{^Taeil^}

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A knock interrupted the quiet murmur inside the apartment. Three heads quickly turned to look down the long corridor in confusion. Kihyun cocked his head to the side and said, "I wasn't expecting anyone." 

Immediately Sully placed his hand on Kihyun's shoulder to stop him from standing. Jaeseong almost gagged out loud at the protective gesture. 

Sully stood with a minor look of concern before slowly making his way to the door. He grabbed a baseball bat that Jaeseong had missed seeing. Jaeseong would be lying if he said he wasn't a little freaked out by the fact they had a fucking baseball bat next to the door (he honestly doubted either of them played baseball). Sully peered through the peep hole in the door. The apartment was silent as it's inhabitants held their breath in anticipation. They all stayed like that for a moment before another knock echoed through the room. Sully closed his eyes and looked down, sighing dejectedly. Taking a step back, he hesitantly unlocked the door. 

The door swung open with a loud bang. A gust of wind buffeted Kihyun and Jaeseong from the force of the blow. 

"Alright assholes, let's get this party started." 

A wiry boy with dirty blonde hair strolled past Sully and over the threshold. A pair of black reflective sunglasses perched cockily on the bridge of his nose. Confidence and energy radiated from him in waves. Meanwhile, Sully looked like all of his energy (if he had any to begin with) had transferred to the boy and for the third time that day, Jaeseong feared for his life. Kihyun had perked up as soon as he head the energetic boy's voice. 

"Taeil!" Kihyun said excitedly. He stood up abruptly and rushed towards the boy. Jaeseong could have sworn he was watching some dramatic romance movie scene. He could just imagine the beach stretching between the two as they ran to each other in slow motion. There were probably cherry blossom petals falling around them too because it was that cheesy. The two boys squealed in happiness as they tightly hugged. It was kind of like watching two teddy bears try and strangle each other to death. That might have just been Jaeseong's point of view though. 

Kihyun and Taeil pulled away and immediately began talking non stop. You'd think they hadn't seen each other in a month with the way they were talking each others ears off. Jaeseong felt lost as he tried to follow the flow of words but they were both talking way too fast for him to keep up. One word caught his attention. 

"....making up for Charm's loss. So that's the good news. I'm still high key dying because of what happened but you know maybe my life will go back to normal one day...." 

Jaeseong zoned back out after hearing that. His grip on his coffee cut tightened a bit. He hated being reminded of what he didn't have and now it was starting to really piss him off. But Jaeseong had bigger problems then moping about his miserable life. 

The loud scream Taeil let out could probably be heard across the world. Jaeseong coward back into his chair a little when he noticed Taeil's accusing finger pointed at him. While Jaeseong had been sulking the wiry boy had placed the sunglasses on top of his head. His eyes looked like they normally sparkled with mirth but a dark cloud of confusion and shock covered them now.

"Y-You're....but...I though...how are...what...????" The poor boy looked like he was going to explode because he didn't know what to say. Sully had followed Taeil into the room and was now leaning against the kitchen counter. Even though Jaeseong still couldn't read his emotions, he had a feeling Sully was pretty happy with Taeil being so tongue twisted. He didn't seem as happy though when Kihyun pulled Taeil to the other side of the room. 

Now on any other occasion Jaeseong could have given less of a shit about what people were talking about, especially if it was about him. He doesn't care what people thought but it was a small apartment so he couldn't help but overhear. 

They were only a foot or two away from Jaeseong and their version of a whisper is normal talking. This time Jaeseong could hear everything. "When I said we should kidnap Charm, I didn't literally mean it." Taeil said, trying to whisper but doing a piss poor job at it. 

"I didn't kidnap him, I saw him outside and I felt bad and I couldn't just leave him there so of course I took him in," Kihyun said. His voice was soft like before when he was talking to Sully. If there was one thing Jaeseong hated the most it was pity. To be honest Jaeseong hated a lot of things but pity was close to number one on his list. Right after his brother. 

"I didn't need your help." Neither of the boys on the other side of the room heard him but Sully heard Jaeseong loud and clear and before he knew it the tattooed boy's shadow was cast over him. Jaeseong glared up at Sully, no longer afraid of his domineering aura. Their tension was once again broken. 

The dirty blonde sat down in the chair next to Jaeseong and stared wide eyed at him. Kihyun sat in the chair across from Jaeseong and shared the same wonder filled look as Taeil. "So you're really are Jaeseong from Charm," Taeil said, his eyes were shimmering with awe and he rested his cheeks in the palms of his hands. Jaeseong scowled at the boy next to him. 

"Yeah, so," Jaeseong snapped. He always liked the fan meetings and having people pretty much worship him on the spot but this one on one interaction was making Jaeseong uncomfortable. He couldn't escape and it was going to last longer than a minute which was not ok to Jaeseong. He didn't do physical fan service. That was Taeyeon's area of expertise. Taeil reached out to touch Jaeseong but the ex-idol immediately slapped his hand away. Taeil looked shocked and offended for a moment before going back to a look of awe but it was a little more reserved this time. 

Choosing to ignore Jaeseong's rude comment and action Taeil scooted a little closer to Jaeseong and smiled mischievously. "So is it true that Mix wears 3 inch insoles." 

Jaeseong nearly laughed. A small smile played across his lips as he looked at Taeil carefully. Even with everything that happened, Jaeseong couldn't deny the close bond he had with him members. He could probably talk about them for hours on end. They all pretty much raised him so naturally he was in debt to them. But the happy memories still brought on sad memories so he put on his mask that he'd perfected over the years. Anger he could deal with and let out but sadness he kept to himself. 

"Yeah and Taeyeon wore hair extensions during the last 3 eras," Jaeseong said. A light laugh ghosted past his words. Taeil and Kihyun gasped in shock. Kihyun was leaning on top of the table to get closer to Jaeseong and the two were hanging on his every word. Just how he liked it. Sully had settled in the chair next to Kihyun and was writing something down in a notebook. Jaeseong couldn't really tell what he was writing but he was really focused on it. 

"Does Taeyeon mother everyone even off screen??" Kihyun asked. Both pairs of brown eyes fixed on Jaeseong were wide with curiosity. 

"Of course," Jaeseong said, rolling his eyes. "Taeyeon can't go a day without trying to wrap me up in as many coats and scarves till I practically drown in them." Jaeseong trailed off sadly as he remembered the older member's constant nagging that he was going to get sick if he didn't put on a coat. 

"I bet Hanbin gets super annoyed with him for it." Jaeseong stiffened at Kihyun's words. Just hearing the name made him bristle. If he had known that one of his group members would cause such anger to boil inside of him then he would never have accepted the offer to the company. Jaeseong turned bitterly from the two balls of energy and receded into himself again. 

"How are you going to stay here?" Sully asked. Jaeseong furrowed his brow in confusion but didn't look away from where his gaze was fixed on the wall. The room was quiet for a moment before Sully continued. 

"There are three of us living here and we can barely pay for rent and food and water and electricity so unless you have money up your ass you're going to need to either get a job or leave." Jaeseong was surprised at Sully's pure bluntness but at the same time he wasn't really surprised at the tattooed boy's harsh words. 

"Sully!!" Kihyun frowned at the boy next to him. Sully just ignored him and continued to stare intensely at the ex-idol. Jaeseong turned away from the wall and sent his own glare to Sully. 

"Hey Cat's Corner Cafe is looking for baristas," Taeil said. The sunglasses had somehow made their way back onto his nose.

"Good idea Taeil!!" Kihyun said, smiling brightly at him. Taeil sent a smug look to Sally but it was gone as quick as it came. Jaeseong had a feeling Sully saw because his hands clenched.

"Maybe Pet Boy can get you a job cause he works there." Kihyun stood and grabbed Jaeseong out of his seat.

Jaeseong yelped in surprise. "Pet Boy!?!?" Jaeseong's bare feet stumbled as Kihyun dragged him towards the stairs. Jaeseong gulped nervously. He had no idea how he was going to survive living here.

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I know it says no Monsta X face claims in the rules but this form was submitted before I decided that and I'm a sucker for Hyungwon so I couldn't help myself

Sorry for being late on this chapter but I didn't have time

shookthao

I hope I wrote Taeil ok. If not please let me know and I'll fix it.

I think that's it?? This is probably the shortest author's note I've ever written X3 but I really wanted to post this