Hey guys! I am so sorry for the delay on this chapter. I went back to work this week after being off for the past two months due to my surgery. So, this chapter got delayed a little longer than I was expecting.

Now, I decided not to show the scene of the F4 confronting her father. Only because it didn't really fit into the rhythm of the storyline. I wrote it all out and found it didn't work. Also, I am planning on writing an epilogue for this, so don't worry if the ending seems strangely open. There will be a conclusion, I promise.

Anyway, I want to thank you for being patient and I am so appreciative of the response to this story. And since you all love the angsty stories, I will probably do another one soon

Enjoy!

"Yi Jeong, sit up." Ga Eul said softly and he felt himself being lifted upright. He groaned as his head swirled. She tugged on his jacket and he pushed weakly at her hands. "Leave me alone."

"You have vomit all over you." She whispered as she methodically stripped him and the distant part of his brain not swimming in alcohol wondered why she was not embarrassed by it.

"You will sleep better if I get you cleaned up first."

He blurrily opened his eyes with a curse. "I don't need your help."

She ignored this and once she managed to free his shirt, he felt her taking a cool rag and running over his face and chest. Shame flooding over him as the obvious tender care of him. "You don't have to—"

"Hush." Ga Eul murmured as she dipped the rag in the bowl again. "Once you are clean, we will get you into bed. Let you sleep this off."

He stared at her, his eyes bloodshot and his head pounding violently. "I tried to give you to my father tonight."

She nodded in agreement even as she continued to wipe him down. "You did."

"Why would come back?" Yi Jeong said sluggishly.

"What would you have done if he had touched me tonight?" Ga Eul asked plainly, not even bothering to stop her wipe down. "If he tried to take you back on your offer, would you have let—"

"No." He said quickly despite his drunken state. "I would have stopped him."

"And that's why I came back." Ga Eul whispered and he felt her brush back his hair. "Yi Jeong, what you said to your father wasn't about me… It was about you. It was about the pain he's caused you."

He stared at her as she cupped his face with a low murmur. "I can't make that pain go away but you don't have face it alone. At least not tonight."

"You should be mad at me." Yi Jeong said hotly. "Don't let someone treat you that way, Ga Eul, and just accept it."

"I am mad at you."

This made him frown. "I'm confused."

"You're drunk."

He waved his hand wildly and almost punched himself in the nose which made her snicker under her breath. "I would be confused at that even… even." He frowned in disgruntlement. "What's the word for someone like me but not me right now."

"Sober?"

"That's it!"

She chuckled and reached down to pull him to his feet. "Well be confused about it tomorrow then."

He leaned his weight against her as they stumbled into the bedroom. She laid him down and tugged the covers over him. Placing the cool rag on his head and he felt himself falling into darkness. "I hurt you."

"Hush, Yi Jeong." She brushed her lips over his brow. "Just go to sleep for now. You will feel better in the morning."

"No." Yi Jeong opened his eyes and the deep sorrow swirling in them made her heart ache. "I won't. Don't you understand by now… I am just like him."

Something flashed across her face and she looked down at the beer bottles littering the floor of his studio. "No, you aren't like him."

Something told Yi Jeong that she wasn't talking soley about his father but before he could make his brain work long enough to ask her about it, he had drifted off into dark dreams of pain and regret.

The memory of it haunted him as he slipped quietly into her bedroom in the early dawn. The pain of the night he had tried to give her to his father and the vague impressions of her coming back for him, putting him to bed was forever seared in his memory.

He had stopped drinking after that night but the bitterness and darkness had only grown. It wasn't until she literally dragged him to the roof to finally face his past had he finally began to heal.

They never talked about it again but being able to connect now why she had been so adept at handling his drunken self and her hush words of comfort made new shame wash over him.

Ga Eul was lying awake on the bed and he caught the bleary gaze in her expression as though she had retreated somewhere else in her mind while he was gone. "Yi Jeong?"

He moved quickly beside her and brushed her cheek. "Yeah, Ga Eul. It's me."

She looked at him terrified. "Did you get him to stay? Is my mother safe?"

Yi Jeong nodded and the relief hit her hard. She grabbed his wrists which were still holding her. "He won't touch her?"

"No." He assured her although he struggled with her loyalty towards her mother. Especially with some of the things he learned tonight and realized her mother was never going to show an ounce of protection towards her daughter but he decided to let it go… for now.

"It's over, Ga Eul." He assured her quietly. "You're both safe. I promise"

Her body sank in relief and she leaned forward to tuck her forehead into his chest. "Thank you."

Yi Jeong shook his head and pressed his lips to the top of her head. She stayed that way for a long time gathering herself before pulling away and catching the weight in his expression, she sat up carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to ask you something," he whispered in obvious concern. "And I need you to be completely honest with me, Ga Eul."

She nodded slowly. "All right. What is it?"

"Did I ever scare you?" Yi Jeong knelt down on his haunches so he could meet her gaze, his eyes wide with nerves. "When I was drinking… Were you ever afraid that I might hurt you?"

"At first I did." Ga Eul answered tearfully. "I never knew when I was going to walk into my home and meet a fist. So, anytime I see a bottle, I immediately panic."

He interlaced their fingers with a thick swallow. "Ga Eul, I would never raise my hand to you. No matter how drunk I was."

"I know, Yi Jeong." She wiped her cheeks with her free hand with a shaky exhale. "The night I came back and found you… You were at the stage of drinking where no amount of coercing would be able to get my father to stop and you didn't even raise your voice to me."

Ga Eul gave him a watery smile. "I knew then I was safe with you. Even when you were drinking."

Yi Jeong stared at her intensely before reaching up to wipe her eye. "I would never hurt you that way. You don't have to believe me on anything else, but I need to know you believe me on that."

She nodded. "I do and I am not scared of you, Yi Jeong. You are the one person I feel utterly safe with."

She stopped for a minute before confessing. "I am always scared. No matter where I am or who I am with, there is always a small part of me frightened. The instinct to flinch or run every time I meet someone new…. Except with you."

He didn't say anything but she saw some of the tension leave his eyes as she repeated softly. "I'm not scared of you, Yi Jeong."

"Good." He whispered hoarsely. "And you don't have to ever be frightened again."

"It's not that simple." Ga Eul told him weakly. "Even when I am with Woo Bin and we go somewhere loud or crowded, I get nervous. I can be alone with Jan Di and the floor will simply creak causing me to jump."

Yi Jeong felt his heart break slightly and he pressed his forehead to hers with a low murmur. "I promise you, Ga Eul. Nothing will touch you again."

"I know." She said with a low sob. "But I am still scared."

Unable to stop himself, Yi Jeong leaned forward until she was flat on the bed, his body covering hers as she clung to him. "It's going to be okay, Ga Eul."

She nodded but now the wall she had built around herself to keep all this in had seemed to dissolve in the safety of his arms. The years of fear and dread spilling out in bone-shaking sobs. "What if he—"

"No, Ga Eul." Yi Jeong quickly spoke over her in understanding. "He's not coming back."

"How can you be so sure?" She wailed tearfully. "You don't know him, Yi Jeong. My father is fine until he drinks and then this monster appears. He won't care about any threats from Woo Bin—"

"It's not Woo Bin he is afraid of," Yi Jeong told her quietly, his mouth following the trail of her tears soothingly. "Trust me."

He lifted his head, his dark eyes smoking slightly. "So listen carefully and hear me when I tell you that your father has been handled. You never have to jump or listen for creaks on the floor again." He stared at her thunderously. "Do you trust me?"

Ga Eul blinked heavily, her eyelashes thick with tears. "I trust you."

"Good."

"I don't know how to make the nightmares stop though." She whispered thickly. "My brain knows I am safe but—"

"I will protect you." Yi Jeong told her with a low mumble. "Even from the nightmares."

She nodded slowly and tucked her face into his neck. "Okay, Yi Jeong."

Not really moving since he knew she needed to feel his weight, he awkwardly tugged the blankets over them. Her head tucked into the crevice of his shoulder and neck, he felt her slowly beginning to drift off. Her hand fisted into the front of his shirt and he pressed down over her. Shielding her from view from even the shadows.

"I remember the first time it ever happened," Ga Eul muttered sluggishly. "It's the vision that haunts me the most."

"What?" Yi Jeong whispered in concern. "What do you see?"

"I'm little." She whimpered and he had a vague impression, she was not even really awake. "He came home and was stumbling around. I laughed at first because I thought he was playing with me. He got angry at my laughing and started yelling at me and my mom. My mother looked so horrified and he rose his hand. I darted in front of her and that was it."

She shifted closer to him with a soft cry. "That's what I see every time I close my eyes. His fists coming at me that first time. When he stopped being my dad and became the monster."

"Oh Ga Eul," Yi Jeong breathed in horror. "Honey…"

"He was sober in the morning and was normal. Making me breakfast and acting like he didn't notice my black eye. So, I pretended too."

Yi Jeong didn't say anything to this but simply continued to hold her. She kept mumbling various memories as though she was finally purging everything she kept inside for so long. And finally, when there was nothing left for her to tell, she collapsed into grief-filled exhaustion.

Once she was completely asleep, Yi Jeong rolled off her so she wasn't dealing with his full weight. He sat beside her worriedly. He didn't know what to do… He didn't know how he could return to Sweden now. Not after learning everything. A big part of him just wanted to move into her apartment and stay up every night beside her bed like some protective watch-dog. While another part of him wanted to kidnap her again and take her back to Sweden. Get her away from Korea and the memories.

He knew that Ga Eul would fight him though. She would never allow him to stop his treatment nor would she let him shelter her away somewhere. She would insist she was fine and for him to simply trust his friends to ensure her father behaved.

But Yi Jeong couldn't relax with that. Not after everything he had learned in the past forty-eight hours. With a sigh, he messaged his friends and asked them to meet him at the lounge in the morning. He glanced down at the sleeping girl beside him as his mind whirled over what to do.

"Sunbae?"

Yi Jeong lifted his head from his wheel as Chu Ga Eul walked inside his studio. Making a slight grimace at seeing him working. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's all right," Yi Jeong sighed and shook out his hand. "I wasn't making much progress anyway."

She smiled at him and placed a large envelope on his table. "I won't stay long then but Jun Pyo asked if I could drop this off to you. He said it was instructions on which pieces from the Museum Shinhwa was hoping to borrow for this event next week."

He nodded in thanks and catching that she appeared more dressed up than was exactly necessary for Wednesday evening, he gave her a curious stare. "Going somewhere?"

"Hmm?" Ga Eul blinked before glancing down at her clothes with an understanding chuckle. "Oh… Um yeah. I am meeting someone for dinner."

His neck prickled slightly but he managed to keep his tone light. "Really? Who?"

"Just a friend."

Yi Jeong wiped his hands with a bitter laugh. "What's his name?"

She flushed slightly. "Yi Jeong--"

"What's his name, Ga Eul?"

She went still as the tension built up between them.

"Kim Han Gyeol." Ga Eul finally answered quietly and his face grew dark as he scanned her again slowly. "And I doubt you would wear those kind of heels for a first date either."

She shuffled awkwardly. "It's our third. I met him at school a few weeks ago."

Yi Jeong threw down his scalpel with a clang and Ga Eul winced. "We haven't really talked since that day at the Namsan stairs, Sunbae. So-"

"So just because we have not talked for a few weeks, you thought it would be all-right to go out and get a boyfriend?" He snapped and she bristled slightly.

"Yes. Because you made it quite clear that you didn't care about who was in my—"

"Don't," he growled furiously and she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. He sat breathing heavily for a minute before rising slowly to his feet.

"Has he?" Yi Jeong demanded hoarsly and at her continued silence, he quickly stalked over to her with a low snarl. "Answer me, Ga Eul. Has he been in your bed?"

"No." Ga Eul whispered but this didn't seem to relax him. "Do you want him to be?"

"No."

They stared at each other and she reached up tentatively to cup his cheek, the muscles in his jaw so tight they were twitching. "It's just dinner, Sunbae."

He gripped her wrist, his eyes smoking slightly. "If it's really just dinner, then don't go."

Yi Jeong knew he wasn't being fair. He couldn't commit to Ga Eul. Not when he was leaving for Sweden in a week. In fact, beyond this conversation, he had made no mention of his feelings. But he was going to do it anyway. "

If it's just dinner, then stay here with me tonight," Yi Jeong repeated huskily.

"Okay, Yi Jeong."

He stared at her suspiciously but she only smiled with a nod before moving past him, taking off her coat and settling into the pottery station. "Now, let's see what we can do here."

Without another word, Yi Jeong returned to his stool and pulled her to sit down in front of him. His arms coming around her and them working easily together on the pot. Neither of them addressing what just happened nor did it seem like it was necessary. Especially when her phone buzzed a few minutes later and she didn't even lift her head, making the burn of jealousy in chest ease.

Once they were finished, he wrapped his arms fully around her and buried his face into her shoulder. Ga Eul leaned into him and for the first time, he realized someone had stayed with him. The damage his brother had caused by leaving despite his begging had left multiple scars and the lack of trust of anyone loving him enough to ever stay ran deep.

Ga Eul did though. She had not left and he clung to her tightly, his hands trembling in relief. "We leave for our ski trip next week." Yi Jeong mumbled. "It's our last trip before Jun Pyo and I leave."

"I know."

"I want you to go with me."

"Okay, Yi Jeong."

He blinked as the sun rose steadily over the horizon. Ga Eul was still sleeping and rising quietly from the bed, he called Geum Jan Di to come to stay with her while he went to meet his friends. Not wanting her alone after everything.

Thankfully, Jun Pyo had anticipated this and was already on his to drop her off. Jan Di hugged him tightly with a whisper of thanks for saving her friend which he dismissed. Understanding she smiled at him and he knew whatever reservation she might have about him and Ga Eul were no longer an issue.

Yi Jeong walked into the lounge where his friends were waiting. They all looked weary and guilt-ridden. The confrontation with Ga Eul's father would leave an impression on all of them for a long time.

There were things discovered last night about how bad his drinking truly ran, how much pain he had inflicted on his child and the way Ga Eul's mother simply pretended it was not happening. Along with his plans once they arrived in San Francisco and how they were even thinking of arranging Ga Eul into marriage once they arrived.

Which had almost been enough for Yi Jeong to forget his promise to keep Chu Dong Soon alive and it had taken the combined strength of both Woo Bin, Ji Hoo, and finally Jun Pyo to pull him off.

"How is she?" Woo Bin asked plainly as Yi Jeong poured himself a cup of strong coffee.

"All right." Yi Jeong sighed and rolled his neck with a low groan. "Exhausted but relieved to know her mother is staying here."

"Did you tell her?" Jun Pyo asked worriedly. "About how her father wanted her to marry—"

"No." Yi Jeong snapped bitterly, his anger spiking once more at the reminder. "It doesn't matter now anyway... And I don't want to destroy what little faith she has left in her mother by telling her they both were planning on selling her for a more comfortable house!"

They all winced at the reminder of this particular confession Chu Dong Soon had admitted to them last night.

"So now what?" Ji Hoo asked as he rubbed his temples. "We all go back to our lives now and just act like this didn't happen?"

"For Ga Eul's sake, yes." Jun Pyo told him with a sigh. "It will make things harder for her if we start treating her delicately."

"It is also her biggest fear." Yi Jeong added quietly. "That we won't be able to look at her the same anymore. That we will forever only see a black eye."

"I know but I don't really trust her to be honest either... Ga Eul never wants anyone to worry so she tends to conceal these types of things." Woo Bin reminded them softly. "I'm worried she won't tell me right away if her father comes back or—"

"He wouldn't be that stupid." Ji Hoo cut in sternly. "Not with the warning we just gave him."

"It will take him a while to start walking anyway." Jun Pyo gave a slight grin. "Especially after Ji Hoo decided to use him to go over his anatomy notes."

The musician shrugged casually. "I have a test on Thursday."

"You don't need to worry either way," Yi Jeong told an obviously nervous Woo Bin. "I am not going back to Sweden. So, even if her father is stupid enough to come back around, I will handle it. Not to mention Ga Eul can't lie to me. Not only because she promised but…" Yi Jeong trailed off with a slight smile. "I can always tell when she is hiding something."

"You're not going back?" Woo Bin's eyes widened in shock. "Yi Jeong are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "I thought about it all of last night. I will arrange for my treatments to continue here in Korea and I can fly to Sweden when necessary." He looked at his friends and they were amazed at how peaceful he seemed about all this.

"Ga Eul was the first one to stay with me. When I destroying myself and careening out of control, she stayed fully by my side. Despite every reason to turn and run. Now, it's my turn to stay. If I were to leave now..." Yi Jeong shook his head. "I would never forgive myself."

"I would do the same if this was Geum Jan Di." Jun Pyo clapped his shoulder. "It's the right decision, Yi Jeong."

"I know." Yi Jeong gave a weary sigh at the upcoming fight once he told her his plans. "Ga Eul has been programmed for so long to always protect everyone else that it never occurs to her to let someone protect her. But she is just going have to get used to it because I don't plan on letting anything touch her again."

They all grunted in agreement and Ji Hoo smiled. "So how do you plan on convincing Ga Eul to let you stay?"

"I'm not asking her," Yi Jeong shrugged with a slight eye roll. "She will resist at first but eventually she will realize it won't do any good."

He gave his first chuckle in days. "That's the one good thing between me and Ga Eul. We both know when to argue over something and when it's pointless to try and change the other person's mind."

"Does this mean you are together now?" Jun Pyo asked quietly.

"We've always been together." Yi Jeong answered with a smirk. "I just haven't gotten around to telling her yet."

"Do you plan on changing that anytime soon?" Woo Bin remarked sarcastically. "So I don't have to keep scaring off men who try to ask Ga Eul out?"

Yi Jeong simply grinned and gave his signature three-fingered salute as he headed out. "Just tell them to come talk to me for an answer about that from now on."

"Oh great…" Woo Bin grumbled darkly. "Remind me to make sure I have alibis available for us once all the bodies start showing up in the river."

Jun Pyo held up his coffee in a mock toast. "Well, make sure they are good ones. I can't afford to take time off from Shinhwa to bail you all out of jail every month."