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"Y/N!" Vernon's face lit up as I reached the entrance, the signature feline smile that spread across his sharp features making it difficult to hold back. "It seems like years, and it hasn't even been two days―" he caught himself, shaking his head. "But I shouldn't talk about all of that."
I offered him a half-smile, too worn out to be able to summon anything more than that. Yet his enthusiasm didn't falter, and he took me by the wrist, pulling me to the entrance of the brightly-lit place.
"Where are we?" I wondered aloud, almost wincing as the question rose. This would have been so normal―well, as normal as things could ever get here―my frequent curiosity, his tireless answers.
But there seemed something wrong with the way it felt now, like a train gone off track, like a song played backwards. Finding out about Baekhyun hadn't been easy, especially as I'd considered him my tether, no matter how thin, to a normal life. Now, all of that was gone, along with the sliver of hope that I'd ever be able to fit in here.
Taeyong's bluntness had been bad enough.
"This is just one of the places under Hwang's management, but to be honest, we don't come here a lot." He shrugged. "Usually, it's only for information or leads."
Information, huh? I stared at the side of his face, the almost-innocent smile that seemed to be permanently fixed on his face. Had he known about it, too? Suddenly, I seemed hyperaware of him and his body, and the way it connected with mine. His fingers burned around my wrist, and his smile speared me through the heart.
The place was dark except for random, flashing lights, bright and piercing in neon colors. It was filled to the brim with people, the tops of drinks reflecting the blaring lights, and the smell.
It reminded me exactly of the bar where I'd first met Seulgi, and memories hit me like a storm―the way her kiss had tasted like drugs and expensive wine, Vernon's dangerous wink like lightning, splitting apart the sky.
"Hey, why the long face?" He asked, out of the blue, and I almost stumbled as we pulled through a crowd. "You seem kind of tired... I mean, if you haven't had enough sleep..."
"No, that's all right," I said hastily, thinking about how much more I would miss if I left this place now. And on the other hand, they would probably send me somewhere else in Taeyong's car, and even the thought of facing him after what had just happened sent shudders through me.
He looked at me over his shoulder, another smile curving his lips, softly, not as sharp and hard as his last one. "Unfortunately, though, I'll still have to leave you here with the others. I've got stuff to do―but if you're not too tired tomorrow, we could take another tour of the city."
