𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝘿𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙈𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙇𝙂𝘽𝙏𝙌+

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩

│█║▌│ 𝕎𝕖𝕖𝕜𝕤 𝕃𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣║▌│║▌║

"So whatcha doin' here?"

I looked around, then back at the man. "I could say the same to you,"

I sounded a bit defensive. Too defensive. As long as I don't get caught, that's what matters. We were in a club in the middle of the day, so that would be a little hard to defend. The man smirked sarcastically, glancing away from me and then back.

"My friends have gone missing. This is the last place most of them were before they disappeared. The police said they won't look into it until I have proof that it was more than just an abduction. I came here hoping to see them or any signs that they're alive,"

They aren't. But still... that was deep. Did I really cause this much distraught among their families? I knew that what I was getting into was some bad, traumatic stuff but... I didn't think it would cause people to actually go around looking for them.

As long as I don't get caught. At any cost.

"So, why are you here? There's been barely any people here since the guys went missing," The mystery man asked me. I shrugged, looking around the room.

There was a group of girls, and two or maybe three other guys. Both men looked to be in their mid 30's, as if they had just gone through a wicked divorce. The music was turned down a lot, and the lights were on. Typically, they'd turn them off, but ever since what happened to Kevin I'm guessing they can't even dim them.

"Just came to get a drink,"

He seemed skeptical. "In the middle of the day?"

"Yeah," I shot back.

"Why didn't you just go to the bar down the street?"

"Because they don't have my secret menu item here."

I must've caught him off guard by my response because he furrowed his brows. When he spoke again, it came out as uncertain and confused rather than suspicious like before.

"What's the 'secret menu item'?" He inquired. I smirked. Calling over the bartender, I made my special request.

"Can I get another one of my regulars?" I request. The bartender smiled at me, nodding in affirmation before sliding the fizzy glass over to me.

I pushed it more towards the mystery man. He was hesitant. Must've been contemplating whether or not this was a good idea. When he was done debating with himself, he reached over to take the glass of liquor. Before he could I slid it away from him.

"No, no," I teased. "First, you must tell me your name,"

The young man blushed a little, a small smile on his face. "Junghoon. Now gimme the drink-"

"No, no," I giggled. His eyes, which were previously on the secret drink, were now staring back at me. "Aren't you curious to know who I am?"

A chuckle escaped Junghoon's mouth. "Why? Should I be?"

The brightness on my face dimed out at the sounding of his words. It felt as if reality struck me. "Well... don't you want to know who this handsome stranger is buying you a drink?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Now give it." A visage of offense crossed my face. The feeling of knives stabbed my chest. How did he not fall yet? There was only one way to play this right. He was feisty for sure, but believe me, I know how to deal with it. I had to deal with Taedong and Jehyun after all, didn't I?

I grunted, straightening out my expression. "As you wish," Sliding the drink over, I watched him take a sip. His eyes lit up in surprise as the liquid went down his throat.

"What is this?" He was flabbergasted, mindblown, completely bumfuzzled at the magnificent mystery concoction.

"I don't know, can I really tell you? It's a secret," I joked in a hushed voice.

He complained. "C'mon, man! This is good!"

"Hmmm..." I pretended to think for a minute. "I can only tell friends my secrets. Are we friends?"

"Sure, now tell me."

"Are you positive we're friends?  'Cause friends know each other's names,"

He looked away again, licking his teeth in an act of realization. Almost as if to say "I knew it!" or "So that's what the catch is". I blinked a few times, smiling widely at my victory.

A sigh left the beautiful lips of Junghoon. "So.." He started, "What's your na-"

"Funny you ask!" interrupted. He chucked at my exhilarated reaction that I already predicted would happen. "My name is Hangyeom. Song Hangyeom."

To my surprise, he gave me a sweet smile, raising the glass to his lips again. I couldn't help but blush. The way he kept his eyes on me, staring me down but in a nice way I couldn't describe. I stood up from my seat. The light bulb in my head had been flickering, but suddenly it was bright as ever.

The sudden movement from me caused Junghoon confusion. But before he asked, I explained. "You're looking for your friends right?"

The handsome man nodded.

"I'll help you find them. Just show me some photos and tell me where you say them last or the last things they said,"

Junghoon's smile faded a bit. His face turned from one of sweetness to that of relief. His eyes became shiny, the way it usually does when you're about to cry. A sniffle interrupted, he sent the drink down on the table.

"Thank you," He didn't cry. His voice cracked as he spoke but not a single tear left his dark, charismatic eyes. I know we just met, but for some reason it felt as if I had known him for years. I wanted to hug him, rub his back and tell him it would be okay- even though I knew the dark truth.

It pained me. It really did. But how could I just-

I'm sick. I know I am.

Moving closer to Junghoon, I wrapped my arms around him. I should've asked so I didn't make anything awkward. However, to my surprise he hugged me right back. I was frozen. My heart thumped in my chest. This is the same way I felt with the others. With Jaehan and Sebin-

Xen and Hwichan.

They're all connected. This exciting, lovesick feeling. Something felt a little different though. This time, for the first time ever, I didn't want to kill me. I didn't want to taxidermy his body or dissect his heart. Nor did I want to keep his head forever in a bag in my freezer. Confusion crossed me.

I don't want to kill me.

Yet I want to keep him forever.

But not until the day he dies. Until the day I die. I want to be with him until I die. Just... living. This doesn't make sense. I just met him, what makes him any different? He's cute, so cute I want to squish him until he suffocates. The same feeling you get when you see an adorable, fat cat. Just the thought of hurting him was tempting but... not in the way I want to kill him.

Once I was finally able to zone back in, I found my arms wrapped tightly around him. He was hugging me back. He never moved away like I thought he would've. It was so strange. He was warm. His warmth felt like it was melting the cold, icy regret off of my heart. He felt so soft, I couldn't bring myself to let him go.

Is this love?

Not just an obsession?

I unknowingly sniffled loudly. My thoughts were getting to me. Once again the memories were after me. The sound of Junghoon's soothing voice broke the silence between us.

"Hangyeom, are you okay?"

I know I should back off. Just five more seconds, please.

"Yes, yeah- I'm sorry," I apologized, trying to peel myself off of him. Once I was able to, my face turned bright red. Embarrassment coded me like paint. My stomach turned as my eyes met Junghoon's. At least I wasn't the only one blushing.

"No, it's no problem!" I wiped away one of my tears while he spoke. "W-Were you crying...?"

In a rushed, flustered manner, I shook my head up and down in a way to verify his question. His face turned serious within seconds of my answer.

"If you don't mind me asking... why?"

"Because..." I tried to speak. "I miss some friends of mine... I regret a lot of stuff that happened,"

He seemed understanding, although he had no clue that I was referencing the same friends that he missed as well. A heavy breath left me. I need to figure out how I can lead him away from the murders. Maybe it's good that I volunteered to help him.

"I understand," He took my hand in his. I don't think he noticed he did until he looked down.

"Oh! I'm sorry I-"

"No," I cut him off with a smile. "I like it," A blushing grin spread on Junghoon's face as he took my hand in his once again, caressing it with his finger.

"D-Do.... Do you wanna come over?" I hesitantly offered. There was a brief moment of silence before he answered.

"Why not?"

My heart skipped a couple several beats at the sound of his voice.

Junghoon.

Even his name gave me butterflies. A random but tragic thought crossed my mind:

If he finds out I'm done for.

If he finds out, I'll kill myself. Because I can't live with the thought of such a beautiful, perfect, warm man hating me.

I can't live knowing I've killed my only light either.

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We walked up the stairs. The 10th person I've ever brought him. I've killed 9, but I can't even score. Part of me felt a sort of temptation to murder him. The other half would turn into a suicidal mess if I dared to lay a hand on him in a threatening manner. Even if it was a knife pointed at him I really couldn't dare to do such an obscure thing.

"Woah, the smell is worse than ever!" I exclaimed in astonishment. Junghoon looked at me as we further ascended up the stairs. "There's an apartment on the 9th floor that has rotting meat. There have been complaints but no one is willing to fix it."

"I could take a look-"

"The owner is never home. I think it's better to let the police handle any more complaints," My voice was low and eerie.

I could tell I had creeped-out Junghoon with my sudden reaction before he hummed in response, then stayed quiet until we reached my condo.

My keys jingled in my hand as I searched around for which key could unlock the door to the condo. When I found it, I unlocked the door, pushing it open seconds later to walk in. Junghoon, like Kevin and the others, trailed behind me as I entered.

First thing I did was offer Junghoon a drink. He chuckled and accepted, going over to the couch to have a seat.

"Maekju, Soju, or Makgeolli?" I asked him.

His answer was like no other. "Surprise me,"

I laughed. "Ambitious. I like it," My voice lowered to a whisper as I said to himself, "I like you,"

Thankfully he didn't hear. Since I had the freedom to choose, I grabbed a bottle of Maekju from the fridge. Then, I mixed it with Cherry Cola to add a little mystery. After that, I put in 2 spoonfuls of sugar in each drink before my secret ingredient: A drink or two of chocolate syrup.

It sounds gross but it's amazing. It's like a carbonated, alcoholic hot fudge sundae. Basically everything the doctor wants you to stay away from. Guilty pleasure is a curse, I swear. For a moment I debated whether or not I should add drugs into it. You know, knock him out and then kill him?

I know it's wrong. That's why I won't. I need to be a good boy, and killing the last person I'll ever love would damage me. I can't... he's the only person I've ever felt this weird, non-violent feeling for. I can't ruin it.

Once I finished preparing both drinks, I set them both down on the table in front of the couch where he sat. He smiled at me, curious as to what I was about to do.

"One of these drinks is special," I began to say. "It's the one you like. The other one is basic. Choose carefully,"

I smirked as he observed the drinks. The secret was, both of them were the same. I just wanted to see how he thinks. His brain is wired in such a unique way, I'm tempted to open it up and take a look. It wouldn't do me any good though.

He looked at both drinks eye-level first. Then he picked them both up and mentally noted the contents of what each may contain. After a solid 5 or 6 minutes, he chose the one in front of him on the right. Performing a nasal test, he smelt it, then took a sip.

"It smells like chocolate and soda. It tastes like Maekju and Cola. What is it? It tastes a little like fruit.." He assessed.

I smiled. "Curious? It's Maekju and Cherry Cola with chocolate syrup. That's my 'regular' that I can't get anywhere else."

Junghoon let out light-hearted laugh, then responded, "This stuff is going to kill you early,"

"At least it tastes pretty damn good," I joked, picking up mine and taking a sip. "For the record, they were both the same," I added.

He playfully punched me, his jaw dropped in surprise. "Hangyeom!"

I mocked him, making a shocked expression like his. "Junghoon!"

His expression faded into something of what I could only describe as 'Boy-I-Don't-Look-Like-That'. He moved back a bit. "C'mon,"

"How about we listen to music?" I suggested. He rolled his eyes at me in a joking way.

I took this sassiness as a yes, making my way over to my speaker. "So, what type of songs do you like?"

"I like just about anything you can dance to," He replied honestly.

"Oh, so I got myself a dancer? Let's see it," I teased, turning on my 'Dancing Playlist'.

Right away, 'Burning Up' by Monsta X began to play. Junghoon got up from the couch, going to the middle of the floor so he had more space to move. It didn't take long for him to start moving, dancing as if he was born doing it. His moves flowed perfectly into each other.

I smirked, joining in on the fun. My living room had become a dance floor, the sunlight through the large wall-sized windows as our disco ball and VIP lighting. The sun was slowly setting, so it was perfect lighting. We danced together for hours until the sunset, stopping in between for shots.

For just the two of us, we had a ton of fun. By the time we got tired, it was 10 pm. We threw ourselves onto the couch. Together, we laid there, side by side. The only thing that came to mind was offering to watch a movie.

"It's gotten so late. Time passed so quickly," He commented. I smirked, gigging at this statement.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I asked him, showing him puppy dog eyes. I need him to stay.

We stared into each other's eyes. I could tell he was lost in thought, whereas I was lost in his beautiful, dark, sparkling eyes.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. As long as there's action though!"

"Of course," I answered in a breathy tone. Grabbing the remote from the table, I turned on the TV. We went through at least 100 movies before finding one.

"The Shining? Are you sure?" I asked Junghoon, making sure he was confident in his choice.

"Yup. I haven't seen it yet anyways,"

"If you insist, Hoonie~"

He burst out laughing loudly at the nickname. "Hoonie? Clever."

It was pure sarcasm but I loved every word of it. An enthusiastic smile appeared on my blushing face as I clicked 'Play'.

│█║▌█║▌│█║▌│█║▌│

I blinked. I must've fallen asleep. My eyes felt heavy, my body was tired but... really relaxed for some reason. The movie had ended, the screen was turned off. I felt abnormally warm, and it wasn't because of the blanket over me. I looked to my right. My eyes widened. It was dark but I could tell, sleeping next to me was Junghoon. I thought it was a pillow, but the more I focused, the more I realized I was laying with my head on his chest.

It must've been at least 3 or 4 am. Either way, I didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on. It was comforting. I could hear his heartbeat. It sounded so lively, so much like home.

Without thinking, I made my move. Gently I turned to face him and planted a kiss on his soft lips. Then, I made myself comfortable in his arms again before drifting off into the deep sleep I was desperate to return too.

"I love you too," Junghoon whispered. My heart stopped beating. My mind started to race, 50 percent of the stuff going through it was his words on repeat. I thought he was asleep. No- he thought I  was asleep.

For the first time in forever, I'm glad I wasn't. 

│█║█║▌║▌││█║▌│

𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴! 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘛.1, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘺𝘦𝘰𝘮 𝘖𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩~!

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚, 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚!

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟐𝟗𝟒𝟕 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬