"Does that hurt?", Jungkook asks, his voice low and calm.

Runa sat on top of the bathroom counter as he tended to her wounds. He didn't give her any choice on the matter, he insisted. So once he carefully undressed her, she silently washed off the blood and got clean before he took out the medicine box with gauze, tape, and alcohol amongst other things.

Her thigh had a slash across it, luckily not deep enough to need stitches, but enough to leave a scar. As he dabbed it with a gauze pad, he looked to see any reaction from her. But her eyes remained distant like she was deep in thought and didn't care enough to pay attention.

"It's fine", she mumbled absentmindedly, and taking that as a sign, he lifted her leg gently to wrap up her wound, taping the end so she was now all fixed up.

"Is your head ok? Your nose was bleeding earlier so I assume he hit you in the face", he asks while examining her face and her head to see if there were any bumps.

"I'm fine", she replies once again, her eyes getting heavy and all she wanted now was rest.

It felt nice to be cared for, but there was so much on her mind that she couldn't indulge in that feeling completely. But the gentle kiss on her aching temple makes her feel a little better.

"If you say so. Let's get you to bed. Do you want me to stay with you?", he asks, hoping she'd say yes.

"You should take a shower. You're all bloody", she comments, looking up at his face that was splattered with red.

"I will."

He grabbed his gloves that rested beside her, stuffing them in his dirty trench coat that desperately needed to be washed. He lifts her and puts her on the ground steadily, and he guides her into the bedroom, scolding her for walking on her bad leg.

"It's just a scratch. I've had worse", she comments while plopping down on the bed, exhaustion taking over and she didn't care to get dressed as she flung off the towel and buried herself under the heaviness and warmth of her duvet.

"I'll be back", he says, entering his bedroom just beside hers.

Hanging up his coat to be washed, he removes his clothes and steps into his shower, washing his face and hair afterward, the stench of blood not bothering him since he's gotten accustomed to it after all these years. The fresh scent of lavender and mint fills the steamy air and it calms his aching bones to finally feel clean.

Once he's out, he dries his hair and combs it back, tucking his plain black shirt into his sweatpants before making his way back into her room. He sees that she's still awake, staring at the floor and then glancing up to see who entered.

"Do you want me to stay?", he gently asks once again, and when she slowly nods her head, he gets in bed and looks into her eyes.

She held his gaze, the silence comfortable between them and she shuffled closer to him, enjoying his scent that had her reaching for more.

"I need to do something about that contract", she said, and he sighed in relief to hear her say something else other than her dry answers to his questions.

"Worry about it tomorrow. You need to rest. I'm sure you're exhausted."

She buries herself in his chest and exhales when his strong, muscly arms wrap around her, and his hand strokes her hair, careful to not hurt her. He liked feeling her skin, knowing it wasn't sexual, but still intimate. She was warm and soft, but she was in a lot of pain. He knew she was even if it didn't seem like it. Emotionally and physically.

"Did you get hurt?", her voice is muffled by his shirt, but he hears her clearly due to their proximity.

"No, I'm fine, boss", he gently patted her back, stroking her soft skin with his fingertips that felt like butterfly kisses.

"Were you worried about me?"

"No, there's no reason to be. From what I saw and what I already know, you can hold your own", she responds, gazing up at him while her eyes traced his jawline and pretty eyes that shine from the moonlight.

"Good", he said while looking out at the sky that was visible from the windows on the other side.

"Did you worry about me?"

Her voice makes him look down, and he shuffles closer so he can rest his forehead against hers, "A little, but I was confident you'd do good on your own, and you did. You don't need anybody, you're a good fighter and tonight was proof of that."

"Was Jimin upset?"

"He was, and probably still is. I can't blame him, I was upset when you told me to leave you. Just so you know, if you tell me to do that ever again, I'm going to ignore you", he clarifies, a frown of intent on his face.

"I understand", she hums, her eyes slowly closing since she's too tired to stay awake.

Her muscles ached from fighting, and rest was what she needed to heal mentally and physically before tomorrow. It was late already, past midnight, and there was a lot to be done. Once realizing she was asleep, he brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and slowly moving to peck her forehead. Remembering his words from earlier, he looked down at her sleeping face, admiring her features and how strong she was before uttering the words so he wouldn't wake her.

"I love you."

💎🗡️💎🗡️💎🗡️

The next day, Runa was all business and called a meeting with Jimin discussing what they should do about the Organization, the Yakuza, and the Min crime family. No Min was alive to take care of the businesses, so in short, it was taken by whoever had the opportunity and power to do so.

The day was spent collecting information and resigning contracts under the name of her brother's. They split the businesses, they took whatever territory and money was left behind, and now that San was the head of the Organization, from her agreement of course, they needed to figure out what to do about Japan.

Not many Yakuza members were left seeing as Dori brought most of them when he was here, and Taemin also brought majority of the rest with him when he came to the city not long after. They soon found out that the remaining members had been jailed, and since it wasn't many, the Yakuza was now nonexistent and their territories were taken by street gangs.

Since those were foreign affairs, they didn't bother meddling in it since it would be too much of a headache, and now the Kang empire and the Russian mafia were the only powers existing in the country. It was fitting that the Yakuza had been destroyed along with the Min family, which from the beginning, was built on a dangerous secret.

Now that they didn't have much to worry about, other than a shit ton of paperwork, they needed to focus on the last remaining problem. Every time they went into the city on business, a few assassins were brave enough to take a hit on Jungkook, but they all failed miserably.

None of them succeeded in even touching a hair on his head. His reflexes were lethally fast and she watched him kill a few men in the back ally with nothing but a pen. A fucking pen. Safe to say she's never seen something as badass as that before, but she didn't show how impressed she was. The worrying got to her, and she hated how much it consumed her mind.

Every turn she took, along with every step she wondered to herself, was someone waiting? Was there a gun aimed at his head hundreds of feet away from where they stood? It wasn't long before she ended the contract, seeing that the man who put the hit out was no longer alive to pay the bounty if the task was completed.

Because of that, the contract was terminated and now peace was instilled. Businesses were thriving more than ever and she mostly kept to herself. She had become so focused on work, that she drowned in it. She wanted to make sure no one would come after them, that there were no witnesses to anything, and that there was no Yakuza member left alive.

Her good friend Kim Seokjin had contacted her not long after what happened, and he had to call the cleaning company because of the mess in his hotel, which he usually would have a fit about. But under the circumstances they were in, and because she was his friend which he adored and respected, he blew it off like it was nothing.

He had noticed the exhaustion weighing on her face, to which he scolded both her and the bodyguard who was supposed to take extra care of her. Jungkook had been doing just that. It's because he knew that she had much more on her plate and wanted to help with the smaller things along with the more important ones as well.

Whether it be making sure she ate every three to four hours, staying hydrated, and taking breaks, he had been on top of that stuff. Her health was crucial to him, so he might seem overbearing, but he wanted her to be happy and have that same glow on her face and in her eyes.

He's not stupid, he knows she hasn't been getting enough sleep because of all that she's managing. She had hired a new underboss, someone who was given to her by the Italian mafia as a gift for doing them a favor. Namjoon was intelligent and respectful, and he quickly settled into work and helped tremendously so she wasn't drowning with endless responsibilities.

He handled a lot of the business, making calls and doing the hardest work for her. She appreciated him, especially since he was older and had a respectable amount of experience being both an underboss, consigliere, and captain. Much like many others, Namjoon had begun from the very bottom, and in a short period, the man had become one of the most notorious figures in the business.

Jungkook liked him and was surprisingly not jealous that she had another man beside her. They had gotten along well and agreed on many things, much like he did with Dong-Wook. He'd grown comfortable with both Runa and her brother, seeing as he was allowed to live at the estate just as San was.

It felt like she could breathe again, it felt reassuring to be surrounded by people she could trust and rely on. Now that the war was over and life went on, she wanted to enjoy it. She had so much and upon reflecting on these recent months and what she's lost, she knew she needed to be more grateful to those around her, regardless if she 'needed' them or not, as Jungkook liked to say.

Speaking of that fine man, her glossed lips had instinctively turned up into a smile just seeing him work out. A simple black tank top was barely enough to cover that muscular figure of his, along with the sweatpants that perfectly fit him and his legs.

She never was attracted to incredibly muscular men, but Jungkook was completely different. Not just his personality or his God-like facial features, but his body. He had an amazingly small waist for a man, it was attractive and she'd never seen that before.

Regardless, she was infatuated with him and gawked shamelessly as she walked into the fitness room and heard his breathing. Without saying a word, she sat prettily on one of the benches, watching as his biceps flexed along with the muscles in his back every time he lifted a weight.

"You love staring at me, don't you", he comments, softly grunting from exertion when he puts down the weights and starts a rep of curl-ups, looking over at her as he does so.

"I do, it's impossible not to admire my property", she comments, her eyes gleaming with love and admiration for the man before her who then focuses his gaze forward to not get distracted.

"Wipe your mouth, you're drooling", he scoffs, and she clicks her tongue at his sassiness.

"My mouth isn't the only thing drooling. Just looking at you makes me want to-"

He stops and rests back on his hands, while his damp hair falls over his eyes, the sight devastatingly attractive and new, "You won't finish that sentence if you know what's good for you", he pants.

"I love your threats, they make me salivate", her eyes roam his body and he chuckles, amused by the awe-struck look on her face when he pulls the sweaty tank top over his head and tosses it to the side.

Her mouth is slightly agape as she watches him lean forward, planting his hands and feet on the mat in a push-up position. Just seeing that amused look on his face made her body heat up, but still, she couldn't look away from him no matter how flustered she was.

"You look tasty", she says bluntly.

"You are tasty", he retorts, and she choked on her spit, both embarrassed and surprised he even said that but she recovers before he looks up to meet her gaze that averts elsewhere.

"Don't say that", she mumbles, caught off guard by his flirtatiousness and he finds that hilarious.

"Baby, could you hand me my water bottle?", he asks while standing from the mat, walking towards her with his hand outstretched, hoping she'd grab the bottle beside her.

"Huh?", she stutters, trying to figure out what he said because all she heard was the pet name, all she sees is nipples and abs, and she can't fucking think and use her brain right now.

The raise of his eyebrow made her knees weak, his eyes smug knowing the effect he had on her, "I asked if you could hand me that bottle beside you."

"Yeah", she coughs a little, feeling her face burn as their hands slightly brush against each other when he takes the bottle from her.

Like a fine art piece in a museum, she watches with great pleasure and concentration on detail as he tilts his head back, gulping down the water with his other hand pushing back his damp hair from his face. She wanted so badly to kiss his chest, all the way down to his abs. His body was glorious, it truly rendered her speechless. So much so that she started to daydream about touching him and didn't notice he was calling her name until his fingers snapped in front of her eyes, waking her out of her daze.

"Yeah? What's up?", she asked, red with embarrassment by the episode she was having and the amused look on his face made her thighs squeeze together, which he also noticed but didn't look down to make it obvious.

"I said I like your makeup. The lip color is pretty", he repeats, since the first time she was too enthralled by him to hear.

"Oh...", she blinks, taking in what he said and then she realizes he was complimenting her, her brain somewhat working again.

"Oh! Thank you", she gave him a big smile, and the way her eyes lit up told him that she adored what he said and took it to heart.

He couldn't help but feel a bit cocky, seeing as she barely could pay attention to anything else but his nudity. He couldn't blame her, he knew he was attractive, but it still felt extra special because, in his mind, he knew what she was thinking. She was in love with him, deeply, and that wouldn't change. Her eyes belonged to him, along with her pretty doll-like lips, and everything else.

"Does looking at me enthrall you so much that you can barely form a response? Am I that handsome?", he asks, the smallest hint of a smirk on his face and she just shrugs casually, unashamed by her thirsty behavior.

"I mean...yes. I think you're gorgeous."

He looks briefly confused before he just barely laughs, "Gorgeous?"

Earning a nod in response, he hums in appreciation, feeling overwhelmed and overheated by the way she looks at him and her compliment. Gorgeous? Really? That made him feel so fuzzy inside. Weird yet sensational.

"That's new. No one's ever said that to me before. But I like it when you do", he nudged her nose with his fingertip, maintaining eye contact as he tilted his head back to drink the rest of what was in his bottle.

She had to look away, she was weak for him and so down bad, she couldn't look into his eyes anymore. Especially with the way he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her whole. It sent chills throughout her body, and her heart started to throb when she felt his hand stroking her head, the feeling of his fingertips massaging her scalp had her eyes almost rolling back until he stopped.

"I need to shower", he says, implying that he'll be a moment so she waits for him.

He had his usual outfit on, and once he followed her out of the room, they went into her office and she sat at her desk while he watched her work. He had nothing better else to do, but he didn't want her to feel on the spot since he was sure she could feel his gaze. Instead, he grabs a book from the shelf and reads it to pass the time, finding it interesting enough to keep him occupied.

About three hours pass and he's done with it, figuring that it's been a while, he checks the watch on his wrist and realizes it's about lunchtime. Yes, he had an eating schedule for her since she'd often skip meals because of her inability to take a break.

"What do you want to eat?"

She doesn't bother arguing with him about how she's not in the mood to eat, because in the end, she'll have something shoved down her throat. Only wishing it wasn't exactly food he was force feeding her.

"I don't know, I'm not in the mood for anything particular. Whatever is fine", she responds.

With a nod, he leaves to go to the kitchen and ask the housekeeping to make food. It did warm her heart to see how attentive he was, even if others would view it as weird or controlling, she enjoyed him taking care of her like she was royalty. In a way, she technically could be considered as one, but she digressed. As soon as Jungkook got back, she ate every single bite per his orders, and when she was done, he gave her a small kiss on the top of her head along with his praise.

"You ate all of it. Good", he looks pleased and she snorts, rolling her eyes, and wiping her lips with a napkin.

"Not like I had a choice."