[A/N] As promised (i was a few hours late) :D

Softness was the only thing I could feel as my eyes stared at the ceiling blankly, occasionally glancing over at a boy sleeping in a chair on the other side of the room. My heart raced in anticipation of his eyes opening to meet mine. Instead, I was met with small snores escaping his pouted mouth, as he shifted in his position every so often.

He stayed the whole night, no matter how much discomfort he felt. I smiled gently to myself, admiring him. All of him. He could've left me to die, which was what I would've expected. Yet, he didn't. My brain was still wrapping around that.

But most importantly, the monster haunting me had been silenced, and all I felt was light.

Finally, Taehyung opened his eyes and it seemed as if the heavens had offered a second chance to me; a chance to redo what happened yesterday morning.

"Annie?" he chuckled, before standing to his feet and stretching. "Why are you up?"

I shrugged, groaning slightly from the pain it inflicted on my shoulder. "Couldn't sleep,"

Taehyung sighed before kneeling next to me. "Let's see your shoulder," he whispered so gently, his voice resembled that of velvet. He gently moved the sleeve of my shirt and took a glance at the scratch. "It looks better than last night, thankfully."

I chuckled quietly, "how did you learn to do that?"

"To what?"

"You know, healing wounds and stuff."

Taehyung's eyes averted to mine, pulling the blanket over my body. "Books, and a lot of fights."

My eyes softened. "I'm sorry,"

He waved his hand in dismissal, "it's alright, what do you expect from being famous? Especially surrounded by jealous kids."

I bit my lip and sighed, "people do some strange things when they're angry," I muttered and Taehyung nodded.

He looked down awkwardly. "I didn't mean to be nosy, but...I noticed you had this strange scar on your stomach last night. It was quite large, and I was wondering if something happened,"

I frowned not recalling anything of the sorts, "what scar?"

Taehyung grew closer to me, and my breath hitched watching his hand hesitantly reach for the fabric of my shirt. "May I?"

I was afraid at first, nervousness laced in my gaze as I stared back into his own. But the warm and gentle eyes he returned made that fear dissolve, and I nodded.

Gently, he pulled the fabric back, and his eyes roamed my stomach curiously, before his hand traced a line on my lower stomach, making me gasp slightly at his cold touch. "This one,"

My eyes widened, and I felt the tears beginning to sting my eyes — I knew that exact scar. I could hear the voices... the voices of the boys, and the shrill screaming.

Upon seeing my eyes change, Taehyung pulled away. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I should've-"

"No," I mumbled my gaze meeting his again. "It's not your fault, it's just... painful, where I got it from."

I took a deep breath. I don't know why I was telling him this, but it felt right.

"12 years ago, I had a friend named Hana. She was killed." I said, my bottom lip trembling. "They didn't try to kill me. At least not at that moment, but they stabbed me."

Taehyung visibly winced, eyes softening with worry.

"Instead they cuffed me to a pole in a dark alley, leaving me for dead." I finished, biting my lip to hold back the rush of tears, "I almost did, but I escaped."

I could feel Taehyung's comforting presence warming me. "It was my fault. I couldn't save Hana that day." I licked my lips as tears began to cascade down my cheeks. "I'm just like the rest of them."

Taehyung shook his head, pulling me into a gentle embrace. I buried my face in his chest, allowing all the tears to spill out, and all the emotions I bottled up to resurface. However, the pain in my chest wasn't as heavy, for Taehyung's comforting aura helped me through it. He stayed silent, running his hands up and down my back to soothe me.

"You are not a bad person at all, Annie. You may think I'm saying this because I pity you...but I'm not." He whispered, "none of the pain you saw that day is your fault."

I sniffled, wrapping my arms around his waist to hold him closer.

"Is this why you acted that way with me?" Taehyung asked, arms loosening slightly at the realization. "Did you think you didn't deserve my kindness?"

I nodded.

Taehyung chuckled lightly, "Well, I'm not going anywhere." he said, causing my mouth to curve into a small smile. I never felt so comforted and appreciated in my life.

***

Narrator's POV

The room would appear to be empty according to most, for its blinding darkness and throbbing silence were obvious indicators. The room was all but that. It carried a burden that one man held, clad in black clothing while he waited for the important phone call.

The phone call that would change everything.

He tapped his foot impatiently, gloved hands folded neatly and eyes glued to the phone. That's when the screen lit up, and it began to ring. The man almost immediately answered, bringing the phone to rest at his ear.

"Yes, boss?" Seungkwan asked gulping down the fear settling in his throat.

"I wish to say to meet the leader of 0AR." The man said, voice hoarse.

Seungkwan smiled in relief. After living his whole life in the street — the bottom of the pyramid — he wanted revenge. The Order provided nothing for people like him. They did nothing when his parents died, nothing when his house set on fire — they didn't even know. The Order was too caught in their own riches to even notice the struggle of the poor.

But he was going to bite back, and now that 0AR were on his boss' side, they would be unstoppable against the puny Order.

His blood rushed through him in excitement, causing his nervous shaking to subside.

"What do I tell 0AR?" Seungkwan whispered into the phone, afraid someone might be listening.

"Tell him what he wants to hear. Remember, they don't know about this plan. They want peace. So, be peaceful."

That's when the phone was hung up by his boss, and Seungkwan sighed. He prayed in his mind that this would work — that the plan his boss took hours planning wasn't flawed, otherwise, he wouldn't discover the relief that he so desperately wanted.

That's why Seungkwan joined in the first place.

The blame was already known. He knew that cutting off the root would kill the plant, and its power would diminish. Only then, would the pain resting in his chest disappear. The pain built up from years of mistreatment. The pain from hours of hard work only to be viewed as nothing.

Seungkwan placed the phone back in his pocket, before pulling his hood over his head, and running through the vacant streets. It was dark, the stars glittering above him being the only source of light. He glanced over at the homes around him, the humans fast asleep and unaware of the plans to destroy the Order.

Eventually, he reached a dark alleyway, placing his ring finger and middle finger upward, while his pinky and index folded toward his palm, creating a rabbit like shape. That's when a man stepped out, hands in the same position as they walked toward each other silently.

Seungkwan rolled his shoulders back, in attempts to make his nervousness lessen in the presence of the 0AR's leader.

"Update?" the man said lowly.

"We are ahead of schedule according to the boss. Apparently the Order has begun to trust the girl." Seungkwan explained dryly, acting as professional as possible. "Your plan of bringing justice has been working."

The leader's already narrow eyes shrunk further in thought, as he nodded, "faster the better I suppose."

Seungkwan nodded. "Boss said he'll do the rest now, which I suppose is getting the Order to trust the girl more."

"So, what's next?" The man asked.

"Telling the Order about our ideas." Seungkwan smirked. "You'll get your wish of compensation don't worry. The boss will keep his promise."

Seungkwan gulped, glancing at the dark brick surrounding them, black graffiti decorating the walls. He couldn't make out what the words were saying, for they were in Korean. But the way it creepily dripped down the brick like blood, he understood the message loud and clear.

Seungkwan almost didn't realize the leader growing closer until he gasped when the man spoke again."Hey, keep your eyes on me, boy." The older man said. "You hiding something?"

Seungkwan swallowed hard, shaking his head vigorously. "No, sir."

The older man scoffed. "Let's hope, because I have a whole organization I'm running here." he said with a threatening smile, making the skin on Seungkwan's neck prickle. "I could have you dead in mere minutes, so I suggest you and your boss tread lightly."

Seungkwan nodded, clenching his fist so tight he was afraid it might bleed.

"Is that understood?" The elder man said, studying the sweat trickling down the younger boy's face

"U-understood, sir."

[A/N]

Shorter chapter today! I hope you guys liked it :)

Annie and Taehyung are getting closer which is... hehehehehehehe- 👹

anyway-

Next chapter is gonna be longer (and lighter) so don't worry my friends, you shall be satisfied 👌