The clock was showing that it was a quarter past midnight but Micha was still glued to her laptop in the hotel room, reviewing a few reports sent by her members in Seoul. A few files about Kim Dongman and his shady businesses laid by her side as she tousled her hair in misery. Her eyes were burning from reading and she swore she could feel her bump getting numb. “Are you still working?” a deep voice boomed into her ears Micha flinched in shock before craning to look to her right.

                “You’re not asleep yet?” Micha turned away from her laptop.

                “I can’t sleep,” Yongguk pouted.

                Smiling, Micha stood up from her seat and stretched. She closed her laptop and the files on the table then pulled Yongguk’s hand as the couple head to bed. Yongguk turned off the lights while Micha climbed on the bed, snuggling under the fluffy quilt. “Have Youngjae, Himchan, Jongup and Hoya landed?” she asked Yongguk who was scooting over towards her side to close the gap between them.

                “Himchan just texted saying everything is fine. And Hoya hyung-nim just texted me saying that Dongman landed the same time as they did just now,” Yongguk informed.

                “Dongman’s here already?” Micha’s eyes widened.

                “Yeah,” Yongguk nodded and rested his chin on Micha’s head, “But let’s worry about him tomorrow.”

                The couple turned quiet all of a sudden. Yongguk went back to his train of thoughts. He had been thinking about the matter since this morning and could not seem to be able sort it out. Since all of s had told Micha their dark pasts, Yongguk was searching for the perfect moment to follow their footsteps but had failed miserably. He tightened his grip around Micha’s waist and sighed.

                “Hey,” Micha touched his cheek when she caught him in a dark mood, “What’s wrong?” she looked into his eyes in search of an answer.

                Yongguk shook his head and forced a smile. “It’s nothing,” he said.

                “Oppa,” Micha tried again and this time, she was determined to get the real answer, “Tell me what’s wrong. Did something bad happen? Or are you worried about something? You’ve been acting weird throughout the journey.”

                Instead of saying giving an explanation, Yongguk pulled his hands away from hugging Micha’s waist and lay down on the pillow then gestured Micha to follow him. No words were exchange between the two as they lay down facing each other giving warm smiles. “I love you, Kwon Micha,” Yongguk whispered while reaching out to touch Micha’s hair.

                However, Micha caught his hand mid-air and squeezed it in comfort, “Bang Yongguk, what is it that you want to tell me?”

                Without any warning or even a preparation, Yongguk started his story, “I had a twin and also an older sister.” His voice became deeper, resonating through Micha’s ear while she kept quiet and let Yongguk continue on the story. “My mom and dad were just like any other married couple. They had their ups and down but always stuck to each other. They got married because of love and the love had never faded even after they had 3 children.”

                “But then…” Yongguk’s voice trailed, leaving a lingering feeling, intriguing Micha’s curiosity as she leaned tenuously to hear the full story. “My mom got sick one day and the doctor said that she had only a few months to live. It was so sudden and I felt like the world was collapsing around me,” he shook his head slightly, as if he wanted to throw the bad memory away from his mind.

                “How old were you?” Micha asked in a tiny voice.

                “11 years old,” he answered shortly before moving on, “That was when everything went bad. Dad couldn’t offer to pay for my mom’s treatment, so, he became depressed, knowing that his wife was soon going to die because he was incapable to provide the money. He would come home drunk, and the strong smell of alcohol would stick on his shirt.”

                He stopped for a while to take a breather. Soon after, he went on, “Dad would come home and hit the three of us. He became abusive towards us, his children. No matter how many times my mom had cried to tell him to stop, my dad never stopped. He would just continue on and on and…” Yongguk closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

                “One day, he came home drunk. Really drunk. Since I loved to read when I was kid, I was in my mom’s room that day, reading her one of my favourite books. My older sister and twin brother were in the living room trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. I could still hear my brother telling my sister about buying new puzzles for them to play with,” he stopped.

                His heartbeat was so strong that he thought it was going to fly off his chest soon. “Bang Yongguk,” Micha called his name, touching his face and bringing him back to the reality, “Breath, oppa. Breathe,” she said, “I’m here with you and I’m not going anywhere,” she said as she took Yongguk’s hand into hers.

                “Dad came home and started to beat my two siblings in the living room. This time, it was rougher and my sister’s scream became louder. It was so bad. At that time, my mom was in a bad shape, she could barely open her eyes and when she did manage to crawl toward the door, she saw my sibling’s body lay limped in front of my dad in the living room,” Yongguk’s voice started cracking, “I-I saw it too. Their body. My dad had killed both of them and my mom could only stare wide-eyed from inside the room.”

                Micha’s hand flew to as she was shocked by the death of Yongguk’s siblings. She bit her lips to keep herself from letting a drop of tear escape from her tear duct and continued listening. “I can’t remember anything after that. Somehow, my fragile mom had managed to stand up and pulled my hand. We ran out of the house through the backdoor and never stopped running until we reached the bus stop,” Yongguk’s lips trembled.

                As his story deepened, Yongguk’s voice became lower and lower as it was almost a whisper by now, “We got onto the bus just on time before it drove away and took the empty seat by the window. My mom’s hand was cold when she was holding onto my hand and I could hear her heavy breathing,” a huge lump was forming at the back of his throat as he was now choking on his words.

                “She told me to be a nice man when I grow up, meet good people, don’t skip meals and live a nice life. A life which she had never been able to give me, she said. A few kisses on my cheeks, her breathing got harder and then… and then… and then she just slumped on my lap,” tears were rolling down Yongguk’s cheeks, “She lay on my laps and never wake up.”

                By the time Yongguk ended his story, he was already sobbing like a child. All the feelings he had been bottling up for all these years came out as Micha pulled him and gently nestled his head in her neck. She did not know what else to do but to just hold him during his fragile moment as she had her own tears pooled at the corner of her. She had never seen Yongguk cry and now that she had witnessed it, Micha felt as if her heart was torn apart.

                “I’m sorry,” Yongguk hugged Micha’s waist tighter, snuggling in her neck.

                “There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Micha replied.

                The two of them stayed in that position for a long time. Micha caressing Yongguk’s hair while Yongguk buried himself in Micha’s shoulder, he needed the comfort and he was grateful for having Micha at his side. Before he knew it, Yongguk had drifted off to sleep after hearing Micha whispered him a good night along with a kiss on the head.

                Cool breeze whipped past by as her she tugged on her cardigan to avoid the cold. Micha sat down on the wooden floor of the balcony and let out her breathe shakily. Yongguk was sleeping on the bed, his chest rising up and down calmly. Micha stared into an empty hole ahead of her as her feelings were a mess. She needed to talk to someone but who could she possibly talk to about Yongguk?

                That was when one name popped into her mind. A small smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she fished into the pocket of her cardigan, in search of her cell phone. She dialled a number and waited. “Hello?” Himchan’s groggily said on the other line.

                “Oppa,” Micha’s voice came out as small and meek.

                “Micha?” a shuffling sound was heard as Micha assumed that Himchan was getting out of bed. “What happened? Are you okay?”

                Playing around with her hair with pursed lips, Micha replied, “I just need to talk to someone.”

                Realizing the situation, Himchan’s tensed shoulder limped, knowing that nothing bad had happened. He adjusted his cell phone against his ears and then stated, “Yongguk told you about his past didn’t he?”

                “Yes,” she answered quietly.

                “How is he now?” Himchan asked.

                “H-h-he he cried,” Micha chocked.

                Himchan sighed. “He told me about it once a few years ago and never spoke about it until today.” After scratching his head, Himchan gently asked, “What about you? How are you holding up?”

                “Me?” Micha muttered, “Honestly, I don’t know. I want to tell him that everything is fine but the situation we are in right now is far away from alright. I wish I can just tell him that tomorrow would be a better day but-” she stopped talking and shook her head.

                “Micha,” Himchan called out softly, “Why are you being pessimistic all of a sudden?”

                “I’m not,” Micha sighed, “I’m just feeling frustrated right now. I want to protect everyone and make sure no one gets hurt. As a leader, I want to give my best but I can’t seem to be able to give you guys that.”

                “But we know you’re trying,” Himchan said, “Listen, Micha, like what you told us, a clan doesn’t work one-way, it works two ways alright? If you’re the only person who’s trying to get things right and not having your members by your side to support you, nothing will work. So, forget about taking care of us. Let us take care of you too. Let’s take care of each other. That way, I can assure you, tomorrow would be a brighter day for us.”

                Soft sighing was heard coming out of Micha’s mouth. Himchan was right. Fretting was not something she should be doing at this moment. Micha looked at her surrounding, feeling as if she was back to reality. Yongguk’s story may had affected her a little but she would not let it stand in her way of getting things right. If she wants to help Yongguk, she had to take care of Dongman first.

                From sitting on the wooden floor of the balcony Micha had rose up and faced towards the scenery before her. The cell phone was still intact against her ear as she smiled. “Oppa,” Micha’s words rang through the cold night, “Thanks for hearing me out.”

                Himchan chuckled, “We have to take care of each other remember?”

                “I appreciate it, oppa,” Micha confessed, her eyes grazing on the beach in front. The moon was stunning that night, illuminating the ocean and creating a road-like reflection the sea water. When she was about to say good night to Himchan, she spotted figures walking along the beach. She wondered who would walk around at this late hour but her thoughts froze when she recognized on one of the figures walking along the beach.

                It may be far but she knew what she was seeing.

                No matter how many times she tried blinking, she knew her eyes were not betraying her.

                “Oppa…” her voice trailed.

                Himchan who had caught the dramatic change in Micha’s voice pressed his cell phone against his ear harder, “Hey, what’s wrong? Micha?” While he was still asking Micha to respond, he had gone to Zelo and Jongup to wake the two males who were sharing the same room as him.

                “Hyung?” Jongup woke up while rubbing his eyes.

                “Get TOP hyung-nim, something’s up with Micha,” Himchan instructed.

                At the mention of Micha being in a tight situation, Jongup and Zelo scurried off their beds. And then Himchan went back to asking Micha, “Hello? Can you hear me, Micha? What’s happening? I’m calling TOP hyung-nim now and he would probably send Joon hyung-nim to your room to see what’s wrong.”

                “Don’t,” Micha replied back after being silent for a long time.

                “What do you want us to do then baby boss?” Himchan grew worried.

                “Send Daehyun and Joon to the beach. They’re the best in stealth.”

                “Okay, I’ll convey the message now. What are we suppose to look at?” Himchan was running around, searching for his jacket.

                “Dongman is on the beach as we speak,” was all Micha had said before the two hung up.

                The female leader ran back into the room, rummaging through all the equipments they had packed for this mission. “Where is it?” she looked through the bag but was still unable to find for the camera. Minutes passed by but the camera was not in the bag, so, Micha turned her focus on the closet. “Maybe Yongguk oppa put it in here.”

                “What are you doing?” Yongguk stood at the door frame.

                Micha turned around and faced Yongguk. “Dongman is on the beach with someone.”

                Grasping the situation, Yongguk nodded and grabbed the necessities that were needed such as the laptop and the speakers to communicate while Micha had finally found the camera. “I’ll try to reach the rest of the members, you go ahead and take the pictures,” Yongguk turned the laptop on as the two of them had already camped out at the balcony.

                “Roger that,” Micha nodded and started taking the pictures. 

Author's note:

Hey guys:) I'm back with another update and this time Yongguk had finally told Micha his past. I thought this was the perfect moment for him to just spill everything to her. Yongguk always been the one comforting Micha, so, it's time for Micha to comfort Yongguk>< So, did you guys like the chapter? Comments are deeply appreciated;D The next update will come up soon, so, stay tune!