I was on edge by the time I arrived at Yoongi's. He doesn't even bother looking up from his computer, just holds up a file I quickly snatch from him. He is searching for any information on Yoonah that might be useful to us. Her involvement with Chul is suspicious, I might have been able to brush it off as a chance meeting, but when the new recruits waltzed into the bar looking more than a little friendly with Min Yoonah, there was no way I could ignore the major red flags.

"Are you sure she's involved with Chul?" Yoongi asks, spinning around from his desk to finally acknowledge me, his signature lolly in between his lips to keep the edge off.

"Well, they sure seemed chummy," I respond, skimming through the thin file.

"The hell is this Yoongi? There's nothing here, just crap," I hiss out, annoyed, throwing the file on the desk.

"I've been at this for a few hours, and I haven't found much," Yoongi says, turning back to his computer and opening tabs to display her information, "She's squeaky clean. The only thing I found on her is a speeding ticket, from when she was like 19. Not a single incident after that, her mother died when she was a child, and the only family she has is her father and two brothers."

"Not much, but it's something," I sigh, disappointed at the lack of information, "What about her association with the recruits?"

"The only link I could find was they went to the same high school and used to be quite close, but after graduation, the two seem to have split off from her."

"Something isn't adding up. They looked close when I saw them in the bar, so why did Namjoon install the camera if they were this close? He's either keeping an eye on her because of Chul or stalking her." My eyebrows furrow as I stare at the computer where an old picture of Min Yoonah is pulled up.

She looks different but the same. Her hair is a lot shorter with a green streak in the front strand, glasses cover her eyes, and her cheeks are chubbier. She only barely resembles the woman I met earlier today. The picture is clearly from her college years, I'm willing to bet from her first year, but there's still something to her. You could see hints of the beauty she would mature into underneath it all.

None of this makes sense, and I can already feel the beginnings of a stress headache. It can't just be a happy coincidence that Yoonah is Hayoon's teacher, friends with new recruits, and knows Chul. Hayoon absolutely adores her, and the fact that she's made it a point to clearly befriend my daughter has me skeptical of her character.

Hayoon's school is one of the best in Seoul. I had spent weeks with Yoongi and Taehyung, researching the top schools in my area. This was one we could all agree on. Taehyung approved the curriculum, happy that the test scores showed the children performed above the national average, and Yoongi approved of the school's security. The number of cameras around the school meant he could easily hack into the system to monitor Hayoon. He was pleased that not anyone was just allowed into the building.

Meanwhile, I was impressed with the vetting process. All staff was made to be fingerprinted and had an in-depth background check done before they were even considered for higher. But even with all of these measures in place, it seems like Miss Min was able to weasel her way in. Unless I have it all wrong. But my gut is assuring me I am not.

Why would she feel the need to be involved with gangs? Why would she willingly whore herself out for the likes of Chul? It makes sense why she didn't like me. She knows who I am and what side of this dilemma I stand on.

The whole situation seems suspicious, and Miss Min is at the root of it all. Hayoon's safety was of the utmost importance. I could not let her continue attending school when she could be in danger. I've already lost Byeol by being careless. I will NOT lose Hayoon by ignoring the red flags.

"What's the plan?" Yoongi snaps me out of my thoughts.

He throws the lollipop's stick out in the small trash can by his desk and immediately pulls another one from his drawer. His cravings for a smoke always got worse at night, but adding on the stress of this situation has him going through packs of lollies at record speed.

"I need to pull Hayoon from school," I blurt out, pacing Yoongi's office.

"I don't think that's a smart call," he says, pulling the sucker from his mouth.

"Yoongi, I can't let my daughter be around that woman. She could be in danger!"

"No, Jin, think about it, clearly," Yoongi tries to stop my racing thoughts, "First of all, it's a private school no one that is not on the list is allowed on the premises. Secondly, I'll have eyes on her at all times. Third, this is a great opportunity for us to watch Yoonah and see if she will lead us to what we need."

"We can't use Hayoon as bait!" I bellow out.

Yoongi stands, going around his desk and placing a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm my anger.

"She's your daughter, I understand, but this might be one of our only chances. Yoonah's records show that she has been at that school since the beginning of her career, and there have been no incidents. I don't think she would risk blowing her cover there at the school. Let's try this."

"Alright." I sigh, trusting my friend on this one. He's never given me a reason not to.

"Good, now, are we telling Taehyung?" Yoongi asks him, sitting back down on his desk.

"No, let's leave him out of this. We both know he's not that good at keeping his cool."

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I tossed and turned all night, unable to get a wink of sleep. My mind stayed occupied with all the unanswered questions. Yoongi's calm presence and words had eased my nerves while he was here, but I could no longer keep my mind from running the second he was gone.

I finally pull myself out of bed with a loud huff. I make my way to the kitchen to get a cup of water. The kitchen is clean. The mess Hayoon had done earlier as she tried to help Taehyung with the dishes has disappeared. Grabbing one of the cups left to dry, I filled it with water, taking a big gulp. I sit at the kitchen table where my family usually has their meals. The wooden table is littered with scratches and stains from years of abuse.

Tracing my fingers over the indents of a fork, I chuckle. These marks had caused a massive uproar in the house. Yoongi had come over and showed Hayoon how to play Five Finger Fillet. Tae was arguing with him, saying it wasn't a game a five-year-old needed to learn. By the time I got home, the two were arguing while little Hayoon was sitting at the table gingerly stabbing a butter knife between her opened fingers.

I grabbed the knife and argued with the two before sending Yoongi home and Tae to his room. Hayoon would not let the game go as the days went on, we had hidden all the knives in the house, but she was persistent. She was practicing with a fork, much to my dismay, making tiny nicks into the table. I finally called Yoongi over, telling him he needed to fix what he had started.

I shouldn't have.

Yoongi came over and asked to see her skills. When she showed him, he told her to practice on him. After a few tries, he told her to go faster. In her excitement, she started to slam the fork down harder. That's when he purposely moved his hand, so the fork prongs landed on his middle finger and the table. He let out a loud yell scaring the shit out of Hayoon, who instantly started crying, seeing the blood leaking from his pinned finger.

He had traumatized my daughter, but left the house with a hello kitty band-aid wrapped around his finger and a triumphant grin on his face. Hayoon never played that game again and steered away from forks for a few weeks.

The table also has hundreds of marker streaks we could not get off from when Tae got a new package of sharpies, and she spent hours coloring and drawing.

Taehyung once suggested sanding and painting the table or getting a new one, but I didn't have it to do that. These were our memories, proof that we lived and were a family, a happy one. I didn't want to lose these memories.

Going back up the stairs, I silently open Hayoons door, her night light illuminating the empty hallway. As quietly as possible, I walk to her bed to check if she's okay. My baby is almost entirely covered by her princess bed sheets. I can only see her messy hair and her eyes.

She's the reason I didn't go on an entirely darker path. I had to protect Hayoon and be there for her even though it seems I'm failing both of them right now. When Byeol died, all I wanted to do was go full-on vengeance mode, but I couldn't do that with a baby, and I'm glad I didn't. I don't think I could've forgiven myself for the things I thought of doing.

Feeling more at ease that my sunlight is perfectly safe and sound, I head back to bed, deciding tomorrow's problem will be exactly that. It's 4 am when I look at the clock, and I dread having to be up in a few hours. Getting under the covers and hugging one of my pillows, I finally shut my eyes.

"Daddy, daddddyyyyyyy, dad, daddy," my eyes spring open, and I groan, realizing it's already morning.

Two chubby hands grab my face, squeezing my cheeks together as she cackles happily, waking me up. It's not how I expected to be woken up, but I don't mind seeing her this happy first thing in the morning.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake," I chuckle lightly, sitting up on the bed. "Come here," I tell Hayoon as I give her a hug and kiss all over her face.

"Stop, Daddy," she says, laughing loudly and trying to squirm away.

"No, that's what you get for waking me up," my voice is muffled by Hayoon covering my mouth to push me away.

"Uncle Tae is making waffles!" She suddenly exclaims, finally escaping from my grasp and running out of my room.

I smile, watching her run out happily, but then I remember the issue at hand, and I frown.

Hopping out of bed, I make my way to the bathroom to get ready. I'll be taking Hayoon to school today. Yoongi is right. We must take advantage of the situation, but it didn't ease my nerves. Hayoon being used as bait had my stomach twisting, and I could already feel the start of a stress headache.

Downstairs, Hayoon and Taehyung were singing along to the music on the radio. She has her plate filled with cut pieces of waffles and fruits. I notice Tae has limited the amount of syrup on her breakfast as the syrup bottle is high up on the kitchen shelves. Two more plates are served on the beat-up table as Taehyung urges me to sit and eat.

"Daddy," I look at Hayoon, and she grins at me, saying nothing else.

We spend breakfast chatting and enjoying each other's company. Hayoon goes on and on about telling Ms. Min about our trip. In her excitement, she spills her cup of OJ and drops her fork on the floor. Tae suggests she go and get her backpack ready for school, and Hayoon quickly scampers from the table, leaving Tae and me to clean up her mess.

"Don't worry, Tae, I'll bring her to school today," I tell my brother when he stands to get ready to take Hayoon to school.

"You don't have work?" He asks uncertainly.

"Yeah, I have a free morning," I reassure him, making my way to her room.

"Great! I'm happy you're doing this," Taehyung finally says with a smile.

I feel a bit guilty for lying to Taehyung. He loved her as much as I did, but this is a necessary lie. He'd lose it if he knew someone that could be in my line of business was with Hayoon. I couldn't tell him and risk the peace we had recently found. He's happy to see me stepping up, and if he's happy and I'm still keeping Hayoon safe, there should be no issue. Right?

Hayoon is ecstatic to hear I'm getting her ready and taking her to school. The whole time I help dress her, she's bouncing around and talking a million words an hour. I have a hard time putting on her shoes as she swings her feet in joy.

On the way to school, she talks and sings the whole day. When we get there, Hayoon doesn't let go of my hand the entire way to her classroom, pointing out different things she wants me to see. It makes me forget it's only roughly seven in the morning.

Min Yoonah is waiting at the classroom door, greeting all her students with smiles and briefly talking to the parents. When she spots us, she cheerily waves at Hayoon.

"Good morning, Hayoon!" Miss Min greets her with a smile, "It's been a little while. We've all missed you!"

"Morning, Miss Min!" Hayoon excitedly greets her, "Daddy and I went to the beach!"

"Wow, so cool! How about you tell us all about it later?" Yoonah plays along with her, standing back to her full height and facing Seokjin, "Mr. Kim," she nods in acknowledgment.

"Miss Min," I nod back before crouching down to Hayoons level to say goodbye.

"Goodbye, my sunlight. I will see you later at home, okay?" I sweetly tell her, brushing a black strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're not picking me up?" Hayoon pouts. I hadn't thought that she expected me to pick her up, but I already have a meeting with the boss.

"I'm sorry, baby, I've got some work, but I'll see you at dinner," I apologize, pressing my forehead against hers.

"Okay, daddy."

"I love you," I finally tell her, hugging her tiny body.

"I love you!" She says back, hugging me just as tightly.

"Come on, Hayoon," Yoonah gently calls her, "Let's put your stuff away before class starts."

I linger in the doorway for one second too long, nervous about leaving her here, but I've got to trust that Hayoon will be okay in school, Yoongi has eyes on her, and I'll be digging a little deeper to ease my nerves, today. Part of me wants to believe there's nothing wrong with the teacher, and I let myself have that while I walk away from the school.

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A/N:

HEHE helllooooo

please dont kill us! We know its been almost a year...but life got busy.

But no matter what we can never forget about Jin and little Hayoon (and hot uncle tae...and hot uncle yoongi) 

anyways... hope you enjoyed this new chapter hopefully we wont dissappear for another year this time. 

If you have any thoughts so far on the book we'd love to hear ❤️

-Nikki and Jelly