Yunho stood at the corner of a street. He stared uselessly ahead at the ambulance in front of him. The siren wailed as the paramedics hefted the stretcher inside. Then the doors closed.

And so did his heart.

Yunho woke up, gasping for air. He immediately got up and stumbled to the bathroom, splashing water on his face.

He looked in the mirror, his eyes wide open, vulnerable. “Umma…”

*

Soo-yeon walked into the classroom, again the first one. The assistant nodded at her and handed her a packet. She gave a slight bow as she received it, glancing at the cover. They were the notes from yesterday.

“Thank you.” She then went to sit down. As she did, other students started to file in.

She tried to pay attention to the lecture, but somehow her thoughts kept on swirling. USB…memory…appointment… She shook her head and checked her agenda book. Her appointment with the dean was at 4 o’clock on Thursday, like it had been for the past few days.

Aish, I need to stop worrying!

She twirled her pen in her hand as she refocused her attention onto the professor. At that moment, a note landed on her desk.

She looked around, but the person who had thrown it to her had quickly turned around so she couldn’t distinguish the sender. She opened it.

Why?

She didn’t need someone to turn around to know who had written the message.

*

“Director Jung!”

Yunho turned around to see Director Park Yoonho catch up with him. “Hello, sir,” Yunho said respectfully to the older man.

“Now, now, we don’t need the formalities, do we?” Mr. Park said with a cheerful tone.

Yunho only offered a slightly uneasy smile in return as the older man laughed.

“I actually came to see you to ask you what you thought about on acquisitioning Redstone.”

“Redstone?” Yunho furrowed his eyebrows. “Isn’t that a tech company?”

“So you have heard about it?” Mr. Park said, gesturing to Yunho that the two should start walking down the hall.

Yunho complied, following the older man. “No, I mean, I hadn’t heard anything about buying it out. But I thought White Hall was an investment company.”

“Investment is not the only thing we do, Director Jung. White Hall is also specializes in security. We not only make sure the transactions we do for our customers are secure, we also provide security in person and within networks. That is why we have multiple directors, so the multiple areas the company is in charge of are all covered.”

“Why wasn’t I told this during the tour?”

“They probably thought you already knew, Director Jung. After all, you did much research in the Jung Fortune Incorporation for your father. Speaking of your father, how is he?”

“He’s doing well.”

“And you know nothing else? What kind of son are you?” Mr. Park asked in a teasing tone.

Yunho stopped and fully turned around. “Director Park, my father and I had an agreement to not meddle into each other’s lives as adults. Although he is my father, he does not need parenting from me and vice versa.”

“Oh, yes, I-I’m sorry,” Director Park stammered.

“It’s fine.” Yunho turned back to the direction they had been walking. “I guess most people don’t have this relationship with their parents.” He turned again to Director Park. “I’m sorry, Director Park, but I have a meeting I must check on. I hope we can continue this conversation at another time.Please excuse me.” He gave a slight bow, then glanced up with a look that said his appeal to leave was not to be turned down.

Director Park hurriedly bowed back, and watched Yunho walk away.

Arrogant…

*

“Soo-yeon?”

Soo-yeon looked up to see her advisor, Kim Mi-yeon. “Yes?”

The woman smiled. “You’re done for today.”

“But I missed two hours yesterday. I’m making them up-“

“You did not miss them. You just used them to work on a different assignment. Go home, Soo-yeon.” Her mentor crossed her arms, giving her a look that told Soo-yeon she would not give up.

Soo-yeon gave a small smile and turned off her computer. “Thank you, Ms. Kim.”

Her mentor waved away her thanks. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Soo-yeon.”

Soo-yeon packed up her things and made her way out of the building. As she waited at the bus stop, her phone beeped. She took it out and answered it.

“Yoboseyo? Yes, this is Jung Soo-yeon.” She listened for a while. “You have the records? And witnesses? What time is best?” She paused again. “Sure, I can meet you at the square. Thank you so much.”

She hung up just as the bus arrived. She sat down on a seat and sighed, closing her eyes in relief. Now, Soo-jung, I will hear the truth about why you left school.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a family board the bus. The two parents sat on the seats and sat their two girls on their laps.

“Now, what do my two girls want today?” The father said with a smile.

“Ice cream?” They chorused, then giggled.

Soo-yeon looked at them with longing. We used to look like that…when did we stop? How long has it been?

tightened as those questions ran through her mind. No! I can’t cry, especially not in a public place.

She got off the bus and walked quickly through the doors. She pressed the elevator button, sniffing a little. After waiting a while, she pressed the button again, and again, until she was jamming it like crazy. Finally, she gave a huff and opened the door to the stairs.

Soo-yeon reached her apartment, out of breath as she struggled to unlock the door to her apartment.

Am I crazy…to still hope for the life we used to have…

She staggered out onto the balcony. The sun shone in the relatively clear sky, warming her face. Krystal, do you remember? On a day like this, Mom and Dad brought us to the beach. It was our last day with them where we had fun…

That’s when the tears broke loose.

*

“Okay, I’ll meet you there.” Yunho hung up and continued walking down the street. He stopped for a second and a questioning look came onto his face. Is that someone crying?

He looked up and saw someone sobbing at the railing. He squinted.

Soo-yeon?

He walked up to get a better look.

Soo-yeon!

That’s when he decided his meeting could wait a little while.

*

Soo-yeon felt her tears subside. She wiped her eyes and stood up again. She turned and gasped, taking a step back.

Yunho stood in front of her, his face emotionless.

“Why are you here?” Soo-yeon whispered. “How did you even get here?”

Yunho stared at her, as if his eyes were piercing through her soul. Then he glanced at the wall. Soo-yeon looked over to see the decorative rods on the building, which at least made it possible to scale the walls. “I saw you crying,” he said simply.

Soo-yeon felt her face harden. Why is he worrying about me? “What part of ‘Stop’ did you not understand?” She asked harshly, her voice cracking.

“What part of ‘Why’ do you not understand?” he shot back.

She turned away from him.

“Why do you not like showing your weaknesses?” Yunho continued. “We are all humans, so we all have emotions. It’s perfectly normal-“

Soo-yeon turned, her eyes filled with rage. “The reason why my family was torn apart was because they showed their weaknesses!” She shouted. “No one knows…no one cares…” She sniffed, her eyes shifting as she tried to regain her composure.

“You still have your sister.” Yunho said calmly. She looked at him as he continued talking. “You can’t escape the human part of you and become a monster or a robot because you’re afraid of losing everything. Because then you have to lose loving your sister, and that’s what you’re fighting for. I’m not going to pretend I know what went on with your family, but you can’t just shut yourself away from the world because you’re afraid!”

Soo-yeon looked at him for a long time. “Who said I was afraid?” She finally asked.

Before he could reply, she stood and up and jumped off the balcony.

“Soo-yeon!” Yunho stood up and ran to the railing, his eyes open in alarm.

[A/N] ...And that's why it was taking me a long time to update.

Hope y'all enjoyed it! So what do you guys like better-long chapters with long waiting periods or short chapters with short waiting time?

FIGHTING!