"Namjoo?"

The doctor turned around and quirked an eyebrow at Hayoung's current condition. The paralegal was panting so hard it was as if she had just finished a 200 meter sprint. "What happened to you?"

"Did you just get here?"

"Yes.." The doctor furrowed her brows in confusion as she watched Hayoung checking under the bed, before motioning to open the wardrobe then closing it back again. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Hayoung scanned the room, searching for any sign of suspicious activity before Namjoo got here. Nothing seemed amiss, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She reached for her girlfriend’s hand. “Look,” she began, looking at Namjoo at eye-level, “I need you to be careful. Whether you’re within or outside the hospital premises.”

The doctor’s heartbeat started to accelerate, worry slowly creeping inside her. “Why?”

"I found a note saying that my brother's in danger," Hayoung informed Namjoo, handing the tiny note to the latter. "And if someone's targeting my brother, there's a high chance you're their target too. Is it possible to transfer him to another room?"

"Sure. But will that help?"

"It's better than nothing."

Namjoo nodded. "Alright I'll settle it right away. I'll get another doctor to supervise your brother in the meantime."

"That won't be necessary. I'm staying here."

"Don't you have a client to meet?

"I'll just call him to postpone the meeting to another date."

"Okay. Be right back."

Once Namjoo was out of sight, Hayoung took out her phone and punched in a number. She was dating Namjoo, and she would do anything to ensure the doctor's safety. Even if that meant having to disclose her relationship to the doctor's older cousin - Bomi.

"I can't believe my baby cousin has been dating a criminal!"

"Ex-criminal," Chorong corrected the brunette.

"Still doesn't change the fact that Hayoung was a criminal," Bomi grumbled. After a very long phone call with Hayoung on the phone, the brunette had come down to the hospital, and even paid Sehun a visit.

To be frank, if she wasn't so scared of Hayoung, she would have smacked the living daylights out of the paralegal. There was something about Hayoung - her gaze - and simply the fact that she had been suffering for years made Bomi's desire to pack a punch dissolve into dust. Still, it didn't change the fact that she was against the couple's relationship, though she didn't verbalise it.

"She did it for revenge. Don't be unfair to her. And she has joined forces with the police already, hasn't she?"

"Why are you defending that girl?"

"I'm not," Chorong sighed. "You're not being fair to her. Namjoo is an adult, I'm sure she knows what's she doing. Plus, Hayoung seems reliable."

"That girl is full of secrets. She never told us she has a brother. I wonder what else she's keeping from us."

"I'm pretty sure she has opened up to your cousin. They're together anyway."

"Ugh," the brunette grunted, clearly still unhappy to know that her precious baby cousin was dating Hayoung. "Namjoo's going to be an easy target. Oh god, I need to get ten bodyguards for Namjoo."

"You're thinking too much, Bbom-ah."

Bomi released a long sigh. Her shoulders fell, and she propped her chin in the palm of her hand as she observed Chorong skimming through the papers. "Has your dad said anything?"

Chorong briefly looked up. "What do you mean?"

"The organization has been lying low. Did your dad talk to you? About whom he think is behind this?"

"No, he didn't. He just said he wanted to be out of the police's scrutiny. You know, to make sure they don't get any dirt on him."

"He isn't suspicious of me?"

This time, Chorong halted her work and faced Bomi. "Is there a reason why he should be?"

"Because unlike Chaerin and Jiyong who are in jail, I'm still here?"

"Oh." Chorong fiddled with the hem of her blouse. "He didn't say anything. I guess he doesn't want to think about it yet."

Bomi hummed in acknowledgment. "You know-" her sentence was stopped midway when her phone beeped. She checked her phone and saw a notification. A small chuckle escaped . "Hey," she swirled her head towards Chorong, "I need to go now."

"Something happened?"

"Need to save a damsel in distress."

"Damsel?" Chorong frowned. "Are you cheating on me, Yoon Bomi?"

"And get my hapkido-ed by you? Of course not! It's the hopeless Son Naeun," Bomi grinned.

"Ah, that supermodel. Run along then," Chorong smiled. "Stay safe, please. It's late."

"I will. Don't worry," Bomi assured with a wink. "Goodnight. Don't get home too late yeah?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Chorong quipped, drawing a laugh from her girlfriend.

"Why didn't you tell Bomi unnie about the note you got?" Namjoo asked after she stepped into the new ward Sehun was transferred to.

"I want to settle that myself," Hayoung responded. She had been wrecking her brain all day trying to figure out who Bo could be. It definitely wasn't Bomi. That brunette looked genuinely shocked when Hayoung talked to her about Sehun. "Heading home after this?"

Namjoo shook her head. "I'm staying with you."

"You should go home. I'll call Bomi and ask her to get you."

"No." Namjoo was persistent. "I'm staying here with you." She walked over to the couch, planted herself next to her girlfriend and laid her head on the latter's shoulder.

Hayoung sighed. "Your cousin isn't going to be happy."

"She seemed okay when she came here. Didn't look like she wanted to kill you," Namjoo said lightheartedly.

"She's holding back. I could see it."

"Which means she has given us her blessings. Indirectly." The doctor held Hayoung's hand. "You're not going to sleep are you?"

"I'm not going to take the risk. You can lie on my lap if you want to sleep," Hayoung offered, patting her thigh.

"I'll just take a quick shower here."

Perks of an A-class ward.

"You brought spare clothes?"

"Always have," Namjoo cracked a smile. "I'll be back soon."

Hayoung nodded and turned back to the patient lying on bed. She continued watching her brother, occasionally glancing at the heart rate monitor to make sure his condition remained stable as usual.

When she heard the click of the bathroom door, she shifted her attention to the fully clothed person standing in front of the door, drying her hair with the towel.

All of a sudden, Hayoung felt heat rising within her. God, why now out of all times. She shoo