His hand trembled slightly as he set the can on the table. His leg throbbed madly, and whenever he moved, the pain would be almost unbearable. But he never showed it. Having a weakness meant he would never have what he desired the most, his father wouldn’t approve of him screaming in pain. Taking a deep breath and nodding to no one, he moved alone on the sofa, his leg falling to the floor, hitting it hard. Wincing, he held it with his hands, slowly putting it back on the table, letting out soft, silent pants as it throbbed, making him insane. Youngbae looked at him and let out a sigh, extending his hand. Jiyong looked at it and smiled while shaking his head no and took the painkillers.

“Why the long face? Did someone died?” Jiyong said as he swallowed his pills. Youngbae let out a sigh as he continued to look at him, his face the epitome of worry.

“Are you sure you want to tell her the truth? Tell her everything?” Youngbae said. Jiyong smiled and nodded, grabbing a glass of water that was on the coffee table.

“I have to, it’s the only way to mend my mistake.” Jiyong said. Youngbae bit his inner cheeks as he nodded, grabbing Jiyong’s empty glass of water.

“But not everything, everything, right?”

“I don’t think I will, I am never good at being honest.” Jiyong said with a soft laugh, which made him wince in pain. Youngbae quickly touched his shoulder, and Jiyong shook his head quickly, he didn’t wanted to be seen as a weak person, he couldn’t let himself be seen as a weak person. “I’m alright.”

“You’re not, and you can complain if you want, Jiyong.” Youngbae said. “And, about the truth, just don’t tell her you’re the heir to the Kwon’s dynasty, neither that you work for it.”

“Wouldn’t that give me some credit? I’m important, I got the money and the looks.” Jiyong said with a smile, but Youngbae just frowned.

“You never know who might be at your footstep, Jiyong. Also, you don’t know her that well, she could be an informant for the Lees for all we know.”

“I doubt she is, she’s too pure, too honest to know any of this.” Jiyong said, his mind drifting to the night at the hospital, where she had run out, completely freaked out by his demeanor. “I don’t think she has any part of this.”

“Still, it’s better to be prepared.” Youngbae said. He lifted his head as the bell door rang. Jiyong smiled widely as he tried to stand, only to frown as his leg pulsed crazily, due to the effort made. Biting his lower lip, he looked at Youngbae, who smiled and nodded. “I’ll go.”

“I owe you.” Jiyong said and Youngbae laughed, walking towards the door.

“You have no idea how much.” He said. Jiyong moved as much as his body allowed him, looking at the door. Youngbae opened it, and Jiyong’s smile widened when he saw Chaerin standing shyly at it. “Hello Chaerin, come in.”

“Thank you.” She said softly and walked in. Jiyong smiled and lifted his hand, waving at her. She smiled crookedly and bowed her head, waving her hand a little bit. She seemed different, her face showed sadness, fear, and Jiyong could tell, there was something tormenting her. He had watched her that much, had studied her enough to tell whenever she was feeling uneasy, uncomfortable or fine. And that moment, when their eyes met, he knew she wasn’t ok.

“Hey!” Jiyong said, again, trying to stand up to no avail, his body wasn’t cooperating with him. Whimpering a bit, he sat back, his leg throbbing. She widened her eyes and rushed towards him, helping him lift his leg so it would lie on top of the table.

“Don’t put any pressure on it, if it gets swollen, you might reopen your wound.”

“That would be something, the bone was sick.” Jiyong said with faked amazement and she narrowed her eyes.

“Is this why you called me? Because I really had a start yesterday with you all ed up and full of blood and I don’t want to see that again.” She said, clearly pissed. Jiyong smirked and looked at her, feeling flattered. She continued to look at him with intensity, making his heart skip a beat.

“Is that because you care for me?” He said and she widened her eyes, taken aback. He snickered as she took a deep breath, her neck tendons showing.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You love me.”

“No I don’t.” She said, making Jiyong feign being hurt. He put a hand over his chest and gasped. She jumped slightly, then narrowed her eyes again, still glaring at him.

“Now I feel offended.” Jiyong said, and by his side, he heard a soft cough.

“I think I will be at my room, scream if you need to pee.” Youngbae said and walked out of the living room. Jiyong smiled and nodded.

“Too discreet.” Jiyong murmured and Chaerin chuckled softly, softening her face. Jiyong took that as an opportunity and held her hand. Her not moving it away reassured him of her, of whatever it was going on between them. “Care to take a sit.”

“I am not staying long.” She said and he nodded.

“I wasn’t hoping you would.” He said and she nodded, sitting next to him. He let out a sigh and stared at her. Her face, too beautiful for him to take. It was even awkward to look at her, like a miracle or a dream in front of you, one you cannot stop looking at simply because it doesn’t seems real. “I missed you.”

“I was only away for a day.” She said in a scoff.

“And a day was enough for making me miss you terribly.”

“You said you wanted to fix things, what things?” She said and he nodded.

“About how I acted at the hospital, I wanted to fix that.” He said. Chaerin looked down at her hands and nodded. He could feel her uneasiness, almost as he felt his own feelings, and it killed him. If anything, he never wanted her to feel that way with him. On the contrary, he wanted to protect her. Since the first time he saw her, completely clueless at the company, he wanted to protect her.

“I do have a few questions.” She said. “But I would like to hear your say first.” He was starting to feel his heart racing, scared of her reaction, of her neglecting him and abandoning him forever. He wouldn’t be able to stand that anymore.

“My say?” He echoed, and she looked up, her eyes boring into his eyes. He could almost get lost into them, so pure, so innocent, yet so broken, so tortured, so tormented. The faint bruise in her cheek made him wince inside, remembering the fist he had to put in her face. It still hurt him, even if it was to protect her, it hurt him greatly.

“Who are you?” She asked, her curious eyes widening slightly as she looked at him. He let out a soft sigh and moved his hand closer to hers, gracing his fingers with hers. Her soft skin called to him, his body longing for hers. A desire of holding her between his arms and never letting go grew inside his chest, making it almost impossible to concentrate.

“Kwon Jiyong.” He said softly, controlling his voice, that he could feel, was about to break. She nodded, holding his hand, squeezing it.

“Who is Kwon Jiyong?”

“Who do you think he is?” He asked, his voice almost a whisper. She gulped and looked down, at their intertwined hands.

“I don’t want to guess.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She said, then looked at him. “It hurts to think I’m right.”

“What are you thinking?” He asked, his hand going to her cheek. She lowered her head, biting her lower lip as she clearly fought with her words. He wanted to hug her, to tell her everything was ok, but he couldn’t move, not because of the pain, he had forgotten about that already, but because he was afraid he would hurt her, again.

“You’re a killer…?” She said, her tone wary, afraid, her eyes moving quickly as she looked at him. He saw fear in them, a fear that killed him inside, slowly, burning every limb on his body, every cell within his flesh.

“I am.” He softly said. Her eyes widened, her body froze, and he could feel how her hand slightly moved away from his. It killed him, it killed him slowly inside. It was the first time he felt ashamed of his truth, of his life, of his job, of everything about him. He was ashamed of himself, just because she feared who he was. “But I am not a vicious one.”

“You kill people?” She said out of breath and he nodded softly. Biting his lip as a tear glistened in her eye. She was scared.

“I am a mercenary. I kill under contract.” He said, not taking his eyes away from hers, trying to show her his sincerity in every word he spoke. “The people I kill, are usually people that hurt other, and, in some way, kill others.”

“But it’s still killing.” She said and he nodded.

“If it was my choosing, Chaerin, I wouldn’t do it.”

“Why you do it?” She asked, her eyes glistening with tears of fear. He bit his lip as he continued to look into her eyes.

“I was raised like this. This is who I am, who I have always been.”

“Can’t you leave it?” She asked and he smiled, crooking his head slightly. Her eyes looked so innocent, like a little girls asking for your name, asking for something that was yours. He looked down and let out a sigh.

“No one can’t ever leave this.”

“Why not? If it’s a job, you should be able to quit it.” She said, now holding his hand tight. He looked at it and smiled again, then looked at her, carefully putting his hand on her cheek. She didn’t flinched, neither did she moved away, just looked at him with wide, hoping eyes.

“It’s not that easy.” He said softly. “Things are not that easy. But if you’re afraid of me hurting you, then don’t. I can never hurt you, and neither will I allow you to be hurt.”

“I am not afraid to be hurt, I am afraid of losing.” She said. That caught him off-guard, and he had to blink a few times to register what she just said. His heart jumped slightly, and he had to hold in his breath to avoid collapsing in front of her.

“Losing?”

“You kill… that’s why you were drenched in blood that night, right?” She asked, and he nodded.

“I had a job, and it was terribly messy.” He said smiling, clearly amused remembering the man in the woods. Her face looked horrified, and he cleared his throat, getting serious. “I hadn’t expected you to be there, I was in a hurry because of that suitcase. I am sorry I stormed in like that. I must’ve frighten you.”

“You didn’t.” She said. He frowned. “And neither did you frightened me when you nearly killed that man in the traffic. I am not afraid of you.”

“Then why did you run off from the hospital?” He asked her, remembering her face, an image that haunt him that night, that long, eternal night.

“I was angered.” She said, then looked down. “I can’t say I have had the most pleasant memories with killers.”

“Mercenaries, me at least.”

“I loath them, I have lost so much because of them.” She said, and looked at him. For a moment, he felt afraid she might tell him she loathed him, but her actions totally shocked him. With a caring smile and a soft gesture, she caressed his face, her thumb slightly touching his lips. “But I can’t never hate you, anyone but you.”

“I sincerely hope so.” He said and she nodded, now holding his face in both her hands. He looked at her with wide eyes as she moved closer to him.

“I think I love you, Kwon Jiyong.” She said softly. He gulped, holding both her arms, stopping her from moving anymore.

“Don’t joke with me, please.” He said, almost begging. She smiled and shook her head, now caressing his neck, his cheeks and forehead.

“I am not joking with you, I love you, for real.” She said. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he felt a hot tear forming at the rim of his eyes. “That’s why I’m so scared. Not of you, but of losing you. I can’t lose anymore, I can’t.”

“You won’t lose me,” He murmured as he caressed her face, her neck, holding her hair as they both caressed each other. “I will never leave your side. I love you.” She smiled widely as she moved closer to kiss him. He smiled, then stopped, pushing her slightly away, holding her face in place. “I’ve got to warn you, loving me is risking it all.”

“I have nothing else to lose.” She said and he shook his head, now holding her shoulders.

“It means being in constant danger, and if anyone finds out we’re together, it will mean people will want you dead. Are you willing to accept that? I can leave one day and never come back, can you endure it?” He said, and she nodded, now holding the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

“I would never agree with that,” She said, her lips too close to his. “But I can’t agree with being away from you either.” He smiled and she closed the gap between their lips. He closed his eyes, his heart beating fast as she hugged him, pressing his wounds, hurting him everywhere, but he was far too happy to care. Nothing hurt at all, the only feeling was her kissing him, her being with him, her accepting him. That was enough for him to heal completely.

“Don’t ever leave my side, ever.” He murmured softly as he slowly pushed her on the sofa, caressing her body as their lips continued to touch. She smiled, hugging his neck as she shook her head.

“Never.” She murmured and he smiled, kissing her hungrily. Nothing could stop him now, not even the pain or the incapacity of moving completely, she was there, she knew everything and she still accepted him as he was. His money, his fame, his life meant nothing compared to the feeling he had at the moment, he was, finally, completely full inside. His hole was now fulfilled with something much greater, with something he valued and something he cared for. She was there with him, for him. 

Gily's Notes: I am so sorry! I know I am super late with my updates, but Gily's got a life that demands too much time right now... It's hard, but, it will be life... lol!

But don't worry, I will always find time for this honey!

Happy Reading ~

Gily ♥