“Hyung,” Zico came in through the door of Jiyong’s office room.

                “What?” the older brother looked up from his monitor, “What did the owner of that restaurant said? Did he decide to hand over the tape to us?”

                Zico sighed hoarsely and tousled his hair. As he was sitting down across Jiyong, he growled, “That old man refused to hand over the tape to us. He said that the person who had pain him to shut up would kill him if he opens his mouth or even reveal the real tape to anyone, especially us!”

                Rubbing his chin, Jiyong went near the window. “Kim Dongman,” the name popped out of Jiyong’s mouth, “That son of a is seriously getting on my dam nerves,” he growled silently. He paced around for a while before collapsing back onto his chair. “Does the owner of the restaurant have a family?” he looked at his little brother.

                “Yeah,” Zico nodded, “4 daughters and his wife.”

                “That’s why he’s scared,” Jiyong whispered, “He needs to protect them.”

                “Hyung, should we just break into his place at night?” Zico suggested.

                Jiyong glared at Zico and said, “No, Jiho. We can’t do that.”

                “Hyung,” Zico whined, “I miss Micha already. We need to do this for her.”

                “Do you think she’ll be proud of us when she hears that we broke into someone’s place?” Jiyong sternly stated.

                “Maybe not,” Zico sighed, “But that’s how we roll right?”

                “Just shut it Jiho,” Jiyong rolled his eyes when his cell phone suddenly vibrated and the caller identification showed that it was Himchan as Jiyong’s brown drew together. “Himchan?” his voice sounded unsure since it was the first time Himchan had called him as he assumed that it must be an important news.

                Himchan’s loud breathing boomed into Jiyong’s ears and he continued on panting for a few seconds before saying, “Yongguk forced the doctor to let him out of the hospital early and he’s now on his way to ‘Paradise’ restaurant to talk to the owner about the tape,” he took in a lungful of air to continue to say, “He’s stubborn about this hyung-nim, I can’t do anything about it.”

                As soon as he hung up, Jiyong took his beanie and put on his jacket while saying, “Let’s go Jiho.”

                “What’s going on?” Zico followed his older brother but his question was left unanswered.

                On the other hand, Yongguk was already out of the hospital making his way towards the ‘Paradise’ restaurant. Invisible fires were surrounding his whole body as Himchan trailed behind him, helplessly calling Yongguk’s name. “Yah, Bang Yongguk, do you even know the way?” Himchan was aware that Yongguk knew the place but he had to throw but he had to throw something onto the plate.

                Yongguk knew where the place exactly was. He and Zelo would always come by the restaurant whenever they craved for spicy noodles since it sells the best noodle in town. “You should’ve told me that the owner didn’t want to give the tape. You shouldn’t have lied about it,” Yongguk said.

                “We had to lie about it,” Himchan replied.

                “Don’t you care about Micha?” Yongguk finally stopped walking and turn towards Himchan.

                “I do!” Himchan’s voice rose, “That’s why we have been searching ways to convince the owner.”

                Without a word, Yongguk entered the restaurant, roughly pushing the entrance as the waitress who was waiting by the door flinched in fear. “Where’s the owner of this place?” Yongguk asked one of the waiter, but none of them answered. “I’ll ask you again, where’s the owner?” his voice rumbled from the back of his throat scaring the waiters and waitresses.

                “I’ll call him out, please go and seat there,” said the waiter.

                Just in time, Jiyong and Zico entered the restaurant hurriedly as Himchan went to their side with a panic expression. “Hyung-nim, you’re here,” Himchan stated with a hint of relieve.

                “Jiho, wait outside and if there’s anything fishy, call for backup,” Jiyong instructed and Zico followed it obediently, “Himchan, you should follow Zico too. I’ll stay with Yongguk and watch his moves. Anything, I’ll signal it to you.”

                “You wanted to see me, young man?” Lee Kyungtae, the owner of the place showed up.

                “I’m here to kindly ask you to hand over the tape,” Yongguk said with patience.

                Lee Kyungtae shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, “I think you’ve met with the wrong-” the man in his mid-forties was saying but was interjected by Yongguk’s silent growl. “I have the rights to call the police and take you away from here,” Kyungtae defended himself.

                As naturally as he could, Yongguk continued on breathing on a steady rate with his gaze fixed on Kyungtae. Yongguk stared at the man in front, he looked scared and uncomfortable- an innocent man. He must have been threatened by Dongman to keep his mouth shut and seal the tape away somewhere others could not find. Lee Kyungtae was scared and Yongguk could sense it. “I’m sorry,” Yongguk loosened his tensed muscle.

                “I’m sorry too because I can’t help you,” Kyungtae replied.

                Not a single word escape from Yongguk’s mouth as the silent atmosphere towered them for a while.

                The clock ticked but neither one of them had the heart to break the ice.

                After half an hour, completely settling only in deep silence, Yongguk finally opened his mouth to speak, “Lee Kyungtae-shii, I’m sure you are doing this because you’re protecting your loved ones. Am I right?”

                No answer.

 Kyungtae just lowered his head.

Sighing, Yongguk fixed his position, leaning forward a little, making sure he was sitting with his backbone upright. “You’re afraid of losing your loved ones, so, you decided to keep your mouth shut and keep the real tape to yourself. I understand your actions because I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes.”

“If it’s like that, then, you should leave me alone,” Kyungtae silently whispered.

Giving up did not exist in his mind at that moment. Yongguk clenched his fist, taking one step at a time since he did not want to appear rushed and spoil the whole mood. “But…” his words trailed catching Kyungtae’s attention, their eyes locked for a few minutes, “What if it were the other way around? Would you do the same as me and beg for the tape in order to save your loved ones?”

Again, there was no reply coming out of Kyungtae.

“What I’m trying to say is that I have this person whom I love deeply. She’s away from me now and I can’t do anything for her except to beg you to give the tape to me. I’m desperately searching for a way so that she could come back to me safely. Sir, please help me,” Yongguk sincerely poured out his heart content.  

After telling his situation to Kyungtae, Yongguk felt a sudden throb on his gunshot wound on his shoulder. He tightened his jaw and endured it as long as he could go but the throbbing was suddenly getting worst, sweats were dribbling down the side of his forehead. “I’m sorry,” Kyungtae said in a low voice and stood up, making his way back to his room.

“Sir,” Yongguk called but it was not loud enough. He touched his wound and hissed.

“Yongguk,” Jiyong finally went to Yongguk’s side, “Let’s go home.”

“No, we need the tape, I’ll stay here for a while,” he stubbornly stated making Jiyong huffed in frustration.

Yongguk cringed in pain silently, everything was hurting- especially his heart.

Jiyong who was going back to his previous seat turned around abruptly when he heard a thump behind him. “Bang Yongguk,” he gasped and walked over to the male lying on the floor unconscious with his hand clasped over his wound. “Aish, he should have listened to the doctor,” Jiyong muttered and scooped Yongguk off the floor and ran towards his car.

“Where the hell are we?” P.O looked around the unfamiliar area.

“We followed the coordinate and it’s here,” Micha casually replied.

“So, what now?” P.O tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Stay in the car,” Micha said and was about to step out of the car when P.O stopped her.

“You can’t go alone!” he whined, “I’ll go with you.”

Micha sighed and patted P.O’s shoulder assuredly, “I’ll be fine. I need to do this alone, oppa. Just stay in the car and if anything goes wrong, I’ll give you a call. Make sure your phone is on alright?”

In the end, P.O was forced to stay in the car since Micha had threatened to feed him to her pet sharks. “Let’s do this,” Micha whispered to herself and clutched onto the strap of her backpack as she made her way towards a small house surrounded by huge trees with a beautiful garden beside it- the only building at the place. She was about to ring the bell when she suddenly stopped to take a breath. For some reason it was nerve-wrecking as she could not expect what was there behind the closed door.

For the second time, she reached out her index finger to ring the bell but she heard a rustling of the door, someone was unlocking it. Micha took a step back and held onto the knife behind her pocket tightly. “I’ve been waiting for you,” said a voice and soon a lady who seemed to be in her mid 50’s came out of the cabin with a composed look on her face. “Don’t be scared,” the lady uttered in an indifferent tone.

“Who are you?” Micha was still being conscious.

“I’m your father’s former guardian, Yoon Sunmi,” she answered.

“Guardian?” Micha knitted her brow, “I’ve never heard of you.”

Yoon Sunmi gave off a little smile and gestured for Micha to come inside as the leader followed Sunmi diffidently. “You wouldn’t know me since I retired as soon as your father became the leader of the clan. I’ve been taking care of him since he was the age of 10,” Sunmi calmly answered Micha’s question as she brought Micha to the living room.

“That’s a very long time,” Micha sounded surprised, “But why did you quit?”

“I was growing old and felt I could no longer give your father the best protection, so, I decided to retire,” Sunmi uttered while pouring some tea for Micha and herself, “But, your father had visited me for a number of times and sometimes, I still take on a few missions for him.”

Micha nodded and said her thanks when she received a cup of tea. “My parents are gone,” she finally blurted out and Sunmi who was previously sipping the tea stopped her activity for a while as if someone had pushed the pause button. “Are you aware of that?” Micha asked slowly, not wanting to shock the lady.

“I was well-informed about it,” she shortly replied.

“I don’t want to waste any time any longer then,” Micha put down the cup on the small table in front of her, “I was flipping through a few documents about Kim Dongman and I found a coordinate. I followed it and it lead me here, your house.”

For a few minutes, silence filled up the atmosphere and the only sound that could be heard was the swishing sound of the wind outside. Sunmi swirled her tea, taking all the time she wanted to. After taking another sip of the tea, Sunmi finally placed it down and clasped her hand together on her lap. “Kim Dongman, like father like son,” was the only thing Sunmi stated.

Perplexed, Micha leaned forward tenuously and said, “What do you mean by that?”

“Kim Dongman’s father was once a powerful man and was known to be crude. He was a heartless man, a killer and a betrayer. For money and power, he could even turn his back on his own family and leave them in the cold,” Sunmi began explaining.

However, Micha was still confused as she spoke, “Isn’t he dead?”

“Kim Dongman killed his own father,” Sunmi emotionlessly said.

“What?” Micha’s eyes dilated slightly, “I thought he died of natural death.”

Sunmi shook her head, “Natural death? Such things never exist if you’re a part of these kinds of dirty business. Dongman had killed his own father just like how he had killed his first wife. Dongman killed his wife for money and killed his father for power. Since Dongman’s father was more influential, it caused Dongman to be stuck.”

Another moment of silence came.

Micha had her forehead creased and was ruminating hard as she finally voiced out, “And now that bastard is trying to wipe away my clan so that he can be the new leader, gaining more power?”

“Yes,” Sunmi nodded and then continued, “Actually, your father had found out that Dongman was campaigning himself and trying to boost his image in the society. He wants to be the next president.”

“President?” Micha’s eyes bugged opened, “That son of a ? Our country would crumble down if he were to be one.” After a few seconds, Micha settled back down, “By being a president,” Micha tapped her chin, “He can definitely smuggle anything, in and out of the country without being caught, increasing his influence and also money.”

“But Micha,” Sunmi suddenly caught Micha’s hand gaining the young leader’s attention, “Your father found all the evidence that was needed to arrest Dongman. The evidence of him killing his father and wife, the dirty businesses, almost every single crime he had done all his life.”

The moment Micha’s ears caught the new piece of information; she jumped out of her seat and took Sunmi’s hand as if begging to her, “Where can I find the evidence? This is the answer to this problem! Please, tell me that you know where the evidence is.” Sunmi patted her head as she sat back on the couch but only sat at the edge with trembling heart.

“The evidence is in Dongman’s hand,” Sunmi said.

Back in Korea, Yongguk who had collapsed previously finally woke up after being unconscious for almost half of the day. He groaned a little and held onto his wounded shoulder before sitting upright in his own bed. “Home,” he breathed in the scent of his room. The smell was nothing fancy, it was just right.

“Dude, you shocked the crap out of us,” Himchan walked into the room with a mug of hot milk.

“What happened to Jiyong hyung-nim? Zico?” Yongguk asked in a hurried tone but Himchan calmed him down and passed him the mug.

“Everything is fine,” Himchan assured his friend, “Jiyong brought in his private doctor to check you out just now and he prescribed a few pills for you to take. You can’t go out anywhere just yet because your body is not in the right condition for now.”

Yongguk ignored Himchan and said, “What about the tape?”

“Can’t you listen to me once in a while?” Himchan sighed.

“Kim Himchan,” Yongguk growled.

“Alright, alright,” Himchan put his hand up in surrender as a smile appeared across his face, “Since you collapsed like that all of the sudden, the owner gave the tape to us because he felt sorry for you! Buddy, it was good that you collapsed like that!” he excitedly stated. “Well, it wasn’t that all good since my heart had literally jumped out of my chest because I was so shocked because you just went unconscious suddenly,” Himchan scratched his head.

It was like a dream for Yongguk to be hearing such great news the moment he had wakened up from his unconscious state. “Really?” Yongguk sprang up from his bed, “Let’s go to the mansion now. I need to talk to Jiyong hyung-nim.”

“No,” Himchan strongly denied, “You’re not well.”

“I’ll be fine,” Yongguk stated, “You’re coming with me right? So, what could go wrong?”

“Bang Yongguk!” Himchan frustratingly called his friend’s name but that friend of his was already making his way towards the door. “Yah!” Himchan shouted, “Wait for me dude!” but Yongguk walked out of the house alone and Himchan had no other choice but to run after him to catch up with Yongguk’s pace.

Micha, Amber and P.O were gathered in a room to discuss about the next step they were going to take in order to break Kim Dongman as Micha was pacing around the room anxiously. “What do we have to do now?” Amber asked while resting her back against the chair after listening to the whole story of Micha encountering her father’s old guardian.

“We have to get the evidence now,” Micha finally sat down with her hands clasped.

“How?” P.O’s eyebrow knitted together.

The golden question! How could they get their hands on the evidence? Micha closed her eyes, trying to sort out this tangled up situation in her head. “First we have to break Kim Dongman’s wings. In order to do that, I need to gather up those 6 head of clans who are currently working under him,” she circled the 6 names on the document in front of her.

“That’s doable,” Amber nodded and smirked.

“What’s your plan Micha?” P.O asked.

“I would include the two of you in my plan and exclude all of the people in Korea from this including my older brothers,” Micha began, “Unnie, gather some men,” she looked at Amber then turned to P.O, “Oppa, you’ll be in-charge of arranging the private jet that we would be taking to go back to Korea.”

“Alright,” Amber and P.O said in unison.

Micha smiled satisfyingly and started to explain about her plan, “We’re going to strike Kim Dongman’s right wing on the night I arrive at Korea.”

“We’ll show her the tape and I’m sure she’ll be scared of it and come back to us in the future. Maybe she can spill some secret about all of these events that are happening,” Yongguk slammed the table in the conference room enthusiastically. The other members of ‘Geomyasaeng’ clan who were gathered in the room nodded in agreement and Yongguk continued, “But, it’s Jiyong hyung-nim’s choice on the person who is going to meet Jessica.”

Jiyong rubbed his chin and twirled his chair around. “I’ll choose Yongguk and TOP to go together,” he finalized his decision. “Yongguk can’t go alone in that condition, so, TOP would have to back him up in this,” Jiyong looked at TOP who in reply just nodded slightly in understanding.

“Let’s do this!” Yongguk and Micha stated in a firm yet passionate voice at the same time although they were in different country.

Micha stood near the window of the bedroom she was currently in with a grim look. Her teeth sank into her lower lips worriedly as she thought of her family and friends in Korea. “I’m sorry for troubling all of you too much,” she whispered in the darkness and stared at the night scenery, “I’m trying to be the best leader but I’m just making my members suffer,” Micha messaged her temple.

In that moment of silence, a streak of lightning coursed through the dark sky causing Micha to blench tenuously. It was going to rain and Micha despised that fact immensely. When the rain started sputtering on the window and roof producing a dreadful coherent sound, Micha trudged towards her bed and slammed her head into the soft pillow.

Yongguk.

Bang Yongguk.

The picture of her boyfriend holding onto her on a rainy day popped into her mind. Micha tossed around on her bed but gave up trying to sleep after a while. “ this! Get a grip of yourself Kwon Micha! How the hell are you going to lead a clan when you’re moping around like this?” she screamed at her reflection on the mirror. However, instead of seeing herself, Micha saw another figure standing at the door with a sad look on his face, waiting patiently for Micha to calm down. “Pyo Jihoon?” she said.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself Micha,” P.O sat at the edge of Micha’s bed.

“Sorry for having you to witness this,” Micha sighed and sat beside her best friend.

“We’re going back to Korea tomorrow and try to settle this one by one. We’ll take baby steps.  Eventually babies would grow into adults but in order for the baby to grow, they have to take things slowly so that they can learn. You have to keep in mind that you’re still new to being a leader,” P.O tried to give a piece of advice.

Micha gave out a little smile and stated, “Dude, I don’t get about the baby growing into an adult thing but I appreciate it.” It was a lie to lighten up the mood. Micha understood P.O’s message perfectly as it started to knock some senses into her.

After letting out a small chuckle P.O went back to serious mode and asked, “Are you ready for the plan in Korea?”

“I have to, I guess,” Micha collapsed on her bed.

“Well,” P.O shrugged and laid beside Micha, “We’re going back to Korea!” he pointed to the ceiling for no reason as the two best friend settled back into a deep silence thinking of all the possibilities that would unfold in the future.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi guys^__^

Okay... I'm back officially! My mid-term exam has finally ended which was a few hours ago. I'm back from school and free to roam around the internet until my eyeballs are out of their sockets! Muahahahahahahaha... First, I would like to apologize for being MIA for a very long time and not updating. *90 degree bow* I'm seriously sorry and I hope you guys would understand...

So, how do you find the new update? Boring? Fun? Curious? Comments are love so bombard me with them:D