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Ward 4, Jeonju Hospital

Jeonju, South Korea

          The longing for him in that moment was an ache in her chest and fingertips, as strong as anything she'd ever felt. The moment he didn't return in time, Taeyeon became frantic, walking through the hospital calling out his name. She had forgotten her walking stick and made out onto the road. Her ears were deafening, she heard too much traffic, too many people but not Leeteuk's footsteps, not him. After an entire day waiting, her eyes puffed and body cold, she had forgotten her route home. Her feet felt lost and Taeyeon had stumbled across poles and walls too many times. Her heart was pounding, face full of cuts and bruises, until two pairs of arms took her away.

"We've got her, Boss."

"Kim Taeyeon?"

"Bring her he- oh," the man paused. He was expecting a crippled, no less but in her dirtied clothes and worn out body, she stood there with such beauty. Her eyes had wandered about and her skin glowed with such fairness, it was as if she was unfamiliar being in the sun. The man came near her and ran a finger on her face. She squirmed and her chest heaved but she stayed silent, biting her lips. The two men held her tighter and she felt her shirt loosened. A hand lay on her bared collarbones and she screamed.

          She felt so drained from too much shouts and worn out tears. Until she finally heard footsteps running towards her and then it grew silent. She had thought that no one would ever come for her, hours before after helplessly screaming only to be led on by groping men. It really was him. Bodily there, and with all the strength left she could muster; she tried to reassured herself that it truly him, "Teukie?" With soft hands, she recognized in an instant and threw her body into him.

♦♦♦

          Leeteuk saw a petite body lying at the corner of the room, the only light shone through the small gaps between the windows, her milky white skin dirtied, golden brown hair in a mess and it had covered her face. As he approached her, he notices slight bruises on her arms, how her knees were scraped as if she had been dragged. Clothes tattered and he was silently thankful that he came for her just in time before they could’ve hurt her further. It was painful to see her in this state, and it reminded him so much of how he didn’t prevented this the first time.

She was clutching onto her tummy, as her breathing slowed, worn out from all her sobbings and cries earlier. Leeteuk went to touch her arm gently and she immediately reacted and moved backwards. He finally saw her face, how her eyes were red from crying, she was frightened of him. He feels terrified, seeing how afraid she was so he called out her name, tears already falling from his eyes.

“Taeyeon… it’s me, Leeteuk,” he choked.

“Taeyeon…?” Deep down he was afraid that she would reject him; he didn’t want to lose her.

“Teukie?” she came closer to his voice and ran a hand through his face, he saw how swollen her eyes were, her voice weary and husky. She hugged him and sobbed onto his chest, gripping onto his shirt tightly, her body was cold and he notices how her blouse was open and skirt undone. He wipes her tears and buttoned her shirt, before wrapping his jacket over her. “Everything will be alright, I promise.” He whispered and carried her towards his car. She couldn't even remember now. She wanted to tell them that she was scared, that she still is scared.

         Taeyeon held onto him tightly and slowly closed her eyes. She was exhausted and cold. As Leeteuk drove towards his home, he saw how she never let go of his hands and he gripped it tighter noticing how it shivered. He carried her towards his Villa and gently lay her down on his bed. He wiped her cuts and gently dabbed them with alcohol, before wrapping her in his blanket. Taeyeon was awake and called out for him, “Leeteuk.” He came towards her and allowed her to gulp down a glass of water. He could only imagine how long she stood, thirsty.

Leeteuk her cheeks, and began to cry at how the innocent girl before him almost got . He didn’t know what to do with himself if anything happened to her. “I’m so sorry, Taeyeon.” Leeteuk placed her head on his chest and fixed her tangled hair. She felt his breath on her ear and slid a tear. He softly pecked it away and cooed her to sleep. Her tiny voice whispered, "Where were you Leeteuk?" His eyes fogged and held her hands. "I promise, I won't ever leave you again."

He has heard from the nurses how she had spent her entire day, waiting and he has never seen her so afraid. "I thought you wouldn't come and I won't see you ever again," she teared. He wiped them away and her cheeks. Soon after she fell asleep, he stayed next to her, holding her in his arms.

She stopped crying and he never left her side as he watched her fall asleep. She shivered again, and he gently approached her face and placed his hand on her forehead and cheeks to soothe her with his warmth. "You deserve better then this," his whisper stated. You deserve better than me.

Leeteuk’s Villa

Jeonju, South Korea

“Taeyeon, I am not,” he started. “I am not a good person.”

She shook her head and cried. “Don’t say that, Leeteuk.”

“Oh but I am, I killed my sister. I killed her!” She cupped his face and he buried himself on her shoulder, sobbing continuously. She caressed his back and hushed him. “No, not to me.”

“My only memory of her was seeing how her body lay, cold, bruised and cut. She was bared and they left her in shame, but her face, her face was still clear. I could still see her and remind me clearly the way she would look at me, the days when we were young,” he smiled a little. “I told them to stop, but they didn't. The more they strangled her, the more I begged until they left us there in the fire. I managed to save her, but she was gone.” That explains his scars. And merely days later he had met her.

"No, listen to me okay? I know you. I do. But you, your actions. These are not the traits of a killer. You are a good person, Teuk. I believe you."

“Don’t you think I was the reason for her death? That I was responsible for it, Taeyeon?” he asked wearily. She faced him, searching for his eyes. “No you are not, Leeteuk. Everything you have felt since, you should have said it.”

"Because no one was listening," he whispered.

She moved her hand to his neck, rubbing it gently. "I would have listened."

The reason that he came later to the hospital was due to his encounter with his past, those foes that thrived on his fortune. What he didn’t know was that they had taken Taeyeon away, how they almost treated her the same way they did with his sister. It was until he reached the empty ward, he went beserk. Then there she was, and he would never forgive himself again.