Jiyong gently laid Sandara on the bed in his guest room. This room is usually reserved for his sister whenever she visits him. His sister, Dami, is his only living relative and she currently lives in the US with her husband.

He left the room and went into his own bedroom to take a well-deserved shower. After about twenty-minutes, he went to the kitchen and stared at the contents of his fridge. He's too keyed up to sleep. Sandara is a complication they did not expect. Right now, she's a wild card.

"Jiyong?" He heard her call for him softly. "Seungri?"

He came into the guest bedroom and found her sitting up and looking around the room with wide eyes. "Hey."

Hearing his voice, she jumped out of the bed and into his arms. "I thought you left me." He just grunted, not willing to say more. She rubbed her nose in his chest. "You smell good."

"You want a shower?" She looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Can I?"

"Here." He led her to the adjacent bathroom and showed her where everything is. "Wait here." He went into his bedroom and rifled through his clothes, looking for something small enough to fit her. He finally found a loose white shirt and a pack of unopened boxers. He added a wifebeater in the pile and his old track pants, in case she wanted them. He returned to the bathroom to find her seated on the counter patiently waiting for him. He placed the pile of clothes beside her and turned to leave.

"Jiyong?" she called him again. He could detect a faint trace of fear in her voice.

"I'll be right outside." He assured her before closing the door. He leaned on the closed door and waited until he heard the shower being . Once he could hear the water running, he moved back into the kitchen to study the food options again.

He shook his head as he considered his bare supplies. He forgot to order his groceries again. He sighed as he considered running down to the cafeteria but quickly discarded that idea since he really wasn't in the mood so he just grabbed a carton of milk, checked the expiration date and poured himself a glass.

He heard the soft patter of footsteps and he turned around to see Sandara walking towards him, still toweling off her wet hair. She was wearing his shirt and boxers. His eyes involuntarily took a peek at her exposed flesh before he turned his focus back to his milk. "You want some?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Tired." She's not used to so much activity and even though she slept for most of their drive, she was still exhausted. Too many changes, too fast, she thought.

"Then go to bed." Jiyong told her. "I'll see you in the morning."

She nodded and flashed him a quick smile. He watched her walk away from him and wondered at the ache in his chest. He put it down to exhaustion and proceeded to get ready for bed. He left his door open as a precautionary measure. Sure, he finds Sandara adorable - he scoffed- most of the time but that doesn't mean he trusts her completely.

He fell asleep with his thoughts still on the girl sleeping in the other room.

He woke up in an instant when he heard the door to the guest room open. He waited for the telltale signs of movement. He peeked at the clock on his bedside table and found that he's been asleep for just over an hour. He listened to her footsteps and deduced that she must be in the living room. He stood up and stealthily made his way towards his bedroom door. He scanned the area once but didn't find any sign of her. Trying to quell the panic her disappearance is causing, he roamed his eyes again and found her seated on the floor beside the floor to ceiling windows. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and was staring at the lights visible outside his window.

"Sandara." He saw her jolt in surprise by the sound of his voice the he also saw her calm herself down when she identified him.

Sandara laid her head on top of her knees as she continued to stare out the window. "I can't sleep." she murmured.

He sighed as he sat down in front of her. "Guess you overslept, huh."

"No. I'm really tired but I can't sleep." She faced him and somehow in the dim light, her eyes seem brighter, more luminous than usual. He watched as she ran her fingers around her ankle, the ankle where the chain used to be, and he understood. "It feels weird."

A part of him can't understand why she'd feel the loss of that ing chain and yet, he concluded that she must have lived with that chain for so many years that it feels like an extension of her. "Well. I'm not chaining you up."

"Good to know." She giggled softly. "Go back to sleep. I was just trying to see if I could find some stars."

He peered out his window. "The city lights are too bright. You won't see anything. Go to sleep."

"I tried." She huffed in frustration. "I can't."

Jiyong studied her face as she stared out his window. “Sandara..”

“Hmm?”

“Do you know your full name? Do you have family?” He asked her.

“I..” Sandara bit her lip as she tried to think of how to answer him honestly. “I really don’t know.” She admitted. She looked at him with a rueful smile. “It’s weird huh? I mean.. I must have some family.. I mean.. I couldn’t have just existed without parents.. Unless like.. Someone created me from scratch in a test tube or something.. But that’s impossible, right?”

“Do you know how long you’ve been locked up?” Jiyong asked. He refused to dwell on the tiny ache in his heart at her forlorn expression. They needed answers and he was determined to get them. At least he was until she spoke. The longing in her voice so tangible he felt he could actually grab it by the hand.

“Forever.” She murmured. “It’s all I know. Sometimes, I wonder if my family threw me away or something or maybe they’re all dead.. Because if they loved me and if they were alive, wouldn’t they do everything they can to find me?”

“Maybe they can’t.. Maybe they don’t know how..”

“You found me.”

There are so many things Jiyong could answer to that statement.

By accident.

I didn’t even know you were there.

I didn’t even want to take you with me at first.

Thank Daesung and Seungri.

But her sad expression hit him straight through the heart. The flash of hope in her eyes was impossible to ignore. He cleared his throat, already uncomfortable with the words he’s about to say but knowing that she needs those words and he needs to be the one to give them to her. “I know that if they could, they would find you or they would keep trying. I - We.. we have the means and the skills.. We were there at the right time.. They would have.. I..” He cleared his throat again. “I guess what I’m saying is that, now that you’re in my life, if you get lost again.. Know that I’ll do everything to get you back home. I’ll always find you.”

Sandara teared up at his words so she immediately looked away. Home. How long has it been since she had one? Did she ever have one? It seems like Jiyong is actually offering her a place by his side.. By their sides.. “Thank you.” she whispered, still avoiding his eyes, scared that her tears might actually fall.

Jiyong touched the braided leather bracelet on his wrist. It was a gift from his sister during her last visit. She chided him for not wearing any of her gifts so he wore the bracelet as soon as she gave it to him. It was thin enough and light enough to not be an obstruction when he’s working so he just left it there. He has never taken it off since he started wearing it.

Making a decision, he removed the bracelet. He inched closer to her and gently took her foot, placing the thin cord around her ankle. She watched him as he adjusted the bracelet, now anklet, and tapped her foot twice before releasing it. "Try to sleep." He said before standing up and leaving her staring at his retreating back.

She smiled softly at him while touching the woven leather. Throwing one last look at the lights outside his window, she made her way back to bed.  She ran her right foot up and down her left leg, smiling briefly at the familiarity of something touching her skin. She closed her eyes and thanked her guardian angels that Jiyong, and Seungri and Daesung, TOP and Youngbae were now in her life. She prayed that they really are her friends now and that they aren't just running another using her too.

________________________________

Jiyong was woken up by the knocks on his front door. He ran a hand down his face as he sat up. He went to the bathroom to do his business, taking his time, knowing full well that there would only be four people who would brave his wrath this early in the morning.

When he finally opened the door, Seungri burst inside carrying bags of food. "Hyung! What took you so long?" He complained as he set the food on Jiyong's dining table.

Youngbae, Daesung and Seunghyun followed the harried maknae inside Jiyong's suite.

"Come in. Make yourselves at home." Jiyong told them sarcastically as he closed the door.

He watched as Seungri and Daesung took the food out of the bags. He raised an eyebrow at the array of food the two were pulling out.

"I didn't know what Sandara likes so Daesung hyung and I bought a little bit of everything." Seungri announced. Jiyong threw him an incredulous stare. There were sausages, ham, french toast, fresh fruits, noodles, dumplings, bagels, fried rice, cereal, milk, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, hard boiled eggs and more.

"Okay. We may have gone a little overboard.." Daesung commented sheepishly.

"Waaah. So much food!" They all turned as Sandara excitedly made her way towards them. "Good morning!"

"Hey, Sandara. We brought breakfast." Seungri grinned as they all watched her inspect the food they brought. Every now and then she'd give a delighted gasp only to be distracted by another type of food.

"So many." she murmured. "Do you have other friends coming?"

Youngbae leaned towards her. "Seungri can actually demolish all these by himself. He bought all these for himself. He's a bottomless pit."

"Oh." she frowned a little before turning to Seungri. "Can I have just a little bit?" she asked him carefully.

"Of course! I bought this all for you! Don't believe Youngbae hyung." Seungri rushed from behind the table to where she was standing to lead her to a seat. "Come and - oh!" He turned mischievous eyes towards their leader. "OHHHHH."

Jiyong looked at him disinterestedly so the maknae continued. "What happened to your dress? I liked your dress."

"Oh. I took a shower and Jiyongie gave me clothes." She shrugged, already eying the food in front of her but she kept her hands on her sides as she looked at them expectantly.

The boys all took their seats, and started serving themselves. Jiyong noticed Sandara biting her lip as she watched them. He cocked his head as he observed her sitting on her hands, as if restraining herself.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked, wondering if she even knew how to use utensils.

She leaned close to him and whispered, "I'm not allowed to touch food that isn't on my tray."

You could hear a pin drop after her whispered confession. And yet Jiyong wonders why they're actually surprised. They chain her, tase her, isolate her, of ing course, they'd find some way to control her meals too.

"Eat whatever you want." Jiyong told her simply, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

Her eyes widened in panic. "I.. I can't." She started rocking herself. "You kno