Chapter 3: Secrets

In front the gates of Dongguk University, Chorong listened carefully what Bomi had told her.

"I know it's sudden but I need you to head to her university and disguise as her mother. Please unnie! If mother doesn't work, tell them you're her sister or something and bring her back home!" begged Bomi.

"But-"

"I'll tell you the whole story later. Just bring Naeun back first....Eunji-ya! Where are you going?! Sorry, I'm hanging up." said Bomi as the call ended.

There were still a lot of questions unanswered but Chorong decided to do what was told. With a deep breath, she took heavy steps past the gate and headed to the admin office.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a student called Son Naeun." asked Chorong politely, with a fake smile planted over her face.

"May I know your relation with her?"

"I'm her older sister."

"I see. She's in the sick bay right now. If you just sign here, she's allowed to go back home." said the receptionist as she pointed towards a document.

"Alright, thank you."

With the directions of the helpful staff, Chorong headed towards the sick bay where Naeun was. The frail girl was fast asleep on one of the beds.

"I'm guessing you're here for Naeun. She fainted again this morning in class, this girl works too hard." sighed the nurse, greeting Chorong.

"Thank you for taking care of her." bowed Chorong.

"I've already given an injection that will stabilize her. It will take awhile before she wakes up. Once she's awake, she's ready to head home." smiled the nurse as she headed to leave somewhere.

"Ah..I see. Thank you." replied Chorong as she was now left alone with Naeun.

She didn't knew the slim, beautiful girl was this frail. Staring at her sleeping face, her eyebags were visible and her skin was slightly pale. Concerned, Chorong wondered what kind of secrets the girls were hiding from her. Suddenly, there was a thud at the door.

"Eunji? What are you doing here?" said Chorong surprised seeing a breathless Eunji by the door, her forehead soaked in sweat.

"I ran over, since our schools are about a 15 minutes walk apart." said Eunji, breathing heavily.

"But-don't you have class?"

"No time for that. We need to get her out before they arrive." huffed Eunji as she rolled her sleeves, bent her body and soon, placed Naeun's sleeping body onto hers.

"Before they arrive?"

"I'll explain later. Come on, let's go unnie." said Eunji as the two left the school compound. Chorong looked onwards with worry, Eunji who carried Naeun on her back had a tired look, soaked with sweat and continued to take deep breaths.

"Do you want me to carry her instead? You should take a break Eunji-ya." 

"No, it's fine. Just a little bit more till we reach home."

Soon, the two arrived at the dormitory. Chorong helped to open the door in which Eunji went straight to Naeun's room and carefully placed her on the bed. 

"Unnie, can you head over to the cupboard and bring out some antiseptics?" 

"Antiseptics? Alright...." said Chorong in surprise.

While waiting for the antiseptics, Eunji sighed and reached for Naeun's blouse. With quick hands, she ed with ease that revealed Naeun's body covered in bruises.

"What...What on earth?!" gasped Chorong at the sight, handing over the antiseptics.

"Sorry, we'll tell you the whole story when everyone's back." said Eunji as she began to apply it on Naeun's body.

Chorong, being the conservative type was uncomfortable at the sight and decided to head to the common area instead. She couldn't help but to remember the image of Naeun's S-line body and her ant-size waist. With a blushed face, she kept mumbling to herself that she saw nothing.

Soon, Eunji got out of Naeun's room and quietly closed the door. With a sigh, she sat beside Chorong.

"Sorry, unnie is probably very confused and surprised right now. I forgot that we were supposed to tell you a lot of things that night but we got too carried away with alcohol" said Eunji with a smile.

"No..it's okay. Shouldn't you head back to school now? I'll take care of things from here."

"Alright. We'll tell you everything during dinner time. See you later." smiled Eunji as she left.

~X~

Back at the university, Bomi looked out at the window with worry. She knew that Eunji wouldn't listen to her whenever it came to Naeun's situation. At that moment, she saw Eunji running and lightly climbing over the fence.

"Eunji-ya!! Hurry up!" shouted Bomi from the window. Eunji replied with an "ok" sign formed by her fingers.

Soon, the duo was finally complete as Bomi patted Eunji's back.

"Well done Eunji-ya~ here have a sip." said Bomi as she gave her some water.

"We totally forgot to tell Chorong unnie all those important details Bomi-ya."

"It's okay, we will tell her everything after school ends."

"Everything? Even Hayoung's case?"

"Okay...except that one."

"Well, Chorong unnie is going to find out about Hayoung's case anyway."

"You're right. She's pretty sharp on things."

"Alright, class is starting." said Eunji as she playfully covered Bomi's mouth.

~X~

It was around noon where Chorong decided to have simple cup noodles for lunch, turning on the television and placing it on low volume so that Naeun wouldn't wake up. As she's only starting work next week, Chorong thought it would be best to utilize all the free time she had despite the situation this morning. Flipping through all the channels by pressing the remote, there was a lot of shows that caught her attention. Dramas, variety shows, it was almost like a paradise for her. For around two hours, she simply spend the time watching episodes of a drama and relaxing at the dorm.

Suddenly, Naeun's door creaked open. With small, light footsteps Naeun came into the room hearing the sound of the tv.

"Oh Naeun, you're finally up. You shouldn't move around much, here sit down." said Chorong, leading her to the sofa.

"It happened again. Sorry unnie, you're probably confused at the whole situation right now." apologized Naeun

"It's okay Naeun-ah. Bomi and Eunji said that will explain everything to me tonight."

".....Did you change my clothes?" asked Naeun in hesitation, touching her changed blouse.

"Eunji did that......I looked away don't worry." 

"I see...." replied Naeun shyly, at the thought of Eunji undressing her while she was asleep.

"But you must be really close with Eunji, if she's openly did that to you...."

"I've known her since we were kids. In fact, almost all of us in the dorm grew up here."

"Really? But then, who took care of all of you then?"

"The original owner of this dorm was a really kind lady who offered shelter for the five of us. But one day, she suddenly left so we just came to decision to find someone else....which was you."

"But weren't you curious why that lady left? I mean, she took care of you right?"

"We know she'll come back one day. All five of us are sure of it." smiled Naeun.

"I guess you really trust that lady then." smiled Chorong.

As the two continued chatting for awhile, they realized that there was a lot of things they had in common. Their personalities were very similiar, both were afraid of confronting people and prefered to spend their time alone. It was a day where Chorong became one step closer to the quiet Naeun.

"Guess I should start preparing dinner. It's five." said Chorong as she glanced at the clock hanging above the tv.

"I'll help."

"You sure? I don't think a girl who fainted this morning should do any work. Just go and rest princess~" joked Chorong.

"No~ unnie. Trust me, I won't. Let me cut these." giggled Naeun at Chorong's tease.

"Alright." said Chorong, giving Naeun some spring onions.

Throughout the cooking session, Chorong kept giving glances to Naeun making sure that she wasn't faltering. She purposely gave her the easiest things to do so that Naeun wouldn't overwork herself. After learning more about the young girl, Chorong looked after her like a younger sister. In her eyes, she was frail, thin girl that would be blown away from the smallest of winds.

By the time it reached six, it was obvious that the kids were back as there was a lot of noise. 

"Wow, it feels really good to come home smelling delicious food!" said Namjoo in delight.

"Mom, what did you cook today?" joked Hayoung.

"Hey, I'm not your mom. I'm your unnie." 

"But the nickname fits you!" 

"Do whatever you please." sighed Chorong in which Hayoung responded with a cheerful laugh.

Naeun slightly glanced at Eunji who was busy talking with Bomi, her face turned pink at the thought of Eunji undressing her. 

"Unnie, are you having a fever?" asked Hayoung in worry. Immediately, everyone's attention was all on Naeun.

"N-No! It just feels a bit hot here." stuttered Naeun at Hayoung's sudden question. She later pulled Hayoung to a corner and whispered "Pabo" to her ears before leaving.

"Guys, time to eat!" said Chorong, gathering all the five kids at the table. Today was a more simple dish, a big bowl of bibimbap mixed with vegetables, egg, meat and tofu with some kimchi at the side. Everyone relished the meal Chorong (and partially Naeun) had made, indeed they were all good eaters.

"Unnie, I think it's about time to tell you a bit about ourselves since you are part of us now." smiled Bomi before turning serious.

"Where shall we start?" said Eunji, glancing over Naeun.

"Judging from the situation today, Naeun fainting seems like a normal thing?" asked Chorong with caution.

"Thing is, unnie suffers from anemic problems but as long as she take her pills regularly it's totally fine." said Hayoung.

"But sometimes Naeun is forgetful and well, you know what happens." said Eunji taking a glance at Naeun again.

"Actually, she fainted two months ago all for a stupid reason." said Bomi

"She stayed up all night finishing her "artwork"." said Hayoung.

"I-it was due the next day...." said Naeun softly, breaking into the conversation.

"You don't have a say in this." said Bomi and Eunji at the same time, shutting down Naeun's participation. Hayoung and Namjoo could only quietly laugh as Naeun pouted in silence.

"I see..but isn't it a bad thing if she faints frequently?" asked Chorong in worry.

"As long as she takes her pills. But Son Naeun here sometimes forgets to do so." said Eunji in a stern voice, making direct eye-contact with Naeun.

"Alright, then since I'm here, I'll make it a must that Naeun never misses her pills. No. matter. what." said Chorong, turning serious.

"Unnie, you're screwed." whispered Hayoung with a giggle.

"By the way, Bomi said to disguise myself as Naeun's fake mom or whatever...why is that?" asked Chorong, reminded of the scene this morning.

Bomi and Eunji looked at each other, deciding whether to tell or not.

"I know what you're doing. Just tell me. Otherwise, more things are going to get complicated." sighed Chorong as she folded her arms, staring coldly at them.

It was that moment, the two girls realised that Chorong has a scary side and felt her strong aura around the room. Indeed, they were thankful and lucky to have a person like her as their caretaker.

"Naeun....ran away from home...a long time ago..." said Eunji carefully. Hearing those words, Chorong's eyes widened.

"It's been about three-four years? Her parents don't know about this place, but it's a bit complicated unnie. Let's just keep it as that for now." said Bomi scratching her head, wondering how to explain the details.

"It's okay, I understand. By the way, Naeun told me that all five of you grew up together?" asked Chorong.

"Oh, that? Actually, there's an order to this." smiled Bomi.

"Hayoung was here first, then Eunji, Bomi, Naeun and I was the last one to arrive." said Namjoo.

"I was here the longest and I'm the maknae." grinned Hayoung, showing a peace sign with her fingers.

"And you haven't even graduated high school yet~how sad~" teased Eunji.

"But I'm taller than you~so it's fine~" teased Hayoung back.

"Oh~ Hayoung~ I guess you don't want to sleep tonight do you?" smirked Eunji as she stood up with her hand in the air, in which Hayoung immediately ran for her life. 

"Let's call it a day." said Namjoo as she headed into her room.

"I'll go finish up my artwork..." said Naeun as she also headed to her room.

Eventually, the night ended with all six girls back in their rooms and deep into their dreams. It was a long day especially for Chorong, discovering the new sides of her members.

~X~

It was early in the morning but Chorong was already up, preparing a simple breakfast for the five girls. One by one, they each left the dorm thanking her for the meal. The last one to leave, was Naeun. After finishing her meal, Chorong reminded her to take her pills and wished her a safe journey.

"But unnie, you're only starting work next week right?" asked Naeun.

"Yeah, why?"

"Let's walk together to my university." smiled Naeun.

"Sure, why not." said Chorong as the two headed off to Dongguk University. The time spent together was worth the while, conversations that made the two laugh and understand each other more. Soon, the gates of the school. However, Naeun noticed something unusual. There was tall man dressed in a black suit, waiting outside. 

"Sorry unnie, please follow me." said Naeun as she quickly grabbed Chorong's hand and ran towards the side, where there was a wall blocking the view of the school.

"What's wrong Naeun-ah?"

"I think....my dad is here to pick me up."

[END OF CHAPTER 3]

A/N: Looks like there is many questions left unanswered about Naeun's past. I included a little bit of 2eun in this chapter ;) Thank you for reading and subscribing! I'll update the next chapter soon!