23. Trial

"I have reason to believe he's part of the Sparked Mafia."

"Wait, what?!" Just then, the call breaks off and I'm left in silence.

"What's going on, Kyung Mi?" My supposed bodyguard asks.

I can't trust anyone for now. "Don't call me and don't talk to me. Don't even think about following me." I warn him before sprinting off.

I don't know where I'm going. I just need to get away from him. Just in case.

+++

When I find the redhead that just turned my world upside down, I smack the back of his head.

He turns around, about to get angry, before he realizes it's me. His eyes flash with concern as he looks around.

I sigh. "Jimin isn't here. I told him not to follow me after you-" I pinch his arm "gave me that call-" I pinch an ear "that gave me a heart attack. Please tell me it was a prank, Dong Yoo."

He shakes his head, looking at me with pity. "He's dangerous. You need to tell your father and get the guy in jail."

"Okay, can we just backtrack here?" I slump down beside him, trying to wrap my brain around everything. "Why the hell would you accuse him of something like that? What's going on?" My heart is pounding. This is all happening too fast. This can't be real.

Jimin is my friend. He means so much to me. It couldn't have all been a lie. It couldn't have all been fake.

"Listen, I know a guy named In Su. He's a-" Dong Yoo leans close to whisper in my ear, "spy working against the Sparked Mafia." He pulls back, looking for my reaction. "He told me."

I look at him in desperation. "Dong Yoo, how do we know that we can trust this guy? I mean-"

"I trust him." Dong Yoo nods, looking at me solemnly. "We can trust him. The stuff In Su's told me, showed me, he's the real deal. He's working against them and told me Jimin works for them."

I jump out of my seat and start pacing around. It's all I can do at the moment without losing my mind. What the hell is going on?

Is Jimin really a bad guy?

"Kyung Mi, you're obviously in denial right now. So I have to ask you one thing." I look over at Dong Yoo, whose attractively determined face brings me both comfort and worry. "Do you trust my judgement? Do you trust me?"

I breathe heavily, trying to stop my racing heart and pounding head. He's asking me to choose between trusting him, or Jimin.

My heart clenches at the thought of Jimin being a liar this whole fucking time.

My vision becomes blurry as hot tears form in my eyes. What the hell am I supposed to do?

2 Weeks Later

"...by all these means I declare Park Jimin guilty!" He batters his gavel down. The decision is finalized. A year in prison for being part of a terrible group. Minimum, because they refuse to let him out until he gives them information.

The past few days have been hell, with investigators coming to me constantly and evidence from investigations of the Sparked Mafia being relayed to me via Appa; there's just too much to soak in.

I know this was the right decision because Appa apparently knew In Su, and he trusts him, as well. And I know I trust Appa.

How could Jimin have been lying to me this whole time? Its fact at this point that he's lying because he pleaded guilty. Didn't even put up a damn fight.

You'd think that's the one thing a bodyguard should know how to do.

I shudder. I'd been living with, feeding, befriending the very thing I tried so hard to stay away from. At one of them was sleeping in the same room as me!

Without being able to control myself, my eyes lift to lock with his. The deep color entrances me for a second before I force myself to look away. Was that acceptance in his eyes? How was there no sense of guilt?

But then again, a thug like him is probably used to these kinds of things.

I feel a pinch and look down at my hand. When I open my fingers I see bleeding cuts on my hands from forcefully clenching my fist.

A familiar voice rings in my head as a memory comes back to me. "Is something-ack! You're bleeding!" Hye. Back when I got the threat letter, I clenched my fist so hard I started bleeding then, too.

So the very same person we employed because of that letter—who was supposed to protect me—ended up being the one I needed protection from.

I scoff despite the situation. It's a full circle, back around to the desperation of the start.

How do I break the circle?