Soo Emi

Hoseok's arm snuck around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

His eyes were closed and his breaths came quietly out of his nose.

I watched him as he slept because I was already awake.

How can I stay asleep with him this close to me? My ex boss, boyfriend, husband, roommate, gosh...we've been through a lot.

And he's still here.

His hand ran up my spine and then back down to my butt. His other hand was resting under the pillow his head was resting on.

I was about to leave the bed to get ready for the day, but his hand continued to explore my back area.

I'm not going to lie, it felt nice.

Why?

I would rather have him doing these type of things to me than some messed up stranger.

His hand wandered up my spine, back down, up to shoulder, then to my hair. He massaged my hair for awhile, making me shiver in satisfaction.

What is he doing to me?

How is he doing this to me?

He's not even awake.

His hand went down to my thigh and lifted my leg on top of his hip.

"Hoseok." I breathed out as he made me half-straddle him.

"I missed you so much." He whispers, his eyes not opening.

Ok, he's not asleep.

"I thought you were asleep." I giggled and caressed his cheek with a smile on my face.

"I was awake for awhile now. I could tell you were awake because when I touched you, you would slightly tense up." He opens one eye. "I couldn't go back to sleep."

I didn't respond, and kept my mouth shut.

Morning breath.

"I missed being in the same bed as you. Being able to feel your body next to me. Making you nervous when I touch you like this. I missed it so much and I'm so angry at myself for losing you."

"Hold that thought." I hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

I quickly rinsed my mouth with cold water, then jumped back into the bed with the very confused Hoseok.

"I missed you too." I cupped his face, holding back a laugh from his confused eyes.

"We've slept in the same bed before. Woke up together many times. You're still cautious about your morning breath?" He scoffs.

"Morning breath sucks."

"Whatever you say. I've never had that problem." He smiles a cocky smile, making me roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I've noticed. How are you so perfect when you wake up?" I say with a head shake. "Literally, no imperfections."

"I was about to say the same to you." He says back with a cheeky smile. "Beautiful as always. I'm not surprised, though."

His hand ran through my hair, brushing it out of my face.

In this moment, this very moment, I felt a feeling I never thought I would ever have.

I miss Hoseok.

I miss everything about him.

Sure, we had a lot of flaws and a lot of fights and a lot of miscommunication and a lot problems...but because of his loyalty to me, he never left.

I did.

I decided to leave.

It hurt him, but it didn't hurt me.

That's what I thought.

I thought I was hurting because of him. I thought that if I continued our relationship, I would just get worse and worse.

Turns out, I was right.

I did need to leave.

But not forever.

I just needed a break and Hoseok did too, whether he liked it or not. We both needed it.

Now, we're back.

Back to this.

I couldn't be away from him any longer. I can't live with the fact that he won't ever come back. Even when I wish he wouldn't show up, a part of me knew he would.

Somehow.

Sometime.

Somewhere.

He would come back.

And I'm so glad.

*

Once we cleaned ourselves up and changed for the day, Hoseok decided to have Lucas with him so they could answer my questions.

Good. I want to know everything.

Lucas got us all drinks and joined us in the living room.

"Alright, story time!" I clapped my hands together. "How did you manage to do all this? How did you know I was in there? How did you get the timing so right?"

Hoseok leaned back on his seat. "Well, remember that phone call you made to me?"

I nodded. "Right before..."

"Yeah, right before you got cut. I figured something was wrong, so I drove all the way to Seokjin's company to see if you were ok."

"Wait, how did you get into the building? You have a key?" I cocked my head.

"I was going to pick the lock, but I found a door that was propped open. Isn't that such a coincidence?"

My eyes widen.

I propped that door open.

Dang.

"Anyway, since I already knew about the rumor and most of the details, I took a risk and went inside. I just didn't know if it was real or not. Turns out, it is VERY real."

"The Show Hall." I shivered at the name.

"Yeah, that place."

"That place has really weird vibes." Lucas copied my shivering. "I hate it in there. Innocent girls getting sold like they don't mean anything? Absolutely disgusting. I hate it."

I nodded in agreement.

"Long story short, I snuck behind the stage and followed you and Seokjin. It was very hard to listen in on you guys because everything was so hectic, but thankfully, I overheard Seokjin telling you about his plan to sell you the next day. I snuck away after that and made a plan to beat Seokjin at his own, messed up game." He closed his fists. "It was a big risk, but I couldn't just NOT save you. You have no idea how angry I was when I saw Seokjin doing that to you."

I nodded, biting my bottom lip.

Thinking about Seokjin gives me mixed feelings.

"Hoseok came to me the next early morning. He did not look happy at all." Lucas added with a pat on his friend's back.

"We planned everything together just in time for that night of your selling." Hoseok continues. "That 50,000,000 won is straight from my savings."

I looked down and shook my head. "That's a huge number."

He reaches over and lifts my chin up. "I don't regret a thing."

I pressed my lips together, feeling a wave of tears coming through my eyes.

He did so much.

Just to save me.

I was a butthead to him and yet...he went through all this to get me on his side again.

"I'm sorry, Hoseok." My voice cracks.

"What? Emi, why are you apologizing?" Hoseok pulls me closer to him.

Lucas sits back at his seat, awkwardly watching me cry.

"You've tried warning me multiple times and I just ignored you. You tried so hard and I was too ignorant to care." I cried on his shoulder. "You came so far to warn me, but I just shook it off my shoulder because...I was too desperate to stay in the job. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey, hey, Emi." Hoseok strokes my back. "It's alright now, Emi. Honestly, I would've ignored me too if I was in your place. Come on, don't feel sorry, it's ok. You're safe now."

I nod and nod. "Thank you."

"It's really not a problem. Thank you for staying strong through this."

*

"Oh, Lucas. I didn't get to hear your story." I took a bite of my lobster. "Damn, this is so good."

Hoseok looked over at Lucas and seemed to ask a question with his eyes. Lucas responded with a nod.

"Lucas actually had a sibling who was a victim in Seokjin and his father's after night business." Hoseok started off, keeping careful eyes on his friend.

Lucas sat in his seat, playing with his food. His face looked still, like he was trying to contain himself.

"It was way before today, though." He coughed, sitting up. "Uh, I'm sorry, it's not easy for me to speak about."

"No, it's alright." I assured.

"Her name was Suzy. We're almost the same age, so we've spent most of our lives together. We were really close." Lucas gulped. "We moved here and our parents got into business and so did we. The company my parents worked at had a job opening. Only one. And my parents made my sister and I decide who was able to take it. Either her or me."

My eyebrows raised.

That's rough.

"I didn't want this to ruin our relationship, so I offered to back away and let her take it. But, she insisted that I accept it instead. She told me that the job was perfect for me and that I'll....fit in very well." He bit his bottom lip. "She always knew my troubles with fitting in, so she knew how to convince me."

Hoseok patted him on the back.

"I took the job with my parents and my sister went to find a different job. She was able to work for a little bit at Hoseok's company. Where you and Hoseok met."

"What?" My eyes widened. "Did I know her?"

"I don't know if you were able to formally meet her because she was only there for a couple of weeks." Hoseok added. "She left quite fast."

Lucas nodded.

"So, how did she end up with Seokjin? Seokjin was working with Hoseok's dad." I leaned against the table, eager to learn more.

"Seokjin may have been working with me, but his father had his own projects too. His company, which was soon to blow up later, was one of them." Hoseok says.

"Suzy got a job with Seokjin's father and she got it...because Seokjin recommended her." Lucas growled towards the end, showing his anger for Seokjin.

"Then the rumor started when Suzy started acting strange and different every time she arrived home. Even her coworkers said that she changed in a weird, sudden way." Hoseok says.

"Was it..." I trailed.

"Yes." Lucas continued with a fist by his plate. "She was the first in his f**ked up project. She was one of the first ones to become an object for selling."

Chills ran down my arms.

"How did you find all this out? Was she able to tell you this?" I ask.

"I found everything out from one of the coworkers, who were able to escape. He told me most details, but still some things remain untold.

"Wait, you were at the Show Hall. Wouldn't Seokjin notice you?"

"I was never able to visit Suzy at her work. Most people don't even know we're siblings. Only close friends." Lucas answers. "Seokjin probably vaguely remembers me, but that's it."

"We want to stop this." Hoseok slams his drink down on the table. "We want this whole sh*t to end right now. It's illegal and f**ked up. They think they have so much power and that's a justification for doing this? No! It's not!"

As Hoseok was speaking, my mind suddenly flickered to a thought.

I gasped. "Naeun!"

"What?"

"Naeun! My-My friend! She got sold two nights ago. I need to help her. I need to help them! All those girls..." My hands landed on my head.

"Emi, we're going to save them...and stop this." Hoseok grabs my hand.

"How are you guys going to stop this?"

"Our first step was saving you." Lucas says and points to Hoseok. "He says that you'll be able to help a lot since you and Seokjin have a connection."

"It's an ugly connection, but whatever." Hoseok scoffs.

"It's not going to be easy." Lucas adds. "You in?"

BaeTaeLay

I've mentioned "Suzy" before.

A very long time ago.

Remember when?