A few weeks passed like that.  Eun Ah would continue her shifts at the ramen store, Himchan would take her to meet up with Jaehyun and her and Yongguk would have unexplainable interactions.

Most of the time they wouldn't talk, they'd just be around each other. He help her with breakfast without saying a word, helping her reach something that was too high up or let her sit in his study while he worked in silence and every now and then they'd be the only ones in the house, but it never felt lonely to Eun Ah, even if they stayed on completely different floors. To her, knowing that he was in the same building as her made her feel at ease.

She noticed that he'd never take it upon himself to accompany her outside, he'd always assign someone else to do it and she knew it had something to do with their last encounter. She would casually try bringing it up but he'd always get curt with her so she just let him be.

It wasn't conventional but Eun Ah found herself growing comfortable with the routine. She'd still find herself missing her old life but that didn't stop her from accepting her fate and just going with the flow. It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyways.

She held a flame of hope that maybe she'd be able to leave them soon, especially since she hadn't been attacked since the kidnapping, but she got lectured when she brought the idea up so she figured that this was going to be her home for the next while.

Junhong was messing on his phone while lying on Eun Ah's bed, the two of them swapping funny stories while Eun Ah flipped through some of her old books at her desk.

Eun Ah found herself growing closer to Junhong and Yongmi. They reminded her of younger siblings, since she was an only child, she adored having the younger ones in her life more than usual. She was at the age where her innocence was lost. She was an adult, living in a relentless world ever since she was 16 but when she was around the two of them she felt that child-like naivety that she wished she could relive, even if she knew that they had their own dark pasts.

Admittedly, Jongup was still giving her the cold shoulder and Daehyun wouldn't stop making fun of her looks, and Himchan still found different variations of 'Pig' to call her but Yongjae was still sweet to her.

You couldn't win them all.

Eun Ah almost got whiplash snapping her head when someone busted into her room. Yongguk stood by the door and stared at Junhong, swinging his legs off the side of the bed, with a small smile on his lips before his face emptied. He tossed a black garment bag on to the bed and turned to walk out.

"What is this?" Eun Ah learned that speaking loudly and to the point was the only way to get answers out of Bang Yongguk.

He looked over at her before tossing a black envelope on top of the bag. "Be ready by 9." He closed the door leaving the two to stare at the spot he just occupied.

Junhong rolled over and picked up the envelope, noticing the red wax seal.

"Oh! Hey, I know this! You're going to Jiyong's ball?"

"What? Wait who? Wait, what?" Eun Ah flickered her eyes between Junhong and the things on the bed.

"Jiyong. He's Yongguk's mentor. He was the leader of Asia's most infamous gang. Big Bang ruled all of underground Asia for about 20 years before they suddenly vanished from the scene. Every gang, big or small, knew who they were. They were the kings." Junhong surveyed the matte envelope before explaining more.

"Ever since he retired he throws these humongous Gatsby type parties and all of our allies would attend it. It's kind of his way of staying in the loop without actually getting involved." He pulled out the invitation and scanned the paper stock.

"Usually it's addressed to Yongguk and Yongmi because he would never bring a real date. This is the first time that Yongmi wasn't on the invite."

Eun Ah studied his raised eyebrows. "What does that mean and what do I have to do with this?"

Junhong ped a bit of the garment bag and peered in before a goofy smile lit up his face.

"Looks like he found a real date....be ready by 9."

-----

Yongguk opened the little velvet black box and stared at it in the privacy of his study. The clock was ticking and he could feel the pressure building.

It pissed him off that ever since Yongmi planted the idea in everyone's head, he wasn't able to come up with a better one.

Maybe it was delusional or maybe it was fatigue but he was starting to think that maybe she was right, maybe this was the only option. Ever other scenario he would think up had too many unknown variables, this ring held all the answers that his other plans didn't.

He knew that this whole charade was just for her protection but he still felt jittery at the sight of the silver plated ring. He was going to propose to someone for crying out loud! Never had he considered being in this position. He never seriously thought of marriage: fake or not. He always had other things fulfilling and occupying his life that a wife never crossed his mind.

What if she says no? Well of course she's going to say no.

God, when did I get so insecure?

For some ungodly reason, Eun Ah was getting inside Yongguk's head. He found himself doing things around her that normally he wouldn't find the time of day to do. Instead of looking for backgrounds on Bohye or Ryu, he would be cooking freaking brunch or doing work that didn't need to be completed just because she wanted to stay in his study.

He had to admit, for the blabber mouth that he had first picked up, she was quite calming to be around. She wouldn't complain or try to fill the silence with mindless chatter, they'd both do their own thing for long enough that the study was starting to smell like her.

When did I become such a wuss? What happened to the whole 'I don't let anyone stay in my study' rule?

He hated feeling so weak, it was like this pathetic, wimpy feeling of rejection settled in his stomach. He snapped the box close and hid it in his fist when Himchan creaked the door open.

The two of them had restored their friendship back to normal but Yongguk knew that it was only like that because Himchan believed that the proposal wasn't going to happen since no one spoke about it ever since, Himchan had another thing coming.

"Yongjae said that you were taking Eun Ah to Jiyong's ball. Is that true?" Himchan sat across from him and Yongguk tucked the ring into his pocket and nodded at his friend.

"Jiyong wanted to meet her, so I'm guessing that's why Yongmi wasn't invited." Yongguk tried to keep it together, he didn't like lying any to the boys, to his own family.

"Why would he even know who Eun Ah is?" Yongguk was getting tired with the how every conversation that the two of them had about Eun Ah ended with Himchan's possessive tone.

"Probably the same reason that, that damn cop needed to have dinner with her so many ing times." There was only a limit to his patience and Himchan was starting to test it.

It took a while for the shock to register, he was positive that he had been discreet about it, but he wasn't surprised that Yongguk had caught on.

He was surprised, however, that he hadn't said anything about it until now. "Why should it matter? Are you jealous?"

Yongguk scoffed, "Jealous? No. I'm more concerned that you're the only person guarding her AND that she's spending an awful amount of time with a cop. A cop, that isn't working with us."

"Well don't worry because she hasn't gotten kidnapped yet."

Yongguk felt the burn on that one. He had never forgotten the time that Eun Ah was kidnapped and he still berated himself for messing up, but that didn't give Himchan the right to hold it over him.

"Why do you care so much that I'm taking her? How does any of this concern you?"

Himchan gritted his teeth