"They can't retaliate, it goes against code. They know that."

Jeongguk shakes his head as he stares towards his bedroom window. He had been discharged from the hospital yesterday and had to be under strict supervision for the next six weeks. "They can if they find out you were going to kill him first."

    "There's no proof of that." Jihyuk says pacing back and forth. "I talked to Chanwoo and he said that the situation was handled properly according to the code. And he said that they're relocating somewhere else."

"You can't just take his word for it, Jihyuk." Jeongguk says rolling eyes. "Don't be an idiot, I killed his son."

"Who tried to kill you." Jihyuk stresses. "Since Chiwon's dead, when Chanwoo dies his brother immediately takes charge of their subunit. And his brother is located in China."

Jeongguk shakes his head again. "I shouldn't have killed him. I should've shot him in the leg or something, I don't know why I killed him."

"Don't freak out right now, Jeongguk~"

"If Taehyung finds out I killed him~"

"Look," Jihyuk says stopping and facing his brother. "As far as anyone knows, we don't know who shot you or who killed Chiwon. Alright? Taehyung isn't going to find out."

"I'll have to tell him eventually, it'll kill me." Jeongguk says looking at Jihyuk. "I killed him, I actually killed him. He's dead and I did it~"

"You're freaking out, Jeongguk." Jihyuk says. "Do you know how many people I've killed? Dozens, it's not as big a deal as you make it."

    "I'm not a killer, hyung. That's just not me." The ravenette says. "Last time I even got close to killing someone I was strung out on fucking Xanax."

    "Okay, so we go back in time and you never kill Chiwon. Then what?" Jihyuk asks crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. "You shoot him in the leg, he still ends up getting away. He gets away, he eventually goes after Taehyung, the twins, and Jaein. There's a million different things that could've gone wrong if you didn't kill that asshole. You did a good thing, Jeongguk."

    "I don't want to talk about it anymore." Jeongguk says looking away. "I feel sick."

    "It's over, Jeongguk. You ended it, trust me. Alright?" Jihyuk says. "Do you trust me?"

    "Yeah, I trust you." Jeongguk says before changing the subject. His thoughts were completely occupied by what he did. He couldn't remember the moment he killed Chiwon but he kept imagining how it might of happened. "How's Taeyo?"

    "He's alright." Jihyuk shrugs, always acting indifferent rather than showing his worry. "He's not supposed to be out of the woods for another two weeks."

    "What'd the doctors in Boston say?" Jeongguk asks.

    "He should be cancer free in that time." His brother nods. "They didn't believe us when we told him he's been fighting since he was eleven."

Jeongguk nods. "He's really a strong kid, hyung."

    "Yeah, he is." Jihyuk nods, huffing a sigh as he checks the time. "I'm gonna go before mom gets back."

    "Alright." Jeongguk says. "Don't forget to call me if you find out where Jimin is."

    "I don't think he's anywhere near Korea right now." Jihyuk says. "If I find out you'll be the first to know."

    "Thanks, hyung." Jeongguk says, waving his brother off before he leaves the room.

He reaches for his phone, groaning at the pain he feels from leaning forward. He was on all kinds of medication to keep him stabilized while he recovers but it still hurt to move on his own. He dials Taehyung number, putting it on speaker and waiting for him to pick up.

    "Yes, Jeongguk?"

    "I sent emergency touches an hour ago and you're still not here."

Jeongguk hears Taehyung chuckle on the other line. "Maybe because I knew it wasn't an emergency."

    "You aren't supposed to just assume there's no emergency, you're supposed to rush over." Jeongguk says. "What if I fell and I couldn't get up?"

   "If you had fallen I doubt you would have waited an entire hour before calling." Taehyung says. "You really shouldn't cry wolf, Jeongguk, I might not trust you in the case of an actual emergency."

    "There is an actual emergency."

    "What's the huge emergency?"

    "I haven't seen you or the kids since I got home." Jeongguk says. "You can't just tell me you love me then ghost me, that's immoral."

    "You're an idiot." Taehyung laughs. "I'm sorry, I have a new born and two one year olds. I've been kind of busy."

    "Well come be busy with me." Jeongguk pouts. "Are you avoiding me?"

    "...No, I'm not avoiding you."

    "Wow, that was very unconvincing."

    "Your mom told me to keep my distance for a while."

    "And I told you to forget about what she said." Jeongguk says. "I want to see you guys."

Taehyung falls silent on the other line for a moment. "Fine, I'll stop by for a little while if you want."

    "I want," Jeongguk says smiling when he hears Taehyung laugh. "I'll be here."

    "Alright see you in a little bit."

    "Was that Taehyung?"

Jeongguk startles slightly at the sound of his mother's voice. "Jesus Christ, ma. Why are you creeping up on me like that?"

    "I wasn't, it's time for your medicine." Mrs. Jeon says walking in with a glass of water. "Was that Taehyung?"

    "Yeah, and I don't appreciate you telling him not to come see me." Jeongguk says tossing his phone to the side. "What's this?"

    "It's an anti-inflammatory." His mom says putting the pill in his hand before giving him the water. "It's best if he keeps his distance. We don't know how the Ahn-Gwan's will react."

    "Jihyuk said they're relocating." Jeongguk says. "You know how sick Chanwoo is, without Chiwon they're pretty much defenseless. At least that's what Jihyuk tells me."

    "Hm..." Mrs. Jeon shrugs, taking the glass of water after Jeongguk swallows the pill.

    "Is there another reason you want him to keep his distance?" Jeongguk asks after interpreting his mother's expression.

    "This happened to you because of him."

    "Ma~"

    "We've been on good terms with the Ahn-Gwan's for over twenty years. There wasn't ever any bad blood." Mrs. Jeon says. "Taehyung gets knocked up and all of a sudden there's all this shit going on. If he wasn't so careless none of this would've happened. You wouldn't have almost died."

    "Taehyung didn't know who Chiwon was." Jeongguk says in the brunette's defense. "That asshole took advantage of him, you know that, ma."

"I'm your mother," Mrs. Jeon says, tears forming in her eyes. "You don't understand what I'm going through as your mother right now, Jeongguk. And seeing Taehyung smiling in your face after he got you into this mess is just hard for me right now."

"He's the father of my kids." Jeongguk says, he couldn't believe his mother had ill feelings towards Taehyung after they had gotten so close before.

"I'll go to the spare room when he gets here." His mother says as she turns to leave. "If you need me call me."

Jeongguk doesn't stop her as she leaves the room. He wasn't going to lie and say he couldn't understand where she was coming from. What she was saying made sense and he wasn't going to invalidate her emotions.

But he also wasn't going to tell Taehyung that he couldn't come because his mom was upset. And he wasn't going to jeopardize their relationship for his mother's sake either. He wasn't going to miss time with the kids because of a strain that his mother would eventually have to get over. He loved his mom, but he loved Taehyung too.

They would grow to overcome their differences.