A weight was lifted off my shoulders. I had just told the person I was most afraid of telling that I was in a gang. I should have felt guilty and have been ashamed of myself, but all I could think about was being free from keeping it a secret from my father. It wasn’t the way I had wanted to tell him, of course (I didn't want to tell him ever, actually), but life makes us do strange things and this was part of the long list of strange things I had done just in this past year I was in MBLAQ. I sighed a breath of relief and waited for my father’s reaction. He looked as if he had been expecting my answer to be yes. He knew all along and he just wanted me to come out and tell him myself that I was in a gang.

                “Was it your own choice to join this gang?” his voice was hard. He wasn’t letting his emotions get to him during his work hours. He never did.

                “Technically, yes,” I answered truthfully and because I knew his next statement would be to explain myself, I added, “My choices were to join or die. I wasn’t about to let someone kill me because I was afraid to join a gang. And so I joined.”

                “And now, this Joon character, he’s the one who gave you your ultimatum?”

                I knew where this was going. I shouldn't have answered the way that I did and mentally slapped myself for it. My father was going to get me out of this gang and out of this lifestyle by getting the rest of the boys into jail and away from the public. I understood that they were a gang and that, of course, they do things illegally to get to where they need to be, but I couldn’t let my family be sent to jail because of me. Not after I was finally accepted by them. Not after Joon finally trusted me enough to give me my name and make me official: both in the gang and as his girlfriend. I couldn’t let my father ruin the relationships I had with them.

                “I don’t want to answer any more questions. You can take me to jail or wherever and have me questioned there, but I can’t answer anymore. I’m sorry, Daddy, I can’t let you hurt the people I love,” I saw the pain in my father’s eyes. I saw him swallow the hurt in his heart from the words I threw at him. I looked away from him and down at my hands.

                “Then answer me just one more question,” I looked into my father’s pleading eyes, “Is G-Dragon, Kwon Jiyong, a threat to you and MBLAQ?”

                I thought about Jiyong and my heart dropped. No matter how many times I told myself that he was the enemy, I couldn’t forget all those times with him when we were kids. He was always the one to be there for me when I thought I was completely alone. I trusted Joon enough to believe that Jiyong had betrayed me and only wanted to use me to hurt Joon, but I couldn’t bring myself to fully believe it. I didn’t want to fully believe it.  I shook the thoughts out of my head and gave my father a slight nod. At that, he slowly began to pull all of his paperwork together and put them back into their own folders. He let out a breath and stood up, looking at all the files he had put together for the case. I glanced at him and saw that he was studying me before he shook his head lightly and silently walked out of the house. He needed to be alone to think about all that was just said to him. I stayed still, looking at the files on the table and thought about how long it must have taken him to put it all together. How long he must have stayed up at nights trying to figure out what was going on and how to handle the gang situation. And now it was all ruined because his own daughter was part of the gang that he wanted to get rid of.

                My phone vibrated loudly in my pocket and I jumped from the sudden shock, pulling it out of my pocket to see who was calling. It was Joon. I had promised to call him when I got home and he was probably worried. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I let the phone vibrate until it turned into a missed call. I put my phone on silent and walked to my room; I needed rest. Everything was moving too fast. I sent a text to Joon saying that I would call him in the morning and went to lie down on the bed. I pulled to covers over my face and realized that I was crying. I was doing that a lot recently. The tears flowed faster and I let it take over my emotions. I did the right thing telling my father. It had to have been the right thing.

                Morning came quickly and I awoke to chaos coming from the living room of the house. What was going on? Did my father have the police squad here? Was he really going to take me to the police department to have me questioned? I looked at my phone and saw that I had 7 missed calls from Joon and 3 texts. I began to get worried. Maybe my father moved in on them and had them arrested? What was I going to do then? I had confirmed that a gang existed and that I was a part of it, but I never mentioned any illegal acts that were ever done. The police didn’t have enough evidence to prove any of the crimes. I felt my heartbeat quicken as I hurriedly dressed and walked to the bathroom. I locked the door and took out my phone, dialing Joon’s number quickly. The phone rang 5 times before I heard Joon’s panicked voice.

                “Chaerin, where the hell are you? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours!”

                “I’m sorry, Joon, listen. I need to tell you something. I need to say this quick and I’ll get back to you. My father knows. I told him that I’m a part of a gang. He knew too much and would find out anyway, but I wanted to be the one to tell him. He can’t do anything yet; there isn’t enough information for anything to be done. I just want you guys to hurry and cover everything up. Joon, I’m sorry, I had to tell him. I had to…” I was rambling again. Joon knew it meant that I as nervous but all of the information I had given him shocked him.

                “Chaerin…you…you told your father? About everything?”

                “No, no. No, of course not, Joon, no. I just, I told him that I’m in a gang. Nothing else. He doesn’t know anything else.”

                “Chaerin, are you awake? I need you to come to the living room,” my father’s voice made me jump. What was I going to do now? All the rustling sounded like he was ready to strike against the gang.

                “Joon, listen, I have to go. I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Please, just…try to see if you can get to a safer place than the hospital,” I spoke quickly.

                “Okay, don’t panic. Remember what Thunder and Mir were teaching you. Just sit through it. Be strong. I know you’re strong. He’s got nothing on us so he can’t do much yet. But more digging and he’ll find plenty. I need you to stay calm and strong. This was gonna happen at some point so I guess it’s good that it’s happening now. Good luck, babe,” his words were fueling my strength and as I hung up the phone and made my way outside, I knew all that I had to do in order to make sure that my boys and Bom unnie were okay.

                As I walked out, I saw the chief of police sitting in the living room, a few detectives in one corner, a few police in the other. My heart was pounding as I saw them all stop their work and turn their gaze to me. I felt betrayed by my father. How could he have called and told them all so soon? Was I that big of a disappointment that he didn’t even care what would happen? I didn’t dare look at his face but when I noticed that no one was approaching me, I made my way to the kitchen, ignoring the fact that everyone was around. I tried to casually make myself breakfast and the chief quickly told everyone to get back to work.

                My father walked towards me with a few papers in his hands, looking through them with his brows furrowed. I tried to ignore that he was nearing me and continued to prepare my breakfast as quickly as I could. The fastest thing I could think of to make was cereal. What was he going to ask me this time? I began to think about all the comebacks that I had imagined to all the questions that I thought of. Which one would he throw at me? Would he try to trick me into answering some questions? I had to be strong; I couldn't allow for--

                “Chaerin?” I looked up at my father, trying to make the best calm expression that I could.

                “Yes?”

                “Honey, you’re spilling the milk,” he pointed with the pen in hand to the milk that was now all over the counter and began dripping to the floor.

                “Oh, crap,” I set down the gallon of milk and hurriedly grabbed a few paper towels, trying to clean up as quickly as I could.

                My father grabbed some paper towels and helped me clean, staying silent the whole time. I was definitely starting to feel guilty. He wasn't bringing up anything about the information I had given him yesterday. Not that it was much information to begin with, but proving that MBLAQ existed and that I was a part of the whole thing put my father in a situation that he never thought he would be in.

                "Is your daughter nervous about our team being here?" my father's chief laughed as he walked into the kitchen and saw the scene.

                "Probably!" my father joked back and patted my back with his free hand.

                "Don't worry, sweetie. We're just tryna catch some bad guys who think they can get away from the law. Not something you should worry about," the chief gave me a smile and walked back to the table and began talking with a few of the detectives there.

                I tried to read my father's face. Had he...had he withheld information from his own chief? Did they not know anything that I told him yesterday? They probably would have been at Joon's place if he had said anything. Does that mean he's not only protecting me...but the gang too? My father must have noticed that I was looking at him because he cleared his throat and turned his attention to me.

                "Well, it's all cleaned up. You should go hang out with some friends while we try to finish up here," he gave me a look that I couldn't understand but I silently nodded. He placed a hand on my shoulder for a second and then sighed and got up. His gaze lingered on me until he turned and went back to his co-workers to help with the case. I cleaned up whatever else I could in the kitchen and went back to my room to get ready to go back to MBLAQ. What would I tell the boys about what was happening? I'm sure the detectives have an idea about who the gang members are and it won't be long before they figure it out. Even if my father didn't tell them right away, they would find out. There's never a perfect crime. Sooner or later, something is found out and that small information leads to the end.

                I walked out of my room again and headed towards the door. Turning back, I looked at how all the detectives and police in the house didn't have a second thought about me. They trusted that as one of their own's daughter, I would be someone to rely on. I looked back at my father and couldn't stop myself from running to him and hugging him. For him to keep this kind of information from his team was a huge thing for him. But as my father, he wanted to protect me and I had let him down. There was no going back though; I had to finish this just like how I had started. And if it ends with me going to jail with the rest of MBLAQ, then so be it. I made my choice in the beginning, and this is the consequence. My father hugged me back tightly and then let go. Maybe it looked too suspicious that I would suddenly hug him.

                "Thank you, Daddy. I love you," I whispered to him and made my out of the house.

                My fast-paced walk to Joon's house suddenly became a jog and by the time I had reached Joon's house, I was panting for air as I let myself in through the door, not realizing that I slammed it shut. I leaned on the door trying to catch my breath when Joon ran to my side, a look of panic on his face.

                "Chaerin, what's wrong? Did something happen? What are they planning? Are they planning something? What did --"

                "Joon, stop, it's all okay for now. Everything is okay," I cut him off and saw the relief in his eyes.

                "So what happened?" he was calmer now as we headed towards the living room and sat down.

                "My dad he...he didn't tell them anything...nothing..." saying it out loud for the first time really had it hit home. My father hadn't told his boss one of the most crucial pieces of evidence he had found out. My heart dropped as I thought about it. He was risking his job. He was risking EVERYTHING. Conspiring with a criminal to keep evidence from police would not be taken lightly. Especially since he was a high ranking detective at that. What had I done? What was I going to do now? I felt Joon wrap his arms around him and held me tightly.

                "I know what you're thinking, but they can't do anything to your father if they don't know that he knows. He's gonna be okay, Chaerin. I promise," as much as I wanted them to, his words didn't make me feel better. I knew that my father wouldn't tell them that he knew anything. Not yet, at least. The reason why my father was a detective was so that he could protect the innocent and put those who deserve to be in jail into jail. It wouldn't be long before my father would feel too pressured by his lie and tell them what he knew. He would probably leave me out of it, but he wouldn't be able to hold it in for too long. I could only hope that they would figure it all out on their own and that everything would be okay. We just had to be ready for when that would happen.

                The boys and Bom unnie calmly took in the information about the whole situation that we were all in and it took every ounce of me to keep myself composed. I didn't know what to do and I hated that feeling. I wanted to know the answer to keeping this family safe and when I thought about how, on the other side, my father was there, it killed me know that I couldn't do much.

                The boys began talking about different scenarios about what they would have to do when they would be found out about. Mir almost seemed excited to be in this situation since he animatedly spoke about how they would handle certain situations. I almost laughed when he tried to stand up (he was regaining strength in his legs) but fell onto Thunder and G.O, kneeing Thunder in the stomach and elbowing G.O on the shoulder. I saw a slight smile on Joon's face as he watched G.O threaten to break Mir's arms as Thunder tried to push Mir off of him with one arm, holding his stomach with the other. Seungho had left to give orders to the rest of the gang (I never really knew what they did, exactly, but I knew they were there and helped the boys out plenty with the activities).

                "Chaerin, do you think you could find out more information when you get home today? See if they've got anything on us. I feel like we have a double agent, this is so cool," Mir spoke excitedly.

                "Yah, idiot, this isn't a movie. Stop being so happy about all of this, you moron," G.O snapped at Mir who sank back into the couch. Of course G.O was agitated with what was going on and Mir's optimism wasn't playing out too well with him, but I was shocked at his harsh words.

                "You don't have to be such a jerk to him," Bom gave G.O a look of disapproval and moved to sit next to Mir, holding him to her chest like a mother. G.O gave Bom an apologetic look, realizing how mean his words sounded towards Mir. I never did ask them if there was something between them.

                "Sorry Cheolyong, you know how I get when things get frustrating..." G.O began, trying to think of something else to say.

                "That's okay, hyung~! Noona loves me more anyway," Mir was his mischievous self again. Bom nudged Mir lightly with a smile on her face, knowing that his words would annoy G.O. I smiled at his attitude; he was always so optimistic about what was thrown his way.

                "Aish," G.O said as he raised his hand, pretending to hit Mir, who playfully cowered next to Bom.

                I was going to miss these moments where they would play around like this. None of us knew what was going to happen in coming days and as much as they didn't show it, it was obvious that they were terrified of having to live without each other. I was terrified to live without them. 

                Seungho made his way back to the living room and filled Joon in on some of the things that he had discussed with the rest of the gang. Joon seemed to approve of everything and they began to quickly talking about what their plans are going to be. Were they going to try and fight? Maybe they would try to put the blame onto one of their enemies? I immediately thought of Jiyong. What if they wanted to put the blame onto him? As much as I knew that he was definitely the enemy and wanted all of us dead, I couldn't bring myself to agree that he deserved it.

                The time passed quickly as we all tried to keep calm and talk about what we were going to do. At the moment, there was nothing that was planned out. Joon would need a few days to devise a plan so that none of us would be in trouble when the police did find out about everything. Nighttime came and I realized that I hadn't heard from my father the whole day. I had to get back to him to know what was going on. He wouldn't tell me everything but I could try to get as much information for the boys as I could.

                "I should leave," I said to Joon, breaking him out of his thoughts.

                "You sure? You should stay the night..." he seemed hesitant to let me go home. I lightly laughed at his concern.

                "My father's there. He wouldn't let anything happen to me," I knew I could trust my father more than anyone in the world. I had always been called "Daddy's girl" and the reason was simple. He was there for me any time I needed him. He was my guardian angel.

                "Okay, I'll walk you home," Joon started to get up and I saw him wince in pain.

                "No, you're staying here. I can walk back by myself; it's not that far anyway! I'll call you when I get home, okay?" Joon had just gotten home from the hospital and he needed all the rest he could get. I didn't want him getting more injured when he needs to be at his best within the next few weeks.

                "No, Chaerin, I'm coming with you," Joon stood up, holding the side where the bullet had punctured him.

                "Joon, please just stay here. You're not gonna heal as fast if you keep moving around. And if you're not here to protect the boys and your sister, how are you gonna feel? Like crap, that's how. So now sit back down and get better and I will see you tomorrow," I planted a kiss on cheek and turned to walk away.

                "Damn, we knew she was feisty...but damn," G.O seemed proud of what I had done. I smiled at him as he gave me a thumbs up and walked out of the house. Finally, the guy finally accepted me.

                I was in my own thoughts as I started to walk back home. I tried to think of anything that could save us from this mess that we were about to be in. I had a feeling that something was going to happen sooner rather than later about this problem. We needed to figure something out soon. Maybe we could leave the country? My family was America so I didn't think that would be too good of an idea, but there were so many other countries in the world that we could go to. Joon probably wouldn't agree to it, but I could ask him that tomorrow. 

                My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out with a smile, knowing that it would be Joon checking up on me.

                Kwon Jiyong

                My heart sank at the name. Why would he be calling me? I knew that Joon would advise otherwise, but I decided to pick up. There had to be an important reason for why he would be calling me otherwise it would be a pointless conversation...and I was pretty sure Jiyong never had pointless motives. I unlocked my phone and held it to my ear.

                "Hello?"

                "I'm surprised you picked up, best friend," I could hear the smirk in his voice.

                "What do you want, Jiyong?" I didn't want to speak with him too long. I might say things that I shouldn't say. That wouldn't be smart.

                "Well, lucky for you, it's not gonna be a hard request. You."

                "Excuse me?" I felt the fear in me rise to its highest. Was he somewhere nearby? He wanted me?? I wanted to run back to Joon but my home was so nearby, maybe I could run there and be safe once I got inside?

                "You seem scared. Was it something I said?" I started walking as fast as I could to the house. My father would be there and everything would be okay once I was inside. As long as I kept Jiyong on the phone, I was sure that he wouldn't do anything rash. I didn't want to hang up on him. I wanted to know where he was before I was safe at home.

                "Jiyong, stop playing around. What the hell do you want?" I tried to sound tough so that he would know he was messing with the wrong girl. I wasn't the same person he knew when we were younger. I was stronger now.

                "Why are you walking so fast?" I heard him chuckle as he asked. It was then that I knew that I was in trouble. He was calling to taunt me before he did whatever it is that he wanted. I couldn't let him get to me that easily. I began to run. I had to let Joon know that something was happening. I sent him a text saying "SOS" before I slipped my phone into my pocket and continued running. Was the house really this far away from Joon's home?

                I heard a set of footsteps behind me and began to run faster than I ever had. But then I felt arms wrap around me and lost balance, heading towards the ground. Whoever it was that grabbed me turned and I fell onto him. I knew it was a man, whoever he was. But I wasn't going to stay to find out. I quickly tried to get up but his hold on my waist was too strong. He sat up, causing me to sit up as well. I looked back at the man and froze.

                It was Jiyong. He was smiling at me as the realization sunk in.

                "I think its time you came with me, Chaerin. We've got so much catching up to do, don't you think?"

                "No, Jiyong, I don't think I want to go anywhere with you," he had loosened his grip on me and I stood up, as did he.

                "Chaerin, come on. I just want to talk to you. About your boyfriend, mainly, but you know, just talk. Nothing more than that," Jiyong made sure to stand close to me so that I wouldn't run away. I had to figure out how else I could get away from him; clearly he was faster than me while running since he caught up with me so quickly. Should I try to...hurt him before running off? Every man had a certain weak spot no matter how strong he is.

                As quickly as I lifted my leg to kick him in the groin, Jiyong blocked me and tripped me with his leg. I expected to fall onto the ground but instead, Jiyong caught me and I slammed into his chest.

                "Chaerin, please. You've tried to use this on me before and we ended up in the same position. Don't you learn from your mistakes?" I pushed myself away from him and decided to try one last thing before he could try to get his way and take me wherever he was planning to take me. I began to confidently walk away. It would catch him off guard and I could try running back to my place again. But of course it wouldn't work with Jiyong. He grabbed wrist and pulled me back to him.

                "Let go of me, Jiyong. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want be around you. Just leave me alone," I tried pulling my arm out of his grip, but he was holding on too tightly.

                "Then you leave me no choice, Chaerin," he pulled me closer to him and I felt his breath on my neck, "I'll see you again in the morning," he whispered in my ear and my nose and mouth were suddenly covered by a piece of cloth. Chloroform. I knew my struggle against it was futile, but I tried to fight, tried to get out of it. I suddenly felt too tired and knew that the effects were working. For a second, I was glad that Jiyong was holding me; I wouldn't fall to the ground and wake up with injuries. And before the chloroform knocked me out, I mentally slapped myself for not letting Joon walk me home.

                And then, all I saw was darkness.

~~~

                Joon heard his text message ring go off and went to check it, knowing that the text would be from Chaerin. He knew that she would be safe walking home by herself but he just never trusted anything when thing started going bad the way that they were now.

                SOS

                The text was from Chaerin.

                "Oh, no..." Joon stared at the message and fell on to the couch holding his head. He knew that he should have sent one of his men to look after her. Even if he wasn't going to with her, he should have sent someone to keep her safe in his place.

                "Joon, what's wrong?" Seungho noticed Joon's pale face and sat down next to him. He took the phone from Joon's hand and read the message.

                "Dammit, Seungho, I should have gone with her. I know what happened. I know for sure what happened. It's Jiyong. It has to be him," Joon was getting riled up. His enemy would stop at nothing to get his way.

                "Let's call first and see what happened. Don't lose your cool just yet," Seungho dialed Chaerin's number and put the phone on speaker so that they would all hear.

                "Well, lookie who's calling," Jiyong's voice came through the receiver.

                "What the hell have you done with her?!" Joon spoke through clenched teeth.

                "Oh, nothing really. We're in the car at the moment, driving back to my place," his voice had a taunting tone.

                "Don't you dare touch one hair on her. I will find where you are and I'll kill you, Jiyong," Joon was getting worked up. Seungho put a hand on his shoulder and held him down to stay on the couch. They couldn't risk Joon hurting himself even more than he already was.

                "It wouldn't be your first time killing, would it, Joon?" Jiyong spat.

                "Jiyong, you know Joon had nothing to do with that," Seungho chimed in. 

                "Does it matter? She's dead and since I can't blame his father, I'll blame Joon. You'll pay for his crime, Joon. And don't even think that I'll be forgiving."

                With that, Jiyong hung up the phone, leaving Joon in a trance. The rest of MBLAQ and Bom were shocked at his words. None of them were surprised though. They knew that something like this would happen. Sooner or later, Jiyong was going to avenge his sister's death; the death that changed both families forever. She was Joon's girlfriend. However, neither of them knew what families they came from. They promised to introduce the families once they were more serious, but both fell in love with the other quickly. It was like a page from a fairy tale is what she would always tell him.

                Then one day, his father told him that he had to get rid of someone. It was a way to warn his enemy that he shouldn't be messed with. Joon agreed; of course he would agree to what he father told him. They were a gang and they needed to make sure that they were the strongest in the city, if not the country. But when Joon saw that it was his girlfriend, the love of his life, he backed down. He wouldn't kill her; how could he? He defied his father's orders and went back home. But it was then that he found out that his father had sent someone else anyway, just in case Joon wasn't able to kill her. The moment Joon had turned his back and left, the assassin had played out his part and shot her.

                It was then that the fairy tale turned into a horrific nightmare; both families became sworn enemies. Joon felt that he was left in the middle of the dilemma. He was mourning her death on his own. Of course, MBLAQ and Bom knew about their relationship, but they didn’t know her the way that Joon did. They didn’t understand his pain, but they supported him. They allowed him to hurt and covered for him when he attended her funeral in disguise. They were the only ones who knew of the couple and, of course, Jiyong.

                It was after the funeral when Jiyong made his promise to avenge his sister. He made sure that Joon was aware of the threat and then disappeared. No one had heard of where he went or what he had been doing in the years following his sister’s death. Until now.

                Joon placed his head in his hands and sighed. He was going to save the love of his life this time. He wasn’t going to let someone take her the way that his father had taken Jiyong’s sister.

                “I’m gonna get Chaerin back even if it’s the last thing I do,” Joon lifted his head, his eyes full of fire, ready to fight.

                “Hyung…but…are you sure you can fight?” Thunder was worried about Joon. Would he really be able to get Chaerin back? Of course, all of MBLAQ would be there. They weren’t going to let Chaerin get hurt in any way. But they all worried for Joon. He wasn’t even partially healed enough to walk, let alone be in a fight.

                “I’ll be fine. Everyone get ready. We leave in the morning.”