Day 15

                You woke up early, a crick in your neck from being curled up in the chair all night. But after the nursemaid had left, you couldn’t leave Ha-Young all alone on the couch.

                As you watched her, a plan started formulating in your mind, and you waited impatiently for the nursemaid to return for Ha-Young. Not that you didn’t want to help the poor thing, but you were rather short on time. As soon as the buzzer rang you let the nursemaid in the building, and closed the door softly behind you to wait for her outside your apartment.

                “What’s wrong?” she asked, immediately upon seeing you.

                “Do you know where she went to meet Chanyeol?” You asked, watching her face for any reaction.

                “Of course I don’t. I had no idea-”

                “I’m serious. I’m not taking her there, I’m going myself to try and fix all of this.” She narrowed her eyes but you continued, “you take Ha-Young home and talk to her about carrying the baby and then giving it up to someone else, see if you can talk her into it, it’s the best option as I see it. Just see what she thinks. I’m going to talk to Chanyeol to get him to stay away so she can have a chance at moving on. Later, if Ha-Young takes to the idea, I can come by the estate to help the conversation with her parents.”

                You saw the light in her eye, if there was one thing she wanted it was to never see Chanyeol again, and here you were, offering it. She pulled a notebook out of her bag and scribbled in it, ripping the page and giving it to you.

                “It’s a house, it doesn’t look like much. That’s where they went.”

                You took it, “thank you.”

                She brushed past you, “now if you don’t mind, I’m taking her home.”

                The house was in a better part of town than Chen’s apartment had been. And the nursemaid was right, if really didn’t look like much, it looked like all the others on the street, unassuming, hidden by ivy. There was no movement in the windows, it looked like no one was in. But you had no other shot than this house, nowhere else you knew to look for them.

                You exhaled slowly as you walked down the path, choosing to go to the side door and knock, feeling vulnerable in the eyes of all the other houses, who knew if they knew who lived here.

                There was nothing, no movement, no sound.

                You knocked again.

                There. There was a footstep, the flutter of a curtain by the window.

                You knocked harder.

                Finally, it opened, and you realised you had been holding your breath, holding your hopes that it would be Chen who answered.

                Xiumin looked just as surprised to see you, but he reached out and yanked you into the house, shutting the door behind you. “How did you find this place? What are you doing here?”

                “Ha-Young told me where to find you.” You said, “and I’m here to see Chanyeol.”

                His eyebrows knit together, “Chanyeol?”

                “Yes.” You said, meeting his eyes until a slow grin spread across his face.

                “Come on through, Chen’s not here though.”

                You stuttered, “I’m not here for Chen.”

                “Right, course not. He’ll be back soon though.”

                He’d actually be here? As much as you’d hoped to see him, you hadn’t actually thought they’d all be in one place, not yet anyway.  

                Xiumin led you through into a living room where 7 men were lounging, all looking at you in unison like a pack of wolves. You’d kind of gotten used to seeing Xiumin all battered and bruised, and even Baekhyun, but all the others…. You’d only seen them from their pictures in the files, seeing them in this state….

                You bowed, “I’m sorry for the way they treated you, there was no justification for it.”

                You rose, seeing one of them sit up a little, Suho. “You’re Chen’s officer, aren’t you?” You nodded, “I can only thank you for the treatment you gave him. But you can’t come here, it’s dangerous for us to be affiliated with each other.”

                “I know.” You said, “but I need to speak with Chanyeol.”

                You scanned your eyes over the room, where all of them were still looking at you, and eventually you found Chanyeol. He nodded, and Suho gestured to a chair where D.O. shuffled up on to the arm. You sat, and felt D.O.’s arm hook over your shoulder. It was surprisingly comforting.  

                “Tell me about Park Ha-Young.”

                He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “I knew you were going to ask about her. I know she’s underage but…”

                “You think I came all the way here, risking my life, and my career, to chastise you about the law?” D.O. chuckled, and you continued, “Do you love her?”

                Chanyeol looked surprised, “Well…. Yeah.”

                “You realise you are putting her in danger, by loving her.”

                “Obviously I know that, but I wasn’t thinking…”

                “Do you know she’s pregnant?”

                The previously relaxed men around you tensed, sitting up, “what?!” Apparently, Chen hadn’t told them.

                Chanyeol didn’t move, but his eyes were wide, his lips parted, “she’s pregnant? And is it…?”

                “Of course it’s yours.” You said, “whose else would it be?”

                He looked crestfallen, “they’re going to make her get rid of it. I know they are, that family of hers… we have to go get her-”

                “No you will not.” You said firmly, “she’s seventeen. You think this is the life for her? You think this is the life she wants? She loves you now, but let her move on, she has a better future without you in it.”

                “But the baby-”

                “You’ve done enough.”

                “But-”

                “She came to me last night, crying her eyes out. She is in terrible shape, but there’s no way her family is going to let her keep it, you’re right.”

                “So-”

                “I personally think her parents will try to make her have an termination, but I think that will be terrible for her both physically and mentally, it’ll likely take her years of counselling and therapy to move on from that. I’m going to try to advocate for her to carry the baby to term and then pass it on to a caring home.”

                “Yeah.” Chanyeol murmured, nodding his head, “it can come to me-”

                “No.” You said, “if this is no life for Ha-Young then what makes you think this is a life for a baby?”

                “Then what’s your plan?” He asked, exasperated.

                You took a deep breath, playing over every thought you’d had about this moment. “I take it.”

                There was silence, so you said it again.

                “I take the baby.”

                Why would you do that?” Suho asked, leaning forward, brows knitted.

                “Because it deserves better.” You said, simple. You were still at war with yourself over this decision. You were in no state to take care of a baby, you had no idea what to do, no stable relationship to help you, you’d likely be starting a new career. But you couldn’t just let this little baby be lost in the confusion of this case. You were determined to see it through to the end. Like Hei-Ran had said, you could only do what you wouldn’t regret, and as difficult as this road would be for you, you knew you couldn’t live with any other choice.

                “Your job would never let you.” Suho said, taking over the conversation now that Chanyeol was just staring at you with wide eyes.

                “I’m not staying there anyway, not when they justify the methods they use.”

                D.O.’s arm tightened around your shoulders, comforting you. The atmosphere in the room was a mess, and you found yourself clearing your throat.

                “I just wanted to let you all know what was going on, and to wish you the best in the future. I doubt our paths will cross again.” You stood, giving a rueful smile to the room, “it’s been a privilege.”

                Suho stood with you, and was clearly about to say something but you were encompassed by a giant wrapping his arms around you. Chanyeol was shaking, and you felt a wetness on your shoulder that told you he was hiding his tears. “Thank you,” he whispered, a message only for you. He hugged you tight one more time before letting you go, his hand lingering on your shoulder before going to sit back down with Baekhyun who slung an arm around him.

                Suho stepped forward again, “I’ll show you out.”

                You nodded, following him back to the door you’d entered through barely moments ago. It felt surreal, how had these few moments changed your life so drastically?

                “I won’t tell anyone where this place is.” You said, obvious, but you wanted him to hear it, “Or anything, your secrets are safe with me.”

                He turned, a hand on the door, a sad smile on his lips, “I know.” He went to reach for the handle, and then you were out, walking home by yourself.

                Chen hadn’t made it in time.

That was it.

                You’d ordered another pizza, since you didn’t get to enjoy the one you’d ordered yesterday. It lay on the table while your laptop lay on your stomach, your resignation letter typed and ready.

                You knew it wouldn’t be that easy, withdrawing from the Department of Organised Justice was a long arduous process, especially given the amount of confidential information you knew, and your involvement with the Lotto case. Plus, you’d have to give a reason, you weren’t allowed to just leave. So what should your reason be? That was the question that had been mulling over in your mind for the last hour.

                You didn’t agree with company policies?

                You wanted to pursue a different, more wholesome line of work?

                After being a principle interviewer for the first time, you realised it wasn’t what you wanted to do with your life?

                There were thousands of things you could say, you’d have to back them up and justify them, but you could say anything, any of the generic reasons a person would leave a job.

                Or you could say how you’d foolishly let your professional life be overrun by personal feelings. Because it was true, in hindsight. How many times had you let things slide? How many times had you broken the rules for him? How many times had you not spoken out, because it would put him in harms way. You could tell yourself it was all because of your own morals, and that was true in part, but you could no longer deny that he had no part to play in this. 

                Or you could say how Mr. Im had drugged you, harassed you, assaulted you. You could put it down in writing, you could file a report, you could stand in court against him and watch as his life burned before your eyes, his career shredded by your own hands. It was a tempting option, but you didn’t want to stand, you wanted it to go away, you wanted not to have to defend yourself to a lawyer who would attempt to paint you as an ambitious who had attempted to convince Mr. Im to sleep with you. You’d been in this career long enough to know the cards that would be played against you.

                You sighed, taking another bite of your pizza. Who cared about weight gain now, you were single, unemployed, with a potential baby on the way, isn’t that when people were supposed to start letting themselves go?

                You reached for another slice, heart stopping as the thud of knocking echoed from your door.

                Whoever it was knocked again, impatient.

                Not even Hei-Ran and Yun-Hee could get in your building, they only had keys to your apartment. So who, since you knew no one in the building, could be at your door?

                You stood, tiptoeing to the door, where another round of impatient knocking thudded through. You pressed your eye to the peephole, stomach clenching as you saw a man in a dark jacket, hood pulled down over his eyes.

                But you recognised the curve of his lips.

                You pulled him into your apartment much as Xiumin had pulled you into their house, standing and staring at him. You’d made peace that you’d never see him again, that your paths would never cross, that when he hadn’t come home in time that it’d been the end of it. And yet here he was, in your apartment.

                “How’d you get in?”

                Chen rolled his eyes, “seriously? That’s your first question?” Seeing you weren’t about to say anything else, he rolled his eyes again, “Old women hold doors for people, it’s not hard to get in a communal building, even if there is a lock on the door.”

                You still said nothing, because what were you supposed to say? He was here, he was a wanted criminal and he was here. He was your interrogation subject and he was here. You’d dusted your hands of him twice already, told yourself to give up on the thoughts that had hope to pipe up. You’d started moving on twice now, and yet here he was dragging you right back down.

                “What do you want?” You asked, voice hard.

                But his eyes were soft, “no one caught me on camera, you won’t get arrested for me being here.”

                Right, that’s what you probably should have been worrying about. You sighed, walking back over to your couch and moving your laptop to the table. You sat down, looking at your half-eaten pizza as you felt him sit next to you.

                Your heart was thrumming, you didn’t know what to do. It was different than when you’d been in his apartment with the ty coffee. God, was that only yesterday?   

                “Why are you taking that baby?” He asked, his voice soft like he was coaxing a baby bird.

                “Did Suho send you?” You asked, “he doesn’t seem to like me much.”

                “He knows I’m here,” He admitted, “but he didn’t send me.”

                “Then why are you here?”

                “I needed to ask you myself.”

                You were quiet, still not looking at him but you could feel his gaze burning a hole in you. “Because it deserves so much more than the ty situation it’s landed in.”

                “You’re giving up the rest of your life for this.”

                “It’s not the end of a woman’s life when she has a kid, what kind of archaic thinking is that?”

                “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

                “My life is already a mess.” You said, “this is the first decision I’ve actually felt good about in a while.”

                “We won’t be able to support you, and neither will Ha-Young’s family.”

                “I know that. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”

                He exhaled, and the air seemed to slow around you, “you’re something else, you know that?”

                For the first time, you looked at him. You were used to a playfulness in his eyes, you’d seen the version of him that he showed to officials and security guards, but you’d never seen him look at anything with the intensity he had right now. He sighed, intensity fading, “almost makes me wish things were different.”

                Your heart thudded, “yeah,” you said, “me too.”

                He grinned, and somehow the mood lightened, as if he had full power over the atmosphere with just that smile, “then, seeing as this is potentially the last time we’ll ever see one another, mind if I take full advantage and kiss you again?”

                You flushed, startled by his bold words. You couldn’t even fathom a response, but he seemed to know that too. He leaned closer, his knees pressing against yours like they had the last time. Your stomach turned to jelly and your breath was catching in your throat as you felt the heat radiating from his skin.

                “What happened?” He murmured, grinning against your jaw as he nosed at your cheekbone, “I’ve never seen you this skittish. Where’d the dominatrix from the office go?”

                You felt his laughter and were ready to set him straight when he finally captured your lips. All scolding remarks flew from your mind as you lost yourself in the way his body heat pressed against yours, the way you were manoeuvring to fit neatly underneath him, and the feathery softness of his hair between your fingers. He braced one arm against the couch to hold himself above you, while the fingers of the other caressed the underside of your throat, coaxing your lips to part for him.

                “How about this?” He murmured against your lips, kissing down to your throat where his teeth raked against your skin, “is this a decision you feel good about?” He bit softly into your neck, and you felt a moan vibrate through you.

                “Yes.” You breathed, because god it was. How did he manage to burn away all of your stresses with just a press of his mouth against yours? How did he manage to make you feel so complete?

                He groaned with your answer, working harder at your neck. His hand moved down to thumb over your ribs through your thin shirt, his bodyweight sinking into you. You’d seen almost every inch of him already, but that felt so far away, and almost irrelevant. The situation was so different now from what it had been back then. Things had changed so quickly.

                You could feel every ounce of muscle that lay against you, every inch of him as he pressed you further into the couch cushions. Your hands moved to splay against his back, not letting him back away for even an instant. If this was your last night then you were damn well going to take it for all it was worth.

                Thankfully, Chen seemed to be of the same opinion.

=====

Day 16

                You woke up to an empty bed, the other side cold, the sheets wrinkled and unmade. There was nothing left to remember that anyone had even occupied the space mere hours ago, but you hadn’t expected it any other way.

                You were strangely at peace as you made the bed, opened the blinds to let light in, pulled your clothes from the floor to the hamper. You didn’t bother getting dressed yet, just wrapping yourself in a fluffy dressing gown to preserve the softness you felt inside. You put the leftover pizza in the fridge along with the leftover-leftover pizza, from the day before yesterday, making a mental note to have variety and order chicken tonight. You found that coffee had been made and the pot was half-empty, one of your take-out cups missing from the cupboard.  

                It was later that day when you found his shirt crumpled under your couch, and you tucked it safely in the back of your closet, picturing the hounding he would get when he showed up back to the rest of the boys without a shirt.

                This was the way things were to be now. That shirt would be the only proof that anything had ever happened here. You would move on with your life, send your resignation email, go over to the Park estate to begin everything there.

                And you would look for a new job, one where you could help people, one where your morals and sense of justice would give a second chance to those who didn’t have one, while giving you a second chance at the same time.

                This was your chance to do right, and you were going to seize it with two hands. You had a new life coming to you, in more ways than one, and you were going to do it right this time.   

______________________________

I know I’m late but it’s still the weekend where I am! (You would not BELIEVE the weekend I had but I still made it to put this up before Monday, promise I wasn’t trying to be secretive and weird about the last chapter!)

But that’s it! That’s the end of Lotto in Chains! I want to thank every lovely person who commented, liked, upvoted, and all you silent readers because I check my read counts and know you’re there too ;) .

The end kind of crept up on us pretty quickly, but that’s just how I felt the story unravelling. As I wrote the last couple chapters, ideas for a sequel formed a little, but if I do continue this in a sequel it’d be a while away while I plan everything out [and I’d actually be interested in hearing where you all imagine it would go ;) ].  

So again, thank you thank you thank you for reading, hopefully I’ll see some of you in my other fics, but if not, thanks for being with me through this one :)

~ wildwhitewinter