Chapter 18: Twisted

In my world, you were always colorful and compared to you I was nothing but a gray shadow. You shone brighter than anyone while I faded into the background. And no matter how colorful and flashy I tried to be, no matter how much I tried to mimic you, I was never like you. No matter how much effort I put into it, I couldn’t reach you. All I could ever do was dream, use my imagination and indulge in pointless illusions, destroying myself bit by bit.

You were made of bright colors and I was born from countless shades of gray. We were worlds apart, we were strangers to each other, we… didn’t belong together. In one of my dreams, I wondered if love could be that bridge between our worlds.  Could love bring our fates together? I’d share a bit of mine and you a bit of yours, we would create something together and that would be ours. Then I woke up into the reality and laughed at myself. I had nothing to share. I had nothing.

To be normal was something what Kim Jongin had always wanted more than anything. And he had been completely normal, at least he had felt nothing out of ordinary until he turned 16 and realized that he was in love with a boy. He was a boy and he was in love with a boy, to him this didn’t sound like anything normal. What scared him even more was that he couldn't ignore his burning desires. What more, there was no one he could talk to about this and the more time passed the bigger his problem grew. It became a burden and it turned his life into painful, controversial hell. People around him were always saying how being gay was disgusting and abnormal. Except his father, he didn't say anything because he didn't really like to talk about these kinds of touchy subjects.

Jongin was devastated. His own desires made him feel dirty and sinful, yet they brought him pleasure like nothing else could. Confused and disgusted, he decided that he would definitely stop himself from being that way, no matter what. He was sure that one day he would meet a woman who would be able to cure him of his disgusting sickness. He dedicated his time to women and women only, his goal was to find out everything about them and become the most desirable man on the planet earth. At least, this mission distracted him from other thoughts for example that he felt strained for with a man. He was so in need of a good fu.ck that it made him tremble every time he saw a desirable male walk past. But no, he had decided that he would not give in to temptation because it was simply wrong and it was not normal.

It happened so that one day Jongin met a special person. It was not a woman like he had wished for, but it was a flamboyant man, a man who was anything but normal. He was just the opposite of Jongin: cold, unfriendly and haughty. This man asked him a very difficult question: “So, what's normal?” and eventually, he made Jongin feel like anything was okay, anything could be normal. Anything! He set Jongin free.

Oh Sehun the epitome of freedom.

Trapped in hell himself.

Time passed and they became friends. Eventually, Jongin realized that he liked this outrageous man more than just a friend. He also saw that Sehun liked him back and that was okay, really. It felt completely normal and there was nothing wrong with kissing and cuddling with a man. But it was hard to understand Sehun. He would never talk about his feelings and went around with anyone who dared to throw oneself at him, be it a male or a female. Sehun was distant and secretive. He was a complete mystery. He was crazy, unreal, and unexplainable. A rainbow in the darkness.

For Jongin, being normal was still his highest priority, no matter how much he cared about Sehun. In confines of the latter's apartment they could be whatever they wanted but once Jongin stepped out the door he'd let go of Sehun's hand because others would never understand. No one would understand. No one. He admired Sehun for being brave and breaking the norms no matter the circumstances, and he also envied Sehun because he could be with women too. Jongin couldn't. No matter what he made himself believe it always came down to the same damn conclusion. He was gay.

One day, Jongin decided to give up. Not on being normal but on Sehun, because Sehun was too much for him. Sehun was too strong, too confident, and too flashy, he was too wild. Besides, there was someone else on Sehun’s mind, someone Jongin couldn’t compare to. It was also obvious that Sehun had problems with handling his emotions, but he never talked about them either. He was a beautiful y mess out of control. In the end, it was too hard for Jongin, he was battling with his own stormy emotions and Sehun was just too much to handle. They remained friends, anyway.

The day when Jongin realized that he loved Sehun too much to let go, was the day when he thought that the latter was dead. Regrets washed over him and his heart cracked to never be whole again, it’s as if a part of him broke for good. He didn't know how to live without Sehun because Sehun was the one who taught him what it meant to be normal. It didn't mean sh.it! What meant more to Jongin was Sehun and not what other people thought about him or his ual orientation.

And, as if Gods had heard his prayers and decided to take mercy on him, they actually gave Sehun back. His friend wasn't dead; he was alive, recovering smoothly. He was injured, weak and pale as he lied defenseless on the hospital bed, but he was alive. His heart was beating despite stopping for a short moment. Only then, Jongin finally realized how skinny Sehun had become, how much darker his eyes were now, how much less he smiled, instead of being free he was trapped. His flashy colors had faded into flavorless shades of gray. Since when? Jongin couldn’t tell, he had been too selfish, too absorbed into his own problems so he had not seen the change taking place.

The irony of fate, it was too late for a confession. Sehun was going to get married and Jongin didn't want to meddle in those plans, because he knew how important this all was to Sehun. He didn't approve but he wasn't heartless to meddle. However, one day he couldn't keep it in anymore. He loved Sehun and he wanted to let him know. He wanted to confess his love proudly and clearly! Only, things turned out much worse. Sehun pushed him away in the coldest manner possible, determined to keep him away. Their friendship broke into shards and Jongin broke too. No matter how he tried to glue their relationship back together, he kept failing miserably. And he blamed only himself.

Unable to give up, Jongin tried to save what he could but Sehun was merciless. He had always been like that: cold, distant and strange. Deep inside, Jongin knew that Sehun loved him too. He knew that when his friend fell in love he gave his everything because he didn't know how to handle his emotions. He didn't know how to get over or how to give up as much as he didn’t know how to begin or how to fight for love. But Jongin didn't want to believe that, he wanted to believe that Sehun hated him. Just to make things easier for himself.

Then came along a woman. Jongin knew her from before because she was special. She was someone Sehun couldn't get over. Was it hate or love? Jongin had never been able to figure out. Whenever it came to her, Sehun would always send mixed up signals. Did he treasure her or did he loathe her? Only one thing was clear, he was helplessly obsessed. Sometimes she was everything to him and sometimes, he wished she didn’t exist. Now then, Sehun had her in the palm of his hand and Jongin was curious to see what would happen next. He decided to experiment a bit. He decided to steal Da Hyun all to himself. At first, it was just to irritate his friend, to make him come back, to make him notice. Jongin craved for Sehun's attention and forgiveness so bad it was killing him.

After getting to know Da Hyun better, Jongin even believed that maybe she was the woman who would finally cure him. And she partly did because she told him that being normal meant no sh.it. Being yourself was more important. She reminded him a lot of Sehun because she didn't talk about her own feelings much either, she was also cold, strange and mysterious. But she was in control of her emotions unlike Sehun. She was strong and confident. She was colorful like no one else.  

Even before Jongin could realize what was going on, she had gotten involved so deep the whole conflict exploded right in front of his face. She was the one who patched things up between the two friends. Their precious love was finally out there and neither of them could escape it anymore. This was when Jongin realized how badly he had messed up with Sehun. The situation was still the same for Jongin, he loved Sehun and he couldn't have wished for anything more than to have this man to only himself. But he also noticed that nothing was the same for Sehun anymore. Nothing would ever be like it used to be. That was not a bad thing and Jongin knew that one day he'd get over his feelings, now that he had finally managed to get them out there. It was the friendship what mattered the most to him, anyway.

Jongin had his moments of despair. Like now, when he entered Sehun's office and saw the latter lying on his stomach on the desk with his arm folded under his cheek and his legs dangling over the edge. He was sleeping.

“What the...” Jongin frowned. He flicked the lights on and walked to Sehun, hitting his head with a file he was holding. “Did you sleep here?”

Sehun groaned and slowly opened his tired bloodshot eyes; he had not gotten a good sleep for a few days already. Stretching, he sat up on the desk, kicked the shoes off his feet and crossed his legs in front of himself. Hiding his face in his palms, he yawned tiredly.

“What is it?” he asked softly.

“It's half past eleven and you are sleeping...” Jongin scolded. “What if boss stopped by, huh?”

“Whatever I don't care...” Sehun mumbled, now rubbing his face with his palms. “Half past eleven, huh?” he hummed quietly.

“Didn't you say Da Hyun was supposed to come? Shi Hoo is already waiting in the interrogation room you booked yesterday.”

“Maybe she won't come, I dunno”, Sehun groaned.

“Hasn't she called you? Because, she is half an hour late already.” Jongin glanced at his wrist watch.

“My phone ran out of battery.”

Jongin's face stiffened at the comment and he slammed the file across Sehun's face.

“Yah, what the hell was that for?” the latter snapped, before getting hit with the file again.

“Stop acting like this, you are a wreck! Just look at yourself? And what the hell are you wearing? You look like an old man. Didn't Eun Yoo buy you new clothes? Why aren’t you wearing them?!” Jongin lost his temper.

“I didn't go home yesterday, that's why…”

“Maybe you should have!”

“Stop nagging me, bit.ch”, Sehun spat in annoyance.

“What?!” Jongin gasped, shocked and hurt. “I'm worried about you!”

“Well don't worry, there is nothing to worry about”, Sehun grumbled running his hand through his flat hair. When he didn't style it he looked different, much younger and a lot less threatening. Usually his hair had a will of its own but now it was lifeless just like him.

“Nothing to worry about?” Jongin repeated in disbelief. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?”

“This is nothing new, anyway.”

Jongin’s jaw tightened and his eyes caught on fire. He lost it completely. “And... and... And you are going to marry a woman you don't even love and you can't decide if you like me or Da Hyun and you are just! Argh!” he let out everything what had bothered him for the past weeks. “Stop tempting me already!”

Sehun stared at him wide-eyed, letting him catch his breath in all silence. “I choose you. That's for sure”, he said firmly. This time the file slammed into his face with so much force he fell on his side, his elbow coming in painful contact with the table. Sehun cupped his cheek and slid backward on the desk.

“Don't lie!” Jongin shrieked. “Don't you fu.cking lie to my face now!”

“I'm not lying”, Sehun frowned. “I do like you more than Da Hyun.”

Jongin grabbed Sehun’s collars and threw him off the table. The latter let out a quiet yelp when he landed on the floor on his behind. Now he was starting to get angry too, especially after such unexpected violent treatment. “Is it that time of the month or something?” he yelled. “Go take it out on someone who understands women!”

“Motherfuc.ker, how dare you lie to me like that?! Is it too much to ask for respect from you?” Jongin started hitting him with the file. “Is it?! Are you taking my feelings lightly?”

“Stop it!” Sehun warned. He couldn't even get up because of Jongin's furious attacks.

“I won't stop before you confess everything! Say it now! Say it!”

Meanwhile Da Hyun was walking down the corridor beside Ji Hwan who was taking her to Sehun's office. He was telling her about the upcoming trial, which would be held next week. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash and Ji Hwan's face paled, immediately he froze as if unable to walk any further. The door opened and Jongin stumbled out, somehow managing to dodge the chair which was thrown at him. It crashed into the wall across the door and broke into a few pieces. Upon seeing this, Ji Hwan cupped his cheeks in horror. “They are at it again!” Da Hyun stood beside him in silence, stunned by the whole commotion.

Cussing loudly, Jongin grabbed whatever part of the chair and threw it back into the office. Soon Sehun's messy profile came into the view and he tossed a black thick file at Jongin's chest calling him names. Jongin gritted his teeth, picking up one of the chair's legs and sending it at Sehun's chest. The latter dodged with his arm and, judging by the way he cursed, it hurt.

He grabbed the char's leg and tried to hit Jongin with it but the latter was already holding another leg to protect himself. They started fencing and at some point Sehun bumped hard into now closed door of his office, he attached Jongin but was sent flying into the door again, with a loud bang. And when he stepped forward a dark shadow loomed over his head. He turned to look over his shoulder to see the door falling at himself. He just stood gaping at it but luckily Jongin caught and stopped it before it could hit him. They exchanged horrified looks.

“This is your fault”, Sehun barked.

“Mine?!” Jongin shrieked in annoyance. “You were the one who lied!”

“I told you I didn't lie!”

“I told you I can tell you lied!”

“I told you, you can tell no s.hit!”

“And do you know what your mom told me?! She told me you can tell no sh.it when others can tell sh.it you are supposed to tell but can't!”

“And your mom told me that you are an idiot.” Sehun shook his head and pat Jongin's chest.

“I'm still angry”, Jongin hissed, sending him a weak glare.

“Sure you are”, Sehun pinched Jongin's cheek. “The baby is sulking, awww, how cute.”

Jongin looked away from him, spotting two people standing nearby. Da Hyun had one eyebrow raised and Ji Hwan had his gaze lowered, seemingly in despair.

“Da Hyun, I have been waiting for you”, Jongin smiled immediately and let go of the door, and it slammed into Sehun’s head.

“Aaah”, the latter wailed like a wounded wolf.

“Sorry...” Jongin stuck his tongue at him.

“I'll get back at you for this”, Sehun shot him a glare before pushing the door back on its place.

He left it like that, saying that they would wait for the boss to come by so he would think he was the one who broke it. The two high fived each other for such a genius plan while Ji Hwan shook his head and Da Hyun swallowed her amusement.

Seeing them together like this, she thought that they would make such a nice couple. They loved each other after all. And for the first time, there was a sad tug at her heart when thinking about the wedding. Probably just because Sehun was going to get married with Eun Yoo and Jongin was going to be alone. Probably it was just that. She couldn’t understand why Sehun was so adamant about getting married.

The rectangle shaped interrogation room was small, with only one square table and two chairs standing in the middle. There were two surveillance cameras in corners and a wide one-way mirror across from the door. Da Hyun took a seat in front of Shi Hoo. The man was a nervous shaking wreck. He had not slept much after being arrested, afraid either Kang Min or Da Hyun would come hunting for his head. And now his nightmares were slowly coming true.

Behind the mirror Jongin sat on a chair in a relaxed manner with his hands folded behind his head and Sehun stood beside him, one elbow propped on his palm.

“Damn she is hot”, Jongin commented with a smirk, glancing at Sehun from his lateral view.

The latter was frowning like usual. Da Hyun and Shi Hoo had been sitting quietly in the room without exchanging any words for 10 minutes already. “Is it just me or is her blazer tighter than usual? Brings out the shape of those damn nice s pretty well…”

Subconsciously Sehun's eyes landed on Da Hyun's chest, his mind filling with inappropriate thoughts, and when he realized what he was thinking he whipped his head at Jongin. “Would you stop with that?” he growled. “I'm trying to concentrate.”

“Concentrate on what you'd do to her if you could get her into your bed ”, Jongin wiggled his eyebrows and flashed a sleazy smirk.

Sehun shivered, thinking about what had already happened and what could have happened.

“Or did that perhaps happen already?”

“Would you shut the fu.ck up?” Sehun snapped.

“Why, because you are getting aroused?” Jongin taunted.

“If you want to fu.ck her that bad then why don't you go ahead?” Sehun yapped in annoyance. “And stop bothering me.”

“So, you are saying you wouldn't fu.ck her if you got a chance?”

“Fine! I admit she is hot, are you satisfied?” Sehun groaned, his eyes were on Da Hyun. He his lips and swallowed a growl, thinking about what had happened between them yesterday. He wondered what color was her underwear today.

“Oh, so you think she is hot...” Jongin nodded with a sly smirk. “I bet you'd even date her if you could.”

“I don't date and you know that.”

“Don't go diva on me now. I know you'd fu.ck her and you'd date her and you'd be so fuc.king jealous of any other man who'd dare to lay his eyes on her. Am I right?”

“Please…”

“You didn't deny...”

“I didn't agree either.”

“But you didn’t deny.”

“That doesn’t mean I agreed.”

“I think it does…”

“No it doesn’t!”

“Then what’s that look in your eyes right now?”

Before Sehun could spit a retort, a knock disturbed their argument and they saw Da Hyun standing on the other side of the mirror, sending them a murderous glare. Sehun looked at her in surprise, but Jongin had a knowing smile on his lips.

“Oh dear, my bad Da Da. Sorry about that“, he tried to sound apologetic but failed to mask the satisfied amusement in his voice.

Sehun's eyes widened huge at the realization and he whipped his head at smirking Jongin. The microphone had been on all this time.

“I'll murder you, fu.cker!” Da Hyun heard Sehun yelling and Jongin's laughing before everything went silent. She couldn't believe they had been just talking about her in such a vulgar manner and she was angry. She was going to slap them both later. And she was going to slap Jongin twice. She walked back to the table and sat down, her eyes strictly on Shi Hoo’s face.

“I heard you have a daughter”, Da Hyun finally spoke after what had seemed like an eternity of pressing silence. She had not been bothered by it, but she saw that Shi Hoo had. He couldn't face her and kept fidgeting on his seat.

There was no answer but Da Hyun had totally expected that. The corner of twitched into a barely visible smirk and she leaned over the table, closer to the man. She didn't want to drag this discussion on for too long, that would kill the tension. “How would you feel like if she was one day taken away from you, right in front of your eyes?”

Finally, Shi Hoo peeked at her stern face. There was nothing but bottomless darkness in her eyes and he sensed the anger. She looked calm on the surface, but he knew it wasn’t so.

“Would you just let them take her away without doing anything? Would you not go look for her? Would you not try to save her?”

“I'm sorry”, Shi Hoo blurted in a shaky voice. “I'm sorry CEO, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, please spare me.” He shuddered when Da Hyun hit her palm on the table, silencing him at once. She saw that he was suffering, she saw pain in his eyes, and she saw that he was truly regretting. But she didn’t care. The more scared he was the better it would be for her.

“I don't have a daughter but I do have a company.” Her voice was so icy that the words she spoke froze in the air, chilling the room. “Do you understand what I mean?”

“Please! Please don't touch her. Please, she is just a child”, Shi Hoo lost it completely. Due to lack of sleep and his own imagination running wild about these things, he finally broke down, desperate tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes. “Please understand, my wife was sick and we have debts. Please, I didn't do it because I wanted to I-”

“Shut up a.sshole”, Da Hyun hissed and Shi Hoo's face turned even paler.

“Would you understand if you were me?”

“Please”, Shi Hoo whispered lifelessly. He got up from the chair and fell on his knees in front of her. “Please, they will kill me. He w-”

“Shut up!” Da Hyun ordered, subtly glancing at the mirror. “I know the circumstances. Go sit in your chair.”

“I am sorry CEO, I had no other options I-” Shi Hoo sobbed. “Please, my daughter... please spare her. You can do whatever you want with me but, please, let my daughter go. Please don’t hurt her.”

Da Hyun scoffed, and seeing her indifferent expression, Shi Hoo almost fainted from the worry and anxiety. He had never been this scared in his life before. He had no control of his own fate or the fates of his loved ones. Everything was in the hands of these cruel people who didn’t have souls or hearts. He knew that no matter how much he begged they would never spare him, but he still begged.

“Please”, he pleaded, sobbing uncontrollably now. “Please, spare her. I beg of you, I’ll do anything.”

“You should have thought twice before betraying me so carelessly, greedy bast.ard”, Da Hyun spat.

“I was in the wrong, it was-”

“What will I do with your apology?” Da Hyun asked sternly. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat. “What would you do with mine if I-”

“Please”, Shi Hoo begged, his head hanging low.

“Please? How dare you even utter such a word?”

There was a reason why Shi Hoo was insisting on taking the blame on his own shoulders. He was afraid of Kang Min, but he was also afraid of Da Hyun, helplessly stuck between the two. Like this, he had become a pawn in their pull and tug war, a mere plaything instead of a human being. What he felt or what he thought, no one cared. The vivid fear which ran through him, these merciless people enjoyed seeing it in his eyes, and he now knew that he had committed the worst mistake of his life. Blinded by easy money, he had accepted to be bought, he had sold his soul to the devil and this was his punishment. Park Shi Hoo would never be the same again. He was in ruins, shredded into pieces and stepped on like a meaningless bug.

On the other side of the mirror, both the detective and the prosecutor were following closely. Sehun was starting to get edgy by how the situation was playing out, but Jongin was sitting calmly in his seat, enjoying the show. This irritated Sehun because, in his opinion, Shi Hoo didn't deserve such torture. Apparently Jongin didn't agree. He even kept chuckling.

“Hey”, Jongin flinched when Sehun moved. “Were are you going?”

Sehun shot him a stern look. “I don't know why she wanted to meet him but this is too much.”

“Wait, let her go on. I am sure she is onto something”, Jongin sat up straight.

“Onto something? She obviously came here to take some kind of sick revenge”, Sehun argued. His hand was on the door handle already.

“Do you think she would have bothered to go this far just so she could insult him?” Jongin asked in disbelief. He stood up and walked to where Sehun was standing.

“I'm not letting this go on”, Sehun warned when Jongin grabbed his arm.

“Have some faith in her.”

“Faith, yeah...” Sehun scoffed. “What do we even know about her?”

Suddenly they both realized that it was too quiet. They angled their bodies sideways and turned to look at the mirror. Da Hyun had a hand shielding her lips and Shi Hoo was listening to her attentively. She had turned off the microphone. “Shi.t!” Sehun muttered before storming out.

The door to interrogation room opened and Da Hyun turned to look at the prosecutor. She had expected him to be there sooner.

“What’s going on in here?” he grumbled.

“I am done”, she said indifferently.

“CEO”, Shi Hoo whispered.

“Don't you say a word!” She tossed him a glare and he lowered his head.

“So, what's the story?” Jongin appeared behind Sehun, his eyes landing on Da Hyun. A y smirk tugged at his lips and he winked. “You sure are sneaky.”

“What did you expect?” she sneered as she got up from her seat.

“Sit down”, Sehun ordered gloomily. “I need to talk to you.”

“About how hot I am?” Da Hyun asked flatly. “No thanks.”

Sehun shot her a warning look and Jongin stifled a laugh behind him.

“Take him out”, Sehun glanced at the detective.

“Mr. Park”, the latter flashed a close-lipped friendly smile at the man.

“Y-yes”, Shi Hoo muttered. He got up painfully slowly on his wobbly legs and when he was passing Da Hyun she narrowed her eyes at him. “Remember”, she said in a low voice. He nodded and quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere, unable to take her icy glare for any longer.

Without another word Da Hyun sat down and waited, but Sehun didn’t say anything. She noted that he was still wearing her late father's clothes, which were hanging from his body loosely. This only meant that he had not gone home last night and for a brief moment she wondered why, but in the end it was none of her business, anyway. His flat hair amused her to the point it was distracting; it made him look so innocent and harmless.

Her eyes scanned his tired face, his tightened jaw and narrowed eyes. He looked displeased, all that carefree attitude of the previous day gone. He was like a different person now and this made her wonder whether anything what had happened had been real at all. His gentle smile, his sweet voice, his laughter… had it all been her imagination? “That kiss…” Her eyes lingered on his lips and she gulped. How come the last kiss they had shared seemed to be different from all the other kisses? “Strange.”

“You look horrible”, she mumbled, tearing her eyes off his face. He was still standing beside the table, staring at her intently as if waiting for her to say something. She hated it when he behaved this way and she hated that brooding look in his eyes. When he looked at her like that, she didn’t know what to do.

Sehun had spent the night in his office. Time had gone past with him sitting in his chair, twirling around in it, pacing back and forth in front of his desk, sitting on the couch, lying on the couch, sitting on the desk, lying on his back on the desk, pacing around the room, staring at the flip board, lying on his desk on his stomach. Time had passed, but his thoughts remained a mess. Even at the moment, he couldn’t think straight because he was so conflicted.

Placing his palm on the edge of the table and the other one on the backrest of Da Hyun’s chair, Sehun lowered his head to her level and looked her in the eye. She looked back at him dully, unaffected by his closeness. Maybe a little affected, but too tired to think anything about it.

“What did you say to him?”

She gave him an amused look as if asking if he was kidding. His brows furrowed and he straightened up, crossing his arms across his chest. “Speak.”

“If you want to interrogate me, first call my lawyer. You know how it goes.”

“This time, I won't let you go before you tell me what it is that you are trying to achieve. So you better speak sooner than later.”

“You can't keep me here against my will”, Da Hyun stated.

“Too bad I already am.”

“Too bad I am not gonna stay.”

“Too bad I am not gonna let you go.”

Da Hyun glared at him, attempting to stand up, but he swiftly moved his foot under her chair, pressing it against the chair leg and preventing it from moving. His hand was on the backrest again. This way, he successfully trapped her between the table and the chair; she couldn’t even stand up because her knees were trapped under the table. A satisfied scoff left his lips when he saw her facial expression. She looked disturbed.

“Let me go”, Da Hyun said through gritted teeth, her fingers curling into tight fists.

Sehun pouted his lips teasingly, sinister mischief flickering in his eyes. “No.”

“I said, let me go”, she hissed.

“Stay.”

Unexpectedly, Da Hyun heard an undertone in his voice. She knew it was just her imagination, but she couldn’t stop her body from reacting either. Stiffening in her seat, she stared at him, startled and confused. Perhaps, she was still affected by what had happened between them the previous day, perhaps she was too tired because she hadn’t gotten much sleep, perhaps she was simply losing her mind. She swallowed, breaking the eye contact but then her gaze fell on his lips and she blinked rapidly.

“Just spit it out”, he urged, placing his hand on the desk again and leaning his face closer to hers, completely oblivious to what was going on in her head. “Say it and I’ll let you go.”

Da Hyun’s breathing grew shallow and her palms started sweating. She wanted to stop thinking about kissing him, she wanted to rip her eyes off his lips, and she wanted to be calm again. Not knowing what else to do, she abruptly raised her hands in midair and slid her fingers into his hair.

“What are you doing?” he asked when she kept ruffling his hair with a concentrated expression on her face.

“It bothers me”, Da Hyun whispered. It actually did bother her, how flat his hair was. Usually it would stick out, it would stand up and be a total mess but today it was different. She didn’t like that different and wanted everything to go back to normal. “Why…” she muttered almost desperately when his hair didn’t get messy, it stayed as it was, completely flat.

Sehun let her mess with his hair without any objections, his eyes roaming her face. “What am I supposed to do now?” he asked himself. He had never been so confused in his life, he simply didn’t know what to do with himself or what to do with her. He wanted to trust her but at the same time he couldn’t. He hated her but at the same he didn’t. His gaze fell on her pouty lips and he wanted to taste her lipstick.

“That feels good”, he admitted when she ran her hand through his hair and she froze, her eyes locking with his. She thought that she saw her own reflection sinking into the flames of his desire before he leaned closer, his warmth pulling her in. Everything happened so suddenly, simply out of control.

“Mmh”, Da Hyun whimpered when his lips crushed on hers. Immediately they both got lost in their intense wet kiss, their lips moving sloppily against each other and their tongues rubbing together. She gripped harder on his hair, pulling him closer to herself and he groaned into , the taste of her lipstick filling his mouth.

“Ahem!”

Da Hyun’s eyes fluttered open when Sehun bolted away from her, running his hand through his now messy hair, it was far from flat. Then she glanced at the doorway where she saw Jongin. He smiled knowingly as he leaned against the door frame. When their eyes met he raised a brow, pointing at his cheek. She quickly wiped the lipstick off her skin. Sehun did the same.

“I think”, she muttered absentmindedly as she got up from the chair. “I’ll go now.”

“Wait.”

She shuddered when Sehun’s hand landed on her shoulder.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

Jongin let out a low whistle and Da Hyun’s eyes widened.

“Wh-what?”

“Geez, I don’t mean it that way.”

“What way?” Jongin added some oil in the fire, with a chuckle.

“Just shut up”, Sehun hissed at him.

“I’m leaving”, Da Hyun announced but Sehun grabbed a fistful of her blazer.

“Let go.”

“No.”

“Jerk.”

“Ouch…” Jongin in a breath when he saw how Da Hyun knelled Sehun in the groin. The latter opened his mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out. His eyes widened and he gasped for air, crossing his legs and grabbing on his groin. Unable to stand he fell on the nearest chair and whined quietly, doubling in pain.

“Touch me once more and I’ll make it worse”, Da Hyun hissed, flipping her hair. She swiftly turned towards the door which was now closed and Jongin was gone. She grabbed the handle and twisted it but the door wouldn’t budge.

“What the hell?”

The lock snapped and Jongin pulled the door open just slightly. “I’ll give you guys a few hours”, he said hastily and pulled the door close before Da Hyun could overpower him in pulling. She was surprisingly strong.

“Open it! Open it now!” she yelled, kicking the door a few times. “Someone!” she screamed. “Let me out of her! God, damn it!”

“This”, Sehun muttered through gritted teeth. “This…”

Da Hyun glared at him. “What?”

“This room is soundproof”, he breathed out, still in a stupor from the pain.

Da Hyun stared at him bleakly while running a hand through her hair, not even trying to hide her irritation. She plopped on the only free chair and leaned back, fixing her eyes on the ceiling. Being stuck in a small room with Sehun was not exactly the most auspicious situation, especially after that random kiss. “This is driving me crazy!” she yelled inside of her head. Slowly, she straightened in her seat, her gaze locking with his. It bothered her to notice that had been staring at her, again with unreadable intent look in his eyes.

“What is he thinking about now?” she wondered, holding the eye contact and waiting for him to speak first, but he stayed quiet. His shoulders dropped and his face relaxed, indicating that he had gotten over the pain. He propped his chin on his left hand, placed his right arm on the table, and leaned slightly forward, his lazy gaze never leaving her face. She stared back at him just because she was too stubborn to give up and look away first. The deeper she sank into his eyes the more beautiful they became.

He had a nice pair of eyes, she couldn’t deny. The same couldn’t be said about the stubble of beard which had tickled her uncomfortably just a while ago. Now that she gave it a thought, it had been really uncomfortable, kind of thorny like kissing a hedgehog or a rat. But a rat’s fur would probably be soft; she didn’t know because she had never held a rat before let alone kissed one! Her eyes shifted to his hair which had fallen flat again, except a few strands that kept stubbornly sticking out. Taking in his appearance, she had to admit that he looked especially horrible. But since he was dressed in her late father’s clothes she couldn’t hate it either, it was somehow heartwarming to see those clothes being worn again.

Judging by how he was not speaking, she knew he was waiting for her to speak but she would never tell him anything. Letting out a tired sigh, Da Hyun crossed her arms over the table in front of herself and leaned her cheek on them. She avoided looking at his eyes, fixing her gaze on his chest. Like this, she could freely imagine that it wasn’t him sitting there, it was her father. Suddenly, her mind went blank as her eyes roamed his chest. This was such a warming and comforting thought, that it was her father watching over her, sitting there in all silence like he often had.

Memories of him abruptly flooded her mind and her eyes stung; suddenly there was so much bitterness in that it hurt. It was unfair for him to be gone just like that, gone forever. She wondered what would her father say to her in this situation, would he scold her or would he just pat her head and tell that everything was fine? It occurred to her that he rarely scolded her, he almost never scolded her. When he was mad he’d rather sulk and be quiet than yell. Just the opposite from her mother.

Da Hyun thought that her father was a nice man. She couldn’t hate him for the horrible crimes he had committed, she couldn’t. She knew that forgiving something unforgivable so easily was not right; it was against morals, irrational, senseless, cruel… Yet she had accepted everything, closing her eyes from the bloodshed and neglecting her duties as a proper citizen. And there she was now, pretending to be all innocent. She had been brought up with the dirty money earned by questionable means and she had never regretted anything. She had never felt sorry; she didn’t even feel sorry for Shi Hoo. She thought that he deserved every bit of the torture she had put him through just now. Shameless double standards, that’s all her life had ever been about. And it seemed like Sehun could see right through her, see all this dirt and guilt. He had all the right to hate her.

The intensity of all these thoughts struck her and her heart stiffened, a few irrational beats clogging the breath in . Suddenly she felt suffocated as if time was stopping and she was going to get stuck in a horrible nightmare. Slowly, she straightened her left arm and her hand slid across the table towards where Sehun’s left hand was resting palm down. Da Hyun’s fingers slid over his and she gripped tightly. He had such warm hands and, for a moment, she really believed that it was her father. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

Sehun was still propping his chin with his right palm when an unexpected touch jostled him out from his thoughts. He glanced at Da Hyun’s face before his eyes darted at her hand, he gently squeezed her cold fingers but there was no reaction, her eyes stayed closed and her breathing was even. She had fallen asleep. For a while, he could do nothing but stare at her in amazement but then he sighed and leaned back in his chair, still holding her hand. She was so absurd and unpredictable it honestly confused him. One minute she’d yell at him the other she’d be touchy.

“To trust you or not to trust you…” He scrunched up his lips while thinking, his eyes resting on her peaceful face. She had her cute moments and he enjoyed teasing her, this he admitted without any problem. He felt ually attracted to her, but he didn’t find this strange because she was an attractive woman, even nice and thoughtful. Vibrant personality and good sense of style were her strong points; she was intimidating in a y way, but also had brains and mystery about her. She wasn’t easy and he liked that too because this was something that made her seem trustworthy. He couldn’t but think that she’d make a good girlfriend, at least if she was willing to open up. She seemed like a rational woman who was able to discuss things over instead of throwing tantrums. But Eun Yoo was no worse.

This is where Sehun hit the wall every single time. He was going to get married in less than a month and he hated to be wavering like this. Moreover, Da Hyun had caused him a lot of pain and he was not ready to forgive her. Not to mention that she was on his list of suspects along with her family members, and he couldn’t be sure whether she had already committed any crimes or not. Her uncle was an influential gangster...

Sehun groaned inwardly, rubbing his forehead with his palm. He wanted to know more about her, understand her better, and see more of her cute side instead of always being treated so coldly. In general, he wasn’t even sure what he wanted from her. He just wanted to be around her. Suddenly he wanted to even look good for her, seeing her made him feel excited. He wasn’t all that sure anymore, if he hated her at all.

If he was his old self now – that guy who didn’t give a damn about anything and did whatever he wanted – he would have kissed her, held her, charmed her, and swept her off her feet. He would have done his everything to have her, to make her come to himself. Not because he loved her but because she attracted him. It was crazy but… he had done nothing and she had still come. Ever since meeting her for the first time he had been nothing but a horrible a.sshole, yet she had come to him.

He had tried to push her away yet she kept coming. Instead of trusting Jongin she had given him