Chapter 34: To Protect

There was a crowd outside the Law Department floor, shouts can be heard and movements of furniture squeaked along the hallway. Namjoo ran up the stairs with a worried heart together with her classmates, hoping that the worst wasn't what she expected. Remembering the incident back in high school, Namjoo hoped that it will never happen again. She knew that what Hayoung did was to protect her, because she didn't like people talking bad about others but it was wrong to use violence against others. But the moment she arrived, it was too late to stop her.

The tall girl who wore glasses, even though she wore formally the outfit was torn apart, traces of blood were stained on her face and a group of girls surrounded her. It was worst than before. Classroom windows were broken, one girl was holding onto another who was bleeding and everyone else stood in fear. No one would've thought a scholarship student like Hayoung woukld turn out to be this violent before. 

"Y-You monster! If she dies, you're going to prison!" shouted a girl, who shivered in fear. It was as if the Hayoung she knew was completely gone. The girl looked like she was possessed by a spirit of anger and there was nothing to stop her.

"Say it one more time." said Hayoung as she stared at her, her eyes were on fire as her fists began to clench.

"What? W-What?!"

"You said something about Namjoo unnie. Say it again. I'm going to break your fingers." said Hayoung as she slowly walked towards her, arms reaching out as if she was about to do it.

"Stop it Hayoung-ah!" shouted Namjoo as she appeared in front of her, hands wide open as if to protect the girl from being hurt anymore.

Hayoung stopped. Her eyes focused carefully on Namjoo, as her vision turned clear again. It was as if she was sane again, upon seeing the girl she loved in front of her.

"Stop it Hayoung-ah. You're going to be in a lot of trouble if you continue." said Namjoo carefully and calmly, eyes still onto the younger girl.

"Move unnie. I'm not finished." sighed Hayoung as she crossed her arms.

"You have nothing else left to do. Stop and come to me. Stop fighting." said Namjoo.

"She hurt you. I'm not going to let that get away."

"That doesn't matter to me anymore. Hayoung-ah, I don't care if people talk bad about me. None of that matters. What matters is you. Stop making more trouble to yourself."

"Stop lying. You always are. Even if you say you're fine, you are always hurt inside. I want to make you happy unnie, and this is the only way."

"The only way you can make me happy is to never fight again."

Upon hearing those words, Hayoung's sense finally returned. She realised what she had been doing, the anger she had boiling inside finally calmed down and her fists dissapeared. But before she could say another word, security authorities pulled her back and moved the girl away. This wasn't high school, college was a public place and what Hayoung has committed is a crime.

~X~

Meanwhile, Chorong was back at her small office located in the far-corner of the school building. She getting ready to pack up and head home, as she had to prepare dinner for her two maknaes who would've probably finished their classes. Evening had arrived and almost everyone went back, except for teachers who had to supervise for clubs that went late into the night. But suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The girl looked behind and was surprised to see a young girl with blonde hair, it definitely had a look of a foreigner mixed in between.

"Yes, may I help you?" asked Chorong with a smile.

"Are you Miss Park Chorong-ssi? An English teacher here?" asked the girl shyly.

"That's right, do you need something? Take a seat first." said Chorong as she offered the girl to settle down, it was obvious that she was nervous due to her uncomfortable expression.

"I'm Seungwan, but you can call me Wendy since I don't really like my Korean name...."

"Alright, Wendy-ssi. I'm sure you came here for something."

"It's about Irene unnie...."

"Irene-ssi? The other English teacher here?"

"Yes...i'm actually her younger sister and i thought that there are some things I should tell you.."

~X~

Back at the art studio, there was a dead-drop silence. The two girls stared at each other for a long time in the middle of the tense atmosphere, only the sound of the clock ticking can be heard.

"W..Why would you lie to the press? Why would you create a fake story for everyone to believe in? Do you know how much I worried over this "lie" of yours? I couldn't sleep or even keep my mind off into thinking that you had been keeping things from me-"

"Naeun-ah..."

"You know how much I hate people lying." 

"Naeun-ah, listen." said Eunji calmly as she held her hands while never leaving her eye-contact with the girl.

"I had no choice but to lie. The company told me to do it. In the end, it was all business. I'm no longer a normal person Naeun-ah, I'm a singer. I have something called "image" that I have to protect. I can't let anyone know that I'm dating you, or even let the public know that I am a lesbian."

Naeun stayed silent. She couldn't protest against her words, because it was the truth. The girl she loved is a celebrity now, all eyes are on her. But this only meant that their relationship together would be harder.

"Then at least tell me what is happening unnie. You can't leave me hanging, it's cruel."

The older girl smiled and sighed in relief. Her hands automatically reached Naeun's hair as she gently glided her strands through her fingers.

"Its hard to contact you because of my schedules these days. I miss you too Naeun-ah, I try my best to look at your messages and reply them. I wanted to tell you so many things, but I didn't have the time too. I even planned on telling you about that article, but I guess it's too late. Love sure is hard to keep when we're working." said Eunji with a giggle.

"The least you could do is respond to my messages...." pouted Naeun as she turned away. 

"I do Naeun-ah..."

"Like five hours later..."

"Sorry...." said Eunji with a nervous laughter as she playfully moved Naeun's head to look into her eyes.

"My promotions are going to end soon, then the company is going to give me a one week holiday. I'm going to use that to spend every single day with you, I promise." 

"Only one week after all these tiring schedules?"

"Can't help it, I'm still a rookie singer Naeun-ah. It's still better than nothing right?" said Eunji with a bright smile.

The two girls stared each other for awhile, taking into their sights as they moved closer to each other. The older girl wanted to comfort her with a gentle kiss against her lips, just when she wanted to place her mark, Eunji's phone rang.

"Don't you normally silent your phone?" frowned Naeun as it ruined their mood together.

"Probably set it by accident sorry" said Eunji with a nervous laughter as she went to see who it was. It was a phone call from Namjoo.

"Hello Namjoo-ya? I'm a little busy right now so if you could-" Eunji suddenly stopped talking as her smile dissapeared. Naeun noticed that something was wrong.

"Ok. We're going to head there now. I'm with Naeun." said Eunji as she hung up and sighed.

"What happened?" asked Naeun in worry.

"Hayoung's at the police station. She's got into trouble again."

~X~

Chorong quietly listened to the blonde-haired girl, at first glance no one would've thought that she was Irene's younger sister. Inside her small office, the older girl gave her a cup of hot water and quietly hear her words.

"Irene unnie is known to be very touchy with people, especially girls." said Wendy, as she fixed her gaze upon the older girl.

"Ah, I'm quite aware of that. But it's okay, it's not that I'm uncomfortable with it..."

"Thing is, when unnie gets really close with people she likes....she tends to touch really inappropriate places and I thought I should warn you about that...especially if you're in a relationship with someone...are you...dating anyone right now Miss Chorong-ssi?"

"Let's keep that a secret from anyone, shall we?" said Chorong with a smile.

"I see..well I'm happy for you Chorong-ssi. Being in a relationship is good, there are often good and bad times but we must always cherish the moments of our loved ones together."

"You sound very mature for someone your age."

"Haha, I get that all the time. Well, it was a great time talking to you Chorong-ssi." said Wendy as she stood up and bowed.

"Wait, you came here just to tell me that?" asked Chorong, confused.

"I mean, i thought Irene unnie would be making trouble so I thought to warn you first. It takes time for Irene unnie to find someone she really trusts, and that is you. She's a good person but sometimes, she doesn't know that her actions can hurt someone. Well, have a nice day Chorong-ssi. I believe we would meet again." smiled Wendy as she bowed again and left the office.

Chorong found it peculiar of what were Wendy's true intentions, but took note of what she had said. Going back to reality, the older girl packed her things and was ready to leave. It was getting late and was worried that the maknaes would starve. Walking past the school gate, she stopped as her phone rang. 

"Hello, Naeun-ah?" said Chorong as she picked up.

"Unnie, you have to come now. To Seoul Police Station. Hayoung's gotten into trouble."

"I'm coming." said Chorong in a calmly manner as she quickly hung up. It was very sudden, everyone wanted answers as to what happened but the girl knew she had to keep calm because she is the oldest. She needed to show an image to the dongsaengs to always be calm and collected no matter the situation. Just as she set her foot outside the door, Irene suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of her face.

The girl screamed in surprised, only to quickly cover .

"Wow....I think you might actually be a dolphin Chorong-ssi...." said Irene as she smiled in fascination.

"Don't scare me like that! I thought you went home?" asked Chorong as she took a deep breath, to recover herself.

"I forgot something hehe. You seem to be in a rush, did something happen?" asked Irene as her eyes turned worried.

"Someone I know got into trouble and she's at the police station now."

"Oh no...I can drive you there Chorong-ssi, it will be much faster than taking the train." 

"Wait, you drive?"

"Let's not question that, you're in a hurry so let's go now." said Irene as she grabbed Chorong's hand as the two girls exited the school and headed into the nearby carpark where a small red car was parked. It didn't take long before Irene drove off and Chorong wasn't able to process the mess inside her thoughts. But what was more important was Hayoung. The older girl was ready to scold the younger girl but knowing her soft-side, she would instead comfort the younger girl at once.

Inside the car, there was a silence as Irene drove silently while her eyes wavered between the road and Chorong.

"It's going to be alright Chorong-ssi, whoever it is, I believe there is a reason to everything." said Irene, trying to comfort her uneasy same-aged friend.

"Thanks Irene-ssi, you're already doing so much as to driving me there. I will repay you one day." said Chorong with a smile.

"No, no, don't do that. This is just a simple act of kindness. After all, my house is near the police station anyways."

"You're lying aren't you?" said Chorong with a chuckle. Her tone of talking resembled so much of Bomi in her eyes.

"W-Wait, how did you notice that?" said Irene as she stuttered in surprise.

"No, it's just that a friend of mine speaks just like you. It reminds me of her now, and I somehow miss her..." said Chorong as she looked out at the window, raindrops started to fall. 

~X~

At the Seoul Police Station, rain had arrived along with a shred of thunder hiding in the skies. It was already dark and past dinner, there was tense atmosphere inside the police office as three girls stood around restlessly. Bomi, Eunji and Naeun were not allowed inside the interrogation room within the office, the two maknaes were being questioned by the police officers over the incident that happened this afternoon.

"I shouldn't have taught Hayoung those taekwondo moves..." mumbled Bomi to herself, regretting her actions.

"Hey, this isn't your fault Bomi-ya. Whether you taught her or not, she would've still fought." said Eunji.

"Hayoung is lawfully wrong but she did the right thing of protecting Namjoo..." said Naeun quietly as she tried to process her thoughts. Everyone was worried of the consequences especially at the fact that Hayoung is still a college student. If the girl were to commit guilty to her violations, it will harm her future education.

"I told her so many times that violence is not the answer to everything..." sighed Eunji as she walked around restlessly.

"I see a car outside...I'm going to take a look." said Bomi as she noticed a light shining from the window, possibly a headlight. Opening the door where the wind greeted her, she took an umbrella and squinted her eyes to see who it was. It was a red car in the middle of the pouring rain where two girls could be seen.

At first glance, Bomi saw Chorong sitting inside as her eyes moved towards her left side only to see another girl inside. It was the same girl from before, who touched and clinged onto her loved one. Seeing that sight, broke her heart. Standing in the rain while holding the umbrella, Bomi froze. 

[END OF CHAPTER 34]

A/N: Oh no, looks like it's double trouble. What will happen to Bomi and the troubled maknae? Thank you for waiting, reading and subscribing! It took a while to update but it was worth it right? ;) I will try my best to update as fast as I can, thank you!