Yuri held Sunny's hand tight as they quickly bolted from the cubicle and out of the restroom. Huge grins and blushing cheeks were evident in their faces as they scampered away while avoiding curious looks from passers by. 

 

"Yul~ where are we going?"  Sunny managed to ask in spite of her short and rapid breaths and a heavily pounding heartbeat.

 

"Somewhere, anywhere as long as we're together I don't care!" Yuri chirped with a huge grin, Sunny could only sheepishly smile as her cheeks radiated a tinge of pink.

 

After running out of the park, they wandered around the city streets. Though it was a pleasant cloudy afternoon, the temperature slowly dropped. The weather's a lot colder this time of the year and snow started to fall. Yuri stuffed hers and Sunny's entwined hands inside the pocket of her jacket. 

 

Yuri's little gesture delighted the already flushed and elated bunny.

 

Despite the cold weather, the city's commercial area is still bustling with people, some on their mid day breaks while others were leisurely going about their affairs. Everything seemed normal yet one person in the midst of the endless sea of people became a lot more restless.

 

While strolling down the busy mid-day streets, Sunny glanced around and became a lot more conscious. She's starting to worry if someone would recognize her, not even this spent with Yuri completely distracted her. 

 

What if someone from work saw her or worst... What if someone from Kang Ho Dong's circle spotted her? Sunny's never been in such a situation where her life is on the line and the thought frightened her.

 

"Sunny ah, are you okay?" Yuri asked after sensing her growing uneasiness

 

"Yul, I'm worried... What if someone recognizes me?" Sunny whispered as she hugged Yuri and hid her face on her bosom.
Yuri frowned upon hearing the girl's frightened words, briefly pondering over the dilemma and after quickly looking around; Yuri spotted a salon on the other side of the street and quickly led Sunny towards it. 

 

"Y-yah! Yul! Where are we going?" Sunny asked, she's completely aghast as Yuri dragged her to cross the street while trying to beat the red light.

 

"We're going to do something so that nobody will recognize you, Sunny ah!"

 

---

 

 

 

Little foolish banter, a few curious questions and laughter filled a small hospital room. 4 girls were left to entertain the queries of a girl who has been sleeping for a few months. Her questions were mostly harmless, but silently the 4 girls prayed that she wouldn't raise questions about the circumstances, behind her accident.

 

Accident, a word that loosely conceals the real circumstances behind the events of that fateful evening. 

 

Hours have passed since Yuri and Sunny left, the girls just had lunch and Yoona had nothing better to do except sit and watch from her bed. 
Taeyeon and Tiffany kept themselves busy,  busy enough so that they wouldn't answer a lot of Yoona's questions. They were helping Jessica clean up while Seohyun started reading her books.

 

"Sica?" Yoona called out Jessica's attention

 

"What is it, Yoongie?" Sica on a drop of a dime paid attention to her lover who has been sitting on her bed with legs crossed and a curious seven year old girl-like expression on her face. 

 

"I never expected unnie to have a girlfriend" Yoona remarked in a pleasantly surprised tone. "So how did Yuri unnie and Sunny meet? I don't exactly recall her from before" 

 

Whatever cordial spirit that once filled the room suddenly left. All eyes were on Jessica. Seohyun, Taeyeon and Tiffany were anxious to see how Jessica would handle this situation.

 

"Well... See the thing is..." before Jessica could continue answering the question, the door swings open.

 

For a moment Jessica was tongue tied and her mind didn't seem to find a good reply to Yoona's query. But as the door opened, everyone including Yoona's attention became diverted and they wondered who was coming in. To everyone's surprise Yuri walks through the door and following shortly behind her is Sunny.

 

"S-Sunny?! Your hair!?"  Tiffany gasped and pointed, although they all had the same thought, Tiffany pretty much summed up what everyone was most surprised about.

 

"What? Is it bad?" Sunny asked as she flipped her hair with her fingers.

 

Sunny giggled and flaunted her pixie cut blond hair before clinging on Yuri's arm. The latter has been scratching her head while chuckling at Sunny's spirited demeanor. Indeed Sunny liked her new hair, though the shortness and new hair color seem to be a bit too much for her comfort at first, eventually Sunny eased into her new look. Their return and Sunny’s new look managed to distract everyone including the curious Yoona. Her question somehow slipped through the back of her mind and for the time being nothing else mattered and nothing needed to be answered.

 

 

---

 

 

Days easily passed with hardly any trouble or fuss and life seemed normal for the girls. 

 

Yes everything's going rather smoothly but on the other hand....

 

Summer has been wandering around the city and trying to pick up traces of Soonkyu. Her search has already led her to Soonkyu’s workplace. Summer stood in front of the 9 storey building headquarters of KSB 9. The building houses the News and current affairs as well as entertainment arm of the broadcasting company that broadcasts all over Korea as well as different countries across the globe.

 

“Excuse me” Summer asked after entering the building and approaching the front desk.

 

“Yes? What can I do for you?” The receptionist at the front desk in the Lobby asked as she noticed Summer.

 

“I’m looking for Soonkyu” 

 

“Soonkyu..? Oh! You mean Miss Lee Soonkyu?” Summer nodded and showed a faux enthusiastic smile. 

 

“Well, she still hasn’t shown up for work, in fact we haven’t heard from her or her brother Donghae for the past several weeks.” said the receptionist to which Summer convincingly acted that she was disappointed after hearing the news.

 

The KSB 9 building was Summer's last stop for the day, she has already gone through Soonkyu's apartment yet has found no trace of her. In fact all of Kang's men searched far and wide yet they haven’t found anything.
After leaving the KSB 9 building, Summer entered her car and drove back to the secret facility.

 

 

---

 

 

Back at Kang’s secret research facility

 

"Next time stop struggling too much, !" Junhyeon cussed and violently slapped Hyoyeon as he finished shooting his load inside Hyoyeon.
Junhyeon has been under heavy pressure from Kang Ho Dong, after Yonghwa fled and took sensitive files that could implicate Kang Ho Dong and his associates. Junhyeon has been tasked to find Yonghwa, alive or otherwise. Junhyeon hasn’t exactly found the young man, in fact the closest that he could find was Yonghwa’s car. It was found in the possession of a businessman who sold second hand cars a couple of days after Yonghwa disappeared. 

 

Failing to produce any results so far…

 

He feels the pressure

 

And every time Junhyeon's under pressure...

 

“Uncle no more! Please! Stop!”
Hyoyeon becomes an outlet for him to take out all of his frustration. 

 

Junhyeon once again Hyoyeon, of the countless time he's violated her, this time proved to be the most bruising and sadistic encounter. While having his way with her, Junhyeon repetitively punched, slapped and choked Hyoyeon. The more she struggled the more he hurts her. It was as if he enjoyed inflicting pain and watching her scream suffer.

 

Now that he's done with her, and Hyoyeon's reduced to a broken and bleeding mess. Junhyeon had a satisfied smirk on his face as the daughter of his dead brother sobbed and whimpered.

 

"As much as I enjoy hurting you when you put up a fight, you shouldn't forget..." Though fear was in her eyes, Hyoyeon didn't tear her gaze from her abusive uncle. 

 

"I have THIS!" Junhyeon pulled out the remote detonator from the pocket of his blazer.
Hyoyeon's eyes widened upon seeing the device, fear easily crippled her. She knows that it only takes a fraction of a second to press the red button on the device. Hyoyeon held her breath when Junhyeon released the safety lock, the red button on the detonator lit up and Hyoyeon knew she was but a breath away from certain doom as her uncle's thumb dangerously hovered over the button. 
The bracelet on Hyoyeon's wrist lit up and tiny needles pierced through her veins. All it took was for Junhyeon to press the button and soon after the poison would be injected.

 

The fear in Hyoyeon's eyes pleased Junhyeon, it gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction. He re-engaged the safety lock and the bracelet on Hyoyeon's wrist deactivated and disengaged from administering the poison. Her trembling sigh of relief became evident while a jubilant and arrogant fit of laughter left Junhyeon's mouth as he looked on and saw Hyoyeon cowering in fear. He continued putting on his clothes while Hyoyeon silently sobbed while wrapping her bruised body with the blanket.

 

 

---

 

 

 

After parking her sleek black Mustang, Summer proceeded to enter the facility and boarded the elevator so that she could get to the floor where Hyoyeon's room was. Summer had no clue of Hyoyeon’s latest encounter with her abusive uncle, the only thing that baffled the lanky girl was that Hyoyeon hasn’t answered or returned her calls neither did she reply tiger messages for the past several hours.
Summer casually started humming along the tune of the elevator music and counted down until the elevator reached the 7th floor. A subtle smile on her face as the thought of being with Hyoyeon has never failed to make her happy.
The elevator stopped and a tone prompted Summer that she has reached her destination. Just as the elevator doors opened, the very first thing or person she sees is Kim Junhyeon.

 

Summer’s eyes bulged and her blood boiled when she caught sight of the arrogant Junhyeon. How she wished she could just kill him right then and there but in her mind she knew that it wouldn’t change things, not yet not until Hyoyeon's safety is guaranteed. 

 

They broke no words but the air around both Junhyeon and Summer was filled with nothing but hate and animosity. Summer quelled her murderous thoughts as she got out of the elevator while Junhyeon purposely bumped into her as he entered. With the elevator door slowly coming to a close, Summer and Junhyeon glared at each other, the meaningful smirk on Junhyeon’s face made Summer’s face turn pale. 
The hair on the back of Summer's neck stood and a horrible thought entered her mind, in an instant she sprinted towards Hyoyeon’s room. 

 

"! That bastard!"

 

Once she reached the door,  her hands were unsteady and trembling, Summer tried her best to enter the security code to unlock the door.
A long beep and a flash of red on the security keypad indicated that Summer entered the wrong code.

 

“Damn it! Keep it together!” Summer hissed and tried to calm herself down.

 

A deep breath and with more nerves, Summer entered the code correctly and the door unlocked.
Upon entering the sizeable apartment, Summer ran into the living room and as she made her way into the living room, something felt different. Her temple started to throb and as the pain became intense a sudden jolt of what felt like electric current ran up her spine and straight through her brain. 

 

As the pain momentarily subsided, Summer saw a middle aged man and woman lying in a pool of blood in the living room. Their faces strangely familiar yet she just can’t seem to recognize them. Surprised by the sight, she shook her head a couple of times and closed her eyes tight and took deep breaths. 

 

"what was that? " Summer shook her head and tried to fight the pain and calm herself down. 
With a few more shakes of her head, she opened her eyes and to her relief the couple she saw lying dead in the living room disappeared.

 

“Hyo? Where are you?” Summer called out and though her head still throbbed Summer ventured towards the room she shares with Hyoyeon.
Summer paced herself and though the discomfort she felt gradually became intense, she powered herself through and continued heading towards the bedroom. 

 

"it's getting... Worst... " The pain stifled her every step as her eyesight became blurry. Summer leaned on the wall and felt like she couldn’t continue, her aching head became immensely unbearable that she fell down to her knees. 
Just a few feet ahead of her, Summer could see a woman who looked like her yet somehow a couple years older, lying facedown on the floor with a knife stuck on her back and a gaping wound across her neck. 
The gruesome sight horrified her

 

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” Summer screamed and grabbed locks of her scruffy short brown hair.

 

She couldn’t understand things. 

 

Why was she seeing dead people? Who are they? What’s happening to her?

 

As her thoughts confused her, Summer banged her head on the wall in a feeble attempt to number the pain and make her visions disappear. 

 

“Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!” Summer desperately cried out as she continued banging her head against the wall.
Her eyes were sealed shut as tears trickled out of them, weakened by the pain and as the haunting faces of those dead people became etched into her mind, Summer continued crying.

 

The door to hers and Hyoyeon’s shared room opened and from within it came Hyoyeon. She heard Summer and though still bruised and aching and still wearing nothing but a blanket wrapped around her body, Hyoyeon hurriedly ran out of the room. Shocked to see Summer crying and crouching on the floor, Hyoyeon crouched down next to her.

 

“Summer! W-what happened to you?” Hyoyeon worriedly asked as tears built up from the corner of her eyes.

 

“Make em go away…make em go away…” Summer gruffly murmured as she continued to be haunted by what she saw earlier.

 

“Summer! Summer! Get a hold of yourself!” Hyoyeon vigorously shook Summer, in the hopes breaking her trance.
The lanky girl heard Hyoyeon’s voice; she opened her eyes and immediately hugged her while still bellowing. She clung to her like a babe clinging to her mother and Hyoyeon couldn’t do anything else except comfort and soothe the girl.

 

 

---

 

 

Darkness fell and as the lights of the city slowly flickered and illuminated the night time sky, snow continued to fall. The dazzling lights and the blanket of snow that covered the city, hid the true horrors of the city.

 

The underground arena drew more audience who were eager to watch a true blood sport where there were no rules and no holds barred. Yes, another night that seemed like any other in this God forsaken place. 

 

In a private function room that overlooked the arena, Ho Dong could barely enjoy what was happening inside the arena. The guttural screams of the vanquished and the thunderous cheers of the crowd did nothing to delight his foul mood.

 

“Junhyeon do you really think that I find the situation amusing?” Kang impatiently asked while letting out a puff of smoke through his nostrils.

 

“Apologies Boss but we’re doing the best we can, our people are working hard to find that reporter and your son Yonghwa—” Junhyeon profusely apologised, doing nothing but further fueling Ho Dong’s displeasure.

 

“Junhyeon, forget about that snotty reporter, leave that to Summer!” 

 

“Focus your attention on finding my bastard son! I don’t care whether you kill him or not, just make sure you find him and secure those files!”

 

Kang Ho Dong threw his whiskey glass on the floor and stormed out of the building leaving behind a cowering Junhyeon. His mood has been foul and definitely not even the holidays nor the death match managed to sate his anger.

 

---

 

 

Hello an overdue update that I hope would get the story rolling once again. 

 

I've been busy with my new job at a promo and advertising company, work has been stressful at times but I've never felt more alive and I actually get to learn stuff and enjoy what I do.

 

From here on out I'll be updating this, hopefully every week, thanks for everyone who stayed on with this story.

 

-AnDroGeNie-