Secrets and Lies

13.

The girl kneeled down and wiped away the tears that'd fallen from Ahri's eyes. The stupid father of there's had simply just dropped of the younger girl at Jiyoo's work and told her to take care of the five-year old. An argument had immediately sparked as he couldn't just do that. Jiyoo was not allowed to have anyone there whilst working, it would look rather unprofessional. The old man had given her the excuse that he had to fly overseas and that Jinkyung was going to follow, too. The logic of those two were nonexistent. Who in his right state of mind would just leave a child like that?

"Don't cry." Jiyoo despised to see her younger sister upset and crying. "Stay there and I'll go get you something to eat, okay?" she walked over to the bread section after that Ahri had nodded her head. The door to the supermarket slid open just as she reached for one with a sweet filling. With the treat in her hand did Jiyoo hurry over to the cashier before greeting the older woman who'd entered. "Here take this." she unwrapped the plastic and then handed the bread over to Ahri, the five-year old smiled as she munched away on the treat.

"Unnie when are we going to go home?" it didn't take all too long before the kid had devoured the sweet bread and was starting to get restless. For Ahri to just sit there and do nothing was obviously no fun. Though, Jiyoo couldn't do much to ease that boredom. The girl had to watch the supermarket. The only thing she could come to think of was to play some games whilst there was no customers present. Hopefully would no one tell her boss about Ahri and the fact that she had a kid behind the cashier. Jiyoo knew that the chance of getting fired was probably high if he were to find out.

"I have to finish work first. That's if I can't get oppa to pick you up." from what she knew Yongguk didn't have anything to do that day. Picking up her phone she sent away a text message to her boyfriend. It wouldn't be any good if Ahri stayed until her shift ended, and that was still a few hours away. The reply from the older boy landed in her inbox a few minutes later.

But just like any other time the past month could he not come. The way Yongguk was acting had begun to frustrate Jiyoo. She wondered what was so important that he didn't even have time for her. The boy was seldom at home. He would often come home in the middle of the night, and his clothes would equally as often have this stench of smoke and alcohol.

Jiyoo knew that a talk with him was needed. She had to know what he was doing in the days and nights. Even though Yongguk brought home money it was still a matter that was starting to worry her. Especially since he was neglecting Jiyoo. Maybe their relationship was beginning to falter. No, she refused to believe such nonsense. It wasn't like he was cheating on her, right?Oh god, what if he was. What if he'd found another girl that he wanted, that he needed more than her?

Had he gotten to know about Zelo?

The girl was driving herself insane with all those thoughts. God, what had she done. Maybe Yongguk believed that it was just right. That he, too, could have someone on the side to play with. Just like she'd used Zelo for her own pleasure. Jiyoo felt her heart drop and tears welled up. "Unnie, why are you crying?" Ahri was clueless to what was wrong with her older sister.

The older of the two hadn't even noticed that tears had begun to slowly run down her cheeks. Though, she was fast to wipe them away when Ahri pointed it out. "It's nothing, I must've gotten something in my eye." it was fortunate that her sister was so young as she let the matter go with a simple nod.

"Oppa can't come, so you'll have to wait. Okay." Jiyoo felt both angry and sad at the same time. Angry at her father for just dropping Ahri off and then sad because she couldn't take the girl home. It seemed like the old man hadn't learned anything after all. He was behaving just like a teenager. Totally ignoring any responsibility for the things he'd caused. A man like that was someone that shouldn't even have kids. Unfortunately was that a tad too late already. All in all, he had two kids he couldn't take care of, as simple as that.

The hours slowly ticked on, customers came and left. Some of them would give Jiyoo weird glances, but no one said anything about Ahri. Though, she sort of understood either way. They probably thought that the kid was hers. Well, not that any of that mattered. People could think what they wanted.

It was a few minutes before closing time when Daehyun turned the corner and carefully kept himself in the shadows. He'd been strictly told to keep an eye out for Jiyoo and her sister as things were starting to move. The boy could, in all honesty, not believe how the two men could put the two girls' lives at stake. That Yongguk had never been one to relay on, though, lately, he'd become even worse. But then again, Daehyun couldn't just walk up to the girl and spill the beans. Jiyoo would never believe him and he knew that more than well.

To Jiyoo he was only that blond freak. Not that he cared. But what she didn't know was they had a much deeper relationship to one another. The only reason to why she'd never found out about anything was because of her father. All the details about him and his past had been erased, like they'd never existed. Daehyun, on the contrary, knew everything. His own father had told him, and in this case, ignorance was not a bliss. It was a disadvantage.

A few movements from inside the supermarket told him that Jiyoo was about to wrap it up and close. He was a bit shocked though, when he saw Ahri there as well. Daehyun couldn't remember that he'd ever seen the girl there at that hour. It made him utterly anxious and bothered. The fact that Ahri was there, together with her sister could only mean one thing. That the plan had been set in motion. Fuck, it was too soon. It was with an unsettling feeling that he picked up his phone and dialed the number to his father. "It's started." Daehyun didn't need to add anything, his father already knew by just hearing those words.

Seoul had, within a few hours time, suddenly changed from a rather peaceful place to one that was soon going to turn into a battlefield. And the one starting it all was none other than Jiyoo's father. The new changes meant that he would have to be extra careful. The only person the boy could trust that moment was Zelo. He, too, knew about Jiyoo and her family business. But just protecting Jiyoo and Ahri wasn't that easy. Daehyun would put himself at risk if he flaunted around with his identity. Gangs all around Seoul would more then happily use the boy to blackmail his father. In fact, there was only three people who truly knew about who he was. Two at school and then Zelo.

"Ahri come on, get on my back." Daehyun smiled as he watched Jiyoo give her younger sister a piggyback-ride. Sometimes the boy wondered why she never showed that side of herself. Though, he couldn't really complain as he was rather hard to get around with as well. The only one who'd stayed by his side all along was Zelo.

The two of them had actually met at an underground club just a month after that Daehyun had moved from Busan to Seoul. He'd never really thought about the age of the other boy. The only thing that'd sparked Daehyun's interest was the mad rapping skills Zelo had. You can practically say that the two of them have been inseparable since then.

"Unnie why is oppa mean?" Daehyun blinked, confused over what Ahri meant by that. "Why would he be mean?" he stepped out on the pavement before following after them. Daehyun made sure to dress so that Jiyoo wouldn't recognize him. The last thing he wanted to hear was for the girl to accuse him for being a stalker. Something he probably would if she were to know what he was doing. "Oppa made you cry." Daehyun stopped in his track. Yongguk had made her cry? "Don't worry about that and sleep, alright." for Ahri to think about such nonsense was just stupid, it was not like the kid could do anything to help the current situation. It was only Jiyoo who could do that by talking to Yongguk. "Okay."

Daehyun felt anger boil within. He could protect the girl from a lot of things, but Yongguk was unfortunately not one of those. The boy could only hope that Jiyoo herself, found out about all the things her boyfriend was involving himself in. To force it upon her was not an option. Maybe he could make use of Zelo after all. It was quite clear that the younger boy had made an impact on her.