Dahyun slowly opened her eyes, catching a glimpse of the light. She had to blink multiple times before the distortion in her vision vanished. For long seconds, she concentrated only on her breathing as nothing sank into her mind in the aftermath of what had just occurred. After a few moments, Dahyun turned her head slightly, trying to take in her surroundings. When her gaze was drawn to the gown she wore, it became clear that she was at a hospital. Only then did she perceive that something wrapped around her forehead.

"She's up."

Dahyun switched her gaze to the other side, where she saw Dae-won and Yu-jun sitting on the couch, and Nayeon in an armchair. All of their attention was drawn to Dahyun, who was at a loss for words.

"Dahyun-ah," Yu-jun softly whispered as she approached her daughter. She couldn't be happier now since Dahyun had awoken so soon, despite having an injury. "Are you okay?" the older lady questioned, her eyes welling up with tears.

Dahyun needed a few moments before she could speak. She had to look at Dae-won, who didn't seem to care, and Nayeon, whose expression she couldn't interpret. Dahyun's gaze returned to Yu-jun as she said, "I’m sorry, but who are you?"

"W...what?" Yu-jun's eyebrows lifted, and a tear rolled down her face. "What are you saying, Dahyun-ah?" she questioned, shaking her head as though not believing it. "Don't you remember me?"

Nayeon had to get up and get closer to the two after hearing that. Despite the fact that she never had a good relationship with Dahyun, she would always care in some way. Yu-jun adores Dahyun, and as someone who adores her mother, Nayeon feels obligated to look out for her younger sister.

"I'm your mom," Yu-jun murmured, taking one of Dahyun's hands and pressing it against her right cheek. She rested her daughter's hand on her face, hoping it would help her remember. "It's mom, Dahyun; you know who I am now, don't you?" she inquired.

Dahyun burst out laughing. She caressed Yu-jun's face with her thumb before saying, "I'm just kidding, mom."

Nayeon couldn't help but seem irritated. It wasn't a funny joke, but it wasn't harmful either. She couldn't help but shake her head and return to her seat.

Yu-jun, on the other hand, was relieved. She even used her hand to grasp her chest, which felt almost out of place. If something bad happened to Dahyun, Yu-jun would be at a loss about what to do.

"You're so cheeky," she said softly, smiling.

"All of this happened to you, yet you still can't take anything seriously," Dae-won remarked firmly, drawing merely a smile from Dahyun.

She wasn't in the mood to hear those pointless comments.

"Dae-won," Yu-jun warned, casting a quick glance at the man. "Stop acting that way." "We almost lost her, and you're still upset about something I do not even fully comprehend."

Dae-won remained silent as a result. He stiffened his jaws. Soon after, he rose up and chose to leave the room rather than engage in something concerning Dahyun.

"Don't mind him, okay?" Yu-jun replied, her gaze turning to Dahyun, who appeared unfazed in any case.

"I tend not to mind him more than you know, mom."

As silence fell, Nayeon seized the opportunity to finally say something. "Dahyun, what happened last night?" she questioned monotonously. Her expression indicated that she was rather unhappy.

Dahyun's world seemed to come to a complete halt when she heard that question. She hadn't thought about it since she had opened her eyes. For some reason, reliving the entire scenario preceding the incident angered her. 

 

"Someone is following us."

Dahyun checked the side mirror once more for the license plate number. When she realized who owned the car, she tensed her jaw. There was no way Dahyun could have misidentified it. She'd seen and memorized it when she was in the same coffee shop as Cai Zen and his workers.

"What?" Sana asked, her voice muffled by the helmet she was wearing.

Dahyun was ready to repeat herself when her gaze was drawn to something in the side mirror. The person in the passenger seat of the SUV behind them pulled a revolver out of the window and pointed it at them.

"Hug my waist tight," Dahyun stated instead. She had no choice but to move faster. She couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to Sana, especially because she was the one who would almost certainly be shot. "The road may get rough," she said one last time before speeding up.

"Atty. Kim…"

 

"Dahyun?" Yu-jun touched Dahyun on the shoulder after observing that she had gone blank. "Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?" she questioned continuously. "I'll call the doctor—"

"I'm alright," Dahyun declared solemnly. She exhaled heavily; her fists clenched on her side. "Mom..." she successfully had Yu-jun's attention. "I have somewhere I need to be right now."

"What are you saying?" Yu-jun shook her head firmly, demonstrating to her daughter that what she was demanding was not possible. "You're not fine; you still have head trauma, and you need to rest."

Dahyun didn't want to act irrationally, but the occurrences of the night in question made her want to go and do whatever she possibly could. "I'm sorry, mom," she said quietly before forcing herself up and tearing everything off her body.

"Kim Dahyun!" Yu-jun exclaimed, eager to grab her daughter's arm, but Dahyun moved too quickly. "You're not going anywhere!" said the elder woman, but that didn't stop Dahyun from removing her hanging clothing from the wardrobe.

She searched the inner pockets of her leather jacket for the missing keys. "Where are they? My keys..." Dahyun whispered to herself, once more checking on them.

Nayeon suddenly stood up and walked by the door, afterwards leaning beside it. She gave Dahyun a pensive stare, which he immediately understood.

"Give it back, Nayeon," Dahyun urged as she approached her older sister with one hand clutching her clothes. "I said give it back," she stated again, this time looking Nayeon in the eyes.

Nayeon smirked as she removed the keys from the back pocket of her pants. "These?" she asked, holding them up to Dahyun's face.

Dahyun reached for it quickly, but before she could turn to face the door, Nayeon grabbed her arm. "I don't know what you're up to, Dahyun, but keep Sana away from it," she warned quietly. Her eyes were dark, as though she meant what she said. "You don't care about your life? Fine, I don't care about it either," Nayeon continued, maintaining eye contact. "But Sana... don't endanger her life, I'm telling you."

"Are you threatening me or what?" Dahyun inquired, her eyebrows arched. "What do you want me to do if it's Sana who keeps seeking my presence?" she scoffed, shaking her head.

Nayeon's hold on Dahyun's arm tightened when she heard that. It was as if she had grown furious.

"Stop it, you two," Yu-jun ordered sternly. She had no idea what the two were discussing, but it was clearly something that needed to be stopped.

"I know what you want, Nayeon. You want her to stay away from me, but the decision is not mine," Dahyun said casually. "Talk to Sana," she smugly continued, "ask her to keep a distance from me and see if she will."

Dahyun used her strength to reclaim her arm, and as she sighed heavily, she added, "I don't want to tell you something you already know well... but Sana doesn't belong to you anymore." She completely turned the doorknob and fled the scene.

"Why did she need the keys? Her motorcycle had been wrecked enough."

"I have more than one motorcycle, fool!" Dahyun exclaimed from the outside.

 

 

Sana's room was the next one down the corridor. Fortunately, she, too, did not sustain serious injuries. She got a few tiny bruises and scratches on her elbows and knees. Sana, too, had a blackout, but she recovered consciousness as soon as she was brought to a hospital bed.

"Do you want anything, Sana?" Mina inquired as she made her way to the door. "Fruits? Take-out food? Anything..." she asked. Momo, her wife, had a craving for a certain fast-food dish that was a little far away from her. So, Mina figured she could grab more than that just to make the long drive worthwhile.

"Anything, Mina," Sana responded, too shy to say no.

"Don't say anything to me," Mina chuckled, pleasantly proceeding, "I might just order you the entire menu of that fast food."

"You're insane," Sana chuckled.

"She's not joking," Momo said, which made Sana stop laughing. She gazed at Mina, wide-eyed, as if she needed confirmation.

"I mean, yeah, why not order you the entire menu?" Mina shrugged; her eyebrows raised.

"You can't be serious."

"Well, I'm not," Mina giggled, followed by Momo, who felt she had successfully duped Sana right there and then. "I'll get going now," she said. "I'll just grab you whatever I think you'd want," she said with a wink to Sana.

"Thank you, Minmin," Sana responded lovingly.

"Drive safely, babe," Momo added, earning a thumbs up and a flying kiss from Mina before the latter left.

Momo moved to sit by Sana on the bed as soon as the two were the only ones left in the room. "There was someone following you last night?" she inquired, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah," Sana agreed, slightly making sitting adjustments in order for Momo to get more comfortable in her position. "That's what Atty. Kim told me," she went on, "but I couldn't look back because I didn't want to get too worried."

"But who could that be?" Momo mumbled, her lips puckering. "Is your life in danger?" "What if someone had followed you here as well?" she wondered, becoming paranoid. It can't be helped in this situation.

"Danger?" Sana tilted her head, wondering if she was indeed in any danger. "I guess I could be," she replied, her eyes fixed on Momo.

"What do you mean?"

Sana was about to respond to Momo's question when her gaze was drawn to a figure on the small glass panel on the door. But it was gone in the blink of an eye. Sana wasn't able to see who it was, but she had an idea.

"I think Atty. Kim is outside," she said to Momo, who promptly moved her head in that direction.

"Did you see her?" Momo inquired.

"I suppose so."

"I'll go check," Momo said with a bob of the head. She leapt out of bed and walked over to the door. But when she opened it, she found no one in the corridor. "No one is here," she said loudly enough for Sana to hear.

"Is that right?" "It must be my imagination."

Momo was going to shut the door when she spotted someone in the adjacent room standing by the door. It was Nayeon who had just exited Dahyun's room. "Boss," Momo mumbled, perhaps not expecting Nayeon to pay her sister a visit.

"So that's Sana's room," Nayeon stated before approaching Momo's position. "Is she awake?" she wondered.

"Who's out there, Mo?" Sana asked.

"Good, she's awake," Nayeon murmured as she walked past Momo and right to Sana, who was stunned to see her.

"W...what are you doing here, Nayeon?" Sana inquired; her brow furrowed. It wasn't that she didn't expect the woman to drop by, but she didn't look forward to it.

"Nice to see you, too, Missy," Nayeon said, deliberately ignoring Sana's question. "Are you feeling well?" she inquired as she approached an armchair. She arched an eyebrow at Sana after sitting with her legs crossed, awaiting an answer to her question.

"I am," Sana replied. "What brought you here?"

Nayeon turned to Momo, who stood at the door, perplexed. She considered walking out the door, but she couldn't find a suitable time to say goodbye to the two women, so she stayed.

"Give us a moment, Momo," Nayeon said as an order.

"Sorry," Momo apologized to Sana, feeling horrible about having to leave the woman alone with someone she despised. "I'll be outside, okay?" she said again before leaving the room.