Although the lilies were delivered to her two days before finals week began, she tried hard to be unfazed by them and poured her entire soul and being into studying for her exams. Day in and day out, Bora was found studying in her university’s library or studying in her apartment. Needless to say, she wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of her acing her finals and keeping her GPA up.

The hellish week of tests finally came to an end and Bora was relieved that she had a little over a month to rest before starting her next semester.

“Hey Bora, Joohee wants to go out for drinks since we’re all done with our finals. You in?” Hyeyoung asked as she wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck.

“I’m down for it. It’s been a while since we all last hung out.” Bora smiled as she fixed her beanie.

Hyeyoung grinned and the two made their way out of the building where Joohee was waiting for them on the steps.

“You guys took too long!” The girl complained with a scowl, nose and cheeks all red from the harsh winds of December.

“It’s not our fault Professor Han is an old man who takes half an hour to collect our tests.”

Bora rolled her eyes and she looped her arms through her friends' arms. “Come on guys, let’s just forget about all of the studying and stress and anxiety that we’ve had since the beginning of the week and drown it all with cheap beer!”

Joohee laughed loudly and said, “You’re right. The time for testing has finished. It is now the time for getting drunk! Let’s go to that chicken place nearby. I heard they added something new to their menu.”

The three girls headed over to the restaurant while joking and chatting amongst themselves. They were not the only ones in a joyous mood. Other college students were out celebrating their completion of their exams and, just like the girls, they were ready to party the night away.

“Excuse me, can I get three beers and an order of regular fried chicken and a spicy one? Oh, and the new steamed chicken on the menu!” Joohee hollered as soon as they settled in their booth.

“Thank god we have Joohee here to order for us or else we would’ve had to wait half an hour in this mess.” Hyeyoung joked.

Bora chuckled and then smiled at the waiter who brought their beers to them. “It is a Saturday afterall so it makes sense for it to be this busy,” she reasoned as she reached out for a beer. She took a sip from the large beer jug and let out a low groan as the refreshing alcoholic beverage smoothly went down.

Hyeyoung smirked and said, “Looks like someone’s really enjoying their drink.”

“Never mind her and her beer. The food's finally here!” Joohee announced happily, a wide smile on her face.

As soon as their food arrived, they all dug in while catching up with one another. Night fell as they had a long overdue girl’s night out. With it getting late, they all decided to head home before freezing to death in the cold winter night.

A shiver racked Bora’s body as she stepped out of the elevator and onto her floor. She quickly scurried towards her door and paused when she saw a flower on the floor. “What’s that?” She muttered to herself as she got closer.

The girl bent down and saw that it was a lily with a little note attached to the stem. Suddenly, the flowers that she tried so hard to forget during finals week made their appearance once again. Her breath hitched and she stared at it for a few moments. She slowly reached out for it, tongue darting out to her dry lips. She gingerly picked the flower up and got up from the floor. She carefully analyzed the flower, looking at it from every angle possible. She then flipped the note around and read the message written on it.

‘We hope you enjoyed your week of silence. We all know how tough finals are. However, that won’t matter anymore since you’re going to face the biggest test of your life in just five days. Until then.’

Bora shuddered as she read the message. Feeling a presence behind her, she quickly whirled around to see if anyone was sneaking up behind her. She turned her head to the other side and saw that it was empty as usual. She bit down on her lower lip and quickly punched in her passcode and slipped into her apartment.

Day after day, Bora would receive lilies at her doorstep. However, there weren't any creepy notes attached to the stem of the flower, much to the girl's relief. Not once was she able to catch the person dropping them off. She even tried waiting by her door to see if she could open the door quickly enough to catch a glimpse at who was sending all of those flowers but to no avail. She even tried figuring out a pattern to the deliveries but they were so spontaneous that she couldn’t come up with anything. Soon she grew paranoid and thought that every time the doorbell rang, there would be another lily with a strange message attached to it waiting for her.

The girl was perched on the couch, teeth anxiously gnawing on nails and eyes darting around nervously. She had turned the television on but paid no attention to it whatsoever. It was only when the news anchor had brought up The White Lily that she turned her head quickly to see what was going on.

“…and police say that they have found no leads whatsoever on where The White Lily is or what their next move is. After the death of Song Hyojin, police and the NIS have been on their toes, waiting for The White Lily to show themselves. If anyone out there has any clues or leads for the police, please call this number as soon as possible.”

As the screen flashed to a series of numbers, the doorbell rang and Bora jumped. She hurriedly scrambled off of the couch, hitting her knee against the coffee table in the process, and flung the door open.

“Ah ha!”

Bora’s shout echoed down the empty hallway and her shoulders dropped in defeat. She looked down and saw yet another lily by her feet. She picked it up and saw that this time there was a note attached to it. She flipped the card around to read the message.

'How sweet of you to hold that much interest towards us. However, it would be in your best interest to think of your brother instead. He’s the reason why you’re in this whole mess.’

The girl’s breath hitched at the mention of her brother and she immediately closed the door with a slam. She staggered back to the living room and tripped on her own feet before she reached the couch. Tears blurred her vision as she gasped for air. Her brother’s warm smile, her brother’s sweet personality, her brother’s protectiveness; her brother’s everything flashed in her mind.

A whimper escaped her lips as she grabbed her head in agony. “Please, make it stop,” she begged with no one around to hear her plea.

The last thing she saw was the news anchor reporting about the presidential election going on in the States before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the floor unconscious.

“I can’t wait to show this to oppa! He’ll never believe that you won this for me, dad,” an eleven year old Bora chirped from the backseat.

Her parents laughed from the front. “I’m sure he’ll be amazed by the teddy bear,” her mother said, a smile on her face.

The Yong decided to have a family day at the amusement park since Mr. Yong managed to get a rare day off of work. The entire family of four would’ve enjoyed it together but their eldest son, Dongho, said that he wasn’t feeling good and told them to enjoy themselves. Although they were worried for the boy and offered to stay home and go another time, he practically forced them out of the house and into their car.

“Just have fun. For my sake,” he said with a small smile, a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Knowing that he would get upset if they stayed home, the rest of the family headed to the amusement park and had enough fun to last them the rest of the week.

The Nissan SUV pulled into the driveway of their home and Bora hopped out once the car was parked, a large teddy bear nearly the same size as her in tow. She raced up the steps and bounced excitedly in front of the door. “Come on, you guys are so slow!”

Her father closed the driver’s side door and chuckled as he dug out the house keys. “Alright, alright, we’re almost there. No need to rush us,” he joked.

The man unlocked the door and the girl raced inside, taking her shoes off and putting on her slippers in record time. “Oppa! We’re back!” She shouted.

Contrary to the usual loud greeting their son would shout back, the house was quiet. It was much too quiet for their liking.

The two parents looked at each other and the woman shrugged. “Maybe he’s asleep.”

“I’ll go wake him up then!” Bora darted up the stairs before her parents could stop her. Even the large doll in her arms couldn’t slow her down.

“Oppa, we’re back! Wake up!” She shouted as she burst into her brother’s room. She let out a gasp and the teddy bear slipped from her grasp, falling to the floor with a soft thud. Her small frame shook as she stared at the body of her beloved brother hanging from a noose on the ceiling.

Her parents made their way upstairs and her mother asked, “Bora, are you okay?”

They looked over the girl to see what was wrong and they felt their breath being knocked out of them after seeing the state their son was in. Mr. Yong was the first to react and he quickly ran over.

"Dongho! Dongho, my son!" He cried as he tried to pull him down.

Dongho's body swayed back and forth with every attempt. Even with tears obstructing his vision, Mr. Yong tried his best to get his eldest son down. By the door, Mrs. Yong quickly snapped out of her daze and she stammered, "W-What do we do? Should I call the police? Should I call the ambulance? Tell me what I should do!"

Suddenly, Bora burst into tears and she ran towards her brother. "Oppa, get down from there! This isn't funny at all!" She cried as she tugged on his leg.

Mrs. Yong burst into a sob and she fell to the floor crying. Cursing under his breath, her husband roughly wiped his tears away and reached for his phone. He tossed it to Bora and commanded, "Call 911 and get them here immediately!"

The girl nodded and, with shaking hands, called the emergency number while her father did what he could to get the boy down.

Soon enough, the ambulance and police arrived at the scene and took over from there. The family huddled together as they watched the paramedics wheel their son away, a white cloth covering his entire body. Mrs. Yong loudly wept as Mr. Yong tried his best to comfort her, his own tears silently rolling down his cheeks. In between the two was a young Bora whose eyes had glazed over and was in a complete daze.

"Hey mom, dad, when is Dongho oppa going to be able to come back from the hospital?" She turned around and asked, a smile on her face.

The couple looked at each other, confused by her sudden change in behavior.

"Mr and Mrs. Yong, we need you to step this way. We have a few questions about your son's suicide," a police officer said as he stepped towards the family.

"What do you mean suicide? Dongho oppa didn't die, he's just sleeping right now." Bora frowned.

The police officer hesitated for a moment, looking at the girl's parents. Mr. Yong took in a shaky breath and looked his daughter in the eye. As much as it pained him to break the news to her, he just had to. "You're right, Dongho is sleeping. But he won't be waking up at all. He'll be asleep forever."

Bora blinked and she tilted her head to the side. "So, are you saying that he's dead?"

Her father reluctantly nodded. Her face slowly crumpled up as tears spilled from her eyes. Her cheeks grew red and she shouted, "He's not dead! Dad, you're such a liar!"

She darted out of the house and saw the ambulance start to pull away. She started to run after it, not noticing the car that was speeding down the road and headed towards her. Her parents ran out of the house and their hearts stopped when they saw the car collide with their daughter.

"BORA!"

The doctors at the hospital couldn't save their son but they did their best to save their daughter. The couple had already lost one of their children and didn't want them to lose their remaining ray of sunshine in their life. After they had relieved their worries by announcing that Bora had only suffered a broken leg, they had to notify them that she was acting strange.

"Your daughter appears to have post traumatic stress disorder. It was definitely triggered by seeing her older brother perish in front of her," the doctor wearily announced.

"Will she get better?" Mrs. Yong asked.

The doctor sighed. "It's possibly but it may take years for some patients. From the looks of your daughter, the road to recovery is going to be a long and tough one. I know it's selfish of me to say but you need to act as if everything will be okay if you want her to be better."

Her parents looked at each other and knew what that they had to do. Despite having their hearts broken by their son's sudden suicide, they had to piece it back together and act strong for their daughter who had suffered a great toll. It wasn't easy though. The girl refused to talk to anyone, holed herself up in her room, didn't attend school, and didn't even eat. She didn't want to do anything. It took a lot of coercing to finally get her to eat just even a little bit of porridge. It stressed the married couple out to the point where they had fought several times but they had to keep it together for Bora. She was their only bundle of joy left and they had to protect her no matter what.

After her mild panic attack, Bora pondered over the possiblites of how her brother and The White Lily could be related. It soon become too much and she had to get her mind off of the situation that she was in. She wandered around the city, ate barely enough to keep her going, drank until she could barely walk, and whatever else she could to keep her mind blank.

D-Day had soon arrived and Bora was out and about since dawn. She visited all of the places that she had fond memories with. There was the park by her middle school where she had her first kiss. There was the convenience store that she first worked in when she was a sophomore in high school. There was the mall where her brother had taken her out for a little date back in the day. She even went and tried the to cross the things off of her bucket list.

Eat live octopus? Check.

Eat a whole cake by herself? Check (it was her birthday so at least she had a reason to do so).

Blow all of her money buying expensive bags that she wouldn't even be able to use? Check.

Night had soon fallen and Bora's stomach had led the girl to a street cart. It was the only thing she able to afford at the moment after her little shopping spree. She settled her hunger with her favorite spicy rice cake and tempura and was soon on her way.

The girl trudged down the road to her apartment, kicking a stray can off to the side. She stopped midstep and took out her phone from her pocket. Her clock had flashed a bright eleven fifty-five at her and she frowned. "What the hell? I thought I was supposed to die today. Guess it really was a prank afterall. If that's the case, I should return those bags tomorrow."

Right after she had turned the corner, a hand shot out from behind and grabbed her. Her eyes widened as she was being pulled away into a dark alleyway. She tried to scream for help but her captor was quick to cover with their gloved hand. 

Once they were out of sight from the public eye, there was a deep voice in Bora's ear. "Dear Bora, how sweet of you to remember your own death date. It really took the surprise out of my plan though."

Bora's breathing was labored and her eyes darted around nervously. There was nothing around her that she could use to defend herself nor was there anyone around to see what was going on. The White Lily had perfectly calculated their timing and found that it was finally time to kill her.

She heard a click and felt cold metal pressed against her temple. Tears welled up in her eyes and she started to cry, although they were muffled by the hand covering . She tried to pull away from the person but their grip was too strong.

"Ah ah, you shouldn't do that. You're just going to make things messier."

Her sob grew louder and her body shook like a leaf being blown in the wind. The wise words of her father suddenly came to mind.

"Remember Bora, if anyone grabs you from behind, stomp on them with the heel of your foot or elbow them in the gut as hard as you can. That'll get them keeling over and allowing enough time for you to run."

Bora listened carefully to see if her captor was going to do anything. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw her elbow back as hard as she could. She felt it come in contact with a hard abdomen and felt the grip around her loosen as the man groaned. She shook him off and scrambled towards the end of the alley where the street light softly illuminated over. Before she could even get anywhere, a hand grabbed her hair and yanked her back. She let out a cry of pain as she was pulled back and the man hissed, "Didn't I just tell you not to do any stupid like this?"

"Please, I don't want to die. I'm too young to die! I haven't even graduated from college yet, I haven't met the love of my life yet, I haven't—"

"Shut up!"

She muffled her cries and felt the man pull her hair harder. Suddenly, she heard soft cursing and muttering coming from the man behind her. She took the chance to slightly turn her head around and look at the person. Holding her hostage was a man completely dressed in black with a black mask covering his nose and mouth. His eyebrows were knitted together and his forehead frowned as he muttered into what seemed to be an earpiece.

With her teeth gritted and lips pressed together, she twisted around and managed to pull herself loose from the man's grip once again. He flashed a dark glare at her and he growled, "Is that how you want to play? Fine by me; it actually adds to the fun."

He lifted the 9mm handgun and aimed it at her forehead. Bora felt her heart pound against her chest as every second ticked by. She suddenly dropped down to the floor on her knees and clasped her hands together. "Please please don't kill me. I honestly don't even know why you want to kill me. I'm not rich, I have no influence in the business or political world; I'm just a poor college student trying to finish their third year."

The man let out an exasperated sigh and muttered into the bluetooth, "I need backup, ASAP."

Out of nowhere, a large black van pulled up to the opening of the alleyway and out stepped eleven more people. Bora turned around and felt her heart drop to her stomach at the sight of the new arrivals. A tall blonde man stepped out from the middle and cocked an eyebrow. "Is she the one who's being a difficult?"

Oh my god, I can't believe I actually managed to update. It's not the best update because I haven't proofread it yet so bear with me for now.

I finished my first week of college and I can honestly say I have no idea what I'm doing. Since I'm a pharmacy student, there's a lot of chem involved and boy did I feel stupid in recitation. I haven't taken chem since 10th grade so naturally I forgot majority of what I learned. I almost fell asleep during my chem lecture but my theology class slightly woke me up since my professor was super awesome and funny. The only thing I really don't like about my schedule is that I pretty much end at 6:25 every day exept for Wednesdays. It's times like these where I'm lucky to live close to school :') I have a feeling that this first semester might go smoothly but hey, it's only been one week lol

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this update. I changed a few things and added more descriptions but other than that, it's still pretty similar to the original. From the next chapter and one, things are going to be a lot more different so look out for that.

Hope you all enjoy! I also hope you all do good in school! You can all do it!

9/6/15: Edited with minor changes