Really, Really Loving This Show!! Today's Episode (the 6th One) Was So Cute!! I Laughed So Many Times!!

Really, really loving this show!! Today's episode (the 6th one) was so cute!! I laughed so many times!!

King the Land 킹더랜드 (2023) Dir. by Im Hyun Wook – Ep. 3

Hot, hot, HOT 🔥 this was sexy and spicy, and it wasn't even smutty!

Dark Revelry

Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin x female reader

Genre: romance

Warnings: suggestive with the assumption of leading to sex.

Word count: 1288

The roar from the guitar was primal, sinking deep into your skin. Guttural rifts consumed the valley festival, the steady thrum of bass shooting through your veins. Your heartbeat marched in beat to the endless drumming, the music leading the path to animalistic moves from the partygoers.

The revelry had taken everyone hostage, and you were not immune. Your once dubious appearance at the festival was now forgotten, and the anxiety long dissipated, along with the tension in your body. You had been dancing for what had to be hours, yet you weren’t tired at all. Your body anticipated the way the musicians would dictate your next movements, as if you were a marionette and they held your strings. You had been consumed by darkness, the sounds claiming the valley and your soul. You briefly wondered if you had stepped into an enchanted land, forced to dance until the dawn broke, or your body gave out.

Keep reading

---

I had been talking with a guy from South Korea for a few months that I became friends with on Instagram. I really enjoyed talking with him, and we mostly shared our day-to-day activities and things we love. This weekend, there were posts from a funeral saying he died. Someone messaged me through his account, saying he had died in a car accident, and now his profile is gone. I am in shock.

---

Stop, squishy and cute Wonwoo!!!! I didn't know I needed this today, but I did!! He's just too precious! 😍🥺 Thank you for writing this and sharing this, Khione!!

conclusion number three | jeon wonwoo

➝ Wonwoo x Reader

➝ fluff / slice of life / nonidol!au

➝ total word count: 1.4k

➝ notes, warnings: just them being cute. not proofread. wonwoo can be a lil ooc. Inspired by this post. i just love wonwoo so much, this is a wonwoo simp post. enjoy!

summary: you have a hypothesis you'd like to prove.

Wonwoo, you've come to realize, loves being complimented.

He doesn't say it out loud, doesn't do anything that screams "compliment me!", but he's not very subtle about his smile either when someone genuinely compliments him about something.

It's something that you've only noticed recently, and you're still keen on proving this hypothesis by throwing in compliments on random intervals throughout the days just to see how he'd react.

"You look very nice today." You say out of nowhere when Wonwoo is looking down at his coffee.

He blinks, a little confused, though you don't miss the shy smile he sports that's gone as quick as it appears.

"Thank you? We've been sitting here for an hour, though?" He doesn't say out loud the question of why you're only saying this now, but it's there and you shrug carelessly.

Conclusion number one: compliments about his look doesn't bring as much as a reaction from him even though it's there.

When you pass by a pretty flower wall, you ask Wonwoo to take a picture of you, something that he happily complies with and never complains about. 

After taking a few shots, he proudly shows you the pictures and says that the pictures came out nicely though he can take more if there’s a certain angle you prefer. You're looking at him instead of your phone, haven't even properly looked at the pictures, but your hypothesis is more important now so you say it anyway.

"You're very good at taking pictures, aren't you?"

He tilts his head before he looks at you, then smiles before he adds nonchalantly as he scrolls through the pictures he’s just taken, making your whole face warm with his comment.

"You're just very pretty."

Conclusion number two: he can brush off compliments about his skill easily though he seems pleased either way. (Need to confirm by complimenting his other skill that can't be turned back to you. Smooth bastard.)

You stumble upon a small festival on your way to dinner. Deciding to eat there instead, you and Wonwoo make you way through the festival, looking at the stalls along the street. You swing your hand as you walk through the sea of people, a little too excited to notice you've been swinging it a little too much.

Wonwoo grabs your hand with a chuckle, and when you look at him in question, he shakes his head without offering any explanation.

Looking at your hand in his, you hum before you tighten your hold and feel Wonwoo returns the gesture.

"Your hand is very warm, I like it."

He stops in his tracks, his eyes soft as he pulls you closer to him.

"You're very cheesy today, aren't you?"

Hm. Of course he'll catch up. At least he'd never know why you're doing this.

"What? I can't compliment my boyfriend?" You try to sound nonchalant, accompanied by a shrug that Wonwoo doesn't really buy.

He doesn't prod though, because what's the use in prodding when he can just accept compliments from the person he loves? There's no reason whatsoever for him to hold it against you. So he shakes his head and you feel the soft brush of his thumb against your knuckle before he pulls you to walk again. 

You stop by a crepe stall because you're craving sweets, your body swaying a little due to your excitement; you can’t remember the last time you went to a festival, probably a few years back during university, and to be here with Wonwoo of all people makes everything exciting–even waiting for an overpriced crepe because you have him by your side.

You press your lips together to stop the embarrassing squeal that’s trying to get out of your lips when the food vendor hands you your crepe, which says a lot about how enthusiastic you really are about the whole thing. Wonwoo chuckles yet again, keeps it in his mind to find more festivals to go to if you're this enticed by the thing.

Seeing an empty bench a while ago, you make your way back there in hope it’s still empty so you can eat your crepe and the takoyaki Wonwoo has just bought in peace. Thankfully, it is still empty, an old couple sits on the bench next to you and a group of three guys on the bench next to them.

Wonwoo sets the takoyaki and the bubble teas between the two of you, enjoying the festival vibe as he nibbles on a piece of takoyaki. You happily eat your crepe too, though you eye his food and wonder if it’s good. You don’t usually like takoyakis, but they seem good today and you blame it on the vibe around you.

“Want to try some?” He asks when he notices you frowning at the treat he’s holding.

Your lips purse in thoughts, and he breaths a chuckle before he pushes it in front of your lips. You take a full bite, and regret it immediately because it’s hot and you panic when your crepe almost topples from your hands.

The sound of Wonwoo’s laughter fill your ears despite the noise around you, and even though he’s laughing, his hands are already busy taking the crepe from your grip and handing you your bubble tea so you can cool the inside of your mouth down. He hands you a napkin too, something you gratefully take as you cough into the thing.

You say a bunch of incoherent things which Wonwoo guesses is just you telling him to shut up, but the way your cheeks turn completely full and you’re flailing your hands are just nothing but adorable to him that he can’t help grinning despite his worry.

When you finally manage to swallow the takoyaki (which does taste good and you would’ve appreciated had the prior incident not existed), you hit him square in the shoulder for laughing at your misery.

“Good to know my boyfriend likes seeing me suffer.” You glare.

“You know it’s not that.” He says softly, the smile never leaving his face. Before you can say anything back, he absentmindedly reaches out to wipe the corner of your lip with his thumb, then licks whatever that was there and continues with his meal.

You blink continuously, your whole face warm and you have to bite your lip from smiling too hard. 

What the fuck?

It seems like something he does without even realizing, because when he notices you’ve frozen in place, he looks genuinely confused and asks what happened like he didn’t just do what he did in a very public place.

Wonwoo has never really been one for public affections though he takes care of you the same. He doesn’t mind holding hands; but that’s about it–everything else he does behind the comfort of your door.

“Hey.” He pokes your cheek. “Why are you lagging?”

“Not funny.” You look at him unimpressed before you take your crepe back in embarrassment, though that doesn’t discourage him to grin at his own little joke. “Also, nothing.” 

“Ah, young love.” You hear the grandma next to you say to her spouse, something that Wonwoo seems to catch too because he shares that look with you. “Remember when you used to do that to me, too?”

The grandpa’s voice is too small for you to catch on, but what she says next gets your heart beating in an arrhythmical beat and you force yourself to lock your gaze on Wonwoo despite your embarrassment, his eyes avoiding yours, the tip of his ears blazing red, and he’s pressing his lips together so hard as if to contain a smile.

“They seem very in love, don't they? The young man takes care of the girl so well, I hope our son takes care of his wife like that too.”

“You take care of me well, huh?” You whisper, and he pretends like he doesn’t hear you regardless of the way he looks down to hide his smile that he’s no longer able to contain.

You grin at this, and you take his face in your hands so he’ll look at you. You’re a little surprised at how warm his face is, and you decide to spare him from the teasing you were originally about to do and you say another thing instead.

“You do take care of me very well; I’m glad I have you with me.” 

Conclusion number three: Wonwoo loves it very much when someone compliments him on the way he is with you.

Maddie!?!? I should be cleaning, but I had to stop and read this new update!!!!

What a rollercoaster!! From the chaos flashback where we learned what happened between Seventeen and Monsta X to the current time period - wow!! I can't believe Wonwoo let Shownu touch his girl! I know it had to be hard for him, but they had to get the footage from Shownu. Also, I love the concern he showed for his members in the flashback - he really is a softy at heart.

I don't blame her for being curious about Wonwoo's past and understand her not wanting to know everything; it's a lot to take in at one time.

And dare I not mention that smut at the end!! Holy cow, it was hot, and it's about time!!! I hope this means they will be together as a couple and not be afraid to love each other.

Thank you for updating this!! It truly is one of my favorite fics!! ❤️

Amour-Haine & Co. | Chapter 17 |

series masterlist

kpop masterlist

warnings – SMUT hehe, cursing, explicit fight scene at the beginning, mentions of blood and death

word count – 13k

A/N: for making you guys wait for way too long, I wanted to give you some more smut FINALLY🫶🏼 a side remark: everything that happened right after the end and the follow ups of the event have already been written and will be posted at some time next week ˙ᵕ˙ of course, thank you for the continuous patience while I make my way through uni and tumblr and I hope you enjoy this series as we take it further and further <3

"We've been here once before, right?"

With one last huff, Shownu dropped the limp body of the man he had been punching only seconds ago. The white dress shirt now covered in blood, stuck to his body as he adjusted the sleeves. With the hand he had used to cause the damage surrounding him, he wiped his mouth and spat on the floor.

Bodies were scattered all over the club floor, which was usually filled with dancing feet and people drinking and celebrating. Only a few moments ago, music was playing, drinks were being shared, couples were making out, and just within a split second, everything stopped. And it all started with a woman and two men, that suddenly turned into an entire troupe with no trace of her.

The men of Monsta X stood at different points within the room, now looking at the mess they created. Heavy breathing filled the space, coughing coming from each corner. The lights were still dimmed, just like they would be on any other day, the soft red beams striking the walls.

"What the fuck just happened?!" The panicked voice of Changkyun, the newest and youngest member of Seoul's most notorious gang, echoed through the club.

With a low chuckle, the leader lifted his head, his eyes immediately scanning the men in front of him - the other group they had decided to trust merely a few weeks ago. All were breathing harshly, gazing at the ground in almost horror. Shownu's glare fixated on one person in particular.

"Yeah, Jeon." Wonwoo looked up, the cold look meeting his. "What the fuck just happened."

The SVT men's heads shot to the guy they considered their leader. The man that had brought them to where they were then and now. But he just gently shook his head, his palms open as he pointed with them to his surrounding.

"These are your enemies Son, not mine."

Shownu took one step closer, his leg lifting to cross the body ahead of him. "Then explain to me how they got in here. You really think I'd leave my doors open for my own enemies."

Everyone knew what he was indicating. They all knew it from the beginning. 

The whole vision of Monsta X and SVT working together came out of thin air almost. It was Wonwoo's idea. Of course, it was. He wanted to do right what his father did wrong. And number one on the list longer than his lifeline was to fix the relationship between the long-lasting rivalry between the Sons and the Jeons. What started off with a purely business idea had turned into gang work decades ago. Each leader brought their family into it, and if you were the son of said man, you would be the next in line to lead a future team. No questions. 

It had been Wonwoo's biggest nightmare. It had haunted him all throughout his childhood, up until the day he was officially assigned to the position he had been trying to avoid his entire life. But with a new generation came new connections and new leaders in line. Wonwoo had hoped Shownu would accept his offer and attempt to fix their families' rivalry instead of trying to bury each other six feet under.

It all had been going well up until that night because what goes around, comes around and Wonwoo had learned that the hard way.

"Look," he spoke up. "I don't know what you think of me, and I honestly don't care. But I couldn't give less of an interest in these guys when I was just trying to work with you, alright?" He tilted his head in a slightly demeaning way. "So maybe you should start looking for a wolf in sheep's clothing."

If the breathing of each man in the room hadn't been so unbearably loud, you would've felt the immediate change of atmosphere in the shared space. Wonwoo should've regretted the words he had just let fall from his lips, but he didn't. He couldn't. Mingyu dreaded getting closer to his leader, his best friend but knew better and stayed in the back, covering the other members he considered family.

Shownu's hands found their way into his pockets as he casually took a few more forward, his broad shoulders chilling along with with his body. His tongue glided over his teeth. "Are you trying to set me up against my own men?"

"I'm not trying to set you up against anyone. I'm only giving you possibilities." Wonwoo shrugged. He didn't budge. Not with each step the other leader got closer to him. Not even a little bit.

Shownu continued until the two men were nose to nose in front of each other, glaring into their souls. He gave the other man a quick up-and-down look before opening his mouth.

"Vernon." He got the attention of the, back then, youngest that had stayed back in a different room, only joining the other men once he heard the dead silence. "Start cleaning up the mess." Meaning the corpses on the floor. The blood splashes on the tiles would come later.

The youngster gulped, looking around the room, trying to lock eyes with one of his friends, begging for help, but all they did was copy his facial expression. Wonwoo's scoff reached their ear.

"Ehm," Vernon cleared his throat. He started nodding hesitantly, glancing at each body. "Yeah, yeah... I'll... do that." Just as he was about to bend down, his leader's deep voice bounced off the walls.

"Vernon," still staring at Shownu, no blink shared between them. "Don't you dare even lift a finger."

The older guy raised his left eyebrow. "Now, suddenly you're the one giving orders?"

"They listen to me. They're not one of your maids." Wonwoo spat back.

Shownu chuckled, looking around the room, almost finding humour in the situation. "And here I thought we would finally become one, but no, the Jeon ego just always gets in the way." Looking down at the floor, he kicked one of the bodies to give him more space. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. His glare fell back on Wonwoo. "You know, I had my doubts, Jeon. I really did. But here you waltzed in with your cute little entourage of businessmen wannabe gangsters, begging for forgiveness for all the shit your ancestors did, and I almost wanted to believe you. Almost. And then pull this shit here." He opened his arms widely, welcoming the mess around him.

"I said it before, I'll say it again. I have nothing to do with what happened here." SVT's leader pulled his sleeves up higher from where they fell down during his fight with one of the guys that attacked him in the scene that happened only a few minutes ago. "But you know," he took a deep breath, "It's always difficult trusting new people." His eyes fell on the newest and youngest addition of Monsta X. A person he considered a past friend, now long forgotten.

"And here you go doubting my men again." With quick strokes, Shownu was at arm's length of Wonwoo. "I'd better watch my mouth if I were you and want to keep living my life, Jeon. Or imma end it real quick for you."

Wonwoo casually put his hands into his pocket, sighing in boredom. "You can keep your trust issues to yourself, Son. I don't want to have anything to do with that."

Shownu squinted his eyes at the younger man before erupting in laughter, scaring not only the men on the other side but his own as well. Madness wasn't a level the leader had reached yet. But maybe the time had come. 

"You know, you truly are just like your father. Just... utterly intolerable.-"

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Wonwoo's facial expression changed within less than a second. His eyes glared holes into the man in front of him, his mouth slightly agape.

A low chuckle shook Shownu's body. "First blind, and now he's also turning deaf," glancing at his members that joined in on the humourous reaction, before turning back to Wonwoo, who still kept his nose up high. "I said, you're exactly like your father. So you better bet-" And that's when the first fist flew. Wonwoo's knuckles clashed against the other man's jaw, a crack coming from the impact, but who got hurt more was unknown.

Shownu couldn't help but to stumbled back slightly, his fingers grazing over the burning bruise forming on his skin. He just had to chuckle.

"Struck a nerve?"

"I don't think I should be the one keeping my mouth shut."

Shownu straightened his back followed by cracking his neck by moving his head from side to side. "You really want to go separate ways like this?"

Wonwoo shrugged. "I think you'd enjoy that."

Monsta X's leader nodded, "Oh, you better I'm gonna enjoy this." Before crossing the floor to let his fist collide with Wonwoo's stomach. He was quick to catch himself from stumbling too much, reaching out to grab the man's collar, pulling him in closer, only to send him crashing against the bar counter.

That's all it took for the other men of the gang to go up against Wonwoo's group, running towards them individually, preparing themselves to follow their leaders into another fight when they had only just won one.

Minhyuk got a hold of Dokyeom, throwing him onto the floor quickly, but the younger man managed to pull him down with him. 

Kihyun didn't see Hoshi, who had snuck up behind him, his arm circling around his throat to cut off the air, causing the Monsta X member to choke loudly before knocking both of them back into the wall, earning a grunt from Hoshi.

Hyungwon got rid of his jacket to wrap it around Seungkwan's wrists skillfully, pulling the younger one closer to him and twisting his arms around to his back, getting a cry out of pain in return.

The grunt reached Mingyu's ear, making him run towards the duo, only to be stopped when Wonho bumped into him as S.Coups had punched his face, involving now also the tallest member even though he just wanted to get the second youngest of the group, who had now managed to free himself and turned the fight around. Changykun was close by when his eyes found his member fighting off the eldest and the tallest members of SVT, alerting him. He snatched a glass off one of the small tables, taking it along with him. Right as he showed up behind Mingyu, he smashed the glass against his head before getting a hold of his dress shirt and dragging him off his fellow member.

Wonwoo and Shownu had gotten their own space behind the bar, earning punch after punch from each other, interrupted by a few bottles being thrown or kicks to the legs.

Huffs, grunts, moans in pain, and cracking bones were the only sounds filling the club that usually only housed music and skin-against-skin slapping during sexual encounters.

If the space didn't already look messy enough from the party before, it now seemed more than just destroyed. Glass pieces decorated the floor and bodies, the suit jackets the men had worn before were scattered on different furniture and sticky fluids covered all possible surfaces.

Shownu managed to get a hold of Wonwoo's thick set of hair, holding his head up against his, his low voice ringing through his ear.

"You're a fucking rat, Jeon. Not a bit better than your father. You're the same asshole he was and will forever be exactly just that." With full force, he pushed the younger man's head against the bar countertop. He kept pressing down while Wonwoo wiggled around, trying to get out of the situation. He was about to kick back, hoping to hit his kneecap when the pressure against the side of his skull lifted. With a quick push, he was back up on his feed, watching what had happened. He found Vernon, standing behind Shownu, a pole in his hand, with which he must've hit the Monsta X leader as he was holding the back of his head, glaring at the youngest.

Wonwoo took the chance to snap off the metal hose that was connected to a beer chug underneath the counter. Just as Shownu was about to connect his fist with Vernon's face, SVT's leader wrapped the house around the older man's neck, pulling him up against his chest. Wonwoo tightened it as much as possible, hoping to knock the other man out when Shownu smacked his head back against Wonwoo's forehead, making him lose the grip on the hose. With a quick move, Shownu got a hold of the younger one's shirt and lifted him slightly, only to throw him over the bar counter. Wonwoo's back hit the floor, making him grunt out loud as he felt the tiniest splinters of glass boring his skin.

He knew he had to get up quickly, no matter how much pain he was in. His head was throbbing, there was a continuous ringing in his ear, and his glasses were God knows where at this point - he cursed whoever was up there for his terrible eyesight. He could feel the blood trickling down his back and hands as he got up, his jaw feeling swollen, and his left eye was almost glued together from the blood that had already started to dry out.

Shownu came around the corner, spitting out a tooth onto the floor as his gaze was back on his rival. He watched the man come back to his feet. The action made him chuckle.

"You better not die on my floor."

Wonwoo glared at him. "You wish. A Jeon's corpse in your club must be like Christmas to you."

His comment made Shownu smirk. "You know me too well." Before running up to the younger man again, raising his fist. Wonwoo was quick to react and duck out of the way, snatching a knife he saw earlier from the countertop, only to jam it into the older one's shoulder. He cried out in pain, stumbling forward as he tried to reach for it, but it was stuck in a place he couldn't reach. He turned around in anger, his face burning red. Shownu was met with a gun pointed directly at him. 

"Who would've thought Jeon Wonwoo carries a gun with him," he choked out, slight amusement concealing his voice.

Wonwoo shook his head, his breathing still harsh as he tried not to fall to the ground. "It's not mine."

That's when Shownu noticed the sudden silence in the room. Ahead of him was Seungkwan laying on the ground, Hyungwon right next to him, his own gun pointed at Wonwoo. Wonho was knocked out on the floor with S.Coups and Mingyu sitting on one of the blood-covered couches, Changkyun right underneath Mingyu's foot, begging for air.

Hoshi was coming closer to the leading duo, Kihyun's gun now in Hoshi's hands as he held it right against his rival's temple with his other arm tight around his throat.

Everything was quiet when a painful cough echoed through the room. Through a door, that was now flat on the floor, came Dokyeom crawling on his knees while Minhyuk pushed him further with his foot. Wonwoo locked eyes with his member, who glanced at his leader in despair and embarrassment. He nodded at the younger member to reassure him before directing his attention back to his rival.

The gun was still pointing directly at Shownu, who had decided to stay still on the floor, but he chuckled with a salty undertone.

"So you want a Son's corpse in this club?"

Wonwoo shook his head, lowering the gun in his hand. "I don't want you dead. I don't need any blood on my hands."

"Look around you. Look at what you did, Jeon." The Monsta X leader tried to trick him.

"These guys are passed out for good, but not dead." His statement earned him a look of confusion from Shownu, so he continued, "I teach my men how to fight. Not how to kill." He dropped the gun and threw it towards the leader on the floor before turning around, only to get stopped when the older man got up. He told the other members to lower their weapons with a quick hand move.

"You're still a rat." Wonwoo turned around one last time at the sudden comment. "I should've listened to my father. Don't trust a Jeon. Never trust a Jeon."

He got a nod from SVT's leader in return, who exchanged glances with his guys, making them stand up as Mingyu rushed over to help Dokyeom up from the floor.

With a quick glance at Shownu, he bid his goodbye. "Well. From now on, you won't have to anymore." And started walking towards the door, the other members in trail close behind him. He couldn't help but to let out the last comment that kept tickling his tongue before exiting through the front door. "You better start cleaning up the mess if you want the club to re-open tomorrow."

Outside, each man was finally able to breathe in the fresh air, sounding like men starved from breathing for a decade as they enjoyed the night breeze that struck their bruised skin. Wonwoo immediately started looking around for the youngest member. He quickly found his silhouette sitting on the side of the pavement, a cigarette dangling between his lips. Right next to him, was the limp body of the security guard that had let them in about two hours ago. The sight made the leader almost chuckle.

"How's the guy?" He asked the youngster, who had turned around, nudging his head towards the buff man on the floor.

Vernon puffed out the last bit of his cigarette. "Knocked out pretty good. He won't remember any of this in a few hours."

Wonwoo nodded, "Good," and patted the shoulder of the younger member, giving him a quick glance. "Well done."

"Thanks, boss."

-

Not even letting anyone else interrupt, the man, apparently called Shownu, continued right after he brushed off the two women on each side of him, followed by his colleagues doing the same thing. "I see you replaced your little entourage with something much much more beautiful. Hey." His eyes were fixed on your form, noticing how you had tried to hide half of your body behind the CEO's frame.

"I'm more important than her right now, Son," Wonwoo's deep voice sliced the room while you watched the women awkwardly jogging out of the room.

The other man scoffed, exchanging amused glances with his friends before locking eyes with you again. "Well, how dare you say something like that about such a beauty. What's your name, darling?"

"I swear-"

"You should've brought the other guys if you didn't want me to talk to her, Jeon." Shownu cut off Wonwoo right away. His legs were still wide, his back relaxed against the back of the couch, the other men in similar poses.

A low chuckle came from the one on the right. "He knew they wouldn't survive another visit."

"You weren't even here the last time, so shut your fucking mouth, Jooheon," Wonwoo snapped at him. He jumped up from the couch immediately, ready to rush over to the two of you, when his leader stopped him.

"Boys, boys, calm down." He stood up with a grunt, taking two steps forward. His right hand held onto the wrist of his other one, giving a clear stance of power as he gave you another look that ran up and down your body, shooting a cold shiver through your body. "I'm sure Sir Jeon Wonwoo right here is smarter than that, right? Like you said, it would just make a terrible mess, wouldn't it?"

Not getting a verbal answer in return, was enough for him to continue. "Well then." He clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "Let's not play around and cut to the chase, huh?" His eyes met Wonwoo's cold glare. "Why the fuck do I have your feet on my ground again? And more importantly-" Before bending down to the side slightly to find you. "What is a lady like you doing in a hellhouse like this?" 

Uncontrollably, you lifted your hand to touch Wonwoo's back, hooking your fingers into the small belt thing in the back of his suit jacket. Wonwoo knew better than to spit at Shownu again, but he could also feel the fear radiating off your body, making him change his stance just slightly, hoping it would go unnoticed by his rival. Of course, it didn't.

With a bright smile, the other man opposite you took a step to the side, extending his arm to point at the seating arrangement behind him.

"Please." All while keeping his eyes on you. You tried to look away, tried breaking the intense contact he held with you, but it seemed almost impossible.

In the first second, your brain didn't want to understand what he was proposing, but you quickly caught onto it, shaking your head softly in response. Opening your mouth, your voice seemed so much smaller than you had wanted to. It was bound to happen, in a room as big as that, surrounded by men with their physiques.

You gently raised a hand. "I... I'm good."

Shownu stood back straight, raising one eyebrow. "I wasn't asking, darling."

All while Wonwoo was unresponsive. No change in posture, no noticeable uneven breathing. Not even a clenched fist. It seemed as if he almost didn't care about his possible biggest rival inviting the woman behind him to come closer. You let your eyes travel to the side, hoping to catch a glimpse of him looking down at you, letting you know what to do, but the CEO continued to keep his head up high, glaring at the man in front of the two of you.

With each passing second spent in unbearable silence, Shownu got more and more impatient, slowly but surely also rubbing off on the other men of his in the room as they sat forward, their arms resting on their upper thighs.

Deciding that keeping that man waiting any longer couldn't result in anything good, you dared to make your left foot step forward. You didn't even get to finish it before Wonwoo's body was quickly in front of you, hiding your entire frame behind his shoulders.

You heard Shownu sigh. "Move, Jeon."

He shook his head in return as his hand moved behind his back, showing you his palm. You were unsure if it was an act of courtesy or if he wanted you to place yours in his palm, so you just continued standing still. One glance behind you let you know that the security men were just as unamused about you two being there as the owners of the club.

"She has nothing to do with this. I'm here-"

"You know the rules, Won." A different voice suddenly spoke up. The man on the left side of the couch decided to speak up, using a nickname you hadn't even heard coming from Mingyu. Ever.

Noticing his fingertips moving, you looked down and found them extended as if waiting for something to hold onto. You hesitated at first but once you saw him clearly indicating you to place your hand in his, you did as asked. With one swift but surprising move, you were pulled right next to him, almost making you gasp. Looking up to your right, the side profile of the CEO glanced at you. You could see him eyeing you from the corner of his eye as he nodded, hoping to assure you of whatever was to come next. Your head turned to Shownu, who just kept a smug smile on his lips, eyeing you up and down the entire time. As if your outfit wasn't uncomfortable enough for you already, you now wished to rip it off your body and hide your figure in the biggest, longest, and thickest robe the world had ever seen.

With each step you took closer to the bad guy in the situation, your heart let you know just how bad of an idea it actually was. You had already had to let go of Wonwoo's hand, which you noticed only freed you hesitantly, keeping a tight grip on you until the very last second. There was one more step up separating you and the other men. While it did feel like a good and protective barrier, even though it would most definitely be the last thing keeping them away from you, you didn't get to appreciate it for as long as you would've liked to as a hand reached out for you. Looking up, you were once again met with brown eyes radiating anything but comfort. They were just as dark as Wonwoo's but yet so different. You had never been afraid of the man behind you, not even for a second. Intimated, of course, for obvious reasons, but his eyes always wrapped a cloak of comfort and protection around you while the two eyes now in front of you were clearly telling your body to run. Run and hide. Don't get closer. But you were very well aware that that wasn't an option at that moment.

Your shaky hand lifted to meet his palm, helping you up to the podium where you were now alone with the three men. Shownu's rough hands found their way to your hips, freezing your body even though they were much warmer than expected. He turned you around to face the room.

Now you understood where his confidence came from. Standing up there, you clearly felt more elevated than everyone else in the room. Better than anybody that even dared to enter this hole of a hell.

With a deep breath, you hoped to shake off the frightening feeling of the unknown as you glanced at Wonwoo, hoping to find some form of stability through him. He had hidden his hands in his pocket, carefully analyzing each man on the left and right, quickly regretting not coming up with a secret code between the two of you. He should've seen this coming. He knew the moment you'd step foot into that club, he was gonna lose the hold on you at some point, but he had prayed it wouldn't actually happen.

"Are you ready to listen to me now?" His voice was laced with slight annoyance. Shownu's hands left your hips, giving you time to breathe freely, but only for a second before you felt his hot breath against your ear. 

He extended one finger in Wonwoo's direction. "Let me enjoy this here first." 

You wanted to lock eyes with the man standing only a few feet away from you, but he didn't even dare. He had broken a promise he made to himself, and he couldn't even look at you. As annoyed as you wanted to be, the lips by the side of your head were too distracting, followed by the calloused fingertips running over your collarbone.

"Now onto you, beautiful," he whispered, making you close your eyes as you prayed to whoever was up there to just make it stop. "What's your name?"

"Y/N." You shot out. Of course, you could've lied. You should've lied. You noticed it quickly by Wonwoo's reaction, but in a fight-or-flight situation, lying wasn't going to be your strength.

He hummed into your ear, that almost sounded like a groan. His fingers danced around your shoulders, coming to a halt at the straps of your outfit. You wanted to call it a dress, but it was barely that. With one move, Shownu was suddenly behind you, his lips now close to your neck.

"You know, you're wearing quite the outfit here." His fingers hooked underneath your strap, to which your body immediately reacted by straightening and lifting your shoulders to stop him from what you thought would probably come next. "A bit too much for my liking." Without a warning and unfazed by your reaction, he pulled the right strap down.

"Son, I swear to-" Wonwoo's harsh voice hit your ear. You saw him take one step forward but he was quickly stopped by your sudden gasp echoing through the room once you felt cold metal meeting your lower back. Before anyone could react, you heard guns reloading and quickly realised what was being held against your skin. You closed your eyes.

"You swear to God what, Jeon? Huh? Be smart now." Shownu didn't show any sign of remorse. He wasn't going to be the one the back down from this.

Wonwoo raised his hands in defence, eyeing the other men who had raised their guns to point them at him. "I came here to talk to you. I don't wanna start anything."

"Who is she?" The older man nodded at you. "To you."

A sigh came from the CEO. "My partner." His comment made you look at him.

Shownu suddenly laughing out loud caught you off guard. "Yeah, right." His rough fingers graced your jaw and down your neck. "You really think I'd believe you bringing your own bitch here?" He chuckled again and took back the metal against your back as he rounded you to stand to your right again. "I mean, I must give it to you. You played the part of protective boyfriend pretty fucking well, but I know you better than that, Jeon. You can't fool me." And just when you thought you were out of the line of fire, he raised the gun again, close, yet not touching, to your temple. Your breathing cut off immediately. Something in your body stopped you from crying because God, you just wanted to start weeping.

"Business partner," Wonwoo quickly told him. "We work together."

Shownu raised one eyebrow as he chuckled. "No shit." He lowered the gun again, letting you let out the breath you were holding. "What kind of business?"

"Not the business you're thinking of. I told you I'm out of that." The CEO explained. "I bought a company."

"I know that. You don't think I watch the news, idiot?" His question made Wonwoo almost roll his eyes, but he knew to hold himself back.

"She used to work there, now she's COO."

A silence fell over the room. Glancing to the side, you found Shownu, looking straight ahead, his eyebrows slightly scrunched as he turned to glare at you, a smirk forming on his lips as soon as your eyes met.

"Yoon Y/N." Hearing your name fall from his lips made you gulp.

"Wow," he laughed and directed his attention back to Wonwoo. "You took Sungho's company and his little princess? You are cold-hearted, Jeon." After a look up and down your body, he licked his lips. "He used to keep her so hidden, and you're out here, showing her off like the price that she is. I taught you well." Listening to them speak as if you weren't even in the room with them made you want to accept the offer of squeezing out the eyes of every man in the room.

"You didn't teach me shit." Wonwoo gained back the confidence he usually holds himself up with once no gun in the room was pointed at him or you again. He knew very well what he could and could not do in each situation, having studied the rival group for years. When no snarky remark came in response, he continued with a sigh. "Now are you finally ready to listen to me?"

By now, you had brought the strap of your outfit back up on your shoulder, hiding your body behind your crossed arms once again, hoping and praying to escape from this place as quickly as possible.

Shownu let a small laugh tumble from his lips. "You must be pretty damn desperate to come to me."

He didn't need an answer. It seemed like everyone in the room already knew. No one in their right mind would even dare to set foot in this building if not desperately needed.

Yet, Wonwoo gave in with a nod.

-

"That Park fucker, I swear to God," Shownu leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his fingers running through his hair.

After shooing every single person out of the room, he got situated back onto the couch, Wonwoo taking a seat to his right at the corner, where another member of Shownu's group had been sitting merely a few minutes ago. He brought you along to sit down next to him after making sure you were somewhat doing alright. Good to know he still cared after pretending a little too well that he didn't.

"You know him?" The CEO wondered, saying out loud what went through your mind as well.

After sharing the entire story of the break-in, and the lawsuit, followed by the evidence brought in by Sehun and finishing off with Jihoon expertly recommending the two of you to pay Monsta X a visit, Shownu seemed to know a little more than you expected.

The rival nodded. "The last time you were here-"

"We went over this-"

"Those were his men."

Wonwoo stopped. He wasn't expecting that to come out. "What? His men?" Getting a nod in return. With a loud sigh, he stood up. "And you thought it was us?! When it was him all along?! What the fuck was the interrogation for then?!"

"Sit back down before I put a bullet through your head," Shownu told him. The low calmness in his voice a little sending a wave of fright through your body.

But Wonwoo didn't budge. "Why didn't you say anything?" Lowering his voice as well.

"You could be working with him for all I know. You really wanna fight about that now?!"

"Just admit that you were in the wrong."

"You better shut your fucking mouth. I'm the only one that can help you right now." Now both men were standing, facing each other with heavy breaths. It made Wonwoo chuckle as he shook his head.

"You're pathetic." Walking around the seating space as Shownu sat back down.

"So, what do you need from me?"

"The security camera videos," the CEO answered him. "Give me that, and we're out."

The rival straightened his back. "You want to have security camera footage to bring it to court and reveal what's going on in my club. I think the fuck not. You can see yourself out." He got up and was quick on his feet as he stepped down from the slightly elevated part of the room, walking towards the door.

You had finally had enough, and just as Wonwoo was about to open his mouth, you beat him to it. "They won't know it's from here." Shownu stopped in his tracks, only to turn around with a smug smirk plastered on his face.

He raised an eyebrow. "So she can actually talk." Commenting on your choice to stay quiet for the night. While he seemed amused by your outburst, Wonwoo was anything but that and quickly took in his position from before, covering half of your frame with his.

"Your watermark on the cameras isn't your fucking logo, and we won't tell them where we got the footage from." 

The rival redirected his attention, leaving you in the back once again. "And you expect me to believe you?" The older man crossed his arms in front of his chest, his feet wider apart to show dominance in the situation.

Wonwoo copied him, only hiding his hands in his pockets. "You want to watch him go down just as much as we do."

Shownu sighed out loud in clear annoyance, running a hand through his hair. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You're taking that stupid saying a bit too seriously, Jeon."

"Trust me, you're anything but my friend."

-

You were advised to wait outside of the security man's room at the very back of the hallway, suggesting that what they would find on each of those videos was anything but pleasant. What you thought of the way Wonwoo was handling bringing you into this scene was still undecided by you. On one hand, you were definitely thankful you were able to stay clear of witnessing anything you'd prefer to keep unseen, but on the other hand, you were in this shithole just as much as Wonwoo and him treating you like some fragile dove was almost humiliating. Yes, of course, you weren't all that big and strong as him and whatnot, and yes, you were definitely more scared of whoever these men here were than you'd like to admit, but being a little damsel in distress would feel a bit different, you thought. 

Question after question kept running through your head as you walked along the walls of the cold hallway. The stones on the side made everything just look more and more like a dungeon, sending yet another chill down your spine. This used to be a place Wonwoo would visit frequently... most of his friends along with him... How much of this timeline in Wonwoo's life did you actually want to know about? He seemed to have put it behind him, but that's when you remembered one of your dad's sayings.

"Your past will forever be a part of you."

You were too young to understand what he meant and to this very day, you couldn't recall what the context of the moment was. But it stuck with you. And now it made you think. Every single thing that had happened with Wonwoo in the past 48 hours... what were you getting yourself into? Did you want to just let yourself fall into the arms of another man when you swore to yourself you wouldn't be doing that exact thing? And what man were you even trusting here? Back in the day, he was just the stupid douchebag, a rich kid of a CEO, then he became your boss, and now... now he was a man you found comfort in. A man you could trust... you... you tried to trust. But... he had secrets. Secrets that only now are making an appearance and God only knows, if everything with Chanyeol had never happened, how would your relationship with Wonwoo even have turned out? Would you still think of him as the annoying bachelor turned CEO or would be able to see the caring man he was behind this facade? The man who despised his father's wrongs and tried to do everything right again. You saw the way he acted around his mother, and it almost made your knees give in. It was a gentleness you had never seen before. It was so foreign to you, but it made you oh that much more jealous... why did it make you jealous? You hated to admit it, and Binna would slap you and tell you 'I told you so' but in your head, you were finally able to admit it. Jealous of a soft man's touch. Jealous of someone caring for you. Worrying about you. No gang member would act like that, right? You almost chuckled at the thought of Shownu treating a woman with respect. That was not a man with the possibility of having respect for anyone but himself. But Wonwoo... no, he wasn't like that. Maybe he had changed. Potentially, he had been similar to Shownu in the past... The mere thought of it made you want to throw up... But no, he told you himself, that he had promised himself to become everything his father hadn't been growing up. But after all, this kind of life had still been a part of him at some point. The dark side. The side where men would spend hours in clubs just like the Monbebe, touching, pulling, and groping women. The image of seeing him or any other of his friends in either one of these rooms behind those doors or upstairs, enjoying a drink by the bar, eyeing women up and down as they passed them, touching them, kissing them, taking th-

The door the two men had disappeared behind a few minutes ago opened, revealing the man that had been occupying your brain for the entirety of the time you had spent alone. The smoke from your brain overworking finally stopped, letting you take in a deep breath you didn't remember holding in. Too many thoughts for one night...

"You're okay?" Where the first words coming from him as he noticed the clear distance you had out between yourself and the door.

You nodded with a shaky smile in return. Before you could say anything, Shownu made an appearance behind the CEO, closing the door before you could even try to get a look inside.

"Are you ready to leave my club now?" He snapped at Wonwoo. Clearly, the two hadn't magically just become best friends behind closed doors.

Wonwoo turned around with a nod. "You won't see me here again."

"I'm counting on it." He leaned to the side slightly, sending a smirk your way. "You on the other hand, I would love to invite you someday again."

You couldn't even react as the CEO placed a hand on the older man's bigger chest. Their cold eyes met. "Over my dead body."

"I can make that happen." Shownu smiled, smacking the hand off of him.

Without another word, Wonwoo turned to you, taking a few steps forward to step in line with you, his hand finding a comforting place on your lower back.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered. "Let's get out of here."

"You got everything?" You wondered, surprising yourself with the steadiness of your voice after keeping quiet for so long.

He nodded. "Everything we need."

Before you could run up the stairs again, the sound of the older man's voice echoed through the hallway. "You better take Park down, Jeon."

Wonwoo said goodbye with a raised hand in return, before both of you finally made your way out.

-

After getting out of the club, the CEO had given you his jacket once again before you found Hongseok already waiting for you. With you not knowing what to do or say, and Wonwoo unsure of what was going on in your head, the car ride was spent in complete silence. Neither one of you wanted to even dare interrupt the quietness you shared, even though it was anything but comfortable. Good for you, that you were too lost in thought to notice him moving around in his seat almost nervously. You didn't even realise that Hongseok was driving you back to Wonwoo's place. At least not until you felt a tap on your shoulder, making you turn to the side, only to find Wonwoo waiting by the open door. His extended hand was waiting for you to reach out for it to help you out. You quietly thanked the driver before letting the CEO guide you into the building, into the elevator, and right into his apartment.

It was only then he dared to speak. "You want something to drink?" 

You snapped back into reality. "Hm?"

He turned back around as he was just about to enter the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

You shook your head slightly, "No, no, I'm good. I had enough wine last night."

Wonwoo couldn't help but hold back a chuckle. "I meant like water... or tea?"

"Oh. Ehm... yeah, okay," you nodded this time. Remembering, you still had your shoes on, you followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the barstools. That man had way too many places to sit and eat for a one-bedroom apartment.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Your head snapped up to look at him standing by the sink. You nodded. "Yeah..." Before bending down to release your feet from the confinement of those terrible high heels. Wonwoo watched your slight struggle, leaving the cups on the countertop as he rounded the kitchen island to bend down in front of you. You let your hands drop, already knowing where this was going. Your eyes analysed his fingers playing with the clasp on the leather strap.

"You know, it's okay if... you're a bit... unsure," he softly spoke, not losing focus on his task.

"Unsure?" You wondered.

"Does scarred sound better?" He looked up. The sight almost made you gasp. Just like all the other times when you had been in similar situations. Him... on his knees... in front of you... looking up at you with those dark eyes that looked so cold yet made you feel so warm.

You shook your head. "I'm not scared."

"Okay," he simply answered before letting both of your shoes fall to the floor. A soft moan of freedom tumbled from your lips.

"Thanks."

His fingers running up your feet slightly didn't go unnoticed by you, even though you think it should've gone by the way Wonwoo just simply stood back up and got back to making you your cup of tea.

"I'm not scared," you repeated, knowing that you mostly said it, trying to reassure yourself of the truth of the statement. "Maybe a little weirded out... but not scared."

He nodded again. "I understand. And I get it."

An important question was tickling the top of your tongue. One that you had been asking yourself ever since he disappeared with Shownu, leaving you alone with your thoughts in the hallway. They gave you too much time to think and now you were starting the question too many things you shouldn't even be thinking about. But you couldn't help it. You had to know.

"How-" As soon as the first word fell from your lips, you stopped yourself. Wonwoo's head shot in your direction, leaving the water to boil in the back. Seeing his eyes trained on you just made you forget about every worry you had before. This man couldn't possibly...

"Ask," he assured you, leaning on the counter as he watched you debate with yourself. He wanted you to ask. He almost needed you to.

You stuttered. "I... I don't know if I want to know." Your voice was suddenly quieter than before as you looked down at your hands that had started a thumb war.

"You deserve to know," he simply let you know. 

"But..." you sighed out loud, almost in annoyance. Who were you annoyed at though? "Jesus... I just." You tried collecting your thoughts as well as you possibly could, but there was way too much going on and your brain didn't have nearly the capacity you needed it to have at that very moment. "I don't know what to think. I... It's just weird."

"I understand that." He continued to let you know, nodding along with you as his gentle voice reached you. 

With a desperate sigh, you let your elbows rest on top of the counter, bringing your hands up to cover your face. You had to. "How involved were you in the Monbebe?"

He hummed, pushing himself off to stand straight again. "I wasn't one of those men sitting, drinking and pulling women down into their lap, if that's what you're thinking."

You nodded shyly, whispering almost to yourself. "That is what I was thinking..."

"I hate that club just as much as you do now," he sent you an almost sympathetic smile before turning back again to finish the tea. You noticed two cups next to each other.

"I don't know if that's possible," you chuckled, brushing over your arms that were still covered by his jacket.

He copied you. "You're right. You probably hate it just a little bit more than me, but trust me," he placed the cup for you right under your nose, "I didn't enjoy even a second I had to spend in there. Not back then, not today."

You nodded. Still hesitant about asking more questions, Wonwoo noticed your nervous frame, deciding to continue to avoid another uncomfortable silence washing over the two of you.

"Shownu's grandfather and mine started it all." The beginning of his story made you look up, watching him set down his own mug. "God knows what exactly happened between them but it all started with them. Then, our fathers took over, and the rivalry just continued. It started as a normal business rivalry, you know, just... stupid shit and jealousy over the success of the other one. But then..." He took a deep breath. "My father made some really stupid decisions, and it brought him to the darker side of that business. And before he knew it, Shownu's father lured him into helping him and... it all took a very bad turn from then on. The whole gang shit- I... it's stupid. But if you're born into it, you're born into it. There's not much you can do. So I had I was pretty much forced into continuing whatever my father had started, but... I really wanted to make it right more so. Shownu obviously had his doubts about that, and it wasn't easy to convince him, but somehow, don't ask how, I managed to do so."

"You," you interrupted him, "You don't have to tell me all of this."

"But you deserve to know," he answered. "I shouldn't have brought you there. It was a stupid idea on my side, and now you have to carry that with you for the rest of-"

"Hey," you stopped him gently. "It was my choice to go with you. I could've said no."

"Still," he shook your comment off.

"No." You didn't even let him continue. "We had to go through that and... now we did." You shared a moment of silence, looking into his eyes before opening your mouth again. "But... I gotta be honest... I don't know how much I want to know... about that part of... your past."

Wonwoo sighed, his gaze on the mug on the countertop. "I told you I want to be honest with you, and you deserve to know everything-"

"But I also told you that I trust you," you quickly added before he could take his thoughts much further, making him look up at you. "And I meant that." You shook your head. "I don't have to know everything about that... Jesus, I don't even want to, honestly. Not now, at least." Adding the last statement a bit quieter.

With a deep breath, Wonwoo decided to speak up after watching to stir your tea with the spoon he gave you. He thought carefully about each word he let out. "I think you might see me a bit differently after... what happened that last time there."

"The bloodbath?" You wondered, remembering the comments Shownu and him made within the first seconds of meeting him.

Wonwoo just nodded, taking a big gulp from his drink.

"I don't care," your simple answer surprised him as his eyes fell back on you again. "Don't tell me." You shrugged, "In Jihoon's office, I... I wanted you to tell me what the hell was going on because I was just... confused and... I guess scared. But now..." Another sigh fell from your lips, slightly shakier than before. "I just don't think I want to know." Because you were scared. You might not verbally admit it, but God... you didn't even want to imagine what could've happened back then.

"Okay," Wonwoo understood you. He couldn't have been more thankful to leave that story to tell at some point in the future. "Not today. Another time."

"Another time," you agreed with him, finally bringing up the now lukewarm mug to your lips, letting it trickle down your throat, sending a wash of comfort through your body.

The two of you started talking about the next steps including, getting the videos to Jihoon, him bringing every piece of evidence to the court, and what could further happen. Possible delays, future court dates, and how to deal with the situation at work. It almost felt a little too nice. Too... domestic. You seating on one of the barstools, him in the kitchen, moving around as he got himself a glass of water, getting you one as well even without asking you. All while talking about work.

Before the scene could feel too good for your own good, you snapped back.

"Okay," you sighed, moving around with your hands awkwardly, "I should... probably go home now." After bending down to snatch your shoes into your hands, you made your way over to the door.

Wonwoo straightened his back from his leaning position over the counter. "Yeah, sure," he followed you to the entrance, his right hand suspiciously in the pocket of his pants.

You turned around to say one last thing when the close proximity of his chest surprised you, making you forget what you were about to say as you just stared up into his eyes. He smirked at you before you felt his hand on your free one again, placing something in your palm before taking a small step back to let you look down. That damn key again.

"Won-" you started with a heavy breath, but the show of his palms stopped you.

"You're not taking a cab or public transport. Not in this outfit."

His comment made you look down. The 'dress'... right... But you also were still wearing his jacket, which you decided to shrug off to give back to him, already deciding that fighting about the car wasn't going to get you anywhere. His hands on your shoulders stopped your movements.

"You're also keeping the jacket on."

You sighed, "You're really not gonna let me make any decisions, huh?"

His gentle smile sent somewhat of a tingle to your heart, making you almost grin too. "Not after today, no." It wasn't a one-time thing and didn't have much to do with the events of that day- both of you knew that, neither one of you decided to comment on it.

His voice had suddenly become much lower, or maybe it had always been that low, but the closeness of his body let you register it more.

Understandingly, you nodded along. "Today was... long."

"And weird," he finished your thought, his gaze still down at you while you stood in front of him, feeling smaller than usual. In just a skimpy dress, some almost see-through tights, and his suit jacket, along with your shoes in one hand and his car keys in the other, you could've jumped straight out of the depths of his imagination.

"Yeah," you breathed out. He had definitely come closer. He wasn't THAT close before. Right?... Right?! The grip on your shoes tightened as your heartbeat surprised you by speeding up. God...

You should've already been out the door. Why on earth were you still standing in his apartment, barely ready to actually walk out. Your body knew why. Your heart knew why. But your brain decided to yet decline what was going on. Your breathing and stuttering ratted you out though.

You looked around frantically, running a hand through your hair as you suddenly created a bigger space between the two of you, not noticing the hand Wonwoo just dropped back to be by his side.

"I... I'm gonna go." Without waiting for another remark from his side, you turned around. You didn't get far though.

"Y/N," his voice struck you, immediately making you turn back to him. Your face screamed hope but dropped quickly as he continued. "I'm sorry." Wait. No. No no no. That wasn't supposed to happen. That's not what usually followed the call out of a name.

You scrunched your eyebrows, all hope and desperation gone, now replaced by pure confusion. "For what?"

With two big steps, he caught up with you, not wasting another second as he reached out, placed his hand on your neck and pulled you in, his lips meeting yours instantly. The sudden movement made you jolt in surprise, your full hands coming up to his chest to steady yourself.

You quickly fell into a matching rhythm, your lips moving against each other like butter. His fingers tightened on your neck, truly pulling you in as closely as he possibly could, getting a soft moan of you return. Kissing you wasn't enough, this man wanted to breathe you in. His free hand came up to get a hold of the shoes you were still holding onto. You let go, giving him the freedom to let them drop to the floor behind him. As soon as you could feel his lips distancing from yours, a whine dared to escape from you. He kept your noses close enough to touch.

"Stay," he whispered, his hot breath tickling your lips. Wonwoo didn't give you time to respond, smashing his lips back on yours. You continued to enjoy this moment, just moving along with him, breathing heavily as you felt his left hand come to your hips, travelling to your lower back. You had to let go.

"Wonwoo-"

"Please." He didn't let you finish. Pleading against your lips as you were close to distancing yourself from him. You let your eyes meet. Your eyebrows raised, scrunched in desperation, his just as usual low and unsaying of any of his emotions. But you could hear it in his voice. The slight shake. He wanted this. He needed this. Just as much as you did. Your breaths were already becoming one, your mouths begging to touch.

Fuck it.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down onto you. He let go of your neck, both of his hands immediately working on getting rid of the jacket that was still covering your body. And you let him. He undressed you hastily, throwing the anorak somewhere onto the floor - neither of you could care less. Before you could intertwine your hands behind his neck again, his hand found yours, taking back the key, only to make it join the jacket. A chuckle left your lips at his eagerness. Everything happened while your lips were still dancing with each other. Not fighting. Not moving. Dancing, as they fit like they were made for each other. You didn't want it to stop, convinced that it would have the same effect as holding your breath forever.

Wonwoo's hands travelled lower until they reached your ass and he crouched down before whispering into your mouth, "Jump." Letting you hop into his arms, his hands firmly on your behind to steady you. Your legs wrapped tightly around his hips, hoping to be as close to him as you possibly could. You let your fingers start to play with the hair on the back of his neck, tugging slightly, making him chuckle as he leaned back. 

"Careful," he whispered before lowering you down onto his bed, his much wider frame covering yours, engulfing you in comfort as he just hovered above you. 

Wonwoo didn't give you enough time to enjoy his lips on yours with the softness of his bed underneath before he moved onto your neck. His mouth started following your jawline, down to the side of your neck while your hands found a good place on his shoulders. You moaned out loud, not even caring about holding it back.

"We've been here once before, right?" His voice vibrated on your skin. He travelled back up to kiss your cheek, keeping his face at a distance to look you in the eyes as his fingers petted some strands of hairs out of your face. "But I'm planning on finishing it this time. Okay?" 

In desperation, you nodded, hoping to get further and get his body back fully onto yours. "Please do," you whined, his hands exploring your still-covered body.

Wonwoo smirked down at you, "I got you, baby," giving you a quick peck, which you had hoped would turn into a continuation of before, but were let down when he let go again. "Let's get you out of this first." Rubbing the material of your dress. He stood back up on his two feet, getting a hold of your hand to pull you up with him. Before you had enough time to gaze at his face, taking in every inch of his perfectly sculpted facial structure, he turned you around softly. His lips immediately went back to his neck as his fingers looked for the zip he had closed up a few hours ago, getting a soft moan from you in return.

"You look so beautiful in this," he whispered against your skin, sending a chill down your spine. "But you have no idea how fucking hard it was to keep my hands off you the entire evening." With each word he spoke, the butterflies in your stomach grew wilder and wilder. You just wanted him to never stop.

Once the zip was all the way down, he let the fabric drop down your arms, and you let him. Why should you stop at this moment? As soon as the dress fell to the floor, you stepped out of it and were turned back to face Wonwoo. His hand came up to cradle your face.

"Do you remember how I said I wanted to do this right?" You only trusted yourself to nod, scared of what sound might leave your mouth if you dared to speak. He grinned, "Good." And his lips were back on yours. Swiftly, he also got rid of your bra before his hands went down on the side of your thighs, pulling you in and making you wrap your legs around him once again. He took the opportunity to kneel down onto the bed, getting both of you onto the mattress and making sure your head met a pillow. Just like before, his lips left yours yet again to trace a line down your neck, only now also following the natural line of your collarbone before going further down and down. He didn't stop until he reached your breasts, kissing the right side first, getting closer and closer to your nipple, waiting for your moans to get higher. That's when you started to feel his tongue just on the outline of your nipple, going around it in circles, making you lift your body up automatically. His grip on your hips tightened, pushing you down to lay you flat, making you unable to move, no matter how much your body was begging for friction.

Wonwoo moved onto your left side, his mouth leaving wet kisses all over your tits as his tongue tickled your skin. You had let your hands move on their own. They found Wonwoo's grasp as they tried to loosen his grasp to give you some more freedom to move around. No chance. That man wasn't gonna let go of you any time soon.

"Wonwoo," your breathy voice made him come up to your lips again, teasing you by hovering above you, only coming close enough that your lips could potentially touch if you just moved up less than an inch. He hummed, giving you the notice to continue talking. Easier said than done when he started to place kisses all over your face again until he reached your neck.

"Please," you continued to beg for more. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Why the rush, gorgeous?" If only he knew what all of those nicknames were doing to you. Well, he was about to find out.

Not giving you time to respond, he moved himself down your body, making sure to resume his trail of kisses down your entire body. As if it was his goal to have touched every bit of your skin with his lips - if only you knew that was his exact goal. Maybe not for just tonight, but as a life goal.

His skilled finger quickly made their way into the seam of your tights, pulling them down. Slowly. Gently. Painfully.

You groaned.

"Let me take my time with you," he whispered. You shuffled yourself up, your elbows steadying you as you looked down at him now pulling off the thin piece of clothing and throwing it onto the floor.

Your heavy breathing didn't stop. "You're teasing." It wasn't a question or a cry of desperation. Maybe just a bit... but it was also a simple fact.

Wonwoo smirked proudly, getting closer to you again, stopping right in front of your face. "Good." He gave you a quick peck. "Now you know what it's like having to stand next to you every goddamn day and not be able to touch you."

"Who says you can't?" Where the sudden boost in confidence came from, was a question to everyone involved.

His low chuckle sent a warm rush right down where you were begging for him the most. "Well, I am a gentleman after all." He got slightly closer, his breath now tickling your lips, continuing his tease. You were too focused on his mouth just barely touching yours, not noticing the hand he had let travel lower, diving right into your underwear. The tip of his finger grazed your clit, getting a quick shutter and deep moan in return. To silence you, Wonwoo was quick to break the tension, covering your mouth with his once again, his tongue brushing over your lips immediately too. 

As if his kisses alone didn't already make you moan enough, his fingers that had started moving in circles on your clit made it hard for you to even concentrate on moving your lips along with his.

He pushed your body down again to lay flat on the mattress before diverting his attention back onto your skin. His free hand had gotten rid of your panties swiftly, giving him more freedom to pleasure you with his fingers alone.

God... his fucking fingers... so skillfully moving over your bundle of nerves before slowly daring to go even just a bit lower. You felt him smile against your neck as soon as he came in contact with the wetness of your hole already waiting for him. His finger tickled your entrance for a quick second before diving in, making you bite your lip, not letting the high-pitched moan escape fully. It was just that Wonwoo was having none of that. 

Within a split of a second, his was right in front of you again, his fingers that had just been inside of you, now on your chin as his thumb pulled your lower lip free from your teeth. He lowered himself down to whisper into your ear.

"Don't you dare even try holding back a moan tonight."

With no warning, he slowly pushed his two fingers, still covered in your wetness up to your mouth. You opened up wide enough for them to fit, already knowing what he wanted.

"Let me hear you, beautiful," he encouraged you, kissing the side of your neck to get a reaction from you as you moaned on his fingers, licking them clean of your taste. Only a second later, he pulled them out again, drawing a line down your torso until he reached your tits, engulfing one in his grip as his upper body disappeared from your sight again.

It was only when you started to feel his mouth on your upper thighs that you knew where he was going. His free hand was already tapping your legs to open up, giving him access to your inner thigh. Even though this wasn't the first time you had Wonwoo in this position, it felt just like it did back then. Perfectly intoxicating. You couldn't get enough of his touch, his lips, or... just him.

Wonwoo was everything you told yourself to never fall for ever again. But here you were, underneath the man in question, letting your body react freely against his touch.

Even though you expected it, you couldn't help the loud moan to fall from your lips as soon as his mouth came into contact with your core. His tongue didn't waste a moment, immediately giving your clit all of the attention. He started circling it before using his entire mouth to suck, getting a follow-up of multiple heavy moans from you in return. Your fingers had started holding onto his hair desperately, almost pulling too hard, yet Wonwoo didn't budge. With one hand, he made sure to keep your hips as still as possible while his other one had joined his mouth by your pussy, his fingers teasing your entrance yet again. His lips occupied with sucking your soul out of your clit, and his fingers pushing inside of you made you jolt your hips up, only to get pushed down harshly again, not even a second later.

As much as you would've wanted to form words, letting him know just how good he was making you feel, you couldn't. No understandable word from the dictionary was able to form in your mouth. You were communicating in moans, groans and heavy breathing. And Wonwoo understood every single loud you were making. He was able to read you like his favourite book, remember you like his favourite lyrics and play you like an instrument he had been playing forever. Everything just fit... too perfectly.

The squelching sounds of his fingers moving in and out of you filled the room, entertaining the two of you like a song in the background. Mixed with your moans, Wonwoo's cock was already reacting to it. From the moment he had thrown you onto the bed, to be completely honest, if not as soon as he had seen you in that pathetic excuse of a dress. 

He couldn't hide a smirk once he felt your walls starting to tighten around his fingers, only letting him know to keep on going. He had switched to tickling your clit with his tongue again, the tip of it going up and down, circling the bud before pressing flat against it. Anything to make you come undone right under his touch - his biggest accomplishment. The harsh tugging on his hair got a deep groan from him, vibrating against your pussy, sending the last wave of pleasure you needed to finally release on his fingers with a loud moan. You fought against his grip, lifting your hips into his mouth as your orgasm hit you. It didn't stop him from continuing, still moving his fingers, only slightly slower now, making sure that his lips were also gently sucking on your clit, focusing more on kissing it, making you jolt with each touch. You whined out loud, your legs tightening around his head. This was heaven. No need to question it. This must be it. No other possibilities.

"Fuck," your uneven breathing filled the room, your fingers still tangled in his hair as he kept his head down, working you through your high as you tried to push him back. "Wonwoo-" you cried out. "Please- God..."

With a smug grin on his lips, he raised his head, looking up at you still trying to catch your breath.

"You call that teasing?"

You had to chuckle, covering your face with one hand.

Wonwoo pushed himself up, coming back to face you, taking your hand in his to look you in the eyes.

"You did so well for me," he whispered against your lips. You didn't know how to react, so you just pulled him in closer by his collar. A kiss was answer enough. That's when you noticed something.

You pulled back. "How come you're still in your clothes while I'm naked underneath you?"

He smiled. "Well, ladies' first." His comment made your eyes roll. He chuckled. "But I'd be happy to change that." Diving back to continue kissing you with just as much passion as he did when he pulled you in back by the entrance door. 

Your fingers got to work on the buttons of his dress shirt while he was occupied with getting his pants open and off. You got rid of his shirt, letting it drop onto the floor by your side. To get out of his pants, Wonwoo sat back, letting his underwear go as well. Before you went further, you let your eyes travel over his torso, taking in every single piece of art decorating his skin. His shoulder was covered in black and grey ink, going down his right arm, hugging his biceps. Oh, to run you tongue over each piece… You snapped back and quickly joined him, hopping onto his lap, before he even had the time to get on top of you again. You had been waiting way too long for this. Way longer than you'd like to admit.

He made sure to keep his hands on your ass, placing you comfortably on his lap, his erection high, slapped against his abdomen. You didn't need to look down to know how big he was. You knew. You remembered. Hell, you even dreamt of it after the times he had already fucked you. Don't tell Binna that.

With his lips back on yours, much more eager than before, you let one hand rest on his chest while the other had gone down, swiping over your still glistening cunt, wetting your palm before you grasped his cock. An immediate moan came from Wonwoo, his breath heavy in your mouth, groaning against each other as you felt him nudge his hips into your touch. You kept your hand on the upper half of his dick, your thumb brushing over the top, spreading the pre-cum all over the burning red tip. The chill going through his body didn't go unnoticed by you, making you smirk against his lips as his fingers dug deeper into your ass, making you throw your head back in pleasure. Your hand had started running up and down his entire erection, making him hide his face in your neck as he kissed it again, sucking harshly on one specific spot he remembered you reacting to the hardest. As if it was a competition, your hand movements became harder and sloppier while his kisses became much harsher. Both of you had forgotten about moaning, turning to groaning as it relieved much more of the pleasure.

Without a warning, Wonwoo slapped your hand away and lowered you closer to the mattress, his arm on your lower back to hold you up. His free hand grabbed the base of his cock, directing it towards your entrance as you held yourself up with your elbows. He teased you by circling your hole with the tip of his dick, just waiting to fill you up.

You threw your head back in desperation. "GOD, Wonwoo just put your cock inside of me, please." With a low chuckle, he followed your plead. You couldn't hold yourself up and let your back hit the mattress as both of his hands had found their way to your hips, holding onto them as he backed out and went straight in again. Just like with his fingers - painfully slow. The roughness of each vein that decorated his erection grazed your walls, only intensifying each thrust.

"Fuck," you heard him curse under his breath as he lowered his body, his mouth back on your right breast as his right hand played with your left nipple.

You moaned out loud. "Fuck, Wonwoo," trying to move your hips along with his rhythm.

He came back up, his hand now on your neck as he groaned right into your ear. "Jesus, you feel so good." His thumb was brushing against your cheek.

"Won-" your moan was interrupted by an uncontrollable whine you had to let out as he was suddenly going deeper, making you realise he hadn't put his full length inside of you up until you. "Please," you stuttered with heavy breaths, "Please make me come."

His hand left your neck, immediately going down to your clit, after dipping into your wetness, putting pressure on your little bundle of nerves.

You nudged your hips up, "FUck, yes." Crying out loud as he kissed your jawline. Listening to his moans so close to your ear, feeling his thrusts becoming more and more irregular, almost sloppy, made you all that more aroused, knowing how close he must be getting.

With another hit at your G-spot, you almost couldn't hold back anymore.

"Wonwoo, I'm gonna cum," you whined, getting his attention as he kissed you deeply.

"Come on, baby. I'm close too. Come on. Just like that," he encouraged you, keeping his rhythm as steady as he possibly could, which wasn't much. "Good girl." Sending a heavy rush of arousal right to your pussy.

With his fingers right on your clit, his breathing against your ear and just feeling his chest move against you, his cock hitting all the right places inside of you, you didn't dare to hold back, letting go right as it hit you. A loud cry tumbled from your lips, your head digging into the blanket and mattress underneath you. The tightness of your walls almost pushing his cock out of you as the pleasure rushed through your body.

Wonwoo pushed himself up, and with three last hard thrusts into you, you felt him fill you up just as you would have begged him to. The warmth of his seamen made another moan come from you. Your hands were quickly trying to find his that were once again on your hips - seemed like they had found their favourite place.

His movements had slowed down, now making sure to work you through your uneven breathing as you came down from your second orgasm.

For a good few minutes, he continued to rock the both of you back and forth comfortably, lowering himself down to cover your frame with his wide shoulders, kissing you deeply without having to ask him to. His fingers tangled in your hair to make sure he'd pull you in as close as possible while his hips stopped moving, only one last time as he pulled out, leaving you cold and empty on the bed.

With one last kiss on your cheek, and a quick whisper of, "Stay here," he disappeared into the bathroom. You laid still. You put your right hand right under your boobs, still trying to even out your breathing.

That's what's supposed to happen when someone calls your name out in such desperation.

Taglist: @nctxtrash @leicy0756 @hoe4wonwoo @jeonwonhi @nothingbutadeadesceane @smileywoo @angelarin @onewoowonderboy @goodforgyu @kavvs @sugarmilkchan @sweetheart-gs @wonforgyu @lilactangerine @meltinghershey @wonw00t @soonchanshua @jayswifeuwu @allorysayshi @shaurenlaw @drama-1998-girl @yoonren07 @malakasae @sseuyeon @venusprada @jeminiepabo @billboard-singer @safsaf1980 @monmarguerite @ji-jii-visha @renjunphile @haogyuslut @destinyg237 @taestrwbrry @renkkuri @travelleratheart101 @love-svt @sunshinein17 @morklee02 @wonuziex @pwwarkjisung @hokuuuu @clvudisan @awyunh @restlesswritings @woohaosworld @caratlove10 @woo8hao @misssugarlips @heednpy

this chapter is not yet proofread! if you find any unexplainable gaps, grammar errors, etc. please feel free to let me know ˙ᵕ˙

Maddie!!!! What a chapter!! I'm so happy I finally had the time to read this and sad I didn't get to read it when it came out! Mama Jeon, fake dating (although is it really fake, because I feel they've kind of been dating), alcohol, too much alcohol...what a ride!! And FINALLY some communication!! I was surprised that it was Wonwoo who actually started the conversation (and subsequent confession!?). I love these two and can't wait to see what happens!!

Amour-Haine & Co. | Chapter 14 |

series masterlist

warnings - swearing, alcohol, mentions of emotional abusive parents, toxic relationships

word count - 14.3k

A/N: this one here... ui... I deleted this chapter so many times bc I wasn't happy with it. now I'm uploading it like this. It took a different route than expected, but oh well... I hope you enjoy it :)

"That I'm on my fucking knees for you, Y/N."

Mum?!

"Wonwoo!" The woman ran towards the CEO, her arms open wide and a big smile decorating her already beautiful face.

Mum???

Wonwoo took a few steps forward to welcome her with a hug, the shocking impression still on his face while your feet seemed to have rooted themselves into the floor. You eyed their interaction from your position, your mind somewhere else but in the room, but your ears caught enough of their conversation to earn your attention.

"Jesus, have you been working out even more?" Jeon Chaewon released her son from her embrace, holding onto his forearms tightly, "I told you to stop that and start taking care of yourself like a normal person," and hit his arm gently. "How dare you not contact me, by the way? You bought a new company together with Mingyu, I have to find out you're in a relationship through your father, out of all people, then you're getting sued and you don't even call me-" hold on, what did she just say?

The CEO interrupted her questioning, taking her hands off him and embracing them into his, "Mum, calm down. What are you even doing here?"

She chuckled, "Is that how you greet your mother after a year of not seeing her?" And shook her head, "Unbelievable..."

"Mum-"

She stopped him with a smile and another slap, "No, 'mum'. I know it's very unexpected, especially now with everything going on, but still..." Neither one of them knew how to continue the conversation, and you weren't about to interrupt their little reunion. The scene was just as overwhelming for you as it seemed to have been for Wonwoo.

Unsure of how to go about the situation next, you decided to slowly and quietly make your way into your own office, giving the pair the privacy they deserved. 

Just as you turned around, your ears perked up at the sound of the woman speaking again, "You've got a lot of explaining to do, young man."

The deep sigh that came from Wonwoo was unlike anything you had ever heard. Deep. And heavy. Something you knew from yourself only too well.

"I know..." his voice was quieter than before - and much softer. As soft as you had only ever heard it once before. "Let's go to my office." She nodded but didn't follow her son when he turned around, 

"You're not coming?" You were about to open the door, but stopped mid-action when she continued, "Y/N?" You thought you would be sly with your disappearance. 

"Hm?" You turned your head, immediately meeting Wonwoo's panicked gaze before ignoring it and giving his mother all your attention.

"Oh no, mum, I'm sure Miss Yoon's got work to do," he tried to reach for the woman's arm, who sneakily avoided his touch, only to hit him across the head, making Wonwoo flinch.

"How dare you talk to her like that. You don't address your girlfriend by her last name, even with other people around," she scolded him, immediately catching you off-guard,

"Wh-"

"Right, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, sending you a quick glance, raising his eyebrows for the shortest second possible. You got the sign but had to hold back a deep sigh. Where was he going with this?! What was he trying to do?

You wanted to interfere, but as soon as your eyes found the awaiting gaze of Jeon Chaewon, you just couldn't. Her eyes were sparkling like the brightest stars in a dark night sky. Like the fireworks you'd only get to see on New Year's Eve, right there in the form of her eyes. Only the eyes of a loving mother could hold that gaze. A sight you remembered very well and which you hadn't seen in quite some time.

"I-," you what? What were you going to say? How could you now say no to this woman in front of you... 

Frantically, your eyes met Wonwoo's for a quick second before you put your best fake smile on, "I'll be with you in a minute, I- I just... have to check on something in my office," and covered your nervous lying. 

It seemed to have satisfied Miss Jeon as she sent you another one of her bright grins before turning around, passing her son and entering his office before him as he was still standing in the same spot, his eyes fixed on you. He was about to say something, but you just shook your head and headed to your private room right away, not wanting to spend another second in this uncomfortable situation.

With quick steps you were in your office, immediately throwing your bag onto the couch in the corner. You ran your fingers through your hair, getting annoyed when they suddenly got stuck in the knots that had formed. Frantically, you pushed your hands down, flinching at the feeling of some strands getting caught under your rings and getting ripped out of your scalp. You sighed.

That was not how you had planned your day to start. That was not what you could have ever expected to happen. Wonwoo's mother just showing up suddenly? Her mistaking you for-... how did that come about... 

Once again, you found yourself caught up in the memory of her voice. Her calm tone, her loving gaze, that spark in her eyes, only a mother could hold.

Your feet brought you deeper into your office, closer to the couches, where your bag had tumbled down onto the floor, the content spreading across the floor. You cursed under your breath, got rid of your jacket and threw it onto the cushioned seats before kneeling down to gather everything that had fallen out. 

After getting everything back inside your bag, you were about to stand up when the sound of your phone ringing again made you reach for it. You fished it out of the bag and, just as expected, were faced with the caller id of your father. A deep sigh tumbled from your lips. How much longer could I ignore him, you wondered. His name has been popping up ever since that morning. He had found out about the lawsuit. Of course, he did. You knew it. There wasn't a way that he wouldn't have found out at some point, but you had hoped to be able to push it further away from you for as long as possible. There was no going back now. You pressed the green button to accept the call.

"How fucking dare you!" The alarming voice of your father rang through your ear, and the volume of it made you shove it away from your ear. "I trusted you with this company! You're getting fucking sued, and you didn't even dare to tell me?! Are you really that fucking dumb?! And how dare you ignore all of my calls?! I've been trying to reach you for hours, and don't come at me with some stupid fucking excuse, I'm so tired of that shit!" 

"Dad-" you tried to stop him from continuing throwing these words at you, but you knew about his anger, and you knew there was no way you were able to stop him.

"NO! I really thought I raised you better than that!" You closed your eyes and let the phone rest on the couch, your knees still the only support on the cold floor. His voice was loud enough, you didn't have to put him on speaker. "At first you embarrass me with that sudden office romance you've got going on with Wonwoo, and now you won't even tell me about a fucking lawsuit?! What kind of daughter are you?! This is not only embarrassing but even humiliating to me! What do you think this makes me look like, huh?! Have you thought about that?! I bet you haven't!"

"Dad, please-" your voice was too quiet for him to even hear.

"I don't know what the fuck is going on in that head of yours, but you better fix it, or I'm going to fix that position you're in. How dare you even believe you deserve that spot as COO. Jesus Christ...," he took a deep breath before continuing, "You fucked up, Y/N. You fucked up bad, I hope you know that. And I hope you know how-" The call suddenly ended. With your eyes still closed, you enjoyed the sudden moment of silence. You expected that reaction from him. You expected every harsh word that fell from his lips. But hearing them from the man you had to call your father... that hurt. Denying it wasn't helping. As much as you would've loved to pretend his words didn't hit you, you couldn't.

"Don't listen to him." The familiar deep voice spoke up from behind you, making you open your eyes. You stared at the bookshelf in front of you, only seeing the silhouette of the CEO getting closer from the corner of your eye. "He's mad and probably doesn't even know what he's saying." His comment made you let out a chuckle. A chuckle filled with hurt and pain. So much pain.

You lowered your head, "He knows exactly what he's saying." It was only then that you felt the tightness of your throat. It made you gulp.

"Y/N-" his soft tone was trying to comfort you, but you pushed it away.

"What do you need?" You changed the subject, still not facing him.

Wonwoo was silent. He took a few more steps closer to you, stopping in front of you and kneeling down. "My mother was worried because you said you'd be with us in a minute, and it's been a bit longer than that. She made me come check on you."

You quickly forced the corners of your lips to lift before running your hands through your hair to push it out of your face and lifted your head. That's when you found the man's worried eyes glued on you, expecting you to say something.

"Right," you nodded, "Sorry." You were about to push yourself back to stand up, but Wonwoo's hands on your wrists stopped you, your eyes immediately looking down at his touch, before going up again.

"Y/N-"

"I'm okay." You were quick to interrupt him, answering the question he didn't even ask. "It's okay. I'm good." 

For a second too long, his gaze interlocked with yours. He reached out with his hand, his palm stopping at your cheek to press against it gently as his thumb wiped away the tear that had made its way from your eye. A touch you would have never let happen weeks ago. Not even in your head, would you have let Wonwoo touch you that softly. But right then, your body almost betrayed you as you felt the need to lean into the warmth of his palm. 

You lowered your head in shame, not realising you had started crying, making him take his hand back.

Wonwoo gulped, "I'm sorry."

You raised your head in confusion at his statement, "What are you sorry for?"

He cleared his throat, "For not thinking about the consequences of not telling your father even though you wanted to tell him. I didn't think he'd react like that." His words were filled with honesty. His voice sounded like pure regret. Even in his eyes, you could see the sincerity behind everything he had said.

A sad smile formed on your lips as you slowly shook your head, "He would've reacted like this either way..." your voice getting shakier and shakier with each word, "He... he's already disappointed in me...for multiple reasons... one more won't hurt, right?" The theoretical question brought even more tears to your eyes as you locked with his gaze again. You pressed your lips together tightly, hoping to suppress them from shaking as the tears were dreading to spill. The whimper sat in the back of your throat just waiting to come out. Just like you had done many times before, you let your head fall back, trying to blink the tears back into your body before standing up, making Wonwoo do the same just a second later. He kept a concerned facial expression on you while you shook your head and tried to make yourself appear normal by fixing your hair and outfit.

"You don't have to-"

"I said, I'm okay," maybe by repeating them, you could convince yourself that you might actually were. When, in fact, you weren't.

"I wasn't about to ask you that," the CEO let you know, lowering his body down to pick up your bag and placing it on the couch, next to where your phone- where was it? It had been there only a few minutes ago.

You nodded and shifted your gaze down to your shoes, eyeing his feet that were coming closer to you, stopping only a few centimetres in front of you.

"I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to pretend that his words didn't just affect you."

You shrugged, "They didn't," and crossed your arms before looking up again after you didn't get an answer back from him. But as soon as you faced him again, he only glanced at you with raised eyebrows and his hands hidden away in his pockets. 

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Nothing but the two of you, staring into each other's eyes, both knowing what you had just said was far from the truth, and both waiting for the other one to continue this conversation.

"So?" You started again, "For how much longer do you want to keep your mother alone?"

He breathed in some air through his teeth and made his way to your left, making you turn towards him, your back now facing the window wall behind you. "For as long as it takes you to admit that you're not okay," he eyed you, switching his gaze to something behind you for a second, "Besides, she's watching us anyways."

"What?!" Your eyes widened as you turned around to find the smiling woman's gaze longing at the two of you. "Oh, god," your head snapped back, and your hands immediately flew up to brush over your cheeks, hoping to wipe away any access trails the tears had left. "Okay, okay," you spoke mostly to yourself while looking around the room, trying to locate your phone. You patted down the side of your pants, thinking that you may have put it into your pockets without realising. But you didn't. You decided to ignore it and focused back on the man in the room,

"What do I do?" But he just looked at you confused and surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"With your mother," you nudged your head slightly towards her direction, "W-Who does she think I am? What does she think... we are?"

Wonwoo nodded at the sudden realisation of your question and leaned back against your desk, his arms crossed in front of his chest, "She thinks we're dating."

"But why?" You sent him a confused glance, "She... she mentioned something about her ex-husband..." and trailed off.

The CEO sighed, "My father told her." You continued looking at him with the same facial expression, making him continue with a smirk, "You remember the dinner? We're great actors." And then the last puzzle pieces snapped together.

"And he told his ex-wife about that...?" Your eyebrows scrunched as you let the scenario run through your head. What an interesting conversation to have with someone.

Wonwoo shrugged, "I'm surprised as well, trust me. The fact that he even dared to call her because of some bullshit like that. He knows he shouldn't, but that man doesn't care."

"He shouldn't what?" You wondered, but he brushed it off,

"Doesn't matter," and pushed himself off the desk, standing back steadily on both of his feet, "So?"

"Hm?" You hummed, wondering what he meant.

Suddenly a warm smile appeared on his face. A smile that caught all of your attention. It was kind. Welcoming. It felt comforting. Somewhat familiar.

"Are you okay?"

You caught yourself being caught off guard as your eyes lingered a little too long on his lips, making you shake your head and find his eyes quickly. A forced smile made its way to your mouth and your quiet voice filled the room, "As okay as I could be at this moment, I think."

The young CEO pressed his lips together and nodded, even if it was hesitantly, "I can accept that as an honest answer."

"You have to," you shot out before thinking well enough about what was gonna come out of your mouth. What even was that supposed to mean? 

Wonwoo grinned, taking a step closer to almost tower over you, "Oh, do I?" The close proximity of your bodies let your heartbeat quicken right away. Just like it did in the elevator when you went to meet him. Just like in front of the courtroom when he tried to comfort you. The same way as when he had put his hand on your shoulder for the first time. Or his hand on your lower back before he pulled you in closer as he swept you across the ballroom floor-

"Y/N?" His voice made you snap back into the present as you found his longing gaze on you. 

"What?" 

He chuckled at your reaction but kept his eyes closely on yours, the grin tickling his lips.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," you answered quickly, shaking your head maybe a little too fast, but you pushed that thought aside and were quick to turn around, walking towards the glass door. You opened it and motioned for him to walk out first. Wonwoo approached you with a smile before raising his arm to get a hold of the door above your head, holding it open and nudging for you to walk out first. You sent him a quick look that he just knew exactly what it meant. Still, you followed his order and stepped out, but waited for him to close the door, so the two of you would walk up to his mother side by side. 

The walk to his office was no longer than 15 seconds (if you walked slower than you usually would), but those few seconds felt like an eternity at that very moment. Having Wonwoo next to you was the only thing that kept you from turning around and leaving the building - your body assured you of that. 

He took a few bigger steps to be ahead of you, opened the door to his office and ushered you inside, where his mother had already been waiting for you, now sitting on one of the couches in the corner. You opened your mouth to excuse yourself for being late, but a familiar ringtone caught your attention. The sound of your phone ringing made you turn around to see where it was coming from. You came to sight with Wonwoo fishing it out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket, making you glance at him in confusion, but he didn't even raise his head to look at you. Only after he took a look at your screen, he dared to look up, meeting your eyes. You were about to walk up to him, raising your hand to get a hold of the phone, but he stopped you,

"Sorry, I'll be right back," and sent a nod to his mother, "I gotta take this call," before leaving the room again. Your eyes followed him until he had rounded the corner, making sure he was no longer in sight.

And there you were. Alone in a room with the mother of your CEO, or boyfriend as she thought. 

"Always so busy..." her soft voice filled your ears, "I told him to take it easy, but he won't ever listen to me." You turned around to give her a smile, followed by a chuckle. "Oh well," she returned it, "Maybe you'll have better luck with that."

"I'll try," you lied to her. Lied well. You had no other choice. That woman in front of you was ecstatic about the apparent idea that her son was in a committed relationship - and you weren't about to ruin that feeling of joy.

You had your eyes focused on the corner Wonwoo had just disappeared behind, not noticing the older woman getting closer to you. Only when her hand reached for yours was when you snapped back into the present situation you were stuck in.

"So please, Y/N," she made you follow her towards the two couches in the corner before she dragged you down to sit down right next to her, "I would love to know a bit more about you. I'm sure you must be an interesting individual if you have caught my son's eye."

You chuckled nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that, to be honest," your gaze switching to the side in hopes of finding the man you were looking for.

"But I'm sure, love," she assured you with a pat on your knee, "I mean... you are the first girlfriend he ever introduced to me, so that must mean something, you know? I know, I did get here by myself, but I was expecting him to deny everything his father told me or maybe even tell me that he just wanted to annoy him by pretending to be in a relationship," her voice drifted into a sadder tone before she looked up again, meeting your eyes with one of the brightest smiles you have ever seen, "but I cannot explain to you how happy I am that that's not the case," she engulfed her hand in yours, giving it a tight squeeze, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself."

Oh no. Oh no no. This was bad. So bad. She was expecting this to be fake. Wonwoo could've just simply told her that she was right with her suspicion. But he didn't... that idiot didn't do it. And now you have to put on the best act you possibly could, to convince her of your and her son's happiness. You had to push all the nerves that had started to form in your stomach further down, suppressing them as well as possible and putting the fake smile on that had been carrying you through your entire career.

"Okay," you smiled at her, "Well... I... ehm...," you gulped. Fuck... this was going to be harder than you thought. Concentrate. 

You wanted to meet her gaze, but as soon as that happened, you were scared that she would be able to see right through your lies, so you decided to let your eyes travel around the room, holding still on her only for a few seconds.

"I've been working here for quite a while... way before Wonwoo and Mingyu took over. And... ehm," you cleared your throat, "But I've gotten the position as COO once they became CEOs."

"Oh, what were you before that?" She seemed truly interested in what you were telling her, somehow bringing you ease and making facing her a lot easier.

"President. My father made me the President," you answered her with a tight smile on your lips.

She looked enraged once the words had reached her ears, "Only president?!" The woman didn't shout, but it was clear how she felt about what you had told her. She scuffed, "Oh well, doesn't surprise me, thinking about what I've heard about your father." Once she had finished, it seemed like she realised what she had said as her facial expression changed in an instant, "Oh god, I'm so sorry," she covered her mouth with her hand, "I didn't mean to talk badly about your father, I hope you don't-"

"Don't worry, don't worry," you chuckled, instinctively reaching for her arm to hold, "I'm not on good terms with him anyways." For some reason, it felt okay to let her know that.

A relieved sigh left her lips, "Thank god not," she laughed, "I got so worried, I'm so sorry," she grabbed your hands once again, making you look her in the eyes, "I'm truly sorry that you had to work for him. Like that. Even if just half of the things I've heard are true... I don't want to imagine what it must've been like with him. I know how difficult men like that can be..."

You shrugged, "I lived." But it was so much more than that. You could've said so many more words, but you chose not to. 

"I did too," Chaewon sent you a sad smile, "But that doesn't mean that it was right, because it most certainly wasn't. I had to learn that the hard way..." as she went quiet for a second, you didn't interrupt the silence, feeling like there was more to come from her. But before she could continue, if she had wanted to, the two of you were interrupted by Wonwoo, who had come back in through the door, closing it on his way in.

The woman turned around, coming face to face with her son, her hands still around yours, "How did it go?"

"Huh?" The CEO seemed to have been caught off guard, breaking the gaze the two of you had been holding ever since he had walked in.

His mother grinned, nodding towards his hands that had a tight grip on your phone, "Your phone call. How did it go? Anything interesting?"

He made his way over to you, nodding in understanding, "Oh," he sat down on the other couch to your left, "No, not that interesting. Just... casualties." Your eyes never left his form. They continued following him all the way until he was sitting next to you, but even then you made sure to keep them on him. He noticed your wondering look and decided to interlock his gaze with yours again. "But I managed to clear everything. Nothing to worry about anymore." You knew he was answering his mother's question, but with his eyes so fixed on yours, you could feel the words not being directed towards her. Because there was nothing she had to worry about, there was nothing you had to worry about anymore.

"But I want to talk to you later, Y/N," he announced, catching you off guard at the mention of your name.

"Me?" You wondered, almost wanting to slap your face when you noticed how weird it sounded.

Wonwoo placed your phone on the coffee table right in front of you, never looking away from you, "Yeah. You." You nodded, showing him you understood what he had said. Even though you didn't. The moment felt like an out-of-body experience. Something just felt... off. Weird. You had never been in the same room as your boyfriend AND his mother. And now you were stuck with the man you had to pretend you were dating to your left and his overjoyed-by-the-news mother to your right. No wonder this didn't feel real. Even saying it in your head didn't sound right.

"Anyways," Mrs Jeon's clap echoed through the room, making Wonwoo's eyes change to her direction, "As I mentioned earlier, I want to get to know Y/N a little bit better," her hand found yours again, "And I thought that we could maybe do that over dinner. Tonight?"

Your eyebrows shot up as you looked at the CEO, who kept the calmest possible demeanour, "Mum-"

"Only if you're not busy, of course," she quickly added, falling into another one of her rants, that she seemed to have quite often, "I know, things right now might be a bit stressful, but you never know, maybe a quiet and comfortable nice dinner might just be the thing to help you out. I'm sorry if this comes off too strong, but I haven't seen you in over a year, and suddenly I'm getting thrown over with so many news, I hoped you would unders-"

"We'd love to."

You turned to the side to face her, your free hand coming up to wrap around hers. You hoped the smile on your face would ease her. "Right, Wonwoo?" with the same facial expression, you directed your question to the CEO on the other couch. In addition, you sent him a warning glance, raising your eyebrows just enough for him to see and for his mother to not notice. 

He quickly followed with a deep breath and a nod, "Of course. We have time, don't worry, mum."

A heavy and happy sigh left Chaewon's lips as she freed your hands from her grasp, "Oh, I'm glad," you could see her eyes shining again, "That makes me so happy. Alright then, I have a table reserved at 7, is that okay? If it's too early, we can-"

"It's perfect," you interrupted her, looking up at her as she had stood up, her bag in her hands again, "We'll be there."

"Great!" She clutched tighter onto the handle, "Wonwoo, I'll send you the address." He nodded in agreement before she continued, "And for now, I'll get going and leave you to your important business stuff," walking closer towards the door with a chuckle. The young CEO was quick to stand up and beat his mother to the door with his big steps, opening it before she could get a hold of the door handle. You stood up as well but decided to stay in your spot, following her with your gaze as she got closer and closer to the exit.

"It was very nice to meet you Y/N, I can't wait for tonight," she sent you a kind grin. Even with the extra wrinkles that appeared when she smiled, she somehow managed to look even younger. That's what living happily must do to you.

"Likewise, thank you Mrs- Chaewon," you corrected yourself, hoping she didn't catch your slip up, but her chuckle told you otherwise, "See you later," and waved her off.

The woman gave her son a quick hug, whispered something you sadly didn't catch into his ear, making him roll his eyes, and after another round of goodbyes, she left the office. Once she was out of the room, Wonwoo and you stayed still in the same spot. Your gazes travelled along with his mother, waiting for her to round the corner until she was out of sight. As soon as that happened, you let yourself fall onto the sofa with a big sigh tumbling from your lips. Before you could let your head fall back, you crouched forward, resting your elbows on your knees and holding onto your head with your hands.

"Jesus," you breathed out, "That was even more stressful than I imagined."

"Really?" Wonwoo wondered as he approached your form, filling the seat to your right that his mother had left empty. "You seemed awfully calm. Kinda worried a bit."

"Did I?" You straightened your back immediately, "Calm? Really?" His nod assured you, "Wow... I mean... I'm glad, because I feel like my heart," your hand flew up to touch your chest, "Is about to jump out." It was then that you realised just how fast it was beating and probably had been beating the entire time already.

"No, don't worry, you were doing better than expected," he admitted, leaning back to get comfortable on the couch. As you turned your body to face him better, your knee touched his. Both of you noticed it. Neither of you moved to change it.

You scrunched your eyebrows, "What do you mean 'better than expected'? What did you think I was gonna do?" The question was tickling your tongue, and nothing was holding you back from asking him.

Wonwoo chuckled, "Why did you agree to that dinner so quickly? I thought you didn't want to play along."

"I never said that," you snapped back without hesitation. Instead of answering verbally, the young CEO raised an eyebrow, making you scoff, "What? I was just surprised. I never said that I wouldn't play along."

"Alright," he simply nodded and thought the subject was done, but you had some more to say.

"And did you really think I would just break your mother's heart like that? Did you see the way her eyes lit up when she talked about us?"

A smirk slowly but surely made its way to Wonwoo's lips. He bit down on his bottom lip before opening his mouth, "Us? What us?"

"The us she thinks we are. The us that makes her eyes sparkle and her lips turn into such a beautiful smile. The most beautiful one a mother could have." You found yourself reminiscing in the memory of sitting next to her, feeling the comfort of her presence hugging you.

For a second, the CEO was quiet before he sat up straighter, "So basically you did it because you wanted to see her happy?"

"I guess so. I mean... what other reason would I have had to keep up this lie?" You answered him honestly, your mind somewhere else as could be heard by your voice.

Wonwoo shrugged, "I don't know, was just a question," and sighed. "So," he suddenly changed the subject and got up from his seating position, "Now that you've set up a date for us tonight-"

"Don't say it like that," you warned him, "That makes it sound weird." It made it sound real.

He chuckled, "What else should I call it?"

"I don't know," you mumbled, "Meet-up with your mother?"

"Alright," he nodded, "Now that you've set up a meet-up with my mum at 7pm, which is by the way during our work time, I'd love to hear how you expect us to be there and here at the same time?"

You stood up as well, taking a few steps to pass the coffee table, taking your phone with you, "We can just leave a little earlier. The guys will be fine without you and, just in case anything happens, Mingyu is still here."

Wonwoo looked at you in wonder, "You're just gonna ditch work?" Then scoffed, "I don't think your boss is gonna like that, you know?"

You smirked, "Well, tough luck then. I'm the COO and I'm saying that he and I are gonna get off work earlier so we can make his mother happy."

"Interesting," he raised his eyebrows while an amused grin played on his lips, "What a confident COO we have here." He reached into his pocket and got out his own phone before rounding his table, taking a seat on the big leather chair behind the desk, "Then I'm gonna call Hongseok and tell him he doesn't have to pick you up this evening."

"And he doesn't have to pick me up tomorrow morning either, tell him that too," you remembered that morning when you planned to get to work by subway, but were surprised by the CEO's driver waiting for you in front of your apartment complex. He assured you that he was here on request of Jeon Wonwoo and that he was not allowed to leave until you got into the car. "He didn't have to do it today either... Do you know how weird it is to just get picked up randomly?"

"He only came because I couldn't make it today, I'm sorry. I'll be there tomorrow again," he tried to assure you, but you quickly shut him down,

"No, that's not what I meant," your comment caught his attention and made him look up from the screen, "I also told you that I don't want anyone picking me up. I'm fine with using the public transport until I get a new car. I don't need a driver AND," you added right away as you saw him already opening his mouth, ready to say something, "I also don't need you to pick me up."

Wonwoo leaned back in his chair, a heavy sigh falling from his lips, "I told you I don't mind."

"And I told you I don't want it."

"What if I don't want you to use public transport. Imagine someone catching the COO of one of Seoul's biggest businesses taking the bus to work," another one of those eyebrow raises, gosh...

You shrugged and crossed your arms as you stood right in front of his desk, "Well... then they'll think I'm doing something good for the environment. We should do more about that anyways."

But Wonwoo only shook his head, "No. My COO isn't taking any kind of public transport. Not happening."

You scoffed at the use of his words, "Your COO?!"

"Yeah, my COO. Who else do you think you're working for?" He must've known he was testing your temper. He must've. There wasn't another reason you could've thought of as to why he would throw out a comment like that. 

You squinted your eyes at him, the fists your hands had formed tightening as you had to bite your tongue to hold back the statement playing on the tip of your tongue. You had two options there. Either, you don't hold back and another argument will break out because both of your personalities are too big for their own good. OR, you were going to be the bigger person, hold back all the things you would regret and get out of this situation quietly and just move on with the day. There was just one problem. And that was that the second option was never really there, thanks to your temper.

"Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" You snapped at the man, walking up to stop right in front of his desk. Wonwoo let go of his phone and set it down on the top of the table. He directed his gaze to you, looking up from his seated position, the corners of his lips curling slightly. He looked to the side with a chuckle, huffing out a little amount of air - he seemed gladly amused by your reaction as if it was right where he wanted to get you.

With a confident grin, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes gliding over your entire form. "I know exactly who I'm talking to, don't you worry."

"Then you should know when to shut your mouth," you kept an unamused facial expression, hoping he would get the message, but that fucking smirk on his lips was just a little too distracting, even for you to truly be annoyed.

"Why should I if I get to see you like this?" His question confused you. Was he getting that much of a thrill out of making you annoyed at him? Was he liking it that much? What was he trying to do...

You scrunched your eyebrows, "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

Instead of answering, he widened his grin, keeping his mouth shut, but his glance interlocked with yours. 

Something in the way he looked at you wanted you to smile like an idiot too, but you controlled it by letting out a salty chuckle, raising your hands in defence,

"I'm not giving into that. I'm not gonna be annoyed anymore."

"Sure you won't," Wonwoo nodded amusingly, blinking at you with that stupid smirk still plastered on his face.

Just when you were about to open your mouth, another snarky remark tickling your tongue, your phone in the pocket of your pants rang, catching your attention as you fished it out. A look at the screen made you let out a big huff of air, closing your eyes to contain your emotions.

The young CEO noticed your reaction, "Is it your dad?"

You nodded, "Obviously," and let your finger hover just a few millimetres over the 'accept' button, even though you knew you'd regret answering his call.

"Don't."

The deep voice made you look up, finding the dark eyes of the man in front of you immediately. He dropped his eyes down to the hand that was holding onto the phone before coming up again, staring into yours.

"Don't answer it."

Before this... he had your phone... and accepted it when it rang...

"Why?" You wondered, suddenly feeling the smallest amount of anxiety coming up in your body, "What did you do?" You followed his silhouette as he stood up, walked passed the desk and stopped in front of you. On his way, you had turned around, your ass now right at the edge of the table while he stood tall opposite of you.

He shook his head, "I didn't do anything. Just don't answer it." When you noticed him reaching forward, attempting to take the device out of your hold, you snatched your hand back, further away from him. He sighed in annoyance, but he was in no position to be the one irrigated by this situation.

"And who are you to tell me whose calls not to answer," your sharp tongue always acted before your brain could. Great character trait.

"You're boss, so give me the fucking phone," he tried to get a grasp of your phone once again, but you leaned back, extending your arm as far as possible. Another aggravated sigh, "Y/N, I swear to God..."

"You swear to God, what?" You raised your brows. Two can play that game. Both of you knew that, you've done it before. You've had moments like these before. This already felt familiar. If he could get a kick out of infuriating you, you could do the same to him.

Wonwoo lifted his head to meet your gaze. He didn't say anything. Just looked at you. Your phone was no longer ringing. There were no sounds anymore to fill the room and yet, it didn't feel quiet. You weren't sure where to look but decided to do just like him and just kept your eyes on him. Wonwoo had gotten dangerously close when he tried to reach for the phone the second time, and he hadn't backed away yet. One small lean in and your noses would've touched.

The moment that you shared in silence didn't feel long enough when he broke it with a deep sigh. Not an annoyed one. Just deep. You wondered why, but got your answer with his next action. His hands suddenly found your hips and he lifted you to sit on the desk. A gasp fell from your lips as your hands had reached for his arms for stability. His movement caught you off-guard. He surprised you once again.

Right after he had put you down, he let his hands rest on each side of you, leaning forward to lean in, getting closer to you for just the littlest amount.

"You really like playing smart, don't you?" His breath tickled your lips.

"I like getting proper answers, mister I-always-talk-in-some-kind-of-code," you sassied back, getting a chuckle out of him.

He shook his head softly, "Give me the phone Y/N. Please."

You only then noticed that your hands were still on his arms when you let go to hand him the device, this time not questioning his actions. He stood up straight, took it from your grasp and turned it around to ask you to unlock it.

"4596," you simply answered him, not even looking down at the phone as you told him your code.

Wonwoo put it in and started tapping on the screen. You noticed he had started texting someone and could already guess who it was. 

"I thought I made it clear," he mumbled, making it hard for you to understand him, but you caught it. It confused you, but you decided not to question him, mesmerized by the man standing in front of you. 

When he put it back down on the table next to you, your eyes followed his hand. You noticed the ring on his pinky and wondered how you had never caught that before.

"What did you do?" 

"Something that will hopefully keep him from calling you from now on," he let you know, his hands back on each side of you, but he wasn't leaning in as much as before.

You took a deep breath, "He's my father, I can't just ignore him-"

"He was disrespecting you. He talked to you in a way no father should ever talk to their daughter, and you still march to his tune. Hold yourself up higher. You're better than that."

The way he thought he knew you better than you did yourself infuriated you. "I'm not marching to his fucking tune. I just don't want to create useless arguments between us. I want to clear things up and move on. But with this way and just ignoring his calls, he's only gonna get angrier and-"

"And what?" He picked at your statement, "Who cares if he's angry? He's been angry before, he'll be angry in the future. He'll get over this because he's gonna find something or even someone else to shout at."

You shook your head, "You don't know him like I do."

"That's true," Wonwoo nodded, "I don't. And honestly... I don't want to. Because God knows what I'll do if I ever catch him talking to you like that when I'm in the same room as him." That caught you off guard. 

He let that statement roll off his tongue as if it was the most casual thing to say. His eyes were fixed on yours. Still. And he didn't even blink when he said it. He also didn't look away afterwards. He continued staring right into your soul, making you gulp. You had to break the eye contact, afraid of what could happen if you didn't.

"God," you sighed, "Why do you care so much about that..." your voice laced with something similar to irritation, but then again not really... because you weren't, you could never be. You were curious. You were wondering. He seemed so invested in something that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with you. 

Instead of answering, Wonwoo took a few steps back and made his way back behind his desk. You hated whenever he did that as it wasn't the first time.

"Wonwoo-"

"Just don't answer his calls, alright?" He interrupted you. You turned around to look at him again as he sat himself down in his chair, "You are under no obligation to listen to whatever that man has to say."

"And what if he suddenly shows up here? What the hell am I supposed to say then?!" It wasn't an impossible scene to happen. What your father wanted, he got - even if it was an argument with you. Even if it meant just showing up to shout at you. He would do that, you were convinced.

Wonwoo's attention was fixed on the computer when he answered, "I'm your boss, and I don't want my COO to be distracted by private calls during her work day."

You didn't correct him.

-

Shortly before the clock on your wall hit 7pm, there was a knock on the open glass door to your office. You looked away from your computer screen, and your eyes found the form of the CEO standing in the doorframe.

"You ready?" He asked you. You took a quick look at the clock in the corner of the screen and answered him with a smile and a nod,

"Yep." After closing the tabs you didn't need anymore, you shut down the PC and got up. While you scanned the desk for anything important you may leave behind, you noticed some files that were still spread out, making the space look messier than you wanted to, so you decided to collect them and put them into folders on the shelves next to you. As soon as you turned back around, Wonwoo had gotten closer to your desk, waiting patiently with your bag in one hand and your jacket in the other. You quickly made your way over to him, thanking him quietly for the gesture and took your belongings to yourself, carrying the bag over your shoulder and holding onto the jacket, knowing you wouldn't need it since you'd be in a car.

The two of you exited your office and made your way to the elevator, only making simple conversation.

"Did you tell Mingyu where you're going?" You wanted to know, remembering that you had mentioned him earlier in your conversation. Wonwoo nodded, at the same time the elevator had arrived, and he ushered you inside before entering as well.

"I told him we're meeting up with my mum," he simply answered you. Silence probably wouldn't have been awkward, or maybe it would have been... but you weren't about to test it, so you tried to keep the conversation up on your way down.

"What did he say?"

He turned to the side, raising one eyebrow at you, "About this? What was he supposed to say about it?"

You shrugged, "I don't know... kind of weird that I'm going out to eat with you and your mother... if I were him I'd be questioning it."

Wonwoo shook his head, a soft chuckle falling from his lips, that he hid by putting one finger on his lips, "No, he...," he straightened his back before continuing, "He was just mad that we didn't invite him."

"Has kind of become a casualty," you grinned, laughing to yourself in your head while your fingers tightened around the handle of your bag.

"What has?" Wonwoo questioned.

You turned your head, meeting his gaze, "You taking me to things instead of Mingyu... even though Mingyu would make more sense."

The CEO scrunched his eyebrows, "I mean... I don't know how believable Mingyu and I could fake being in a relationship." His comment made you chuckle and lower your head. Also true...

"I don't how believable we're gonna be if I'm being honest," your voice was laced with worry. Wonwoo caught that and immediately made you look at him, by moving his entire body to face you, leaning onto the wall behind him.

"We already convinced my dad. You have nothing to worry about anymore. It'll be easy," he tried to assure you, but it only helped so little.

"Easy...," you mumbled once the doors opened again, letting you into the garage where Wonwoo had parked his car.

Easy. This was going to be easy. 'It'll be easy', pff yeah, maybe for you... but it should also be for-

"Are you coming?" His familiar voice brought you back to the present as you snapped out of the mental conversation you had just had with yourself. Without answering, you followed him quickly, jogging a little to catch up with him.

Arrived at his car, Wonwoo made sure to go to the passenger side first, opening the door to let you step in. You stopped before getting in,

"I can open it myself, you know?" Turning your head ever so slightly, only then realising how close he was if you did that.

Your comment made him chuckle, "Yeah, I know. Come on," and nodded for you to get in. After making sure that you were sitting comfortably, he took his hand away from the upper doorframe where he had placed his hand as you had lowered your head to get in and closed the door to get to the driver's side of the car.

The short drive to the restaurant was spent quietly, listening to the sounds that the radio blessed you with. It was when you arrived at the restaurant, parking in front of it, when the nerves suddenly hit you. Wonwoo was about to step out, but you reached out to hold onto his forearm,

"Wait," you stopped him. His head snapped to you, glancing at you with worry filling his eyes. Before he could ask you what was going on, you continued your rant, "We should've thought about this better. W-we know nothing about each other. That's not what a couple does. Couples know each other inside and out. I don't even know what your favourite colour is, o-or... or your favourite food, or movie, or whatever. How the hell am I supposed to pretend to be a good girlfriend that your mother likes when I don't even know that stuff."

Suddenly you felt the warmth of his dry hand on top of yours as he moved it away from his arm to get a good hold of your hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Probably black, anything without fish, but I really like Pizza, and Me Before You," he grinned, "anything else?" You looked into his eyes, waiting for him to laugh at your reaction as you continued to stare at him with a scared facial expression being replaced by a surprised one. You didn't have time to answer as the doors of the car were opened, revealing staff members of the restaurant that were waiting to be able to park the car.

Wonwoo let go of your hand and exited the vehicle, leaving you in the car too hesitant to get out. With a soft whine, you got out as well, clutching onto your bag tightly, leaving the jacket on the seat, not thinking about bringing it along. The young CEO was already waiting for you, standing patiently on the side. He took a step closer, and as soon as he was right next to you, he opened his arm, offering you to interlock yours with his. Without wasting another second, you just as he asked without using his words. You had been in a similar position before. The way you were standing next to each other wasn't foreign to you. 

Only a second later, you managed to feel just as comfortable as you did on the night of the event you had attended together. You also remembered that you had to be convincing, so interlacing your arms with each other but still standing enough far away from each other for another person to fit in between you, wasn't going to look very convincing. You took a step closer and let your other hand come up, holding onto his bicep. He didn't even budge. This felt natural. Maybe a little too natural. But you didn't mind. It felt nice with him next to you. Even walking up the stairs to the extremely fancy-looking restaurant didn't make you feel anxious. Not with him by your side.

At the entrance, the host for tonight greeted you with a smile. Wonwoo let him know about the reservation of his mother and their last name and you were let in, being brought to the table, where Jeon Chaewon was already waiting for you.

"Being on time was never one of your strong points, Wonwoo," she commented as she stood up, thanking the waiter.

He cleared his throat and freed your arm, making his way closer to her to hug her, "I'm sorry, mum, we couldn't leave the office earlier."

"I know, I was just kidding," she assured him with a chuckle, passing her son to walk up to you, her arms open wide, happy to greet you as well. "I'm so glad you managed to make time for this," she whispered into your ear before letting go and ushering you to take a seat at the table for four. You expected Wonwoo to sit down on the opposite side of the table but were surprised when he joined you on your side, taking the seat right next to you, while his mum sat down right in front of you.

"And," she started a conversation, "How was your work day?" You felt Wonwoo's eyes on you and could tell he had looked at you out of the corner of your eye, but you kept your head low, pretending to look at your nails, in hopes of him answering. You have nothing to be anxious about, you tried telling yourself. Even if you were to mess up, you were sure at this point that Wonwoo would manage to cover it up perfectly.

"And how was it for you, Y/N?" You looked up at the mention of your name, meeting the kind eyes of Chaewon as she smiled at you.

You nodded and managed to get a quick glance at Wonwoo, before looking back at her, "Good. All good. Nothing very interesting happened, to be honest."

You were thankful when the waiter arrived with the wine card, ready to take your order.

-

"So... have you been talking to your father?" Chaewon suddenly asked while the three of you were enjoying the third course of the night, the dessert. Wonwoo dropped the fork, making you direct your attention towards him. Your eyes immediately fell on the clenched fist on the table. He was clearly clenching it hard by the way his knuckles were slowly but surely turning white. Like a reflex, you put reached forward to place your hand on his and took it off the table. At first, you wanted to let your hands just hang in the air underneath the table, but out of comfort, you let them drop into your lap. Thanks to the smaller size of the table, you were sitting close enough without it looking awkward. Naturally, you let your thumb run across his knuckles, feeling his hand slowly getting looser.

He took a deep breath, "Why on earth would I be talking to him?"

"I don't know," his mother was quick to defend herself, "I was just surprised when he called me and randomly started telling me about you two. I was wondering how on earth he knew about that and thought that you maybe have told him."

"And why did you pick up the phone when he called, you know-" he started, but she interrupted him

"And you know how he reacts when I don't answer calls. I know you said to ignore them, but I can't do that to a man with a temper like his." Her words sounded familiar... very familiar. You scrunched your eyebrows but got distracted when you suddenly felt your hand getting engulfed in someone else's. Looking down, you found that Wonwoo had freed his hand of the tight fist he had formed, and replaced it with holding onto yours. But gently. Very gently. He wasn't squeezing it but keeping it tight enough to make sure you wouldn't let go. Now it was his turn to let his thumb travel across your fingers, brushing over them softly, almost sending a calm shover through your body as your eyes were fixed on your lap.

"But no," Wonwoo continued, "I'm not talking to him. And I won't," he looked over at you, catching you with your head still low, "He found out about us because Y/N's dad invited us to a dinner where he also brought him. Along with some other guests."

Chaewon nodded, "I see... so you've already met him, Y/N?" Directing the question at you. You lifted your head again, trying to block out the warmth of the other hand that was still holding onto yours.

"Yeah," you quickly answered her, "But... I didn't- I mean, we didn't... really talk to each other. I just saw him. From across the table."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Of course. He can't even introduce himself to his son's girlfriend."

"Mum," Wonwoo suddenly mentioned her, his voice in the warning tone that you had already heard before.

By then you had realised that the topic of Jeon Jinyoung was something that you should avoid at all costs. It seemed to be a very touchy subject no one wanted to elaborate on. But that's what made it even more interesting to you... But you also knew that this wasn't the time nor space to find out more about the man Wonwoo called father. 

"So," you changed the subject, catching both of the other people at the table off guard, "How long are you staying, Chaewon?"

Her eyes lit up at the question, and the corners of her mouth curled up. She put the cutlery down and her elbows on the table to place her chin into her hands, "Well, I was planning on only staying until tomorrow. I really wanted to meet you and catch up with Wonwoo, but I would love to stay a little longer. Maybe we could do something together." You didn't expect that to come out of her mouth. Before you could answer, Wonwoo bet you to it,

"Where are you staying?" His eyebrows were scrunched up as he eyes his mother.

"I rented a room in a hotel, it's only for a night, but I'm sure I can extend-"

"Why didn't you call me? You could've stayed at my place" He didn't even let her finish. You felt his hand clench around your fingers again, making you put your other hand on top of it, hoping to ease him just a little bit.

Chaewon sighed with a smile, "Because I didn't want to disturb you two. And it's only for a night anyways."

"Mum," Wonwoo shook his head, clearly annoyed at her answer, "We don't- you wouldn't disturb us, please. Cancel that room, you're staying with me."

"You have one bedroom, Wonwoo," she reminded him, using her strict mother voice.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna take the couch."

"You can't just decide that Wonwoo, what about Y/N, you didn't even ask her," this made you shake your head immediately.

"Oh, no, no," you were quick to stop whatever was going to come out of either one of their mouths next, "We- we...," you glanced over at your pretend-boyfriend, who just kept an amused facial expression. He was enjoying this. "We don't- we don't live together. You can stay with him, it's no worries. Don't worry," you finished your rant with a nervous chuckle, feeling a tight squeeze from his hand, making you want to slap it away, but at the same time, you enjoyed the warmth of it and decided to keep it that way.

"But still, Y/N," she started again, "If you wanted to stay the night together, I don't want to-"

"Mum," Wonwoo repeated again with the same strict voice, "Don't. Please, I'm asking you to cancel that room. Or I will."

Chaewon looked at her son for a few seconds, silence overcoming the table before she sighed, "Jesus...," she shook her head as she got out her phone, going after the CEO's ask, "I don't know how you can handle him, Y/N."

You laughed nervously, tucking a strand of her behind your ear, looking down once again, "It's okay," hoping she hadn't caught it since your voice came out quieter than you intended to, and you weren't sure if there was an appropriate answer to her comment. But somebody else had heard it and chuckled at your words.

-

After assuring you over and over again that he in fact wasn't too drunk to drive home, you were on your way to Wonwoo's car. Somehow, and the alcohol in your system had definitely a lot to do with it, you let yourself get talked into coming along to Wonwoo's apartment by Chaewon, who wanted to spend some more time with you and, more importantly, drink more wine with you. You knew it wasn't a good idea. You would regret something about that decision, you were sure of it. But you had to play along, as Wonwoo reminded you. It'll be easy.

Thankfully, Jeon Chaewon was, very unlike her son, a bright and bubbly person, who somehow always found a topic to talk about. She filled the car ride with questions and topics, keeping you entertained and your worries in the far back of your brain. Talking to her seemed to become easier and easier with each minute you spent together. Like the comfort of a good mother, she made you feel at ease. The anxiety from the beginning of the date was long gone when you had reached Wonwoo's apartment and went up. But something else replaced those nerves. The memories. The memories of THAT night. The night that had started so well and ended dramatically, leaving you in anger and sadness. And the bad started right here in his apartment. You tried to push the reminders of that night away and begged for them to not return for as long as you were there. 

Right after you had entered the flat, Wonwoo informed his mother of the location of the wine and assured her to take whatever she wanted.

"Same goes for you too, of course," he turned his body towards you while he was looking down at his phone, sending a message to Hongseok to pick up Chaewon's bags from the hotel and bring them to his place.

You nodded hesitantly and didn't even bend down to get your shoes off, "This doesn't feel right," you commented quietly, hoping for the other woman to not overhear your conversation. 

This made him lift his head and put the phone into the back pocket of his pants as he got rid of his suit jacket, "What doesn't?"

"This," you motioned around, "You don't find it weird that I'm here?" You couldn't hold it back anymore.

Wonwoo grinned, "Well, you've been here before, so..."

"Yeah, and we know how that ended," you snapped back, not realising how sharp it sounded by accident. He nodded understandingly,

"Do you want to go home? Hongseok can bring you once he's here?"

You shook your head quickly, "No, stop, I told you, I don't want him to bring me anywhere."

"You're not coming in? Don't you want another glass too?" Chaewon looked around the corner into the hallway, three glasses in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other.

"No no, don't worry, I'm coming," you assured her, making her nod happily and disappear again. And once again, your mouth was quicker than your brain. You closed your eyes and let out an annoyed huff of breath. The sound of a deep chuckle made you open them again, coming to sight with a clearly amused Wonwoo.

"I can't say no to her. Why can't I say no to her?" It was more of a rhetorical question, but he still answered with a smile.

"It's impossible, I know." Suddenly, he kneeled down in front of you and before you could question his actions, you felt his fingers move against your ankle. "Hold onto me," he tapped his shoulders, and you did as you were told.

He opened the clasp of your shoes, letting you step out of them slowly while you steadied yourself with your hand on his shoulder. You looked down. Your eyes fell on how gentle he was freeing your feet from your shoes, how careful he was with the buckle he had to open. "If you start feeling uncomfortable, let me know, and I'll get you home, alright?" 

You nodded softly and answered him with a whispered, "Yeah." After he got up again, he also reached for your bag, took it off you and brought it over to the dining table, placing it on top of it. Just like he did THAT night- no, stop. Stop thinking about that. Different times, different scenarios.

Chaewon was already waiting for you excitedly, gliding the glasses over the countertop, making it easier for you to reach them. You followed her into the kitchen and got a hold of one of the glasses, just like she did. The two of you waiter for Wonwoo to join you and clinked your glasses the second he got a hold of his.

-

Two wine bottles later, Chaewon had announced that she would be getting ready to go to bed, leaving Wonwoo and you alone on the couch in the living room. At this point, a blind person could have been able to tell how intoxicated you were. Your makeup was long gone, your hair had somehow gotten messed up, and you forgot at what point you thought it was a good idea to open the first two buttons of your blouse.

The two of you were sitting close together on the couch, his fireplace lit in the background behind the dining table while the TV was turned off. The room was as quiet as it could be, only the sounds of your breathing filled the room. 

"I'm gonna go," it was then when you decided to stand up, quickly realising that that hadn't been the best idea as you stumbled slightly. Wonwoo's reflexes were quick to catch you from falling back, holding you until he was sure that you weren't going to trip over. His hands left your body as you turned around to face him, "I'm gonna head home." His hand quickly reached up again, getting a grasp of yours, catching you off guard and making you turn towards him again. Your eyes fell down to your intertwined hands as he spoke,

"You can stay." But you shook your head, regretting it right away,

"No, I have to go home." You wanted to turn and walk towards the front door, but his grip on your hand tightened. Your eyes interlocked when you gazed at him again.

"Stay," he spoke softly, "Please." His eyes were glassy from the alcohol, and even his cheeks had turned into a softer shade of pink, and you couldn't take your eyes off him. This side of him was new to you. Not only drunk but also... this. So... soft.

You shook your head, "Wonwoo, you're drunk-"

"I'm not that drunk, trust me," he told you, still not letting go of your hand, but rather tugging on it gently, making you slightly stumble closer to him.

"You don't even realise what you're saying, Wonwoo-" a deep sigh coming from him made you stop. The young CEO threw his head back, looking up at the ceiling, letting out a deep but somewhat sad chuckle,

"Jesus..."

"What?" You wanted to know, stepping just a bit closer, by your own choice - you told yourself the alcohol had taken over your body, making decisions for you. You were lying to yourself, and you knew that.

Wonwoo tilted his head slightly, just enough to meet your gaze. He looked at you with a smile. A warm smile while he let his head rest against the back of the couch.

"You really don't know, huh?" If you weren't as drunk as you were, you could've sworn he sounded desperate - like he was about to wine. As if it hurt.

"Don't know what?" His question confused you. 

He kept the lazy grin on his lips.

"That I'm on my fucking knees for you, Y/N."

He didn't even care to look away. But neither did you. The two of you continued your conversation with your eyes because that's all you could get yourself to do after hearing those words from him.

I'm on my fucking knees for you.

"Everything you do," he suddenly continued, pulling you the last bit closer and sitting up straight, so he'd have you standing right between his legs. With his hands on your hips, he looked up at you, "Everything you say. I swear you have me wrapped around your fucking finger, and you don't even realise it."

You tried to look away. You tried so hard. But your body wouldn't let you. Your hands found his.

"Wonwoo, you're drunk-" No, he wasn't. You knew that. He had half as much to drink as you and had a much higher alcohol tolerance. You ignored him shaking his head. "You don't know what you're saying." Yes, he did. He wasn't intoxicated enough to forget or not realise what he had let come out of his mouth.

"On my knees, Y/N," he spoke again, his voice still as quiet as before. He pushed himself up, standing only a paper width away from you, towering over you as he cradled your face in his hands, "And I can't fucking do this."

"Do what?" You only let out a whisper, you didn't think you could've spoken any louder even if you had wanted to.

"This fake dating shit," he sighed with a shake of his head, "I thought it was a good idea. I have no idea why the fuck I thought it would be a good idea. But this is just bullshit. I can't do it."

He spoke with so much sincerity. If his hands hadn't been on your face, your legs would've given in already. Just to make sure, you wouldn't crumble at whatever words were going to come from him, you reached out to grab onto his arms.

"Wonwoo... I...," you wanted to say something so desperately. You wanted to shout something, to say something pure from your heart, but something was holding you back. You just couldn't get it out. "I don't..."

He shook his head, "I know that you might not understand or feel something like this," and looked down before meeting your gaze again, "And it's okay, Y/N. Don't feel obligated to say something now. I just needed you to know because I don't know for how much longer I could've done this." It truly felt like you weren't the only one that was about to fall apart right then and there. The way he was running his fingers over your cheek, staring into your eyes, never even wanting to break the eye contact, he must have felt a similar way. You knew there was no way any proper words would leave your mouth. Wonwoo had just... confessed to you, and you didn't know what to do. Your body suddenly shut down. Was he really saying this because he meant it? Does he need something? Does he want something? Why else would he just say that? But the words he had used...

On my fucking knees.

"You're going to regret that tomorrow," you spoke honestly. It didn't feel real. It didn't sound like something that would ever come from someone like Wonwoo. He was going to regret it. And you didn't want him to.

"I've never regretted anything in my life," he assured you with a soft facial expression, "And I could never regret this."

You let your actions, controlled by the alcohol in your system, speak for themselves and just threw yourself against his body, smashing your lips against his, making him tumble back onto the sofa. The second he was sat, you got onto his lap, wrapping your legs around each side of his hips. Your hands were on his hard chest, feeling the muscles move underneath his white button-down. His rough hands were still on your face, bringing you in closer and deeper if that was even possible anymore. Within only a few seconds and before you could tell them to stop, your hands were travelling down his body, going for the belt opening, but suddenly another hand stopped you. Your kiss got interrupted.

"No," Wonwoo look into your eyes, "Trust me, I really do want to take you in every goddamn way possible, Y/N. But you're drunk."

You quickly shook your head, "No, I'm not, I swear. Should I walk in a straight line?" You were about to get up, but his grip on your hips stopped you.

"Not tonight, Y/N. Not here, not now. I want to do this right." You weren't sure why exactly he had meant, but the only thing that mattered was that his voice was like a freaking melody to your ears. You could've come right then and there if we were being honest.

"I promise you," he continued, standing up with your legs wrapped around his torso as he carried you into the kitchen, "If you ask me to, I will take you in every way you could possibly imagine... But I can't do that now," and sat you down on the kitchen counter.

His hands were back on your face, brushing over your cheek and getting some hair out of your face to reveal your forehead. He leaned forward, and before you knew it, he had planted a kiss right above your eyebrows. You softly gasped at the soft touch. You didn't remember when the last could've been that you had a man touch you that gently. You tried to think of if anyone had ever touched you that gently. You couldn't think of a single time.

A deep breath left his lips once he was face to face with you again, "I really needed you to know..."

"But what am I supposed to do now? I don't know... what to say..." You could feel the slightest of quivers in the back of your throat, but you pushed them down with a gulp. It wasn't the time for tears.

His rough finger was laying softly against your cheek as he shook his head, "You don't have to say anything, princess. Don't say anything."

-

The two of you had fallen into a comfortable silence while you were still sitting on the counter, sipping on the tea Wonwoo had just made for you, while he was working on making himself a cup of coffee. It was three in the morning, who cares. By now, you had definitely sobered up a comfortable amount, and tea seemed to have helped you as the world wasn't spinning anymore. But one word from Wonwoo, and that could be changed very quickly once again.

"There's something I do regret," he suddenly spoke, making you look up, only to find his gaze already on your form.

You were confused, "Huh?"

Wonwoo filled up his cup and walked up to you, setting the cup down right next to you, "Earlier I told you there's nothing I regret in life," he took a deep breath, "But I lied. There is one thing."

"What is it?" You carefully wondered, wanting to know, but by his reaction, you got scared for the answer.

“I told her I hated her,” he took a sip of his coffee.

"Hate who?" You sat your own cup down, now invested in his story. He was opening up to you. For whatever reason... but you didn't question it. You were thankful.

 "My mum," he simply put it, not daring to look you in the eye, "“Without even knowing what was going on. That’s the one thing I do regret. That I regret the most in my life.”

“But everyone says that at some point to their parents without really thinking about it,” you tried to ease the tension, but you quickly realised how much deeper this conversation was about to be by Wonwoo’s demeanour and dead look in his eyes.

“Not that time," he lifted his head to glance at you, "She left. I didn’t know why and I just told her, I hated her when she had every right to leave that god-forbidden family.”

“Why did she leave?” You carefully wondered, genuinely concerned.

He took a deep breath and put both hands on the counter, and let his head drop forward slightly. Your hands were begging you to touch his shoulders in comfort.

“My father is a terrible man. Always has been, always will be. He didn’t care about my mother. Not in the slightest. The way he talked about her… is just… disgusting. But I was so young I didn’t realise just how bad it was.” He gulped, “He’s everything I don’t want to be. When I found out what had happened, I promised myself to be better than him in every way possible… he belittled my mother until she couldn’t take it anymore. I saw what it did to her. She just kept accepting it. She never defended herself. Not once. And that just made him keep going. That fucking bastard…”

“Wonwoo, I’m s-“

“I don’t need your pity,” he stopped you softly, “I wasn’t the one who suffered.” He took another big gulp, downing the rest of the warm liquid in one go even though it was probably still way too hot. That gave you time to answer, but you couldn’t find the right words.

He turned his head to you, finding your gaze quickly, “That’s why I don’t want you to take shit like that. You let yourself get talked down way too much.”

“I do NOT-“

“Yes, you do. Men make comments all the time and you just accept them.”

“I-… well…”

He raised his eyebrows, “You take everything that gets thrown at you. Every misogynistic comment, every harsh statement. From those bitch ass men. You shouldn’t let stuff like that just slide. Not even from asshole men like me.”

You couldn’t help but smile, “But you never belittled me.”

He nodded, “Maybe not that, but I did make you do some of the crappiest work someone could do.”

“And I did defend myself because of that!” You exclaimed, but he just shook his head, “Not enough, Y/N.”

You squinted after being quiet for a few seconds, “Are you teaching me about feminism right now?”

He let a chuckle escape his lips, laced with a hint of sadness, “Someone has to,” before locking eyes with you again, coming closer, “This might be a wild guess, but your father doesn’t faze me as one to talk to you about stuff like that.”

You smiled, “Your wild guess might be right.”

The two of you sat in another round of silence for a few more seconds before you continued, looking down at your fingers, “My father never wanted a daughter. I could tell that ever since I was little.” You sighed and tightened your grip on Wonwoo's hand the second he grasped yours, “He would kill to have a son like you," a salty chuckle tumbled from your lips, "Hell, he would kill me with his own hands if he was guaranteed a son like you.”

“Don’t say that,” Wonwoo’s voice was stern and strict, not liking a single word of what you had just said.

“It’s the truth,” you smiled sadly, feeling tears prickling in your eyes. “And I never wanted it either. I never wanted to take that path of work, but I didn’t have a choice. It was only ever us two, so when he suddenly had the idea of building up his own company, I had to help. I was what? 16? A 16-year-old girl shouldn’t have to worry about finances or the income of her father’s company and his business partners and whatnot. I didn’t attend most school events because I had to help him. No excursions, no prom.” You couldn’t help but to sniffle as you looked out of the window on the right, “That office... is the result of my work. I built it. Not him. Out of him wanting to do this and that became him telling me to do this and that. That prick didn’t even lift a finger most of the time. Everything there…” a sigh left your lips, your eyes down, fixed on your smaller hand in his, “That’s why I was so mad when he sold the company… to you.” Once you looked up, smiling sadly at the man next to you, you found him already looking at you, but with much more agony than before. “All of a sudden everything I worked for… was gone… ripped out of my hands without even telling me about it.”

“I’m sorry-“ Wonwoo began but you shook your head,

“I also don’t need your pity," and repeated his words.

“That’s not my pity. This is me being genuinely sorry about not knowing about this and taking everything away from you.” Suddenly, he brought your hand up to his lips, brushing his over your knuckles, placing the softest possible peck onto them. You didn't pull back. You couldn't.

“You didn’t take everything away from me… at least I’m still here…”

“You’re doing great.” He assured you all of a sudden, feeling like you needed to hear this and oh, how right he was, “You’re amazing at your job. And everyone would be more than lucky to have you work for them or with them.”

“Thanks.” And the tears fell. That was the first time someone has ever said that to you. Telling you, you did well.

You're doing great.

Wonwoo’s hand carefully reached out to touch the tears on your cheek, wiping them away softly as he smiled, “I guess fathers are just a little fucked up.”

You giggled, looking to the side to catch a glimpse of him, “A little?”

“Just a little bit,” he smiled back.

A few moments were spent in silence. Another comfortable silence. Neither of you had to say anything. You were just happy to be there. Together. There for each other.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you," Wonwoo broke the quietness.

You smiled and shrugged, "Well… now that I know about your intentions, I guess it’s fine. You just wanted to help me.”

“And did it?”

“Did it help the feminist in me?” You wondered, chuckling at his question. He nodded, making you smile. “You know… you tell me. I don’t know how feminist girl boss it is to fuck their boss in a janitor’s closet at the first event they attend together.”

He grinned, “And in his office, and almost in his apartment. Twice-“

“Alright!” You slapped his chest, giving him the perfect opportunity to get a new hold of your hand.

“I think that’s pretty feminist girl boss of you.” He stopped for a second before adding, “I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth.” 

His comment made you laugh. Genuinely laugh. Maybe it was the last bit of alcohol in your system, but he actually made you laugh.

He looked at you wide-eyed, pleasantly surprised by the sudden exclamation of you. He did that. He made you laugh.

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