Empire | ATEEZ

010

I was sitting on one of the barstools by the kitchen island, eating the pancakes Wooyoung had made, the man sitting strangely close to me, as Seonghwa suddenly burst through the doors with Yunho right behind him.

"Princess," he breathed, straightening his suit and running a hand through his ashy blond hair only to freeze as his eyes widened the moment he took me in, drifting to the shirt, his shirt, that I was wearing and then to my still-damp hair before he turned to Wooyoung and clenched his jaw with a stern look in his dark eyes.

I felt my cheeks burn as he immediately strode for the ebony-haired man, reaching out and grabbing him by the collar before yanking him off the chair and pushing him towards Yunho.

Wooyoung was still smirking as he stumbled toward the blond who simply shook his head and dragged him back out the door, doing a mock bow before he disappeared out of sight, leaving the two of us alone.

Seonghwa immediately turned to me, the look in his eyes making me choke on a piece of pancake as I felt myself drown in their darkness for a moment before being ripped back to reality as he growled, "What are you wearing?"

I hesitantly looked down at myself, feeling embarrassed as I put down my fork and mumbled, "I- I'll give it back when I find something else to wear," keeping my head down as he took a step closer, "My own clothes were ruined and torn so I thought-" I paused, "I'm sorry-"

I gasped as he grabbed my chin and lifted my head up, forcing me to look him in the eyes. "You can't walk around here looking like that," he said. "What-" I began, only to be cut off as he said, "This," gesturing at me, "This is- you can't."

I struggled against his hold but Seonghwa only tightened his grip at that, making my breath catch as I tried to support myself by grabbing the table next to me. "But it's a nice shirt," I breathed, eyes flickering back to meet his.

"I am very well aware, princess, and you look absolutely stunning in it but that's exactly the problem," he said, taking a step closer to the point where he was now standing between my legs.

"You're a lamb in a lion's den and you've got a whole lot of nerve walking among predators looking like that."

I knew he was right. I knew that he was absolutely right and that I had been trying to escape from those exact lions before they woke that very morning, but as annoyance welled up inside me and I felt my cheeks burn more fiercely, I pushed all of that knowledge away.

"You don't get to decide what I wear or to make decisions on my behalf," I growled, grabbing his hand and pushing it off me, "You don't own me."

I got off the chair and straightened myself slightly before taking a step closer to Seonghwa, about to say something just as the look in his dark eyes softened and he caught me to it, "I am very well aware. One cannot capture the storm, Nari, and I have no intention to do so. I am just trying to look out for you."

"Take me home," I said, trying to control my breathing and block out all of the things Chan had told me about the man in front of me, wanting, no, needing, to believe that the one who saved me was the better of the two, the one who would at least let me have this.

"I've already talked to Hongjoong about it," Seonghwa said. I held my breath as he continued, only for my heart to sink as the rest of his sentence left his lips, "But I think it would be better if you stayed here-"

His words were cut off by a groan as I grabbed his tie and forced him down to my eye level, his breath catching as I tightened my grip. "Take me home, Seonghwa," I demanded, my voice cold and hard and unforgiving.

"Nari-" he tried but I had had enough of everyone's excuses at this point, interrupting him before he got the chance to finish his sentence, "I do not want any part of whatever atrocities you're involved in," I said, "I want my life back. I want out, Seonghwa, out."