Sehun and the others found refuge in one of Red Velvet’s hotels. He personally wanted to bring everyone back to their headquarters, but Jongin was with them. He didn’t exactly have any beef with Twin Dragons, but bringing in one of their snipers inside didn’t sit well with him. Hence, he made a quick call with Seulgi, and after getting a mouthful, they were let inside the same hotel where the last mafia bingo was held.

It pissed him the off that he got there too late. Most of the attackers had already been taken down, but one of them still got to her and drugged her. He was able to grab the man after he did her damage, but it still somehow didn’t feel enough that he got to break his jaw off and kill him.

They were given a suite. Jongin and Baekhyun were icing their sore limbs while Sehun was washing off the blood from his hands. Chanyeol and the rest of his entourage that came with him were still busy disposing of the bodies at the alleyway. Once all the blood was off (which was a lot), he turned to his clothing next.

“Breaking off his jaw before slamming him down and snapping his neck was a little too much, don’t ya think?” Baekhyun asked from the living room.

He narrowed his eyes at his senior. “That’s rich, coming from a lunatic like you.” He discarded the blood-tinged towel he used to scrub on his top. “I had thought you’d be proud of me.”

Baekhyun shrugged. “Touche.”

Sehun’s eyes drifted to the other male with them. Besides icing himself, he was just staring into space. Sehun thought that he was probably beating himself up about not being able to protect her better.

“Kai.” He wished he had cared enough to comfort him, but he didn’t. “You didn’t recognize any of them?”

Jongin blinked once, and then he rubbed a hand on his face. “No. I’ve never seen them before.”

“I knew one of them.” Both males shifted their attention to the blond. Baekhyun leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “But it’s weird because I’m pretty sure I killed him a few years ago.”

What? “You mean he’s supposed to be dead?” Jongin became even more confused.

Sehun’s phone beeped, and it proved to be the perfect time. It was from Chanyeol. “Yeol just sent me his findings about their identities.” He threw his phone to Baekhyun. “Apparently, all their profiles fall under the categories of either dead fugitives or missing criminals.”

“. Yeah, this is him.” Baekhyun showed the screen to the both of them. “Lee Jeongwoo. He was a trusted dealer of mine, but then he tried to siphon money from one of my bank accounts. So naturally, I broke his spine.”

Jongin gave the man beside him an incredulous glance. “Naturally.” Then he glared at Sehun. “Just what type of enemies do you have, Sehun?”

Sehun could scoff at him, and he did. He finally joined the two men and sat at the sofa chair placed opposite to them. “I monitor all of the activities of my enemies.” Heck, he monitors every gang he comes across. “None of them were even remotely close to where you were today.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you sure you don’t have any enemies of your own, sniper?”

“You think this is my fault?” Jongin’s fists clenched. “You of all people should know that I take however many extra steps I need to keep her safe. And you knew! You knew she’d become an instant target if she’s affiliated with you.”

One clenched fist slammed on the coffee table between them, but neither Baekhyun nor Sehun even flinched. Quite the contrary, Sehun smiled, which just pissed Jongin off all the more. “Just admit it, Sehun. This is all just a game to you. You’re not taking her seriously, and you sure as hell don’t view her safety as a priority.”

Sehun let out a laugh that was full of anything but genuine joy. “You dare question my intentions.” In the next second, Sehun has a gun in his hand and shoots a bullet directed at Jongin, but it was just slightly off. Just a little bit skewed to the right.

It was Jongin’s turn not to flinch. The bullet just missed him and burrowed itself into the wall behind him. That wasn’t the first time that a bullet was directed at him.

Sehun still had his revolver pointed at Jongin. “It’s pathetic really. You just have the balls to talk to me like this because you know I can’t hurt you.” If I hurt you, I hurt her.

He pulls on the hammer which causes the cylinder to lock the next bullet in place. “Tell me the truth, Kai.”

He leans forward and puts the muzzle just mere centimeters from Jongin’s forehead. The latter didn’t budge. If there was one thing he learned about the sniper from their exchange, it’s that he’s good at escaping questions. Hence, might as well just give him a direct command. “Tell me why those attackers were after her.”

“EXCUSE ME!” A couple of clattering steps approached them. “You put a ing hole on the marble walls!” Seulgi had the nastiest scowl on her face. When none of the men moved, she rolled her eyes, grabbed Sehun’s revolver and disarmed it. “I give you a suite, a suite! And you repay me by shooting a bullet through the wall?!”

It was Sehun who pulled away first. Jongin was still glaring at him, but he couldn’t care less. He stood up and grabbed his phone from the coffee table. “As always, I’ll pay for it, Seulgi.”

He wasn’t sure if the female ignored him or not, but she stomped to the blond who was still on the sofa. “And you! You caused me so much trouble the last time. Why couldn’t you have stopped the two s from trashing my hotel again?!”

“First of all, this is Irene’s hotel.”

“Don’t be a smartass!”

As Sehun turned away, he faintly listened to the two bickering. He picked up his disarmed revolver and heard something along the lines of it was fun watching them fight and you’re really insane and then a why thank you. Other than that, he just kept to himself and tried to get more of the blood off his shirt.

He just zoned in again when he heard Seulgi mention her name. He faced her, and he saw that the two other men were also waiting for what she was about to say.

“She’s finally awake.”

“Hold it there, pumpkin.”

Large calloused hands closed over mine. The piping bag that was filled with white icing was already half empty, but almost none of it was on the cake. It was just on my face. “Okay, now let’s go around sloooowly….just like that. Good job!”

We made one florette on the chocolate cake. I squealed in delight. “It’s so pretty!”

“Yes, and you made it all by yourself!”

“Nooo, daddy helped me!”

A deep chuckle. “Daddy just held it in place, baby. The pretty flower was all you.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely! Now let’s make more before mommy and your sister get home, hm?”

“Okay, daddy. And then poom poom?”

His laugh was so infectious that even I got the giggles. “Yes, princess. You can go poom poom after.”

“Princess?”

My eyes felt so heavy. Even with the darkness my eyelids were providing me, I couldn’t deny the light that was starting to peek through. It annoyed me and relieved me at the same time. I was alive.

I felt a warm hand on my cheek, a hand that was all too familiar. I couldn’t help nuzzling into it and sighing. “Jongin.”

His thumb grazed over my cheek. “Wake up, princess. Open those eyes for me.”

I did so, slowly. Everything was blurry at first, but I could faintly see the silhouettes of three people. A couple blinks later, I could make out the appearance of my best friend who was seated on the bed next to me. Once I had adjusted to the lighting from the lamp on my bedside, I shifted my attention on the two other men in the room: Sehun and Baekhyun.

When I caught Baekhyun’s eye, he instantly smiled. “Hi, baby girl.”

Jongin helped me sit up, making sure to assist my injured shoulder. Then, he had me drink a glass of water. “Where are we?”

“At Red Velvet’s hotel.” Jongin gently picked at stray hair and put it behind my ear. “One of the guys sedated you and tried to take you. But Sehun got there in time and stopped him.”

I felt like throwing up as images from what had transpired came back to me. I wanted to rub my face with my hands, but a sudden pain restricted my movement to one side. Oh right. “I got shot.”

“Yes.” Jongin put a pillow underneath my elbow to elevate my arm. “I’m sorry, princess.”

I shook my head right away. “It’s not your fault.”

I thought I heard a scoff but when I looked up at the two other men, they only sported stoic expressions. Baekhyun even offered me a smile again, to which I smiled back and said, “Thanks for coming to our rescue.”

He shrugged. “I went straight to where you were as soon as Sehun told me you needed backup.” He gestured to my person. “You’re looking okay so far. I’m glad.”

I instinctively looked down to myself and it was only then that I realized my change of clothing. “W-who—?” Did one of them change my clothes?!

“Don’t worry. They’re all gentlemen.” A female voice said from my right. After some squinting and racking my brain for her name, I finally remembered. “Wendy, right?”

She seemed to have been pleased since I remembered her name. We’ve had one class together so far, and she was part of Seulgi’s circle. That meant she was also part of her mafia, then. She approached me with some towels on her hands. “I changed your clothes. Lucky that you and Joy are the same size.” She handed me the towels. “Go wash up. Before you drown in their male pheromones.”

I took a glance at my best friend who just nodded his head, and also at Baekhyun who continued to smile. I blatantly ignored the large brooding presence of the third male in the room. “Okay.”

Washing up was a little bit awkward with an injured shoulder restricting my movements, but I managed. I came back with a fresher looking face, but with a pounding heart.

Wendy was nowhere to be found anymore, but Jongin was still sitting on the bed. Baekhyun took the liberty of sitting on one of the desk chairs. When he saw me walk back in the room, he smiled again. “Feeling better?”

“Lots.”

“Good. We can leave.” Jongin seemed on edge, as if he couldn’t get out of the room soon enough. He even had our bags by his feet.

But I had to do something first. “Actually, um.” With a last huff, I looked at Sehun. And just like always, my cheeks warmed up under his gaze. “Can I talk to you?”

He didn’t say anything back, he just nodded. We both looked at Jongin and Baekhyun, and they quickly got the message. Baekhyun was on his feet right away and was out the door in the next minute. I felt Jongin’s reluctance in leaving me alone, but he still followed suit and left the room as well.