Chapter 27:

A year past and Jiyong and Yejin still held no title for one another. They weren't exactly dating, they couldn't, not with Yejin still underage and Jiyong not wanting her to get involved with his work while she was still in high school. Despite that they grew closer, sharing secret kisses, spending holidays together, and Jiyong even helping her with her school work – mostly math. Her days were happy and full of love, but Yejin still couldn't stop herself from counting down the days to her birthday, eagerly awaiting Jiyong to fulfill his promise from her previous birthday.

It was the end of the first week of February and Yejin was already excited and nearly bouncing off the walls with anticipation for her birthday at the very end of the month. She was on her way to BB Loans' offices to sit with Jiyong while he worked. As she arrived she saw a familiar gray car pull away from the curb and the girl's smile slowly fell from her face. Riding the elevator to the third floor Yejin tried to convince herself that she had been seeing things, that there was no way that he would be at BB Loans, but when she entered Jiyong's office she knew the truth. Jiyong looked utterly shaken as he stared blankly at his computer screen that wasn't even on.

Yejin dropped her bag on the green sofa as she moved towards the silent man. Swallowing the lump in she reached out a hand to Jiyong and gently touched his shoulder. Blinking rapidly he turned to notice Yejin's arrival and tried to give her a welcoming grin but it was stiff and uncertain. Fear began to brew in the back of Yejin's mind as they stared at one another, her hand tightening on his shoulder in the hopes to calm one of them, but it clearly wasn't working.

“What did Poseidon want?” she asked in a low voice.

Jiyong leaned back in his office chair causing Yejin's hand to fall from his shoulder while his expression hardened. His usually bright eyes narrowed at her and his mouth pinched into a hard line. Her stomach knotted anxiously at the look she was receiving, Jiyong never gazed at her like that, not even when they argued.

When he didn't say anything Yejin knotted her hands together trying to stay as calm as possible, but that was easier said than done with the man she loved eyeing her down like some sort of traitor and dared to speak herself again. “It wasn't business related was it? If you tell me maybe I can help you.”

Another minute ticked by in silence and Yejin thought for sure her happy days were done for, but then the quiet bubble was popped. “You're Poseidon's daughter,” Jiyong stated flatly.

Yejin's gaze widened at him. “H-How– Did he tell you that?” she inquired, her voice raising several octaves.

Jiyong nodded calmly.

Yejin began shaking, she had never been in this scenario before. She had been the one who told Tao to spite her father, but Poseidon had revealed their secret to Jiyong. Why? Why would he do that? She couldn't figure how telling Jiyong benefited him and that scared her. It frightened her so bad that tears welled up blurring her vision.

“I would have told you if I could, but I'm not allowed. Please don't hate me Jiyong, I'm sorry. If Poseidon threatened you or something I'll – I'll do something about it. Just don't hate me please,” she begged through the tears.

As she covered her face to cry and wipe the tears away, an arm s around her waist and pulled her down into a warm lap. Yejin didn't hesitate as she buried her face into Jiyong's chest crying while his arms held her close.

“I could never hate you sweetheart,” Jiyong said softly. One of his hands running up and down her back soothingly. “Nor did Poseidon threaten me.”

Sniffling back the tears she lifted her head to see him looking down at her with a much warmer expression than he had a moment ago. “B-But he –,” she stuttered bemused.

“He just came to confront me about my intentions towards you. He's a very intimidating man like the rumors say,” Jiyong explained. His other hand came up and wiped the stray tears away from her face as a small smile curved his features.

“Th-That's it? He didn't do anything else?” she asked incredulously. Poseidon only stopped by as a concerned parent? That didn't sound right, but Poseidon always did things that surprised Yejin.

Jiyong shook his head. “We just talked about you and then he left.”

“And it ended fine?” She still couldn't believe it.

He chuckled as he poked her forehead with his finger. “It ended just fine, so stop fretting. He even agreed to let me monopolize you the entirety of you birthday,” he smirked.

Yejin grinned back thrilled. “Seriously?”

“Mhm,” he nodded proudly.

Cuddling into his chest she breathed, “I'm glad that you're the one.”

Jiyong didn't say anything in reply, the man just wound his arms around the girl and held her close as he placed sweet kisses to the crown of her head.

February twenty-eighth of Kwon Yejin's eighteenth year was a day she would never forget. Not the delicious brunch, not the lovely walk through the park, not the shopping for the perfect outfits for dinner, not the impromptu lunch at a cutesy cafe. Every kiss was engrained into her from that day, and how Jiyong never let her be too far from him for too long. They had dinner at the Japanese restaurant where they met and when they left he brought her to the nicest hotel in the city where he confessed to her his feelings over and over again until Yejin was a crying mess against him, struggling to say the three words back.

Waking up from a perfect night Yejin thought it would be a perfect morning with Jiyong next to her, finally the two of them in a relationship, but every fairytale ends. When she woke up she was alone in the hotel room with only a piece of paper on her nightstand to explain why. It was a photocopy of an agreement, signed by two parties and it tore Yejin apart in the worst ways possible.

“Not again!” she sobbed into the crinkled paper.

Poseidon had taken Jiyong away from her, but instead of keeping him a secret he was tortuously dangling him before her like a steak to a starving dog. Jiyong had agreed to be her godfather, as a fellow guardian when Poseidon couldn't. They couldn't be in love. They couldn't be together like she had so longingly waited for. They were over before they could even begin.

“Then what?” Minseok nearly spat at GD. He had sat through a long winded tale about how the loan-shark fell for a girl and had oh-so patiently waited for the proper time to tell her, but only to go back on it immediately. Minseok didn't need to hear the ending, he could piece it together himself.

“I met Poseidon in the hotel restaurant and we signed the agreement. He didn't say one word to me until we shook hands at the end. The bastard smirked at me and said, “It's been an absolute pleasure doing business.” Such an arrogant ,” GD replied.

“And you just left Yejin behind? You ended it without a word?” Minseok asked briskly. The annoyance and loathing clear in his voice and in his eyes that stayed narrowed at GD throughout the whole story.

“I don't think you understand how hard that was for me. To leave the girl I was ready to marry behind and alone because her father threatened to take everything from me. At least this way I could see her still, protect her in the only way I can,” GD huffed tiredly. His bright orange head flopped against the back of the couch as his gaze stared at the cei