"Irene! Where the hell have you been?" 

A loud voice welcomed me after I take off from Krystal's car. Jennie was so surprised to see me. 

I stayed at Seulgi's house for straight three days because of my injury. She begged me to go to the hospital but I resisted it. First, it's a pain in the , and second, I don't want to bother her. What she did to me these past few days after we settled was already a big favor and help for me. 

"Joohyun?" Seulgi called.

I automatically shifted my head back to the car, where she was still seated. "What?"

She get out from the car, carrying the crutches, my crutches. "Use this," she demanded. Before I get one of those, she already assisting me by putting my arms above it. "Careful, bunny," she reminded, whispered. But enough for me to hear everything. The word bunny made me smile.

"What the hell happened to you!?" Jennie's tone only told me to give her an answer. 

"Chill, Jenjen." Seulgi interrupted with hands on her sides. "I will explain to you everything later. Joohyun need some peace." 

"No!" Someone from our side shouted. We turned our heads, only to see Jisoo carrying big paper bags, full of props. She throw the bags to the floor and run towards me. She wrapped me into her arms tightly. "Where the hell have you been, Miss?" She said. "You didn't answer my calls and texts last week. What happened? What are you guys been up to?" She looked at Seulgi and Krystal, asking for some answers using her eyes. 

But both of them just looked at each other and shrugged at the same time. 

"How did you get this?" Jisoo pointed her finger to my right injured leg, which was covered with medical cloth.

"I fell." I said. 

Jisoo's eyes widened because of my information. "No way," 

"Yes way and look, I got these." 

"You are not some dumb friend of mine to just easily fell from I-don't-know-where." She said. Her eyes are telling me that she is not convinced and I need to find a better excuse. "What did you do?" Her eyes were on Seulgi's now.

Seulgi's eyebrows raised for inquiry. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Seulgi questioned Jisoo. 

"I can sense that you know the whole story, what happened?" Jisoo asked. 

"Woah woah woah," Seulgi put her hands in front of her. "Me, really?" Pointing fingers to herself.

"Yeah," Jisoo answered like she's pretty sure about it. 

Jisoo and I might not be sisters bioligically, but she's very protective like a real one. She always acted like my real older sister, that will and always protect me, who she treated like her younger sister. 

"Jisoo, what Irene told you was the truth." Seulgi informed, still trying to convince Jisoo. 

Before we left her home, we had a short meeting that whoever will ask about what happened, we will not tell them what truly happened. First, it is a long story to explain and second, Seulgi wanted to protect their lives. What happened to us was enough warning to not get involve the others. She promised me that she will finish everything about those girls. 

But one day, I will still ask her who are those people. 

"It's true," I said while putting my hand to Jisoo's shoulder. "I fell from the stairs and fortunately, Seulgi saw me and helped me." 

Seulgi nodded while I'm talking.

"Fortunately," Jisoo frowned. Perhaps, she's still not convinced about it. "Which stairs? Where?" She asked. 

"Oh my God," Seulgi muttered. At this moment, she already know that Jisoo will never stop interrogating her until she will speak the truth. So, she decided to enter the school gate instead. "I'll go first." She said. 

It was my cue also to walked away from them and entered the gate instead. 

I wanted to follow Seulgi but our deal last night suddenly flashed on my mind. 

We will never act as girlfriends in the public, with my friends and in school. I proposed. 

Though, she never agreed to it at first, but in the end I still convinced her.

Krystal ran to follow Seulgi, only to be stop when Ms. Ahn, I mean Hani, stood on their way. 

"Irene," she greeted, smile on her face. I stopped beside Seulgi, who is already in front of her. 

Seulgi put her arm around Krystal, who was frozen to her position. 

"Hani," I greeted back. 

Seulgi turned her head to me. Making those faces that maybe, just maybe, only both of us can read. She is asking me how the hell I'm calling her by her first name, if we are close. 

Those three days stay I have had in Seulgi's house in Louisville, helped us to understand each other. Like in talking, we can understand each other just by looking at our eyes, like a twin thing. 

I shook my head. 

"We had a coffee together, Seulgi." Hani interrupted. She seemed to understand my gestures. "We're close." She lied. 

"Just acquaintance," I interrupted to make it top over Hani's lie. 

Seulgi rolled her eyes to Hani and pulled Krystal to her. She looked at me, with a beam from ear to ear, telling me she's fine. "I guess, I'll see you later." She whispered while tapping my back to say goodbye. 

"Sorry." I whispered too. "Later. See you." 

"Bye,"

"Bye,"

"Later, Seulgi!" Hani shouted to remind Seulgi about their practice. Seulgi didn't answer nor looking back in our direction. They turned to another hallway, made her presence gone from my vision.

I was about to walk away when Jennie suddenly spoke from my back. 

"What?" I said. 

"You're uncle was here." She informed. Jisoo followed her and they both stopped beside me. 

"FYI, he is still here." Jisoo clarified. 

"Again?" I said. 

"Yeah," they both said in unison. 

*********

*** PRESIDENT'S OFFICE *** 

I closed the door from the president's office after the guests left me with my uncle, just the two of us.

"What are you doing here again?" I asked, trying to maintain a low voice.

"What happened to your leg, Joohyun?" He said while sitting to the opposite side of mine. 

"None of your business." 

"What a confidence you have there, little girl." He said with a smirk. Laughing silently, sarcastically, because he can't believe that I talked back. "It's been a month, Joohyun. I wanted to hear your answer from my proposal personally."

Exactly one month ago, when Siwon became a student in our school, my uncle gave me a ridiculous proposal. He enrolled Siwon here at school, hoping that it could help us to get closer, know each other more.

"I don't want to marry him..."

He gave me his usual angry expression that always make my stomach rumbled. He sighed heavily. 

"Samchon," I continued. 

"Let me tell you a story, Joohyun." 

"I don't want your stories." 

"Are you seeing someone?" 

The latter sentence made me paused, made me frozen. One bad move from me, all of my friends will be in danger, most especially Seulgi. 

"No, I don't." I lied.

He nodded. "Let me tell you a story then." He said.

I remained silent, knowing I don't have a choice but to listen to whatever he's going to share. He crossed his leg. "There was a man with the smartest brain. He became a businessman when he grew up because of the way he works with money. He build businesses that can make him rich fast." 

"Illegal businesses," I muttered.

"Shhh," he cut me off. "Don't talk when I'm talking." He cleared his throat. "He became the richest businessman in a short spun of time. One day, he agreed to have a partnership with the Choi's, which is the second richest family in the US. They became partners with everything. Little did he know, the Choi's are slowly overtaking the businessman's position to his very own companies. The businessman became sad and lonely, and he realized that the only things in his life that he truly have, are the Sta. Maria University... and his daughter." 

I gulped. "What do you mean by this?" I said silently. I have a very bad idea where this conversation is going.

He leaned closer to me. "You have to marry Siwon, Joohyun. So, I can have my life back." 

"Your life back or your damn businesses!?" I can't help but raised my voice because of anger. "Never in my entire life I planned to marry that man!" I couldn't help myself but to stood up after I heard what he said. I brushed my hair using my hands hastily. "Why are you doing this to me, Dad? Why you always make my life miserable!? Why are so concerned about your damn illegal businesses and never worried once about your daughter?" I turned to see his face. 

"You don't have the rights to raised your voice and talked to me like that!" He raised his voice.

"I am your very own daughter." I pointed my fingers to my chest. "From your blood and tears. I admitted, I don't love you since the beginning but you're still my father and I have no choice but to live up with your name! And ever since you covered up as my uncle, I never once skip a day in praying that one day, when I wake up, I will live a normal life with you, you as a better person with no illegal businesses attached." I felt the tears from my eyes are about to fall.

"Joohyun. I have no choice but to let you marry him. And besides, you two were in relationship before. Why did you change your mind?" He said, still trying his best to persuade me. "You two look good together anyway."

"Yes, we were in a relationship for a year, but those were the days I wanted to erase too."

He didn't answer. He just stare at me. 

"Dad, listen to me. You have no idea wh---" My heart beats faster than I expected. I inhaled heavily, collecting the broken pieces of myself before speaking again. 

My past with Siwon, my darkest past, suddenly flashed to my mind and that made me having a hard time in breathing. I thought, I already moved on from him but he is still giving me an effect, worst effect. My stomach rumbled all of a sudden. I felt my knees are starting shaking. And I want to cover the body that I was traumatized. 

I exhaled. "You don't have any idea what that man did to me before. But listen to me Dad, why do you think, Mom left you?" 

He just looked at me. 

"Because you were so full of yourself, thinking only about businesses and yourself. You never think about her since you build that bull illegal business of yours!" I raised my voice again, challenging him. "That illegal underground battle court you have? Do you think it will last? No! Because anytime sooner, I will tell the police about it." 

"You will never do that!!" 

"Why wouldn't I?" I felt the heat of madness in my cheeks. "That court of yours lose a hundreds of lives but what did you do? Sitting here comfortably, like there wasn't wrong with that!" 

"They signup themselves! They agreed to fought the battles. They should have an idea that things are going that way eventually!"

"You must be thankful that I didn't go to the police and tell them everything!" 

"And why wouldn't you?" He asked. 

I paused. He didn't know. He doesn't have a single idea that the only reason I'm holding was the hope that he might still change.

I wanted to call him Dad in front of my friends and in the public, but he was too afraid that his enemies will recognize him. He said, he could die if I do that. So, he hired a stranger to act as my dad. So, he can act as my innocent uncle, who was dead many years ago. 

"Dad, let's stop this," I said silently. I already lose some of my energy. I also lost my appetite. I don't want to argue anymore. 

"Marry Siwon, Bae Joohyun." He plead again.

When he said my fullname, that was my cue that he is completely serious about his ridiculous plan. 

I turned to face him. "I already told you, I cannot!" 

"Are you seeing someone?"

"I-i..." I couldn't finish my sentence when I felt my internal organs were malfunctioning. 

"If you're seeing someone out of my choice, you already know what will happen to him, Joohyun." 

The day I saw that he shoot two men in the heads because they betrayed him, suddenly flashed to my mind. I suddenly pictured out Seulgi kneeled in front of my father, begging to spare her life but he shoot her in the head instead.

I shut my eyes and shook my head to set the bad images in my mind away. 

"I don't," I lied. Of course, I need to lie, for the sake of Seulgi. I don't want her to get involved with this. Knowing that my father is a very brutal man, in the name of business

"Then I don't see any problems for you to marry Siwon." He said. He fixed his tuxedo and get his leather bag from the table. He put his hand to my shoulder. "We will have a dinner with Siwon's family next week friday. Be ready." He whispered and tapped my back once before he left the office. 

When I heard the door closed, I immediately fell on my knees to the ground. Suddenly, warm water keep on falling  from my eyes. 

I heard the door opened again. 

"Irene!" Jisoo rushed towards me from the door. "What happened? Are you okay?" She asked. "Irene, say something!" There was worry on her tone.

"Seulgi," I whispered to myself while fishing out my phone from my pocket. I badly need her comfort at this very moment. 

I was about to call Seulgi but I remembered what my father said earlier. 

If you're seeing someone out of my choice, you already know what will happen to him, Joohyun.

That made me burst out crying. I hug my phone and pressed my lips together, preventing the noise that attempted to get out from my mouth. 

"Irene?" Jisoo said again. 

"Jisoo..." I hugged her tightly and she brushed her hands to my back. 

"What's the problem?" 

I wanted to do something that I wanted but I can't. 

"Seulgi," I whispered, realizing that things are about to get harder than it already was. 

*********

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
If you have questions, feel free to ask!