+
They told me but I was blind. 
They showed me but I was deaf,

They were right and we were wrong. 

+

---

[-]

  A white car pulled over along the deserted street as a woman rushed out of the passenger seat, gawking at the smoldering wreck that's along the road juncture some three hundred meters infront of them. A bright red sports car have crashed into the side of a black Mercedes. 

  "Oh my god." She whispered, breathless, turning to her husband who have gotten out of the car to gasp at the scene. "We-we should help them, there might be survivors." 

  The husband whipped out his cellphone and dailed for an ambulance, but he had just finished telling the receptor their location when his wife pulled him hurriedly behind their car as another black vehicle sped into the scene and pulled over just beside the red sports car. The couple were bending down, hidden from view as they watched five burly men got off from the black vehicle, all dressed in white suits and wearing masks. What are those people doing that they're stopping beside the wreck of a car accident?

  The men pried open the driver door of the red vehicle and dragged out an unconscious driver, who's dressed in the same white suit as they are, and loaded him into the backseat of their black vehicle before driving away, leaving the wreck of the red car at the scene. 

  "We've already called for help. Lets just go." The husband breathed out after the black vehicle zoomed away.

  "But there might be people in the Mercedes!" His wife protested.

  "Didn't you see those people? I don't want to be involved. Lets go, the ambulance is coming." The husband hissed, forcing his wife back into the car before they made a U-Turn and swiftly left the scene. The street was deserted once again.

 

 

  A pained cough was heard in the night, the volume almost inaudible. The man in the smoldering Mercedes struggled to lift his eyelids, his head wrecked by an intolerable headache. His throat was dry and ragged, and he wondered how long have they been inhaling all the smoke. 

  He lifted his arm that he couldn't really feel and pounded weakly on the side of his head, soothing the migraine before his eyelids fluttered open. The windows were shattered and glass bits were strewn everywhere. The young underboss's face stings with a light gash on the side of his cheek. Jiyong lifted his upper body away from his driving wheel and glanced around at his surrounding, his mind fuzzed and heavy.

  Silence was all around them, and it was seeping bit by bit into Jiyong's slowly returning consciousness. It's driving fear into him more than the splitting headache.

  Dara.

  Shouldn't she be or calling out to him?

  He shook his head hard, this time successfully clearing his vision as his girl loomed into view. She was strapped and still beside him, with her head leaned against the side of the car and her eyes shut. The airbags were activated but she was bleeding from her forehead. A steady trickle of blood was still running from her nose.

  He froze at the sight of her. Even his head stopped throbbing. 

  The hood of that red car that crashed into them was just inches behind her, outside her side of the shattered window.

  "No..." He muttered, reaching out for her pale face. But a sharp stab of pain made him recoil and he briskly freed himself from his restraining seatbelt before edging forward closer to the girl.

  "Dara." Jiyong whispered hoarsely, taking her face into his trembling hands. , how dare they do this to her? How dare they?

  She remained limp and unresponsive, her face as white as a sheet of paper. The fear inside him grew as the realisation that she's not waking up stabbed into his guts like a sharp knife, as if someone is slowly twisting the blade inside him, deliberately to torture him. His chest constricted painfully as the surge of fear that he has never felt before overwhelmed him. No, no, she can't be gone.

  "Baby, please." The Mafia boss pleaded. Her face was so cold, too cold. "Open your eyes." 

  Take anyone. Take anyone but her.

  His hands were shaking so badly as they hovered helplessly over her, too afraid to touch her fragile form, too scared to make any more damages to her beautiful body. 

  Dara... 

  His head was chanting her name like a mantra, sometimes clearly, sometimes almost incoherently, as he fought the other voice screaming inside his head.

  You're losing her.

  No. He knows he won't. She's not going anywhere. She's not going to leave him. She'll never let him go through that, he knows it. He knows it. He knows it. 

  He needs to get them out of the car. Who knows if the petrol tank is damaged or not. This whole place could be up in flames. He needs to get Dara out of the car.

  With difficulty, Jiyong yanked on his door and kicked it open, pulling himself out into the cold night air. A sharp pain shot through his legs as soon as they hit ground and he stumbled, barely holding onto himself. Dara was still inside, oblivious and peaceful. Each step he took was excruciating, but he knew he had to get to her side.

  Her door was even harder to open, being slightly deformed by the impact. Jiyong tasted blood in his mouth before he managed to pull the damn metal open. With his last ounce of strength, he lifted her up in his arms. His insides were burning, ripping with pain but it couldn't even be compared to the feeling in his chest at the sight of her dangling hand. 

  Jiyong stumbled to the side of the road, setting her gently on the asphalt before he collapsed in agony and exhaustion beside her. She was still motionless, her breathing soft and almost inaudible. 

  "." He crawled closer to her, roughing wiping away the blood from his face. ", Dara. Please, hang in there. Hang in there, baby. Please."

  He never had a religion, but he was praying blindly to any God that would listen.

  "Call out my name, Dara. Call out my name. I'm begging you."

  He wished he was the one unconscious now. At least he won't be feeling the indescribable fear of losing her.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He sobbed. lowering his head to her chest. He feels ing useless. She'll know how to help him if she was conscious. But he can't ing do anything. 

  "Please please, please don't." He begged, pulling her into his chest as he cradled her helplessly. "Don't do this to me Dara. ." 

  He froze as the sirens in the distance got clearer. 

  "Help is coming, baby." He whispered, tightening his grasp on her hand. He felt a small movement in his arms as Dara stirred, a soft tormented moan leaving her lips.

  Relief swept through his entire body like a tsunami, overwhelming his sense. He leaned down and kissed every inch of her face. 

  "I need you, Dara. Stay with me...." He muttered, his eyes seeing blinking lights as they lost focus. He shook it away, and tried to stare at her face, but they blurred and blackened out. 

  "...please." A mutter escaped from him before he lost strength and fell into darkness, just as the sirens got close.

 

  

---

[-]

 

  "! WHAT THE !" Seungri screamed as he stormed into Kris's office, his face bruised after thrashing his guards. The leader of the Immortal Angels leaned back casually just as the Mafian pulled out his gun and aimed it right between the blonde guy's brows.

  "I'm ing going to kill you." Seungri spat in his uncontrollable rage. "You promised not to touch Jiyong and Dara!"

  "I did?" Kris raised a brow in amusement, but Seungri pulled on the barrel of his pistol dangerously.

  "Wowowow," The white Immortal Traids leader raised his hands into the air, loosening his fingers around the pen he held. "But they're not dead, aren't they?"

  "Don't test me." Seungri squeezed the words through his teeth. 

  "If you fire that gun, my men stationed in the hospital will know. And this time, it wouldn't just be a warning to the Seoul Mafia. We'll do the job cleanly, and we'll finish your brother and that girl off."

  "ing son of a !" Seungri yelled as he smashed his pistol into the side of Kris's cheek. Immediately, splatters of red began to blossom by the side of his lips. But with eyes almost insane, the man simply it off.

  "You've got so much to learn, Victory." Kris laughed ominously, completely unfazed by the young mobster's wrath. "Go back, and I'll send you what I need from you. Treat my words seriously, and with respect. You won't want me to pull a stunt like this again."

  

---

[-]

  The Untouchables were scattered in a room, each silently mulling over the things in their mind. The steady beep of the hospital machines were calming, but they knew that anywhere that isn't in a mafia property isn't safe for them. 

 

  Daesung was staring out of the windows at the garden downstairs where the patients were brought out for some air. Seungri had went back to get their leader some clothes to change into. Youngbae was by the bed, quietly speaking into the phone. There was a million things to settle, a hundred people he had to account to with regards to the attack. Seunghyun sat with a pack of cigarettes in his hands even though he knew he couldn't smoke them in here. 

 

  A low groan caught everyone's attention and within the blink of an eye, everyone was by the bed. Their leader stirred awake, lifting his hand to block the dazzling lights that his eyes weren't used to when he realized the small tubes protruding from his wrist. They're in the hospital. Thank god.

 

  "Hyung, how're you feeling?" Daesung piped in immediately, scattering his concerned gaze over his leader, who's pushing himself up into a seating position with difficulty.

 

  "Marvelous." Jiyong answered gruffly, his head still heavy. "So did you find out who tried to kill me?"

 

  "Someone broke your brakes. The car that you collided with was a red Nissan sports car that had absolutely no background to track. There isn't a car plate number and it's completely brand new. The driver's missing as well." Youngbae explained.

 

  "The Immortal Angels?" 

  

  "We're not sure yet, Jiyong. The Mafia has lots of enemies. You especially. That's why we need to move you now that you're awake. It's not safe here." 

 

  "I'm staying where Dara is staying." Jiyong muttered, swinging his legs off the bed. "Which ward is she in?"

 

  Daesung glanced uncomfortably at Youngbae and it didn't escape Jiyong's eyes.

 

  "Where is she?" He repeated again, this time more demandingly.

 

  "Jiyong-"

 

  "Hyung." Jiyong cut across Daesung and turn his panicked eyes to Seunghyun, who had been sitting aside silently. He stared at his oldest brother, dread for what he is going to say next filling him. 

 

  "She's still in the operating theatre." Seunghyun said quietly, avoiding Jiyong's eyes.

 

  No.... He was already out for half a day.. how could she...

 

  Loud protests from the three untouchables broke out as Jiyong ripped the cords from his wrist before escaping his room. His side seared in pain but he was blindly searching for the emergency department, the fear that has threatened to consume him just now flooding back into his system. 

 

  She's not out of danger yet. She's not out of danger yet.

 

  The hospital never felt bigger than it is today. Beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead as he descended flights and flights of stairs and took yet another turn down another alleyway. He's lost, desperate, and very much in pain. But somewhere in the same building, she's there. 

 

  Finally he sees it, the operating theater at the end of the hallway on the first floor. The emergency treatment ward is right behind him, and the agonizing cries and screams of devastation in there burnt his mind. What awaits him at the end of the narrow alley was a pair of closed doors, with the red surgery light lit above it. Jiyong's eyes fell on Bom, who's eyes were red and puffy.

 

  Suddenly it's so hard to breathe.

 

  Dara. He calls out her name in his mind.

 

  Something hard lands on his jaw and he was knocked backwards to the ground. By then Daesung, Youngbae and Seunghyun had caught up to him and two of them were pulling back Donghae, who's yelling out curses at him. Jiyong couldn't hear them. The world seems to be momentarily muted. The image of Bom crying had stunned him to temporary numbness, and it took a while before he could hear what the Vanguard of the White Traids was shouting about.

 

  "YOU SAID SHE WOULDN'T GET HURT WITH YOU!" 

 

  Bom had gotten up from her seat and is now running forward to restrain Donghae as well. He was struggling madly from the grasp of Daesung and Seunghyun, lunging for the Underboss's collar.

 

  "Tell me she's still alive." Jiyong muttered, his eyes wavering from Donghae's wrath-filled ones. 

 

  "SHE'S BEEN IN THERE FOR FIVE ING HOURS. WHAT DID YOU TELL ME, KWON? WHAT DID YOU PROMISED?" Donghae was seeing nothing but red. Bom had been crying non-stop since they got here. What if she ends up with her limbs broken? How are they supposed to explain to Granny Lee? 

 

  "Stop it, Donghae. Dara wouldn't want this." Bom sobbed, tugging onto the Vanguard's sleeve. The mention of her name seems to defeat the insane rage inside him, and he gave up struggling.

 

  "You're so ing selfish." Donghae said, his voice now mingled with bitterness. "And she's so ing stupid. Nothing would've happened to her if she wasn't with you. You know there's danger everywhere around you but you still lead her into the mine zone, bluffing yourself that you can protect her. The truth is she doesn't ing needs protection if there isn't danger around her all the time. You're that danger but you just won't admit it. Selfish bastard..."

 

  Jiyong was numb, Donghae's words drilling into his head syllabus by syllabus. It was his fault. He knew he should've stayed away from her as soon as he fell in love with her. He knew she would be in danger as long as he is with her but he procrastinated... told himself that it isn't time yet... she would never had been in Hani's mansion if it wasn't for him.. she would've never been exposed to that tea.. she would never had been in the tampered car if she wasn't with him.. she would've never go through something like this.

 

  "Let it sink in, Kwon. She's in there. Knifes are across her skin. Liquids would be pumped in to save her life. Bones rejoined. A tube shoved down ..." Donghae said between his teeth, as if he's choosing the harshest words to inflict as much as pain as possible to him.

 

   "Stop." Jiyong said hoarsely. Donghae's words burned him like acid. He just wants to hold her and kiss her and hold her. But she's in so much pain now. Nothing hurts as much as knowing that. 

 

  "Enough, Lee." Seunghyun said roughly, pushing Donghae back. 

 

  An anguished smirk stretched across the Vanguard's face as he staggered back. The Underboss of the Mafia looks completely destroyed as he sat on the hospital ground in desolation, his eyes reflecting the gaze of a tortured man. 

 

  "Please, just let me see her." Jiyong begged, his breathing getting ragged.

 

  "Oh, I will." Donghae answered crudely. "You have to see for yourself what you did to her. The woman you claimed to love." 

 

 

---

[-]

 

 A little girl sat merrily behind an ivory colored kitchen table, gently swinging her legs back and forth. Her teacher told her yesterday that she is very good in sciences, and if she keeps it up, she can become a doctor many years down the road, just like daddy.

 

  "Mama, what are we eating?" The little girl asked, her stomach rumbling. 

 

  A grown woman turned around, a small smile lingering on her face as she scooped an omelette into the girl's plate. 

 

  "Your favorite." 

 

  The little girl was perplexed. Mama never cooks her eggs unless she's done something exceptionally well. Has the teacher called to tell her about her science test? Nonetheless, she feels elated just by the smell of the omelette.

 

  "Is daddy eating?" The girl asked.

 

  The woman's smile stretched, but it was those kind where her eyes squeeze into two thin lines as she gently ran her hand down her daughter's cheek. 

 

  "No, Dara. Daddy's not eating." She whispered softly. Her gaze lingering on the young child for a long time. The sun was b into the small kitchen, and the mother's face was shining.

 

   "Do you want to learn how to cook an omelette, Dara?" 

 

  The little girl shook her head, too engrossed in eating. Too engrossed to see the tears that have began to brim in the woman's eyes, too engrossed to notice the suitcase quietly waiting in her mother's bedroom. 

 

  "You'll cook for me, Mama." The little girl grinned. Fiddling with her mother's sling bag on the table. 

 

  The woman broke into a forced smile as she nodded before clearing the plates from the table. And as she did, the room changed. The pastel, ivory house deco slowly changes into something more woody and neutral in color. The morning sun rose in an accelerated rate, and by the time she turned around when a new voice called out to her, it felt like twenty years had passed by.

 

  "Teach me how to cook an omelette, Mama."  

 

  A grown up Dara stood behind the kitchen table, the little child long gone. Her eyes were full of tears as she stared at the woman who turned around with the plates and pans still in her hand. It felt like time has stopped moving for her mother. She looks just the same. The mother stared at her grown daughter behind her, and slowly, her lips pulled into a heart-wrenching smile.

 

  "I have to start eating an omelette again too." The girl smiled back as a tear escaped her eyes.

 

.

.

.

.

  "Dara! Dara!"

  The sharp voice calling out her name forced Dara to open her eyes with difficulty. She glanced around her, groggy and disorientated by all the whiteness that suddenly invaded her vision before her eyes finally focused on an extreme close-up of Bom, hovering just inches above her.

  That's right. She must be in a hospital. They were in an accident.

  "Jiyong.." She croaked out, her voice sounding unnatural. She cleared before opening again. "How's Jiyong?"

  "He's fine." Another voice answered as Bom sat back down in relief upon hearing Dara's voice. Dara glanced to her right and there the Looker was, peeling an apple with a small fruit knife. 

  Relief immediately flooded her as she visibly relaxed.

  "Jesus, Dara. We all thought you're going to die." Bom's lips were pulling into a massive pout, looking as if she's ready to burst into tears any minute now.

  "I feel fine." Dara retorted, heaving herself up. Admittedly, her body feels sore and heavy but there wasn't any much pain. Is she under morphine?

  "That's because you were out cold for five whole days." Bom snapped back. "We just sent Grams home for a rest. She'll be back soon."

  Dara groaned. Grams. Gosh, how worried must she have been.

  "So, what did I broke?" Dara asked meekly.

  "A few things, most notably two rib bones and a ruptured spleen." Donghae answered calmly before getting up. "I'll go fetch Granny Lee here."

  Her jaw fell as she blinked at his words before staring down at herself. Two rib bones are fractured? 

  "You don't feel it because you're on painkillers Dara. You don't even know how long the doctors took to mend you up. Seriously, how did everything happen?"

  "Don't fret, Bom. I'm alright now..." Dara muttered. "I'm going to start hemorrhaging again if you keep on nagging." She joked. 

  "My best friend was in a coma for five days. I can raise a concern or two!" Bom snarled back at the cowering Dara, before softening her tone. "I was scared, Dara."

  "I'm fine now. I promise." Dara squeezed onto Bom's hand.

  If she was hurt this badly, how could Jiyong be unscratched? It doesn't seem right no matter how hard she thought about it, and she pulled open the drawer by her bed side in search for her phone. It was placed neatly at the end of it, but something else caught her eyes.

  
  It was two identical couple bracelets. 

 

  "Was Jiyong here?" Dara asked, her brows furrowing together as she picked up the two bracelets from the drawer. Why is Jiyong's here?

  "Dara.." Bom began, but she was knotting her fingers together.

  What's the meaning of this? 

  "He must've forgot his here." Dara muttered as she placed both of their wristbands back into the drawer.

  "Dara.." Bom's strangled voice caught her attention, and Dara turned to look at her. She was chewing on the inside of her cheek, appearing as if her words are caught in , before she finally whispered.

  "Jiyong...  He's gone."

  Dara blinked at her words, before she was suddenly struck by alarm. 

  "What do you mean? Donghae said he's fine!" Her voice was hitching up in panic.

  "No no- he's fine. He's alive." Bom calmed her down quickly, grasping her bestie's hands into hers before nodding her head towards the bracelets. "He's returning his to you." 

  Upon seeing the look of relief on Dara's face quickly replaced by an expression of pure confusion. Bom stuttered.

 

  "Dara... Jiyong left."

---

Ahhh the sweet days gone so fast *Sobs*