ʟᴜʟʟᴀʙʏ ♪ ʟᴇᴇ ᴅᴏɴɢʜʏᴜᴄᴋ

[21]

"Uh-huh, well Jaemin was super informative." Soomin rolled her eyes, walking out into the hallway again. She was head in the direction of Donghyuck's room, just wanting to get some sleep when someone stepped in front of her. The girl looked up to find none other than the intimidating leader of NCT.

"Hey... Soomin. May I have a moment?" He asked, quite awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Ugh... sure I guess." She exclaimed with a small, forced smile.

She then followed him towards his office, sitting down in the chair in front of his, her legs pushed together tightly and hands neatly on top of them. 

"Anything to drink?" Taeyong offered, standing by his desk hesitantly.

"No, I'm alright."
"Okay then." The leader cleared his throat whilst sitting down on his huge, very comfortable looking chair.

"So, well..." Taeyong began, staggering for the proper words. "...you see, uhm-"

The leader sighed, throwing his head back. Soomin just kept watching him constantly, wondering what he was so hesitant about.

"I'm just going to get to the point." Taeyong stated, sitting back straight as he looked into the girl's eyes. 

"You can go back home."

Soomin had to blink a couple of times in order to process what he had just said.

"W-what?"
"I don't want to keep forcing you to stay here. From the beginning I knew that it was way too selfish to try to use someone for my own gain. Especially someone as young and innocent like you. You should have never seen some of the things you've seen here, and not have met any of us at all." Taeyong sighed, hand going through his light pink hair.

The young girl was still speechless, staring at him with parted lips and slightly widened eyes.

"You should begin packing up so we can send you off by tom-"
"No!" Soomin exclaimed, almost jumping out of her chair.

Taeyong was taken aback, staring at her amidst the silence that ensued.

The girl bit her lip, sinking under his confused eyes. There was no was she wanted to go back. Not when she would probably be forced into the wedding in less than a week. To continue suffocating at home, unable to meet anyone outside of her family, fiancee and maids. To take her beloved freedom away from her.

But she wouldn't tell Taeyong that.

"Uh... I mean..." Soomin pursed her lips together, getting more comfortable in her chair. "I don't think it is smart at all to just let me go now. You've gone this far already, why don't you finish it while you're at it? I'm quite a hassle to take care of as well, you shouldn't go unrewarded."  She attempted to explain herself hurriedly.

Taeyong was obviously extremely surprised. 

"Soomin... I'm giving you a chance to leave your KIDNAPPER'S home." He cleared it up once more, staring at her in slight disbelief.

"Yes... but I'm denying this chance. According to my studies, and father, a true businessman would not miss opportunities like this one. I mean, you're not specifically a businessman, but quite close to one. You get the point, right?" She continued on ranting, trying to make her excuse as believable as possible.

The silence ensued once again, with Taeyong continuing to stare at her in complete awe as she put on a fake smile.

"I... I have no idea what to say." The leader almost stuttered, unable to mutter anything else. "But are you sure? Are you fine sitting here?"

"Of course! I'm completely fine, just like at home." Soomin smiled, trying to be as reliable as possible.

Taeyong bit down on his bottom lip, wondering how to approach his unusually kind decision being rejected completely.

"Well... okay then." He breathed out, glancing around in all directions, looking for the proper words to say. "Then I need to get on planning again then..." He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck once again.

"Yeah." Soomin smiled.

"You should go now. It's late." The leader exclaimed shortly, already pulling a bunch of papers out of the paper bin by his desk.

The girl got up from her seat, scrambling towards the door. She turned to look back at him, seeing him wipe some sweat from his brow. She softened, seeing how much work this young man was putting into trying to get his 20 members the best lives they could.

Soomin then cleared her throat, catching his attention. "Uhm, excuse me?"

"Yes?"
"To try to keep anonymous, make phonecalls with filtered voices instead of leaving letters. Only call in very crowded places in the center of the city in order to become almost unttrackable. Ask for small amounts at a time, make sure to ask for it in remote places and that police isn't informed or else you're doomed. You can also dress me up somehow and pretend that I'm miserable here in order to secure my father's loyalty." 

Taeyong was once again speechless as he watched the girl give him one last smile before swiftly exiting his office.

Once she was out, she let out a long sigh.

'You really will do anything to stay away from home, won't you?'
She thought to herself, but quickly shook the thought off and continued walking through the mansion.

She quickly found herself by Donghyuck's door and pushed it open, ready to get a good night's dream when...

"AH!"