"Hyun Hee-sung." Dayun let out a name. And continued...

"Iseul's biological father... He- He is a criminal. A drug-dealer you could say. A lot of people work under him. They are infamously known in the black market as The Panther that roams the city. They aren't a mafia but close to one. They are far more dangerous than a mafia. They are ruthless."

Listening to her carefully, Insoo asked, "You're running from them?" To which Dayun just nodded slowly. "If they found us, we'd be in huge trouble." She said looking to the side.

"And... Yesterday..?"

"It wasn't them yesterday."

"How do you know?"

"Well... Each one of them have a Black Panther tattooed on the back of their neck. That bastard didn't have it."

Oh.

...

He let everything she said sink in. Sentence by sentence. Word by word.

For him, it explains a lot of things. It explains all of her concerns, her worries and her actions.

For the first time he felt like he actually knew her and knowing her was painful. He wanted to ask a lot of things. He wondered what led her into this mess. But he couldn't. He knew she wouldn't tell him everything. He won't push her.

Maybe she'd tell him when she's ready like she did today. He thought.

That thought of his, surprised him. He was surprised at how worried he felt. He was definitely very worried. Everything she said made him feel worried. He couldn't even imagine something bad happening to Dayun or Iseul. That thing scared him.

And... That's when he realized, maybe Dayun wasn't any regular employee or secretary to him. He cared for her more than a boss should and he didn't know why.

All that he knew was, he can't be a mere spectator when... she's in trouble.

...

The rest of the lunch was silent but it wasn't awkward at all. Both were thinking about a lot of things.

Everything Dayun told Insoo just now was news to him and he was still figuring out the things she said. And opening up to someone was new to Dayun too. She never trusts someone enough to tell them about her issues. But somehow, she could trust Insoo and him being a good listener makes her feel comfortable.

~

~

After lunch, they walked to their office together. The air between them felt much lighter compared to how heavy it was when they left.

...

While walking, Insoo took out something from his bag. Its huge size made Dayun curious on what it could be. Taking a closer look, she could tell what it was. It was something Iseul had been asking her for ages.

It was a Disney princess play set!

She didn't buy it for her because, why would she spend so much on something that Iseul wouldn't even use for a week?

But. He has bought it?

"I got this for Iseul...", he said handing it to Dayun.

"Uhm-" As usual, Dayun was reluctant in accepting it. For her, he has done a lot of things and she'd never be able to repay him at this rate. But before she could refuse,

"C'mon. Can't you just accept one thing from me without arguing? Iseul liked it and I bought it for her. It's my way of saying sorry to her. So, accept it, it's an order." He said and Dayun couldn't say anything else. "Okay... Okay. I will. Thank you." She laughed and kept it safely in her bag saying "Iseul's going to go crazy over this."

When she turned around after closing the zip of her bag, Insoo had already taken out another thing from his bag and was reluctantly handing it out for her.

He had been debating for a long time if he should give it to her or not and finally decided to. After all, he has bought it for her.

...

Dayun's POV,

When I turned around, Insoo had something else in his hands.

It was...

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Flowers!

They were beautiful. I couldn't recognise what flowers they were, though. I've never seen this kind of flower before.

Before he opened his mouth to speak something, I had already grabbed them from his hands.

I love flowers! Their colour, their scent, their texture, everything about them!

"Wow... They're so beautiful. And they smell sooo good." I said smelling them. They've got one of the sweetest scents I've ever encountered.

"Now, to who are these flowers for?" I asked him admiring the flowers.

"Wait... I think I know. That business partner of yours, from Busan, that old man, you said he was in critical condition or something. Did he die already?" I asked already being half sure that it would be the case. "I knew it. But aren't these flowers too good for a funeral? That man did nothing but cause huge loss for our company."

"Uhm-" He began and I listened. "Actually, that man died last week. The funeral was on Sunday, so, I went there by myself."

"Then, who else died?" I asked surprised.

"Oh... Please. Will you stop that. No one died." He said laughing nervously.

"Then, who are they for?" I asked once again and his eyes looked everywhere except me.

"They're for you."

...

"For me-"

They are for me?

He bought them for me?

Really?

"Please don't misunderstand." He quickly added. "It's just- I wanted to say sorry for everything that happened yesterday."

"I said it's not your-" I interrupted.

"Yeah. You said it wasn't my fault. I didn't tell you this... But the man that tried to kidnap Iseul has a record of kidnapping kids from elite family backgrounds. He could've done that, when he saw Iseul with me, knowing me as MoonTalk's CEO. It could be because of me."

"Please stop blaming yourself. Even if that was true, it's fine. People like must get caught at some point."

"Still. I feel bad. Please accept this. I want to give you something nice. Something special. Even my friend suggested that I buy something you like. And... you always kept flowers on your table. I know you love them. So... I thought-............ And I saw them on the way so I-

___________________________________

Meanwhile,

"Ahh... That idiot! Why did he take me with him to every florist at Seoul? It's his life. His problems. Why must he make me suffer like this?" Chul-ho massages his legs. "I- I shouldn't have given him the idea. Ah-"

*Cries in pain at a distance*

___________________________________

I know you love them. So... I thought-.............. And I saw them on the way- So... I decided to- to just- you know-"

When he said that, I don't know what came over me but I just wanted to hug him so badly and I did as I quickly pulled him into my arms. In the course, I may have crushed the flowers a bit, but they'd definitely live through this.

...

...

"Please don't misunderstand. It's just............ I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me yesterday. Also, to say sorry for how I acted yesterday. I hope you'd forgive me. I really need that."

...

After a moment or so, I felt his soft touch and his strong arms around me. I did not expect him to hug me back but he did.

And it felt natural. It felt warm.

Most importantly, it felt......... Safe.

I always knew I was never safe. But I thought I was strong and that I'd manage things. But when he's holding me in his arms like this, I get to know how weak I am. Only now do I realise that I am in fact scared deep inside. He's making me feel weak and vulnerable. Still, why is this a moment I'd like to live longer?

...

After a long moment, I suddenly grew conscious of what I was doing.

"Uhm-" I stumbled.

What was I even thinking?

"I- I suddenly remembered I have to prepare the documents for your meeting." I quickly walked fast without even turning back.

~

~

We were back in the office. Insoo was calm and relaxed.

But as usual, I wasn't.

The rest of the day, I found it difficult to even meet his eyes. Before, I couldn't meet his eyes because I felt guilty. And now, I couldn't because-................ I feel like I did something I shouldn't have.

Ugh, why does my job require me to be always near him?

...

Well... It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? It was just a very common thank-you hug and even Insoo is very casual and unbothered about it. Then, why am I not? This is crazy! I wish I could be at least a little casual as he is but I couldn't.

I convince my mind that it was just a casual hug and that there was nothing in it to feel anxious about. But one look at him and I'd get reminded of that moment and how it made me feel making me get flustered all over again.

But, on a side note, I never knew that he could give such amazing hugs! It felt like a-

...

No!

Don't!

Don't think about it, at least not when you're around him.

...

So, that day, I left earlier. He didn't mind giving me permission for that. And I headed home after picking Iseul at school.

The first thing she asked me was if I had apologised to 'her dada' or not. And I told her everything. Erm- Of course just the necessary things.

I also gave her The Disney princess playset that Insoo had brought her and naturally she was happy about it.

That day Iseul felt sleepy, so I decided to make food early.

After sending Iseul to sleep, I sat down to admire the flowers he gave me. I had put them in my water-filled flower-pot that I kept near the window. I keep flowers around me all the time. They have a lot of lovely qualities but their scent is what attracts me the most. It calms down my body and heals my soul.

And.................. He knew that.

But this flower... I've never seen this around. How did he find it? It has such a unique scent that would instantly take you to the mountain valleys. Breathe the freshest of air and walk on the unwalked delicate grass. Such a fantabulous feeling.

...

"That was inappropriate. I shouldn't have done that." My thoughts suddenly shifted.

'Please don't misunderstand. It's just I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me yesterday' The words I said echoed through my ears.

Ah- That was stupid. I grabbed my hair in frustration. Who would even say something like that?!

I must have lost my mind. Frustration kept adding up as I tried my best to not think about him but he somehow ended up invading all of my thoughts. I felt more and more frustrated and would have pulled out all my hair off my head if I hadn't heard a bell.

The door-bell!

Absent-minded, I went to open the door without even thinking who it could be to come this late in the evening.

And that was

A big mistake.

What I saw further emphasised how big of a mistake that was.

...

I twisted the knob and opened the door revealing half face of the man.

And...

I didn't have to look at his full face to know that I had foolishly invited trouble sent by the devil himself.

My eyes opened wide as I instantly tried to close the door.

But the hound placed his foot in the middle preventing the door from closing.

My heart rate raised and my sweat glands worked like crazy. I pressed my back flat against the door hoping that it would spare me a few seconds... Few seconds to find something to my defence.

When did my life change genres? From Melodrama to Thriller... Or, seeing his face, it's most probably, horror.

His push was harder and I lost my strength to keep him from entering.

And he entered.

'But this can't make you startled. You have been prepared for this moment for a very long time.' I told myself and prepared myself physically and mentally.

As soon as he entered my door, I quickly grabbed his wrist, went up to his arms and threw his body over my shoulder onto the ground locking his neck with my hands, strangling.

I did all this in a blink of an eye and he wasn't prepared for this sudden move but regained his composure back in seconds as he flipped me, our positions interchanged.

I focused my energy on my knees to kick his lower body as he let out a scream which gave me just enough time to escape his grip and to twist his hands regaining my balance.

Our fight continued a few more seconds but I was quite faster than him. Being fast would take the top spot in my list of strengths, as I pushed the man to the ground and hit his head hard before he could stand up again with a heavy flower vase I had kept at the entrance, breaking it into hundreds if not thousands of pieces.

This vase... I had intentionally kept it there for I know I would have to face a time like this at some point.

...

Yi Jo-hwa - Hyun Hee-sung's right hand man. He's skilled but he's slow. That's his weakness which I exploited. And it hasn't changed during the course of 7 years.

Pathetic.

He lied there unconscious with a gun hidden behind his coat in his holder which I prevented him from getting access to, with much difficulty.

I took the gun out from his holder as I heard another pair of footsteps approaching the door.

I was alarmed.

So, there were two people? I knocked one out, which leaves me with the other.

I wouldn't get any help from the neighbours as two of them had just recently moved out and Mrs. Park... Well, she has hearing problems and... What can an old lady like herself could do to help me?

But with the gun in my hands, I believe I need no help.

I was about to turn my head in a plan to shoot whoever that stood there, at my door.

But...

I got distracted by,

"Momma..."

Biggest of all the mistakes I've done today.

Stay tuned

To be continued...