'I like my job Emily, I don't want to become a freak to bet on. I have not received special training, I did everything by myself and people are merciless, I would risk my life' Jeongyeon didn't want to accept Emily's offer, an offer she had been making for three days. She surely was strong, but fighting in a ring with people betting on her wasn't on the to-do list before she got old.

Emily looked annoyed 'but it seems to me that you accompany your best friend to the most unacceptable and dangerous places. What's the difference? Fighting for your life would certainly make you stronger'

Jeongyeon shook her head and stood up 'you can't compare the two things, stop trying to convince me because I'm about to lose my temper. I have an appointement with the hairdresser. See you later, don't do anything strange while I'm not here, I'll be here around dinner time' she was happy to leave, the presence of that girl bothered her, to the point that she no longer even let her touch her and forbade her to wear her clothes, only Nayeon was allowed to do so.

When Jeongyeon left Emily took her phone and called someone 'hit her around seven in the evening, if she doesn't want to do what I say then I'll force her' she looked at her nails 'hurt her very bad, she must feel fear for her life. After this experience she will certainly accept the job, she'll understand what I'm capable of'

Jeongyeon's hair was below her shoulders and seeing it brown again made her feel better, to the point of buying her favorite coffee in the bar she frequented often with Dahyun. The last few days had been stressful and she had decided to end all relations with Emily, she had realized that she had never really felt anything for that girl, but that what she felt for her when she went to college was just adoration. She felt watched and she didn't like the feeling. She looked around: the road she was walking on was practically deserted and badly lit 'stop playing hide and seek and go outside, I don't like these games' 

A big muscle man with a scar on his face appeared in front of her 'Miss told me to test you, I hope you are ready' his accent was forced and his pronunciation wasn't the best, but when he started cracking his neck and fingers Jeongyeon knew he wasn't joking.

'I told Emily I don't want to, now get out of my way, I have things to do' she walked away, but the man grabbed her arm and slammed her against a wall, leaving her breathless. Her heart started racing very fast: she was scared and angry, how could Emily have sent someone to beat her for no reason?

That scary man punched her on her stomach and slapped her face several times with too much strength. It didn't seem like a test at all, if she hadn't done something he would surely have killed her with his fists.

Jeongyeon tried her best to protect herself, but she couldn't hit him hard enough to knock him out.

She was in pretty bad shape: she had a split lip, was bleeding from her right eyebrow, a bruise was forming on her cheek and her entire body was hurting. She was sure that the next day she would be in unbereable pain.

'You're so weak, I don't understand why my Miss wants you to fight, you would only waste her time and money' the man stated, lifting her off the ground after grabbing her hair 'I feel magnanimous and I'll let you live for now, but next time I'll kill you, it's a promise' he let go her hair and walked away while whistling, as if he didn't nearly kill a defenseless person.

Jeongyeon needed ten minutes to catch her breath and got up with difficulty 'Dahyun's house is in this area, you can do it Jeong, you need to walk a few minutes' she said to herself after realizing she had a broken phone and started walking, limping a little. She rang the doorbell and almost cried when Jihyo opened the door 'I need help'

Jihyo immediately supported her and made her sit on the couch 'Dahyun, come and help me, Jeongyeon is hurt!'

Dahyun ran there in her pajamas ' Jeong, what happened?' her eyes widened and started searching for what she needed to medicate her.

'Emily is out of her mind, she wants to place bet on me and got me beaten up by one of her henchmen' talking cost her a great deal 'I'm ashamed to be called a bodyguard' 

Jihyo was pressing a wet towel over the wounds she had on her face 'don't talk, your lip continues to bleed'

Dahyun threw everything to the ground 'there isn't even a patch here'

'You always say you're rich and you don't even have patches at home, you are amazing and not in a good way' Jihyo said, irritated.

Dahyun glared at her sister 'I apologize, but usually no one comes to beat me in my house! I'm calling Nayeon, she should be out of school now' she took her phone and called her. 

'Dahyunie! I know I'm late, but rehearsal lasted longer than expected, I'm on my way' Nayeon seemed cheerful.

Dahyun was sorry to have to spoil her mood 'could you go to the pharmacy? We need patches, bandages, a bruise cream and some pain reliever'

Nayeon was confused, but walked to the pharmacy 'is Jihyo okay? And you? Don't tell me Sana made up another one of hers'

'We are fine, these things aren't for us and Sana isn't even here. Please hurry' they closed the call and Nayeon bought everything her sister had told her and ran home.

When she found her sisters taking care of Jeongyeon she nearly dropped the envelope 'what happened?' she hurriedly pulled everything out of the envelope.

'Not now Nayeon, first we need to disinfect her wounds and cover them carefully to prevent them from becoming infected' Jihyo was quick and gentle, careful not to put pressure on the wounds 'luckily I can handle these things without shaking my hands, I don't think these two are capable of it'

'You would be a good doctor' Jeongyeon's eyes were closed, but she opened them when Nayeon put a band-aid on her eyebrow. She was beautiful with her worried and concentrated face that Jeongyeon wanted to caress her cheeks, but she knew she had no right to do so and stopped herself.

When they were done with her face Dahyun looked at her seriously 'can you take off your clothes? We need to check for other wounds and put the cream on the bruises'

Jeongyeon tried to take off her sweatshirt, but she made a face in pain.

'Her clothes are ruined and stained with blood, they are to be thrown away in any case' Nayeon said before taking the scissors and cutting off Jeongyeon's clothes 'there are a lot of bruises, we'll hurt you a little, I'm sorry'

It took half an hour to deal with Jeongyeon 'I'm cold' she said, half asleep.

Nayeon ran to get one of her pajamas and they made her wear it carefully 'let's take her to my room, she'll sleep better and I'm going to study, I don't have to go to bed'

It took all three of them to take Jeongyeon to Nayeon's room and set her up in bed and they were exhausted, so Jihyo and Dahyun went to sleep without having dinner since they were too tired. 

Nayeon took the driving school book, put on her glasses and settled on the couch, concentrating on her study. She was saying a lot of bad words when Jeongyeon came into the living room, her face sleepy and confused. She looked better already, as Dahyun has predicted 'if you keep screaming bad words, you will wake up your sisters'

The girl on the couch got scared and looked at her with a hand on her chest 'I'm sorry, did I wake you up?'

'No, I woke up because I'm thirsty. Don't worry' she went into the kitchen to drink and then returned to the living room 'why are you so mad at your cell phone?'

Nayeon snorted 'I'm doing the license quizzes, but I always make too many mistakes' she seemed discouraged.

'Let me see' Jeongyeon sat down carefully on the couch and cheeked the errors, explaining to her why the answers she had chosen were wrong 'you can't do such a thing, it's dangerous'

'You did it once, I remember it well, I almost flew off the seat despite having a seat belt' Nayeon pointed the pen to her.

Jeongyeon seemed amused 'we were running away from those guys, I didn't comply with any road bans that time'

The other girl nodded 'right, I forgot it. Anyway, thanks for your help' she finished writing down everything Jeongyeon had told her and took off her glasses 'now go back to bed, you need to rest'

'Can I have a hug first?' she asked, looking at a surprised Nayeon 'please?' she tried, she really wanted a hug from her at that moment. 

Nayeon placed the notebook and pen on the coffee table and looked at her 'sure, but I'm afraid to hurt you, your body is full of wounds and a hug could hurt you even more' 

Jeongyeon took her arms and placed them around her hips, then she leaned on Nayeon's shoulder with her head 'it would hurt a lot more if you don't hold me' she murmured, enjoying the contact that had missed in the last three days. 

Nayeon her side, paying attention to the bruises 'I'm here Jeong, I always will be. I don't want to mess with your stuff, but don't let that do that to you anymore. I wanna punch her ugly face so bad' 

The other girl was amused 'it would be fun, but it's not worth it' she closed her eyes, finally feeling at peace 'goodnight, Nay'

Not even a minute passed and Jeongyeon was already sleeping, leaning on the person she loved. Nayeon took the blanket they kept on the couch and covered them both, making sure Jeongyeon was comfortable, and closed her eyes after kissing her head. 

Jeongyeon woke up hearing Jihyo and Dahyun talking in the kitchen: Nayeon was still hugging her and was lying on her back while Jeongyeon was lying on her side, her head on Nayeon's chest and her right arm holding the girl that was still sleeping. It felt so right for her and her heart started racing. 

'How are you?' Dahyun whispered when she was near the couch 'I don't think it was a good idea to sleep together on the couch, given your injuries, but I'll pretend I saw nothing' she smirked. 

Jeongyeon threw a pillow at her best friend 'I fell asleep on her, but I'm good. I needed to rest and now I'm as good as new. Go away, I wanna sleep more' she leaned again on Nayeon, hiding her face. 

Jihyo chuckled 'Jeong likes to cuddle, I'm surprised and I also think it's funny' she took her camera and took a few photos, ignoring the glare Jeongyeon gave to her. 

'Shut up, you ruined my last few minutes of sleep' Nayeon muttered before getting up from the couch and going to her bathroom to take a shower. 

'It's all your fault, she left' Jeongyeon was pouting and covered herself 'I hate you two' 

They sat on the couch and looked at her with an amused smile 'I think you've realized what you really feel for Nayeon' Dahyun said. 

Jeongyeon nodded 'the time has come to let go off the past' she was sure of what she wanted and no one could stop her. She just had to get rid of a burden called Emily and be forgiven by the person she loved and whom she had hurt more than anyone else 'I'm willing to jump through hoops to consider her my girlfriend again, even to give her a ruthless courting if need be'