Jihwan, Murphy, and I returned to my apartment. I let Murphy off his leash and once he was free, he ran to his bed on the couch. I laughed at the dog as he automatically fell asleep.
I put Murphy's leash and doggy bags back in the drawer. Once I closed the drawer, I felt arms wrap around my waist. Jihwan placed his head in the crook of my neck. I felt him take a deep breath before he nuzzled deeper into my neck.
"I believe you have a promise you need to fulfill," I told Jihwan.
Jihwan hummed into my neck which tickled my skin. I moved my hands to cover his. Being in his embrace felt so nice. I could get used to something like this.
"That little boy's mom got me thinking," Jihwan muttered.
"About what?" I asked.
"What are we?" Jihwan asked as he pulled away from my neck.
I turned in his arms to face him. He was already gazing down at me. I put my hands on his chest and looked up at him confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"The lady said we're dating, which is true. We are dating," Jihwan said. "But are we just dating or are we more?"
"More? Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" I asked. Jihwan nodded. I started to play with the buttons on the top of his shirt. "I always thought that the guy had to ask the girl. That way it would be official."
"How about I tell you a bit about my past. And if you still want to be with me afterwards, I'll ask you then."
"Okay," I said. "Should we sit down?"
"It's a bit of a long story, so it might be best," Jihwan said.
Jihwan and I walked over to the couch. Jihwan sat down first and pulled me into his side, wrapping his arms around me.
"Where do I begin?" Jihwan wondered aloud.
"Where ever you think you should," I said.
"My father was a leader of a mafia here in Towson before I was born," Jihwan started. "It was called Chongal. My father was getting older and realized he would need an heir to take over for him. He was told about my mother from one of his allies. She was a mafia boss's second daughter. After an agreement between my father and his grandfather, they got married and had me not long after. And I was three when my mother died-"
"Your mother died?"
I watched as Jihwan wiggled in his seat. It was obvious he was uncomfortable talking about his mother.
"I only have one memory of my mother. And my father never told me how she died. And not long after she died, Father started my education. It was a regular education, yet I always knew what kind of business Father did. He never hid it from me. But by the time I was ten, my father began teaching me about his business. I took to learning the business quickly.
"When I turned eighteen, that's when I began to grow my own mafia, using my Father's to boost my own. But soon, I started getting stronger and others started joining me. That's how I met my six closest friends. Prince, Dwarf, JJ, Daydream, T, and Ghost."
"So is Ghost his real alias?" I asked.
"Yes, but you aren't going to put that in the file, Little Detective. Now let me continue. It was five years ago that Father was diagnosed with cancer. He lasted just over a year before he succumbed to it. I took over his mafia, adding my own to it. That's how the Gabos everyone knows was started."
"Quick question. I've always wondered, what does Gabos stand for? What does it mean?" I asked.
"In Korean, Gabos means armor. Since my father's mafia means Bullet, I wanted it to mean that my people are untouchable by the past. That there's no stopping them. No stopping me."
"Why would anyone even attempt to stop you?"
"Before my Father died, he saw how powerful I was getting without out him. He didn't like that I was going to surpass him. So he tried breaking me down, like how he did my entire life. He never once told me he was proud of me. He only told me how disappointed he was or what I was doing wrong."
"Is that why at the fair, you shut down when you failed that game?"
"Yeah. I was so used to my Father being upset with me, that I didn't want you to be upset like he would."
"I will never treat you like how your father did. And to me it sounds like you're already trying to change yourself from what your father wanted. You're becoming your own person."
Jihwan looked down at me lovingly. I couldn't help but blush and turned away from him.
"My Father would have hated you," Jihwan said.
"Why? I'm great."
"Because I fell in love with you. An American police detective instead of a Korean mafia daughter. He so badly wanted me to keep the bloodline. But I didn't give a shit about what he wanted. I haven't cared about what he wanted since I was a teenager. I wanted to prove that I can be better than him."
"You are better than him. And I will be with you as you find it out for yourself."
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. In return, he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. He placed a small kiss on my forehead as I cuddled into his chest.
"Will you be my girlfriend, Anastasia?" Jihwan asked.
A blush rose to my cheeks as I nodded against his chest. Murphy suddenly barked which caused the two of us to jump apart. Murphy just stared at Jihwan.
"Yeah, I'm here to stay, you mutt," Jihwan growled at my dog. "You better start liking me."
"Or else you're being kicked to the curb," I told Jihwan. He gave me an offended look. "You may be my boyfriend, but Murphy was my man long before you were."
Jihwan hummed before saying, "I like you saying that."
"Saying what? Murphy is my man?"
"No. I like you saying, 'you're boyfriend'," Jihwan said. He leaned in so that as he spoke his lips brushed my cheek. "Say it to everyone. And say it a lot. I don't want anyone else flirting with you."
"What about me? I don't want girls flirting with you," I said. I moved so I was looking him in the eye. "Do you know how attractive you are? And especially in your line of work? Girls like a bad boy."
"Does my girlfriend happen to like bad boys?" Jihwan rubbed a circle on my waist with his thumb.
"Not at all. That's why sometimes I pretend your not a mafia boss. And sometimes forget it altogether."
"And sometimes I try to forget your a detective. It's a dangerous profession that you're in. I know you're a strong woman who can take care of yourself. But I can't help but worry about you."
"You're starting to sound like my father. He said the same thing to me when I started working as a cop."
"Please don't compare me to your father again. No one should compare their boyfriend and father to each other."
I laughed at his clear distain from being compared to my father. Murphy barked once again which broke the two of us out of our cute interaction.
"Are ya hungry, Murph?" I asked. Murphy stood up and started shaking his tail. I got up to get his food for him. Murphy quickly followed me as I got his food.
Jihwan's phone rang as I scooped Murphy's food into his bowl.
"What?" Jihwan asked as he answered it. "Why are you interrupting me when I'm with her? I told you not to call me."
"Is everything alright, Jihwan?" I asked, walking up behind him, putting my hands on his shoulders.
"Just a second, Ana," Jihwan said.
He then began speaking angrily in another language, that I'm guessing is Korean. It was kind of sexy, hearing him speak in another language. Jihwan stood up and began pacing the length of the living room as he spat into the phone. My eyes followed him and watched his body language. Something was obviously pissing him off. His shoulders were tense and his hand was clenched tightly around the phone.
"GET GHOST IN HERE NOW! NOW PRINCE!" Jihwan shouted before he hung up.
"Is everything alright, Jihwan?" I said quietly. I didn't want to upset him further.
Jihwan sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face. "I need to talk to Ghost. He's coming over. Can I use your office?"
"What is this about?"
"Work."
He was obviously angry that he was interrupted when he was with me. He didn't want to work when he was with me, which I can understand. I sighed and nodded.
"You can use my office. As long as we can watch a movie together afterward."
"Sure thing, Little Detective," Jihwan walked up to me to give me a hug.
"If Ghost is always watching me, does he ever go home?" I asked.
"I kind of made him get an apartment in the building across from yours," Jihwan said. "Like exactly across."
"Really?" I exclaimed. I looked out the door to my balcony at the apartment building directly across from mine.
"Better than him watching from the roof across the way, which he did the first few days I had him watching you," Jihwan said.
"Wait a minute. Jihwan-"
I was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jihwan went and answered it. Jihwan quickly let in the man. He was dressed in black sweatpants, black sneakers, and a black hoodie. The hood was pulled up far on his head.
"Ghost, I'd like you to officially meet Anastasia," Jihwan said.
Ghost looked up and took the hoodie off his head. His hair was dyed a silvery-white. His hooded eyes were startling dark brown with bags under his eyes. I was surprised with how soft and innocent his features were. And his skin was white like a ghost. Which I'm guessing his skin along with his hair was where the name Ghost came from.
"I already know everything about you, Kkoma," Ghost said with a blank face.
Jihwan slapped the back of his head. "Don't call her that."
"It's true!" Ghost defended himself.
"What does 'coma' mean?" I asked.
"Kkoma means little, or runt," Jihwan said. "Which I don't understand him saying since he's pretty small as well."
"Aish, shut up, boss," Ghost rolled his eyes.
"We're talking in the office. Go ahead and meet me there," Jihwan said.
Ghost nodded and made his way to my office. I guess since he watched my apartment, he knew where the office was.
"Give me ten minutes, Little Detective," Jihwan said. "In the meantime, choose the movie, change into some pajamas, make some popcorn, get out that hidden stash of candy, and some drinks. I promise I won't be any longer than ten minutes."
"Okay," I nodded to him.
He made his way back to the office and I went to find a movie to watch on Netflix. My phone dinged with a text notification. I reached over to grab my phone and looked at the text.
Hey, Ana. Can we talk?
I was surprised to see the text from EG. The middle child of the family, the fantastic lawyer he was. The two of us surprisingly haven't talked to him in about a month, which was unheard of for our family. But I was getting used to my new job and new boyfriend - I mentally squealed at the thought of Jihwan being my boyfriend - so I didn't really have time to talk to him.
Of course. What do you want to talk about?
I texted him back quickly. And I got a reply within a second.
Great! I'm outside your building and I have ice cream.
I jumped off the sofa, catching Murphy's attention. He looked at me questioningly as I ran back to my office and stormed in without knocking.
"- not paid to sit on your - Ana. What are you-?" Jihwan stopped talking as I burst into the room.
"You both need to leave," I said.
"Why?" Jihwan asked as Ghost said, "Okay."
Ghost made his way to leave the room. Jihwan gripped Ghost's shoulder to make him stay where he was.
"What's wrong, Ana?" Jihwan asked, concerned.
"You've seen Lance, my oldest brother," I said. "But my other brother, EG, is coming. And he's not as laid-back as Lance."
"The lawyer one?" Ghost asked.
"Yeah, so you both need to leave now," I said urgently.
Jihwan looked at Ghost before he shoved him out of the office.
"I thought we were going to watch a movie?" Jihwan asked.
"Tomorrow," I said and pushed him into the hallway. "I'm off tomorrow. Feel free to come anytime. But get out right now."
"Fine. Tomorrow, Little Detective," Jihwan said. He leaned down to kiss my cheek.
The two of us walked into the living area as Ghost opened the front door. He stopped and took a step back.
"Who the hell are you?" I heard EG shout.
I ran into the entrance to see EG. He looked up at me with a confused look on his face. I gave him a big smile.
"Hey! EG! You're here. Already," I said slowly.
"Yeah, I am. Who is this?" EG stepped into the apartment and pointed at Ghost. He then saw Jihwan standing further in the apartment. "And who's that? Ana!"
"Okay, stop yelling EG," I snapped.
Behind EG, Ghost was looking was looking him up and down. Ghost looked to Jihwan before lifting his hand showing the size difference between the two of them. EG was six foot four inches, a whole foot taller than me. And not to mention he was extremely intimidating. But my boyfriend - gosh it sounds so great to say, even if it's just in my head - is a mafia boss so nothing can intimidate me like it used to. Not even EG's fierce glare.
"I want to know who these guys are, Anastasia. And why they are in your apartment?" EG snapped.
"I'm Jihwan," he walked up to him with an outstretched hand. "I'm Ana's boyfriend. This is my friend, Taeyong. I had something of his he needed to pick up, so he was just about to leave."
"Yup. Bye," Ghost said quickly before he rushed out the door and down the hall.
I closed my eyes at what Namjoon just said. Jihwan's hand was still outstretched to EG. But EG just glared at Jihwan with a searing hatred. I knew that shit's about to hit the fan.