APRIL 22, 2018 | MONDAY

"Huh, how'd you cover up that hickey, little sis? Makeup is magical."

Joohyun groaned and rolled her eyes at her brother's remark. Times like these were what made her question why her father decided to take in all of her brothers under his wing. Was there really a need for that many brothers?

"Hyung, do you really have to annoy her right now?" Sungjong tried to reason with Woohyun, who was sitting next to him.

The three were currently on their way to Taehyung's birthday brunch at one of Seoul's most popular American bistro restaurants. Woohyun and Sungjong had heard everything about what happened the night before from Myungsoo himself, and to say that Myungsoo was upset was a severe understatement. However, the two were the only ones that knew about the bruise that was displayed on her neck, as they were the ones to wake her up earlier in the morning to get ready. One would have to be blind to miss the mark on her neck.

"I'm extremely tired, Oppa, please tone it down on the nit-picking, okay?" Joohyun sighed, leaning against the car door and closing her eyes.

"You could have stayed home, you know. You didn't have to go today," Woohyun mumbled under his breath, receiving a glare from Joohyun.

"I'm not going to disappoint Taehyung by not showing up. I'm the one that helped him plan this, after all. I know you're salty that you had to wake up early and come with me, but I don't appreciate your attitude right now." Joohyun turned away from her brothers and looked out the window, her temper rising.

"Now look at what you did," Sungjong growled at Woohyun, "she's gonna be grumpy the whole day because of you, you know that she's not feeling too great after what Myungsoo told her last night."

Woohyun let out a deep sigh, scratching his head in sheepishness. He didn't mean to take out his snappy attitude on Joohyun; truthfully, he was upset that he had to wake up early on his only day off this week after drinking more than he could handle the night before.

"Sorry, Joohyun," Woohyun apologized from the backseat.

After receiving silence in return, Sungjong and Woohyun just sighed.

"There's my beautiful Joohyun!" 

Joohyun turned her head to look up at Taehyung, who had called for her up ahead at the restaurant. 

Woohyun closed the car door for Joohyun as she stepped out and let a small smile crack when she saw Taehyung. Why did just being in this man's presence make it feel like she wasn't going through a hard time? After all, this man was half the reason why she barely even slept the night before. Myungsoo's confirmation from last night had made Joohyun put most of her walls back up with Taehyung because there was no way Taehyung was clueless about Taeyong's involvement with the people that attempted to kidnap her, who still haven't been caught. He had to have known this whole time, Taeyong is his childhood friend. Just when Joohyun thought that someone might have broken down her walls, she got right back to building them back up. 

"Were you all waiting for us? Sorry we were the last ones to arrive," Joohyun looked up at Taehyung, who just shook his head and smiled.

"We haven't been waiting too long, don't worry. Our table's being set up right now so it shouldn't take any longer now," Taehyung replied, pressing a kiss onto the side of her head.

Taehyung pulled away from her for a brief moment to greet Joohyun's brothers. The same friends that showed up to Taehyung's birthday celebration last night had showed up today for his brunch. While Joohyun was saying her hellos to everyone, she froze for a second when she spotted Taeyong.

"Oh, Taeyong! You showed up!" Joohyun chimed, masking her nervousness.

"Yeah, I forced myself to wake up early today and at least attend one of Taehyung's birthday celebrations. I felt bad that I couldn't be there with everyone last night," Taeyong smiled softly back at her.

"Why were you busy again -- if you don't mind me asking, of course?" Joohyun cocked a brow.

"Mafia matters. You understand," Taeyong replied simply, still smiling.

"Oh, of course ..." Joohyun nodded, eventually changing the topic so that there wouldn't be an awkward silence.

There was definitely something up with Taeyong, and Joohyun wanted to get to the bottom of what he was up to.

Throughout the entire brunch, Joohyun couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. All her worries about Taehyung came flooding back, and it was consuming her more than she would have been content with. Not only that, but Taeyong was sitting right across from her, which did not make things any better for her. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Taehyung nudged Joohyun's elbow, looking down at her.

It was unlike Joohyun to be so quiet amongst friends, as she was one of the most social ones in their circle of friends. 

"Huh?" Joohyun was shaken back into reality when Taehyung had nudged her, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, might be a little hungover from yesterday."

"Sounds like we'll need to help out with that tolerance," Taehyung grinned, proceeding to order mimosas for the whole table, "Remember at the Family retreat where you and I competed to see who would outdrink the other? Gooooood times."

Joohyun scoffed while some of her friends snickered at Taehyung's comment. Her being absolutely wasted on the beaches of Bora Bora while Taehyung let her use his chest as her pillow felt like so long ago -- and was definitely a memory she was not proud of. 

"Let me at 'em," Joohyun sat up straighter, "after all, I was the one that had to take care of you last night -- so, we're even."

As the brunch went on, Joohyun forced herself to loosen up a bit to prevent suspicion from Taehyung. Her brothers were catching onto her behavior and were waiting until they were on the way home for them to confront her about it. 

"I'll be right back, restroom break," Taehyung said to Joohyun as he stood up from his chair.

"Are you okay? You're not going to throw up after those 6 glasses of mimosas, are you?" Joohyun chuckled, looking up at him.

"6 glasses is nothing, sweetheart. The number can continue going up once I get back," Taehyung smiled widely back at Joohyun, who just rolled her eyes.

"I'll go with him and make sure he doesn't throw up," Taeyong announced, standing up as well, "I'm sure you'd bask in the glory of him losing to you again."

"You know me so well, Taeyong," Joohyun laughed, watching the two leave for the restroom.

As the two left her sight, she turned to Sungjong and whispered in his ear.

"I'm following suit. Don't follow me, I promise I'll be fine," Joohyun excused herself from the table politely, but quickly, and made her way towards the restrooms without giving her brother a chance to reply.

Joohyun had glanced her eyes over to the men's restroom when someone had walked out of it, only to not see Taehyung or Taeyong there at all. Where did they go?

At the end of the hall, a door that led towards the outside of the restaurant was slightly ajar, and she made her way towards the door to peek outside and see if the two might have made their way outdoors. 

Her assumption was proven correct when she spotted the pair not too far from the door, seeming to be in the middle of a conversation. Joohyun quickly retreated from view, wanting to listen in on what they could be talking about by standing on the right side of the door against the wall so that she couldn't be seen.

"I'm certain that they're not catching onto me. They've put their trust in me, but you need to help make it stay that way." Taeyong said, lowering his voice a bit.

"I'm getting anxious with all of this, Taeyong. I can't always have Joohyun with me to make sure that you don't make a mistake." Taehyung sounded concerned.

"All I need is one chance, and I'm not going to make a mistake. My track record in the mafia should be proof enough that you can trust me." As Taeyong spoke, Joohyun could hear Taehyung sigh.

"Don't you think it's ed up that she's going to be in the middle of all of this?" Taehyung answered back snappily.

"You know feelings are a mafia member's number one enemy.  Things wouldn't have been so complicated if it weren't for you."

Taehyung remained silent at Taeyong's words. It was quiet between the two of them before Taeyong spoke up again.

"You can't protect her forever. It's going to happen whether you like it or not."

Taehyung sighed, and Joohyun ducked into the ladies' restroom after she heard him and Taeyong walk towards the door.

"We'll talk more about this another time, let's go back inside for now," Joohyun heard Taehyung say from the other side of the ladies' restroom.

Joohyun rested her hands on the sink counter, looking down. What was going to happen to her? And what was she going to be in the middle of?

The mens' conversation only escalated her already anxious stance on the both of them. She couldn't deny that despite everything, Taehyung seemed to still care about her -- but she didn't know if he cared because he loved her, or if he cared because she was the pawn in whatever plan they were involved in. She decided, right then and there, that she wouldn't wait around to find out which one it was.

"Are you ready for our date later today?" Taehyung smiled down at Joohyun.

The brunch was over, and everyone was loitering outside the restaurant, chatting a bit before they wanted to say their farewells.

"Actually Tae," Joohyun sighed, holding a hand over her stomach, "can I get a raincheck on that date? I think I'm getting food poisoning from brunch, I was in the restroom for a while earlier and I'm not feeling too good."

"Oh no," Taehyung grew concerned. He hugged her from behind and rubbed her stomach. "We can just stay at my place then? We don't have to go out today."

"I don't think it would be considerate of me to stay locked in your bathroom for hours. I'll just go home and I'll call you when I feel better, okay?" Joohyun gave him a small smile.

"Okay ... are you sure you'll be fine?" Taehyung pulled away from her to take a good look at her face.

"Yeah, don't worry," Joohyun answered, when in fact, she was full of many worries.

APRIL 23, 2018 | MONDAY

Joohyun was lying on the lavish couch in her older brother's office for the past few hours. Word spread fast amongst her brothers about what Joohyun had overheard at Taehyung's brunch the day before, and Joohyun was currently going through struggling over what to do about it and hearing many I-told-you-so's since then. 

"I never really had too much of a good opinion of him, he seems kinda full of himself," Sungyeol interjected his opinion into his siblings' conversation.

"If he made her happy and treated her right, it doesn't matter what your opinion is," Sunggyu narrowed his eyes at his younger brother, "I trust that Joohyun has good judgment and doesn't get swayed easily."

"Well now we don't know if it really was an act or not after hearing what Joohyun said," Dongwoo chimed in, who was sitting next to Sungyeol on the couch opposite of his sister, "I think it's best you really sit yourself down and think about what you feel is the right thing to do, sis. After all, you always get what you want despite what the rest of us think."

Joohyun sighed, scrunching up her face in frustration. She was never one to be decisive, and to choose between love or her safety was something she didn't want to be torn over. 

"If he really cares about being with you," Sunggyu pointed out, "he would do anything to convince you to stay. I think you should confront him about what he was talking to Taeyong about, and if he refuses to tell you, then ... that should be a big enough sign for you to not be around him anymore."

"And even if he didn't want to tell you what he was talking to Taeyong about," Dongwoo added, "if you find out that his intentions weren't made out to be as shady as you interpreted, then you guys could always get back together. If he really cares about your feelings, he would respect them and wait for you."

Joohyun listened to her brothers' words intently. It wasn't often that she got serious advice from them (and relationship advice, at that), so hearing all of this made her even more off put about the situation at hand. She sat up, ran a hand through her hair, and exhaled deeply before standing up. 

"Where are you going?" Sungyeol asked, raising a brow.

"I'm going to ask Taehyung to see me at my office to talk. I'll let you know what happens when he leaves," Joohyun replied, giving her brothers a forced smile before walking out of Sunggyu's office.

Joohyun had been sitting at her desk for an hour waiting for Taehyung to arrive, and her anxiety was just eating away at her brain the entire time she sat there. She tried to do some work, but she just couldn't focus on anything else at the moment. 

She felt her heart suddenly jumpstart the adrenaline that would soon pump through her veins when she heard the door to her office open, and saw Taehyung step inside.

Closing the door and turning to her, Joohyun started rethinking about what she should do. She loathed the fact that a man even made her have jumbled thoughts such as the ones she was having at the moment, but no man had ever made her this way until Taehyung came around.

"Is everything alright, Joohyun?" Taehyung asked cautiously, walking towards her desk and stopping to stand right in front of it.

"No ... no, everything's not alright," Joohyun replied, sighing and closing her eyes. She had rehearsed with herself many times on how she would go through this conversation with him, but actually enacting it was proving to be a difficult task.

Joohyun stood up from her chair and made her way to the front of her desk, sitting on it so that she was closer to Taehyung. 

"I think we should take a break," Joohyun mumbled meekly, looking down at her hands so that she wouldn't have to look up at Taehyung.

"Wait why?" Taehyung asked, taking a step closer to Joohyun, "Did I do something wrong?" 

He reached out to take her hand. Although she let him, she wasn't reciprocating his gesture.

"I overheard what you and Taeyong talked about at brunch, outside, when you said you were going to the restroom," Joohyun replied, "I heard everything."

"Oh ... so you did," a somber look washed over Taehyung's face, "there's a lot more to it than you think."

"Then tell me what it really is, because what I got from that conversation is that you could be keeping me around you so that I could be a pawn in whatever plan Taeyong is involved in," Joohyun's voice was beginning to sound stern. 

"I can't tell you what's going on, Joohyun -- not yet," Taehyung answered, "but I promise you that I will protect you, if it's the last thing I do."

"Okay but it doesn't really seem like you are!" Joohyun shouted back, "You're keeping in contact with someone that is also working for the same people that tried to kidnap me, and I know that you're aware of that. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"Joohyun, I can't tell you everything that's going on right now, but I promise you that everything isn't what you're making it out to be. You have all the right to be angry with me, but please believe me when I say that I have this under control and that I will protect you."

"You know that I won't tell anyone if you wanted me to keep information to myself," Joohyun tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not that I'm worried that you'll tell someone," Taehyung sighed, "it's that someone will come after you if you do know. The less you know about what's going on, the better. Once you're invovled, it won't be much time after until your brothers get involved -- it's inevitable." 

"Then why make these promises when you can't even trust me?" Frustrated tears fell from Joohyun's eyes as she spoke, "How are you protecting me when you won't even let me in on why I'm in danger?"

"I make these promises because I love you, Joohyun," Taehyung leaned forward, resting a hand on the desk, with his other hand gently cupping her chin.

More tears streamed down Joohyun's face. It hurt her heart that the first time Taehyung would ever say that he loved her, she wanted to so badly keep her distance from him.

"I'm sorry, Joohyun," Taehyung proceeded to wipe the tears away from her face, "if you want distance away from me because you're unsure about everything, then that's fine. You deserve a peace of mind."

He pulled away from her, reaching one hand down to hold hers. 

"I'll be just a phone call away if you ever need anything," he softly smiled at her, "I'll always be thinking of you."

With that, he placed a gentle kiss onto her hand and squeezed it briefly before placing it back to her side. Joohyun watched him walk over to her door to leave, but not before turning around and giving her a reassuring smile while he opened the door and stepped out of the room.

It had been done. She was certain on this decision until she was sure of what was really going on, and if she had to be separated from Taehyung in the time being, then that was a sacrifice she would force herself to make.

yes you are allowed to be annoyed that i take years to update, and yes you are allowed to be mad that the first update i make in years, taehyung and joohyun break up LMAO

things will pick up in the next few chapters i have planned, and don't worry, i will actually be working on those in the upcoming weeks :D