Blood and Roses || Lee Taeyong

Chapter 18 | "little issue"

Chaerin walked into the kitchen the next day feeling refreshed. She didn't want to get her hopes up too high, but she was anxious to see how Taeyong would act around her.

When she entered the kitchen, he was already there, sipping a cup of coffee by the edge of the table. The moment she entered, his eyes were on her, watching her curiously as she fixed herself her own cup of coffee.

"Morning." She said cautiously, sliding into a seat across from him.

He didn't reply, instead holding out a hand to her. She stared at him, confused by the action.

"What are you doing?"

"You reintroduced yourself to me, isn't it only fair that I do that same?" He said, a warmth to his eyes that was foreign to her.

She let out a slight chuckle, grasping his hand firmly and giving it a small shake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lee Taeyong."

"Well, Lee Taeyong, I think this might be the first actual conversation we've ever had without yelling." She giggled, taking a small sip of her coffee.

"Yeah... sorry about that." He replied sheepishly, but she just waved it off.

"Don't be, that's what fresh starts are all about. Plus, you'll learn that I'm not the type to hold grudges." She said with a smile as the other four boys walked into the room.

"Everything alright in here?" Yuta asked nervously as they noticed the pair.

"Everything is great, ready to go?" She replied, standing from her seat and grabbing her bag as they all nodded at her. "Awesome, I'll drive."

"Oh wait." Taeyong called as they were about to leave. "Jungwoo is working on your car this afternoon so he's going to come pick it up before you're out."

"Then how are we supposed to get home?" Doyoung asked.

"Someone will come pick you up."

"Sounds good, bye!" Chaerin called to the older boy as they exited to the garage.

Taeyong watched them leave, smirking to himself as he noticed one of his Roses woven into the zipper of her backpack as the door shut behind them.

- - -

Taeyong waited by the front of their school, leaning on the door of his car as he checked the time again.

"Taeyong?" He looked up to see Doyoung, Yuta, Kun, and Ten approaching him. "You came to pick us up?"

"Yeah, everyone else was busy." He shrugged. "Where's Chaerin?"

"Working on some last minute prom details." Ten replied, tossing his things into the car.

"Prom?"

"Yeah. It's next weekend and she's planned the whole thing." Kun said with a nod.

"Why Chaerin? Isn't she busy enough with gang stuff?" The older boy questioned.

"Yeah well she's head of the prom committee and student body President so she doesn't really have a choice." Doyoung sighed as he followed the others into the car, leaving Yuta and Taeyong standing outside.

"Oh there she is." The Japanese boy said as Chaerin emerged from the school, clipboard in hand as she conversed with a few other girls.

They watched as she quickly pointed out some things on the clipboard to the other girls, the small group of them breaking into chuckles before she passed them the board. They continued talking with smiles on their faces before Taeyong saw a tall boy harshly pull her away from them.

He watched as the smile faded from her face, her gaze cast downwards as the boy yelled at her.

"Who, uh, who is that?" Taeyong asked Yuta, not taking his eyes off the pair.

"Ji Hansol, her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, I don't know, they're so on and off, but he never acted like a boyfriend in the first place anyway." Yuta grumbled out angrily, watching them in front of the building.

"What do you mean?"

"He treats her like shit. He's horrible. But she's had a crush on him since freshman year and he finally asked her out this past summer so she's blind to it."

They watched as he fastened his hand around her arm, harshly yanking her closer to him.

"Does he usually yank her and yell at her like that?" Taeyong questioned.

"All the time. And she doesn't do anything."

"Really? She's always so feisty at home..." Taeyong trailed off, seeing her body trembling as he continued to yell at her.

"Yeah well not in front of him. She totally shrinks into herself. All that fire in her goes away, it's sad really."

"Hmm... he sounds like an ass."

"Yup. Pretty much." Yuta sighed, patting Taeyong on the back and sliding into the car.

Taeyong continued to watch the two of them interact, his eyes widening as he observed the scene in front of him before Chaerin rushed over.

"Hey, loves. Are you okay?" He asked, walking forward to stop her in her tracks.

"Loves? Is that my new nickname?" She asked with a forced chuckle.

"Maybe it is. Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, totally fine." She said quickly, plastering a smile on her face. "Thanks for picking us up."

"No problem...." He trailed off, not missing the lingering red mark on her cheek. "Go ahead into the car, I have to drop some stuff off for your graduation next month, I'll be right there." He mumbled, his eyes fixated on something behind her.

"Cool." She replied, dipping her head to him and sliding into the car.

Once he heard the door close, Taeyong's gaze darkened, a familiar anger filling them as he stalked towards the school.

He threw open the double doors, his eyes scanning the hallways before the landed on his target. He approached Hansol, grabbing onto his shoulders and spinning him around, slamming the tall boy into the lockers.

"Hey man what the hell?"

"You think it's funny? Hmm? Treating her like that?" Taeyong yelled, gripping his collar and slamming him back into the lockers. "You piece of shit, I could end you!"

"I don't even know you, bro!" Hansol exclaimed, fear seeping into his eyes.

"And be glad you don't." Taeyong growled, harshly shoving him backwards and releasing his collar. "Don't you ever lay a single finger on Chaerin again or so help me god, I will kill you and everyone you've ever loved."

Hansol's eyes filled with dread, the color seeping from his face at Taeyong's threat.

"Oh, and it's your best interest to keep this little conversation between just the two of us." Taeyong added, seeing the tall boy nod his head before he turned away.

Hansol was speechless as Taeyong left with a satisfied smirk and stalked out of the school. He went back into his car, sliding into the drivers seat and pulling out of the lot.

"Everything alright?" Chaerin asked as they began driving.

"Yeah, I took care of my little issue." Taeyong said with a content hum, staring out at the road with a smile.