The Clockmaker's Son #2: Forsaken (Chae Hyungwon of Monsta X x Reader fanfic)

Part Three: Hold Me Tight

It's been a few months since your confession to your boyfriend, Hyungwon. Well, his confession technically. He'd completely interrupted your feelings with a kiss, not that you'd minded. You'd been consistently showing and telling him how much he means to you since then, doing the best you could to complement his life and be a model significant other. Of course, he was doing the same with you, resulting in a happy romantic relationship between the both of you.

You groaned softly, rolling over in bed only to be enveloped into a tight embrace from behind.

'Hyungwon...' You mumbled sleepily, futilely attempting to wriggle out of his arms.

'Mmmn?' He nuzzled his face against the back of your neck and planted a few chaste kisses down the side, still holding you tight.

As moonlight streamed through the open curtains, you realised that the two of you may have napped for a little too long. You would be missing your group outing with Hyungwon's friends!

'Come on, get changed,' you said, stifling a yawn. 'It's almost eight-thirty.'

'They can wait,' was his whispered response.

'No they can't.'

You pushed him back by the face as he tried to close in on you again. With a smile you pressed a chaste kiss to the top of his head and slipped out of his bed.

With much reluctance he followed suit and the two of you freshened up from the four-hour-long nap you'd taken together. Honestly, dates with Hyungwon couldn't get any more simplistic, not that you'd minded. You both had gone from iced americanos at a nearby café to shopping to just napping the day away. It was bliss.

'You ready?' Hyungwon asked, standing by his bedroom door as he held out a hand for you.

You took his hand, smiling endearingly as you simultaneously smoothed your hair down with the other.

'Yes, I'm ready.'

Returning the smile, the pair of you exit his bedroom door to emerge into the open living room space. His mother, Suji Chae, was in the kitchen area, cooking up dinner for her husband who was still in the shop downstairs, fiddling away with his clocks.

'Oh! You two are done already?' She asked charmingly. 'Just hold on for a moment your father will drop you off.'

'There's no need mother,' Hyungwon responded, just as charmingly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as the two of you passed her. 'I've already called a cab for us, you and father just enjoy your evening together.'

A look of absolute adoration replaced her momentary look of bewilderment. She reached up and pinched her tall son's cheek, saying:

'Stay safe then, okay?'

'We will Suji,' you answered reassuringly.

His mother's smile remained and she reached out, gently squeezing your hand before letting the two of you go off. As you both descended the staircase that led down to the clock repair shop, the unmistakable sound of metal tinging against metal could be heard.

'He's still working? At this time of night?' Hyungwon murmured under his breath, more to himself than anything. 'The shop has already closed for the day...'

'Well, you would have gotten your hard-working genes from somewhere,' you teased, entangling your fingers together.

'Ugh... You're right but...' There was no denying the sheer concern that simmered in his dark brown eyes.

You gazed up at him for a moment longer before tugging on his hand.

'Come on then, let's convince him to take a breather and go spend time with your mother.'

The look that Hyungwon directed at you in that very moment made your heart beat faster. It was one of unconditional love, and those warm, fuzzy feelings you'd heard so much about in movies returned full-force.

Down in the clock repair shop, Haesung Chae was working hard behind the counter. Surrounding him were clocks, analog, digital and antique, ticking away the seconds that passed in absolute unison. One might think that the incessant clicking would drive one insane but, for the Chae family at least, the ticking sound was incredibly satisfying. It was... still something you were trying to get accustomed to.

'Father,' Hyungwon called as the two of you approached the counter, 'Y/N and I are heading out now. Why don't you head upstairs and keep mother company?'

'Hmm?' His father paused in his efforts with the watch in front of him. He took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes, saying: 'I will in just a moment son, this watch was just dropped off and it seemed to be a simple fix.' He propped his glasses back up on his nose and added with a tired smile, 'You two have fun though.'

'Ah, thank you,' you responded understandingly, 'You too, enjoy your night Haesung.'

Just as Hyungwon's father began to wave the two of you off, Hyungwon briefly let go of your hand to rest it against the counter.

'What do you mean it seemed like a simple fix?' He asked, curious over his father's work it seemed. 'Is it not?'

'Not entirely,' was Haesung's hesitant reply. 'Now that I'm working on it, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before.'

You decided to lean over the counter, peeking at the wristwatch your boyfriend's father was tinkering with. It had a wide, round face, a dial window as Haesung had taught you. The bezel and case of this dial window were thick and a shining silver. The pusher and crown of the wristwatch was also incredibly prominent. The strap of the watch was a deep shade of brown, chocolate even, with strips of black down the perimeters. Peering into the dial window, you found something about this watch that other watches didn't seem to bear. It was peculiar, the graphs and dial hands that were on the face. There were even rotors with numbers etched on them. Four in total. It didn't look as though those numbers were directly related to time...?

'This looks kind of suspicious,' you said, unintentionally cutting off Hyungwon and Haesung's conversation. 'Who dropped it off?'

'It was apparently a gift in return for helping his father with a family heirloom about a week ago,' Haesung began, 'a young man dropped it off. He didn't leave his name and apologised because the watch was broken but assured me that if I decided to repair it, then it would be priceless.'

'Do you know what he looked like?' You asked again.

'Oh yeah, good question,' Hyungwon said as his old man mumbled that he hadn't been able to see properly.

'I'd set my glasses down at the time when he walked in,' were his exact words. 'If I had to describe him though... He was... perhaps about Hyungwon's height? Similar build. But he was definitely a lot more well-groomed!' He laughed and tugged at the hem of Hyungwon's white, turtleneck sweater. 'He had on a suit and everything!'

'C'mon on now dad my sense of style isn't bad at all,' Hyungwon huffed.

As the pair bantered back and forth you tried to beat down the ever-growing sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. Again, you couldn't shake how suspicious this all seemed. You couldn't quite put your finger on why it felt that way, though. After all, this whole encounter could be just as Haesung had said. Some lad had dropped by to gift something to him in return for helping his own old man with a family heirloom.

Seemingly sensing your unease, Hyungwon slid an arm over your shoulders and nuzzled the side of your face.

'Well then, we'll leave dad to work hard,' he said, then added, in Haesung's direction, 'don't forget to head upstairs soon though!'

'Yes, yes,' his father responded, waving us away. 'Go on then, don't want you nagging at me anymore.'

He smiled after you both as you bowed and sent him a departing wave.

Once outside of the shop, Hyungwon waved at the cabdriver already parked and waiting before the two of you. Clasping your hand to his, he said:

'There's nothing to worry about Y/N. Now come on, let's go have some fun.'

You smiled back at him.

'Yeah!'