[CONTENTID1]03[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Confronting the Shunned Truth [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3] “A rose, isn't quite as beautiful as it once was, when after its thorn pricks you.”[/CONTENTID3]

[CONTENTID4]A rainy night...

Those drops were bigger than hailstones and coming down just as hard. She was snuggled comfortably in her blanket, waiting to fall into the perfect deep slumber when the doorbell came ringing, being annoyingly loud. She had lured herself into ignoring it, too comfortable in her current position but whoever the person on the other side was, he's persistent. Pretending to be not at home had obviously went down the drain as she let out a frustrating growl, rolling herself out of bed, hugging the blanket along with her. 

"You better have a hellofva reason to come knocking at this ho-mphmmm..." 

Her sentence was swallowed into another's stomach as her lips were being taken. They stumbled into her house, the door closed with a kick.

The kiss was fast and rough and she wasn't given any time nor space to breathe. She struggled to break free but was too weak against the strong grip. Her blanket fell to the ground, her body exposed to the cold air and she shuddered.

"Still like to sleep huh. Even in this cold weather."

His attention finally was broken momentarily by her form as he took a step back, his tone a teasing one.

It was pitch dark inside the house and she reached for the lamp by the table, clicking it on...

"What the f-"

Again, she wasn't given the chance to finish her sentence as he towered over her, taking her lips by force. She gasped, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into , taking in her scent completely.
 

She kicked and struggled but he wouldn't budge. She didn't know how long it took but she could feel her body heating up and reacting against his. She needed to think quick and an idea popped out as she let out a delirious moan.

That indeed caught him by surprise as he pulled back for a moment. She seized the chance to push him away and gave a stinging slap across his face. 
 

"You-!"

She saw his expression turned into a stunned and betrayed one. For some unknown reason, she felt it gnawing on her heart. Staring at his perfect features and his slicked back hair that was dripping water...

"Kwon Jiyong, this, is how you should do it..."

She pushed him down on couch and straddled him, ing his shirt...

Ring... Ring...!

Yoona was startled awake by the sound of her ringtone, waking up in sweat.

"Ne-Neh... Araso araso, I'll wash up and meet you downstairs in 15."

She answered the call and hung up within a minute, focusing on some deep breathings to calm her erratic heartbeats.

"What the hell did you just dream, Im Yoona..."

☯☯☯☯☯

"Daesung, Seulgi, you will petrol around the east wing. Yedam, Hanbin you guys will look after west wing. Go familarise the floor plan for now before the event starts. If you meet any problems, communicate over the walkie-talkie."

"Yes Sarge."

Jiyong exhaled as his team dispersed, looking around the opulent mansion as random people headed in and out, busy doing final touches to the place. 

"Judging from your troubled expression, I'm concluding that you've seen the guest list."

His good pal sneaked up behind him, wrapping his arm around his neck playfully.

"Yah, we're on duty here. Can you please be a little more serious?" Jiyong rolled his eyes in response. "Besides, why am I always the one calling the operations nowadays? Do you still remember who you are, SERGEANT Dong?"

"Hey hey, don't vent all your frustration on your good pal, Mr~" Youngbae cooed. "Well, I'm having pre-wedding jitters already. You wouldn't wanna put Seoul citizens' safety in the hands of a nervous groom, would you."

"Ahhh. Right. Someone's finally getting laiddddd~" That managed to put a teasing smirk on Jiyong's face as he put his arms around Youngbae's shoulders as well. "Can't wait for the Bachelor's party~"

"I know you're crazy when it comes to parties but I said before, no over the top crazy stuff. I'm just getting married, not having some terminal illness."

"Yes yes holy boy~ But seriously, it's your last night to have fun! Experience the world."

"Don't sound as if I'm really a , Kwon Jiyong." Youngbae scoffed.

"Aren't you?" He feigned a look of innocence.

" you," Youngbae cussed before smirking. "Ahhh. I see what's all these about. You diverting the mockery at me so that I would stop bugging you. This is a very lousy coping mechanism, Sarge and it won't work."

Jiyong held up a middle finger at him in response and ignored his remark entirely.

"Richman's ethics isn't it? All these setups and even went to the extend of employing real police force as guards when all these could be done by a security company."

Youngbae sighed, "I know. Heard that he's good friend with our Chief Superintendent. He's the one that sends out the instruction of getting us to do the job."

"You think Jung Yunho is really a philanthropist?"

"Beats me," Youngbae shrugged as they took a look around. "At least he put one a very nice front even if he isn't one though I know for sure those people he invited aren't all prim and proper."

Jiyong clicked his tongue, "Right. Lee Donghae..."

"We've been keeping a close eye on him for almost two years now but damn, that guy is one sly fox. It's so obvious that he's a wolf covering in sheep's clothing! Behind all that legal business, is millions of dollars worth of drugs, illegal gambling and pimping. Till this date, I still don't understand why Yoong wo-"

Youngbae trailed off as he could feel Jiyong's glare. He let out a sheepish smile, "Sorry, too used. What I'm trying to say is, we'd bring him to justice one day, Ji. Trust yourself, trust our team."

Jiyong only responded with a smile. 

Bringing him to justice... 

Would that mean putting her behind bars too?

☯☯☯☯☯

"Yoong. Yoong? Yoona!" 

"Ne-Neh!" 

"You spaced out again. For the entire day, you seemed to be in deep thoughts. You alright?"

After she was startled awake, she rushed to wash up and meet up with Donghae as promised. However, for the entire noon of getting her hair done, choosing the dress and all, she was indeed occupied with her thoughts.

To hell with the people who said that you wouldn't remember what you dream. 

For the entire noon, all she could think about was her dream.  Unlike the normal times, she could remember it vividly. She could even... could even feel the touch and his breath brushing against her skin and how their skin radiated against each other. Even when the hairdresser was washing her hair and accidentally dripped the water onto her skin, she could only picture his dripping wet hair that was caused by the torrential rain...

"Y-Yeahs.. I'm just wondering if Taeyeon unnie would appear tonight."

"Heard from Heechul hyung that they're coming. Taeng is gonna limp her way here it seems. I swear I don't know what happened between these two girls."

"Women are complicated oppa, live with it~" Yoona replied with a smile.

"By the way, Yunho employed the help of the police as the security team. I just received the news that the Crimes Department are down tonight. So..."

"Don't worry oppa. I won't let you down," It did stunned Yoona for a minute but she managed to compose herself within the next and gave a wink. "Let's go kill the media and everyone with our dazzling front." 

Donghae smiled and took her hand into his as they stepped out of the limousine. True enough, camera lights started flashing, reporters started surrounding both of them as they were being guarded into the mansion by the security. 

"Stop staring. It's time to work, Ji."

All these while, Jiyong was standing behind the pillar, watching the scene unfolded in front of him. She still looked beautiful, albeit even more beautiful than the last time he saw her. As tomboyish as she always is, he had always liked it when she showed her feminine side. Tonight, she looked astounding with the pink dress that sat upon her skin as soft petals, its hue the many pinks of a rose garden. 

He would have loved to go forward to shower her with praises or maybe even teases but... Things were no longer the same. 

She's now on the dark side and with a guy that's holding her on his palm, looking at her so ever adoringly.

☯☯☯☯☯

"Thank you everyone for your kind donations tonight! Mr. Jung would like to convey his thanks to each and every one of you here tonigh, as well as celebrating his baby sister's birthday~ We're now down to the last three items to auction for the night!"

"Yah, stop fidgeting," Donghae whispered.

"I didn't see Taeng unnie for the entire night! Also, did you see Sica unnie's face just now? She definitely cried before!" Yoona whispered back, eyes still looking around for sight of Taeyeon.

"15 million won going once... 15 million won going twice... Sold! Sold to Mr. Jung Yunho! Congrats Mr. Jung!" 

"Ayeeee. Yunho oppa just wanted to showcase to people