Protecting You

Junhoe glanced up from his paperwork, it was nearing 2:15. He stood up from his desk that sat in the back of one of the nightclubs owned by Hanbin. Donghyuk glanced up from his phone, the glow of his device hitting the clean dark red curtains behind him.
“Oh, it’s Tuesday.” DK commented as he looked over Junhoe.
“Yeah, I’ll be back in a while.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” He asked quietly.
“No I think it’s fine. I’ll let you know once I drop them off with Jinhwan.”
Donghyuk nodded without a second thought.
Junhoe pulled on a jacket and made his way out towards actual club area.

Chihyon smiled to herself as she put together an arrangement of roses for a young woman. Looking over the counter she saw the girl waiting patiently.
“I don’t mean to be so slow, I do hope whoever you give these to appreciates them.” Chihyon said with a smile.
“I do too, I’m confessing today.” The girl offered her a large smile.
She couldn’t have been more than 18, her long orange hair brushed over one shoulder.
Chihyon passed the bouquet over to her.
“Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day.” She passed her a twenty and turned quickly to leave the shop after bowing.
She smiled to herself, young love was beautiful.
The door swung open and a young man in all black strode into the shop.

He came into the shop every Tuesday at 2:30, he always bought the same bouquet. It was a very nice arrangement, and she never really questioned why he bought it.
White heather and gladiolus; he always offered her a smile and paid for the flowers without much other than that. He wore all black, his black hair falling over his forehead. Some days he wore a short sleeves or pushed up longsleeves, it showed his tattoo. It was one of the mob tattoos; it signified iKON. They ran the area in which her family's flower shop sat, she never really said much about it. Her family had apparently had ties to Kim family that ran iKON mob group.

“Good afternoon.” The florists sweet voice said.
She offered him a friendly smile, she was always kind to him. He was sure she knew who he was, or at the very least what he was.
“Good afternoon.” He said quietly.
“Would you like the same as usual?” She asked as she rounded the counter towards the large selection of flowers around the shop. Rows of tables, the tables lined with clear containers, in the containers were different types of flowers.
“Yes please.” He said quietly.
He looked over her; bob length brown hair, large almond shaped eyes, she was far shorter than he was. She wore a warm sweater and jeans underneath her light pink apron. She had never told him her name, but he didn’t mind.

“Why do always go to that shop?” Jinhwan questioned as he looked over the large bouquet of the two types of flowers.
“What do you mean?” Junhoe asked looking up from his phone as he sent the text to Donghyuk.
“The flowers, they’re always from the same shop.”“Why does it matter?” The younger man scratched the back of his head.
“Just sheer curiosity. You go there every week, I know these flowers aren’t just for me. You don’t owe me protection and honor….”
“You speak flower?”
“Honestly, who is the girl?”
“I don’t know but she’s very kind. I worry about her, she’s right on the edge of our turf.”
Jinhwan nodded in understanding.
“So you go, every Tuesday to…?”
“Check up on her.”

Chihyon thought back to her mobster regular, she had seen his boss maybe once. It was during the visting for the leadership change. He had taken over for his father and come into the shop two years prior while her parents were still running the flower shop. He had bowed to her politely as he was about her age. She had heard him introduce himself as Kim Hanbin, bowing politely to her parents. She’d never seen him after that, she was told that he’d sent several men to the funeral of her parents but hadn’t payed much mind to it because in the end it didn’t matter.

She closed up her shop, the small lights inside illuminating the peonies near the window. She wrapped her scarf around her neck tighter, it was starting to get colder as late fall started to give way to winter. The snows of December still seemed far away, she didn’t have to worry about the flower stock for a little longer.
A sound beside her made her look up, it was a man who was on the shorter side. He wore a long black coat, a broad-brimmed hat, his gingerish blond hair curling out from under it. He had a slim, pale face, a small heart shaped mole beneath his eye. He was standing in front of a black car, it very much matched his aesthetic.
“I’m sorry, we’ve just closed.” She said quietly.
“No, no. It’s quite alright, I just came to thank you for the beautiful flowers. A friend of mine comes in every week and gets them for me. An expression of our gratitude,” He held out a hand and in it was a card.She took it with both hands and bowed to him. He offered her a smile and turned back to his car.

“You gave her the card?” Hanbin’s voice met Jinhwan’s ears as he took his seat at the table in the club.
The dark red drapery around the room bringing a classy tone to the high end club. Young women in uniforms milled around serving drinks and offering cigars to the patrons of the private meeting room in the upstairs lounge.
“Yes, she thanked me and quickly left. I waited in the car until she had gotten inside.”
“Good, her parents were very good people in our organization. YG, himself, was close with them. It’s important that JYP doesn’t get to her, GOT7 is edging closer. The more she stays out of this mess, the safer she’ll be...but there’s no harm in giving her a calling card.”
Jinhwan paused before speaking.
“Did you mention it to Junhoe?”
“No, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s smitten.”
“Smitten, that’s an awfully colorful word for you.” Bobby piped up from his seat finally.

Chihyon sat down in her kitchen and pulled the card the mysterious man in the black had given her out.
Written in clean black lettering was;

Koo Junhoe
02-322-7764
YG Enterprises

She felt her brows furrow, who was that? Was that the mysterious man in the hat? She shook her head and glanced down to her kitten who was curled up next to her feet.
“Han, do you need food?”
A sleepy blue eye peeked open at the mention of something to eat.
Deciding that it was best not to worry about the person named Junhoe she stood to get the kitten food.

“Junhoe-ah! Did Hanbin talk to you?”
Jinhwan’s voice questioned across the table of the conference room.
Junhoe looked up, a brow raised.
“No?”
“I’d imagine he wants me to do it then. How much do you know about your florist?”
“Nothing but her last name.”
“That being?”
“Choi.”
“Is that all?” The older of the two challenged.
“Yes? What else would I know about her?”
“You’re unaware of her family’s ties to YG?”
“There are ties?”
The whole conversation had blindsided the twenty year old, he was shocked to hear it.

Chihyon made her way through the flowers in the boxes that lined the stores walls and the middle island of roses and lilies. The sun was covered by some clouds, the day was a bit more dreary than the one before that.
She smiled to herself, she always hoped for rain because it meant life would grow beyond the concrete of Seoul.
Someone would kiss in the rain, someone would share an umbrella and meet the love of their life.
The small droplets provided life in many different ways, it wasn’t just an excuse to eat stew and stay indoors.
She let out a soft sigh and turned back to head to the counter.

The bell above the door jingled lightly, showing that someone had entered the shop.
Once behind the counter she looked up to see two young men in all black.
“Welcome.” She greeted them with a smile.
The tallest one nodded, his black hair neatly combed into place.
“Hello.” He offered her a slight smile.
The second one stood beside him, his sandy blond hair styled back; Chihyon had seen him once or twice when he had come in with her regular. She could only assume they were iKON members as well.
“May I help you?” She smiled as they looked around aimlessly.
“Uh-we… Need a flower.” The tallest one said rather awkwardly.
“Only one?” She smiled at him teasingly.
“Well, maybe a bouquet of them?” The shorter one said with a smile.
“What kind would you like?”

“So...I’m supposed to protect her?” Junhoe asked, his brows raised high enough to wrinkle his forehead.
“More...keep her away from whatever Im Jaebum is planning. I don’t trust that he’ll keep her out of it.” Hanbin said with finality.
“How?”
“Intimidation, you’re a rather imposing figure. It would either have to be you or Chanwoo, but I figured that you’d prefer the job…” The boss paused, “If you’d rather I can give it to the maknae.”
“No, it’s fine how it is-” He said, far too quickly for it not to be noticeable.
“Good.” Hanbin smirked.
Bobby had a grin that matched that of Hanbin’s, they were incredibly amused by his behavior.

“Chanwoo-ah, you need to pick.” Donghyuk commented with a roll of his eyes. He watched as the florist patiently smiled as the youngest member of the organization struggled to pick a type of carnation. They were supposed to be examining the building as well as getting a bouquet of flowers for Hanbin’s mother.
The florist was very patient and kind, she offered suggestions based on the language of flowers.
Her large almond eyes met DK’s and he shot her a friendly smile.
Junhoe glanced around the outside of the shop, it was starting to get late. Her hours were close to over, he leaned against the car. The rain was starting to patter onto the pavement under his feet. The street was silent, the only sounds were the rain and the occasional sound of a car horn from a different district near-by. The glow of the lights inside the building hit the light grey concrete, he let out a sigh and opened the umbrella he’d brought with him.
He looked longways down the street only to see a pair of men making their way towards him.
One was tall and lean looking, the other was short and stout.
He stood up a bit straighter.
They got closer, walking at a rather steady pace. The slowed down slightly as came closer to him, he got a better look at their faces.
The tall one was Kim Yugyeom, the youngest member of the GOT7 gang. He was known for being able to mask his true intentions well.
The short one was the Hong Kong transplant; Wang Ka Yee, but most people just knew him for his english name, Jackson. His specialty was violence, he was almost an enforcer but a higher rank.

Chihyon looked out her window to see her regular leaned against a black car, a large umbrella over his head as he waited. He’d been there for over three hours, she wasn’t really sure why he didn’t just come in but she decided that it wasn’t worth questioning. She turned back to the online orders again, a whole wedding and a funeral. She glanced outside once more out of curiosity: she saw instead of one man in black, three. They didn’t seem to like each other very much and it looked rather tense. Worry overtook her, she knew it wasn’t her place but she stood from her stool behind the counter and quickly rounded said counter. She went to the door and pulled it open.
“Good evening, is everything alright?” Her voice came out a bit more meek than she’d meant it to.

Her regulars eyes shot up to meet hers, the dark brown orbs looked worried.
The tallest one, someone she’d never seen before, nodded with a sweet looking smile.
“Of course, are you still open? I’ve been meaning to stop by here, you have such lovely arrangements. My mother used to come in a long time ago, but she’s fallen ill and can’t come.”
He offered her a sad smile.
She saw the iKON member’s body stiffen, he apparently didn’t like that.
“I am, but I’ll be closing very soon. If you’d like to place an order I can have it delivered to you tomorrow, or your mother if you’d prefer.
“Oh? That’s very sweet, but unfortunately it would have to be ready tonight. Maybe another day.” He smiled at her again and she felt her throat tighten, she hated turning people away.
“We should be going.” The shorter man with bleached out blond hair commented, he glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and she could almost feel her blood freeze.

The pair of GOT7 members walked down the street back towards their turf, JYP ran several gangs in the area but GOT7 was the strongest currently. They spanned over several countries, there was a Thai member and an American but they were rather low profile. The Thai member was someone who was called in as a clean up, Bambam. The American, Mark Tuan, was the right-hand man to the leader Im Jaebum. Junhoe glanced at the girl across from him, she seemed to be unaware of most of what was going on. He had really hoped that it was coincidence that Yugyeom and Jackson had showed up to the shop.
“Would you like to come inside, you must be cold waiting out here.” The florist asked, she looked up at him. He tilted his chin down to meet her eyes, they looked a bit torn.
“Sure.” He said after thinking for a few moments.

He looked over her, she was now damp from the rain that was falling. She pushed the door open and waited for him to close the umbrella, he shook it out under her awning and stepped inside. She moved towards the counter and sat down behind it.
“You’ve been waiting out there for a long time, meeting someone important?” Her voice questioned as she faced a screen on the counter under the ledge where vases upon vases of lilies of the valley and pink magnolias sat.
“Hm?” He hummed looking up at her in surprise.
“Well, you get the same flowers every week. I figure maybe you’re getting them for a girl; the meaning is beautiful. Do you speak flower?”
He was shocked by the sudden conversation.
“Flower? Hm...yes, I do. They are sort of for a woman.”“Oh? Mother perhaps?”
“No,”
“I-I apologize, I don’t mean to be so intrusive.” She said quickly as she glanced up at him.

Chihyon mentally cursed herself for not holding her tongue better, it wasn’t any of her business who the flowers were for.
Did she want to get herself shot?
“It-it’s fine.” He said awkwardly, he leaned against the wall near the door.
She stopped herself from asking who he was waiting for again, she didn’t need to make him angry.
Quietly, Chihyon turned her gaze back to her laptop.
It was silent in the shop, only the rain hitting the glass as it began to come down harder could be heard.
He moved suddenly, she glanced up to see that he’d made his way to the counter.
Sitting on the maple was the card the man in black the night before had given her.
His large hand grasped the card and he looked over it.

“Do you know who this is?” Junhoe questioned as he turned his own card over in his hands.
“He’s someone from YG Enterprises, aside from that no.” Her voice said dismissively.
“So, you don’t have a clue who he is? What he looks like?”
“No. My parents had ties, not me.”
“Your parents?”
She stopped and looked up at him, her eyes rather sharp in contrast to the usual kindness in them.
“Yes, my parents. Why do ask?”
Without another word he set the card down and pulled his own card from his coat pocket. He set it beside the one on the counter and bowed.
“Koo Junhoe.” He greeted her.

Chihyon froze, this was the ‘token of gratitude’ from YG? An iKON member?
“Why was I given that card?” She asked quietly.
“Your shop is in a very dangerous location, I’m sure you know that already. You are almost the border between two different turfs, but you know that too. You fall under YG’s area, directly in the iKON district. My boss, Kim Hanbin, values you greatly and hopes that you’ll remain on our half of the border. He doesn’t want you to get hurt in this turf war-”
“But why a guard?” She cut him off, her parent’s hadn’t been exactly forthcoming on their deathbeds about their ties to the mafia underworld.
“Because,” He let out an irritated noise, “JYP is creeping, you should know this better than anyone else.”
She froze.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your parents.” He said shortly.

Notes