announcement at end of chapter regarding horror!

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Taehyung had been taking a walk around his neighborhood solely to distract himself from working on the next update when he saw the cardboard box on the side of the road.

So now he had a puppy.

But he also had a party that he was very nearly threatened to attend.

"Food and water," Taehyung said, pointing to the respective bowls on the kitchen floor. "I've been walking him three times a day. Maybe that's too much? I don't know, I've never had a dog before."

"I think that's about right," Mirae said, jotting down quick notes on the little pad she'd brought with. "What's this little guy's name again?"

"Yeontan. Or at least, that's the name that was on his collar. I thought about changing it, but I mean, imagine how confusing that would be if you were called by one name for half your life and then it suddenly changed."

"Yeontan. Got it," Mirae said, writing it down on the notepad with everything else.

"Great. His leash is hanging on the coat hook, and...what else..."

"Taehyung, you know I'm only dog sitting him for one night, right?" Mirae interrupted with a small laugh.

"I know, but it just- it feels like I adopted a kid overnight. There's all this responsibility now. How do people raise multiple dogs? How do people raise multiple kids?" He groaned, rubbing a hand against his forehead. "How did my dad manage six kids all by himself?"

"There's some things in life you just can't fail at," Mirae said. "Not that it's not possible, I mean. Just- that you don't really have any other but to do your best, every day. And days pass one by one until you're past the rough part."

Taehyung nodded because he sort of felt the same way. There were parts of his life that had been a blur because he'd had no other choice than to trudge through each day with little enjoyment, hoping for something better to come. And something better had come in the form of art and a puppy and a cute next-door neighbor.

"I have to say, I was kinda surprised that you asked me to do this," Mirae said after a moment, and Taehyung looked up at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Why? We're neighbors. The only other person in this hallway is Darryl, and I hate Darryl."

"Well, that's a given. Everyone hates Darryl."

"You slept with Darryl."

"I said I hated him, not that he was ugly. Besides," Mirae added with a smile, but there was an anxious note in her tone. "I thought you hated me too."

"Hate you? No, I don't hate you. I just don't want to sleep with you. Those don't equate to the same thing, Mirae."

"Usually they sort of do," she mumbled.

"That's because you hang around with the wrong people," Taehyung said with a deadpan expression because it seemed utterly obvious to him, but clearly it was a revelation to her.

"There you go again," Mirae said, twisting a long lock of her bangs around a finger before pulling at it so it bounced slightly. "When you say stuff like that, it feels like you're judging me for my choices."

"Mirae," Taehyung said, his voice as gentle as he could make it because he knew truth hurt sometimes, but it didn't mean that he was going to lie. "I don't know how else to explain this to you, but I don't exist to validate your bad choices. You can do whatever you want with your life, and it's honestly none of my business. But you're not owed my acceptance for choices I don't agree with." He shook his head before looking up at her pointedly. "If I had a sister? And if she was sleeping around with people? Like I said, that's her choice and it's none of my business, but I'd still be upset. Not because I think it makes her any less valuable of a person, but because I would worry that she was putting herself in situations where she could end up hurt."

He pointed at Mirae and then himself, signaling the distance between them. "That doesn't mean that I can't like you and that we can't be friends, it just means that I'm not going to advocate behavior that I think is harmful to you and others."

"Harmful?" Mirae asked in a small voice, looking down at the ground. "But I'm happy. People like me, they want me. I'm important to them."

"That is- literally the most broken thing I've heard all day," Taehyung said with a sigh. "Mirae, if the only way you can define yourself as important is in the eyes of others and not yourself, then are you really happy?"

Mirae was quiet, and Taehyung settled down on the couch, trying to lighten the mood, but he didn't feel comfortable just moving on from the conversation with it only half-resolved. "Some people fall into what psychologists call cycles of abuse or victimization."

"I'm not a victim," Mirae immediately denied, and Taehyung waved his hand in the air to dispel her refutation.

"I'm not saying you are. I'm just making unrelated intellectual discussion." Taehyung waited a beat to see if Mirae would cut him off again, but when she didn't, he went on. "Some people's negative childhood experiences lead them to fall into the same negative cycles later on in life. So kids who are abused in one form or another have a higher probability of experiencing similar abuse later on in life than other kids who didn't have those harmful experiences."

"I wasn't abused as a kid," Mirae said sharply. "And I'm not being abused now. I don't like what you're insinuating." She was still tugging at that strand of hair, pulling so hard that it was held taught between her head and fingers.

"You throw yourself at people in order to feel temporarily validated, but those relationships don't mean anything and leave you all alone in the end," Taehyung pointed out somewhat bluntly. "That sounds like abuse to me."

"Stop being a bitch about this," Mirae snapped. "My past is none of your business. I don't even know why we're having this discussion, the only reason I'm even here right now is to take care of Yeontan while you gallivant off to-"

"You had a step-father, right? What happened when you were a kid?"

"I'm leaving," Mirae said, turning toward the door, but Yeontan scampered ahead of her, circling her feet, and she couldn't move without risking a kick to the puppy.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up, I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. I just want you to realize that you have more worth and value than you think you do," Taehyung said, standing up from the couch and crouching beside her to pick up Yeontan. The puppy squirmed in his arms, sniffing at Mirae's hair and getting a fragrant whiff of strawberry shampoo. "And that's something you have control over. You don't have to find validation from other people. Certainly not by sleeping with them. Your own opinion of yourself matters a hell of a lot more than the douchebag who lives in apartment 3D. Although, for what it counts, I happen to think you're a pretty cool person."

Mirae choked out a laugh, staring at Yeontan instead of Taehyung because that was easier. "Well, my own opinion of myself isn't altogether that great."

"And that's something you can work on," Taehyung said, rubbing his fingers between Yeontan's ears. "Although it isn't easy. But I've found that you have to respect yourself before you can expect the same from others."

"We'll see," Mirae said before looking up with a small smile. "Taehyung?"

"Yes?"

"Yeontan is peeing on your shirt."

"Shit!" Taehyung leapt into motion, almost dropping Yeontan but managing to run him over to the pile of newspapers in the corner. He darted into his bedroom to change clothes before returning to Mirae.

"All right, I'll be back tonight to watch Yeontan," Mirae said with a smile, jingling Taehyung's spare key in one hand and holding up the notepad in the other.

"Thanks, skank," Taehyung said before debating with himself whether or not he needed to find a new nickname for her, but this was just their usual banter and it felt weird to try changing it. But he'd think about it.

Mirae just grinned. "Sure thing, clown."

The two smiled, and then Mirae left.

--

published 08/11/20 (mm/dd/yy)

is that *squints* another potentially non-toxic female in the story?

a/n: So! About the horror question! As of right now, there are about 66 votes in favor, compared to 25 votes against. So there is about a 2:1 ratio in favor of incorporating horror into this book. So it's probably going to happen.

But! Before you naysayers start crying! (Please don't cry! Save your tears for later...) I'd like to detail a bit more of the scope.

First of all, the horror aspect would really only affect one character's arc of the story (depending on how you do the math...). There will still be other characters pursuing other things, and while the story lines may occasionally overlap, they will be separate for the most part. So, if you don't like the horror, there will still be other stuff going on for you to read.

Second, what exactly does "horror" mean in this case? Lovely question. So, as I mentioned before, this won't focus on the violence/slasher side of horror, so if you're looking for graphic violence, I'd suggest reading "Don't Come Inside" instead. This book would NOT emulate the DCI style of horror; instead, I'm looking into something paranormal. Thus, instead of graphic violence, we'd get something more eerie and psychological. I know some of you were against the paranormal aspect of horror because it would remove some of the realism in this series, but...let's be honest...a child being kidnapped for 5 years? A murder investigation framing your whole family? These weren't exactly commonplace events in the first place. So basically, if you were imaging that "horror" in this case would make you scared to read...it shouldn't (unless I'm really doing a bang-up job of it).

Third, I think most of you will actually enjoy the horror. And I say this not because I think it will be stupendously written or anything, but the plot of this book was always intended to get a little sad or dark or whatever you want to call it. The horror subplot will, oddly enough, lighten up the story a little bit (at times). And just because there's horror doesn't mean there won't be other genres such as comedy woven in alongside it. If you didn't think horror and comedy could work together...be patient, I'm working on the drafts now and trying to jam it all together haha

Finally - thank you all for voting. I appreciate everyone who said they would prefer that I didn't write horror, but that they'd still read. Thank you for trusting me to throw something together and for being adventurous enough to go on even if it's a little out of your comfort zone. I also appreciate everyone who said they were a little nervous, but that they'd give horror a shot. Thanks for putting on a brave face and putting your seat belt on for whatever I throw at you. And of course, I also appreciate everyone who said that they were completely ready for me to wholeheartedly destroy their lives and deliver them into an eternal agony of suffering and angst (I won't...I think). To all my true fans out there, you're all phenomenal and you make me laugh.

>>If you're still super anxious about this decision or have additional questions, inline comment here and I'll answer if it doesn't spoil anything specific!