“If Kim Yeri came to you and gave you money, just take it..”

 

He starts his work by informing Jimin about Yeri’s offers to help them. He doesn’t seem surprised at all, maybe because he still thinks that she is actually responsible for whatever happened to SKY for the past year.

 

“Good, that’s what families do..”

 

He laughed at himself listening to what Jimin said because it turns out that he is the only one who doesn’t think like that. 

 

“It won’t be a full payment, I'll pay for the rest.”

 

“That’s ok, it is helping either way.”

 

The phone call ended quickly and no matter how much he tried to concentrate to find a way out of his problem, his mind was somewhere else. That’s why he came out from his office and went straight to his room. He opens the door slowly, afraid that Yeri is already asleep, but she’s not. She’s sitting on the bed, reading a book, wearing her glasses. She lifted her face as soon as she realized his presence.

 

“Stay with me while I'm working.”

 

He drags her arms to get up and she is definitely confused, he never really allowed her to see him working because Yeri told him before that he hates her father because of this.  Not to mention that he can turn into the worst version of himself while he is working. He never cared about this when they first knew each other, but now that he finds himself adoring her so much. He doesn’t want to let her see it ever again.

 

“Why did you change my mind?”

 

Yeri never understands the reason why Jungkook changed so much since their first encounter. She thought it must be because of his trauma over what she did to SKY, that’s why he never really opened up about his work to her. He never lets her see his work or watch him work anymore, unless it is work for her dad or him asking her to help with sketches. 

 

It totally makes sense that it is hard for him to trust her again after all the mess she caused for his company. So this change of attitude is weird.

 

“Sit here and watch me.”

 

She was forced to sit on a huge sofa in front of his luxurious office desk. She’s been here often to borrow some of his book collections or to listen to his story about his past life while showing the memories he had, such pictures or letters from his sister, but it has been awhile since she’s here to see him working.

 

She watched him opening up a pile of documents while staring at his computer seriously. He wears his glasses and rolls up his sleeves as he starts to work. Even back then when they first met him, when she still saw him as a monster who chased her to kill. She always loves this sight of him, she never met someone else who looked perfect,  handsome, and y while working. 

 

There were times she got intimidated and scared when he got mad over something about his work, but still..she always loves seeing this.

 

“I thought you would never let me see your work after things with Tron..”

 

She opened a conversation first, because it is quite boring to just see him focusing on his work. 

 

“That is not a reason why I refuse to let you see me working.”

 

He talked while skimming a few documents and made remarks here and there with his pen. 

 

“It’s not?”

 

“I don’t think you will ever do something like that anymore.”

 

It is surprising but also touching to actually learn about this. The fact that he trusts her and not doubting her even after what she did totally makes her feel relieved. She smiled because of it, a really wide smile, since she is so happy.

 

“Then what was the reason?”

 

“You said you hate people like me.”

 

“Did i?”

 

“You hate a money chaser who only cares about winning. And that is me when I'm working.”

 

She lost her smile when Jungkook stopped talking, he doesn’t seem to care about her reaction to what he just said..since he is too busy working on something from his phone.  She is completely lost at words that she stopped roaming around and lay on the sofa while watching him. Maybe it is true that at the end of the day Jungkook is always the better person than she ever would be. Even though he lied about his hatred for Seokjin, he is honest about what he felt for her.

 

She watched him for a few more minutes and hid her face when she realized that she’s crying for how sorry she is to him. She wiped her tears real fast and cleared before getting up.

 

“There is no place to sleep here, I'll go back upstairs.”

 

He finally stops his work when she says that, he takes off his glasses and looks around.

 

“You are right. Are you going to be ok? I’ll probably stay here till really late.”

 

“Am i a baby? Of course I'll be fine.”

 

“You’ve been behaving like one though.”

 

He laughs at her and she does nothing but waves her hands to him and leaves. Her heart feels heavy.

 

***

 

“That’s settled then. This project will be fine as long as the other ones are done without any mistakes.”

 

The calculation and the corrective plan is done after so many hours of discussion between Jungkook and a few people. This needs to be executed tomorrow so it is important to prepare for everything.

 

“Good job, see you tomorrow.”

 

Jungkook wrapped the virtual meeting and put all the documents he needs into his bag for tomorrow. It was hard work but it’s done. Not perfect but it’s done. Good enough for an emergency solution. He gets out from his office and stares at his watch, it is almost 3 in the morning. He goes to his room and sees Yeri is already falling asleep, with her favorite blanket up to her neck. She didn’t turn off the light, maybe because she was alone. 

 

He touched her hands and it surprised him for  how cold it was. He touched her face and her head on reflex and Yeri is totally burning up with fever, this is so sudden and so out of nowhere.

 

He wakes her up with a little touch and shakes on her shoulders. Yeri slowly opens her eyes and the only thing she does is looking for her mom. 

 

---

---

 

“I sent the documents already, it will arrive in no time.”

 

Yeri can see a bright light surrounding the room as the curtain is now all open and the sun is high already. She heard Jungkook’s voice from somewhere but failed to find where he was. She gets up and looks around only to find her stuff near the door, her suitcase, and her make up bag is there. Everything is packed already.

 

Jungkook shows up from the door after a while and she actually doesn’t know why he’s here at a time like this when he’s supposed to be at work.

 

“Jay will pick you up in an hour.”

 

That’s what he said while taking a seat next to her, who was still confused with the situation.

 

“Why? Are you kicking me out?”

 

“Yes, obviously.”

 

That’s why her suitcase is out here.

 

He used his hands to caress her cheeks and put his hands on her forehead. It is annoying to hear about getting kicked out in the early morning like this, that’s why she’s avoiding his hands while pouting her lips.

 

“Judging from how you get annoyed, I think you are fine now.”

 

He laughs at her and she doesn’t know what he meant by that. She looked around and the things she found are a little bit giving her an explanation. There were a few pieces of wet towel next to her bed, a glass of water and a few pieces of medicine she doesn’t remember she took last night. She uses her own hands to check her fever and it is a little bit warmer indeed.

 

“You tortured me last night.”

 

Jungkook looked tired and exhausted, now that she saw him from up close. She looked around once again and started to remember what happened last night. She got sick, whining, and crying asking for her mom while Jungkook tried to make her feel better. She ate with his help, she slept also with his help.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s ok, at least you are fine now, I talked with dr. Yoo this morning, Jay will take you to her.”

 

He’s back to caressing her cheeks and instead of avoiding his hands, she takes it and kisses it instead.

 

“Is that why you are kicking me out?”

 

“Yes, I was so powerless last night that you kept asking for your mom..”

 

“I was… she’s been treating me really good when I got sick because of..you back in the days.”

 

She sits closer to him and holds his arms without looking at his eyes because she still feels bad over what just happened.

 

“That’s why I sent you home, you should stay with her for the time being until you become my wife, because after that, you have no one but me to look for when you get sick.”

 

He gives her a forehead kiss while laughing, and it is such a good joke, it makes her feel less sorry for him.

 

“I also think you probably missed your parents, that's why it happened. So just stay with them and enjoy your time.”

 

She nodded her head and said thank you to him with a hug and a kiss.

 

***

 

“I just need to wait for Jay, you should go.”

 

Jungkook told Yeri about how he ditched his work because he’s worried about her. She hates it, and now it’s been 40 minutes since she’s pestering him to leave.

 

“I’ll go when you leave.”

 

He is already in his suit and stuff, but it doesn’t feel right to just leave since Yeri was in a very bad shape last night. 

 

He sits in front of her as she's eating her breakfast. One bowl of cereal.

 

"I really am fine now."

 

She told him that for a dozen times already.

 

"I know."

 

"Then, go.. why is it so hard for you to trust me?"

 

"I trust you."

 

"Lie."

 

"You've been staying with me for more than a month, I am already comfortable with you being here, don't you think it's hard for me to send you home like this? I want to see you longer, that's it."

 

Yeri is not saying anything after that. She's back to focusing her attention on her breakfast as he continues watching her.

 

"Call me later when you see your doctor."

 

Yeri only responds to him with a light nod, and a few seconds later she's done with her breakfast. She bite her lips before taking a deep breath, and staring at him.

 

"I don't hate you."

 

That's what she said, it is so random and out of nowhere, that's why he's tilting his head to let her know that he gets confused.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"A money chaser who only cares about winning, I hate people like that, but not you."

 

He started to understand when Yeri brought up their conversation last night. She didn't say anything before so he doesn't expect her to back on discussing it.

 

"You would be surprised to find out about what kind of people I hate..”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you have all the traits.. Someone who never listens to others, acting like they know things so well and making conclusions based on what they think alone."

 

“Am i?”

 

He smirked at her, because listening to this seriously really reminded him of how at one point, they hated each other so much. Even Yeri, he also hates people like her, totally.

 

“You could be everything I despised, but I don't hate you, so please don’t think like that.”

 

She talked very seriously. It makes him feel sorry that he said what he said last night.

 

“It’s Jay.”

 

She gets up from her seat after that when the doorbell rings, she walks fast to their first floor and opens the door. It really is Jay.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“I just need to take my stuff.”

 

Yeri told Jay to get in and walk back to the stairs only to find Jungkook is already taking all her belongings. She took it from him when he reached the last stairs.

 

“I’ll take it to the car.”

 

Jay is stopping her from taking all the bags and going out again, leaving her alone with Jungkook again. Yeri takes her sling bag and wears her sneakers while Jungkook’s eyes are following her every movement. 

 

She has nothing to say to him, so she just waves her hands lightly as she walks away.

 

"I'll call you later."

 

That's what she said when they finally reached the door. She received no answer so she continued her walk until her steps stopped by a tight grab on her hands. She doesn't know why but that one simple touch makes her cry. She was trying so hard to hold it but failed miserably when Jungkook's hands were on her shoulder, forcing her to turn to him.

 

"Isn’t this a little bit dramatic for you?”

 

He started cupping her face and squeezing it lightly before wiping her tears. There were a few chuckles that she heard as he talked.

 

“I’ll call you.”

 

Yeri is not joking at all. Jungkook lost his smile right away when Yeri stopped him from holding her face and left. Without any further explanation about why she’s crying.

 

---

---

****

 

"None of them can work, that's why you are here."

 

Jungkook is staying really late to get his job done, accompanied by Jimin who's totally forced to stay. He has three secretaries now, but none of them is helping him enough. If this had happened years ago, he would probably have fired them on the spot right away, but thankfully he is a changed person now.

He sent them all home with materials for them to learn and asked Jimin to help instead.

 

"It's all good now, Kim Yeri's assistant is sending us money this morning, and you paid the rest already. We just need to prevent something like this from happening again."

 

Yeri, something is off with her this morning, she told him about her doctor visit, and even though nothing is serious, dr. Yoo noticed another sign of fatigue and illness caused by stress. When he asked her about the possibility of him being the reason for her stress, she only gave him a vague answer, Maybe. That's what she said.

 

"We need a plan for that."

 

He only responds to Jimin in a short sentence. and back to his work, even though he's still thinking about something else.

 

***

 

The work is done around midnight, the latest ever since one month ago. He always tries to come back home early when Yeri is around. 

 

“Why is it so quiet?”

 

He walks into the apartment while talking to himself and laughs, he’s been living like this for his whole life so it is weird that one month with Yeri here is enough to change his preference about something that he called home. 

 

He sat in his empty living room, looking around and comparing it to how it was before. Yeri usually waits for him in his office, reading his collection of books or just simply playing with her phone. She will prepare him dinner if she feels like it, but most of the time they’ll just call for delivery.

 

She would always tell him about what she did for a day. She said that it helps to think that her life is different from before, since right now she has someone to talk about her life when she usually keeps it to herself before. Just like him.

 

Her story is always interesting so he never thinks his usual daily office hours are worth talking to.

 

"Why did I let her go?"

 

He closes his eyes while leaning his head and sighing, a little bit regretting his decision to let Yeri leave when he feels miserable without her. 

He always knew how much her presence meant to him, and he's sure everyone around him is also aware, even Kim Yeri herself totally knows how much she is important for him.

 

He takes his coat and staring at his watch, it is past midnight. He walks inside his office and seconds later his front door is being loud, someone is coming in from that. Yeri and Jimin are the only person who knows his password and he's done with work, hours ago, so it can’t be Jimin.

 

Yeri has her own doubts about Jungkook being here at times like this, she somehow is aware that he will probably stay at SKY, so to see him here is very relieving. He came out from his office with a confused stare, he just got here, judging from his outfits, his styles and everything.

"Did you leave something behind?"

 

"I need to sort things out."

 

She walked faster, almost running when Jungkook looked even more confused with her answer. She basically throws herself to him and holds him tight within her arms when she's close enough to reach him. It is helping just like how she wanted it, of course.

 

"How did you get here?"

 

He lets her go and staring at her face, he looks worried when he realizes that this is very late at night.

 

"I drove my car here."

 

"From your parent's home?"

 

She's blinking her eyes because she's on the verge of getting caught lying right now.

 

"From my apartment, I stayed there, I didn't visit my parents."

 

She told Jungkook that she is staying with her mom, she lied because he will nag her about staying alone when she's sick and she hates to hear that. The only reason why she felt sick or just simply bothered is him, it is always him.

 

She looked up to him, while holding his shirt tight, trying to convince him that she has reasons to lie and she doesn't want to get yelled at right now. But Jungkook doesn't seem bothered or angry at all. He stares at her while cupping her face and caressing it.

 

"Are you ok? What dr. Yoo said?"

 

He is actually more bothered by her illness than anything else. She hugged him again, tighter than before and told him that she is fine now. He moves his hands from her face to her back, while sometimes caressing her hair. He seems to be aware that what she actually needs is just him, doting her and paying attention to her.

 

Yeri finally lets him go after a while.

 

“The reason I cried when I left this morning.”

 

This has been budging his mind for a whole day, Jungkook is actually curious about this.

 

"Was it because you don't want to leave?"

 

She is still not answering and her eyes are wondering. So he puts his hands on her waist again.

 

"Is it because of what I said? Are you disappointed that I thought you still hated me for what I'm doing?"

 

He fixes her hair that covers her eyes and takes her closer for a kiss. She received it well but stopped him midway abruptly.

 

"Things that i'd done to you.. How many of those do you think I'm still capable of?"

 

That question is confusing, so random and he doesn't exactly know what Yeri wants from it.

 

He refuses to answer her and takes her back for a kiss she interrupted earlier, but she manages to dodge him the second time.

 

"Put your life in danger, pointing a gun to your head, selling you out to your enemy, betraying you and ruining your life, do you think I'm still capable of doing that?"

 

"I do."

 

Yeri is not expecting that answer when she finally finds out about why it is so hard to part ways with him after last night.

 

"Huh? Why?"

 

It's a disappointing answer, it does feel like Jungkook still sees her as some kind of a monster that haunted his life.

 

"Well.. if the question was, do I mind going through everything again, all the things you did to me, where I got hurt and ruined so I can have you here as my wife? Then of course, I will."

 

"It wasn't my question."

 

He gives her a smirk when she demanded more answers. He leans her back to a wall behind him and watches her from head to toe, not judging but simply watching her.

 

"You are still your dad's daughters, your family is still as powerful as it was back then, Lee Jihoon and his uncle are still out there hating us, You are still rich, your brother is still dead.. So yes, I think you are still capable.”

 

What he said feels like a huge hit on her head. She can't even refute any of that, because everything is right and on point.

 

"But the question you gave me is wrong."

 

She lifts her face to him again when he takes her arms and pulls her to his embrace, hands on her waist and holding her tightly.

 

"You should ask me about your choice, not your capability."

 

He takes her hands and puts it on his shoulder, so she naturally links it and brings herself closer to him.

 

"And what about my choice?"

 

"You will never do any of those things again, not to me, not to others. I'm betting my life on it."

 

Yeri is slowly losing her grip on his shoulders so he brings her closer again, making her stand straighter than before. She lets out an empty laugh, a little bit mocking him and what he just said.

 

"Why can't you be so sure?"

 

That's what she said when she talked to him again.

 

"Do you really think it was easy for me to decide that I want you to be my wife?"

 

Yeri is smiling hearing his question, she caresses his chest as she takes a deep breath.

 

"I knew you came to my father, I knew what you told him, so i never thought it was easy."

 

This is news, he doesn't know Yeri is aware of this. She never asked him.

 

"Exactly, I thought about it again and again, can I do this? I asked myself that question. I thought about those times too, if someone was trying to hurt you again, do i want to save you again? Even when my life could be in danger, or if I gave you a gun, would you use it on me? "

 

Yeri can't believe what she heard right now, it must be tough for Jungkook to actually be reminded of things he suffered just to find her real value. She stopped from staring at his eyes and stared at the floor instead. She feels embarrassed.

 

"I trust you, more than anyone else in my life."

 

For someone who has been doubted for her whole life, hearing things like this is totally overwhelming and unusual for Yeri. She doesn't even trust herself completely so why does he..

 

"If I don't want you to do something or be involved in something, it's never because I doubt you, I just don’t want you to get hurt, or worried, or sad, or tired..."

 

Yeri is taking a step back from him, forcing him to lose his arms on her waist. She sweeps her hair back and sighs. Her expression looks a little bit better compared to before..

 

“I would rather know, if you want or don’t want me to do something..i want to know the reason, because if i don’t..”

 

“You will think that I hate you?”

 

“Not hate, but.. You have every reason to not trust me completely, I always prepared for that, I understand if there are things you wanted to do without me knowing or involved..”

 

It is hard to explain it with words, but Yeri is sure he knows what she was trying to say. 

 

“I love you.”

 

She doesn’t know what to say so declaring her love to him seems like her best choice to make him understand.

 

“I know.”

 

She lets him go and takes a few steps back from him.

 

"You don’t know enough.”

 

“Why?”

 

He asked her while fixing her hair that’s a little bit messy since earlier.

 

“You know that I'm not exactly a good person, right?”

 

“Obviously.”

 

She is smiling at him for answering without doubts but also because she is embarrassed.

 

“You make me want to be one, a good person. I love you that much.”

 

It is obvious that Jungkook is not ready to hear that, his eyes are shaking so much and he’s completely, totally lost at words. She doesn’t know what she expects from telling him that, maybe she wanted to hear the exact same thing or maybe not, but she is nervous waiting for his response.

 

"I'm driving you back home."

 

It’s not the response she wanted but she feels happy watching him ignore what she just said but fails to control how wide his smile is.

 

---

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