Monsta X Series

The next morning you were woken up to knocking on the bedroom door where you were sleeping. Groggily, you saw Minhyuk walk over and open the door. He ran his hands through his hair sleepily as he sighed when he saw it was just Changkyun.
“There’s a delivery here for y/n” Changkyun told Minhyuk, looking cheeky as always.
“That couldn’t have waited until later?” Minhyuk asked as he yawned. Changkyun shrugged and walked away from the door as you sat up. Minhyuk walked back to the bed and crawled in next to you. You loved how warm he always felt and you wished you could stay in bed wrapped up with him forever.
“Better get dressed and get your delivery before they come knocking again.” Minhyuk said softly as he pushed a stray piece of hair out of your face. You whined not wanting to have to get out of bed.
“Don’t make me pull these covers off of you!” he teased. You grumbled and reluctantly got out of bed, grabbing your pants and one of Minhyuk’s extra shirts to put on, heading to the bathroom to change.
Once out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, you paused in shock when you saw a very large bouquet of red roses sitting on the table. It blocked the majority of the kitchen from your view. You could barely see Minhyuk across the kitchen and over top of the flowers. His eye brows were raised.
“Who in the world…”
“Three guesses” Minhyuk said sarcastically. You nodded once.
“A bit much aren’t they?” you asked him, walking around the table that held the flowers and standing next to Minhyuk. He didn’t look happy and kept looking at the flowers like they were listening in on his conversation with you.
“That guy must really be head over heels for you…” Changkyun said as he walked back into the room and took a seat at the table. He was having to eat his breakfast on the very edge, since the bouquet left little room for much else.
“There’s a note at the top” Minhyuk said and walked over, plucking it from between two of the larger flowers. He handed it to you and you took a deep breath as you read it.
All of the flowers in the world aren’t half as pretty as you. Meet me in town tonight? –Vernon.
You sighed and handed the note to Minhyuk. He read it in silence and snickered at how cheesy it was.
“Well, he is right about how pretty you are.” He said and kissed you on the cheek. Changkyun choked on his cereal, and you ignored him.
“And I can’t blame him for wanting to see you so soon. Just be careful” Minhyuk shrugged and handed you back the note, which you took slowly.
“You are alright with this?” you asked him.
“We don’t have a choice.” He shrugged. He didn’t look happy, but this façade had to be kept up a bit longer.
“I was hoping to head back home today” you admitted. You had been wanting to return and continue your planned cleanup of the house.
“Tomorrow. I promise” Minhyuk said and kissed you once more.
“For the love of god, go home now!” Changkyun said and left the room, cereal in hand.
“If I could give you a bouquet of flowers like this every day I would” Minhyuk said, looking at the flowers a bit more lost in thought.
“I would rather you didn’t. They are awfully pretentious” you told him and Minhyuk nodded.
“What else is on your mind?” you poked at Minhyuk. He was rarely quiet and when he was, there was always a reason behind it.
“I just think… Vernon is a good guy, and he does seem to like you…”
“I’m a likable person, but go on” you tried to lighten the mood.
“I just have this thought that maybe if you did get serious with him, you could be back to living a good life like you were used to before, you know… everything happened.” As he said this, you became speechless.
“I’m just saying, you could have great life with him. Not one in places like this with me” he said gesturing around the cramped and dark kitchen, unable to look you in the eye. As if on cue, the light from the ceiling flickered and went out, followed by shouts from Changkyun about who forgot to pay the electric bill this month.
“That is absurd! You’re dumb sometimes” you chuckled and walked to the flowers, grabbed them, and stuffed them as best as you could in a small waste basket. They were crowding up the room in an awful way. They made it stuffy in here.
“I’m just sharing what is on my mind. I just think you deserve more than I can give you” again, he rendered you speechless.
“Who are you today?” you asked him walking over and poking his sides, making him flinch. Thunder rumbled overhead and made your hair stand on end.
“I would rather be anywhere with you, than in the nicest house with anyone else” you shook your head and pulled Minhyuk in for hug.
“Who are you today?” he teased you back, poking your sides.
By the late afternoon, rain had begun to come down in drizzles. You were able to find a change of clothes that Hyungwon’s wife had left there some time ago and an umbrella that was only slightly broken. Heading towards town, Minhyuk followed behind you at a distance that wasn’t easily detectable. You still had no way of getting into town since bribes were out of the question. Minhyuk was going to help get you back home if it was needed.
Walking up to the gate with your umbrella, one of the guards recognized you and waved you past. You sighed with relief before stealing a discreet glance back at Minhyuk who was sinking backwards to blend in with the crowd. You felt uneasy as soon as he was out of sight.
Not knowing where exactly to meet Vernon, you wandered the street until you found an awning over the window of a building and stood there to wait out the rain. It had begun to get heavier, like your mood.
After about ten minutes, you saw Vernon walking briskly down the road in his uniform. As he neared you he looked at you and smiled with relief before walking over and standing next to you.
“I’m so sorry! Had I known it was going to be raining I would’ve called you a cab! My father has the town car, and I keep telling him we should get another one” he rambled apologies.
“It’s fine.” You brushed it off.
“Thank you” he said and hugged you graciously with one arm.
“I don’t know what you have planned today, but it doesn’t look like we can do much” you said glancing at the sky.
“The flowers were beautiful, by the way” you thanked him and he beamed.
“That is for putting up with my friends and family the other night. I know they aren’t the kind of company you are used to, but we can knock the rust off of you in no time” you weren’t sure what he meant by this exactly, but you figured it had something to do with you not quite fitting in with his friends and family. Maybe he thought you just needed practice?
“I had a fun time the other night. I think I got along with everyone just fine, and I believe your grandmother would agree” you tried not to sound frosty as you looked at him sweetly.
“She did like you, which is so rare to find a girl that she approves of” Vernon said as he stood closer to you and the two of you watched the rain.
As you tried to force conversation with Vernon, Minhyuk was attending a meeting with a large group. They were all stuffed into the small sitting area, and there was hardly any room for anyone to breath or fidget. This was the safest way. No one would think to check such a small house for a large rebel meeting. The plans being outlined tonight were for an attack on some government official’s home on the outskirts of town. The plan was to get rid of him, and watch as the rest of the guard had to scramble on what to do next.
“I know this idea seems crazy, but without a head, the snake can’t live to kill another day. With all the reinforcements that keep arriving, we are going to at least match up with the number of guards. Not to mention, they will have their guard down, thinking that we are laying low with the new rules and laws in place.”
“But attacking a high ranking officials home seems a bit… careless?” someone from the crowd asked.
“They will never expect it. So far we have been directing large attacks on large groups, but this time we will go for the throat” Jooheon finished outlining the plan. There were murmurs of disagreement and agreement equally.
“We have scouted the place out, and there is only trees lining the perimeter; no wall. He obviously thinks he is far enough away from town for us to not try anything. The trees are good coverage and there is nothing between them but open land.” Shownu took over for Jooheon and outlined the groups that were responsible for being lookouts and such. A few more people were agreeing to the plan seeing how organized it was. Not to mention, everyone was tired of the same outcome of the same style of uprising: death and no progression.
As the meeting concluded, with the rendezvous time being set to one hour, Minhyuk was feeling uneasy. He spotted Changkyun and pulled him aside.
“This isn’t the same house that y/n has been visiting, is it?” he asked the only question that was on his mind. Changkyun looked taken aback.
“I don’t think so. I mean, I thought she goes to the other side of town?”
“I don’t actually know where the house is…” Minhyuk admitted, seeing the fault in this right away.
“You never followed her?” Changkyun asked surprised.
“She was in a car. There was no way I can follow a car.” he said sounding even more uneasy.
“Most of the people here know y/n, so she won’t get into any trouble.” Changkyun patted Minhyuk on the back and walked away. Minhyuk tried to convince himself that this was not the same house. Even if it was, what were the chances of you being there tonight? There was supposed to be a meeting going on, and that didn’t seem like a fun place for a date. He felt slightly better telling himself this.
He wasn’t aware that Vernon’s house was exactly where you were heading.
“You didn’t need to call a cab. We could’ve walked.” You said as Vernon got the door for you.
“It is a bit of a walk, and besides I don’t want either one of us to get dirty” he got into the cab next to you and gave the driver the address.
“I apologize again for my dad having the car. If you can keep a secret, he is meeting with the governors from the surrounding areas. Looks like we are combining our police forces. At least, that is his goal. Their rebellion populations seemed to have decreased while ours has increased. No need to worry though…” he reached out and took your hand in what he thought was a comforting way.
“Nothing will happen. My father is making sure we have it under control”
“That is good to hear. I would hate to not be safe enough to visit you in town” you smiled and Vernon laughed.
“I know you don’t worry your pretty little head over things like that, but I feel if you know what is going on you will be safer” he said and leaned in to kiss you. You couldn’t back away, but didn’t let him linger, using the cab driver as an excuse.
“So modest” Vernon said shaking his head.
As you entered the gate that lead to Vernon’s house, you still had a bad feeling, but couldn’t place it. You figured it was from being around Vernon more than you would like.
As you exited the cab, you could’ve sworn there was movement by the back of the house, but figured it was just a bird or animal that you couldn’t see because it was getting dark.
“Want to come inside? This rain makes the air unsavory” Vernon asked as he held out his arm for you to take. You nodded and followed.
As you entered, there was sitting area to the right where Vernon lead you to. He began to show you around the house, considering all you ever saw was the dining room and outside.
“This is the library. We don’t spend much time here” he would explain every gorgeous room to you and you couldn’t help but admire every single space. There seemed to be no expense spared on making this house immaculate.
At the back of the house in the billiards room, you stayed a bit and allowed Vernon to show you how to play billiards.
“My father will appreciate a woman who knows how to play” he told you.
“When will he be home?” you asked off handedly. You didn’t want Vernon to have to call another cab, but you certainly didn’t want to stay late.
“I’m not quite sure. He might stay in town tonight”
“Oh…” you said, not liking where this was going.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to stay here tonight” Vernon said and caressed your cheek.
“At least, not if you don’t want to” he added.
“Thank you” you told him and stepped away pretending to get back to playing billiards.
Out of the corner of your eye, you thought you saw someone on the back porch, but the lights had gone out outside.
“Vernon…” you started slowly walking towards him, but his eyes were already trained on the window where you had seen someone. He seemed on edge.
“Those lights aren’t supposed to go out like that” he shook his head and took a timid step closer to the window to peer out.
A scream rang through the house out of nowhere. You looked around you in fright. If you had been slightly uncomfortable before, you were definitely on high alert now.
“We need to get out of here” you said and held onto the pool stick. If this was the only weapon you could get your hands on then it would have to do.
There was another scream off in a distant part of the house, followed by breaking glass. There was a growing fear in the back of your mind as to who was responsible for this break in this evening.
“We have to hide” you told Vernon. He was more in danger here than you were and he didn’t realize it.
“I am not hiding!” he said stubbornly and looked around for what you assumed was his weapon options. More breaking glass; this time it sounded closer.
“No time for weapons now! Let’s get out of here!” you told him. He looked at your surprised at your change in attitude all of a sudden. You grabbed his arm and made your way to the kitchens. If the people responsible were who you thought they were, they weren’t going to check the kitchens for staff. They had a bigger target in mind.
Bursting through the doors you stopped dead when a familiar scene was suddenly playing before you. The smell of fire filled your nostrils and there was people yelling and running about as if in slow motion. Pushing your way toward the kitchen, you stopped in the doorway. The bodies here looked as though they weren’t even given a chance to run.
“This can’t be…” you said to yourself. A shattering boom rang through his house as you remembered where you were. Pulling Vernon behind you, you were about to push him through a back door when it opened.
“Y/n?!” you heard Changchun’s voice sound as he pushed through to the front of the group that had just barged through the door. Pushing Vernon to the side, so as not to be so obvious, you grabbed Changkyun into a frantic hug.
“what is going on?” you asked him as his eyes darted back and forth from over the top of a mask that he wore the hide half of his face.
“We were here to kill the guy who lives here. He is in charge of a lot of the rules that make our life hell. We heard he was holding a meeting and thought it would be here. When we realized he wasn’t, the group from out of town didn’t hear us when we said we should leave. They are ransacking the place. Apparently a lot of people have some personal business with this guy…” he trailed off and then looked at you.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as you gestured towards Vernon. Changkyun saw him, and realized this was not a good position to be in.
“We need to get him out of here.” You told Changkyun, but he didn’t seem happy about it.
“Where is Minhyuk?” you asked forcefully. You knew he would help you.
“He is a lookout. He didn’t come up to the house with us”
“Shit. What are the chances of us reaching the tree line?” you asked as Changkyun took out a spare pistol and handed it to you. You looked at it and handed it to Vernon. He would need it more than you. He seemed in shock and was remaining quiet as you and Changkyun conversed.
“Slim to none” Changkyun told you.
“That’s what I was afraid of…”
“You have been one of them this whole time?” Vernon asked you out of nowhere.
“No. I haven’t. I just know them”
“You have fooled me and my family” he looked genuinely hurt. He gave the pistol back to you and ran his fingers through his hair as he gazed around. There was more breaking glass and the smoke was increasing. Vernon’s eyes were wide and he seemed unable to process what was happening before his eyes.
“Might I remind you, that this is exactly what your father did to me and my family eight years ago? They don’t have to know you are here, so take this and…” you were handing the pistol back to him, when the door burst open once more. There was a group of masked men here and they were heading straight for you.
“Take out the girl first!” one of them said as Changkyun’s protests were drowned out. You watched as one of the raised their shot gun and pointed it at you. Closing your eyes you knew this was the end but only wished that Minhyuk was here with you.
You heard the gun shot, but felt no force. You heard a grunt of pain in front of you, as you opened your eyes. You couldn’t hold back the tears as you saw Vernon laying on the ground in front of you. His side was bleeding profusely and there was a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth.
“y/n… we have to get you out of here” Changkyun said, as the group backed away when they saw Changkyun block you from their view. They had more rooms to wreck, you figured. Pushing past Changkyun, you crouched down next to Vernon as he shuddered and couldn’t seem to breathe.
“Why would you do that?” you asked reaching down and putting pressure onto his side. Your hands shook uncontrollably.
“I know you aren’t one of them” he said reaching up for you. You took his hand, and it caused a pain in your chest seeing him taking his last breaths. Reliving this was too painful. He opened his mouth to say more, but the house shuddered and Changkyun pulled on your shoulder to get you to standing.
“Y/n, seriously, they are burning the place down! we have to go!” he yanked you up, but you tried to return to Vernon’s side. There had to be something you could do to help him.
“Y/n! There is no helping him! Let’s go!” Changkyun said through clenched teeth as the grip on your upper arm hardened. Seeing that you weren’t moving, as there were gunshots in a nearby room, Changkyun grabbed you around the waist and hoisted you over his shoulder.
Despite your protests and tears, Changkyun ran you straight to the tree line. You yelled in his face as he put you down, barely able to see him through your tears.
“Y/n?!” you heard your name be called from somewhere behind you. Turning you saw Minhyuk walking swiftly towards you. He seemed disbelieving as he grabbed you into a tight hug.
“What in the world is going on, Minhyuk?” you asked hugging him close and sobbing into his chest.
“We lost control. Our group was outnumbered and the other group took over. We couldn’t stop them.” he shook his head as he rubbed your back, trying to calm you. Pulling away he looked you up and down, noting the tears in your eyes.
“Why are you bleeding? Are you hurt?” he asked, sounding alarmed.
“It isn’t mine…” you admitted, looking down at your bloody hands. They were shaking, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of them. Seeing you falling into shock, Minhyuk acted quickly.
“Let’s get you out of here” he said glancing at the house. A large flame was visibly poking out from a few of the lower windows.
“I-I can’t. Vernon,” you asked. He had to still be alive.
“Where is he?” Minhyuk asked. Changkyun grabbed his arm before he could head for the house. He shook his head and Minhyuk knew what this meant.
“We need to get you home. We all need to get out of here” Minhyuk said. Changkyun nodded and took your hand. Minhyuk round up the rear of the group as Changkyun was in front of you. You followed him as quickly and silently as possible, not daring to look back or breath until you were safely back at the door of Joseon’s house.
You were breathing heavy and leaned against the door frame to catch your breath. You heard Changkyun knock on the door twice as it opened quickly. Opening your eyes, you followed him inside, thinking you would see Minhyuk standing there ready to hug you once more.
“Minhyuk?” you said as you glanced around the room. He was nowhere in sight.
“Wasn’t he right behind us?” you asked Changkyun.
“I thought he was behind you.” He shrugged as his chest heaved. He had a small cut on the top of his arm he was tending to at the moment. Jooheon stood in the corner looking worried. They were the only two back.
“He isn’t here” Jooheon told you. You froze.
“I have to go back”
“No way!” Changkyun stood and blocked the door.
“I know Minhyuk’s concern was getting you safe back here. Regardless of what has happened you can’t leave” he stood firm. You tried to push past him but he was far stronger. Hot tears of frustration and worry ran down your face and your hair was disheveled around your face.
“He is right, y/n” Jooheon said from the corner of the room.
You had to stay and wait. There was nothing to do but sit and worry.

Notes