"Chorong unnie...Chorong unnie!!"

Ugh...somebody's calling me. My eyelids were heavy, I didn't want to lift them up. But my body was continuously being shaken mildly.

Okay, I'm waking up...

And I was in a room, a bright and white one. So bright that I felt like blinded by a flashbang or something. I raised my hand to cover my eyes.

When my eyes were finally adapted with the lighting, I slowly opened them to see who's calling me.

It was Yoon Bomi.

"Bomi!!!" I was so glad that I jumped right away to hug her tightly. Sharp pain jolted in my back.

"Ouuchhhh!"

"See? You shouldn't move for now. Not even sitting," Bomi grabbed my shoulders and gently laid me back to my bed.

I took a deep breath. My body felt like was being ran over by a truck. I was trying to remember what happened.

Downpour. Shattered window glasses. Screams.

I jumped from my bed once more. "What happened with them?? I need to save them!! Hayoung! Namjoo!" I stood up. I grabbed my cardigan on the chair nearby and rushed to the door. Just then my legs lost its strength. Bomi quickly held me before I fell, carefully placing my arm around her shoulder.

"You are so persistent. Calm down, unnie...," Bomi mumbled in my ear as she put me back on my bed.

She pulled the chair towards her and sit. "Our dongsaeng are alright. They are safe. Naeun only got small wounds and Eunji has a bruise at the back of her head, but everything's fine. You, on the other hand, are our biggest concern. You nearly got beaten to death, unnie..." 

I could see her eyes got watery at that time.

"But...how? Who saved us?" I asked her. 

"That's a long story, unnie. We are lucky," she smiled to me. "Now just focus on your healing. You don't need to think about anything else."

It took me about a week in the hospital to recover my health. My bruises were still there, but it didn't hurt anymore. We continued on our schedules just as usual. Media made our group's unfortunate scene as headlines and hot issue for six consecutive days, and our accident topped most searched keyword in national search engine.

From those articles and news I learned that those thugs who tried to kidnap us were being arrested as well.  Police arrived shortly after the incident, only to found those goons were lying unconscious along us. They had no idea how and who beat those bad guys, as there was no evidence or witness. They were currently in the process of interrogating their convicts.

I received a lot of  presents too from our fans, along with encouragement messages, all of them wishing me to get well soon. I was so touched, those things were really heartwarming. Exactly what I needed.

Our members were excited as hell when I was finally discharged from the hospital. They had been through a hard week without me. The maknaes even made me delicious foods for a feast (Namjoo and Hayoung really did put a lot, really a lot of efforts) and bought me my favorite one, chicken feet. I was lucky to have those girls.

It was Sunday morning. I had a plan to go out with Eunji and Bomi today because we had no schedule. We decided to go shopping at the local market, buying kitchen needs and stuffs. After that I brought them to the coffee shop and treated them. You know, it's kinda what unnie had to do for her dongsaeng.

"Yeaaaaah, long live Chorong unnie!!" cheered Bomi when she heard that I'm going to treat them. "I always want a cup of ristretto!"

"Wait...what's that?" I asked her. Eunji also shrugged her shoulders.

Bomi exhaled. "It is double strength of regular espresso you know! Let's just go inside and order, go go go!"

Finally something that Bomi knew while we didn't. Such a rare occassion, I've been waiting for this for a long time. Both of me and Eunji were laughing. We proceeded to enter the shop. 

It was cozy inside. The room was well lit, with wooden tables and chairs that were organized neatly. I could hear KPop music was being played over the surround speakers, the playlist might be filled with ballad ones.

I wish they have our songs too. Just my little wish.

We took a place near the window. The view was good, and it was a rather hidden from crowds, so it would be just fine for us. We decided on what we want and ordered.

"Unnie!" said Bomi.

"What?"

"I know you want to say something to me. Go on," she put her purse on the table.

"Aaaaah, that. Not really important actually," I answered. Bomi and Eunji exchanged glances.

"C'mon, tell me what's bothering you, unnie," plead Bomi.

"And me too. If you want to," Eunji added.

Pressured by both sides, I decided to open my mouth. I needed to let go of this secret, it's just a matter of time. Whether I'd do it right now or later, it actually didn't really matter.

"I...I had this dream. A...nightmare," I started. Bomi and Eunji were deeply listening. "It has been happening for—"

"Excuse me."

The waitress came with our orders. She handed me my latte macchiato and placed a cup of caffé mocha in front of Eunji. She asked us to wait for a while for the ristretto. We thanked her as she left.

"What...? They could make macchiato and mocha faster than ristretto?" complained Bomi.

"Sshhhh!" Eunji hushed her.

"...it has been happening for three months. The same nightmare, every night," I continued. "Even last night. It was always the same voice. A man, saying the same sentence, over and over."

"What did he say?" asked Eunji.

"He said, 'That's it...keep it up...'. Only those words, he kept repeating them."

Bomi and Eunji stayed silent for a while. They exchanged glances again. Eunji sipped her coffee. Bomi was tapping the table with her fingertips, coudn't think about anything.

I also raised my cup and drank a mouthful of my macchiato. I didn't really expect an answer or a solution from them, I just wanted to let this burden out. And I was actually feeling better.

"I don't know what is the meaning behind all of this. But I've already ignored it for months and there's nothing that really happened, right? I am fine," I smiled to them. "Thanks for listening, girls. It's not a big deal."

"Something did happen, Chorong unnie," Eunji corrected me. "That kidnapping."

I coughed. The waitress came back with Bomi's order.

"Thanks. I'll drink it nicely," said Bomi, half sarcastic. The waitress smiled to her in response. Bomi mimicked her smile as she walked back.

Eunji's words slapped me. Are these things even connected? But who, who dares threaten me with such terror? I sipped my coffee again. No. This couldn't be. I shook off those thoughts from my head.

Just then the coffee shop door opened. Some boys entered, they were playing and joking with each other.  I counted, there were three of them as well. They sat at a nearby table and ordered.

Bomi spilled some of her coffee on her dress.  She was choking and coughed.

"What's wrong?" Eunji patted her back.

Bomi pointed at those guys. I couldn't really recognize them, but Bomi sure was.

"In...uhuk...Infinite sun...uhuk...bae..." She covered with her hand. "And...uhukk...there's also Nam Woohyun sunbae as well..."

Both me and Eunji were looking towards them. Bomi was right. Woohyun was sitting at the far side of the table, facing us. The guy that was sitting beside him was none other than L, and the one that was facing the opposite direction was Sunggyu. I could tell from his hair.

Eunji curled her fingers under her chin.

"Wait...you too?" I asked her in disbelief.

Bomi put her coffee on the table. "Chorong unnie, let's get things done here quickly! You know, I'm still ashamed in front of him—"

"...—because you farted in front of Woohyun, I know, I was right beside you back then," I cut her words.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD, UNNIE!!!" Bomi stood up and exploded. She instantly realized her mistake.

Everybody in the coffee shop was looking at our direction. Including those three.

Now things just got real.