The missing engagement ring was not missing at all. It was there, sitting peacefully atop the medical cabinet next to the huge cupboard of dusty, old medical books. It was in his office; Dr Kim's. He was just about to hide it in his drawer but missed the chance when Amber had entered his office yesterday. He was relieved that she seemed to not notice the ring and was taken aback when she had asked about his other patient but because of that, it was obvious to him that she was her weakness. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was identified as the culprit; he had seen the suspicious looks from Do Hee when he came by at Hye Gi's house - uninvited. He knew she would mention about a shady doctor visiting his patient. He had prepared well. He called Seul Hee's mom and bumped up her appointment with him so he would be ready if the detective decided to pay another visit.

The patient in front of him seemed gullible enough and too naïve to see his intention, even when he had asked her to turn off her phone and passed it to him. The doctor noted her heavy dependence on him and he had to keep himself from laughing dryly at her. He casually proceeded with the session just as he had done before and everything was normal, except for the fact that he had prepared a syringe of ethylene glycol (the same poison used on Hye Gi) in his coat pocket.

They were sitting close to one another, not close enough to invade personal space but close enough for him to hold her hostage if a certain detective barged in. It was half past four, an hour into the session, when they heard a chaos outside and the door was kicked open. In that split second, he had the syringe to Seul Hee's neck and dragged her towards the corner of the room.

"You! Let go of her!"

"Let's not use force. I assume you would know what's inside this syringe. One step back or she's a goner," he said as he touched the tip of the needle closer to her neck, causing it to bleed a little.

Amber abruptly stopped in her tracks, her ex-student's safety in mind. Even though she had her lightning speed, she can't bring herself to use it, especially when the hostage was Seul Hee. The nightmare of the past kept replaying in her head and she couldn't bear to have it repeat a second time. Not when she had finally begun to accept it. She took a step back, complying to his order. In her rush to the hospital, she had forgotten to bring along her gun in her desk drawer and she didn't even say a word to Victoria where she was going.

"Good, make sure you're unarmed. If you're trying anything funny, she'll pay the price," he warned, the girl in his hold was frozen and was trying her best to back away from the needle.

"I'm not. I left my gun. It's just you and me, let her go," Amber negotiated as she tapped herself to prove that she wasn't carrying a weapon.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," he tightened his hold on her and moved towards the door, Amber moving out of the way so as not to provoke him.

"Easy, easy. She has not healed her leg."

He didn't say anything but didn't stop.

"Let her go. She's just weighing you down. You have a better chance fleeing without her," Amber tried again, hoping that he would release her, to no avail.

Should I risk it or wait for Vic-unnie to somehow appear? I should have kept my composure and told the receptionist to call the police.

"Please," Seul Hee managed to squeaked out.

It broke Amber's heart to hear how her voice was shaking and the look in her eyes, the same look she had years ago when the incident happened. Amber had promised herself that no matter what it took, she would never let that same look return to the young girl's eyes but it had! She was angry at herself for carelessly mentioning about Seul Hee to a potential suspect. She would have been more rational if the hostage was a stranger but it's someone dear to her and it made her hesitate so much that she couldn't work up a plan to get her away from the doctor.

"Look, doctor. Let her go, okay? We can talk through this."

"What's there to discuss? It's over. The love of my life is dead. There's nothing more to say," he replied, a longing in his eyes.

"You mean, Hye Gi-ssi? But…"

"Yes, my love. She was so lovely. She turned to me when she's in distress. She relied on me to help her. I.. I love her very much."

Amber was confused. She didn't expect it at all and she belatedly realized that she didn't even know what motive the doctor could possibly have to kill the victim. She processed what the doctor had said and connected the dots. The victim had been uncomfortable around the doctor and had been skipping appointments because she had been bothered about the doctor's feelings towards her. It only worsen when she had broken off the engagement and timely, her condition was also affected.

I would ask him why he killed her but considering the situation, I guess it could wait until I have him detained.

"You love her?"

"Yes, I love her. She's so wonderful and kind. Very beautiful too. She's far more than this world can handle," he continued with so much emotion in every word.

"I know. She was very beautiful. Now, would she like it if you're behaving like this?"

"Everything I do was for her. It's for her. Her own good."

"Let the girl go and we can talk more about her."

"No! She's dead now. I killed her! She… She… I… Ugh!"

Amber was getting more and more worried about Seul Hee as he hold her in a headlock, slightly suffocating her and the needle was too close for comfort. He was emotionally unstable and wielding a weapon and strength that a mere 19 year old cannot handle. Amber was strong, yes, but she could never overpower a man, even one of a regular built, with brute force alone. She needed a plan and strategy to go against him but with the hostage being so close to him, he would hurt her faster than she could lift a finger. It was frustrating and she was left only with one choice and that is to use her ability.

Her position was that of a striker, always in front at battlefields. She strikes first, hits hard and fast; lightning speed was a part of her ability. She had a destructive ability, hence hits hard, and the way it works was that using her lightning speed, close in on a target and then concentrate the power on her fist which was then used to punch the lights out of the target. It's destructive because it could break the target's bones even with little force and it took a toll on the users' hand(s). It burns, stings, electrify and so much more. It can be long distance as well; letting the power to course through the arm and releasing it to the direction of the target. It's more dangerous that way.

Since he has a hostage, Amber had to find a way to make him release her and then strike at him. Long distance strike would be fatal to the hostage since she's blocking the doctor. The only possible way would be to have the doctor release her and then attack but in his state, it's difficult to say anything without angering him.

I need a diversion. Distraction. I'll use long distance to knock some stuff off the shelves.

There was a sound coming from behind the door and so in a frenzy, the doctor immediately looked in the direction and was distracted enough to loosen his hold on Seul Hee. Using her lightning speed, Amber snatched her away from him but the doctor's reflex was quick enough to swung the syringe at her, stabbing her back. Luckily, he didn’t manage to push the plunger so she was spared from getting poisoned. She flinched from the pain but ignored it as she told Seul Hee to hide underneath the table and directed her attention to the doctor. She delivered the classic punch to the stomach and used her power to knock him out without inflicting too much damage to him; maybe just a few broken ribs. Without any handcuffs, she searched his desk for anything that she can use to restrain him and found a zip tie. She tied him with it and went to check on Seul Hee.

"Are you hurt?"

"I… I…"

"Your neck, it's bleeding," Amber said as she got a handkerchief out of her jacket and placed it on the wound, putting some pressure.

"Come on up. We need to get that checked."

It took her awhile to get her on her feet and she slung her arms over her shoulder to support her out of the office.

"Don't go in there. Call the police and ask for Detective Song. Say that Detective Liu just apprehended the culprit," Amber told the nurse in the department.

The two of them reached the A&E department in minutes and were swarmed by a few doctors to get treatment. Amber had declined and emphasized that Seul Hee should receive treatment immediately and went to sit at the waiting room, leaving frustrated doctors behind. Her back stings, her arm hurts and because she still had her limiter on, she was draining herself. After Luna's incident, she promised Victoria that she wouldn't use her full power unless it was a do or die situation. Her back was bleeding slightly and exhaustion made her succumb to the darkness and she fainted.

D  E  F  L  E  ( x )  T  I  O  N

It took three days for the doctor to regain consciousness and he was a complete mess. He was like a broken record and kept repeating of his love towards the victim and how he was just trying to help her. He had developed feelings for her ever since she had opened up to him about her problems and worries and he thought that he was the only one for her and that he was special. Her dependence on him deluded him into thinking that she couldn't do anything without his help and that she would turn to him if there was anything that bothered her. He was confusing it for attraction towards himself but when she started dating the actor and ended up getting engaged, he was in despair.

He prescribed himself anti-depression drugs but he became addicted and when Hye Gi broke off her engagement, he felt that he had another chance to pursue his love for her. He began to speak to her as if she was his lover and she was getting weirded out and ended up skipping their appointments more and more. The last strike was when he invited himself to her house and she had spoke her mind that she wasn't interested and that he should stop courting her. By chance, he was carrying the poison with him and decided that if she's not going to be his, then the world can't have her. With the delusions and the effects of the drugs, he had planted the poison in her water bottle and eventually killed the person he loved.

"How's your hand? And your back?"

"It still feels a little numb."

"You're lucky he didn't hit any major artery. That poison too. You should have told me!"

"I'm sorry. I was out of my mind."

"When I saw your phone in pieces, I thought something bad must have happened. I tried your apartment, Luna's, your friends but no one knows where you are. I was worried!"

"Yea, sorry about that."

"What are you going to do about her?"

"I honestly don't know. It's the second time this happened. Both because of me. I don't know if I could face her," Amber confessed as she brought her uninjured arm up to cover her eyes.

They were at the hospital and in a private room at Victoria's request. That day when she was informed by the nurse, she sped her way to the hospital and immediately search for her partner, who was passed out outside the emergency room and she had panicked while calling for the doctors to tend to her. She didn't know the extent of her injury so she was pacing outside and only called for backup once the doctor informed her that she passed out from exhaustion. Amber was admitted to the hospital together with her traumatized ex-student, both in different private rooms. Meanwhile, the doctor was brought to the prison hospital and treated accordingly. From his condition, Victoria could tell that Amber had used her power, which also explains why she had passed out.

"She's recuperating. Her neck injury wasn't deep and it will not leave any scars. She's doing well."

"That's…. Good to hear. I'm just not ready to see her."

"I know. You saved her this time. You did. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Rest. Go to sleep. Don't think too much. I'll be back later."

"Thanks, Vic-unnie."