[-]

  The black Mercedes pulled over aruptly on the side of the road. From the driver's seat, Jiyong rushed out with his eyes already wildly scanning the cafe through its glass panels. His mind was in a ing mess after picking up that call from Soo Hyuk. What does he want with Dara? What is it that he has to say to her which needs him to meet her privately? 

  His eyes landed on a lone figure that seated alone at the far end in the shop and his chest was flooded instantly with a sense of relief. He was all ready to dash in when he noticed a small splatter of blood on his jacket which he hastily took off himself. 

  Dara was sitting alone, images from the earlier footage haunting her mind as she fiddled distractedly with the couple bracelet on her wrist. Some of those people that died were the guys who're from the Mafia's side. Jiyong's comrades. They're dead because Cha Seungwon had used her as a bait. 

  "Hey." Jiyong called out as soon as he reached her, slightly panting. His hand held his jacket limply.

  Dara failed to notice him, making him frown. She was staring blankly into space, her lips slightly parted, her face pale. Other than the fact that she looks unharmed, nothing about her now looks fine. , what kind of bull talk did Ghost feed her?

  "Dara."

  Dara jumped a little, this time catching Jiyong as he stared at her, worry scribbled all over his face. She blinked, noticing a new wound on his face that wasn't there this morning. It was a graze. 

  She still isn't replying him. The uneasiness in Jiyong turns into panic now. He crouched down in front of her while roaming his eyes over her face. Dara is tense and rigid, almost like she's in a catatonic state. 

  "What did Soo Hyuk tell you?"

  Where did he get the injury from? 

  "Dara talk to me." Jiyong begged, placing his hands over her cheeks. Seeing her so pale and stunned scares him more than anything else in the world.

  The sensation of his warm hands over her chilly face unclouded her senses. Dara lifted her hand and her fingertips brushed past the wound on his face, but he didn't flinch. His gaze was still on her, full of worry and concern.

  "Where have you been?" Dara asked softly.

  "Settling some stuff," Jiyong answered, capturing her hand in his before bringing it to his lips. "what's wrong?"

  Soo Hyuk is right. He's hiding the truth for her sake and Dara knows it. Jiyong is shielding her from the darkest aspects of his life. Would she be able to handle the fact that one moment he can be asleep peacefully beside her and the next moment he could be out there pulling a bullet through someone's chest?

  "What did Soo Hyuk tell you?" Jiyong repeated his question, the tone of anger in his voice already audible. 

  "Nothing, Jiyong. Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?" Dara answered hastily, trying to shift his attention elsewhere.

  "I can see right through you Dara, don't even try to lie."

  "It's nothing important!"

  Jiyong's eyes narrowed as he straightened up at her refusal to be honest with him. Ghost had obviously told her something that has shaken her badly but she didn't want to tell him and its driving him insane. 

  "Fine, I'll beat it out of him." He muttered, turning around to leave. In panic, Dara shot out of her chair and clung herself onto his arm, stopping him in his track.

  "He- He just..." Dara began hesitantly, her voice getting smaller at each syllabus she spills. "He just showed me the CCTV footage of the dead bodies in the casino room after you rescued me out..."

  "What?" Jiyong hissed in disbelief, turning around to face the girl as he cups her face once again, his eyes searching her wavering ones. "He threatened you?" There was danger laced in his voice.

  "No, no!" Dara hurriedly said as she wrapped her arms around his torso. He was getting unstable and she could feel it. "He just... wanted to show me the true side of the Mafia."

  Jiyong growled darkly and she quickly buried her face in chest, holding him close to her, desperately trying to calm him down. 

  "You don't deserve to see that , Dara." He whispered hoarsely, enclosing his arms around her tightly. Damn it! She's ing weak towards blood and that bastard dared to show her something as grisly as that? "Listen, baby, you don't have to answer to anyone in the Mafia. You're not one of us. If anyone calls you to meet him, you're not obliged to, get it?"

  "What did you just called me?" Dara blinked, pushing herself away from him. Did he just called her-

  A soft smile spread over his lips at her astonished expression. , he had been trying hard not to give her pet names just yet. Swiftly, he swooped down to press his lips gently on hers once, and twice, allowing the feeling of her soft lips on his to mute the anger inside him. 

  "Baby." He called out quietly. Dara opened to gawk at him before a warm surge of happiness flooded her. Kyaaa!!! He called her baby! 

  "Again!" She requested greedily, but he merely drew his head back to eye her with amusement.

  "Uh uh." He shook his head.

  "Pleasee!"

  "No."

[-]

  The office was huge, and brightly lit. The harsh lighting in the room made the entire place seem almost clinical. A figure walked around his desk to face a giant, white wall, one of his leg seeming as if it isn't working that well, for he was walking with a small limp with the aid of a sleek walking cane that ended with a handle of an engraved snake. 

  His hardened features broke into a big smile in front of the empty, spotless wall, making him look almost insane. Slowly, he started to hum a tune, softly at first before it intensifies.... and it got replaced with a chain of maddening laughter as he jabbed on a button underneath the desk.

  The wall that he has been admiring started lifting towards an open gap in the ceiling and the room was suddenly filled with the noise of a working pulley. The man's grin widened and he leaned back against the desk and wait.

  The wall was gone. In front of him now is a colossal tank that was spreading a soft, eerie blue glow...

  ..and in held an adult sized great white shark.

  His grin widened as he admired his pet. With a finger, he jabbed onto the telephone that's on his desk which connected with a beep. 

  "It's time." His voice echoed throughout the room. "Get the youngest boy."

[Dara]

  The rest of the work day passed by in a flurry. Bom, being Bom, demanded to know what Soo Hyuk wanted during lunch. But how am I supposed to tell her about the things he told and showed me? Being the mother hen, she would probably throw a fit and drag me straight out of Itaewon. Instead I made the absolute wrong choice to distract her with the whole Jiyong and his "baby" affair. By the time we close up the boutique, my ears are already bleeding from her remix of high-pitched squealing and questioning.

  "Wait-" Bom stopped me in the middle of our way to dinner, looking at me with her brows scrunched tightly together, as if she is thinking hard. "You haven't told me why that man is-"

  "OHO! Grams cooked, I forgot. Looks like dinner's for another day. Bye!" I shouted, sneakily snaking my hand off her linked arm before scampering away. Jeez, all the torture that my ears went through have gone to waste! How did she manage to remember about Soo Hyuk after hours-long of digressing? If only she had used that memory of hers during our school days, she would probably already long replaced Judy as the store manager.

  My phone vibrated loudly and I slowed down. Bom should be far behind me now, she would never run unless an apocalypse is impending.

Let's meet tomorrow and settle things once and for all. --- Hani

  My footsteps came to a gradual halt as I re-read the message again and again before a sigh escaped me. 
 

'Okay' I texted back.
 

  It's a Sunday tomorrow. Without the need to work I can take however long that is needed to try and get things across to her straight. Now that I've met her brother even, I need to rethink about how to convince the both of them that their assumption that I can't handle their world is wrong. On top of that, and the most important of them all, I need to assure that to Jiyong.

  The house was pitch black when I unlocked the door. Slightly confused, I switched the lights on and roamed the kitchen with my phone in hand. Why isn't Grams at home? She can't be still outside at this hour. A small queasiness was starting to build up in me before my eyes caught a small note on the dining table. On it, in Gram's sloppy handwriting, was the notice for me that my stomach is off on its on for the next 3 days until she's back from her friend's funeral in the rural. 

  My tummy rumbled fore-warningly and I rummaged through the fridge to find a small dish of pickled radish. Sighs, this will do. 

  I shut off the lights before heading for the stairs to my room. As I walked past the now-dark living room, a voice froze me on the spot.

  "Are you not going to offer me a drink?" It was barely more than a whisper, making the skin on the back of my neck crawl. My heartbeat was getting erratic.

  "W-Who's there?" I asked shakily. My mind was forming a thousand different scenarios of what's going to happen next and none of them is comforting at all. My feet were edging towards the direction of the light switch while my hands searched the table behind me blindly until they grabbed onto the pepper bottle. 

  With a snap, I clicked the lights to the entire floor back on and held the bottle out in front of me protectively. My chest felt like it was going to implode while my eyes are blindly searching the area until it landed on Donghae who's sitting in a small corner in the living room, with his arm propped up on one knee. Jesus!

  "You scared me." I said accusingly, heaving out a sigh of relief. For a moment back there, I almost thought the nightmare with Cha Seungwon was going to repeat itself. "What are you doing there? Grams's not in. She's-" I began, but I caught a glimpse of his face. Something's amiss, why is he so deathly pale?

  "Can't dirty Granny Lee's favorite couch." Donghae muttered, his copper brown hair plastered to his forehead. His eyes were on me but they were unsteady, as if he's forcing himself to not fall asleep. Something is definitely wrong. 

  "What do you mean?" 

  His usual boyish smile flashed past his pale lips briefly before he dropped his knee that was propping his arm up, and oh my god, his right front of his sweater was drenched in blood.

  "I'll call an ambulance." I said immediately, rushing to fumble with the landline. He's shot.

  "I can't go to the hospital." Donghae cut me off, trying with difficulty to stand up. Instantly, I was by his side in case he falls over. The open wound on his right torso is still bleeding heavily. It's not going to turn out well if he doesn't get help. "Aren't you a doc, midget?" He asked, lifting his brow slightly. He's still in the mood to joke around in this state?

  "I don't have the equipment here to help you!" I hissed, tightening my grip on him as he swayed unsteadily. 

  "Call Jackson."

  "What?" 

  "Call Jackson, tell him what you need." 

  "I need you to go to the the hospital now!"

  "I'll find somewhere else to die then." He murmured, groaning as he freed himself from my grasp to head for the door. Jesus christ! I fished out his handphone and it didn't took me long to find Jackson's number; that boy left nineteen missed calls on Donghae's phone. 

  "Pick up, pick up." I prayed feverishly into the phone as I glanced back at Donghae. He was sweating buckets and holding his hand over his wound to again stop the blood. 

  I gave a specific list of items that I needed to Jackson and he promised to be here with them in fifteen minutes. Struggling, I slung Donghae's arm over my shoulder and heaved him upstairs into my room where he collapsed promptly on the bed upon arriving. My fingers fumbled to roll his sweater up so that I can see his wound but there was too much blood. With a small curse, Donghae pulled the sweater off himself before tossing it to a corner of the room. On his well-toned torso, a deep bullet hole is visible. How am I supposed to deal with this mess?

  True to his word, Jackson came running into Gram's house with everything I needed. I had towels ready and most of them were already used in soaking up the blood.

  "I need to disinfect your wound first." I said, giving him an uneasy glance. There's no time for an anesthesia. With my shaky fingers, I poured the bottle of hydrogen peroxide around the small hole. The effect was immediate as his hand around my arm tightened, his fingers digging painfully into my skin as he writhed in agony. Jackson stood at the door at a loss of words and unsure of what to do.

  With the injury area now cleared, it became easier to see that the bullet didn't puncture any organs. Thank god. Carefully, I pulled the bullet out from his body and wrapped a tourniquet around his abdomen. 

  "The bleeding is stopping." I said finally as I straightened up. His face that was pale before looked almost paper white after the treatment. 

  "Thanks, midget. Saved my life." He mused softly, 

  "This isn't enough. You still need to get professional help, Donghae." 

  "I'm good." He waved weakly before turning to Jackson. "Is the deed done?"

  Jackson nodded solemnly.

  "You can go now. Dara will take care of me." Donghae said in a relaxed tone.

  "I will not!" I protested immediately. "Take him to a hospital!"

  "Rest well, Da Ge." Jackson bowed, completely ignoring my objections. "Thank you for the trouble, Miss Dara."

  "No, take him-" 

  "Hey midget," Donghae called out behind me, making me turn around. I heard the front door shut and I know Jackson is gone. "Why didn't you ask me what happened?"

  "Would you tell me if I did?" I said, resigning myself to have to turn my room into an intensive care unit for tonight. 

  "Nah." He broke into his mischievous grin, his eyes following me around as I cleaned up the blood stains on the floor and the stained towels. 

  "How're you feeling?" 

  "Crappy, but it's better than being dead." He answered nonchalantly.

  Well isn't that great.

[-]  

  Dara stood in the kitchen as she stared hard at the small dish of cold radish, hoping that it will miraculously turn into chicken soup. The dish remained annoyingly useless and small, adding to her misery. Cooking is out of her league. The only barely edible thing that she can make is a omelet and plain porridge. Thanks to Donghae she didn't even get to eat last night. But she has to make something for him as breakfast at least.

  Half an hour later she returned to her room with a small bowl of white porridge and the cold radish. Donghae had his back leaned on her bed frame with his eyes closed. A little bit of color seemed to have returned to his face. Hearing her footsteps, his eyelids fluttered open.

  "What did you get me?" He asked excitedly, although his voice was still weak.

  "Poison." She joked, setting the tray by her bedside. He laughed softly and opened his mouth.

  "What? You can't expect me to feed myself can you? For heaven's sake I just survived being shot." Donghae said loudly.

  Grudgingly, Dara blew on a spoonful of porridge to cool it down before bringing it to his mouth. As soon as the taste hits him, he scrunched up his face.

  "Nice try, midget, I appreciate the effort." 

  "Would you rather starve then?" Dara asked, shutting the injured guy up as he opened his mouth again in defeat.

  "I heard your boyfriend got made officially into the underboss." Donghae started after swallowing another mouthful, carefully observing Dara's expression.

  "He's not-" Dara started, but a soft pang in her chest stopped her. He's not my boyfriend.

  "I also heard the other news." Donghae continued slowly. "That he's going to wed some mobster boss's daughter."

  Before Dara could open , another voice spoke from behind them.  

  "That's none of your business, Vanguard." 

  The pair turned around to see Jiyong by the edge of Dara's room window, his face masked by an unreadable expression as his eyes shifted from the topless man on the bed to the spoon in the girl's hand before finally, his hardened gaze connected with Dara's shocked ones.

  "I'm not disturbing the both of you, am I?" He said icily. 

Hmmmm I smell a storm brewing.