Myungsoo's POV~

Days have gone by and Jisu's bruises were slowly disappearing, but they still bothered me. Whenever I brought them up, she would change the subject or say she hurt herself, but I knew better. 

Today, the weather was a bit gloomy, so I left work early and drove over to Jisu's school to pick her up; I didn't want her to walk just in case it did rain. Also, Miyeon wasn't coming over today either and Jisu didn't know about it, so I might as well not waste her time to come to my empty place. 

I waited besides the school gates with 10 minutes left until school was over when I saw her friends, Jinyoung and the boys. Since I was still curious about Jisu's bruises and them being her best friends, I assumed they knew what was going on so I stepped out of the car and headed towards them. 

"Oh, it's Jisu's Prince Charming!" Jinyoung said with a wide grin. I could only roll my eyes in response. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking Jisu up just in case it rains today. Shouldn't you guys be in class? There's still 9 minutes left til school's over," I replied as they exchanged looks. 

"There's no need to be in class when there's only 9 minutes left," Baro said. I narrowed my eyes at them in disbelief when I saw someone hide behind Sandeul. 

"Gongchan?" I asked as Sandeul shifted to the side, revealing an embarrassed Gongchan. 

"H-hyung...," he softly said. "Hi."

"You're skipping school too?" I asked as he hesitantly nodded. "Yah, you're not the type of kid to be skipping."

He sheepishly smiled and shrugged, hiding behind Sandeul again. 

"Well, since you're here for Jisu, we'll get going,"CNU smiled and they took a step, but I blocked them again. 

"I actually want to talk to you guys," I said as they exchanged looks again. 

"What about Jisu?" Sandeul asked. "Aren't you here to pick her up?"

"Oh, was I?" I questioned as they all raised an eyebrow. 

"He's one strange Prince Charming," I heard Jinyoung whisper, but I ignored him. I smiled to them and led them to a nearby cafe. 

"Whatever you want, it's on me," I said as they widely smiled and ordered quite a lot of things from coffee to scones. We sat down up on the 2nd level by the corner; before I spoke I let them eat first. 

"What was it you wanted to talk about Prince Char-"

"Myungsoo. My name's Myungsoo," I firmly said to Baro who sheepishly smiled and nodded. "What I wanted to talk about was Jisu."

They all stopped eating and looked up at me. I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair. 

"She won't tell me anything, so I'm going to have you guys tell me," I said. "About Jisu? What's her family history?"

They exchanged looks and cleared their throats, soon sitting perfectly straight. 

"We assumed she would have told you already," CNU said, confused. I, too, was confused. "Not only that, but we are not in the position to tell you her personal information without her consent."

They boys nodded in agreement other than Gongchan who was still pretty new to the group. 

"Not only that, but we don't want to disappoint her. We're the only ones who know and we made a promise to her and to each other that we wouldn't tell anyone," Sandeul said. "We're only going to waste your time if you're gonna try to get something from us and in advance, I'm sorry for wasting your time."

I was quite disappointed, but it was an understandable reason so I didn't go any further. 

"Then let me ask you one thing," I said as they nodded to answer it. "Have you guys seen it?"

"Eh?" they chorused. "Seen what?"

"Have you guys seen anything strange on her arms?" I asked, not wanting to be too direct. They exchanged looks and shook their heads when Baro snapped his fingers. 

"Ahh~ the bruis-"

"SHHHHHH!!!" the boys shushed him by covering his mouth. They glared at him when Gongchan furrowed his eyebrows. 

"What are you guys talking about? What's wrong with Jisu?" Gongchan asked feeling left out. I sighed and softly smiled to him. 

"Don't worry, I'm just as confused as you are," I replied and turned my attention to the boys who glared and mouthed words to Baro. "I know you guys are protecting her, but sometimes being too overprotective will lead to worser situations if you guys don't tell anyone. It's fine if you guys won't tell me, but I'll find out even if I have to force her to tell me because whatever is happening to her and whoever is hurting her needs to pay for it. And I won't let them lay another hand on Jisu."

With that I got out of my seat and walked down the stairs. When I reached the exit, I heard a stampede coming down the stairs so I stopped and looked to see the boys at the bottom of the stairs, walking towards me. 

"If you're going to help Jisu, does that mean we can trust you with the things we're going to tell you?" Jinyoung asked. 

"I surely won't take advantage of the information I get from you," I said as he sighed relieved and we decided to go to my place instead since it was more private and I had Jinyoung call Jisu to go home. Luckily it didn't rain so she got home dry. 

I served them water and sat down in a chair while they all sat on the couch in front of me. 

"So, what are you guys going to tell me?" I asked with my legs crossed and my arms folded. 

"We're not going to tell you everything, but just enough to know where she comes from," CNU said as I nodded. They sighed and looked at each other, signaling someone to speak first. 

"A-ah, before we start. Is it really okay for me to be here and to listen to Jisu's history? I mean I do live just 2 levels below and I don't want to be a burden," Gongchan softly said, but we had him stay and listen if he was going to be a part of Jisu's "group".

"Well...Jisu was born into a poor family; she was actually born in the country side," Jinyoung started. "I, too, being born in the same village and being her childhood friend, I knew her parents pretty well. They were the nicest people I've ever met, whenever I came over to get away from my dad's lectures they would always feed me. Even though they didn't even have enough to feed theirselves, they still feed me. Both her parents sold vegetables that they personally grew, but as their food became limited it was getting more difficult for them but they continued to smile through all the troubles."

Jinyoung stopped for a moment to smile at the memories, but then his smile became sad. 

"After 7 years of struggling, both her parents became ill. As a matter of fact, the whole village was getting sick consider how small our village was. Jisu, other kids and I also got ill and then one by one, the villagers died including Jisu's parents. Because of the increasing death, my parents had brought Jisu and I to a hospital spending all their earnings to pay for the bill and medicine. By the time I regained my health back, Jisu was already adopted by Madam Jung, who was looking for a daughter-"

"More like a slave," Sandeul muttered. 

"Even I won't deny it," Jinyoung sighed. I took in everything Jinyoung said and couldn't believe how pitiful Jisu really was. 

"Then about her arms, was that all from Madame Jung?" I asked as they kept quiet. "So it was."

"We're not saying she's the one," Sandeul quietly said. "But then again she could be. We, too, don't know much about who did it. Jisu won't tell us."

I sighed and straightened myself up. 

"You'll help Jisu, right?" Gongchan asked with pleading eyes. "I'm not close to her, but the thought of her being abused is wrong. You'll do something about it, right hyung?"

I gently smiled. "Of course I will, but probably not too soon. I'll wait for the right time."

They sighed in relief and didn't want to bother me anymore, so they decided to leave. 

"You know, you're not too bad," Jinyoung smiled before heading out with the others. I waved to them and sighed as they closed the door. I walked towards the living room window and stared out in the distant. 

"What am I going to do with Jisu?" I whispered.  "How should I approach her with this situation?"

Once night had fallen, I went to Jisu's house to check up on her. I walked up the steps to her front door and rung the doorbell. After the 2nd time ringing it I heard heavy footsteps approach. The door flung open and appeared Madame Jung in a silky blue robe and a green face mask with her hair wrapped in a towel. As a greeting, I bowed to her. 

"Oh~ Myungsoo-ssi," she brightly smile. "How may I help you tonight?"

"I came by to see Jisu, is she home?" I asked. 

"Jisu? Why on earth would you come to see her?" she asked through clenched teethes. 

"Is she home or not?" I firmly asked, which seemed to have pissed her off. 

"She's not home, now goodbye Myungsoo-ssi," Madame Jung muttered and started to close the door, but I slipped my foot inside preventing her from closing it. 

"If I won't be able to talk to her, then I'll talk to you," I said as she narrowed her eyes at me, but she did let me in. I observed her house as it was spotless, but I knew it was all Jisu's work. 

"You may come this way," Madame Jung said leading me to the dining area. I sat down while Madame Jung handed me a cup of water, sitting across from me. "What is it you want to talk about, Myungsoo-ssi?"

"Jisu," was all I said, which didn't seem to surprise her. "As my 'employee', I need to know her background. Since she's not home I thought I'd ask you."

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you personal information," she smirked. "I'll have to report it to the police-"

"There's no need to because I've got permission from them," I said pulling out a paper saying I have every right to know my employees personal information and it for sure wasn't fake. I had requested for it earlier after Jinyoung and the boys left just in case. 

She scoffed in disbelief and crossed her arms. 

"Just who are you, Myungsoo-ssi?" she asked in a not-so-lady like manner. I smirked and leaned over the table with my arms folded over the table. 

"Someone who can easily make you end up on the streets," I forcibly smiled. "Now tell me, what's your relationship with Jisu? And please, no false information."

She kept quiet and turned away. She wasn't going to answer, but I already knew the answer; I just wanted to hear it from her myself. 

"Is she your daughter?" I asked seeing a muscle move in her neck. "You need to tell me Madame Jung for emergency purposes for you are her guardian. If something was to happen to her, we need an emergency contact."

She still didn't speak or make eye contact with me. I knew I was just wasting time, so I got up and looked down at her. 

"I'll be back another day. Maybe you'll cooperate with me next time," I said and walked out of the dining area when I heard a door click open. I stopped in my tracks and look up the stairs to see Jisu at the top of the stairs. 

"O-oppa?" she blinked, then widened her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

I smiled and walked up the stairs to her, not caring about Madame Jung's presence. 

"Jisu, promise me something," I whispered into her ear as she nodded. "If she tells you to quit your job because of me, don't."

"Oppa, what's going on?" she whispered back. 

"Nothing," I replied and patted her head, then slid my hand down to her wrist softly grabbing it. "And if she hurts you, please tell me."

I could feel her body tense up as I released her wrist. 

"Promise me," I mouthed the words. She hesitated at first, but nodded giving me a sign of relief. I turned around and walked down the stairs passing Madame Jung giving her one last glare before excusing myself out of her house. 

I deeply inhaled the fresh air and looked up at the sky. 

"The night sky appears to be darker than other nights," I softly said. "She'll be fine tonight, right?"