A/N

Prepare your hearts, guys.

 “Hyung, watch out!”

Taeng turned around and avoided swiftly the attack, it was a lousy one since he can manage to dodge it even if it was a sneaky attack.

“Chan, behind you!”

Chanyeol too successfully dodge the attack by another perpetrator coming from behind him. He retreated backwards, joining Taeng by his side again.

“What should we do, Hyung? Should we fight them?”

Taeng stayed quiet, and observed the increasing figures that were closing on them. “There’s too many of them. And there’s Fany here.”

Chanyeol nodded and waited for his leader's command.

“I’ll distract them, you.. you take Fany and get the hell away from here. Got it?”

“I can’t leave you, Hyung. There’s too many of them for you to take it alone.”

“You do as I say!” He hissed, which finally earned him a nod from the kid. “Keep her safe.”

“Noona, stay behind me.” Chanyeol turned to the girl, and pulled her to stand behind him.

“Wh-what is he doing?” She asked, as they both looked at Taeng.

They saw Taeng making his moves forward towards the approaching figures, three of them were single handedly thrown down by his leader. Chanyeol saw the opportunity and quickly ran through the open path, dragging Tiffany with him.

He didn’t look back after passing the huddling people and was determined to take Tiffany out of the mess. He wanted to do it as fast as he could so that he can get back with help for his leader.

Tiffany was the opposite of Chanyeol, she was still watching Taeng as she was dragged away, it didn’t feel right to leave him alone there. Her heart suddenly grew worried, and the grip on the bat that he asked her to hold onto grew weaker. She didn’t feel as safe anymore even though she was already out of the mess. Eventually, the bat dropped to the ground.

Unfortunately, Chanyeol didn’t get really far when suddenly he felt a strike to the back of his head, and just like the wooden bat, he succumbed to the ground , finally losing the grip on the girl.

***

Taeng was getting exhausted, but he can see that the people he was fighting with were in a worse condition than him. He knows that any minute from now, he would win this fight, just like he had won in any other fights, no matter how unfair it was. Ten people, against one. He didn’t even realize that there was one person who was standing still in a corner, watching him carefully.

He was about to strike another blow at the last standing man, when he heard the awfully familiar voice again.

“Wow, you still got it, Kim Taeng.” GD stepped out into the light and gave him a round of applause.

“And I wonder why you are still alive?”

“You can’t kill me, T.”

“Why don’t we find out?” Taeng took a few steps forward, ready to lunge at the smiling guy. He didn’t know why the guy looked so confident and boastful when it was obvious that he was losing this unfair fight.

 “Now now, What’s the hurry? How about we stop wasting energy on this useless fight, and talk?” He smirked as two people now walked in, holding on to a squirming girl, looking very scared with tears apparent in her eyes.

“Tiffany.” Taeng muttered under his breath. He put down his guard when the girl walked in, and as a result the two men who were closest to him, grabbed onto him.

“Yes, Tiffany.” GD laughed cynically. “Well, what do you say?”

“F’ck you!” He cursed and again, he managed to take down the two men quite easily. The other recovering men started to surround him again, and he was ready to do the same to them when he heard a scream.

He turned his head and saw Tiffany with her hair yanked back, and she started to cry because of the pain.

“Take your f’cking hands off her!” He bellowed at the two men who were handling Tiffany roughly.

“Want to talk now?” GD chuckled evilly. “But first, get on your knees.”

Taeng felt himself being forced to kneel, he didn’t fight back, afraid that Tiffany would get hurt.

“What do you want, f’ckface?”

“Now, be nice. Or your girlfriend will have a new scar on her pretty face.”

He bit his tongue in silence, clenching his fists.

“Now that we got you settled down, first, you will have a little welcoming party from me.” GD nodded to his men behind Taeng, “Welcome to our territory, Wolf Leader.”

There was nothing ‘welcoming’ or pleasant about the party, since Taeng was getting beat from every side. He was down on the ground with his arms up, trying to protect his head as the Dragon men hitting him with no mercy. Even the men at Tiffany’s side left her to get some revenge on the common enemy.

Tiffany yelled at them, telling them to stop. She felt hurt too, to see Taeng getting hit like a piece of meat by those men.

“That was a refreshing scene to watch. THE Kim Taeng, all battered down, on the ground.”

Surprisingly, Taeng got up from his position, and sat up straight again. He spat some of the blood that was in his mouth before speaking. “And the famous Coward of the day, standing aside watching.”

GD laughed. “I rather have them do the dirty jobs, T. That’s the difference between you and me.”

“Really? Or you’re just afraid that you’ll trip on your own two feet while coming here?”

“F’ck you. That was a long time ago.”

“You’re still a big coward and clumsy as ever. Using your father’s men to beat me up. Just like high school. What change?”

GD gritted his teeth, and gave a sign to one of his men.

Taeng received a hard punch on his stomach.

“STOP!” Tiffany yelled again.

“Oh, I forgot about the presence of a girl here. Where is my manners?”

GD walked towards Tiffany and touched her face, it.

“Nice skin, tootsie. May I?” He leaned in, to place a kiss on Tiffany’s lips when he was suddenly pinned to the wall by the previously kneeling man.

“Touch her again, and I’ll break your little fingers.” Taeng managed to roar at him before immediately pulled back by GD’s men.

GD recovered his composure and let out a smirk. “Possessive much? Come on, KT. I just want a taste of it.”

“I don’t like sharing.”

“But your mother like the idea of sharing your father.”

Taeng’s eyes turned dark instantly for bringing up his late parents. “F’ck you, Ji.”

He laughed for the nth time. Amused by Taeng’s easily provoked self. “Alright, I won’t talk about someone who’s already dead. How’s your…Wait? Who else is there? The whole family is dead.”

Taeng clenched his fists at his sides.

“Aren’t you lonely?” GD asked. “Living alone in that big house you have. Wait! I forgot again. You have a new girl toy, didn’t you?” He turned his attention towards Tiffany. “My my, what  a beautiful one you got.”

“I won’t repeat my words.” Taeng warned GD as he watched the latter cupped Tiffany’s face.

GD chuckled. “Fingers eh? How about another thing that is long and hard? She looks like she needs it.”

“I’ll break that dragon you have on your neck.” Taeng said angrily.

“Relax, Taeng. I have no interest in your girl. She’s here to have you in control while I carry out my sweet plan.” He tapped Tiffany’s cheek a few times. “Do you even remember what you did to me?”

Taeng scoffed. “I do. And I remember, too, how you cried and begged for your life.”

“I’m going to make you do just that too, today.”

Taeng let out a laugh. “I’ve never begged for anything in my life. Even when you broke my hand when we were in high school.” He distinctly remembered that memory of how GD and his gang surrounded him one day, and beat him to a pulp.

“Ahh, I feel so touched that you remembered everything about me. Who would have thought that the little boy grew up to be such a badass leader. You should thank me for that.” GD snickered.

“Oh, I’ll do just that, once you’ve let me go.” Taeng challenged GD.

“You want to have a go with me? One to one?”

“You bet. It’ll be like the old times.” Taeng paused, “But it was never one to one, wasn’t it?”

GD let out an amused laugh. “You want a fight? You’ll get it.” He gestured towards his men, to release Taeng.

Once they did that, Taeng lunged forward towards the lanky guy and tried to attack him. But when he was about to land a fist, a shriek was heard.

A knife was held to Tiffany’s neck by one of GD’s men, and her hair was yanked back hard by them.

Taeng quickly realized that whenever he took a step, or try to raise his fist, Tiffany would get rough up by the man by her side.

“What are you waiting for? Come on!” GD let out a taunting laugh, as he stood with his own two feet again. Taeng stepped back from GD, clenching his fists at his sides. His eyes never left the girl.

GD took the first blow, right at Taeng’s stomach when he was still distracted by the sight of Tiffany.

Taeng stumbled backwards, but he regained his balance. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t do this fairly.”

GD gave Taeng another punch, this time at his face. “A fair fight is not something that you’ll get, KT. I thought you’re the best fighter in your gang? Prove it.”

Taeng spat out another spit of blood.“Let her go, and I’ll make sure you will remember tonight.”

GD laughed. “Now, where’s the fun in that?” He punched Taeng at his ribs.

Taeng managed to carve a smile on his face despite the pain he was feeling.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Tiffany hit me harder than that.” Taeng smirked tauntingly.

GD grew mad at the taunt. He punched Taeng a couple more times before kicking him in his crotch.

Taeng groaned in pain, he could feel the pain coming to him, especially the one coming from his private part. But he straightened back after recovering from the pain, and wore the same smirk. “Yeah, she’s still stronger than you. Maybe you should let her do this. You should just step back to your coward position. You’re not cut out for this.”

“Oh, you think that I’m not hardcore enough?”

“Not even close. Amateurs.” Taeng taunted. He knew that GD hated the most when he was called that.

“That’s it!” GD bellowed. He nodded to his men, and Taeng saw Tiffany getting slapped across her face.

“Wait! You said you wouldn’t hurt her!” Daniel’s voice was heard amidst the noises.

“F’ck You!” Taeng growled.

GD’s men were trying their hardest to hold back an angry Taeng because he kept on lunging forward, eager to get his hands on their leader.

“How’s that, Taeng? Is that hardcore enough for you?” He evilly laughed.

“GD!”

“Shut up, daddy’s boy!” GD shouted at Daniel. “Get him out of my face!” He was soon taken away from the scene, probably getting himself new broken bones.

“When I get out of here, I swear you’ll beg for death from me again.” Taeng has calmed down now, he knew nothing good would come if he did anything without thinking.

“There is no out of here. You’ll die today, Taeng.”

“Really?” Taeng’s eyes wandered lower, towards GD’s crotch. “Nope, I don’t think so.”

“What the hell are you looking at?”

“Oh, I’m just checking if you have grown some balls. Turns out you still haven’t,”

“You really want to die, Kim Taeng?!”

“The day I’ll die would be the day you grow some balls. F’cking let me go, and do this like a man!”

Taeng heard Tiffany getting slapped again. He grew quiet instantly, only glaring at the skinny man with the tattoo on his neck. How would he like to break that little neck of his. His eyes found the man that was holding onto the girl, sending him a murdering gaze for putting his hands on the girl he loves. He would be sure to remember the amused smile on the man’s face as he gave Tiffany a slap.

“Behave, Taeng. The next one wouldn’t be a slap. I changed my mind about having interest in her. She’s looking very y now that her face all beaten up.” GD went closer to Tiffany and observed her face. He got a thing for abusive , he loves to watch women getting abused and violated.

Taeng couldn’t take it anymore, he managed to break through the men holding onto him and tackled GD down.

He was about to punch him, when he was again lifted up, and slammed into the nearest wall.

Taeng lost count of how many punches and kicks were thrown at him then, he eventually slid down the wall and was in a fetal position again, protecting his head. The memory of him being beaten up just like this during his younger days started to fill up her mind.

GD laughed and was having so much fun, throwing a random kick at the figure on the ground. He told his men to stop the attack, and brushes off his hands before a knife was brought out from his pocket.

“NO!” Tiffany yelled, trying to stop the man with the knife.

“Any last words, KT?”

He heard a few mumblings from Taeng, so he took a step closer to him, to listen to what he had to say.

“..grow ..some balls..”

Taeng received another kick to his stomach. “..You’re” He coughed out. “dead.”

GD laughed hearing the weak threat. “Speak louder, Wolf Boy.”

Taeng was forced to be on his knees again, he struggled to keep his body steady, after being beaten up quite badly.

“You’re nothing but a bunch of cowards.” He said it loud and clear this time, wearing a smirk, despite the obvious pain he was feeling.

“Apparently, this coward would still be alive longer than you.”

“Really? Prove it by finishing the job. Do it.” He challenged GD. With all the history going between them, he had always known that GD was never a killer himself. Like he said, he leaves the dirty jobs to his men.

“No! Don’t provoke him, you idiot!” Tiffany screamed at the fearless guy.

Taeng’s head turned towards her, he shot her a grin. “Don’t worry, Fany. He doesn’t have the balls to do it.”  With the words coming out of his mouth, he received an angry punch from the Dragon leader.

Tiffany had quite a struggle with the man holding her, her wrists were starting to hurt from his grip. But she didn’t want to just stand there and watch the man getting himself killed because of his big mouth. “Just shut your mouth, right now!”

Taeng wiped the blood from his mouth before speaking again, ignoring the Dragon leader that was staring deadly at him. “Fany, I want to talk. He said that I could have my last words.”

“Shut up.” Tiffany started to cry right there, when she realized that there was nothing she could do to stop anything from happening.

“You’re gonna be fine.” He assured her when he saw her crying, not realizing that the tears were for him.

GD stepped closer to the blabbering guy. He was pissed off at his blunt remarks, and was ready to end the pitiful conversation he was having with his ‘lover’. He was going to plunge the knife right at Taeng’s throat when he heard some noises.

A very loud howling, and sounds of bikes pulling up the curb.

GD looked down and saw Taeng smirking, amidst his swollen and bloodied face.

“Aren’t you going to run?” He asked, and looked up. “Because I won’t let you go again like the last time.”

GD’s eyes darkened, he cowered in fear remembering the last time he heard the Wolves howling.

“What are we going to do, Boss?” One of his men asked.

“Run.”

“What?!”

“We’re outnumbered. And they have stronger men.”

“Are you kidding, Boss? We have the upper hands. This is our territory.”

“No. Let’s go back. Leave them.” He gestured towards his men who were still fighting despite their battered body, the result of Taeng’s hits.

GD stumbled backwards, the knife fell from his hand as he ran towards the opposite road. Seeing the act of their leader, many of them soon followed his steps. Leaving a few men, who was already engaged in a fight with the Wolf pack and didn’t manage to escape in time.

Taeng saw one person that he had been eyeing, he was still holding onto the girl, trying to drag her with him. He went towards the oblivious guy and grabbed him before he can make his escape.

“Oh, you’re staying.” He said to the surprised guy.

Tiffany saw Taeng’s eyes, there were nothing but anger in them. She too felt scared looking into them, making her stepping back from the two men.

The man raised his fist, trying to punch Taeng , but he was obviously more skillful than him even though he was badly beaten up.

He showed the knife he previously picked up and held it to the guy’s throat. “I told you not to lay hands on her. You f’cking hit her, you son of a b’tch!”

The man cowered in fear. “I didn’t…”

“Don’t even beg, you piece of .” Taeng dug deeper, ready to cut him across his throat.

“Taeng!”

Someone called him from behind. And soon, a hand held onto his arm, bringing it down, along with the knife he previously gripped.

“Calm down, Taeng. You’re fine now. We’re here.”

“I have to kill him.”

“No, you don’t. We’ll handle him.”

“No. I’ll handle this myself.” Taeng smirked deviously which made the man in front of him shivered in fear.

Yul heard the seriousness in his voice, and knew that there was nothing he can do to stop the furious leader.

Taeng released the man, beckoning him to have a one on one fight with him.

The man hesitated, how could he fight Taeng when he was well aware that he was a better fighter than him.

“Come on, you idiot!” Taeng took the first step, throwing a high kick to the man’s back. The kick was hard enough to make the latter groaned in pain.

“I..I.. this is not a fair fight.”

Taeng scowled at the guy. “You hit a girl, there is no playing fair with you!” He strode towards the guy and gave a hard punch at his face.

“Taeng, calm down.” Yul held him by his shoulder. He didn’t want Taeng to do anything that would make him regret it later. Yul was the one who had always have blood on his hands, and he doesn’t intend to drag Taeng into that group.

“He f’cking hit her! He hit Fany!”

“Fany? She’s here too? Where is she?” Yul looked around for the girl. He finally saw the girl somewhere in a corner, closing her eyes tightly, hands covering her own ears.

Tiffany didn’t like hearing or seeing the things that were going down around her now. It was too gory for her.

“Taeng, go to her. She looks scared. Go.”

“But..” He was still angry at the guy who was treating Tiffany however he wants, earlier.

“I’ll take care of him.”

Taeng huffed before throwing a last punch at the man’s stomach. After that, his eyes quickly found Tiffany in the corner. He went straight to her, pushing around the people that was in his way.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright. You’re safe now.” He held onto her hands and brought it down, so that she can hear him. “It’s me. You’re safe now. There’s no one to hurt you anymore.” He spoke softly and held tightly onto those shaking hands.

Tiffany didn’t open her eyes, she shook her head, refusing to believe his words.

Taeng’s heart broke at that sight, he knew that she must be a little traumatized. There was too many things happening in one day. Without wasting more time, he embraced her, before picking her up from the ground.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He cooed, and placed a kiss on her head, muttering a soft apology. “I’m sorry.”

***

“Taeng, you have to see the doctor for your injuries.”

“I’ll do that later.”

“I mean now. It’s only going to be worse if you…”

“I’ll do that later. When she has woken up.”

Yul sighed and shook his head before exiting the room. His phone rang then, and he picked it up, sighing loud into the phone.

“Seobang~~ Where are you?”

“Hey, baby. Sorry that I left without telling you.”

“What’s wrong? Your voice doesn’t sound right. Where are you now?”

“I’m in the hospital.” He paused, “With Taeng and Tiffany.”

“What?! What happened?”

“They got in a fight with the Dragons.”

“What?! How did Tiffany get involved in this?”

“I’m not sure, I got a phone call from Chanyeol right before he passed out. I came there right away with the boys, but Taeng was already in a bad shape. And Tiffany, she’s a little shaken. She’s not waking up. Taeng wouldn’t get his wounds taken look at, not until she wakes up.”

“What’s their room number? I’ll treat him. He doesn’t need to leave the room.”

“Are you sure? It’s your day off.”

“This is Taeng we’re talking about, babe.”

“Alright, I’ll come and get you. You can’t drive in your state.” Jessica had just finished her forty-eight hours straight shift, and today was supposed to be her rest day. There was no way he would let her drive alone, not when her body was still exhausted.

“Okay, Seobang. Drive safe. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

“I told you that I’m fine.”

“Your bleeding hasn’t stopped. And I can see the pain in your face every time you move. Lift up your shirt, and let me take a look at them.” Jessica said commandingly.

Taeng sighed out loud before doing what his friend told him. He took off his shirt, and cringed a little when the fabric brushed against his wounds. “It’s just a little sore.”

Jessica gave him a glare before starting to treat the bruises and cuts on his upper body.

His eyes never left the girl as he waited for her to open her eyes, she had been sleeping too long for his comfort. He was anxious, wanting her to wake up already.

“How long will she be asleep?”

Jessica raised her eyebrows, taking a look at the sleeping girl before shrugging her shoulders. “It could be for another hour. What did the doctor give her?”

“Nothing. She just fainted while he was doing some check ups on her.”

She nodded her head, before resuming her treatment on one of Taeng’s bruises.

“Can you check on her?”

“She has her own doctor, Taeng.”

“But just a quick look, for another opinion?”

“Well, from my own observation, she seemed fine. Maybe she was a little shock.”

Taeng finally nodded his head, accepting his friend’s answer. “They harassed her.”

Jessica widened her eyes.

“Not in that way.” He added quickly. “They hit her. And mocked her. I just…I can’t stand seeing her treated that way, all because of me.” He looked down.

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is. I brought it to her. They were doing that to keep me in control.”

“Hey, listen.” Jessica lifted Taeng’s head to make him look at her. “This has nothing to do with you, she’s fine now, and that is all that important right now.” She gave a kiss on his cheeks before patting them lovingly. “You’re all done now. Just be careful with them, do not do anything rough for at least a couple of days.

“Yes, mother.” He grinned.

“Looks like you got your smile back, Taeng.” Yul said. He was leaning on the wall, crossing his arms while watching the interaction between his girlfriend and leader. He used to envy the closeness between the two people, and often got into a fight with his lover because of it, but he knew that they love each other just like a sister love her little brother.

“Yeah.” Taeng glanced at Yul, “How’s Chanyeol doing?”

“He’s already awake. He did a CT scan and will get the result in a couple of hours.”

Taeng frowned. “I thought that he got away. I didn’t think that they would chase them that far.”

“It’s not your fault too.” Jessica reminded him.

“This one is mine. If I didn’t just go there blindly, none of us would be hurt.” Taeng remembered that he had rushed to the scene when he got the call from Chanyeol, without even letting his bodyguards or one of his boys to come with him.

He was enraged when he learnt that Tiffany had go to see Daniel despite his warning. He didn’t expect to be ambushed like that.

“But if you didn’t go there, what would have happened to Tiffany and Chanyeol? You saw how many people were there with them.” Yul said.

Taeng clenched his fists remembering the occurrence. “This is all that son of b’tch doings! Did you get him?”

“GD?”

“No. Daniel.”

“Oh, that guy. We couldn’t find him anywhere. Maybe he skips town.”

“He wouldn’t do that. He’s a daddy’s boy. Find him for me.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Taeng. Let him be. He’s harmless.”

“He’s the reason Tiffany was there in the first place!” He shouted and punched the nearest wall.

“Taeng! I told you to be careful.” Jessica warned him, giving him a smack on his uninjured arm.

“Why him? GD was the one who organized everything.”

“It was expected of him. But Daniel? He’s a big hypocrite, for having Tiffany’s trust but still betrayed her like that.”

“Oh,” The realization hit Yul.

“What?” Taeng asked, noticing the smile on his friend’s face.

“Nothing.” Yul held in his smile. “I’ll tell the boys to look out for Daniel. In the mean time, I think we should just lay low. The police are looking closely to this case. They think that it was some kind of dealing went wrong.”

“Why were you smiling?”

“It’s nothing.” Yul let out a soft chuckle. “You’re funny, Taeng.”

He frowned. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Like I say, funny.”

“What is?”

“The way you talk about trust. I didn’t know you cared that much.”

“It’s Tiffany’s trust. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that? And that f’cking took it for granted.” Unconciously, Taeng pouted, sad that he was still not in Tiffany’s good books despite his efforts.

“You’ll get there someday.”

“Urmm.” Taeng didn’t look convinced.

“Cheer up, Buddy.” Yul patted his shoulder. “I believe in you.”

He worked out a smile and nodded his head.

***

[Heart on Fire] - Click for better reading experience.

Tiffany woke up a couple of hours later, she felt sore all over her body since she had been laying on the bed for too long.

“Welcome back, pink princess.” A voice greeted her, it sounded husky unlike his usual voice. “Are you feeling okay?”

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, before nodding her head. “Wh-“ She cleared . “Where am I?”

“Hospital.” Taeng smiled. “You’ve been out for a couple of hours.” He stood up to pour a glass of water before handing it to the girl.

She took it and drank it slowly, still trying to recover her mind. Her eyes widened when she remembered what happened. “Are you okay?” She asked concernedly.

He chuckled, took the now empty glass of water before gave a short nod. “Nothing to worry about.”

She frowned. “You took quite a lot of hits.”

He shrugged. “I can take a few hits. I’m just glad you’re spared from any of it. Though,” He reached out and his thumb caressed a spot on her cheek. “I’m sorry for this.” He looked down, disappointed at himself.

Unconsciously, Tiffany held onto the hand that was touching her face and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry too.”

Taeng lifted his head. “For what?”

“For.. For leading you out there. I shouldn’t listen to him. He… He was the one who..” Her voice shook from the guilt she was feeling.

“Hey, it’s not your fault okay?”

“But he was supposed to be my friend. And you’ve warned me about him.”

“Hey, it doesn’t matter. I’m glad you’re safe now.” Unknowingly, his body leaned closer, and he placed a kiss on top of her head.

She gasped inwardly, her heart started to beat out of control.

“You scared the hell out of me when you passed out earlier. I thought that they have drugged you or something.” Taeng cupped her face, and his gaze  on her was overwhelming. “Never do it again, alright?”

She didn’t know why but her whole perspective about the guy just changed, and she was scared because of it. It was like she had seen a new light, and she had found her way out of the pit she had previously buried under.

“Fany?” His voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Y-yes?”

The kiss took her by surprise, but she could feel the sincerity in his act.

He kissed her fervently, showing how grateful he was that she was still alive and was out of harm’s way. He pulled out, smiling before giving the girl another peck, when she was still closing her eyes, not even protesting against him.

Tiffany’s cheeks blushed, and she felt out of breath. When she opened her eyes, she saw his eyes staring intensely into hers, setting her heart on fire.

Ooooh, hearts are on fire. :D

slowly but surely.