Starting fresh in New York, Satine Fontaine plunges into a fiery romance with the enigmatic Taehyung. But when a daring decision lands her a job under the city's most coveted bachelor, she's torn between love and ambition. As secrets surface and pas...
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SINNERS PLAY AS SAINTS
After Satine wiped the remaining vomit residue from Diana's mouth, they all trudged out of the police station, ready to go home.
It had been an exhausting day, perhaps the most draining they'd ever experienced. Taehyung's expression remained stoic, as usual, while Hoseok seemed to be lost in his own world, devoid of any emotion. Satine and Diana stuck close together, the latter still feeling lightheaded from nausea, leaning on Satine for support. They hadn't exchanged a single word, but Satine's instinct to care for her friend kicked in automatically, as it always did in times of need.
The parking lot lay quiet, an eerie stillness that seemed to echo the weight of recent events. Death truly has its way of casting a dark shadow over the living.
Satine and Taehyung exchanged a glance, silently deliberating between calling a taxi or opting for a walk. While the crisp night air might have been refreshing, Diana's inability to walk in a straight line made driving the safer choice.
"I reckon we oughta grab us a taxi," Satine suggested, her concern evident as she held her friend limp in her arms. "Hobi, you're staying with us, right?"
She turned to look at him, but only saw the back of his body as he staggered away.
"Hobi! Where the fuck are you going?" Tae's voice cut through the air with urgency as his friend walked in the complete opposite direction to Dynaco. "Don't go back to your apartment, not tonight."
He couldn't understand how he was able to go back to the place surrounded by his dead friends' belongings.
Taehyung's words hung in the air unanswered; Hoseok simply kept dragging his converse along the sidewalk until the softness in Satine's voice halted him in his tracks.
"Let him go, sweets, I think he wants some time alone."
Hoseok slowly glanced back at her with a shaky breath. Despite the mascara stains and her raw lips, she appeared as magnificent as ever. She was always so effortless; a natural beauty that was enhanced to devastating effects. Yet, it wasn't just her physical attributes that he found himself drawn to. No, it was something deeper, something akin to the essence of Athena herself. Satine embodied beauty, not just in her appearance, but in the kindness and strength that radiated from within her. She was beautiful, inside and out.
Her gravitational pull was something he hadn't fully appreciated until that moment. Amidst the chaos of his mind, she had a calming effect.
"It's okay, Hobi, do what you need to do."
Satine cared for him deeply, like a sister. But for him, she was much more than that; she was the love of his life.
The contrast between him and someone like JK was stark. Hoseok couldn't fathom betraying Taehyung in such a manner, not in his right mind. His feelings for Satine were buried deep beneath layers of rejection and shattered self-esteem. Acting on his love for her seemed impossible, something he never imagined he would do in a million years.
