Hongjoong's pov

   "Well, what do you wanna know?" I asked.

   "How many guys are there, total, at your base?" Bumjoong asked. I grinned teasingly at my brother.

   "Why? Are you trying to find a boyfriend?" I asked, poking his shoulder. Bumjoong rolled his eyes.

  "No, I want to know how many guys have been there to protect you."

   "Well, now counting you, there's thirty-two of us-"

   "Jesus, Joongie, thirty?"

   "Yes, Hyung, thirty. The seven in this van with us are the original seven of Ateez. You know Seonghwa and Mingi already, so Yunho is in the front seat. San and Wooyoung are directly behind us. Jongho and Yeosang are beside us," I said, introducing them. Bumjoong raised his eyebrows suggestively.

   "And how many are you romantically involved with?" He teased. I groaned at my childish older brother before speaking again.

   "Seonghwa is my husband, San and Mingi are my boyfriends, and Jongho, Wooyoung, and Yeosang have been taking me on dates."

   "Nice work, Joongie. You got six extremely good looking guys, and they're capable of protecting you well. I'm proud," Bumjoong grinned and patted my shoulder. I whined and hid my face in his shoulder.

"What about Yunho up there? You've always liked taller, stronger guys." Bumjoong asked more quietly though it was pointless. They could all hear him anyway.

"I didn't trust in him until I tapped into the security cams, Bumjoong. I thought he was just getting closer to us all to turn us in, however, he turned himself in and told us all to leave him there with the police when they arrested him at our old base.

"He could have complied with the police while in custody to escape quickly, but he didn't. He protected us all, even when he knew he would die; he would sooner die than betray us. I'm sorry, Hongjoong, I really am," Yunho ended his explanation with an apology.

"It's okay, Yunho. I understand it," I said, smiling softly at him through the rear view mirror. Yunho smiled too.

"Oh my god- are those your rings?!" Bumjoong exclaimed, sounding more like a high school girl than an ex soldier. I laughed softly and showed him my left hand.

"Holy shit, man, those are gorgeous! Seonghwa, what do yours look like?" Bumjoong asked. Seonghwa lifted his left hand from the steering wheel to show off his darker green jade wedding band.

"He really does love you, doesn't he, Joongie?" Bumjoong asked, a genuine smile playing on his lips and lighting up his eyes.

"He does, but probably not as much as I love him," I responded, teasing my husband as he pulled into the garage. Seonghwa parked the car and turned to face me, a playful glare on his face.

"Now, now, sweetheart, you know I love you more," Seonghwa said, a wide smile taking over the glare.

"How? Hm? How do you love me more?" I dared to ask.

"I helped you make those stupid worm curtains! And I had to find those pastel ducks everywhere, and I mean, everywhere! How did you even get them in the ice cube tray?" Seonghwa asked.

"Because they're small enough to fit! I cleaned them first so we wouldn't get sick or anything!"

"Mhm, but who was it that planned our entire wedding?" Seonghwa asked.

"That was me! I had the whole thing planned out for months before we actually got engaged! You have to admit, I'm a good party planner!" I exclaimed. Seonghwa grinned and helped me get out of the van. He kissed my forehead sweetly.

"I know, sweetheart," he said. He looked towards Mingi.

"Min, can you lead Bumjoong to a guest bedroom and show him around? I need to make sure Joong eats," Seonghwa asked. Mingi nodded, walking away with Bumjoong behind him.

I looked around and noticed we were now the only two left in the garage. Seonghwa gently grabbed my hips and brought me closer to himself. I tossed my arms around his shoulders with a soft smile on my face.

"I've missed you so much, sweetheart, you don't even know," Seonghwa spoke softly, inching his lips closer to mine. I smiled a bit wider before I kissed him sweetly.

He separated our lips to kiss all over my face and my hands, making me laugh softly and blush. He looked into my eyes as he kissed the rings on my left hand.

"I love you, Park Hongjoong," Seonghwa said, smiling widely.

"I love you, Park Seonghwa," I grinned. I kissed his forehead before taking his hand in mine and tugging him towards the kitchen.

"Let me guess, sweetheart: you want pancakes, eggs, and sausage for dinner?" Seonghwa asked, a teasing smile on his lips. I nodded quickly, smiling at how well he knew me. Seonghwa kissed my cheek and had me sit at the table.

"Thank you, babe!" I thanked him before I began to eat the food he slid in front of me. Seonghwa smiled softly and ate his food in front of me.

"Where's the syrup?" I asked. Seonghwa groaned and stood back up to collect the bottle of maple syrup. He handed it to me and watched as I doused my pancakes in syrup heavily.

I was only able to finish about half of my plate before I started feeling sick. I glanced up at the table and saw the bottle of antacids in between us. I chewed up two of the tablets from the bottle and sat while Seonghwa finished eating. Seonghwa took our empty plates to the sink and washed them quickly.

"My room is to the left of Mingi's. I'll meet you up there," Seonghwa said, kissing my forehead before making his way through the back door. I silently followed my husband outside, only to see him lighting up a menthol cigarette.

"Babe, stop," I said, gently taking the cigarette from between his index and middle finger. I put it out in the already-filled ashtray on the banister. Seonghwa sighed at the sight but nodded. I scrunched my face up as I smelled the awful scent of tobacco.

"Go shower and brush your teeth before you lay down with me," I said, turning to walk back inside. Seonghwa gently took my wrist in his hands.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'll try to stop again," Seonghwa said. I nodded and gently tore my wrist from his hands and walked inside.

I made my way inside of our room and coughed a bit at how strong the scent of smoke was. I took the sheets off of our bed and pillows and dropped them to the carpet.

I picked up a spray bottle of air freshener and began to spray it very generously around the room. I opened the window and let the room air out more as I continued to clean and freshen up our room.

As I was cleaning up, Seonghwa entered the room and got some clothes from the wardrobe. I pulled them out of his hands, sniffed them, then proceeded to douse the cloth in the air freshener.

"Where's the laundry room?" I asked.

"Out of our room, down the left hallway. It's at the end." Seonghwa had his head low as he accepted the clothes back.

"Hwa, if you need the nicotine so badly, get a vape. At least then it won't smell like tobacco and smoke," I said. Seonghwa nodded silently and left to the bathroom connected in our room.

I collected the sheets first and tossed them in one of the three washing machines. I added the detergent and fabric softener then turned it on to wash the clothes.

Eventually, I had all three washing machines working on getting the stench out of all of our clothes.

I knocked on Mingi's door before he opened it. He smiled down at me and kissed my cheek.

"Hey, Angel. What's up?" Mingi asked.

"I've come to raid your closet!" I exclaimed, gently worming my way into his bedroom. Mingi laughed behind me and let me do what I wanted. I grabbed a t shirt for myself and a hoodie and sweats for Seonghwa. Mingi raised an eyebrow quizzically at me.

"All of Seonghwa's clothes smell like cigarettes," I said. Mingi nodded in understanding before he pecked my lips. I kissed him again and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Angel," Mingi said. I smiled up at him before responding.

"I love you, Minmin," I said. Mingi kissed my forehead before letting me go.

Back in our room, I opened the bathroom door and left Seonghwa's clothes on the sink. I couldn't hear any music playing as he normally did, so I knew something was wrong with my husband. I sat down on the closed toilet seat and began speaking.

"Hwa, I'm not mad at you. I know you use nicotine when you're stressed, so I can't get too upset that you started back up. You can start vaping or use Nicotine patches instead, okay? I just hate the smell and sight of cigarettes," I said.

"I'm so sorry, baby..." Seonghwa spoke softly. I could barely hear him over the sound of the water. I smiled sadly and began to tug off the clothes I wore to join him in the shower.

"It's okay, babe. I understand that you'd never do the same as June, alright?" I spoke against his damp back as I hugged him tightly. Seonghwa turned around in my arms and put his arms over my shoulders.

"I love you," Seonghwa said, leaning down a bit to be eye level with me. I smiled and kissed him sweetly, not tasting any menthol or tobacco on his tongue this time.

"I love you," I said once we separated. Seonghwa reached behind me for another loofa and began to help me shower.

We showered in comfortable silence before we dried off and got dressed. Seonghwa began to lay down new sheets on the bed and grabbed a blanket from the closet.

"Come here, sweetheart," Seonghwa said, laying down on the bed. I quickly climbed onto the bed beside him and curled up to his chest.

"I love you, Seonghwa," I mumbled as I began to fall asleep. I felt as Seonghwa pulled me even closer and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Hongjoong,"