Tiffany’s POV

 

The strange man opens the doorway he slammed only moments ago to welcome the four of us in. Sunny enters first as she makes sure there are no obstacles in the way for the rest of us.

Yuri has her hands supporting my head and shoulders as she walks backwards into the unfamiliar home. Seohyun is grasping the lower half of my body and attempting to give Yuri the best directions she can from behind.

I close my eyes, clenching from the pain that their movement causes. I feel my face sour into a grimace and the man makes a noise almost like “tsch.”

“Hurts that bad huh?” He laughs and motions for the girls to place me on the sole couch in the living room.

You have some strange acquaintances Taeyeon.

He gestures for the other girls to back away. The looks on their face are wary. I can tell they don’t want to be farther from me than this man but I give them an expression as if to say, ‘It’s okay. If Taeyeon trusts him then so do I.’

They nod and back away.

He lifts my arm onto his lap and the pain sears through my body like an electric current through water. Goose bumps erupt all over my body and I let out a slight whimper.

He ignores me and continues poking and prodding my damaged limb.

“Ahh!” I scream as his finger makes contact with a piece of glass, shoving it deeper into my skin and restarting the cycle of relentless pain.

“You’re hurting her!” Yuri shouts and grabs the man by the collar.

Normally that gaze would be terrifying. Her lips curved into an angry scowl and her eyes blazing with furry normally has people cowering in fear.

He looks unimpressed.

“Do you want me to fix her or not?” He asks calmly, making direct eye contact with Yuri’s dark pools of rage.

“Yuri, let him finish. I’m sure he didn’t mean to,” I attempt to calm the irritated black pearl.

“Fine,” she drops him and swiftly turns away. “But if you cause her pain again I will have to kill you.”

He keeps his calm composure but I can hear him softly swallowing the enormous lump that formed in his throat.

“What happened?” He asks as he digs through what I assume is his medical bag.

“Doesn’t matter. Fix it,” Yuri huffs.

Sunny sighs and drags the girl to another room to calm down.

“It was my cat,” I lie, refusing to make eye contact.

“I see. Your cat must like blue fingernail polish,” he snickers and pulls a broken piece of Jessica’s fingernail out of my flesh. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I can pretty much figure it out at this point,” he smiles reassuringly and I realize this guy might not be as much of an as I though he was.

Maybe him hurting me earlier is just a result of his exhaustion.

“Sir?” Seohyun taps the man on the shoulder and smiles sweetly at him.

“Call me Jason, miss Seohyun.”

“How did you know my name?”

“Taeyeon and Hyoyeon. When we first met they turned me into a hardcore Sone,” he rubs his head embarrassingly, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere he has created with the mention of her name.

“Oh… Do you mind if I turn on this TV? Taeyeon’s press conference should be starting soon.”

“Sure, make yourself at home.”

Seohyun smiles and turns on the TV to once again reveal the KBS news logo.

“Seohyun?”

“Yes?”

“Would you mind being my assistant? It would go a lot faster.”

“Sure,” she sets down the remote and kneels down next to my couch.

Our eyes meet for a second, just a second, but the eyes aren’t called the windows to the soul for nothing.

Pain, depression, confusion, anger, all summed up in those normally soft chocolate orbs of hers.

Just one mention of that name has this effect.

That name?
God, now I’m doing it too.

“Seohyun could you get a glass of water?”
“Ne. Ummm?”

“Yes?”

“Where’s the kitchen?”
“Over there,” he points and her smile brightens as she runs off toward the kitchen to fetch a glass.

“You’re all acting very strange,” he comments as he pulls a bottle of what I can only guess is painkillers from his bag.

“How would you know if we’re acting strange? You’ve never met us before.”

“Hyoyeon…”

That name again.

“She talked about you guys a lot when we met. Under the circumstances though she really shouldn’t have been talking.”

What circumstances? This story seems to delve much deeper than I thought.

“Here’s the water,” Seohyun hands him the glass and he instantly passes it to me along with two pills.

“I warn you these are very strong. I don’t want you to feel it when I start picking out the glass and stitching you up,” he cautions me as I tip back the glass and allow the pills to sink down my throat and into my stomach.

“So, while you pick shards of glass out of my arm, you might as well tell us how you three met,” as I say this I realize Yuri and Sunny have once again joined us in the room.

“Yeah. I’m also curious,” Sunny adds.

“Well they never told me the whole story so I’ll just tell you from where I come in.”

 

~ Work ended only an hour ago. I check my watch and realize it is well past three in the morning. The streets are nearly deserted as everyone else rests at home in their warm sanctuaries. Me? I walk the cold streets looking for my new apartment. I’ve only been there in the daytime and nothing quite looks the same at night so I’ve assumed by now that I am absolutely and without a doubt lost.

As I’m walking I catch nine or so girls limping out of an alleyway. As I walk closer more and more detail is added to the vague picture my mind took from afar. The girls are most likely late teens to early twenties. They aren’t well dressed for the weather as their thin coats cover either yoga or sweat pants. There is one girl that chose to wear Nike shorts and you can see the look of regret on her face as a cold wind blows by, fluttering my coat and even managing to abdicate some leaves from their treetop thrones.

There’s blood. Not a large quantity but enough to cause my brow to furrow in confusion.

“Hey,” I call, hoping to flag them down and offer my assistance.

“Run!” The girls scramble, dropping a long metallic object in their flight.

I chase after them, assuming they may be delusional from blood loss but they quickly escape.

I pick up the object and turn it over in my hands several times.

Why would those girls be carrying an aluminum bat?

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of sobs and the voice of a young girl constantly rasping out some inaudible noise.

“Hyoyeon?” The girl cries and shakes the girl next to her several times.

“Hyoyeon please?! Please wake up Hyoyeon!!”

I see a trickle of red making it’s way down the pavement and realize there must have been some sort of a fight.

I run up to the girl, hoping to help her in some way.

The brown haired girl grabs my arms but I quickly show her my medical id and she loosens her grip.

“Please,” her tears shatter on the pavement and she wipes them with her bloodstained hands. “Please help her.”

I try to think. I know we’re much too far from the hospital.

I glance around at my surroundings and realize something.

I know this place. We’re not very far from my apartment complex.

If we hurry, then I think there’s still time.

“Can you hold this?”

Without waiting for an answer I toss my medical bag into her arms.

“Easy,” I remind myself as I lift the injured blonde girl.

The white sleeves of my uniform grow red and warm.

She’s losing a lot of blood.

What could’ve happened to this girl?

We run out of the alley and I lead the short, confused girl down several roads until I recognize my apartment building.

We both run to the elevator and I jab my finger on the button several times.

“Why isn’t this working?!”

“The stairs,” she mumbles.

I stare at the staircase with dismay.

“Okay, but we need to hurry.”

We rapidly ascend the stairs. With each step a small groan escapes between the blonde girl’s lips.

I’m so sorry.

We are finally met by the glittering gold number that hangs on my apartment door.

“Clear the couch,” I command as she throws open the door.

She cast aside the pillows, making room for the girl who I assume must be a close friend.

I lay her down on the sofa and go to work.

“My bag.”
She hands it to me and I begin ravaging through the small briefcase. I grab gauze, scissors, sutra, tweezers, ice packs, heat packs, stethoscope, everything that could possibly be of use.

I take out the thermometer and press it under her tongue. While I wait I place the stethoscope in my ears and the metallic piece on her chest. I notice how much her breathing has slowed and my brow sweats with frustration.

I take out the thermometer and my jaw drops.

105. I need to get her to the hospital, but I also need to get her to stop bleeding or she’ll die before we ever get there.

 

“Dadoong, dadoong,”  her heartbeat thuds in my ears.

 

She has a pulse, but it’s weak.

The dark haired girl is sitting on the ground by the sofa. She plays with the blonde’s hand, carefully avoiding the long scratch marks, as tears begin falling from her glistening eyes.

“Hyoyeon?” She calls.

 

So the blonde is definitely Hyoyeon.

 

“I’m so sorry. Please wake up. Why did you do that huh? Why would you do something so stupid? Babo…” she cries. She takes the sleeves of her shirt and wipes her tears. “Please wake up,” she whispers.

I finish cleaning the blood and I’m finally able to get a good look at her injuries.

Her abdomen is practically vomiting blood. A long gash stretches across her stomach, almost like a knife wound.

 

Why was she fighting people with knives? Why is this other girl seemingly unharmed?

 

Never mind that. She’s going to need stitches.

 

Without another thought I pull out a bottle of pain killers, passing them between her lips and into her stomach. I look at the dark haired girl with dismay.

Her eyes tell a story. She looks almost too concerned. I know this is her friend and all but she looks so, enthralled? Like she’s in too deep.

It makes me want to help the blonde even more, having someone care for her so deeply.

 

When I remove the sutra from my bag the shorter girl turns away.

 

By now you think she’d be used to the gruesome side.

 

But I shrug it off and continue my work. Each time the needle penetrates her skin, sliding the sutra through and closing the cut, her body tightens, rejecting anymore pain that could come to harm her. She clenches her teeth but even in her slumber I can tell she wants to scream in agony. But she’s tough, even if she is asleep she wants to hide her pain from her friend. A strong girl indeed.

Once the cut is closed I wrap it with the gauze, afraid it would once again open, spilling her precious life on the ground.

I take the time to check her temperature again.

106.

The ice pack I had placed on her forehead has long since melted, the liquid forming a puddle in her blonde locks, mixing with the blood and helping it to remove itself from her hair.

If there’s blood in her hair her head must be injured.

I gently pull back her hair, uncovering an enormous bruise as well as a small piece of glass embedded in it.

They must have hit her with a glass bottle of some sort. The shards are still caught in her hair.

Removing some cream from my bag I use my tweezers to remove the glass then rub the cream on her knotted head. A sigh of relief escapes her lips as the medicine does its work.

 

Good, she’s starting to feel a little better.

 

To add to the relief I place a cold pack on the bruise, basically covering her entire face with ice. I remove the ones on her forehead and check again.

 

104.

Better, but not out of the woods yet.

 

Her arms are my next project. It’s obvious that they berated her arms with glass as well, the cuts slicing in more directions than I can count. This is very delicate work that I’m not used to yet. As I try to remove the glass I accidentally shove the glass inside or prod the edges of her skin. She cries in pain, reminding me of the red light that comes on when you make a mistake in operation.

Well then this is some sick game of operation Jason. Now come on, focus.

 

In time my work becomes more and more precise, I hardly touch the sides and removing the glass goes faster and faster. I drop the shards into a small metal tray, listening as they land with a clink. Once all the shrapnel is out I grab the sutra again, sealing some cuts but only bandaging others. By the time I’m done with her arms she has begun to look like a mummy, her abdominal and arms covered with the white gauze.

 

As I go to check her temperature again something strange happens. Her eyes begin to twitch, eventually fluttering open and meeting with mine. They widen in surprise but she doesn’t scream or try to fight me off. They just look curious, expectant of an answer for my presence.

“Is Taeyeon okay?” She asks, her voice dry and raspy.

“Hyo!” The girl jumps at her mention. “I’m right here.”

“Tae, where am I?” She looks up and scans her body. “And why do I look like a damn mummy?”

 

I wonder if I should tell her I thought the same thing.

 

“Hyo! Pabo!” Taeyeon slaps the girl’s shoulder. “You know damn well why you look like this!”

“Appa!” Hyoyeon shouts.

Taeyeon looks at her with guilt but the blonde smiles.

“Just kidding,” she winks. “Doc what do you have me on? I don’t feel any of this.”

“Painkillers, strong ones. And call me Jason.”

My train of thought is cut off by the sound of sobbing.

“Omo Tae. Tae why are you crying?” Hyoyeon wipes away the girl’s tears with her thumb.

“You got hurt because of me Hyo,” she cries.

“Tae, I make my own decisions. If I got hurt it’s my own fault. You don’t need to worry over me, I’m fine see.”

 

And for the first time tonight the blonde’s stubbornness and stupidity that Taeyeon preached comes to prove itself.

 

She jumped. Yes, jumped from the couch and onto her feet.

If I had a watch I’d say that she stood for about ¾ of a second before falling to the ground, writhing in pain.

 

“Hyo!” Taeyeon rushes to help her.

Together we lift the idiot back onto the couch.

 

What made her fall exactly?

 

“Right… leg,” she breathes.

I take scissors from my bag, slicing up the seam of her right pants leg.

“Damn, I liked those pants,” she laughs.

 

I’m sort of glad she did what she did. If she hadn’t, it may have been too late before I found this injury beneath her baggy dancer’s pants.

 

That bat I found, it must’ve done this.

 

Her leg is almost completely consumed in black. Bruised and broken I’m surprised she could stand on it as long as she did.

 

“I need to take you to the hospital,” I begin packing my bag for the trip, only to be stopped by the blonde.

“Sorry. Thank you for your help and everything but I think I’ll be headed home now.”

“Hyoyeon!” Taeyeon stops the girl as she attempts to get up. “ your stubbornness okay! Your abdomen is a mouth of vomiting blood, your head and arms are ravaged by broken glass, you have a fever of a ing hundred and four, and your leg looks like you were run over by a truck! Stop being so damn stubborn and go to the damn hospital!” The brunette begins crying again, her tears rolling over her cheeks and falling to the ground. “Stop trying to be a hero. Please,” her saddened eyes meet the fiery brown ones of the blonde.

“Tae, I’m not trying to be stubborn and I don’t care about being some sort of a hero. You know why I can’t go to the hospital just as well as I. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

And to my amazement she stands and walks to the door.

“Yah! Kim Hyoyeon!” Taeyeon stands angrily, burning holes with her eyes through the blonde. “If you walk out that door like this, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Fine. Don’t forgive me. But after all we’ve been through, I won’t be kicked out of the group because I did what I thought was right. If I go to the hospital you know that would happen. SM would brand me a gangster, some kind of thug, they would kick me out on the spot. I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

“Wait!” I stop her.

Her story hurts me. She’s willing to go through so much, I have to be willing to do something.

“Look, I was just appointed the head of my department not that long ago. I can get you in and out without anyone knowing. Judging by your story you’re a trainee right? No one has to know that. I can get you back to normal and out the door without anyone seeing. Your company will never know about it. Just please, let me help you. As a doctor I have a code of honor to help someone who needs it, no matter what.”

“Jason, this could get you into trouble. I won’t put your career in danger.”

“Don’t worry about that. The hospital has a skeleton staff at night. Hardly anyone is there, no one will see me or you or Taeyeon. Agreed.”

She looks at me then darts her head to Taeyeon. Taeyeon’s eyes are b with tears but she smiles reassuringly at the girl.

“Please Hyoyeon. It’s the best solution,” she pleads.

She stops, her hand still wrapped loosely around the doorknob.

“Okay. I trust you,” she smiles.

Suddenly she begins to shake, her bad leg buckling from under her.

“Here,” Taeyeon slides under her arm, supporting her frame.

“Thanks Tae. Let’s go,” she smiles once again, leading the procession out the door and back into the night.

 

 

Her condition worsens in the car. The fever has spiked back up to 106 and the pain killers have begun to wear off.

She’s lying down in the backseat amongst the clutter.

I feel bad about the mess but time is of the essence so I just pushed everything out of their way.

I’m used to walking to work so my driving is slow and cautious. I hate driving in Korea. It’s so much more dangerous than America. When I lived there for my studies I was shocked. So many people had their licenses. And people always stopped at lights and stop signs.

I almost gave up my license when I moved back. I couldn’t bare going back to driving these crazy streets. But I guess I don’t have a choice.

Taeyeon sits with her in the back, changing her ice packs and whispering words of encouragement. What saddens me the most is the loss of her spirit. As the minutes tick by she becomes quieter. The smile she wore with confidence has twisted into a pained grimace. She’s in too much pain to hide it any longer.

The empty bottle of pain killers frowns at me. It can do nothing more to relive her.

“How is she?”

“Fine…”

 

Ha, looks like there’s still a little of that spunk left after all.

 

“Shush. Her fever is high. Also the cut on her abdomen is oozing.”

It must be infected. She’ll need antibiotics. It’s going to be hard to get all of this medication unnoticed. I’ll have to be extra careful.

 

“What’s her temperature?”

“107.”

. Why is it acting up all of a sudden? Is she getting weaker?

 

“Hyoyeon? Hyoyeon?

“Did she pass out again?”

“Yeah. She won’t respond to me.”

 

I was right about her getting weaker. Her body is beginning to shut down on her. Can’t this damn car go any faster?!

 

After what seems like an eternity we arrive at the hospital. I pull up to the back entrance, only the janitorial staff uses it.

 

“How do we get her inside? She’s too weak to walk.”

I feel horrible about this, but it’s the least conspicuous way to het her inside.

“I’ll have to piggy back her.”

“But what about her leg and stomach?”

“I’ll be gentle.”

With as much caution as I can exercise I slump the girl over my back.

She cries in pain as her beaten legs are gripped by my hands.

Taeyeon winces at the girl’s discomfort but she has accepted to do things my way.

“Follow me.”

She hesitantly follows me into the dimly lit hallway. It’s an exhausting trip. Running down hallways, ducking into hiding places, all with a muscular girl unconscious on my back.

At last we reach the room I’m looking for. It’s a room we reserve fore especially important patients. It’s cut off from the rest of the hospital, hidden from the public by long winding corridor and staff only entrances. Since we don’t have any of those sort of patients this place is abandoned. Taeyeon turns on the light as I lay the blonde down on the bed. I once again lay out my supplies and go to work.

 

My hands fly as I go through the motions. I’m in the zone, nothing can bother me in this trance like state. My eyes can barely recognize the tools that fly through my hands. I’ll have her good as new in no time.

 

After awhile I notice Taeyeon’s eyes grow heavy. She slumps over several times only to snap awake seconds later.

“Taeyeon, you should get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot today.”

Her eyes grow somber, scanning over the blonde.

Being in this field I’m used to this. I can look past the blood, the bruises and slices. But she can’t.

She sees a friend, I see a patient.

“Not as much as her,” she frowns.

“I have to know, what happened?”
“I can’t tell you much. It’s between us. But I can tell you that it’s my fault. She would’ve been fine if I had just gone home.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 hours later

 

I’ve been up for awhile now, monitoring her slowly improving condition.

Taeyeon has long since fallen asleep on the couch.

With her out, Hyoyeon has my full attention. Like I said earlier , she’s intriguing. I find her on the streets unconscious, beaten, bleeding, hell, practically dead, but she wakes up asking if her friend is okay. Then after I wrapped her apparent knife wound, she jumps from the couch proclaiming how perfectly healthy she is.  She even attempts to walk away on her legs that appear to have been beaten to the point of almost breaking. She’s ridiculous and stubborn yet confident and hilarious. Not to mention tough but caring towards her friend. She’s a lot like my brother Ashton. Maybe that’s why I want to care for her so badly. She reminds me of him so much. Even this instance, it makes me recall when he fought off all of those bullies in middle school. Normally he could kick some , but he was so worried about me he couldn’t focus. They beat him up pretty bad.

….

Wait… Maybe our situations are just that similar after all.

Hyoyeon? Is that what happened?

 

“Jason?”
 

Just maybe…

“Yah! Jason!”

“Huh, what?”

I feel something soft pummel into my face.

 

“Did you really just throw your pillow at me?”

I hold up the evidence, shaking it roughly as her laughter fills the room.

“Brat.”

“Hey!”

“Well don’t throw a pillow at you doctor.”

“Well don’t mumble to yourself when someone’s calling you.”

“You were calling me?”
“Yeah. I called you like nine times.”

“Well, why did you call me?”

“I though you might care to know that I’m awake.”

 

Suddenly she begins coughing. The noise is rough and deep. She beats her fist on her chest, forcing out the tainted air.

 

“Whoa!” I run to the sink and get a cup of water.

She nods her thanks and gulps down the entire glass.

“If you wanted water you could’ve just asked.”

She looks down at the cup, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

“You aren’t one to ask for help are you?”

She nods like a lost puppy.

“Ya know, it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.”

Her glance shifts over to the raven haired girl on the couch. Her cheeks are still flushed, the tears dried, caking a filmy layer on her cheeks.

“Okay then. Can you please do me another favor tonight?”
“Of course”

“Can you give her a blanket and wipe the moisture off of her face. She might get sick.”

After a few minutes I return with the things she asked for. I toss the blanket over her small frame, tucking in the corners and ensuring any warmth can’t escape. With the moist towel I wipe away her tears and dry her skin.

I hear chuckling behind me and turn to find that the source is the blonde.

“What?”

“You look like her dad. How old are you anyway?”

“27. You?”

“18.”

“18? That’s young to be debuting.”

“Not really. Our maknae is only 15.”

“Whoa, you aren’t the maknae?”

“Don’t looks so surprised! What’s that supposed to mean anyway?”

“It means you’re childish.”

“Am not.”

“Are too. Now stop whining so much. You’re going to pop open a stitch or something.”

“Speaking of that,” her tone becomes somber and serious, “How bad is it?”

“Don’t pout. It’s not as bad as it could have been. Your body is very resilient. Where’d all that muscle come from?”

“I’m a dancer.”

“Ah. You any good?”

“I like to think so. I mean I could show you…”

“No no no. Don’t even try that again I just closed you back up!”

“Just kidding,” she winks.

“You’re the funny one aren’t you?”

“My nickname is Kim choding.”

“I thought so.”

~

 

“And just like that we all became friends. We talked for hours about everything. Music, their debut, all of you, even me. We talked until I sent them home the next morning. They would come to my house for checkups and I would cook them dinner and we’d talk. Even after Hyoyeon healed they still made it a point to come visit me when they could.”

 

Before anyone could say a word the sound of Taeyeon’s voice cut through the room.

 

“Yes, Kim Hyoyeon is dead,” slips out of the speakers of the TV and casts over the room.

 

Jason’s face drops, the tools in his hands dropping to the ground.

 

“Jason?”

“……….”

“Jason?”

He turns to me with tears in his eyes.

“I’m finished. You can leave now.”

“But…”

“Please. Please go.”

And without another word we are pushed out the door. He slides a bottle of pills in my hands before giving us a false smile and closing the door.

 

“We have to talk to Taeyeon.”

 

Taeyeon’s POV

 

I drive myself home. I don’t want to be in the car with anyone, even if it’s just a driver who sits silently anyway. I turn up the radio, hoping for some music to clear my thoughts.

Fat chance huh.

“It was just revealed in a press conference that…”

Nope.

I click the dial again.

“Girl’s Generation’s…

Next.

“Kim Hyoyeon…”

it.

I turn the dial, the sound sinking back into the speakers.

I guess the silence will have to do.

At last I pull into the parking lot of our apartment. I lock the car and head back up to our room. I practically drag my legs up the stairs, too exhausted to move but to classy to sleep on the stairwell.

Finally, I slink through the front door and into the living room. The place is silent save for the TV which is of course rerunning my press conference. I shut it off and head back to my room. Before I can turn the knob I remember what happened only hours ago.

Ugh, Jessica’s in my bed and the room’s a mess. I’m so not cleaning I’m too damn tired!

I guess the couch will do.

Without bothering to wash my face or shower or even change out of my wretched outfit I collapse onto the couch.

“Zzzzzzzz.”

“Taeyeon!!!” The door slams open, sending a bullet through my sweet dreams.

Are you ing kidding me!

“What!!!”

“You have some explaining to do,” Yuri plops on top of me, suffocating me completely.

“Just let me sleep!”

“No. Not until you tell us what the hell happened between you and that doctor.”

“He’s a family friend,” I mumble.

“Bull,” Sunny plops on top of the two of us.

“Fine. What did he tell you?”

“Everything he knew.”

Damn it Jason.

“The truth?”

“Yes,” they grumble.

“Fine. Get everyone in here but Jessica.”

I sit up on the couch as they get the others.

 

I’m sorry Hyo. I know I promised but it looks like I don’t have a choice. I’ll tell them everything.

 

~

I don’t know what’s wrong with Hyoyeon these days.

Ever since the nine of use were told that we were going to debut as a group she has become moody, distant, even cold.

She also stays here longer than usual. I’ve caught her here well past midnight, coming out of the locker room with that same gym bag hoisted over her shoulder. Her eyes are always downcast, never meeting mine. I don’t even think she notices me when she walks past. It’s almost like her mind is far away from here, pondering something that must weigh heavily on her shoulders.

Is she sick?

That question runs through my head. Her face is always pale, she stumbles instead of her normally confident walk, and her eyes shine with pain.

I’ve tried confronting her before. But I get the same answer every time.

“I’m fine Taeng. Just tired.”

But if so, then why is she always tired?

What is dragging the dancing queen down like this?

Eventually my curiosity gets the better of me. I know that the only way I’m going to find out what’s wrong is to get the answers myself, because obviously she’s never going to tell me, and I can’t stand seeing her in pain any longer.

I have to see what she’s like when no one is watching. When people are alone, they act differently. They let down the stone walls that they use to guard their hearts and let go.

I need to see her let go. I need to understand what’s wrong. To see what she’s like when she stops putting up this façade.

So one day I wait. Once my singing class lets out I run immediately to the locker room, knowing the last dancing class of the day would be over soon.

But an hour passes, and she doesn’t show. Another hour, no Hyoyeon.

I don’t even know when I nodded off, tucked away in my cozy hiding spot. All I know is that I awoke when the door opened. The person who enters the room is unfamiliar to me, a younger trainee I assume.

She looks around the room a few times, cautiously eyeing every corner for a sign of another human presence.

I guess my hiding place was better than I thought.

She continues to prowl around the room, opening doors and checking the stalls of the bathroom.

Once she’s satisfied, she stops in front of a locker and slips a small envelope into the slits. Then, just as quietly as she came in, she disappears once again.

That locker… it’s mine isn’t it?

If she wanted to give something to me then why didn’t she do it in person?

I want to go investigate but just as I’m about to reveal myself I hear footsteps echo in the corridor.

I quickly duck back under and await the next person, praying for it to be the blonde.

The door swings open to reveal the guest of honor. She stumbles through the entrance, catching herself on the frame and allowing her head to droop.

Is she okay?

I know she hasn’t exactly been herself lately but right now she looks exhausted, defeated, even hurt.

With hungry eyes I attempt to assess the condition of the dancer.

The first thing I notice is the sweat. Every inch of her skin is dripping with the hot, salty liquid. Her body is practically vibrating as the violent trembling courses through her. Her blonde hair is messily covering her face so I can’t read her expression. As she rises from her stupor she lets out a soft groan. I need no more evidence to convince me that she’s in a great amount of pain.

With heavy steps and her hand wrapped tightly around whatever she could grab she makes her way to the bathroom.

 

Lucky I can still see her from my hiding spot.

Forget your spot Taeyeon, go help the girl!

 

But I don’t listen to my mind. My whole body is too enthralled in what’s going on.

Once she reaches the bathroom she slinks down and places all of her weight on the sink. Her hand around the gym bag, pale from the tight grip she has around the strap, lets go and the bag falls to the floor with a resounding thud. She takes a ponytail holder from her wrist and pulls her hair back, finally revealing her face.

Her expression isn’t what I expected.

Tears, sadness, pain, even a grimace to emulate the obvious struggle her body is for some reason going through?

Nowhere to be seen.

Just a cocky smile and fiery eyes lit with determination.

“Pull it together Kim. You’ve been through worse,” she whispers, adding a small chuckle at the end.

She turns the faucet and splashes the cool water onto her burning face.

“Much better,” she breathes.

She then grabs a towel from her gym bag and wipes away all of the sweat secreting from her pores.

As she bends down to retrieve her change of clothes she suddenly cries out in pain, “Appa!”

She collapses backwards onto the hard tile floor, clutching her abdomen as a grimace etches across her once confident face.

She reaches a trembling hand under her shirt. I watch in horror as she pulls her hand out, revealing a dark red liquid that runs over her tanned skin and trickles onto the floor.

“!” She hisses.

She once again reaches for the bag but instead she exposes a thick roll of gauze.

Hyoyeon pulls off her shirt, divulging a gruesome discovery.

“Tch,” she ticks as she carefully unwraps the now dark red bandages circling her abs.

She tosses the bloodied bandages into the trash can and moves back to the sink. With a damp washcloth she carefully cleans and suppresses the blood.

I’m gonna vomit! I’m gonna vomit!

Kim Taeyeon! Do not vomit! We still need to find out what happened! Do not blow your cover now!

But… that gash. It’s sickening. What could do that to a person?

Under all of that blood a long gash is finally uncovered. About five inches long it slashes across her toned stomach like the claw marks of a wild animal. Surrounding the cut is a massive cloud of black, purple, and green.

It’s so huge. Can I even call it a bruise?

If so, then let’s just say her entire abdominal area is a bruise.

 

Dancing didn’t do this. Dancing couldn’t do this.

What happened to you Hyo?

 

“Damn. It reopened,” she sighs, pulling a bottle of rubbing alcohol from her bag.

She also takes out some balls of cotton and begins blotting the liquid on the gash. Every dab makes her hiss in pain and her teeth are clenched tightly. Her one free hand has turned white from how tightly she is clinging to the sink basin. Finally she wraps the cut with fresh gauze and puts on her new shirt.

 

That gauze can’t be enough Hyo. I need to take you to the hospital.

 

But she won’t go with you Taeyeon.

Why not?

Can’t you see how hard she’s trying to keep this a secret? Even if you confront her she’ll just deny it.

But…

I’m sure she has her reasons.

 

That’s true. I trust Hyoyeon’s judgment. But on the other hand I want to help her. She’s my friend and she’s done so much to help me. Why is it that I can never return the favor to you Hyoyeon? Why do you think you have to go through this alone?

You have eight members Hyoyeon, don’t feel alone.

 

In my daydreaming I lose track of her for a second.

After panicking I realize she has just moved back to the lockers.

She doesn’t go to her own locker though. In fact she heads to one far away from her own.

Yoona? Why is she at Yoona’s locker?

She quietly opens the door and does a swift sweep of the contents.

What is she doing?

Then she goes to another and does the same.

Tiffany, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Yuri, Sunny, and Jessica.

She searches each one of their lockers.

As she closes the door of Jessica’s locker she lets out a sigh of relief.

“So far so good.”

Finally she arrives at my locker. She opens the door and her expression drops. From the locker she pulls out the small white envelope.

Now that it’s in her hands I can clearly see my name scrawled across the front.

Why is she taking that?

She angrily tears open the envelope and tosses it in the trash.

Yah! What the hell Hyoyeon!

Oblivious to the shouting in my head she scans the letter.

“Cowards,” she mutters, folding the letter and slipping it into her own locker.

Cowards?

She slings her bag aggressively over her shoulder, slamming the door on the way out.

I emerge from my hiding place and head straight for Hyoyeon’s locker.

When I open the door I expect some clothes, pictures, maybe even some books, and my letter to be clearly visible on top of something.

Well there are clothes, some pics of the nine of us, and some cds. But my note? Only one of many.

Why does she have all of these?

I pick up the small black sack that was overturned, spilling the many notes onto the floor of the locker.

The notes peak my interest. I grab one of the letters and unfold it.

 

Im Yoona

 

We’ve all had enough of your attitude. You think you’re so beautiful. You walk around here like you own the place, flirting with our Super Junior and DBSK oppas. Watch your back from now on. We’re watching you.

 

What the ?! Who wrote this?! Has Yoona read this?! Why does Hyoyeon have it?!

Many more question buzz through my mind. I can’t help but open another one.

 

Lee Sunny

 

Why are you even here? The only reason you were put in a group is because you’re Lee Soo Man’s niece. Do you really have so little pride? I will erase you and take your place.

 

Are they all like this?

 

I rifle through the notes and scan for the other member’s names.

Yuri, Tiffany, Yoona, Jessica, Yuri, Sooyoung, Jessica, Yoona, Sunny, Tiffany, Seohyun, Sooyoung, and me. Everyone has at least ten of these cards, all with different handwritings and increasing levels of violent threats.

 

I’ve never seen these before. I don’t think any of them have.

 

Hyoyeon…? Have you been intercepting all of them before we could read them? But the threats? Was that all they were? Or did you…?

 

…………….

 

It all suddenly clicks.

 

Hyoyeon being distant, the notes, what I just witnessed, her injuries…

 

Her injuries!

 

I grab the note that Hyoyeon recently swiped and quickly open it.

 

Kim Taeyeon

 

We meant what we said last time. You had your chance to leave SM Entertainment and you chose not to. You even had the gall to ignore us. I don’t think you fully comprehend how serious we are. We know where you live, the places you frequent, the people you care about. If you want to take the punishment instead then meet us in the alleyway between the 7/11 and liquor store. You know where it is. We’ve watched you pass it quite a few times now. See you at 12, or the people you know will suffer. Oh, and come alone. Or else.

 

I crumple the paper and slam the locker door.

 

Damn it Hyoyeon? Please don’t do anything stupid! Please still be okay!

 

I bullet out of the room, zipping through corridors and down stairwells. Rushing into the street I check my watch.

 

11:45

 

Damn it! Damn it! Run faster you stupid legs!

 

11:46

 

Where is she?! Where is she?!

 

11:47

 

There!

 

And there she is, leaning against a brick wall with her bag slumped over her shoulder. She coughs, a trail of her breath floating into the night in smoky spirals before it disappears. Her blonde hair cascades over her shoulder and clings to the layer of moisture covering her skin.

 

How is she still sweating? It’s so cold out here. She should be freezing.

I mean, she isn’t even covered.

 

The only thing protecting her torso from this biting cold is a dark black tank top, every inch of her bare skin shining in the dim light of the moon. At least she’s wearing pants, but they are light and baggy, flexible for dancing.

 

Why would she wear that? It has to be at most 20 degrees out here.

Well she didn’t plan on having a nice walk outside Taeyeon. She came here to fight.

I know, and I have to stop her.

 

“Hyoyeon!”

 

Her expression shifts for a second. Just a second. But I catch it. She’s scared, confused at my presence.

But she quickly shifts.

 

“Hey Tae. Headed home?”

Don’t play this bull Hyo.

“No actually. I came looking for you.”

 

11:50

 

“M..Me..?” She stutters.

“Yeah. We need to talk Hyo.”

She fiddles with the strap of her bag. “Well can we talk later Tae? I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Oh, are you waiting for someone?”

“No,” she jumps. “Why do you ask?”

 

11:51

 

“I just thought you would have to be meeting someone. I mean, it’s not like you live around here.”

“I’m staying at a friends house. I just got tired and stopped for a bit.”

“What friend?”

“Min,” she quickly blurts out.

“Why are you lying to me Hyoyeon?”

“I’m not lying Tae…”

“Stop! Just stop Hyoyeon!”

 

11:53

 

“We need to get out of here Hyo. I’m not letting you do this.”
“Do what?!”

“Fight my battles!”

 

Silence.

 

11:54

 

“What?” She coughs.

“I know Hyoyeon. I know everything. I found the letters. You’ve been stealing them haven’t you? You took them from our lockers before we could read them.”

“What letters Tae? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

11:55

 

“The threats Hyoyeon. Those hurtful words, you’ve been taking them to protect us.”

Her shoulders drop in resignation. “Okay. Yes, I stole the letters. I didn’t want anyone to get upset over some stupid words by a bunch of jealous girls. But what does that have to do with anything?”

 

Still trying to play stupid huh Hyo?

 

11:56

 

“Your injuries Hyoyeon…”

She swallows a visible lump that has formed in . “The bruises? I’m a dancer Tae, it happens all the time,” she laughs.

“Dancing doesn’t slice your stomach Hyo. What did that? A knife?”
“Tae? Are you sick or something? You’re talking nonsense.”

As she comes closer I lift up her top, revealing the around her wound.

“!” She curses.

 

11:57

 

“Okay,” she cries. “You’re right. I’ve been taking all of the threats. But I don’t care Tae. I need to do this.”
“But why Hyo?” I feel the tears accumulating in my eyes but I blink them away.

“Because, if any of you girls got hurt or left because of these threats, I couldn’t forgive myself. The nine of us being together is the most important thing to me.”

“But Hyoyeon, you can’t do this. Fighting like this for us is tearing you apart.”

“I know Tae. But better one of us than all of us.” She checks her watch and frowns. “Now go. I have something to take care of.”

She cracks that confident grin and heads into the alley.

 

11:59

 

“I’m not going Hyo. I’m going to stay and fight.”

She swivels around and glares at me.

“Taeyeon, leave! You don’t understand how serious this is. You could get seriously hurt…”

“So could you Hyoyeon! You’ve already been injured once before!”

“That was a mistake! It won’t happen again. Besides, if I have to protect you then I really will get hurt.”

“Then stop protecting me! Who asked you to anyway?!”

“No one Taeyeon. No one needs to tell me to protect my friends. Now go before they get here!”

“No! I’m not going to let you suffer alone anymore!”

 

12:00

 

“Well well well. I thought I said come alone,” a lone girl’s voice echoes into the dark alley.

The silence that follows is only broken by the sound of metal being dragged on the concrete, piercing through the night air and into my eardrums, quickening my heartbeat.

 

She has a weapon.

 

I suddenly feel a hand on my chest, pushing me back protectively behind her. Hyoyeon wants to shield me from view but, judging by her earlier remark, the girl is already well aware of my presence.

The girl lumbers towards me, her eyes deadlocked with mine and a scowl permanently resting on her face.

But before she can get to me Hyoyeon takes a step forward so that their faces are only inches apart. The girl twist the bat around in her palm and eyes the blonde.

“What?” She spits.

“If you want a fight you’ve got one. You came expecting to fight one person and you will. I’m fighting, not her.”

“Hyo,” but before I can finish she shoves her hand over my mouth.

“Hmm… a fight with the dancing queen.”

She pauses for a moment.

“What? You scared?” Hyoyeon antagonizes her.

“Hyo don’t,” I try to stop her but know it’s impossible.

This side of Hyoyeon is unstoppable. The side that is calm, cool, and confident. I know she’s been in this situation before, but now that I’m here, how am I supposed to stop it?

“No, not scared. I was just imagining the both of you covered in blood. How would you like to have both of your legs so broken you’ll never dance again miss dancing queen? Or maybe I should make you watch as I cut out the song bird’s throat.” She laughs. “I can take out the best singer and dancer in one night. Talk about two birds with one stone.”

“You and what army?” Hyoyeon growls.

“This one,” she snaps and several other figures slink into the alley.

Some of them have weapons as well, brass knuckles incasing their fists, blunt objects they may have picked up on the way over, one even has a knife.

“!” Hyoyeon hisses under her breath, “Tae,” she grabs my wrist firmly and glares into my eyes. “You need to run while you still have a chance.”

“But…”

“Tae, I’m serious. You need to run,” her smile has been replaced with a look of fear and desperation.

For the first time tonight I truly consider running. But I can’t just leave her with these girls, no matter how scared I am.

“So Hyoyeon. You gonna fight? Or can we just have miss songbird over there and you walk out of here like none of this ever happened?”

“Tch. Over my dead body,” Hyoyeon spits, taking a defensive position in front of me.

“Funny you should say that,” the girl laughs.

The first swing comes as a complete surprise. All I feel is Hyoyeon pushing me up against the wall, her head sweeping down to avoid the metallic object whistling through the air.

“Come on!” Hyoyeon shouts. “I said I’d fight you! Don’t ing aim at her!”

“Who said I was going to play by your rules?” The girl with the bat laughs, returning the metal to her side.

“Stay down!” Hyoyeon warns, shoving me behind a row of trashcans.

“Hyoyeon!” I shout, catching sight of a girl sneaking up behind her.

She gives me a smirk before launching a twist kick, sending the girl sprawling on the ground.

“That the best you got?” Hyoyeon begins bouncing on her feet like a boxer, launching punches at the nearest one.

Her fist slams into one of them, causing her to spiral and knock into another one.

“!” The leader curses, kicking aside one of the girls who fell unconscious. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“Less talking,” Hyoyeon gestures her hand, telling her to bring it.

She swings the bat once again, aiming for Hyoyeon’s rib cage. Surprisingly she grabs the bat. A loud pang echoes and the opponent’s eyes widen in fear.

“Dancing does a lot of good for the muscles you know.”

“Hyo!” I can’t help but scream.

Three of the girls took the opportunity the confusion created to sneak behind Hyoyeon and close in on me. They each have glass bottles in their hands, the splintered glass gleaming in the light and reflecting the fear in my eyes.

 

What the hell Taeyeon? Weren’t you staying to fight?

But I’m scared. I’m so scared. Please help me Hyoyeon.

 

“Tae!” Hyoyeon swivels around, kicking one of the girls in the face.

But I can’t hear her. My eyes are too focused on the one girl looming over me, the sharp glass only a foot from my face.

“I got ya Tae!” The next scene plays in slow motion.

I feel Hyoyeon in front of me, her shadow casting over me like a protective shield.

“Crash!” Over the locks of blonde I see hundreds of miniscule fractals of glass exploding through the air. A drop of blood splashes onto my face Then another and another.

I feel Hyoyeon’s weight crash into me.

“Sorry Tae,” she winces before pulling herself up.

Her arms drop to her side, the blood trickling and absorbing into the fabric of her tank top. Some drips to the side, forming a small puddle on the ground.

“You okay,” she groans, still facing my attackers.

“Yeah,” the tears overflow from my eyes at my best friend’s actions.

 

Why can’t I help you Hyoyeon? Please be safe.

 

“You’ve done it now,” a deep growl escapes from Hyoyeon’s throat. “I warned you. NO ONE touches my friends! Now let’s finish this.”

Without a second wasted she slams her fist into the girl who struck her. Before she can hit the ground Hyoyeon grabs her head and it downward, forcing her knee into the girl’s face. She then sends a crescent kick flying at the next one. The girl with the knife suddenly appears, swiping at Hyoyeon with the blade. It slices through the air with a whoosh as Hyoyeon constantly keeps pulling backwards, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge. The girl dives forward but Hyoyeon has already anticipated this, turning to the side and grabbing her arm and locking it in place. The girl cries in pain, dropping the blade into Hyoyeon’s grasp.

“Hold this,” she tosses me the knife. “For your protection.”

I keep the knife firmly held in my hand. I don’t want to use it, but Hyoyeon doesn’t need to keep worrying about me. I need to protect myself.

But I prove myself to be just as useless as before. A hand wraps itself tightly around my wrist, causing me to drop the knife. I have time to kick it out of the girls way so she can’t use it against me, but she still has the brass knuckles in her clenched fingers.

“Hey Hyoyeon?” The girl taunts, the brass knuckles firmly pressed against my neck. “Do you think she can sing with mangled vocal cords?”

“Don’t you dare,” Hyoyeon snarls. “I have one of yours too you know,” she grabs one girl by the collar, holding her fist at the ready.

“Like I care about her.”

“Then what?” Hyoyeon looks at her with utter confusion.

“Well at first I just wanted to scare the little songbird into leaving the school. But,” she gestures with her thumb. “You did quite a number on my sister over there. Hey sis? How would you like to take revenge on the dancing queen?”

The girl nods enthusiastically.

“And what makes you think I won’t just kick her all over again?”

“Well if you do, songbird loses her voice, permanently. So I wouldn’t fight back if I were you.”

“Hyo don’t. It’s not worth it,” I plead.

“It’s not worth it Tae? Your voice isn’t worth a little pain for me? Sorry, I just don’t see it that way,” she smiles. “Do what you want with me. Just let her go.”

“Agreed. We’ll just come back for her another day. When you are in the hospital that is.”

Hyoyeon wants to rebuttal but she knows better. Her goal isn’t to antagonize but to get me out of here alive and my voice intact. But in the end, will she still be in one piece?

All of the girls gather together. Two of them grab Hyoyeon’s wrists, opening up her stomach and legs for attack.

“Hey songbird,” she whispers. “Enjoy watching the one person who cares about you suffer. You better leave the company by tomorrow. Or you’re next.”

With the brass knuckles to my throat I’m forced to watch. Watch as they decimate Hyoyeon’s leg with the blunt objects they carry. Sit in silence as they punch her face with the brass knuckles, causing her nose to bleed and face to swell. They kick her relentlessly in her already injured stomach, causing the cut to open like a mouth, vomiting blood.

I try to close my eyes but the girl constantly threatens me, “Close your eyes and we kill her.”

 

I thank God for things like tears sometimes, because even though I can’t close my eyes, the tears blind me so I can’t see them brutally mutilate my friend.

 

“Say you give up!” One shouts as they kick her in the stomach.

“Umph,” is the only reply Hyoyeon allows.

“Just ing say you give up and we’ll stop!” Another shouts, smashing another glass bottle over Hyoyeon’s temple, the glass embedding in her skin as if falls to the Earth.

“No,” Hyoyeon spits blood and smirks at the eight girls surrounding her.

“That’s why you guys hate people like them so much. You gave up when they didn’t. That’s why they are in a group. They’ve all worked so hard, they don’t deserve your hatred. You should be giving them admiration. You should aspire to be like them. But you won’t. People like you will never see the stage.”

And with those final words her eyes grow dark, her head drooping to meet her chest as she falls unconscious.

“ing ,” the sister of the girl holding me hostage spits, rearing back her leg and delivering a final blow to Hyoyeon’s stomach.

“Hope you enjoyed the show,” my kidnapper smirks, signaling the others to follow her out of the alley.

“Hyo!”

~

 

“And that’s where the doctor came in. We never wanted to tell this story. We promised that we would take this secret to our graves. But I never thought that that promise would become more like a prophecy. Now that she’s gone you all deserve to know how much she truly cared about you. How she almost died for you.”

 

But there’s some things about that story that I’ll never tell. I’ll never tell them how she stayed home for almost a month with a fever, how she vomited blood at least once every day, how I stayed and tried to take care of her, only to be turned away at her insistence she was fine.

 

And most of all, how I secretly fell in love with her that day. That secret, I’ll take to the grave.

 

Don't kill me cause I already died writing this! I literally cried writing this chapter. Do you like Hyoyeon as my tragic hero? Do you think this is the end of her sorrow? Sorryyyyyyyy. I still have a lot in store for the girls and this is just the beginning. And I know I promised some Jessica but I decided Hyoyeon and Jessica deserved their own little segment. Stay tuned for HyoSica In Hell Part 1! As always subscribe, comment, fantasize, romanticize, and let me know what I can do to improve. Your humble servant (who is dead from writing this update) ~AfterSNSD