"Never forget that the strongest bonds are made from a family"

Chapter 5

Midnight has fallen as moonlight soaked into the dark skies. This was a time where half of the city would be deep in their dreams while the other half would either be still working or partying like there was no other. However, time did not matter for these two girls who were clearly exhausted and hungry. They just wanted everything to end. With only one goal in their mind, they headed back to the same facility with determination burning in their eyes.

Walking straight into the lobby as the lady stood up and stared at them with suspicious eyes, they walked towards the gate that was sealed shut as an access card was needed to gain entry.

"Did you not learn your lesson? You have no entry to this area. Please, get out." said the lady.

"Well, you said only the ones who have the card can. Like this one." said Eunji with a cheeky smirk as she turned to the lady and raised a blue card proudly in the air. It was at that moment, she felt Chorong hitting her from behind.

"Stop fooling around!" whispered Chorong as she snatched the card from Eunji and tapped it against the glass. With one beep echoing the spacious lobby, the gate opened with a thud. Without a word, the older girl grabbed hold of Eunji's hand and dragged her inside. The younger girl on the other hand, let her tongue out as she continued to look at the lady who was obviously dumbfounded by the whole situation. 

In moments like these, she was like a small mischievious kid that was dragged by her mother. But of course, this was no time to play. Upon entering the gate, this was where it begun. The search to find Oh Hayoung, their daughter.

~X~

"Listen, I understand how you two must've felt to hear the truth. I know how angry you must've been and we can talk this out. Let's not get violent shall we?" said the man as he raised his arms up high.

"You were...expecting us?" said Eunji confused while still aiming her gun at him.

"I'm more than you think, Eunji-ya. I could even threaten you with your family, I am a more powerful man than that. But, I've decided not to play the bad guy today. Let's get into an agreement shall we?" he said calmly, looking directly into Eunji's eyes.

"What do you have in plan?" asked Chorong.

"The most I can do, is to give you access into the facility. From there onwards, you are on your own. I will hold no responsibility to what happens to the both of you and will turn a blind eye against you. Do whatever you can, to take that girl out of that place. I'm not sure what goes on in there either so you have to be ready to expect the most unexpected. If you two do manage to escape, then pretend that none of this happened. Forget the fact that you once worked as agents or even worked for the government, live a new life even though this may haunt you forever." he said as he took out a card from his pocket and threw it onto the wooden desk, to which Chorong picked it up.

He was indeed speaking the truth. Just by one look, it was an access card to the facility. It was now, just one step closer to get their daughter back, Hayoung.

"Eunji-ya, lower your gun." instructed Chorong.

"But unnie..."

"Put it down." the older girl ordered with a look, to which Eunji did as she was told.

"Sir, you're different from what I had expected. I never thought that you would help us out. I sincerely thank you." said Chorong as she politely bowed. The girl also moved her hand towards Eunji and forced her to bow as well as a token of gratitude.

"Just take it as my farewell gift for you two. Now get out of my office, no one should know that we have talked. None of this ever happened. Leave." said the man as he turned around, facing his window and not taking one look at the girls. 

"Thank you...Mr. Choi Jin Ho." said Chorong as she exited the room, pulling Eunji along with her as the door closed behind.

They had never expected their enemy to become their ally. Of course, they were grateful but yet, there was a slight sting in their heart. Their boss whom they had respected and feared so much during their five years of working in the office, for once, he felt like a father who wanted to protect his daughters. For once, he let down his fierce fangs and showed a smile like a never before.

In that moment, he was not a boss. He was a father.

~X~

As the girls slowly entered into the facility, it was like going into a whole new world. With the gate shutting tightly behind them, there was a long, endless corridor that had glass panes acting as it's walls, each cubicle containing a small child hooked into machines and tubes with a code that represented their number. It was heart-breaking to see that all these children that they had delivered to the facility was never saved in the beginning. They were tricked into becoming experimental subjects for researchers to test drugs and other things to produce military weapons or even medicine.

"Unnie, we have to stay strong." whispered Eunji as she held onto Chorong's hand tightly, wanting to give comfort. She knew her partner would cry over seeing such a shocking scene.

"Mm, it's okay. Let's find Hayoung first." said the older girl as she felt the warmth of Eunji's big hands, wrapping her cold fingers.

It was difficult to walk along the corridor as they saw more and more children, strapped helplessly into a comatose state. As it was deep into the night, scientists and researchers had all gone home, making it easy for the girls to sneak in. Across the glass panes, they could also see documents layered onto desks that had the name of the child as well as the different type of drugs he/she was tested on. They couldn't help but to think that the children could even die from such tests as no one would know what kind of side effects these drugs had. As they walked further into the facility, teenagers appeared in the same condition. 

"Just how many kids are being kept here? This is crazy..." mumbled Eunji as her anger boiled, but she had to keep it in. No matter how much she had wanted to save all of them, there was no time. 

"Eunji-ya, do you think she could be inside there?" whispered Chorong as she pointed towards two doors at the end of the long corridor, one that was written as "SPECIAL CASE" while the other door was the "LAB". This made the girls remember that Hayoung was a special kid, she was out of the ordinary and certainly, scientists would've made her a special priority. After all, Hayoung was the creation of their successful work. The girl was born in this facility.

Holding their hands tightly while also keeping their guard up, they entered the room labelled as "SPECIAL CASE" and found themselves into a ward that had a row of cabinets, a messy layer of documents scattered over the floor, a CT scan plastered on the wall while a large machine displaying someone's heart-rate on the monitor screen. At the top, there was a name. It was Oh Hayoung. 

As they followed the wires and tubes, it lead to a young girl completely in a comatose-state, laying helplessly onto a bed. They finally found her. Their daughter, was right there.

"Hayoung-ah!" said Chorong as she quickly rushed to the girl, touching her shoulders, her face, making sure that she was alright. Looking at how the girl was deep into a sleep that didn't seem to end as wires and tubes were all over her body, tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks. Wrapping the girl in her arms, the older girl quietly sobbed as she felt sorry. She didn't know that it would turn out like this. She didn't know that bringing her into this place was a huge mistake.

"I'm sorry Hayoung-ah....I shouldn't have let you go.....even after you've experienced so much hardships....you're still....." sobbed Chorong quietly while caressing the girl's messy hair. Observing her clothes, Hayoung has not changed or even bathed ever since she entered the facility. She was already hooked onto a machine since day 1.

Eunji who clenched her fists could feel the fire boiling in her heart. It hurt so much, to see Hayoung in this state. It hurt even more, to hear Chorong's cries. Silent and furious, she scanned the documents on the table.

"Subject Hayoung has responded positively towards Drug A. No side effects were shown. It appears that the experiment was a great success. Subject is also immune to Drug B and Drug C. Plans to test towards the effects of norovirus and dengue are underway."

Immediately upon reading it, Eunji crumbled the paper and threw it to the ground. 

"They using her as a test subject to create new medicine. They're using her because she's not human that's why those bastards don't care if she dies!" shouted Eunji in a rage. She looked through other documents, trying to find a way to disconnect all of the tubes that was on Hayoung so that she would be unharmed. But it was to no avail and they had no time.

Frustrated and angry, Eunji stormed to the machines.

"What are you doing Eunji-ya?!" said Chorong.

"I'm freeing her from those disgusting tubes."

"What if that kills her?! What if something happens when you do that?!"

"Then what can I do?! We don't have much time!"

"Eunji-ya..."

"If Hayoung dies, I'll take the blame." said Eunji as tears finally rolled down her cheeks. Her bottled emotions had finally bursted. "I'm the dad after all.." said the girl with a sad smile as she destroyed the machine by shooting everything down with her gun. 

In that very moment of destruction, the alarm sounded. Their secret mission to save Hayoung was already screwed since the beginning.

~X~

Running along the corridor with Hayoung in her arms, the girls had to get out of there fast. But it was far too late. The security was obviously faster.

"Unnie, hold her." said Eunji as she handed Hayoung to her partner.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Chorong, somehow sensing something wrong.

"There should be a back exit so you should start running once I say go." said the girl as she took out two guns that were hidden in her sweater, holding them in both hands.

"But Eunji-ya, you'll die!" said Chorong in a state of desperation. "I don't want to lose you!"

"I don't either. But I have to protect both you and Hayoung." said Eunji. "After all, I promised Bomi." she continued, while gently pecking Chorong's cheek with a sad smile.

"Eunji-ya..." the older girl's voice trembled as she pictured a future without her. It was a nightmare. It was then, she saw Eunji mouthing the three most important words in her life. The words that she hadn't been able to hear often. The magic words, "I love you".

"Now, go!" shouted Eunji as she forcefully shoved Chorong behind and then postitioned her aim towards the guards that came running from the other end of the corridor. Locking her gun tight, she was ready to pull the trigger. She was ready to kill like a madman. Chorong, who had no choice but to obey, ran. With Hayoung in her arms as tears dropped onto her face, the older girl tried to hold her emotions as she ran to the back, exiting through a door and made her escape. Upon closing the door shut, she could hear loud gunfires echo loudly even though she was already outside. Keeping Eunji's promise, Chorong continued to run as far as she could so that no one could find her. 

On that night, Hayoung was saved. But with a sacrifice that costed greatly.

~X~

Everything that happened felt like a dream. Rather than a dream, it was a nightmare. If only the world experience happy things instead, it would've been a better place. But something like that doesn't exist. That's how life is, to live with these pains.

She could only remember darkness before blackening out into a dream that didn't seem to end. Only remembering that she was just going to get a health checkup, that's why these "doctors" and "nurses" hooked her up to a machine before her conciousness was lost. Hoping to meet her parents again, her Chorong unnie and her Eunji unnie, the girl hoped of a better future. She dreamed of them together as a family, laughing together and enjoying life. But a happy dream like that, was immediately shattered apart as she woke up to a smell of something delicious.

Slowly opening her eyes, dizziness immediately consumed her mind. Letting out a groan, she could not even lift herself up from the bed. But carefully looking around, the place seemed familiar. It was her home. Her apartment that she lived together with her adoptive parents. Feeling the warmth of a blanket over her body as sunlight soaked through the glass windows, she wondered what happened while she was asleep. Did she collapse while doing the health checkup and was sent back home? Did she made her mom and dad worry? A lot of things went through her mind but she couldn't get up, her head was spinning.

In the midst of her thoughts, the door creaked open. Turning her head to see who it was, she smiled brightly.

"Chorong unnie!" said the girl in a rather, weak tone but she forced herself to say those words, becauses she missed her. 

"Don't get up!" said Chorong as she forced Hayoung to lay back in her bed, while placing a tray on the floor. It was filled with a bowl of porridge that the girl had made.

"Unnie...." said Hayoung as her smile disappeared upon scanning Chorong's face. Her eyes were swollen and had deep eye-bags. Obviously, something happened. "What's wrong?" she asked with worry.

"A sick person shouldn't be asking questions at a time like this. Just eat your food and rest. I'll answer them next time." said the older girl calmly as she took a spoon and fed the girl. Hayoung did as she was told, quietly ate her food yet, she could not move her eyes from Chorong. There was something amiss in the air and she felt that there should be something she should know.

"Unnie...." Hayoung asked quietly.

"Mm?"

"It's okay, I can feed myself...." said the girl, taking the spoon from her hand. "I'm not a kid y'know.."

"But you're sick. A patient shouldn't be doing that."

"That's what I'm asking. What happened to me unnie? The last I could remember was entering the facility and those nurses said they were going to run a health test on me...and then....I fell unconcious and ended up here....."

"........." Chorong went silent as she avoided her gaze.

"Unnie. Where did Eunji unnie go?" she asked again with her never-ending questions. Upon hearing Eunji's name, Chorong flinched.

"Unnie...." said Hayoung as she wanted to reach for her hand, but it was then, a sharp pain stabbed through her head.

"Argh!!" shouted Hayoung as she dropped her spoon and held onto her forehead. She had experienced many pains in her life but this, was the worst of all.

"Hayoung-ah! Hayoung-ah! What's wrong?! Where are you hurting?!" said Chorong, flustered as she held onto the girl, completely frozen as to what she should do. Knowing that this could be the side-effects of forcefully pulling out the tubes from her body, Chorong tried to think of whatever methods to ease her pain. Rushing into the living room, she rummaged through the drawers and found a medicine box. Inside, there was a pill for an migraine. She wouldn't know whether it would help, but she had no choice.

Rushing back to Hayoung's bedroom, Chorong held onto the girl tightly and tried to feed her the pill. But Hayoung was in so much pain, she could not even eat it or swallow it by herself. Soaked in cold sweat, the pain was numbing her entire body to the point where the girl could only scream in silence. The girl couldn't even think properly anymore, it was as if something was squeezing her brain.

Trapped in a corner with no other methods to force the pill into Hayoung's mouth, Chorong had an idea. Returning back with a glass of water, she put the pill in , took a small sip of water, carefully embraced Hayoung in her arms and fed the pill through . It was like a kiss but yet again, it wasn't. It was an act of saving her. With much success as the younger girl was helpless, the pill finally went in. Thanks to the pill, the pain subsided as Hayoung slowly regained her senses back. She was exhausted by the sudden amount of pain that she had felt and returned back to sleep.

With a sigh of relief escaping , Chorong was finally able to relax. Looking at the girl able to sleep peacefully for once, she smiled as she fixed her messy hair. But at the same time, tears rolled down her cheeks once again. It was difficult for her to control all these emotions that were running through her mind. 

She was lost, helpless, she did not know what to do from now on. She doesn't even know what kind of side effects Hayoung is experiencing or whether it would turn fatal. What if she will lose her too? What if she will be left all alone in this world? It was putting so much burden and pressure on her shoulders especially to think that Eunji sacrified herself.

But was she really gone?

~X~

For the past week, Chorong had been busy taking care of Hayoung who experienced various forms of side effects ranging from severe headaches, high fever and nausea. Knowing that she could not take her to hospital as the government would've kept a close eye on her whereabouts, she had to quietly visit nearby pharmacies while hiding herself using a mask, sunglasses, a hoodie and whatever means to conceal her identity. Trying to buy different types of medication to ease Hayoung's pain, was only temporary. The girl knew that this wouldn't last long as the girl might suffer from a drug overdose by eating so many types of medication. There will come a time where the medicine will no longer have an effect on Hayoung and she may just suffer from much more severe effects.

But she had no other choice. Otherwise, they would be caught.

"Unnie...." mumbled Hayoung in a daze, having a rough week while battling with herself. Never before had she experienced such a illness like this.

"Don't talk. You should rest." said Chorong as she gently dabbed a wet cloth onto Hayoung's forehead, wiping away her cold sweat.

"I'm sorry." the girl said softly.

"Why are you sorry for?"

"I don't know what happened but it must be my fault right?" Hayoung said with a sad smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Because of me, there's a reason why Eunji unnie isn't here right?" she continued.

As expected from the girl who had an IQ of over 140, she was able to predict the truths that Chorong tried to hide from her. The older girl didn't want her to know, in fear that it would affect her mentally and emotionally. She couldn'y possibly tell her that she was not human. She can't bring herself to tell Hayoung that she was a product made from science and was fated to become an test subject for different types of researches.

The older girl couldn't say anything else as she held onto the girl's hand tightly.

"Unnie......" mumbled Hayoung as she laid helplessly on her bed. As much as she wanted to hug her unnie and comfort her, she couldn't. She was stuck and glued to the mattress because of her illness. If only she was stronger, she could protect the ones she loved.

"Hayoung-ah, I will promise to find a cure for you. Nothing will stop me, no matter what. Because...." the girl said in a trembling voice as she looked down, tears falling.

"I don't want to lose you too." she confessed.

It was then Hayoung finally realised, what Chorong has been hiding from her. Although she had no idea what happened in between but the actual truth was difficult for her to accept. But the girl had to be strong. She had to be strong for her. Without shedding a single drop of tear upon hearing the news, she slowly held Chorong's hand with the remaining strength that she had.

"You could've just told me from the start unnie, why hide it?" she said with a sad smile. "Were you doing this to protect me?"

Chorong could only nod as she wiped her tears away.

"Thank you, unnie." It was all the words she could say, she wanted to speak more but the pain restricted her from doing so. She had no idea how kind and considerate Chorong was, her heart was truly made from the warmth of the sun, was this what a mother was like? A mother who sacrifices so many things for her child so that she wouldn't get hurt? Was this what mothers are like?

It was at that very moment, the door bell rang. It felt as if time freezed for a moment as fear consumed Chorong's thoughts.

There was no way anyone else would've known where this place was, unless their boss revealed their address to the government officials. It was the only way otherwise there wouldn't be a door bell.

Carefully, she left the room while taking a quick glance at Hayoung who already went back to sleep and walked into the living room. Taking her gun that was laying on the table, Chorong had to ready for anything. For all she could know, the enemy could be right outside. Her hide-out must've been exposed and they were definitely here to capture Hayoung back into the facility. There was no doubt about it, for sure.

Anxiety and nervousness crept into her body as the girl took small steps towards the door, the bell continiously ringing. She wondered if she would die here, she wondered if the moment she opened the door, someone would shoot her and she would just lay helplessly on the floor as the enemies would rush in and take Hayoung away from her. It all seemed like a perfect nightmare. But she had to protect Hayoung. She had to prevent her from being taken away, she could not let Eunji's sacrifice go to waste.

Holding her hand onto the knob, she took a deep breath and reloaded her gun.

"Eunji-ya, are you watching? I think I'm about to go to the same place to where you're at. Let's meet in heaven."

Thinking that it was the end, she counted till three in her head and opened the door quickly, immediately pointing the gun to whoever that was in front. Almost about to pull the trigger, the girl took one look to see who it was.

With a gasp, Chorong dropped her gun.

~X~

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do as a burst of emotions which could not be described, overflowed her body. Almost collapsing to the floor as fatigue finally took her, the person in front grabbed hold of her body tightly.

"I'm sorry." the person said. "You must've went through so much....I'm sorry....unnie...." she said as she wrapped her arms around Chorong tightly and wiped her tears.

"I thought you were dead.....I thought that you were really gone.....Eunji-ya..." Chorong sobbed.

"You can relax now, I'm here." said Eunji who seemed slightly different. She had small patches over her face to cover her wounds, her eyes were swollen and had deep eyebags, obviously the girl too did not had a good week. "But, we can talk about this later. We're leaving this place immediately. We have to save Hayoung." she continued while looking directly at her partner's eyes.

"Alright. Let me get her." said Chorong as she tried to stand up.

"No unnie, head downstairs. There's a car and my friend are there. I'll take Hayoung." insisted Eunji.

"A car? A friend?"

"They're the ones who saved my life so I'm thankful to them. But you'll be a little surprised to see who it is." said Eunji with a little snicker as she went inside.

Watching the girl laugh as if nothing happened to her, it eased Chorong's heart a little. Yet, it was still difficult to realise the reality. The fact that Eunji was never dead since the beginning and she was here, to save her.

Doing as she was told, Chorong went downstairs to the entrance of the apartment building where she saw a black car at the front. Upon first sight, there was a man at the driver's seat and he definitely did not look young. She could in fact call him an uncle despite his small size.

"Oh! You must be Chorong! Hurry up and get in! Where did Eunji go?" said the man with excitement. 

"She went to get Hayoung....you are....?"

"Sorry, you must've been in a shock right. We don't have much time before those government brats find us. Just hop on in, we will be heading straight to my place. I'm Huh Gak by the way, I used to be a scientist who worked at the facility."

"Huh Gak?" mumbled Chorong as she felt that the name was familiar. It was then, she realised that it was the name of man who rescued the once, baby Hayoung away from the facility and placed her into an orphanage so that she could grow up normally.

"Oppa, if you said it like that, she's going to get confused!" said a voice of a girl as she got out from the back, her boisterous laughter filling the air. This laughter felt, somewhat reminiscent of someone she knew.

"Don't listen to him Chorong unnie!" the girl smiled brightly as she took Chorong's hand. It was the same warmth that she had felt five years ago. It can't be. There was no way, that she could possibly be here. 

"B...Bomi?" gasped Chorong as she froze, staring at the girl.

[END OF CHAPTER 5]

A/N: It's a huge relief that Eunji isn't dead but what's more surprising is that Bomi's alive?! Just what other surprises lie ahead?! Do share your thoughts on this chapter and stay tuned for the next! Thank you for reading and subscribing!