Wendy was fading in and out of consciousness as the sirens blared, lights flashed, and the medics were asking one rapid question after another. 

 

The blonde almost lapsed into a deep sleep if it weren't for the light squeeze on her hand provided by Sunny. After placing a phone call to notify Wendy's parents in Canada, the store manager offered to accompany the injured supervisor to the hospital for medical treatment.

 

"Wendy, sweetie please stay with me," Sunny pleaded as tears rolled down her face.

 

The small woman attempted to sit up but the medics and Sunny panicked advising her to stay still.

 

"B-but I need to call I-Irene," Wendy stuttered as her head pounded in pain. "She is waiting for my call."

 

Sunny rubbed the blonde's arm, "I'll call her for you but you need to see a doctor first."

 

"O-okay," Wendy whimpered as the stinging pain in her right leg sent shockwaves through the rest of her body. She gripped her pant leg to find her jeans cut as a medical gauze was wrapped around the wound.

 

Sunny her cheek, "We are almost outside of the ER entrance just hang in there."

 

The blonde shut her eyes and nodded her head slowly to agree.

 

The last thing she heard before the room became black was Sunny complaining under her breath, "How did this happen?"

 

 

 

 

Irene woke to her alarm blaring at 4:30am. She peeked one eye open to observe the bedroom and pouted to see she was holding Wendy's purple sweater.

 

"So she didn't stay the night," she remarked stretching her arms over her head. 

 

The meteorologist sniffed the sweater, "It felt like she was really here." She locked eyes with the purple lilac that sat in a glass vase on her nightstand. Irene held the vase and studied the flower.

 

"She surprises me with such sincere gifts so early on and without a reason," the raven hair woman pondered recalling how all of her ex-boyfriends only gave her flowers on the first date. "But then again I didn't allow the relationships to last over a month."

 

Irene unlocked her screen to browse new messages on her phone hoping to see one from her girlfriend.

 

She frowned, "That's strange she hasn't called or text me back."

 

The older woman dialed Wendy's number to receive four rings until the voicemail picked up.

 

"Did she oversleep? This doesn't seem like her as she would find the time to call or text me a quick good morning or let me know she read my messages?," Irene contemplated pacing her bedroom floor worried she rushed into a serious relationship with the younger woman and scared her off.

 

Irene chuckled, "No what am I saying? Do I really believe that Wendy is the type of person to ghost me? Of course not!"

 

The raven hair woman halted her moments to slowly inhale and exhale to prevent a paic attack.

 

"There is a good reason why she hasn't contacted me and I will ask her at the news studio," Irene reassured herself before entering the bathroom to freshen up.

 

 

 

 

Sunny woke up to a cramp in her neck, numbness in her legs, and the need to straighten the ache in her back. She almost fell face forward on the floor but reacted in time before she face planted.

 

The store manager groaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Where am I?" She sat on a cushioned chair in an overcrowded waiting room of a hospital as she took in her surroundings.

 

A baby screaming five seats away, a children's play area with books and blocks, a static TV tuned to the local news, a custodian collecting garbage with disposable gloves, and a large desk where three nurses were shuffling papers and making phone calls behind a plexiglass shield.

 

The image of Wendy falling off the ladder as Sunny returned to the store appeared in her head.

 

The store manager rested her head in her hands, "Now I remember......" 

 

Sunny shook off the stiffness of her muscles and approached the nurse's station.

 

"Yes ma'am," a young nurse asked eyeing her disheveled clothes.

 

"Is there any chance I can find out the status of a patient I accompanied to the hospital last night?," the store manager asked fixing her hair.

 

The young nurse cocked her eyebrow, "I'm sorry ma'am but only direct family members have the consent to receive updates about the patient's progress."

 

Sunny's face froze in shock as the nurse didn't realize she was Wendy's closest association to a relative here in Korea. She was ready to lecture the young nurse but stop when the sliding doors blew open with a harsh gush of cold air and an elegant, impeccably dressed older woman walked straight up to the nurse's station.

 

She slowly took off her leather gloves and designer sunglasses, "I need information about a patient who was brought in last night, my daughter, Wendy Shon is her name."

 

Sunny stood speechless shamelessly staring at Mrs. Shon who could order her lawyer to bankrupt the company and take every dime she worked so hard for. Her appearance alone instilled a feeling of intimidation from the Louis Vuitton red bottom heels, Hermes handbag, freshly dry-cleaned trench coat, and the gold and diamond jewerly she wore including rings, bracelets, and earrings.

 

She gulped as she rehearsed in her head how to introduce herself.

 

Mrs. Shon presented her driver's license, passport, photos stored in her wallet of Wendy, and Wendy's birth certificate.

 

"Follow me this way, Mrs. Shon," the nurse instructed to walk behind the desk and down a narrow hallway.

 

Sunny lifted her hand to her forehead to find it covered in sweat, "Oh man, I'm a nervous wreck! What do I do? We are in so much trouble!"

 

The store manager clenched her hands together as she walked around in circles over the tiled floor.

 

She stopped when it dawned on her, "Wait a second! I wasn't even present when the accident happened but Hwasa was! That's the answer I'm looking for and she needs to tell me everything that led up to Wendy's injury! No more hiding out in my office as she needs to tell the truth or I'm calling corporate."

 

Sunny stormed out of the ER waiting room on a mission to interrogate the CEO.

 

 

 

The make-up artist was touching up on the shade of blush she applied to Irene's face as the meteorologist stole looks at her phone every 5 minutes waiting for Wendy's reply.

 

Before the drive over to the news station, Irene sent a pleasant morning message.

 

Good morning sleepy head! Did you skip your dinner break last night as I believed we agreed to FaceTime? You know I don't like it when you skip meals but I guess that means I have to order us a big lunch to share. 😘 I'm still counting down the days until our date this Wednesday night! I missed sleeping with you last night, maybe you can stay over tonight or I'll sleep at your place. See you at the news station.

 

The meteorologist furrowed her brows to observe her message not only went unanswered but also unread.

 

"Did she lose her phone? Possibly left it in her locker at work?," Irene said in her head coming up with multiple excuses as to why her girlfriend failed to contact her. 

 

Her attention was focused on the doorway to the news studio for in the next 8 minutes, Ilhoon will the interns in for a brand new week of taping.

 

"All finish!," the make-up artist chirped that had startled Irene. "Sorry to scare you, Ms. Bae but I was only saying your look is complete."

 

Irene gaved her reflection a once last look over before leaving the make-up chair and walking to the green screen to study her notes. She became immersed in the snow storm patterns migrating from the north, she also missed the group of interns entering the news studio.

 

Ilhoon led the group who appeared to be quiet, depressed, wearing frowns, and glossy eyes.

 

The older woman carefreely studied each intern's expression.

 

Elkie and Yeeun were huddled close whispering to one another.

 

Jaemin and Jaehyun were speaking in a hush tone but Irene caught the end of it, "I won't wish what happen to her on my own worst enemy."

 

The intern who stood out the most was Joy, who dabbed away tears with a tissue and stood a few feet away from the rest of the group lost in her own thoughts.

 

Irene tapped the pen she was holding impatiently, anticipating the blonde to walk through the doorway any moment.

 

"C'mon baby where are you?," the raven hair woman mumbled glancing at her phone to no success. She huffed as she set her phone to the side but didn't look away in time to see a very unkempt sports anchor entering the news station walking with his head down as he clutched his coat close.

 

Kai, who was in a cheerful mood approached Eunhyuk but backed away as he coughed and dramatically waved his hand in front of his nose.

 

"Dude did you smoke a whole case of cigarettes for breakfast? Cause you reek!," Kai exclaimed twisting his face in disgust.

 

Eunhyuk grinded his teeth as he used his finger to stab Kai in the chest.

 

"I don't recall asking you to speak to me as a matter of fact we aren't friends anymore! So unless I ask for your opinion, I would greatly appreciate it if you minded your own business and live your own life!"

 

Eunhyuk bumped shoulders with a shocked Kai as he walked to his dressing room.

 

The handsome news anchor froze in place scratching the back of his neck with his mouth hanging open wondering if he missed something. His phone blew up with notifications all weekend of the BoA concert from photos of Irene and Eunhyuk buying souvenirs to fans' messages wishing the new couple a bright future together. Kai was looking forward to making amends with the sports analyst and hopefully setting up a double date between him and Jennie and Irene and Eunhyuk.

 

He glanced in the meteorologist's direction to watch her pace back and forth, staring at her phone, looking at the doorway, running her shaky fingers through her hair, and eyeing the group of interns.

 

"What is going on here?," Kai questioned in his head as the atmosphere in the news studio seemed tense.

 

He turned back to the anchor's desk to see Jennie snickering while watching a video on her phone.

 

Kai reassumed his seat next to his co-anchor, "What's so funny?" 

 

The handsome news anchor cocked his head trying to take a peek at Jennie's phone.

 

She covered the screen and held the device close to her chest, "A little privacy please!"

 

Kai rolled his eyes, "Whatever!" He decided to focus on his notes until he was distracted by the audio of his confrontation with Eunhyuk blaring through Jennie's phone.

 

Live your own life!

 

Replayed as Jennie burst into laughter.

 

Kai frowned but reached out to snatch Jennie's phone.

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You have no right to take my phone unless you offer to buy me a new one?! Just like I thought not happening!," Jennie replied as she stalked away from the anchor's desk.

 

"Don't you even think of posting that video to Twitter or.....," Kai demanded as he stopped to think of a good reason to reconsider.

 

Jennie shot her resting face at her co-anchor.

 

"Or what?!," she countered with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot.

 

"Or I'll contact my lawyer and sue you for defamation!," Kai exclaimed crossing his arms.

 

Jennie laughed, "I wasn't planning on posting the video but I'll tell you what, I will hold onto it as an investment in case you betray me or try to have me terminated."

 

Kai looked confused, "What made you think I would ever scheme to get you fired?"

 

Jennie chuckled, "Really? You never imagined what it would be like to host the news without the annoying presence of a co-anchor hogging the spotlight only because of his good looks? Please don't deny it and if we are being honest we all are fighting for the most screen time!"

 

Kai didn't have a chance to respond as Jennie stalked off to her dressing room.

 

"Yeah she needs to get laid!," he complained as he jumped from the slam of her dressing room door.

 

 

 

Irene watched the confrontation between Kai and Eunhyuk and then Kai and Jennie from the safe distance across the news studio. She hoped her name wasn't mentioned as she was not to blame for Eunhyuk's sloppy appearance.

 

"I explained to him before the BoA concert that we are attending as friends and he agreed to those terms," the meteorologist recited in her head. "I should've followed Wendy's advice when she suspected he wanted more than a friendship. But it wasn't until recently that he started to flirt with me. Why did it have to be now? What changed? Especially in since I've fallen in love with Wendy."

 

Irene watched as Ilhoon gathered the interns by the snack table. She looked at her phone again to see no new messages. The older woman decided she needed answers as the blonde wasn't the type to ignore her.

 

"She said I'll never leave you," Irene repeated as her eyes filled with water. 

 

The meteorologist poured a cup of hot water for her tea 6 feet away from the interns pretending to be preoccupied by dipping the tea bag into the cup.

 

Ilhoon paced back and forth starting each sentence but stopping to chose his words lightly.

 

"This weekend something terrible happened....."

 

"No forget I said that an accident occured...."

 

"No one died but......."

 

Elkie, Yeeun, Jaemin, Jaehyun, and Joy stared at Ilhoon with wide eyes and waited with bated breath.

 

"Is it true what you told us in the van that shrimp is in the hospital?," Joy finally spoke up growing impatient.

 

Irene felt dizzy as the cup she was holding slipped out of her hands and splashed onto the floor. She gripped the table as she tried to balance herself from fainting.

 

"Oh my god Irene are you okay?!," Ilhoon asked helping the raven hair woman regain her balance. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she covered her eyes from the bright studio lights that were blinding.

 

Jaemin and Jaehyun were overcome with jealously to witness the leader of the interns' holding the beautiful weather woman's waist and rubbing her back to calm her.

 

"Maybe you should take a rest in your dressing room," Ilhoon advised as Irene nodded her head in agreement.

 

"WE'LL WALK YOU THERE!," Jaemin and Jaehyun shouted in unison.

 

Ilhoon rolled his eyes.

 

Irene chuckled, "Thank you boys but I think I can manage on my own."

 

The interns went back to their daily routine of cleaning the news studio.

 

Ilhoon gave Irene a concerned look, "Are you sure you will be alright?"

 

The meteorologist gave a small smile, "Well Ilhoon before you go I have to know what happened to Wendy?"

 

Ilhoon released an agitated breath, "All I know is I received a call from her mother to inform me that Wendy was admitted to the hospital last night after substaining a serious injury at her part-time job."

 

Irene was thankful Ilhoon walked her to her dressing room as she grabbed the door handle as her vision turned white and her heart beat increased.

 

"I-I'm s-sorry to hear that and I hope she has a quick and healthy recovery," the older woman choked out trying to keep her composure.

 

Ilhoon grinned, "I do also........well I'll see you around." He headed in the direction of the control room.

 

Once Ilhoon left Irene rushed inside her dressing room with her phone in hand. She curled into a ball on the loveseat fighting back tears as she stared at the photos of her and Wendy at her penthouse.

 

 

 

 

Wendy cracked one eye open to reveal an unfamilair room draped in white, the beeping of breathing machines and heart monitors, an IV inserted into her right arm, and the faint figure of her mother talking on the phone right outside her hospital room. Her eyes focused on the ceiling replaying the events that took place over the weekend.

 

Most notably, her girlfriend spending the night at her apartment, she closed her eyes with a big smile as the image of the couple cuddling in her bed eating breakfast together occupied her thoughts.

 

"What was that Frank?," Mrs. Shon asked cracking the door open to her daughter's room. "Yeah I'm still here.....it's nothing I thought I saw Wendy regain consciousness but I was mistaken."

 

Her mother shot her a puzzled look as she saw the big smile on her daughter's face.

 

"Look I want to launch an investigation into this home decor company and their hazardous work environment because if my daughter's accident was preventable......well let's just say there will be hell to pay,!" Mrs. Shon stated as she ended the call.

 

Her heels echoed on the linoleum floor as she drew closer to