ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬-𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘
─◌✰್ 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗐𝗇
❝𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿? 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘀𝗼...❞

Mya had never been on a better date in her life. Not only had she gotten to wear her favorite pink flared skirt with her strappy white sandals, but Jeongin let her win at mini golf! He'd also almost convinced her that he was actually a terrible golf player.

Who knew hitting plastic balls into a hole surrounded by fake grass could be fun? He'd even held her around the waist as he showed her the correct way to hold the club. And she thought he'd almost kissed her when she got a hole-in-one.

On second thought, that might have been the reason why she'd had so much fun in the first place. She could still feel his solid, yet nervous grip against her skin, and against her better judgement, she wished he would hold her like that again.

That had been a lapse in judgement. She knew she shouldn't have let him get so close, especially because they hadn't talked about the confession he made during the secrets game. But she'd just wanted to have fun and pretend that none of that had happened. That she was just on a date with her first and only love. Was that so bad?

But now that the first half of the date had come to a close, it was time for dinner. And she knew she couldn't pretend for much longer. Because honestly, she wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was going on between them, and just have a real conversation. For once, she thought bitterly.

"Mya, you okay?" Jeongin called to her, a few paces ahead. His brow was knitted with gentle concern.

She blinked, attempting to clear her brain of all those muddled thoughts. She needed to be alert if they were going to have this much-needed talk.

"Yeah, I'm great," she said shortly, ignoring it when he offered a hand. His eyes shimmered with thinly-veiled pain, but he didn't try again.

The assistant producer, who was in charge of every date, because Yeonjun had to stay back at the mansion, guided Mya and Jeongin away from the mini golf course, which had been rented out specially for them. Across a grassy clearing, sat a lovely marble table, directly in front of an art museum. Mya wasn't entirely sure why such a gorgeous establishment sat mere yards apart from a Beauty and the Beast-themed mini golf course, but she had loved it, of course. However, it wasn't exactly classy.

The two took a seat across from each other at the cozy table. Each spot was set with a plate of carbonara and garlic bread, garnished with peas and a glass of champagne. It looked amazing, and the cozy atmosphere ensured Mya didn't feel out of place in her mini golf attire.

The food was delectable. The noodles were tender and the bread was flavorful. The peas paired perfectly with the dish, and the champagne (or the one sip she did have) tingled on her tongue. By the time the waiters, who worked at the museum restaurant, set a slice of strawberry spongecake in front of her, she could hardly take a few bites.

The two of them ate in silence, the only sounds being the lone cricket chirping, and the clinking of silverware.

Mya was just starting to become irritated that Jeongin wasn't trying to engage in conversation, when he cleared his throat.

"Uhm... how'd you like the meal?" He wiped his mouth, glancing shiftily between her and his plate.

"It was fine," she murmured. She didn't want to encourage any small talk, not until he manned up and brought up the deep stuff. No more fucking around, like earlier.

Jeongin sighed, finally setting his fork down. His plate empty, he pushed it away before fixing Mya with a solemn stare.

"I'm sorry I never told you about my sickness."

"I-I just wish I'd known!" she began, trying to speak carefully. But her heart was thudding with anticipation. "I've spent years being hurt and confused and angry, really angry, believing that you broke up with me for no reason. And now I find out that you had a deadly sickness? It's too much to take in, and honestly I'm even more confused than before."

Jeongin nodded. "If you're confused, you can ask me anything."

"Okay." Mya paused. She had so many questions that she didn't know where to begin. "Um... what was the sickness? If you don't mind me asking."

Jeongin shook his head. "Of course I don't mind. You're the only other person besides my family and doctors I'd want to tell. I was diagnosed with a blood cancer that only has a 2% survival rate, back when I was a little kid. I didn't like talking about it, because it made - makes - people treat me different. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I didn't know how. I guess I was scared I would lose you." He ducked his head. "I guess I did anyway, huh?"

Mya stared at him, speechless. "And... what happened in high school? Why did you leave so suddenly? And why did your mother break up with me for you?"

Jeongin chuckled dryly, and she winced at the sound. "I thought that I was in the clear when I started high school. My doctors told me that there was no more cancer left, and I was in remission. But in my senior year, I relapsed. Very slowly this time, compared to when I was young. But at the end of the year, I began losing weight, and I couldn't sleep. It was like when I was a kid, so my parents took me in. I had stage three acute leukemia, and I was rushed to the hospital immediately. My parents asked if I wanted to contact you, because they knew how I felt about you. They loved you. But I told them no, because I was too embarrassed to tell you that I was sick. I thought that maybe, if you assumed I had left you, you would hate me enough not to care if something happened."

"Why would you think that?" Mya gasped before she could stop herself. "I will always care about you! I-I told you I love you! And you would just leave me, because you were hoping I would hate you? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Jeongin's shoulders slumped, and he avoided her harsh gaze. "I know. It was stupid, and selfish, and I will never forgive myself. I know how wrong I was, and I've known it for many years. I wish I had the bravery to find you and tell you how I felt, but since I never heard from you again, I assumed you had forgotten about me. I didn't want to mess up your life. I should have told you that I was sick. And... I told you I love you too, remember?"

Mya pursed her lips to keep them from trembling. "Yeah, I guess one of us was telling the truth. If you really loved me, you would have told me the truth right from the start. If you thought I would judge you or treat you any differently, then you clearly don't know me very well. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to the mansion. Now." She pushed her chair back and stood, ready to leave.

"Mya..." Jeongin murmured, eyes filled with desperation. "Please, I know what a huge mistake I made, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to fix it. You don't need to forgive me, hell, I would understand if you never want to talk to me again. I just want to tell you my whole story before you decide to shut me out forever."

Mya sighed. "What else could you possibly tell me?"

Jeongin gripped the back of her chair, sliding it closer to him and patting the seat for her to sit back down. She glowered at him, before carefully accepting, making sure not to make contact with him in any way, or catch his gaze. She couldn't be swayed by his gorgeous hands, or intense eyes. They would cause her to cave and forgive him, and she couldn't allow herself do that.

"I wanted to tell you that I've thought about you every day since I got hospitalized. I was there for two whole years, getting treatment and chemo, and it fucking sucked. I was in so much pain for most of that time, but... just thinking about you made it hurt less. But I heard through the grapevine that you went to university, and how successful you were, and how close you are with your friends. I think you'd want me your high school boyfriend, to come in and ruin that."

"I know, you so graciously said that already," Mya snarked.

"I know, but what I didn't say was," Jeongin cleared his throat, reaching a hand out for her. She crossed her arms over her chest. No way was she falling for that, not today. Not when she'd been so strong, trying to hold him accountable for his actions.

He pulled his hand back, hurt lancing across his face. "What I didn't say was... I still love you, Mya," he breathed, eyes latching onto hers. "I will never stop loving you. And I will keep trying to win you back until I die, if I have to."

And she could tell, from that one look, he meant it. And he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.

—————————

You rolled over in bed, trying to find a comfortable reading position. Shifting your portable reading light a bit to the left, you turned the page.

It was late, probably too late to be awake, let alone reading. But you didn't care. You wanted to finish the damn book, even if it meant staying awake until four in the morning. You'd done it before, and you would do it again.

Mya and Jeongin had come back from their date earlier that evening, around midnight. No one knew what they did, or what happened, because they'd both immediately escaped to their bedrooms without a word. Even when Lanhua tried to talk to her, she was met with silence. Christopher had respected his roommate's decision to stay quiet, so no one knew what was going through his head, either. So, everyone just assumed that the date hadn't gone well. Whenever Mya was excited, she made is known, sometimes exceedingly so.

Sighing, you turned the page, onto the final chapter. The book was ending on uncertain terms, but it was only book three in a series of five. You'd brought all of them with you, and you couldn't wait to start the next one.

You were about to finish the second to last page, when you looked up from your book, wanting to grab a quick drink of water from your nightstand. The roast chicken you had at dinner was extremely salty, and everyone complained about dry throats all evening.

But you saw something that nearly caused you to spill your water all over your lap, and your heart rate to increase tenfold.

Because someone else was in your bedroom. Someone who was neither Robin or Renee.

And they were standing over Robin's bed.

Your eyes widened as you scrambled to sit up and see who it was, but the room was too dark, and they were wearing a baggy hoodie. You couldn't make out any distinguishable features about them, and that made it even more terrifying.

The person was staring down at Robin as she continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening.

"Holy shit!" you cried out, the sound bouncing off the walls. You tried to fumble for your reading light, attempting to shine it in the direction of the person, but your hands were shaking too much.

At the sound of your voice, the figure bolted, swinging the door shut behind them. You were left in your bed, gasping for breath, heart thumping in your chest.

"What??" Renee was the first to sit up, eyes wild with terror.

"Tessa??" Robin jolted from her bed too, whipping her head to face you. "What is it??"

"Did you have a nightmare?" Renee exclaimed, jumping up to sit on your bed.

"No!" you breathed from behind your hand, just realizing it was covering your mouth. "Th-there was someone standing above your bed, Robs! They were staring down at you! I think they wanted to hurt you!" You pointed to the spot.

"Who was it??" Renee looked in the direction you were gesturing to.

"I couldn't tell." You tried to calm your breathing. "They were wearing a huge hoodie."

Robin stood up, and in the white glow of your reading light, her face shone ghostly pale, like she was going to throw up. "Let's look in the hall. If someone's trying to hurt me, I need to know who it is."

You and Renee shared a nervous glance, but followed her. She was right, after all. This person needed to be caught, and punished.

"They can't have gone far, they were literally just here." You frowned as you all exited the room. "I swear, they were standing right by your bed!"

"We believe you, Tess," Renee said earnestly, and Robin nodded.

"We have to find this person," Robin said reverently, eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination.

But no matter how hard you searched, you couldn't find them. They were gone.

laska's note —
wowww, what a crazy ending to an already crazy chapter!! who do you think is watching robin?? and why? it could be someone you don't expect, so don't count anyone out. and what about mya and jeongin? their date didn't seem to go so well, but jeongin is determined to get her back. how do you think he'd gonna accomplish that?? so many questions and so few answers so far... i want all of your predictions!

on another note, if you haven't already, go check out my two other stray kids fics, summer day and autumn evening! they are felix and changbin fics, #1 and #2 in a series! they're very good and if you love them as much as i do, you'll love them too! ;)

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟮𝟰 - 𝘁𝗼
┊ ⇄ ◁◁ II ▷▷ ↻ ┊