Monsta X Series

The next morning you allowed yourself to sleep in. You didn’t feel as mad as you felt from the night before, but you still did not want to talk to Minhyuk.
You got dressed and walked down the stairs, heading for the library. You sighed as you walked across the room to the pile of your father’s books that you hadn’t planned on selling. Picking one off of the top, you flipped through it one last time. You heard Minhyuk come down the stairs as you glanced around the room, trying to see what else there was to sell besides books. He called your name but you didn’t answer. You placed the book you had been holding back on top of the pile and grabbed as large of a stack as you could carry.
You were hoping to avoid Minhyuk, but as you exited the library, he jumped out from behind the door and pinched your sides. You dropped the books everywhere as you jumped with fright and shouted at him.
“Minhyuk! why- would- you- do- that?” you asked him as you bent down and grabbed one of the thicker books, smacking him on the arm in between each word.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were carrying something!” he apologized and backed away as your book smacks were relentless. You glared at him once more before bending down and picking up the rest of the books. He stopped to help you, glancing at the cover of the first few books he picked up.
“Wait- these are your father’s books. Are you selling them today?” he asked slowly gathering the rest of them from the ground with you. Standing up, you snatched the book out of his hand and added them to the stack you carried.
“I have to pay Shownu back, so yes.” You told him as you walked to the front door before he could try to hold you up anymore.
“Just give me a few days to get paid from-“
“No! I’m going to sell them and pay him back. I don’t need any help from you” you wrenched the door open angrily. Two more window panes fell out and shattered on the floor. Your grumbled profanities as you walked down the front porch steps and across the front lawn. You were determined to get to town and back without the help of Minhyuk, but before you were able to get too far he had caught up.
“Leave me alone” you told him as you sped up your pace.
“You don’t have to talk to me but I do need to walk you into town” he said, sounding serious.
“I can take care of myself if I get into trouble” you told him defiantly. You held your head high as you walked in front of him.
“With a handful of books you are a sitting duck” he laughed at you. You glared at him once more. He smiled in return.
“Just don’t talk to me”
“I wasn’t planning on it. You were the one who asked me what I was doing following you” he shrugged, as you began to protest, and then stopped when you realized you were in fact the one talking to him. He smiled at you again.
The remainder of the walk into town you remained silent. Minhyuk kept looking at you, knowing it would get on your nerves with his damn smile. He picked you a flower along the road and you almost forgot you were mad and accepted it, before pushing past him and continuing your walk. Minhyuk took the flower anyways and placed it behind his own ear.
When you arrived at the gates, you took a right turn and headed for Shownu’s house. You had planned to give him the old leather bound books for him to sell when he needed the money. You still weren’t sure if they were taking bribes and finding Vernon two days in a row seemed suspicious to you.
You knocked twice on the wooden door and smiled when Jooheon answered.
“Good to see you didn’t get caught” you told him as he stepped aside and allowed you and Minhyuk to enter.
“Is Shownu around?” you asked.
“No. he is in town at the moment. Doing a little bit of reconnaissance” Jooheon filled you in.
“Well, we won’t be staying long. I just have some books here I owe him”
“Shownu doesn’t read much” Jooheon smiled and took the books from your hands.
“They are to sell, silly. I owe him because someone got arrested and I had to borrow bail money” as if on cue, Wonho walked around the corner and into the kitchen. He must’ve just woken up, because he only sported a pair of sweatpants that rode enticingly low on his hips.
“Morning” he said, noticing that you were watching him. You were taken aback and giggled. Minhyuk looked between you and him, just the slightest bit of concern on his face.
“Speak of the devil” you said and turned towards Minhyuk.
“Get some clothes on. There are girls here” Minhyuk told Wonho.
“She doesn’t mind” Wonho shrugged. You turned to look at him and he winked, causing you to blush and look away again.
“Not one bit” you said, turning around to face Minhyuk once more. You smiled at him, noting his annoyance at how bold his friend was being, walking around wearing nothing but thin sweat pants.
Out of nowhere, there was a knock at the door. Everyone in the room fell silent and stared at the solid wooden front door, waiting to hear who it was. It wasn’t someone that any of you seemed to know; they had knocked more than twice.
“Open up. Weapons search” there was a loud voice that shouted as they banged on the door once more. Jooheon and Wonho scrambled back to their room, you assumed to hide things that they might not be supposed to have in their possession, as Minhyuk walked quietly to the front door. He looked out the peep hole in the middle and then smiled.
“Perfect! Y/n!” whispering, he waved you over. You walked over quietly as there were more hammering bangs on the door.
“Open the door” he said grabbing your hand and pulling you over to the door next to him. He left you standing there looking through the peep hole, wondering why you were suddenly chosen to open the door.
“What? No way!” you said nervously.
“Trust me” he said as he left the room to see if the other guys needed help clearing the other rooms. The pounding started again and you quickly opened the door.
Standing there was a group of five guards looking down at you sternly.
“Ma’am might I remind you that when we are at the door we demand…”
“y/n?” you saw Vernon step forward from the back of the group.
“What are you doing here? I thought you lived further out from town?” he asked as he approached you. The guards looked from you to him questioningly.
“I-I do but I am visiting some friends here” you told him.
“Going into town anytime soon?” he asked. The guard who had been knocking on the door rolled his eyes and motioned for the other guards to continue on to the next house with him.
“Oh, no. I was just planning on heading home actually”
“That’s too bad. I was going to say we could grab dinner tonight” he said rubbing the back of his neck.
“Too bad, indeed” Minhyuk said, popping up from out of nowhere. You picked up on the sarcasm in his voice, but it looked like Vernon had not.
“We were just leaving” he added with his hands on the door frame trying to pry it from your grip and close it. You held onto it, not budging an inch. Vernon was unaware of this power struggle that was taking place on front of him between you, Minhyuk and the door.
“Tomorrow then?” he asked as he glanced at his commander who was two houses further down the street. You were taken by surprise.
“I won’t leave until you agree” he said, sounding in a hurry.
“Tomorrow” you agreed, as he heard his name and had to return to his group.
“I’ll send a car here for you.” He shouted as he sprinted back to where he was needed. You looked back at Minhyuk who was glaring at you, still fighting for the door. You let go and smiled as you watched it nearly slam closed on his fingers that were wrapped around the heavy door.
“You should be thanking me for saving your butt” you told him walking back into the kitchen.
“Oh yeah, let me just thank you for going out to dinner with the enemy!” He said angrily as he followed you towards the kitchen.
“That mentality is part of the issue! He isn’t the enemy. You wouldn’t need to be arrested all the time…”
“Does the rebellion suddenly mean nothing to you?” he asked, cutting you off.
“It does! How dare you accuse me of that!” as your shouts reached the other rooms, Jooheon and Wonho had returned. They stood in the doorway with a still sleepy looking Changkyun arrived. Their gaze switched from you to Minhyuk rapidly.
“I don’t see what is wrong with me grabbing a bite to eat with a nice guy?” you asked, still not lowering your volume.
“Not just ‘some guy’. He is a guard! He is part of the problem!”
“The only problem right now is your attitude!”
“You would think considering the past, you wouldn’t be so quick to jump into bed with someone responsible for the murder of your parents” Minhyuk said. His voice was dangerously low. You had no retort and clenched your jaw as tears threatened to fall. He had gone too far. Even the spectators from the doorway let out a small gasp of shock at Minhyuk’s words.
“I-I’m sorry” he stuttered, noticing how deflated and sad you became. He wished he could take back what he had just said to you.
You turned to leave without saying another word. You walked out of the kitchen and straight to the front door, slamming it behind you. Tearfully, you walked down the street and in the direction of your home. You were hoping Minhyuk would not catch up with you.
Back inside Wonho and Changkyun were returning to their rooms as Minhyuk stood in the kitchen. He was mad at himself for letting his jealousy get the better of him.
“That was a bit low, man” Jooheon said sitting down at the small table in the kitchen.
“I know.” Minhyuk said regretfully, still not moving from where he stood.
“Y/n is pretty and you have to deal with the fact that guys are going to start taking notice. We all have at one point we just don’t do anything because she is your sister”
“She isn’t my blood sister”
“We know but you still view her like a sister” Jooheon said. There was silence that greeted his statement. Jooheon cleared his throat when he realized why Minhyuk was not answering.
“Right?” Jooheon asked. Again, Minhyuk didn’t answer. Jooheon shifted in his chair, turning to face Minhyuk.
“If you like her you need to tell her. Before someone else does” Jooheon said in a low voice. Minhyuk didn’t answer once again, but instead he ran to the front door and into the street. He ran in the direction of home you had taken. Catching up, he stopped when he saw you walking ahead of him. He knew in his gut he had pushed it too far and was going to give you some space, but he certainly wasn’t going to let you walk home alone. It had begun to get dark.
He followed behind you as you walked in the direction of your home, oblivious to all around you.
On the walk home you had some time to think. You strolled and pondered if you were doing something bad or not. You had felt guilty in the beginning talking to Vernon, but as time went by he turned out to be very sweet. He was nice and fair, and not like most of the other guards. Still, the way Minhyuk reacted made you second guess everything. You hated seeing him mad at you.
Not to mention, you were still constantly suppressing your true feelings for him.
Minhyuk had time to think as well. He hadn’t even bothered to see how you felt about him. He couldn’t blame you for falling for the affection of someone else, when he hadn’t even tried. He promised to himself that he would not let his jealousy get the better of him like that again. He kicked out at the dirt in the street in frustration with himself for getting carried away.
Reaching the gate to your front yard, you jumped when someone reached out and grabbed it before you did.
“Minhyuk? How long have you been following me?” you asked, sounding less mad now that you had time to think.
“The whole time” he said softly and smiled. He saw by the look on your face that you weren’t mad at him anymore. You snaked your arms around him and pulled him into a hug.
“I don’t like you sometimes” you told him, but smiled into his shoulder as he hugged you back.
The next afternoon, you and Minhyuk had been taking a break from organizing more items you wanted to sell. You figured since you were going into town for your date tonight, you might as well sell some things too.
“These matching chairs can go.” You said sitting down on the tattered couch next to Minhyuk. You rested your head on his shoulder. Looking out a window absentmindedly, you watched a bird flitter back and forth from one tree to another. Another bird chased after the first playfully.
Minhyuk looked out the window too, but he wasn’t watching the birds. He smelled your hair and interlaced his fingers with yours. Deciding now was a good time, he opened his mouth to say something, but you beat him to it.
“I can ask Shownu and Jooheon to come grab them later or tomorrow when I am in town tonight.” You told Minhyuk as you stood back up, wanting to find more things to sell.
“Why are you going into town tonight?” he asked, standing up with you.
“My date, remember?” you told him cautiously. He licked his lips and you were unable to read the expression on his face, but it certainly wasn’t happiness. You turned away from him and began picking up random trinkets around the room, but not really paying attention to what you were looking at.
“h-have fun then” Minhyuk said quietly after a moment had passed. You nodded, but still would not look at him.
“I-um- I have something to help Jooheon with so I’ll just be heading out then” he added when you didn’t say anything.
“I’m heading there later today, so we can just go together” you told him hopefully.
“No-it’s fine. I should’ve been there already” he said and retreated out of the room heading into the foyer. You followed him, the guilt filling your chest once more.
“Minhyuk-“you said quietly as his hand reached for the door handle. He paused, but did not turn around. You didn’t know what to say to ease the tension between you two once more.
“I’ll see you later then” you said shrugging. He nodded and exited, slamming the door behind himself.
You sighed and tried to fight back the tears.
Later that afternoon, you were dressed and heading into town. You had your dress and shoes in a bag, planning to change when you got to Shownu and Jooheon’s place.
Walking down the street, you dodged many people as you reached the wooden front door and knocked twice.
Shownu answered and stepped aside to allow you in.
“Minhyuk still here?” you asked. Shownu looked at you confused.
“He hasn’t been here all day” he shook his head.
“What do you mean? He left for here earlier this afternoon” you told him. Shownu shrugged. You tried to suppress your nerves not knowing where Minhyuk could be. You would’ve gotten word by now if he had been arrested. You kept that thought pushed to the back of your mind.
“Mind if I use the bathroom?” you asked as Shownu nodded before sitting back on the couch. You changed and pulled your hair back. Finishing off with makeup, it was kind of nice to dress up for once. You exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen where Jooheon and Changkyun sat at the kitchen table. They had a map of the town spread out on the table, which you didn’t question them about.
“Wow! Look who is getting all dressed up today” Changkyun said smiling and looking at you like you hadn’t seen him look at you before. You blushed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. Jooheon nodded, but didn’t look happy. He turned back to the map quickly as you headed for the other room to watch some television.
At the door frame you almost ran into someone entering the kitchen.
“Minhyuk! Where have you been?” you asked as he froze, looking from your feet to your face slowly.
“Just been in town” he said as his eyes wandered over your fixed hair and gloss covered lips.
“You look nice” he didn’t sound like he meant this as he coldly brushed past you and into the kitchen.
“Thank you” you said. Jooheon still looked at the map on the table but his eyebrows were raised as the tension in the room became tangible. Changkyun began playing with a loose piece of wood from the table out of awkwardness. Minhyuk busied himself making coffee, which you knew he didn’t drink in the first place.
From the other room, you heard a knock on the door. Realizing it must be getting late, you figured this knock was the driver here to pick you up.
“See you guys later” you said and turned to leave.
“He is ballsy, picking you up here” Minhyuk said loudly as you exited the room.
“He isn’t. He sent a car” you called back to him confidently, knowing this would get on his nerves. It was quite a status symbol to be able to send a car to pick someone up, especially in this part of town.
“He sent a car. Sent a car just right into the slums. Smooth” Minhyuk mumbled to himself as he still tried to make himself some coffee. Out of frustration his hands shook. Jooheon and Changkyun exchanged glances and then looked back at Minhyuk who was slamming things on the counter after he used them.
Once outside, you walked to the shining town car and smiled as the driver opened the door for you. People walking the street stopped to admire the car. Most of them hadn’t seen a car in a while, let alone a car this clean.
You let out a deep breath as you leaned against the back of the seat of the car. You watched the scenery pass by the window as you were driven slowly towards town and through a pair of gates you hadn’t been through before. The sun was sinking lower into the sky now, and you were getting nervous wondering where you were going to meet Vernon.
Your question was soon answered as the car pulled through another set of iron gates and drove along a paved road lined with oak trees. They were impressive and old with their trunks as think as the car you were sitting in. You opened the window to watch as their branches reached over the road, blocking out the fading sunlight overhead. You took a deep breath and smelled pine trees.
Once the town car crested a hill, you saw a large mansion come into view. You gasped at how the columns lining the front porch were lit up. The elaborate chateau rose out of the ground in front of you like a mirage.
The town car pulled along the drive way that circled in front of the house, stopping right next to a set of stairs the extended to the front door. You smiled as you looked up and saw Vernon walking down them. He wasn’t dressed in his uniform, but had a more casual look. The driver exited the car and got the door for you. You thanked him as you exited and looked up. Vernon was watching you smiling.
“Is this too much?” he asked as you walked up the stairs to meet him halfway.
“This is…” you began to explain how amazing the house behind Vernon was but you couldn’t find words that did it justice.
“If I can be honest, I had no idea what to do for our date. My favorite thing to do it wander the grounds of my family home. Forgive me if this is too casual” he held his arm out for you to take and escorted you up the rest of the stairs and onto the wide front porch. It seemed to wrap around the entire house.
“I think it’s wonderful” you admitted as he smiled. He seemed to be happy that you were enjoying his date idea. He began to stroll along the porch, as you followed and took in the surrounding area. From the porch, you could gaze out over the entire front lawn. There was a creek that flowed along a line of trees which blocked the busy city from view.
“I have enough of the city during the day. I enjoy my time here much more” he explained.
“I can understand.” You admitted as you and he came to a stop around the side of the house. You and he stood side by side leaning against the wooden railing. There was a large garden that had neat flower beds of every color. A fountain in the middle cascaded lightly, as the air filled with the relaxing sound of the trickling water.
“It reminds me of my home” you spoke without thinking.
“Where is that?” Vernon asked. You realized your mistake at once. There was no way you could admit to a guard that you grew up in the house belonging to a murdered traitor.
“Oh-it… it was a few towns away.” You brushed off thaw question.
“I knew you didn’t appear to be from the slums. You carry yourself differently than the others” he said scooting closer to you. You smiled as his arm lightly brushed against yours. The way he said ‘others’ made you uncomfortable, but you tried not to dwell on it.
“What does your father do?” he asked. This was another loaded question.
“He… was… a business man” you weren’t sure if this would be a satisfactory answer, but Vernon didn’t question you farther.
“Tell me about your home” he asked, wanting to learn more about you. This question was a tough one for you to think about, but you had to respond or it would’ve been suspicious.
“It was similar to this one. It had a porch like this on the front of the house. The gardens in the back weren’t well kept, but my mother enjoyed planting them and letting the flowers bloom and grow without being trimmed back. There was a path out back that lead to a gazebo. My father and I would walk out there often and he would read to me as my mother knitted. There was a pond in the back where each summer a family of swans would be born” you got caught up as the happy memories flooded back to you.
“It sounds great” Vernon said nudging your shoulder.
“It was” you admitted, looking down at your hands as they twiddled in front of you.
“Was?” he questioned you. You cursed inwardly; you had gotten carried away talking about your childhood home.
“My parents sold it when I moved away” you lied quickly.
“That’s too bad” Vernon told you.
As the sky grew darker, you and Vernon walked along the porch, until you and him took a seat on a swing at the back of the house. The conversation was polite and the time flew by quickly.
Before long, the stars had taken over the sky and the birds that had been abundant not long before had retreated to their nests for the night.
“I hate for this to end but I think it is time you headed home” Vernon said after the conversation had come to a lull.
“My father has the town car, but I have a cab on its way, if that’s alright.”
“Oh- don’t trouble yourself!” you told him. It was sweet that he was so prepared.
“Actually I had told the cab company I needed one here about thirty minutes ago, so they are probably already here. I just got carried away talking with you” Vernon admitted as he stood and held his hand out to you. Smiling you took it, and allowed him to walk you to the front of the house.
Sure enough there was a cab waiting for you. The driver leaned against the car looking annoyed, but knowing him getting paid well either way.
“This was such a great night” you told Vernon as he walked you to the car. He opened the door for you as you entered. Rolling down the window you waved to Vernon as he retreated back up the stairs and watched the cab fade into the night.
Not wanting to walk home from Jooheon’s house in town in the dark, you gave the cab driver an address that wasn’t too far from your home. He took you there and dropped you off. You made a show of walking up the front steps of the small house that was located on the same street as your true home. As you watched the cab driver recede quickly into the distance, you turned and quickly headed in the direction of your house.
Walking up the front steps, your feet had started to hurt. You took your shoes off as soon as you closed the front gate behind yourself. Looking up at your old home, the memories of how grand it used to be came back to you. Vernon’s house had reminded you of summer nights in the gazebo and sunny afternoons sitting with your mother by the pond, the cold water tickling your toes. You sighed with regret as you gazed at the crumbling, scorched mansion in front of you.
Opening the front door, the house seemed quiet. You began to walk up the grand staircase, calling for Minhyuk. There was no response as you made our way to his room. Knocking on the door, there was no answer. You listened to hear if there was movement behind the door, but there wasn’t. Knocking again you didn’t receive a response.
Throwing caution to the wind you opened the door. It slowly swung inwards as you gazed at his bed. He sat there reading a book. He didn’t look up at you as you entered and walked over and sat at the bottom of the large bed.
“How was your night?” you asked in order to break the tension between the two of you.
“fine.” He responded. He turned a page of the book he was reading and still didn’t look at you.
“Minhyukkie, I feel like we have been mad at each other for too long. Can we not do this anymore” you asked as you crawled over to him. He couldn’t help but watch you as you did this. You plopped down next to him and cuddled into his shoulder comfortingly. You felt the tension in his body release as he reached up and rubbed the side of your face affectionately.
“Fine” was all he said. He didn’t sound mad, so you didn’t press the issue. You let the moments pass watching him read and being comforted by the sound of his breathing.
“Do you remember how beautiful this house used to be?” you asked after some time had passed. Minhyuk put the book down and rolled over to face you.
“How could I forget? I had admired this house for so long” he admitted.
“I watched you ride past on your bike so many times” you smiled as the memory came back to you.
“Then you had to go and break a window” you poked his nose.
“It was an accident! I didn’t know that lawn mower would kick up a rock like that” he defended himself for the hundredth time as the memory of meeting Minhyuk came back to you.
“Father took pity on you. Then he found out you were an orphan and he would never let you be homeless again.”
“How old were we?” you asked as this part of your memory had faded.
“I was ten and you were eight” he reminded you as he began to play with your fingers that interlaced with his. You sighed and sat up, feeling sleepy.
“Thank you for being in my life for so long” you told him as you leaned over and hugged him. He squeezed you tightly in return. Pulling away, you stood up and headed towards your own room, closing Minhyuk’s door behind you.
As you tried to sleep that night, thoughts of both Vernon and Minhyuk swam through your mind.

Notes