Chapter Text
Noona
Flight landed on time (for once!)
On my way to baggage claim
Are you on the way?
Baby Brother
Almost there.
I should be there by the time you get your luggage.
Noona
Okay. I'm outside where are you?
Baby Brother
On the other side of the pillar.
Flashing my lights now
You turned and waved at your little brother as he flashed his headlights at you. You hurried along the sidewalk until you reached his late model hatchback and tossed your carry on in the back before collapsing into the front seat with an exaggerated sigh.
"Thank you, Kookie! I would've called Jackson but...."
"...But it's kind of hard to surprise your boyfriend on his birthday if he has to pick you up at the airport. I get it," your brother grinned. "No problem, Noona. Happy to help."
"You are the best, little bro!" You laughed as you reached over to ruffle his hair.
"Yah! I'll remind you of that the next time you're ready to kick my ass for something." He rolled his eyes as he put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. "So how was your trip?"
"Ugh! Boring - as usual - but at least we got the merger settled." You tipped your head back against the seat. "What about you? Anything new or exciting happen while I was gone?"
"Nope...same old, same old. Wake up, exercise, go to dance practice, go home, eat, shower and sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat."
You gazed fondly at your younger sibling. "I envy you, you know?"
"Why? You're the one with the good job and steady paycheck."
"Yeah, but you're the one following your passion. Mom and Dad would be really proud of you, Jeon Jungkook."
He smiled as he took your hand and briefly squeezed your fingers. "They'd be really proud of you too, Jeon (y/n). "
The rest of the trip passed in pleasant conversation, catching up on your sibling's life until you reached your boyfriend's building.
"You can just drop me off in front. Jackson won't be home for a little while yet. It'll give me time to get in and freshen up before I surprise him."
"Well, I hope he appreciates all the hard work you've put into this. I know it wasn't easy rearranging schedules and flights and all."
"It took a lot of finagling but it was worth it. I couldn't have my man being alone on his birthday." You gave him a quick hug as you hopped out of the car. You grabbed your bag and gave him a wave. "Thanks again! I'll text you tomorrow and let you know how things went."
"Yah! Don't give me too much information! There are things a brother doesn't need to know." Jungkook pulled a face and stuck out his tongue. "Be safe and have fun. Fighting!"
You smacked the back of his car playfully as he drove away then made your way into the building and took the lift to the 12th floor.
You used your keycard to slip into your boyfriend's apartment, making sure to hide your shoes so you wouldn't give away your surprise.
You took advantage of the time to take a quick shower to rinse off the travel grunge and slip into the elegant new negligee you purchased before your trip. You took a moment to admire the fit in the mirror, particularly pleased with the way the neckline showed off the beautiful 'Princess' necklace Jackson had given you for Christmas.
You had just finished your hair and makeup when you heard the front door open. You giggled as you positioned yourself on the other side of the bedroom door, ready to step out and surprise your boyfriend.
Just as you were about to reveal yourself however, Jackson's phone rang. He answered it on speaker and your heart dropped when you heard a female voice on the other end of the line.
"Jagiya? Are you home yet?" a seductive voice purred.
"Just got here, baby. Where are you at?"
"I got held up in traffic. I'll be another half hour. Just enough time for you to chill the wine and warm up the bed."
You could hear him kick off his shoes and drop his jacket on the chair by the door.
"Sounds like a plan. Can't wait to see you, lover."
"Same here. I've got a very special present for you to unwrap."
"More special than the one from last night? Those fishnet stockings are going to be hard to beat."
"Of course. Got to treat the birthday boy right now, don't I?"
"Looking forward to it. See you soon, princess."
Your shaking fingers clutched your necklace as that last word hit like an additional kick in the gut. Before you could fully process what was happening, the door to the bedroom opened bringing you face to face with the man that until a few seconds ago had been the center of your world.
His eyes flew open wide as the blood drained from his face.
"Y/N?! W-what are you doing here?"
For a split second you froze, unable to speak or move. Then your brain went on autopilot, your body reacting without thinking, responding on the overwhelming impulse to get as far away from this humiliating situation as possible by running as far and as fast as you could.
You pushed past your stammering boyfriend, out the door and into the hallway. You dove into the elevator and pressed the first button your fingers touched, ignoring Jackson's cries as the lift doors slid shut and you collapsed onto the floor into tears.
A few moments later you heard the soft ding of the elevator stopping at another floor and just as it began to dawn on you the state you were in you heard a male voice cry out.
"Oh, shit! Lady? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
You tried to curl up in a ball in a vain attempt to preserve some sort of modesty before you felt something being draped over your body.
"Ma'am? What happened?" The man's voice was closer now. The doors closed behind him and you heard him softly curse again.
"Shit! Uh...Listen...I'm gonna stand over here. I'm not going to hurt you, alright? We'll get to the lobby and I'll call the police, okay?"
"No! Not the police!" you managed to blurt out through the tears.
"Are you sure? If someone's hurt you then we need to..."
"Please, no..."
Before you could get out anything else the elevator reached the lobby. Just as the doors opened you heard the entrance to the stairwell bang and Jackson's voice calling your name.
You finally looked up at the man in the lift with you, eyes pleading as you scrambled into the far corner and furiously shook your head. The man nodded his silent understanding, pressing himself against the wall to try and make the lift appear empty as he slammed the door closed button quickly followed by a floor selection.
As soon as the elevator began rising he spoke in a soft voice.
"I'll get you back to my place and then we can call somebody for you, is that okay?"
You managed a shaky nod.
"Y-yes. T-thank you. M-my b-brother c-can c-come g-get m-me."
A few seconds later the lift reached its destination. You grabbed hold of the handrail and pulled yourself up with one hand while clutching what you now realized was the man's trench coat around you with the other as he held the door open.
Your knees were shaky causing you to stumble forward. The man reached for you on instinct but stopped short of actually touching you, his eyes darting nervously.
"Can you walk? I can help if you want but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
You leaned against the wall and took a deep breath to steady yourself.
"S-sorry. I'm n-not usually like this. I p-promise."
"Hey. It's okay. You've obviously been through something pretty traumatic. Take all the time you need."
The man gently offered his arm and after a brief hesitation you took it and allowed him to help you to the apartment two doors down from the lift.
He reached into his trouser pocket and produced a key card that allowed him entrance. He quickly kicked off his shoes before leading you down a small entry way into the main living area, startling two men that were sitting on a large black sofa.
"What the hell, bro!" the taller of the men exclaimed as both leapt to their feet.
"Damn, Jin!" cried the other as the man from the elevator guided you to a place on the sofa. "When I told you earlier that you needed to find a girl I didn't mean for you to grab one off the street!"
"Shut up! It's not like that. I found her in the elevator."
"Oh, okay. That makes it all better then," replied the shorter man in a dry, flat tone.
"Can it, Yoongi!" the man apparently named Jin snapped. "She had some sort of a fight with her..."
He paused then looked at you for assistance completing the sentence.
"M-my b-boyfriend." You prompted as you pulled the coat closer around your shivering form before you corrected yourself. "Ex b-boyfriend n-now, I s-suppose."
"Crap. I'm sorry, lady," the taller man said as he knelt down a few feet away from you. "Do we need to call the police?"
You saw the shorter man reach for his phone.
"No! P-please. He - he d-didn't h-hurt m-me. N-not l-like that I m-mean..."
You exhaled deeply.
"I...I'm s-sorry. I f-feel s-stupid."
You made a futile attempt to wipe the tears from your face with the back of your hand.
"I...I c-came home early to s-surprise my b-boyfriend for his b-birthday. I w-was hiding in the b-bedroom when I d-discovered t-that he...apparently had m-made...alternate arrangements with s-someone else."
There was a brief pause then you heard the men mutter a series of "oh" and "ouch" as the understanding of your words sank in.
You dropped your head and tried to use your hair as some sort of curtain to hide your embarrassment.
"It was just so h-humiliating that I r-ran out of the apartment w-without thinking and then I was in the elevator and....ugh! I-I'm an idiot."
"Hey," Jin said in a soft voice. "You're not an idiot. At least not as far as I can tell."
"Questionable taste in men, possibly..." the smaller man started.
"Can it, Yoongi!" the other two cut him off in such perfect unison you could tell it was a frequent occurrence.
Before Yoongi could defend himself a young man with dark curly hair came shuffling down the hallway, rubbing his hand roughly over his face.
"What the hell? Can't a guy take a nap..."
He stopped short and stared at you with his mouth slightly agape before looking at the man kneeling on the floor.
"Joonie-hyung? Why is there a half naked woman in our living room?"
The older man shook his head as he stood then looped his arm around the other's shoulders as he spoke in a slow and even tone.
"Tae...this nice lady is having a very bad day, so we aren't going to do or say anything to make it worse for her, got it?"
The younger man took a moment to process this information then simply nodded and turned his attention back to you.
"Okay. Sorry. Would you like anything to drink, nice lady?"
Under any other circumstance the sheer absurdity of the situation would have caused you to laugh at the complete and utter sincerity of the man's request but as it was you simply bowed your head and answered, "N-no, thank you, s-sir. J-just a phone t-to call my b-brother, please. I sort of left in a h-hurry..."
"Oh, yeah! Right!" Jin reached for his trouser pocket and pulled out his phone. He was handing it to you when a loud banging on the door startled all of you.
"Y/N! I know the elevator stopped on this floor! Are you in there?!"
Your face flushed as the four men in the room turned to you.
"I take it that's the boyfriend?" asked Jin.
You clenched your teeth and gave a curt nod.
"Do you want to talk to him?"
"Nope." You emphasized the end of the word with a sharp popping sound.
"Alright, then " Jin said as he squared his broad shoulders. "Excuse me, please, while I get this sorted."
He turned on his heel and marched around the corner and down the entry hall as the pounding on the door continued. Jin took a deep breath and plastered an artificial smile on his face as he opened the door.
"Hello?" He said with a forced brightness. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for a woman," grunted Jackson, as he tried peering around Jin.
"Aren't we all?" Jin gave a dramatic sigh as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, partially blocking the other man's view.
Jackson glared at him. "I mean a specific one. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Pretty. Wearing an emerald green silk nightgown."
Jin raise his eyebrows. "Wow. You seem awfully particular for someone that's been reduced to shopping door to door."
"She's my girlfriend," growled Jackson. "Her name is Jeon (Y/N)."
"Well, friend," replied Jin. "I can honestly tell you that I've never heard that name before in my life."
Jackson's eyes narrowed as he took a step towards Jin. "Are you sure?"
Jin didn't flinch at the attempted intimidation.
"Very sure," he stated in a firm voice.
"Hyung?" said a voice from behind Jin. "Are we having a problem here?"
Jackson glanced past Jin to see three more men making their way towards the door.
"No, Joonie. I don't have a problem at all. This guy has a problem but I'm quite sure there's nothing we can do to help him with it." He grinned at the man in the hallway. "Good luck with your search. I hope you find exactly what you deserve."
Before Jackson could say anything else, Jin shut the door firmly in his face.
"Jackass," he muttered.