Areum plastered her back against the leather seat, hanging on to the seatbelt like it was the dearest thing in her life. Throwing occasional glances at Jongin then back at the road, she swore if she hadn't gone to the loo before heading out, she would've peed. Sehun's driving was crazy but Jongin's... There wasn't a word in the dictionary appropriate enough to describe how horrifying it was.

"Close your eyes."

"Huh?" she tilt her head to look at a crookedly smiling Jongin.

"If you're scared. Close your eyes." he said again, gesturing with his hand to his eyes making Areum protest violently since she cared more about his hands on the steering wheel. At least that way she'd be safer. Right?

"How far is it? Are we about to reach?" she asked in a squeaky voice, moving her chin closer to her neck.

"Almost."

"Thank God." Areum sighed, relieved .

Jongin chuckled, passing a wink at the pale looking girl beside him. "No... Thank me."

"I don't even know what to look for." Areum said as she stood frozen at one place, staring at the huge board that said 'Burberry'. "This is an expensive brand... I can't--" her words got cut short as she felt a shove behind her.

"Come on." Jongin smiled. Something he did often, Areum realized. It was so contrasting with his image she first perceived when she first saw him. "I'll check it out with you."

"Okay."

A long, excruciating 3 hours later, they reached the lingerie store, where Areum persisted she'd go alone.

"You'll need my opinion." Jongin smirked as he insisted to tag along to Areum's dismay. Holding all the paper bags in his toned arms.

"32-C" Jongin said to the attendant as they stood in front if the full length mirror; scrutinizing Areum's body. "Show everything you have."

After the attendant turned around to collect the pieces. Areum stared at Jongin. Who replied with a cool shrug. "It's a gift."

Areum scoffed but a laugh followed soon after. It had been such a long time since she'd laughed that it sounded foreign even to her own ears.

After selecting a handful of items, they strut back to the car, throwing all the bags into the trunk, since a car like Jongin's didn't have back seats.

"Thanks for today." Areum said sincerely as they drove back towards Sehun's apartment. Her apartment.

Jongin returned the gesture with a curt nod, making sure to drive slower since Areum had spent at least 10 minutes barfing in the wash room as soon as they reached the mall.

"Oh, don't even mention it." Jongin grinned. "You're about to be married to my best friend. I owe you at least this much."

Jongin hadn't realized what he'd said, it only occurred to him when he noticed Areum staring at the road ahead with a blank expression, face all drained of color.

"Hey--"

"I'm going to marry whom?" her tone suggested utter confusion and annoyance.

Jongin stayed silent knowing he'd breached the code of secrecy. Sehun probably hadn't spoken to her of it.

"Stop the car, please." Areum said in a quiet tone. Pressing her hands against her temples. As if trying with all her might to not burst with anger.

"Look, th--"

"STOP. THE. CAR. NOW" The tires screeched against the asphalt, jerking their bodies forward. Unbuckling her seat belt in a quick, swift movement. Areum sped off on foot, blurring out all the cries of Jongin.

From what she knew....

She wasn't safe anywhere.

"There's a big problem Sehun." Kyungsoo said in a slightly shivering voice as he neared the younger boy's seat. "Jongin just called, since he said he couldn't reach yours."

"I forgot it at home." Sehun said, turning his eyes from the computer screen to his Hyung. "What'd he say?"

"Actually." Kyungsoo muttered. "I really think you should call him." handing his phone to the confused boy. "ASAP"

Raising his eyebrows but not posing a question, Sehun dialled Jongin's number with a quizzical look on his face. The exasperated voice behind the receiver confused him further.

"Sehun, H-Hey!" Jongin panted.

"What is it Jongin? I'm quite bus--"

"I lost Areum."

Without wasting another second, Sehun sprang up, dashing away from his office, startling a few employees and Kyungsoo himself.

"Where?" he barked through the phone, ripping the keys away from his pocket.

"Hongdae." came Jongin's reply. Not bothering to press the 'end call' button, Sehun revved his car, speeding away. If anything were to happen to Areum, he wouldn't forgive himself, neither would his father. She was his only bridge to mend his broken relationship with him.

"She doesn't have a phone."  Sehun said with clenched teeth. Although he was angry and pissed at his friend for not being able to keep her in his sight when all he had to do was accompany her while she shopped for some new things since he had some paper work to complete. Releasing an exhausted sigh, he knew he had to act professional and get his head straight and find her now before she went to the police or even worse, Changho's men. "We'll split, I'll take the left, you take the right. She was on foot so I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have gone too far."

Jongin nod silently as he slowly pulled out his phone and held it for his friend to see.

"What is this?" Sehun snapped, rolling his eyes. He wasn't in a mood to see photos at the moment. However he squint and took a better look at it to find a picture of Areum holding a thong with her index finger, sporting a disgusted expression.

"So you can spot her quicker." Jongin said, explaining his motif behind showing the photo. Since Areum didn't stand out from the crowd, literally. (standing just 165cm) Thankfully her neon green crop top and galaxy print jeans would make her a tad bit easier to spot. (Thanks to Sehun's collection of women's clothing he'd collected over the years through one-night stands.)

A teeny tiny bit confused as to why Jongin had a photo of Areum and why she was even holding a thong.  Sehun reluctantly brushed those thoughts away and shooed his friend away, tapping his watch as a gesture to hurry.

After searching around the area thrice, the two men met at their starting point without a certain girl beside either of them. Jongin scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably since he knew he was the root cause for what was happening although Sehun didn't say a word about it to him. Typical of Sehun. Even when he'd made the biggest mistake in the history of his career (if it can even be called one) by abducting Areum instead of Jung Hyorin , the slightly younger boy dismissed it and took the blame into his own hands. 

"She bolted." he started off, as he staggered a few steps behind when a herd of school kids ran past them in a jiffy.

"What?" Sehun walked closer, ping his leather jacket while dabbing his forehead with the other hand. He had hardly heard his friend over the blaring coming from one of the showrooms and worry in his mind. He couldn't just file a missi's report to the police because well, technically, Areum is a missing person and besides, if he'd even do that, his father would find out... Areum's father would find out. He just couldn't risk it.

"She bolted when I mentioned about the marriage." Jongin said, digging through his pocket it find his car keys. "I thought she knew."

Sehun didn't bother to reply as he nod his head towards Jongin's monochrome Bugatti Veyron and urged him to head back home.

"No, we need to find her." Jongin insisted as he stopped Sehun by holding his fore arm. "I'm responsible for this. I won't be at rest until we do." he quietly added, to which Sehun nod understandingly.

"Give a call to Kyungsoo and Baekhyun. Tell them everything." Sehun said as he got into his black Lykan hyperspot, shoving aside a few teenage boys hovering over his car, admiring it. "I need to go back to the apartment and see if she's left something by which we can trace her down."

What Sehun didn't expect was seeing Areum crouching outside the apartment door with tears streaming down her face.

Hurriedly, Sehun rushed to her side, kneeling as he cupped her chin and watched her wince as he grazed his finger over the cut on her right cheek.

"What happened?"

Sehun didn't get his reply but instead found himself being crushed by an embrace. His eyes widened at her action. Unsure of how to proceed and comfort her, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulder whispering a continuous repetition of  'It's okay's and 'You're safe now'.

Swiftly he swung her body up by snaking his arms under her neck and knees. Her face buried under the crook of his neck. Sehun quietly wondered what had happened that she was so shaken. He wasn't a fool to press on about what had happened if she wasn't ready to tell him yet. Right now, all he needed to do was make her realize she'd be safe with him and mend her wounds.

Sehun quietly kneeled before her, sanitizing the wound before applying the ointments over the gashes around her knees, calves and arms. Even her sole was swollen and cut from running barefoot.

Areum winced when the acetone rubbed over the cut on her cheek but made no sounds of protest. Hugging the pillow tighter to her chest, she held her breath and let go when Sehun placed a band aid over it, saying that it didn't need to be stitched since the cut wasn't too deep. Luckily.

"Does it hurt?"

She shook her head but avoided eye contact. Eyeing him from her peripheral view as he picked up his phone and swiped it.

"She's with me." he said.

Must be Jongin. She thought apologetically. But then again, she didn't think she'd run into those bunch of hooligans, swinging their daggers and guns at her. She swore she saw one of them aim the gun right at her, luckily she ducked and escaped the alley they chased her into. Thank goodness, it had another exit way.

"Yeah, drop them off later. Right now, I'm busy." he said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he proceeded to click the 'end call' button.

"W-was that Jongin?" Areum asked timidly as she watched Sehun put the items back into the first aid box.

"Yes."

"Where is he?" she asked again, noticing her voice get louder than just a whisper. "Nothing happened to him right?"

Sehun stopped whatever he was doing and turned around to meet pale looking Areum, hair damp from the sweat. Top and jeans torn and tattered from struggling, he assumed. Yet, she had the decency to ask if anything happened to Jongin. The one whom he'd kept in charge of her, not the other way around.

"He's fine now. Although he was worried earlier." he supplied as he resumed his work and quickly put the box away to face her.

"I'm sorry..."

"Why?" he asked. He didn't know of any reason why she had to be sorry.

"This wouldn't have happened if I'd stayed with Jongin like you told me to. I-I'm sorry." grazing her fingers over the bandages on her arms, she muttered softly.

"What happened Areum?" he asked instead of replying to her apology. He had to know what happened. After all, she'd be his wife in a few week's time. Fantastic. He thought sarcastically, but quickly pushed the thought away. "Do you remember the faces of the people who attacked you?"

"I-I don't know." she shook her head, hugging her knees to her chest. "After I got out of the car, I ran since I heard Jongin calling after me. I... I don't remember which way I went but, somehow, i felt some people following me. I-I thought it was Jongin.. But when I turned around, I saw a glimpse of two guys whom I'd seen before. I mean, when I was at the mall with Jongin, they were there too." she gulped. "I pretended to not notice and took quicker steps only to realize there were more than just 2, there were about...." she wondered for a while. "... 7 or 8 of them. I panicked and, I ran."

Sehun moved closer to her side when he noticed her trembling hands he placed his palm on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before continuing to ask questions. "Then what happened?"

"It was so crowded. I tried to run back to where I'd left Jongin but, I didn't remember the way. I, I was so confused Sehun." she muttered helplessly. "A-As soon as I reached the end of the street, I took a turn towards an alley thinking I'd hide.

They saw me. I ducked when I heard gunshots, I... Heard one of them say not shoot anymore, but they still did. When the footsteps neared I was sure I was going to die, but I noticed one of them place his finger on his lips as he motioned with his eyes to run. Which I did--"

"Wait!" Sehun interrupted, holding his hand up in the air. "One of them helped you escape?"

Areum nod numbly. "But it wasn't for long until another one of them grabbed me from behind and... And I fell to the ground." she said in a shaky voice. Sehun pursed his lips as he listened intently. "He... He stepped on my head and... And S-Sehun..." she said his name so softly, turning around to face him with glassy eyes. "People stood there, watching as I cried for help!" she exclaimed, anger and pain evident in her trembling voice. "They just stood there."

"Hey" Sehun slowly released his grip from her shoulder and reached upwards to cup her cheeks. "Maybe they didn't know what to do." he said a lame excuse for the people he didn't even know although he himself despised them to death.

"I would've helped." Areum insisted. "I... Even if I'd die doing it. I'd still help." she murmured, tears flowing down her cheeks. "That's what we did. My mother and I. We helped each other." she added, which raised Sehun's eyebrows, but he didn't ask. It was probably something to do with her father.

"You should rest Areum." he said instead as he wiped the tear strains with his thumb. "Sleep. Ok?"

"I..."

"Shh-" Sehun stood up, holding out his hand. Which she took reluctantly, but well, what mattered was she took it. "I won't let anything happen to you again."

"How's she?" Jongin asked as he entered Sehun's apartment with Kyungsoo following him from behind, both holding all the stuff they had purchased earlier.

"She'll be fine." Sehun said as he watched the two of his friends place the paper bags onto the floor and settle themselves on the couch, with the sun kissed boy looking particularly disturbed beyond belief. "Did you find anything?" he asked as his eyes drifted to the wide-eyed boy who'd already placed a file on the coffee table and slid it towards him.

"I hacked into the street cameras and got 5 out of 8's faces. I ran them through face recognition." he said as he watched Sehun open the file and read through the data. "They're Changho's men."

"Anything else?" Sehun asked as he flipped the pages. He already knew it was Areum's father's work, what he wanted to really know was what had happened with Areum and her family that the mere mention of her father would send her zoning out. And most importantly, how'd he find Areum. Why?
After all these years. Why now?

"It was really difficult for me to crack through the court files since everything regarding the Kim vs Son case was confidential." Kyungsoo said, reaching for a folded paper in his front jeans pocket. "This is all I could get." he said as he flicked the paper towards Sehun, who caught it swiftly. 

Unfolding the stapled paper, Sehun felt Jongin slide beside him, his chin leaning on his right shoulder as he too read on the contents.

The respondant, Mr. Kim Changho, President of  KC & co. Enterprise has been allegedly accused of mentally and physically abusing his wife, Ms. Son Taehee and daughter, Son Areum. (note: the family name has been changed after the finalization of the divorce and sole child custody on the appellant's part.)

The appellant (Mrs. Kim) has given a statement stating that Mr. Kim has been ually assaulting her for the past 8 years ever during their marriage and has threatened to kill her if she spoke a word about it to her family or media.

Appellant also provided an audio tape recording which proved Mr. Kim's constant verbal abuse and threatening to his wife, blackmailing the victim of 'chopping' their daughter's head off if she ever spilled the words about his abuse to anyone.

Record 4

Advocate Dr. Song Siwan (Mrs. Kim's representative) has also revealed that during their private consultation period with Mrs. Kim. Mr. Kim had also posed a threat to him, demanding him to back off or he'd have regret his decision to involve himself into their 'Personal family matters'.

"Christ!" Jongin exclaimed while Sehun flipped the page over; too engrossed to realize what Jongin had just said.

Date 14 December 2002

Seoul High Court

Kim family case adjourned due to the absence of respondent, Ms. Son Taehee due to health complications.

March 8th 2003

Case adjourned for the next month.

April 11th 2003

Kim family case has been nullified due to the data loss of evidences on their part and most importantly, the demise of Ms. Son Taehee, prime appellant on the 25th of March 2003.

"So?" Jongin said as he straightened himself and stretch his arm behind Sehun. "They didn't do anything?"

"Pretty sure they were the ones responsible for the damage of the evidences." Kyungsoo supplied as he grabbed the jug of water and poured a glass for himself. "It was obvious." taking a sip of his water. "Only Changho can manipulate the court and media like that."

"That's it?" Sehun scoff as he closed the file. "The case ended like that?"

"From all the information I could gather?" Kyungsoo placed his cup back on the coaster and nod. "Yeah. Besides, if he was sent to jail or something. We would've known." Kyungsoo replied, brushing his thighs as he stood up. "I need to check up on Chanyeol. He and Baekhyun had a fight, again." he waved, leaving the two younger ones to sit in a quiet company before Jongin broke the silence.

"I should've been more careful." he said. Unconsciously playing with the fringe on the cushions.

"Don't." Sehun raised his hands to stop the boy from more self blaming. "She's fine. There's nothing to worry about." he stood up from his seat to check up on the resting girl only to halt and turn when his friend spoke again.

"You can't really fall for her. You know that right?"

A chuckled escaped Sehun's mouth as he waved a dismissive hand towards his friend.

"That'll never happen."

An:

I've never written long chaptered stories so I'm really worried how it's going. -..-

Care to let me know?