ROSE ACADEMY (FOUR DAYS AFTER THE BALL)

7.15 AM

Hana and Minjoo walk hand in hand into the private lounge. Their eyes catching sight of the other F4 members with their respective partners, lost in their own world as they fail to notice the new additions present inside the room. Chaeyeon and Sakura was seated comfortably on the white sofa, talking with hushed tones, laughing in between sentences.

Their eyes travels towards another couple seated in front of the TV. Miru was seating sideways on Hyewon’s lap, her head tuck snugly into the crook of Hyewon’s neck as Hyewon plays Hitman on her console. Then of course, the cheesiest couple in the world with the least problems, Ahn Yujin and Jang Wonyoung were cuddling on the armchair – their smiles stretching across their lips, turning their eyes into crescents as they converse animatedly.

Only when Hana and Minjoo occupies the empty loveseat opposite Chaeyeon and Sakura do the others react accordingly. Their eyes projecting concern as news of the midsummers ball incidents spread throughout the school like wildfire and by the next day, everyone had heard of Chaeyeon and Sakura’s encounter with a crazy stalker.

The love rectangle between Minjoo, Hana, Chaewon and Eunbi which ended with Eunbi’s broken heart and two new couples forming. Up till now, Hana still doesn’t know how the incident between her and Eunbi got out but Hana supposed nothing was impossible in a school like theirs. In all honesty, she hasn’t seen Eunbi nor Chaewon since that night. They were just absent.

She feels Minjoo slipping her hand into Hana’s uninjured hand, intertwining them, giving it a few tight squeezes for support. Hana turns her head; her lips curl into a small smile as she leans her forehead against Minjoo’s – inching closer to rub their noses together affectionately before pulling away. The affection earns Hana a giggle and a quick peck to the cheek from her girlfriend. Hyewon and Miru moves from their place in front of the console to the sofa opposite the armchair as they join the others.

“How are we all doing?” Chaeyeon asks, opening the conversation and letting someone else have the floor.

“That’s a question we should be asking you, Chae. You were literally attacked by a psycho stalker,” Yujin pipes up, burying herself closer to Wonyoung, shivering at the thought. Wonyoung rubs her head gently cooing at her.

The F4 members share the same disgusted look – Ahn Yujin was truly a sight to behold.

“How are you feeling, Hana? I heard about what happened with Eunbi…” Sakura trails off, looking at Hana with slight sympathy.

Hana could feel Minjoo’s hand gripping hers tighter. Hana soothes her by whispering a few words before turning back to the others.

“Fine, I supposed. Plus, I’m pretty sure the whole school already knows. Gossip is a deity in this school,” Hana utters bitterly.

 She hated the fact that her privacy was aired out in the open but who could she blame?

“We can rid the school of it instantly. You know how – we all do,” Hyewon deadpans.

The F4 members exchange knowing looks. The cards.

“But it will be hard to give it out to the whole school, don’t you think?” Yujin questions with a raised brow.

“it’s a scare tactic. Once they hear that we’re giving red cards out, they’ll be scared into keeping their traps shut. Unless you have another idea,” Hyewon says, quirking her brow towards Yujin, challenging her with a blank stare.

Yujin narrows her eyes, ready to open to retort with an insult when Hana stops them both with a warning look. They back down, huffing as their partners try to cheer them up.

“Just leave it be,” Hana mutters, comfortably leaning her back against the couch. “It’ll die off in a couple weeks – a month max. Public sentiment has always been easy to control. Just throw them a new bone and they’ll move on from the old.”

“Hana’s right. Handing out red cards won’t do the rumors any good – it’ll even fuel them even more. Let’s just let it pass naturally,” Wonyoung reasons.

“You’re right, princess! We’ll do just that,” Yujin says, supporting Wonyoung’s words with an infatuated smile.

Hyewon snickers as Yujin throws her a sharp glare. Miru smacks Hyewon’s arm as Hyewon winces from the pain – she whines but immediately stops when Miru shoots her a pointed look.

Chaeyeon sighs tiredly as Sakura wraps an arm around her shoulder.

“I think we’ve all had a rough week. Let’s just settle down. No more fights and no more underhanded remarks especially from you, Hyewon.”

Yujin smirks victoriously unaware that Chaeyeon wasn’t done yet.

“—and Yujin, don’t antagonize Hyewon, you know better than to do that. You’re not five-year-old kids anymore and you’re not gonna start a fight that Hana and I will have to fix in the end. The last time you guys fought, we had to pay the interior designers to redecorate the whole room and extra to keep everything hush.”

Yujin flushes red as Wonyoung stares at her slack jawed. Minjoo turns to Hana who confirms it with a firm nod.

“So, can we please have some peace? Lord knows we all need it after everything’s that happened,” Chaeyeon says finally.

Yujin and Hyewon bows their head in guilt and chorusing an apology. Chaeyeon waves them off, dismissing their apology – she wasn’t actually angry, all she wants is for them to play nice. The bell rings at an opportune time as the four couples split up to get to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana decides to bring Minjoo out for a date to clear her thoughts. They stroll leisurely along the Han river with their hands loosely clasp together, enjoying their alone time together but Hana could tell there was something weighing down on Minjoo’s mind.

“Penny for your thoughts, pretty girl?”

Minjoo breaks out into a soft chuckle which lightens Hana’s heart as she beams happily while gazing fondly upon Minjoo.

“I can tell something is bothering you, Minjoo. Did something happen, love?” Hana asks worriedly.

Minjoo shakes her head sadly. It worries Hana further as she stops walking, bringing Minjoo’s steps to a halt as well. Hana then tugs Minjoo into her arms, wrapping her inside a tight embrace. Minjoo melts into the hug as she snakes her arms around Hana’s waist, leaving no space between them.

“I feel sorry,” Minjoo whispers.

Hana pulls back slightly, keeping her hands locked behind Minjoo’s back as she stares at Minjoo with a confused look. Minjoo lets a small sigh escape her lips.

“It’s just I just can’t stop thinking about what Eunbi sunbae said the other night. What if she was right? That I’m the cause of the two of you not working out. She knows more about you than I do and has known you longer than I have. I mean she’s better than me in all aspects – a brilliant student, a perfect student council president, beautiful and an all-rounder. Everything I’m not.” Minjoo averts Hana’s eyes, looking out at the river sorrowfully.

“Who says you’re not?”

Minjoo slowly turns her attention back towards Hana who stares at her with dewy eyes. Hana brings one hand up and gently brushes Minjoo’s hair away from her eyes – cupping her cheek, leaning down to plant a kiss to Minjoo’s forehead. Hana backs away, her eyes never leaving Minjoo’s.

“I don’t care about all that. I love you more than anything on this Earth. Nothing else matters more to me than you. To me, Eunbi will always remain as a friend and that wouldn’t have changed either ways. Sure, she knows a lot about me but that’s only because she’s been with me since we were kids. It doesn’t change the fact that I fell for you, Kim Minjoo. I only want you – only you,” Hana reassures.

Minjoo tears up as she smiles happily, her tears rolling down her cheeks. Hana is alarmed by Minjoo’s tears as she immediately fumbles out incoherent words.

“AreyouokayI’msorryIdidntmeantomakeyoucrypleasedont.”

Minjoo laughs despite the tears blurring her eyes. “I couldn’t understand a thing you just said, Hana.”

Hana calms down once she sees Minjoo laughing. She playfully flicks Minjoo’s forehead earning a whine from Minjoo.

“That’s what you get for worrying me, Kim Minjoo. Also, please don’t cry, okay? I’m supposed to keep you a happy little princess.”

Minjoo nods as Hana wipes Minjoo’s tears with the sleeves of her white dress shirt. The two of them continue their walk with their hearts growing lighter with each step – their arms link together in a loop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day, the happy couple are playfully bantering as they walk to class earning envy from students all around.

“Jung Hana!”

Hana stops in her tracks, wondering who would be so brazen to call her full name. She looks over her shoulder, her eyes widening at the sight of Kim Chaewon threading towards them. Hushed whispers accompany the appearance of the short haired secretary. Hana tenses up but Minjoo’s arm snaking round her waist comforts enough to release the tension buildup in her body.

“What do you want?” Hana questions Chaewon once the girl stops in front of them. 

Chaewon hesitates, something that she would never do in front of Hana. “Can we…talk?”

“I don’t think we have anything to talk about—”

 Minjoo clears with an ahem, cutting Hana off. Hana looks at Minjoo with her brows raised as Minjoo mouths, ‘Yes, you do’ and her head towards Chaewon.

“Fine,” Hana breathes out. “Let’s find somewhere more private. Minjoo, can you head to class alone?”

Minjoo nods, releasing Hana’s arm, shooting her a good luck smile as Chaewon and Hana head off to the rooftop. Hana distances herself from the short haired girl, choosing to look out to the field where a couple kids were playing football.

“Thanks for agreeing to talk to me,” Chaewon says after a moment of contemplation, breaking the awkward silence.

“You don’t have to thank me. Minjoo’s the one you should thank,” Hana replies without turning to face Chaewon.

“It seems I owe her an apology but first, I wanted to apologize to you – for everything I’ve done all these years. I know explaining will not help to lessen the mistakes I’ve made nor earn me your forgiveness but I just wanted you to know. I’ve always loved Eunbi since we were kids but her attention was always taken by you. You were the apple of her eye and I was okay with that – at first. I was fine staying in the background, watching and caring for her. Then, everything changed when—” Chaewon paused as Hana whirls around to look at Chaewon.

“—when I started to become selfish. I saw the way Eunbi treated you and you brushed it off so lightly like — like it meant nothing to you. You had everything I wanted but you never properly treated it and I resented you for it. You were always the better one – the girl who drew attention and got love in return and me,” Chaewon scoffs bitterly. 

 “—I got nothing but disappointment and heartache in return. So, I tried my hardest to win over you in terms of grades, achievements and fame but nothing was ever enough because you still got everything despite slacking. My resentment grew with each thing I lost and when Kim Minjoo came along, I was sure that I could finally rip something away from you – to let you know how it felt to be me. So, I did everything in my power to make sure that the girl would fall for me and for a while, I thought it worked but now I know that no matter what I did, it wouldn’t have matter because her heart was never mine to take.”

Chaewon’s eyes flicker towards Hana, tears welled up in her eyes as she adds, “I’m sorry.”

After listening to Chaewon, Hana could feel the guilt eating up at her conscience. She never thought about it that way and that was the problem – she didn’t think. She closes her eyes, heaving a heavy sigh as she looks away in shame. What right did she have to blame Chaewon? Or Eunbi? 

She created a monster out of both Chaewon and Eunbi because of her nonchalance and her lack of care for the people around her. She silently berates herself – everything happened because of her – she started this chain reaction whether knowingly or unknowingly, it’s hard to tell anymore.

“I’m sorry too,” Hana apologizes sincerely shocking Chaewon. “I was so absorbed with myself that I never took the time to understand anyone else. I blamed everyone for things that were mine to admit and in doing so, I made a monster out of you and Eunbi. I took things too lightly when I should have been more sensitive of my surroundings – I took Eunbi for granted when I knew she would have gone to hell and back for me. If it wasn’t for me, neither you nor Eunbi would have gotten hurt. I really am sorry, Chaewon.”

Chaewon doesn’t know how to feel. She’s waited years to hear Hana say that and now that she has, she doesn’t know how to respond. Chaewon chuckles, shaking her head.

“I’ve waited years to hear you apologize yet somehow, it doesn’t feel good at all. I thought I would have reacted differently but hearing you admit your faults just changes everything. I’ll accept it though – your apology, I mean. Also, don’t hate yourself too much. You didn’t create the monster in me – I did. You merely fed it and fueled its aggression.”

Hana snorts. “Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

Chaewon sneers in response. “Whatever floats your boat, Jung.”

Hana laughs genuinely as Chaewon’s lips curl up into a smile, laughing along with Hana. Their laughs reduce as Hana stares to the white clouds floating idlily in the sky-blue skies.

“How is Eunbi doing?” Hana asks.

Chaewon looks down at her shoes, kicking her feet out into the open air, replying. “I don’t know. I haven’t made any attempts to talk to her since that night when I confessed. You?”

“I haven’t seen her too. I figured it’ll take her some time to cool down and she wouldn’t want to see me anyways. You should try talking to her, Chaewon. I think you and her have been avoiding this talk for far too long,” Hana says.

“I know. I was planning to do it today but I had to talk to you first.”

“That’s good. I hope the both of you will come to a reasonable conclusion. When the time is right, I’ll go see her myself to apologize.”

The bell rings, resounding through the school’s compound. Hana turns to Chaewon, holding her hand out as Chaewon quirks a brow questioningly.

“Now that our problems are over, I hope we can be friends instead of enemies,” Hana smiles.

Chaewon chuckles as she takes Hana’s outstretched hand, shaking it firmly.

“I’d like that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura slides out of her car and struts through the rusty metal gates into SeonWu Psychiatry with her personal bodyguard following closely behind her. From afar, she spots an older male in his late 50s clad in a standard issued white medical coat, his ID badge clipped on his right pocket standing in front of the entrance to the hospital. She approaches the older male who bows deeply in her presence.

“Welcome, Ms Miyawaki! I have been expecting you,” the older male expresses with joy, stretching his hand out towards her.

Sakura takes a quick glance at his hand, choosing to ignore it as she drawls, “Pleasure is mine, director. Let’s not waste time, shall we?”

The older male – director of SeonWu Psychiatry drops his hand, laughing awkwardly. “Of course, yes. Please follow me.”

 He steps aside, allowing Sakura and her guard to walk ahead of him as he quietly joins her side. He ushers her through the main hallway.

“Firstly, on behalf of the hospital’s board and staff, we would like to thank you for your generous donations. It will help the hospital to provide more for the patients under our care.”

Sakura cares not for the other patients except one. She had her reasons for donating a large sum to this hospital. It was easier to control those greedy for funds and that was exactly what she needed to keep watch over her. The one she had transferred here. The one she plans to keep here until she sees fit to release.  

“How is the patient that I asked you to spend extra care upon?” Sakura questions as they passed the common room.

“Yes, as requested, we have her in solitary confinement under 24 hours surveillance. But—” the director pauses, unable to find the right words to say.

Sakura stops halfway, quirking her brow towards the director questioningly. “Why did you stop, director? Continue. But what?”

The director shrinks back under Sakura’s cold gaze as she stutters out, “S…She mentioned a name. Chaeyeon. Lee Chaeyeon.”

Sakura’s blood runs cold as she lets out a low growl, scaring the director who backs away from Sakura – terrified of the girl in front of him. 

“Bring me to her,” Sakura commands.

“I…I’m sorry, Ms Miyawaki but we have laws – rules and regulations that you have to fo—” his words are stuck in his throat when Sakura throws him a sharp glare, unable to continue what he was originally going to say.

“As long as I am this hospital’s largest benefactor, I am the law and I am not telling,” Sakura’s voice dropping down to a low threatening tone, “I’m ordering you to take me to her or I’ll find someone else who will. Then, you can kiss your job goodbye. Choose wisely, director.”

The director gulps down in fear, nodding hurriedly as he says, “Please come this way, Ms Miyawaki.”

Sakura allows the director to lead them to the solitary confinement wing. He swipes his ID badge over the security device as the doors open with an automated beep. Sakura steps through the doors as she arrives in another long, creepy hallway. Her heels clack noisily against the floors of the hallway as she notices a nurse station from her peripheral and nurses lazily walking about.

“This way, Ms Miyawaki.” The director’s voice brings her attention back upon him.

She trails behind the director as they reach their final destination. Confinement Cell 002. White electric doors stand between Sakura and the person she’s come to visit.                            

“How do you monitor her?” Sakura asks.

“We have a separate monitoring room. A one-way mirror separates the two sections. It’s this way,” the director says.

The director leads her further down the hallway, opening the door for Sakura as she steps into a dark room with a large window showcasing the inside of the solitary room. Her eyes capture the girl that brought her to this place. Go Yujin. The girl was sitting on the hospital bed and appears to be playing with a camera. She doesn’t remember authorizing that.

“Who gave you permission to hand her a camera?”

The director fumbles out his answer. “T…That is a fake camera, Ms Miyawaki. It’s a toy – there are no films inside whatsoever. Ms Go has what we refer to as psychosis – she’s basically hallucinating and she can’t tell what is real and what is imagined. The camera in her hands may be fake but she believes it to be real.”

Sakura returns her attention to the disillusioned girl. She finds it hard to believe that the girl really is mentally ill. There is only one way to verify that fact.

“I’d like to talk to her.”

The director goes slack jaw at Sakura’s request. “Ms Miyawaki, I’ll have to ask you to reconsider. Ms Go is extremely unstable and we cannot assure you that she won’t attempt to attack you.”

Sakura’s lips stretch into a bone-chilling smile. “Oh, I’m hoping she does.”

Sakura sidesteps, circling around the doctor as her guard open the door for her to exit. The director pales, his chest tightens and his heart weakens under the huge amount of stress given by the hospital’s new benefactor – truth be told he’s never met someone like her throughout his whole medical career. He sighs exasperatedly before walking out the door to meet Sakura, flashing a professional smile as he swipes his ID badge across the door.

“One last advice, Ms Miyawaki, please take extreme precaution especially towards her.”

Sakura nods knowingly as she walks into the room, hearing it close with a soft thud behind her. Yujin didn’t react to the sound of the door opening and closing as Sakura carefully threads across the room, her eyes watching Yujin for any sudden movements.

“Yujin?” Sakura tries calling.

The girl turns at the call of her name. She looks at Sakura with a dazed look, turning away to fiddle with the camera.

“Yujin?” Sakura calls once more.

“Who are you?” Yujin asks.

“You don’t remember? It’s Sakura, Miyawaki Sakura.”

Sakura notices the side of the girl’s mouth twitching when Sakura mentions her name. Sakura’s lips curl up into a devious smirk.

 Got ya.

Sakura plays along with the girl despite knowing that she’s faking it. It wasn’t fun to bust her so easily. She always did love to play games.

“You really don’t remember me, huh? That’s too bad. I was gonna bring you news of Chaeyeon – how she’s afraid to even see you. She doesn’t even want to hear your name from anyone. But it’s better if you forget. At least no one will come between us,” Sakura says, tempting the girl to react.

When Yujin’s head snaps toward her, shooting Sakura a glare – she knows that the bait’s been bitten. She resists the urge to laugh, it was so easy – so predictable.

“Don’t lie to me! Chaeyeon sunbae likes me! She wouldn’t do that to me! You’re LYING!!” Yujin yells angrily.

Sakura sneers. “Oh? Is that what you think? After your little stalkerish stunt, do you really think she’ll want anything to do with you? You’re lucky her parents haven’t pressed charges against you.”

Yujin falters, shaking her head. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I love her. She’s supposed to be mine.”

Sakura’s expression hardens as she says, “No. Chaeyeon is not yours. She belongs to no one. She’s not an object that you can own. She’s a person and if you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have tried to hurt her. But that’s the thing, isn’t it, Yujin? You don’t love Chaeyeon. You just wanted to own her because you saw the type of person she was. You thought she loved you despite that little mental condition of yours but you’re wrong. You made her fear you instead. That’s why I’m here.”

Yujin watches her cautiously, anticipating Sakura’s next words.

“I’m here to tell you that you won’t get to see Chaeyeon ever again and until you get your mind arranged, you won’t leave this place. I’ll personally make sure of that, Go Yujin.”

As Sakura is about to leave, she hears Yujin speak.

“You’re a monster, Miyawaki Sakura. They say I’m the one sick in the head but you – you’re the real psycho here.”

Sakura whirls around, flipping her hair dramatically, flashing Yujin an eerie smile.

“Then, fear me, Go Yujin.”

With those last words, Sakura turns and leaves the room, locking the door behind her. She hears the distinct sound of something being thrown, sniggering as she joins her bodyguard and the director.

“Keep up the good work, director. I hope not to see you often especially if you do your job right,” Sakura says, her words doubling the burden on the old director’s shoulders. “Don’t need to send me off. I’ll show myself out. Well, if you’ll excuse me.”

Sakura saunters out of the solitary confinement wing with her bodyguard as she makes her way out of the hospital. Once she reaches outside, she stops when she feels her phone vibrating. She pulls out her phone and sees that it’s Chaeyeon. She swipes left and answers the call.

Chaeyeon: Hey, Kura!

Sakura: Hi, baby!

Chaeyeon: If you’re not busy, let’s grab dinner together.

Chaeyeon: I tried to find you in school but they say you left early

Sakura: Yeah, I had some things to do outside but I’m free now, so let’s have dinner together

Chaeyeon: Great! I’ll meet you at xxx restaurant

Sakura: Alright, I’m on my way now. I’ll see you soon

Chaeyeon: Okiee! See you there! Love you

Sakura chuckles.

Sakura: I love you too, Chae

The call ends as Sakura takes one last look at the white building behind her. She frowns before sliding into the back seat as her bodyguard closes the rear door, jumping into the front passenger seat. She tells the driver to head to xxx restaurant. The car finally departs, leaving the compound. As she gets further from the hospital, she makes a mental promise to protect Chaeyeon and ensure no one will ever hurt Chaeyeon as long as she was around. If anyone attempts to, she’ll make sure they suffer under her hands.

She meets Chae at the restaurant and they enjoy dinner until Chae speaks up to ask.

“So, where did you go all afternoon?”

Sakura freezes, putting down her chopsticks, releasing a small sigh. Sakura didn’t want to lie to Chaeyeon – the girl deserves to know.

“I went to the hospital where Go Yujin is.”

Chaeyeon furrow her brows as she stops eating and puts down her utensils.

“Why were you there? How did you even find out where she was?” Chaeyeon questions seriously.

Sakura hesitates, contemplating her words – hoping that Chaeyeon wouldn’t hate her for this.

“I pulled some strings to have the judge send her to a mental institution of my choosing,” Sakura replies.

Chaeyeon gapes at the revelation, asking with a tone of disbelief.

“Why would you do that?”

Sakura slouches in the chair, staring at the dishes on the table instead of Chaeyeon. She found it hard to look at Chaeyeon. If she did, then she would see Chaeyeon’s disappointed face and it would make Sakura’s heart ache with guilt.

“I needed to make sure the girl didn’t escape and come after you so I did what I believed was necessary to keep her from doing so,” Sakura mutters lowly.

“I don’t want you to do anything to her. She may have tried to harm us but I don’t think she’s a bad person. She just acted out because of her unstable emotions and we can’t fault her for that,” Chaeyeon says.

Sakura nods with her head bowed.

“I know my boundaries. I won’t do anything to hurt the girl but I will take precaution to ensure that she doesn’t escape before getting treated. I’ll talk to the director about getting her the help she needs.”

Chae sighs in relief and says, “Okay, I believe you.”

Sakura finally holds her head up, reaching her hand out to hold Chaeyeon’s. She gazes fondly upon Chaeyeon who flashes a sweet smile.

“Thank you for believing me. I would never hurt another person unless they deserve it and I hope you know that everything I do is to protect you from harm,” Sakura utters softly.

 Chaeyeon nods, her smile didn’t fade as her eyes stays upon Sakura. Chaeyeon watches as Sakura brings her hand up to her lips, planting a soft kiss on it. Chaeyeon’s smile widens at the small gesture. They hold hands, continuing their dinner in peace.

Hi....I'm sorry for not updating this story for like 6 months. I'm not going to make much excuses for not updating so I hope you'll accept this chapter as an apology. I'm sorry if it isn't up to par, also, I haven't proofread so pls forgive any mistakes. Heh, bye for now, love author, H. P.S Pls do comment to let me know what u think of this chap. BYE!