After being in the hospital for three more days, HyoJoo had finally been able to be discharged from the hospital insisting that she... and her baby... were fine. 

JaeJoong had never seen JiHoon as happy as he was at that moment, and it had made him smile. Things were returning back to normal. 

And before they'd left they'd promised to return to school for the upcoming year. If that was the case, JaeJoong would have to make room for another Elite.

“Is there anything else you need, Mr. Kim?”

JaeJoong snapped out of his trance. Smiling, he placed his hand on his appa’s assistant’s shoulder. “Yah. I thought I told you to just call me JaeJoong. Besides, I haven’t even decided if I’m going to be my appa’s successor.”

The assistant sighed and thought over his words carefully. “Mr. Kim, if I may, you have a lot of potential. I honestly can’t see anyone else being able to fill your appa’s shoes.”

JaeJoong scoffed at the word potential, his hand slipping from the other man’s shoulder. “Honestly… I wish I could believe you.” He finished packing up his things. “It was my first time filling in for him today and I felt immensely overwhelmed.”

“I never would have noticed, because you handled it so well. You… reminded me of your appa when he was younger.”

JaeJoong really scoffed at that and patted the man on the back. “I’ll see you later.”

“After you graduate, you will begin preparing to be my successor or else I will disown you as my son. I have no time for useless sons. JunSu will take your place and I will mold him into the powerful man you failed to be. I won’t allow you to ruin what I’ve worked so hard for.”

If only you knew how much we weren’t alike, JaeJoong thought to himself as he stepped inside of the elevator.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

JaeJoong parked his car and stared to his side outside the passenger window at the several rows of graves. Glancing down at the flowers in the passenger seat, he released a deep breath to compose himself before grabbing them and getting out of the car. As he made his way down the pathway, he removed his sunglasses and hooked them on the front of his white, long sleeved v-neck shirt. The sky was grey, and in his opinion for this occasion, depressing.

When he’d reached the tomb stone, he stared down at the fresh batch of flowers that consisted of white roses and sunflowers. Umma’s favorite. He knew that it couldn’t have been JunSu, because JunSu didn’t know their umma’s favorite combination of flowers. So, it could only be one other person…

“Appa,” he said on a low whisper. “I guess… we haven’t completely lost you after all.” Smiling softly, he knelt down to set his own batch of white roses and sunflowers next to his appa’s. Hesitantly, his fingers lifted to gently trace over the name engraved in the stone before he stood and lifted his head to the sky. “Does heaven… really exist, umma?” His eyes slid shut. “If so, is it as beautiful as they say it is?” His hand gripped the necklace around his neck. The necklace that almost no one saw. The necklace his umma had given him on his birthday two weeks before she’d passed away. It was a single angel wing…

“What is it, umma,” he’d asked while jumping to try and get it out of her hand.

“Guess,” she said teasingly.

“Umma. Just tell me,” he pouted, his bottom lip sticking out.

She sighed and lowered the box to him. “Do you remember how on JunSu’s birthday I gave him a ring with a wing on it that was similar to mine? You were so upset, because you thought I loved him more.” Bending down in front of him, she opend the box to reveal a necklace with a wing pendant. “It took me a while to convince you that I loved you the same, so I got you this, my Joongie.”

JaeJoong’s eyes widened as he watched her pull a necklace that was similar from under her shirt. “Umma…”

“This is my way of letting you both know that you’re a part of me.” She kissed the top of his head and closed her eyes, smiling. “Happy birthday, JaeJoong.”

JaeJoong, who had now turned twelve wiped his eyes with his sleeve to hide his tears. “Kamsahamnida, umma.” There were only two people in this world that he would allow to see him this way, and that was his umma and is baby brother. “At first, I’d thought you’d forgotten because you and appa always work so much.”

“Oh, JaeJoong. How could we ever forget? I know you’re appa may be difficult at times, but he loves you as well. You must stay strong. Promise me you’ll stay strong.”

He nodded. “I promise.”

“Good boy. Umma loves you.”

“I know,” he said to himself, his hand dropping to his side as his other dug in his pocket when his phone vibrated. Pulling it out to see who it was, he sighed when the screen read ‘unknown caller’. “Yeoboseyo?”

“JaeJoong-shii? It’s Boa.”

“Eh? How did you get my number,” he asked as he began to walk back to his car.

“YunHo-Oppa gave it to me. He came to visit me at work to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to make it to school today to help with the festival. So… I have no one to pick me up and he told me to call you in hopes that…”

“Ne. Understood. Uh… where do you work?” He entered his car and his GPS system.

“Miseuteo gim yoli.”

JaeJoong’s eyes widened and his phone almost slipped out of his hand. “What?”

“Miseuteo gim yoli. Why? Is something wrong?”

He cleared his throat and turned his GPS system off. “A-Aniyo. I know where that is. I’ll be there shortly.”

“JaeJoong-shii.”

“Ne?”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Ne.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ne.”

“Arasseo. I get off in one hour.”

“Be there soon,” he said and pressed the end button on his phone. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he breathed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Boa, order’s up for table three,” the cook called from the kitchen.

She jogged into the kitchen and grabbed the plates off the counter, swiftly. “Got it.” Once at table three, she set down the plates and pulled a couple of straws out of her apron pocket. “Enjoy your meal,” she said while smiling and bowed. Making her way back to the kitchen, she paused when she recognized the particular person that had just entered the restaurant.

The corner of his mouth lifted up into a smirk as he made his way over to her.

Boa didn’t fail to recognize how most of the women’s eyes were instantly on him. Even the ones that were on dates with their boyfriends. “So, this is where you work,” he stated while shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You’re early. I kept trying to call you to tell you to take your time because there was no guarantee that I’d get off in exactly and hour, but you wouldn’t answer. And what’s with that look,” she hissed. “I swear if you do anything to get me in trouble I’ll…”

“Take off now.”

“What? I can’t. I’ll get fired.”

He sighed when he realized that there really was a lot she couldn’t figure out. “Yah, can I speak to the manager?” he called out suddenly causing everyone to stare at him and waited as another one of the servers ran over to him.

“Is something wrong, sir,” the boy asked as he glanced at Boa who looked confused. “Could I be of service to you by any chance?”

“Do you mind if I take Boa-ah with me for the rest of the day?” He patted her head like she was a little kid. “She’s my personal servant and I’m in need of her assistance.”

The boy blushed, his mind obviously in the wrong place. “I… I don’t have the authority sir. You would have to speak to the manager about that. Let me go get him.” With a bow the boy turned away from them and headed into the kitchen.

“You ,” Boa said and removed his hand from the top of her head. “Do you know how much this job pays? It was hard for me to find such good work.”

“Ne. It’s a very nice restaurant too.”

There was something in his eyes that bothered her as he stared down at her. ‘What is he up to,’ her mind wondered. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw her manager walk out of the kitchen and make his way over to them.

“Mr. Kim. What are you doing here?” He was obviously surprised.

JaeJoong smiled warmly as he shook his hand and in Boa’s opinion it was unlike his character. “You’ve taken great care of my restaurant, Mr. Yi.”

Boa’s eyes widened. ‘What? My??!!’

“It’s truly an honor, Mr. Kim, and it’s the least we could do after all your father has done for us.”

“Ne. I knew I would make a good decision putting you in charge of one of my restaurants from the very beginning.”

Mr. Yi smiled. “Your kindness is heart-warming as ever, sir.” He glanced at Boa and then diverted his attention back to JaeJoong. “May I ask why you asked to see me though? Is something wrong?”

“The opposite actually. I was wondering if Ms. Kwon here could have the rest of the day off.”

“You two know each other?”

“Ne. She’s in my class. The Elite class is in charge of setting up the Christmas festival and we need as much help as we can get. So, would it be any trouble to you if she leaves early?”

Mr. Yi smiled. “Well, I’d feel bad if I denied you the help that you needed, so aniyo. It won’t be a problem at all.” He bowed. “I would like to stay and talk with you more, but I have work to attend to. You know how your father dislikes workers who get distracted.”

“Ne. I’ll be seeing you then.” JaeJoong waited until Mr. Yi left before he turned his attention to Boa. “Go get your things and meet me outside.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply before he stepped outside the restaurant.

Had she just heard his conversation with her manager correctly? He owned the restaurant she worked at? This was unbelievable. As her mind reeled over everything she’d just heard she made her way to the back to get her things out of her locker.

“Yah. Boa-shii, before you go could you run this trash out for me,” one of the cooks asked.

“Ne,” she said with a smile while tossing her book bag over her shoulder and collecting some of the other trash off of the shelves before she headed out back to dump the bag.

“Well, well, well, we’ve been waiting for you.” Boa’s eyes widened. She knew that voice from anywhere, and when she turned around she found that she was surrounded by at least seven girls. Seven very angry girls, and their leader. ChinSun. “Funny how there’s no one to protect you now, isn’t it?”

All shock vanished from Boa’s face. “You just get pettier and pettier as time goes by don’t you?”

“Why you,” ChinSun yelled as she was about to strike… and then her eyes widened. She looked over to find JaeJoong gripping her wrist. “J-JaeJoong-Oppa. Y-You!” She snatched her wrist from his hold and slapped him as hard as she possibly could, causing his head to snap to the side. “You… you told me that everything would be okay. That my Oppa would get promoted. You lied! He was fired the next day!”

Boa watched as JaeJoong’s eyes widened and his face paled. “What… is she talking about,” she asked him.

ChinSun diverted her attention to Boa. “Eh? You don’t know? Well, it doesn’t matter now.” She turned back to JaeJoong. “Because you couldn’t keep you promise, I can’t keep mine. You know, they’re right. You’re the coldest of them all.”

JaeJoong’s head was still slightly turned to the side. Swallowing and closing his eyes, he uttered, “Mainhe. I didn’t know that…”

“Tell it to my late appa,” ChinSun hissed in reply. “You didn’t even notice anything was wrong. You didn’t even notice that I’d switched schools! How do you think that makes me feel?! Even when everyone hated you I always stood by your side, but you never noticed!” She shook her head. “But there was someone who was able to give me what you didn’t. Joo MinKyoo. Your rival. He wants to ruin you, and now, so do I.”

JaeJoong looked at her then. “So that’s why you’re wearing Innaehada High’s uniform,” he said nodding at her.

“Ne.”

“I see. Do you… think you’ll win?” he asked and ChinSun and the other girls eyes widened. “My family is good when it comes to playing games. So, bring it on.” JaeJoong acted as if he wasn't bothered like he always did, but Boa could see in his eyes that he was distressed.

ChinSun’s eyes narrowed. “You played a very good game with my appa’s life, and now I’m going to play one with yours.” She looked at Boa, and lifted a single finger, pointing at her. “And yours.” With one more glance at JaeJoong she her heel and left.

JaeJoong and Boa both watched as she walked away.

“What did you do to her,” Boa asked. When she turned to him he was already walking in the other direction towards his car. ”JaeJoong!” … but he kept walking.

He got in the car and slammed the door shut. His fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, gripping it tight as his mind ran rampant. He didn’t turn to look at Boa when she got in the car and started the engine. “I’m going to drop you off at the school, and then I’m going home.”

“Wait. What? You can’t…”

“Shut up,” he hissed. “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do.”

Boa flinched slightly at his tone before scoffing. “Back to square one, are we? When are you going to grow up and realize that the people around you only care about you!”

“When are you going to grow up,” he snapped. “You make it sound like everything in this world is so easy! It isn’t! There are people out there that think it’s so easy for people that have money! They only look at what we show them on the outside instead of what we might actually be feeling on the inside!”

All Boa could do was look at him. She’d never seen him look so sad before.

“Money doesn’t give you happiness. It’s depressing. People die because of it and it causes nothing but pain.” He turned away from her and looked out the front window, his hands dropping into his lap. “I’d promised ChinSun that her appa would get promoted if she left you alone, so that YunHo wouldn’t have to worry about you. It was merely a coincidence that her appa worked for mine. That night I’d asked my appa and he’d said okay. After a couple of weeks I stopped seeing ChinSun around, but I never thought about it and decided that she was just keeping her promise. My appa must’ve fired him instead. He’s like that. Cruel. He doesn’t care about anyone that can’t bring him profit.”

“JaeJoong-shii…”

He sighed. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of this. What’s done is done.” He was about to shift gears, but paused when Boa placed her hand on his.

“Don’t blame yourself for this,” she pleaded. “You already have enough things to worry about. Even if you don’t think we are, I consider you a friend. You and the rest of the class, and I dislike seeing my friends distressed.” She smiled sadly while squeezing his hand affectionately and letting go after a moment.

“W-Who are you,” he asked while looking at her in shock.

“The person that’s gonna kick your if you don’t get this car moving,” she hissed as she turned to stare out the window.

“You wish,” he said on a long exaggerated sigh. When he began to drive he realized that he’d never thanked Boa for what’d she’d done for him. “… but Kamsahamnida.”

There was a pause, and then, “.”

“,” he replied daringly which caused him to receive a punch in the shoulder.

They glanced at each other before chuckling softly.

“I still hate you.”

“Likewise.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“What? JaeJoong’-Oppa’s your boss? You’ve gotta be kidding me,” HyeSu whispered as they gathered up some of the decorations. “He must be really rich or something.  I mean, his house is huge, and now I find out he owns a restaurant chain. If I find out he owns anything else I might end up falling for him.”

“Yah, why are you so excited? It’s not that big of a deal. Almost everyone that goes to this school is rich. The Elite’s are just… slightly richer. That’s why they’re called Elite’s.”

“I know, but if you think about it, JaeJoong-Oppa’s the only one in the group that we know nothing about. He’s really mysterious. Maybe his appa is some kind of Mafia Boss.”

Boa giggled. She’d found out that HyeSu wasn’t always such a bad person when you got to know her. She was just obsessed with money, boys, and looking good. “Do you hear yourself? I mean, look at him. He’s a flower boy.” They both turned to look at JaeJoong who was discussion the theme of the festival with YooChun.

“Arasseo, but… look at his piercings, and with one glare and he has the ability to scare people away. I heard that he studies martial arts on his free time too. All characteristics of a gangster.”

“They’re all characteristics of a regular guy too,” Boa said with a smile and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Think what you want,” HyeSu huffed and marched away.

“She’s got a point, you know,” InSu cut in once HyeSu was out of sight. “I heard that his appa was a ruthless man and has no problem cutting down anyone that gets in his way. And if there’s anyone in this world that hyung’s afraid of it’s his own appa. I’m also still wondering about what he said that time we went to his house about him having more power than we thought.”

“It was merely a coincidence that her appa worked for mine. That night I’d asked my appa and he’d said okay. After a couple of weeks I stopped seeing ChinSun around, but I never thought about it and decided that she was just keeping her promise. My appa must’ve fired him instead. He’s like that. Cruel. He doesn’t care about anyone that can’t bring him profit.”

Boa watched JaeJoong for a minute and sighed. He definitely was mysterious that’s for sure, but she was almost certain that he wasn’t a gangster. Almost.

“Hyung, here’s the paint you asked for,” one of the student volunteer’s yelled as he ran towards JaeJoong. “I’m sorry I took so long.” The underling meaning to that sentence was, please don’t beat me up. This scene had distater written all over it from the very beginning.

The bucket of paint. The clumsy kid. The paint brush on the floor. And JaeJoong’s position.

Boa had never felt the feeling of death before.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(A/N): Another chapter! Yay! ;o ... and the only reason that I haven't updated on the other stories is because I lost some information for them, and without that I can't finish the chapters. D; Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. ^^