Chaeyoung wasn’t sure what she was thinking when she saw Mina that night. It was like instinct when she immediately spotted her. She noticed how the Japanese froze on the spot when the man behind her grabbed her arm.
Chaeyoung didn’t like the idea of owning people, given that her job was powerful enough to make people cower in fear when she was present, but it was against her principle to even involve herself in the affairs of civilians. Though, the idea of someone grabbing onto Mina like that made her insides fill with disgust and jealousy.
That was concerning. But she waved it off. It probably wasn’t like that.
Right when she noticed Mina walking towards the convenience store and spotting the guy rushing towards her, she quietly asked her driver to circle around the block and instructed him to park inside the alleyway. Without giving it a second thought, she stepped out of the car and told her men who were behind them to standby to wait for her instructions.
And as expected, she watched Mina blindly running towards her, but it made her insides twist with the way Mina looked at her. It was like the night they first met; she was scared.
That was when Chaeyoung decided that maybe she should butt in.
It didn’t take long for her to figure out that the guy that followed was drunk, she could smell the soju from a mile away. But when he said, 'my girl', the leader wasn’t sure if she should involve herself anymore. She didn’t know if Mina did have a boyfriend and that this was just a lover’s quarrel.
But when the drunkard grabbed Mina harshly and the look on the woman’s face showed she didn’t like it, that was when Chaeyoung knew that her first instinct was right, and she shouldn't have let Mina go so easily.
Chaeyoung was trying her best to stay calm in this situation. She didn’t want to go back to her old habits of just doing things without thinking. She needed a good plan, one where she could get Mina to safety. But his face was so annoying. The way his hands were around Mina made her brows twitch. It didn’t help that she saw him try to kiss her twice and Mina did everything to get away from him. That was already enough for Chaeyoung to drag this fucker to the grave.
But because of Mina, she had to hold back. For the first time in a long time, Son Chaeyoung had to hold back. In her years of being a gang leader, it took her a while to stop using violence as an answer. The Dong Sok knew that it would only come to that when something really pushed Chaeyoung too much. That was how they found out that she couldn’t control her anger.
Though, she knew Mina was upset with how she punched him square on the nose. She even used something to cushion the blow, but it still was hard enough for him to bleed. She definitely liked it, but she also didn’t like to hold back. This whole mess made her swell with different levels of frustrations.
Well, for one, Chaeyoung didn’t like that Mina was about to get assaulted, and two, she didn’t like it when someone was able to land a blow on her. The punch was weak, it didn’t even make a scratch. But he still got to her.
She sighed when she recalled what Mina told her hours ago.
“How am I supposed to? You’re in the mafia, and I can’t help but think you might trick me into making a huge loan or sell me to someone.”
It wasn’t a lie, they have tricked people into making loans. Multiple times. To people who were desperate and too immature to realize the consequences of their actions. But that was a way to get more money and all Chaeyoung could think about was money.
Though the idea of trafficking was ridiculous, it wasn’t an investment for her. In fact, Chaeyoung hated how she ended up saving people from it. Jihyo and the commissioner made a deal that they will help in the gang’s operations, making sure none of her men get caught by the law whenever they would engage in shady activity. The catch was they should also help with the police, but only if it involved them and as long as they were paid generously.
Chaeyoung thought it was ridiculous. She really hated the idea of it but she was aware that having the police on their side was beneficial. It added to her frustrations when Jeongyeon immediately agreed to help when the taxi company called the police about a missing vehicle.
The police were supposed to do it, not them. But Jeongyeon went on and on about how they could get the taxi immediately and then get the people to pay them more for whatever. It was unnecessary noise in Chaeyoung’s mind. Plus, she hated arguing and listening to Jeongyeon, so she just agreed.
The taxi company paid the gang for protection, in exchange they were required to pay with a huge percent of interest. It was obviously a scam, and she didn’t expect the company to bite their bait. For some bizarre reason, the owner agreed to it. Thinking he was either desperate or absolutely stupid.
Then again, she couldn’t help but feel thankful about it. That was how she met Mina.
Chaeyoung liked Mina. It had been a while since she was sincerely attracted to someone. The leader had no time for relationships, so she ended up asking Jeongyeon to look for women who are willing to get paid in satiating her carnal needs. She didn’t know what love was. In her mind, it was always about money, brotherhood and loyalty.
The last time she liked someone like this was when she was still in middle school. A cute girl from her grade who showed her nothing but kindness. But the memories of that were a blur to her. She chose to forget it.
The weight resting on her shoulder shook her out of her memories. She checked her watch, and it was past three in the morning. Mina fell asleep after Chaeyoung made her tea, which by the way, she had too much of in their kitchen. She tried to stifle a laugh when she recalled being so shocked to open a cupboard filled with boxes and jars of tea leaves and Mina sheepishly admitted that it was all hers.
Before Mina fell asleep, they sat there on the same spot for hours. It was nerve wracking because Chaeyoung wanted to strike up a conversation with her. It had been a while since the leader was able to actually talk to someone that wasn’t related to her work.
Luckily, Mina was able to start one. She asked her a bunch of personal questions, but nothing too personal. Just about her hobbies or what she did when she wasn't working. Chaeyoung would answer pretty bluntly, then would receive these awkward silences from the other girl. She realized too late that Mina was hoping she would ask the same thing to her.
In an attempt to save their conversation Chaeyoung would ask random things on the top of her head as well. Which was good because she was able to discover a little bit of information about Mina.
She didn’t know how to talk to women that weren’t there for sex. So even after the innocent questions, Chaeyoung would end up flirting with Mina, even if the Japanese woman was pretty blunt about rejecting her advances. But for some reason, Mina would still giggle despite it. Chaeyoung felt like she was witnessing magic for the first time.
Mina had a serious look, like people weren’t sure if she was going to get angry or cry. She was pretty reserved and had her defenses up the whole time she was with Chaeyoung. But the moment Mina would let herself go, released a smile or a small giggle, it was music to Chaeyoung's ears.
After their playful banter and Q&As, it didn’t take long for Mina to finish the tea and let the sleep weigh on her body.
Chaeyoung felt like she couldn’t breathe when Mina slowly dropped her head on her shoulder. This had never happened before and the leader froze on the spot, refusing to move. It was a good thing that no one was there to watch her face turn into a bright shade of red when it all happened. No one had seen her feel flushed. Not even Jeongyeon.
But it was cute. Mina was cute.
She knew Mina didn’t like her, but her words still stung. The only reason why she did all of this was because she didn’t like the idea of Mina getting hurt and doing something bad to her had never crossed Chaeyoung’s mind.
The moment she saw Mina from across her office, she couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty. Despite the scared look on her face and her bleeding head. She realized after that night that she didn’t want to experience that again. It felt too familiar, and it made her blood boil.
Memories filled her mind again about that night.
“When you bring Miss Mina home, can you put in a good word for me?” Chaeyoung quickly whispered before Jeongyeon entered the car.
Jeongyeon looked at her with confusion. “What, why?”
“Please?”
“Okay, whatever you say.”
Jeongyeon was smart, they had know each other for too long, so her partner knew her like the back of her hand. It confused Chaeyoung as well, it was crazy to think someone who is completely terrified of you would actually consider finding you attractive.
Chaeyoung also hated the fact that she became soft for this person. She realized that when she was standing in front of the flower shop and blindly asking the owner to get her any flower that you give to someone she was sorry to. She was never like this with anyone, she barely said sorry.
But maybe it was because she had never taken the time to indulge in her feelings. Mina for some reason brought it out of her.
And after stealing glances of Mina’s scarce smile, Chaeyoung was compelled to know more of her, to see more of that beautiful face. This made her question why she was born into this life, because it made her want Mina, but she wasn’t a normal person like her. She was a gang leader. No one wanted to be involved with one.
“Mina?” A soft voice came from the entrance of the door. Chaeyoung gently turned her head and met eyes with Sana who froze as she walked in the door. “Chaeyoung?”
The blonde raised her free hand to wave and smiled. “Mina is sleeping,” she whispered.
Sana closed the door gently and placed her keys on the rack. She quietly removed her shoes and walked towards them, throwing a hand to her mouth when she saw Mina’s foot wrapped in a bandage and a new ice pack sitting gently on it. “Oh my god, what happened?”
“Kind of a long story.” Chaeyoung couldn’t help but chuckle. “Do you want to hear it from me or from her?”
Sana stayed quiet for a bit, looking down at her injured best friend. “Maybe we should let her lie down first.”
“Is she a light sleeper?” Chaeyoung asked, already wanting to move from her spot.
“No, she’s like a dead person when she’s in deep sleep.” Sana giggled and took off her coat. “Can you help me put her in her bed?”
“Sure,” the blonde answered immediately. “Can you hold her first?”
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