The flowerbed - Aespa's Giselle x M!Reader

The lonely jacket

Giselle's hands shook as she unlocked the dorm door, his jacket still heavy on her shoulders, now soaked from the rain. The others looked up from the living room as she entered - one look at her face and they knew something was wrong.

"Unnie?" Ningning's smile faded. "What happened? Where's..."

"He left." The words felt like glass in her throat. "Again."

Karina was on her feet immediately, leader instincts kicking in. "What do you mean, left?"

Giselle held out his cracked phone with trembling fingers. "I found this. In an alley. There was... there was blood..."

"That bastard," Karina's voice shook with fury. "After everything, after we trusted him again-"

"How could he?" Ningning's eyes filled with tears. "He promised. He looked me in the eye and promised he wouldn't run again!"

Winter sat silently, observing. Something wasn't adding up. The cryptic messages they'd exchanged earlier, the evidence she'd found... Y/N wouldn't leave. Not like this. Not now.

While the others raged and cried, she slipped away to her room, pulling out her laptop. If she was right...

There. His phone's last location - pinging near SM Entertainment. And moving.

She zoomed in on the map, watching the dot crawl along Seoul's streets. This wasn't someone running away. It couldn't be.

He wouldn't leave again.

In a van, driving through the streets of Seoul...

Everything hurt. The throbbing in his head matched the bumps of whatever vehicle he was in, each jolt sending fresh waves of pain through his skull.

The bag over his head smelled like chemicals, making his thoughts fuzzy. But he had to focus. Had to remember...

Giselle. The store. A flash of metal.

Choi.

He tried calling out, but his voice came out muffled, throat too dry to make much sound. Still, it must have alerted someone because footsteps approached.

The bag was yanked off roughly, fluorescent lights stabbing his eyes. As his vision adjusted, a familiar figure came into focus.

"Hello, Y/N-ssi." Jung's smile was all teeth. "We have some things to discuss."

"You..." Y/N's voice was hoarse. "It was you all along."

"I'm touched you finally figured it out." Jung settled into a seat across from him. "Though I must admit, you're more resilient than I expected. Most men would have stayed broken after what happened last year."

Y/N pulled against his restraints, anger giving him strength despite the pain. "If you've hurt them-"

"Oh, don't worry about your precious girls." Jung's smile widened. "They probably think you've abandoned them again. Giselle's face when she found your phone... quite heartbreaking, really."

"You son of a-"

"Language," Jung tutted. "After all, we're going to be spending some quality time together. Might as well be civil."

The van turned sharply, making Y/N's head spin. Through the tinted windows, he could see they were heading deeper into the city.

"Why?" he managed. "Why all of this?"

Jung leaned forward, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Because you took everything from me. My position, my power, my reputation." His smile turned cruel. "Now I'm going to take everything from you. Starting with their trust."