We all walked into Mir’s room. He was lying on the hospital bed, helpless, sleeping. How would he react when he found out that he couldn’t walk anymore? How would he feel? What would he do?

                Bom unnie quickly rushed to his side and took his hand in hers. She sat on the chair next to his bed and buried her face into the mattress, sobbing again. Thunder walked to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. What else could any of us do? We had no power in this. None.

                I looked over to Joon who was leaning on the wall. He seemed helpless. To everyone else, Mir being paralyzed came as a shock, but Joon had been expecting it, as had I. None of us spoke a word. There was nothing to say. What could we say? My father would declare that it was all in God’s hands now but at that moment I had no idea whether or not I wanted to have God's justice play out its part in this. Mir was no longer just another bystander, he was family and – and the more I thought about it, I realized that my father was right. It's in God's hands now.

                I broke from my thoughts when I heard a low cough. I knew instantly that it was from Mir and quickly made my way to his side. I felt my heart beat quicken at the thought of him being awake. God was going to keep him safe. I was sure about that now.

                “Chulyong, baby, are you awake?” Bom unnie’s voice was soft and warm. She got up from the chair and placed a hand on his cheek.

                Mir coughed again and slowly began to open his eyes. Time felt like it was stopping, going slower and slower as Mir opened his eyes and took a look around.

                “Guess who’s back? Back again?” he choked out and grinned.

I felt a huge smile find its way to my lips as he tried to rap Eminem’s song. He was back. Finally.

Bom unnie quickly wrapped her arms around him and started crying tears of joy. He was awake and back. I felt my heart calm down as I watched the boys sigh in relief, especially Joon and Seungho. But as I had said earlier, the new scenes never stopped.

“Hyung…” I saw Mir looking at Joon and Seungho with wide eyes, “I can’t feel my legs…”

My heart stopped. We had all forgotten about it when he opened his eyes, when we heard his voice. We had forgotten the worse part of it all. Mir was paralyzed and we weren’t even sure of how bad it actually was. I held my breath and I looked to the rest of them. I felt warmth on my hand and looked to see Thunder holding mine. Was it to comfort himself or me? I didn’t care and held his hand tightly. What would they say? What were we going to tell him?

“Hyung, why can’t I move my legs?? What’s wrong with me?? Hyung!” Mir was getting frightened and anxious. Who wouldn’t? You wake up from a horrible accident and suddenly you can’t move your legs. You can’t feel your legs.

“Mir…Chulyong ah…you’re…” Joon started but looked away from him. He couldn’t finish saying it. I wished that the doctor had walked in at that moment to tell him and save us the heart break of doing it, but that would have been worse. It would be better to hear from his brothers.

“Chulyong ah, you’re…the doctor said that you’re…he doesn’t know for sure how long or if it’s even permanent, but he said that you’re…that you won’t be able to use your legs for a while.”

The moment Seungho stopped talking, it felt as if time had stopped again. We all waited in fear of what Mir’s reaction would be.

He said nothing. For what seemed like forever, Mir said nothing and stared from Seungho to Joon to Bom, G.O, Thunder and me and then back to Seungho. He was waiting for the punch line, for Seungho to laugh and say that it wasn’t true. That it was just a drug that the doctors had given him before the surgery that wasn’t letting him feel from his waist down. He opened his mouth a few times and closed it again. I felt my throat getting dry and my heart quenching at the thought of what his reaction was going to be.

“Does this mean I get to crap my pants and you all have to clean it up?”

Then he laughed. He laughed his hearty, loud and contagious laugh.

We all exhaled. How could someone so young take that kind of information and turn it around? Mir didn’t deserve this at all. Bom unnie buried herself in Mir’s shoulder and began crying again. Thunder’s hold on my hand became lighter and I saw Joon, Seungho and G.O exchange smiles. Mir was going to be okay. We were gonna get through this.

The doctor walked into the room with papers and began talking to Mir about what had happened to him and what was to come. He’d have to stay at the hospital for a few days because they needed to run more tests to see if he was okay to leave.

Bom unnie told everyone to leave and that she would stay with him overnight. She wouldn’t have it when the rest of us tried to complain, explaining that we all still had blood stains on our clothes and were in need of showers.

“Then what about you?” Joon had motioned to her clothes that were also stained with blood.

“I actually thought about what would happen and grabbed a few clothes on the way out. I’ll change in the bathroom and stay with him tonight. Now all of you, out.”

When we got home, nobody spoke much. We all went to our rooms and showered and changed. It was going to be a long night. Being by myself sitting on my bed with no one to talk to, I began thinking about my life with them. Did they always have things like these happening to them? Were they always worried about their lives? If they would even wake up the next morning?

Would I be able to live like this for the rest of my life?

Weren’t most of the troubles they were having because of me?

I didn’t know when it happened, but the tears began to flow out of me. I wasn’t ready to live a life like this. If we hadn’t gone out because I had completed 50% of training, Mir wouldn’t be in this situation. If I hadn’t heard that plan of theirs, I wouldn’t have had to have joined this gang.

I didn’t even know why I was crying anymore. I had met these people and, sure, the first few days they were hard to deal with, but I had grown attached to them.

I heard my room door open and quickly wiped away my tears before turning to see who it was.

Joon.

Why was he in my room? Had something gone wrong?

“Are you…okay?” he asked.

What did he need? My initial question was still racing through my mind. Something had to have been wrong for him to come into my room voluntarily.

“I am,” I said and didn’t realize how croaky the crying had made my voice sound. I cleared my throat and said it again. The second time came out better but it still showed hints of my crying. Seeing Joon, I realized how much pain he must be feeling if I was like this. I felt the tears well up in my eyes again as I continued to look into his eyes. I tried to not let the tears fall and took in a deep breath, hoping it would calm me down. It didn’t. It sounded shaky.

Joon sighed and walked to me, sitting on my bed in front of me. For a reason I still don’t understand, I continued to look into his eyes and he never looked away from mine.

He placed his hands on my cheeks and wiped my tears off with his thumbs. I bit the inside of my bottom lip again as I felt the tears coming out again.

Then he pulled me into a hug.

“Cry it out,” his voice came out as a low whisper into my ear.

Those three words had no meaning whatsoever, but I began sobbing into Joon’s shoulder because of them. I didn’t know if he understood why I was crying and I didn’t care to tell him. I needed someone and he had come.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me, slowly rocking back and forth, running his hands through my hair. They were simple gestures yet they comforted me. I continued to cry and he never once tried to leave. My crying was starting to die down and I heard him start humming again. He continued to rock back and forth and I felt my eyes getting heavier and heavier. His humming was beautiful and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep in Joon’s arms.

 

The next morning, I woke up to my phone ringing loudly. I knew I should have put it on silent last night. Without looking at the Caller ID, I answered my phone, still groggy from wanting to sleep more.

“Chaerin?” that voice was familiar.

It took about 5 seconds for it to register in my head before I shot up in my bed.

“Daddy! Hi!” I exclaimed into the phone. I had missed my father’s voice so much. Why hadn’t I been calling him and my family like I used to? Oh, right. I joined MBLAQ.

“Honey, guess where I am.”

I knew the answer and my heart sank. Normally, I would be ecstatic when he would ask me that question but not this time. My father was at the airport in Los Angeles with a ticket to Korea in hand. He was going to be here in less than a day.

“You’re coming here?” I tried to act as excited as I could. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see my family, but not when so many things were going on in my life now.

“You don’t sound too happy. Chaerin, is everything okay?” of course, my father would know. He always knew if I was ever upset or lying.

“Of course I’m happy! I can’t wait till you get here!”  I exclaimed, hoping he wouldn’t ask any more questions.

“Great! I’m boarding the plane now so I’ll call you again when I land. Love you, honey. See you soon!”

The time it took me to hang up, change, and run to the boys was probably less than a minute. They had to know that my father was coming and that that meant trouble.

“Chaerin, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Seungho quickly got up from his chair and walked up to me.

“My dad, he’s coming to Korea,” I said, hoping they would understand the urgency.

“Is that really such a bad thing?” Seungho asked, not understanding.

Of course, only Bom unnie and Joon knew about my father being a criminal detective. It meant nothing to the rest of them that he was coming and hoped to stay with me while he was here.

“Seungho, it’s a really bad thing. Her dad’s a criminal detective,” Joon spoke and stood up, walking to where we were standing.

“Why’s that such a…oh, I get it,” Thunder said and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. He didn’t see themselves as criminals. Why would he? This was the way that they had always lived and they were doing pretty well. I quickly snapped myself out, remembering that my father would be in Korea by the end of today.

“What am I supposed to do? He’s gonna want to stay with me because, well, he’s my father and he’s allowed to but I don’t have my own house anymore,” I stated almost bitterly, looking a Joon.

He glared at me and Seungho laughed.

“I’m pretty sure we can find you a place to live by the time your father gets here. We have that kind of power, you know,” Seungho said and patted my head.

“How in the world can you do that? Buying a house takes time!” I couldn’t understand how it was possible. Unless they went to someone and forced them out of their house to let me live there, it seemed impossible. And I was not about to let them run a family out of their house for me.

“Just give Thunder a second to make a deal and we’ll be set,” Seungho said and started to walk away.

Thunder was gonna get me a house? Good, I trusted him to find a place in a good area. He seemed smart enough to do that.

“Hyung, don’t leave, I got it. I texted your friend Soyeon and she said she’s out of town for about 3 weeks so it’s okay to use her place. And then she said she’d kill you if anything’s messed up,” Thunder smiled.

“Soyeon?” Seungho seemed surprised and then laughed, “Alright then, Soyeon’s place it is. Let’s go check it out before we move a few of your things in.”

I nodded, dumbfounded that they were able to find a place in less than a second. I glanced at Joon, wanting to see what he thought about it since he was the one who got me into this whole predicament in the first place. He looked at me and then to Seungho.

“How about you and Chaerin go look at the place and Thunder and I go see Mir? Bom must be wanting to come home and shower,” he suggested.

Mir, he was still in the hospital. I had almost believed it all to be a horrible nightmare but in the end, it was real.

Seungho decided that it was a good idea and we all headed out of the house.

 

Seungho pulled into another small street and stopped at a house. The car ride with him was silent and awkward, Seungho trying to break it by asking more about my father. The only thing my mind was running on was how I was going to pull it off lying to my father. I was never good at lying and even worse when it came to my family. If anything, I would probably break down and tell him everything…which would be the worst possible of incidents happening.

We got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Seungho reached up and started feeling around the top of the door frame. It was for the key, I assumed.

The door suddenly opened and there stood a girl around our age.

“Hah, Seungho you think I still keep the key up there?” she asked and placed her hands on her hips, turning her attention to me, “so this is the girl who’s gonna be living in my house?”

“Yeah, this is her. She won’t mess anything up, don’t worry. But what’re you still doing here? I thought you were leaving?” Seungho invited himself in and Soyeon stepped aside, motioning with her head for me to walk in as well.

“What? You want me gone that badly?” she gave him a punch on his shoulder and smiled, “I wanted to stay and see who the lucky girl hanging out with you guys is.”

Seungho laughed and ruffled her hair. They were definitely close and I felt like an outcast standing there, watching them bicker and joke around. I must have been making a face because Seungho suddenly put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“This here is Chaerin. Chaerin, this is Soyeon. She’s been a good friend since high school,” he explained.

That made sense. They’ve known each other for years.

“Because I’m such an amazing host, I’ll show you around the house myself and then be off on my trip!” Soyeon said happily and began walking.

It took her about 15 minutes to show me around the whole house. Once she was done, she quickly got her bags and ran out of the house, cursing under her breath that she was now gonna be late, but reassuring us that it was her fault and not ours. Seungho smiled and shook his head when she slammed the door. He walked to her living room table and held up a key, walking back to the door and waiting. I was confused until the door opened and she snatched it from his hands, yelling a thank you before slamming the door again. I laughed.

“Well, that’s Soyeon for you,” he walked back to me and smiled, “so, what do you think? You like the place?”

I nodded and looked around. What did I have to complain about? They were helping me out the best way I could possibly think of. And they weren’t even complaining about it. Why did I not like these guys in the beginning? Oh, never mind, I remembered again.

We continued looking around the house and I got more used to where I was to live for the next few weeks.

“You wanna go see Mir before you have to cut off some contact with us?” Seungho was holding onto his keys, ready to leave the house.

I wasn’t going to complain. I wanted to see Mir just as badly as they all did.

“Yeah, I’ll get used to the place with my dad. It’s not that hard to get used to a house, right?”

With that, we left the house and got into Seungho’s car, heading to the hospital.

 

Mir was awake and exactly the same person. Nothing had changed from him except that he was still in the hospital bed with IV’s attached to him.

Bom unnie was there as well but she had changed from the clothes she had yesterday. I assumed that she had gone home and showered while Joon and Thunder were there to keep Mir company.

“Yah, Chaerin! Thunder told me your dad was coming to Korea! And that he’s a criminal detective! How badass do you feel?!” Mir exclaimed when I had walked into the room.

“Why would I feel badass? It’s not that amazing of a job for him to be a criminal detective…especially in this situation,” my mind raced onto how I was going to keep it all from again. It was going to be tiring but I’d have to endure it. How bad could it actually be?

“Chaerin, you are a criminal now! And your dad pretty much hunts people like us! That is the reason why you should feel badass,” Mir was definitely making sense in his mind. Actually, I think his words made sense to everyone in the room except for me.

Thunder laughed, showing that he agreed and the rest of them shook their heads with smiles on their lips. I couldn’t help but sigh at the fact that they weren’t taking the situation as seriously as they should have. I don’t think they realized that my father being a criminal detective meant that he was good at finding out information that he needed or wanted to know. If he was even slightly suspicious of me, he would definitely have someone look out for what I was doing and report back to him anything doubtful.

“Don’t worry, Chaerin. You’ll be fine. Your father won’t find out anything,” Bom unnie tried to reassure me. I smiled and nodded, hoping they wouldn’t worry about me. They didn’t need anything else on their minds when Mir needed all of our attention.

 

About an hour after we were there, the doctor came in and began explaining what was to happen.

Mir was told that he needed to stay in the hospital one more day before he was allowed to go home but they had confirmed that his paralysis was only temporary. They, however, didn’t know how long it would take for him to heal. They said that it would probably take a while, probably around six months to even a year, since the wound was so close to his spine. If it was even a millimeter closer, he would have been paralyzed forever. The thought sent shivers down my spine but I quickly shook it off. Mir was going to be able to walk again and knowing him, he would definitely be back on his feet soon. I was almost sure of it.

We got home (Bom unnie was staying with Mir again) and I quickly walked to the living room and looked at the clock; it was almost time for my father to arrive from the airport. Panic started to fill me again. Would I really be able to pull it off?

“Hey, what’s with the face?” I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up. Joon was standing in front of me with his arms crossed across his chest with a cocked eyebrow.

“What face?” I asked.

“You look like you’re about to hurt yourself from thinking too hard,” he said and brought his face down to my level, “what’re you thinking about?”

I stepped back, not realizing that the couch was right behind and fell onto it. Well, soft landing, right? Joon laughed lightly and straightened up.

“Not thinking about anything. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s about your dad, ain’t it?” dang, how’d he figure that out? I almost shook my head when he continued, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine. If you need any help, we’re all gonna be right behind you. Got that?”

Not only did his comforting sound like a threat, but it also calmed me down. Really, I had nothing to worry about.

 

I had taken everything I needed to the house and was grabbing the last few things before going to meet my dad at the airport.

“Hey, Joon and I will go to the house and make sure that everything’s okay before you and your dad get in. What time will you guys head to the house?” Seungho was playing with the car keys in his hand and Joon walked down from the stairs.

“Well, he’s gonna land at 9pm…so we should get to the house by 10. Hopefully I can remember the way since I know he’s gonna rent a car for the time that he’s here.”

“Text any of us and we’ll help you out,” Thunder said with a smile.

“Thank you guys…this is really a big help,” I started and heard Joon sigh.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Now get going, you don’t wanna be late.”

Thunder had mentioned that he was going to go back to the hospital to be with Mir and Bom unnie and left, holding a bag close to him. Seungho laughed and told me that it was probably filled with things to prank the nurses and Joon mentioned it was better than them (Mir and Thunder) pranking us anyway.

Joon and Seungho insisted that they would drop me off at the airport because they wanted to know that I’d make it there safely. They waited until I had gone inside before driving off to get to the house.

Waiting seemed like forever but the moment I saw my father walking out of the terminal arrivals area, I jumped to my feet and ran to him. He saw me coming and quickly opened his arms to hug me. Once in his hug, I couldn’t help the tears that flowed down my cheeks. How I had missed his scent, his hugs, his warmth. He laughed and I realized that I had missed that too. Everything about him had “home” written on it and I couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.

“You crying, kiddo?” he asked, ruffled my hair and put his arm around my shoulder, picking up his carry-on bag with his other hand, the only bag he had, and started to walk towards the car pick-up area where his car would be waiting for him.

“I’m just so glad to see you,” I said, looking up at him. He didn’t seem like he had aged a bit. Good, that meant he wasn’t stressed.

“You never cried when I came to visit. Missed us that much? I should’ve brought your mom and brother along then,” he smiled down at me.

I almost agreed when I remembered that if they all came, that meant lying to more of my family about what I had been up to. I just smiled back, hoping he didn’t see the worry in my eyes, but if he did, he mentioned nothing about it.

We got to his car and started heading towards Soyeon’s house. All the time waiting, I had been going over in my head how to get to her house and my memory didn’t fail me while trying to explain to my dad. I had always been moving around so having to tell him another location for a house wasn’t a surprise to him. He just followed my directions and drove on, asking about my stay in Korea, my studies, and if I ever wanted to move to America with them. Of all the times I had said no, I couldn’t help but have that urge to say, “Yes, please take me with you,” this time.

I didn’t though. If I had left with him to America, I would be betraying MBLAQ. I knew what would happen if I didn’t follow Joon’s random rules, but to break a law of gangs? I didn’t even want to think about what would happen. Not to me, to my family.

We arrived at the house and I took out the keys to the front door, praying that Joon and Seungho had left. I opened the door and the lights. Good, they were gone and everything looked to be in its right place.

That was before I heard a thump and someone hiss a loud, “!”

And that voice belonging to none other than Joon.

My father’s first instinct was to pull out the gun that he always kept with him and point it to the room where Joon’s voice came from.

“Who’s there?” he demanded and walked closer to the doors.

I didn’t know whether to tell him that I knew them or let them try to explain themselves. I wanted Joon to somehow be threatened by my father for all the threatening he did to me. If anything was to get out of control, I knew Seungho would step in a stop it all. So there, I let my father believe that there was someone in my house that I didn’t want. This was going to be entertaining. It’s not like I had to go home with them for the day anyway. They’d forget about it by the time I had to move back in with them.

My father slowly walked to the room that they were in, telling me to stay back in case they were armed and that he would take care of everything. He opened the door and switched on the lights. The next scene was probably the most hilarious I had ever seen.

Seungho was almost out the window and Joon was trying to push him out faster so that he could get out as well. Their faces when they saw my dad had a gun pointed towards them? Definitely priceless.

Though even more priceless was probably my face when I realized that Joon’s hand automatically went to where his gun was. If Seungho wasn’t there to stop him from pulling it out, my father would have shot…and my father has great aim.

“Boys, step away from the window. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Joon and Seungho followed my father’s orders and I couldn’t help but to be proud. Hah, they were being told what to do and were actually listening! I didn’t like that Seungho had to be a part of this but seeing Joon struggle was pretty entertaining. Only when he glared at me did I realize that, no, Joon would definitely not be laughing about this later.

“Daddy, it’s okay, I know these guys.”

“You do?” he turned to me quickly but still kept his gun pointed at them.

“Yes, they’re friends. From school,” I reassured him, hoping he would believe me.

“We didn’t know that you were coming and wanted to scare her when she came home. I’m sorry, we should have never done that,” Seungho to the rescue, again.

“What right do you have to be in my daughter’s house? I don’t care if you’re friends. It’s called breaking and entering and you can be punished for that.”

Oh great, I had forgotten about this tiny part of my dad. He was being an overly protective detective dad. Yes, it happened almost every time he came to visit.

“Really, Dad, it’s okay. They didn’t mean any harm. They’re really good friends! Please don’t scare them away…” I made sure to give him my best pout, glancing at the gun in his hands. To explain, he had a tendency to scare a few of my friends off every time he came to visit and there would always be an argument about it afterwards. He would definitely get the idea. My father was smart.

He sighed and put his gun away, looking at me suspiciously before crossing his arms.

“What’re their names?”

“He’s Seungho and that’s Joon,” I pointed to them as I said their names.

He nodded and looked from Seungho to Joon. He then fixed his eyes on Joon.

“You, the one named Joon. When you saw me, were you about to reach for a gun?”

Oh crap, the man had eyes like a hawk.

“No, sir,” Joon replied and I almost applauded him for being respectful.

“Then you won’t mind if I search you.”

“Daddy, please,” I said and held his hand, stopping him from walking to Joon, “it’s your first night. Can’t we just let them leave? You must be exhausted from being in that plane for so long.”

He was about to protest but stopped himself.

“Fine, you boys leave. But this is the only time I’m gonna let you off. I’ll be here for a while and if I catch you doing something like this again, I won’t let her stop me,” my father’s threatening voice was scary when he was warning me about making another mistake. Him threatening boys he didn’t know was scarier.

Seungho and Joon seemed to not be phased by it at all. They bowed slightly and said a goodbye before walking past us and out of the door.

My father didn’t ask about them that night and I still can’t put my finger on why he didn’t. Normally, he would start asking a series of questions to understand who they were but there was none of that tonight. Instead, he asked about my life and what was going on with me.

I told him that I was still going to school and that I was living with a roommate, hence the pictures of another girl around the house. I was surprised to see a few pictures of me and my family as well. So that’s what they had come back to the house to do.

I let my dad sleep in the empty room that was set up for me and took Soyeon’s room. I couldn’t let him see things that she might have and then start questioning about her. I wouldn’t be able to handle that.

While lying in bed and thinking about it was when I realized that I knew nothing about MBLAQ and Bom unnie other than what I had seen from them. What if my father was to ask me something about them and I answered something wrong? Sure, it would be no difference to him but what if he saw Seungho and Joon again and asked them the same question? I would be in trouble. Big, big trouble.

I shrugged it off for the night and slept.

 

The next morning I awoke to the sound of loud noises coming from the living room. I was about to ignore it, thinking it was Mir or Thunder making all the racquet when I remember that I was living with my father in Seungho’s friend’s house. I quickly got up to see what was wrong and ran into my father rushing to get ready.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” I rubbed my eyes, still sleepy.

“Baby, I have to go to the station. The police heard that I’m in town and need my help with something. I hope you understand. I’ll be back before dinner, though, okay?” he placed a hand on my cheek and smiled.

“What could they possibly want from you the moment you step a foot into Korea?” he was supposed to be on break and we were supposed to spend time together.

“They need help looking for some gangster named G-Dragon or something. Kids these days and their names, I don’t get it. Go have fun with some friends today. We’ll hang out at night. Pick a movie to watch,” with that, he planted a kiss on my forehead and was out the door.

I started to get dressed and wondered what I was going to do for the day when I remembered that it was time I asked for some background information on the people I had been living with for months now.

I quickly texted Joon and told him to gather everyone in the living room for an emergency meeting and that I would be there shortly. He answered back with “Why?” and I didn’t care to respond. I quickly made my way through town and got to the house.

I walked in to see everyone sitting in the living room with confused looks. The first person I saw, however, was Mir.

“Mir! You’re back!” I exclaimed and couldn’t help myself from running to him and giving him a big hug. The doctors had said yesterday that he needed to stay one more day and he’d be fine. I was glad to see him back in the house.

“And you’re making us go crazy. What’s wrong?” Bom unnie asked, worried.

“Well, I guess you guys wouldn’t see it as such a big deal, but I just wanted to ask: who are you guys?”

The silence that followed almost seemed to last forever. Nobody spoke and they looked at me as if I was crazy.

“Chaerin, you okay?” Joon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I am and I’m being serious. I know nothing about you guys, at all. Well, okay, I know your personalities and that Joon and Bom unnie are siblings though I don’t understand the different last names, but that is pretty much it. I want to know your history. All of yours.”

If I thought the first silence was a long time, well this one was longer. None of them knew what to say. They had probably just gotten used to me being around and didn’t really think about telling me about themselves. Of course, I wasn’t blaming them; I hadn’t even thought to ask about them till now.

“Our stories are kinda screwed up, all of ours, you still wanna hear it?” Joon broke the silence.

I took in a deep breath and nodded.

“What about your father? Does he know you’re here?” Seungho asked.

“He doesn’t know, but its okay. He was called to work for a while. Has to look up some gangster named G-Dragon. You guys know him? No, that’s not important, I’m ready to hear the story, no matter how long it takes,” I braced myself, know all too well that a gangster’s past is never a good one.

Joon gave me a weird look. What was that for? Was I being too demanding about wanting to know about them?

“We all have our own stories but it all turns into one big one. Mir, you start off,” Joon said. Mir nodded and smiled at me before starting.

“Well, I guess you know my real name, Bang Chulyong. And if you think you’ve heard it before, you have. I’m the grandson of our governor,” he said with a smile, almost proud to have a grandfather like that, “I know what you’re thinkin’ Chaerin, trust me, I would’ve thought the same if I was an onlooker and a governor’s grandchild was in a gang. But it’s how it turned out. I knew Thunder since we were in elementary school and I was an orphan. Both my parents were killed in a car crash. I was in the car at the time too but they got the worse part of the impact. I never knew my mother’s side of the family so the only family I had was my father’s father, my grandfather.

After my parent’s death, my grandfather couldn’t look at or speak to me anymore. I guess he somehow blamed me for the accident, for losing his only son and daughter-in-law. I guess being his grandson wasn’t what he wanted. I remember he called me devil child once when I was playing with matches and almost burnt the house down. He never liked me and neither did his wife. I say his wife ‘cause she wasn’t my grandmother. My grandmother passed away after my father was born so I never knew her anyway. His wife was almost as bad as him except she would actually try to hurt me. Physically, though, not mentally. I remember wonderin’ why I was even livin’ with them. They didn’t treat me well at all and I knew nothing of how a true family was supposed to be. That’s when Thunder here introduced me to Joon’s dad. Thunder had seen what was goin’ on in my life and wanted to show me what a real family was…and I liked the new family.

I asked Joon’s dad if he would take me in as his son since I had nowhere else to go. I wasn’t about to go back to my grandfather and his wife again. Either I was gonna live on the streets or find someone who was willing to take me in. And Joon’s dad did just that. He took me in and I’ve been with them since. I was the last to join the gang too. I came in and these four were already here, Noona too, of course. And…that’s my story. It ain’t anything big.”

I had gotten tears in my eyes from hearing his story. How could a grandfather do that? Not only was he his grandson, but he was his only grandson.

“Thunder, go on,” Joon said and Thunder did the same. He smiled at me and then began his story.

“When I was about 7 years old, I saw my parents get murdered in front of my own eyes.”

Boy did he know how to start off a story. I hadn’t even gotten over Mir’s story and he started with that line. I felt the tears coming again. Dang it.

“The guys who did it felt sorry for me and decided to let me live because I was so young. None of my family lived near us and I assumed that they didn’t much care anyway. No one came to help me or even tried to get in contact with me. I was put into an orphanage but they allowed me to go to the same school. Because I was an orphan, the other kids in my class picked on me. That’s when I met Joon hyung. He stepped in and fought them off for me, saying that if they ever picked on me again, he would make sure they regretted it; even threatened to make them orphans as well. He was always so confident and strong so I started to follow him. Even if I didn’t talk to him, I followed him around, looking at how he acted and trying to be the same.

Hyung told me that I should meet his father and that he could help me out tons. I had no complaints, I wanted to meet anyone that could help me from that horrid orphanage and get me away from the kids at school. When I met him, I told him my story and he took me in right away. I didn’t even have to go back to the orphanage. That’s how much power Joon’s father had and that’s how I became a part of the group.”

I didn’t know if I would be able to handle another sad story. Seeing how G.O acted and Seungho and Joon, I assumed that they had worse stories. I didn’t know if I would be able to handle them all in one shot. They seemed to think the same as they sat there and watched me take it in. No one said a word after Thunder stopped talking. Was I making another face? Was I still crying from listening to their stories? I wiped my eyes and took in another breath.

“You okay? We can go on later if you want. Maybe it’s too much for you,” Seungho spoke up, trying to examine how I was feeling.

“No, I’m okay. I wanna know it all now. It’s better that way.”

I could take it. I would be able to hear through it all and be better by the time I would have to go home to my father. It was going to be okay.

“My story’s short and sweet,” G.O didn’t seem like he wanted to talk much about his past. I held my breath and listened to him continue.

“I was an orphan too, like these two except I had been one since I was born. I was told by relatives that my mother died while giving birth and my father had walked out on her half way through her pregnancy. None of them remembered who he was or what his name was. I found him though with the help of Joon’s dad later on in life. He was in jail for something he did. I didn’t care to talk to him. It ain’t like he was an important part of my life anyway.

But moving on, my grandparents raised me, my mother’s parents, and I gotta give it to them, they tried their hardest to get me to live the perfect life. It ain’t like I didn’t want to be the perfect kid for them but nothing ever worked out. Kids in school messed with me and I beat them up. There was one time I was outnumbered, a few kids thought they was being cool and tried to gang up on me. Sure, we were 10 years old, but in our neighborhood, it was either be tough or be a follower. I wasn’t about to follow them idiots. I woulda been fine but they took out some sticks and and I couldn’t fight back like that. Joon and Seungho stepped in and helped me out. I won’t ever forget that day. They took me to Seungho’s house and his uncle got me cleaned up. You know Seungho’s uncle. He was the one that came for Mir a few nights ago. They barely knew me but they did their best to help me out as best as possible.

Before I knew it, I was hanging out with them and we became like brothers. My grandparents died and ‘cause of all the trouble I caused, none of my other family wanted to take me in. And then Joon’s dad took me in like his own son. We’ve been together since then.”

G.O had a rough growing up. I thought his story would be a bit different but he had loving family. Well, loving grandparents and did try for them. I was glad he was able to meet Joon and Seungho. Who knew where he would be if he hadn’t been with them. Probably in jail, just like his father for assault and battery or something.

I waited for someone else to continue. Seungho smiled at me and I knew it was his turn.

“Joon and I knew each other since we were kids. Our parents were kinda friends and so we became friends too. We always hung out at each others’ houses. My family’s a bit big so I got people all over Korea and in some other countries. You could say that family’s just one big gang, but they ain’t an official gang…or anything too close to it. We just always know how to get what we want since everyone’s in a different working department. We never say no to each other and I’m still in contact with most of them. But my parents and I were mainly here, around this area.

One day though, Joon’s mom was the one to pick me up from school. I was confused but didn’t care. I got to their house and was told to stay with Joon for a while until they knew more about the situation.

I was told later that my parents had been murdered and Joon’s dad was out to look for them. I didn’t know what to do, it was all too sudden. The night before we had eaten dinner together and watched TV till I fell asleep with them. Then the next day, they were gone.

I didn’t know how to handle it, but Joon parents helped me out. Man, Joon’s mom was one of the sweetest women I’ve met. She took care of me too well and I eventually moved on. I know that Joon’s dad definitely found the people and had them killed. He never said anything to me but after a few days, he seemed like he was accomplished and told me that everything was gonna be okay now. He told me that I would be living with them from now on because he didn’t trust my safety with anyone else. My extended family was okay with it and I didn’t mind living in a house that I considered my second home, anyway. Everything worked out well and here we are now,” Seungho smiled again after he was done and looked to Joon.

“Then I’ll finish it off with Bom. She’ll tell you her side of it first,” Joon said and looked to her to continue.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m a Park while Joon’s a Lee. We’re half siblings. My father was always drunk, according to my mom and she got fed with him. Of course, she stayed because she wanted me to have both a mother and a father but when she met Joon’s dad, things happened and they fell in love. Our mom left my father and came to live with Joon’s dad. They got married and little Joonie came around. Though I was young around those times, I still remember them getting married and bringing Joon home from the hospital. Those were the days. I say Joon’s dad so you could differentiate but really, I saw him as my father as well. He treated me like his own daughter too.”

Bom finished and looked to Joon when I heard him take in a breath.

“I guess I’ll let you know how we became the gang MBLAQ. My father was a gangster and most of the men here used to work under him, which is why they’re older than us and now work under me. I don’t think he ever really wanted me to grow up in the…family business, you could call it, but that’s all I had ever really seen. My mom tried to shield us from it, Noona and me, but it didn’t work out with all the men coming and going, calling our dad “boss” and respecting us as well. Normal businessmen didn’t go through all of that, especially with the tattoos.

When he finally realized that we knew all about what was going on, he started to be open with us about what he did, the gangster business. He wanted us to eventually take over and be a part of the business with him. It was about 6 years ago when my dad gave us nicknames. He wanted us to be the group that no one could stop, a group of guys that weren’t related by blood, but were blood brothers. In the end, he named us MBLAQ, and officially stamped us as one of the powerful gangs. We didn’t take it seriously; we were teenagers and only wanted to be badass and act tough.

It was 3 years ago when we became serious about MBLAQ; the year that my parents vanished. I don’t know what happened them…none of us do. They were here one day and gone the next, no sign of either of them dying or being forced out. They just…disappeared. Up and left us. But it was good ‘cause we learned to live without them, without their protection. We got to put the things we learned from them into practice and I ain’t disappointed in how it all turned out.

That’s the way we began. That’s MBLAQ’s story for you.”

I was in too much of an awe to say anything to that. Their stories has so many emotions in them and yet they all found each other and in the end, they stayed together to help each other out with everything. Joon’s dad was definitely the main man that bought them together and I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous that they had all met and spoken with him. I wanted to know what kind of man he was, why he wanted to take care of all of them and never even thought twice before taking them in. He reminded me of the man in the story that my father had told me once about a man who left everything in his life to keep his family safe; left them without a word, knowing that they would survive.

“I think she’s too shocked to speak…you think it was too much?” I heard Thunder ask Joon and Seungho.

I quickly looked up at all of them.

“No, it wasn’t too much at all. I was only thinking…about everything you guys had said. How everything just turned out so perfectly…”

“Perfectly? Chaerin, we’re gangsters…in a gang. We break the law to survive. Even I know that’s not the perfect life,” Joon seemed surprised.

“But…everything just worked out with you guys. You all found each other and took care of one another. And no matter what has happened in your lives, you all stuck together like family. It doesn’t matter that you break the law to make a living; it’s a perfect family because you all have each other.”

I didn’t know if they understood what I meant and I didn’t get a chance to find out.

My phone rang loudly. I took it out of my pocket and looked at the Caller-ID.

Kwon Jiyong.

“Hey, Jiyong…” I answered my phone and glanced at Joon. He gave me…no, he gave my phone a glare. He would probably never tell me what he didn’t like about Jiyong.

“Can we meet somewhere? I really need to talk to you.”

He sounded sad and I couldn’t imagine what would have happened. I quickly stood up and grabbed my purse.

“I’m on my way, where are you?”

He gave me the location and I said my goodbyes to the boys and Bom unnie. None of them seemed to care much that I was going out to see my friend. None of them except Joon.

On my way out of the door, he grabbed my hand to stop me. Not again. I was tired of him stopping me from seeing Jiyong.

“Joon, let go,” I stated firmly, “my friend needs my help and I’m not leaving him behind.”

“I’ll let you go, but I have to tell you something before you leave…”

What was wrong with him? He was actually going to let me go without fighting for me to stay first? I tried to cover my surprise with confidence. Who knows what he had planned?

“Well, hurry because I need to go now.”

“His nickname is G-Dragon.”