Jumin and Jaehee were seven and six respectively when they were still trapped in that very small room, kept away from the rest of the world for three days.

There were cobwebs and big spiders lurking around in the darkness, and even though she was trying her best to hide it, Jumin could see Jaehee shuddering.

"Are you afraid of spiders?" he asked with curiosity.

Jaehee huffed and crossed her arms, not wanting to be seen as an scaredy cat. "I just don't like them."

"I see," he replied robotically.

Jaehee kept glancing at the place she last saw the spider, fearful but not wanting Jumin to know. After all, the last time she showed her fear to him, he only got mad at her, didn't he? He responded so coldly...

"Stop it. Your mother's not going to hear you... Dummy."

It was getting chilly. There was a leak in the roof and small droplets of water sometimes fell on either of their heads since it was raining torrents outside.

When Jaehee was finally starting to relax — her shoulders slumping as she sighed — the big spider suddenly appeared behind her back.

She leapt up with a shriek.

Thankfully, the kidnappers had taken off the ropes tying them from before. Neither of them knew why, but it was probably because now they had moved them to a smaller, more isolated room where they were hidden and no one could find them even if they tried screaming; not to mention the door was locked with a key only the bad guys had.

Jaehee's back hit the wall of the very cramped room. Jumin immediately turned to the arachnid scaring her, which she was staring in terror at.

He quickly grabbed a dusty, old book that was laying around and smacked the unsuspecting spider with it without so much as batting an eye.

"How is he so brave?! He did it like it was nothing!" Jaehee wondered in her head with wide, flabbergasted eyes — and a secret, new sense of admiration.

She gripped the edges of her yellow sweater nervously and looked down at her Mary Jane shoes, bumping them together. "...T-thank you..." she murmured sincerely, glancing away from him.

"It's fine," he answered, deadpan as usual. He noticed she was still trembling. "Are you still scared? The spider is dead. It won't hurt you."

"Um, no. It's just..." She didn't know if she should tell him she was cold.

Jumin huffed, sounding annoyed. "If you're cold, just say so."

She finally turned towards him, now irritated as well. "Well, it's not like you need to—"

"I said I would protect you, didn't I?" Jumin interrupted her, walking towards her and, firmly but gently, tugging down her hand so they were both sitting together. "I never go back on my word... I mean it." Their shoulders were touching as he leaned closer toward her.

Their faces were centimeters apart, and six-year-old Jaehee blushed. "...Why are you getting so close, Oppa?"

She noticed the smallest hints of pink grazing Jumin's cheeks. "So you won't be cold! The most we can do to get warm is huddling together. Don't you know about body warmth, Jaehee?"

"Oh." Seeing his obviously embarrassed expression (which he tried to hide with an irritated frown) made her giggle. She smiled softly at him. "Yeah, Oppa. Thank you."

The two kids leaned into each other, silently; hearing the sound of the rain outside. Even though the whole experience was scary, and she really missed her parents, she was glad that if there was someone she was going to be stuck with — it was him.

"I'm scared..." she admitted, looking away so he wouldn't see the tears surging from her eyes, as she took a hold of his arm. And hungry, but that part she wouldn't say. They hadn't given them food in a long time.

Jumin gave her an understanding look. In a surprisingly gentle voice, he whispered, "Shh, don't worry."

It managed to calm her nerves; then she turned around to see him reaching into his pocket before placing a caramel candy inside her open hand.

She looked at it with surprise.

"Here, have a candy... Enjoy it, and don't cry." He caressed her cheek a bit and encouraged her to eat, (even though he must be hungry, too) which she managed to while pushing away the tears with her other hand.

When he was being so kind, Jaehee thought he looked like a prince — like the ones in the fairy tales her mom used to tell her. Was he really a prince? Jaehee wouldn't be surprised.

With his rich clothes and his elegant way of speaking, even the candy she was chewing seemed expensive — from another world. He seemed cold at first, but inside, he was surprisingly warm.

"Oppa's hungry, too, isn't he?" she asked worriedly.

Jumin shook his head. "I'm fine." She heard his tummy growl and he embarrasedly turned away from her. "Ignore that."

Jaehee sighed slightly. "You need to eat."

"There's nothing we can do."

"We could go to the kitchen..." Jaehee suggested, and he immediately looked at her like she had lost her marbles. "...If the door was open. I'm sure there must be one in this house."

"No. No, we can't. It's too dangerous," he told her sternly.

"...I won't let you starve." Jaehee sounded just as stubborn as him, and Jumin had a feeling she hadn't given up on the idea.

The next morning, there was a loud commotion outside. Jaehee woke up due to the noise, with Jumin having fallen asleep on her shoulder and still resting there. She rubbed her eyes drowsily and got up carefully, trying not to wake him up but failing.

"...What are you doing?" Jumin asked.

Jaehee turned towards him and put a finger over her lips. "Shh!"

She then placed her ear over the door, listening to the argument outside.

A woman was yelling, "I'm not going to take care of those brats! I told you not to bring them!"

While a man responded, who she recognized as one of the bad guys, "What else were we supposed to do with them? You look after them. We'll be back by six."

The woman then said a lot of swear words Jaehee knew her mom would definitely disapprove of and stomped off. She was startled when the lock of the door shook, making a clicking sound.

The door opened.

In front of them was the woman: she looked very tired, with dark bags under her golden eyes that were a stark contrast to her pale skin. Her red hair was beautiful but unkempt.

She glared at them. "You leave this room, I'll have your heads. Don't even think about opening the door," she said simply.

Despite Jumin discouraging her with a shake of his head, Jaehee spoke, "W-wait, can we... have something to eat please?"

The red-haired woman sneered at them. "There's no food for more brats in my home. I already have plenty of them."

Jaehee heard the crying of a baby (or more than one) in the background.

The woman didn't say another word before slamming the door in their faces.

After at least an hour passed and she was sure she had left, Jaehee opened the door slightly, peeking through the small opening.

"Are you insane? Stop. Close it." Jumin immediately got up and took a hold of her shoulders, attempting to pull her away from the door.

Jaehee shook her head firmly, giving him a determined look. "She's gone. She's taking care of her babies. She won't hear us." She carefully slipped out from the room.

Jumin chastised her, whisper-yelling, "Jaehee!" He grabbed her arm in refusal, preventing her from leaving.

Jaehee turned towards him with an upset glint in her eyes. "Oppa, we need to eat! We're hungry, and thirsty! They won't give us food or water!" They hadn't eaten or drank anything in days.

He returned her gaze with a glare, voice cold. "So what? You'll risk your life for that?"

Jaehee gave him a pleading look. "...You took care of me yesterday. I wanna take care of you, too..." He recognized the guilt in her voice as she glanced away.

Jumin stared at her for a while. With each second that passed, his sharp eyes softened. He finally gave in. "...Okay. But if we hear anything, we run back, understand?"

Jaehee smiled, nodding. "Understood!"

.
.
.

It was the present day now. Weeks after Jaehee had been kidnapped; the people who had captured her were still under investigation.

The night that she returned home to her apartment, she hadn't been able to get even a wink of sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw glimpses of her captors' twisted faces, being tied up, alone and helpless.

She loathed it.

Before, she had nightmares because of the event she suffered as a child, because of her parents' deaths — but now the nightmares had become even more insufferable and painful. She got up from her bed, and in the middle of the night, called Jumin asking if she could stay at his penthouse with him.

He was surprised at first, but accepted without asking questions.

He sent Driver Kim to pick her up, arriving in a car a few minutes later (and still talking on the phone with her to reassure her she would be okay). She was trembling, turning herself in a ball by holding her knees close to her chest and sitting on the floor.

But just listening to Jumin's voice managed to sooth her a little.

After she arrived at the penthouse, Elizabeth the 3rd curled up around her ankles with a meow. For the first time relieved to see the cat, she leaned down and scratched Elizabeth ears contently. Jumin smiled at them both.

The next morning, the two of them woke up cuddled up together on his bed. Neither of them had nightmares.

Ever since that day, Jaehee basically moved to his penthouse to live with him, and she finally felt at her home.

That morning the soft rays of sunlight peered through the curtains in Jumin's bedroom, waking up the two people who were holding each other comfortably — basking on the other's warmth.

"Good morning," she heard Jumin murmur softly, sounding more than a little sleepy.

"So cute," she thought with a smile of her own, feeling a small flutter inside her chest. "Morning."

He left a trail of kisses down her neck and her shoulder, pulling her closer against him, their legs tangled under the bedsheets. Jaehee heaved a content sigh, sinking back into him happily.

"You remember that promise we made?" she suddenly asked, voice serious.

He gave her a deep chuckle, a small amused smile growing on his face as he buried it in the crook of her neck.

"You mean when we were elementary school children? Yes. I remember."

Jaehee smiled. "Good."

"You're so impossibly cute, you know? You shouldn't give Elizabeth the 3rd so much competition."

Jaehee rolled her eyes half-heartedly.

Jumin promptly sat up and she almost complained about him taking away his warmth with him; nearly demanding he went back to spooning her.

He was shirtless, displaying his fit abdomen to her (which she admitted, under a strong blush, was a really nice sight) and stretching his arms over his head before letting himself drop his head comfortably on Jaehee's lap, who had also sat up alongside him.

He almost purred contently, eyes closed, when she started running her hands through his messy, bedhead hair, smiling softly at him.

She was wearing his shirt, which looked more than a little big and oversized on her smaller figure, and almost fit her like a dress — Jumin thought it looked way better on her than him and planned on convincing her to keep it.

Jaehee started playing with his hair; curling the silky, dark strands with her fingers when Jumin spoke.

"I love you, Jaehee," he said suddenly, surprising her as she flinched.

She blushed, but didn't say anything, only nodding and continuing to caress his hair.

"I love you," he repeated with that blank, unemotional face of his (which she had admittedly grown endeared to) but this time opening his grey eyes.

Jaehee nodded again, silently — the blush not having left her face.

Jumin frowned ever so slightly. "I love youuuu," he drawled out the last words, almost sounding like a whine.

Jaehee finally sighed, sputtering something. "You know I love you, Jumin," she told him, cheeks flushed.

He smirked in satisfaction, before letting his eyes flutter close again. "I merely enjoy hearing it from you." Jaehee stared at him in disbelief before amusedly rolling her eyes: he could be so childish sometimes. "And I enjoy saying it to you, as well."

He liked the way it naturally slid off his tongue.

Jaehee shook her head slightly, smiling. "You don't need to worry about me saying it all the time." She playfully ruffled up his hair, laughing and covering her mouth with the back of her hand while Jumin stared up at her, unamused.

"Why?"

"Because I only see you."

---------------

Meanwhile, Seven was having a different kind of morning. A quite eventful one, also — considering the fact that V had decided to call him.

"V?" he answered the phone, instantly concerned about the incoming conversation.

"Luciel, it's good to speak with you again." The mint-haired man answered cryptically, but Seven could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Have Jaehee and Jumin been okay these days?"

"Huh, yeah..." Seven fidgeted with an empty PhD. Pepper can. "Jaehee has been better... You know, ever since she got kidnapped. We're still trying to find who was behind it, though. The police are still working on it, but they're taking their sweet time so I've been investigating, too."

"Oh... I'm glad to hear that. How is your investigation going?"

"So far, I've got a strong lead." He gave out an angry chuckle. "What took them almost a month took me ten hours to find."

"...Can you tell me who did it?"

"Pop sensation," Seven made a show by extending his arms. "Echo Girl."

V sounded surprised. "Her? Now that's quite shocking to hear."

"Yup. You'd think she'd be a little smarter than that." Seven exhaled deeply. "I'm gonna inform Jumin later on this evening — right now I have a feeling he's, huh, a little busy with Baehee." He cackled slyly.

"I see..." He could hear V holding back his own laugh. "I'm happy for them."

"That's not all you wanted to say, though? Right?" If he wanted to congratulate them, Luciel was sure both (especially Jumin) would appreciate it more had he called them.

"No... I found out what I needed to know."

"You sound relieved," Seven remarked, suspicious.

"Ah, don't get me wrong. I just had to know who was behind all this." He just had to know it wasn't Mint Eye or Rika. Or...

"I see. Well, then there's really nothing else you need to know?"

...Or Luciel's mother. "No. That's all. I'll make sure to contact you more often from now on. Thank you, Luciel."

V hung up. There were a lot of burdensome secrets he carried, and one of them was knowing who had been behind Jumin and Jaehee being kidnapped as children. Mother Choi had always been an abusive, conniving person even before the twins were born.

And it had even been the same house... 

.
.
.

The red-haired woman reeked of alcohol — Jumin scrunched his nose as he unpleasantly remembered all the times his father had gotten drunk with wine.

She was staring at them with those deadly amber eyes as the two kids stood in the kitchen, caught red-handed. "...You escaped?"

Jumin immediately put himself in front of Jaehee protectively, glaring back at the woman.

Mother Choi chuckled darkly for a second at both of their silence, before growing impatient and barking at them so harshly Jaehee jumped back while Jumin almost did. "Answer me!"

"...Yes," he replied quietly.

Mother Choi laughed again, crossing her arms while shooting them a sneering expression. "You brats must think your life is a joke. Do you want to die?"

Jumin's grey eyes widened when he saw her hand quickly approach them and before he knew it, she had smacked him in the face — so hard it stung.

"Oppa!" Jaehee cried out.

Mother Choi didn't waste a second to hit him again, kicking him to the ground — not caring he was just a child. When Jaehee tried to interfere, she received a shove from the woman that left her falling back.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" the child pleaded, completely being ignored.

Jumin held his red cheek as he reeled back. "Don't be like this please!" he finally exclaimed, glaring at her helplessly.

"If you did this, consider this your last moment." The woman's cold, heartless eyes bored into his soul as her outstretched, red nails neared his sight rapidly again.

"No!" Jumin shut his eyes, covering his face with his arms while prepared to be hit again.

Jaehee suddenly jumped in front of him, and Mother Choi ended up hitting her instead — slapping her so hard the girl fell unconscious, stumbling to the side.

Jumin stared at Jaehee's limp body in horror as she fell on the floor with a loud thud.

He immediately ran towards her as the red-haired woman muttered a curse under her breath.

"Jaehee. Jaehee." He shook her body frantically, gently taking it between his arms while cradling her head. "Wake up!"

Slowly, she opened her big eyes again, wincing instantly as he sighed in relief. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Ow... Oppa?"

"Jaehee." His eyes lit up with tears he would not let fall. "Why did you do that? Idiot..."

Jaehee only looked at him with soft brown eyes, which angered him more. Why did she think it was okay to risk herself for him?!

"Don't you remember? I told you I would protect you... I also don't like to go back on my word." She smiled.

He shook his head in disbelief, still teary-eyed, before smiling back. "You big dummy..." He pushed away his tears with the back of his hand. "You're so foolish."

"'Foolish'...? Are you making up words, Oppa?" Jaehee rose a brow at him. A six-year-old could only know so many words — it was strange a seven-year-old was so well-versed. "Anyway, if I'm dumb, you're even dumber for thinking I'd let you get hurt!"

Mother Choi had left while the two were talking and they noticed the wailing of babies had suddenly stopped.

---------

Jumin took Jaehee for a surprise date after Jaehee's last day of work.

Mi-Cha was basically pushing both Jaehee and Jumin out of the office door as soon as the work day was over; kicking them out with a huge, cheerful grin on her face.

She shot a sly, knowing look at Jumin, which he almost returned, leaving Jaehee as the only oblivious one.

Much to her confusion, Jaehee heard MC mutter something directed at Jumin under her breath, "Good luck."

She was sure she was missing information — those two were certainly up to something — but letting out a sigh, left it at that.

She remembered feeling a little wistful that day, no longer being Jumin Han's assistant. The notion felt almost impossible. Had she been sent to an alternate reality?

If that was the case, she was content.

If she meant she had him like this; taking the hand he offered to her as the two got out of his limousine, arriving to the same amusement park of their first date.

"It's empty..." She shot him a playful, if teasing smile. "Jumin, did you rent the amusement park again?"

Jumin feigned indignation. "No," he said, as if such a thing were a ridiculous question. "I bought it."

Jaehee chuckled. "I knew you— Wait, what?!" Her eyes nearly jumped out of her sockets in shock.

"I bought the amusement park." Jumin repeated, deadpan.

"Jumin, you— when— why— this—" she sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence. "This is an expensive thing to buy, even for you!"

Jumin shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't more than pocket money for me. It's nothing to worry about." He smiled. Sometimes Jaehee forgot just how rich her boyfriend was. "The park is ours, and so are all the memories we formed here."

"Ours...?" She looked up, murmuring the words softly before turning around with something akin to a shameful smile. "Jumin... I just... I don't want you to waste so much money on me," she revealed, letting out a strained, forced laugh as small tears surfaced from her eyes. "You spoil me too much sometimes," she told him only half-jokingly. "You're too kind to me."

Jaehee still remembered all the things her aunt said to her. Calling her worthless, useless, a burden... A waste of money and space. They had never left her mind even as she grew and moved alone for good, not wanting to burden anyone ever again.

Jumin stared at her with widened eyes in momentaneus bafflement. Then he scowled, turning away from her. "Don't say such a foolish thing. You should know better..." he told her.

Jaehee realized that his eyes had softened greatly as he opened them again, seeming pained. "...How could I ever dote on you too much? Anything I do for the most precious and important person in the world to me is not a waste..." he stated before turning around and enveloping her between his arms tightly, laying his head on top of hers.

Jaehee looked up at him with surprise.

"You don't owe me anything. I just did this because I wanted to," Jumin told her softly, sincere. "It's painful to know that you reject love and  affection given to you as if you don't deserve it. It makes me think that... You're not used to being loved."

She really wasn't used to it, wasn't she? Jaehee held him closely. "I think neither of us are."

Jumin chuckled slightly. "You're right. We both need to learn."

Jaehee smiled. "We do have time."

As he pulled away, he softly tucked a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Allow me be kind to you. You do deserve it, you deserve it all and more."

They inadvertently got lost in each other's gaze.

A small smile slowly grew on Jaehee's face, and she wrapped her arms around Jumin again. Knowing she was loved... That she was precious to someone. It was new feeling, but a very welcome one.

"Thank you..." she said, breaking the silence and separating from him slightly as she looked up at his silver eyes. "I love you," she told him.

Jumin gave her a small smile, feeling his heart warm up. "I thought I didn't have to worry about you saying I love you?" he stated in what was clearly a joking manner.

Jaehee sputtered a bit. "Jumin, I swear—!" she exclaimed, hitting his shoulder; he just had to ruin the moment. But then she stood on her tiptoes whilst he let out a breathy laugh, kissing him on the cheek.

Jumin immediately stopped laughing; his eyes widened, and he flushes deeply. Jaehee took it as a victory.

She smiled broadly, putting her arms behind her back with mirth before leaning into Jumin's ear as he recovered, a hand holding his cheek. "Oppa, you're my most precious person, too," she whispered in a mischevious tone — that playful glint in her brown eyes, that side of her she only showed to him.

It reminded him so much of when they were children and she had that same impish sparkle in her eyes. It was adorable.

His expression seemed blank as she pulled away, she noticed the way he was looking at her strangely. Then he slowly smiled, a heart-warming look in his eyes.

"Ju... Jumin?" Jaehee asked in confusion, seeing how he still hadn't said anything.

She was starting to become more confused by the minute, when suddenly, Jumin got on one knee in front of her.

Jaehee gasped and her eyes widened immensely in surprise and realization.

He was proposing to her.

"I want you to forever be by my side... Like you always have. You're the one person I trust the most, and the one who is most precious to me. I love you so much it's painful..." The smile on his face was radiant, and his eyes showed so much fondness. "So it only makes sense..."

She stared at him speechlessly, seeing how he pulled out a small, red box from the pocket of his suit.

"Marry me, Jaehee?"

Tears escaped Jaehee's eyes, running down her face as she smiled wide; the sheer joy inside her felt uncontainable. She looked down at him with glimmering, golden-brown eyes.

Then she noticed... The engagement ring was silver with a round, white diamond in the center, surrounded by two tiny, cat-shaped ears.

Jaehee laughed. Who knew it was possible to ever feel this content?

"Yes. Yes, you cat lover."

He got up, smiling in relief, before she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him senseless.

He brought her up to the air, spinning her around in happiness.

As the two finally separated, laughing and foreheads touching. "I knew my offer was too irresistible for you," he teased.

"Yes." Jaehee rolled her eyes with a smile. "I accept your one-time offer. It was great doing business with you."

---------

Some moments after Mother Choi had mysteriously disappeared, they heard the sound of sirens outside.

The police arrived, and now Jaehee's parents and Jumin's father were fussing over the kids, hugging the living daylights out of them and noting their bruises.

After a while, they had managed to get away to talk.

Jumin was telling her how he would teach her how to ride a bycicle and Jaehee couldn't have been more excited. She asked him if he would introduce her to V, the friend he had talked to her about.

Jumin realized he was worried that if she met him, there'd be the possibility that she would like talking more with V than him. It was the first time he had ever felt the notion of jealousy.

"I also have a car, Father bought it for me from Germany. We can go for a ride." He smiled, remembering his most recent new toy. The two were holding hands, which Jaehee was swinging around cheerfully.

"Whoa, a car?! Oppa's so cool...!" She looked at him with a mix of surprise and admiration, which made Jumin puff out his chest proudly. "Do you know how to drive it?"

"Err..." He suddenly became nervous. He won't tell her he managed to crash it fifteen times in ten minutes. "I'm in growing development."

Jaehee laughed.

But their parents walked towards them, already urging them to go and say goodbye. The kids held on to the other's hand tightly, backing away from them.

Little Jumin and Jaehee didn't want to say goodbye.

They managed to run away from the adults, who started looking around for them. They knew they didn't have much time, and it was likely (from the sour looks their parents were exchanging) that they wouldn't be seeing each other again.

Jumin and Jaehee hid behind a shrub, crouching down as their backs faced the wall.

Jaehee looked at him with an extremely serious expression, speaking in a hurried way. "Before anything, I want Oppa to be happy. Can Oppa promise me that?"

Jumin blushed slightly. "I... I promise." They linked their pink fingers together. "Jaehee has to be happy, too... And call me Jumin." He had finally decided to tell her his name.

Jaehee's eyes widened. "Jumin?" He nodded. She smiled the widest smile he had seen from her. "Your name is pretty."

"Thank you... So is yours."

Jaehee giggled. "Marry me, Jumin! Then I'll be happy and we can be together forever!" she exclaimed suddenly, clasping her hands together.

Jumin was shocked (did she have any idea what marriage even was? He had a feeling not.) But he laughed softly, a blush covering his cheeks as he nodded. "Yes... I'll marry you," he promised.

Jaehee looked at him with glimmering eyes before she got up and took his hand.

She danced around, giggling and twirling with him as Jumin smiled at her fondly.

They'd never forget that promise.

------
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know I said this was the last, but I couldn't resist writing an epilogue that I will be posting some time after this :)