AN/ Double update: Go back to the previous chapter! :)

A week after the incident, Areum had finally gotten normal and started doing chores to distract herself from the cruel world she now lived in. Everything was fine a few weeks ago, how she ended up here? She wasn't sure.

Yes it was true that Sehun and his gang had kidnapped her for some reason, which she still wasn't aware of. However, judging from how Sehun spoke spitefully of her father, she was sure they had no connection. Then how was it that her father knew about her. Areum's mother had tried in every possible way to keep her out of her father's sight, sending her to different schools across the globe, changing her family name, keeping her under the guard of her grandmother. How was it that he found out about her at a time like this? And most importantly, what could it be that made him so desperate to get in touch with her?

Why would he want her now? She didn’t have anything in her possession that would interest him, he had everything. Didn’t he?

So many questions.

But not a single answer.

Her thoughts ran blank as she stared at her empty coffee mug.

It was 8 in the morning and Sehun was already getting ready to head to his office when she stood at the bedroom door (which Areum had occupied by now because of which Sehun landed himself on the  couch), knocking softly at the wooden frame.

"Sehun?" He didn't answer but continued to buttoning his dress shirt. Areum was certain he heard it and continued casually. "Can I go with you?"

Sehun picked up his coat that lay on coat rack and dusted it once before snaking his arms through the sleeves.

"Seh—"

"No."

"Why?" Areum pout, she had been locked up in the apartment for more than a week and she was dying to head out, get some fresh air. "Please, it gets so boring here." he mumbled as she skid over to his side and noticed his tie crooked, which she fixed.

"So is the office." Sehun commented as he checked his reflection on the mirror for the last time. "Besides, the renovation is going to start today. It'll be good if you watch over them and see everything goes the way you like it. Since it’s going to be yours, obviously." he said as he walked pass her and closed the walk in wardrobe, holding his waist. Sleeping on the couch wasn’t as comfortable as he thought it would be.

"But, What if something happens?" Areum insisted. She didn't know why but, whenever she'd bring up anything regarding her safety, Sehun would crave in and let her have what she wants. "What if the workers are imposters and are actually my father's men?" she added.

"Don't be silly." Sehun retorted. "If you're that scared, I'll send someone over to —“

"No!" Areum shook her head. "If you don't want me to come with you, it's okay. I'll stay here. Alone. Don't even bother if you come home to a dead body lying in a pool of blood." she snapped, turning around on her heels and halting to complete her sentence. "which by the way, would be me."

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Sehun gestured with his hand in the air. "Hurry."

"Sehun? What is this?" Areum asked as wheeled her chair all the way from one corner towards Sehun's table. Grazing her fingers over the crystal cup, that looked much like the one in Harry Potter. "Wow—“

"Don't!" Sehun growled, snatching it away and delicately rubbing it over his shirt to clean it off. "You'll ruin it."

"Fine." Areum sulked, putting her arm on the desk as she watched him type away.

The hours flew by as Sehun worked, occasionally talking on the phone, settling some deals or heading out for a meeting. He'd requested Areum to stay put if she didn't want to run into trouble again, which surprisingly, she did.

"Where is he?" Areum murmured as she glanced at the watch hanging over white wall decorated with a few sports certificates framed and preserved. Football, Basketball, Volleyball… Name them all, Sehun aced them all; judging from the trophies and memoirs.

10:14pm

Her stomach started rumbling as she paced around the room and peeked through the gigantic double door to find the hallway completely quiet and empty.

The only thing she had for lunch was a small croissant since she didn't feel hungry at the time.

"Ow.." rubbing her flat belly, she tiptoed towards the hallway in search of some vending machine or something. "Maybe I should get something for Sehun too." she said to herself, pulling out the notes Sehun had handed to her earlier this morning, ‘just in case’ he’d said.

After wandering for about 10 minutes, she finally found a glass door leading to a place that looked like a canteen. Walking in long strides, she huffed as she reached the door only to groan in frustration when the for didn't budge. Later, a sign confirmed her thoughts.

'Opening time: 7am

Closing time: 8pm'

It was way past 8, which made Areum wonder what was taking Sehun so long. He'd said it would take just about half an hour to be done with the meeting with a client and they'd head back home as soon as he was done.

Feeling hungry and tired and sleepy, she walked through the hallway taking a good look at all the pictures and framed articles that hung on the dimly lit walls.

Areum hadn't known that Sehun was the son of the famous heavy weapons manufacturer, Oh . She only got to know it during her casual talk with Jongin one time when they went out shopping.

Having studied entrepreneurship herself, she knew the kind of pressures and hard work one has to do in order to gain such recognition. For that matter, she respected the Oh's.

One time, she'd even done a project on the JJ corporation during her 1st year, which even got her the only A in her class. Sadly, she had to drop out since she had to work double shifts in order to make a living, which caused a ripple effect on her health and even her academics, because of which she lost her scholarship and was forced to quit since she couldn't afford to pay for her tuition fees anymore.

Hands held at the back, she walked like a school girl taking a stroll through the streets. Unaware of the eyes that were attached on her.

Just as she reached the door and unclasped her hands to push it open, she felt a tap on her shoulder making her yelp and slap the person's face in reflex.

"Ouch!" the person cried. Holding a palm to his face.

Areum bit her lips, ready to bow in apology when she finally recognized  the voice. "Jongin!" she pushed his shoulder lightly. "You scared me!"

"Why do you keep hurting me?" the boy asked, the right side of his face turning red from the sting. "God, that's the hardest slap I've ever got." he chuckled, coolly putting his hands into his leather jacket pocket.

"Sorry. I... I was surprised." Areum replied idiotically.

"It's alright." Jongin chuckled again, a soft smile grazing his lips. Areum had never seen someone so beautiful; God must have been really biased when he made him. She thought as she turned away to hide the faint pink on her cheeks. "Anyway, what're you doing here this late?" he asked, confused as to why she was alone in the building when all others had left hours ago.

"Oh, I'm waiting for Sehun." Areum replied, clutching her stomach when it made a loud grumbling noise much to her embarrassment.

"Sehun?" Jongin tilt his head to a side, his brows furrowed. "You're waiting for Sehun?" he asked again, a sigh escaping his lips as he murmured something inaudible.

Removing his hands from his pocket he jerked his head towards the hallway, placing his palm on the small of her back. "You must be hungry." he said, nudging the girl forward. "Let's go."

"We really should head back there Jongin." Areum said nervously as she sat opposite the young man, taking a bite of his beef steak. "Sehun must be wondering where I am."

"Don't worry about him." he replied nonchalantly, pointing at her plate with his chopstick. "Eat it or I will."

Areum watched him as he smiled a crooked smile and winked at her before taking another swig of his wine. A smile spread through her face as she too grabbed the fork and sliced the meat half with the knife and place the other half on his already empty plate.

"I was kidding." he said, pushing the plate towards her side.

"I'm not." Areum said as she pushed it back and took a sip of her sparkling water. A twinkle in her eyes made Jongin swallow consciously as he took the plate with a smile and gorged it into his mouth.

Jongin made no hesitation in watching Areum as she ate her serving quietly, the sparkle in her eyes slowly fading out with every bite of her food.

"Is it not good?"

Areum looked up, swallowing the meat, making her cough as she tried to speak.  "Wha—"

Pushing his glass of water towards her side he asked again. "The food. Is it not good?" watching her drink the water he added. "We could go somewhere else if you want."

Areum shook her head as she placed the glass down and dabbed a napkin to her lips. "No, it's great. I'm just... Full." she smiled.

Jongin nod but didn't waved his gaze as he starred directly at the slightly uncomfortable girl.

"W-what?" she asked, conscious of his stare.

He shrugged. "You tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What's on your mind?" he asked as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"What makes you think I have something on my mind?" she counter attacked his question subtly making the man stifle a laugh but nod anyway.

"Can I take a guess?" he asked. The girl raised an eyebrow but nod, pushing away her now empty plate.

 "You're thinking...." Jongin started as he focused his gaze in her eyes. As if he had the power of telepathy. "Why is this good for nothing man stalling me from going back to the building?" he said, causing a chuckled to escape Areum's lips.

"Go on.." she urged, amused.

"Where is Sehun?" Jongin said again. Studying her body language. Something that he had been taught when he started working with Sehun, years ago.

"I think he forgot." Areum shrugged, not showing much emotion. Voice composed, showing no sense of anger, hurt. Jongin found her utterly hard to read. If he'd been able to read her, he wouldn’t have suggested to ‘Kill her off’ since he thought she would be an utter annoyance, just like a few of the girls they’d kidnapped in the past.

"He left around 7:30." Jongin supplied and Areum nod understandingly. Yes, she was pretty pissed that he kept her waiting, but then again, he is human too.

 Humans forget.

"Then what were you doing there so late?" Areum asked. Resting her arms on the round table, playing with a tissue.

"I fell asleep at the meeting." he said. Taking a look at the origami dove she'd folded and made within a span of 10 seconds. "I hate meetings." he reached out for the dove and scrutinized it his eyes. "You have steady hands." he observed.

"Had origami classes when I was at a boarding school in Japan." she said. Areum had never spoken of her past to anyone except for Yixing, who also didn't know every detail, like the ones with her father. All he knew was her parents got divorced and she took her mother's family name. "It was a serious business. I even had to clean the whole auditorium once because I missed to match the edges." she laughed, watching Jongin try to decipher the folds as he too tried to make one.

"This way?" he asked as he pressed a fold on the tissue but got stopped as Areum shook her head and held his hands, guiding him. "Correct?"

"Yep!" she nod and pulled her hands away. "That's not so bad." she smiled, reaching out to pat his shoulders lightly. "Nice."

"I'm the most artistic one out of the 6 of us." he said, comparing Areum's dove to hers. "Although I'm not as creative as Kyungsoo."

"How'd you all meet?" Areum couldn't help but ask. From what she learnt, searching up their names on the internet, they all belonged to rich families.

"Oh, us?" he asked, tweaking the dove's wings to match Areum's. "Well, Sehun and I, we'd been friends since middle school. The rest..." he chuckled. "We're all ed up kids Areum. We all have had horrible pasts, which is why we do what we do.”

"What do you mean?" she propped her chin on her fist, intently listening to Jongin.

"Just like you... We too have stories we want to get rid of." he said, patting the girl gently on the head as he stood up. "Let's get you back before we face Sehun's wrath okay?"

"Like he cares." Areum jut her bottom lip as she stood up, watching Jongin slip a dozen notes into the black folder. "Hey—" she snatched the folder and retrieved a few notes to replace it with her own. "Let me pay 1/3 at least." she grinned causing Jongin to stare at her in bewilderment, never in his life of spending time with a girl had he had ever come across one who offered to pay. All girls in their pretty little fantasy world would expect the guy to pay, as if it is a law. No, Jongin didn’t mind paying, he would, even if the girl would insist (throwing a few notes away wouldn’t make a difference in his bank account) he just was fed up with girls and their never ending list ‘do’s and don’ts’. The notion of a ‘Prince charming’ embedded in their tiny little fantastical mind annoyed him to the core.

"No" he shook his head ready to put the notes back only to be interrupted by Areum.

"Jongin." she said. "You already did a lot for me." she smiled. "Thank you."

With a smile lingering on his face, Jongin nod and placed an arm around her shoulder giving the notes in his hands to the waiter standing beside the door, as a tip. "Now... Are you ready to listen to the story of 6 young handsome men?"

"That's horrible." Areum gasped, covering her open mouth with her hands. "I'm so sorry Jongin."

She'd never heard of such horrifying stories. Of course her past was just as horrible, but she'd never thought someone could be as unlucky as her.

"But it's all in the past now." Jongin stated as he closed his eyes and leaned back on the leather seat of his car. "Although I lost a brother, I gained 5 more. They understand me better than any of my family members ever would." opening his eyes and looking over the distant sky a smile took of his lips. "I'd give my life for them.... I know they would too."

Somehow, Areum felt jealous of the bond that they shared. Having spent her school days all around the world, she'd never been able to have a stable friend. She too wanted a friendship like Jongin and Sehun's. "Jongin.... Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you guys do what you do?"

"You mean, kill people?" Jongin chuckled but noticing her serious expression he too turned serious. "There're too many bad people in the world for the police to catch Areum. We're just doing them a favor you know... By eliminating the ones who pose a threat to the public's life or even, for instance; our country."

"So... That girl.. Whom you were supposed to abduct, the defence minister's daughter. She posed a threat too?" Areum asked quietly.

"No." he shook his head. "Her father did."

"How?"

"Well, it's a long story but, Let's just say... He was about to be responsible for the death of thousands of our country's soldiers. So we needed something to blackmail him with so we planned to abduct his only daughter." he shrugged.

"So? Did you get them?"

"Not yet." he bit his lower lip as the grip on his steering wheel tightened.

Noticing the clenched fists Areum knew better than to not pursue the topic any longer. "You will." she said instead, placing her hand on his thighs.

For a very long time she'd thought of them as the 'bad guys'. But all they did was do a favor for their country, risking their own lives, doing things that the police didn't want to get involved in. Somehow, she felt a sense of respect for the 6 men and saw them in a different color.

"One more question—" she raised her hand in the air timidly causing Jongin to slightly raise his eyebrow.

"You're one hell of a curious person aren't you?" he teased but nonetheless urged her to go on.

"M-My father..." she gulped. "He’s a bad guy. So, will you... Kill him too?"

Jongin watched as she squirmed in her seat. Having heard of what had happened within their family, he knew how hard it would've been to move on and start a new life. He too had the most excruciating experience, but thanks to Sehun, he found himself again. "Why? Do you not want him to be?" it was a rhetorical question. Jongin of all people would've known how difficult it would be to forgive someone who caused only grief and pain in your life, even if they were immediate families.

"I don't know..." Areum drawled.

"Areum, what did he do?" Jongin couldn't help but ask as he leaned forward and grabbed the girl's shivering hands. "Did he hurt you?"

"I... I don't remember." she shook her head, letting her hair fall to her face. "I.. I don't—" her body started shaking.

"Hey—" Jongin quickly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, running his hand over her hair to soothe her despite the limited space in his luxury car. "You don't have to." he cooed suddenly feeling stupid for even bringing the matter up. He knew how badly she reacted to her father’s mere mention.

"J-Jongin? I-I... I —" she stuttered, gripping his shirt.

"Breathe" Jongin prompted. Rubbing her back.

Taking a deep breath before moving away from his embrace, she wiped clean the tear strains and put on a hard expression. "Jongin?"

"Yes?"

"Will you guys help me?"

"For what?"

Areum's dark gaze landed on his brown orbs, taking him a little by surprise.

"To destroy my father."

"Where were you?" Sehun asked sternly as soon as Areum stepped into the apartment, detached.

Silently she removed her shoes as she placed them neatly on the rack beside the door. Giving a curt nod, she moved pass him, making absolutely no attempt to talk.

"Son Areum! I asked you a question." Sehun voice raised slightly. He'd never been ignored like this; like how he usually ignores people. "Hey!" he sprint behind her, whipping her around and checking for any injuries or wounds on her body. Finding none, his eyes moved back to hers. "Where were you?"

"Where was I?"Areum asked incredulously, letting a sarcastic chuckle follow her words. "That's none of your concern." she spat, peeling his hands away from her wrists. "I need to clean up."

Persistent enough, Sehun caught her wrists again. This time much tighter, but not enough to hurt her. He knew why she was giving him the attitude. "I came back. But you weren't there." he said, voicing his concern for the first time.

"I left...." Areum replied. "Since you forgot about me." she rolled her eyes. "Now please, let me go so I can take a shower and then sleep. I'm tired."

Letting his grip loose, he sighed, pressing the bridge of his nose. "A client insisted to take me to dinner." he explained, although he didn't know why he was doing so. Grabbing her hand this time, he pulled her with him, regretting it immediately, but what's done is done. "You need to eat before you go to sleep."

"I already ate." Areum voiced, making Sehun stop in his track as he turned around and met her unwavering gaze. "... With Jongin." prying her hands away from his grip she turned around to walk to the bed room. "You can sleep in the bedroom tonight. I'll take the couch."

Sehun swore incoherent words as he slammed his fist on the kitchen island. A weird feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. Waving it off as a mere stomach ache, he proceeded to walk towards the fridge to pull out his favorite companion. Chardonnay.

“Good going Sehun.” He sarcastically said to himself as he dug into his pocket to pull out a small velvet box. “Nice.”