Part 14: The Truths

 

It is around 8.06 o’clock when Tiffany and Yoona have arrived at Jessica’s resident. “Remember, be nice to her.” Tiffany warned at the taller woman. Yoona chuckles and just nods her head. She knows she was worried that the two of them might be caught in a fight again if they meet. The apartment’s door is open and Jessica pops out from inside. “Hey, Tiffany…Hey, Yoona…” She greeted. Tiffany pauses for a while when Yoona’s eyes meet Jessica’s. They look like they’re glaring at each other; as if they’ll be in a fist fight soon.

 

“How are you doing?” Yoona asked first. “I’m okay.” Jessica replied. They reach out their hands for a handshake. To both of them, it is a sign of their reconciliation. Tiffany finally is able to breathe when she sees they smile at each other. Now, it’s her turn to give Jessica a hug. “I’m glad you’re doing fine, sweetie.” She smiled in relief. Jessica smiles back in return.

 

“Come inside. Taeyeon’s at the kitchen.”

 

They enter the apartment and make their way straight to the kitchen where Taeyeon is standing near the sink. She is so focus on peeling the apple. Tiffany almost burst into tears upon seeing Taeyeon is doing completely well. But she quickly recollects herself. She tries to put the brightest smile she could and walks over to Taeyeon. “Tae…!” She called out. Taeyeon turns around to the person calling her. She smiles at her best friend.

 

“Oh God, I’m glad you’re okay.” Tiffany hugged her tightly. Taeyeon nods in response; her hand patting Tiffany’s back. “How’s your injury?” She whispered. She didn’t want Jessica to overhear her question since she didn’t really want to remind her of what happened yesterday. Taeyeon only nods with a smile; telling her that she is doing fine and the injury doesn’t hurt anymore.

 

“I’m happy that you’re doing fine too.” Yoona spoke. Taeyeon looks at her and only nods in return.

 

“Anyways, let’s eat before the food is cold.” Jessica said.

 

The dining table is filled with different types of Korean dishes. Tiffany also brought along desserts for them. Once they are all seated down, they begin feasting. Jessica is busy putting the desserts on a more appropriate place while Yoona is busy explaining about one particular side dish that Tiffany has never seen before. Taeyeon only sits there with chopsticks in her hand. She looks around; looking for something on the table. But it seems that the item she is looking for is not there.

 

“Jessica…” Taeyeon called out with a gentle voice. Both Tiffany and Yoona abruptly stop talking when she heard her voice. They look at her with wide, disbelieved eyes. Did they just heard her calling out for Jessica or was it their imagination? Jessica turns around at Taeyeon. “I want…sauce for the chicken…” Taeyeon spoke out in a low but clear voice.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t put it on the table earlier.” Jessica took out the sauce that Taeyeon wanted and put it on the table. They feel weird somehow. As if they are stared intensely by people next to them. They look at the two people sitting next to them. Yoona stays stiff on her seat while Tiffany is slowly standing up from her chair.

 

“D-did you j-just t-talk!?” Tiffany yelled with her shaky finger pointing at Taeyeon. It took a while for Jessica to finally realizes she have forgotten to say the most important information of the day to the both of them. She approaches Tiffany who is in complete shock. Her jaw is wide open as her eyes shakily shifted towards the doctor in charge of her ‘completely shut-down’ best friend.

 

“I’m sorry for not saying anything…earlier on.” Jessica scratches her head awkwardly. “While you two were away last night, I’ve talked to Taeyeon everything about my past. I told her that it is completely alright to own up to our mistakes and we shouldn’t run away from it anymore. I promised her that I would be here for her no matter what. Ah…long story short, she managed to talk again.”

 

“WHAT?” Tiffany shouted, causing the three of them to be taken aback by her high pitch voice. Jessica shook her head to get rid of the ringing sound echoing in her ears. “Yes, Taeyeon can talk now. But she sometimes tends to hold her speech back due to the past traumas.” She explained. Tiffany almost drops to her knee upon hearing the good news. Well, she has no expectations other than Taeyeon being able to be around them again. She absolutely did not expect that Taeyeon has regain her ability to speak again!

 

She swallows hard as she slowly turns to Taeyeon with a nervous expression. She hunches her back to be in the same eye level as her best friend. Taeyeon is directly staring at her as well. Her expression seemed to show she is anxious too. Yoona just sits on the other side; watching over as the nerve-wrecking situation unfolds in front of her. “H-hey, Taeyeon. Is it true? Can you really talk now?”

 

At first, Taeyeon stays silent. is open but there’s no words spoken out. Tiffany is on the edge of tearing up but she took a deep breath to hold in her overwhelming emotions. She needed to stay calm so Taeyeon would not get fluster in return. “Taeyeon…please…If you can talk again, please do. I…want to hear your voice again.” Tiffany said with a trembling tone. Although she overheard Taeyeon talking earlier, she could not hear her voice clearly. She wants to make sure herself that Taeyeon is indeed able to talk again. She doesn’t want to disappoint her expectations at this moment.

 

“Taeyeon, come on. Talk to me.” Tiffany once again begged. But it seems to be futile. Taeyeon only stares at her with a stiff posture. Her lips do not even move an inch. It appears that she still could not bring herself to speak out to her dear old friend. Tiffany is disappointed, of course. But, what can she do? She doesn’t want to push Taeyeon just for the sake of confirming the ‘progress’ herself. No, she may ruin it for all of them. Although, she is jealous of Jessica. Taeyeon puts so much trust on her that she is more comfortable to show her progresses to the therapist in comparison to her best friend.

 

Well, it’s not that surprising since Jessica is the first person to be able to ‘break’ Taeyeon from that hollowed shell.

 

Tiffany nods as her hands drop from Taeyeon’s shoulders. She only gives a tight-lip smile before turning around to return to her seat. Jessica thought she should say a word or two to clear up the tense, awkward atmosphere but her patient beats her to it. Taeyeon reaches out to hold the back of Tiffany’s blouse.

 

“T…T…Tiffany.” Taeyeon called out in a slow, low tone. Tiffany’s eyes became teary almost instantly upon hearing her name being call out by Taeyeon again after so many years. She bit her lower lip and turns around to see her friend smiling genuinely at her. “I’m…glad… you’re…h-here.” Despite the fear she is feeling, Taeyeon manages to push the speech out from her. Tiffany did not wait for a single moment to throw herself to Taeyeon and wrap her arms tightly around her.

 

“Taeyeon…welcome back…” She cried out on her shoulder. Taeyeon is a bit stun at the sudden embrace. She then reaches her hand out to pat Tiffany on the back gently as her best friend cries out tears of joy. Both Jessica and Yoona smile warmly at the scene between the two friends. As if they have finally been reunited after being separated for so long. It must be a relief for Taeyeon and Tiffany to be in this spot again as close companions.

 

By the time they finish their dinner, it was already around ten o’clock. Well, there was an emotional event that happened in between those time slots. Thankfully, the food did not get too cold by the time Tiffany had let go of Taeyeon from her embrace. It seems there’s a lot of things that the best friends are excited to talk about. Although Taeyeon is still anxious on trying to have a ‘real’ conversation, but she believes her best friend would help her out. Tiffany would not push her too much.  Besides, she needs to learn to communicate again without having to rely on Jessica to be by her side and this is where to start.

 

As the two friends sit in the living room; talking about the things they’ve missed for so many years, Jessica find herself to be standing at the sink. She volunteers to do the cleaning after the dinner. She thought it would be a good opportunity for Taeyeon to communicate with others aside from her. So, instead she makes herself busy with the dirty dishes. Wearing the plastic, pinkish gloves on both hands, she washes the stained plates inside the soaking, soap water. Suddenly, someone approaches her and stands next to her at the sink. She turns around to see it was none other than Yoona.

 

“I didn’t want to interfere a conversation between long-time friends.”

 

Jessica let out an amuse chuckle and hands over another pair of gloves to the taller woman. The two stand there at the sink; doing the dishes together quietly. While Jessica washes and rinses, Yoona wipes out the wet plates to be organized later back into the cabinet. They continue to do their jobs respectively without saying a word. Not until Yoona decides to speak up first. “Hey…I heard the story about your past from Tiffany.” Jessica pauses and looks at Yoona who is calmly wiping the remaining plates on the counter-top.

 

“I’m sorry that it happened to you.” She puts down the cloth and sighs. “It must’ve been hard for you.” Yoona genuinely sympathized. Jessica exhales deeply with a nod as her lips turn into a small smile.

 

“It’s still hard for me. But I learned to accept that it happened and I can’t really stop it even if I want to. I’ve come into terms that I’ve made mistakes in the past and I need to live by it.” Jessica said. She then continues on to washes the last few plates in the sink.

 

“Well, you’re not the only one.” Yoona’s words made Jessica to turn at her direction. “I’ve made mistakes in the past as well. I’m atoning for my sins now.” She looks at a particular red-headed woman sitting at the living room. She smiles warmly. “I’m trying to do my best for her…just like you with Taeyeon.”

 

Jessica stares at Yoona for a short few seconds before nodding her head; agreeing with her statement. Atonement for her past mistakes. Jessica knows deep down her desperation to save Taeyeon was her way to release herself from the guilt with Krystal that had been consuming her for years. She couldn’t save her beloved younger sister back then from the wretched depression she was suffering. She ended up losing her life. Jessica had to live with the mistakes of not being able to pull her late-sister out from the darkness.

 

She had been secretly denying it. She could not fully accept the truth that her doings had led her to lose someone whom she cherished. Deep down, she just wanted to throw away the guilt aside and saying to herself that ‘she is innocent.’ But, after being in a situation where she has to meddle with Taeyeon’s life, she manages to realizes that there are absolutely no wrongs to held herself accountable for what had happened. She shouldn’t feel ‘bad’ for being someone with mistakes. With that, Taeyeon also manages to accept her hurtful past.

 

They’ve met with ‘serenity’ in the midst of the chaos.

 

“So, what’s the next step?” Yoona asked. Jessica raises her eyebrows, not really understanding the question thrown to her. “Taeyeon is capable of talking again. You have been trying to achieve that level of progress for a long time. I assumed you must have something in your mind already on what to do next.”

 

Right. The reason the whole chaotic fight happened was because of Jessica’s desperation for Taeyeon to regain her abilities to talk again. She was forced to be put in the corner when that man decided to cut short the time for Taeyeon’s treatment. She was supposed to be showing the expected progress to him. But the storm came before the rainbow. Jessica and Taeyeon had to go through such a rough experience first before being able to finally release themselves from their past traumas.

 

Although Taeyeon has shown an amazing progress by regaining her capabilities to talk again, Jessica is unsure if she is able to communicate well to people aside from her and a few others. She doesn’t know if Taeyeon even has the capacity to be able to socialize again in the ‘real’ world since she has been shutting away the reality for too long. Even if she is willing to do so, it cannot be achieved in just a day or two. She needs to at least train herself to be acquainted with selected people.

 

But Jessica is certain Mr. Lee would not waste any more time for the next step to happen. He will have to drag Taeyeon out by himself if he has to. Seeing how he abruptly cut off short the treatment period is a crystal-clear sign that he wanted to see the results immediately. He would not bother to listen to another reasoning even if it’s true. Jessica’s shoulders drop in defeat. She cannot think of anything but one; she must show the results of the progress to Mr. Lee despite Taeyeon’s disapproval.

 

She knows for a fact that this will put their newly found love-relationship into a risky pedestal. She could taint the trust Taeyeon have put on her. But if she wants to be able to stay with Taeyeon, she has no choice but to convey the truth to her ‘partner.’ Yoona sees Jessica’s expression and immediately pick up an understanding of what will happen afterwards. She sighs quietly; hoping things would not turn out for the worse.

 

After they have finish doing the dishes, the two women go to the living room to join with the others. Jessica sits on the opposite side; where she is facing with Taeyeon while Yoona sits next to her. “You’re doing much better at communicating now.” The young doctor smiled warmly at her patient slash partner. Taeyeon return the smile. “We’re just catching up…on old times.” She spoke. She sounded clearer than this morning. It seems that having conversations with a talkative person like Tiffany helps encouraging her to be more outspoken.

 

“That’s great.” Jessica nodded. She suddenly becomes silent as she defeatedly look down on the floor. Her expression shows uneasiness.

 

“What’s wrong?” Tiffany asked; her smile earlier quickly faded. Taeyeon looks worried as well. They heard a long sigh. It seems there is some bad news about to be shared, they assumed. Yoona sits there quietly. She already knew what will happen.

 

“Taeyeon… I know that you’ve just gain back your abilities to talk again. It’s a miracle. You have such a strong will to be able to conquer your past traumas. I know it’s not easy. You went through such a difficult path to get yourself back up on your two feet. I’m really proud of you.” Jessica cautiously spoke. Taeyeon feels touched by her words, of course. But at the same time, she is well aware that there’s something else that has yet to be said.

 

“You need more time to gain back your full abilities to speak again. I want to give it to you…” At this point, Jessica is not able to continue on with her words. She is clenching her fists that her skin turns pale. Yoona looks at her and sigh. She didn’t really want to interfere by involving herself but seeing the other woman in that condition; she knows she did not have the heart to say the truth out loud.

 

“Taeyeon has to go back.” Yoona spilled out the words with a straight face. The three of them turned to her with a surprise expression.

 

“G-go back?” Taeyeon blinked confusingly.

 

“You have to go back to that place, Taeyeon.” The tall woman repeated her words. Tiffany instantly stands up from her seat and attempts to approaches Jessica but she was stopped by Yoona. “Let me go.” She glared at the person holding her hand. But, Yoona remains calm.

 

“It’s not something we should dwell ourselves into.”

 

“I am her best friend! I’ve been searching for Taeyeon for years and now she is here, I will not let her go back there again!” Tiffany raised her voice out of frustration. The friendly, warm atmosphere has completely fade and now the room feels intense.

 

“Well, you were not the only one. I was there with you. We both were looking for her. I certainly don’t want to lose her either. But this is something that we shouldn’t put ourselves into. This is between Jessica and Taeyeon.” Yoona looked directly into Tiffany’s eyes with a firm stance. It was a rare sight since this woman was always so playful and calm. Tiffany finally calms herself down and she lets herself being pull to sit down next to Yoona.

 

Jessica takes the opportunity to take a seat next to Taeyeon. She reaches out to gently hold her hand as her eyes go up to meet hers’. “You’re scared. I’m scared too. I fear that if we go back there, you’ll be taken away from me. I don’t know what will happen to me if that ever happen.” Jessica then goes to touch Taeyeon’s cheek lovingly. “But, if I don’t bring you back, then they will come looking for us. I…don’t want anyone, especially you to get hurt. I can’t risk that. I had enough pain after losing someone I really love in the past. I can’t afford to lose my lover too.”

 

Taeyeon looks straight into Jessica’s glossy eyes. She seems to be holding back her tears. Well, they were right. Taeyeon has not completely pull herself back to reality. Sometimes, she feels out of place. As if her existence was just an illusion and she was not really ‘there’ with them. When she speaks, she is scared if she would soon be hit back by the trauma of her past.; her mind deciding to play tricks on her again by giving her the painful memories of that accident. She’ll be force to put in that ‘dark’ corner once again.

 

But, feeling the touch of warmth on her cheek, Taeyeon realizes that her ‘existence’ matters. This person sitting in front of her has been risking her own life since the day they’ve first met. Taeyeon may not have recollection of everything that had happened but seeing those bruises and cuts all over Jessica’s body is enough to tell her how many times she had hurt her physically before. But Jessica continues to stay with her. Despite the hardships she had to went through, Jessica never gave up on her.

 

Taeyeon leans forward to give a kiss on Jessica’s soft lips; which caused the trio to be caught off guard.

 

“It’s…scary.” Taeyeon spoke in a low voice. “But losing you is much more frightening.” She said and gave a gentle smile. It took a few seconds for Jessica to snap herself out from the surprising kiss. She smiles brightly and returns a kiss to Taeyeon.

 

“For God’s sake, this is awkward.” Tiffany who immediately turned away shyly upon seeing the second kiss. Despite knowing they both are in love with each other, it’s still a ‘new’ thing for her to witness especially the unexpected kisses. Yoona just chuckles at Tiffany’s embarrassment which earns her a soft slap on the chest. She sighs in relief as she looks at the two newly in-loved pair.

 

However, her smile fades in just a few seconds upon remembering something that was told to her.

 

It was during the night when the huge fight happened between Jessica and Taeyeon occurred. To give the two of them personal space to mend their bond again, they left the apartment. Yoona and Tiffany were about to bid their goodbyes before going to the car when Hara suddenly called out Yoona to have a private talk. At first, Tiffany said it was completely alright to talk about anything to her but seeing Hara’s eyes, Yoona knew she had something in mind that no one should know except for them. It took quite a lot of persuading to finally sent Tiffany away to the car. The red-headed woman was oddly suspicious but she ended up leaving them alone anyways.

 

“First of all, I know who you are.” Hara said. They were currently standing near the fire-escape stairs of the building. They were alone and no one else was nearby. Yoona looked at her before chuckling. “Well, of course. I’ve introduced you…” “I meant your past records.”

 

The words were followed by silence. There were only the sound of the remaining cars on the street and passerby not far away from there. Yoona sighed before sitting down on the stairs. Hara works as a private detective. There is no doubt she has connections with the police and the public authorities. Yoona was quite infamous when she was still active in the gang. After getting to know Hara was a private informer for Jessica, she knew at some point her secret will be known.

 

“So…are you here to arrest me or something for my past criminal records?” Yoona calmly asked.

 

Hara immediately chuckled at the question. “No, I’m not the type to ‘rat’ out a past criminal especially now that she is ‘clean.’” She looked up to the dark, night sky. It was star-less. There was only the moon. “Being a private detective usually requires me to only acquire information needed for my clients.” She paused for a few seconds before continuing. “That is how I always work. I do my work based on how much I was paid. But in Jessica’s case, it’s different. She is a close friend, almost like a sister. I will never let her be expose to any danger due to my negligence of missing out a tiny portion of important information.”

 

Yoona understood what Hara meant. Back then, she got stabbed by the enemy because she lowered her guard just for a few seconds. Since then, she constantly reminds herself to always be aware of everything around her; even down to the tiniest details. Whatever Hara was about to inform her, Yoona knew it was because she cannot ask for anyone’s help but hers.

 

“While I was sneaking around searching for Taeyeon’s lost information, I found some extra stuffs.” Hara pulled out a pen-drive from her pocket and gave it to Yoona once she was sure no one; not even the CCTV was watching them. “Whoever this Mr. Lee is, he is hiding a big secret and I’m very much sure it’s related to Taeyeon’s information being wiped out from the system.”

 

“When the time comes, I have to depend on you. Do whatever it takes to save Jessica and Taeyeon.”

 

Those were Hara’s words before she left Yoona with the pen-drive in her hand. She stared at the memory-storing device on top of her palm. The information contained inside would risk her own safety too if she decided to take a look at it. But she will not hesitate to put her life on the line. For once after a long time, Yoona thinks it’s time to pull out the old stuffs she had been keeping under the wooden floor of the storage room at the flower shop.

 

***

 

The clock strike eight thirty in the morning. The appointment with Mr. Lee is set on ten o’clock. Jessica is currently helping out Taeyeon with wearing the formal wear and she even put light makeup so her patient would not look too pale.

 

It was around late at night when Jessica decided to give a call to Mr. Lee’s trustworthy assistant, Victoria that she wanted to book an appointment with Mr. Lee. Thankfully for her, the Chinese woman always working around the clock. She was still doing overtime at the office when she called. Victoria managed to book an hour appointment for them and she said she would be informing to Mr. Lee first thing in the morning.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Yuri worriedly asked.

 

Jessica sighed heavily as her eyes stared at Taeyeon who was sitting outside at the balcony. “I’m scared…as , Yuri. I don’t know if things will go smoothly.”

 

“Then, why don’t you just…hold back another few days? Jun…I mean, Mr. Lee is quite a close relative of mine. Maybe I can talk things out with him.”

 

“No, he won’t. I know for sure… he would force Taeyeon to go back there even if she refuses it wholeheartedly. I can’t afford seeing her getting hurt or in danger. So, I have to trust Taeyeon tomorrow. I’m putting my faith on her courage.” Jessica said. She heard Yuri sighing from the other side of the line.

 

“If that’s the case, we’ll be here for you.”

 

Jessica snapped out from her own thoughts when Taeyeon holds her hand. She looks at her before quickly apologizing. “I’m sorry. I was…out of my mind for a short moment there.” She continued to fix the upper coat to fit Taeyeon’s petite body perfectly.

 

“Are you…scared?” Taeyeon asked with such a gentle voice. It made the other woman to stop herself from what she was doing and have her eyes on her lover again.

 

“I’m quite bad of a liar, am I?” She let out a rather nervous chuckle. “I couldn’t sleep at all. My mind…kept thinking what if things don’t go well? I’m scared at the thought of you…being taken away. It’s my biggest fear and my heart just clenches thinking of it.”

 

Taeyeon just stares at her silently at first. But she then wraps her arms around Jessica’s waist; pulling her close in a gentle way. Jessica got surprise but her body slowly relaxes when Taeyeon rests her forehead against her. They both stand there; in each other’s arms as they close their eyes.

 

“I just don’t want to lose you.” Jessica whispered, but it was loud enough for Taeyeon to pick up.

 

“I…don’t want to be away from you too.” Taeyeon reaches out to touch her lover’s cheek. “But we have to do this, right?” Jessica sighs heavily with a nod. “Put your faith in me. If I want to believe…in myself, then you need…to trust me too.”

 

Jessica let out another sigh. She goes on to give Taeyeon a kiss on the forehead down to her nose and lastly her lips.

 

“Okay, I trust you.”

 

***

 

Nine forty in the morning.

 

Jessica parked her car at the designated space informed to her by Victoria. Taeyeon looks around the place she had been staying for the past few years through the car’s window. Her chest feels oddly heavy. Maybe since she had been trapped there without much help and going back made her reminisce the bad memories. She grunts as she holds her head. Jessica immediately attends to her lover. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” She asked anxiously.

 

It took a good few second for Taeyeon to calm herself down. “I’m fine…”

 

“No, you’re not. I…you’re not ready yet. You might relapse. Look, we can do this when you’re…” Before Jessica could finish her words, Taeyeon stops her by holding her hand.

 

“I have to face my past once and for all…so I can move on.” Taeyeon said.

 

“But…” Jessica wanted to disagree. Her mind is telling her to just start the car and drive away; leaving Mr. Lee behind. She would risk her career- no, her whole life to protect Taeyeon from those painful traumas. At this point, she has zero care for her job. She only wants to save Taeyeon. But once she meets the eyes of her lover, she immediately realizes Taeyeon has no plan of leaving.

 

“We’ll be okay.” Taeyeon gave a reassuring smile. Jessica has no choice but to give in. She only responded with a silent ‘alright then’ as she nodded.

 

Jessica gets out of the car first. The one who greets her first is her closest co-worker, Yuri. “Hey, you look…less anxious.” She tried to not look nervous herself. It made Jessica chuckles at her stiff-posture and awkward expression. “I’m just glad your nose is still attached.” Both of them lightly laugh at the joke. Well, Jessica did give a hell of a punch to her co-worker’s nose the other day. Yuri smiles before giving a comforting pat on Jessica’s shoulder. Jessica returns the smile; telling her she will be doing okay.

 

There are a few doctors standing nearby including Seohyun and Hyoyeon. They are trying to take a glimpse of Taeyeon. Rumors spread amongst the staffs; from the doctors to the janitors, about Taeyeon almost getting by a guard. Well, that wasn’t really the shocking part. What surprises them more was Jessica’s move to bring Taeyeon home with her to keep her patient safe from harm as she goes through therapy treatments with her.

 

Unexpectedly, Mr. Lee agreed to such a ridiculous idea. How can a mentally unstable patient be able to live with the doctor at the comfort of her own home? It sounds like a fanfiction written by an overly-imaginative 20 years old.

 

Today, they will find out. Jessica opens the door of the car. She offers her hand to the passenger. The doctors start murmuring even more as they anticipate Taeyeon’s appearance. It somewhat felt like fans waiting for their favorite singer coming out of the van. They become silent when they see a foot under the car’s door.

 

“I’ll lead you.” Jessica said. They both smiled at each other to comfort their pilling anxiousness.

 

Finally, Taeyeon goes out of the car, revealing herself for the very first time after being away from the hospital for weeks.

 

“Oh my God!” Hyoyeon bluntly raised her voice in shock as Seohyun gasped. The other doctors were stunned too. Well, who wouldn’t be? Before she left, she looked like a woman who has been living at the side of the street for years. She was such a mess with her taggled, long hair, dead-pale skin and skinny body proportion. Now, she looks way, way different. Taeyeon appears to be ‘normal’ looking with her new hairstyle and clothes. In fact, she looks beautiful.

 

Taeyeon feels more nervous than ever. But feeling the hand that is holding hers and seeing Jessica giving her an encouraging smile, she manages to loosen up herself. “We can do this.” Her lover whispered before they head towards the building with Yuri following them from behind.

 

With deep breaths, they go through the glass door. The security guards greeted them as soon as they entered. Despite being surprise by Taeyeon’s new appearance, they stay professional. “This way, Dr. Jung.” One of the men said before they walk through the quiet hallway. It is cold. The walls and tiles on the floor are all white in color. There are lights along the way but somehow, the place seemed dim.

 

Step by step. They are getting closer to the appointed room. Both of their hearts are beating anxiously as they see the black colored door getting closer in sight. Victoria, the assistant, approaches the group coming towards her way. “You’ve arrived, Dr. Jung.” She said as soon as her eyes saw Jessica. But, the woman besides her is not a familiar face. It took her a minute to finally realizes this person wearing the brown coat is none other than the infamous Kim Taeyeon.

 

“Oh my God…” She gasped in shock. Yuri notices Victoria had lost her focus and she immediately clears to make her snap back. “O-oh, I apologized. Ehem, the necessary equipment has been set in the room. You and your patient can go inside first. I will announce once Mr. Lee has arrived. He would be sitting in the observation room next to this.”

 

“Understood.” Jessica answered. She turned towards Taeyeon to see if she has prepared herself. Her patient seemed to be in a very nervous state. But her eyes tell her that she is completely ready. “Come on.” Jessica did not hesitate to take Taeyeon’s hand and hold it firmly.

 

“Good luck.” Yuri said before the two women left. A guard opens the door wide; revealing the white-colored room. Once they enter, the door is shut.

 

“Oh, how nice of them to put these here for us.” Jessica sarcastically commented when she sees the clothes hanger and a mini coffee machine. Taeyeon sits down at the table situated in the middle of the room while Jessica sits at the opposite side. In front of both of them, there are microphones and box-like devices stack in two. It must be the audio recording devices. At the center of the table, there are two cameras pointed in their directions. There are also four cameras set at the four corners of the room.

 

“That man really went all out.” Jessica whispered under her breath. Taeyeon tries to loosen up her tense body. But the nervousness she is currently feeling did not let her to do so. She feels uncomfortable and her heart is beating rather ‘furiously.’

 

“Hey,” Jessica called her out. Taeyeon looks at her. The young doctor smiles. “No matter what, I am here.” Those words were enough to boost Taeyeon’s courage.

 

It wasn’t long until they hear the sound of speakers being turn on. “Good morning, Dr. Jung.” Victoria spoke through the mic. She must be at the room next to them. “Mr. Lee has arrived. The session would start in five minutes. Please prepare yourselves.” She announced. Jessica turns her head slightly at the only glass panel in the room. Mr. Lee must be sitting there; behind the glass. She clenches her fist.

 

This is it. The one and only chance they have to finally show him Taeyeon is no longer the same. She has changed. She has made a lot of progresses. She is not the same severely sick woman she used to be. No, she is doing absolutely well.

 

Mr. Lee sips his bittersweet espresso as his hawk eyes stares at Taeyeon. “Dr. Jung even doll-up Ms. Kim. Tch, the audacity she has to done such a thing.” He chuckled. “Why are you here? Curious about your ex-patient, Dr. Kwon?” He looked at his cousin. Yuri remains calm. “I came here to support them. Nothing more.” She glanced at the two people sitting at the other side of the room. She is not much of a believer but in this case, she prays that things would go smoothly.

 

“I’m counting on you.”

 

As soon as the light turned red, it means the session has started. The lovers take one last look at each other before they begin. Jessica clears . “Hello. I am Dr. Jessica Jung, the doctor that was assigned to the patient named Kim Taeyeon. She has been undergoing treatments under my care for the past few months and she has shown a huge progress in overcoming her clinically diagnosed mental illnesses. I am here to record this session to show how much Ms. Kim’s progress.”

 

There is a few seconds’ silence. Jessica continues on. “Ms. Kim, I will provide questionnaires for you to answer. Please do not be afraid to respond. If you are nervous, please take your time.”

 

Taeyeon was about to open but it seems her heart refuses to let her voice out. Her anxiousness causes her to hold back her speech. She shut her eyes and only nods as her first respond. Jessica feels worried. But she didn’t want to push Taeyeon. She has to let Taeyeon to overcome the fears on her own.

 

“First question, have you felt a significant change about yourself, both mentally and physically?”

 

There is a short period of complete silence.

 

Taeyeon attempts to speak but once again, her fear has overtaken her. She immediately responded with only a nod. Jessica can see how her body is getting stiffer each second passes by. She tries to give out a signal for Taeyeon to calm down. But it seems futile.

 

“Good, good.” Jessica ‘casually’ continues on. She has to act as if Taeyeon is doing fine and the responds she is giving are normal. “Second question, I want to ask about your nightmares. You have struggling with it ever since you were admitted here. According to your previous data, you often experienced nightmares and it caused you to constantly committed self-injuries. How’s the progress on the matter so far?”

 

Taeyeon’s body tensed up. Her lungs feel as if its about to collapse. She notices her breathing is getting heavier. She closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her thoughts. She has to let her voice out. “Ah…” Taeyeon has opened. All the people behind the glass as well as Jessica are anticipating her respond.

 

“Come on.” Yuri whispered under her breath. Jessica, on the other hand, continues to give an encouraging look to her patient.

 

“Ah… ah…” Taeyeon’s eyes went from Jessica down to the camera in front of her. Suddenly, her sight becomes somewhat hazy. Her mind is filling with more and more thoughts that it feels like it is about to explode. She looks each of the cameras at every corner of the room. Her heart is beating so fast.

 

“Taeyeon? Taeyeon?” Jessica keeps calling out but Taeyeon is disoriented. She can barely hear her voice.

 

Hold on.

 

Taeyeon feels odd. This room, this chair and the cameras around her. She seemed to have it seen it before in the past. Or was it her head playing tricks on her? Taeyeon have lost her memories, at least for the past few years when she had ‘shut’ herself down from reality. She can barely recollect the events that had happened to her. Every single time she decided to remember back the past; the accident, her time of grieve and her whereabouts before she ended up in here back then, her head would be extremely painful that she is constantly forced to not even try remembering it again.

 

“Taeyeon?” Jessica called out her name again.

 

The room was familiar. Taeyeon felt she was there before. It was not long after her past lover’s funeral. She remembered she was grieving. She blamed herself so much for the accident that she even attempted suicide. However, her caretaker managed to stopped her. She was on bed when a doctor came to visit her. He was called by the personal caretaker. At least, that was what she was told. How did she even hire the caretaker in the first place anyways? It wouldn’t be her parents since she had been disowned by her family long ago.

 

“Take this.” What is this thing she was holding? It feels small. A small size pill on the center of her palm. Why is she even taking this? She drank the water before settling down on the bed. Her head was swirling. She felt nauseous. She felt her whole body was heavy. Soon, it was dark.

 

She opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy. She felt out of place. She confusingly looked around the room. She was chained on a chair. She felt weak. Suddenly, a light came up in her line of eyesight. There were voices. Male voices to be precise. One of them sounded familiar. But she was too high on drugs she can hardly picked up the conversations that was going on. She felt a touch on her cheek. The palm was big and the skin felt wrinkly, cold even.

 

“You’ll be back to normal, sweetheart.” A man whispered to her. She can no longer remembered what happened next. Her last memory afterwards was feeling a needle being stick into her arm. Wait, what exactly happened to me?

 

Taeyeon’s eyes open wide as she gasped loudly. Jessica immediately jumps out of her seat to go to her. “What happened?” She held her shoulders firmly. Taeyeon is sweating. Her breathing is intense. As if her air circulations got cut off for a few seconds. She is trembling as her eyes look down at the woman in front of her. Jessica can see how much fear she has judging on her expression. If she pushes herself more, she might experience another ‘relapse.’

 

“Taeyeon…” Jessica called in a low voice.

 

“Well now, she seemed to be in a bad condition.” Mr. Lee spoke through the mic. Yuri immediately gives him a sharp glare. But the man couldn’t care less. “I am not impressed, Dr. Jung. Tch, tch, tch, you’ve claimed that your patient has shown such an amazing progress while she was under your care. Where is it? Got left behind in that little head of yours?” He laughed out loud. Jessica can feel her anger boiling at the sound of his arrogance. Mr. Lee stops his laughter before speaking again. “I have personally agreed to your ridiculous ideas. Bringing Ms. Kim to live with you and giving you the opportunity to do treatments your own ways. All I can see here is nothing but you putting a ‘normal’ look on her. None has changed other than you dressing her up like a plastic toy doll.”

 

Jessica could not stand his words. The way he has humiliated Taeyeon. In the man’s eyes, she is nothing more than one of the patients stuffed in one of those small rooms; a maniac, an incurable patient, a failure amongst normal society. Jessica knew how much Taeyeon had endured to overcome her traumas. The things she had done to go back to the way she used to be. The times she had let herself be in excruciating pain in order to heal. Taeyeon is a strong woman that didn’t deserve to be laugh at by this selfish, rich man.

 

“You…” Jessica stopped when a hand pulled hers. She turns to the side to see Taeyeon looking at her.

 

The woman reaches out to hold Jessica’s face; her thumb gently caressing her cheek. She then goes to take the questionnaire papers on the table and throw it away to the side; sending it scattering on the floor. Jessica is surprise by the sudden action. But as soon as she has her eyes set on Taeyeon’s, she has telepathically received the signal. ‘Trust me.’ Those two words made Jessica to calm down. Taeyeon stands up from the chair. She locks her hand with Jessica’s. They approach the glass panel; standing at the front of it.

 

“What is she doing?” Victoria asked.

 

“I…I’m not sure.” Yuri was confused as well. Mr. Lee sits silently on the chair with his eyes stare at the two women that was standing behind the glass.

 

Taeyeon is scared. There is no doubt about that. Her fear can easily make her whole-body tremble furiously. feels dry. Her lips chapped. She is sweating and she can barely breathe properly without feeling suffocated. But this woman next to her. She has been risking everything in her life in exchange for hers. If she loses to her fear now, then she would definitely lose Jessica as well. That will never happen. She refused to let it come true. It was now or never. No second chances.

 

Taeyeon takes a deep breath. She looks straight at her own reflection on the glass panel. She is well aware that her eyes are meeting with the man behind it. She opens . This time, she no longer lets her anxiousness holds her back.

 

“My name…is Kim Taeyeon. For the past f-few months, I’ve been a patient to—Dr. Jessica Jung. I barely have recollection of my past memories. What I was doing…or how did I ended up being here in the first place.” She paused to take a deep breath.

 

Afterwards, she continued. “For the past three years, I had shut down my mind completely. I couldn’t function as a ‘normal’ human being. I had isolated myself from the reality and live within my own mind. I—know some people would not understand the reason. It was simple. I refused to move on.”

 

Taeyeon once again paused to let out a long sigh to calm herself down. “I’ve met a woman named Lee Soonkyu. She was my first love. She was my partner. She was my ‘entire world.’ I’ve decided I wanted to be with her. But my family…especially my father had refused to accept the truth about my uality. The day I walked out of my old home was the day I had cut connection with my own family for good. Me and Soonkyu, we moved to our own place. We worked hard. We managed to survived as partners for six years.”

 

“Six years…I thought we were together long enough to finally be married. It had always been in my mind. But Soonkyu...she was rarely there. As we got older, she got busier with work. We hardly spent time with each other. In my mind, I knew she was working hard for us. She wanted to give me a good life. But deep within my heart, I was hurting over the fact my lover seemed to be more…and more distant from me.”

 

Taeyeon swallowed hard. Her tears are about to fall from the overwhelming sadness she has been keeping inside for years.

 

Mr. Lee continues to stay silent. Yuri has her hand clenching onto the arm-rest of the chair; feeling somewhat guilty that she never knew this about the patient she failed to help out. Victoria also stood silently as she tries holding back the tears while listening to the stories.

 

“That night…it was our anniversary. I was excited. I had prepared everything for the celebration. She had been out from the country for work and I was eager for her to come back. But she forgotten about it…again. Yet, I kept thinking she was too busy at the time she became a forgetful person. But I can’t help but overthinking if she may have found someone else…another person she loves more than me.”

 

Taeyeon breathes sharply.

 

“I was alone. Her phone rang. I picked it up only to hear it was a man calling her. He introduced himself to be her co-worker in Japan. He said he wanted to talked about ‘marriage.’ I was torn apart. My heart felt heavy. I felt disgusted and betrayed. We had a huge fight after that. I had a huge misunderstanding. I pushed Soonkyu and stormed out of the house.”

 

Taeyeon begins remembering the traumatizing incident inside her head. It’s painful. Her heart is burden with so much guilt it makes her difficult to breathe. A single tear falls onto her cheek.

 

“We fought. I refused to listen. I kept pushing her away. I was too occupied by my own anger.” Taeyeon’s hand started trembling even more. But Jessica holds it firmly; as a sign she has nothing to fear anymore. It’s time to let it out.

 

“I went towards the road. I didn’t bother looking around.”

 

Taeyeon started seeing the blinding car lights and the blood on the cemented road. The lifeless body of her old lover laying on her laps. She heard noises. The people surrounding her and the ambulance arriving. She felt her body being forcefully pulled away from Soonkyu by the paramedics. She was screaming. She didn’t want to be away from her.

 

“No, no! She is still alive! She’s alive! Don’t die…don’t leave me! Soonkyu!” *echoes*

 

 

Taeyeon could no longer hold herself from shedding tears. She hung her head down low. It feels like her insides are turning upside down. Her mind clouded with the images of her past.

 

“There was a fatal hit and run accident. Soonkyu was hit by a car. She saved me but she couldn’t save herself. She passed away…while I was holding her in my arms.” She lifts her head to look at the glass panel; as if she is staring right at Mr. Lee. “I couldn’t move on because I blamed myself for what had happened. Soonkyu’s life was taken because I refused to listen to her. Turns out…the ‘marriage’ that was mentioned on the phone was only a misunderstanding. If I had just…sit there and gave her the chance to explain, we would’ve never fought in the first place.”

 

“For years, I’ve shut myself out from reality. I was to be blamed for the accident but at the same time, I refused to acknowledge the truth. I couldn’t accept the fact that I’ve caused the death of the woman I love. I thought, ‘there’s no way I would have let her die.’ I had unconsciously run away from the biggest mistake of my life. The regret, the guilt…the denial…those feelings led me to live a horrible life afterwards.”

 

Taeyeon turns to the side, where Jessica is standing.

 

“This woman next to me. You may think that she had failed you, Mr. Lee.” She then turns back to have her eyes staring at the arrogant man. “But she is the only one who managed to pull me out from the deepest, darkness corner of my mind. She never gave up. I hurt her so many times…both physically and mentally. Yet she stayed. She continued on to help me. I managed to be the woman I am today because Dr. Jung…Dr. Jessica Jung had cure me. She is the reason for my ‘resurrection.’”

 

“You can hold me back here if you want to, Mr. Lee. But I’ll prove it to you, to the other doctors as well that I am well and I will not hesitate to come back to Dr. Jung.”

 

A single tear falls down onto Jessica’s cheek. This woman she is looking at right now is no longer fragile and weak. She has become stronger. She has overcome the fears and traumas of her past. Jessica closes her eyes; seeing the image of her late sister in her mind. For a short moment, she can see Krystal smiling at her brightly. She hugs Jessica for the last time before walking away.

 

Taeyeon feels as if someone is staring at her. She turns to the other side where she sees Soonkyu standing next to her. The blonde-haired woman smiles warmly. Taeyeon is speechless. She is very much sure it was her illusion. But it feels so real. Soonkyu pats her head lovingly for the last time. She whispers, “you can rest now” before finally disappearing.

 

The heavy burdens of guilt and regret are lifted off from both of their hearts.

 

Mr. Lee watches as the two women behind the glass hold each other in an emotional embrace. He exhales sharply before standing up from his seat quite aggressively. “Office, now.” He ordered his assistant whom quickly wiped her tears off. He was about to walk out when Yuri stands up and calls him out.

 

“You have always been quite an arrogant boy since we were kids.” She turns to him. “I always gave in to that stupid attitude of yours even after we have grown to be adults.”

 

“What exactly are you trying to say here, Dr. Kwon?” Mr. Lee stared at her intensely. But his hawk-like eyes didn’t even make Yuri cower, even a little.

 

“Kim Taeyeon is successfully treated by Dr. Jessica Jung.” Yuri approaches Mr. Lee and pulls his coat’s collar. Victoria gasps in surprise. The woman looks at him. “Try to be a liar and lie about this being your so called ‘envision’ plan to help ‘a desperate patient’, I won’t hesitate to throw out the real facts to the media.” She pulls back her hand before walking out the door.

 

Mr. Lee trembles in anger. In rage, he kicks the chair causing it fly and hit the wall. Victoria quickly stands aside in fear. He grits his teeth. “Put me on the line with them.”

 

“Y-yes, I’m on it, Mr. Lee.”

 

***

1.17 P.M, most of the staffs are having lunch except for a few.

 

In Jessica’s office, there are some of the co-workers; Dr. Kwon Yuri, Dr. Kim Hyoyeon and Dr. Seo Juhyun. They are all sitting on one table. Taeyeon sits closely next to Jessica. Despite being in a romantic relationship, they agree to not spill out the ‘beans’ just yet. Well, Jessica could be facing a serious crime charge if she is known to be in love with a ‘severely mentally-ill’ patient under her care.

 

It won’t be a good experience.

 

“I’m amazed. You really succeed into treating her.” Seohyun is still in awe by the whole situation.

 

“It’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just that…we never knew it was possible. It’s miraculous.” Hyoyeon continued on. “We have never would have imagine you can talk, Ms. Kim…” She awkwardly tries to be in a conversation with the patient.

 

Taeyeon smiles. “You can call me Taeyeon.” Although she still feels very awkward to socialize again with people, but she tries her best to put it aside. Jessica feels proud just seeing she can answer questions on her own.

 

“How did Jessica managed to treat you?” Hyoyeon’s question had caused her to earn a slap on the shoulder. “What?”

 

“That is not a very nice thing to ask right now.” Seohyun said. Well, as much as she too, is curious about the treatments Jessica is giving to Taeyeon, she is also well aware of the boundaries between them. Her co-worker can always explain her ways of treating her patient once she is prepared for it.

 

“Well, I’m just glad you are doing alright now.” Yuri finally spoke out after being silent since entering the office. “I’m really happy to see you all-well now. I’m sorry…for not being able to help you out in the past.”

 

“Don’t be.” Taeyeon quickly replied. “I may not remember at all but…I know for sure, you worked hard to help me. Thank you.” She smiled. Yuri suddenly feels emotional at the sight of Taeyeon’s genuine gratitude towards her. She immediately turns away to wipe away the tears that is about to fall from her eyes. The others could only feel relief that Yuri has finally forgiven herself.

 

“So, what now?” Seohyun asked. “Taeyeon has shown such an amazing progress. She has proven to be doing well under your care. What’s next then?”

 

Jessica has forgotten about it since she was so overwhelmed by the whole situation earlier. After they exited the room, the guard informed that Mr. Lee had left with his assistant. Yuri could only guess his ego had been torn apart by Taeyeon’s bravery and he was off to drink booze in his office to push away his dilemma. That man always hated the fact whenever he was proven to be ‘wrong.’

 

Mr. Lee has not given his decision yet. Although it is actually the doctor’s decision to either releases the patient under their care from the hospital or not, Jessica needed his approval since she had taken the risk to go against the policies. She may have broken one of the rules when she decided to propose the idea about taking Taeyeon out from her ‘ward’ to live with her in her own home. She can be caught in a very serious trouble. She may not be in a good term with her own employer, but she can’t help but having to receive his approval.

 

The moment Taeyeon received the permission to be release from the hospital, Jessica would waste no time but to take her in to live with her. Taeyeon thought the same idea as well.

 

Suddenly, there is knocking on the door. They all turn around to see a uniformed man standing there. He seemed to be one of the security guards but his uniform looks different.

 

“We are Mr. Lee’s private bodyguards. He had asked us to personally Dr. Jessica Jung and her patient, Ms. Kim Taeyeon to his office for a discussion.” He spoke with a deep voice. He sounds quite intimidating.

 

“I guess we have to go now.” Jessica said. All of them stand up from their respective seats. Yuri looks at the men that are supposedly to the two women to her rich cousin. They are four of them. They all wore these black military-like clothing with boots. They even have their faces cover by wearing thick black masks and sunglasses.

 

Yuri has been around Mr. Lee since they were young. She has never, ever seen these men around him before. She didn’t want to speculate or jump to ridiculous conclusions but she has no choice but to be suspicious of their sudden appearance.

 

Once the group arrived outside the building, a black van is waiting for them outside. One of the men stops the trio from walking any further. Yuri looks at him, “what are you doing?”

 

“Uninvited guests are not allowed. You can stay behind within the premises. Mr. Lee only allow Dr. Jung and her patient to his private office. Anyone else is forbidden.”

 

Yuri is about to disagree but Jessica quickly halts her from saying anything further. “It’s alright, we’ll be fine.” She spoke. She takes Taeyeon’s hand and holds it firmly before the two of them walk downstairs towards the van. Despite the hesitation and anxiousness, they are feeling inside, they enter the vehicle without a haste.

 

The trio watch as the men enter the van as well before speeding out from the building’s grounds. Yuri made sure she sees the plate’s number and memorizes it in her head. She decides to send a text message to Jessica saying “text me once you arrived there.” She then goes to text someone else. A new friend she just knew from their meeting at Jessica’s apartment.

 

[There’s something not right.]

 

***

 

The van continues to be on the road. It has been almost an hour. Jessica could not really see outside of the windows. She has also had her sight block from the front view since there is a divider put between the driver and the back seats. Her eyes roamed around the van. There seemed to be five men including the driver. Three at the back while there are two at the front. All of them wore the same clothing and have their faces covered.

 

Ever since they hopped on into the van, Jessica has not been feeling well. Her instincts have been screaming at her that there is something oddly suspicious about this situation. All she knows is that she needs to have Taeyeon to be very close to her. She would not waste even a second lowering her guard down. She holds Taeyeon’s hand firmly.

 

It is silent all the way. There is only the sound of the air conditioner being just a few minutes ago. However, it sounds weird. Somehow, there is somewhat a low hissing sound coming out of those vents. Then, it hits her. There is a different scent filling up the van. She quickly holds her breath to stop inhaling whatever gas is within the air flows. Suddenly, two men next to them attempt to pull Jessica and Taeyeon apart.

 

An adrenaline rush goes through Jessica’s whole body in an instant. She pulls Taeyeon close to her before pushing both of their bodies onto the floor, causing the two men that were holding them to collide on each other’s faces. The other man stands up and attempts to hit Jessica. But he fails when Jessica pushes herself off the floor and do a spin kick that lands straight on his face. His back hit the car’s door. Jessica took the chance to throw a powerful blow on the throat causing him to passes out.

 

“Taeyeon!” Jessica approached the petite woman. She seemed to have pass out much earlier from the poisonous gas. Jessica tries really hard to breathe in the gas. She has inhaled in a few times during her short fight with the man and she is already light-headed. She tries to pick up Taeyeon but one of the men that fell down earlier on went to pounce on her from behind.

 

He attempts to suffocates Jessica but the woman is not an easy target. With all her might, she performed a shoulder-throw causing the man to land hard on his back. In a quick reflects, she grabs the metallic bat hanging on his waist and puts it on in front of his throat. She uses her feet as a balance for her body to pull the bat hard; causing him to be suffocated.

 

“Ack…ack…” His whole face turns red. Jessica has no sign of stopping until he is out of breath.

 

BAM!

 

Jessica’s eyesight becomes blurry as her body falls down weakly. She can feel her head is bleeding. The other man earlier on has struck her from behind with the metallic bat. “No…Taeyeon…” She drags herself towards the unconscious woman nearby. She is losing consciousness each second passes by. Her whole body refused to move. Suddenly, the man picks her up before throwing her onto the divider. She grunts in pain.

 

“You…ing s.” She cursed at the sight of those men in front of her. She sees Taeyeon getting pick up by one of them and has a bag put on her head. “No…let her go.” She tries to stand up and fight back but she is once again struck by the bat. This time, it lands straight on her face, causing a huge bruise across her cheek and a cut on her lower lip.

 

She can no longer stay awake. Her own body is betraying her by collapsing onto the van’s floor. She breathes heavily as the man puts the same bag on her head. “Goodnight.” He laughed menacingly before Jessica finally loses consciousness.

 

To be continued.

 

Author's Note: Hello, hello! I have came with the latest update. I've finally managed to finish it after weeks of writer's block. I believed this is my longest chapter I've ever written for this fiction. Anyways, thank you so much for waiting my slow- updates. I will try to finish up faster if I can. Thank you for the new subs and votes too! I appreciate it a lot. I also saw a reader re-reading this fiction a lot of times, thank you. I sincerely hope this chapter would be enjoyable for our readers. :) There will be a few chapters left (+bonus chapter) before it reaches its ending.