"They were what?" I choked out, and Mr. Kim took my hand into his own, before continuing.
"Your parents were murdered by a group of men. They wanted their company. When they refused to make the co-chairman of the company their legal second-hand, he quit in a rage. He was a very dangerous man. And your parents knew he was unstable."
"They knew what he was capable of, so they hired me, Namjoon and your cousin to protect you if things didn't go as they planned." He paused, wiping a tear from my eye.
"We work with the Korean police department, in a separate organization specialized to protect and guard particular people." He continued, pausing to let me process what I'd heard.
I let out a shaky breath, before sniffing and motioning for him to continue.
"I moved in right beside you, Jungkook moved in with you, and Namjoon followed you everyday whenever you weren't at school or home.
"Those men, like the one that hurt you tonight, they need to know where your parents are buried. Because right now, they believe that your parent's will is buried with their bodies."
"On that will, are those men's names, written down as their cause of death in case what they feared most happened, as well as yours, the ultimate successor of their company and money.
"But if someone finds it before they do, they're ruined. And now that you've turned 19 recently, if that will is found, you're eligible to takeover your parent's legacy." He finished, a grim look on his face.
I shook your head, unable to process everything he'd told me.
It was all too much.
First, I had three bodyguards I had no idea about, until now.
Second, my parents were murdered.
And third, there were multiple men who were out to kill me.
And I'd barely scratched the surface.
"But I had my parents cremated. I dumped their ashes in the Sea of Japan." I murmured, and Mr. Kim nodded.
"I know. But they don't. And it needs to be kept that way, or they won't look to destroy the will. They'll come for you once they find out the will doesn't exist." He explained grimly.
-
After a couple hours, my cut was stitched up, the cast was on, and police officers were stationed outside of Jungkook's hospital room.
"Let's go home. You need to rest." Mr. Kim murmured, and I nodded weakly, cradling my wrist.
It didn't hurt nearly as bad as the bruise on my cheek when I tried to speak.
It shocked me to see how violent men could be.
And it saddened me that there was more of them out there, and the people they targeted weren't always as lucky as I was.
"I want to see Jungkook once before we leave." I said with much difficulty, and Mr. Kim complied, carefully leading me to the room guarded by tall men in blue uniforms.
"I'll be right out here." He assured me, and I nodded, before pushing the door open and entering.
The room smelled like Jungkook, like the cologne I'd always complain to him about.
Jungkook was asleep on the flimsy hospital bed, his pale figure hooked up to countless wires and machines, as his chest rose and fell unsteadily.
I sat down on the blue, plastic stool beside him, taking the hand that wasn't broken into mine and holding it tight.
Cruel cuts and bruises littered Jungkook's handsome face, and I couldn't stop the tears that gathered in my eyes once again.
I lifted Jungkook's hand to my lips, pressing them against the cold skin of his hand.
"I'm so sorry. I should have been the one protecting you." I broke out into loud sobs, leaning into his chest as I cried into his hospital gown.
"I'm so sorry." I repeated, and Jungkook stirred from underneath me.
Lifting my head, I looked up at Jungkook to see him giving me his smile that I'd grown to love.
"Who let you in here noona? Making a racket and being loud and obnoxious as always." He joked, wrapping his arms around me as he let out a sigh.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He murmured into my hair.
"How can I not? Look at yourself." I sniffled, and Jungkook simply dismissed my comment with a weak wave of his hand.
"Stay with Taehyung until I can come back home. It's not safe to be home alone." He said gently, squeezing my hand lightly.
"Don't go to school. Staying home, is staying safe. Understand?"He asked, pulling back to look at me.
"Don't tell me what to do." I sniffed, but nodded nevertheless.
"I'm sorry that I lied to you. I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now." Jungkook murmured, giving me a small smile.
"I love you, noona." He added quietly, pushing my hair back and wiping the tears from underneath my eyes.
I nodded, letting out a shaky breath before launching myself onto him again, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
He let out a small groan, relaxing soon after and returning my hug with a series of pats on my back.
"Now get out, I want to sleep." He joked, pulling away and laying back down as he closed his eyes.
He let out a fake snore for dramatic effect, smiling childishly afterwards.
"I love you too, Kookie." I whispered, planting a kiss on his forehead before turning around to leave.
-
"I'll let you run in and grab a few things. You're staying with me until Jungkook is completely cleared to come home again." Mr. Kim said, opening the door for me.
I obeyed silently, walking towards my room, looking around cautiously.
I jumped back at the sight of someone in my living room, and I immediately buried myself in Mr. Kim's arms, who held me wordlessly.
It's just the cleaning ladies." He explained to me calmly, turning me around and showing me.
Indeed it was.
A group of stern women worked silently in my living room, removing the blood stains from my carpet and cleaning the broken glass on the floor.
A large woman stood in the corner, unblinking as she stared me down.
She held a machine gun in her hands, and smaller weapons were strapped all across her chest.
A chill ran down my back at the eerie sight, and the smell of blood in the air made me heave.
I nodded embarrassedly, before moving past the room that had a lingering scent of blood and bleach, and into my own.
I no longer felt safe in my own home, and I rushed to shove random clothes into a nearby bag.
I didn't realize how desperately fast I'd been moving until I slowed down, feeling my heartbeat thump around in my chest.
I leaned down to grab my book bag, but Mr. Kim's voice stopped me.
"You won't need that." He murmured softly, before taking the bag from me with gentle hands and placing it back down on the floor beside my bed.
"I've resigned from my job at the school." He informed me, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Let's go home, Everest."
-
"There's only one bed, so I'll sleep on the couch." He explained, setting my bag down onto the large bed.
Mr. Kim's apartment was a tad larger than my own, and extremely clean.
Like it had never been lived in.
In contrast to my own apartment, his was modern and sleek, everything inside either grey or black.
It seemed cold, and lonely.
A reflection of the man's personality.
"I'm staying here with you. So tell me whenever you need something, or if you get bored, we can go out together. I don't want you leaving this house without me. And for now, the only people you can trust is me, Namjoon and Jungkook. Everyone else needs to be considered as a possible threat." He told me as he pulled blankets and pillows out of his closet.
"In the case of an emergency, run straight to the master bathroom, and lock the door until I say it's safe." He added, taking my hand into his and leading me towards the bathroom.
"If you press this, it's an automated distress call to Namjoon and Jungkook." He said, showing me the small blue button hidden behind a stack of towels.
He led me back out to the bedroom.
"It's really late, I think you should sleep for now." He said, looking down at the time on his watch.
2:29 a.m.
"You probably want to take a shower. The stitches are allowed to get a little wet without getting infected, but you need to pat them dry. Don't rub or it'll hurt, and might start bleeding again." He told me, opening the door to the shower and turning the water on.
"The towels are in the closet. Yell if you need me." He smiled softly, trying to ease the tension in the room.
I nodded, and he turned around to leave.
But my hand shot out, grabbing his arm before he could leave.
"Thank you, Mr. Kim." I whispered, and his boxy smile emerged from underneath the straight line on his face that I'd grown accustomed to.
"You're welcome."