Jungkook dashed out of the car as he ran into his house. The minute Alison had called him, he abandoned his work and rushed home. It was a relief his parents and uncle and aunt were away to Paris for a distant relative's wedding and weren't aware of the mess that Jaehyun had made.

"Where's Alison? Where is Esther?", he immediately asked one of house maids who uncomfortably answered "Ma'am is in her room. She is sleeping and said she wanted to be left alone until she came out herself. Miss Esther is in the lounge on floor one. She is sitting with Ma'am's friend"

Jungkook was confused for a second before he realized who it was. He immediately rushed upstairs to the lounge. Just as the room came into sight, he saw Esther sitting with Chaerin as the duo read one of Esther's books. For a second he stood there as he took in the sight before him. A soft expression on the woman's face as Esther sat on her lap. The older listening intently as the younger read the princess story out loud. They were so engrossed in the story that neither of them saw Jungkook standing by the door.

He cleared his throat and both of them immediately looked up. "Dadda", Esther yelled in excitement as she stood up and rushed towards the man. With her small hands she immediately hugged Jungkook's legs as the latter picked her up in his arms.

"Hi princess", he said to Esther and hugged her tightly before giving her cheek a kiss. A sense of relief took over him to see Esther safe. He looked over to Chaerin next, who was already looking at him. Almost as if sensing the confusion on his face, she answered. "I was here for some business when the interaction happened", she spoke, avoiding spilling too much so Esther didn't understand. "Alison needed some time so I volunteered to stay home for a bit till you came back and could take care of Esther"

"Thank you. I appreciate you staying back. Just a minute", he replied while putting Esther down. "Miss Wong", he looked out of the room and called to someone. An older lady came out from one of the rooms as she made way to the lounge.

"Looks like its time for Esther's piano classes. Can you please get her ready. Also, can you call the teacher and ask him to come home and teach this week. Princess", he turned attention to his daughter. "Please go with Miss Wong and get ready for your classes. Dad will see you after the class"

Esther followed the older lady out of the room. "I am just going to check on Alison. Be back in a second", he said to Chaerin who nodded and waited patiently for Jungkook to be back. Jungkook walked towards his bedroom, his mind clouded with thoughts. He opened the room which was dark as the curtains were closed in the middle of the day. He saw Alison sleeping peacefully and a little note addressed to his name by the nightstand.

I am okay, just sleeping for a bit. Dr Lim gave me some relaxants so I could sleep well. Chaerin is taking care of Esther, please thank her for me.

He heard soft snores coming from her and sensed she was resting peacefully. Adjusting her blanket to cover her properly, he left the room to chat with Chaerin who was waiting in the lounge.

Chaerin stopped scrolling through her messages when Jungkook walked in. He grabbed a seat across her. "Thanks again", he started. "Alison wanted to thank you as well for looking after Esther. And I am sorry you got dragged into this mess"

"Its okay", Chaerin replied. "I had a lovely time with her. It was also very informative and educational. I always thought I was a well read person but turns out I am not. Especially when quizzed about Princess Koko and her rainbow kingdom"

Jungkook chuckled as he heard this. "Esther doesn't play about Princess Koko. You better remember every word she told you. Especially about the pet unicorns. And just a little advice from a veteran. If asked who the best unicorn is, always say Miss Blueberry. Doesn't matter who you like — PinkSherbet, Bubbles or Lady Belle. If you want to be in Esther's good books, the answer is always Miss Blueberry"

"I will take all the cheat codes you have. Especially now that I have been assigned this humongous task of reading Book 1 to 7 of Princess Koko's Chronicles. I am to be tested the next time we meet. Harvard seemed like cakewalk in front of this"

Jungkook chuckled as he heard this. "I am glad to see the humour never left after all these years"

Chaerin smiled as she looked at her feet, nervously playing with her fingers. "I am sad about the circumstances under which Esther and I got to spend time together. This is not how I wanted to know her"

Jungkook gulped, the reality of things setting in as he uneasily settled into the couch. "I echo the same sentiments. Just when I thought the three of us were settling into our lives and things were looking good again, something had to mess it up. All our happiness is dampened again because of Jaehyun"

"Why do you think he is doing this?", she directed her question at Jungkook. "From what Alison told me, I think you guys managed to make him take a stepback seven years ago. So what changed? How did he get the confidence to do what he did?"

"I don't know why he is back. I thought I had a lot of leverage on him and that would be enough to make him back off. Drugs were his vice. He might have sobered up after all the rehab his parents made him go to. I can't use what I had on him seven years ago as blackmail now. I think he has figured that out. Plus we have more to lose than he does. He knows that. I just don't know why he wants to be Esther's 'father' again after going to all these lengths to disown her and make sure Alison never mentioned him"

Chaerin threw her head back in frustration as she looked at the ceiling. "There has to been an ulterior motive. He is not just messing with you. He definitely stands to gain something from doing this"

"What would that be?", Jungkook sighed. "Money? If that is what he wanted, he would have blackmailed us. Threatened to reveal the secret of Esther's parentage. Not tried to claim Esther himself"

The wheels in Chaerin's mind began churning as something went off. She immediately straightened herself as she looked at Jungkook who was taken aback at the sudden serge of energy in the woman. "If we think logically, there are two reasons he could want Esther. First is filial love — which means he wants to rekindle his relationship with his child. Purely biological. However, I don't think that is the case. The way he is threatening Alison and wanting to fuck shit up, its clear he doesn't care about Esther. The second could be that he can gain something if he can prove that Esther is his daughter. Maybe something from the Jeon estate or legal will? What do you think?"

Jungkook tried to concentrate as he recalled the last estate planning on Jeon industries which his grandfather had made. However, there was nothing that belonged to Esther that could benefit Jaehyun.

"I can't think of anything", he responded. "My grandfather's will is very clear. Everything is to be distributed equally between my father and uncle. And then since Jaehyun and I are the only children, we would get everything our father's got. But—", with that he suddenly went quiet.

"What?", Chaerin asked, getting curious.

"The only way Jaehyun can get what my uncle has is once my uncle dies. There is no way around it. My grandfather made sure the will was iron clad. There is no way Jaehyun can supersede that. My dad and uncle are fairly young. They are 59. They easily have two decades in them"

"What can be his motivation then?", Chaerin narrowed her eyes. "It has to be something monetary or material. I just know it. There is no way he one day decided he loves his daughter and came back for her"

"Maybe he wants to ruin us?", Jungkook asked. "Maybe he wants to embarrass Alison and me? Take revenge on us because we threatened him all these years ago?"

"I don't think so", Chaerin shook her head. "He stands to lose more if he does that. My theory is that if he exposes you both, he makes himself look like a dick that left a pregnant woman. Not only, that he makes you a hero for taking in Alison. This plan would fail in his face. Also, once this reaches the public, they would easily dig up his past. Everybody wants a big controversy these days. One with the younger son of one of Korea's most powerful business families seems entertaining enough"

Jungkook nodded as Chaerin's theory made perfect sense. Both of them wrecked their brain. Chaerin stood up as she took a stroll around the lounge. As she was walking, she stopped in front of a portrait on the wall. All of the Jeon family members were sitting for a picture. Her eyes fell on Jungkook's aunt and something ticked off in her.

"What family did your aunt come from?", he turned to the man.

Jungkook was confused why she was asking this but responded nevertheless. "The Jung family. She is Jung Siwan's daughter. He made his fortune in the hotel business and then later become the mayor of Seoul. They are Hobi Hyung's distant relatives"

"What if", Chaerin turned to him. "The benefit Jaehyun is after, doesn't come from his dad's side but rather from his mom's side? Didn't Jung Siwan pass away early this year? Which means they might be in the process of distributing his wealth and whatever belongs to Jaehyun will be given to him?"

Jungkook's eyes widened as he heard this. Things started making sense to him as he stood up as well. "Where's my phone? Where's my phone?", he stuttered as he looked around before immediately finding it in the cracks of the couch. "Hobi Hyung can help us", he mumbled. "Let me call him"

Chaerin immediately rushed over as the both of them sat on the ground. Grabbing a note pad from the coffee table, she got ready to make any notes that might help them. Jungkook put the phone on speaker as he called Hoseok who immediately picked up.

"Whats up Kookie", a cheerful voice spoke from the other side.

"Hyung", the younger began. "I need some help. Can you tell me about Jung Siwan? My aunt's dad?", he began. "And his relations with my cousin Jaehyun"

"Well I am not very familiar with them", Hoseok began. "We are a couple of generations removed. I think Mr Jang Siwan's grandfather was the younger brother of my grandfather's grandfather. They had a falling out after which they went their separate ways. My family didn't keep much relations with them but grandfather liked his second cousin Mr Jang Siwan. They were the same age and went to Yonsei together. So he did maintain some relations with my grandad..."

"Hobi Hyung—", Jungkook interjected. "Can you focus on his relations with his grandson and not your grandad"

"Yes sorry", a laugh was heard on the other end. "I heard some gossip in our families that Mr Jang wasn't very fond of his grandson. I think it is very common knowledge in the business circles that Jaehyun was addicted to drugs and had to be sent to rehab out of the country. I think Mr Jang hated that Jaehyun was spoiling his legacy and he didn't want him to be associated to the Jang Hotels brand. I remember my grandfather saying Mr Jang refused to put Jaehyun in his will and that was a big fighting point between him and his daughter, that is your aunt"

Both Jungkook and Chaerin looked at each other wide eyed as the latter immediately noted some key words.

"So who got Mr Jang's inheritance?", Jungkook continued.

"Your aunt", Hoseok replied. "I think there were some conditions. If she accepted the inheritance, she wasn't allowed to pass it to Jaehyun. Or else Mr Jang's lawyers were allowed to sue her and take it all back. And after that it would be all donated"

"Okay Hyung. Thanks for the info—"

"Wait Jungkook. Why do you need to know this all? Is everything okay in your family?", Hoseok asked, a concern in his voice.

"It's okay at the moment but can't say about the future. Anyways, I'll let you know when the time is right. Thanks Hyung, talk soon", Jungkook said before putting down the call, the urgency of the situation leaving no time for goodbyes.

"Did you know this?", Chaerin began. "About your aunt? Did she ever mention this to anyone?"

"No", Jungkook shook his head. "She is very discreet about what she does. We are not close and even after all these years, she maintains her distance from my parents. She was always jealous of my mom and the fact that my dad has more of a say in the business than her husband. But earlier in the year when we went to pay our respects at her father's funeral, we were surprised to see her actions. Instead of grieving and being present in the funeral hall to attend to the guests, she disappeared for an extended period of time and then came out of the room with the lawyers. Jaehyun didn't come either. I sensed it was probably because of his drugs and that he wasn't sober enough to be brought in front of everybody. But maybe his grandfather didn't want him there"

"It certainly is something to do with his will", Chaerin concluded. "We need to find it. Maybe, if we look into contents of the will, we might find a solution"

"That's impossible Chaerin. Those things are so securely protected, we would never get access to the documents. We cannot even ask my aunt's lawyers to show it to us. Plus if Jaehyun finds out we are trying things behind his back, that might just cost us something bigger"

Chaerin fell silent as she heard this. Jungkook was right. "Fuck", she mumbled under her breath. After a few seconds of silence, a thought went off in her mind.

"They had to register the will, right?", she turned to him. "Legally the judge would have to sign it off. Correct? So maybe.. they had to bring it to the family registry office and the department has a copy of the will"

Jungkook thought for a second before he nodded. "Yes, you are right. For a will of this calibre and given the size of estate and assets, they would have to take it a judge who would make sure it is fairly done and nobody is contesting it. But—but even if its in a public office, its not accessible to the normal public as it concerns private family matters"

"I am not saying we go there and request an access to the public records. I know they would never hand it to us. But what I am saying is we find somebody who works there and use our contacts to get illegal access. Off the top of my mind, I think I know someone that is an independent director on the board of directors at the family affairs office."

Jungkook was stunned before he immediately broke into a smile. "You and your smart brain never fail to impress Chaerin. Who is your contact on the board of directors?"

Chaerin cleared her throat before she quietly spoke. "Its Jimin's girlfriend"

———•••———

Chaerin walked out of the Jeon mansion as she immersed herself in thought. She was glad to have made significant progress with Jungkook but the thought of having to talk to Jimin and requesting a favor with his girlfriend made her uncomfortable based on how they left off the last time.

Since then Jimin had not returned any of her calls or texts. She had a made to let him know she gave up on the revenge, hoping it would help them reconnect. But Jimin held serious grudges and getting him to talk to her again seemed like an impossible task.

As she walked to the main gate, she realized she had asked her driver to leave and there was no body waiting to take her home. Jungkook had offered to drive her home but she turned it down because she wanted him to be around his family at this time.

"I can get a cab at the crossroads", she spoke to herself but stopped in her tracks as another car pulled into the space. Her eyes traced the car which stopped near the parking garage. The door opened and a familiar face she hadn't seen in a while stepped out.

Taehyung straightened his jacket as he stepped out of the car. He was in Busan to deliver a guest lecture at a university there but immediately started the drive back when Alison called to tell him about what had happened. At the sight of Chaerin, he stopped in his tracks as the duo looked at each other in silence.

Without a word he made his way towards the mansion, hoping Chaerin wouldn't start any conversation with him. Even though he knew that she had given up on the revenge and was helping Alison build the family business again, he couldn't help but feel betrayed by her actions. He felt disgusted in himself for letting his blind love and devotion to her take over his feelings to the point he was helping her destroy his family.

"Taehyung"

His feet came to an abrupt stop as he heard Chaerin call his name. The one thing he dreaded the most was happening. He wanted to be angry at her. He never wanted anything to do with her again. But it was hard to convince his mind to enforce those feelings and in the moment he hoped his heart wouldn't betray him.

"Taehyung.. how are you?", she began.

"I am good", he curtly replied after a pause.

She nodded, a faint smile on her face. "Thats good to hear. Listen, I tried to get in touch with you a couple of times. Not sure if you saw my messages.."

"I haven't seen them. Its been really busy", he lied, knowing damn well he had read those messages.

"Thats understandable. I just.. I wanted to apologize for my actions. Alison and I have worked out our differences but I haven't had the chance to do that with you. Can I take you to dinner sometime to say sorry—"

"Thank you for apologizing. Its okay, I don't want to bother you with the whole dinner thing", he interjected, not letting her complete her sentence.

"I mean— its, its not a bother", Chaerin replied. "I would love to go. And I think I owe you a proper apology"

"Its okay Chaerin. I understand why you did what you did. You don't need to keep apologizing for it."

With that he turned to move towards the house but stopped after a few steps as he heard her speak.

"I have a hard time believing you", the woman stated, her voice tensing up a bit. "I clearly sense coldness from you. You haven't forgiven me and it is very evident. I am trying my very best to take this opportunity to go back to what we had. And it is unfair that you wouldn't give me a chance. I made some big mistakes. But they came from a place of hurt, anger and anguish. Do I not deserve a second chance to gain back your trust?"

Taehyung sighed. "Chaerin stop. We don't need to keep having this conversation anymore"

"Taehyung I—"

"CHAERIN. STOP. PLEASE", he yelled, tears forming in his eyes. "Do you want to know why I don't want to talk to you? Because I am done feeling used by you. THERE. HAPPY?", he paused, unable to speak further as a painful lump formed in his throat.

"For seven years you lied to me and used me. You were so blinded with rage and selfishness that you couldn't give a damn about the impact of your actions on my life. I distanced myself from my family in your support. Because I know they did you wrong and I wanted to stand by your truth. But I never consented to playing your mind games. I never consented to helping you destroy my sister. You manipulated and used me because you never say me as a person. You saw me as a pawn and as a soldier that was going to help you win the game. Did you ever wonder how I would face my family after they found out I had been unknowingly involved in destroying them?"

The duo fell into a deep silence as Taehyung finished his monologue. Chaerin's face displayed a 100 emotions as she tried her best to make sense of what the man had just said to her. It dawned on her what the actual impact of her actions was on his life and the realisation of it made her unable to conjure any words. In the moment she realized that she had been the villain in his story.

"Frankly I am done. I don't want an apology or anything. Please just let me go. I loved you. I really did. Actually, I may still be in love with you. But I am going to do it from a distance. Because you are not healthy for me. And its time I start putting myself first"

With that he walked into the house, leaving Chaerin standing there watching his back. A few streams of silent tears rolled down her cheeks as they stopped at her chin before dripping on the road. She turned her back to him as she began walking away, unable to stop the tears.

Her actions had extracted a heavy toll. Now she fully understood how blinded she was with rage and no matter how fair she thought this revenge was, in the end it also burnt the people she didn't want harmed.

The moment he entered the house, Taehyung stood by the living room for a solid minute, unable to understand his own reaction in the moment. A part of him was relived that he stood up for himself. But the weight of his words dawned on him as he made sense of what he had said to Chaerin in a fit of emotions. His mind assured him what he did was right. But something in his heart told him he was wrong.

And one thing Taehyung had learnt well was to always follow his heart.

"What the fuck did I just do", he mumbled to himself as he threw the things in his hands to the ground before running outside the house. His legs came to an abrupt stop as he looked around, unable to see the woman anywhere. His eyes fell on a taxi in the distance as he saw a reflection of her in the backseat. Before he could do anything, the car drove away, leaving him gazing at its shadow.

A/N: This book is so angsty lol (I am saying it as if I didn't write this lmaooo)