Wendy clutched the can of coffee in her hands. The conversation hadn't steered in a way that she was expecting. Instead, it had made her a little bit uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her seat, legs squirming a little and feet tapping the floor.

"I-I don't think so. Don't we just do protection?" 

"Protection entails violence, Wendy. These assaulters aren't going to willingly sit down and have a nice coffee with you like we're doing right now. Most of the time it's swing first, questions later." 

"Wh-what exactly are we protecting against?" 

"Anybody. Be it robbers, drunkards, two-bit gangsters just looking to stir up some trouble." 

"So we're kind of like bouncers at a nightclub?" 

"Some of us. Other times we're sent out to negotiate deals with businesses, usually, casinos are something profitable."

"I see... casinos..." 

Wendy jotted down another good piece of information in her mental notebook. She reached for her pocket, wanting to quickly type it out to ensure that she would remember in the future, but realized that her pocket was empty.

"Oh crap!"

"What's wrong?" 

"I forgot my phone..." 

Wendy's face flushed red upon remembering the reason she forgot her phone in the first place. 

"3 minutes or I'm going in there myself."

She put her head in her hands, groaning from embarrassment.

"Damn that Park Sooyoung..." 

Rose let out a little chuckle. She took out her phone and handed it to Wendy. 

"You need to use mine?"

"O-oh, no need. Thanks though..." 

"I could give you a ride to wherever you left your phone." 

Wendy shook her head. 

"No, I'm actually pretty tired... I'd like to just close my eyes for a minute." 

Rose looked at her watch. The time had gone by rather quickly, it was very quickly approaching 4 am. 

"I understand. I'd like to get some rest too. Would you like me to send you home?"

Wendy was tempted to accept. 

"N-no, I think I'm good..." 

Rose furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Why? Don't you want to spend time with your family?" 

Wendy rubbed her eyes, holding back her desire to return home and crumble next to Yeri. 

"Not right now. I can't bear to see her." 

"Your mom?" 

"Sister. Mom and dad died a little while ago." 

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. My new foster parents are great." 

Rose gave a little smile, patting Wendy on the thigh. The latter stared up at the sky, looking at the stars and wishing to whoever was up there that Yeri was getting a good night's sleep. Her head began to drop a little, eyes fluttering along with it. 

"Want to go to a hotel?" 

Wendy agreed initially, her head nodding sluggishly, but potential implications of Rose's offering momentarily brought Wendy a surge of energy. Her body straightened, eyebrows reaching up to the crown of her head. 

"Wa-wait, I don't-" 

"Not that, silly. You're such a child." 

Wendy couldn't help but put her head down after Rose's comment. 

"Ri-right, sorry..." 

"Keep apologizing and it'll soon be the only thing that comes out your mouth. Come, I'll drop you off at a hotel and let you rest, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning." 

"Aren't you taking me to your place?" 

"I don't have space for you at the moment. I'll have to clear my guest room for you before you move in. Sorry, it must've slipped my mind earlier. I'm pretty tired." 

"N-no worries. I'll be just fine in a hotel."

"Good. Let's get moving then."

Rose and Wendy got off the bench, throwing their coffee cans into a dustbin before heading back to the entrance. Wendy took her time, observing the halls around the place. At the entrance, she noticed pictures of several people hanging on the wall, all with the same surname. 

"Bae Jonghwan, Bae Jaebom, Bae Chiwon, Bae Suzy..." 

"Bae Irene." 

Wendy stopped in her tracks, in reverence of the people that had been proudly put on display at the main halls of the Kim Family. Rose stood next to the newbie, pointing at the picture all the way to the left. 

"That was the Bae Clan's first-ever Godfather, the founder of this whole family. The names following are his successors."

There were years underneath the portraits, signifying the duration of each Godfather's reign. Each served for several decades, the longest being Bae Jaebom who was the big boss for nearly 50 years. However, the shortest was a woman named Bae Suzy, whose reign only lasted for three years. Wendy found that peculiar. 

"What happened to Bae Suzy?"

"I have no clue. By the time I got here, Bae Irene was already in charge." 

"I see..." 

"Come on, let's get a move on. I'm about to fall asleep here." 

"Ri-right, sorry..." 

Rose led Wendy out to a car parked outside. A Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale in all black, a y looking car for sure. Wendy was quite impressed, forming the letter 'O' when she laid eyes on Rose's personal vehicle. 

"This is a beautiful car..." 

"Thank you. Got it as a gift from Jisoo last year, she hit a big payday on got this for me." 

"What did she do?" 

"That's a story she can tell you herself next time. I'm sure she'd want to brag about it to you anyway."

Rose fired up the ignition, the V8 engine roared in the mountains, sending the birds in trees nearby scattering away. Wendy couldn't help but giggle a little. 

"You like fast cars?" 

Wendy giddily nodded. 

"You are just like a high-school cheerleader. Get in here," Rose said, with a little shake of her head, though a tiny smirk was evident. Wendy entered the performance designed vehicle, settling into the bucket seat that was rare to see in road vehicles. 

"Wow, these seats are cool..." Wendy muttered, fascinated with every little thing inside the car, even the seatbelts that came in a pair down her shoulders rather than a single one just across her body. Rose shook her head once more, shifting the gears into first and starting to drive down the mountain. 

Rose took it easy for the first couple of corners, not exceeding 40km/h. Cruising speed. Wendy saw it as an opportunity wasted, squirming a little in her seat seeing how slow the car was going. Rose noticed. 

"Not comfortable? Am I going too fast?" 

"N-no, it's the opposite actually..." 

Rose raised an eyebrow. 

"You want me to go faster?" 

Wendy nodded, a little too quickly. Rose chuckled. 

"Alright then, you asked for it." 

Rose's foot put more pressure on the accelerator. The V8 engine that had been passive up to this point roared to life as the tachometer cranked up to 7000 RPM. Wendy let out a little scream as she felt herself be pushed back into her seat, the gravitational force in the car suddenly pulling it's weight as Rose made her way downhill. 

"Good thing it's so late, there probably won't be anyone coming up." 

With that knowledge, Rose pushed the limits even further, shifting down to 3rd gear as the tachometer edged closer to the red zone, speeds of 40km/h long gone now as the speedometer approached 120. Wendy felt as if a ton of bricks had been pushed into her chest, the seatbelt feeling tighter and tighter around her chest. 

A corner was coming up, a sharp left. Wendy held her breath. 

"Here we go," Rose muttered. 

She slammed on the brakes, Wendy's body now lunging forward like she had shot out a catapult momentarily before she was slammed back into her seat like a ragdoll as Rose's heel slid over to the accelerator to perform what was a called a 'heel-and-toe' technique. The engine screamed as Rose shifted to first gear and back to third, the tachometer bouncing up and down like a trampoline. The car's rear end began to slide out, Wendy feeling the car start to go sideways. 

"Rose! Rose!!" 

The roar of the powerful V8 and the squeals of tires were all drowned out by the noise of Wendy's heart pounding in . The guardrail got closer and closer to Wendy by the second as the car entered the corner sideways. 

"ROSE!" 

Wendy closed her eyes, clinging on the handle above her like she'd fall off a building if she didn't. Her fingers attempted to create a rhythm, but they were shaking far too much for that to be a possibility. 

"... I knew this wasn't cut out for you." 

Rose spun the steering wheel to the right, slamming on the gas pedal the moment the car straightened itself to the road ahead, executing a perfect drift. She shifted back into first gear, letting the car ride it's momentum for a moment before putting her foot off the gas and softly pressing the brakes, stabilizing the car into a more comfortable speed. 

The driver looked at her passenger and began to laugh. 

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." 

"I thought I was about to become a ghost..." 

Rose laughed even more. 

"Go faster huh?" 

Wendy shook her head. 

"N-no, not anymore..." 

Rose sniggered. She slammed her foot on the gas pedal once more, Wendy screaming as the Maserati pounced for a moment before settling back down. 

"ROSE!" 

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Rose guffawed. She rubbed Wendy's head. 

Wendy calmed herself, putting her hand to her chest and taking several deep breaths. When she finally relaxed, she put her head by the window and looked at the trees out in the darkness. 

The speedometer shot up to 100km/h again. 

"ROSE!!"

Laughter filled up the night sky. 

***

"Never again... never again..." 

Wendy wobbled into the hotel room that she had just checked into. Rose felt a little bad about what she had did to Wendy, so she got her a spot at the Lotte Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels Seoul could offer. 

She put her hand on the wall to stabilize herself, gingerly climbing onto the bed while Rose was still giggling behind her. 

"Rest well up here. Let me know if you need anything," Rose said, writing down her number on the notepad next to Wendy's bed. 

"See you tomorrow. I'll pick you up at 1 pm tomorrow." 

"O-okay..." Wendy could barely move. Her whole body was exhausted. 

"Good night." 

Rose left the room, the soft click of the door ensuring Wendy's privacy. She let out a groan, throwing her blazer across the room and ing her shirt, breathing a sigh of relief as the cool air blowing from the air-conditioner hit her skin. She could have fallen asleep right on the spot if she didn't force herself to have a shower before she slept. She rolled around the king-sized bed for a moment, immersing herself into the soft mattress that relaxed all the tension that had been built up in her muscles in the last few hours. 

"God, this feels good..." 

She rolled over to the bedside desk, where Rose's note resided. She twiddled the piece of paper in her hands, smiling a little at Rose's cute handwriting. 

"I've been pretty lucky so far, meeting nice folks. Maybe this won't be so bad after all..." 

Wendy put the note to her heart, smiling and thanking anyone she could for the people that she had met so far. Her little moment of bliss was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Suspecting room service, Wendy buttoned up her shirt and approached the door. 

"Hello, Miss Son." 

"H-how did you-" 

"Eyes and ears, Miss Son." 

"...This is really starting to freak me out." 

Seulgi's face remained blank. 

"Mind if I come in?" 

"O-oh yeah, sure thing..." 

Seulgi stepped into the room, glancing at every nook and cranny in the room as if searching for something. 

"What are you-"

"No cameras, good." 

"What?" 

"Did a member bring you here?" 

"Ye-yeah? But-"

"The Bae Family owns this place." 

"It's a clan, actually, but what do you mean-" 

"It's a Clan? Perfect, just like I suspected. Good work Wendy." 

"What are you doing-" 

"Thought you might have needed this." 

Seulgi pulled Wendy's cellphone out of her pocket and handed it to her. 

Wendy's jaw dropped. 

"How did you get this?" 

"It was rather simple actually." 

"How did you even know I didn't have my phone?" 

"It was a lucky hunch. I tried contacting you but you didn't respond, so I went to your house and tried to find you." 

"You went to my house?!"

"Is there an issue with that?"

Wendy shook her head. 

"Not really, actually..." 

Wendy's face flushed red. She had no idea why she had flipped out at Seulgi. 

"S-sorry, I'm tired..." 

"That's okay. I just wanted to hand your phone to you to make sure you remained contactable." 

"Th-thank you..." 

"You're welcome, Miss Son." 

Wendy stared at her phone. Seulgi had even bought a brand new charger for her. 

"Seriously, how did you get my phone?" 

Seulgi sighed. 

"If you must know..." 

***

"Unnie... unnie...!" 

Yeri rubbed her eyes. She had heard someone knocking at the front door and that stirred her awake. She peeked underneath her bed to look for her sister, expecting her to open the door, but she wasn't there? 

"Huh? Unnie?" 

Puzzled, Yeri hopped out of bed, wondering where her sister had gone. She peeked out in the hallway, looking for any sign of the older girl, but she didn't see anyone. The knocking on the door grew louder, scaring Yeri a little. She tip-toed over to the door, peeking out the eyehole to see who was at the door. 

"Oh, a pretty lady..." 

Yeri opened the door, greeting Seulgi who was standing with her arms folded, dressed in a beige trench coat and black gloves. 

"May I help you, pretty lady?" 

Seulgi raised an eyebrow. 

"H-hi pretty girl! You must be Wendy's little sister!" 

Yeri nodded eagerly. 

"You know my sister?" 

Seulgi nodded enthusiastically. Her eyes darted side to side, looking for any sign of Wendy in the house. 

"Is my sister with you? She doesn't seem to be home." 

Seulgi's eyebrows raised. Her eyes began to analyze her surroundings even quicker. She spotted Wendy's phone by the table beside the door, right beside the flower pot. 

"Bingo." 

"Hmm?" Yeri tilted her head. 

"Ah yes, she is!" Seulgi beamed, her smile reaching all the way up to her eyes as she squatted down to get to eye level with Yeri. 

"I'm actually her new classmate at Seoul Arts School! I just arrived from Ansan this morning and Wendy came to meet up with me, but she forgot her phone so I came back to get it for her." 

"Ah I see... where's her phone? I can get it for you!" 

"It's right here actually!" Seulgi quickly snagged Wendy's phone and put it in her pocket, her eyes still gleaming. 

"I should be going now! Don't wanna keep Wendy waiting!" 

"Okay, pretty lady! Take care of my unnie please!"

"I will!" 

Yeri closed the door. Seulgi put her hand to her chest that was heaving up and down. 

"Goddamn kids..." 

***

"My sister fell for that lie?" 

"Yes, apparently so." 

Wendy scratched the back of her head, shaking her head. 

"Guess she was really captivated by the pretty lady huh?" 

Seulgi's face twitched a little. Wendy grinned. 

"We-well, that's-"

"Pretty lady."

Seulgi cleared . 

"Mi-Miss Son-"

"Are you not good with kids? Do you have a soft spot for kids?"

Seulgi shot up from the bed. 

"Sh-she didn't look like a kid, more like a teenager." 

"She's pretty much a kid still." 

"N-no." 

"Then you like teenagers?" 

"I'll be taking my leave. Good night Miss Son, I will be in contact with you soon." 

Seulgi stormed to the door, giving a quick bow before leaving the room, leaving a giggling Wendy behind her. 

"Detective Seulgi, weak to kids? How cute." 

Wendy laughed at that idea once more. She looked at the time, it was nearly 5 am. She headed to the bathroom, wanting to quickly take a shower and sleep already. 

"Another knock?" 

Wendy opened the door again, and surprisingly it was Rose this time. 

"Rose, what are you doing back here?" 

"Thought you might need this," Rose passed Wendy a plastic bag. Inside was some spare clothing, including undergarments, for Wendy. 

Wendy sputtered. 

"How did you know my size..." 

"Estimate. Your body proportions seem pretty similar to mine so I thought they'd fit you." 

"All of these are your clothes?" 

"That's right." 

Wendy's face went beet red. 

"Th-thank you..." 

"Don't sweat it. Good night for real now." 

With a little wave, Rose was gone once again. Wendy watched her walk to the elevator, a little smile on her face. She put down the bag on the bed, picking up her phone and punching in Rose's number into her phone. 

"Rose-unnie..." Wendy finished off the contact name with a little heart. 

She turned off her phone and headed into the shower, a gleeful smile on her face.

***

"...You look like death." 

Sooyoung entered Irene's office, picking an empty wine bottle off the floor and chucking it into a dustbin. She sat at the seat across of Irene, who was slouched in her chair, smoking a cigar. 

"I'm sure that's an exaggeration." 

"The Grim Reaper called and accused you of stealing his look." 

Irene chuckled, flipping through various documents on her desk. Sooyoung furrowed her eyebrows. 

"You're the Godfather, not an accountant. Why don't you hire someone else to look at this for you?" 

"Don't trust them. My own eyes are better than anybody else's." 

Sooyoung crinkled her nose. She picked up one of the files that were on Irene's desk and took a look at them herself. 

"I'm sure you trust me, right?" 

"You're my underboss, of course." 

"Your best friend, excuse me." 

"No, my best friend is an idiot. My underboss is a genius." 

Sooyoung scoffed. 

"... Siwon still bringing in the most money huh?" 

"That's right." 

"...You don't like that, do you?" Sooyoung said with a snigger. 

Irene glanced up momentarily, her glasses falling slightly down her nose before looking back down at her files. 

"What makes you say that?" 

"It's obvious. You don't like him or the things he does to make money." 

"...Whatever benefits the family." 

"The Bae Way, isn't it? Kinda catchy." 

Irene let out a tired laugh. 

Sooyoung got out her seat and stood next to Irene. 

"Hey, let your genius underboss handle this. Go get some sleep." 

Irene didn't even have a rebuttal. She gave Sooyoung an appreciative smile before lying down on the sofa that was in the room. Sooyoung took over, looking through the financial reports that had been delivered moments earlier." 

"Funny, isn't it? Big mad mafia members still having to look through a balance sheet." 

Irene laughed. 

"You miss going out there yourself?" 

"Hell yeah, I do. Being an underboss is boring sometimes." 

"That's why I put you in the precinct, Sooyoung. Let you get your action there." 

"But that's all legal bull. I miss getting my hands dirty." 

"...I don't." 

Irene closed her eyes, Sooyoung remained silent after that. 

"...Sorry." 

"It's okay." 

"Sleep well, Irene." 

"Good night, Sooyoung." 

A/N:

Hey hey~! Sorry for another late update. School has started again for me and it's been hectic, so for the next month, consistent updates won't be possible :/ 

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I will do my best to update as soon as possible, but the next chapter will most likely be released next weekend :( I'm sorry. 

See you soon lovelies~ <3

Edit: Happy New Year you all!!