Chapter 42
A sleek, white Range Rover rolled smoothly into the driveway of Lucy's modest home, the heavy engine purring to a quiet halt before parking perfectly in the garage. The heavy doors opened, and the three Kings stepped out into the familiar neighborhood air. They looked completely refreshed from their trip, but they were once again shrouded in their carefully crafted disguises. Their hair was back to normal, the vivid colors hidden away, and their designer clothes swapped for the rugged, unremarkable outfits of the street. Yet, despite the ragged look, the unmistakable aura of the BVS Kings still lingered around them.
"Home sweet home!" Seo Joon exclaimed in dramatic excitement, stretching his arms over his head and taking a deep breath of the suburban air.
Kim Jo smiled as he pushed the car door shut. He looked at the small house, a profound sense of warmth settling in his chest. "I miss my U-bi home even more," he murmured fondly.
Lee Dae shook his head, leaning against the hood of the Range Rover with an amused scoff. "If Lucy's house feels more like home to you, why on earth did you two call that massive, empty penthouse mansion 'home' all these years? Annoying brats."
Kim Jo and Seo Joon both chuckled, the easy, brotherly banter washing away the remaining exhaustion of their long flight.
"We have to get everything prepared," Kim Jo said, rolling up the sleeves of his faded jacket. "Lucy is coming home soon. I have to cook something very tasty for her."
Seo Joon's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise, and a massive, teasing grin broke across his face. "Did Lucy actually turn *you* into husband material? Awesome Lucy."
Lee Dae burst out laughing, clapping his hands together.
"Well," Kim Jo replied smoothly, completely unashamed, "Lucy is the only one who can do that. Apart from Lucy, no one else on this earth could ever turn me into husband material."
"Alright, alright," Lee Dae chuckled, waving them toward the front door. "Let's go inside before Lucy comes home, catches us standing outside, and catches us putting words into our own mouths."
Still laughing, the three brothers walked up the steps and unlocked the door. However, the warm, jovial atmosphere evaporated the absolute second they stepped into the living room.
They all froze. Their laughter died instantly, replaced by fierce, synchronous frowns.
Lying casually on Lucy's couch was a young, boyish-looking man. He had made himself completely at home in the one place Kim Jo considered sacred. Hearing them enter, the intruder slowly sat up, turning his head to reveal his face.
A dark, arrogant smirk twisted his lips.
It was Cha Woo.
The air in the room instantly tensed, growing so thick and suffocating it was hard to breathe.
"What are you doing in here?" Kim Jo asked, his deep voice dropping into a dangerously low, annoyed register. "And how exactly did you get inside this house?"
"Welcome back from your three-day birthday concert, BVS Kings," Cha Woo mocked, ignoring the question entirely. He stood up slowly, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked forward, stopping right in front of Kim Jo. "How was it?"
Seo Joon stepped up beside Kim Jo, a dangerous, mocking smirk of his own playing on his lips. "It was amazing. We really enjoyed ourselves. But we also did something very important while we were away—something that you have never done, and will never do. Do you want to know what it is?" Seo Joon tilted his head. "We got to meet with Lucy's parents. And it was an amazing time we spent with them. So sad you never had the chance."
That hit an instant nerve. The arrogant smirk vanished from Cha Woo's face, replaced by a deep, ugly scowl.
"What will happen when I tell Lucy the truth?" Cha Woo spat, taking a threatening step forward. "What will happen when I tell her that the 'homeless men' she brought into her house are actually multi-billionaires? That you are the famous BVS Kings, and that Kim Jo was just looking for a fake girl to marry to calm his restless father down so he wouldn't stop his music career?"
Cha Woo crossed his arms, looking incredibly smug. The question was supposed to be his ultimate trump card. It was meant to make them uncomfortable, terrified, and desperate to silence him.
Instead, the three Kings looked at each other in absolute silence for a split second before all three of them burst out laughing.
Cha Woo's confident sneer faltered.
"Seriously?" Kim Jo chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "You came all the way out of your trashcan to threaten me with *that*? Damn, man, you should really find a better secret to expose. This one doesn't scare me."
Slowly, the amusement drained from Kim Jo's face, leaving behind a cold, terrifying mask of absolute authority. His dark eyes locked onto Cha Woo with lethal intensity.
"Get out before I wipe out your entire generation," Kim Jo said coldly. "I have a woman coming home soon to rest her head on my chest, and I don't want you polluting her air."
They stared at each other, locked in a heavy, silent battle of wills. The tension was electric.
"Lucy is mine," Cha Woo muttered, his voice shaking with obsessive rage. "Mine. Not yours."
"Lucy is not a piece of property to be owned," Kim Jo countered, his voice like cracking ice. "She has the absolute right to choose who she wants to be with. So, Lucy is *not* yours."
The silence that followed was so heavy it felt tangible. Seo Joon eventually reached over and pinched Lee Dae's arm, silently urging him to break the standoff before Kim Jo actually committed murder in Lucy's living room.
Lee Dae let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, instantly catching both of their attention.
"Cha Woo, I think you have vastly overstayed your welcome," Lee Dae said, cracking his knuckles. "It's time to go."
Cha Woo snapped his gaze to Lee Dae, shooting him a venomous, challenging glare.
Lee Dae's face changed in an instant. The charming, easygoing brother vanished, replaced by the street-fighter who had spent his childhood protecting his friends.
"Hey," Lee Dae warned, his voice dropping. "I'm not Kim Jo. Do not give me that look unless you want your face swallowed."
But Cha Woo's pride wouldn't let him back down. He continued to glare, jutting his chin out defiantly.
He didn't even see the punch coming.
In the next second, Lee Dae's fist flew right past Kim Jo's shoulder. A heavy, sickening *crack* echoed through the room as Lee Dae's punch landed squarely on Cha Woo's jaw, followed instantly by a brutal left hook.
Cha Woo collapsed onto the floor, groaning in sheer agony, a hand flying up to his bloodied face. Lee Dae lunged forward, fully intending to finish the job, but Kim Jo and Seo Joon grabbed his arms, holding him back.
"You bastard," Lee Dae snarled, kicking the coffee table out of the way. "Who do you think you are to give me that look? Are you mad? Do you want to die today?"
Seeing that Cha Woo was still refusing to get up and leave, Seo Joon completely released Lee Dae.
"My turn," Seo Joon muttered.
Seo Joon grabbed Cha Woo by the collar of his jacket, hauling him off the floor. Without an ounce of mercy, Seo Joon began throwing punches, driving Cha Woo back through the living room, out the front door, and dragging him violently across the driveway. He shoved the battered intruder outside the boundary of the property and slammed the short iron gate shut.
"Don't you ever come anywhere near Lucy or her house again," Seo Joon warned, his eyes completely void of his usual warmth. "If you do, you'll be six feet below the ground."
Seo Joon turned his back and walked calmly back into the house.
Outside the gate, Cha Woo wiped the blood from his split lip. Instead of looking defeated, a twisted, evil laughter bubbled up from his chest, echoing menacingly down the quiet street as he finally turned and limped away.
*Evening**
The front door lock clicked, and utter panic erupted inside the apartment.
"She's here! Hide the bags!" Lee Dae hissed, frantically kicking a very expensive, luggage-tagged duffel bag out of sight behind the hallway closet door.
Seo Joon dove onto the sofa, grabbing a random video game controller that wasn't even turned on, while Kim Jo quickly threw his designer wool coat into a laundry basket and tossed a faded, oversized hoodie over his head. By the time the front door swung open, the three of them were a picture of perfect, lazy innocence.
A heavy textbook bag hit the floor with a loud thud.
"I am officially surviving entirely on iced coffee and pure spite," Lucy announced to the hallway, her voice muffled by sheer exhaustion.
In the living room, the three boys immediately perked up. Lucy was finally back. She had been holed up at the university dorms and the library for three brutal days of exams, completely oblivious to the fact that her roommates had been halfway across the world in California during that exact same time.
Kim Jo was out of his seat instantly, a bright, helpless smile breaking across his face. He walked into the foyer, finding Lucy kicking off her sneakers. She looked completely drained, her hair pulled into a messy knot and an oversized sweater falling off one shoulder. To Kim Jo, she had never looked more beautiful.
"You survived," Kim Jo said softly, closing the distance between them. He reached out, gently smoothing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The fierce, protective weight he had carried at the cemetery melted away the second he looked into her eyes. "How was the exam?"
"Brutal, exhausting, and the professor definitely hates me," Lucy groaned, leaning into his touch for a brief second before slipping past him into the living room. She looked at the three of them, hands on her hips. "Let me guess. I was gone for three whole days studying my life away, and you guys just sat around doing absolutely nothing?"
"Hey, we were very productive," Lee Dae lied smoothly from the kitchen, tossing her a bottle of cold water. "We... thought about doing the dishes. And Jo paced around like a lost puppy the whole time you were gone."
"I did not," Kim Jo defended immediately, though the faint red dusting his ears completely gave him away.
Lucy let out a bright laugh, unscrewing the water bottle. But before she could take a sip, Seo Joon leaned forward on the sofa, dropping his unplugged controller and putting on his absolute best smirk.
"Well, well, well," Seo Joon purred, his voice dropping an octave as he looked Lucy up and down. "If it isn't our favorite roommate. Surviving that exam must be doing wonders for you, Lucy. You're looking absolutely glowing today."
Lucy choked on her water, laughing as she wiped her mouth. "Joon, what is wrong with you?"
"I'm just saying," Seo Joon continued smoothly, standing up and walking toward her with a predatory, mischievous glint in his eye. He reached out, gently tapping her under the chin. "If this guy ever gets too boring—or if you realize you'd rather date the *actual* handsome roommate in this apartment—my schedule is completely wide open for you, darling."
The room went dead silent for exactly one second.
Lee Dae slowly backed away toward the kitchen, pulling his phone out as if preparing to film a disaster.
Kim Jo's eyes narrowed into dark, dangerous slits. The tender boyfriend persona vanished in an instant. "Seo Joon. Get your hand off my girlfriend."
Seo Joon didn't move an inch. Instead, he boldly winked at Lucy. "Just think about it. I don't snore, I do my own laundry, and I definitely have better hair."
"That's it!"
Kim Jo lunged.
Seo Joon shrieked and bolted across the living room. Instantly, the two grown men regressed into absolute teenagers. Seo Joon vaulted over the back of the sofa, his slippers skidding on the rug, while Kim Jo scrambled right after him, knocking a decorative pillow to the floor.
"I was just stating facts!" Seo Joon yelled, darting around the kitchen island.
"I am going to end you!" Kim Jo roared. He rounded the corner, his long legs eating up the distance. "Come back here! Say one more word about your hair to her, I dare you!"
"Lucy, protect me! Your boyfriend is a madman!" Seo Joon laughed hysterically, dodging a very real swipe from Kim Jo by ducking under the counter.
Lucy collapsed onto the sofa, holding her stomach as she laughed until there were tears in her eyes. The sheer absurdity of watching two grown men chasing each other around a kitchen island like jealous middle schoolers was too much to handle.
"Get him, Jo!" Lee Dae cheered from the sidelines, leaning against the fridge while munching on an apple. "Sweep the legs!"
"You're supposed to be on my side, Dae!" Seo Joon yelped, sprinting down the hallway with Kim Jo hot on his heels. A second later, a loud *thud* echoed from the hall, followed by Seo Joon groaning, "Okay, okay! I yield! She's yours! Get off my back!"
Lucy wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, feeling an overwhelming warmth spread through her chest. Looking at the chaotic, ridiculous, fiercely loving guys she had somehow stumbled into, she knew one thing for certain: she was exactly where she was meant to be.