NOW everything makes sense to him... why Miller still keeps them. After how many years, he can't believe he only found out about this now. He wouldn't even know about it if he didn't go to Green Fox that night to talk to his so-called dad. He heard everything so clearly that there was no point barging into his dad's office to argue with him. Instead, he immediately thinks of his brother and how he can take him away from their fake dad.

"Ah! Don't even ask about them especially that boy Taeyong. He's nothing but a pain to me. I'm just trying to hide him for now from his father before I kill them all... and hopefully no one's gonna find out or else my whole life's gonna be a piece of sh*t."

That is more than enough for him to conclude that their fake dad is just using him and Mark for God knows whatever evil scheme he's planning. He's been holding them hostage for years, but he can't do anything about it because he's still a minor and Miller is a powerful man. His 20th birthday is coming up and that's the only thing he's looking forward to in his life so that he can officially take Mark away and become his legal guardian. But right now, knowing the truth is his only advantage and he needs to use it wisely.

Passing through the casino with clenched fists, he suddenly notices a familiar girl in a cocktail server uniform, who by the looks of it seems quite uncomfortable with what she's wearing. He's about to ignore her and he has no plans on going up to her, but when he sees the bearded old man behind her, advancing towards her and grabbing her butt, his heated fists immediately land on the man's face, knocking him down on the floor.

After that, he doesn't hesitate to grab the girl's hand, dragging her out of that place. "Taeyong?" she asks behind him, but he ignores her, until they reach outside the hotel and into the parking lot where his motorbike is parked. "What do you think you're doing?" she asks again, this time facing him.

Instead of answering back, he asks, "Why do you always get yourself in trouble?"

Traze heaves a sigh. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Taeyong answers firmly.

"Then why the hell did you drag me out here?"

Taeyong narrows his eyes at her. "Is that how you thank someone after saving you from that d*ckhead?"

Traze pauses, realizing what he just said. She nods. "Alright. I'm sorry and thank you for what you did back there. But can't you see? I'm working and it's only my first day. Are you trying to get me fired again?"

Taeyong looks at her, as she rubs her arms with her hands to keep her warm. "Clearly you don't want to work there. I don't know how you ended up working in that place, but believe me, you don't want to be associated with anything related to Green Fox."

Traze arches a brow at him. "You don't understand. I need a job and a man..." she pauses, shaking her head. "No, he's not just a man. The CEO of Green Fox offered it to me. Who am I to reject it? He's like an angel sent from above."

"You don't know that man."

"And you do?"

Taeyong nods. "Yes. And I'm telling you this isn't a good idea." He takes off his jacket and hands it to her. "Here. It'll be chilly while I drive."

"What? Where are you taking me?"

"Anywhere but here," he says, hopping on his bike and starting his engine.

♚♚♚

TRAZE can't understand why Taeyong suddenly shows up at the casino and saves her again. Even though she wants to work there, she can't deny the fact that she really doesn't want to work in that kind of place. She's really thankful that Taeyong saved her. Thinking about it, she realizes that Taeyong has always been there when she's in trouble. Without even asking for it, Taeyong suddenly becomes her knight in shining armor.

"Where do you live?" Taeyong asks, still focused on the road.

"Just near the pub I used to work. You know that, right? You can just drop me off there," she answers, as he speeds away, almost causing her to fall from the bike. "Can't you drive slower?"

"Hold onto me," Taeyong says so Traze places his hands on top of his shoulders. "Do you want to die? I said hold onto me... tightly."

Gulping down, she positions her arms awkwardly around his waist, almost like hugging him. It's the first time he's been this close to a guy, with the exception of her guy friends. She doesn't know why, but she suddenly feels uneasy, anxious and flustered. Just then, her belly grumbles, suggesting that she's hungry. She remembers she hasn't even eaten anything for dinner. "Sorry," she says in humiliation.

Taeyong doesn't speak, but he suddenly swerves his bike around, making a u-turn, which is opposite the direction of the pub.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"Somewhere only I know."

"You're not kidnapping me, are you?" she asks again.

Taeyong snorts. "Why will I kidnap you when I know you don't have money?"

Traze makes a face behind him. "Mingebag," she mumbles.

Minutes later, the bike stops infront of a dark, old building, which looks like a train station. Traze gets off the bike, looking at Taeyong anxiously. "What are we doing here? Are you... gonna assassinate me?"

Taeyong shakes his head in disbelief. "You do have a wild imagination. Let's go in."

Traze follows him, as he leads the way inside the building, which apparently is a restaurant. The interior is designed in a vintage-like manner which is quite nice. They're the only ones inside that time since it's already late in the evening. She watches Taeyong go up the counter to order food, while she sits quietly on the vacant seat.

When Taeyong comes back to their table, he sits across her and goes back to being quiet. Traze glances at him and notices that his brows are creased, indicating that he's in deep thought. She wonders why he's even at the casino in the first place. Maybe he went there to clear his mind off of something.

"What is it, munter?" Taeyong suddenly asks, when he notices that she's staring at him.

Traze widens her eyes, shaking her head and looking away. "Nothing. And can you stop calling me munter?"

"You said the CEO of Green Fox hired you. How did you meet him?" Taeyong asks, ignoring her and catching her off guard.

"Well... I found his bag at a convenience store and gave it back to him. He insists on repaying me back and I swear I didn't want any compensation, but I really need a job so I accepted it. I haven't actually seen his face though. His secretary just gave his card to me."

Taeyong heaves a sigh. "Why do you need a job that much?"

"Unlike you, I'm not born rich. I stopped going to school to earn money. Mum is sick and I can't let her go back to work again. I know you won't understand me."

"I'm sorry," he suddenly says, startling her. "You got fired at the flower shop because of me."

"Ye. And I'm sure I'm fired at the casino now, as well. But it's alright."

"Don't go back at Green Fox," he advises.

"You hate Green Fox so much... yet you're there?" she finally asks. "What were you doing there?"

Taeyong pauses, looking at her. Before he can answer, their order finally shows up. They eat in silence after that. Traze finishes the pasta almost the same time she drinks everything up her juice. It's the first time in a long time she has eaten a delicious food like this. She wonders how much the food costs. Then, she remembers she left her bag inside the locker room of the casino.

"T-this is your treat, right?" she asks for confirmation, since she doesn't really have the luxury to buy such an expensive meal even if her bag is with her.

Taeyong stops eating, glancing at her. "We're not on a date, munter, so I'm not paying for yours."

Traze's jaw almost drops on the floor. "I... I left my bag at the casino so.." she gets cut off when Taeyong speaks again.

"I'll pay this time, but make sure to pay me back."

Traze nods. "Ye, sure."

After eating, Taeyong stands up first, exiting the door. Traze follows him, but instead of heading back towards his bike, Taeyong marches forward into the narrow tunnel-like way beside the restaurant. "H-Hey, where are you going?" Traze asks, shouting. But the guy doesn't answer, so she just follows him, even though the path is dark. "Taeyong?" she asks anxiously, when she can no longer see his silhouette. "Are you there?"

Still, there's no answer. Traze isn't normally scared of the dark, but with the cold breeze hitting her skin, she suddenly feels a chill running up her spine. She continues to walk forward, following the small light coming from the end of the tunnel. As she gets nearer, she notices a few minute lights flickering and hovering above her.

When she finally reaches the end of the tunnel, she sees Taeyong sitting on the edge of the old train station, admiring the fireflies flying around. It turns out that the light is produced by the sprinkle of fireflies. "Wow!" she gushes, looking at the patterns made by their lights. "I've never seen fireflies before. I didn't think they exist here."

Traze moves closer to where Taeyong is sitting and takes a seat next to him. She notices that his eyes seem to be in deep thought and worry. There must be something bothering him. Reaching out to her inner pocket, she hands him her handkerchief, causing the other to look at her.

"What's that?" he asks.

"I just thought you might need it," she answers.

He looks away, turning his gaze back to the fireflies. "I'm not crying."

Traze nods, placing his handkerchief into the pocket of the leather jacket, which Taeyong gave her. "How did you find this place?"

"That one time I ran away from home. Since then, I often come here. Seeing them makes me feel at ease somehow," he answers without looking at her.

She wants to ask why he ran away from home, but she decides not to. They're not close enough for him to share anything to her after all. Instead, she just nods, smiling. "They do make me feel at ease."

Taeyong turns to her. "Did you know that the male fireflies use their light to attract the female ones?"

Traze snaps her head at him in astonishment. "Really? I didn't know that."

"But fireflies have short lifespans. They don't get to enjoy the world that much," he says, looking back at the flickering lights.

"At least they don't get to experience the worst of it," she answers back, sighing and glancing at Taeyong, who is apparently staring back at her. "Thank you for taking me here. I won't ever forget that you took me to this amazing place."

Taeyong doesn't answer back. Instead, he just looks at her and admires her sparkling eyes filled with innocence and sincerity. She's the kind of girl that he won't want to mess around with. Just by looking at her, he knows too well that she's extremely naïve and pure. In other words, he has never met anyone like her before. Or maybe I did... a long time ago.

Their staring game gets interrupted when droplets of water suddenly fall from the night sky. "Ugh! Why rain now?" Traze exclaims, standing up and looking at Taeyong, who's already running towards the tunnel. "Hey, wait up!" she shouts, following him.

The two gets soaked by the rain quickly and Traze feels numb with the cold already with her thin clothes. Thankfully, she still has Taeyong's jacket to keep her warm a bit. Rubbing her hands together, she glances over at Taeyong, who's sitting beside her, his white shirt all wet making it see-through. She has no intention of looking at it, but his biceps and abs are slightly exposed because of it.

She gulps down, looking away and hoping he doesn't notice how anxious she is at that moment. Just then, she hears him coughing, so she looks his way again. "Do you..." she pauses, taking off the jacket around her and placing it over him.

"I'm alright. Use it," he insists, but she ignores him and sits again, hugging her bent legs infront of her.

"The weather is really unpredictable," she says, just to make a conversation, but she suddenly feels an arm wrapped around her. When she turns to her side, she sees Taeyong's face only an inch away from her.

Apparently, he has moved closer beside her and wrapped his other arm around her with the jacket to keep them both warm. Instead of feeling cold, Traze feels like she's in an oven all of a sudden. She can almost hear his breathing with the little space they have. "H-Hey... what are you-" she wants to retort, but she stops when he whispers in her ear, "Stay still."

After that, she just remains quiet, listening to the pouring rain and feeling his warmth. It's a strange thing to her, but it feels good having someone beside her in that moment. "The sky must be shedding tears for you... because you won't," she comments, forcing a laugh just to ease her tension away.

But there's no response. She tries hard not to turn to him because if she does, her face might just touch his. Few minutes later, she notices that the rain has finally stopped. She's about to stand up, but she feels something heavy on her shoulder, stopping her. Turning to the side, she sees Taeyong's head resting on her shoulder. "Can we just... stay here for a while?" he asks in a soft voice, rendering Traze speechless and uneasy more than ever.

A/N: Good day mates! So a friend here just made a poster for this story and so I decided to make it as the new cover. How is it? I think it's really good! Thank you so much again elfedcamel :) This chap is the longest so far. What do you think of #TraeYong ship now? Or are you still on #JaZe ship? Either way, hope you liked this chap and yes you finally know about Green Fox and "The Knight." :D

Btw, just watched NCT Life with Dream babies. It's so funny with Teuk and Shindong. It's just sad that Mark and Haechan aren't there. Anyway it's still funny. Jeno and Chenle are so competitive. (Oops no spoilers!) haha XD

Thank you for reading again! <3

~neoluv