No time for my brain and heart to adjust to this, my phone rings, so I quickly leave Joonha's lap and pick up the call. "Hello?" I get out of the room to be alone and close the door behind me. "Hey, I'm sorry to call at this hour, I hope you were not trying to sleep, but I need to talk to you about something."

"I was just watching Joonha play and talking so don't worry, I wasn't in bed. You can tell me," I lean back on the wall to be ready to listen carefully, feeling nervous when there is no good reason to be. "Alright, I'm calling you instead of Joonha because I know that if I talk about it over the phone, this is going to go wrong, and he'll end up being mad at me, so since I know how calm you are, I want to talk about it with you," he tells me, giving me the explanation. "Oh, okay. I see, but what is it about? Is it that serious?"

"Uhm, this is about Harin, we were dining, but the thing is that she told me that you've been having problems at your house with the electricity, and it's been difficult for her since this morning because she claims that she couldn't pay the bill this month, and there's no water or electricity in your house, so first of all, I wanted to know from you if this was true or not," he worries about what can and cannot be trusted, and with pity, I glance down. "That's a lie, Mister Jeon. She has more than enough money, so unless she spent all the money on something completely unnecessary, she's lying."

"Okay..." he sighs, hating what she is taking him for and feeling stupid for sure. "Well, she asked me if she could come to my house for a week, and I didn't know if it was true or not, I wanted to believe her, and in the spur of the moment, I couldn't say no," he proves me right. He proves me that she is getting what she wants from him, gradually, and I knew this would happen. "So she's going to come back with me...and spend the week with us. I really had no choice, y/n, I felt horrible and couldn't refuse..."

"It's okay, Mister Jeon. Don't be worried, I'm going to talk to Joonha about it and leave the house so that she doesn't know—"

"Wait, what?" he cuts me off. "You're not going to leave, y/n. Where are you going to go? I just have to tell her that you came and visited Joonha today, you don't have to leave. Do not do that."

"She'll know that I lied to her. I'd rather not...face her...so I can't stay, but it's fine. I can just go back home while you're driving here, or I can call someone. Don't worry about that," I reassure him, feeling hatred for the woman that I cannot stop but only live with depending on what she does. "I'm gonna talk to Joonha, try not to come back too early. Warn me about it so that I know if I ever have to hurry."

"Y/n..." he pronounces my name in a regretful voice, but I smile, handling the situation like I am used to doing it. "It's okay, Mister Jeon. See you, and be careful on the road," I hang up, not being mad at him but her and me.

I take a deep breath before opening the door and stand on my spot, knowing this is useless to go back on his lap.

"Hey, I have to talk to you but quick," I watch him turn his chair towards me, expressing worry. "So, my mom made your dad feel bad again, she lied about some stuff to get him by his feelings, and she kinda forced him to take her home but also put her up for a whole week—"

"What?!" he reacts like I expected him to. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're joking right now, aren't you?" he does not believe me, or does not want to. "I'm not joking, Joonha, but please, don't be mad. Your dad didn't have a choice, she lied and manipulated him again. Don't be mad at him, alright? I have to hurry though because I can't stay here, otherwise,  she's gonna go berserk if she sees that I was actually staying here—"

"Wait, I need a moment," he lifts his hand up to not let me continue once again. "You're not leaving this house. I don't give a fuck about this bitch. You stay with us, and she doesn't come in."

"Joonha," I sigh at him. "Try to understand your dad and not make it even harder for him. I understand you though, I'd be upset if I was you, but your dad is just too kind..."

"Of course he is, I know that. I'm not mad at him right now, but I can't accept that. What kind of fucking bullshit did she tell him to get him to say yes?! He knows how much I hate her!" he does not control his anger, but since it might help for later, I let him take it out. "I can't believe this," he grabs hold of his phone and starts texting him. "Promise you won't be angry with him, please."

"I won't, but I'm not letting this bitch step inside my house," he brings his phone up to his ear, calling his dad to have a talk, but since I do not have time to listen, I leave and go downstairs to pack up.

If she ever sees me here, realizes that I was staying here and that I lied to her, she is going to hurt me again. Last time was enough to cause me constant pain, I have not recovered from the last fight, and I do not want to have to deal with another one tonight or any time soon. I have no choice but to call Moosaeng for some help.

"Y/n!" Joonha shouts my name as I dropped my luggage on my bed, but I make fast to get all my clothes and belongings in it. "Y/n," he bursts into the room, still on the phone. "You stop that," he grips my luggage. "You're the one I invited, not her. So you fucking stay here— Dad, I don't care. You tell her I'm not agreeing to it."

I do not pay attention to him but still put everything inside. "Dad, please. I'm begging you. Do not bring her here. I'm seriously not going to be okay with it. Like, I'm not even kidding, if I see you come home with her, I pack all my stuff and go to mom's house."

I punch him for saying that, knowing how pressuring this could be for his dad.

"No, I'd rather stand mom's husband than her. I can't," he shakes his head, but I tell him to leave. "I need to put some other clothes on, get out."

"No, you stay, so no need to get changed," he talks to me but holds his phone down and puts an end to the call. "I'm not joking. I'm not letting you leave."

"Joonha. You don't know what's gonna happen if she knows I was here and lied," I try to make him understand and shut my luggage. "Tell me then. What's gonna happen? Is she gonna get mad?"

"Yes," I close the zipper but see him nearly panicking. "And? I'll calm that bitch down. She can get as mad as she wants, I'm gonna—"

"Stop," I look up into his eyes. "Please. You don't get it," I walk away to head towards the desk and unplug my tablet, then I move back to the luggage to grab a pair of pajama pants. "Are you scared of her?"

I shake my head, and I put my pants on. "Then why are you hurrying if you're not? Did you give her a name when you told her you'd be at a friend's house?"

"No," I grab my phone to check if Mister Jeon has warned me yet. "Then you didn't lie. You can tell her that I'm the friend you were talking about."

"She doesn't want me to be near your dad, and even if I didn't give a name, she'll take it as a lie," I put my phone down and head to the bathroom. "Is it—"

"But I don't care. You stay here, you told me you'd spend the weekend with us. We can barely see each other because of work, so stay," he does not quit, but I do not give in either. "Is it okay if I leave my stuff in the bathroom? I'll come back tomorrow, alright?"

"No, it's not alright," he complicates the problem, but since I am talking to a wall, I decide to go now. I take my luggage and put it down on the floor. "Don't leave your dad alone with her," I get my phone in my hand and walk up to the door, but he rushes towards it and blocks the way so that I cannot get out. "You're forcing me to act like a child."

"Are you serious, Joonha?" I sigh at his behavior, and he crosses his arms. "I am, and I'm telling you, I'm staying here until my dad comes back."

"Stop right away, this is not funny," I do not go forward but stay still, waiting for him to step away. "I know, I'm not joking. You don't even have to go out, she won't know you're here if you stay in my room. You get out tomorrow, and we all pretend that you came here early in the morning while she was sleeping."

"This is dumb," I do not agree. "No, it's not. So either you promise me you're getting out to get in my room, or I don't move."

"You can't be serious..." I sharply exhale and turn away, not believing he is actually going this far just to keep me here with him. "You just have to hide. We ate dinner already, so no need to care about the food, I'll get some snacks if you want, and I'll sleep on my chair."

"I'm not gonna make you sleep on a chair when I'll have the whole bed for myself. I'd rather sleep on the floor," I lose my composure, not standing his behavior anymore and stressing out. "Then we'll sleep on my bed together. I don't mind."

I peek down at my phone at the sound of my ringtone, and a text from Mister Jeon warns me about him coming back. "Move away, Joonha. Your dad's coming," I grip the handle of my luggage and go forth, but he remains where he is. "I'll come back tomorrow, so let me go."

"Then that's fucking useless," he does not listen to me at all. "You're gonna go out in the middle of the night with all your stuff, in your fucking pajamas, and have no one with you when you could just sleep here and hide!"

"Fine!" I do not try anymore but let him win. "You got it! I'm staying!" I shout and throw my luggage away. "I knew that already," he dares to show arrogance and takes hold of my stuff, and he opens the door now that he is satisfied. "Come with me before he gets home."

No matter how mad I am at him, I do as told but first get my stuff in the bathroom, my toothbrush, my hair and body products, and I go upstairs to walk in his room. I close the door once I am inside, and I go to his bathroom to drop everything on a cabinet and tidy up.

"You better not be mad at me, alright?" he fears that I might give him the silent treatment, and I do. Only some minutes will be enough. If I ever get caught by my mom, I will be the one paying for it, not him, and he does not realize how bad this could be.

"Hey," he speaks, asking for my attention, but I keep quiet. "Y/n, you're gonna sleep in my bed tonight, and I'll be with you, so be careful with what you do, alright?" he comes closer and goes right behind me, but I walk away now that I am done and go back in the bedroom to take my pants off and remain in a nightie, feeling less hot in this.

Right when I drop my clothing on his bed, his arms wrap my waist, and he back hugs me. "She won't know. I promise. I'll make sure you're safe," he speaks in a gentle and soothing voice, having no idea how effective it is. It works on me because this comes from him. "Okay?" he presses his lips on my cheek, and I nod.

"Then stop making this face, it's ugly," he judges me, and I turn my head to glare at him. "It's my natural face."

"No, your natural face is a bitch face," he continues without a single compliment to make it up. "Right now you look upset, so you're ugly. I want to see your pretty bitch face or cute happy one."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you won't see it tonight," I disappoint him and push forth to get on his bed. "And since I stayed, you have to promise me you'll be kind to your dad and not show any anger," I lay down as he did not move from an inch but slid his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. "I promise."

"We're not lying to him, alright? You're gonna tell him I'm here, I'm not pretending to have left," I assert, not planning on taking Mister for a fool like my stepmother does. "I know. I wasn't gonna lie."

"Good," I cross my arms over my chest and look down but notice that he is not doing anything. We both remain quiet, with no awkwardness or tension, we simply do not speak.

Wondering where Mister Jeon is at this right moment, I look for my phone and check if he sent me another text.

He has not.

Without saying anything, Joonha walks out of the room, leaving me alone in his private space. Not knowing what he is doing and when he will be back, I get out of the bed and move towards his desk. I sit down on his comfortable gaming chair and walk around the house he built.

It lacks vegetation, so I look in one of his chests to make scissors and walk out. I am going to look for some plants, leaves, or more flowers and add them to the decoration.

The door already opens, but he is not alone. He has Choco in one arm. "Hey, are you going to destroy my house to get revenge?" he comes closer. "No. I'm decorating."

"Can I sit down?" he asks, cutely, so I stand up to let him get on his chair, then once he is down, I sit on his lap and keep playing, but he forces me backwards and puts Choco on my thighs. "He's going to brighten up your mood."

I smile but cannot hold back, I turn my head and look at him. "Why did you absolutely want me to stay?"

"Because I wanna spend time with you," he pets the puppy who did not wait to use my thighs as a bed. "And I didn't want you to leave in the middle of the night."

"I'd have called Moosaeng. I would have been alright," I focus back on the game to not die and ruin his world. "Who's that?"

"My boss, I forgot I never told you his name," I let him know, finally so that I do not have to call him 'my boss' anymore. "Hm. Good to know."

"Stop acting like that whenever I mention him," I push my hips back against him and look into his eyes, but he stares without saying anything, and he licks his soft lips that formed a smile, but Choco jumps away from my lap to get on the bed.

"Did you see a doctor for the bruises you have?" he ruins the mood with a topic I do not want to talk about with anyone. I set my eyes back on the screen and shake my head, but his hand touches the painful spot. "It's here, right?"

"Yes," I hurry to go back to his house, the sun going down, but Joonha rubs his thumb over my hip. "Can I see it?"

"Why? I'm putting Arnica over it every day, so it's okay," I do not show it, not because I am insecure, but only because he will realize how big and serious it is. "I just wanna check how bad it is. I'm used to getting bruises because of skating, so I can tell if you should go to the doctor or not."

"I'm alright, Joonha," I reassure him. "And on top of that, I'll have to pull my nightie up, so no."

"What's the problem about that?" he pretends not to understand, his hand rubbing the right spot when he has never seen it before. "Are you kidding me?" I send him a cold look. "That means you're gonna see my underwear."

"Would you say the same to your doctor if you had to take your clothes off?" he compares himself to a professional, and I scoff. "It's a doctor. You're my friend. It's different."

"Well, not if I'm a helpful friend who will only do this with a doctor's eyes," his response makes me giggle, loving how good he is at getting his way. "Stop trying," I step inside his house and close the doors. "I know you won't do it with a doctor's eyes."

"You're wrong...You're misjudging me, and I am sad to hear you say that about me," his acting performance reaches the expert level, and I stop focusing on the game to turn to the side and have his face within sight. "Oh, really? I'm sorry for offending you, good boy."

A smile grows on his face right away, his eyes never breaking the contact that he easily makes deep enough to cause me to feel nervous and glance away. "What did you say? I couldn't hear the last two words," he pricks up his ears as if I did not talk loud enough. "You need to tell it right in my ear because with all the barking every day, I'm getting seriously deaf..."

Aware of his kink and not doubting it anymore at this point, I lean in to bring my lips close to his ear, and I whisper into it. "You're a sub," I pull away and laugh, but he stares with discontent. "You know you're gonna be in my bed all night long, right?"

"And?" I dare him to say the words he has on his mind. "You said you don't do anything without consent."

"Oh, so you're thinking about sex right away? I wasn't talking about that," he makes me the dirty-minded one when I know that is what he was implying. "I was talking about spanking to make you  regret it."

"Sure," I do not believe him, but he lays his hand over my knee. "Yes, sure. Does that mean you wouldn't give me your consent though?"

I shrug, not answering with a certain word to make it ambiguous. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to know," he does not even try to use a great and smart excuse. "You know I'm a curious boy." 

"I'm curious too, so I wanna know why you wanna know," I return it against him, and he chuckles. "I told you. There's no other reason."

"Ok—" the sound of a front door opening downstairs makes us both turn our heads, and I do not even talk anymore. I look at Joonha's reaction, but he sighs and sets his eyes on his computer screen. His right hand squeezes my thigh in a tender manner, almost as if it was nervous, and he locks eyes with me. "Can't you stay here for the week too?"

"You're going to stand me for a whole week?" I do not say no but smile, and he nods, not looking fine as we can both hear his dad coming in with my stepmother. "Yes, I'd be happy. For real."

"I don't want your dad to have to—"

"He accepted to have her here for a whole week, so I don't care, and where are you gonna go anyway?" he makes a point. "Don't you even dare say 'at my boss' house', or I choke you in your sleep."

I laugh but do as asked, and I do not mention the man he never wants to hear about. "Unless it's because you don't wanna be with me, then I'd rather hear the boss excuse which will save me from a heartbreak."

"You're so dramatic," I cannot help scoffing at his manipulation, knowing he is not serious but just being playful. "Don't worry. I'll stay if you want me to, I'll protect you from her."

"Yes, protect—" some knocking on the door cuts his sentence short, and out of fear, I run away from his lap, but he rises and catches me. "Get on my bed," he whispers to me. "There's no need to hide from my dad," he tells me, so I trust him and sit down on his bed but make sure I cannot be seen by anyone outside the room.

"Joonha?" Mister Jeon knocks again, so Joonha opens the door but does not make the gap too wide. "Hey, where is y/n?" he asks in a low voice, and Joonha points his finger at me. A short moment of silence occurs, then Mister Jeon comes in, and Joonha closes the door. "I didn't let her go. So she's gonna sleep and hide here, and we'll pretend she came early in the morning tomorrow."

Mister Jeon's eyes scan me up and down, and we look at each other. "Alright...I was worried..." he whispers, none of them speaking in a voice that could be heard from outside. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" he addresses his son, who is obviously not very pleased about the situation he is in because of my stepmother.

"I'm mad, but not at you," he does not break our promise, relieving me with a good answer. "If you know she's lying, why aren't you sending her back to her house?"

"I don't want to talk about it here..." he refuses to explain in front of me. "Alright. Why are you here then?" Joonha goes back on his chair, upset about what has been done and which he will have to deal with. "I wanted to check where she was, and I wanted to see you because I knew you'd be mad."

"Hm," he barely answers but does something on his computer, and Mister Jeon sighs at his behavior. He slides one hand into a pocket of his trousers and brings the other up to his face, making me notice that he is still wearing my ring. "Can't you greet her—"

"No," he cuts him off, not even putting his eyes on him but his screen. "I'm sorry, but I won't, dad. I will not even look at her, not talk to her, and not answer her."

"Joonha...I..." he pushes his inner cheek with his tongue. "Alright...We'll talk about it later," he steps back to grab the handle of the door but looks at me. A soft smile, which exudes a lot of struggle, curves his reddish lips up. "Are you okay?"

I nod to him, returning the gentle expression. "Have you eaten well?"

"I did, and you?" I whisper. "I did too. Text me if you need or want to talk about something, okay?"

"Okay," I do not glance away, the eye contact lasting, he lets out one last 'Good" and steps out of the room.

No voices can be heard, only the clicking sound of Joonha's mouse. I set my eyes on him, hugging my legs and wondering what is going to happen in the upcoming days.

"Where is she going to sleep?" I ask in a low voice, but he does not turn towards me, he plays. "We have another bedroom on this floor, so she better sleep there and not try to get in my dad's one."

"She will," I tell him, not reassuring him but knowing the truth and not hiding it. "I know she will try to sleep with him," my sentence makes him turn his head. "She can try as much as she wants, my dad will never do anything with her."

"I hope so..." I do not believe in this sentence to the full, feeling like Mister Jeon could have a hard time saying no. "I know he won't. No need to hope."

— Next day —

Sunday, August 8th, 2021.

10 am.

I leave Joonha's bedroom after my late morning routine, my phone in my hand to text the one who went out to help Seunggil with some stuff at his house.

[ I'm going down the stairs to meet Satan rn so no, I'm not okay >

< come on, remember what I said "I came here at 5 in the morning because Joonha wanted to see me" That's your excuse. Okay? Don't mess up ]

[ have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm used to lying to her, I became an expert overtime >

< I know:3 ]

I smile but look down to finally reach the floor, and I look for Mister Jeon but see no one other than Choco around, so I walk up to the kitchen, and I take the grape juice out to drink some.

The cold liquid going down my throat, the sound of a door grasps my attention, and I turn around but fall upon my mother who is going out of Mister Jeon's office.

She looks at me but presses her red lips together and unties her hair. Without saying anything or reacting to my presence, she steps away and heads towards the bathroom.