~𝟲𝟴~

(Third person, Lee Know's perspective)

The letter sat on the kitchen counter, taunting him. It wasn't the first, and he knew it definitely wouldn't be the last. They started coming the day after Ava got her letter. At first, he found it on the floor of his room, barely managing to hide it from Chan before he saw it. Then, they just started showing up tucked into the pile of other mail. He was always one of the firsts to wake up, and the first one to look through the mail every morning, which made it a lot easier to hide it.

Lee Know stared down the letter. He knew he would have to read it, but that morning he got a very bad feeling about the letter. He slowly reached his hand out towards the piece of paper. His fingertips just barely brushed against the edge of the paper when he hesitated. He had no idea what was in the letter, but the churn of his stomach told him it couldn't be anything good. He slowly took the letter in his hand. 

He had just folded it open when his head snapped up, having heard a noise come from the training room. Voices approached him. He quickly shoved the letter into his pocket, just in time before Chan came into the kitchen, greeting him. He greeted his Hyung, noticing Ava come into the kitchen as well. He softly greeted her, giving her a small smile. When Ava met his gaze, she paused, her steps slowing down. She seemed to flush as a beautiful smile spread on her lips.

"Anything important in the mail?" Chan asked, drawing his attention away from the blushing girl.

"Nothing much. Just the usual things."

He knew his Hyung would pick up on his short answer, so he took the following silence as his opportunity to leave. As he walked up the stairs to his room, he could almost feel his anger bubbling up inside him. He wasn't afraid of the letters or the threats on his life they contained. He knew he could handle Damian. He had handled a lot worse than him before. It just aggravated him; how arrogant Damian was. He knew he was just out of reach for the team, and he was using that privilege to the fullest.

He took a seat on his bed, taking the folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He had closed and locked the door to ensure that no one found out about the letters yet. He knew he would have to tell someone eventually, but he just wasn't ready to put the others' lives in danger. He stared at the little piece of paper, anger seething in his veins. He slowly unfolded it, the little black letters on it familiar to him.

I see you and Ava are getting close. If you care about her as much as you try to convince her, I would suggest you remove yourself from her life. Or if you don't... well, I guess you'll have to see what life is like with her death on your conscience.

He crumpled up the letter in his fist before throwing it against the wall as hard as he could. He dragged his hands through his hair, sighing. He guessed Damian would find out about him and Ava, and he thought Damian would just send him threats on his life like he had been doing for the past week or so. But the threat on Ava's life changed everything. 

He wasn't exactly making the situation any easier for himself, having given Ava the letter he wrote to her. He had given her hope; that everything could be normal. That she had a chance of forgetting about the danger. And now, he had no choice but to let her down, something he wished with his whole heart he wouldn't have to do.

He got up off his bed, pacing. His mind was a jumble of incomplete thoughts swirling together into a tangled mess. The more he tried to get his thoughts straight, the more agitated he got. Until he reached a breaking point, his fist connecting with the mirror on the wall. The glass shattered, the sound almost deafening against the silence of his room. Blood poured out of the cuts on his knuckles, the broken shards stuck to his skin falling off and shattering on the ground. 

He examined his hand before grabbing the nearest piece of clothing and using it to stop the blood flow. Just then he heard a knock at the door, and his stomach dropped. He wrapped the shirt he was pressing to the wound around his hand, using the other hand to open the door. He hid his injury behind his back. Chan's worried expression came into view when he inched open the door.

"Are you okay? I heard glass shatter," Chan asked.

"Oh, the mirror broke, but I'm fine," Lee Know lied.

He knew his Hyung saw through his lie when Chan's expression changed after he finished his sentence. Chan moved past him, and he saw his gaze drop to the bloody glass shards on the floor. Then his Hyung turned back to him.

"Give me your hand," he said softly. Lee Know shook his head.

"Give me your hand, Lee Know," Chan repeated, and he knew his Hyung wouldn't say it again. So he reluctantly obeyed. When Chan saw the bloody shirt wrapped around his hand, Lee Know saw him visibly tense up.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Chan said, walking out of the room. Lee Know wouldn't follow. When Chan peeked his head back through the door, Lee Know shook his head at him.

"I don't want the rest to know."

I don't want Ava to know, he mentally corrected. Chan looked at him for a moment before nodding. Lee Know took a seat on his bed, dragging his uninjured hand through his hair.

"First the threats, and now this," he said softly.

"What threats?" Chan asked when he came back a second later. Lee know went silent.

"Lee Know, who's threatening you?"

"Damian."

The room went silent. Lee Know could practically feel the anger rolling off of Chan. Chan silently handed him the first aid kit, and he got to work. He unwrapped his hand, the bloodied fabric sticking to his skin. He went into their en-suite bathroom and grabbed his washcloth, wetting it under the tap before using it to gently wipe away most of the blood on his skin. The cuts on his knuckles stung as the rough surface of the cloth rubbed over them, but he bit the inside of his cheek, pushing the pain down. When his hand was mostly clean, he gently patted it dry before going to sit down on the bed again. 

The first aid kit was open next to him. He searched through it for the tweezers and the antibacterial cream. Once he found both, he started inspecting the cuts, looking for any glass shards that could possibly cause problems later. When he was sure the cuts were free of glass, he gently applied some cream before wrapping up his hand in a bandage. He sighed once he was finished, dragging his uninjured hand through his hair before resting his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. 

His worry for Ava came flooding back into his mind, and he just got angry again. His brain and his heart were fighting each other, both aiming to be the final deciding party. His mind wanted to do the logical thing and cut all ties with Ava, for her own safety. But his heart wished he could just take her in his arms and make all her problems disappear. And he knew that, whichever option he chose, the both of them would end up getting hurt. And he didn't know if Ava, or he himself, would be able to survive that.

(First person, Ava's perspective)

I sat silently on the couch, my mind busy with probably a hundred things at once, when I noticed a presence coming to stand in front of me. I looked up to find Lee Know in front of me, that all-too-familiar smirk playing on his lips. I smiled at him.

"Seems your mind is running in sixty different directions at once," he said, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about Damian and about twenty other things so my mind is a bit of a mess at the moment-"

"Morning you two, I was wondering if you guys would like to come to the flower market with me. Han asked me to pick up some flowers for Emily for when he goes to see her later," Felix said as he came to stand next to the couch, my reply cut short because of his question.

"Sure, that sounds fun. Maybe it'll be able to get my mind off of everything I'm thinking of at the moment," I said, smiling up at the blonde-haired boy standing next to me.

"Great. How about you, Hyung?" he asked, directing the question at Lee Know.

"Why not? I could use some fresh air," he said from next to me.

At that, Felix left, but I could have sworn I saw him smirk at Lee Know over his shoulder before he went up the stairs. But I forgot about it quickly, getting up and going to get dressed into something more suitable than sleepwear.

...

When I finished and headed downstairs again, Felix and Lee Know seemed to be having a very intense conversation when Felix spotted me coming down the stairs, gesturing to me with his eyes. I was clad in my simplest sundress and a pair of my favourite ankle boots, but somehow my appearance still managed to make Lee Know's jaw drop, a pink flush spreading across my cheeks because of it. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I smiled at him, taking the edge of my dress and curtsying jokingly before walking over to him with a giggle.

"Gosh you look..."

"What? Too simple?" I asked, looking at my dress. Lee Know took my chin in between his thumb and forefinger, gently bringing my head up to meet his gaze as he shook his head.

"Beautiful."

I smiled at him, bowing my head as my blush intensified. I noticed Felix and Lee Know both had on dress shirts with jeans and dress shoes, which made me feel quite underdressed, but Lee Know must have noticed, because he slipped his hand into mine, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. We moved towards the front door, Felix announcing to Chan and Seungmin in the kitchen that the three of us were headed out before closing the door behind us.

The whole drive to the flower market, Lee Know and I sat hand in hand in the back seat, talking to and laughing along with Felix. It was nice to finally be able to let the secret out and not have to be afraid of someone seeing our intertwined fingers, or the gentle kiss on the cheek Lee Know gave me every now and again. And I realised, it was the first time we were going out to do something together since we confessed. Something besides walking on the beach. Something that was ours to share. And even though Felix was there, to me it still felt like it was just me and Lee Know.

...

"Okay, how about you guys go choose out some flowers for Han and I'll take care of the other things I have to do," Felix suggested after we had walked around for a while. Lee Know and I agreed, walking off, our fingers still intertwined.

It was a sunny day, and everything was just so bright and beautiful. Little stalls with flowers and fresh fruits stood everywhere. The air smelled fresh and heavy with the scent of roses and honeysuckle and tulips. At every stall that we passed, I stopped and smelled the flowers, each one smelling even better than the last. My smile grew with each passing minute. And what made me the happiest was that I got to share it with the one guy who I trusted whole-heartedly.

My happiness reached an all time peek when we got to what the people around us called "the Tunnel of Purple Rain". A huge metal frame curved above our heads, the metal completely covered in endless rows upon rows of wisteria flowers, hanging downwards to end just above our heads. I reached up, standing on my tiptoes as my fingers gently brushed the purple flowers, the petals so soft, it was like touching clouds. The sun shone through the flowers, casting the tunnel and everything in it in a purple glow. It felt surreal, magical even. 

I let go of Lee Know's hand for the first time since our hands had touched that morning. I walked out in front of him before spinning in a circle, closing my eyes and laughing. As the sun landed on my skin and warmed me up, and I saw bursts of the purple colour as I opened my eyes again, I felt so happy, so calm, so... safe. When I stopped turning and just stared up at the canopy of flowers above me, a familiar pair of arms slid around my waist to wrap me in a hug from behind. 

I leaned into the person, closing my eyes and just soaking everything in. The scent of the wisteria flowers, the feel of the sun on my skin, the sense of safety and security I got from the man who was holding me. I let my happiness take me far away from everything, my mind drifting away.

I was brought back to my beautiful surroundings when the arms loosened around my waist, only to turn me around and settle on the small of my back. I looked up to see Lee Know smiling at me so tenderly, I felt like I would start crying. He gently moved his hand to cup my jaw, his thumb brushing over my cheek. I closed my eyes, leaning into the touch and savouring the tingles that his touch left on my skin.

"Ava, I have a question." I heard Lee Know ask, my eyes opening again to look up at him.

"Would you..."

He hesitated, taking in a shaky breath. I brushed my hand up into the hair at the nape of his neck, gently running my fingers through it. He seemed to become less nervous the longer I did it. But his next words made me freeze in place.

"Would you be my official girlfriend?"

He asked it so softly that for a moment I wasn't sure whether it was a dream or whether he had really said it. But when I realised he was being serious, my heart jumped in my chest. The biggest smile spread on my lips.

"Yes. Yes! Of course, yes!"

I grabbed him in a hug, burying my head in his chest. He lifted me off the ground by my waist, spinning me in the air above him. His eyes were sparkling as he looked at me, and it made my heart leap. He gently put me down on the ground again, but I just stood on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. 

I didn't care about all the people around us. I didn't care about the fact that Felix could find us any moment. I didn't care that Damian would still come after me. The only thing in that moment was Lee Know and I and the way I that I felt as I kissed him long and hard. I kissed him like I would lose him if I let go. I held onto him like he was my lifeline, which he probably was.

As I held onto him, his hands in my hair and his lips warm and soft against mine, I knew that if he was with me, everything would be okay. And I knew that I never wanted to forget that moment, or the way I felt kissing him underneath a canopy of wisteria flowers.

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A/N

heyy guys ;)

hope you are all doing well. things are gonna get hectic in the next two weeks so if i don't post (which i will try my best to avoid from happening) please forgive me. our school production is debuting in a bit more than a week so things are a bit stressful. so if any of you are going through stress of your own, you are welcome to contact me and we can vent together :P

anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed this adorably fluffy chapter and i'll see you guys in the next one <3