October 8, 2019

True to herself, Ari looked contentedly at the bags in her hands. These were some of the presents for the coming Christmas for some of the boys.

She looked at the already decorated trees around the driveway as she walked to her apartment. She wondered what to get for Izeul and Namjoon. What do you buy for Christmas for a man you once had sex with but you're not a couple?

Staring at the Christmas lights and almost outside her apartment, her phone rang and she hurried to see who was calling her. Namjoon?

"Hey" she picked up worriedly, he had never called her. "Come back to the mansion, Ari" Namjoon commanded from the other end of the phone.

"Why, is everything alright, is Izeul alright?" Ari looked over her shoulder, feeling chills run down her spine. "I want you" was all Namjoon answered and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tomorrow" she smiled and looked around again, why doesn't the feeling that something is wrong leave her? She looked over her shoulder again, quickening her pace. "Are you refusing to obey me, Miss Hyun?" Namjoon growled and she raised an eyebrow.

Ari was fumbling for her keys in her purse as she talked on the phone and was almost running already, just meters from the front door of her apartment building.

She nervously glanced over her shoulder. "Damn it!" she muttered under her breath, but Namjoon heard her. "Ari, what's up? Are you okay?" he asked and she sighed. "I…" she found the keys and was about to insert the key into the lock when a heavy body pressed her against the door.

Ari groaned in pain. "Did you miss me, baby?" she shuddered and turned the key, the door opened inward, allowing her to release the pressure. "Namjoon…" she squealed and ran as Hwan yanked the phone from her hands and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces.

Namjoon was lying in his bedroom staring at Binna's portrait when he decided to call Ari back. After yesterday's fiasco in the laundry, her little body was on his mind and kept him from concentrating.

But when she screamed into the phone and the connection snapped, he jumped up and ran for the front door. "Hoseok, Seokjin, Yoongi!" he yelled, grabbing his car keys from the hall table without even bothering to look for a coat.

"What's happening?" Jungkook and Jimin appeared from the kitchen. "I'm going to Ari's apartment. I'll wait for you there!" Namjoon ordered and jumped out, running to his car.

Ari managed to escape him up the stairs, slamming the door to her apartment and locking the secret lock. Her heart skipped a beat in terror as Hwan knocked on the door.

"Open up, baby" his snarling voice made her hair stand on end and she took a few steps back from the door clutching the bags in front of her chest like a shield.

"Come on, honey, you can't call the police now. Be a good girl and open the damn door" Hwan hits again, much harder this time. Ari jumped timidly, dropping the bags.

"Go, Hwan, Namjoon will be here any minute..." she yelled against the door and heard his laugh. "Your boyfriend won't come, baby, so open up let's make it easier on each other" Hwan laughed and she closed her eyes praying he wasn't right.

She heard the kick, the door creaked, but she held on, a second kick, she literally saw the light from the hallway filter between the door and the frame.

Terrified, she ran into the bedroom and locked herself in the bathroom. Ari crouched in the farthest corner and hugged her knees, burying her face in them and covering her ears with her hands.

But nothing kept her from hearing the loud pounding on her front door. Nor to silence his screams, which promised her unbearable pain.

Namjoon sped up, deftly dodging traffic and running red lights, not caring that he'd probably called some other accident.

Approaching her apartment, he dug into the small compartment between the seats. He fumbled for her duplicate keys, pleased that he had foreseen the possibility that he would have to enter her apartment without her being home.

He parked literally in the middle of the parking lot and didn't even bother to turn off the engine, getting out of the car and running for the front door. He heard several other cars pull up and someone called his name." The boys" he thought and left the door slightly open as he ran up the stairs.

Ari screamed as the front door hit the wall with the final kick. "Honey, are we going to play hide and seek?" Hwan's mocking voice sounded nearby and she shivered, trying to cling even tighter to the wall.

Ari screamed as the front door hit the wall with the final kick. "Honey, are we going to play hide and seek?" Hwan's mocking voice sounded nearby and she shivered, trying to cling even tighter to the wall.

"Ariii, my love…" his voice got closer and Ari closed her eyes, praying that Namjoon had realized something was up and was on his way to her apartment.

"Honey, are you here?" Hwan knocked on the bathroom door. Ari didn't answer, her eyes widened and her blood froze, making her feel unimaginably cold. Her body shook and her ears rang with fear.

"Come on, my love, don't make me break down that door too, you know I don't like it when you show stubbornness" Hwan said softly making her choke in disgust.

Ari felt like she had been sitting in the bathroom for hours. Hwan kept banging on the door and she could feel him slowly reaching the limit of his patience.

"Fucking bastard, I told you to stay away from her!" Ari jerked head up. “Namjoon…” at this point, she could no longer hold back the tears that flowed, blurring her vision.

She stood up quickly and started for the door, but stopped when she heard the swear words, the sounds of banging, smashing furniture, and pained groans coming from the bedroom.

Seconds later, more footsteps were heard and she recognized Seokjin and Jungkook's voices. Then there was a far softer knock on the door.

"Ari, baby, open the door.." Namjoon's voice was strained and she unlocked it with shaking hands stepping back again.

Namjoon heard the key turn but she didn't open so he pressed the lock and did it for her. "Honey…" he stood, filling out the door frame.

She stared at him in horror, her tear-soaked face ashen gray. Ari was frozen, unable to move in fear. "Gosh, honey, I thought I was late" he stepped forward and held out his hand.

"N-Namjoon…" she threw herself into his arms and cried almost hysterically. He held her tightly, stroking her back and hair soothingly. His body shook with anger, hers with fear. They clung to each other and for the first time, Namjoon realized that this woman was truly his and that he was willing to kill for her.

And this time he felt no guilt. He loved Binna, he always would, but as she had said, Ari was his future, his and their daughter's.

"Ari, are you ok, did he do anything to you?" Namjoon asked and she shook her head against his chest. "I thought... you didn't... understand…" Ari sobbed and he squeezed her hard.

"You won't see him again, baby, I promise!" Namjoon growled, and he really meant it. He would make sure the bastard experienced unimaginable fear and pain before he died.

"Ari.." Seokjin walked into the bathroom. "Touch her and I'll kill you!" Namjoon roared, with such hatred and anger in his voice and eyes that Seokjin instinctively took a step back.

"Don't !" Seokjin stopped Taehyung, who also entered, and they both stared at Namjoon's tense back, who was not letting go of the still sobbing Ari from his arms.

"Is she okay?" Taehyung asked in a whisper and Seokjin glared at him. "I don't know, Namjoon won't let me get close" Seokjin replied also whispering and Taehyung looked at the couple in surprise.

Little by little, Ari's sobs subsided and Namjoon felt her relax. Her arms slipped around his waist and she looked up. "He…he didn't hurt you, did he?" she asked hoarsely and Namjoon shook his head, wiping away her tears.

However, she pulled back slightly and looked at him. "Your hand…" she pulled out of his arms and pulled out a first aid kit from the cupboard under the sink. "Come here!" he obediently stood beside her and she took his hand, examining his knuckles.

As she cleaned the abrasions, Namjoon looked at Seokjin and he nodded. He and Taehyung made their way outside in silence and Namjoon looked back at Ari.

She went over and applied a clean bandage, still sighing raggedly from crying. Namjoon lifted her chin and she forced a smile, but her eyes still showed the horror and panic of what she had just experienced.

"You're coming back to the mansion with me, honey. I can't protect you if I have to cross the whole town every time." Ari nodded and Namjoon leaned in, kissing her softly.

"Good girl, tomorrow I will send someone to get your things." she nodded again and he pulled her into his arms again, rocking her gently. "I'm sorry I didn't take care of him the other day, baby." he rested his chin on her head and felt her start to sob again.