"Truly, I ain't got no business here."

~A.C

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"Lily! What're you doing here?" you ask, personifying my thoughts exactly. From where I'm sitting, I see a cupid's bow twisted into a mild scowl, freckled face serving as the canvas to her determination. Her bangles clank together when she brushes her hair to the side and gives you a face-splitting smile.

How can she have this much energy at noon? Or any time, for that matter?

"I'm here to take you out, what else, silly?" she says, then steps in without so much as a second's hesitation and scans the room. "Girl, why is it such a mess in-"

The end of her sentence peeters out as her eyes land on me sitting at the edge of the bed, looking just as dumbfounded as her. I barely have enough time to give her a little wave before she gives me an uncomfortable up-and-down. I wish she would stop doing that.

"Oh. H-hi," she squeaks.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

Seems like everyone has the same question in their mind, huh?

"We were just, uh, hanging out," I say as innocently as possible.

If 'hanging out' means fucking your friend until she calls me daddy.

Her gaze shifts to the bed, where the sheets are entangled in the blanket, then to the towel crumpled on the floor. Can she smell lust in the air, too?

I look to you for help, but you're frozen in helplessness. Or maybe it's apathy.

Damn you.

"You guys hung out barely a week ago, though!" Lily says, furrowing her eyebrows and turning to you with her arms crossed.

"No, we didn't," you say.

"I swear I saw him walk in here the other day."

My lips set in an anxious line, but to my relief, you seem completely unfazed. "Why were you at my dorm, anyway?" you ask.

"There was too much tea to spill just for texting." Lily sighs and plops down on the chair next to you. I guess I'm simply a part of the scenery now. "First off, my parents cut me off from my credit card because I spent a little extra on a spa day, which is, like, what the fuck, right?

"And also, Axel and I got into a huge fight because he was all like, 'You can't bring your cat to my house because I'm allergic.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, but he's not just a cat. He's my emotional support cat.' And then he's all like, 'You just say that so you can take him to lectures.' I mean, who says that?"

She looks to me for understanding, and all I can do is give her a sympathetic head shake.

You glance at me slightly open-mouthed as naked horror flashes across your face. What could you possibly be thinking? Are you embarrassed to have a friend that needs you to untangle every single problem? Are you ashamed to have kept this parasite by your side, letting it breed and fester until it became an intrinsic part of you?

I certainly would be, but mistakes can be wiped away so easily, Naomi.

"Well, I told you I had an appointment that day," you explain, to which Lily rolls her eyes.

"You're still seeing that old geezer?" she asks, but waves her hand in dismissal before you can reply. "Anyway, we can still hang out today, right?"

Your eyes trail to me guiltily. "Well, Taehyung and I were just about to go out..."

"Can't you reschedule? Please? I'm having a super rough day." Her mouth contorts into a pout that I can't find cute for the life of me, and you don't seem to find it too cute either, because you sigh and head toward the bathroom. Lily proceeds to follow you like a lost puppy while you begin rummaging through your makeup drawer with more vigor than necessary.

"Lils, you can't just come in and expect me to drop everything. I had plans with him already," I hear you say quietly as you pull out mascara and concealer. The redhead huffs, then snaps her head toward me.

"You don't mind, right? You get it?" she asks, fluttering her synthetic eyelashes at me. I get the distinct feeling that she's more into you than she is into me, though from the way she talks about this Axel guy, she's probably not known for her loyalty.

Fuck. Why am I even thinking about this?

You put the mascara wand down mid-stroke as you purse your lips in obvious displeasure, but the exasperated look on your face makes me think you're used to it, and that I've replaced someone else in something that's happened thousands of times before.

I have to ask: Why do you let her do this to you? I can't see what she has to offer, other than your own therapy bills. If you'd mold yourself to my expectations, you wouldn't have to deal with an overgrown tween clinging to your leg. You're dealing with the ball and chain before you're done with your prime.

But this can all work to my advantage, just for today. Without having to make sure you're out of harm's way, I can make up an excuse for your absence, then go to the double date (one-and-a-half date?) alone to vet Min Yoongi further without any distractions. Our 4D chess would exist above the plane in which you and I exist as a single entity, and I plan to keep it that way.

I put on my best give-me-pity face and stare directly into the hell that is Lily Anderson.

"Uh, I can leave..." I begin, but you shake your head frantically.

"No. You're staying." My heart skips a beat.

Yes, ma'am.

"Come on! I can't tag along with you guys, at least?" she asks in a last-ditch effort.

(Why can't she see that you're all mine fucking bitch I'll kill for you baby just say the word)

You clench your jaw as your cheeks turn red, and I almost wish I had brought popcorn to see the catfight, but seeing me out of the corner of your eye, you calm down and retain your composure.

"Next Saturday, okay?" you say gently.

"I literally don't get why he can't leave. Or let me get to know him better, at least. Not like you guys are exclusive."

"Lily."

She rolls her eyes and looks at you spitefully, then goes to the door. "Ugh, whatever. Have fun going at it."

"Don't be like that-" you say as you start toward her, but she slams the door in your face before you can get the last part of your sentence out. The sound resonates throughout the dorm, and I feel old rage bubbling as I see how crestfallen you look. No matter how much I want Lily out of your life, I can't deny the hold she has on you.

You turn around slowly, painfully, and there's a crack in the serenity I provided after our day together that I know can't be replicated once more.

"I'm so sor-"

I shake my head. "It's okay. I get it." And I do. The eye of the storm came to pass, but it will never disappear completely. It will wait until you're weak and lonely and disgusted with yourself.

"Alright, well, ready?" you ask with a sigh. It tells me everything: an I'm sorry, relief, weariness all in one.

Good.

"What happened to daddy?" I ask with a teasing smile. You freeze, lips parting ever so slightly to betray your surprise, but after a few seconds pass, you settle into a blush that spreads across your face.

"Oh, about that..." you say, clearly not knowing what to say afterward. I stride toward you and grab your waist delicately. You're so sexy when you act shy.

"I liked it," I murmur, and you bite your lip.

"Yeah?"

I lean down to give you a small kiss, then pull away to linger inches from your face. "Maybe more than liked."

"I'll be sure to do it in the future, then." You pull me in by the collar and kiss me, fingers trailing upwards to place themselves in my hair and tug. I can't help but groan softly as I kiss you back and slide my hands to your ass; the feeling of you smiling against my lips is almost too much to bear.

Is this your way of saying thank you for dealing with Lily? You're more eager to please than the last times, sensing the growing heat around my crotch and grinding against it. I try to reciprocate as much as possible with kisses down your neck and sucking at your sweet spot, but I can barely keep up with you, Naomi. All I can hear is our breathing as the tension in my body slowly melts through your touch and slips into the floorboards below.

Your passion becomes alien when you begin backing me up against the wall, and the shock hits hard enough to make me pull away. You look up at me with swollen lips eyes half-clouded with lust.

"What're you trying to do to me?" I ask with a low chuckle, and you shake your head.

"Ugh, sorry. Don't know what got into me," you giggle. "When's the date again?"

"In about 10 minutes." Your eyes widen, and you whip around to grab your wallet and phone, then rush to the door.

"Shit! We better hurry! You know where you're going, right?" you ask, turning to me for confirmation, yet all I can do is stare. You look so innocent right now, unaware of the demons and regrets I have, unaware that you're an addition to the laundry list of past lovers.

But you're different from all of them. You have to be.

"Taehyung?"

I blink, then lock eyes with you.

"Hm? Yeah. Of course."

You smile. "Perfect."

With that, the door to paradise closes behind us, and I walk toward my fate with a smile on my face.

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안녕 여러분! I hope everyone liked
this chapter. Another cameo from our
FAVORITE character! Thoughts on how
the double date will go? Let me know!

QOTD: If you could choose any concept for
BTS' next comeback, what would it be?

I would actually love to see a more sultry
comeback, with Wings vibes and the
aggressiveness of Dark & Wild. Does that make
sense? Probably not.

Until next time, happy reading!

Love,
Haneul