the door behind you.
“Good evening,” you replied nervously, handing him your jacket when he offered to put it on a hanger. In your anxious state, you barely noticed the surprisingly expensive furniture that filled his apartment. It was modern, consisting of grey and white tones.
“Are you hungry already, or do you want to eat later?” he asked.
Given how nauseous you were feeling, food was the last you wanted. “Later is fine,” you replied. “I would like to… to talk first.” You wanted to drag it out as long as possible because you knew that you weren’t ready to do it.
Understanding swimming in his brown eyes, he nodded. “That’s fine. Then we’ll do it that way,” he said and nodded towards a room to your right. “The living room is over there. I’ll join you in a moment.”
You sighed inwardly and walked into the room, surprised at its size. One wall consisted entirely of a glass pane that allowed a gorgeous view of the city while the opposite wall was decorated with a huge flatscreen tv. His trusted camera laid on the small cabinet underneath it. You sat on the wide grey sofa and waited for him to join you.
Hearing his steps approach, you turned to the door where he appeared with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hands. He put everything down on the coffee table, smiling cheekily at you.
“I hope you like wine?” he asked. “I also have other beverages if you prefer something else.”
“N-No, wine is okay.”
He opened the bottle and poured the red liquid into your glasses, handing one of them to you. Instead of drinking from it, you stared at it with a dull gaze. You were well aware that he had just presented you with the perfect opportunity to go through with Jiwon’s plan. Just a few drops of poison in Baekhyun’s wine and then… You would be free. You only needed him to leave the room for a moment, perhaps you could make up some sort of excuse… Your breaths became erratic in panic and you hastily set the glass down on the coffee table. No. You couldn’t even think about it.
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong, love? You’ve been so nervous tonight, and I’m afraid it’s not because of me,” he remarked, keeping his tone serious despite his flirty words. With some difficulty, you forced yourself to look at him.
“I can offer you protection,” he added.
“That sounds… awfully generous,” you replied. The vial you kept hidden in your pocket weighed a ton.
“Anything for you, love,” he said, his features softening. The ache in your heart grew as his smile warmed. “I need you to fully trust me, though, and that’s why we should talk about a few things first. Have you ever heard of the name Exo?”
“I… Yes. Everyone in this area knows… it’s one of the gangs,” you answered. It was fairly obvious now what he was on about, but you pretended to be clueless.
“Then let me get straight to the point. What I told you about my job was a lie. I’m not working for a trading company. The truth is that I’m a member of Exo,” he explained. “I’m sorry for lying to you, but I needed to keep my identity a secret.”
He studied your reaction calmly, waiting for an outburst, or any negative reaction, but all he saw was deep-rooted fear in your eyes. “I know that it’s a lot to swallow, but I can assure you that you don’t need to be scared of me or any of my friends,” he continued in a calm tone.
“I think… there are worse people in this town than you,” was all you said in response.
He leaned forward, freezing you in your spot with his cool gaze. “Why don’t you tell me more about those people?” The underlying threat in his words made you quiver. He indeed was more dangerous than you had thought him to be… but at this point you were so desperate you didn’t even care anymore. So what if he was in a gang? So what if he had blood on his hands? You knew that he wasn’t a heartless person.
What about you though?
Something in you snapped when you saw the hidden concern behind his anger. Your desperation boiled over suddenly. You hardly had a chance to mask it. The vial in your pocket was made of fire, burning through the fabric of your pants and singing your skin. You couldn’t take the pressure anymore.
“I… I’m sorry, but… I think I need a moment,” you stuttered.
“It’s all a bit much, hm?” he said quietly. “Calm down, love.”
“C-Can I use your bathroom?”
“It’s right down the hallway,” he said, and you shot up from the sofa, disappearing from view.
Inside the bathroom, you stood in front of the sink, taking deep and heaving breaths. Your heart was racing. This was wrong. You stared at your reflection, looking into your eyes. Did you really want to save your own skin by murdering someone else? Was that the kind of person you wished to be?
“What the fuck are you even doing here?” you asked yourself and glared at your reflection accusingly. Your shaky hands reached into your pocket to pull out the small vial. You held it with your index finger and thumb, watching the liquid slosh around inside.
If you wanted to walk away from this mess alive, you would need to put this into his wine when he wasn’t looking. It would probably not take long for him to die, taking into account what Jiwon had told you. And it would be impossible for anyone to link you to the murder. Nobody but Baekhyun knew that you visited him this evening. You could just get it over with and move on with your life. You would be rid of Jiwon and his threats and your life would go back to normal.
Tears burned in your eyes. “I’m sorry,” you breathed as you stared at your reflection. Deep within your heart, you already knew what you would do. You had known all along.
Your choice would be fatal for one of you.
