47. Harsh Words

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The meeting had gone as well as it could have. Mark had reached out to the Busan clan for support, not expecting much and he was right not to. They offered him no support and flat out refused to be involved in the power struggle back home. But luckily for him, that also meant they wouldn't support North Gate's current power hungry leader, Joon Suk either.

"It's fine. We don't need them to back us, we have enough support. We're better than them, anyway." Lucas said over his shoulder from the front seat.

Mark sighed and stared out the window.

"I wish I could believe that. The sad truth is that money always wins over what's right and even loyalty is for sale."

He wished it was as easy as Lucas made it sound, but going up against two families that have built their power over generations was no small feat. Especially now that those families have found eachother to be mutually beneficial and one of them was his own.

"It's not enough." He added flatly.

"Mark, isn't that Yuna?" Jungwoo asked suddenly.

"What?" He sat up and looked to the front, following Jungwoo's finger that pointed at two women on a sidewalk ahead of them. He squinted to put them into focus and knew it was her, without a doubt. "Pull over." He quickly instructed.

Was this where she had been the whole time, he wondered. Nobody had heard anything about her or bothered to find her whereabouts. He had often wondered what had happened to her but couldn't get any answers.

He got out and walked toward them. The taller girl eyed him suspiciously as he approached, while Yuna seemed lost in thought.

"Yuna, who is that?" The other girl asked, giving a nod in his direction.

Yuna stopped talking and looked up. She looked just as surprised to see him as he was her.

"Mark?" She asked with disbelief as he continued to walk toward them.

"Noona!" He exclaimed before he threw himself at her and pulled her in for a hug.

He froze. The minute they made contact he felt her hard belly beneath her baggy clothes and puffy coat.

He stepped back with a quiet gasp and she instinctively folded her arms over her stomach.

"Noona, are you-"

"Yes." She answered before he had a chance to finish.

"Wha- when- how long until-" he closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on forming a complete sentence. "Why didn't  Taeyong-"

"Don't" the other girl warned with a glare before he could continue.

Yuna nudged her with her elbow; a silent instruction to Jiwon to turn down the intensity.

Yuna's smile was soft and apologetic. "It's just...hard for me to talk about him." The faint dark circles under her eyes were more prominent in the shadow of her sad, downcast gaze.

"She doesn't need the stress. It's not good for her or the baby." The other girl spoke again.

Mark nodded in response.

"Are you ok?" He asked with concern.

"No." The girl answered for her.

Mark started to get a little irritated with Yuna's ill-tempered body guard. "Who are you exactly? Can you let her answer for herself?" He snapped.

"Who are you?" She snarled back with the same question.

"Enough." Yuna stepped between them. "This is my best friend Choi Jiwon. This is my other friend Mark." She looked between them. "Now both of you settle down before I hit you both." They both rolled their eyes at eachother.

"What does she mean you're not ok?"

"It's just been a difficult pregnancy, but I'm ok."

"When...when is the baby coming?"

"Really soon." Her lips curved up the slightest bit. "I'm sorry, Mark, it's been a long morning and I want to rest."

"Oh..yeah, ok..." he answered, though the vague responses and lack of answers left him feeling unsettled.

"Give me your phone." She held out her hand to him and he did as she asked. "You can call me so we can catch up soon, ok?" She said as she added her number. "This is where I live, so you can come hang out some time." She pointed to the house just around the corner. "It was good to see you." She ruffled his hair and smiled before she and Jiwon continued walking.

"Bye, noona. Take care of yourself." Mark called after her. He stood for a moment to collect himself before going back to the car, still trying to grasp the situation.

He looked back over his shoulder once more before getting in the car to check if she was still there or if he had imagined her. As clear as day, there she was. She leaned back awkwardly as her friend took her elbow and helped her up the front steps of the house she had just pointed to. Her pregnant belly was now glaringly evident by the outward curvature of her side profile.

"Get us home quickly." He told Jungwoo with his jaw clenched.

***

"That boy knew him?" Jiwon asked curiously, being careful not to speak Taeyong's name out loud.

Yuna sighed and plopped herself down on the couch with her legs curled up under her. She seemed lost in thought for a moment before she finally spoke.

"They were friends...or enemies maybe? I'm not really sure...but yes, they knew eachother."

"Are you sure that's someone you want to keep in contact with then? What if he's just as dangerous?"

"He was nice to me." Yuna stared at her hands in her lap and spoke softly. "He helped us when we needed it."

"Well, it's your choice, just please be cautious. It's a scary world they live in, Yuna and I don't want-"

"I should have asked him if he knew what happened." Yuna said mostly to herself, not hearing Jiwon.

"Why?"

"I want to know what happened."

"No you don't. Yuna, you can barely talk about him without having a breakdown. You don't need to hear the details."

"I think I need to hear it though. I'm stuck in that day, Jiwon" her voice broke as she confessed. "I can't stop thinking about it. Maybe if I hear the rest I can accept it."

"Stop hurting yourself like this!" Jiwon raised her voice in frustration. If that's what you need to hear to move forward then I can remind you all that you need. You came here 6 months ago, crying endlessly and so sick that you were hospitalized. You ran from your home because Taeyong was killed. You want to hear that he's dead? That Taeyong was shot and he died and there isn't anything you can do about it? You told me yourself you heard the shot. He. Is. Dead." Jiwon's voice softened after she caught her words. "You can't keep living like this. Your baby needs you."

Yuna's eyes were wide as she looked at Jiwon in shock. The bluntness of her words made her shudder and freeze. As much as she knew it was true, hearing it out loud made a fresh, new gash in her already wounded heart. She could always trust Jiwon to be honest with her, but she wasn't ready for that and suddenly felt unprepared to deal with the truth.

"I'm sorry." Jiwon said solemnly, regretting what she had said.

"I want to take a hot shower and take a nap." She answered dismissively as she stood and walked to her room without another word, ready to run away rather than face the demon lingering in the room.

Alone and surrounded by the white noise of the shower, she stared down at her belly as the water flowed over her.

"We'll be ok." She repeated softly over and over to the baby inside.

She shut off the water and stepped out, shivering as the cold air hit her. She dressed, wrapped herself in a blanket and huddled in the mound of pillows on her bed.

Despite the endless racing thoughts, her body felt weightless and her eyes grew heavy. She let sleep take her, hoping to meet him in her dreams one last time to say goodbye.

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