A/N: I would like to apologize for taking forever to update. Life got in the way and well, no excuses. I’d like to thank all of your for your undying patience. I dedicate this chapter to you. Cheers!

Chapter WARNING:

NC-17 (For mature scenes.)

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

— Maya Angelou

** Seoul Police Department - Winter, 2015 - Night **

The station was mostly silent except for the soft chatter coming from the conference room. Kwang Soo was buried head deep in mountains of files detailing anything connecting to Song Ji Hyo. He absentmindedly reached for his cup of coffee and brought it to his lips when he realised that it was empty. For the first time in hours, he took his eyes off the documents in front of him and glanced at his cup. He sighed. Kwang Soo sat back and scanned the room. Joong Ki was nodding off in the chair, his pen had slipped off his fingers and was currently laying on the floor along with his note pad; Haha had headphones on, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him as he studied the security footages from the traffic junction across the abandoned building where the three bodies were found.

Before Kwang Soo's eyes could continue further, a bottled water came into view. His eyeline traced up to meet Bo Young who was standing by the table, her hair that was originally tied up in a tight ponytail, now hung loose in gentle curls down her back. It took Kwang Soo a moment to realize that he had been staring.

"I think you've had enough coffee." Bo Young stated as she grabbed the nearest chair and plopped down beside Kwang Soo. Kwang Soo smirked and took the offered bottle, uncapping it and chugging down its contents.

"Thanks." He said as he put aside the bottle. He rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the impending sleep.

"Joong Ki's knocked out cold. You should catch some sleep too. You look like hell." Bo Young suggested as her eyes glanced at the sleeping detective and back to the tall man in front of her. Kwang Soo smiled wistfully and shook his head. "I can't. Not until I figure out who's after Ji Hyo noona."

"We." Bo Young spoke up.

"Mwoh?"

"We. You're not alone in this, Kwang Soo. We'll figure it out, together."

Kwang Soo nodded.

"You seem protective of her."

"She's my best friend's fiancee. More than that, she’s become my sister."

~ 3 months ago ~

** M Building; Gary's Apartment - Autumn, 2015 - Night **

Kwang Soo was sprawled lazily on Gary's couch, munching on potato chips, watching a rerun of an old horror film. He was just about to reach for his coke on the coffee table when he heard a noise coming from the front door. His hand froze. "Hello? Who's there?" He gulped, his ears straining to hear if the noise he heard continued. It was silent except for the background music eerily playing from the TV. Kwang Soo got up from the couch and gingerly headed to the front door. His hand reached for the knob when the door flung open.

"AHHHHHH!!!"

Kwang Soo stumbled over his feet and fell to the floor. Two large shadows towered over him. One reached out its hand towards him and Kwang Soo shut his eyes. All he could think of was, so this is how I'm going to die. Great. What a pathetic way to go. His eyes snapped open when a hand slapped him on the head.

"Oppa! Don't do that!" An unfamiliar voice reprimanded followed by a familiar low rumble chuckle. Kwang Soo squinted his eyes and made out Gary's crouched form in front of him.

"Eyyyyy, hyung!"

Gary laughed and stood up, pulling Kwang Soo with him. Kwang Soo dusted himself off and straightened, finally noticing the woman standing behind Gary, a hand covering , hiding her laughter, her eyes squinted in a half-moon, and he swore he had never seen someone so beautiful. Oh he knew who this was. His hyung's fiancee, President and heiress of the Song Empire, Song Ji Hyo herself. The articles that had described her did her an injustice. This woman seemed too young to be one of the most powerful names in South Korea.

"Kwang Soo-ah, this is Song Ji Hyo. Ji Hyo, this is Lee Kwang Soo; one of my closest dongsaeng. He's been living here since he destroyed his house." Gary introduced as he ventured further in the apartment.

"Eyyy hyung, stop exaggerating it. I did not destroy my place."

"It's good to finally meet you, Kwang Soo-sshi. Gary oppa has spoken about you."

Kwang Soo turned back to the woman in front and bowed respectfully. "Ji Hyo-sshi, you don't have to call me that. Just call me Kwang Soo, will do."

Ji Hyo smiled, "Very well then, only if you drop the honorifics for me too." She then walked past the tall man into the apartment, taking in the vast interior. She walked towards the large window and opened the curtains, gasping at the view that greeted her.

Gary came out from his room with a duffle bag filled with new clothes. Putting it on the sofa, he turned to Kwang Soo who had retreated to the kitchen to make some coffee for them. He nodded in appreciation and walked to Ji Hyo. With his hands buried deep in his jeans pockets, he stood behind her.

"The view is beautiful, oppa."

"One of the reasons Gil hyung and I settled for this place."

Ji Hyo turned to look at Gary over her shoulder. "What are the other reasons?"

Gary grinned. He then took her hand in his and gently pulled her away from the window and deeper into the apartment, coming to a stop in front of a glass door. Ji Hyo frowned in confusion, her head tilted to one side, unconsciously forming into a pout. Gary opened the door and flipped the light switch. Light flooded the room and Ji Hyo recognized the room to be a small recording studio. Her eyes widened in amazement. Gary chuckled at her expression and led her inside.

"Oppa, daebak! You have your own recording studio here? Daebak!" Ji Hyo exclaimed as she walked further into the studio, her fingertips grazing lightly at the console panel. Gary leaned against the wall, a smile plastered on his face, never taking his eyes off her as she curiously looked around the room.

"Do you record your songs here, oppa?" Ji Hyo asked. Gary pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "Aniya, I do the recordings at another studio. Here's where I mostly do my writing and record the demos."

"So this is basically your man cave, huh?"

"You can say that."

Ji Hyo spotted an opened yellow notepad and reached out for it but a hand quickly grabbed hers, a solid body pressed up against her back and warm breath against her neck. "You can't see that." Gary whispered in her ear.

"Waeyo?"

"It's not done yet."

"Will I get to listen to it when it's done?"

"You'll be the first one to. I promise."

Ji Hyo bit her lip and smiled.

At the door, someone cleared his throat. "Umm... Sorry for interrupting. Hyung, umm.. Ji Hyo noona... Your coffee's getting cold." Kwang Soo stuttered, his eyes looking everywhere but on the couple.

Gary chuckled and slowly stepped away from Ji Hyo. "We'll be right out." He assured. Kwang Soo all but sprinted out of the room. Ji Hyo turned around, her hands cupping her face, trying to cool her flushed cheeks. Gary covered her hands in his and leaned down, bringing her now fish pouting face close to his. Ji Hyo snapped her eyes shut, anticipating well, she wasn't quite sure what she was anticipating. But she swore her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Her eyes flew open when she felt familiar lips on the tip of her nose.

Gary moved to her ear, "Just so you know, you're the first and only woman I've allowed to enter my... man cave." He whispered, his voice rumbled low. He then kissed her on her cheek and stepped away grinning, before turning around and exited the studio, leaving her blushing and dumbfounded.

***

** M Building; Gary's Apartment - Winter, 2015 - Day **

Gary woke up with a pounding headache and a blurred recollection of the previous night's event. He remembered driving up to meet Jong Kook and then there was that tussle... He winced as he felt the ache throbbing on his jaw. Yes, that definitely happened. And then he remembered driving to Gil's restaurant  and he must have drunk quite a bit. The pounding headache was killing him. The sun shining on his face was of no help either. He reached out his arm and felt and empty space beside him.

Had he dreamt of hugging Ji Hyo last night? It had felt too real. He could smell her. In fact, sniff, he could still smell her. He peeked open one eye and saw a glass of water sitting on his bedside table. He squinted his eyes and notice an advil beside it. He sat up and grabbed the pill, swallowing it before chugging down the water. He sighed as he felt his headache slowly receding. He blinked, his vision coming to focus. That was when he noticed that he was dressed in his white t-shirt and a pair of shorts. It was not like Gil or Kwang Soo to have changed him. His thoughts were interrupted by the whistle of a kettle coming from his kitchen. Slowly, he got out of bed and padded to the bathroom to wash his face. Once refreshed, he walked out of his room and what greeted him was the most beautiful sight.

There, in his kitchen, was Ji Hyo, dressed once again in one of his shirts and shorts; her damp hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head. She was waltzing around his kitchen, making breakfast. For a moment, he could see what it was like to be married to her, waking up every morning to this scene and maybe some pitter patter of little feet running around the house. He paused. Little feet. He sighed. His sigh must've been quite loud since Ji Hyo had halted her movements and turned to him.

"Oppa, you're awake." Ji Hyo said. "How's your head?"

Gary rubbed the back of his head as he made his way to the kitchen. "Better. Did you change me?" He replied. Ji Hyo nodded. "Neh." Gary took a seat on one of the high chairs at the island separating his kitchen and the living room. Ji Hyo placed a cup of coffee in front of Gary. She leaned down and inspected the large bruise that was forming on his jaw, she reached out to touch it gingerly. "What are you doing here, Ji Hyo-ah?" Gary asked, his eyes locked on her movements.

"The swelling is not reducing..." Ji Hyo stated, blatantly ignoring his question. "I'm gonna get you some ice." She continued, turning around heading for the refrigerator. She returned with a pack of ice and gently placed it on his jaw. Gary hissed as the cold pack made contact with his throbbing skin.

"Mianhae." Ji Hyo whispered. "You need to hold it in place for a bit, till the swelling goes down." As she was about to remove her hand from the icepack, Gary's hand held hers in place.

"Ji Hyo." Gary stated.

Ji Hyo's eyes flickered up to his for the first time that morning. And for the first time, Gary could see how much the separation had taken its toll on her. Her milky face that used to have a healthy flush was now pasty white and he could see dark rings starting to form under her eyes, and her eyes that used to sparkle now just seemed dull and lifeless. Gary's eyes softened. Part of him was glad to see that she had been suffering as much as he had, but another part of him hated himself seeing her this way.

His other hand reached out to cup her face, his thumb gently rubbing her ashen cheek in hopes to bring back the flush to her face. "You're so pale. Have you eaten?" Gary asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Ji Hyo's eyes widened as she shook her head slightly, unable to lie to him. Gary sighed. Slowly, he got up from the chair, brought the ice pack down and placed it on the counter and turned them around, gently nudging Ji Hyo on to the chair he has previously occupied. As if in a trance, Ji Hyo let herself be led by Gary. Gary then turned and headed to to stove to continue making the breakfast that Ji Hyo had started.

"You can't be skipping meals, Ji Hyo-ah. It's not good for the ba-" he paused, "you. Not good for your health."

Ji Hyo watched him silently as her vision started to blur with unshed tears. As Gary placed the plate of eggs and toast in front of her, her head dropped to her chin and the first drop of tear fell onto her clenched fist that laid on her thighs. Gary sighed, "Jagiya..."

That did it. With just that one word from him, the floodgates opened and Ji Hyo was left sobbing into her hands. Gary came up to her and brought her in his arms, one hand supporting her head as it rests against his shoulder, the other arm wrapping around her back holding her close. Ji Hyo maneuvered her hands from her face to wrap her arms around Gary.

"Mianhae oppa. Jeongmal mianhae." She sobbed into his shirt. "Please don't hate me, oppa. Please don't leave me."

"Shhh.. Shh... Pabo ya. I don't hate you, love. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I'm right here. Always." Gary replied, as his hand caressed the back o