WITH YOU - haechan

| 66 |

— VENOM
unedited

"Oh, don't bother at trying to communicate with that lover boy of yours," Jaebum grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets as he slowly walked to the door. "I had bitan injected into you,"

The bitan liquid— extracted by the bitan flower— was widely known for it's restricting side effects against the soulmate bond, whether the other party was alive or dead.

Many would take it if their other half died without them to subdue the pain, others, like the rich who didn't have the chance to marry for love due to business purposes, took it as well.

Rinyoung's brows furrowed in confusion before her mind was completely infiltrated with a sudden memory.

The raven haired mindlessly walked down the long corridors. She hummed a small tune as she wandered around the house trying to familiarize herself with the large home. It was only her third day there, yet she hardly knew where the bathroom was without asking anyone.

Stumbling into the kitchen, she froze immediately seeing what was happening. "Oh, I'm sorry—" She apologized, about to leave but she was stopped promptly.

"You don't need to go, you can stay," Taeyong reassured her, rolling up his right sleeve— Jaehyun at his side— putting on a pair of latex gloves.

"What are you guys doing?" Rinyoung mumbled, leaning forward over the counter to watch.

Jaehyun took out a syringe filled with a dark blue serum, holding it up to the light to make sure everything was sanitary.

Taeyong pursed his lips into a small lopsided grin, "My daily dosage of Bitan," He whispered bitterly.

"The heartbreak serum," A slight gasp escaped the young girl's lips.

"Yeah." He hummed, "The only thing that gets me going most of the time,"

Her mind i blurred, coming back to her senses as she recognized the liquid.

"You're a prick,"

"A prick that's gonna be the CEO of Im Group," He corrected in a cheerful tone. He laughed by himself, promptly exiting the room to leave his sister to wallow in her emotions.

Rinyoung stared forward, her eyes beginning to glaze over with the sudden realization of the dilemma presented, her lips trembling and her heart utterly shaking as if about to burst any second now. But the woman didn't allow herself to fall apart. With every fiber in her body she picked herself up mentally, and reassured herself to an extent where a border of reality and hopes stood nearing an edge.

"Don't cry," She whispered, head falling— her chin meeting her chest.

"How could you have been so stupid? Signs were everywhere,"

The raven haired stood in front of the watermelons barrel, intently looking down at the many green spheres.

"Do i slap them? Do i knock?" She muttered to herself as she reached for one and brought it to her chest where she did both actions. A light chuckle fell from her tongue, brightening the atmosphere around her, drawing out amused giggles from nearby elders.

Guessing the quality, she shrugged and put the fruit in the car. Pushing her cart else where, she made it to the canned goods aisle. Suddenly, her feet halted— glued to the tiled flooring of the store as she felt the hairs of the back of her neck raise.

She swiftly turned her head back— glancing over her shoulder— just to see a blur of dark colors escape.

"That's probably another customer," she tried to tell herself that she was safe, and nothing would happen.

when entirely her whole life was dependent on her response.

. . .

"When I told her to take her time, I didn't mean to take forever," Johnny whined, surfing through his computer finding his tracking software. He entered her phone number, seeing a blue dot appear in the parking lot of the supermarket she went to.

Fixing their suits, the others shrugged their shoulders.

"Maybe she's.." Mark thought for a second before speaking again. "yeah, i got nothing,"

"It's been five hours, shouldn't you guys have been worried after the second?" Donghyuck groaned, placing a velvet box on the countertop of the kitchen island.

"Can't you like i don't know, talk to her or feel her emotions?" Jaemin asked, now being a part of the proposal plan along with the other dream members.

"I can't control the feelings one, but I can try talk to her," The brunette replied, he exited the kitchen to the hallway, where he found a bit of peace and quiet— a perfect opportunity to try.

'Yah, Rinyoung.' He attempted to start a casual banter to not scare her off or add onto the nerves she already has.

Being met with utter silence, his orbs began to shake. 'Rinyoung?' He called, and once more, 'Rinyoung?'

'Sweetheart?'

y'all always get ahead of me :,) like you guys outsmart me before i get the chance to publish the chapter 😩😩

also thank you for 60k reads !! and also it's number one in nct dream whattttttt