Into The Shadows 🖤

e i g h t

Y/n

I rush back to my room and find Bam sleeping peacefully on the floor. Such a cutie. I walk into the closet, open all my big trolleys and stare at them.

I bought so much stuff in the last four days. Lia is a bit extravagant. I should call her. She picks up at the first ring.

"God, finally. I was waiting for your call. So? How did it go? Did he force himself on you? Should I assemble my army for an attack?" she says all of it in one breath.

Yesterday, we both were shit scared after I told her about my fears regarding the first night.

"Calm down Lia. Nothing happened. I have my separate room here."

"You mean he doesn't consider this marriage? Is it only on paper? God Y/n how will you live in a love-less marriage?"

I exhale loudly, "Allow me to talk first." and I tell her the sequence of events.

I told her about last night. About how he found out that I was abused and how he comforted me and respects giving me personal space.

Of course, I didn't tell her about this morning's post-it notes because I don't want to share that piece with anyone.

It is only ours. Mine and Jungkook's. Our secret conversation.

"Really? He sounds like a kind person completely opposite of what he looks like."

I get what she is saying. Jeon Jungkook might look scary to the world with all his tattoos and scars framing his face but to me, he is the nicest man I ever met besides Poppy.

"He is nice."

"And now you are taking his side. Wow, babe."

"...and you know what! We also have a dog. His name is Bam."

"Woah. Now I'm jealous. I want to crash at your place but I don't want the cause of my death to be 'cock-blocking-Jeon-Jungkook'"

She laughs hard at her joke and I tell her to shut the duck up.

"I'm hanging up now, I have a lot to unpack."

"Use your weapons wisely girl."

I shake my head understanding what weapons she was insinuating.

I fill all the shoes in the shoe rack first and place all my post-it notes in one of the empty shoe boxes along with the notes he left yesterday at my home.

God this is a mess. I hope Lia was here to help me unpack. Just then the doorbell rings and Bam wakes up, woofing.

Who could it be at this hour? I go downstairs following Bam, opening the door, I find a beautiful woman standing on the porch.

She is taller than me and has shiny chestnut hair flowing along her shoulders. And she is pregnant.

"Hi. I'm Maria. Namjoon's wife." Her smile is very twinkly. Idk if that's a word. She's just beautiful.

"Uh hi, I'm Y/n.", Am I supposed to add my husband's name? So she could know who I am. "Please come in."

"I am so sorry I couldn't make it to your wedding. You don't know how much I tried to persuade Joon to take me along with him. Since I got pregnant, Joon has been reacting like an overprotective bear as if I would trip and fall and break things. While in reality, he is the one who keeps breaking things..."

We take a seat on the couch of the living room and I look at her quietly amused by her rambling. She talks to me as if she's known me for years. Is everyone here so easy to talk to? She reminds me of Lia.

"...sorry to keep rambling about me like that. It is just that I've been married for two years and this is the first time I have someone in this huge ass estate to talk to apart from the maids."

I smiled at her, "and here I thought I was all alone. I'm glad that we have each other."

She is 'best friend' material coz she is kind to me and not bitchy.

"So, what are you up to?" Maria looks around with curiosity. "The men have been long gone before dawn."

What? Before sunrise? When did Jungkook have time to make breakfast for me? And write all those notes. I feel indebted to him and now I want to do something for him too.

"Where did they go?"

"They do not tell you about their whereabouts, Y/n. Joon says "the less you know, the better."

I catch a cold threat in that statement. Life in the Mafia can be cruel, that'd steal your lifetime's sleep.

"Oh. I was unpacking actually."

"Really? Do you need help?" She sounds excited as if we are packing for a trip.

I look at her round baby bump, "Uh I'm not sure. I don't want you to get tired..."

"No way. Joon doesn't let me move a limb. Please let me help you. Pretty please."

I give up with a sigh. "There's not much to help, just keep me company."

And just like that on the first day. I have a new friend. Maria.

She just sits on the closet couch and organizes my jewelry in the boxes while I do the physical work of walking around and arranging all the clothes.

She tells me about the estate. About the sauna at Jimin's mansion and how we can access it. About the services of all the cooks, maids, and guards.

"Only those whose fingerprints are present in the system can access the interior of the estate and they are checked for weapons at the entrance, so there is nothing you should be worried about."

"Yeah, Jungkook told me about fingerprint access last night."

"We have to get it done at Taehyung's. He is the one who manages all the systems shit."

"I see." I finish unpacking, set all the empty trolleys aside and Bam walks in again.

"Bam", Maria pets his head.

"Since when is Bam here?"

"Since baby. Jungkook adopted Bam and left him at a training center where military dogs are trained. Bam can kill people at Jungkook's orders."

Air whooshes out of my lungs. This cute-looking dog kills people? And now I understand how deceiving looks can be.

"Really?"

"Yes Y/n, you are safe with Bam." Maria pats him before I reach out and pull Bam closer to me.

Bam cuddles on my lap nuzzling his head in my belly like a baby.

"Yeah, definitely safe."

Maria and I let out a bark of laughter. The day passes by and Maria introduces me to some of the maids and chefs.

She tells me I can change their cleaning schedules but I don't want to mess up the schedules Jungkook made for this mansion.

An elderly chef cooks us lunch, her name is Miss Min. She takes care of Maria with her pregnancy and all. The way she served me food and smiled at me reminds me of my mom. I like people here already.

I like it here and it is not something I expected. I expected this place to be a mafia's den that would reek of tobacco and alcohol and the metallic smell of blood. And for the first time in my life, I'm glad that I was wrong.

If anything, this place is ecstatic. It smells like Earth, cherry blossoms, and bliss. It smells like home.

A/n
Let's talk.
How have you liked it so far?
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🦋
Aurelia.