LEAH

I freeze.

I can't even push a breath out of my lips as my gaze meets his, two pools of deep dark that look too sincere to be fake. With my ears slowly blushing red, I push out my chin.

"You think you're so scary."

I'm not backing down.

Taking a deep inward breath, I slam my forehead against his, thinking that would be more than enough. But much to my dismay, he doesn't stumble back even an inch.

"You don't know what you're doing." He whispers, sending shivers tingling down my spine. "I could kiss you right now and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

If you really want to.

Pushing down every bit of my embarrassment and hesitation deep into the back of my mind, I crash my lips against his.

He clearly didn't expect that.

But to my shock, he kisses back. There's a beginning of red shading his cheeks, and the moment I see that, all of my humiliation and embarrassment disappears completely.

Both of us refuse to back down.

________________________

We end up kissing for a straight thirty minutes, which is just ridiculous.

And if a knocking on his door hadn't forced us apart, we would've kissed for hours, which is just unbelievable.

"What." Taehyung barks at the door, his full lips almost red as he pushes off of me in one fleeting motion. When the knocking comes again, his eyes narrow in frustrated annoyance.

And I'm just sitting there blinking.

When he walks briskly to his door and pulls it open with a scowl on his sculpted features, a man starts stuttering at his Master's sharp voice.

"Y-Y-You didn't answer for the last hour." He mumbles, and V releases a heavy sigh as I shift over a bit, out of his vision. "I was trying to tell you that you're late."

"For what."

"The Moon Dance?" And then the man's eyes widen as he looks at V, his undeniably blushed cheeks, the strained breaths he's trying to push down. "It's— uh, in thirty minutes."

It makes me roll backwards on the bed with my features twisted in embarrassment.

"Fine." After one stiff reply, he slams the door shut in the poor man's face and tugs on his collar. He shoots me a look.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear?"

"I need to go?"

"You're dancing with me, Leah." He says in restrained annoyance, pulling off his jacket in one swift motion. His tattoos look black against white. "Yes, you need to be there."

I remember the last time I went as a serving girl, watching the Heads dance with their partners out in the spotlight.

It makes me cringe.

"But I thought you had someone else—"

"That woman from last time." He says, with a distasteful sigh. "I'd rather die than to dance with her again."

"Is it because you couldn't see her?" I ask, pushing off the bed.

"I can't see any woman's face other than yours." Taehyung confirms, his dark hair rippling as he moves. "And they all freak me out—"

And then he stops, realizing what he'd said.

Looking at his eyes that instantly flicker to my features, I push back the question threatening to burst from my lips. I would've said it without hesitation if I didn't know for a fact that it would make him avoid me in embarrassment and anger.

So he is afraid of women.

Pretending like I hadn't heard the last part, I start whistling and put on a normal expression on my face.

"Dress then?" I mimic a groan, and feel slight relief when his tensed expression relaxes. "Just telling you, I don't know how to dance."

_________________________

"Are you— challenged?" He whispers rapidly, his kohl-ringed eyes sparkling dangerously at me through a silver mask as he gasps for air. "Never mind, you must be."

"I'm not!"

But when he narrowly saves me from another mistake, I blink my eyes in embarrassment and pipe up softly.

"Uh— maybe."

A smile ghosts on his lips before the music thankfully ends to a stop. He gives me a sharp look.

"Don't get lost."

Then he leaves for the Heads' meeting, leaving me alone and fiddling with my fingers and adjusting my deep violet mask. I'm about to head over to the food table when someone's voice rings in my ear.

"It takes some time to get used to."

"Lyr!" I laugh as I wrap my arms around her familiar figure, and she around mine. She looks ethereal, her deep eyes glowing underneath a dark mask. "I haven't seen you for so long."

There's a reason why he loves her so fiercely— she is as beautiful as she is alluring.

A sadness tugs at my heart when I realize that the only reason why V was so fascinated with me is because he hasn't seen how beautiful so many people were compared to me.

"You're keeping him in check." She says, smiling as she looks at the path where he'd disappeared. "He used to look so sad. Now he seems better."

"Imagination." I whisper in embarrassment, but she only laughs brightly in response and gives me a knowing look. "That can't be."

"He really does."

I'm pushing my lips together when my eyes catch on a woman. She has her stunning diamond mask in her hand, and I catch a glimpse of her face before she puts it back on.

Isn't that—

Isn't that her? That woman's daughter that wanted to marry V?

But in the split second, people swarm over the spot where she was. It's so fast I almost think I've imagined it, so I just pass it over as nothing.

Nothing good about her anyways.

"Champagne." Lyr looks curiously at the rows of colorful alcohol, before bursting into laughter. "Jungkook gets drunk on lemonade, you know that?"

"I remember." I laugh along with her, recalling the time before all this. Back then, I would've never imagined being Taehyung's Marked. "Master never liked alcohol."

I purse my lips almost like instinct.

Not Master, His voice rings out coldly in the back of my mind, and I can't help but smile at the thought. I'll make you stop calling him that.

He was so possessive.

We talk and eat for a good hour before finally hugging each other goodbye, and I tuck my hair behind my ear as I go to find V.

The meeting should be over by now.

_________________________

I'm almost there, walking down the narrow hallway. At the end, there's the conference room— and I can see the door slightly open from here.

My feet pause, and I chew on my lip.

Did it end already?

When I listen for sounds of talking, I don't hear anything. It must've ended sometime ago— otherwise there would've been some noise—

And then there is.

"Stop."

V's voice, too familiar to not recognize. My heart seizes for a second when I look towards the direction of the sound, my head pounding.

"Please."

His words are trembling, and my legs nearly give out underneath me when I hear a sweet purr of a woman.

What....?

V—

V was with a woman.