Hello, dear, it's been a long time since you've visited me."

Said Minho's stepmother.

Blood thumped in Minho's ears. This, this is why he didn't want to come by this shortcut.

"M-Minho?" Jisung said, he sounded scared. "Who's she?"

Minho's stepmother turned her cold blue eyes in Jisung's direction, smirking.

"Oh, but haven't you introduced me to your new friend? Or should I say..." Her voice trailed off, leaving a fearful silence lingering.

"Your name was too filthy to get into any conversation." Minho said, trying for bravery.

"That's not very nice." Minho's stepmother said, all trace of her smirk gone, now replaced with a sneer. "Indeed, who am I, Minho?"

"Leave me alone." Minho said, eyes narrowed at Jisung, who watched fearfully.

"I thought you were paying me a visit, dear." Minho's stepmother responded.

Minho and Jisung remained silent, Minho slowly holding Jisung's hand tighter as he whispered loud enough for Jisung to hear. "At the count of three, run."

Jisung, who looked terrified, heard Lee Know and exhaled.

"Three, two-" Minho whispered. "One."

Lee Know and Jisung broke into a run, their steps getting louder and louder as they heard Minho's stepmother scream, "Get them!"

All of a sudden, two heavily armed men ran towards Minho and Jisung, who kept running.

"In here, quick!" Minho said, leading Jisung to an alley.

They stumbled into the alley, both boys exhaling and slowly catching their breath. They heard the bodyguards run another way.

"I think we l-" Minho said, but Jisung interrupted him. "Don't finish that. You'll say that and suddenly they'll find us, I've seen it happen in the movies."

Even in such a moment, Minho admired Han's carefree attitude.

And yet, he broke.

Ten years, ten years of facing that bitch every single day, ever since he ran away, ten years of pain he'd tried to push down the surface, came tumbling out.

Minho couldn't help it, he cried.

Jisung didn't say anything, but Minho knew he was watching. He didn't care. He didn't care if he was being vulnerable to his date, he didn't care. A hand went around him and held him closer.

Surprised, Minho saw Jisung hugging him. "Hey, it's okay, don't cry."

(A/N: AHHHHHHHHHH)

As Jisung held him close, Minho sniffled, getting closer and closer in Jisung's warm scent.

When Minho was done crying, he pulled away and wiped his eyes.

"H-hey, you want to talk about that?" Jisung asked.

Minho looked at him. He didn't know why he'd suddenly felt he could be so vulnerable with Jisung, but he liked that feeling.

"Y-yeah. That bitch was my," Minho paused, "Stepmother."

Jisung's eyes widened. "You don't like her?"

Minho laughed bitterly. "No, we're best friends."

"S-so, does your dad allow her to do that shit?"

"My dad never cared. Ever since she came in." Minho said. "Sorry about this. I didn't mean to cause such trouble."

"Hey, I'm fine with it. Nothing like getting chased on your first date."

Minho laughed, surprised at how light he felt around Jisung. "I'm actually sorry, though."

"It-it's fine. But what if she tries to hurt you again?" Jisung asked.

"I-i don't know. I haven't seen her in forever." Minho frowned.

"Well, if she does, let me know." Jisung said, trying for a tough face that failed.

Minho laughed. Jisung pouted.

"Well, I thought I was dropping you?" Minho said, getting up as Jisung and Minho resumed their walk.

As they reached Jisung's apartment, Jisung scribbled his number onto a piece of paper.

"To keep in touch." Jisung said.

Minho smirked. "Moving that fast? You like me that much, eh?"

Han went red in the face, but still kept smiling. "Yeah, I do."

Suddenly, Jisung moved closer to Minho's face. Minho went red. Han was so close. Han reached Minho's ear and whispered, "Remember to keep in touch." Han's breath tingled in Minho's ears.

"Bye!" Han said, walking off.

As Minho watched him go, a smile spread across his face. Maybe, maybe, he had met the right one.

Happy thoughts in his head as he walked home, it was as though he hadn't encountered his stepmother after all.

He was smiling when he reached home. Changbin greeted him.

"Hey hyung! Guessing the date went well?"

Minho hesitated, deciding whether to tell them or not, but he smiled instead, "Yeah, it was good."

"Guess you really have a thing for this Jisung." Changbin smirked. "Let me know when's the wedding, okay?"

"How's Seungmin?" Minho teased. Instead of seeing an embarassed Changbin, he was surprised to see a slight smile on his face.

"I've found his socials, I might talk to him." Changbin smiled shyly.

"Let me know when's the wedding," Lee Know muttered.

at seungmin and han's apartment...

As Han entered, a force came in contact with his midriff.

It was Felix.

God, that child didn't even need sugar to have a sugar rush.

"Aah!" Han shouted, "Felix?"

"Heyyy! HOW WAS THE DATE?" Felix said.

"Let me breathe first." Han said.

"No time for breathing. How was it? I've been dying to know." Felix said.

"Yeah, quite literally dying. He's been looking out the window since he came." Seungmin and Chan chuckled.

"Well, it was great." Han said, rubbing his temple.

"Ooooo, really?" Felix's eyes widened.

"Yeah, Minho told me about his friends, and I had fun." Han said, his eyes on Seungmin, and he remembered Minho telling him about Changbin's crush. He smiled. "Apparently, Minho's friends with Changbin!"

Seungmin's expression changed immediately, but he hid it before anyone else could notice. Except Han noticed.

"Yeah, we know, he's in a band with him?" Chan said, confused.

"Oh, yeah." Han said, trying not to smirk at Seungmin with great difficulty. Chan sensed a tension, but didn't say anything.

"So, did you have fun?" Seungmin asked.

Han paused, wondering whether to tell them about his and Minho's encounter with Minho's stepmother. He decided not to, it wasn't his business after all.

But seeing Minho like that, disturbed him.

Suddenly, Minho's stepmother's smirking face appeared in his mind. Han felt a hot boiling anger that surged, suddenly, as if to tear the image away.

And he found himself swearing silently, that if she came by Minho again, he'd kill her...

But why?

"HAN!" Felix called.

Han realized he'd been staring at the table angrily. He tore his eyes away. "Y-yeah?"

"You okay? You look really angry."

"I'm fine," Han said, toying with the fork.

Felix believed him and happily jumped on an unsuspecting Chan.

Han smiled as he heard Chan's exclamation.

at minho's place...

"Hyung, what do you want for dinner?" Jeongin asked, looking in the contents of the fridge.

"I don't know, are you cooking today?" Minho asked.

"Oh, yeah." Jeongin said. "Are you hungry though?"

"Sort of."

"You seem really quiet. What's up?" Jeongin asked, his brow creasing.

"Nothing, just- i'm tired." Lee Know yawned. "Might go to bed."

"At this time?" Jeongin looked disgusted. "It's just 9 pm, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm getting older, Jeongin." Lee Know yawned. "It happens."

"Goodnight then, Grandpa."

"Hey, hey, just because I'm older than you doesn't mean you can call me grandpa!" Minho said.

"Fuck yeah I can."

Minho's eyes popped out. "Who the fuck is teaching you to swear so much?"

Jeongin took the milk out of the fridge. "Who do you think? Also, I'm not a baby."

"You know what? I'm going to sleep."

"Alright, goodnight. And if you happen to wake up later, I won't be there." Jeongin said.

"Why not?" Lee Know asked.

"I'm going to the club, with friends." Jeongin said, shiftily.

"Oh, alright."

As Lee Know walked away, he couldn't help but notice something weird in Jeongin's eyes, uneasy, almost?

He shrugged it off, maybe Jeongin was planning to have too many drinks. He'd ask Hyunjin.

Lee Know settled into bed, his thoughts drifting towards his date with Han. He really liked Han, and his presence in front of his stepmother, and how he was willing to continue even after his stepmother's threats. It made Lee Know feel hopeful, that despite all of that, Han may just be the one.

(A/N: Lee Know should really stop thinking and just marry Han. WTF is wrong with your author?)

Suddenly, Lee Know felt, weird, uneasy, all of a sudden. He didn't know where it sprung from, or why it happened.

His thoughts shifted back to the date, and the seemingly innocent walk that had turned into a run for the life. Even though that was the scariest shit of the day, that wasn't what had prompted a chill from his spine.

And his spine tingled, as he realized what it was.

How did Lee Know's stepmother know he was going on a date? He hadn't told anyone outside the house.