Natalie’s POV:

I looked around and felt my eyes widen in shock as they landed on the man lying on the ground across from me. I quickly hurried over to him.  

 

When I came to clear view of his face, I realized that it was the same man I harbored last week after the gang brawl. He was wearing the exact same mask he wore the last time.

 

Blood was running down his leg and there were scratches all over his face.

 

“Oh my god…” I whispered as my lips began to tremble in fear. “Please answer me…”

 

“I’m fine,” he lied. It was obvious he was in serious pain.

 

“No you’re not. We need to get you to the hospital,” I said before I felt a strong grip placed on my arm.

 

“Don’t,” he ordered, staring me hard in the eyes.

 

“You’re hurt. Stop acting like a stubborn and let me help you out,” I unintentionally raised my voice. “Oh, and thanks for nearly choking me to death last time,” I commented sarcastically.

 

“You don’t understand,” he muttered.

 

“Don’t understand what? Now are you coming with me to the hospital or not? Or do you want to come inside? But then again, I wouldn’t want to harbor an ungrateful like you again. Who knows, maybe this I’ll really die from you—“

 

“SHUT THE HELL UP NATALIE!” he snapped before groaning in pain shortly after.

 

“OH I’M SO SORRY MR. I-THINK-I-CAN—Wait… H-How do you know m-my name…?” I stammered.

 

“Uh, lucky guess…?” he chuckled artificially. "Honestly!"

 

I raised an eyebrow at him.

 

He sighed in defeat when he realized he had spilled the beans.

 

“Alright. You win. Let’s go inside.”

 

 

I handed him a glass of water before kneeling on the ground and lifting up his pant leg.

 

A large gash marked his shin, starting from right under his knee all the way to a few inches above his ankle. Blood was oozing out like no tomorrow, staining my hard wood floor.

 

“Damn…” I cursed before opening my first-aid kit and attempting to attend his wound with my little to none medical skills.

 

“Alright, talk,” I ordered. “Tell me what you know. But first, take off that mask. Stop trying to be so damn mysterious. It’s not attractive to us women at all,” I rolled my eyes at him.

 

“Holy crap, I WASN’T TRYING TO BE MYSTERIOUS! You know what, never mind. No time to argue. But no, I’m not going to take off my mask. It’s for your own safety,” he argued.

 

“My own safety? Yeah, because a mask is TOTALLY going to protect me,” I snorted as I began wrapped the billionith layer of gauze around his leg to compress the bleeding.

 

“Yah! Can you tone it down a little? Your voice is loud enough to be heard from ten thousand miles away,” he hushed. “Actually, wait. Come down here. It’s safer.”

 

He stood up and grabbed my wrist tightly and began leading me down to my basement.

 

“How the hell did you know—“

 

“Shh!” he placed a finger to his lips.

 

I cautiously walked down the stairs with him leading casually ahead of me, as if he knew my house from inside out.

 

Blindly reaching for something on the wall, he slightly pushed—what seemed to be a large chest—over and gently pressed down on something. He then gently moved me over to his side.

 

Suddenly, a large gaping entrance emerged from the ground.

 

I lightly gasped in surprise.

 

What is this?

 

“Don’t be afraid. It’s fine,” he reassured. His grip tightened on my wrist as me led me down a staircase in a room that was pitch dark.

 

The man took out a lighter and began lighting the four small candles that were hung at each corner of the room. Slowly, the light began to fill the room, taking over the darkness.

 

Situated in the middle of the room was an empty old-fashioned wooden table with three chairs neatly tucked under it. Lined on the walls were thousands of different kinds of weapons—from guns, knives, rifles, and many other things I had no knowledge of. In one of the corners of the room sat a small wooden chest.

 

“Everything you see here belongs to your parents,” the man stated.

 

I looked at him in disbelief.

 

“I know this is all too overwhelming for you, but I think it’s time I should let you know.”

 

He leaned against the table and began telling me everything I’ve been yearning to know for the past years.

 

“Your parents were involved in a gang called Children of Fang. Everyone that was a part of this gang was required to be dressed in all black and be masked. Each person had an individual tattoo of a fang with a letter next to it, indicating his or her role in the group,” he explained intricately.

 

It was then that I remembered.

 

It was a hot summer day.

 

Umma just came home from work.

 

“UMMA!” I cried happily and jumped into her arms.

 

“Ah, Natalie, you’ve been a good girl today, yes?” she asked.

 

I wrapped my small arms around her neck and smiled cheerfully.

 

“Yes! Can we go out for ice-cream?” I chirped.

 

“Of course, let umma go get ready, okay?” she gently rubbed my back before setting be back down onto the ground.

 

Before I slipped off her shoulders, I remember catching a glimpse of a black stamp-like symbol on her back. Curious, I went to ask my grandmother about it.

 

“Halemeoni, what is the black spot on umma’s back?” I questioned innocently.

My grandmother eyed my grandfather strangely before turning back to me and answering, “Ah, Natalie, it’s just a birthmark!”

 

Of course, I believed everything they said because I was only a child.

“Your parents were two of the most experienced and trusted people in the group—at least in Jin’s eyes. He usually assigned important missions to them, and was never disappointed with the results. And therefore, your parents were marked with 'K,' which was the second highest position in the gang, right under Jin's position. Many were jealous of your parent’s positions, and would do almost anything to achieve it, however, no one came close knowing that Jin was very protective over them.

 

Your parents were quite wealthy with the money they made from being in the mafia business, but soon decided that it was time to stop when your mother became impregnated with you. They didn’t want you to grow up with parents under an unrespectable status, so they decided to back out.

 

Ever since, Jin hasn’t been able to find anyone reliable enough to replace your parent’s position. At this time being, the Children of Fang were currently under an extremely dangerous and risky mission that would bring them wealthy and riches if they were able to successfully completely it. Although, I didn't know exactly what it was, I knew that if one was to mess up or reveal any kind of information—they would be immediately be exterminated.

 

One day, a man named WooSun happened to caught selling information to another gang, and under fear and pressure of being found out and exterminated, he poured all the blame onto your parents—claiming that the reason why they left was because they were afraid of being caught for their mistakes.

 

Of course, Jin, didn’t believe this at first, but when he came to your old house to visit your parents, your family had already moved to this house. He grew suspicious, but still couldn’t bring himself to believe it, knowing that your parents were not the type of people to betray him.

 

Jin decided to directly ask the men WooSun sold information to, and they claimed your parents to be the source. Of course, that was enough evidence for him. But there was one thing Jin missed. He didn’t realize that WooSun was the one who bribed the men to say what he wished. He paid them to completely blame everything on your parents.   

 

And so shortly after that, Jin slowly became vengeful and that’s where it all started. Jin set up a party as a disguise for your parents to come back and visit him. However, it was at that exact abandoned storage room that you were tied up at the other day that your parents were shot to death under the hands of Jin. Up until this day, WooSun has fled far away with the excuse that he had a sick mother to take care of, and your parents' deaths have still not been proven innocent,” he finally said before letting out a sigh.

 

I stood there, trying to soak in everything he just told me, but my mind couldn't function properly. My body along with just about everything else in my body felt completely numb.

 

Suddenly, the man pulled me into a hug.

 

“You can cry if you want,” he whispered.

 

And that sentence triggered everything. I began sobbing viciously. My shoulders shook uncontrollably, and I felt like my world was crumbling to pieces.

 

After a while, I pulled away awkwardly.

 

“But how do you know all of this…?” I questioned.

 

"I was an orphan. My parents abandoned me when I was younger and I was left on the streets. Your parents passed by me one day and were the first people to be kind enough to treat me out for dinner. And so, I followed them home like a lost duckling.

 

They were kind enough to take me in and treated me as their own child, but always kept my identity hidden along with yours for our own safety. I've been watching everything play out ever since. When Jin shot them, I was there. When he left the scene, your mother called me over. In between her last staggered breaths, she asked me to take care of you and to promise that I would do everything to protect you even if it meant losing my own life. And ever since, that has been my main priority in life. I’ve been hiding in the Children of Fang for years now, watching Jin’s every move and making a move in response without letting him know in order to protect you," he told me truthfully.

 

“And that is why, you must stay away from me. As far as possible. If you ever see me, please act like you don’t know me. Don’t talk to me. Don’t interact with me. Refrain from any contact with me. I don't know how, but I know Jin found out about your whereabouts through me when you harbored me at your house the other day.  I hope that this will be the first and last time we meet. I don’t ever want us to see each other privately like this ever again unless we're completely safe, do you hear me?” his voice suddenly turned cold again.

“I have to go now. I’ve been out for too long. They’re probably getting suspicious. Please take care of yourself, Natalie.”

Before I knew it, he began walking towards the staircase.

I suddenly felt a strange surge of loneliness wash over me.

“Wait,” I called out. “C-Can you at least tell me your name?” I whimpered.

He stopped in his tracks and hesitated.

 

I waited. No response.

 

Just when I was about to give up, he spoke out.

 

“Bang Yongguk.”