“Princess, I’m going away for a while.”

I blinked. “What?”

He took one of my hands and began massaging them. “I was planning to stop by at your place later to tell you, but since you’re already here...Junmyeon needs me for something. Twin Dragons is dealing with a big hit in Busan and they need all the men they can get to fight back.”

“But you’re only supposed to be active during the summer!” Just imagining a long period of time without seeing and being with Jongin already proved to be difficult. Especially with everything that has happened lately, I don’t know how I would survive without the support his presence gives me.

He sighed. “I know, but they need me. Even Kyungsoo hyung is leaving.”

Kyungsoo, too? “So how long will you be gone for?”

Jongin didn’t answer. He just focused on massaging my hand. I pulled away to get his attention again. “How long, Jongin?”

“A month.”

“A month?!” My hand clenched into a fist. “That’s too long! You’re going to miss a lot of things in Uni!” And I’m going to miss you.

Jongin’s gaze on me softened even further. “I’ll try to come back earlier, I promise.”

“Why now? Why did this suddenly come up? You were just supposed to investigate the bad guys that were after us, right?” Jongin nodded his head and did a subtle pout. “It’s not just about that anymore, princess, but I swear I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

It was my turn to pout, making Jongin rub my cheek in comfort. “Just think like it’s summer. I’m always going on trips to Busan during summer, right? Think of it that way.”

I harrumphed. “You better come back in one piece I swear to god—“

He suddenly enveloped me in a warm hug. “I’ll come back to you, don’t worry.” His lips planted a kiss at the top of my head. “Now I’m actually sorta glad that you have Sehun, that Seven Suns will give you protection while he’s courting you. It’ll make me feel more at ease.”

Ah, . Jongdae was right. “About that.”

He pulled away from the hug. “What?”

“I sort of called off the thing with Sehun.”

“What?!” His eyes glanced at the necklace I was wearing, echoing Jongdae’s theory even more. “That’s from him, right? I had thought you fully accepted his courtship.”

I shook my head. “That’s why I came here because I wanted to tell you so bad that we called it off, because I forgot to tell you last week before you left!” I shrugged. “That was what Sehun and I talked about before we left the hotel.”

Jongin looked frustrated and relieved at the same time, but his next words were quite unexpected. “Take it back.”

I widened my eyes at him. Jongin? Asking me to be courted again by a man he despised a lot? “What?! But—!”

“Don’t get me wrong, Princess. If we were in any other situation, I’d support your decision, but now? I need to know that you’ll be safe while I’m away.” He looked down and took my hand in his again. “You like him, don’t you?”

I gulped. “I...Maybe? I don’t know. We were under attack because of him, so I don’t know. You don’t exactly fall for someone when you get shot because of them.” No matter the attraction I felt for the guy, and even though I’ve enjoyed his efforts the past week more than I will ever fully admit, I still did get into a dangerous situation because of him.

He stilled, and the mini massage he was giving my hand stopped. When he looked up at me, he had a pained smile on his face. “I have something to tell you.” He encased my hand in between both of his. “The ambush was because of me.”

My eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets. “What?! What are you talking about? Those men were after me...and they wanted to kill you!” It made absolute sense to me that they were Sehun’s enemies. I remembered the man who spoke to us before Baekhyun announced his arrival. Only she has to be brought alive, so I get to kill you.

The pained expression on Jongin’s face just worsened. “I know, but once I dug deeper, I found out that they worked for someone I pissed off a long while ago. He probably found out about you and how you’re important to me, so they attacked us.”

My mind was being screwed over. “You’re sure about this?”

My best friend nodded and sighed. “Sehun monitors the activities of all his enemies. He made sure that none of them were close to you that day because you didn’t have extra security with you. That’s why the ambush caught him off guard, too.”

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that Jongin might have enemies of his own. He was a sniper and a skilled gunman for his gang, and he was bound to clash with some powerful men along the way. I should have considered that possibility, but I hadn’t. “All this time, I had thought it was one of Sehun’s enemies that ambushed us.”

Jongin nodded his head. “It’s okay that you did. That’s what we all expected anyway. I’m supposed to be inactive and on neutral grounds, remember? So encountering a personal foe didn’t even cross my mind.” He looked so guilty. “I’m sorry I got us into that mess.”

I started shaking my head vigorously, about to rebut what he said and reassure him that it wasn’t his fault, but then there was a loud banging on the door. “Kai! Let’s go!” It was the guy that opened the door for us.

Jongin lifted my hand off of him and pulled me into his arms. He wrapped me in a familiar warmth that I was going to miss. “Sehun wants to and he can protect you. Regardless of what happened last week, I know he can keep you safe. It would make me feel better knowing that I’m leaving you in safe hands.“

That is the last thing I would have expected to hear from Jongin. “But you’re supposed to be those safe hands right? You said you won’t let anything happen to me.” And yet you’re leaving.

“Look where that got us, hm? Something did happen to you, and we got ambushed. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not enough to keep you safe yet.” He cradled my face in his hands. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, princess.” His eyes roamed around my countenance, as if he’s memorizing as much of it as he can, and then he squished. “I’m going to miss this faaaaaaace.”

“Wongihhhh!” My best friend just laughed before finally pulling away. I was still rubbing my assaulted cheeks when he got close to me. At such close proximity, it was so easy to admire Jongin’s handsome features. From his eyes to his cheekbones and, of course, his lips.

My cheeks were on fire for reasons I did not want to ponder on. I pulled him into a one-armed tight hug again, one that he reciprocated right away. “Don’t you dare beat yourself up for what happened back then. That wasn’t your fault.” I nuzzled my face into his neck, taking in as much of him as I could. “And I’m going to miss you too, stupid.”

I felt him smile before speaking again. “It’s just a month. After that I’m all yours again.” He placed a hand on the back of my head and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. “If you’ll have me.”

It was the weekend again. My shoulder was doing better, and I could finally do without my arm sling. I just had to be mindful of how I moved it around. My sister was finally off from work and we had a make-shift spa at our place. We were in the middle of doing our nails and had under-eye patches on. “So Jongin took a leave from school?”

I jutted out my bottom lip and nodded my head. “His uncle had an emergency situation apparently, so he’s staying in Busan for a little while.”

She sighed. “That’s pretty weird.” She finished putting top coats over my nails. “He must really love his uncle for him to be able to detach from you.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah.” My sister looked at me skeptically. “Will you be okay though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your Nini reserves will run low by next week, like I can guarantee it.” She dodged my slap. “And I know separation anxiety is a thing so…” She shrugged then dodged my next assault.

I finally got her on the third try and smacked her shoulder. “Stop painting me like a toddler! I’ll be fine! And Jongin said he’s going to call and text as much as he can.” My sister just made a face at me and I stuck my tongue out at her. We ended up laughing at each other.

“I’ll just put all the nail stuff away then we’ll put face masks on.” I nodded my head and watched my sister leave. Once alone, I couldn’t help the sigh that left my mouth. I meant it when I said I was going to be fine, but it was still going to be weird for me to not see him for the next couple weeks.

And with his request for me to be under Sehun’s care again? It’ll be quite different.

Ding. Speak of the devil. I opened my phone with my good hand and there it was, a text from the man in question.

Sehun

How did I warrant a silent treatment from you?

“We’re not even supposed to be talking anymore, dummy.” I muttered to myself while subconsciously smiling at the screen.

Even though Jongin urged me to be under Sehun’s protection again, I found myself still being completely against it — something that Jongdae did not appreciate.

“I already said no to him!”

“That doesn’t matter!” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes it does! And even if I did want to take it back—“

“Which you do.”

I flicked him on the shoulder. “—What do I even say? ‘Hey I change my mind let’s get it on again’? That sounds so pathetic.” Jongdae was driving me home after talking with Jongin at his place. I had wanted to stay until they left, but Jongin and the other guy - who was actually called Yixing - said it was best if I left earlier, for safety purposes.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And why do I even need protection? I’d need less protection when there’s no more courting, right?”

Jongdae sighed, relaying how done he was with my fallible logic. “Like I said, even if Sehun’s not courting you anymore, people will still come for you. It’s going to take a lot of time before they will believe that you’re not associated with him.”

“But you’re here! Bodyguard or not, we're still friends! I would have someone watching out for me 24/7, especially when Jongin comes back.”

“Yes but no matter how skilled we are, the two of us won’t be enough protection for you. Not for a long time.”

“So I go back to Sehun….meaning the threats will never stop.”

“They’ll stop once you’re official. When you’re finally Sehun’s Belle, you’ll be untouchable.” We turned a street before he spoke again. “I’m telling you, you plump tomato. It’s not as complicated as it seems. It’s not like he stopped contacting you anyway when you told him no.”

I bit my lip in confusion as a random thought suddenly struck me. “Why is courting even a thing with mafia people? Aren’t people in gangs supposed to be surrounded by strippers or something?” I remember the movies I’ve watched that were about the mafia. The big shots always met up in strip clubs or were smoking cigars in private rooms in bars.

Jongdae let out a guffaw. “I mean, you’re not wrong. There are gangs out there who are regulars at strip clubs., but courting a Belle is still a thing because that’s how mafia leaders can show that they’re serious about someone.” He smiled when he noticed my face getting hot. “But hey, clubs are a good business scheme if you know the ins and outs. That’s why even Sehun owns a couple of bars and strip clubs around town.”

“He does?” Let’s pretend my stomach didn’t suddenly just drop.

“Yeah, but it’s mostly Chanyeol who’s in charge for all of them since he’s the regular customer.”

“Oh.”

Jongdae couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. “You could act a little less relieved if you ever hope for me to believe that you’re not interested—ow!”

Another reason why I was still quite hesitant to take it back was because I felt too guilty. With Jongin’s confession that Sehun actually had nothing to do with the ambush, when that was the catalyst for my decision to call things off, I realized the degree of respect Sehun gave me. He could have defended himself and r