AERI

I really had to quit.

Thin tendrils of smoke fill the dim air of the alley as I place the cigarette to my lips. I take another breath, letting the bittersweet taste of the smoke linger on my tongue as I lean against the cracked concrete walls.

It's twilight. I had left V to sleep.

I blow out the puff of smoke.

It had been hard— leaving him when he was looking that beautiful in his pale silence.

But years of smoking was more difficult than I had thought to get away from. The urge had just gotten more irresistible over time.

The twilight has dimmed by the time I drop the cigarette, letting the flame die away into the asphalt. A streak of ash stains my thumb.

And I'm about to drag my finger across the alley wall when I feel hands around my waist.

I freeze with surprise. There's a voice husky with sleep, against my ear.

"You smoke, still?"

I'm too taken aback to say anything as V breathes. Heat pools in my stomach when he begins to kiss the line of my shoulder, his lips like the tracks of a butterfly.

I stutter over words.

"How are you— you should be in bed!"

"I've been there for far too long," He whispers. And when he tilts my head to kiss my lips, I quickly turn my face away. The blush is heavy on my cheeks.

"You...can't."

"I just smoked," I murmur, closing my lips shut. "And I thought you quit, V. Plus it's not good for your recovery—"

He laughs.

"I can always quit again."

And without any warning, he connects his lips to mine. My hands instantly wrap around his shoulders— almost like instinct in the same way he forces me against the wall, fingers dragging through my hair.

My fingertips graze his cheek, leaving remnants of ash. A faint streak of black.

His eyes glint a low silver as he breaks away. I'm completely out of breath, struggling not to gasp as he gazes down at me. His lips are tinted red.

Without a word, he reaches down to press a last, brief kiss against my mouth. Then his hand shifts to my hand, his larger one enveloping mine.

"Come on."

"It's cold."

I'm still stunned as he pulls me towards the entrance of the alley, his expression tense with pain. I notice him limping, on the leg where he was shot.

A breath rushes out of my lips.

"V— V, wait."

I quickly drape his arm around my shoulders, shuffling closer to him. He gives me a look of amusement when I tug him towards me.

"Lean." I say, voice authoritative. He laughs.

"Is your back alright?"

"It's fine now," I murmur. "Come on. I don't have all day."

His warmth seeps into me when he leans against me, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. His hand tightens around the curve of my shoulder.

I shiver when he breathes, the heat running down from my bare neck to the scarred skin down my shirt.

"Sweet?"

I blink, glancing over at him when he holds up a piece of candy. A lemon lollipop.

I can't help but laugh in disbelief.

"Where did you even— give it to me." I say, and he returns my laugh when I stick it in my mouth. The sweet citrus spreads through the taste of smoke.

His eyes glitter.

"No thanks?"

I blush when I see his gaze flicker. He was really pushing it now— when he should rightfully be stuck in bed with a bunch of painkillers.

But the taste of cigarette on my tongue had been bothering me the entire time.

I slip the lollipop out of my lips.

The edges of his eyes soften when I press a kiss to his cheek.

_________________________________

RIN

This sucks.

Jungkook looks up at me when I groan, smacking my palms down onto the floor. Then I roll over with another sigh, kicking away the blankets and sitting up. A scowl paints my face.

I get it. I really do.

Of course. My mom was my mom— plus anyone would be worried if their daughter was getting chased around by some crazy psycho. But still.

I can't stay in this room anymore.

"Jungkook," I say, whipping towards him. He blinks sleepily at me, looking a bit unsettled by the glint in my eyes.

"We're sneaking out."

"...what?"

I wave at the cramped, small room. There was a shuttered window on a wall, barely letting any air in even though I'd opened it as much as it would go. It's so hot too— both of us were literally in short sleeves and still sweating.

"We're getting outta here."

"Rin," He murmurs, running his fingers through his hair as he glances worriedly towards the closed door. I could hear my mom snoring quietly outside.

"Please. I don't want to get shot."

"You won't," I insist. "I've done this so many times, Jungkook. Besides she doesn't even know how to use a gun. She was just kidding back there."

"It's not that hard to pull a trigger, either."

He says these things. But a smile soon pulls my lips when he slowly sits up, shifting the blankets to the side. He really looks like he doesn't want to do this, but the room must be unbearable for him as well.

"Five minutes," He says. "Then we're coming back. Understand?"

I nod excitedly, before barreling towards the open window. It's barely wide enough for Jungkook— I could probably fit through it easily. Then I peek out, looking down at the ashy ground two stories below.

Oh.

The darkness. It made the ground ripple, making it seem like it's farther than it really is. The bottoms of my feet suddenly turn a bit cold.

A hand pulls me back.

"Don't. I'll go first," He murmurs. And I watch him anxiously, finger on my lips when I hear my mom shift outside the door. Then I look up at him, genuinely worried with the ground being farther than I expected it to be.

"Be careful."

He doesn't turn back. But I hear low laughter under his breath as he sets a foot against the window frame.

"If you want me to."

He disappears. And I instantly rush back to the window, peeking over the frame and into the looming darkness. In the Underground, even a couple streetlights were considered too expensive. At night, the slums are shrouded in black.

"Jungkook?" I whisper, into the air. "I can't see you."

There's a low shifting underneath. And I grip the frame, squinting in the direction of the hushes voice.

"Here."

"Just jump, Rin. I'll catch you."

I swallow. But I trust him more than I'd like to ever admit, and tighten my hazel hair up into a tight ponytail. I still can't see anything, but I feel his presence.

The wind touches my face as I leap off the window. And I hear a surprised shout— that cuts off instantly as firm arms wrap around my waist.

But something's wrong.

I can't even make a sound as he pulls me into his chest, so roughly that it knocks out the wind from my throat. I feel his entire body tense with strength— then loosen. The balance topples.

Both of us fall.

A second passes, completely still. I'm on top of him, palms wrapped around his shoulders. My scrunched eyes carefully pop open.

That hadn't gone too good.

I poke his cheek.

"Are you okay?"

"No. Did you really have to jump that far to the right?" He sighs sharply, a groan leaving his lips as he raises himself. "All you had to do was drop straight down. You gave me a heart attack, Rin."

Then he growls, almost like an annoyed kitty as I smile at him, perched on his lap.

"Get off me."

"Sorry." I say sheepishly, brushing away some specks of dirt that had gotten on his cheek before getting to my feet.

He runs his fingers through his rumpled locks.

"Now what?"

Now what?

"We take a nice little walk— I know the best route around the place!" I say, all reassuringly. "I used to do this all the time, you know. And Mom would never catch on—"

"I knew I smelled a rat."

The excitement dies away so quickly that it leaves a chill that sends shivers down my back.

Jungkook freezes up like a statue, the blood draining from his face as soon as he realizes what I realize— a hand on the back of his shoulder. It's an oddly familiar hand— and that voice.

It's the voice I hear from my nightmares.

It's Mom.

She's right behind Jungkook. Barely comes up to the line of his shoulders, but her eyes glint with murder as she stares straight at me.

I'm going to die.

I am so sorry, Jungkook. But at least she isn't going to rip you alive and hang your corpse up like laundry tonight.

But it was different for me.

I could actually get shot tonight.

I spin on my heel.

Then I hightail it out of there as fast as I can, with Jungkook's stunned, incredulous gaze on my back and my mother's shrill yell echoing behind me.