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17. Guilty Consciences

"So what happens now?" She asked, wrapped in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Now I figure out who set me up and make sure it doesn't happen again. They saw your face so it won't be hard for them to do some digging and find out who you are, so it's safer for you to stay here until I get it taken care of."

"Would they go that far for some random person that just happened to be in the middle of that mess?"

"Since they saw me drag you away, yes. That's part of what they do. If they can't get to me, they will go after anyone they think might be significant to force me out."

"What about Da Reum?" She lifted her head to look at him. "If they find out who I am and where I live, it will lead them to him. I can't leave him there alone." The tone of her voice was clouded with worry.

"Don't worry, I will take care of him too. We can go pick him up in a little while." He gently pushed her head back down to his shoulder.

"This just got a million times more complicated. How can I explain this to him? He's going to be pissed...or disappointed in me...ugh I feel guilty already. My poor baby, what have I done, dragging him into this?"

Taeyong sat up and guided her along with him. He faced her with a sad expression.

"I'm so sorry, Yuna. I never meant to put you in danger. I'm more sorry that you are also blaming yourself. It's my fault and I take full responsibility. I will do anything to make sure you and your brother are safe. I promise." He spoke earnestly. She sighed in defeat.

"Don't say that. You kept me from getting hurt. It isn't your fault either, but thank you for saying you will protect us. Everything happens for a reason and I'm sure it will all be ok." Despite her worried smile, she put her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He answered back with a kiss to each one of the fingers intertwined with his and then leaned in and softly pressed his lips to hers.

"Can't we just stay like this and ignore everything else for a little while longer?" He asked innocently.

"Actually, we really should go out from here. Your friends are probably thinking we are doing strange things." She leaned over the side of the bed and picked up her clothes from the floor. "

"Weren't we, though?" He smirked as he took the shirt from her hands.

"You don't need to say it!" She nearly shouted. "I'm so embarrassed. What if they know what we just did?" She asked as Taeyong pulled her shirt down over her head and she pushed her arms through.

"It's fine, I'll just tell them we had to talk."

"Then stop smiling like that, it's not convincing at all!" She slapped his arm. He laughed as he got up and pulled a clean shirt from his closet. "They live here too, don't they? What if they are pissed that you just kicked them out to "talk" to me?" Her fingers drew imaginary quotation marks in the air as she spoke. "What if they hate that me and Da Reum have to stay here?" She asked as she sat on the bed and watched him get dressed.

"They won't. Even though they look like that, they are nice guys and they will understand. Plus it's still my house, anyway." He took her hand and pulled her up to stand, lazily hanging his arms around her shoulders and bringing her close. "Stop worrying. Trust me." He kissed each of her cheekbones and then her forehead. "I may have been a man in a weakened state that you saved from the brink of death when we saw eachother last, but here..." his lips hinted at a cocky smirk. "I have much more sway than you would think."

He watched as a smile formed on her face, but her eyes didn't reflect the sentiment of her mouth. Though he said that, he was sure she couldn't imagine the extent of the life he lived or to what magnitude his power actually reached. He worried that she didn't have the confidence that he could keep her safe, yet was relieved that she had yet to be touched by the reality of his position. He guessed that she only saw this as a precaution, but he was very aware that the threat was real and it was only a matter of time before their situation would become even more difficult and complicated. For now, he could only hope to continue to shield her from the gravity of impending danger.