𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 - 𝐛.𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧

nine

The following morning, I'd only just about woken when I spotted Chan checking his holsters, various knives strapped to him.

"Are you leaving for work already?" I glanced at the clock. It was still quite early.

He grimaced. "We've found a Busan spy, I need to interrogate him for information. I might not be back until well into the night,"

"That's alright, be safe," He smiled, lowering his head, his lips brushing over mine, though it was very quick.

He left the room, and a moment later I heard the front door slam. I disappeared into the bathroom, carrying out my morning routine before grabbing my phone and dialling for Bitna.

"I thought you'd never call me," Her voice was accusing on the other end, and I couldn't exactly blame her, after all, I'd promised to call her every day.

"I've been trying to get used to Daegu,"

"And? How has it been? Is he treating you okay? Has he hurt you?" The anger in her voice had faded into worry and concern, and I allowed myself a grin. Bitna would always remain the protective mother bear, even if I was older than her.

"It's good, I'm beginning to grow accustomed to it, and Chan has been treating me well. He hasn't hurt me. I think we're making progress,"

"A few days and you're already head over heels over such a terrible man,"

"None of the men in our world are good, he just happens to be one of the more crueler," I rummaged through my clothing before settling on a green dress. "And I'm not head over heels for him, but he's good to me,"

Bitna hummed. I knew she wouldn't agree, but she spoke nothing more of him. "Have you explored the city yet?"

"Not properly, we went to a restaurant a few days ago, though, and yesterday to the gym," I told her. "But what about you? How are you keeping? Are Chaewon and Junseo okay? Please keep out of trouble,"

My sister chuckled on the other end. "Everyone's doing alright over here, but it's so strange without you. And I'm not getting in trouble, Father's barely home anyway,"

We chatted a little more as I finished getting ready before hanging up. I went downstairs, offering a smile towards Changbin who was sat at the dining table, a mug of coffee in front of him. "Morning," He grinned.

"Morning," I returned. "I'm sorry that you have to be here and babysit me instead of being at the interrogation. It must be awfully boring,"

"I don't mind," Was all he said. "Is there something that you want to do today?"

"I was wondering if we could go to the Daegu Art Museum?" I asked, and Changbin nodded. 

"That's fine by me. Have breakfast before we go,"

Around thirty minutes later, after I had my fill of coffee and some pancakes that I'd made for both of us, Changbin and I had driven to the museum and spent nearly two hours there, before we had settled at a small cafe for lunch.

It had perplexed me how relaxed my bodyguard was around the general public, yet was so tense and stiff around others.

"How did you start working for Chan?" Changbin hummed throughtfully, taking a bite of the cake before he answered.

"In a way, we'd grown up with each other before he'd been sent off to Australia. When he came back and was fighting for the city, he asked me if I would swear loyalty to him, and I did," He said it with pride, a sort of gratification in his voice. "Him, Minho and I were friends as children, and even back then, Chan was powerful,"

"What about you and Minho?" The Consigliere and I hadn't exactly met properly, or had a conversation that was particularly long. He scared me in a way that I didn't understand.

"Minho and I are only a year apart, we used to get in trouble together, well," Changbin grinned. "Minho used to get in trouble, and I was saving his ass,"

I laughed. "When you say Chan was powerful, what exactly do you mean?"

"Some sons of Capos are only respected because they are the son of a man with that title, but Chan was born with all the makings of it, he was good at fighting from a young age, and knew how to lead. That's not something all Capos can do,"

"Is that why his father sent him away? Because he was afraid of him?"

My bodyguards expression withdrew slightly. I was touching dangerous borders. "In a way, yes, he was afraid of Chan," He said slowly. "He believed that his son was a threat, and didn't want him getting stronger in his city. He thought by sending him away to Australia that his connections would weaken, and that no one would want to swear loyalty to him when he took over,"

Changbin didn't say any more on the subject after that and I understood why. Bang Hyunwoo was a sensitive topic, both to Daegu and Chan himself. If I wanted to know the true story, then I would have to ask my husband, and that wouldn't be happening, not for a while at least.

...

I woke at the sound of the front door opening, and I lifted myself from bed, gasping slightly as a figure stalked into the room, relaxing when the lights flickered on, revealing Chan.

He was covered in blood, and his eyes swirled in a mixture of desire and pure darkness. 

"Chan?" I asked softly.

"I want to kiss you," His voice was strange, but as he approached me, lowering his lips to mine, I caught a sense of frenzy, of desperation as the contact got more demanding and possessive.

He lowered himself onto the bed, his hands cupping my cheeks before trailing down my body, my own arms thrown across his neck and I was practically on his lap. Heat radiated from our forms and his lips began pressing onto my throat, my neck, the back of my ear and wherever else he could touch.

His fingers nimbly undid the fastening of my nightgown as it slipped away, leaving me in my undergarments, and for a second, I drew away.

"I won't do that," He murmered, cupping my cheek in his hand as I leaned into him, adoring his touch. "I promise you, I won't fuck you. I just want to kiss you,"

I nodded and soon enough, his own shirt was off, thrown to the floor as he continued to make me feel delirious inside, marking me everywhere, his fingers dancing on my skin as I pressed my own kisses to his throat and his nose and his neck.

I spotted the small slash at his shoulder and let out a gasp. "You're injured!"

"A small cut, it'll be fine,"

"No, we should treat it, where's the first aid kit?"

My husband gestured towards the bathroom and I disappeared inside before coming back out, placing the box on the bed. "What should I do?"

"We could fuck,"

"Chan,"

He let out a low chuckle. "That's what I want to do, but first, get the disinfectant wipes and clean the wound. I'll prepare the needle,"

I pulled open a packet, and frowned at the smell before dabbing at the slash. "Doesn't it sting?"

Chan made no indication that he'd felt anything. "Wipe harder,"

I continued to do so and whilst he he clenched his jaw, he didn't tell me to stop, or make a noise of discomfort. After a while, I folded the wipe, chucking it into the bin and watched as he pierced into his skin with the needle, stitching himself back up. The many scars on his body made me realise that this wasn't the first time he'd done this.

"Don't we need to wrap it with a badage?"

"No, it'll heal faster if it's allowed to breathe,"

"But what if it gets infected?"

Chan chuckled, pulling me into his arms, pushing the first aid box away onto the floor. "Don't worry, sweetheart, this won't be the first time I'll come home injured,"

Sweetheart. The endearment felt so... special coming from a man who was known to show no mercy. Warmth filled my chest.