Jongkook tries again to call Jihyo as he stands next to his office window, looking out at people going about their business in the world below him. She hasn't been picking up for the past 15 minutes. This makes him worry.

He is meant to wait for her call. But it's two hours past lunch time and he's dying to know if she is done so that he could just talk to her.

He paces up and down. He decides against calling his mother, in case they're still together. He hates that he's left in the dark about it, and wonders if him backing off and letting them meet without him was a good idea. 

It sure doesn't feel like it. The vibe he gets about the entire situation is ominous, especially after his mother asked him to bring her home.

Struck by a sudden idea, he quickly phones his mother's personal driver instead. That man should know. 

"I've sent Jihyo-ssi back to the hospital. She wanted to collect her car." The reserved man says simply, providing no other details.

Leaving all his stuff behind, he bolts out of his office to search for his girlfriend at their workplace. He needs to hold her in order to feel reassured, in order for the antsy feeling to go away.

Her desk is empty. She's not in the cafeteria. And nobody from her department has seen her, claiming that she left during lunch and hasn't return. 

His heart pounds as his search proves fruitless. Whenever something difficult happens, Jihyo hides. His distraught footsteps are heavy as he storms down Queen's hallways. She hides away from everyone in quiet and enclosed spaces. He ignores the patients and professionals around him.

And Jongkook hates this habit of hers. 

Jihyo-ya. Please just come to me. We can solve anything as long as we're together. 

Beads of sweat trickle down the side of his face as he races down the emergency stairs to the carpark to check if her red Aygo is still around, hoping to wait next to it as a last resort.

When he gets closer to the car, he sees her sitting in it, her head resting on the steering wheel. He sprints towards her and knocks quickly on her window.

Good job, Kim Jongkook. You found her. He sighs and leans his forehead against his sweaty arm as he looks through the tinted glass at her. The relief is immense and his heart stops pounding in his ears.

Jihyo raises her head to check the source of the noise, her beautiful almond eyes widening when she sees him. 

She gives him a small smile in reflex. However, his relief quickly fades when she makes no move to open the door for him. 

Giving her a once-over, he quickly realises that both her slender hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white. It is then that he sees her chest heaving irregularly. She seems to be taking very shallow and quick breaths. Her lips are pale as death, with her teeth clamping down on them. His heart races with anxiety. 

Asthma attack.

And it looks like a bad one. He fumbles for the door that is keeping him out, his fingers shaking with worry. 

Jihyo once told him that she had chronic asthma as a child but rarely has attacks now that she's older. He witnessed it only once before when they were dating in university. She was overwhelmed with school projects and hall life, and was anxious to get them done. It scared the hell out of him then as he panicked, not knowing what to do as she wheezed, clutching her chest desperately. That's when he learns that her airways only betray her when she feels under pressure. 

. He hates that it's happening again now after she met his mother. 

His heart clenches tightl as his shaky fingers finally open the door. "Jihyo-ya! Do you have your inhaler with you?"

She nods. He sweeps away the beads of perspiration on her brow and pushes her damp hair away from her cold forehead. The blue contraption lies uncapped on her lap and realises that she had already taken her puff. "Is it going away?" She gives him a weak smile, nodding again.

He slips his hand to cup the base of her neck and moves his face closer to hers, only to find glistening smears of dried tears on her cheeks. It made his heart hurt.

"Oh, love. What happened?"

Her face crumples in an instant as fresh tears appear at her waterline. Lifting Jihyo from the seat, he slides underneath her before settling her on his lap. He pulls the door shut before cradling her against him, her side pressed tightly his chest. 

"It's alright. I'm here now love." He rubs her back as he repeats over and over again. "Shh. Keep breathing baby." 

She closes her eyes and presses her face against his neck. His shirt grows damp as she continues to sob softly. What did his mother say to her? His head races as he thinks of the possibilities. The more he thinks, the more horrible the scenarios become. Did his mother ask her to leave him? Did she dump water on Jihyo's lap? Was she humiliated with a sum of money? Slapped on the face with a blank cheque? 

He groans internally at his imagination. All of them are scenarios that make his head hurt. I