A Love Story TaeNy

Foreword "Do you have my money or not?" he asked, ignoring her last statement. Tiffany wanted to smack that bastard. She hated his frosty stare and nonchalant attitude. She was talking about her family here! They were drowning, all because of him. "How much exactly does my father owe you?" "Seventy thousand," he said, without flinching. Chapter 1 Tiffany stared at her reflection in the mirror. She knew what she was abou t to offer was a long shot, but she had to try. Her mom had died when she was young and this current situation was killing her family and making their lives miserab le. She remembered the day he came into her father's failing soul food restauran t. He had ruined her family, her life. She despised him and she hated money. Mon ey really was the root of all evil. It was the reason she was in this predicamen t. She never found any use for money. Sure, she may have never sported the newes t, trendy clothing, but she didn't feel the need to. She was never the girl in h igh school with the latest anything, and she was just fine with that.  She sighed as she turned off the light and walked out of the tiny bathroom she s hared with her sister and dad in their one bedroom apartment. Her sister, Michel le, was in the kitchen scraping the leftovers from dinner into containers. She turned to look at Tiffany and then back at the dishes. Her sister was a beau tiful woman, but the years had not been kind to her. Her smooth skin that used t o glow and sparkle was now a dull white. "I don't know what you think you trying to accomplish by going over to that dang erous man's place. Just plain stupid in my opinion," Michelle said, not botherin g to turn around. "I know, but I got to try something. We can't live like this. I didn't want it t o come to this, but this is a last resort," Tiffany said, pleading with her sist er to understand. "You think you just gon' walk in there and have him erase the debt?" Michelle as ked, turning around and throwing the dishrag over her shoulder. Then she smacked her lips and ran her eyes over her sister s tiny dress. "Unless you plan on offering him something to make him forget the debt." Tiffany sucked in a breath. " I would never. I just want him to try and see it f rom our point of view. That's all. It couldn't hurt to try." "Fany, he don't care about our point of view. Rich, bad men like him could give a damn about poor people like us. The sooner you get that through your head, the better," her sister said, and turned back around. Tiffany figured that was the end of the conversation. Tiffany sighed as she grabbed her purse and an old black jacket of her father's. It was chilly outside and she wasn't used to wearing something so revealing. As she slid the oversized jacket on, she looked down at her dress. She really hope d he didn't get the wrong idea. She just wanted to look presentable, not easy. S he chanced another look at her sister, who pretended like Tiffany wasn't even in the room anymore. Tiffany blew out another sigh and opened the door. The windy night air hit her bare legs and it caused her to hesitate for a moment. 'No, I c

an do this' she thought, as she zipped up her coat and headed down the street to the nearest bus stop. *** Kim Taeng stared at the green table before him. He bent down and looked at the o pen hole between his ball and the striped ball that sat in its way.  "Not sure how you're going to pull that one off, Taeng?" Yuri said confidently, as he leaned on his cue stick, staring at his boss and best friend. He knew that Taeng hated to lose. For Taeng, losing wasn't an option. He would c ircle the table a million times until he could figure out a way to win. Yuri fig ured that's why Taeng had gotten so powerful at such a young age. When you don't accept failure, you have no other option than winning. And Taeng's philosophy w as to conquer and destroy. Taeng's onyx eyes narrowed when he saw the perfect shot he had to take. He walke d back up to the table, slid the cue stick back and forth between his fingers tw o times, and then knocked the red solid ball into the far corner pocket, barely grazing Yuri's striped ball. "Motherfucker," Yuri muttered under his breath. Taeng raised up, no smile or celebratory air in his voice. "You're up."  Taeng watched as his closest friend walked to the table and scratched his head, trying to figure out his next move. That was actually Yuri's problem. He gave to o much away. Never let people see you sweat.  Yuri shot at the striped ball and missed. "Shit." Taeng took the next three shots to clear the table of all of his solid balls, al ong with the eight ball. He looked over his handiwork and tossed his cue stick t o Siwon, his accountant. "Fuck, one more Taeng. Let me try to redeem myself," Yuri said. Taeng sighed and grabbed the cue stick back. "You're a glutton for punishment, b ig guy," Taeng said, Yuri smiled and racked the balls back up. Taeng rolled his eyes and turned towar d the back door, where taecyeon, his head of security was entering. He walked ov er to Taeng. "Sir, there's a young lady here to see you," taecyeon said. "Lucky bastard," Yuri muttered, as he shot first, and the balls went scattering everywhere. "What does she want?" Taeng asked, surveying the table. "She said it's a personal matter." "What's her name?" Taeng asked, as he lined up his cue stick and sunk three stri ped balls. "Tiffany Hwang, sir." Taeng ran the name over in his head. Hwang? Hwang, Hwang...oh. He knew who she w as. Her father, James, owed him a shit load of money. He had opened up some chee sy soul food restaurant that tanked, and sunk Taeng's fathers' money with it. Ta

eng had only been in the restaurant once. "Tell her I'm busy," he stated, as he leaned up against the table, waiting for Y uri to make a shot. "Yes sir," taecyeon replied, as he exited. It only took less than ten minutes for Taeng to beat Yuri again. Yuri stood ther e scratching his head over the fact that Taeng had managed to whip him in three straight games. He never could beat him, but one day...he'd figure out a way. Si won sat over in the corner laughing at him. "Fuck you, you four-eyed bastard," Yuri yelled. "I mean, they have contacts nowa days, why the fuck are you still wearing those goggles?" Siwon never got rattled. But he also didn't really have a personality. As a true accountant, he cared about numbers and that was about it.  "They make me look more distinguished, you overweight idiot," Siwon said, while cleaning his glasses. Taeng laughed and hung up his cue stick. "So Siwon, this month, are we good?" Siwon placed his glasses back on. "Yes sir, we're really good. Here are the figu res," he smiled, while pulling them out of his briefcase. Taeng nodded a few tim es while he examined the documents. taecyeon entered again. This time his face was flushed and he seemed irritated. He stood there waiting for Taeng to acknowledge him. "What?" Taeng asked, when he finally looked up from the papers in his hand. "Sir, she won't leave. She said if she doesn't get to talk to you, she'll start making a scene in front of the customers." Taeng's eyebrows shot up. Who the fuck did this little girl think she was? He'd have to teach her a little lesson in respect. "Okay, see her to my office," he said, as he flicked a lighter and started burni ng the documents. Tiffany didn't know what to expect. She wasn't sure if he was just a rich crook, or if he had actually killed people before. She remembered how scared her fathe r had been the day the bank seized his restaurant. He was more scared of Mr. Kim finding out, than he was of the prospect of his family being broke and out on t he street. But Tiffany was determined that she wouldn't be afraid of him. She wo uldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her sweat. She jumped when she heard the door open. She quickly stood up and faced the men entering. She recognized the first man that entered. He was the security guard w ho kept giving her a hard time. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she rolled her eyes back at him. The next man that came through the door, she didn't recognize him. He was a tall, he had dark hair and even darker eyes. He glanced at her and flashed a predatory grin. She wondered if he saw her shiver. The last man to enter was tall also. He brushed right past her and sat down in t he fancy chair, before he acknowledged her presence. This was Kim Taeng. She rem embered him from the day he came into her father's restaurant a few years ago. S he had tried not to look at him then, as her father, Mr Kim and one of his men w ent into the kitchen to discuss business.  He hadn't changed at all from that firs t day she had seen him. He had beautiful, shiny black hair that he kept pushed a

way from his face, but it was longer than she remembered. If it were wet, it wou ld probably fall to his ears. But the way he styled it kept it away from his fac e, made him appear menacing and handsome all at the same time. It also gave her a perfect view of his icy onyx eyes. He had a straight attractive nose, nice lip s and a strong jaw line. She could also tell that he had a nice body underneath his suit, judging by the way he walked with his shoulders upright and his chest out, which...wait, she needed to seriously pull her mind together. What the hell was wrong with her? "Mr. Kim, I just wanted to..." she started, but he placed a finger to his lips.. .his small order for her to be quiet. She immediately shut her mouth. "Tiffany, my security guard, taecyeon, told you that I was busy, correct?" he as ked her. Tiffany nodded her head. "What? I didn't hear you," Taeng said. Tiffany wanted to roll her eyes at his arrogance, but she knew she had come here to ask a favor of him. Better to play the nice card. "Yes," she answered. "I thought so. So, you should have come back or called to set an appointment lik e everyone else does, instead of interrupting me." "I tried calling. But the appointment time they gave me was two months from now, " Tiffany replied, raising her voice a bit. "Yes, that's because I'm a busy man." "I just wanted to talk to you about my father," she said. Taeng turned to Yuri. "Hey, Yuri, do you remember the days when a man had a prob lem with another man, they would handle it. I don't recall the man sending his d aughter to do it, do you?" "No sir, I sure don't. Seems like something a pussy would do." Taeng turned back around to glare at Tiffany. "I agree." "My father " "--your father is the one who owes me money. He needs to come see me. Not you." "He's sick, that's why I'm here," Tiffany whispered, nearing tears. Taeng looked at the poor girl in her cheap black dress. She was a pretty girl. B eautiful in fact. Taeng wished he could tell her that he sympathized with her fa ther being ill, but in his line of work, showing sympathy was a weakness and a d efinite no-no.  "Do you have my money or not?" he asked, ignoring her last statement. Tiffany wanted to smack that bastard. She hated his frosty stare and nonchalant attitude. She was talking about her family here! They were drowning, all because of him. "How much exactly does my father owe you?"

"Seventy thousand," he said, without flinching. Tiffany nearly choked on her spit. Seventy thousand dollars!!  Taeng could tell by her widened eyes and slightly parted mouth, that she wasn't expecting the figure to be so high. Interest was a bitch. Tiffany tried to regain her composure. "Mr. Kim, we don't have that kind of mone y. We never had, and probably never will." "Your father should have thought about that, before he asked my father for the l oan years ago. I never would have given him the money. Trying to open a soul foo d restaurant in the middle of a Korean neighborhood was a dumb fucking idea. Why either one of them couldn't figure that out, is beyond me. So that's the situat ion we are in." Tiffany stared down at her hands. Well, now was her time to offer her propositio n to him. Her last shot. "Well, I have a potential solution, Mr. Kim," she said, looking up at him. Taeng stared at her warm eyes, and then his gaze lowered to her lips and then he r full breasts. His eyes lingered there for a moment, before he looked back at h er face. He smiled on the inside when he noticed her narrow her eyes at him. "Go ahead," he said, as he started jotting notes down on a piece of paper. "Well, I was thinking I could work in your restaurant or club, to work off the m oney. I mean, I could work morning, noon and night. Around the clock until I get the money paid off. I'll be a waitress, busboy, whatever you need." Taeng stopped writing and looked up at her. A small crooked smile spread across his face. With Jessica gone, he knew exactly how he was going to entertain himse lf. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a few seconds before speak ing. "You want to work with my kitchen staff so you can work off money you owe me? Do you know how long that would take?" he asked. Tiffany shook her head. "I don't read fucking sign language. Yes or no?" he bit out, frustrated. "No," Tiffany said, wishing so badly she could punch him. She wasn't even a viol ent person, but she guessed being in the company of violent men was starting to rub off on her. Taeng turned to his friend. "Yuri, how long would that take, to earn seventy gra nd as a waitress?" "Long fucking time, sir." "Yeah, that's what I thought," Taeng said, turning his attention back to her. He stared her down, taking in her disappointed face. He was used to these club gir ls throwing themselves at him. Drunk, loud, slutty girls, who all wanted to bag a guy like him, so they could be taken care of the rest of their lives. But he f igured a girl like Tiffany was different. She was nothing like those girls, and that's what would make this whole thing amusing to him.  "No, I have another idea. taecyeon, could you leave us for a moment? We'll be do

ne with this meeting soon." "Yes sir," taecyeon said, as he turned to exit the office. Once the door was closed, Taeng stood up and walked around the table to stand by Yuri. Tiffany was nervous. She didn't know what they were planning to do. They were both just staring at her. Yuri laughed when Taeng whispered something into his ear. She felt so uncomfortable. When they were done whispering, Taeng turned to look at her.  "So, you want to work off your father's money, huh?" Taeng asked her, narrowing his eyes, and then slowly letting them roam over her body. Shit. Tiffany could see where this was going. She was so stupid. Her sister had told her. She would never hear the end of this 'I told you so' from her. "I believe in being blunt, Tiffany. I'll erase your father's debt, if you stay w ith me for a week in my house." Tiffany swallowed. She prayed it would be as his cook or masseuse or something a long those jobs. But in her heart, she knew better. "What would you want me to do for the week?" she asked, dreading the answer. Yuri chuckled. "Anything I want," Taeng said, without cracking a smile. Tiffany quickly stood. She had heard enough. At least she had tried. "Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Kim. But I'm not a whore, so I'll be on my w ay. And I'll try to get your money to you." She was about to walk out, when Taen g grabbed her hand. The way he gazed into her eyes started making her feel...fee l...something. "Your father owes me more money than your family has seen in a lifetime, and I'm growing impatient. I live by a strict set of codes and rules. If a man owes me money, he either pays me back, or I make an example out of him. I'd hate to do t hat to your father. And now that he's sick, it looks like I'll never see that mo ney, so my men may be coming to call on him very soon," Taeng spat at her, still tightly gripping her hand. "So, is your pride worth your father and sister being hurt?" Tiffany's mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe that he would threaten her fa mily's right in front of her. Fucking bastard! God, she needed some help. She di dn't know which was worse, being his whore for a week or knowing her family woul d be hurt. She could never in a million years do something like that. She wasn't like those types of women.  But...just seven days, and she could easily erase this black cloud over her fami ly's heads. They could go back to their normal lives before her father got tied in with this horrible Kim family. Just seven days, and she could burn this horri fic experience out of her mind. Seven quick days, and she would have a new start for herself and her family. Just seven days. Tiffany closed her eyes and exhaled. She knew she'd have to make the decision qu ickly or else she'd back out. "Okay," she whispered to him. She felt like she wa s going to throw up. That one simple word burned leaving her tongue. "Good girl," Taeng said.  She watched as he turned to the other man in the room, Yuri. "I always wanted my own personal slut," he taunted, and smiled back at her. She felt the tears comi

ng to the surface. She refused to cry in front of this evil bastard. Why the hel l would he want to make such a despicable deal with her, when she was sure he co uld get any girl to do this for free?  "Now that that's settled, take your clothes off," Taeng commanded. He knew he wa s being a jerk, but she was getting some payback for threatening to cause a scen e at his restaurant. He absolutely would not tolerate behavior like that. Plus, she needed to know how their relationship for the next seven days would work. Wh at he wanted and expected. And he would ALWAYS get what he wanted. Tiffany couldn't have heard him right. It would be a cold day in hell before she stripped her clothing in front of both of them. In his office, where anyone cou ld come in at any given moment? No way in hell. She stood there staring at him, like he had lost his damn mind. "I guess you aren't serious about our arrangement. If not, then you can get the fuck out," Taeng stated, as he made his way to the door. Tiffany knew she was between a rock and a hard place. Shit! "No, wait! I, um, okay," she sighed. Taeng stopped and turned back around. Tiffany slowly and clumsily started removi ng her dress. It slid down to the floor, and she stood there in a lacy strapless bra, lacy panties and her black heels. She was praying that her undergarments d idn't have any holes in them. It's not like she went shopping for new ones every day, and she hadn't worn this lacy set in forever. "Leave the heels on, take everything else off," Taeng demanded, leaning against the wall. She turned to face him. At least he was on the opposite side of the ro om, and she wouldn't have to look at the other guy, while she did the most embar rassing, degrading thing she had ever done in her life. She couldn't even rememb er undressing this much in gym class. She slid her panties off first. She was neatly trimmed, but not like that many p eople had seen her down there, so she probably wasn't as neat as he was used to. She knew she had reached a new low. She felt like shit. She slowly reached arou nd and unhooked her bra, and it dropped to the floor. Taeng stood there gazing over her perfect body. His dick was growing down the si de of his leg, dying to break free from his pants. Her tits were the perfect siz e for him. She was definitely busty, but they weren't too oversized. She had tin y waist and she had a small butterfly tattoo on her left pelvic bone. Her hips w ere wider than many of the skinny girls he had been with, and that made her even more exotic to him. She had a shape that reminded him of the old pin ups in the fifties that his father used to have hanging in his office. But he had to get h is mind straight. He was a business man, first and foremost. "Tiffany, here are the rules. When I ask you to do something, I am only going to ask once. If you don't comply, then you add another week to your stay. If you d isobey or disrespect me in anyway, you add another week. Stay out of my business , and only speak when spoken too. Got it?" Yes, she was in hell. How could she ever face her sister and father again? And s he was even more mortified when he opened the door and let taecyeon back inside. She started to shiver from the embarrassment. The utter humiliation this cocksu cker was subjecting her to. "taecyeon, can you escort Tiffany to my downtown loft and make sure she gets a c hange of clothes? If she needs to stop by her place, that's fine. Thank you," sh

e heard him say, then he left. She was standing in the middle of his office, completely naked, with two other m en staring at her. She wanted to die.

Chapter 2 Taeng stopped by his club for a few minutes, to greet the new guest DJ, some kid that all of the clubbers seemed to know. He saw Jessica sitting in her usual VIP booth. It had been awhile since he had seen her, but he nodded in her direction. She pouted and turned her head away from him. Probably best, under th e circumstances with his new project. A project he was more eager than he'd like to admit to get back to. He drove his Aston Martin to his loft downtown, in anticipation of what the nigh t would bring. Nothing turned him on more than having complete control.  "Have a good evening, Mr. Kim," the old doorman, Park Jung hoon, said as he held open the glass doors. "You too, Mr Park" Taeng replied, as he entered the build ing. He pressed his personal code into the elevator keypad and it stopped off on the top floor. When he opened the door, he scanned the main room, but he didn't see her. Had she backed out on their deal? Fuck. He sighed and placed his keys on the counter. His loft stayed amazingly clean. H e had a housekeeper who came twice a week, but he was really paying her for noth ing. He never used this condo. He preferred to stay here, since this was his get away, but he usually never had time to actually 'get away'.  He tried to ignore the disappointment he felt, rationalizing that she was a nobo dy and he shouldn't be concerned with it. He removed his jacket and started unbu ttoning his dark blue dress shirt. He walked to the back room, and as soon as he walked through his bedroom door, he felt something hard hit the side of his hea d. Motherfucker! It wasn't strong enough to knock him over, but it hurt like a s on of a bitch. He figured someone was trying to rob him. This bastard was in for more than he expected. He turned and grabbed the culprit, slamming him down on the floor. "Oww!" the robber exclaimed, in a girlie voice. He got to his feet and picked th e small figure up and turned on the light. "Damn it, Tiffany! What the hell were you doing?" he asked, gripping her hands a nd pinning her against the wall. He couldn't believe she had the audacity to att ack him. Tiffany just stared at him, her neck hurting from looking up. She had planned to knock him out, but after that she wasn't quite sure what to do. She had sat the re for hours, determined not to let this man get the best of her. She was a good person, and she wasn't going to let him take that from her.  Taeng held onto her, staring down at her beautiful face. Both of them were breat hing hard. He felt the throbbing in his head from the object she hit him with, w hich pissed him off. But that anger that was coursing through him, also made him want to fuck her senseless.  He released one of her hands and grabbed her throat. He lightly squeezed the sof t flesh, wondering when he would start to see fear in her eyes. She put up a goo

d front, but he figured she was scared of him. Most people were. A shiver immediately went through Tiffany's body and it erupted at er legs. The harder he squeezed, the wetter she got. What the fuck h her?! She had never experienced abuse like this. She didn't know fecting her this way. She was supposed to be crying and screaming, urned on.

the was why not

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Tiffany knew it was now or never. She brought her right hand up to his throat, t o reveal a tiny sharp blade. Taeng instantly felt the cold metal against his neck. He also felt a slight burn ing, so he knew she had cut him already. All she had to do was press harder, and he'd be bleeding all over the carpet. But he also still had his hand wrapped ar ound her throat and his knee pressed in between her legs. "Oh, I get it. Kill me now, and your debt will be wiped away, yeah?" he whispere d to her, his eyes pinning her unsure brown eyes. Tiffany couldn't answer him. Only a small amount of air was getting through to h er lungs. She would have to do it soon, or else she would pass out. "Go ahead, do it. Although I'm sure you lack the balls ren't you?" he teased, even though the blade rested by y anything back to him. He was getting fed up with her rd lesson to learn, if she thought she could scare him .

to. You're a good girl, a his throat. She didn't sa little game. She had a ha and turn him into a pussy

"Put the blade down. Now," he growled, low and menacing, while squeezing her nec k even tighter. Tiffany wanted to cut him. She prayed for the courage to do it. But he was right. She was a good girl. The worst thing she had done to date, was cheat on a history test. But that's because she had spent all night adding numb ers at her father's restaurant and barely had an hour of sleep before she had to go into school. Tiffany's body trembled. She was scared shitless. He wasn't letting go of her ne ck, and he was staring deep into her eyes, like he enjoyed watching her squirm. She slowly lowered her hand and then dropped the blade. As soon as it hit the fl oor, a cry shook from her body and tears began pouring down her cheeks. What the fuck was she doing there? "I'm sorry, I ," she started, before he cut her off by picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. It damn near knocked all the wind out of her. He marched toward the front of his condo. Suddenly she felt herself being thrown off his s houlder as she hit the couch below. He was standing over her in an instant, his shirt off, already removing his pants. She laid there dumbfounded. Was he really going to try to have sex with her afte r she tried to kill him? She sat up, staring at him. Once he had removed all of his clothing, he knelt down and grabbed the front of her black dress. In one swi ft movement, he ripped it down the front. Tiffany shrieked with surprise and tri ed to push him off. "With that little stunt in the bedroom, you've already added another week to our arrangement. Fourteen days, Tiffany. Want to make it twenty one?" he asked, dar ing her to say another word. Tiffany immediately stopped resisting. She removed her hands from his chest and laid back on the couch, as he continued to rip her dress all the way to the bott om. When he was done, he roughly pulled it from her body, and discarded it halfw

ay across the room. She hadn't bothered to put her under garments back on, so sh e was now completely nude before him. Again. "On your hands and knees," he snarled. Tiffany rose up and turned over. She crouched onto her hands and knees, resignin g to the belief that she really was little more than a whore to him. She felt hi m slide his fingers underneath her, until he reached her pussy. She jumped when his fingers grazed her outer lips. She was embarrassed that she was soaking. She had started to get wet when he had his hands wrapped around her throat. And she knew now, no matter how she protested, he could feel the slickness clinging to his fingers. His proof that she wanted this. No matter how sick and twisted it w as. Taeng felt her move her hips back into his fingers, as he pumped them in and out of her wet vagina. Damn, she felt tight. Her pussy was gripping his fingers lik e there was no tomorrow and he could hear her lightly moaning. Fuck, this girl w as turning him on so bad. He could tell that part of her loathed him, but part o f her was curious. He liked curious. Tiffany was trying her best to not come. She didn't want to give him the satisfa ction. But his fingers were working miracles inside her pussy. It had been quite some time. She wasn't exactly a virgin, but she had only been with one guy prev ious to this and he was her high school boyfriend. They started dating her junior year, and after graduation, they went their separ ate ways. They had only had sex about five times. And each time had felt so weir d. She wasn't sure he was even inside her the first time. And the times that fol lowed, he'd climb on top of her, pump up and down for about a minute, and then f all over on top of her. If this was what sex was, then she didn't need it. It wa s a waste of her time. But now, here she was on Kim Taeng's couch, doggie style, about to get fucked to pay off her father's debt. How the hell had life taken her here? As she contemp lated this, she felt his thick member at her wet entrance. She glanced at the fl oor and noticed a condom wrapper lying on the ground. When he pushed forward and slowly entered her soaking pussy, her eyes rolled back into her head. Thank God , she was facing away from him. He grabbed her hips and roughly shoved her back onto his dick.  Damn, she was so tight, he thought. Yes, he was going to enjoy the hell out of t his girl the next two weeks. He began to piston in and out of her, loving the wa y she felt wrapped around his cock. "Spread your legs wider and put your head down," he commanded. She complied, and the feeling made her even hotter and wetter.  Taeng stared at her beautiful wave raven hair as he fucked her from behind. He w anted it down. He roughly grabbed her ponytail. She squealed, and pressed back i nto him. He pulled off the rubber band that was holding the thick massive curls up, and they fell loosely around her shoulders. He was right, they were beautifu l. He grabbed a fist full of them and pulled hard, jerking her neck back as he r ode her harder, his groin slapping into her beautiful, fleshy ass, while he assa ulted her soaking pussy. Tiffany was losing it fast. The rougher he was, the closer to coming she got. He was pounding into the back of her, stretching her pussy further than it had bee n with any other guy. Or the one other guy. She started to feel her orgasm build ing. She had never had an orgasm with a man before. Only with her hand, on those rare occasions that she had the apartment to herself. Oh God, he was bringing h er so close. She could feel the tiny butterflies that caused her toes to curl. S he was so close...

Taeng felt her pussy tighten around him, so he pulled out of her instantly. Fuck her, if she thought he was going to make her come. She didn't deserve it. He pu lled the condom off and jerked his dick until he sprayed his come all over her a ss. Fuck, that looked so good. When he was completely empty, he stood up from th e couch and walked past her and went into the bathroom to clean up. Tiffany couldn't believe it. She needed that release. The least he could have do ne was give her that. But then again, she shouldn't have been enjoying it. She i mmediately fell to the couch. She was so embarrassed. Now that he knew she was a bout to come, he really probably did think the worst of her. He probably thought that she had enjoyed him treating her like a slut. Did she? No, of course not. she had 13 more days of this to expect. For some reason, thin king about that made her pussy flutter, and she squeezed her legs tightly togeth er. She needed to get a grip. She was nothing more than a whore to him, so she w ould do her 'job', and get the hell out of there and forget that Kim Taeng ever existed.   Tiffany rolled off her stomach and stood up, searching for her sad little torn b lack dress. She heard the bathroom door open, so she quickly shielded her naked body, using the remains of the dress as a towel. Taeng strolled back into the li ving room, completely in the nude. Tiffany tried her hardest not to stare. He se emed so comfortable being naked in front of her. Of course he would be, she thou ght. He's probably nothing more than a male slut, himself! She was sure if she s tared long enough, she could find something wrong with his body, but from this a ngle, so far she had nothing. She watched as he picked up his shirt, underwear and pants and put them on. He g rabbed his jacket from the bar stool and removed his keys from the counter. He w alked to the door, turned to look at her for a few seconds, then walked out. Tiffany couldn't believe any of this had happened. She realized she had done som ething she could never take back. For a few moments, she hung her head in shame. If she were on the outside, looking at someone like herself, she would have the worst thoughts. There she would see a scared, young girl, with smeared lipstick , torn dress and dried come stains on her ass...absolutely pathetic. She slowly trudged to the bathroom, turned on the light and stared at herself in the mirror. She had done that same thing less than two hours ago when she was s afely at home...and now look at her. How much of her pride and dignity had she j ust sacrificed? And for what price? She shook the horrible thoughts from her min d. She turned on the shower and closed the door. The shower was large enough to fit at least ten people...and the expensive looking shower head projected the wa ter out in a massaging manner. She leaned her face against the cool tile and cri ed. She didn't even bother wiping the remains of her mascara from her eyes. After her shower, Tiffany grabbed a pair of white cotton shorts and an old burgu ndy shirt with the name of her father's restaurant on it. At least she was able to stop by her apartment before she entered hell. She had rushed in so quickly, grabbed a few items and left, all before her sister and dad woke up. She figured they would be worried about her, but she just couldn't tell them what had happe ned or what she had agreed to. She sat down on the couch and tried to turn the flat screen TV on, but there wer e three remote controls and she couldn't figure out which turned on what. After a few minutes of wrestling with the confusing system, she gave up. She grabbed a bottle of water from his refrigerator. She scanned the loft and walked over to the large balcony that overlooked the city. Maybe she could find a good spot to jump. While she was playfully pondering what her body would look like splattered on the pavement below, she looked up and out at the city. The view was breathta

king. She turned back around and looked inside. If his loft looked like this, sh e could only imagine what his house looked like. Tiffany went to the kitchen and picked up the slick cordless phone. She dialed a number and chewed on her fingernail until a familiar voice answered the other l ine. "Hello?" "Hey ," Tiffany said. "Fany, it's so late. Where are you?" "Um, , I can't tell you that right now, but I'm okay. I just wanted to let you k now I'll be away for awhile, but I'll still try to send you the rent somehow, ok ay?" "But, where are " "I have to go. I love you, bye," Tiffany rushed and then clicked off the phone. Soon exhaustion took control of her body and she yawned. Tiffany refused to slee p in his bed, so she grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and covered herself in the large reclining chair near the balcony doors and fell asleep. *** Taeng had to get out of there. He didn't know this girl, nor should he give a sh it about her, but he found himself wanting to turn the car around and go back. E xplain his behavior to her. What the fuck was wrong with him? Taeng had to floor the pedal all the way back to his house. If he had slowed down at any moment, h e would have gone back. And fuck if she wasn't the best lay he had experienced i n awhile. His body physically craved to be with her again. Inside her. He wished he could have made her come, but he was more determined to prove his point. But the fact that she had been into it, made him smile. She had wanted to come. Nex t time...he'd make her beg, he thought with a wicked grin. Later that night, Taeng lay in bed thinking of her. Tiffany. What was it about t his girl that made him anxious to see her again? He loved that she really didn't seem to know how attractive she was. She had probably spent most of her days in large shirts and khaki pants, which was the uniform at her father's restaurant if he remembered correctly. Probably one of those girls who wore granny panties an d large unflattering shirts to bed. Comfort was more important than style to her . Taeng found that so refreshing. He didn't know many women like that. Actually, he didn't know any women like that. But all this time, she probably didn't real ize what a fucking unbelievable body she was hiding. Well, he sure as hell knew now, and he wasn't planning on letting her forget. Damn. He started getting hard again, just thinking about it. This was going to be a long night.

Chapter 3 "Aahh!!!" Tiffany screamed, as she fell out of the reclining chair and h it the hard floor. The loud thumping that had startled her out of her sleep grew even louder. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Then she turned toward the door. Someone was knocking loudly. She tiptoed to the door and glanced through the peephole. It was taecyeon, Taeng 's security guard, pounding on the door. Tiffany definitely had some issues with this guy, but she sighed and opened the door anyway.

taecyeon stared down at her. "Mr. Kim wants to see you at his office and he said that you wear this," he stated flatly, while handing her a shopping bag. She di dn't recognize the language on the outside of the bag, but it looked French. She reached in and began pulling some of the items out. First was a lacey light blu e bra and matching thong. She wanted to gag. She reached back into the bag and p ulled out a soft white terry cloth robe. The material was very thin and it was v ery short. Like something you would wrap yourself in after getting out of the sh ower...only much shorter. Would probably just barely cover her ass. She dumped t he bag upside down, and found a pair of really high thin strappy high heels that hit the floor. But that was it. No actual dress or pants or anything like that. What the fuck? Did he forget he ripped her dress to shreds last night? She star ed up at taecyeon whose facial expression hadn't changed. "I'll come with you, but I'm not wearing this," Tiffany said, stuffing the items back into the bag. taecyeon rolled his eyes and walked out. Tiffany grabbed her purse and the bag of 'clothing' and followed him. On the ride over, Tiffany took in the scenery. It was really a beautiful neighbo rhood. She wondered where his office was located. taecyeon finally pulled up to a large house, actually a mansion, and pressed a code into the keypad in front o f the closed black iron gates. Tiffany noticed that the security cameras were fo llowing them. The large gate opened and the car pulled forward until it entered a garage. Inside the garage were several expensive looking cars. It looked like a showroom. Tiffany could hardly believe that she was here. This was the type of image you see only in movies. taecyeon opened her door and led her into the house through a side door. Tiffany was speechless. It was modern, yet looked as though a lot of the artifacts belo nged in a museum. He led her up a huge winding staircase and then further down a nother hallway. Finally they ended up in front of a large oak door. For some rea son Tiffany was nervous. taecyeon knocked on the door and it opened a few second s later. The guy that she recognized as Yuri, stuck his head out. He turned to h er and looked her up and down. She realized she probably looked crazy with her o ld outfit on, accompanied by last night's makeup and her hair in a wild looking ponytail. He chuckled and opened the door for her to enter. Inside the large room were a fireplace, several bookshelves and large pictures o f Greek looking God's and Goddesses. She scanned the room and saw Taeng sitting behind a large desk staring at her. He was wearing a crisp white shirt and black dress pants. His hair was smooth and shiny, like he had just gotten out of the shower. His eyes...were beautiful. And cold. "Have a seat, Tiffany," Taeng said. "Yuri, can you call taecyeon back in here?" "Sure, boss," Yuri answered, as he walked back out in to the hallway. A few seco nds later, taecyeon appeared at the door. "Yes, sir?" "taecyeon, did you tell Tiffany that I wanted her to change into the clothes I h ad provided?" taecyeon looked over at Tiffany, then back at Taeng. "Yes sir. I did." "That's all. Thank you, taecyeon." taecyeon exited the room and Taeng continued writing. Tiffany scanned the room a gain. Everything was neat and in order. She figured you could probably put on a white glove and swipe your hand across any surface, and you still wouldn't find any dust. She stared at Taeng's profile. If she didn't hate him so much, she cou ld actually be attracted to him. 

After a few minutes, Tiffany started becoming nervous and impatient. She cleared her throat and Taeng finally looked over toward her. "Why do you continue to disobey me? It's not going to do anything but anger me a nd add more days to your stay here," Taeng said, while leaning back in his chair . "I ask one simple request, and you don't do it. And for that display of defian ce...you've just earned yourself another seven days. One more week. So you're no w up to twenty-one days. Or I should say just twenty, since you somewhat pleased me last night." "What?! You already added a week since last night!" Tiffany screamed. "You can't just add on more time, any time you want!" "Yes, I can. That was part of the agreement we ," Taeng stated calmly, before Tiff any became furious. "You bastard! You snake, just like my dad always said! We're changing this agree ment right now!!" she hollered, almost in tears and shaking. Tiffany knew she wa s being childish with her screaming fit, but she couldn't figure out how else to get it out. He was staring at her, not making a sound. She could only see his j aw flexing. Taeng got up from his desk and walked toward Tiffany. He noticed her backing up while trying to wipe her nose. 'Good,' he thought. She needed to be worried. Whe n her back hit the wall, her eyes flashed with fear, which he quickly saw fade a nd was replaced with anger.  Tiffany didn't know what to expect. She was trapped by the wall, but damn if he would see her scared of him...even if she was. He quickly approached her and sta red down at her, only a few inches from her face. "Don't you ever interrupt me again. Don't you ever tell me what to do again. And so help me, if you ever fucking yell at me again, your ass will pay the price, and I do mean literally," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. Tiffany felt like crying. He wasn't her fucking father! But something about the way he looked at her made her believe he was telling the truth. He was nothing m ore than a sadistic prick. She could feel the tears building up, and she could f eel her eyes glassing over. 'Please don't drop, please don't drop,' she prayed t o herself, willing her tears to stay on the brim of her eyelids. "If you don't like the agreement we set, then you can leave. But I'm done with t his discussion. I refuse to argue with you," Taeng said in a low, menacing voice . "Now, put on the Goddamn outfit, or leave. Your decision." Tiffany tried to stare up at him with indignation, but she quickly lowered her h ead when the first tear dropped. "I still hate you," she spat out, not caring if he added another week. "Just as long as you do what I say, you can hate me all you want," he said, turn ing his back to her. He walked to his desk, and sat down. "Go change. And wipe y our makeup off, and let your hair down" he commanded, before he started jotting more notes down. Tiffany walked over to the couch and retrieved the bag. She walked into the bath room and did as he asked. When she changed into the lingerie, she realized what a beautiful sexy outfit it really was. The light blue complimented her honey-kis sed skin. And the expensive, soft material felt divine sliding across her body. Were she on her honeymoon...this would have been perfect. She would have felt li ke a sexy princess. Instead, she was acting like a cheap woman to please some si

ck psycho who her father owed money to. Amazing how a different scenario could c ause an outfit like this to make her want to vomit. She quickly wrapped the smal l white rob around her body and exited the bathroom. Taeng looked up when Tiffany walked out of the bathroom. His dick started rising to attention. The effect this girl had on him was ridiculous. She looked so tim id and shy, but he knew she had a small temper underneath all of that. That she could be a wildcat if she wanted to. Taeng leaned back in his chair. "Come here." Tiffany made her way over to his desk, slightly wobbling once due to how high he r heels were. He reached out to grab her hand and brought her around his desk. E ven with the heels, she was still much shorter than him.  Taeng slowly began to open her robe. His eyes drank in her smooth skin and full beautiful tits. He placed his hands on her sides and lightly rubbed her stomach with his thumbs. He stared back into her face, taking in her dark white eyes.  "Hey Taeng--shit, sorry," Yuri said as he barged through the door, then stopped, realizing that Taeng was 'busy'.  "Yes, Yuri?" Taeng asked, never breaking his gaze from Tiffany. "Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to interrupt, but Nichkhun is downstairs." "Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes," Taeng answered, while sliding the rob e off Tiffany's shoulders. "Yes, sir," Yuri said, then closed the door behind him. Tiffany shivered when the robe hit the floor. He gently lifted her and placed he r back against the top of his desk, while he smoothly stepped in between her leg s, which she wrapped around his waist. She watched his eyes as they stared at he r lips. A part of her wanted to know what his lips tasted like. Were they as sof t as they looked? Taeng's face hovered over hers a few more seconds before he lo wered his mouth to her neck instead. He began to lightly nip at her throat.  Tiffany tried not to like what he was doing to her, but she couldn't help it. Hi s hands roamed over her body, burning it as they traveled. He was being much mor e gentle with her than he was last night. Slowly, his thumbs found the thin stri ng of her thong, and slid it down her legs.  Taeng pulled the underwear off and stuck them in his pocket. He ants and they dropped down to his knees. He leaned over her and f his dick at the opening of her dripping pussy. He pushed deep one fluid movement. He watched as her back arched and her lips und that never came out. 

unfastened his p placed the tip o inside of her in formed an 'o' so

"Are you okay?" Taeng asked. This took Tiffany by surprise. She hadn't thought he cared if she were ever okay or not. Something in his eyes seemed genuine. She nodded her head. "Are you on the pill?" She nodded her head again. Taeng braced his arms on both sides of her body and began to push deeper and har der with each thrust.  Tiffany knew that she had no way to hide her facial expressions from him this ti

me. He was staring at her, watching every change in her emotions. He felt so dam n good. There were no words to really describe it. He pulled the cups of her bra down and latched onto one of her nipples. His tongue rolled around the hard tip before he began to suck. At first, it was softly, but he began to suck harder, and then he bit her.  "Oww..." Tiffany whispered to him. He raised his head up with a grin, and attack ed the other nipple, while massaging the bruised nipple. Tiffany felt herself fa lling deeper and deeper. She couldn't think, which was the first sign that she w as about to orgasm.  "Taeng, ooh, damn. Taeng!" she yelled as she began to spasm, and her back arched while her eyes rolled back. For a moment she couldn't talk, as if she had been electrocuted. Taeng lifted off of her and began to pound into her soft love nest. He looked do wn between them, watching his shaft disappear and then reappear. Its turned him on and sent him over the edge. "Shit!" he belted as he finally came. He stilled himself above her, while trying to regain his composure. Once he pulled out of her, he cleaned himself with the tissues on his desk and o ffered a clean one to her. Tiffany sat up and timidly took his offering. Taeng pulled up his pants, tucked his dress shirt back in, and fastened his belt . He stared at her for a few seconds longer before he walked around the desk and left the room. Tiffany was so confused. A part of her wanted to go back to the loft. At least t here, she felt like a prisoner and she could remember why she hated him. Yes, sh e needed to go back there. She hated when he just walked away from her after sex , like it didn't matter. Maybe that was best. It wasn't supposed to matter, righ t? "So there he is," Nichkhun Horvejkul announced, when Taeng finally made it downs tairs. "Been waitin' a long time here, Taeng. What's up?" Taeng wanted to punch the arrogant fucker in the face. He hated this kid. Stupid wannabe asshole. He had known Nichkhun all his life. Both of their fathers were in the 'game'. And there had always been this superficial peace between both fa milies, but underneath...they knew the deal. Keep your friends close and your en emies closer. Nichkhun had tried to pull a few business ventures from who he tho ught was an unsuspecting Taeng, but that ended in several threatening phone call s, and then Nichkhun finally backed off. Probably due to his old man, Paul Horve jkul, who still ran their household. Taeng had a lot of respect for the old man, but he couldn't stand his fucking kid. And being the only son of Paul Horvejkul meant that Nichkhun would eventually take over one day. So, Taeng just had to d eal with it. "Nothing to concern yourself with. So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Taeng ask ed, not bothering to hide his dislike. "Got some business matters to discuss with you. Mind if we do it over a game of pool?" Nichkhun smirked, already walking toward the billiards room. "Sure, make yourself at home," Taeng muttered out of earshot, and Yuri laughed. When they entered the billiards room, Nichkhun immediately picked up a cue. "So, we have a nice little investment with a new Korean group. They have a produ ct we want. Only, we don't have the contacts for the runners who could help with

this. Word is, you do. So, if you scratch our backs on this, we'll make sure to give you a nice cut." Yuri and Taeng looked at each other. "And what exactly would that product be?" T aeng asked, while handing Nichkhun a pen and paper. Nichkhun wrote down a word q uickly, and then wiped his fingerprint off of the pen. Taeng quickly glanced at it, and then handed it to Yuri, who immediately threw i t in the fire. "That's not something I deal with, nor do I care to. Sorry, can't help you," Tae ng stated, while grabbing a cue. "Well, maybe you can be a good boy, and just give us your contact. You don't hav e to be involved at all." "Well, as you know, I don't really like being a 'good boy'." Nichkhun and Taeng both stared at each other for a moment. "Okay. Well, I'll mak e sure to report that back to my father," Nichkhun said, while racking up the ba lls. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the impression that your father didn't know considerin g he has mentioned that he isn't into that type of business either. Maybe I shou ld give him a call to explain myself," Taeng said, leaning against the pool tabl e. He knew he had just stuck the knife in and broken it off. He was certain that Paul Horvejkul had no idea that his fuck-up of a son was about to start dealing drugs. Paul was just as against the stuff as Taeng was. Nichkhun narrowed his eyes at Taeng. "Watch yourself, Taeng..." "No. This is my house. You watch yourself, Nichkhun," Taeng countered, while tae cyeon stepped a foot closer to Nichkhun. Nichkhun glanced at taecyeon, and then back to Taeng. Suddenly a bright smile sp read across Nichkhun's features. "Shit, man. Don't get all serious on me. Fuck, let's just play some pool, drink and see where the night takes us." Tiffany had tried waiting upstairs for Taeng, but he was taking forever. She had to get out of here. And she was tired of waiting in his office. She walked to t he door with the white, short robe wrapped tightly around her frame. She was abo ut to step out into the hall, sans underwear, since he had taken them and stuffe d them in his pocket. And as short as this robe was...one small bend, and she wo uld expose her ass cheeks to anyone within viewing distance. She slowly wobbled down the stairs in her 'too' high heels and made it to the ma in floor. She heard a few voices coming from another room, so she walked over th ere. She saw a guy in black standing with his back to the door.  "Um, I'm looking for Taeng," Tiffany told him. "Sorry, he's in a business meeting at the moment," the man said, and gave her a once-over. She knew what she had to look like. But she didn't care. She wanted t o leave now! "Taeng!" Tiffany started to holler. The young man's eyes bulged out. "Miss, please don't do that," he tried to whisp er. "Taeng!!" she yelled even louder. After a few seconds, the door opened, and Yuri

was leaning through. "Tiffany--," he started, but was cut off as she pushed past him and entered the room. Tiffany realized her mistake. She didn't know that he had SO many people in this room. And they all stopped and stared at her, in her barely dressed state. Shit . She glanced around the room until she saw Taeng staring at her. His jaws were tight and she knew that underneath that cool façade, he was mad as hell at her. "Whoa! That's DEFINITELY not Jessica," she heard an unfamiliar voice say. She tu rned to the guy who was at the opposite end of the pool table. He was a nice loo king guy. Skin similar to Taeng's, and he had dark white hair and dark eyes. He was staring at her, with a big smile across his face. "What's your name, sweetheart?" Nichkhun asked. Tiffany looked over at Taeng, who subtly nodded his head. She turned back to Nic hkhun. "Tiffany." But he had said she wasn't Jessica...who the hell was that? "Tiffany...I'm Nichkhun. What a beautiful name, for a beautiful woman" he said, winking at her. Yuri tried to choke back a laugh, as a small smile crept across Taeng's face. Ev en though he was pissed at her, he could tell that she wasn't falling for any of Nichkhun's childish pick-up lines. "Well, leave this bum, come home with me, and I'll show you," Nichkhun said, giv ing her another full body glance. Tiffany felt extremely self-conscious. She was the only female in the room. And most of the men were dressed in black, and had stern faces, but she could see th em eyeing her up and down. She jumped when she heard someone snap their fingers. "I got it! Hey, you're a betting man, right Taeng? Wanna make a bet?" Nichkhun a sked, as he patted Taeng on the back. Taeng stared at him. He didn't trust this prick any further than he could throw him. But Nichkhun was right. Taeng was a betting man. He had made several gamble s in his life that had all paid off nicely. "What are the terms?" "If you win, you get my car outside. My McLaren Roadster...my pride and joy. I'm sure you would enjoy riding that," Nichkhun smiled at him. Taeng thought for a moment. That was damn near a five hundred thousand dollar ca r. He had planned to get himself one, but now...he could be getting it for free. And the fact that Nichkhun really loved that car only sweetened the deal. "Alright, and if you win?" "If I win, I get your contact's info and the girl for a night...and I'm sure I'l l enjoy riding that," Nichkhun smirked, leaning on his cue stick. Taeng immediately narrowed his eyes at Nichkhun. Motherfucker.  Tiffany sucked in a gasp. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. There wa s no way in the world she would fuck another guy just because Taeng lost a bet. Consequences be damned. She'd take her chances trying to hide with her folks. Th is guy Nichkhun was shaping up to be a real asshole. She couldn't wait to see hi s face drop when Taeng tells him to go to hell.

Taeng saw Tiffany staring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Deal," he said, as he chalked the tip of his cue stick. Tiffany felt as though she had been smacked across the face. She knew she had no reason to think that he would ever actually be loyal to her, but she still hope d that there was a small part of him that was decent...like upstairs less than t wenty minutes ago when he had asked her if she were okay. But her hopes were pro bably in vain... And neither man had the decency to even look at her while they were deciding her fate. She felt like she couldn't breathe. And no one in the room said anything, as if it's normal to use a woman this way. She glanced to the side, and noticed Yuri looking at her. He quickly turned his attention to the pool table. But not before Tiffany thought she saw something in his eyes. Pity, maybe? She was humi liated, once again. And there was nothing she could do but stand there as these two men cheapened her. She would keep her eyes on the game. She couldn't bear to look into anyone's face at the moment. Nichkhun broke first, scattering the balls across the table. Two striped balls w ent in the corner pocket. Nichkhun continued to pick off each ball one by one. I t was happening so quickly. Tiffany swore that she could hear her heartbeat. She watched as he only had three balls left on the table. She chanced a glance at T aeng. He seemed calm, although he kept his eyes glued to the table. Fuck! Now he only had two balls left and Taeng hadn't even had a shot yet. She started to pa nic. "Shit!" Nichkhun belted out, when he finally missed a shot. He backed away from the table, shaking his head. Taeng calmly stepped up, chalked his cue stick again, while staring at the table . He looked over at Tiffany for a second, then made his first shot, sending two balls in. The entire room was quiet as Taeng proceeded to pick off each colored ball one at a time. Tiffany stared at Taeng, as he glided around the table. His concentration was un believable. He was now down to two balls also. She held her breath as he took a long shot, slinging another ball into a pocket. "Fuck," she heard Nichkhun mutter. Taeng took another shot, knocking his last colored ball in. He stood up straight and stared at the eight ball which was in a hard position. Tiffany didn't know much about pool, but she could tell that the eight ball wasn't in an easy place, and she was sure he'd have to miss this shot. There was nowhere for it to go. She glanced at Nichkhun, and he looked like he was holding his breath. Taeng bent over the table and slid the stick between his fingers twice then paus ed. "Eight ball, middle pocket," he said, before he made his shot.  Tiffany closed her eyes as she heard the two balls clank up against each other. But then opened them when she heard Yuri loudly whisper, "Yes!" She looked, and noticed the eight ball was no longer on the table. All that was left were two st riped balls and the white ball. He won! Yes!! 'Take that, Nichkhun, you slimy ba stard!' she yelled in her mind. But then Tiffany had to stop her quiet celebrati on. Taeng had just bet her to another man. What an asshole. Her smile immediatel y faded.  Taeng handed his cue stick to taecyeon, and leaned against the table, staring at

Nichkhun. He held out his hand. "Keys?" Any charming qualities or smiles that Nichkhun had been displaying earlier were all gone now. He looked as though he were ready to kill Taeng. He quickly fished into his pockets and dropped the keys in Taeng's hand. "Let's go," Nichkhun barked at his two men who were standing off to the side. Ti ffany had thought they were Taeng's men. All of these guys seemed to travel with an entourage.  When Nichkhun's guys cleared the room, Yuri walked over to Taeng and patted him on the back. Taeng glanced up at Tiffany. She quickly turned away and stormed ou t of the room. taecyeon and another of Taeng's men followed behind her. Taeng stared down at the table. He could tell that Yuri wanted to say something. "What?" "Taeng, I'm not so sure you should have done that," Yuri said, leaning against t he table. "I knew I was going to win," Taeng stated, as he picked up the eight ball and ro lled it around in his hand. Yuri nodded, "Yeah, but she didn't." Taeng turned to stare at him. "Yuri, as a friend, I appreciate the advice. But a s your boss, don't question me again." "Yes, sir," Yuri sighed, and walked out.

Chapter 4 Tiffany sat gazing out of the window, as she and Taeng both rode in sile nce. He had insisted on taking her back to the loft himself. But he hadn't utter ed a word to her, and she hadn't said anything to him either. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him reach into his pocket. When his hand emerged again, he h ad the thong that he had taken from her. He handed it to her, and she quickly sl ipped it on. She wished he would turn the music on or something to drown out the painful quiet, but he didn't. The silence gave her too much time to think. To r eflect on what had happened. He bet her in a fucking game. Tiffany couldn't help it any longer. She had to know. "How much was that car worth?" Tiffany asked, s till feeling the horrible sting of being treated so flippantly. "Around five hundred grand. Why do you ask?" he said, glancing over at her. Tiffany slowly nodded her head. "Just wanted to know. I see that you got the bet ter deal. Had he won, I'm only worth seventy grand," she stated, as she turned b ack to the window. Taeng stared straight ahead. He refused to let her make him feel guilty. He made up his own rules and she would have to follow them. If he wanted to bet an oppo nent...then fuck it, he would bet, no matter the consequences. She signed over h er life to him when she agreed to take responsibility for her father's debt. She did this to herself. Or at least that's what he continued to tell himself. But right now, it was just the two of them, and he knew what he wanted. After enduring the last leg of the car ride in complete silence, they finally ma

de it back to the loft. Taeng threw his keys on the counter and walked over to h is massive wall of CD's as Tiffany sat down on the couch. He fished through them until he found the one he wanted. He placed it in the CD player and waited unti l the smooth sound of jazz came funneling through. He removed his coat and rolle d up his sleeves. He saw Tiffany staring at him, but he continued to ignore her. He went to the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine. He walked back into the living room and handed a confused Tiffany a glass. He sat down on the love seat and stared at her. "Dance for me," Taeng said, while taking a sip. "What?" "Dance for me," he repeated. "I want a lap dance." Tiffany wasn't quite sure what to do. There was no manual to tell you what to do if you are ever trapped in this type of situation. Was he being serious? "I've never done that before," she admitted. "Not to worry, I won't laugh at you," Taeng said, grinning at her. "I mean, I can dance, but I've just never done the seductive stripper type of da ncing." Tiffany didn't know why, but she was embarrassed to admit that to him. Taeng flexed his index finger for her to come to him. Shit. She wasn't getting o ut of this. She took a huge gulp of her wine and quickly shook her head. Perhaps she shouldn't have downed it that fast. She stood up and walked over to him. Ok ay...it's just him. It's not like she was doing it for an entire club of people. She would just pretend he was her boyfriend, and that it was his birthday or so mething like that. 'Okay, I can do this,' she thought. Plus, she wasn't willing to have him add yet another week. She'd keep her mouth closed and do as he asked. She closed her ey es, took a deep breath, and started swaying to the beat of the music. She turned around and gave him a great view of her backside. She playfully lifted the whit e robe up so that he got a quick shot of her ass cheeks with the thin light blue material separating them. She giggled. Yes, the wine was feeling really good ri ght about now. Tiffany slowly slid the robe off and bent over until her hands to uched the ground. She looked between her legs, and from her upside down view, sh e could tell he was enjoying what he saw. He shifted in his chair. She leaned up and turned around. She walked closer to him until her legs were touching his kn ees. Yeah, she'd just pretend this was her boyfriend. Actually, she was starting to enjoy it, but she hated admitting that to herself. She felt sexy...free. She wasn't used to feeling this way. Her life had been spent serving food to ungrat eful customers and ringing up and bagging groceries. Now here she was in an expensive loft, wearing expensive French designer lingeri e with names she couldn't even pronounce and dancing for a wealthy, handsome mob boss or whatever he was. Like the commercials, life sure does come at you fast. She began to slowly unhook her bra, and slide it off. She cupped her breasts and tossed her head back as she pinched her nipples. She looked at him again, and s aw him lick his lips. 'His beautiful lips,' she thought. She then slowly hooked her thumbs through the threadlike material of her thong and pulled it down. Taeng watched in awe as she became completely uninhibited. She then shocked the hell out of him, and straddled his lap, completely naked. He was at instant atte ntion. She started to grind her body on top of his. There was something intensel y erotic about the fact that he was fully clothed and she was completely nude. A

nd her body...Goddamn, it was beautiful. It was soft and one hundred percent fem inine looking.... He had to have her! He grabbed her wrists and locked them behind her back with one hand, as he bent down to assault the hard nipples that had been teasing him. He heard her moan. H e used his other hand to quickly unbuckle his pants and remove his stiff member. At that moment, Tiffany didn't know if it was pleasure or pain that she was feel ing. He was biting her nipple, and it hurt...but in a good way. She had never ha d someone be so rough with her. But she'd also never been so turned on before. H e then released her hands and lifted her up by her waist, before pulling her bac k down onto his lap. She gasped as she was forced down onto all of his thick, lo ng cock. It had almost knocked the wind out of her. For a few seconds, he didn't move, perhaps he was letting her adjust, but then he grabbed a handful of her h air and brought her face within inches of his. He stared into her eyes. She waited to see if he was going to kiss her, but he d idn't. Instead he whispered, "Do you want to come?" Tiffany slowly nodded. But he gripped her hair even tighter and yanked it backwa rds. "Aah!" Tiffany squealed. His grip was painful, but it was driving her crazy. "Te ll me what I want to hear," he commanded, wrapping his other hand around her nec k. "Yes, I want to come," she whispered. With that said, he began to drive his hips up and into her wet vagina. The feeling was so intense and overwhelming that sh e couldn't breathe. She tried to grab hold of his shirt to steady herself, but t he force of his thrusts was so overpowering, that she couldn't think. His hand t ightened around her neck, while his other hand gripped even more of her hair. Wa s he trying to kill her or fuck her? Either way, she would die a satisfied woman , because he was hitting all of the right spots.  His intensity was turning her on like she had never been turned on before. She c ould feel every inch of him sliding in and out of her. But then suddenly he stoo d, with her still straddling him. She squealed again as he pushed the small whit e milk table out of the way, and gently placed her back to the soft carpet, with out disconnecting their bodies. He began to fuck her harder and faster this way. Her legs wrapped around his hips. She could feel it...that fluttering feeling b uilding in the pit of her stomach and pulsing through her pussy. Suddenly her ey es rolled back as she was swept away with the intensity of her orgasm. "Oooh my God, oooh.....," Tiffany screamed as she came, until her voice was lost and no words were coming out. After the last of her orgasm washed over her, she felt him expand within her. "Fuck!!" he yelled as he continued to pump his seed into her pussy. "Shit." Taeng felt so fucking good at that moment. Nothing relieved stress better than s ex. Good sex. When he was done with the last drops of his essence, he rested his body on top of hers, but he still tried to support some of his weight with his elbows. He was still dressed, and now his shirt was sticking to his sweaty skin. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were slightly pa rted and pouty. God, he would give anything to kiss them. But...he didn't want t o confuse their relationship. So as difficult as it was, he resisted temptation. She had some soft hair that were wet with sweat and sticking to her face. Fuck, she was hot. Tiffany finally opened her big eyes and stared up at him. She started to wiggle,

and he figured his weight was starting to wear on her. He rolled off of her and onto his back. He turned his head and watched as she closed her legs and crosse d her hands over her chest. He chuckled and stared back up at the ceiling. Now s he wanted to be shy, he thought amused.  "Worth every penny," Taeng muttered. Shit! Why the fuck did he just say that? As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He knew he wasn't going to take them back, but fuck if he knew wh y he even said them. Was he trying to hurt her? She immediately sat up and stared at him. Then she got up and stomped off to the bathroom and slammed the door. He sat up and adjusted his penis back inside his pants. He stood up and walked t o the bathroom door. "Tiffany, open the door," he said. No answer. "Open the fucking door now, before I add on another week," he said, leaning agai nst the frame. The door swung open, and she stood staring up at him with tears in her eyes. He sighed. "I I'm not some cheap girl that you can talk down to. I'm not, I'm not like other women you, you might know. You sh--should treat me with respect!" she said, stum bling over several words while trying to wipe her tears away. "Respect? Tiffany, you are not my wife. You are not my girlfriend. In fact, you and I have a business arrangement and that's it. You ask me to respect you, yet you're fucking me for money. Am I missing something here?" She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then suddenly closed i t. She just stared up at him. She then lowered her head. "I'm really tired now. I'd like to go to bed." He turned his body sideways, so that she could exit the bathroom. She started walking down the hall towards the living room. "Bedroom is this way," she heard him call out. "Fuck you," she muttered under her breath. God forbid he hear her and add more t ime. She just wanted to get the hell out of there before forgetting who she is.

Chapter 5 The routine for Taeng and Tiffany stayed constant over the next few days . They spoke as little as possible to each other in the mornings, had phenomenal sex by night, spat words of hate before he left, and then they repeated the eve nts the next day.  Tiffany was so confused. If she could magically make seventy grand appear out of thin air, she wouldn't keep one cent. She'd throw that entire amount in his fac e, and stomp out.  But she had more pressing things on her mind. Next month's rent would be due soo n, and she didn't have a single dime to contribute to her familys. What a crazy

web she had woven. This had been the longest she had ever gone without working s ince she was thirteen, and at times it bothered her. She felt useless. She sighed and placed the book she had been reading down on the table when she h eard a knock at the door. She prayed it wasn't Taeng. She just didn't have the e nergy to deal with him at the moment. Funny how much work it took to ignore some one. She got up and looked through the peephole. taecyeon, thank God. She had become used to his humorless presence. He was definitely a man of few words. Her car ri des back and forth from the loft to Taeng's mansion were usually composed of her humming or talking. She used to think she was mainly talking to herself, becaus e taecyeon never turned around to ask her any questions, or give her any reason to believe he had been paying attention. Until one day she had forgotten her pla ce in a story she was telling him, and he repeated the last things she had just said. Tiffany sat there, just staring at the back of his head, absolutely amazed . Then she tried to quickly scan her memory over the past few days for anything she could have said negative about Taeng, praying taecyeon hadn't told anything. Tiffany smiled at taecyeon as she let him in. But before she could close the doo r, a small woman stepped in behind him. She looked...like no one Tiffany had eve r seen before. She had two huge bags in her hands, and her eyelids had several b right colors of eye shadow on them. Her hair was a whitish blond color that was almost shaved on one side, but hung in a funky style on the other. And she was w earing a strange jumpsuit. "Hi Tiffany, I'm Minka. I'm here to handle your dress, hair and make-up," the yo ung girl said, smiling brightly at Tiffany. "What? Dress, hair and make-up for what?" Tiffany questioned, looking back and f orth between taecyeon and Minka. taecyeon answered, "Mr. Kim would like you to get ready. That's all I can tell y ou, Ms. Tiffany."  Tiffany nodded her head. She w. "Alright. Um, I guess you ka. Tiffany noticed taecyeon yeon, he's not here. You can on tonight anyway."

should be used to taecyeon's cryptic messages by no can follow me back to the bedroom," she said to Min standing stiffly by the door. Tiffany sighed, "taec sit on the couch and relax. I think there's a game

She saw taecyeon hesitate for a moment, but then he relaxed and walked over to t he couch to sit down. Tiffany walked down the hallway as she heard the TV turn on. She smiled to herse lf. taecyeon wasn't half bad. Just a bit stiff. Tiffany took a quick shower as Minka laid out all of her make-up and accessories .  "Okay, this is the dress he'd like you wear. It's gorgeous, don't you think?" Mi nka said, as Tiffany got out and dried off. Tiffany stared at the dress. It was amazing. Minka helped Tiffany carefully fit into the dress. "Oh my, this is to die for on you! You have an amazing body. I can't believe he got the measurements right. W hen he came to me, he had to use his hands to describe your height and physical measurements," Minka said, smoothing down the material. Tiffany was definitely blushing. She thought she was okay, but in her mind, she

wasn't all that. And she blushed even harder at the thought that Taeng had descr ibed every portion of her body to this stranger. Even if she was a friendly stra nger. "Um, thanks. I...I've never worn something so beautiful before," Tiffany said, s taring at herself in the mirror. Minka quickly worked on her makeup and accessor ies. They chose to let the plunging neckline speak for itself, so the only jewel ry she wore was a pair of diamond earrings. Minka said that Taeng had given her specific instructions regarding her makeup. He wanted it subtle. Nothing heavy. But when it came to her hair, Taeng hadn't given her any direction. "Hmm...do you mind if I straighten it and loosely pin it up?" Minka asked, while staring at her thick, wave raven hair. "You're the expert. I trust you," Tiffany said, smiling at the young girl in the mirror. She just didn't trust Taeng. What had he planned for her tonight? ***** On the ride over, Tiffany was nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect. When they pulled into the driveway, Tiffany couldn't believe her eyes. She saw several me n and women getting out of their expensive cars, and waiting on the valet. taecy eon drove past Mercedes, BMWs, Bentleys and every other expensive car she could think of. She shook her head as she thought about the fact that one could run a small corporation from the money that was put into these vehicles. When the car finally pulled up to the steps, taecyeon hopped out and opened the door for Tiffany. She flashed him a smile as she slowly ascended the steps leadi ng into Taeng's house. She was suddenly nervous as classical music filled her ea rs and the lights became brighter. taecyeon escorted her down the main hall into a large ballroom area. Jesus, how big was his house? Inside, she saw several people dressed to the nines. Some stopped to stare at he r before they turned their attention back to their conversations. taecyeon excus ed himself while she searched around the room looking for Taeng, but she didn't spot him. She walked over to a long narrow table, which was lined with all sorts of appetizers. She didn't know what was what, but they looked really delicious and she was starving. "Can I help you?" Tiffany looked up at the young guy staring at her with a smile spread across his face. "Um, I'm not sure what I'd like. Could you suggest something?" "Sure. Try this," the young guy said, placing a small appetizer onto a plate and handing it to her. "Trust me, it's really good. One hundred percent Korean...as am I," he continued, with a wink. Tiffany laughed at his open flirtation, and placed the small bite in her mouth. Damn, that really was good. Really good. "Thank you," she said once she finally swallowed the delicious food. "Anytime." Tiffany didn't really know anyone else there, other than Taeng, Yuri and taecyeo n, and they were nowhere in sight. So, she decided to stand by the table with he r new 'friend'. "My name is Minho, by the way," he said, extending his hand to her.

"Tiffany. nice to meet you." "Likewise," he said, giving her a once over. "You don't seem like the normal far e at these events." "Excuse me?" Tiffany said, raising her voice slightly. What the hell was that su pposed to mean? What, she didn't fit in with the wealthy? "Hey, I meant no harm. That was actually a compliment. You don't seem like the r egular girls I see here. You know, high maintenance, stuffed and pulled, evil st are...the works. Like her," Minho said, pointing to the blond that was gracefull y entering the ballroom. The blond may have been all of those things Minho just mentioned, but she was still gorgeous. Tiffany looked down at her dress and smoothed it with her hands. She knew Minho meant no offense, but she decided to play hurt anyway. "So, if I don't look high maintenance, then I must look LOW maintenance, right?" "What?! No! I didn't mean that. It's just that you're standing over here with me , instead of flaunting your diamonds and dress in front of everyone else. You ju st don't seem like one of them. That's a good thing. You actually seem more like ...well, I mean, more like a girl I would date." Tiffany turned to stare at him. He was definitely cute. His black hair was slick ed back and he had tiny studs in both of his ears, a thin straight nose. Yes, he was definitely handsome. She had to laugh to herself. "I mean, not saying you would date a guy like me, but...okay, gonna shut up now, " Minho said, slightly blushing. Tiffany smiled and turned her attention back to the crowd. *** Taeng was over in a corner, sipping on his drink and trying his best to pay atte ntion to some of the men talking around him. Mostly they were talking business. He knew that's why he threw these parties, but tonight, he really didn't feel li ke it. Earlier, taecyeon had come to tell him that Tiffany was here, but he scan ned the room and didn't see her. He wanted to know what she looked like in her d ress. He had dreamt about it. Fuck, he needed to get his shit together. "Oh, shit," Yuri whispered. Taeng looked at him, and followed his eye line. Fuck . Jessica was walking toward them as if she were a model on a catwalk. Her long blond hair bounced as she made a straight line for Taeng. "Hi Taeng," she said, faking a smile as she reached their group. "Jessica," Taeng said, trying his best to be cordial to his wife. But he didn't trust her smile. She wasn't happy unless she was being mean. "Funny, how you forgot to invite your own wife to your party," she said, staring at him. "I didn't forget," Taeng said, as he took another sip of his drink. The comment didn't go over Jessica's head. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey Yuri, how are you?" she asked, turning to rest her arm around his neck, as she scanned the ballroom. "Well, I'm--," Yuri started, before she interrupted him. "Who's that?" Jessica asked, while staring toward the food table.

They all turned to see who she was talking about, but no one said anything. "Well, who did she come with?" Jessica asked, turning back around to face them. "She came with me," Yuri and taecyeon blurted out at the same time. Shit. Jessica looked from Yuri to taecyeon, before her eyes settled on Taeng. He was t he only one who hadn't claimed her, yet he was still staring over toward her. Wh en he finally turned to look at Jessica, she gave him a smug smile before she fl icked her hair and walked away. Tiffany walked out onto the patio and stared out into the back yard. It was such a beautiful night, and the lights lit up the landscape. She would rather stay o ut here than go back into the stuffy party. She couldn't have felt more out of p lace. "Lovely night," Tiffany heard a voice say behind her, interrupting her thoughts. She quickly turned and saw an older man with salt and pepper colored hair walki ng toward her. He stopped and leaned against the patio rails. "Yes, it is," Tiffany answered back, staring up at the sky. "I'm Paul Horvejkul," the older man said, while offering his hand. "Tiffany," she said, staring into the man's kind eyes. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "Pleasure to meet you." Tiffany tried to hide a smile. No one had ever done that to her before. "Speaking of pleasure, are you here for business or pleasure?" "Business, I think." "Can I ask what business?" Paul inquired. But when Tiffany looked away, he added , "Forgive me, I didn't mean to pry." "No, it's not that. It's just that it's embarrassing," she admitted. "Then say no more." Tiffany smiled up at Paul. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place it . He had gentle eyes. Such a contrast to Taeng's cold stare. "I married my wife on a night like this. I know, I'm Catholic, I'm supposed to b e traditional...but she wanted a night wedding, and she seemed to be the only pe rson who always got what she wanted from me," he said with a light chuckle. Then he sighed. Tiffany could tell he was thinking about her. "Wow. I never really thought about a night wedding, but that actually sounds rea lly romantic. Your wife is a lucky woman, considering you caved," Tiffany said, smiling at him. "Nah, I was the lucky one," Paul said. "She actually passed away last year." Tiffany's heart went out to him. She didn't even know him, but in their brief co nversation, she could tell that he loved and missed his wife. Just the way he sp oke of her. The look in his eyes. God, would anyone ever feel that way about her ?

"I'm sorry," Tiffany whispered.  "Thank you. I do miss her, but I have my wonderful son to keep me plenty busy," Paul stated, with a hint of sarcasm. "Speaking of my son, here he comes now." Tiffany turned toward the patio doors just as Nichkhun was walking out. She had to quickly hide her look of disgust. How the hell was this nice man related to t his bastard? "Hey pops. Well, well...hey Tiffany. How ya been?" Nichkhun said, smirking at he r, before lowering his gaze to her cleavage. "Oh, I didn't know you two knew each other," Paul said, staring at his son skept ically. "Oh yeah, Tiffany and I go way back. Actually, she owes me a McLaren Roadster," he said with a wink. The bastard would be so slimy to bring this up in front of his father. God, she wanted to kick him in the nuts! Just when she was finally feeling good about her self, one sentence from him could tear her down and make her feel cheap all over again. "I don't owe you anything, Nichkhun. Perhaps you shouldn't make bets with someon e you know will beat you every time," Tiffany said. She watched his face as his smile dropped. She figured that losing to Taeng was something that happened more than he'd like to admit. Then just as soon as it ha d disappeared, he gave her an evil grin. "Careful little Fany. Getting a little high and mighty..." then he leaned close to her ear, "for someone who lies on her back constantly." If Paul Horvejkul hadn't been standing there, she would have smacked the shit ou t of him. Right then and there. He didn't know anything about her! None of these people did. They could assume all they wanted, but she was a hard working, good person. She had never dreamt of doing anything remotely close to what she had d one for the past few days. They were judging her on less than two weeks time, in stead of the past twenty-three years.  Nichkhun leaned up and smiled, now that he had gotten the best of her. "Well pop s, I think we're needed inside for some quick business. Have a good night, Tiffa ny," Nichkhun said, and turned to walk back inside. "So nice meeting you, Tiffany...?" Paul said. "Hwang. Tiffany Hwang. nice meeting you too." "Ms. Hwang. Thank you for giving this old man the joy of flirting with the prett iest young woman in the room." He smiled and followed his son. Well, perhaps the dress was a hit tonight. She watched him walk away, right as t he blond that Minho pointed out sauntered toward her in her beautiful dark blue dress. No doubt Versace or something like that.

Chapter 6 "Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Jessica Kim," she said, as she stare

d down at her. The woman smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "Hi. I'm Tiffany. Kim...are you Taeng's sister?" Tiffany took in the woman's hei ght and eye color. They could definitely be related. Jessica threw her head back and laughed. Tiffany didn't know what she had said t hat was so funny, but she smiled out of lack of anything else to do. "You're so cute. But no, I'm his wife," she said, smile completely gone. It was replaced by an evil look, as she placed her slender, perfectly manicured hand on her hip. Tiffany was stunned, and she was sure the expression she had on her face was pri celess. She quickly closed her mouth. His wife?! He was married!! And doing what he was doing with her! She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Then she quickly put two and two together...and she remembered what Nichkhun had said a few days ago. 'Whoa! That's definitely not Jessica.' How much of a fool had she probably looked to all of the men in the room that day? Ugh, she hated Taeng right then. "So...how is it you know my husband?" Jessica asked, boring her gaze into Tiffan y. "I don't really," Tiffany quickly recovered. She wasn't about to let this woman intimidate her. If she and Taeng were having marriage problems, she needed to ta ke it up with him. Not her. "Then why are you here?" "I was invited." "By whom?" Tiffany wanted to say none of her business, but that would be too much of a give away. So instead, she thought of another name. "Minho. He's the guy serving the appetizers. Over there," Tiffany said, pointing to the table. But Jessica never took her cold eyes off of her. Instead they slid down to Tiffany's chest. "Are those real?" she asked. "What?!" Tiffany coughed out. What was it with this chick? "Your tits, are they real? I see so many fake ones that they are so easy to spot . But yours look real." "Um, yes, they are real." "Taeng likes real," Jessica stated. Both of them stood there for a moment, uncomfortably. Then Jessica laughed. "He was so pissed when I got mine done. He said he would have rather they been small and real, than fake and big. But whatever, they made me happy. All that matters , right?" Tiffany doubted that Jessica actually wanted a reply, so instead, she kept her m outh shut.  Jessica gave her another once over. "That's a beautiful dress. Where did you get it?" "I don't know. It's not mine."

Jessica gave an evil grin. "It looks like this dress that I saw at one of my fav orite stores. This French boutique that's to die for. All of their designer clot hes are imported from Paris. It's a tad expensive...but that's also why I like i t. What are the odds that you would have a dress from my favorite store?," Jessi ca said, scanning over Tiffany's body. Letting her words sink in. Tiffany shrugged feeling more and s were needed for either woman to ny NEVER wanted to be that woman. t so humiliated. Every mistress's s that what she was? 

more uncomfortable by the moment. No more word know exactly who the other was to Taeng. Tiffa The woman who sleeps with married men. She fel worst nightmare, meeting the wife. Mistress. I

"Come, you must meet Taeng...since this is his house and all. Would be rude not to thank the host." Jessica grabbed Tiffany's hand and practically drug her over to Taeng's group be fore she could even protest. "Hey darling, look who I found. This is Tiffany. I don't believe you two have me t." All eyes around the group went back and forth from Jessica to Tiffany. "Funn y though, you guys said she came with you...yet she said her date was Minho. The waiter over there," Jessica pointed out. Taeng couldn't help but look over toward Minho. He felt an instant pang of jealo usy that Tiffany would claim that prick as her date. In truth, he didn't really know the kid, but he better not dare touch her. Taeng wasn't sure why he was thi nking so possessively of her, but fuck it, she was with him end of story. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Jessica said, dragging everyone' s attention back to Tiffany. Tiffany exhaled. " twenty-three "Oh, I was twenty-three when I met my hubby Taeng. Innocent, sweet twenty-three year old, until he corrupted me with his lifestyle," she said, giving him a smal l hug. "Jessica, you were anything but," Taeng said, taking another sip from his drink. Jessica laughed loudly. "So true." Tiffany felt extremely uncomfortable. She didn't belong in this equation.  "Oh, and by the way sweety...next time you go to a party like this, don't stand by yourself for too long. People will think you came by yourself, and the only w omen dressed like you who show up by themselves are call girls." "Jessica, watch your mouth," Taeng warned, slicing into her with his cold stare. Jessica faked being hurt. "I'm sorry, Taeng. I'm just trying to help her out. I mean, we wouldn't want someone thinking she was nothing more than a whore, would we? Excuse me, I see my dear friend Sarah," she said as she stalked off, leavin g a pissed off and hurt Tiffany in her wake. There were now officially two peopl e at this party that Tiffany wanted to bitch slap. Make that three, including Ta eng. Tiffany crossed her arms over her chest, blocking off part of her plunging neckl ine. Maybe Jessica was right...at least about the call girl part. Maybe she did look like a tramp compared to the rest of the women. She turned her head to the side, and stared over at Minho. She wanted to look anywhere but at HIM. She want ed to go back to the loft and take a shower, and forget this whole night. Minho

was right...she didn't belong with this group. She quickly wiped a tear before it fell. "You look beautiful, Tiffany," Yuri said to her. Then he looked at Taeng. "Okay if I take her for a twirl before my wife shows up?" Taeng nodded and grabbed ano ther drink from a tray passing by. Tiffany was thankful for the distraction. She followed as Yuri led her to the fl oor. He gently grabbed her around her waist. "Hey, don't worry. That Jessica has claws, and she enjoys shredding anything in her path. You held up pretty good."  "Has he ever done this before, Yuri?" Tiffany whispered to him, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Was this some sick, twisted power trip? "No, never. I mean, he's never had to. You should see the girls pulling each oth er's hair out to get into his clubs, his house...his bed. Let's just say there i s a lot. So, this was all a shock to me. I didn't expect him to be really seriou s about it. You know, adding days and stuff," Yuri answered, and then he brought her close to his body. "Shit, I'm drunk. I've said way too much. Please don't t ell him." Tiffany laughed and then sighed. She wasn't sure what to make of that. After a f ew minutes, taecyeon surprised her by cutting in to have a dance. He was so tall and awkward that they both tripped over each other the whole time. Tiffany glan ced over at Taeng. He was staring at her. She quickly looked away. After a few m ore dances with some strangers, she walked back over to Minho.  "You're a big hit tonight. I see all the girls are hatin' on you," Minho joked, as he served another guest. "Please...these women have everything. I'm...well, let's just say they shouldn't envy me in the least." "I still can't figure out why you are here," Minho said, staring at her. "Long story," Tiffany said, while popping another appetizer in her mouth. Minho stared down at his watch. "Hey Taemin," he yelled over at another waiter. "Can you finish this up for me. I gotta take off. Gonna be late." Taemin nodded and Minho looked at Tiffany. "You wanna go to a real party?" Minho asked, with a devilish smile. At that moment, Tiffany didn't really care where she went. She just wanted to ge t away from this hell hole. "Absolutely." In Minho's beat up Ford Mustang, she felt at ease. She had only just met this gu y, and already she was driving off with him. Her normal self...the Tiffany from several days ago, would have said no. But she felt like being a little dangerous . Being around dangerous men had its effects. Minho looked over at her. "You really do look beautiful in that dress. I mean, I don't know what you normally look like, but you are fucking hot." Tiffany choked out a laugh. "Um, I think that's a compliment...if you're not dis appointed with my 'normal' look." "So, you gonna tell me what you were doing there?"

"You first. Is this what you want to do, catering and stuff like that?" Tiffany asked. She had wanted to open up a catering business...but her father shot that idea all to hell, while he made her work endless hours in a dying restaurant. "Nah. I was just doing this as a part of my job. I work for Mr. Kim. The way he runs his, um...well, his company is that you start from the bottom...kinda like a mailroom. I do odd jobs for him now and then, and judging on how well I do the m, I get promoted. The waiter thing was just something I was asked to do if I wa nted to make a little extra. I said, what the hell...I have bills. Might as well , right? Plus, I was hoping to be introduced to him tonight. I mean, I've met hi m once before only briefly. Man, that dude is intense. I would never want to cro ss him." Tiffany listened to Minho talk about Taeng like he was a God. So it wasn't just her that he had this effect on. It was everyone. "So, you want to be a criminal too?" she spat out, while staring out of her window. Minho coughed. "Um, well, you shouldn't say things like that," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Minho, I know what he does. He didn't get all that money in stocks and stuff, y ou know." "Well, I mean, it wouldn't be bad to be like him. I mean, he's in his early thir ties, and owns so much shit. Everyone respects him...yeah, I could be like him o ne day." Tiffany shook her head.  "So, don't avoid the question, what were you doing there?" Minho asked. Tiffany really didn't want to admit it, but part of her wanted to get it off her chest. To let someone know what a dick Taeng really was. To ensure her that non e of this was her fault. She was being manipulated by an evil man, which is some thing she tried to assure herself every day. But as the days passed, it became h arder and harder to use that excuse. There were no bars on his loft. She was sta ying there of free will. Hell, just be honest. "My dad owes him money, so to avoid him hurting my family, I'm sleeping with him ," she blurted out, and then turned to see Minho's reaction. His brow furrowed. "So wait...you're with Taeng?" Tiffany shrugged and stared ba ck out of the window. But she felt the car slowing down to a stop. Tiffany turned to look at Minho. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?" "Um, Tiffany, I need to take you back. Shit, I didn't know you were his girl. Fu ck!" Minho shouted, staring into his rearview mirror and then turning around in his seat, looking through the back window. "I'm not his girl," Tiffany said, slightly raising her voice. She didn't belong to Taeng. He had a wife that fit in just fine at that party. As far as she was c oncerned, he and Jessica were perfect for each other. Minho sighed as he turned off the engine. "Tiffany, he's my boss. And I've heard stories, you know. People sometimes go missing that cross him. Let me take you back." There was no way in hell Tiffany was going back to that party. She wasn't a maso chist. She didn't enjoy pain and humiliation and if she went back, that's what i t would be like. "No, just drop me off down the street. I'll take a bus back to his loft. I'm not going back over to his house," she said, grabbing her purse.

"No, wait. I don't want you to do that either. Shit! Okay, okay, I'll take you t o my place. Fuck, see how much trouble a pretty face can get you into," he said, grinning at her. Tiffany smiled back. "Thank you." Minho pulled the Mustang back out onto the road. Tiffany didn't want to get him in trouble, but she doubted that Taeng even cared. He had a house full of guests and he hadn't even danced with her or really paid attention to her the entire n ight. Maybe that was a good thing. He probably didn't even know she had left. Sh e wondered what Minho thought about her relationship with Taeng. "Hey, do you think I'm a shitty person now because of what I'm doing with him?" she asked. Minho shook his head. "Nah, not at all. Hey, do what you have to do, you know? D oesn't make you a bad person." Then he clicked on the radio and sang loudly unti l they reached a small house, with several people gathered out on the stoop. Inside the tiny living room, the music was bumping and everyone was drinking, la ughing and dancing. A short blond headed guy ran up to them and handed them drin ks. "Tiffany, this is my roommate, Key. Key, meet the lovely Tiffany," Minho sai d, taking a large swig out of the red plastic cup. "Hi Tiffany. You're a little dressed up for this party, but fuck, you're sexy," Key said, scanning over her body, settling his eyes on her breasts. "Um, thanks. Nice to meet you." "Don't worry, you'll get used to his idiotic outbursts," Minho said, as he guide d her further into the small, cramped house. They immediately joined in with eve ryone else and started dancing. It was sweltering in his place. Her hair had fal len out of the pins and she was sure her make-up had sweated off by now, but she didn't care. Tiffany hadn't had this much fun in...well, ever. She rarely did t hings like this. She was always working so hard in school and in her father's re staurant. She never went out.  Minho moved closer to her, and the two started dancing more intimately, even tho ugh they were out of sync with the music. She noticed him lean down like he was about to whisper something in her ear, before his eyes were diverted in the dire ction behind her. He immediately stood at full attention and his eyes widened. T iffany was just about to ask what happened, when she heard the music stop. She t urned and her mouth dropped.  Standing by the door were Taeng, taecyeon and Yuri. Everyone in the house was fr ozen, all eyes on the three menacing men who had just entered. Taeng was staring at her, his arctic onyx eyes freezing her, causing her to shiver. He was dresse d in a long black coat, giving him a dangerous look, like a hitman or something. He started walking towards her.  Tiffany stared at him with wide eyes. She didn't know what to expect. He walked up to her and grabbed her wrist. She saw him lean toward Minho and whisper somet hing into his ear. And she couldn't be sure, be she swore she felt Minho shiver beside her. Taeng turned and walked toward th his hand gripping her wrist king against the floor was the uestions. She knew he was mad,

the door, Tiffany following closely behind him wi tightly. With everything so quiet, her heels clic only noise in the house. Tiffany didn't ask any q even though he seemed calm. Gave new meaning to '

the calm before the storm'.  She watched as Yuri flashed his gun to a kid who looked like he was about start some trouble. The kid immediately stopped in his tracks. "You all have a good ni ght," Yuri smiled, as he turned and walked out, followed by Taeng and her, and t hen taecyeon. When they made it outside, the cool air hit the sweat on her body and she shiver ed again. Taeng opened the backseat car door for her, and she got in. He walked over to the other side and got in beside her. taecyeon got behind the wheel and they took off. Yuri followed behind in another car. Tiffany was scared to look over at him. She knew he was seething.  "Taeng, I--," Tiffany started.  "Keep your mouth shut until we reach the loft," he snapped, turning to glare at her. Taeng rarely got pissed to where he couldn't think straight, but this girl...she was causing that to happen to him a lot. He had wanted to talk to her during th e party, but she had gone. And not just left, but left with another man! Oh, he almost kicked everyone out then. He was so pissed. Tonight he was going to make sure she got their arrangement through her pretty little stubborn head. Tiffany thought it was best to keep her mouth shut like he asked. She sighed and stared out of the window. Another fucking week added. She already knew it.

Chapter 7 When they arrived at his loft, Taeng greeted Park as usual as they enter ed the elevator. Taeng still hadn't said a word to her. She followed him into hi s place and closed the door. She watched as he started removing his jacket and t ie. His eyes were burning a hole through her. She quickly looked down. "Come here," she heard him say. She looked up at him and slowly walked towards h im. She wasn't sure what he was going to do. "This isn't working. I don't do business like this. You're free to go. I'll cont act your father in a few days. I realize he's sick and I will take that into con sideration," Taeng stated, as he stared down at her. Tiffany was shocked. What? She didn't know what to say. He was...kicking her out ? After all of this time. "So that's it?" she whispered to him. "Yes."  "But, what about all of the days I've spent here with you?" Tiffany wasn't sure if she should feel hurt or not. For some reason, she felt a slight sting to her heart. She guessed he really didn't care. "I'll take that into consideration also," Taeng said, trying his hardest not to break. But he had to teach her a lesson. NO ONE got the best of him. No one made him look like a fool. There he was having his men search the mansion looking fo r her. It wasn't until Taemin, another man on his payroll told him Minho and Tif

fany had left together. It took everything in him not to smash Minho's fucking f ace in at that sad little house party.  Tiffany wasn't sure what to do. But she wasn't about to let him hurt her family. "Well, I'm not leaving," she said, sitting down on the sofa. Fuck, their situat ion was so strange. Here she was refusing to leave his house and their 'arrangem ent'. Taeng stared down at her. "You can leave, or I can pick you up and put you in th e fucking car. Your choice." "You can try," Tiffany said, daring Taeng to back his words. Then she squealed w hen he rushed over towards her and picked her up. "That mouth of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble," he growled, as he threw her over his shoulder a nd walked toward the bedroom.  Tiffany's pussy started to tingle. She knew exactly what he was going to do...an d was she anticipating it? Was she wanting it? Is that why she refused to leave?  When they reached the bedroom, he kicked open the door and roughly tossed her to the bed, then quickly discarded his clothing. He grabbed her foot and slid r down to the edge of the bed. God, she looked sexy in that red dress. He had gured she would. He leaned over her and untied the string around her neck and owly pulled the top down, freeing her beautiful globes to him. He kissed each pple, before jerking the rest of her dress down and off her body. 

on he fi sl ni

Tiffany trembled. Yes, she had to admit, she wanted this. She waited with antici pation as Taeng pulled her legs up and apart and quickly entered her to the hilt . "Ooh," Tiffany moaned as his thick length rammed in and out of her. It wasn't until this moment that Tiffany realized how sexually repressed she had been. At this moment, he could have been the fucking devil, and she still would have succ umbed to his need. Which was now her need. All was quiet in his loft except for the sounds of his grunts, her moans and the wet noises of their sex grinding aga inst one another.  "You're going to quit fucking testing me, Tiffany," he groaned out, as he thrust into her drenched pussy with each word he spoke.  Tiffany began running her nails down his back. He felt so deep inside her, and d amn if she didn't want him to go further. As far as he could reach, despite any pain. But only one thing was missing. She really wanted to kiss him. To feel tha t romantic connection, even if it were fake. She rose up to kiss him but he bent down and bit her neck instead. "Aah!" Tiffany sucked in a gasp. Again, it hurt but felt good at the same time. How did he do that? She quickly forgot about the kiss and began enjoying the unbelievable feelings she was experiencing. A few m ore hard thrusts from Taeng, and she began to orgasm as he roughly massaged her breasts.  Taeng stared down at her. Her eyes disappearing into small slits, and her lips s ensually swollen, just begging to be kissed. God, he wanted to so bad. He never considered himself a kissing type of guy. It was a useless act if you thought ab out it. He never got the pleasure that Jessica apparently did from kissing. He j ust tolerated it. As her husband, he felt obligated. But with Tiffany...his mout h itched to connect with hers. But in his mind, that would mean sex was more tha n just for his gratification. More than just an arrangement. Again, he resisted. A change in position would keep him from wanting to devour her beautiful, plump lips. Yes, he was about to teach her something he was pretty sure she didn't kn ow.    Damn, she was so tight. He could barely take it. He was glad she had already com

e. He was surprised at how quickly she had come. But at the moment, she wasn't m oving. Her body had stopped trembling and he hoped she was still breathing. He l aced his fingers with hers above her head and started nibbling the side of her n eck. He loved her hair when it was all wild and wave. It was beautiful, soft and smelled so fucking good. He thought it was elegant at his party, but he didn't like it straight. He liked it the way it was right now, with his face buried in the gentle ringlets. Aargh! This girl drove him crazy. Then silence. Only their heavy breathing penetrated the air. He was still lying on top of her. Neither one was moving. But he didn't want to hurt her, so he slo wly pulled out and rolled over onto his back. She still hadn't moved an inch. Fu ck, he could get used to this. Being with her in bed like this after incredible sex. He wanted her to be on his arm so bad tonight. To be able to show her off a s his girlfriend or his wif---wait, what the fuck was he thinking? He shook that thought completely from his head. Thinking like that could get him into a lot o f trouble. This was a business deal, and he needed to treat it as such. No emoti ons. It only fucks things up. He didn't get to where he was in life for nothing.  "Taeng, why didn't you tell me you were married?" Tiffany quietly asked, with he r head facing away from him. "Because that had nothing to do with our agreement. And it still doesn't." "But " "End of discussion, Tiffany," he snapped.  Tiffany itched to hit him with her pillow. Asshole. So he had a wife...well, it wouldn't matter for long, because in a few days, she would be gone and he would be out of her life. Tiffany didn't bother to turn around when she felt the weigh t shift on the bed as Taeng got up and walked out of the bedroom. 'Good riddance ,' she thought, as she fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 8 The next morning, Tiffany couldn't believe her eyes. She had thrown on s ome shorts and a shirt and walked out into the kitchen, finding Taeng standing t here, dressed down, in just jeans and a fitted shirt and sneakers. His hair was still disheveled from the night before, which gave him a little boy look. He had n't gone home last night? Was she so out of it that she hadn't felt him get back into bed? He was standing there staring at her while drinking a cup of white mi lk.  Why was he still here? Granted it was his place, but still. She had gotten so us ed to him fucking her and then leaving. It made her uncomfortable for him to be here when she woke up. It irritated her. It was causing her to feel...something for him. Something that she didn't want to admit. It was bad enough she had to t hink about what she was to him when he was gone, but it was ten times worse when he was here with her. His presence just seemed to throw their arrangement in he r face, confusing her. She decided to go take a shower to clear her head. When she got out, she slid on some cute denim jeans, pulled on a snug scoop neck white tee, and then put on a n old pair of black and white converse. She made her way back to the living room . She grabbed her book and sat down to read. Taeng leaned against the counter and noticed her huffing and puffing, while turn ing the pages. Okay, he would try to be civil.

"What are you reading?" he asked, taking another sip of his white milk. "A book," was her dry reply, without even looking up. Taeng gritted his teeth. "I'm aware of that. What's the title?" he asked, with l ess patience than before. "How to kill someone you don't like in two days." Taeng had to laugh on the inside. She really was a funny piece of work. She stil l had yet to learn her manners, but she would. He would be damn sure of that. He walked over to her and snatched the book from her hands. Before she could prote st, he read the title to himself. '100 Greatest Love Poems of All Time'. He hand ed the book back to her and walked to the bar area and sipped some more of his w hite milk. Tiffany was sick of this. He needed to go back to the way he treated her before. This new way was causing her senses to go all over the place. She got up from t he sofa and headed to the back to grab her handbag. "Where are you going?" he asked, coming around to meet her. She ignored him and tried to walk by. He roughly grabbed her arm and slung her against his chest. "I think you are quickly forgetting the rules here. Again," he said, as he walke d her backwards until she bumped into the wall. "You will not disrespect me. If I ask you a question, you answer. And not in a smart-ass way either. Do you unde rstand?" "Yes," she pouted. "Good. Now where were you going?" "To the movie theater." "What were you going to see?" "I'm not sure. I was going to see what was playing when I got there." "I'll drive you," Taeng said, releasing her arm and grabbing a set of keys from the cabinet.  "Oh, that's okay. I'll take the bus." Ignoring her comment, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the loft. The car ride over was excruciatingly quiet. She couldn't believe he was driving her. Damn, how many cars did he have? taecyeon had dropped them both off last ni ght, which meant he had to have a car here. And she had never seen this one befo re. It was a Silver SUV. She wasn't sure what kind, but the inside was immaculat e and had that new car smell. Had he ever even driven this car before? She scoff ed, probably not. Fucking rich people. When they arrived at the theater, he got out and opened her door again, surprisi ng her. They walked in silence to the ticket counter. "What movie did you want t o see?" he asked. "Um, it doesn't matter," Tiffany admitted, feeling strange. Was he going to stay ?

He scanned the titles on the overhead screen, and picked an action film. She alm ost died when he said two tickets. She couldn't imagine him sitting in a dingy t heater like this. His taste just seemed too expensive to waste time on something this trivial. An opera house or museum maybe...but a cheap, dirty theater with mindless films, she wouldn't have expected. Just didn't seem his style. He placed a hand on the small of her back and led her inside. When they reached the concession stand, he asked her if she wanted anything. "Um, just popcorn and a drink. C--Coke. Thank you," she stammered out. It was to o early in the morning for popcorn, but she needed something to keep her attenti on off him once inside the dark theater. After he paid the kid behind the counte r, he led her to their screen. There was only a handful of people there, so they sat down in the middle row. Tiffany was so nervous for some reason. She glanced at him, and he looked so normal. Like this was a...date...or something. He turn ed to her, and she immediately faced the screen again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him reaching over toward her. God, was he going to stick his hands down her pants? That would be embarrassing, considering she was started to get w et. She tensed her legs only to have him reach into her popcorn and grab a handf ul and pop it into his mouth. She could have smacked herself. What kind of flooz y was she turning into? When the movie started, she tried her best not to look over at him. Thank goodne ss it was so dark, so she could sneak a peek here and there. He placed his arm b ehind her seat and her stomach fluttered. Ah! It's not like he was a crush or so mething. He was a cold, calculating ruthless mob boss. Not some prom king, a boy that you would bring home to mom and dad. No matter how fine he was.  During the movie, he never laughed or got excited. He only stared at the screen, so she couldn't tell if he liked it or not. But halfway through the movie, sleep started hitting her pretty hard. She tried to force her eyelids to stay open, but they started to get heavier and heavier. Before she knew it, she was out. Taeng looked over at Tiffany, watching her battle with sleep. It finally won, an d she leaned her head up against his arm. God, she was so beautiful. Jessica hat ed stuff like this. If it wasn't clubbing or expensive lavish parties, she would rather not go. He had tried to take her to see a film months ago, and she turne d her nose up at him. But here he was with Tiffany, actually enjoying himself. T he movie wasn't that good, but it didn't matter. Just sitting this close to her, smelling her scent, with her hair tickling his arm, made him relax. He realized how stressed out his work made him. He was sure his men were wondering what the hell was happening. He was always available. He never turned off his cell phone . But at least for a couple of hours, he was off the grid. They would have to do without him. He stared at the top of her head, wishing he could lean his agains t her. When Tiffany woke up, the screen was dark, and she was leaning her head on someo ne's shoulder. Taeng's shoulder. She immediately jumped back, and realized she h ad drooled on his sleeve. He was looking at her. She scanned the theater, and ev eryone was gone, and the lights had come up. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping her mouth. How embarrassing. Why had he not woken her up? "No worries," he said, as he got up and waited for her to grab her handbag and t rash. Neither one said a word as they walked out of the theater. When they got in the

SUV, Taeng asked, "Want something to eat?"  "Sure," Tiffany answered. She hadn't really eaten any of the popcorn and had ski pped breakfast. "Burgers?" Tiffany laughed for a second, until she realized he was being serious. "Um, yes. Sorry, I didn't think you ate things like that." "I don't all the time, but I like them every now and then." They got the meal to go, and when they reached his loft, he was getting out plac emats when he noticed a burgundy box in the corner of his living room. He walked over to it, and picked it up. "What's this?" he asked, turning to her. He smiled at her, when he noticed her m outh was full and she was mid chew of what apfamilyly was a pretty large bite. "Itzz Scwabble," she mumbled unintelligibly out of her full mouth. "I know it's Scrabble. How did it get here?" Tiffany waited a second to swallow before she answered. "I bought it the other d ay. It's one of my favorite games." "You any good?" he said, grabbing his burger, fries and drink, and bringing it t o the small white milk table. "The best," Tiffany said with confidence. "Well, set it up." Tiffany figured he couldn't be for real. She couldn't imagine him playing Scrabb le. Or any board game for that matter. He seemed too serious and mature for that . This whole day had been strange.  As they sat on the floor, eating their burgers and fries, Tiffany was really enj oying this. Strange or not, she hadn't really had any fun, other than Minho's pa rty, since she first got to Taeng's place. Actually, she had to go back further than that. She thought of her sister and dad. It was miserable there, too. She p laced another word down on the board. Soden--meaning saturated or wet. Like her pussy. Then she turned the board toward him. Taeng took a big bite of his burger, wiped his hands and surveyed her word. "Tha t's not a word," he said, as he turned the board back to her. "Yes it is," Tiffany insisted, staring at her word again and munching on her fri es. "No, it's not." "Yes, it is." Taeng stared at her. Something playful behind his eyes. "Are you willing to bet on that? Dictionary is right beside you." Tiffany scanned her word one more time. Shit, it might not be one. Fuck, he was really good at this game. She was already losing by over a hundred points.

"Okay, I give. It's not a word," she pouted, removing the letters from the board . Taeng laughed at her pout. "It would have been if you had one more 'd'. But spel led like that, it's not a word." He was about to place some letters down, when h is phone started vibrating. He had planned on ignoring it, but he looked at the screen. It was Yuri. "Yes?" he said, when he answered. "What? Okay, no, I'll be there." He surveyed t he board one more time, before quickly placing 4 more letters down. He turned th e board toward her, and had just spelled a word that earned him 48 points.  'Damn him,' Tiffany thought. But before she could hand him the bag to replace hi s letters, he took another bite, scooped up his food, placed it in the trash and walked out. Tiffany sat looking at the door. She sighed and looked down at the board one more time. She already missed him. She had to stop this before she act ually fell in love with the asshole. That's something she couldn't allow herself to do. Ever. She didn't really know him, and he didn't really know her. And she needed to keep it that way. Yes, starting tomorrow, she would behave differentl y.

Chapter 9 In the car on the way back to his house, Taeng thought about his day wit h Tiffany. He realized he was overstepping boundaries. He never should have spen t the night. He rarely ever slept in the same bed as a woman he'd just had sex w ith. Usually he'd politely, or not so politely, kick them out or just stop by th eir place and leave when the actual act was done. Jessica, being his wife, share d a bed with him until they couldn't stand to be around each other. Then she too k another bedroom in the house, but that was before she had moved out over six m onths ago. Taeng had every intention of leaving after fucking Tiffany, but when he returned from the bathroom, he went to gather his clothes from the bedroom an d heard her snoring. He had walked over to her side of the bed and stared down at her. His eyes slowl y roamed over her naked body. Her smooth back which dented in at her small waist and then rose with the round curves of her perfect ass. His eyes traveled down her silky legs to cute tiny feet. She shifted in her sleep to her side and he st ared at the tiny butterfly tattoo on her pelvic bone. He wondered when she had g otten it. She didn't seem like the type of person who had any tattoos. He wanted to put his mouth to the small colorful ink and kiss it. Since he couldn't kiss what he really wanted. He looked back at her face and at her soft lips which wer e slightly parted. Taeng had sighed and dropped his clothing back on the floor. He had gently crawl ed back into the bed and had fallen asleep staring at the back of her head. He had hated to leave her without any explanation during their game, but in his line of 'work' the less she knew, the better for her. A two-timing snitch who ha d placed one of his men in jail, had finally been caught. The bastard had been p laying all sides. Selling lies to Taeng's rivals about him, and vice versa and t hen selling all of them to crooked cops. Well, this time, he crossed the wrong p eople. When Taeng arrived at his house, he was greeted at the door. "How long has he be en here?" Taeng said, removing his jacket and walking briskly through the house. "A few hours. We couldn't reach you," Yuri said, as he followed in line behind T

aeng. Taeng quietly cursed himself. That's one thing he couldn't tolerate. Letting bus iness matters slip. Shit, he should have turned his damn phone on. Tiffany was f ucking with his mind. He needed to get his shit together. "What's his name?" Taeng asked. "Jung Daehyeon. Apparently us and the Koreans aren't the first people he backsta bbed." Taeng rolled up his sleeves, "But we'll be the last," he stated before he entere d his basement.  *** After their Scrabble game, Tiffany had sat up all night trying to figure out her new approach to Taeng. She couldn't keep up this same routine with him. She cou ldn't keep letting him add days because she couldn't control her temper. That's exactly what he wanted. To keep her here for his own sick reasons. But...did she want to be there? No! Of course not! What was she thinking? Of course not... An d she couldn't let things like their 'date' distract her. It wasn't real, and it didn't mean anything. From here on out she would do all that he asked so that her time could pass quic kly and they could go their separate ways. This seemed to be the only way. So wh at, he took her to the movies. Big deal. Who cared if he played Scrabble with he r? None of those things erased this dreadful arrangement. She needed to get a gr ip. And she needed to figure out how she was going to pay this month's rent. Tif fany went to sleep late, with many stressful things floating around in her mind. *** The next morning, Tiffany woke up, took a shower and threw on a hoodie and some sweatpants, then heard a soft knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and recognized the white blond hair immediately. Tiffany smiled as she opened t he door and Minka stepped in followed by Taecyeon with several large boxes and b ags. "Hey Minka," Tiffany said, while hugging the tiny girl. "Hey! How was the party the other night?" Minka asked. "It was alright. But your dress was a hit," Tiffany said. Minka smiled from ear to ear. "Yes! I knew it would be. You looked amazing in it. Well, since you trus t my taste...Taeng sent me on a little shopping spree for you. I hope you like." Tiffany shook her head. Why was Taeng doing this? She then turned her to the big guy. "Hi, Taecyeon. Come to sweep me off my feet and carry om big, bad Taeng?" Tiffany teased. She thought she saw a teeny, tiny he corner of his mouth, but she couldn't be sure. He was such a teddy

attention me away fr smile in t bear.

Minka walked toward the back of the condo and into the bedroom. Taecyeon followe d behind, dragging several boxes. Tiffany wondered if they had bought the entire store. She watched in awe as Minka hung up and folded different articles of clothing. S he hung dresses and skirts together, jeans in one section and lounging and workout clothes in another. Minka placed different types of expensive shoes on the s hoe rack. She smiled when she held up a brand new pair of black and white Conver se. "This was not my pick, but he said you liked them," Minka said, laughing. 

Tiffany stared down at her tattered, old Converse. She did like these damn shoes . They were comfortable. She looked back up and noticed Minka placing several un dergarments and a few pair of bikinis inside the drawers. What the hell? How lon g did Taeng think she was staying? She only had a few more days left. And why wa s he buying her all of this anyway?! She was supposed to be 'paying' money off.. .not adding to the debt. "Okay, I'm done," Minka said, brushing her hands against each other. "Everything in there should fit you perfectly, but if not, give me a call, and I 'll fix it," she said, while handing Tiffany her card. It just had her name and number on it.  "Thanks, I don't know what to say. There's just so much," Tiffany said, looking over the now full closet. She, her sister and father probably didn't have this m uch clothing combined. "Well, women can never have enough clothes and accessories. Enjoy!" Minka said a s she bounced out of the room. After they left, Tiffany went to examine the closet. She felt like she had her o wn little mini department store. But then her smile quickly vanished. She needed to realize that this didn't mean anything. Everything in this closet was for hi m, not her. So she could look somewhat decent beside him. So she could wear ling erie to get him off. It was just a game. Tiffany sighed as she looked over the dresses. She chose a dark blue soft cotton dress with long sleeves. She picked out a pair of boots to go with it, and quic kly pulled her thick hair into a high ponytail. She added a little mascara and c lear lip gloss. She would at least try to look somewhat decent for him since she would be turning over her new leaf today. Make Taeng happy so she could get the hell out of there. Tiffany grabbed the cordless phone and dialed her familys' phone number. She che wed on her nail while waiting for someone to answer. "Hello?" "Hey . How are you?" Tiffany asked. "I'm fine, but where are you?" "I I can't really say. But I'm fine. Did Mr. Choi Minsik come by about the rent, y et?" "Yeah. I held him off. We got to think of something. I only have half. Where are you again?" " I can't tell you that right now. But I'm fine, trust me. And pretty soon, ever ything is going to be fine. And I'll try to figure out a way to get the other ha lf. How's daddy?" She heard her sister sigh. Tiffany knew that sigh. That meant her father was bei ng difficult. "He's alright, I guess. Just depressed. And that's causing him to be mean. Just a mean, old man. He asking where you are though. I guess I'll just tell him that line you feeding me." Tiffany hated that her sister was having to deal with this alone. And here she w

as sitting up in some expensive condo pretending to live the high life. " I have to go. I'll, um, see about getting you some money really soon. Just never mind. Love you, bye," she said as she quickly rushed off the phone. Tiffany had to do something. Her family had barely been getting by for years. Ju st when she thought there was no way, they always found one. She would find one this time too. She knew what she had to do. She really didn't want to, but she h ad to. She detested Mr. Choi Minsik, but she knew the only way out of this was t o get an extension on their rent. She sighed as she grabbed her purse and walked out. Downstairs, Mr. Park directed her to the closest bus. Taeng usually didn't come by until later in the afternoon, so hopefully she would get back before he even realized she had gone anywhere. Finally, after three bus changes and an hour later, she arrived at her neighborh ood. She looked around at the broken down apartments and trash on the streets. I t seemed like she hadn't been there in months...even though it had only been a c ouple weeks. She walked a few blocks south until she came to the rent office. Sh e REALLY didn't want to deal with this man today. She couldn't stand him. Tiffany walked inside the tiny building and knocked on his office door. "What?!" she heard him yell through the door. She opened it and walked inside. She saw Mr. Choi leaning over his desk counting money. She stared at the middle-aged, chubby, short bald man as he looked up at her. "Well, my favorite girl. Do you have my money, Fany?" Mr. Choi growled at her. " Or did you come to ask for an extension...yet again."  "Mr. Choi, I know we are extremely late, but I had to leave town for a little wh ile, so I don't have my half of the money. But if you could just extend our dead line by two weeks, I promise, I can figure something out by then. Or I can give you half now, and the other half in two weeks." She noticed his eyes roam over her body. "Since when did you start dressing so n ice?" he asked. "Mr. Choi Minsik, did you hear what I said?" Tiffany said, crossing her arms ove r her chest. Mr. Choi shook his head. "You either pay me all of the money now...or you and yo ur family are out on the street by tomorrow morning. You think you can play me. You come in here with fancy new clothes, but yet you can't pay the rent. Bullshi t." He then slowly slid his eyes down her body again. She hated when he looked a t her. His sleazy eyes had been wandering over her body even when she was a youn g girl who would come in with her sister to pay the rent. But there was no way in hell she was going to get that money by today. Shit! "Mr . Choi, I don't have the money now. But I promise, I can get it in two weeks," T iffany said, almost pleading. It made her sick to have to do this.  Mr. Choi Minsik leaned back in his chair. His eyes roamed over her body for the third time. "Well, judging by those clothes, looks like you've finally been putt ing your better assets to use. You know, we could always work out our alternativ e deal...I offered that to you a while back, remember?" Tiffany felt sick. At that exact moment, she hated men. Did she have a fucking s ign on her forehead that read, 'Weak and poor...will have sex for money?' Why di d men think they could treat her this way? She wanted to stab Mr. Choi with the

letter opener on his desk. She didn't understand this new violent streak in her, but she loathed that man right then. "Are you going to give me the extension or not?" Tiffany spat at him, trying her best to ignore his disgusting offer. "Not. But if you give me a blow job, I might consider letting you have your two weeks," he said with a smirk. "Fuck you," Tiffany said, before she turned and stomped toward the exit. "I want that money today or you're out!" she heard him holler right before she s lammed the door. When Tiffany arrived back at Taeng's condo she broke down. She hated feeling thi s helpless. Money. Fucking money!! She wished she could shred it all and send ev eryone back to the dark ages. She laughed through her tears thinking about that. She walked into the bedroom and laid down on the bed. She tried to think really hard about how to get that money. She actually looked around Taeng's condo and thought about selling something...b ut that would be dishonest and she couldn't do that. More tears seemed to come a s everything looked useless. Not that crying helped, but crap, she couldn't stop the tears. She'd have to call her sister and dad and tell them to start packing . Choi Minsik didn't make idle threats. She had seen him kick people out before, i ncluding this little old ajumma, who had gotten behind on payments. He didn't ca re. Tiffany cried even harder thinking about ajumma sitting on her suitcase with nowhere to go. She had wanted to invite the lady into their apartment, but her father had said absolutely not. So, she watched from her window as hours passed until someone came to get the little old lajumma. Hopefully a family member. Tiffany closed her eyes as more tears squeezed from the corners and ran down the sides of her face and into her hair. She took a deep breath when she felt the b ed sink down. She quickly opened her eyes to find Taeng hovering over her with b oth his arms braced on either side of her head. Taeng saw the tears in her eyes and immediately asked, "What's wrong?" He watched as Tiffany quickly tried to shield her face from him but that caused her to cry even harder. "Tiffany, what's wrong? Did someone say or do something to you?" Taeng asked, fe eling the hairs rise on his arms. He was about to fuck someone up. Tiffany tried to speak, but it just came out in a loud, hoarse cry, "My family is go going to be kicked out tomorrow morning. Be because we can't pay th e rent. God, I hate him!" "Who?" Taeng asked. "No one. It's fine. I'll get over it," Tiffany sniffed, trying to pull herself t ogether. She rose up on the bed causing Taeng to stand. She quickly wiped at her tears. Why did she tell him her problems? Like he would actually care. It was h is fault this shit was happening anyway. He was no better than Mr. Choi Minsik. "Who is your landlord?" Taeng asked again. "Mr. Choi Minsik. He's such an asshole. Good riddance that we'll be leaving his place anyway," Tiffany tried to rationalize. She would have to call her sister i n a bit and deliver the news. Taeng grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Grab your jacket."

Tiffany obeyed, but then asked, "Where are we going?"  "To pay Mr. Choi Minsik a little visit," Taeng said, as they walked outside and got into his car. "What's the address?" Taeng asked, while pulling out into the street. "Taeng, this is my family's problem. Not yours." "That's not what I asked you. The address." Tiffany sighed and told him, but then added, "I wouldn't even bother, he's a tot al dick." "Why were you crying?" Taeng asked, ignoring her assessment of her landlord.  Tiffany didn't feel comfortable telling Taeng these things. The less he was a pa rt of her life, the better. But also...she knew that this was her day to turn ov er a new leaf and start playing this game Taeng's way. "Because I have jeopardized my family. They're getting kicked out because of me and my lack of being able to contribute. And because Mr. Choi Minsik said some m ean and nasty things to me." Taeng squeezed the steering wheel. "What did he say?"  Tiffany told Taeng, and he just nodded his head. They arrived at Mr. Choi Minsik's building in less than twenty minutes due to Ta eng's impatient driving. When they got out, Taeng told Tiffany to wait outside t he door. Taeng knocked. "What?!" Mr. Choi Minsik yelled. Taeng opened the door, walked in , and locked it behind him. He turned to look at the tiny, little man. "Who are you and what do you want?" Mr. Choi Minsik asked, speaking around his c igar. "I'm Kim Taeng," Taeng stated and stopped to stare at the man's reaction. Mr. Choi Minsik looked up again and dropped the cigar from his mouth. He quickly picked it up and stubbed it out in an ash tray. "Mr. Kim! I-I've heard so many things about you. I don't th-think we've ever had the pleasure of meeting," he s tuttered through his shock. Taeng ignored him and placed down several hundred dollar bills. "Here's the mone y Tiffany owes you. From now on, any money matters concerning her, you bring to me. Call this number. The person on the other end will know how to get in contac t with me," Taeng said as he slid a card across the messy desk. Then Taeng leane d down and narrowed his eyes at the sweating man. "And if you ever harass or make another vulgar comment to her again, I'll bust y our fucking knee caps and burn this shithole office down...with you in it. Got i t?"  Mr. Choi Minsik's eyes grew even wider, if that were possible.  "Do-you-understand?" Taeng bit out slowly, as he gradually pushed the desk close r to Mr. Choi Minsik, until it was pressing into his chest, locking him between it and the wall.

"Yes," Mr. Choi Minsik coughed, "I understand." Taeng held the desk there for a few seconds more, before pulling it back.  "Good. Now I think you owe Tiffany an apology, correct?" Before Mr. Choi Minsik could even say anything, Taeng walked to the door and unl ocked it. He called for Tiffany to enter. She slowly walked into the office and glanced back and forth between the two men. One calm, the other sweating. "He has something he needs to say to you," Taeng told her, then turned back arou nd to Mr. Choi Minsik. Mr. Choi Minsik swallowed loudly and looked over at Tiffany. "Hey, um, I just wanted to say sorry for the comments I said to you. Won't happe n again. No hard feelings, okay?" Tiffany just nodded and looked back at Taeng. What had he said to Mr. Choi Minsi k? He looked as though he were ready to piss his pants. Actually, he might have. "Now that it's settled, let's go," he said, grabbing her arm and leading her out of the door, but then stopped. He turned back around and leaned back through Mr . Choi Minsik's door. "And heed my warning...most people don't get one," Taeng whispered.  In the car on the way back to the loft, Taeng and Tiffany were silent. Once insi de, Taeng tossed his keys on the counter and removed his jacket. Tiffany went to sit down on the couch. He couldn't help but notice how well the dress he had bo ught hugged her curves.  He started walking towards her when she spoke.  "Taeng, you didn't have to do that. I owe you enough money as it is, and now I o we you more," Tiffany said. "You don't owe me anything. Your father does. This debt that you're here for is his debt. You offered to pay it off, but he was the one who borrowed the money. You never asked me for the money that I gave your landlord, so you don't owe me anything." "And the clothes?" "Again, you didn't ask for them, they were a gift...so you owe me nothing," Taen g said, sitting down beside her. "But ," Tiffany started. "Tiffany..." "I know, I know...end of discussion," she said. She felt him lean closer to her ear, while the back of his fingers grazed her nipple. "Did you like my gift?" he whispered. She nodded her head yes, but then quickly remembered to speak up. "Yes, I did. Thank you." Okay, she would be nice and do the things he asked. She could do this until her time wound down. But she did want to ask one more quest ion. "Taeng?" she asked, as he pushed her down on the sofa and buried his face in her neck. She heard a muffled,

"what?" from him. "What did you say to Minho at that party the other night?" She could feel him li cking and sucking the side of her neck. Her skin felt tender there since that se emed to be his favorite place to bite her. She laughed to herself. Taeng did kin d of remind her of a vampire, although he wasn't pale. He actually had a nice, l ight, natural tan due to his heritage. But right now, she could feel herself get ting wet for him. "That's between Minho and me," he whispered as he started unbuckling his pants. He slowly peeled her dress over her head, and removed her bra and panties. He li cked and sucked her taut nipples as he massaged her swelling clit. "Ohh, Taeng...," Tiffany murmured. "Do you want me inside you?" Taeng teased, as two of his fingers worked their wa y into her tight, wet pussy. "Tell me, say you want it," he commanded, as his fingers seized her hair. "I-I want you inside me," Tiffany whispered. Taeng removed his fingers and pressed his erection against her soft love nest an d pushed roughly until he was completely buried inside her. He wrapped one of hi s hands around her neck and squeezed. Her eyes grew wide and she immediately ten sed underneath him. She quickly grabbed his hand, trying to push it away from he r throat. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax and enjoy it," he whispered as he tightened his grip and began fucking her brutally. He was driving in and out of her pussy with so much force that the couch started to slightly move under t he intense pressure. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder so he could hav e more access, and his hand flexed and released around her neck several times. Tiffany couldn't breathe. Literally. Her head was becoming light, but her pussy was quivering. She didn't know what the hell he was doing to her, but she didn't want him to stop. There was a slight chance that she could die of strangulation . What an embarrassing...satisfying way to go. Her mind was saying, "Focus on breathing, bitch!!" which placed all of her focus on the top half of her body, while he banged the shit out of her lower half. It was a different, extreme feeling. She felt her orgasm building and her eyes rol led back as her body trembled. She felt the pressure of his hand leave her neck and he placed her other leg over his shoulder and fucked her even harder, if tha t were possible.  Aargh, this girl's pussy was like fucking kryptonite to him. He seemed to go wea k and silly every time he was inside her. This is where he constantly wanted to be. He thought about it while he was on important business calls, when he should have been concentrating. He hadn't enjoyed sex this much since...well, a long t ime. And partly because he knew that there was a part of her that hated getting this turned on for him. She fought against it, and THAT caused him to get really turned on. Knowing in her own way she was playing hard to get.  He was hoping he wasn't hurting her, but right now, he was about to come and he wanted to get as far into her tight cunt as he could. He finally stilled himself inside her and released his first load. "Ugh, fuck! Damn, Tiffany...," he mumbled as he continued to pump his seed deep inside her. Once he was completely emptied, he let her legs drop down beside him and he lowe red himself on top of her. He could feel her heart beating. A steady fast pace. They stayed like that for a while.

" Fuck, she make me crazy," Taeng muttered to himself, before he sat up and slid his u nderwear and pants back up. He needed to get out of there. She was messing with his mind. "Hey, I need you ready by seven. Yuri's wife is having some guests over for dinn er and they invited you. I'll be back then to pick you up," he said, as he rushe d out of the door. Tiffany sighed and walked to the bedroom to take a nap. She was already exhauste d, and didn't really feel like going out again. She fell asleep thinking about T aeng helping her with the rent. She still didn't know how she felt about it, but perhaps that was one less stressful matter off her plate. When she woke, she decided to take a warm bath in his humongous tub. She leaned back and let the water pressure streams massage her back. She placed a warm wash cloth over her eyes and tried to block out her crazy life.  After a few minutes, Tiffany decided to get out. She felt a little better, but s he only had a few hours before the party, and she wanted to finish reading her b ook. She placed a white robe around her and walked into the bedroom to pick out an outfit.  Tiffany was about to slide on a pair of panties when she heard the TV turn on in the front room. She sighed. He was early and she was sure he was ready for roun d two. She made her way down the hall. "Taeng, you're not going to leave me with much energy for ," Tiffany started and t hen froze when icy eyes turned to glare at her. But they weren't Taeng's eyes. G od, give her strength. These eyes belonged to Jessica. She was sitting on the co uch, shoes off with her legs pulled up underneath her. She had been flipping thr ough the TV channels when Tiffany entered the room. Both women stared at each other. Awkward. "Hello" Jessica smirked, turning the TV off. Tiffany tried her best to hide her frown. "Hi, Jessica. What are you doing here? "  "Well, technically I live here. This is, after all, my husband's condo. So what are YOU doing here? I thought you didn't know him," Jessica said, standing up an d slipping back into her heels, placing her a little over six feet tall. Tiffany sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Jessica, whatever is going on between you and Taeng is your business. None of m ine." "Well, since you're fucking him, I guess it makes it your business too," Jessica stated, walking towards her. Tiffany braced herself. Because if this bitch touc hed her, she would smack the shit out of her. She could give a damn if it was Ta eng's wife or not. She was sick of people trying to run all over her. "I mean, trust me, I know my husband is no angel. He was fucking around with oth er women before and after our marriage. He's handsome, he's rich, and in the bed room...well, you and I both know what can happen. So I figure one little flaw li ke infidelity...who cares, right? As long as at the end of the day...he comes ba ck to me." Jessica continued to stare at Tiffany as she circled her.

"But that's where I'm confused about you. Why is he letting you stay here and at tend parties? You can tell me. It will be our little secret." Tiffany exhaled. "I have to get dressed. Excuse me," she said, as she pushed pas t Jessica and walked into the bedroom. She heard Jessica's heels following behin d her. Shit! Why won't this crazy bitch just leave?! "I see he left his mark on you," she heard Jessica say. Tiffany turned around, " What?" she asked, irritated. Jessica pointed to her neck. Tiffany quickly turned around and rolled her eyes. "You must be an even bigger slut in bed than I am, for him to still be with you, " Jessica said. Tiffany was done with this woman. She turned around quickly and walked up to her . "You know what, why the fuck are you here? Since you're so determined to make yo ur business with Taeng, 'our' business, then fine, I'll jump in. Why the hell ar en't you with him? You're obviously not living with him and I didn't even know y ou existed until the party that night," Tiffany huffed out. Jessica's eyes widened and then narrowed at her. "Please girl, I can have him ba ck anytime I want him," Jessica said, while flicking her hair behind her back. "Then go get him and leave me the hell alone! If you want him so fucking much. I 'm not going to stop you, trust me!" Jessica opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but then closed it . She turned and stomped out of the room. Tiffany heard the door open, but then heard Jessica yell, "Don't get too comfortable, sweetheart. Taeng gets bored really ea sily...and it's just a matter of time before you're right back on the streets wh ere you came from!" And then the door slammed. Tiffany grabbed a hanger and threw it across the room. Damn, Taeng. Damn, damn, DAMN!!!

Chapter 10 Tiffany hated these types of things with Taeng. No one knew her, so she was pretty sure they all assumed she was some loose girl that Taeng had picked u p for the night. At least Yuri would be there. He always made her feel more at e ase. He treated her like a person and not some expendable trash. Taeng picked her up exactly at seven, and when they arrived at Yuri's house, a t all woman with brunette hair opened the door to greet them. "Hey Taeng, looking good as always," she laughed, while giving Taeng a hug. "Lik ewise when can I steal you away from him?" Taeng returned. She laughed and patted him on the shoulder, then turned her attention to Tiffany. "Hi, I'm Yoona, Yuri' s wife," she said, offering her hand. "Oh, hi, I'm Tiffany. nicee to meet you." "Taeng," Yoona said, "Yuri and the guys are in the living room. Make yourself at home while I become acquainted with your guest." Tiffany watched as Taeng left her with this stranger. She stared at the woman. S

he was a cute petite woman with big eyes. "Here, let me take that," she said to Tiffany, while pulling her coat from her.  "Thanks," Tiffany said. Yoona led Tiffany down the hallway and towards the kitch en. Tiffany felt a little at ease considering this was Yuri's wife. Maybe she wa s as nice as he was.  "So, you're Tiffany...Jessica's rival," Yoona laughed, as she handed Tiffany a g lass of champagne. Okay, maybe she wasn't as nice. Tiffany didn't want to be rude to Yuri's wife, so she said nothing as she sipped on the glass of champagne. Fuck it, she needed more than a few sips with the wa y her day had been going. She tipped the glass up and swallowed the rest. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that. It's just that I can't stand Jes sica. She can die a thousand deaths for all that I'm concerned. Trust me, I bare ly know you, but I'm Team Tiffany all the way," Yoona said. That shocked the hell out of Tiffany. She stared down at Yoona and laughed. Okay , maybe Yoona wasn't so bad after all.  "Sit by me at dinner. I want to hear how you stole her limelight and her man at the party the other night. I arrived late, but I heard about it and I've been sm iling ever since," Yoona said, smiling at her. She linked her arm around Tiffany and the two walked into the dining room together. At dinner, Tiffany was introduced to everyone, a few of them were related to eit her Yuri or Yoona. All of them knew who Taeng was, and she was sure they knew wh at he did, but they didn't seem to care. They all told jokes and stories as the food was passed around. Food that was absolutely amazing. Yoona showed Tiffany p ictures of her kids. She and Yuri had three girls. Tiffany laughed at the fact o f a big guy like Yuri having three little girls. Tiffany glanced at Taeng, who was sitting opposite her at the table. She thought about Taeng with a kid. He'd probably have a boy...who would get into as much t rouble as Taeng probably did as a kid. Tiffany looked at her empty champagne gla ss. She had already downed her second glass. She normally didn't drink, and espe cially not this much, but Jessica's words were still messing with her. Why was T aeng doing stuff like this? Helping her with her rent and bringing her to an int imate dinner with his close friends. She was sure this was reserved mainly for f amily and girlfriends. Sure, she was invited by Yuri, but Taeng could have decli ned. She wasn't his girlfriend or wife like he kept reminding her.  Tiffany picked up the champagne bottle and poured herself another glass. 'Fuck J essica and Taeng,' she thought. Well, she wanted to hate Taeng, but he had come to her rescue against evil Choi Minsik. But why? She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Taeng nod to Yuri who was sitting beside her, and Yuri moved the cha mpagne bottle closer to him and out of Tiffany's reach. Well, fuck it, at least she'd get to drink this third full glass. She started downing it. When she was d one draining the glass, she knew Taeng was probably staring at her, but she trie d not to look at him. Somehow the topic of conversation moved to the economy, and Sooyoung, a cousin o f Yuri's, decided to voice his opinion. "Man, the economy is so fucked and those assholes in Wall Street and mortgage companies started all of this shit." "Yeah, well perhaps there's no place for decency in the modern world," Taeng chi med in. "Assolutamente! It's like, get yours while you can and fuck everyone else. Man,

it's so cutthroat out there nowadays. You really have to watch your investments, " said Yoona's brother Yonghwa, while shaking his head. "Well, regular businessmen fall by the waste side now. You have to come to the t able with something extra or different," Taeng added. "That's right," Yonghwa said. Tiffany was really starting to feel her buzz. She had been quiet the whole time, while everyone chattered on around her. But Sooyoung just had to call her out. "What do you think, Tiffany," he said. The whole table got quiet, waiting for he r to respond. Tiffany quickly glanced around the table. Shit. "Well, I always think there's a place for decency. At the end of the day, money isn't everything. It never was," Tiffany said. She shouldn't have had that last glass. She felt herself leaning in her seat. Th ey might not be able to tell she was a little tipsy, but she could feel it. "Yeah, but where does decency get you?" Taeng asked. All eyes flew to him. "Some people live their lives trying to be decent human beings, and all that the y get is screwed over by the world. Friends, lovers...," he turned to stare dire ctly at Tiffany. "Fathers, landlords and even me. So I forfeit decency for power any day." A couple of the men around the table mumbled in agreement. Tiffany just stared a t him, and then down at her bread and picked a small piece from it.  "Well, decent people hold some power over the people with power that you just me ntioned," Tiffany disputed. "How so?" Taeng asked. The entire table were leaning on their elbows watching this verbal volley back a nd forth between Taeng and Tiffany. Tiffany glanced at Yoona and noticed that sh e was smiling from ear to ear at her. Tiffany was nervous. She didn't want every one paying so close attention. You could only hear the fireplace crackling in th e background. "Guilt. The power decent people hold over those who aren't, is guilt. Those that screw over people feel guilty," Tiffany stated. At least she hoped they felt gu ilty. "Usually the people screwing people over, Tiffany, don't have a conscience. They don't care who they hurt to get what they want. And at the end of the day, it's more about the chase than it is actually getting what you want. Once you have i t, it becomes boring. And people like that also don't spare a glance back at the lives they've ruined. And when they lay their heads on their pillow at night, t hey sleep peacefully, and guilt free, because they don't have any sympathy for t he weak," Taeng stated calmly, and then took a sip of champagne. Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting Taeng's words sink in. Tiffany felt a f amiliar sting behind her eyes. He was talking about her. She wanted so badly to get up from the table and leave.  To break the uncomfortable silence, Yoona chimed in. "But, if you believe in Heaven, then your decency can buy you a one way ticket. Those who have sacrificed their humanity for the sake of a few bucks...may never see that." Yuri smiled over at his wife.

"Yoona, you are right. For those that believe in that, I'm sure the decent ones do go to Heaven. And that's probably not where I'm going, but I can tell you rig ht now...the devil is going to have one hell of a battle for my soul," Taeng sai d with a grin. Everyone finally relaxed and laughed. Everyone but Tiffany. She stared at Taeng. Why did he affect her so much. "Speaking of battling the devil for our souls, I don't think there's a decent ma n among us tonight. So you're not alone Taeng. We'll be fighting the battle with you," another friend said. More laughs erupted from the table. "Us women are decent by nature. I'm a loving wife and mother of three," Yoona sm iled. "So while you men are sweating an eternity in hell, we'll be living it up on the other side." "I'm not decent," a red-headed woman over in the corner said, while smiling devi lishly at Sooyoung. "Amen," he said, while he kissed her. "What about you Tiffany, are you decent?" Yonghwa asked. Tiffany looked up. Fuck it, why hide the truth. Thank God for alcohol. "You know, I don't think I am. I mean, I used to be a decent person before I cam e here and started fucking a married criminal for mon--," was the last thing she said, before Yuri jerked her up. "Hey Fany, let's go outside for some fresh air," he said, practically picking he r up. Yoona excused herself and followed behind her husband. Taeng remained seated and calm as the eyes around the table quickly glanced at h im then down at their food. He got up from the table. "Excuse me," he said as he walked toward the back. Outside, the cool air felt good against Tiffany's skin. She needed that. Yuri pl aced her gently on a bench in their back yard, while Yoona wiped her face with a cool, wet cloth. "I'm sorry about that," Tiffany slurred to them.  "It's okay honey, we all drink a little too much," Yoona said.  "Fuck! What the hell am I doing here?!" Tiffany shouted at no one in particular.  "I'll take it from here," she heard Taeng say from behind. Yoona handed Tiffany the cloth and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you," Tiffany mumbled as Yoona and Yuri walked away. Taeng came around to stand in front of her. She didn't even have the energy to l ook at him. "Tiffany, look at me," Taeng said. She slowly looked up at him. "You can't let what people say affect you so easily. You have to be stronger tha n that." Tiffany scoffed. Was he really trying to give her lessons on how she should live her life? Please.  "I'm serious. I'm not going to hold my tongue because you get pissed and cry."

"Why are you trying to give me words of wisdom? You don't give a shit about me, so just take me back to the loft, fuck me and then leave, okay?" Taeng narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine, get your shit and let's go," he bit out and turned to walk back into the house. But then he stopped and said, "Just know that for that little outburst and your disappearing act at my party.. .you've earned another fourteen days. Congratulations." Fuck, so much for trying to play the game his way, Tiffany thought.  *** Later that night, after he left his loft, Taeng stopped by his restaurant. Even though it was closed, he wanted to stay there for some peace and quiet before he had to go back to his house. There always seemed to be people around him there. Truthfully, he'd rather sleep at the loft tonight, but after he and Tiffany's a ngry sex, she rolled over and didn't say another word to him, so he was pretty s ure she didn't want him there.  Taeng stared down at the blank sheet of paper. He had a secret passion that only two people knew about, one being Yuri. When he had tough decisions to make or w as just stressed, he would draw free-style designs of buildings. He had actually gone to college for architecture and design, but he knew it was all in vain. He knew he would take over for his father some day, and when he graduated, he did. Even though he wasn't the oldest son in their family, he and his father both kn ew that he was the only one with the mindset to keep the 'business' afloat. But every now and then he was able to resurrect his private hobby. He had designed h is club and the second restaurant. Both had turned out better than he could have imagined, especially his club.  But tonight, his stress didn't come from his job. It was coming from Tiffany. He had promised himself that he wouldn't let her get to him, but he wasn't making too good on that promise. Her words tonight at dinner affected him more than he thought. More than he wanted to admit. 'The power decent people hold over those who aren't, is guilt,' she had told him. He wanted to laugh it off. What power c ould she possibly hold over him? But...he did feel guilty. There he was trying t o tell her not to let other's words affect her so much, but yet her words had to uched him. In life, he usually had a take no prisoners, fuck 'em attitude, but w ith Tiffany, she was a better person than he was. And she wasn't as weak as he t hought. For a person who has no money or power, to hold her head up high despite feeling humiliated on a daily basis...that took some courage.  And she had looked so beautiful tonight, and almost happy, but he had to go fuck it up by putting her back in her 'place'.  Taeng sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He stared at the chair opposite of him and realized that just a few weeks ago, Tiffany had sat in that chair to exp lain her situation to him. She had come to him, probably scared and ashamed, looking for help...and how did he treat her? Like she didn't fucking matter. If he were being truthful, he had just planned to fuck her that night and get rid of her. He was sure she couldn't satisfy him the way he wanted, so he'd just take a few thousand off what her father owed him and call it even. But, when he had gone in to his loft, and she hit him and then threatened to cut him, that lit something in him. She wasn't a pushover like he had taken her for during their brief meeti ng. His stomach turned to think of how she looked at him when he had asked her t o remove her clothes in front of him and Yuri. He knew that if she had any other option...she would have taken it and probably kicked him in the nuts on the way out. But she was desperate and he had taken ad vantage of that. He'd ripped her cheap black dress, not caring that it might be

the only one she had. Fuck, he could be an asshole sometimes. It never bothered him to be called that before, but now...for some reason, he didn't want Tiffany to think that of him. Taeng leaned his head against his desk. He knew that their arrangement was somet hing that would end eventually, and she'd go her separate way, and he'd go back to his life. But, in the meantime, he'd try to make it up to her. He would treat her differently. Yeah, starting tomorrow, he'd turn over a new leaf with Tiffan y. He smiled just thinking about her. *** Over the next few days, Taeng tried keep his promise to himself to treat Tiffany better. But she didn't make it easy on him. At first, she barely said two words to him. He would ask her a question, and a simple "yes" or "no" would be her on ly answer. And when he tried to ask a question that would require more than thos e generic replies, she would simply turn to him, plaster on a fake smile and say , "whatever you want is fine". Oh, she got under his skin so bad. But he kept his cool. It was just a part of h is nature. Remain cool and calm at all times. But Tiffany was seriously trying h is nature. But he also realized it was her only defense against him. She couldn' t physically beat him, so she would try to mentally overpower him. And fuck, if it wasn't working! And just when he would be ready to snap, her words about 'gui lt' would slowly creep back into his mind. He did feel guilty, and he found hims elf wanting her to be happy.  So, on several occasions, he would show up at the loft and beat her in a game of scrabble, or just sit and watch a TV show or movie with her. She seemed to like those sappy Lifetime movies, and although it was painful for him to watch, he w ould. And during these times, slowly but surely, she started to warm up to him a gain and he even caught her smiling a few times.  The other day, he took her to an art museum. He actually never cared much for th ose types of things, but she seemed fascinated with it. She told him that she ha d never been to an art museum before. When she was in grade school, they had tak en a field trip to a museum, but had to pay for their own entrance into the muse um. Her father was so tight with money, that she wasn't able to go, and instead spent that class period reading. That had made Taeng feel even worse. But watchi ng her bounce from painting to painting helped to quell some of that negativity. Although he found it all boring, she especially loved the Baroque paintings. Sh e stared at them for several minutes, while he had stared at her. He also couldn 't keep his hands off of her, and he kissed her neck or squeezed her ass every f ew minutes, while she would 'ooh' and 'aah' over each painting.  Tiffany didn't know why the change in Taeng had happened, but he seemed differen t towards her. He quit taunting her with the fact that he was using her. At firs t she had resisted and tried to act like a robot. Only answer yes and no, and li e there in bed as he had his way with her, but no matter how hard she tried not to come, it always happened, and he grinned at her, because he knew she was tryi ng to withhold.  And another new development was the fact that she was able to spend more time at his mansion now. She started meeting more and more people that worked for him, as he openly flaunted her around. He even held her hand as they entered into sev eral places. He still didn't introduce her as anything more than just 'Tiffany', but at least he wasn't ignoring her anymore when there were people around. He w ould actually laugh and have conversations with her about different things. Yes, he had changed ever since Yuri's party.  ***

"Whatever, you don't know anything about me," Tiffany stated, as she rolled off Taeng, and onto the bed. She was exhausted from their intense sexual workout. Taeng placed his hands behind his head and nodded. "I know more than you think T iffany Hwang. Born in San Francisco, 1989 and grew up in Diamond Bar, LA, Califo rnia. Moved to Korea at age 15. You attended South Pointe Middle School and Diamon d Bar High School. You've been working for your father since you were thirteen, you've had one boyfriend and were pretty much a loner. Oh, and you can't keep aw ay from my dick. Anything else I miss?" Tiffany scoffed. "Please, I can keep away. You can't! And besides, I don't have a criminal record, so how did you pull all of that?" "I have people who keep me well informed." "Still doesn't mean you know me though. And what about you?" "What about me?" "Tell me something about you." "Kim Taeng and I'm a successful businessmen. End of story." "How about something I don't already know," Tiffany said, wrapping the covers ov er her naked body. "I remembered you from when I went to visit your father that day in his restaura nt. You were wearing that burgundy shirt and short, tight khaki shorts. Yeah, ye ah, I checked you out. You looked like a deer in headlights when I glanced at yo u." Tiffany didn't believe him. He couldn't have remembered her. She had barely gott en a glimpse of him that day, before he entered the kitchen with her scared fath er.  "Was my hair up or down?" Tiffany quizzed. "It was down and you had it pushed away from your face with a headband or whatev er they're called," he answered. Tiffany couldn't believe it. How the hell could he remember that? She had rememb ered him, but it wasn't every day that you got a guy like Taeng Kim walking into your restaurant. But he probably was just really observant, because he had bare ly spared a glance at her then. Tiffany watched Taeng get up, pull his boxers back on.  "Are you leaving tonight?" he heard her ask in a small voice. He looked at her, wrapped in his sheets. He tried not to stay over too often, in order not to give her the wrong impression, but some nights, he'd be so exhausted, he couldn't he lp it. He thought she didn't care either way, but her look was hopeful. Did she want him to stay? He knew they had been getting along, but he still doubted that she actually wanted his company. He thought she more or less tolerated it. "Do you want me to?" he asked. Tiffany slid the sheets above her breasts until they reached her chin. She slowl y nodded her head. She did want him to spend the night. She watched as he stared at her for a moment, as if deciding what to do. Then he pulled his boxers back down and got back into bed. She knew not to expect any type of cuddling, but jus

t knowing he was there and not running out made her feel less like...well, less of an 'arrangement'. "Goodnight," Tiffany whispered to him. She hugged her pillow, not really expecti ng a response. He didn't like anything sentimental. But as she was scooting into her sleeping position, she heard him say it. "Goodnight, Tiffany."

Chapter 11 Tiffany was still on cloud nine from meeting one of her favorite actors. She had seen most of his movies, and when Taeng had told her he was throwing th e actor's thirty two birthday party, Tiffany flipped. She was so excited! Taeng had shut his club down for the private event. Apparently Taeng had grown up with Hyun Bin, and the two had stayed close throughout the years. And even during Hy un Bin s speech, he thanked Taeng, because for one of his best roles as a tough, h e had copied Taeng's behavior from when they were kids and everyone laughed. It was a pretty good impersonation. And when Taeng finally introduced Tiffany to th e birthday boy, she was smiling from ear to ear. She tried to shake his hand, bu t he pushed it aside, and grabbed her for a big hug. But after about five second s, Taeng jokingly started to pull her away...but he also didn't remove his arm f rom her waist until after the conversation had wrapped.  The music was amazing, and Tiffany danced with groups of strangers most of the n ight. She had tried to call Taeng over to dance with her, but he waved her off a nd continued to conduct a meeting in a dark corner of the club. 'He can't even h ave fun for one night without doing business,' Tiffany thought.  "So, how long have you known Taeng?" Hyun Bin asked, sneaking up behind her. He handed her a drink. Gosh, he was handsome, Tiffany thought. "Um, not long. We're just friends," Tiffany said, sipping her drink. "So, since you're just friends, does that mean you're open to 'other' friends?" Tiffany couldn't believe he was hitting on her. He was gorgeous and could probab ly have any girl in this club. "Um, I g-guess," Tiffany stuttered, and then quickly took another sip. She didn' t know what to say to him, and he was eyeing her up and down.  "Good, here's my number. You should call me sometime, beautiful," he said as he jotted his number down on the back of some card. He handed it to her, right as s he felt arms wrap around her waist. "Hey," she heard Taeng say behind her. But he wasn't talking to her, he was talk ing to Hyun Bin. "Hey Taeng, Thanks for the party, I enjoyed." "Glad you did," Taeng answered, but Tiffany could feel his arms tighten around h er and his voice sounded distant. Then she felt his cool lips against her skin, and he lightly bit and kissed her neck. Tiffany couldn't help it, before she cou ld even think, she closed her eyes, loving the feel of his hard body against her back. But then she quickly opened her eyes to see Hyun Bin, sipping his drink, looking really uncomfortable. 

"Nice to meet you," Tiffany said to him, before Taeng pulled her away. "Taeng, t hat was rude," she whispered to him. Taeng yanked the piece of paper from her, r ipped it up and deposited it in the trash can before he took her hand and led he r outside, where a limo was waiting on them. "I have a surprise for you," he said, when they got inside. Tiffany kept asking what it was, but he just told her to be patient. But it was about a thirty minut e drive away, so to keep her mind from wandering, she decided to teach him a gam e. "Okay, you place your hands on top of mine and you have to look me in the face. When you think I'm going to hit your hands, you remove them, okay?" "Alright" Tiffany waited two seconds and then smacked his hands.  "Ow, what the hell?" Taeng asked, looking at her. "Taeng! You're supposed to move your hands. Okay, you try to hit mine instead," Tiffany offered, placing her hands on top of his. Taeng still looked puzzled, but he stared her in the face.  "Ow!!" Tiffany screamed, as Taeng's hands smacked hers before she could even bli nk. "That hurt!" "Hey, you're the one that picked this pointless game," Taeng said as he smacked her hands again. "Oww! Stop hitting me so hard," Tiffany pouted as she shook off the sting on the back of her hands. "Besides, this is my secret way of getting all of my aggress ion out on you," she smiled. "Yeah...how's that working for you," Taeng smirked as he smacked her hands again . "Shit! Stop it!" Tiffany shouted as she tried to land a punch to his shoulder. B ut before it could connect, the limo shifted and she fell on him, straddling one of his legs in her extremely short and skimpy deep orange dress. She tried to q uickly push off of him, but he grabbed her hair in one hand and her ass in the o ther. "Now, if you had told me this was the endgame, I would have played it a long tim e ago," Taeng joked, as he kissed a trail from her earlobe and down her neck. Ti ffany tried to move, but his grip tightened in her hair as he smacked her ass. "Aah!" she squealed, but her body involuntarily started dry humping his leg. "Damn, I want to be inside of you right now," he whispered, while he removed his hand from her butt and gently placed it underneath her dress to rub her wet sli t. He had asked her not to wear panties, so he had all the access he wanted. "Mmm," she moaned into his ear. "We're here, sir," Taecyeon said through the speakers. Taeng gently pushed her b ack and pulled her out of the limo, before they got too carried away and forgot why they were here. Tiffany searched around to see if anything looked familiar. But they were parked in a back alley. Taeng grabbed her hand and led her inside a building and throu

gh the back hallways. Everything was so dark, but when they reached a set of dou ble doors, Taeng whispered for her to close her eyes. She shut them tight and fo llowed closely behind him into the room. Underneath her eyelids she could see the room getting lighter. She waited for hi s signal, and she felt him get behind her and nip her earlobe as he whispered fo r her to open her eyes. When Tiffany looked around, she couldn't believe it. She sucked in a breath. Was this Tiffany's? She was surrounded by so many diamonds she couldn't believe it. She had never walked into this store before because she knew she could never af ford anything in it. The paper they print their receipts on was probably worth m ore than she had in her purse at the moment. The way the light sparkled off of each piece of jewelry, lit up the entire room very brightly. When she finally came to her senses, she realized there was anoth er man standing in the room. A short, tiny man with thick black rim glasses. "Hi Mr. Kim. Always a pleasure," he said, while shaking Taeng's hand. "Thank you, Minwoo, likewise. This is Tiffany," Taeng said, placing his arm arou nd her waist. "Tiffany, this is Minwoo." "nice to meet you," Tiffany whispered, still a little in shock.  Minwoo smiled at her and turned to Taeng. "May I, sir?" he asked, while reaching for Tiffany's arm. "Sure. Tiffany...pick out anything you want. I'll be over here," Taeng said, whi le he stepped to the side and pulled out his cell phone. Tiffany looked at Taeng, then at the jewel cases. This was too overwhelming.  "It can be overwhelming," Minwoo said, as if reading her thoughts. "Let's start with this," he suggested, while placing a thin rope with a sparkling diamond hea rt around her neck. Tiffany looked in the mirror at the beautiful necklace wrapp ed around her neck. How many women would kill to be in her shoes tonight. In the reflection of the mirror, she saw Taeng leaning against the wall on his cell ph one. He was dressed in his signature long black coat. He was tall and good looking th at at the moment, this all seemed like a dream. Tiffany focused back on herself in the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a while, as she tuned out Minwoo 's voice. Who was this girl looking back at her? "Siwon, I'll be there. Aren't I always? Just make sure our figures are straight. And tell Yuri--," Taeng started, but stopped when he noticed Minwoo standing in front of him. "Hold on, Siwon. Yes?" he said to Minwoo. "Um, sorry to interrupt Mr. Kim, but she said she doesn't want anything." "Come again?"  Minwoo wiped his brow. "She said she doesn't want anything," he repeated. Taeng looked towards Tiffany and found her standing by the door, looking at him. "Siwon, I'll call you back," he said as he clicked off his phone.  Tiffany watched as Taeng walked toward her. She braced herself. She knew that he was probably so pissed at her throwing his gift back in his face. But she just couldn't accept it. Not this time.

"What's wrong," Taeng asked. "Nothing. I just don't want anything," she whispered back to him. He stood there staring at her for a few seconds. Then he turned and walked back over to Minwoo . "Thank you. And sorry for wasting your time," Taeng said as he shook the tiny ma n's hand. "Not a problem at all, Mr. Kim. And please let me know if there's ever anything else I can do for you." "I will, thanks," Taeng said as he walked back over to Tiffany. He held the door open for her, and they walked back down the hallway. Taecyeon opened the doors to the limo and they got in. Taeng sat leaning against one door, while Tiffany s at leaning against the other. Both were deep in thought and neither said a word the entire trip back to his loft. When they entered, Taeng removed his coat and turned to Tiffany. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go lie down for a few minutes before I have to go." She nodded her head, and he turned and walk to the bedroom. Tiffany stood by the bar, just thinking about the night. What a strange night. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have cared...she'd actually probably be glad...but now, she felt like shit that she had hurt his feelings. She should have just tak en something small, but something was keeping her from doing it. Pride? Or somet hing stronger than pride that was telling her that this isn't the way. Stand you r ground and in the end you'll get what it is you really want from him. And what was that? His...love? Tiffany shook the thought from her head. She had too much nervous energy to go to sleep. So she crept into the bedroom an d saw him lying on his back with one arm covering his face. His shoes were still on. She wanted to take them off so bad so he could be more comfortable, but she resisted. She wasn't his girlfriend. She walked into the closet and grabbed her bathrobe. She tiptoed out and shut the door. Tiffany turned on the faucet and removed her clothes. She stepped into the large shower and immediately exhaled. The hot water massaged her body and she leaned against the cool tile, loving the contrast to the water. She closed her eyes and started humming 'In My Life' by the Beatles. She had heard the tune while waiti ng on the subway one day, and instantly fell in love with it. She was in the mid dle of humming the second verse when she heard the shower door slam. She jumped and turned around to find Taeng staring down at her. He looked pissed. She looked up at him while the water rained down on her neck and back. She pushe d her hair out of her face and waited for him to speak.  "Why did you embarrass me tonight?" Taeng asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "Taeng, I because I'm not for sale, that's why," Tiffany said, crossing her arms o ver her chest. Taeng scoffed. The look on his face said that he wanted to dispute that fact. An d Tiffany wanted to smack that smirk right off his face. "I'm not, you arrogant prick!" she screamed at him.  "Sure," he said, as he reached out to pinch her nipple. That was it. Tiffany didn't mean to as hard as she did, but she pushed his hand away, and sla pped the hell out of him. You could have heard that smack from several rooms awa y. Her hand was stinging and she could see the red mark slowly creeping across t

he left side of his face. He stared down at her, and even with the hot water bea ming down on her back, his glare froze her. Fuck, another seven days. Great way to end what should have been a good night be tween the two of them. She tried to quickly move around him and exit the shower, but Taeng grabbed her. He pushed her against the tile and lifted her up. "Wrap your legs around me," he growled. She tried to push him off, but he held h er still. "Now!" he yelled at her. She quickly obeyed as he entered her. She lea ned her head against the wall, as he forced his length inside her pussy again an d again. Damn, he felt so good. He lifted her slightly and sucked the water from her nipples.  When he was done worshipping her nipples, Taeng pulled her hair back and stared into her eyes. "Who's pussy is this?" he asked, while pumping harder and faster into her. "Taeng's," she whispered. Taeng felt like a crazy man. He wanted her so bad, he couldn't think straight. "Say it louder," he commanded, as he leaned down and bit her neck. "Oww. Yours Taeng, it's yours," Tiffany shouted louder, right as she came. Taeng raised his head and leaned it against her forehead as he stilled himself deep w ithin her and came. "Fuck...," he whispered, while they both fought to catch their breath. Tiffany closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. Why did she keep giving in to him like this? It wasn't making her look any better in his eyes. She sigh ed and tried to wiggle her way out of his grip, but he held her tight. "Look at me," Taeng said, gently pulling her head back by her hair. She looked i nto his face.  "Why didn't you want anything from Tiffany's?" Taeng asked. She shrugged, and rai sed her eyebrows.  "Yes, you do. Tell me," Taeng demanded. Tiffany felt trapped. He wouldn't understand. But she decided to put it all out there for him anyway. Everything that she had been thinking about it. She was su re she'd regret it, but here it was.  "Because some things aren't for sale. And I realized the more you gave me the mo re I was willing to accept things about our arrangement. But I can't do that any more, Taeng. Material things aren't going to make me forget that I'm here becaus e of seventy thousand dollars my dad owes you. It's not going to make me forget that you can and have humiliated me for your own amusement. Or that you're marri ed. What kind of person would I be if I lived like that, even if only for a few more weeks? I appreciate you offering, but I'd rather not have those things and keep a little self-dignity, than to be draped in them and accept the fact that y ou won't even kiss me on the mouth because that's not what you want from me and-," was all that Tiffany got out before his lips came crashing down on hers. Her eyes immediately widened and then closed with the feeling of his cool, wet l ips devouring hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her against the wall. For once, she felt special. Even if this was all fake and didn't mean anything, this kiss was still all and more than she thought it would be.  Taeng's head was swimming. Everything about this girl was different than any oth er he had known. Her words washed over him and gave him chills. He was praying s he couldn't see how much they were affecting him. And when she mentioned the kis s, his mind shut down and something else took over and screamed for him to kiss her right then! And her lips...they had been torturing him for weeks, and then t hey felt so soft against his aggressive attack. His tongue was wrapping itself a

round hers as he licked every corner of her sweet mouth. He was tightly gripping her hair, because he didn't want her to pull away. Not now. Not with him feelin g the way he did at this moment. He wanted to be as close to her as possible. An d fuck him, but he didn't want to let go. Ever.

Chapter 12 "I'm sorry, really, he's on his way," Siwon said to the four Russian men sitting in the office in Taeng's restaurant.  "We been waiting an hour, he not coming," Vladimir said in a thick Russian accen t, while standing to grab his coat. "No, wait! He's...just slightly delayed, he'll be here. He always is," Siwon ass ured, checking his cell phone again to see if Taeng had called. Siwon had contac ted Taecyeon hours ago. Taecyeon said he had dropped Taeng and Tiffany off at Ta eng's loft, and that Taeng had said he would drive himself over to the restauran t.  "No, he not coming. But tell him since we don't mean much to him, we now do busi ness with Nichkhun. At least he show up for meeting," Vladimir growled, then he quickly spoke in Russian and his men followed him out. Siwon threw his phone across the room. He knew where Taeng was. He had been fuck ing up lately because of her, and now...they had lost out on the one deal Taeng had been so adamant to get. Everyone wanted to do business with the Russians, an d they had come to Taeng specifically, because he was the best. Shit, this was g oing to turn bad if Nichkhun landed that deal.   *** "Wait, Taeng...I--," was all that could escape from Tiffany's lips before Taeng wrapped his hand around her mouth to quiet her. "Sshh," he whispered in her ear, as he pressed his solid erection to her pussy. Tiffany was on her knees at the edge of the bed while Taeng stood behind her wit h his feet planted on the carpet. Her soft, smooth back to his hard, sturdy ches t.  Taeng held one hand over her mouth while the other reached from behind to explor e her full breast. He roughly pinched and pulled her sensitive nipples. He heard her whimper from the pressure he was applying to the pink blossoms. And then an other slow, sexy moan came from deep within her throat, as he continued to slide his thick cock further and further into her tight pussy. "You like that, Tiffany?" he teased as he held her body tightly pressed to his, moving inch by inch into her pussy. He heard what he thought was a muffled 'yes' . When he was firmly buried into her, he slowly pulled out drawing an even longe r moan from Tiffany.  "Damn, Tiffany. You're so tight, baby," he groaned out, trying to control himsel f from the snug fit. Tiffany couldn't think straight. Actually, she couldn't think at all. He felt so fucking good inside of her. She wanted so badly to stroke her clit. Just once, but he had told her she couldn't. He had said it was his clit, and only he could touch it. So even though her fingers itched to do so, she resisted.

Soon his hand covering her mouth lowered to her neck and he began to lightly squ eeze. Tiffany never thought she would ever enjoy someone choking her during sex, but it turned her on so bad. And apparently it turned Taeng on too. He was teac hing her so much about her likes and limits...and she was quickly realizing...at least with him, she had no limits. His hand tightened around her throat again, while he pulled out and pushed back in with more force. Aargh, he was killing he r! After a few more minutes of fucking slowly, Taeng was ready to pound the hell ou t of her tight pussy. He quickly pushed her further onto the bed so he could cra wl behind her. He pressed her back down until she was sturdy on her hands and kn ees.  "Spread your legs," he growled at her. Tiffany promptly obeyed. Taeng stared in awe at her body from behind. His manhood was still buried inside her pussy, and seeing her legs spread so far apart from behind lit him on fire. Her small littl e waist that flared out to beautiful wide hips ...was causing his balls to tight en already. 'Fuck,' he thought to himself.  Taeng roughly jerked her the mattress by holding locked her wrists behind with an evil grin on his give it...he did.

hands out from under her. He quickly pinned her face to one hand tightly around her neck, while his other hand her back. This was the perfect position, Taeng thought face. She would have to take whatever he gave her. And

Tiffany squealed, half in pleasure, half in pain at Taeng's powerful, unrelentin g thrusts. And he was thrusting so hard that her body was moving up and down, ru bbing her tender nipples against the mattress. He was being so rough, which she should be used to by now, but he always had a way of surprising her. He felt so deep inside her, all gentleness gone, as he continued to violently force his har d length inside her. Her pussy would be raw tomorrow. For sure. "Taeng," Tiffany gasped from underneath her hair, as he continued to hold her fa ce pressed against the mattress. "Can you pl-please, you know, help m-me out," s he said with her voice vibrating from his force.  "What was that, Tiffany? Speak up." "Can you, he-help me out?" "Help you do what?" Taeng said squeezing her wrists. "Can yo-you touch me do-down there?" she whispered, feeling herself grow shy fro m begging him. "Touch what, Tiffany? Say it," he commanded. "Please rub my cl-clit for me," Tiffany said, desperate and pleading. A part of her felt ashamed and her face felt on fire. But another part of her became even more wet from him forcing her to say it, while she was in such a submissive posi tion. "Will you come for me if I do?" Taeng asked, stilling himself within her. She no dded her head. Tiffany felt his hand leave her neck and whack the hell out of her ass. "Aah!" she screeched.  "Are you going to speak up or am I going to have to read more fucking sign langu age?" he growled out. 

"Yes,"' she weakly croaked out, then cleared her throat. "Yes!" Finally, Taeng released her wrists and reached underneath to stroke her hard cli t and pull her hair. Tiffany lost it. She started to come, while her body involu ntarily jerked for several seconds. She could feel herself leaking onto the shee ts. Her mouth was half open and she couldn't close it, yet no words were coming out. The feeling was too overwhelming. The muscles in her legs were starting to feel sore as she continued to hold her legs wide for him as he pummeled her tend er pussy.  Now that she had gotten her release, Taeng braced his hands on the bed by her si des and fucked her even harder. This girl was driving him crazy. She wanted him? Well, she was damn sure going to get him until she was aching all over. Just th e feel of her body underneath him in this position sent him into a animalistic s tate of mind. He wanted to come inside her. To mark her. He halted himself deep within her as he tilted his head back and shouted, "Ughn, shit!! Goddamn it...aah, fucking hell." He slowly continued to drive in a nd out of her until not a drop was left. Tiffany closed her eyes. She was already so sleepy and her entire body felt heav y. His dick might as well have been a shot of Nyquil, because he continued to we ar her out until her body begged for sleep.  Taeng laid down on top of her back. He couldn't move at the moment. Damn this gi rl knew how to set something off inside of him. He wasn't sure what it was, but she definitely held the key. That scared him a little. His body had this constan t need to be buried inside her. And not just his dick, but he wanted to be besid e her. Have her wrapped tightly in his arms. He wanted to...to kiss her again... and again, and again. He eventually pulled out of her and rolled over onto his back. She was already h alf asleep, but still staring at him through the small slits of her eyelids. He pulled her body closer to him and started kissing her. He could never get enough of this. He was gently pecking, sucking on her bottom lip and then forcing his tongue in her mouth. Then once he was done worshipping the inside of her mouth, he'd repeat. "Taeng," Tiffany lazily laughed, "You're going to give me a bruise on my lips if you don't stop!" "I don't want to stop," Taeng admitted, as he pressed his lips against hers agai n and slid his tongue inside her warm, sweet mouth.  Tiffany soon quit resisting his kissing attack, as she quickly fell asleep. Once it looked as though she were out for the count, Taeng stared at her. He lightly rubbed his index finger over her full, luscious lips. He smiled as he traced hi s name over them. That's right, those were his beautiful lips. At least for a fe w more days. Taeng leaned against the headboard and thought about his life. If...by chance Ti ffany stayed in it, what kind of girlfriend would she be? How would she fit into his lifestyle? Would she accept the things he did? She was too good of a person to turn a blind eye forever. Jessica had loved it, but then again, she had a cr uel streak in her. Tiffany didn't. He looked down at her. Tiffany had an innocen ce that Taeng wanted to protect. He had done his best in the beginning to destro y that, but now, he wanted to protect it. There was no innocence left in him, an d her being in his life, somewhat made up for that. She still believed there was good in all people, even someone like himself. She just didn't know all the peo

ple he had hurt. The lives he had ruined...or taken. No, she had no clue how rut hless he could be. And he hoped she would never have to know. Another thought popped into his head. He wondered what kind of mother she would be. She would probably be what the fuck? What was he thinking? In the three years he'd been married to Jessica, never once did he ever think of kids with her. The idea never crossed his mind. That's why it was such a shock when Jessica had me ntioned it during dinner on some random night. He had almost choked on his food. There was NO WAY in the world he would purposely ever impregnate her. If she wa nted kids, who was he to deny her, but they wouldn't be from his sperm. Not a ch ance. But then why did that thought cross his mind with Tiffany?  Taeng tried to quickly shake the idea from his head. Besides, in his line of wor k...the more loved ones you have around, the more heartache you might find. Peop le who hate you don't strike at you, they strike at the ones you love. Luckily, Taeng had only had that problem once with his mother, and he solved it. Anyone tha t knew him figured it would have been a waste of time going after Jessica. He di dn't want anything to happen to her, but he damn sure didn't love her. He didn't even like her. But Tiffany, he...cared, admired...those weren't strong enough, but he was nowhere near ready to admit the other word. That four letter word...n o. That wasn't it. No matter how amazing the past few days had been, it would al l end soon, and he would go back to his life. He thought of Tiffany going back t o her life. Possibly finding a boyfriend. Taeng's jaw tightened at the thought.  *** The next morning, Tiffany woke up and found Taeng asleep and leaning against the headboard like he had sat up all night. She had never woken up before him. Usua lly, he was either fiddling around in the living room or gone. But this morning. ..she had beaten him. She smiled as she stared at his face. His perfect nose and lips, and thin black eyelashes that somehow made his bright onyx eyes stand out even more when they were open. She rose up and quickly pecked him on the lips. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. Tiffany was feeling rather...playful. She decided to do something she had never done before. Ever. She slid her hand down Taeng's body until she found what she was looking for. She looked him in the face as she slowly lowered her face to hi s groin. She noticed his lips gradually part as she took him into her mouth. He immediately started growing to attention, and in no time was hard as a rock. She began to lick his shaft, while moving further down to his balls. She gently sucked on them and then traveled back up to the tip of his cock before covering it with her mouth again. "Holy shit," Taeng whispered as he watched her move her sexy mouth up and down o ver his rod. Goddamn, it was a beautiful sight. She accidentally gagged herself and he felt heat rush through him. So she was new at this...which made him feel even better that she was inexperienced. Had she gone down on him like a pro, he would have questioned her only having that one boyfriend. But her warm mouth and big eyes were causing his balls to tighten. He tried to pull her up, but she re fused. Well, fuck...who was he to deny what she wanted. He gripped the sheets an d lifted his hips off the bed pushing himself further into her mouth as he came. And she never backed away. She continued to suck on him until he had to gently push her away. Tiffany swallowed the pearly salty mixture and licked her lips as she stared him in the face. She never thought she would ever do something, so...as her sister would put it, "slutty". But she liked it. No, she loved it, and judging by the l ook on his face, he did too. In a weird, twisted way...she would miss being with him. If anything, he taught her things about her body that she didn't know exis ted. But that's not all of why she would miss this. Actually, there was somethin g she would miss more than the sex, but she refused to think of it. 

"Good morning, Taeng," she said as she straddled his lap. "Good morning, Tiffany," he whispered back as he kissed her. After they finally drug themselves from the bedroom, into the shower, and into c lean clothes, it was already late in the afternoon.  "Do you like Korean food?" Taeng asked, as he grabbed his jacket and keys. Tiffany tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and smiled. "I thought that would h ave been obvious," she said, grinning at him. Taeng walked up to her and kissed her for the hundredth time since their shower the night before. "Mmm," he moaned as he pulled away from her. "I'm going to coo k for you tonight." Tiffany smiled. "You can cook?" she asked, surprised. Taeng arched an eyebrow. "I'm, what the fuck? Of course I can." Tiffany laughed and locked her arms around his neck to deliver another kiss. "So mmm---be ready---by---eight, mmm...damn, Tiffany," Taeng said, as she continue d to kiss him through his words. "Okay, wear something sexy and I'll see you in a few hours, okay?" Tiffany nodded and Taeng gently gripped her hair and pulled her neck back and ki ssed her hard and deep, his tongue exploring her mouth. He almost had it memoriz ed. He quickly pulled away from her and exited his loft. He had to get out of th ere before he stripped her down and made love to her again. Make love? That word usually didn't come in his mind oft ever. In the lobby of his building, Taeng smiled at Mr, Park, "Good morning, Ajusshi." "Good morning, Mr. Kim. nice day, huh?" "The best," Taeng returned. In his car, Taeng grabbed his cell phone to call his house, but the battery was dead. Fuck. And he had no charger in this car, becau se he rarely used it. He would just have to wait until he got home. But for some reason, now that he was away from Tiffany and the powerful spell she cast on hi m, he felt as though he were forgetting something. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. What the fuck was nagging at him? It was probably nothing, so Taeng tried to ign ore it. When he arrived at his house, he walked inside and saw Yuri sitting on the couch eating a sandwich. "Good morning, Yuri." Yuri was about to take a bite into his sandwich, when Taen g greeted him. He held it there for a few seconds, before he lowered it. "Um, good morning to you too, Taeng." Before Yuri could say anything further, Taeng hopped up the stairs, entered his office and closed the door. He sighed as he thought of Tiffany. He wished she ha d come with him. He should have just kept her by his side today, since he'd be b ack over there in a few hours anyway. But they never could have any peace at his house. Too many fucking people always around. He walked over to his desk to che ck his messages. "Hello, Taeng."

Taeng swung around to find Siwon sitting casually on the couch. What the fuck? W hy the hell was he in his office? "Siwon, what the fuck are you ," then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Siwon's exp ression and reason for being in his office. The nagging feeling he had in the ca r. No, no, no. Now Taeng remembered...the Russians. "Fuck!!!!" he shouted. Goddamn it! How the hell could he forget the most importa nt meeting? That wasn't him...he didn't make mistakes like that! Shit!! Siwon sat calmly on the couch with his briefcase open. "Yes, the Russians. Want to know the update?" Taeng really didn't. He could only imagine. He had wanted that fucking deal with Vladimir and he had just blown it. Not Siwon, or Yuri or anyone else that worke d for him. Just him. It was his fault. Taeng sighed and leaned against his desk. Siwon pushed his glasses further onto his face. "They waited for an hour, and wh en you looked to be a no-show, Vladimir said they were meeting with Nichkhun ins tead." "Shit," Taeng mumbled to himself. How in the hell could he forget a meeting like that? THE most important one to date. They literally had flown all the way from Russia to meet with him. And in the underground crime world, first impressions are usually all you get. No second chances. It was one thing to be late...which he never was. But to not show up at all...out of the question. What the fuck was wrong with him? Siwon cleared his throat. "Can I say something, Taeng?" Taeng nodded. "Look, we're friends, so I'm saying this with the utmost respect for you. I thin k you're an incredible businessman and that's one of the reasons I left my comfy legit job to come work for you. You always have your shit together...and I've a dmired that over the past couple of years. But, for the past few weeks, you have n't really been paying close attention to the business. I mean, I have documents that you haven't sat down to read because you've been spending most of your tim e with Tiff at your loft. Things are slipping, and they have been for a while now. I tried calling you several times last night, practically begging Vladimir to s tay, but he was pretty pissed that he wasted his time. He's like you...only Russ ian." Taeng sat there thinking about what Siwon had just said. Taeng also had a lot of respect for him. Unlike Yuri, Siwon kept in business mode all the time. No fami ly, no friends...just numbers and business. Most people never sacrificed relatio nships to excel and become the best at something, at any cost. But Siwon had...a nd for most of his life, so had Taeng. Until Tiffany. Taeng felt like a fool.  "I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong Taeng," Siwon continued, "but I thought this deal with her was strictly sex. Nothing more. I mean, is she your girlfrien d now?" Taeng cut his eyes toward Siwon and narrowed them. "No, she's not." Taeng knew r ight then what he had to do. He needed to cut this bullshit and get his business back on track. He had worked ten damn years getting what his father had left of f the ground and really making something of it, and he almost destroyed part of that in a few days all because of Tiffany. She wasn't his girlfriend...she was...just a girl. She didn't matter. What was i mportant was that he didn't let down the people who had worked for him and been loyal to him over the years. They depended on him to keep it together and make t

he right decisions. Not some girl who was only supposed to have been in his life for seven days.  Yeah, it was time for the old Taeng Kim to step the fuck up. "Get me Vladimir's contact information," Taeng commanded as he went to sit behin d his desk. "Taeng, they said that was it. They're going with Nichkhun now," Siwon said. "That's not what I asked you," Taeng stated cooly. "Do your job." Siwon sighed and handed him Vladimir's number.

Chapter 13 Tiffany was so excited about her date tonight with Taeng. She was beamin g from ear to ear. Kim Taeng was going to cook her an authentic Korean food. Jus t the thought of him maneuvering around the kitchen made her laugh. Taeng didn't seem like the domestic kind. But she believed it was the thought that counted s o when he got there, she would let him off the hook, and cook something for him instead. Her little surprise. She couldn't wait to show them off.  Tiffany browsed through her now full closet, and slipped into a cute, short dark pink dress with loose straps and sexy heels. She figured Taeng would like what she was wearing. Hell, dinner might not get cooked tonight she thought with a sm ile. Around seven forty-five, she grabbed a bottle of champagne, opened it and starte d celebrating their mini break-through from the night before. She sipped the gla ss and sat down on the couch. Around eight fifteen, Tiffany had still not heard from Taeng. He was usually ver y punctual...so being even fifteen minutes late wasn't like him. She grabbed the phone and dialed his cell. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail. She left him a quick message and then poured herself another glass of champagne. Around nine and still no Taeng, Tiffany called his cell again. No answer. She th en looked in her purse and found his house number that he had written down for h er. She dialed it.  "Hello?" Tiffany didn't recognize the man's voice. "Um, hello. Is Taeng there?" "May I ask who's calling?" "Tiffany." There was a brief pause and then the person on the other line said, "Sorry, he's not here. I can take a message." "Um, okay. Can you just tell him Tiffany called and for him to call me as soon a s he can? That I'm worried about him." "Sure," the voice said, and then hung up.

Tiffany just stared at the phone. He's not at his house, and he hadn't called he r. What the hell was going on? She was really starting to worry. She knew that T aeng wasn't in the friendliest of businesses, so she hoped nothing bad had happe ned. After her third glass, Tiffany kept switching back and forth from worry to anger . Surely he could have reached a phone to let her know he wasn't coming? Or that something had happened? God, she wished she knew Yuri's cell phone number. Afte r pacing back and forth for a few hours, off and on, Tiffany laid down on the co uch. She thought of last night and this morning with Taeng. He was such a differ ent person than when she had met him several weeks ago. Then, he had been cold a nd distant. But now, he was so different, and she knew...even though she was sca red to admit it, she was falling in love with him. Maybe it was Stockholm syndro me or something like that, Tiffany thought. She laughed at the idea and then qui ckly fell asleep. *** When Tiffany woke the next morning, for a brief moment she didn't know where she was. Damn those sneaky three glasses of champagne. She rubbed her face, smearin g last night's eyeliner into her eyes. She yawned and then sprinted over to the cordless phone to see if there were any messages. Zero. She dialed Taeng's cell phone again. No answer. Then she tried the house phone again, but this time it o nly rang and then went to voicemail. Tiffany paced back and forth again, trying to figure out what to do. She was tir ed of being stuck in this condo with no explanations, and she was scared that so mething had happened to Taeng. Was he okay? She tried not to be irrational, so s he took a shower and changed into a cute outfit with a skirt and low cut top. Sh e tried to sit down and think about this reasonably, but she couldn't come up wi th any answers. Taeng hadn't been apart from her for more than a few hours since the first night she came to his loft. Tiffany tried to keep her mind off of Taeng. She tried to watch some movies, but that didn't work. She tried to play Scrabble, but her mind kept drifting to him . It was now late in the afternoon, going on almost a day and a half that she ha dn't seen Taeng. Something was definitely wrong. That's it, she thought. She grabbed her purse, his keys and went downstairs. Mr. Park helped her find his parking space and she pulled the Large Silver SUV out onto the street. She wasn't familiar with driving to his place, so she missed a turn and got confused, but she eventually found the road she needed. For some re ason she had butterflies in her stomach. Would he be mad at her for taking his c ar? What reason would he give her for his absence?  It was already dark by the time Tiffany reached the iron gates leading up to hou se. She pressed the intercom button. "Yes?" a voice said. "Hi, I'm Tiffany. I'm here to see Taeng," she said, looking up at the several se curity cameras that were turning in her direction. The voice paused and then she heard some muffled sounds, and then a voice she di d recognize finally answered. "Hey Fany, it's Yuri," he said in his usual warm manner. She smiled. "Hey Yuri, can I come in?"

She could have sworn he hesitated for a moment, but then the gate opened. Tiffan y drove up to the house as she saw Yuri coming out to greet her. She noticed tha t he had quickly shut the door behind him. She got out and walked up to him. "Hey, Fany!" Yuri said, while wrapping her in a bear hug. She laughed and hugged him back. "Hey Yuri, how are you?" "I'm alright. Can't complain. So, what brings you here?" he asked, but Tiffany c ould tell he looked uncomfortable. And what an odd question. What was going on? "Well, I'm just worried about Taeng. He hasn't contacted me since yesterday afte rnoon. Is he okay? Is he here?" Tiffany watched Yuri's face closely. "He's, um...well, Fany, he was bombarded with so many meetings. I mean, they've been back to back to back, you know." Tiffany wasn't buying it. Something was definitely wrong. Even if Taeng were in back to back meetings he would have called her. Or stopped by after they were do ne. But she hadn't received anything from him. "Is he here?" she asked again, walking towards the door. "Uh, no. He's gone," Yuri said, a little too quickly for Tiffany's liking. Tiffany walked around him and up to the door, before Yuri could grab her. She wa s about to enter when she heard Yuri's plea. "Fany, please don't go in there," he said softly. Immediately she felt her stoma ch twist into knots and her breath quicken. Her head was hurting and she was get ting nervous for some reason. But she ignored her feelings and his warning, and pushed the front door open. Inside, everything looked normal. Nothing was out of place, no blood splattered on the wall, no wild stripper party. Why was Yuri worried? She glanced to the side and noticed a guy with glasses walking towards her. She hadn't seen him before. He walked up to her and extended his hand. "Hi, Tiffany, right? I'm Siwon," he said. Tiffany shook his hand, but his eyes looked cold. Almost as cold as Taeng's coul d look at times. And then she realized she recognized his voice. He was the one on the phone when she had called...and the first voice on the intercom. Tiffany immediately tensed. Something about the way he was looking at her put her off. "Yes. Nice to meet you," she lied as Siwon tightly gripped her hand. Yuri walked over to Tiffany.  "Fany, I think it's best if you go back to the loft. I'm sure Taeng will come se e you when he gets a chance," Yuri said.  "Yeah, that probably is the best thing," Siwon chimed in. "Yuri, what the hell is going on? Just be honest with me!" Tiffany said, ignorin g Siwon's comment. She then looked back and forth between both men, waiting on s omeone to clarify where Taeng was. Before either could answer, Tiffany noticed Yuri's eyes dart behind her. She tur

ned to see what he had glanced at, when she saw her. A brunette woman in a skimpy black dress came walking toward them while texting something on her phone. The girl looked up at Yuri. "What the hell is taking him so long?" she asked in a lazy. She placed her skinn y elbow into her side and stared at Tiffany before turning to Yuri. "Is she comi ng with us?" "Janhae, why don't you go wait back over there, okay?" Yuri said, irritated. Who the fuck was Janhae? And why was she here?! Tiffany prayed to God that this girl was here for Siwon. She couldn't even speak. She just stared at the girl, w ho was completely ignoring her. As Tiffany's mind was busy twirling, she heard a door shut upstairs and she glanced toward the sound. She saw Taeng coming aroun d the corner dressed in a nice suit. He stopped at the top of the stairs when th eir eyes connected. For a second, she could have sworn he looked surprised, but that was quickly replaced with his nonchalant mask. He quickly descended the ste ps and walked up to the small group. "They're meeting us in fifteen minutes, right?" Taeng asked, not bothering to tu rn to Tiffany. "Correct," Siwon said.  Taeng then settled his cold glare on Tiffany. "Tiffany," was all he said with a nod, before he grabbed Janhae around the waist and escorted her out the front do or. Tiffany just stood there, still trying to make sure what she was seeing...she wa s REALLY seeing. "How...what the fuck?" she mindlessly muttered to herself as sh e followed the couple out. Yuri tried to grab her, but she jerked her arm away f rom him. "Taeng, what the hell...?!" Tiffany shouted, walking up behind him. She tried to grab his arm and swing him around to face her, but he caught her arm instead. "Get in the car," he barked at Janhae, and she quickly obeyed. Taeng turned arou nd and stared down at Tiffany. "I'll talk to you later at the loft," he said, as he released her arm and walked over to the driver's side of his Aston Martin.  Tiffany glanced through the windshield at the other woman, who was trying her be st to stare her down. Tiffany looked back at Taeng shaking her head. This wasn't right. Something had happened. She grabbed the back of his jacket as he was ope ning his car door. "No! I want to know what the fuck is going on. Who is she?!" Tiffany said, point ing at the skinny brunette. "Tiffany, let go," Taeng growled out, while turning to face her.  Tiffany pulled on his jacket even harder. "Why are you ignoring me?! What the he ll happened?! I just I just don't understand!" By this point, Tiffany was becoming hysterical and she hated herself for it. To let this asshole know how much he w as hurting her. But fuck if she could help it. She couldn't understand what had happened in such a short period of time. Why was he with another woman? Why had she not received a phone call?

Taeng tried to push her hands away, but Tiffany held on tighter. Yuri started wa lking towards them, while Siwon ignored the scene unfolding and got into his car . "What the hell?" Janhae said, as she got out of the car. She rushed over to Taen g and tried to pull him from Tiffany's grasp. "Let go of him!" she shouted in he r nasally voice.  That was it, the last straw. Raw emotion came over Tiffany and she snapped. She launched at the girl, just barely missing her face before Taeng grabbed her and swung her around to the opposite side, placing his body between the two of them. Tiffany was crying so hard at this point, she couldn't even really see through her blurry swollen eyes. She was completely embarrassed and humiliated...again. "You almost hit me, you stupid bitch!" Janhae screamed. Tiffany tried to wiggle out of Taeng's hold to get to that annoying twit again, but he gripped her tight er. "Shut the fuck up and get in the . Janhae hesitated for a second, struggling to keep Tiffany from "Take her back to the loft in my w behind you so he can then drop

car," Taeng snarled over his shoulder at Janhae but then hopped back into the car. He was still breaking free as he spoke calmly to Yuri. car so I can have it there, have Taecyeon follo you off at dinner." 

Yuri stared a Taeng for a few seconds, then sighed, "Alright." Tiffany went limp against his body. She felt completely drained. And confused. "Why did you not call me or come to see me? What happened?" Tiffany whispered in a soft sob, completely horrified that she had broken down this bad in front of everyone. "Go back to the loft, Tiffany," Taeng ordered again, staring at her with cold ey es. "I will come by later."  Taeng released her as Yuri grabbed her shoulders and gently guided her back to T aeng's SUV. He felt her shaking and she kept looking over her shoulder at Taeng. Yuri turned to see Taeng getting into his car with his date. He pulled away wit hout another glance at Tiffany, while Siwon followed behind.  Yuri walked over to the passenger side door and opened it. Tiffany stood there a moment watching as the car disappeared down the driveway. She just didn't under stand.  In the car ride on the way back to the loft, Yuri tried to talk to her. "Fany, he's under a lot of stress, you know. He's just " "Don't try to defend him, Yuri!" Tiffany said, quickly cutting him off. "You're twice the man he is." She was still trying to quiet her sobs, which had turned into dry heaves. She hated she appeared this weak in front of all of them , but it had caught her off guard. She wasn't prepared. His attitude and lack of ...caring had completely blindsided her. That wasn't the Taeng who had just left her a day ago. What had happened in such a short break to make him treat her th is way? When they reached Taeng's loft, Yuri parked the car into the parking space and t urned off the engine. Taecyeon was waiting for him out on the street. He turned to Tiffany and felt ashamed. How could Taeng leave her like this and walk away? Her face was tear-streaked and she was still shaking. He shouldn't have let her

in the gate. He just didn't know what else to do. Siwon had planned on letting h er stay out there, but Yuri couldn't treat her that way. She was such a sweet pe rson, and he was sick of these games that Taeng was playing with her. He knew it was coming. He was going to have his own argument with Taeng about all of this before too long. Tiffany finally unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out. She didn't even look bac k at Yuri, as she made her way into the building. She got on the elevator, press ed in the code and rode up to the top floor still in shock. Once inside his loft, she removed her shoes and placed herself into a ball on th e couch. Her body felt as though she had run ten miles. Her eyes hurt, her throa t was sore. She was actually still a little in shock. The only person she had ev er attempted to hit in her life had been Taeng. And both times he had deserved it. But tonight she had lowered herself another n otch to something she never thought she would do. She had actually tried to figh t another woman. And over a man at that!. A part of her wanted to walk out of th e door right then. She was sick of letting herself get humiliated over and over again. She had thou ght they were past all of that, but apparently not. But part of her wanted to he ar his excuse. She wanted to know what had caused this. So she fought against he r need to leave, and stayed to give Taeng a chance to explain. Her eyes began to feel so heavy, until she finally closed them and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 14 Taeng pulled into his parking space at his condo around one fifteen in t he morning. He did the impossible...by pulling Vladimir away from Nichkhun and b ack to his business. He met them for dinner, but he could tell that Vladimir had wanted an apology from him for missing their meeting. He definitely didn't know Taeng if he thought that might happen. Taeng wasn't th e apologizing type. He stepped around it and made them feel silly for coming all the way to the Korean only to work with a two-bit hustler like Nichkhun, instea d of a proven, hardcore businessman like himself. Siwon launched a bunch of figures and deals at Vladimir, proving that Taeng had an impeccable track record. Vladimir seemed impressed. Plus, Vladimir kept check ing out Kim Taeng silently prayed that Vladimir would take her off his hands. Sh e was probably more annoying than his wife.  After dinner, Vladimir had shaken his hand and the deal was set in motion. Taeng had gotten back into his car with Janhae. She had tried to run her fingers thro ugh his hair, to get a little action going...but she was completely surprised an d pissed when Taeng dropped her back off at her place and said goodnight. She ju st stared at him incredulously with her hands folded across her chest. He hadn't spared another glance at her as she got out and slammed the door. Taeng had raced all the way back to his loft, where he was now sitting in his ca r. He knew she was up there with a million questions, but he wasn't ready to ans wer them. Truth was, she made him crazy and he couldn't think half of the time w hen he was around her. He didn't want this 'thing' that they had to end, but he wasn't sure what to do with her. He agreed with Siwon, in the sense that she was definitely bad for business. He had never had to balance his personal life with his business life before. They w ere always intertwined. Jessica was more a second thought, on most occasions. Fo r that, he had to blame himself. He never gave their marriage a shot. Because he hadn't wanted to marry her. But she seemed to fit with his lifestyle, and most nights she didn't care if he didn't pay her attention.

But with Tiffany in his life this way...he was slipping. When dealing with a sit uation like Jung Daehyeon...that needed to have been done quickly and efficientl y, but his men were stuck waiting on him because he was sitting in a movie theat er with his phone turned off. He knew it wasn't Tiffany's fault, but he still wa nted to blame her. Her words at Yuri's house had done something to him. They had changed him. And he didn't know if he liked this new change. He prided himself on being the guy you didn't want to fuck with, and now...he felt he was becoming , well...a pussy. And THAT was unacceptable. He exhaled and exited the car. Tiffany opened her eyes when she heard the front door close. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was one thirty-six in the morning. She immediately sat up on the couch and stared toward the door, watching his tall frame lurk there befo re turning on the light. Taeng found her staring at him as he set his car keys on the counter. "I need you to get dressed. There's an afterparty down the street and I need to make an appearance for a friend." Tiffany just stared at him like he was crazy. "That's it? You're not going to explain why you never called and who that girl w as?" "Tiffany, I don't have to explain my actions to you. And I'm not going to discus s it further. Now get dressed. You have fifteen minutes," Taeng said, glancing d own at his watch. She just continued to stare at him, her eyes wide and mouth open. Taeng sighed a nd walked to his bedroom. He removed his shirt and searched for something a litt le more casual. When he turned around, Tiffany was waiting by the closet door. S he looked so hurt. He glanced back over his clothing and selected another shirt. Anything to avoid staring into her sad face. Fuck, this was harder than he thou ght it would be. "I don't understand, Taeng. What did I do?" she softly asked, while gripping the door frame. "You didn't do anything. Just leave it alone, and get dressed."  "But..." "End of discussion, Tiffany," he snapped. He was not going to lose control of th is situation. Hell, there shouldn't even BE a situation. She was an arrangement, and that was that. No questions asked, no complications. "No, it's not the end of the discussion. I thought..." Taeng turned around angrily. He had to get this through her head. "You thought what? That I would want you as my girlfriend? Some slut who fucks m e in every way just for money?" he barked out at her, his eyes as cold as a wint er's day. All of the air in Tiffany's lungs vanished. She couldn't speak for a few seconds . His words caused her to wince. Smacking her would have probably caused less pa in than those nasty words piercing her heart. How could he...? How could he say something so hateful to her?! This wasn't Taeng talking. He was different with h er. He wasn't as callous about her feelings as he once was. He had changed. No, this wasn't him talking. He would apologize in a minute. In just a few minutes, he would take back those malicious words. She hoped...

Taeng stood there staring down at her. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he refused to acknowledge it. He knew his words...had hit the mark. Oh, fuck... "Take that back," Tiffany whispered when she could finally catch her breath. Tea rs were already glassing over her red puffy eyes. "Take that back right now, Taeng," she whispered again. "You know me, Tiffany. I always say what I mean." "You're just saying that because you're hurt or upset for some reason. You don't mean it. Just talk to me and tell me what happened!" Taeng brushed past her as he made his way back into the bedroom. Tiffany followe d him. "Taeng, I'm serious, take it back!" Taeng turned to look at her. "What, are we fucking four years old? Now get dressed, I have to be there in fiv e minutes," he said. "Taeng," she whispered, "please take that back. Please say you didn't mean it. P lease," she begged. Taeng stared down at her. The look in her eyes was killing him. He really hurt h er. There was no other emotion there. No anger, resentment, hatred...just pure s adness. Fuck! Taeng felt dizzy for a moment. He hesitated. 'I didn't mean it. I' m so sorry I hurt you and I lo ' were all on the tip of his tongue. He licked his lips in preparation for delivering that message to her. Here goes... He opened his mouth..."Get dressed, Tiffany," was all that came out.  Tiffany could feel the sadness in her body giving way to another feeling that wa s coursing through her body. A numbness fell over her. She looked up at him, sta ring into his stone cold, expressionless face. It was gone. Whatever tiny thread of a connection that they had the other night...had now disappeared. He was loo king at her like he had that first night she met him. When he didn't give a shit about her. That's exactly the way he looked now. Tiffany continued to stare at his face until she could no longer see it. She loo ked through him while her mind was deep in thought. She was done crying. She was done with this rollercoaster. She was done with Kim Taeng. For good. Her heart, mind and body couldn't take it. He had called her a slut and pretty much confir med that she would never be anything more to him. She wanted to punch him in the face and scream I hate you over and over to him. But that would show that she c ared. She just couldn't anymore.  Taeng left the bedroom and walked down the hall. His stomach hurt. He stood by t he bar nervously, wondering what the fuck he should do. He was never this indeci sive. He was never this nervous. Even at dinner tonight with the Russians, he kn ew exactly what to say to land the deal. He had them in the palm of his hand. Ev en afterwards, Siwon had congratulated him on being the best, but he couldn't ev en smile. What had he just sacrificed to be the best? After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and walked back toward the bedroom. H e saw her slipping into a short black dress he had bought for her. She looked so damn good, but she wouldn't look at him. She walked to the bathroom and he foll owed. He leaned against the door, watching her apply makeup in the reflection of the mirror. Her hands were shaky, and her eyes were swollen and red. 'I fucked up,' he said in his mind, but couldn't verbalize it. She was so beautiful. Inside and out. A combination he had yet to come across until he met her. Even after she applied h er eyeliner, a small tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly blotted it, and pul

led her hair into a messy updo. She picked up a necklace Minka had chosen for her and tried clumsily to snap it behind her neck. She missed twice, before Taeng gently took it from her hands an d snapped it. He stood behind her, his chin to the top of her head, looking at h er in the mirror. She glanced up at him, but she looked different. Withdrawn. He knew in that moment, he should have said something, but again...for the third t ime that night, he said nothing and walked away. *** When they returned from the afterparty, Taeng removed his jacket and sat his key s on the counter. Tiffany quietly followed in after him and walked to the bedroo m. She hadn't said a word to him all night. She shook the hands of different peo ple she had been introduced to at the party, and talked to those people, but she refused to speak to him. Fine. Maybe it was for the best. She was supposed to b e here for only one reason anyway.  Taeng made his way to the bedroom, and found her pulling her dress down and step ping out of it. She removed her strapless bra and panties, but before she could put anything on to sleep in, Taeng grabbed her and gently pushed her back on to the bed. She just stared up at him. Nothing really registering in her eyes. Taen g removed his shirt and unbuckled his pants. He pulled them down and eased his w ay on top of her, resting in between her legs. He pulled the covers up over them and then pushed his thick shaft into her pussy. He braced himself with his arms as he began to stroke in and out of her. As always, she felt so good, but he looked down at her face, and she hadn't chan ged her expression. She was literally just lying there while he had sex with her . But Taeng knew how to make her come and forget their problems. He put on his w icked grin, picked up the pace and started licking and biting her neck. He raise d up to glance at her face again, but still nothing. He stilled himself within her when he saw a single tear roll down the side of he r face. Fuck. It had never been like this between them. Even when she hated him, he was able to turn her on. Her body naturally responded to him. But now...noth ing. He pulled out of her and rolled over onto his back. She still hadn't moved an inch. He would have felt better if she would have screamed at him or tried to smack him like she had done in the past. Nothing. He needed to clear his head. He needed to get away before he broke down his wall and fucked everything back u p again by telling her how he felt. He got up from the bed and pulled his pants back up. He placed his shirt back ov er his head, put his shoes on and walked out of the bedroom. He quickly grabbed his keys from the counter and left.  Tiffany rolled over onto her side when she heard the front door slam. She had ne ver felt so empty and hurt in her life. She would never wish this kind of confus ion and pain on anyone. Maybe Jessica. But not anyone else. He had kissed her. H e had made her feel so special just two nights ago, and now...he pretty much equ ated her to a prostitute who he had no respect for. She could have been a fucking blow up doll tonight, for all it mattered. She did n't understand what had happened and she figured she probably never would. Perha ps there was nothing really ever there to begin with. Maybe it was all in her he ad. She had never had much experience with men, and the few she did know, she co uld have done without. Taeng had used her in every way, and just the thought of that was making her sick. She felt like such a fool. But Tiffany knew what she had to do now. She had to take control of her life, an d stop letting people run it for her. She had to be smarter and stronger and gro w a thicker skin and stop being the victim. She knew of one option. One way to e nd this all now. It was definitely a long shot, but she had to try. She would wa

ke up early in the morning and set her plan in motion.

Chapter 15 Tiffany woke up extra early the next morning and called Taeng's house, p raying that he wouldn't answer. Her prayers were answered, when Yuri picked up. She begged him for an address, and after a few minutes, he reluctantly gave it t o her. She could tell that he probably knew what she was about to do, but at thi s point, she really didn't care. She just hoped that he wouldn't tell Taeng unti l after she was done. Tiffany arrived an hour later at the address Yuri had given her. It was Paul Hor vejkul's estate. He immediately buzzed her in and she drove down his long drivew ay. Like Taeng's, his house was also extremely beautiful. It looked like a large villa that belonged in Tuscany or somewhere exotic. There was a fountain with K oi fish that set directly in the center of the circular driveway. Paul came outside to greet her with a large smile on his handsome face. "Tiffany Hwang, how are you?" he said, giving her a handshake and then pulling h er in for a hug. "Hi Mr. Horvejkul," Tiffany said. "No, none of that. Paul. Just Paul," he smiled down at her. Paul hooked his arm through hers and led her into his stunning house. She could see through the windows in the back of the house that he had a tennis court and a pool. He quickly showed her around before they retreated to his office. Once i nside, Tiffany sat opposite Paul, looking around at his artwork on the walls. Sh e then glanced at him, but quickly lowered her eyes. She couldn't believe she wa s about to do this. She was so nervous. He would probably just think she was cra zy. "So, how can I help you, Tiffany?" Paul asked, sensing something was wrong. It w asn't every day someone like her showed up at his house, out of the blue. How do you ask something like this? Tiffany balled her hands up, took a deep bre ath and stared straight into his face. "Mr. Mar Paul, I have a problem that I can' t solve on my own. And if I had any other option, I would take it. But I don't t hink I do. I need...um, I need to borrow some money. Seventy thousand dollars," Tiffany rushed out. She stared at his face, looking for any change or surprise in her request. But s he found none. He just sat looking at her. She hated that she was asking him for this. He probably had people asking all the time, and now she was no better or different than them. God, she hated money. "And, I I would try to pay you back as soon as I can. I realize that's a lot to as k for, but it's important to me. I'm a hard worker, and I'll pay you back one da y. I promise." Paul still sat unmoving, just staring. Tiffany realized what she must look like. She barely knew him. They had only met once briefly at a party before his son h ad interrupted them. For all he knew, she could be playing him, just seeing if h e would give her that much. She felt so stupid. She quickly grabbed her purse an d stood.

"I'm so sorry, this was shit, I'm sorry," Tiffany said about to walk out. "Tiffany?" She turned back around, "Yes?" "Can you please sit back down so we can discuss this?" Paul asked.  Tiffany hesitated for a few seconds, but then walked back over to the chair and sat down. "Tiffany, that's a lot of money to ask for, without really knowing what the inve stment is or how you plan to pay it back. What would the money go toward?" Paul asked, leaning back in his chair. This was the part Tiffany didn't want to deal with. In her mind, when she accept ed Taeng's arrangement weeks ago, it seemed like her only option at the time. Bu t...the idea of explaining it to people, made her feel weak and cheap. And altho ugh Paul seemed like a nice man, maybe in telling him of the arrangement, he wou ld want a similar payment as Taeng. At that moment the shame that washed over he r was unbearable. "Um, a-a while back, I..." Tiffany said as her voice cracked. Keep it together, keep it together. "I accepted an arrangement with Taeng. My fa-father owed him seventy thousand do llars for a failed business, but he couldn't pay it. So I..." the tears were alr eady starting to brim to the surface, and her words were being cut off by her sh ort breaths. Saying what she had done out loud was so much harder. Tiffany quick ly brushed a tear away before it fell. "I chose to stay a week with Taeng to pay for the debt so he wouldn't hurt my fa mily," she whispered, while two tears rolled down her cheeks. Tiffany wiped them away as Paul came around to the front of the desk and handed her a tissue. She wanted to thank him for the tissue, but she was afraid if she spoke at that moment, the floodgates of tears would open. After a few moments of staring at her, Paul asked, "But now you're paying him th e money anyway?" Tiffany swallowed several times before she could answer. "I I can't do this anymor e," she whispered, as more tears filled the brims of her eyelids. She blotted th em with the tissue and squeezed the paper into a ball in her hand. How embarrass ing to have to admit this to a man like Paul. Some lowlife, it wouldn't hurt so much. But for some reason, she didn't want Paul to think horrible things about h er character. She really was a good person...even if she had lowered herself in many people's eyes. But too much had changed for her to accept even one more day with Taeng, so she prayed Paul would understand. Paul wiped his hand down his face and exhaled. "Tiffany?" She glanced up at him. "Tiffany, you do understand that this would be giving my competition seventy tho usand dollars of my own money?" he asked, in a calm voice.  Tiffany felt so stupid. Another tear dropped and landed on her pants. She wiped the streak off with her hand and quickly stood. "I know, and it was a dumb idea for me to ask you. I'm sorry, I can figure out s omething else. Thank you for your time, Mr. Mar--," she couldn't even finish the rest. She had to leave before she broke down.

"Jun.k?" Paul shouted, and a young guy stepped through the door, blocking Tiffan y's exit. "Yes, sir?" "Can you please count out seventy grand for Ms. Hwang and bring it in here? Than ks." The young man nodded his head and walked out. Tiffany lowered her head, absolute ly speechless. Was he really about to give her the money? Paul walked over to her and leaned against the wall. "I know you did what you felt you had to do to protect your family, and for that ...I can only hold you in high regard, even more so than I already did." Tiffany had no words. She knew she needed to say thank you, but at the moment, s he couldn't talk. How could a man in his line of work be so kind? Finally, her voice was slowly coming back to her. "Thank you, Mr. Ma Paul," Tiffany stuttered, getting a little choked up. Jun.k came back with a small black duffel bag. He handed it to Tiffany. She had never held so much money in all her life. Funny, now that she was holding it...i t seemed awful light...to be what she was worth. Seventy thousand dollars. Paul walked with her back out to Taeng's car.  Tiffany gave a smile as she got in. "Thank you again, Paul. I I won't ever forget this," she whispered. Paul kissed the back of her hand. "My pleasure, Tiffany. Keep in touch." "I will," she promised, as she pulled out of the driveway. She glanced back at h im in the rearview mirror and he removed one of his hands from his pocket and qu ickly waved bye. No, she certainly wouldn't forget him...ever. Now...onto the even harder part. Tiffany drove to her next destination...hopeful ly for the last time. When she arrived at Taeng's, she asked the person at the g ate for Yuri. He was about to buzz her in, when she asked him not to. She had wa nted to meet him at the gate. When she saw Yuri walking down the driveway, she took a deep breath. No turning back now. "Hey Fany," Yuri said, eyeing her suspiciously.  "Hey Yuri. Can you do me a favor and hand this to Taeng?" she said, placing the duffel bag in his hands. It didn't take Yuri long to feel the neatly packed money through the bag. He sig hed and looked back at her. "Fany, I..." "No, please don't say anything Yuri. None of this is your fault. I think you're a great guy. But nothing you can say will make me stay." Yuri leaned on her door. He brushed his hand through his hair and looked at her. 

"Alright, then I'll keep quiet." "Thank you," Tiffany said, as she moved the gear to reverse.  "But you know he's going to come after you when he gets this, right?" "I doubt he'll even care, Yuri." Yuri scoffed, "Come on Fany, he's crazy about you, he just won't admit it." Tiffany shook her head, "I thought maybe there was something there. I hoped it w as. But, he couldn't say those things to me if he cared. I don't see how he coul d. But I have to go now. And can you tell Taecyeon I said 'bye'?" Yuri looked down at her. "I'm sure Taecyeon would rather hear it from you...and trust me, I'll give you a fifteen minute headstart, but he's gonna come find you . I know him." Tiffany planted a small smile on her face as Yuri lightly squeezed her hand and then turned to walk back through the gate. Tiffany cursed herself all the way back to Taeng's loft. She should have packed first, then driven to Paul's. That way she could just drop off his car and go. S he really didn't want to go back there, and now the thought of Taeng maybe showi ng up was more than she could handle. She just wanted this done and over with.  Yuri waited exactly fifteen minutes before he walked into Taeng's office. He and Siwon were leaning over his desk, looking at maps. "But what about this territory...that's still me, right?" Taeng asked. "Yes, but that's what Nichkhun was telling Vladimir about. And..." "What?" Taeng asked Yuri, cutting Siwon off. "And where did you go? You're my second...you need to be looking at this." Yuri walked up to the desk and placed the bag down. "Tiffany wanted to drop this off for you," Yuri stated matter of fact. Taeng's eyes dropped to the bag. He had seen bags like this before. Several time s. They ALWAYS contained money. She couldn't...Taeng looked back up at Yuri. "Did you open it?" Taeng asked. "No." Taeng slowly unzipped the bag and stared at its contents. Several neat stacks of hundreds were staring back at him. He felt a tightening in his chest. She wante d to get away from him that bad? He was having trouble breathing. He grabbed his keys and walked around his desk and left without so much as another word to eit her of the men in his office. Siwon looked at Yuri and then peeked into the bag. Yuri walked over to the couch and sat down. He hoped that wasn't the last he wo uld see of Tiffany.    *** As soon as Tiffany parked, she quickly said hey to Mr.Park, and rushed upstairs. She flung open the door and sprinted to the bedroom. She grabbed her old duffel bag that was tucked into the corner of the closet. She picked up her new and ol d converse, the few clothes she had brought over to his place and her toiletries from the bathroom.

She ran out into the front room to grab her Scrabble board but then she couldn't find her poetry book. She usually kept it on the white milk table, but it was m issing. She looked by his entertainment center, but it wasn't there either. She ran to the bedroom again, and searched around for it, dropping to her knees and was looking underneath the bed when she heard the front door slam.  She slowly lifted her head as she heard him coming down the hallway. When he wal ked into the room, at first he didn't see her, but then their eyes locked. He lo oked pissed and...well something that she couldn't pinpoint. "Where did you get the money?" he asked her, walking towards her. "It doesn't matter. It's all there and now my family and I are done with you," T iffany said, rising to her feet. "It does matter. Where did you get it?!" Taeng shouted at her. He normally kept his voice in check, but he looked livid. Well, she was done with this. She wasn' t about to let him intimidate her. She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and slung her towards his bod y. "Taeng, let go," Tiffany quietly said, while trying to pull her arm from him. "Where the fuck did you get the money?!" Taeng repeated, locking her upper arm i nto a death grip. Tiffany just stared at him. She wasn't going to play this game with him. She loo ked down at her arm, waiting for him to release her. She wasn't fighting him back. She wasn't pulling away from him. She really was d one with their arrangement. Taeng had thought he had more time. More time to fig ure out what to do with her. She still had several more days with him, and now it had all ended. Rightfully, he had no reason to hold onto her, but he couldn't let go of her arm. This was i t...in a few moments she'd be walking out of the door...and leaving his life. He tried to tell himself that this was the best for both of them, and that he ne eded to get his business under control, which he couldn't do with Tiffany around . At least that's what his mind was telling him...but the heart...well, that's a separate matter entirely. He hadn't really used those muscles in a long time...and now the only good thing he felt about himself...was about to be ripped from him. She would move on with her life...meet someone...oh fuck. Taeng licked his dry lips to say something. Anything. But nothing came. Tiffany saw his eyes go soft. That was the first time since he had promised to m ake her Korean food that she had seen that look. But too late. She gently pulled her arm from his grip and walked around him. She needed to leave before anythin g happened. Before she weakened. She would just have to leave her book. She walk ed out to the front of the condo and grabbed her bag.  "You're not going to take your clothes?" Taeng asked, leaning against the wall. He would try to act like it didn't matter. Try being the operative word. He was good with a poker face. "They're not mine," Tiffany said as she walked towards the door. "I gave them to you as a gift," he said softly. "I'd like you to keep them."

Tiffany paused at the door. "I don't want them," she said as she pulled the door open and closed it behind her. "Good bye, Tiffany," Taeng whispered to himself. He wasn't sure how long after s he had left that he remained motionless, leaning against the wall...but he knew when he left this place, he knew it would be a long time before he'd ever return . Taeng tried to walk out calmly, but he felt the heat rising through his body. "Fuck!!" he shouted as he threw a lamp into the bar area, shattering glass all o ver the floor. He pushed his hands through his hair and walked out, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't let her go that easily. 

Chapter 16 Tiffany leaned her head against the bus window. This was the third and f inal bus before she reached her familys' apartment. She sighed as the bus turned a familiar corner and made its way down to her street. When she finally reached the area where her apartment was located, she exited the bus and stared at the ugly brick building. It seemed like forever since she had been there.  When Tiffany unlocked the door to the apartment, she instantly smelled her siste r's cooking. That memorable smell made her feel all warm inside, despite it bein g freezing cold outside. She figured they had probably settled in for an early n ap. She quietly tiptoed to the couch. She noticed new blankets were folded up an d placed at the bottom of the couch. She figured her sister had probably been sl eeping out here. It felt so good to actually be back among normal people. People who didn't jet s et to exotic locations. Or have cooks and housekeepers and drive in the latest c ars that had been imported from overseas. Yes, the land of the normal people was where she fit in. She sat down and was about to lean her head back, when the ov erhead light blinded her. "What are you doing here?" her father's voice asked. She turned around, and was about to smile until she saw the mean expression covering his face. What now? "Hi daddy, I've missed--," "I asked you whatchu doing here?" he repeated, folding his arms across his chest . Tiffany didn't know what to make of her father's unwelcome greeting. She studied the hard lines in his face and the tiny patches of gray that settled to the rig ht side of his head. Her father looked much older than he was. And he had a cons tant wrinkle in his forehead from worry and disgust. He was always one of those two things. Worried or disgusted. And right now he looked disgusted. She looked behind him, and noticed her sister joining her father's side. "Um, I've come to move back in," Tiffany said, looking from her sister to her fa ther. "No the hell you haven't! You're not welcome in my place," he said. Tiffany stood in the middle of the floor, completely confused. Was her father jo king? He never joked, but he had to be. Not welcome?

"You think people didn't tell me what you was doing with him? How you erased our debt? Oh, I know. I know everything," he spat out, narrowing his eyes at her. Shit. She knew people talked, but she had hoped staying out of town would have s topped any rumors spreading. But...as always, they did. "Daddy, I--," Tiffany st arted again. "You hear me? You're not welcome here. I don't want some trashy daughter who who re herself around in my place!" "Daddy, don't call her that!" her sister shot at him, while tying her robe aroun d her. "Why not? It's the truth. I never in a million years think you stoop so low to c lear our debt," he said, his eyes raking over her body in repulsion. Tiffany started to feel her blood boil and tears brimming on the surface of her eyes. Damn it, you better not cry, she chastised herself. Stand up! "First off, it's not OUR debt, it was YOUR debt. But because of your bad decisio ns, me and Michelle were drag down with you. You think this is what I wanted?! T o do that?! He threatened to hurt you two if I didn't. And now, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have, but then, I didn't know that. I did it for you, and this is th e treatment I get? Trust me, daddy, I already feel bad enough. You don't have to add to that," Tiffany shouted, letting the tears finally fall. "Calm down, honey. Everything just happened so fast. One moment you're here, the next we hear these awful things about you living with him--," her sister said, before her father interrupted. "No, not living with him! From what I heard, she was staying at a separate locat ion since he's MARRIED, and he would go whore around with her there. He didn't e ven have the decency to let her live in his home. Either she was just too dumb t o get it or enjoyed being a common slut." How dare he stand there and call her names. He knew NOTHING about what she had g one through. She was sick of this. Her body was weak and she needed rest. "Daddy, you don't know what went on between us. You have no clue. But I'm tired now, and I'm going to bed," Tiffany said, while picking up her bag and heading t o the bathroom. Her father caught her arm and swung her backwards, almost knocki ng her off balance. "Oh, no you're not! I'm not having my enemy's slut staying in my house. You aren 't welcome, now leave!" he demanded. Michelle sucked in a gasp. "Daddy, you ain't putting her out on the street like that. It's freezing out there," Michelle stated. "This is my Goddamn apartment! My name is on the lease and she can't stay here. Seems like you gave that man exactly what he wanted, now you gonna come crying t o us. I don't think so! I swear before God, I'll drag you out of this house myse lf. Or call the cops. Street seem exactly where you would be best off. Make some more money I guess. You ain't no child of mine, you hear me!" her father yelled furiously, while jerking her bag from her and flinging it towards the door. Tiffany's face was on fire with shame and shock. She couldn't believe she was be ing treated like this by her father. Someone who was supposed to love her uncond itionally. Not that he had ever shown her that growing up. The only reason she w as even in this situation was because her love for them...or at least her sister

, WAS unconditional. She did all of this for them. She could have left home, sta rted a new life, and left Taeng to do whatever to her family. And this is her tr eatment in the end. But she knew her father...he would put her out or call the c ops. He was like Choi Minsik in more ways than one. She couldn't even look at him anymore. She turned to her sister, who was on the verge of tears herself. " Michelle, I don't have anywhere to go," she whispered, pleading with her sister to overturn her father's statement. Her sister quickly looked away. The sure sign that she was going to let their father win this batt le. Tiffany felt so hurt and betrayed. She stared at her sister's turned down fa ce a few moments longer, while a tear rolled down her cheek. Tiffany nodded and walked to the door to retrieve her small duffel bag. She quickly wiped at anothe r tear and exited her familys' apartment without looking back. *** Outside, the cold air hit her, stinging her face. She could see her breath every time she breathed in and out. She wrapped her coat tightly around her and start ed walking towards her old bus stop. She had taken that bus everywhere. To schoo l, to the mall...back when life was less confusing and harsh. She sat down on the cold metal bench to think. It would be getting dark soon, an d she had to think of something. She refused to go back to Paul. He had already shown her more generosity than she felt she deserved. She looked out at some of the stores that were starting to turn on their closed signs. Fuck, it was freezi ng. She needed to think of something soon. Tiffany had worked all through school, so she never really hung out with anyone. Not anyone she could actually call on to stay with for a while. Yet another rea son she resented her father. And her high school boyfriend had moved away a few years ago, or else he probably would have helped her out. But there was one othe r person. Perhaps there was one other person who could help her out of her homel ess situation. She prayed that she could still call him "friend" even after what he knew about her and the way he was treated by Taeng. She used the last of her money to hail a cab to Minho's house. She was thankful that she had paid attent ion that night to where he lived.  When she arrived at Minho's, she knocked on the door. She had worked on her spee ch in the cab about what she was going to say to him. She realized she was showi ng up out of the blue and she didn't want to seem desperate...although she was. This was her last resort. If Minho wouldn't accept her, perhaps she could find a shelter...but the thought of that made her miserable. When Minho answered the door, she watched the perplexed look on his face. He gla nced around her looking down the street, and then he looked back at her again. " Tiffany? What's wrong?" "Hi, Minho. Um, I know this is going to sound strange since I haven't spoken to you in a few weeks, but, I I...oh, " Tiffany whispered before she burst into a flo od of tears and buried her face in her hands. She felt so pathetic. She thought she had been so brave today by leaving Taeng, only to fall apart at her father's words. But at least she had refused to let Taeng or her father see her cry.  ""Sshh, what's wrong?" Minho asked, as he ushered her into his house. He quickly clo sed the door, then turned around and grabbed her in a bear hug. Tiffany didn't want to let go of him. She buried her face into his chest and wep t. Finally, someone who fucking cared if she was on the street and freezing to d eath. Someone whom she hoped who would treat her like a human being, and not som e item or thing.

"Ssh...tell, me what happened," he said, as he pulled away from her and rubbed h is warm hands over her frozen ones. After a few moments, Tiffany was able to calm down enough to explain to Minho wh at happened. She told him everything and he sat and listened, nodding every now and then. When she was completely done, he pulled her close for another hug.  "You're alright now, you know. And I know what you need. A nice, hot shower," he said, as he grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. He handed her a towel, washc loth and one of his large t-shirts.  "Okay, now it's not much of a bathroom, but hey, the shower works and the toilet flushes. That's all you need," he smiled at her. Tiffany nodded in agreement. His bathroom was one tenth the size of Taeng's, but something about that made he r feel more comfortable. You certainly couldn't make love in his shower, but jus t that thought made Tiffany want to burst into tears. She thought about that fir st kiss. How soft Taeng's lips were, and how he had been staring back and forth from her eyes to her lips the whole time she had been talking to him. She let th e hot water pour over her cold body...feeling as though little needles were pric king her. Minho stood outside the bathroom, leaning against the wall. He shoved his hands into his pockets, tilted his head back and sighed. Taeng's words to him at his p arty ran over and over inside his head. He knew some would think him a fool, but there was no way in hell he could have turned her away. Consequences be damned. In a way, he was glad she had come to him. The thought of her being out there on the streets, while it's dark and freezing cold...sent a shiver down his spine. Thinking about all the lowlifes who could have hurt her and how scared she would have been pissed him off. But...this was Taeng's girl. And he had already been warned. Minho wasn't naïve. You don't fuck with these guys. They don't believe in calling the police or getting the courts involved. They accused, tried and execu ted those they felt deserved it.    He heard the water shut off. He would deal with all of this later. Right now the most important thing was that she was happy and safe. Right now, that was all t hat mattered. Something about this girl made him feel overprotective of her. Eve n the first day he met her. He knew she was miserable at that party, and he want ed to see her smile. So invited her to his party instead. Something told him she would like it more. Until Taeng showed up. When Tiffany got out and dried off, she put on his large shirt and pulled her je ans back on. She met him back out in the hallway. He grabbed her hand and led he r to the end of the hallway. "And you can take my bedroom," he said, while opening the door. Judging on his room, he was definitely not expecting company. There were clothes all over his floor and a plate of food sitting on the floor by the bed. Picture s of different rappers and naked women littered his walls. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a questionable plant in the corner of his room. "Uh, yeah...I believe in an herbal existence," Minho said, noticing her staring at the plant. Tiffany burst into a laugh. She sat down on the messy bed and look ed up at him. "I can take the couch. I would feel bad kicking you out of your room," Tiffany s aid, but Minho wouldn't hear of it. "No, absolutely not. My mom raised me better

than that," he said, winking at her.  "Where's Key?" Tiffany asked, remembering Minho's roommate's name. "Oh, he's visiting family back on the west coast. He'll be gone for the rest of the week." That put Tiffany a little more at ease. She already felt like she was imposing o n Minho, and she would feel even worse about imposing on Key since she really di dn't know him. "I just want you to know that this is just until I can get back up on my feet, I promise. Then I'll be out of your way. And I'll be searching for a job first th ing tomorrow morning," Tiffany promised. "Nah, don't worry about that...plus I'm sure Key would love having you here...an d would try to persuade you to take his bed...with him in it," Minho laughed. Bu t then his facial expressions became serious. "But seriously, don't sleep in his bed. Some of the girls he's brought back...have been questionable. I really thi nk one was a dude. He claims it wasn't...but her hands were bigger than mine. I' m just saying," Minho warned. Tiffany burst out laughing again. Yes, she would be okay now. As long as she was far away from Taeng, she would be fine.

Chapter 17 Her mind was reeling from everything that had happened over the past two days. How quickly everything had unraveled...and she still wasn't quite sure wh at had happened. But it was all over with now, and she would wake up in the morn ing and try to get on with her life, the life she'd been living before Taeng bec ame such a significant part of it. The next morning, Tiffany stared up at Minho's ceiling and she heard a knock on the door. "Hey Fany, are you up yet?" she heard Minho ask through the door. "Yeah," she croaked out and sat up in the bed as Minho entered. "Coffee?" he grinned, while handing her a cup. Tiffany smiled, "Thank you. Just what the doctor ordered." Tiffany took a small sip and glanced up at Minho. He was dressed in tan cargo pa nts, and a blue Youngsan Electronics shirt with a black long sleeve shirt undern eath. His hair was still wet, giving him a little boy look. "So you work at Youngsan Electronics?" "Yep. Home theater department. It's not much, but it helps pay the bills." "my shift ends at six and I can bring home some dinner. Do you like Thai?" Minho asked. Tiffany nodded her head. "Hey, if it won't make you too late, can you tell me ab out some places here that I could apply for job?"

Minho scratched his head. "Hmm, well your best bet is probably Hongdae Cafe. It' s at the corner of Hongdae street. It's...well, I used to bartend there and one of the managers is my friend. I can give him a call on my way to work. You're ho t, Onew will hire you in a second." Tiffany didn't know if that was good or bad. "Um, thanks. That would be great "do you want a ride? It's on my way. If you can get dressed in twenty minutes?" Minho asked, hopeful. Tiffany hopped up. "Yep," she said grabbing her bag and running to the bathroom. She quickly scrubbed and pulled her hair into a messy, massive ponytail of curl s. She wrapped the towel around her body and ran out of the bathroom, crashing i nto Minho. He grabbed her as she almost lost her balance. She quickly tightened her hold on the towel. When he released her, she noticed his eyes quickly drink in her appearance before settling on her neck. " What happened?" Minho said, as he leaned in closer towards her neck. Tiffany touched the small purple bruises that were located at the base of her ne ck and her left shoulder. Her constant reminder. "Oh, it's fine. It doesn't hurt." Minho lifted an eyebrow. "Are those...bite marks?" Tiffany was so embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. He, um. Yes, they are." Minho grinned, "Hehe, someone's a freak!" "Shut up!" Tiffany said, trying to conceal her own smile. "I am not." "Well, he's beast, mark your woman any way you can," Minho laughed. Tiffany swat ted him on the shoulder and pushed past him to the room. She walked over to his mirror and looked at the marks. Two small dark purple bruises caressing her neck and shoulder. Suddenly images o f Taeng's predatory grin and piercing onyx eyes came back to her. She thought of the way they always looked right before he would bury his face into her neck, a nd how she would run her fingers through his soft black hair. That picture seeme d burned into her eyes. She shivered and quickly dressed. She would have to reme mber to put makeup over the bruises. When they pulled into the parking lot of Hongdae Cafe. Minho had called his frie nd on the short drive over. "Hey, I would go in with you, but Onew can talk forever and I'll be late. See yo u later" "Yes, daddy," Tiffany laughed, getting out of the car.  "Oooh, she called me daddy. Knew you were a freak!" he laughed. 'Fucker,' Tiffany thought as she walked toward the cafe. She walked up to the wa itress stand and noticed a guy and a girl arguing. The girl glanced at Tiffany t hen back at the guy. She took off her small black apron, threw it at him and wal ked out. The guy sighed and turned to Tiffany. "Oh, I'm looking for Onew. Is he here?"

"I'm Onew," he said, giving her a once over. "You must be Stephani." "Tiffany, actually. Nice to meet you," she said. "Follow me," Onew said, turning his back and walking quickly through the restaur ant. "So, do you have any experience?" "Yes. My dad briefly owned a restaurant, but I've been waitressing a long time," Tiffany said, trying to keep up. "Good. Here are the outfits, pick your size. We give you one free, but the other two outfits come out of your paycheck. I know it's black, but keep them clean a nd no lint." Tiffany leaned over the counter looking for the correct size shirt and shorts... very short. Onew leaned against the counter drinking in her figure. "So, are you Minho's gir l?" "No, we're just friends." Tiffany pulled the right size from the stack of black clothing and turned to Onew. "Wanna start now? I'll place you with Bora to train. Restroom is on the left so you can change," Onew said, then turned to enter the kitchen. "Thank you!" Tiffany called after him. A small smile formed across her face. Fin ally, she'd be making her own money again. She wouldn't feel useless. She grabbe d her work clothes and walked into the bathroom. When she walked out, she saw Onew standing next to a woman with long brunette ha ir. She was laughing at something he was saying. He turned his attention toward Tiffany. "Whoa, hot. Good. Alright, this is Bora, she's going to be your shadow today. Bu t I'm pretty sure you can handle it," Onew said, placing his arm around Bora's s houlder. Bora smiled at her. "Hi sweetie. Come on, I'll show you the ropes," she said . The day moved by pretty fast and went pretty well. Bora even shared some of her tips with Tiffany, even though, technically, there were supposed to be none duri ng training. When the day was done, she said goodbye to everyone. On the bus ride, she couldn't help but think of Taeng. She wondered what he was doing right that moment. Was he hanging out with that girl Janhae? Was there any part of him that missed her? Did he care? Tiffany had reached the house before Minho, so she grabbed the key from undernea th the mat and let herself inside. She quickly changed out of her outfit and int o a large shirt and jeans. She came back downstairs and realized how messy his h ouse was. She started picking up different plates and bottles in the living room . She quickly washed dishes and straightened the kitchen. She went back into the living room and picked up his articles of clothing, magazines, and sports equip ment.. "Fany, I'm home," he said, shaking off his hair.

"Did you get the job?" Tiffany smiled up at him. "Yep, I certainly did, thanks to you." Minho snorted. "Nah. I know my friend." Tiffany laughed. "Well, he seems nice enough. I already made some tips tonight. So, I can pay you back for the food." "Fany, stop trying so hard. you've only been here for a day. Chill out. I'm not totally broke, you know. It's fine," Minho said, pulling off his coat and settin g the bag of food on the white milk table. "I know, I'm sorry. I just...I don't know, thank you though." "You're welcome Minho looked at Tiffany. She was picking over her food, obviously thinking about something. He placed his carton of noodles back on the table and wiped his hand s. "Did you love him?" At first Tiffany was taken aback. She immediately shook her head 'no', but then she slowly nodded and put her face into her hands. Finally she looked back up at him. "I know you probably think that's loony due t o the nature of our relationship. Trust me, I think that myself. I don't know, t he whole thing was just crazy." Minho nodded his head then asked, "Do you think he loved you?" Tiffany shrugged. "Sometimes I thought...just maybe there was something on his side. But in the e nd, I guess I was wrong. I mean, there was always something in his eyes. Like he was in war mode at all times, but every now and then...I would get that small g limpse of peace. It was usually fleeting, but when I saw it, it was beautiful. I t was like catching Dr. Jekyll right after Hyde had disappeared. I don't know. I know it sounds crazy, but that's the only way I know to explain it. And yes, I do think I'm crazy," Tiffany laughed and then sighed. "Did he ever...you know, did he ever force you?" Minho asked.  Tiffany shook her head. "No." They both sat there in silence. "So, enough about me, why don't you have a girlfriend?" Tiffany asked, picking t hrough some cashew chicken. "Well, I did up until about a month ago. She wanted me to do the whole suit and tie and get a job working at a bank or something. That is sooo not me." "But at least it's legal, and you don't have to worry about getting arrested wit h anything illegal in your car, Minho. Perhaps you should have listened to her." "Yeah, but getting a job like that, ing any dough. Working for Mr. Kim, e. I mean, my moms has been working t sit back and relax. That would be morrow if he wanted to, and he'd be s."

it will be years before I actually start mak I can move up the ranks and retire in no tim all of her life, and I'd love to see her jus perfect. And Taeng, hell, he could retire to set for life. So would his kids and grandkid

Tiffany had to admire Minho's intentions, in a way, but she couldn't imagine him going down Taeng's path. She felt there was more hope for him than that.

"You admire him, don't you?" Tiffany asked, picking up a dumpling. "I mean, I don't know. Well, I'm twenty-five, and he's what, thirty-two. That's only seven years older than me, and he's done so much and when he walks into a r oom people listen. He commands respect and he always gets what he wants. People just do what he says." "You know if you're nice and just ask, people will usually do what you say too," Tiffany stated. Minho shook his head and chuckled. "It's a guy thing, Fany...you wouldn't unders tand." Tiffany smiled, "I guess not." *** "And this is the last one, Taeng. It's to make sure that the bartenders at the c lub...Taeng?" Siwon asked. He slowly waved his hand in front of Taeng's face. Taeng's eyes followed Siwon's hand before they locked on his eyes. "Yes?" "Um, I was just saying this is the last one you have to sign," Siwon sighed. Taeng leaned down, glanced over the document and then signed his name. Siwon sco oped up the papers and stuffed them in his briefcase. He gave a small smile to T aeng before he quickly exited. Taeng leaned back in his chair. He slowly ran his hand over the top of his desk, thinking about the time he and Tiffany made love on top of it. The light blue l ingerie had hugged her curves, causing his manhood to stand at full attention. G od, what was it about that girl? He would never admit it to anyone, but he dream t about her. It had only been a couple days, but he kept feeling a tightening in his chest. He wanted her back. A part of him wanted to make up for the night he called her a slut and ruined everything. But another part of him thought, how d are she leave him like that. And he was still trying to figure out where she had gotten the money.  The day after she had left, Taeng had wanted to go over to his loft. Just maybe, she would be there, waiting on him like she had been for the past few weeks. Bu t he knew she was gone. She would not be sitting balled up on the couch reading her book. She was really gone. Funny, all of the things he'd worked so hard for in life...a large house, several cars, and many other material things could not make him happy. Nothing could cheer him up. At the end of the day, those things didn't smile back at him. Those things didn't make him laugh. And those things d idn't hug him back while they made love. Only one thing made him feel that way. He had to have her back. He would figure out a way to handle Tiffany and busines s. But something told him, eventually he'd have to make a choice if she were bac k in his life. His men had gone to her familys' house, expecting her to be there, but after a d ay of sitting outside of their apartment, she never came or went. So, she wasn't staying with them and Taeng wondered why. As he was thinking about where she co uld be, Yuri came in. "Hey Taeng, we found her," Yuri said. Taeng immediately sat up. "Where is she?" Yuri hesitated for a second, and then said, "She's staying with that kid, Minho.

" Taeng clenched his jaw.  "What do you want me to do?" Yuri asked. Taeng sat for a moment thinking. He then looked up at Yuri. "Bring him in."  Yuri nodded his head and left the room.

Chapter 18 Minho flirted with a cashier, until a customer tried to ask him a questi on. He quickly zipped past them and out of the busy store. It was pouring down r ain, so he pulled on his hood and whistled while walking to his car. He reached into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He was about to dial his house phone when he halted in his tracks. Leaning up against his car were Yuri and another of Taeng's men. Fuck!! He knew he was in trouble. It wasn't every day that Taeng 's main guy came to visit you. And it was never a good thing. He slowly started to walk toward them. Yuri was holding an umbrella and sipping a fountain drink through a straw. When he was done, he tossed it aside. "Hey Minho. I need you to come with me," he said. Minho knew this wasn't a negotiation. He nodded his head and followed the two me n to another car and got in. Neither Yuri nor the other man said a word to him o n the ride to wherever they were going. Minho started thinking about his mother. He thought of her wondering what happened to her son once they killed him. The little bit of money he did send to her would stop, and she would be all alone in this world. When they reached Taeng's home, he got out of the car and they escorted him insi de. Funny, Minho had dropped several packages off at Taeng's house and served as a waiter at parties, but he'd never actually seen the inside past the ballroom area.  Yuri guided him up stairs and into a large room. Minho saw Taeng sitting behind a desk. When Taeng noticed them enter, he got up from his chair and walked aroun d to the front of the desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his che st. "Have a seat, Minho," Taeng said. Minho sat down in front of him. He didn't like being at such a disadvantage. Tae ng was already a tall guy, and now he was leaning over him while Minho was force d to sit. "I guess you can probably guess why you're here, right?" Taeng asked, staring at the scared kid. Minho nodded his head. "Yes, I can." "Which is?" "Tiffany."

Taeng's heart fluttered at the mention of her name. None of his men ever said he r name. They said, 'she' or 'her' or even 'Ms. Hwang', but never just 'Tiffany'.  "Yeah, Tiffany," Taeng repeated. He watched as Minho wiggled in his seat. "Did y ou sleep with her?" Minho's eyes bulged out of his head as he stuttered, "N-No! Absolutely not, Mr. Kim. I haven't touched her, I swear to God." Taeng stared down at the young man. "You haven't touched her, though she's stayi ng in your house...even after I warned you? How does that work?" Minho felt like he couldn't breathe. He glanced down at the floor praying he cou ld talk his way out of this. "Minho?" he heard Taeng say. He quickly looked up at him. "Choose your words carefully," Taeng warned in a low voice, glaring at him. Minho licked his dry lips. "I--I, she came to me and she was cold and crying and she didn't have anywhere to go. I didn't know what to do, but there's no way I could have shut my door on her. I just--I couldn't do that," Minho said. "I know you warned me, but I promise, she slept in my room and I slept on the co uch downstairs. Swear to God." Minho finally took a breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Holy fuck, how did he get into this mess? Taeng tried not to let Minho's words affect him, but they did. He hated the thou ght of her cold and crying, turning to practically a stranger for help. She shou ld have been with him. But the wheels in his head started turning. He knew of on e way of getting Tiffany back. She wouldn't have anywhere else to turn.  Taeng stood there, leaning against his desk. He glanced over to Yuri who was sta nding silently in the corner like he always did. Everyone in the room was quiet, waiting for him to make a decision. In life, Taeng realized everything was a fu cking chess game. And he had just figured out his next move.  "Minho, I have a proposition for you. Actually, more of an exchange. I heard thr ough the grapevine that you want to be more of an inside man, is that right?" Minho opened his eyes. "Um, yes sir, I'd love to move up the ranks some," he sai d, sweeping his eyes across the other men in the room.  "How about I make that happen for you." Minho turned his attention back to Taeng. "What? Really?" "Yes, I can make that happen. You'll get a major pay bump and you won't have the shit jobs anymore. I can make all of that happen for you, but you have to do so mething for me," Taeng said. Fuck, that meant taking care of his mom for good. No more backbreaking work for her. How did he go from thinking he was shark food to possibly being an inside m an. "Of course, sir, anything," Minho said, too eagerly. Taeng hesitated for a moment. Then looked him straight in the face. "Good. You h ave to kick Tiffany out of your house." Hearing that was like a bucket of ice being thrown on Minho. The smile faded fro m his face. "What?" Minho asked. "Tell her to leave. Tonight."

"But, where will she go?" Minho asked.  "That's not really your concern, but she'll be with me." "Sir, I can't do that," Minho said, lowering his head. God, he wanted so bad to be on the inside. And at his age, that meant that by the time he was in his earl y thirties like Taeng, he would have his own mini empire. Shit! "Yes you can. I'll take care of everything regarding her. Plus, you don't get op portunities like this handed to you very often. And I'm sure you wouldn't want t o consider the alternative," Taeng said, before he walked to the door. "Let's go." *** Tiffany was so proud of herself. She had finally learned to perfect Bulgogi. She had been looking over several recipes all day, and found the perfect one and th e smell...oh, it was fantastic. She couldn't wait for Minho to taste it. He coul dn't make fun of her Korean cooking anymore. seeing that she had tried to make r amen the night before and it was...well, nasty, no other word. She was adding to matoes to the salad, when she heard the front door unlock. She quickly picked up her Bulgogi masterpiece and headed to the front of the house. "Ta da!" she shouted, and held the delicious dish right under Minho's nose when he entered. But he didn't smile. He didn't even look at her. He looked down at the dish, and then pushed past her. She slowly turned, wondering what she had done. She quiet ly watched as he removed his coat and ran a hand through his dripping hair. He s tood with his back facing her. Tiffany stared down at her dish, then back up to him. "Minho? I didn't think it was that bad," she tried to joke. Finally he turned around to face her. "Fany...I,!"  "Minho, what's wrong?" "I did something, that, well, I'll probably regret. No, I KNOW I will regret. Ju st please find it in your heart to forgive me. Please," he said, walking closer to her. Tiffany started to get a cold chill creeping through her body. She stared at his face, and realized something really bad had happened. "What do you want me to forgive?" she whispered. Minho exhaled. God, she looked so small and fragile standing there holding dinne r that she had prepared for him. She had been with him less than a week. He exha led again and rushed out his explanation, as if to lessen the blow. "Mr. Kim...he, he offered me an opportunity to be on the inside." Tiffany tried to smile, but she figured there was more that he wasn't telling he r. Why would Taeng offer that...especially to Minho? "Well, that's good. It's what you've been waiting on. I'm happy for you." "Shit!" Minho screamed again, while kicking his white milk table over. The sudde n move and loud crash caused Tiffany to jump, but she said nothing, waiting on h im to disclose why he was so upset. "He...the only way I can have the offer is if I make you leave my house...tonigh

t," Minho whispered, staring down at the ground. Tiffany couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not again. This can't be happenin g. No way this could be happening. "And you said yes," she whispered, staring down at her perfect creation. She fel t him sliding closer to her.  "Yes," he quietly whispered back. Immediately, as if on cue, tears sprang to the surface of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. At that moment she hated her life. She hated that people had this power over her. They could just use her and toss her out. Taeng, her father, and now Minho. The pain of her existence started to really hit her hard. She moved around him and w alked to the kitchen. She sat the bulgogi down, and covered her mouth before a l oud cry escaped. She really was all alone. She tried her best to calm her breath ing and hysterical cry, but it was painful keeping it in.  He walked into the kitchen and tried to hug her, but she pushed him off and walk ed upstairs to his bedroom to pack. He quickly followed. "I'm so sorry Fany. I'm sorry, I can't tell you how much. !" he said, as he watc hed her pile her few belongings in her tattered duffel bag. She couldn't stop cr ying. She hated crying in front of people who she felt had wronged her. She was tired of being so fucking weak. Weak, stupid slut, she thought, which caused her to momentarily laugh, to keep from seeming so pathetic. Minho tried to grab her again, but she pushed him off. "Don't touch me! Just leave me alone," she huffed out, and stomped out of his be droom. He chased behind her and tried to grab her again before she exited. "Let go of me!" she screamed hysterically at him, while he pulled her in for a b ear hug. "No, get off me!!" Minho wouldn't release her. He kept trying to whisper his apology in her ear, bu t she didn't want to hear it. She was tired of men. Tired of their lies, manipul ations and cruelty. She was done with them all. She finally shoved him as hard a s she could, and that broke his bear hug. She flung open the front door and immediately froze. Leaning against a black car was Taeng. He was dressed in his signature black suit and long black coat. He w as holding an umbrella while the rain poured around him. Minho slowly closed the door and leaned his forehead against it. He hated himsel f in that moment. He was sending her right back to Taeng, which was something sh e had fought so hard to escape.  he kicked the door and then walked upstairs. Tiffany hated that Taeng was seeing her like this. All broken and crying again. Maybe he got off on seeing her in this state. Probably did. The rain was freezin g and falling in large fat droplets. Her hair was already matted to her face and neck. She picked up her two bags and walked down the steps of Minho's house. Wh en she reached the sidewalk, she turned to the left right past Taeng. "Tiffany, get in the car. It's freezing," Taeng said, opening the backseat door. His heart had skipped a beat seeing her step out of the house. She was more bea utiful than he remembered.  Tiffany ignored him and kept walking. 

Taeng slammed the car door and stalked after her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him and under the umbrella. "Let go of me, you bastard!" Tiffany screamed at him, pushing him, causing him t o drop the umbrella, while he gripped both of her arms. "Get in ! We can talk," Taeng shouted at her, while pulling her backwards. "Let go! I fucking hate you!" Tiffany shouted, pushing him as hard as she could. But he wouldn't release her arm. "Where are you going to go? Where? Fany, get in the fucking car and I'll put you up anywhere you want. Just get in," Taeng said. "I don't want anything from you! And I don't owe you anything! Now let me go!!" Tiffany shouted, pulling her whole body away from him, but he gripped her shirt tighter. He jerked her towards him again, and she almost lost her balance. The r ain was stinging her eyes and she was already starting to shiver. But she absolu tely refused to go anywhere with him. "Get your hands off me!" she cried. "I'm not your plaything anymore. Let go!!" "Tiffany, you have nowhere to go," Taeng whispered to her. "Then I'd rather be out on the streets than to be in your bed even one more nigh t," Tiffany spat at him, breathing quickly through her nose.  That felt like a kick to his gut. She really hated him that much? He stared down into her face to see if there was any part of her hesitating. But nothing. She wanted him to leave her alone. His mind told him to let it go. Here he was stand ing out in the rain having a shouting match with her, something he NEVER would h ave done with Jessica, or any other woman for that matter...yet, here he was. He noticed her shivering and the rain had molded her clothes to her body. He relea sed his grip from her and turned to walk back to his car. Tiffany quickly picked up her bags and stomped off down the street and turned ou t of sight. Taeng got into the car and wiped the water from his face. "We can go back, Taecyeon". They started to make the drive home when Taeng shouted "Fuck!" He didn't want to let her go without knowing she'd be safe. Goddamn this girl! He had figured get ting her to go with him might be a stretch, but he didn't realize she would refu se the way she did. Now, he felt like an idiot for having Minho make her leave. As much as he hated that kid, he would rather her be in his house safe and warm, then out on the streets alone and freezing.  "Turn back around, Taecyeon. I need to find her," he said, whispering the last p art more to himself. *** Tiffany didn't know where the hell she was going. Her body was so cold, but she kept walking until she came across a park and sat down on the covered benches. T he cold wind and rain were whipping her hair around her face. She was freezing, but couldn't force herself to budge.  She had a few bucks on her and hailed a cab to the only place she had left to go . She was doing what she prayed she wouldn't have to do again. But she really ha d no option. "Hello, is Mr. Horvejkul there?" Tiffany asked, when she pressed the intercom bu tton. Her fingers felt frozen trying to hold the button down.

"Yes, may I ask who's calling?" "Tiffany Hwang." After a few moments, the gate opened and Tiffany walked through . When she reached the front door, Paul opened it with a big smile, which quickl y faded into a frown. "Tiffany?" "I'm so sorry to bother you so late at night," Tiffany chattered through her tee th, dripping water all over his floor. "Nonsense, come in. My God, you're freezing." He quickly barked orders at differ ent people to bring some towels and a blanket. "I want you to explain this to me later, but right now, we need to get you warm, " Paul said, leading her upstairs. When they reached a large bathroom, he turned the faucet on.  "I'll step out, but please get in and get yourself warm. You're skin is ice cold . The water is on warm instead of hot, so you can adjust better." He turned to w alk out. Tiffany removed her clothes, which took a while since her fingers felt like they were frozen. When she stepped in the tub, the water was painful. But she forced her body down under the warm liquid. She coughed and then sneezed. Her body was already aching and her eyes were watery. She stayed submerged under the water f or a few more minutes before shakily standing up and wrapping herself in a towel . She slowly opened the door and walked out. The young man who had handed her the bag full of money that day, was waiting for her in the hall. "Ms. Hwang, please follow me, I'll show you to your room," he said. "Oh. Thank you. And just Tiffany," she said, as she walked closely behind him. It was a large guest room, beautifully decorated. The heat filled her nostrils w hen she walked in. The young man turned on the light and was about to exit when she called out to him. "Um, thank you...?" "Jun.k. And you're welcome," he said as he left. Tiffany grabbed the large robe that was folded on the bed and slipped into it. S he felt like shit. Her whole head felt like someone had hit her several times wi th a baseball bat. Her nose was burning and her chest felt tight. She wanted to go find Paul and tell him thanks, but her body was so tired, she c ould hardly think. She pulled back the covers of the bed and got in. The sheets were so warm and comfortable. Within a few seconds, Tiffany was asleep. After a while, Tiffany saw a small light shine into her room as someone placed a tray on the nightstand beside her. Her nose was stopped up, but she was sure it was food. She rolled back over and nodded off to sleep again.  Later that night, Tiffany woke up gasping for air. She felt like she couldn't br eathe. Her whole body was shaking. She tried to get up from the bed, but knocked over the lamp and tray that sat on the nightstand. They hit the floor with a lo ud crash, spilling food everywhere. Fuck! 'I'm more trouble than I'm worth,' Tif

fany thought, trying to clean up the mess. A few seconds later she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Shit. As soon as P aul entered, she tried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I was ," Tiffany tried to get out, before Paul pushed her.  "I have my doctor coming over to examine you," he said, helping her up from the floor and back into the bed.  "I've been checking on you while you were asleep, and your breathing is really l abored and you're running a temperature." Tiffany could barely listen to what he was saying. Her head was exploding. She l aid back down and he pulled the covers around her. After a few more minutes, Jun .k escorted another man into the room. He was an older man with a bag. He took h er temperature and held the cold part of the stethoscope to her chest. Tiffany s tarted fading in and out as Paul and the other man talked. That was the last thi ng she remembered before she fell back into a deep sleep.

Chapter 19 Taeng was furious and...hurt.  "Turn down here," he said to Taecyeon. It was now three in the Goddamn morning a nd they were still searching for her. Taeng cursed himself. He should have just followed her. It was freezing outside, and she only had a flimsy little jacket o n since she had refused to take any of the clothing he had bought for her. He go t desperate and had gone to her family's house. That...had been interesting. He had knocked on the door several times. He could see them pacing back and fort h through the light in the peephole and he could hear them frantically discussin g something. No doubt, whether or not to open the door for him. But then, finall y, her father had answered. "Yes?" he said. "I'm looking for Tiffany, is she here?" Taeng had asked. "No." "Do you know where she is?" "No." Taeng narrowed his eyes at James. His next question was going to be, 'Do you car e where she is?', but Taeng didn't have time to argue with him.  "If you see her, tell her to call me. She has the number." James just stared at him and then tried to close the door. Taeng couldn't resist any longer. He stopped the door with his hand and leaned close to him. "You may not owe me any money, but I can still make your life hell," he threatened. James nodded slightly, "I'll tell her to call if I see her." "Thank you," Taeng said, and removed his hand from the door. But now he and Taecyeon were still driving around in the rain looking for her. M

inho had gotten in his car to look as well, but he had not called to give him an y good news. Fuck!  By four-thirty in the morning, they pulled back up to his house. He needed to ge t into some dry clothes and get his head straight. When he opened the door, he s aw Yuri standing there with a worried look on his face. Taeng's heart dropped. "What?" he asked. Yuri hesitated, then said, "Hey Taeng, look, don't hate me okay? But...I know wh ere she got the money from, and I know where she probably is right now." Taeng wanted to punch Yuri in his fucking face. Why he hadn't told him earlier w ould be another conversation at another time, but right now he needed to get to Tiffany. "Where is she?" Taeng asked, burning a hole through Yuri. "She, uh, well the day she brought the money to you, she had called me earlier a sking for Paul Horvejkul's address. So, I figure that's the only person she coul d have gotten it from. I would have told you earlier if " Taeng turned and walked away from him. He didn't want to hear. That motherfucker had known all this time where she was and hadn't told him! Paul Horvejkul...wha t the fuck kind of relationship did they have? He didn't even know Tiffany knew him. He marched upstairs to his office, pulled the bag from a small safe and qui ckly returned downstairs. He walked out of the door without saying another word to Yuri. *** When Taeng finally pulled up to Paul's gate, they quickly let him enter. As soon as he parked he walked up to the door and was greeted by Paul. "Hey Taeng," Paul said, extending his hand. "Paul," Taeng said, shaking the older man's hand. "I believe this belongs to you," he said, handing Paul the black duffel bag.  "Hmm, thank you," Paul said, looking at the bag, then placing the strap over his shoulder.  "Is she here?" Taeng asked, scanning behind Paul. "Yes, she is. I'll tell her you're here," Paul said, turning to walk upstairs. T aeng wanted to follow him, but this was Paul's house, and he would try his best not to be disrespectful. No matter how pissed off he was. Tiffany was awake, but still she felt a bit weak. Her eyelids felt heavy. But wh atever the doctor had given her had made her feel much better. "Tiffany?" she heard Paul say as he entered. "Good, glad to see you awake. Are y ou alright?" "Yes," Tiffany croaked out. "Thank you." "You're very welcome. I need to let you know that Taeng is downstairs and he wan ts to see you." Tiffany quickly woke from her haze. "No! I mean, no, I don't want to see him."

Paul nodded his head and left the room. Taeng waited patiently as Paul came back downstairs. "Taeng, she doesn't want any company at the moment. But if you come back later, perhaps--" "Paul, you and I both know I'm not leaving here until I speak with her." Paul narrowed his eyes at Taeng. He didn't want to get in the middle of this lov ers' quarrel, but he also wanted to respect Tiffany's wishes. She had come to hi m for help. "I understand you're concerned Taeng, but causing a scene in my house won't make this situation better for her." Taeng stepped around Paul and started heading towards the stairs. Jun.k approach ed from the side blocking Taeng's path. "Sorry sir, Mr. Horvejkul asked you to come back," Jun.k said. "Paul, I have a lot of respect for you, but I'm about to drop this kid and head upstairs anyway. Now if you don't want him hurt, I suggest you tell him to move, " Taeng said, just a few inches from Jun.k's face.  Paul could easily call another of his bodyguards, and blow this whole situation out of proportion. But he knew that Taeng wasn't thinking rationally. And that h e probably would break Jun.k's nose. Paul didn't know every detail about Taeng a nd Tiffany's strange relationship, but he did know that there were more feelings involved than either one was letting on. He stared at the back of Taeng's body, which was tense. He had always liked Taeng. Much more than Taeng's father. Taen g had a brutal honestly about him. Paul respected that. He wished his own son co uld be more like Taeng. But Nichkhun was sneaky and unreliable. Two traits that neither Paul nor Taeng possessed. "Jun.k, let Mr. Kim pass," Paul said. Taeng moved forward, barely giving Jun.k a second to move out of the way. Paul followed behind. "I would like to give her a heads up, Taeng. So she won't think I am betraying her." Taeng stopped when they reached the top of the stairs. "Alright," he said as Pau l moved ahead of him and entered a room at the end of the hallway. Tiffany looked up to see Paul come in. "Is he gone?" she asked. "No. Actually, he's right outside the door. He wants to make sure you're okay, T iffany. He was very insistent. I'll stay in the room if you want. So is it alrig ht to let him in?" Tiffany really didn't want to see Taeng. Not now. Not when she felt and looked s o weak. To fight him, she needed all of her strength. But she didn't want Paul t o go through so much trouble just because of her. So she nodded her head. Paul walked to the door and let Taeng into the room. Immediately Taeng was concerned. She looked so frail. He wanted to scoop her up and put her in his car and take her to his house. Where she belonged. Her big, e yes looked weak and less expressive than they normally were. And although the ro om was pretty toasty, she shivered. Tiffany watched as he scanned over her body. And then he turned to Paul.

"Has a doctor seen her?" "Yes, my family doctor came. He diagnosed it as a slight case of pneumonia, but he gave her some antibiotics, and already she's doing much better." "This is much better?" Taeng accused. "I want my doctor to see her," he said, lo oking back down at her. "Taeng, I assure you, my physician is one of the best. She's already feeling bet ter." Taeng tore his gaze away from her and glanced at Paul. "I need to speak to her a lone." Paul looked back at Tiffany and she slowly nodded her head. Paul walked out and closed the door behind him. Taeng removed his jacket and sat down on the bed. "So, how are you feeling?" "I'm alright," Tiffany answered. She took in his appearance. He seemed tired. Hi s eyes were a darker and he had small dark circles underneath them. "So basically, you'd rather get pneumonia than come back with me?" "Taeng, I have no reason to be with you now. You have the money. So just leave m e alone." "Actually, I don't. I gave it back to Paul. What are you going to do when you le ave here?" Taeng asked, wanting so bad to pull those covers back and get in bed with her. He knew another way to cure her sickness and hopefully make her feel b etter. Make himself feel better. "I don't know, but I'll figure something out." Taeng exhaled. "I'd like you to come stay in my house with me." Tiffany shook her head. "Taeng, you just don't get it, do you? You treated me li ke shit! Like I was nothing. I even gave you a chance to explain your actions, a nd you refused. And instead, you called me...you made me feel so low. I felt wor se the last night I spent with you more than the first night I spent with you. A nd I don't ever want to feel that way again. And then on top of that, you get my friend to kick me out when you KNEW I had nowhere to go. Why would you do that to me?" Tiffany asked, staring at him with hurt in her eyes. Taeng had no answer. Well, none that he actually wanted to divulge to her. "Tiff any, I know I've made some decisions that you don't understand, but I have my re asons for making them." Tiffany scoffed. "If that's all you have, then please leave." "Tiffany," Taeng whispered, but she rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. Taeng got up from the bed, turned off her light and walked out. When he reached his house, Yuri was sitting by the door. Taeng ignored him and m arched upstairs to his office. Yuri followed. "So, is she okay, Taeng?" Yuri asked, shutting the office door behind him.

Taeng glanced up at him and narrowed his eyes. "And what was your reasoning for not telling me?" "Taeng...I just wanted her to be okay." "You have a job and you weren't fucking doing it!" Taeng growled at him. "You know, if being a fucking decent human being is not a part of my job, then f uck, I quit!" Yuri shouted back. Both men stood there staring each other down.  Yuri finally relaxed and loosened his tie. "Fuck, Taeng. I've known you since we were little kids still wanting to be on the right side of the law. Over the yea rs, I've never questioned you. And we've done some pretty shady shit, and hurt a lot of people, but I never minded because I felt like they deserved it. Hell, I even enjoyed it sometimes. But Taeng, Tiffany doesn't deserve this. I mean, you really thought you could take away all of her options, and she'd come back to y ou with arms wide open? It doesn't work that way. I know you're so used to getti ng what you want, and to have someone throw that all back in your face is new to you, but that's no reason to hurt someone who hasn't done anything wrong. Fuck, Taeng. I...look, she was sad and miserable. I knew what she was planning to do, and a part of me wanted her to. This whole thing with her has gone way too far. " Taeng sat down at his desk. "Are you done?" "You don't even realize that you love her, do you?" Yuri asked, shaking his head . "Yuri, you don't know shit about our relationship. Love? You have no clue what y ou're talking about." "Right...you couldn't possibly love her. That's why you were parading her around as your girlfriend a few weeks ago. Spending every other night at your condo, o r driving around in the rain at five am searching for her. Because you don't lov e her, right?" Yuri retorted sarcastically.  "Done?" Yuri shook his head. He knew there was no getting through to Taeng, because he w ould never admit that Yuri was right about something like this, even if he knew it was true. He would lock it deep down inside and ignore it for the rest of his life. "Yeah, I'm done Taeng," Yuri said as he walked out. *** Over the next two days, Tiffany quickly recovered thanks to the doctor's visits and medication. She tried to stay out of Paul's way so she wouldn't be more of a bother than she already felt, even though Paul insisted that she wasn't. Paul o ffered to let her borrow one of his cars, but she politely declined and took the bus to work. At first, Onew had refused to let her work since she was recoverin g, but Tiffany was desperate. She needed to make some money, so eventually after nagging and following him all over the restaurant, he agreed to let her pick up some more shifts if she would just shut up. But it was her third day in the house when Nichkhun showed up. And of all the ti mes, she had been bending over her bed, trying to find a rubber band for her hai r when she heard his voice.

"Damn, I think that's about the best position," he said. Her body immediately tensed as she raised up. She was still on her hands and kne es when she turned to glare at him. "Don't you knock?" she asked. "In my own home?" he shot back at her, raising an eyebrow. "I thought this was your dad's house." "Yeah, but when he bites the dust, it will be mine. So...how are you feeling? Po ps told me you were really sick," Nichkhun said, leaning against the door frame. "I'm much better, thanks to your father," Tiffany answered, looking uneasily at Nichkhun. She just didn't trust him. "Good. Glad to hear it. By the way, dinner's ready," he stated, and then walked out. Downstairs, Tiffany sat at the dinner table with Paul and Nichkhun. She noticed that neither man really talked to each other. They more or less talked to her. P aul said he wasn't feeling well, but said not to worry, he was just tired. Tiffa ny asked if he were sure, and he said he was, then excused himself early, asking her to finish her meal. But this also left Tiffany alone with Nichkhun. The ass hole. She noticed him, out of the corner of her eye, staring. She tried to ignore him as she picked over her salad.  "Fany...I want to apologize to you," Nichkhun said, taking a sip of his drink. Tiffany looked up at him. "What?" "I want to apologize for the prior two times that I met you. You know, for the p ool game and Taeng's party. For what I said. And if it's okay with you, I'd like to start over." Tiffany didn't know what to think. What did he want? Nichkhun had this friendly way about him, but it was almost that look he would give right before he would s tab you in the back. She just didn't trust him. "I mean it. So...this is corny, but I'd like to re-introduce myself. I'm Nichkhu n Horvejkul," he said while reaching for her hand. Tiffany did think the whole thing was rather silly, but she would play along.  "Apology accepted and I'm Tiffany Hwang." "Nice to meet you, Tiffany," he said, while kissing the back of her hand. A gest ure he learned from his father no doubt. She wondered why none of Paul's other w onderful traits had rubbed off on him.

Chapter 20 Nichkhun ended up becoming a permanent fixture at his father's house. Ti

ffany couldn't escape from him. But pretty soon he started wearing her down, and she even laughed at a few of his jokes. When he didn't have a group of people a round to show off in front of, he seemed like a halfway decent guy.  He even tried playing Scrabble with her, but she could tell he was pretty bored with it. His game was cards. Poker to be exact. Tiffany had played before, but s he was nowhere near as good as Nichkhun. He beat her every time. And something i n his eyes when he won, was unsettling for Tiffany. Almost like this lust for wi nning. He had to win at all cost. She thought about that night he bet Taeng in t he pool game. How dark his eyes seemed when he had lost. And again, when he taun ted her at Taeng's party, and she told him not to bet someone who will beat him every time. Again, his eyes darkened. Tiffany tried to shake off the thought, an d concentrate on the game. "So, a friend of mine is throwing a small party tonight. Wanna go?" Nichkhun ask ed, placing down another card. "No, thanks," Tiffany said, as she studied her cards. "Oh, come on Tiffany! Live a little. You go to work, then come back here and rea d, then go back to work. You're too young for that shit. It will be fun," Nichkh un said. "Nichkhun, I'm content right here. But thanks for the offer." "Please...please. I need a date. You wouldn't want people to think I'm a loser, would you?" "Nichkhun, I'm sure some already do," Tiffany quipped, while placing a card down . Nichkhun pretended like she had struck an arrow to his heart. "See! That's why I need you. Who else is going to keep this huge head of mine from taking off?" Tiffany laughed and shook her head. "Nichkhun, no. Besides, I have nothing to we ar to stuff like that." "Problem solved, I'll buy you something now," he said, as he placed his winning hand down and left the table. Tiffany hopped up. "No!! Wait, seriously, don't do that!" she called after him. He stuck his fingers in his ears and walked toward the door. "I can't hear you.. .be back in a bit," he said, grabbing his jacket and leaving. 'Fuck!' Tiffany thought. She walked back to the table to clean up the game. She grabbed a book and went to her room. About an hour later, Nichkhun appeared at her door. "Knock, knock," he said, while barging in. She could tell he held something behi nd his back. "For you," he said, while holding up a very short, strapless bright blue dress in one hand, then pausing for a moment before producing the heels in his other hand. "Nichkhun! I...no, no no! I'm not going. And I asked you not to spend any money on me," Tiffany said, clearly pissed. "Hey, don't worry. I got this dress from a flea market. Seriously, there might b e some stains on it." He quickly ducked from the box of tissues that Tiffany thr

ew at him. "Come on, you have no excuses now," he said. Tiffany sighed and leaned back against the headboard. She did kind of want to ge t out of the house for a bit. Just not with Nichkhun and definitely not at one o f his parties. She would just die if she ran into Taeng. "You said it's a small party, right? A close friend of yours?" Tiffany asked, sl owly feeling herself caving. "Yep. Small party, close friends." Tiffany didn't want him to think she was thinking about Taeng, but she had to as k. "And no chance of running into Taeng, right?" "Nope, he's not invited," he smiled. Tiffany looked at the dress again. If they only stayed and hour or so, who could it hurt? "Alright. I'll go. But this isn't a date, okay?" "Yes! And gotcha, not a date," Nichkhun said, handing her the dress and shoes. " See you downstairs." Tiffany stared at herself in the mirror. The dress Nichkhun had chosen was awful ly short. And strapless at that. And tight! Fuck! She could barely bend over to slide her heels on and fasten the straps. She grabbed her jacket and met Nichkhun downstairs. He gave her body a onceover.  "Damn, you look so good," he said, glancing at her ass again. "Thanks, but Nichkhun, this dress is so tight. You sure you got this for me?" Ti ffany questioned, raising her eyebrow.  Nichkhun laughed, "Trust me, I knew exactly what I was doing."  When they pulled up to the party, there were several cars parked outside of a cl ub. It was definitely not a small get together. Tiffany stared at the long line of people waiting to get in. "Nichkhun, you said this was a small party!"  "Well, I guess he invited more people," Nichkhun said, grabbing her arm to escor t her to the front of the line. The bouncer immediately let Nichkhun in, and the two glided through the main entrance. The club was packed. People on all sides. Tiffany couldn't really hear anything over the loud music, but Nichkhun stopped and talked with several people. He was definitely charismatic in a room, Tiffan y thought. He continued to pull her through the crowd, until they made it to a s mall room in the back. The VIP section.  "There he is," Nichkhun whispered in her ear. Tiffany was trying her best to tug her dress down below her ass. She would have to remember when they left to kill him for buying this damn dress. "Leeteuk! How are you buddy?" Nichkhun asked a guy. Tiffany still couldn't see o ver his shoulder. "Nichkhun! I'm well. How are you? You know, I was just saying to me self that it isn't a party until Nichkhun Horvejkul shows up."

"Hey man, I want to introduce you to my lovely date, Tiffany," Nichkhun said, pu shing her up front. Tiffany was about to say hi when she froze. Son of a bitch!!! She should have NE VER trusted Nichkhun. Standing beside the guy she could only assume was Leeteuk, were Taeng and Yuri. They both immediately stared down at her. There she was in this ridiculously short, tight dress with Nichkhun holding her hand. She tried to pull it away, but he only gripped her hand tighter. Her skin seemed to burn a s Taeng's eyes scanned over her dress and then back up to her face. She could se e the veins in his neck and she knew he was clamping his teeth together.  "Nice to meet you, Tiffany," Leeteuk said, the only one in the group with a smil e still on his face. Tiffany still couldn't speak. She tried to jerk her hand away again, but Nichkhu n tightened his hold. Taeng must have sensed it, because she saw his eyes shift to their hands and then to Nichkhun's face. Tiffany tore her gaze from Taeng lon g enough to look at Yuri. He gave her a small smile but didn't say anything. "And Nichkhun, I think you know Kim Taeng and Yuri," Leeteuk offered further, cl early not picking up on the negative tension surrounding the situation. "Yeah, Leeteuk. We all go way back," Nichkhun said, smiling in Taeng's direction . Taeng's head was on fire. There she was standing in that outfit and holding Nich khun's hand. And he had almost let Yuri's words the other night affect him, only to find that she had moved on, and of all people, his fucking enemy! She refuse d to stay with him, yet now she was hanging out with Nichkhun. Taeng couldn't ho ld it in any longer. He wanted to hurt her as much as she had hurt him. "So, you fucking him now?" Taeng spat out at her. Tiffany's eyes widened and Yuri coughed. "Um...hey you know, I see another guest who just came in. I'm going to say hello . Um...yeah," Leeteuk stammered, as he quickly left the group. "Whoa there, Taeng. Is that any way to greet a friend?" Nichkhun said, smirking. "Stop it, Nichkhun," Tiffany said, finally jerking her hand from him. She knew h e was trying to bait Taeng.  "What?" he said, looking down at Tiffany. Then he stared back up at Taeng. "See, our boy Taeng can dish it, but he can't take it." Nichkhun took a step closer to Taeng. "You steal the Russians, so I fuck your gi rl," Nichkhun whispered, just seconds before he was slammed back against a wall and lifted up to his tiptoes by his throat. Yuri grabbed Taeng's hand that was squeezing Nichkhun's neck. "Taeng! He has two guys by the door. They're going to know what's happening in just a second. Let him go," Yuri said, scanning the room to make sure no extra attention was brough t to the problem. Tiffany screamed, but quickly covered her mouth. She had never seen Taeng lose c ontrol like that. Usually, he was so calm and never got frazzled. At least not w ith other people. 

Taeng only saw red. He knew he had to get himself under control, but everything in his body was telling him to choke this fucker until his eyes bulged out. But that wasn't Taeng's style. Not in a public area like this...at a friend's party. He released Nichkhun's neck. Nichkhun coughed and rubbed his neck. He quickly straightened his tie and smooth ed his hair back, glancing over to the corner where two of his men were engrosse d in a conversation.  Taeng looked down at Tiffany. "Outside, now," he barked at her. Tiffany just looked at him like he had lost his mind. "I'm not going anywhere wi th you." Taeng grabbed her hand and was about to pull her away from the group when Nichkh un made the mistake of grabbing her other hand. Tiffany tried to jerk her hand a way from Nichkhun, but Taeng was already heading for him again when Yuri stepped in and blocked the two men. "Take your fucking hands off her," Taeng growled at Nichkhun. "She's my date!" Nichkhun spat back. "Keep fucking with me Nichkhun. And pretty soon the fact that Paul Horvejkul is your father isn't going to be enough to keep me from putting a fucking bullet be tween your eyes," Taeng warned, jerking Tiffany behind him. Nichkhun knew the look on Taeng's face, and Taeng wasn't bluffing. Nichkhun look ed down at Tiffany. "Don't take too long. I'll be leaving soon," he said, as he turned to walk away. Now that the situation was defused, Tiffany tried to pull her hand from Taeng, b ut he gripped her tighter, almost painfully, and pulled her to a side door.  "Taeng, oww, you're hurting me," she said, trying to get him to stop, but he pus hed open the door. Waiting outside was his limo. He opened the door. "Get in!" "No!" Tiffany shouted. Taeng was beyond pissed at this point. This girl always made him lose his fuckin g mind. He hated getting so worked up. Only fools lost their temper and once tha t happened, they usually lost control of the situation. That wasn't him. He was calm and collected for the most part. Until Tiffany started fucking with him.  "So you're fucking him now?! You certainly move from house to house" Taeng yelle d at her.  That's it! Tiffany wrenched her hand from him and slapped him as hard as she cou ld. Then she stuck her finger in his face. "Don't you EVER say anything to me like that again! I don't know why you get off on embarrassing me, but I'm not a whore, I don't care what you think! I've only slept with two men in my life. One was my high school boyfriend that barely tou ched me and the other is you, you!" she screamed, punching him in the chest. Taeng stood there, taking in the sight of her. His face was stinging, but he kne w he deserved it. He had to chuckle to himself. A month or so ago, there's no wa y in the world she would have gotten away with that. But right now, fuck if she didn't look fine as hell. He had missed her so much. It had been too long. He wa nted her. Now.

Tiffany calmed her breathing long enough to take in the way Taeng was gazing at her. He had that look on his face...the one she had seen several times before. S he needed to leave. She turned to go back inside, when Taeng blocked her exit. H e gently pushed her back against the limo and locked her in with his arms braced on both sides of her. "Get in," he whispered to her. "No." "Get in, Fany - ah." "No!" she said, breathing hard and glaring up at him. Her body was so close to h is, he was brushing up against her, causing her nipples to harden. "I just want to talk" Taeng whispered close to her neck. "No you don't," Tiffany said, turning her head away from him. "Just talk," Taeng persisted. Tiffany knew better, but damn if she wasn't getting an aching down there. She ha d only been away from Taeng for less than two weeks, but still, she felt herself moving toward the car door.  She finally sighed. "Okay. But to talk only." Taeng opened the door and she stepped inside. He quickly followed and shut the d oor. He turned on the overhead light and stared at her. Tiffany was trying to pull the dress down again. But sitting was a bit of a chal lenge.  "Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Tiffany asked. "Why the hell did you show up here with him?" Tiffany sighed again. "Taeng, that's really none of your business. You and I hav e no connection now." "He bought this dress for you?" Taeng said, scanning over her curves. "Taeng, I told him not to. Honestly, I didn't want it," Tiffany said. "Can I tell you that HONESTLY, I want to rip that shit off your body? You let hi m parade you around in that like you're his fucking Barbie or something." "Like you haven't," Tiffany replied. She shook her head. She didn't owe him any explanation. She tried to exit the limo, but he grabbed her and gently pulled he r down to the floor.  "No! Stop it, Taeng," Tiffany said, trying to push Taeng off her. Taeng hadn't felt her lips since the morning he had left her and not come back. They had been torturing him in his dreams. He roughly kissed her and shoved his tongue into her mouth. He heard her moan, but then she tried to pull her head aw ay. The short dress had already risen to her waist. He took that opportunity to pull her panties off and shove them in his pocket. His little habit when it came to her. He spread her legs apart, and placed his body in between them. He yanke

d the top of her dress down, exposing her perfect, round tits. He massaged one o f her soft mounds before he seized a nipple in his mouth and rolled the bud arou nd his tongue. He heard her moan again. "I'm not having sex with you," she gasped, trying to push his head away from her breasts, even though the feeling was starting to get to her. She could already feel the wetness between her legs, that she was sure was dampening the front of his pants. "Yes you are," he moaned into her soft skin. "No, I'm not. Stop it...uh, stop Taeng," Tiffany said, pushing him harder. "Sure sounds like you want me to," he grinned up at her, and moved his body down hers until his tongue licked her slit. She inhaled sharply and arched her back. His tongue proceeded to assault her moist pussy, licking the sides and sucking on her hard clit. He teased her by shoving his tongue inside her and twirling it . Tiffany thought she was going to die. A happy death. "Taeng, wait. Stop," she said breathlessly after she came, trying to push his he ad away. She couldn't take anymore. She was already so sensitive. She felt his w et tongue leave her pussy as he climbed back in between her legs. She laid there quietly as she heard him unbuckle his pants. She knew it was about to happen, a nd she wasn't going to do anything to stop him, because she wanted it to happen. She was such an idiot to give him this power back. Taeng slowly thrust into her wet pussy, dragging out a moan from both of them. H e laid his body flat on top of hers and gripped her upper body while he bit down on her neck. "Aah, Taeng," Tiffany muttered. He felt so damn good. And she welcomed his rough ness. Taeng wanted to pull his shirt off and push his pants past his knees, but he cou ldn't stop long enough to do it. Her pussy felt so good, enveloping his cock. Sh e was still so tight, like she had been waiting just for him. He knew she had. H e started to drive in and out of her faster and faster. He was sure if Taecyeon came to check on the limo, that he would know exactly what was going on in here. He could feel the car rocking under his thrusts. But he wanted to be as close t o her as possible, so he kept his chest pressed tightly against hers, while his hips moved rapidly up and down, trying to bury himself as far into her as he cou ld. Tiffany stared up at the ceiling of the limo. She wanted him. There in that mome nt, she wanted this mean, possessive, alpha asshole. And she wasn't even sure wh y, but she loved him. But she knew deep down the only way he would treat her how she believed she deserved to be treated was if he loved her. She could never go back to the type of relationship they had before. If they ever ventured into re al relationship territory, it would have to be on equal footing. Something she w asn't sure he'd be willing to share. She would learn to understand the war and p eace that was constantly going through his head, but she knew underneath this ro ugh exterior was something only she could touch. She had seen it, even that nigh t when he had hurt her so badly, she saw him hesitate. She saw a flash of forgiv eness in his eyes, but he would have to meet her halfway. He had to. But she sti ll wanted him to know how she felt, and prayed before they left this limo, that she would know how he felt.  "Taeng...I think I love you," she whispered to him, running her fingers through his jet black hair. She felt him slowing his thrusts down until he stopped. He w as completely still on top of her, but she could hear him breathing by her ear.

She wondered what he was thinking at that moment. Then he slightly raised up and stared into her eyes. She watched, as his eyes scanned hers back and forth, as if to see if she were joking. But Tiffany wasn't. She meant every word. She bit her bottom lip, watching him watch her. He had yet to say anything. She placed both her hands on the sides of his face and lightly gripped his hair. "Do you...do you think, maybe you love me too?" she whispered to him, her heart beating a million miles a minute. 'Please, meet me half way,' Tiffany begged in her mind.  Taeng looked down into her hopeful face. He did. He knew he did, he just still w asn't ready to go that step. He just couldn't. Not yet. This was all still so ne w to him. It was throwing him off. He had to figure some things out first. So in stead of answering her, he leaned down and kissed her lips, then made a trail ba ck down to her neck and started thrusting into her again. Tiffany closed her eyes, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She held onto T aeng tightly, knowing this would be the last time she was ever this close to him . She couldn't accept anything less this time, and he couldn't even confess his love or any love for her. She held him firmly and whispered into his ear that sh e loved him again, trying desperately not to let any tears fall. She thought she felt him hesitate a second, but he continued to plunge in and out of her. Taeng didn't know what he was feeling. Hearing her whisper those words to him... was really fucking him up. He wanted her back, but he just wasn't sure if he wan ted everything to be this deep yet. But for right now, he just wanted to be insi de her. "Ugh, God" Taeng whispered into her neck as his lower body convulsed and he came , sending his sperm deep inside her womb. "Fany -ah." Taeng rested his body on top of hers for what seemed like several minutes. He wa sn't ready to part from her. But he felt her wiggle underneath him, her tell-tal e sign that she was getting uncomfortable. Taeng raised up from her and pulled h is pants back up. He grabbed her hands and pulled her up to her knees. Tiffany pulled up her top, and pushed down the bottom of the dress. She knew she had to leave now and not look back. She couldn't do this with him any longer. "Taeng, can I have my panties back," she asked, while fixing her hair. "No." Tiffany sighed, and went to open the door, but he grabbed her. "Wait, where are you going?" he asked. "I'm going to find Nichkhun, so I can go." "Oh, no. Just come back with me," Taeng suggested, trying to keep her with him.  "Taeng, no. There's nothing for us," she said. "What are you talking about? What do you call this?" Taeng asked, looking betwee n the two of them. "It was just sex. Something you and I are great at. About the only thing we do g reat together." Normally a girl making a comment like that wouldn't have fazed Taeng, but for so me reason that one hurt. Especially coming from her. She went to reach for the d oor again when Taeng grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, pressing her back

to his chest. He locked his arms around her, so she couldn't move. Tiffany could feel his heart beating fast as he leaned his head against her back . She felt his hair tickle her shoulder. He gently kissed the middle of her uppe r back. "Fany...I, " he whispered and closed his eyes. "I never said I didn't love you." Tiffany slowly nodded. "But you didn't say you did," she whispered back. She pul led his arms from around her, opened the door and stepped out. When she closed the door, Taeng leaned his head back against the headrest. "But I never said I didn't," he repeated softly. He sat there for several minute s, just thinking, before he got out of the limo and slammed the door.

Chapter 21 Tiffany marched back et away from Taeng. What the er to make sure Taeng hadn't nd go. She was done with Kim

into the club as quickly as she could. She had to g hell was wrong with her? She kept glancing behind h followed her back in. She needed to find Nichkhun a Taeng. Completely done. 

Tiffany scanned the crowded club. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She felt dizzy. Why was she letting this happen? Why did she put herself in thi s situation? .She found the front entrance she and she had almost reached the do or when someone grabbed her arm. Tiffany spun around to see Nichkhun staring at her. "Where are you going?" he as ked, gripping her arm tighter, while scanning the room, no doubt looking for Tae ng. He had such a low harsh tone in his voice, that she was caught off guard for a moment. "I'm going back. I'll catch a cab. Now let go of me," Tiffany stated, hating her self for spending money that she was trying to save. "I'll take you back," Nichkhun said, while pulling her toward the door. As soon as they pushed through the door, Tiffany wrenched her arm free from Nich khun. "Don't you fucking touch me! I mean it. You did ALL of this on purpose, didn't y ou? You knew he was going to be here?" Tiffany asked. She was so angry she didn' t know what to do. Angry at Taeng, angry at Nichkhun, but most of all pissed at herself for falling for Nichkhun's trap and then having sex with Taeng as if his hurting her hadn't mattered. She wanted to smack herself. "Yep." Was Nichkhun's only response. "So you basically used me to piss him off?" "Eye for an eye," Nichkhun stated, grinning at her. Tiffany wanted so badly to s lap him. Before she was through with all of these people, her hand would be in a cast. But at the moment, she had nothing left to say to Nichkhun. She was done with this whole thing. She turned to walk away. "But I didn't know he'd react so strongly about you," Nichkhun called after her. She didn't bother turning around. "Good to know..." she thought she heard him m utter.

Taeng finally made his way back fany, but he wasn't ready to go he was approaching a crossroad or right now, he just wanted to

into the club. He had wanted to follow after Tif emotionally where Tiffany wanted him to. He knew and would soon have to turn left or right. But f stand still. 

He found Yuri leaning up against the bar. "I'm taking off" Taeng said to him. Yu ri nodded and guzzled down the rest of his drink. Taeng motioned for Taecyeon, a nd the three of them walked out of the side door. When Tiffany reached Paul's home, she paid the cab driver and went straight upst airs to the guest room. She pulled off the skimpy blue dress and threw it in the trash. She entered the bathroom, turned on the faucet in the tub and stepped in . She needed to scrub off this entire night. When the water had filled the tub, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She felt like a fool. A fool for even halfway trusting Nichkhun, and for admitti ng to Taeng that she loved him. Why the hell had she said that? He had looked at her, but then said nothing. Obviously he didn't feel the same way. She was an e asy lay...and for that, she would never forgive herself. Tiffany had always give n into him sexually, so no wonder he felt like he could fuck her in the back of a limo despite everything that had happened. Because he could. Tiffany slowly dipped her head underneath the warm water and held her breath. Ma ybe a moment of clarity would come while she was submerged. She didn't have a lo t of money saved up, but she had enough. She needed to get a place of her own. S he couldn't continue to impose herself on Paul's generosity.  When she could no longer hold her breath, she raised up quickly, breaking throug h the surface of the water, gasping for air. She coughed for a second and then w iped her face with a towel. Yes, her quest to find her own place would begin fir st thing tomorrow morning. *** Yuri sat on the other side of the chess board waiting for Taeng to make a move. "You should go visit her at that restaurant she works at," Yuri suggested. Ever since the incident with Nichkhun a few days ago, Taeng hadn't mentioned Tiffany. "And I don't mean just driving by her place of work." A pastime Taeng had starte d when he found out about her working there. Taeng surveyed the board and completed a move. "No. This is better. For both of us." "Wow, what a copout," Yuri grumbled, moving another piece. He looked up to find Taeng's eyes narrowed on him. "I'm just saying, why is it so hard to admit you like the girl, Taeng?" "Because that's irrelevant." "How so?" "Yuri, how is any of this your business?" "It's your turn to move. And over the years I've become nosy like my wife. And b ecause you are my best friend. And speaking as your friend...you're not quite th e asshole you think you are," Yuri replied. Taeng glanced down at the board. "Umma used to say that."

"Yeah, well I always knew your mother was a smart one." Taeng sighed and moved his knight. "She's better off without me, you know. I don 't want her mixed up in this...this way of living. I don't want that for her. An d with her in my life, she clouds my mind. I can't focus on the things I need to do and continue being successful. And knowing she's...never mind, it's just ann oying." "What's annoying?" "Knowing she's fuck. I don't even want to say it. That she's my only--"  " weakness?" Yuri asked, knowing the answer already. Taeng looked up at Yuri and slowly nodded his head. Yes, she was his weakness. H e had to be sharp and on his A-game at all times, and already on several occasio ns in the short time that he had known her, he had made some pretty substantial errors. But in the limo, she had told him she loved him. Or at least she thought she lov ed him. At that moment, he wasn't sure what to say back to her. Jessica had said that to him before, but never quite like that. Nowhere near as honest. When he had looked into Tiffany's eyes after she made that statement, he could see and f eel she was telling the truth. She actually loved him. Him! Even after all the s hit he had done to her. That in itself, proved she was a better person than he c ould ever be. "Yeah, my weakness. Now enough of the touchy feely stuff," Taeng said. Yuri chuckled, "Well even Achilles had a weakness, my friend....it happens to th e best of us. You know what mine are? Three little girls sleeping in their beds, who all probably tried to wait up to see when appa was coming home. But no, I'm here playing chess with you at two in the morning." "Then go home," Taeng said, smiling in his friend's direction. "Oh, no. I've learned my lesson over the years. If I'm a few hours late....my wi fe is still up and I won't hear the end of it. She can be brutal! But...if I don 't come home, usually when I turn up she's so glad to see me that she forgets ab out my tardiness. See, I've got it down to a science." "I see...and checkmate. Now go home," Taeng said, standing and stretching. Yuri looked down at the board. Fuck! Taeng always won. Even when they were kids growing up playing cops and robbers, Taeng always won, no matter which side he w as on. "Alright, but if I turn up tomorrow with bruises, it's entirely your fault," Yur i complained, grabbing his jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow well, I guess later toda y." The two men walked to the door together, but Yuri turned to Taeng before he exit ed. "I know you know how to run your life. But just take my advice on this and go se e her, Taeng." And then Yuri left the room. Taeng closed the door. He stood there for a moment thinking about the chess game . Checkmate. That was it. He was done with thinking about it. He needed to make a fucking move. He had tried to stay away from Tiffany, and even though in his m ind, he hadn't broken that rule...he wasn't fooling himself any longer. He was i

n love with her. Crazy, stupid in love with her and it was time to show her. Tim e to make his move. But there was something he needed to do before he spoke with her. Something he n eeded to start again. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey Minhyuk, sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I well, thank you. I just wanted to see if you could start up the divorce proceedings again." Pause . "Yeah, I just want to get it done as quickly and with as much discretion as poss ible." Pause. "No, I'll talk to Jessica tomorrow." Pause. "Alright, I'll let her know. Thank you." Taeng clicked off his cell phone. His whole body felt tight with stress. He had never been much of a sleeper, but lately he hadn't been getting any sleep. He re membered the last night he had slept beside Tiffany. He had fallen into such a d eep sleep that he had to be weakened by her the next morning. And that never hap pened. God, he'd give anything to sleep like that again. His cure for stress and insomnia was always sex or exercise. Sex or exercise? Wh o was he kidding? He knew he wasn't having sex with anyone. That's what Tiffany had done to him. So he proceeded to look for his Nikes. *** The next morning, Taeng called Jessica to see if she could meet him for breakfas t. He waited patiently for her to arrive. She always had to be ten minutes "fash ionably" late. Normally to punish her for her lack of consideration when it came to his time...he would have just left. But this was important and he needed to tell her something as soon as possible.

"Hello Taeng," Jessica said, as she plopped down in the seat. "Excuse me," she s aid, stopping the nearest waiter. "I'll have a Lychee Martini please." She then turned to Taeng and removed her sunglasses, "So what is this about?" "I had Minhyuk start the divorce proceedings. He'll be delivering the papers to you later today. He said if we both agree to all matters, the divorce can be qui ck, quiet and painless. He can have it all taken care of in less than two months ." Taeng watched as her eyes darkened and she leaned back in her chair. "You drag me out of bed for this? You can't be serious. I mean, I know we've had our problems in the past, but we can work this out." "No, we can't. Don't make this difficult, Jessica. Just sign the papers when he shows up." "Why after all this time are you just now oh, this is about her?! Oh my God, if yo u want to continue fucking that little bitch, then go ahead. You know I never mi nded stuff like that ," " it's not about THAT!" Taeng said, raising his voice, before he immediately lower ed it. He was not about to engage in an argument with her in a crowded restauran t. "This isn't a marriage, Jessica. And it hasn't been for a long time, if ever. We both missled each other, but now we have a chance to correct it and put it all behind us. I hold no hard feelings toward you and I hope in time, you won't hold

any against me." "Fuck you! How about that?!" Jessica shouted. Taeng sighed. He scribbled on a piece of paper and then slid it across the table to Jessica. "This is what I'm willing to offer you. I'm sure you'll agree it's a pretty heft y sum." Jessica glanced at the paper. "No, I want more." "Jessica, we were only married for three years." "Yeah, and would you like me to tell the judge that in those three years, you fu cked other women the whole time. Oh...and that you run a very lucrative undergro und crime business with which several unlucky people who crossed you just myster iously turned up dead." Taeng ran his tongue over his teeth when he finally unclenched his jaw. What the fuck did he ever see in this girl? Blond hair and long legs and because of that , he'd be paying a price the rest of his life. What a huge difference between he r and Tiffany. Jessica's expensive tastes used to cause Siwon mini panic attacks , yet he couldn't get Tiffany to pick out some jewelry at Tiffany's. Go fucking figure. Fine, if Jessica was going to fuck with him, he'd fuck with her. He narrowed his eyes at her. "And what makes you so sure you won't end up one of the unlucky ones?" He smiled on the inside when Jessica's eyes widened. "You wouldn't," she whisper ed. She then straightened up in her seat and tried to shake off her nervousness by rolling her eyes at him. "Test me," Taeng replied. Jessica watched him for a few moments before she grabbed his pen and jotted down something on the paper and pushed it back towards him. "Make this number happen " Taeng looked at the figure and nodded. He stuck the paper in his coat pocket and stood. "As always Jessica, it was a pleasure." Then he walked out of the restaurant and hopefully out of Jessica's life for good. But she was a tricky one. Something t old him that she wouldn't give up so easily. The next chapter is full of taeny moment so you all don t get diabetes because of taeny sweetness!

Chapter 22 'Home, sweet home,' Tiffany thought, as she stood outside her apartment door about to push her key into the lock. She had to conceal a smile. It felt in credible coming back to her own place. A piece of sanctuary that no one could ki ck her out of. Her own little slice of heaven, no matter how small or old it was . 

Through some connections at work, she was able to find a roommate and move out o f Paul's house. Her roommate, Sunny, was this really cool Korean chick, who rare ly stayed at the apartment. She was always on the go with her job or her friends . Which suited Tiffany just fine. She felt like she really DID have a place of h er own. She had painted her room a light pink color and designed it how she wanted, with butterflies all over the place. She had cried a few tears of joy over that simp le freedom. To decorate her own room. She never had one living with her folks. T hey could never afford anything more than a one bedroom, so she was designated t o the couch for years. Her clothes were stuffed in the hallway closet along with boxes of junk. And that's how it had remained until her father kicked her out. The day she moved out, she had gone to him and thanked him for everything he had done. And promised him that if he ever needed anything from her, she would do h er best to help. Lucky for her, Nichkhun had stopped coming around. She wasn't s ure why exactly, but whatever the reason, she was glad. She stood there thinking about Paul's  kind eyes and warm smile as she stirred spa ghetti sauce in a pot. Was he always that nice a man, or had the death of his wi fe changed him? She wasn't sure, but she knew that had it not been for him, she would have ended up in a shelter somewhere, sick with pneumonia.  She poured some sauce on top of the noodles and sat down on the sofa. She didn't bother turning on the TV. Neither she nor Sunny had the money to get the cable turned on, but Tiffany didn't care. She sat there on the couch eating spaghetti and thinking. And in the end, her thoughts settled on Taeng, as usual. A part of her was miserable without him. The dumb part of her, she tried to convince hers elf. Sure, people over the years had called her a loner. But she'd rather be eat ing spaghetti by herself, than to be constantly disappointed and hurt by others.  Tiffany picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages as she continued to e at her dinner. *** Minho pulled at his collar. It seemed to be getting tighter and tighter, the mor e he thought about asking Taeng about Tiffany. Plus, he still wasn't used to wea ring a suit every day. He was grateful for the opportunity he had been given, bu t the price he had to pay for it...was still keeping him awake at night. Taeng had said he'd take care of the situation, but Tiffany wasn't living with h im. So where was she? No one there talked about her. It was like her name was of f limits.  Life had changed drastically for Minho. He was now invited to the meetings with Taeng, Yuri and Siwon. He tried to keep up, but the three of them spoke almost i n code and never repeated anything when dealing with business. A part of Minho w as in awe. The other part was scared shitless that maybe he couldn't handle this type of job. He figured Siwon had never killed anyone, but as far as Taeng and Yuri...well, y ou didn't get to their level without leaving a trail of bodies. But Yuri had bee n showing him the ropes. Basically there were three rules. Number one, when you start making money...invest it, don't spend it and bring unwanted attention. Num ber two, secrecy is a must so if you get picked up by the cops...do your time and shut the fuck up. And three, which was probably the most important rule to Minho s tay the fuck out of Taeng's way. And it was THAT rule that had Minho sweating bullets. Usually Yuri was around to guide him in what to do and what not to do, but today he was spending with his family. So it was just Minho and Taecyeon in the house with Taeng. And Taecyeon was definitely a man of few words. 

Minho climbed the stairs and saw Taecyeon sitting outside of Taeng's office. He thought about how difficult it would be to always have to be on guard, the way T aeng had to be. To know that your life is threatened every single day, that even in your own home you have to be careful. Is this what he really wanted? He hate d lying to his mother, but he knew she would smack the back of his head if she f ound out about his illegal activity. "Hey Taecyeon, I was wondering if I could speak with Taeng?" Minho asked, prayin g he wasn't sweating. Taecyeon stood up, towering over Minho. "About?" "Um, I need to ask him a question about well, it's really private." Taecyeon stood there a moment and then opened Taeng's door and closed it behind him. Minho waited on the outside of the door for a few seconds, before Taecyeon opened it and let him in. As always, Taeng was behind his desk writing something. Taeng didn't look up whe n he entered. Minho walked up to his desk and stood, waiting for Taeng to addres s him. Taeng continued to write for a few moments, and then placed the papers inside hi s desk and locked it. Then he looked up at Minho. "Go ahead," Taeng said to him. "Hey Taeng, I hate to bother you, but I needed to ask you something." Taeng continued to stare at him. Minho took a deep breath. "Taeng, I would really like to apologize to Tiff her abo ut the way I treated her. I haven't been able to really sleep since that night, and I think if I knew if she was okay, I'd feel better." Minho watched as Taeng leaned back in his chair. "She's okay," he simply stated. Minho didn't know what to say. Was the conversation over? he wished he had Yuri with him. At least Yuri would know when to pull him or if he could continue. Tae ng scared the shit out of him. At least with Yuri, he had a family, so you knew there was a little bit of a softer side. But with Taeng, despite what Tiffany ha d told him...Minho wasn't so sure there was another side. "Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better," Minho admitted. But still, he want ed to apologize to her personally.  "Taeng, would you mind if I met with her?" He narrowed his eyes at him. Minho knew this was one of those moments when he ne eded Yuri's guidance. "I appreciate you taking Tiffany in when you did. But she is...special to me. An d if you haven't noticed, I'm not a very sharing man. Especially when it comes t o her. So I strongly suggest that you don't contact her." Minho didn't want to agree, but he wasn't about to cross Taeng. Not when just se veral feet away was a paper target with two bullet holes in the head part of it. "Okay."

*** Taeng had decided tonight was the night. He had to have Tiffany back. He hadn't been the same since she'd left him, and he wanted to finally show her what her l ife could be like as his girlfriend. Taeng sat in his black McLaren watching Hon gdae Cafe from afar. He watched through the windows as Tiffany gracefully rushed around the crowded cafe. He looked at her as she smiled at each customer and wrote down their orders. Her ass swayed from side to side in a natural feminine walk, causing his dick to ha rden. He knew her body from every angle. Front to back, top to bottom. There was n't an opening on her body he hadn't been inside of and in some strange, possess ive way, he felt that it meant she belonged to him. He was even jealous of some girl who had given Tiffany a hug before the girl walked out of the cafe. Taeng sat and watched for another hour. He felt like a stalker, but he couldn't help himself. Tiffany looked so tired when she finally walked out. He wanted so badly to offer her a ride, but he knew she would refuse and that would ruin ever ything he had wanted to say. He followed the bus until it dropped her off. He watched her enter her apartment and saw her lights turn on. He saw her shadow move back and forth through the apartment, and then he watched as darkness flooded the place. Taeng pulled out his pen and began to write. He wasn't ready just yet to knock on her door. He would give her some time. Give hi mself some time to get his shit together. Then he smiled to himself. The thought of waking her up so he could see that cute, pissed off face she sometimes made, the one that always caused his heart to flutter, for some strange reason. Tiffany woke up from her sleep. oh, who the fuck was at her door at...she turned to look at the clock--one in the morning? The light knocking continued. She kne w that Sunny wasn't there, which made her wary of answering the door to begin wi th. She only had on a flimsy white tank top, which had been washed way too many times, and was now see through. And her black shorts from work.  She tiptoed to the door and looked through the peep hole. Shit!! It was Taeng. I t had seemed like forever since she had seen him. Tiffany exhaled. He had not co ntacted her, so she assumed it was over. She had hoped it was.  Another soft knock came through her door. "Taeng...what do you want?" Tiffany asked, leaning her head against the door. "I'd like to talk with you," was his muffled response. "My roommate, she's ," Tiffany was about to lie. " not here," he said. Tiffany exhaled again. She had been about to say Sunny was asleep. "And how do you know that?" "I have my sources." "Does that mean you've been stalking me?" Tiffany asked, irritatedly. Silence.

"Just go away. I have nothing to say to you. Our deal or arrangement or whatever twisted word we can call it is done. I mean, do you really even care how horrible you treated me the last time I was at your condo?" More silence. Tiffany gave a small snort and shook her head. "No, I guess you wouldn't care about that. You don't really care about anything. And in return, nothing cares about you. So forget what I told you in your limo. I didn't mean it. Just chalk it up to the rest of this crazy, confusing, fucked up relationship we had. Have a good life and leave me the hell alone," she said .  After a few seconds, she glanced back through the peephole, and he was gone. Tiffany stepped away from the door and into the living room. Her heart was racin g and her stomach was flip-flopping just from hearing his voice. She was crazy. She walked over to the couch and sat down. She knew there was no way in hell she could go back to sleep now. She sat there a moment tapping her feet, before she realized she should probably be doing something more productive. She went into her bedroom and grabbed her laundry. It wasn't necessarily the safest thing to d o at one in the morning, in a dark basement, but she had too much nervous energy . It was either this, or clean the already spotless kitchen again. She slipped on a pair of light pink fuzzy bedroom shoes, picked up her basket an d headed out the door. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she froze. Sta nding less than three feet from her was Taeng. Her heart began racing once more. He was leaning up against the wall with his head down, as if he were asleep...o r thinking. Then he slowly lifted his head as his eyes captured hers. As always, just Tiffany standing there in her thin white tank top and little bla ck shorts was causing Taeng's manhood to rise to attention. His gaze lowered fro m her shocked face to her neck, and then to her full, heaving breasts. Her nippl es were protruding through the tight top, teasing his mouth. He glanced down at her small waist and full hips and then to her legs. He slowly drew his eyes back up to her eyes. She was staring at him with a pissed off expression. It wasn't the cute playful one he remembered. This one seemed to be full of hate. While waiting in the hallway, Taeng had tried to leave several times, but he jus t couldn't. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, but he knew he had to say something. But her staring at him like that wasn't making it any eas ier. "Fany," he said, as she exhaled and walked right past him.. He followed close behind her as she went down several flights of stairs. He knew not to say anything about it at the moment, but her ass looked so fucking good. A naughty thought quickly flashed through his brain, as he remembered riding th at sexy rear of hers. He tried to get his mind focused back on the task at hand, when she stopped walking. He looked up and realized he was in the laundry room. There was only one washer and dryer, and the room was dark and dingy. He hoped she didn't come down here often by herself. Tiffany im just as much there. ugh she

knew he had followed her, but she wasn't ready to face him. Or talk to h yet. She slowly placed each article of clothing into the washer, taking time as she could. She couldn't hear him behind her, but she knew he was She could feel his gaze scorching a path down her backside. And even tho was hot, his presence caused her to shiver.

Finally after she poured in the detergent and started the machine, she turned ar

ound. "What?" she said, with as much hostility as she could muster. "I need to speak with you." "No, I'm done with that. I have nothing to say to you, and don't want to hear an ything you have to say to me." "This isn't easy for me, Fany - ah," Taeng stated. "Like it's been easy for me! Did you think it was easy to accept your arrangemen t? Did you think it was easy to accept the way you treated me? Did you think it was EASY to admit that I was in love with a man who told me I was little more th an a whore? So forgive me, if I don't care that it hasn't been easy on you," Tif fany spat out sarcastically. Taeng opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. If Tiffany were still in his "arrangement" he would have picked her up and fucked her up against the dryer, while telling her she better never speak to him like that again. But things had changed. This was different. She was different, and that's not why he had come t here.  "Can we just go back upstairs to your apartment and talk?" Taeng asked, trying t o get his temper under control. "Oh, we've done enough talking over the past few months. Hmm, let me see, the ma ny things you've said and done to me. You called me your own personal slut...rem ember that? You also called me that the night I had gone looking for you, only t o find you with another woman. And let's not forget having me disrobe in front o f Yuri and Taecyeon. Betting me in a fucking pool game. Or letting me know I was worth every penny you paid for me," Tiffany said. She tried not to let her voic e crack, but she was hurting all over again. This arrogant fucker wouldn't see a nother tear from her. Taeng's face burned with shame. He felt like an idiot. He truly had been a wolf and she was nothing more than a lamb. No competition at all really. And he had t ried to destroy everything that was innocent about her for his own amusement and then punished her because she made him feel things he wasn't ready to admit. He felt like a little boy in school with a crush. A young boy who pushed, annoyed and bullied the young girl he had a crush on. He knew the things he had said to her were to hurt her and convince himself that he wasn't more than just physical ly attracted to her. He didn't much want to do this in a dark, cold basement with the loud droning of the washer in the background, but it was now or never. Tiffany rolled her eyes. She just wanted him out of her life. She grabbed her ba sket and walked up to him. "Taeng, I don't have any more time to waste on you. I'm done with--" "I'm in love with you." " all of...," was the last thing Tiffany whispered. She closed her mouth, then ope ned it, but closed it back because she wasn't sure what to say. She searched his eyes, and they looked...sincere. It wasn't that cold, glacier look he often gav e her. It was a different look. Like he was shy or something. After a few more m oments of silence, he finally spoke again. "Fany, if you let me come upstairs, I have even more I'd like to say to you," Ta eng said, staring into her eyes. She was so beautiful to him. Her messy hair pul

led tightly into a ponytail, and that deliciously curvy body. How the hell had s he managed to wrap her tiny hands around his heart and squeeze? Years of buildin g up a façade that Tiffany Hwang broke down in a few months. But tonight, he was l aying it all on the line for her if she would give him the chance. He waited pat iently for her reply. Tiffany looked down at her empty basket. She wasn't sure what to do, but she pra yed she was making the right choice. "Okay," she whispered. Taeng realized he had been holding his breath. He quietly breathed out. He follo wed her out of the laundry room and back upstairs to her apartment. She wiggled the key in the lock, trying to open the door, but it wouldn't unlock. Taeng lean ed around her and grasped her soft hands, pulling the key from her. He pushed it harder into the lock and turned. She was completely still in front of him, whil e his body was pressed against her back. When they entered the apartment, Taeng looked around. Everything was very neat b ut very small. The kitchen/living area was pretty much just one room. The hallwa y was short and narrow, and he assumed it led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. He turned to look at Tiffany as she glanced around the room. "It's not much, but I like it," she quietly admitted. "Could I have a glass of water?" Taeng asked. Suddenly his mouth was dry at the thought of what he was about to do. After Taeng drained the glass he really a comfortable couch, but and sat staring at the blank TV. down on the opposite end of the

walked over to the sofa and sat down. It wasn't what the hell. He wiped his hand down his face He turned to Tiffany and watched her as she sat couch. 

"I...," Taeng started, then stopped. He glanced at Tiffany. Fany-ah, I love you, i'm sorry. I'm ashamed of my past behavior and I hope that y ou won't hold that against me for long." Tiffany shook her head. "Taeng, I--I don't know how I feel about any of this. So much has happened and..." "I know," Taeng quietly said Taeng looked at her again. He saw a tear spill from underneath her eyelids and s he quickly wiped it away. Taeng wanted so badly to kiss the trail where the tear had made a wet track down her cheek, but he didn't make a move. He wasn't sure if that would upset her because he couldn't tell what she was thinking. He was n ormally very good at reading people. It came in handy in his line of work, but h e couldn't read Tiffany.  Neither one said a word for a few moments.  Finally Tiffany spoke. "Taeng, I I just feel like so much was done and said, that it may never be right, you know." She wiped at her face again and then stood up from the couch and walked down the hall. Taeng stood and walked behind her. No way in hell he was going to give up that e asy. No way. He followed her into her bedroom. He quickly glanced around at her pink walls and simple decorations. He noticed a small makeshift bed in the corne r. Nothing more than a box spring and two mattresses low to the ground. He felt a small pierce to his heart that she was living like this because of him. If he had just kept his fucking mouth shut, she would have still been nestled safely i

n his condo, instead of scraping pennies together to keep this tiny, old apartme nt. Taeng focused back on Tiffany. She was standing in the middle of the teeny space , with her arms wrapped around her upper body as if she were supporting herself. Tiffany didn't know what to do. She hadn't really prepared herself to see Taeng ever again, and especially not tonight this morning, or whatever time it was. She had been taken completely off guard. He hadn't tried to contact her after their reunion in his limo, so she figured he was through with her. And as much as it h ad hurt, she placed Taeng at the back of her thoughts and concentrated on gettin g an apartment and saving a little bit of money. But now that she had the apartm ent, late at night when everything was quiet, she would think about him. Dream a bout him. In her dream he wasn't a cold mobster. He was a husband, a businessman with legal practices and even a father in some of her dreams. She knew they all were a long shot, but when no one else was around, she felt it was okay for her to think about those things. Even if they would never come true. But here he was and it was confusing the hell out of her. But he had said he lov ed her. Was that enough to wipe away everything? "Taeng, you hurt me so bad. I'm still so hurt and mad at you," Tiffany admitted, praying her voice wasn't cracking. "What can I do to make you forgive me?" Taeng said, taking a step toward her. "Let me slap the shit out of you," Tiffany spat, and was immediately taken back by her statement. "I mean--" "Go ahead," Taeng said. Tiffany looked up at him. "What?" she asked, incredulously. "Hit me, if it will make you feel better," Taeng whispered, approaching her more closely. He reached out for her and immediately her tears began to fall from he r eyes. She tried to push him away but he held on to her tightly.  "Don't, Taeng," Tiffany said, trying to control her frantic breathing. Taeng started to lean down to kiss her, but her hand suddenly connected with the side of his face with a loud crack. He stopped, but didn't flinch from her. She slapped him again and then a third time until she wrapped her arms tightly agai nst his torso and collapsed into sobs. Taeng could hear her mumbling something t hrough her cries, but he couldn't understand it. He just wanted to hold her. He pushed her towards the small bed and gently laid her down. "I love you," he whispered, albeit his cheek was throbbing. But that pain in no way compared to the wounded look in her eyes. "I--love--you," Taeng whispered as he kissed her forehead, nose and then her lips. "Don't h-hurt me a-again," Tiffany stuttered through hiccups, as she ran her han ds through his soft black hair. "I won't," he promised, as he slowly pulled off her tiny black shorts and soft l ight pink panties. He stared into her face as he slowly traveled down to a parti cular place between her legs. He could hear her sniffling as he slowly licked an d kissed her clit. She immediately began to moan and twist underneath his assaul t, but he held her legs firmly with his arms. He had caused her enough pain, now he just wanted her to feel pleasure. To be happy.  He swiveled his tongue up and down and in and out of her sweet love nest. "Taeng...oh," he heard her whisper, as her legs began to tremble and breathing b ecame erratic. She started coming and twisting in the sheets as he continued to

enjoy her.  When she was done trembling, Taeng released her legs and removed his coat and sh irt. He slowly unfastened his belt as he watched her wipe the remainder of her t ears from her eyes. Her face was soft and void of any makeup and her nose had a slight red tint to it. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and in that m oment she took his breath away. He pushed down his pants and boxers as he moved between her legs. He leaned down and kissed her as he entered her. They both moa ned simultaneously at the familiar reunion of their bodies. Taeng rolled them over so that Tiffany was on top, straddling him. She stared do wn at him as she slowly rocked her hips back and forth, riding his dick. Her eye s were still glassy, but she began picking up the pace, as she discarded her fli msy shirt. She braced her hands against his chest and closed her eyes and starte d breathing heavily. Taeng knew she was close to coming. He wanted her to. Tonig ht was about her. "Ooh, ...," Tiffany moaned. He felt so damn good inside her pussy. She had misse d this. This intense feeling. She knew what she wanted and how she wanted it. "P ull my hair," she whispered to him. Taeng raised up and gripped a fist full of her hair, she looked at him and shive red. Her lower body was still working miracles, squeezing his shaft, as her hips quickly rotated over his. Her eyes looked unsure, as if she wanted to ask him s omething, but she wasn't sure how. But then she gathered the courage. "Um, Taeng...can you--" she started to say, but Taeng knew exactly what she want ed. Before she could finish her sentence, he wrapped his hand around her throat. Her eyes immediately widened but then slowly closed as she moaned again and pic ked up the pace, almost bouncing her entire body up and down on him. He squeezed tighter and she started to shake. She reached up to pinch her nipples right bef ore she violently came. Her body continued to shudder while on top of him, but t hen she went limp in his arms and he pushed her back onto the bed and settled on top of her. Taeng watched as she slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at him. But just as so on as the smile came, it faded and she closed her eyes again. A second later, he heard a small snore. Taeng kissed her lips one more time and gently rolled off of her.  The bed was definitely too small for the both of them, but he turned his body si deways and gazed at her face. He hadn't even come yet, but he wasn't pissed, muc h to his surprise. Normally, with other women, he would have just pounded the sh it out of them until he could get his release, but tonight really was about her. In that moment, she was all that mattered. And if things went according to plan , oh, he'd have plenty more chances to come inside her gorgeous body. At least h e hoped she wouldn't change her mind about giving him a second chance. He stared at her as long as he could before his eyelids became heavy and he drifted off t o sleep in an uncomfortable, yet peaceful position.

Chapter 23 The next morning, Tiffany awoke to the sound of her shower squeaking. Sh e rolled over in the tiny bed and realized that Taeng obviously wasn't there. Sh e stared up at her ceiling. 'Did I do the right thing,' she thought as she heard him walking back towards he r room. She guessed that was the good thing about her apartment. If someone trie

d to break in, she'd hear them easily. From the squeaky doors to the creaking fl oors, you couldn't hide that you were walking around. He made his way back into the room with his dress pants on, and his clean white shirt unbuttoned showing off his tight abs. His hair was still wet, as he pushed it back with his fingers. "Um, you don't have any hot water," he said, raising an eyebrow. Tiffany groaned "Oh, I'm sorry. a shower either Any other time

and looked at her alarm clock on the floor. Around this time of day we never have hot water. I have to take really early in the morning or midday while everyone is at work. there is never hot water. Sorry, I should have warned you."

"No problem. Besides, you were sleeping so soundly, that I didn't want to wake y ou up. BUT, now that you are up, let's get some breakfast," Taeng said, walking over to her and sitting on the bed. He leaned down and kissed her, letting the l ittle droplets of water from his hair fall onto her skin. "Ug, you're getting me wet," Tiffany laughed, pushing Taeng away. "Hmm, that's not the first time you've said that for me," Taeng joked, and then dodged her playful punch. But just as soon as the spirited banter had started, i t stopped. He noticed her face change and she looked sad. "Taeng, what are we doing? You're married," Tiffany sighed. Taeng slowly ran his finger over her flat stomach. "Not for long. My divorce wil l be finalized very soon." "What?" Tiffany whispered. She hadn't expected to hear that. Was he really serio us about all of this? About her? "I want to do this the right way with you" Taeng said, staring down into her eye s. She smiled up at him and pulled him down on top of her. *** Tiffany glanced around the fancy café where they were having breakfast. She though t cafés were tiny little places where you could just get a sandwich. She looked ov er at Taeng. He was staring down at the menu. God, this man looked so damn fine. He refused to wear his dirty suit from last night, so they had to stop at a Men' s store so he could get a change of clothes. Tiffany asked if she could pick out his outfit. At first he had refused, but enough pouting and she won out. She wa s so used to seeing him in suits that she decided to get him something a little more dressed down. She chose a nice lightweight gray T-shirt with cool designs o n it, and dark blue jeans and a belt. She let him pick out a pair of shoes and h e also purchased a pair of sunglasses that she swore had a price tag of one-hund red and fifteen dollars. One-hundred and fifteen dollars for sunglasses?!  But now they sat d Taeng's facial because they had was tall and his er while she was

in this nice café waiting for their server to arrive. She observe features. His familys must have been pretty damn good looking, one hell of a fine son. His face was perfectly symmetrical. He body was ridiculously proportionate and fit. He glanced up at h in the middle of her observations.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Tiffany shook her head and glanced down at the menu.

Maybe nothing was wrong for her, but Taeng definitely wanted to get something of f his chest. After the waiter came and he gave them their order, he asked, "So, where do we go from here?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, we're a couple now, correct?" Tiffany nodded. Taeng narrowed his eyes at her. "You know, that's the second hea d gesture you've given me." Tiffany rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, that's correct." "Thank you. So, now that we are a couple, are you going to move in with me?" Tae ng asked. She immediately looked down, and Taeng knew his answer right then. He took a sip of wine and glanced around the café. "Taeng, I I don't know. I just feel that this is all still so sudden. This is the first time I've been on my own two feet, and I like it. I know it's not as luxur ious as living with you, but it's the first thing I can somewhat call my own. Do you know what I mean?" Tiffany asked, staring up at him for his approval. "Yes, I do. I don't like it, but I understand it," Taeng answered, ending the co nversation about her apartment. After breakfast, the two talked as they walked downtown. They came across a furn iture shop and Taeng pulled Tiffany inside. She was afraid to touch anything, fo r fear she'd break something that was more expensive than what she made in a yea r. Taeng pulled her towards the back where the beds were on display. "Pick one," he whispered to her, and then squeezed her ass. "Taeng, no! I know mine's not much, but it's fine," Tiffany said. She could see the hard line of his jaw set and he quickly exhaled. "Tiffany, I know you realize I have a lot of money. But this isn't about that. I f you won't move in with me, then at least let me keep my sanity by at least all owing me to buy you a better bed." Tiffany still wasn't used to this concept of money being spent on her. She knew she should try to be appreciative for the opportunity, but it still felt wrong t o her. Her father hardly ever spent a dime on her, and perhaps that's what was h olding her back. But, from the look on Taeng's face, she wasn't going to argue b ack. "Alright, alright Taeng," Tiffany said, finally giving in, letting out a loud ex aggerated sigh. He smiled down at her as she stood on her toes and kissed him. M aybe this relationship could really work. **** Over the next few days, Taeng and Tiffany fell into somewhat of a normal routine that normal couples did. But his purchases didn't stop at the bed. He insisted on buying her a car. She didn't want something too flashy and pricey, so she settl ed on a a compact car. Of course it was the latest model, but she figured she co uld handle that and not having to ride public transportation anymore wasn't someth ing she'd miss.  And spending so much time at Taeng's, she was bound to run into Minho again. The

ir reunion had been a bit awkward at first. She had promised to meet Taeng at hi s place. He wasn't there yet, but would be arriving at any moment. Siwon had let her in. He smiled at her but still barely said two words. She was walking upstairs to wait in Taeng's office when she almost ran into Minh o. For a second, she didn't recognize him. He had gotten a haircut, removed his earrings and was dressed in a nice suit. His face registered pure shock--a look she had seen before, and it almost caused her to smile. But their last encounter was something Tiffany still couldn't shake. Even though she knew most of it was Taeng's doing. "Hey Fany Tiffany. How are you?" Minho said. "I'm good. How are you?" "Eh, I'm hanging in there," he said with a small smile. After that, they weren't sure what to say. He looked to the left and she glanced to the right. He finall y turned back to speak again. "You look really nice. Beautiful. I mean, you always did, but just wanted to tel l you again." "Thank you. You look nice too." "Thanks. Fany, I hell. I want to say--," "No, it's fine. You don't have to say anything." "I want to though. I every time I put on this suit I think about what I sacrificed to do it. And I'm not proud of myself," he said, brushing a hand through his ha ir. "And I just want to say I'm sorry for everything." Tiffany sighed. She was still hurt, but people do desperate things for those the y love. She knew that ALL too well. "I know you did it for your mother, and for that, I can't blame you. And I accep t your apology." Then he flashed her that smile that she remembered. "Really?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I at least thought I was going to have to eat more shit than that." Tiffany laughed. "Well, I guess you caught me on a good day, Minho." He reached out and hugged he r, then immediately let go and looked around. "Shit, I forgot he's on his way here. Um, don't tell him I just did that," Minho said, looking down the steps toward the door. Tiffany placed her finger to her lips. "Our little secret." She walked into Taeng's office and sat down on the couch. Even his office couch was ten times softer than her lumpy couch at her apartment. But she refused to s ay a word about it, or else that would be the next large item delivered to her a partment. Of course, her roommate would love it, but Tiffany didn't want to get Taeng started. He already was pressuring her to let him pay the rent. But she ne eded to keep some freedom, although she appreciated the thought. She walked over to his bookcase and scanned the titles. Some were business books , some philosophy, but most of them were for architecture and building design. W hat? She pulled one of the architecture books from the shelf and plopped it down on his large desk. Tiffany flipped through a few of the pages. Most of it was t

echnical stuff that she didn't understand, but she smiled at the many notes Taen g or someone had made on the pages. And since he had left a poem for her in the back of her book, she wanted to write one for him, in the back of his. She opened a drawer looking for a pen or pencil, and came across something she j ust couldn't ignore. She started pulling large sheets of paper from the drawer w ith sketches of buildings on them. The buildings were all so realistic and flawl ess. There were several different kinds. Some were finished, while others still only had the basic structure. One building had a futuristic aspect to it, and an other looked like it could fit in with the ancient buildings in Rome or Venice. And on the drawings that were finished, he had added every little detail you cou ld imagine, including the trees outside and people walking by. Tiffany was so ca ptivated that she didn't hear him enter the room. "You know," Taeng said, as she jumped and scattered the papers everywhere, "if I didn't love you so much, I'd have to kill you." " I'm sorry, I , I was looking for a pen," she sheepishly said, as she picked up t he drawings. "Did you do this?" Tiffany asked, holding up one of the drawings. Taeng nodded. "Yeah." "These are so good. I mean, really great. You should do this for a living," she said, as he walked over and kissed her. "I have a job," he said, sitting down behind his desk. "I mean, one that doesn't carry a fifteen to life sentence," Tiffany mocked. Taeng pinched her ass and she yelped. "Well, there's not as much money in architecture as there is in...well, what I d o." He pulled her down into his lap.  "Really, you are so talented. I wish I was," Tiffany admitted. "I'm sure you are," Taeng said, nipping her neck. "No, I'm not. But I'm okay with that. I know how to admire other's talents, so t hat's good enough for me." "Okay, well try drawing some trees at the bottom of this building," Taeng said, handing her a pencil. "Alright, you asked for it," Tiffany said, as she leaned over his desk.  Taeng watched her hunch her back over the paper. He raised up and glanced at her profile. He stared at her face as she concentrated on the task. Her tongue even escaped out of the corner of her mouth, as she resembled a child hard at work. Taeng smiled. "There, how's that?" Tiffany asked, brushing off some of the leftover eraser fro m messing up several times. Taeng glanced down at the paper and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" "Those are the trees." Taeng glanced again and leaned closer to the paper. "That looks like a hairball surrounded by mini toothbrushes."

Tiffany laughed and snorted. She gently slapped his hand. "Asshole." "I mean, most children learn to draw the basics--trees being one of them. What h appened to you?" "Shut up!" Tiffany laughed. She got up from his lap, only to have him pick her u p and throw her over his shoulder. "Queen of the stick figures. That's alright baby, you have many other talents, a nd before dinner, we're about to spend some time learning about them," Taeng sai d, slapping her ass, as he marched to his bedroom. After changing their dinner reservations twice due to Tiffany showing Taeng her 'talents', they finally made it to the restaurant. Tiffany chattered on about many different things and Taeng listened. He enjoyed hearing her talk. Actually, he enjoyed everything about her. Her eye smiles, her excitement, her laughter, her teasing, her pensive moods...all of the things he had missed when they were apart. She was in the middle of explaining some incident at work when he slid two envel opes toward her. He hoped she would like the gift he was giving, because she usu ally hated when he bought things for her. Tiffany narrowed her eyes, but managed a small smile in the corner of her mouth. "Hmm, what's this?" she asked, opening the envelope. When she pulled out the co ntents of the envelope, her mouth dropped and she stared up at him. Perfect. That was the reaction he had hoped for.

Chapter 24 Tiffany couldn't believe it. She was looking out of a window the size of one of the walls in her villa, at the most beautiful beach she had ever seen. "Taeng...this place is just too...much. Too beautiful. I can't believe I'm here, " Tiffany said.  When they had first arrived in Bali, she almost cried. She hadn't even had a pas sport, but Taeng knew a guy, who got her passport within a day. The lavish plane ride...and the villa, itself--she couldn't even find the words. There were none . She walked around, expecting there to be several other people sharing this vil la with them. But there weren't. It was for the two of them. Just the two of the m and the ocean.  "Taeng, this place is huge," she said, turning to look at him. "I know. I can't stand to be cramped," Taeng said, placing the key card on the b ar. "Oh, then you must hate my apartment," Tiffany laughed, staring back out of the large window at the sun setting. This is what heaven must look like. "I don't hate your place that much. But I'd still rather have you move in with me or at least let me pay for it." "No, and Taeng, we don't need four bedrooms here," she fussed. "Yes we do. We need one to sleep in. I need an office and the other two...well,

if you want, we can make love in those as well if it will make you feel better a bout them going to waste." Tiffany laughed. "Actually, I think it would." *** Taeng and Tiffany lay in bed, wrapped in each other's arms. They had been in Bal i for two days, but for Tiffany, time didn't matter here. She refused to look at any clocks during her stay. Taeng had been semi good about trying to not conduc t business, but she had to give him several evil looks every time he answered hi s cell phone. But tonight, with no one interrupting them, she had a few question s on her mind.  "Taeng, have you thought about...I mean, I know you just went through a divorce, but would you consider marrying again?" Tiffany hesitantly asked, while lacing her fingers through his. Taeng stared up at the ceiling. "My first marriage wasn't so great, so it's not high on my list of things to do again. I'm not ruling it out, but I don't know." "Do you want kids?" "Are you offering?" Taeng asked, grinning. Tiffany lightly tapped him. "No. I'm just asking. I want to know more about your plans for the future." Taeng sighed. "I don't really think my occupation allows much room for something like that." "But Yuri has kids," Tiffany countered, but then she realized how obvious she mi ght sound. "I mean, I'm just saying he's made it work." She didn't want to keep pressing the issue, but she just wondered if he could eventually have a normal l ife. Not that he would want that with her, but he did say he loved her. And she knew without a doubt, that she loved him so maybe her dreams at night weren't too far off the mark.  "Yeah, but Yuri isn't the face of my business. I am. And when people get, well, pissed, they aim for me, not him. And they try to hurt those closest to me." Both Taeng and Tiffany remained silent after that statement, with the future wei ghing heavy on both their minds. *** Yes, Bali really was heaven, Tiffany was sure of it. The warm water felt so good sliding down her body, as she quickly took a shower. She and Taeng had spent th e whole day touring the island. At the beginning of the tour, he was on his cell phone. At first it bothered her, because he was missing all of the sights, but then she thought about it. He probably did stuff like this all the time. His wif e ex-wife seemed like she had expensive tastes, so this was probably nothing to hi m. She had sighed and leaned her head against the window as their driver zipped them around the most picturesque locations on the island. They drove by the native people while in their everyday activities. She wondered if they still enjoyed the beauty of their own home, or if that was only somethi ng foreigners could see. Everything seemed more abundant and unrestrained. Just so full of life. They were passing a waterfall when she felt Taeng's strong arms grip her waist and slide her back against his body. He was pretty sure that Yuri and Siwon could handle everything while he was gone, but it still felt strange t

o be away for so long. "I had to take that call sweetheart," he whispered into her ear.  Tiffany nodded. "You missed some really beautiful sights though," she pouted.  "Trust me, I'm staring at the most beautiful thing on this island," Taeng said, twirling her hairs between his fingers. He even surprised himself sometimes with the sappy shit he said when he was around her. But he meant every word. Tiffany leaned her head back and kissed him. To be such a cold hearted mobster, he could say the sweetest things.  "All forgiven," Tiffany said. Taeng reached around and stuck his hand down the front of her thin dress, to gri p her soft tits. He heard her moan and he bent down to bite her neck. He squeeze d and rolled her tight nipple in his hands. "Fany-ah. I want to drag your fine a ss back to our place and fuck the hell out of you." "Then let's go," Tiffany whispered, placing his other hand by her face, and gent ly sucking on his middle finger. "Uh, shit," Taeng said. "Hey, we're ready to return and I'll double the tip if y ou can get us there as quickly as possible," Taeng said to the driver. Tiffany w as already in her own little world. Her pussy was tingling and if the driver cou ldn't see them, she would have considered fucking Taeng in the back of the car aga in. When they reached the villa, they barely got through the door because they could n't part their lips from one another. Tiffany pulled his shirt over his head as Taeng stepped out of his shoes. He was about to pull her dress down when she sto pped him. "Mmm, Taeng. I have, mmm, I have to to pee really quickly. I'll be right back," sh e said in between kisses. Taeng swatted her ass as she turned around and sprinted to the bathroom. Tiffany washed her hands and walked back into the front room, but Taeng wasn't t here. "Taeng?" Tiffany asked. She looked outside, but he wasn't there either. She walked toward the back of th e villa when she heard him talking. She opened up the office room door and found him sitting down with his cell phone attached to his ear and staring at his lap top. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. Taeng placed his hand over the speaker of the phone. "Sweetheart, I have to take this call. I'll be done in a minute," Taeng said, be fore turning his attention back to the computer screen. "Yeah, I have the file p ulled up now. And thank you gentlemen for joining at the last minute. Siwon can give you all the facts and figures, and if you have any questions at the end, pl ease feel free to ask." Tiffany watched as he ignored her presence and conducted his business call. They had cut their tour short to rush back and have mind-blowing sex, but instead, h e hops on the phone. She stared past him and out of the large window at the beau tiful view. The sun was gradually setting, casting a burnt orangish glow across the blue water. It really should have been a painting. She wished she could capt ure that moment forever. She looked over at Taeng again. He looked so good sitti ng there in that chair with just his jeans on. No shirt or shoes. Exercise and m ilk definitely do a body good. It really wasn't fair to mere mortals like hersel

f. He was smart, handsome, perfect physique and wealthy. People usually weren't blessed with all of those things at once without selling their soul to the devil . Mister perfect sitting there holding a business meeting in the middle of what was supposed to have been their sexual romp. 'Well, screw that,' Tiffany thought . She walked over and stood in front of him. She slowly started removing her dress . She smirked when she saw his eyes shift from the laptop to her body. His typin g slowed and then stopped. Tiffany unsnapped her strapless bra and pushed her pa nties down. Immediately Taeng's dick got hard. Her body could keep his attention during the middle of a war. Her pink nipples resembled hard pebbles, beckoning for his atte ntion. Her milky white skin, thin waist, impressive abs  and wide hips only fed his lustfu l wants. Tiffany was feeling so hot. She wanted to get him back for making her cut the to ur short and then holding out on sex. Oh yes, he was about to pay. She slid his laptop out of the way and sat on the desk in front of him, spreadin g her legs and giving him a perfect view of her pussy, already glistening with h er juices. She slowly licked and sucked on her middle and ring fingers and after she slid them from her plump lips, she slowly slid them down her body. She left a slight wet trail, circling her nipples, past her belly button and then down t o her tight, wet entrance. She guided her fingers inside her pussy and began to fuck herself slowly. Her head rolled back as she openly masturbated in front of him. Taeng...couldn't think of shit to say. He didn't know what the hell was going on with the phone call, because he had stopped listening when she opened her legs for his viewing pleasure. And now she was masturbating in front of him. His dick almost hurt, it was straining so hard against the zipper of his pants. He watch ed closely as her soaked fingers glided in and out of her...no, HIS pussy. He knew she was doing this to punish him. And he deserved it, but Goddamn, what torture this was. Tiffany started working her fingers faster and deeper, rubbing her clit with her thumb. Oh, it was building. That feeling that caused her legs to tremble and he r eyes to roll back with such intense pleasure. She gritted her teeth and covere d her mouth to keep from moaning loudly and disrupting his call--although that w as kind of her plan. And then it happened. She came, jerking her hips forward, p umping her fingers faster and faster. Taeng's mouth opened and he almost dropped the phone. Tiffany finally opened her eyes and looked at Taeng. The look in his eyes seemed almost cannibalistic. Good. She stood up from the desk and placed her two wet f ingers at his lips. He opened his mouth and quietly sucked her sweet juices from her fingers, while staring into her eyes. If the men on the other end of the li ne only knew what just happened. She could hear their voices through the phone, but it didn't seem as though Taeng was hearing anything at the moment. Taeng watched as Tiffany dropped to her knees. She stared up into his face as sh e deliberately took her time unzipping his pants. She pulled his dick out and be gan to massage and squeeze the stiff shaft. She rolled her tongue over the tip, licking the precum. He was about to shut his eyes when he heard his name being c alled. "Yeah, I I'm here, Siwon. Repeat the question," Taeng said, barely hanging on. 

Tiffany looked back at his face as she engulfed the top half of his dick. Ooh... "No, we d-don't " Tiffany swirled her tongue over and over and sucked harder and harder. " disclose how we " Her mouth continued to go further and further down onto his cock, until her lips almost reached the base. " tr-transport our product...oh, um, until you are working dir-directly with us," he said, whispering the last word. Little sparks were setting off in his brain, an d he could barely think. She pulled back and began sucking harder on the tip whi le pumping the shaft with her hand. Goddamn, he was about to explode in her mout h.  "Oh, shit," he said softly, forgetting the phone was against his mouth. He was a lmost there when he felt her wet, hot mouth leave his dick. She stood up and qui ckly pulled her dress back on and walked out. Taeng sat there with his member bulging from his pants and a shocked look across his face. No the fuck she didn't.  "Excuse me gentlemen, an emergency just came up. Siwon, can you reschedule," Tae ng said before he hung up the phone and headed for the door. Tiffany heard Taeng open the door and slam it shut. She could hear his hurried f ootsteps coming toward the front of the house. When he saw her, he looked pissed . Tiffany slowly stepped backwards to the door and when he took one step towards her, she slid open the door and took off down the steps and onto the beach, gig gling and running. She squealed when she looked back and saw Taeng jet through the door after her. She started running faster, but her laughing was causing her to run out of breat h quicker than normal. Taeng was sure they were disturbing others who had villas close to theirs, but h e didn't care. He was going to make her pay for leaving him hard like that. He w as easily gaining on her and when he reached her, he pulled her back and threw h er over his shoulders. She was laughing and screaming for him to put her down. Tiffany was pleading for him not to do what he was about to do, but he did it anyway. He tossed her into the ocean and jumped in behind her. When she broke through to the surface, she playfully attacked him. They played around in the water for a few more minutes, before they started kissing and groping each other. Then Taeng drag her back to the villa and into the master bedroom to spend the r est of the night finally making up for the short tour and phone call. The sun ha d started rising by the time their bodies disconnected from one another.

Chapter 25 Later that night, Tiffany awoke to find Taeng standing by the window, lo oking out at the ocean. The light from the moon cast a perfect soft blue color a cross his naked form. Tiffany watched in awe as he stood perfectly still, giving her a chance to worship the fine strong lines of his back, leading down to the

most perfect male ass she had never seen. She threw the covers from her body and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him. She usually wasn't so comfortable with her nudity, but he was rubbin g off on her.  "What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing. I just can't sleep." "You wanna talk about it?" "No. Not really," Taeng said. "Come on, you can tell me anything. I want to know." "I'm just used to bad things following the good." "What do you mean?" Taeng turned around. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. I think it's time for anoth er inspection?" he asked, looking her up and down. "Well, that depends. Are you a harsh critic?" "Absolutely," Taeng said, before twirling her around and smacking her ass. Tiffany belted out a yelp. "Perfect," Taeng whispered, admiring her body more, while pulling her towards th e bed. Their last night in Bali, Taeng took Tiffany to an upscale restaurant. Tiffany f reaked when there were no prices listed on the menu. Plus it was all in a differ ent language and she had no idea what to order. Taeng finally just ordered for t he both of them, and as they waited for their food to come, Taeng noticed Tiffan y's bright smile. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "I was just thinking that I'm going to miss this place. Everything has been so f antastic, Taeng. Thank you." "You're welcome," he said, while pouring her some more wine. Tiffany took a sip and then smiled at him again. "You know, this is like a fairy tale to me. Perhaps a warped one, but a fairy ta le nonetheless. I mean, I'm in a beautiful far away land, staying in a palace an d dining at the most expensive restaurant I've ever been in. And just less than six months ago, I was sleeping on my familys couch, holding down two jobs to sup port them, and had never been any further than where the city public transportat ion could take me. And it's only warped because of, well, your occupation and ho w we met" "Uh huh. So if this was a fairy tale, I'd be the prince or something, right?" Tiffany laughed at the idea of Taeng being a prince. "Um, I guess so." "And if this prince asked his fair maiden to dance, would she?"

Tiffany smiled again, as she took Taeng's hand and the two walked to the dance f loor. She held tightly to him as he whirled her around. She was truly happy. If this dance never ended, she would have been just fine with that. A part of her k new they had to go back, but she wasn't ready to share him again with his job. O r return to her tiny apartment. Or the loud hustle and bustle of the city. Yes, she could have stayed in this restaurant all night, dancing in a place with no p rices on the menus, and life would have been perfect. But like all things, she k new it had to come to an end. She quickly wiped a tear from her face as he leane d down and kissed her.   *** Tiffany zipped up her coat and said her goodbyes to a few of the waitresses befo re she walked out into the cold midday air. Although she was happy to be cutting her shift short, she still hadn't gotten used to being back. She could have eas ily stayed another week in Bali. Or month...year, whatever, it was the most magi cal place she had ever been. She also hadn't been looking forward to returning t o work. She loved her co-workers, it was just that some of the regulars tended t o get too rowdy, and some days she just didn't feel like dealing with that shit. But at least now that she was back at work, she could get her money in order ag ain. The cold air hit her face and her teeth began to chatter as she left Hongdae Caf e. She heard tires screech down the street just as her cell phone rang. Tiffany reached into her bag, but couldn't find it. Finally, after a few more rings, she located it. She smiled when she noticed it was Taeng's number, but before she c ould answer, the phone slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground between t he curb and her car. "Oh," Tiffany muttered, as she bent down behind the car to retrieve it. The mome nt her fingers connected with the hard, sleek plastic she heard the loudest nois e and glass shattering behind her. Tiffany screamed as she covered her ears and wilted to ass from Hongdae Cafe windows sprinkled down near her, e tires faded away. For a moment all went quiet before uting and screams. She couldn't tell if they were hers

the cold concrete. The gl as the screeching from th she heard a series of sho or someone else's.

She laid on the ground for what seemed like several minutes before she felt stro ng hands jerk her up from the ground.  "You hurt?" Bora asked, as she scanned up and down her body. "You hurt?" she ask ed again, with concerned eyes. "I I," Tiffany didn't even know. She looked behind her to see some of the customer s running out of the restaurant and Onew waving his hands wildly. "Everyone calm down! The police are on their way now," Onew shouted, as he turne d and looked in Tiffany's direction. He quickly walked out of the restaurant, th e glass on the street crunching beneath his feet as he made his way to her. "Fany! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he shot out rapidly, as he inspected her, turning her around before looking back into her eyes.  "I--I think I'm o--okay," Tiffany squeaked out, but she was anything but. It fin ally just registered in her brain what happened. The loud firecracker noise, the glass shattering and screeching tires. Someone had shot at them. Someone had ac tually used bullets and shot at them! Tiffany felt dizzy from that realization. She swooned for a second before Onew caught her. "Whoa, come back inside and sit down," Onew said, directing them to the entrance

. "I can't believe this just happened. I can't believe this just fucking happened, " he said, as he sat her down at one of the tables. Bora ran over to her and hug ged her, crying and chanting "Oh my God," over and over. Tiffany heard her phone ringing again. She was still holding it in a death grip, but she couldn't find her purse. Probably still outside on the ground. She didn 't even bother looking at the caller ID.  "Hello," she croaked out. "There you are. What time do you think you'll be here?" she heard Taeng ask. "Uh, I don't know," she whispered. "What do you mean you don't know? I thought you were going to leave early?" he a sked. "Taeng, I oh, God," Tiffany said, right before she burst into tears. She heard the sirens and could see red and blue flashing out of the corner of her eye. Someon e had tried to kill them! Someone had tried to hurt them. "Tiffany," she heard Taeng say. His voice seemed different. Not as friendly as i t had just a few seconds ago. "Yes," she sniffed. "What happened?" he asked her in a low, stern voice. "Someone...someone shot at us," Tiffany cried, sobbing even harder now that she admitted it out loud.  Silence.  She didn't know if he was even still on the phone. She couldn't hear him breathi ng or anything. "Are you okay?" he finally asked, after a few moments. His voice sounded flat, a tone she had never heard before. At first Tiffany nodded her head to assure herself, but then whispered, "Yes, I think so." "I'll be there in just a few minutes," he said before she heard the line go dead . *** Yuri sat patiently on the couch in Taeng's office as Taeng dialed Tiffany again. The first time she didn't pick up. Yuri tossed another pecan in his mouth and w iped his hands. He and his wife were supposed to be going to dinner with the new couple as soon as Tiffany got off work. He glanced back over at Taeng and waite d. "There you are. What time do you think you'll be here?" Taeng asked. Yuri watched as Taeng's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, you don't know? I thought you were going to leave early?" he questioned.  Taeng slowly sat down, and Yuri saw a blank expression come across his features.

Something Taeng was hearing was obviously a problem of some kind. "Tiffany...what happened?" Taeng asked. Then Taeng's face turned white. Pale white. Yuri rose and walked over to the des k. What the hell was going on? Taeng leaned over the desk and covered his face w ith his hand as he listened to whatever Tiffany was saying.  "Are you okay?" Taeng asked Tiffany, as he glanced up at Yuri, who mouthed 'What 's wrong?', but Taeng didn't answer. He just told Tiffany he'd be there in a few minutes and hung up the phone. But now that pasty tint that had covered his fea tures was slowly fading away...or actually turning into a bright scarlet color w hile his breath quickened.  "Taeng, what happened?" Yuri asked, staring at the unreadable expression on Taen g's face. It wasn't often that Yuri couldn't read his best friend. "Is Tiffany okay?" "Someone shot at her," Taeng quietly said, as he grabbed his keys from the deskt op. "Someone shot at..." He heard Taeng whisper again, but more to himself.  Yuri watched closely, as Taeng stood there for a moment, bracing his knuckles on the desk so hard that all the color was draining from them. "Taeng?" Yuri softly said, before everything on Taeng's desk went flying off to the floor in a loud crash.  "Mother fuckers!!!" Taeng yelled, as he rushed around his desk and out of the offi ce. Yuri ran after him trying to keep up, as Taeng took the steps four at a time . "Taecyeon! We have to go!" Yuri hollered over his shoulder, as Taeng tore out of the front door. Taecyeon quickly dropped his plate of food and ran out of the kitchen, no questi ons asked. Taeng couldn't breathe. They shot at her?! Someone actually fucking shot at her? ! Tried to kill her?! He was trying his best to keep cool. Half of his brain was telling him to remain calm, get to the restaurant, assess the situation and go from there. The other side of his mind was racking up anyone one who had ever cr ossed him so he could kill them. Painfully. Taecyeon had slipped behind the driver's wheel of the car, while Taeng was in th e passenger's seat and Yuri in the back. When they pulled out onto the road, hea ding toward Hongdae Café.  Yuri asked. "What are you thinking, Taeng?" Taeng didn't answer. His mind was still racing. He had to gain control and get h is mind focused. "Taeng, you do realize that place is going to be swarming with cops, right?" Yur i asked. He sighed when Taeng didn't answer. Taeng just continued to stare ahead through the windshield. Taecyeon slowed down as they pulled up on the opposite side of Hongdae Cafe, to an onslaught of black and white police cars. "Taeng, I'll go. There's no point in risking it," Yuri suggested, as he opened u p his door. "No. I'm going," Taeng stated, looking around for Tiffany.

"Taeng, I know you're upset, but ," Yuri started, before Taeng interrupted. "Upset, huh?" Taeng said, as he continued to stare out of his window looking for the object of his affection. "I don't think upset covers what I'm feeling right now, Yuri." When he finally s potted Tiffany, he got out of the car and slammed the door. "I told you, I'm not sure. I didn't see the car. I dropped my phone and was look ing down when I first heard the shots," Tiffany recounted for the third time to a different cop. She was exhausted, shaken and just wanted to be with Taeng. "I understand you're tired ma'am, but we need to get this information while it's fresh on your mind. Now can you tell me again what time you were walking out of the restaurant," the police officer asked, while looking down at his notepad. Tiffany sighed. "I think it was " "Are you okay?" Taeng asked, as he spun her around and glanced over her body as if she needed medical attention. Tiffany immediately latched onto him wrapping h er arms around his waist and burying her head into his chest. Her whole body beg an to shake and she started sobbing. He pulled his coat open, and encased her in side with him as he kissed the top of her head several times. She knew her tears and makeup were probably ruining his expensive shirt, but she just couldn't let go. "Kim Taeng.....long time, no see," Taeng heard a familiar voice say. Fuck. He tu rned around to see his suspicions confirmed. Detective Hyung Joong was staring a t him with that damn smug smile that Taeng always wanted to knock right off his face. Hyung Joong had been promoted the day Taeng's father died. He remembered s eeing him standing in the distance at his father's private funeral. The bastard had been following him closely throughout the years and just never seemed to rea lly go away. "Hyung Joong," Taeng stated dryly. Tiffany sniffled and peeked her head out from under Taeng's coat. She wanted to see who this Hyung Joong guy was. He was a skinny man who had blond hair, but wa s graying. And prematurely from the look of his young face. "Hi miss...?" "Her name is Tiffany Hwang, sir," the police officer who had been questioning he r said. "Miss Hwang. How do you know my good friend, Taeng?" Hyung Joong asked, smiling down at her. Tiffany didn't know much about what Taeng did, but she wasn't about to open her mouth and tell this man anything. But luckily she didn't have to. Taeng started guiding her towards his car. "Hold up a second Taeng, we weren't done questioning her," Hyung Joong said. "Yes you were," Taeng said over his shoulder. "Don't forget who you're talking to, Taeng. Wanna take a trip downtown?" Hyung J oong warned. Taeng stopped and turned toward Hyung Joong. "You want to try?" Taeng countered,

staring the man down. Tiffany wasn't sure what to do. She sure as hell didn't want to get on any cops shit-list, but Taeng appeared to be done with the conversation. She glanced back and forth between the two men, while trying to wipe her eyes and nose. Detective Hyung Joong's smug smile reappeared. "Well, I guess there's no reason to--if you haven't done anything wrong, now is there?" he said. Taeng turned back around and ushered Tiffany across the street, towards the car.  "Don't go too far Miss Hwang. I'd still like to ask you a few questions regardin g the incident today," Tiffany heard Detective Hyung Joong ask in the distance. Yuri had transferred to the front seat, while Taeng opened the door and guided T iffany into the backseat. He held her close to his body, with his arms wrapped p rotectively around her. But no one said a word. Taecyeon rarely ever said much o f anything. Yuri wasn't sure what to say. Tiffany was too tired to utter another word and Taeng was too busy thinking about what his next step was to talk to an yone. So they traveled in silence all the way back to Taeng's house.

Chapter 26 Tiffany winced in pain from trying to pry her puffy eyes open. She sat u p in Taeng's bed and pushed her wild hairs from her face. She glanced at the nig ht stand for the time. 10 pm. She sighed. All the images from earlier that day c ame flashing back. The loud noise, screams and shattering glass. She was praying that it was just a nightmare, but she knew that wishful thinking was all in vai n. But just as suddenly as those visions had come, Tiffany couldn't breathe. She quickly grabbed her chest and forced herself to take deep gulps of air to calm her breathing. She finally composed herself, walked out of the room and down the long hallway. When she reached Taeng's office door she was about to knock when she heard Taeng 's voice, more animated than she had ever heard before. She cracked the door ope n and saw Yuri and Taeng arguing. "Taeng, all I'm saying is you don't know for sure that Nichkhun did this. It cou ld have been a number of people," Yuri said. "No. I know it was him," Taeng declared, with his hands locked behind his head a s he paced back and forth. Tiffany observed him. He too, looked exhausted. "But what if it wasn't, I mean--," "It was," Taeng contradicted. "But--," "They shot at her, Yuri! They fucking mowed down the front of her workplace to g et to her. If you think I'm going to let them have a second chance, then fuck yo u," Taeng said, walking around to his desk. He sat down and laid his forehead ag ainst the cool, flat wood. 'Shot at her?' Tiffany thought. What the fuck? It was a drive-by shooting, they weren't targeting her. Why would someone want to kill her? Tiffany remained sile nt, listening outside the door.

"You see, that's what I mean. You said 'they'...who's 'they', Taeng? You have to be certain before you go accusing another mob boss's son of something like that . Just use your head." Tiffany pushed the door open and walked in. Taeng glanced up at the door when Tiffany entered. Her eyes seemed weak and stil l glassy from her crying herself to sleep. "Taeng, Yuri's right. Those people could have been aiming at anyone. I mean, the y shot at the entire restaurant," Tiffany said, glancing back and forth between both men. Taeng sighed and smiled up at her. "How did you sleep?" "Alright. Are you okay?" "Not really," Taeng answered honestly. "How about you go grab yourself something to eat and let Yuri and I finish up here. I'll join you in a moment." "But Taeng, I probably should call that guy back, the police officer that was as king all those questions," Tiffany suggested. She watched as Taeng just shook hi s head. "No, I'll take care of this. You gave your statement and you're done. You don't remember anything else as far as they're concerned, okay?" Tiffany placed a hand on her hip. "What do you mean you'll take care of it? I'm sure the police will find the people in no time." "I don't want the police to find the people. I want to find them so I can questi on them myself. Ask who hired them." "What? Taeng, leave this to the cops. Let them do their jobs." "Baby go eat. I'll join you later," Taeng commanded. "Taeng, I " "Fany-ah! End of discussion," Taeng said, narrowing his eyes at her. She just di dn't understand that he didn't want her involved in this any more than she alrea dy was. "No, don't start that with me. It's NOT the end of the discussion! What are you planning to do?" Tiffany asked. Taeng sighed. "Baby, the less you know about me and what I do, the better for yo u. You can't give anyone any information if you don't know it, now can you? And that's the way I want to keep it. I don't want you getting in trouble or having to lie for me." "Do you really think it was Nichkhun?" "Yes," Taeng answered. He heard Yuri exhale noisily. Taeng got up from his desk and walked over to Tiffany. She was standing there st aring at the ground and shaking her head. "I don't understand," she whispered to him, before he leaned down to capture her

lips. "I need you to do something for me," Taeng said, sliding his hand through her th ick hairs. She looked up at him, her eyes already starting to glass over again. "I need you to go away for a little while. Just a short time until I can get all of this handled." "No." "Yes." "No!" "Baby, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you." "I don't want to leave you. Plus, I have a job. The insurance company is fixing the windows tonight, so we are returning to work tomorrow." "No, you're not. I'll talk to your manager and--," Taeng tried to say, while Tif fany shook her head back and forth like a child. "No, I'm not going to let someone scare me into--," Tiffany started, until Taeng grabbed her head with both of his hands and forced her to look up at him. "This isn't a fucking game, Baby. This is real. This is serious. This hit was set up to look like gang violence. But trust me, this wasn't some gangbanger with a grudge. And I can't think straight if I'm worried about your safety every second . Your bags should be arriving here in a few more minutes, then you leave." "What? My bags?" "Yes. I didn't want you going back to your apartment to do it, so I had Minka an d Taecyeon pack you some clothes. Yuri will escort you to another location," Tae ng said. Tiffany pushed herself from Taeng's grasp and back toward the door. "When did yo u do all this? And what made you think I was going to go?" "While you were sleeping and I knew you would be going because it was never goin g to be a negotiation," Taeng stated matter-of-fact. Tiffany scoffed. Perhaps he had a point, but this was all happening too sudden. Her life was being uprooted for what could possibly be nothing at all. Maybe she could play the emotional card. "But I love you and I don't want to go." "I love you too, and that's the only reason I'm sending you away. Trust me, it w ill make sense when you get there," Taeng said. He quickly glanced down at his c ell phone and then back to Tiffany. "Taecyeon's here. It's time for you to go." *** In the car ride on the way to...well, wherever she was going, Tiffany thought of her morning. She had woken up, had a big bowl of cereal and then went into work . Never in a million years would she have thought her day would turn out this wa y. One minute she's separating the marsh mallows from the other bits of cereal i n her bowl, the next she's caught in the middle of some mob war. Life was indeed strange. Yuri had told her to go to sleep if she could, because they had a long way ahead of them. Her eyelids were heavy, and although she protested, she was asleep in no time.

Yuri glanced in his rearview mirror at Tiffany. She had her head resting against the window and her eyes were shut. She was definitely a beautiful girl. And one of the sweetest people he had ever met. He really hated that she was going thro ugh this and he couldn't imagine what Taeng must be feeling. No one had ever tri ed to hurt Yuri's family. Ever. He hoped that Nichkhun wasn't involved. Because if he was, that would mean Paul Horvejkul would have to get involved, and this w ould be the beginning of something truly ugly. After a few more hours of driving and one gas stop, Yuri turned onto the familia r street that led to an iron gate. He punched in the code and drove down the lon g driveway. Tiffany's head bobbled against the glass, waking her up. She quickly wiped her e yes as she stared out of the window. Everything was pitch black except for a fai nt light above the door of a two-story house.  Yuri parked the car and hopped out to open Tiffany's door. "Where are we?" she asked, right as the front door opened.  Out stepped a thin, beautiful woman. She had short black hair and a wide smile. Tiffany turned to look at Yuri, but he was getting her bags from the trunk. She tried to go help him, but he pushed her toward this beautiful stranger. Tiffany sighed and cautiously walked closer, when she noticed bright onyx eyes. Eyes she 'd seen a million times. 'Oh my God,' Tiffany thought. This was Taeng's mother. No doubt about it. Tiffany immediately became nervous. She quickly smoothed her shirt down, trying to look somewhat presentable after hours asleep in a car.  "Oh my God, Yuri, look at her! She's beautiful!" the smiling woman said, while s taring in Tiffany's direction. 'Well, that's a promising start,' Tiffany told he rself, as she moved closer to the house. "Hi Tiffany, I'm Taeng's mother" she said. "Hi Mrs. Kim, nice to--," Tiffany said, before she was ambushed with a huge hug. "Oh, don't you dare start with the Mrs. Kim crap. Just call me Omma, you hear!" she said, squeezing Tiffany tightly. When she finally released her hold, she sco oted Tiffany into the house, almost closing the door on Yuri. "Jeez, Mrs. Kim. What am I, chopped liver?" Yuri joked, as he placed the bags on the floor and quickly hugged her. "Oh, you know I love you. I'm just so excited to finally meet her. I mean, I hat e it's under these circumstances," Mrs. Kim admitted, shaking her head. "But eve n still, I'm so glad you're here," she said looking in Tiffany's direction. Tiffany wasn't quite sure what to do, but she was making a mental note to hersel f to curse Taeng out for not warning her that she'd be meeting his mom.  "Well, I guess I'm glad to be here I mean I'm glad to meet you," Tiffany said, ner vously looking around.  "And you must be hungry. How could you not be? Come," Mrs. Kim said, winking her eye, as she quickly marched down the hallway. Tiffany followed Mrs. Kim to the kitchen. "Can I help you with anything?" Tiffan y asked, looking around the large designer kitchen that looked as though it belo nged on some fancy cooking show.

"Absolutely not! Sit down and rest yourself. My Taeng says you're a waitress. Th at means you spend all day serving people...well let me serve you. Yuri, get in here!" Mrs. Kim yelled in a slightly Korean tinged Jeonju accent, while opening the fridge and removing several dishes. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Yuri yelled, bursting through the kitchen doors. "Now you see where Taeng gets it from," Yuri whispered to Tiffany. She covered h er mouth and tried not to laugh. "Yoona and the children are well, Yuri?" Mrs. Kim asked, as she warmed up two pl ates packed full of food. "They're good. I have her staying at her sister's until all of this blows over," Yuri answered. Tiffany looked at Yuri. His wife and kids were hiding out too...all because of h er? And now Taeng's mom was having to take her in. She felt like shit. She tried to stop the first two tears that dropped, but then she couldn't quiet her soft sob. She felt Yuri squeeze her hand. "It's okay, Fany." "Why are you crying?" Mrs. Kim asked, rushing to Tiffany's side, placing her arm around her. "I'm sorry I just I didn't mean for this to happen. I feel like I'm imposing on you, and Yuri had to send his family away all because of me. I feel awful," Tiffany ad mitted, trying to wipe away her tears. "Don't you dare feel that way! This is not your fault. Not at all. You can't hel p the fact that there are crazy people in this world," Mrs. Kim said, grasping h er tighter. "It's not your fault, Fany. And no one is blaming you," Yuri added. He glanced d own at his vibrating cell phone. "Oh shit." "What?" Mrs. Kim asked, walking back to the kitchen to retrieve their food. "I forgot to call Taeng to tell him we had arrived," he exhaled. He clicked open the phone. "Hey--yeah, we're here, I forg I know, I know, I'm sorry. But we're here now--yeah , hold on," he said as he passed the phone to Tiffany. "Hello?" she said, wiping at her tears. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?" Taen g rushed out.  "Yes, I'm fine. I just feel bad that everyone is having to do things because of me."  "That's not your fault," she heard him say. "I know, your mother already said that."  "I love you, get some rest and pass the phone to my mom," Taeng said. "I love you too," Tiffany whispered, before she passed the phone to Mrs. Kim. "H e wants to speak with you." "How long do you think I'll have to be here, Yuri?" Tiffany whispered. "I'm not sure. Hopefully no more than a few days. Why, is Mrs. Kim already getti

ng on your nerves," Yuri smiled. "No! No, I mean, she's great as far as I can tell. She's so friendly. It's just that I miss Taeng already. And I'm sure you miss your family." Yuri patted her on the back. "It should only take a few days to get everything s orted out, and then it should all go back to normal." "Yuri! Get in here..please!" Mrs. Kim yelled from the kitchen. "Taeng wants to s peak with you again." Yuri laughed. "I love that woman," he said, before he hopped up and walked furth er into the kitchen. After dinner Tiffany could hardly keep her eyes open. She felt like she had alre ady slept most of the day away, but her eyes just couldn't stay open any longer. Mrs. Kim showed her to the room she'd be staying in, and Yuri brought up her ba gs. Mrs. Kim gave her another hug, said goodnight and walked out of the room. As if on cue, Tiffany fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a f ew minutes of reflection, Tiffany closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber. *** Taeng didn't sleep at all. He sat at his desk sketching, trying to calm his nerv es. He knew he couldn't make a move until he got a few more answers, but his gut along with years of experience knew that Nichkhun was behind this shooting. He never trusted him, even when they were kids. He glanced at the clock. It was alr eady four in the morning. He wanted so badly to call Tiffany, and just hear her voice, but he didn't want to wake her up.  Taeng was about to start on a new sketch when he heard his stomach rumble. He co uldn't even remember the last time he had eaten. He walked down to the kitchen a nd poured himself a large bowl of Tiffany's sugary cereal. He normally didn't ea t things like this, but in some weird, childish way he felt he was closer to her by doing so. He took a big bite and surprisingly, it was pretty good. He stared down at his bowl as he thought about what steps he had to take next. He needed to call favors in on some people around town who always had their eyes and ears open. "Taeng, mind if I join you?" he heard Minho ask from the kitchen door. Taeng kicked out the chair beside him for his answer. Minho walked in and grabbed a bowl of cereal for himself as well. He sat down in the chair that Taeng had offered and took a few bites of cereal as the two of t hem sat in silence. "This whole thing is crazy, huh?" Minho asked, not being able to stand the quiet . Taeng just stared straight ahead while taking another big bite of cereal. "I remember the first time I met her. She was at your party in that red dress. She seemed so out of place," Minho laughed. He turned to Taeng and noticed his expr ession hadn't changed. "I mean in a good way. Well, I mean, not that your guests are bad, but well, she j ust seemed different," Minho tried to quickly correct. When Taeng didn't respond , Minho exhaled and continued to eat his food. He was slowly learning what Taeng did and didn't like. And apparently him talking was one of those things Taeng d idn't like.

Minho swallowed another bite and was about to take his food elsewhere, when he h eard Taeng speak. "She really pissed me off that night she left with you." Minho looked at Taeng. "I know, I'm sorry about " "I think that was the first time I realized I felt that my feelings were crossing over the 'business' line. I had asked her to leave that night," Taeng continued. Minho sat back down, not really knowing if he should say something or not. "But of course she had to run her mouth, and I just couldn't let her go after th at," Taeng admitted with a smile, remembering that night vividly. Minho gave a nervous laugh also. "Well, hopefully after all of this blows over, everything can go back to normal. She's had a very crazy year. And can you belie ve her dad? What an asshole, huh?"  "What do you mean?" Taeng asked, placing his spoon back in the bowl. "You know, with the way he treated her and everything," Minho said, taking anoth er large bite. He looked over at Taeng and stopped mid chew. Fuck! He quickly sw allowed. "Oh man, I thought she told you. You probably don't want to hear about all that stuff now." "Told me what? What did her father do?" Taeng asked, sliding his bowl away and s itting straight up. Minho shook his head. He just HAD to open his big, fat mouth. "Taeng, she should probably be the one to tell you this," he said trying his best to back his way out of this admission. "I'm asking you. What did her father say?" Minho knew he had no option now. Shit. "He...um, he called her some names and th en kicked her out of their apartment." "Like what?" Taeng continued. Minho really didn't want to tell Taeng. Tiffany was going to kill him for even b ringing this up. What a big fucking mouth he had. Minho exhaled. "Well basically he called her a whore and a slut and said he didn 't want her staying in their apartment because she had...um, well slept with you to clear their debt. And then he kicked her out," Minho answered, lowering his head. This was all a personal matter, and really none of his business. "So then she went to your house," Taeng said, staring at the side of Minho's fac e. Taeng wasn't sure if it was the fact that his girlfriend's life had been thre atened and now he was separated from her, and hearing Minho tell that story on t op of it all, but he was furious. He wanted to fucking break something...or shoo t something. After all this blew over, he was paying her father a visit.  Taeng stood up and stretched. His body hurt, even up to his teeth. He walked out of the kitchen without another word to Minho. He had to get rid of this energy. It wasn't a nervous energy, but more of an adrenaline rush he kept feeling. Ant icipating when the shit was going to hit the fan. He walked up to his bedroom an d changed into a loose shirt and workout pants. He had to run...anything to keep

from getting in his car and fucking up Nichkhun Horvejkul.   >

Chapter 27 The next morning, Tiffany awoke with sunlight streaming down on her. She wiped her eyes and walked to the window and peered through. Her mouth dropped w ide open. All she could see was plush green land. She ran into the bathroom to t ake a quick shower. When she was done, she finally opened her suitcase. 'Damn Minka,' Tiffany though t, as she rammed through all of the short, tight designer clothes Minka had pick ed out for her. Nothing in her bag even remotely looked comfortable. But at leas t she had packed her Converse for her. She put on a cute shirt and skirt, and pu lled her hair back into a ponytail. Tiffany walked downstairs, to find Yuri and Mrs. Kim sitting at the kitchen tabl e laughing and sipping white milk. "Good morning!" Mrs. Kim said in a cheery tone, getting up to give Tiffany anoth er bone crushing hug and kiss. "Did you sleep well? Tell me the truth? If you we re not comfortable, I can get another mattress." 'Another thing Taeng gets from his mother,' Tiffany thought with a smile. "No, I slept wonderfully. I guess too well, since you guys were up way before me," Tif fany said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Nonsense! You had a very difficult day yesterday. You deserved your rest. Did y ou miss Taeng?" "Um, yes, I did." "You are so in love with him?" Mrs. Kim asked, with a huge smile on her face. Tiffany looked over at Yuri, who was trying to hide his smile behind his white m ilk cup raised to his lips. "Yes. I am." Tiffany simply stated, as she grabbed a cup of white milk. "mh-Omma, do you mind if I look at some of the photos you have in the living roo m?" "Go ahead. I have a beautiful family," Mrs. Kim said, filling Yuri's plate with what was easily two pounds of food.  Tiffany smiled as she grabbed her cup and walked into the living room. Modesty d idn't run in the Kim family either. She walked over to a stand where she saw som e black and white pictures of Mrs. Kim when she was younger. She was absolutely stunning. Her hair was pinned back in a prim and proper way and she was wearing a floral dress with what now would be considered vintage high heels. She had a h uge smile on her face as she stood holding a tall man's hand. Tiffany could only assume that this was Taeng's father, He was definitely handsome. Actually, othe r than Taeng's eye color, which he took from his mother, Taeng looked just like his dad, including the cold stare and lack of expression.  "That's my husband," Mrs. Kim said behind Tiffany. "Good business man. Not the b est husband and father, but he tried. Some men are good family men, some aren't.

But he always made sure we were provided for." "And you have three kids?" Tiffany asked, turning around to look at Mrs. Kim. "Yes, two boys and one girl. She's the baby," Mrs. Kim said, as she grabbed a pi cture of her children when they were all young. She handed it to Tiffany. She sp otted three different young men and a young girl. They all had jet black hair. O nly Taeng and the younger girl shared the same eye color as Mrs. Kim. Mrs. Kim staring at child in her photo. Tiffany started to say something, but th en decided against it. Mrs. Kim was definitely more forward than she was used to . Taeng never opened up about anything, yet his mother couldn't stop talking. Bu t she enjoyed someone who could finally give her some more insight into Taeng's personality. "Um, how old was Taeng in this picture?" Tiffany asked, looking at Taeng and the other young boy who was sitting on the steps with him. "Hmm, I think he was seventeen or eighteen in that picture. I think that was the last time I had all of my children in the same place. Taeng was an extremely handsome teenager. Not as physically overpowering as he w as now, but the same handsome face and long limbs. He was the only one in the pi cture not smiling, but the young boy beside him was grinning brightly and had hi s arm resting on Taeng's shoulder. He was handsome too. "And who's the one sitting with Taeng?" "That is Jiwoong," Mrs. Kim said, with a sadness laced in her voice. "He was kil led shortly after his twenty-first birthday." Tiffany sucked in a gasp. "What? Oh, I'm so sorry!" "It was hard on all of us. Jiwoong was so charming and friendly to everyone. He and Taeng were really close since they were only a year apart. I guess it was th e whole, opposites attract. He and Jiwoong's personalities were nothing alike, b ut they got along the best." "Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Tiffany asked. "Jiwoong had a gambling problem. He would borrow money, gamble it away and then try to talk his way out of it. He borrowed from the wrong people one day, and... well, he went missing." "Oh my God, I know that must have been torture," Tiffany said, as they both walk ed over the couch and sat down. "It was. He was missing for two months. I remember my Taeng saying, 'Don't worry , I'll find him'. You see, we didn't know if something had happened to him, or if it was the drugs. He had gotten hooked on some bad things and would disappear . He didn't want us to see him like that. But he'd always come back clean and so ber with a big smile on his face. I miss that smile," Mrs. Kim said, staring at Jiwoong's picture. "But then I got a call from my husband saying that his body had been found. Actu ally, his head had been found, but the rest of his body didn't wash ashore until weeks later." Tiffany thought she was going to be sick. She had heard of several missing peopl e's stories that ended in tragedy like this. Even the ones that made national TV , but to know of someone who actually went through it--a mother who had to know her child's body was dismembered, is something quite different. She didn't even know what to say. She felt tears rush to the corners of her eyes.

"Taeng went with my husband to identify what was left of the body. Neither one w ould talk about it. But I was a complete mess after that." "God, I can't even imagine," Tiffany whispered. "About a month after we buried Jiwoong, the guy that Jiwoong had borrowed the mo ney from went missing. And that's when the police came snooping around here. But in my husband and son's business, I don't ask questions. And a part of me was r elieved that some justice had come from my son's death. I know it's not right, b ut when you lose a child, you don't think rationally." Tiffany thought about the fact that Taeng could make people disappear. It sent a shiver up her spine. And not because of what he could do, but the fact that he could be caught. And that was a new line of thinking for her.  "And this is Hayeon, my baby girl." Mrs. Kim said with a smile. "She travels a l ot. She never spends more than a few months to a year in any place. Right now sh e's backpacking through Europe for the third time with her new boyfriend. And fr om there she said they plan to settle down for a year somewhere in Australia," M rs. Kim said, rolling her eyes. "I love her to death, but I told her to settle down and find a husband. I'm not getting any younger...and speaking of that, do you want babies?" Mrs. Kim asked. Tiffany almost choked on her white milk. "Um, I would like to have children some day. I'm not sure--" " how many do you want?" Mrs. Kim interrupted. "Oh, I guess one." "What?! One! No,...he's not going to do just 'one'. Nope. You need four or five to have a good size family, you know," Mrs. Kim said. "Well, I don't think Taeng wants kids in his line of work," Tiffany said. "Of course, he'll want babies. They all do in the end to pass on their genes or se ed or whatever. I can just imagine! You two will have beautiful children! I can' t wait," Mrs. Kim said, hopping up and walking to the kitchen. Tiffany just smiled and shook her head. She continued looking at the photos arou nd the house. She spotted several of Yuri, Taeng and Jiwoong when they were youn g. The three of them together looked so devilish. Yuri was handsome as well. Tiffany walked back into the kitchen and almost dropped her cup when she saw Yur i cleaning his gun on the kitchen table.  "Hey, Fany. I'm going to run into town for a few things, I'll be back in about t hirty minutes, okay?" He asked, spinning the cylinder and then locking it. "Uh, su-sure.," Tiffany stuttered. Yuri smiled, placed the gun behind his back a nd walked out of the kitchen. "Okay, I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Tiffany admitted to Mrs. Kim. "Unfortunately it's a necessary evil in their business" Mrs. Kim said, sitting d own at the table. "Good! You are amazing, you know that? I'm so glad he got rid of Jessica. I only met her twice, and that was too much. I have no idea why Taeng married her. But I see he came to his senses."

Tiffany laughed. Mrs. Kim was just too much. How was she so open and playful whe n Taeng was so serious all the time? He must have taken after his father in that respect. But Tiffany didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Kim. She obviously thought her relationship with Taeng was at the level of marriage and kids, but Taeng had made it obvious that he wasn't ready for either of those things. So Tiffany cha nged the subject. "You have beautiful horses, Mrs. Kim," Tiffany said, walking to the sliding glas s doors that led to the back yard from the kitchen.  "Thank you. Want to meet them?" she asked, wiping her hands off. "Sure. I'd love to," Tiffany said. She had never actually touched a horse before ...or seen one up close. She was definitely experiencing a lot of new things wit h the Kim family. They walked outside to the stables and Mrs. Kim pointed out each horse, giving h er their name and a brief history. When they came to the last stall, a huge pitc h-black horse came to the door and stuck its head out. Mrs. Kim reached out to touch it. "And this beautiful horse is Tiffany." Tiffany giggled at the fact that they shared the same name. But the horse was ab solutely beautiful. She may not have known much about horses, but this one seeme d special. Unique among the others. "You can touch her, she's very kind," Mrs. Kim said. Tiffany reached out to rub the side of the horse's face. She was incredibly soft , and had long eyelashes that lined dark, soulful eyes. "She's stunning," Tiffany whispered, almost in a trance. "When did you get her?" "Taeng bought her for me a few months ago. And she's named after you." Tiffany glanced over at Mrs. Kim, who was beaming from ear to ear. "What?" "A few months ago, he bought her for me, and I just thought she was the most bea utiful horse I had ever seen. But he made me promise that I would name her Tiffa ny. I didn't ask any questions, but I knew something was different." "Taeng can be very surprising at times," Tiffany said, shaking her head. She thoug ht Taeng had hated her months ago. "Yes he can be. You know...he told me how you two met," Mrs. Kim said, feeding t he horse pieces of hay. Tiffany's head jerked up. What?! No...he didn't. "He told you what?" "I know the whole story. The arrangement...everything," Mrs. Kim said, glancing over at Tiffany. Tiffany outwardly groaned and dropped to the ground. "Oh God, you must think the absolute worst of me. Oh my God, how embarrassing," Tiffany whispered. She cove red her face and cursed. Mrs. Kim dropped down in front of her and gently pulled her hands away from her face. "Don't you dare cover your face in shame. If anyone should be ashamed it's my Taeng...and believe me, I told him so."

Tiffany stared at Mrs. Kim's kind eyes. "I didn't do it just because of the mone y. A lot of it was because I didn't want my family hurt." Tiffany admitted. "You don't have to explain anything to me or anyone else about your decision. We do strange things for those we love. When I was younger, if someone would have threatened my kids that way, I would be on my back in a second. I mean, legs up, ready to hand him a cigarette afterward...wrong or not." Tiffany burst into laughter at Mrs. Kim's overly honest and funny admission. She laughed so hard that she fell backwards from her squatting position and pulled Mrs. Kim with her. The two of them lay among the dirt and hay, until their laugh ter were no more than light giggles. Tiffany had to grab her side to ease the pa in in her stomach from laughing so hard. Then they both collectively exhaled.  "I needed that," Tiffany whispered.   ***   Later that night, Tiffany dialed Taeng as she lay in bed. She twisted a hair aro und her finger until he answered his cell phone. "Hey baby," Taeng said groggily into her ear. "Hey you. Did I wake you?" Tiffany asked. It was only eleven, and Taeng usually never went to sleep early. "No. I just dozed off, but I wasn't in the bed. I'm at my desk," he told her. Of course he was. Where else would he be? He couldn't possibly be like most huma n beings and sleep in a comfortable bed. "You sound sleepy, let me let you go, and I'll talk to you tomorrow." "No. I'm awake and I want to hear your voice," Taeng said. Tiffany giggled. "I'm not used to this...more romantic side of you." "Neither am I," he admitted. "I like it though." "Do you? What else do you like?" he asked in his low, seductive voice that drove her crazy. "Nope, not going there. I'm in your mom's house, Taeng," she whispered in the ph one. "I'm not about to talk dirty to you." She heard him chuckle, then sigh. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Did my mom show you around?" "Yes she did...and I learned a lot about you." She laughed when she heard him gr oan. "Don't worry, it was all good. Your mom wouldn't dare say anything bad abou t HER Taeng," Tiffany mocked. "She really is an amazing woman though. Don't know what the hell happened to you ."

"Watch it," Taeng teased. "I met Tiffany today." "Ah, Tiffany. She's a looker, isn't she?" "Yes. You are full of surprises." "I wish you were full of me," Taeng growled. "Taeng! Stop it!" Tiffany yelled, then lowered her voice, while she peered aroun d the room. "Your mom could be listening." "If my mom is in your room right now while you're trying to sleep, then I have b igger problems than I thought I did," Taeng joked. "Eww, you are so gross. Okay, I'm hanging up. Good night. I love you." "Good night, baby. And I promise to have everything settled soon. I love you," h e said. Tiffany clicked off the phone and stared up at the ceiling. Settled? Was that co de for someone had to die for things to be back to normal? She couldn't lie to h erself, she would be glad when this whole thing was over and behind them but at wh at cost? She hoped it turned out to be nothing more than some gang members tryin g to scare someone they had seen enter the restaurant. Yes, that was what she wa s hoping for. She squeezed her pillow, wishing it were Taeng, and closed her eye s.

Chapter 28 Poor Yuri. He got the raw end of this hideout deal. He was stuck in a ho use with two women who did nothing more than talk about Taeng and girlie things. Most of the time they would forget he was even there. It wasn't until Tiffany a sked him why he was forced to stay here with them and was not with his family th at he got a chance to explain his presence. "My wife and kids are fine. I talk to them several times a day. The reason I'm h ere is because there aren't many people that know where Taeng's mom lives. Somet hing similar to the shooting you experienced happened to her a few years ago, so Taeng moved her here." "You don't regret having to live here," Tiffany asked Mrs. Kim. "No, not at all. I love living here. I always hated the city. Too crowded and to o much noise. My husband loved it though. He wouldn't have wanted to live anywhe re else. But it was never my scene," Mrs. Kim said, pulling her wavy, raven hair into a bun. Tiffany's phone began to vibrate. She glanced down at it and didn't recognize th e number. But she decided to answer anyway, hoping that it was Taeng calling fro m another phone. "Excuse me," she said, getting up from the table. "Hello?" she asked, walking through the sliding glass doors of the kitchen and o ut into the back yard. "Tiffany? Hello, it's Paul Horvejkul," she heard him say.

"Paul! Hi, how are you?" She heard him chuckle a little, no doubt because of the surprise and enthusiasm in her voice. "I'm fine, Tiffany. I actually want to know how you are. I heard a bout everything that happened. I'm so sorry," he said. "Oh, yeah. I'm okay now. It was just shocking, I guess." "I can only imagine. I hate you had to go through that, and I'm so glad that you weren't hurt," he said.  "Thank you," Tiffany said. Then she waited, but Paul didn't say anything. "Is everything okay?" she asked him. "Well, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me and then perhap s do me a huge favor. I hate to even ask this of you, but--" "Of course! Anything, Paul. After everything you've done for me, of course you c an ask me." "Thank you, Tiffany. This will mean so much to me. I guess, firstly, I know this will be difficult for you, but is there any reason you would think my son is in volved in the attack on you?" Oh, Tiffany didn't want to be in the middle of this. But she owed Paul big time, and she would never want to go back on her word with him. She wasn't totally co nvinced it was Nichkhun's doing, but she wasn't totally unconvinced either. "Um...I mean, Nichkhun and Taeng don't have the best relationship well neither do Nichkhun and I for that matter. I I never had a reason to suspect him of trying to do something like that. I mean, well, I hate to talk about your son, Paul." "I know, but he's no angel. I understand, but I'm just trying to figure out what 's going on. Please continue, I won't be offended," Paul said. Tiffany was about to speak again when Yuri walked outside. He gave her a strange look. "Who are you talking to, Fany?" he asked. "Paul Horvejkul," she mouthed. Yuri narrowed his eyes at her. "You need to hang up. Now." "Yuri, I--," "Now, Tiffany. This is serious. Let Taeng and I handle this. Better yet, hand me the phone, I'll talk to him," Yuri suggested, reaching for her cell phone. Tiffany moved it out of his reach and covered the mouthpiece. "No! Yuri, when I had no one, Paul was there for me. I'm not about to turn my ba ck on him now. If Taeng wants to be mad at me, I'll deal with it, but I'm going to talk to Paul about this." "Fine, but I have to tell Taeng that you were talking to him," Yuri said. He tur ned his back and grumbled something else as he walked back inside. Tiffany sighed. She knew Yuri was just doing what he thought was best for her. S he should be grateful, but Paul meant a lot to her too. She placed the phone bac k to her ear.

"Paul? I'm sorry about that." "No, I'm sorry. I guess I'm causing problems for you," he exhaled. "It's fine. I can handle it. Um, to finish what we were talking about, I never g ot any vibe from Nichkhun that he'd ever hurt me, but he did do and say things t o get under my skin. And Taeng's." "Like what?" "Well, the very first night I met him, he had come to Taeng's for something, and ended up betting Taeng in a pool game. The stakes well, the stakes being me and N ichkhun's car," Tiffany admitted, still feeling shame from that night. Tiffany could no longer hear Paul breathing. "Paul?" "I'm here, Tiffany. Please continue." "Okay. Well, he lost the game and seemed really pissed. And, well, he invited me to this party, and I thought he was finally being nice to me, but it turned out he did it to get under Taeng's skin. He had lied to me and said Taeng wouldn't be there, but the whole time he knew that Taeng would. And well, he did say that h e was glad to know using me got to Taeng so bad. And then that was the last I he ard or saw of him," Tiffany finished. After a few minutes of silence, Paul finally spoke. "I'm sorry my son has been s uch a troublemaker for you. I just don't understand how he thinks sometimes." Tiffany chewed on her bottom lip. She felt so bad for Paul. He didn't deserve to be going through this. "Tiffany?" he asked. "Yes?" "Do you think my son is capable of something like that?" Tiffany did not want to answer that. Because in all honesty, she wasn't sure, an d that might offend Paul. "Paul, I I'm not sure, to be totally honest with you." "But Taeng thinks he is," Paul stated. "Yes." Paul sighed again. "Tiffany, I really hate to ask you to do this, but if I could cash in on a favor, I'd greatly appreciate it. You see, I know my son isn't per fect. Far from it, and as the years have passed, we've grown apart. A lot. But h e's still my son. He's the only thing I have left from my wife. And if she were alive, she would want me to protect him in any way I can. I love Nichkhun, even if he's caused me so many problems. It's just the two of us now. I asked him if he caused this, and he looked me in the face and said no. And that's all I can a sk of him. So, I guess the favor I'm asking of you is could you talk to Taeng for me? I would myself, but I can't seem to get through to his phone, and going over there isn't the smartest thing to do in my position at the moment. So, if you c ould just tell him that I know he's angry, and has every right to be. I would be too, were I in his place. But if my son is a target, I can't let that happen an d I will defend Nichkhun by any means necessary. Do you understand what I mean,

Tiffany?" Paul asked. Tiffany's mouth was dry and she couldn't breathe. Was it really coming down to t his? Her palms began to sweat. "Paul, I I..." "I would never consider hurting you, Tiffany. You have nothing to worry about. B ut I can't let Taeng go after my son. I just can't. I'm hoping that it won't com e to that, which is why I'd like you to speak to Taeng for me. Would you?" "Ye--es," Tiffany croaked out. She quickly cleared her throat. "Yes, I'll talk t o him." "Thank you. And I've kept you away for a long time, so I'll let you go. Thanks T iffany, and goodnight," Paul said. "You're welcome, and goodnight," Tiffany whispered, and then clicked off her pho ne. She took a huge breath of the cold night air before she walked back into the house. "What did he want?" Yuri asked, leaning against the counter. "He said he asked Nichkhun if he had anything to do with the shooting the other night. Nichkhun told him no. And he wants me to let Taeng know that and that he will defend his son if Taeng goes after him," Tiffany said. She sat down at the table rubbing her cell phone in her hands. "I guess I should call Taeng now." Tiffany spent the rest of the night trying to convince Taeng to meet with Paul H orvejkul. After a few idle threats and then sweet talking, Taeng agreed to at le ast speak with Paul. Tiffany felt as if some steps in the right direction were b eing taken. *** "Taeng, our contact finally came up for air, but he said he didn't know who did the shooting. But he can guarantee that it wasn't gang related," Minho reported, as he removed his coat and sat down in front of Taeng's desk. Taeng leaned back in his chair. "No shit, so now we're still at square one. Hyun g Joong wouldn't have been investigating if it was just gang related. He's too b ig for that." Taecyeon entered. "Mr. Horvejkul is waiting downstairs for you, Taeng. Want me t o bring him up?" "Thanks Taecyeon. And no, I'll meet him down there." When Taeng reached the bottom step, the two men quickly shook hands. Jun.k, Paul 's right hand man was standing in the distance. Taecyeon stood opposite of him s taring him down. Jun.k cleared his throat but Taecyeon didn't flinch. "Would you like him to come in with us?" Taeng asked Paul, glancing over at Jun. k. "No, that won't be necessary. I trust you," Paul said, as he followed Taeng into his billiard room. Taeng closed the door and offered Paul a drink. "Thank you," Paul said, taking a glass of Scotch. Taeng didn't drink, but he lea ned against the pool table waiting for Paul to make the first move.

Paul took a small gulp. "So, Taeng. First, I want to offer my sincerest, heartfe lt apologies for what happened to Tiffany." "You have nothing to apologize for, if you had nothing to do with it," Taeng dea d-panned. Paul exhaled. "I see. Well, down to business then. I asked Nichkhun if he was in charge of the hit on Tiffany and he said no. That's all I can do is ask him. An d since he told me no, I have to believe him." Taeng continued to stare at Paul. "Taeng, I don't want it to come to this, but if you target my son...I'm going to come back after you." Taeng slowly nodded his head. "Paul, you do what you feel you have to do. And I' ll do what I feel I have to." "Your father wouldn't want this, Taeng." "My father's dead." Paul shook his head again and swallowed the last of the Scotch in his glass, the n placed it on a table. "Well that's that. Thank you for meeting with me," he sa id to Taeng. "My pleasure," Taeng replied. Paul turned and walked out of the billiard room. A few seconds later, Minho walk ed in. "Everything okay, Taeng?" "Find Nichkhun Horvejkul," Taeng said, as he walked around Minho and out of the room. **** It had been a full week since Tiffany had seen Taeng. Although she adored Mrs. K im, she was ready to go back to the city. Back to Taeng, her job and her life. A nd honestly, she was going a bit stir crazy waiting around the house. Yuri, for the most part, sat around watching TV and babysitting her, while Mrs. Kim would work on her garden. The day before Tiffany had followed an old stable hand around, while he tended t o the horses, but today seemed to be passing by so slowly. Taeng hadn't called a nd she hated the fact that she had none of her books to read. She really needed to get out of the house for a while. Tiffany had just finished loading the dishes into the dishwasher when Yuri annou nced that he was heading upstairs to take a quick shower. She noticed his keys s itting on the kitchen counter. She bit her bottom lip then looked outside at the garden. Mrs. Kim seemed preoccupied with her plants. She turned to glance down the hallway, and she didn't hear Yuri, so she assumed he was already in the bath room upstairs. She walked over to the counter and quickly picked up his keys. On e little visit into town couldn't hurt, right? She'd only be gone just a few min utes, and plus, she wanted to surprise Mrs. Kim by cooking tonight. So she was t otally justified in picking up some groceries for dinner. 'No harm,' Tiffany thought, as she twirled the key ring around her finger and hu rriedly exited the house. She knew this would piss Yuri off, since he said she w asn't allowed to go anywhere without him, but he'd learn to get over it.

Plus, according to Yuri, this town was so small, it's not like anything would ha ppen to her. She finally pulled into a small parking lot and hopped out. She wal ked down the main street, looking at the old fashioned stores and antique shops. It looked like time had just stood still for this town. She envied some of the people walking by in comfortable clothes, while she kept pulling down this incre dibly short, off the shoulder, light yellow dress Minka had packed. But at least her feet weren't hurting, since she chose to wear her trusty Converse. She was sure Minka would have fainted seeing her shoe choice with this dress, and for so me reason that brought a small smile to her face. Tiffany finally made her way back to the grocery store. She quickly grabbed a fe w items, and walked back to Yuri's car. A large black van had parked so close to the car, she could just barely squeeze between it and the door. "Asshole," she mumbled to herself as she stuck the keys into the car lock. "Miss, do you have the time?" a voice said from the van behind her. Not botherin g to turn around, Tiffany reached into her purse to look at the time on her cell phone, when a large hand covered her mouth and yanked her backwards into the va n. Tiffany let out a muffled scream, while her arms and legs flailed. She heard the door slam shut right as a damp cloth was placed over her nose and mouth. Soon s he became dizzy and everything faded to black. 

Chapter 29 Yuri's hair was still wet when he came downstairs. He looked around and everything seemed so quiet. Too quiet. He walked into the kitchen and opened the sliding glass doors leading out to the back yard. Mrs. Kim was still sitting on the ground, tending to her garden. He scanned the yard quickly, but he didn't s ee Tiffany. "Mrs. Kim, where's Tiffany?" he asked. She looked up and wiped her forehead. "She was in the house a few minutes ago. S he may have gone up to her room." Yuri nodded and walked upstairs. "Tiffany?" he said, as he knocked on her door. After a few moments of silence, he opened the door, but she wasn't in there eith er. Yuri scratched his head as he walked back downstairs and into the kitchen. H e was about to check the stables, thinking she could be looking at the horses wh en he noticed his keys were missing. "Fuck!" Yuri shouted, as he ran to the door. His car was gone. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number. It rang and then went to voicemail. "Shit," h e groaned, as he dialed her number again and again, each time getting a few ring s and then her voicemail. Yuri walked back outside. "Mrs. Kim, do you mind if I take your car. Tiffany lef t, and I want to make sure she's alright." "Yes, you can use my car. The keys are in the first cabinet on the right. I'm su re she is fine. She's been in the house for a week straight. She probably just n eeded some air," Mrs. Kim said, dusting the dirt from her pants.

"Air or not, I still answer to Taeng, and he's going to be pissed if he finds ou t I let her out of my sight," Yuri complained. Mrs. Kim laughed and patted him on the back, as she walked past him and into the house. Yuri drove into the quiet, small center of the town. Truthfully, the town was on ly made up of a few old shops, a post office, one grocery store and two small re staurants. It didn't even have its own police station or fire department. They h ad to share those luxuries with a bigger city a few miles away. So it wouldn't b e too hard to find her. Finally, after just a few minutes of driving around, he spotted his car. He pull ed up beside it and hopped out. He looked around to see if she was anywhere near , but when he walked over to the driver's side of the car, he froze and his hear t skipped a beat. This was not happening, no, no, NO! His keys were stuck in the lock, while her cell phone and a small bag of groceries were scattered and crus hed on the ground. This was not fucking happening. "Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck!!" Yuri whispered to himself. He pulled out his cell phone and took a deep breath. He dialed Taeng's number and waited for him to answer. "Yeah," Taeng answered. "Taeng...oh, shit. I swear to God, I came looking for her as soon as I found out she had left" Yuri rushed out, "Taeng, I think I think someone took her." "What d id you just say?" he heard Taeng ask in a low voice. "She's gone," Yuri huffed out. Yuri squeezed his eyes shut only imagining what T aeng must be thinking of him. He had one simple task to do. One simple fucking t ask. 'Don't let her out of your sight,' Taeng had told him before they left for Mrs. Kim's. He couldn't hear anything coming from his cell phone. No breathing, no noise, nothing. Was Taeng still there? "Taeng?" Yuri whispered. *** Tiffany finally opened her eyes. Her head was swimming and she felt sick to her stomach. She was lying on a cot in the middle of some dingy room. She tried to r aise up, but her hands were duct taped behind her, and her feet were bound too. She started to panic. Were it not for the duct tape across her mouth, she would have thrown up. Everything started blurring, as tears formed in her eyes.  A few seconds later she heard a door open. She looked to the far corner of the r oom and saw a man approaching. He was dressed in all black, including a ski mask over his head. "Good morning" the man said. "Glad to see you awake. Now we can finally get down to business." He walked over to her and gently pulled the duct tape from her mouth. Tiffany st retched her aching jaw. She lifted her body up and swung her legs over the edge of the cot. "What do you want?" Tiffany asked, shakily. The man slowly swept his eyes over h er body and bare legs. "I want what any red blooded bloke would want," he said, as he stepped closer to her. "Money." 

"So, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to call your husband, and you a re going to demand, oh, something simple. Just five hundred grand from him, and I'll hop on and make the pickup and drop off arrangements. Sound like a plan?" Husband? Tiffany was so confused and scared, and she was pretty sure whatever th ey had drugged her with, was still making her loopy. Were they mistaking her for someone else? "I don't know what you're talking about," said, as she focused in on the young m an. "So...you're going to play that game, Tiffany," the guy said. "I I'm not playing with you. I'm not married and I don't know why I'm here. I don' t know what you want? Did Nichkhun send you?" His stance made him look unconvinced. "And you're lying because...?" "I'm not lying!" Tiffany shouted. "Don't try anything silly, like running away, because we will catch you," he sai d. "How about we make you a little more comfy before we call your old man. He quick ly pulled out a switch blade, causing Tiffany to jump. He placed the blade at th e top of her leg and slowly slid the smooth side down the inside of her thigh an d down her legs until he reached her ankles. He cut the tape and removed the rem nants. "There, that's better. Easier access," he said, as he grabbed her ankle. Tiffany tried to kick him, but he grabbed both her legs and pulled her off of the cot a nd onto his lap, straddling him. Tiffany tried to push him off, but her hands we re still tied. Tiffany screamed, "Don't you fucking touch me!" "Not to worry, love. We can have fun later, but business right now. Tell me your husband's number," he said, pulling out a cell phone. Tiffany wasn't sure what the hell to do or who he expected her to call.  "I don't know who you want me to call," she said again, right as his hand came s macking across her face. Tiffany felt as though her head had exploded. All she c ould feel was the sharp stinging imprint left from his hand. She slowly turned b ack towards him with daggers in her eyes. "I hope you got the message. Now stop fucking with me and give me his number!" h e shouted, causing her to flinch. Tiffany wasn't sure what to do or say. Maybe he thought she was married to Taeng , and that's what this was about. She didn't want Taeng to be hurt because of he r, but if she didn't give them something, they might kill her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I don't know who you want me to call," she said , flinching again, anticipating the hit. *** Minho and Siwon stood waiting inside Taeng's office. Ever since he had gotten th e call from Yuri, he hadn't said a word. He walked outside and stood facing out toward the back. It wasn't until Yuri had called Siwon to explain everything, th at they understood Taeng's mood. He hadn't moved from that position in over twen ty minutes. He could have been a marble statue. One very tense, marble statue. 

"Maybe one of us should go check on him," Minho said to Siwon. "Why, are you volunteering yourself," Siwon answered. "Um, I'm the newest one to the organization...and I'm pretty sure if I walked ov er there, he'd toss my ass over the balcony," Minho said, gazing over at Taeng's still form. "I saw him do that once." "What?!" Minho said, jerking his head back to Siwon. He had to be kidding. Siwon sighed, "I'll go."  He walked outside onto the balcony and carefully over to Taeng. Siwon stood side by side with him and turned to look at Taeng's profile. "Taeng, I'm sure she's okay. Look, if someone took her, it's to get at you, righ t? Well, if that's so, they will want to show you they have her. They're not goi ng to hurt her...at least not until they show themselves," Siwon said, turning t o look out at the back yard too. Taeng didn't say anything, he just continued to stare out. Siwon leaned against the marble railing. A few more moments of silence passed before Siwon heard Taen g speak. "Do you believe in karma?" Taeng asked. Siwon shook his head. "Taeng, you know I'm too logical for that." "Yeah, that's what I used to think. But now, I'm not so sure. It's like every si n I ever committed is coming back on me tenfold, but it's using the only woman I 've ever wanted to make a life with. That I've ever fallen in love with--the onl y one...that has to be karma." Taeng's world was crumbling right before his eyes. This was all happening becaus e of him. Tiffany hadn't done a damn thing wrong this was all him. And Nichkhun, o r whoever this was, had him right where they wanted him. He would do or give up anything for her. For the first time in his life, he felt the cold sting of defe at and heartache.  BUT Taeng knew it wasn't in his nature to go down without a fight. Whoever had t he balls to do this...didn't realize what they had done. They had unleashed the demon within him, and there wasn't a single place the culprit could hide.  And just like that, a switch had flipped inside of Taeng. He turned around and m arched back inside his office. "Get every contact we have on the streets, and see if they've seen Nichkhun. Tel l them I'll offer a generous reward for whoever has the correct location," he sa id to Minho. "Siwon, get the tracking kit in case anyone calls and touch base wi th Yuri and make sure he has questioned everyone near the spot of Tiffany's disa ppearance." *** "What's taking so long?" the old man asked, walking closer to Tiffany. "Why won' t she give you the number?"

The old continued to stare at her. He walked over to a desk and pulled out a sma ll piece of paper. He walked back over to her and held a black and white photo o f her inside Hongdae Cafe. "Is this not you?" he said in a sarcastic tone. Tiffany looked up from the photo. "Yes, but I'm not married." "Right, and I suppose you're going to tell me your husband's not a wealthy banke r. You know, I didn't want to do this the hard way, but you leave me no choice," he said, pulling out his blade. Tiffany knew she had to think quickly. "I'm not married! I only have a boyfriend, and his name is Taeng Kim," Tiffany s aid "What the fu who did she say?" the young man asked. "Bullshyte," the old said, standing up. So...they had heard of Taeng. " Kim Taeng. I'm his girlfriend," Tiffany announced, as the tables began to turn on this whole twisted deal. "The fucking mob boss?! Shit man, what the fuck did you get me into?!" the young man shouted at the other man. "Keep your fucking voice down! And besides, she's lying," the Old man said, star ing at Tiffany.  "I can give you his number if you don't believe me," Tiffany said. "Fine. I'll call your bluff," he said, opening the cell phone. "What's the numbe r?" Tiffany gave it to him and he dialed. As soon as it started ringing, he roug hly grabbed her chin and got within an inch of her face. "If you're lying to me, I will slowly cut you inch by fucking inch until you bleed to death. Got me?" Tiffany swallowed and began to shake. She wished she could close her eyes and di sappear. Even though the phone was next to his ear, she could hear it ringing. ' Please Taeng, pick up the phone,' Tiffany prayed. *** Taeng was in the middle of dialing another contact when his cell began to ring. He didn't recognize the number, but perhaps Minho had gotten through to someone who had some information. He answered it. "Yes?" "Is this Kim Taeng?" a muffled voice asked.  "Yes. Who's this?" he asked, before the phone went dead. Taeng felt a cold chill travel up his spine. He quickly snapped his fingers at Siwon, who had fallen as leep on the couch. Siwon hopped up and rushed over to Taeng's desk. "Pull the last number back up and track it. That motherfucker just called me. I know it's whoever has Tiffany," Taeng stated. Siwon grabbed the cell phone. "Okay, but you have to get him to talk for at leas t twenty seconds." Taeng nodded. ***

"Well?" the Young man asked in a worried tone, looking at the other man, who slo wly lowered the phone from his ear. "Was it him?!" The Old subtly nodded his head. The Young man threw his hands up in the air. "Oh great! Just fucking perfect!! O h man, I didn't sign up for this! I didn't sign up to fuck with the mob, Jesus C hrist, man!" "Calm the fuck down and let me think!" the other hollered back. "I'm not going to calm down! Get that rat bastard who set this up on the phone a nd find out what the hell he's trying to pull," the Young man screamed. "Why don't you shut the fuck up and let me--," the Old said, before his phone st arted ringing. All three of them stared at it. "Should we answer it," the Young man asked in a frightened tone. The Old slowly brought the phone back up to his ear and clicked the talk button. "Put Tiffany on the phone now," Taeng growled out. "I don't know what--" "Put her on the fucking phone!" Taeng yelled, squeezing his cell phone. After a few moments of silence, he heard some background noise and then the sweetest voi ce in the world. "Taeng?" Tiffany asked. "Baby, are you okay?" he asked, closing his eyes. "Yes, I think so. Taeng, I'm scared," she whispered to him.  "I know, I know baby. But listen to me, no one is going to hurt you. Say okay if there are less than five men." "Okay," Tiffany said. "Thank you, sweetheart. I love you and I'll find you. Put him back on," Taeng re quested. When he heard the man breathing through the line again, Taeng closed hi s eyes. "Now that you know who I am, know that I won't be contacting the police. The bes t you can hope for is to let her go, leave town as fast as you can, and pray I c an't find you. But if you make this even more difficult...you're dead. I WILL fi nd you and no amount of negotiating or money is going to keep me from torturing you and then killing you. Pass that message along to whoever you're working with ," Taeng said, and hung up the phone.  "Got him. here, the address," Siwon said, writing it down. Taeng called Yuri. "I got her location. Tell Henry to get the plane ready, and c all Wooyoung. I might need his help. Have a car waiting for us when we get there . I'm sending you the address now...she's only about forty minutes from you, but hang tight until we get there." "You got it, Taeng. See you in a bit," Yuri said, before he hung up the phone.

Taeng turned to Minho, "We leave in five minutes. I hope you've learned to shoot that gun," Taeng said, as he walked out of the office. Minho took a deep breath. Oh, fuck. *** The old man quickly stepped away from Tiffany, and left the room. The other one followed after him, asking him what Taeng had said. When they closed the door, T iffany felt her whole body shake. She had been that close to death. But Taeng sa id they wouldn't hurt her and that he would find her. She laid back down on the cot and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or drunk anything, but she was sure nothing would go down anyway. Her stomach c ouldn't handle it. Tiffany heard shouting, but she could only make out certain words. Whoever the O ld was talking to, he was screaming at, telling the person that they had backsta bbed him. He mentioned something about Taeng and there not being a banker, and t hey had been set up.  Tiffany closed her eyes, so she could concentrate on hearing the rest of what th e Old was saying. "I took the gag off because I wanted the phone number I don't care what you told m e not to do get your ass here! Hello? Hello?!" she heard him yell. Then it sounded as though he smashed something. A few minutes later, the two of them rushed back in. "I say we just drop her off at the closest stop, and get the hell out of here. W e were obviously set up. I mean, that's his girlfriend, dude! What the fuck, he' s going to kill us!" the Young man shouted. The Old grabbed him by the shirt. "You're getting excited again. Shut up!" The Young man finally calmed down. He sat on Tiffany's cot and placed his head i n his hands. If Tiffany didn't despise them so much, she'd actually feel a littl e sorry for him at least. He obviously had gotten in way over his head, when he thought it would be a simple cash reward. But now Tiffany was even more confused . So...someone had set these guys up into thinking they were kidnapping a banker 's wife? Who would go through all that trouble? Tiffany could think of one perso n, but for Paul's sake, she hoped it wasn't his son.

Chapter 30 Paul was asleep when Jun.k came into his room and handed him the phone. "Sir, I think you'll want to take this call." Paul quickly sat up on his bed. "Thank you," he said to Jun.k, before the young man walked out. Paul put the phone to his ear. "Nichkhun?" "Hey Pop! Word around town is that you were looking for me? What's up?" "Where the HELL are you? "I'm somewhere."

"I just got word that Tiffany was missing. Please, PLEASE tell me that has nothi ng to do with you." "That has nothing to do with me," Nichkhun answered flatly. "Are you telling me the truth? I can only protect you if you are honest with me. " "I'm telling you the truth, Pop. I didn't even know she was missing. Taeng must be a wreck, huh?" Nichkhun said. "I'm sure he thinks you are behind this," Paul sighed. "I'll meet you in a safe place so we can figure out what our next step will be. I've already warned him a bout targeting you." "Maybe Tiffany ran away. I wouldn't blame her, he's a little crazy," Nichkhun sa id with a laugh. "It's not funny. She didn't run away, and she doesn't deserve this. If it weren' t for our disagreement regarding you, I'd be out there helping him look for her. " Nichkhun scoffed. "Pop, I'm sure it's nothing. And when Tiffany turns up, he'll probably be so glad to have her back, that none of this will matter," Nichkhun s aid, as if he were bored with the whole situation. Paul exhaled. "Obviously son, you've never been in love. I would have ripped dow n the fucking walls of every building and house searching for your mother if som ething like this happened. And then, anyone responsible would no longer be breat hing. You don't think Taeng feels the same? Trust me, he does, and this is going to get worse before it gets better, I'm afraid." *** On the plane with Taeng were Minho, Taecyeon and his friend, David. David was a huge guy, ex-Navy SEAL who cashed in big checks with bounty hunting. Taeng had e mployed him several times over the years. He was a trustworthy guy who could kil l a man with his bare hands, and proudly bragged about that fact.  The four of them stepped off the small plane and into the vehicle that was waiti ng for them. Minho glanced over at Taeng. He seemed calm, but Minho couldn't be sure. Taeng never really showed much emotion. At least not to him, but Minho was freaking out. He felt constricted in the bullet proof vest he was wearing. And the handgun he held felt like it weighed a ton.  "Stop to be akes. d got

the car," Minho whispered. They all ignored him. "Stop the car, I'm going sick," Minho yelled, as he opened his car door. Taecyeon slammed on the br Minho hopped out and vomited on the ground. He quickly wiped his mouth, an back into the car. 

"Sorry," he whispered to Taeng. But Taeng said nothing. He just rolled two bulle ts in between his fingers and stared forward through the windshield. A few minutes later, they pulled up to an abandoned house, hidden from the stree t. Yuri was there, waiting. They all got out of the vehicles and separated, surr ounding the house. *** The Young man was leaning against the wall, now that his nerves weren't so frazz

led. But the Old was pacing back and forth, checking his phone every few minutes , to make sure it was still working. Apparently the person who had given them th is false information had not called back, nor had they shown up. Tiffany ignored the rumbling in her stomach, as she thought about dying in a pla ce like this. Death had never crossed her mind much, but now it seemed to be sur rounding her. She just couldn't believe this had happened or was happening. Things like this just didn't seem to happen in real life. People didn't just kidnap yo u off the street. She had read about it, seen it in movies or in the news, but i t still seemed very distant from her life. Her train of thought was interrupted by someone yelling downstairs. She jumped and screamed when she heard a gunshot.  "Go see what that was!" the Old screamed at the Young man.  The Young man went flying out of the door right before she heard another gun sho t. "Taeng!" Tiffany shrieked, hopping up from the cot and running for the door. The Old grabbed her around the waist and held her tightly against his chest. She fe lt his breath quicken and the cold metal tip of a gun press against her temple. Tiffany shut her eyes tightly, praying that she would make it out of here alive. "Oh God," she said, as she heard the door fling open. A second later, Taeng came through the door. He saw the man holding the gun to T iffany's head. Her eyes were closed. "Tiffany?" Taeng said, keeping his gaze and gun on the man. Her watery eyes immediately opened and her heart skipped a beat.  "Drop it!" the man holding her yelled. Taeng kept his gun trained firmly on him, while the other guys stood to the side of Taeng, aiming their guns in kidnapper 's direction as well. "I mean it, or I'll put a bullet through her fucking head!" he warned. Taeng slowly lowered his weapon. "Lower your guns," Taeng said to the group behi nd him, as he kept his eyes on the culprit. They all obeyed. "Tiffany?" Taeng as ked. "Y-yes?" she choked out. "I love you," Taeng said, steadying his hand. "I I lo-ove you too," Tiffany said, shaking uncontrollably. "You trust me?" As soon as Tiffany mumbled yes, she saw Taeng quickly raise his gun as a loud po p sounded throughout the large room, and in an instant, something whizzed past h er head. She squeezed her eyes shut as a wet, warm liquid was splattered against the side of her face and neck. The man behind her released her and she heard a thump. Everything seemed to slow down. She couldn't hear anything, as her body wilted t o the hardwood floor. She couldn't catch her breath. She felt arms wrap around h er. She wasn't sure if it was Taeng or not, but she wasn't going to open her eye s to find out. "Are you okay?" she heard someone ask, as they pulled the duct tape from her han ds. Tiffany didn't say anything. She couldn't breathe.

"Tiffany! Baby, Are you okay?" she heard again. She slowly opened her eyes to se e Taeng hovering a few inches from her face. She felt so dizzy as she glanced to the side and saw the Old...or what was left of his head lying on the ground bes ide her. She immediately started screaming at the top of her lungs, while trying to wipe the blood from her body. "Oh my God!! Get it off me, get it off me!!" Tiffany cried, kicking and pushing Taeng away, still struggling to remove the blood. She looked over at the body ag ain, which caused her to scream hysterically. "Calm down baby, don't look at him, just look at me," Taeng said, trying to turn her head away from the dead body. But Tiffany kept pushing his hands away. Taen g finally grabbed her tightly and lifted her up from the floor. "Ssh, baby. Calm down," he whispered.  Tiffany was mumbling unintelligibly in Taeng's ear, as he carried her out of the room. When they reached outside, he placed Tiffany in the back seat of the blac k Sedan and closed the door. "Yuri, can you help David get rid of the bodies and evidence, and meet us at thi s hotel," Taeng said, handing him the address. "I think we should drive back instead of fly, to give everyone a chance to...rel ax, before we get back to the city." Yuri nodded and glanced through the dark tinted window. "Is she going to be okay ?" he asked. "I don't know," Taeng answered honestly. "Minho, Taecyeon, you guys come with us ," he said as he hopped in the back seat with Tiffany. *** Minho received the keys for all of the rooms, and passed them out. Tiffany quick ly snatched the key from him and marched past everyone and straight into her and Taeng's room, slamming the door behind her. She hadn't said a word to anyone si nce she had been rescued. "Hey Taeng, want me to grab you a drink. I think you might need it," Minho said, looking at the shut door to Taeng's room.  Taeng exhaled, "No. And thank you for today. You did well." Minho gave a small s mile as he turned and walked across the street to the closest gas station. Taeng went into their room and placed the other key card on the counter. He wasn 't sure what to say to Tiffany. He walked to the bathroom and leaned against the door frame, quietly observing her. She was bending over the sink, washing her h air. It looked as though she were rinsing red dye from her hairs. He picked up a towel from the rack and tried to wipe the blood from her neck, bu t she snatched it from him before he could touch her. "Fany " "Don't talk to me," she snapped. "It will be okay," Taeng said. She raised up and glared at him, with tears in her eyes and red water dripping o nto her light yellow dress, blending into the permanent blood stains. "With all due fucking respect, it will NOT be okay! I'm washing blood and brains

from my hair...it is NOT okay," she croaked out in short breaths. Taeng continued to stare at her. "Will you please get out so I can take a shower?" she asked. Taeng stood there a few seconds longer, before he turned and left the bathroom. He grabbed his keycard and walked out of the room. Tiffany quickly peeled the dress from her body. The bottom portion of her dress was still a light, soft yellow. But the top half was drenched in red. She placed it in the sink and got into the shower. This all seemed like a nightmare. She just wanted to wake up from it. The only d ead body she had ever seen was at her great Aunt funeral, who had died when she was a teenager, and even that had freaked her out. Now here she was washing some man's blood from her body. Blood that could have easily been hers, had one thin g gone differently. To be alive, she was grateful, but her feelings were all mixed up at the moment. She just wanted to go home and forget about this whole frightening ordeal. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin felt raw and she became short of breath. Sh e was so sick of crying, but she could no longer hold it in. She sat down in the shower as the warm water cascaded down on top of her, and she sobbed. Taeng leaned against the sedan. This whole day had been bittersweet. He was so u nbelievably happy that Tiffany had not been hurt. He didn't even want to think o f his life without her. But now she didn't even want to talk to him. He knew she had every right to be upset with him. He was pissed that he had placed her in t his position and he didn't know how to make it better. But one thing he did know , was that this had to be Nichkhun's doing. It had to be. And when he caught tha t bastard, Paul's son or not, he was going to torture and kill that fucker. Taeng was thinking of what he was going to say to Tiffany, when his cell phone s tarted vibrating. He looked at the number. "Hey , I yes, she's fine no, I checked he r she's fine. At least physically anyway." Taeng sighed, "I know, I know, but it's been a rough day. I promise to call you tomorrow morni ng and give you an update. Love you and good night." Yuri and David pulled up right as he ended the conversation with his mother. Bot h of the men were covered in blood, which they tried to hide with jackets. "Minho has your key, he's in room 103. It's not much, but we needed a place that we could enter and exit from the outside," Taeng said to David. He shook his ha nd and thanked him for all of his help. "Anytime, Taeng," David said, as he grabbed three bottles of bleach from the bac k of the car and went to knock on Minho's door. Yuri closed his door and went to stand beside Taeng. "You know I'm truly sorry f or taking my eyes off her, even for a few minutes. This all happened because of me," Yuri said, leaning his head back. "No, it happened because of me. You're a true friend, Yuri. And she's safe now, and that's all that matters." Yuri nodded, but remained silent. "She's going to leave me," Taeng stated, staring off into the distance. "You don't know that. She's just in shock from everything that has happened," Yu

ri said, trying to add words of comfort. "No. She will, because I don't know how to make this better," Taeng quietly said . "Yes you do, Taeng," Yuri said, as he walked around to the trunk and removed mor e bottles of bleach and a small bag. He slammed the trunk shut and returned to s tand in front of Taeng. "It won't be easy, but I'm sure you'll figure out how to make this better," he s aid handing Taeng the bag, "I picked this up for her on the way. Figured she would need it," he stated, the n walked to Minho's room for his key. Taeng glanced inside the bag and then watched as his friend disappeared into one of the rooms. He stood there for a few more moments, before he walked toward hi s room.  Tiffany was sitting on the bed when Taeng entered. She was only wearing a small white towel wrapped around her body, and another wrapped around her hair. He walked over and sat down beside her on the bed. What he wouldn't give to pull that towel off and fuck her until they were both dead tired. He was sure that c ould cure this somber mood. He handed her the small bag. Tiffany reached into the bag and pulled out a white shirt and a pair of pajama p ants. No bra or panties, but at this point, she didn't even care. She turned awa y from him and quickly put them on, knowing no doubt his eyes were on her. When she turned around, he stared at her shirt and gave a small chuckle. Tiffany glanced down at the shirt. It read: World's Best Mom! in bright blue let ters. "Sorry, I think that's all he could find around here," Taeng said. Had Tiffany n ot been so upset, she might have been able to see the humor in it, but right now , she just couldn't. She sat back down on the bed to put her shoes on. "Baby," Taeng said, reaching for her hand. "Don't," she said, pulling away as she stood up. "Taeng...I can't do this. I may not live a glamorous life, but that's not me anyway. I don't know what I was th inking to even consider this lifestyle," she stated, no longer able to hold it i n. "Baby, when we get back to the city, I promise, I'll find out who was behind thi s, and make sure it will never happen again. I didn't protect you as well as I s hould have and--" "Do you see what I mean? Protect me?! If this was a normal relationship, you wou ldn't have to. I want a normal life!" she shouted. "A normal boyfriend or husband who has a normal job, so I can have a normal fam ju st normal. I don't want this! My father robbed me of a normal childhood and I'll be Goddamned if I let you rob me of a normal life!" Tiffany felt as though she were having a mini breakdown in some hotel in she didn't even know where the fuck they were. This whole situation shouldn't have happened, and she started getting pissed. She pulled the towel from her head, letting her damp hairs fall down her back. "Well, at least this time I was worth five hundred grand," Tiffany mocked. But i nstantly she felt guilty for taking such a jab and the look of hurt in his eyes stung her.

"Just push the knife in further Fany-ah, as if I don't feel like shit. I know th is is all my fault. I I don't know what else to say other than I'm truly sorry I p ut you through this. When we get back, I swear I'll make things better. No one w ill be able to get to you again." Tiffany stared at him. "So you'll keep me in hiding?" "I don't know, I'm still trying to think everything through." "Is that what you think I'd want? Is that your definition of normal?" Tiffany sh ook her head. "Taeng...it's over." "Don't say that. I can make this work, I " "I love you, Taeng," Tiffany whispered, tears finally spilling over the brim of her eyelids. "So much...but I can't. I'd lose me if I stayed. This isn't just Tiffany's, this is far worse, and I can't handle this. I I," Tiffany couldn't finish. She had to leave. She felt like she was slowly being smothered. "I called Minho, and he has agreed to take me back home tonight. And don't be mad at him, I begg ed. I realize things might not be safe, so I'll check into a hotel when I get ba ck." She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her hand. "Please don't do this, Tiffany. Don't leave me again," he whispered, close to he r ear. He just couldn't take it this time. The first time she left was because o f what he did and said. This time...she was leaving because of who he was. And t hat was something that couldn't easily be changed. Tiffany looked into his apologetic eyes. She would miss him. Her body, her heart ...all of her would cry for him, but she just couldn't stay. She stood on her ti ptoes and kissed him. She wrapped her hands around his neck, and pressed her bod y against him as she caressed his tongue with hers. Taeng wrapped his arms around her waist, as he kissed her back even harder. He h ad wanted to feel her in his arms for over a week, and now she was. Maybe everyt hing would be better after all. Especially if he could remove her clothes and ge t to what he desired. What would make both of them feel better. But before he co uld pull her pajama bottoms down, she pulled away from him. "Goodbye, Taeng," she whispered, as she backed up toward the door, still facing him. Taeng's heart sunk...again. He wasn't sure what to say. Were anymore words even needed? She wanted normal, and that's something he wasn't. He started walking to wards her until she held up her hand. "No. Just stay away from me...please. When we get back to the city, just stay aw ay," Tiffany whispered. Taeng stopped in his tracks, his heart breaking with every step she took closer to the door. As she opened the door, he had to tell her again, even though he kn ew it wouldn't stop her. "I love you." He watched as she disappeared through the door and quite possibly out of his lif e forever. The second time around was ten times more painful than the first time she had walked out on him.

Chapter 31 Tiffany was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open. The trip from that hotel in the middle of nowhere where she had left her heart behind was a b lur. She had slept most of the time while Minho drove back. She slightly remembe red him singing along to some rap song, but then she was out again.  She did however wake up right as Minho was pulling up to some lavish hotel, and she vaguely remembered telling him to keep on driving until they reached somethi ng she could afford. A Motel 6 or something like that. But Minho just laughed, i nsisting that Taeng would kill him if he dropped her off at such a place, plus s he didn't have her purse with her. And now that she had physically seen Taeng ki ll a man, maybe Minho had a point. The valet who took their car gave her a onceover. She was sure she looked ridiculous. She was half out of it, and was wearin g a silly t-shirt with no bra. But luckily they had stopped by her apartment, an d she had quickly gathered some extra clothes with her eyes half shut.  When they walked through the hotel room doors, she thanked Minho and tried to ma rch straight to bed, but he grabbed her hand. "Wait a second, princess. I need to talk to you." "Oh, Minho, please, please, can it wait until tomorrow. I don't even know what I 'm saying right now, I'm so tired." "I know, but Taeng said I need to get what's in your head now, while it's still fresh. Then you can go to sleep, okay? Now did those guys say anything, anything at all?" Tiffany plopped down on the couch and rested her head in her hands, covering her eyes. She really didn't want to think about anything from earlier that day. The whole ride back she had been trying to block it out of her mind.  She started relaying the details to Minho as she remembered them. Once she was d one, she walked to the bedroom and dropped onto the bed.  Minho sat down on the couch. He was about to turn the TV on when he heard Tiffan y yell something. He hopped up and walked to the bedroom door. "What was that princess?"  "T-Tell Taeng I'll pay him back for everything and mmph frog nop tim," she said, with her face buried into the pillow. Minho laughed when the rest of her train of thought turned even more unintelligible and then he heard a snore. "He'd rather have you back than the money, Fany," Minho whispered before he left the room. *** Taeng didn't sleep after Tiffany left the hotel. And instead of staying the nigh t, he woke Yuri, Taecyeon and David up, telling them he wanted to head back into town immediately. They all agreed, realizing that there was a real chance that Tiffany still wasn't out of danger. After they dropped David off at his car, the rest headed back over to Taeng's pl ace, and then Yuri went home, praying Yoona wouldn't kill him. 

Taeng had asked Minho to check in with him every hour, and so far Tiffany was st ill asleep. "Hey Taeng, I I don't know what the hell all this means, but Fany--Tiffany told me that the kidnappers thought she was a banker's wife. And that they had a photo of her working at Hongdae Cafe and they were talking to someone else on the phon e...and well, it seems as though that person set them up. At least that's what o ne of the guys said." "They didn't give a name?" Taeng questioned. "No, she said they never said any names, other than the three stooges." "Did she remember anything else?" "Only that they seemed really confused. And when they found out that she was wit h you, they got scared and realized they had been double-crossed." None of it made sense to Taeng. Why the fuck would Nichkhun go through so much f ucking trouble? He might not have had all the pieces together, but he knew witho ut a doubt that Nichkhun's ass was dead. "Oh! She did mention that whoever it was they were talking to on the phone got r eally pissed that they had taken the tape off her mouth. They apparently weren't supposed to talk to her." "Alright. Well, watch over her and continue to give me reports." "Will do," Minho said, and then hung up. Taeng leaned back at his desk and closed his eyes. He had so many questions swir ling around in his head. Who gave Nichkhun information on where his mother lived ? That's information he never even told Jessica, and she was married to him for three years. Yuri was the only other person, and he trusted Yuri with his life. Yuri would never double-cross him. Who else could be involved?  And he quietly chastised himself for losing control. He had planned to kill all but one of them, but when that fucker had the gun up against Tiffany's head, he knew he was going to kill him on general principles. But now all they had were t hree dead bodies and were back to square one. Taeng knew he couldn't move in on Nichkhun until he could pinpoint evidence on the prick. There had to be some lin k. Something... Taeng pulled out a bottle of vodka to slow down the many thoughts that were raci ng through his head. He poured a shot and downed it, then poured another. But as Taeng was staring at the colorless liquid in the shot glass, it came to him wit h the strongest of clarity. Clarity that shook him to his very core, causing him to drop the bottle and the glass.  He knew who set this up.  Motherfucker!! Taeng eeded en he David ***

knew Yuri was already at home, and probably asleep in bed by now, but he n to talk to him and explain his theory. He quickly dialed Yuri's number. Wh picked up Taeng said, "I know who it is. Bring all the stuff that you and took off the bodies."

Minho walked into the bedroom to check on Tiffany for the tenth time that night. Actually it was morning by then. She was still passed out and still snoring. 'G od, she is so beautiful,' Minho thought. Honestly, he never believed that she and Taeng belonged together. They just seem ed so different. He remembered the first night he met her at the party. She was so fucking sexy in that red dress, and she seemed so nervous. As she was talking to him that night, he couldn't stop staring at her lips. She had the most perfe ct, plump set of lips he had ever seen. And she had this cute innocence about he r, like she didn't know she was getting the attention of every straight man in t he room that night. And maybe she really didn't. He could definitely see why Taeng was so attracted to her...physically she was a walking wet dream, but her personality didn't really fit her body. She seemed a wkward and uncomfortable around people. Like she didn't know what to do with her hands, or even what to say. And secretly that's what turned him on. And apparen tly Taeng too. Minho sighed and walked back out of the room. He sat down on the couch again, an d was about to take his shoes off when Yuri called. 'Jesus man, she's okay,' Min ho thought. "Hey Yuri, she's--" "Change of plans. Taeng needs us to come to his place right now," Yuri said, the n hung up. A chill immediately ran up Minho's spine. Taeng wanted him to leave Tiffany, who could be in danger, to come to his house at four in the morning? It didn't make sense, but for some reason it scared the shit out of him. Should he tell Tiffan y, or should he just leave? Minho decided to just leave. He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. When he pulled up he noticed Siwon's car out front as well. This must be an urgent m eeting of the minds. When he entered, he noticed Siwon sitting in the hallway typing on his cell phon e. He looked up and greeted him. "Well, looks like they found the culprit," Siwon announced, sliding his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.  "Oh! Who is it?" Minho asked. "Don't know, apparently they have him in the basement. Wonder if it was Nichkhun after all," Siwon said nonchalantly. Minho sat down. "Well at least she's okay now." "Who?" Siwon said, staring at the screen of his phone. Minho glanced at him and rolled his eyes. "Tiffany, of course." "Oh. Yeah, good thing you guys got there in time," Siwon said, yawning. Minho rolled his eyes again. Siwon had no personality whatsoever. Minho had trie d talking to him on several occasions, but Siwon just always had a distant look in his eyes. Like he really didn't care about anything but business. Something Y uri had warned him about beforehand, but Minho being the talkative guy that he w as, tried to break the ice, but it never broke or even thawed. Finally Yuri came up from the basement and stared at both of them for a second,

before he said for them to follow him. Minho really didn't want to go down there. He didn't want to see whatever it was they were about to do to this poor bastard. Of course the guy deserved it, but Minho couldn't stomach it. Seeing brains splatter against a wall from earlier th at day was enough for him.  When they finally reached the bottom stairs, they turned to the right and entere d into a small room. One Minho had never been in. It was dark and smelled like b leach. They both looked around to see who the prick could be, but they found no one. Where was the mystery man? "Hello gentlemen," Taeng said from behind them. Minho jumped, and turned to look at him. Taeng looked so calm and collected, dressed in all black...including bl ack gloves. What the hell was going on? Minho gulped and looked around the room again. He saw Taecyeon standing over in a corner with protective goggles and a b low torch, turning it from bright orange to burning blue. What the fuck?!! Minho thought he was going to hyperventilate. Taeng walked in front of them and stared. After a few seconds, he spoke. "As I was sitting in my office a few hours ago, something came to me. Very clear ly. I was careless when it came to my mother. I was cocky and too trusting that nothing would ever happen to her again. You see, whoever went after Tiffany, kne w where my mother lived. And that's not information I give out to anyone. Only m yself and Yuri know. Or knew. And Yuri, you didn't try to kill my girlfriend, ri ght?" "Fuck no." "Of course not. And Yuri, if someone tried to kill Yoona or your girls, what wou ld you do if you caught them?" "I'd skin the motherfucker," Yuri said with a straight face. "As would I," Taeng said, as he turned back around and started walking around th e small cramped room. "I wracked my brain trying to find out who else would have known where my mother lived. That's information I even kept from my ex-wife. Who would know?" Taeng s aid as he circled the two men. "Then, it came to me. The one tiny loophole that I had been overlooking, because I never actually received them. Do you know what that was, Minho?" Taeng asked, turning to look at him. Minho's breathing quickened. He was going to be sick. 'Please, God, what is he g etting at,' Minho thought. "No," Minho whispered. "Bills. My mother's bills that had her residence on them. Bills that were entrus ted to my accountant," Taeng said, turning his attention to Siwon. Taeng watched as Siwon's eyes widened.  "No-Taeng, I-I, I don't know what you're talking about," Siwon stuttered out, tu rning to leave but running straight into Yuri, who was behind him. He glanced ba ck and forth between both men, while Minho slid back against the wall, grabbing his heart. He had thought he was dead. That they were going to kill him for what ever reason. But it was Siwon! Taeng continued to stare at Siwon.

"Minho said that Tiffany mentioned the guys thought her husband was a banker. Ma kes sense...I'm sure you quoted them a bunch of phony facts and numbers that see med legit since you used to be the head accountant at one of the largest bank co rporations. You would know enough to make three strangers believe you. And you a lso knew that hiring them to shoot at her would cause me to send her away, becau se that's what I had done with my mother. But you knew I wouldn't keep her away for long, so you thought of another way to get rid of her. But you weren't betti ng on the fact that they would disobey you and remove her gag. That they would c ontact me." "I swear t--to you Taeng, I I swear, I had nothing to do with any of this. I mean, anyone could have known where your mother lived," Siwon begged, now visibly swe ating for all of them to see. "Really?" Taeng stated flatly. A cell phone started ringing, causing Siwon and Minho to jump in the small space . "I think that's your phone ringing, Siwon. Go ahead and answer it," Taeng said, staring the smaller man down. "Uh, no, it can wait," Siwon whispered. "Answer it," Taeng demanded, narrowing his eyes. Siwon nervously reached into his pocket. His hands shook as he clumsily flipped open the cell phone. "Hello," he croaked out. "Hi, Siwon," they all heard Yuri say from behind him. Minho watched as Siwon see med to crumble right before his eyes.  "Recognize that number?" Taeng asked. Siwon didn't say anything. He just stared down at the floor and mumbled to himse lf. "Yuri got that phone off the dead old guy. Funny how the last number just so hap pened to be yours. How could such a smart man make such a costly mistake?" Taeng asked, turning his back and walking away. "Taeng I...oh God," Siwon muttered. "I ju--just wanted you to be th--the best, y ou know. Like yo--you've always b been. With no distractions. She was ca--causing problems. I was, shit, I was just trying to help. We we were a great team...I was just trying to help." Taeng turned back around. "Help? By killing the woman I love?" "By, um, clearing your mind," Siwon whispered. Taeng quickly walked back over to Siwon and punched him square in the face, brea king his glasses...and perhaps his nose. "Did that clear your mind, you fucking coward?!" Taeng yelled, as Siwon grabbed his face, and writhed in pain on the floor.  Taeng pushed his hair back. "Taecyeon, hand me the knives." Taecyeon walked over to Taeng and handed him two knives, one big, one small. Min ho thought he was going to be sick. 

"Minho you might want to step out of the room for this next part," Taeng warned without taking his eyes off Siwon, who was still lying on the ground.  Taeng sure as hell didn't have to tell Minho twice. He jetted for the door, but before he closed it, he looked back at the unbelievable scene unfolding in front of him. "Any last words, Siwon?" Minho heard Yuri ask. Siwon's entire body was shaking. "Yes. Please make it quick," he whispered. "Not a chance in hell," Taeng said, as he approached Siwon, with the two shiny, sharp knives in front of him. That was enough. Minho slammed the door and tore up the steps as he heard Siwon' s scream pierce through the quiet house.  Minho walked outside and sat on the steps. No, he couldn't do this. This was not the life he wanted to live. No matter how much money and glamour could come wit h it, it's not what he wanted. He didn't know if it was even possible to leave t he business, but he had to talk to Taeng. He wiped his sweaty brow and closed hi s eyes as the cool night air hit his face.

Chapter 32 The next morning, Tiffany woke up to the sounds of knocking. She quickly hopped out of bed, threw on a robe and ran to the door. She looked through the peephole at a man in a black suit with a tray. She cautiously opened the door a few inches. "Yes?" she asked. "Good morning, Mrs. Kim. Your husband wanted to make sure you ate something as s oon as you woke up," the man said, pushing the door open and moving around Tiffa ny to set the tray on the table. He turned around and smiled at her. "He's not my I'm sorry, I don't really have any cash on me. You know, for tips," T iffany admitted. The man continued to smile as he walked to the door. "No worries at all, Mrs. Kim. Your husband has paid quiet handsomely to ensure t hat I, and only I, deliver all things to your room. Your room will be cleaned on ce a day by Yeri, and I will accompany her inside and stay until all is done. I will see you again at lunch, and please don't hesitate to call me for anything, no matter how big or small. You can dial the number on my card which is on the t ray, or dial the front desk and ask for Lee, which is my name " the man said "Good day." Tiffany closed the door and leaned against it. 'Damn Taeng,' she thought with a smile. Before she could walk away from the door, she heard knocking again. "Yes, Lee --," she started to say as she opened the door, but quieted when she r ealized who it was. "Miss Hwang, how are you?" Detective Hyung Joong asked, although Tiffany could t ell he really couldn't care less if she were fine or not. He pushed past her and walked into the living room.

"I'm fine, thank you. How did you get up here?" Tiffany asked.  Hyung Joong flashed his badge to her. "It's amazing what this little badge can d o. Nice room. What do they call this, the penthouse, right?" he said, walking ar ound. "I guess," Tiffany answered, pulling her robe tightly shut. Tiffany walked toward the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?" she aske d, trying to be nice in hopes that he would leave soon. "Sure. coffeee. Thanks. So, how is it that you know my good friend, Taeng?" "We dated. We recently broke up, end of story," Tiffany stated matter-of-factly, as she poured him some coffeee from her breakfast tray. "Is that right," Hyung Joong said, grinning and walking toward her. "Yep." "Why did you break up?" "That's really none of your business," Tiffany said, handing him his cup. "I can question you here in your comfortable hotel room or downtown under some h arsh florescent lights if you don't play nice, Tiffany," Hyung Joong warned. "And remember, it's not nice to lie to a detective." Tiffany was scared. She had never even been given a ticket before, and here she was about to lie to a cop. "He's married to his work. I've been an afterthought for the most part. So it wa sn't a hard decision." "And what work might that be?" Fuck! Perhaps she shouldn't have brought up anything dealing with his job. "His restaurants and club." "Hmm...are those the only businesses that you know of?" Tiffany tried not to swallow. "Yes." "And you wouldn't be lying to me, correct? Because that would not work well in y our favor." "No." "What about--" "Excuse me, Detective Hyung Joong, but I thought you were investigating a shooti ng at Hongdae Cafe. What does any of this have to do with Taeng?" Tiffany asked. "Taeng might be related." "You think he's a suspect? That he would level his own girlfriend's work place w ith an Gangpae, then show back up to the scene of the crime to comfort me?"

"I didn't say he was a suspect, I said he could somehow be related. And how do y ou know it was an Gangpae?" "I don't, I just guessed. It was a lot of shots at once like I stated in the rep ort that day. And I highly doubt Taeng has anything to do with it. But truthfull y, I don't know much about him anyway, so if you have questions about the shooti ng at Hongdae Cafe, I'll answer, but more on Taeng, I won't be able to help you, " Tiffany said, praying that he couldn't see through her bullshit. Hyung Joong just continued to stare at her, and then slowly sipped his coffee.  Tiffany wanted him to leave so bad. She didn't like this guy one bit. He seemed like he was just waiting to catch her in something. The less she said, definitel y the better.   Hyung Joong made a clicking noise from the side of his mouth, as he walked close r to her. "So when you say you were Taeng's girlfriend, does that mean he paid y ou?" Tiffany almost choked. "What?" she asked, setting her cup down. Hyung Joong continued to stare at her. "Basically, did he pay to fuck you? A lot of men like him have these mistresses that they set up. I know he was with you while he was still married. He was paying for you to stay at his condo, and I'm assuming the tradeoff was sex, am I right?" Hyung Joong asked, taking another si p. She figured in this case, the more Hyung Joong thought he was right, the better. Let him think falsely. So Tiffany held her tongue. "Yes," Tiffany whispered. "Thought so. And how did you two meet?" "He financed my father's restaurant." "And are there any documents to prove this?" "I don't know, it was between the two of them. I just worked there." Hyung Joong walked around the counter and stood in front of her. He placed his c up down and slowly raked his eyes over her body until he reached her eyes. Tiffa ny was disgusted at his open gaze. She pulled the short robe tighter to her body . "Well, Miss Hwang, if you have any more 'useful' information regarding the shoot ing...or Taeng Kim, do let me know," he said, walking to the door. He opened the door, but stopped before he exited. "Or information on Yuri, Taecyeon, Siwon and the new guy, Minho, who I believe, according to hotel security, checked you into this hotel. Taeng sure is a genero us ex-boyfriend to let you use his card. Good day." Tiffany tried to shut the door, before he stopped it. "Tell your boyfri excuse me, your financier that he will make a mistake, and I'll be there when he does." Tiffany tried to look bored as she rolled her eyes. She finally shut the door an d leaned against it. Shit, he probably saw right through all of her lies. Especi ally since he knew Minho checked her in with Taeng's card. Tiffany felt sick to her stomach. She needed to lie back down. But before she could reach the room, s he heard her cell phone ringing.

She didn't recognize the number, but she recognized the city. "Hello?" "Fany?" "?" Tiffany asked, not believing who it was. She hadn't heard from her familys i n...well, since that day. "Oh my God, fany, are you alright?" her sister said, worry in her voice. "Yes, . I'm fine." "Thank God. I didn't know what had happened. A cop stopped by the apartment aski ng questions about you and that man." "What? What did you tell him?" Tiffany asked, sitting down on the couch. She pra yed her sister and father didn't say anything that Hyung Joong could use against her. "I didn't know what to tell him. I said that after you and daddy got into an arg ument and he, well, he made you leave and you were living with that man for all I know." ", is that exactly what you said? Nothing else?" "Yes, I believe that was it. I mean, I didn't know what to say, I hadn't heard f rom you in months. I just told him that daddy didn't approve of who you was with , and that we hadn't seen you. Was that okay?" Michelle asked. "Yeah, that was good. Thank you." "He said something about a shooting, and since we didn't know what he was talkin g about, he wouldn't tell us. What shooting?" Tiffany leaned her head back against the couch. "Well, I worked at this place named Hongdae Cafe and there was a shooting. They' re just investigating the place and everyone who was a witness." "Oh. But you're okay, right?" "I'm fine, ." "Good." Neither knew what to say. Both were remembering that last day Tiffany spent with her familys. Tiffany heard her sister clear her throat. "I got your number from that cop, I h ope that's alright. I just hadn't heard from you and didn't know if you were oka y, considering this whole situation you were in. I hope you don't mind." "No, I don't mind," Tiffany said. She waited, as she heard her sister go silent and then sniff. "I I miss you, Fany. So much," she heard her sister whisper. "Maybe...I could stop by and see you?" A warm feeling flooded through Tiffany's body. She really had missed her sister, no matter how awful they parted. She and her sister were always on the same tea m, and they both knew how difficult they father could be.

  "Um, sure. You can come over," Tiffany said, wiping away a tear as she gave her sister the address to the hotel. She quickly showered and changed into a cute sh irt and jeans. She pulled her hairs back into a ponytail and sat at the counter, waiting for her sister to arrive.  As she sat waiting, she hoped she looked presentable. The last thing her sister really knew about her was that she had slept with a stranger to pay off a debt. Not exactly something she ever wanted her sister to know...even if she had done it for her. The phone ringing caused her to drift from her train of thought. She hopped up a nd sprinted to the counter to answer it. "Mrs. Kim, there's a Ms. Michelle Hwang here to see you. She gave us the name Ti ffany Hwang, but when she described you, I thought I would check with you first, " he said. "Yes! Yes, that's my sister. I'll be down to get her." "No need, ma'am. I'll personally see her upstairs for you." "Oh. Well, thank you." Tiffany would never get used to people treating her like she actually mattered. She walked to the door and waited. In a few minutes, she heard a knock and immediately pulled open the door. "Mrs. Kim, your sis--," He tried to get out before Tiffany moved past him to hug her sister. She didn't know why she felt so emotional about their reunion, but she did. "Hey ," Tiffany said, smothering her sister. Michelle hugged her back and the tw o walked into the hotel room. "Oh, thank you, Lee" Tiffany said before closing the door. Inside, Tiffany offered her sister something to drink and the two settled down o n the couch. Michelle picked some imaginary lint from her blouse and Tiffany tri ed to think of something to say. "I've never been in a hotel this beautiful before," Michelle said finally, looki ng around. "Yeah, it's really nice. I still don't know what I'm doing here." Tiffany stared at her sister. She looked really tired and Tiffany knew why. It t ook a lot of energy to deal with they father on a daily basis.  "So, that man said your name was Kim Tiffany. Anything I should know about?" her sister asked, glancing at her fingers and then raising an eyebrow. "Oh, no. We're not married. I think Taeng...I don't know why he did that, maybe for less questions." "I'm confused, Fany. I thought, well, that whole debt deal you had with him, and now he has people calling you Mrs. Kim? What's going on?" Tiffany walked over to the couch and sat down. ", it's all so confusing. But I'm going to be honest with you about everything that's happened, so you can unders tand, and see if I made the right decision."

Michelle nodded, sat down beside Tiffany and placed her purse on the floor. She looked over at her only sister. "Okay, lay it on me." Tiffany told her sister the whole story. She left nothing out as she told her ab out how at one point she couldn't stand him, but somehow fell in love with him. She told her about their trip to Bali, the shooting, kidnapping and end result. Her sister would every now and then raise her hand to her mouth or chest, but re mained quiet. "So, that's how I ended up here," Tiffany finally said, standing to pour them so mething to drink. Michelle shook her head. "Well, he sounds like an interesting man, Fany. Dangero us...but interesting. But you two aren't together anymore, so what will you do n ow?" "I don't know. Do you think I made the right decision?" Her sister sat her glass down on the table. "Now that I can't tell you. All I can say is that if you are waitin' for that ma n to change...it might not happen. But I don't know this Taeng, so I can't judge him." ", that didn't help at all." Michelle laughed. "I'm sorry, but I'm just saying what I know." The two retired to the table once Lee brought up their lunch. A fancy feast of t hings neither one of them had ever heard of. At first they ate in silence, but then Michelle spoke. "Fany...I'm sorry." Tiffany looked up from her plate. "For what, ?" "For everything that happened that day. I'm so sorry." Tiffany felt a heavy sadness cloud over her. Remembering her sister's face that day as she said nothing and let her dad kick her out. Her lack of response hurt Tiffany more than her father's heated words.  "...why didn't you say anything? Why did you let him do that? I don't understand ...I just--," Tiffany couldn't finish her sentence. She stared down at her plate . Suddenly, she had lost her appetite, but she continued to take small bites. An ything to keep from looking at her sister. Several seconds went by before she heard her sister answer. "I guess I was just so sick and tired of arguing with him. It was making me sick , and I decided to be weak instead of strong. I can't believe I let him put you out on the street. I'm so sorry, Fany," Michelle stated, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her cloth napkin. Tiffany knew she wasn't ready to forgive just yet, but one day she would have to let it go. Despite everything that had happened, her sister was very important to her.  *** Later that night, Tiffany was sitting on the couch. She felt she could officiall y say she had the strangest life in the world. One minute she was living with he r familys in a shitty apartment working overtime, the next she was under ball an

d chain of a mob boss. One second she's in Bali, the next she's cleaning brains out of her hair. And now she was in her pajamas watching a game show. Truthfully, she was trying to do anything to take her mind away from Taeng. But calling Taeng mother earlier that night didn't help. Although she was so happy t o hear her voice, once their conversation had ended, the loneliness set in even more. But speaking with Mrs. Kim made her feel closer to Taeng in a way, especia lly since Mrs. Kim kept persuading her to get back together with him. God, she wanted to. She had barely been away from him for two days, and she miss ed him like crazy. Maybe she had overreacted. Maybe she should have given him a chance. He did find her and save her life. That in itself should prove his love to her.  But a part of her didn't want to go through the pain and suffering that Mrs. Kim had gone through. Or the constant waiting that Yoona had to deal with. Tiffany didn't want to live in hiding or be overly cautious and wary of every person who entered her life. Even someone just asking for the time. She didn't want to be scared all day, every day.   *** Taeng sat staring at the empty wall in his room. He had taken a shower, but had yet to put anything on, other than the towel that was wrapped around his waist. After they had gotten rid of Siwon, he had barely gotten any sleep. He thought figuring out who had caused Tiffany harm would have made him feel bet ter...but it didn't. He thought that torturing that son of a bitch would have ma de him feel good...it hadn't. Because even after all of this, sure she was safe, but she wasn't with him. She had asked that he stay away from her. But there wa s no way in hell that was even possible for him now. He sat staring at the wall, but looking beyond it, as images of Tiffany's face f looded his eyes. Her beautiful smile and long, wild wave hair. He had memorized every contour of her face and body. His favorite expression of hers was right af ter she came, she would slowly open her eyes to look at him. If he could freeze that look, he'd carry it with him always. That look caused his heart to flutter. But Taeng knew what she wanted. Normal. Something that his lifestyle was not. Ta eng sat thinking long and hard about his next move. A move he knew wouldn't be eas y, and could change his life forever. But he knew he had to try, because the pri ce of losing Tiffany was one he was no longer willing to pay. As the wheels in his head started turning, he hopped up to get dressed. He knew exactly what the nex t step was and this time it would take much more than a poem to convince his love to risk it all for him.

Chapter 33 fluffy taeny moments .... Please prepare I hope you like it Tiffany stared down into the empty bag right as she heard a knock at the door. L ee, no doubt, coming to bring her dinner. But this time she would look through t he peephole first, just in case it was Hyung Joong. "Yes?" "Message for you, Mrs. Kim," Lee said. 

Tiffany opened the door to find Lee holding a silver tray with a rose and a card on it in one hand, and in his other hand a large silver bag. Tiffany grabbed the note, rose and bag. "Thank you," she said, shutting the door as she read the card. 'Don't think. Put on the dress. A car is waiting for you downstairs.' Tiffany's heart trembled. But what about the other night and don't think! She was going to see Taeng. She smelled the rose and exhaled. This man made her crazy. She quickly ran to the bathroom to shower, put on the dress and a little makeup and then went out of the door all in less than twenty minutes. She decided that she would listen to his message and not think about what she was doing. Sure her mind kept trying to tell her to run...run far away. But...her heart told her so mething much different. As Tiffany rode the elevator down, she giggled to herself to think of Taecyeon o pening her car door as he always did, and him driving her like he had done in th e past to whatever location Taeng wanted. It had been a while, but she tingled a ll over just thinking about it. Once she reached the front of the lobby, she pushed open the hotel doors and fro ze. An instant tingle coursed its way through her body. Taeng was leaning agains t a fire red Lamborghini. She had not been expecting that. Usually when he said a car is waiting, it was someone else ready to drive her to him. But even from a few feet away, he was staring at her with this intensity that she had never see n in another human being. Like he was claiming her with just his eyes alone.  "Hello Tiffany," Taeng said, as she approached. Her beautiful smooth milk skin s eemed to glow and the simple, short black dress he had provided for her hugged h er delicious curves even better than he had imagined. She was stunning, resembli ng the first night he had met her, when she had been wearing a similar albeit, c heaper dress. "Hi Taeng," Tiffany whispered back. He was penetrating her soul with those pierc ing onyx eyes of his. Any guard she had tried to build up in the short ride down the elevator had now crumbled. 'Talk about tall, dark and handsome...his pictur e should be the epitome of that phrase,' Tiffany thought.  "You're mesmerizing...as always," Taeng said, drinking in her striking face and sexy body.  "Thank you," she answered, but then started to feel self-conscious, because Taen g continued to stare at her. She quickly glanced down at her dress and smoothed it out. She glanced back up at him, and he still wasn't saying anything, just ga zing. Taeng finally shook himself out of his trance and opened the passenger door for her. This woman...drove him crazy. "May I escort you to dinner?" he asked, when his brain was up and running again. She nodded to him, then quickly spoke up, "Yes." She got in and he gently closed the door.  When Taeng got in the car, Tiffany's nostrils filled with his masculine scent a sc ent that made her pussy quiver. Just being this close to him, started flooding h er brain with past memories of their hot encounters. He glanced over towards her and gave a small smile before he pulled the car onto the street. 

Neither one said a word while he drove them to their destination, but Tiffany co uldn't help but stare at his profile. Even though it was dark in the car, the ne on blue lights of his dashboard gave her a faint light. It was about the tenth t ime her mind had screamed, 'He's gorgeous'. She started to get wet, just thinkin g about his strong body covering hers. She finally turned away and stared out of the window, to keep from embarrassing herself.  The further they drove, the more the streets began to look familiar, and before long she recognized exactly where they were. She couldn't help but smile. After a few more minutes, they pulled up in front of his condo. When they got ou t, Tiffany greeted Park. He held the door for her and smiled brightly back at he r. "Long time no see, Miss Tiffany," he said. Taeng grabbed her hand and led her to the elevator. They both stared at one anot her on the ride up, but neither spoke a word. Almost 48 hours ago, she had a gun to her head and he had shot someone right in front of her. But now...it's as if that had never happened. The magnetic pull they had towards each other clouded out everything else. Once inside the condo, Taeng removed his coat and walked to the kitchen. Tiffany closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar place. So much had happened here, and it felt just a little strange to be back. But perhaps this time, strange in a good way. Taeng walked back over to her and handed her a glass of champagne. "I owe you an Korean dinner, and I never go back on my word," Taeng said, taking a sip from his own glass. Oh, yes, she remembered that morning. The morning he had promised her so many th ings and left her broken hearted. "Yes, I think you do," Tiffany smiled, and took a sip. "Want me to help with anything?" "Nope. Just sit your pretty little ass down." Taeng rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands and started removing several thing s from the refrigerator. He cleared a space on the island in the kitchen. Tiffan y sat on the bar stool opposite of him, and observed. For someone who didn't coo k often, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. "Taeng?" "Yes?" "What am I doing here?" Tiffany asked, leaning her elbows on the counter.  Taeng was silent for a few moments before he spoke. "I want to give you something that I've never given anyone else." "Your cooking?" Taeng smiled, "No. While I'm preparing our meal, I'm going to give you an opport unity to ask me anything you want. And I'll be completely honest." Tiffany immediately perked up. There was so much she wanted to know about him. "Nothing's off limits?" Taeng exhaled. "Nope. You can ask me anything."

Tiffany thought hard about what her first question would be. She didn't want to scare him off, so she asked a simple one first. "Okay. I'll start off easy. what's your nickname?" "Taetae......" he stated as he chopped a tomato and added it to some spectacular c hicken dish he was in the process of making. "Taetae...ooh, I love that."  She stared at him and noticed a small smile in the corner of his mouth, even tho ugh he wasn't looking at her. But now on to more burning questions.  "Did you sleep with that Janhae the night you took her out?" Taeng looked up at her. "No, and I can't believe you even remembered her name." "Well, it was a pretty devastating night for me. I remembered everything about i t." Taeng grabbed some spices from a cabinet but didn't say anything. He stated matt er-of-factly, as he placed the dish into the oven. He poured another glass of ch ampagne and leaned against the counter. "Next question." Tiffany smiled. "Hmm, what was your dad like?" Taeng glanced down at his glass. "He was a quiet man" Taeng said, trying to figure out what to say about him. "He wasn't the most involved father, but that taught us to be independent. My mom w as the only one who could really make him smile. That's about it in a nutshell." "You look a lot like him," Tiffany said, taking in that bit of information. It w as the first time Taeng had even mentioned his father. Everything so far that sh e had learned about his family had been from Mrs. Kim.  "Yeah, I know," Taeng said as he sipped his drink.  Tiffany knew that this next question might hurt, but she really wanted to know. She wanted to know all she could about Taeng, and not secondhand from someone el se. "What was your brother Jiwoong like?" Even though he probably tried to hide it, Tiffany saw Taeng tense up at the ques tion. He glanced down at his glass then back up to her. "Tiffany, I'm sorry. I know I said nothing is off limits, but can we hold off on that question?" Tiffany nodded. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry." The next question, Tiffany wrote down. She had learned a few things from Taeng. 'How many people have you killed?' was scribbled on a piece of paper and she sli d it towards him. Taeng just looked at her. "Do you really want to know that?" Tiffany looked down at the paper and then back up to Taeng.

"No, I guess I don't," she whispered, as she tore the piece of paper up. "Okay, new question. When's the last time you cried?" Taeng chuckled, "This wasn't the brightest idea. Hmm, can I get back to you on t hat one also?" Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Yes." So much for the Q&A. When dinner was finally ready, Taeng prepared both of their plates, while Tiffan y set the table. It was a beautiful candlelight dinner and the food was amazing. Taeng really could cook...or at least he could cook Korean food. Mrs. Kim would be proud. "This was delicious, Taeng. Thank you," Tiffany said, drinking the last bit of h er champagne.  "Am I forgiven?" "I was never mad at you Taeng, I was just scared. Nothing like that had ever hap pened to me, and I didn't know how to react to it. I still don't," Tiffany said. "Then, what can I do to make it better?" Taeng asked. "You can start by telling me what you're thinking," Tiffany answered. "That's it?" "Yep, just tell me what you're thinking without guarding yourself. Even if it ma kes you look vulnerable, I want to know." "Alright. Stand up," he said, as he walked over to his entertainment system. Tiffany did as she was told, eyeing him cautiously as he flipped through a group of CD's. When he found the one he was looking for, he placed it in the CD playe r, and the smooth, romantic sounds of an old rhythm and blues song drifted throu gh the air. "Oh, this is a beautiful song, I've heard this before in a movie. I didn't know you listened to oldies." "I listen to a little of everything. Come here," Taeng whispered. "You come here," Tiffany teased. Taeng smiled and slowly walked over to her, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her to the living room floor. Tiffany admired his long, lean yet muscular frame underneath his dress shirt and dark jeans. He turned around to face her and fla shed the most beautiful smile. Her knees literally felt weak. He pulled her close to his body and started moving slowly with the music.  "Close your eyes," Taeng softly uttered. Tiffany glanced up at him for a moment, then obeyed. "The night my familys met, this was the song they danced to. My dad had told my mom that night, that he was going to marry her," Taeng said. Tiffany kept her eyes closed as she thought about Taeng's father and Mrs. Kim da ncing. What a beautiful couple they made.

"He also whispered to her during the song what he thought their lives would be l ike. I'd like to try that." Tiffany continued to sway to the music and listen to Taeng's deep soothing voice . "For whatever reason, our bodies crossed paths, and in those special moments, I lost my heart to you. And I'm sure I'll never get it back. But as long as I can hold you close..." Taeng stated, tilting her head up toward him, as she slowly o pened her eyes, "...then you can keep it. I love you more than words can express Tiffany Hwang, and I can't live without you." Tiffany knew her eyes were glassy, but she couldn't help it. Everything he had s aid to her caused goose bumps to caress her skin. And when he leaned down to kis s her, she thought she would melt. The room was slowly spinning and she couldn't tell if the song had stopped or not. Before delivering her another soul shattering kiss. He picked her up and she wra pped her legs around his waist. He lowered his kisses to her neck as she pushed her fingers through his smooth jet black hair. "I can't live without you either, Taeng. I love you," she whispered back, loving the feel of his soft lips nipping at her sensitive skin. She closed her eyes an d threw her head back, to give him full access. Taeng started carrying her towards the bedroom, placing his free arm out to the side to guide him, while he continued to lick and kiss Tiffany. When he finally reached the opening to his room, he gently deposited her onto the bed. He pulled the tiny black dress over her head, and peeled off her undergarments. He had to admire her body. It was damn near perfection, and he was going to spend all nig ht worshipping it. He quickly discarded his clothes and lovingly gripped her ankle. He kissed the b ottom of her foot, and then planted small kisses all the way down her leg until he reached her sweet spot. Tiffany arched her back, in anticipation for what was to follow. After a few tor turous moments, she felt his warm, wet tongue enter her pussy and move in a smal l circular motion, causing little jolts of electricity to ignite in her head. Sh e gently pulled his smooth hair and moaned. "Damn, Taeng...ohh." But Taeng didn't want her lky body until he reached and lightly bit the soft ered her sex. Home, sweet made just for him.

to come just yet. He started slowly crawling up her si her face. He captured her bottom lip between his teeth flesh. He then kissed her swollen lips again as he ent home. Only her pussy could grip his cock, like it was

Tiffany stared up at him, as his powerful thrusts shook her. She raked her finge rs down his back until she reached his ass. She squeezed it as he ground deeper and deeper into her dripping wet pussy. Taeng kissed her again, resting his body further down onto hers, feeling her ful l round breasts meld into his chest. Their hips connected and rocked back and fo rth in a rhythm that only their bodies knew. A dance that their bodies had memor ized with each other. Tiffany licked and kissed his collarbone, tasting the slight salty mixture of hi s sweat. She closed her eyes again, feeling that familiar itch in her lower sect

ion, that only he could scratch. He always seemed to reach places within her tha t she didn't know existed. Her toes hurt as they flexed and her legs began to sh ake. It was coming. Her breath was shortened and she could feel herself panting. "You going to come for me, baby?" she heard him whisper in her ear. She nodded h er head, when she felt his teeth bear down on her neck. "Oww," Tiffany moaned. "I asked you a question, and you didn't answer it," he growled. "Yes, Taeng, I'm about to c--come," Tiffany said, as her pussy tightened around him and her eyes rolled back. "Aahh, Taeng...oh, baby," was all she could manage as wave after wave of delight washed over her body. "That's it sweetheart," Taeng said, as he began to pick up the pace. It had been too damn long since he had felt her body respond to him. He could fe el himself losing control, as he continued to force his full length into her tig ht pussy. He could feel her body clamping around his member, forcefully massagin g it. "Oh,  Fany -ah...". Taeng pushed deep and released a flood of his come into her. A fter a few moments, he stilled himself, as his lower half produced minor spasms until he was completely spent. Neither one could move a muscle, nor did they want to. But Taeng soon realized t hat he was probably crushing her. He tried to roll off of her, but she held onto him. "No, don't move yet," she whimpered. Taeng looked down into her eyes. They were misted over and her mouth was slightl y parted, as if she wanted to say something else. "I'm not going anywhere, baby," Taeng assured her, as he kept their bodies conne cted. She raised up and kissed him. And when she laid her head back down on the bed, s he stared up at him. "I love you." "I love you more," Taeng whispered as he felt his dick stirring again. Yes, they were both going to be sore from this reunion. Later that night, after two more sessions of lovemaking, Taeng and Tiffany lay i n bed, still entangled in each other's arms and legs.  At first, Tiffany couldn't tell if Taeng had fallen asleep, but every few minute s she'd feel his lips against her forehead, and she knew that he wasn't. She alw ays felt so safe in his arms. Strong arms that held her as though she were some precious gem. Perhaps it was because in this moment she felt safe, or satisfied, but whatever the reason, a calm came over Tiffany, and she could no longer deny it. She had sacrificed things all her life, and mostly she didn't have a choice . But now she would make sacrifices for something she truly wanted more than any thing else...and it was clearly her choice. "Taeng, I can handle it," Tiffany said, as she kissed the tips of his fingers "Handle what, baby?" Taeng asked, his sleepy voice betraying him.

"This. Your job, your lifestyle, everything. I mean, I can't promise that it won 't be hard for me, but I will try. I love you and I don't want to be apart from you. And I promise I won't give up on you again," Tiffany admitted, lifting her head to gauge his reaction. Taeng stared down at her. He didn't say anything, but he kissed her. Tiffany kne w this would be a long road to travel, but for her there really was no other opt ion. She had to be with him. She shifted her body, so that she was straddling hi m, with her head resting on his chest. She loved the feel of his chest softly ri sing and falling with each breath. "Fany?" Taeng asked. "Hmm?" she replied, not bothering to lift her head. "Did you still want to know about my brother, Jiwoong?" Taeng asked. But this question however, did cause Tiffany to raise her head. She hesitated a moment before she said "If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." Taeng exhaled, "No, I probably should. Jiwoong was...well, nothing like me. Allround nice guy. He had an interesting sense of humor and usually made friends wi th everyone. But God, could he talk. Never shut up." Tiffany laughed, as she rested her head back onto his chest. "And he never got punished by my mom. She never could, because as soon as she wo uld get mad at him, he'd flash this big smile or puppy dog look, and she was don e. Had mom completely wrapped around his finger. Hmm, let me think what else I c ould tell you," Taeng said more to himself, than Tiffany. "I guess something else that was interesting about him was that he hated fightin g and violence. Didn't even like violent movies, but he never turned his nose up at my father." Tiffany laced her fingers through Taeng's larger ones, as she continued to liste n. It was extremely rare when Taeng shared something, and she always felt so spe cial when he did. She almost didn't want to move, so she wouldn't break whatever connection they had at the moment. Taeng cleared his throat. "I think one of the reasons he was like that, was because of an incident that ha ppened when we were kids. We had gotten my father's handgun and like idiots, wer e playing with it, even though we had been warned a hundred times. Yuri was over at our house that day, and said he could tell it wasn't loaded. So Jiwoong star ted swinging it around and then pointed it at my mom's favorite vase and shot. T hat son of a bitch was so loud, I swear I heard it ringing in my ears for days. Jiwoong dropped the gun and never picked another one up. It scared the shit out of him. But oh, did my father wear our asses out for that," Taeng laughed. "Oh my God, he should have," Tiffany laughed, thinking about the three of them l ooking devilish in the photo she had observed at Mrs. Kim's house.  Both were quiet as several minutes passed. Tiffany wasn't sure if Taeng was done talking. She waited a few minutes longer before she said anything. "You know, your brother...his personality kinda reminds me of Minho, don't you t hink?" Taeng thought about it. Over the years, he had tried not to think about Jiwoong,

but now remembering a few of his brother's traits...yes, he and Minho were simi lar. "Yeah, I guess he does. Always knew I liked that little prick for some reason." Tiffany giggled again. "He's a good guy. You just make him nervous all the time. " "Good," Taeng whispered, then laughed when Tiffany swatted at his arm. "He would give anything to be like you. He thinks you're the coolest guy in the world. But don't tell him I told you this," Tiffany said. "I wouldn't dream of it." Taeng thought about how Minho could help him with his newest project. He needed to set that plan into motion as soon as possible. Taeng seemed to be deep in thought when Tiffany interrupted him. "Taeng?" "Yes?" "Want to tell me about the last time you cried?" Tiffany felt Taeng's body tense up beneath her. Maybe she was prying too much. He would tell her more things in time. He didn't have to give her his whole life story tonight while lying in be d. "Nevermind, I'm sorry. I'm being way too nosey." She felt his muscles relax, and she hugged him tighter. At least he wasn't mad a t her for asking. He would tell her when he was ready. She was about to tell him that she was ready for round four, when he spoke. "About ten years ago, was the last time I cried. It was the day I had to identif y my brother's...remains." Tiffany looked up at Taeng, trying her best not to look so shocked. She shifted herself so that her face was hovering over his. She lowered her lips to his and kissed him. "Baby, you don't have to tell me if you're not ready." She saw him nod his head, but he didn't say anything, which was definitely out of character for Taeng. He hated when people did that. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Then finally after a few seconds, he said "I'm fine. I just haven't talked about this in a long...ever, actually. I'v e never said a word to anyone, not even Yuri." More silence. Tiffany waited, looking into his eyes. He was avoiding eye contact with her, but she knew this was probably one of the most difficult things he'd done. "That day I thought I could take it. I wanted so badly to believe it wasn't my b aby brother, you know. I always thought I could protect him. But when the police called my father and I into the morgue to identify his hea...fuck." Tiffany felt his breath quicken and he turned his head away from her. She slowly turned his head back toward her. Although the room was dark, she could see the slight moisture in the corners of his eyes. " Ssh, you don't have to say any more. I love you," she whispered, kissing him aga in and again. It was so long ago, Taeng thought it couldn't possibly affect him the same way, but he was wrong. All of those feelings that he had been avoiding for ten years

came crashing down on him. And what made it even harder on him was that he still looked at Jiwoong as a seven year old who wore a Superman cape for almost a yea r straight. He had worn it to school, to the dinner table, to bed...for a solid year, he wou ldn't part with it. It had come with a Halloween costume of Taeng's, that he soo n regretted giving to his little brother. Or Taeng would remember him as the ann oying twelve year old who followed him around everywhere he went. At the time it had been frustrating, but he later learned it was because Jiwoong thought of hi m as his idol or hero. It took his mother telling him that for Taeng to understa nd. That happened one day when Jiwoong interrupted a make-out session Taeng was havi ng with some neighborhood girl, because he wanted to play baseball. When Taeng c omplained to his mom about Jiwoong's ever present nature, he left out the make-o ut session, but got an explanation as to why Jiwoong was following his every mov e. "He's your younger brother and he loves you. Even though you two are only a year apart, he would love nothing more than to be just like you. And you should be p roud of that, Taeng. Not annoyed. You're your brother's keeper, you know," his m om had told him years ago. Why the hell couldn't he have kept him safe?  "Taeng, it's not your fault what happened to him," Tiffany whispered, bringing h im out of the past. He looked up at her concerned, yet loving face. "I should have been able to protect him better than that." "Don't think about it," Tiffany said, laying small kisses all over his face. No, he wouldn't think about it anymore. He grabbed Tiffany and rolled her onto h er back. He was ready to feel her wrapped around him for the...well, he had lost count.

Chapter 34 The next morning, Tiffany pried her eyes open when she smelled the sinfu l aroma of French toast. She freshened up in the bathroom, grabbed her black dre ss and put it on, then walked into the kitchen. "Good morning, beautiful," Taeng said, placing her breakfast on the counter, as she entered. "Good morning. And do you ever get any sleep?" Tiffany asked, as she stood on he r tip toes to deliver him a kiss. "Sometimes," Taeng admitted. Tiffany looked at her food. "This whole domestic side of you is still such a surprise. I'm trying to get use d to it." She placed a forkful in her mouth, and wanted to moan with how good it was, when she noticed he wasn't eating. "Are you not eating?" "No, I don't like French toast." "Then why did you make it?" "Because I know you like it. I'm not really big on sugary foods first thing in t he morning," he stated, as he opened the morning paper. Tiffany watched him as s

he ate. He looked as though he had a lot on his mind. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Yes," Taeng answered, but didn't offer any more.  She nodded as she stuffed more food into her mouth. When she was done, she turne d to look at him, and he was observing her. "That...was so good." "Glad you liked," he said, although she could tell his mind was still elsewhere. Tiffany stood up and stretched. "Hey, I didn't even check, but are all the clothes you bought for me still here? " "Of course." "Okay. I have to get dressed and go into Hongdae Cafe and see if I even still ha ve a job." That brought Taeng's mind back into focus. "What?" Tiffany started to walk to the back of the condo. "I need to go back to work soon. I have rent. My roommate probably thinks I've m oved out...if she's even there. I swear that girl spends so much time away," Tif fany yelled over her shoulder as she entered the bathroom. She quickly showered and then walked to the bedroom and into the closet, with a small light blue towel wrapped around her body. She began shuffling through the clothes. She looked behind her and noticed Taeng leaning against the door frame watching her. Oh, she could be playful. She slowly pulled the towel from her bod y and dropped it to the floor. She stood there completely naked, with her backsi de to his open stare. "Hmm, what to wear," she said to herself, smiling, knowing he was looking. After a few seconds, she felt his arms snake around her and he buried his face into t he side of her neck. She tilted her head back and moaned as he lightly bit his f avorite area. Taeng slid his hands to her breasts and began to squeeze and roll her tight pink nipples between his fingers. And the further she stuck her tits out for his ple asure, the more her fleshy, perfect ass pushed into his crotch. Damn, he was alr eady hard. Tiffany parted her mouth to moan when she felt his hand grasp her neck and tight en. "Taeng," she whispered, as she felt his other hand slowly travel down her stomach and stop at the entran ce to her essence. His fingers lightly grazed her sensitive folds as he rubbed h er clit. Tiffany couldn't think, she didn't know where to put her arms, so she placed one up and behind her to grip his hair and the other she placed over top of his han d that was exploring her soaking pussy. "You want it?" Taeng teased close to her ear, squeezing her neck harder as he sl owly inserted two fingers inside her. Such sweet torture.

"Taeng...," was all she could manage. "Tell me. Do you want it?" he growled. "Yes, baby." "What do you want?" "I I want you to make me come," she whispered, right before he inserted a third fi nger and began pumping in and out at a faster pace. "Ooh, God, ooohh," Tiffany muttered, as her body jerked. But Taeng's arms kept h er from moving too far, as he continued to lovingly assault her pussy. He wasn't reducing his speed, and he was quickly driving her crazy with his unrelenting a ttack. She just couldn't take it. And no more sounds could escape her throat as his hand tightened again. Her back was pressed tightly to his front, and she loved the feel of being total ly naked when he was fully dressed. It made her feel...freaky, and she loved it. She felt herself gasping for air right as her lower region exploded and she saw stars. Her legs felt wobbly and the butterflies in her pussy that traveled to h er stomach and up her spine made her entire body feel as though it were on fire. Tiffany could feel the sticky, wet feeling between her legs, as Taeng released her neck and removed all but one finger. One finger that continued to tease her delicate and overly sensitive clit. "Oh, damn," Tiffany whispered to herself. When he finally removed the last finge r, Tiffany turned around and kissed him. She felt his tongue rolling around in h er mouth, and still she wanted more. When they pulled apart, Taeng watched in awe as she grabbed the hand he had made her come with, and began sucking off her own juices. One by one she sucked and licked each of the three fingers which were covered in come. "Mmm," she moaned, and then raised up on her tip toes to kiss him again. Taeng w as so hard, it hurt. He wanted to fuck her crazy. Screw gentleness. Tiffany watched in anticipation as he quickly removed his shirt and pulled down his pants and underwear. She squealed when he picked her up and roughly held her against one of the closet walls. He braced his arms underneath her legs and held them far apart. Tiffany could te ll by the look in his eyes, that this was purely lust and about his release only . She braced herself as he swiftly entered her to the hilt. She gasped from the sharp pain of his entire thick member penetrating her so forcefully.  The wall had no give, so she was forced to take this pounding, and that really t urned him on. The look of pain and pleasure written on her face. He could feel his cheeks clenching as he pounded into her over and over again, n ever yielding. He was so close. "Do you want me? My come?" Taeng asked, breaking her out of her daze. "Yes," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder while his body pumped ferociously in and out of her. Her simple answer was all he needed to push him over the edge. He felt that erful, well-known feeling as his dick jerked and began squirting his pearly deep into Tiffany. He groaned as it seemed to last forever and he felt his s giving. When he was sure he didn't have a drop left, he slowly pulled out

wond seed knee of h

er and let her rest her feet on the ground. "Taeng, that was--," she started, but he cut her off by kissing her. Her swollen lips tasted so good. Every part of her tasted so good. When they finally parted, Tiffany grabbed her towel and tried to take a second q uick shower, but Taeng joined her and 'quick' turned into almost an hour long es capade. They were definitely making up for any lost time together. They both finally made it back into the closet to look for clothes. When Tiffany was dressed, she turned to look as Taeng was watching her again. He had yet to put on a shirt, and only had on a pair of jeans with no shoes. And damn, if he d idn't look like an ad for...something sexy. 'Down girl,' Tiffany thought, as she was about to walk past him. He held out his arm, blocking her exit. "Yeah, about Hongdae Cafe...we need to talk about that," he said. "Why, what's wrong?" Tiffany asked. "I don't want you working there anymore. One, it's not safe." "I thought that's why you got rid of those guys...so now it should be safe, righ t?" Taeng stuck his hands in his pockets.  "You're right. It should be. So, the real gripe I have is I don't like you workin g at a place like that in an outfit like that." Tiffany shook her head. "Taeng, you've seen me in skimpier things. Hell, half of them are in this closet." "Yes, but that's different." "How so?" "Because I'm with you when you wear them. Men know that you belong to me...they don't know that at your workplace." Tiffany scoffed, "Belong to you?" "Yes," he answered matter-of-factly. "Hmm, didn't realize I was like a dog. Or cattle," Tiffany said, rolling her eye s. Taeng walked over to her, and stood so close that his body was lightly grazing h ers. He stared down into her face, while she tried to resist his charms, by plac ing her hands on her hips. "I thought this was my pussy," he said, as he traced his fingers up her thigh an d under her skirt. Tiffany didn't answer for fear that her voice would betray he r due to the instant connection she felt with his fingers. Instead, she continue d to stare at him. "And my heart," he whispered, as his fingers trailed from under her skirt, up to her breast and over her heart. "At least I thought they were." Tiffany opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't think of shit to say. Damn,

he was right. When she eventually found her voice, she said, "Fair enough. But Taeng, that's m y job and those outfits aren't THAT bad, you know." "Maybe not on less shapely girls, but on you...men see tits and ass." "Okay, you're exaggerating. No they don't," Tiffany laughed. "Yes, they do," Taeng said, not finding the humor at all. Tiffany backed away from him and walked out of the closet. She went down the hal l, and grabbed her purse from the table. Before she could make it to the door, T aeng grabbed her arm. "Wait, I'm not done talking about this," he said, pulling her towards him. "Taeng, there's nothing more to discuss. I understand your concerns, but it's my job until I can find one that's better." "You do realize that you don't have to work. You know I'll take care of you," Ta eng whispered to her. Tiffany pulled away. "You see Taeng, that's that's exactly what people think. I I," Tiffany tried, but couldn't finish. This whole thing could be so frustrating. Both of them stood there staring at each other. "I forgot to tell you last night, but Detective Hyung Joong came to see me while I was at the hotel," Tiffany mentioned, breaking the silence. Son of a bitch. Taeng exhaled to keep his temper in check.  "What did he want?" "He just asked me questions about our relationship and if I knew of anything ill egal that you've done. Of course I played dumb, but he, well, he insulted me. He thinks that I'm just your girlfriend who you pay to sleep with. And I let him t hink it so he wouldn't ask more questions, but I I don't like that people think th at about me. And I realize that it started out that way, but I don't want people to continue to think that way," she said, quickly wiping a small tear in the co rner of her eye. Hyung Joong was an absolute dick, and Taeng wanted nothing more than to punch hi m in his smug face. He could see the embarrassment on her face of dealing with p eople thinking this way. Hyung Joong, her father, Nichkhun, Jessica...hell proba bly more people than he realized because they never said it to his face. They ju st looked down on her. And she had never said a word about it until now. And thi s was all because of the way he had treated her. He had no one to blame but hims elf. "Well, job or not, people are going to think what they want, but at least I feel better about myself if I don't sit around your condo all day waiting for you to come and...well, you know." Taeng knew he would have to lose this battle to win the war. It was his fault an d he'd have to deal with it. Plus, he had some other matters to attend to. He sl owly nodded and turned to walk toward the bedroom. Tiffany wasn't sure if she should follow him, or just walk out of the door. She chose to leave, because she at least needed to see if she still had a job. Once

she paid the cab driver, she turned and flinched when she walked by the sidewalk where she had ducked down from the glass. She stared up at the new shiny window . You wouldn't have even known there was a shooting over a week ago. When she wa lked in, she noticed Bora flirting with a new bartender that she didn't recogniz e. She headed over to them. "Hey Bora," Tiffany said, before Bora pounced on her.  "Oh my God," she said, she hugged Tiffany. "How are you? Where have you been? Do you still work here?" Bora shot out question after question. "I'm fine. And I don't know if I still work here or not. Is Onew around?" "Yes, sweety, he's in the office." "Thanks," Tiffany said, as she made her way towards the back of the restaurant. She knocked on the door. "What?" she heard him answer. She pushed open the door and saw him sitting behind the desk counting money. He froze when he saw her and then smiled. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. How are you?" "I'm good. You?" "Can't complain." "So, I know I've been gone a little while, but I was kinda wondering if I was st ill employed here?" "Do you want to be?" "Yes." "Then you are," Onew said, looking back down at the money. "I can put you back o n the schedule starting tomorrow...cool?" "Oh, gosh, thank you Onew," Tiffany said. Then she stared at him skeptically. "You don't even want to know where I've been?" "No, it's all your business. Well, that and the fact that some guy called me the day after the shooting to say you would be gone for a certain amount of time, b ut he wouldn't tell me how long or where. He was just a little scary on the phon e. Boyfriend?" Tiffany placed her hand over her face and nodded, "Sorry about that." "I figured. All the good ones are taken," Onew smiled at her. Tiffany smiled bac k, and as the uncomfortable moment passed them by, Onew cleared his throat. "So, anyhow, you're on at five tomorrow. See you then," he said as he continued to count. "Thanks Onew," Tiffany said, walking out of the office and closing the door.

Chapter 35 "You sure Taeng," Yuri asked. "You know, there's no going back after thi s." Taeng nodded, "Yes, I'm sure." "Well, I'm happy for you. I never thought I'd see this day. And over a woman at that," Yuri smirked.  Taeng was finally setting his plans in motion. He couldn't delay it any further. He knew he was taking a huge gamble, but damn if she wasn't worth it. He loved her and he hoped what he was doing would truly show her exactly how he felt abou t her. "So, just those we have deals with now, right? Anyone else will just eventually get the message, right?" "Right." "And you sure you want to give me what you did? I mean, I thank you, but it's to o much Taeng. I wouldn't feel right." "It's yours. Tell Yoona it's a small compensation for keeping you away all these years." Yuri smiled, as he pulled out his cell phone and began making the first of many calls.  Taeng walked back into his office, to find Minhyuk still busy making and printin g documents. He never thought lawyers could be trustworthy, but over the years, Minhyuk had proven that he could be. But a slight sting hit Taeng's nerves. He had thought Siwon trustworthy as well. Even more reason to continue with his plans. He still didn't have all the pieces in position, but if everything turned out like he envisioned it would...then he would be one happy man. A man who pro bably didn't deserve it, but that was between him and his maker. Taeng had already spoken with Yuri and Taecyeon, only one left and that was Minh o.  When Taecyeon brought Minho into Taeng's office, Minho looked nervous as always. He quickly glanced back and forth between Taeng and Minhyuk. "Hi, Taeng. You wanted to see me?" "Yes, Minho. Have a seat," Taeng said, while he signed documents. Minho felt so anxious. He never wanted to say or do the wrong thing around Taeng , which of course he always did. But at least Taeng looked calm and relaxed. He wasn't sure who the guy was beside him, but he just hoped that the whacking had stopped with Siwon. "Minho, this is my lawyer, Minhyuk. He's present today to make sure everything g oes smoothly," Taeng stated, shuffling a group of papers. "If this is about the other night, I feel like I should stop you, before we go a ny further. I really need to tell you--," Minho started. "Now...is not really the time to bring up anything from the other night," Taeng warned, narrowing his eyes.

"I understand. But basically Taeng, I just want to tell you that I don't think I 'm the right guy that you're looking for. I mean, I thank you for the opportunit y you have given me, and maybe in a few months when I'm back at Youngsan Electroni cs  I'll be kicking my own ass, but I just can't do this anymore. And I know you cal led me in here today, but truthfully, I was going to ask to speak to you about a ll of this. I'm sorry if I've let you down in any way," Minho finished. He had b een practicing that speech all morning and made sure to look Taeng directly in t he face while delivering the news. Taeng leaned back in his chair. "You have done everything that I have asked you to do. I have no complaints." Minho exhaled. "Thank you, Taeng." "What is it that you want to do, Minho?" Minho smiled. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. "I really, really want to ow n my own club. I mean, that would be the best. And who knows, maybe in time open up one on the west coast too. Those cool exclusive kind that only let in hot pe ople and celebrities. I have so many plans for it."  Jesus, this kid did remind him of his brother. Taeng nodded, "I thought so. Sign this." Minho stared down at the document. "What's this?" he said, picking up the pen. "It's a document that states I'm turning over fifty percent ownership of my club to you." Minho thought his eyes were going to pop out of the sockets. He couldn't have he ard that right. There was no way. "Wait, I'm sorry Taeng. What did you say?" "I'm leaving, Minho. For good. Yuri is in the process of giving my clients alter native, trustworthy sources, so I'm out. And there's not really any going back a t this point. I'm cutting all ties with the business and pretty soon this city a s well. I called you in here today to let you know of my plans. I'm turning over ownership of both of my restaurants to Yuri. And I spoke to Taecyeon. He doesn' t really want full responsibility, so you two will be co-owners. He preferred to just stay on as head of security for my--well you and Taecyeon's club if you ac cept." Minho couldn't believe it. Him?! An owner of a club...which was like a dream com e true. "Hell yes!! I mean, yes, of course. Are you sure? I mean, this is me we' re talking about. You sure Taecyeon is cool with this?" "If you haven't noticed, Taecyeon doesn't really like being around people...or t alking to them, or dealing with them, so he's just fine as head of security, whi le you're in charge of operations. So yes, I'm sure. Don't fuck it up," Taeng sa id. "No, sir! Of course not. I just...oh, man. I can't believe this," Minho said, ru nning his hands through his hair. His momma is going to be so proud. Her boy, fi nally making it in the world. "We've had our problems in the past, but you're a pretty good guy and you deserv e it. Invest well and it will pay off big time. Minhyuk will have you sign all t he documents." Minho stood up and leaned over the desk to shake Taeng's hand. "Thank you so muc h, Taeng. I can't even tell you how wonderful this is. I mean, shit, thank you.

I swear I'll name my first born after you...even if it's a girl. Really, thank y ou." "You're welcome, Jiwoong," Taeng said, as he started looking over more documents . Minho wasn't sure who the hell Jiwoong was, but Taeng looked extremely busy. So he hopped up and walked toward the door, but then turned around. "Hey Taeng...wh ere will you go? What will you do?" Taeng gave a small smile, but didn't answer. *** "Honey, I'm home," she heard Taeng say as he entered the condo. She jumped up fr om the couch and ran to give him a big kiss, knocking him back against the wall. The past couple of days with Taeng had been absolute bliss for Tiffany. He still conducted private calls, but he had been spending almost every day with her. An d they had come to a compromise with the Hongdae Cafe situation. She would conti nue to work there, but her hours had to be cut back and she had to move in with him. At first she protested, but he had said it was for her own safety, and with her hours cut back...she wouldn't have enough for rent anyway. Tiffany soon rea lized that she had painted herself into a corner. Sometimes she would forget exa ctly how smart and manipulative her man could be.  So, the few belongings that she actually owned were neatly packed away in his co ndo. She had wondered why he didn't want her to move into his house, but he said he had his reasons. At first, it stung...but she had to trust that his reasons weren't anything to do with him not thinking highly of her. She trusted him. And since he practically lived there with her, it helped to ease the sting.  "If I get to come home to this every night, then I'm sold," Taeng mumbled in bet ween her kisses. "I'm sorry, I just missed you," Tiffany said. "Missed me? I've only been gone for a few hours." "You've been gone since eight this morning, and it's now six." Taeng stared at her, before a slow smile crept across his face. She was crazy ab out him, that's for sure. And he loved it. At least he wasn't in this alone. Tiffany's eyes widened, "I mean...well, it seemed like a really long time." She tried to back track realizing how insane she probably sounded. But she had misse d him. "I love you too, baby," he said, patting her on the ass as he walked into the ki tchen and sat a bag on the counter. "Don't peek in there." Tiffany was curious, but she didn't want to ruin his surprise. When he emerged from the back room, he was in his navy blue workout pants and a soft looking dark gray shirt. His hair was wet and slicked back, and he looked a bsolutely adorable. "Do me a favor. Go sit out on the terrace and look sexy," he said. Tiffany was wondering what the hell was going on, but she said nothing. Instead she walked out onto the terrace and sat down at the table. It was a warm night,

so she only had on a pair of short cotton shorts and a white tank top. She wasn' t wearing a bra, but she figured he would appreciate that. She stared out at the sky. The stars looked as though they had been spray painted onto a black canvas .  "Beautiful, isn't it?" she heard him say from behind her. She turned and he was staring at her. He had a fancy plate in one hand, two champagne glasses in the o ther hand and a champagne bottle underneath his arm. Taeng sat the tray of chocolate covered strawberries on the table, and then quic kly poured a glass of champagne for both of them. "Taeng, this looks...amazing, what's going on?" "We're celebrating," he said, handing her a glass. "Celebrating what?" Taeng sat down and took a sip. "New beginnings." He picked up a chocolate covere d strawberry and brought it to her lips. She stared right at him and took a sedu ctive bite, and then closed her eyes and whimpered.  "That's good," she said, opening her eyes.  The woman can bite a strawberry and send blood pumping through his dick, Taeng t hought. He leaned over to kiss and lick her lips, tasting chocolate and champagn e. "Very good," Taeng said, licking his own lips. "So, what new beginnings are we celebrating, Mr. Kim?" she asked. Taeng leaned back in his chair. "A beautiful woman once told an unmoving arrogan t prick that there is always a place for decency and at the end of the day, mone y isn't everything and it never was. Well this prick finally listened. I'm out, baby." Tiffany continued to stare at Taeng. "I don't understand. What do you mean?" "I'm out of this business. For good. Nothing else illegal." "What?" Tiffany whispered. "You're you're..." She couldn't even finish the sentence. "Oh my God!" she screame d as she hopped up and straddled his lap. "I'm so happy! Are you serious?" Tiffany kept asking him over and over, in betwe en kisses.  "I'm serious, baby," Taeng said, as he gently pulled her back to look into her e yes. Beautiful white pools that were quickly watering up. God, he loved her so m uch, and now it was time to show her exactly how much. "I love you and I have one more thing to tell you," Taeng said, lifting her up f rom his lap. Tiffany quickly wiped her eyes. There was nothing else he could possibly tell he r that could match the feeling of elation that she felt at the moment. She sat b ack down in her chair and waited for the other news. Taeng stood up and pulled something from behind his back. It was a book. When he handed it to her, she knew exactly which one. Her book of 100 Greatest Love Poe

ms. He walked around behind her and kissed the top of her head. "I added something else to it...it's at the bottom of the other poem I wrote in the back," he whispered in her ear. Tiffany smiled and opened the book to the last page. She quickly skimmed over th e beautiful Korean cursive of the first poem he recited for her. But when she re ached the bottom, she only saw a few words scribbled on the page. She leaned clo ser to read them: 'I Love You. Turn Around, Beautiful'.  Tiffany crinkled her brow as she turned around. "Taeng, it just says--," she started, then froze. Her hand went to her mouth in utter shock. She came face to face with Taeng kneeling behind her, with a famili ar looking pink box tied with a white ribbon, in his hand. "Tiffany?" "Yes," she quickly replied. Taeng raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is that a yes because I said your name, or yes because you know what I'm about to ask?" "Both," Tiffany whispered, visibly shaking at this point. "Marry me?" "Yes! Absolutely," she shrieked, as she leaned over to kiss him. Her legs were c omplete jelly as she slid over top of him, straddling his knee. She couldn't eve n breathe, but she knew it was a combination of shock and joy, which she could p ossibly die from. Who would have even thought this possible? The first time they had met, she had been scared to death. And when he had walked briskly into the his office and sat down in front of her, he was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen. Next to his actor friend, Hyun Bin, who she had crushed on for years in various films a fact that she still hadn't told Taeng.  But it had been Taeng's eyes during their first meeting that caused her to shive r. They looked so cold and empty. But to look into them now, they resembled some thing more peaceful. Like a cool, calm. She felt as though she could stare into them forever. He pulled the bow off of the light pink box and opened it. The most jaw-dropping , gorgeous pink diamond ring was staring back at her. He slid it onto her finger and kissed her again. She was almost afraid to close her eyes for fear that she 'd lose the small platinum trinket, which she was sure cost more than her car. "Do you like, baby?" Taeng asked. She didn't know what else to say. At this moment, words were so underrated. Ther e wasn't even a phrase she could utter to explain the feelings she felt. Nothing . So instead of trying to inarticulately tell him that she loved him, she presse d her lips to his mouth and kissed him deeply. As their lips continued to lock, Tiffany thought about everything that had happe ned. She was engaged? To Kim Taeng? Life...could be full of impossible, yet incr edible surprises.

Chapter 36 The next day, Tiffany couldn't stop smiling, even as they cuddled on the sofa watching some mystery romance movie on Lifetime. She was practically in hi s lap with her head leaning back against his solid chest. His arms were tightly wrapped around her, while her fingers mindlessly stroked the top of them, loving the feel of the smooth delicate hair that lightly covered his masculine limbs. Every few seconds, she would stare down at her pink diamond t beautiful thing she'd ever owned, and definitely the most ebated on asking him how much it cost, which was tacky, but . But she decided against it, telling herself that it would elf-conscious than she already was.

ring. It was the mos expensive. She had d she couldn't help it make her even more s

Telling Mrs. Kim earlier that morning had been fun. She screamed through the pho ne into Tiffany's ear, almost causing a slight ringing, and then proceeded to ba bble on about babies this and babies that. Yuri and Yoona had called her togethe r on speaker phone to congratulate her on "slaying the beast". They were so cute and funny over the phone. They finished each other's sentences...and when Yuri said something Yoona didn't agree with, she would argue back with him, and event ually he'd just laugh and say she was right. When she called to tell Minho, she could tell he was in complete shock. The last news he had heard was that she had broken up with Taeng. Tiffany could also tel l there was just a hint of disappointment in his voice, but he still congratulat ed her and wished them the best. He told her about the new things he has lined u p for the club and how grateful he was to Taeng. He already moved his mom out of the place she was in, and into a small house with a washer and dryer. That's al l his mom cared about, and he joked that she probably slept in the laundry room the first night. "I know who did it," Taeng whispered to her, bringing her thoughts back to the m ovie. "No way! We've only been watching it for fifteen minutes. You can't already know who the killer is. I doubt we've even seen everyone." "Trust me, I know." Tiffany turned her head toward him to give him a kiss when her cell phone starte d ringing. She leaned over the table and plucked if from her purse. The screen r ead private, but she was pretty sure she knew who it was. "Hello?" "Hello, Tiffany. It's Paul," he said. "Hi, how are you?" Taeng could hear that it was a man's voice on the other end. He hated this new f eeling of jealousy that was overcoming him. Actually, it wasn't new. He had felt it the second day they were together, when Nichkhun had wanted to bet her for a night. But Taeng knew for a fact that Tiffany didn't really hang around other w omen, so he wondered who this guy was. His mother, Yuri and Minho were the only people he knew that had that number, and they...nevermind, he knew exactly who i t was. Paul Horvejkul. He also had her number, since he had called her while she was staying with his mother.

"I'm fine, now that I know you're safe," Paul said. "Oh, thank you," Tiffany said, before Taeng snatched the phone out of her hand a nd pressed speaker. She twisted around to grab it back from him when he put a fi nger to his mouth. Tiffany sighed. "I would have liked to have called much sooner, but under the circumstances, I f elt it was best to keep away. I hope you understand." "Oh, of course. Even you just calling now means a lot." Silence. "So is everything okay now? I'm assuming that the guys responsible were handled? " Paul asked. "Um," Tiffany said, as she watched Taeng shake his head. "Um, I don't really know about all of that stuff, Paul. They don't tell me those things." Tiffany hated lying to Paul. She knew for a fact that the three guys who had kid napped her were dead. She saw that with her own two eyes. But for whatever reaso n, Taeng didn't want Paul to know about any of that. "Of course. And that's probably the best thing. I'm just glad you're back home a nd safe." "Thank you. So am I. How's Nichkhun? I know you were worried about him." "Nichkhun, well, he's Nichkhun. He's fine. He actually spent the past few weeks vacationing with some girl in Amsterdam. But he refused to tell me until last ni ght because he knew I would have disapproved." Tiffany looked at Taeng when he pinched her arm. He mouthed, 'Ask if he's still there?' Tiffany narrowed her eyes at him mouthed back 'No.' "Well, that sounds like Nichkhun. I'm sure he had fun though." "Yes, but it was irresponsible. Especially with everything that was going on," P aul said, then he chuckled. "You know, I used to think that because Taeng and Nichkhun grew up together, tha t maybe some of Taeng's more honorable characteristics would rub off on my son. But over the years, they became more enemies than friends." "Well, all of it is silly to me, and perhaps both of them should grow up," Tiffa ny said, looking at Taeng and sticking her tongue out. "That's exactly what my wife would have said," Paul laughed, then sighed. "Well I'll let you go. But I just wanted to make sure that you were safe. And if you e ver need anything, you know you can come to me." "Thank you, Paul. And likewise. Good bye," Tiffany said, then clicked the cell p hone shut. "If you ever need anything?" Taeng repeated, glaring at her. "What, is he suppos ed to be your genie in a bottle now?" Tiffany could tell by the clipped tone Taeng was using, that he was pissed. "That's not what he meant. It's just he knows for a while I was having a hard ti me. And he doesn't know that you and I are together. He was just trying to be ni

ce." "Nice, huh?" Taeng said as he scratched his slight five o'clock shadow. "How nic e?" "Don't even go there. You weren't there when he just handed me seventy thousand dollars, knowing it was going to his competition and that he would probably neve r get it back, but he did it anyway. And he didn't want anything in return." Taeng turned away from her as his face burned with shame. Was she throwing their past relationship back in his face? "You mean like I did," Taeng said, moving away from her and standing up to stret ch. "No, that's not what I meant. I wasn't comparing you two. There's no comparison. I look at Paul more like...like a father figure. And you...well, I definitely d on't see you as my father," Tiffany laughed, but then quieted and cleared her th roat when she noticed that Taeng wasn't cracking a smile. She stood up, walked over to him and placed her arms around his waist.  "I don't need anything from Paul, Taeng. He's just a really nice older man who ho lds you in very high regard, you know." Taeng knew that she was right, but he still couldn't help feeling possessive ove r her. "Well, just know from now on if you need something, you come to me, got it?" Tiffany laughed. "yes, got it!" *** "I can't believe that's where you want to go for your honeymoon. You're going to pass over Paris, Venice, Maldives Hawaii and other spectacular places for an aq uarium?" Taeng said, shaking his head still in disbelief. He stared over at his wife's beautiful face. His wife...he loved that. They had been married approxima tely twenty minutes. Twenty amazing minutes. Tiffany had shocked him in not wanting a big wedding. Actually, she hadn't wante d a wedding at all, insisting he was all she needed. And she also commented that there wouldn't be many people, if any, to invite on her side, other than her si ster. Her outlook on it had been a welcome change. He and Jessica's wedding had been small, but very expensive, mostly due to Jessica. And half of the people wh o were there, Taeng wasn't friends with, so he had spent most of the reception t alking to Yuri and Taecyeon. Yes, he preferred Tiffany's low key approach. They had gotten up early that morning and gone to City Hall. The whole process lasted less than ten minutes, but they couldn't stop touching and kissing each other. Tiffany smiled, and nodded her head. "Yep. You've been to all those other places right?" "Yes." "I want to experience something new with and something you haven't already done. ve visited some amazing places, dined in do this, well more my style if you don't

you. Somewhere you haven't already been Since you and I have been together, we' the finest restaurants...but I want to mind."

He looked over at her, while she was piling a fork full of pancakes in her mouth .

"Izz good, huh?" she smiled at him, chewing around her food. He had to chuckle. "It sure is. Because there's nothing better than pouring sugar on top of carbs a nd shoving it into my mouth," Taeng joked, biting into his pancakes. Tiffany lovingly rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this. I'm essentially spending what is supposed to be my weddin g reception at The International House of Pancakes and you want to spend our hon eymoon observing fish." "Have you ever been to the Aquarium?" "No." "Neither have I, but I've always wanted to go. Hey, you asked me what I wanted." "Which I now regret," Taeng said, then dodged a packet of sugar that she threw a t him. "But I still love you, Mrs. Kim." Tiffany smiled. She would NEVER get tired of hearing that. *** A few days later, they set out for their honeymoon. Tiffany was so excited. She loved the thought of experiencing something new with Taeng that he'd never done.  But when they pulled into the Aquarium entrance, her heart sank. "Oh, shit," Tiffany said, as she stared at the empty parking lot. "It must be cl osed today. I swear, I checked it online and it's supposed to be open all year l ong." "Hmm," Taeng muttered, as they parked. "Taeng, we might as well turn around. I'm sorry." "Well, we're already here, we can at least check and see if they will be open to morrow." Taeng escorted Tiffany to the ticket booth. Standing there was a man dressed in one of the park's uniforms and a big smile. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Kim. Welcome to the Aquarium." Tiffany's mouth dropped and felt like it hit the pavement. Did he really close d own the park for them? She looked up at Taeng who pretended to be surprised, lik e he didn't know. "Hi," Taeng said, shaking the man's hand. "Right this way, sir," the man said, leading them inside the large building. All of the lights were on, but there wasn't another soul in sight. No lines to v iew the exhibits, no screaming, crying kids, or cameras flashing every few secon ds. Just them and the beautiful marine animals.  Tiffany couldn't stop shaking her head. She still couldn't believe it. "Oh my God, Taeng...this is, it's amazing," Tiffany whispered as they moved from tank to tank. She had never had the time nor money to spare to visit this Aquar ium. She was mesmerized by the fish, which came in all different sizes and color

s. Some were absolutely terrifying like the eels and tiger sharks...others were adorable and she would 'ooh and ahh' over them, like the penguins and seals.  Taeng walked closely behind her, again more interested in her than what they wer e viewing, but Tiffany was quite alright with that. Every now and then his hands would grope her, but he tried to be good and somewhat pay attention. One brightly colored fish kept following her as she walked back and forth in fro nt of the tank. It was the cutest thing and she kept laughing at it. "Taeng, I think he likes me just as much as you do," she giggled. "Hey, come here and close your eyes," Taeng said to her, pulling her away from t he stalker fish. Tiffany complied and when he told her to open them, she screame d and jumped back into his chest. Staring right at her was probably the ugliest fish known to man. It was giant grouper. He was twice the size of her and had th e biggest mouth that was sure to cause her nightmares. Taeng laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry baby, I'll protect you," Taeng whispered into her ear. As they continued on their tour, they walked past a tank full of jellyfish. Tiff any observed their electric, neon colors and how smoothly they flowed through th e water. "Now these, I like," Taeng said, staring at them. "Hmm, beautiful and dangerous...just like my husband," Tiffany retorted sarcasti cally. Taeng chuckled as he grabbed her hand and led her to another tank. When they reached the final room, Taeng opened the doors and Tiffany gasped.  It was a large room, and the tank was from floor to ceiling and covered two wall s. The tank was filled with brightly colored coral reefs and fish. And located d irectly in the middle of the room was a small table, beautifully decorated, with two silver covers. "Taeng, I--," Tiffany was speechless. Again. "I figured a little of your style and mine mixed together, and we couldn't go wr ong with this honeymoon." Tiffany looked at the bright blue water from the tanks and then to their table. This was all way more than she would have ever expected.  Once they sat down and Taeng removed the covers from their food, Tiffany could f inally speak. "Taeng, thank you. This has been so incredible. Something I will never forget." "I'm glad you like it, baby. I enjoyed it too." They ate and talked for hours, enjoying every moment they were there. In the car on the way back to his condo, Tiffany fell asleep. He sat in his parking place staring at her sleeping form for several minutes before he woke her up so they c ould go inside.  Inside the condo, Tiffany stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth and flossing. Taeng stood behind her, just observing. She felt a little self-conscious, but a s his wife, this is something she would normally be doing in front of him. She s miled at him in the reflection of the mirror, to ease her embarrassment. But he

didn't smile back. He just continued to stare at her. Tiffany grabbed her birth control from the sink and popped one of the tiny pills out. She lifted her hand to her mouth about to swallow, when Taeng's hand stopp ed her, causing her to drop it down the drain. "Taeng, I--," she started, before he turned her around and began kissing her. Oh , his kisses were always so sweet and powerful. She felt him pull the pack out o f her hand and she heard clanking noise as he dropped it into the trash. Tiffany 's eyes widened, but then closed as his tongue caused her to moan. When he finally pulled away from her, Tiffany's eyes were still closed and her l ips still puckered up. She slowly opened them to stare into his. "Are you sure?" she asked. She could read the look in Taeng's face. Yes, he was sure. And instead of replyi ng, he kissed her again, and then led her out of the bathroom and to their bedro om for an unforgettable end to an already magical honeymoon. *** Taeng shook his real estate agent's hand. He had finally done it. After three se parate cleaning crews and he and Yuri carefully inspecting every inch for any le ftover evidence, he sold his house. Fully furnished, because he didn't want to d rag anything from his old life into his new one. He wanted a fresh start...in a new place. He only kept clothes, a few books, drawings and other personal keepsa kes. Getting rid of everything, including his old occupation was more refreshing than he thought it would be. He never thought he would have ever traveled down this road, and especially not for a woman. He had resigned to believe that he would n ever have marriage like some people did. The kind of marriage where you damn nea r ran red lights because you couldn't wait to get home to your wife. Or every ti me you saw something or heard something interesting, you thought of your spouse first because you knew they would like it. Tiffany was indeed his entire world. And if that made him look weak to some people...fuck them. They may not have had the fairytale meeting that some people share, but his love for her was no fairytale. It was as real as anything he'd ever felt in his life and only kept growing stronger with each passing day.

Chapter 37 "Hey Fany," Michelle said in her usual tired tone. "Hey , how are you?" "I'm okay. Am I disrupting you from anything?" "No, you're not. I'm just packing our clothes," Tiffany said, as she kicked anot her box out of her way. Taeng had told her about selling his home and buying a n ew one in Busan. He had said it while they were lying in bed, so matter-of-factl y. That was Taeng, though. There hadn't really been any discussion about it, and she wanted to be mad, but she couldn't. She really wanted to go. So instead of blessing him out, she went down on him. So much for feminism. "So when do you officially leave?" "In two days," Tiffany said, still not really believing how quickly this all hap

pened. Her sister got quiet. "What's wrong, ?" Michelle exhaled. "Well...Daddy is sick." Tiffany immediately stopped tossing items into the boxes. "What?" "Yeah, apparently the doctors have told him he has stomach cancer. But he's as s tubborn as ever and is refusing treatment." Tiffany had a flood of emotions running through her, but she couldn't pinpoint e xactly what she felt. Her father was sick and possibly dying? "Do...do you think I should go see him? I'm not sure if he would even want to se e me," Tiffany said, sitting down on the closet floor. "I'm sure he does. Even if he's still mad after all this time, he would still wa nt to see you." "Does he know about me being married?" "If he does, not from me. I don't really speak to him all that much" "Okay. Thank you for telling me." Tiffany hung up with her sister. It had been several months since she had last s een her father. After he had kicked her out and called her several awful names, she had thought that she would never forgive him. And she still hadn't. But God forbid that he should die without her having a chance to reconcile with him. She grabbed her purse and left the loft. *** Tiffany hated hospitals. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually be en in one. The weird smell and everything was eerily bright and white, even thou gh people were sick and dying. It made her feel nauseated. She had signed in at the front desk and walked back to see her father. His door was closed, but she gently knocked. "What?" she heard her father ask in a pissed off manner. Tiffany took a deep breath and walked in anyway. She noticed her father sitting up in the bed watching sports on TV. He turned and glanced at her and then focus ed back on the game. "Hey daddy," Tiffany said, trying to let it not bother her that he ignored her e ntrance. But he still didn't answer.  "Michelle told me you were sick. How are you feeling right now?" Still no answer. Tiffany squeezed her hands closed and walked closer to the bed. "Are you going to ignore me?" Finally he turned to look at her. "What do you want?" he snarled. "I just wanted to see you, since you haven't been feeling well."

"Well maybe I don't want to see you. I still have nothing to say to you." That stung. A lot. She glanced up at the TV and focused on the players running u p and down a basketball court. She wasn't going to let her father get away with treating her like shit this time. She looked back at him. "Funny how you hardly ever said a word to me when I was doing things the right w ay. No appreciation, nothing. But the moment I do one thing wrong in your eyes, you are so quick to cut me off." "You and your sister were just ungrateful and you both looked down on me." Oh, this man was delusional. "Daddy you had a hundred get rich quick schemes tha t you would constantly make me and  help you with. We both sacrificed so much to h elp you, and you never seemed to give a damn about us." James cut his eyes toward Tiffany. "You were just a spoiled child." Tiffany almost laughed incredulously. "Are you kidding?! You never spoiled me a day in my life. I didn't even know what the hell that meant until I met Taeng. A nd in case you're wondering, this is a wedding band," Tiffany said, holding out the ring for her father to see.  "We got married and will be moving to Busan in two days. Look daddy, I came here to see if you were alright. Not to get into an argument with you. There are thi ngs you've done that upset me, and there are things I've done that upset you. Bu t there's no reason why you and I can't at least talk about it." "I meant every word I said to you!" her father barked, raising   "You are no daughter of mine! You think just because he puts a er that you can erase that fact that you was nothing more than ore with no self-respect? It won't. Now get the hell out of my

his voice. ring on your fing a gold digging wh room!"

Tiffany stared at her father. He looked even older than she last remembered. She picked up her purse and walked towards the door, but then turned back around.   "You know, I'm done trying to understand you. Trying to figure you out. You are just a mean old bitter man. I tried to love you over the years, but you made it damn near impossible. And at the end of the day, I look around and I have a fami ly that loves me. What do you have?" she said, then walked out. *** Taeng could tell that the plane ride was making Tiffany anxious. She was so exci ted, she could hardly contain herself. She had told him that she was more than r eady for this new chapter in their lives.  Taeng had already flown out to see the house that he bought earlier that month, but Tiffany had yet to see it. He hoped she would like it. It was located in a c ute, quiet gated suburb with its own private park. The moment he saw the house, he knew that this was the one she would have picked out.  When they finally pulled up to the house, he noticed Tiffany's eyes widen.   "This is our house?" she whispered.   Our house. He would have to remember to play that over and over again in his hea d, because her saying it gave him a warm feeling. He watched as she eagerly hopp ed out of the car and ran to the door. Taeng laughed to himself as he pulled the

key from the ignition of the rental car and got out. He followed behind Tiffany as she walked in and out of every room at least three times. The first time she was shaking her head in disbelief. The second time sh e was learning where each room was and by the third time, she was mentally placi ng different things in different areas. The house really was a nice place for a family. They didn't really have any furn iture, something Taeng said he was leaving up to Tiffany. She was extremely nerv ous about that venture because there was definitely a difference in decorating a small one bedroom in a rusty old apartment, and a five bedroom house with lots of space. But she was up for the challenge. The few items that they had actually packed would be arriving the next day, alon g with the cable company so he could use his computer on a secure network. Not t hat security really mattered anymore, when it came to his business prospects. So mething he could finally breathe about. That night they had takeout while sitting on the floor in the dining room. At th at moment life couldn't get much better. Taeng was happy. Truly happy for the fi rst time in a long time. *** Over the course of a week, they finally got several things up and running and Ti ffany had been picking out little household appliances here and there. She still wasn't quite ready to take on the task of fully decorating. Taeng e was to be had a

had driven her to the site where his new office would be. She could tell h excited although he tried to play Mr. Cool about it. He was finally going an architect, something he had wanted to do since college. But they still little while to wait before all of the plans were finalized.

When Taeng wasn't there, Tiffany spent most of her time on her cell phone answer ing calls from her sister, his mother and Yoona. Those three checked up on her s o much, that she highly doubted another kidnapping plot would ever happen.  But it was on a random Tuesday when her whole life changed. Oh, boy did it chang e. She had been feeling a little off, so she did what most women did in that sit uation. Visit the local drugstore. Tiffany just couldn't believe it. She could, but she couldn't all at the same ti me. Pregnant?! She sat there on the bathroom counter for what felt like an hour, but in actuality had only been five minutes. Pregnant. It's definitely somethin g that she and Taeng wanted eventually, she just wasn't expecting it to happen s o soon. Really soon, since they had only been married for a little over a month. She knew Taeng would be happy about it, because he's the one who tossed out her birth control, but she still didn't expect it to happen SO soon. She didn't kno w what she felt. A part of her was ecstatic. But the other part was scared shitl ess. She hopped off the counter and wrapped the device in a huge wad of tissue and pl aced it in the trash. Eventually a big smile spread across her face. They were g oing to have a baby.  The next day a quick but suspenseful trip to an OBGYN in the area confirmed what Tiffany had suspected. But she wanted to break the news to Taeng in a memorable and .sexy way.  ***

  Taeng was worn out. He had been on the phone all day with different contractors and business investors for his company. He would be so glad when the little deta ils were out of the way, and he could get it up and running.  When he unlocked the front door, the inside of the house was much darker than no rmal. He noticed there were several candles lit, giving the room a warm glow. An d the heavenly smell of cooking must have connected to his senses, because his s tomach grumbled as if on cue. He quietly closed the door and walked toward the bright light coming from the ki tchen. And just like that...his hunger was forgotten, as he could feel his manho od rising. Tiffany stood with her back to him, giving him the perfect view of he r supple, round rear in a pair of light pink lacey panties that showcased the lo wer part of her ass cheeks. And a garter belt clipped the sexy thigh high stocki ngs in place, which led down to "fuck me" heels. And that was just the back of T iffany. Goddamn. Taeng loosened his tie and sat his keys on the counter. The small jingle caused her to turn around and face him. Her tits sat perfectly in the light pink lace b ra. God bless Minka. He had to remember to give her an extra tip. His wife was f ucking hot! "Hey baby," Tiffany said, smiling at him. She loved the pure animalistic express ion on his face. Well, for those games, he'd have to wait. "Like what you see?" Tiffany asked, slowly spinning around, with a spoon in her hand as she licked the chocolate from her fingers. The contrast was not lost on him, as his mouth parted. "Oh, yeah," Taeng whispered.  "Well, tonight...we'll call underwear night," she said, as she cleaned off her h ands and walked toward. She immediately kneeled, and Taeng closed his eyes on in stinct. But instead of doing what he...well, hoped, she unbuckled his belt, yank ed his pants down and stood back up. Then she removed his tie, jacket and unbutt oned his dress shirt. Taeng stepped out of the pants puddle by his ankles. Once everything else was re moved, including socks and shoes, he stood there in his black boxer briefs. Tiffany grabbed his hand and led him into the living room and over to the couch, the only piece of furniture they had in the room.  Taeng couldn't help but stare at her ass as she swayed her hips back and forth i n front of him.  "Okay, you sit down right here," Tiffany said, patting the sofa. When Taeng sat down, she straddled his lap. "I have something I want to give you," she whispered. "Is it this?" Taeng said, reaching down to stroke his fingers between her legs. "Because if it is, I'll be the happiest man in the world." Tiffany giggled and pulled his hand away. "No." Taeng couldn't stop touching her. He wanted to plaster his lips all over her bod y, along with his hands and other body parts. He buried his face into her neck, and pulled down one of her bra straps.

"Wait, wait, Taeng," she said, trying to stop his roaming hands over her breasts , but he wasn't making it easy. He felt so damn good, and he lightly pinched her nipples through the lacey barrier. "Taeng, uh, stop. I want to give you something first," Tiffany said, pushing him back. He finally leaned back and sighed. Tiffany reached under one of the sofa pillows and pulled out a thin rectangular shaped gift, wrapped in bright yellow paper. She could barely contain her smile as she gave it to him. "What the hell?" Taeng muttered as he looked at it, then back at her. "Open," she said, still beaming from ear to ear. Taeng stared at his wife, then started to remove the paper from the gift. He cou ld feel it was hard, and more than likely a book. Once the last shred of bright yellow was removed, Taeng flipped the book over. Then looked up at Tiffany with quizzical eyes. Tiffany smiled, "That was the first book my mom read to me as a baby." Taeng looked down at it. "Yeah, my mom too, but--," then Tiffany felt his body j ump underneath her. His head snapped to her face and his eyes were wide. He quic kly looked down at her stomach and then back up to her face. "Are you--" "Yes," Tiffany whispered, her eyes searching his back and forth for any disappoi ntment. Luckily, she didn't see any. "Are you sure, I mean ha have you actually been to th the doctor," Taeng rushed out. Tiffany laughed. That was the first time she had ever heard him stutter over hi s words. Normally he was never taken off guard either. "Yes. She confirmed it. Are you happy?" Tiffany asked, biting her bottom lip. "Am I happy?" Taeng asked incredulously. Of course he was! He could barely think straight. They were going to have a baby. A little tiny person who they would h ave to take care of. Holy shit! he can't believe it.   "Of course, baby. Have you told anyone else?" "No. Just you. I wanted you to be the first," Tiffany said, leaning toward him f or a kiss. But in that moment, Taeng's lust took over. He pushed her back and ge ntly moved them from the sofa to the cushioned carpeted floor.  The way he felt at the moment, he didn't have time to waste removing anymore clo thing. He rolled over on his back and pulled her with him until she rested on to p. He pulled down the top of her bra, until her full heaving tits rested over th e top. He leaned up and gently licked and nipped at the hard buds. Tiffany pushe d his underwear down, as his dick finally sprung free. He moved her thin, almost see-through panties to the side and slowly lowered her down onto his waiting me mber. Both of them sighed in unison. Even though they had already made love early that morning before he left, he jus t couldn't get enough of her. And now hearing that she was pregnant with his chi ld, just caused a jolt of horniness to travel down through his body, settling in

lower region. Tiffany leaned her head back as she rocked her hips smoothly over his, loving th e feel of his thick cock sliding in and out of her stretched pussy. His large wa rm hands grabbed her tits and massaged them, causing her body to respond by rock ing faster. "Mmm, damn Taeng." Oh, her body was gripping his dick so tightly, he knew he wasn't going to last a s long as he normally did. But truthfully he had been worked up from the moment he saw her standing in the kitchen. His dick had started hurting, he was getting so hard. Tiffany leaned down to kiss him as she felt the scalp tingling sensation and she started to orgasm. "Oh, Taeng...Taeng, ugh," she mumbled as her body shook, and her eyes rolled bac k. Taeng held his wife's back tighter, squeezing her soft breasts against his chest , while he pushed deep inside her and came. After a few moments, Tiffany finally spoke. "Damn, that was...it was...," she sa id, searching for the right word. "Astounding, mind-blowing, incredible and a million other adjectives that my bra in is too tired to think of." "Exactly," Tiffany huffed out, a little out of breath from their workout. "I'm going to be a father," Taeng said, more n't believe it. He had wanted it...the night at wasn't that long ago. He had to thank his he thought with a smirk. "Everything is going to change for us. Or at any said.

to himself than her. He still could he threw out her pills, but fuck th father for his good little swimmers least that's what people say," Tiff

"I'm ready for it," Taeng said.

Chapter 38 Tiffany stared at the computer screen. She knew that Taeng and her mothe r in law might be against it, but she really did want to take some online classe s...and who knows, maybe go back to work. And it wasn't that she didn't apprecia te a break from her ten straight years of working, but it still felt awkward to not have to report somewhere at a certain time. She knew taking care of a family could be a full-time job in itself, but it never hurt anyone to still take a fe w business classes.  Besides, a small part of her did miss putting in an honest days work. She was su re she was crazy, because many of the women she knew would probably think her li fe was a dream. And it was...she had to admit. Taeng was all that she could have imagined and more as a husband. He still carried the same edge as a business ma n that frightened and turned her on, but he also was more loving and caring than ever. And he smiled. Not the huge cheesy grins, but he did manage genuine smile s for her every morning and every night. Yes, she did have a wonderful life. But

she was confident that her husband would be understanding and would accept any decision she made regarding furthering her education.  Tiffany turned off the computer and walked into the kitchen to wash off some dis hes she had purchased the day before, when out of the corner of her eye she saw something and screamed. She quickly covered her mouth and ducked down behind the counter. Then she heard a small tap, and she looked over the counter top to fin d Detective Hyung Joong staring at her, tapping his keys on the sliding glass do ors leading out to their patio. Tiffany immediately righted herself and walked over to the door. She slid it ope n only enough to speak to him. "Detective Hyung Joong, what are you doing in my back yard?" "Oh, is this the back yard...I had no idea," he said in his smug voice. "Taeng h ome?" "No." "I'll wait for him." "Well, have fun out there," Tiffany said, closing the door, right as Hyung Joong stuck his hand through and pushed it back open. "I'll wait inside, if you don't mind," he said, pushing his body through the doo r. Hyung Joong looked around and then pulled a piece of paper out of his back po cket.  "Do you know what this is?" he said, waving it in Tiffany's face. "No." "It's a search warrant for this house." Tiffany didn't know what to do. There was nothing that she knew of that Taeng sh ouldn't have in their house. She decided to call Taeng to warn him about Hyung J oong. She turned to leave the kitchen when she heard Hyung Joong speak. "I wouldn't go warning him if I were you...your phones are tapped and that would n't look good for you." Was he bluffing? Tiffany turned back around. "I was going to the bathroom, if yo u don't mind. And why are our phones tapped." "Sure you were," Hyung Joong stated flatly. "And that's classified." Tiffany placed her hands on her hips. "But maybe I should call him. Because if y ou're going to search our house, he needs to be here," Tiffany said. "Nah, I'm not going to check your house. Taeng's too smart to keep anything here , am I right?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Sure you don't. Like you don't know that Taeng had ties to a criminal undergrou nd. Or that he sold weapons illegally, along with other unauthorized technology. And that he killed people."

"That's not stuff that my husband would have been involved in," Tiffany said. Sh e really didn't know what else to say, but she knew Hyung Joong was smart. He wa s probably keeping a mental record of everything she said to use against her. Hyung Joong continued to stare at her. His eyes raked over her body again in tha t dirty, lustful gaze that she hated. Like he was imagining what she looked like underneath her clothes. Luckily she had on more than a robe like the last time she was with him, but just barely. She had opted for a pair of shorts and a tank top due to the heat and cleaning their massive house. "Every time I see you, you seem to do better and better. One moment you're worki ng at Hongdae Cafe, the next he has you staying at some swanky hotel, and now yo u're here in this large house with a pool and everything. You must be doing some thing right," he said, grinning at her.  Tiffany narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't stand this cocky asshole! She kne w what he was insinuating and she refused to bite. Instead, she walked over the sink and started loading their dishwasher with the new dishes. She heard Hyung Joong move around the counter and stand closer to he r. Tiffany just decided the best thing to do would be to ignore him until Taeng came home, which would hopefully be soon. Tiffany saw him shuffle through the baby magazines that she had left on the coun ter. Fuck. "So...he finally put a bun in the oven. How far along are you?" "None of your business," Tiffany replied, not bothering to look at him. "You know," he started, standing awfully close to her, "Taeng and I aren't so di fferent. I mean, granted I'm an upstanding, law-abiding citizen, and he's a crim inal who sold illegal material to the scum of the earth...but I like to think we have similar taste, you know?" Tiffany decided to just ignore him. She rinsed out more dishes then loaded them into the dishwasher. "Who knows, maybe you and I would have gotten together under different circumsta nces." Tiffany rolled her eyes, but tensed when she felt him lean closer to her. "I mean, who knows, it could have been my kid you're carrying," Hyung Joong whis pered as he twirled one of her curls through his finger. Tiffany quickly swung around to glare at him, slinging soapy water from a cup th at splattered onto his dress shirt. "Shit!" he said, as he scooted backwards and wiped the water from his clothing.  "You make one more comment to me like that, and so help me I'll tell my husband and he will kick your pathetic ass!" Tiffany warned, pointing her finger at him. Hyung Joong chuckled as he grabbed a paper towel and blotted at the water stain seeping into his shirt and tie. "That wasn't very nice, Tiffany." "Fuck you." ***

Taeng was pulling into their neighborhood, when he noticed a rental car parked a wkwardly on their street. He had been involved in his old lifestyle too long to look at things like that as coincidence. He pulled up beside the car, and notice d it was empty. He got out and peeked inside. He saw a blue file sitting on the seat and at the bottom of the file written in ink was Kim Taeng. Goddamn that asshole. What the fuck did Hyung Joong want?! Taeng got back into his car and pulled into his driveway. He got out and entered the house, trying to calm his temper. He walked into the kitchen to find Hyung Joong staring at Tiffany. When Hyung Joong finally noticed him, he took a notice able step back from Tiffany. "Taeng!" Tiffany yelled.   Aas she ran over to hug him. He returned her hug tightly while keeping his eyes on Hyung Joong. After a few seconds of a stare down, Taeng looked at his wife an d kissed her.   "Hey, baby." He then turned to Hyung Joong. "What the fuck do you want?" "That's no way to greet an old friend," Hyung Joong smiled back. "Since you're not a friend of mine, get the fuck out of my house. You have no ju risdiction here," Taeng said, holding onto Tiffany. Tiffany was confused. She looked back and forth between Taeng and Hyung Joong.   "But he said he had a search warrant," Tiffany stated. "He lied," Taeng stated cooly, never removing his eyes from Hyung Joong.   "Now get the fuck off my property before I forget you're a cop." Hyung Joong stared at Taeng, but decided not to call his bluff. He didn't want t o push his luck since technically he was there on his forced vacation.  He walked towards the door. but turned to look at Taeng. "You may think just becau se they have some snot nosed kid from the NIS on your case, who doesn't know his asshole from a hole in the wall, that I've given up. I haven't...and I won't." As soon as Hyung Joong's foot crossed the threshold, Taeng slammed the door. Taeng turned to look at Tiffany. "Taeng...oh, I'm sorry. What an asshole," Tiffany said, shaking her head in disb elief. That prick Hyung Joong just lied to her. She felt like a fool. "I got nervous and a little scared that he was going to try to cause problems at your office, so I let him stay here instead." "Are you okay?" Taeng asked, rolling up his sleeves. He was so fucking sick of H yung Joong. There had been numerous times in the past when he had wanted to take that nosey fuck out, but he knew that would draw too much attention. Killing co ps wasn't really his thing, but he would have loved to make an exception for Hyu ng Joong. "Yes, I'm fine," Tiffany answered. She had thought about telling him about Hyung Joong's comment to her, but she didn't want to make it worse. No matter how muc h of a jerk he was, he was still a cop.

  "Taeng, why is he bothering us all the way out here?" "Because he's an asshole and he can't let go of a ten year grudge against me. If he shows back up here, call me and call the police," Taeng told her, as he kiss ed her again and then went upstairs to take a shower before dinner. Tiffany leaned against the counter. She wasn't sure if he was upset with her or not, but she would make sure to be more careful from now on. *** Click...BANG!  "Fuck!!" Taeng shouted, as he raised up in bed. He quickly glanced around the da rk room and noticed he had startled Tiffany from her sleep. "Taeng!" Tiffany screamed, pushing the covers from her body and moving closer to her husband.   "Taeng, what's wrong?" Taeng couldn't say anything. He just sat there, sweating and trying to compose h imself. Tiffany was trying to grab onto him, but he was holding her at an arms l ength. He couldn't believe he shouted like that, all because of a nightmare. How pathetic. "Are you okay?" Tiffany asked, worried. Taeng swung his legs off the side of the bed and rested his face in his hands.   "Yes, I'm fine. Go back to bed, baby." Tiffany knew that this was his way of shutting her out. She watched as he stood up, pulled on some workout pants and walked to the door. "Where are you going?" she asked. He didn't bother turning around. "I need some fresh air." Taeng quickly jogged downstairs and out the front door. The cool night air felt good against his sweating skin. He closed his eyes and plopped down on the cold brick steps. He needed to get his shit together. A few seconds later, he heard the front door open. Tiffany walked down the steps and turned so that she was facing him. He looked up at her as she sat down on h is lap. She caressed his face in her tiny hands. "Taeng, are you sure you're okay? You k now you can tell me anything." Not this. He just couldn't. She didn't need to be stressed out anyway. "I'm fine, baby. Let's go back to bed," he said as he stood, holding her in his arms. He smiled when she giggled and wrapped her arms around him, burying her fa ce into his neck. But then she pulled back so that she could see his face.    "I almost forgot...you never carried me over the threshold!"

"I didn't? Well, I'll make up for that now," Taeng said, kissing his wife's swee t plump lips and carrying her back into the house and upstairs to bed. He gently laid her down and removed what little bit of clothing they had been wearing. The moment he entered her body, he immediately relaxed. Yes, this was what he wa nted to think about when he fell back asleep. His wife and his child. That's all he needed and all he wanted to dream about. Even after their lengthy lovemaking session, he held her close in his arms until she fell back to sleep never wanting to let her go.

Chapter 39 It was early Saturday morning, and Tiffany was trying a new color for th e baby room for the third time. Nothing seemed to fit...but not knowing the sex of the baby affected her choice as well. "aish" she whispered to herself when the light sea green color she applied to th e wall dried darker than she had hoped. She was about to call Taeng out of his s tudy for his opinion, when she heard the doorbell ring. The sound startled her for a second, because they definitely didn't have many vi sitors, and Taeng preferred it that way. Actually, none if you didn't count the different maintenance men. Tiffany trotted downstairs and looked through the oval glass of the wooden door. She saw a tall, nice looking older man. She opened the door. The man looked down at her and instantly smiled.   "Hi. I live a few houses down, and I just wanted to welcome you and your husband into the neighborhood. I saw a moving truck a few weeks ago, and my apologies f or just now coming, but I wanted to wait until you got settled," he said, as he extended his hand to her. Tiffany immediately smiled back, taking in his warm eyes and pleasant smile. She offered her hand as well. "Thank you so much. I'm Kim Tiffany." "Nice to meet you Tiffany. I'm Jang Hyung Sung." "Would you like to come in?" Tiffany asked, making room for him to enter. "Are you sure, I don't want to impose. You look like you're busy," he said, givi ng her a once-over with her paint splattered clothing. She realized how crazy sh e must look. "Not at all. Plus, I need an excuse to take a break. Let me call my husband," Ti ffany replied.   "Taeng, I--," she turned to yell, but quickly quieted when she saw her husband s tanding right behind her. Taeng had been standing at the top of the stairs when he heard his wife talking to someone. The guy's voice didn't sound familiar, but Taeng still didn't trust many people. The moment Tiffany invited the stranger in, Taeng had quietly begun descending the stairs to make his presence known.

"Taeng," he said, offering his hand to the stranger. "Hyung Sung. Nice to meet you." The two gave each other a firm handshake, never taking their eyes off one another. Tiffany inwardly groaned. Men...always sizing each other up. But then Hyung Sung turned and glanced around. "This is a really beautiful home. I always wanted to get a peek inside. Just the two of you?" Tiffany patted her tummy. "Well, we're expecting, so soon to be three," she smil ed. "Congratulations...that's wonderful. My grandbaby was born not too long ago. 'My beautiful handful' is what I like to call her," Hyung Sung chuckled. "She sounds absolutely adorable," Tiffany said, grabbing ahold of Taeng's hand. "She is...but I'm biased," Hyung Sung stated, smiling back at her. Tiffany glanced behind her and then turned back to Hyung Sung. "I'm sorry, we only have one sofa right now. I've fallen behind on getting that stuff," she admitted. "But please, have a seat. Would you like something to drin k?" Hyung Sung walked over to the couch and sat down. "Oh, sure. Coffee, please. If it's not too much trouble." "Of course not. Taeng?" Tiffany said, turning to her husband. "I'm good, baby." When Tiffany walked out, Taeng decided to question this stranger a little furthe r. He couldn't help it. His old lifestyle made him wary of people who came claim ing nothing but good intentions. "So...what line of work are you in?" Taeng asked, leaning against the wall. "I'm a Commander with the Korean Navy program. Used to be an active ROK myself, before age started creeping up on me. How about you, Taeng? What do you do for a living?" Both men stared at each other for a moment. Something about knowing Hyung Sung's background made Taeng uneasy. "I'm an architect. I recently opened up my company downtown." "What did I miss?" Tiffany interrupted, as she came bouncing back into the room, handing Hyung Sung his cup. She walked over to Taeng, and leaned against him. Taeng placed his arm around her shoulders. "Our new neighbor is a Commander in t he ROKs Navy," he said, with not much enthusiasm in his voice. Tiffany's eyes widened. "Oh, wow. Shouldn't we call you by title or something?" Hyung Sung chuckled. "No, you don't have to." Tiffany looked up at Taeng, to see if he had any more questions, but he just mor e or less stared at Hyung Sung. Tiffany started feeling uncomfortable. She decid ed to fill the awkward space with more questions.

"Your granddaughter, what's her name?" "Wendy." "That's beautiful. Wendy. Do you get to see her often? Do your daughter and her husband live in the city?" Hyung Sung took another sip of his drink. "Actually, I see her quite often. They live about fifteen miles east of here. And my son-in-law, Jong Suk, I see him a ll the time. He's also a ROK in my unit." "Oh, well that worked out perfectly!" Tiffany said. "Well, it took a long road to get to perfect. Very long," Hyung Sung muttered, a s he took another sip. "Well, I'd love to meet them...that way I can get some baby tips from a new mom, " Tiffany said. "Great, I'll let them know," Hyung Sung said. Another awkward silence filled the room. "So, I guess I should be heading off now. I have some work to finish up," Hyung Sung stated, while standing.  Tiffany felt awful, but she wasn't sure what else to say to convince him to stay longer. Taeng sure wasn't helping. "Would you like me to take this to the kitchen?" Hyung Sung asked, holding up hi s cup. "No, I got it. Thank you so much for stopping by," Tiffany said, taking the cup from his hand. "My pleasure. And thanks for the coffee." Tiffany and Taeng walked with him to the door. "It was nice meeting both of you, " Hyung Sung said, before he walked down the steps and hopped into his car. "You too!" Tiffany yelled and waved goodbye. Taeng closed the door, barely letting her get her hand inside. "Jesus, Taeng. That was rude!" "So let me get this straight...you invite not one but two ROKs Navy to come visit us?" "It's not like they're cops, Taeng." Tiffany defended. "But I'm sure they are really good at what they do. And I don't--," he started. "Quit being so paranoid," she said, placing her hands on her hips. Taeng closed his mouth and slowly nodded. "Paranoid, huh?" he said, while scratc hing his chin. He turned and walked back upstairs without another word being exc hanged.

Later that night, after a quiet, uncomfortable meal on the living room floor, Ti ffany opted to cool off in their pool. They both had stayed too busy to actually enjoy it when they first moved in, so maybe tonight they could christen it with a little foreplay. Or so she hoped. He still had barely said a word to her sinc e she called him paranoid. They were near the deep end of the pool, so the water rested around the top port ion of Taeng's chest. Tiffany held onto him by wrapping her legs around his wais t and her arms around his neck. She wanted him to talk to her. In truth, he hadn 't really been the same since he woke from that nightmare a few nights before. S he was starting to get concerned about him. She lifted her head from his shoulder and stared into her husband's solemn face. His stare out into the back yard suggested that he was deep in thought. She wan ted him to let her into those hidden parts of his mind so badly. "Taeng?" "Yes," he answered, still staring out. "Are you mad at me? For letting Hyung Sung in and for calling you paranoid?" Tif fany asked. He turned his head to look at her.   "No." But that was all he said. No smile, no other explanation...just 'no'. Tiffany tr ied to shake her hurt feelings and kiss him. But when her lips connected with hi s, she felt no passion returned. She sighed and decided to try a new tactic. "I can't wait to see Omma tomorrow. I pick her up at the airport at noon. Want u s to stop by your office for lunch?" Tiffany watched his face again. He didn't even bother to acknowledge her convers ation this time. His gaze never shifted from the water.  Tiffany wasn't sure if he was mad at her or not, but she couldn't stand being ig nored. If he would only tell her what was wrong. She realized that divulging his feelings wasn't something he was used to or liked, but she was his wife, and he needed to open up. After a few more moments of silence, Tiffany pushed away from him and slowly pad dled to the shallow section until her feet touched the bottom of the pool. She c limbed out and grabbed her towel, wrapping it tightly around her. "Baby, where are you going?" she heard Taeng ask. Well, two can play that game. She ignored him and walked into the house. She quickly showered and changed into one of his t-shirts. She grabbed a baby ma gazine that was lying on the nightstand and got into bed. Her back was to the do or when she heard him enter their room. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, s he watched him remove his swimming trunks, giving her an eyeful of his beautiful ...well-endowed body. He stalked into the bathroom and shut the door. Tiffany listened as the shower turned on, wishing she was in there with him. She knew she was being a little difficult, but she couldn't stand when he shut her out, with no explanation. Didn't he realize she was crazy about him, and couldn' t stand to see him hurting?! She continued to mindlessly flip through the magazi ne when the door to the bathroom opened. She chanced another small glance, and n oticed he still hadn't put anything on. Instead, he slid into the bed and turned the lamp on his side of the bed off.

She sighed and loudly turned another page. "I'm sorry, baby," she heard from behind her, as his arms snaked around her wais t.   "I didn't mean to upset you. It's nothing, really." Tiffany turned to face him. "But you were thinking about something. Just tell me ." Taeng remained silent. "Taeng, whatever it is, I'd feel better if you--" "We don't have to talk about it anymore. I'm good," he quickly said, cutting her off and turning to lie on his back. Nope...she wasn't going to let this go so e asily. Tiffany sat up in the bed. "Taeng, you're doing it again. You're shutting me out . Don't do that!" she warned. "It's because I don't want you being worried with all of the shit I have going o n in my head, Tiffany. You don't need to deal with that." "But I want to help you." Taeng was getting aggravated. "I don't need any help, now just let it go, okay?" "Taeng, I--" "End of discussion," he snapped. Oh, he had to say that phrase. His 'shut up, don't say another word, none of you r business' phrase that drove her crazy. She had always thought to herself that if he ever said that one more time, she would scream. In fact... "Aaaahhhhhh!!!" Tiffany shrieked. Taeng quickly sat up, looking at her like she had lost her damn mind. "What?" he fumed. Tiffany didn't bother answering him. Instead, she clicked off her night lamp and turned on her side, facing away from him. This was driving her crazy. Was somet hing wrong? Were there still loose ends that hadn't been tied up before they mov ed? She wished he would trust her and just open up. But no, Taeng went into deta ched, closed off mode when something bothered him. Would it always be this way?

Chapter 40 "Aah!! How's my Tiffany?" Mrs. Kim squealed when she spotted Tiffany in the crowded airport. The two embraced tightly. "I'm good, how are you?" Tiffany asked, returning her hug. "I have another grandbaby on the way, so I'm just perfect," Mrs. Kim gushed, as

she reached down to stroke Tiffany's stomach. Although there was barely a bump, Tiffany felt a little self-conscious about her weight. Once they packed Mrs. Kim's bags into the car, the two headed to the new house. Mrs. Kim talked a mile a minute, she talked about her baby Hayeon and about her telling Hayeon the news of Taeng being married and having a baby. His baby siste r, was ecstatic and very happy for Taeng. Tiffany barely got a word in before they pulled up to the house. Once inside, Mr s. Kim quickly looked around downstairs then headed straight upstairs. Tiffany s hook her head, because she knew exactly what Mrs. Kim was looking for. When Tiff any finally made it upstairs, she snickered to herself when she saw Mrs. Kim ope n the door to the would-be baby's room. "aishh!" she heard Mrs. Kim say. "What color are you two thinking about? I hope not plain white." "No, we'll change it when we know the sex of the baby. But...you see why I need your help, right? I've never decorated this much on my own." "Not to worry, we'll get this all taken care of. So, is Taeng still at work?" "Yes, he'll be home in a few hours. He would have come with me to pick you up to o, but he had several back to back meetings. Want to unpack and settle in?" "Sure, just show me to my room." When Mrs. Kim's clothes were put away, she joined Tiffany in preparing dinner. E ven though Tiffany kept telling her to sit down and relax with Mrs. Kim there wa s no such thing. But at least they now had a table to sit down at. That's the on e thing Tiffany insisted upon having before Taeng's mother showed up. They at le ast needed some minimal furniture, and she would do the rest of the shopping wit h Mrs. Kim while she had her help. Tiffany knew it was very traditional...maybe a little too easy, but she decided to fix bulgogi. It was the only Korean dish she could for sure make and not emba rrass herself. Mrs. Kim showed her a few tricks to make it even more spectacular . Less sauce, more flavor Mrs. Kim told her. Taeng knew his mom was inside. He should have called her when she landed, but he still couldn't shake this funk he was in. He hated that Hyung Joong knew where he lived. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his location was no l onger a secret. But he just had to make sure that from this point on, all of his investments were legit. He couldn't make any mistakes--not that he ever could. He pulled the key from the ignition and got out of the car. As soon as he opened the door to the house, the scrumptious smell of Korean food filled the air. He placed his keys on the table near the door and walked toward the kitchen. Both Tiffany and Mrs. Kim had their backs turned to him, so Taeng was able to sn eak up behind his mother and wrap his arms around her. She jumped, completely st artled, but then relaxed. "Hi!" greeted Mrs. Kim. "I miss you," Taeng whispered into his mother's ear, letting her know that he ha d missed her.

"Me too," she replied, turning around to hug her son. When Taeng released his mother, he turned to look at Tiffany. She still had her back to them, while she chopped vegetables for a salad. "Hi, baby," Taeng said. "Hi, Taeng," she answered, not bothering to turn around. Immediately Mrs. Kim knew something was wrong. The air was thick with tension. T aeng didn't rush over to hug Tiffany and she had barely acknowledged his presenc e. She looked back and forth between her son and his wife, until she settled her glare on him. "whats wrong?" Mrs. Kim asked, placing her hands on her hips. "I didn't do anything, Omma," Taeng said, answering his mother. "I'm going upsta irs to change clothes." At dinner, you could hear a pin drop. The only noises that trickled through were those of their silverware clanking against the dishes. After quietly filling th eir plates, the three of them ate in silence. Taeng sipped his wine and looked o ver at his mother. "How was your flight?" he asked, trying to relieve the tension. "It was nice. Could somebody tell me what's wrong?" Mrs. Kim asked, addressing t he pink elephant in the room. Tiffany turned to Mrs. Kim. "Honestly, I don't know," she said, then turned to h er husband, giving a noticeable fake smile. "Taeng, wanna answer that?"   "Nothing," he said, taking another sip of his drink. "And that's the answer I get as well," Tiffany said, picking over her food. Taeng glared at Tiffany. "You going to do this in front of my mother?" he said, with his cold stare. Tiffany knew that Taeng was a private person, and she was wrong for trying to dr ag Mrs. Kim into their disagreement. But she just wanted validation that she was n't crazy in being upset with him for being so closed off. "Well, if that's the only way I can get you to talk about what's been bugging yo u, then I have to play every card I can," Tiffany said, sliding her plate out of the way. "I'm not discussing it further," Taeng stated in a clipped tone. "Taeng, I--," Tiffany started. "Dinner was delicious. Goodnight, Omma," Taeng interrupted, pushing loudly back from the table. He picked up his plate, dropped it in the kitchen sink and walke d out. Tiffany sat there shocked. She hated pushing him that far, but she was desperate to get this out in the open, hoping that his mother's presence would help. Not the right way to go about it, but the only way she knew at this point. "Omma, I'm sorry. I should probably "

"Yes, go. I'll clean up down here. Don't worry about a thing," Mrs. Kim said, ri sing up from the table. "Thank you," Tiffany whispered, as she stood up and walked out. She went upstair s and found Taeng sitting on the bed, changing into a pair of running shoes. He looked up at her when she entered. "I'm going for a jog," he stated, standing up. "This is so unfair, Taeng," Tiffany said softly. "I can't believe you did that in front of my mother," Taeng said, heatedly. "Thi s was our business and--" "No! Not ours...yours, because you won't let me in," Tiffany huffed. "Fine, then it's my business and I don't appreciate you dragging other people in to it." "Don't you realize you're treating me like you did when I didn't mean anything t o you?! When I was just your living blow-up doll!" Taeng's mouth dropped open. He quickly glanced toward their open door, knowing h is mother could probably hear everything. It's not like she didn't know how they met, but still, hearing Tiffany speak that way about it, shamed him and pissed him off at the same time. "Why don't you keep your voice down," he quietly said, while staring angrily at her. Mrs. Kim stood at the bottom of the steps, drying off a plate. She hated eavesdr opping on them, but she didn't like that they were fighting. And, in her book, p regnant women get a free pass for their erratic behavior. Their hormones are all over the place and their feelings can be hurt more easily. She didn't want her son yelling at Tiffany. If it lasted for a few more minutes, she would just have to go up there and break it up. "Are you going to throw that in my face every time we get in a disagreement?" Ta eng asked. "No, and I didn't mean to say it to hurt your feelings. But I'm your wife, not y our girlfriend or even what I was before. This is different and it hurts me to s ee you bothered or stressed out about something. Maybe I could help, but you'll never know because you won't talk to me." "Drop it," Taeng warned. "No!" Taeng grabbed a sweatshirt and walked out of the bedroom. He noticed his mom at the bottom of the steps. He knew she was going to try to stop him, but he needed to leave before he said something he would regret. Usually in life, when he wan ted someone to leave him alone, he'd say something awful to them, and they quick ly learned to quit fucking with him. He had even done that to Tiffany a few time s in the past, when they were under different circumstances. But he knew he need ed to leave before he did it again. When he reached the bottom step, his mom grabbed his arm. "Taeng, she just wants to help you and she's in a fragile state right now, son," Mrs. Kim quietly said

. "I'll be back in half an hour," Taeng said, as he quickly kissed his mother's fo rehead and walked out the door. He had to get the hell out of there and burn off some of his stress. Mrs. Kim walked upstairs to check on Tiffany. She was sitting on the bed, starin g at the wall. Mrs. Kim went to sit down beside her. "Is this how he treated Jessica?" Tiffany asked, still looking at the wall, as h er mind raced. "Oh, dear, he didn't love her. He never showed her the affection he shows you. H e loves you." "I feel so close to him sometimes...then other times I feel like there's a stran ger sleeping beside me. I felt that we had made a giant leap forward when he ope ned up about Jiwoong, but since we've been here, he's been closed off and stress ed. I don't know if something is wrong or if something happened to cause this. H e's woken up twice in the middle of the night due to a nightmare, but he won't t ell me." Mrs. Kim sat and listened. "This isn't how I imagined our marriage. I guess I should have known it was too good to be true. I really thought living here would make a difference. I never k now when Taeng the husband or Taeng the mob boss will come walking through the f ront door," Tiffany expressed, as she wiped a tear away. Mrs. Kim grabbed her hand. "Only thing I can tell you is to concentrate on the b aby. Taeng will come around, eventually." "I know you say that Omma, and no offense, but did your husband come around? Tae ng said his father was closed off too." Mrs. Kim nodded her head. "Actually, God rest his soul, he never did. That man d ied with secrets I probably didn't know about." "That's what I thought," Tiffany mumbled, as she hopped up from the bed and walk ed into the closet.  Mrs. Kim slowly ran her hand over the bed covers, smoothing out the lumps, when she suddenly heard Tiffany's strained breath. She stood up and was about to go i nto the closet, when Tiffany came barreling out of it with a suitcase in her han ds.  "No! Kim Tiffany, put that down right now!" Mrs. Kim ordered, rushing over to he r. Tiffany ignored Mrs. Kim and placed the suitcase on the bed. She wasn't permanen tly moving out, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She was tired of this back and forth with Taeng. He had done it with her when she was just his "arrangement ", he had done it when she was his girlfriend, constantly saying, "the less she knew the better," and now, even with her being his wife and the mother of his ch ild...he was doing it again. Well, fuck that, Tiffany thought. She loved him mor e than anything, but she could move back home if she wanted to be ignored. She w asn't even sure where she would go and she was sure she wouldn't stay any longer t han a few hours, but she could at least check into a hotel until she could clear her head.

"Tiffany, listen to me! He'll be back in a few minutes, and talk to him then. Yo u don't know what you're doing because you're very emotional right now. I know w hat I'm talking about," Mrs. Kim pleaded, as Tiffany walked around her, throwing several articles of clothing into the suitcase. She then walked into the bathro om and quickly grabbed her toiletries. When she realized nothing was registering to Tiffany, Mrs. Kim quickly stepped o ut of the room and called Taeng. Taeng glanced down at his phone, which was vibrating. It was his mother. He stop ped jogging and answered. But before he could even say anything, Mrs. Kim starte d firing off what was going on. Tiffany was packing? What?! He told his mom to c alm down and he was on his way. He clicked off his phone and started sprinting b ack to their house. Tiffany was in the process of dragging her bag downstairs when the front door fl ew open. Taeng was standing there breathing hard and looking up at her. Even though his stare caused her entire body to burn, she ignored him and contin ued to drag her suitcase further down the steps. But she couldn't help it--the t ears started to form and they eventually fell. She knew what she was doing made no sense, but she felt that she had to make a move. Taeng was the one who taught her that life is like a chess game. You can't just sit there after your opponen t makes a move. You have to move as well. And this was really the only move she ever really had with him. She looked back at him as he quickly ascended the stai rs. When he reached her, he ripped the bag from her hands as he wrapped his free arm around her waist and hoisted her up. Instead of pushing him away, she held onto him tightly as he reached the last step. He pushed their door open and dropped her bag on the floor, as he held her tightly. Her face was pressed into his neck , and he could feel her warm tears against his skin. Neither one said anything for a few moments. Taeng gently lowered her so that he r feet were touching the ground. He pushed her hair away from her face and tilte d it so that she was looking at him. Her big doe eyes were unsure and hurt from how he had treated her. He leaned down to her mouth and whispered into her lips,   "Don't ever do that again. Don't leave me," he said, then kissed her deeply, his tongue invading and wrapping around hers. Tiffany moaned into his mouth. She hated when he cast his spell on her, as she q uickly lost all senses. For a brief moment, she had forgotten what she had done, until he said 'don't leave me'. When their lips finally parted, both were breathing heavily, as Tiffany spoke. "Taeng, this is really the only card I have left to play with you. I can't cance l your credit cards, or physically fight you...I don't have anything to stop you , except leaving. It's--it's all I have," she admitted, looking down at her hand s, ashamed to admit that she felt so powerless with him. After a few seconds of him not saying anything, she spoke again.   "When you hurt, I hurt, Taeng. Don't you understand that?" she whispered to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed in his masculine scent.  "I know, baby. I know," he quietly admitted, while kissing the top of her head.   "I'm going against my better judgment here, but I'll tell you. I just didn't wan t you upset because of my problems. But I guess it defeats the point if you are upset anyway, and you don't know them."

Tiffany nodded and grabbed his hand to lead him over to the bed. Taeng exhaled. He didn't really know where to start, but he had to open up. "Remember when we were in Bali, and I kept having that feeling that something ba d was going to happen?" Tiffany nodded again. "Well, that feeling came back. And I can't shake it. And now...fuck, this is rea lly hard to say to you, but I keep having this recurring dream..." Taeng really didn't want to finish that sentence. He didn't want to let Tiffany into that dar k place. "Baby, it's okay. You can tell me anything," Tiffany encouraged, as she lightly squeezed his hand. "In the dream, someone, um...someone is holding a gun to our baby's head and the y pull the trigger." Tiffany immediately gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. "Yeah, I know, and that's not the image I wanted to place in your head." Tiffany pulled her hands down. He told her, so she needed to pull herself togeth er and not make him feel worse. "It's okay baby. It's just shocking, but it's also just a nightmare. That's all. " "Tiffany, I've just done so much bad shit over the years, I can't get off this e asy. I can't get the perfect wife, the perfect life...it just doesn't work that way," Taeng sighed, lying back onto the bed. "First off, I'm nowhere near perfect, Taeng," Tiffany smiled, trying to lighten his mood.   "Actually, some could say being with me is your punishment, you know." Taeng didn't crack a smile. She leaned back on the bed beside him. He began to speak again. "I feel like here I'm unprepared to deal with certain t hings. At least back home, I had Yuri and Taecyeon. I had my gated-in house...I felt like I was on my A game at all times. I felt like I could protect you. Here I feel like my guard is down." "Taeng, you're in a different occupation here. No one knows the old you. This is a chance for us to start over." Taeng wasn't so sure. It was. But he didn't want uld try to be completely this to her...talking to

couldn't be this to worry Tiffany honest with her. her did make him

easy. So far, nothing in his life ever anymore, so for better or worse, he wo Because although he would never admit feel better. 

"I love you, you know that?" Taeng asked her. "So I've been told. I love you too," she whispered back to him. "I'll do better about my 'feelings'," Taeng said, rolling his eyes.

  "But don't expect any Barbara Walters tears or anything. That's not gonna happen ." "Well, I've already seen your tear up, so there," Tiffany replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "Yeah, well you're the only one, so don't go sharing that with everyone. Not my mom or your new friend, Hyung Sung. Copy that?" Tiffany swatted at his arm. "Don't be jealous. But Hyung Sung didn't introduce a wife, so maybe he's still single," Tiffany contemplated, tapping her finger aga inst her chin as if in deep thought.   "He seems like a man in touch with his emotions." Taeng rolled her on top of him and slapped her ass. "If you don't want him hurt, I suggest you stop all thoughts in that direction." "Please, he's a ROK. Aren't they supposed to be from the school of 'the baddest of the bad', or something?" "Yeah, well I'm from the school of, 'you fuck with me, you go missing', so your friend should keep that in mind," Taeng stated, as he dodged another playful swa t from Tiffany. "Silly man," she said, hugging him.

Chapter 41 Taeng, staying very true to his word, was more open with Tiffany. When h e was having a down day, he would tell her, and much to his surprise, she usuall y could brighten his outlook. He had forgotten how sarcastic and funny she could be. And their house started to feel more like a home when Tiffany and his mom starte d decorating. He gave them free reign. He knew that Tiffany wouldn't go crazy wi th his credit card, but his mom...that was a different story.  But there was one room that he did want to help Tiffany with and that was the ba by's room. This was all new territory for both of them, and two minds were defin itely better than one. Tiffany noticed a significant change in Taeng. He was more calm and relaxed now. And he hadn't woken up from a bad dream since the night that had started their argument. But, at the moment she was inwardly groaning. She hated these awkward business p arties Taeng had to attend. And plus she felt a little heavier than normal, for obvious reasons, so she had absolutely nothing to wear. It was just a tiny littl e paunch she had, but to her, it was still a different body. But Taeng loved it. He said it made her look even sexier if that was possible. Of course, he could have just been trying to make her feel good about her changing body, but either way, she needed the boost of confidence. This whole pregnancy thing was all so f oreign to her. She never dreamt of being a mom, let alone Kim Taeng being the fa ther. 

She remembered the first time she saw him, when he had walked into her father's restaurant years ago. He looked so young, yet intimidating. She had been cleanin g off a table when she looked up at the group of men entering. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He glanced over at her and then turned his attention towards the kitchen. Yes, they had definitely come a long way since that day. But she brought her att ention back to the task at hand. She needed to figure out what dress to wear. Taeng had called her earlier that day, and asked her to be ready. Well, since sh e was forced to go to these lame, stuffy parties she would try something a littl e different. She grabbed the dress of her choice, and slid it on. Tight...much t ighter than she last remembered. But whatever, it would have to do. Once she was dressed she sat on the couch until she saw his car lights in the dr iveway.   Showtime. Taeng was about to get out, when Tiffany opened the front door. Goddamn, she...j ust Goddamn. She looked so fucking good, he wanted to march her ass right back u pstairs and put their new bed sheets to good use. She was wearing a short, off t he shoulder red dress with thin strapped high heels. The dress was extremely tig ht, due to her current condition, that turned him on. He could see the slight bu lge in the lower section of her stomach. He never thought he'd be one of those m en that got turned on even more by their pregnant wife...but he was learning a f ew new things about himself since Tiffany had come into his life. She had her wa ve thick ringlets swooped into a messy updo and minimal makeup, which is exactly how he loved to see her face. Even though his windows were extremely tinted, Tiffany knew that he was staring at her. She smirked at him and walked toward his newest toy, which was a Ferrari . This man spent way too much money. When she got closer, Taeng finally got out and gave his wife a noticeable once-o ver. He walked over to the passenger side door and opened it for her. "You're going to make this very distracting for me, baby," Taeng growled, as he squeezed his wife's ass as she got in. Tiffany smiled. She knew she had chosen a more risqué dress, but chalk it up to ho rmones, because she was feeling frisky tonight. She was definitely going to try to make this party interesting for herself. She turned to look at him when he go t in. "Okay, let's make a bet then," Tiffany said. "If I can distract you at least thr ee times tonight, then we get to leave early, okay?" Taeng thought about it. "Alright. And how will you know if I'm distracted?" "Smile at me." "Game," Taeng said, squeezing his wife's smooth white milk thigh, and then rubbi ng his hand further up. Tiffany pushed it back down. "Nope, you have to wait until we get to the party." When they finally arrived, Tiffany realized this party was just like the previou s parties they had attended. She even saw a few familiar faces from the past get -togethers. None who she actually knew their names, though. She held tightly to

Taeng's hand as he walked through groups of people, shaking hands and introducin g her.   They finally approached a larger group of men. She recognized one of the men, Pa rk Yoochun. He worked for Taeng and was his Vice President of Designs. He was a pretty nice guy, but Tiffany couldn't stand his wife. From the moment the two we re introduced at an office party, his wife Gyuri seemed to look down on her. Tif fany wasn't sure if it was because she was much younger..., but after their init ial greeting, Tiffany didn't have two words to say to that snooty bitch. "Hello, gentleman, this is my wife, Kim Tiffany," Taeng said, as Tiffany said he llo to the large group of men. A thin balding man grabbed Tiffany's hand and shook it. "No wonder Taeng never s eems to be stressed," he joked. "Nice to meet you Tiffany." Tiffany smiled back and surveyed the group. They were all staring times like these that she wished she paid more attention to what d. So she'd at least have some talking points. Well, she did have ght, and she needed to get started, so she could get the hell out

at her. It was her husband di a mission toni of there.

As Taeng stood there speaking with the men, Tiffany slowly slid her hand from hi s waist to his ass and pinched. She heard Taeng pause just briefly before she lo oked up and saw a slight grin from the corner of his mouth. One down, two more t o go.  After a few more minutes, Tiffany finally excused herself from the group and wen t to look at some interesting paintings on the wall. Anything to take her mind o ff this dull party, until she could think of another distracting trick. But as s he was looking over the artwork, she was really drawn in by a painting of a moth er holding her child. She was so mesmerized, that she didn't notice her own litt le audience staring at her.  "So, who are you here with?" she heard a raspy voice ask. Tiffany glanced to the side and noticed a tiny older woman. She was in very good shape with a few thic k pieces of perfectly placed white strands through her short dark white hair.   "Hi. My husband's Kim Taeng. The tall one with his hands in his pockets," Tiffan y pointed out. The woman followed her finger until she spotted him. "Oh, he's very handsome. I think my husband introduced me to him at the last par ty. My name is Goo Hara. Nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand to Tiff any. "I'm Tiffany. Nice to meet you as well." Hara gave her a once-over and then turned back to Taeng. "You and your husband m ake a very handsome couple. You should come to one of our parties. We throw a bi g bash every month. Spectacular key parties, and I'm sure our regular guests wou ld be thrilled to meet you two." "Key party? Is that like a costume party, or something?" Tiffany innocently aske d. Hara smiled. "Sort of." "Oh, well that sounds nice. We'd love to come. Thank you," Tiffany smiled, as sh e looked over at her husband.  "Hope you do join," Hara said, handing Tiffany her card.

Well, at least she had met one nice person. But Tiffany still had some distracti ng to do. She walked over to the bar and asked the bartender for three olives. H e handed her a large toothpick with the olives impaled on it. She turned to look at Taeng. Once she had his attention, she slowly and seductively licked the top olive. He narrowed his eyes at her and tried to rejoin his conversation. But she could tel l that curiosity got the better of him, and he glanced in her direction again. S he took that opportunity to quickly place the entire toothpick with all three ol ives in her mouth and slowly pulled them off. She closed her eyes and moaned. But then something didn't feel right. Her eyes flew open as she coughed and patt ed her chest, trying to dislodge the olive that had gotten stuck in her throat. In an instant, she felt Taeng standing beside her, patting her back. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. It finally went down and Tiffany turned her watery red eyes up to her husband.   "Oh my God, that was embarrassing," she said, as she took a sip of the water he handed her. Taeng had to laugh. Hard. Now that he knew she was okay, that was one of the fun niest things he had ever seen in his life. It was so Tiffany to do something lik e that. "Well, at least that's smile number two," she said. "Hey, no fair," Taeng said, trying to calm his chuckle. "Yep, it is. The deal was just distracting you. Even if I'm choking." "Oh, you have learned some tricks from me," Taeng said, placing his hand on his wife's ass.   "But you still have one more smile to get from me before we can leave. And this one has to be sexy. No falling down or choking, okay?" "Fair enough." Tiffany tried again to get Taeng's attention throughout the night, but nothing s eemed to work. And she didn't feel daring enough to flash him any skin, consider ing people could be watching. But then, she came up with the perfect plan. The most daring thing she had done in front of this many people, but she had to try. She called the bartender over. Taeng was bored to tears, but he'd learned the art of looking like he was listen ing intently, even though his mind was far, far away. Truthfully, he was thinkin g about Tiffany. He glanced up at her again, and she was just looking at him. Sh e hadn't tried anything else. Maybe her shyness won out and they would be stayin g longer. He had kinda hoped that she would have won, so they could get the fuck out of there. He was about to make a comment on something one of the men had said, when he not iced the bartender started walking toward their group with the largest grin on h is face. He was carrying a tray with a champagne glass. But upon further inspect ion...this wasn't an ordinary champagne glass. Well, the glass was, but its cont ents were definitely not. Along with the sparkling champagne, was something else

.  When the bartender finally reached their group, he whispered into Taeng's ear th at the glass and the note were from his wife. Taeng stared down into the glass and smiled. He couldn't help himself. Damn that little minx! She had stuck her tiny black thong into the drink. He couldn't eve n look at her just yet, knowing she had won. He could see the men in his group t hrough his peripheral vision, and they were staring at the glass. Someone coughe d, but their mindless chatter ceased. Taeng turned the note over and read it.   'When do you plan on fucking me? Love, your wet and willing wife.' Taeng's dick turned hard within a millisecond. That was it. He grabbed the drink and the note and excused himself from the group. He heard o ver his shoulder one of the guys whisper to the group, "Well, fuck, can I marry her?" Not a chance in hell, Taeng thought as he approached Tiffany. She was all his, from head to toe. Tiffany waiting in anticipation as Taeng closed in on her, like a hawk zoning in on a defenseless, small mouse. When he reached her, he stared down at her and s lowly sipped the champagne, pulling her delicate article of clothing out with hi s teeth. He grabbed her hand and leaned down to her ear.   "You win, baby. Now let's get the fuck out of here before I give this entire roo m a show." Once the valet retrieved his car, Taeng could barely pry his hands from his wife 's body. When they did finally get in, Taeng pulled the car out and hit the gas, propelling the car onto the street. Tiffany reached into his pants and massaged his dick. He leaned his head back against the headrest and moaned. "Fuck, baby," Taeng whispered as he slowed the car down. He pressed the button t o remove the top of the car as he pulled over by the side of a building. There w ere no cars in sight, which was good for what he had planned for her.  Tiffany looked over at Taeng, becoming antsy from whatever it was he had in his mind at the moment. He quickly pushed his seat back and leaned over her to unbuc kle her seatbelt.  "Are you still wet and willing?" he asked. Before she could say a word, he was half lifting and pulling her over to his sid e, until she straddled his lap in the tight space. He slid his pants to his thighs and pulled her down onto his lap, while his hard thick member entered her sweet, wet pussy in one effortless glide. Both of them gasped in unison. "Oh, Taeng," Tiffany whispered, with her eyes closed. Once she was fully adjuste d, she began to roll her hips back and forth, in a smooth, rhythmic motion, caus ing both of them unbelievable pleasure. Taeng pulled the top of her dress down, exposing her tits. He massaged them, rol ling each nipple around his fingers before he licked and lightly bit them. "Baby, pleasee," Tiffany moaned, as he continued to fuck her.

Taeng felt like he couldn't get as deep as he wanted in such a small space, but he damn sure was going to try. Sexually, this woman drove him to the brink of ma dness, and she had since the first time he'd made love to her. "Taeng, wait, oh...I'm coming, oh!" Tiffany shouted, as her head rolled back and her body jerked with the intensity of her orgasm. But Taeng needed more. He opened his car door and stepped out, with Tiffany stil l wrapped around his cock. He leaned her up against the side of the car and star ted to drive in and out of her with tremendous sex-crazed force. This was the pe netration he needed. His lips found hers as he passionately kissed them, until h e was sure he had lovingly bruised the tender flesh. Then he could feel his own orgasm take over his body, causing him to ram into he r one last time, as he stilled and emptied his essence deep within her. Taeng wa sn't sure how long he held her against him, completely spent, but he knew he was n't done with her. Not by a long shot. Later that night, Tiffany knew the true meaning of exhaustion. Taeng wouldn't le t her fall asleep until he had staked claim in every hole in her body at least t wice. She felt sore, but she knew the aching that coursed through her body was d ue to how much her husband wanted and loved her. She fell asleep in his arms wit h a contented look upon her face.

Chapter 42 Mrs. Kim racked up her share of frequent flyer miles over the next few m onths, flying back and forth, so she could dote over her daughter in-law. And th e more Tiffany started to show, the happier Mrs. Kim was. Taeng warned his mothe r not to be so overbearing, but she rolled her eyes at him, and proceeded to pic k out maternity clothes for Tiffany, and food she should be eating, and books sh e should read. Mrs. Kim obviously didn't understand the meaning of overbearing. Tiffany was still trying to deal with the changes in her body, mentally and phys ically. She would never admit this to Taeng or Mrs. Kim, but it felt as though s ome tiny little creature was inside her, and at any moment, it would pull an Ali en, and she trying to fight it off. She wondered how much weight she would gain. At first, when she stepped on the scale, it was fine. The next few times after that, she cringed. The last time she stepped on the scale, she burst into tears. And although Taeng continued to assure her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world, she still felt so awkward. And when Tiffany got to the point wher e she could no longer touch her toes or even tie her shoes, she felt completely useless. But there were perks of being pregnant, which she later figured out, much to Tae ng's displeasure. Taeng walked into the twenty-four hour grocery store that was all the way across town. His eyes were half closed as he mindlessly walked up and down the aisles. Pickles...where the fuck were they? he thought. Once he saw a jar, he made a be e line to the aisle that housed peanut butter. The thought made his stomach quea sy. When he finally made it to the cashier, he slowly reached into his wallet for ca sh, and just then the cashier started laughing. Taeng looked up, barely able to

focus. It was a young guy, chuckling while placing his items in a bag. "What's so funny?" Taeng mumbled, placing ten dollars down. "Oh, nothing. Sorry man, I was just tripping because it's two in the morning, an d you're buying a jar of pickles and peanut butter. Your girl pregnant?" "Yes." "Mine too. She has me bringing home the craziest shit. So, I feel your pain," th e young guy said, as he handed Taeng his change. Taeng smiled. "Well, congratulations...and thanks for the support," he said, gra bbing his bag to leave. "Thanks man, you too," the kid smiled back. When Taeng pulled into their driveway, Tiffany was standing by the door, waiting on him. Jesus, she was staring at the bag like it was a million dollars. "I'll make it for you, just go back upstairs, okay," Taeng whispered when he rea ched her. She nodded and he patted her rear when she turned around. "Okay. But, um, just make sure to put extra pickles on it okay. I want a lot, yo u know," she said over her shoulder. Taeng walked into the kitchen and quickly fixed what he figured was probably the two nastiest foods that could go together. Tiffany had awakened him, really wan ting a peanut butter and pickle sandwich. He almost gagged at the thought. Once he made it, he poured her a glass of water and marched upstairs. She was sitting up in the bed, waiting for him. "Oh, thank you so much, baby," she said, damn near snatching the plate from his hand. He grinned and sat the drink down on her nightstand. Taeng crawled into bed and looked over at his wife. She was so cute. Her little feet were wiggling back and forth under the cover and she had the plate resting on her swollen belly.  He turned around and closed his eyes. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Taeng opened his eyes and slowly rolled over and looked up at her. Crunch, crunc h, crunch, he heard again, as his wife bit into the sandwich. He looked over at the clock. It was already three in the morning, and he had a meeting with his co mpany at nine. He rolled back over and placed a pillow over his head. Crunch, crunch, crunch. D amn those fucking pickles! The sacrifices we make for the ones we love. Taeng sq ueezed the pillow tighter over his head.

Chapter 43 Tiffany had tried to catch an afternoon nap, when her cell phone started ringing. At first she hadn't planned on answering it, but she noticed on the ca

ller ID it was her sister. She was sure she was calling to bug her about the sta tus of the baby. She and Taeng had wanted to wait until the baby was born to know the sex, but th e anticipation had been killing them. They had to know, and were pleasantly surp rised when it was a boy. It honestly didn't matter to Tiffany, but she could tel l that Taeng was secretly thrilled about that. Then came the hard part of decidi ng a name. Tiffany had wanted Kim Taeng II, but Taeng was dead set against it. He didn't wa nt to go that high with the numbers and he felt like that name was cursed. He sa id their kid needed a fresh start.  So they went with Kim Stephan. The real argument came with the middle name. Tiff any wanted his middle name to be Paul, explaining that her son would be named af ter the two best men she knew. Taeng eventually conceded, since Paul was a simpl e name, but he did insist that he was to be called Stephan, and not Paul. Tiffan y agreed. So Stephan Paul Kim it was.  "Hey ," Tiffany said, raising up from the couch to answer her phone.  Silence. "?" she asked again. "Fany, I um...damn," her sister whispered. "What's wrong, ." Her sister paused again, before she spoke. "Fany, Daddy...died this morning," her sister said through sniffles.  Tiffany couldn't breathe. She wasn't ready to hear this. She wasn't ready.  "No, ," Tiffany whispered, holding her hand over her mouth. She knew that this w as a possibility, but she honestly thought that her father would fight through i t. He couldn't possibly die.  "I'm going to take care of everything. And I'm fine, so don't try to rush back h ere. I'll let you know when the funeral will be, okay?" Michelle said, her voice no longer cracking. Tiffany nodded her head, knowing full well her sister couldn't see it, but she w as still too shocked to speak. Finally when she found her voice, she whispered, "Okay," and hung up. Tiffany wa sn't sure how long she sat there, but she couldn't move. She couldn't think. Her father was dead...and the last thing she ever said to him was throwing in his f ace that he had no one. When Taeng arrived back home, he knew immediately that something was amiss with Tiffany. At first he thought the house was empty, because several lights were of f. He called her name and walked upstairs to find her sitting on the floor in th e baby's room trying to put together the expensive convertible baby crib his mom had bought weeks ago. "Hey baby," Taeng said, eyeing his wife suspiciously. "I told you I was going to do that."

She didn't look up.   "I know, but I thought I could get a start on it."   Tiffany really didn't know what the hell she was doing. And for some reason the directions didn't make any sense to her. But she needed something, anything to k eep her mind occupied. "Are you alright?" Taeng asked, kneeling down beside her. "Yes," she answered, as she picked up a metal bar. "Well actually, I guess I sho uld tell you that my father died this morning." Taeng was taken aback. "What?" "He's dead," she said, smashing one end of the metal bar into the wooden crib. I t wouldn't fit, so she kept on banging it against the tan wood, trying to make i t fit. "Hey, hey," Taeng said, grabbing the bar from her. "Stop, okay. Just stop. Talk to me." Tiffany snatched the piece back.    "I'm fine. I wasn't even close to him." She started pushing the metal bar into th e wood again. "aish, why won't this fit?!" "Because it's the wrong piece. Now put the fucking bar down and look at me," Tae ng commanded. He knew she was hurting. His wife was extremely sensitive, especia lly in her condition.  Tiffany threw the bar down and stared at her husband. She knew it was coming. Th ose tears that were bubbling underneath the surface. Her bottom lip started to s hake and she erupted into tears. Taeng immediately reached out to grab his wife. "It's okay, baby," Taeng whispered, wrapping her in his arms. He could feel her tears soaking the collar of his shirt. "I I was so me mean to him the last time I sa saw him," Tiffany whimpered.   She couldn't feel lower if she tried. In the back of her mind, she had expected her father to recover. Not to die alone in a cold hospital room. "You didn't have the best relationship with him, and that's not your fault. He p ushed away many opportunities to know the most beautiful, interesting and kind w oman in the world. You reached out to him that last time, and you didn't have to . He rejected your plan to mend your relationship and there wasn't anything else you could do, baby. Trust me, you did more than most people would have done." Tiffany tried to calm her breaths, which were suddenly infused with hiccups. She closed her eyes and Taeng slowly pushed her onto her back. He laid on his side, rubbing his hand over her full tummy. "I probably shouldn't go to the funeral. But then again, if I don't show up, I'm not sure who else would, other than my sister. He didn't really have any friend s, and didn't really want any." Taeng leaned over and kissed her. "It's entirely up to you. I'll be by your side either way."

Tiffany smiled for the first time since her sister had delivered the devastating news.   "Didn't I use to not like you at one point?" Taeng laughed. "Oh, I heard 'I hate you, you bastard' a few times." Michelle called back the next day to give Tiffany some details regarding the fun eral. But before they could fly back, Taeng and Tiffany visited her physician and got a second opinion on her flying so late in the pregnancy. When Taeng had their first class tickets, he called his mom and Yuri to let them know he'd be coming into Seoul for a few days because of Tiffany's dad. Of cour se, Mrs. Kim was happy, but it was bittersweet, due to Tiffany having to go thro ugh such a hard time. After 3 hours, they finally made it back to Seoul. Once they arrived, they staye d at Tiffany's family's apartment. Taeng had wanted to just stay at a hotel, but her sister insisted they stay with her. But before Taeng argued, he figured Mic helle didn't want to be alone during this difficult time, so he relented. Tiffany embraced her sister and the two cried for a bit, before Tiffany said she was tired and headed to her sister's room to sleep. After Taeng had tucked her in and kissed her, he went back out and sat down at the kitchen table. Michelle was sitting with a warm cup of tea in her hand. This was the first time they had ever been alone together. She turned to look at him. "You know, I was scared when my father got involved with your father," she said, finally taking a sip. "I thought it was dangerous getting involved with the mob ." Taeng slowly nodded but didn't say anything. He took in her appearance. She coul d definitely be a beautiful lady, but she looked as though she had lived a hard life. There was no fire behind her eyes, no energy in her words.   "And then years later, my sister getting involved with the mo well, with you, frig htened me even more. I was so scared that night she didn't come back from visiti ng your restaurant. And she refused to tell me what was going on...but a few wee ks later, we started hearing some stuff. And it wasn't too nice," Michelle said, setting her cup aside. Taeng leaned back in his chair. "I realize that how we met isn't the ideal story . But aside from not being as gentle and kind as I could have been, I don't regr et doing what I did. It brought Tiffany and me together, and I am forever change d because of that. And I love her more than anything in this world." Michelle stared at her handsome brother in-law. "Well, with that I have to agree . I'm getting a nephew, so that should say something." And after a second pause, she spoke again. "I I never told Daddy about the baby. I regret that. I mean, who knows...that could have been the changing factor in how he saw Tiffany. I mean, who can hate a baby, you know?" Taeng nodded again. "That might make Tiffany sad, so I think we should keep that to ourselves," he suggested. "I agree," Michelle said, as she sipped the rest of her drink. ***

The next day, Tiffany and her sister got dressed, while Taeng made a few busines s calls. His company was expanding, but he hadn't expected it to expand so fast. Not that he was complaining...but fuck, they had several projects that he neede d to review and construction sites he needed to visit. To try to keep up he had his team emailing him different files, with pictures that he would approve or di sapprove.  "Are you sure this dress isn't too tight on me? It's a little more snug than I h ad hoped," Tiffany asked, wobbling out of the back room and into the kitchen. "You look beautiful, as always," Taeng said, placing his phone on the table. "You always say that." "Because it's always true." Tiffany stood there looking at him. "Taeng, I don't know if I can do this. I don 't know if I want to remember him like that. I mean, not that I really have any better memories, but I...I don't know if I can go in there," she whispered. Taeng walked over to her and hugged her. "Yes you can, and I'll be by your side every step of the way." Tiffany nodded into his chest and the two walked out together. Michelle had gone to the church earlier that day, to make sure everything was se t up. Taeng held onto his wife's hand, as he drove them from the apartment to th eir destination. When they finally arrived, Taeng parked the rental car on the b usy street in front of the church.  "I doubt anyone even showed up," Tiffany sighed.  "Well, you and your sister did, and wouldn't that be all that mattered to him?" Taeng asked, as he turned to his wife, about to give her a kiss. But he stopped when something caught his eye in the passenger side mirror. Taeng immediately straightened up and glanced in the rearview mirror. No, he was n't seeing things. He noticed a gardener who had been lightly digging in the sam e spot, while he pressed a finger to his ear. And from his passenger window, he noticed a man in an ill fitted suit sitting on a bench reading a newspaper. The guy on the bench glanced at the gardener and then went back to his paper. A pape r that he hadn't bothered to turn the page.  Fuck, it was finally happening. And of all the days. In the back of Taeng's mind , he knew he shouldn't have returned to Seoul. He knew it was the wrong choice, but he wanted to be there for Tiffany. He saw a car slowly pull past him and par k in an empty spot about two cars in front of him. He turned to Tiffany. "Baby, I need you to listen to me closely. In about thirty seconds, I'm going to be arrested. Call Yuri and tell him to call my attorney, Minhyuk, okay?" Tiffany's heart started racing. "What?!" she said, as she quickly glanced around . She didn't see anyone. "What are you talking about?!" "Listen, in my office at our house, there's an old dark blue design book from my college days. You'll see it. There's an address taped to the back of the book. It's to a specific bank, where I have a security deposit box. The combination is the day we buried my brother. Ask my mom. If for some reason you need to make a

quick getaway, everything you'll ever need to disappear is in that box. New ide ntities, contacts, money...everything, and I--" "What?! Taeng, you're scaring me. I--," Tiffany said, shaking. "Tiffany, listen! I only have a few seconds. Did you remember what I said?" Tiffany was trembling as tears started pouring over the brim of her eyes. "Ye yes. " "Repeat it. Quickly," Taeng said, looking around again. They were closing in on him. "Call Ji Yuri, tell him to call Minhyuk. Look at the back of the dark blue book, t he combination is Jiwoong's funeral day," Tiffany repeated, still shaking. She s tarted to notice different people approaching them. She cried even harder. "I love you," Taeng said softly, turning her head toward him and staring into he r tear streaked face. "I love you, too," Tiffany whispered, before a loud thunderous voice caused her to jump.

Chapter 44 "Kim Taeng, put your hands up where we can see them and step out of the vehicle now!!"  Taeng knew that voice. Hyung Joong. He hated Tiffany was being dragged into this messy situation. "Put your hands up, baby," Taeng told Tiffany, as he did the same. A young guy d ressed in a cop uniform quickly opened his door. Taeng noticed Hyung Joong appro aching. He slowly got out when several men rushed him. Hyung Joong grabbed him, turned him around and pushed him toward the hood of the car. "Try telling me I don't have jurisdiction now, motherfucker," Hyung Joong whispe red to him, while practically cutting off Taeng's circulation with handcuffs, an d pressing his face into the cold metal of the car.  "Don't you hurt him!" Taeng heard Tiffany scream as she got out of the car. She tried to rush over to him, but a large cop grabbed her arm, almost causing her t o lose her balance. Tiffany tried to push the cop away until he pulled out handc uffs. As the cop roughly jerked his nine month pregnant wife back toward him...T aeng saw red. "Get your fucking hands off her!" Taeng yelled, pushing back from the car, as th e back of his head accidentally went flying into Hyung Joong's face, smashing hi s nose. Hyung Joong immediately released him to grab his face, which was now ble eding. Three more cops instantly jumped on Taeng, causing all of them to hit the pavement. The other officers approached the struggle, drawing their weapons on him. Hyung Joong tilted his head back to stop the bleeding, while his men struggled w ith Taeng.

  "Just keep racking them up asshole. Assaulting a police officer and resisting ar rest," Hyung Joong said, as he walked over and knelt down beside Taeng.   "Kim Taeng, you're under arrest for the murder of Lee jung shin. You have the ri ght to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law." Taeng looked over at Tiffany. She was shaking and crying, as a female police off icer was now talking to her, obviously due to her delicate condition. Several pe ople had stopped on the streets to stare at the spectacle.  "You have the right to an attorney during questioning. If you cannot afford an a ttorney, one will be appointed for you but we all know you can, you fucking prick. Do you understand these rights?" Tiffany couldn't speak, she couldn't move and she could barely think. Everything had happened so fast. One minute she was preparing herself to see her father fo r the last time, the next, guns were being drawn on her husband and he was being arrested for murder. As soon as they finished reading Taeng his rights, she watched as they roughly p ulled him up from the ground and placed him the back of a police cruiser. Tiffan y watched the car carrying her husband all the way until it made a turn out of h er sight. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed Yuri. In a rush of tears and ju mbled words, she tried to explain to Yuri what happened and for him to call Minh yuk. Yuri said he'd call Minhyuk and he was coming to pick her up. "Okay," Tiffany whispered, as she shakily shut her phone and waited, scared out of her mind. *** Hyung Joong stepped into the interrogation room holding a cloth to his nose. He threw a few files down onto the table and stared at Taeng. "Kim Taeng...I finally got you, you fucker. And don't worry, I fucking own this precinct. There are no cameras rolling behind those mirrors. Just you and me. To gether at last." Taeng's wrists were raw from the tight handcuffs, but he refused to complain abo ut it. First, it wouldn't do any good, and second, he wouldn't give that asshole the satisfaction. He stared back at Hyung Joong with a bored expression. "So Taeng, this is how we're going to do this. Believe it or not, I have an amaz ing proposition for you. How about you walk out of here today--no questions aske d. You leave, go see your wife and fly back to Busan. How does that sound?" Taeng didn't blink. "Well, the powers that be don't think you're important anymore. After all, you'v e gone legit, so there's really no reason to harass you. Although I personally t hink it's fun. I've made it no secret that I despise you and everything you stan d for." Hyung Joong dabbed his nose again, to make sure there was no more blood leaking out. "But, the way this works is...you are free to go. After all you're only one man, and the amount of money and manpower we've put behind you...well, some don't th

ink is justified. BUT...if we could bring in a few more people, well, then we wi ll be doing pretty damn well." Taeng continued to stare blankly at Hyung Joong. "So, I'll let you walk out of here today...if you roll over on a few people." "Who?" Taeng asked, finally speaking. "Glad you asked. Paul and Nichkhun Horvejkul, Yuri, Taecyeon and Minho. Siwon wa s on that list, but we can't seem to find him," Hyung Joong said, narrowing his eyes at Taeng. "But those five, and you are free to go. Clean slate." Taeng leaned back in his chair. "Sorry about your nose," he said, then smiled. Hyung Joong shook his head incredulously. "You fucking asshole, don't you realiz e what I'm offering? The moment that prick lawyer of yours shows up, this offer is off the table, you understand." Taeng sat in silence again. "This isn't noble Taeng, n, huh? You'll be easily and eat men like you for , now that I think about um."

this is stupid. What the hell do you owe those other me convicted and go to prison, my friend. Where they rape breakfast. Fuck, half of them are probably your friends it. Maybe you would be better off in there with that sc

Taeng yawned. Hyung Joong slammed his fist down on the table. "Are you really going to take a chance on going to prison and giving another man the ability to raise your child and fuck your wife? All because you didn't want to snitch on your friends? Beca use, trust me...a hot little number like Tiffany, she's not going to stay single forever." Taeng didn't budge.  Hyung Joong hated this bastard. More than any other criminal he had ever tracked . Taeng seemed to get the goods in life, while men like Hyung Joong were left wi th a bitchy ex-wife, two mortgages, ungrateful kids and an ulcer. Yes, he defini tely hated Taeng. So right now, he was going to fuck with him. Hyung Joong smiled at Taeng.   "Too bad I didn't get a chance to put that sexy wife of yours in handcuffs. I uld have enjoyed it. And who knows, I might even move in on Tiffany. Make her omises that I'm doing all I can to get you out. When they are vulnerable like at, you never know what they might do. I can definitely think of a few things would do with her."

wo pr th I

Taeng knew what Hyung Joong was trying to do. Anything to get a rise out of him. ..to make him crack. But he had forgotten just how much of a calculating man Tae ng could be. He'd let Hyung Joong have his fun for now...but he would definitely get that motherfucker back. "You know, you shocked our whole department when you married her. I mean, come o n man...not many men marry their charity case whore...who does that?" Hyung Joon g laughed out loud. He pretended to wipe a tear away. "Fuck her? Absolutely! Mar ry her? Absolutely not! Didn't your old man teach you any better?"

Taeng's face never changed, but inside he was boiling. He squeezed his hands tog ether, trying to concentrate on the pain of the handcuffs. Anything to distract himself. "Oh, that's right...your old man passed away years ago. And your loser brother. What was his name, Jiwoong?" Taeng kept digging the handcuffs further and further into his skin. He knew they were probably bleeding by now. "Yeah, I saw the pictures of what they did to him. Fuck, they made a mess, didn' t they? But, you know what I say...serves the fucker right. He was nothing but a drug addict anyway, so who gives a shit if you only had half of his body to bur y," Hyung Joong laughed. Taeng continued to stare, but gave nothing away. Hyung Joong sighed. "I'm trying to help you, Taeng. Trust me, I don't like givin g you this offer, but it can save your sorry ass. Just take it. Give me some inf o on those five and we'll call it a day, okay?" Suddenly the door flew open and Minhyuk rushed through. "My client doesn't have to say a word to you, and anything you've said, either show me the tapes, and if they weren't rolling, then that will be brought up if this goes to trial." He w alked over to Taeng, and sat his briefcase on the table. Hyung Joong stood up. "He's all yours, counselor," he said before he walked out and slammed the door.

Chapter 45 Tiffany was lying on Yuri and Yoona's bed. Mrs. Kim had been pacing back and forth in front of the bedroom door, asking her every few minutes if she was okay.  When Tiffany and Yuri had first arrived at his house, she had screamed at him fo r not taking her to the police station. She wanted to see Taeng, and see if he w as okay. Yoona and Yuri had to physically hold her, to keep her from walking to the nearest bus station. Finally, Yuri saying that Taeng would be pissed at her for putting their child in jeopardy, worked. Tiffany eased up and finally agreed to go into their house.  "Look Fany, he's my best friend. Do you think I would let anything happen to him ? Fuck no. I'll handle this, I swear," Yuri had told her before he left. Yoona tried to get her to eat, but Tiffany didn't want any food. She only wanted Taeng. She asked Yoona if she would call her sister and explain what happened. Tiffany would have done it, but she quickly became exhausted and eventually crie d herself to sleep on their bed.  A few hours later, she awoke to the touch of Mrs. Kim feeling her forehead. But then she closed her eyes again. She later heard her sister's voice as she and Mr s. Kim talking in the hallway. She tried to eavesdrop to see if they had any new information on Taeng.  As she was trying to listen, the bedroom door opened wider and in walked Seohyun , Yuri and Yoona's youngest daughter. She was four years old and had wavy dark h

air like her sister, but a round face like her father. She crawled onto the bed beside Tiffany. "You hurt?" she asked in a tiny voice, as she looked at Tiffany's stomach. Tiffany was too tired to answer, but she nodded as a tear slid down the side of her face and into her hair. "Where you hurt?" "My heart," Tiffany croaked out. But when Seohyun's little brow furrowed as if s he didn't understand, Tiffany quickly said, "And my head hurts." "My mommy always kiss my boo boo's to make it better," Seohyun said, as she snug gled closer to Tiffany. She leaned over and kissed her head.   "Now you feel better?" Tiffany smiled. "Yes. Thank you." Seohyun smiled back at her, hopped off the bed and quickly sprinted out of the r oom. Tiffany felt empty again. She rubbed her stomach and drifted back to sleep. *** It was dark before Yuri showed back up, and he brought with him Taecyeon and Min ho. Tiffany didn't know why, but just seeing the three of them made her feel ten times better. At one point, she had been so frightened of them...well, not Minh o, but the other two...and now the sight of them was the only thing making her h appy. She hugged Taecyeon and Minho so tightly, she felt as though she couldn't let go. Yuri walked her to a back room and closed the door.   "Fany, it doesn't look good." Tiffany immediately felt nauseated. Yuri hugged he r and sat her down on the bed. "Listen, Minhyuk is doing all that he can. Basically, inside sources told me tha t someone snitched on Taeng, and will testify in court that they saw Taeng murde r a guy name Lee jung shin three years ago. Which is pure bullshit, because the Russians killed him. But the cops have video footage placing Taeng and Lee jung shin at the same place, almost at the same time, a few hours before Lee jung shi n was killed." "But you said Taeng didn't do it?" Tiffany questioned, looking up at Yuri. "He didn't. But they have a witness who says that they saw him murder this guy. And that's all they need. That...and a jury to be convinced, which depending on the credibility of this witness and Taeng's old occupation...it might not be goo d." Tiffany just kept squeezing her hands together as she continued to listen to Yur i. "That asshole Hyung Joong was trying everything he can to get Taeng to crack. He even offered him a deal to let him go if he snitched." Tiffany's ears perked up. Finally, something good could come out of this. "On wh o?" "Me, Taecyeon and Minho. Paul and Nichkhun's names were thrown in the deal also.

" Tiffany knew the thought crossing her mind was selfish, especially since Yuri ha d three little adorable girls, but she couldn't help but think about it. Her min d raced wondering what Taeng would do, until Yuri broke her out of her train of thought. "Fany...he's not going to turn me in. He would never do that, just like I would never do that to him. That's not even an option, you know?" Yuri quietly said. Tiffany's heart sank, but she tried to ignore the bile rising in her throat. "So , he's going to prison," Tiffany whispered, still unable to believe it. "Well, tomorrow will be his bail hearing...but Minhyuk said it's more than likel y the judge will deny him bail, because he has lots of money and is a flight ris k. And being accused of having ties with the mafia, they don't take that lightly ." "When can I see him?" "I'm not sure. I'll ask Minhyuk tomorrow, okay? But you need rest. You look tire d. Have you eaten today?" "I've had plenty of rest, and I'm not hungry." Yuri grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. When they walked back into the main room, all eyes were on her and they all look ed concerned. She plopped down on the sofa. Minho came to sit beside her. He wra pped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him. "It will be okay, Fany," he whispered to her. ***   The next morning, Tiffany was awakened by Mrs. Kim bringing her in a large plate of food. "Good morning, dear. You are eating today. Every bite," she demanded, as she sat at the edge of the bed, watching Tiffany like a hawk. Tiffany didn't feel like eating, but she started stuffing the food in her mouth just to please Mrs. Kim. "How are you able to stay so calm?" Tiffany asked, pausing in between bites. Mrs. Kim thought about it for a moment.   "Because I can't help my son right now. All I can do is pray for him, but there' s nothing I can help Minhyuk or Yuri with. What I can do for him is watch over y ou and his baby growing inside you. Those are the things I can do, and I'm going to do them, because I love him, I love you and my grandson. Now eat." Tiffany ate in silence as she took in Mrs. Kim's words. Her sister couldn't stay , because she had work, and had already taken two days off for the funeral. But she said she would stop by afterward. When Tiffany was done eating, she walked to the bathroom to relieve herself, but before she sat down on the toilet, she felt a major cramp. She grabbed the unde rside of her belly and rubbed. But then she felt it again. What the hell?

She grabbed ahold of the sink before she felt a gush of liquid pour out from und erneath her dress. Holy shit! She stared down frantically at the water running down her legs.   "Oh, God...no, no, no, no, please," she whispered, as she slowly opened the bath room door. But no matter how much she prayed, she knew her water had broken. "Omma," Tiffany weakly shouted. "I need to go to the hospital." Mrs. Kim came around the corner.    "Hey, what did you oh my God!" She rushed over to her and called for Yoona.   Minho had been asleep on the couch as the women rushed Tiffany to the door. He i mmediately jumped up and grabbed his keys. The three of them helped her into the back seat. Mrs. Kim got in the back with Tiffany and Minho and Yoona sat up fro nt. They reached the hospital within a few minutes and Tiffany was escorted to a roo m. The nurses came in to examine and prep her.  Tiffany was freaking out. Her life was about to be changed forever, and Taeng wa s nowhere around. She kept pleading to her mother in law that the baby couldn't come right now. This wasn't even her physician she had been seeing over the past nine months. This was all so wrong. "Whether you want him to or not, Tiffany...he's coming. You have to focus on tha t." Tiffany tried her hardest to listen to the nurses and the doctor, but she starte d crying. It wasn't supposed to be like this. But then the crying was no longer about Taeng...it quickly became about the intense contractions she was having. T hey started coming faster and harder. She vaguely remembered her doctor talking about her being almost fully dilated. She felt Mrs. Kim grab her hand. She looked up into the warm onyx eyes. Onyx eye s similar to Taeng's, and in a way, that calmed her down. After a few more moments, she was told to start pushing. She did, but every push started burning.   "Aaah!!" Tiffany screamed, as she leaned back against the bed. She felt like she was being ripped in two. Taeng would have made this all better. He always knew what to do to make everything okay. Her heart felt like it was breaking...among other things. The pain brought her mind back to the task at hand. "Tiffany, we need you to breathe and push, okay?" the doctor said. "I can't, I can't," she yelled back. "It hurts too much!" "Squeeze my hand," Mrs. Kim suggested. "Yes, you can. The more you push, the sooner the pain will be over," the doctor calmly responded. Tiffany closed her eyes and raised up, pushing harder, despite the intense pain she was feeling. She felt as though the veins in her forehead were popping. On the final push, she heard the doctor say.

   "That's it, we have him," and Tiffany fell back. She opened her eyes and saw to t he side, two nurses standing over the baby. Their baby. Stephan. She could see h is little pale arms flailing as he cried. And in that moment, everything seemed to stop for Tiffany. It's as if everyone in the room had frozen, except for her son. Any pain that sh e was feeling subsided as four swinging appendages held her attention. At that m oment, nothing else mattered. Once the nurses were done, they brought him over to her. Tiffany held her breath in anticipation as he was gently placed in her arms. Oh. My. God. Her son had beautiful, shiny black curls that were sparse, but enough to lightly cover his head in perfect little waves. And the cutest, tiniest round nose and pink lips she had ever seen. He opened his eyes for a second to look at her, the n closed them back and went to sleep. Tiffany was stunned. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He was absolutely perfe ct. In every way, shape and form. Perfect. There were no other words to describe him or this moment. "Oh, I love you," she whispered to him, kissing him for the first time. Tiffany looked up at Mrs. Kim. She had tears in her eyes, and she also seemed to be stupefied by the presence of this tiny little being. A product of her and Ta eng. Taeng...

Chapter 46 Taeng sat in his cell, staring at the wall. He wanted to know how Tiffan y was doing. He had thought about her during his bail hearing earlier that morni ng. He wasn't paying close attention, because Minhyuk had already said he would be denied...which he was. He hated that his wife was having to go through this. She was pregnant and alrea dy dealing with her father's funeral, now this. He wanted so badly to talk to he r. Taeng was deep in thought when Hyung Joong walked up to his cell. He decided he would ignore the fucker. "Well, well, I should bring you a cigar. Congratulations. One of my officers who was watching your wife, confirmed that she just gave birth to a healthy baby bo y." Taeng's head snapped toward Hyung Joong as he narrowed his eyes at him. Was he f ucking kidding? "Don't believe me? Here are some pics he took of them going in the hospital," Hy ung Joong said, sliding photographs underneath the bars.   "Too bad you weren't there to witness it," Hyung Joong smiled in a smug voice, a s he turned to walk away. Taeng's heart started beating rapidly. That asshole had to be lying. He slowly g ot up and walked over to pick up the photos. He flipped through them. His hands

started to 's car and ny inside. as if they

shake when he saw a picture of her being put in the backseat of Minho pictures of them arriving at the hospital and his mom escorting Tiffa Taeng suddenly couldn't breathe. He dropped the photos to the ground electrocuted him. 

Taeng staggered backwards until his calves touched his cot, and then he slowly s at down. He had missed his son being born. He hadn't been away from him more tha n a few hours since he was conceived...and on the most important day, because of his past lifestyle and FUCKING HYUNG JOONG, he had missed it. Taeng considered himself a sane and rational man. And under any other circumstan ces, he would have found a cool place in his mind...some place he could go to ma ke the rational next step. It was that process that usually allowed him to win. It was one of the reasons he was so successful. But at this moment...no such pla ce existed. All he felt was an intense firestorm coursing through his skin, his blood...his entire body.  He fucking lost it.  "GODDAMN IT!!! Motherfucker!!!" Taeng yelled, as he slammed his cot into anythin g that could break over and over again. Everything was a blur, but he refused to stop until the flames inside him quelled. He never heard anyone behind him and he never heard his cell opening up. All he heard was Hyung Joong's words running over and over in his head, torturing him s ince there wasn't a fucking thing he could do inside here.  "I'm gonna fucking KILL you!! You're a fucking dead man!" he shouted.   As several guards tackled him to the ground. He struggled, pushing two of them o ff of him but they eventually pinned him down. By the time they had the cuffs on him, he was completely spent. Physically, mentally, but most of all emotionally --wondering when this hell would end. *** Later that night, Tiffany woke up in the hospital bed. She glanced over to the s ide, and saw Yoona reading a magazine. She glanced up at Tiffany when she heard her stir. "Hey there," Yoona said. "Hey," Tiffany croaked out. She glanced around the room.   "Where's Stephan?" She sat up quickly...a little too quickly, and she felt a sli ght pain. "He's in the nursery. Don't worry, your sister and Mrs. Kim haven't let him out of their sight." Tiffany sighed. "I wish Taeng were here," she admitted. "He doesn't even know." Yoona placed the magazine on the table and went to sit down on the hospital bed.   "Actually, Fany, he does." "What? Did Yuri tell him?" Yoona exhaled. "Unfortunately, no. That detective guy told him. It wasn't pretty from what Yuri told me." "What?!"

"Well, Yuri was on his way to the jail to tell Taeng, but when he got there, the y said that he couldn't have any visitors, and they had him in another holding c ell. Yuri waited for hours until Minhyuk got there, met with Taeng and came back out to explain what happened. Minhyuk said that Taeng was, well...he was devast ated." Tiffany leaned back in the bed. She barely had a second to cover her face before a wave of tears gushed out. She hated feeling so helpless. When her husband nee ded her the most, there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. When Mr. Choi Minsik had harassed her and threatened to kick her family out, Taeng had come t o save the day. When she was abducted and held for ransom, Taeng had risked his life to save her. And now when he was the helpless one...all she could do was fu cking cry. How pathetic. "Oh, honey, I didn't say that to make you cry. I just thought you'd want to know what happened today," Yoona said, hugging a distraught Tiffany. "It will be oka y." Tiffany wished like hell she could believe that. But there was a very real chanc e that her husband could be going to prison for a long time. Yoona pulled away and handed her a box of tissue. Tiffany wiped her tears and he r nose, while she gasped for air. "Hey, I know what will make you feel better," Yoona smiled, as she walked out of the door. Tiffany stared up at the ceiling. This was officially the happiest and saddest d ay of her life. But before she could ponder on that any longer, her door opened back up and in walked her sister, carrying Stephan, with Mrs. Kim and Yoona foll owing closely behind. They were all smiling at her. "Guess who is hungry?" Mrs. Kim said, with a huge grin across her face. Tiffany had completely forgotten about this part of motherhood. She felt a littl e uncomfortable with so many eyes staring at her, but she tried to grin and bear it. Her sister handed her the baby. He was awake and staring, as his cute littl e soft arms moved in unsteady patterns. His little feet were kicking underneath the thin blanket. She slid the left side of her shirt down, and held her son to her breast. She looked up at the three women watching over her. "Am I doing it right?" Tiffany asked. "Yes," Mrs. Kim said, as the other two women nodded in agreement. Here goes, little one, Tiffany thought, as she pressed him further to her bosom. And just like that...he latched on. That was easy. At least something on this d ay had been easy. Although Tiffany had researched a million things from the moment she found out s he was pregnant, she learned more in the few hours after her first feeding from her sister, Mrs. Kim and Yoona than her entire nine months worth of research com bined. Go figure. And poor Minho. All of the women had pretty much forgotten that he had been wait ing in the maternity waiting room since they had first arrived at the hospital. When he finally came into the room, they passed the baby to him, and it was the funniest thing. He looked so uncomfortable and unnatural, that it gave Tiffany a good laugh. The first laugh she'd had in what seemed like a long time.

*** Minho had met Yuri at the police station, while he waited on new information reg arding Taeng's case. But Minho had to get out of there. Cops made him paranoid. He wasn't sure if it's because he smoked pot, or not, but they made him nervous. He quickly stepped out and walked around to the back of the station. He pulled o ut his pack of cigarettes and lit one. He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet smoke which seemed to calm his nerves. He was about to take another drag, when h e heard a woman's voice. He glanced to the side and saw a tall blonde stalking o ut. But this wasn't just any tall blonde. This was Taeng's tall blonde. Taeng's ex-wife, Jessica. And she was talking to that snake, Hyung Joong. What the fuck? ! Minho almost choked, as he coughed and sputtered. The two turned their attention toward him, but not before he made it back around the corner just in time. Oh, this was all so fucked up! So she was the snitch?! Minho ran back inside. "Yuri, I need to speak with you now," he said. Yuri glanced at him. Minho looked as though he had seen a ghost. "What?" "In your car," Minho said, as he turned and walked out of the station. Yuri glared at him, as if to say this better be important, and followed him out. Once they were both inside the car, Minho turned to Yuri. "I know who they have as a witness." "Who?" "Jessica." Yuri sat there staring at Minho. "How do you know?" "I saw her a few minutes ago, leaving through the back way and talking to that d etective," Minho excitedly reported. Yuri nodded. That was all he needed. "Thanks, kid," he said, as he got alked back into the police station. *** "Well Taeng, looks like you really fucked up yesterday. Threatening to tective just doing his duty? Why, what did I ever do to deserve that," ng taunted, leaning against his cell. And as always, Minhyuk was there g.

out and w kill a de Hyung Joo with Taen

"I don't know what you're talking about," Taeng answered. "Sure. Several guards heard you yell that you wanted to kill me." "No they didn't." Hyung Joong stared at Taeng skeptically. "I never took you for a lying man. Cold -hearted killer, but not a liar. They heard you, asshole." "Yeah, they heard me threaten to kill someone, and it was my attorney. He's been falling down on the job, haven't you noticed," Taeng dead-panned. "Yep, and Taeng already apologized to me for that and...I'm not pressing charges , just so you know. So, no harm done," Minhyuk smiled.

Hyung Joong quickly glanced back and forth between the two men. Damn it, they we re good! Fuck, he was hoping that threat would be the final nail in the coffin. Hyung Joong exhaled and walked away from Taeng's cell.

Chapter 47 Later that night, Jessica was leaving one of her favorite little hot spo ts. She was drunk off her ass, but refused to catch a cab home. So, she drove, c rossing a few lines here and there, but she managed to make it back to her apart ment just fine, stumbling out of the car. When she entered her swanky apartment, she didn't bother turning on the lights, as she started removing her boots and walking very unsteadily toward her bedroom . Fuck, it was already three in the morning, and that annoying twit, Detective H yung Joong wanted her to come back down to the station again in the morning. Alt hough this was the perfect revenge, it was taking a lot out of her. She was depe nding on Hyung Joong to keep her identity hidden, until the day she had to testi fy. Then she would turn on the tears and recite her script to the jury and judge .   "Your honor, when we were married, I was scared all of the time that he would tu rn back into a monster. He hurt people. Good innocent people, and all I could do was stand back and watch, too afraid that if I told, he would hurt me too. But I'm tired of living a lie!" Her mind drifted to Taeng. She would never admit it out loud, but she missed him . And not in a romantic way, although the sex...she really did miss, but she mis sed walking into a room knowing he was usually the most dangerous man in there. That had really turned her on the first night she met him.    She had been dancing her ass off at his club. She had heard of him and his reputa tion, but she had never had the chance to meet him. And that night her friend po inted him out as he talked to the DJ. He had two guys beside him, who looked mor e like bodyguards. It took her off guard how handsome he was.  So, she and her friend devised a plan. They snuck up to the VIP section, and she bribed the guard into letting her in. Once she was up there, she saw him sittin g in a dark corner, talking to a few people. She knew her short dress and long l egs would catch his attention.   She hiked up her skirt even more and walked right past him, pretending to ignore the group. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw them all looking...includi ng him. And from that night, her plan fell into place. She had to cut several wo men down to size, who were his regular...well, 'other women', but Jessica put th em in their place.   She knew he still messed around on her, but as long as they all knew she was the top, and they were just for his quick amusement, then she didn't mind. The hous es, cars, clothes, jewelry and vacations were more than enough to squelch any fe elings of jealousy. Even after they had separated, she still knew that she was the main woman in his life. His wife! Until that girl. She didn't know how, or why she was in Taeng's life. At first, she thought she was like the others who would do anything for h im, just to have him acknowledge them. But this girl seemed different. She actua lly seemed like she didn't like him, and that is the part that Jessica didn't un derstand. 

But Jessica had trashed her and had moved out of town. kid? What the hell did that ave that Jessica didn't? It

bedroom when she had found out he had gotten married With a baby on the way?! Kim Taeng?? Married with a girl do to him? It just wasn't right. What did she h would never work. Taeng wasn't the domestic type. 

Jessica knew of the detective who had been giving Taeng a hard time for years. S he had also thought he was annoying, but when he called to tell her that Taeng's new wife...oh, those words burned in her mind. New wife... Anyway, his new wife 's father died, so Taeng would more than likely be coming into town, and if she snitched on Taeng, and agreed to testify in an open court, then Hyung Joong coul d for sure put Taeng away for a long time. Revenge is definitely sweet.   And his wife would be without a husband and have to raise the baby by herself. S tupid whore, Jessica thought, right as she tripped over something, and fell to t he floor. She laughed at herself, until she noticed what she had tripped over wa s a black leather shoe. A man's shoe...that was still connected to a man's leg.. .and body. She followed the path up until she saw the stranger sitting on her co uch in the dark. Only, it wasn't a stranger. "Hiya, Jessica," his familiar voice said, right before a black bag went over her head. *** "No fucking way!!" Hyung Joong screamed. This was not fucking happening. How cou ld the bad triumph over good? Was there no justice in the world?! Was he the onl y sane person alive that knew Kim Taeng was nothing but bad news?! "Yep. Apparently Mrs. Kim...I mean, well, the ex-wife...she will no longer testi fy and she says she was mistaken. She said her ex-husband isn't involved in any type of underground crime. She was just a jealous ex-wife," the Police Chief tol d him. "But sir, can't you see someone got to her? Jesus, we're just going to let him w alk? Just like that?!" "Yeah we are, because the DA said there's no case and he's dropped the charges. Taeng doesn't even live here anymore and from what you've told me, he's legit, s o quit wasting valuable man hours on a dead-end case. You copy that?" "But--" "Jesus fucking Christ, Inspector ! Give it a rest unless you plan on drowning yo urself too." Hyung Joong ignored the reference to Les Miserables. He could hardly think strai ght and wanted to throw up. He stared down at the ground. How had that bastard m anaged to pull this? How did he know it was Jessica? How...? That was all Hyung Joong could repeat over and over in his head. Then he perked up for his last attempt at fucking Kim Taeng over. "Could I still hold him on charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer?" The Police Chief turned to look at him. "Are you kidding? Get the fuck out of my office and start working on people who are actually STILL in the underground cr ime circuit...you know, the bad guys." And with that, the Chief glanced back dow n at his desk, and shuffled through some papers. Hyung Joong shook his head and walked out of his superior's office. He slowly wa lked over to his desk and stared down at years and years of files, paperwork and pictures of Kim Taeng. That prick had finally won. Hyung Joong slung everything

on top of his desk to the floor in a fit of rage. Damn that son of a bitch!! *** Taeng slid on his watch, and grabbed his wallet before he walked out of the jail . A place he never wanted to see the inside of again. Although he knew Minhyuk w as the best at what he did, his freedom was because of Yuri.    Yuri had always come through for Taeng, ever since they were little kids, and no w was no different. Taeng saw his best friend and Taecyeon waiting in the SUV. H e walked over and hopped in the front passenger seat. "Good to have you back," Yuri stated, as he pulled onto the street. Taeng turned to him. "Do I even want to know?" Yuri kept his eyes on the road.   "Well, Jessica had a change of heart. I guess being sedated and waking up in a c old morgue drawer can do that to you. I think she thought because you're out of the business, that you've changed your ways gone a little soft, and she wouldn't b e in trouble for being disloyal. Well, I told her...as I opened up the drawer ev ery now and then, that just because you were out of the biz, didn't mean I was. So, I said that this time I would be friendly and let her out if she promised to play nice. Next time...I told her I might be forgetful." Taeng faced the windshield. He tried to feel sorry for Jessica...but he couldn't . Not one ounce of remorse. She was a vindictive bitch, and she was lucky that i t had been Yuri who 'persuaded' her to play nice. The old Taeng...maybe even the new Taeng, would have dangled her ass upside down from a building until she got the message...and still, the thought of letting her drop eased his mind.  "And by the way," Yuri said, in afterthought, "Detective Hyung Joong's car was b lown up, and he was beat up and mugged. Crazy world we live in." "When did this happen?" Taeng asked. "Oh, it hasn't happened yet. I'm psychic, didn't you know?" he smiled over at Ta eng. Taeng nodded.

Chapter 48 Taeng's palms started sweating the closer and closer they got to Yuri's house. He had asked everyone not to tell Tiffany that he had been released. He w anted to surprise her.  But at the moment, he could hardly swallow or keep a single coherent thought in his head. He would be seeing his son, Stephan, for the first time. And he had to laugh at the fact that he didn't want to disappoint him. Although Stephan was l ess than three days old, the thought of not being the father he wanted to be, fr ightened the shit out of Taeng. He had already missed one important event, and h e swore to himself that he wouldn't miss another. When they pulled up to Yuri and Yoona's house, Taeng exhaled, and wiped his palm s over his pants.

Yuri patted him on the back. "You'll be fine. I'm telling you, you have a handsome kid, man."  Taeng nodded and got out of the car. When Taeng walked in, several people couldn't stop hugging him. Everyone ey wouldn't alarm Tiffany who was in is coat and followed his mom towards a minute.

quietly greeted him, including his mom, who was trying really hard to keep quiet, so th the back room with Stephan. Taeng removed h the back, his heart beating a hundred miles

Taeng exhaled again and gently pushed the door to the master bedroom open and wa lked inside. He saw Tiffany sitting on a small sofa, nursing their baby. She qui ckly glanced in his direction, and then back down at the baby. But obviously som ething registered in her head that this wasn't the regular person checking in on her. She immediately did a double-take, her eyes growing wider, as she tried to stand. "Taeng!" she squealed, but then quieted when he put his finger to his mouth. He could see that Stephan was bundled up and at peace, and he didn't want to distur b him. Tiffany quieted, but was smiling from ear to ear. Her glassy eyes housed tears t hat were at the brink of spilling over and down her face at any moment. Taeng wa lked over to the sofa and kneeled down in front of her. He finally broke eye con tact with her to stare down at their son. Stephan's eyes were closed, but his li ttle jaws flexed in and out drinking as much milk as he could.  If someone offered to pay Taeng a billion dollars to explain how he felt at that moment, he would have lost out, because he honestly had no words. Nothing came to his mind, as he sat watching in awe at this beautiful moment. He looked back up at Tiffany. She was staring at him, and then quickly wiped a tear away with h er free hand. "Hey baby," he whispered, as he leaned over his son and kissed his wife.  "Hey," she whispered back, returning the kiss, and feeling empty again when he h ad to pull away. She could have continued kissing him for the rest of the aftern oon. After a few more tugs, Tiffany felt Stephan let go, and his little mouth opened. They both could see his tiny little pink gums as he fell back to sleep. "Wanna hold him?" Tiffany asked. Taeng looked up at her. "Um, sure. But I've never done this before, you know," T aeng nervously said. "I know, but you have to learn, right?" Taeng sat down beside her on the sofa, a nd Tiffany smoothly passed a sleeping Stephan to his father for the first time.  "Is this good?" Taeng whispered to her, his arms feeling like steel bands, altho ugh his son felt surprisingly light. Tiffany giggled. She wasn't used to seeing Taeng so unsure of himself. For the m ost part, he had been the most cocky, arrogant guy she had ever met. Now to see him looking to her for help, amused her. He was so cute when his guard was down. "Yes, but just relax. You aren't going to hurt him," she said, sliding closer to the two men in her life. Taeng finally took a breath and relaxed. He gently pulled Stephan away from his

chest, so he could get a good look at him. His eyes roamed over every inch of hi s son's tiny fragile body. From his dark hair, to his cute nose, tiny feet and e ven his fingernails. Everything about his son was perfect.  Funny, he had just met Stephan less than ten minutes ago, and already Taeng knew in an instant without thought that he would give up everything he had, includin g his life, for his son. That was the truest statement he'd thought in a long ti me. Taeng gently rubbed Stephan's forehead and his soft, full cheeks. He lightly tap ped his nose and then he bent down to kiss him. "First time I ever kissed a boy," Taeng joked. Tiffany laughed and leaned over t o kiss Stephan as well.  Stephan surprised both of his familys by suddenly waking, staring up at Taeng. H e gave a small yawn and continued to stare. Taeng's eyes widened. "He has onyx eyes," he whispered in surprise. Tiffany looked down at Stephan. "Yeah, for now. There's no guarantee that they w ill stay that color, but who knows." And for a moment, it looked as though he smiled at them, before he closed his ey es, yawned again and went back to sleep. Both Taeng and Tiffany looked up, when they heard the door close. Taeng chuckled. No doubt his ever-watchful mother loo king in on them. But he was happy for her. This was something she had wanted for a long time. "I hope Omma hasn't driven you crazy," Taeng said. Tiffany smiled, "No. She definitely smothers, but you know what...I haven't had that for a long time, so I welcomed it." Taeng continued to look at the little bundle in his arms. "God, he's just so ama zing. I can't believe we created this. We definitely have to do this again." Tiffany scoffed. "Slow down there, buddy. I'm still healing up down there, and y ou're talking about more? Um, nope...you don't get to mention more until a few y ears from now." Well, that would be up for debate, but for now, Taeng would let her think she wo n.  "Whoa, whoa," Taeng said, getting tense again. His son's face was contorting and turning red, as his legs started moving all around. He sucked in a few breaths of air before he belted out a strong cry. "Oh, shi crap, what did I do wrong?" Taeng didn't know what to do, so he just hand ed Stephan back to Tiffany. She stood up from the couch and walked him around.  Taeng leaned back observing his wife. He watched her cute full hips sway back an d forth, as she lightly bounced Stephan. He couldn't think of a more beautiful s ight.  How the hell did life bring him here? A little less than two years ago, he looke d at people differently. In one glance at Tiffany, he thought he knew exactly wh o she was. Someone who would never matter to him, and who was weak. Someone he c ould prey on. But Tiffany sliced and diced that version of Kim Taeng to shreds, and amazingly she didn't do it by force. She didn't do it by being more cunning, or by any other sneaky methods. She accomplished a feat no other had, and she d id it with love. Selfless, generous, unwavering love. 

He remembered thinking that he had planned to teach her a lesson the first night they met, for trying to throw a temper tantrum in his restaurant. But boy, did he find out he was the one being schooled. He had been such an asshole back then. Taeng got up and walked over to Tiffany. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, baby. I'll never forgive myself for that." "There's nothing to forgive. I don't blame you for that, Taeng," Tiffany whisper ed back to him. "All that matters to me is in this room right now."   Taeng smiled down at his wife, before he captured her sweet lips. " I love you, baby." "I love you, too," Tiffany whispered back. ** Life back in Busan had really changed. From the moment Stephan was born, Tiffany had been constantly surrounded by people, but now...the scariness of being a ne w mom started setting in. Luckily, Mrs. Kim had practically moved in with them, so she was a tremendous help. Especially on those days when Tiffany cried hersel f to sleep from lack of sleep.  And Taeng was amazing. Even though he had to get up early in the morning for wor k, he took turns with her when Stephan would wake up in the middle of the night. One night, she had woken up, and Taeng was gone. She walked to her son's room, and Taeng was leaning over his crib, just watching him. But tonight was a different story. Both of them had been worn out, when Stephan flexed his little lungs and belted out a cry. "It's your turn, baby," Tiffany mumbled, digging her head further into the warm comfort of her pillow. "No, he's calling for you," Taeng mumbled back. "What?" "You can't tell the difference in his cries? This cry is for you, not me." Tiffany raised up and stared down at her husband with one eye still shut. "You are so full of shit." "I have to get up in four hours...that trumps your card," Taeng retorted, and tu rned over facing away from her. Tiffany slid closer to Taeng, and pushed him right out of the bed. She had to ho ld in a giggle, when she heard him hit the floor with a thud. "Fuck," she heard him whisper. "First off, you didn't carry an entire other person inside your body for nine mo nths, and you damn sure didn't squeeze a watermelon through a hole the size of a lemon like I had to do...so that does, and will ALWAYS trump any card you throw my way. Now...I think your son is calling you," Tiffany spat out, folding her a rms across her chest. She didn't hear anything for a few moments. Shit, maybe she pissed him off. She was just joking. "Taeng?"

"It's actually comfortable down here. Can you hand me my pillow?" he asked, yawn ing. Bastard. Tiffany grabbed his pillow and leaned over the bed to hit him with it, when he quickly grabbed her wrists and jerked her down on top of him. She shriek ed as she slammed into his hard chest. Taeng hugged his wife tightly. "See, I told you it was nice down here." Tiffany couldn't quit laughing. She slowly rose up and straddled him, placing he r hands on his chest. "You could have hurt me," she said, looking down at him. "Never," Taeng whispered, as he raised up to kiss her tender lips. He placed his hand behind her neck, forcing himself deeper into her mouth. She moaned while h is other hand slowly inched further up her thigh. Then her eyes widened as she pushed him away. "Oh my God, we're awful parents," she said, as she hopped up from Taeng, realizi ng that Stephan was still crying his little head off. "I'll get him," Taeng said, grabbing ahold of her. "No, I'm up now. I'll go. He's crying for me anyway, remember," Tiffany spouted sarcastically as she pushed past Taeng. Taeng beat her y laughing and staring up at ng on the side

to the door, and quickly entered into his son's room, with Tiffan cursing behind him. He walked over to his crib, and found his son him. His cries had turned into hiccups and little tears were dryi of his face.

Taeng quickly picked him up and held him close. "It's okay, daddy's here. Mean mommy tried to keep me away, but I'm here now," T aeng said, looking over at Tiffany as he kissed his son's cheek. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. "He's probably hungry, so mean mommy needs to feed him." Taeng sat down beside h er, and gently rubbed his son's tiny feet, watching in wonderment as Tiffany fed him. 

Chapter 49 It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, Tiffany had just finished up an online test from a local community college. It was much harder than she thought it wou ld be. She had to be extremely disciplined to do online courses. She had thought they would be a breeze, but with the lack of attendance in class, they made up for in homework assignments, quizzes and tests that were almost every other day in cluding weekends.  But Stephan was such a good baby, which was a plus during this time. He either s lept or just amused himself by staring at different things, while she did her wo rk. He rarely cried anymore, which Tiffany tried to attribute to the fact that s he could anticipate his needs before he felt the need to cry. But she needed to give him a bath before she started on her next assignment. "Taeng?" Tiffany called out, as she walked into the living room.

"Taeng," she said again, before she quieted. Taeng was lying on the couch on his back, while Stephan rested gently on his che st. The two of them looked so much alike, that she snickered, remembering a joke her sister had told her. Michelle had said that it's a good thing James was gone now to rest in peace, be cause he would have had a fit with that boy's complexion. Tiffany loved him more than anything. And what she was staring at now, was quite possibly the most bea utiful thing she had ever seen. Tiffany wasn't sure how long she lovingly admired her two boys, but she couldn't take her eyes away from them. Taeng's eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising up and down. And Stephan's little face was turned to the side resting on his father's chest. His tiny little pink lips made an 'o' shape as he yawned, n ever once opening his eyes. After what seemed like forever, Tiffany quietly backed out of the living room an d went back into Taeng's study to open up her last timed quiz. She glanced at th e photo by his computer. It was a picture Yoona had taken of her that first day in the hospital, with Stephan in her hands. She personally hated the picture bec ause she had just woken up, and with all the pushing, sweating and lack of makeu p ...she swore she looked hideous. But Taeng wouldn't let her change it. He said it was his favorite picture. Before the test, she decided to browse really quickly online, when suddenly she gasped and then screamed, "Oh my God! Oh no! No!" She quickly read over the story, and it appeared to be t rue. Her first thought was of Paul. Her heart went out to him. Taeng jumped when he heard Tiffany's scream. He quickly stood up, holding Stepha n close to his body as he walked into his study. "Baby, what's wrong?" "Nichkhun...he's dead," she cried, still half in shock. Taeng sighed and kissed the baby's head. "I know," he said as he walked over and sat down on the chair opposite of her.  "You knew?" Tiffany questioned, wiping her nose. "How did you know? Why didn't y ou tell me?" "Yuri informed me a few hours ago. I didn't want to upset you before you took yo ur test," Taeng explained, wiping his wife's tears away with his fingers. "That article said that there weren't any suspects yet. Do you know who did it?" Tiffany asked. "No. But I'm sure it will come out eventually." Tiffany covered her face and groaned. But then she realized she needed to call P aul. She quickly stood and grabbed Taeng's office phone. "I have to call Paul. I know this is just...just killing him," Tiffany sobbed, d ialing Paul's house. She and Nichkhun had never really gotten along, but she kne w how much Nichkhun meant to him. It was the only family Paul had left. "Hello?" a voice answered. "Hi. May I speak to Mr. Horvejkul?" "May I ask who's calling?"

"Kim Tiffany." "One moment." Tiffany stared over at Taeng, who was looking back at her. "Hello Tiffany," Paul said, as his voice came through the receiver in his usual soft manner. Although she could tell immediately that he sounded tired. She quickly sniffed, and then answered. "Hi, Paul. Oh, I'm so sorry. I just hear d." "Thank you. It's not really been a good day for me. I still can't really believe it, but..." he started, but never really finished. "If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know," Tiffany stated. Taen g motioned for her to hand him the phone. "Paul, hold on one second, Taeng wants to speak with you." Taeng handed Tiffany the baby, as he grabbed the phone in return.  "Paul?" Taeng asked, as he started walking towards the kitchen and then out into the backyard. "I'm here. How are you, Taeng?"  "I'm okay. I just wanted to let you know that Nichkhun and I didn't always see e ye to eye, as you know, but I'm truly sorry for your loss. And if there's anythi ng I can do...people I can put you in contact with regarding who's responsible f or this, just let me know." "Thanks Taeng. That means a lot...and I might have to call you on that favor. Th ey...he was, um...bad things were done to his body. Not much to really identify. I stood there staring at this slab of burnt flesh...not believing in a million years that this was my son." Taeng immediately felt his pain. That was one of the worst things he had ever ha d to go through in his life. And even though Nichkhun had been a pain in the ass most of his life, Paul didn't deserve this. He was a well respected, old school type of man in their game, and whoever did this, would pay. "I'm really sorry. I'll ask around and see what I can find out." "Thank you. I appreciated it, Taeng. If you find out anything, give me another c all. Tell Tiffany I said thanks, and I'll talk to both of you later." Paul then hung up. He sat behind his wide desk, staring over at Jun.k. "Sir, we're not sure yet, but some of our sources are saying that it was the Rus sians. That Nichkhun had gotten mixed up with them, and Vladimir put a hit out o n him," Jun.k said. Paul sat there thinking about this new information. He had felt deep down that i t had been the Russians. That Nichkhun had been in trouble, and Paul wanted to k ick himself for not saying something to his son when he had the chance. He knew it wasn't like Nichkhun to up and fly to Amsterdam without letting him know. He knew something wasn't right with that story but he said nothing, other than fuss a t him for being irresponsible. And now his son was dead, and he could have preve nted it.

Paul swiveled his chair around so that he was facing his window. He thought abou t Nichkhun as a young boy. He had been a funny kid. Always smiling and telling j okes. He kept his mother laughing, even on her deathbed. He remembered the day h is wife took her last breath. Paul had thought he was dying right along with her . He wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed, and close his eyes too. But it was his son hugging him from behind that brought his mind back, and he reali zed he still had family. His son, and he had sworn to his wife that he would pro tect him...and he failed. But one thing he would not fail at, was avenging his s on's murder. "Jun.k," Paul said, still staring out of the window, "let all of our guys know t hat we are on the hunt for the Russians, and to bring in Vladimir, preferably al ive...so I can deal with him myself." Jun.k nodded and walked out.   *** A few weeks had passed, and life was finally getting back to normal for Taeng an d Tiffany. Not that their relationship had ever been normal, but Stephan brought that balance to their lives. Tiffany couldn't stand to be away from him, even for a few hours. But they had a greed to go to Hyung Sung's house for a family and friends get-together. Hyung S ung seemed to be the center of a very large, unique group of people, and they al l seemed to have so much respect for him.  Tiffany wasn't so sure that Taeng would get along with Hyung Sung's son in-law, Jong Suk. Upon first impression he seemed extremely blunt, and dropped the f-wor d...a lot. But much to Tiffany's surprise, he and Taeng had already made plans t o attend a baseball game. And somehow, Jong Suk was able to make Taeng laugh, which was not an easy feat. Taeng rarely ever cracked a smile in front of strangers. And Hyung Sung's daught er, Yeon se, was really beautiful...and really young...but she seemed to have an amazing head on her shoulders. Very bright mature woman, who amused Tiffany with the story of how she and her h usband met. Tiffany wasn't quite so ready to reciprocate with that kind of infor mation...since she and Taeng definitely didn't share the average fairytale meeti ng. But maybe one day, she would let Yeon se in on that, since their story was n o walk in the park either. Taeng and Tiffany didn't want to bombard them all with a new baby, so they left Stephan at home with his granmother, who was more than happy to take over. She h ad been visiting them, and was almost a permanent fixture in their home.  So much so, that she basically spent every other month with them. She no longer had to pack for flights, since Taeng had bought her a new wardrobe for her room at their house. And as overbearing as Mrs. Kim could be, Tiffany loved having he r there. After they finally made it home from Hyung Sung's house, Tiffany was so sleepy, that Taeng had to carry her upstairs to their room, kissing her ever so often al ong the way. But she wanted to check in on the baby first, so they walked into S tephan's room and glanced in his crib. Neither one of them could still believe that he existed. Taeng stared down at hi m. Even though their son tended to look a little more like him, he prayed that S tephan would have Tiffany's big heart.   Her optimism and outlook on the world. Taeng had thought of what he would say th e day his son was a man and came to him asking about how his and Tiffany's relat ionship started. Taeng thought about what he would say. And he decided that the truth was the bes t. To admit that he wasn't always a good person, but Tiffany changed that. She d

ecided to ignore the monster and look deeper to find the other person who had be en hidden for years. And he hoped that answer would be enough. Only time would t ell. "Could he be any cuter?" Tiffany asked, breaking his train of thought.  "I think he needs a brother," Taeng whispered to her, pulling her away from the crib. "Let's get started on that." Tiffany laughed, as the two of them entered their bedroom. Taeng went to take a shower, but Tiffany didn't feel like budging. She was so tired, and instead opte d to plop down face first on the bed, and stayed like that until she heard the s hower cut off. She finally crawled underneath the covers, when she remembered something. "Oh, hey Taeng," Tiffany yelled from the bed. "What?" she heard him say. "Some woman from that party we went to months ago invited us to her party. I for got to tell you. It's a garden party, or key party...something like that. But sh e seemed nice, so I wanted to let you know." Tiffany watched as Taeng slowly peeked around the corner from the bathroom with a quizzical look on his face, his hair still wet from his shower. He paused midstroke of brushing his teeth. "What did you say?" he asked. "She wanted us to attend her party," Tiffany yawned. "Well, what kind of party is it? Garden party or key party?" "Hmm, I think she said key. But what's the difference?" Tiffany asked. Taeng laughed. "Well, a garden party is a bunch of stuffy rich people eating out doors and dressed in formal attire. A key party is when married guys place their car keys in a sack and their wives pull them out, and sleep with whichever husb and's key they pull out. Again, usually stuffy rich people. But different partie s, baby." Tiffany almost choked, "What?! She couldn't possibly think that I would oh my God, I can't...what is wrong with people?!" Taeng laughed, "My beautiful wife...making friends." He rinsed out his mouth and then stared over at her. "Eww," Tiffany said to herself. "I could never share you. Ever!" "I almost followed a guy one night who slapped your ass while you were working a t Hongdae Cafe's. Definitely not the sharing type." Taeng watched as his wife stared over at him with a big smile. She was absolutel y stunning...and even more so now than when he first met her, if that were possi ble.  "So you were stalking me," Tiffany smiled. "Of course." She laughed and shook her head. "I knew it." "Hey, how much do you love me?" Taeng whispered over to her.

Tiffany pretended to think about it and then stretched her arms out. "This much. " Taeng shot an eyebrow up. "Only that much, huh?" he said, scratching his bare st omach. Tiffany widened her reach even more. "This much!" she said, trying to pull her a rms completely in the opposite directions. Taeng sighed. "Hmm, only that much," he repeated, before he walked back into the bathroom. Tiffany sat there staring incredulously at the door. Her fucking arms hurt from that little demonstration of love. Okay, she knew what to do. She didn't know wh ere these ideas came to her from, but they did. "Taeng!" Taeng opened the door again and leaned out. Tiffany was lying on her back, compl etely naked with her legs in the air.  "I love you this much," she said, as she slowly started opening her legs until s he reached a full, very spread V shape. Holy shit. instant blood rush. Taeng dropped his boxers and walked over to her. He slowly slid his fingers from her ankles down the inside of her legs and then bent down to the apex of the V and kissed her glistening love nest.  Tiffany whimpered, as he started to French kiss her pussy. She felt little jolts of electricity to her brain. He was working some kind of magic with his tongue. She ran her hands through his wet, smooth hair. "Ooh, Taeng...ooh, don't stop," she moaned breathlessly. He continued to lovingl y assault her clit, by licking and lightly nipping it, as her legs turned into j ello. And then he hit her spot. Tiffany's eyes rolled back as a powerful orgasm rolled throughout her body in intense waves. Taeng crawled up her body and positioned himself on top of her. She had yet to o pen her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her, wishing he could take a picture of her at this exact moment. Tiffany gradually pried her heavy eyelids open, and stared up at her handsome pa rtner. She smiled at him. "What did you spell with your tongue? I know it was something, you always do." Taeng kissed her again. "I spelled 'mine'. And don't ever forget it." "Never," she whispered back to him. "And when did my innocent girl turn into such a sex kitten?" Taeng asked, restin g his body on top of hers. Her little display of affection was beyond hot. "It's all your fault. You corrupted me," she said back, raising up to kiss him. "Damn right," Taeng muttered, crushing her lips to his, as his hard length enter ed her body at a torturously slow pace. He could feel every inch of himself bein g invited in by her tight pussy. When he finally bottomed out, they both lightly moaned.  But he didn't start driving in and out of her, and she didn't start rolling her hips, driving him crazy like only she could do. He didn't bite her or place his hands around her neck, and she didn't beg him to do so. They just stared at each other, neither one able to move due to some invisible bond that they were shari ng at that moment.

Finally, Tiffany spoke. "I love you, Kim Taeng," she said, looking into his bright eyes. Eyes that used to be as cold as a block of ice. But that ice had melted away some time ago, rep laced by happiness, hope and...love. Love for her, and love for their son. "I love you more, Kim Tiffany," Taeng whispered. "Always." Tiffany wrapped her arms around him, feeling the wetness of her tears seeping on to her cheeks. She remembered when she thought that in just seven quick days... she could make a new start for herself. She couldn't have known then how true th at statement would become.   -The End- 

okay...just give me me warning or sign or comment if you'll still read it. Chapter 50 His hands were shaking, and he needed to slow down his breathing. Even t hough he knew it wasn't there, he still felt there was blood on his hands. He qu ickly wiped his palms across his jeans-covered thighs. Fuck, this was spinning w ay out of control. He could bullshit and charm his way out of almost every situation. It was a gift he had. One that his father never fully appreciated. His old man wanted him to be more like him, old school. Or like that fucker, Taeng. But that wasn't Nichkh un. And until tonight, he had never taken another human being's life. Until tonight, he thought over in his head again. Fuck! Nichkhun knew he shouldn't have gotten involved with the Russians. He had never played at that level before. That was more Taeng's territory, because where Nich khun liked to bullshit, charm and make an idle threat every now and then, Taeng would just kill you. And that's exactly the same philosophy that the Russians ha d adopted. And Vladimir...that Russian prick, believed that Nichkhun had stolen from him. But he hadn't! Vladimir had sent some of his men after him, but they t agged the wrong guy. Some poor local criminal who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the body was found, or what was left of the unlucky bastard, Ni chkhun heard on the street about it, and speculation that it might be his body. That gave him an idea. He left an anonymous tip with the police that it was his body, then he hurriedly left town. Nichkhun knew further investigation would eventually reveal to everyone that the body wasn't his, but he thought he would have at least a few days to get his sh it together before he was a target again. He was wrong. Nichkhun had already been traveling down south to escape this whole fiasco, when he felt like he was being followed. On the second day of his trip, the person m ade a move on him and Nichkhun panicked and stabbed the bastard. Only that basta rd turned out to be Vladimir's son, Viktor. Of all the fucking luck! Apparently Viktor hadn't believed the police reports, and decided to go after Nichkhun alon e so he could prove something to his old man. Dumb fuck. Viktor had moved in on him late that night, and tried shooting him. Nichkhun had managed to get the gun away from him, but then that asshole pulled out a knife. And this wasn't just any knife...that fucker had to be at least close to a foot long. Viktor was certainly larger than Nichkhun, but he wasn't as quick. Nichkh

un managed to struggle with him, and quickly take him off guard by clipping him in his thick neck, a trick his father had shown him, and stealing the knife away . But it only stalled Viktor for a second. He grabbed Nichkhun by the neck, and started strangling him, before Nichkhun stuck the knife in his stomach. He had t o stab him four times before that bastard stopped trying to choke him, and turne d him loose.  Nichkhun stared down at the body in disbelief. Viktor's cold onyx eyes still loo king up at him, but with no life behind them. Nichkhun couldn't think straight. He tried to drag the body over to a swamp near the library where the scene had u nfolded, but halfway from the back of the building to the murky waters, SHE walk ed out. Immediately the young woman froze. She stared at him, then stared at the body. H er eyes widened. Before Nichkhun could get 'wait' out of his mouth, she screamed and turned to run back in the building. Nichkhun picked up the gun and immediately sprinted after her. She tried to lock the door, but he got there just in time, forcing it back open.