Chapter 30

“So, you finally shot him?”

Tiffany nodded her head once, tying the rag around her ankle tightly. She bit her baby pink lips as pain shot through her foot into her whole body. She tied a second knot & patted it lightly. Taking in a huge breath, her body leaned back onto the arm of the bench. She reached for a slice of orange on the small table & popped it into .

“Do you think he’ll survive?”

“It doesn’t concern me.” Tiffany reached for the book lying on the table & flipped it to the page she had last left off on.

“You should because you shot him, Ti. How could you not?”

“He was being a reckless man again.” She took in a deep breath, “Can we stop talking about him? You’ve been mentioning about him for the past eight days since I was shot. I’m trying to put my concentration on this book.” She tapped the rim of the book cover, indicating that her full attention was on each little word she was reading. A little warm breeze flew past her. She held the pages down & brushed her hair back into place.

“As you wish.” Yuri said, with a sigh, walking back into the apartment.

Tiffany tapped her finger against the book cover again. Yuri’s footsteps disappear from her ear. She closed her eyes & shut the book closed. Another queasy feeling climbed up her spine. She shivered, though the temperature was over ninety degrees. What had she done? & why was she asking herself that question so lately after shooting him? She had shot three people in her whole life but never killed anyone. Shooting him made her feel like an assassin.

A trembling, warm gasps came out between her lips. She shook her head, hugging her legs. He won’t die. She was sure of it. She didn’t aimed for his soul; she shot him one inch from his pumping heart. He should live through it but why was she feeling the way she was? She was supposed to stop him & she did. She was never supposed to feel guilty but she was.

Scoffing at herself, Tiffany raised her head. She gazed down at the busy city from where she was sitting on the balcony & beyond the city was the beach. Another rush of breeze flew by. She grimaced & leaned her head against the bench. Kyuhyun was lying. He was hiding something & planning something. She should have just finished him off in the first place. What did Stephanie ever see in him? How could her sister have ever trusted him? As much she hated to admit it, she liked Jaejoong better. It isn’t getting any further.

She slowly put her feet down & stood up. Her balancing was getting better for the past eight days. Taking in a deep breath, she walked back into the apartment. Yuri peered up from her cooking. Her eyes widened. Tiffany held her right hand out, “I can do this by myself. No need for you to panic.”

Yuri winced with a pout & continued to slice the cheese. Tiffany sat down on the stool, grabbed a cut cheese & started to munch on it, “What are you cooking?”

“My new & improve croissant bacon & egg breakfast ring.” Yuri answered cheerfully.

Tiffany made a face, looking away, “You definitely need to improve your cooking.” She said, under her breath, taking another bite of the cheese. She chewed on it for a while thoughtfully & swallowed it hard, “I’m going back home.” It came out hesitantly.

Yuri peered up, slowing down the slicing of the cheese, “That’s great to hear.” She paused with an uncertain sigh, “Are you going to tell them?”

Tiffany pressed her lips together & nodded, “Why not? It’s not a big surprise, is it?” She brushed her hair back & looked down at her feet, “I just wish they won’t make a big deal out of it. One day they’re going to find out the true identity of me. I hardly know who I am. An assassin? A tramp out in the street?” She grunt & at the same time, took a big bite out of the cheese. Just as Yuri started to open to speak, Tiffany continued, “Don’t mind my rueful mouth, Yul. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I shot three people five days ago & got shot myself. This is surely a sign of my death. I never thought that it’d be this bad. I have less than three months left.” She looked up at Yuri, “Want to go somewhere fun after I come back from visiting my parents? I’ll spend the first month with them & the second month with you. I had already gotten everything planned out. How about it?”

Yuri smiled, unsure “Why not? I’ll love to have some fun, too.”

Bringing up a small smile at the corner of her lips, Tiffany turned around to face the balcony. Her eyes closed & maybe she’ll spend some time with him.

“Here, the two chips you wanted.” She threw the small chips onto the bar & sat down on the stool. He looked up, taking one last sip of his beer.

“This is all of it?”

“Of course. One chip is only necessary though. He developed a new computer software that he’s planning to release to the public in about a week. All the copies he had made, I had already destroyed. Don’t think that that’s the real chip. It’s actually a virus.” She smiled slyly, crossing her legs, “I regain the dying virus your father used on Bae Hwang, Tiffany’s dad & destroyed the chip Jae had just developed. You’re to replace those software copies I had destroyed with the copies of that chip. If you want to fully end your brother’s company, I think it’s your job to do the last procedure.”

“You’re a smart woman, Yoona.” Yunho lit his cigarette with a match, placing the disks into his pocket, “&.” He looked up from smoking & muttered with the cigarette in his mouth, “&?”

Yoona flipped her hair back, shifting position on the stool with an impatient expression, “We had a deal, Yunnie. Don’t tell me you…”

“No need to worry so much, my dear.” He chuckled, blowing out the smoke, “I have everything under control & never forget that I’m a man of my words. We had a deal. You gave me the chips I wanted & I’ll get you out of prison.”

“It’s Jae you’re going to be dealing with, not Kyu. Your brother’s the one that is doing this to me, Yunnie. I want out.”

“You will.” He said gruffly, “Just trust me.”

“& if you can’t get him into compromise position?”

Yunho crinkled his high pointed nose at her pushy questions. He turned around, gulped down his refilled glass of beer & then placed the cigarette back between his lips, “We’ll kill him.”

Yoona’s eyes widened. She opened to speak but was too shock. Covering with the tip of her hand, she shook her head slowly, “He’s your brother. You can’t just kill him. He...You’ll be killing your own blood brother.”

“& I’ll never hesitate.” He shook his head at her nervousness, “Oh, come on, Yoon. I had known you as long as my brother had. You’re never scared to do anything. Besides, isn’t killing Stephanie your idea. Why freak out on the plan of killing my brother?”

“I didn’t kill Stephanie.” She swallowed, “I asked Kyu to but he never did.”

“You asked him to?” Yunho shook his head again, smoking on his cigarette, “& why would killing Jae make a difference? I know you really don’t love him & he never loved you either. Why now, Yoon?”

She scowled, standing up, “There’s too many answer to that but I’ll tell you, Yunnie, we won’t be killing him. Your friends won’t be doing the job either. Just stop him from turning me in. I gave you the chips because I trusted you.” She grunt, “The last & first trust I’ll have in you.”

He looked down, biting his lips. From the silent & empty nightclub, he asked, “What if I can’t do it?” He looked up at her sulking face, “Jae knows me better than I do myself. He’ll know what’s up my sleeve if I ask him for your pardon.” Truth out, Yunho scowled at himself, “What do you want me to do?”

Yoona looked thoughtful, standing there with that pose. her pink lips with a hesitating voice, she answered, “Kill him by yourself. Don’t get me involved in any deeper difficulty while you’re at it.” She thought quickly, “To save you some breath since you were never home to hear the recent news, Jae was shot seven nights ago. Said a street fight full of hit man knocked him out. He’s now at work. Don’t kill him so quickly yet.” She smiled a bit, “He’s a sweet man.” Giving him one last deceitful glance, Yoona made her way out of the club. Yunho frowned, lips slightly laughing. His brother got shot? How interesting. He’ll just make a note to go & give him a little visit but he doubted his brother being jumped by a street fight. It just seems too impossible. Jaejoong gazed out at the city. He felt sick, totally sick. His body should be lying in bed with tubes sticking into his arms & an oxygen mask covering his mouth but he hated the hospital. He hated the smell. That was a big explanation why he didn’t go into medical study. Lying in bed for seven straight nights were enough. He should have still been unconscious until the third night but something had woke him up directly from his sleep. It was a sense he had never felt before & a sense that he will never experience again, & here he was, a cast safely protecting his arm. The bullet was one inch away from his heart, hurting his right arm. The worst she can do was miss shooting his heart. He had saw that look on her face. She didn’t hesitated nor did she shake. He would love to replay that part over again, where she had shot him. He had purposely tempted her & received a bullet in return. A fair part of it for the kiss he had stole once again. At least she pretended to kiss him back before knocking him out cold but damn her for leaving him like that! He knew she wasn’t running away from what she had done wrong; she was running away him. Making a small, frustrated noise under his breath, Jaejoong hit his left fist against the windowpane. Where the hell she was, he was sure going to find her one way or the other! If she thinks that he was going to leave the situation alone with her, she can shoot him again. He didn’t come this long just to be shot by a woman he loves. Damn her!

“So, who shot you?”

Jaejoong turned around at the familiar voice. Uninterested of how his brother had gotten in & how long he had been standing there, Jaejoong walked the short distance to his desk & sat down on the leather chair, “Should it really be your business?”

“Why shouldn’t it?”

Jaejoong peered at him. His gaze grew irritated, “What do you want, Yun? I’d already missed seven days of work & I really need to catch up. If you’re here for money, I can’t help you now.”

“Whoa, catch your breath there.” Yunho chuckled. He bit his bottom lips, walking up. His fingertips soothed the rim of the mahogany desk as he stopped to study the room with an interesting expression on his face. Then quickly, his eyes shifted back down to look at Jaejoong’s arm, “Who really shot you?”

Narrowing his eyes at him, Jaejoong replied, “It’s really none of your business.”

“No need to hide everything from me.” Yunho whistled a tone shortly, “Even if I’m rarely home, I see everything that goes on within the house. A pity I have for your late wife.” Placing both hands on the desk, Yunho leaned forward, his eyes deeply piercing into Jaejoong’s, “I pity Tiffany, too.” He brought up the corner of his lips, “All you needed to tell me was that she shot you. It can’t be that hard.”

“There’s a problem right in there. I’m the one who has to pity you.”

Yunho light compressed his eyes, leaning back a bit, “& it’s a pity you have feelings you know you shouldn’t have for the precious Tiffany.” A satisfied smile appeared on his lips as his brother’s shoulder flinched thoughtlessly, “I see right through you too, as you do me. This is what I call blood brothers.” He roared out in a careless laugh, “Maybe I need to teach Tiffany a lesson or two that you’re not the man she wants.”

Jaejoong gritted his teeth together, calming himself down, “It’s merely an in-law relationship. No need to get overwhelmed, Yun. Don’t you have enough women on your hands already?”

Yunho shrugged, “More will never hurt, you know.” He looked over Jaejoong’s head at the city, “You’re trying too hard on lying. Ease it down. I hate to say this to you as a brother but I enjoyed Stephanie very much as an in-law as you are now with Tiffany.”

“You’re lucky that I’m injured already. I’m not so good with my left fist. Maybe I should practice with you as my dummy.” Jaejoong raised a brow, receiving a small scowl from Yunho, “I think you should sit back on this. I’m not in the mood at all to have a conversation right now.”

“Yoon’s a sweet woman.”

Jaejoong looked up, eyes questioning Yunho. Never had he heard this brother speak of his new wife before, “She have known you for years now, Yun, & trust me, you’re not her type. She’s older than you.”

“& Stephanie was older than me, brother.”

Jaejoong swallowed & as he took in a deep, departing breath, the swelling of his skin crinkle. He gritted his teeth from the pain; his left hand balled up into a fist, “& what’s your point here?”

“Leave Yoon to me.” Yunho said slowly, his eyes lowering down on his brother.

Frowning with an uncertain expression on his face, Jaejoong bit his bottom lips, “I don’t see the point clearly but she’s my wife. Why would I want to give up my own wife to my brother? Even though you know that I had never loved her, I can’t give her up until our marriage is over.”

“What the hell, Jae?! She’s nothing to me but a friend. Divorce her & live your life off. Leave the talking with her to me.”

Jaejoong laughed, pushing his chair back. He stood up, walking to the window again, & looked down at the street, “What makes you think that I’m a man like that? I don’t just divorce my wife without reasoning with her.” He settled back against the windowsill & turned his body towards Yunho, “Why do you want me to divorce her anyway? Something’s up your sleeves, Yun, & you know that. She owes me her life for causing inconvenient situation.” He tilted up the corner of his lips, “Sorry, I can’t help you. This is a little bit of your usual behavior, I’ll say.”

Yunho snorted, “You don’t want this to go the way you had just said.”

“Actually, I just said how I wanted it to go.”

“You’re making this harder on yourself, brother, & I pity it really much. Why have a wife you don’t love & have feelings for the woman you might get? Or is it just too harsh to marry a person that is the exact image of your late wife? Tell me.” Yunho crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for his answer with an arrogant expression!

Jaejoong shook his head, looking down & as he peered up, his gaze was indifferent from his laugh, “Let me tell you this, little brother, I’m aimlessly tired of her. She’s gone now, giving me the peace I had been looking for months.”

“Gone?”

“Of course.” Jaejoong smiled, “Disappeared.” He cleared his throat, “Doesn’t that make you happy?” He raised his brows. Yunho gave a small snort, turned around sharply & walked out. As the door slammed close, Jaejoong’s head dropped down. He scratched his head, pent-up, “Damn you, woman!” He walked to the desk, half poking his finger through the button on the phone & grumbled, “First class ticket to San Francisco for eight weeks, Kyungmi! I have to give my little company a nice visit!”