"I'm scared," Jaehyung confessed softly with his head hanging low and his eyes glued onto the floor. I froze upon seeing this hidden and vulnerable side of Jaehyung. "I'm scared, Kaina." He, at long last, lifted his brown eyes up to me, his brown eyes that had flecks of gold in them, shining brightly from the florescent lights. "When I first came here, I figured that I would leave when I turned 18 and graduated from high school. Becoming close to you and your family was not part of the plan, but somehow, over the past few months, the three of you have somehow managed to lower my guard. You're important to me, Kaina, you and your mother and your father. I was happy living here. But when Jiyong showed up," his voice trailed off as the sad look reappeared in his expression. "Jiyong almost broke you. He almost killed your mother. Kaina, I'm a gangster. I'm a gangster. Jiyong... he won't be the end. Others will eventually find me as well. What if they accomplish what Jiyong failed to do? What if they really harm you? How will I be able to live with myself then, Kaina?" 

He sat down hard upon his bed and dropped his head heavily into his hands. "Kaina, Kaina, Kaina. I'm so scared that one day you'll be taken from my life, taken from all life, because of me and my past. I'm so terrified that you'll be hurt because of me." 

Jaehyung stood suddenly, and swiftly, and he reached out a hand to my cheek. Just as fast as he touched me, he lowered his hand, twisted his head to look away at the floor, and took three fluid steps away. 

I swallowed hard, the distance between us physically and mentally growing wider. I was desperate to build a bridge to close the gap, but I didn't know how. "Jaehyung." 

His head tilted slightly in my direction, but he still refused to hold my pleading eyes. 

"Jaehyung," I said again, slightly louder but still hushed. "Jae. Can you not see how important you are to my family now? Jaehyung, you speak as if you are about to leave." 

"Maybe I am," he whispered, agony rippling out through his hoarse voice. "Maybe I should. If I stay..."

"Listen to yourself, Jae!" In no time, I had taken hold of Jaehyung's muscular shoulders, had flipped him around so that he was facing me, and had shoved him rather roughly against the walls. "If you leave, you'll be hurting us just the same! And what about Kikwang, and Seungho, and Yonghwa, and Key? And Hyuna, Jessica, and Seohyun? And me? Jae, what about me?" I whispered the last question. "What about me?"

After a momentary stretch of silence, Jaehyung lifted his head. "Kaina..."

"Don't think you're so brave to go and sacrifice yourself by leaving," I spat, feeling completely and utterly enraged. "Jae, I need you in my life. Don't go and rip yourself out just after you've somehow sewed yourself in. Don't leave me with a hole."

He stared at me with a dismal expression etched across his face. "Kaina." 

"Stop Kaina-ing me!" I was about to start flipping some imaginary tables across the gloomy room. "Goodness, Jaehyung. What have you done to me?" A tear slipped its way past my defenses. 

When he saw my teardrop, he embraced me with his strong arms. I rested my head against his broad chest and calmed myself with his steady heartbeat as I breathed in his familiar and soothing scent. I felt his chin rest gently atop my head and I felt his body move as he exhaled a long, deep breath. 

"Same here," he said weakly. "Look at me now," he added. "I'm supposed to be one of South Korea's most dangerous gangsters. But here I am, paralyzed with the thought of bringing harm to you." I could feel his chin shift with every word; it was oddly comforting. He rested himself back upon his bed slowly with me still in his arms. I folded myself securely into his lap. 

"If I stay," he announced suddenly, "you have to promise me that you'll stay out of trouble and that if anything suspicious happens, or if anything in general happens to you, that you'll tell me first and tell me immediately." 

"Deal." I twisted my neck to look up at him, and I smiled. "Deal," I repeated, "but I can't promise too much about staying out of trouble. Trouble tends to mark me as its target." He looked down at my scrunched face and laughed.

"I noticed that," he said gravely. "Should I keep you locked up in your room?"

"No!" I squealed and hit his chest lightly. "I would die if I had to stay cooped up all day," I sighed dramatically.

"I know," he rolled his eyes. "You can't stay still for too long."

I beamed up at him. "You know me so well."

"Yup," he replied airily. I glanced at him when I noticed him fall into a lapse of silence. He was staring off into space, lost in his thoughts.

"Jae...?"

"Huh? Oh, my bad. Sorry, I was thinking about stuff. I'm fine." He gave me a small smile that did nothing to reassure my rising worry. He definitely wasn't 'fine' if he had that pinched look, but I decided to let it slide for the moment. 

"Whatever," I muttered as I leaned my head against his warm chest again. His heartbeat accelerated slightly and I could feel mine matching his. Suddenly, I felt like the atmosphere was screaming something more than step-siblings. 

When I drew my attention upwards, Jae happened to gaze down at me; our eyes met and held. My breath hitched in my throat and I was suddenly afraid to breathe. I saw something flicker in his eyes, something raw and emotional. Our heads were drawing closer unintentionally, without us noticing. We were too trapped in each other's eyes. 

When my mother abruptly called my name from downstairs, Jaehyung and I realized how close we had become and we both broke away shyly. 

"I'm, uh, going to go see what she's calling me for," I said, my face feeling flushed, as I motioned awkwardly toward the door without making eye contact with him. He was just as embarrassed. 

"Ye-Yeah." He stammered while glueing his eyes on the floor. "I'll just stay here." 

I slipped out the door and paused once I heard the door click shut. Placing a hand over my heart, I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my frazzled nerves. 

"Coming mom," I called as I moved away from Jaehyung's door. After padding down the stairs, I looked into a mirror to make sure my face wasn't red and wasn't going to give anything away about the hurricane I was feeling. I smiled as I walked into my mom's presence. "Yes, mom?" 

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@TasLuq , Yeah, they have a pretty messed up situation right now. And yeah, they are finally starting to realize the feelings they have for each other, which is going to make their situation even worse. We're slowly getting there, haha. & LOL @ the MYNAME reference you did there [; 

Hey guys! My summer is finally calming down for the next couple weeks (besides for work), so I have more time to update now! Sorry for the crappy and random updating schedule I've been on :[ 

Thanks for reading! Anything you don't like, any thing you like, let me know! I love reading everyone's comments [*coughTasLuqcough, hehe] <3

Adios and have a great summer!