#2pm

You sat alone inside the medical room upstairs, fingers trembling slightly while reorganizing supplies that did not need reorganizing. Gauze. Alcohol wipes...Bandages...Scissors...Again... And again...And again.

Downstairs, IKFC continued breathing like on a regular day. A year ago, you would have called the police hearing conversations like that but now you disinfected bullet wounds without asking questions. Funny how survival changed people.

The door opened quietly behind you. You looked up instantly and standing when you saw tae-geom stood there with blood across his knuckles again.

Not his blood...Usually never his.

His clothes disheveled, dark hair damp from rain and sweat while exhaustion rested heavily across his face. The second his eyes found you, something inside his expression softened almost invisibly. Only for you....Always only for you.

“You’re late,” you murmured quietly.

“Meeting dragged.” You hated how normal that sounded now. You nodded anyway.

Tae-geom closed the door behind him before sitting heavily against the examination table. You stepped between his knees automatically, reaching for antiseptic.

“You split your knuckles again.” you observed.

“He deserved it.” he replied.

“That’s not medical reasoning.” you argued back almost frustratingly. A faint breath of amusement left him. Tiny....Exhausted.

You cleaned the blood from his hands carefully while silence settled around you both comfortably. Outside this room, Yun Tae-geom terrified people. Men lowered their eyes when he walked past because they knew how inhumane he can be. Security guards straightened instantly hearing his footsteps.

But here…Here he just looked tired. And lately, that terrified you more. Because the exhaustion had been getting worse. Longer silences...Sleepless nights.

Standing near windows at 3AM staring into Seoul like he was trying to find something that no longer existed there.

“Tae-geom.”

“Hm?”

“You’ve been thinking too loudly lately.” That finally pulled his attention fully toward you.

A dangerous thing...Tae-geom only looked at people directly when he cared what happened to them.

“You notice too much.” he said. Flatly.

“I’m a nurse.” you reason with him.

“No,” he murmured softly. “You notice me too much.”

Heat crawled faintly into your chest despite everything..A year inside IKFC should have made moments like this impossible.Yet somehow the quiet parts with him felt more intimate than anything else.

Your fingers brushed lightly across his bruised knuckles while wrapping gauze.

“You need stitches.”

“no, I need sleep.”

“You need therapy.”That earned a low tired laugh from him. Then silence returned again. Heavy this time...You noticed it immediately.

“Tae-geom.” He looked at you quietly for several seconds before speaking.

“If I asked you to leave Seoul with me,” he said softly, “would you?” Your hands stopped moving. The rain outside suddenly sounded louder.

“What?”

“I’m serious.” Your chest tightened instantly.

Nobody left IKFC...Not really..Not alive...Not cleanly. Baek-jeong never allowed it.

“You’re scaring me.” For the first time in months, something genuinely emotional cracked through Tae-geom’s composure.

“Good,” he said quietly. “You should be scared.” The words settled coldly inside your stomach.

“What happened?”

Instead of answering immediately, he reached for your hand slowly, thumb brushing absentmindedly across your wrist like grounding himself through touch alone.

“Baek-jeong noticed.”Your pulse stumbled...Noticed...Of course he noticed.

The late nights together. The way Tae-geom started refusing unnecessary violence.

How he walked you to your car personally after shifts. How you became the only person inside IKFC capable of calming him during bad nights.

Men like Im Baek-jeong noticed weakness immediately.

And love? Love was catastrophic weakness inside places like this.

“Tae-geom…” “He gave me three months.” His jaw tightened faintly. “To fix it.” Cold fear slid down your spine....fix it?? Meaning you.

“You’re leaving because of me.” “No,” he answered immediately...Then quieter... “I’m leaving because I finally remembered I wanted a life.”Your throat tightened painfully.

Before you could answer, the medical room door opened again. Nobody knocked. Nobody ever made Baek-jeong knock. The entire room changed instantly.

Tae-geom stood automatically. So did you.

Im Baek-jeong entered the room with rain still clinging faintly to the shoulders of his black coat, dark hair tied neatly back while silence followed him like something alive.

Even after a year inside IKFC, he still unsettled you immediately. Not because he shouted. Because he never needed to.

His gaze moved slowly between you and Tae-geom before settling briefly on your intertwined hands.

Interesting.

“You’re both becoming careless,” he murmured. Your stomach dropped.Tae-geom stepped slightly in front of you instinctively. Baek-jeong noticed that too. And smiled. Not warmly. Never warmly.

“You know,” he said quietly, “emotional people become liabilities for business.” Tae-geom’s expression hardened instantly. “She’s not involved.”

“No?” Baek-jeong glanced toward you. “Then why are you suddenly refusing assignments that keep you away from her?”....Silence.....Dead silence.

The kind sitting directly before disasters. Baek-jeong stepped further into the room slowly.

“You were useful once,” he continued calmly toward Tae-geom. “Predictable. Efficient.” A pause. “Now you hesitate.” “I still get results.” “Yes.” Baek-jeong tilted his head slightly. “But now you think before killing people.”

The words sliced through the room cleanly...Your chest tightened upon the realization. Because it was true..you had changed Tae-geom Not softer exactly but somethinJust… human again.

And IKFC benefited from monsters, not men rediscovering morality.

“I’m leaving,” Tae-geom said suddenly. Everything went still......

Even Baek-jeong stopped moving.

A quiet laugh. “You’re serious.” “I am.”

Baek-jeong stared at him for several long seconds before removing his coat slowly and placing it over the nearby chair.

Your pulse spiked instantly... You knew what was coming for tae-goem.

“Tae-geom…” you whispered softly. But he already understood too. This was never ending with conversation... He knew that.

“You built too much for IKFC to walk away cleanly,” Baek-jeong said calmly, rolling his sleeves upward. “So if you want out…” His dark gaze sharpened slightly. “Earn it.”

The first punch came fast. Violent enough to split Tae-geom’s lip instantly. You gasped loudly as his body slammed backward into the metal cabinet beside you.

“Tae-geom!” you shouted. But he already lunged forward again.

The sound of fists colliding against flesh echoed brutally through the medical room while equipment crashed onto the floor around them. Neither man fought wildly. That was what made it terrifying. Controlled violence. Precise.

Tae-geom drove his fist into Baek-jeong’s ribs hard enough to force air from his lungs, but Baek-jeong retaliated immediately with a brutal hit across Tae-geom’s jaw that snapped his head sideways violently. Blood splattered across the floor.

You’d never seen Baek-jeong fight personally before.Now you understood why men feared him. He fought like someone emotionally detached from pain itself

Tae-geom crashed against the examination table before recovering instantly, grabbing Baek-jeong by the collar and slamming him hard enough into the wall to crack the frame behind him.

Neither spoke.

Years of loyalty and violence collapsing into fists. “Tae-geom stop!” you cried desperately. Neither listened.

Baek-jeong drove his knee sharply into Tae-geom’s stomach before striking him across the face hard enough to split skin beneath his eye.

The sound made your stomach twist violently. Still Tae-geom kept getting back up....Again...Again. Not for pride but for you.

That realization hurt more than the violence itself.

“You’re proving my point,” Baek-jeong muttered while wiping blood from his mouth. “Love makes men pathetic.” Tae-geom hit him hard enough to stagger him backward a step.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he breathed. Something dangerous flickered briefly across Baek-jeong’s face then.

Real irritation.

The next hit sent Tae-geom crashing onto the floor beside the overturned tray table.You ran toward him instantly.

" Please...director Im...please stop..!” you begged Baek jeong.

Tae-goem coughed harshly, blood staining his lower lip while trying to push himself upright again despite shaking arms.

And suddenly—nausea slammed through you violently. You barely made it toward the sink before vomiting. The room fell silent instantly afterward.

Your hands gripped the sink trembling while realization crashed slowly over you.

No.

No no no—

“Tae-geom…” Your voice broke. He looked up immediately despite blood running down his face. And the second your hand instinctively moved toward your stomach…

everything changed...Baek-jeong noticed it too. Of course he did. Silence swallowed the room whole. Tae-geom stared at you.Then your stomach.

Then back at you again with something almost horrified unfolding behind his eyes.

Not fear. Something deeper. Protectiveness so intense it looked painful.

Baek-jeong exhaled slowly through his nose before looking away toward the rain-covered windows. Annoyance flickered clearly across his face.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered quietly. Nobody spoke.

For the first time since entering the room, Baek-jeong looked genuinely exhausted.

“You got her pregnant.” Tae-geom slowly stood despite the blood covering him.

“Yes.” The answer came without hesitation.That seemed to irritate Baek-jeong even more. Because there it was..Proof...Yun Tae-geom was already gone emotionally.

The organization had lost him long before tonight. Baek-jeong grabbed his coat again before turning toward the door.

“If this were anybody else,” he said quietly, “I’d bury them before sunrise.” Your pulse stopped.

“But emotional men become liabilities,” he continued calmly without looking back. “And desperate fathers become unpredictable.” A pause. “Neither benefits business.”

Tae-geom stared silently. Baek-jeong opened the door.

“Leave korea within forty-eight hours,” he said flatly. “And if I ever hear your child’s name connected to IKFC…” The threat hung unfinished in the air.

It didn’t need completion.

Then he left.

Just like that.

No softness.

No blessing.

No forgiveness.

Only business.

The rain swallowed him whole beyond the hallway while silence settled heavily inside the ruined medical room afterward.

For several seconds neither of you moved.

Then Tae-geom crossed the room quickly despite his injuries, hands cupping your face almost desperately while searching your expression.

“You’re pregnant?” Tears blurred your vision instantly.

“I haven't bled this month so I think so...” you cried. Something inside him cracked completely then. Quietly.

Like a man who spent years surviving suddenly realizing survival was no longer enough anymore.

He rested his forehead against yours carefully, breathing uneven now for the first time all night.

“We’re leaving,” he whispered.

And this time…there was finally something in his voice stronger than fear.

Hope.

___________________________

Life afterward was strangely small. And beautiful because of it.

You moved somewhere quiet near the North where nobody knew Yun Tae-geom beyond being a reserved man with tired eyes and scarred knuckles. Tae-goem had saved enough for the rest of your lives.

At first, he struggled badly.

Crowded places still made him tense.

He checked locks three times before sleeping.

Kept weapons hidden throughout the house without telling you.

Sometimes you woke at night finding him sitting beside the crib silently watching your daughter breathe. Like he still couldn’t believe something that innocent belonged to him.

But slowly…life softened him anyway...Never completely. Tae-geom would always carry violence inside him like old scars beneath skin.

Yet now those same hands once used for IKFC held grocery bags and tiny baby socks instead.

He learned how to braid your daughter’s hair terribly. Burned pancakes every Sunday trying to help.

Stood beside you cooking dinner while rain hit the windows of your small coastal home.

And sometimes, during quiet nights after the baby finally slept, you would catch him staring at both of you with something almost disbelieving in his eyes.

Like he still expected this life to disappear.

“You regret it?” you asked once softly while brushing his hair.

Leaving. Losing IKFC...money..power..everything.

Tae-geom looked toward the ocean beyond the windows before glancing back at you and your sleeping daughter curled against his chest.

Then, very quietly he answered.

“No.” And for the first time in his life…Yun Tae-geom truly meant it.

권오율 // 【 Kωoᥒ Ohყυᥣ 】⋆｡𖦹°

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗲𝘅ⵑ 𝗞𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗵𝘆𝘂𝗹 ❞ ⁽📲⁾

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔- 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖾𝗑, 𝖮𝗁𝗒𝗎𝗅, 𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝖻𝖺𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎.

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ Facetime ❞

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - 𝖶𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝗅𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 “𝖥𝖺𝖼𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾,” 𝖮𝗁𝗒𝗎𝗅 𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗇𝖾𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗋𝖾𝗈𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗁𝗒 — 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗎𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗒 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝗌 𝗌𝗂𝗆𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅.

김률 // 【 Kιɱ Rყυᥣ 】⋆｡𖦹°

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 ❞

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - When you’re dɑting Kim Ryul, “personɑl spɑce” doesn’t exist. Between constɑnt hugs, kisses, ɑnd nonstop clinginess, you quickly leɑrn thɑt resisting him is impossible… ɑnd honestly, you wouldn’t wɑnt to.

정우진 // 【 Jυᥒɡ Wooȷιᥒ 】⋆｡𖦹°

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ 𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 ❞⁽📲⁾

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - Woojin wɑs trying to text jɑy but he ɑccidentɑlly texted ɑ rɑndom girl

임지호 // 【 Lιɱ Loυιs 】⋆｡𖦹°

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁 ❞ ⁽📲⁾

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - Rɑndom texts with bf! Louis

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗱, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 ❞

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - Missing eɑch other between pɑcked idol schedules, Louis FɑceTimes his girlfriend lɑte ɑt night, turning exhɑustion into comfort ɑs they fɑll ɑsleep together through the screen.

𓈈ㅤ - ❝ Distant memories❞

𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔 - 𝖫𝗈𝗎𝗂𝗌 𝗋𝖾𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗆𝗂𝖽𝖽𝗅𝖾 𝗌𝖼𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗅 𝖼𝗋𝗎𝗌𝗁 𝖽𝗎𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗂𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 — 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾, 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝗍 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗅𝗂𝗉 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇.

【 OT4 】⋆｡𖦹°

𓈈ㅤ - 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣...

As their manager explained, four members would be more than enough, so Jade genuinely didn’t mind not participating. She had actually been looking forward to a rare day off.

But somehow, later that same day, after the final four had already been decided, her phone practically exploded with hundreds of messages from other JYPE artists, mostly juniors. All of them practically begging her to come.

Lily from NMIXX even offered to buy her coffee for a month straight. Jade had to remind her she’d already debuted and didn’t need to bargain her way into survival anymore.

Changbin from STRAY KIDS, on the other hand, was less diplomatic, texting Jade letting her know he'd break into her house and haunt her in her sleep.

Between the threats, the bribes, and the suspicious amount of enthusiasm from everyone else in the company, Jade eventually gave in. After all, what better thing would she be doing that day, other than resting in her far too comfortable bed with her far too hot boyfriend?

"Wow, look at you, Jade-yah. You’re such a senior now." JYP’s voice carried from the other side of the room. "You guys are basically part of the senior lineup."

The girls burst into laughter.

"We are part of it!" Nayeon shot back immediately.

"Unbelievable..." he said, still amused.

"Of course we are, Jinyoung." Jade joined in, tilting her head slightly. "Do you think Jihyo unnie learned how to walk in JYPE’s garage for free?"

Jihyo let out a loud laugh before lightly slapping Jade’s arm in mock offense, while the other artists laughed too.

It didn’t take long before the girls were called to get into position for their entrance, just as STRAY KIDS’ song was coming to an end. The members quickly lined up, and one of the staff handed Jade a small flag with TWICE’s logo on it.

"Now, let’s welcome TWICE!" they heard Na PD shout through the megaphone. "Music, please!"

The moment they stepped out, the TWICE song blasted through the speakers, making Jade burst into loud laughter.

As previously arranged between them, the girls struck their poses for the camera. Jade lifted the flag high while forcing an exaggerated, overly serious smile, a running joke between them whenever they had to do "grand entrances."

Too immersed in following the camera’s direction, they nearly missed their mark and had to shuffle quickly into the correct spot, trying, and failing, to look composed.

When Jade finally glanced behind them and saw ITZY and STRAY KIDS standing there, she gasped dramatically.

"You’re seniors?" she asked, eyes wide. "No way!"

The idols burst into laughter.

"Wait," Na PD interrupted, looking confused. "DAY6 debuted before TWICE?"

"By a month!" Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jade answered in perfect unison.

"So you don’t really see them as that far ahead of you, then?" he asked.

Jade tilted her head thoughtfully.

"No, not really." she replied honestly, making the producer laugh at how straightforward she was.

Time passed as members of DAY6 and 2PM made their entrances, each one louder than the last.

But before JYP could even appear, Jade was already cracking, hiding her face behind the TWICE flag she was holding. She just knew he was going to do something. And she was right.

The second “Who’s Your Mama” started blasting through the speakers, Jade let out a strangled noise. JYP turned around dramatically, swaying his hips shyly before breaking into a playful run like an awkward schoolboy. Jade genuinely felt like she might collapse.

After he finally reached his spot, slightly ahead of everyone else, Jade was still shaking with laughter, unable to compose herself.

"Jade, are you okay?" Na PD asked, zooming in on her.

That only made her laugh harder.

"She hates when I do this!" JYP announced proudly. "She’s like that teenage daughter who gets embarrassed by everything her parents do."

The entire field erupted. Jade finally lowered the flag just enough to glare at him.

"Because why are you like this?" she protested, still laughing. "There are cameras!"

"That’s the point!" JYP shot back.

Dahyun leaned into Jade, whispering loudly.

"You are acting like a daughter right now."

"I am not!" Jade insisted, immediately hiding her face again as JYP did one more unnecessary hip sway for the cameras. "See?!"

"Jade unnie, control your father!" Yeji teased.

Jade laughed, shaking her head, before their attention was called.

“Please, face forward everyone.” Na PD instructed.

The idols obediently turned toward the stage, where banners and two mic stands were set up.

As the producer read from his script, mentioning the forty-one idols present and how there had never been an event like this on the show before, Jade found herself genuinely settling into the moment. It felt rare each day.

Now that Jinyoung wasn’t actively serving as CEO anymore and had shifted into his beloved “CCO” role, full-company gatherings like this barely happened. Back in the days of JYP Nation concerts, they’d constantly reunite on one stage. Now she was lucky if she ran into her juniors in the hallway.

"But we have an interesting piece of data here." Na PD continued. "Jade, is it true that you worked with Jinyoung in helping form most of the groups here today?"

Jade blinked. That she wasn’t expecting.

A wave of applause erupted immediately especially from the idols she had once spent long nights training with. Her ears turned red.

"Yes… somehow." she admitted shyly, but still with her strong posture.

"How many groups?" Na PD pressed.

Jade turned to Jinyoung like she was silently begging for backup. She genuinely had no idea.

"I think I started mentoring around the time of STRAY KIDS? So… four, maybe five groups?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes. From Stray Kids to NiziU, Jade served as the final mentor for the trainees. She helped with team formations and the last stages of their training." Jinyoung nodded proudly.

There was a louder reaction this time. Some of the juniors were clapping harder than before.

"She stopped because she was convinced they hated her." Jinyoung added casually.

"I was SURE they did!" Jade corrected immediately, whipping her head toward him. "They wouldn’t smile! They just stared at me!"

From the back, Changbin shouted.

"We were scared of you, noona!"

After the laughter finally settled and the teasing died down, Na PD clapped his hands to regain control.

"As today we'll be playing various sports and games and our bodies are out greatest assets, we could get injured if we move too hastily, right?" he asked, the idols nodding and murmuring in agreement. "So we’ll take some time to warm up first. For this quest, I’ll need a few of our scouts. If I call your name, please come forward."

A chorus of curious coos spread across the field.

"Jihyo of TWICE, and Young K of DAY6."

The two stepped forward confidently, earning cheers from their groups as they climbed onto the small stage.

"We’ll be warming up with some basic dance moves." Na PD announced.

At first, their reaction was polite but then realization hit. Those basic dance moves. The very first routine every trainee under JYPE had to learn. The infamous warm-up choreography designed to 'teach swag and presence', as Jinyoung loved to phrase it.

A collective gasp turned into laughter.

"No way!" Jade grabbed Jeongyeon's arm.

"You remember it, don’t you?" her member accused.

"Unfortunately."

The instrumental began, simple, rhythmic, almost nostalgic.

Jihyo and Young K demonstrated the first counts. And like muscle memory being unlocked, bodies all across the field began moving. Shoulders rolling. Steps sliding. Hands snapping into place.

One by one, the idols fell into formation without even thinking about it. Years melted away in seconds. The synchronization was instinctive, with clean angles, sharp timing, confident expressions.

Staff members exchanged stunned looks and Na PD blinked.

"Wait… they’re actually good."

Over thirty idols moving like they had just walked out of the same practice room. As the final pose hit perfectly in sync, cheers erupted from both the idols and staff.

Jihyo raised her arms dramatically and shouted, voice ringing across the set.