(First person, Ava's perspective)
When we got to the dorms, there was an ambulance waiting outside. Lee Know and Jeongin helped me out of the helicopter and stayed by my side as I limped up the driveway. We had gone to the hospital for treatment. They had popped the joint back into place and thankfully there was no permanent damage. So, they gave me a knee brace to wear for a while and gave me some rehabilitation exercises to help stabilise my knee again.
When the doctor had told me what he wanted to do, I was very nervous, even though he had given me some local anaesthetic. Just as he had taken my leg to pop it back into place, someone had taken my hand, and I looked up at Lee Know who seemed to be reassuring me with his soft gaze. Before I could even prepare myself, though, the doctor had popped my knee back into place. Pain shot through me, and my body arched as a response. It felt like someone had hit my knee with a hammer. Thankfully, the pain soon faded to a dull stinging, feeling like a big bruise.
On the way to the front door, I stumbled on the driveway, and Lee Know quickly moved in next to me, offering to help me inside. I nodded and he gently brought my arm to rest on his shoulders. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and my skin tingled in the spot his fingers rested. We slowly started walking back to the dorms when I saw two girls come out. My eyes widened when I realised who they were.
They walked past us, the one girl smiling slightly when she saw me. I watched as they walked up to the medic. Lee Know kept supporting me as we walked inside. When he got to the stairs, I stopped him.
"I think I can manage on my own now," I said softly.
He seemed to want to argue before reluctantly agreeing, retracting his arms from around my waist and taking a step away from me. I tentatively put my foot on the first step, waiting for pain to hit. It never did. So, I took the railing and pulled myself up. My knee was a little unstable, but other than that, it felt fine. I walked up the stairs slowly, sensing Lee Know's presence right behind me. I made it to the top of the stairs without any pain, turning my head to smile at Lee Know. I walked into my room, Lee Know following me all the way.
When I was inside, I turned to him. He gently rested his hands on my hips, his movements hesitant before he eased up at my lack of a bad reaction to his touch. I brushed along his cheekbone with my fingers, the featherlight touch letting a smile rise to his lips. He closed his eyes and leaned his head into my hand. He pulled me closer to himself, gently planting a kiss on my lips.
I heard someone clear their throat, and my heart sank to my stomach. I pulled away from Lee Know sharply, looking away from him and whoever saw us. My cheeks glowed bright red.
"Ava, it's okay. It's just Felix," Lee Know said, gently taking my hand.
My gaze snapped up at him, then to Felix, and then back to the ground.
"You know, if you guys want to keep this a secret, I suggest you do that behind closed doors," I heard Felix say, the smirk on his face dripping from his words. I looked up when I heard the door click shut, Felix standing against it, still looking at me with his arms crossed.
"Why... Why aren't you freaking out? Why... why aren't you freaking out Lee Know? He just saw us-"
"He knows," he said simply, as if it would answer all my questions.
"How does he know? How did he find out? I didn't tell him, the other members don't know anything as far as I know, you wouldn't tell him."
"Actually, I saw the two of you kissing on the beach," Felix remarked.
My eyes widened further, my cheeks burning. I swore under my breath, dragging a hand down my face.
"I won't tell anyone, Ava. I gave Lee Know my word, and I'm giving you my word as well. I promise."
I looked up at Felix again when he said that.
"Well... then I guess this is fine, right? We're not screwed."
Lee Know nodded at me, smiling tenderly. He gently tucked a hair behind my ear.
"Do you guys want me to be jealous? Or do you just not care about who sees you anymore?" Felix asked. I blushed, looking down and biting my lip. My head snapped up when I heard someone speaking outside the door. I could just make out the muffled words "lunch" and "girls".
"Guess we should head downstairs. I'll see you two down there," Felix said, opening the door and walking out.
"Can you manage getting down the stairs on your own or do I need to help you?" Lee Know asked.
"I'll manage."
I smiled up at him before walking out of my room and heading downstairs.
...
"Hi Ava, how nice to see you again," Geneviève said when she saw me. I smiled at her, but it felt forced. Then I saw Han with his arm around the shoulders of the girl from the hospital. My smile grew as I walked over to the pair.
"Glad to see you two found each other again," I said.
"Yeah. And now, I get to help her recover," Han said, smiling down at the girl.
"I don't think Han ever introduced us properly. I'm Ava," I said, reaching out my hand for the girl to shake.
"Oh, I'm Emily," she answered, smiling and shaking my hand.
"Nice to meet you, Emily. Are you staying for lunch?"
"Yes. Han said I'm not leaving his sights again. But I don't mind at all. If it means I get a free meal and lots of warm hugs, I'm all for it."
"Great. And if you want to stay the night, you can sleep in my room with me, so you don't have to sleep on the couch or in one of the boys' rooms."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Chan called us into the kitchen, cutting off our conversation. There weren't enough chairs, so we had to improvise. I let Emily take my seat, instead swapping it for one of the bar stools that stood around the kitchen island. Geneviève ended up having to do the same, not seeming too happy about it. But when she realised she could squeeze in next to Lee Know, she seemed slightly more content, much to my own annoyance. But when I saw the look Lee Know gave me, I knew I had nothing to worry about.
"Emily, how did they end up taking you?" Chan asked after a bit of usual chatter. She seemed a bit hesitant at first, but I gently put my hand on her shoulder, and she eased up a bit.
"Well, I don't really know. I had just gotten to my apartment after being discharged from the hospital. I was just minding my business and unpacking when I felt a sharp pain in my neck. Then everything went black. The medic said they had drugged me, but he couldn't tell which drug it was because I didn't show any specific symptoms. He patched up some scrapes and told me I have to get blood drawn to figure out which drug they used."
As she spoke, I saw a bandage peeking out from under her shoulder-length hair. It sat on her neck, a small reminder of her encounter with the smuggling ring. Then it dawned on me that while Emily had just been in her apartment, Geneviève should have still been in witness protection.
"Wait, how did they catch you, Geneviève? Weren't you still in witness protection?" Han asked, as if he read my mind.
"Oh, I had gotten out of witness protection just the day before. They said there wasn't much they could do for me."
It was strange to me how ironically both the girls had gotten out of somewhere safe right before they were abducted. And it wasn't the first strange thing that had happened that day. I wanted to say something about it, but I felt like it was something confidential. Guess I'll have to wait a while, I thought.
"So, Geneviève... are you staying the night as well?" Jeongin asked, sounding hesitant.
"Oh, no. Luckily not. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up in about an hour. I used the medic's phone to call him."
I mentally sighed with relief, but I noticed some tension in the room after she spoke. I looked towards Lee Know, who seemed bothered. My gaze travelled to Hyunjin and just like Lee Know, he seemed bothered too. Then it dawned on me that Geneviève had just confessed that she had a new boyfriend. And she didn't even seem shy about it. Almost like she wanted them to feel guilty by saying that. My gaze flicked to her, and my gaze hardened as she just smiled innocently.
...
In less than an hour, Geneviève's boyfriend showed up, practically banging the door down. I opened it for him, and I was stunned into silence. He was huge, like body builder huge. He towered over me. His shoulders were so big, I wondered if he would fit through the door. When he started walking towards me, I was pulled from my frozen state, quickly stepping out of his way.
Geneviève came running up to him when she saw him, hugging him tight. I noticed a presence behind me, looking over my shoulder to try and identify the person. The man turned to me after hugging Geneviève.
"Thank you for getting her out of there," he said.
"I actually didn't do much. My knee was dislocated. It was actually Felix and Changbin who got her out of there," I said, motioning to the two boys standing nearby.
The man moved to them, shaking both their hands. They seemed tense.
"Well, I guess we'll be off then. I hope this doesn't happen again, but if it does, I hope you guys are there to help her again," the man said. At that, he walked out the door, Geneviève clinging to his arm all the way. I closed the door behind them, leaning against it and sighing.
"Well, that was awkward," I said, moving to Lee Know who I realised had been standing behind me.
"Are you okay?" I asked softly.
"Yeah, just... tired."
His short answer was a cause for concern, but Emily asking a question dragged my focus away from it.
"What happened between Hyunjin, Lee Know and Geneviève? They all seemed tense, or was that just me reading the room wrong?"
I looked up at Lee Know, mentally asking if I could answer. He nodded slightly. I walked over to where Emily sat on the couch, going to sit next to her.
"Geneviève and Lee Know dated. A few months back actually. But something happened and he broke up with her. That's why he's tense."
"If I may ask, what happened?"
I looked over to Hyunjin, my eyes asking for permission. He seemed to hesitate but nodded anyway.
"Geneviève tried to kiss Hyunjin. While she and Lee Know were still a couple. That's why he was tense too. Lee Know ended up finding out a while after it happened and broke up with her."
Emily's eyes widened slightly at the information, but she hid it well. She went silent for a while as she seemed to process what I had said.
"Gosh, it must have been hard for all of you. You guys are already so close. But at least you got out of that relationship, Lee Know. She seemed manipulative. And I'm sure now you'll find someone better."
Emily smiled at Lee Know at that last part. I looked up at him, and I saw his gaze flick to mine for a split second before he dropped his head, a slight blush on his cheeks. I smiled to myself. I really hope things stay this way. At least for a little while longer, I thought. But my logical brain told me that something big was coming. And it was going to change everything.
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A/N
heyy guys ;)
hope you all are doing well, i certainly am... how even did we reach 9K this fast like how?? if i'm being honest i wanted to give up on this book a while back and now that thought isn't even an option anymore because of all the support you guys have given me! thank you all so much!!
anyway, this chapter was a bit of a filler chapter but i hope you guys still enjoyed it. i'll see you in the next one <3