"Soooo..." Eun piped up timidly, breaking the deafening silence in his brother's living room. "What does all this mean for us now?"

"Well," Yo finally took the initiative to reply when no one else did, "it means that for one, Wang Industries is ours again, and for two...I guess it means we now also own Hwangbo Enterprises."

"UWA!" Eun gaped wide-eyed at So. "You did it, Hyung, you really did it!"

So wearily shook his head, staring at the freshly polished hardwood floor. "I didn't do anything," he stated dispirited. "This was all Lady Hae's doing."

"Bullshit!" Yo snapped at him. "You already had the majority of the investors on your side after the last meeting, and the hold-outs would have caved eventually. You laid the groundwork for making this possible, So-yah...Lady Hae only used her connections to finish the job, because mother took you out of the game. Don't you dare try to sell yourself short on this! Getting Wang Industries back for us was definitely your accomplishment."

"He's right, Hyung," Baek Ah spoke up in support of Yo's assertion. "Lady Hae even made that clear in her letter...Weren't you listening?"

So merely shrugged this time, still without looking up. He had been listening—sort of—but for some reason his mind refused to process the information.

After a brief explanation from Soon Deok for their belated arrival, including a quick recount of their strange meeting with Myung Hee, his brothers had waited patiently—more or less—for him to open the envelope. Eun's assurance that 'it's not ticking' suddenly wasn't much consolation anymore, because it might as well have been when he removed the contents—a thick stack of Hwangbo Enterprises stock certificates, the contract signed by every former Wang Industries investor, fully agreeing to all of Wang So's business terms, and a smaller, plain envelope with the words 'Read This First' in delicate hanja characters, written in red.

So had started to read Myung Hee's letter out loud, then quickly handed it to Yo however, as his voice threatened to fail him after the first few lines. But even his Hyung had only made it halfway through, before he passed it on to Soon Deok to read the rest.

The letter had told them about Myung Hee's son, and about Wook's attempts on their lives. It had told the truth she owed So, about the day he had saved her life for a second time. It had told them about the 'Spy Queen of Seoul', and about her reason for leaving. It had explained that the stock certificates made up nearly fifty percent of Hwangbo Enterprises' shares, and listed names of other investors who had already committed to transferring their own shares as well, making Wang So the majority share holder of the company. It furthermore had assured So that the agreement reached with the former Wang Industries investors was solely his own accomplishment. And finally the letter had spoken about Hae Soo, and pleaded with So not to distance himself from her like he had tried to distance himself from Myung Hee. It had promised that, in time, he would understand why he needed Hae Soo in his life, and begged him to take care of her on behalf of Myung Hee.

"Yah!" Yo reached over and dealt him a light slap on the shoulder. "Are you all right?...What's the matter?"

So looked up at last, causing Yo to cringe when the expression in his younger brother's eyes made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

"What's the matter?" So echoed the question incredulously. "I'll tell you what's the matter…All this time, she did all this for me...for us...and I had not the slightest idea what she was going through herself. I knew Wook was cheating on her, but this...this..." He halted and exhaled a sharp breath from between his teeth.

"The ten months you spent in jail for beating the shit out of the bastard...he tried to kill her because she had found her son?" Yo queried cautiously.

"Apparently!" So nodded broodingly. "She called me at the Dojang that day, just whispering on the phone, sounding scared out of her mind. I couldn't make any sense out of what she was trying to tell me, only that Wook was going to kill her. When I got there, he was about to bash her head in with a golf club. I would have finished him off right there and then, but she stopped me...Now I wish she hadn't," he added harshly, his knuckles turning white as his hands tightly gripped the edge of the low coffee table he was perched on.

Soon Deok and his brothers had looked at him oddly, though without questioning why he would sit down on the table instead of the sofa or one of the chairs. It hurt, sitting on the table, and his sore ribs vehemently protested the uncomfortable position, but he needed the pain right now—just to help him stay awake and stay focused. If not for Soon Deok's inadvertent slip-up earlier, he might not even have realized that the table itself, as well as most of the furniture in his home was brand new. Myung Hee had obviously gone to extreme lengths to make sure that everything was exactly as before—down to even the smallest details of the intricate etched-glass inlays on his cabinets and doors.

"He would have deserved it," Yo declared, bringing So back to the moment. "But then you would still be sitting in jail. I think some of this," he indicated the stack of Hwangbo stock certificates, "is Lade Hae's revenge for what he has done to her over the years."

"I never knew!" So muttered dismally. "All this time, I never knew. She kept this all to herself...Why?"

"To protect her son, would be my guess," Soon Deok spoke up. "Wook forced her to give up the baby, then tried to kill her when she found her son years later...and it's the same reason why she's leaving now, after Wook threatened to kill her son."

"You think it's true that Lady Hae is really the Spy Queen of Seoul? I mean...well, she just doesn't look like what I would have imagined," Eun interjected cagily.

"What would you expect the Spy Queen to look like?" Yo chuckled. "Medusa, or the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid cartoon?"

"No, but just...oh, I don't know!" Eun bashfully scratched the back of his neck.

"I've known her for over ten years, and it never even occurred to me," So admitted. "But thinking about it now...it makes perfect sense, and I feel like an idiot for not realizing it before."

"Well, considering even her own husband apparently didn't figure it out," Baek Ah weighed in on the conversation. "Makes me wonder, though, how she suddenly got exposed. It didn't say anything about it in her letter?"

"No, but doctor Choi might know," Soon Deok suggested. "Seems he is the only one who knew all along that she was the Spy Queen, and since he will be taking over the network..."

"We need to talk to him as soon as possible..."

"The letter said to wait until he contacts So-yah," she disputed Yo, adding, "I'm sure there is a reason for that."

"Then what do we do in the meantime?" Eun grumbled, sounding a bit annoyed. "Just sit here and wait?"

"Not at all!" Soon Deok retorted as she stood and headed for the door. "You and Baek Ah come with me. We need to go get whatever is in the trunk of the Lexus and bring it inside."

"Why? What's in there?" Baek Ah wanted to know.

"According to Lady Hae, everything you boys need to clear your names," she told him.

"What about So-hyung?" Eun protested instantly.

"Oh, I think she had him included with the 'boys' too," Yo chuckled with a sly wink at his younger brother.

"Of course...and you too, Wang Yo-ssi," Soon Deok gave back nonchalantly, then quickly slipped out the front door.

"Yah!" Yo called after her. "I resent that!" he complained with mock-irritation, not sure if she had still heard him. "Go tell her to bring the car up around back," he advised Eun and Baek Ah, "unless you want to carry whatever is in the trunk up the stairs."

When the younger ones left, he leaned back in his wheelchair and ran a hand through his hair, then bestowed So—who was once again just staring at the floor— with a somber gaze.

"Are you okay?" he questioned softly.

"If anyone asks me that one more time today, I'm going to..." So stopped short of proclaiming what he would do. "No, I'm not okay," he confessed instead. "I'm really worried about her. The way she looked when we met her earlier...I have a feeling there is much more to it than what she told us, and what was in that letter."

Yo grimaced uneasy. "Look...I understand why you're worried," he chose his words carefully, "but there isn't really anything you can do about it right now..."

"I know that..."

"Don't interrupt me!" Yo scolded, earning himself a halfhearted glare. "But since you know that, you also know that Lady Hae is a grown woman who can take care of herself. She's smart and tough, and even if she's leaving to protect her son and doctor Choi takes over her network, she will still have connections. I would bet she has people all over South Korea...not just in Seoul...that she can rely on."

So shrugged and nodded unconvinced. "I need to talk to doctor Choi...and then I need to find Hae Soo-ssi. With Myung Hee leaving, she will have no place to go."

"No way, So-yah!" Yo countered adamantly. "Lady Hae treated that girl like a daughter. There is no way she would just put her out on the street...Come on, you know better than that."

"But she still can't go back to that house," So argued. "As long as Wook is on the loose, it's not safe for her there."

"What's not safe where?" Soon Deok questioned, catching the last part of So's statement as she returned to the living room, followed by Eun and Baek Ah, each carrying a large cardboard box. "Go get the rest," she advised them, then turned back to So. "Hae Soo-ssi is downstairs. She wants to know if it's okay to come in."

"Yeah, of...course," he replied with a hitched breath, clutching his side when his ribs told him in no uncertain terms that he had stood up too quickly.

Soon Deok merely rolled her eyes at him, before she went to the front door and motioned for Hae Soo to come up.

"What's the deal with sitting on the table?" she queried however, when she came back and So had once again planted himself on the coffee table.

"My house, my table...I'll sit on it if I want to," he declared gruffly. "That, and I'm trying to stay awake," he added at her perplexed squint. "If I get on the couch, you won't get me back up anytime soon."

"You want us to leave for now so you can get some sleep?" Yo asked, noting the fatigue in his brother's voice. "We could come back this evening and talk then. This stuff isn't going anywhere." He indicated the boxes Eun and Baek Ah had deposited on the floor.

"No, it's okay. I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm dead. Right now, this is more important."

Yo frowned at the morbid statement, and exchanged a furtive glance with Soon Deok who failed to completely stifle a cringe.

"Hi, Noona!" Eun's shout, and the thump when he dropped the last box he had carried inside through the back door, turned everyone's attention as Hae Soo entered the living room.

"Hi!" she responded timidly, aware of the palpable tension in the room.

Only Eun seemed oblivious and rushed over to welcome her with a hug. He stopped short, however, and dropped his arms. "Are you okay, Noona?" he inquired concerned. "You look like you've been crying."

"Oh, I...I'm okay," Soo muttered embarrassed, wiping her cheeks and silently scolding herself for not refreshing her make-up before coming inside.

"Come on, sit down," he continued, urging her toward one of the large recliners. "Can I get you anything?...Tea, water, coffee...hey, I got some pear juice here too..."

"No, thanks, Eunie! I'm fine, don't worry," she reassured him, forcing a smile at his endearing overeagerness to make her comfortable.

"Okay, that's good then." He backed off, though looking almost disappointed. "But be sure to let me know if you need something, okay?"

"I could use a beer, Eunie," Yo spoke up with a barely concealed smirk.

Eun turned and opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it with a somewhat dejected nod and headed toward the kitchen.

"You're mean!" Soon Deok whispered, directed at Yo, yet also fighting to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I know!" he shrugged. "I'm a real jerk...Lady Hae told me so herself."

"Anyone else need anything while I'm in here?" Eun yelled from the kitchen.

"How about put on some Ramyeon," Baek Ah shouted back. "I haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"Fix your own noodles. I can't stand the smell of the damn things," Eun grumbled as he returned and handed Yo a bottle of beer.

"I know," Baek Ah chuckled.

"Well, if you know then why did you...Aish!" Eun pouted and turned away, knowing he had once again let his brother get the better of him.

"Yah! You promised me not to pick on Eunie anymore," Soo chastised Baek Ah.

"I did?" he frowned skeptically. "When was that?"

"The day Eonni and I came up to..."

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Baek Ah quickly cut her off. "I'm sorry, Eunie, I forgot. Won't happen again."

Soo cast him a curious squint. "Whaaat...was that all about?"

"That was about me, not supposed to know anything about how bad this place got trashed," So commented with a pointed glare at Soon Deok, yet causing all three of his brothers as well as Hae Soo to openly cringe.

"Eonni just didn't want you to worry. That's why she told us not to say anything," Soo explained nevertheless. "Don't be mad, please. She really meant well, and everyone was happy to help out too...I even got a VIP ticket for the next BTS concert at the Olympic Stadium out of it," she added with a wink at Baek Ah, and grinned when Eun mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

So stared at her kind of puzzled for a moment, then shook his head, a hint of a grin tugging at a corner of his mouth as well. "And what did everyone else get out of it?"

"I got to ride your bike back from the impound," Baek Ah volunteered, unthinking, and immediately regretted it.

"You...what?"

"Uhhh...I...uh..." Baek Ah sputtered aghast, then hastened to assure him, "Don't worry, it's fine! I was really careful with it, and I even washed it for you before I put it in the garage."

"You rode my Harley...without a license?"

"No, I..."

"Do you realize what would have happened if you got pulled over?"

"But I have..."

"You would have went to jail, and..."

"Will you just listen for a second?" Baek Ah shouted at last. "I have a motorcycle license! I got it last year, just haven't been able to save up enough money yet, to buy my own bike...at least not the one I want. I would have never even considered riding your precious Harley, if I didn't have a valid license. I'm not that stupid! I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but I was just trying to save Lady Hae the extra expense to have it brought back on a trailer, and I damn sure didn't want anyone else to ride it back, so..."

"Are you done?" So asked quietly when Baek Ah stopped his rant with a resigning gesture.

"Yeah, I am, and I'm sorry. Okay?"

"Good, because you got it all wrong."

"Huh?" Baek Ah squinted baffled.

So fixed him with a solemn gaze. "Do you honestly think I would worry more about the bike than about you? I didn't know you got your license...you never mentioned it...so that's what I was worried about. The bike could be replaced..."

"No, it can't!" Baek Ah argued passionately. "Mu-hyung got that for you, and it's one of a kind, and I know how much it means to you."

"I does mean a lot to me, because it was a gift from Mu-hyung, and it's the only thing I have left of him," So conceded, averting his eyes, then continued. "But it's still just a material thing that can be replaced...like everything in here apparently was...But what can't be replaced are my brothers, and I..." He stopped and swallowed hard, then hurriedly finished, "I couldn't stand to lose another one of you. You got that?"

Baek Ah bit his lower lip and merely nodded, not trusting himself to say anything at the moment. He knew full well that Wang So was nothing like the 'bad guy' the rumors about him and his reputation made him out to be. However, he had never before known his brother to open up to anyone about anything like just now, and it almost scared him. He was used to getting those 'looks' from So that made his skin crawl—they were all used to that—but getting an honest and sincere show of compassion from 'Mister Pokerface' himself was a new one for Baek Ah.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and apparently neither was Eun, judging by the younger one's wide-eyed gawk.

"What?" So queried when he also noticed Eun staring at him with his mouth open. "Why are you looking at me like I just grew horns or something?"

Eun shut his mouth, but still just continued to stare.

"I think you scared him speechless," Soon Deok assessed.

"Eun speechless? Now that would be a first," Yo commented, slightly sarcastic, earning himself a 'wanna-be' glare from said brother. "Nice try, Eunie, but you really need to work on that some more," Yo chuckled at the response, then suddenly turned serious. "No, I think you just kind of freaked out both of our Namdongsaengdeul. They're not used to getting that much brotherly love from you," he candidly told So.

"That's not true," Baek Ah started to protested.

"Yeah, I know," So cut him off, though looking at Soon Deok. "I'm a real jerk too, right?"

She sighed and hung her head. "I said, I was sorry! I didn't mean it like that."

"Okaaay..." Yo drawled, frowning, "what am I missing here?"

"Nothing important, don't worry about it," So replied bleakly, then sidetracked. "We need to get started on those boxes...see what we have to work with."

Yo squinted warily at the abrupt change of subject, but deemed it safer to go along with it for the time being. "Fine, let's do that then," he consented. "Six boxes, six of us, so take one box each. This one is mine," he indicated the box that Soon Deok had earlier placed on the small corner table next to him. "Just be careful to keep everything in whatever order it is...knowing Lady Hae, it's all sorted nicely...and don't get anything mixed up with something from another box. Got it?"

"Ye, Seonsaeng-nim (Sir/teacher)!" Eun and Baek Ah blurted out simultaneously, however both with a barely suppressed chuckle.

Yo rolled his eyes and shook his head when Soon Deok busted out laughing. Hae Soo clutched a hand over her mouth in a vain effort to stifle a giggle, and even So couldn't manage to keep a grin in check.