Idk how to feel now that we're getting closer to the ending bit by bit. There's still a whole bunch left, but like... It's really weird to finally be at the place I first started about writing when I began this monster fic in 2017.

Anyways, enough of my jabbering. Enjoy!

Wang So

Delete. Delete. Delete… Delete.

Wang So looked up from his computer screen and inhaled softly, running his fingertips over the smooth top of his screen and lightly pushing his laptop closed. He looked across the silver spanse of his computer and then beyond it to the front door as if someone would come for him. There was no one in his life that would randomly knock on his front door and come to see him with good intentions. So gathered that he deserved as much. He had lived a life of depravity and was now atoning for those sins. Loneliness was one of those punishments.

The Wolf Dog was gone. His past self was nothing but a memory and a shadow in the minds of the people that had hired him. Deleting his entire existence had been easier than starting it, and now he sat in his flat, alone and just Wang So. There was nothing else to him anymore but his name and the money that remained from an erased past.

Now, even the most diligent of his customers would never be able to locate him. Every single aspect of himself was gone, and a weight fell off of his shoulders like had never happened before.

The money from Won Seok had trickled and dried up a few weeks into the months-long process of deleting himself. So assumed that was because of Yo taking action, but he would not be completely at ease until he checked for himself. Until then, Won Seok was still a threat in his eyes.

So no longer updated the security around Soo's home. He gave everything he knew into fortifying the firewalls around the Hwang Bo household before taking his hands off for good. He blocked any and all malware that he could think of, building walls and creating a fortress that could rival Fort Knox. Anything and everything he could do to protect Soo and Mi and Yoon, he did his damndest to make.

His heart broke as he logged off of her family's network for the last time, but the only solace he could gain was knowing that he would not become an obsessed boyfriend. He could love her from afar without being a threat to her or her family.

Sitting with his back against his bedframe, he took his computer off of his lap and placed it onto the floor. Then, staring at the door that would never open, he thought of Soo. His hand reached for his pocket, his fingers wrapping around his phone and pulling it out.

He looked at the dark piece of glass and metal, remembering the memories he had stored into its hard drive. Pictures from a blinding and radiant past that perpetually haunted his dreams. He held onto it, trying hard not to think of the hundreds of photos where Soo smiled at him and his camera. When they were happy and her eyes were full of trust and love.

He had no wish to look at the pictures and remind himself that the woman he adored was no longer his. If he looked at the pictures, he would see Hwang Bo Wook's wife… but he would also see her smile.

Shaking fingers unlocked his phone and So swallowed thickly as he lost his trial of wills and opened up his gallery, aimlessly scrolling backward and tapping on a random photo.

His hands shook.

Hae Soo beamed at him, her eyes wide and her teeth showing. She wore nothing but a bedsheet, and even then her top half was completely bared for the camera. Her hair was messy and fell by her shoulders, but she was radiant. She was so happy and so beautiful.

"I love you."

So's heart ached as he left the app and placed his phone onto his laptop, unable to look any longer. Holding a hand over his chest, he breathed deeply and fought back the tears that built up in his eyes. She was happier without him. Safer without him. That was all that mattered in the end.

Moving on with his day no longer hurt like it used to. So got up off the floor and thought of how Soo would overcome negativity.

First, he showered. Cleaning his body felt like a good first step into his new life, and he took the time to shave as well, scraping off every last hair that he'd let grow all over his face. What was once unkempt and scraggly begame neat and clean, and he left the shower a new man. There was only one thing left for him to do, so he prepared accordingly.

So dried, dressed, and cleaned his apartment as best as he could, moving his laptop and phone off the floor and running his new vacuum a couple times throughout the little apartment. There was little to pick up, but he felt better after picking up the dust off the floor and in the bathroom. All the while, he thought about his future and what it entailed for him.

There was enough money to his name for him to live in a Gangnam apartment for the rest of his life. He thought of looking for a job that did not require the strenuous mental strength or physical taxation as being a hitman. Something he could do to hide and blend in with society. There was plenty of time for him to apply, but So found stocking shelves and organizing appealing. Though he liked children, he doubted any childcare service would hire him without credentials, and a degree in biology was useless in terms of childcare.

Already in an inconspicuous black shirt and pants, he left his apartment with nothing but his phone and wallet on him, silently walking through the city and blending in with the crowds of people that wandered about Seoul in the evening.

On the way, he stopped by a convenience store and bought a mask to protect himself. The air quality was abysmal, but that was hardly what So thought of as he rode the subway. He aimlessly scrolled through his phone and tapped on random things, sometimes looking through the games Yoon had downloaded onto his phone that he always forgot to delete.

He arrived at the apartment and keyed in the code he had picked up during his searches into who had hired him. There was no other security, and So scoffed. Won Seok had more balls than he did brains - something So commended him for.

"Hiring a hitman when you only have two barriers to entry on your home…" murmured So as he took the stairs up to the second floor. It took little effort for him to pin in Won Seok's home code, having stripped it off from security cameras in the hallway and by examining the oil print on the keypad.

The apartment was dark, and So made himself at home, going through the fridge, looking through drawers, and stepping around the small apartment that housed a wannabe killer. It was clean and nicely furnished - as if someone had tried to mimic a magazine catalogue but had failed to make their apartment seem like an actual home.

Aside from documents in drawers and clothes in dressers, there were few distinguishing factors that differentiated this apartment from a model shown by a realtor.

So read a few documents and perused through others. Eventually, he sat down on the sofa and made sure he had a way out should Won Seok grow violent. So was in no mood to fight, and because of a mask, a pair of gloves, and an innate knowledge of the layout of cameras around the apartment, his identity was safe.

It was not long before the sharp pings of the keypay being clicked on and the grind of the door being opened sounded and So looked up as Won Seok stepped in, groceries in one arm.

"Hey there."

The accountant dropped his groceries and stared at So with wide eyes. A bunch of bananas, two cans, and a container of milk all clattered onto the floor, creating a resonating crash that filled the silence between them for a millisecond.

He was shorter than So had assumed, and less round in the face than his government ID showed. Upon initial reading, and based on what So already knew, he realized there was no need to monitor or worry about this sad little man who tried and failed to create something monumental. "Wh-Who are you?!" demanded the other man.

So sniffed and pointed to Won Seok. "I'm the one you hired to kill that politician and his wife and kids." He doubted Won Seok's eyes could open any wider than they already were. The other man's mouth fell open and he froze in place. "I just came here to tell you I'm retired. You stopped paying me awhile back, but this is a courtesy call. If you try to hire another hitman for that family, I'll know. I'll kill you if you do."

Won Seok made a strangled noise in the back of his throat and So narrowed his eyes as the man suddenly began showing heightened signs of fear and anxiety in his body language.

"Won Seok…" he said slowly. "Did you hire another hitman?"

There was no answer. Instead, a prolonged, wide-eyed silence stared So in the face.

"No."

So watched Won Seok for a long while, gauging his body language and watching as he gulped in fear. Suddenly, he seemed to be telling the truth. So did not blame him for showing erratic behavior. Few people were calm in the face of death.

"You should find something better to do than try to kill politicians. It's not healthy. Get a girlfriend."

Standing, So sauntered past the man's dropped groceries, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Oh," he paused, his hand still gripping Won Seok. "If you tell anyone about today… know that I may be retired, but I'm still in my prime."

He walked out of the apartment and shut the door behind him, avoiding cameras and evading the eyes of other residents. His gloves came off and slid into his pockets in an instant, and So whistled beneath his mask as he walked out of the building and into the night.

The night air was cooler than the morning heat, and So wished he could walk with Soo the way they had on their Han river date. He wanted to hold her hand and kiss her cheek like he used to.

With his shoulders free from any loads, So gazed up at the night sky as a new man, ready to begin the next chapter of his life. Nothing could bring down the joy he experienced from being finally free.

He whistled as he walked, looking around at the restaurants open around him and wondering what he might have for dinner. Bright, neon signs advertised various types of meat, drinks, and dishes that made his stomach rumble. He wanted to be picky when choosing his first meal as a new man. He wanted something cheap and delicious that would ground him and help him pave the new road to come.

While looking around for that perfect restaurant, So's eyes landed on a newsstand, and he immediately honed in on a gossip magazine with a picture of Wook and Soo on it.

Beside him was a woman in a large hat, her face covered by its brim. But from beneath, So could see the presence of light pink lipstick. The two walked into a building, together, Wook's arm around Soo and his hand pressed against her stomach. One of Soo's hands held her bag while the other also held her stomach.

So's hands clenched into fists and he crossed his arms to prevent his outburst of emotion from being seen by the people around. He scanned the tabloid for any other signs, and even looked at other headlines to see if anyone else was reporting. But there was no extra evidence other than that one photo of Wook and Soo looking like a happy couple once more.

Presidential Hopeful Hwang Bo Wook and Wife, Hae Soo, Expecting Third Child!

Suddenly unwilling to eat, So returned home without another thought. He trudged through the streets of Seoul and barely swiped his credit card to ride the subway back to Gangnam.

When he arrived back at his little apartment, he collapsed onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, gazing at the light that he had forgotten to turn on.

He remembered Soo wishing for another baby before Wook had shot her dreams down. He remembered Soo telling him about how much she loved each and every one of her children. So breathed deeply, never daring to let himself hope that she was actually pregnant or that…

So gulped as he felt a giddy flutter in his chest that he gave his utmost to suppress. There was no way in hell that Hae Soo was carrying his baby. No way. His heart made him remember all the times after Soo had gone off birth control that they had not used a condom, or the number of times they had had sex, but his mind forced him to remember that one tabloid was not enough to prove pregnancy… and that she wanted nothing to do with him.

No matter how much he loved and cherished Hae Soo as the only woman that would ever make him feel alive again, none of it mattered when Hwang Bo Wook was the father of her children.

Wang So was just a bodyguard that was bad at his job and nothing more. He was just another guard and just another face that had passed by that house and left it behind.

There was no room in Soo's life for him. She was already happy again with her husband and children.

It was time to move on.

Hae Soo

Yoon pressed her face to Soo's belly, making her mother smile when she shouted. "Are you sleeping?!"

Soo patted her daughter's head and smoothed the unruly mess that came about from a morning of cuddles. They sat on the floor of her office and spent a lazy morning together. Wook and Mi were off having lunch with his parents, and Yoon had thrown such a large tantrum when her father had tried to buckle her into her carseat that both parents decided it was better for her to stay home. So Yoon stayed with Soo, enjoying brunch in their pajamas and playing with toy cars on the floor while Soo read over paperwork.

She held her belly with one hand and pulled her fingers through the knots in Yoon's hair with the other. "I think baby can hear you very clearly, sweetheart," she said gently.

"Why?" asked Yoon. She wriggled closer to Soo and put her forehead on Soo's belly again. "Baby! Come out!"

Her nose poked into Soo's belly and Soo leaned down to press a kiss to Yoon's head. "Baby still has three months in Mommy's belly. You must be patient, Yoonie." Soo smiled when her little girl groaned and turned away from her belly to keep playing with her cars.

Soo's thoughts drifted to So as she held her paperwork to her face and tried to read. Her phone was in her back pocket, constantly on her mind. It almost whispered for her to call So and to talk to him. All she wanted to do was hear his voice, make sure he was doing well.

Listening to Yoon make car noises with her mouth reminded Soo of all the times So had played with her daughters. The pictures on her desk depicted Hwang Bo Wook as their father, but Soo tried to imagine a world where Wang So was their father. That was a sweet image, but one that would never come to be.

Instead, she could see herself being stigmatized and ostracized by society for being a single mother. If she divorced Wook, she would be the one taking the brunt of society's wrath, and as a well-loved politician, Wook would become a beacon for single parents, divorced parents, and the like. Their lives would move on… but Soo could not tear her mind off of So and how he might be coping.

She hated the idea of So suffering. Soo wanted nothing more than to rid Wang So of his suffering. She wanted so badly to be with him even if she knew of his horrible past. No matter how bad of a person he was, Soo wanted to believe that she had seen a different side of him - one that was kind to children and loved her. She refused to believe that he had lied to her except about his former occupation… and even then, he had never outright lied about that either. Always being cryptic and hinting as if he wanted her to ask. He would have answered if she had asked - she knew that in her heart. Soo wished that he would not return to being a hitman. She sincerely wished that he would be happy for the rest of his life.

"Mommy, where's So?" asked Yoon. She held her cars against her chest and looked up at Soo with big, imploring eyes. "Miss So."

Soo reached over to puller daughter onto her lap, still able to cuddle Yoon close without feeling too much discomfort. She hugged her squirmy baby and kissed Yoon's cheek as she rolled one of her cars over Soo's belly. "He's working somewhere else now, baby."

I miss him too.

Later, when Wook came home, Soo walked as Yoon ran and barrelled into his open arms, screaming for Mi to come play, and darting off again. Mi gave Soo a warm hug before running off after her sister, inciting Chae Ryung's shout for them to stop running inside.

"Hey," Wook said as Soo approached him. His arms went around her shoulders and Soo felt stifled by his presence. His hug lasted too long and he pressed a kiss to her lips as if they were happy again.

She let him touch her stomach, his hand gentle as it caressed the months-old bulge. He went to every doctor's office visit and looked at every sonogram with the same gaze he had used to look at Mi's. He wore his wedding ring even though Soo had stopped completely. "How's our little one?" he asked.

Soo could not stop herself as she looked up at her husband and into his loving, caring eyes. Wook had returned to her in the way she had wanted. He had come back as the loving, doting husband she had always dreamed he would be, and he loved her baby. It was all she had ever wanted… but now she could not think of anything that made her feel worse.

"It's not yours. Stop saying that."

Wook's hand pulled back for a split second and Soo stared in defiance at her husband. "This baby is not yours. It's not yours, so stop."

She shivered at the wide smile Wook gave her, wondering what he hid up his sleeve. His hands met her arms as he held her, smoothing her sleeves. "Of course it's mine. Otherwise it would be the bodyguard's, and that wouldn't bode well for either of us. No one's perfect."

Soo stared in horror as Wook spoke, his words jabbing her bit by bit. He knew. He knew all along. And he hid his emotions flawlessly. She was the idiot - as always. She fell for the same, sweet, condescending lines, thinking that she had the upper hand when he was in control the entire time.

"I'm willing to raise this baby as mine, Hae Soo. I'll bring him or her into my clan and raise the baby as mine as long as recompense for cheating. I'll love it like my own and make it a part of our family."

His smile looked genuine, his eyes wrinkling in the corners as he held her. Soo wanted so badly to believe him. She wanted to be able to go back to what they had in the past. Now, they would be a family of five - the way it should have been.

Then, she thought of Wang So, and how he had cried into her shoulder when he told her about his family. How he had bared himself to her and told her about how much he had wanted a family of his own… and with her. So had always been kind to her and her children and had never done anything to them that would justify an inability to raise children. He did not deserve this. But more than that, even though Soo knew she would never show her baby to his biological father, she realized that their baby did not deserve to grow up a lie. She could not condemn her child to grow beneath a loveless marriage.

Swallowing thickly, Soo used her hands to gently push Wook's hands off of her shoulders. She took a deep breath and looked into the face of her husband. Pressing one hand to her racing heart, Soo uttered the words she never thought she would ever say in her life.

"I want a divorce."

I know I don't respond anymore, but I love and cherish every one of your comments. You guys that are reading this are the reason I'm getting through this.