Time always finds a way to begin to heal all wounds. Maybe not completely, maybe the scar will never go away, but the wounds always close and you learn to live with them.
"Digging through the ashes, my boy" smiled the grandfather and his grandson du...
"Aren't you overconfident Mr. Kim?" Namjoon raised an eyebrow, nudging his cheek with his tongue. Behind him, he heard Seokjin grunt in annoyance.
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"You see, Mr. Kahn, let's not fool ourselves." Namjoon smiled charmingly. "We both know you have neither the strength nor the will to face Bangtan." he leaned forward slightly and rested his elbows on his knees.
"So, we can do it the easy way or the hard way, you decide" despite the smile, Namjoon's voice didn't tolerate objections. His cold gaze was piercing and Mr. Kahn gritted his teeth.
The Kahn family's territory bordered Bangtan's to the southwest, and Namjoon couldn't let a small fish like Kahn think he could survive any longer than Namjoon wanted.
And right now, Namjoon wanted that territory, and he was either going to get it by forcing the Kang family to obey him, or he was going to take it by force by wiping the Kang off the face of the earth.
Mr. Kang wasn't stupid, Namjoon and Bangtan's fame wasn't something you scare kids with when they don't want to sleep and he knew it.
"You decide Mr. Kahn, I don't have all night!" Namjoon pushed the papers towards the older man. Mr. Kahn turned them toward him, leaning back comfortably behind his desk.
"I heard that your girlfriend,Miss Hyun?" Mr. Kahn started and Namjoon cut him off. "Fiancée" he corrected and Mr. Kahn nodded slightly, one eyebrow twitching in surprise. "Your fiancee, I heard she's pregnant, congratulations..." Mr. Kang started and Namjoon narrowed his eyes.
"Thanks, but choose your words carefully Mr. Kang, mentioning my fiancee and child won't help" Namjoon growled warningly and the older man shrugged.
"I have no intention of going against you, Mr. Kim, I know it is useless." Mr. Kang answered and Namjoon raised his eyebrows. "I just wanted to congratulate you on the baby." Kahn added and Namjoon leaned back. "Thanks again and please excuse me, but as you mentioned, my pregnant fiancee doesn't like me staying out late" Namjoon sarcastically prompted him to make up his mind.
"Yes, women are a thorn in the ass" sighed Mr. Kahn. Namjoon knew why he was changing the subject, hoping by distracting him to delay the signing and find a way to get out while keeping his territory.
"You're lucky the woman in question isn't here, how the hormones hit her..." Hoseok chuckled and Namjoon chuckled. Ari was really at the mercy of her hormones at the beginning of her second trimester and her moods changed in the blink of an eye.
After Mrs. Jiang's method worked, keeping Ari's nausea and vomiting to a minimum, she was now feeling far better, leading to Namjoon's return to work and the current date.
In the first week of her fourth month of pregnancy, Ari began to feel the changes more and more. Although her body was quickly regaining her strength, her psyche was playing tricks on her, and pregnancy wasn't helping her keep her emotions under control.
Her ob-gyn was still seeing her briefly, making her see him every two weeks, something that made her incredibly nervous. According to her, despite the doctor's assurances, something was wrong with the baby and she either fell into a depressed state, crying inconsolably, or blamed everything and everyone, especially herself, for not taking better care of her body, but this in turn led to fits of rage, from which only Izeul was spared.
His daughter had become an island of comfort for Ari. And when the mother-to-be fell into one of these states, there was always someone to push the little one into her arms.
The problem with the now six year old Izeul was that like any child, she didn't always agree to cooperate and then it was Namjoon who played the role of buffer.
"Well, like I said" Namjoon cleared his throat. "Make up your mind, Mr. Kang, unless you want to know how I react to my angry fiancee" Namjoon raised an eyebrow and Mr. Kang bit his lip.
Mr. Kang refused to ramble on, especially after Namjoon's last words. He took the pen and hesitantly signed the contract, handing it back to Namjoon.
"I can't wait for us to work together, Mr. Kang" Namjoon stood up, bowing slightly. "I'm convinced of it, Mr. Kim!" the older man snapped sarcastically, motioning for one of his men to escort them out.
Once outside, Namjoon turned to Hoseok. "Did you just threaten our new partner with my pregnant girlfriend?" he asked coldly and Hoseok shrugged. "I don't think Ari was the one who convinced him, it was her overprotective boyfriend" Hoseok laughed.
"I'm not overprotective, I'm just worried about the mother of my child!" Namjoon growled and Jin shook his head. "Still" sullenly, Namjoon walked towards their car. "The news of Ari's pregnancy spread fast, now she is an easy target as she would do anything to protect the baby" he turned to Seokjin.
"Increase security, especially hers" Seokjin nodded and Namjoon settled into the back seat while Seokjin and Hoseok took the front seats.
"You know Ari is going to freak out, right?" Hoseok turned back and Namjoon nodded. "I'll deal with her but I can't afford her to be in danger until she can fend for herself" Namjoon sighed knowing he would have to use a goat with the baby and his safety to avoid Ari to cut his throat.
"By the way, don't forget you have your check-up tomorrow, I can't wait to find out the gender of the baby!" Seokjin reminded and Namjoon smirked. "Ari thinks it's a boy" Namjoon pouted proudly and Hoseok looked at him, blinking in surprise.
"Seriously? How does she know?" Hoseok inquired and Seokjin patted him on the head. "Mothers know things like that, you fool, kind of like witch intuition. Remember Binna knew Izeul was going to be a girl too and they're usually not wrong" he grinned as Hobi rubbed his head.
"Focus guys" Namjoon snapped at them and they both glared at him before Seokjin focused on driving and Hoseok meekly stared out the window.
These pregnancy scans worried Namjoon. Not because there was a problem with the baby, but because he felt like Arie's OB was hiding something from them.
Even after the first exam, while he was doing the ultrasound, Namjoon had noticed the slight frown the doctor was watching the video zone monitor with.
Then, when he'd played them the sound of a baby's heart beating, Namjoon had noticed that same shudder, as well as the repeated, welcoming sound.
Something wasn't right, he had heard a baby's heartbeat before, but Izeul's heartbeat didn't sound like this, it was clean and calm, at least as much as a fetus could be. But what Ari's doctor played them was different, strange, like an echo. It's as if the baby's pulse is reflected in a cave, and then repeated in a somewhat slower rhythm, much weaker.
Namjoon had no idea if Ari had noticed it either, but he hoped she hadn't, otherwise she would have completely freaked out. It was enough that she blamed herself that her pregnancy was still at risk.
He had decided at tomorrow's appointment to press the doctor for answers, the question was how to do it without Ari finding out and getting even more worried.
