NOCTURNE: A DREAMY PIECE OF WORK RELATING TO THE NIGHT OR DARKNESS IN GENERAL.
“And what if… It is the villain you fall for? What then?”
Genre/Warnings: minor character death, yandere/manipulative Renjun, cheating, abusive relationship dynamics/marriage. Smut. Oral (M receiving), questionable consent—Renjun is an incubus here, so he influences people, but nothing is truly forced. Minors, do NOT interact.
This is the third part of my Dark Fairytale series with Dream’s 00 line and exists in the same universe as Haechan and Jaemin’s stories (links below). Please read the previous chapters to understand what’s happening.
> CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2
Orphic | Haechan x Reader | Royalty!AU
Nighted | Jaemin x Reader | Vampire!AU
Summary:
Renjun’s nature has always given him assurance over one thing: that regardless of which century or lifetime he lives, he’ll never run out of love and affection from anyone he sets his desires on. As a Gancanagh—a fairy born to seduce and claim mortals—he was designed to be the object of lust and want of everyone, which is why it felt like the universe was finally punishing him when he finally came across the only woman he could ever want, but never have.
"You have a wonderful rose garden, Ma'm."
Your eyes lingered on the walls of the flowering bushes that towered over you as you wove through the sprawling hedge maze. You have heard of stories about the beauty that is the Huang manor before, but no carefully picked adjectives could have prepared you for the level of majesty that stretched now in front of you. Even the woman walking just a few steps ahead seems to fall perfectly in the beauty of the moment, her steps light and graceful as she led the way deeper into the heart of the garden. The lady gave a soft laugh in response to your wonder as her own gaze also touched the lush blooms she passed.
"The first few buds were a gift from the former King. They are the exact same roses that the castle still has in their garden. He gave it to our family when Yun was born."
Your attention snapped back to focus at the mention of that information. You have been so engrossed in appreciating the beauty around you that for a good moment, you have forgotten the knot of nervousness that has been weighing heavily on your stomach since you stepped foot into the grand manor. When you started your day, it absolutely did not cross your mind that you would be spending it doing impromptu portrait work for the High Lady of this house—the very matriarch of the Huang family herself. Your nerves were absolutely frazzled when you got the invite, but of course your mother was only far too elated upon knowing the piece of news. And while you aren't that clueless about the possible implications of this stretch of an offer—especially after the night of the masquerade ball—your assumptions only served to make you even more on edge about this interaction.
"It will be such a great honor to use this place as the backdrop for your portrait then, Madam…" you said, your voice sounding a little bit more careful again. The lady seemed unconscious of it at the very least as she smiled.
"My youngest son, Renjun, was actually the one who suggested the idea. He has mentioned your wonderful work to me so I thought, why not invite you to do my portrait? I am due to have one sooner or later anyway."
You were thankful that the woman was walking a little ways ahead of you, otherwise, she might have caught the way you paused for a breath as she mentioned the boy's name. It has been a good few weeks since that last dance at the ball happened, but the memories came flooding back to you quickly, almost by force. The pointed grip on your hips… The lilt of his lips as he smiled at you… The way his gaze ghosted over face… Every memory of him holding you that night crowded your mind again like an unwelcome visitor. Renjun has never touched or spoken to you in a way that is offensive or unacceptable to society's standards, but there has always been that shadow in the way he looks at you that has always triggered the primal need in your gut to flinch and flee. It was the reason why you've been elusive towards him for quite some time now, but lately, you felt that something has changed in the past few times you've been in each other's radius. You couldn't really put your finger on it, but it's almost like some switch has been flipped…
And now all walls that had been holding him back are gone.
"That is… very nice of him. Especially since he could have done it himself. My work pales to his craft if I must say… He is the best student in our class," you said softly, careful not to let any of your current emotions leak to your tone. Lady Huang seemed pleased at your comment as she gave a soft hum of approval before finally stopping her leisurely pace. You paused as well, and that's when you realized that the two of you have reached the heart of the maze, a clearing of considerable size with hedges of roses higher than the ones you've passed earlier. A fountain made of white marble was set in the middle of it, spewing water so clear that it sparkled under the sunlight.
"So I've been told. I've also heard a lot of stories about you from my youngest son… Which brings me to the second reason why I invited you here."
If you were apprehensive earlier, then you were absolutely petrified now. You have an idea of where the conversation was going, but your awareness did nothing to calm the erratic beating of your heart. Surreptitiously, you clutched the edges of the painting bag that you brought with you while waiting for the woman to finish. She was looking at you with softness in her eyes, an emotion that seemed so alien to you, having not received it before from your own parents.
"I am going to cut to the chase. Darling, I'm sure you know about my oldest son's preference towards you. Yun is very fond of you, and as his mother, I only want to give him happiness. If I may ask… And excuse me for my bluntness, but are you considering him to receive your hand, sooner or later?"
The heat that has overcome your whole face was swift and unforgiving. You ducked your head a little to your chest in a hopeless attempt to at least try and hide the redness of your cheeks.
"I… Lord Yun has not really… Talked to me about this."
It was not a direct answer, but Lady Huang is known for her persistence as much for her beauty. She took a step closer towards you now and took one of your gloved hands in hers.
"He hasn't because he knows you have a number of suitors. It is a well-known fact among the circle of debutantes. My son, unfortunately, is a very accommodating person, almost to a fault. I know he wouldn't want to step forward unless he knows that you have considered the others. But have you, my girl? I know it is not in my position to ask you this, but please give my heart some comfort. I only want my boy to be happy."
It must be the maternal instinct that she is honestly exuding, but something about the words of the woman tugged at your heartstrings. You know in yourself that you are not in love yet with her son, but the honesty and sheer care in her eyes made you want to yearn for something similar for yourself. You stared at her now, eyes bouncing over her graceful features, until something inside of you clicked. Slowly, you turned your hand so that you were holding hers instead.
"Lord Yun is a wonderful man, Ma'm… It would be such an honor for me… to receive his affections."
It was not a straightforward reply, but it was enough for the assurance that she was looking for. Lady Huang's face lit up, her smile so genuine that you can't help but return the gesture to her as she squeezed your hand gratefully. It was an intimate moment of woman to woman, a mother talking to a daughter. Despite yourself, you felt your heart soaring, as if you've finally found a safe space to land on.
"That eases my heart. Thank you. I promise I will not get in the way of your courtship, but I hope you indulge me for saying this early. My dear…"
"I am excited for you to be a part of the family."
*******
"So? When am I going to have a sister-in-law?"
Renjun's voice was light and casual as he moved the knight piece over the chessboard calmly. Across from him, his older brother glanced at him with a slightly surprised look before bringing his eyes back to the game with pointed effort. He could almost taste the flustered emotions of the older male at the tip of his tongue, a bitter one that he swallowed behind his calm facade. A moment passed before Yun answered, the man's voice low and almost unsure.
"I have not decided yet. I am giving her time to consider her situation."
"Do you mean to say, you are giving her other suitors a chance to whisk her away from you?"
The sharpness of the truth in his words made the other man slightly wince. Usually, Renjun would toe around his statements for the sake of keeping up the facade of the perfect brother, but he has been incredibly impatient recently. For his own sake, he cannot keep back his own plans anymore just because of the cowardice of another person.
Yun frowned now as he moved a bishop across the board. It is obvious that he has become distracted, because Renjun easily ate the piece with his rook.
"I simply do not want to force myself on her. She has a lot of suitors and I want to make sure she has thought about it well before I offer her the question."
Renjun leaned his head slightly to the side before slowly leveling his gaze towards his brother. Now, he had never particularly hated the man before—he had done a pretty acceptable job of tolerating him in his opinion—but he also had never been fond of his personality as a whole. Yun is so… very much human. Always restricted by what society says is acceptable or not, afraid to inconvenience someone for the sake of being perceived as nice. They were qualities he had never understood, even as a Fae trapped in a human shell. It was irritating for him, how people can't just seem to claim what they desire.
"Did you not make a connection with her during the last Ball?" He asked innocently, his eyes skillfully hiding away his real emotions. The way the man turned red in the face in front of him almost made him puke.
"I… did."
"I think so too. I have watched the two of you from afar. I can't speak for her, but I think anyone with a working pair of eyes can see that there is some… interest there."
Yun looked at him, a hopeful look on his face.
"You think so?"
Renjun smiled charmingly despite the jealousy twisting his stomach into knots. It takes him everything not to lean over and tear the other man's heart off his chest every time he remembers how she looks at him, but he has to control himself… Because this is all part of his carefully plotted plan. For him to get to her, Yun has to tie her to their family first.
"Yes. Which is why I don't understand why you are hesitating. I applaud you, hyung, for giving her space. But don't you think it might also be sending her the message that you're… not really that serious about your intentions?"
A look of slight worry overtook the older Huang. Renjun internally smiled behind his casual mask, knowing full well that he had caught him in his web. He may be human now, but evne the strongest spell cannot entirely take a Gancanagh's power of seduction over words.
"That's not what I… I did not mean to…"
"I know... But it might be the message she is getting. I'm just saying," he shrugged as he pressed the dial on the chess counter to urge the other to make a move. Yun did, but barely, his hand moving his last remaining knight over the board in the midst of his distraction. Renjun's eyes dropped on the pieces briefly, before smiling secretly to himself.
"I have never considered that. Do you think I should…"
"Ask her? I don't know. Are you confident that you are the best of all the men vying for her hand?"
The silence that followed his question was brief, but loaded. Yun pursed his lips as a frown settled on his features.
"Yes. I am."
"There you go. I think that is the only answer that you need. I can't force you to do anything, brother, but personally…" he slowly lifted his own knight and rested the piece gently over a block on the board. "I think you will be the perfect pair."
The other boy was so distracted wading through his own thoughts, that he failed to notice how his King piece was taken by his last move. Renjun's lips tipped to the sides as he knocked it over effortlessly with his knight.
"Checkmate, by the way. Don't ever let your eyes off the game, hyung. Take it as advice from a man… to another man."
*******
The way the sun reflected off the paper you were working on made you smile. You were sitting in the middle of the garden where you usually have your art classes, trying to finish off a quick practice piece using watercolors. It was a Sunday so you have the place to yourself, surrounded only by the gentle chirping of the birds and the soft rustle of trees swaying in the wind. Days like this are your favorite part of the week, because it is the only time you can escape your manor without your parents pressing about your activities. You were far too engrossed in the peacefulness of the moment that you didn't notice the gentle creaking of the gate separating the garden from the rest of the academy. Humming softly, you reached over to dip your paintbrush on your small palettes of color to continue your picture, oblivious of your surroundings.
"That is a very pretty landscape."
The sound of a soft voice from behind you made you suddenly turn around in surprise. It took you a good few seconds to gather yourself, the newcomer taking the chance to cross the distance to where you were sitting. Rising from your spot under the tree, your hands quickly gathered your skirts around you just in time for the man to finally stop at a polite distance from where you are. You were so stunned, that you forgot to give him your usual bow of greeting as he waited for you to speak.
“Lord Yun… Why are you…”
A slightly sheepish smile flittered over the man’s face at your question. He briefly looked away, before glancing at the ground in front of him.
“I visited your manor today, but your mother told me that you usually spend your Sundays painting. She said I might find you here…”
You didn’t give any immediate answer. Of course your mother told him where you are. Silently, your heart rate started picking up as your mind tried to go through the possible reasons behind his sudden visit. A part of you berated you for possibly overthinking, but you cannot deny the pressing feeling in your gut that made you fidget your fingers underneath the pleats of your skirt. Yun probably noticed, because for a moment, he looked actually guilty for showing up unannounced. However, a look of determination took over his features as quickly as the doubt came, and he took a moment as if he was gathering himself before he spoke again.
“My Lady… I do not want to make this longer than it should. I have told myself that I want to give you time to think over my offer, but recently, I have realized that I might lose you should I remain passive about my feelings,” he paused and took his hat, gripping its brim with his fingers. Unconsciously, your eyes shot straight to his face. You thought you felt your heart stutter upon seeing the genuine emotions that have overtaken his features.
“I have no wish of forcing myself on you, but I just want you to know that I adore you, and that I… I would wish nothing more than for you to accept my offer for marriage, if that is what your heart so wishes, too. I… will understand if you give me no for an answer, because a rejection will also be better than this silent dance I’ve initiated for quite some time.”
You were absolutely speechless. You knew what was coming, but it did nothing to calm down the erratic buzzing inside of your head. All of a sudden, it was like everything was happening all at the same time, similar to how one’s life would flash in front of someone’s eyes in the midst of a momentous occasion. Questions overlapped in your head, too quick and fleeting for you to catch and comprehend.
Do you love him? Will this make you happy? What will come out of this?
Will this save you…? Or will jumping into this be your ruin?
You don’t know how long you stood there. It must have taken seconds, maybe a full minute, but for you the moment felt like it lasted forever. Then, just when you thought your head would split from all the thoughts, everything stopped to dead silence, until your consciousness fixated on one thing.
No, you don’t love him.
But you can learn to do it… In time.
“Are you… Asking me to marry you, Lord Yun?” you asked softly, voice steady albeit quiet. Your question rendered him speechless for a heartbeat before he finally gave a nod.
“Yes, my Lady… I am.”
“Then perhaps you can ask me again… More clearly this time?”
The way his face changed from shock, to realization, then back to nervousness made you give the slightest of smiles. You did wait for him to politely speak again, however, your gaze on him more steady this time.
“Will… you marry me?”
The corners of your lips twitched as your smile widened. In that moment, you decided to embrace the uncertainty of it all and focused instead on how your fate will be changed from the point on. When he finally returned the smile, you knew you’ve made the right decision.
“Yes, my Lord. It will be such an honor to be your wife.”
*******
“How cruel… Is the girl still alive?”
Renjun barely looked around from his position on the loveseat at the crooning voice that came from the open window. Below him, slumped on the spot on the floor between his legs was a woman, loose hair splayed messily all over her face. The flickering light from the fireplace barely illuminated the form of the girl that clambered from his windowsill, her expensive gown covered by a dark coat that allowed her to blend in the dark. There were no jewels that decorated her hair at the moment, but the unexplainable glow that clung on her as she walked casually over to the edge of his bed, directly across from where he sat, betrayed her affinity to the ethereal and the supernatural.
“Why are you here? Is the King not fucking you well enough that you had to climb over to my bedroom, My Queen?” he asked, voice steady even as his breath hitched from the way the girl bobbed her head slowly around his length. His visitor merely chuckled, unphased by the act happening in front of her.
“I heard the news. When is the wedding happening?”
Her taunting voice almost made him stop. He only stuttered for a second, but he took the moment to weave his fingers through the hair of the woman knelt in front of him and used the leverage to push her head deeper down his cock. The girl choked, sputtering from the way his length invaded her throat, but did nothing to fight it off. It was obvious from the way she limply slumped closer that she was too far gone to even bother. Instead of giving her mercy, Renjun—now irritated for having to do the work—tightened his hold on her and used his strength to move her head to his desired pace. Humans... They are always so disappointing in this regard. They are always so passionate and fiery at the start, but they break so easily and turn into useless dolls. Despite his discontent, a low groan left his lips now as his balls twitched, heavy and ready to spray his arousal down the column of flesh squeezing around his length.
“Not soon enough for my taste,” he said through gritted teeth as his pace turned even more brutal. A soft whimper came from the woman as her nails tried to find purchase on the soft rug under her. The Queen raised her brows curiously, ignoring the sounds. Renjun caught her expression and shot her a look before tipping his head back against the leather seat. With no warning, he pushed the woman’s head hard against him, her nose pressed against his lower stomach. A sound of pleasure escaped from deep in his throat as he unloaded himself inside her mouth until his juices leaked from her lips. He kept her there for a few more seconds while he rode his high before finally loosening his grip, the girl finally slumping right at his feet, unconscious. Eyes closed and head still tipped back, he waited for the current of pleasure to run its course throughout his body before he lazily tucked himself back inside his pants.
“If you came here to think that I would be upset about my brother’s upcoming wedding, then you’re in for a big disappointment,” he laughed softly to himself before finally moving his head again to train his gaze at the Witch Queen. The other slightly narrowed her eyes at him before realization dawned on them.
“You… told him to ask for her hand.”
He chuckled as he pushed himself out of his seat. Walking gracefully over the slumped form on the floor, he went to pick up the glass of whisky on the table by the fireplace and downed the golden liquid there in one go. He ran his hand through his hair as he watched the flames, untangling the knots that his earlier activities have caused.
“Of course, I did. I already told you, when a Gancanagh sets his eyes on a prize, we stop at nothing to get it. Surely, you must have already known that. It was how I captured your former lover in my web before after all.”
Renjun knew from the needles of cold that made the skin of his back prick that he had touched a nerve. It did not surprise him at all, not with the situation being the exact cause why she cursed him to be stuck in this human form. Instead, he simply smiled in satisfaction as the flames from the hearth threw shadows and light over the gentle features of his face that masked his true nature.
“You are playing a dangerous game, Piper. You will be putting a lot of mortal lives in danger.”
“That’s quite rich coming from a Witch Queen who cursed a whole kingdom to never-ending winter before. Now, my dear, do not act like you are any better than me. It was you after all who pushed me to do this. You are as guilty for what is yet to happen as I am,” he said as he turned slowly to face her. She was still only bathed in moonlight streaming from the open window, but it was enough for him to discern her expression from the shadows. Her face was blank, but the way her eyes burned couldn’t fool him about her real emotions.
“You must have thought I will come running around after her, trying to win her from my brother. That is foolish child’s game. Taxing and pointless. It might have worked on you when your King hunted you down, but a true hunter knows a better way how to capture their prey. You don’t seek them. You lure them right into your very own trap,” he crooned, voice as sweet as a siren’s call. When the light from the moon and the glow from the fire touched his face at the same time, they made his smile look angelic and terrifying at the same time.
“Family, as they say, is hard to escape. The moment she thinks she’s free from me, is the moment she becomes mine.”
*******
A/N: Yeah, so... It has almost been a full six months since I’ve updated this. I don’t know if anyone still remembers this story, but I had the sudden urge lately to jump into this plot again. So, here’s an update I guess.
[◂◂] i love it so much, i've read it several times
normal themes
nct 127
이태용
中本悠太
o que você vai fazer sobre isso? | ft. jaehyun | PT-BR ◂◂
김동영
— ♥︎ | PT-BR
정윤오
all members
[23:00] | PT-BR
nct dream
mark lee
黄仁俊
이제노
I see red
game over | "just let me finish this level and I'll go down on you until you cum three times"
— ♥︎ | ft. renjun
hate sex
考验我 | 1; 2 ◂◂
go ahead nd cry, lil girl | 1; 2; 3; 4 | ft. jaemin (3 e 4)| PT-BR ◂
hentai or die | you not only so stupid that you fail your classes, you also so stupid that you have to be tutor by the quiet nerd in your english class
"seu o que?" | PT-BR
o que você quer, hm? | PT-BR ◂◂
이동혁
garotinha insuportável - PT-BR ◂
empty pockets
how dom!hyuck degrade his sub
11:32 AM
make it fit | best friend!haechan tries to convince you that he in fact does have a big dick but you won’t believe him so he decides to show you
나재민
meant to be | you were never a believer of horoscopes nor future readings, so when a fortune teller mentions that you and bestfriend!jaemin were meant to be, you just shrugged it off. but the world seemed to be dead set on making the prediction come true. ◂
nana, faz passar? | 1; 2; 3 | ft. 00 line (2) | ft. 7dream (3) | PT-BR
钟辰乐
박지성
reactions
▵ smut
they woke up to the reader having a wet dream and moaning their name
y/n started acting bratty during sex
jealous sex with the dreamies
degradation with nct dream
▴ fluffy / funny
helping an s/o who struggles with eating regularly
nct dream's reaction to you kissing their neck
the dreamies see you wearing their clothes ◂◂
you getting your wisdom teeth removed
having another member's photocard ◂
y/n back hugging them
yandere themes
yandere types
nct 127
이태용
中本悠太
정윤오
nct wayv
董思成
mine | ⚠ choking; near death experience; jealous!sicheng ◂
nct dream
mark lee
黄仁俊
이제노
puppy - lee jeno ◂◂
blurb
이동혁
unpredictable | he changed the locks… again. | ⚠ toxic relationship
NOCTURNE: A DREAMY PIECE OF WORK RELATING TO THE NIGHT OR DARKNESS IN GENERAL.
“And what if… It is the villain you fall for? What then?”
Genre/Warnings: minor character death, yandere/manipulative Renjun, cheating, abusive relationship dynamics/marriage. This is the third part of my Dark Fairytale series with Dream’s 00 line. It has been months since I posted the last chapter so I do suggest a quick re-read of the first one for a refresher. This is loosely connected to Haechan’s one shot also linked below:
> CHAPTER 1
Orphic | Haechan x Reader | Royalty!AU
Nighted | Jaemin x Reader | Vampire!AU
Summary:
Renjun’s nature has always given him assurance over one thing: that regardless of which century or lifetime he lives, he’ll never run out of love and affection from anyone he sets his desires on. As a Gancanagh—a fairy born to seduce and claim mortals—he was designed to be the object of lust and want of everyone, which is why it felt like the universe was finally punishing him when he finally came across the only woman he could ever want, but never have.
The gentle clinking of porcelain and the soft rustling of pages were the only sounds that broke the suffocating silence in the room. You were sitting beside a window overlooking the manor grounds below, a drawing book with a half finished portrait resting on your lap. Your mother sat across from you like a perfect porcelain doll, her eyes the only ones moving as she continued with her silent reading. Every now and then, she would flip a page or take a sip of her tea which have long since turned lukewarm after sitting too long. You didn't mind each other, and you've long since checked out from the company as you stared blankly at the view beyond.
Your manicured gardens glistened under the sun like a gem, but its beauty didn't strike any positive feelings in you as you gazed at it silently. If anything, it caused a bitter taste to bloom at the back of your throat the longer that you looked at it. Silently, you wondered just how much it must have cost again to pay for the ground's monthly upkeep. Its grandness was the exact opposite of what is going on inside your manor and you wondered which of your mother's jewels have been sold off again just so your family could keep up the front of luxury you obviously cannot afford anymore.
"Have you heard from the Huangs again?"
Your train of thought was cut short by the woman's voice across from you. Looking around, you slightly rearranged yourself on your seat and picked up your pencil again as a distraction. She wasn't looking at you, her eyes on the pages of her book still, but she must have noticed what you had been thinking earlier. You cleared your throat softly before offering an answer.
"I have not, mother. I haven't really come across their paths again," you answered as you continued with the shading of the portrait you've been working on. You felt her gaze finally settle on you at your emotionless reply.
"You are in the same art class as one of their boys, right?"
"The younger one, yes. Renjun Huang."
"Ah, the orphan."
Your hands stilled over her words. You barely noticed the way your fingers grasped the pencil you were holding, your knuckles almost turning white as you pressed the charcoal harder against the paper. The bitter taste on your tongue was back and you tried your best to swallow it without saying anything.
"I heard his older brother visits him every once in a while."
You don't know if it's her dismissive tone that was grating on your nerves or the way she entirely pushed the younger Huang into the background, but it took you everything to relax your jaw so you could give a curt reply.
"He does. I have come across Lord Yun a few weeks back during one of my classes but I have not seen him again since."
This time, it was your mother's turn to fall silent. You already have a hunch of what she was thinking, but you were still taken by surprise when she actually voiced it out.
"I think you should start considering being close friends with his younger brother."
You looked up, disbelief written all over your features.
"Why?"
She raised a well-kept brow as if you just asked a senseless question.
"Because you have more chances of being friends with him. You are closer in age and you see each other more. He can give you the window to get to know Lord Yun better."
"Mother—"
"They might have reached out for an engagement proposal but they are moving too slow. I don't understand why they are taking forever."
"I am not going to force a friendship with someone because of that!"
The look she gave you made the words instantly die in your throat. For the first time in such a long time, you noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the lines that have crept into her face. She is still the stunning beauty that she is, but you also can't deny the emotions she could barely conceal beneath her polished perfection.
Anger. Desperation. Exhaustion.
There was the obvious tiredness of dealing with the fear of falling from grace and the exhaustion of always putting up a fake front. She is desperate.
Desperate enough to sell off her daughter.
"I don't think you have an understanding of what is going on here," she said coldly now, her eyes piercing you with a chill that sank deep in your bones. "You do not have a choice, silly child. None of us do. Your marriage is the only thing that can save our family after your failure of a father gambled off all of his inheritance and mine. That chair you are sitting on, even the silk on your back, all of those will be gone soon if nothing changes."
"And for some reason it is my responsibility to do something when I—"
The sound of porcelain breaking and crashing cut off your words. Your mother stood up so fast from her seat that she accidentally swiped the tea set, causing all of its contents to spill on the floor. You looked up at her in shock, then at the mess on the rug where the dark liquid spread like the color of dried up blood.
"I will not take any words from an ungrateful brat like you," she hissed at you now with venom, her voice soft but chilling. Her hands shook at her sides, now rid of the rings that used to decorate them. "I know you cannot survive a life of poverty just like the rest of us, so unless you can give up everything that you have, I will not accept any talking back from you."
You were frozen in fear and the impact of her words, but you barely had any chance to recover when a knock echoed from outside the door. That seemed to be a wakeup call for your mother as she suddenly turned to stare at the direction of the noise. She let a few seconds pass, gathering herself, before finally calling out to the visitor.
"Come in."
The pair of you watched as a uniformed maid came in with a silver platter in her hands. With quick steps, she crossed the threshold and gave a brief curtsy before presenting what she had been carrying with her thin hands. Resting on the silver tray she was holding was a plain black envelope held closed by a golden wax seal that glimmered under the room’s light.
"Madam, this was just sent by horse."
Your eyes widened when you finally had a closer look at the emblem. You tried your best to keep calm, but you still couldn’t help the slight shaking of your fingers as you unconsciously fisted them on the fabric of your skirt. Your mother did a better job at masking her reaction, but the look in her eyes told her that she also realized the same as she reached out for the letter. She tore the cover open with a well manicured nail and didn’t waste any time to pull out the card nestled inside.
The silence that passed was brief but loaded. You watched as she slowly read out the words there before putting it down again. She then looked at you, a glint now brewing in her eyes despite her unreadable expression.
"Air out her best dresses and make a call to our fitters," she said calmly to the maid despite her gaze staying on you. You returned her order with a confused look, to which she only slightly smiled in reply.
"She has a ball to go to."
*******
"I can't believe we're here," Seri whispered from your side as she partly hid her face from the folding fan she was holding. You nodded numbly, barely registering her words, despite your mind buzzing with the same sentiments she has. Your eyes gave your surroundings another quick scan, as if you're expecting that everything unfolding in front of you right now will turn out to be a dream in a blink of an eye.
It didn’t. You really are in the palace ballroom, an expansive space made with a combination of gilded black and white marble. Flocks of people floated around in their puffy dresses and well-pressed suits, half of their faces covered in their choice of tasteful masks. The soft sound of chatter and glasses clinking together made you even more anxious, and you nervously tried to fix your own mask, a simple white and gold lace number that gave justice to the color of your eyes. It provided interest to your otherwise virginal dress, a white number also trimmed with lace and pearls. You hated how innocent and pure it made you look, but your mother insisted, saying it was the perfect choice for the occasion.
"We all know why you are going there. Seeing you in white will surely make Lord Yun give you that ring."
You quickly fished for a flute of sparkling wine from one of the uniformed butlers roving around with their silver carts before your nervousness could get best of you. You thought your nerves should have calmed down by now, but you were still on edge for some reason you really couldn't put your finger on. The only good thing about the night so far was that you also have Seri by your side since the Huangs' invitation extended to an additional person to join you and your parents’ party. If you're going to be honest, she is the only person keeping you grounded right now from the flood of stimuli overloading your senses.
"It's the King." Your dear friend's hushed whisper broke you from your internal battle with your nerves. Looking around, your gaze landed on the grand staircase situated at the head of the room just in time as a boy around your age emerged at the top of it. The rest of the room fell into a hush as they watched him move with innate grace, his gold trimmed royal suit catching the light from the chandeliers above as he made his way down the steps. Even with his mask covering half of his face, nobody can deny his charismatic aura as he moved confidently under the watchful gazes of his subjects.
He was the center of everyone's attention, but he wasn't the only one receiving the admirable stares of the crowd. Your eyes particularly slipped towards the girl silently shadowing his side, her arm linked loosely with the young King's elbow. Unlike the other royal who seems to sparkle with wit and natural charisma, his muse was silent, withdrawn, and maybe even a little cold with the way she carried herself. Clad in deep blue silk, she was the exact opposite of her consort's brightness… like summer and winter coming together. You could assume that she was also very beautiful from the curve of her features that you could make out under her mask, though she possessed the type of perfection that will seem to cut you when you get too close.
"That's King Donghyuck…?"
"King Haechan. His Royal Highness apparently decided to take a different name when he took over the throne."
You and Seri whispered in the softest of voices as the couple finally reached the ballroom floor. Everyone parted like the Red Sea as they started to make way towards the head table on a raised stage at the other end of the ballroom, the guests bowing respectfully as they passed them by. You did the same before they could even reach your spot and you saw Seri mirror your actions in your peripheral vision.
"Who is the girl?" You whispered again without even lifting your head.
"The new Queen. Nobody knows who she is and where she came from, but she was immediately granted the crown when His Highness ascended."
Before you even realized what you were doing, you found yourself raising your eyes just in time as the couple passed by. Immediately, you froze as your gaze locked with the girl who seemed to already be studying you from under her long lashes. You blinked. You weren't sure if it was just your imagination, but you thought you saw a ghost of a smile quirk the corners of her lips before she broke her stare on you. It was the type of smile that looked to be full of secrets... as if she was silently pleased by something only she understands.
"Welcome to the Summer Palace," your attention was broken by the light and lilting voice of the King as he turned to finally address the room. "This celebration had been a long time coming, but I'm glad all of you here were still able to make time to celebrate my recent ascension. Summer has finally come to our lands after years of unforgiving winter and it is rightful for us to show our thankfulness to the heavens with tonight's festivities. I expect everyone here to drink and dance like you've never done before. The night doesn't end until I say so."
The crowd's soft hum of agreement was only barely heard as the deep notes of orchestra music filled the space in perfect timing. Curiously, you looked around and saw the rest of the guests exchanging smiles and coupling together to get ready for the night's first dance. You didn't waste any time to turn to Seri, your hand already circling around her wrist to pull her out of the way.
"I think we should go to a calmer area first. We'll be in the way for the—"
"My Lady, would you care to have a dance?"
You turned on your heel promptly to find the source of the polite voice that called out to you. The boy in question stood just a couple of feet away from where you are, his lone form standing out in the sea of couples already starting to sway with the music. He looked radiant in his white suit and his eyes sparkled with humble shyness, but there is no mistaking the beauty of the light brown gaze behind his mask.
You felt your heart stutter as your lips formed his name.
"Lord Yun."
*******
"You look very beautiful tonight."
Yun’s voice sounded clear despite the classical music filling up the halls of the ballroom. Your eyes fell at a spot on his chest, right on the brooch bearing his family’s crest that he was wearing with his tuxedo. You could feel your cheeks pooling up with heat under his soft gaze and you couldn't be more thankful for the hundredth time that night that you had a mask to cover up your childish blush. Clearing your throat softly, you tried your best to return the compliment with the steadiest voice you can offer.
"As you are, Sir. Thank you very much for extending this invitation to us. It is indeed an experience to be invited to the royal ball."
"Ah… My father was a close confidante of the former king and Renjun himself is a same-age friend of his highness. It was his idea to reach out to close allies of the family. I… hope we didn't surprise you too much when we sent the invitation over," he answered with a slightly sheepish tone as he skillfully guided you to turn in his arms. That made you finally lift your eyes towards his face for the first time since you started to dance, an almost ironic smile pulling at your lips in answer.
"No… my family was very happy to receive it," you replied evenly and with practiced calm. How could they hate it when they were already presented with the golden ticket to the kingdom's highest of social circles, right? And before you even got married, too.
"I have met them earlier and they were very gracious as usual. I believe they've joined my parents for dinner tonight. Perhaps we can sit with them later… if you wish?"
The way he phrased that question was so careful and calculated that it also urged you to take a couple of seconds before giving your reply. To be honest, you are very much aware that the stage of playing innocent about his agenda has long passed now, but that doesn't mean that you are entirely ready about what comes next. Sending over his intention to be one of the candidates for your hand is one thing, but unlocking the opportunity for your family to join their inner, more exclusive circle has pushed the envelope even more. In the world you live in, courting is more like a game and a dance. Each step is calculated, each sway hiding a meaning of its own.
Unfortunately for you, you've made yourself a participant to that very game the moment you stepped foot into this ball. It may not have been fully your choice, but it is what it is, no matter which angle you try to look at it. Your parents know it, as does his family, and now, the pair of you are expected to continue on with the dance that has already been put into motion.
You didn't like it… but it isn't like you are entirely hateful towards it, too. You've always known that an arranged marriage is what's waiting for you at the end of the line, and looking at your current predicament, you think you could have done worse. The man standing in front of you right now is everything a woman your age and standing could ever wish for in a husband so surely, you are not getting the short end of the stick here. Not once have Yun imposed his presence on you, despite the rank and wealth of his family. Even now, he was still giving you the choice to say no to something if it wasn't within your comforts. He is kind… and that holds a lot of weight for someone who hasn't been at the receiving end of it for so long.
Yes, you may not be in love with him, but he is definitely someone you can learn to love.
"Yes… I would be honored to meet your parents, my Lord."
The music around you shifted, urging the two of you to get closer just as you said those words. Yun pulled you in a little bit closer against him, but left enough space to respect your personal boundaries even as he smiled down on you radiantly. It was you who took the extra step to close the distance a little bit more as your lips tilted to form the first genuine smile you've given in such a long time.
*******
“Don’t you find it incredibly ironic, how fate seems to find its own way to spite us even without the help of black magic?”
Renjun’s gaze didn’t waver from the couple swaying gracefully on the edge of the dance floor despite the new visitor joining his company. He was currently standing next to one of the farthest windows in the room a few feet away from the crowd, his form partly covered by the shadows from the darkness outside. Instead of answering the question, he silently lifted the flute of wine he was holding to his lips with the hope of washing down the bitter taste coating his tongue.
"Shouldn't you be sitting prettily next to your King, your Highness?" He tried to ask calmly after downing the golden liquid from his glass. Light laughter answered his question, the sound grating at his already raw nerves.
A girl in a blue dress took a step closer to where he was, the gems in her silk gown catching some of the slivers of moonlight streaming from the windows. Her eyes were also set on the couple and she leaned her head just a little bit to the side as her perfect lips upturned into an amused smile. It took Renjun everything not to turn towards the her to give her a poisonous look.
"Ah… Renjun. I can't believe that I'll actually witness your turn to pine for someone this soon. It is so amusing, a Gancanagh falling in love with a human. I have to say… of all the curses I have ever given, yours might be my favorite."
His fingers flexed around the stem of the wine glass he was holding as her taunting words filled the charged air between them. He hated the truth behind her jeers, hated the way how he couldn't even manage to mask the waves of jealousy coursing through his veins at the moment. He watched as his brother slightly bent over the woman in his arms, causing her to laugh at whatever it is he just whispered. His sharp eyes didn't miss the way her eyes sparkled with genuine happiness, one emotion that she hadn't granted him ever in the many times they've come face to face.
"I guess you should be thanking me for giving you a source of amusement? Surely your life has gone dull after you let a mortal man claim you as his," he shot back, the venom in his voice now barely concealed by his soft tone. A soft sigh fanned his cheek in answer and he saw the other move to stand closer to him in his peripheral vision.
"I may have lost my freedom, but at least I am with someone who loves me with all of his heart. I don't think we have the same predicament, when the apple of your eye can't even bear to spare you a look. Maybe you should skin your brother alive and adopt his face so she could give you some of her time?"
"She is not in love with him."
"Yet. She is not in love with him… yet."
For the first time that night Renjun finally moved to direct his glare at the woman. Dark red embers glowed from the depths of his brown eyes, giving a glimpse of his true nature hidden beneath his mortal facade. Anyone who would have seen him now would think he is a creature fresh from a nightmare—all angles and darkness—but even the slip of his true form didn't move the sorceress standing in front of him. Instead, she met his silent wrath with a slow smile, her own eyes glowing blue, matching his fire with her ice.
The moment lasted for no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to drop the temperature of the radius of the room where they were currently standing. He was the first one to snap back to his mortal glamor, his appearance shifting to his old self. His lips also tipped at the corners, reflecting the other’s look of amusement.
"You're right. She should fall in love with my brother as soon as possible," he drawled, his tongue rolling over the word ‘brother’ with malicious grace. The girl in front of him raised her brow, intrigued by his change of tone. "That will only make it sweeter for me once I snatch her from him."
The queen's jaw visibly set at the obvious connotation of his tone. She didn't say anything and Renjun took the chance to take a step closer to her to reach out for a tendril of hair that escaped the intricate braid holding up her crown. Burning black ice instantly coated the tips of his fingers when he touched her, but that didn't stop him from gently caressing her locks between his thumb and pointer finger.
"You might have cursed me, but I think you've forgotten what I can still do. Do you know what happens when a Gancanagh falls in love, my Queen?" He whispered, his voice soft and lilting enough to make the moon outside weep and sigh.
"They stop at nothing to get who they want… Even at the cost of mortal lives."
*******
You gave a perfect turn in time with the orchestra's bellowing notes that filled the room. Not too far from you, you could hear Seri's melodious laughter as she also did the same in the arms of her own partner. You didn't know how long you had been dancing, but you didn't really mind the slight ache building at the back of your heels as you felt Yun's hands settle politely on your hip again. You looked at him with a smile and he returned the gesture with a slight bow of his head.
"Are you tired? Maybe we should sit down for a bit?"
You were just about to answer when the soft sounds of strings filled the ballroom again. Before you could even say anything, you felt a slight tug on your arm that made you take a few steps back. You looked around to see Seri beaming at you, her face glowing and eyes dancing with excitement. It was obvious with just a glance just how much she was enjoying the night.
"It's the mixed dance! We have to go and join!"
Both you and Lord Yun chuckled at the girl's reaction at the same time. Looking at him, he gave you a polite nod as he stepped away and let go of his hold on your hip. Before Seri could even entirely whisk you away, he reached out for your hand and gave it a gentle kiss. The gentle feel of his lips against your gloved hand made your heart stutter the same time an unknown feeling bloomed in your chest.
"I'll see you later, my Lady."
You were thankful for your friend for pulling you towards the opposite side of the ballroom because otherwise, you would have stood there longer just staring after the man even as he melted with the crowd. You were still a little out of it when the music started picking up, your body merely moving on autopilot as the other girls forming the dance line started swaying in beat with the music. The next thing you know, you were once again lost in a sea of skirts blooming like petals with every turn. Around you, people behind masks linked arms with each other before letting go to move on again to another person.
It was so addictive… the high of it all. The music, the sound of laughter, even the melodious tapping of heels almost put you in a trance. You twirled from arm to arm with practiced grace, floating from one gentleman to another at every rise of the musical notes. Smiles and compliments blurred together until they formed a cacophony that only made you want to move more. When the music finally started to swell to a crescendo, your heart matched it with the way it danced in your chest.
One step, two steps, a glide to the right. The strings sang beautifully with their high notes and the low notes from the bass supported their peak with their resounding hums. You tipped your face a little upwards and closed your eyes as you made one last turn to match the harmony, only stopping when you finally felt yourself slip in another person's arms—your last and final partner for the night. You felt fingers settle gently on your hips before pulling you in slowly as the last parting note of the orchestra rang in the air. A small smile quirked your lips and you moved in closer before opening your eyes again.
And then you froze.
His black mask covered the perfection of his features, but there is no mistaking who those dark eyes belonged to, nor the lips that slowly smiled at you.
Renjun dug his nails a tad bit harder against the silk of your dress as you turned into stone in his arms.
"You almost lost your balance there. It's fine…"
"I got you."
CHAPTER 3
-------
A/N: So... I don’t even know if people still remember this story, but here’s the second chapter after MONTHS of waiting. I wasn’t entirely 100 percent satisfied with how I wrote this, but I decided to get this out because otherwise this will just rot in my drafts. Tagging the people here who requested to be notified before! <3
Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?
NOTE:This is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.
Genre: yandere, horror, suspense, poly dynamics
TW (READ BEFORE PROCEEDING): violence, use of weapons, character deaths. abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, kidnapping, mental health, language, stockholm syndrome. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age, drugs, questionable consent (?), kidnapping, mentions of suicide, I guess? Creepy, creepy, creepy!
“WOULD YOU DIE FOR HER?”
“I DO. EVERY DAY.”
- JESSICA SHIRVINGTON, EMBLAZE
It was similar to the feeling of being underwater.
There was a sense of detachment that enveloped you as your body floated idly just under the surface of the waves. You felt weightless, your limbs light as the gentle current ebbed and flowed around you. You could hear sounds… muffled ones from the surface, as the pressure around your head and the ringing in your ears cocooned you from fully understanding each word. There was a filter over your line of sight too—light and shapes moved in front of you, but your brain couldn't really make out their form. You were floating… floating… you were safe.
Except you were not. At least not entirely.
It was an odd feeling, the one you were submerged in at the moment. You were shielded, but at the same time, there was a hacking feeling in your chest that pierced you painfully. You were fighting for your breath, struggling for it, but you were also repressing the instinct for survival, like you are desperately chasing your own death.
Come back.
Darling? Look at me…
The sounds, once too garbled, were slowly turning clearer. You could make out words, but you weren't really sure whether you are physically hearing them or if they are all just in your head.
No…
Love, I'm not going to hurt you.
Please. Please no. Just let me be.
I don't want to… but I'll have to. If you don't look at me…
"Now."
The last word felt like a pierce straight to your lungs. You started choking and your hands reached out to find purchase on something that can save you. Warmth welcomed your outstretched fingers, and you felt it pull your weight to save you from the abyss.
But you weren't saved at all. No. You were pulled again, this time to a different type of hell.
You tasted salt in your tongue as your sight finally focused on the face in front of you. He smiled at you lovingly as your lips formed his name.
"Taeyong…"
"Shh… there you are. You've shut down for a little bit there. Come on, you need to focus. How are you feeling?"
The emotions all came at once. It was like there was a floodgate that opened inside of you and all of a sudden everything you've tried to hold back when you retreated to your own world came slamming into you like strong waves. Shock. Nausea. Fear. Pure, gripping fear. You slightly doubled over, and that's when you only realized you are now seated on a chair in the middle of the room.
"Hey, it's okay. You are safe now. I'm sorry I got here late. It's fine. I got you."
Taeyong's last words were what finally made you throw up. You hunched over, hacking coughs wrecking through your body as your stomach churned and tried to expel the little it had there. Tears pricked the sides of your eyes and you wrapped your arms around your shaking form to try and hold yourself together. You felt a hand run soothingly over your spine, but instead of calming you, you reacted by flinching from the touch.
When you looked up again, the look of hurt was evident in Taeyong’s eyes. It was only there for a fleeting second though, the emotion soon enough bleeding into a dullness that only made you shake in fear even more. The man in front of you now is far from the one you first met months ago—there was not a trace of the warmth and friendliness that eased you in before. If anything, it was as if they never existed at all.
“You knew… You knew everything," you managed to choke out from the roughness of your throat. You couldn't feel the tears anymore, but your eyes burned as you stared at the stranger in front of you. You felt on the verge of vomiting again, but even your body was shutting down in itself.
Taeyong slowly smiled at you as he reached out to cradle one of your limp hands in his. What he said next was the last nail in the coffin that you needed.
“I knew? Love… I didn’t just know.”
“I started it.”
*******
Johnny cursed under his breath as he took a last second turn to a small alley to his right. The tires screeched under the effort as he tried to maneuver the vehicle through the street, his concentration set on making sure that he didn't run over anything with his speed. Beside him, Yuta’s eyes were set on the tablet on his hand as his other fist held on to the passenger seat handle to keep himself steady.
“How many minutes till we reach Rosewood?” he asked tensely now as he scrolled through a new file that was just sent to him by the headquarters. Johnny gave a quick glance at his GPS as he made another swerve.
“Four minutes. Did they send you what you need?”
Yuta pulled his phone and nodded, a prominent frown sitting between his brows. “Yes. The family has dozens of properties in Seoul alone, but I’m working through them now. We’re sure Taeyong didn’t leave Korea, right?”
“That’s what they said. The headquarters blasted his photo to all airports in case he left under a different name. There is no trace of him anywhere so he’s here.”
“What do we do if he’s not in Rosewood? They have tons of houses, Johnny. Condo units, buildings. He could be keeping her anywhere.”
That made Johnny grit his teeth. He could feel the rush of blood in his ears and there was a growing bitter taste at the back of his tongue. Before he could even answer though, their car broke through the deserted street they’re on, revealing in the horizon the top windows of the manor. He stepped harder on the gas then, wasting no time to cross the remaining distance to the front gates. The place was deserted of any cars and he and Yuta didn't waste another second before unstrapping their seatbelts and jumping out of theirs.
The first thing that struck them is how dead the place looked. The two of them have visited it a couple of times before, but there is an unexplainable veil of chill that cloaked the structure now as it loomed over them like a ghostly sentinel. It was as if the mansion never held any comfort before… or ever at all.
They both exchanged a look now before taking another step from their car. As if on autopilot, their hands fell on their hips at the same time, feeling for their guns there. It was Yuta who caught something odd at the corner of his vision when he finally started stalking towards the entrance, the movement so slight that he almost missed it. He frowned at the place where it came from, this time fully pulling his gun from his holster.
“Johnny.”
The other glanced his way and he nodded his head silently towards his right. Johnny moved closer to him, sharp eyes set on the place.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know. It seems to be coming from one of the rooms. We can’t see it properly from here.”
For a moment, none of them spoke, their focus set on the odd spot at the second floor of the manor. All the curtains were drawn, limiting their vision, but then something moved from the inside, revealing something that made both their eyes widen in shock.
Thick black smoke leaked from the cracks of the windows like ghostly fumes. One of the curtains covering the room finally gave way, revealing the bright orange flames eating up the manor from the inside.
“Shit.”
“Call the fire depart—”
Yuta wasn’t able to finish the rest of his sentence as an ear-splitting sound shook the ground they were standing on. He and Johnny ducked just in time as glass rained down on them from the explosion on one side of the house. Thicker tongues of fire and smoke spilled to the garden and filled the air with smoke that curled upwards into the sky. Johnny rolled over to his side to check on his partner but Yuta was already on his feet and reaching out to open the car door.
“It might be a gas leak, we need to get out of here. There might be another explosion!”
Johnny didn’t need to be told twice. Pushing himself up from the dirt ground, he managed to slip himself back into the driver’s seat despite the cuts his arm caught from the wayward glass shards. His ears were still ringing from the unexpected blast, but he could already hear Yuta screaming over at their radio from his side, calling for an emergency fire response.
“Fucking hell. What the hell is happening,” the latter cursed as their car backed away from the front lawn. “The fire department is coming but they—”
Johnny had only barely managed to put a safe enough distance between their car and the burning house when he glanced at Yuta again. The Japanese was looking at the screen of his phone, an odd look on his face. Johnny glanced at the number flashing there, and he frowned as he ran the digits silently in his mind. He remembers seeing it before on file, but couldn’t remember who exactly it belongs to thanks to the high-tension of the situation.
“Answer it. Put it on loudspeaker.”
Yuta pressed the answer button without another word.
“Hello?”
For the first few seconds, there was nothing but silence that echoed from the other end. Johnny and Yuta looked at each other before the latter moved his phone closer to his lips. He was about to speak again when a voice finally broke through, quiet but steady.
“Is this the police?”
Both men stiffened on their seats momentarily. They only heard that voice once during one of their quick interrogations, but there is no doubt who it belongs to.
“Yes. Who is this?” Johnny asked as steadily as he could. His eyes slipped towards the manor again, the good half of it now being consumed by flames.
The silence only lasted a few more seconds.
“It’s Chenle Lee. We need your help.”
*******
The air felt stale and thick as it expanded and stretched across the room. You looked at Taeyong, struck to silence, as you tried to wrap your head around his words. There was a part of you that was slowly starting to shut down again, but there was also a good half of your sanity that was fighting to stay conscious as the pieces started to fall into their right places. Slowly, your eyes moved upwards, meeting four other pairs staring at you silently from across the room. You didn’t need words to figure out what you could see in them. Jeno, Renjun, Jaemin, and Haechan’s voices flashed in your head, their old words echoing inside the growing hollowness inside of you.
“It’s better this way.”
“Don’t you see? We saved you.”
“Believe me, you’re better off with us.”
“I love you.”
“Why?”
Your voice was barely a whisper when you addressed the room. You didn’t exactly know who you were asking, but your eyes never left the four even as you felt fingers tighten around your hand again. None of them spoke, but the way they looked on to you helplessly was enough for you to finally lose the last shred of sanity that you were holding on to. When your eyes fell on Taeyong again, you were sure a part of you had already died.
“Why…” you asked again, your vision slowly darkening at the edges. The devil in front of you smiled and kissed your cold knuckles.
“I don’t really know how to answer that, but… I guess it’s best to start from the beginning?" He said softly as he ran his thumb lightly over your pulse. You wanted nothing more but to hide from the way he lovingly looked at you, but you also couldn't look away, riveted by the horror slowly unfolding in front you.
"You probably don't even remember it, but the moment I saw you back in the orphanage, I knew my life wasn’t going to be the same again. I fell in love with you. You were so perfect back then.”
What…
“You were so hauntingly beautiful that even my bitch of a mother wanted to take you in. To be honest, I felt so disappointed that she couldn’t get you at first, but then I realized, it was better because I wouldn’t want her to get her hands on you. Besides, I'm okay with loving you from afar. I could wait. I have always been so good at waiting.”
Your head was slowly starting to grow heavy. You couldn’t understand what he was saying, the confusion making bile slowly start to climb up your throat again. You felt yourself shake your head, a gesture Taeyong took as an encouragement for him to continue.
“We’re so perfect for each other. One look at you and I knew you were also broken just like me… It was magical, that moment I saw you and realized that you’re the only girl I was ever going to love. I had no doubts about it so I made sure to keep an eye on you through the years. There were moments when I lost track of you because I got so busy with other things, but of course I wasn't so careless to entirely lose you. You won't believe how much you made me happy when you responded to the tutor post I made just for you. It really was fate. You forgive me for making you wait so long, right…?
The orphanage… the job post… He knew you…?
“I knew that was the only reason why you only started to date your boyfriend too,” Taeyong continued as if he was retelling the greatest love story in the world. “You must have been so lonely because I took so long to get you. I admit though, you took me by surprise when you accepted his proposal. That was something I didn’t see coming. If only I knew…”
Your heart stopped beating in your chest as he pressed the middle of your palm, his blunt nails leaving painful half moon marks on your skin. You were hurting, but even the sting was not enough to mask the growing panic inside of you.
“Then I would have ripped Jaehyun apart limb by limb myself."
The sharp sting of salt in your lips was the only sign that told you you’re still breathing and alive. Everything else felt like a nightmare. A lucid dream you wanted nothing more to escape but couldn’t.
“But! That’s something we don’t have to worry about anymore, right? My brothers here did an amazing job taking care of that for me. Renjun didn’t snuff him out entirely, but we can work on that later,” Taeyong said lightly, his tone casual as he looked back at the four other boys in the room. Haechan and Renjun looked back at him with a pained expression while Jaemin seemed to be holding himself back from the tense way he was standing. Jeno was the only one who didn’t meet the older one’s gaze, his eyes set on you instead.
“They’ve always known who you are…” Taeyong’s whisper made your chest constrict painfully as if a dagger was slowly being pushed there. You stared at the brothers in front of you, lifeless and broken. “I’ve told them so many stories about you even when they were young. How you’re so beautiful, and how we would all be so happy once we can finally have you in our family. They were supposed to help me with my plan to get you… trusted you to them while I slowly took care of things. Because you know… That’s how brothers should be for each other, right?”
Silence settled in the room like a ticking time bomb. The air was so heavily charged that you were almost physically suffocating as your chest heaved to put air in your system. Taeyong didn’t seem to mind, too lost in his own madness. Instead, he buried his nails against your hand harder until he finally broke skin.
“I guess I underestimated them… Or rather, I underestimated you. It never occurred to me how you could also make them fall for you, even to the extent that they would betray their own family. It was so ironic… And I’m really hurt too. To think that I saved them from their own hell but this is how they repay me… by trying to steal you away from me.”
The warm feeling of blood pooling in your palm held no match to the overwhelming emotions crashing against the borders of your consciousness. You looked at Taeyong without actually seeing him, your voice sounding like that of a stranger’s when you managed to part your lips.
“Why…”
“Hm? What was that? I couldn't hear you."
“Why me…”
For a moment, Taeyong only stared at you as if he was surprised that you were asking such a senseless question. You didn’t shift your gaze away from his, not when you feel like it was your lifeline to hear his answer. None of what he said makes sense. No… you were so sure there is more to this than just obsessive, blind love. A madman like him can’t only be pushed by that.
It took a while for his facade to finally break, but Taeyong finally sighed after a while and ran his thumbs over the cuts he marked on your skin lovingly. The red spread over your skin like visible poison, but you didn’t mind it, your attention only focused on him.
“Because you saved me. You saved all of us.”
Your breath caught in your throat. Taeyong slowly lifted his gaze from your palm to meet yours.
“After I first saw you in the orphanage, I wanted to know more about you. Why you were returned there, and why your family couldn’t take you back anymore. It took me a while to really dig through, but when I saw your full story…” he trailed off, a twisted lovesick look clouding his eyes. You, on the other hand, stilled so hard that every fiber in your body wanted to scream in pain. He can’t be talking about what you were thinking. It’s impossible for this whole madness to go down that route.
“I fell even more in love. To kill your family who made you suffer when you were a child by burning them down to ashes? That was the exact moment I knew that I wanted you.”
No…
“You see, our parents didn’t really want us. They bought us, only to make our lives a living hell… They broke us down every day, and at one point, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I was actually thinking of killing all of my brothers, then myself, to save us from the pain, but you showed me a different route to it.”
Stop…
“I knew there was a reason why you caught my eye that day at the orphanage. After I found out about your story… I was… inspired,” Taeyong looked at you with blind devotion, lost in his own world. "You killed your abusers at such a young age, so why shouldn’t I do it? I didn’t have the same guts that you have, but you just… gave me a different way out. So I waited… I waited until I could do it on my own. I wanted to do it in a more romantic way, the same way that you did—by burning them down to the bone—but a car crash is easier to fake.”
You started to sway in your seat, your vision starting to close on you. Taeyong tightened your hold on your wrist, forcefully pulling you from the unconsciousness that was about to swallow you down.
“Do you see it now? Why we are so perfect for each other? You saved me… All of us. You made me strong."
"I killed them..."
"Thanks to you.”
*******
"Taeyong-hyung… She's bleeding."
Renjun's voice sounded far off when it broke the stillness in the space. You heard his words, but it was not until you felt the pressure against your hand finally lift when you realized what he meant.
"Ah. I'm so sorry… I got carried away. Are you okay?"
You didn't say anything, your eyes set instead on your bloody palm carved and marked with nail prints. The striking vision in front of you was a direct opposite of how you were feeling—numb. Dead. And hollow. You felt like a marionette, lifeless with nothing but a puppeteer pulling you by the strings.
"I'll take care of that later, okay? We need to go now… We've wasted so much time here talking," Taeyong's voice crooned at you sweetly. You felt yourself being guided slowly out of your seat, a hand going around your waist for support.
"Hyung."
It was Jaemin's voice this time. You knew that even without looking at him. You tried to lift your head, but you couldn't see anything, your brain too numb to actually connect with what your eyes were seeing. Your free hand tried to reach out for him, but your fingers only closed around thin air.
It was a fleeting, miniscule gesture, but of course it was enough for Taeyong to notice with his sharp eyes. His lips pursed into a thin line as he looked at you, then back at the rest of his brothers standing far off into the room. Nobody dared breathe. Not him, not you, and most definitely not the four younger boys watching you. You barely had half of your wits with you anymore, but even in your state, you could sense the obvious structure of power charging the air.
You've seen the four through their highs and lows…
But this is the first time you've ever seen them truly afraid.
"Do you want them to come with us?"
You didn't answer, but the question made you turn your attention back to Taeyong. You've long lost control over your thoughts, and the words left you before you even realized what they meant.
"Don't hurt them…"
Those three words made Taeyong freeze by your side. You saw the way his face twisted, his dark eyes burning down on you for a good number of seconds.
"You love them…"
That made you flinch slightly. It didn't sound like he was asking a question at all with the way the words rolled out from his lips bitterly. You kept silent, but that was enough of a confirmation for the man. For another minute, the silence stretched again, your slow heartbeats being the only tune you can hear in the room. Taeyong's eyes were burning down on you and you held them, dead but steady. It was only for a while, but that brief moment of stare down felt like an infinity in the pits of hell.
"I guess they can come," he finally said and you felt his hand circle your waist possessively again. "I still don't trust them…"
"But I guess breaking their bones is easier than yours if you want to escape."
You didn't say anything to that, but your eyes met with Jeno's across the room. Your stomach felt heavy as he broke the gaze and looked away. He didn't need to say it, but the reality rang in the air as if he screamed it right back at you.
Help is not coming. At least not from them.
"You can follow the car. The private jet is waiting for us," Taeyong's voice was hard as he barely looked at his brothers. "Don't try to do anything funny again."
You felt weightless as you were steered away once more, every step you took heavy as if you were heading towards your death. The sound of the car door locking on your side felt like the final judgment. Your gaze moved towards the side mirror and you found your eyes locking with Haechan's from the vehicle behind. You couldn't quite figure out the look that he had–and you didn't try–not when the low rumble of the engine purred to life around you.
"Where are we going?"
Taeyong tightened his hands slightly around the steering wheel. In front of you, what looked like a garage door slowly opened, revealing a dirt road fringed by the forest. One look and you knew it was the same woods you only used to stare at from the view of your window, but instead of feeling a sense of freedom, there was only panic that slowly started to consume you as you felt the car finally move. Taeyong's voice sounded off beside you, sealing your fate.
"Home. We're going home."
Bang!
The screech of metal hitting against metal was so loud that it took you a second to realize what was happening. If not for the impact that made your ears ring painfully, you wouldn't have realized that your body jerked forward against the dashboard as something crashed against the side of your car. Your seatbelt kept you from fully bashing your head against the glass, but you still felt your vision swim as you tried to push yourself back against your seat with a groan. You have barely registered the sight of Taeyong slumped against the wheel when you felt hands grab and pull you from your seat. The smoking nose of the other car was jammed against his side, crumpled from the impact.
"Come on. We have to hurry."
It was Renjun's voice that woke you up from your stupor. Looking around, you saw him try to keep himself steady on his feet the same time Jaemin flanked your other side. A chilling realization gripped you when you saw the red running down the side of his arm.
"Renjun, you're bleeding—"
"I'm fine. Go with Jaemin. I'll catch up. I'll get Jeno and Haechan."
The mention of the other two made your head snap up again. Turning towards the other car, you saw Haechan stumble out of the driver's seat with Jeno right behind him. He was bleeding more heavily, half of his head soaked with red. A soft whimper left you as you saw him almost crash into Jeno's arms.
"W-wait, Haechan—"
A hard tug against your arm kept you from running over to their side. Jaemin steered you harder against him, his tense voice only barely piercing through your panic.
"We can't. We need to go now."
"But we can't leave them. Jaem—!"
You weren't able to finish as Jeno's eyes locked with yours. His face looked contorted with pain, but at least he could still hold himself up as he tried to balance Haechan against his side. By this time, Renjun had also reached the duo, supporting the other to keep himself up. Jeno's hunting rifle caught the light and that's when you only realized that it was pointed towards the driver's seat of the car you were just pulled out from. You felt a chill when you saw Taeyong slowly stir from the wreck, his face equally bloody.
"Go. We'll come after you. Jaemin, take her away."
Jeno didn't need to say it twice. You felt Jaemin drag you out of the exit and into the forest, even as your eyes stayed with the group left behind. The last thing you saw before a clump of trees blocked your view was Jeno and Renjun trying to drag out a lifeless looking Haechan between them.
Everything was a blur from there. You were running, stumbling, the colors of the forest whizzing past as you barrelled deeper into the woods. Beside you, you could hear Jaemin heaving—as if he was also in pain—though he didn't even spare a second to stop to catch his breath. Branches whipped and scratched the two of you, but you both pushed through, the thumping of your heavy footfalls echoing against the dirt ground.
The sound of gunshots is what finally made your stop in your tracks. Three consecutive shots pierced the air, loud and ringing. Jaemin turned stiff like a statue beside you as he looked beyond at nothing in particular, his pupils shaking.
"Jaemin, we have to go ba—"
He cut you off by suddenly clamping his palm over your lips and putting a finger over his. You looked at him wide-eyed, surprised by the action, but then you realized what it was exactly that he was trying to listen to when you heard a new sound charging through the woods. For a moment, the two of you just stared at each other in fear, until a new voice pierced the air.
"Jaemin!"
"Jaemin, give her back to me!!!"
You have barely managed to push out a gasp when you felt Jaemin's strong grip on your forearm. It was only through his strength alone that you were able to keep yourself on your feet as he steered you deeper into the shrubberies while his head whipped around in urgency. You had just managed to straighten yourself up again after almost tripping on a wayward root when he almost lifted you by the arm and pushed you somewhere. You barely registered the feel of the damp soil under your hands as you bent over into a crouch under the cover of a hollow tree bark.
"Jaemin—"
"It's okay. You're safe here. Don't move and make sure to keep quiet, okay?"
The way his voice sounded broke you. The air was still charged and you could see his hands shaking, but right now, it was like there was a quick 180 with the way he was trying to soothe you. You knew that tone—it was the one he would always use whenever you used to be anxious and needed calming. You watched him now, speechless, as his hands scrambled to gather some branches to form a type of gate on the entrance of your hiding place. Your throat felt tight and there was a stinging in your eyes that you didn't even try to hold back.
"What are you doing? Hide here with me."
"I can't, love. It's fine. Everything is going to be fine. Make sure you don't move, okay? One of us will come find you. You just have to stay here for a while."
Lies. Jaemin always told you the truth, even if it's something you didn't like, but he never lied to you ever… until now. He could act, but you both know what's really happening at the moment.
"Please don't leave. He's going to hurt you too."
Your voice broke when you managed to push out the words past the knot in your throat. Jaemin heard the tears and stopped, his eyes finally locking with yours from the small remaining gap that he didn't manage to cover yet. At that moment, you saw him falter, helplessness and fear overtaking his gentle features. You took the chance to slip your hand to reach out to his face then and he caught it with his to press your palm against his cheek.
"I'll be gone just for a little while. Wait for me?"
"No. No…"
"I'm going to take him far away from you. You can keep quiet for me, yes? You have to…"
"Stop…"
Your tears were blinding you so much that you could barely see his face anymore. He was smiling, but his eyes told you everything he didn't dare to say. The way that he finally kissed your palm was your undoing, a sob leaving you as you tried to reach out for him again. Jaemin moved away just before you could touch him.
"I love you. All of us do… In our own ways. Don't ever forget that, okay?"
"Jae—"
"JAEMIN!!!"
The sound of a flock of birds taking off with their shrill cries shattered the air together with Taeyong's voice. He sounded so loud and so close that you immediately curled in on yourself, your feet pushing back against the dirt as your hands covered your ears. That also seemed to wake Jaemin up as he looked back to the forest shadows in panic before turning his attention to you once more. The last you saw of him was his pale face before he finally covered the small gap of your hiding place.
"Please, whatever happens. Don't make a sound."
*******
The sound of your breaths was the only thing that you could hear. You didn't know how long you'd been sitting in the darkness, but your limbs were starting to hurt as you stayed crouched in the shadows, tensed and motionless. It couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes since Jaemin left, but the lack of free-flowing air and anxiety was already starting to take over the rest of your system. Beyond you, you could hear branches cracking and snapping, but you couldn't figure out how far off they were from your hiding spot.
A piercing scream rang in the air just then and made you involuntarily shrink against the rough bark behind you. It sounded in pain, like a wild beast howling in torture. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of it, as it was soon followed by three defining gunshots that echoed loudly into the forest.
"Where are you?"
"WHERE ARE YOU!!!"
It took you everything not to make any sound. You were shaking, but you managed to cover your lips with both hands just to choke back the fear wanting to spill out of you. Taeyong's voice sounded as if he was surrounding you—far, but not too far.
"Why are you making this too hard for me? I love you. You shouldn't be giving me such a hard time…"
"Do you really want to see all of them hurt before you even show yourself? That's not a very nice thing to do…"
Your eyes stung from the way you unblinkingly stared in horror at the gaps between the branches covering you. You were so sure that his voice sounded close, but then all of a sudden there was nothing but silence beyond you. Not a single rock, branch, or leaf turned. Everything went dead, as if a switch had been turned off.
The loud crashing sound of the branches in front of you is what finally made you scream. You watched with horror as a hand reached out into your hiding place, its fingers outstretched. You tried to push yourself back to avoid it, but its owner was quick enough to close around your arm to tug you forward.
"No! No—"
"Shh! It's me! Don't scream."
Your voice died when you saw Jeno's face suddenly peer from outside. He had finally managed to hack away the rest of the dried shrubs covering you with the nose of his hunting rifle and he bent over to finally reach out to you with both hands. In your shock, you let him easily pull you out of your spot into an upright position again. He didn't waste any time to get you to move by tugging at your hand.
"We have to go. Try to be as quiet as you can. He's just around."
The initial surprise had rendered you speechless as your pair started weaving between the trees, but your eyes caught a red stain on the side of his shirt that wasn't there when you last saw him. Its vivid red stood out against his skin, and you were suddenly reminded of something that almost made you lose your balance again.
"Jaemin… H-he got him…"
Jeno didn't answer but you saw his jaw tick. Your heart plummeted even more.
"Haechan and Renjun… Are they also…"
He stopped so fast in his spot that you almost crashed into him. He steadied you by holding you by the shoulders and you looked up at him, blinking away the tears.
"I need you to do something for me. You see these trees here? The ones with the wide leaves? I need you to run and follow that trail. Don't stop until you haven't left the woods yet. You'll see a road at the end of it. Help will be waiting for you there."
Your hands reached out to grab at his shirt and you shook your head violently.
"Jeno, no…"
"Don't make any turns. You'll get lost. You have to be careful."
"I won't go alone—"
The dying light of the sun slipped between the cracks of the thick foliage above you. They caught his eyes, and for a second, you saw his mask slip. Jeno had always kept a part of him closed off, even in your moments together, but in that brief moment, you were so sure you were finally seeing the real him. The scared boy. The hurt brother.
The man you've learned to love.
You felt his hand cup your face before he leaned over to kiss your eyes gently. Tears streamed down on them freely as he pulled away.
"I love you. I really do. I'm so sorry for all I've done—we've done—to hurt you."
You felt something inside of you break.
"If you love me, you'll come with me."
Jeno shook his head and squeezed your hand in his.
"I can't. You won't be free while he's alive. He'll never let you go. There is no other way out of this… I need to take care of him."
The gravity of his words sunk on you like dull blades digging against your chest. You stared at him speechless and you felt him run his thumb gently over your cheek as a small, sad smile tugged at his lips.
"Thank you for everything. Be happy for me, okay?"
"Jeno, I love y—"
You weren't able to immediately connect the shrilling sound that whizzed past your head until you saw Jeno stumble back a little. Eyes growing wide, it was as if time stopped for you as you watched red spread all over his shoulder like an unfurling rose. He seemed to be in shock too as he looked down on his chest, before gravity started pulling him down towards the forest floor.
"I don't think you're in the position to tell her to be happy, brother dear."
You fell on your knees to Jeno's side the same time Taeyong emerged from the trees behind you. His pistol was still smoking when he put it down, his eyes cold as he stared at the pair of you crumpled together on the ground. Jeno coughed and grabbed at his chest, the action causing blood to trickle down the side of his lips. You reached out to cover the same spot he was holding on to, your fingers quickly stained with red as you tried to helplessly stop the blood flow.
"Oh m-my god… No… N-No…"
"Jaemin gave me such a hard time. Little prince is too tough for his own good and fought me off even after all those shots. I thought I lost you forever," Taeyong softly said behind you as he tried to wipe off some of the blood that was starting to get in his eyes. There were cuts all over his face and a good portion of his black jacket looked soaked with blood, but there was a serene look in his features that stood in contrast against his roughed up form. He looked like the god of chaos and death as he stepped a little closer to where you were, his eyes cold and hard. You refused to look at him, all of your attention focused on the boy in front of you instead.
"Help...Somebody… H-help…"
"I suppose you two are done with your Romeo and Juliet act by now? Really. This is getting a little boring. Playtime is over."
Jeno was looking paler and paler by the second and you could feel his body growing colder under your touch. You barely had any idea of the rest that was going on around you, not even your loud cries that made you tremble all over. Jeno turned his head blindly towards you, but his eyes were unseeing even when they met with yours. You bent over to him, covering him with your body, as if doing so will chase the nightmare away.
"D-don't move," you heard him whisper against your ear as you crouched over his chest, shielding the good portion of his upper body from Taeyong. At first you thought he was only trying to keep you close, but then you felt his hand fumble for something under you before the cold kiss of steel brushed your skin. You stiffened. Amidst the panic and fear coursing all over you, you also realized what was happening.
You managed to cover his hunting rifle when you fell and now he was trying to move it under your arm. Your eyes met his, and there was a brief second when time seemed to stop as he held your gaze.
"Run after the shot. Run and never look back."
"What…"
"Come on, darling. We really have to go. We're so late already because these kids here kept fooling around. Let's get moving."
You heard footsteps behind you as well as the foreboding sound of a gun cocking. You didn't need to look at Taeyong to know that he was just a few feet from you now, his aura strong enough to make chills run down your spine in waves. Jeno, meanwhile, never looked away from you. You held on to his gaze, until you saw your tears drop to his cheeks and wash away some of the blood there. He reached out his free hand to run his thumb one last time over the spot under your eye—that one place he used to kiss a lot.
"Goodbye."
"Stand up there. I'm losing my patien–"
It all happened too fast. You felt the cold nose of his hunting rifle slip on the small space between the side of your body and arm, its head pointed towards the man behind you. It was soon followed by a splitting gunshot that made your ears ring and your vision spin. Before your body could even react from the stimuli, however, you felt Jeno push you away from him.
"Go. Now!"
You stumbled to get on your feet before breaking into a run.
*******
"Where do we even start? Did the boy give coordinates?"
Johnny looked at the forest beyond him with a frown. Their car was parked on a dirt road almost an hour and half away from the center of the city together with a flock of other vehicles that spilled out men in uniforms, their guns at the ready. From his other side, Yuta was wearing the same expression, the man's eyes dark as he pulled his own gun from the holster strapped across his chest.
"This is the spot that the coordinates say, but the trees here look so thick. It'll be hard for someone to go through this route," Johnny answered now as he looked at the GPS on his palm. A flock of birds flew from the far off horizon, followed by what seemed to be the cry of a wild beast.
"Maybe Chenle got it wrong?" Yuta suggested. Behind them, the special force troops lined up, ready to get directions. Johnny glanced at his men and gritted his teeth. Without giving it another look, he put away the device in one of the pockets of his bulletproof vest before pulling his own gun.
"No. I believe him. Let's split into two groups. You take the left section and I take the right. Move in a half circle so that our group can cover more and meet in the same spot."
Yuta nodded and finally turned at about the dozen men waiting for his signal. With a raise of his finger, he motioned towards the area assigned to them before starting to move towards the edge of the woods. Johnny did the same with his, but a sound suddenly halted him on his tracks before he could even break through the forest edge.
Gunshots. A few of them. They were far away, but there's no mistaking their piercing sound.
He cocked his gun, jaw tense, and called out to the group following him.
"Let's move!"
*******
You didn't have any idea where you were going. You crashed against wayward branches that scratched and clawed against the skin of your face and arms while your feet thundered against the hard forest floor. Every bit of you was hurting—your lungs were ready to burst and your muscles were screaming for you to stop—but the pain felt detached from your frame of mind right now, as if you were maneuvering a body that isn't even yours in the first place.
It could have been hours, minutes, or seconds since you started to run. The sound of the gunshot was still making your ears ring, but it was not really that which made you struggle to keep your balance. The adrenaline pumping in your veins might be rendering you numb right now for the most part, but it was the vision of Jeno bleeding that made you heave harder from the pain in your chest.
The stinging pain of something scratching the skin of your forearm is what finally made you stumble and lose your balance. The back of your shirt caught a sticking branch you just passed, causing you to get pulled you back and hit a rough tree bark. A sharp yell of pain was torn from you when a piercing sensation drove through your panic. With horror, you looked down to realize that you actually crashed against a tree studded with thick thorns that left deep stab wounds on your forearm.
It took the last spurt of your energy to finally stagger away from the offending bark with a whimper. Gritting your teeth, you took a second to catch your breath by leaning against a big rock covered with moss. You didn't have any idea where you were or how long you still had to run. All you knew was that you are tired and very much afraid.
You didn't even get a minute of silence until your heart jumped again in your chest at the sound of dry leaves crunching under a boot from somewhere beyond. Eyes wild, you quickly stood up from the spot you were curled up on and whipped around. The sound didn't come again, but you knew what you heard. Something is out there somewhere, lurking in the shadows. A part of you hoped that it was Jeno, but you couldn't risk it… not now when you've already come this far at least.
And so you ran again. You're not sure if you're still on the right path, but at this point, you didn't really care anymore. You just had to move—put as much distance between you and whatever it is back there. It couldn't be Taeyong. No. It can't be him. Jeno shot him. It's impossible for him to survive that close of a shot—
"Ahh!"
Your voice was cut off mid-scream when you were suddenly pulled back again by a strong force from behind. Instead of crashing against anything, however, you felt limbs tangle around you and pull you back with sheer force. You screamed again, but a hand choked back the sound by covering half of your face.
"Shhh… Finally caught you."
It was like the temperature dropped around you. Eyes shaking, you tried to look sideways but froze again when you felt lips gently run over the shell of your ear. They moved downwards, before biting at the skin of your neck. There was no gentleness to the gesture, just pure teeth and force. When you whimpered from the pain, you felt Taeyong smile against your skin.
"You really thought you could leave, huh?"
"How—"
Your question ended up with a grunt when he suddenly pushed you forward. The force made you roll around in the dirt until your body slammed against the root of a tree. With chilling terror, you realized that it was the only thing stopping you from falling into your death down into the ravine directly behind you. It was a steep fall, the ground beneath littered with sharp rocks and thick roots that seemed to reach out to the sky like skeletal limbs.
"I can't believe you just ran away like that… After your little boyfriend tried to shoot at me."
Your attention went back to Taeyong who was slowly walking towards you now. Darkness was quickly falling in the forest, but you still saw the slip of something black covering his chest as he went closer. Your heart dropped in your stomach.
Bulletproof vest.
"T-Taeyong…"
For a brief second, the man stopped in his tracks as he heard you say his name. Taeyong closed his eyes as if savoring your broken tone and you saw his fingers flex against the handle of his pistol.
"Say that again. I want to hear you beg."
Tears spilled down your face again, leaving clean marks on your grime stained skin. You were shaking from pure, sheer fear and you put your hands before you in a pointless effort to stop him from making another step. It didn't stop him, of course, his legs starting to move again, this time slowly to where you are. It was like he was savoring the vision of you with the way he took his calculating steps.
The look in his eyes made you wish you were dead. If they scared you before, they terrified you now to the bone.
"Please, p-please stop. I don't want to do this… I can't…"
He had reached you sooner than you wished. Smiling at you now, you shrunk deeper against the tree supporting your back as he sat back on his knees so your faces were on the same level. Taeyong slowly reached out to you, his thumb and forefinger guiding your chin so you could meet eye to eye.
"Darling… I think you're missing a point here."
"I didn't really give you a choice to say no."
The stabbing pain in your thigh tore an ear-splitting scream from you. You looked down in horror to see his free hand on your leg, his fingers digging a knife down your flesh. Taeyong slowly twisted the handle and another cry of pain fell from your lips from of the excruciating pain.
"Sorry about that. I'm just getting a little tired of you trying to run away so I had to. Don't worry. That won't kill you."
"Stop—please. It hurts so much—"
For a few seconds, Taeyong simply stared at you. He had finally stopped digging the blade deeper into your skin, but it was too late as blood started flowing out of your open wound until it seeped the ground beneath you. He didn't make any sound nor moved a muscle as if he was deep in thought, a complete contrast to the way you helplessly twitched from the torture he was doing to you.
"I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you…" his words barely broke through the growing numbness that's starting to cocoon you. You could barely see him now as a dark film started to slowly creep into your vision, but you thought you saw guilt clearly marking his features when he spoke again.
"I'm going to make it all go away in a bit, okay? But I can't have you run away from me again. Just take it a little bit more… it's really your fault anyway…"
"You left me with no choice, but I'll have to break your legs for now…"
What…?
You watched as he slowly stood up and moved his gun to point at your other, still uninjured leg. A helpless whimper left you again, but deep inside, you were way past caring already.
"Grit your teeth. This is going to hurt for a bit. Don't worry, it'll heal."
Just kill me. End this already…
I'm begging you. Someone.
Anyone.
Kill me.
You were already on the verge of unconsciousness when you saw Taeyong start to steady his gun. As you closed your eyes in surrender, an inviting thought crossed you and started wrapping around you like a warm blanket of comfort. You just need to move a little when he pulls the trigger, make sure his bullet catches your head instead…
And then you'll finally be safe again.
Bang!
The sound of the bullet ricocheting against something made you freeze. At first you didn't move, wondering if death finally came to you because you couldn't feel any new source of pain in your body, but then the sound of voices shook you to consciousness again. Opening your eyes, you gasped to see Taeyong on the forest floor in a lock of limbs with Jeno. The latter had his arm locked around the former's neck in a chokehold as they both tried to struggle to take control over the other. Taeyong's gun lay a few feet from them, just across from the spot you were slumped on.
There were a few seconds when you processed what you were seeing, but then you saw Taeyong land a punch on Jeno's shoulder, right where he was shot earlier. His pained grunt is what shook you to action and you suddenly sat up, a soft scream of your own leaving your lips as the wound on your thigh throbbed painfully. The dagger was still buried deep in your flesh and you wrapped your fist around it to pull it off in one go. You immediately threw it to the side as a fresh wave of tears spilled down your cheeks from the excruciating pain, but you didn't even let that stop you from crawling on the forest floor.
You were dragging yourself with your hands mostly doing the work, but you managed to grab the gun with your shaking fingers. Your eyes met Taeyong’s the moment you clasped it closer to yourself and managed to stand upright, but you nearly lost your balance again in fear as you watched him suddenly jump off of Jeno to try and come after you. You screamed, and in your panic, pulled the trigger after shakily pointing it at his head. The bullet missed him by a hair as he ducked to the side and dove to the ground.
"Shoot him, now!"
The surprise from your own actions startled you, but Jeno's voice managed to keep you from dropping the weapon. With wide eyes, you watched as he launched himself towards Taeyong again, holding the other up to face you. That's when it finally hit you—he was giving you a clear way to shoot his brother right in the head.
Maybe it was the fear, the pain, or the horror of it all, but it only took you a couple of seconds to set yourself to action. Your hands were still shaking uncontrollably, but you managed to lift it up to aim it right at the middle of Taeyong's head. You met his eyes the same moment your finger curled around the trigger again, his pupils dilated but dead. Everything seemed to move slowly from there and you watched with a growing sense of chill as his lips slowly curled into a smirk.
Click.
The subtle empty clicking sound of the gun echoed in the silence like a resounding scream. Jeno looked back at you in sheer shock and your hold on it wavered as Taeyong's piercing laugh shattered the air.
"Ah, my love. You wasted the eighth bullet~"
The weapon hit the forest floor the exact moment Taeyong drove his elbow back at Jeno's stomach. The latter doubled over, and the older one took that as a chance to grab him by the hair and hit his head against the nearest tree bark. The first hit made a sickening sound escape Jeno but even that didn't seem to satisfy Taeyong as he lifted the boy's head again and crashed it mercilessly at the tree once more.
You only realized what you were doing when you finally felt your nails get in contact with the other's back. Somehow, you managed to launch yourself into him, your hands flying to hit and scratch at whatever part of his body you could reach. That seemed to have taken Taeyong a little bit by surprise as he freed his other hand to grab you by the neck to try and stop you. You pulled at him, desperate to get him off of Jeno, that you barely realized you'd managed to drag your trio to the edge of the ravine.
"Stop fighting me!" Taeyong growled as he clamped his fingers around your throat. You started to cough and choke, but that didn't stop you from trying to claw at his face. His other hand was still clutching Jeno's head which was now bleeding from his open wounds. He looked almost unconscious, his eyes barely open from the assault.
"Let him go—let go!"
Taeyong moved so fast that you would have fallen off the cliff if not for his other hand grabbing you by the collar. He had finally let go of Jeno and pushed him down to the ground where he crumpled lifelessly, unmoving. Behind you, you could feel the heel of your shoe slip a little on the rocks as you teetered on the edge. Taeyong's chokehold is the only thing that kept you from plummeting downwards so you grabbed at his arms for support. You didn't know where he was getting the strength, but you felt like a ragdoll under his grip.
"You're making this so hard for me. You need to stop," he said through gritted teeth. His fingers wrapped around your throat tighter, cutting off the remaining flow of air that you were struggling to hold. Red started to spread on the whites of your eyes as the small blood vessels there started to erupt.
"Do you really want me to punish you before you start to listen? Do you really want me to hurt you?"
His eyes drilled against your skull viciously, but you knew he was way past the point of actually seeing you. There was nothing but madness radiating from him, that and pure unadulterated hate. It was so terrifying to look at that a part of you almost felt thankful that you were on the verge of losing consciousness.
You were hanging by a thread, but his last words reached you even if he said it in nothing more than a whisper.
"If that's what you want, fine."
"I'll break you down to the bone. I have all my life to do it."
Your hands clutching his arms slowly started to go limp. They fell by your sides, lifeless, as your head drooped and hung forward. Your eyelids weren't able to entirely close anymore but you couldn't really process what you were seeing now as the last of your consciousness left you. It looked like the night sky… but instead of the darkness, it was burning red.
It's over.
It's finally over…
Maybe I can rest now.
You were on the last cycle of your breath when a new sensation eased you from the comfort that was calling out to you. A hand reached out and grabbed you and you felt yourself pulled over against something warm. You're already way past the capacity of understanding what was happening, but you saw Taeyong look at something in surprise beside you as he swayed and stumbled off to the side. Everything was moving too slow and you watched with detached calmness as a hand pushed him over, his face contorted in fear. You looked up to check what he was staring at and your vision focused on a face that made a spark of life move from deep inside your chest before it fizzled out again.
Jeno…
The world was closing down on you. Behind you, you heard a sickening thud hit the ground from far off below. You didn't turn to look at it, your eyes focused on one person.
The last you saw were the brown of his eyes against the dying glow of the sun before darkness finally swallowed you.
*******
Johnny turned around as he caught an odd sound from somewhere off to his right. It was so fleeting that it could have been part of the dozen other noises in the forest, but something told him to stop and pay attention to it. A uniformed member of his group stopped beside him and waited for him to say anything.
"Sir? Is everything alright?"
He didn't immediately answer. He trained his ears harder to try and catch another sound, but there was nothing but the sound of the cicadas that answered him back. In that moment, he knew he needed to make a decision… and this time, he decided to follow his gut.
He turned to his squad member without a trace of hesitation.
"I need you to take over command. Follow our agreed route and tell me if you find anything. I need to check something."
The man looked like he had a dozen questions to counter that order, so Johnny was thankful that he had enough sense not to waste any time and forgo them for now. He gave a tight nod and turned away to continue on his path while Johnny did the same to go towards the direction where he thought he heard the noise. He had no idea where his steps would lead him, but he is positive that he'll end up with what he is looking for.
Not even five minutes in and he heard the second sign. It was louder this time, though the thick foliage of the forest distorted it so that he couldn't really pinpoint where exactly it was coming from. The sound was muffled, but it was enough for Johnny to be sure of one thing.
Voices. Those are definitely voices.
He moved with more urgency now, playing it by ear as where his steps would lead him. When a sickening thud sounded off not too far from him, he finally broke into a run and charged through his path. Walls of trees loomed beside him as he rushed past, but he could also see a sliver of clearing beyond in between the leaves of the foliage.
The first thing that caught his eyes when he finally broke through was the hunched over figure at the far off side of the clearing. The stranger's back was against him so he couldn't really see what he was looking at, but then a dying ray of sun hit the spot and he saw him gently let go of what looked like someone's hand. Johnny stalked carefully towards him, his gun steady.
"Step away from her, please."
The boy turned to slowly look at him, his face unreadable. He didn't look bothered at all to see him there and he silently straightened up and stepped to the side calmly. Johnny's eyes fell on the figure that the other was covering earlier and felt a shock run through his veins.
A girl lay unconscious on the ground, bleeding in places he couldn't figure out yet. Growing purple marks stood out on the neck of her skin and his eyes moved upwards to check her face. His hold on his gun tightened at what he saw.
It’s her.
Their missing victim.
"She needs help. She's losing blood…"
Johnny looked up again to train his gaze on the boy in front of him. He was still standing calmly off to the side, a huge contrast to how he looked. His face was covered with blood just as much as the rest of his body and he was so sure he had a hole on his shoulder with the way he was dripping blood everywhere. A sinking feeling settled at the pits of his stomach as recognition dawned on him. The boy might be covered in red, but there is no doubt who he is.
Jeno Lee.
"Put your hands where I can see them," Johnny said as steadily as he could as he took another step closer to the woman's prone body on the forest floor. She looked like her chest was still moving, albeit very slowly.
Jeno didn't really move, instead following him with his silent gaze instead. He didn't look defensive, but there was one emotion Johnny thought flash in the other's eyes when his glance slipped towards the girl in front of him once more.
Worry.
No… it's not just that.
Care.
"Did you do this?" Johnny already knew the answer to that before the other even answered. Jeno didn't seem like he heard him at all though, his eyes still set on the woman.
"You need to get her to the hospital soon. Or we might lose her."
That was enough of an answer for Johnny to figure out what was going on. He kept his aim trained on the boy, but he was sure of one thing.
He didn't hurt her.
"You're hurt too."
"I don't need help."
"Why are you here?"
"I need to make sure she's safe."
His hand squeezed around the handle of his gun. Protocol plainly told him the next things he should be taking. The boy was on sight at the scene of the crime, obviously in a state that says he is involved in some way. He should take him in, plain and simple, and yet he couldn't for some reason. Maybe it's because of the way he just stood there, as if he didn't even care if the police took him in. In fact, he seemed like he didn't even care about anything at all, except for the woman in front of him. Or maybe it's because of the look he could see in the other's eyes… the same look he'd seen so many times in Jung Jaehyun's own before.
Johnny slowly lowered his gun despite his eyes staying on the boy. Jeno watched the gesture, a look of mild confusion flitting over his features first before understanding took over. His eyes followed the man as he bent over her and gently took his hand in his to check her pulse. He decided to speak again just as he saw the other lift his hand to finally press at his in-ear.
"Yuta, I need—"
"He's over there. Who you're looking for."
Johnny looked up at him and then towards the direction he was pointing at. They were at the edge of a steep cliff and he picked himself up again to see what was beyond. He was only able to take a couple of steps before he froze again at what he saw. The fall to the ravine opened up to huge, rough boulders and dead trees, and right in the middle was Taeyong, his face up in the sky. His eyes were open and he looked like he was simply watching the sun dip from the burning sky serenely, but Johnny knew otherwise…
What with the thick stake pierced through his heart.
"Johnny, did you call?" Yuta's voice came on from his in-ear radio. It took him a few seconds to finally reply again.
"Yes. I found the girl and Lee Taeyong. They're both badly injured. I need medics sent to my location immediately. I'll send you my coordinates."
"Got it. We're turning around. We're on our way. Is anyone else with you?"
He finally tore his eyes from the sight before him and turned towards the clearing again. He wasn't surprised at all to see it empty except for the woman lying peacefully on the ground as if she was just sleeping. Johnny pursed his lips before answering again.
"No. There's no one else. The area is clear."
CHAPTER 15 [END]
---
A/N: So... I have both good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to keep my promise and publish this today, but the bad news is that... this isn’t really the end. I had a last minute change of heart and changed the ending, so I decided I’m going to cut this story off here for now since the chapter has gotten so long already. A special chapter will be released soon to REALLY close everything off, because I wanted to give enough justice to the story by dedicating a full section to it. I hope you all enjoy this anyway despite of it being long. As usual, thank you so much to those who have supported me this far! I really appreciate all of you for staying until now. :D
LUCID DREAMS - A TYPE OF DREAM WHEREIN THE PERSON IS AWARE THAT THEY ARE CAUGHT IN A DREAM WORLD.
Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?
NOTE:This is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.
Genre: yandere, horror, suspense
TW: abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, kidnapping, mental health. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age, drugs, questionable consent (?), kidnapping, mentions of suicide, I guess? Creepy, creepy, creepy! This will be updated as the story goes along.
“I LOVE YOU AS CERTAIN DARK THINGS ARE TO BE LOVED. IN SECRET, BETWEEN THE SHADOW AND THE SOUL.”
- PABLO NERUDA
"Didn't I tell you not to put your elbows on the table when you're eating?"
The little girl froze in her seat at the hard-clipped voice that came from the head of the table. She didn't need to look at him to know that the man was glaring at her, his eyes drilling down her skull. As if on autopilot, she lifted her arms just like he wanted while her fingers trembled around her cutlery. Around her, the other occupants continued eating like they heard nothing, almost as if she was a mere ghost that didn't belong there.
"I'm sorry, Papa."
Her voice was soft… respectful, but the man in front of her curled his lips as if she spat her words out in disgust. Silence cloaked the air between them, him gauging his next actions, while she waited for the explosion.
The wooden chair scraped loudly against the marble floor before it fell back with a thud as he pushed it back angrily. With wide, fearful eyes, the girl watched him stride towards her spot at the other end of the table. A sob was torn from her the same moment that he grabbed her roughly by the forearm to forcefully pull her out of her seat.
"Papa, please—!"
"You are such a useless child. I feed you and clothe you, and you can't even act like a civilized girl on the table," the man heaved, barely looking at the girl struggling in his arms as he pulled her down the hallway.
"I won't do it again!"
"You need more lessons. More discipline," the monster continued to mutter, the look in his eyes too far gone. A sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach made her cries turn into wails as she realized where the two of them were going. There is no mistaking it, with her having been dragged in the same hall again and again.
"No! No! Not here!" Her voice rose higher until her throat hurt, but it still didn't stop him from pulling a key from his pocket to unlock the oak door in front him. He barely even looked at her when he hurled her up again before throwing her inside the dark room.
She had barely managed to get up when he started to close the door again. His last words echoed in the four walls caging her before he finally locked her in, letting the shadows swallow her whole.
"You won't be allowed to go out until you learn your lesson."
*******
You bolted from your bed with a gasping breath. Eyes wild and hair messy, you desperately tried to grab and pull the blanket around your shaking form for safety. Your teeth were chattering as if you were cold, despite the rays of sun streaming from your slightly parted curtains.
Your lungs hurt as if you were running for miles and your heart was beating hard against your ribcage like a caged bird. You curled your legs close to your chest now and let your head rest on your knees as you worked to shake away the traces of the nightmare that lingered on your still recovering consciousness.
Ever since you were imprisoned here, the first few seconds after you wake up have been your only reprieve. It's the only part of your waking days when you could fool yourself about the reality of your situation, that fleeting moment between dreams and reality where you could conjure a semblance of safety. And yet even that was torn away from you today with the fresh nightmare that startled you awake, making you feel like you escaped one hell just to find yourself in a new one.
At the back of your mind, you were wondering if you've been given any drugs again to trigger such graphic scenes in your sleep. At this point, you wouldn't put it past the boys after what they have done to you; and yet, you know the possibility of that is slim for now. You haven’t eaten anything for the past few days, and you’ve been unresponsive for the most part even when they would visit you in your room.
Actually, you've stopped functioning entirely at one point in time. You don't really know how long you've been stuck here, but at some point, there was something inside you that just gave up. You've gone through the different stages of grief and anger. You tried screaming, fighting, begging, and crying with no success of reaching anyone who could help. Meanwhile, it drove you to madness how all of your captors would act the same—as if you were just a petulant child who was having tantrums that they had to be patient for now. In reality, however, you know exactly what they want from you.
They were waiting for you to be tamed. To be broken.
And they did. They broke you, though not exactly in the way they wanted to. Jeno no longer has to be sent to "calm you down" every time you try to act up and your screams can no longer be heard down the halls after Haechan would end his visit. Instead, you remained silent, like the lifeless doll they’ve wanted you to be. Not even Jisung or Chenle, who you've noticed they started to send for your meals after you've lost your appetite, could shake you. You simply… gave up.
That didn’t stop you, however, from fighting in your own way. As you retreated into your own internal world, you dedicated a part of your attention to closely observing what was happening beyond your locked door. Your time here has given you a brief idea of what's happening, at the very least, and the role each of the boys play in this twisted game.
From what you could piece together, it was really the four brothers who would stay the most within the house, so you presumed Jisung and Chenle still go back to the manor every now and then. From the voices that you hear, the older ones would sometimes slip away too, but you would always have at least two left in the house with you. The only thing you could think of as the reason is that they were trying to still put up a front of normalcy—after all, if people are searching for you, it is likely that their family will be looked into.
Jeno and Jaemin are usually the ones who would be left with you, too. Jeno because he is usually the one who would be there to stop you whenever strength is needed and Jaemin… because he simply couldn't part from you. Of the four, he is always the one who would visit your room the most, sometimes to just talk to you casually or doll you up in his own twisted ways.
Renjun and Haechan couldn't be any more different from the two. Unlike the former duo who would be more touchy or physically intimidating in their presence, the pair would be more picky with their visits. Ironically, moments with them are the ones you hated the most, because every time they would drop by, you feel like you are always playing a losing mental game.
Renjun is soft spoken, so much that he could match your silence whenever you refuse to acknowledge his presence. Once he visited you and did nothing but sit beside your bed, staring at you intently as if he was trying to memorize your every feature. There was also a day when you woke up to an odd feeling in your empty bedroom, and it was not until you found a rough sketch of yourself on your bedside table when you realized that you weren't alone through the night while you were sleeping.
Haechan, on the other hand, was a different breed. If you were to describe him, it was like getting toe to toe with the son of the devil himself. It wasn't hard for you to put together… how he is the mastermind behind everything. Each brother pulls their own weight, but when it comes to planning—from who will visit you and when to do it, he was always the one there, manning the strings. Of the four, he is the one who would rarely visit, yet he is also the person you dreaded the most.
The soft creaking of your bedroom door pierced the stillness of your room now. You didn't look up, your head still curled on your knees, not even when you heard the slight clink of glass against wood. Even the dipping of the bed didn't make you move, and for a whole minute, silence settled on the room again.
"You haven't eaten anything for the past few days."
The soft, gentle voice gave away who it was immediately. You continued to ignore Renjun entirely, silently willing for him to go away.
"Is there nothing we can do to make things easier for all of us?"
You didn't answer.
"Is there anything you want? A bigger room? Clothes? Money?"
Silence. None of you moved, but you could still feel his presence overwhelming you, suffocating your personal space.
"I can give you anything you need. Just tell me and we can work it out together."
Slowly, you let your head raise so you could look at him. He looked ethereal in the soft morning light, but his eyes betrayed his physical beauty. There was only madness there.
"I want to go home," you said softly, your voice weak and raspy after not using it for so long. Renjun didn't even blink before offering his answer.
"You are home. We've told you this again and again."
The usual frustration started bubbling inside of you once more. Despite having lost most of the fight in you, there are still moments like this when you would feel unadulterated anger. You glared at him and moved from your cowered state by the head of your bed so you were leaning towards him.
"Renjun, you have to stop this, this is a crime!"
"It isn't a crime if there is no victim."
Your heart froze for a moment in your chest. Eyes wide, you stared at him, trying to understand the expression behind his gaze. It was calm, which only made your blood run cold in your veins.
"What do you mean…" you asked in a horrified whisper. What have you done…"
It has never occurred to you...what strings they were trying to pull in the outside world. In your mind, you have always convinced yourself that help was on the way, that people are at least looking for you.
Renjun, on the other hand, remained unbothered.
"An injured woman who suffered from a head injury and was reported to have had hallucinations in her medical records. The accident of her fiance didn't help her mental state. She ran away and has not been seen since."
He recited that mechanically, so well-rehearsed that it sounded like he had memorized it straight from the papers. You felt goosebumps crawl on your arms as your mind tried to make sense of what he was saying. Renjun continued even as you visibly broke down in front of him with every word he said.
"Who knows what she did to herself? Right now, a body is still not found but patients like her have always been volatile. Did she hurt herself? Was the pain too much for her and she decided to end her—"
"Stop!" You didn't realize what you were doing until you found yourself just a few inches from his face, your hands grasping the front of his shirt. Eyes wide, you watched with horror as Renjun reached out to gently brush the corner of your eye, causing a stream of tears to finally fall down your cheeks. You were too focused on what he just said that you didn’t have the gall to move away when when he pulled you closer to his chest, his arms going around your neck.
You immediately froze in his embrace. You heard a slight clink and a cold feeling touch your collar bones before the ghost of his lips grazed the junction between your neck and shoulder. That was when you were startled back to reality, your hands moving to his chest again to push him back.
Renjun barely budged but you were quick enough to retreat as far away from him as possible. He looked calm, his eyes set not on your face but on the area he just kissed.
"It looks beautiful on you."
You felt it first before you finally realized what he was saying. Feeling a slight heat slowly crawl around the width of the base of your neck, your hand shakily raised to feel the area he was looking at. Your fingers froze when your fingers met the slight chill of the metal there clashing with the slowly spreading heat on your skin.
Renjun continued staring at the jewelry adorning you—a silver choker so fitted that it didn't leave your skin enough room to breathe.
"Silver… you are allergic to it, right? I heard you and Taeyong-hyung talk about it… how you couldn't wear your engagement ring because of it."
A gasp left your lips as you realized what he had done. You quickly raised your arms to unclasp it to no avail, your nails slipping against the chain. Renjun, on the other hand, simply shook his head while he watched with wonder how your skin reddened from it quickly.
"Too bad, you can't take it off. I had it especially made for you, and the key is with me. I didn't realize how bad your reaction is to it though. It's working too fast."
"Renjun, please no—" you found yourself starting to gasp for air from panic. You've always had such severe reactions to it and you know something like this in such close contact to your skin will only cause serious damage.
"Which is better, I guess…that way we can do things faster," he continued as if he barely even heard your words. You watched with wide eyes as he stood up from the bed, his hand in his pockets. You were about to call for him again, but instead you broke into a cough, the stinging pain and itch from your skin overwhelming you. Your nails dug and scratched against your neck, leaving red welts there.
"You can make it stop. Your food is sprinkled with the medicine for it," Renjun said calmly from the door. Your watering eyes moved towards the tray of food resting on your bedside table, glittering under the morning light. You turned to look at him again just before he finally closed the door behind him.
"Make sure you finish every single crumb there."
*******
Your eyelids burned with red even if you had them tightly shut closed. Around you, you could hear screaming—some out of pain, others out of anger. The smell of burning wood filled your lungs, choking you, willing you to go and run to escape the place. It was strange, how your body felt cold to the touch, despite the heat swallowing everything around you. You heard a loud crash from your left, followed by a scream that quickly died down.
Open your eyes.
You need to open your eyes!
Run!
The desperate, bodiless voice finally made you start. With a gasp, you looked around, pupils blown wide as you took everything in. True enough, it was like everything you have imagined from the sensations you were feeling earlier. Everything around you was in flames, pillars and ceilings crashing and melting like a paper house consumed by fire.
A loud cry to the left suddenly made you turn around. The smoke was thick, but you could make out the silhouette of its owner when you squinted hard enough. A child was curled up under a table by the corner, her dress ragged and burned at the hem. She was crying, the tears leaving white streaks down her soot-covered face.
You knew you should run and save yourself, but instead you found your feet moving towards the sobbing girl despite your own lungs struggling from the smoke quickly filling them. You didn't waste any time kneeling in front of her when you finally reached her hiding spot, your hands moving to pull down hers that she currently had over her ears.
"You have to go!" You shouted above the screaming foundations of the house being consumed by the flames. She didn't look at you, but she stubbornly shook her head in answer.
"You'll die if you stay here! You need to leave!"
"I—have to stay."
"What are you talking about?! Let's go!"
"My family—"
That was the last thing you heard before a deafening crash made you look up. Above you, you watched as a flaming banister hurtled down, looking like a piece of hell itself as it sped to where the two of you were.
*******
Haechan watched with a small smile as the girl in front of him finally opened her eyes. He was right… from the way her pupils were blown up and her chest heaved, she was having a nightmare. She was so silent and still in her sleep while he was watching her, but the way she held herself tightly betrayed to him what was really happening in her dreams.
His eyes roamed her features now, not even minding that she hadn't turned to look at him yet. He marveled at the fear that made her eyes sparkle and the way her lips parted to take in steadying breaths. She was beautiful… in every sense of the word.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
He asked that softly, his voice barely there so as not to startle her. She turned her head to him slowly, eyes unseeing, the slight movement making a tear trail down her cheek. Haechan watched as it slid over her skin before resting on the redness of her neck. The jewelry Renjun made for her was not there anymore, but it left a blazing mark there that stood out against her smooth skin.
Haechan reached out to her, letting his knuckles gently run over her sore skin. She didn't really react, eyes still set on him, but he saw goosebumps rise on the area that he caressed lovingly.
"Does it hurt? Ah… Jaemin won't like this. But it's fine. Now you know that you should eat your food, right? We don't want you getting sick.”
She remained silent, the only sign that she was still alive the gentle heaving of her chest. He curled his fingers before fanning them at the base of her neck, tracing the welts there as he waited for her to answer.
"Why me?" Her voice was weak when she finally spoke up. She was resigned. Hopeless. She sounded like music to his ears.
"Hm?"
"Why do you want me? What have I done wrong?"
Ah. There it is. Haechan has been waiting for that question to come up, but this is really the first time she has talked and even looked at him since they brought her home. How silly though. He is sure she already knows the answer to her own question, but it's fine. She probably wants to hear it straight from him. When it comes to her, he can be understanding.
"Why you…?" his fingers stilled over her neck now, barely touching. He marveled at the way her eyes clouded, as if she's shrinking back to herself again so she wouldn't be there to hear his next words. But he wouldn't let her, no. Not this time. Before she could move away, he reached out for her limp hand and pressed her cold fingertips to his lips so he could consume her full attention.
“Because you're just like us."
She didn’t need to say anything for him to know that she understood what he was saying. Smile slowly widening, he watched as a flurry of emotions flashed in her eyes. There was shock, realization, fear, anger, sorrow, and fear again. Typical, he thought. He knew that she figured out that all of this was pre-planned, but she isn’t aware as to what extent, until now.
Besides, what makes her think that they would just choose her for no reason anyway? They weren’t raised to settle for just anyone after all. People like them... they need to find—no, they deserve perfection in everything.
The plotting? Oh that was child’s game for him. No, what Haechan really enjoyed doing was the digging up of skeletons in one’s closet—finding the proverbial fears that makes one tick. After all, if you want to play a game, you need to have the aces up your sleeve.
And she was just that. She was everything all of them could ever wish for.
Perfect, broken, damaged.
Just like them.
She harshly tugged her hand from him now as she continued looking at him with horror. He let her move away, comforted by the idea that even if she tries to run, he will always be there two steps ahead of her.
“You’re a monster,” she said that in such a broken voice that it almost made him shiver with pleasure. His eyes sparkled as he watched her cower in fear, the same way she probably did back in her old foster home. Haechan smiled back at her lovingly as if she just whispered to him the sweetest of words.
“Love, if you think I’m a monster now, I can’t wait to hear what you will call me for the things I am yet to do.”
*******
"What did the shop say?"
Yuta turned to ask Johnny as the latter slipped into the passenger seat of the car with a sigh. The taller man closed the door with a little bit more force than usual before running a hand through his hair.
"They couldn't really tell if the car was rigged. It burst into flames immediately after they pulled Jung from it and everything got toasted."
The other simply nodded, his face calm. For a moment, none of them said anything, processing the latest development—or rather, dead end in their case. He could clearly understand the frustration of his partner, but as agents, it is also his role to play devil's advocate.
"Are you sure the brakes got messed up though? If you think so, we can look at other ways to check it. It's just that we might be wasting time trying to follow a dead lead."
Johnny stared out the window now, features strained. To be honest, there is a part of him that thinks he might be reaching it when he decided to look into Jung Jaehyun's accident. After all, they were only assigned to try to look for his missing fiancee, nothing more, nothing less. However, his gut feeling was telling him that he is in the right direction and that he should never let it go. It is just too unlikely that none of the recent happenings in the couple's lives are interconnected in some way—the forest accident, the car crash, the girl disappearing. It all just seems like an elaborate web of lies to him.
"I think we should look for another link," he finally said as he pulled his phone again to look for a number there. Yuta nodded and Johnny felt thankful again that he was paired with him for this case. None of them would say it out loud, but they both know the rest of the police department had given up the moment they heard about the girl's condition. As much as he hated it, they know it will only take some time before an official ruling is released, classifying the case as a case of manic suicide. It was unfair, but it is how organizations like theirs function.
He is going to prove them all wrong though. No, he isn't going to stop.
At least, not until a body is found.
The hum of the engine starting melted in the background as Johnny finally found the number he was looking for. Yuta briefly gave him a glance as he pulled back from the parking spot, the same time he pressed the call button of his contact.
"Where to now?"
Johnny clenched his jaw as he listened to the rings from the other end of the line.
"From the beginning. Let's go check the manor."
*******
CHAPTER 9
A/N: Ah, this is shorter than what I usually write but I didn’t want to stuff everything in just one chapter. Anyway, I hope you guys still enjoy this! <3 If there is anyone I forgot in the taglist below, please send me a message so I can add you! I am usually so bad at tag requests! T.T
LUCID DREAMS - A TYPE OF DREAM WHEREIN THE PERSON IS AWARE THAT THEY ARE CAUGHT IN A DREAM WORLD.
Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?
NOTE:This is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.
Genre: yandere, horror, suspense
TW: abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, possible kidnapping, mental health. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age, drugs, slight smut for this chapter but nothing graphic, questionable consent (?) I guess? Creepy, creepy, creepy! This will be updated as the story goes along.
CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4
“It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.”
- VIRGIL
The floor under your feet was freezing. The room you were in was dark, but it was unlike the type of pitch black that you get from the absence of light. It was more like a kind of darkness from shadows melding together to form an impenetrable blanket that no light can pierce.
Your eyes moved down your body to stare at your bare feet which are now too pale from the chill of the ground. You tried to move them, until you realized that they were bound by chains as thick as your wrists. Panic started rising from your chest like a wave and you struggled harder, but every time you moved your binds only grew tighter and tighter. They dug against your skin painfully, cutting off your blood supply, until your limbs finally lost their feeling. You were struggling. You were screaming.
"Shh...the harder you try to escape, the worse it gets…"
You froze at the voice that whispered from behind you. Your first instinct was to look around and see who was the owner of it, but something inside of you told you not to turn your head like your life depended on it. You gritted your teeth, fingers grasping on the wood of the chair you were bound on.
"What are you doing? Why won't you look at me?" It spoke again, it's tone mocking and teasing. You could feel its breath on the shell of your ear and down the length of your neck where goosebumps bloomed like night flowers. You didn't move.
"Come on darling, turn around. Just one look. Please? Don't hurt my feelings," this time the voice was deeper, lower, slower, like a glitching record that jumps here and there. You shook your head desperately.
"Look at me."
You could feel it baring its teeth against your skin. A sob escaped your lips in fear.
"I said LOOK AT ME!"
Your breath was caught in your throat as you felt hands close around your neck. It squeezed you slowly but steadily, sharp nails choking off your air supply.
"—na. Noona!"
Your eyes flew open and you sat up from your bed in panic. The first thing that registered to you were the blankets tangled around your legs and the painful heaving of your chest as you tried to desperately catch some air. Your room was still a bit dim, but it was bathed in a soft morning glow which streamed from the slightly parted curtains from the other side of the room. A shuffling sound to your left made you whip around and you were met by the sight of Renjun who was looking worried over the side of your bed. He was slightly leaning over you, as if he was just about to shake you awake.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly now as if he was scared to startle you even more. You didn't answer immediately, still trying to gather your wits.
"Is it a nightmare?"
His question finally made you snap into better focus. Nightmare… now that he mentioned that word, it's as if your dream-riddled brain clicked again.
You managed a small nod.
Renjun watched you carefully, not saying anything. You could feel the concern radiating off of him from where he was standing and you can't help but fidget more from the weight of his gaze. Softly, you cleared your throat and raised your blankets to cover your chest. That's when you realized something odd.
"How...how did you get in?"
He looked confused for a moment before glancing towards the doorway then back at you.
"What do you mean? The door was unlocked."
Now it was your turn to frown. You were pretty sure you bolted yourself inside your room yesterday before you slept just like the previous nights. It's your third and final day of staying in the manor and to be honest, you have never felt so vulnerable inside a locked room and a house made of stone.
Taeil was right and wrong at the same time. When he said that you might experience some side-effects from the fall, he forgot to emphasize how bad they could be. The first night was the easiest after you were knocked down by the sleeping pills and painkillers, but it was also the same time that the nightmares started to happen. The first few dreams were not graphic as you ebbed in and out of consciousness throughout the night, but every time you would slip into slumber they would get worse and worse. They came in fragments, some in black and white and some in full color, with images and sceneries that you couldn't make sense of. The worst of them, however, are those where you find yourself enveloped in darkness with that bodiless voice always haunting you from the shadows.
It just progressively gets worse from there. You haven't even gotten the chance to get out of your room from how tired you always are and there is not one night when you would have a peaceful sleep. This caused you to always feel weak during the morning so you would always try to compensate by napping. However, every time you would close your eyes, the dreams would just come again. Days started to meld into nights and your lack of proper rest started to blur the edges of reality and that of your nightmares.
It was a brutal, never-ending cycle.
"It's time for your medicine now…" you were stirred from your thoughts by Renjun again. For the first time, you noticed the small tray on the foot of your bed with the usual glass of water and clear crystal plate that held all your pills. You stared at it momentarily, a creeping feeling climbing up your spine as you unconsciously took note of everything you started to take when the dreams started. You wondered if you should stop and have your prescription changed, but Taeil did tell you that side-effects are normal and that you should only reconsider after two weeks.
So instead you gave a weak smile now at the other who had temporarily seated himself on a chair beside your bed. He looked so concerned still that you almost felt bad for him. Of the brothers, Renjun seemed to be the most guilty about your accident so it is either him or Jisung who would drop by your room the most.
"Thank you. I will take them in a little bit. I'm just… trying to catch my breath."
He nodded slowly.
"Do you want us to call Taeil-hyung again so he can check up on you? Do you still get headaches?"
Your hand lifted to your head then to briefly touch your cut. The wound itself has more or less stopped throbbing now, but you would admit that the headaches were still unrelenting. That's another reason why you couldn't really give up your pills. They were the only ones that could chase away the pain at the expense of the nightmares.
"Yeah… but my stitches are okay now. No need to have your doctor come, I can just make another appointment with him once I get home. You've already done so much for me," you said gratefully. You didn't notice the quick shadow that passed over the boy's face at your words as you tried to rearrange yourself better in your bed.
"Right, you are leaving tomorrow morning, right?"
You nodded with a smile.
"Yes. My boyfriend will pick me up. He actually wanted to go home today but I told him to just wait another day and finish his business conference."
"That's sweet of him," Renjun said with a smile of his own, his tone sounding just a little bit hollow. The two of you fell into a comfortable silence then, you thinking over your relief of seeing Jaehyun again while he got lost in his own thoughts.
"Oh, I just realized, I might not be able to send you off tomorrow. I have to leave for an art camp."
You looked over to him at his announcement. As their tutor, you are made aware of the boys' schedules so you are a little bit confused that you are only hearing of this now.
"An art camp?"
"Yes. It's in Busan. I'm not sure if Taeyong-hyung had the chance to tell you. We kinda applied for it late because our invitation got held up."
"I see… How long will you be there?"
Renjun looked away briefly, his cheeks flushing a bit. He is usually such a quiet person—the hardest to read among the siblings—but there is this soft side to him that shines every time any conversation about his creativity comes up. You couldn't help but smile a little bit to yourself now as you observed it on him again.
"Maybe a week… It's ah… A really exclusive invite. I'll get the chance to work with some of Korea's best artists. They're mentoring us for a few days."
The way he seemed to be so happy about it made you melt a little.
"Oh, Renjun, that sounds so nice. I'm really proud of you. You've always had the talent for it. All those paintings of yours that I saw are beautiful," you said softly, your tone proud. You weren't lying though. He really does shine the brightest during your art sessions, not only because of his technique but because each of his works seems to have a meaning behind them.
The light in his eyes changed as he gazed at you after you said those words. There was something in his expression that you couldn't quite read; like he was taken aback by what you just said on top of being flustered. That didn't last though, however, as another emotion overtook him, his expression set.
"You think they are beautiful…"
You nodded slowly.
"Yes. I did tell you that when I saw your first painting, remember? When we first met?"
He didn't answer. He simply continued looking at you as if he didn't even hear your question at all. The silence that clung in the air made you shift a little awkwardly in your bed so you decided to start the conversation again.
"How is that art piece by the way? Have you finished it?"
Renjun blinked.
"No. Not yet. I'm still working on it, but I'm almost done. It's my most important painting at the moment and I'm taking my time."
"Spoken like a true artist," you chuckled as you leaned back against the headboard. Your grogginess had receded a bit by now, but the throbbing in your head had slowly started again. You tried to distract yourself by continuing the conversation.
"When you finish it, I hope I can see it," you whispered, your eyes closing from the pain on your head. You felt the cold touch of a glass pressed against your hand followed by the mild weight of pills on your palm. You muttered a soft thank you to the boy before lifting them up to your lips, desperate to find your relief.
The corner of Renjun's lips curled ever so slightly as he watched you take them.
"It will be finished soon since I already have the inspiration for it. Don't worry, once it is done, you'll be the first one to see it, noona."
----
"Babe?"
"Hmm?"
"I don't have to do it if you don't want to."
You sighed into your phone as you settled to sit on the edge of your bed. You can't lie, you are disappointed to hear about Jaehyun's news, but it's not like he wanted things to turn out this way anyway. Finding a loose thread on your borrowed dress, you tugged on it gently as you finally answered.
"I don't like it, but it's not like we have any choice. You said it's your only chance to have the contract signed?"
Jaehyun gave a frustrated breath. "Yes. The CEO is arriving in Ulsan tomorrow and we have to fly there since he isn't dropping by Seoul anymore." You could almost see him running his hand through his hair and that little frown between his brows. "The deal's pretty much closed, I just really need his physical signature."
"Mm… well, if that's the case…I guess you should go and do it," you trailed off, gazing at your window. You tried your best to sound nonchalant about it, but you could only barely cover the sound of longing in your tone. And here you thought you will finally see him again...
"I'm really sorry baby… if you want, I can just tell them to move it another time. I'm sure there's another way—"
"Hey… it's fine. It's just for another two days, right?" You cut Jaehyun off gently before he could finish. You're disappointed, sure, but you also don't want him to feel bad about it since it isn't something that he has direct control over anyway. "And besides, if you postpone it, you might miss the deal. If not that, then your trip is just going to be rescheduled and you'd leave again. I'd like it better if you can just get it over with in one go…"
Your reasoning must have made sense for him because he took his time before he spoke again. Finally, he sighed.
"How are you though? Are you feeling better?"
You stopped. You considered telling him your troubles—the lack of sleep, the nightmares, even the mild hallucinations, but decided against it at the last second. He is already guilty enough that he is extending his trip, you didn't want to add to it more. Surely you can hold on for just a little bit longer.
It's just two more days anyway. Two more days and you'll be safe and well with him again.
"Yeah… my stitches have healed already."
"I'll go call mom after this and ask them if you could stay with them for a little bit, okay?"
"What? No. It's fine, Jae. I can just go home on my own," you were quick to intercept him, slight panic on your voice. While you are close to his parents and they have been nothing but nice to you in return, you still don't want to become an inconvenience. Just the thought of you being a burden to them is making you feel hot in the cheeks, especially since you are not officially part of the family yet.
Jaehyun didn't sound like he agrees with your decision when he spoke again.
"Are you sure you can manage on your own?"
You swallowed. The idea of sleeping alone with your nightmares is already making you uneasy, but it's not like you have any other choice.
"Yes. I think I can. I'll call you for updates always, so don't worry…"
You could almost hear your boyfriend's worried thoughts from the other end of the line. It made you smile a little despite yourself.
"Hey. I'll be okay… I can hear your internal monologue from here," you said gently, to which Jaehyun answered with another sigh. He sounded resigned.
"Okay. I'll see you soon okay? I'll catch the earliest flight to Seoul from Ulsan and drive back."
"Mm. Take care. And good luck. You've been working on that deal for months, I can't believe it's actually happening now."
"Yeah… I was a little bit surprised too. It all just happened too fast. Hopefully this'll be the final time I have to take care of this."
You smiled. "I'm sure you can do it. I love you, honey."
"I love you. I'll call again tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay."
Jaehyun put his phone down with a slight frown as he heard the connection die. His gaze lingered at his screen now, which has a picture of the two of you from when he proposed, and felt his jaw tense. He doesn't know if he is just being paranoid because you are away from him at the moment—and injured—but there's this unsettling feeling that he can’t just seem to brush off ever since his trip started and he heard about your accident. He couldn't understand it as well, since he has always been more of a realist than a gut-feel type of person, but it's...there, always gnawing at his consciousness.
Before he could even truly think it over, however, a light knocking from his hotel door caught his attention. He called out to the visitor to come in after shoving his phone to his back pocket.
A boy, probably a couple of years younger than him, peered from around it before giving him a friendly smile. Jaehyun's brows raised in recognition. He knows his face from one of the conference sessions he has attended.
"Hey, man. Sorry to butt in all of a sudden, but you're Jung Jaehyun, right?"
Jaehyun nodded, causing a look of relief to spread on the other's face. He finally opened the door fully to let himself in and offered his hand.
"This is probably weird, but uh, nice to meet you. I'm the other local contractor for the art building deal you are working on."
Jaehyun's face lit up in understanding as he shook the other's hand. "You're the middle man? Nice to meet you."
The other boy nodded before sheepishly scratching his nape. "I just thought of introducing myself since we will be working together. Oh, and yeah, I'd like to apologize too for the sudden change of plans. I did try to negotiate the schedule but the big boss is pretty inflexible with his time."
Jaehyun smiled at that. "No problem. I do have to thank you, you know, for choosing our proposal."
"Ah about that. You had the best sketches so it wasn't really up to me. Anyway, congratulations. Really excited to work with you, man."
"Same here. What do I call you though? I don't think I was able to get it clearly."
The younger boy smiled.
"Minhyung. But you can just call me Mark."
*********
You could barely remember how you found yourself in one of the shadowy hallways of the manor. When your consciousness zeroed in again to focus, you were already standing in an unknown corridor, barefooted with nothing but your long nightgown covering you. You slowly lifted your hand to touch your cheek, wondering if you are caught up in one of your nightmares again, but the clammy skin under your fingertips felt all too real to be merely inside your head.
This wasn't the first time this has happened. Other than the horrid dreams, you've had these moments when you couldn't remember things, conversations, and even moments. You would have gaps in your memories and often you would find yourself questioning whether something really happened in reality or not. At its worst, you would imagine shadows moving at the periphery of your vision or bodiless voices laughing in your ear.
Did you lock your room?
Did you talk to Jaehyun already?
Did you take the pills?
Are you going mad?
You turned your head to the side as the sound of a door creaking caught your attention. Your eyes landed on the sight of Jaemin then as he emerged from one of the rooms. He looked mildly confused for a moment, simply watching you, when a realization struck him. Slowly, he smiled.
You watched as he silently approached you, like a predator stalking his prey.
"Why are you here, noona?" He asked softly as if he was afraid to wake you up. You simply shook your head and looked back at the length of the hallway.
"I don't know…"
"Oh my. You must have been sleep walking."
You turned to him, your expression confused.
"Sleep walking?"
"Mm. Our doctor said it might be an after effect from your medicines and hitting your head. You don't remember?"
"No…" you can't be sure anymore if Taeil said that, but you remember him warning you about the hallucinations. Maybe this is part of it?
You were still trying to rack your memories and make sense of things when you felt a gentle hand wrap around your wrist. Looking down, you saw Jaemin holding you, his grip secure.
"Let's go. You can hangout with us first. You haven't really gotten out of your room since you decided to stay."
The rational part of you wanted to say no and pull back, but you honestly still feel a little too weak to do anything other than let him to pull you towards the room where he came from. And so you silently followed him inside of it, your gaze being met first by a grand piano as you passed through its doors.
You've been here before. The music room.
"Oh, noona decided to visit us today?" A light voice sounded off to your right and you saw Haechan sitting on the long velvet couch just beyond the piano. Across from him on the love seat was Jeno who simply leaned his head a little to the side before giving his own silent smile.
It was Jaemin who answered for you. He guided you to where his brothers are, sitting you just between the two. He held you like you were some glass on the verge of breaking.
"She was sleep walking. I found her in the corridor. She must be having a hard time sleeping again."
"Is that true? Nightmares?" Jeno asked and you couldn't help but notice the edges of his earlier injury peeking from his shirt with its top buttons loose. It looked so ghastly in the low light of the room.
"Where's Renjun?" You asked, instead of answering his question. You felt Jaemin let go of you then as he silently went behind the grand piano. Soft notes started flowing in the room as his fingers played a soft, lilting tune.
"Renjun left a day ago. You don't remember? For his art camp," Haechan answered with a slight giggle. You frowned. That was yesterday? You couldn't even remember what day it is anymore.
"What day… I should have gone home," you mumbled more to yourself than to anyone else. You barely noticed Haechan and Jeno exchange glances as if they were amused by what you just said.
"What are you talking about, noona? We agreed for you to stay here until your boyfriend arrives," Haechan said patiently as if he was talking to a child. You looked up confused. You couldn't remember having that conversation with them even as you tried to sift through your memories now. Across from you, Jaemin's playing started picking up in tempo, the tune still lilting but the notes moving up and down in fluctuating staccatos. Your head throbbed from it.
"I-I don't… I don't remember…"
Jeno leaned over from his seat to move a little closer to you, resting his elbows on his knees as he did. His eyes burned on you and for a quick second you thought you slipped into a nightmare again. "We talked about it. You wanted to come home but Taeyong-hyung said that it would be best if you would stay here. You can't be left alone. We reported your side-effects to our doctor and he agreed."
Your gaze moved to his collarbone as he spoke and stopped at the tip of his wound. Slowly, your eyes widened as you watched it start to move and curl before turning into a slithering snake that wrapped around his neck.
"J-Jeno…" You tried to warn him about it, but you were starting to go dizzy. Jaemin's music started to distort, the high notes beating against your skull. You closed your eyes and pressed your hand on your temple.
"She's having hallucinations again," you barely heard Haechan speak from somewhere near you. A soft touch of fingers ran through your hair, moving stray locks behind your ear. "Shh… it's fine. You're getting better, you see? From the medicine."
"Make the music stop," you whimpered now as the haunting tunes from the piano made the pain on your head worse. You felt on the verge of blacking out again.
"See? That's why you should stay. You can't be left alone on your own," Jeno whispered, sounding close to you than ever. You doubled down on your seat from the pain, clutching your head between your hands.
"Stop it. It hurts."
The thundering sound beating your ears mixed with the pain in your head finally got the best of you and you collapsed, darkness swallowing you whole once more. The last thing you could remember was a pair of strong arms catching you and a honey voice cooing above your head.
"Let's get you to bed again, shall we?"
*********
"Fancy room you have here."
Mark looked up from his phone at the unexpected voice that welcomed him the moment he unlocked to door of his hotel suite. Brown eyes easily spotted the lithe form of the boy standing in front of the overlooking glass window clad in a simple pair of black tracksuit.
He smiled. He strode over towards the bed and threw himself on it with a sigh.
"Pretty neat, right? Pity I'll leave this all behind tomorrow. How was your trip here?"
The other gave a casual shrug and turned to look at the twinkling nightscape beyond. He might prefer the seclusion of the manor, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to appreciate a good city view.
"Boring. I wish I was there. I hate that the others are getting the most out of it," he said softly. Anyone who could hear him now might feel comforted by the gentleness of his tone, but those closest to him would never miss the dark undercurrent that always seems to be there every time he speaks. Mark smirked and propped his head up on his arms.
"You guys having fun there?"
His brother didn't answer at first. Finally, he turned to him, eyes resting on the eldest of their brood.
"We wish you're there with us."
"I know, dude. But I gotta do this, you know, keep the businesses alive. And besides, I'm okay just supporting you guys."
The younger boy smiled then. With one last look at the night view behind him, he finally turned to leave.
"I'll go ahead. Take care on your trip."
"You too. Oh, and the parking lot's on basement three. You can just use the private elevator to go there. Enjoy your camp."
Renjun threw one last glance at his brother before disappearing from the doorway. He smiled, the simple gesture loaded with meaning.
"Thank you, hyung. For everything as always."
Mark's eyes glimmered with understanding and he gave a nod.
"Anything for my brothers."
*********
Renjun moved gracefully in the dark as he traversed his way across the expansive parking floor. Clad in black and with his sneakers silently padding against the cement, it would be easy to miss his moving form in the darkened area unless someone takes a second look. He took his time slowly now as he checked each car there, careful to keep on spots that are not captured by cameras.
Now, Haechan might tease him a lot about his height and frame, but in moments like this, no one can deny just how much his lithe build can be an advantage. Renjun loves the way he can easily meld in the shadows because it makes it so easy for him to do the things he likes in peace.
Like watching, for example.
As an artist, it comes natural for him to be a silent observer. He could observe something for hours, and many a time this particular hobby of his has given him many artistic inspirations. He loves watching beautiful things that could spark life in him…
Like you.
Oh yes, he could watch you for hours and never get tired of it. He had tried doing it many times already in the past few days, where he would find himself seated beside your bed in the darkness, his eyes drinking in the way you would toss and turn in your sleep every time you were having a particularly bad dream. He loves the expressions you make when you're afraid, your lips parting as if you wanted to scream. His favorite, however, is when your features would relax again after every nightmare, thinking you are finally safe when you really weren't.
No, safety has never been more far from you than ever. Nothing can shield you anymore. Not the double locks on a door… not even a soon-to-be husband.
Renjun silently stopped now in front of a familiar-looking car at the far end of the lot. There's no mistaking that it is the one he was looking for. He has memorized every feature of it—including the slight chip on one of the headlights—in the many times you've parked it in front of the manor.
He really hated to be away from you, but things needed to be done. A little sacrifice on his part, which he doesn’t mind doing, wouldn’t hurt in the long run. He dug one of his hands now in the pocket of his track pants and deftly pulled a small metal clipper which shone dully in the low light of the lot. With ease, he then ducked into the car to get to work, blending perfectly with the shadows.
----
Your eyes opened and was met by the shadowy ceiling of an unfamiliar room. You couldn't figure out where you are, your mind only half-working as it tried to focus on things. Still, there was an awareness in you before you even fully gathered your surroundings and you felt your throat start to close up again in panic as the realization set in.
Another dream. You’re trapped in another nightmare.
A soft moan startled you into better focus. You tried to look around for the source of it but couldn't see anything beyond your limited view of where you are currently lying. It was not until you heard it again when a startling realization hit you.
It was coming from your own lips.
As if suddenly roused from a deep sleep, you became aware of a fire burning in the pit of your stomach. It was a tightening you were all too familiar with and you closed your eyes to feel the building pressure even better. A soft shuffling from above you made you open your eyes and you were met by the face of Jaehyun looking down on you with gentle eyes. You smiled as you reached out to tangle your hands with his hair.
"Jae…"
"I love you, baby."
You could feel his lips on your neck now, his teeth gently grazing your sensitive spot there. The pressure inside you was continuing to build, slowly overwhelming your senses. Blunt nails moved down his back and you parted your lips again, saying his name over and over like a prayer.
"Look at me."
You were so close to it, that release that your body desperately needs, but you tried to open your eyes anyway like he wanted. You were on the verge of completion, dancing on its edge when your eyes met his—
And you froze.
Jeno looked back at you with hooded eyes, his gaze pinning you down. Your heart stopped and your hand flew with the intent to push him off, but instead your body moved on its own to pull him closer instead. A sigh left your lips as you felt him bury his face into the crook of your neck again his lips grazing on the same spot Jaehyun did. Instead of gentleness, however, your skin was only met by teeth and bruises.
Stop. Don't stop. Please.
"Go on. Don't be shy," it was Haechan's soft, lilting voice that whispered against the shell of your ear now. He turned his head to kiss you on the cheek but it was Jaemin's smile that you felt hovering over your skin. You tried to move away, but Renjun's firm hold kept you in place, the same way his fingers wove on yours on the first day you met.
You were on the verge of breaking apart. You desperately tried to hold it back, but it felt like your body had formed a mind of its own. The pressure inside of you finally snapped and you arched your back as soft sounds of pleasure escaped from your parted lips.
You suddenly bolted from your bed now, chest heaving as you broke free from your dream. In a split second you were throwing your covers back to make a run for the bathroom, only barely catching the door before your stomach turned. Bending over the sink, your hurled out the little bit you have on it, your chest heaving painfully. Your throat burned, tears pricking your eyes as you gagged and choked.
How could you? How could you even have that kind of dream? Guilt overcame your whole being as you continued to hurl, the feelings of disgust over what you just did taking over your consciousness.
How could you act like you want it?
You didn't know how long you stayed there. The next time you felt consciousness pierce you again, a trilling sound was coming from inside your room. Weakly, you pushed yourself up from the floor, hands grasping the sides of the sink. You stared at the hollowed eyes that looked back at you from the mirror before opening the tap to at least wash your mouth a bit.
Most of all, how could you even feel good from it?
You felt your knees finally give way from under you and you sobbed as you sank to the bathroom door.
> "Hey, babe. Just landed from Ulsan. Won't call you anymore since you might be sleeping. I'm going to the hotel now to pick up the car."
You were still shaky when you walked back into your room. By now the ringing sounds have stopped, but you frowned a little bit at the number of missed calls you had from an unknown number when you picked up your phone. Swiping it open, you quickly browsed your messages, all of them from Jaehyun.
> "I'm here. Will just pack up the last of my things then I'm driving back."
> "I'm leaving. I'll see you in a few hours. I love you."
Your eyes have barely scanned the last message when your phone started vibrating again in your hands. The same unknown number flashed on your screen and you quickly swiped to receive the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, we found your number on speed dial from Mr. Jung's phone. May we know your connection to him?"
A chilling fear started to creep up from your spine at the sound of urgency on the female voice. Your heartbeat picked up, drumming against your chest painfully.
"I'm—I'm his fiancee. Who is this? Is there something wrong?"
The woman from the other end of the line stopped momentarily. When she spoke again, you felt the blood in your veins froze. For a slip of a second, you wondered if you were trapped in a nightmare again.
"Your boyfriend got into an accident, Ma'm. You have to come as soon as possible."
The force of your knees hitting the rug-covered floor told you this is very much real.
********
A/N: Fifth chapter in! Again, thank you so much for those who’ve supported this story so far! P.S. I’m sending finger hearts to those who thought Renjun was the tamest brother lmao
Edit: I don't know what is wrong with Tumblr's code but some of the paragraphs here keep jumping in weird places no matter how many times I edit. So if something doesn't make sense in the writing, it is probably because of that. I also removed the tags here since I think that’s what’s messing up the coding. 😭
LUCID DREAMS - A TYPE OF DREAM WHEREIN THE PERSON IS AWARE THAT THEY ARE CAUGHT IN A DREAM WORLD.
Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?
NOTE:This is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.
Genre: yandere, horror, suspense
TW: abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, possible kidnapping, mental health. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age, drugs, slight smut for this chapter but nothing graphic, questionable consent (?) I guess? Creepy, creepy, creepy! This will be updated as the story goes along.
“EVERYONE HAS A DARKER NATURE. EVERYONE. GOOD MEN FEAR IT, AND EVIL MEN EMBRACE IT.”
- JAMES ISLINGTON
The silent hum of the air conditioning filled the space like a foreboding chant. Nothing else but the sound of the hospital machinery and random noises outside pierced the stillness of the room as you stared, unseeing, at the green and orange numbers that blinked on the monitor above the bed.
You barely have any recollection of how you managed to find yourself in the hospital, but you do remember brief memories of Taeyong picking you up from the floor you found yourself crumpled on after you got the call. You remember seeing Jaehyun's parents at a brightly lit corridor and his mother pulling you into a hug as she broke down and his father telling you how his son hasn't woken up since he was brought to the emergency room.
You remember your heart breaking in shock, mind too numb from the godforsaken pills you have been taking and your own injury. So many times you wondered to yourself if you were still caught in one of your nightmares, but every time you tried to break free from it, you're slapped back with the reality of how all of this is real.
Your fingers gently tightened on Jaehyun's hands now as your gaze landed on his face. He looked so peaceful, like he's just sleeping, that you almost wanted to bend over and try to kiss him awake. You don't even have any idea what time and day it is already, but you have barely left his side since you were brought to him. The nightmares and sleeplessness? They're barely a problem for you anymore because right now, you're entirely not resting at all unless your body forces you to crash from physical exhaustion. Even then, you usually only sleep for about two to three hours at best to make sure that you never miss a moment with your fiance.
"Severe traumatic head injury. He was lucky enough that the airbag shielded him from the worst of the impact."
The words of his attending doctor echoed in your head again like a faraway voice. You could only remember bits and pieces of what he said to his parents back then as he reported his findings, but you caught enough context for you to draw a picture of the situation. You remember Jaehyun's mother asking the chances of her son waking up again, her voice barely holding up from her emotions.
"I cannot promise anything, Ma'm. I'd say he has a 60 percent chance. He's fighting."
And he is. You know Jaehyun inside out. He might be unconscious now, but there is no way he is giving up. Not from something like this.
"Keep fighting baby…" you whispered in the stillness of the room as you lifted his hand gently to your lips to kiss. "I'll wait for you. We still have a wedding to do."
The slight creaking of the door barely made you look away from his sleeping face. You only did at the gentle sound of a throat clearing, your eyes slightly widening as you recognized the man who just walked inside the room. Taeil had the same mildly shocked look on him as he stopped on the other side of the bed across from you.
"You…"
"Are you a relative of the patient?" He asked now as he tucked his clipboard under his arm. You simply nodded, watching him quickly glance at the numbers on the monitor before his eyes settled on you again.
"I'm his fiancee."
That made him raise his brows slightly. He pulled a pen now from the pocket of his coat to quickly write something on his file. "What a coincidence. Not a good one obviously. I'm sorry to hear about him. Mr. Jung, right?"
You swallowed. You didn't want to acknowledge anything that he just said so you tried to divert the conversation instead.
"You're not his doctor. Why are you…"
"Oh. He was turned over to me today. I am one of the resident neurologists here but he had to be moved to me because his first doctor has too much in his plate already. Don't worry, I was briefed properly about his case."
Your gaze followed Taeil as he bent over to check Jaehyun's oxygen level as well as the other wires attached to him. You don't know what to feel about him taking over, but at least you already know him previously.
"Are there any changes? Positive ones?" You asked in a frail voice that Taeil definitely didn't miss. You told yourself to not act silly and ask questions that probably do not have answers yet, but you couldn't help yourself now. The man seemed to think over his words first, noticing your state, before calmly giving his reply.
"No particular ones, but the fact that there are no negative developments is… something. I will have to request for some tests to be done on him again tomorrow so we can see if there are positive changes in his brain."
Neutral. Not good, but at least it's not bad either.
"How are you? I was about to check on you again. Is your head okay?"
You were still thinking over his words that you barely caught his question. Looking up, you tried to scramble for an answer to give. To be honest, you haven't given proper attention to your own injury since this happened. You would even only remember to take your medications on your clearest, less anxious moments, which, honestly, isn’t a lot.
"I'm uh… the wound has closed. But the headaches. They're still there."
He simply nodded. "Any other side effects?"
You didn't immediately answer. You didn't want to sound whiny, but it's not like you're going to lose anything by telling him the uglier parts of your recovery. You swallowed to try and dislodge the slight blockage in your throat.
"Nightmares…" you said now, voice soft. You briefly remembered the last one you had back in the manor before you woke up to the bad news and you felt your stomach turn again. "Lots of them. Hallucinations sometimes…"
The doctor watched you carefully and you know he is trying to compute things in his mind despite his face remaining calm.
"Have you been keeping to your schedule with your medications? Are you taking too much?"
You firmly shook your head no to his last question.
"No, I haven't been overdosing. But… I've been skipping my pills the last few days because of...because of this."
"How have you been feeling since you started missing your dosages then? Do you remember?"
That made you actually stop and think about it for a moment. Now that you are paying attention, you did notice how the nightmares have calmed down slightly. Even the hallucinations are almost gone. You frowned slightly to yourself.
"A bit… better actually."
Taeil took his time to observe you a bit more before writing something on a new page of his clipboard.
"You must have had severe reactions to the mixture of pills I gave you. I'm going to prescribe you new ones and ask the nurses to pick them up and bring them to you here. Can you promise that you'll try and take them though? You really need them to fully heal."
You nodded and gave him a slightly sheepish look.
"I will, thank you very much."
Taeil dug his hands into the pockets of his coat and gave you a gentle smile.
"Well, that's it for today. I'll come back tomorrow to give you updates about Mr. Jung." He had already turned and started walking away when he suddenly stopped to look at you again.
"Oh, and another thing. Please try and get some sleep. Recover… and then focus on helping your fiance."
*******
You didn't really know what woke you up. Stirring from your sleep, the first thing that registered to you was the sound of distant traffic mixed with the gentle chirping of the morning birds from outside the window. A warm feeling radiated on your cheek and made the back of your eyelids glow red.
You flickered your eyes open and immediately rolled away to escape the ray of sunshine that slipped from the open curtains and shone directly at your face. You easily evaded it as you moved over to the other side of the bed which was empty and cold from the night before.
That was when you finally remembered that you were back in your home, in the same bedroom you share with Jaehyun. The day before, his mother offered to take the responsibility of watching over him so there was a sudden change of plans that finally gave you the reason to check back into your apartment after so long. If it were you, you would have preferred not leaving your boyfriend’s side until he wakes up, but you also knew that your future mother-in-law wanted to spend time with him so you relented.
Of course you weren't thrilled to be home alone, especially with Jaehyun not being there, but the comfort that a real mattress provided—over the small couch you used to sleep in back at the hospital—is definitely a welcome change for your body. You even tried to take your medicine properly, the new ones that Taeil had provided, in the hopes of getting knocked down fast. Your adrenaline and anxiety had been fueling you in the past days, but you know from the way your heart thumped and your hands shook that you need a solid rest.
And you got it. You still feel a little groggy now but your body is definitely lighter and your head clearer. The nightmares didn't even come, and while they were replaced by total darkness or dreams in white that still made you anxious, you are willing to take those anytime over the graphic ones that you used to have.
You gently sat back against the headrest of the bed now and reached out for your phone to check the time. It's barely 7AM but as expected, Jaehyun's mom has already provided you with updates from the hospital. He’ll have some tests taken today as Taeil advised and then they’ll hear more about his progress. From the looks of it, she seems still set on watching over her son, which means you still have at least today free to yourself.
You quickly typed a reply to her and sighed. You’re thankful that even though you weren’t related by blood, his parents have always treated you as if you were their own. Having a family is not something you’ve really experienced in your childhood, so that’s something you’ve always appreciated about them. That is also the reason why you wish for the best out of this situation, because you also couldn’t bear seeing your fiance’s mother and father heartbroken. He’s their only son, after all.
A quick look around your room left you feeling empty. The last week has been so hard that it felt longer and now you’re struggling to find your normal pace again. In an effort to bring yourself to focus, you decided to pick up your phone once more and started flipping through your calendar to check your schedule. It didn’t take long for you to frown when you realized the upcoming dates there. You’ve plotted important academic schedules in advance and one quick look at it told you how much you’ve obviously missed in the past week. You’ve been so lost in the mess of everything that has happened that you’ve entirely forgotten about your job at the manor. You realized that they didn’t even call you once to ask about your absence, probably because they also know about the situation, but even that is not enough excuse for you to entirely fall off the radar.
Biting your lip, you quickly scrolled through your contacts now to look for the number you need. Your thumb hovered over the call button momentarily, but you eventually pressed it anyway. Your eyes wandered towards the clock on the wall, hoping silently to yourself that it wasn’t too early for you to call.
“Rosewood Manor, how can I help you?”
You straightened on your seat.
“Hey, Taeyong. It’s me. Sorry if I called so early.”
The other boy seemed to have been taken slightly by surprise by the way he fell silent at the other end of the line. You tapped your finger against your knee, waiting for him to speak again.
“Hi. No, it’s fine. Work started for me about an hour ago. Are you okay? How’s things on your end?”
You nibbled guiltily on your lower lip and finally got off your bed to walk over to the window. You pushed the curtains open and stared at the slight snowfall that had started falling on the ground. You’ve missed so many days of reporting to them but the first thing he does is to check if you’re fine.
“I um—things are still the same. My boyfriend’s still at the hospital.”
“Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Look, I want to apologize. I haven’t really reported to work and I didn’t even call about it. It’s just that—things have been so crazy lately, but still that isn’t an excuse for me to just not show up.”
Taeyong, however, was understanding as always. You were about to go off for another round of apologies when he gently cut you off.
“Hey, it’s fine. We know you’ve been dealing with a lot lately so we also weren't expecting anything. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“But, the boys’ examinations and portfolio review is happening in three days and I haven’t really checked in with them. How are they doing now?”
“Oh...that. Well, we actually tried looking for a temporary tutor to help out but I...uh… I think he isn't really cutting it. Maybe because he isn’t the one who started the program with them. But he’s a big help still.”
“Oh god, I’m so sorry about that. I should have at least—look, I can drop by today and just try to fix things.”
“Are you sure? You really don’t have to. Don’t you need to be at the hospital?”
You started going around your room now, trying to gather the scattered papers and files that you’ll need. It’s a good thing you woke up early so you still have time to prepare for work. “My boyfriend’s mother is the one watching over him today so I have the day off.”
“And your injury? How is it?”
Your eyes landed on the new bottles of medicine sitting on your bedside table.
“Better. I’m feeling so much better.”
You heard Taeyong sigh in relief over the phone. “Thank god. We were so worried about that. Well, you really don’t need to go, but if you have time, I guess doing it today won’t hurt. It will help us a lot.”
A small smile tugged at your lips now and you switched the phone over to your other ear as you started arranging your bag. “Thank you so much for being understanding. I need a distraction anyway. I’d rather work than stay home alone… Thanks for not firing me.”
That made him laugh a little. “I’ll tell the boys that you’re coming over. Oh, and be careful on your drive here. The roads are a little bit slippery today because of the snow.”
“I will, thank you. I’ll be there by 9.”
*******
“Noona!”
You have barely finished arranging your materials on your desk when the door to the room burst open and ushered an anxious-looking Jisung inside. You looked up quickly at him, only barely catching Chenle wobbling with his crutch before your vision of the entrance was blocked by Jisung’s tall frame. His hair looked swept up as if he ran and there was a slight flush staining his cheeks. He stopped right in front of you, stopping just in time for him not to topple you over.
“Hey, Jisung how are—” You tried to give him a smile but he was quick enough to grab your hands between his.
“Are you back? Are you really back for real?” He pressed now, eyes wide as he tried to bend over to look closely at you. He looked like a puppy, the only missing thing being a wagging tail to complete the look. You couldn’t help the brief laugh that passed over you as you tried to calm him down.
“I am. For the day, yes. Sorry I missed so many of your sessions.”
“We thought you left us,” Jisung continued, his lower lip protruding just a bit. Just then, Chenle had finally reached the two of you, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. This is actually the first time you saw him again since the day the two of you had your accident and you’re glad to see him healthy despite his broken leg.
“Hi, Chenle. How are you?”
The boy scratched the back of his head and looked away slightly. “Fine… I’m sorry, noona. I wasn’t able to visit you when you stayed with us. I’m really really sorry about what happened in the forest.”
You tried to give him a reassuring smile and freed one of your hands from Jisung’s hold to ruffle his hair. The action seemed to have calmed him down a little because he finally looked at you again, a small apologetic smile on his own lips.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. But be careful next time, okay?”
“Are you going to be our tutor again, noona?” Jisung pressed once more and you turned your attention back to him. To be honest, you’re still not sure how your schedule will turn out after this, but you couldn’t really bear to break the poor boy’s heart at the moment.
“Yes… I’m here to teach your big brothers today for their tests though. We’ll have to schedule you and Chenle’s lessons again. Is that alright?”
A brief look of disappointment flashed on his face but he was quick enough to pick it up. Jisung smiled and gave your hand a squeeze.
“Okay. We can wait. It’s good you are back, Jaemin-hyung was so—”
“Yah, don’t hog her by yourself. You’ll scare her away.”
A new voice made the three of you look back to the doorway. Haechan smiled at your little group as he strolled casually into the room followed by Jeno and Jaemin. The three of them joined your crowd and you felt Jisung finally let go of your hand as he stepped away to go over to his brothers’ side.
“Hi. Sorry, I only returned now. Taeyong told me that you—”
You weren’t able to finish what you wanted to say as Haechan gently stopped you mid-sentence. He leaned his head to the side, eyes briefly scanning you from head to toe. Unlike Jisung, he looked calm and only barely excited.
“It’s fine. We knew you’ll come back. How are you?”
“Oh… I’m good. My head is better. I haven’t had the chance to thank all of you for taking care of me when I was here.”
“How about your boyfriend?” It was Jeno who asked this time and you quickly turned to him to address his question. Your eyes briefly slipped to Jaemin who was standing behind him before you could even speak though, and for a moment you had the impression that Jeno was shielding him—or blocking him from you. You blinked a little bit in confusion, wondering if it was just your imagination that was making you think that way.
“He’s still… still unconscious,” your smile dropped a little but you tried your best to keep your voice casual. “We’re getting more tests for him. His doctor said that he isn’t showing bad signs at least.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about him,” Haechan said with compassion and you gave him a grateful look. Your gaze settled on Jaemin again, however, who for some reason had barely looked at you since he came into the room. You know that he can be quiet and reserved at times, but there is something in the air around him that makes you slightly worried. He’s so still, but the way he carries himself makes it seem like he’s so strung up at the same time. It also doesn’t help that Jeno seems to be almost pushing him back from view.
“Hi Jaemin… How are you?” You tried to gently ask him to make sure that he is okay. He didn’t look at you at first, but when he finally did, you felt yourself freeze a little. His eyes looked dark and almost emotionless when he met yours and there were shadows under them as if he hadn't slept properly for days. He didn’t even answer and just simply stared, his gaze blank and accusing at the same time.
Haechan casually glanced over his brother and chuckled. “Our Jaeminie here has been sick for the past couple of days so he’s a little out of it. But he’s going to be fine now,” he put a hand over the other’s shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze as if to calm him down. “Right, Jaemin? We’ll try our best to go to class today since noona is finally back, hmm?”
Jaemin, however, didn’t even seem to hear him. He continued staring at you the same way that kept you pinned on your spot.
“Are you leaving again?” he finally asked and you almost felt goosebumps rise on your skin. It didn’t sound like a question… but more of a threat. You swallowed.
“I’m going to have to arrange my schedule till things get better…” you answered carefully, as if you’re navigating dark waters. That didn’t seem to cut it for him, unfortunately.
“So you’re not leaving. Forever?”
You blinked. To be honest, you’ve been thinking of quitting and just finishing the rest of the month if things didn’t improve, but you don’t think that’s the right answer to give at the moment.
“No… not for now,” you finally managed to say. You watched as Jaemin seemed to visibly relax, his stiff shoulders loosening under Haechan’s grip. He didn’t say anything after that, but he at least looked away, seemingly more satisfied with your words.
“Great. I think we should get to work,” Haechan broke the silence and looked around the room as if the tension you were feeling was just something only you could feel. He nodded towards Chenle and Jisung then. “You guys go back to your own classes. You’ll have your share of noona once it’s your turn.” He then glanced at you, smile still in place. “Should we start then?”
You nodded. “Is Renjun still not back?”
“Not yet. He’s going to be here tomorrow though,” Jeno answered as he took his seat on one of the desks.
“I see…”
Haechan also found his spot, but not before you’ve noticed him urging Jaemin to do the same. Playfully, he took the pencil you’ve arranged on the desk and started tapping it against the wood of the table.
“Don’t worry. We’ll tell him you’re back. I’m sure he can’t wait to have his lessons again~”
*******
You looked over the window for the third time in the last fifteen minutes and sighed. The day had been busy with you trying to catch up on the boys’ lessons that you barely even noticed the state of the weather outside. When you finally did, it took you by surprise when you saw how much of the ground was covered by snow—one look at it told you that it is at least a feet deep by now. Your first instinct was to try and maneuver your car out of the lot before your tires get entirely buried in it, but then you remembered that you promised to wait for Taeyong to come back before leaving the manor. The butler requested for you to temporarily watch over the manor while he tries to do some last minute errands back in the city, but it’s been two hours since he originally promised to come back. You eyes glanced at your watch now, then back at the quickly darkening view outside.
“...severe snowstorm has blocked some of the main roads in the city at the moment. Expect heavy traffic and don’t forget to drive safely.”
You turned to the television now to catch the last of the rambling dialogue of the reporter about the weather. You’ve been debating on whether to call Taeyong or not to check on him, but you didn’t want to seem impatient to go home when you only really wanted to make sure if he’s safe. From the looks of it, he’s stuck somewhere because of the hale, too.
You were on your way to get your phone from your bag to at least try to shoot him a message when you suddenly heard it ring. Getting it just in time, you almost sighed in relief when you saw his number there. You quickly took it and went over to the window to answer it to make sure you get some proper signal.
“Hello? Taeyong?”
“Hey. Finally. I’ve been trying to call you for the last hour, thank god it finally connected.”
“Oh, sorry, my phone’s in my bag. I think the signal’s getting bad because of the snowstorm. Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, about that, I’m still stuck in town. The traffic’s so bad here because a section of the main road is blocked. Road maintenance is supposed to come thirty minutes ago but I think there’s a delay because there are other roads they are working on.”
Your gaze drifted back to the television where scenes of the same blocked avenues were being flashed. “Yeah… the news says the same. Are you safe though?”
“I am. I’m really sorry for making you wait. I’d tell you to drive back and not wait for me anymore but I don’t think you’ll also make it home in time with all this traffic going on. I don’t think it’s going to be safe. Do you mind waiting for a little bit more? I’ll tell you once the roads are better.”
You thought it over quickly, a frown settling on your face. You really want to go home, but he’s right. There’s no point in trying to drive back if you’ll only find yourself stuck in the roads for hours. Not being a big fan of night driving yourself, you can already imagine the stress waiting for you if you add a snowstorm to the mix. As much as you wanted to leave, you’re left with no choice, at least for the moment.
“I can… I’ll just wait for you, I guess. Do you want me to do anything here while you’re gone? Dinner for the boys?”
“Oh no, no, you don’t need to do that, that’s not part of your job,” Taeyong sounded abashed when he said that. You stepped away from the window then and took a seat by the fireplace that Jeno started earlier. Half of your concentration was on the news which has now shifted to a different set of reports also caused by the snowstorm. “They’ll know when to go down and eat. Don’t worry about them. Where are they right now?”
“Ah, I think they went back to their rooms? I did tell them earlier that I’ll try to wait for you.”
“I see. Yes, I think that’s better. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated. If things don’t get better, I think I’ll have no other choice but find a hostel here and wait for the weather to calm down. You can stay there and just ask for help from any of them. You can stay in the same room just in case.”
You didn’t quickly react to the offer. Instead, your eyes flickered to the doorway of the room before refocusing your attention back to the conversation. It’s not like you have anything against spending the night again at the manor—you’ve done it before, after all—but it’s honestly not really something you’re comfortable to do again. Maybe it’s because you’ve never really been okay with overstaying at strangers’ houses but your gut feel is also telling you right now that it shouldn’t be your top option regardless of the situation you are in.
Still, you didn’t want to come off rude to Taeyong, not when he is only being kind to offer you temporary shelter while being stuck in the middle of nowhere himself. So instead, you went against your initial doubts and offered him your thanks in return. It’s just Plan B that he’s proposing after all.
“I will. Keep me updated though if you need anything you think I can help with.”
“Thank you and I will. I have to go now though. Please make yourself at home. I’ll try to call again after an hour.”
“Okay. Take care.”
You put your phone down now with a worried frown as you heard the line drop. You couldn’t believe this is happening the first day you got back to work but it’s not like you can really blame anyone for it. The only good thing is that you’re sure Jaehyun is being taken care of right now so that is at least one thing off your shoulders. You didn’t really need to rush anywhere, not especially to a vacant home. Leaning back against your seat, you tried your best to relax as your gaze travelled around the room once again. You deliberated on sending a text to your mother-in-law to tell her about your situation but decided against it, not wanting to worry her more. You sighed. For now, you guess you didn’t have any other choice but to wait.
You did try to distract yourself by watching the news for a few more minutes before finally giving up on it. With resignation, you picked yourself up from your seat again and turned the television off. For a moment you simply stood in the middle of the room, trying to figure out what to do with your time when your gaze settled on the door again. Everyone retreated to their own rooms after they finished with their lessons so it means the house is pretty much yours for exploring if you wanted to. You toyed with the idea for a little bit, before finally resigning yourself to it. It’s not like there really is anything else left for you to do, and Taeyong did say you can make yourself feel at home if you wanted to. With a sigh, you finally turned on your heels to leave the room and peered silently into the hallway. It was deserted as expected, but still your eyes travelled left and right to check if there’s anyone out and about at this hour. It was only after you made sure that you were alone when you finally allowed yourself to step into the corridor.
Of course, you have a plan. You’re pretty much sure that checking out the rooms on the first floor is acceptable since it’s where you’ve been rotating your classes so you’re going to stick to those areas. You remember finding a library there once and you focused on finding your way to it to maybe check out some of the books in the collection.
It did take you about five minutes to finally find the place you were looking for. For some reason, the sections in the manor always confuse you no matter how many times you try to memorize each one, probably because of how big and similar-looking they are on the outside. You’ve already tried four doors when you were finally welcomed by the familiar-looking bookshelves at the fifth one. You sighed and gave one quick look around the room before slipping yourself inside after making sure that you’re alone.
There will probably never be a time when you won’t find yourself fascinated by anything in this grand home. If the architecture of the mansion is not enough to convince anyone how rich the family is, their book collection is enough to assure that at the very least. You’ve only ever taken a quick glimpse of it once during one of your lessons with the boys, but one look of the titles in their shelves is enough to make any literature major excited. You looked at the floor to ceiling collection now, your fingers gently running over the spines of the books you could reach with a small smile on your face.
You were about to check out the rest of the collection on the other side of the wall when something in the middle of the room caught your attention. You didn’t really catch it at first because of the shadows that concealed it when you first came in, but you could pretty much discern the outline of a blanket covered standee now from where you stood. You frowned. Taking careful steps, you closed the distance towards it to try and figure out what exactly it is that you’re seeing.
A closer look revealed it to be an easel covered with white cloth. You could see the outline of the canvas where the blanket falls over it while shadows of colors peeked out into the thin fabric from the surface it was covering. How odd… you knew that Renjun had a different art room for his paintings so to see this now here in the middle of the library seems uncanny.
You didn’t know how long you remained standing in front of it, too. You know you should have walked away—after all, the white cloth hiding it away from plain view means whatever is on that canvas is not meant for everyone’s eyes to see, but you simply couldn’t tear yourself away from it. It’s as if there was a silent force asking you to pull that cloth to reveal what’s underneath, the inclination so strong that you could almost hear its voice breathing down next to your ear, unrelenting until you do what it says.
The next thing you know, you had your hand attached to one end of the fabric. You stared at it now, wondering last minute if you should go ahead or not. You swallowed and glanced around one last time around the room. If you’re alone… it wouldn’t hurt if you could take a peek, right? Nobody will know. You just have to see, then cover it back again. Before you could even think about it too much, your arm was finally moving on its own as it gently tugged at the covering. You watched as it fell gently on the floor, like a bodiless ghost melting into the shadows on the ground.
Your eyes couldn’t make out what you were seeing at first. The dim lighting of the room wasn’t helping at all, but you were sure that it was a woman’s silhouette that was staring back at you from the canvas. Colors swirled around her, like some unknown mass trying to drag her back into unknown depths. Shapes and tones jumped from the picture, but her form stood out from the rest, gracefully twisted as if she was in the middle of trying to fight and succumb to it at the same time. You frowned. Taking a step closer towards it, you tried to study its details under what little illumination the lamps above afforded you.
That’s when it all happened simultaneously. Your heart stopped beating the same time your eyes widened as they finally focused on what’s in front of them. It’s as if the ground suddenly vanished from underneath your feet and you were falling, falling, deep into the abyss despite your body being frozen in fear and shock.
You know this painting. You’ve seen it before. It was the same one by Renjun, the one that you saw on your first day working in the manor.
But it was different now. Instead of the unfinished state that caught your attention before, everything about the picture now is in sharp focus. The lines on the woman’s nude body, the hands—which you thought were simply dark swirls dragging her back—and her face twisted beautifully in pleasure and madness stared back at you like a nightmare.
But it was not those which truly shook you to your core. It’s the realization that it was your own face in the portrait that was staring back at you, silently screaming for you to run away.
You stumbled back in shock. Your chest felt tight as you tried to grasp for air while your hands fumbled to find something to hold on to keep you from crashing on the ground. Before you could even take another step, however, something hard hit your back and you felt strong arms wrap around your waist like a vice. You have barely realized what was happening when you felt someone lean over your shoulder, lips pressing against the shell of your ear.
“Isn’t it beautiful? You’re the perfect muse, don’t you think?” Renjun asked softly as he pressed a gentle kiss to your temple.
*******
You didn’t know how long you stayed frozen in his embrace. For a brief moment you thought you were dreaming again until you felt his arms slowly tighten around your waist. As if a jolt of electricity shocked you, you immediately turned to push him away as you scrambled to put some distance between the two of you.
Renjun didn’t seem the least bothered when your eyes finally focused on him. He remained on his spot, his gaze on you unwavering. You, meanwhile, were shaking from head to toe, the vision of the painting still branded vividly in your head.
“Renjun—what’s this?” you managed to stutter as you pointed at the artwork in the middle of the room. You couldn’t even spare to look at it again while he merely gave it a casual glance.
“It’s you. I’ve been working on it for a long time. I was about to show it to you but it seems like you couldn’t wait for it yourself.”
You felt nauseous. A part of your rational mind was slowly losing it as you tried to process his answer. Something's not right. Something is so terribly wrong.
“Why—why did you do this?”
Renjun simply stared at you and leaned his head a little bit to the side as if he was only mildly curious of your reaction. Your stomach turned even before hearing his answer.
“You said it’s beautiful.”
“This is not right—!”
“I came home because they said you were leaving for good,” he continued speaking softly, effectively cutting you from what you were about to say. The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end and you took another step back as you watched him get close to his artwork. You watched in horror as his thin fingers lovingly ran over the corners of the canvas. “Jaemin almost lost it… It’s a good thing I got here on time.”
And just like that, everything seemed to have clicked into place. The glances, the touches, the words that seemed to have a different undercurrent under them… they weren’t just fragments of your imagination. Every little thing that has gnawed at you from the inside came into crystal clear focus and you felt your knees go weak from the weight of it all. It took every fiber of your being to try and keep yourself steady now, your legs moving on their own as they took small backward steps away from the boy staring at you now with dead eyes. You couldn’t breathe, but it was the last words he told you that finally snapped you to run.
“I don’t think you’ve realized it yet. But no, you cannot leave. Ever.”
You didn’t know where you got the energy for it but in seconds you were flying out of that room and running blindly down the darkened corridors. Your blood pumped noisily in your ears and your chest felt like it was going to split from the sudden exertion you put on it, but you didn’t stop, not even looking back as you tried to put as much distance between you and the library. You didn’t even know where you were going. All you’re focused on is to find the exit and leave the house as soon as possible.
A loud bang that sounded off to your right startled you and you screamed, the force of your shock making you whip around and almost lose your balance. Before you could even hit the floor, however, a pair of hands caught you and you immediately turned, grasping at the chest of your rescuer.
You froze. Haechan smiled down at you as he tried to steady you on your feet.
“Haechan,” you gasped as you took fistfuls of his shirt and tried to shake him in your panic. “Renjun—he’s—please, help me. He’s after me—” you gasped out, almost out of your wits. You’re on the verge of a total breakdown that it almost escaped you, the way he simply smiled down on your shaking form. It was only when you felt one of his hands gently caress the top of your head that reality slapped you in the face again. You suddenly stopped struggling in his hold, pupils shaking as you watched him study your features lovingly.
“Shh… it’s fine. I got you,” he whispered and you could swear ice pricked you from the inside. A slight movement to the right made you turn your head and you saw Jaemin lean casually against the banister of the stairs, his face serene. He gave you one quick look before a gentle smile finally lit up his features.
“Has it started?” he asked and you felt Haechan’s hold on you tighten.
“It has.”
You didn’t struggle. It was as if any trace of fight you had left you in that moment and you let your hands fall limply on your sides. Haechan also loosened his grip on you and you stared at the two boys blankly, your chest heaving as if fighting for air. They didn’t move from their spots and simply followed you with their eyes as if relishing the fear and realization flashing in your face.
Trapped.
You’re trapped.
You’ve always been.
You didn’t even realize that your legs had started moving again on their own as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall together in your mind. You were only shaken from it when your back finally hit the front door, the cold metal of the knob pressing against your spine. Jaemin and Haechan remained on their spots still, even as you blindly reached out for it from behind.
You were expecting it to be locked, so you were a little bit surprised when you felt it give way under your hand when you tried to turn it open. Just before you could even entertain the idea of escaping, however, any trace of hope you had quickly died as you turned and came face to face with Jeno standing right in front of the entrance. He didn’t look the least surprised seeing you there, as if he was waiting for you in the first place.
You eyes took in his calm countenance before slowly moving to stare downwards at what he was holding by his side. Your gaze locked on it in fear, and that’s when the flight response in you flared up again.
Jeno’s hunting rifle shone dully in the light of the entryway, his pale fingers wrapped on its handle.
“There’s really only one place you can run, noona, but I won’t advise it,” he said evenly and you felt your blood freeze in your veins.
“After all, no matter where you hide, I’ll still find you in that forest.”
It happened all at once. You broke into a run, your body screaming at you to go faster as you heard gunshots pierce the air.
---
CHAPTER 7
A/N: Good lord, I wasn’t expecting I’d finish this today but I got one large iced coffee and well... things happened. Anyway, enjoy! Let’s hope the format won’t mess up this time. T.T Finally, all hell broke loose~ <3
Genre/Warnings: death, yandere-esque/manipulative Renjun, cheating, abusive marriage. This is the third part of my Dark Fairytale series with Dream's 00 line and I thought of giving a preview of its first part. Taglist is open for this! ❤
*****
Renjun’s nature has always given him assurance over one thing: that regardless of which century or lifetime he lives, he’ll never run out of love and affection from anyone he sets his desires on. As a Gancanagh, he was designed to be the object of lust and want of everyone, which is why it felt like the universe was finally punishing him when he finally came across the only woman he could ever want, but never have.
"He is staring at you again."
You frowned at the easel in front of you, not even glancing towards your good friend who had bent over slightly to whisper to your ear under the guise of borrowing a paint brush from your basket. A gentle sigh left you, but other than that, you tried to keep your expression as neutral as possible as you moved to dip your brush on a pot of color you've personally mixed. As much as you love the other girl smirking beside you now, you really are not in the mood to entertain gossip at the moment, especially if it involves you.
"Who is?" You asked nonchalantly, just for the sake of being polite. Of course you knew who exactly she was talking about—you could feel his gaze heavy on you—but you're asking anyway, because not knowing means you are not acknowledging anything.
Your friend sighed as she pulled herself straight up again. She gave you a side glance and you made a pointed effort to avoid her gaze.
"Who else? Lord Huang, of course."
The mention of his name finally made you snap a little from your self-control. Your gaze lifted from your easel and flitted beyond your canvas towards the young man seated just under the shade of a willow tree across from you. As soon as you allowed your resolve to weaken, however, you were regretting it, because of course, he was staring right back at you, his deep brown gaze catching yours like a moth to a flame. His expression was neutral—he never really showed any other outward emotion other than placid politeness—but there was always something in the way he looks at you that has always put you… out of ease. It's as if there is something hiding under those beautiful eyes, teasing you with only glimpses of their dangerous pull so that you are always kept on the edge of your seat.
You quickly looked away now and slightly cleared your throat. Years of practice have given you enough self-control to fool anyone of your cool collectedness, but you still hate how your heart thumped just a little bit harder against your chest as you tried to pull your focus together. There are so many things you do not favor about the man—he is beautiful, enigmatic, and soft—basically everything anyone could ever desire. People flocked to him naturally as if he was designed to be loved by anyone he comes across and he was also… kind, at least to superficial eyes. He was perfect in every single way… which is exactly the reason why you do not want to have anything to do with him.
You do not hate him, no. Hate is an extreme emotion, and that is one thing you have sworn to never gift him with. You are simply… indifferent, or at least have been fighting to be one towards him. While you do admit that you physically find him desirable, there is something about him that unsettles you that you just can't put your finger on. It's like you know he is hiding something under that perfection, and it irks you how you can't share this with anyone because one, you have lack of proof, and second, because of the general population's infatuation of him. And while the two of you barely speak more than a few words to each other every time you meet, something tells you that he knows about your hunch—and that he is silently mocking you to expose him to the world.
"He is not a Lord."
You pushed those words out with more venom than you initially intended as you made a few careful swipes of color on your canvas. Your tone caught the attention of your friend and you saw her raise her brows at you in your peripheral vision.
"Now, that is not a very nice thing to say. Since when have you been so snotty?"
That made a tinge of guilt churn at the pit of your stomach. You didn't mean to say it like that, but it is too late to take your words back by now. Raising your chin up, you continued adding shades to the shadowed part of the art piece you are trying to finish.
"I didn't say anything untrue. He isn't one...because he is not a part of the family."
"He has been officially adopted by the Duke. That is just as good as him having the title," your friend frowned, not even trying to hide the disappointment in her face now. You can't really blame her. For anyone who overhears your conversation, it is easy to judge you as a shallow woman who only cares about position and power. However, it is also what is expected of you, as a debutante from your own bloodline. After all, if there is something your family has trained you growing up as an aristocrat, it's that kindness… doesn't really always get along with power.
"By paper, yes. But a signed piece of document cannot change your birthright," you answered with a straight face as you tried to push down the overwhelming feeling of guilt that was in danger of making your voice crack. You hate yourself for acting this way, because you know deep inside that your words do not reflect your heart. But then again, sometimes, it is easier to be mean than to be true to yourself.
Maybe you want him to hate you by showing him your distaste of him…
Because then you'll have a better reason to keep yourself as far away from him as possible.
"I can't believe you sometimes. You are like a sister to me, but sometimes, I do feel like bashing your head against a wall. You never used to care about position and titles."
Your eyes slipped towards your friend at the sound of her scoff. It is a good thing that she seems incensed about the way your conversation went and has pointedly looked away; otherwise, she would see the glint of deep-seated guilt in your eyes. She was telling the truth, of course… back in the days, you have always been a sort of a rebel, defying everything you were taught and trained to be. But you cannot afford it right now… not when your whole family's fate hangs on your perception of love and marriage.
No… you cannot afford to be soft. You're not in a position to feel compelled towards someone who can't give you what you need, despite every fiber of your being screaming for him.
You glanced towards the boy sitting across from where you are now and felt the knot in your stomach tighten. He wasn't staring at you anymore, his eyes set on his own art piece, but there was something in his expression that made you feel uneasy again. Maybe it was just your imagination… but you thought you saw a shadow of a smile tip his lips up, as if he could clearly hear and taste your internal dilemma.
