Jisoo felt bits of rubble rain down on him with every moment he spent stuck under a huge pile of charred debris that had fallen on him. The entire place was going down fast and he was running out of oxygen to breathe, his lungs about to burst from the forced intake of sulfur in the air. His ragged coughs persisted and his vision was bleary and red from all the ash and cinder that stung his eyes. Little by little he was losing consciousness as he desperately clawed at the ground in futile attempts to free his lower body wedged deep in the debris.

But above all he was all alone, trapped and about to be engulfed in flames at any moment now with his very life about to burn out along with the entire building. The cruel mixture of the warm hues of the flames around him were the only thing now in his line of sight as his eyes were begging to be shut. Yet in those last few moments of consciousness, he saw another hue amongst the shades of red, orange and yellow of the blazing flames. He saw a familiar bright crimson red, and a face he wasn’t expecting to see.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Several policemen, firemen and medics were swarming all around the area still tending to everyone affected by the sudden fire. The St. Mary’s apartment was long gone and what was left of it lay in a huge pile of rubble, ash and several fragments of cheap fixtures and glass. Jeonghan sat on the steps of the fallen building watching Hong Jisoo, unconscious and in a stretcher. The AKMU twins were diligently watching over Hong Jisoo as the medics provided him with an oxygen mask to regulate his breathing. The mafia boss had let out a sigh of relief, grateful that they were able to make it out of the building right before it had completely collapsed.

“Oh Seungkwannie please stop crying i’m really alright don’t waste your tears on something so trivial~~” Jeonghan cooed, holding his subordinate’s face in his hands and wiping his tears away.

Seungkwan was a mess of overflowing tears as he continued to sob. He then proceeded to pound his fists on Jeonghan’s chest in frustration. “B-but you could’ve died I was so afraid we were gonna lose both you and Jisoo-ssi.”

Jeonghan caught the younger’s wrists and switched to a more serious tone. “Worry more about Jisoo-ssi he’s in a more critical condition than I am”.

“Yeah I know but… you don’t look so good either.” Seungkwan worriedly looked at the older.

Jeonghan only waved him off and flashed a reassuring smile. “Look I told you i’m fine!! That fire is nothing Seungkwannie I’m perfectly fi-” Just then the mafia boss was interrupted by a fit of coughing and he never realized just how dry his throat was.

Seungkwan’s tone had turned stern as he was rubbing the back of his superior. “Yeah the fire is nothing alright, nothing to joke about boss you should really take it easy.”

“Yeah yeah” Jeonghan coughed. “Could you do me a favor and find me some water my throat is really dry.”

“Right away boss” Seungkwan answered diligently, scampering off to do the older’s command.

The fit of coughing caught Jeonghan off-guard again and his throat felt even worse. He held his neck gingerly and tried to swallow his spit, but his mouth was so dry that his tongue even felt like sandpaper. Thankfully, Seungkwan had returned instantly, handing his boss a cold bottle of water.

Jeonghan never realized how thirsty he was until he chugged the whole bottle without stopping. Letting the cool liquid wash away all the dryness in his mouth. A stream of water even dribbled down his chin which he wiped quickly before making a mess of himself in front of his underling. “I feel refreshed now Seungkwannie thank you.” he smiled fondly at his underling.

Worry was still very evident in Seungkwan’s face and Jeonghan really felt bad. The younger had stopped crying but his eyes were still red and puffy from doing so.

“Hey Seungkwannie” the mafia boss’ tone had softened. “Let’s go see how Jisoo-ssi is doing okay?”

Seungkwan nodded in return and they both stood and were making their way towards him when Minwoo and his cronies were being shoved past them by the police. They watched as the sorry lot were struggling and packed into a police van. Jeonghan had heard from one of the policemen that they were being taken into custody mainly for causing the fire. However, their case of theft regarding the prototype arms of the AKMU gunshop will still be reviewed based on evidence presented and the testimony of the AKMU gunshop owners. Jeonghan was more than satisfied with that, he gave a final scowl to Minwoo when their eyes had met. It was after all, going to be the last time they will see each other.

However, before the police van doors could close Minwoo still had something to say.

“HOLD UP” Minwoo bellowed, fiercely holding the van doors open. “IF WE’RE GOING DOWN HE’S GOING DOWN WITH US.” he pointed at Hong Jisoo, still unconscious and being tended to.

BANG

Next thing Minwoo knew, a bullet had fired straight at the van door and ricocheted onto the pavement. Jeonghan blew the muzzle of his pistol for dramatic effect and placed his hand firmly on Hong Jisoo’s gurney.

“Not on my watch.” Jeonghan announced, twirling the pistol around his index finger. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Minwoo still pushed on. “HE PLAYED A PART IN THIS WHOLE SCHEME HE SHOULD BE ARRESTED TOO.”

“I will decide what happens to him but just to make it clear, he’s not going with you.” Jeonghan said sternly. “Officers, please take these thugs away now.”

The mafia boss clapped his hands and the van doors were closed before any further protest. And with that, the police van zoomed out of sight. Just then, Jeonghan suddenly jolted and looked down. He was surprised to see Hong Jisoo regaining consciousness, his fingers weakly holding on to his suit sleeve. Jeonghan was at a loss for words, he didn’t know what to do with Hong Jisoo staring up at him. The mafia boss didn’t know what to make of the look in his eyes. It was like he had put the mafia boss under a spell, neither of them blinking as if in a trance. But after what felt like forever condensed in a few seconds, Hong Jisoo fell unconscious once again. His fingers losing their grip on the mafia boss’ suit sleeve as his hand turned limp.

Jeonghan sharply exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding and shook his head. He now found the AKMU siblings staring at him, both bowing and fidgeting nervously.

“Thank you so much for helping us find whoever has been stealing our stuff Jeonghan-ssi.” Soohyun spoke up. “We knew Minwoo-ssi was suspicious but we didn’t think he would do such a thing.”

Chanhyuk continued. “It was just a real dirty trick of Minwoo-ssi to blow up the apartment along with the crates in it but nevertheless we’re grateful.”

“I will make sure to compensate for everything you’ve lost, i’m sorry my team wasn’t able to retrieve the crates before the fire broke out.” Jeonghan assured them, he needed to make sure his clients were fully-satisfied with his service.

Soohyun shook her head rapidly. “W-what no it’s really alright you’ve done all you could!!”

Chanhyuk did a full ninety-degree bow. “We don’t want to cause you anymore trouble Jeonghan-ssi. We should really repay you with all you’ve done.”

“It’s no trouble really!!” Jeonghan insisted, smiling warmly at them. “But I’d like to do business with you both someday if you wouldn’t mind.”

Both Lee siblings looked at each other in awe and looked back at the mafia boss and tripped over their words. “I-it would be such an honor Jeonghan-ssi we would be thrilled to be your business partner.”

“Looking forward to doing business with you both.” Jeonghan nodded curtly, his warm smile not leaving his lips.

All of a sudden, the medics came back and proceeded to take Hong Jisoo’s gurney into an ambulance before the mafia boss could process that he was being taken away. But all he could do now was watch as the ambulance too had sped out of his sight. In his head he was calculating for the expenses regarding everything his clients had lost in the fire.

“Hey boss?”

Seungkwan popped up beside him suddenly, interrupting his thoughts and calculations. “Can we please call it a day.” he yawned, rubbing his eyes. Jeonghan had no idea why Seungkwan was fussing over him when he should be fussing over himself. Seungkwan received medical treatment for all his cuts and bruises but the state he was in… it set his motherly instincts on fire.

Jeonghan was angry, it was his most prevalent emotion for this evening and he couldn’t help it. Minwoo and his thugs had really gotten on his nerves tonight by messing with the Lee siblings, Monsta X and even Jeonghan himself. He was angry that he didn’t have a proper judgement on Hong Jisoo, whether he really had malicious intent or not. He was angry that Seokmin had the nerve to bring the Lee siblings out here in harm’s way and leave Chan at home. But most of all, he was angry that Seungkwan had snuck out on his own and gotten himself beaten up mercilessly. He was really trying to keep Seungkwan and Chan out of this mafia business but Seungkwan was very determined, and very nosy.

“Well yes now that all this is over let’s go home boss!!” Seokmin beamed, latching his arm around Seungkwan’s.

Jeonghan really did want to call it a day, he really did but before he was going to explode he needed to give a final scolding for the night.

“You two” Jeonghan was quietly fuming, trying his best not to grit his teeth. “Are grounded.”

The pair in front of him immediately erupted with complaints and protests to the point that they became incomprehensible due to the fact that they were talking at the same time.

“Aish this is so unfair!!”

“Boss~~”

“But we helped with the case tonight didn’t we?!”

Jeonghan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. “First off Seungkwannie, you snuck out of the mansion when I specifically told you to stay put but did you listen to me?? Apparently not. How did you even manage to find this area?”
 

Seungkwan looked down and muttered sheepishly. “I may or may not have snuck into the trunk of the mercedes benz.”

Jeonghan could only laugh, laughed at how utterly ridiculous and stupid it was of Seungkwan to do such a thing. “You’re really unbelievable you know that?”

“Boss-”
 

“And you.” Jeonghan turned his attention to Seokmin now. “You’re supposed to be at home watching Chan and yet you’re here and you brought our clients along with you what on earth were you thinking?!”

Seokmin only lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry I thought bringing them along would help the case… as for Chan i’m sorry for leaving him alone I noticed that Seungkwan was missing and went ahead to look for him.”

“Boss!” Junhui called out, dragging Minghao along with him. “What do we do about-oh sorry is this a bad time?”

Jeonghan tried to not show the scowl on his face when he was scolding Seokmin and Seungkwan when he turned to Junhui and Minghao. “No no what is it you two?”

“Monsta X is also being taken into custody for conspiring with Minwoo, shouldn’t we also bail them out like we did for Jisoo-ssi?” Minghao tilted his head in the direction of Monsta X being pushed into another police van.

“Hmmmm nope” Jeonghan said simply. “They got into this mess they should get out of it themselves.”

Junhui and Minghao could only blink at their boss.

“Aish~ i’m just kidding I’ll bail them out…” A sneer was slowly creeping its way onto the mafia boss’ face. “In a few days I mean. Anyhow!! Yes let’s call it a day Junhui you’re driving again and Seokmin..”

Seokmin perked up.

“Drive the Lee kids back to their side of town please.” Jeonghan ordered. “And come straight home do you understand?”
 

“Yes boss!” Seokmin answered diligently, bringing the Lee siblings along with him back to where he parked his motorcycle.

Just when Seokmin revved up his motorcycle and zoomed out of sight, Jeonghan and the rest of his underlings had found their way back to their mercedes benz. Naturally, Jeonghan called shotgun while Minghao and Seungkwan sat at the back. Junhui started up the car and soon they were on their way back to the mansion.

Junhui had gotten a lot better at driving nowadays and Jeonghan was relieved. Minghao and Seungkwan must have thought so too, due to the fact that the smooth driving was enough to put them both to sleep. Minghao slept soundly while Seungkwan snored loudly, his head leaning on Minghao’s shoulder comfortably. Jeonghan chuckled lightly at the sight but was interrupted by Junhui clearing his throat.

“Boss I really think you should face front.” Junhui reminded politely. “For your safety.”

“Aigoo~ my underling is ordering me around now?” Jeonghan mused, but diligently followed Junhui who merely smirked in response. It was quiet once again and Jeonghan could only look out the window, the scenery becoming much more familiar to him as they get closer to their mansion. Calming jazz music was playing from the radio and Jeonghan could already feel his nerves settling from tonight’s events.

Junhui broke the silence and piped up. “Why did you save Hong Jisoo-ssi?”

The question caught Jeonghan off-guard and he was honestly at a loss. “I don’t know it’s just… no one that weak could possibly ever be affiliated with a bunch of thugs y’know.”

“Mmhmm”

“What’s with that condescending ‘Mmhmm’, Junhui?”

Junhui sighed. “Boss you can be very intimidating and conniving and deceitful-”

Jeonghan cut him off. “And your point is?”

Junhui bit his lip, he said too much. “My point is: the rest of the team and I know very well that despite all that, you’re also a caring person who would never leave anyone behind. Sure you and Hong Jisoo-ssi got off on the wrong start but when Minwoo tossed him aside like garbage, you were there to save him; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure right?”

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

Jeonghan couldn’t wrap his mind around those words and all he could do was gape stupidly at his underling. “What the hell is that supposed to mean-”

That was when Junhui hit the brakes and the car suddenly came to a stop in front of the towering obsidian gates of the Yoon mansion. The guard had once again fallen asleep on his job and slept with his mouth wide open. Junhui groaned and honked the car horn repeatedly, startling the guard along with Minghao and Seungkwan who both yelped.

Junhui looked at the two in the rearview mirror. “Sorry boys the guard fell asleep again but we’re home~~”

The two boys sitting in the back only grumbled at the sudden wake-up call and looked at Junhui sourly. The guard immediately opened the gates and Junhui drove along the mansion’s driveway and came to a halt to drop of his boss and fellow comrades. Minghao and Seungkwan got out immediately and hurried up the steps to the mansion to get dressed and hit the hay. Before Jeonghan would catch up to those two he turned back to Junhui. “What do you mean one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?”

Junhui had a mischievous smirk plastered onto his face as he started up the engine again. “I mean that since Minwoo-ssi discarded him, he could be of use to you now. I don’t think this is the last time we’ll see Jisoo-ssi again anyway.”

Once again, Jeonghan didn’t know what to say to his underling.

“Anyway i’ll be taking the mercedes benz into the garage now so please get some rest as well Boss” Junhui concluded their conversation, and with that he drove off to park the car elsewhere.

Jeonghan had turned back to the mansion now and felt a sudden wave of relief, it was so good to be home. He saw that Seokmin was home too, judging from the fact that he had just left his motorcycle lying at the bottom of the stairs. He made a mental note to tell Seokmin off about that tomorrow morning. He pushed the grand doors of the mansion open and made his way to his master bedroom, his black oxfords clacking against the polished marble floor. The mafia boss then took a well-deserved shower and changed into pajamas, making himself comfortable on his king-sized bed. He still thought long and hard about what Junhui had said to him, the phrase just kept echoing in his head.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Sleep began to take over and before he closed his eyes he had one final thought.

This definitely won’t be the last time I’ll see Hong Jisoo-ssi.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Jisoo had woken up seeing white and wondered if he was dreaming, or dead. When his vision had cleared he saw that there was a tube attached to his hand and that he was attached to a packet of dextrose hanging off a pole, and watched the drops drip ever so curiously. He was in a hospital, but why? He couldn’t remember clearly and his head suddenly began to pound, yet he still had so many questions. Why was he here? What happened? How long had he been in here…

“Oh Jisoo-ssi you’re awake!!”

Jisoo followed the source of the voice and found himself looking at a young boy who looked strikingly familiar and yet he somehow knew his name. “S-seungkwan?” he croaked, his voice cracking after what felt like an eternal slumber.

“Oh my gosh you still remember me thank goodness.” Seungkwan had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and Jisoo noticed that the hospital side table was full of more arrangements of flowers in vases.

Jisoo looked up at the younger boy and groaned. “Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

Seungkwan looked at him and bit his lip, careful of how to say his words. “You’ve been in a coma Jisoo-ssi, for two weeks.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE IT'S BEEN ONCE AGAIN A LONG TIME!! 

I'm sorry I didn't post another chapter during christmas break but now that it's summer break I have a lot more time and I hope to post more chapters during this long vacation hehe

subscribes, comments and upvotes are very much appreciated thank you for reading this story so far!!