"Who the hell are you?! I suggest you leave right now if you don't want to get in to serious trouble, pretty boy." The lackey spat, rubbing his bruised jaw. He quickly got up again and gave a surprise punch right back at the man, giving him a bleeding lip.

The man staggered back for a moment but regained his composure, "The name's Kim Jaejoong, bastard. I suggest you remember that name from now on." He kicked the lackey back in the stomach, sending him flying against the stairs, "And I suggest you never raise a finger on a woman ever again or it'll come back to bite you a hundred times more. I don't tolerate violence against women," Jaejoong gabbed the injured lackey by the collar, "Ever."

Just then, the rest of the gang came down  the stairs to find one of their higher-ranking gangsters, sprawled on the floor and groaning in pain. It was obvious who the culprit was and one of them shouted, "Grab both of them! Today's the day of their deaths."

Byul was snapped out of her funk and took in the situation in front of her. While Jaejoong was evidently strong, there was no way he could fight off all these gangsters at once. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand and yanked him down the stairwell until they reached the first floor. To her surprise, Jaejoong took control as soon as they entered the lobby and he ended up directing her to the parking lot outside, attracting the attention of passerbys as the gangsters yelled at them to stop. He quickly opened the passenger door of his white BMW and shoved her inside. Just a few seconds later, he appeared to the left of her and started to drive out of the parking lot when some cars lined up in front of him, "Aish!" He punched the steering wheel, startling Byul.

Skillfully, Jaejoong put the car in reverse and started backing out in the opposite direction. Swerving into a parking stall, he went forward again and exited the other way, evading the slower gangsters. Wanting to get out of the gangsters' view as fast as possible, Jaejoong drove through a number of different alleyways until he finally decided it was safe enough to slow down and use the main road.

"You should probably put on that seat belt." Jaejoong reminded Byul without looking at her.

Byul silently followed his direction, not knowing what to say. She was grateful to him for protecting her, especially since he didn't even know her personally, but she was never good at expressing her feelings or appreciation. Twiddling around with her hands, Byul looked down and tried to start, "I... At the hospital..."

Suddenly, Jaejoong parked the car in front of a small pharmacy, "You need to get an ice pack for your cheek." He took off his seat belt and was about to get out of the car when Byul suddenly grabbed his arm.

"What happened today..." Byul tried again.

"You don't have to say anything. I pretty much get the gist of what happened when that piece of garbage... Anyway, let's just go." Jaejoong couldn't even repeat what the gangster had done. He might fool around with some women, but it was his law to never physically abuse a female. Just thinking about it made him angry again. Jaejoong needed to get out of the confining car to get some air to breathe and calm down.

Before Jaejoong could go inside, Byul quickly grabbed the back of his leather jacket. He stopped and turned around, "What the-" 

All his agitation over the situation disappeared completely when he saw her face. She wasn't particularly beautiful or anything and she definitely wasn't his type, but he couldn't help but feel empathy for this woman, this girl, standing so nervously in front of him. To him, she looked barely old enough to be eighteen, especially after witnessing the situation at the hospital.

Byul looked up and pointed at Jaejoong's bleeding lip, "I think you need a bandaid more than I need the ice pack."

Jaejoong softly chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think you should be worrying about at a time like this, after everything that's happened?"

Nevertheless, he grabbed her hand and brought her inside the pharmacy. He took an ice pack out of the cooler as she brought over a bandaid to the counter. Jaejoong took out his wallet but Byul immediately pushed it away, "I'm the one that caused all these problems. I think I should pay for it." She reached to her side to look through her shoulder bag, only to find that it wasn't there. Oh crap, I left my bag at the hospital!

To Byul's annoyance, Jaejoong laughed once again. She immediately frowned and said, "I might not have my wallet right now, but I'll make it up somehow!"

"And how will you do that?" Jaejoong smirked at her while giving his credit card to the clerk, "Don't worry about it... Lee Byul, was it?" He tussled her hair and started walking out the door with Byul quickly following him, "You're a student anyway, right? I wouldn't expect that of you."

Byul stopped him as they reached the tables outside, "Excuse me? I'm already twenty years old. I might be short but I'm not that short!" She could tell that he was going to laugh at her again so she quickly added, "Just tell me how I can make up for it!"

Jaejoong held back his laughter and thought for a moment about what she could do. He stuck out his hand, "You didn't leave your phone in your bag too, did you?"

"No, but why?" Byul was about to hand him her battered cell phone but quickly took it back at the last moment, "You're not going to do anything weird, are you?"

Jaejoong clutched his heart in fake-hurt, "After everything I did for you today, you're suspecting me of being some weird playboy? I'm really hurt, Lee Byul."

Byul was still unsure whether she could trust this guy or not, but it was true that he saved her from the gangsters so she decided to believe in him temporarily. She handed over the phone reluctantly. Jaejoong quickly pushed a few buttons and handed the phone back. Byul looked at what he did to it, only to find a new contact named Jaejoong Oppa~

"What makes you think you're older than me? You barely know me at all." She eyed him suspiciously.

Jaejoong gave her a light punch in the arm, "Yah, you look like you're still in high school. And does this Oppa look like he's as young as you are? I'm pretty much seven years older than you, you know."

Byul whacked his arm away, "For the last time, I'm not a high school student! Your girly face makes you look nothing like you're twenty-seven anyway..." She mumbled the last part.

"Just make it up to me by buying me food next time." Jaejoong got close to her face and winked at her.

Byul pushed his pretty face away from her, "Fine, whatever! Just take care of your own wound, would you?" She tried to change the subject and grabbed the bandaid from Jaejoong. She was about to help him put it on when a model-like woman about a million feet taller and million times more gorgeous than Byul came up to them.

"Omo, Jaejoong-sshi! What a coincidence seeing you here. Why didn't you call me back last time? I was so lonely when I woke up and you were gone." The woman held onto his arm and put her head on his shoulder.

Jaejoong laughed nervously, "Oh, nice seeing you here..."

The woman instantly detached herself from him when she saw his lip, "Omo, Jaejoong-sshi, your lip!" She snatched the bandaid out of Byul's hands and proceeded to put it on him, leaving Byul very unimpressed.

Byul raised an eyebrow at him. Not a playboy, you say?

I hope you guys don't fall in love with Jaejoong before Yunho even appears (again) LOL.