Krystal couldn’t go back to sleep again. After Amber told her some stupid about the car’s alarm, she was left overanalyzing the situation. This can’t be right, she thought. She stood up and walked to the big window, looking at the city lights, because Amber was not by her side she started feeling cold and alone, I can’t be dependent, she shook her head.

After ten minutes, she looked through the window again, but this time she saw Victoria going crazy, looking for someone in the dark. She didn’t think it twice and ran to the parking lot, where she saw Amber was nowhere to be found.

“What the happened, Victoria?” The younger girl asked while regulating her breathing.

“They got her” The blonde girl said while looking for her phone in her bag.

“What do you mean they got her? She was here ten minutes ago” Krystal panicked.

“It was your father, he kidnapped her” Victoria said and dialed a familiar number.

“What are you waiting for??? We need to go get her” The ice-looking girl said as she started walking.

“We don’t even know where she’s been held…. I need to call Onew” The older girl said.

After the call, a black Buick regal picked the girls up. Onew was one of the security guards of Mr. Jung, he was assigned specially for him. They guy is very trustworthy and we always gets the job done but the only flaw Mr. Jung saw on him was that he is a very moral and ethical person.

🍂

Onew drove Mr. Jung to the mental hospital her daughter was staying in, it was the first Friday of the month and as the doctor and Jung agreed, they held the monthly update of her girl’s condition. They arrived to the haunted place and Onew walked side by side with Mr. Jung.

“Good morning, Mr. Jung” The doctor greeted and motioned Jung and Onew to sit down, the latter shook his head and stood behind his boss.

“What is it now, Park?” Mr. Jung asked, he was impatient.

“I beg you call me doctor, after all I’m a professional” He said, adjusting his glasses.

“It doesn’t seem like it. It’s been three years ‘doctor’ and she’s still here, she hasn’t healed” The cold-looking man said as he crossed his legs.

“She’s improving…. She’s quieter now and calmer. Although, we’re still struggling with her recurrent nightmares” The doctor said, taking out a piece of paper and reading it carefully. “She’s in solitary now, her roommates keep complaining every night about her shouting and rolling over” He added.

“Well snap her out of it” The boss said, shrugging his shoulders.

“It’s not that easy Mr. Jung. We’ve handled other women with sedatives and antidepressants, but your daughter is really bright most of the time she’s here… it’s as if she’s not even mentally unstable” The doctor commented, he was confused with Soojung’s behavior. Over his career as a doctor, he saw very disturbing things, and sometimes he triggered certain attitudes in his patients. But Soojung was different, he could slap the girl, burn her, spit on her, and the result would be the same; she did nothing.

“Well just give her a higher dose, she might be resilient to the dose you’re giving her everyday” The boss said and moved closer to the doctor’s desk. “I’ve heard you have a torture chamber here, is that true?” He asked, the way he stared at the doctor made the latter gulp.

“It is not a torture chamber, it’s a behavior corrector”

“Sure, whatever you call it. It’s illegal, but I’m no one to denounce you, in fact…” He came even closer. “Why don’t you correct my daughter’s behavior?” He asked. This man has serious problems with his daughter, the doctor thought as he shook his head to the other’s request.

“We can’t do that. The patient needs to have a reason to go there, otherwise how would they learn?” Park said. “If you own a puppy, would you smack it and kick it for now reason? You need to wait for the puppy to bite your shoes in order for you to correct its behavior, then it will learn” He finished.

“Did you just compare my daughter to a dog?” Mr. Jung chuckled in disbelief. This motherer, he thought.

“We’re not so far away from being animals, Mr. Jung” The other said while glaring at him.

Onew stood there in silence, hearing the requests form his boss and wondering how it was possible for him to be such a horrible father. He worked for him for nearly 10 years, saw the girls grow up and bided them goodbye when they decided to come to Korea. He didn’t understand how this person was capable of inflict this kind of pain to her daughter. Even worse, how was he so blind? The girl clearly needs a safe environment to improve, not this madhouse.

When the new guardian was assigned to the Jung sisters, Onew made sure to contact her everyday and to ask her how they were doing. After miss Soojung was admitted to the asylum, Onew spent even more time with Victoria while they were trying to figure out how to free her.

Mister Jung cleared his throat, bursting Onew’s bubble and motioned for them to leave. The way back to the car was dead silent, until Onew bravely spoke out.

“Why would you request that for your own daughter?” He sternly asked.

“Are you going to question me too? I thought that was only my wife’s job” The boss said and waited for Onew to open the car’s door for him but the latter didn’t.

“That’s not morally righteous” Onew said.

“I don’t care about morals, I don’t care about feelings. I’m a logical thinker, I need solutions and I need them now” Mr. Jung adverted.

“And what a better solution than electrocuting your own daughter, right?” The guard said, disgusted by his boss’s attitudes.

“You said it, she’s MY daughter. Mind your own business if you don’t want to get fired”

“I will get her out of that madhouse” Onew adverted, he looked straight at Mr. Jung’s eyes.

“Try it. Cross me and you’ll see what hell is like” The boss said, his voice was cold and projected no emotions, but Onew wasn’t having it.

“I’m not afraid of you” He assured.

“You better be. I own you” Jung said climbing on the car. “I own you and your entire family”

🍂

“It’s nice to see you again, Soojung” Onew greeted her.

“You too? How many people here is following me?” Krystal asked, annoyed.

“I’m Onew, I work for your father” He said, driving around Seoul.

“I never thought you were going to be the one picking us up…” Victoria said, she was sensing something was off, as Onew was supposed to never leave Mr. Jung’s side.

“I was downgraded, I’m a driver now” He bitterly said, smiling faintly.

“Onew… what’s going on?” The guardian asked and Krystal just sat there in silence.

“It’s been only a few days since Soojung escaped from the hospital, but he’s already raging and looking for her everywhere. He wants you back in the asylum as soon as possible” He said looking at Krystal through the rearview.

“Why?” She asked back.

“Because when the news started spreading, he did everything to protect his and his company’s image. Hours after the incident in your house, the press arrived. They started covering your case and Mr. Jung tried to convince them that you were mentally unstable, that way, instead of going to trial, you would just be admitted in Seoul’s Mental Hospital” Onew continued.

Krystal tired her best to remember, but she couldn’t. The trauma she suffered and the pain she went through was all she could remember, in fact, she doesn’t even remember the day she was admitted. She didn’t know if it was immediately after she killed the man or if it was days after.

“You see, image is very important for Mr. Jung, as his company is based on that. He’s got a large network of people he’s working with, and having a murderer as a daughter was more dangerous than just having a mentally ill one. He chased the press nonstop until they stopped posting about your case, he erased the charges and put you in the asylum with the excuse that you were a psychopath” He confessed. “What I still don’t understand is why he wasn’t willing to get you out of there” Onew said as he focused on the road again.

Krystal thought the betrayal she was feeling was that, just a feeling. But since Amber betrayed her, she realized she was living on a perpetual state of betrayal, things were being kept from her, valuable information that can help her understand her situation better.

“But why are you his driver now?” Victoria asked.

“Remember that time when we said we were going to get Soojung out of the hospital?” Onew asked and the blonde girl nodded. “He held a grudge against me. He downgraded me to his driver so I wouldn’t be able to hear his plans anymore. That’s why I couldn’t warn you about the kidnap” He added.

“You were trying to free me?” Krystal asked, looking at Onew and then to Victoria and the latter nodded.

“We thought we were prepared enough to outsmart your father, but he always was a step ahead of us” She said.

Krystal didn’t know what to think anymore. For her, her parents were irresponsible and careless, but it was on a whole different level to think that her own father could’ve done that to her just for him to maintain his image. Maybe he didn’t want me to end up in jail, she thought. If she went to trial there was one possible option, for her to be pleaded guilty, she stabbed the burglar not even once, but almost twenty times. She could’ve had been innocent, but because of her brutality it was more than clear that it wasn’t a case of self-defense anymore.

They arrived to a creepy warehouse in the middle of a dark neighborhood, a few men in suits could be spotted by the entrance.

“I won’t be long” Krystal said and gripped her pocket knife.

“Soojung, don’t. At least let me go with you” Victoria pleaded.

“They got Amber, they messed with the ing devil” The ice-looking girl said as she closed the door in front of a speechless Victoria.

“What are you doing? Go stop her!” Onew demanded.

“No, let her do this” The guardian said.

Unlike Amber, Victoria knew that Soojung needed to step for herself and to try to fight her demons at her pace. She wasn’t going to stop the girl but surely she was still looking out for her. All her life, Soojung had her sister, she helped her, provided to her and sometimes even fixed the problems for her. Soojung needs to learn how to cope with her emotions and how to think and act on her own.

 Krystal entered the warehouse leaving the guards that were outside knocked out on the floor. She roamed her eyes through the facility and studied it carefully, she chose the safest path and approached to a small room, knocking everyone out in the process. She wasn’t that angry, she was worried, she wanted to know if Amber was okay.

“Here she comes!” A man shouted to his other partner but Krystal gracefully passed by them, leaving their bodies drop on the floor as they out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Victoria and Onew were waiting for Krystal on the car, upon hearing a deafening scream, Victoria exited the Buick and went to look for Krystal who was walking out of the warehouse, with a bleeding hand.

“What happened? Where’s Amber?” The guardian asked frenetically as she treated Krystal’s wound.

“Drive me to the hotel” The younger girl coldly said.

“Let’s wait for Amber, I bet she-“

“Drive me to the hotel, Victoria!” She commanded and the blonde girl nodded. They climbed in the Buick and told Onew to take them back. Victoria didn’t know what was going on… Did they fight? Was Amber not there?

“Soojung… I don’t want to push your buttons but-“

“She’s trying to control me, Victoria” Krystal said as she wrapped a piece of clothing on her bleeding hand.

“What do you mean?” The guardian asked.

“She’s just like my father. They think they own me. They started talking bull when I had this guy hostage, trying to tell me what to do. She’s got a ing messiah complex” The younger girl complained.

“But Soojung, a hostage? I think she was just scared of you doing anything to him, instead of her telling you what to do” The older woman tried to reason with Krystal, but it seems like the latter made up her mind.

“I’m leaving her. I can’t be with anyone right now” She said, looking out of the car’s window.

“What happened? Tell me the truth” Victoria said. She knew how to read the girl, something was weird. The guardian spent most of her time watching over her and she could see the way Soojung was trying to be more open around Amber, this wasn’t about her messiah complex, it was something more.

“That’s the truth, Victoria” She made her final statement as they reached the hotel. Krystal rushed to their room and grabbed her backpack, this time she didn’t bother to leave Amber a note and didn’t even care if she was to return or not. She walked by the lobby and looked out of one of the glass doors they had, leading to the parking lot. There she saw the tomboy’s Camaro and remembered the time she stole it as she walked away from the hotel.

She was running away, for the millionth time in her life, from her problems. Amber was being patient with her, she wasn’t going to push her unless the girl was totally ready. She can’t own me, she thought as she climbed on the Buick.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Krystal asked to Victoria and the latter nodded.

“You know the way, Onew” She said. Because Onew was almost stuck with Mr. Jung the whole time, sometimes he and Victoria held secret meetings in the latter’s apartment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, Luna came to the rescue. She held Amber in her arms as they were walking to her green Spark.

After Krystal walked away, Amber was still in the warehouse, she watched how Mr. Jung exited the place and entered his car. When she walked out, the younger girl was nowhere to be found, so Amber called Luna to drive her to the hotel.

“Gosh! You’re so heavy” Luna said as she tried to carry the taller girl on her tiny shoulders.

“I didn’t hear you say that when I topped you” Amber joked.

“Wow, and you’re so disgusting also” The shorter girl said, finally managing to put Amber on the passenger seat.

“C’mon, we need to get to the hotel. I bet Krystal’s waiting for me” The tomboy said.

“Are you… ?” Luna said, squinting her eyes. “You’re not trying to fix her… are you?” She continued.

“Of course I am. She needs help” Amber nonchalantly said.

“You can’t fix her, Amber. You BOTH need professional help” The tanned girl said.

“What do you mean? We’re fine” The short-haired girl assured.

“Oh my God” Luna sighed. “You know I thought that with time that messiah complex of yours will disappear but it turns out you’re just the same” She added.

“I don’t have that” Amber backfired.

“C’mon Amber. Let’s face it, you have this urge to help the girl EVEN when you don’t trust her. You threw everything off of the window for her, ignoring the fact that you know each other barely, just because the girl is mental, sounds familiar?” Luna tried to make her reason. The shorter girl knew Amber for the four years they dated, she wasn’t the one to be fooled. He knew the fixation Amber had of trying to fix everything. When her father died, she took the responsibility just for five months of being the heiress of his parent’s farmer company, but seeing the state his father left the company in, she couldn’t help but to become strict and to try to fix even the minimum problem they had. It was obvious for Luna that if Amber mixed her true feelings for Krystal with her complex, this was the result.

“Okay, God! Maybe I need some help” Amber said, crossing her arms.

“That’s what I thought, ”

As they made it to the hotel’s room they learned that Krystal wasn’t there, Amber looked for a note, anything, but the girl didn’t leave a thing.

“Where the did she go?” She said under her breath, she took her phone out of the pocket and tried to reach Krystal but the latter wasn’t answering.

“Found anything yet?” Luna asked Amber and she shook her head.

“I’m going to try and contact Victoria” She said, dialed her number but no one answered.

“Don’t panic, maybe she needed some space” The tanned girl said, walking next to Amber.

“Space? She took her ing backpack” The taller girl said, dropping her body on the bed.

“Okay, you need to chill. Get some rest, I have a plan” Luna carelessly said.

“What do you mean ‘get some rest’? I need to find Krystal” Amber snapped.

“She’s okay Liu. God” The shorter girl said, rolling her eyes at the desperate girl. “Give me Victoria’s phone number, I know what to do” She terminated as she took the tomboy’s phone.

Luna called Victoria and the latter upon seeing the unknown number, opted to pick up the call, thinking it was one of the Jung’s.

“If you want to help Krystal, bring her to Hoho Myoll Café”

It was 3 pm when Luna almost forced Amber to get out of bed and of her misery to accompany her to the café. Amber didn’t know that Luna was plotting on introducing a new friend to Krystal, Seungwan. Seungwan, better known as Wendy for her foreigner patients, was a psychologist. She worked with kids initially but then moved to treat young adults. Luna texted her and she agreed on meeting her on the café.

As the ex-couple entered the café, the strong smell of coffee beans hit their senses, they were greeted by the barista and sat on a table. Wendy later came in, waving at Luna with a bright smile.

“Hey Wendy! How are you doing?” She greeted her friend.

“I’m doing great unnie!” The short girl said. She looked like she was 20 or something, her hair was light brown, almost blonde and she had a small bag hanging from her right hand.

“This is Amber” Luna introduced Amber, who looked like a scolded child.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Seungwan but you can call me Wendy” The younger girl said, in perfect and fluent English, offering her hand to Amber.

“Is this some kind of intervention, Luna?” Amber eyed her former girlfriend as she shook hands with Wendy.

“Shut up, just wait” Luna replied.

Ten minutes later, Victoria entered the café, and behind her was Krystal. Amber’s eyes sparkled in anticipation but the ice-looking girl tried to run away when she saw the tomboy sitting there. Victoria stopped her from leaving and told her something, if only I could read lips, Amber mentally facepalmed herself.

“Sorry we’re late, traffic” Victoria excused themselves and they joined the table.

“Hey Krys, where were you?” Amber asked but Krystal ignored her.

“Well, Wendy. Why don’t you introduce yourself to Krystal” Luna cheerfully said.

“Hi, my name’s Wendy. I’m Luna’s friend and I’m hoping to help you and Amber a little bit. I’m a psychologist” She said with a bright smile, Amber and Krystal didn’t take it well.

“So it IS an intervention”

“Luna, why would you do this?”

“I thought we were friends”

“I don’t need-“

“STOP” Luna commanded, shushing everyone. “I’m not here to push you guys but here’s the thing: Amber: you ing need to stop thinking that Krystal needs to be saved by you, let her come to you when she wants, not when you feel you’re giving her the chance to be honest with you. Krystal: honey you’re like my little sister but it seems like you have some trouble accepting that you can’t do this alone, Amber may have a messiah complex but the way you’re handling it is not okay. You can’t keep running away…” She continued. “I called Wendy because I know she’s the best one out there for the job. Please accept her help”