The dawn kisses the horizon and the first light touches the sky. It's still dark outside though the morning twilight already begins. Most of the population still drowns in dream but Jimin just finishes his morning jog a moment ago. He sits on the nearest bench park and takes off his AirPods. He closes his eyes and listens to the universe. There is no sound and this is the quietest time of 24 hours. He really likes this peaceful time but unfortunately it doesn't last long. Slowly, the sun radiances its glow and paints orange-yellow color on sky. As world welcomes the morning, noise comes along and breaks that comfortable phase.

"Time to go home" Jimin whispers.

Jimin then walks down the route to his house as he thinks about last night's craze. Right after the charity event ended, words spread and immediately turned into headline. In minutes, both Jimin and Seulgi's name rose and became the internet's top search together with one million Dollar, auction and painting. Everybody talked and assumed. A lot of articles were published about their romantic relation and the possibility of the groups' merger. In a blink of an eye, both companies' share price jumped high and reached the highest roof.

It's a good thing for the whole company but for Jimin himself, it's totally a bad thing. This marks the end of his private life. Public will be interested in his relationship with Seulgi and want to know more about them. Then it will definitely drive the media to serve articles because they know they'll get tons of clicks and likes. Start from now on, reporters and paparazzi will likely follow him around and try to catch even a single evidence of their romance. He needs to say farewell to his privacy and it's irritating. And, to think Seulgi will go through the same thing, it's worrying and it's severely more annoying.

***

Seulgi just finishes her breakfast with her family and decides to return to her bedroom. Once she is inside her bedroom, she sits on the edge of her bed and immediately smiles as she thinks about Jimin. Last night, he saved her and it really touched her heart. He left the event right away without greeted her and she understand his reason. People put their attention on them and too many eyes watched them. That was why they acted like that because once this blew up, they probably lost their privacy.

Smile turns into a little frown as Seulgi realizes it already blew up. People try to figure out their relationship and in a split second, everybody talks about her and Jimin. She knows, he doesn't like it when people say this and that about him, he wants to keep his life to himself and he is protective to his own privacy. This whole situation makes her worry about him because she believes it will make him uncomfortable. A sigh leaves her lips and suddenly her phone vibrates. His name is on the screen and in flash she answers his phone call.

"Good morning Seulgi" Jimin talks and he sounds like his usual self. It's a relief and it makes her smile.

"Good morning" Seulgi's smile grows wider. It's hard to control her smile everytime she hears his voice.

"Actually, I want to apologize because I didn't greet you personally last night" Jimin pouts.

Seulgi swears she can hear his whiny tone and it's adorable "It's alright, I understand---" She pauses and decides to straight to the point "---Jimin, are you alright? I mean public starts to find out about us and your privacy---" She hears him cut her off.

"I worry more about you---" Jimin speaks "---will you be alright?" He asks gently.

"Ah---" Seulgi is speechless. It's too sweet until she loses her mind. No word comes out though her mouth hangs open. She wants to tell him that she'll be alright but she knows that's a lie. It begins to become disturbing because paparazzi stay outside her house, hiding inside their car with camera on their hand, ready to snapshot.

"It's not alright of course---" Jimin sighs and Seulgi feels surprise because looks like he hears her thought "---I'm so sorry, I should've had a second thought before caused this mess---" He sounds guilty "---but that was the least I could do to protect you from my father's wife" He continues.

Jimin's explanation throws Seulgi into another surprise because he knows it. She wants to ask more but before that, he already explains more. He found out his stepmother's evil plan through Seojoon's mother who got a broadcast message, asking to place low bid or no bid at all for Seulgi's painting. His aunt felt mad because Seulgi is her best friend's daughter and after all she always hates his stepmother. That was why she sent him the screen-shoot and asked him to do anything to protect Seulgi. He extremely felt angry and immediately rushed to the ballroom. He knew, he was a bit late but in the end he could save her. No other word than thankful because he could be a shield to a girl who started to become an important person in his life.

In the other hand, Seulgi listens to Jimin and she learns his emotion through his tone. She feels hatred from his voice but vaguely she hears sadness and pain, a deep pain. It strangely crushes her heart when he ends his story with a low sigh. At first, she wants to ask reasons why his stepmother treated her bad but after she listens to him, she believes something terrible happened between him and his stepmother and it caused their relationship to turn this cold. She really wants to question and it's already on the tip of her tongue but she decides to hold back and swallow her curiosity. She doesn't want to cross any line and she is very sure, one day he will open up when the time is right.

***

Monday, everybody hates Monday and please includes Jimin. The tiredness still embraces his body and looks like it refuses to go away. He leans his back on his comfortable seat and closes his eyes for a while before his secretary comes to inform his today's schedule. It's only a minute and he hears the door cracks. He opens his eyes and sees Sohye. He sits straight as she bows to him. Therefore, he listens to his packed schedule and sighs secretly. It's suffocating but of course he doesn't want to give up. He knows, as time goes by, everything will be easier. He just needs to bear it a little longer.

"And, you get an invitation" Sohye places an elegant ivory white invitation on his table and excuses herself.

Once Sohye leaves, Jimin reaches out his hand and takes the invitation. He opens it as he hums softly. It's an inauguration ceremony party for Kang Minjae, Seulgi's brother, and it will be held this Saturday night. He instantly checks his schedule and makes sure he is free this Saturday. He has an appointment with Mr. Lee from Younha Group to play golf but that's his only schedule and it makes him free for the rest of the day so he can attend the ceremony party. He smiles as he thinks this as a chance to meet Seulgi. He misses her but with the media and paparazzi follow him around, he finds it hard to meet her and talk eye to eye without becoming a trending topic.

"Ah, annoying"

Jimin whines to himself. Then he starts opening files and reading it thoroughly. In a short time, he falls and drowns into his pile of works. He is the type of person who forgets about time as he focuses on something and he is not aware when the lunch time comes. If his secretary doesn't remind him, he would totally skip his lunch. Right after his lunch, he grabs his phone and decides to call Seulgi, but before he could do that, his phone rings on his hand and it's from his beloved grandmother.

"Grandma!" Jimin answers excitedly.

"Jimin-ah, how are you doing?" His grandmother asks.

Jimin chuckles between his smiley lips before he talks about his current condition. He tells her about his new job and his relationship with Seulgi. There, his grandma starts teasing about the auction day and says if she was Seulgi, she would instantly fall over heels. His grandma's word makes him blush slightly and unconsciously, his smile already reaches his cheekbones. How he really wishes that to happen.

"Ah, I almost forget, I call you to tell you I'll visit Seoul on Friday" His grandma speaks.

"Hm? Really?" Jimin asks.

"Yes, I will attend Minjae's inauguration and honestly I really want to meet Seulgi---" She confesses and chuckles softly "---let's invite her for dinner this Friday, I'll ask butler Seo to prepare everything" She continues. Jimin smiles as he realizes how his grandma really looks forward to meet Seulgi.

"I'll invite her, grandma, don't worry" Jimin says.

"Okay, I'll hang up now, bye grandson, work hard" His grandma ends the call.

For a moment, Jimin feels happy but then he remembers about his stepmother and his happiness disappears. He worries if his crazy stepmother will ruin the dinner but he will think positively. His grandma will be there and his stepmother will have no gut to do so. Yes, his stepmother always tries to impress his grandma, probably his stepmother will behave. He nods and begins to type on his phone. He smiles as he sends multiple messages to Seulgi. He hopes he will get good news.

'Kang Seulgi :) What are you doing?'

'Do you have time this Friday? My grandma invites you to a dinner, looks like she really wants to meet you personally'

"Hmm, you know it'll be good if you could go, we can spend some time together because I kind of miss you :)'

***

Excitement and nervousness bond together and they successfully make Seulgi loses her sleep. She has trouble fall asleep yet she wakes up really early this morning. She tries to make herself busy, reading a book and playing with Seola just to kill the time. Once the clock strikes at three, she takes a bath and gets ready for the dinner. She stands in front of the mirror and sways to the right and left, checking out her appearance. She chooses Saint Laurent's glitter paisley patterned dress and goes with her usual feminine concept. Honestly, she worries a lot about tonight's event because she doesn't want to ruin it like she did with his stepmother. She wants to present herself well and make a good impression to Jimin's family.

"Kang Seulgi, get yourself together, you'll amazingly get through this" Seulgi smiles as she cheers herself up.

Yes, she is Kang Seulgi, she is able to bring out positivity though negativity is around her. She always has a way to see good thing in every bad and motivate herself in a discouraging situation. She nods and walks to take her phone. She once again opens Jimin's message and rereads the 'I kind of miss you' part. It still gives the same effect as the first time she read that. It makes her heart flutters and it completely brightens up her day. Now she regrets that she acted like she didn't see that message and ignored it and just replied a short 'I have time' message. She should've said she misses him too.

"Aaah, what am I thinking of?"

Seulgi whines cutely and she feels embarrassed though no one hears her thought. She puts her phone inside her Gucci shoulder bag and immediately goes downstairs to meet her brother. He is the one who will drive her to Jimin's mansion since he needs to do a final fit of his suit for tomorrow's inauguration. Along the way, her brother keeps talking about Jimin, asking this and that. He indeed sounds like a protective brother.

"Oppa, he treats me really well" Seulgi says it clearly as she defends Jimin.

"Hm, I need to admit that"

Minjae says as he recalls about the auction day. He knew the detail because Joohyun and Seojoon told him. He was mad because it happened to his sister but everything happened for a reason. And this one, it just made him realize that Jimin was a decent man though he looked like a cocky brat. He admitted, he slowly trusted Jimin to be the one who protect his sister and in another word, he approved Jimin.

As the conversation goes, the car enters The Park's mansion. Right when her brother stops the car, Seulgi gets panic but the next second she manages to calm herself. Before she gets out, her brother encourages her, saying that everything will be alright. With those words, she steps out the car confidently and walks through the front door to the foyer where Jimin and his family already wait for her. Everyone has a smile except for his stepmother.

"Welcome" Park Junjin talks.

Seulgi bows politely to Jimin's family and greets them one by one. His father is charismatic and she understands where Jimin gets that trait. His grandmother is extremely kind and warm to her and makes her comfortable, probably because she ever met her before. His stepmother is totally different. His stepmother greets back and gives her a little smile though it's obviously a fake one, but at least she doesn't say any insult. Lastly, she meets his half brother that she never knows exist. She witnesses how his gaze turns cold when she talks to his brother and she guesses their relationship isn't in a good term.

Thereafter, butler Seo comes and guides the whole family to the dining room. Like a gentleman he always is, Jimin helps Seulgi to sit on her chair before he takes his own beside her. Servants start serving Korean royal court cuisine which traditionally made with the best ingredients and it's fascinating to see how the dishes one by one fill the dining table. Once his grandmother starts, everybody else follows. Seulgi eats in silent and she feels an unpleasant gaze on her. She glances and finds his stepmother stares coldly. She decides to ignore it and continues but it makes her uncomfortable and slowly it causes her body to tense. From the tail of his eyes, Jimin sees her body language and immediately understands something bother her. He turns his sight and sees his stepmother pressures her with that judging gaze. He secretly places his hand on the back of her hand under the table and caresses it gently. She is taken aback and she instantly looks at him just to find him give her a soft reassuring smile. It's enough, his action immediately comforts her.

After the dinner, Jimin wants to take Seulgi for a house tour but his grandmother steals her from him. His grandma invites Seulgi to her bedroom and of course his stepmother comes along though no one asks her to. His stepmother knows her mother in law will give Seulgi something and she is not wrong. Her mother in law firstly just asks Seulgi about her relationship with Jimin but then she starts bringing another topic as a bridge to explain her actual intention. She takes a velvet box from the drawer and opens it infront of them. A classic white gold necklace lays there beautifully and its diamonds shimmer elegantly. It's perfection.

"Mother, that's so gorgeous" Hyorin sucks up to her mother in law but she is being ignored.

"Seulgi-ya, do you like it?" Grandma Park asks.

Seulgi doesn't know how to answer this question so she just smiles. Then her eyes meet Hyorin's and she breaks the eye-contact right away. She sees jealousy on Hyorin's eyes and this makes her more confused how to wisely reply to grandma without causing any more trouble. She then goes with a neutral response. She says it's beautiful and it will wonderfully look good on grandma's neck.

"You have good eyes, of course it will look good on me, it was a present from my husband on my 25th birthday " Grandma Park explains as she chuckles.

Grandma Park then tells the history behind that necklace to Seulgi and totally acts like Hyorin is invincible. It was in 1957, her husband prepared a candle light dinner in Paris and he gave the necklace in the end. Later she found out that her husband exclusively asked Van Cleef & Arpels to design that necklace for her and even named it with her initial. Her husband also paid a great amount of money for the copyright and made sure there was only one in this world. Seulgi smiles throughout the story and it feels like she listens to a fairytale. It's too sweet and romantic.

"It means the world to me, promise that you'll take care of it, hmm?" Grandma Park hands the box to Seulgi and it causes her eyes wide open.

"Grandma---" Seulgi is speechless.

"It will look good on you, come on" Grandma forces Seulgi to take it.

It's actually a tradition. Grandma Park always inherits her jewelry to a new family member. Months ago, she inherited Minyoung, Seojoon's fiancé her 17th birthday gift from her parents, a pair of sapphire earrings because she thought Minyoung matched blue well. She even still remembers, to Jimin's mother, she gave her pure jade jewelry set which was an inheritance from generation to generation. At that time, she wished Jimin's mother could inherit it to his future wife but the set disappeared with her death. That's why she decides to hand down Seulgi her most beloved jewelry as a symbol that she accepts Seulgi to the family.

"Thank you grandma, I'll cherish it" Seulgi smiles softly as she feels butterflies.

Grandma Park nods as she pats Seulgi's back. She is about to talk but Hyorin speaks up first "Mother, how about me? I---" "Ah, why do I feel tired suddenly? I think I should have some sleep, Seulgi-ya, see you tomorrow" She cuts Hyorin and just says farewell to Seulgi.

Seulgi nods and helps grandma to lay on the bed while Hyorin just watches them with hatred. She feels like an outsider and it makes her hate on Seulgi more. She then decides to leave and wait Seulgi outside the room. A minute later, Seulgi walks out and closes the door behind. She has no idea that Hyorin is there waiting for her. It strikes her when Hyorin grabs her wrist harshly and drags her along the corridor.

"Listen---" Hyorin begins as she stops her step and pushes Seulgi to the wall. She burns in anger.

"---this necklace---" Hyorin snatches the velvet box from Seulgi and raises it to their eyes' level "---won't look good on you, but this---" She pauses and chokes Seulgi's neck, intimidating and torturing her physically "---looks good on you" She says it as a threat but the next second she lets it go because she hears sound of footsteps.

"Seulgi-ya, what are you doing there?" Jimin asks as he approaches.

The moment Jimin sees his stepmother, he knows something wrong just happened and he rushes to Seulgi. He watches his stepmother hands a box to her in hurry and fakes a smile to him. His stepmother clarifies (slash lies) that she just looks at his grandmother's present for Seulgi and excuses herself. Once his stepmother disappears, he softly holds her shoulders and tilts his head to meet her eyes. His heart drops as he witness how scared and pale she is, but at the same time her lips forms a smile, trying to convince him.

"I'm alright" Seulgi speaks as she knows Jimin questions it inside his mind. She tells a pretty lie as she doesn't want to make him worry.

"No---" Jimin shakes his head and takes a step closer. Slowly he moves his hands to Seulgi's back and runs them softly, sending a tingling sensation and giving her goosebumps. She never sees it coming, but all she knows, he already pulls her gently into his embrace, holding her tight as caressing her hair. Between that, she vaguely hears his whisper softly strokes her ear.

"---you're not alright, I'm sorry"

It leaves Seulgi in daze. It is the first time they're dangerously this close and she never expects it to be this intimately comfortable. Jimin's existence gives ease and his gentle gesture erases all fear. She knows it's only the beginning and in the future his stepmother won't stop hurting and treating her bad. She even considers giving up because of the situation, but after she feels his affection, she has faith he will always be there beside her and protect her with all cost. She believes that.

***

P.S: I write a long chapter since I won't update next week. Please wait :) Also, I never forget to say my gratefulness to all of you. Thank you for voting, giving comments and supporting this story. Thank you so much :)