𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 //𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝑭𝑭//

~𝟰𝟴~

"It's... look, I know this might be a bit hasty for you but, I... it bothers me that you keep calling whatever this is a 'thing'."

"I don't really know what else to call it. I mean... I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm ready to call this a relationship. Like... nothing has really happened yet. I know I confessed to you but it... it just doesn't feel right yet."

"Oh..."

Lee Know went silent again. He looked at the floor, and when I said his name he wouldn't look up.

"Why? Can you think of anything else to call it?"

"I just don't like us calling it 'this' or 'a thing', it makes me feel like it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters, I mean we confessed to each other, didn't we? That has to mean it matters even just a little bit, doesn't it?"

"Then I think we should just call it what it is. I mean we both said we like each other. Why can't we just stick to that then?"

I was getting desperate. I had barely gotten him back and it felt like he was already slipping away again.

"It just feels too temporary. I mean I do like you it's just... I don't know how to explain it. I just... this is all so new to me and I'm afraid I'm going to mess this up before it even starts."

A tear slipped over my cheek. The sheets rustled as Lee Know got up off the bed. His presence moved closer and closer to me, but just before he could pull me into a hug, someone took my hand and pulled me away from him. I looked up to find Hyunjin glaring past me at Lee Know, his hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Hyunjin? Is everything okay?" I asked, wiping the tear on my cheek away.

"Judging by the fact that you're crying, I doubt everything's okay."

"We were just working through some things. It's nothing I can't handle," I said.

I heard Lee Know take a step closer, Hyunjin's gaze snapping up at him, sending him a dangerous glance, before falling on me again.

"Can I talk to you in the hallway, please?"

He glared at Lee Know as he said it, but I ignored it.

"Sure."

He still had his fingers wrapped around my wrist, so he gently pulled me out of the room. I looked over my shoulder just before I went past the doorframe, giving Lee Know a look to tell him I'll be fine. I stopped suddenly when Hyunjin stopped. He slowly let go of my wrist. But he couldn't seem to look at me.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Did he force you to do this?"

I was taken aback by the question, but even more so at what he was implying.

"Did he brainwash you? Did he ask you if you wanted to do this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I can assure you, Lee Know never forced me into anything. And even if he did, he probably wouldn't get very far before getting his ass kicked. Why would you think that?"

"I'm just worried-"

"Yeah Hyunjin. Why would you think that?" Lee Know said. I turned around to find him walking out of the room, coming to stand right behind me.

"This doesn't concern you."

"Of course it does. I don't like the way you're talking to her. So I wanna know, why would you think that?"

"I just got a bad feeling. I mean, it's not like you have a lot of experience with how to treat a girl right."

"Hyunjin-" I tried but was cut off by Lee Know.

"Oh, like you have more experience. Where did this suddenly come from? Are you implying that I hurt Geneviève or... or are you just jealous?"

Hyunjin scoffed, but I could see in his eyes he was hiding something.

"Guys, could we maybe just-"

"You know what, I'm trying to protect Ava. That's all I'm trying to do."

"Why would you think you need to protect her from me? Why would you think I would be a threat to her? Because that's what you're implying, right?"

"Of course you're a threat to her. You've made her cry so many times in the past three weeks, I can't even count anymore. You've made her run away into the forest. She almost froze to death. So of course you're a threat to her!"

"We cleared all that up. And it's not like you haven't made her cry before. You're just as guilty as I am."

I saw a vein pop up in Hyunjin's neck, signifying his anger. Lee Know was still standing behind me, so he gently took my hand, turning me slightly to him. That little act was the thing that made Hyunjin snap. He shoved Lee Know's shoulder, effectively pushing himself in between me and Lee Know.

"She's not yours!" he sneered, getting all up in Lee Know's face.

Lee Know snapped. He grabbed Hyunjin's shirt collar, swinging him around and pushing him up against the wall.

"She's not yours either," he retorted.

"Well, at least I didn't scare her into reliving every single horrific detail of her past. That was all you."

Lee Know was hurt by Hyunjin's statement, I could see it in his eyes. But his anger quickly grew, overtaking it. He seemed so close to hitting Hyunjin, it made me anxious. So I acted. I slipped underneath his arms, popping up in between his hands that still held Hyunjin pinned to the wall. When he saw me, his gaze immediately changed from anger to surprise. Until his anger started growing again.

"Ava, please move."

His anger was barely contained as he spoke to me, voice soft and trembling.

"No. I know you. This isn't who you are. Please, let him go."

I looked at him with pleading eyes. He seemed so reluctant to listen to me, I thought I would have to hurt him to get him away from Hyunjin. And I really didn't want to do that. Until I saw his arms relax next to my head. Just slightly. But it was enough for me to take his hands and lead him away from Hyunjin. The veins on his hands were a lot more prominent than usual, fingers trembling. Probably from holding his anger in, I thought. I gently rubbed my fingers over the veins on his hands, not breaking eye contact once. He took in a breath.

"Okay, now I think the three of us should have a talk," I said, looking at Hyunjin as well, "but first I think the two of you need to calm down. Away from each other and away from me. So something like this doesn't happen again. How does that sound?"

Both the boys looked extremely guilty but nodded anyway. I gave Lee Know's hands one last squeeze before letting go and going downstairs, leaving them standing there in the hallway.

---------------

A/N

heyy guys :)

hope you are all doing well and still enjoying the holidays. it's almost new years where i am so happy new years to all of you! also, i am very sorry for not posting last week. things got a bit busy with Christmas and spending time with the family, but thankfully i'm back now.

i decided as a holiday gift and a thank you gift to all of you for being so amazing and reading my book, instead of posting two chapters like i normally would, i'm posting four. so i hope you guys look forward to the extra two chapters! see you in the next one <3