all around the world.

Two years later.

“Hey, Y/N. Your article about the Daegu money-laundering scandal was a hit!”, Minho said excitedly to you.

You were sitting in your shared but big office with Minho. Both of you were big names at Seoul Times now. After your article about Kevin Bang, Mr. Park saw your potential and gave you a promotion. That meant that you were working closely with Minho and were doing investigative research for your article. In the last two years, you have exposed many scandals and were awarded an award, especially after breaking Kevin’s human trafficking ring.

Kevin is now in prison and is paying for his crimes. You were more successful than ever and you did achieve the recognition you deserved through your big article about Chan’s father. Talking about Chan: After your breakup with him, you didn’t hear anything from him. He just sent you a text where he apologized but that was all. You didn’t hear anything after that either. It was as if he didn’t exist anymore. He went undercover.

To be honest, it still hurt you because you never really got over him. You missed him but it got better over time. You were still angry at him and you would probably punch him if you saw Chan. Okay, probably not. But still.

It felt like you had everything you wanted but you knew that a small part of you still wanted Chan. You shook your head at that thought and looked at Minho. “Oh yeah. Thanks to you the article was a hit. We did a decent job there, huh.”, you said, complimenting him at the same time.

He smiled at you. “Yeah. I just wish I wouldn’t go to New York so soon.”

You hit his arm. “Idiot. This is an opportunity you can’t miss! I’ll be alright on my own, even though I will miss my partner.”, you said. You felt sad after calling him your partner because Chan was your detective partner at some point. Things change.

Minho got an amazing opportunity as well in New York. Things worked out perfectly for him after the big article and he was going to leave soon.

“Yeah… we were a good fit, huh.”, Minho said, giving you a side glance with sad smile. You did notice how Minho acted around you. At one point he even asked if it would be weird to go on a date with him. Maybe, if things with Chan never happened, then you would have given Minho a chance. But it was too early and honestly, you didn’t see him that way.

“Yeah, as coworkers we were a good fit.”, you told him with a deeper meaning behind it. “It’s getting late, I should head out now.”, you said as you put on your coat.

It was cold season again and you knew that it was going to snow soon. You went to your car and unlocked it. Ever since Chan left you were driving on your own to work. The first two weeks it was very weird because once you waited for him to come but then you realized that he was gone.

You started your engine and sighed. Then you started driving. You should probably visit your parents too. It has been a week since you last saw them. It had been two years since your parents got compensation money for the wrongful imprisonment of your father. The newspapers wrote all about it and with the money, your father opened the new restaurant with your name. Your father’s name got cleared and a lot of people from the past came forward and apologized for their wrong judgment about your father. With the attention from the press, the restaurant was booming and finally, your father could smile again.

Everything was coming together for you and your family. You were deep in thought and before you could process what you were doing your car came to an abrupt stop and you hit your head on the steering wheel. “Ouch…”, you said as you rubbed your forehead. Then you noticed that you, in fact, did not notice the red light and drove in the car in front of you. Your eyes widened at the sight of the car because it looked hella expensive. Shit.

You quickly got out of the car. You really couldn’t afford to pay for such a car. The driver didn’t get out yet when you were already at his door.

Then you froze. The man got out of the car and just looked at you with wide eyes. He was wearing a fancy beige coat with a white turtleneck under it. His black ripped jeans fit him perfectly and his hair, now blonde, was slicked back perfectly. You would recognize his beautiful face from a thousand miles.

Chan.

What the hell.

♥.

2 years ago.

After Chan had left Korea, he felt horrible. Horrible that he had to leave you and break up with you just like that. He had just lost everything and only had the little inheritance money that his mom left him. Okay, it wasn’t “little” per se because it was still half a million dollars. However, he couldn’t stay at his dad’s house anymore. He needed a break from everything.

He still had his childhood home in Australia and decided to live there for the time being. His neighbor was Jeongin who Chan knew from when he was younger. Chan actually used to tutor him in English because Jeongin didn’t live in Australia and before he could properly learn the language his parents moved back to Korea. Jeongin came back to Australia to go to university there. It was a nice surprise because he had someone he actually knew.

The first few months Chan was in a deep depression. He changed his number and basically went undercover to be left alone by annoying journalists and reporters. Jeongin tried to cheer him up as much as he could but Chan just had no motivation to do anything. The families his father harmed got their justice but Chan was left with the dirt his father left.

Then he remembered your words.

You are not your father, Chan.

He had no reason to feel like this. Especially if he thought about you, he knew that your family got the justice they wanted. But Chan was left with no family and the one person who cared about him was you. And he pushed you away too. So, after three months of doing nothing and hiding, he decided to do something decent with his life. He wanted to do things that his father didn’t do. He wanted to start a clean business, with no dirty money. The inheritance of his mother was a good way to start investing.

Jeongin walked into Chan’s house with the key Chan gave him and looked at him, surprised. “You’re up and you’re making breakfast? I didn’t have to wake you?”, Jeongin said, still baffled.

“Jeongin, you were right. I can’t just stay here and do nothing. I think it’s time for me to move on and start something great.”, Chan said, smiling at the boy while cooking his eggs.

“Woah. What happened to you?”, the younger boy said as he looked at Chan weirdly. “Did something happen?”

“No… I just thought about everything that happened to me. I guess I was depressed about the fact that I didn’t really have a family now. But there are greater things in this world and everything happens for a reason.”, Chan said as he puts the eggs on his plate. “And this is my destiny and I need to change my life around now.”

“That’s great! What will you do?”, Jeongin asked curiously.

“Well…”

♥.

Current time

You froze after seeing Chan. He looked so different but at the same time, seeing him gave you that familiar fuzzy feeling inside. Damn it. Before, you were thinking about punching him but right now, your body was in shock and you didn’t know how to react.

The first thing that came out of your mouth was: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit your car!”, you said. It was an automatic response but it wasn’t what you wanted to say in the first place.

Chan was just as frozen as you were but was confused after you talked. “It’s… It’s fine, I guess.”, he told you, his cheeks were slightly reddened from the cold. Or was it because of you?

“I can pay for it… Yeah. Uh, you can give me your number and then I can leave.”, you quickly said, wanting to leave the situation as fast as possible. As much as you wanted to hug him or even kiss him, you knew you couldn’t do that.

“Y/N.”, he finally breathed out. “The car is not important. It’s just a small scratch.”

Your heart fluttered after hearing him say your name. “I can’t do this.”, you said, your hands shaking. You turned around and wanted to get in your car but you were stopped by Chan grabbing your wrist softly.

“Let’s talk. Please?”, Chan pleaded while looking into your eyes. His beautiful brown eyes made you weak every time.

You huffed. “Okay, 5 minutes.”, you said.

You parked your cars and then went to a café. It was the same café Chan took you to when he hit your car first. It felt weird being here again. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay.”, Chan assured you.

“I can pay for myself, thanks.”, you told him. After your promotion, you did not really struggle with money anymore, thankfully.

“You must be confused… I’m back.”, Chan said while looking down at his coffee.

“Yeah. You disappeared from the surface of the earth.”, you said, giving him a spiteful look. You didn’t want to be mean to him but he hurt you. You couldn’t forget the way he broke up with you.

“I worked on myself while I was in Australia. You know, I own a book publishing company now… That is why I’m here. I planned something. I actually arrived a week ago. I wanted to call you but honestly… I was scared. Look at you, you’re not even looking at my face. You must hate me.”, Chan said in a sad tone.

No, I could never hate you.

“You left me on my own when I needed you.”, you told him with a cold tone in your voice. “I had terrible nightmares after everything but you… you just left. Thankfully Minho and Jisung were there.”

Chan was fiddling with his fingers. He was nervous and couldn’t look you in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I feel terrible. I have had a tough time as well, Y/N.”

“Yeah, you should feel terrible! We could have helped each other. I could have been there for you but you chose to push me away.”

“That’s why I’m here. I’m here to fix things, Y/N. Please, you need to give me a chance. Let’s talk, please.”, Chan looked at you with a genuine expression.

You scoffed. “It’s too late for that. Do you think I can just forget about the fact that you broke my heart?! I don’t think so.”, you got up and took your purse. “I want you to be happy. But I don’t think it will be with me.”, you then left the café.

Chan buried his face in his hands. “I guess I deserve this.”, Chan said in defeat.

When you arrived at home and saw Jisung, you immediately broke down in tears while Jisung was consoling you. You were starting to feel better, to get over him, and then he showed up again.

♥.

Chan sighed heavily while driving around the city. He was taking in the places he used to visit which brought back many memories. Memories he had with you. He saw the tteobbokki stand where you convinced him that they were the best in town. You were right back then.

He then drove by his old house where the treehouse stood. Chan didn’t have anything left from his father but he managed to buy his old villa with the treehouse. Luckily, the treehouse was still there.

Chan parked in front of the house and entered the garden with the treehouse. He looked up and remembered the first time he took you there. How you had listened to him even though you probably didn’t like him much back then. Chan went up to the treehouse and found the picture of his mother and him.

He smiled sadly at the picture. “I fucked up, mom…”, Chan said with a shaky voice as he sat down on the ground. “The one person who actually loved me doesn’t want to see me anymore. I wish you here, mom.”, Chan whispered and for the first time since he arrived in Korea, he felt a tear slide down his face.

Then he spotted an old music player that his mom gave him when the treehouse was newly built. Chan got up and searched through some of the albums he had there. They were pretty old but he still liked to delve into some nostalgic music every now and then.

As Chan searched for music, he spotted an old cassette as well that had nothing written on it. Chan saw it for the first time and does not remember the cassette. He then put the cassette in the player.

His eyes widened as he heard the soft voice of his mother speaking through the speakers.

“My dear son, Chan. I know how much you love to listen to music and read your books in your treehouse. I made my friend make this cassette for you. This is a collection of my favorite songs. I don’t know how much time we have left, my baby… The doctors say it’s not looking good.”, Chan heard his mother say. She choked up a little and Chan could hear that his sick mother was incredibly sad. “I want you to remember me with this cassette and listen to it, whenever you feel sad or happy, or whenever you think about me and want to listen to my voice. I love you so much, Chan. If the day comes and we go our separate ways I want you to know that I will be watching over you. And I want you to never give up. Never give up on your dreams and fight for them. I love you.”

Chan was full-on crying now as he heard the tunes of I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis Presley playing after his mother’s warm and wise words. He laid down and listened to the playlist of her favorite songs and with every song Chan connects a memory to the current song. Her words rang in his head.

Never give up on your dreams and fight for them.

He couldn’t let you just leave his life like that. He needed to fight for you because he knew that you still loved him. You were punishing him and maybe even moving on but Chan was ready to fight for the two of you.

“I wished for you to be here and you were, mom.”, Chan whispered happily.

He was in Seoul for a reason and it wasn’t only you. He had something to finish here.

♥.

The next day Chan found himself in front of your father’s restaurant. He took a deep breath before going in. Chan was relieved to see that your father had his restaurant back and that business was booming. Your family got justice and that helped Chan sleep at night.

He wouldn’t be able to live freely if your family still struggled to get by. Chan looked around and saw your father. Chan was anxious. What if your father didn’t want to see Chan? Your father didn’t recognize Chan at first due to his newly blonde hair. “Sir, you need to make a reservation. Maybe, tomorrow?”, your father said as he looked at the planner on the table.

“Mr. Y/L/N. It’s me, Chan! Don’t you recognize me?”, Chan said, trying to sound cheerful. He just hoped that your family didn’t hate him because he left.

Your father rubbed his eyes and then put on his glasses. “Oh my! You’re back! I thought you left for good to Australia?”, he walked around the counter and gave Chan a warm hug. “You had it tough, young man.”, your father told him, referring to Kevin Bang.

“Wow… I thought you wouldn’t be so happy to see me.”, Chan told him honestly.

“Chan, I got my passion and my restaurant back thanks to you. What happened between you and my daughter is not my business. I told you already that you are like family to us. I’m happy that you decided to visit!”, your father happily said and gave Chan a chair to sit on in the back. “Are you alright? You know, because of your dad?”

“He isn’t my dad. I mean, I don’t call him that anymore. I was struggling but I am better. Honestly, Mr. Y/L/N, I am here because of something that matters deeply to me. First of all, I would like to invite you to a gala that is going to be on Saturday. It is a charity gala but there aren’t going to be only rich people. It’s going to be open for anyone who wants to donate. This is my way of giving things back. Things that my father took away from many people.”, Chan started and handed him an invitation. “You would be one of my honorable guests. You and your family.”

Your father smiled at him brightly. “What’s the cause?”

“I’m going to donate the money to many orphanages and especially children protection services. You know to prevent things like human trafficking, kidnapping, and so on. I am also going to make everything transparent. I will reveal the exact amount of money that people donated and I’m going to publish where the money went to. With receipts from the organizations that I work with.”, Chan told him while fiddling with his fingers nervously. Your father could hear in his voice how important this cause was to him.

“You can be proud of yourself, Chan. This is amazing. I think I know why you’re here. You want me to convince Y/N to attend?”, your father figured it out before Chan could ask him. Chan was thankful that he did.

“That would be nice. I actually met her yesterday and it didn’t go well. She didn’t want to talk to me or even look at my face. I have many things to tell her… she doesn’t give me a chance, though. I can understand why.”, Chan sighed and looked pleadingly at your father. “Can you do that for me?”

“You can count on me.”, your father Byungho assured him.

♥.

Saturday Evening

“Mom, why are you making me wear a dress? I thought this was just a dinner at a restaurant?”, you complained to your mother. Your whole family was dressed up as if they were going to a photo shooting.

“You’re asking so many questions!”, your mother scolded you while spraying a bit of hairspray on your hair. “Okay, we’re done. Now, let’s go, your father is waiting in the car.”

It was a totally weird situation. Yesterday, your father called you that there was an important dinner at some restaurant and that the whole family had to attend. Funnily, Jisung and Minho were also going. You really didn’t understand but you didn’t question it because your family did tend to have spontaneous plans pretty often.

Your mom forced you to get ready at her house because she was worried that you would show up with jeans. There is nothing wrong with jeans?! Well, now you were in the backseat squished between Minho and Jisung in the backseat. “Minho, isn’t your flight tomorrow? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m actually leaving on Monday. So, my flight is a day later. The original flight was canceled!”, Minho lied quickly. The cover couldn’t be blown yet.

“Oh, yay! One more day before you leave. But guys, I have a feeling that you’re hiding something from me? Is this another party for my last article? Because that one doesn’t really deserve a celebration.”

“Oh, hush. We’re here.”, your dad said and parked the car.

You felt shocked when you didn’t see a restaurant but a huge event. With Chan’s face on one of the posters. “Okay. No. I am leaving!”, you said in a hurry but felt a hand on your wrist.

Minho grabbed your wrist tightly. “Y/N. At least stay for an hour or so. Listen to what he has to say.”

Your father sighed and looked at you with sad eyes. “Y/N, we are honorable guests here. I know it’s not easy to see him but at least give him a chance to talk?”

Your eyes welled up with tears. You swallowed the lump in your throat and took a deep breath. “Okay. It’s a charity gala and there are many people here. I can just hide when I see him.”

You observed the event. There were as many people as the first gala you went to. You could never forget how you exposed Kevin and actually managed to put him in prison. Chan’s event on the other hand was very different from Kevin’s. You didn’t only see people in expensive dresses. You saw ordinary people, charity organizations and also children. Your eyes widened when you saw Soojin, one of the girls you had saved two years ago.

“Y/N!”, she shouted as she gave you a bone-crushing hug. “I can’t believe this. It’s been a while!”, she told you excitedly. She was an adult now and wasn’t in the orphanage anymore, she looked great. She looked like she was thriving actually.

“You look amazing, Soojin! Wow!”, you said, clearly not expecting them to be here.

Then Tiffany and Jisoo also saw you and hugged you tightly. They told you that Hailey got her sister out of the adoption system and that they live in the U.S. now. That is the reason why she wasn’t here today. “You girls look amazing. What have you been up to?”

“Well, I am working for a pretty nice company and Tiffany and Jisoo are studying at university!”, Soojin explained excitedly.

“Thanks to Chan, we had a chance in life. He helped out a lot.”, Tiffany explained with a content tone in her voice.

“He helped you? How?”, you asked, hearing these things for the first time.

“Well, he paid for literally everything. Due to his help, we were able to find some nice apartments and he also paid for university. He also kept in contact through e-mail. He is an amazing person.”, Jisoo explained, obviously talking very fondly of Chan.

You were shocked but in a good way. You were happy to hear these things about Chan. Shit, you started to thaw like a block of ice. “I am so happy that he helped you and that you guys are leading good lives now.”

“This wasn’t only thanks to Chan. This is also thanks to you, Y/N. Because you were so observant, you prevented us from worse things. We are thankful.”, Tiffany said, wiping a tear from her face. “You were there with us. You protected us.”

For the first time in forever, you felt validated for what you did. You saw three bright and smart women standing in front of you. You did that with Chan and it felt amazing. You gave them another hug and then went back to your family who was sitting at the reserved table.

You sat down next to Minho. “Did you cry?”, Minho whispered in your ear.

“Don’t ask.”, you sniffed silently. “I’m fine!”

It was very shocking to see this event. This is totally different from anything you have encountered before. From the brochure on your table, you found out that he was raising money for child protection, especially in orphanages. He didn’t need to do that. He could have just stayed in Australia without thinking about these things ever again. But he didn’t. He came back. He helped the girls, the orphanages.

Suddenly the lights went out and the lights on the stage shone brightly. Chan entered the stage with a bright smile on his face. Your heart skipped a beat after seeing him in a tux and slicked-back hair. He looked dashing as he stood there. He made you feel all these things just by looking at him.

“Hello! I am happy that so many people showed up to support this cause. Two years ago, horrible things about my father were exposed. At the time I was very overwhelmed to hear these things. To find out about young girls that weren’t protected from the system. And that the cause behind this was my family. I left for Australia but slowly started to build my own business to support and protect the people my father harmed. I am going to donate 5 million dollars to children who need protection from these horrible things. The money will also go to women who escaped from human trafficking rings. Unlike Kevin, I will be transparent and open about where the money is going. You can look it up at any time on our website. I am also going to let the organizations inform you more. They have small stands on our venue if you are interested in donating!”, Chan told the audience and smiled dashingly. “I came back to Korea to fix everything that was damaged due to my father. My company is building more orphanages with strict security guidelines for the children’s safety and we are also building safe houses for people who are in danger. With your donation we can make these things happen faster.”, Chan explained everything thoroughly.

“But before we start the real event, I want to honor one person with this event.”, Chan announced.

You felt your heartbeat quicken. You had a feeling where this was going and you just knew that you would be crying again this evening. Jisung, Minho, and your family were now staring at you.

“Without Y/N Y/L/N I wouldn’t be standing here today. I would probably attend insincere galas and my father would continue his dirty business. This event is for Y/N. You might know her as the successful journalist of Seoul Times. Her investigative spirit made me realize that my father is a scumbag. Together we found out about his illegal business and I also found out that her family was a victim of my father as well. The Y/L/N family are my honorable guests here today, especially Y/N. So, cheers to her!”

Everyone clapped and cheered loudly for Chan and then the lights went on again. You saw Chan approaching your table. Your flight instinct was kicking in but your legs weren’t moving. Your hands were sweaty as you got up from your chair. Minho softly pushed you in Chan’s direction.

“Y/N, you need to talk it out. Now.”, Minho told you. Your parents nodded along.

There was no way you were avoiding him. He dedicated this whole event to you, you couldn’t just not talk to him. Chan looked at you with a sad smile. “Hi.”, he said shyly.

“Hey.”, you answered awkwardly. It was as if your heartbreak was gone. You knew that he could easily ignite feelings that you buried years ago.

“Do you want to talk to me now?”, Chan asked you with pleading eyes.

You sighed in defeat. There was no way that you could avoid it. “Okay.”

“Let’s go outside. There is a beautiful garden.”, Chan told you. You agreed and you two walked side by side to the garden behind the event venue. Chan was keeping his distance but from his stance, you could tell that he was nervous. He was also fiddling with his fingers and you knew he did that when he was anxious to speak.

“Chan.”, you finally broke the ice by talking. “I didn’t know you planned all this.”, you told him honestly. You were a little ashamed because you didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“I did for a long time.”, Chan said as he walked through the beautiful rose garden with you. “I had lost everything and I just needed time to process everything… I knew that I wouldn’t leave those kids alone no matter what. Remember how we started off as study buddies for uni? I actually used my degree to do something I love and started my book business.”

You nodded and gave him a small smile. “I’m happy for you,”

“But it took a while. At first, nobody wanted to work with me due to Kevin’s scandal but I have proven myself. My mother told me to never give up on my dreams. And even though I managed to donate money and achieve my dreams with my own business, there is one dream that I am still fighting for.”, Chan stopped and then looked straight at you with a soft glance. “You.”

“Chan…”, you whispered.

“I wouldn’t stand here if it wasn’t for you, Y/N. I would have dedicated this event to you even if you didn’t show up. I never stopped thinking about you.”, he admitted. He cautiously stepped closer to you and took your hand. “Every single day, I thought about you, Y/N.”

You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach as he touched your hand. “Why did you leave then? Ignore me?”, you asked him quietly. You had to admit that this whole event and his actions made you more willing to listen to him. Before, you were angry that he left you. You somehow never thought about why he really left.

“Like I told you, I was feeling horrible back then. You were hurt because of my father and I thought that I was no good for you. I needed to collect myself and honestly, it helped me. I knew that pushing you away wasn’t the right thing but I also knew that it wasn’t the right time.”, Chan explained to you while squeezing your hand.

“I guess I never considered how you must have felt… I just thought we would be stronger together.”, you now looked at him. “You don’t know how much I missed you and how much I needed you.”, you looked up at the stars to prevent tears from falling.

It was tough. Tough for both of you. Even though he went to Australia, he helped so many people. Maybe he was right about the timing. Being together after all that would have been tough for both of you. But here you are, two years later. After Chan had left, you put all your concentration on work and you were a household name in the business now. Maybe the distance helped you appreciate each other more.

It was silent for a moment and Chan continued to walk hand in hand with you. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. The two of you were in your thoughts which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Do you know why I didn’t say it back?”, Chan suddenly spoke up.

You were confused. “Say what back?”

“Two years ago. When you said you loved me? I didn’t say it back that day and you accused me of not loving you back.”, Chan explained to you sadly. You could hear his voice was shaky.

“Yeah… What is it?”

“I didn’t say it back because I didn’t want you to be even sadder when I actually left. But I can tell you today that I loved you more than anyone. I just couldn’t do that to you.”, he admitted shyly.

“Loved… As in you don’t feel that way anymore?”, you asked him but the question was more directed to yourself.

Chan stopped once again and looked at you, dead serious. “Do you really think that? Maybe I should make myself clear. The main reason why I came back is you. Y/N, I love you. I think about you every single day and nobody makes me feel like you do. Is that what you want to hear?”

You froze in shock. Right now, you could probably faint because of your rapid heartbeat. “Y-you still love me?”

“Yes. 100 percent.”, Chan said without any hesitation and stepped closer to you. He put a hand on your cheek. “The real question is… do you still hate me?”

You shook your head. “No. I never hated you. Chan, you idiot. I fucking love you too. I couldn’t even date anyone because no one had the same effect on me like you.”, you then closed the gap between the two of you by pressing your lips on his.

Old feelings ignited again as you kissed. Chan pressed your body close to himself and put both of his hands on your cheeks. You could feel the love spark between the two of you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer to you. It was surreal. You were kissing Chan after two years of longing and missing him. He was here. With you.

Chan then put his forehead on yours. “I missed this, I missed you, Y/N.”

You wrapped your arms around Chan’s torso and listened to his heartbeat. “I will always love you.”, you told him with tears flowing from your eyes. You were overwhelmed with everything.

Chan then stepped away from you and looked at you with loving eyes. “I was hoping that you would still feel the same.”, he then got something out of this pocket. Your heart stopped for a second seeing the little box in his hands. He opened the box and you saw a beautiful diamond necklace with a little moon on it.

“This belonged to my mom, the most important woman in my life. I want you to have it. Now you are also very important to me. Please, take it." he told you with a happy tone.

"No... I don't think I can take this, Chan. This belonged to your mother.", you told him and pushed the box towards him.

"She would have wanted you to have it, Y/N. I know it."

"Are you sure about this?", you asked him, just to be sure.

"Yes. I am sure.", Chan then walked behind you to put the necklace on. His hands grazed your neck which gave you goosebumps and then he pushed your hair back.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Chan.", you turned towards him and gave him a loving hug.

Chan laughed happily. “I missed you so much. I am moving back to Seoul permanently and I was thinking that maybe...”

"Are you asking me to move in with you, Channie?", you giggled, your cheeks flushing from the cold.

"I mean... yes. Do you want to move in with me?"

"I would love to." You giggled as you walked towards the venue. “Mmm, I might have to explain that to Jisung. He will be sad.”

“You still live with him?”, he asked you curiously. “I thought you were a hotshot journalist. Why didn’t you get a bigger apartment?”

“I felt lonely and he helped through my nightmares and panic attacks that I had. Thankfully it’s better now but I really didn’t want to live alone.”

Chan took your hand and squeezed it. “You will never be alone from now on.”

The rest of the night, you had fun. You danced, you spoke to the kids of the orphanage (Minhyuk, the child who had a crush on you, was also there and he didn’t seem too fond of Chan holding your hand). You also spoke to the charity organizations and were really impressed with their work. Seungmin, Changbin, Felix, and Hyunjin were also there and you were grateful for every single one of them.

Without them, you wouldn’t be the woman you are today. If Felix hadn’t helped you to get in the gala back then, or if Hyunjin didn’t hack Kevin’s laptop, if Changbin didn’t help with the police force, or if Seungmin didn’t report the missing kids. Things were starting to look up for you and you couldn’t be happier.

Chan was here with you, you got your dream job and your family had their restaurant back.

For the first time, you could say that you were truly happy.

​After you and the girls were freed from Kevin Bang life was hectic. The girls were interrogated just like you were. You had told the police everything you knew. They seemed to be aware of the things you were talking about as if this was not new information for them. Right after the police interrogation, Minho pulled you aside to talk to you in private.

“Y/N.”, Minho said as he looked at you. “Are you alright? Do you need anything?”, Minho gave you a warm look but also a worried one.

“Yes. I need you to tell me what is going on. Where is Chan? How did you find me? Why were so many reporters outside when Kevin Bang isn’t here?”

Minho sighed. “I published the article.”

Your eyes widened in shock. “You did what?!”, you gasped.

“Listen to me. I had to do it.”, Minho said in panic and tried to calm you down.

“I told you not to read it!”, you were shouting at him now. “I didn’t want it to be published!”

“But Y/N. Kevin will go to jail now! Isn’t that what you wanted?”, Minho asked carefully, making sure to approach this matter carefully.

You sighed. “What will Chan think now…”, you said in a worried tone. “And all those reporters want to talk to me?”, you asked Minho, trying to calm yourself down a little.

“Yes. Mr. Park was also impressed with the article and it looks like you have gotten yourself a promotion.”, Minho told you and gave you a smile.

You couldn’t hold it back anymore. It was as if your brain was melting and your body malfunctioned. Your eyes welled up and you just broke down. You just got what you wanted all along but you still felt empty.

“Y/N!”, you heard Minho say but to your ears, he wasn’t very loud. You just wanted to see Chan and explain the situation.

“Damn it… I should have told her that I wasn’t the one who published it.”, Minho said as the paramedics carried you to the ambulance. You must have been under immense stress. Especially after being kidnapped and interrogated. “Chan should tell her…”

♥.

After your conversation with Minho, time went by quickly. You literally didn’t have time to breathe because first, you went to a check-up at the hospital and because of your article, you and Minho were interviewed by lots of TV shows. You were all over the news as the woman who exposed Kevin Bang. The woman who brought justice to Kevin Bang’s victims. You were still extremely exhausted but were on your best behavior at the interviews.

However, you just wanted to see Chan and explain everything to him but whenever you asked about him, everyone just shut up and told you that you would see him later. Three days went by and you were pissed.

Why wouldn’t they let you see Chan? And why doesn’t he pick up the phone? Today, you had a little break from all the interviews and attention. You went to Jisung, your roommate in the living room.

“Hey! You’re awake. How are you feeling today?”, Jisung asked you. “I made you some eggs.”

You sat down in silence and gave him a glare. “Why is no one telling me where Chan is?”, you cut right to chase.

Jisung sighed. “Y/N, you are exhausted and you should rest before seeing him.”

“I am rested! I just want to see my boyfriend!”, you said desperately as you clutched Jisung’s shoulder. “Please. What happened to him? Why does everyone act like he is dead? I didn’t hear anything about him in the past two days!”

Jisung couldn’t bear to see you like this. He sat down next to you. “They told me not to tell you yet… but I think it’s time you know.”

Your eyes widened and you felt your heartbeat quicken. What was he hiding? “Chan had a whole plan to trick his father to confess. I don’t know the details but I was contacted by Minho to not tell you yet.”, Jisung started and put his hand on top of your shaking hands. “The plan did work out but Chan… was shot by his own father. He is currently in the hospital. Minho told me to wait until Chan gets a little better but I don’t think that you would stop asking.”

You felt your heart drop and froze. “S-shot?!”, you managed to get out as your eyes filled with water. You didn’t want to break down in tears and took deep and slow breaths. “Is he alright?”

Jisung nodded and hugged you tightly to calm you down. “Yeah. He is fine but like I said I don’t know the details of anything. They just gave me a short overview of everything.”

You didn’t feel anything and your vision was blurry from the tears. “I can’t believe this happened to him because of me…”, you then started crying. “Jisung, I want to see him.”

He nodded as he hugged you. “Please, try to stay calm. I’ll tell Minho and bring you to Chan, okay?”

You nodded as you got up to get your coat. No. This couldn’t be it. You still felt numb. They hid the fact that your boyfriend was shot from you for three whole days. They were using your current celebrity status to keep you busy. Chan needed a good explanation because otherwise, you would bury him alive with your own hands.

♥.

Jisung thankfully drove you to the hospital because in your state you wouldn’t be able to drive on your own. Chan stayed in the VIP ward and right now his name was in everyone’s mouth. Jisung told you that Chan wanted to hold a press conference once he was feeling better but the silence made the media even crazier. They started spreading weird rumors about Chan too but Jisung made you stay away from social media the past few days.

Before you knew it, you stood in front of Chan’s room, dreading to go inside. You were fighting with yourself. Did you deserve him? Did you even deserve to see him? He was hurt because you made him work with you in the first place.

Jisung stood next to you and pushed you a little forward. “Don’t overthink it.”, he told you and gave you a warm smile. “I’ll wait outside.”

You nodded and shakily grabbed the door handle. You gave Jisung a grateful smile as you entered the room.

Chan heard you come in but didn’t know it was you. “Are you here to pick up the food tray? I already-“, Chan started but then saw you. His eyes widened in shock as he saw your figure standing in front of him.

Your felt tears flowing down from your face and immediately walked towards each other and gave him a bone-crushing hug. “Oh my god…”, you whispered in relief, expecting him to look worse.

Chan sighed in relief too. “Y/N…”, he managed to say, trying to collect himself. “I missed you so much...”, he said and hugged you even tighter. Just like that, you were standing in the middle of the room, hugging each other like there was no tomorrow.

“I missed you too.”, you said and buried your face in his chest.

As soon as you saw him and his bandaged leg, you started crying and broke down. You were a sobbing mess on the ground. You then heard him trying to move closer to you. He was walking with a limp as he tried to kneel next to you but hissed in pain.

You heard his whimper and tried to collect yourself. “You idiot, why would you move? Get back to your bed.”, you said quietly and helped him by putting his arm around your shoulders.

As soon as Chan sat down on his bed, he pulled you to sit down next to him. The second you sat down, he put his hands on your cheeks and wiped your tears. “Don’t cry.”, he said quietly.

“Why… didn’t you tell me? About all of this? I had to hear from Jisung that you were shot three days later!”, you shouted at him but not angrily. It was a more disappointed tone.

Chan looked down but then looked at you again. “Y/N, a lot happened that day. Even I didn’t have time to process everything. You went through hell and I told Minho to wait… at least until I get out.”, Chan tried to explain.

“Since when do you and Minho talk? Why is everything so confusing.”, you put your hands on top of Chan’s hands that were on your cheeks.

Chan smiled at your confused look. “I told Minho to publish your article. That is why we worked together.”

You then froze and gave him a look of bedazzlement. “You told him to publish it?”

“Yes. Minho called me because he heard you getting kidnapped… and then he told me everything because you were in danger. So, it was me who published it, in a way.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you about my job.”, your eyes were starting to well up again. “I didn’t have the heart to tell you who I really am. After you found out about the gala, you were so mad and I just couldn’t disappoint you again.”

Chan sighed. “Y/N. Honestly… I did kind of assume that already. After all that studying on Shakespeare with me, I knew you were well-spoken. This job fits you perfectly.”, he said without even judging you.

“How can you be so calm about this?”, you said with wide eyes, not understanding him.

Chan then wrapped his arms around you and pressed a soft kiss on your forehead. “I don’t know. Maybe because you already explained most of it to me. I know why you approached me in the first place and I know that things would be different if my father never did the things he did to your family.”

You sighed in relief. “At first… I wanted to do all of this for my own career. I just wanted to damage Kevin’s reputation as much as I could… but after finding evidence that was so horrible, I knew I wasn’t in it for my job anymore. I am happy that the girls are alright and your father will end up in prison.”, you explained to him.

“He’s not my father anymore. Just call him Kevin.”, Chan corrected you.

You gave him a shocked look. “Oh… but he is your only family…”

“I know. But a father wouldn’t shoot his own son.”, Chan said coldly as he pressed you closer to him. “I am glad you are okay, Y/N…”

“Will you explain to me what exactly happened?”

Chan then told you everything that had happened at his house. That his father confessed but went crazy and how he shot him. He assured you that he was fine and that the bullet didn’t hit any vital organs. You exhaled in relief as he told you everything.

After his story, you kissed him on the lips. Chan didn’t expect the kiss but before he could respond to it, you stopped. “I am happy that this is over now… Does your leg hurt?”

Chan smiled at you and then faked a cry of pain. “Ah… it would hurt less if I would get another kiss?”

You squeezed Chan’s cheek. “You cheeky ass. Let me see if it takes your pain away.”, you said and kissed him again. You wrapped your arm around his neck.

Chan pulled you closer to him as he kissed with all the love he had in him. “I feel better already.”, he told you and smiled warmly at you.

♥.

Chan felt better three days after your visit and decided to hold a live TV conference about the whole case. The stocks in Kevin’s company dropped and a lot of shareholders didn’t want to be connected to it. So, almost all of them sold their shares. Kevin’s company filed for bankruptcy because after his confession the police searched his house for more evidence on illegal businesses. They found more information on human trafficking and drug deals. His deals were majorly between Russia and Korea. Therefore, he had the possibility to face a lifelong prison sentence and a multimillion-dollar fine. Your father had been offered one million dollars compensation for the time he spent wrongfully in prison. Things were starting to look up for him.

Chan was nervous as he stood behind the stage. You were right next to him and gave him a tight hug. “Chan, whatever you decide to do… I’m behind you. You can do this.”, you said and fixed his tie and pushed a strand of his hair back.

He nodded and gave a sad expression. “I hope you will stand behind me after all this too.”

Before you could ask what he meant, he walked on the stage. Immediately cameras started rolling and there were multiple flashlights from the cameras. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased that so many people showed up to listen to me. First of all, and most importantly, I clearly distance myself from everything my father has done.”, he started with a heavy heart. “My own father went crazy and shot his own son. That man deserves to go to prison and get his punishment.”

Chan then proceeded to answer questions and you knew that he had a tough time standing there on his own. His father left him alone. He told the reporters that for the time being he will not take over his father’s company. You wondered what he would do now? After all this mess? Not only did Kevin Bang do all these horrible things, but he also jeopardized his son’s future.

The press conference was over and Chan went to his father’s villa. You saw that everything was getting packed. “Did you sell the house?”, you asked him cautiously.

Chan nodded. “I didn’t sell it but my father kind of lost everything he has. I am just taking my stuff out of my room.”

You then proceeded to walk towards his room. Something was off and you knew that he was hiding something from you. In his room, you sat down on his bed and he slowly sat down next to you. “Are you broke now?”, you asked him bluntly.

Chan sighed. “No. My mom left me money behind before she died. After searching through the house, the police found my mother’s will but… Kevin hid it from me. It’s not as much as he used to have but it’s still enough for me. Apparently, my mother knew about his business and wanted a divorce as well. But after getting sick she decided to write a will instead.

You were silent for a minute. “You know… you can move in with me. We can deal with this together.”, you suggested as you took his hand and started playing with his fingers.

Chan looked down. “Y/N.”, he said seriously. “I should probably tell you now.”

“I knew something was up.”, you sighed, looking at him.

“I am going to move back to Australia for a while.”, he finally confessed. He couldn’t bear to look you in the eyes.

“What…?”, you looked at him with a shocked expression.

“I don’t think I can stay here any longer, Y/N. Right now, the media is looking at my every move. I need to stay away from here.”, he said, his voice quiet.

“Oh-Okay.”, you said, still trying to process the words that came out of his mouth. “B-but we can still make it work, right?”, you stuttered. You felt your hands shaking and you had a feeling what this conversation was going to be about.

“Y/N…”, Chan said and moved a little closer to you, wanting to take your hand.

You flinched. “Chan, you are only moving away for a while. We can still be together, right? Long-distance relationships exist!”, you said urgently.

“We should break up.”, Chan said, after seeing you flinch. He didn’t expect you to be this harsh but at the time he understood how you must have felt at that moment.

You then got up, your eyes wide with tears. “W-What the hell are you talking about?!”, your voice cracked. “Talk to me!”

Chan then got up too and put his hands on your shoulders. “Y/N, listen. You almost got involved in human trafficking because of my father! Your family was hurt in the past and I just… nothing good happens to you when you’re with me.”

You violently shook your head and pushed his hands off your shoulders. “I love you, Chan! I finally got you back and you… you’re just going to leave?! You make me happy, Chan.”

Chan’s heart doubled in speed after you said you loved him. “Y/N. I need to collect myself. And I just… can’t stand seeing you hurt again. It’s better if we stay away from each other for a while.”

Tears were flowing from your eyes once again. “Chan, you are hurting me right now.”, you said as you wiped away your tears with the sleeve of your sweater.

Chan couldn’t even walk closer to you to comfort you because he was the one who caused the pain. You were frustrated because from the minute you told Chan the truth about your family, you knew the guilt was eating him up. He was an overthinker and you couldn’t change anything about that.

“You deserve someone better than me.”, Chan said.

That sentence made you blow up. “What the hell do you know about my feelings, huh?! You are a coward! Just run away to Australia where no one can hurt you!”, you said out of anger. You knew you didn’t mean it but you couldn’t stop yourself. “You’re right. Let’s break up! You didn’t even say it back. You don’t love me back.”, you said and took your bag. “Bye, Chan. Just do whatever you want from now on.”, you said as you left his room, heartbroken.

Chan sat down, frustrated. He just scared away the only person in his life who actually cared about him. But right now, he knew that he couldn’t stay in Korea for the time being. He needed to leave just to collect himself. He wouldn’t give the company up. He wanted that his future was clean. He needed to start from zero again. Even if that meant breaking up with you.

You on the other hand walked outside and called Jisung to pick you up. As soon as you sat down in his car, you started crying. At that moment, you spoke out of anger towards Chan. You understood his decision to move back to Australia but you didn’t understand why he would break up with you. It could have worked. You told him that you would be by his side but he didn’t want you by his side apparently.

Maybe this was for the best.

Chan was on his way to pick you up and drive you to work when he got a call from a number he didn’t know. “Hello?”, he answered the call, confused.

“Chan?”, a male voice said from the other end, clearly in distress.

“Yes? Who’s this?”

“It’s Minho. The one who works with Y/N. Look, I need you to come to my office quickly. It’s about Y/N and she is in danger.”, Minho said in a very serious tone. “Be quick. I’ll send you my location.”

Chan’s heart stopped for a second in fear. He pressed the accelerator down and drove quickly to Minho’s office and was confused when he found himself at the office complex of the Seoul Times, the biggest newspaper in Korea.

Then realization hit him. You worked here. At a newspaper. His hands were sweaty and he took a nervous breath. He then parked his car and went inside. Minho was waiting for him and quickly pulled him to his office.

“I know what you are thinking now. What am I doing here?”, Minho said as he walked around in his office.

“Cut the bullshit. Where the hell is Y/N?”

“Listen to me. I was on the phone with her and I heard something. It sounded like she was being kidnapped and there were two men. They said something about Mr. Bang being pleased. That is why I called you here. This is about your father.”, Minho said, a little louder.

Chan’s eyes grew wide as he cracked his knuckles in anger. His breath hitched. You were in danger and it was his fault. “Kidnapped?!”

“Let me explain the situation shortly. Y/N is a journalist and she works here for me. She was writing an article about your father to expose him. She didn’t let me read it and it looked like she wasn’t too keen on releasing the article the past few weeks. I know she didn’t tell you about her being a journalist but you need to know. I think your father kidnapped her because he found out who she really is.”, Minho admitted and gave him a look of pity.

“A journalist…”, Chan repeated, not knowing how to react. “She didn’t want to release the article?”

“No… not really.”, Minho told him. “I know your father. Actually, he used to pay me to prevent some articles from being published. Those were just smaller scandals, nothing too bad or serious. However, he started to threaten me when I didn’t want to do help him anymore.”, Minho confessed. “I actually know about a drug deal that was about to be exposed… but I stopped it.”

“Why?”, Chan said, not comprehending it. He knew that his father had some power over the media because of his good reputation but hiding a drug deal? He would never understand.

“He told me it was a one-time thing and threatened to hurt my family if I said something.”, Minho said with a tear flowing on his face. “I just… I can’t do it anymore!”

Chan took a deep breath. “Show me Y/N’s article.”, Chan said.

Minho knew the password to your account but he never looked at your article because he respected your decisions. “Here you go.”, Minho said as he opened the document.

Chan skimmed over the article. You wrote about some people that his father had affected like your family. You had already written about the drug case. “Minho. I need you to finish the article with information I am going to give you now. Contact my friend Hyunjin and he will send you the documents you need. Then I want you to publish it.”

“What?!”

“Look. My dad does more than just drug deals. He is involved in human trafficking and I need this to end. I want you to write the human trafficking part and then publish this damn thing, got it?”, Chan said angrily.

“…Got it.”, Minho said reluctantly. “But Chan what are you going to do now? We should call the police!”, Minho said frantically.

“Let me handle the rest. You do your job and I will contact you after this. Thank you for calling me.”, Chan then quickly wrote down Hyunjin’s number, got up, and went out of Minho’s office. He tried to stay as calm as possible because he needed a plan to save you. That was the most important thing right now. You were the most important thing to him now.

“That man is crazy!”, Minho said as he started typing on the computer.

♥

Your head hurt extremely and you didn’t know where you were. You tried to open your eyes unsuccessfully. Your head felt heavy and it felt like you had no control over your own body. With the limited amount of energy, you had in your body you managed to open your eyes a little bit.

“Oh, you are finally awake! You slept a lot.”, a voice said. To you, the voice felt extremely loud and you were struggling with the aftereffects of the chloroform.

You lifted your head to see Kevin Bang in front of you. You noticed that you were in an empty warehouse in god knows where. “Where…”, you managed to say, quickly out of breath.

“Huh, she can talk!”, Kevin Bang said loudly while smirking at your horrible state.

“You…”, you grumbled as you gave Kevin a glare.

“Boo-hoo. Are you going to cry now? I know it was you who did all that mess at my gala. You even tried to date my son to hurt my reputation.”, he accused you with his finger. “You are a journalist! Of course! What are you going to, huh? Publish an article? I have everything under my control! Even the media, you little bitch.”

You coughed a little. “Do you really think so?”, you finally said a full sentence. “You are the little bitch here.”, you spat as you tried to move. But you quickly noticed that you were tied on a chair with your hands behind your back.

“Oh, am I?”, Chan’s father said in an amused tone. He was walking around the chair you were sitting on and then as he was behind you, he pulled you by your hair. You let out a loud shriek. “You know… as soon as I found out who you were, I immediately found out that you were the one that first started ruining my reputation at the gala too. I have to I am impressed that you managed to undercover like that.”

“Mmm, it would be too bad if I just let you die like the whore you are. You aren’t ugly. Maybe, I should make you one of my bitches too. Just like Hailey or Soojin. I could sell you to the black dragon…”, Kevin whispered in your ear from behind and then maniacally laughed.

“Fuck you!”, you screamed but then you were slapped by Kevin Bang himself. You felt the pain on your cheek as you gave him the most disgusted glare ever.

“I hate it when my girls talk to me like that. Let’s see… when should I sell you? Right now?”

Suddenly one of Kevin’s bodyguards frantically ran up to Kevin. “Sir, an article was published. And it’s not a good article!”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Where?!”

“Seoul Times.”

“Fuck. You little bitch, I am hoping for you that you had nothing to do with this!”, Kevin said in a lowkey panicked tone. “Let’s leave. I have to do some damage control.”, Kevin then left the warehouse.

They were talking in hushed tones so you didn’t quite understand why Kevin was suddenly so panicked.

One of his men made you walk one floor under the actual warehouse. Your eyes widened as you saw Jisoo, Soojin and Tiffany. The man pushed you in the room and locked the door.

“Girls!”, you said as you sat down next to them. Your hands were still tied so you couldn’t hug them.

“Y/N!”, Jisoo said with wide eyes. The girls were in a terrible shape. They looked exhausted and had dark circles under their eyes.

“Wait… where is Hailey?”

The girls all looked down with tears in their eyes. “She… she was taken today. We don’t know where she is.”, Soojin said while gulping loudly.

“But…”, you started. Hailey’s date was about to be next week. It must have been because of your interference. That must be the reason why they took Hailey early. Fuck! You had to do something!

“Girls, how did you end up here?”, you asked them in a serious but still gentle tone.

Tiffany looked at you. It was as if the light left her eyes. She had no joy left in her anymore. “Eunja woke us up two days before the Christmas party and told us that the older kids were going to be moved early. Hailey couldn’t even say bye to Sara. But it was only us girls who were moved.”, she started in a shaky voice.

“Yes. But it was in the middle of the night. Around 5 a.m. We didn’t really question it but when we ended up in a van and then here… we knew something was wrong.”, Jisoo took over. She put her arms around Tiffany who started to cry. “They took pictures of us… some very disgusting one’s too. Two days ago, a man came down here and looked at us. As if we were animals.”

Soojin spoke up. “I overheard the guards here and apparently that man had bought Hailey… and before the deal he wanted to see her live once.”, she said in a disgusted tone. “That’s all. We have been kept here ever since with little to no food. We are treated like animals here.”

“Fuck…”, you said. You noticed that your hands were violently shaking. You didn’t know what to do. You just hoped that Chan would notice soon. No, you knew that Chan would find you. “Don’t worry. You will not be sold to anyone.”, you promised them. You just hoped that you could keep your promise.

♥

“Sir, the article was released under Y/N’s and Lee Minho’s name.”, Kevin’s bodyguard said as he walked to his villa with him.

“I didn’t kidnap that bitch so she can release that article. Also, Minho, huh? Since when is he back?”, Kevin said, thinking about how to save the situation.

“Sir, I don’t know how much we can control it this time. The article states that you are involved in human trafficking.”, his bodyguard told him again.

“SHUT UP! I didn’t ask for your fucking opinion!”, Kevin shouted angrily as he entered the villa. Kevin was furious and if he didn’t stay cool now, he would probably set his house on fire. He entered his villa with heavy footsteps. In the entrance Chan stood in front of his father.

“Dad.”, Chan announced himself and gave his father a look that he didn’t quite understand. “I came here right after reading that article. Is it true?”, Chan immediately addressed the issue.

Kevin sighed. “No, of course not! Someone is trying to ruin us!”, Kevin said as he walked around frantically. “And it’s that stupid girlfriend of yours! Did you know that she was a reporter?!”, Kevin then stood in front of his son, accusing him. “You knew, didn’t you? You brought her along to Busan because you knew!”, Kevin pressed his finger against Chan’s chest.

Chan wrapped his hand around his father’s wrist. “Dad. I had no idea about her. There were no articles released under her name. I really didn’t know.”, Chan said calmy. “That bitch lied to me and used me. If I had known I would have gotten rid of her ages ago. Dad what about all of our hard work? They ruined your reputation!”

“Don’t worry my son. I will find her and she will pay for what she did! She is trying to defame us and ruin our hard work!”, Kevin told his son and put his hand on Chan’s shoulder.

Chan looked down. “But I need you to be honest with me. Did you do those things? Drugs… and even human trafficking?”

Kevin sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. “Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to truly win in life.”, Kevin started.

The tension was thick between father and son. It was so thick, you could even cut it with a knife. Chan gave his father a stoic look. “…What did you do? Where were you before?”

Kevin laughed out loud with wide eyes. It wasn’t a normal laugh – it was crazy. “You know, my son, like I said I did some things that I am not proud of. Yes, I did all of those things. But if I wouldn’t have done those things, you wouldn’t be rich. We wouldn’t have all of this! There is no point in hiding it from you anymore. If I get caught, you need to take over.”, Kevin said.

Chan didn’t recognize the man in front of him. The way he paced around the room and laughed at everything. Chan knew that it was the panic creeping up in his father because he knew that he couldn’t save himself this time. This time everything was clear.

“Don’t worry my son! I got rid of Y/N and I will kill anyone who was involved with her! Because anyone who tries to ruin my reputation deserves to die.”, Kevin said in a serious tone.

“You got… rid of her?”, Chan asked, lowkey panicking.

“Yes. Just like all the other girls I will sell that bitch.”, he laughed maniacally again.

Chan then stepped forward to his father. “You said… anyone who tries to ruin your reputation deserves to die, right?”

Kevin gave his son a confused look. “Yes, I did.”

“Then what are you waiting for? I am standing right in front of you.”, Chan then said, giving him the most disgusted look ever.

“What? What the hell are you talking about?!”, Kevin shouted at his son.

“I tried to ruin your reputation with Y/N. You heard me. I published that damn article. “, Chan shouted angrily at his father.

Kevin then pushed his son to the closest wall by grabbing Chan by his collar. “What the fuck are you talking about?”, Kevin spat at his son. “TALK!”

“I had to do something!”, Chan shouted with a tear flowing on his face.

“Why?!”, Kevin pressed him harder against the wall. Chan didn’t do anything. He just gave him a disgusted look.

“Why? Have you seen yourself, dad?! I don’t even recognize you anymore!”, Chan shouted back. “After all these years I had to realize that I don’t even know my father!”, Chan was breathing heavily while shouting at him. “No. I don’t apparently know my father but Y/N who was a stranger to me knows my father better than me?”

Kevin let go of his son without saying a word. His eyes were wide with anger.

“I defended you at that ball did you know that? I thought that my father would never do such a thing. But then I found out what you did to Y/N’s family and everyone else. I had to find out every lie that you told me. I had to stop you!”, Chan spat.

Kevin then started laughing again like a lunatic. His eyes were dark and Chan knew he was a psychopath. Kevin started ripping some of his hair out while laughing. “I think you didn’t hear me. I said I would kill anyone who tries to ruin me!”

Kevin then pulled out a gun out of his jacket and aimed at Chan. “You are no exception.”

“You are a psychopath.”, Chan said in a sickened tone. “But I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Why? Are you going to stop me again?”, Kevin smirked. Chan heard the gun click.

It was Chan’s turn to smirk now. “I got your confession, dad.”, Chan said and gave him a satisfied smile.

Kevin then looked down himself as he saw two red dots on his body. Red dots that belonged to snipers. “You involved the police.”, Kevin stated, his face pale.

“You shouldn’t have talked so much.”, Chan said.

“NO! FUCK NO! NO ONE WILL CATCH ME AND I WILL NOT ROT IN PRISON!”, Kevin then started shooting around like crazy. Chan couldn’t move because of the panic. It was as if his body was frozen. His own father was going to kill his son.

One bullet entered Chan’s leg and he immediately fell down in pain. Then everything happened so fast. Chan’s sight was fuzzy but to him everything felt like it was happening in slow-motion.

Changbin immediately entered the building as soon as he heard shots. The police stormed the villa. That is what Kevin didn’t know. Chan talked with Changbin right after his talk with Minho. The article was published strategically.

Minho got the higher-up’s to immediately publish the article because of his own high position. Of course, it also was very attractive for Seoul Times to publish never seen before information about the richest man in Korea. Chan and Changbin planned this whole thing. Chan was supposed to get the information out of him right after the article was published. The police were around the whole villa, waiting for Kevin’s confession.

Changbin tackled Kevin down immediately. The other men took the weapon and were arresting Kevin’s bodyguards as well.

Changbin was pretty muscular and therefore could take down Kevin easily. Kevin tried to fight against Changbin’s strength but gave up. “LEAVE ME ALONE YOU ASSHOLE!”

“SMPA!”, Changbin shouted as he put the handcuffs on Kevin and pressed him against a wall. “Mr. Bang you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court!”, he then shoved Kevin towards his colleagues. “Bring this idiot to the station.”

Changbin then immediately ran up to Chan who was being carried to the ambulance by the paramedics. “Chan are you alright? You idiot! We had a safe word and you still got hurt!”

Chan couldn’t even keep his eyes open due to the pain. “…Where is Y/N?”, Chan said in a weak voice.

Changbin scratched his head at his question. “You got shot and the first thing you ask is this?”

Chan urged the paramedics to stop for a second. He weakly grabbed Changbin’s wrist. “I will be fine.”, Chan told his best friend. “Please just make sure that Y/N’s alright…”

Changbin gave him a nod. “I already sent some of my men to their location. She should be fine.”, Changbin assured his friend. Then he noticed that Chan let go of his wrist and fell asleep.

“It’s a good thing that the bullet hit a non-vital area.”, the paramedic said to Changbin. “We will treat him immediately and he will undergo a surgery.”

Changbin nodded and watched the paramedics push him in the ambulance. They then drove away. Changbin then noticed lots of reporters outside of the crime scene. He sighed because it was an exhausting day. He then looked at the car Kevin sat in. He was hitting the car window and screaming like a mad man.

“I hope you rot in prison forever.”, Changbin said as he looked at his partner. She walked up to him.

“Good job.”, she said and gave him a nod.

“You too.”, Changbin said awkwardly. That was probably the first compliment he had ever heard from her.

While Kevin was being arrested and even interrogated the police had also arrived at the warehouse you were held in. They arrested everyone who worked for Kevin and got you free. They had managed to find Hailey too. She was being kept in a separate room because her “deal” was supposed to be the day after.

The police luckily found everyone in time. The girls cried as soon as they saw the police officer opening the door. You quickly got up as soon as you spotted him. “Thank god.”, you said in a shaky voice. Chan did it. You knew he wouldn’t leave you alone.

The girls were taken to the police station first where they were given a warm meal and then were interrogated. At the police station you parents and Minho waited for you. As soon as they saw you, your parents ran up to you to embrace you tightly. All of you were a crying a mess.

Even Minho gave you a long hug. “Y/N, I am so glad you are fine…”, he said.

Okay. Let’s sum this whole mess up. You found out about drug deals between Kevin Bang and Russian drug dealers. Then you were ready to hand that information to the press and the police to get justice for everyone Kevin hurt in the past – including your family.

Now, Seungmin, your friend who volunteered at the same orphanage as you told you that four girls who were about to turn eighteen and leave the system disappeared. You connected it to Kevin because the orphanage was supposed to close and a hotel was planned on the property by none other than Kevin.

At the moment, you were at the police station of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, aka SMPA. Chan’s best friend Changbin worked as a police officer there and therefore, had access to the database of missing children. Chan was concerned that the missing girls also had something to with his father. He wanted to better be safe than sorry.

You sat in Changbin’s small office. And by small you meant cramped. Changbin didn’t have a high position because he was a newbie at the station with his partner. He didn’t seem too fond of his partner though. You only saw her once as you entered the police station and she was arguing with him. Maybe they just didn’t get along too well.

Changbin on the other hand was very nice. And good-looking. You weren’t going to comment on that though. “Okay, Chan and Y/N. I am kind of surprised that you are here. You told me that this was important?”, Changbin asked Chan. Chan didn’t tell him too many details on the phone. He wanted to discuss it in person.

“Yeah, this happened in a hurry and I need your help.”, Chan started and looked around cautiously. “We wanted to know more about four girls who apparently disappeared from an orphanage.”, Chan added.

“Disappeared? Huh. Tell me their names I’ll have a look at the system.”

You told him the names of the girls. Changbin typed them in the computer and gave you a strange look. “This weird… They aren’t missing but there is no information on the new orphanage either. They are still under the old orphanage.”, Changbin looked through the files. “I guess because they are turning 18 this year, they didn’t bother to put the information in yet. I will keep you updated.”, Changbin told you. “There is no conclusive evidence. We should wait.”

Your sighed in disappointment. “What if something happens to them while we wait?”

Chan put his hand your shoulder and squeezed it lightly. “We don’t know what happened. Maybe Seungmin was wrong and he was just telling us because he is worried.”

“You’re right.”, you said in defeat. “But still… could you send us a list with all the missing children in Seoul? I want to make sure that I do my work thoroughly.”

“Alright. I don’t think that it will help you but I will send it to you.”, Changbin told you.

“Okay then… Thank you for working with us, Changbin. We just wanted to let you know because anything can happen these days.”, you said to Changbin and then got up. Then your phone rang. “That’s my dad, I should take that. I’ll wait for you outside.”, you said and left Changbin’s small office.

“Okay, Chan, bro. Spill. Are you dating her? And why are you investigating your own father?”, Changbin immediately asked as soon as you left the office.

Chan looked at him, not expecting these questions. “No… we’re not dating. And Changbin, my dad has done some stuff that isn’t quite legal. Once I have every information I need, I will give them over to the police.”

“But why?”, Changbin asked, not understanding why he would do that.

“My dad isn’t the man I thought he was. He did some unforgivable things to some people. That includes Y/N’s family. I just want him to know about his mistakes. Even if it involves the police.”, Chan said, his expression serious.

“So, you are doing this for Y/N?”

Chan scratched his head. “I guess. I don’t know. I am just trying to help.”, he said while fiddling with his fingers.

“I don’t understand everything but I see one thing. You seem to like her a lot.”, Changbin concluded. “I saw the way you look at her.”

Chan didn’t even react to it because he knew that he had feelings for you. “I don’t know what to say, Changbin.”

“Don’t say anything to me. You should tell her.”

Chan sighed. “Yeah, and if she rejects me, I will look like an idiot.”

Changbin laughed at his answer. “Since when are you such a pussy? Just tell her!”

“I will, when the time is right.”

Suddenly the door to the office opened again with your head peeking out the door. “Are you going to sleep here? Let’s go!”, you said.

Chan then stood up. “I’ll talk to you later, Changbin.”

After your talk with Changbin, Chan drove you home. “So, why did your dad call?”

You sighed and looked out of the window and then back to Chan. “He just called me because he asked me to buy some popcorn for our New Year’s Eve party.”

Chan stopped at a red light. “New Year’s Eve party? You celebrate that?”

“You are probably going partying at fancy galas but we do a little party every year. That includes my whole family. We’re playing games and then go outside to watch the fireworks.”, you explain to him. “It’s actually really fun.”

“We never do something like that. I mean… as a family. I don’t really have a family, I guess. That thought never occurred to me until I met you. The rich kids around me all celebrate the holidays just like me – at big parties that are used for business opportunities.”, Chan said sadly. Then he heard a honk behind him. The light had turned green but he wasn’t aware of it while talking to you. Then he started driving.

“Uh…”, you started awkwardly.

“What?”, Chan asked, not understanding why you were taking so long to tell him. It’s not like you were strangers.

You took a deep breath and gathered all your courage to ask him. “My dad kind of invited you. You know… he knows you and knows that we spend a lot of time together. So, if you don’t have any other plans…”, you finally said.

“Yes.”, Chan said, too quickly. You had to understand his reaction. He was spending a holiday with a real family. “I, uh, I mean yes. I would love to. I don’t even care if my dad plans on throwing a party. I will come – no matter what.”

Your cheeks flushed a little because of his reaction. You heart was beating a little faster. You were happy that he wanted to spend more time with you and even with your family. Deep down you knew it wasn’t right to latch onto him so much but you couldn’t stay away from him. You didn’t want to do so just yet.

“That’s… great! I’ll tell my mom. I bet she will be happy about another guest.”

“Tell your parents I’m happy that they invited me.”, Chan said, genuinely happy about the invitation.

You were smiling brightly at him. “I will, Chan.”

♥

The 31st of December was today and you were getting ready for the little party you parents were throwing every single year. For once, you didn’t think about Kevin Bang and his drug business. But you were thinking about his son. A person you thought you would never ever like. A person you even hated at one point in your life. Now, you didn’t want him out of your life. But at some point, it would happen. However, today was not that day.

It got dark quickly outside and your family started gathering at your parents’ little house. You were a little nervous about Chan coming to your parents’ house because your room was still the same it was when you moved out. You also had EXO posters on your wall and it was a little embarrassing. Not embarrassing because you liked EXO but you were obsessed with them. Honestly, who wasn’t? Chan really didn’t need to see your Chanyeol posters.

Chan arrived with a huge bouquet of flowers in his hands and gave them to your mom. “I didn’t know what to bring but I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”

“You are such a gentleman!”, your mom gushed over Chan as she took the flowers to put them in a vase. You were very grateful that your parents didn’t see him as Kevin Bang’s son. The man who destroyed their lives. Your father was giving you an approving nod to tell you it’s really okay that Chan is here. Your father did invite him after all so…

Since you came here in the morning and helped around, you didn’t have the time to get ready. Your eyes widened at the sight of Chan. You felt ugly next to him because he looked amazing in his black and white striped pullover and his black, tight pants with a chain hanging from them. His hair was perfectly slicked back and he looked as handsome as ever.

“Uh, Chan, hi! You’re early!”, you said, lowkey panicking. You never cared about how you look around Chan before. Now that you know you liked him, you wanted to look good around him. You, on the contrary, were wearing an apron with flour on it because you were baking cookies – which reminded you of the day that you baked cookies with him in your apartment. Your hair was messily tied in a ponytail. You just wanted to hide. Damn.

“I am. And you look busy.”, Chan said, laughing at your appearance. “Do you need help with the cookies again?”, Chan said, referring to your baking accident.

“Nope. They are in the oven now.”, you told him. “Mom, I’ll go in my room to get ready! Don’t burn the cookies!”, you said and took your apron off. “I should go…”

“I’ll come with you.”, Chan said as he put his jacket away.

“No!”

Chan was a little taken aback by your answer. “Why?”

Then you dad casually walked past you. “She just wants to hide her EXO posters.”

Chan then let out a loud laugh. “EXO? Wow, is that your big secret?”

“DAD!”

Before you knew it, you found yourself in your teenage bedroom with the EXO posters on the wall. Chan didn’t judge you too much but he did laugh at the amount of posters of Chanyeol’s face.

“You could hang my face next to his. We are both Chans.”, Chan told you and laughed.

You were putting on some make up as you glared at Chan. “Don’t make fun of my beautiful Chanyeol, okay.”

“Sorry, don’t bite my head off, Y/N.”, Chan grinned at your reaction. “This is your childhood home, huh?”

You nodded as you put on some glitter eyeshadow. “Yeah. I have lots of memories in this house. I can’t believe that we almost lost the house.”

“What?”, Chan asked carefully. He had a creeping suspicion that his father had something to do with it.

“After we lost the restaurant and dad went to prison, we couldn’t afford to pay off the house. It’s not in the best area of Seoul but it was enough for us. Thankfully, the people of this neighborhood who believed that my father was innocent gathered money for us. We could pay enough to keep it until my father got out of prison.”, you told him. You then noticed his expression – an expression of guilt. “Chan don’t go there. You are blaming yourself again.”, you said seriously.

“I know it’s not my fault but it feels like it’s my fault. Y/N, everything that happened here connects to my family. I am just happy to see that you didn’t lose the love and happiness.”, Chan told you.

“I didn’t want to upset you…”, you sat down on your bed next to him and put your hand on top of his. “If my parents weren’t happy, they wouldn’t have invited you. They know who you are and still invited you. I hate your father for what he did and I couldn’t leave the past behind me. But my parents could because they keep moving forward for a better future.”

Chan appreciated your words. “That’s a good way to live. I hope that soon, you can live like that too, Y/N.”

“I hope so too…”

Soon, you ushered Chan out of the room to get dressed in a more festive outfit. You wore a simple dark blue dress with black tights under it. As you entered the living room, Chan’s eyes widened a little before he shyly looked away. He was sitting with your family. Your uncles, aunts and cousins arrived as well and they were all talking, playing games, and having fun. You then sat down next to him. “So, did my cousins ask you why would even hang out with me?”

Chan laughed a little. “Yeah, they even asked me if I would consider dating one of them?”

“Oh, they are asking for Taehee. She is kind of desperate. Don’t take it personally, she likes everything that is male and good-looking.”, you told him as you ate one of your cookies.

“So, you’re saying I’m good-looking?”, Chan concluded and smirked at you.

You started coughing violently because of your cookie. Chan was surprised by your reactions and quickly brought you water to drink. “Hey, don’t die on me. Just admit that I’m good-looking.”, Chan then said.

You glared at him just like Minhyuk from the orphanage did. “Yeah, whatever, you loser.”, you said while trying to breathe properly. “I’m just observing things and at the ball in Busan a lot of girls were staring at you and talking to you. So, you can’t be that ugly.”

Chan smiled at your answer. “Okay, I’ll take that as an answer.”

The evening was going great even though family questioned your relationship with Chan more than once. Your uncle walked up to you to ask exactly that. “You’re sure you’re not dating?”

“Yes, uncle. We are just friends.”, you had told him. Every time you said that sentence, Chan’s expression changed to something you didn’t quite understand. You didn’t like to call him just your friend but you wouldn’t call him something more either. It was easier like this.

During the evening Chan never left your side. He spent every single minute by your side and it was refreshing because you didn’t think about Kevin, your article or anything else for once. It was just your family and Chan. You loved seeing Chan’s eyes sparkle with excitement while playing charades with your family. He laughed his ass off when your father unsuccessfully tried to show figure skating. You felt warm seeing Chan like that.

Time went by quickly and suddenly there were only 15 minutes till midnight. You and Chan decided to go outside for a quick walk and then found yourself in front of your house again. There was a bench in front of your home and you both sat down it.

10 minutes.

“Y/N, thanks again for inviting me.”, Chan said while looking at the sky. You could hear people celebrating in the distance. “I never felt so warm and welcomed like this.”

You turned to him, smiling at him. “Chan don’t thank me for this. We are happy to have you here.”

You could see Chan’s breath because of the cold. He then took the scarf around his neck and put it around your neck. “It’s just… I never celebrated like this with my dad. It felt good to joke around and spend time with people who actually care about you.”

Chan’s scent engulfed you. His scarf smelled just like him and you loved it. “We’re not here to talk about sad stuff like that. My parents will gladly adopt you if you keep on bringing flowers like that.”, you giggled a little.

9 minutes.

Chan just sat there for a second but laughed along. “Yeah.”

You both sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Your senses were hyperactive at this point. You sensed Chan’s warmth from the proximity between the two of you. The bench was not huge, so you did sit pretty close.

5 minutes.

“Y/N?”, Chan then said with a shaky breath.

“Yeah?”

“Uh… about what you told everyone inside…”, Chan started, looking away from the nervousness.

“What do you mean?”, you asked, a little confused.

“About us being friends.”

You sighed a little, still not understanding. “Chan we are friends? What are you talking about?”

Maybe you were just acting like you didn’t actually know what he was asking. No, you were acting like you don’t know for sure. It was just scary for you to actually admit your feelings.

“Just forget it.”, he said, giving up.

No, don’t give up. Chan you need to ask. Please., you had thought.

You once again sat in silence but Chan stood up now.

2 minutes.

“We should go in.”, he said with a sad tone to his voice.

You quickly got up with wide eyes and grabbed his arm. “Chan, we should watch the fireworks! And… and you should wish for something for the new year!”, you told him in panic, hoping he would understand you.

Chan’s eyes showed an emotion that you never saw before. It was as if he gained confidence. “I already wished for something.”

1 minute.

“You did?”, you asked him nervously. “What is it?”

“I shouldn’t tell you otherwise it my won’t come true.”, Chan smirked as he looked at your nervous expression.

“Huh, okay…”, you said.

“But I can tell you one thing. You can help me fulfill my wish.”, Chan told you with a genuine smile.

Your hands slowly slid down from his wrist to his hand. “I can?”

30 seconds.

“Yes. You can.”, Chan whispered as he moved closer to you. Your faces were only inches apart from each other. You felt him move even closer to you as he put his hand on your waist. Your heart was beating out of your chest and after putting your hand on his chest, you felt his heartbeat too. It was beating even faster than yours.

“Then you should tell me…”, you said, glancing up at Chan who was staring in your eyes.

10 seconds.

“Okay. Y/N, I like you. A lot. Do something about it.”, Chan finally said after taking a deep breath.

Your heart stopped for a second as you finally heard the words coming out of his mouth. You could hear the countdown from your house.

“3, 2, 1!”

You then took the first step and pressed your lips on his while closing your eyes. The cold wind suddenly didn’t bother you anymore and you only felt Chan’s warm lips on yours. Chan kissed you back quickly and then pulled you even closer with his arms around your waist.

Chan was like a missing piece of the puzzle. You fit perfectly in his arms and you knew from the first time you had kissed him in Busan that kissing him felt just right. You heard the fireworks around you explode.

Chan’s lips moved perfectly with yours and you never felt safer and more loved than now. You separated to breathe but Chan quickly went in for another kiss.

After kissing for a short while, you stopped kissing Chan. Chan pressed his forehead against yours with eyes still closed. “I guess my wish came true.”

You giggled. “To answer you, I like you too. I like you so much, Chan.”, you finally confessed.

Chan’s eyes then met you and he grabbed you by your waist and spun you around in excitement. “I couldn’t be happier right now, Y/N. You don’t know how happy I am about this.”

“HA! They are dating!”, you heard your mom from the house. She and a few of your aunts were watching from the window.

You were blushing furiously as you pressed your face against Chan’s chest while also hugging him. “Even in a situation like this they would embarrass me.”

Chan laughed lightheartedly. He then stared at the sky with the beautiful and colorful fireworks. “You are my girlfriend now…”, he stated, still not believing.

You then looked up from his chest. “Since when did you start liking me?”

Chan thought for a second. “I guess I knew that I had some sort of feelings when I told you about the treehouse. But I knew for sure when we were in Busan.”

“That’s funny. I realized it in Busan too.”, you confessed, still blushing like crazy.

Chan then pulled you close and hugged you tightly. “How about we go inside?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

The rest of the evening was spent by you trying to explain that you didn’t lie earlier and that you just started dating for real. You ignored that voice inside of you who was trying to tell that this was not a good idea. You can finally be close to him and maybe things would work out between you.

You were trying to stay optimistic because this was not easy at all. But for now you were happy to have Chan by your side.

♥

A few days passed since you officially started dating. It was one of your lazy days at home and you were cleaning up your house. Chan also came by to help even though he probably never cleaned before in his life.

“Chan I can really clean up by myself.”, you said laughing at the way he held the mop.

“Nope, I’m here to help my girlfriend. Let me mop this place in peace!”

You giggled at his determination. “Okay, whatever. I’ll start with my bedroom.”

It was still weird for you two hear the word girlfriend. You couldn’t believe that you were dating the man you hated once. You were happy whenever Chan was around and you needed that positive energy in your life.

While cleaning up, you suddenly found the folder that you had copied from Kevin’s office and you also found the list of missing kids in Seoul. You then started looking through Kevin’s folder again. These were just building plans on Chan’s father’s properties.

You remembered that the buildings were already named and were weird as hell. You then looked at one plan in particular. The building was named Yalieh. You never heard such a name before. That was really weird. The plan even had an address on it and a date. The date was next week.

“Chan?”, you called out to him. “Look at this. Isn’t this a weird name for a building?”

Chan took the paper out of your hand. “My dad always uses unique names for his buildings. I never understood them either.”

You took another plan and looked at the name. “This one says Jonsio. That doesn’t make any sense. And these dates and addresses make no sense either. I know that here on the Jonsio building there is nothing yet. Not even a construction site. Why would there be something by next week?”

Chan’s hands became sweaty. “This one is named Siojo… Y/N.”, Chan said in a serious tone. “These letter combinations… seem a little random, don’t you think?”

Your eyes widened. “Wait… Yalieh… Hailey!”, you combined it and it made sense! These were some weird anagrams!

“Then Jonsio must be Soojin.”, Chan concluded in horror. “Siojo is Jisoo then.”, you added, in shock.

“Give me that list of missing children!”, you told Chan quickly. You did indeed find some of the names on the building plans. They were mostly girls – teenage girls. Your hands started shaking violently. Chan’s hands wrapped around your hands. “Y/N. I’ll talk to Seungmin if he knows about more. I’ll let Changbin know and we’ll find out what’s really going on.”

“What if he’s trying to do something to these girls, Chan? We should immediately do something!”

Then a phone rang. It was Chan’s. He got up from the ground to take the call. “Hyunjin?”, Chan answered the call but he put the phone on speaker.

“Chan. I know I told you that after the drug incident I would stop snooping but I was still observing and watching your father’s illegal calendar. Look… I found out that this Black Dragon Russian guy is not only a drug dealer…”, Hyunjin said frantically.

“What do you mean?”

“He is also known for human trafficking. Especially young girls. I spent some time in the dark web and found out what he is doing. Your father has a meeting with him next week. I just wanted to let you now.”, Hyunjin said with a serious tone. “Involve the police, Chan.”

“Thank you, Hyunjin.”, Chan said and hung up. “Y/N. We need to save these girls or they might become victims of human trafficking. Hyunjin just sent an email with the exact meeting location…”, Chan then looked at the phone.

Your eyes widened in horror. “Chan it fits with Hailey’s “building plan”!”, you said.

“Fuck.”, Chan took a deep breath. “I will talk to Changbin.”

He put his hands on your cheeks. “Y/N. Calm down, okay…”, he whispered as he noticed your frantic breathing. “We will fix this.”, he said and then pressed his lips on yours. “We will save these girls. I promise.”

“Thank you, Chan.”, you whispered and hugged him tightly.

This was more than just dealing with drugs. Kevin Bang did not only ruin your life financially but he also gains money with human trafficking. It made you sick to your bones. This was about so much more than just his reputation. That man belonged to prison and he needed to be stopped.

♥

The next day you were still shaken up from your discovery. It gave you an uneasy feeling. Changbin was on the case and they were working quietly to not attract any unwanted attention. Because Kevin Bang was such a big name, they had to make sure to work carefully.

After weeks, you finally got your car fixed and told Chan that he didn’t have to drive you to work anymore. He still insisted on doing so and literally forced you to drive with him. You sighed as you waited for him. You put on your Bluetooth headphones and got a call. It was Minho.

“Hello?”, you said as you picked up.

“Hi, Y/N. I know you’re coming but could you please bring the folder that Mr. Lee left at the front desk for me. I have a lot to do today and can’t go downstairs. Will you pick it up on your way to the office?”

“Yeah, sure.”, you said. You then noticed a black pick-up truck halting in front of you. You were looking at the car, confused. The windows were tinted black and before you could even do anything, two men got out of the car and pulled you inside. You managed to scratch the face of the man who pulled you in. You were struggling and the men were definitely stronger than you.

You screamed loudly. “LET ME GO!”

“Y/N?!”, Minho shouted at his phone. “Hey? ANSWER ME!”

One of the men put some sort of cloth with chloroform on your mouth. “Leave… me… alone…”, you said with your last energy before passing out.

Luckily, the men didn’t notice your headphones yet. Minho listened quietly. “This bitch scratched my face.”, one of the men said. “Mr. Bang will be pleased. At least she’s quiet now. Filthy journalists these days.”

“Damn, she’s wearing headphones!”

Before Minho could hear more, the connection was cut off. Minho frantically got up. He knew what to do.

He dialed a number.