I somehow convinced the doctors to let me go home. They weren't particularly keen on letting me discharge, because it was only three days since I got shot and I was still weak enough to move around.

Living in the hospital room was a little absurd and very uncomfortable in the first place. It reminded me of the time I spent in the psychiatric centre when I was a kid.

It was traumatic; every time i would close my eyes i would find the ghastly imagery of my mother's dead body, covered in blood, always trying to remind me how I fled away like a coward instead of fighting for my family. Next to her, I would see the corpses of my father and brother - with a cold expression painted on their faces. To this day, this makes me utterfly sick and my blood run cold.

And even somehow I would fall asleep I would still be awake in the middle of the night. Because living in the psychatric centre along with other children with the same type of experiences was like falling into a continuous loop of nightmares without an escape.

A lot of people would often be so nostalgic about their childhood and would wish to never grow up. I'm happy that we don't have to go through this. Because I wouldn't want myself to gulp the pills which were forcibly pushed down my throat, I wouldn't have to suffer from such pretentious care and be stuck as a loner in a place where you cry to sleep each night.

The doorbell rang which snapped me out of my pity party thoughts. I unlatched it, only to find Taehyung with a huge bouquet of beautiful lilies that covered his face. He leaned to one side showing his boxy smile with an innocent gasp when he realized I was wearing just an oversized shirt. His eyes trailed down to my long legs and awkwardness followed in.

"Uh....Tae. I wasn't expecting you at this hour of the night. You could tell..." I scratched my nape, looking at my toes.

"You look cute though. I don't mind. I hope I'm not disturbing you?" He asked.

"Ofcourse not! I was just going to sleep. What's up?"

"I wanted to check up on you. Since you requested the doctor to discharge you so soon. You're not even alright now." He said with a worried-stern tone.

"Its fine, seriously! I don't need constant attention of the nurses and also I couldn't be staying there forever, right? I can take care of myself at home instead of laying there for hours of inactivity." I tried to laugh it off but ended up getting a sharp pain on my abdomen. "Don't make me laugh too hard though."

"You seem pretty cool for someone who got shot just three days ago for goodness sake! You're an insane woman, Miss Manoban." He chuckled.

"I agree a bit on that note, what are these flowers for?" He plucked one of the lilies from the bouquet - a purple one to be exact - resting it in my hair.

"Lilies for the most precious Lily in the world. It became a little cheesy haha." He scratched his head looking at me with eyes that spoke nothing but love. He wasn't going to admit right away, though I could notice that he had started considering something serious in our relationship, beyond courting.

How I wish I could see a future with him. A future where we existed as 'us'.

"Never been used to a cheesy CEO! I kinda like it though." His stare always released a sudden outbreak of butterflies in my stomach.

"So what are your plans for now?"

"I'm shifting into a friend's house next week. After the media chaos, I might have to maintain a low profile before I get back to work."

"Take a break and don't worry about the project. I'll handle everything. Just promise me you'll take care of yourself or I'll come to check on you from time to time." Taehyung folded his arms and leaned before me, deeply staring into my soul.

"I promise I will, Tae. You really don't have to do that. I don't want you to take your time away from work."

"Then I'll quickly wait for you to recover so that I can take you out. We have a lot going on, you know." He winked as he said the last few words which caught me off guard.

"Anyways I will be leaving now. If you need help with the shifting then give me a call. I'll call you from time to time so don't bother me." Taehyung held both of my hands in his huge ones and gently squeezed my palm.

"Okay, daddy." I winked back.

At first he widened his eyes at my gesture but later his lips curved into a wide smile and we chuckled.

"Goodnight." He whispered before pecking my lips and leaving the place.

━

"Yeobuseyo Sehun-ssi. How are you?" I received a call from Sehun when I was heading to bed.

"I'm okay but your health is more important part of the discussion than mine. I came across through news that the details of your past life have been blowing up lately and also you got shot in midst of this. I'm terribly sorry, Miss Lili, I had called you to ask how you are keeping up." He sounded worried over call, I guess he was perhaps scared if I might take a break from the mission due to the whole scenario.

"Yeah...well Sana was serious when she said she wanted me dead after all." I answered and he added,"She turned out to be a greater threat than what I had thought. Do you think you would be able to continue the mission once you recover, Miss Seductress?"

"Oh ofcourse, sir. I can do this." I affirmed.

"Okay then. Sending warm regards for you to get well soon." He said and abruptly dropped the call before I could answer.

━

It was already a month and I had adjusted in Guk's apartment. Or so what I thought.

For the first two weeks, we simply argued over household choresㅡ

"Jungkook please, I can't stay bedridden forever. Let me just cook ramen for myself it isn't a mammoth task to do."

"I said I'll get it for you, all you need to do is relax. I can't risk your health."

"So will it be like this forever?" I pleaded.

"You can assist me only once you're free from those bandages. Till then I can't force you out of your room."

Finally when my injuries started to heal, Guk allowed me to do some laundry work. The way he always pitied me made me feel worthless on my part.

Today, nearly around a month of living with him, I was finally allowed to move around the house. I was cleaning up one of the wardrobes, when I found something interestingㅡ

I walked up to Guk who was playing some video games in the living room.

"You know Guk, you're weird." I called out to him.

"I know it. But why is that?" He immediately changed into a "shook" mode when he saw his personal diary resting in my hand.

"Heyyy! Don't tell me you read it!! I wrote a shit ton of secret stuffs there, not for you to see!" He awkwardly got up and whined.

"Ofcourse, some of them make me doubt your personality, Mr. Erotic Novel Enthusiast, you get wet dreams about me? And the audacity of you to photoshop my face into a catwoman?" I deadpanned him.

"Fuck...I'm so embarrassed now. Return it back to me, please!!" I stuck out my tongue and teased him while running around. I suddenly felt a sharp sting on my wound so I slowed down. However Guk bumped onto me and we fell down on the couch, his face incredibly close to mine.

I was about to get up because I knew my heart could burst from the rapid beating however he pulled my arm and I landed on him, again.

"You little piece of shit..." I whispered before claiming his lips for a kiss. We desperately started kissing each other, I didn't even know why. We weren't lovers, definitely not in a friends with benefits kind of relationship, then what did this mean?

"What are you doing to me doll...." Guk whispered in a husky tone. I met his dark eyes staring at me, immediately feeling a gush of coldness down my thighs.

The sudden sensual tension around us was inevitable, how could we peacefully live under one roof and concentrate on the mission in a scenario like this?

"M-maybe we s-should stop." I pushed him and got down from the couch. Before he could react to it, I left the room and him too.

I really feel torn and confused at this point. A part of me wants to give in to Jungkook, because I do have strong feelings for him. But the problem is that I don't know if these feelings are just certain desires....unless I probably do it...you know...with him.

But what if I do and I realize I have feelings that are not just certain desires, I am heavily screwed.

Because it will make the mission tough for both of us. I'm supposed to pretend to be in love with Taehyung, which I will never succeed unless I drive Jungkook out of my thoughts.

Is it even possible for me to convince Taehyung that I'm crazy over him, when I'm actually in love with someone else?

And in between all of this, I have some real sparks flying for Taehyung.

I'm slowly finding myself vulnerable to all of this. A single touch of unprofessionalism can jeopardize the entire mission. I can't let that happen.

This mission is way more important than my personal feelings and desires.

So whatever is going on between Jungkook and I has to wait, because I'm trying to save the world here. I just hope he feels the same too, because I need him with me, and I also need him to be professional.

I jumped when I got a call from Taehyung.

"Uh...hello Tae?"

"Lisa, how are you doing? I'm so sorry I couldn't catch up with you for this past few weeks. I was caught up in business meetings and future projects and the thought of meeting you just slipped off my mind..."

"No it's fine. I'm actually impressed that you're hardworking. And I'm not one of those attention seeking girlfriends so don't be sorry over everything, haha."

"Really? It kinda feels surreal whenever you...you know....that we're dating..."

"Yeah I understand....but we're taking this slow so you will eventually get used to it. Why was it that you called though?"

"Maybe we could see each other tomorrow evening? Around 7pm? What do you say?"

"I'd love that! The time sounds perfect!"

"That's what I wanted to hear."

"Where are we going though?"

"Let it be a surprise for now, I might be planning something special for us?"

"You're such a tease, Mr. Kim." I chuckled.

"See you later Manoban."

I stepped out of the room to find Jungkook leaning his back against the wall.

"Were you trying to eavesdrop on me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I have to go house hunting tomorrow, I can't be staying with you forever. I have a list of residential complexes I've marked-"

"And then you have a dinner date with Taehyung am I right?" I could say he was very bothered.

"And what exactly is this annoyance for? You clearly understand that we're on a mission and this is an obligation-"

"Annoyed you said? Why would I be, when I have a date tonight?"

"You have a WHAT?!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The next few episodes will have a lot of drama following ahead. It is important to justify the lead of the story, so I request y'all to not skip it.

Also, a few more chapters (I'm guessing around 10) left until the finale lol.

Please keep supporting through your votes and comments. Means a lot!