PART 17

“ y’all.” Jessica held Taeyeon tightly in her arms and jumped out the window. The men in the room quickly scramble to go down the stairs. They are unaware that the two women did not exactly jump to their deaths. Once they were out of the window, Jessica grips onto rope tightly enough to stop themselves from falling further down and their bodies hit the wall.

“Ah, that went well.” Jessica grunted in pain since her back landed hard on the concrete wall. Taeyeon could not even utter a single word because of the stunt earlier.

“Hurry up!” Hara shouted. A man tries to attack her but she manages to hit him straight on the head with the baseball bat. It immediately knocks him unconscious. Jessica successfully descends herself and Taeyeon down to safety. There is no time to waste. “Come on!” She grabbed Taeyeon’s wrist. They both run to the car nearby. Hara is running behind them; covering them from being shot or attack.

They enter the vehicle in a hurry. Jessica starts the engine. The GPS turns on a few seconds later. “Headquarter!” She shouted. The map shows up on the screen. Suddenly, a man appears out of nowhere and shot the front window. The glass shatter into pieces and the bullet hits Jessica’s left arm. “Jessica!” Taeyeon screamed. Blood is dripping down from the freshly cut wound, soaking Jessica’s sleeve. The brunette ignores the stinging pain and steps onto the accelerator; sending the car forward in a fast speed. She just hits the man who shot her earlier.

“In 30 meters....” “Oh, shut up!” Jessica turns the steering wheel and drives ahead towards the closed gates. Taeyeon shuts her eyes and covers her ears. The sound of the engines becomes louder as the car speedily goes through the iron gates. Poor bumper is left behind as they escape to the main road.

“J-Jessica, your arm…” Taeyeon shakily spoke when she sees how badly injured Jessica’s arm is.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry.” The brunette reassured her. Despite the insane pain Jessica is currently experiencing, she cannot stop. She has to keep on driving until they reach safely to the headquarter.

After almost two and a half hour, the car arrives to the main entrance of the headquarter. A few of the gang members immediately hold their weapons up in case there are enemies. Jessica stops the car near the front door. A member named Karina rush towards them. Taeyeon gets out of the passenger’s seat and goes to the tall young woman. “P-please, Jessica, she got shot.” She pleaded. Karina nods before telling the others to help the injured woman on the driver’s seat.

Ryujin opens the door. She managed to catches Jessica before she can falls onto the ground. She becomes unconscious after losing so much blood. “Help me out!” She shouted and her companion, Yeji quickly lends a hand to carry Jessica inside. Taeyeon is trembling non-stop. She cries as she attempts to follow her girlfriend. But, Karina stops her.

“We need to get you somewhere safe.” She said. Taeyeon pushes her away. Karina once again holds her back. “Jessica will be fine. We need to go.”

“No!” Taeyeon refused. She tries to chase over her lover once more but Karina has no plans on letting her do that.

“Anyone can come here and attack us at any moment. If you want to keep her safe, then I suggest you do as I say!” Karina raised her voice. She had to, she knows how Taeyeon is not thinking straight right now. She understands her concern. However, she cannot risk their safety. Taeyeon has no choice. No matter how worried she is about her lover’s condition, she have to obey Karina’s orders. She can only cries silently while nodding. Karina quickly brings Taeyeon to the other side of the building.

“Please…stay alive.”

***

“Unnie, unnie, Sica unnie!” Jessica turns to the side to see Krystal sitting next to her. “Unnie, are you okay?” She asked worriedly. Why is she here? Jessica looks around the place. She seemed to be at her parents’ old house. They are sitting at the porch. Even her old scooter is there.

“K-Krystal? Why…are you here?” Jessica asked.

“What do you mean? Of course, I’m here. This is our house.” Krystal chuckled at her older sister’s silliness.

Jessica could not understand what is happening. Is she dreaming? Krystal, her sweet baby sister, had passed away years ago. Yet, she is here, sitting next to her. Tears started forming in the corner of Jessica’s eyes as she hugs Krystal tightly. It took the younger girl by surprise. “Yah, what’s wrong with you?” Krystal felt weird by the sudden embraced. Jessica just shook her head. She did not care if this a dream, she just wants to feel this moment.  

“I’m glad you’re here…with me.” Jessica spoke in between her sobs. Krystal gently lifts her older sister’s chin up and wipe away the tears going down her cheeks.

“Unnie, why are you crying?” Krystal asked worriedly.

“I…I just miss you…so much.” Jessica once again pulls her sister into an embrace. Krystal did not question her anymore. Instead, she simply chuckles as her hand gently pats Jessica’s back. After a while, Jessica finally manages to calm down. She slowly lets go of Krystal; but her hand is still holding onto her sleeve. “S-sorry.” Jessica sniffled.

Krystal shook her head. “It’s fine. At least your makeup is still okay.” The sisters laugh together. Oh, how Jessica misses this; sharing laughter with her one and only sibling.

“I’m sorry.” Jessica spoke. “I’m so sorry for not being there for you when you needed me. It’s all my fault. If only I was a better sister, maybe I could’ve done so much more for you.” She feels her tears are threatening to fall again. Krystal sighs silently. She reaches out to hold the back of Jessica’s head; pushing it gently and have their foreheads leaning on each other.

“You don’t need to apologized. You never did anything wrong to me. You are…the greatest sister I could ever hope for. You have done everything for me. Whatever happens to me, know that it’s the way things are and sometimes, you can’t do anything about it. But, what you can do is…move on. I will always love you…no matter what.” Krystal wrapped her arms around Jessica; embracing her lovingly. She gives a kiss on her forehead. Jessica remembers how her younger sister rarely does that except during the times she would feel too down. “Now, your girlfriend is here.” Krystal smiled.

“What?” Jessica turns to the side to see Taeyeon standing there. She smiles as she waves at the two sisters. “T-Taeyeon?” Jessica felt confused.

“You need to go.” Krystal said with somewhat of a happy yet sad smile. Jessica glances at her younger sister before looking back at Taeyeon. Taeyeon holds out her hand. “Go on.” Krystal patted Jessica’s back; signaling her to go ahead.

Jessica feels hesitant. Taeyeon, her lover, is there. But, Krystal is also there. “W-wait, what…what if I leave and you’re gone? I’m…I’m scared, Krystal.” She feels torn apart. As much as she wants to go ahead with Taeyeon, she fears that as soon as she walks away, her sister is no longer there. She will disappear for good. She didn’t want her to leave.

“Don’t be scared. Everything will be fine. Trust me, unnie.” Krystal gave a reassuring smile. Jessica slowly turns around to look at Taeyeon again. She is still there, her hand reaching out to her. “Let’s go.” She said. Despite her hesitance, Jessica trusts herself to choose what’s right. She approaches Taeyeon and holds her hand.

“You’ll be fine.” Krystal once again smiles as she raises her hand to bid her goodbye. “It was nice seeing you again, unnie.”

“Goodbye.”

Jessica slowly open her eyes. Her eye-sight is completely blurry. It took her a while to adjust her eyes to be able to see clearly again. She feels weak. Her whole body is aching. She looks around to see herself inside a bedroom. She moves her fingers slowly; feeling the soft mattress underneath her. She can feel how dry is. Her eyes slightly lowers down to look at the bandages on her arm. She can feel the stinging pain but it is tolerable enough for her to handle.

Jessica finally remembers what had happened to her. She was inside the car with Taeyeon. They were trying to escape when a man showed up and shot her on the arm. It was only a scratch but the wound is still quite severe. She forced herself to drive to the headquarter. She felt she was already too weak when they arrived. She became unconscious as soon as she saw Karina approaching them from afar.

Taeyeon. Jessica is surprise when she feels a sudden movement on the other side of the bed. She turns around to see her lover sleeping peacefully while sitting down on a chair. Her hand is holding onto Jessica’s. “Taengoo…” Jessica called out as a huge sense of relief comes over her when she knows her girlfriend is safe. Taeyeon stirs from her sleep. She slowly lifts her head up and her eyes shot wide after seeing Jessica is finally awake.

“Taengoo…Uff!” Jessica could not even finishes her sentence when Taeyeon immediately leans to kissed her.

“I…I’m glad…you’re alive.” Taeyeon said in a shaky tone as her tears go down her cheeks. Jessica could not help but to cry as well. Finally, they are reunited again.

“Your arm seemed to be fine. It will take a while for it to heal.” Karina informed.

“Thank you.” Jessica said. The younger woman just smiles and excuses herself out of the room. “See? I’m stronger than you thought.” She looked at her concerned girlfriend.

“I’m just worried. I was really scared, you know? I feared that I might lose you.” Taeyeon confessed. Jessica leans forward to give a sweet kiss on her lips. “You won’t and I’ll make sure I won’t lose you again too.” They smile at each other before sharing another kiss.

“Ehem.” The couple turn their attentions to the door and see Hara, Yoona along with Tiffany standing there. “You just woke up and all you think about is making out with your girl?” Hara said. Jessica simply laughs it off while Taeyeon covers her blushing face.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Jess.” Tiffany spoke with a relief expression.

“I’m happy to see you guys are safe too.” Jessica was worried that they wouldn’t make it out alive. The gun-fight between the two gangs were brutal. Despite a few of them getting injured, they managed to survive until the end. She have to thanked each one of them later. Those women put their lives at stake to helped her save Taeyeon. If it weren’t for them, Jessica would have never see her lover again.

“Hey, you put up a good fight too. That’s core memory right there.” Yoona pointed at the bandages on Jessica’s arm.

“I guess so, it’s a reminder for me how far I was willing to go for Taeyeon’s sake.” Jessica turns to the side to look at her girlfriend with a proud smile. Taeyeon shyly pushes her face away to avoid staring into those teasing yet flirty eyes which earned amuse laughter from the group.

“Anyways, guess who finally got together.” Hara suddenly interrupted. Both Jessica and Taeyeon are clueless by what she meant.

“Let’s just show it then.” Tiffany pulls Yoona’s shirt collar and kisses her on the lips. The two women jaw drops in shock. Since when are they officially dating?

“You can’t resist me anymore, huh?” Yoona gave a goofy smile. “Yes, I can’t. You’re too irresistible.” Tiffany responded with her infamous smiling eyes.

“Fany-ah, congratulations.” Taeyeon hugged her best friend. She is happy to see that Tiffany finally opened her heart to Yoona after all those years. Jessica can only nods in acknowledgement. She, too, is happy for the newly pair couple.

“Guess I’m the only one left in the single team.” Hara commented under her breath while crossing her arms on her chest. Well, she is happy for everyone in the room. Things are going well. However, the moment was short-lived. Suddenly, Irene come running upstairs. She stands at the door while panting. Everyone turn their attentions to her.

“What’s wrong?” Yoona asked. She immediately knows something had happened.

“A man named Jin…is here.” Irene informed. Upon hearing the name, the group look at each other. Why did he suddenly come to the headquarter? They all have the same question in their minds.

“Tell your men to put down their weapons.” Wendy pointed her gun at the group of men standing in front of them. Despite their injuries, the gang members did not take it easy. Jin stays silent; he did not waver at the gun pointing at him. Although he comes in peace, he still needs to be on his guard. They might get shot if he ordered his pupil to lower their weapons. He cannot risk that from happening. Irene comes running down the stairs along with the others.

“The are you doing?” Yoona yelled angrily after witnessing the scene. Jin looks at the people he has been looking for. Both Taeyeon and Hara carefully assist Jessica to go down the stairs while Tiffany follows her girlfriend from behind. Yoona stands in front of Jin with a serious and cold expression. “You may be an ally but you can’t do this type of  here. Tell them to put away their guns.” She spoke. Jin sighs and signals his men to lower their weapons. As soon as they did, Wendy and the rest of gang members did the same.

“We have to make sure your friends here doesn’t shoot us.” Jin stated his reason. Wendy scoffed at the excuse. “We’re not some class-B gang, morons.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Yoona patted the younger one’s shoulder. “Go ahead and rest. I’ll handle this.” She reassured the rest of them. Wendy nodded. She spares one last glare at those men before leaving with the others.

“You shouldn’t have done that. They were the ones who saved us.” Jessica spoke as she approaches Jin.

“I apologized for our behavior.” Jin sincerely bowed. He sees Taeyeon standing next to Jessica and smiles at her. “I’m glad you are safe, Ms. Kim.” He said. Taeyeon could not remember him. She just assumes he is one of the people she had met back then while she was still sick. She just nodded to his words.

“Okay, enough with the chit-chat, why are you here?” Yoona crossed her arms.

“We need to talk. I have some bad news.” Jin said with a serious tone.

***

They sit down at the table inside a spacious room. In order to avoid more conflicts from happening, Jin had ordered his men to wait outside while the gang members are resting downstairs. There are only six of them in there. When they heard Jin came to the headquarter with bad news, they knew it must be related to Mr. Kim. Jessica had suggested Taeyeon to just wait outside with Wendy but she refused. She wanted to join the meeting. She has to know what happened to her biological father. More importantly, she worries about Junho’s safety. The man might caught himself in trouble.

“I’m guessing things didn’t go as plan on your side.” Yoona said.

Jin sighs heavily and nods his head. “We’ve landed not long after you did. We went to the U.S government to inform of our plans to arrest Mr. Kim and his men. But, it wasn’t easy. The officials here refused to give us the permission to do so. They wanted their own police forces to catch Mr. Kim. Unfortunately, we can’t agree to the idea. The South Korea’s government gave a clear, direct order that the arrest will only be done by us. No intervention from the U.S.” He crosses his arms. “It took us a long time to persuade them. When we did get an approval, Mr. Kim had already fled along with Mr. Lee and his son. They abandoned the injured men back at the mansion and we’ve arrested them. But, those men are still loyal to their idiot bosses. So, they refused to tell us anything.”

After hearing the explanation, those sitting at the table let out disappointing, heavy sighs. Although they have managed to saved Taeyeon, Mr. Kim has slipped away once again. They have no clue of his current whereabouts. It could be worse if he decided to fly out of the country before they can even catch him. “Does this mean…” The people turn their heads to Taeyeon. “My father is still out there?” Her question made them feel guilty. Taeyeon suffers the most out of all of them. Not only she had to see her own biological father treated her in the worse way possible, he was also the same man who murdered her past lover.

“T-Taeyeon…” Jessica called but it seemed her girlfriend is too caught up in her thoughts.

“You have to arrest him. You have to.” Taeyeon lowers her head to not show the tears forming in her eyes. “He…killed…Soonkyu. He abandoned me and left me to rot in that...place. He hurts Jessica. He hurts everyone who is close to me. I-I can’t let him to do that anymore. He needs to be put behind bars for good!” She raised her voice in frustration. Jessica quickly embraces Taeyeon; letting her cry on her shoulder. Jin feels his whole heart aches. So does everyone else in the room.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Kim.” He felt guilty. He feels as if he has fail to do his job. Yoona stares at Taeyeon. She could not hold the anger boiling inside of her. She slams her fist onto the table; leaving a visible bruise on her knuckle. Tiffany watches as her eyes are glistening from tears too. Hara heavily sighs while keeping her silence. The room’s atmosphere becomes dull and solemn. Everyone could not utter a single word to let out their frustrations. Mr. Kim, how can he be such a coward yet a cruel man?

“I’ll take care of her.” Jessica said to the others. Taeyeon has fallen into a deep sleep after spending hours of crying her heart out. It must have been very painful for her to see her own father betraying her only for the sake of wealth. They understand how heart-broken she must be after witnessing everything that the old man had done to her. They left the bedroom to go down-stairs. Wendy approaches Yoona. Just seeing the older woman’s eyes, she can already guessed Mr. Kim managed to escaped.

“I thought you’re some-kind of an agent that always caught the toughest, baddest guys. I guess you’re not that great.” Wendy said. Jin exhales heavily. He cannot argue with her. She is right. He has fail to complete his mission. He has fail to catch the murderous and wicked criminal. Now, Mr. Kim is on the loose and they have absolutely no idea where he is.

“Jin, what are we going to do?” Tiffany asked. Jin closes his eyes and shook his head. No matter how much he tries to think of a plan, he couldn’t do it. He is too lose at this point. Yoona has been silent since they went out of the meeting room. Her mind has been constantly thinking about Mr. Kim. She simply cannot sit there and do nothing about it; especially after seeing some of her comrades getting severely injured in the gun-fight. She turns around towards Jin.

“I want to make a deal.” Yoona suddenly said. Everyone else in the room are confuse by what she meant. “I want you to let us handle everything from here.”

Tiffany immediately understands Yoona’s intention. Jin looks at her with a serious expression. “Why would we?” He asked. Despite seeking help from these dangerous mobsters in the past, he simply cannot let them handle the rest of the mission. He is already in hot-waters by asking criminals for their assistance to catch another criminal. He cannot afford to put himself in another risk.

“My gang were the ones who put their lives on the line here. They were shot and injured. Jessica almost died too. Yet after everything we’ve done, you and your men still failed to catch that damn old man. You let him escaped and you can’t even force his men to tell his whereabouts. You still dare asking me the reason for it?” Yoona sounded so intimidating and threatening that no one dare to intervene including her girlfriend.

“Then, what are you planning to do about this?” Jin asked; not wavering from Yoona’s dark aura at all.  

“After today’s event, I already consider Mr. Kim and his gang members to be our enemies. I think our crazy boss thinks the same too. So, like any gang wars, we’re going to fight and we’ll end them for good this time. Even if you say ‘no,’ we won’t listen anyways because we’re not the people you can order around to do your bidding. If you decided to interfere, then we wouldn’t hesitate to end you too.”

Jin stood there in silence. His eyes moved to look at the women in the room. They may seem weak on the outside but he knows how dangerous these females are. They are capable of doing worse things than his own men. These mobsters would not hesitate to kill; even if they would end up in jail. He shifted his eyes to Yoona again. The woman seems determined. He is aware that she would not change her mind about this.

“If I let you handle the rest of it, then how do you plan to give Mr. Kim to the authorities? This gang is filled with criminals too. You’ll get caught and be sentence to prison.” His words made Tiffany worried about Yoona and the others. She wanted to say something but upon seeing Yoona’s expression, she decided to shut her lips tight.

“That’s why I’m making a deal here. You and your men will turn a blind eye while we finish the job. Once we catch Mr. Kim, we’ll hand him and the rest of his gang over to you. Take the credit of the arrest to yourselves and keep a secret about our involvement in this. But, know this, agreeing to this deal means you can never intervene with our ways of doing things. So, do you want to take this offer or not?” Yoona looked at him. Jin is silent for a while before finally giving a nod.

“Im Yoona, I’m leaving everything to you.” He spoke as they seal the deal in front of the people whom are presence in the room.

“Now, do us a favor. Bring the gang’s leader here.” Yoona said.

**

Taeyeon slowly open her eyes to see the dim-light invading her sight. She inhales deeply and looks around to see herself laying on the bed. She remembers that she was crying too much that it drained all of her energy. She fell asleep afterwards. She turns to the side to see Jessica sitting on the chair while watching the rain outside the window. Taeyeon gets up to sit down. “Jessica?” The brunette immediately looks at her and approaches her.

“You’re awake.” Jessica smiles lovingly at her girlfriend. “Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine. I…I’m sorry. I was too emotional earlier.” Taeyeon apologized. She was supposed to be the one to take care of Jessica since she is injured. Instead, she ends up being the one to be taken care of and she feels guilty about it. But, Jessica did not mind. She completely understands the overwhelming sadness that struck Taeyeon when they heard the bad news. She wrap her arms around Taeyeon’s body-embracing her.

“You don’t need to apologize. You have every right to be angry and frustrated. I’m the one who should be sorry for not being able to take away those feelings from you.” Jessica kisses Taeyeon’s forehead. The couple stay in each other’s arms. The whole room is quiet. Only the sound of rain hitting the window’s glass can be heard. After a while, Jessica decides to break the silence. “It was also rainy that day.” She said. Taeyeon lifts her head up to look at Jessica.

“I was…at home. I remembered I was really tired that night. Krystal was still out at her friend’s house. I thought that she’ll be okay on her own so I decided to sleep. I left my phone on silent so I didn’t hear her calls.” Jessica took a deep, shaky breath. “When I woke up, I saw a bunch of voicemails and I listened to it. She was so terrified. She kept asking me to hurry and pick her up. I went out of the house. It was raining heavily. I can barely ride my scooter on the slippery roads. So, I ran on the streets looking for her. I tried calling her many times but she wouldn’t answer. I…was so terrified. I kept convincing myself that…her phone ran out of battery and she is safe somewhere. I kept running and running until I finally found her.” She shut her eyes tightly at the reminisce of the traumatizing memories.

“I was in the court. The man who…he was there. I remembered how angry I was that day. The er was so proud of himself when he talked about what he did to my sister. As if it was an outstanding achievement. He smiled at me, telling me it was my fault. I messed with him. An eye for an eye, he said. Seeing how he laughed and clapped his hands while repeating the same words like a total maniac, I swore I almost jump at him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to suffer so badly.” Jessica said with her eyes glistening from her tears. Taeyeon quickly embraces her tightly.

“S-stop, please. I don’t want you…to get hurt by telling me this story.” She said. Jessica sighs heavily and put her fingers on Taeyeon’s chin to lift her head up. She looks at her.

“I know how it feels. It’s really painful. Even until now, the pain is still there. It hurts just the same no matter how many years passed.” Jessica then leans down to give Taeyeon a kiss on the lips. “I promise you, we’ll catch that old man and put him behind bars for good. We won’t let him go away with this. We’ll get him and put Soonkyu to rest in ease.” She gave a reassuring smile. Suddenly, the bedroom’s door open and Tiffany stood there with a huge smile on her face. It confused the two women.

“We found him. We know where he is.” She said. The sudden good news made the couple stand up in shock.

They go downstairs to the basement. They go through a dim-hallway before reaching a hidden room behind a fake-wall. There, they saw Yoona along with Wendy with a man tied onto a chair. “Holy …” Jessica said as Taeyeon gasped. The man is filled with bruises and wounds from head to toe. His whole body is stain with his own blood. He went unconscious after receiving countless of beatings and tortures for hours.

“Sorry you have to see that. Oh, don’t worry, he’s alive.” Yoona casually spoke while wiping the blood off her knuckles. There is no doubt that she used to be a former gangster that was feared by many. She made the man her personal punching bag. Jessica starts to feel intimidated by her now.

“W-what happened?” Taeyeon asked as she watches the man being drag away by the other gang members.

“I did an interrogation. Well, my style of interrogation. He was stupidly loyal to Mr. Kim and it took me a while to finally stripped that loyalty away from him. He eventually gave up and told us another hide-out they have here.” Yoona explained.

“Irene tracked down the location and Seulgi already went out to spy on them.” Wendy added.

“Jin might have failed to catch Mr. Kim but he did take down the only backup the old man has. I’m guessing he already knew about it, that’s why he went into hiding. He’s basically vulnerable and weak now. He only has a small numbers of men protecting him and his stupid partner in crime. So, it’s the perfect timing to strike them down.” Yoona paused to let out a sigh. “But, we can’t really do that. We have to collect evidences.”

“What do you mean?” Jessica felt confused.

“Even with all the proofs that Jin has to arrest Mr. Kim, I bet he has men in the system to help him get out eventually. He’ll be a free man again. So, if we want to put him in prison for good, we need his confession. The only way we can do that is having someone to talk to him.” Yoona turns to look at Taeyeon. Jessica’s eyes widen upon realizing the idea that Yoona has in mind.

“No, no way!” She said. “I won’t let Taeyeon meet that er again! She was held captive there and she was forced into marriage just for money! She-she was chained and locked away for God’s sake! No, I won’t let Taeyeon go. Not again.” Jessica shook her head while heavily breathing due to the emotions she is currently feeling.

“If we don’t do this, then what’s the point?” Yoona questioned. “That old man will walk out of prison. He won’t get punish for what he did. He’ll be free and I doubt he’ll stop spying on his daughter. Eventually, the same thing is going to happen again. He would take Taeyeon away and you might die the next time he sees you. Is that what you want?”

“I…I…I don’t want to lose someone I love again. I just can’t.” Jessica bit her lower lip in frustration.

“I’ll do it.” Everyone in the room turn their attentions to Taeyeon. The woman breathes in deeply and repeat her words again. “I’ll do it. I’ll go talk to him.” She said. Jessica holds her shoulders. “T-Tae, are you crazy? It’s dangerous. We might be separated again. I can’t lose you.” Taeyeon smiles and reaches out to hold her girlfriend’s face; gently caressing her cheek. She stares into Jessica’s anxious eyes. “You’ve always told me to trust you. I did. I believe in you. So, this time, I want you to trust me. Have faith in me.” She said. Jessica stays silent. As much as she wanted to disagree and argue about this, seeing Taeyeon’s expression, she knows she cannot do that. She ends up sighing heavily.

“I trust you. But this time, I want us to face that old man together. I’ll be by your side to protect you.” Jessica said. Taeyeon nods to the idea with a smile.

“Okay, now that’s settle. We’ll wait for Seulgi to get back. If my assumption is right, we’re good to go.” Yoona said.

“Oh, wait!” Tiffany suddenly interrupted. They look at her. She clasp her hands with a huge smile on her face. “This time, we need outfits.” She said happily; earning confuse looks from the others.

**

It is night-time in Las Vegas, one of the most populous city in the country, known for its metropolitan environment. In front of a casino filled with Korean-American visitors, a few sport cars arrived near the entrance. The doors open; revealing women wearing suits and dresses exiting the vehicles. As if everything went in a slow-motion pace, the group of good-looking women entered the building. Yoona is at the front; wearing a black suit with Tiffany standing next to her with a matching black dress. Beside them, Jessica is wearing a red-suit along with a pair of sunglasses and Taeyeon is wearing the same color dress with a small purse in her hand. Behind the four women, Wendy is wearing a warm-tan brown colored suit and Irene, her closest ally is wearing a black suit with a gray shirt. The other gang members wear suits as well.

“Why do we need to wear these again?” Yoona asked her girlfriend. Last night after the interrogation, Tiffany suddenly told them she had outfits prepared for them. Apparently, after the gun-fight, she decided to go for a so-called quick shopping to get rid of the stresses. Hence, they are all wearing the suits and dresses she had bought.

“Fashion, honey. Fashion.” Tiffany said proudly.

“I can’t even see anything. I’m taking this off.” Jessica took off the sunglasses and Taeyeon couldn’t help but chuckling at the annoyed expression she had on her face. Tiffany’s randomness helped her to ease her anxiousness to face her father tonight.

“They’re here.” Wendy announced upon seeing a group of men is approaching towards them. They maintain their strong gazes as they step forward. The two gang face each other.

“You’re not welcome here.” A man standing in the center said. He shows an intimidating expression but Yoona can clearly see the anxiousness in his eyes. She scoffs. “You’re still acting all-mighty even after losing in a gang fight against women. Tch, tch, must’ve hurt your prides.” She remarked. The man reaches out to hold the gun hidden under his suit. “Get the out of here.” He threatened. But, Yoona simply laughs the warning off.

“Your leader barely survives during the interrogation. What makes you think you can survive through this too?” Yoona’s eyes turned dark. “You pull your gun out and all hell break loose. I know you don’t have much men on your side right now. If we retaliate, you’ll lose.” She approaches closer to him with a threatening gaze. “That old-man you’re protecting abandoned your leader and the rest of your men to die on their own back at the mansion. You’re still choosing to be loyal to him? You better decide now while we’re still being nice.” She said. The man heavily exhales while glaring at her. Despite the pride he has, he knows she is right. If he decided to start a fight, they will all die in vain.

“What the do you want?” He gritted his teeth.

“Easy, take us to your boss.” Yoona said. He looks at the rest of the gang members standing behind her. They look at him while slightly opening their suits; revealing a silhouette of the loaded guns hidden underneath it. He feels angry but he cannot do anything about the situation. He turns back to Yoona. “Follow me.” He spoke.

They go up to the top floor of the building. Once they reach there, the men lead them through the dim hallway towards a silver-door. They enter the spacious and lavish room where they see Mr. Kim, Mr. Lee and Junho sitting there. Upon seeing the women’s presence, the old man quickly stand up in anger. He glares at them. His eyes stop at Taeyeon, his daughter. Jessica is quick to notice and immediately holds Taeyeon’s hand. The sight of it made him angrier.

“Why did you bring these ers here!?” Mr. Kim scolded his men. They stand still in silence.

“I’m here to talk to you.” Taeyeon was to first to answered. “If you don’t want any trouble, I suggest you sit down.” She sternly said.

“What makes you think I’ll talk to you? You ungrateful !” He raised his voice at his daughter.

“Be careful with your words, Mr. Kim.” Jessica spoke. “If it wasn’t for Taeyeon, I would’ve shot you in the head.” She threatened. He clenches his teeth.

“Calm down, let them have their way.” Mr. Lee said. Mr. Kim turns his head at the man sitting on the couch. He brushes the side of his gray hair and clears his throat. “If we fight here, things will get worse.” He made his point. Unlike Mr. Kim, he is not easily overtaken by his emotions. He can still think straight. Junho remained silent.

“Sit down and let’s have a talk.” Taeyeon said. Mr. Kim looks at her. Finally, he gives in and sits back down. “On one condition.” He pointed his cane towards the gang members. “I will only talk to Taeyeon. The rest of you, get out.” Yoona is about to argue but Taeyeon beats her to it.

“Then, I have my own conditions too. Jessica stays with me and your men can’t be here. They have to wait outside with Yoona and the others.”

Mr. Kim tighten his grip on the cane. He never expected his daughter would act this way towards him. She is not even afraid or anxious being in his presence. “Fine.” He said much to his displeased. He signals his men to get out of the room. Yoona gives one last encouraging pat on Jessica’s shoulder before heading out with the rest of the gang. The door close-leaving behind the couple with the three men inside the room. Taeyeon and Jessica sit down on the couch opposite from where Mr. Kim is sitting. The old man pours a glass of champagne for his daughter. Taeyeon stares at the drink before leaning down to pushes the glass away-showing her disinterest to her father’s kind gesture.

“You’ve changed.” Mr. Kim is the first to talk. “You could’ve been a great successor for the business.”

Taeyeon let out a mocking chuckle. “You wouldn’t give me the position anyways. You’re that selfish and greedy. Even if you die, you’ll bury those fortunes with you.”

“Are you here to take revenge?” Mr. Kim smirked. “You turned your back on me for that lowly woman in the past. You dare betraying me again for this .” He turned his gaze towards Jessica. He despises both her and Soonkyu. He believes that the two women ruined everything he had in plan. All for the sake of love. It disgusted him down to his core.

“I was never loyal to you. Why should I? I’m not your daughter. I’m just one of your assets.” Taeyeon remarked. “Let’s be honest, you never wanted me to be alive ever since that day.” She stared at him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re my daughter-”

“But, you wanted me death anyways. You never cared if I was your daughter. I was nothing to you.”

“You ing-.” Mr. Kim paused. He realizes he was acting out of anger. He leaned back on his chair, exhaling loudly. “I’m not that low of a person.” He claimed. Taeyeon scoffs at the words.

“I know everything that you’ve done. You planned to kill me but Soonkyu saved me. I was already hopeless so you leaved me to rot in that place. You couldn’t wait for me to die. You never cared about my well-being from the start.” Taeyeon paused to take a deep breath. “You sent a bunch of rookie doctors to treat me. You knew if you did that, no one will suspect your intention of wanting me to stay there. But, your plan failed when Jessica came. I suddenly got better. I managed to find my voice again. You got scared.” Mr. Kim’s mouth briefly opens to argue but Taeyeon did not give him the chance to do so.

“You’ve made a deal. I was sane so you’ve decided to use me again as your tool. You bargained me to them. You kidnapped me and tried to force a marriage with Junho so you can have more power. You wanted to get rid of Jessica for good too. You were planning to covered up those dirty deeds of yours. Even after all of that, you failed again. Pathetic. You were losing and you know that fact so-well. So, you wanted to run away. Yet, you couldn’t, I was chasing you and that terrifies you.” Taeyeon said. Mr. Kim angrily stands up. He pulls the tip of the cane he was holding to reveal a long, thin blade. He pointed it at his daughter. Jessica quickly stood up to shielded Taeyeon. The scene made the old-man angrier. He is fuming with madness. Taeyeon remains composed.

“I hit the nail there, isn’t it? Come on, what you’re waiting for? Tell me…admit it, everything you did.”

“Shut up!” He yelled. “Don’t think I won’t stab you!” He shouted to Jessica. But, she stays rooted on the spot. She is scared. But she doesn’t care. She have to fulfill her promise. She has to protect Taeyeon even if she has to jeopardize her life.

“You messed up, dad. You lose. Yet, you’re too stubborn to admit that. No matter how much you lied to yourself, you’re powerless.” Taeyeon said.

“I DID NOT LOSE!” Veins can be seen on Mr. Kim’s neck and forehead. He is beyond angry. He wanted to kill both of them. He didn’t care if Yoona and the whole gang barge in when he does. He will kill all of them. Things went so well. But his own daughter and her lover decided to ruin everything. He was the man. He is standing at the top of the pyramid and stepped on those who trampled on him in the past. He is rich and he is powerful. He owned everything!

“Out of all people in this world, you’ve decided to fell in love with that woman! Soonkyu was his niece! He was my enemy! Her uncle was the reason I was still belittled by those around me! He was richer, he was much more powerful, those things were said to me every single time I’m at his presence! !” Mr. Kim kicked the table; turning it upside down. “Yes, you’re right! I killed Lee Soonkyu and I was planning to take you out!! But I wanted you to suffer. I wanted you to rot and die alone in some crappy room! I loved and enjoyed seeing you held onto all the blames! I was excited to see you miserable!!”

“Then, this here decided to showed up and ruined everything! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.” He said while pointing the blade just inches away from Jessica’s face. “I would’ve made you suffer that you wish you were never been born! I’ll cut you up into pieces and throw you to the dogs! You’re just the same as my wife! NOSY ABOUT EVERYTHING!”

“What?” Taeyeon stood up. Her whole body trembles as her eyes glaring straight at the old man. “What did you…to mom?”

Mr. Kim laughed maniacally. It made Taeyeon angrier and more disgusted than ever. “Your dear mother was begging for me to take you out of that place. She knelt down on my feet. She was so ing desperate! It was ing annoying! I gave her a good life but she was ungrateful!! She told me to stop doing this job! I did it for the family but she was disgusted by it. She threw away the dresses, the jewelries and the shoes I’ve bought for her! She wanted a divorce!! So…I took her out too. I poisoned her. How I enjoyed seeing her slowly dying in front of me…” He laughed so loud. Junho’s eyes widen upon hearing the story for the first time. He looks at his father who shamelessly smirks. He becomes nauseous. How ed up can these two be?

Taeyeon could feel the insane pain inside her chest. Not only her father had killed her first lover, but also her beloved mother. The woman who carried her in the womb for 9 months and gave birth to her. The woman whom taught her to walk and talk. The woman who embraced her when she was crying. The woman who raised her with so much love and affection. The woman who loves her father and stays loyal to him. She wanted to leave. But she was killed by the same man who put a ring on her finger. Taeyeon pulls out a gun from her purse and points it at him. Jessica is shock by her action.

“Taeyeon! Calm down!” She shouted but it seemed to not go through her. Mr. Kim smirked. He opens his arms wide- welcoming the bullet that is going to penetrate him.

“Come on, do it. Shoot me!” He laughed evilly. Taeyeon has her finger on the trigger. She has so much hatred for him that she would not hesitate to shoot him until the bullets run out. She wanted him to die in her own hands. Jessica reaches to hold the gun and points it at her chest. Taeyeon blinks furiously; baffles by her actions.

“Listen to me.” Jessica spoke with a shaky tone. She can barely breathes without feeling suffocated. She tightens her hold on the gun in Taeyeon’s hand. Tears go down her face. “If you want to kill him, I won’t stop you. But, I refused to let you take the consequences. So, shoot both of us. I’ll take the blame. I’ll be the killer. You will stay innocent. Let my name be the one who shows up as the murderer.” Jessica smiles. Her lips are trembling from her cries. “I love you. I’ll be your protector until the end.” Taeyeon’s tears go down her cheeks. How can she shoot her lover? How can she kill Jessica? No matter how much hatred she has for her father, she could not do that. She cannot let her emotions be the reason for her losing another person she loves to die in her hands. Not again.

Taeyeon takes a deep inhale to calm herself. She wipes away the tears staining her face as she lowers down the gun. Jessica looks at her. Taeyeon smiles. “Thank you.” She whispered to her. She turns to her father. “I won’t be like you. I’ll never stoop that low. I’m not a coward.” She said. Mr. Kim’s smirk faded immediately. Taeyeon put the gun back into the purse and looks up at him again. “I heard enough. I hope you have damn good lawyers to help you out.”

“Lawyers? What? You want to arrest me?” Mr. Kim scoffed. “I never get caught.”

Taeyeon nodded as she tuck her hair behind her ear-revealing a fake earring. “Now you do.”

A realization struck the man after seeing the piece of jewelry. It was an audio receiver disguised as a piece of earring. Back at the headquarter, Hara has recorded the entire conversation between them. They now have solid evidences to charge Mr. Kim for his crimes. There will be no chances he can get out of this situation. Same as Mr. Lee. Infuriated by Taeyeon’s deceiving, he attempts to stab the first person in front of him which was Jessica. Junho quickly jumps on him-tackling him down on the floor. The blade slipped away from Mr. Kim’s hand.

Mr. Lee attempted to run towards the door at the other side of the room. Jessica immediately chased him and sent a strong kick on his back. He falls flat on his face. Yoona barges in through the door. Tiffany is following behind her. A few of the gang members went to help Jessica while Yoona approached Mr. Kim who was held down by Junho. Seeing the woman getting closer, Junho stands up. “Y-you bastard!” Mr. Kim heavily panted. But his foul-mouth is quickly shut off when Yoona kicks him hard on the face. He laid there with a broken nose. She steps on his chest-the small blade attached to her boot is just an inch away from his chin.

“I guess your men wasn’t as long as you thought.” She smirked.

Those men escaped as soon as the door was close. They no longer wanted to be involved in this personal fight. Mr. Kim gritted his teeth. He began screaming out loud in anger and frustration. He cursed and mocked those around him. Taeyeon stares at him in silence. She did not know how to feel at this moment. All she knew was there was no sense of relief. There was only pain invading her heart. She shut her eyes as a single tear drop down her cheek.

To be continued.

Hello, this is Reowesome. I finally finished the latest update after being awfully busy these past few weeks. The next chapter will be the finale of Forever: EP2. After years of writing, finally we'll be reaching the ending. I had so much fun writing this story. I also appreciated the amount of supports I've received all these years from old and new readers. I'm glad that I've decided to continue this. Thank you so much for the subs and votes. Of course, I've read all your wonderful comments. I'm sincerely grateful. The finale will be posted either the middle or end of the month. If not, it'll be on August. I hope everyone enjoy this chapter. That's all for now :)