Naeun couldn’t stop admiring her new rosary bracelet.

It clashed with the outfit she was wearing, but she didn’t care. She wanted the dazzling accessory to stand out. She was lightly curling her hair when Eunji stepped out of the showers.

“Look at you getting all dolled up,” she teased, “Is there some special occasion I should know?”

Naeun’s cheeks flushed. She hadn’t told Eunji or Krystal about her romantic night with Taemin. Surprisingly, the girls didn’t notice the bracelet that suddenly appeared on her wrist. She assumed they thought it belonged to her from the start. With a few sprays of her new perfume, Naeun was ready. She and Eunji continued to pack their belongings and double-checked every room and furniture to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind, before heading down to the lobby where the rest of their peers gathered. They spotted Krystal and the boys talking amongst themselves.

“Damn,” Kai sighed, “It seems like yesterday we’d just entered through those doors, and now, we’re exiting through them. I’m going to miss this place,” taking a good look around the hotel lobby.

“Pull yourself together,” Taemin remarked bluntly, earning him an eye roll from Kai.

Taemin caught the sight of Eunji and Naeun approaching them and waved. Naeun waved back using her hand that had the bracelet around it. His smile grew ten times wider and, unconsciously, touched his own.

“Hey,” Naeun greeted.

“Hey yourself,” he replied. He noticed Naeun looked extra fine today, with her woolen sweater matching her black skirt and stockings. She even put on a hairband - Taemin found it adorable. Then, when everyone was either busy talking or checking their phones, he whispered to her, “Areumdawoyo,” which made Naeun blush as red as her sweater.

“Naeun-ssi,” someone called her from behind. It was Dong-Hyun, her class maknae.

“Daniel-ssi was looking for you,” he said.

Oh?

She checked her phone for any messages or calls from him; there were none.

Naeun frowned in confusion, “I didn’t get any notification from him,” she replied to Dong-Hyun, “Where is he now?”

“On the fourth floor. Daniel-ssi said he needed to tell you something in private. I-it sounded important too”.

Naeun started to worry. She spotted Jihyo not far from her.

Daniel wasn’t with Jihyo. That was very unlike him.

Don’t tell me something happened between them, she feared. She quickly thanked Dong-Hyun and told her friends that she had to meet her cousin before jogging her way to the lift.

Please don’t let it be what I think it is.

~~~

Naeun wandered through the fourth floor, calling out for Daniel.

The sound of a door creaking caught her attention.

“Dan?” she said as she entered the room.

It was the ballroom. The last time Naeun was there, she was with Taemin. His melodious voice echoed through her ears as she remembered the pair of brown orbs shimmering under the moonlight, staring into hers. It was then she realized her feelings for Taemin were blooming, and she believed he did too. Now that they’ve confessed and confirmed their feelings for each other, she wondered what it meant between the two.

Were they considered a couple like Jihyo and Daniel? They definitely could not go back to just friends. Naeun touched her bracelet again.

“Let this bracelet be a token of my feelings for you.”

She’d definitely need to have a conversation about their status with Taemin when they get back home. Her thoughts were distracted when a voice appeared behind her, “Hello, Kitty.”

Her face hardened at the sight of him, “What did you do to my cousin?” she hissed.

L merely scoffed at her, “Relax, Kit-”

“DON’T.call.me.that.”

L’s patience wore thin again, but he composed himself and took a deep breath in, releasing the tension from his fists.

“Your cousin is alright, Naeun.” Even the sound of her name coming out of his voice sent shivers down her spine.

“It was a setup to meet you,” L finished. Naeun’s gaze turned icy cold. There was no doubt L threatened her poor Maknae to make him do L’s work. She folded her arms, “You really have the strangest way of communicating with me. If you wanted to talk, why couldn’t you ask straight to my face instead of ‘asking’ my classmate to do your bidding?”

“I wanted to talk to you in private but how can I with your bodyguards and boyfriend protecting you at every angle?” Naeun startled at L mentioning Taemin as her boyfriend, but didn’t show it on her face. Her glare remained plastered on her face.

“Why do you keep doing this, L?” she questioned, “There are plenty of other girls for you to hit on, and clearly, I’m not interested in you, so just leave me alone.” Naeun was about to turn and walk away when L spoke, “You really don’t remember, do you?”

She looked back at him, “Remember what?”

“All those times we spent together - the love notes, the secret meetups, cuddling you, kissing you - don’t you remember any of that?” his voice was a mix of pain and anger, but Naeun concluded that L had gone mad.

“What are you talking about?” she frowned, “We’ve never spoken to each other before you beat Dan up.”

Like the night before, L approached Naeun like a predator prowling to its prey, but this time, his eyes were full of...desperation? (Cue Traveler Instrumental - While You Were Sleeping OST)

“You can’t expect me to believe that a single hit on the head made you lose them all. You’re suppressing them.” he accused her.

He’s insane!

Her mind wanted her to make a run for it again. Her nightmares, the fear she felt that same night, everything rushed back into her. She was glued to the ground beneath her.

“Y-you must be taking me for another girl,” she stuttered, her voice barely loud enough for L to hear, “I-I don’t...I didn’t do all that with you,” and then, it hit her, “How did you know about the accident?” Naeun swore only her family and girlfriends knew about it. She faked a story of her falling down the staircase to cover-up the bandage that she had to wrap around her head for the first few weeks.

L paused when he saw the silver accessory shine into his eyes.

“One day, I’ll give you something worth keeping forever.” His nose flared as he tightly clenched his fists again. Desperation was no longer in his eyes; it was rage. He cursed under his breath and power-walked to the now petrified Naeun. Her back touched the walls of the ballroom.

!

He slammed his hands to the wall, cornering Naeun as she let out a shriek.

“I know you remember! Don’t lie! You were never a good liar, ADMIT IT!!” But she didn’t. She was quivering, crying, and as if by instinct, she clutched her head. The raging fire exploded in L’s chest. He grasped her shoulders hard and tight.

“ADMIT IT!!” and shook Naeun like a rag doll. She let out another shriek before getting tossed to the side. She couldn’t stand back up; her legs felt like lead. She wished for Eunji to come, for Kai, for Key, for Krystal, for Taemin to rescue her, but she couldn’t find the voice to let out a cry for help. She laid there, defenseless.

L took her by the cheeks. His grip, rough and painful as his nails clawed on them. It felt nothing like the gentle of Taemin’s hand as he placed soft kisses on her now trembling lips.

Taemin Oppa...

L’s eyes were those of a madman. Gone were his iconic smirk and fiery gaze in his eyes. What laid before Naeun was a man of pure madness.

“You will remember,” he growled, “All you need is a quick shake and another hit in the head.” L didn’t realize what he was doing - his conscience was blinded by rage, envy, fear, and desperation.

Naeun pleaded to him, “Please...stop.” But that only tightened his grip on her.

Taemin Oppa...

“Then admit it,” he said, “Admit that you remember me, admit that you still love me,” Naeun was finding it harder to breathe with each passing second.

“ADMIT IT!!!!!”

“Taemin Oppa!!”

Everything moved slowly. Everything was hazy.

Naeun couldn’t stop hearing the ringing noise in her ear - everything muffled, but the grip on her face was gone. She saw a blurred figure spiraled far away from her. She heard another sound, like a wail, or a scream. Someone cradled her by the shoulders, More muffles came.

Is someone calling me, she wondered.

She felt exhaustion creeping in. Her eyelids felt heavy; her breathing slowed. She let it succumb to her. The noises stopped, and her vision darkened. She lost all senses but not before she felt strong arms on her back and under her knees. Everything went black.

~~~

(A/N: Taemin’s POV)

The bus had arrived to take the students back to Seoul.

“Where is she?” he mumbled.

Naeun had been gone for almost thirteen minutes.

“Hey,” Eunji suddenly said, “Isn’t that Daniel over there?” Everybody looked in the direction her finger pointed.

Daniel was laughing away with his friends. Jihyo was there with him too, but no sign of Naeun. Taemin walked towards him.

“Hey,” he called out to Daniel, “Where’s Naeun?”

Daniel blinked in surprise, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen her all morning.” It was Krystal’s turn to question him, “But, you said you had something important to tell her.”

Daniel frowned this time, “Umm, no? Who told you that?”

“Dong-Hyun,” Taemin replied. Daniel shrugged at them, saying that in the last fifteen minutes, he had been in his room, packing his belongings. Taemin stiffened, and so did Daniel.

“Why,” he said as his arm fell from Jihyo’s back, “Where is my cousin?”

Taemin did a quick full scan of the lobby until he spotted the boy he was looking for, and power walked to him. When Dong-Hyun noticed Taemin approaching him, fear was written all over his eyes.

“Where.is.Naeun?” Taemin growled. He tried not to sound too threatening but failed miserably.

Dong-Hyun avoided his glare, “I-I don’t know.”

“Cut the crap, kid, Where is she?” he growled, louder this time. A few students around them stared at the two boys.

“I-I can’t,” the poor maknae couldn’t stop stuttering, “I-if I do, h-he’ll…” Taemin ran out of patience.

“Damn it, kid, TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!”

“She’s at the ballroom with L!” (CUE Wolf’s Knight - The K2 OST)

Everything went silent.

Naeun-ah

~~~

“Taemin!” He heard Key screaming to him, but he didn’t stop. He sprinted to the emergency exit doors, hopping over three or four staircases at a time until he reached the fourth level. He could still hear Kai and Key calling out to him, but again, he didn’t stop; he didn’t wait.

Naeun-ah

The fourth floor didn’t just consist of the giant ballroom. It had hundreds of other rooms used for multiple purposes.

Taemin opened every one of them, shouting her name and quickly opening the next room when the previous one was empty.

“Naeun-ah!” Where are you?

Kai and the gang, including Daniel, had finally caught up to him. That was when they heard a loud shriek.

“Naeun!” Daniel screamed before Taemin ran for it, the rest trailing behind.

Jebal, his mind was in turmoil.

Jebal...jebal...Let me make it in time...Jebal!

Taemin spotted the unopened door to the ballroom. What he saw enraged him like wildfire.

L, on top of Naeun, crushing her face with his hands as he screamed, “ADMIT IT!” to her.

“Taemin Oppa!”

Like a trigger to a bomb, Naeun’s cry got Taemin knocking L away from his woman, hard. He spiraled a few feet away from her, clutching his side abdomen from where Taemin had kicked. But Taemin didn’t stop there. He grabbed L by the collar and began throwing punches at him.

L managed to block one of Taemin’s blows before kicking Taemin away from him. L tried to get the upper hand now that Taemin was on the floor, but he was stronger and quicker than L anticipated. He blocked most of L's blows.

They were on the ground again, Taemin barely escaping from an attempted armbar as he regained his stance. He could taste the blood in his mouth.

“Naeun!” Eunji’s scream distracted Taemin from L. He charged at Taemin, knocking him to the ground again, throwing punches at him to which Taemin tried to block using his arms.

L was then kicked to the side by Daniel. Along with Kai, he and Daniel held the raging L back from doing any more harm to Taemin, but Taemin too was being held back by Key.

“That’s enough, Taemin!” Key shouted. Taemin was about to shove him off when another cry from the girls stopped him.

Naeun

He ran back to her side, ignoring the pain that screamed all over his body.

“Naeun-ah,” but she was unresponsive. She was as pale as snow; her eyes dilated before they were shut close.

“We have to take her to the hospital,” Krystal said as she dialed for her sister, “There’s one not far from here.”

(Cue Maze - Kim Na Young)

With his remaining strength, Taemin scooped up Naeun and headed for the lift. Once they had reached the lobby, Jessica was already at standby with a couple of medics. He laid Naeun gently on the gurney.

As he and the medics made their way to the ambulance, he spotted a police car, and inside was L.

Good riddance, he thought, before reverting his attention to Naeun.

The ambulance wasn’t big enough to fit everybody in, so while Daniel and Taemin rode the ambulance with the medics, Key and the others took Taemin’s car.

Taemin clasped his hands over Naeun’s as he brought it close to his lips, whispering silent prayers. Daniel looked over her cheeks. The markings from L grabbing her too hard were still there.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he mumbled, his face darkening, “He could punch me all he wanted, but no one gets away with harming my cousin.” He sounded like he was talking more to himself than Taemin. He said nothing to Daniel and continued to hold Naeun’s hand.

~~~

The doctors informed everyone that Naeun was alright. She had fainted due to immense shock and a lack of oxygen entering her brain. All she needed was rest, and she should regain consciousness by the next day or two. Everyone bowed and thanked the doctor before Krystal requested if they could see her.

“Of course,” she smiled and slid the door open for them.

Naeun laid there peacefully, her clothes were changed into a hospital gown. All her makeup and jewelry were removed and put on her bedside table.

They stayed with her until Ms.Lou contacted Krystal, informing her and the rest that they had to return to the hotel. She tried to negotiate with her discipline mistress but failed. They couldn’t let the hospital drive them back or have the buses stop by the clinic - that would just create a crowd outside Naeun’s room, disturbing the workers and patients. They had to go back.

“I’m staying,” Taemin said firmly. Krystal was about to say something when he cut her off, “I have a car, remember?”

“Ahh, right,” Krystal said.

Daniel stood up from his seat, “I’m staying too. I’m not leaving my cousin’s side until she wakes up.”

Taemin shook at him, “You should go back. Jihyo must be worried about you. Besides, I doubt the hospital will let more than one person stay with her.”

Daniel wanted to protest and question why Taemin should be the one staying instead of him, but after witnessing the fight between him and L, he decided not to. He wasn’t around Naeun often during their stay at the resort, but he sensed that she and the Golden Boy had become incredibly close. He reluctantly nodded at Taemin, “Text me when she’s awake,” before following the others out of the room.

As Taemin stared at Naeun, he swore he could hear his heart crack into two.

Naeun’s rosary ring and bracelet laid neatly on the bedside table. When he took a closer at her ring, he realized it was the same one as his. He chuckled. If people were to see the two wearing them, they might assume they were a couple.

Are we? He looked at Naeun’s peaceful face that was previously pale and cold. (Cue In Silence - Psycho But It’s Okay OST)

“What did he do to you?” he whispered, rubbing her cheeks that have gone back to its standard color, “I should’ve gone with you.” His other fists clenched at the thought of L.

He’ll pay for this, I promise you.

A knock came from the door. A nurse entered the room, “I thought you might need these.” She carried a tray of tea and assorted biscuits for Taemin. He didn’t have much of an appetite after what had happened but thanked the nurse for her consideration.

“If you need anything, just pick the phone up, and one of my colleagues or myself will come to your aid.” Taemin thanked her once more before leaving him alone with Naeun. He planted a soft kiss on her hand, “Please wake up soon, Kitty.”

Please.