"Nayeon's surgery is over, she's sent to the ICU." Jaebum ended the call and turned to Jihyo, momentarily forgetting about the others.

Realising that he was only talking to Jihyo, Jaebum paused for a short second before he turned to face the others.

"Nayeon’s surgery is over.” Jaebum repeated to the rest.  “And it's understandable if you want to just leave now. Once everything and everyone is more calm, we will continue this talk."

He stopped in his tracks after a few steps before he turned back again, focusing on Sana and Minhyuk.

"I will get Mark to talk to you two once he's calm. Just not now."

He gave the rest of them a small sad smile and a gentle nod before heading out of the room, with Jihyo tagging along behind after doing the same.

The remaining five people in the room watched the back of Jaebum and Jihyo stepping out of the room in a hurry. For a short moment, no one said anything.

Minhyuk was the first to react, brushing his hair back in frustration as he kicked the bottom of the couch.

Sana and Momo shared a quick eye contact.

Jackson remained seated on the couch as he buried his face against his hands, still finding the whole situation a little too much.

"I'm going." Yugyeom decided before he turned to the others. "I don't know about you guys but I'm going."

With those words, Yugyeom was the next one to leave the room.

Jackson who was torn between the close friendships he had with the boys and his morals finally looked up at the standing three.

"Are you guys going?"

"Well..." Momo started, a little hesitantly and carefully. "She did save you, Sana..."

Sana didn't say anything, knowing that it's true. No matter how mad and upset she was at that moment, the truth is that Nayeon saved her. She's standing here because of her.

"Let's go." That was Sana's calm yet cold reply.

"Wait," Minhyuk stopped the girls in their tracks. "I'm coming too."

Jackson watched the three of them and eventually stood up, joining them as they walked out of the room. After all, during their shining days, they were all family.

When they've reached the private Intensive Care Unit room, they weren't expecting the scene that would unfold in front of them. Jeongyeon was seated on the bench outside the room with Jinyoung by her side, his arms still around her shoulders. Her eyes red yet dry as she stared at Mark in front of her; the hatred and anger in her eyes gone.

The man was sitting against the wall, only stretching a leg out as his arm stay rested on his other knee. His head was leaned up slightly as he kept his eyes close. Bambam was sitting beside him, occasionally meeting the gaze of Jinyoung and Jaebum who arrived earlier, unable to do anything.

Mark wasn't responding to any of them at all.

"Oi." Surprisingly, Jeongyeon was the one who first reached out to him... with her foot. She kicked his stretched out leg gently again when he made no response. "Yah, Mark Tuan."

Still, the man made no response.

"Are you going to continue staying like this?" Jeongyeon kicked him again, this time with a little more force. "You're the one who was yelling for Nayeon's whereabouts earlier. She's here now, just sleeping. Can you not act like a wimp?"

This time, Jeongyeon's words got a little more harsh however no one else stopped her, not even Jinyoung. Even if Mark flare up, it's still better than him not reacting to anything. Ever since Nayeon was sent her from the surgical room, Mark had been sitting in that position after taking a quick glance at the unconscious Nayeon from the huge glass window from the outside.

Her heartbeat was stable, however she showed no sign of waking up. The fact that none of them was allowed to go in the room made things a lot worse.

"Say something." Jeongyeon's voice actually got a lot gentler this time as she stood up from the bench, stepping forward to Mark as she looked down at him. "If you're scared, show it. Don't keep it inside. All of us here had seen you cry in front of us, you don't have to be embarrassed."

Minhyuk, Sana, Jackson and Momo were standing behind the group, watching the scene unfolding. They wouldn't admit it but at that moment, they were just outsiders. Yugyeom was standing by the side, unaware of the new presence behind him. However, he too understood that the current situation was a situation that only the other five could be involved.

Only they could make Mark talk.

"Nayeon..." Jeongyeon's voice got even softer and everyone else could hear the deep breath she took in. "She will be okay. When she wakes up, she will need you."

Mark's fist turned into a small ball at Jeongyeon's words.

"When she's awake, you've got to be strong. So now, be weak. It's the only time I'm allowing you to be weak." Jeongyeon continued.

There was a loud hitch of breath from Mark and everyone present thought that it could be their imagination. However it was proven wrong when Mark broke down into tears. Bambam had shifted himself closer to him and while everyone watched, Jeongyeon squatted down and hugged the crying man almost as if she's soothing a young child as her own tears fall silently. Jihyo stepped forward and gave Jeongyeon a hug from the side, her tears finally dropped for the first time that night. Jaebum and Jinyoung shared a glance and stepped up to them too, giving both girls gentle pats on their heads.

It was a moment that none of the other five could interrupt and Yugyeom was the only one who seemed unbothered by it.

However for the rest, especially Minhyuk and Sana, all's that left for them was the feeling of humiliation.

None of them had ever witnessed anything that emotional from the six of them. They knew there's a special bond between the 2010 trainee batch, including Day6's Sungjin, Younghyun and Wonpil. But none of them among their own groups had witnessed anything like this.

They've seen their banters and their joking around. They've seen the subtle supports they gave each other during tough times even if it went unnoticed by fans. They've witnessed the group lunches or dinners during their trainee days. They've all witnessed each of them breaking down in their own groups.

But they've never once seen them giving emotional support to each other in such a way. It was almost like the interactions they've seen up till now was just the tip of an iceberg.

"Had they always been like this..." Momo muttered and for some reason, tears formed in her eyes.

"I've never seen it but during GOT7 days, there was something about them that we won't understand. They are close to us. Mark took care of me a lot but." Yugyeom shook his head. "Ah, I don't know how to explain."

"I've seen enough." Minhyuk sighed, closing his eyes as if to calm himself. "Update me about Nayeon's condition, Yugyeom."

Despite his anger, Nayeon's safety was still a priority to him.

"Let's go too, Momo." Sana muttered weakly, forcing a small smile on her lips and Momo simply nodded before they both left the scene too.

"What about you, hyung?" Yugyeom asked Jackson who simply sighed. "I'm staying."

"Don't you feel like you're an outsider now?" Jackson asked, the disappointment obvious in his tone.

"No. Because they're still a part of us; people who cherish us. Just in a different way. Mark hyung honestly really thinks of you as his best friend."

Jackson sighed again.

"I will go for now, update me okay?"

Yugyeom nodded before heading to sit on the bench. The group had dispersed. Mark stayed on the floor with Bambam. Jeongyeon and Jihyo have shifted onto the bench too. As for Jaebum and Jinyoung, they've gone to sit by the youngest, one on each side.

"Thank you." Jaebum was the one who said that. "Thank you for understanding their story."

Yugyeom said nothing and only smiled.

---

Thankfully, Nayeon got through that night and after a week, she finally woke up. For that one week, Mark was almost there 24/7, it was hard to talk him into getting proper rest at home. It was almost to a point where Jaebum was considering knocking him out as an option.

But he did went home a few times eventually, mostly to just take a quick shower and to have a quick nap. Other than that, Mark's life was pretty much spent in the hospital that whole week. Bambam had to be there during his cafe branch's opening instead and thankfully, the cafe manager was capable enough to handle everything.

Despite the tension Jeongyeon had with Mark on that night, she had been the one forcing Mark to eat something. Sometimes, she had to result to force feeding him. That worked most of the time since it annoyed Mark.

When Nayeon had woken up, almost everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed to the hospital. Jeongyeon had secretly thanked God for not letting it be a filming day.

"How are you feeling, noona?" Bambam stood behind Mark who's seated down by the bed; Nayeon's hand tightly clasped in his both hands.

"Like ." The woman who remained lying down, her face still pale and with a bandage on her head gave him a weak smile. "What happened anyway? The last thing I remembered was the bright light."

Jeongyeon who was sitting right beside Mark gave a brief and quick explanation, purposely leaving out the loss of her baby in her explanation.

"Judging by how Mark's here beside me..." Nayeon paused for a short moment, her voice then got softer as she spoke up again. "They've found out?"

"It's hard not to with all the commotions." Jinyoung smiled after that, assuring the younger girl. "But we have it under control, don't worry. Just focus on getting well first."

"Did the media-"

"No, I managed to stop it." Jaebum was the one who spoke up this time, his voice firmed. "Your manager helped too and I must say, you've found a good manager. She's most worried about your well-being. So rest."

"Stop thinking so much and just rest now." Mark stopped Nayeon from asking a question again. "Close your eyes and rest."

Now that Nayeon's awake, the time Mark spent in the hospital increased. Bambam had to start bringing him fresh clothes for him to change. Most of them had given up persuading him to go home; the fortunate thing was that he didn't need someone to force feed him anymore.

Minhyuk had not once visited her even though Jihyo had updated him that Nayeon's awake.

Neither did Sana or any of the other girls.

Yugyeom had come to visit her a few times which warmed Nayeon's heart. When she thanked him, Yugyeom managed to put on his cheeky smile and thanked her for taking care of him since many years ago.

"I've already seen you as my real noona. Just like how I've regard Mark hyung as my real older brother."

That was what he had told her.

Another week passed and Nayeon was getting a lot better. She's able to sit up with the help of the others and the bed even though her wound would hurt some time.

She had also learnt about the loss of her baby, which made her cry the moment Jihyo was done explaining it in details. She had always wanted a child of their own and now that they did, she lost it. The others could have kept the knowledge from her however, Mark thought that she deserved to know.

After all, it's their baby.

After getting the news of what had happened, Sungjin had also came down to visit her along with Younghyun and Wonpil. And to none of their surprise, Mark was beside her.

"Hey you two." Younghyun waved, catching their attention, which he then focused on Nayeon. "How are you feeling?"

"Great." That was the first word that came from Nayeon but she corrected herself right after. "At least a lot better than before."

The three males smiled, it's nice to see her cheerful again despite what had happened.

"I'm sorry about your baby tho..." Sungjin started which caused Nayeon's face to fall a little. Seeing that, Mark threw a small glare at him and knowing that he'd said the wrong thing, Sungjin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"It's okay, Nayeon." Mark came to his rescue, giving the woman a small assuring smile as he brushed his thumb against her cheek gently. "You want a soccer team? We will have them after you're better."

"Are you guys planning your family in front of a newly wedded guy?" Wonpil joked, pointing at the smiling Younghyun who simply gave a playful shrug.

"We will give you good news soon."

A gentle knock on the door interrupted the lighthearted conversation and almost immediately, an awkward silence filled the air.

It was Sana who had a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She never smiled like how the other visitors did when they stepped in.

"Hey Sana." Nayeon greeted first, her voice quiet.

The three other boys shared a glance together before Sungjin voiced out.

"We will go for now-"

"No, you guys stay and accompany Nayeon." Mark stood up from his seat, his gaze falling on Sana's. "I will go."

He then turned his attention back to Nayeon who held his hand.

"Let me do this. She deserves an apology." Mark whispered, patting Nayeon's hand gently before he leant down to plant a soft kiss on her head.

Sana watched the interactions of the two of them as her heart wrenched. She smiled a little when she caught the gaze of the three males who in return, gave her a smile.

However, she also noticed a slight pity in their eyes.

"Let's go?" Mark's voice was gentle but she knew it was a different gentleness as compared to him talking to Nayeon. She also realised that he had never once sounded that way throughout their whole dating period.

Sana followed closely behind before the arrived at the small cafeteria of the hospital. Since it was still morning, there weren't many people.

After buying a drink for the both of them, Mark sat down in front of Sana.

"I'm sorry."

Sana scoffed at the apology Mark gave her. She had expected an apology but it actually pissed her off a little.

"I know an apology means nothing to the pain and betrayed feeling you're feeling now. But it's the only thing I can give you now."

"I'm glad you know." She interrupted his speech which made Mark speechless for a while. "But yes, continue."

She added at the end, knowing that the man sitting in front of her still had a lot to say.

"I honestly thought I had moved on." Mark started sincerely. "However I didn't realised the impact she had on me until we met again. It's been seven years since our break up but I still hadn't moved on. I'm sorry for keeping our past a secret and I'm sorry for letting you find out in this manner."

"Now I understand why you've never told me you love me." Sana started, tears forming in her eyes again. However, she looked away briefly, blinking them off. "I've thought that because you're not an expressive guy but no. It was just simply because you've never loved me."

Mark kept silent.

"And can you believe that this apology and explanation are the longest things you've ever said to me." Sana continued.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be." Sana scoffed, taking in a deep breath first before she continued. "Let's end this."

She stood up right after, grabbing her small bag.

"I will pray for Nayeon's recovery. She saved me after all." She said firmly, brushing her tears away harshly with her hand. There was a short pause before she continued. "But I will never forgive the both of you. All of you."

With that said, Sana walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Mark alone and her drink untouched.

It didn't take long for the break up of Mark and Sana to reach the headlines in the Entertainment section. Sana was probably the one who requested for the company to release the news. Nayeon was finally discharged from the hospital and she had been resting at home. Her manager had made sure that the media didn't manage to get the news of Nayeon getting into an accident.

Due to all the privacy laws and all, paparazzis weren't as powerful as years ago.

Mark had also personally went to talk to Minhyuk which earned him a punch on his face, something he knew that he deserved it. Similar to the conversation he had with Sana, Minhyuk had told him that he no longer wanted to see the both of them and that he would never forgive them.

After all, what they had done was really something unforgivable.

---

The sudden drop in activities of Nayeon soon became the talk in the country. Initially, not many noticed and had just treated it as a hiatus. But slowly, fans realised that there weren't any social media activity for the next two months, which was what finally caught their attention.

Speculations were spread about the popular soloist's disappearance. Fellow artistes had also started asking the still active Jeongyeon about her best friend. However, all they received from Jeongyeon was a smile and a shrug.

The Japanese unit had also received similar questions. It made them uncomfortable but being professional, they had all said that they didn't know anything either.

Which wasn't a lie.

Minhyuk had refused to answer any question too, which the people started suspecting that the engaged couple had broken up.

Even the legendary JJ Project was questioned with the same question in some of their interviews especially since they recently just made their comeback. But Jinyoung would always handle the situation smoothly and bring the topic back onto their comeback.

Finally, it didn't take JYPE long to finally release an official statement.

"Soloist Nayeon had officially broken the contract with JYPE!"

"The break up between Nayeon and ex BTOB member, Minhyuk. Reason for her sudden retirement?"

"One of Korea's hottest soloist, Im Nayeon's sudden announcement of retiring."

"JYPE's representative: It's really sudden but we respect her decision."

Those were the headlines on the entertainment news site for a while. JYPE had managed to protect her privacy, releasing no more details than that.

Of course, there were both supportive and negative comments. Most of her fans were supportive, stating that as long as she's happy. However, some netizens had also said that she's irresponsible, almost as if the haters were waiting for chances like this to bash her.

"Stop reading the comments." Mark took her phone away from her hands. "You know how netizens are like."

Nayeon sighed softly, her shoulders dropping as a small pout formed on her lips.

"And stop pouting like that, you're not young anymore." Mark joked, walking up to her after he placed all the luggage by the wall of the dining area of Nayeon's place.

"Quiet." Nayeon shushed her boyfriend, her eyes narrowing. "I still look young and that's the only thing that matters"

Mark only chuckled at her words, taking a seat on the couch beside her which she then placed her legs down on the floor again to make space for him.

"You do know that once we leave this place, you will have no chance to regret." Mark pulled Nayeon gently into his embrace, one that she gladly returned with her arms wrapped around his waist.

"I know."

"And you're okay with it? I mean, it is your dream after all—"

"Yah ahjusshi." Nayeon pulled away from the quick hug and looked up at him. She continued before he could protest against the term she had just used on him. "How many times do I have to say that I want this?"

"Yes twenty one ago, this dream was the biggest dream. The dream to be on a big stage, performing in front of the big audiences. That was my dream and for the past fifteen years, I had fulfilled it. Now," She paused for a short moment and gave the man a cheeky smile. "My dream is you and the soccer team you've promised."

Mark let out a soft amused chuckle before leaning in to plant a soft lingering kiss on her lips.

"But this is a serious question." Mark looked at Nayeon after pulling away. "Do you seriously want a soccer team?"

"You promised!"

"I didn't know you would take it so seriously!"

"Are you trying to break a promise?"

Mark opened his mouth, wanting to argue back but the sound of the doorbell stopped him. Nayeon stood up from the couch and opened the door. Standing in front of her were the closest friends of hers and Mark.

"You could have opened the door yourself." Nayeon stepped aside, allowing everyone to walk in.

"I wouldn't want to walk into both of you making out or something." Jeongyeon scoffed and Nayeon rolled her eyes at her comment.

"How's your packing?" Jaebum sat down beside Mark. "Your flight's tomorrow right?"

Both of them nodded in reply.

"How's the legendary JJ project's comeback?" Nayeon closed the door and sat down on the floor between Jeongyeon and Jinyoung.

"Did you not monitor our performances?" Jinyoung gasped dramatically. "How could you be this ungrateful?"

Nayeon smacked his arm in response.

That night was the final night Mark and Nayeon would spend in Korea. They had both visited Nayeon's parents a few days ago and even though the two elderly was a little reluctant to send their daughter away, they also knew that she would be happy.

On that final night, they had decided to have one last gathering with the others. Everyone else had their own schedules in the day but all of them made sure to keep their night free for this.

And even though it's already midnight but they had put away all their tiredness.

"I wasn't expecting to get invited." Yugyeom smiled sheepishly. "Thank you."

Everyone laughed when Sungjin messed up the hair of the taller male which Yugyeom couldn't protest because of the Korea hierarchy.

"Stop treating me like a little boy. I'm a proper man now!"

"Always a baby in our eyes tho." Jeongyeon answered before she turned to Bambam. "This one too."

"This one?" Bambam stared at Jeongyeon, looking a little offended which everyone knew wasn't serious. "You make me sound like I'm a thing!"

The start of the night was filled with laughter and jokes. But when it reached the later part of the night, the fact that they wouldn't be seeing those two as often as now started sinking in.

Especially for Jeongyeon, who's been seeing Nayeon every day.

"This house would be a lot quieter now." Jeongyeon started, putting down her empty beer can down on the floor. "I will miss your loud voice, Nayeon."

Nayeon smiled, understanding Jeongyeon's reluctance of sending her all the way to LA.

"What about Mark?" Jaebum teased slightly but that actually intrigued everyone else.

"Not him." Jeongyeon scoffed on purpose but changed her statement soon after that. "Okay, I lied. I will miss him too, just a teeny weeny bit."

"Say thank you, Mark. She finally forgave you." Jinyoung mocked, which caused the female to throw her empty beer, can at his direction.

"We will miss you too and I will be watching all of your dramas and performances." Nayeon picked Jeongyeon's hand up into her own then took a side glance at Jinyoung. "So someone should stop saying I'm ungrateful."

That brought soft chuckles to the group.

"And Jihyo ah." Nayeon continued. "You're pregnant with your first child, do be careful. You too, Younghyun oppa, take care of your wife well. I call dibs on being their godmother!"

"You want a soccer team and now, you have two godsons or daughters. Nayeon ah, we will go broke like this."

"You shush, your cafes are doing well."

The couple's banters lifted the mood slightly but not soon after, it got a little sappier because Jihyo had started crying and even though she had claim that it's the hormones, it resulted to the other two girls crying along.

The men could only watch them, not wanting to disturb the moment. The three of them had stayed together since their trainee days; it was definitely hard for them to be living on two sides of the world.

However, when the girls showed no sign of stopping, the men started feeling awkward.

"Should we uh," Mark started hesitantly, looking at Bambam for help but what could the younger one do? "Should we cancel the flight—"

"No!" All three girls exclaimed at the same time.

The men sighed and shook their head. Women, alcohol and crying were never a good combination.

Despite the fact that everyone would have to start their day early, they had all stayed up until the next morning. It was a night filled with laughing, memories and yes, crying. Wonpil who was the other crybaby other than Mark, was one of those who cried too.

Eventually, the time for separation arrived.

"I'm sorry we couldn't send you off at the airport." Jaebum apologized before he stepped out of the door.

"It's not like we don't understand why." Mark smiled and patted on the former's shoulder. "We can't exactly have a group of celebrities, even retired ones all gathered at a place."

"I will visit!" Bambam who was at the back of the crowd outside, raised an arm and shouted. "Prepare a guest room for me!"

It took them another while of Nayeon not wanting to let Jihyo off, Jaebum's and Sungjin's nagging, Jinyoung's warning and some playing around before the group finally dispersed.

Leaving only Mark, Nayeon and Jeongyeon in the apartment.

"I have to get ready. And..." Jeongyeon muttered. "You two should leave soon too."

Nayeon said nothing and only stepped forward to pull her best friend into a tight hug, just like how Jeongyeon would always do to her when she's crying. No words were needed as the two of them shared a hug. They knew they would miss the other and they also knew that they would always be best friends.

And so... on that morning, Nayeon left Korea for LA with Mark by her side. 

-

' this is the official final chapter of this story. there would be an epilogue coming up soon however, it won't be long. i would really love to hear some thoughts of yours regarding the flow of this story. the feelings you had for the characters. were you in denial like jaebum? did you feel bad for anyone? were the friendship scenes too sappy? or are the characters too ooc?

or you can actually leave them till the epilogue's out. this is by far the only story i have that have long chapters which i hope you guys enjoyed. and the only story that contains mature scenes even though it's not a lot. i hope you guys will look forward to the epilogue too!