Youjung sits in the living room alone, playing with the edges of the cushion in her hands. Letting out a sigh, she stretches slightly, hoping that it gets rid some of her thoughts. She lifts her head and looks around the familiar but unfamiliar walls of the living room that was decorated with filled frames, resembling some kind of happy family. She scoffs, knowing the truth behind this ‘family’ – fourteen males and one female.

“Little one~” the warm voice calls affectionately and she feels the couch sink slightly. “What are you thinking about?”

Wonho’s eyes follow where the female was staring and it was a selca of the fifteen of them, all faces clearly seen. A smile takes over and noticing the look behind her eyes, he knew what was happening. “What are you wondering about this family?” he asks softly.

With her eyes still on the selca, she replies, “Do you regret taking any of us in?”

Wonho takes his time to think about it. By right, Namjoon and Hyunwoo started this ‘family’ together, taking everyone under their wings. But even before that, the four of them, along with Jin were already friends. The topic of taking care of one another most definitely emerge from time to time in their young minds. “No, I don’t regret. I know that the others wouldn’t too,” he replies with a soft smile.

The other boys didn’t put too much of a fight to fit in the ‘family’ but when Youjung was presented to them, Namjoon had some doubts of approaching the female to join them but once knowing of her background, he immediately dragged her into the ‘family’ without waiting for anyone to agree. It was the first and last time Namjoon acted without the consultation of anyone.

“You know that Namjoon and Hyunwoo hyung created this ‘family’ to make us, those without a home, to feel like we have one,” he starts. “At the mere age of tender hearts and minds, they came up with a goal like this. I think the reason why all of us bonded so quickly because we all had one thing in common, even though it wasn’t mentioned about when we were young.”

“We all got abandoned by our parents in the same orphanage,” she recites and takes a swallow breath. “We’re all also heirs of the current leading companies of Korea. But we’re the bastards of the families since we were born out of wedlock and from affairs.”

A bitter look overtakes his soft eyes as he releases a sigh. “We only had ourselves to rely on and work hard. See where we are now, Youjung,” Wonho says with a bit of pride behind his voice. “Jin hyung and Minhyuk have their own café. Yoongi hyung and Jooheon are well-known underground rappers who deejays at the side. Hoseok and Hyunwoo hyung, the next respected underground pair but for dancing.”

“Namjoon and Changkyun became sworn brothers after surviving a car crash and officially own different clubs and strip clubs across Seoul. Jimin is in the police force and Hyungwon having received his inheritance just recently. Taehyung and I are happily working as bouncers and occasional hacker. Finally, Jungkook and Kihyun excelling in their own areas whether it is bringing in customers or studying or driving.”

Fate is twisted. She chuckles bitterly at the thought but doesn’t voice it out. “Before all this, the money came from illegal activities,” she states. “No matter how good we are now, our past makes it hard for us to be good people. At least in the eyes of Korea.”

“Our past shouldn’t be a representation of who are we are now, little one,” Wonho softly chides. “Look at you, from a timid and small girl to a beautiful and strong woman who is currently the fiancé of the well-known CEO, Kim Donghyuk. Right… Sorry…”

She waves her hand with a slightly forced smile. Ever since that night, her father revealed that she was his daughter, she moved back in with the fourteen males. Donghyuk had made the decision of it being a better idea for the moment till his mind settles down and wraps around the reveal that happened. His company was on rival with her supposed company. She huffs with an eye roll at the pathetic excuse of her father.

Youjung sits across the middle-age male in the fancy but traditional office. She looks around the room, quite liking the way it was furnished. “My daugh-“

“Stop,” she halts him with a wave before sighing as she rubs her temple slightly. “I don’t think you have the right to call me anything close to… that.”

The middle-age man frowns dramatically. “Why not? I’m your father,” he says in a sickeningly sweet tone.

“Where is my mother then?” she asks and at the sight of his hesitant reply, a sigh was released once again. “You both gave me up. Do you even know who is my mother?”

When no reply came, she stands up but he immediately stops her. “I just wanted to reconcile with my chi-“

“Sir, I said before. Please do not refer me to anything close to that word,” she stops him again. “I may have your genes but the person that has been there the whole time, playing a father figure, was not you.”

She looks out of the ceiling to floor windows behind him to see a bit of Donghyuk’s company tower. She had wondered why the middle-aged male suddenly made contact with her and her eyes widen when a thought strike her. “If you wanted to reconcile with me after all these years, it has to be about Donghyuk,” she points out and a menacing smile overtakes his grim features.

“A smart one. I just have a favour for you,” he says, a shadow seemingly creeping over him. “Take down Kim Technologies from the inside.”

The open introduction of her being the daughter of the rival company of Donghyuk’s created lots of controversies about the couple; some outright calling her mole of Min Technologies while others subtly mention about how their relationship was built on lies. Her phone was constantly ringing from the reporters and she tended to leave her phone on airplane mode recently. Since she never left the house, there was no need for it to be stuck to her twenty-four hour seven.

“How’s Donghyuk?” Wonho asks, bringing her out of her trance.

“I… haven’t kept in contact with him,” she confesses and a phone was presented under her eyes.

She looks at the older male who had a bored expression on his face. “Contact him. Talk it out and see how things goes from there,” he insists.

“Oppa, I do not have a right to even face him anymore. Have you seen the articles?” she shrieks, shocking the older slightly. “Also… Mingyu openly declared war with Donghyuk over me…”

“Kim Mingyu?! That from your high school days that got closer to you just for a dare?” he asks and a nod reconfirms whom she was speaking about. “Jin hyung isn’t going to like this…”

“It’s everywhere now… I can’t hide it from Jin Oppa,” she says with a tired tone, “knowing him, he’ll find it somehow and come back to me, demanding to know what happened if I were to ever hide it from him.”

“You know he cares, especially after that incident, everyone of us became sensitive whenever we have a gut feeling of you getting hurt,” he explains and she nods her head with a grateful look.

“And I thank all of you for that but I’m an adult now, Oppa,” she says with a small smile.

“You’ll forever be little one to me,” Wonho teases and shakes the phone slightly. “Just call him.”

Youjung lifts her hand and slowly grabs the device. She presses on the button to see the default lock screen before entering the code that was the same for everyone in the family. She logs out of Wonho’s account on Kakao and types hers in hesitantly. A flood of notifications rings off, all from the one and only Donghyuk.

Youjung ah…
We need to talk.
Where are you?
Can we meet now?
Youjung?
Are you okay?
I’m not mad… Just letting you know.
I just want to talk to you.
Please reply me, princess.
Are you eating well?
It’s been almost a week, when are you free?
… Are you mad at me? TT_TT
Please don’t be mad at me…
I’m sorry if I did something to you! ><
I miss you…

Her heart clenches at the last message. She releases a heavy breath as overwhelm hits her. Wonho having watched every single of her action, somewhat predicted what Donghyuk had messaged her about. Peering slightly, he only manages to catch a glimpse of the last message and he hides his smile, happy that Donghyuk still cares.

She presses the message bar and the keyboard appears. Typing each character carefully, she prolongs the time to send the message. Once the full message was done, her finger hovers over the send button. “What’s stopping you, little one? He clearly wishes to talk to you,” he says and when no reply came, he moves closer. “You’re overthinking. Stop it…”

A whimper emits from her. “You like him, don’t you?” he asks in a serious tone as she lowers the device in her hand. “Not surprised. I mean you have spent a lot of time with him. There is bound to be attachments.”

“I’m unsure… and scared, Oppa,” she whispers. “What if I think that I have a liking towards him but months down the road, I learn that all I had for him was just an attachment. I want out but by then, he’s too invested into us. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Youjung, he’s a grown man. A little hurt wouldn’t be harm,” he replies. “Donghyuk is an understanding man too. As long as you explain to him, he will understand. He cares about you a lot so he will give way to you just because.”

The device rings in her hand and the name ‘동혁’ pops up and she just stares at the screen. When it stops, she stares at the message she typed up.

I think it is better if we don’t meet again.

The phone rings again and Wonho not wanting to see his little one doubt herself ever again, he reaches over and presses the green button. Youjung looks up with widen eyes as the older gets up to leave. “Hello, Youjung?” the gentle voice flowed through the speaker and she brings the phone up to her ear.

“Donghyuk…” she returns the greeting.

“How have you been,” he asks in a polite tone and she closes her eyes, not liking the exchange.

A sigh was heard from his side, causing her eyes to open. “I’m… outside your home. Let me in. Please,” he pleads. “I just want to talk to you.”

She agrees in a soft voice and hangs up. She plays with the phone in her hands from a while before getting up from the couch and putting it down on the coffee table. She heads towards the door slowly and her right hand reaches for the knob, resting on it. Somehow, she could feel Donghyuk from the other side. Gently, she turns it and pulls the door towards her, leaving it half opened.

She peeks out from behind the wooden block to see the fine features that captured her attention when they first met. His outfit was a simple white muscle shirt, showing off his arms, black knee-length shorts, the latest old-school black shoes and a snapback put on backwards. He seems like a high school student who skips school but the Audi parked in the driveway proved otherwise. “I was wondering where that shirt went,” he comments with a small smirk when he notices the black graphic tee he wore when they first met, on her.

Her head lowers and she turns around to walk away. He enters the house and shuts the door properly. Some of the males appear from their room, curious as to whom arrive but at the sight of the male, they retreated back into their own rooms to provide the privacy needed. All of them had come to the conclusion that both Youjung and Donghyuk needed to talk to one another but never brought it up.

He found himself being back at the swings but this time, in board daylight. She gestures to the swing set as she approaches the fridge located outside the house. He follows her requests and takes a seat, arm on the back of the swing comfortably, a habit he developed. She returns with a bottle of soda and a bottle of water. She hands the soda over to him, which he takes after making slight eye contact with her.

Taking a seat, she scoots close to the male who expected her to side at the opposite far end just like him. He doesn’t mention anything but bask in the moment, knowing it was hard to come by. Feeling bold, he moves his hand after placing the unopened soda properly, to grab her free hand, interlocking it immediately. When she naturally returns the action, he felt the edges of his lips tug, his eyes never leaving their hands.

“How have you been?” he asks softly, lifting his eyes to make eye contact. “Are you feeling okay after everything?”

“Aren’t you curious as to what that was at the function?” she asks after a moment of silence and he displays a bitter smile.

“I do. But… I don’t have a right to ask. Just like how you never asked me about my father’s actions, I will do the same,” he replies, pushing away the curiousity.

She stares at their intertwined hands and scoots even closer, still facing him, sharing some body heat now. “This family of mine, the fifteen of us,” she starts, “every single one of us is the heir of the leading companies in Seoul, some even internationally. But the reason why we all don’t have a family, we are all a result of an affair – we’re the bastards, a stain to the upper classmen society. Our parents all gave us up at the same orphanage.”

“Chairman Min knew of my existence since I was in my mother’s stomach. He was watching my every move despite claiming not wanting to have anything to do with me. A few months back, his subordinates dragged me to his office, right across your building. He gave me a request… to break Kim Technologies from the inside. He wanted me to break your company… through you.”

His right arm was supporting his head, giving a tilt to his vision. The contrast between the innocent act and his stoic face was a sight to see and Youjung takes in every feature. “You never did that,” he whispers loud enough as he plays with their hands slightly, gaze never leaving her.

“I couldn’t,” she admits. “Chairman Min is nothing compared to you. He didn’t fulfill his fatherly figure in my life. You, on the other hand, showed that you care despite your smirks and cold actions. You warmed up to me and I realized that behind that CEO façade, you’re just a puppy who long for true happiness and love.”

A smile lightens up his face and she smiles. “Was that why you asked me if I was so sure you’re humane the other time?” he guesses and she nods, returning the favour of playing with their intertwined hands. “What about Mingyu then?”

“He was… the guy that made girls swoon. Actions that made girls’ heart skip a beat. He was the male leading character from dramas, just… more devious in a way. I was really sheltered, always being with at least one of the Oppas. Boys who like me had to make an effort to get closer, especially since Jungkook and Changkhyun stayed around me a lot,” she explains. “He was the one that got in favour with everyone and got closer with me. It just turned out to be a bet…”

Donghyuk shifts his position so that they would be right next to one another but she stops him. “I want to face you…” she says and he complies.

“Were you hurt?” he asks in his gentle voice.

“Getting hurt is just a process that I can’t control,” she replies. “It killed me at first honestly. I thought someone was genuine enough to earn the trust from Oppas to just care about me – not even like me. I guess I was wrong. After I finished home schooling, I moved out in hopes of… something, anything but in university… everything is just a whirl.”

“Well, there are a lot of messed up people in the world,” he replies. “It just depends on the amount.”

“Are you suggesting that we’re both messed up too?” she whispers, moving closer.

Donghyuk’s right hand moves out from under his head and finds its way to Youjung’s waist, transferring warmth. Their eye contact seem more intense, neither of them looking anywhere else. “Yes,” he whispers.

She chuckles softly, eyes turning into crescents. “Then, I must be messed up,” she replies, almost on his lap now.

“Hm how?” he asks.

“Because I have feelings for someone I shouldn’t have,” she whispers, face moving even closer.

“Hm. What if I told you that, that someone has returned feelings,” he says. “What would you do?”

A smile appears on her lips as she moves her face closer, their faces inches apart. “What does that someone want me to do?” her voice barely above a whisper.

He grins as his grip tightens and releases their handhold to opt for the other side of her waist. “That someone wants you to do this,” he replies; voice also barely a whisper, feeling her breath on his lips.

Using a bit of his strength, he tugs her downwards for her to fully seat in his lap as he stretched his neck before their lips met.