Blood and Roses || Lee Taeyong

Chapter 45 | "i like that"

"Alright guys, good work today." Taeyong called out as they wrapped up their combat training. "It was definitely needed, you guys have been getting rusty." He joked, the boys chuckling along with him. "But you're all looking good."

"Before we end," Jaehyun said quickly, sharing a mischievous look with Taeyong. "Do we have any challenges?"

All the boys eyes instantly flashed to Taeyong who was standing there with a smirk on his face. Slowly his eyes drifted over to the side, landing on Chaerin.

"I think I have a challenge today." He said playfully. "Chaerin? Up for a rematch?"

A chorus of oohs and ahhs followed their leader's challenge. Chaerin cocked an eyebrow at the boy, not one to back down from a challenge, especially one from Taeyong.

"I'm always up for a rematch." She replied, the boys instantly cheering as they cleared the mat.

"Don't hurt him too badly, alright?" Johnny said as he passed her, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

Taeyong and Chaerin faced one another on the mat, competitive smiles on their faces. The boys all fell into a hush, an excited tension about the room. Something was going on, she could tell by the way they were acting, but Chaerin didn't care. She was just focused on beating the boy in front of her.

"Begin!" Jaehyun called, and the two instantly leaped at one another.

As cheers of encouragement erupted from the boys, they clashed in a flurry of punches and kicks, throwing themselves at one another. Chaerin got the upper hand and knocked Taeyong to the mat but he quickly brought her down with him. They rolled along the ground until Chaerin was able to halt them.

Letting out heavy breaths, she rested her hands on his shoulders, pinning him to the ground with her legs straddling his waist and using her body weight to hold him to the ground. They cheering boys fell into a hush as they waited to see what Taeyong would do.

"You've gotten better." He said with an amused huff. "Pretty good."

"Thanks." She replied with a proud smile. "So, do you yield?"

"I'll answer that in a moment, but you have to answer one question for me first, alright?" He said, nervousness sparkling in his eyes which only further confused Chaerin, but she nodded anyway.

He let out a deep breath, calming himself down as the room fell into a dead silence. Slowly a smile made its way onto his face as he stared up at her.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Chaerin's jaw dropped at the unexpected question. I'm her state of shock, Taeyong flipped them over, pinning her to the ground instead with a soft thump.

"You still haven't answered my question." He said with a flirty smirk, but she could see how nervous he really was.

At a loss for words she slowly nodded her head.

"Is that a yes?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I'd love to be your girlfriend." She said with a light chuckle.

He quickly scrambled off of her, pulling her to her feet and picking her up in a hug, spinning her around with an elated chuckle. The boys cheered at the celebration, all coming to congratulate the new couple.

"You knew all about this, didn't you!" She exclaimed, smacking Yuta in the arm.

"Maybe..." he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Congrats, Chae, you deserve happiness."

She gave her best friend a tight squeeze before she felt Taeyong intertwine their hands.

"Easy, boy, it's just Yuta." She joked, seeing the slight possessiveness on his face.

Taeyong just rolled his eyes with a smile, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Good practice today guys, and thanks for not spoiling the surprise. You're all off for today. Don't forget we've got a mission tomorrow night." He called out. "Go get some rest."

The boys all dipped their heads to him before running out of the room to do who knows what. Taeyong kept her hand firmly in his as they walked out, both of them too happy for words.

- - -

"Hello, my lovely girlfriend." Taeyong cooed as he sat next to her in the garden that evening.

"Since when we're you so sappy?" She joked, leaning into his shoulder.

"I'm usually not but I'm happy." He said with a sigh, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

"Well I'm glad." She said with a soft smile. "You deserve it."

"We deserve it." He corrected. "Both of us have had a hell of a time these past few weeks."

"You can say that again." She chuckled. "But at least we had each other."

He nodded, the two of them just enjoying the silence with one another, feeling grateful for where they were.

"Speaking of that...." Chaerin started, breaking the silence. "We never got a chance to actually talk about what happened."

"What do you mean?" He asked, straightening up and turning to face her.

"What happened that night that set you off?" She asked. "We'd talked not even an hour before you made your first kill, is there something you need to talk about?"

She watched as he shifted nervously, his eyes darting everywhere but at her.

"Taeyong?"

"No. There's nothing wrong I just.... I snapped." He replied quickly. "It had been building up for a while and I guess I just lost it that night."

"You could've come and talked to me." She said softly, rubbing his arm.

"I know but I was past the point of rational thought." He said with a chuckle. "You saw how crazy I got."

"I know, I get it. Just know that you can tell me anything, alright? We're in this together and I don't want you to keep things from me."

"I won't, I promise." He said reassuringly. "From here on out, we're in this together."

"I like that." Chaerin replied with a soft smile, hiding the blush on her cheeks.

"It'll be nice to have someone to share some of the burden with." Taeyong sighed, pulling her into his chest. "I've never had someone like that before."

"Well now you have me. I'm here to help you fight off your demons."

"I like that..."