Chapter Text
The music inside the club throbbed through the walls, loud enough to shake the glass in people’s hands. Neon lights flashed across crowded faces, expensive jewelry, designer clothes, laughter too sharp to be real. It was the kind of place where the children of powerful families went to forget they were being watched every second of their lives.
And James fit into it perfectly.
He leaned lazily against the bar, one hand wrapped around a drink while two boys argued over who got to dance with him next. James only laughed, beautiful and careless, tilting his head back like he didn’t have a single problem in the world.
But everyone in the room knew he did.
Because James belonged to Martin.
Not officially. Not in the normal way couples belonged to each other. Their relationship had never been soft, never simple. It was chaos wrapped in luxury, obsession disguised as love.
Martin came from the most powerful family in the country, the kind of family people lowered their voices around. Wealth, influence, connections. his surname alone could ruin careers or build them overnight. He grew up spoiled by power and untouched by consequences, becoming exactly the kind of person people warned others about.
Reckless. Violent-tempered. Untouchable.
He surrounded himself with boys just like him, rich heirs with fast cars, expensive watches, and enough money to turn every mistake into silence. Martin led them effortlessly, not because he was kind, but because everyone knew he was the most dangerous one in the room.
James came from wealth too, though not on Martin’s level. Their families had known each other for years, attending the same galas, business dinners, and elite parties since they were children. Somewhere along the way, Martin decided James was his.
And that had been the beginning of every disaster afterward.
Neither of them acted like ordinary boyfriends.
James hated being controlled. He loved attention, loved nightlife, loved making people stare when he walked into a room. He collected friends everywhere he went, boys draped over his shoulders, numbers exchanged in bathrooms, flirtation thrown around like confetti.
Martin was even worse.
Everyone knew he cheated.
Girls, boys, strangers from clubs, people whose names he probably forgot the next morning. He never hid it. His friends knew. James knew. Their families definitely knew. But nobody said anything because Martin had always lived like rules were things made for other people.
Still, despite being a complete mess himself, Martin treated James differently.
Possessively.
Like James was the only thing in the world he refused to share.
And James hated that.
Which was exactly why he kept pushing him.
So when Martin walked into the club close to midnight, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
People noticed.
People there snitched James, like everyone knew he was Martin's and Martin needed to know, that's how Martin knew and came. from a household party too himself.
His friends from the party followed.
His friends entered behind him, dressed in fancy clothes and bored expressions, but Martin looked furious enough to make the entire room colder. He scanned the crowd once before finding James near the bar.
Their eyes met.
James already knew this was going to become a scene.
Martin crossed the room without hesitation and grabbed James by the wrist hard enough to pull him away from the counter immediately.
“Martin–”
“I told you not to come here.”
James yanked his arm back, annoyed more than intimidated. “Let go of me.”
But Martin only stepped closer.
Up close, he smelled faintly like smoke, expensive cologne, and trouble. His expression was calm in the worst possible way.
“I said,” Martin repeated quietly, “stop clubbing.”
James laughed in disbelief, pushing hair away from his face. “You cannot be serious right now.”
“I’m very serious.”
“Oh, that’s funny,” James snapped. “You disappear every night doing whatever you want, cheating whenever you want, acting insane every single day, but when I go out suddenly I’m the problem?”
Several people nearby immediately pretended not to listen.
Martin stared at him for a long moment before answering.
“You are the problem.”
James scoffed. “I can do whatever I want.”
Martin stepped closer until there was barely any space between them. His friends behind him stayed silent, already used to these fights.
“No,” Martin said coldly. “You can’t.”
James’s expression hardened instantly. “Exactly why not?”
Martin’s jaw tightened slightly, eyes dark under the flashing lights.
“Because I said so.”
James stared at him for a second like he genuinely could not believe what he was hearing.
Then he laughed.
Not softly either. It was sharp, offended, almost mocking enough to make the people around them nervous.
“You hear yourself?” James asked. “You sound insane.”
Martin’s grip tightened around James’s wrist again before he let go completely, almost like he caught himself.
“I told you already,” he said flatly. “I don’t like you here.”
“And I told you already,” James shot back, “you don’t get to decide everything I do.”
The tension between them became suffocating.
Around them, music still blasted through the speakers, people still danced, glasses still clinked together, but their little corner felt frozen. Nobody wanted to accidentally involve themselves in a fight between Martin and James. That never ended well.
One of James’s friends tried to intervene carefully. “Jamie, maybe just calm down for–”
Martin looked at him once.
That was enough for the boy to immediately go quiet.
James noticed it instantly and became even angrier.
“See?” he snapped, gesturing toward Martin. “That’s exactly your problem. Everyone’s scared of you so you think you can control everything.”
Martin’s expression barely changed. “And yet you still never listen.”
“Why should I?”
Martin stepped closer again, lowering his voice.
“Because you’re mine.”
James shoved his shoulder immediately. “Don’t start that possessive bullshit with me.”
For the first time, irritation visibly crossed Martin’s face.
“You think I’m joking?”
“Oh my God,” James laughed bitterly, “you literally sleep around every other day, Martin.”
“So?”
James blinked at the answer, almost stunned by how casually he said it.
“So?” James repeated. “That’s your response?”
Martin looked entirely unashamed. “I told you from the beginning what kind of person I am.”
“And I told you I wouldn’t stay trapped in your cage.”
Martin’s eyes darkened instantly at the word trapped.
The people nearby slowly moved farther away now. Even his own friends exchanged glances because they could tell Martin was getting angry for real.
James, meanwhile, was still too furious to stop.
“You disappear with random people every night,” he continued. “You start fights, you threaten people, you ruin people’s lives whenever you feel like it–”
“And?”
“And then you come here acting like I committed some crime because I went dancing?”
Martin suddenly grabbed James’s jaw lightly, forcing him to look at him directly.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t exactly rough either.
Just controlling.
“You don’t understand,” Martin said quietly.
James slapped his hand away immediately. “Then explain it.”
Martin stared at him silently for a few seconds.
“You like attention too much.”
James looked offended. “Excuse me?”
“You flirt with people just to make them look at you.”
“You cheat on me with half the city!”
“I never said I was innocent.”
The honesty in that answer almost made James angrier.
Martin leaned down slightly, voice calm in a way that felt dangerous.
“But you,” he murmured, “don’t know how disgusting people get around you.”
James rolled his eyes. “You mean like you?”
Something unreadable crossed Martin’s expression then.
Because the truth was, Martin probably was the worst out of all of them.
Obsessive. Jealous. Possessive beyond reason.
He hated when people stared at James too long. Hated when someone touched him casually. Hated when James disappeared without answering messages. Sometimes it genuinely felt less like dating and more like Martin had decided James belonged to him permanently.
And maybe the terrifying part was that everyone around them had started treating it that way too.
James crossed his arms. “You don’t own me.”
Martin looked at him quietly before answering.
“No,” he said. “But everyone here knows you’re with me.”
James scoffed. “That doesn’t mean I stop existing outside of you.”
Martin tilted his head slightly. “Then why do you always come back?”
That hit harder than James expected.
Because despite everything, despite the cheating, the fights, the controlling behavior, the toxicity everyone whispered about behind their backs, James always came back.
Every single time.
James looked away first.
Martin noticed immediately.
And unfortunately, that tiny reaction satisfied something ugly inside him.
He exhaled slowly before taking James’s wrist again, gentler this time.
“We’re leaving.”
James resisted immediately. “No.”
“Don’t make this difficult.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
Martin gave him a long look. “You knew that before you dated me.”
And the worst part?
James really did.
The bass from the party downstairs still echoed faintly through the massive house, but upstairs, the atmosphere had settled into something quieter.
Messier.
Martin had already dragged James away nearly twenty minutes ago, leaving the rest of their friends scattered around the penthouse living room with drinks in their hands and gossip immediately spilling the second the elevator doors closed.
Seonghyeon dropped onto the couch dramatically. “That was terrifying.”
One of the boys laughed nervously. “James really enjoys provoking him.”
“Enjoys?” Jake muttered. “He has a death wish.”
The room burst into short laughter before someone leaned back against the armchair, shaking his head.
“Bro, imagine James actually slept with someone besides Martin.”
Silence.
Then immediate groans filled the room.
“Don’t even joke about that.”
“Seriously.”
“You want to see a murder happen in real time?”
A few of them laughed again, though uneasily this time.
Because honestly?
Nobody thought Martin would react normally.
Anton took a sip from his drink before muttering, “Martin would genuinely destroy whoever touched James.”
“And it would absolutely disappear under the rug,” another added. “His family would bury the entire thing before morning.”
“That’s the scary part,” Seonghyeon said quietly. “It’s not even impossible.”
The room went quieter for a moment after that.
Everyone there had grown up around power and money. They all understood how their world worked. Scandals vanished. Problems disappeared. Expensive lawyers cleaned up disasters before they ever reached the public.
And Martin?
Martin had never really been told no in his entire life.
One of the younger boys frowned slightly. “But it’s weird though, right?”
“What is?”
“He cheats constantly. Everyone knows it. But when it comes to James, suddenly he acts…” He searched for the word carefully. “Obsessed.”
Seonghyeon snorted. “Acts?”
That earned a few chuckles.
“He is obsessed,” Ni-ki corrected immediately. “That’s not normal jealousy anymore.”
“Did you guys see his face tonight?” someone else added. “The second he saw James at the club, I swear the entire mood changed.”
“James knows exactly how to get under his skin too.”
“Yeah, but James never really leaves him either.”
That made everyone pause again.
Because that was true too.
No matter how explosive their fights became, no matter how many rumors spread about Martin cheating or controlling James too much, somehow they always ended up together again afterward.
Like neither of them really knew how to stop.
Seonghyeon leaned his head back against the couch with a tired sigh. “Their relationship is actually insane.”
“In a toxic way or entertaining way?”
“Both.”
Someone laughed. “Mostly toxic.”
“Definitely toxic.”
“But lowkey,” one of the boys admitted carefully, “Martin only loses his mind over James.”
“That doesn’t make it romantic,” Seonghyeon replied immediately.
“No, I know. I’m just saying… James is probably the only person Martin’s ever genuinely cared about.”
The room fell briefly silent again at that.
Because for all Martin’s arrogance, violence, cheating, and reckless behavior…
That part might’ve actually been true.
One of the boys let out a low whistle, still half-laughing from the earlier jokes before shaking his head.
“No, but seriously,” he said, sitting forward slightly, “about that hypothetical situation? James would never actually do it.”
Seonghyeon glanced at him. “Sleep with someone else?”
“Yeah.”
“Why not?” Maki asked. “He flirts with people constantly.”
“That’s different and you know it.”
The boy rubbed the back of his neck before continuing more seriously now.
“James isn’t stupid. He knows exactly what would happen.”
The mood in the room shifted again.
Because suddenly the conversation didn’t sound funny anymore.
“He cares too much about the other person’s life to do that,” the boy muttered. “Like… let’s actually be real for a second. Martin would bury them.”
Nobody argued.
Not one person in the room laughed this time either.
Because as dramatic as it sounded, nobody there thought it was impossible.
Martin was terrifying when angry normally. When it came to James, he became something worse entirely.
Possessive in a way that stopped feeling rational.
Another friend sighed heavily. “And honestly? James’s own life would become hell too.”
“Not just his,” Seonghyeon added quietly. “His family’s too.”
A few heads nodded immediately.
That was the ugly reality of their world.
People like Martin didn’t just have personal power, their families did too. Business connections, political favors, media influence, legal influence. One conflict between powerful families could destroy companies, reputations, futures.
And Martin’s family stood above almost everyone.
One of the younger boys frowned. “You really think it’d go that far?”
Seonghyeon looked at him like the answer was obvious.
“You haven’t seen Martin when he genuinely snaps.”
The room went quiet again.
Because they all had.
Fights that ended with people hospitalized. University scandals that mysteriously disappeared overnight. Rumors crushed before they spread too far. Boys who suddenly transferred schools after crossing lines with Martin.
And through all of it, James somehow remained the only person who openly fought back against him.
Jake exhaled slowly. “That’s why James stays careful.”
“He still pushes Martin though.”
“Yeah, because James hates being controlled.”
“But there’s still one line he won’t cross.”
Seonghyeon stared down at his drink for a second before speaking quietly.
“James knows Martin would forgive cheating from himself before he’d ever forgive it from James.”
“That’s actually insane.”
“It is insane.”
“But it’s true.”
One of the boys muttered under his breath, “Sometimes I genuinely think Martin sees James less like a boyfriend and more like…” He hesitated.
“Like what?”
“…something that belongs to him.”
Nobody answered immediately.
Because once again, nobody could really deny it.
The silence stretched for a few seconds after that.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
One of the boys finally clicked his tongue and leaned back deeper into the couch. “And the craziest part? James still mouths off to him like he’s not scared at all.”
Seonghyeon gave a short laugh at that. “That’s because James is literally the only person Martin softens for.”
“Softens?” Ni-ki repeated incredulously. “If that’s Martin softening, I don’t even want to see the full version.”
“That is the full version,” Seonghyeon muttered. “You just don’t notice it because Martin’s insane.”
A few quiet laughs broke the tension.
But they all understood what he meant.
Martin treated everyone else horribly when he wanted to. Cold, dismissive, cruel without even trying. He could ruin someone’s confidence in five minutes flat and go back to drinking like nothing happened.
With James, though?
It was uglier because there were actual feelings involved.
Which made Martin unpredictable.
One of the boys stared toward the elevator doors Martin had disappeared through earlier. “You know what’s funny?”
“What?”
“Martin acts like James is this innocent thing he has to protect, but James is literally just as bad sometimes.”
“Not as bad,” someone corrected immediately.
“Okay, maybe not as bad. But James knows exactly what he’s doing.”
That was true too.
James liked provoking Martin sometimes.
Not because he enjoyed the consequences, but because part of him refused to become obedient no matter how much pressure Martin put on him. Every restriction made James want to rebel harder.
If Martin said don’t go out, James suddenly wanted to stay out until sunrise.
If Martin hated certain friends touching him, James became even more physically affectionate around them.
It was toxic.
Everyone knew it.
One friend sighed. “Honestly, I think James is the only thing Martin genuinely can’t control completely and that’s why he loses his mind.”
Seonghyeon nodded slowly. “Exactly.”
Because despite all Martin’s power, James still resisted him constantly.
And Martin hated resistance.
Anton frowned thoughtfully. “But James really loves him too.”
The room quieted again.
“Unfortunately,” Maki muttered.
“No, seriously,” Anton insisted. “James complains about Martin all the time, but have you ever seen him actually interested in anyone else?”
Nobody answered.
Because they hadn’t.
James flirted for fun. He liked attention. He liked making Martin jealous sometimes too. But it never truly crossed into something serious.
Maybe because deep down, James already knew there was no normal escape from someone like Martin.
Or maybe because, against all logic, he loved him back.
Seonghyeon rubbed his face tiredly. “Their relationship is gonna end in either marriage or a national scandal.”
“Probably both.”
That made the room laugh again.
Then one of the boys suddenly looked toward the window and grimaced. “Actually, where did Martin even take James?”
Ni-ki immediately snorted. “Probably somewhere private so they can scream at each other in peace.”
“Or make out dramatically after fighting.”
“That too.”
“Those two are exhausting.”
Seonghyeon shook his head slowly, though there was reluctant amusement in his expression now.
“They fight like they hate each other,” he muttered.
“But look at Martin whenever James walks into a room.”
The others exchanged glances.
Because yeah.
That part was impossible not to notice.
Martin’s attention always snapped toward James instantly, no matter who he was talking to, no matter what he was doing. Like his brain automatically tracked him without permission.
Possessive.
Obsessive.
Maybe even pathetic, honestly.
And somehow James still looked back every single time.