Author's Note: Okay. So now we get to meat of the story. From here on out will be a complete battle between some of the characters. We'll probably see a new relationship pop up soon and we'll definitely see Storm figuring some things out. These people will be tossed through the waves and hopefully some of them will come out on top.

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"In recent events we have some news on the Prince Taemin. The Crown Prince was photographed kissing another woman in front of a coffee shop in Gangnam a few weeks ago. As of now, we don't know who the woman is and the palace refuses to comment on whether this is the secret lover of the prince or if she is his fiancé. We will keep you up-to-date on the escapades of the prince and everyone affiliated with him."

Taemin dropped his head as Jun Pyo flipped off the television. He'd had no idea that a photographer had captured that moment. He hadn't known anyone had followed him on the night he had been drunk. Then again it didn't have to be anyone from the media. Everyone had cameras in which they could take photos and send to the media.

He wondered how Storm was handling this. Her face had been tossed up all over the television and every media site from Seoul to Makpo. And it couldn't come at a worse time. She was getting ready for her first showing and now her face was where people could recognize her.

He looked up at Onew. The head guard was angry. He had been alternating between staying with Taemin and with Storm at the studio as she prepared. If he wasn't there, Jonghyun or Key was. They kept her close just in case. As it was, today Key was at the studio as the news exposed her.

Between the six people gathered, Ji Hoo and Woo Bin looked angrier than Onew. They had done their best to filter any news about Taemin, but this had slipped through their fingers. As it was, Woo Bin was already on the phone with his lawyer seeing what they could do about slander and libel. By the look on his face, there were some things he was considering.

His phone started ringing. He looked down to see Ji Hoon's name emblazoned on the screen. In the last few weeks, he had gone out with her a few times to see if there was anything between them. There really wasn't but he didn't have the tact to get out of his engagement.

She was cold and heartless and did whatever she wanted to whomever she wanted. She had done nothing but badmouth Storm since the day she had met her, and threatened that if he ever cheated, she would wipe the floor with him. Now she was about to get her wish. There was no doubt that she would come out as his fiancé and play the wounded woman to a T. He had no doubt she would verbally attack Storm as well if not physically.

"Do we know who took that photo?" Jun Pyo asked.

"The television station says a bystander took the picture and sent it to the station just in time for their pop culture segment. It is a really good picture of Storm. If she goes through with this showing, she is going to get more publicity for her scandal than her art," Woo Bin answered.

"Can't we get Yi Jeong to hold the showing?" Ji Hoo asked.

The oldest man shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if he has anyone else lined up. I know the shows are supposed to run for a month at a time, but I'm not sure who he lined up after Storm. We'd have to ask him."

"Is Noona still at the studio?" Taemin asked.

Onew looked at him and shook his head. "No. You can't go to her. It would bring even more unwanted attention to you and her. Everyone in Korea knows you stay here. They will be camping out in front of the house."

The leader didn't want to tell him that he had been getting closer to Storm little by little. When it was his turn to stay at the studio with her, to get her mind of things he would ask her to show him how to make random things. The first time he had made a red piece of glass. He still was sure what it was. A few days ago he had asked her to help him make a pot. So they had sat behind the spinning wheel and had thrown a pot.

She hadn't expressed anything to him directly, but he had known what she had been thinking by the way she had touched his hands while helping him. She had been nervous and very shaky. She had used that shakiness to make the artworks very interesting and one of a kind. He had been given the opportunity to see how she would react when thrown into something she didn't know how to handle.

He had made a lasting connection with her that had fueled his fire to get to know and be with her. He didn't know if she could survive palace life. Ji Hoon had been right. If she didn't talk, she couldn't defend herself. And if she couldn't defend herself, she would be crushed in the mud and no one would be able to help her. Taemin would be ridiculed for marrying such a weak woman when he could have had someone who was strong and who balanced him.

He didn't want to fight Taemin over her, but if the prince left her, he would be there to pick up the pieces. He didn't care that he was second place. If it came down to it and Taemin decided to walk away, Onew would slide into his place and work until the woman was whole again.

Taemin looked at his phone as it rang again and again and again. He wanted to ignore everyone but the woman he had harmed. Storm hadn't known anything when he had come on to her, and he didn't want her hearing everything from anyone but him. He had to go to her.

"Hyung, would you take me to her?" he asked Woo Bin.

The older man crossed his arms and looked at him. "Why should I?"

"I have to see if she's okay. Once people find out who she is and where she works, they will storm her home and her workplace. She will never get a moment's rest. I want to explain all of it before that happens."

Woo Bin stared at him for a long time before he stood. "Stay in the backseat of the car until we get out of the neighborhood. I'll take Key away from the studio while you talk."

Taemin looked at Onew and knew he didn't want him to leave. He had to go so he followed Woo Bin to the garage.

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Storm stared at the computer and watched as the newsfeed scrolled across the screen. Her picture was plastered everywhere but no one knew her name. She didn't know how it had happened. Who had taken the photo of them together? She hadn't seen any photographers recently so she had no idea who had taken the photograph.

Her whole world was starting to come down around her again. Something like this had happened in the past. It was what had caused the scar on her neck and face. She had gotten too involved and had paid the price for it. Her voice was gone and now she was certain she was never going to get it back.

She pushed away from the table, startling Key who was also reading things on his prince. Her vision started to blur as the world began to disappear. She could barely hear her music over the pounding in her ears.

"Oh, hyung!" She heard Key's voice somewhere followed by an answer.

When she was spun around, she came face to face with Taemin. His brown eyes were filled with concern but she didn't believe it. She didn't believe that he would come all the way here with the media on the lookout for him just to talk to her.

She tried to pull away from him, but he latched on to her arm and pulled her back to him. He wasn't going to let her get away from him. She knew he could see her world crumbling and she didn't want to know what he was going to do about it. It would just hurt worse.

Taemin dropped his head and claimed her mouth. She fought against him but he wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't going to let her go. He had left her alone for the last week and this is what had happened. He wasn't about to do it again. He was going to stand beside her as things went on. He was going to take responsibility for his actions, starting now.

His fingers unfastened the straps of the coveralls deftly, shoving them over her shoulders. He followed them with his hands, pushing the material down her back to her hips. He gripped her shirt on the way up, pulling it over her head and tossing it to the floor. He cursed the fact that she was wearing a sports bra but pulled it up and over her head just as she had her shirt.

He gripped her behind the head as he started to drop to his knees. He didn't give her a choice but to go with him. On the way down he paused to rip his coat and shirt off, tossing them in a pile on the floor. He attacked her neck, reveling in the breathy sigh she unleashed on his neck.

Storm gripped his head as he headed southwards. His mouth was hot her skin as he played and nipped at the delicate flesh on her belly. His fingers dug into her hips as he pulled at the clothing lodged there. They slid smoothly down her legs and landed with a thunk across the room. She hoped her phone hadn't broken.

Taemin was so far gone that he didn't realize she was pushing against him until she had pushed him up on his knees. Her violet eyes glowed at him as he unfastened his belt and pants and pushed them down. They hadn't even gotten past his thighs when his head fell back in pleasure. She had taken him in his mouth and was giving him more pleasure than he had ever dreamed she would.

His fingers tangled in her hair as he felt her easy motions. He didn't know what technique she was supposed to be using but whatever one it was, it was wonderful. But after a moment he was ready to blow. He gripped her head and raised it up, claiming her mouth as he pushed her back. He could taste himself on her tongue.

Storm still wasn't ready for him when Taemin situated himself between her legs. He took time to make sure she was okay before pressing in. She was slightly uncomfortable but the discomfort soon ebbed away. She reached up to pull him down, pressing his face into her shoulder.

The first time he had been drunk and uncoordinated, but this time Taemin was in full control. He was able to hold himself up as he moved his hips forward. His mouth never stopped working as he alternated between sucking on her ear and neck.

Storm felt something stir inside her as he sat up and used the leverage to surge forward harder and faster. It wasn't in her lower body. No, it was much higher up. It was in her throat. The ice that had paralyzed her vocal cords was starting to thaw. It felt as if cool water was sliding down the back, coating her esophagus with a cooling stream.

She looked up, meeting Taemin's feverish eyes. This man had done something no one else had been able to do for two years. He hadn't prodded her in any way. He hadn't demanded to know what had happened to make her like this. He had left her alone and left her in peace to deal with what she had dealt with for a long time.

Like he had last time, he leaned down and wrapped his hands above her head. Gently, he kissed the scar on her right eye. Over and over and over, he bathed that old wound with love, and that was the last sliver.

Just as she was tipping over the edge, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his ear. And for the first time in two years she spoke.

"Taemin, I…" She was cut off as her orgasm overtook her and she buried her head in his shoulder.

Taemin was tipped over the edge as he heard her voice. He gritted his teeth as he pulsed inside as he spent himself. His stomach muscles trembled for a few moments even after he was done. As soon as they did, he lifted his head and looked her dead in the eye. His fingers ran through her hair as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

"Did… did you just say my name?" he asked. She bit her lip and nodded. He smiled through his panting and framed her face. "Noona, say it again. Say my name."

Storm opened her mouth but nothing came out. She looked up at him defeated but he was too happy to be downtrodden. He kissed her deeply over and over. By the time he sat up her mouth was sore and tingling.

Taemin slipped free of her and reached for the blanket on the cabinet behind him. He pulled her up and pressed her back into his front as he wrapped the blanket around them. The studio was warm due to the furnace running full force but the floor was cold. He shoved the blanket under them to keep it off their skin.

"I'm sorry, Noona. I don't know how the photo got to the press. Well, I know but I don't know who took it," he apologized. He pressed his nose into her hair. "Ji Hoon is going to make a scene. She's going to leak your name to the press and blame all of this on you. She's also going to say that she's my fiancé and that she's shocked and appalled at this. She's going to rake your name through the mud."

Storm didn't turn to look at him, but she wasn't shaking. "Noona, I'm not going to fight against her. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure none of this hits you. It will be my responsibility."

Finally she turned to him. She looked up at him and her throat worked. Her voice came out shaky and choppy and hoarse. "Taemin… don't fight her." It took too much effort to speak. "I will be fine. I've been through this before, and I'll get through it again. Watch out for your family."

Taemin took her face in his hands. "What are you saying? You don't want to be with me?"

She took his hands and held them between them. "I don't want…to break up your family. Don't fight her."

"What the hell?"

He looked over her shoulder to see Ji Hoon and Onew standing in the doorway of the studio. He looked nervously at Storm. She closed her mouth and pulled her hands away. She sat back on her feet and reached for her clothes. She pulled them on then shoved her feet into her shoes. As soon as she turned around, a hand came across her face.

"You dare sleep with another woman's fiancé?" Ji Hoon demanded. "I was wrong about you. You're not just a mute. You're a whore as well."

Storm looked the woman dead in the face and leaned down just a little to intimidate her. "I was with him first. And I'm not a mute, you bitch."

Onew came into the room and took Storm by the arm. He looked over her shoulder at Taemin. At that moment he didn't care that the prince saw what he was doing. He had just gotten caught being unfaithful in the eyes of the crown and he had to tread lightly on all of it.

"Come on, Storm," he said. She dropped her head and followed him out the door.

Taemin started to get up but Ji Hoon squatted down in front of him. She flicked him in his tender privates and smiled at him. "It looks like she left you."

"She wouldn't if it hadn't been for you. Why can't you go away? You know I don't want you as my wife," he said.

"Simple. I want to be Queen and I will do that in any way possible. Now you will continue on with our engagement and you will leave that woman."

"If I don't?"

"I will smear her name so far in the mud she will never be able to breathe again. It's you or her. Oh! And you don't want her to know about your past endeavors now do you? Because if she did, do you think she will stay with you? Did she know how hurt you were five years ago? Does she know about your hospital stay?"

"You're blackmailing me."

"Of course. How else do you think I was able to talk your father into making me your fiancé? I know everything there is to know about your personal life, things that only your closest friends know. You don't want that getting out as well right?"

Taemin hated this scenario. He hated going on with a ruse, but what he hated more was the fact that he was never going to hear Storm's voice again. Damn be the fact that this woman could easily unleash hell on him. He was more concerned about the woman he actually liked.