It's like time seems to stop around us, my body freezing at his sudden confession. My fingertips turn ice cold in his hands that are holding mine.
Jimin likes me?
His charmingly dark eyes don't shift from my state while the forceful wind messily plays with his hair, brushing it to one side and falling back into place perfectly.
He's not shying away though. His eyes don't flutter nor does his lips crack into another one of his nervous laughters. I can tell he really means it.
"You like me? As in like me like me?"
He nods.
I take a deep breath and squeeze his fingers in our lock.
"Jimin I... I really like you too. But as a friend."
I wish it didn't have to come out like that. So cliché, so unappreciative. But it's the truth.
I can tell my words sting him hard. It probably took a lot of courage to say that, and it's even harder to break to him after what happened with his high school crush.
"You've made me laugh so many times tonight, you're so kind and you're always looking out for everyone. Even when we don't deserve it. I couldn't be more grateful to have met a friend like you. I'm sorry, Jimin."
He shows me a smile, but I can easily see the pain behind his pearly whites.
"It's okay. I can't force you to share my feelings, so I'll respect your answer."
Again, I'm not sure if I'm fully convinced. But if he says he's okay then who am I to dwell on the situation? We should move past this quickly, I don't want things to be awkward between the two of us.
"Thanks for understanding." I nod.
"I saw the others getting in the limo, perhaps we should go down there too." Jimin takes my hand. I put pressure on the heels of my feet to holt my movement, causing him to look back at me in confusion.
"I can't leave yet. I need to talk to Taehyung—"
"Taehyung?" His eyebrows furrow. I've never seen such an expression on Jimin's face. It's one of those 'are-you-serious?' glares.
"Look he'll meet us at the limo, let's go before the others leave without us."
"Jimin no I—!"
"There you two are." Taehyung approaches us. Jimin releases my wrist and looks away with a clenched jaw, answering Taehyung with a flat tone. "Yeah. Here we are."
"Well you can chat later. Go downstairs now before—"
"Taehyung we can't leave yet, Chrys is in trouble. Jaebum said his men were going to harm her. We have to tell Sergio."
"Who and what?" Jimin questions cluelessly.
"Alright, you get Chrys out of that room, I'll find Sergio." Taehyung orders, making me nod before he leaves. I take one step forward until Jimin's arm blocks my path, putting his foot down to catch my eyes.
"Lilo what is going on with you and Taehyung? And why is Chrys is danger? I'm getting worried."
"Jimin I barely know what's going on myself. Please just get in the limo and tell the driver to go, Taehyung and I will catch up."
"I won't just—"
I stretch my body with the elevation of my heel, balancing on my toes to reach Jimin's face. I place a friendly peck on his cheek.
"Please just do as I say."
After that I dash into the ballroom in search for Chrys, leaving Jimin to stand on the balcony and watch me.
I really hope he's not upset with me.
I find Chrys talking to two guests ever so casually. Thank God Jaebum's men haven't gotten to her yet. There's too many eyes, they're probably waiting for her to move out of sight.
Completely throwing my manners out the window, I drag her away from the conversation by her crystal-smothered arm. The old people she was speaking to gawk at me with raised eyebrows, but I don't care.
"Erm, just what do you think you're doing?"
"Chrys we gotta leave. Now." I pull her out of the ballroom but of course, she resists.
"Leave? This is my house stupid."
"Well it's not safe for you here tonight." I manage to get her outside to the main stairs and just like I told Jimin, the limos are gone.
"Would you get off me already?! I don't even know what you're talking about!"
"Chrys listen to me, you're in tr..... y-you're in tr.... b....."
My vision begins to fuzz and blur. It's as if everything before my eyes expands and shrinks at the same time, like I am drifting away from the universe around me. Chrys watches me worriedly and shakes my shoulders.
"Hello...? Earth to the street urchin?"
—FLASHBACK—
Jaebum leans forward, towering over me and riding his hand up my inner thigh. Then there's a pinch. He injects something into my thigh before placing a finger on his lips.
"Don't tell anyone our little secret though, okay Lilo?"
—END FLASHBACK—
That lying bastard... He was never going to drug Chrys...
I elongate my neck, looking up to the the outdoor balcony that cranes above us. When I squint I notice a tall slender figure watching me, leaning their elbows on the railing and raising a wine glass to me. A proud smirk on his lips.
Jaebum.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp pain stabs through my knees before I'm overcome with numbness. My eyes roll back while my legs give out and I suddenly feel myself collapsing... but a pair of arms catch my back and legs before I can hit the ground.
My vision is so out-of-focus that I can barely make out their features, but judging by the combination of vanilla and Gucci scents I know it's Taehyung.
Chrys watches in surprise, not knowing what's happening.
"Get back inside Chrys, we're heading home. Tell your dad to shut down the event at once."
"O-okay..." She nods unsurely before running inside.
Taehyung carries me bridal style to his car which garners some attention, but luckily there's not many people standing outside at this hour. He rests me in the passenger seat and clips my seatbelt before getting in the driver's seat.
"Where did he inject you?"
With the little energy I have I point repeatedly to my inner thigh, but my exhaustion causes my finger to dab a little more to the side. Taehyung looks at me wide-eyed.
"I-in your......?"
"NOOooOo you..... jackass... in..... in my th..... thigh....."
Colors begin to filter my vision and shapes begin to warp, making my eyes widen in panic.
He pulls a thick syringe from the glove compartment and removes the lid off with his teeth. My eyes bulge at the needle. There's no way that big thing is going inside of me.
"No... w... wait..."
Still holding the lid between his teeth, he grabs my thigh to hold it in place.
"Stay still."
"W-wait I hate shots—!"
Taehyung stabs the syringe into me, making me scream in pain. Even if it wasn't that painful, my weakened state enhanced the pain by a ton. Also just the thought of a needle penetrating my blanket of skin is enough to scream at.
Ignoring my shriek, he then litters the syringe by tossing it out of the window and starts the engine. His eyes carefully watching the mirrors as he backs up the car.
I throw my head back in exhaustion, gazing out the window and breathing heavily from the hallucinations. Blindingly bright purples and reds slowly fade back into the trees and buildings passing by. Finally everything is back to normal again, but within a matter of seconds my eyelids grow heavy and I drift away...
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ 🌙
When my eyes flutter awake my body jerks a little in my seat, trees still pass my window and the moon still pulses through the dark sky. I look to my left and see Taehyung focused on the road, tapping his index finger on the wheel.
"You're awake." He doesn't shift his eyes. I stretch by arching my back and rubbing my eye. "How long was I asleep?"
"Not long, about 15 minutes."
"Oh." I lean back in my chair.
My body jolts suddenly, remembering Chrys.
"Chrys! We can't just leave her in the mansion with Jaebum and his goons—!"
"It's fine, my men are watching her closely."
"Y-you're men?! Men for what?! What's going on?? You have a lot of explaining to do Taehyung!"
"I don't have to explain anything. I told you not to follow me and you didn't listen. That was your own stupid choice. You only got yourself into trouble because now Jaebum knows who you are."
"Excuse me but it's not like I knew there would be fricking guns down there! What business do you have with men like that? After having a gun pointed at me I think I deserve some answers."
He sighs deeply and makes a smooth turn.
"I'm not telling you everything, for you're own sake, but that guy was Lim Jaebum. His father is Lim Carmine, he was my father's rival. And since Sergio was my father's best friend, that makes him a rival to Carmine as well."
"So if you're rivals then why were you all playing roulette together?"
"Gambling is the only way to communicate with them. We had made some negotiations before you came. Jaebum's not going to be too pleased that he lost to me again."
"So what did you negotiate? And why was your father rivals with Carmine in the first place? What did they do?"
"You seriously think I'm going to tell you all that?" He makes another turn.
"Then can I at least know how you managed to win that game?"
"Nope." He pops his lips at the end of the word cutely. I roll my eyes with a sigh and tilt my head against the window.
"Well you're no better than them."
"Excuse me?"
"You may be a humanitarian, but you gamble for your money. That makes you just as much of a crook as th—"
The car makes an abrupt stop at the red light, making my body fling forward before slamming back into the chair like a boomerang.
"Now let's get one thing clear."
His tone hits me like a truck. I'm suddenly taken back by his harsh expression that reflects in the mirror.
"I do not gamble for my money, my money was inherited from my father. The game was just a reason to get in a room with them. So don't go assuming like you know shit when you don't. And don't ever in you're life compare me to the Lim's. Do you understand?"
I gulp the ball that had somehow sprouted in my throat, not shifting my eyes from his stone cold expression. I nod straight away.
When the light turns green he continues to drive, letting out a sigh to ease the tension in the air.
"Besides, I'm not even keeping the money."
"You're donating it to charity?"
"Not that."
"Then what are you...?"
He slows down the car, we've finally entered our neighborhood.
"I'm giving it to you."
I begin to choke on air and stutter.
"W-W-WHAT?! No way, you're bluffing. I don't buy it."
"Okay, don't believe me."
Once the car is parked outside of my house Taehyung unbuckles his seat belt and climbs out, leading me to do the same.
He circles around the Ferrari and opens the boot before crouching his top half inside.
"Throwing away money? Even you wouldn't be that stupid."
When he slides out of the boot he throws a black duffle bag to me. I wince and crouch from the unexpected density when it slams against my chest, catching it in my hands. It feels like a bag of bricks.
"What's this...?"
"The money." He closes the boot. I scream and bounce the bag between my hands like a hot potato, trying not to hold it too close.
"Huh?! You mean you're seriously giving me 100,000 dollars?!"
"Li."
"What?"
"That's 100 million."
a/n: we're gonna pretend 100mil can fit into a single duffel bag.
"One hu....... WHAT! Taehyung I... No! I-I can't accept this much dirty money, are you insane?!"
"Quit whining and just take it. Nobody will trace it back to you."
"So you just expect me to casually waltz into my house at 3 am with millions of dollars in my hands?!" I whisper-shout, looking around the empty street to see if any neighbors are out.
"Yeah." He shrugs. I gawk back at him with a loose jaw.
Taehyung takes three steps back towards the driver's seat before he freezes, then turns back around to me.
"Oh, one more thing..."
He stands close to me with a hand in his pocket... too close for comfort. His eyes scan my face deeply, and fingers run through my ponytail with his free hand. His head then tilts to the side as he admires my orbs. My heart beats so fast that I'm worried it's going to overheat. Taehyung's slender fingers combing through my hair feels so satisfying, yet so strange and unlike him.
"Don't get mad at me."
Out of the blue, he yanks my ponytail.
The sound of slicing metal cuts through the silence like a sword.
My eyes and mouth shoot open from the sudden lightness of my head, Taehyung takes a step back and holds about 14 inches of straight hair in his fist.
In disbelief, my hands scramble to where my ponytail was, only to comb through the hollow air.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!?! TAEHYUNG YOU BASTARD! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS'LL TAKE TO GROW BACK?!" I throw my arm back high above my head before crashing down a punch, he backs away and grips my shaking fist.
"I told you not to get mad. It's for your own good, see you at work." Before I can attempt to punch his stupid block head again he gets in his car and speeds off.
I stand there dumbfounded until the Ferrari is out of sight.
My eyes roll down to the duffel bag that I almost forgot I was holding, instantly dropping it like it is infectious.
What kind of night was this...
I gained 100 million dollars... but lost my hair.
Yay the story can finally get serious. Also *psst* fun fact, I once cried whilst writing the next chapter :)