"Are you sure that both of them were the ones who had kidnapped you?"

One of the police officer asked me for a reconfirmation after I had singled both the culprits out. I nodded my head to his question, adding on that I had seen their faces everytime they came in to check on me inside the house where I was held hostage.

10mis later, I was ushered out from that dark room and brought to their office where Uncle Park was waiting for me. They asked me to rest for a while while they signalled to Uncle Park to follow them. I leaned against the chair and stared at the ceiling.

Exactly 10 days after I was interviewed by the police officers at the hospital, we received news that they had managed to catch the kidnappers. As I stood in the room earlier, I automatically recognised the two guys and was reminded about what happened.

(Flashbacks)

Me and Shin Hye had just arrived at the ferry terminal as both of us made our way to the arrival hall. As I joked around with Shin Hye, I couldn't stop this feeling that I was being watched from far. Taking subtle glances around the surroundings, I was certain that I had caught a glimpse of someone familiar that I had seen loitering at the hotel lobby before.

It didn't take long for me to meet up with Uncle Park and Aunt Nancy as the elderly lady looked worried with my sudden appearance. Both of them were surprised and started to question my presence all the way to LA. They seemed to have realised that something might had happened to Harabeoji and Halmeoni.

"Actually, something did happened to both Halmeoni and Harabeoji." I replied as I looked around. "I'll explain once we've reached home. But before that, can you help me to hold my jacket while I go to the Ladies first?"

I handed my jacket to Shin Hye and before I walked away, I managed to whisper to her to take care of my jacket properly since I had left the threat note inside the pocket. I didn't understand why I had decided to walk away but I thought that if the person who had left the threat note was really serious about his warnings, the least I would want to happen was for Uncle Park and his family to get hurt.

Walking away from them towards the Ladies, my heartbeat started to bump rapidly as the surrounding became more deserted. I began to regret my decision of leaving them behind and being all by myself. I tried to calm down by telling myself that there was nothing to be afraid of but the fear in my heart was crippling my senses as I pushed the door to the Ladies before a hard shove was felt on my back.

I stumbled forward, hitting my forehead to the nearest wash basin as I grimaced in pain. Turning around, I saw a guy walking up to me while I felt some liquid flowing down the side of my forehead.

"I told you to heed my warning, right?"

The guy was glaring at me and surprisingly, he looked like a Korean with a Californian accent. I ignored his words and touched my forehead as I saw my fingers turning red. Palming the walls to support myself to stand up, I faced the angry looking guy and stared back at him.

"Who was the one who had sent you? I'm not going to run away just because you told me to do so. My Harabeoji is important to me so I will help him no matter what. Tell the person, whom you're working for, that I'll be making sure he's going to be put in jail for whatever that he had done to Harabeoji."

The guy started laughing sarcasticly and tried to push me by the shoulders but I turned to my sides, causing him to almost lose his footing and stumbled forward. It was obvious that he was embarassed due to my quick reflexes and it caused him to be more angry before he hissed and turned to face me. By then, my back was facing the toilet door and I was about to kick him when someone covered my nose and mouth with a cloth from behind, causing me to black out.

The next moment when I opened my eyes was due to the sudden pain that I felt when the back of my head hit something hard. Looking around, I realised that I was in a van as I heard the rumbling sound of the engine. Two men were seated in front while I struggled to at least sit up in the empty space behind. The van looked like it was used for delivery with half of the space filled with boxes. My hands were tied behind my back as I tried to take a peek through the back window to see where I was. But my effort was to no avail since I couldn't even reach the window of the van. 

My throat was beginning to get drier as my anxiety started to kick in. I could smell the dried blood on my face as flashes of my parent's accident went through my mind. The poor driving skill of the man behind the wheels added on to my fear as the vehicle shook vigorously along the way. I knew we were not on normal road since the way the van was moving suggested that it was being driven through rough terrains.

I wished I could at least take my medication to calm me down but I knew that it was not possible. Beads of perspiration started to pool around my forehead and it hurts a little when some of the sweat got near the wound on my forehead. I couldn't even swallow my saliva properly since my throat was dry. My heartbeat was increasing rapidly by the seconds. At that very moment, I really thought that I was going to die when the van suddenly stopped. I quickly lied down again, pretending to still be unconscious when the door of the van was opened. One of the men carried me over his shoulders as I slowly opened my eyes. The other guy was walking ahead of him so nobody noticed anything.

All I could see was tall big trees, with logs laying around the compound of the area. 'Must be an abandoned log-cutting factory' I thought to myself as I was suddenly thrown to the floor. My hurts a lot when it touched the ground as I grimaced in pain but I still managed to look around. We had entered a run-down house which seemed like it was used to store hay bales since I could still see some of it remaining around.

"You're awake. Good for you. Welcome to your new accomodation. You'll be staying here.... for how long, I'm not sure. Maybe for two days, two weeks or maybe until your grandfather passes away."

Both of them laughed before one of them walked up to me, dragged me to one of the wooden pole and tied the rope that was secured on my wrists to the pole. They ended more ropes around my upper body to ensure that I was secured. Soon, I was left alone in the empty house as I tried to make myself comfortable. But obviously, it was not possible since I was attached to the pole so all I could do was to lean my head on it as tears started to flow down my cheeks.

Over the next few days, the two guys would take turns to check on me and it was during the third day that I had tried to request for them to at least allow me the possibility to lie down and rest. Luckily they allowed me to do so by tying the rope on my wrist in front of me instead of behind. My upper body was still secured with ropes but they extended the rope around my wrist so that I could at least lie down.

Food and drinks were given to me minimally and only once a day. They would untie the ropes on my wrist and watched over me as I finished the food. I had a feeling that the two guys didn't really stayed in that area and would actually made daily trips to the house where I was in. At night, it was really cold and scary sometimes but I guessed I was used to it. The loneliness reminded me of those times after my parents passed away. Times where I would be on my own in my grandma's house in Tokyo. Alone while she would be out at her food cart. I was so immune with being alone that I didn't really cared if I had any friends or not.

When I was reminded of friends, the Kwon siblings, Taeyeon and Sunny came to mind. One thing lead to another and finally, I was reminded of those times that I had spent with Krystal. It was still clear in my mind, the first time we had actually met. It wasn't actually a pleasant memory but I remembered the glare that she had given to me. It was her glare that brought fluttering feelings inside of me. As I lied down to rest in the middle of the night, the thoughts of Krystal always put a smile on me.

I didn't know how long I was held hostage in that house but it was during one of those days when I realised that the grip around my wrist from the rope had loosened. The guy didn't checked on the rope properly last night as how he should be doing and that was then I decided to plan my escape. Bending my knees towards my body while in a sitting position, I waited for the guy to arrive. He seemed a little tired when he came in to place a tray of food near my feet. The moment he straightened himself up, I gave him a kick right in his balls.

He screamed in pain as he fall to the ground, with his hands covering the place where he was kicked. I quickly stood up but was not able to wriggle my wrist out because of my stiff shoulders. Fearing that the guy would be able to overcome his pain, I twisted and turned until I dislocated my own shoulders. The pain was excruciating but I bit my lips harder as I managed to pulled of the rope.

Dashing out of the house quickly, I didn't even looked back as I ran towards the thick forest with no sense of direction. The sun was almost setting so I needed to get as far away as possible when there was still sunlight.

(End of flashbacks)

"Eunjin-ah, what are you thinking about?"

My train of thoughts was disrupted by the sudden appearance of Uncle Park. I shook my head and told him that I was just thinking back about those times when I was held hostage. I didn't realised that he had been away for more than 20mins until he informed me that the two guys had admitted to their crime.

"I think they are more willing to be put in jail than having to answer to their boss for failing their mission." Uncle Park said as I nodded my head. "Let's get you back to the hospital. Shin Hye has been messaging me to remind me about your physiotherapy session. By the way, how have you been feeling lately?"

As we made our way to the car, I told Uncle Park that my sprained ankle had healed but the pain in my shoulder would come and go. I was still wearing a shoulder immobilizer and sometimes, I felt restricted in my movement.

"You have to get use to it slowly. Dislocated shoulder takes around 12 - 16 weeks to recover fully but you should be able to remove the immobilizer after a few weeks. You have to check with Shin Hye on that." Uncle Park explained as he opened the car door for me. "Anyway, your Harabeoji and Halmeoni send their regards to you. They miss you a lot and kept asking about your return date."

I could only smile at Uncle Park's words as he drove me off to the hospital.

"Before I forget, here's your phone. The police officers found it in the van that was apparently used to transport you from LA to San Francisco. You must have dropped it inside. I managed to charge it for a while while they were briefing me about the case but it's not fully charged."

I took the phone from Uncle Park's hands as we reached the carpark of the hospital 40mins later. Unlocking the screen, I smiled when I saw the screen on my phone's wallpaper. It was a photo taken when I had went on a date with Krystal at a restaurant.

************************

"Hey, Krystal. What are you daydreaming about?"

Luna nudged Krystal's shoulder when she saw her good friend staring out into space. Classes had already ended as they prepared to return to their dorm. Krystal had been in this manner ever since she received the letter from Tiffany-unnie last Friday. Luna was aware of the content of the letter since Krystal had shown it to her and Sulli when they gathered back in the dorm. It was a letter from Eunjin-unnie, telling Krystal not to worry too much about her and informing that she might take a longer time before coming back.

"I was just thinking about random things." Krystal replied with a small smile.

"Random things about Eunjin-unnie?" Luna tried to guess as Krystal just nodded her head. "Don't think too much. She had promised to come home, right? Although she's taking longer than she was supposed to. Just be patient."

"That's right, Krys. Even the news about the cancellation of the arranged marriage had been released. There's nothing for you to worry anymore." Sulli added on but Krystal let out a sigh.

"I know I shouldn't be worrying. But when I'm not able to see her with my own eyes, I just can't stop myself from worrying. She said she needed time to recover and also assisting the police in the investigation. I wished I could be by her side and go through this together. Even though Appa and Omma had been updating me about her condition, I still miss her a lot."

Sulli and Luna could only manage to nod their heads as they continued to listen. They were aware that Krystal's parents would sometimes drop by at the hospital to check on Eunjin-unnie. It seemed that Eunjin-unnie's condition had improved a lot.

"Are you planning to go back to your Unnie's place tonight or tomorrow morning?" Luna asked as they made their way to the dorm.

"I was thinking of leaving tonight but then again...." Krystal let out a sigh as she explained to her friends that she felt as if she's being a hindrance nowadays when she went back to her sister's place.

"Hindrance? What makes you say so?" Sulli asked, tilting her head a little and looking a little confused.

"Because Yuri-unnie and Taeyeon-unnie would usually hang out with their girlfriends. When Eunjin was....." Krystal bit her lips before she started shaking her head. "Anyway, are both of you free tomorrow? Let's go shopping."

Krystal was relief when Sulli and Luna agreed to join her as they planned about where to go tomorrow. But their planning was disturbed by the sound of Krystal's phone ringing. Looking at the name on the screen, a frown appeared on Krystal's face but she still answered the call.

"Hello.... Yes, it's me.. Tomorrow? I've already made plans to go out with Sulli and Luna.... Fine. If they're okay with it, then I'll see you tomorrow."

Sulli and Luna were already standing beside Krystal when she ended the call. They were curious since Krystal looked as if she was in deep thoughts.

"Who was that?" Sulli took the initiative to ask without any delay.

"Amber."

Krystal's short answer caused Sulli and Luna to be surprised. After that slapping incident at the end of their exam week, they had not seen Amber around in campus. It seemed like she had disappeared again just like that time after Krystal had rejected her.

"What does she wants?" Luna asked as Krystal explained that Amber wanted to meet at the mall tomorrow.

"She said that she has something important to say to me. Pleaded for me to meet up with her. I did told her that I had plans with both of you and she said that it was better if I could bring both of you along too. I told her that I needed to seek both of your permission and would only finalise about the meet up if both of you agrees."

"Since she wanted to meet all 3 of us, I don't see any problem in that. Furthermore, if she's trying to do something funny again to Krystal, me and Sulli would be there to protect you." Luna gave her opinion to which Sulli agreed to it

By then the 3 of them had already arrived at their dorm as they proceeded to their own rooms to shower and rest.

Krystal's POV

Rubbing my eyes, I stretched out my hand before looking up to the wall clock. It was almost 9pm and I had woken up because of the rumbling sound of my stomach. As I grabbed my phone and unlocked the screen, a grinning photo of cheeky Eunjin greeted me. That photo had always manage to put a smile on my face but this time round, another feeling  was presence. A feeling of missing her a lot. Staring at the date on my phone, I realised that it's been almost a month since Eunjin had left the country. More than 30 days since I last talked to her.

I still remembered the day when the marriage news were released. I remembered the looks of the students around and the teasings that was thrown at me by my classmates. Within all that memories, the only thing that was clear in my mind the most was the phone call that I had with Eunjin.

But I need you to calm down to listen to me. I was not aware of it too. It was unexpected.

I should have calmed myself down and listened to everything that she had to say. But instead, I threw all my emotions at her. Harabeoji had already explained that it was a decision made solely by him. Even Halmeoni and Uncle Park were not aware of it.

I'm going to find a way to solve it. This marriage is not going to happen. I just need you to trust me.

I should have told her that I trusted her. The marriage eventually was cancelled off by Harabeoji himself. Even though Eunjin didn't directly solve the problem but because she was willing to help her grandfather out, Harabeoji finally admitted his wrongdoings towards Eunjin.

Can we meet up later?

My tears finally flowed down my cheeks when I remembered how I had rejected her suggestion to meet up, giving the excuse of not wanting other students to see us. If I had meet her that day, I won't have to go through this whole month without her or maybe she would still insist of going to LA, but at least, Eunjin won't have left the country with a heavy heart.

A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts as I quickly wiped my tears away with the back of my hands. Luna appeared behind the door and asked if I wanted to order any food for dinner. It seemed that both she and Sulli had just woken up from their nap too and were feeling hungry. After Luna took my orders, I continued staring at the photo on my phone screen before I decided to join them at the living room.

************************

"I'm sorry for everything that I had done towards the 3 of you and also to Eunjin-unnie. I was blinded by my own rage that I couldn't see the clearer picture."

Amber bowed her head at the 3 girls who were seated in front of her with frowns on their faces. They were not prepared for Amber's sudden apology so they didn't knew how to react. The table were in silence for about 10 seconds before Krystal suddenly voiced our her thoughts.

"I would like to apologise for my outburst that day when I slapped you."

Amber shook her head and smiled a little. "I deserve it. My actions was inapropriate and whatever that you had said on that day was the truth."

Sulli and Luna also said that they didn't hold any grudges towards Amber's attitude towards them lately even though there were times when they felt annoyed with her. Both of them commented that they were just being protective around Krystal since she was a little uncomfortable with the change in Amber's behaviour.

"Since now that you are aware of your mistakes, hopefully we can be friends like how it used to be." Sulli said before she looked at Luna and Krystal who then slowly nodded their heads.

"Thank you for accepting my apology and of course, I will be more than willing to be friends with the 3 of you." Amber exclaimed before she turned to face Krystal. "Is Eunjin-unnie back from overseas yet? I would like to meet up with her to apologise too."

Hearing that, Krystal bit her lips when she thought about whatever that had happened between her and Eunjin. Krystal informed Amber that Eunjin was still not back yet, which surprised Amber.

"She's not back yet? But I thought she left for some time already?"

"She did. She just.... Got some family business to settle there." Krystal was a bit reluctant to tell Amber about the whole incident but luckily for her, Amber didn't probe any further.

"By the way, there's something that I need your opinions about." Amber shifted her position so that she's facing the 3 girls. "I was thinking of asking Ailee to be my girlfriend.

Meanwhile at Jessica's apartment, the two couples had just finished getting ready to go out and have lunch together when Yuri's phone rang. Seeing that it was Seohyun who was calling, Yuri quickly answered the call.

"Hhhmmm.. Seohyun-ah. Wae-yo?"

"Unnie, by any chance, do you know when Eunjin-unnie will be back?"

"I'm not sure, Seohyun. Why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering if she'll be back before her birthday. It's going to be the first time that she'll be celebrating it with us. So I was thinking, if she's not back by then, maybe we can plan a trip to actually travel to where she is and celebrate it together."

Yuri's eyes widened when she realised it. Seeing Yuri's shocked expression, Jessica went up to her girlfriends's side to ensure that everything was okay.

"Seohyun-ah... Thank you so much for the reminder. It had totally slipped my mind that Eunjin's birthday will be in 2 weeks time." Yuri admitted her mistake.

"Gwenchana, Unnie."

The phone call ended as Yuri quickly explained about the conversation to Taeyeon, Tiffany and Jessica. They were shocked to find out about it too since they were not aware about Eunjin's birth date. Yuri also commented about how it'll be the first time that Eunjin would be celebrating it with people around her.

"Since we all know about her background, I don't think she had ever celebrated it with her grandparents. But we are not even sure if she'll be back by then." Yuri let out a sigh after she was done explaining everything.

"What if we go to Harabeoji and Halmeoni to inform them about it? The only contact person who might know when Eunjin will be back is probabyly Uncle Park. Harabeoji would have his number. Maybe there's a way that he can help us." Taeyeon suggested.

Jessica, who had been listening quietly all this while, started to clap her hands suddenly.

"Oh my god. I just realised that Eunjin and Soojung have the same birth date but different month. Soojung is 24th October while Eunjin is 24th January. Kyeopta."

The 3 other girls looked at her before they turned to look at each other and shook their heads.