Little Romantic *Second Book*

Chapter 21: His Crest

"What do you want to talk about?" Jihwan asked, shoving his hands in his jeans.

"I want to tell them," I said.

"Tell them what? That EG is working with Zhanshi?" Jihwan asked. "I agree. They need to know how far he's willing to-"

"No. I want to tell them everything," I interrupted. Jihwan's mouth stayed open as he stared at me.

"Absolutely not," Prince snapped. "We are not going to tell them about NJ and Gabos and the connection between EG. Feel free to tell them about EG, but do not-"

"Prince, I'm the boss. I decide," Jihwan growled to his right-hand man. "But before I decide, I want to hear why Ana wants to tell her father and brother."

He looked at me and made a move with his hand for me to continue.

"I'm tired of lies," I told them. "I'm lying to my family. I'm lying to Jones. I'm lying to my boss. I'm keeping an upcoming gang war hidden inside. My family has no idea who I'm dating and what they have to do with the underworld. I'm tired of all of this."

"I've been training a new puppy, trying to find a new apartment, doing my job, worrying about my boyfriend's job, worrying about my brother, lying to practically everyone I'm close to. I barely get sleep anymore, and not just because of all the things going on in my life. Jihwan."

"Is she talking about sex?" Prince whispered to Jihwan, who turned to him with wide eyes.

"I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, maybe we don't need to do it every night. That way I could get some sleep."

"I'll agree to that, if you think it'll help you stop worrying. And if you think telling them about everything will help you as well, we can do it."

"NJ!" Prince shouted.

"Enough, Prince. I choose what's best for Gabos. And right now, that's making sure my girl is mentally okay. Because if she's not alright, I won't be. Shall we go tell them?"

"First, why are you here?" I asked.

"I heard about what EG's doing. I came here to check on your father since I knew that you and Lance were at work, but I guess you both left work," Jihwan shrugged. "Prince came with me because JJ couldn't drive me."

"I really didn't want to come," Prince told me. I glared at him and he smiled sarcastically at me.

"Let's go inside," I said, turning to the door. "I bet they're waiting."

We all walked inside to the living room.

"Jihwan?" Dad asked. He stood up from his seat on the couch when my boyfriend walked in the room. "What are you doing here?"

Dad walked up to Jihwan and gave him a hug.

"I wanted to check up on you," Jihwan said.

"Who's your friend?" Lance asked.

"This is Kyung-Soo. One of my best friends and my right hand," Jihwan said.

"I've heard a lot about the two of you," Prince said. He reached out to shake Dad's hand and nodded to Lance.

"It's good to meet you. We've never met Jihwan's friends," Dad said.

"Dad you might want to sit down," I said. "This is going to take a while to talk about."

///

It was silent. Absolutely silent. Dad and Lance wouldn't look at Jihwan or Prince. After many minutes of silence, Dad took in a deep breath and put his head in his hands.