Syndicate ㅡ MYG

Eight

"I'll see you later" he said pretending like nothing had happened but I could see, feel, how understanding he was being in his eyes.
"Be careful." he added before walking out leaving the house in silence except for a few rustling steps of the housekeepers.

I sat back onto the stool and began to eat throughout my entire meal I sat and observed the maids walking around the house and the occasional gardeners walking in completing different tasks.

I counted about six different women some older than the one cooking and two around my age. The rest were men, men in a casual uniforms cleaning and men in all black that walked in circles outside and inside the houseㅡ to be honest they looked more intimidating each time.

"How many people work in this house?" I finally asked breaking the silence and directing my attention to Yuri who was wiping the countertops.

"Well..." she began to speak in a sweet voice as she wiped her hands on her apron.
"It's six of us that work in here and four men that work outside cleaning, and help out with the heavy tasks."

"What about the men in the front?" I interrupted feeling embarrassed afterwards.
"Are they always there?"

"Oh they're just the guardsㅡ sometimes it's two, sometimes it's ten. It just depends they take turns but it's more when the boss leaves." she smiled.

"What about the six guys that are always with him... the funny ones?" I asked causing her to let out a genuine laugh.

"The boys? They're just his really close friendsㅡ more like family I should say, they've been together for years, almost as long as I've been working for him. The boss cares a lot for them, they're here most of the time so we've all just become used to them."  she said pointing towards the living room. I turned my head and I could see some pictures on the walls all including the familiar faces.

After I finished my meal I stood up and picked up my plate and walked towards the sink.
"Oh no! Honey I'll take care of it!" Yuri walked in front me and held out her hands.

"No, please, I insist... I'll help you wash..." after seeing the determination in my face she gave in and handed me a towel to dry the dishes.

It was something my mother taught meㅡ they were there to help us, not to do everything for us. Almost I was perfectly capable of doing everything for myself and just because I was a guest in a mansion I wouldn't let myself be thought of as useless.

"So what is Yoongi like?" I asked ignoring her raised eyebrow and smirk.

"Mr. Min? He's wonderful, such a gentleman and serious man that mostly keeps to himself, very respectful and reserved... although he does have his bad days; who could blame him he has a lot going on in his life. He's just a busy man..." she said as she continued to wash.

"Yeah and now I'm adding onto it." I mumbled in a low embarrassed tone.

"Nonsense! Miss Ellen in the time that you've been here I've seen him smile more than when I started working here" she said as I carefully dried the glasses and plates "today was the first time in years that he actually eats breakfast--I must say he's very lucky to have a lady like you by his side"

"Oh I'm not with him- like that it's a long story but we're not really in a relationship" I stuttered slightly embarrassed.

"Well you seem to be doing him good" she said as she took the towel away from me "now Miss Ellen thank you for your help but I'll finish here, the boss would be annoyed if he saw you doing this" I

I thanked her for the meal and made my way to explore the mansion.

Yoongi

I arrived in front of the luxurious building in the middle of the city.

"Good morning, Mr. Min" greeted the doorman as my black truck pulled up to the reserved parking spot in front of the glass building.

This building was full of different offices and work spaces but the top floor, that belonged to us.

Most people didn't know what business I was in, some just assumed things but the ones that knew also knew to keep their mouths shut.

I made my way into elevator to the twelfth floor that consisted of five offices for each one of us--Namjoon, Hoseok, Jin, Jimin and myself.

Taehyung and Jungkook insisted on using their space for a pool table, fuse-ball and snack machines and of course we agreed.

Only the seven of us spent our time in this building along with our most trusted men.

The entire afternoon consisted of reports on our warehouses and counting money.

"How's she doing?" asked Namjoon as we entered Tae's and Jungkook's area.

"Last night she said she wanted to leave to New York with her mother's family" I said in a low voice as I remembered her face full of disappointment at our conversation.

"What..why!?" asked Jimin as he slouched next to me on the couch.

"That's actually not a bad idea" added Namjoon as he closed the fridge and cracked open a soda can.

I glared at him annoyed at his comment.

"Well Yoongi you know she's not safe here" he tried explaining.

"She's not safe anywhere, she'll be followed and hunted downㅡat least here she has our protection" I replied defensively.

"Yeah hyung she's been through a lot she can't just leave" added Jungkook while he played an intense game of fuse-ball against Taehyung.

"I don't want her or any of us to be in danger because of her father" continued Namjoon.

"Her father doesn't care about her" I said loudly "ㅡyou all saw the way he just threw her out"

The air grew tense and nobody spoke.

"Ok, Ok hyung do you really think she's the one?" Namjoon asked staring at me.

"I care about herㅡ" I answered slowly.

"Then we really have no choice but to welcome her into this family" he said giving up on our argument.

The rest of the guys started clapping until he spoke up again "ㅡbut you have to be clear to her it's either us or her father" he said standing up as a sign that it was time to leave.