Taeyeon walked anxiously ahead of the medic team. She saw the marks that Jessica had made on the trees and followed them religiously. Then she saw the big X that Jessica mentioned. She went to the edge and peered down.

 

Sunny had fallen asleep while lying on Jessica’s lap. Jessica had also fallen asleep leaning on the tree trunk and she was still holding on to Sunny’s hand even in her sleep. Both of them looked serene.

 

Taeyeon saw the two of them and called out to them in relief.

 

“Sunny! Sica! We’re here!”

 

Sunny did not hear her but Jessica stirred. She opened her eyes slowly and took a second to regain her awareness of her surroundings. She then looked down at the blonde cutie sleeping on her lap and shook her gently.

 

“Sunny ah, the team is here to get us out. Time to wake up.”

 

Sunny opened her eyes and saw Jessica looking at her from above. Her gaze was warm and caring, a far cry from the very first time they met. She liked this warm and caring Jessica so much more than the icy cold side of her. She smiled warmly at Jessica and tried to sit up. Jessica stopped her from moving.

 

“Wait for them to bandage and secure your leg.”

 

Even though she now had a warm and caring look for Sunny, something in her tone made Sunny obey her completely. Jessica always had that authoritative aura that got people to listen to her. Sunny stopped moving and laid still on her lap.

 

The rescue team tied a rope to a secure tree to make it easier to go up and down the slope. They had brought a stretcher as requested. Tiffany had made sure that they did.

 

Taeyeon was stopped by a rescue team member when she approached the rope to get down.

 

“Miss, please stay up here. We want to speed up the rescue process, don’t we?”

 

Taeyeon nodded and watched anxiously as the team made their way down the slope to where Sunny and Jessica were. The medic team cut Sunny’s pant leg open to have a look at Sunny’s leg. Taeyeon covered in horror when she caught a glimpse of the long, deep gash and bruises on her leg as well as the blood that had dried up somewhat.

 

Jessica had a very good view of Sunny’s injuries. She winced as though the injuries were hers. “Sunny is way too brave for her own good. I can’t believe that she didn’t tell me how much pain she was in,” she thought angrily.

 

Her nostrils flared and she glared at Sunny.

 

“Your injuries are horrendous,” she said, pointing at Sunny’s right leg, “and you didn’t even tell me that it hurt that bad. All I saw was the swell at your ankle! Didn’t I tell you to tell me if you were hurting?”

 

Sunny looked at her apologetically, “I guess old habits die hard. I really didn’t want you to worry more.”

 

Jessica sighed in resignation, “You’re as stubborn as a cow.”

 

“And you’re as fierce as a bull.”

 

“What?!”

 

Sunny giggled. Jessica laughed with her and flicked Sunny’s nose playfully.

 

“Oww~” Sunny covered her nose with her hand.

 

“OWWW.” Sunny grabbed Jessica’s hand and bit her lower lip, trying to tolerate the sudden lightning bolt of pain shooting through her leg. The medics had done some basic clean up of the gash on her leg and were securing it with splints.

 

Jessica held Sunny’s hand and patted her head.

 

“It’s okay, you’re a stubborn cow; you can take the pain. It’s alright now.”

 

Sunny smiled through her tears that were swimming round in her eyes.

 

Jessica saw a tear roll down Sunny’s face and used her thumb to wipe it away. She squeezed the hand that was in hers to comfort the blonde.

 

It wasn’t too long till they were ready to load Sunny onto the stretcher to hoist her up the slope.

 

“ONE. TWO.”

 

The medic team transferred Sunny onto the stretcher in one smooth motion. Jessica stood up to go but she only managed to lift her a few inches off the ground before she fell back down. Sunny looked at her in alarm.

 

“Sica! Are you alright?”

 

“Don’t worry,” Jessica nodded and gave Sunny her trademark half-smile, “my legs are numb that’s all.”

 

She got up using the tree trunk as support and shook her legs to get the blood circulating again. The medic team hooked up the stretcher and hoisted Sunny back up the slope. Taeyeon almost pounced on Sunny; she was beside herself with worry after seeing the injuries that the little blonde had sustained.

 

Sunny looked into her worried eyes and felt another pang of guilt. “I’m sorry Taeyeonie,” she said softly.

 

Taeyeon looked at her incredulously, “Why are you apologizing? I’M the sorry one here. I made you angry and now you are injured because of that.”

 

Sunny couldn’t bear to see Taeyeon so downcast. She reached out and brushed her hand against Taeyeon’s cheeks, “It’s not your fault. Now, smile for me.”

 

Taeyeon tried to smile but she looked constipated instead. Sunny couldn’t help but laugh at her comical expression.

 

The medic team lifted the stretcher and made their way out of the woods. Jessica and Taeyeon followed close behind. Jessica held onto Taeyeon’s shoulders for support as her legs were still rather numb from sitting still with Sunny’s head resting on them.

 

“Thanks for being such a good friend, Sica,” Taeyeon grinned and patted her a couple of times, “you are like Wonder Woman at times.”

 

Jessica rolled her eyes at the superhero comparison. “Too bad I don’t have an invisible airplane at my command. We could really use one right now,” she grumbled.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

They arrived back in camp and saw an ambulance waiting for them in the parking lot. They loaded Sunny onto the ambulance; Taeyeon and Jessica got on with her. Tiffany stood by the side with Sooyoung, Yoona and Hyoyeon, looking worried. “She’s okay, don’t worry,” said Jessica as she passed them by.

 

The ambulance arrived at the hospital in a short while. Jessica got off the ambulance and made a phone call. She spoke quickly and nodded her head in satisfaction when she ended the call. Sunny was sent to the emergency unit for a basic check-up and x-rays of her leg were taken before they warded her in the most expensive private ward in the hospital.

 

Sunny was adamant about not staying in the hospital longer than necessary and asked to speak to the doctor-in-charge. Taeyeon was trying to persuade her to stay and get a full check-up when a dashing doctor walked in at that very moment.

 

“Doctor, I would like to be discharged after getting my knee treated.”

 

“Hello Sunny! You can’t be discharged yet unfortunately because my boss has just paged me to take good care of you.”

 

“Wha-?”

 

The dashing doctor smiled charmingly at her. “You are a friend of Ms. Jung? Our hospital is partially owned by her family and you are our most esteemed patient at the moment.”

 

Sunny blinked in confusion. “Ms. Jung? You mean, Jessica? Her family owns this hospital?” she asked in rapid succession.

 

“Partially own,” corrected the doctor, “Her father sits on the board of directors and this ward you are in right now,” he explained, opening his arms with a flourish, “is only used for our VIPs. Ms. Jung herself has requested for a full check-up to be performed on you to ensure that you have sustained no additional injuries other than your leg injuries. You will stay the night and be discharged tomorrow.”

 

Sunny couldn’t say anything else since it was Jessica who had requested for this. The doctor took her silence as consent and smiled brilliantly at her. “I am Doctor Kim but since you’re such a cutie, I’ll want you to call me Hyung Jun oppa instead,” he said with a smile and a wink, “I am your doctor-in-charge.”

 

Taeyeon bristled at his flirting. She didn’t think that such ‘friendliness’ was necessary in this instance. She moved closer to Sunny and held her hand.

 

Sunny blushed pink at Doctor Kim’s flirting. Taeyeon saw her blushing and felt even unhappier about the whole situation. She sulked there and then.

 

Sunny saw Taeyeon sulking beside her. She knew why Taeyeon was sulking and she felt amused by it. It also made her feel loved and it made her smile. She squeezed Taeyeon’s hand affectionately.

 

Just then, a nurse entered the room with an envelope. She handed it over to Doctor Kim. He opened it and took the x-ray out. He then slotted it onto the x-ray view box and switched on the light. Taeyeon walked up to the x-ray and stared at it curiously. Doctor Kim turned around and walked to Sunny.

 

“You have a hairline patella fracture.”

 

“What’s a patella?”

 

“It’s your kneecap; it has a hairline fracture. Fortunately, it is not displaced so all you need to do is wear a plaster cast or about four to six weeks.”

 

“Four to six weeks?!” gasped Sunny.

 

Doctor Kim nodded and smiled at the blonde, “Count yourself lucky, it could have been a lot worse. If the fracture were more severe, you’d need surgery and rehab sessions to heal.”

 

“Oh. Well, in that case… I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about the cast.”

 

“Good girl,” said Doctor Kim, ruffling her hair like a big brother would. He looked at his watch and said, “Oh snap, I’ve gotta make my rounds now. The nurses will bring you for a full body check up and I will be back to check on you in a couple of hours. Be a good girl while I’m gone alright?” And with that, he left the ward, his white doctor’s coat flapping behind him.

 

Shortly after that, the nurses arrived to take Sunny for her check-ups. Taeyeon decided to grab something to eat while Sunny was getting her scans and stuff. She realized that her stomach was growling as she had nothing eaten a single thing up till now.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

On the other side of the hospital, Jessica was buying a box of Arnica. She smiled, looking at the cream, remembering how they first met. She’d been very violent and fierce to Sunny on the first day of school. That girl just got on her nerves and she didn’t know why. She still hasn’t figured out the reason why but she had decided that it didn’t matter since she’d gotten over that after her talk with Sunny. She paid for the cream and headed to Sunny’s ward.

 

There was no one there when she got there. A sense of déjà vu swept over her. She put the Arnica cream on the bedside table and left to find out where Sunny had went. Taeyeon had turned the corner and caught sight of Jessica leaving the ward, walking down the corridor briskly. She opened to call out to Jessica but the tall brunette had already disappeared round the corner. She shrugged and entered the ward to wait for Sunny to come back. She saw the box of Arnica cream on the bedside table.

 

“Who put that there? … Sica?” thought Taeyeon, scratching her head, feeling puzzled.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

“Ah, there she is. Sun-,” Jessica was about to call out to Sunny whom she spotted on a wheelchair; her right leg in a cast, near a drink dispenser when she clamped shut. A good-looking young man had just held Sunny’s hand in his and kissed it. Sunny pulled her hand out of his grasp by force and appeared to be distraught. The man knelt by her side and reached out to caress her cheek with the back of his hand but she turned her head away from him. He looked at her sadly and said, “When I saw you again, I knew for sure how much I really love you. You’re the best, Sunny bunny. I’m gonna get you back.”

 

“No, please don’t. We’ve already ended it and I’m starting to get over you. Please don’t make it harder for me,” pleaded Sunny.

 

“Starting to get over? So you haven’t gotten over me, have you? Neither have I. After her friends owned up to what they did, I flew over here to look for you immediately but fate let us meet here by chance. It’s a sign, Sunny. Fate is on my side.”

 

Jessica had enough of watching that man upset Sunny. She walked to her side and held her hand, fingers intertwined. Sunny looked up in surprise and was relieved to see that it was Jessica. She looked at her with glistening eyes and smiled.

 

“Who is this man, Sunny?”

 

Sungmin smirked at Jessica and said arrogantly, “I’m her boyfriend and who are you, may I ask?”

 

Jessica put on her iciest, unwavering glare and answered in a steely tone, “I’m her current girlfriend and you, I believe, are her EX-boyfriend. What else do you want with her?”

 

Sungmin looked at Jessica from head to toe. He scoffed at her. “You don’t know a single thing about what we went through. Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

 

“I don’t need to know everything. I only need to know one thing right now. I know that she loves me and I love her. You are not in this equation, so leave now,” Jessica’s glowered at Sungmin; her eyes were on the verge of shooting sparks from the intensity of her glare.

 

He seemed to sense that Jessica was not to be trifled with.

 

“Fine, I’ll go. But Sunny, I’m not giving up on you just yet. Think about it and give me a chance to talk to you. I will see you again.”

 

With that, he turned and walked down the corridor, disappearing round the corner. Jessica knelt down and wrapped Sunny in her arms silently.

 

Tears streamed down Sunny’s pale cheeks like an overflowing river. She had been holding back her tears, not wanting him to see her cry. Now that he was gone, she broke down and sobbed into Jessica’s shoulder, her petite body heaving with every sob.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

Back at the camp, the four girls were feeling worried for Sunny’s injuries so Tiffany had called Jessica to ask about Sunny and was assured by Jessica that her injuries were not serious. They felt a little better, knowing that Sunny was okay but their moods had been dampened considerably.

 

Tiffany put her arm around Sooyoung’s shoulder, patting and squeezing her shoulder to comfort the tall girl. Sooyoung smiled at Tiffany, thanking her with her eyes. Yoona felt a surge of jealousy flood her heart. She got up and left the table, not being able to watch as Sooyoung grew closer and closer to Tiffany.

 

Hyoyeon got up as well and followed Yoona back to her tent.

 

“Why don’t you tell her how you feel?”

 

Yoona heaved her shoulders and hung her head.

 

“Are you afraid of rejection?”

 

“What if we can’t even be comfortable as friends anymore after that?”

 

“You can’t even handle Sooyoung and Tiffany’s blossoming friendship, what are you going to do when Sooyoung falls for someone else instead of you?”

 

Yoona had no answer for that.

 

“Yoong, you gotta let Sooyoung know.”

 

“How?”

 

“Just tell her.”

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yoona sat down and buried her face in her palms.

 

“I’ve got no guts to do it.”

 

“Then write a letter or something. If she rejects you, pretend that it was a joke.”

 

“Unnie! That’s the lamest idea ever!”

 

Hyoyeon laughed and patted Yoona on her back. “I’m sure you can figure the best way to tell her how you feel about her. Do it soon.”

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

A beautiful lady with a svelte figure stepped off the plane and entered the airport terminal. Her long dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and bounced with a healthy sheen as she walked briskly towards the immigration counters. A pair of shades hid her beautifully shaped eyes from view. She wore a loose brown designer top that hung from her shoulders, adding a strong touch of femininity to the pair of skin-tight jeans that accentuated her slim, endless legs. A pair of brown leather high-heeled boots completed her sophisticated look with a tinge of soft ruggedness. Her Gucci bag was slung to the side casually. As she walked, heads turned and people nudged their friends to look at her.

 

“Is she a celebrity?”

 

“I don’t know, never seen her before but she sure as heck looks and walks like one.”

 

The tall, tanned girl half-smiled to herself. She was used to such reactions from people. In fact, she enjoyed the attention. She especially loved it when all eyes were on her down at the track. The more people were watching, the faster she ran.

 

It wasn’t too long before she finally stepped out of the terminal and hopped onto a cab. She took her phone out and dialed a number.

 

“Ohh la la… oh what a feeling…”

 

“She still hasn’t changed her phone’s ringing tone! That girl really can like something forever.”

The call was not answered. She flipped her hair to the back and settled down comfortably in the cab, closing her eyes. “I’m so sleepy…”

 

When she opened her eyes, she had arrived at her apartment. She paid the cab driver and got off. Browsing through her phone’s notes, she read, “9F/ 08.”

 

She opened the mahogany door and entered her apartment for the first time. Her eyes swept across the room and took in the simple Zen-styled furnishings and interior design. She was happy with what she saw and began unpacking her stuff.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

Sooyoung sat beside Tiffany quietly. Tiffany noticed her presence and leaned her head on Sooyoung’s shoulder. “This camp isn’t fun anymore,” she said with mournful eyes, “I’m too worried about both Sunny and Taeng to even think about doing my duties here.”

 

Sooyoung didn’t know what to say. There didn’t seem to be any way to comfort the sad girl resting on her shoulder. Then she had a brainwave.

 

“Sunny is alright, isn’t she? Don’t worry about her fracture. The same thing happened to me before – see this scar on my left knee? I got it when a cyclist crashed into me while I was cycling. The doctor told me I had a fracture too! Kneecap fractures are quite common. A few weeks in a cast and I was as good as new.”

 

Tiffany smiled wanly at Sooyoung’s attempt to ease her worries. “Where is the scar?” Tiffany traced Sooyoung’s knee outline with her fingertip. “Is it this one?” She pointed at a faint mark on the side of Sooyoung’s knee.

 

The taller girl nodded. “Yeah, you can barely even see the scar now. So don’t worry! Sunny will be fine and Taeng can take care of herself. Besides, Jessica is there for the two of them, isn’t she? She’ll take care of Taeng!”

 

Tiffany felt the load on her shoulders lighten upon hearing that. “You’re right. They’ll be alright over there.” Smiling a little stronger than before, she got up and patted her shorts down. “Guess I still have things to do. The camp will end tomorrow and there’s lots of loose ends to tie up. So I’ll see ya later?”

 

Sooyoung nodded and grinned. “I’ll see ya at dinner time!”

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

[In the stairwell of the hospital…]

 

She was drying her tears and sniffing away as the taller brunette leaned against the wall, watching her. She didn’t dare to look up, knowing that a pair of piercing chocolate-brown eyes was at the very moment boring holes into her skull.

 

Jessica gave her some personal space to collect herself. She waited patiently for a while. Then she lost her patience.

 

“Explain what happened.”

 

Sunny looked up tearfully. Jessica’s heart ached upon seeing the little blonde looking so battered but she ignored it and pressed on. She needed to get some answers to justify what she had just done.

 

Sunny took a deep breath and lowered her eyes. “That was Sungmin, the guy whom I broke up with six months ago.”

 

“I know. I want to know why. And how.”

 

The petite girl swallowed hard. It was difficult for her to talk about it but she knew that Jessica wouldn’t relent.

 

“It’s a long story.”

 

“I have the time. You have the time. I’ll sit. You’ll talk.”

 

Jessica sat down on a step right next to Sunny. Her unwavering gaze never left Sunny.

 

“It all started when I entered high school. I was fifteen then, a freshman and he was a senior, three years older than me. He was the basketball MVP for our high school… he asked me out… I was flattered and accepted. He liked me a lot and we dated happily.”

 

Jessica rolled her eyes at that but held her silence.

 

A little more than a year ago…

 

Sunny was excited about the prospect of becoming a sophomore yet at the same time downcast at the thought of Sungmin’s impending graduation from high school. She would be his date to his prom night of course. She was looking forward to that.

 

Sungmin on the other hand was getting annoyed with his friends. They were all egging him to take the step forward with his girlfriend on prom night.

 

“You’re a wimp if you still can’t get anywhere with her after a year!”

 

He ignored their silly taunts and antics.

 

Prom night arrived and they enjoyed themselves, even continuing the party at Sungmin’s home until his friends got a little drunk there and started taunting them to do the deed before the next day arrived.

 

Sungmin got really annoyed and sent them packing. Then he turned to Sunny sheepishly. She was blushing madly from his friends’ suggestive teasing.

 

“It’s okay with me if you don’t want to. I can wait till you’re sixteen.” He winked at her and pulled her into his arms, cuddling her.

 

Sunny smiled, loving him more for being so understanding, she tiptoed and planted a kiss on his lips. He looked surprised. It wasn’t often that his girlfriend initiated intimacy between them. She giggled and kissed him again. They kissed deeply and for a long time. Sungmin’s hands roamed up and down her back and rear.

 

“Sunny bunny…” he whispered hotly into her ear, “if you keep doing that, we are heading towards dangerous grounds soon…”

 

He pulled away and cuddled her instead. She buried her face in his chest and sighed happily.

 

“What did you tell me that for? I don’t wanna hear some mushy love story. I just want to know why you guys broke up and what did he mean by some friends admitting to doing something?” Jessica interrupted Sunny’s story impatiently.

 

“That was the last time we had a good time together. Things changed a lot when he entered Uni. I didn’t get to see him as much. One day after school; he came to pick me up. We went to a house party where I met his new friends. One of them was a girl. She seemed to like him a lot because she kept touching him all the time.”

 

“I can totally see where this is going already. The typical b*tch who snatched your boyfriend for herself?” Hostility was written all over Jessica’s face.

 

“To cut a long story short, she got me drunk and set me up to look like I had been unfaithful to Sungmin.”

 

“What?! How?!”

 

“She took pictures of me in bed with one of her friends and showed him the pictures.”

 

“B*TCH!” Jessica was beside herself with rage.

 

“I still can’t believe that Sungmin believed her and not me.” Sunny said miserably.

 

Six months ago…

 

“I dated you for a year! I waited for you! And you went and slept with a random guy at a party?!”

 

“No... No… please listen to me…” cried Sunny in between sobs. “I don’t know what happened but I didn’t do anything!”

 

“I don’t care if you were drunk. How could you do this to me?! Do you not trust me? Every time I wanted you, you’d say no. DAMN IT!”

 

Sunny sobbed, reaching out to hold his hand, her heart willing him to see the obvious truth. He flung her hand away from him. “Don’t even touch me now.” He looked at her disdainfully and sent the most painful words piercing through her heart.

 

“I should have taken you back at prom. Now you’re just cheap. Go away; you’re not my bunny anymore.”

 

He turned and left her sobbing on her knees around the corner from her house.

 

“And I never saw him again. Till just now. Sica… it hurts so bad…” Sunny looked extremely pitiful and Jessica couldn’t stop herself from hugging her tightly.

 

Her sharp mind processed the new information and she looked at Sunny again. “Sunny, he said that some friends admitted to doing something. Does that mean that he knows the truth now?”

 

Sunny shook her head slightly, “I don’t know. Maybe they told him the truth. To be honest, I don’t even remember much of that night but I just know that I didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

The taller brunette sighed and patted the blonde hair gently. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here for you. Let’s go and tell Taeng about this.”

 

Sunny clutched Jessica’s hand to stop her. “No! Don’t tell Taeng! I don’t want her to be worried about this on top of my knee injury. She’s got enough on her plate. I can’t tell her about this and break down in front of her… it will break her heart.”

 

Jessica’s eyes roved over hers; silently questioning her decision to keep it from Taeyeon.

 

Sunny looked at Jessica pleadingly, shaking her head left and right.

 

Jessica relented, much to her own surprise. She just didn’t want to put any more distress on Sunny at the moment. They’d find another chance to tell Taeyeon about it.

 

•°★°••°★°••°★°•

 

They returned to the ward after Sunny washed her face with Jessica’s help. Her eyes were still a little puffy but that couldn’t be helped. Taeyeon had dozed off in the chair next to the bed. Jessica wheeled Sunny into the ward quietly and hoisted Sunny back onto the bed.

 

Sunny saw the Arnica cream and smiled sweetly. “Taeyeon is the sweetest thing… this is the second time she’s bought me this cream.” She told Jessica, pointing at the box on the bedside table.

 

Jessica looked surprised. “Sunny thinks that Taeyeon bought the cream. Ah, just as well.” That same dull heart ache hit her again and she rubbed her chest unknowingly.

 

“Are you alright, Sica?” asked Sunny, seeing Jessica rubbing her chest.

 

The taller girl smiled lightly and nodded.

 

Taeyeon stirred, yawned and opened her eyes. She shrieked with joy to see Sunny back in the ward with a cast on her leg. “Can I sign on it?” she asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Sunny laughed out loud and nodded.

 

Taeyeon leapt up and went out hunting for some marker pens to write with cheering along the way, “I get to sign on Sunny’s cast! I get to sign on Sunny’s cast!”

 

Sunny and Jessica looked at each other and burst out laughing, their problems momentarily forgotten.