"E-e-excuse me?" Jaehwa stuttered out in disbelief.
Out of all the gangs in Neo City.
Jaehwa felt Johnny place a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze in hope of calming her down.
"The Vipers, the largest gang in the city." Taeyong said. "Do you know them?"
"Yes, we do." Johnny said, quickly butting in before Jaehwa could say something that would reveal her identity.
"Well, it's getting late, thank you so much for your time, Taeyong." Johnny said, taking Jaehwa's hand in his and dragging her out of the café before Jaehwa could say another word.
Jaehwa shook her hand out of Johnny's once they were back in the parking lot of the station.
"Johnny, do you realize what this means?" Jaehwa asked once she returned back to reality.
"Calm down, Jaehwa. Being angry isn't going to help." Johnny said, already sensing the anger coming out of the girl.
"My gang is involved. Jaehyun was involved. Oh my gosh Johnny, what if Jaehyun really did kill him?" The words were flying out of Jaehwa's mouth like no tomorrow.
"Jaehwa, stop overthinking, there's still so many holes." Johnny said, grabbing the girl's arms.
"But there's so many chances, I didn't even know we were involved, what if there's more secrets?"
"Jaehwa I swear if you don't stop talking, I will kiss you."
Jaehwa immediately closed her mouth after hearing Johnny's words.
"Good." Johnny said, taking a step back. "Now tomorrow, we'll figure out a plan and we'll take it step by step. No coming to conclusions without getting all the facts, alright?"
Jaehwa slowly nodded her head but Johnny's previous words were still stuck in her head.
Kiss.
"Johnny?"
"Yes?"
Jaehwa took a deep breath before taking a step forward. "Are you going home now?"
"That was the plan, why? Do you want to come over?" Johnny asked.
Jaehwa nodded her head. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all."
...
Jaehwa had to admit, she was jealous of Johnny. His place was so much nicer than hers, she wished she could live there.
Johnny seemed to notice this the second they entered, letting out a chuckle.
"Stop staring, it's just a regular apartment." Johnny said as he put his things down, beginning to get ready to prepare dinner.
"It's so nice." Jaehwa said, feeling the couch. "I can actually appreciate this place without being drunk or hungover."
She saw Johnny roll his eyes from the kitchen. "Whatever."
Jaehwa did her best to help Johnny in anyways that she could in the kitchen but it seemed as though the male didn't really need it. Nonetheless, he was still kind enough to let her attempt to help.
"Now for the big boy." Johnny said once Jaehwa finished placing the two plates on his table.
Jaehwa was surprised when Johnny pulled out a candle and a bottle of wine, putting them down before going back to the kitchen for wine glasses.
"Wine? What's the occasion?" Jaehwa asked as she sat down.
"I'm celebrating the fact that I'm not eating alone." Johnny said, a wide grin on his face. "Is there a problem?"
"This is so romantic." Jaehwa mumbled, hoping that Johnny wouldn't hear but of course he did, a laugh leaving his mouth.
"I mean we can have burgers next time, if that's the vibe you want." Johnny quickly suggested.
Jaehwa shook her head. "This is just fine."
...
Johnny loved wine. It was simple pleasure that he always enjoyed pairing with a good meal. Johnny particularly liked sipping his wine over a meal with someone he liked talking with.
And Jaehwa happened to be one of those people.
"So tell me." Jaehwa said as Johnny poured a glass for her and himself. "What was Chicago like?"
"All of a sudden?" Johnny asked as he placed the bottle down. Jaehwa nodded.
"I've never been outside of Neo City before, so I'm curious."
Johnny was shocked. As a kid, his mother had tried her best to bring him away from home on the weekends to see different sights but it was clear that Jaehwa lived a very different life. Johnny made a mental note to ask about it later.
"It's not that different from Neo City, to be honest." Johnny told her. "But less mystery murders."
He smiled as Jaehwa giggled at his lame joke, happy that he could satify her with a simple statement.
"If we went to Chicago, where would be the one place you would take me?" Jaehwa asked, as she took a bite of the food Johnny had made.
"Cloud Gate." Johnny immediately responded. Jaehwa looked confused so he added, "also know as the Bean."
"Oh, I've heard of that before." Jaehwa said, knowing what Johnny was referring to.
"You can't say you've been to Chicago without visiting it." Johnny told her. "The park it's in is really pretty too."
Jaehwa nodded her head. "Chicago sounds nice."
"It is. We should really go there some time."
Jaehwa's eyes lit up at Johnny's words. "You'll really take me there?"
"I mean once I figure all this out." Johnny said with a sigh.
Jaehwa stuck her pinky out. "Promise?"
Johnny nodded his head, connecting their pinkies together. "Promise."
The moment lasted slightly longer than it was supposed to, before Johnny awkwardly released the girl's finger and Jaehwa returned her attention to her food.
"So tell me more about you. What was your childhood like?" Johnny asked, curious.
"Like how did a girl like me end up in a gang?" Jaehwa asked, bitterness in her voice.
"Focus on the good parts." Johnny said, hoping that would cheer her up.
"There aren't many." Jaehwa confessed. "Well there was for a bit. Jaehyun and I were both pretty happy children. We lived the perfect childhood with the best parents we could ever ask for."
"Jaehyun and I were always super close, ever since we were born. I remember that our parents' friends would come over and would be so impress. They would always ask our parents who's lives did they save in their past life to earn such well-behaved children like us." Jaehwa said, poking at her food.
"We thought we were pretty lucky too, to have such nice parents. Our friends would always complain about how their parents would always ground them or scold them but we never had that. It was family full of love. Or at least that's what we thought."
Johnny noticed that Jaehwa had stopped eating, clutching onto her wine glass tightly instead as she continued her story.
"One day we came home to find our father gone, all his belongings with him. He took all the money as well. A few days later, his body was found in a foreign country. He was dead, the money gone with it."
"My mother was devastated. She didn't know what she did for her husband to suddenly leave her like that and Jaehyun and I tried our best to comfort her but we were in shock as well too. She fell into a deep depression and not too long after, she killed herself. Jae and I were only sixteen at the time."
A tear slowly rolled down her cheek and Jaehwa quickly wiped it away. "Anyways, we had no moeny, no parents. Our family was ruined, and any relatives immediately resented us, calling us twins a family curse. Turns out both our parents were in major debt so we sold the house to pay for that. We had to move to a beatdown trailer as that was the only thing we could afford with the part time jobs we worked. Turns out that trailer park was technically property of a certain gang."
"The Vipers." Johnny said and Jaehwa nodded her head.
"That's where we met Ten. He didn't even need to hear our story to take us in. He introduced us to the gang, and that's where we found our place, our home."
"I'm glad you two did." Johnny said, sipping his wine.
"Joined a gang?" Jaehwa asked, confused. Johnny quickly shook his head.
"No, Jaehwa. I'm glad you two found a home."
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Aww johnny so sweet