𝐑𝐔𝐁𝐘. nct

sixteen

"Do you know who that belongs to?" Taeyong asked, eyes analyzing her reaction. "Ruby?" Taeil called out, noticing her unresponsive nature. "Min Daehyun's gang. Nezurite." The words came out in a hushed manner, but the silence in the room was enough for everyone to hear.

The jacket fell from her hands, her eyes looking around the room in a frantic manner as if she had just taken the name of the devil and he would appear right beside her to take her into his burning hell.

"Ruby!" Donghyuck called out, holding her body as she took hurried steps backwards almost falling down. Ruby eyes flickered to the man on the floor, who was laughing at her with a horrifying grin, blood trickling down every inch of his face.

"Boss is waiting for you, princess. I wonder how he'd react if he found out you were being a whore for these twenty three men" The man croaked out. Doyoung was the first to react at his words, abandoning his place by the computer to land a blow on the man's face, rendering him dead before Mark and Yuta could react.

Mark held back Doyoung from further attempting to hit the man, the former's eyes still on Ruby. The girl cascaded to the floor, tears falling from her eyes as sobs left her mouth — holding onto Donghyuck's shirt as if he would disappear as soon her fingers would untangle and she'd be pulled back into her painstaking nightmare.

Her jagged breaths worried the boy, as he held the shaking girl in his arms looking back at Taeyong with a scared expression. "No! Please! I don't want to go back to him!" Her cried filled the room.

—

"Are you feeling any better?" Doyoung asked, watching her drink water as her lifeless eyes turned away. Taking the empty glass from her hands, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ruby?" He called out, worry dripping off every inch of his words.

She gave a mindless hum, he knew it wasn't genuine. Either way he pushed himself off the bed when he saw Taeyong walk in. Doyoung stood a few steps away from the bed beside Ruby, Taeyong placed himself in the position Doyoung previously occupied beside her.

Taeyong's fingers brushed the mess of hair falling over her swollen eyes behind her ears. He watched her dull eyes move from a random point on the wall to him. "How do you know Min Daehyun, Ruby?" Taeyong's voice wasnt above a whisper, it was a hushed tone as if afraid to break the fragile glass Ruby was right now.

Ruby's fingers clenched the material of her shirt, numbing the tips of her fingers from the harsh pressure. Taeyong's hands fell over her tightened ones. "He was my fiancé." Her voice lowers as if she's embarrassed, her hands trembling under Taeyong's hold.

Taeyong's eyes find Doyoung's, the latter's jaw clenched of anger. It was arranged, Ruby's father arranged her marriage to a monster like Daehyun. The fact gnawing upon Taeyong and Doyoung's feelings.

"Do you know what he was involved in?" Taeyong questions, pity swarming his eyes as he looked at the disheveled girl. "I knew he was involved in shady businesses, but I never really knew anything in depth. I hated him so I never wanted anything to do with him." She felt useless to them, she couldn't even give any proper information.

Doyoung's knees softly settled on the wooden floor as he looked up at Ruby. "Has he ever done anything to you?" Doyoung's heart wrenched when he asked the question, he wanted her to deny. He wanted her to say no,  he wanted her to say that's she's never been alone with him.

But she stayed silent, her lips pressed into a thin line as he watched tears cascade down her pure and once serene face. Taeyong's grip around her hands tightened. Doyoung stood up straight, fingers digging into his hands as his knuckles turned white.

Ruby's sobs filled the room, and as each moment passed by the two men beside her felt an overwhelming sense of pity and sympathy filling their bones. Ruby's eyes landed on Doyoung's white expanse of knuckles, tears dripping down her warm cheeks.

She turned to Taeyong, eyes desperate as she clung onto his hands. "Please Taeyong, I don't want to go back! Please!" She cried, her body exhausted as Taeyong pulled her into his hold. Her face dug deep into his embrace, body shaking as her desperate cries echoed.

Jungwoo's unsure figure walked into the room, eyes softening at Ruby's sobbing figure. Despite his conscience telling him not to, his next few words could not be helped. "Taeyong, I think you need to see this for a moment." Jungwoo said, Ruby pulling away from Taeyong as she wiped her tears.

"I'll be back." Taeyong promised, Ruby didn't hold to it. She knew he had other things to do, she'd rather him kill that bastard than have him look after a mess of a girl. Patting Doyoung on the shoulder, Taeyong left with Jungwoo.

Doyoung sat beside Ruby once again, silence filling the walls. "My marriage," Ruby started off, nails chipping the skin off her fingers.

"My marriage with him was supposed to be a week ago."

( note! ) broke the cliffhanger 💪💪
i love dotae duo in this book 🥺