***UNEDITED***

They say that only the wisest and stupidest of men don't change. By they say, Confucius is the one meant here. By all means, the saying was straight—as true as it gets. People have rarely changed. They stuck to a struggle for life— be it the good or the bad. It didn't matter. It's a force of habit. An acquired routine. You haven't changed. You've remained the same old little slave to the world that constituted you. A yes-woman who wagged her head for lack of a tail whenever the master showed up. A person who didn't give up old habits even when circumstances changed. A woman who skated with danger in the same ring and called it fate's plan. A woman of fucked up beliefs and two themed lives.

But neither did he. You weren't a byproduct of routine on your own. No worries.Kim Seokjin was right next to you.

A man who didn't believe in change. Didn't believe in development or the concept of present and past. Maybe, he did, after all, believe in a past, considering how determined he was to keep it alive while looking you in the eye and ignoring Taehyung like the man was nothing more than a deaf piece of furniture. His stature commanded respect, even if his actions were the epitome of an opportunistic thug. A present, though? Nah-uh. He didn't seem to be convinced about the theme the latter had taken. It wasn't to his liking, anyway. So why should he even consider it?

Back in the past, you were his. He liked it that way. Now, though, things had changed. He didn't like that. He wasn't a fan of changes; just like you.

You would have celebrated the new course of events if he hadn't called this meeting. Jungkook was suspended from the judicial commission because of the ongoing investigation. Although you felt sorry for him, even though he didn't particularly show signs of anger about the whole situation, you were glad he stayed home. He was no longer an obstacle to your production gig. His absence from work meant an information deficit that worked well for you. He cooked meals while you cooked meth. He greeted you at the dinner table and fucked you to a double orgasm when you finally stopped sulking about his outburst. He didn't stick his nose where it didn't belong. He stuck his long in your cunt. For that, you were grateful.

Or so you thought.

See, ignorance is a true bliss. You were ignorant about his knowledge so far. You didn't know that he knew what the man next to you looked like. Didn't know that he had his name, either. You were ignorant. You were blessed. And he wanted you to stay that way. He needed to know how many men you'd fucked besides him. See, ignorance is a blessing again. You would have agreed had you known he thought you were an unfaithful woman driven to infidelity by his inattentive behavior. You didn't know he was stalking you around like your six. Again, the same bullshit about ignorance and all that yada-yada. For instance, and just to prove to you how blissful ignorance is, Seokjin was well aware that Jungkook was sheltered from the cold in his car while he waited for you to come out from SK Holdings.

What you didn't know didn't hurt you. See, a pure bliss.

"A hundred keys are being shipped as we speak," you informed, head held high and voice collected. Seokjin stood in front of the glass wall surrounding his office. You couldn't see his smirk since his back was turned to you, but you heard it loud and clear. He didn't care to hide it. He wanted you to hear it, in all honesty. "One more week and the full quantity we agreed on will be in your hold."

Taehyung lit a cigarette, took a hearty drag, and leaned his head against the couch. The man was tired from the two weeks he'd been awake monitoring the meth lab. He could do with a nap instead of discussing shitty hand-outs hadn't it been for your insistence on his presence. Although you haven't fully changed from your ancient past, you did learn the difference between a professional setting and a friendly one. Back in the past, you would have discussed such things with Seokjin in a completely different setting. But you accepted the new terms when you vowed to take Jungkook as your husband until death do you part and switched tones accordingly.

Seokjin finally peeled his hands out of his pockets and went to the liquor cabinet. He poured three glasses and dispensed with the ice cubes before walking over to the leather couches where you and Taehyung were sitting. He handed Taehyung his glass and held yours in his hand, though you reached out to grab it, hovering over your face as he smiled briefly. "And will they split his sentence into two folds when he's caught?" He pointed his gaze in Taehyung's direction, taking your breath away with his words.

See, Seokjin was a lover of suspense and you were a woman of many plot twists. The fact that you worked hard to keep the twists unpredictable made you oblivious to people who read right between your lines. If you had thought about it with a clear mind, you'd figured it had to do with the bliss of ignorance under which you preferred to stay hidden. But you've had too many things to think about lately. One of them was your husband, the other was his sister and what your friend had done to her. Namely, what would land you both in jail.

When it came to your husband, you hated the way you cuddled up to his chest after you made a mess at his job. You hated eating the food he prepared when you had caused the halt of his income. You hated the way he double-wrapped your scarf around your neck and the way he kissed the tip of your nose before bidding you goodbye for the day. Most of all, you hated the lies you spew. You hated the masquerade you wore over your face before facing him with a fake smile.

The list was long, but you were sure that no one wanted to go through it with you. Not Jungkook and certainly not Seokjin.

You didn't dare look anywhere else but into Seokjin's eyes, even though he left your glass on the table and retreated to his chair with a smile you didn't return. "Don't look at me like that, Cassandra. I wouldn't be sitting in this seat if I didn't dig around my employees. It's business. I'm sure you understand."

Hell, you did.

Taehyung stubbed out his cigarette and straightened his back. "She has nothing to do with it." He hissed.

"Of course, she doesn't." Seokjin lit a cigarette of his own. He took a hearty drag before waving the hand holding the white stick at you. "She doesn't struggle with a wiener she can't hold in her pants now, does she?"

There are secrets that go to the grave with their owner. Those are usually the ones that stay between two people, not more. Taehyung's secret was shared with Bella, you, Jungkook, and him. That's already four people. It was bound to be known by a fifth person. You prayed that there wouldn't be another dozen added to the list. Now, the only relief was that Jungkook didn't know if the Kim Taehyung he'd found was the one he was looking for.

Yet.

Your whole body stiffened. Sweat broke out down your spine and all over your form. Taehyung propped his elbows on his knees, shook his head and decided to break eye contact with Seokjin by looking to his left. You, on the other hand, remained frozen. Your eyes were buried in the onyxes looking at you with a smile that was anything but genuine. "That was low, even for you, Shadow. And now she's caught in the middle of it," he tore his gaze away from you and looked at Taehyung, "which will cause her the loss of a husband and prison. So what are you going to do?"

"What do you want me to do?" Shouted Taehyung. "It's not like I can rewind the past."

"You can fucking cook," Seokjin replied with a calmness that made your blood run cold. His eyes were on you again. They burned your soul. Invading. "You cook, you prevent the consequences of your unworthy past from sticking to her. Easy. Now, you tell me, Tae. When are you going to deliver double the amount we agreed on to make up for the wasted time?"

Double?

Outrageous! He never provided such a large amount of raw material to work with. That meant you had to outsource a vendor, which would drown you in debt until his payment came in. He held you by the hand that hurts; he knew that. He seemed to enjoy it, too. "Now that the cards are on the table, you must know the reason why we didn't meet the deadline. If we rush things, we risk the police taking notice. Couldn't take that route for obvious reasons."

"And I was never in favor of your choice of men, but do you see me arguing about it now?" Anger spread across Seokjin's usually calm exterior. He frowned. The nicotine stick all but wrinkled in the ashtray. "You flirted with danger and now you're pulling such a lame excuse? Where were you when I told you that a man like him wasn't right for you, huh?"

He did. Back then, you thought it was jealousy, even if it was so long since you two were no longer an item. In fact, you had never really been an item. You only explored life with him when you both needed science lessons. Back then, he was the danger he spoke of. The bad guy whose vileness didn't scar his face. You knew what he was, though. Knew that he was as bad as they came, but you also knew that Lucifer was God's favorite angel, even if he was a demon. Seokjin was your favorite demon. The bad guy who you knew was always better than the one you didn't.

And he was one of the best bad guys around. He took you in. Gave you a shelter. Taught you a trade. Granted, it wasn't a prideful profession. But it did earn you food and a roof over your head. He protected you from the street and the danger it brought. Made you a businesswoman, not a woman whose business was nothing but her body and the sales it brought in. You were young. Oh, so young, and so was he. Barely sixteen, he had already made a name for himself. And at no more than fourteen, he helped shape yours. Back then, he worked for his father. When ol' Kim bid goodbye to earth, he sat on the throne. Barely four years separated you, but now, as he sat behind his desk in full potency, you felt like the twelve-year-old kid who had stolen his wallet back then.

"I'm not here to discuss my sentimental life." You fired.

"And I'm not here to cut my losses." He replied calmly as if the anger from earlier was just a snippet of something that wasn't even real. "Now, I need a date. I have eager clients."

"That's not possible," Taehyung snarked. At the same time, you said, "Give it two more weeks."

Seokjin leaned against the headrest of his seat and grinned as he watched how Taehyung looked at you incredulously. You chugged down the glass he offered you in one gulp as you listened to Taehyung's endless ranting.

"I can't cook that much, not to mention we don't have enough PKM to produce that much. This will land us all in jail."

"Talk about yourself, Shadow. The plural doesn't fit rapists." Seokjin offered leisurely.

"We're done here, aren't we?" You asked as you stood up, ready to leave this spacious office that seemed to take away your oxygen. Ready to leave the loud voices and backhanded comments behind you. The Kim Seokjin you considered a savior died when you got married. The one who stood before you now, scrutinizing you from head to toe, was the boss. They were not the same person. They were two different people you wished you had never met.

"No, we're not," he stood up from his chair, walked towards you, and offered you a cigarette from his pack of Marlboros. "We have a story time ahead of us."

"I don't have time for stories, boss." You swatted his hand away and declined his cigarette offer. "I've got a batch to produce."

"But I have a story to tell, Cassandra. Sit your ass down and listen when I'm still kind. If I lose my temper, you'll lose your ears, and then who will listen to my story?" His hand encircled your throat in seconds, effectively severing the oxygen flow you struggled with even before the pressure on your windpipe materialized. Taehyung hurriedly rose from his seat and watched closely as your eyes wrinkled while you struggled for air. There wasn't much he could do, even if he wanted to. One wrong move and you'd be yesterday's news. Seokjin was not a man of vast patience. Everyone knew that. You knew it too.

When your eyes reddened, he loosened his grip on your neck and stroked the wound with feather-light touches that hurt you more than the iron grip. "Did he tell you she was in love?" He pointed at Taehyung with his eyes.

"Boss. I'll cook any amount you set your mind to. But please, don't."

"You will, Taehyung. That's not up for bargain. You can take my word for it."

There wasn't anything hidden for you to be shocked anymore. You knew Taehyung's story much to your demise in full detail. He would force you to listen to it again, expecting the details to be used as leverage. Such a shame the details were no longer a wounding knife. Your husband was. But it was for the best that he ignored this reality.

Or so you thought.

"What's your point, boss?" You inquired.

His hand was still looming around your neck. Caressing. Touching. Feeling. He liked what he felt under his fingers. So tender. So soft. So warm and alive. "I'm saying that you've broken too many hearts by choosing the wrong man, Cassandra. Don't tell me that Taehyung didn't tell you the whole truth. Tsk! I blew the surprise."

"Boss!" Taehyung growled.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I made myself clear." He inched closer, depositing his words in your ear shell, "Did you really have to break her heart by choosing her brother over her, Cassandra?"

Oh, Lord!