---Next day---
I woke up and found myself alone in bed. The bathroom door opened revealing Wooyoung drying his hair. As he saw me awake, he smiled softly and sat beside me. He kissed my forehead and looked at me.
"Are you feeling better?" I nodded and got up.
"Is Hongjoong oppa there?" I asked. He shook his head saying no.
"Why? Is there anything important?" He asked.
"Aniyo. I'll get refreshed and join you for breakfast," I said, heading to the bathroom.
As I got down, I noticed an unfamiliar face along with Taeyong. I glanced over at Seonghwa who sat beside Yeri.
"Y/n, this is Taeil. Taeyong's step-brother. They work together," Jongho introduced. I bowed slightly at him and sat between Mingi and San.
"What is she still doing here?" I whispered to Mingi.
"She's Hyung's girlfriend. We can't ask her to go out," San replied.
"Didn't things spice up? Don't they fight?" I asked curiously.
"You can never expect that to happen. They resolve things by talking all night," Mingi said. I nodded and stuffed my mouth with food.
"Where's Hongjoong?" I asked as I put my plate in the sink.
"He's outside. He'll be back soon," I nodded as San said and excused myself. I headed out and stood in front of the house. Just then, Hongjoong walked in with a bag.
"What are you doing here? Did you eat?" He asked as he kept his things down and drank some water.
"Just came to get some air," I said.
"Is everything okay? Seem to be thinking about something,"
"Just a few things,"
"Did you hear anything from him?" He asked in a low voice. I nodded my head and he took his seat beside me.
"He called for lunch today,"
"That's good news, right?"
"I'm kinda scared, though. What if something happens?"
"Y/n, I promised you that I'll keep you safe. I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me. Moreover, you're meeting in a public place," I sighed and nodded.
"But how do I convince Wooyoung to let me go?"
"If that's your problem, I can talk to him," I heard a voice from behind. As I turned over, the person walked over and stood before us both.
"Taeil, when did you come?" Hongjoong asked as they both hugged.
"This morning. About your concern... I have a way of convincing Wooyoung to let you go,"
"If you say so. As long as you don't tell the truth," He smiled and looked at Hongjoong.
"H-How do you know about Wooyoung and me?"
"Everyone knows about it. It's just you both haven't said it out aloud. We too act like we don't see anything," I was surprised to hear that. They both headed in leaving me alone.
I got back in after enjoying my alone time. I seated myself beside Jongho on the couch and watched TV.
"Y/n, we planned on going to the beach tonight. Are you coming?"
"Why at night?" I asked confused.
"There won't be many people then. We can have the entire beach for ourselves,"
"Sounds good. I'm in," He smiled as I accepted. I sat there for a while and headed to my room to prepare lunch with Jimin.
Outfit:
"Where are you going?" Wooyoung asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"Just outside,"
"You've been going out a lot, you know? Something doesn't feel right,"
"So, you're suspecting me,"
"*chuckles* Why would I? I was kidding. I heard from Taeil,"
"What did you hear from him?" I asked confused.
"That you were going to help him with buying gifts for his girlfriend,"
I was thankful to Taeil for helping me but I feel guilty for hiding it from Wooyoung. I smiled at him and nodded. I headed downstairs and bid goodbye to others. I got in the car along with Taeil and we left.
As I reached the restaurant, he wished me luck and I got off. I plugged in the earphones and headed in. It was grander than I expected.
"Y/n, here!" I heard his voice as I got to the reception.
"I didn't expect you to bring me to such a high-end restaurant. A simple one would've done,"
"I thought we'll get to each other better in a quiet and peaceful environment,"
"You too have a point," I didn't agree with what he mentioned but I had to go with it. We took our seats and ordered.
"You look beautiful in that outfit," He said looking at me.
"Oh, thanks. I didn't put any effort into getting ready, though. You look handsome as well," He smiled shyly. He looked kind of cute as he smiled but I can't cheat my Wooyoungiee! I have to keep reminding myself of that.
It was silent for a while and it was killing me. Hongjoong kept telling me to ask stuff, but those questions seemed too personal in our second meeting.
"I heard that you like reading books," I asked doubtfully.
"Ah, you've got it wrong. Don't tell this to others but... I enjoy reading comics. They helped me a lot growing as a person,"
"There's nothing to be ashamed of reading comics. Even I love them. A day wouldn't have passed if I hadn't read a comic," He agreed with me.
"As soon as you walk in, the ahjussi greets you because you're a regular and orders your usual. I can never forget that," We both were fan-(Girling/Boying) over comics.
"Me too! Have you read XXX?" He looked at me surprised.
"You know that?! There are hardly any people who know about that. I'm glad I could meet someone with the same interest,"
"Y/n, don't lose focus. Get to the point," Taeyong said over the earphones.
Our food arrived and we started eating.
"The other day, I saw you talking with a guy who looked quite short and had blue hair,"
"Oh, you mean by Suga! Yes, what about him?"
"Um... I've seen you talk with him now and then. Are you both friends?" He looked at me with a sharp gaze and put his chopsticks down.
"Have you been spying on me?" He asked out of the blue.
"W-What?" He let out a giggle.
"I was just kidding. Why do you look tense? He's somewhat my friend," I let out a nervous smile and stuffed my mouth with food before he could see my 'I almost got caught' face.
We continued to talk about other things. I learned a lot about him, which I didn't expect. I also extracted some information about his gang which could be helpful.
"Woah! I haven't talked so much about myself to anyone. It was always me hearing others," He said.
"Me either. But I enjoyed talking with you. Hope we can meet some time, again," He nodded and we both exited the restaurant.
"Shall I drop you home?"
"Ah, gwenchanayo. I have to do some shopping before I leave. You can head first," He bid goodbye and left. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Good work for today, Y/n. But listen to what I'm saying the next time,"
"Whatever. Send Taeil to pick me up," I said and declined the call. Within minutes, he came and I headed home along with him.
As we got home, everyone was waiting for us.
"So, did you get the gift for your girlfriend? Was she helpful?" Mingi asked.
"Nothing seemed to be nice in that store. Anyway, I'm feeling awfully tired. I'll go take a nap," I dragged myself to my room and flopped on the bed.
"My baby's so tired. Do you need some company?" I heard Wooyoung as he entered the room. I nodded my head and he lay beside me.
Wooyoung will for sure be angry at me when he gets to know what I'm doing. Not him alone, the others will as well. But I hope they understand the reason behind it. If Hongjoong wants me to do this, he has a proper reason and I'm sure he will be prepared to protect me at all costs.
I cuddled Wooyoung tightly as I thought about it and fell asleep as he caressed my hair.