The days went by in a blur. Even though he did not hear from Luca yet, he kept himself busy with other tasks. The main family assigned them jobs to do while the drug war escalated behind the scenes. Cash and goods were changing hands and their family had to handle most of the negotiations. It turned out that the Maniaco were getting more stringent on debt collecting, so Jett and Vince had been out and about the past few weeks. You couldn’t win a war without money, after all.

He stashed his gun under his mattress, attempting to conceal it from his grandparents. They hardly ever ventured into his space, so everything was under control for the time being.

“Ouch.” He flinched, dropping the needle and bringing his finger to his mouth. “Why am I doing this again?”

He got smacked upside the head, his halmeoni jabbing her finger straight at him. “What did I say about swearing in this house?”

Jaesung groaned in frustration. How did he get persuaded into patching up her old clothes? He lacked the dexterity needed to do it, and the patience.

“Wow, you really suck at this.” Feng chimed in from the other side of the table, grinning.

“That’s real funny, coming from you,” replied Jaesung.

“Iron-on patches would be a lot easier.” Trace sat by Feng, mumbling under his breath. It required all of Jaesung's self-control to not knock the both of them out.

“Can I ask why you guys are here again? Please enlighten me on why I have to put up with you.”

“Your grandma invited us over. Who could pass up that invite? Her cooking is to die for.” Feng had a dreamy look, any brains left in that tiny head of his long gone.

Trace hummed in agreement. “Unlike yours, Jaesung, hers is top tier.”

“I only cooked for you once—dammit, guys!” Jaesung wished he hadn't asked, feeling an urge to tear out his hair. Who showed up to help and then complained about it?!

As much as he’d like to kick them both out, his halmeoni looked genuinely delighted to have them around. On the flip side, his harabeoji stayed locked up in his room. He branded his friends’ thugs on several occasions. While it wasn’t far from the truth, his bitter attitude would only sour the mood.

They continued like that, the mood pleasant. As soon as his halmeoni stepped away, Feng finally brought up the question that Jaesung was sure they all wanted to ask.

“So, what did the main family need from you that day a couple of weeks ago? Vince won’t tell me, and I’m dying to know!” Feng clasped his hands and leaned in, a pleading look on his face.

“Could it be that there’s a reason he won’t tell you?” asked Jaesung. “You know what, nevermind. Why do I even bother? 쏴 죽여 버릴 거야.”

Trace let out a snort and concealed his smile behind his cell phone.

“W-what did you just say? It didn't sound like it was anything nice, by the way you said it!”

Feng continued to pester him, and Jaesung did the best he could to deflect and eventually changed the subject when his halmeoni came back with a handful of food. His heart sank at the thought of Luca and what he would be forced to do in the future. Though, he wouldn’t have to guess for too long, for when you think of someone, they always rear their ugly head.

A knock on the entrance barely registered to Jaesung, as he was currently covering his ears to block Feng and Trace’s arguing from piercing his eardrums.

All of a sudden, the two idiots stopped talking. “What’s wrong with you two?”

Footsteps sounded from behind them, coming closer.

“Hello, Jaesung.”

He paused, his mind in a flurry of thoughts. He clenched his fists to keep them from shaking while he slowly turned. Luca was all he could see, a smile on his upturned lips. Somewhere behind him probably lingered his halmeoni.

What the hell was going on? How was he able to get in? Did he bribe his way in? His poor halmeoni was a sap for good-looking guys. Apparently, it ran in the family.

More importantly, how did Luca find his house?

“What are you doing here?” asked Jaesung. But, almost immediately, he regretted it. He knew that talking back to Luca had consequences, and right now he was vulnerable, all his weaknesses gathered around, like lambs to the slaughter.

His halmeoni, with her broken English and not able to communicate what she wanted to say, switched to Korean. “He said he’s here for you, Jaesung. What an attractive friend you have.”

Jaesung swallowed, unable to utter a word, his figure paralyzed by Luca’s gaze. Staring into his eyes was like seeing into hell.

Luca spoke two words that made Jaesung's insides twist. “It’s time.”