Hi! I'm back. I'm really sorry for not updating for so long. But I really didn't ditch the story, I will continue writing it.

Hope you will like it! In the meantime this story became more than one year old. Time flies~~~

Chaerin knew that she won’t going to make it in time to work when she got on the bus. She usually walks to the studio, but it was raining quite heavily on that day. It poured so strongly, and the wind that accompanied it broke her umbrella. It was setteled then. She went to the nearby bus station and a tiny bit of her heart hoped that before the bus comes Sandara will appear in front of her eyes in a minidress and heels.

Of course Sandara was nowhere to be found. But the bus came right on time and Chaerin went to the back of the vehicle.

Watching the big drops competing on the window which one of them would reach the end first, she slowly let her thoughts wander around. The disappearance of the brunette still bugged her a lot. Her life was really busy with – at times - multiple schedules every day and she even had no time to think about her which was sad.

She missed thinking about Sandara. She missed talking to her. Singing with her. Laughing with her.

She missed her.

Chaerin did not got off the stop closest to the Studio. She stayed there, watching the people on the street trying to fight the angry weather with their cheap umbrellas. They lost, of course.

And she lost the fight too.

When the bus was near to ’that’ place her body moved automatically. Landing right in the middle of a puddle, Chaerin got off the bus and held up her umbrella, but the strong wind teared it out of her hand. She looked at the bright yellow fabric rolling ont he ground, but did not run to catch it. She just let the spring shower to drench her hair and clothes completely. The cold water creeped through the material of her light jacket and reached her skin in no time. Her makeup was waterproof, but she still doubted that it could held up against the shower.

With a sigh she made her way to the restaurant. As it was expected, the place was packed with people trying to stay dry. She did not even hope to get a table, but she wasn’t there to eat at all, anyways.

However when she stepped in the blonde looked around searching for familiar faces.

She did not have to stand there even for a minute. Soon a young girl noticed her and freeze right on the spot as if she wasn’t believing her own eyes. After blinking a few times, she run through the busy restaurant and jumped at the singer, locking her body in a tight hug. A few people looked up at the scene and Chaerin could see the recognition in their eyes. They knew her. She became quite the hit within weeks. A few teenagers got their phones out and took photos of her, but no one dared to get close to her or even say her name. She guessed her smudged makeup might be the cause.

"Chaerin unnie… you are here!" told her Hayi while squeezing both of her hands with her own ones. "We called you so many times."

"Yes" answered the blonde in a monotone tone. "Sorry about that."

"Come" asked Hayi leading her between the tables to the back of the building away from the watchful eyes of the guests. The door wasn’t even fully closed when they started to talk about her. Like a tousand of bees that start to buzz at the same time, filling the room with their voices.

She couldn’t care less though.

Soon she found herself in the study of her formess boss. The aging man took off his glasses when she entered the room. His winrkly face looked sad, no smile appearing on his face upon seeing her. Chaerin didn’t notice when Hayi left. The girl probably went back to work right away. They had countless guests afterall.

The old man signed with his hand for her to sit down, and she did so without uttering a word.

"Long time no see, Chaerin-ah" mumbled the man.

She just nodded in return. "Sorry for coming so suddenly…"

"No" cut the man in with his kind voice. "You are always welcome here."

"Well… I still should have called" sighed the blonde.

A pregnant silence took over the room. Neither of them dared to speak up. Eventually Chaerin started the conversation, no longer bearing the weight of the old man’s stare.

"I owe you an apology."

"An apology? Why, sweatheart?"

She cringed at the endearment. Her boss was known to encourage her workers and behaving like the father they all missed from their life, but he never expressed his fondness of them with such words. He only did when he pitied them. And Chaerin needed no pity.

"I asked you to take Sandara in. Now you are short of hands again."

"No, don’t say that…" the man tried to calm her down, but his efforts were in vain.

"I should have known that… that…" She should have known that Sandara would just leave everybody? That she would betray their trust? That the brunette would just dissappear after a night like that? „That this would happen.” finished Chaerin her sentence afterall. The words felt raugh from . She was angry. At Sandara or at herself, she wasn’t sure yet. Maybe both.

"How should you have known?" shook his head the man. A stray lock of gray hair fell from its place and covered his forehead. "Even the same week before she left, Sandara always talked about how much she likes to live with you and work with us. She didn’t look like someone who is planning to leave."

The blonde thought through his words, but couldn’t believe them fully. Sandara might be a good lier. A really-really good one.

It seemed silly though. She always caughet her when the brunette wanted to keep something from her.

"Chaerin, dear" sighed the man again, the words rolling off of his tounge so sweatly, it made a tight knot in her troat. "Don’t blame yourself because of what happened. And don’t blame Sandara-yah eaither. That girl was so sweet. I can’t even imagine that she would do anything in order to hurt anybody. She may have a good reason for what she did. What do you think?"

His reasoning seemed true, and somewhere at the back of her mind she knew it was, indeed, true. Chaerin never met someone so kind and selfless person in her life, but still. She couldn’t just forget everything. She left without a word. A stray piece of paper was everything she left behind. This level of cowardness is something she dispises the most.

"So do not apologise" continued the man. "Not for sending Sandara-yah to us. We were happy to have her. Everybody misses her. It has been two weeks since she left and we still talk about her."

Chaerin just nodded and stood up. Their conversation halted, so she was ready to leave but before she could reach for the doorhandle, the man called after her.

"You came for your presents, right? They are still in the common room."

She glanced back over her shoulder. "What presents?"

"For your birthday. It’s not what you came for?"

Chaerin stared at the man for several seconds till a thought entered her mind. A cold feeling creept up her spine and made her whole body shiver. Of course! Her presents. On the day of her birthday she had left them at the restaurant, so she could party freely after a few of them went to the club.

"Will you take them?" Asked the old man and stood up from his chair, his palms on the table. He watched her intently, searching for any signs that would indicate that Chaerin was unwell. Because, damn, she looked unwell. She immedietly grew paler and avoided the eyecontact. He didn’t know the cause for sure.

"Of course" She muttered afterall, with a slight bow, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear it properly. "Thank you for keeping them till now."

"It was natural, my dear" smiled the man at her. He walked over and lead her out of his office.

In the common room they found Soohyun who was trying to knot her apron with furious speed, causing her hands to tremble. She glanced at them when the two entered and started bowing instantly. "Sajangnim, I’m sorry for being late. My brother pranked me a little this morning and…"

He made her fast words stop with a simple hand wave. "It’s okay Soohyun-ah. But would you be kind and show Chaerin her presents? They should be somewhere in here."

The man patted the blonde’s shoulder for a last time, then left pulling the door closed after himself. Soohyun just watched her, not really believing her luck for not being scolded, but her mind soon focused on their guest. She actually didn’t know Chaerin well. The blonde left way before she arrived to the restaurant with Chanhyuk. But she knew that the others adored her and cared for her like a real family member, so she bowed deeply in front of her.

"Hi" Chaerin smiled at her, though her eyes didn’t seem happy at all.

"I will search them immeadeatly" the girl promised and looked through the cabinets after fastening her apron. The neatly wrapped little packets sat in one of them as it was said and she took out all of them. "Do you want me to put them in a plastic bag?"

"Yeah… that would be nice, thank you" nodded the blonde.

An awkward silence fell upon the two of them. Soohyun knew that she should tell her something, but her mind went blank. They were strangers, practically, only with similar pasts.

Though she didn’t know much about Chaerin, she got to know Sandara quite well. As she was putting the presents into a bag one by one, she glanced at the singer who was looking at the framed group pictures hanging on the wall. One of them included the blonde herself about five years ago, from a different life. And another one was taken a few weeks before when the brunette was still with them. Soohyun noticed right away who she was staring at so intently. Sandara looked really pretty on that picture even though she was nervous about the shooting.

She thought back about her then collegue. Sandara was always very nice to her and the other kids who were still very young. She was not experienced in her work, but seemed to be good at taking care of others. Therefore Soohyun really missed her. She became the older sister she never had.

A memory came to her mind. During Chaerin’s party, she was able to chat with the brunette. Even then, she was nicer to her than her own family (excluding her brother) was ever.

With a sigh, she turned to the blonde. Clearing her troat she spoke up, finally breaking the silence.

"Do you know anything about Sandara unnie?"

Chaerin teared her eyes away from the picture and glanced at her. Her stare was intense, measuring wether she should tell anything at all to the girl, whom she doesn’t really know that well. But soon she just shook her head.

"Nothing."

Soohyun nodded and handed the bag over. "Do you think she got into some kind of trouble?"

Chaerin frowned at her, eyebrows arching elegantly. The young girl suddenly became quite intimidated by it, but did not regret asking that. She was curious about this ever since Sandara left.

"What trouble?" asked Chaerin, her voice not betraying wether she was angry or sad. "What do you mean?"

Soohyun bit down on her lower lip, then glanced down to her feet. "It’s just… She was so nervous, I thought… something happened."

Chaerin took a step closer, practically into the girl’s personal space, forcing her to lift her head up. Her face looked desperate.

"She was nervous? How so? When?"

"Uhm…" She tried to look away, but the other female’s presence was so strong, she just kept looking back at her. "I don’t know exactly… days before the party."

The sight of the bruise on Sandara’s face came to Chaerin’s mind. "Tell me about it, please."

Soohyun gulped, but started to speak. "I don’t know… Everything was fine. We were fooling around a lot that day. Then I went to take some orders from customers, and when I came back I found her sitting behind the counter. She looked quite shaken up. When I asked what happened she just told me that everything is fine. But that day I couldn’t talk to her normally again. I mean… She couldn’t really speak full sentenses. But it was weird. Nothing happened. I mean, we talked, I went to work, and five minutes later she was like that. She didn’t spoke to anyone during that time. It was really sudden."

Chaerin stared at the girl with wide eyes. She knew something was up. She knew it!

Before realizing what she was doing, Chaerin dropped the bag, not caring about the contents and held onto Soohyun’s upper arms. "Were you there when she left?" The young girl looked so surprised by her actions, so she released her, but did not step away. "I mean, on that day. Did you see her when she left the restaurant?"

After thinking for a while – which only made Chaerin more and more nervous -, she nodded. "We left together. Our shift ended at the same time, so I waited for her."

Chaerin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. That moment felt so vivid to her, like a crazy dream. "Sorry, Soohyun-ah" she muttered and opened her eyes. "I must have scared you. But it’s really important. There is one more thing I have to ask you about." She didn’t know if it was a good decision to share so much things about Sandara, but she had no choice. "That night she came home with a bruise on her cheek." Soohyun raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Sandara told me that she hit her head against the table here in this room when she dropped her bag." With her left hand the blonde patted the table next to her. "Could this be true?"

Soohyun immediatly shook her head, confirming Chaerin’s darkest thoughts. "No, I was with her. We got into our street clothes together, then left. She did not drop anything or hit herself in the restaurant. It could only happen after we parted our ways."

The thought of someone hitting Sandara made Chaerin sick. The brunette was trying to be strong and hide it, but… why? She had no reason to lie about it.

Without looking at Soohyun, she just bent down to pick the dropped bag off of the ground. She just stood up and wanted to left right away, but Soohyun called after her, when her hand was already on the doorhandle.

"Did something happen to her?"

Chaerin tried to come up with a reassuring answer, but she had none. "I’m not sure" she admitted honestly. "But you can’t talk about it. You don’t want to scare the others unnecessarily. Thank you for sharing this with me, Soohyun-ah." With that, she left the room hurriedly, and only waved at her friends on her way out of the restaurant.

Her busride to the studio was spent with nonstop thinking. From outside, she looked nervous, one hand hugging the bag of presents against her body, while the other was in front of her face. In the inside the dark scenarios almost ate her up. Something did happen to the brunette. It was so obvious now! One day she comes home with a bruise on her cheek, and two days later she lefts without a word? It’s just wasn’t right. She just didn’t dare to connetct the dots, as she was afraid of it being true. She believed Sandara and her silly letter instead. How silly of her.

Now, Chaerin was sure. Those men… those who chased her the day they have met, must have found her. But something was missing. She disappeared from her appartment and went on her own feet. She would notice if a group of them barged into her room.

Maybe someone threatened her? But still, she should have said something. Anything.

The blonde took her hand away from her eyes and glanced out of the window. The rain stopped, but the gray clouds still formed a heavy blanket on the sky, making the world seem monochrome and gloomy. Or was it just her?

Her heart became heavy with guilt. She should have noticed. She should have helped her. Hell, she shouldn’t just believe to that damn letter Sandara wrote and certainly shouldn’t have think that the brunette was a traitor. Even though that thought never was something she fully believed as the truth, but still was there and made her feel extremely burdened. Sandara is out there somewhere and who knows what she is going through.

"Where are you?" She whispered against the window, her breath creating a small fog on the glass.

~*~

Her heart broke every time one of the girls came back to their room crying, or woke up during the night as the dark memories haunted them even in their sleep. Sandara whished she could help those girls somehow. They were still young, but suddenly had to lose their innocence in every way possible. Soon the spark in their eyes dissapeared along with their hope of ever going home.

She sat on the ground with one of the girls who was clenching onto her shirt while sobbing soundlessly. With her good arm, she embraced the girl and pressed her cheek against the top of her head. Gentle words left in an attempt to calm her down, but her efforts were in vain. The girl still couldn’t speak Korean well, and Sandara didn’t know vietnamese at all. It was the reason for her beating today as well. They screamed in her face because she studied the languege too slowly, making almost no progress during the two month she was staying there. But how on earth was she supposed to learn a new language when she was part a so damaging environment, like this?

"Unnie…" cried the girl, her accent hearable even while saying this one word, she practised the most. "Ottoke?"

"It will be okay" Sandara soothed the girl, her palm making slow circles on the girl’s back in an attempt to calm her down. Her broken arm lay in her lap. It wasn’t as painful anymore and bruising went down a lot too. Although it made more harm not to have it in a cast, she tried to take care of it as well as she could. It slowly healed which meant she can probably use it again, but it also meant that she will have to go back to work again.

Though if it would spare the girls, she would work instead of them willingly, but she saw no chance for that. The future looked darker and darker as the days went by. The only thing she was able to hold onto was Chaerin, whose memory made her days more easier to bear. Sometimes she heard her songs on the radio while she cleaned the bathroom or the rooms. She would sing along and remember the time they went to the karaoke together. Or the time when Chaerin asked her to help with the tracklist order of the album. She remembered how the blonde would sometimes hum mindlessly.

She loved her voice. Every day Chaerin could spend pursuing her dreams and becoming more and more successful meant that she made the right decision of coming back here – even though the back of her mind told her it wasn’t really a matter of decision. Chaerin’s happiness worth all the pain.

"What a lovely sight." Upon hearing the deep male voice, both of them glanced up. At the door step stood Han Gongki, folding his arms over his chest.

Sandara couldn’t pretend to be an obedient, good girl anymore, so she just stared ahead with a blank expression, still holding the girl close to herself.

"How nice welcome" chuckled the man. "Anyway, Sandy, get ready."

She glanced over at the man suspiciously. He rarely come to fetch the girls himself. Especially not for the cleaning works she was doing since she came back. "What for?"

"You talk like the dumb countrygirl you are" hissed the man looking a bit annoyed. "Why am I even surprised."

Sandara just glanced back at the girl in her arms and continued to caress her back when the teenager tried to snuggle a bit closer to her as the man was at the door.

"You have a client" continued the man while lighting up a cigarette. He blew the smoke out then grinned at the brunette’s nervous face.

She took all courage that was left in herself and held up her injured hand. "I barely can hold things with it. How can you assume I can work."

"You won’t need that hand" huffed the man. He didn’t like it when the girls talked back. "Someone especially asked for you. We couldn’t keep your comeback a secret anymore. You became kind of a sensation." The man inhaled the smoke in slowly and deeply, then blew it out again. "You have ten minutes. Get dressed and put on some makeup. You!" He pointed at the young girl. "Help her. It was time for you to start earn us money again." With that, he left.

The vietnamese girl stared at her with wide eyes, but Sandara couldn’t offer her a reassuring glare. She was too caught up in her own worries.

If someone asked specifically for her even though it was known she isn’t able to work yet, it meant she was their ’favourite’. She was bad at giving pleasure compared to the other girls there and kind of reluctant too. But some type of men liked this the best. Breaking the girls was kind of a competition among them. And Sandara was especially their favourite because of her youthful appearance, yet kind of mature body. She could endure more than the younger ones.

Sandara could only sigh. With a broken arm, it will be worse. But what can she do? They made it clear that after her escape, one bad move and they will go against Chaerin. She can’t let that.

"Unnie, you’ hurt. You can’t go." told her the girl with her heavy accent as she stood up and went to the wardrobe.

"But I will" answered the brunette with confidence.

He sat on the couch as usual with his arms spread out on the headboard. He crossed his legs and looked directly at the door, eager to see Sandara as soon as she stepped in.

That man… She remembered him well. How could she forget someone like him. No, not because of his appearance, though it was indeed extraordinary as well. Being a half-chinese and half-caucasian, he was quite a sight. Tall with broad shoulders, well built muscles. His facial features were well-defined as well. His nose was long and high, his lips thin, but long, his jawline sharp. His eyes and hair colour were the best example of his halfblood origins. A thin, monolid eyes paired with bright, steelgrey orbs and dirtyblonde hair. No, not dyed. And he was proud of it, just as he was proud of himself all the time. Others would say he was quite attractive and handsome, but Sandara could only be disgusted by him. With his thin, angry eyes and pale, almost grey looking skin he looked like a snake.

Although his looks wasn’t the only thing that ring the bells in her head, his persona more-so. He was the type to play with people, worst than the owner of her club. At least that man cared about his men, this snake-like creature only cared about himself.

"Long time no see" Smiled the man widely, his voice sounding cheerful, though his eyes only radiated lust and possessiveness. "I missed you, Sandy."

She just sighed and took a step into the room when someone closed to door behind her back. There was no escape.

"Indeed, Mr. Wong." She said trying to act interested, but she failed hard. She hated his kind with all her might, and he knew it all too well. That’s why he liked to use her the most. Breaking other people was his favourite game.

The dress they chose for her was shorter than usual and the heels of her shoes higher. She wasn’t allowed to wear the bandages which made her even more uneasy. Due to her nervousness blood pulsed in her injured hand. The dull ache increased from all the movement. And how much will she have to move till the end of the day!

"Oh, Sandy, we talked about this already" chuckled the blonde then stood up from the couch. With his long legs he was in front of her barely inches away within three steps. He straightened his back to emphasize his tall frame against her shortness. "You can call me Kasper."

She glanced at the corner of the room where the hidden camera was put, then sighed. She have to go along with the games.

"Hey," He reached up to caress her cheek lightly, but she almost moved away. If only there was enough place behind her back. "Have you forget everything during your little vacation?"

Sandara squeezed her eyes shut. She thought back to Chaerin and how the singer used to treat her. How her hand used to be soft and warm against her skin. His fingers were rigid and cold, just like the man himself.

"No, Kasper-ssi" She glanced away, but the man cupped her face in his big hand and forced her to look up at him. Less then a second later he leaned down and kissed her not so sweetly.

~*~

Chaerin arrived to her apartment way past bedtime. She just put the plastic bag containing her presents to the couch and hopped down next to it with a tired sigh.

Her day was busy, full with dance and vocal practises and she also had a meeting with her sajangnim about how her album promotion showcase was going.

Fine, of course. Everything went fine. Her performance, her carrier, the response of the public, it was just expected.

However what noone expected was a certain brunette and how she could shake up Chaerin’s life.

The blonde’s mind was full of the things Soohyun shared with her earlier that day and she could barely think about anything else. The reality of the situation had yet to hit her for real, but she could feel somewhere deep down, that something really bad is happening with the brunette.

She glanced at the plastic bag and without thinking started to get the packets out one by one. The little card attached to it said the one who gave it to her and Chaerin didn’t stop until a certain name come into her view. When it did, she just held the soft package in her palms and stared at it for minutes.

Tearing the paper up cautiously, she opened her present and soon the cartoon face of rilakkuma stared back at her. It looked like fabric, but she didn’t know it it was a t-shirt or a sweater or anything else as she didn’t have the courage to pull it out just yet, just stared at the cartoon bear with an intense gaze.

Suddenly a drop of water fell on the cheek of rilakkuma. Another one escaped Chaerin’s eyes, rushed down her face and fell down next to the previous one.

~*~

Kasper Wong sat on the couch with his legs crossed and arms resting on the headboard. Between two of his fingers were squeezed a piece of cigarette which he brought to his mouth every now and then. He glanced at the brunette lying on the bed of the room curled up into a ball, then smiled at his own good work.

He was completely apart from his expensive watch on his left wrist, someting he rarely took off. The silver frame matched his eyes well.

After finishing his cigarette, he crushed the remaining parts in his fist, not even wincing at the burning sensation against his skin, he actually enjoyed the pain. After dropping the cigarette to the carpet, he stood up and walked back to the bed, glancing down at the brunette.

Sandara lay on her left side, clenching her injured arm against her chest, while her good one covered it with the blanket. The white material only covered her body from her waist, leaving her abdomen exposed. When the man kneeled onto the matress, she trembled a bit, but didn’t open her eyes. Little drops of sweat run down from her temple, drenching her hair. She looked to be in pain.

"Hey, Sandy" he called her name, but she didn’t react. Or couldn’t. The man bent down, placing his palms on either side of her body, then leaned to her face, brushing the tip of his nose against her surprisingly cold, yet drenched cheek. "This wasn’t that funny, darling" he whispered sensually.

Upon hearing his voice, the young woman shivered even more which made him chuckle. The blonde raised his head so his mouth was at the same level as her ears and whispered to her again. "Tonight I just tasted you. I will come back to eat the main course later… I have been so hungry for you since you left. You gotta make up for that."

He leaned back, raising a lock of her hair with his long fingers, then stood up to get his clothes on. Sandara slowly opened her eyes to look at him, but quickly shut it tight before he could notice it. She was in unbearable pain. Maybe even worse than when she hurt her arm first. That time she was ready for the pain, this time not so much. She actually anticipated that the man would do something to her, but when he suddenly grabbed her injured arm exactly at the spot where it broke and squeezed it strongly, her desperate scream filled the room. She never ever screamed for anyone, not when she was ordered to show that her clients caused her pleasure and not even the times she was beaten up. This time it was so sudden and the pain so intense like a stab to her flesh, that she couldn’t just keep it in. She was afraid to move, to breath, to live… Any wrong move could cause her more pain and she wasn’t just ready for that yet.

When Kasper Wong went to the door with a low chuckle at her miserable state and left her alone, she let herself to show more emotions. He face twisted into pain and she slowly, but surely get the blanket away from her arm and looked at the damage. If she wasn’t completely sure if it wasn’t only a crack till then, now she was certain the bone was broken. It turned into the darkest shade of purple with some red at the end of the patches. The angle was a bit odd too.

A lone tear escaped her eyes.

That’s it.

This can’t be unmade. Sandara hopewas hopeful before that with time the bone would heal if she isn’t moving around too much and won’t tire it out too much, but this wasn’t something that can heal without medical help. And that is something she probably won’t get.

"Get up, you !"

Upon hearing the deep voice, she lifted her head to see who stood at the door. Han Gongki was smoking again, his other hand in his pocket.  "Don’t you hear me? What the , were you sleeping? So filthy…"

Sandara tried to obey the command as soon as possible, as going against him would cause her just more trouble, but as she was about to stood up as cautiously as possible, her arm flung to her side lifelessly, causing her even more pain. Not being able to bear it anymore, she fell to her knees, then to her side. Stars danced around her eyes and the world slowly turned white from her dizziness. At least the pain was more of a throbbing feeling, then intense waves of pain.

"Yah! The , get up right now! Sandy!"

She heard Hang Gongki running to her and shaking her shoulder hard, but she couldn’t even open her eyes. His swearing got more quiet and quiet by every minute and soon the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heart throbbing against her ribcage rapidly.

The sound slowly turned into the fast beat of drums. Soon other instruments joined the drums, and she heard her voice. The husky tone of the blonde echoed in her ears slowly lulling her to sleep…