"Once family, always a family"

 

Chapter 8

 

 

 

 

[TWO YEARS LATER]

 

 

 

Summer had arrived in downtown Seoul, everyone is in a festive mood because of the summer holidays. Everywhere you'd go, it would be crowded and packed with seas of people, hogging spaces in shopping malls, restuarants and what not. However in the midst of the bustling atmosphere, there was a lonely internet cafe tucked in the corners of Hongdae's alleyways. At first glance, it seemed pretty run-down and quite isolated as the computer seats were empty. Yet, there were sounds of keys tapping against the keyboard in a hidden area, deep down the shop. A tight space decorated with curtains to block sunlight, no one would even think there would be someone in there. It appeared to be a special area for regular customers who would spend days and nights in the cafe itself, gaming 24/7. A girl has been living in that small cubicle space for the past 48 hours now.

"Alright, come on. Let's see who's ready to take my rank." mumbled the girl, completely engrossed in the screen as she cracked her knuckles, stretched her arms and neck. Occasionally stuffing snacks and crackers into as her desk was filled with all kinds of food, greasy fries, half-eaten cup noodles, two bottles of coke, it was like a nightmare. One couldn't even imagine how she can still play her games with so many things around. With a huge tattered teddy bear sitting on her lap, the girl looked very comfortable while adjusting her spectacles as a lolipop stuck out of .

"You can do better than that." she mumbled. "Damn." she would also curse randomly out of nowhere.

It was at that moment, a rather short girl in an oversized sweater came in, wearing a black mask and pink cap over her head. She carefully scanned the area suspiciously, before greeting the staff at the counter and proceeded to head to the back as if she knew where the secret spot was. Upon opening the curtain, at first instinct, she hit the girl's head.

"Ah! That hurts y'know!" said the girl, taking out her headphones and turning around. But upon seeing who it was, she froze.

"Ah-"

"Don't ah at me! You disappeared again without telling me!"

"Unnie, calm down. I have a present for you." said the girl, adjusting her lolipop and pointing to a brown folder at the bottom of the desk.

"Gosh, this place is so damn dirty. Chorong unnie will faint if she sees this." the other girl sighed before taking the folder and flipping through.

"You shouldn't be scolding me when I managed to retrieve such a precious thing."

"Yeah, great job." said the girl as she moved her hand and pulled her ear.

"Ahhhh!! Why are you pulling my ear when I did a great job on this?!" said Hayoung, experiencing the pain in silence.

"Because you didn't even reply my texts since yesterday! You had me so worried, I thought something happened to you but here you are, just playing your games again. What do I do with you seriously, Hayoung-ah? Since when have you become so rebellious?" she sighed. "Are you going through your puberty now?"

"Unnie, I'm already 20 years old. I've already gone puberty long ago. Now, you've got the file with you so you should head back to the lab? I'm sure Huh Gak oppa would love to check on those."

"And you're coming with me." said Eunji as she turned the computer screen off with her quick hands.

"Unnie! That was a ranking game!" said Hayoung in frustration.

"Be a good girl and listen to your dad. Your mother misses you."

"Alright." said Hayoung as soon as Chorong was brought into the topic. She always had a soft side for her. After all, it was all thanks to her mother who wanted to put her trust and belief that she could be outside in the society, freely doing what she wants. She could truly feel what a mother's love was like and she did not want to disappoint her.

 

 

 

 

[FLASHBACK]

 

 

 

Both Eunji and Bomi froze upon seeing the younger girl in front of their sight. It didn't even make sense anymore, how did she even escape without using the main entrance? Was there a hidden entrance somewhere else? If yes, how did she find that out? Did someone else help her escape? Although they had many questions, but at first instinct, they had to bring her back. It was far too dangerous to have Hayoung even stand outside, knowing that at any moment, the police or even the military could pop out of nowhere and take her away.

"Hayoung-ah, why do you never listen?" sighed Eunji, speechless as she sort of expected her rebel daughter to do something. She knew that there was no way, she was going to stay put in the lab. She wasn't angry nor annoyed, because she understood how she must've felt.

"Eunji, you didnt tell me your daughter was this daring." whispered Bomi, somehow flustered as she was more afraid of imagining Chorong getting angry. The 93-liners were more scared at thought of Park Chorong rather than the safety of Hayoung in this very moment.

"Unnie." said Hayoung as she stood bravely in front of her unnies. "I know that you want to protect me. I understand your worries but, I cannot just sit and watch. I have to do something. I want to do something too!" the girl was insistent and stubborn.

The same-aged friends looked at each other, confused yet flustered. They had no idea what to do in that very situation. It was right to force the girl back into the lab but at the same time, she understood how Hayoung felt. Of course, they could just let Hayoung join them but the only worry was what would've happened when Chorong found out. The two former-agents knew the older girl from the back of her palm and could already predict what kind of things the girl would do. It would be absolutely hectic and stressful because for sure, Chorong would never be able to sleep properly, forever spending nights worrying over the safety of Hayoung.

It was always like that, whenever Bomi or Eunji got hurt on previous missions. The girl who always took good care of the two with so much of love, they have already accepted and respected the fact that Chorong was definitely the leader in the team. It wasn't because of age-wise, but because of her warm heart as well. She was both a natural-born leader, mother and friend.

"Hayoung-ah." said Eunji as she walked to her daughter, holding her hands tightly and gently touching her cheek. "I know how you feel but I am in no power to allow you to that. Listen to me for once. Go back. Properly tell them your feelings, tell your mom that you really want to join us. I can't let Chorong unnie spend nights worrying about her, because I love her too." the girl said gently in a soft tone, so that Bomi couldn't hear her confession.

"Unnie...." Hayoung's eyes widened upon hearing that. For some reason, she felt a sense of happiness, glad that her parents finally accepted their feelings for each other. After all, she was the one who noticed it first, before anyone else. But, her dad's words were the truth. She was so blinded with her own goals, she didn't even consider how others might feel, if she just left like that.

Perhaps, she was just too young and mischievious but from now, she wanted to learn how to be a good kid. A good child, for her parents.

"Alright. I'll go back to the lab and properly ask Chorong unnie for permission. Not just mom but everyone else." nodded Hayoung.

"That's my girl. Let's go." smiled Eunji in relief as she gently pinched her cheek.

"What are you two whispering and smiling about over there?" said Bomi, just watching the two getting intimate and close.

"Nothing. Come on Bomi-ya, let's bring Hayoung back to the lab." said Eunji.

"That's fast." said Bomi with surprise.

"Of course, my daughter listens to me well." sneered Eunji proudly.

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

By the time the three reopened the hidden entrance, returning back into the lab, they wondered what kind of situation they would find themselves in. As the door opened gently, allowing the trapped air of the chemical-like scent from the lab bursting through, the girls walked through as they could distantly hear the voices of Huh Gak, Chorong, Naeun and Namjoo from afar. Carefully heading nearer to their voices, the three girls were gathered at the canteen, engaged in a deep discussion.

Eunji stopped Bomi from entering, pulling her shoulder back as she placed her finger over her lips, as if wanting to eavesdrop their conversation. 

"Unnie, what can we do? I've known Hayoung for so long, I already knew that this was going to happen anyway. She's the type that will never let herself sit around while others do the work." said Namjoo.

"You could've stopped her. You were the one that gave her the key to the other entrance." said Chorong coldly with a heavy sigh.

"S-Sorry...I just had too..." said Namjoo as her voice got softer.

"I'm sure those two will force her back. Don't worry unnie." said Naeun trying to comfort the uneasy girl.

"Everyone's looking for her, the government, the military, there's a huge search team out there, hunting her down, does it look like we can stay calm?" said Huh Gak.

"Oppa, don't say that. You'll only make Chorong unnie feel worse." frowned Namjoo.

"And whose fault was it?" asked Huh Gak, glancing at the girl who later responded in silence, aware of her mistakes.

It was then, without even hesitation, Hayoung showed herself out of her own will. She had enough of hearing them talk, about her. She wanted to explain to them properly, instead of just running away out of accord. She wanted to stand brave, confident and try her best to convince everyone to let her out, despite the dangers lurking. She was ready for the consequences be it, whether Chorong was going to hit her, scold her, she was prepared.

"Unnie." Hayoung could only say one word, appearing in front of everyone who looked at her with wide open eyes. Eunji and Bomi soon followed her behind, revealing themselves.

"Hayoung-ah...." gasped Chorong as she stood up immediately, upon seeing her. Walking towards her, there was a sense of relief in her heart yet a mix of anger and frustration as well.

The younger girl flinched as Chorong lifted her arms, thinking that she was going to punish her for what she has done. But instead, Chorong brought her into a tight, warm embrace.

"You idiot!" said Chorong, not letting go of Hayoung.

"Unnie...." said Hayoung as she slowly, yet awkwardly wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry. But, I didn't come back to stay. I came back to tell you properly that I want to go. Out there."

"Hayoung-ah..." said Chorong as she looked up at the girl, her heart falling upon hearing the news.

"Are you crazy? What are you going to do when they capture you? Are you going to accept your fate and be tortured like a subject?" said Huh Gak, hugely opposing her choice.

"Unnie, please believe in me. I may still be young but I want to learn a lot of things. By going back there, I can learn to protect myself, learn more about life and understand what path I should be walking on. I was not born to be kept away was I?" asked Hayoung calmly, ignoring Huh Gak.

Hearing her words, Chorong was surprised at how mature she has become. The girl who used to have no confidence in herself, who wanted to shy away from the world and even end her life at one point, wanted to be strong.

"Hayoung-ah, I understand what you mean but do you even realise how dangerous it's going to be?" said Naeun trying to talk sense into the girl.

Bomi, Eunji and Namjoo kept silent as deeply in their hearts, they supported Hayoung's choice. But they knew that they were in no power to support her because now, this was Hayoung's battle.

"There's plenty of things you can learn here. There is no need for you to be outside in that war zone. A girl like you shouldn't be learning how to fight, you should just stay here and help me out on the experiments." said Huh Gak, persistent and wanting to persuade her.

"I don't want to do that! I want to learn how to fight like Bomi unnie, Eunji unnie and Chorong unnie! You already have Naeun and Namjoo unnie to help you!"

"How dare you talk back to me like-"

"Enough." said Chorong. All it took was one word to silence the two's bickering. Although Huh Gak was older, for some reason, Chorong had a powerful aura and had the ability to even control the head scientist herself. Indeed, when she's mad, it was game over.

"Hayoung-ah." said Chorong as she looked at her. Lifting her hand, Hayoung flinched thinking that she was going to hit her but instead, Chorong gently touched her cheek. "I guess this is how mothers feel when their children is all grown up and ready to head out huh?" she smiled sadly.

"Unnie..." The girl slowly smiled, somehow understanding what those words meant.

"A mother should believe in their children right? If that's the case, I want to put my trust on you. When you go out there, you have to follow whatever Bomi and Eunji says, tell them when you're hungry so that you can eat good food, tell them when you're tired so that you can rest and most importantly, don't forget about the people who are always praying for your safety. Please, be careful." said Chorong as she fixed Hayoung's shirt.

"Chorong-ah, if she dies-" said Huh Gak.

"I will take responsibilty for this." said Chorong, speaking ahead before the man could continue his words.

"Fine." sighed the man, giving up. He could not win over the power of family.

"Unnie.....thank you." said Hayoung with a bright smile. Eunji who looked on, smiled as well because she believed in Chorong. She believed that she would make the right decision.

"I knew it! Alright, let's go prepare your things Hayoung-ah! You can't just go empty-handed like that." said Namjoo in joy.

"That's right, we should pack some snacks! Let's go!" said Bomi excitedly.

"The two of you aren't going for a vacation you know?" said Naeun.

"Unnie." said Hayoung.

"What?"

"I...I....I love you." mumbled Hayoung with a blush, finding it awkward to say those words.

"Who do you love?" said Chorong with a tease.

"Me or her?" asked Eunji butting in.

"Both.."

"No Hayoung-ah, you can only choose your dad or your mom."

"Unnie~" whined Hayoung to which both Chorong and Eunji laughed.

 

 

 

 

Family. They are always there for us, no matter what.

 

 

 

 

[END OF FLASHBACK]

 

 

 

Looking back at these memories from two years ago, Hayoung sat on the public bus with her dad, Eunji back to the lab, she wondered how Chorong unnie has been. A lot of things happened the moment they returned back to the society. 

The three-man team tried to infiltrate the facility twice, both in failure as the guards spotted them. With much luck, they managed to escape and spent months living in run-down motels and away from the public eye. Whenever they ate at a restuarant or bought things, people would look at them weirdly because they covered their faces. Some would've thought that they were celebrites but no one would've think that they were wanted people by the government. But luckily in a turn of events, as they often returned back to the lab to deliver reports that they have successfully stolen from other places, Huh Gak gained a new ally. Choi Jin Ho.

Thanks to this powerful man, the lab has shifted from the abadoned garage to a whole 7-floor apartment complex by itself, located right in between the Seoul city and countryside. It was stragetically placed in an area where it was difficult for the government to locate their hiding spot and it was definitely good news, as everyone could live normally without having to hide underground. The new home also gave scientist Huh Gak plenty of room to continue his research together with his assistants, Chorong, Naeun and Namjoo. Not only that, there was now a new spy who secretly worked in the facility but was instead, sending out information to Huh Gak, giving him updates on what was happening inside. That man, was Choi Tae Joon. And strangely enough, ever since his appearence, Bomi has gotten rather feminine throughout the years. It was to a point where she even cut her hair to look more younger and cuter with that style.

"Why are you suddenly laughing unnie?" whined Bomi as she returned back to the apartment, after finishing a mission where she did a scouting of the government's movements.

"I still can never get used to your hair." said Chorong trying to hold her laughter. "It doesn't match well with you." she continued.

"W-Whatever, Taejoon oppa finds it cute." pouted Bomi as she headed downstairs to the lab and handed in some reports to Huh Gak.

"Good work. You should rest for the day. I'll need some time to decipher what's written here." said Huh Gak with a smile.

"Thank you Gak oppa!" bowed Bomi as she ran back upstairs. "IS ANYONE HUNGRY?!" she shouted.

"I AM~" shouted Namjoo immediately in response from upstairs.

"I'm kinda hungry too..." said Naeun coming out of her room.

"Guess I'll have to cook again.." sighed Chorong with a smile, to think that she had to take care of these big-sized children and headed straight into the spacious, wood and marble kitchen. "I hope Hayoung comes back today" she mumbled while taking ingredients out of the fridge.

"Let me help out." said Naeun.

"Me too." said Namjoo.

"Me three!" said Bomi.

"No, the three of you will make a mess. Just wait at the living room, watch some television or something." instructed Chorong.

"Oh right, I forgot that she only allows Eunji unnie to help her. What were we thinking?" sneered Namjoo as she brought Naeun and Namjoo out of the kitchen.

"Of course! When two lovebirds are together, the food is more delicious." said Bomi with a tease.

It was already far too obvious to everyone that eventually, Chorong and Eunji's secret love was already revealed. Although Eunji had no problem having it exposed and sometimes, openly doing skinship to her, Chorong was embarrased and shy.

It was at that moment, the three girls heard the sound of a knife sharpening loudly in the kitchen.

"What did you say again, Bomi-ya?" asked Chorong with a creepy grin.

"Uh....NOTHING~~~~~" said Bomi, feeling a sense of uneasiness as she quickly ran out like a kid, hiding herself on the sofa.

Like a group of children returning home after school, the atmosphere in the apartment complex was bubbly and bright. Filled with laughter and giggles, if only days like these could last forever.

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

Aroma of Chorong's cooking smoked the apartment block as Bomi and Namjoo were watching a food programme on the television while Naeun was reading a book related to arts. Ever since they have been freed from staying underground, the "resurrected" girls have been enjoying life freely while being very careful of not interacting too much with society in fear that they may bump into someone whom they have known and accepted their "deaths". 

It was rare to have days like this, to relax and not care about anything. The past week had been busy as they were this close to achieving the final piece of information to make the perfect antitode to save the world. With much success, the antitode was already 80% complete and Huh Gak had insisted that the girls had some rest as this was now, his job now. 

It was then the doorbell rang loudly.

"Oh?! That has to be Eunji!" said Bomi excitedly as she ran to the door, peeking through the hole.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" shouted Bomi as she noticed that it wasn't just Eunji but Hayoung too.

"Unnie, can't you be quiet for even one minute?" Namjoo sighed as she rolled her eyes. Naeun didn't even bother reacting as she was too focused reading her book, Bomi's behavior had been so typical, it was no longer a surprise to see her like that.

"I mean- Chorong's unnie going to be really happy!" said Bomi, lowering down her voice so that Chorong wouldn't hear her in the kitchen.

"What? Don't tell me-" said Namjoo as she got up from the couch, heading towards the door.

"Eunji finally found her." smiled Bomi widely as she unlocked the door. "EUNJI-YA!!" greeted the girl loudly with her arms wide open. She had not seen her friend for over a month now.

"What took you so long to open the door?" said Eunji as she hit her friend's forehead.

"Hey, is that the first thing you do upon seeing me in like one month?" pouted Bomi.

"Anyways, where Gak oppa? This daughter of mine is really troublesome, the moment I let go my sight of her, she just disappears but suddenly returns with all these important documents which I have no idea where she gets it from." said Eunji breaking out in her usual Busan accent while waving the brown file that Hayoung gave to her.

"He's downstairs. You really came back in the right moment, Chorong unnie was just cooking lunch." 

"Wonderful. I'm sure she misses her cooking, right?" said Eunji as she turned to Hayoung who was instead, engrossed in her phone. "Hey." frowned Eunji as she gently hit Hayoung's forehead.

"Huh? What?" asked Hayoung, obviously not listening to their conversation.

"Stop playing those games and go to your mom." said Eunji with a frown, pushing her daughter inside while she and Bomi headed to where Huh Gak was.

The younger girl felt awkward entering, as it had been a long time since she had returned and it just felt weird coming back "home".

"Hayoung-ah!" greeted Namjoo with a bright smile, surprised to see the girl around.

"You're back." said Naeun as she put her book down as the two girls were indeed elated to see her, touching her hands and scanning her from top to bottom, making sure that she wasn't hurt anywhere for the past month.

"Unnies..you don't need to touch me like that...." mumbled Hayoung shyly.

"Hey, you should stop working so hard and rest for a bit y'know? You have no idea how much we missed you!" said Namjoo hugging her.

"I did rest though...." 

"Playing video games all day is not considered a rest." said Naeun as she crossed her arms, obviously against the girl's worrying addiction.

"A-Anyways, where's mom?' asked Hayoung with a nervous laugh.

"It feels so weird to hear you calling her that. She's in the kitchen. I'm sure she will be the happiest to see you." said Naeun.

"We had a hard time y'know, she keeps asking us how are you even though we can't contact you." whispered Namjoo.

"Right...." said Hayoung nervously, her eyes faltering. "I'll go to her first, after all I got a gift for her." she smiled.

"What about me?" pouted Namjoo as she had her hands out.

"Yeah, no gifts for us?" asked Naeun.

"Uh....maybe next time..." said Hayoung as she escaped, running off to the kitchen.

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the two same-aged friends headed down to the basement where the lab was. It was definitely much larger and spacious than before, there were more machines and plenty of space to do experiements freely. Head scientist Huh Gak basically lived here, working very hard to make the perfect antitode. More recently, he has had sleepless nights because it was getting closer to completion thanks to the information he had recieved from everyone. It was all good research that was not put to waste, their efforts to retrieve them will definitely shine.

"Gak oppa! I have a present for you!" said Eunji cheerfully, heading towards the man in his tattered white coat.

"Oh Eunji-ya, you're back. That's a relief." said Huh Gak, happy to see her.

"Hayoung's back too." said Bomi.

"Oh really?" asked Huh Gak with surprise.

"And she got this for you. Have a look at it." said Eunji as she handed him the brown file.

"What's this? Please don't tell me that girl is pulling pranks on me again..." said Huh Gak suspiciously as he flipped through. But instead, his eyes widened upon reading the content. "This is....."

"What is it oppa?" said the two friends in unison.

"Where in the world did Hayoung get this?!" gasped Huh Gak.

"I have no idea. When we left one month ago to visit the parliment building, we failed to find anything there. But one day, Hayoung and I were eating dinner and I went to pay the bill. The moment I let my eyes off her, she was gone. I spent so many days hunting for her and all of a sudden, she's shows up her usual internet cafe and had this brown file out of nowhere." said Eunji, explaining what happened during their mission.

"This file contains every single details written by the head scientist at the facility himself. Do you see these? It's all of his handwritings and signatures. To make it simple, we just got the whole blueprint of their experiments. You can only get this from the office itself."

"What?!' said the two girls in unison. Looking at each other dumbfoundedly, "How in the world did that girl even obtain that?" they wondered.

"Either way, this is great news! We now know their objectives, we even have the whole layout map of the facility so we can discuss how to infiltrate it and save all the children. Not only that, there's also secret research notes and military movements in this file itself. This is just-"

"Calm down oppa. I know you're excited but the two of us don't get it. We're just going to take a break and eat lunch while you'll just do your work okay?" said Eunji, not wanting to listen to Huh Gak's science ramble.

"Alright. I want you two and everyone to have a good rest because it looks like we're about to get even busier." said Huh Gak.

"Uh whatever, I'm going to get some food. Let's go Bomi-ya." said the 93-liners, ignoring the scientist as they went back upstairs.

"Are you even listening?!" sighed the man, giving up on controling the girls.

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

Back at the kitchen, Chorong had almost finished cooking all of the dishes for lunch. She had no idea that Hayoung was watching her from behind quietly. The younger girl felt awkward and shy, having to meet her after so long. She felt guilty at one point because she didn't obey her words. She didn't listen to her unnies and did reckless things again. Hiding a file behind her back, Hayoung took a deep breath and knocked against the door.

"Chorong unnie...." said Hayoung carefully.

The older girl turned around immediately, as her voice felt very familar. Upon seeing her face, she smiled as she stopped whatever she was doing, walked straight to her and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"I'm glad that you're in one piece. Welcome back home, Hayoung-ah."

"Sorry for not coming back often. It's been about one month right?"

"It's okay. All that matters is that you're back." The older girl smiled, touching her all over and fixing her disheveled hair.

"That's why, I brought a present for you."

"Aigoo, you shouldn't do that. Use the money for food. Don't buy me useless things."

"Unnie, it's something you can't buy with money." said Hayoung with a smile.

The older girl looked at her confused, wondering what it was.

"Take a look at it unnie." the younger girl finally revealed the file that she was hiding behind her back and gave it to her.

"What's this?" the girl wondered as there was a piece of paper inside. Upon taking it out, she gasped.

"Hayoung-ah..." said Chorong, flustered and surprised at what that piece of paper was.

It was an official certificate of adoption that was legally approved by the mayor, stating that Hayoung is now an adopted child under Park Chorong and Jung Eunji.

"I'm awesome right?" grinned the younger girl widely.

Chorong looked at the certificate again.

"Hey, you just randomly photoshopped it and printed it out did you?" she asked with a tease.

"Unnie~ it's the real thing! You have no idea how hard it was to get this!" whined Hayoung with a pout.

"What's with all the noise? I'm hungry." said Eunji entering the kitchen. "I'm back Chorong unnie~" she proceeded to place her arms around Chorong's hips and gently pecked her forehead.

"Oh god, can you guys get a room or something?" said Hayoung, feeling uncomfortable to see her parents getting intimate in front of her.

"What's this? Adoption certificate? Hey, did you just went and photoshop this?" said Eunji, checking the paper and joining in the tease.

"Not you too." sighed Hayoung, disappointed that her parents didn't believe her.

"Why don't you go and sit down with Namjoo, Naeun and Bomi? I'll go help unnie with the food." said Eunji, not letting go of Chorong as she gently pushed Hayoung out, as if indirectly telling her that they needed time alone.

"But the certificate..." pouted Hayoung sadly.

"We're just joking." smiled Eunji brightly. "Thank you Hayoung-ah." the girl continued as she gently pecked her forehead.

"Omo, her face is growing red. It's cute." giggled Chorong watching the maknae growing silent upon the sudden kiss. "Thank you Hayoung-ah~" the girl continued as she kissed her own palm and placed it on Hayoung's cheek.

"I can't believe my parents like to tease me so much..." sighed Hayoung as she finally broke into smile, somehow relieved that her efforts to get the adoption certificate was not wasted. She was happy, to legally become an adoption child of Chorong and Eunji.

It was like a dream come true. 

Because Hayoung had always dreamed, of having a family and feeling loved. 

In fact, her family just became bigger.

With her big sisters, Bomi, Naeun and Namjoo as well as her sometimes, annoying uncle Huh Gak, there was nothing more she could ask.

The girl who once gave up the hope of being loved and was about to take her own life, found a new path to walk to. It was all because, she had a family now. A family who truly loved her.

 

 

 

~X~

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent with everyone chilling at the apartment, a rare moment for them to rest after working so hard for two years straight. With a delicious lunch and plenty of hours to do whatever they wanted freely, they wanted to enjoy every minute they could together because they knew it would not last forever. Because things were going to get busier, they could feel it. And they could tell, that more danger was lying ahead as time continued to tick by.

Naeun headed back to her room after lunch, engrossed in reading her art-related books. Bomi and Namjoo stayed downstairs at the living room to watch a food programme while the two lovebirds Chorong and Eunji were left alone, washing dishes together in the kitchen. But Hayoung on the other hand, wasn't someone who could stay still in one spot.

Immediately after lunch, she headed to her bedroom and started packing things into her bag. Swiftly and sneakily, she headed out to the entrance hoping that she could pass-by Bomi and Namjoo without getting caught. But of course, the girls knew Hayoung far too well.

"Hayoung-ah. Where are you going now? Can't you like stay still and rest for even one moment?" asked Namjoo with worry.

"That's right, I understand that you're always working hard but you're always making us worry y'know? At least tell us where you're going." said Bomi in agreement.

"Unnie, it's not like I'm going to disappear again for another month." said Hayoung, frozen in her steps.

"Yeah, sure. You did that before. That excuse doesn't work." said Namjoo rolling her eyes.

"Hayoung-ah, don't tell me you're going back to the internet cafe again?!" said Bomi, having an idea.

"Uhh...." laughed the younger girl nervously as she avoided eye contact.

"Oh my god, do have like a video game addiction or something?" sighed Namjoo.

"Just don't tell mom about it, please?" pleaded Hayoung with a cheeky smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Define family; a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.

But a family is more than just that,

They are our pillars of support,

Our roots of love,

And the ones whom we put our trust in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[THE END]

 

 

 

 

 

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A/N: Thank you everyone for reading "Don't Tell Mom!" I hope that it was a fun adventure and honestly, i wanted to try writing something different from my usual Apink fanfics so I honestly wasn't expecting much haha. The ending for "Don't Tell Mom" is rather open-ended and leaves a big question as it is up to the readers to imagine what comes next. Will they succeed and save the world? Or will they break down in despair? It is all up to you now~! With "Don't Tell Mom" over, let's gear up for Apink's comeback on 26th June!

Once again, thank you! -pinkpanda419

 

P.S: I'll be taking a short break before working on a Apink new fanfic ^^