thank you all for all the love i received! i hope i won't disappoint all of you new subbies. a bit of a big chapter but it's oh so good~

He found himself counting each petal again. This one has seven more than this one, he said to himself, making a mental note. He would move onto the macarons and see which ones had more filling, although he already knew the answer. Next, he would check his phone for her notifications and the cycle would continue. Flowers, macarons, phone, repeat. A part in him realized he had been stood up, but another part in him knew that Mani would never do that to him willingly. Daehyun picked up the phone and called her again.

“Hey Mani,” he began lightly, “I just wanted to call you again. This time I don’t care if you’re coming or not. Just let me know you’re safe, okay? Please call me back, I’m getting worried.”

He hung up and looked at the workers. He’s been there so long, even the employees rotated shifts. Daehyun admitted his defeat and took his stuff to go.

Yongguk waited for the voicemail notification to pop up. That was the third time Daehyun called Mani’s phone in the span of six hours since they left Seoul. After the whole ordeal with Yongnam, Yongguk knew he needed to take Mani out of Seoul immediately  — South Korea as a matter of fact. He couldn’t help but try to piece the entire situation together. Theories popped in his head but he didn’t know any for sure. Did Mani run away from Yongnam after being with him for so long?

“But that wouldn’t make sense,” he shook his head, “Why would he tell me to take her away? What danger is she in?”

He looked across from him. It’s been hours and Mani was still out. He didn’t know what his brother drugged her with. Whatever it was, Mani had consumed a high dosage of it. The flight from Seoul to Thailand was six hours and she hasn’t even moved yet. From time to time, he would check if she’s breathing, afraid that she wasn’t.

“Boss, we will be landing pretty soon,” the pilot spoke over the loudspeaker.

That was his cue to call Lek to prepare him a boat and the hut. Before he did, he took a look at Mani’s phone, tempted to break into it and listen to Daehyun’s messages. He unlocked it but was asked to input her passcode.

Is it her birthday? he wondered.

Instinctively, he punched in her birthdate and was granted access. He shook his head and looked at her. He pressed the voicemail application then pressed Daehyun’s name.

“Yo Mani,” Daehyun began lightheartedly, “It’s been forty minutes since your last call what’s the hold up? You’re definitely treating me this time. Call me back, bye.”

Yongguk pressed the second voicemail.

“Not gonna lie I’m getting kinda hungry. Hurry up so we can split this cheesecake. Call me back, bye.”

He pressed the last one.

“Hey Mani, I just wanted to call you again. This time I don’t care if you’re coming or not. Just let me know you’re safe, okay? Please call me back, I’m getting worried.”

Yongguk shut off her phone and put it in his pocket. He then grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

“Lek, get a boat ready for me.”

After his conversation ended, Lek jumped in the air and cheered around. He ran inside the main home to grab the boat keys.

“Boss is coming to shore!” he cheered in his Thai native tongue.

“Lek,” a woman shouted from outside, “What are you hollering about now?”

“Pim,” Lek laughed in pure excitement, “Boss is coming back. He’s landing soon so I need to go prepare a boat for him!”

The woman widened her eyes, “Really? Hasn’t it only been a month and a half since he last came back? Why is he back again?”

“Does it matter? He’s back! And,” Lek wiggles his eyebrows, “He brought a friend with him,” he emphasized.

“What’s so special about that?”

“This is Boss’s beloved Ni’s Island. It’s a precious place to him. He dedicated this island to the woman that he lost a hold of. He wouldn’t bring just anyone here.”

“That’s just a rumor,” Pim refuted. “Who even knows if it’s true. All you and the other workers do is make up some phony gossip to entertain yourselves.”

“You wouldn’t know because you don’t work as closely with Boss as I do. Four years ago, Boss came to the island to invest initially for a resort. He befriended the village chief and all the villagers and fell in love with the place. Said that it reminded him of the place he and a childhood lover would always play at. The village chief agreed to to sell the island to him and Boss agreed to keep it as is. He didn’t want the to gentrify such a beautiful place. So he named the island Ni’s Island to represent the love he once had and the sanctuary that was theirs.”

“Hey Lek,” Pim poked his head and pushed it backward, “Stop watching all those soap operas. You’re starting to think crazy.”

“Whatever you say Pim, I think we’re gonna be meeting Ni pretty soon.”

She felt her head throb and her body constantly moving in a rippling motion. Mani slowly opened her eyes and instantly felt disoriented and nauseous. Where am I? she thought. She felt the need to throw up then sat up. She threw her head over the ledge and puked.

“Mani, you’re awake.”

Yongguk put the boat on autopilot and went to her. He held her hair back and pat her on the back as she released all the toxins in her body. Weakly, she leaned back inside the boat and panted. Slowly, she came to her senses and realized her surrounding. Greeted with miles and miles of crisp, clear ocean water, Mani felt an overwhelming feeling of shock, confusion, and panic overcome her. She was in a boat in the middle of the ocean with none other than Bang Yongguk.

“Where are we?” she nearly shouted, “Why am I here with you?”

“We’re in Thailand.”

“Thailand?” Mani gaped. Flashes of memories came back to her. She remembered arguing with him, feeling a hand over , then finally blacking out. Her eyes quickly widened. “You,” she screamed, “you drugged me and kidnapped me! That’s why we’re here!” Mani stood up and began shrieking, “Help me! Someone, please help me! This man has kidnapped me! Help!”

“Lower your voice! It’s just you and me there’s no need to yell!”

She pushed him away and shuttered, “What did you do to me?”

“Do you think I you?”

“Well, you didn’t hesitate to drug me and bring me here!”

“Mani, you’re misunderstanding me. I didn’t drug you in Seoul.”

“Then why am I here?” she shouted in frustration.

“Because you’re clearly not safe at home!”

“This is crazy,” she mumbled to herself as she paced in the little space she had. “Take me home right now, Bang Yongguk. I-I need to go see Daehyun. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Upon mentioning the other man, Yongguk felt a rage grow onto him. “You were drugged and nearly kidnapped, for God knows why, and all you care about is Daehyun?” Yongguk roared. “How could you even think about him right now?”

“He was waiting for me, Yongguk!”

“Do you want to die? If I take you home, who knows what will happen to you!” he tried rationalizing.

“I would rather risk my life over there than here with you,” she spat.

“I’m trying to do a good deed here and yet you want to be stubborn?”

“Yes, because any second with you is worse than all levels of hell put together.”

“I just can’t change your mind, can I? I’ll just always be a bad guy to you.”

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