Yongguk~

“You’re body heals miraculously fast,” Dr. Baek commented as I put on a clean dress shirt. There was slight playful humor in his eyes as he studied me carefully.

I finally asked the question that had been bugging me since he’d entered the room, “You did it on purpose didn’t you?”

Dr. Baek tilted his head slightly and raised his graying eyebrows, “Did what?”

“Don’t play innocent with me. You purposely put me in the room across from Sohee’s, didn’t you?” I asked harshly. “Does this seem like a game to you? You could’ve totally ruined the plan. Maybe it’s already ruined.”

“Oh relax,” he smiled. “I knew what I was doing. Even if the Jaebum boy saw Myungsoo, he’s too in love with Sohee to do anything about it. He knows that one wrong step and he could never see her again. Seriously, your little sister sure is something. Didn’t think she’d be able to charm over Director Ahn’s pet so easily. You should really see the way he looks at her. Looks like a blind man looking at the sun for the first time.”

“And Myungsoo? The way you decided to break the news to him was too harsh,” I insisted, realizing maybe Dr. Baek’s plans were all… well thought out.

“Yongguk, did you really just say that? Any method of telling Myungsoo about Sohee would’ve been harsh. And now that he’s actually seen her in person, he’ll be your strongest player,” Dr. Baek said.

“He’s not a puppet,” I said stiffly. I knew Dr. Baek was a good ally but sometimes, he was a bit too analytical and heartless.

“Say what you want, but you know he is. And the way you’re playing this game, you’re sister’s also a puppet.”

“This. Is. Not. A. Game,” I said quietly, trying to keep my calm. “And Sohee. Is not. A puppet.”

Dr. Baek shrugged, “I’m just helping you out because it was a favor your dad asked for before he died. And I owed him a lot of favors… But anyways. If you want to beat Director Ahn, you have to look at this like it’s a game. A game of chess describes it pretty well.”

“How?” I asked, half not wanting to hear the reason, but still feeling the need to.

“Well for starters, Myungsoo is your knight; a tricky one for the enemy to defeat and a good offense. Him debuting under the boy group will be a good attack. You are the queen, the strongest player and attacker; the most dangerous piece. Of course, the company is the king, the thing everyone’s trying to protect. Your parents… I would say were the castles, since they were always trying to protect the company, but you lost both of them. And the way you’re playing this game… Sohee is a pawn.”

I stiffened and pursed my lips at that, but he quickly continued.

“Yongguk, be honest, she’s the first one you sent into enemy territory, knowing it was a dangerous move. But you never know. If the pawn manages to reach the other edge, you could trade it in for another queen. So in other words, Sohee is your hidden card; a game changer.”

Yeah, this is what I was talking about when I said that Dr. Baek was a little too analytical at times.

“Okay, well I’m about to set everything in motion…” I sighed, pulling a thin golden chain out of my pocket. Dangling on the end was a tiny golden puzzle piece, the symbol of the family company. This one had originally belonged to Sohee and it was about time I gave it back to her. It would be the first step in Sohee’s battle against the amnesia medicine.

Dr. Baek nodded at me left the room. A couple minutes later, I stepped out too, just in time to see Dr. Baek stepping out of Sohee’s room. He blinked twice at me before casually walking away. The coast was clear.

Silently, I slid open the door and stepped in, closing the door behind me. At the far side of the room, Sohee was sleeping peacefully on her bed. Seeing her after all this time, it felt like the air was being squeezed out of me. Shakily, I walked up to her bed and silently stood there for a few seconds, staring at her sleeping face.

Finally, I forced myself to move. I didn’t have much time. If someone caught me in here now, it could jeopardize everything. I carefully placed the necklace into one of her hands and closed her fingers over it. After making sure that it wasn’t noticeable, I silently left the room.

Sohee~

I heard footsteps approaching my room so I quickly closed my eyes and slowed down my breathing. The door slid open and someone walked into my room. From the way the person walked, I could tell it was Dr. Baek. He stood near my bed for a minute or so, then left. Odd.

Just as I was about to open my eyes, the door began sliding open again. This time, I had no idea who it was, although I’d learned to recognize most of the hospital people by their footsteps.

The stranger stood by my bed for a minute before laying something cold into my palm, then closing my hand into a fist. Right after that, the stranger left.

After waiting a few minutes, I carefully opened my eyes. I sat up and slowly opened my fist. A necklace was in my hand.

A golden puzzle piece.

I gasped as the familiar sharp pain dug into my head. I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by what I was seeing.

“Sohee, what’s your favorite shape?” a man asked. I was sitting on the ground with an older boy. The same boy that had danced for me. Puzzle pieces were spread out in front of us, all over the floor. The man was sitting on the couch in front of us with a sketch pad on his lap and a pencil in hand.

“Um…” I said in a high pitch voice of a young child. “Um… um…”

The man smiled slightly as I scrambled to answer his question.

Something caught my eye.

“This!” I beamed up at him, holding up a puzzle piece. Both the man and the boy laughed happily at my answer.

Jaebum~

“Sunbae, I have a problem,” I admitted to the guy sitting in front of me at the café. He was one of my closest friends and was already working under AJ Ent with the boy group, 2PM.

“Wow, Im Jaebum has a problem?” Wooyoung laughed. “I’m excited to hear this.”

“Okay, so a couple weeks ago, I met this one girl,” I began. “And… it’s really weird…”

“Why, did she try to you on the first day?” Wooyoung joked. “Boy, if you’re gonna say you have a problem, try to explain it to me so that I can actually help you, please.”

“No… so it’s weird because like…” I said, trying to explain what I was feeling. Which was proving to be quite difficult. “So at first, I didn’t really like her… The things she said and did kinda pissed me off, especially how emotionless she is. But now… I catch myself thinking about her all the time and I keep… worrying about her. Isn't that… weird?”

Wooyoung gave me a weird look, “So what you’re trying to say is that she’s always on your mind and you’d do anything to protect her?”

“Exactly!” I said a bit louder than I’d meant to. “Well… Maybe you exaggerated a little but that’s the gist.”

“And the problem is that you don’t know why you feel this way about this girl?”

I nodded. God, Wooyoung hyung was a genius.

“Okay, then I have a question. Have you ever felt this way about a girl before?” Wooyoung asked me. I shook my head no.

“Here, I’m gonna say this really simply so that you can understand me, okay?” Wooyoung said. “You like this girl, and apparently, it’s your first time actually liking a girl. Which… is pretty bad considering how many girlfriends you’ve had.”

, , . I’ve had my suspicions but I had just been too afraid to confront my own feelings. Now that someone had straight up told me, it felt like something was squeezing my heart. It hurt.

“But there’s one more problem…” I said, deciding to just let it all out. I trust Wooyoung.

“Of course you do.”

“So… Yesterday… She… Kinda kissed me,” I said, rushing the last three words. Freaking… what was wrong with me. If anyone else ever saw me like this… My rep would be ruined.

“And…?” Wooyoung crinkled his eyebrows. “Isn't that a good thing for you?”

“And…” I stalled, trying to think of a way to end the story without telling Wooyoung what actually happened. “I don’t know, she just seemed kinda disappointed by something.”

Wooyoung smirked, “Maybe the last guy she kissed was a better kisser than you. And she just kissed you to compare and turns out, the other guy’s better.”

“Shut uppp,” I laughed, trying to take the joke. “Eh, whatever. I can handle this. I mean, when have I had problems with girls?”

“Seems like you’re having plenty right now,” Wooyoung laughed. “But whenever you need to talk, hyung-nim’s here for you.”

“Oh thanks,” I said sarcastically, standing up. “Sorry hyung, gotta go… Lesson in fifteen minutes.”

“Cool,” Wooyoung said. “Later.”

I walked out of the café, heading for my acting lesson. But I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate much today.