NOTE: B o l d sentences are Korean. Now, enjoy.

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     "You stay beside me whatever happens, do you understand me?" Romeo suddenly asked.

     "Romeo, I know you're worried about me but-"

     Romeo immediately cuts me off and says again, "Do you understand me?"

     I took a deep breath and nodded my head, "I understand."

     Romeo nods his head as he looks out at the car window.

     Mat is driving us to the company while the rest of the Valentino's followed behind us. It's been a while since I've got back there, well, in all honestly, it's been a while since I've gone out in general.

     Last time, I was locked inside an apartment, then I was locked inside Ms. Victoria's villa, now I'm locked inside Romeo's household. I've been practically caged at Club Luxuria for at least 9 years now too. I'm tired of being inside, and to tell you the truth, my hand's been itching to hold a gun again. 

     Before I could even hold my father's hand, I was already holding a gun. A gun has been like a missing body part when I left my home. I miss the feeling of holding onto it and pulling the trigger. Then feeling the warmth and seeing the blood coming out of the person you just shot. I miss that exciting feeling, and I miss how people begged on my feet, kneeling and asking for mercy. Mercy that I never once gave to anyone.

     I was merciless, I was feared, and I was hated; but I liked it. And now I feel like I should-

     "We're here", Mat suddenly says, snapping me back to my senses.

     I blinked and looked around and realized that we were now inches away from the main building of the Valentino Company. And to my surprise, I was actually gripping on my fist so hard that I could now feel the pain of what my nails did to my palm.

     "Not now Julien", I whispered to myself.

     You have to contain this Black Angel. It can't come out, especially when you're in front of Romeo.

     "They're all at the front", Mat says as he takes a right turn, revealing a big crowd of people who were punching each other.

     When they saw our car approaching, everyone immediately stopped.

     "In front of my fucking company?!" Romeo angrily stated as he quickly went out of the car before Mat could even open it for him.

     "Don Romeo!" the guards – who were actually part of the Valentino family too – shouted in surprise as they immediately put their hand on their chest to show him their respect.

     "You should stay inside", Mat says, but I quickly shake my head and went out of the car to follow Romeo.

     "Julien!" I heard Mat shout, but I completely ignored him.

     Romeo's men immediately went out of their cars one by one so they blocked my way towards the scene. I had to push most of them away so I could go to where Romeo, and my own men were.

     "E-Excuse me", I say as I pushed the last man in front of me.

     Romeo's men and my men were arguing, but the moment I got into the scene, everyone became quiet.

     "Black Angel!" one of my own men shouted as he deeply bows in front of me, making the rest of them bow too. I was surprised since it's been a while since anyone had ever shown respect to me except for Romeo.

     "B-Boss?" someone else asks, making me look at my right.

     My eyes widened as I saw Eric Kwon; a 36-year-old man who has stayed by my side for as long as I could remember.

     "Eric", I say as I was about to approach him, but strong arms suddenly grabbed me and pulled me away from him.

     I turned my head and saw Romeo.

     "Who's this?" he asked me, but I wasn't able to answer him because I was too shocked to see Eric. I haven't seen him for so long, and I honestly thought father killed him too.

     "Boss, you need to come back. Everything is in chaos. Every single gang in Asia is fighting us, and the Dark Saints is falling one by one. We need the Black Angel back; we need our strong leader", Eric tells me, his eyes suddenly filled with pain. He looked so much in pain that I could see the hardship they had to go through while I was away.

     "We sacrificed so much just so we could come here", Eric continued as he was about to grab me from Romeo. But before he could even do so, Romeo's men suddenly took out their guns and pointed it at him, resulting my own men to put out their guns too.

     "Romeo..." I called out as I slowly put his arms away from me.

     I turned around and looked at him, "Ask your men to put their guns down."

     Romeo looks at me but doesn't say anything, shocking me because it looked like he wasn't planning to ask his men to put their guns down at all.

     I grabbed his arm and begged, "Romeo, ask your men to put their guns down!"

     I shouted right at his face, but Romeo doesn't even flinch.

     I clenched on my fist and whispered, "You leave me no choice."

     I pushed Romeo away and went in front of Eric, finally making Romeo widen his eyes from shock.

     "You shoot him, you shoot me", I seriously told him while Eric stood behind me.

     "I respect your men Romeo. Even when they talk shit about me I don't fucking point a gun at them. I told you these are my men, so respect them as I respect yours", I say.

     I could see Romeo clenching his fist as he looked at me. Then, he simply nods his head, automatically making everyone put there guns down.

     When no one was pointing a gun at Eric anymore, my own men took their guns away now too.

     I sighed in relief and walked my way back to Romeo. Romeo looks at me like he wanted to say something, but he walks towards Eric instead.

     "Who are you?" Romeo coldly asked.

     Eric glances at me and quickly looks back at Romeo. Then, he bows and says, "I am Kwon Eric of the Dark Saints. And I am here to take our boss back."

     Eric stood up straight, but the moment he looked back at Romeo, Romeo answered, "No. Now leave."

     Everyone was shocked, especially Eric.

     "We are not here to fight you", Eric says. But Romeo continued to look at him with an expressionless face and says, "So are we. So leave now while I'm nice."

     Eric now looked like he was running out of patience, but he still remained calm. It was obvious that we're outnumbered, and Eric wasn't going to risk anyone else from the Dark Saints to get hurt especially when a lot has already been killed.

      "We don't listen to anyone else's command. We will leave...only if our true boss tells us to", Eric suddenly says, making everyone look at me.

     Romeo slowly turns his head and looks back at me too.

     I took a deep breath and gently held Romeo's shoulder. I moved closer to him and said, "Eric Kwon to me is Mat Luca to you. I have not seen him for almost 10 years, so please let me properly talk to him."

     Romeo glances back at Eric who was actually staring at us too like the rest of the people here.

     I thought Romeo was going to answer me, but instead, he suddenly leans forward and kisses my forehead, "Everything for my Julien", he says, making sure everyone, especially Eric, heard it loud and clear.

     Then, Romeo leans forward and whispered in my ear, "But if he touches you. I'll personally put a bullet in his head. Do you understand?"

     Romeo finally lets go of me as I looked straight at Eric's eyes.

     "I understand."

*****

     I don't know how we ended up like this but Eric and I were now at a strange coffee shop that the people here calls "The Den".

     Guards were everywhere as my own men stayed and waited outside.

     Eric and I were alone at a table, but Romeo was sitting just a few feet away from us, Mat and Antonio sitting beside him.

     The whole room was quiet. No one stared at us except for Romeo, but I knew everyone else was listening.

     "That man, he's your lover?" Eric suddenly asked, making me quickly look back at him. I don't say anything and just nod my head as an answer.

     "How did this happen? How did you meet a godfather? From all people?" Eric asked, obviously shocked that I got caught up with all this.

     "It's a long story, but it's not really important. What's important now is the gang. What happened? Why are you in chaos?" I asked instead.

     Eric takes a deep breath and looks at me seriously, "Your father is dead. Do you know that?" he asked me, making me take a deep breath as well as I answered, "I know, the moment I found out my brother was here, I knew father was dead."

     "Jiyong thought he was going to be declared the new head since he thought you were dead. But, on the day we were reading your father's testament, he wrote there the truth. The truth that you were actually alive and that he left you all his riches and all his property, even the gang", Eric explained.

     It was obvious my father would do something reckless like that. He valued his own flesh and blood more than a boy he had from his mistress.

     And even when my father sold me out, which he said was for my own sake; all that would still be meaningless because the higher ranks don't want me.

     "It doesn't matter, the Elders are-"

     Eric suddenly cuts me off and surprisingly says, "Are dead. Your father killed them the day after he said he killed you."

     My eyes widened from shock. And I almost fell off my chair when I heard him say that.

     "W-What? That can't be", I say, trying to process what he just said.

     "The Dark Saints doesn't have Elders anymore, and we don't even have a head who can lead us. Gangs across Asia heard the news and started attacking us, hoping to take our position as the strongest. Thankfully we have endured most of the battles, but a few more and the Dark Saints will definitely fall. This is why we're here, we need you back", Eric explained further.

     The Elders are dead? Which means...I can go back home.

     I was about to answer Eric when my eyes suddenly fell on Romeo. And at that moment I realized something important.

     "I can't just leave", I honestly told him.

     Eric looked shocked and confused. He obviously didn't expect me to answer him that.

     "Boss, Jiyong's here to kill you. We can protect you", he tells me.

     I sighed and massaged my temple, "Like what I told my lover, I do not need your protection. I need allies who will be able to help me defeat my brother."

     Eric looked at me like I was crazy.

     He doesn't say anything and just takes a sip of the coffee that was actually served to us earlier.

     When he looked like he finally cleared his thoughts, he looked back at me and says, "Your brother is not a weak man. He has the strength, and the men. There are even rumors that most of our enemies are teaming up with him now too."

     I also took a sip of my coffee as I asked him with a smirk, "Do you think my brother has a chance to defeat my lover's family?"

     Eric smirks back, then he glances at the men in front of him and answered, "Honestly this is a big clan. They are thrice as big as the Dark Saints too. But, your brother has respect to each and every one of his members, which your lover clearly has none. Your lover is feared, but fear will only end up killing him. He has thousands of men, and if he continues to act in such a way that his family does not like, one of his own men will end up putting a knife on his neck."

     I took another sip of my coffee, wishing I was drinking alcohol instead because what Eric just said made me feel uneasy.

     "His men mostly hates him because of me", I honestly say.

     "Then leave and come with us", Eric tells me again.

     I put my now empty cup down and looked back at Eric, "I told you I can't just leave. He is a man I love, and he has given me more than my own family could have given. And...whether I like it or not, I need his men."

     I thought Eric was going to laugh. But instead, he seriously tells me instead, "You are risking your life over a man again boss. If you have forgotten, a man was also the reason why the Elders told your father to kill you."

     My expression quickly changed as Eric said those words to me.

     Eric and I talked about this, and I told him to never speak of this incident ever again. But it looks like he was risking it just so I could open my eyes and see the consequences.

     "It was a mistake that I will not make ever again. So do not worry", I calmly say, but I made sure Eric could feel my anger.

     Eric suddenly looks at me apologetically and puts his head down. Without looking at me, he says, "But, on the day of your supposed execution, you asked me to take revenge and kill that man and your own brother. But I have brought shame in you and have utterly failed your supposed last request."

     The anger that was starting to consume me quickly changed into pain.

     The man in front of me is the man who has taken care of me for such a long time. When every one was against me, he was the one who stayed by my side. And even until now, he's still here, staying loyal to me like how he has been since day 1.

     "Don't worry, I knew there were risk, and I knew you would not take that risk for a boss who you thought was already dead", I answered him, quickly making Eric look back at me.

     "But I should have stayed loyal to you", He quickly says, making me shake my head as a disagreement.

     "You did stay loyal to me. I also asked you to stay alive for me that night, and here you are now", I say, making Eric finally smile.

     "Thank you...for also being alive...boss Julien", Eric sincerely says. Tears were ready to pour out of my eyes, but I tried my best not to cry. I didn't mind crying in front of Romeo's men. But I will definitely not cry in front of mine.

     "Alright, I think that's enough", Romeo suddenly says. He stands up from his seat, making everyone inside the café stand up as well.

     "Looks like our conversation is over", I say as I stood up as well.

     Eric stands up and looks at me, "If you need us, you'll know where to find us."

     I looked at him confusingly. But before I could even figure it out, Romeo approaches us.

     "Let's go. I still have to handle the troubles your men did in front of my company", Romeo angrily said, but he was looking at Eric when he said it.

    Eric bows in front of Romeo instead and says, "Thank you Mr. Valentino."

     Romeo ignores him and looks at me, "Let's go."

     Romeo grabs my hand and pulls me outside. Mat, Antonio, and the rest of the member of the Valentino family following behind him. When we went out, Mat quickly opens the door of the car, but before I could even get in, my men sees me.

     "Boss!" they all shouted.

     I quickly stopped Romeo as I looked at my men, shortly after; Eric joins them and stands in front of them.

     "I will talk to you as soon as I can. And I honestly am grateful to see you all. But while I'm away, I want you to look out for my brother, is that clear?" I asked.

     "Yes boss!" they all answered in unison.

     "Then we'll be off", I simply said, making everyone bow in front of me. I looked back at Romeo and nodded my head. Romeo doesn't say anything as he pushes me inside the car, then he goes inside next.

     Mat goes inside as well and immediately drives off.

     "Damn Julien. I totally forgot you were a head of a gang. After today, I literally now realized that you were", Mat says, honestly making me chuckle.

     "Are you happy?" Romeo suddenly asked while looking out the window.

     I don't look at him too as I answered, "I am. It's been years since I've seen them.

     "I thought you hated them", Romeo quickly says.

     "I don't hate all of them", I clarified.

     I thought Romeo wasn't going to ask me questions anymore. But instead, he says, "And Eric? Did you miss him too?"

     I quickly looked back at Romeo.

     "Eric?" I asked back, but Romeo doesn't answer me anymore.

     Something was obviously off.

     And with just one look I clearly knew this man was stupidly jealous.

*****

     We arrived back at the Valentino household. Romeo doesn't say anything as we went out of the car without even waiting for Mat to open the door for him. His men immediately formed a line and greeted him, but Romeo completely ignored them and went straight inside the house.

     I immediately followed behind him as Romeo went back to our room.

     When we were finally together privately inside the room, I quickly held his arm and forcefully made him look at me.

     "You're being unfair Romeo", I seriously told him.

     "I'm being unfair?" Romeo asked back.

     "Yes! How could you be so jealous over a man who I have not seen for almost 10 years? He has been by my side for as long as I could remember, and he is one of the most important people in my life", I tell him.

     Romeo looks straight at my eyes and takes a deep breath.

     I thought he was going to say something about what happened earlier, but instead, he aggressively grabbed me by the cheeks.

     "Important person in your life? Is that why you're willing to catch a bullet for him?" Romeo angrily tells me; his tight hold making my cheeks turn red from the pain.

     "I told you Eric to me is-"

     Romeo suddenly cuts me off and angrily says, "Mat does not fucking look at me like how that fucking Eric looks at you. I know...because that's how I look at you too."

     I looked at Romeo's deadly gray eyes. He was angry and obviously jealous; a combination of emotions that can make a person literally kill anyone.

     "Will you be willing to catch a bullet for me too?" he continued to ask.

     I didn't mind how he was painfully holding me. He thought I'd be afraid, or maybe even try to push him away, but I didn't. I let him feel dominant like how he wants himself to be.

     I looked straight at his eyes and said, "I will. Over and over again if I have to."

     Romeo squeezed my cheeks tighter until it ached even more.

     Then he stares at me with hunger. And he knew, that I knew, what both of us desperately wanted.

- END -