12:00 a.m. (3rd Person POV) [Tokyo, Japan]

After getting off the phone, you turned to your right. Upon seeing your face, Keito saw a mixture of both fear and anger in your eyes. Immediately, he tried to get a grasp of the situation.

Keito: "What is it?"

You: "..."

Keito: "Well?"

You: "..."

Keito: "Are you angry?"

You: "Absolutely livid."

Keito: "What is it? What could they possibly want to do with your house?"

Taking your gun and cocking it, you shot the hostage on the chair in the head. Watching the man's body go limp as he bent over. Keito turned to you and quickly lost his temper at your erratic behavior.

Keito: "What was that for!? He gave us what we wanted! There was no need for you to kill him!"

You: "No need!? No need!? They took my family! I'll make them pay for ever thinking that I'll just sit back while they have both my wife and daughter hostage! They all deserve to die!"

Keito: "That's still not a valid reason! He was under orders and he didn't even do the kidnapping! There's no need to take it out on him! You're always acting irrationally when something like this happens! Think before you act and think before you make any rash decisions!"

You: "How could you ask me to act calm when the only people I care about are in danger!? I don't care about the consequences are! I will kill every last one of them!"

Once again losing your calm, you left the top floor and made your way down. There, you saw several of the Triad henchmen that you had simply incapacitated as a form of mercy. However, you were far beyond pitying these pawns and went on a spree just shooting at them. Keito didn't even try to stop you because he understood that he would only risk his own life if he tried to contain you when you were furious. It felt like there was never going to be an end to your rampage as you screamed at the top of your lungs in anger. 

Pointing your gun at a wounded Triad on the floor, he begged in Chinese as his fate came closer. Suddenly, you felt two arms wrap around your torso. The two arms went towards your outstretched arm with the gun. Pulling your arm down, the person took the gun out of your hands and threw it to the floor. Trying to get a grasp of the situation, you just followed the lead of the person.

Normally, you wouldn't have done this. You would have flipped them around and killed this person. However, you didn't react because something was familiar about this other person, a certain warmth and care in their touch. As you stood there in a stupor, the person clinging on to your torso finally spoke up. 

Suzy: "Oppa, stop it. These men didn't do anything to deserve these executions. Have mercy..."

Letting go of you, she took a step back. Turning around, you looked her in the eyes as you tried to figure out how in the world she could be here in this moment. 

You: "Suzy? How?"

Suzy: "I overheard what you and Keito spoke about earlier. I followed the van you two took to get here and waited until all the gunshots stopped. When they did, I made my way down to see if you two were alright."

You: "That's so stupid! Why would you do something so reckless? What if we had died and the only people left were these dirty Triads? Do you have any idea what they would have done to you? I couldn't... God! You have no idea how bad this could have turned out!"

Suzy: "You couldn't?"

You: "I couldn't live with myself if something bad happened to you. If they had hurt you too... That would have really over stepped their boundaries."

Suzy: "Me too? What are you talking about oppa?"

You: "Taeyeon and Ava, they took them hostage while we were over here. It was all a trap and we fell right into their hands. I can't believe it."

Suzy: "Then what are you doing here killing these men? They didn't have a direct hand in your family's kidnapping. So, why not focus your energy on finding where they are?"

You: "I don't know. I just lost my temper..."

As the two of you spoke, Keito walked into the room and had a relieved look on his face. After that, he bore a look of surprise when he realized that Suzy was there with you. Going through the intricacies, he accepted the fact that there was nothing he could do about Suzy being present. 

Keito: "So, finally decided to calm down?"

You: "I'm sorry... I know it's a bad habit, but I couldn't control myself... they're all I have in this world... I just couldn't imagine what could happen to them if I don't save them..."

Keito: "Well, we should find out where they've taken Taeyeon and Ava. Then, we can plan our counter attack on them and get the two-- the three of them back safely..."

Just then, it hit you, just how bad things were right now. Not only were your wife and daughter in danger, but so was the life of your unborn child. Once again, it felt like the world was on your shoulder's and one slip up could cause all of it to come crumbling down. 

All of a sudden, your phone started ringing. Checking it, it was from an unknown number. Answering it, you heard the only voice that could truly calm you down when your body, heart, and mind were running at a hundred miles an hour.

Ava: "Daddy?"

You: "Ava? Where's mommy? Where are you? Have they done anything to you?"

Ava: "We're at home... the people... they... they..."

You: "They what honey!?"

Ava: "They put mommy to sleep and she still hasn't woken up... daddy... I'm scared..."

You: "Honey, daddy is going to go there and save you, okay? Until then, I want you to take care of your mother and I want the both of you to stick together."

Person: "Wow. Those are very bold words you have there. What makes you so confident that you'll be able to save both your daughter and wife? Don't think it will be that easy. After all, we know everything about you and how you fight. So, I'd say the odds are against you..."

You: "Where's my daughter!? Put her back on the phone!"

Person: "I'm sorry, but she's exceeded her alloted time slot on the phone. Now, I'd let you talk to your precious wife, but she's not awake to speak to you. I must say, she's a very beautiful woman and she's here unconscious and defenseless. Such a shame if something would happen to her..."

You: "You touch her or my daughter, I won't hesitate to slowly kill each and every one of you."

Person: "Is that a threat?"

You: "It's a promise."

Person: "Is that so?"

Ava: "DADDY!"

You: "Ava!? DON'T TOUCH HER!"

Person: "Come and make me."

Suddenly, the other line hung up and both Keito and Suzy looked at you wondering what had happened. Telling them what had transpired, the three of you made your way to Keito's residence. There, you assembled 10 men and the group made there way towards Kyoto to handle the Triads. Much to your dismay, Suzy wanted to join and there was nothing you nor Keito could do to stop her. 

30 Minutes Later (Your POV) [Japan]

It's been about 30 minutes since we've left the Tokyo metro. Luckily, my private plane was stationed in Tokyo rather than in Kyoto, where I normally had it kept. We've only been in the air 25 minutes and it can already be felt that there's a certain tension in the plane. I can't help but feel guilty about this mood.

I can't control it. My mind has been running at a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out how I was going to save my family. Not to mention my worry for what could be happening to them right now. As I sit in silence, Suzy came up to me and tried to strike up a conversation.

Suzy: "Oppa... It's okay... They'll be fine..."

You: "How do you know that?"

Suzy: "Because you love them oppa... That's how I know it will be alright... I know you're going to give it your all to make sure they're safe... They're so lucky to have you..."

You: "I doubt that... It's because they're tied to me that they were ever put in this situation... I'm the reason for their pain and suffering..."

Suzy: "Don't say that oppa... You're a great father and husband... I can only hope to find someone like you when I decide to settle down and live my life in peace..."

You: "Peace... You know, just before this entire thing happened, Taeyeon and I were so glad to have a child of our own because it meant that we could truly have the life we dreamed of all these years... in peace... That was all she wanted, that's why we moved to Kyoto... She wanted a peaceful life away from the celebrity of living in Seoul... but this... this is much worse than anything we thought we'd encounter in our lives here..."

Suzy: "Oppa, I know you didn't intend for things to turn out this way... I know you only looked out for the wellbeing of your family. No one could have seen this coming..."

You: "Sometimes I wonder if it were better if I had died... If I weren't alive, if I had died along with my brother... Things may not be the way they are now. Taeyeon would be safe, Jessica would still be alive, and you wouldn't be here trying to help a despondent man get his family back."

Suzy: "Oppa, I'm doing this because I want to. Not because I'm obligated. And Jessica... there was nothing anyone could do about what happened to her... That was in God's hands..."

You: "Was it? Or was there something I could have done to save her?"

Suzy: "No, oppa. There was nothing you could do because sometimes we have no control over what happens. That's what destiny is. If you and Jessica weren't meant to be, then that's how it has to be."

You: "Why does it seem that my life is constantly under fire? You said destiny... Is my destiny centered on losing those I love most? That might not be a wrong assumption... I can't say this is the first time I've had my happiness taken away from me..."

Suzy: "Oppa, I know it seems that the universe is trying to separate you from your happiness, but maybe it's just trying to remind you just how lucky you are. Maybe this is just a roadblock on the highway and you just have to make it over this to see the clear road ahead of you."

You: "I've faced several roadblocks in my life... I have yet to fully recover from the last one..."

Suzy: "Are you talking about Jessica?"

You: "Unfortunately..."

Suzy: "Oppa. Do you still love her?"

You: "Why are you asking?"

Suzy: "Just answer the question."

You: "No. I don't love her anymore."

Suzy: "Oppa, has Taeyeon asked you this before? Has she asked you if you still loved Jessica?"

You: "She did. When I found out we were having the baby... She asked me."

Suzy: "And did you give her the same answer you gave me? In the exact same way?

You: "Yes."

Suzy: "Oh dear. I think you really did something wrong then oppa. I can't believe you haven't noticed it. Even more, I can't believe that you still haven't been able to let go... After all these years..."

You: "What?"

Suzy: "We all know that the relationship you had with Jessica was something special. Even the most heartless people knew that there was a certain electricity between the two of you. The union of you two was something short of the perfect lighting storm. There's a level of intimacy in your tone when you speak about her, when you hear her name, when ever you think about her. Your face, your voice, your aura, it all just lights up in a way that many would kill to be thought of in that light. You are still madly in love her, oppa."

You: "What does that have to do with anything?"

Suzy: "It's because what you had with Jessica was something else. I know you'd never understand because you were caught in the middle, but the people from the outside saw something special. Even Taeyeon and I, we knew that there was no way to separate the two of you unless fate intervened. We knew that she would always have your heart, and you would always have hers. Don't you see? Even now, you still haven't been able to let go of her in your heart. Anyone can see that much. Even if you do love Taeyeon, Jessica still owns a portion of your heart."

You: "..."

Suzy: "Truth hurts, doesn't it oppa? Perhaps this is why this trial is happening in your life... To finally make you realize that Taeyeon is the one who should have all of your heart... I can tell you from personal experience that letting go of someone you love is extremely difficult, but it's possible..."

You: "Suzy..."

Suzy: "It's okay oppa. I'm comfortable talking about it. It's no secret that I loved you, and I have to admit that I am jealous of the fact that I never fully received your love the way Taeyeon does and Jessica did. However, I realized something as the years went by. I learned that I could live without you because I had others that I could give my love to. I'd be lying if I said I don't have any feelings left for you, but that's as far as it goes. I never let them out, I keep my feelings to myself as to better everyone around me. Sometimes, keeping your emotions bottled up does better for those around us than ourselves..."

You: "..."

Suzy: "Oppa, don't be sad about this. I'm telling you this to help you because I know what you're feeling inside because I've been there before. You know what else I learned? I learned that two people are connected at the heart and it doesn't matter what you do, who you are, or where you live. There are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together..."

You: "Like a soul mate?"

Suzy: "Exactly... As much as I loved you, you never were able to retort my feelings. I learned to let go, I learned to go one living my life the way I wanted."

You: "Why are you telling me this?"

Suzy: "This is my way of advising you to finally let go of Jessica from your heart. This is me telling you that there is a bright future ahead of you with Taeyeon, Ava, and your unborn child. Just like I let go of my past, I encourage you to let yours go as well."

You: "Suzy..."

Suzy: "Don't feel bad oppa. You have to be positive and work to get your family back, okay? They should be all that matters to you."

30 Minutes Later (Your POV) [Kyoto, Japan]

Getting out of the airplane, we made our way to my house. There, we found my house surrounded by an array of black cars and with several men patrolling the grounds with assault rifles. We were obviously outnumbered and I tried to come up with a plan to get inside.

Keito: "The entire perimeter of the property is surrounded by at least 20 men. We only have 10. How do you expect to get in and get back out when there are at least 10 more of their men waiting inside?"

You: "We'll have to sneak around and sneak back out. As good as we are, I'd hate to risk any more lives than we have to. So, being sly is our only option."

Keito: "Okay. That's how we'll do it then."

You: "One more thing."

Keito: "What?"

You: "Suzy. Stay here in the car and be ready to drive off when we get back. It's going to be extremely dangerous and you don't have the kind of training to put up with this. So, you'll be best suited to stay here."

Suzy: "Okay..."

You: "Thank you for listening."

With that, Keito, the ten men, and I made our way out of the car and onto the street. Sneaking our way to the front of my home, we waited until the patrol made it's rounds a few times to understand how they moved. Figuring the pattern out, we made our way past the first level of defenders. Going to the back, we saw a glimpse of what was going on inside the house. Through the window, we saw about 4 men around Taeyeon and Ava who were tied by ropes to two chairs. Ava was crying and it was obvious she didn't know what to do, but Taeyeon's condition mortified me. She just sat there, nearly lifeless, she wasn't moving or anything, she just sat. 

As I watched the scene, my anger only continued to boil and I once again was lost in my own wrath. Signaling the men to move in, we all came into the living room through the window. Since we had suppressors on our guns, we were able to take out the four men guarding Taeyeon and Ava without much trouble. Once we had finished killing the men, we got to freeing Taeyeon and Ava from their bindings.

Ava: "Daddy!"

You: "Ava, honey... quiet down... you need to keep down so they don't know we're here... hold on to uncle keito for a second, okay?"

Ava: "Okay daddy..."

Handing Ava over to Keito, I went over to the men trying to bring Taeyeon to consciousness. We kept shaking her with little to no response coming from her side. Eventually, she began to come to as she twitched and murmured back to the real world. 

You: "Taeyeon honey? Are you okay?"

Taeyeon: "..."

You: "Honey? Get up. Everything's okay now. We're going to get you out of here."

Taeyeon: "O... ppa?"

You: "Yes. It's me. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Taeyeon: "Where's Ava?"

You: "She's right here. Come on, we need to get out soon... Who did this to you?"

Taeyeon: "J.. J.. J--"

Suddenly, she once again slipped out of consciousness. Pitying the stress her body must be going through, I rubbed her cheek as I decided not to try to wake her up. Looking at her, I noticed bruises around her body and once again my blood began to boil. Grabbing my gun after setting her down, I prepared my rounds to kill the person responsible for doing this to my wife. As I got up and prepared my gun and vest, Keito stepped in front of me to try and stop me from doing what I had already set my mind to. 

Keito: "Stop it. Tend to your wife and let's get out of here. Live to fight another day and we'll come back and finish this when the time is right. Now, you just need to make sure that your wife and child are safe. Come on, you can't win everything."

You: "No! I refuse to lose! I refuse to let them get away for what they did to them!"

Keito: "Be logical! If we get out now, we can kill this person later after your family is out of the danger! There's no reason to go for the kill now. If you do this now, you're going to lose more than just this fight! You're going to lose your life! Your family! Everything!"

You: "Better my life than anyone else! I need to be a leader and finish this before it gets any bigger. This is my fight, there are certain lines you don't cross and they obviously did. I'm going to put this to bed without losing anymore lives."

Keito: "Stop being so proud! We can make a move later when we can use all of the resources we have in the Yakuza!"

You: "No, this is how it has to be. Okay? I consider you my brother, I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me?"

Keito: "You know I trust you more than anyone else."

You: "Good. Now, I'd like you to watch over my family for me until I get back. Would you please protect them as if they were your own flesh and blood?"

Keito: "Brother, it would be an honor..."

Nodding, I went over to Ava and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Smiling, I tried hiding the hesitation in my attitude and my uncertainty of the future. Even if I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders, I would never let them think I couldn't handle it. 

You: "Ava, stay here with uncle. Okay?"

Ava: "Where are you going? Daddy! We need to stay with mommy!"

You: "I just need to handle something, okay honey? Watch over your mom, okay? I'll always love the both of you."

Ava: "Daddy... Can we just go? I wanna go away. I'm scared..."

You: "Don't worry honey, we'll leave soon. For now, I want you to keep quiet and wait with your mother. No more crying baby, everything's going to be alright. Stiffen that upper lip, okay? When I get back, we're going to take care of mommy and she's going to be alright. Now, be a good girl."

She nodded and tried to smile. That was one of Taeyeon's traits that she adopted. No matter how she felt, no matter how much she opposed something, she sacrifice how she felt just so that she could support someone she loves. I know she's too young to understand the situation entirely, but I think she knows what the consequences are. 

Giving her a kiss on the forehead, I walked away from Ava. Turning to my wife, I once again placed my palm on Taeyeon's cheek and a few tears ran down my face. I pitied her, I truly did. She never signed up for this, she never did anything to deserve this kind of stress. It was only because she loved me that she was ever put in this situation. I'm her life's mistake... It's true, I guess... Only women bleed... 

Walking by Keito once again, I nodded as he handed me his gun. I could sense a precaution in his actions that prompted me to reconsider, but I had already made my mind up. There's no going back now, it's now or never. I can't let them get away with what they've done. 

Going through each of the hallways one-by-one, I realized just how large my property actually was. Trying to remain as quiet as possible, I saw a light emanating from one of the guest rooms. Looking inside, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary except for the light being on. Walking out, I decided to keep searching for the rest of the Triad. As I walked into the hallway once again, I felt a gun touch the back of my head.

You: "So, either you've underestimated me or you're crazy enough to think that you're that good."

Person: "Oh, trust me. I know I'm plenty good enough to kill you. I mean, didn't I successfully orchestrate this entire kidnapping? What makes you think that you getting in so easily wasn't part of my plan all along?"

You: "Because no one is stupid enough to go toe-to-toe with me and think that they'll be the one coming out on top. So, like I said. Do you have a death wish?"

Person: "You tell me."

You: "I think you're really something to still keep up this act. Face it, there's no winning for you."

Person: "If you say so... Now, get on your knees and close your eyes. If you don't, I'll call in all the personnel I have and have them shoot your precious family and all of your Yakuza comrades. And don't go off thinking that I won't. I'm not like you, I don't make bluffs. I follow through with what I say."

Suddenly, they fired off their gun and it rang across the house. In reluctance, I went on my knees and tried to get a grip of how to get out of the situation. With my eyes closed, I could hear them going in front of me. I tried to open my eyes slightly, but it was too dark to see anything. All I could do was sit there and wait for the right time to strike. 

Person: "Good. Now, what was it you were going to do to me?"

You: "I. Will. Kill. You."

Person: "Is that so? Now, let's back track again. Did you really think I would make it that easy for you to get your family back? Or did you think you were just that good?"

You: "..."

Person: "No reply? Well, I have your answer for you. Yes, you thought you were that good. Now, you're in this situation because, like always, you were too proud to let the fight go and to lose and fight another day. Your pride wouldn't let you leave this place without taking the person responsible with you, right?"

You: "..."

Person: "Cat got your tongue? Or are you getting angry again? My, my, that's another one of your character faults isn't it? Always so angry when things don't go the way you want... Sounds like I know you pretty well, huh? Well, I have to say I once learned from a brilliant lawyer that you should play the man. I think I've done that pretty well today."

I sat there as this person just dissected me unlike anyone before. Anyone but Jessica, she was the last person to see through me like this, to see all my imperfections and act upon them. It scared me, how much this person knew. How vulnerable I had become and I didn't even know.  

Person: "Pride and wrath. They've always been your greatest downfall... My oh my, they are definitely my favorite of your sins..."

All of a sudden, I felt a pair lips meet with mine and I felt something eerily familiar about them. Almost like a severe case of deja vu. It was a feeling I hadn't felt for years, there was an electricity to this connection that sparked a reaction from my body. I felt as if I was in nirvana as my body began accepting the emotions from the other persons. It was like a long awaited reattachment and my body all but willingly fell into this person's spell. They had me, all of me, in this moment and it felt as if the skies had parted and a burden had been lifted. When they left the kiss, I opened my eyes and what I saw absolutely stunned me.

You: "Jessica?"

Jessica: "Did you miss me?" 

Author's Note: I'd like to take this time to thank all of you readers for taking your precious time to read my ramblings. Even more so, I'd like to thank all of you who have consistently read this fic and have stuck with me through this time. I know the plot has been somewhat erratic the past few updates and things seem to be running around everywhere, but I promise that there is a method to my madness. I only hope that you all enjoy this story as it continues to evolve. I've always valued the reader's opinion in what I write and I'm glad that some of you have done that. Thanks to your help, I've been able to make it through 31 eccentric chapters. I promise that the plot will be more stable from now on as we enter deeper into what I like to call the "Kim Taeyeon" arc of fic.

While I can't tell you what's going to happen, I can tell you that I will try to expand on the themes I've built throughout the previous chapters and also try to introduce some new ones. I have a lot of ideas relating to which direction the plot could lead off to and I can't wait to put it all together.

Now, one hint I can give you about where the story is going to go is that things only get better after they get much worse.

So, until the story unfolds before our very eyes, I hope that you continue to relish this fic as much as I have enjoyed writing it.