ᴍᴇᴛᴀɴᴏɪᴀ - ʜᴀᴇᴄʜᴀɴ

≫14

Haechan's hot breath glided over her neck for a moment, Lina's eyes strewn shut as she inhaled his scent- finding it strangely intoxicating.

Smoke; it filled her insides, trapping her within the moment as she breathed it in, knowing the smoke was bad for her, yet she couldn't seem to care- allowing the toxic scent to shrivel her lungs excruciatingly slow.

Gunpowder; the mere smell of it seemed dangerous, as if a life was in danger, but whether it was Lina's or someone else's was entirely his decision. He reeked of danger, if you will, and she wallowed in it, almost like a hostage.

Lina's mind seemed to drift away, falling into a trance as her inattentive eyes gazed upon the inside of her eyelids, yet feeling his presence nonetheless. Afraid to open her eyes in fear that the reality of him would crash down upon her, she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, knowing that she shouldn't be this close to him, this close to someone she couldn't trust.

His fingers made their way to her waist, shifting her closer to him as a sly smirk plastered itself upon his lips, yet he couldn't help but feel drawn to her as well, stuck within the warmth she radiated.

Whether it was the circumstances of that specific day or otherwise, the girl couldn't bring herself to take a simple step back, and the thought of doing such a thing never occurred to her; she couldn't think straight.

"Away. Off. Distance," An annoyed voice uttered, irritation seeping through his tone.

Lina's eyes snapped open, and she pushed Haechan away- causing him to stumble back. A chuckle sounded from his throat, and she watched as his dark eyes began to twinkle with mischief as he stabled himself on his feet again.

Eyes wide as she swallowed down her nervousness, the girl quickly tore her gaze away from him, cheeks faintly pink. Confused, almost appalled as her mind raced, her heart pounded almost as quickly as her thoughts scrambled around her brain, yet she couldn't find a logical reason why she had let him so close to her.

Obviously flustered, Lina's head quickly snapped towards the voice, finding Renjun standing just outside of the hallway.

His eyes were narrowed with suspicion, Renjun crosses his arms as his scrutinizing stare flickered between the two, lips pursed together.

An impish laugh emitted from Haechan's lips, and he mirrored Renjun's position- acting like a child mocking an adult.

Seeing this, Renjun sighed in excruciation, shaking his head in disbelief as his annoyed, disappointed eyes fell to Lina.

"I can't believe this is your type," He grumbled, rolling his eyes at the two of them. "So immature."

Lina opened her mouth to bite out a retort, yet she couldn't properly argue; technically, if he was her soulmate, Haechan was her exact type.

Eyes falling to the floor, Lina expelled a staccato breath, trying to shake the thought of her soulmate from her mind, but, despite her effort to keep him out of her gaze, he wouldn't leave her headspace.

She pursed her lips together in some type of desperate frustration, feeling like she needed to hate him- needed to distance herself from him, but she didn't want to. Haechan was the type of person you avoided in a subway station; he was the kind of person that you didn't want to be around because they were dangerous, and someone could get hurt.

Even worse, he was the type of person that you evaded because they could change you; he could cause you to hurt someone.

Despite her blatant refusal to wallow in his presence, Lina couldn't help but wish to be near him, and some part of her seemed to enjoy the danger of change- the risk of being around such an unpredictable person.

Finding her heart and mind too contrasting, the girl decided to walk away from it all, marching off as quickly as she could. She maneuvered around Renjun, who just watched her with no effort to stop her, and she quickly found her way to her room.

Once she was out of sight, Renjun turned back to Haechan- tongue running along the inside of his cheek.

"Don't fuck her up," Renjun said curtly, being the direct person he was. "Or I'll fuck up your face."

A grin that was too wide to be physically possible tugged at Haechan's lips, and a shrill giggle made its way from his throat, finding Renjun's threat rather humorous.

"Why not try, hm?" He challenged, mirth dancing within his irises.

—

It hadn't been long since Renjun had left the house, but he hadn't specified where he was going. Renjun did this commonly, yet no one knew where he went; everyone just assumed he was starting fights anywhere he could, but no one dared to ask.

Haechan leaned against the kitchen counter, lips pulled upwards into a seemingly permanent smirk, yet his mind remained glued to the thought of Lina. He found the binding attraction that was shared between the soulmates amusing, and embraced the urge to be with Lina, but didn't indulge it for reasons unknown.

His fingers crazed against the inside of his pocket, his lips pursing together to suppress a laugh that built up in his throat.

Haechan grasped a cold, metal object that scent chills of excitement down his spine, practically causing his mind to go into overdrive as he pondered the extents of its symbolism.

His finger caressed the small, blunt-tipped end of the tiny item before he revealed it from the layers of his jacket, eyes raking over it.

The brass exterior of the object gleamed malevolently in the dim light of the kitchen, radiating malice as the humored boy gazed upon it, rolling it between his fingers. Despite the fact that it expelled a foreboding aura, Haechan saw it it as a work of art; beautiful in the worst ways possible.

He had found it on the doorstep only hours before, shining up at him when he had left the house to initially partake in an unplanned event, but had changed his mind and taken the item inside instead, knowing its importance.

It was a bullet.

A bullet intentionally placed on Renjun's and Lina's doormat.

You guys have no idea how much I read about gangs just for this book-