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"What are you making?"

A dreaded voice pierced through her concentration as (Y/n) was slowly pouring the batter into the cake pan. She jolted as a pair of arms snaked around her waist and someone propped their chin on her shoulder. She didn't have to look to know it was Jaehyun.

"Cake," she answered plainly. "Did you, uh, want some?"

His face brightened and he released her, making her let out a sigh of relief. But he didn't stray too far. He remained by her side, his fingers tapping against the granite countertop excitedly. "Do you need help?"

Nah, I'm a Masterchef in the making. "It's okay. I'll be done soon. Eventually. And you're probably busy."

"I'm never too busy for you. Here," he took the bowl of frosting from her. "I'll do this."

"Well, okay then." (Y/n) took the cake pan and slid it into the preheated oven with giant mittens on her hands. She might've mixed up the eggs and butter a few times (and might've added a little salt by accident) but it should turn out fine. Even if it didn't, she wasn't the one eating it so she wasn't going to lose any taste buds today.

"You can bake?" She observed as the blond slowly added heavy cream to the bowl as he mixed the rest of the ingredients with a hand mixer. He looked like he did it before.

He looked up and smiled. "A little. Leon taught me."

"You two seem...close." She didn't know if "close" was the right word for what they had. The two looked like they got along better than the others did, and Tristan and Kieran were the childhood friends—well, acquaintances, here. She sometimes caught them together as Jaehyun seemed to be struggling over something and Leon, ever the big brother, was there to help. Whether it be holding the ladder so the boy could climb up safely to finish a particularly tall ice sculpture, or carrying him to bed when Jaehyun fell asleep on the floor in the middle of his work.

Jaehyun shrugged. He didn't seem to care for the word. "I like him more than the other guys, that's for sure." His ruby eyes flickered to hers for a second, the vermillion depths flattening into two glittering slits. "Why? Are you interested in him?"

"I was just curious." She feigned disinterest in an attempt to make that haunting edge in his voice go away. "Wait, are you sure that's not too much cream?"

He looked down at the bowl in surprise and quickly stopped pouring. "Oops," he said with an embarrassed look. "I didn't realize. It should still be okay, right?"

She really hoped so too. "Maybe."

The cake was done a few minutes later. She took it out with gloved hands and slowly transferred them to the island. "I think we're supposed to let it cool first," she declared. "That takes too long. I'm just going to pop it in the fridge."

And so she did, placing a plastic wrap over the cake before putting it inside the fridge. Watch me forget about it and it becomes a block of ice.

"When did you meet the others?" (Y/n) asked him awkwardly as she began cleaning up some of the tools. She always felt like she was always doing something wrong around him. Which was weird, because she didn't feel that way around even Tristan. "School?"

Jaehyun canted his head in thought. "I met Leon during the first year of secondary school. I forget when, but it was during that one time his father made him go to this super unnecessary elitist party with him. Our families knew each other so we kinda had to start associating with each other. It was annoying."

Dragging kids into politics...She winced. That sucks. "And Tristan and Kieran?"

"I think maybe a year later? My parents forced me to be a part of the student council and told me I had to become 'friends' with them. I still wouldn't call us friends though."

She imagined living in a dorm with three other people she just couldn't get along with. That actually didn't sound too bad—she'd just spend all day avoiding them and sleeping in her room. "Then, if you had to choose between p—uh, Tristan and Kieran to hang out with, who would you choose?"

A look of distaste crossed his face at their names. He stopped mixing the frosting and pushed it to the side. "Can we stop talking about them? It's unpleasant."

"Oh, uh, okay." (Y/n) fiddled with her hands, conscious of his intense stare on the side of her head. She refused to look at him no matter what. "I think the cake is ready. Let's add the frosting."

"If that's what you want..."

She ignored his weird way of agreeing and took the cake out from the freezer. She got out a knife and began spreading a generous amount of frosting onto one of the cakes before slapping them together. Then another layer of frosting on the surface. She sprinkled the last of the matcha powder on the top. Then she stuck the strawberries in a circle on the frosting to finish it off.

She took a step back and inspected the finished product. It looked a little lopsided and the frosting was everywhere but it still looked like a cake. Matcha, check. Cake, check. Not too sweet and potentially salty, check. He can't complain, can he? Oh, right. Her attention turned briefly to the blond. I sorta offered him some. Well, Tristan shouldn't mind too much. Sharing is caring and I made this.

(Y/n) cut out two slices and gave one to him. "Please tell me it at least tastes like a cake." Or I'm going to get slammed so hard for this.

He took a bite and he lit up. "It is good," he cheered. "I really like it."

"Uh, you sure it's not too salty?"

"Just a little. It makes it better, don't worry!"

(Y/n) was pretty sure he was just saying that to make her feel better but she wasn't about to call him out for it. She took a small bite of her helping. It was...decent to say the least. She could still taste the matcha flavor and everything, but there was that underlying saltiness and grittiness that would turn the cake straight to the reject pile in a bakery. At least it's edible. No, not that kind of edibles.

I'll just give this to him and get it over with. Heaving a sigh, she rested her fork on her plate and began lifting the rest of the cake. Jaehyun watched her work with puzzled eyes. "Where are you taking that? Don't tell me you're throwing it away."

"Not quite..." She held a plate and fork under the platter the cake was on. She was sure Tristan would give her that look if she didn't show up with utensils and there was no way she was going to run all the way back downstairs to get them for him. Maybe she should just give him a knife and tell him to eat with it...

But nah, she wasn't that petty.

Or was she?

Jaehyun's bright mood dimmed and his expression fell. "Don't tell me...was that cake...for someone else?"

Oh God. (Y/n) froze as the atmosphere tightened with menace, rooting her in the spot. She didn't want to face him now; she knew he had switched personalities again. All because of one mistake she made. But even if she didn't make it, it would've happened anyway! Maybe she should've made the cake in the toilet instead where no one could see her. It was inevitable that Jaehyun would want to join her.

And even if she lied and said she was throwing the cake out, he would want the rest of it. Or if she said she was going to eat the rest herself or something, he still wouldn't give up. He'd find out eventually it was for Tristan, no matter if she was making it willingly or not.

The alarm bells went off in her head as she slowly placed everything on the countertop and turned around to face him. "It's not what you think," she tried to explain. "It was a bet and I had to make it for him—"

"No." Jaehyun was at her side in an instant, knocking over his chair in the process. His hands tightened around her wrists to the point it was almost painful. "Anything you make—art, anything—it can't be anyone else's. No one else is allowed to see it or have it besides me. You still haven't understood?"

"I can hear what you're saying," she said in a strained voice as she struggled to pull away. "But it doesn't—"

"No excuses. I've given you enough chances as is and you let me down each time." His grip grew harder, tight enough to leave bruises. "Come with me."

"Wha—" (Y/n) couldn't resist as he was suddenly dragging her somewhere behind him. "You—Jay! Let go of me! I don't want to go with you!"

He ignored her protests and shoved her into the elevator. He was silent, terrifyingly so, as the ride went up to the third floor. His floor. His grip didn't loosen as the doors opened and he began a brisk walk towards one of the rooms, even as she grounded her heels into the floor in an attempt to stop him.

Jaehyun yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind them. (Y/n) jumped at the loud impact. It was a miracle the wooden frame didn't shatter. He didn't stop there.

"Jaehyun!" She yelled, trying to pull the other way but he didn't let her. The room was completely dark, the shadows drenching their clothes in mottled shades of black and gray, seeping into their skin. Her body lurched deeper into the darkness at his command before she regained her balance and twisted to try and grab onto something, anything.

She wasn't used to Jaehyun being so quiet. That frightened her. She needed to leave, to escape. Even though the shadows tugged at her and stole her vision away, masking his expression with a terrible mask, her instinct was screaming at her to run. So she tried, and failed.

"Sto—" Her wavering voice of anger was cut off as she felt herself being thrown. Pain exploded through her arm as her elbow banged painfully against a metal surface and her knees knocked together. Jaehyun released her, his face still masked by the shadows that shifted over his face as he moved in front of the dim light seeping in through the opened door, exposing a ghost of a smile.

His gaze was unabashed and unwavering as he watched her. Those sanguine eyes swept down her form, taking delight in the crumpled way she was on the ground with her arm curled protectively to her chest. There was so much he wanted to do but not enough time to do it—at least not now. He still had other things to take care of before he could finally relax. It would have to wait.

(Y/n) watched him take a step back with glaring eyes. What is he—!

He slammed what looked like a door on her and locked it with a fluid motion just as she threw her body forwards. But it was too late—he had locked the door. She felt a sinking feeling and a growing horror bubble up her throat as she finally realized where she was.

Jaehyun wasn't kidding around. It was a cage.

"You—is this some kind of joke?!" Even though she couldn't see, (Y/n) felt around for another exit just in case. There was none. She curled her fingers around the bars and glared at him, hoping he could see just how angry she was. "Are you angry at me because I made a cake?"

"Are you mad at me?" He crouched down in front of her, his gaze curious. He reached out as if to touch her cheek but she pulled away. His hand, now lost its purpose, fell limply to his side. "I'm not the one you should be mad at (Y/n)...you brought this on yourself. It's your fault. You still don't get it, do you?"

She scoffed and threw herself towards the back. Anywhere away from him. "There you go again. The blaming game. Fine, I'll bite. What exactly did I do wrong?"

"Why do I have to tell you? You have to figure it out yourself and never do it again."

"Then you're going to be waiting for a long time."

"Waiting...? I'm good at that." She heard him murmur. And then the soft rustling of cloth as he stood up and came closer to her. "I've been waiting a reaaally long time for you now, (Y/n), and I'm getting a little impatient. No matter how many times I try to warn you, you always do the same things, over and over again. And—"

His face darkened even more if that was even possible. The fury in his voice made her shrink back and want to blend into the shadows. It was abrasive, animalistic, and promised nothing but death.

"I won't be allowing that anymore. You're waaay too disobedient, you know? If you keep acting out like this...I meant it when I said I'd take away your freedom. These arms and legs—" His hand shot through the bars to grip her upper arm, his nails digging harshly into her skin. "You don't need them. You won't need anything at all—I'll be your whole world and you mine. And if you dare to try and defy me again...I'll kill you."

No words came to assist her when she opened her mouth. Her throat felt parched and the bruise on her wrist ached sorely, pulsating in the dark. Fear welled up in her eyes but she held it back. She'd never give him that satisfaction.

"Maybe I should just kill you..." He murmured, taking a lock of her hair in his hand. "I should just put an end to you while you're still beautiful. You'd be my true masterpiece, (Y/n)! A masterpiece just for the two of us!" A laugh burst out of him, deranged and child-like. "Wouldn't that be nice? You who've given me love...you won't be able to run away anymore! I know you'd want that too, (Y/n). You're denying it but in your heart, you know you do."

"Because I know everything about you." He let the (h/c) strands slip through his fingers as he took her stunned face in his hands and pressed his forehead to the cold bars, madness dimming his once bright vermeil orbs. "And everything that I don't know...I'll erase it. That's why you should never hide anything from me, okay?"

He pulled her closer to him and caressed her cheek with a hand, his expression melting into a soft smile. "I love everything about you, (Y/n). You never fail to make me laugh. I'm sorry for saying I'd kill you, okay? I won't hurt you in any way...unless you decided to try and defy me again. Then I'll have to punish you. But I really don't want to. I like the smiling (Y/n) the best."

"...Are you afraid?" He caught the fear in her eyes and his smile slipped into a worried pout. "You shouldn't be. We can both be happy forever as long as you listen to me. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

She turned her head away, her face rigid but didn't say anything. Because if she managed to get through the fear that stood in front of her like a horrifying gatekeeper, her anger would make her spew out uncontrollable threats and pour out everything she's been bottling up to make her plan work. The combined weight of all her emotions...it would make the spider-thin strand of hope she clung onto snap. Holding in everything was practically second nature to her, but a barricade could only take so many blows.

He seemed to take her silence as agreement. "I'll come back later, okay?" He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she flinched away. "I know it'll be a little dark...but please bear with it. It's part of your punishment. Be good, (Y/n)."

And then he was gone, the door swinging shut with an audible click of a lock behind him, descending the room into complete darkness.

TEMPUS:DORM ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ αftєяωαяd

Kieran poked his head into Tristan's study, an incredulous expression settling over his face as he realized exactly what the blue-haired male was making.

"You? And computers?" He came over to the other male and leaned against the table. "Warn me if something's going to blow up."

"I'm making a gaming computer, not a bomb." Tristan swatted his hand off the table. "You're leaving fingerprints. Leave."

Kieran looked down at his hands and then shot him a gloating grin. "Well jokes on you, 'cause I just washed them earlier. You put me on cleaning duty, remember?"

"And you're distracting me. Don't you have other things to attend to?"

"Nah, I'm as free as a bird." Kieran stood next to him and watched as Tristan slowly placed the case back on the computer. "You know you don't have to be that careful, right? Need help?"

Tristan scoffed and pushed his stuff away from the golden-eyed male. "Not from you."

"Ugh, you're extra hostile today. Are you PMSing or something?"

"At least I'm not a fool going through puberty like you," he muttered.

"Me? No, you got it all wrong." Kieran struck a random pose. "I'm always in my mating season~"

Tristan's face was almost more disgusted than the time Kieran's face first appeared in his life.

"Okay, fine, Trish-chan. You didn't have to look at me like that."

Tristan made a disgruntled sound and inclined his head to the door. "The exit's always free for you to use. The entrance isn't, however."

"And I'll happily use it," Kieran purred, letting his hand fall from the back of the blue-haired male's chair. He began walking towards the exit. "I would stay to keep you company, Trish-chan because that'll be hilarious, but I miss my (Y/n)-chan already. Have fun~"

If Tristan had the temperament of Leon, he would've thrown the PC he was halfway done with at the other male. But he didn't. "If only there was a mute button on him..."

Kieran hummed with his jacket thrown over his shoulder as he made his way to (Y/n)'s room. His mood had been quite pleasant lately—he'd changed his number so all the girls, and some guys, that he'd broken it off with couldn't spam him anymore. Whoever had his old number now was one unlucky fellow.

He never understood the idea of commitment. Why stick to one thing when it was only going to become boring eventually? Hobbies—he lost interest in them within a few days. People—he enjoyed messing with them and whatever he felt like doing that day, but it was boring in the long run. His record for the shortest relationship was two hours. The first hour had gone well; the girl immediately invited him over. But within the second hour, he realized she was just another boring nobody. Just like everything else.

Commitment was not a word in his dictionary.

But he understood now.

When he hung out with (Y/n), he couldn't quite shake off his demons. Nor could he forget his long contact list. It was a painful reminder that even if she was with him, there was so much dirt and blood on his hands he couldn't wash off. He felt like he was almost cheating on her, the one person he hasn't lost interest in yet.

That feeling was painful. He entertained the feeling for a bit initially, relishing in the feeling he's never been able to feel before. Then it grew too much for him to handle.

So he cut everyone off. He didn't need them.

He only needed her.

"(Y/n)-chan?" Kieran rapped his knuckles gently on the smooth white door. Once, twice, and then three more times when she didn't answer. That's strange. He checked the lock—the doorknob didn't twist when he tried it and the bolt was still in place. There was no way she could've escaped from the window since it was barred, so it could only mean she was sleeping.

But...at this hour? Even for (Y/n) who loved sleeping so much, that was a stretch. And he knew Tristan wouldn't let her sleep into the afternoon.

Kieran banged harder on the door. "(Y/n)?" He called out in concern. "You okay in there?"

No answer. The last time that happened she had escaped and it hadn't gone well. Fear rose up in his throat at the idea of something happening to her. Gruesome images of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time rose through the surface of his mind. Her being on Leon's floor when he was furious. One strike from the well-built male would do serious damage to the (h/c)-haired girl. Or her being on Jaehyun's floor when he wasn't in his right mind...an image of her carved up body and dismembered form dried his mouth and made him gag from the bile.

Impossible. She had to be in there.

Kieran fumbled through his pockets in search of the key to the lock. He found it and clumsily unfastened it from his belt. His hands were shaking as he aimed the key at the lock, missing several times.

Come on, come on, come on...It felt like forever when the key finally slid in and he heard the click of the lock opening. Then he unlocked the lock on the bolt and slid it free. His heart was wrenching in his chest as he twisted the doorknob and threw the door open.

She wasn't there.

STRANGE:ROOM ━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━ ℓαtєя

Jaehyun returned a few hours later. (Y/n) had every intention of ignoring him as the boy came into the room and locked the door behind him. She could smell the familiar scent of (f/f), grenki, and maritozzi waft through the room from the plate he held in his hands. In his other hand was a faint silhouette of a cup. She was willing to bet it was (f/d).

The blond set the food and drink down on the table before coming closer to her. She trained her eyes on the wall in front of her, refusing to look at him. She heard the soft click of the lock as he unlocked the cage and stepped inside.

"Are you still mad?" His voice was like a lullaby. It promised love and happiness and was dreamlike. She might've fallen for it if she didn't know any better. When she didn't say anything, he moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't be mad at me...you have to understand I'm doing this all for you. I'll take care of you from now on. Here!"

He released her long enough to grab the food and reenter the cage. He sat down beside her and offered her a forkful of (f/f). "You must be hungry. This is your favorite, right? Say 'ah.'"

(Y/n) grimaced and turned her face away from the food. (F/f) has always been her favorite and for that reason, she rarely got the chance to eat it. But now the delectable aroma of the dish no longer appealed to her. It sickened her to her stomach. They had ruined the food for her.

Just kidding. Nothing would ruin food for her. (Y/n) snatched the plate and fork from his hands and scooted towards the corner to enjoy her meal in peace. Jaehyun looked downcast for a fleeting moment before he smiled affectionately at her actions.

"Good girl." He dropped a kiss on her cheek before she could stab him with the fork or worse. He left the cage and locked it securely behind him. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

If only he knew. (Y/n) thought as she aggressively ate the plate laden with food and washed it down with a gulp of (f/d). If you didn't chain me I would've been gone with the wind.

When Jaehyun had left, she had fallen asleep soon after, having nothing to do. When she woke up, however, she discovered the new addition of a manacle around her leg. (Y/n) wasn't a stickler for accessories like necklaces and earrings so she tried to explain she was better off without it.

It didn't work. Goddammit.

"Is it too dark in here?" She heard him dragging something over the floor. One peek told her it was a chair. Or something with an outline of a chair. Probably a chair. "Do you want me to turn on the lights?"

I like the darkness. Makes me feel at home. But she wasn't about to tell him that. She was going to go back to her initial plan when she first arrived here: giving him the silent treatment. See how well that goes.

"Well, this is fine too if that's what you want..." He moved something else towards her, stopping just shy of the metal bars. "But it's hard to see in this lighting. I'm going to open the curtains instead, okay?"

Who cares.

Jaehyun drew open the curtains like a scene straight out of a Disney movie. The bright afternoon sunlight made her wince and cover his eyes from the atrocity. Eww, the sun. Why do you exist?

The light allowed her to get a clearer view of the room. It was in an art room of some sort. Lining the walls were cabinets and drawers no doubt filled with art supplies. She saw folded easels and drying racks that held countless canvases in them. And her "cage" was more like a corner. The bars looked like they were built into the room; they ran from the ceiling to the ground and the floor she sat on was pure metal, a stark contrast against the wooden planks of the rest of the room.

And Jaehyun? The boy looked like he was about to paint her like her being locked up in a cage was the most normal thing in the world.

And here she thought she had problems.

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A/N: False alarm. Not ending yet. Y'all still stuck with me >:D And here's fan art from iilovehentai!