3 days earlier 

A government car raced through the streets of Seoul. Well, maybe not just one car. There was a guard car going in front of it and another going behind it. Police motorbikes were on the sides. The sirens were on. People stopped to let them through. A bunch of journalists were tailing them.

The two groups arrived at the Central hospital. The journalists abandoned their vehicles and ran towards the entrance of the hospital to get their desired information while the police blocked them from getting near the government official. At the same time, Kang Dong Ho was seen getting off the government car. He went forward to make way through the crowd with the police. Following him, the Minister of National Defense Choi Sooyoung swiftly got out of the car. She quickly walked through the crowd and into the hospital. The crowd of journalists was incredibly noisy as they competed to interview Sooyoung. Some of them tried to snap pictures of her with their cameras. 

"Minister Choi, what are you doing here? Are you visiting someone?" 

"Minister Choi, congratulations on successfully completing another mission for your home country. Is this visit related to that mission? Did a government official get injured during the mission?"

"Minister Choi, could you tell us more about the mission? Did you get injured?"

"Minister Choi, how long will you be staying in Korea for?"

"Minister Choi, this is the first place you go to after arriving in Korea. Could you please tell us why?"

"Minister Choi, we heard that you ordered the military helicopters for your personal purpose, is that correct?"

"Minister Choi, are you here for a check-up?"

Their voices faded as the door closed behind Sooyoung. Dong Ho was going ahead of her, making way for her, opening the door for her and calling the lift for her. All doctors and nurses stopped to bow to her when they saw Sooyoung. She didn't have time to greet anyone. She was in a hurry.

Dong Ho got all the details of Hyoyeon's room in his memory so he knew where to go. Sooyoung was just following him. In fact, he was the one who organised the hospitalisation of Hyoyeon, under Sooyoung's command. When they arrived at the room, Dong Ho gently opened the door and they saw Tiffany sitting on a chair reading by Hyoyeon's bed.

"Minister Choi!" Tiffany put the book away and stood up upon seeing Dong Ho and Sooyoung.

"Tiffany, how are you." Sooyoung smiled briefly as she walked in. "Please, we went on a picnic together, do call me Sooyoung." Then she gave the room a habitual scan to check if everything was as good as she wanted for Hyoyeon. Hmm yes. All the best and proper treatment. 

"Yes, okay. Sooyoung." Tiffany nodded and smiled back. "I'm glad you can come here for a visit. Hyoyeon'd be very happy to know you dropped by." 

"Yes..." Sooyoung walked over to stand at the other side of Hyoyeon's bed. Again, she did a habitual scan at the sleeping Hyoyeon to check if everything was okay. Then she looked up at Tiffany. "Thank you for looking after Hyoyeon."

"Oh no, no need to thank me. It's what I am for. I'm her friend. I'm her family." Tiffany said with a soft and sincere voice. "Thank you for organising such a good treatment for her. And for saving her."

"Oh no. That's nothing. I wanted to do more for her." Sooyoung nodded. Dong Ho had brought a chair over and placed it down for her. She sat down and gently took Hyoyeon's hand. She looked at the sleeping girl and just kept watching her sleep like that. 

"Actually," Tiffany started. She thought she'd let Sooyoung have her private time with Hyoyeon. "I'm kinda hungry. I think I'll go grab some food. Could you help me keep Hyoyeon company please?"

"Oh, sure." Sooyoung answered. "No problem at all."

"Does anyone want anything? A drink? Sandwich?" Tiffany looked from Sooyoung to Dong Ho. "No? OK. I'll be back in a little. Thank you, Sooyoung."

"Enjoy your meal." Sooyoung smiled and nodded. After Tiffany had left, she told Dong Ho. "Dong Ho, please watch the door for me. I want to be alone with Hyoyeon. And if Tiffany comes back please be kind and keep her company until I come out." 

"Yes, madam." Dong Ho saluted and walked out, closing the door behind him.

----- 

Sooyoung's POV

I sat there by her bed, holding her hand. She was unconscious. Or sleeping. Yeah that's a better way to put it. Sleeping. She'll wake up soon, right? Right?? I frowned a little because I did not know the answer to that. The doctors said she had survived the critical stage, but she's still too weak to gain back her consciousness. She was deprived from oxygen for a dangerously long time. If we were 2 seconds later then we were, she could possibly have been gone by now. Sadness poured into me like a heavy, cold rain. It was sos sad to see Hyoyeon like this. It was so sad and painful to know that she was trapped in a fire, alone. She must had been so scared, and so traumatised. I pressed my lips together. The pain I felt as I thought about all those things were getting closer and closer to an unbearable point. So this is what sadness feels like? I asked myself. 

I pulled the chair closer to her so that I could sit closer to see her face. I placed her hand down at her side and stared at her face. At least she looked peaceful. But if it weren't for me, she wouldn't have gotten into this...

Flashback

"Ughh.." I groaned softly as I woke up feeling so sore. I took a second or two to take it easy and calmly refresh my mind.

Oh yes. I'm still breathing. I'm still living. God doesn't want me dead yet. I sighed in relief, and I thanked God for the successful mission. Still, something troubled me. And then I rememered about the worries I carried with me into the mission. Hyoyeon.

"Dong Ho." I said. And Dong Ho came into the room. I had absolutely no idea how he did that, always heard and responded to my calls no matter how softly I called out to him.

"Yes, Madam?" He saluted and I think he smiled a little. "I'm glad you woke up. Congratulations on the successful mission, Madam." 

"Thank you." I nodded. "What about the thing I asked you to investigate? How is that going?"

"I've been tracking the cultprit, Madam. They're an underground weapon dealer organisation. I believe they were involved with and were backing the party we destroyed in the last mission Madam." He reported everything smoothly. "I suspect that they set the place on fire to distract you, hoping that you would abandon the mission or at least delay it. Or just to damage you somehow, Madam." 

"And how did they know about the mission? How did they know whom to target and which place should be on fire?" 

"I believe they got the information from hacking your mobile device, Madam, by looking through your text messages and tracking locations." 

End of flashback

Right. If it wasn't because of me, Hyoyeon wouldn't have been targetted and got into grave danger. This thought put more weight on my heart. What should I do then? Well, the answer was obvious. I should stay away from her, in order to ensure her safety. I've been thinking about it ever since I heard Dong Ho's report. I tried to deny it. I tried to find a solution. I tried to compromise. I tried to find a way that I can be with her, and still keep her safe. But I could not think of any good plan.

I brought a hand up to her hair. Her hair was soft. And she smelt nice. Her skin was pretty. And so were all of the other features of hers. I loved being around her. She was beautiful. Her smile shined like a jewel reflecting the sun ray. She brought joy into my life. She somehow had become a source of happiness for me, something that I looked forward to everyday. I wanted to protect her, and to make her feel happy, too. I wanted to return the wonderful things she did to me. And I've done nothing, yet already caused her to face danger such as this. By this time, my fingers had trailed down to her cheek which was also very soft. I kept on gently caressing her cheek.

I sighed and took my hand back. I should stop what I'm doing. It's for the better. It's for her safety. And also for everyone around her. Without me, she'll be okay. She has friends and family. She has a future before her where she can fulfil her dream and have lots of kids... 

Without me, she'll be better off.

I might not be, but... that doesn't really matter. It is not as important as Hyoyeon's best interest...

And then I felt very sad. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I hated the idea of having to be away from her at heart. I hated that I now have to restrain my feelings. From now on if I wanted to talk to her, I'd have to think twice and keep my distance. I hated that I'd have to keep all these feelings to myself. These feelings that I didn't even have a chance to admit to myself is already taken away from me. No matter how many times I told myself that it's best for her, I still could not bring myself to like it. It still made me sad and made me cry every time I think about being parted from her. I don't want to do this.

But I'll do it. And maybe... since it's going to and end anyway, maybe I can finally... I just want to, for once, cherish the feelings I had.  It'll be the first and also the last time.

Hyoyeon ah, I love you. And I'm sorry. 

A/N: I wanted this to be longer but I thought I'd save the rest of my ideas for the next chapter :D apologies for any spelling mistakes or mistakes in general or if what I wrote don't make sense. I wrote this at 1am in one go and did not review properly because I'm too tired. And thanks for reading and the comments guys. You guys are the best readers.xx