Yoongi's POV-

I knew it was only a matter of time until she made her first move.

It actually took a little longer than I thought, but Irene has never been one to pass up a dramatic reappearance into my life.

When she got word of me talking to IU she also sent gifts.

That was a bit more malicious though. More cunning.

She sent gifts not to IU but to IU's family members in IU's name.

This went on for months, even after the news broke that she and I were doing a collaboration, not in any way involved in a romantic relationship.

Irene sent cards, flowers, and gifts for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduations, any event worth celebrating in that specific person's life.

I don't know how she got a hold of such personal information because those things weren't public knowledge by any means, but it was definitely a warning to IU to show what Irene was capable of.

To warn her to stay away from me.

I had only found out about her doing these things after reaching out to IU to apologize for what happened after her name was brought up that day Irene admitted to fucking with my life.

At least this time I will be with the person she is trying to rid from me and can support them in fending off any of her attempts to get to them.

This week we completed the final touches on the apartment.

It's not by chance that she sent this now. She's been keeping tabs on us. On what is going on with this apartment. On Kook.

This is just the first of many moves she is going to make. The first play of the game.

"This was in the hall?" I ask as I continue to glare at the box.

"Yes. Just in front of the door."

"This is her handwriting," I frown, picking up the small note card before crumpling it in my fist.

"Do you think security could show us the video from the cameras today?"

"We can see but she's probably had the tape scrubbed," I clench my jaw.

"Should I be worried?" He asks in a quiet voice.

My shoulders slump as I lean forward to rest my palms on the kitchen island.

He needs to know what we're up against.

I don't want him to think I'm weak, but he needs to know about the relationship between her and I.

"Let's go sit," I voice finally, reaching my hand out for him.

He laces his fingers with mine and we go to the living room, sitting down on his couch with our hands still interlocked.

I chew my bottom lip while we sit in silence as I contemplate where to start.

Well, I might as well start from the very beginning. I take a deep breath as I prepare myself for the rather long story.

"Before I was signed with my current company I was an underground rapper, as you know, but what you probably don't know is that there were two separate points in my underground career that I had been contacted by scouts to be signed as a trainee.

"The first time was for a well known company. When word got out in my hometown that I was on track to get signed by them, people tried to latch onto me. From school acquaintances to people I'd known for years, even some blood relatives.

"They seemingly came out of thin air, clawing to get into my life. Faked support and genuine loyalty so that when they asked for something down the line I was more likely to say yes.

"There were a few trainees signed around the same time I was and two of them in particular I became quite close with, one being a boy and the other Irene.

"She was from my hometown too and she tried to warn me about disingenuous people taking advantage of me because the same thing had happened to her. She said that she fell for it and she didn't want the same thing to happen to me, but I didn't believe her.

"At that time the thought was unfathomable. Who would do that to someone? Treat someone like that? Surely not anyone I knew. Then my contract fell through and I was right back at home and all those people were gone out of my life as quickly as they showed up. Just as she had warned.

"Everyone was gone except the two trainees that tried to help me. They both tried to keep in contact after I had left, but she was more consistent with reaching out.

"They both stayed in the trainee program and his debut was scheduled to be sooner than hers so he got busy but she would talk to me by phone or text multiple times a day to offer me words of comfort.

"Tell me everything I wanted to hear. Flatter me incessantly. She would tell me how good I was, that someone would see my talent someday. That I just had to be patient and I would get the recognition I deserved.

"After I got home I was so disappointed with how everything turned out but she would constantly, almost obsessively, send me messages checking in on me and even send gifts when she would find out about my especially bad days.

"That lasted for about three months, then things started to shift. Nothing huge at first, but she started subtly comparing me to guys she would meet. How the new choreographer was so funny or a new trainee arrived and he was really cheerful and outgoing. Obviously the opposite of how I was. How I am.

"She made me feel like I needed to change my personality and be someone different in order to keep her. So I did. I was completely out of my comfort zone, but I needed her. She was the only thing keeping my spirits up. Keeping my head above water.

"Then she started pulling away. Texting and calling me less and less. The way things changed so quickly made me think I did something wrong. That she must have decided those guys were better than me.

"That I wasn't enough. That I was a burden. That it was my fault she didn't like me anymore. It was so confusing and my self-esteem was gone along with my happiness.

"Every piece of myself left was gone when she was gone because I depended on her almost completely. I needed her to tell me everything would be okay so when she took those words away I fell into a deep depression.

"Nothing my parents or the friends I had left would say brought me comfort. The only person I wanted was her. I used these emotions in my music.

"Focused all of my energy on performing and producing and then the day came when I was contacted again by an agency and offered a contract. And then suddenly she reappeared in my life. I was so happy that she was back that I completely overlooked her timing.

"How she hadn't spoken to me for months and then suddenly as soon as I am signed she reached out." I shake my head thinking back on my naive way of thinking. I was so stupid.

"After getting signed I moved to Seoul and we were closer to each other and it was great. Everything seemed to be back to us being blissfully in love. I took her home to meet my parents and I had never done that with anyone before.

"They seemed to love her, which was expected. Everyone loves her. She's beautiful and knows how to present herself to the public. It wasn't until a few months later that we got in a fight over her flirting with some guy in front of me and us throwing insults back and forth that I thought to bring up how she only reached out to me after I became successful.

"After I said that she broke down into tears and was so hurt that I would even think that she would be like those people. That I thought so little of her. That she must have not meant as much to me as I did to her.

"She turned the fight on me and pointed out that maybe I was the problem. That was her go to tactic to use against me. We would fight and then she would make me feel like I did something wrong.

"That she was the victim. I would bring up insults and things she had said and she would blatantly deny having said it. To such an extent sometimes that I would believe her and think I must have just misunderstood.

"We had been together officially for about a year at this point and then after one particularly loud and emotional fight she told me I never loved her and told me to leave. It was the first time we had 'broken up.'

"I did so gladly and was done with her. I had reconnected with my friend that was a trainee with Irene and I at the previous company as he ended up being dropped by them as well. He saw how hurt and how little I thought of myself and worked to build me up and I did the same for him.

"He was in the same place I was when I was sent home. He had just lost his dream and his motivation. He was suicidal, but I knew how to help him because I had been there too... but that story is for another time."

I turned to look at Kook briefly to see him looking down at our hands as he rubs circles on the back of mine, nodding slowly, listening closely.

I continue, "In the middle of helping him I started talking to a guy. He wasn't an idol or a trainee. Just a guy and we liked each other. He made me laugh and I liked spending time with him. Getting to know him.

"We had been talking for almost two months and then one day he just stopped. Completely ghosted me and I went right back to that head space of thinking something was wrong with me.

"Wondering what I do to make people treat me like this. And then she appeared again saying she was sorry, that she overreacted and was wrong to treat me like that.

"She told me she realized how good she had it with me and started the same cycle of extreme flattery and compliments to pull me in but then her actions would contradict her words.

"She would be really clingy and sweet one minute but then ignore my messages for hours and be out late. Then she'd come home and we would fight and she would make herself the victim again and turn it on me.

"Sometimes I would be sick of it and would leave but within a few hours I would call and apologize profusely, promising her I'd be better for her. I played into her games every time. Every fucking time.

"When she mastered gaslighting, that was really a turning point for things to go from bad to worse. That is when she really learned how to control me.

"She would say such awful things and tell me I was worthless, lazy and didn't deserve the good things that were happening to me. If I asked about her comments she would deny having said any of that or twist her words so that I would see it as constructive criticism out of love, not her being verbally abusive and oppressive.

"She would even use my depression and anxiety to explain away my so-called 'overreactions' to her words. She would say something or I would say something and I'd leave and we'd break up and wouldn't talk for months.

"Something good would happen for me, she would reach out to congratulate me and I would be pulled right back in by her sweet words of affirmation and congratulations.

"Or I would meet someone and hit it off with them then they would disappear a month or two later and I would fall back into blaming myself for not being enough and go back to my insecurities, then she would reappear."

I can feels tears running down my cheeks and I pause to compose myself to finish this story.

"I would get depressed and vulnerable all over again and the cycle would restart. She would show up every fucking time. And I was always so happy that she'd be back that I wouldn't even realize her timing was planned. This last trip home was because of her.

"She asked if I would come and see her at our usual place because she needed comfort and was stressed about work so I dropped everything and went to her. On my way there though I kind of came to my senses and I was planning on ending it again because I was just so tired of the bullshit.

"We had a fight and she confessed to something she can't possibly explain away or deny this time. She admitted that she is the one that drives people out of my life. That she would blackmail or pay off anyone I was interested in.

"She did it so she was still in control. She would purposely push me into those dark places of my insecurities so she would appear to be a ray of sunshine in my darkness. My savior was the one that was inflicting my pain."

I close my eyes as tears fall down my face.

A few minutes ago Kook moved from where he was sat next to me to pull me on his lap while he hugged me tightly.

I can hear him sniffling along with me as I lean my head against his and have my arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"That day I left, I was done. I am done. I don't want her to have that power over my life and my emotions anymore. What I'm worried about now is you."

My bottom lip starts to tremble and I have to fight to keep myself from sobbing, "I don't want her to get to you. To drive you away too. That's why I don't want you to leave. Please don't leave. She chases everyone away."

I lose my fight and my sobbing begins. "Please Kook. Please."

I begin clawing at his shirt as I start to panic.

I don't know what is going to happen. What she is planning to get Kook away from me but I am terrified that whatever it is, it will be another success.