━ 𝘁𝘅𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

requital

"Kang Taehyun, what are you doing?" Y/N whisper-shouted, as Taehyun held one finger up to his lips, signalling for her to keep quiet.

The two of them- or more like Taehyun- were sneaking into the company's car park when he was caught by his manager, Y/N. Y/N had no idea why the idol was sneaking around at midnight in the car park with no apparent reason and had followed him through the rows of vehicles to the vans that Taehyun and his members took to go to just about everywhere.

"Do you know how to drive?" Taehyun asked when they crouched at the side of one of the black vans.

"What? Yea, I got my licence last year." Y/N answered, proud of the licence she had gotten after just one try.

"Wait, why?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him when a devilish smile appeared on his face.

"Want to go for a drink?" Taehyun suggested, knowing Y/N wouldn't turn his offer down, even if she tried to reason with her logical self for a few minutes.

"You know we can't, what if people see you? It's not safe, and what if I get drunk? I can't drive us back if that happens- and no, I'm not letting you go behind the wheel," Y/N reasoned, more with herself than Taehyun, really, while Taehyun just stared at her calmly, waiting for her resolve to crack.

"We can just buy a few cans of beer from the convenience store and bring them back to the dorm, I'll wear my cap and mask, we won't need to worry about drink-driving then," Taehyun said, trying to persuade Y/N.

A few more minutes of back and forth reasoning and Taehyun knew Y/N was successfully persuaded when she pressed her lips together before glancing at him once more.

He gave her a small knowing smile.

"Okay, okay, you win. But at any point in time do I tell you that we need to get back, don't question and run straight to the van, got it?" She asked, still not fully convinced about the plan. Her job was to make sure he was safe, and was pretty sure this unplanned midnight drinking session was against the company rules.

"Got it, don't worry," Taehyun assured Y/N once more, knowing how risky the plan was, not just to his career as an idol, but also Y/N's career as his manager.

Y/N had been the group's manager since the second year of their idol career, replacing the previous manager, who was found to be at several instances, harshly scolding the members for no apparent reason and was eventually made to leave. After the rocky start with their first manager, the members were wary of Y/N at first, afraid of her even, but when they saw how she matched their chaotic energy, joking around with the members, while still getting her job done perfectly, they were instantly sold.

Taehyun in particular, was the closest to Y/N despite being the most distant in the beginning. The two constantly found themselves finding common interests and since Y/N was the same age as Taehyun's sister, it was easy for Taehyun to communicate with her without being affected by their four year age gap.

"We'll drive out by the other exit, we're less likely to get caught," Y/N said, fastening her seatbelt after starting the ignition. She glanced at her phone, hoping to see a message from her boyfriend, Sangwon, but when she found no notifications from him, she could only feel a pang of disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Taehyun asked, seeing how Y/N's mood seemed to dampen when she checked her phone.

"It's nothing," Y/N responded, giving Taehyun a tight smile. Of course, Taehyun knew Y/N's change in mood was probably due to her boyfriend. A few weeks ago, he had accidentally overheard Y/N on the phone with her boyfriend, and they seemed to be arguing, with words like "cheating", "trust" and "break-up" being thrown around. Based on Y/N's reaction, she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about the situation, and Taehyun respected her decision, not wanting to upset her.