Monday

"Are you almost finished here?"
I looked up from my plate to see NamJoon standing in the dining room doorway.
"Yeah." I looked back down at my lunch as he walked over to the table and took a seat. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and focused on eating a few more bites of food.
Things were different since yesterday, since he'd...sucked my dick. It felt as if he'd pushed even further towards me, invading my space, so close that I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't see straight. I'd been thinking and planning and trying to figure out how to set boundaries and defend my independence and my future and...just, me, myself, my feelings and my thoughts and my whole being. I'd wanted to maintain my distance, to take several steps back, but now he felt so close that I was afraid that with the slightest movement he'd consume me entirely.
"We're going to see my father."
"What?" The word croaked out of my mouth, the idea such a shock that my vocal cords had frozen. I jerked my head to look at him so quickly that pain lanced through my temple.
He shrugged. "I can't leave things the way they are. He's going to have to keep his hands off you."
Annoyance rushed in. If this could have been solved with a conversation, why hadn't he done that in the first place? But starting on that topic would be a waste of time. Instead I asked, "Why do I have to go? Isn't it too dangerous?"
"I'm going to keep you next to me until this is resolved. The safest place for you to be is with me," he explained. "My father won't do anything to you. He's got this fake veneer of honor. He's the type that will be polite to your face and then have his goons gut you in an alley. He likes to pretend he's above all that."
I ignored the comment about being gutted in an alley and focused on his first sentence. 'I'm going to keep you next to me until this is resolved.' So, if things worked out today, maybe I could leave, go back to my normal life, at least move back into my dorm room, maybe even get that apartment I'd been thinking of. I could have my space and distance. The flare of hope in me was so pure that I couldn't even ask him about the possibilities, I wouldn't do anything to douse that little flame.

We went to a fancy office building downtown. Everything my eyes landed on screamed wealth, even the fucking elevator buttons. We went up to the top floor, just the two of us. The guards had stayed in the car. It felt like walking into a lion's den and handing him a knife and fork, but I tried to trust that NamJoon knew what he was doing.
There were guards standing outside the big double doors that led into Mr. Kim's office. They made me even more nervous. If something happened and I needed to run away, they'd be right there to stop me. My lungs grew tight and my breaths shallow as a secretary opened the doors to the office with a flourish and bowed as we walked past to step inside.
Mr. Kim tossed a pen onto the papers he'd been reading when we entered the room and stood to circle his desk and stand in front of it. His facial expression was relaxed and condescending, slightly amused, as his eyes flicked over NamJoon. He didn't even glance at me.
"NamJoon. You should have made an appointment. Calling my secretary to inform me-"
NamJoon didn't stop walking. When he got to the point where you'd normally stand in front of someone to talk to them, he suddenly flashed forward, so fast that he turned into a blur, so fast that I couldn't see the details of what happened. I only knew that he had reached his father and then Mr. Kim was falling to the floor.
I jumped back in shock, the movement sending a knifeblade of pain into my head, the pounding of my blood through my veins turning into a throb behind my eyes. I fought to catch my breath, staring down at Mr. Kim lying on the floor, his head was twisted at an odd angle, an angle that should have meant instant death, but his eyes were blinking.
NamJoon was huge, breathing hard, pumped up with rage, his muscles flexing, staring down at his father. He sat a foot on his father's face to hold his head in place and roared, "It didn't have to be like this you fucking megalomaniac. If you'd minded your own fucking business, you'd be fine right now. What the fuck does it matter to you if I have an A Doua Inima? But you gotta decide to take what's mine? What's that about? Petty jealousy? And I could have left you alone for a long time, but you put hands on him. You're fucking thugs touched him."
I flinched away, cringing, backing up against the wall behind me. I knew that he wouldn't hurt me, but the fury in his voice was terrifying, filling the room and causing me to shake uncontrollably.
"You think I wanted this? Your little empire? You thought I was gonna get too strong from feeding on YoonGi and take you down because I wanted your throne and I wouldn't want to wait for you to die? Fuck that. I never had any interest in taking over for you."
My mind tried to keep up, to piece together what he was saying and make sense of it, even as fear made it difficult to think. He'd done this for me. He'd attacked his father in order to protect me. He wasn't here to talk and negotiate, he was here to put an end to his father.
"Look at you, you're disgusting. So fucking in love with yourself and your own power, you're like a bitch playing with her pussy. If you'd left YoonGi alone, I never would have even looked at your seat. But you thought you could put your hands on what's mine. No one touches Min YoonGi. It's as simple as that."
He suddenly turned to look at me, his eyes on fire, and I shrank back against the wall, my heart stopping, my breath stuck in my throat. I watched, sucking in tiny gasps, as he took deep breaths, visibly trying to calm himself down. The dark anger that filled the air slowly dissipated and NamJoon seemed to deflate before my eyes, going back to normal, no longer looked like a rampaging monster.
"It's okay," he said, his voice soothing, but it still held a tinge of growl. "You know I won't hurt you. I'll always do whatever's necessary to protect you. You're safe."
I nodded, unable to speak. He'd just incapacitated his own father to ensure my safety.
"You're in pain? Does your head hurt?"
When I nodded again he came over to gently take my elbow and guide me over to a couch. "Just rest here. I still have some things to take care of. Is there anything that I can get you?"
I managed to give him a "No" and sank down onto the couch. I didn't want to be treated like an invalid, but my head was pounding and I was struggling to take in everything that had happened.
NamJoon cast a glance at his father and then walked over to open the doors to the office, commanding whoever stood outside to "Get in here."
The secretary entered the office, followed by five guards and a couple of other staff members. NamJoon motioned to one of the guards and said, "Put your boot on his head and make sure the motherfucker can't move."
The man obeyed immediately, the other staff members listening attentively while NamJoon began issuing orders. "A space needs to be prepared for my father at once. He won't need much, a room with a comfortable bed and a brace to ensure his head stays in its current position. Hook him up to an IV and give him weak mixed-blood infusions daily. Set a television up in front of him and make sure it plays soap operas 24/7, always in languages that he doesn't understand. I want four guards posted at the door, now that he's vulnerable every enemy that he has will want to come and finish the job I started, or maybe just stand and laugh."
A woman bowed and left the room. NamJoon turned to the secretary. "Release official announcements that my father has abdicated his position to me immediately. I'll do a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. I want to meet with Park BoYoung and Yoshida by Friday. Set up meetings with all of the other board members for next week."
"Yes, Daewang," he said and bowed.
"Don't call me Daewang. I don't want to hear that shit again," NamJoon snapped. "Hoejang (chairman of the board) will do."
"Yes, Hoejang," the man said before exiting the room.
NamJoon turned to the guards. "I know no one jumped to help my father because everyone hates the asshole. I get it. But if you try to pull that shit with me, you'll be dead immediately."
The men responded with "Yes, Hoejang" and NamJoon dismissed them to return to their posts - well, all of them except the man who still stood with his foot on Mr. Kim's face - and then turned to the one remaining staff member. "Get a pitcher of water, tea and some snacks for Min YoonGi. Make sure he's taken care of while I'm working."
While the woman left the room to complete the task, NamJoon went to sit behind his father's desk grabbing the computer mouse and giving it a shake to wake the computer up.
"You don't have a password on your computer?" NamJoon glanced down at his father with disgust. "Fucking arrogant moron."

We were there for hours. I ate the food that was brought to me and slept. NamJoon worked at the desk the entire time. At one point, I woke to see several people lifting Mr. Kim onto a stretcher, his head held in place by a contraption made of plastic and metal bars. They wheeled him out followed by the guard and NamJoon and I were left alone. I fell back asleep.
When I woke up again, NamJoon was on the phone talking to someone about shares and stock prices. He looked so different from what I was used to. He looked like he belonged behind that desk, telling people what to do, at the head of a huge corporation.
It was uncanny, as if he'd changed at the snap of a finger. If you'd asked me the day before, I'd have said NamJoon couldn't be trusted to manage an ice cream stand. He'd always seemed too disconnected and nonchalant. Now he suddenly looked as if he belonged in a suit and tie, speaking, moving and carrying himself with strength and authority.
He looked over at me after he'd hung up the phone and gave me a little smile. "I'll be finished here, soon. You want anything?"
"Can I go home?" The words were out of my mouth before I had time to think about them, but they were right. If I was no longer in danger, I should be able to leave. I'd taken a nap and my head felt better. I could walk away from all of this, I could get back to real life with a dash of NamJoon thrown in, rather than drowning in his ocean.
"I'd rather you wait for me. We'll go together."
I cleared my throat. "No, I mean...Can I go back to my dorm room? Now that I'm no longer in danger. Maybe you can have someone send over my things?"
He stared at me for long, silent seconds before saying. "You can't go anywhere, you have to live with me."
Frustration gripped me, too hard, it had built up for weeks and been waiting in the wings. "Why? You took care of your father. He isn't going to have me killed or put in a lab. There's no reason that I have to live with you."
"You're my A Doua Inima."
"I know that. But I don't have to live with you. You can just feed on me whenever you need to. I'll just drop by your office, we can schedule it or whatever."
He gave me a long look and then said, "Listen. You're my A Doua Inima. My Second Heart. You're my soulmate. We're in love with each other. You're not leaving me."
"Fuck that shit! I'm not in love with you!" I'd jumped off the couch to shout at him, suddenly breathing hard as anger took over.
"You think? You're my Second Heart and I'm your Second Heart. There's no getting around it or denying it. You're just such an emotional mess that you haven't figured it out yet."
"That's not…It's just not true! It's a lie. This is so fucked up. I don't believe this bullshit. This isn't a fairy tale. You're fucking insane. And I'm not your A Doua Inima. This is your fault…" I threw out a theory that I'd been harboring, afraid to bring it to the light of day, afraid it might not be true, that my hopes would be dashed. I hadn't wanted to give up my last bullet, but now I shot it at him. "This is because of you. Fucking filling me with all kinds of gases and stars and shit, and that first night when you attacked me, you said, 'Only me.' You commandedme: 'Only me'"
"What the fuck are you talking about? 'Gases and shit'? And a command wouldn't make you my A Doua Inima. If that were possible, everyone would have one."
"I know. I'm not your A Doua Inima. You gave me that command and it fucked everything up and now it just seems like I'm your A Doua Inima. You fucked with my head, you damaged my brain. I don't love you. I don't need you. I need you to leave me alone. I need you to look at me and erase what you said. Tell me, "Not just me." Tell me to forget you. Fix me. I don't want this anymore. I can't take it."
Anger began to burn slowly in his eyes and his voice got lower. "This is absurd. There's nothing I can say to make this go away. You're grasping at straws."
"No," I said, not wanting to give up. "No! I know you fucked me up. You're ruining my entire life!"
"Not only me." He said the words and they stung my skin, stabbed into my gut, a strong command, erasing what he'd said before. "Satisfied? Do you really think this A Doua Inima 'bullshit' only goes one way? Do you think you're any less dependent on me than I am on you? Go then. Now. Leave. I set you free. Get the fuck out of here."

I didn't need to hear anything else. I left, turning my back on him and slamming out of the office, full of so much anger that I could barely see. Pain struck before I'd even reached the elevator. Anguish, burning suddenly hot in my mind, my heart and my soul, making my feet stutter.
I forced myself to continue. I wasn't going to stop, even if tears were suddenly pouring from my eyes and the pain was only growing worse. I got on the elevator and collapsed against the wall, crying like a bitch whose boyfriend had broken up with her before fourth period, hugging myself, choking on wrenching sobs. Telling myself that I hated him. Again and again and again.