Chapter 21: Truth

The girls crowded the window, staring into the space that Naeun had pointed out. The girl walking in the crowd definitely beared close resemblance to Hayoung, her height and evidence of bandages wrapped around her arms made it even more obvious. Before anyone else could react, Eunji immediately went out of the cafe cutting through the crowd. The older girl was furious, her anger boiled at Hayoung's peculiar attitude recently and she would not let this off. The others who were inside, could only look on as there was no stopping an angry Eunji.

But before the girl could reach her, Hayoung took a glance behind and made eye-contact with her. The younger girl's eyes widened and she started to run. Among the crowd, the tall girl slowly vanished within and Eunji could no longer see her. But she remembered Hayoung's expression the moment she turned around, her heart hurt upon seeing her face all red, evidence that she was still suffering from her high fever. Eunji felt confused, why is she doing this? Why does the maknae want to go through all this pain just for a dance competition? This was no longer the girl she knew back then, no longer the young girl that followed whatever she said. Giving up, Eunji simply stared into the space with a sigh.

Walking with heavy steps back into the cafe, returning back only as herself. The girls comforted Eunji who was boiling with fury and confusion.

"It's okay Eunji-ya, it's okay. Calm down." said Bomi, noticing her same-aged friend's change of character.

"This is so not her. Where is the Hayoung that I knew? What on earth is she planning to do?!" said Eunji, frustrated.

"The only way is going to this Sojin person's house. That's the ony way we can find clues and reasons why Hayoung is behaving like that. I believe there is a reason for everything Eunji-ya. Let's finish our food and head to the location that Namjoo gave us." said Chorong who spoke calmly.

"That's right Eunji unnie. Chrong unnie is right." said Naeun who placed her arm around her shoulder as a mean to comfort her. This was the first time she had seen her this furious, her expression was clear that she was mad.

"Sorry Naeun-ah that you have to see me like that, I don't normally get angry but this is just going over the line." said Eunji who calmed down as Naeun held her hands. Just by the warmth of the younger girl, she could feel her voice penetrating through, like a whisper to calm her boiling heart.

The girls then proceeded to finish their meal and then, went to search for Sojin's "house". Bomi in particular felt suspicious, as it was impossible to have residents in Hongdae as it was a shopping district. Soon, the girls reached in front of a two-storey watch shop towards the end of the Hongdae streets.

"Um..unnie, you sure this is the right place?" asked Naeun.

"I followed exactly as what Namjoo sent me." said Chorong as the girls felt confused.

"Let's just go, who knows Hayoung might be hiding in here." said Eunji who boldly entered the watch shop. It was a shop that sold watches made from famous and expensive brands, displayed in perfect glass casings across and on the wall was a verified certificate on the wall that the owner held a degree in engineering.

"Oh? We have a customer?" said a lady who came from upstairs. She seemed much older than Chorong, wearing spectacles and her hair tied into a ponytail. She was wearing an apron, evidence that she was doing some kind of work upstairs.

"Sorry we didn't come here to buy your watches. We're looking for someone." said Eunji impatiently.

"Hey Eunji-ya, you shouldn't speak like that!" scolded Chorong.

"Ah, no it's okay. I'm not offended at all. Who are you looking for?" smiled the lady.

"A young girl named Hayoung and someone named Sojin." answered Naeun.

"Well, you found one of them already." said the lady.

"You're Sojin?" asked Chorong. The lady simply nodded with a smile.

"Where's Hayoung? What's your relationship with her? You're the one that's scamming her right? How can you do that to an innocent high schooler? Do you know what you've done?!" growled Eunji as the girls stopped her from getting anymore closer to Sojin.

"Eunji! Calm down!" shouted Chorong as Bomi and Naeun pulled Eunji back.

"What a welcome I've received. I just I probably expected it since you're probably Hayoung's guardians I suppose? She did warn me that a particular unnie would get a little violent." said Sojin as she crossed her arms, scanning Eunji from head to toe.

"Sorry for the rude welcome. I'll just rephrase ourselves, we're looking for Hayoung. She's been missing and we don't know why but her friends told us that she had to practice for a dance competition in return for something." said Chorong politely as she bowed in apology, lightly pushing Eunji's head downwards so that she bowed too.

"Yes, I'm the one who asked Hayoung to join the dance competition while being completely aware that she's overworking herself to the point that she has a fever right now. I wanted to see her potential, how well she has grown up that's why." said Sojin with a smile as she went behind the counter, taking out something from the drawers. It was a photograph of a baby girl.

"Is that...." said Naeun as she took a closer look.

"That's right, it's Hayoung when she was a baby." replied Sojin.

"What's your relationship with her? Why do you have these photos that I've never seen before?" asked Eunji who calmed down, her anger slightly dissapearing as she became intrigued instead.

"I'm sure Hayoung has told you that she doesn't have any parents. Of course that's a lie, everyone has a mother and a father."

"Are you....possibly her mother?" asked Bomi dumbfoundedly.

"Me? No way, i would have to be in my forties in order to be her mom." said Sojin as she broke into a laughter at Bomi's answer.

"Pabo-ya.." sighed Chorong while facepalming herself as it was impossible because of the age difference.

"I haven't told Hayoung about it yet because this was her prize if she won the competition. I guess since you are her guardians, you will be the first ones to know about her. Her real story, the actual truth." said Sojin with a smile.

~X~

Outside the watch shop was a young girl who stayed frozen at the entrance, shocked to see who was inside. That girl was none other than Hayoung who covered herself in a mask and cap. "What are the unnies doing here? How did they know that I'm here?" thought Hayoung to herself as she decided to walk away, afraid to face her unnies after what she has done. This was the first time ever in her life, that she had disobeyed her unnies and guilty absorbed her heart. She realised that what was done cannot be turned back, the mess that she created was from her own will. 

With quick steps, the tall girl ran away as far as she could from the watch shop. Not knowing where to go, she just ran into the crowd, confused and lost. She wondered whether she was doing the right thing, whether it was worth to take part in that competition, there was so many questions that became a barrier to the young girl who was just overwhelmed wth thoughts. Battling with her fever, she felt dizzy and her sight became blurry. Her body swayed among the crowd like a feather. Weak, the girl could slowly feel herself falling but suddenly, someone grabbed her. She turned around only to see a familiar face but the image was too blurry for her to interpret.

"N...Namjoo....unnie?" mumbled Hayoung as she blackened out. 

For the first time, Namjoo disobeyed her unnies and went straight to Hongdae, skipping school in search for Hayoung. It was a miracle that the girl could find her in the middle of the crowd, just in time before Hayoung fainted again. Although Namjoo wanted to scream at her, scold her, beat her, but she couldn't. Seeing her dongsaeng in such condition, there was only pain in her heart. With strength, Namjoo gathered the help of nearby passerbys and managed to bring her to a small clinic nearby. It didn't matter anymore, all that anger and frustration that boiled up within Namjoo's body was gone because Hayoung was here, in her hands.

The nurse who checked on Hayoung's condition immediately admitted her into the ward, putting through emergency IV and told Namjoo to wait until she wakes up.

"Excuse me, Namjoo-ssi?" asked the nurse.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind, we would like to run a PET scan through Hayoung. We've noticed something strange after running through several tests."

"Yes, please go ahead. I don't know what has happened but please do it!" said Namjoo who was shocked at the nurse's words. A lot of worries went through her head, does Hayoung have something worse than just a simple fever? Does she have some kind of sickness? Before she could notice, tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the sleeping girl whose was transferred into another room for the scan.

Namjoo could only stare at the closed door, where a red light shone to indicate that it was being used. She sighed while wiping her tears, it was certainly a long day for the younger girl. She sat down, and sent a message to the group chat.

"Unnies, I've found Hayoung. She's currently admitted at the nearby clinic in Hongdae. Please come as soon as you can." - Namjoo

~X~

Meanwhile at the watch shop, the four girls sat down at a nearby table with Sojin and listened carefully to her story.

"25th July 1996, just not so long since Hayoung was born, her family home was burnt in flames. Firefighters did all they could to save anyone, but all they could save was this little baby girl who was the only survivor. I was one of the witnesses and I was just 10 years old at that time. My family took her in and we raised her like our own. But, i guess the world wants to destroy her. When she was five years old, Hayoung got into a car accident." The girls gasped at Sojin's words, revealing Hayoung's shocking history.

"I don't know why but after that, my parents decided that Hayoung would bring bad luck to the family. I know that they were wrong, but I couldn't do anything as I was too young at that time. That's why at the age of four, Hayoung was sent to the orphanage. But even so, I wanted to care for her even though I was seperated from her. From time to time, I would secretly check on her how's she's doing and I've been doing the same thing until now. I'm glad she's grown into a fine lady, it's all thanks to you. You girls raised her, and I am thankful for that as I could not be there for her." said Sojin as she stood up, and bowed.

"You don't have to bow....unnie..." said Chorong carefully, as she noticed that Sojin was much older than her based on her ten years difference with Hayoung.

"Then...is the girl in this photo...is you?" asked Bomi as she took out the photo she and Chorong found in Hayoung's wardrobe.

"This picture.....where did you find this?" asked Sojin, picking it up and looking at it.

"It was hidden somewhere in Hayoung's wardrobe. I don't know how she got it, we've never seen it before." replied Bomi.

"This picture was taken just before Hayoung got into the accident that day." said Sojin, still remembering each scene clearly.

The girls became quiet as they focused all their attention towards Sojin.

"We were going to the playground around the neighbourhood as it was Hayoung's 5th birthday and she insisted to play the swings. That's when Hayoung carelessly crossed the road without looking and...you know what happened after that." said Sojin as her expression stiffened, not wanting to recall it again.

"But the point is, why did you ask Hayoung to participate in the Hongdae Dance Competition and win just to get this information? Why can't you just tell her the truth of her past? Why are you beating around the bush?" asked Eunji, her anger starting to come back. She didn't understand the logic why she would put Hayoung in such position that would harm her health, nor the point in winning it.

"That girl told me dance was her passion. But I knew that she use dance as her career. I need to let her see how tough the real world can be, I want her to realise and understand that dance can only be a hobby, not a career." 

"But you don't have to do that the hard way.." said Eunji, still not accepting Sojin's words.

"Unnie, calm down." said Naeun as she held Eunji's hands, as a way to stop her from doing anything violent.

"You've been with Hayoung for so long, I'm sure you know how stubborn she is. She wouldn't listen until she sees the truth herself. I knew from the beginning that she is already blinded with dance. I know that Hayoung holds potential in something else, she's an intelligent girl but she's wasting her talents in dancing."

"She makes a point..unnie." said Naeun as she remembered how Hayoung used and still is, the highest scorer in school. She was often praised by teachers at her quick memory skills and intellectual thinking.

"Fine, but what you're doing now has to stop. She can't participate in that competition in that condition, so please stop. Just tell her what she wants to know. I can't stand seeing her suffer like this." pleaded Eunji.

"The thing is...if I tell Hayoung that..." 

~X~

For awhile, Namjoo stared at the blank wall waiting for the PET scan to finish. All that was on her mind was only Hayoung, only her. That moment, the doors opened and the bed that carried Hayoung went past her, moving into the ward.

"What are the results nurse? Is there something wrong with Hayoung?" asked Namjoo with worry. The nurse looked at her, with a concerned expression.

"Namjoo-ssi, has Hayoung ever been in an accident before?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"She seems to be suffering from long-term amnesia."

[END OF CHAPTER 21]

A/N: The puzzles are finally connected? Hayoung has amnesia?! Indeed, there is a lot of history of the maknae that we didn't know. Thank you for watching and subscribing! See you in the next chapter soon! (this was more Hajoo focused because i felt that Chomi & 2eun had been overshadowing them lol)