The meet-up was 8pm, at a local bar.

 

Bomi was nervous, especially since she purposely signed up for this blind date at her own will. When she received a message from Haru that her “date” was already inside, the nurse gulped and carefully stepped in. Eyes searching for a brunette, it doesn’t take long when she noticed the prettiest lady seated in the far corner.

 

“H-hi. You must be…” She reached out for an awkward handshake. “Yoon Bomi, right? Hi. Pleased to meet you. I’m Nana.”

 

It started off with a shaky, awkward conversation but Nana seemed to lead Bomi well, making her comfortable as time went on. The nurse learned that she was a financial analyst at one of the most prestigious mobile phone companies in Seoul. She’s definitely a lady on another level, Nana earns triple times more than her, comes from a well-educated family…a woman of another world. Almost similar…to Naeun.

 

Their conversations eventually got a little too comfortable. With the presence of alcohol and a nice, high atmosphere, it leaves Bomi a little tipsy as they began to exchange sweet talks. But the woman eventually starts to spill out her actual, truthful feelings. Rather than getting to know Nana on a personal level, engaging with their flirts, she started asking for advice. Love advice for another woman. Love advice for a woman who wasn’t reciporating the same feelings. And that obviously did not end up well.

 

It ticked Nana off and thought that she wasted her time. It’s a blind date gone terribly wrong to the point where Haru had to step in, breaking off the two before it got messier. The cupid was just sitting at the opposite table, observing quietly in hopes that something would bloom among the two. But alas, that will never happen.

 

“I’m sorry. I think we should never cross paths again.” Nana said in a polite tone, schooling her expression as she threw a glare at Haru before storming off. It’s a cold, icy stare that leaves the cupid a little intimidated.

 

Bomi messed up once again.

 

Sitting down with a sigh, Haru’s hardwork to set up this blind date has gone to waste. Eyeing on Bomi who seemed completely unaffected by the whole event, raised her hand to call the waiter for another refill of her wine glass.

 

“Woah, woah. You need to stop! What’s gotten into you?”

 

“Let me do whatever the I want, Haru! Today’s date is already gone anyway. Hey! Give me one more bottle okay, waiter?!”

 

An annoyed tone and frustrated, furrow eyebrows, Haru could do nothing against that. Letting her friend do as she pleased, that was how Bomi ended up completely drunk and wasted. Red as a tomato, head spinning around as she was piggybacked by Haru, her friend simply dropped her off at Seven Life as she did not want to babysit a hopeless drunkard.

 

And so, here she is in bed. Waking up to the peaceful, harmonious sounds of birds chirping outside her window, eyes squinting at the sunlight piercing through her dusty windows, the cooling buzz of the air conditioner and…

 

“WAKE THE UP ALREADY GODDAMN IT!”

 

Bomi jolted awake, eyes wide open as she gasped, “WOAH IM ING AWAKE OKAY?!....Oh. Namjoo-ya.”

 

She blinked her eyes twice, tone turning into that of surprise and confusion when she sees her fellow co-worker. From one look, she can tell that Namjoo hasn’t had a single wink of sleep, obvious from the eyebags. But that hint of annoyance on her face, she doesn’t look too happy. If anything, she looks mad.

 

“Do you really think it’s the right time to sleep around with everything that’s happening right now?”

 

“Like-like what?”

 

Flustered, Bomi scanned her eyes around her small bedroom, trying to look for anything abnormal. She peeked over at her phone to see two hundred unread messages. Okay, yikes. Getting out of bed and staggering halfway, the woman moved herself into the living room. And from the corner of her eyes, she sees it. A sight that leaves her heart dropping to the depths of Earth.

 

Lying in her couch is Naeun. Her stomach is wrapped in bloody bandages, lips slightly blue as she has an IV drip injected into her hand.

 

“What the hell happen-“

 

“I should be asking you that!”

 

Bomi flinched at her friend’s sudden raise in voice and Namjoo immediately apologized. “Sorry. So, we both don’t know what the hell happened to her huh?” The woman sighed, thinking that Bomi might know some answers. But it turns out that Bomi is just as lost as her. “I got worried so I went to visit you after my graveyard shift. But guess what? I had the shock of my life when I found her!” She pointed at Naeun, “lying at the park downstairs! She could’ve died Bomi!”

 

“Thanks for saving her life and thanks for sticking around to take care of her while I was still…drunk.” The woman looked away awkwardly, sure she does feel sorry that every time, it’s always her friends who are cleaning up her mess. Her parents were always nagging her that she shouldn’t be drinking when she isn’t good with alcohol in the first place. Now, she’s pulled everyone into her own problems.

 

“Sober now?”

 

“Yup, totally. You can head home now, Namjoo. I’ll take care of the rest.”

 

“Just…don’t drink anymore, please. It’s just not you, unnie. Bye.” Namjoo let out an exhausted sigh, taking her bags and leaving the apartment.

 

As the door slammed behind, Bomi glanced over at Naeun who wanted to say something but the woman shook her head. “Don’t say anything. It’s my fault to begin with. I should have never drunk. Then, this will never happen to you. It’s always me in the end.” The woman tried hard to maintain her expression, trying to not reveal the sadness inside. It pains her heart to always see Naeun hurt.

 

It’s her biggest nightmare.

 

She was wrong to think that going on blind date would erase all of those intimate feelings of Naeun. Love isn’t that easy to shoo away. In the end, it just keeps coming back to haunt Bomi until she finally accepts the fact that she truly is in love with this woman in front of her.

 

 

xxx

 

 

Heading back to her sweet, little apartment home after an absolutely long, drama-filled day, Namjoo can’t wait to just sleep the whole day off. She’s planning to apply an emergency leave so that she doesn’t have to worry about her superiors coming after her skipped duties. It’s already more than enough to handle with her co-worker’s unrequited love on a gangster who is her girlfriend’s best friend.

 

There’s something about Naeun that Namjoo pays a little bit more attention too. But that’s only because Hayoung always seems to bring Naeun into their conversations. Always reminiscing about their time together, whether it was during their training periods or missions, Namjoo could tell that Hayoung cared deeply for Naeun.

 

And it only seemed right that she did the same too.

 

Thinking about her girlfriend makes Namjoo miss her already. She’s still left hanging about that abrupt end to their video call which was supposed to be a scheduled thing that they set together. Ever since Hayoung made the decision to travel around the world, they made a promise to at least video call each other once a week. Knowing that woman, she’s always going about doing risky things without letting her know and honestly, it’s one of the biggest cause of her stress these days.

 

As she turned the knob open, the first thing Namjoo plans to do is get a real, nice hot shower. And then, she’ll cook some ramen and cuddle herself to bed-

 

“Boo!”

 

“WHOA WHO THE FUC-…” Namjoo screamed, almost ready to fight the intruder in her house until she breathed an airless gasp. “…Hayoung!” She went straight into her girlfriend’s arms, those warm, firm arms that she missed so much. “Why didn’t you tell me that you returned?”

 

The woman had a teasing smirk on her face as she gently pressed a soft kiss on Namjoo’s forehead. “It’s a surprise obviously.” She hummed, taking a long sniff of Namjoo’s hair before grimacing at the fact that her girlfriend hasn’t showered in probably a week. “Ugh, nasty. Remind me to never do that.” Namjoo broke into a laughter, a laugh that let all of her stress and anxiety go from everything last night.

 

Suddenly, nothing else matters anymore but this woman in front of her.

 

“What’s that behind your neck?” Her tone lowered, hands reaching out for the large plaster smacked onto Hayoung’s skin but the woman shook her head with a restrained smile. “Nothing, really. Are you busy?” She asked, neatly switching the topic of conversation as she’s successfully allured Namjoo towards the couch.

 

“I was going to call my boss in for leave today actually. The time is just perfect. We can go on dates, we can drive around town, or we can even-“

 

“We gotta make it worth, babe. After this…it will be awhile till I come back.” Hayoung mumbled, trying to push those hard words out of . She already noticed the sullen look on her girlfriend who was really excited a minute ago. “Where are you planning to go now? What are you going to do?” Namjoo begins to question her. Suddenly feeling irritated and frustrated at how Hayoung is just aimlessly wandering off again to god knows where, she’s so tired of this.

 

Hayoung never tells her things in full detail. It’s always a little bit of here, a little bit of there, and nothing much of what her actual motives are. Namjoo hates that it’s too obvious that her girlfriend is hiding something from her yet, she’s trying to be a good lover that tries to respect that barrier she’s put up with.

 

“I…I got a new job now. And there’s no turning back babe.” Hands locked onto Namjoo’s waist, back relaxed against the sofa board as she’s just enjoying this very moment with her right now, she just misses it so damn much…especially with everything that’s happened. Right now, right here, Namjoo is her home, her shelter, her all.

 

“You won’t like it. But I told you from the very beginning that I grew up with this kind of nature. This…nature of killing people.”All Namjoo could do was sigh. It’s not like she can stop her. She doesn’t want to stop Hayoung in doing what she likes to do, even when it’s absolutely dangerous and that she might lose her again just like before. Love is so difficult in times like these, but that just makes everything else much more worthwhile when together.

 

“Aren’t you going to tell me what your new job is? What kind of people are you killing? What are your enemies like? How much are you getting paid?”

 

“I’m sorry babe. It’s P&C. But I just want you to know that I’ll do everything I can to spend more time with you, okay?” She hummed, forming into a pout as she pulled Namjoo closer, kissing her softly and gently as a means of asking for forgiveness. Brushing her hand between the woman’s hair, taking every single second in as they kissed.

 

I won’t let them touch you.

 

 

xxx

 

 

Scribbling a signature on the discharge form and handing it to the receptionist over the counter, Doctor Jung is looking a lot better than other days. In fact, she’s so much happier, so much brighter. Eyes lingering along the corridor as she somehow found herself locked onto Chorong who is speaking to Sooyoung, it’s all that she really sees.

 

She can’t believe that it’s happening. All these seven months of turmoil, suffering, agony…dissipated like that in a blink of an eye. Holding back onto those restless dreams of wanting her, it’s real now. The love of her life is right there, back where it belongs in her heart.

 

“Excuse me? Uh…Doctor Jung?”

 

“O-Oh! Yes?” Eunji quickly turned back to face the receptionist, acting like she wasn’t zoning out and grinning so brightly because she was staring at her beautiful wife.  “This is your receipt.” The woman handed the paper over as the doctor thanked in response. “By the way…Doctor Jung, have you seen nurse Bomi and Namjoo around? They didn’t show up to work today so I was wondering if you might know.”

 

Eunji hummed in thought. “I’ll give them a call. If anything, I’ll let you know.”

 

“Alright, thanks, doctor.”

 

Bowing her head slightly and thanking the receptionist for all the work, Eunji’s feet were already its way to Chorong. Keeping a minimal distance as her wife seemed to be in a pretty serious discussion with Sooyoung, Eunji was patient. But her younger sister-in-law already noticed the sign that she should be “leaving” and simply smiled at the doctor.

 

“Well, I think that’s all. See you around sis. And, have a great time Doctor Jung.” The woman playfully winked and waved goodbye, leaving Chorong dumbfounded at that action her sister just made. She’s never seen her do that before.

 

“What’s with her?” The Queen scoffed, arms naturally linking around Eunji’s warm arms that leaves the doctor surprised. Chorong has never been so assertive before. It’s making her heart bounce and honestly, she loves this new version of her wife. Maybe amnesia isn’t so bad after all.

 

“Shall we go?” Chorong asked with a warm smile that Eunji missed seeing. “Mm.” It’s all that Eunji can say because she’s absolutely smitten with Chorong. She can’t even think straight anymore. Just thinking about the fact that they were now on a promised lunch date that they arranged yesterday, feels like a dream.

 

The couple soon find themselves in a little restaurant situated in a wet market. Thriving with local culture as aunties manned fish stores, sold dry goods and promoted different cuts of meat, it isn’t exactly the perfect place for a date, but it fits great with Chorong and Eunji who like to go plain and simple. Slurping down hot bowls of buckwheat noodles and sharing a plate of spicy rice cakes together, it’s reminiscent of their dates in the past.

 

“Does this place ring a bell? We used to come here together whenever I finished work late.” Eunji asked, hoping that it was something to bring Chorong’s lost memories back into place.

 

She began to reminisce the first time they visited the market: how her gangster wife was scared by the gigantic snow crabs swimming in the tanks, how she almost screamed when Doctor Jung threatened to place a wiggly marine spoon worm on her shoulder…those were really good, peaceful times. Moments that were rare to come by but worth it all.

 

But to Chorong, she only remembers blurry visions so she replied, “A little.” with a shrug. Her attention is drifting away to the bowl of hot noodles in front of her. The Queen has honestly been so sick of consuming hospital food for so many months that having something that tastes close to home, is all she wants right now.

 

Eunji chuckled, watching her wife quietly slurping the noodles down. Noticing how her eyebrows go up and down, immediately expressing the flavours, gosh…it’s just straight up adorable. Unknowingly, Doctor Jung is just cradling her head on her hand, a grin on her face as her other free hand is moving over to brush Chorong’s little strands of hair that may obstruct her eating. Suddenly, she’s can just watch her wife eat all day.

 

‘You must be really hungry. Eat up. I’ll be paying for today.” Eunji said, asking the auntie over the counter for a re-fill of water as she begun to eat. Digging her chopsticks into the bowl and slurping through, “So, what happens now?” She asked, swallowing after, “I mean, you are discharged as promised. But that also means that you’ll be getting busy right?”

 

Chorong nodded, placing the chopsticks on the table as she’s trying to see how to tell Eunji about the whole situation now. “You know that my father is a prisoner now and my family has been working really hard to prepare for that day…to free him from that place.”

 

“It’s a rescue mission, meaning it’s going to be very risky.” Eunji had a hint of what Chorong was trying to say with that careful tone. The doctor has already gone through so much that at this point, she isn’t even surprised anymore. She’s come into terms of her gangster wife’s extremely dangerous working life and accepted the fact that she can’t stop her.

 

“I know that you’ll be worried. But I think I don’t have to go through all this because we probably talked about this before.”

 

Eunji nodded in reply with a sad smile. “We have. And you don’t need to repeat it again, babe. I already know what you’re going to say.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “You could die on this mission. There is a chance that you may never come back and…there is a possibility that this will be the last time I’ll ever see you.”

 

“Yeah…I was going to tell you that.” The woman looked down, feeling sorry that Eunji seemed to have said those words a little bit too easily out of . Chorong bit her lip, finding courage to look back into her eyes. “I promise you that if I do come back, we can spend more time together. I know it can sound a little funny coming from me, but I have amnesia, Eunji. So, I don’t know much about you besides all these fuzzy memories in my head. All I know is that…” Chorong smiled shyly. “I love you.”

 

And that was enough to leave Eunji grinning so brightly that her cheekbones might fall off. “Since when were you this sweet?” She couldn’t hold on anymore. She doesn’t even care that they are in public. Placing a quick chaste kiss on Chorong’s cheek, it leaves Eunji tingling with warm, ticklish feelings inside her chest. “I love you too.”

 

Wanting to return those feelings back with another kiss, Chorong’s phone rings. There’s a quick change of expression on Eunji’s face. Her smile is gone and she slowly backed away. “Pick it up. Should be important.” As much as she would like to ignore it and spend this moment with Eunji, business is business. With a nod, Chorong answered the call.

 

“Hello? Naeun?”

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

“It’s okay. I can walk. Really.”

 

Naeun insisted as she held onto the wall for support. Staggering into the bathroom, Bomi extended out her hand and held onto her waist firmly. She’s worried that the woman could fall from the slippery tiles. At this moment, she never thought that cleaning her apartment was suddenly the most crucial thing to do. Everything’s all dirty and in a mess.

 

“I’ll be standing outside okay? Right behind this door.”

 

Closing it shut, silence followed as the two were now separated by a thin wall. One minute. Two minutes. Bomi is very patient yet, she doesn’t know why she’s suddenly feeling this sense of confidence lingering around her chest. Maybe it was because she couldn’t really see Naeun that she could blurt out those words at the most random timing.

 

“You know that I really care about you, right?”

 

“Mm.”

 

It’s a short, hummed answer that is often typical for Naeun to reply too. And the room returned back to that same, dull silence. But Bomi doesn’t plan on letting it hang like that.

 

“You know that I get really scared when something happens to you, right?” She asked, and the latter replied in the same, “Mm.” It’s all that Naeun says in response to Bomi’s questions.

 

But Bomi wanted to muster more courage. Maybe she’s still a little drunk and has a bit of alcohol still remaining inside her body that she doesn’t want to be a coward anymore. She’s so frustrated that she’s ready to tear everything out. Not wanting to stay in this same position, hesitating out of fear, the nurse decides to slip the question carefully out from her lips.

 

“You know that I…I have feelings for you, right?”

 

Naeun doesn’t reply. Clutching her chest, knowing that that woman is behind that door waiting for an answer, she’s suddenly nervous. The silence makes Bomi tensed and maybe she’s regretting her decision. She’s screwed up everything. Her relationship with Naeun will go back to zero, they will have to start behaving awkwardly around each other-

 

“…Mm.”

 

Bomi raised her head up, eyes widened in surprise as she let out an airless gasp. “Then…then why didn’t you tell me? Why did you choose to keep quiet from the start? Why didn’t you…say anything?”

 

Silence was once again, the answer.

 

And Bomi doesn’t push her. Instead, she sighed in relief and sat on the hard, cold floor. Staring blankly at the door in front, it’s not that’s she’s angry or upset that Naeun chose to ignore her. She’s actually glad that her actions did reach her. That none of her hard efforts went to waste. The Spotify playlist, the sleeps sacrificed for each night spent together, the presents bought on special occasions, the little things that makes her show that cute toothy smile of hers. It worked.

 

Naeun knew about her feelings from the very beginning.

 

“I was scared.”

 

“Scared?”

 

Naeun gulped, trying to push confidence through as she’s honestly just sitting on the toilet bowl, not even doing anything because she just wanted a quiet little space by her own. It’s not that she wanted to actually use the toilet or anything. But she needed to sort her thoughts out…until Bomi followed her along. And now, she’s cornered by the very thing that she’s been trying to avoid for a very long time.

 

“I’ve had bad experiences when it comes to loving someone. Whenever I do…they just…die. I…I don’t want that to happen to you.”

 

“Die…”

 

Bomi remained unfazed, trying hard not to act like she’s freaking out at the whole thought that loving Naeun means to die. But she’s not that dumb to conclude in such a way. She’s thinking that it has to do with her past or whatever that happened. And maybe, it makes a little more sense now.

 

She should have known it sooner. People like Naeun are different. They grew up differently, experienced things that normal people would have never gotten too. It’s whole new world that Bomi has already learned to accept. But that doesn’t mean that Naeun’s world and her world cannot collide.

 

“…but do you have the same feelings as me?”

 

“…”

 

Growing impatient at the silence, Bomi repeated her question. “Do you like me, Naeun?” All she wants is an answer. Just a simple yes or no answer that will decide everything else. It’s completely fine if she doesn’t. She has already prepared for this very day and she will accept whatever path that is thrown.

 

“…Yes.”

 

And that was enough for Bomi to suddenly pull the door wide open, clearly surprising Naeun as she doesn’t even have time to respond nor react. “Then that’s fine.” Is all that Bomi says, as her hands grabbed onto Naeun’s face as she dived straight into her lips.

 

Everything that she has put up inside her heart, were pushed through that very, short kiss. For the first time, she could feel it. How soft her lips were against hers, how warm and fuzzy it felt. The thrill of their heartbeats finally beating in the same sync. Everything.

 

But it wasn’t until Bomi’s sanity hits her at the back of her head and the woman quickly retreats. Blushing shyly as they can feel the heat crawling up their skin, “S-Sorry. I just…” Bomi mumbled, rubbing her head out of nervousness as she looked away.

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Naeun’s quiet voice reached Bomi’s ears. It’s that soft, gentle tone that gives her confidence, to tell her that she can kiss her again. And she does. Bomi smiled, rubbing her thumbs around those chubby cheeks of this woman in front of her. “I really, really love you Naeun. And I will never die. I’ll fight the grim reaper if I have to.” It leaves Naeun to giggle, which is later silenced by a warm kiss.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

It’s a little over in the afternoon and her girlfriend is already quietly snoozing in bed after a really long day. Hayoung doesn’t plan on waking her up. Instead, she’s been spending these hours by just being with her.

 

It’s the only thing that seems to be keeping her sane now.

 

As she feels the sharp sting on the back of her neck, it brings her back to those horrific memories again. Still fresh in her head, still as painful as it was.

 

Waking up in a laboratory, strapped onto a metal board as she can’t really grasp anything in sight because of the blinding light, she recognizes her voice. It’s the same damned woman who brought her here. And she has no idea what the she wants. But it makes a little more sense when she sees the symbol of the Rising Sun. Even though Hayoung has been travelling around the world, she has heard about the organization. And it angers her a lot more that it’s that bastard Seungri behind all this.

 

She’s gotten herself into a whole lot of trouble and there’s no way to escape. No one is going to rescue her. Not the Onyx. Not Chorong, not Naeun. She’s on her own now.

 

“What the hell do you want with me?” Hayoung growled, wincing in pain as she could feel something sharp penetrating at the back of her neck. She’s clenching onto her teeth so hard, trying to resist from shouting and screaming because that will show how vulnerable she is right now, how very small she is in front of all these other people.

 

“Your loyalty, Hayoung.”

 

“Loyalty? I don’t belong to anyone- AHHH!”

 

It burns. A sharp hiss and light air of smoke filters through the ceiling. Skin peeled off as a symbol is imprinted into her own flesh. It will be marked there for the rest of her life, even when she dies.

 

A tattoo of the Rising Sun.

 

“You are one of us now, Hayoung. You will obey our orders. You will work for us. And there is no running away.”

 

“Hah…and what are you going to do if I don’t listen?” Hayoung gasped, breaking out in cold sweat as she’s squinting in pain, heaving for air.“Oh, it’s very simple.” The woman smirked with a cackle. “Betray us and your girlfriend dies.”

 

Clenching her fists in anger, hot air fuming through her nostrils, Hayoung hated how she could be manipulated so easily just by love. It was never like this in the beginning. But she took love for granted. And now, it has come to bite her back. It makes her so mad that there really is nothing she can do.

 

With everything she has done now, there is no turning back. No rewind. Nothing.

 

When they first ordered Hayoung to kill Naeun…she couldn’t exactly do it. Even when she is experienced in assassination, she can’t possibly kill someone she regarded as her family. In that nick of time, the woman did not hit Naeun’s vital organs and ensured her survival.

 

With her first failed mission, it leaves Hayoung trembling and worried in fear. The thoughts rushing through her head are making her stressed as each second passes. She doesn’t know what the Rising Sun might do when they find out. Will they be able to overlook her lies? Probably not for long.

 

Maybe she’ll just persuade Namjoo to run away together far from Rising Sun, far from everyone else around the world. Maybe she should just…she doesn’t know what to do anymore. She has already cried so much that her eyes have already run dry.

 

She can’t kill herself for her sins because her love is in danger.

 

She’s ed up.

 

No one is going to forgive her. And no one is going to help her. But one thing’s for sure. Her former family, the Onyx is now, her enemy.There will come a time where she will have to face all of them at once. Naeun. Chorong. Sojin.

 

“I’m so sorry.” Hayoung mumbled, staring at Namjoo sleeping soundly in her cozy bed, unaware of everything she has gone through. She can feel her tears forcing to burst through her cheeks but she’s holding it in very well. Even though the sight of her girlfriend makes her even more suicidal, she has to keep holding on for Namjoo’s sake.

 

“You should have never fallen in love with me.”

 

 

xxx

 

 

The Onyx family welcomes Chorong back at the meeting.

 

They all end up applauding at her entrance. As she sat down in that once empty chair, the room has become a lot brighter with the Queen back in action. But that is probably because the Elite Three aren’t around with the reason being that they are “busy”. Noticing a couple of new faces around and changes with the interior design, she really has been gone for a really long time.

 

“Well, let’s start, shall we?”

 

The woman says, not wasting any time as they start planning for the long-awaited rescue mission to the Chamber of Reflection. Thanks to Chanyeol and Bogum’s efforts, they managed to hack into the systems and retrieved a whole blueprint of the building.

 

“There are seven levels, all of them blocked by security walls and gates. Pretty sure there would be patrols all round. It’s basically a prison.” Chorong explained, extending her hand to the other end of the paper as she circled it. “This will be the entry point. It links to the sewage system which we have to access it underwater.”

 

“Going through land and water. Already love this mission.” Chanyeol chuckled. He seems to be in a rather good mood today. Less of that hot-headed chili. “Sojin noona’s reports read that Dad is probably located at the highest level. That means we have to fight our way to the top.” Bogum said, flipping through the files.

 

“Sounds perfect for a pandemonium.” Sooyoung hummed with confidence. She’s itching to get into action. As the meeting continued as the siblings exchanged ideas, it was set. They were to begin the rescue mission tomorrow. But there were more things on the agenda.

 

“How is Junghwa’s condition?”

 

“She’s still in coma.” Sooyoung sighed. “I…I honestly don’t know if she’ll ever wake up. Your wife said that there are complications in her brain.”

 

“I see.” Chorong frowned. In situations like these, there is nothing they can do but wait. “There is something that I would like to bring up.” The woman said reluctantly, deciding that it was best to warn her siblings. She pressed the remote as the projector screen switched to an image of Hayoung.

 

“Oh! What happened to her sis?” Sooyoung said, with much hope in her eyes. “Is she doing fine? The last I heard-“

 

“She’s our enemy.”

 

Immediately, the siblings exchanged confused glances. The mood in the room suddenly went down and heavy as they didn’t seem to believe it. It just didn’t make sense.

 

“Was Sojin noona lying to us?”

 

“No, she can’t possibly do that.”

 

As they made small talk, mumbling and whispering amongst one another, Chorong had to tap onto the board to get everyone’s attention back.

 

“Last night, Hayoung attacked Naeun. Do not worry. She’s safe and resting at a friend’s place. But we need to keep an eye out. There are chances that she might be affiliated with the Rising Sun.”

 

Chorong lowered her head, clenching her fists as she too, doesn’t understand why Hayoung is doing this. She has watched Hayoung ever since she was a mere, innocent child. Knowing her personality, she will never resort to such an action unless something was put at risk.

 

Something that she truly treasured dearly to her heart.

 

“Do not inform Sojin about this yet. I will tell the news to her myself. The meeting is dismissed. See you tomorrow.” Chorong announced, closing the meeting as she walked out of the room first, wanting some personal space as she tried to keep these angry emotions suppressed.

 

Heading into an empty office room that was supposed to belong to Chorong once she returned, it’s pretty bare with just the basic furniture. Slumping onto the chair as she sighed, the woman thinks that she’s missing out a very important piece of information. Because of her amnesia, there could be little parts about Naeun and Hayoung that she could have missed out.

 

What is this something or someone that Hayoung is willing to sacrifice for?

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

Driving in her Land Rover, music blasting through the speakers as she’s humming along the melody, Eunji has never been this happy, this free. She could probably fly if she had wings. Her life is back on track and hopefully, from here onwards, it would be smooth-sailing.

 

Although she’s trying hard to ignore the painful fate and thought of Chorong possibly injuring herself and maybe even die, Doctor Jung has learned the joy of ignorance. She’s called in to Boseok that she’ll be returning to work tomorrow and as she’s speeding along the highway, something catches her attention.

 

An accident. A collision of two cars darted along the corners. And as a doctor, this calls for duty. There really isn’t a day for Eunji to rest at all.

 

As the doors open at Seven Life’s emergency ward, Doctor Jung is still pumping the little boy’s chest. As nurses help in, she’s lucky that her brother Taekwoon is in today.

 

“I’ll take care of him. You should go…clean that up.” The man said, eyeing on the splatter of blood all over Eunji’s coat. “Right. Thanks for the obvious reminder.” Eunji scoffed, watching her brother dash into the operation room. At least she has some spare clothes in her office, probably will change and then continue her drive home.

 

But just as she’s about to climb the stairs, her eyes land on Namjoo and someone whom she hasn’t seen in a really long time. It leaves the doctor wide-eyed and gaping halfway. “Ha…wait. I’m not seeing a ghost, right?” Hayoung chuckled and shook her head. “No. It’s really me, Doctor.” She smirked, greeting her with a slight bow. “I have something that I need to ask you in private.”

 

“Unnie, I know you have a lot of questions but I’ll tell you everything later. Just…help my girlfriend out, will you?” Namjoo begged, clasping her palms together. “And what happened to your coat?”

 

“Oh, uh, a patient. Usual stuff.” Eunji shrugged in reply.

 

At first, she thought Hayoung was crazy, saying that she wanted to speak to Eunji, when the woman herself has completely forgotten that she literally distanced herself from everyone connected with the Onyx. But Namjoo wants to help Hayoung.

 

She thought that maybe, she was slowly starting to change for the better. To maybe come to terms with the sins she committed.

 

“Hmm…alright. Right this way.” Eunji agreed willingly, although slightly suspicious. With Namjoo deciding to linger around the lobby and maybe help out with the counter, Hayoung followed the doctor into her office. “Sorry, it’s in a mess. Let me just put this back…uh, yeah. You can sit down. Need any coffee? Water, perhaps?” Eunji mumbled, picking up a piece of fallen document on the floor as she dusted it.

 

“No, it’s fine. I just need to ask you a couple of things.” Hayoung said, being very careful with her movements as she scanned her eyes around the office. There’s a glass window at the far corner that oversees the lower levels of the hospital. The door is closed shut, making the place a little soundproof.

 

“Well, fire away. It’s just really rare of you to ask me questions all of a sudden.”

 

“What is the quickest way to kill someone?” Hayoung doesn’t waste any time and it appears it was indeed a question too abrupt. Eunji stared at the woman blankly, blinking her eyes for a couple of seconds. She scoffed, “What? You should know the answer better than me.” She playfully threw back the answer at Hayoung who remained a monotone expression.

 

“Then,” She said, turning around and removing the plaster on the back of her neck. “What is the quickest way to remove this?” She asked, revealing the still fresh, red tattoo mark of the Rising Sun. Immediately, Eunji gasped at the sight. “What the hell happened to you?!”

 

“Please answer the question.” Hayoung cut in, not wanting to make any long strings of conversation with the doctor. Eunji scanned the tattoo and shook her head. “No. It’s…impossible. That mark will stay there forever. Even with months of healing, even with plastic surgery, the chances are still slim.”

 

“I see. Thank you for your answer.” Hayoung lowered her head, standing up from the seat as she appeared to get ready to leave the office. “But why are you-“Eunji freezed as she watched Hayoung turn around and pull out a pistol pointing her forehead.

 

“Hayoung.” Doctor Jung remained calm, slowly rising from her seat as she raised both of her hands up in surrender. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you but let’s talk this out. Killing me won’t solve anything.” Eunji gulped, as she looked around her office to see if there were any ways to fight her back.  

 

“I’m sorry. I really am.” Hayoung looked at her coldly as she clicked her gun.

 

“Hayoung!”

 

Bang!

 

 

 

 

--

 

A/N: First off, let's all rejoice that Bona is finally! official! We've got some sweet moments with Eunrong as they talk about the present from now onwards but...with Rising Sun taking captive of Hayoung and using her as a tool...the Onyx would have never seen it coming. From targeting Naeun to Doctor Jung herself?! Our poor Hayoung has no other choice but to obey and kill all of the people close to her heart. :(