{ 40 }

Jiyong, Jaejoong, and Yuri along with Bom, TOP, and Youngbae were anxiously waiting outside the emergency room where Dara was. Bom, TOP, and Youngbae were all surprised to hear Jiyong calling them out of nowhere and saying that Dara was in the hospital suffering from wounds and bruises.

Jiyong let out his anger on Jaejoong. “IT’S ALL YOUR ING FAULT!!!” He yelled as he slammed Jaejoong on the wall.

“I can explain, Jiyong,” Jaejoong answered in a hushed voice.

“Explain, then. Tell me how and why the this is happening,” he replied. His mind was in a haze. He couldn’t believe that it all turned out to this. Jaejoong betraying him, and his mother and uncle trying to finish off the woman he loves.

Jaejoong discreetly looked around, and Jiyong got the message. Even his three friends stood up. Bom walked over to Yuri and smiled even though her eyes were swollen from crying. “C’mon, Yuri, let’s get you some food.” She cooed as the four of them walked towards the cafeteria.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Jiyong let him go. “Explain now, Jaejoong. , my head’s gonna explode...”

“Yuri... Yuri is my sister.” He started, earning a glare from Jiyong. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Listen first!” Jaejoong said. Jiyong still has the incredulous look on his face, but he listened nonetheless.

“Jiyong, you’re not Jo Yuhee’s son.” Jaejoong said seriously. Jiyong’s mouth was agape, and for the first time, he doesn’t know what were the right words to say. Kwon Yuhee was the mother he grew up on ever since he was young. In his childhood, the woman seemed distant, and she insisted on him calling her ‘eomeoni’ rather than ‘omma’ to put on a wall between them. She only mellowed down when she gave birth to Yuri. Jiyong strived so hard not only because of his father’s legacy, but also to prove himself to his mother... or so he thought.

“You’re Mr. Kwon Jihoon’s son from another woman. You see, your parents’ wedding was for convenience. As far as I know, Mr. Kwon Jihoon’s real girlfriend was your mother.” He swallowed before continuing. “However, he was forced to marry Jo Yuhee. They didn’t have a happy marriage, and Mr. Kwon Jihoon continued to meet your mother. She got pregnant, and that enraged Jo Yuhee. When Mr. Kwon Jihoon brought you home, she wanted you out. But of course, your father was firm on keeping you because you are your mother’s child. Soon after that occurrence, your mother died which devastated your father. He turned to work and their relationship was at rock bottom. Years after though, Jo Yuhee got pregnant.” Jaejoong’s gaze tore away from Jiyong, who was staring intently at him, trying to swallow all the information at once. “She was my father’s child, but Jo Yuhee told your father that she was his.”

“But... why? Why do they want to kill Dara?” Jiyong asked.

Jaejoong managed to smile. “And after all I told you, your first question’s about Dara, huh?” He teased. Jiyong only glared at him. “The accident you had five years ago was their doing. Jo Yuhee and Jo Pil Guk. Jo Pil Guk paid the police and the hospital you were in so they won’t rat that your car’s brakes were cut off intentionally and that there was a foreign substance in your blood which was used to drug you. Your father’s death was also caused by them. They injected poison on his meds. Jo Yuhee wanted you to die because when that happens, the KGC will be placed on Yuri’s hands. She hated you and your father because you are a living proof that Mr. Kwon Jihoon never loved her.”

“But you...”

“I got recruited by Jo Pil Guk. He knew that I was your personal bodyguard, and he also knows that I got in a job here in hopes of seeing my sister. He promised me that he’ll introduce me to Yuri, but I thought that it’d be killing two birds with one stone. I’d meet my sister and I’ll fulfill my duties to you.”

Jiyong stood up. “Shut up, Kim Jaejoong. Yuri is my sister. Yuri is a Kwon through and through.” He growled. “No one will take my sister away from me.”

A gasp was heard followed by Bom’s shriek. The older woman crouched next to Yuri’s feet which were doused by scalding hot chocolate. “Omo omo, you’re burned!” She stood up and turned to TOP. “Tabi, bring her to the–”

However, Yuri wasn’t listening. She stared at Jiyong, confusion and tears in her eyes. “Oppa... I... I’m not a Kwon?”

Jiyong walked over to his sister and hugged her tightly. “That’s impossible, kid. You’re a Kwon. You’re my sister. I’m your older brother and that’s that.”

Yuri’s silent tears were killing him. Jaejoong was also feeling bad. He cannot do anything to make his sister feel better. What’s even worse is that he was the reason why his sister was crying so much.

“Jiyong, it’s better if you’d bring her down to fix her burn,” Youngbae reminded. “It might get worse.”

Jiyong nodded as he gently separated himself from Yuri. “Yul-ah, listen to oppa, neh? You have to treat your burn.”

Yuri nodded silently. Jiyong was about to go with her when she stopped him. “It’s okay, oppa. Stay with Dara unnie.” She hung her head low. “I’m sorry for omma.” She added in a quiet, shaking voice, which breaks Jiyong’s heart.

He tenderly cupped her face and looked at her. “Kwon Yuri, it’s not your fault. Don’t ever think that. Okay?”

She didn’t say anything. She only smiled and walked over to Youngbae who smiled at her. He helped her ride on the elevator to treat her burn, and soon enough, only the four of them were left waiting.

Bom sat next to Jiyong. “Jiyong-ah... What happened to Dara?”

“Bom, not now.” TOP warned. He held Bom’s hand and they were about to talk when Jiyong spoke. “I’m sorry, noona, hyung, I’ll... I’ll explain. But not now, please.” He answered, his voice distraught with anxiety. The doctors operating on Dara were still on it, and they haven’t heard any news yet.

The couple looked at Jiyong sadly. Jiyong and Dara already went through a lot of obstacles, but this one is the most fatal out of all. TOP gently squeezed Bom’s shoulder, offering his girlfriend support.

“I love you, Bommie,” he whispered to her. Witnessing all the events unfold for Jiyong and Dara hurts them, but TOP knows that they couldn’t even possibly fathom how much it hurts Jiyong right now.

Bom let out a tender smile. “I love you too, Tabi.”

--

Jiyong’s heart was racing. When he saw Dara lying lifelessly on the floor, he felt as if air was knocked out of him. Dara-yah... He silently called out her name. Soon enough, tears were on his eyes. He cannot stop himself from crying, afraid that anything bad will happen to his Dara. Jiyong have never felt so helpless and hopeless before.

He’s blaming himself for what happened. If only I knew about this before... If only I came earlier... ! Dara won’t have to go through this! He’s wishing that he was the one who took all those blows instead of Dara.

How... How could this end with me unscathed? I was the one they wanted, right? Why... Why should they do this to her?

The emergency room’s door suddenly opened and Jiyong bolted up. He quickly cornered the doctor. “Is she okay?!” He asked anxiously. Bom, TOP, and Jaejoong were behind him, waiting for the doctor’s verdict on Dara’s condition.

“We managed to stop the impending blood clots. She has suffered from a lot of external wounds and bruises, along with three broken ribs and her right leg will probably be limping for weeks, a month tops. She has to use crutches for that time. However, she’s better now, but you can’t see her yet tonight. We’ll move her to a private room soon, so you can visit her tomorrow.” The doctor explained.

Bom, TOP, and Jaejoong managed to breathe a sigh of relief that Dara was okay, but Jiyong wasn’t pacified. He was left immobilized that he didn’t even notice that the doctor had already gone.

“Jiyong?” Bom called out gently while placing a hand on his shoulders.

“Yes, noona?”

“I think you should go home for a moment.” She suggested as she took in his appearance. His suit was still stained with Dara’s blood, and he hasn’t eaten anything yet for the last seven hours.

“I’m okay, noona.” He stubbornly answered. “I want to be here.”

“Jiyong, Bom’s right.” TOP supported. “Besides, we won’t get to see her yet, anyway. You should change and eat, then you can go back here.” He turned to Jaejoong who was only listening to their conversation. “Jaejoong-ssi, please accompany Jiyong.”

Jaejoong nodded and went over to Jiyong. The latter tried putting up a fight, but his emotional and mental state also wore his energy down. In the end, he was dragged to the car by Jaejoong, but not before strictly instructing the bodyguards to watch Dara closely. He was even about to fire the two bodyguards who were with Jaejoong earlier, but he explained that he was the one who made them stay out. Jiyong looked at Jaejoong in disgust. “Then maybe I should just fire you, Kim Jaejoong.” He scornfully spat before walking towards one of the chauffeured cars.

_________________________________________________________________________

A/N: OMONAAA! I'm really overwhelmed at the amount of comments I received from the last chapter! I think there were 30+?! WHOAAAA. THIS IS DAEBAK.

Keke, now that the truth's revealed, I will entertain questions and answer the comments for this chapter! ;PP

Thank you angeltam7, shiningKat, Catagtaguen, niknikmo, hannavips, and dopeDG for upvoting this story! It really means a lot to me.

Also, the comments really warmed my heart. Srsly guys. You were all complimenting the story and I... really feel overwhelmed. I mean, when I started this I didn't think that it will have this much attention, considering that I'm a new writer. This won't be a good story without each of my reader. This may be cliche, but you really are the ones who push me into writing a good story. If it weren't for all the support, comments, and upvotes you left me, maybe this wouldn't have come out like this.

Again, thank you everyone!~

P.S. And leave lots of comments again, jebal? ^^

P.P.S. I just want to address this. There were two readers who pointed out that it kinda feels awkward when Ji calls Dara "noona." Uhm, actually, Jiyong only calls him "noona" when he feels vulnerable. If you'd see the other chapters where he called her "noona," he was actually feeling helpless. Flashback to chapter 22 where he first called her "noona" again, he was feeling very sorry that time but he doesn't know what to do or what were the right things to say.

Also note on the earlier chapters that when it was third person's omniscient on Jiyong's part, he always refers to Dara as a "girl" rather than a "woman." It's because he sees her as frail and fragile who breaks easily, which is why she needs to be protected. These two are connected in a sense that when Ji calls her "noona," he was actually being very sincere because calling her that would mean that he himself was feeling helpless and that he was giving Dara all his trust to do the right thing.

Err, did you guys understand or was it weird???