poisoned fangs | kim seungmin

vii.

You weren't sure how the four of you had missed the giant black and silver carriage that was parked right beside your home. To be fair, it had been obscured from view by the large trees that surrounded your modest cottage, and the darkness of the night provided camouflage, but it was so large and obvious. The ride back was twice as awkward as your first trip to the castle. For one, it was only you and Seungmin, the latter staying completely silent, a scarily content expression on his face. You wanted to demand to know what Ryujin and Yeonjun had done with your friends, but you felt frozen, your tongue glued to the roof of your mouth in fear. Instead, you stared down at your shaking legs, trying to convince yourself that everything would be fine.

Once you arrived back at the castle, Seungmin took you by the hand and guided you back to your room. From an outside perspective, it looked like he was being a good fiancé and holding your hand nicely, but the iron grip around your fingers said otherwise. You only tried once to look behind yourself, hoping to catch a glimpse of your friends, but Seungmin squeezed your hand and made you turn back around immediately, not wanting your fingers to be crushed.
Your mouth filled with the irony taste of blood as you bit through your tongue at the sight of your room. Seungmin unlocked it and pushed you inside, and you could now see the clenching of his jaw and the flaring of his nostrils as he tried to calm himself down. "We had an agreement," he said, voice slightly unsteady. He slammed the door shut with such force that the walls shook, and you took a few steps backwards, afraid. "You were to behave yourself if you didn't want to see your little friends get hurt," he continued, walking towards you. "You broke the simple rules I set out for you, and now they will face the consequences."

"No!" you shouted, stumbling forward clumsily, stopping right in front of him, chest heaving. "I'll do anything, just please don't hurt them, please let them go. I'll be good, I promise. I'll behave and I'll be good. Please let them go." You fell to your knees, begging Kim Seungmin to spare your friends, something you hated yourself for.

Seungmin stared down at you, an unreadable expression on his stony face. "Why should I trust you to keep your promise?" he asked, shaking you off of his legs, which you had been clinging onto desperately. "You couldn't hold up your end of the bargain in the first place, so why would I have any faith in you now?"

"Because now you have my friends," you said, voice breaking at the end, "You know how much I care about them. I'll do anything if you let them go."
Seungmin's lip twitched, and for a moment he almost felt sorry for you. You looked so pathetic on the ground in your nightclothes, wringing your hands roughly in an attempt to distract yourself from the fate of your friends. But then he stopped, running his tongue over his fangs thoughtfully. While you were becoming more trouble than you were worth, he almost enjoyed the fun you were bringing into his life. It had been a long time since he had felt such emotion, such adrenaline coursing through his veins. He looked down at you once more, and this time you were looking back up at him, with big woeful eyes that reminded him of an innocent little doe. It was almost laughable. "No. They will remain in the dungeon, where traitors and trespassers belong." He turned on his heel and began to leave, but you caught onto his heel, clinging to the shiny black material of his shoe.

"What do you want from me? I'll do anything," you begged, tears spilling down your cheeks.

"I already got what I needed from you," Seungmin said simply, "you're lucky that you're not dead after what you pulled tonight. Your friends are lucky that life in the dungeons is their punishment. I might be getting soft," he mused. He tapped on his plump lower lip with a long, pale finger, shifting his gaze back to you. "Would you prefer a harsher punishment?"

You shook your head, swallowing your tears.
"Then stop your blubbering. Thank me for my kindness." He shook you off your weak grasp and then turned around, extending his foot towards you. You knew what he was expecting from you, it was what he always did to other villagers, and anyone else who was stupid enough to seek a conference with him, in times of hopelessness when he was their only option. You shook your head again, staring down at your clasped hands in your lap.
Seungmin tutted. "Come now, (Y/N). You said you'd do anything."