Hey guys! So… I lied lol. This will end up having one more chapter after all. I also plan on finishing my Playful Kiss fic this week and maybe doing an angsty one-shot of Ha Ni and Seung Jo as well.

Anyway, I am glad you guys are enjoying it! I hope every is staying safe and healthy right now.

Enjoy and let me know what you all think!

Yi Jeong put down his gym gear and made his way to the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, he smiled slightly. In the year that he had lived in Sweden, he had managed to change a lot of his habits. Instead of his fridge holding only alcohol and maybe a few things of food, it now only held water and many different varieties of foods. The club had also been replaced by the gym and his body had gone from soft to about twelve pounds of muscles.

His hand was improving although he still had a long way to go but mentally he was beginning to crawl out of the darkness. Partially due to removing himself from his parent's toxic head games. Nor did he let his grandfather dictate every point of his life. He kept him informed of his progress but that was it. But those were minor reasons for why he was finally beginning to live again.

His eyes unconsciously went to the picture sitting on his shelf. The one of a certain girl back home who meant so much to him it was almost frightening. He picked up the picture with a smile. He loved this photo. It was one of her at the F4 lounge a few days before he had left for Sweden and the group had come together to say goodbye to him and Jun Pyo. It was one of her simply looking out the window with a slightly wistful smile. The sun hitting her hair with a soft glow that had rendered him breathless.

He doubted she even knew that he had managed to sneak a photo of her. But he had a strange sudden panic over the idea of leaving without even one photo of her. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he put the picture carefully back down. He needed to take a shower before heading to the studio for a few hours.

Except as he began to grab his stuff, he was surprised to see that Woo Bin was calling him. His friends didn't usually call during the week when they knew he would be working. "Hello?"

"Yi Jeong?"

He frowned at his friend's slightly nervousness and also strangely angry tone. "Woo Bin? Is everything okay?"

"Not really."

"What's wrong?"

"I need your help."

This made his eyes fly open in shock. He didn't think his friend had ever asked him for help before. Not serious help anyway since Woo Bin had always been the natural protector of the group. "What is it?"

"There is a problem…" Woo Bin told him quietly. "With Ga Eul."

This made him immediately straighten, his chest suddenly tight with panic. "What kind of problem?"

"Her family is moving to the United States and Ga Eul is insisting on going with them."

"What?" Yi Jeong snapped in confusion, his head swirling to make sense of what he was trying to tell him. "Why would she—"

"Wait, there is more..." Woo Bin whispered. "But you're really not going to like it."

There was something in his voice that told Yi Jeong this was bad and he gulped nervously. "All right, what is it?"

"Her father—" Woo Bin's voice caught and he gripped his phone so hard it could hear the plastic cracking. "What?"

"He beats her Yi Jeong."

He stumbled and only barely managed to catch himself before he slid to the floor.

"I just found out," Woo Bin rushed to tell him. "Gu Jun Pyo has known for about a year and got her out last summer. But now her father wants to move to the states and she is refusing to listen to us. She believes she needs to go to protect her mother."

"Her mother?" Yi Jeong asked sluggishly and heard Woo Bin sigh in dread. "Her father is an alcoholic. It's only when he is drinking that he becomes violent towards Ga Eul. Apparently, he has never hurt Park Jae Young and Ga Eul is determined to keep it that way, so she is refusing to not go with them."

At the heavy silence, Woo Bin winced. "I'm sorry bro. I never wanted to tell you this way but I can't get her to listen to me. She's insisting—"

"I will take care of it." Yi Jeong said quietly, but there was no missing the violent tone. "I will call you as soon as I land."

He hung up without another word and simply sat in horrified shock for a minute. The walls of his apartment swirling violently around him. His ears ringing continuously with the words, 'her father beats her, Yi Jeong.'

He gripped the couch as a wave of hot anger he had never experienced before coursed through him. A violent, dark, visceral thing which was threatening to consume him. A horrible rage he could only barely control. His eyes flew once more to the picture of her as a thousand images flowed through his brain.

Of Ga Eul playing in the sand at Caledonia, of her attempting to ski and him laughing as he brushed snow off her back. Of stopping by the diner and her making him porridge and talking to him for hours about art or books in-between customers. The way she went after him when he started down his dark path of self-destruction. How she fought him tooth and nail in order to prove a broken hand was not the end. Of her standing by Geum Jan Di and Gu Jun Pyo without question. Despite the fact, it made her a target with the witch.

His teeth gritted at the knowledge that during all that, she was also being beaten by her father and never told them. Never told HIM. And a different wave of anger flooded over him but he pushed it to the side. He would deal with that later.

With a low growl, he stalked to his room to grab his passport and wallet. Not even bothering to pack a bag, he simply grabbed a few pieces of clothes and threw them into his duffel. He quickly zipped it up with a snarl and headed out, slamming his door so hard that a few of his neighbors poked their heads out but once they caught the look on his face they hurriedly darted back inside.

Woo Bin sincerely wished for that option when he saw Yi Jeong step off the plane later that night. And for the first time in their friendship, he thought that if Yi Jeong threw a punch right now he might not be able to stop him.

He stalked past him without a word and Woo Bin winced. This was not going to be easy to explain and he couldn't help but be grateful he wasn't Gu Jun Pyo right now.

They drove silently for about ten minutes before Woo Bin finally sighed. "She's at Geum Jan Di's right now who is desperately trying to talk to her but I doubt it will do much good." He cast a sideways glance to Yi Jeong who was staring stoned-face out the window.

"Jun Pyo is flying home too, he had business in China anyway. He should be here late tonight."

He only grunted in response and they drove quietly again for a few minutes before Yi Jeong turned his head angrily. "You said Jun Pyo got her out a year ago?"

Woo Bin nodded, "Apparently he is the one who got her into the apartment." He lowered his voice in understanding. "I know we should have told you sooner but I only found out myself four days ago—"

"Then you should have called me four days ago, Woo Bin!" Yi Jeong yelled loudly. "And Jun Pyo should never have hidden this from me in the first place!"

"Yi Jeong," Woo Bin cut in softly. "There are reasons why—"

"I don't give a fuck about his reasons!" Yi Jeong pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to take a breath. "I will deal with him later." He muttered flatly. "Right now, I need to deal with Ga Eul."

"Thank you." Woo Bin said plainly as they pulled to the front of her building. "Despite the fact, that Ga Eul and I are almost siblings at this point, I can't get her to…" He trailed off with a sigh. "Well, I'm not enough to stop her from this."

Yi Jeong knew what he meant. Despite the fact, his friends were his lifeline. His blood and family even they had not been able to reach him after he hurt his hand. Only Ga Eul had managed to breakthrough. Now, it was his turn to follow her to the edge. But first, he needed to know how dark this road truly was.

"How bad?"

Woo Bin shook his head. "Jun Pyo has been sketchy on the details. Probably because he doesn't want me just going out and killing her father."

"No." Yi Jeong agreed and turned his head with a hard stare. "That's my job."

Woo Bin realized that particular sentiment had not changed in the past five hours as Yi Jeong opened the door and let them inside. Although he did look slightly less murderous but he was nowhere near calm..

"Where's Ga Eul?" Ji Hoo asked quietly. "Is she all right?"

"She's sleeping." The potter gestured stiffly to the bedroom. "She is exhausted from being terrified all week."

He looked around at the litter of boxes. "I want this done before she wakes up. But I am not sure where she had everything."

Woo Bin nodded and gestured for Ji Hoo to help him. Having spent more time here than anyone else, they slowly began to put her stuff back up while Jun Pyo calmly studied Yi Jeong. "Do you want to do this now or after we take care of Chu Dong Soon?"

Yi Jeong glared at him. "I am never going to forgive you for this."

"No," Jun Pyo agreed with an understanding nod. "I wasn't expecting you too."

This did pacify Yi Jeong who only barely managed to keep his voice down so not to wake Ga Eul. "You had no right to hide this from me. You had no right to promise your silence over something which might kill her!"

"You didn't see her that night, Yi Jeong." Jun Pyo said quietly. "She was almost broken and the idea of you finding out would have sent her over the edge. Her father had beaten worse than ever before and she was barely hanging on. I wasn't about to finish her off."

This made him pause. Although he was still furious at Jun Pyo for not telling him, he could understand the desire not to cause Ga Eul more pain. But still… "I would have told you if it had been Geum Jan Di."

"I know." The Shinhwa president nodded. "And I hate that I didn't but there is a difference between them."

"Why?" Yi Jeong snarled. "Because Geum Jan Di belongs to you?"

"No." Jun Pyo sighed with an almost wistful smile. "Because I know Chu Ga Eul. She would have told you herself soon. She loves you too much to keep secrets from you even though you are not together. Geum Jan Di is just now beginning to fully trust me. She never would have come to me with something like before we were even together."

Yi Jeong turned and stared at the wall for a minute absorbing this. His mind racing and his desire to break Jun Pyo's nose for good this time and toss a lifetime of friendship out the window eased. Eventually, he turned back to their leader with a low grumble. "Thank you for getting her out."

Knowing this was the bridge, he simply dipped his head. Yi Jeong might never really accept his reasoning for not telling him about her father before this but at least their friendship was not damaged by it. And he felt the tight band of panic around his heart fade in profound relief.

"How bad?"

Woo Bin and Ji Hoo stilled at the low question, their eyes also lifting to Jun Pyo who cringed. "I've only learned most of this in the past few days. Jan Di has been so terrified that she told me more. But the night I picked her up, he had blackened her eye to the point it was swollen shut. Her lip was split and she had a badly bruised cheek."

"Son of bitch." Woo Bin growled under his breath, his fists clenching tightly and Ji Hoo quickly wrestled Ga Eul's favorite china away from him before he accidentally broke them.

Yi Jeong only continued to stare at Jun Pyo. "What else?"

"Jan Di says he usually knocks her around. Pushes her into things," Jun Pyo continued darkly. "Her back and arms get bruised a lot which is why she can hide it. He rarely hits her face but when he does…"

He hesitated for a moment before finishing in a rush. "Well, that's when he can't seem to stop. Normally, Ga Eul can get him to calm down before he inflicts too much damage but when he gets to that point, he won't stop. It's why she ends up fleeing on those nights."

"Poor Ga Eul," Ji Hoo whispered in anguish. "How could we not have known?"

"Apparently, he almost killed her the night before we went skiing the last time." Jun Pyo said softly. Not sure if this would make things better or worse but not wanting to shake the fragile trust Yi Jeong was offering him, he decided it was better to get it all out in the open.

Yi Jeong whipped his head furiously. "What do you mean he almost killed her?"

"He threw her across the room."

"He what?" Woo Bin and Ji Hoo shouted together while Yi Jeong slowly walked to the window. His gaze distant as though he was remembering something.

"She was blocking the door." Jun Pyo said tightly. "He was so drunk he didn't know what he was doing. He wanted to go out to the store for more alcohol. She refused to let him and so he picked her up and threw her into the wall."

"Oh my god." Woo Bin buried his face into his hands. His whole body trembling in grief and rage. "I'm going to kill him."

"Get in line." Ji Hoo hissed before his gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Is that why she didn't ski during that trip?"

Jun Pyo nodded. "Jan Di told me this last night. She hit the back of her head on the corner of their tv stand. She blacked out for a few seconds and had a concussion according to Jan Di. No visible bruises though so we didn't notice it."

"I noticed," Yi Jeong growled. "I knew something was wrong. I even asked her about it and she told me not to worry. That she would feel better in a few days. That she just had a headache and would stay close to the lodge and drink hot chocolate…" He let out a humorless chuckle. "I called her a nerd."

"Come on, Ga Eul." Yi Jeong dipped his head to meet her eyes, his grin playful. "Please."

Her lips twitched with amusement. "Your dimples are not that cute."

"Yes, they are." He pouted and poked her arm. "Come on… Come ski with me."

She simply shook her head with a chuckle. "Go ski with Woo Bin."

"I don't want to," Yi Jeong whined but when she still didn't budge, he frowned slightly and sat down on the small coffee table in front of her chair and gently nudged her leg with his foot. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course. Why?"

"You seem off." Yi Jeong studied her for a minute before lifting her chin with a concerned glance. "Tell me."

Ga Eul hesitated for a minute before finally sending him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine, Yi Jeong. I just have a headache."

"Then why don't I believe you?"

She sighed in amusement and setting her book down, she leaned forward. "I'm fine, Sunbae. I promise. I will take some pain medicine and rest here at the lodge. I will be better by dinner."

"Promise?" Yi Jeong asked quietly and she chuckled and swatted his leg. "I promise. Now go have fun. It's your last vacation before you leave for Sweden next week."

"Fine." Yi Jeong pulled his hat down over his ears. "But you would have more fun out there with me." He sent her a mischievous wink. "I guarantee it."

"No thanks," Ga Eul said smoothly and held up her romance book of some handsome guy on the cover. "Moon Sang Hoon is keeping my attention just fine."

He scowled down at her. "Not funny."

She snickered and he leaned over her flirtatiously. "Besides, you know what they call girls who read too much, don't you?"

"Intelligent?" Ga Eul asked without batting an eye and he grinned. "They call them nerds."

"Only from men who can't even read in the first place."

He narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled knowingly. "I'm not going skiing right now, Yi Jeong. No matter how much you scowl at me.

"You're no fun."

"I know."

Yi Jeong grinned before taking her chin again with a low murmur. "Make sure you take those painkillers. Your eyes look tired."

Ga Eul nodded and squeezed his hand assuredly. "I will."

He sighed dramatically in defeat and patted her leg. "Call me if you get bored."

"I won't." She called sweetly. "I have hot chocolate and my date after all." She waved her book again happily. "He is just about to take off his shirt to go swimming so I think I will be perfectly content this afternoon."

Yi Jeong rolled his eyes and she grinned as he stalked off, only barely suppressing a laugh when she heard him mutter under his breath to Woo Bin to remind him to not let her go to the bookstore without supervision anymore.

"Damn it," Yi Jeong snarled and tugged on his hair furiously. "She was hurt right in front of me! I saw it and I just went off to go skiing! I should have dragged her to the doctor, I should have—"

"No, Sunbae." A quiet voice broke through and they all whirled in shock as they noticed Ga Eul suddenly standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Her expression flooded with guilt as she met Yi Jeong's gaze.

"I am the one who is in the wrong with all this. Not you."

Ga Eul looked at him sadly. "You asked me, remember? You asked me to tell you what was wrong."

Yi Jeong glared at her before snapping angrily. "You lied to me. You told me you were fine."

"I know." Ga Eul wiped her cheeks as the others shifted uncomfortably at the private exchange. "I thought about telling you so many times. I had even decided too. I sent you the message, remember?"

He nodded slowly. "You told me when I got back to the lodge you wanted to talk about something but we never did."

"It because when I saw you walk in with Woo Bin and the others, you were smiling." Ga Eul grinned through her tears. "You were laughing and having fun for the first time since you hurt your hand. And I knew you were nervous about leaving soon and I just couldn't—" She stopped with a shaky breath. "I just couldn't take that moment away from you."

Yi Jeong tightened his jaw and pointed impatiently to the space between his feet. "Come here."

She went slowly and the minute she got in reach, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close so the others wouldn't overhear them.

"You were my moment." Yi Jeong whispered tenderly even as he glared down at her. "And if you didn't know that even back then—"

"No," Ga Eul said softly. "I did, Yi Jeong."

"If you had gone with him… If he had killed you," Yi Jeong hissed frantically. "If he had done another thing to you, I wouldn't have—" He stopped and shook his head to rid himself of the image. "Don't you ever put yourself back in danger like this again… Do you hear me, Chu Ga Eu?"

Ga Eul nodded, tears leaking slowly down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Yi Jeong." She shook her head. "I didn't think about it scaring you… I just—" She looked up at him pleadingly. "She's my mother."

"I know." Yi Jeong pressed his lips to her forehead. "I will fix it, I promise. But I am not trading your life for hers."

"Okay." Ga Eul whispered and unconsciously leaned further into the warmth of his body. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head at her tearful voice and leaned back to cup her face. He whispered something to her and she nodded. Noticing her attire or lack thereof since she was only wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top, he quickly nudged her back to the bedroom. As soon as the door clicked shut, he turned a hard gaze to Woo Bin.

"Did you get it?"

Woo Bin nodded. "It's waiting for you at the warehouse."

"What is?" Jun Pyo asked suspiciously as Yi Jeong snatched his jacket. "What do you think?" He gave him a violent grin which actually made the Shinhwa heir nervous.

"I asked Woo Bin to pick up her bastard of a father for me tonight for a little chat."

Jun Pyo straightened slowly, exchanging glances with Ji Hoo who also appeared uneasy by this idea. They both knew if Yi Jeong went to her father now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

But understanding he didn't have the right to say anything though, he only dipped his head to the bedroom. "You should probably say goodbye to Ga Eul first. She will be upset if she comes back and finds you gone."

Yi Jeong looked back to the bedroom and they could practically see the mental debate with himself. He knew Ga Eul would ask him for mercy regarding Chu Dong Soon which was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Damn it," Yi Jeong finally growled under his breath and stalked over to her room while Jun Pyo smothered a knowing grin.

Yi Jeong gave a hard tap on the door and not waiting for a reply, he slipped inside with a scowl since it was obvious she had been waiting for him and planned on asking him for the one thing he didn't want to give.

Ga Eul scanned him for a minute before giving a sad smile. "You're leaving to go talk to my father now, aren't you?"

Yi Jeong stared at her, his dark eyes blazing hotly. "You can't ask me to let this go, Ga Eul."

"No," she whispered, playing with the fringe on her pillow. "But I will anyway."

"Ga Eul—"

"Just get him to stay," she said earnestly. "Get him to stay in Korea, Sunbae. Where Woo Bin can keep an eye on him and I know my mother is safe." She reached out pleadingly. "I will stay away from him. I promise. I will never go to the house or even meet my mother unattended."

"No!"

"Please, Yi Jeong!" She jumped up frantically, her eyes wide in panic. "Don't--"

"Why?" Yi Jeong snapped furiously over her. "Why are you protecting him like this?"

"It's not for him!" Ga Eul cried hotly. "It's for you… I am not going to let you damage your soul for me!"

Yi Jeong doubted it would. He honestly believed he could gladly destroy the drunken piece of trash and then sleep like a baby afterwards. But when she stepped forward and gently took his face, her eyes wet with tears as she murmured his name, his resolve went out the window.

"You won't see him again?" Yi Jeong asked tightly. "And you will tell me if he even so much blinks at you?"

"I promise."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her quick reply. "I mean it, Ga Eul. Even if your mother calls and begs you to come home, you don't take a step near them."

She nodded, her hands still holding him firmly. "I won't."

"And if you ever lie to me again—"

"I won't." Ga Eul assured him. "Not even about stubbing my toe."

"I mean it, Ga Eul." Yi Jeong snapped, voice unsually harsh with fear and she quickly shushed him comfortingly. "I won't lie to you anymore."

He scanned her carefully before sighing heavily. "I won't kill him but that as far as I am willing to go."

"Thank you."

He growled something under his breath as he pulled her in close and laid his forehead on hers. She didn't say anything but only stroked the base of his neck until he felt his muscles slowly unclench. He eventually leaned back and kissed her cheek.

"We will talk more later, okay?"

Ga Eul nodded and he smiled slightly, brushing his thumb slowly over her lips. "Get some rest. I will be back soon."

"Okay "

He slipped back out where the others were waiting. And seeing Jun Pyo watching him expectantly and Yi Jeong gritted his teeth. "Jun Pyo-—"

"I will handle it." The F4 leader said quietly. "Don't worry."

Yi Jeong dipped his head in thanks. Not happy about the idea of letting Jun Pyo take the lead in this particular situation but he didn't know if he would be able to stop himself once he got started and he didn't want to break his promise to Ga Eul."

"Ga Eul wants her mother in Korea." Yi Jeong snapped. "He's not allowed to move."

"I can handle that." Jun Pyo grinned knowingly. "He and I have come to an... understanding before. We will just need to discuss adding in some new terms."

"Me too," Woo Bin told him somberly. "I can keep an eye on him from now on. I will make sure nothing happens to Ga Eul again. Or her mother."

Yi Jeong nodded and grabbed his jacket with a few stiff, angry movements. "Let's finish this then."

Woo Bin seemed slightly disappointed though as they walked outside to his lotus. "I take it Ga Eul made you promise that we wouldn't kill him?"

"No," Yi Jeong grumbled but as he opened his car door, he shot his best friend a smirk. "Well, I can't anyway."

"So does that mean I still can?" Woo Bin looked positively delighted by this prospect and Yi Jeong chuckled darkly as they pulled out into the street.

"I only promised we would keep him alive. I didn't say anything about making sure his life wasn't as painful as possible going forward though."

"Oh, goodie." Woo Bin grinned and pulled his gloves out of the glovebox. "This is going to be fun after all."