credits: IBMINO

credits: IBMINO

credits:tarozuki

TOP’s POV

No thanks to the brilliant bonfire by the seashore idea, Nana was grazed by a bullet. We took her to our hideout and the Triad medics had already taken care of the wound. If Daesung and Seungri together with the other members didn't go to the upper ground to secure the perimeter during that bonfire mess, we would have been in the depths of hell by now.

I leaned against the doorframe and watched as Jiyong talked to Nana. The girl was apologizing profusely and our boss had already told her it was not her fault. It was such an innocent sight – a guy talking to a wounded girl lying on the bed. There was nothing wrong with it. It was exactly the reason why I refused to comment about the whole Nana-Jiyong extravaganza that even Daddy Youngbae was questioning.

I really have no comment on this. Na-ah. But...if Dara sees Jiyong and Nana...ERASE!!

I shut the door and left the two, making my way towards my room where the three monkeys were probably hanging out. I seriously did not want to deal with this whole ery because heavy, dramatic stuff was really not my style. But, I would be lying if I say I was not bothered by it.

"Hello boys! And Daddy Youngbae!" I greeted cheerfully as I entered the room. They were all sitting on the bed, like a bunch of girls equipped with gossips about everyone's lives.

"Hyung!" Seungri called out.

I immediately raised my open palm to stop him from talking. "Let me make something clear," I told him. "I don't want to deal with right now. If you have questions about this Nana-Jiyong setup, he's your guy," I pointed at Youngbae who scowled at me. Daddy Youngbae skipped puberty and went straight to being an adult so when it comes to serious talks, he's our man.

I took a few steps and lunged towards the bed, my body bouncing up and down the mattress while the three remained seated on the edge. I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling, placing an arm beneath my head.

"Shouldn't you or Youngbae hyung say something?" Daesung asked. "I feel bad for Dara noona."

To be honest, the whole damn Nana-Jiyong thing was bothering me. They were inseparable for the entire duration of our stay in Jeju and Jiyong was obviously taking good care of her, but I don't know. I don't have anything against Nana, even though I almost killed her when we first met her. She was cool about it too, knowing that I did it in the name of the Triads. But, just like Daesung, I felt bad for Dara.

UGH! This whole thing is ing confusing! I have a very bad feeling that someday, this will blow up and will become very troublesome.

"Logically speaking, they are not doing anything wrong," Youngbae started. "Nana is our secretary so it's normal that she will spend time with Jiyong. And after that fiasco that lead to Mr. Tang's death, Jiyong was probably making sure that it wouldn't happen again so he was doing these things to protect her. Yes, we feel bad for Dara. But, what will we say to Jiyong if we don't have anything to back our words with?"

As expected from our sworn brother who holds the daddy position, everything he said was on point. But to hell with logic, it still .

We were there since the beginning – when Dara met Jiyong, mistaking him to be a boyfriend for rent. We were there and witnessed all the crap they had to go through. And we were there when Dara accepted Jiyong for who he was. We saw everything. We saw how our boss changed and honestly, it gave us hope that there would be a light in this dark hell. Just like Dara to Jiyong.

I was the one who pushed Jiyong to Dara. I bet on them. I firmly believed in their happy ending. But now, our boss was looking somewhere else.

"Shouldn't we at least warn our boss that his actions were questionable? Or shouldn't we at least ask him what’s up between him and Nana?" Seungri suggested. "Hyung, ask him!" He said, nudging me while my gaze was still fixed on the ceiling.

"I don't want to," I said.

"Why?"

"I'm scared to hear his answer."

This ing !

_____________________________________________________________

DARA’s POV

After leaving the office early, I roamed aimlessly on the streets and found myself on a nearby park. As I sat on the bench and watched the young couples walking by, I couldn't help but miss the times when Jiyong and I went out for 'normal couple' dates. Nowadays, we don't do it anymore. He was too busy and I didn't want to impose.

Ever since I became part of his world, Jiyong has been shielding me from the harsh reality of the Triads, but it was a reality I couldn't escape from. I understood it and I accepted it, just like how I accepted him. Like what we had discussed when he told me that he would be the next Dragon Head, he couldn't turn his back on being part of the underground organization even though I suggested that he quit being a mobster and start a new life. As he already explained, with his reputation, his enemies would still continue to haunt him and it would be better to stay within the Triads to have the protection of the organization rather than to go rogue.

I chose to be with him, which meant facing whatever darkness lay along our path. I believed in us. But, lately...

"This is the last day of our guarding duty to the Dragon Head's woman." I heard Haejin's voice behind me, interrupting my thoughts.

"My gosh, you scared me!" I exclaimed in irritation. He circled around the bench and sat beside me.

"I hope you don't mind me joining you."

"You my energy whenever I talk to you," I muttered as I focused my eyes on the steady movement of the people in the park. "I'm sure you're here to convince me again to leave Jiyong."

"No, I'm not. I just came to say goodbye."

"Bye. Thank you for protecting me," I said with disinterest as I looked at him.

He shifted his gaze towards me and stared at me silently. There was a long, awkward pause as I stared back at him while frowning. He was looking intently at my face, his gaze flicking down my lips before staring directly at my eyes again.

"You're pretty," he remarked with a deadpan expression.

"Thank you, Haejin. This doesn't feel awkward at all," I shot back sarcastically. What is wrong with him? Whenever he saw me, he would always say weird stuff and would creep me out. And now, he's complimenting me?

"I'm merely stating an observation. I didn't realize it whenever we cross paths but looking at you up close, you're indeed pretty."

"With the way you talk, I bet you haven't asked any girls on a date," I said. I saw him blink multiple times, looking a bit flustered.

"I have concubines," he said defensively.

Slowly, a knowing smirk curved on my lips, my eyes squinting teasingly as I caught him averting his gaze.

"You have not asked any girls on a date, have you?"

"I have concubines! I don't need to hit on...girls," he muttered, as if asking a girl out was a task that his royal highness could not be bothered with.

"So, you have not ask a girl out," I nodded slowly and chuckled, making him look at me in annoyance, his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"I don't have to."

"Oh?"

"Girls come to me all the time," he said cockily while tipping his chin up. I snorted at his pathetic way of saving his pride. I did not expect that the mighty Haejin who managed to scare the living crap out of me whenever he opened his mouth had this cute side.

"Stop laughing," he commanded, trying to salvage his manliness. Oh God, it's making me laugh more!

"It's not funny!" He blurted out irritably.

"Fine, I'll stop," I said, inhaling deeply to stop myself from giggling. The poor guy was rapidly adapting the color of cranberry with my accidental discovery of his uncool side. "But, seriously? You looked confident when you were speaking in a crowd during the Product Convention. Why can't you ask a girl out? Or ask for a girl's number?"

"I just don't want to," he grumbled.

"Why don't you try it?"

He bolted his head at me, his eyes almost popping out of its sockets as if what I said was a cardinal sin that should not be uttered in his presence. It was becoming difficult to hold my laugh.

"Go ahead. Try it," I insisted. "There's a cute girl over there. See?" I pointed at a random girl who was standing alone while fiddling with her phone. Haejin looked as though he was about to pass out. Now I know how pathetic I looked when I was having panic attack because of stage fright. It was sad and funny at the same time.

"I don't want to do it," he declared.

"You don't want to or you can't?

"It's not that I can't do it, but-..."

"Excuses."

"It's just-..."

"How lame."

"FINE!" He exclaimed, exhaling audibly. "I'm going to ask for her number, satisfied?"

"Go ahead. Remember, don't smile widely at her. You're gonna appear desperate if you do that. Act cool, okay?"

He glared sharply at me before marching away, muttering incoherent words. He was probably cursing me to the depths of hell, but I didn't mind. I bet this was something that would go down the Triads' history.

I watched as Haejin talked to the girl and giggled when she gawked at him in disbelief. I bet he said something stupid because the girl was looking at him like he wanted to call the cops. She then rapidly walked away, glancing back