*Sandeul’s POV*

I opened my eyes to darkness. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain washed over me. Why does my body hurt so much? I had a headache worse than any of my past headaches I had combined. I felt like my bones were going to break any moment.

Why do I feel like this? Then I remembered the truck coming right at me. So that’s it. I must be dead.

Well I lived a pointless life. Being controlled and having everything decided for me. I couldn’t even live life to it’s fullest. Then I remembered Miyeon and a smile crept on m face. She was the only thing that made my gloomy life worth living. The smile left my face. “I couldn’t even tell her I love her.”

But I kissed her. So she would be able to tell from that right? Although she can be a little slow sometimes.

In the darkness, I saw a beam of light over me. I raised my arms to block the light. I really must be dead. They say when you die, you see a ray of light shining down on you. Or was that for something else? No matter. Isn’t doesn’t change the fact that I’m really dead.

*Yejun’s POV*

I stared at the clock blankly. I heard the words with my very own ears but I couldn’t believe it. Maybe I didn’t want to believe it.

My appa walked into the room.

“Junnie, who was that on the phone?” he asked.

At that moment, tears started flowing. I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to.

“Woah, Yejun what’s wrong?” Appa walked toward me and put his hands on my shoulders and shook me. As if trying to bring the life back to me, but I felt lifeless. 

My eomma walked into the room next. “Yeobo what’s wrong?” I guess she saw me crying because she exclaimed “Yejun honey what’s wrong?”

As much as possible, I tried to force the words out of my mouth.

“Noona and Sandeul hyung got into an accident.”

*Wooyoung’s POV*

I sat in the extremely cold meeting room with my father and Mr. Lee, but where was Sandeul? He’s forty minutes late.

I would glance over at Mr. Lee every once in awhile. He kept checking the clock every two minutes, and was tapping his pencil and foot and had a very irritated look on his face. Obviously he doesn’t like the fact that his son was late for a very important meeting.

My father wanted to say something, I could tell. But he was too scared of my father.

At that moment, Mr. Lee threw his pencil and it skidded across the table. “Where is that good for nothing child!”

My father spoke up. "Now Seonu, there must be a very good reason as to why Junghwan is late. He's bound to come any moment." 

Mr. Lee ignored him and sat back in his chair. His scowl got worse and I felt scared to even look at him. I looked away and slipped my phone out of my pocket. I turned it on seeing if I received a new message but there was nothing. I had texted Sandeul 10 minutes earlier where he was, but I got no reply. I was starting to get worried. No matter how much Sandeul hates going to meetings and training sessions, he's never late. I bit my lip. Something doesn't feel right,

At that moment, a light knock was heard from the door and it opened. In walked a man in his late 40s and he whispered something to Mr. Lee. I didn't know what that man told him, but it must have not been good. Mr. Lee's eyes widened and he looked afraid. I was a little taken back. If I wasn't so worried about Sandeul, I would have laughed at his father's sudden emotions, but that look on Mr. Lee's face frightened me. 

He stared in space for awhile until my father snapped his fingers in front of his face and Mr. Lee blinked. "I... I'm going to have this meeting come to a close." He stood up but staggered a little and ended up bumping into the edge of the table.

"S- Seonu?" My father looked worried and even I became worried. I never seen Mr. Lee do anything close as to breaking down. A small fear nestled inside my head and I felt a shiver go down my spine. I don't like this. I don't like this one bit.

Mr. Lee was already heading for the door and my father ran to catch up with him. "Seonu! What happened?"

Mr. Lee was leaning on the doorway, his eyes wide and his face had gone pale, like he had seen a ghost. He opened his mouth but the words wouldn't come out. It was only until a few minutes later that he was able to speak.

"Junghwan.... Junghwan is in the hospital. He got into an accident."

*Sandeul's POV*

I opened my eyes to a bright, blinding light. I tried to cover my eyes with my right arm, but it felt heavy and the moment I tried to raise it up, a sharp pain went through my entire body and I groaned. 

“Don’t try to move so fast. You’ll hurt yourself more.” Said a voice next to me. The bright light faded and I was staring at a white ceiling. So I’m not dead? I turned to my left and saw a doctor sitting down on a chair next to my bed. 

I tried to gather all my energy just to speak. “Wha… what happened?” My throat was dry and I almost choked trying to talk.

“You were in a car accident,” said the doctor. He looked at me suddenly. “Don’t tell me you lost your memory.”

I thought back to the accident. Actually, everything was a blur. I saw the truck coming after me then… “No… I didn’t lose my memory.”

The doctor sighed in relief. “That’s good to know.”

I sighed and closed my eyes but then I remembered Miyeon. “Miyeon!” I shot up which wasn’t the best idea. Pain washed over my entire body. I felt broken and it was like fire engulfed my body. I screamed in pain and the doctor helped me sit up.

“Don’t get up so fast,” he said as he helped me sit up. “You might break something else in your body.”

Break something else? That was when I saw the cast on my right arm. I looked at it wide-eyed. “What… what happened to my arm?”

The doctor took off his face mask. “You didn’t get hit by the truck, but you did roll on the road. You hit your head, causing you to pass out and you landed on your arm. You fractured it, but don’t worry. It will heal in time. As for your head, fortunately you don't have a concussion or memory loss. I didn't find any brain damage either. You're lucky.”

I looked at my cast-covered arm. “This was even my writing arm…” I sighed and asked the doctor. “How long was I out?”

“It’s been about five hours since the accident,” he said. He looked at the clock on the wall behind me. 

“It’s 8:45 right now.”

I looked back at my cast. Miyeon… I sighed in relief. At least I’m not dead. I started to relax my muscles, but I realized something. I turned to the doctor who was already getting up. “What do you mean by ‘I didn’t get hit’? If I remember correctly, I was right in front of the truck. How was I able to avoid it?”

The doctor’s face became dark and he grimaced. “That girl… Her name is Miyeon if I’m correct.”

Fear replaced the pain in my body. I didn’t know which one was worse.

“She’s your friend isn’t she? Witnesses say she pushed you and you were able to avoid getting hit. However…” he sighed and looked down. “She got hit in your place.”

I felt my heart sank. There was a big lump in my throat and I couldn’t speak. Miyeon… sacrificed herself… to save me? 

I swung my legs off the bed.

“Where are you going?” The doctor asked.

“I need to see Miyeon. I need to know if she’s alright!” I tried getting up but it was hard with a cast on one arm, pain in every corner of my body, and one 40 year old surgeon who was trying to push me down. 

“You need to rest first!” He protested. “She’s in the emergency room right now so you can’t even see her!”

I tried to fight back. “I don’t care!”

At that moment, the door opened and in walked my father.

“A-abeoji…”

He looked at me. And it was the first time that I didn’t shiver upon looking at him straight in the eyes. He slowly walked towards me. What was the expression he had? Anger? Sadness? Worry?

“Junghwan…” Again, I couldn’t tell his feelings. It was a mix of anger and sadness. I could actually see tears forming in his eyes. Was he actually worried about me?

“Abeoji…” My voice trailed off when my father came up to me and hugged me. I was in pain, but I didn’t feel any of it. For the first time — at least that I can remember — he hugged me. He had never showed any affection for me whatsoever. He was always so cold. I could feel tears forming in my eyes too. 

I could hear small sobs. “Junghwan,” my father choked out. “I was worried that I would lose you forever! I was so worried! I thought I would lose both of you!”

It was hard taking in all of that, but his last sentence caught my attention. I pulled away from him. “What do you mean ‘both of you’?”

My father looked at me with red wide eyes. He wiped the tears with the back of his hand and stood straight. 

“Abeoji,” I said more seriously “what do you mean ‘both of you’.” For some reason, I had a very bad feeling in my stomach.

My father sat next to me on the bed and sighed.

***

I was staring at the floor. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. So many things happened today and it was hard taking it all in. I tried to search for words.

“E-eomma… eomma is sick?” I said with confusion.

She always seemed so healthy that it came across to me in shock to find out she was sick. It turns out that she has a very week body and caught some rare disease. It was like that for two years now. Sometimes she would feel better and it’s like she doesn’t have the disease at all. Then there are the times where her body gets so weak that she can’t even stand up. My father explained to me why she’s rarely home. She works as a nurse which is not even good with her kind of health, and then she would volunteer at children centers. When she gets too stressed or when she comes down with a cold, it’s worse than a regular cold because of the disease she caught. She would start coughing up blood and she becomes so weak. During those times, she would stay at a certain hospital. Apparently she didn’t want me worrying over her so both my parents kept it a secret from me. 

“During that night,” my father continued talking, “when I slapped you in the face and I had an argument with your mother, I… slapped her too.”

I wasn’t too surprised. I overheard their conversation and I could tell by the sound. 

“I was so angry at that time, I didn’t know what came over me. After I told you about your arrange marriage meeting the next day, I went back to the room to see your mother on the floor, spots of blood on the carpet. I brought her to the hospital later that night and they told me that her condition got worse. I had to send her to special hospital in Jeju to get treated. So I sent her.” He sighed. “I was just so stressed out during that time, I was worrying over your mother, and I was angry with the fact that you weren’t cooperating with me. I just lost it. I’m the worst father ever.” He covered his face with his hands.

I pursed my lips. I can’t argue with that but… I didn’t know all the hardships my father went through. He was betrayed by his best friends in the past, his own wife caught a rare disease and he didn’t know if it can be cured, he wants his son to succeed just like he did. I guess all that was too much for him that he didn’t know what to do with those feelings. That’s why he’s so cold and bitter. I still don’t want to be a part of the hotel business but I felt a bit bad for being so hard on him. I remember my mother saying that he doesn’t know how to express his feelings well.

I couldn’t side hug him because of my broken arm so I stood up and hugged him. “You’re not the worst father ever, you’re just not the best.” I really didn’t know what to say. “But at least you tried.” I let go and stepped back. “But I want to know… how is mother doing right now?”

My father wiped his tears on his brand new suit. “I got a call yesterday. They say she’s fine right now, but her condition can worsen at any time so she should still stay there.”

I sighed and sat down again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your mother didn’t want you to worry,” he quickly replied.

“You had to carry such a heavy burden by yourself,” I snapped. “I’m not 12. I’m 17 almost turning 18. I can handle these kinds of things. You trained me didn’t you?”

My father let out a sad chuckle. “I did didn’t I? I trained you to be strong and not show any weakness, but I think I just made you the opposite.”

I shook my head. “No. No you didn’t. I am strong, I just didn’t realize it until later. I have to be strong for myself and the people I care about. I never showed any weakness to you or any one at the hotel.”

“Yes, your mother tells me you’re completely different when you’re at school and with your friends.” I could imagine a small smile on his face.

There was silence after that. I just noticed that the doctor had already left and it was just us two in the room.

“I guess the reason why I had you separated from that Miyeon girl, and all your other friends, was because I was scared that what happened to me might happened to you.”

I looked at my father who was staring blankly. “What if you get betrayed too? I didn’t want you to go through what I did. I didn’t even want you to become close with Minwoo’s son, but it was inevitable. You had already become friends.” He paused before speaking again. “I especially didn’t want you to become friends with Jaemin’s son.”

I kicked my feet. “Jinyoung isn’t all that bad. Just because his father is bad doesn’t mean he is.” I felt the need to defend him. 

“Maybe, but I still don’t like his father.”

I laughed. “And from what Jinyoung tells me, his father doesn’t like you either.”

We both laughed. It was awkward but this is probably the longest conversation ever. I couldn’t help but smile. If my father realizes all his wrong doings, and if mother gets better and comes back; maybe, just maybe, we might actually be a happy family.

Aww~ Sandeul's father shows his real feelings~ ;A; But do any of you hate/dislike him still? xD

It's so sad... You think Miyeon would be mad at Sandeul for all that he did to her, but in the end, she saved him. T^T

So will Miyeon die? What will happen to Sandeul? What the hell happened to Jinyoung & Soyoung, Wooyoung & Ai? Honestly, I don't know either~ xD But-- Stay tuned for the next chapter and you will find out!

I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar errors. Please comment~ :3