A loud cry wakes up Joy that very night.

"Aera?!" She gasps.

She runs out of her room and screams. Aera is standing in the hallway and shivering in fright. She is crying profusely and begging for forgiveness.  Bae Jace is roaring in rage and yelling profanity at the little girl. He has a belt in his hand which he swings at her. Before it can touch Aera, Joy jumps in and hugs her tightly. The leather strip strikes Joy's back instead. The pain almost blanks her mind.

Someone is banging on the master bedroom door. Namjoon groans with his eyes closed. He has severe headache. He has slept for few hours. Who can be making so much of noise?!

"Coming! Is there an apocalypse?!" He snaps while getting into a sweatpant and robe.

He opens the door to find a frightened cook, "What is it now?!"

"Si-sir please come."

He can hear the shouting and cursing clearly now. He recognizes Joy and Bae Jace's voices.

Namjoon sprints downstairs to the commotion.

He finds Joy holding the child tightly to her chest and Jace is trying to get hold of his daughter. The servants are trying to separate Jace from the girls but they are failing.

"NO! NO! LEAVE HER! DON'T TOUCH HER!" Joy keeps on yelling.

Namjoon takes a vase on a table nearby and hits him hard on the back. Jace staggers away from the girls and falls on his face. Joy kneels on the floor. She is quivering but still holding onto the child tightly. Aera is terrified by all this. The little girl is sobbing and shivering in fear.

Namjoon looks at the drunkard, "You were always a coward and good for nothing! But now, you are less of a man! Beating and hurting women and children! Do everyone here a favour! Go and die! You...piece of !" He spits and throws the vase at him with force. He glares at the housekeeping staffs, "Hello! You all so loyal servants of the Baes! Come on now and help your disgusting young master! Disgraceful!" He snorts and looks at the scared figures on the floor.

Joy is still sitting in the same position with Aera. Her sleep-wear is torn. And is that...blood?! Yes, it is blood oozing out of a cut on her back.

He takes off his robe and hands it to Joy. But it seems she cannot reciprocate to anything now. So, he puts it on them and tugs at her hand to make her stand. She stands with difficulty. She is hugging Aera tightly. He takes them to Joy's room and she sits on the bed.

 She blinks and looks around,"Aera! Baby, baby are you alright? Are you hurt?!" She begins to check her urgently. Aera has stopped quivering by then.

"No, Jooyy! I m not hert!...You did not let me! You save me! And..." She looks at Namjoon with awe, "He save us! Unkeel is so nice!"

Namjoon is not used to such pure admiration. He is completely taken aback. 

Aera gets down from Joy's lap and walks towards him shyly. She embraces his leg with her tiny arms. Namjoon freezes.

"Thenk u unkeel! U helepd me and my Jooyy." She smiles widely at him.

Joy watches the scene being unfold. She finds it difficult to believe her eyes. Namjoon is speechless and baffled?! He must have never been around children. He is not used to such innocence. He was forced to grow up very fast.​​​​​​

​​​Namjoon has not yelled or shoved the girl away.

"I...uh...hmmm..." He says awkwardly and looks away.

Yes. Joy has found a way to bring positivity in Namjoon. Aera can help her. The precious little girl has been there when days were dark for her.

 Joy tries to get up but sits back with a painful moan. Aera runs back to her.

"Oh no Jooyy! Your dresh! There is blood!" Aera gasps. The robe has slipped off from her back.

Joy turns her head slightly to look at her back. It looks like a bad cut and she is still bleeding.

"Oh! Don't worry, baby... Jooyy will-will be fine." She stands up with difficulty, "You will sleep here with me tonight. Come on, let's get some sleep." She puts the blacket on Aera and kisses her forehead. The night has been very stressful for the little girl. She yawns and starts to fall asleep easily. She must be be very used to her father's ill treatment. She seems fine now.        

Joy avoids eye-contact with Namjoon. She is feeling shy apparently. It is absurd. He has seen her . She moves towards the bedside table and brings out the first aid box. She sits back and tries to reach the gash on her back.

"Give it to me."

Joy stops her hopeless attempt to heal her back. It takes her some moments to realize who said that.

Namjoon irritably looks at her with his hand stretched out asking for the kit. When she does not respond, he takes it from her. He sits on the bed behind her. He moves her hair to the front to reveal the injured area properly. 

He observes. There is a cut on her back, about 4 inches long. It is not too deep but will become a scar. There are also some fingerprints on her forearm and some claw marks. She must have got them when she was fighting back Jace.

He cleans the blood. He swabs the cut gently and smears ointment on  the wounds. He covers the gash with a bandage.

"Don't let it get infected. Avoid sleeping on your back till it is dried out." He gets up and leaves her room without even turning around.

Joy is still sitting in the same position. What just happened?! 

From the brawl in the hallway downstairs to Namjoon taking care of her...everything felt unreal. She looks at Aera sleeping soundly and smiles.

She touches Namjoon's robe. He has left it there. She blushes as a tomato at the memory of him touching her softly on her back to her shoulder to forearm and rubbing the ointment. She shudders at the memory of the touch. This intimacy cannot be comprehended. She wishes that someday he will be as affected by her as she has been by him.

Namjoon enters him room and tosses himself on his bed. He checks the time. It is 2.30 a.m. in the morning. He will still get some hours of sleep if he is lucky. But he is an insomniac and requires a good amount of drink to fall asleep.

He thinks about the events of the whole day. From that conference after party to the commotion some times back. He has never seen Jace hitting his daughter. He knows about his deep hatred for her. He must have controlled himself for this last 5 months since Namjoon bought 60% of the state and began to live here. He has always been a brute. But next time if he does anything as such, Namjoon will show him his place. He will not care if Bae Jace still owns 40% of the place.

His thoughts travels back to the little girl Aera. Yes, her name is Aera. He has never paid any attention to her but recently noticed Park Sooyoung's connection with her.

He was quite surprised when he saw the spoiled brat trying to save the little girl. It was savage, daring, and honestly, impressive. He had no idea that she has such a side in her.

He shrugs. He decides to sleep as much as he can. He has some important meetings in the morning. 

 Joy lies on her stomach and closes her eyes. She hopes the events have made Namjoon think about them, even if a little bit.