Jungah eyed the Wonho warily as he waved her over into the shop, she sighed and uncrossed her arms.

“It’s a party, surely you’d want to wear a dress.” Wonho said as she reached him, the gir pursed her lips as the array of Tom Ford gowns before her.

“But this is something I could do by myself, oppa. I know you’re busy, you don’t have to~”

“Trust me, this is better than having to sit through all those meetings.” He shuddered as he gestured for her to look around.

“But, enough gifts. I’m serious, stop it.” She pointed out, Wonho gave her a sheepish smile in return. Jungah took notice of the female sales representatives staring at her friend with wide appreciative eyes.

“Then, please help me with the shoes. I’ll go look for a dress.” She said, Wonho nodded and was followed by a guard as he walked away from her.

“They’re trying, young miss.”

She grinned at her hyungnim as she pulled out one of the dresses.

“I wasn’t really mad at them, I had menstrual pains, and I hated everyone. But I’m all better now.” She said, the guard grimaced but wordlessly nodded.

“I have to get back to work next week.” She murmured as her eyes landed one a simple spaghetti strapped black evening dress. Her lips curled up as she took hold of it, Jungah was about to turn for her guard when she heard someone call her name.

“It’s you, Jungah noona.”

“Rowoon-ah,” She broke into a smile, her guard discreetly stepped back.

“Are you out shopping? Oh,” The tall male paused seeing the faint purple mark on her cheek.

“Yes, and, oh, it was an accident. I slipped while..showering.” She lied with ease, the younger male nodded back.

“It’s good to see you again, noona. Wonwoo was worried when he couldn’t reach you, and…he did mention that you left your house.” He carefully said, Jungah’s brows rose briefly but she nodded back.

“Well, something happened so..I’m living with my cousin now.” She stated, her guard noticed Wonho looking at them, his brows went up. The guard gave him a small nod, signaling that Jungah was okay.

“Well, I hope to see you at the party. You’re still coming, right? Despite the…shower incident?” Rowoon teasingly said, the girl snorted.

“Of course, Wonwoo wouldn’t let me sleep if I cancel.”

Rowoon nodded, he excused himself and stepped away from her. Jungah pursed her lips and got the dress, she handed it to one of the ladies.

“What about this, princess?” Wonho asked, Jungah leaned down to grab the pair of satin heels he had been eyeing.

“This is perfect, oppa.” She nodded back, the girl made her way to the counter. She took out her wallet when she felt a presence before her.

“Can I pay for you?” Hyungwon asked her, she shook her head at him.

“No. Go away.” She replied as she handed her card to the lady, she smiled and thanked her.

“I see you’re feeling better now. We’re not going to get killed, right?” Baby Chae continued as he fixed the lapels of his long coat.

“I’m not sure.” She murmured as she took the card back, the guards grabbed the shopping bags for her.

“Shownu hyung can be intense, I mean, we all can be.” Hyungwon began, the girl stared at him warily. He sighed and extended his arm to her, she pursed her lips before hooking arms with him.

“But, Jooheon’s princess, you have to understand, we do not see you as a weakness. However, once they take you, once they hurt you, we will have to start a war. And I’m not joking.” He continued in soft tones, but the seriousness in his voice that made Jungah nod back.

“We need you safe. That’s why we’re hovering. And, we’re not going to apologize for it.”

“Wow, and things were going so well.” She muttered, Hyungwon smiled and gently leaned his cheek against the top of her head for a few moments.

“Well, confining you at the manor for a few days maybe too much, but your scar needed to heal, and you should rest.”

“Confining is the better term, huh?” She said as Wonho joined them, Hyungwon grinned at her.

“That, we’re sorry for. We’ve had to add guards, so another sorry in advance, Jooheon’s princess.”

Jungah sighed and simply shook her head.

“I know. And it’s fine, I guess.”

“How could you let this happen?!” Kim Donghee bellowed, the staff inside the room grimaced and diverted their gaze away from the TV screen.

“Sir,” His campaign manager spoke, Rowoon looked up from his seat.

“This will affect your public image, but we can still fix this. More people are talking about you, however~”

“More people are talking, but not for the reasons we want them to.” The male spoke as photos of him flashed on the screen.

Just minutes ago, reports regarding mayoral candidate Kim Donghee had begun coming out, there were photos of him entering certain “establishments”, along with clips on him exiting with different women in his arms each night. And it wasn’t enough that these establishments were linked with prosecution and underage drinking. Rumors of him being linked to certain companies’ slush funds were mentioned, also his name was dragged across the whole drug trade issue that was currently one of Seoul’s biggest problems as of the moment.

“We can cover it up, sir. We still have that event tomorrow night. It’s a charity~”

“A party won’t be enough.” Kim Donghee hissed, he glanced at his son.

“This is their doing, abeoji. No one has this much control on the media, it’s them.” Rowoon stated, the room grew quiet.

“I see we’ve managed to get in their nerves. That girl is the key.” The elder mumbled as he loosened his tie.

“Exactly. Although, it won’t be easy getting to her. Jungah kind of disappeared for a few days.” Rowoon mused to himself, his father’s brows went up.

“She was almost taken, I guess, those guys panicked and kept her somewhere, but don’t worry, I have it under control.”

“What do you mean? We have four of our guys still in the ICU as we speak,” He pointed out as he left his seat to pour himself a drink.

“The Chang girl will be at the party, I made sure that Wonwoo invite her.”

“And does your cousin know? Why you want her there?”

“No. But, I’m making sure that Wonwoo doesn’t let go of her, abeoji. Don’t worry.” Rowoon’s lips curled up.

“They might try to limit her moves, but Jungah would never say no to Wonwoo. And I will use that against them.”

Jungah brushed the dress down and stared at her reflection, Jooheon entered the room and blinked at her.

“Hi, please don’t yell at me.” He blurted out, she broke into a smile and waved her over.

“I would never, baby Joo.” She said, Jooheon grinned and he moved along, followed by Changkyun who had a box with him.

“I prepared some..things, noona. Please wear them.” He said as he put the box on her dresser, Jungah peered over and paused.

“It’s a watch.” She murmured as Changkyun picked up, it was a Cartier Panther Head gold watch.

“I had a tiny locator chip installed at the strap, just in case.” He said as he helped her put it on.

“Courtesy of Hyundai Group.” Jooheon mused at the girl, Jungah paused and blinked at him.

“Who’s Hyundai? I sometimes forgot which companies~”

“And the shoes,” Hyungwon strolled in with ease, Minhyuk also walked in, carrying her shoes.

“I have blades and a thigh holster prepared, so put it on before you leave.” Baby Chae spoke as he set the items on the bed, Jungah could only nod back at him.

“Also, the shoes have emergency…buttons, noona. If you stomp on either one hard enough, it will send us a signal. So, stomp..if you need us.” Changkyun nodded along, Jungah grinned at them.

“It’s just a party, guys. I’ll live.” She said as she carefully put the shoes on, she glanced over the window, Kihyun had arrived. He had decided that he’d be the one driving her to the party.

“A party with the man who wants to take you, princess. So, we will hover.” Minhyuk said before leaving the room again, Jooheon grinned at the girl and patted her hair down.

“Put that on. No buts.” Hyungwon pointed towards the blades before stepping out, Changkyun leaned down to fix the straps of her heels and then he faced the girl.

“Have fun. But not too much fun. We have some of our men posing as waiters at the event, you’ll know when you see them. And,”

“I know, no calling them hyungnims.” She frowned, Changkyun laughed and left the room.

Minhyuk leaned against the windowsill and glanced at the older male across him, Shownu watched as Jungah got inside the waiting Rolls Royce Phantom. His lips pursed as Kihyun followed her in, and the car rolled away from the property.

“She’ll be fine, hyung. I don’t think he’d do anything with people watching.” Minhyuk softly said, but he was grinning.

“We’ve angered Kim Donghee, and we’ve cornered. He won’t be able to move.” He continued.

“I don’t care about that.” The older male said as he walked towards the study, a red dot appeared on the computer screen.

“Is this about her?” Minhyuk leaned against the wall, following the older male’s gaze, Shownu pressed his lips together. He finished his whiskey and set the empty glass down.

“Make sure she’s safe.” Shownu said before grabbing his phone and leaving the room. Minhyuk nodded back just as two Escalades left the property, obviously trailing the Yoo cousins.

“And she makes an appearance.” Wonwoo smiled as Jungah stepped in through the doors, the girl’s eyes landed on him.

“Hi.” She breathed as her eyes scanned the room, she realized that it was a charity event for children with autoimmune diseases. Her forehead creased, Kim Donghee was simply using these kids as a front and it disgusted her.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for days,”

“Sorry, I was..with Kihyun oppa, things got a little hectic so, I had to move to his place for a bit.”

“Hectic? Why? What happened, noona?” Wonwoo said as he pulled her along, his palm was on the center of her back.

“Oh, yes, well, my house’s..plumbing got screwed. So screwed that everything..was damaged.” Jungah stated, her eyes landed on the panther head on her wrist for a short moment.

“Oh, that must have been quite a headache.”

“It is. Wait, this is a Kim Donghee event? The one running for mayor?” She asked him, Wonwoo nodded back at her.

“Yes, my family’s supporting his run this year. You should meet him, noona.” He said as he got them some champagne from a passing waiter. Jungah scanned the room in between sips, something didn’t feel right. For a charity event held for children, there were way too many men in dark suits with earpieces inside the room. She reached for Wonwoo’s arm, the male met her gaze.

“Will you excuse me for a bit? I need to check my makeup.” She said, Wonwoo nodded and let go of her. Jungah her lips as she discreetly slipped out of the room, she headed for the elevators and pressed for the basement.

The doors slid open and Jungah carefully stepped out, the basement was empty except for the cars parked inside, but she could hear men talking. She pressed herself against the wall and started walking, making sure her heels were not making loud sounds as she moved.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, no one will bother to look here. All eyes are on the event upstairs!”

She lifted her dress slightly and hid behind one of the posts, and then she saw it. Men in dark suits loading wooden crates into a waiting truck. Her brows furrowed as her eyes focused on the logo of the crates, she let out small gasp.

“The warehouse break in. They mentioned lost crates.” Jungah rushed back to the elevators and headed up, she fumbled for her phone. The doors pinged open, and she immediately stepped out, as she was about to dial, she felt a hand on her arm.

“What are you doing out here, noona?” Rowoon was smiling at her, the girl blinked at him.

“I was..I just left the restroom.” She blurted out, he smiled and offered his arm to her. They made their way back to the party and Jungah couldn’t help but glance at the handsome male.

Changkyun’s voice kept on echoing in her head. He kept on describing a tall male that the CCTV captured, she remembers him showing the grainy photo of the man.

“You’ve found my date.” Wonwoo was smiling as he approached them, Jungah forced her lips to move. She still had her phone in her hand, she was about to bring it up when Rowoon spoke again.

“I met her outside. Has the party started?” He asked as Wonwoo took her hand in his.

“No, not yet. But the man of the hour is here.” Wonwoo replied with a grin, Jungah looked up and she froze.

“Oh, uncle, hello!” Wonwoo spoke again just as a middle-aged man reached them, he had one male following him from the back. Rowoon hid his smile and gave the man a polite bow.

“Noona, this is Kim Donghee, he’s the one hosting this event for children. And, in a few months’ time, hopefully he will be Seoul City’s mayor.” Wonwoo said pleasantly as he gestured towards the older man.

Jungah’s eyes went to Rowoon briefly, then at the man. The resemblance was uncanny, painfully uncanny.

Holy .

I am so going to be in trouble.

“Noona?” Wonwoo grew concerned, Jungah looked up to meet the male’s smile.

“Y—Yes, nice to meet you, mister Kim.” She said with an easy smile as she shook his offered hand.

“I heard so much about you, Wonwoo…has always been very vocal.” He winked at her, Jungah gritted her teeth and nodded.

“Yes, me too. I think I just recently saw you on the news. Are you sure it’s okay to be seen in public?” She asked with a coy smile, she felt Wonwoo’s stunned gaze on her.

“Noona,” He murmured, squeezing her arm.

“Ah, that. Well, you know how some people want to create trouble, but don’t worry. I can take care of it.” The elder said, unfazed.

“Of course, it will become worrying for your campaign, right?” Jungah nodded with a smile as she put more pressure on her left heel, she felt a distinctive snap and she focused on Kim Donghee again.

“It won’t be a problem. It’s merely a small bump along the way. And, you youngsters should be seated by now. The event is about to start.”

Jungah turned to her right, Rowoon had disappeared. Her forehead creased and then she felt Wonwoo tugging on her arm.

“Noona, let’s take out seats.” He said to her, but she pulled her arm back.

“I think..I have to go.”

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