Taeyeon's POV

I felt some pain at my shoulders as I slowly opened my eyes. There was not much light around me as I tried to adjust my eyesight to the surrounding. A rustling near me, caused me to freeze a little before a manly voice was heard.

"How the hell did you end up here?"

I turned slowly to the left where I heard the voice was coming from. By now, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness as I saw a guy seated on a chair with both his hands behind his back. There was a single bulb hanging on top of him as he slowly lifted up his head. I frowned when I saw his bloody face which was almost unrecognisable, partially because of the dim light.

"Holy . What did they do to you, Nicky?"

He suddenly chuckled before laughing out loud and stopped as abruptly as it started. "This is all your ing fault. If Tiffany is hurt, it is all because of you. Damn it, Taeyeon. Why did you have to put her in danger? If you didn't come back into her life, Tiffany would have been just fine. Your crazy crush won't even know of her existence."

He glared at me as I swallowed my saliva, trying to understand his words. My head was still spinning as I tried to move my hands. It was then I realised that I was tied in the same position as Nicky which explains the pain in my shoulders. I was about to say something when the doors flung open as two muscled men walked in with an expressionless face. The light above me was switched on as I closed my eyes from the brightness.

"Thank you for the help guys. Move aside so I can take a look at the who stole my sweetheart from me."

I heard the familiar voice as I slowly opened my eyes to reaffirm my suspicion. Gasping sound was heard next as I was suddenly engulfed in a hug.

"Oh my god, Taeyeonie. What have they done to you? Why are you here instead of Tiffany?"

I couldn't reply as my shoulders were in pain because of the hug that Sunmi had given to me. Seeing my scrunched face, I saw the glare in Sunmi's eyes as she turned to look at the two men who had a nervous look in their eyes.

"Both of you." Sunmi walked up to them and gave them each a tight slap. "How the hell did you get the wrong girl? Follow me out, right now!!!"

The doors slammed shut as I sighed a little before I heard another chuckle.

"I guess those guys are going to get it from that crazy ." Nicky said. His tone was softer now as he turned to look at me. "You replaced yourself with Tiffany?"

I nodded my head and smiled a little at him.

(Flashbacks 2 days ago)

I slammed my hands on the table and glared at Sooyoung and Yuri. Actually, the glare was not because of their nonsense but because of the pain that was seeping through my hand. Trying to keep my poker face on, I turned to look at Tiffany.

"I'll be in the car."

I saw the shock in everyone's faces as I quickly grabbed my belongings on the table, making sure that I took the most important thing of all. Tiffany's phone.

It didn't take long for me to reach my car as I had ran all the way to the carpark, the moment I was out of their sight. I knew I didn't have a lot of time left until Tiffany realised that I had took her phone so I quickly keyed in the password for her phone. It wasn't a difficult guess since Tiffany never changed her password which was the combination of our birth dates.

I went straight to the message inbox and saw that the last few messages was indeed sent by Nicky. But the question was, how did his phone ended up in her hands? As in Sunmi's hands.

(Present Time)

"How did you know that it was her?" Nicky asked with a little frown on his face after I told him about what happened 2 days ago and also about what Sunmi had told us a month ago with regards to his plan.

"Tiffany said that it was unlike you to send messages with a lot of emoticons and symbols. As I read through the messages again, my suspicions reaffirms. Firstly, in the very first message, it stated that Tiffany was working as my secretary. From what Tiffany told me before, it seems that you didn't know that she'll be working as my secretary. You only knew that she's coming back to Seoul to be with me." Nicky nodded his head at my sentence. "Furthermore, the message even signs off in your name. Why would you do so if Tiffany has your number? But the most important clue was in the second message. Right at the end of the cafe address was a few other symbols but the last two symbols caught my attention."

Nicky's eyes was focused on me as I paused to take a deep breathe. The pain in the shoulder was getting unbearable and was making me very uncomfortable. The two guys earlier must have tied it too tight for me.

"It was a symbol of a sun and a symbol of a bowl of noodle. If you read it after the cafe address, it might look like an invitation for a lunch under a sunny weather. But that's not it." I paused. "Sunmi used to send me those symbols when she sent me messages. It represented her name. Sun and Mi which is what they called noodles in Vietnamese. She used to say that it was a secret code, shared between her and me."

"But I still don't get it. How did the two men messed up?" Nicky frowned a liitle.

"After I took Tiffany's phone, I sent a message to your number which I suspected was in Sunmi's hands. I changed the location and time of the meet-up, erased the message history and returned the phone back to Tiffany." I answered with a little smirk before it faded. "I wasn't sure if my predictions were right or not but I had to take the risk. Either way, I have to face you or her."

Silence filled the room as both of us seemed to have tire ourselves out. Physically and mentally.

"I will never hurt Tiffany." Nicky suddenly said. "I know I did mistakes in the past, especially to you. But I would never hurt Tiffany. I... I.. lo.."

"You love her." I completed his stammering sentence as he looked up at me. "She's lovable. Don't you agree?"

Both of us looked at each other and for the first time, there was an exchange of smiles between us.

"I know you've been taking care of her well for the past few years. Tiffany told me so." I paused as Nicky just looked blankly at me. "I'm sorry for dragging you in this problem. How long have you been here and what have they done to you?"

"I think it's been almost 2 weeks. That crazy would occasionally come in with her two bodyguards, ask them to beat me up as she watched and laughed. Initially, I didn't know what my mistake was until I heard her say something about hurting her Taeyeonie. I kept saying that I didn't know what she was talking about but after you told me what she overheard, I finally understood." Nicky sighed. "I was already tipsy that night even before I met up with my friends. We were just trash talking. I don't even remember what I said that night."

I nodded my head as I remembered Yoona's words. I sighed for the umptenth time as I realised that his predicament was indirectly caused by me.

"I'm sorry. I really am." I looked up and saw that Nicky was about to say something when the door swung open.

Sunmi walked in with her eyes focusing straight at me. "The change in the meet-up location and time. You were the one who sent it, am I right?"

I nodded my head as I saw the change in her eyes. It was scary the way she stared into me as if she wanted to the soul out of me. Suddenly, Nicky started laughing, causing Sunmi to turn her attention towards him.

"You thought that you could hurt Tiffany with your crazy ways but you failed. You think you're so clever but you're just a crazy . Taeyeon loves Tiffany..." Nicky couldn't finished his sentence when he spitted out blood as he received a blow to his stomach. "Just kill me, you crazy . I've already lost Tiffany and no one even cared that I was missing for the past 2 weeks. There's no one left for me in this world."

"Nicky!! Just shut up!!" I shouted as I was afraid that Sunmi would just grant his wish. "Sunmi-ah, let him go. He's got nothing to do in this."

"Let him go? He plans to hurt you, Taeyeonie. No one can hurt the person I love. It's all because of that girl. She left him which is why he wanted to hurt you." Sunmi turned to look at me as I gulped down my saliva, seeing the anger in her eyes. "I'm not going to allow him to hurt you, Taeyeonie."

"He's not going to hurt me. He was drunk, Sunmi. He didn't mean what he said." I tried to talk to her softly as Sunmi kept shaking her head.

"I don't believe you. You're just trying to help him. Why do you want to do so, Taeyeonie? I hate you. You've never appreciated what I've done for you. After I had to resign from my secretarial post, I asked Sohee to keep me updated about you. I was so happy that you didn't find a new secretary. I knew you couldn't bear to replace me." Sunmi started to smile weirdly before she suddenly frowned and glared at Taeyeon. "But you finally found one. You even showed her your dimple smile which I've never seen before. You broke my heart, Taeyeonie."

Walking up to me, I felt a stinging pain in my left cheek as Sunmi slapped me hard. I could taste my own blood as my lips split due to the dryness of the skin. I flinched a little when she pressed her hands on both my shoulders, trying to kiss me but I managed to turn my face sideways and avoid it. My actions caused her to be more agitated. I heard her calling out to her bodyguards as she walked out from the room after whispering something to them.

"Hey, hey, hey... What are you planning to do? She's a girl. Leave her alone."

Nicky's voice echoed through the room as a sharp pain was felt around my stomach. I coughed out and looked down as the sound of a metallic object hit the floor. The two men walked out from the room and switched off the lights along the way. 

"Hey Taeyeon.. Are you okay?" Nicky asked, sounding more worried than earlier. "I can't believe they actually hit you with that baseball bat."

"I'm.. fi...fine, Nicky. Don't worry." I said even though I knew I didn't sound so confident. I heard him sighing as I tried to straighten my back but the throbbing pain on my left side was too unbearable for me to do so.

 ************************

 Tiffany's POV

I looked at my watch again before turning to the left side where Sooyoung, Yuri and Hyoyeon were seated a few tables away. I frowned a little as I noticed that they were looking restless too. It's been almost 45mins now and there was still no sign of Nicky at the cafe. I knew that he was always not on time but he was never this late. The most was only 10mins. My train of thoughts was interrupted by an incoming message.

From Yuri:

Fany, is he always this late? We're almost 'drunk' with all the coffees that we had. Soo is already on her 4th cup, Hyo's on her 2nd while I'm still struggling with my only cup.

I giggled a little while reading the message. I looked up again and remembered something.

To Yuri:

Yul, has Taeyeon replied to your messages? I've been messaging her since 30mins ago but there's still no reply. She's not feeling well today. Can one of you help me to check on her?

I saw Yuri turning to look at the other two girls as they seemed to discuss something. Soon after, Sooyoung took out her phone and placed it to her ear while Hyoyeon stood up. After Sooyoung shook her head, Hyoyeon made a move towards the entrance of the cafe. Earlier on, Taeyeon had complained to me that her stomach wasn't feeling that good. She claimed that it could be because she was feeling nervous or because she had eaten something bad.

I told her to go to the Ladies or rest in the car for a while before I walked into the cafe by myself 45mins ago. When I entered the cafe, I had noticed Sooyoung, Yuri and Hyoyeon seated at one of the corners.

That was our plan. The 3 of them would come earlier to the cafe and scan around the place for anything suspicious. They would be on standby until the meet-up ended. Taeyeon would just wait for me at the carpark after dropping me off. She won't be able to join us in the cafe since Nicky might notice her presence.

I was stirring my cup of coffee when I felt the presence of someone walking closer to me. Thinking that it was Nicky, I was about to burst in anger when I realised that it was Hyoyeon. Soon after, Sooyoung and Yuri joined in as I started to feel nervous when I saw the looks in their eyes.

"Fany-unnie, I think something is not right." Hyoyeon bite her lips as she looked at Yuri and Sooyoung. "Taeng-unnie is not at the carpark. Even her car is not there."

"What?" I was shocked and totally confused.

"She's not picking up her phone too. I did a check on her location through the tracking apps. It seems that she's somewhere along Han river instead." Sooyoung informed me as a frown appeared on her face.

I stood up immediately and grabbed my phone. I dialed Nicky's number but it was diverted to the voicemail. My head was spinnng at the moment as anxiety started to kick in. "Why would she be at the Han river?"

No one said anything until Yuri gasped. "Taengoo took your phone 2 days ago after Nicky messaged you, right? We thought it was accidentally but ... Fany-ah, pass me your phone."

I quickly typed in my password and handed my phone to Yuri. My heartbeat was beating very fast at the moment as I kept glancing at the entrance.

"I think you don't have to look at the door anymore, Fany. I don't think Nicky's coming." Yuri said as she showed me my message records. There was supposed to have only 4 records of my interactions with Nicky but I was surprised when there was 6 instead. I went to my message inbox but there was no additional messages besides the ones that I had seen.

"She deleted it." Sooyoung said as if she was answering the questions in my head. "Yul, do you have your laptop with you?"

"It's in my car. You know how to retrieve the deleted messages?" Yuri asked as Sooyoung nodded her head. "Then let's go. We've already wasted an hour in here. Taeng might be in danger. Seriously, I'm going to strangle that midget when I see her."

Sooyoung, Yuri and me rushed out from the cafe while Hyoyeon went to settle the bill. I was so nervous at the moment that my palms started to sweat as I just observed whatever that Sooyoung was doing.

"This might take some time." Sooyoung said as I sighed. "Let's try to look for her along the Han river. Yul, take my phone and follow the tracking device."

By then, Hyoyeon was already done with the payment as all of us moved to her Landrover with Sooyoung and me sitting at the back. The car moved off within seconds as Yuri assisted to give directions to Hyoyeon by following the tracking device on Sooyoung's phone.

"I'm so glad that you're good with IT stuff, Soo. I didn't even know that you could track each other." I said as I sighed again. "I just hope that Taetae is okay."

"As long as her phone is switched on, I could still track her." Sooyoung replied as I nodded my head.

No one said anything as I just stared outside of the window. 'Kim Taeyeon, you better have a good explanation for your actions.'

(20mins later)

"What should we do now? Where is she?" Tears started to flow down my cheek as fear started to grip me. "What if... What if.. something.."

"She's going to be fine." Hyoyeon grabbed my shoulders before giving me a tight hug. "Taeng-unnie is going to be fine."

I knew that Hyoyeon was trying to be strong for me. Just like her sister, she's good at hiding her feelings too. But right now, I'm too scared to believe her words. My eyes just stared at the bench in front of me and imagined Taeyeon sitting there all by herself while waiting for Nicky to arrive. I don't know what happened next because the only thing left behind was her phone which we found among the tall grass just behind the bench. Even her car was still at the carpark which was 5mins walk away from where we were at the moment.

Sooyoung had managed to retrieve the deleted message by the time we reached the bench as my eyes widened when I saw the content. After my reply to Nicky which stated that I had received the cafe location and would see him on the agreed date and time, there was another message which obviously was not send by me.

To Nicky:

Sorry but can you meet me at Banpo Hangang Park near the Dongjak Bridge instead? I'll be sitting at the bench near the car park. Let's meet up at 2.30pm instead of 2pm. Thanks.

There was a reply from Nicky after that message stating that he had agreed to the changes made.

"Is there anyway we can track down Nicky instead?" Yuri asked as Sooyoung shook her head, explaining that Nicky's phone was off. ". God damn it."

I heaved out a heavy sigh when I heard Yuri cursing. I could sense that everyone was feeling frustrated at the moment as I looked around and stared at the Han river. "Why don't we calm down a little and think slowly?"

Hyoyeon nodded her head as we decided to walk back to the car. When I saw Taeyeon's car beside it, my tears was on the brink of flowing again but I held it in. I looked up to prevent the tears from flowing when I saw something. "Is that a camera?"

Sooyoung, Yuri and Hyoyeon looked up to where I was pointing. Right under the lamp post, was a surveillance camera that was usually used to safeguard the carpark area from any theft.

"Soo!! Palli." Yuri tapped Sooyoung's arm repeatedly as Sooyoung nodded her head while taking out her phone.

"Yah, Minho. Where are you?" Sooyoung said as she gestured to everyone to get into Hyoyeon's car. "Meet me at Dongjak police station. I need your help and it's urgent. I'm already on my way there. I'll see you later."

As Hyoyeon drove off with Sooyoung's guidance, I looked at Yuri who seemed to understand my confused look.

"Choi Minho. Sooyoung's cousin. Superintendent General of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency." Yuri explained as I just nodded my head slowly.