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The mysterious car parked and Wang Lei got out, sending you and the guys out into the driveway. You slapped his shoulder and he looked at you as if you had just hit him with a car.
"We thought you were Minsu!" You exclaimed.
"Why would I be Minsu?"
Yangyang quickly shook Wang Lei's hand as a greeting. "He claimed to know where we were, so we were just being careful. Thank you for helping Minli get us out of prison, by the way."
You smiled and looked at the others. They looked at you and smiled back. Your smile dropped and they finally got the hint, mumbling 'thank you' over one another to Wang Lei.
The eight of you went inside, and Ten didn't hesitate to grab your hand. You weren't very sure why he was so clingy whenever Wang Lei was around. Maybe Ten felt threatened by the fact that Wang Lei knows more about your life than anyone. Ten was your boyfriend after all, and he wanted to be the person you could go to.
"Did you hear me?"
You looked at Ten. "What?"
"I said I want a kiss."
He had that beautiful smile on his face, so you really couldn't resist. You leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, but before you could pull away, he grabbed the back of your neck. He kissed you a second time, and then a third time, each time more intimate than the last.
"Your bedroom is upstairs!" Winwin shouted.
You broke the kiss with a smile and rested your head on Ten's shoulder for a moment. It had been so long since you could spend time with Ten, and you still haven't done so properly.
The two of you sat on the couch with everyone else, and you put your hand at the nape of Ten's neck to play with his hair.
"What do we do if Minsu actually comes here one day?" Hendery asked.
Yangyang made a face. "Wouldn't that really come down to when it happens?"
"He's a psychopath. He likes games." You announced. "I figured we could all play a game."
"All-"
"Are you sure you want to do that, Minli?" Wang Lei cut Xiaojun off.
You thought back to that dark room once again. You made the man play a game with you, spin the bottle. Every time the bottle didn't land on you, he would get tased. When it did land on you, you spared him. It was a game based on pure luck, and that was why you loved it so much.
You moved your shoulders back. "I like games as well."
Your friends looked at each other. You had just said that your brother was a psychopath who liked games, then continued to tell them that you liked games. It was probably a slip of the tongue, no big deal, they thought. However, even without realizing what you said, you meant it.
After dinner, everyone decided that Wang Lei would stay at the house. It was already pretty late and the drive back to his house was far, so he would sleep on the couch.
You and Ten went upstairs to your room, and he immediately got in the shower. Patiently waiting, you listened to the water pouring from the shower head. It almost put you to sleep, but it suddenly stopped and moments later, your boyfriend came out. Your back was to the door, so he leaned over you and kissed your cheek.
"Do you wanna blow dry my hair for me?" He whispered.
You smiled and nodded. You loved drying his hair for him, since it was very up close and personal, but also because his hair was just so fluffy.
Clad in the towel wrapped around his waist, he carefully sat on the bathroom counter while you got the blow dryer ready. You turned back to him and admired the self designed tattoo on the inner part of his right arm. Moving from that one, you followed the designs in the much larger tattoo, the same exact one you had.
"I missed you." He suddenly stated. "Being in there for so long was hard, especially knowing that I couldn't be there for you. I know that you do just fine on your own, but I was worried that maybe it would get too hard." He cupped your cheek and ran his thumb across the skin there. "I know Yangyang had a really hard time. He wouldn't tell you, but sometimes he would get so upset that he would break down into tears. Sometimes Hendery did as well."
"It was hard. I felt even worse that you all came with me to help me with my problem, yet I was the only one who got out of that mess."
Somehow, his touch became even more gentle. It was as if he was cradling a porcelain doll that he admired with every fiber in his body.
"We wouldn't have come if we didn't want to face the consequences, you know?"
You chuckled lightly. "I know."
You quickly turned on the blow dryer and began your initial task. His right hand rested on your waist and his left laid flat on the counter. You hated physical contact with a passion, it was your worst nightmare. You remembered the first time that Ten hugged you, out of pure joy - it was a reaction for him. You thought you'd get sick, but you suddenly realized that there wasn't any malicious intent behind the hug. For several years, you associated touch with danger. WayV made you completely forget about that, and they were the only people who were allowed to touch you.
Ten's hair was almost dry, so you shut the blow dryer off and decided to let the rest air dry. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss, much like the one earlier that day.
"We haven't kissed in a long time and that's all you've got for me?" Ten teased. "I know you can do better."
"You got a kiss earlier today."
He pouted. "All you were gonna give me was a little peck. If I hadn't pulled you back you would've walked away. I want you to kiss me like you mean it."
You looked away from him and shook your head playfully. You looked back at him to see his pouty lips, so you cupped his jaw and leaned in. A slow and tender kiss was what you gave him, something you both wanted. Now you were in private, so Ten didn't hesitate to speed it up just a little bit, and then make it slow again.
"See?" He pulled away. "I knew you wanted to kiss me."
You laughed and opened the bathroom door. Ten quickly got dressed while you sat on the bed, and he joined you shortly afterwards. Sitting criss cross in front of each other, he gave you a small smile. He wanted to ask you something.
"Yes?"
"I'm curious about something." He bit his bottom lip anxiously. "Everybody in the house wants to know what Minsu did, and you have absolutely every right to get upset when we ask, because it's not really our business. We are your family, though, and if you ever come to the point where you would like to talk about it, we're all ears." You nodded slowly, but he knew that nodding was your response to things like that. "Is there a certain reason you're so hesitant?"
You nodded again. You wanted to tell him.
"Telling you what he did would tell you something about me. I'm not ready for that part of me to be known, and I want to see if I can deal with it on my own." You told him truthfully. "And I'm afraid that once this is out in the open, it will change everyone's opinion."
"We've all done things that we're not proud of, Minli. We're all criminals, we were before we committed arson, but you know that. Whether you tell us or not, we're still going to respect you the same. You're still going to be Minli Chang, and you'll be no different from how we see you today."
You smiled and patted his leg. "Thank you, Ten. I think I needed that."
Telling your friends what happened twelve years ago would in fact change everything. It would unveil the unnerving fact that you and Minsu are in fact from the same parents, and have the same psychological makeup.
The apples didn't fall far from the tree.
"Earlier, you mentioned that Minsu was a psychopath that enjoyed playing games." He whispered. "Then you said you enjoyed games as well."
You understood what he was trying to say, but you played dumb. "Did I say that? I guess I should've thought about it before I said it."
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