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C H A P T E R S E V E N
❼

»Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition.
But when they get angry, they bring about a change.«
– Malcolm X

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"I didn't forget about the promise I gave you back then," he winked, "The next birthday can come, I'm prepared."

"Can't wait." I smirked and looked up at the stars again. "But the next birthday is- Oh my God, did you see that?" I pointed my finger up at the midnight blue night sky, knowing that Taeyong would have no idea which star I had pointed to. Tonight, on this late summer night, the stars were twinkling very brightly. They were up there, looking down at us two lovers lying on the roof while we looked up at them. The shooting star I spotted was too pretty to be ignored, so I had to attract my boyfriend's attention to it. I felt him squeezing my hand and brushing the back of it gently with his thumb.

"Yes, cherry, I saw it. Now close your eyes and make a wish."

I could hear the smile in his voice and I knew that he felt at least as good as me.

Next, I did what he said and closed my eyes.

I wish that this moment never ends.

When I opened my eyes again and looked to the side, I looked directly into his midnight eyes, which were clearly visible even in the dark and seemed to have rested on me all the time.

"Will we stay like this forever?" The smile that I could hear earlier in his voice was still on his face.

"Wouldn't that be pleasant? Only us two, your hand in my hand, a starry night and the city around us?"

I sighed. "But we have to go back." He nodded and turned his head back toward the night sky and the stars.

"We have to. Later. But we will come back tomorrow night. And also the night after tomorrow. And the night after. Until these nights become our eternity." I frowned at his words and sat up because I thought I had heard footsteps from people looking for Taeyong and me.

"I'd like that." This time, Taeyong sat up too, wrapped his strong arms around my body and pulled me to him. He placed a gentle kiss on my head.

"One day we'll be able to sit in front of the veranda of our house, together. And we'll watch the stars from there. But we'll still come here, to the highest part of our headquarters, just to remember. We will be able to think back to those days and smile." I closed my eyes and felt comfortable in his embrace. I loved to feel his arms around my body and his hot breath on my ear. I loved listening to his voice as he told me things I wanted to hear so much. "And later we'll bring our children here. We'll show them where their parents fell in love."

"On the rooftop?", I laughed and playfully snuggled up against him. Taeyong, too, managed a small laugh at the thought.

"Somewhat", he admitted with a shrug. "Even though my younger-self would never admit it, I've oftentimes watched you from the distance when we were little. That was right over there." He pointed his finger at a certain spot on one corner of the roof, but I didn't follow his finger. I was too tired for that, even though I didn't want to fall asleep. "We will teach our children the names of the stars and watch them fall asleep under the night sky." I felt my eyelids getting heavier. I didn't want to lose this moment; I'd rather enjoy it so damn much.

That moment when the world seemed so small; that moment only Taeyong and I existed.

"And what happens after that, Taeyong?" He pulled me closer to him a little more.

"After that... when we are old, we'll still come back to this place here. This place, this moment, it belongs to us. We'll tell each other stories. From us, from our children, from our grandchildren. We both have a whole life ahead of us and we will live it out to its fullest."

Suddenly the wonderful moment ended within a second as the muffled voices of the other members hit my ears.

"Taeyong?" More voices followed.

"He's probably with Cami, can't find her nowhere."

"D'you think they went to the horror playground?"

"At this hour? I doubt that. Have you checked his room already?"

"No, I don't wanna risk seeing something... intimate."

"Urgh, don't say that, now I'm picturing it, oh God."

"Guys, let's try calling their phones again. The rooftop's locked anyway, they can't be here."

I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay here, cuddle up in Taeyong's arms and fall asleep. But if I didn't go and the others would find us eventually, there would be no way to ever share such a loving moment together again since our secret spot would be out.

"We have to..." I sighed again.

Taeyong stood up first and handed me his right hand, "I know, cherry. But we will come back."

:::

"We won't come back", I whispered, but it was nothing but a cold puff of air in the silent night. From the distance, I could see Seoul's beautiful city lights which always used to remind me of safety and home. The view of the city at night was like being hailed by the angels, the lights stole your breath away in the most magical way possible because the artificial bulbs represented the light of thousands of souls. When I thought about it, actually each one of them was a star, it was just that under the haze of everyday life they came to forget it and believe themselves ordinary. But like the ordinary air and the ordinary water, they were the purity that made the world so enchanting.

"If you wanna jump, then do it on another roof." I spun around just to meet a pair of cocky eyes.

"Lucas, don't you have to be annoying somewhere else?"

He was leaning against the wall, next to the door and looked me up and down. Something about him seemed different compared to this morning but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Not until tomorrow morning," he winked, "Seriously, girly, you could've hurt my feelings with that remark."

"See how much I care," I said turning my back to him.

"You're quite a feisty one, you know that, yes?" I heard him say. "I mean, sure, I heard some nasty stuff about you, but I didn't expect you to be like that."

With furrowed brows, I looked at him over my shoulder, "What do you mean?"

"Bitchy, dumb and arrogant." This made me turn around completely and stare at him in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He shrugged. "Oh sorry, you're new, sooo... for your information, I'm really good at observing people and what I've seen today is enough for me to dislike you already. But, yeah, I can only repeat myself: If you want to jump, I won't stop you. Just do me the favor and chose another roof since I don't want to be the one cleaning your mess afterwards."

"What the fuck?" I raised my tone. "You came here yesterday and call me the new one?! You stand in front of me and think you're allowed to rate me and my behavior? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

He bragged up in front of me, "I think I'm the one in command."

"Of course you are," I said sarcastically, voice high-pitched and piercing.

"Don't like that, huh?" He commented with a dark look on his face. "You could always complain to the boss at any time, but I doubt he'll listen to what you're going to say."

And that's when it hit me and I realized. He knew. He knew I couldn't just go to Taeyong and complain about his behavior towards me. And Lucas wanted me to know that he knew.

"What's happening?!" I couldn't believe that he was provoking me. "You little f-" I stopped myself and tried to calm down first. "Is this just because I didn't respond to your cheap flirts this morning, and now your ego is scratched?"

"My cheap flirts," he repeated and next, I heard an amused laugh with a bitter taste afterward, "Yeah maybe you're hot, but maybe I only think that way because we have no other goddamn girls in here except of–"

"LUCAS!" Suddenly Mark showed up and grabbed him by the collar and even if the situation was tense, it looked pretty funny how the smaller one tried to threaten the bigger one. But apparently, it worked, because Lucas kept his mouth shut. He didn't know how to talk to me, but he seemed to stick to the hierarchical order in this business, and apparently respected Mark. "Bro, what the fuck? What are you doing?!"

"Let go, Mark! This is all because of you anyway!" Lucas aggressively broke away from his grip.

"Woah, dude!" Mark went two steps backward and covered his nose, "What's this smell? You're drunk as fuck!"

Lucas took two steps toward him and pointed his finger at his chest. "And you know the motherfucking reason." I heard him say in a hiss. In Mark's face flashed realization.

"Okay, listen, we will... we'll talk this through. But," Mark turned his head to me. "Uh Cami, could you... I think it's best when you go to your room. I'll be there in a minute."

His room, I corrected in my mind.

I clenched my hands to fists and did what he asked me to. I angrily stomped down the stairs and just when I was about to turn the corner to my floor, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me into a room. I was about to punch the person, but when he turned on the lights, I realized it was Jungwoo.

"Don't do this ever again!" I said; louder and meaner than I wanted.

"I'm sorry, Cami," he apologized in a calm and soft tone, "I heard what happened up there and wanted to talk to you."

"No!" I answered back, "Not you, too! Not now!"

"Why? You don't even know what I'd like to say."

"I know damn well what you're going to say!! Cami, why are you here? You'd made it, Cami, you were free. You could get away from all this and leave everything behind. So why'd you come back? Did you forget what you went through? The nights you cried yourself to sleep? All the pain?" I made hectic gestures with my hands to emphasize the words I said. "For the record, I didn't! I could never! I'm reminded of the pain every day. And thanks to your friend Lucas I was also reminded of all the craziness in this stupid building!"

For anyone else, it might have been hard not to get upset, but Jungwoo looked at me with an understanding look in his eyes without saying anything, while I was shouting at him.

This Lucas guy... I didn't know what his problem was, and I particularly didn't know what his intention was. If it was to make me furious, then I should've congratulated him since he succeeded. Drunk or not, he had a huge problem - either with me, himself or whatever - and if Mark really thought I was going to work with that insane guy, he was wrong.

I would do the Nakamoto mission alone, succeed, get my money, and leave for good.

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to be continued