*Protect You - Cinderella And The Four Knights*

"You are saying that my dad was killed by Woo Tak and you knew about it all along?" Hong screams at Joon boiling with anger.

"I couldn't do shit. He blew heads right in front of me just to prove he was right!" Joon says defending himself. "I know I shouldn't have hidden this from you but I had no choice. You were happy with Tae and I didn't want to..."

"Don't you fucking say that." Hong punches Joon . Tae stops her from hitting him more.

"Hong just stop wait...just hear him out."

"And..and..when they took in Tae, did you know about that already?" Hong says clenching her fist again.

"Hong I had no other choice. Woo Tak said if I did bring him in, both you and him would be unharmed." Joon says trying to stand up.

"And you fucking believed that monster you call dad?"

"I did and that was my mistake. I wanted to protect the both of you but ended up hurting you instead."

Hong punched him once more and Joon just lies there taking in her punches. He thinks he deserves them. Tae catches Hong's hands but she still would not give up.

"TAE LEAVE ME ALONE. TODAY, EITHER HE WILL SURVIVE OR OUR FRIENDSHIP! FUCK NAMJOON... I TRUSTED YOU. I TRUSTED THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS TELL ME THE TRUTH. I TRUSTED YOU WITH TAE'S LIFE!"

"NO STOP. THE BOTH OF YOU. HONG IF YOU DON'T THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST. AND YOU JOON...GET UP." Tae shouts and helps him to get up and tells them to sit facing each other.

"Hong I know that you are upset and angry, but Joon said he wanted to protect you. Whatever he did was to protect you. And you Joon, I know you are guilty but you shouldn't have broken her trust like that. You should have told her the truth." Tae says calmly.

"Hong, I am sorry...I am really sorry but I was trying to protect you. I know that my dad is a bastard. I knew that from the day he murdered Hobi's dad and my own mother. But I did not know about your dad until one day I sneaked into his office and heard him talk about it. He threatened me with your life. Now tell me what other choice did I have? Have you die too or keep you alive and not tell you the truth? And the day you left Tae with me, I got a call from him saying that you were already caught and if I don't bring in Tae, they would kill you. Now tell me, what should I have done?" Joon starts to sob now.

"You could have just talked to me. I had you, I had everyone around me to actually protect me physically and not hide anything from me. I know your father is the devil but I never thought you, of all the people will break my trust!" Hong also starts sobbing. Tae hugs her and holds Joon hand nodding that all will be okay. He signals him to console Hong.

Joon hugs her and whispers, "I am sorry Hong... I am so sorry... But after losing my mom like that, I did not want to lose you too."

"Joon...Joon...i ... I can't even imagine what you went through but hiding it from me wasn't a great idea. Look where it brought us. Jin is out there creating chaos, murdering innocents. I just wished you had told me before. Did you even think about the consequences? " Hong hugs him back.

Tae silently goes out of the room and waits in Hong's office. I should stay with her tonight. But he was equally confused. What just happened? Why did Woo Tak ask for Tae? He couldn't ask Hong these questions now but it was eating his head out.

After an hour or so, Hong comes to her office to see Tae already waiting for her. She was relieved to see him. After all that happened today, all she wanted was to hug him and hear him say 'It's all gonna be okay. I am here'. Tae understood her thoughts and opened his arms for her. She ran to him and hugged him, crying her heart out.

"Shh..it's okay...I am here now." He says patting her back.

"I..I...said sorry to Joon....for hitting him...and even gave him medicine.....I...I...am sorry..I overreacted..." she tries to speak between her sobs.

"No Hong, don't say sorry ...what you did was a natural reaction to whatever has been happening around us. You don't have to apologize for feeling hurt. You can get angry. You are a human. You can make mistakes."

"Tae..." she looks up to him and kisses him, "I don't want to lose you again."

He holds her closer and deepens the kiss, "I promise, you won't."

"Let's go home now, okay? You need a good night's sleep." Tae says wiping her tears with his hands.

"But I can't leave Joon here. As much as I think about it, he has gone through so much to protect me...and I...didn't even get to thank him and instead ...hit him."

"Don't worry. Joon knows how much you love him and he understands. I already called Yoongi to drive Joon back to my house. So no one is staying here alone at the base."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x—x

Joon already went to sleep in the guest bedroom before Hong and Tae arrived. Yoongi had helped him onto the bed.

"I think I should stay here with him just in case." Yoongi says tucking Joon in bed.

"Yes, I guess that is the best idea. The pillows are over there. Just call me if there is any problem. Good night." Tae closes the door and goes to his room.

"Shit, I forgot to bring clothes." Hong says as she looks for something to wear. She thought a warm shower would help her but she forgot she does not have any other clothes. She slightly opens the bathroom door to call Tae but it seems like he is not in the room. She sighed and wrapped herself in a towel. She went to the cupboard to look for Tae's shirts. As she was rummaging through his clothes, she could feel someone staring and she suddenly turned back to see Taehyung with his mouth hung in shock. She chuckles at how he is still affected by her.

"Uh..you...why...." Tae stutters as he feels himself getting embarrassed for gaping too long.

Damm, how can she still make my heart flutter?

Hong looks at him and then bursts into laughter. Seeing her laugh, Tae gets a bit relieved.

"I am glad that you are laughing." He then walks over to his cupboard and takes out his large black hoodie which would be of perfect length for her.

She changes in front of him with Tae trying hard not to look. He could feel himself getting heated up so he insists on leaving the room but Hong stops him by saying, "It's not as if you haven't seen everything already." He blushed when she said that. 

He always loved it when she was so bold.

They both get inside the covers with Hong hugging Tae tightly. He traces her spine with his fingers and hums a small tune. She looks up to him and kisses his nose.

"Tae?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we ...uh nevermind." She wanted to ask him that can they get back together but somehow she lost her voice.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. It's just...Good night!" And she buries her face in his chest. Tae chuckles and replies,

"I love you too."

Xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Next day, Joon wakes up to see smiling faces of Jimin, Hobi, Yoongi, Jungkook, Tae, and Hong surrounding him. Wait, Hong too?

"Get up lazy ass...we have got work to do." Jimin says pouting.

"I am glad that you are okay hyung." Jungkook hugs him.

"Let's get him. Both Woo Tak and Jin." Hong says hugging Joon, "And this time, no hiding things from me, okay?" Joon nods and smiles weakly.

"Also, you snore a lot." Yoongi comments. Everyone starts laughing and it makes the mood a bit lighter.

"I brought breakfast for us. Let's eat!" Hobi smiles.

"So what is the plan now Joon?" Jimin asks after putting his plates in the sink. They enjoyed a little during the breakfast but now it's time to focus on the real game.

"The plan is..." Joon looks at Hong, "I'll go back to the Head Office and talk to Jung Yoon Do. He definitely knows where Jin is hiding."

"Okay, I'll come with you. Just give me 5 minutes..." But Joon interrupts her.

"No, I'll go. You stay here and when I send you the location, come there without anything. No guns, no backup."

"Are you sure? I mean it could be dangerous to meet him without any protection." Jimin asks worried.

"If he had any intention to hurt us, he would have done it long before. He waited 2 years to finally reveal his identity to us. He just wants to talk to us about his side of the story and we are going to give him that space." Saying this, he left for the Head Office. Jimin said he will go back to the base with Yoongi to finish some work.

"I guess it's just you guys then here?" Hobi says looking at Hong and Tae. "I'll head back home but if you need me, I am just a call away, okay?"

They both nod and then look at each other. Hong has been avoiding eye contact with Tae since the morning and he can't understand why. Did he do something wrong last night? Did his staring creep her out?

"I guess I'll wash the dishes." Hong says breaking the ice.

"Oh no..you can't. I'll do the dishes. You should rest." Tae stops her.

"Why don't you both do the dishes together?" Hobi winks at them and leaves.

"Should I make some coffee?" Hong asks Tae after a long silence of just washing the dishes.

"Yes. I'd love that." Tae says looking up from his phone.

Hong looks for the cups in the most uppermost cabinet but can't reach them. Tae, after watching her struggle goes behind her and easily takes out two cups. Hong froze at the sudden contact and turned around to be face to face to Tae. His morning face was so cute. His messy hair. His arms flexing above her. Him staring deep into her soul. All she could see was Tae's lips.

FLASHBACK

"Wow, chocolate cake and fruit salad? I'll take a shower and come back to help." Tae runs upstairs.

It was Jimin's birthday and Hong volunteered make the cake. Tae had just come back from his workout and insisted on helping although she knows the only thing he will do is eat everything. As she puts the cake into the oven, she feels someone behind her. She turns to see Tae stuffing his mouth with the fruits kept for the salad.

"Tae, don't eat those! They are for the salad!" she hits his arms but notices that he only has a towel tied around his waist. She couldn't help but stare at him running his hand through his wet hair as if it was nothing, his nonexistent abs which he swears are there. She gulps at the sight despite having seen it countless number of times. After shower Tae always looks like a snack. He notices her stare and smirks,

"Like what you see baby?" in deep voice which he knows makes her crazy.

Hong could not control herself anymore and smashed her lips onto his, tracing the outline of his abs with her fingers. Tae helped her to hop on the kitchen counter and deepens the kiss. He could feel her getting needier so he held her hips and brought her closer. His hands roamed around to find the bowl of cream on the side and dipped his fingers in it. He pulled away from the kiss and outlined her collarbone with the cream. Hong tilted her head a little so Tae could lick the cream, her heart beating so fast as if it would burst and her hand clutching his wet hair. His hands were now slowly and dangerously moving towards her inner thighs, kissing her neck. But something seemed off. It smelled as if something was burning.

"THE CAKE!" Hong shouts as she taps on Tae's shoulder signally him to stop. He looked up in confusion as she hopped off the counter to open the oven. The cake was now burnt and Hong could not help but sigh. Tae comes and wraps his arms around her saying,

"It's okay babe. We can pick one up from the bakery while going. The only sweet thing I want to eat right now is you."

FLASHBACK ENDS

Tae leans towards Hong and snaps her out of her thoughts, smirking, "What are you thinking about?" He knew exactly what she was thinking about and leans in more to see her gulp. But suddenly a voice interrupted them.

"Noona, are we going to the baseeee..uh..uh..i...am...." Jungkook turns his back on them, embarrassed.

Hong pushes Tae a little, still avoiding eye contact and runs towards Jungkook, "Yes..uh..yes we are going to the base. Get ready!" Tae stood there shocked as to why Hong was acting weird around him all of a sudden. He was sure that she wanted to ask him to get back together last night but what happened now?

Jungkook stares at Hong as she struggles with the car keys.

"Do you have something to say?" Hong ask him as she desperately tries to start the engine.

"Noona, I like you. A lot." Hong looks at him shocked. But he still continues looking down, "And I know you don't look at me that way."

"Kook...I...."

"I was stupid enough to ask Tae Hyung. I mean of course he will not like it. He is still in love with you. But he was cool about it and did not stop me."

"Kook...I don't know what...."

"No Noona, I know you know that I talked to Hyung before the trip. I sensed it when you started to keep your distance from me. I can understand about myself, but what about Hyung? Why are you ignoring him?

"I am not ignoring or keeping my distance from anyone. I don't know what makes you think like that." Hong says a bit flustered.

"Noona, you can lie to everyone but not me. I see you want to be with Hyung, but something is stopping you. If it's me then you don't have to worry. I will move on. But if it's someone else..."

"Kook, look at me. It is not something you should get involved in. And you don't have to blame yourself for anything."

"Then why aren't you confessing to Hyung? Why are you torturing yourself by staying away from him?"

"Kook...it's not like that...ugh...it's just complicated ...I don't know what to say or what to do." Hong finally confesses. "I want to be with him, call him mine, but I can't do that. I can't put him in danger again. Jin was right. I am a big danger for him. His life is always in danger when he is around me. And I am not sure if Tae wants the same." She breaks down.

Kook pats her back. "How do you know that? Have you asked him? From what I see he is dying for you to come back but he can't say because of his pride. I think he is still upset with you for leaving him after the wedding but that doesn't mean he doesn't want you back. He is waiting for you to be ready."

"Even if he does, he is an idiot. He does not know the risks of falling for someone like me. I think it is best for us to be apart and be happy even if we are not together. At least he will be safe and alive."

"Do you think he can stay alive without you? Do you think he will be happy without you? Same goes for you too, Noona. Since he is back, you seem a lot cheerful. Even if it hurts me to see you with him, I can't help but feel satisfied and happy that he loves you and can take care of you."

"You seem to have become wiser Jungkook."

"Love can make you do things you never imagined yourself doing." Kook holds Hong's hands and continues, "You are my first love Noona. I am sad that it did not work out but I can't let you sacrifice your first love. Please, will you talk to Hyung about it? I am not forcing you but he should know that you do love him but there are things that you are worried about. He is smart; I know he will help you out. You just need to tell him the truth about how you feel."

Hong nods at him and they leave for the base. For the first time, she feels light. She feels light to have told Jungkook everything. She also feels what he said was right. Maybe she should talk to Tae.

Hong still hadn't got a call from Joon so she thinks he might have to stay at the Head Office for a while. She dropped Kook at the base and was now heading back to Tae's home. A million thoughts were in Hong's mind. 

What will I tell him? With what face could she say that she loves him?

As she entered his room, she notices he was sleeping. She tiptoed towards the side of the bed where his back was turned and climbed onto the bed, under the covers. She hugged him tight and nuzzled her head on his neck.

"Tae, I am scared. I am scared to lose you again. I am scared if I let you go, I'll regret it all my life. But if I start things again, I'll lose you. You will be in danger." Hong still thinks he is sleeping but Tae turns around and cups her cheek.

"Do you love me?" he stares deep into her eyes.

"What...were you awake?"

"Do you love me Hong?"

"Of course I do but....." Tae interrupts her by quickly pecking her lips.

"Then that is all I want to know. I don't mind getting hurt if you are by my side."

"But I vowed to protect you Tae, I can't..."

"But staying away from me is hurting me too. I don't know why you did what you did but I am sure you might have had your reasons. I am still upset but I am willing to look beyond it. Can you do too?"

Hong nods and Tae kisses her forehead. She comes closer to his chest and smells him.

"I missed this smell. I missed you."

"And?" Tae raises a brow. He is hoping she would finally say that.

"And...I love you. Sorry for keeping you waiting." She smiles in his chest. He could feel that she was blushing.

"Ugh.. FINALLY. I wonder who persuaded you to finally confess." He chuckles.

"Actually it was Jungkook. He couldn't see his Noona sad and confronted me." she says looking up at Tae.

"Wow really? I must tell you, that kid is very mature. I am glad he did that. But ...tell me one thing..."

"Hmm..." she hums while playing with his fingers.

"Who do you think is cooler? Me or Kook?"

"It should not even be a question. It's obviously Kook. I mean he sacrificed his love!" Hong teases.

"Yaahh..." Tae pouts. They talk for a little bit and Hong feels a bit tired so sleeps, wrapping her arms around Tae. He slightly whispers, "I love you. I promise to never let you go." And then sleeps.

x-x-x—x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Back at the Head Office, Jung Yoon Do is pleased with Joon.

"Wow, Jin never thought that you would actually rat out your father." He exclaims.

"I just told the truth just like he said. Now I want you to do one more thing for us. Tell him I am ready. Tell him I am ready to talk face to face." Joon asserts. He dreaded this day but it was finally time to set things right.

"But I don't know where he is. I just knew about the base and the letter."

"I am sure you have you ways." Joon says unlocking his cuffs.

"Wow, you really are desperate." Yoon do says as he massages his hands. "I'll talk to my agents to see if we get anything. But don't get your hopes high."

"I am pretty sure he wants us to find out where he is. And it will be better if you find him soon." Joon places a gun on the table threateningly. Yoon Do gulps and starts his research. After a few hours, he looks at Joon pleasingly and declares,

"I have found where he is. I'll let him know about your whereabouts." He says showing the location to Joon. Joon stands up and leaves his cell. He calls up Hong,

"Hey Hong, ready for the final battle?"

*Edited By - Krutisha Kayasth*