~𝟳𝟭~

I looked up at Lee Know as we stood hand in hand behind the corner right next to the top of the stairs. He gave me a tender smile, his thumb brushing over my hand softly. I sighed and closed my eyes, steeling my nerves before stepping out onto the first step, Lee Know following. His hand remained clasped around mine as we made our way down the stairs.

I noticed all the chatter dying down and saw some of the members come out of the kitchen to see what was going on. It was so quiet, the pounding of my heart against my chest walls was deafening. As Lee Know and I went to stand in front of the seven pairs of eyes, my stomach churned, and I suddenly felt lightheaded. I felt like backing out. Until I heard Lee Know's words echo in my mind.

We had just walked out of my room when he had taken my hand in his, interlacing our fingers and grabbing my attention. He pulled me closer to himself and spoke softly. Whatever happens, I'm by your side. And if you feel, at any moment, that you don't want to do this, just tell me and we can drop it, he had told me before pulling me into a tight hug.

As I stood before the seven other team members, his words gave me strength. And managed to calm the raging storm of thoughts in my mind. I took a deep breath, feeling my light-headedness drift away.

"Lee Know and I have something to say. Something we've been meaning to say for a while now, actually."

I paused, looking up at the man who stood next to me. The man who had been my source of comfort and stability ever since we confessed to each other, maybe even before then. He gave me a slight smile which I returned before turning back to the members.

"We... we're dating."

The silence that followed after I spoke made me feel like I was being drowned. And I couldn't do or say anything because my nerves at the members' reaction left me frozen. The only thing that kept me from holding my breath was the gentle drag of Lee Know's thumb across the back of my hand in slow intervals, almost as if to help me keep track of my breathing.

I was just about to snap and tell the members that it was a joke when I saw a smile spread on Han's lips. His smile grew until it was a full-fledged grin. I noticed some of the other members smiling as well, but Felix's smile was by far the biggest, his eyes forming crescents. Suddenly the room broke out in noise, the boys coming over to me and Lee Know, congratulating us and giving hugs to the both of us. I was so happy with the members' reaction until I noticed Chan standing quite far away. The room quieted down again and the boys made way for him. His expression was unreadable, but there was no sign of a smile.

He walked over to me and Lee Know, and I reached out to the boy next to me, who by some freak accident was not as near to me as he was a moment ago, my hand gasping open air. But instead of Chan walking over to me like I expected him to do, what with me dating one of his team members, he walked over to Lee Know, staring him down before speaking.

"If you mess this up, I will personally throw you in the pool in the middle of the night and lock you outside for a week. Understood?"

Lee Know just straightened up further, nodding curtly. I noticed a smile spreading on his lips, and I begged that he would just be serious in that moment. Until I saw the same smile spread on Chan's lips. He started laughing, roughly pulling Lee Know into a head lock and ruffling his hair before giving him a tight hug, patting him on the back. The boys and I started laughing as well at the two eldest team members' antics. Chan and Lee Know pulled out of the hug and both turned to me, their smiles turning soft and caring at the sight of me. Chan came over to me, embracing me softly.

"If he ever does anything that upsets you, you tell me right away, okay?" he whispered in my ear, and I smiled.

"Of course. Always."

We pulled out of the hug, and he gently ruffled my hair as well.

"I'm so happy for you two. But I do have some rules that I want to lay down a bit later regarding your relationship."

Lee Know and I nodded as he slid his arm around my shoulders, hugging me tightly. I noticed Chan's brows knit together in confusion, and I wondered what thought had crossed his mind. Until he voiced his confusion.

"Wait, did any of you know about this, or are we all finding out about this now?" he asked, eyes scanning the members.

My eyes met Felix's and I hoped Chan didn't see the smirk pulling at his lips. But unfortunately, he did.

"Felix? You knew?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"What can I say? I mean, I am the biggest Knova shipper, so of course I had to know. Besides, Ava could never hide something like that from me," Felix said nonchalantly, smirking at me and Lee Know.

"Knova? Huh, that actually doesn't sound so bad," Han said, resting his arm on my shoulder and smiling at me and Lee Know.

"That'll be what I call you two from now on, if it's alright with you."

I looked up at Lee Know, smiling.

"You know, I quite like the sound of that, don't you?" I asked softly, staring up at Lee Know.

"I love it," he said, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. I half-expected the members to protest at our public affection, but they just softly cooed at us. And I finally realised that none of the bad things I envisioned happening when we told the boys had happened. And I thought to myself, this was actually a good idea.

...

That night at dinner the boys couldn't run out of questions to ask me and Lee Know. It was very intriguing to me how it was mostly the younger members asking questions, especially Han and Jeongin. I wonder if they've never had relationships before or if they're just curious, I thought to myself. But I enjoyed answering their questions, nonetheless, smiling over at Lee Know whenever I mentioned him.

"So, I'm guessing you guys have kissed, right?" Changbin asked suddenly, having been quiet for most of the conversation.

My cheeks heated up as I hesitated before nodding slowly at him. The younger members all sounded very surprised, a smile appearing on my lips because of it. I looked over at Chan, who seemed slightly worried. My smile fell as I took his hand, meeting his worried eyes.

"Can I talk to you and Lee Know after dinner?" he asked softly, and I nodded.

I looked over at Lee Know, who smiled at me softly before his gaze met that of Chan. I saw him nod slightly at his Hyung, almost as if he understood what Chan was thinking. Then his gaze met mine again, and his stare sent a rush of confidence through me, almost like he was giving me encouragement for whatever Chan wanted to say to us.

...

"Okay, I know you two are probably worried about what I wanted to tell you, but you really don't have to be. I just want to clear a few things up before anything goes sideways."

Lee Know and I shared a worried look before turning our attention back to Chan, his words not necessarily calming our nerves. On the contrary, it made it worse. Lee Know and I sat in his and Chan's shared room, Chan pacing in front of us. The longer he stayed silent, the more I doubted that he really approved of my relationship with Lee Know.

"I approve of the relationship. Actually, more than approve. I'm very happy for the two of you. I just want to set some rules to keep the two of you safe," Chan said, almost as if he could sense my apprehensions.

Lee Know took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Now, I know that having a relationship can save lives on a mission, but it can, on very rare occasions, cost lives as well. So, if either of you feel like going on a mission together will undermine your abilities to stay focused in the field, I want you to tell me. And if, for whatever reason, I think that you two won't be able to focus, I am going to have to remove one of you from the mission. But it's only because I care about the safety of the team members, you two included."

He waited for both me and Lee Know to nod before continuing.

"Then, I want you to keep the relationship secret. As you both probably know, the force, and Commander Della Valle have very strong points of view on the subject of two agents being in relationships. So, for the sake of your relationship, I want you two to hide this from any other agents for as long as possible. I am completely fine with you two being together here at the dorms. I don't mind PDA at all. I just want you two to be careful when we're anywhere else than the dorms. It that okay with the two of you?"

Again, he waited for us to nod before speaking again.

"Now, as I just said, I'm fine with PDA in the dorms, but I am going to have to draw the line at staying in the same room. If you have nightmares, Ava, that's a different story, but I don't want it to become a permanent thing. I hate to have to bring this up, but as you both know, accidents happen. I trust you are both mature enough to make responsible choices, but I just have to say it to be safe."

I nodded, but noticed Lee Know didn't. I looked over at him, and saw his cheeks were flushed bright red. He avoided eye contact with both me and Chan, making a small smile spread on my lips.

"Does talking about that stuff make you uncomfortable?" I asked softly, squeezing his hand. He shook his head.

"No, it's just... I'm worried it'll make you uncomfortable... you know, after..."

I realised what he meant, and my brows drew together in confusion. It was strange, but when Chan mentioned it, that thought wasn't even near my brain. I smiled to myself as reality struck me. The reality that I trusted Lee Know so much that that thought wasn't even a possibility with him. I trusted him so much that the thing that had impacted my life so greatly for so long wasn't even a glimmer in my mind when I was with him. I gently brushed along his cheek with the back of my fingers, making him look at me. I smiled at him and saw him seem to calm down.

"It's strange, but I hadn't even thought of that. I guess I just know you'd never do that."

I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, still smiling at him. When Chan cleared his throat, I turned back to him, taking Lee Know's hand in mine again.

"Do the two of you have any questions or comments?"

I looked over at Lee Know, waiting to hear if he had any questions.

"Actually, Chan could I talk to you for a second?" he asked, not making eye contact with me.

I took that as a silent que for me to leave. So, I pressed another kiss to Lee Know's cheek, before getting up and leaving the room, smiling at the two boys as I closed the door behind me. But just as I was about to walk away, I heard a very familiar name said on the other side of the door. Damian.

It sounded like Lee Know was asking if Chan had heard anything new about his whereabouts. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but my curiosity got the better of me. I heard Chan say that he hadn't heard anything new, and what I guessed was Lee Know swearing. Then the tone of their voices dropped to barely above a whisper, which I couldn't hear through the door. I walked away from the door, confused and annoyed.

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A/N

heyy guys :)

this is a bit of a filler chapter that kind of ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, but i hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. you guys are welcome to share your thoughts with me in the comments, i really enjoy hearing from you all.

anyway, i'll see you guys in the next one <3