THE GUNFIRE outside Kee's mansion was so loud. Hours had passed, but their enemies kept on coming. While this was happening, the seven were inside the living room, enjoying the fresh fruit juice that Cloud had made and the cake that Jacques brought for Knight.

The first gunshot scared SM that something bad could happen to them, but as hours went by, her fear began to fade.

Her uncle Kee's house was safe and well-guarded. They all calmly settled in the living room, as if the gunfire outside was not happening at all. SM didn't even know how Knight, Jacques, Shun, and Dimitri came up with playing paper planes. The rule of the game was simple: whoever could throw the paper airplane the farthest and fastest would win. They even drew logos and wrote their names on the paper planes.

Cloud didn't join the game, while North just stared at the closed window.

"I wonder how many dead bodies are out there..." North murmured. "I want to clean them up as soon as possible."

She raised her brows when she heard what North whispered. Come to think of it, she thought, I don't have any idea who he is, unlike Shun and Dimitri. I wonder what he does.

North mumbled, "I wanna go out there and clean up the mess."

Cloud butted in, "The corpses can wait, North. It's dangerous outside."

North looked at Cloud like an innocent child asking something from an adult. "But... I want to clean up now."

"Later," Cloud said before ruffling North's hair. "You can do it later, okay?"

North nodded reluctantly. "I want it now. though."

He's persistent, alright, she thought. But she was caught off guard when North turned to her. Their eyes met.

She offered him a small sweet smile. North stared at her for a long moment before he spoke. "Are you... going to marry my boss?"

"I guess..." she answered, a smile still on her face, "if he asks my hand in marriage."

North was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "That's good. Boss looks happy when he's with you. I want him to be happy."

"That's so nice of you."

"I always pray for Boss's happiness since he has done a lot for me already. You see, Boss saved me from black-market slavery and gave me a new life," he shared, glancing down at the center table. He spoke as if his past didn't bother him, but SM could hear the slight trembling in his voice. "I was sold into slavery—in every form. A member of the Triad bought me when I was ten, and Boss cleaned up the house of my master ten years later. I thought he'd kill me too, but he just looked at me and then walked past me.

"Then after a couple of minutes, he came back and asked me a question that changed my life. 'Do you wanna live?' he asked. And even though my life was already fucked up, I nodded. He is my hero and my savior."

Then North raised his gaze to SM. "He took me in, clothed me, fed me. He even sent me to school and then offered me a job as the head of his cleaning crew. He changed me. He is a good person with a sad pair of eyes. So, thank you, for saving my boss from loneliness and misery, for making his sad eyes disappear. Thank you for being good to him. He deserves it more than anyone."

Tears fell from SM's eyes. "I know that he deserves more than I can give him. That's why I'm really trying my hardest."

For the first time, North smiled at her.

Cloud returned to their spot and messed up North's hair. "Don't let your crazy boss see you smile at her. He will get jealous that another guy smiled at the woman he loved the most."

SM felt her cheeks heat up.

North, on the other hand, bowed to her and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to smile like that. Please forgive me."

"It's okay," SM replied, chuckling. "Your boss is busy being a child at the moment."

Cloud filled up her glass with fruit juice. "I apologize for my lord's behavior. It has been a while since he did something like this. I guess he's making up for lost time."

Smiling, SM turned to her boyfriend. He wore a wide smile on his lips as he threw his paper plane to the air.

"It's okay. He's happy. Besides, I'm used to his childish antics. This isn't new. I'd be more worried if he wasn't acting this way."

Cloud and North laughed at what SM said as she continued to watch the four adults acting like kids.

"Fuck! My plane!" Jacques shouted with so much worry. "It's going down—fuck no! No! Continue flying, you motherfucking plane! Beat the count's plane."

Knight smirked as he stood proud, his arms crossed on his chest. "Accept your failure, Marquess."

Jacques tsked. "Fuck you! My paper plane is just having some turbulence issues."

Knight looked at the marquess weirdly. "Even turbulence can't take down a real fucking plane, and yours is just a paper."

Shun tsked and then faced Jacques. "How about you make a bet with me?"

Jacques immediately looked excited. "Sure. How much?"

The corner of Shun's lips tugged up. "Since you're rich, how about ten million euro?"

"Deal! How do we play?"

"The farther the plane, the better."

"Deal!"

"Wanna bet?" Shun asked Dimitri.

Without hesitation, Dimitri answered, "I'll bet on Jacques's plane."

Then the three looked at Knight, who wrapped an arm around Shun. "Of course I'll bet my money on my philosopher best friend."

Shun glared at Knight. "Fuck you. You don't have money."

Knight grinned and tapped Shun's shoulder. "That's the point. Make sure you win. I need money."

"Fuck you."

"You're not my type, buddy." Knight then turned to Dimitri. "Let's start."

"Okay. Ready," Dimitri signaled, as he played the referee. "Set. Throw!"

Knight and Jacques launched their paper planes and chased after them until they landed on the floor.

"Fuck, yeah!" Shun grinned when he saw his plane land far, far away from Jacques's plane. "Man, I'm rich because of this paper plane."

"And since I bet on you, I have twenty-five percent, right?" Knight said with a smirk.

Shun frowned. "Why would I? Were you the one who struggled to throw that damn paper airplane? No. So, why would I share a percentage with you?"

"Because I learn from the best, The Philosopher, and because I'm your best friend—"

"No," Shun cut him off. "You mean to say your 'second' best friend."

Knight smirked. "You jealous?"

"What am I, a kid?" Shun irritably said before approaching Jacques, who was inspecting the paper plane Shun made. "Pay up, Marquess."

Jacques reached for his wallet from the back pocket of his pants and then pulled out a blank check. "Here. You write the amount."

Shun stared at the check. "Freaking rich people. I can put twenty million euro in here, you know."

Jacques shrugged it off. "That's okay. I heard you run a charity."

"Yeah."

"Then make it thirty million."

Shun grinned. "Alright!"

Knight sulked as he walked to her side. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her arms. "They're buddy-buddy now," he mumbled. "Well... the marquess is rich, while I'm not."

SM stopped herself from laughing. So, even with his friends, Knight was possessive.

She quietly waved her hand to grab Shun's attention. When Shun approached her, she mouthed, Jealous, and then pointed her lips at Jacques.

"Moron," Shun remarked before pinching both of Knight's ears, making Knight let go of SM. "You're such a moron!"

"Ouch—fuck!" Knight squirmed.

"How dare you get jealous." Shun was pissed. "Did you hear anything from me when you call me 'best friend number-two'? When we both know that between me and Valerian, I know you better than him—than anyone. You even have a secret that only I know because Val will abandon you if he ever finds out. So, don't start with me, Velasquez. I respect your friendship with Val, so respect my friendship with other people. That's how you keep your fucking friends."

Knight stopped squirming. He just stayed seated, his gaze lowered.

SM wanted to comfort Knight, but she didn't move. Surely, whatever she would say could affect him greatly since he loved her so much, but it was an argument between friends that she had no right to intervene. Shun was there for Knight even before they met. She decided to talk to him once they were alone.

"I thought you don't mind," Knight reasoned.

"I don't," Shun argued, "so don't be fucking possessive because you're not a girl, you moron—"

"Even before, I'm already like this," Knight whispered. "I'm possessive of the people I care about. I don't want them interacting with others because it feels like I will lose them at any moment. I have nothing to make them stay. I mean, Val has no choice—that's why we're friends. And you... Well... I have no money to help your charity, so I feel useless."

Shun laughed in disbelief. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah, I know." Then he looked at SM. "But even though I am one, my Sweet Monday still loves me, right?"

She nodded. "Of course."

Knight returned his gaze to Shun. "I'm lucky, am I not?"

Shun sighed, massaging his temples. "You're really an idiot," he said before flicking Knight's forehead. "Rest before your back bleeds again. I'm calling my wife. Fuck. I miss her."

After Shun walked away, Knight flopped down sideways on the sofa and rested his head on her lap. "Is being possessive really bad?"

SM gently brushed her fingers through his hair. "It depends... Just, please, don't overdo it, okay? It can be suffocating, and you can make the people you're possessive over feel that you don't trust them."

"I don't trust the people around them. That's different."

"A pinch of possessiveness can be cute and all at times, but when it becomes excessive, it can destroy relationships, whether romantic or friendly."

Knight looked at her. "Do you feel trapped with me?"

"Baby..." SM brushed off some strands of his hair on his forehead. "If I do, I will tell you. I'm not the kind of person who likes to hide things. I believe that it's better that you know so you'll know what to do."

Knight smiled at her. "Thank you..." Then he covered his eyes with his forearm. "I messed up things with Shun, didn't I?"

Before she could answer, they heard movement from the fireplace, as if someone was pushing behind the wall.

And she was right.

Her father was behind the fireplace, pushing it open.

"Dad," she called.

Kee peeked through the opening and waved. "Hey, kids. How's your night?"

"We played with paper planes," Jacques replied. "I lost."

Queen looked flatly at them. "You played paper plane while there was gunfire outside?"

"Where did you go through?" Cloud asked the newcomers, puzzled about where they had come from.

Since Kee was already inside, he answered, "My security system notified me that my house is under attack, so we used the tunnel on the edge of the island connected to my garage on the way home."

"Won't the Triad discover that?" Shun asked, who just finished talking to his wife.

Kee shrugged, showing no hint of fear in his body. "The tunnel is filled with laser cutting machines every five feet. Unless I disable them, they can't enter the tunnel."

Just wow. SM was in awe again. The security system of her uncle Kee's house was like something out of high-tech Hollywood movies.

But the owner of the house was acting silly again.

Kee picked the paper planes that Knight, Shun, Jacques, and Dimitri made and gave each one to Queen, Rafael, and Ambrose. He took one too.

"Let's play," Kee challenged the other three. "Let's have a bet."

Ambrose shrugged. "Then I'm betting my liver."

"No thanks, you drink a lot," Kee snorted.

"I bet my kidney," said Rafael.

"You're too old—"

"How dare you!"

Queen spoke next. "I'll bet my silky hair."

"Then I'll bet my penis," Kee said, grinning.

The other three fell silent before throwing the paper planes as they left one by one.

Kee pouted. "No one wants my penis?"

Stevan shook his head. Then he got his daughter's attention. "Sweetie, let's talk. It's important."

Knight immediately got up so she could stand. SM then kissed his forehead before following her father to another room—an office in the basement of the mansion.

Once they were inside, Stevan pressed a button on the side of the table, causing a thick black wall to descend and enclose the entire room.

"Don't worry," her father said. "I'm just soundproofing the room. I don't want anyone to hear what we'll talk about."

SM nodded before walking toward the table. She didn't take a seat, even though her father was already seated on the swivel chair in front of her.

"Sweet Monday, before I tell you everything you need to know, just like what I promised, I have one question."

"What is it?" she firmly asked.

Stevan gazed at his daughter intently, saying, "Are you ready to enter the dark and merciless world I live in?"

SM did not respond.

"You're pregnant, and you're about to have a child," added her father. "The world I live in is chaotic. You won't know who to trust. Once you enter, you can't leave. But you can still turn your back on this—on me. Please, Princesa, turn your back on this."

But instead of being scared and intimidated by her father's statement, she smiled. "I understand that you're worried about me, Dad. I'm your daughter—that's why I want to know everything. I'm worried about my future child. I don't want my child to experience the same thing that happened to me at the hands of the Triad. I want to protect my child, and I can't do that if I just hide and don't fight. Yes, facing the enemy is terrifying, and it'll drain every courage I have, but it's better than running away and doing nothing, hoping that the enemy won't get to us.

"I don't know what will happen in the future, but one thing is for sure, I will make sure that none of the people I love and cherish will be harmed or die. Mommy would be the last one. I won't let them get any of the people important to me again. If by telling me your secret means I'll have the power to protect and fight for the people I love, even if it comes with heavy responsibility, I will wholeheartedly accept it with everything I got, Dad.

"I'm connected to you, so whether we like it or not, I'm already part of the chaotic world you live in ever since I was born. Wouldn't it be better that I know everything, so when they try to provoke me, I know how to fight to protect myself and the people I treasure?"

Even with her long answer, SM already expected that her father would refuse. She understood that he was worried about her, especially that she would have a child soon.

But her father did the opposite. He smiled and said, "You really are our daughter."

Stevan approached SM and gently kissed her forehead before staring at her. "Well, then, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God her father didn't argue with her.

"I'll start with—"

"Before you tell me everything I need to know," she cut him off. "I just have one question that has been on my mind for a long time, and I can no longer hold back from asking it."

Stevan crossed his arms on his chest. "What is it?"

SM took a deep breath and asked, "Who are you in the Orgánosi? What kind of work do you do for them?"

"Oh, that? Only a number and handpicked people know I exist in the organization. I'm like a shadow—a ghost, if you will. And who am I, you ask?"

"Yes," she replied, nearly holding her breath. Who are you really, Dad?"

Mufasa smiled. "I'm Stevan Lopez, a simple citizen of Spain—"

"Dad!" She glared at him.

Mufasa chuckled before his face went serious. "I'm a descendant of one of the three Idrytís of the Orgánosi."

She took a deep breath. "And Idrytís means what?"

"Founder, Sweet Monday."

SM gaped in surprise. "Y-you're a d-descendant of a f-founder of this big and old organization?"

Her dad smiled. "Didn't I tell you before that I'm the King of the Jungle?"

"King of the Jungle..."

"Yes. The Orgánosi is like a jungle after all. So many animals—rare, wild, bastards, even stubborn and dangerous ones, but in that jungle, there's only one king of the beasts, and that's me.

"And you, mi princesa," Stevan said as he pointed at SM, "as my heiress, you will be the next king of that wild and dangerous jungle... Or should I call you Queen from now on?"

SM gulped, trying to comprehend and wrap her head around what her father had told her. But her mind kept on coming back to that one word—queen.

What the fuck!