"You have done so much damage to the Lee Corporations pride. It's about time you pay, Miss Jung Eunji."

"What the do you want from me?"

"500 million in cash."

"The ?!"

"I'm only giving you 12 hours. 6pm at Seoul Port, otherwise your children shall feel what it's like to have their heads blown off. Time is ticking. Let the game begin." the man murmured before ending the call.

"!" shouted Eunji as she slammed her phone.

"What's wrong Eunji-ya?" asked Chorong, knowing something was definitely wrong. The girls looked at her with worry, confusion. She has never seen Eunji this angry in a long time, in fact since seven years ago.

"Alright. We're pretty ed. Anyways, I'll tell you guys everything in the car. All of you are coming with me. Right now. Chorong unnie, you're driving." said Eunji in a rush tossing the keys to the girl while dragging her wife along as they headed to Eunji's car parked outside.

The girls obeyed as they felt something was up. Quickly closing the restaurant, Chorong was at the wheel and everyone else seated with the engine running, they were ready.

"Where to?" asked Chorong.

"Son Corporations office."

"Alright." said Chorong without questioning. She too, had a very strange feeling under .

Seated in front, Eunji was busy dialing another person. She seemed quite anxious, nervous and clearly not in her right mind. Taking a deep breath, she was trying to calm down because she remembered how being angry, would never get her anywhere.

"Hello? Seungyoon-ah, you're still at the office right? Yeah, something really big happened and I need help. No, we need help." said Eunji as the call went through.

Unlike seven years ago, the girl acted more calmly and thought more rationally. Perhaps, she had gotten used to situations like these ever since the incidents surrounding Taemin. Maybe, she has really matured. Instead of reacting aggressively, Eunji was more clear-headed and thought of several plans to counter back an old enemy. 

An old enemy that took her by surprise.

It's 12am. A time where most people would start to sleep soundly and drift into dreamland while others, would still party deep into the night. But for Hayoung, she was going through a round of anxiety, a nightmare she did not sign up for. Sitting restlessly in the cab as it drove to her old office building located in Gangnam, she took deep breaths to calm her uneasy heart. She wanted to almost kill herself because she couldn't stop thinking of what might've happened to her wife, Namjoo. 

Would she be ? Would she be killed? Would she be tortured?

"ing hell, I hate this."

The moment the taxi stopped its wheels, Hayoung just tossed the money and rushed out. Walking with quick steps as she entered the dark building, climbing up the stairs as the lifts wouldn't function at that time as she arrived at the 6th floor, where her friend was. 

"I knew this would happen. Sorry for not warning you about this Hayoung-ah." said Yerin as she looked at her friend before giving her a document that contained a profile record of Sungjae. "He's already part of my case for many years now."

"I thought he was a good person? What the happened to him?" asked Hayoung, a bit more calmer than before as she flipped through the pages.

"About five years ago, Sungjae assaulted a person while drunk. It wasn't just a one time thing. He soon started randomly attacking people or even used to drugs to keep himself alive. I had to step in. It was later diagnosed as a mental health problem because he was suffering emotionally since the death of his wife. He had been in the mental hospital since. Well, he was in a mental hospital until like 48 hours ago." she sighed.

"He ing escaped did he?"

"Namjoo called him and he acted like nothing was wrong. When he realised that your wife was coming back from Seoul, he made the opportunity and escaped the mental hospital he was in, camouflaged his own identity, probably stole some money from somewhere and planned to meet her. Look Hayoung-ah, I want you to calm down. I'm not sure what his motives are. The worst possible thing is that he's either out there to bait you over. There's no reason for Sungjae to get angry at Namjoo but it's probably quite explainable with you. Since well, you had a one night stand with Joy once." Yerin said.

". What's the plan?" sighed Hayoung.

"Based on my calculations, Sungjae is probably going to call you anytime now and will ask you to meet somewhere. He's going to be out there to kill you Hayoung-ah. But don't worry, I've called the police corps to cover your back. There is a plan but you have to do it, no matter what." said Yerin calmly as she took something out from her pocket.

"What do you mean?"

"We've recieved permission from the authorities so don't worry, you won't get charged or sent to jail. You have to kill Sungjae yourself." the girl continued as she handed Hayoung a gun onto her palm.

"You want me to ing kill my wife's friend?!"

"Sungjae is mentally ill and there's no other way of treating him anymore. He's gone insane. You're the only one who can do it. Make the bang count and the police will rush in at that moment, depending on what location he plans to meet you." 

"But Yerin-ah!" said Hayoung with much hesitation.

In that very moment, Hayoung's phone rang.

It was coming.

The ringer on the call, was Sungjae.

"WHAT THE FLIPPING ?!" shouted Bomi out loud, after hearing Eunji's explaination. The fact that it wasn't just Haneul, Haeun but her own daughter Eunha being kidnapped and involved in this mess, enraged the girl even more.

"Bom-ah, calm down!" said Chorong as she held onto her wife's hands tightly.

The three girls were shocked. Angry. Upset. And also, confusion. Never before had they gone through so many emotions at once.

"Everyone we need to ing calm down." sighed Eunji.

"Well do you have a ing plan?! My daugher's life is on this!' said Bomi, ears boiling red.

"I do! So calm the down Bom-ah!" shouted Eunji. "We're going to meet Seungyoon. He can help us. I'm sure of it."

Deep into midnight, the girls parked the car at the still-luxurious basement carpark of the Son Corporations building before taking the lift up to the highest floor. Ever since taking over the company with Naeun's father's complete trust, Kang Seungyoon who was formerly an undercover cop and also had experience in both business and law, became the next CEO. With his quite pressuring title, he worked hard day and night. Even at this late hour, he still works and it was sheer luck, that he was still in office.

"Sorry for disturbing you at this hour Seungyoon-ah. You were probably going to go home right?" said Eunji as she entered the CEO's room that felt so familiar.

"No, it's alright. In fact, I had been expecting you." said the man as he greeted the other girls, of course bowing more lower when it came to Naeun.

"You mean, you've kept them on close watch this whole time?" asked Eunji confused.

"Of course. I'm still an undercover cop after all." said Seungyoon as he looked at the girls. "The man on the phone is not Lee Taemin. He died at the point of my gun seven years ago. The one behind all this, is his stepbrother Kim Jongin or rather known as Kai. He has no relation with the company at all but since his brother's death, he swore revenge and to build back the empire his brother and father tried so hard to establish. I don't know why he has been keeping quiet all these years. Maybe waiting for the right bait but that doesn't matter for now." said Seungyoon explaning the situation calmly.

"What are we going to do? Where the are we going to get 500 million?!" said Bomi, slightly controlling her anger since she was in front of a CEO.

"Obviously, we won't play their way. We play it the Kang way." smirked Seungyoon as he took out a sheet of paper from his drawer.

"You have a plan don't you?" asked Eunji, slowly feeling calmer because she trusted her friend.

"Of course I do. I've been watching them for years. I was waiting just for this day. Here's how it goes everyone." he said as he began to scribble on the paper.

She felt like she was going crazy. Sitting in the car Yerin was driving as she placed her hands in her pocket, feeling the cold metal touch of the gun inside. It was making her mad at the thought of killing someone. Although she had never told anyone this before, but she had recieved training before, well a long time ago. She learned how to use an actual gun in a simple training exercise when she applied for the job. Certainly, her job wasn't just about being a lawyer. In fact, she never told anyone nor even her wife of what the true nature of job really was.

She wasn't just a lawyer. But a lawyer who worked closely with the police. And by police, the undercover police.

With the brakes pulled over, the girls arrived at an abandoned construction site. 

"I'm ing scared Yerin-ah. What if I get hurt? I might die!" said Hayoung, not in her right mind.

"Don't worry. Do you see those shadows over there? The police squad are already doing their work and surrounding the area. All you have to do is pretend that you came here alone, following Sungjae's orders. If you can't kill him, we've got a sniper ready at the top. Just do your best Hayoung-ah!" said Yerin as she held onto her shoulder to give support.

"That doesn't ing help." sighed Hayoung as she got out, slammed the door and walked to the large gate that had a big sign as "NO ENTRY". The giant padlocks and chains that were supposed to lock the gates together were scattered all over the ground, evident that someone has broken through and used the place as a hiding ground. What more obvious could it get? This was Sungjae's little hideout after his escape from the mental hospital.

As the tall girl walked anxiously through the dead silent building, unpainted pillars, incomplete walls that zoomed past her vision, she soon saw a bright light ahead. It looked like a light at the end of a tunnel. As she got nearer, she clenched her fists. In the middle of an open area with two lights dangling from the half-edged ceiling was her wife, seated in the centre, hands tied behind a chair as she was unconcious.

"What the did he do to you?!" cursed Hayoung.

"So you're finally here. It took you almost forever." said a familiar voice as Hayoung turned around. There he was. The bastard. Yook Sungjae.

Even at one look into his eyes, anyone could tell that he has gone completely insane. His eyes were soaked red, his lips were trembling, eyebags deeper than the sea and pale, rotten skin all over. He was in a really, bad shape.

"Love really can change someone completely. He was such a nice oppa but now, he's ing crazy."

"What do you want, Sungjae....oppa...." said Hayoung reluctantly, thinking that the man doesn't even deserve his "oppa" title anymore.

"It's smart of you to move on so quickly. Don't worry, I didn't do anything to Namjoo. All I did was drugged her into a sleep. She'll wake up....soon enough anyway." smirked the man.

"Yeah because you just want me. My wife's got nothing to do with this." said Hayoung, somehow looking confident as she faced the man who was nothing more than an enemy to her eyes. She assumed it would be easy to tackle Sungjae with his current condition. He looked so measly and weak due to his consumption of drugs. It was almost as if the wind could blow him away.

"I should be able to pin him down at least."

"Don't you know how long I've waited? For all my life?!"

"You've gone crazy oppa."

"Joy will be happy. She will be so happy right now looking at me from the skies. So happy that the one who killed her will finally go to hell." said Sungjae as his eyes changed.

"" 

Hayoung knew at that moment, it was about to get dangerous. She took a step back, one hand inside her pocket as she carefully loaded the gun. Sungjae kept walking towards her in a very slow yet creepy manner.

"I will kill you. Kill you. KILL YOU!" said Sungjae as he suddenly took out a knife from his pocket and started dashing towards Hayoung. He was no longer an actual human. The man in front of her was nothing but a monster. A zombie.

It was then, a loud bang echoed the courtyard.

Before it slowly resounded back into a dead silence.

Dawn had arrived in Seoul. Along the port, there was a cold breeze dashing across, strong winds pushed through as it was an hour where everyone would still be asleep. Even the ones who partied all night. It was 4am.

Mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal, it was not over yet. After planning it out with Seungyoon, the girls got straight into the plan. With a suitcase in the car, they were ready to send the presumed 500 milion in exchange for their children.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Eunji as she turned to look at them. She felt sorry for involving everyone into this.

"I just hope this goes well." sighed Chorong.

"You'd better ing owe me a meal or something." mumbled Bomi.

"Let's go." said Naeun as she interwined her fingers with Eunji. Holding onto her warm hands, was all the girl needed to feel strong.

"Here we go guys." said Eunji as she got out of the car first, carrying the suitcase as the others followed behind.

Walking into the spacious yet ghost-like port, there were many large ships docked at the corner.

"Hold onto me tightly unnie. No matter what happens I'l protect you." said Bomi, carefully wrapping her arms around hers.

"Do you think we'll die?" the older girl asked.

"I won't let you die when I'm around. Who's gonna be there to nag Eunha?" 

"But if you die, who's gonna entertain her and make Eunha laugh?"

"Good point." said Bomi, noticing she had been cornered by Chorong's words.

"Um, I can hear you guys and that's honestly not making the situation any better." said Eunji interrupting the couple's moment.

"Shut up, I was trying to get the vibe okay?" said Bomi.

"I still can't believe you can joke around in a situation like this." sighed Eunji.

"But it's Bomi unnie we're talking about." chuckled Naeun.

Thanks to Bomi's little, random antics, they were able to feel a bit calmer as they were about to meet with the mysterious man, known as Kai.

From afar, they were able to see a group of men in white suits. Clearly, they had to be Kai's bodyguards. It was like the same incident all over again, seven years ago. There was a man who was slightly taller, rather dark skin and had quite sharp features on his face. Anyone could tell that was Kai. Beside him was a large, black van. No one knows what it was there for.

"Here you go. The promised 500 million." said Eunji, calmly as she handed the suitcase.

Immediately, Kai signalled his bodyguards to take it as they opened the case. The money was there. Thick and full. It was really 500 million. Making sure that the deal was sold, Kai then signalled his bodyguards to open the trunk of the van, showing the three children, sleeping soundly unhurt.

"Eunha-ya!" shouted Bomi to which the girl slowly rubbed her eyes, waking up from her slumber.

"M..Mom?" mumbled the girl. This also caused the other two children to wake up.

"Mom!" said Haeun with a bright smile. Haneul on the other hand however, felt very nervous and simply smiled awkwardly upon the sight of his parents. "Hi...Mom...."

Eunha and Haeun both ran into the arms of their parents while Haneul walked slowly, gulped as he stared at his mother, Eunji who obviously didn't look very happy. Her glares could kill.

"We've already given you the money that you need. You'll leave us alone now right?" asked Eunji.

"Perhaps." Kai said as he closed the door of the van and started walking back in a very slow manner. "You think I'll be happy just like that?"

"ing hell." cursed Eunji as she took a step back. Bomi too, immediately stood in front of Chorong and Eunha, hands opened widely.

"Eunji-ya, you better pay for my funeral." cursed the 93-liner as the two chose to become the shields for their family. Chorong and Naeun could do nothing but to cover their children's eyes with their hands and watch helplessly. Kai was pointing a gun towards Eunji while a bodyguard pointed a gun towards Bomi.

"Put that gun away. My friend here has done nothing wrong. You're here for me aren't you?" asked Eunji with a smirk.

"Goddammit Eunji! Don't you even ing dare!" said Bomi, realising what that meant.

"After all, I dragged you into this problem. Your kid is safe, Chorong unnie's safe, there's no reason for you to get killed anyway. I should be paying for my price." said Eunji as she looked at her friend.

"You ing think I'm going to be okay with you dead?!" said Bomi with fury.

"Well, unless you wanna die together that's fine with me." smirked Eunji as she looked into Kai's eyes.

"If you did not exist, my brother wouldn't have died. We could've still kept our empire up strong and crush the Son Corporations within our hands. But you. You ruined everything." said Kai as he loaded his gun. "You deserve to die after what you have done." he murmered.

"Kill me then. Let's see how badly you want me dead." smirked Eunji playfully.

"You ing ."

"Go on." said Eunji. "Kill me."

At the end of her words, there was a loud bang echoing into the skies.

They hadn't realised how much it felt, to protect someone. Not just to protect someone they loved dearly. But to protect their own children.

The girls weren't just the fun, playful high schoolers. They weren't just the once, serious college students who studied very hard to find a good job. They were also not just adults who would often drown themselves in stress and sorrows. They now had a family to take care of. 

They were not just women. They were mothers.

And mothers would do all they could, to protect their own children.

Even at the cost of taking their own lives.

--

A/N: Two gunshots, in two seperate places. Did Hayoung really pull the trigger or did the police stepped in? Eunji and Bomi, strong girls who are willing to get hurt in place of their family, the meaning of that gunshot is? We are slowly reaching the final chapter of Maturity, it's been quite the ride~ Thank you for reading and I will try my best to update soon ^^ (I won't be able to do daily updates anymore, I'm sorry)

P.S For those wondering what Haneul, Haeun and Eunha looks like as imagined in Maturity, they are based on these people (for fun lol, its just a random thing)

Haneul (Kang Haneul, actor)                           

Haeun (Kim Haeun, model)

Eunha (Park Eunha, Ulzzang)