"These days, it feels like you’re mine, it seems like you’re mine but not
It feels like I’m yours, it seems like I’m yours but not
What are we? I’m confused, don’t be aloof
It feels like we’re lovers, it seems like we’re lovers but we're not."

SOME- SOYU & JUNGGIGO

Credits: Tumblr

[-]

  "Close your eyes."

  The embrace was broken and the Caporegime scooped Dara up into his arms, despite her fervent protests about the gunshot wound on his shoulder. That bit of blood is nothing to him. He's had went through far worst before. But something else was bugging him inside. It was the fact that he had just pulled the trigger on the Underboss, his hyung, someone who had once treated him and the rest of the boys that came into the organisation with care and sincerity. The don was right. Greed does compel people to do ugly things. 

  Dara's eyes hovered at the ballistic wound above Jiyong's right chest while her arms were clinging onto his neck. The bleeding was curbed but it didn't stop. He stared down at her just before he reached for the door knob out of the storeroom.

  "Close your eyes." He reminded her, his brows knitting tighter together in a small frown.

  Immediately, she squeezed her eyes shut, having no intention to see the wreckage outside.

  Sure enough, as soon as she felt Jiyong stepping out of the room, the pungent smell of blood hits her nose. She buried her face into his shirt, effectively blocking out most of the nauseating smell. His grip on her tightened, sensing her flinch. Dara wondered what on earth happened out here but decides better to not ask. 

  "Boss, Boss Soo Hyuk will be here to clean up the mess soon. He has already heard of what happened and he's on the way."  The Caporegime's team stopped Jiyong and sunk into a low bow.

  "How's the Underboss? Is he caught yet?" Jiyong asked, the tone of his voice low. 

  "No news of that yet, boss." 

  The Caporeigme exhaled in frustration and dismissed his men before continuing on his way out. The bodies were not cleared yet, but Soo Hyuk would be here to ensure that there will be no evidence left behind for the cops. Outside the casino, his team was already waiting for him. Youngbae and Daesung stood nagging and fussing over a knife wound on the youngest, who had his hands shoved in his pockets, obviously embarrassed by the fact that he was injured in the ordeal when the rest weren't.

  Seunghyun was dragging on a cigarette, his brows furrowed as he remained deep in thoughts. He heard a shuffle from his team as their quiet squabbling were silenced and he looked up to see their leader with Dara in his arms. He made a movement to approach her but stopped himself almost just as immediately, instead choosing to turn his head away from the scene.

  Dara was tucked into the back seat of Youngbae's Chevrolet before Jiyong climbed in beside her, allowing the team's driver to take the wheel today. Dara still has her eyes squeezed tightly together obediently, her hands gripping on the safety belt that he had slung over her.

  He stared at her face that's glistening under the street light that has illuminated from the outside of the car windows. Almost the entire of the Underboss's unit was wiped out tonight. There's no way they would be allowed to live -- the Mafia has a tradition of making traitors pay by blood. But the Underboss's team didn't go down without a fight. From what he saw during the gunfire exchange, a few of the Consigliere and the Don's men were among the casualties as well. 

  He exhaled quietly, drained from the night's event. He had never expected Dara to get pulled into his conflict as well. Those bastards should never had touched her. He gritted his teeth tightly as he recalled how the Underboss almost played a game of Russian Roulette at her expense. 

  He would never forgive himself if she got hurt tonight. 

  But now that the Underboss is out of the picture, he'll be safe and so will she. He knows the fool proof way of keeping her safe would be to leave her alone. But the thought of that felt unbearable. It sends waves of searing pain through his chest that has nothing to do with that bullet wound on his shoulder. 

  I can protect her. He reasoned.

  She's going to be fine if I'm more alert from now on.

  His gaze softened as he pushed the issue out of his mind. With her eyes tightly closed and her nose scrunching up, she looks mildly hilarious. 

  Dara's eyes were startled open aruptly when she felt a flick on her nose.

  "Good morning." Jiyong smirked at her, looking laid back against the car doors at the side.

  She looked around her. They're in Youngbae's car, and she can see the streets outside and the casino building a small distance away. Relieve flooded her. They've made it out!

  Outside the car, Youngbae and Seungri were bickering over the younger's wounds. Clumsily, Youngbae was trying to bandage the gash on the Seungri's arm, arguing that he wouldn't let the blood dirty his car. 

  Their noisy arguments were cut short when Dara took the seatbelts off and got out. It was hard to not laugh at the boys' medical treatment skills. She rummaged through the first aid box and was surprised to find things that shouldn't be in a regular box - Surgical suture, forceps, and even a clamp. These are things that belonged exclusively in the hospital. The only guess that she can conclude with is that the Mafia does equip their members with tools to operate on themselves if necessary. 

  "A bandage won't do, you'll need stitches." Dara announced after inspecting the gash on Seungri's forearm. It was wasn't that deep, but it'll heal a lot faster if they were kept from being accidentally split open.

  "Don't be ridiculous." The youngest laughed darkly. 

  Ignoring his protests, Dara sterilised the suturing equipment and mended his arm up in a jiffy. 

  Seungri stared at his arm in awe as he twisted it to the side and back, as if he couldn't believe the neat stitches on him were actually done by the dorky girl. He side eyes Youngbae, who shrugged his shoulders back at him, looking rather stunned himself. 

  "What about you?" Dara asked, poking her head into the vehicle. 

  "This? I'll pull it out when I'm home." Jiyong said lazily, watching her the entire time with his cheek propped on his palm. She really is a medical student after all.

  Dara frowned at him momentarily and pulling the whole first aid box into her arms before getting back into the car. 

  "Take off your shirt." She commanded.

  Feigning surprise, Jiyong circled his arms over himself as he edged away from her. "You wanna do it... here..?" He looked around and asked in a whisper.

  "Where else do you want to do it, you won't go to the hospital anyway..." She trailed off before realising that she has walked right into his trap. Damn it! He wasn't talking about her cleaning up his wounds! She felt her cheeks sting in embarrassment as she growled in frustration. His snorts of laughter did not make things better. Outside, the duo that have heard the exchange were shaking silently, and she wished for nothing more than a hole to open and swallow her up.

  "Jiyong..." She said warningly, narrowing his eyes at the man in front of her. Gah!! Of all the people that she could've fallen in love with, WHY HIM?

  Looking pleased with himself, he ed his shirt and took it off, revealing the gunshot wound on his upper right chest. She blinked at the small hole. She hasn't really seen an actual bullet wound in the hospital before, mainly because firearms weren't legal in their country, which made these wounds rare if not absolutely absent. Whoa...

  Looks like the bullet that was fired wasn't planted deep. Luckily, it wasn't near any arteries. She hasn't had an experience in removing a bullet before, but it shouldn't be hard to get it out. One way or another, it's definitely better than letting this narcissist go home and try to pluck it out himself, although he sounded like he had actually done it before. 

  After making sure that the forceps were sterilised as well, she carefully pushed it into his wound and secured it around the tiny piece of metal inside. Dara was trying not to let her hands tremble but Jiyong barely even winced, but instead kept his eyes transfixed on her. 

  The bit of blood was alright, but it reminded her of the open-cardiac surgery that caused her to pass out during her internship. 

  "There!" Dara exclaimed, exhaling the breath that she's been holding in. In between her forceps was a small, copper colored bullet. A live bullet! She removed a bullet from someone!

  "Does it hurt? You should have some painkillers. Those regular ones from the shop should do. I think washing it with salt solution would help." Dara went on as she secured the sterilised gauze over his wound to stop the bleeding. "If it hurts really bad, call me immediately or go to a hospital. It could be infected and you wouldn't know-"

  "Hey." He interrupted her in the middle of her mantra, his hand catching her wrist that's busy taping up his wound. He didn't know whether he should laugh at her excessive worrying or not. He had got through all these shootings just fine. But it felt good. It felt great to have someone fussing over him. Even better that that person is her. She paused and looked up at his face, which is barely hiding a ghost of a smile. "It doesn't hurt." He muttered with a smile.

  "It doesn't?" She blinked. She's already worried that there isn't any anesthesia around. How could it have not been painful?

  "Yeah. I think my ears hurt more." He raised a hand to the side of his head, gesturing a nagging mouth. 

  Dara hissed and slapped his arm. Jiyong almost doubled over, clutching his bandanged shoulder in fake agony, only stopping himself when he sees her warning glare.

  "What about you?" Jiyong mumbled, holding up Dara's wrist as he ran the pad of his thumb across the red friction burn marks from the handcuffs. "Does it hurt?"

  She stared at his face which has turned expressionless again. It's his way of masking emotions that he doesn't want to show. He had just gotten a bullet pulled out from his flesh but he's worried over the meaningless injury that she has. Dara sighed. She has became so used to his concern. It's impossible to ever get out of Jiyong's spell.

  He pushed his palm into the seat before leaning his body closer to her. With his face tilted, he let go of his hand on her wrist to caress her cheek. 

  "It won't happen again." He said sincerely, his eyes locked onto hers, as if he was desperately searching for an assurance, searching for an indication that she believes him. For a promise that she wouldn't hide from him after what happened to her today.

  "I know you wouldn't let it happen again." She smiled weakly.

  Jiyong inched forward and their lips were almost brushing against each other. Dara inhaled sharply as her breathing became erratic. Is he going to kiss her now? Is this the moment where she loses her first kiss? 

  "Wait!" Dara shrieked, turning her face sharply away from him as she clamped a hand down on . Holy Mother Mary, her heart is thumping so crazily that its going to burst straight out of her chest. But she's going to wait until he's all healed before she tells him what she realised in that tiny storeroom back in that horrible place.

  That she loves him. 

  She'll deliver a tear jerking line as the audience around them breaks into a dramatic, standing ovation. Splendid fireworks of all shades and colors will burst into the sky and under the witness of the moon and the stars, she'll kiss him. 

  But not now.

  Jiyong raised a brow at Dara. "What did you thought I was going to do?" He teased. Holding her bewildered gaze, he leaned closer before stretching over to grab his shirt. He shook the shirt at her face, like he had only wanted to get his shirt back all along.

  UGHHHHH! SHE WALKED INTO HIS TRAP AGAIN. 

  THIS DOUCHE!!

  [DARA]

  I think I lost track of how long I've been sitting here by the counter smiling like an idiot to myself.

  KYAAA!!!!!!! I'M IN LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE.

  Okay, I think its obvious enough without me having to verbally declare it to the entire world with a royal scroll and everything. But for the whole morning and the whole of yesterday he's all that is on my mind. His chocolate colored eyes, the loose shirt that he always wears, his lean body, the scent that lingers by his neck... GAHHH! He's so hot and the most annoying thing about that is that he knows that he is!

  Bom strided towards me, the ribbon on her uniform crooked. In her arms was a monstrous pile of outfits from the new season's collection that she proceeded to dump on top of my counter, startling me back from my Lalaland. I think my jaw had fallen to the ground just by looking at this pile of things. When are we ever going to finish sorting them out?

  "Don't thank me, thank Julie." Bom said darkly, aggressively rummaging through the mountain of fabric. She stopped abruptly, snapping her head to me. Whoa whoa, what did I do now?

  "I smell something fishy." Bom narrowed her eyes. For added effect, she even went on to sniff my neck. Sometimes, I don't know who's crazier. Bom, who's literally bonkers most of the time; or me, who's insane enough to call her my best friend for ten years.

  "Did you finally realised you're in love or something?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders at her playfully, unable to stop my lips from arching upwards like an idiot. I swear the 'L' word is like my grinning gas nowadays.

  "I knew it!" She exclaimed, shooting up from her stool to squish my face between her well-manicured hands. "I was just waiting to see when you're going to admit it yourself!"

  Ha-ha. She's overreacting there. Her eyes are sparkling like she just saw the evidence that Santa Claus is real. 

  "So it's Kwon Jiyong afterall, huh?" She wriggled her brows at me. I bit on my lips before nodding, and that was the point where we both started to squeal like two dying whales.

  "I guess even the studious Park Dara likes bad boys." Bom continued her relentless attacks of teasing before she suddenly turned serious. "But I'm worried, Dara."

  I blinked at her, the laughter on my face slowly wiped away by the serious look on hers. "About what?"

  "You know, him. I mean, I know he's into you as well. I saw what he did when that drunkard insulted you in Jeju... I'm just scared for your safety. The Underworld isn't a place that we mess around with, you know? It's hard to get out of it once you've slipped in. And by the way, I'm still not buying your story that you 'forgot' to come to work on Monday."

  Uh oh. In order not to let Bom have a seizure if she ever knows that I was kidnapped and even held at gun point, I lied that I had overslept and forgot to turn up for work. It was a pretty weak lie, I know, but it was the first thing that came to my mind and by the time I realised that its a bad excuse, I'm already too into it to withdraw what I said. 

  "I'm sure things would be fine." I said, sounding a little more like I'm assuring myself.

  Bommie sighed and contemplated me for a moment, before she flashed her impish grin again. 

  "So when are you going to confess?"

  "I don't know." I groaned. AGH, just the thought of confessing to the narcissist is hurting my ego. 

  Bom leaned close to my ear and whispered instructions to me as suggestions. My eyes slowly lit up as if I have seen the light of the day. Indeed, I can only depend on Bom for advices like that. She gave me a brilliant idea. 

  The trinkets on the door rang as Donghae entered the boutique, looking grim. What is he doing here in the middle of the day.

  "Hey! We were just talking about-" Bom began, but Donghae cut her off.

  "Dara, come out for a while." He said, his eyes boring straight into mine. I blinked at him, slightly confused by the sudden demand. Without another word, Donghae walked round the table and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the shop.

  "Wait, what's going on?" I said loudly as he finally released me outside the boutique. 

  "Bom said that you went missing on Monday." He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his brown, frizzy hair, messing it up. "And from what I heard in the Traids, the Mafia were having some internal conflicts that day.... and a hostage was involved." 

  I gulped, my eyes darting immediately to the floor. Donghae stared at me with intensity, before he lowered his gaze to my wrist. I tried to hide it as soon as I realised that was what he's looking at, but its too late.

  "It was you, isn't it?" He demanded softly, his eyes caught upon the fading red scars on my wrist. 

  "It was a misunderstanding." I said meekly. Somehow, his voice was so solemn that it made me feel guilty. 

  "Oh my god..." Donghae groaned, kicking the street in frustration. "That bastard..." He cursed, startling me. "I thought you were hanging out with him for fun but now things are getting out of hand. You need to stop seeing him, Dara. The Mafia is dangerous. You can't keep-"

  "I'm staying, Donghae." I concluded softly before he finished his rant. I inhaled deeply and brought my eyes up from the pavement to meet his. Yes, I need courage. I can't keep hesitating if I don't want to be swayed away from my feelings. 

  "You're being stubborn. You know nothing about the Mafia!" Donghae argued loudly.

  "I don't need to know anything about the Mafia. You don't get it. Mafia or not, it's that person that I know. And that person only that I need to know." 

  He paused at my response, a pained expression flashing across his face. "Does Granny knows?" He mumbled.

  "Know what?" I asked.

  Donghae sighed as he scanned my face with a blank expression. A soft breeze blew on him, ruffling his hair up. 

  "That you're in love with a mobster." 

  I blinked at him, stunned. Not because I am threatened by the notion that he could possibly alert Grams, but because of how cold and distant he sounded. Whether I like it or not, its hard to hate Donghae, who I have long accepted as a part of my almost non-existent social circle of friends. He was always smiling and obnoxiously cheerful. It was hard to get use to him acting like that.

  "Are you mad at me?" I asked finally, opting to ignore what he just said. 

  "I wish I was." He said flatly, avoiding my eyes and choosing instead to keep an eye on Bom, who's craning her neck from inside the shop to get a view of us. "Maybe it'll make me feel better if I'm angry with you." 

  "Donghae..."

  "I'm telling you it's dangerous, Dara. The Dragon is the next in line for the Underboss position. Things are going to get messy and complicated in their family. You don't know the stuff that they are capable of doing. What happened was just an appetizer; its a miracle that you didn't get hurt." Donghae warned, sending a chill down my spine. Jiyong is next in line to become the Underboss...? What does that mean? Why is it dangerous?
 

  "Forget it." He exhaled, turning around to leave. "It's not like you're going to heed my advice, anyway."

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