Insulate |〆[Taeyong x Reader AU] | ✔

匚卄卂卩ㄒ乇尺 9

"Back when you used to hang out at my house a lot, do you remember seeing any family pictures?" Taeyong started, eyes already beginning to tear up at the thought.

[Y/n] tries to remember but shakes her head when she can't. He continues, "I was taken in by a guy 12 years older than me. Minho... He took care of me, he was like a real brother."

[Y/n] stays mute and continues threading her hand through the mop of red hair. She didn't want to interrupt him, but her natural curiosity made her ask questions. "What happened to your biological family?"

Taeyong had a hard time answering this question but he wanted [Y/n] to know the whole truth. "What exactly happened still isn't very clear to me," he bites his lip, trying to stay strong, "There was a fire and I lost my father. After that, my mother was so depressed and when she couldn't take it anymore, she killed herself..." Taeyong wipes his tears with the back of his hand, "She did that a week after my father had passed and I was left alone," he sits up and looks at [Y/n] who was also teary eyed, "I still can't believe she left me. I was 9, for fuck sake," he whispers, rubbing his eyes, "I couldn't do anything by myself. I was never contacted by any family members because they all think I jumped off that damn bridge with her."

"Tae..."

"I'm not actually from this part of the city, you know. We used to live on the countryside and on the day I lost my mother, Minho came out of nowhere. I remember staring at this scar on his right cheek. He asked me where my parents were and when I didn't answer, he drove us to his place. I stayed with him and at the age of 14, I found out he was part of some kind of gang and he asked me if I wanted to join. My dumb ass didn't know what I was getting myself into," Taeyong shakes his head at the memory, "I was taught about illegal trafficking, how to shoot a gun, fight and all that stuff. I thought I was safe, invincible... so invincible that when they had planned a robbery on a rich old man, I stepped up and told him it was wrong. I challenged him. As you can see, I'm right here so you can guess who won."

[Y/n]'s eyes widen in realization, "You mean, you..?"

"I killed him, yeah. And he was proud of me at that too," Taeyong laughs bitterly, "His dying wish was to let me take over as the new leader. Me, a then 14 year old boy." He lays back on the bed and closes his eyes, "Back when we were 18 and I told you I was going to study abroad, I wasn't telling you the whole truth. I traveled to Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and China but not for studies, it was for contacts. I have gang members almost all over Asia. I've built an empire and I'm pretty sure Minho would be happy if he could see me now," Taeyong whispers the last part of his sentence, now looking up at the ceiling.

"That's... Wow. I wasn't expecting anything like that at all," [Y/n] muttered; she suddenly felt bad for constantly assuming things.

Taeyong sighs again, also feeling guilty, "I'm really sorry you got dragged into this mess."

"I'm still confused about that: who was the super tall dude and why was he here?" She frowns, not understanding the connection between Taeyong's story and the attack.

"That was Chanyeol and he works for Simon," Taeyong says the second name with pure hatred, "Simon constantly quarreled with Minho back in the day; something about money and territory. They didn't get along and he'd never hurt Minho or his associates before. Ever since I took over, he's been after me like crazy, always trying to mess up my plans and shit. Now that he's found my whereabouts, we need to move."

"Wait, what?"

"Chanyeol said they found us, so we need to move as soon as possible. There was a car with no license plate in front of the apartment. My men told me they couldn't find it when they came to take Chanyeol away. "

"We just moved in together..." [Y/n] says sadly, not wanting to believe anything she had just been told. But Taeyong wouldn't lie to her like that, he would never lie to her.

"I promised I would protect you and I plan on keeping that promise," he holds [Y/n]'s hands and looks into her eyes, "Even if you choose to leave me now... I'll still protect you. I care about you a lot and I don't want anything happening to you whether we're together or not."

[Y/n] embraces him in a tight hug, sniffling softly, "How could I ever leave? I love you too damn much."

Taeyong's heart skips a beat at those words. He holds [Y/n] tightly, never wanting to let her go. He was extremely happy about [Y/n] wanting to stay with him despite the whole danger of the matter. It meant a lot to him, and he intended to protect [Y/n] with everything he had.

"We should get some rest, it's really late," Taeyong says after seeing the timer on the bedside table.

"[Y/n]?" He calls but all he gets was a light snore in response. [Y/n] had fallen asleep, probably too tired after waiting for him to come home for so long, only closing her eyes for a few minutes throughout the entire day.

Taeyong lays her gently on the bed, careful not to wake her.

Never had he ever thought this would happen to him; he was so whipped for [Y/n], it was like he was under some kind of spell.

He lays facing her, his arm tucked under his head as he watches her sleep soundly. He caresses [Y/n]'s face, tracing her eyes, nose, lips and cheek with his pointer finger. She looked so at peace, the moonlight giving a slight glow around her face.

"I love you too," he whispers, drifting into a dreamless sleep afterwards.

〆〆〆

The next morning, [Y/n] wakes up to Taeyong sitting on the edge of the bed with a suitcase in front of him. He was shirtless and his hair was wet. The grey sweatpants he was wearing showed the waistband of his underwear and Y/n couldn't help but admire how hot he looked so early in the morning.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

[Y/n] giggles and throws the covers over her face, embarrassed at being caught. "Honestly, if you don't mind... I would like one."

Taeyong crawls on top of her, pulling the covers down. [Y/n] squeals and tries to hide her face behind her hands but Taeyong catches her wrists, pulling them apart to reveal [Y/n]'s closed eyes and huge grin. He kisses her forehead then rubs their noses together.

"Give me your phone," Taeyong says and [Y/n] complies, handing him the device with the lock-screen already open. He goes to the camera app and they take multiple pictures together cuddling, kissing and mostly pulling funny faces. They're all smiles when they finish their mini photo shoot. Taeyong sits against the headboard and takes his phone in his other hand, tapping on the screen while his eyes dart between the two phones.

"What are you doing?" [Y/n] asks, still a little drowsy from sleep.

Taeyong offers her a small smile, "Just sending the pictures to mine, I wanna have them too."

That makes [Y/n] swoon and smile, her face heating up. Taeyong's cute behavior made her forget he was a gang leader. The thought makes her smile disappear: her Taeyong is a gang leader and has enemies who are after him. Does that mean they'll forever live their lives running from them and in fear of being killed?

[Y/n] sighs, taking the covers off her body and climbing out of bed. "I'm gonna go shower first."

Taeyong acknowledges her words with a nod but doesn't take his eyes off the phone screen. A barely visible red dot coming from one of the devices blinks on his face and [Y/n] frowns upon noticing his lack of response. She thinks nothing of it and makes her way to the bathroom after grabbing her towel.