Happy reading!~

Siwon’s POV~

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What was that?! Who just got shot?!

“MOVE IN MEN!” Agent Yi yelled, but his yell was drowned out by a heartbroken person screaming at the top of their lungs, “TROYYYYY!”

…Uki?

And then another gunshot was heard, accompanied by the sounds of the police FINALLY busting the front doors down and raiding. The first thing they brought out was Alex, looking horrible with a makeshift splint on her leg. Donghae, Donghwa, and their mom rushed forward and met them halfway, wrenching Alex from the policemen’s grasp. All she could do was sob, clinging tightly to her family as they led her to one of the ambulances. After that, came Troy rolled out on a gurney, shirtless due to the fact that he had a gunshot wound right in the chest.

Oh my God.

“GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL, NOW!” one of the paramedics was yelling as they were hooking him up to random tubes and wires in the back of an ambulance.

The ambulance immediately tore down the road, its sirens screeching. C’mon, c’mon, WHERE’S UKI?! It made me so flippin’ angry when what I saw instead was Tony and his goons being brought out in handcuffs.

“WHERE ARE THE OTHER GUYS?!” the agent that was in charge of the raid yelled.

“Uki knocked them out. They’re all in the rooms upstairs,” Tony muttered.

He knew he’d been defeated.

“THAT’S HIM! THAT’S THE GUY WHO HURT OUR ALEX UNNIE AND UKI UNNIE!” the ELFs screamed in outrage.

About half the policemen that were there immediately began holding all the girls back from ripping Tony and his ‘friends’ to shreds. I had to laugh at the sight of their terrified faces. Yes, you stupid idiots, you never mess with ELFs.

EVER.

And then things went deathly silent.

All we heard was some of the paramedics yelling something in incomprehensible Vietnamese inside. What the hell was going on?! I felt a tiny hand slip into mine and when I looked down, Little Uki was staring straight at the building, her eyes big and round, a look of fear on her face. I smiled a little and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. And then my heart completely shattered and fell right to my very toes.

On the next gurney that they rolled out, was Uki, her right shoulder soaking a white towel that they had pressed over her gunshot wound. Her white face had streaks of blood on her cheeks and forehead, but I had a feeling that it wasn’t hers. Her eyes were fluttering. I could plainly see that she was fighting to stay alive.

“SHE’S NOT BREATHING! GET HER TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!” the paramedic pumping air into her lungs ordered.

Hearing those words made me shut down inside.

“NO! YOU BETTER SAVE HER! YOU BETTER SAVE MY ANGEL!” I heard Little Uki screaming, but her words didn’t register with me.

All that mattered was the fact that Uki wasn’t breathing. Somewhere in the midst of all the cries and sobs of all the rescued girls and all the ELFs, I heard my mom’s agonized scream cut through the crowd.

“MY BABY! MY BABY! PLEASE, GOD, DON’T TAKE MY BABY AWAY FROM ME YET!” she screamed.

And then I shouted at the sight of her going limp in my dad’s arms. I shook my head, my senses snapping awake. I turned to all the guys who stood rooted to the spot, their faces completely drained of any and all color. They looked dead.

“C’mon! We needa meet them at the hospital!” I yelled, also snapping them out of their trances.

They all rushed to the van we came in and piled inside. I stooped down to look at Little Uki.

“Uki, you’re going to have to be brave for oppa, okay? I can’t take you with me because the police won’t let me, but they’ll take good care of you and the other girls,” I told her.

She nodded slightly and wiped away her tears. “I understand. Just promise me that my unnie will be okay.”

And without even waiting for an answer, she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Aish, I hated having to leave her here, but I had to. After we broke the hug, one of the policemen led her back to the other girls while I turned and looked at the building. The police were still bringing out more and more guys, but these ones were unconscious and beaten. I smiled slightly. You did good, Uki. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Then I turned my back on that damned building, never intending to look back ever again.

Uki’s POV~

As the paramedics were hustling and bustling around me, I replayed what happened just a few minutes ago in my half-fried mind.

The moment Troy hit the floor, I dropped down beside him, screaming his name.

“No, no, no! Why did you do that! You stupid idiot, why did you jump in front of me?!” I screamed at him, cradling his head in my lap while hugging him tightly.

“I couldn’t let you die,” he managed to murmur. “I love you, Uki. Please, please forgive me for all I’ve done to you. That’s my last request to you. Just forgive me and I can die a happy man.”

“Don’t say that! There are no such things as last requests! This is not your last request, do you hear me, Troy Marcus Burchett?! This is not your last request!” I sobbed.

“Uki. Please. Just tell me you forgive me.”

“I forgive you! I forgive you, Troy, but only if you stay alive! You have to stay alive for me!”

His hand feebly came up, opening my hand and dropping something inside, closing my fingers around it. “Every time you wear this now, think of not only your struggles, but of me. I love you, Uki.”

Then his eyes closed on me, for the last time, I wasn’t sure. All I could do was scream and sob and hug him tightly while closing my fingers around my necklace, holding onto it for dear life.

“Oh boo-hoo-hoo,” I head a sarcastic voice say. “What a sad way to end such a twisted love story.”

I didn’t even get a chance to look up before the sound of thunder went off again and I flew back, indescribable pain bursting in my shoulder and spreading out to my entire arm. But I wasn’t dead yet. No, he couldn’t even show me enough mercy to kill me. He had to make suffer. He stepped up slowly to me, looking down with his revolver pointed right at my forehead, sneering at me.

“Oh would you look at that,” he said, “one last bullet. How convenient.”

I watched as his finger was literally halfway at pulling the trigger when the glass doors shattered and Tony was tackled to the ground. I silently cursed. WHY CAN’T I JUST EVER DIE OR LIVE?! WHY IS THERE ALWAYS AN IN-BETWEEN FOR ME?! I felt myself being lifted up and strapped to a gurney, an oxygen mask placed over my face. And I’m sure you know what happened after that.

“Is she breathing yet?!” one of the paramedics asked.

“Not on her own,” the paramedic who was pumping air into my lungs using that weird thing that medics used said. Hey, when I was in med school, I studied to be a doctor, not a paramedic. And yes, there is a difference.

I felt myself slowly slipping into unconsciousness, my fingers slackening around my necklace. I mentally sighed. Who knew this was how things were gonna end for me? I always wanted to die while doing something cool, like bungee jumping or sky diving or…or…Gator wrestling! I dunno, just something more exciting than being shot by some disgusting guy who can’t even fight to defend himself! I heard the heart monitor start to slow down as my mind completely went blank.

The last thing that filled my ears was the incessant flat-toned beep coming from the heart monitor accompanied by the yells of the paramedic. The last thing I remember thinking was ‘That tone is completely flat. They needa raise it a half step so it can be a perfectly in tune A. How annoying.’

Donghae’s POV~

Thank God Alex was alive and well, even if she had a broken leg and a few minor fractures. She was in a whole lot better condition than Uki was. It’d been seven hours and the hospital lobby is filled with worried ELFs and concerned girls from the building. I was pacing back and forth. What little was left of my shattered heart completely disintegrated when the doctor came out, a somber look on his face.

“Are you with Uki Choi and Troy Burchett?” he asked us.

We all nodded. Despite Troy putting Uki through so much hell, he redeemed himself in my eyes.

“They’re both in the ICU. Only family members please,” he said.

I stifled a laugh when all thirteen of us plus Uki’s family and my family stood up. The doctor raised a skeptical brow.

“You’re all…?”

“We’re all her older brothers,” Heechul said, “and if you try keeping us back from seeing our little sister, I will hurt you. Severely.”

The doctor immediately agreed, allowing us to be led away by a nurse. She took us to see Troy first.

“Is he okay?” I asked the nurse.

“Sadly no. I don’t know if he’s gonna make it out of this one or not,” she said, a sad look on her face. “Such a shame, too. A young, handsome man like him meeting his demise so soon. He could have had such a bright future for himself.”

We didn’t linger too long around Troy’s room. We were more worried about Uki. We all moved toward Uki’s room and let out a cry at seeing her lying on the hospital bed like that. We sat down in the chairs provided, some standing and leaning against the walls. I sat next to her, taking one of her hands while her family sat on the other side, her mom taking her other hand. The door opened and we turned back to see the doctor.

“She’s not in any good condition, as you can plainly see,” he said sadly.

I looked back at her. All the tubes and wires and machines hooked up to her scared the crap out of me. C’mon, Uki, you’re too strong of a person to die this way.

“Wh…What are the chances looking like, Doctor?” her mom asked shakily, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He sighed and said, “As of right now, she’s not even breathing for herself. Without that machine right there—” He pointed to an especially big machine that had a million tubes hooked to it all leading to the mask on her face, “—she’d be dead. Her mind is still responsive. It’s very much awake. But her body refuses to cooperate. So, you can say that she’s pretty much dead. She pulled a flat-line on her way here and they managed to revive her once, but I don’t know how much longer she can hold out.”

His words had her entire family sobbing. I couldn’t cry. I felt so numb.

“A-and if she wakes up? What does that possibility look like?” her dad asked.

“If she wakes up, I think she can make a full recovery. The only thing is, although that bullet missed her spinal cord by a couple of centimeters, it tore through a major nerve. If she wakes up, I expect for the entire right side of her torso will be paralyzed. Which means from here—” He motioned right in the middle of her body from her collar bone, “—to here—” He pulled his hand down to her waist, “—will be paralyzed. This also means that her right lung won’t be able to function, causing her to breathe with the assistance of a machine. Much like this one here, just on a smaller scale. She’ll live, but it’ll be a bitter sweet victory.”

Her mom just cried even harder, holding onto her hand more tightly.

“Doctor, how long do you think it’ll take her to wake up?” I asked quietly.

He looked to me, taken aback that I’d spoken. “Well, um…There’s no way of telling. Could be days, could be weeks, could be months, I just don’t know. But I want to bring something to your attention. If we have to wait that long, I suggest that you choose to put her out of her misery. This switch right here—” He motioned to a prominent switch on the machine helping her breathe, “—is what’s keeping her alive. If it comes down to it, I think you should put her out of her misery. Flip the switch and the good Lord will take her from there.”

“Are you insane?! Why would you even suggest something so absurd?!” Heechul exclaimed. “You really think we’re gonna give up on her?! Uki’s a fighter, damn it, she’ll make it out of this! Flip the switch. I’ve never heard anything so crazy before in my life!”

I smiled. Ahh, Chullie~ Only you.

The doctor cleared his throat, not sure of how to respond. “Well, um…I’ll leave you all to your thoughts then.”

He was about to leave, when he turned back to us and said, “Oh, and before I forget. She had this in her hands while in the ambulance.”

He handed me Uki’s necklace. I smiled sadly at it, a sneaky little tear that managed to break my mental damn falling on the Buddha pendant. She told us she was gonna get it back. Even if it killed her.

With that final word and gesture, the doctor left, leaving us in silence for a couple of seconds.

Heechul spat at the trash can. “I don’t like him. He’s stupid and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Flip the switch. Stupidest idea ever!”

“Yah, hyung, calm down. He doesn’t know Uki like we do. We all know that she’ll make it out of this, and that’s all that should matter,” Sungmin said, giving him a half-hearted smile.

Heechul sighed. “She better. I’m gonna kill her if she doesn’t.”

I busted out laughing at his bluntness.

“Only you, hyung, would threaten to kill someone on a hospital bed out of love,” I said, looking at him.

He just smiled in return. I turned back to Uki. C’mon, I know you’re awake. I know you’re just dying to say some cheeky response to Heechul. C’mon, c’mon, Uki, I know you can do this!

Uki’s POV~

Heechul, I’d like to see you try and kill me.

Lol. I love Heechul<3 I loved your guys' responses! Lol. From completely hating Troy to hoping it wasn't him who got killed(x You guys crack me up. Lol.

So I know I've been saying this for the past two chapters now, but it's definite this time. Either the next chapter or the chapter after that is gonna be the last one. D:

And it might be awhile 'till the sequel is up and running 'cause I literally have no clue how I even wanna start the sequel.  ><" Kekeke. But it'll be up, I promise! Lol. Thanks for supporting me through all this! I love you guys!<3

FIGHTING!~

PSSSS. Ignore the ppl in the pic. They're so random(x