“All rise.”

“­The judges have decided. We found the defendant, Lee Dong Wook, guilty of charge. You are to be sentenced to jail for 2 years. Court dismissed.”

Jessica couldn’t help the relief and tears forming in her eyes as she bowed her head down. A sob escaped uncontrollably when a hand squeezed her shoulder tenderly; a hand so familiar belonged to the man she had and would always love. Trembling, she looked up and found the warm eyes of Jaejoong and they broke her last wall of strength. She engulfed him in a tight, tight embrace as she cried and cried. His hands enveloped her tiny frame and gently patted her back.

“It’s okay, now. It’s over. Shhh,” he whispered in her ear. They knew once they were out of the court, questions and flashlights would hit them mercilessly. Jaejoong understood that they needed this little time, she needed it to get herself together.

The sobs calmed gradually and her breathing started to even out. Slowly, Jessica pulled away and took a few seconds before lifting her head to meet his eyes.

“Thank you for everything, Oppa. I’m terribly sorry to drag you into this,” she said with a broken smile.

Jaejoong chuckled weakly as he cupped her cheek. “It’s all good now, Sica-ya. And that’s what matters.”

Jessica smiled as she nodded. Jaejoong dropped his hand to her shoulder. “Give me a moment before we face those sharks outside. I’ll just see Haejin for a minute.”

Her face faltered a bit, and if he noticed it he didn’t let on. “It’s okay, Oppa, I can face them myself. Haejin-ssi must be worried,” said she.

“No, I’m not going to let you face them alone. I’ll be there. Just wait here, okay?” he patted her cheek before went off.

Standing only with her attorney by her side, she stared longingly at his jogging form. “It would be so much easier if you weren’t always so kind to me,” she mumbled too low for anyone to hear.

♦♦♦

Jaejoong burst in through the door of the closed room where The Safe House team was waiting. Haejin stood once she saw him and opened her arms. He practically ran to meet her halfway and embraced her so tightly that her body was lifted. The team had watched the whole trial from the television provided in the room.

“Thank God, thank God,” Haejin said over and over again as her hands caressed his back, his shoulder, cupped the back of his head. Jaejoong buried his face in her shoulder, breathing in her scent that always managed to calm him even in the worst storm.

“I love you,” he whispered. He just needed to say it. The soft nod and the gentle squeeze on the back of his head brought smile to his face. Slowly he pulled back but kept his hands on her sides. Her smile was so bright that he felt like he could do just about anything.

“Where’s Jessica-ssi?” Haejin asked, ending the momentary bliss.

“Still in the court, I told her to wait for a bit. I’m going to see the reporters with her now. See you at the Safe House?”

“Okay. Take care. Send my best to Jessica,” she nodded and gave him a chaste kiss.

“Thanks, love. Chief, Jaeyeon-ah, Siyoung-ah,” Jaejoong threw them a smile before walking out of the room.

♦♦♦

“Hey, it’s up!” Jaeyeon said with smartphone on her hands as they were driving back to The Safe House. The other girls by her sides sat closer to her as she was in the middle, watching the press conference of Jaejoong and Jessica. The flashlights were crazy from the moment they stepped on to the small stage.

“Good day, everyone. I am Kim Jaejoong. Thank you for coming to our press conference. I hope we can give satisfying answers to your questions.” They watched Jaejoong open the press conference. He and Jessica were seated next to their respective attorneys, with them in the center.

“Good afternoon to everyone. I’m Jessica and I thank you for your attention and concern throughout this case. I and Kim Jaejoong-ssi here will try our best to answer your questions. Thank you.”

The reporters began to raise their hands eagerly while the camera kept capturing every little movement they made. A woman by the stage, seemed like the PR specialist of either Jaejoong or Jessica, cued and started to point the reporters one by one. Both of the celebrities answered every question carefully, but still with enough honesty and remorse to maintain the sincerity for everyone and the viewers to see.

The female reporter with MBC label on her shirt was pointed. “What is your relationship with each other now?”

Jessica seemed to be taking a second to prepare the answer in her head. “We used to date for a while, but it ended amicably. Now we are like brother and sister, also good friends,” she stated smoothly—Haejin and the two other thought it must have already been rehearsed.

“But you said in the trial that you both were in close relationship when this happened, that was why Kim Jaejoong and the rest of JYJ became the witnesses. Does that mean you are getting back together?”

Jaeyeon threw a quick glance to her right and was not at the least surprised to find the youngest looked as calm as she always was. But she knew better than to think this question didn’t worry her even just a little bit.

They watched Jaejoong leaning forward to the mic. “We've always had a close relationship. Jessica is one of my closest friends having been in the same agency for years, and even after I went away we still maintain our friendship. But we were always busy and could only talk over the phone. Only last month we coincidentally had looser schedules, so we met a few times. It was nothing romantic, and then the next thing we knew this catastrophe was happening.”

Siyoung had her eyebrows raised and Jaeyeon looked amused. “That was a good answer,” Jaeyeon commented.

“Yeah,” Haejin replied.

By the time the press conference was done, they’d reached The Safe House. The chief instructed them to get back to work. So Siyoung went to prepare a departure, Jaeyeon got ready for a meeting with a celebrity manager, and Haejin left to do her noon round.

The dark brown haired lady was on her fifth mansion check when a voice called out her name. She turned around and saw Jaejoong jogging toward her. She smiled, still feeling that relief in the court room.

“Hey,” she greeted as he approached and leaned in to peck her cheek.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

Haejin looked at him incredulously. “You’re the one who just battled hungry hyenas, Jae. Are you okay?” asked she, her face had turned to one with worries etched all over.

Jaejoong chuckled. “I’m alright. Just a little tired. Now give me a hug,” he said opening his arms wide. She was laughing when she moved to hug him.

“That’s better,” he huffed as he felt her arms tightening around him. They stayed that way for seconds, maybe minutes, he couldn’t care less. He just wanted to bask in the moment.

“So… what now?” she asked after they pulled apart.

“Now, we move on. Put it past us. Get back to work," he answered with a shrug.

She nodded tentatively. “That sounds simple.”

“It is,” he smiled.

“Finally, everything is back to normal,” she sighed, turning around to walking, reaching for his hand.

“We’re only dating for a month and we already had our first mayhem,” Haejin chuckled. He laughed out loud, for the first time in a month and it was a very nice thing to her ears.

“Tell me about your coming tour. It’s still on, right?” she changed the topic to a lighter subject and he was grateful for that. They all needed a break.

“It’s still on, of course. We’ll start from Singapore, Malaysia, Chinese, Japan, and end it here in Seoul.”

“Can I buy tickets first before your fans swallow it all up?” Haejin teased.

Jaejoong copied her previous incredulous look. “Buy the tickets? Seriously? You can come together with me, love, if that’s what you want.”

Tipping on her toes she leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss, or at least that was what she planned on doing if not for the whistle. Haejin jerked back but couldn’t get far since her hand was still in Jaejoong’s tight grip.

“Sorry to interrupt, Jaejoong hyung,” a deep baritone voice greeted them.

A smile broke out when they found out it was Kim Woo Bin, whom was staying there for a couple of days. Though Haejin then stared confusedly at Jaejoong, then Woo Bin, then back to Jaejoong again.

“You both know each other?”

“It’s a small world, love,” he squeezed her hand. “Woo Bin-ah, how are you doing?”

“I’m good, hyung. What about you? I heard the trial went well,” the younger man asked; that sharp brows of his forming a frown of concern.

“Yeah, it did. I’m glad it’s finally over. How long are you staying here?”

“Only until tomorrow. Your girlfriend helped me with mine,” the model pointed Haejin, a faint blush rising on his cheeks.

Her face lit up. “So the dinner worked?”

“Perfectly. Jiwon loved it. I can’t thank you enough, Haejin-ssi,” he bowed comically and turned to Jaejoong. “She’s really great, hyung. Keep her close,” Woo Bin smirked conspiratorially.

“That’s my plan,” Jaejoong winked. Woo Bin then bid his goodbye.

When he was sure Woo Bin was out of ear sight, Jaejoong pulled Haejin flush against him and captured her waist.

“So, where were we? Ah, right, about here…” he bent his head down and pressed his lips on her laughing ones.

Okay, I feel like I start to sound like a broken record, but I can't not say it, guys. I am sorry for taking ages to update this. I was really stuck, I had no idea how to end it. Then one night this idea just popped in my head and I typed it right away.

Please, please be patient. I'm preparing the epilogue, and then we'll finally at the end.

As usual, big, big thank you for your comments, encouragements, on top of that loyalty. You are why I'm still here and not throwing this story away. Thank you.

Sending shouts to fools1101, mellow_dy, Chesha, WasabiBear, and FireWolf13, thank you for subscribing!

For you, beautiful readers, thank you! I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!