“You do realize that right now you’re the prime suspect.”

The young man nodded, his eyes weary over the bandages on his otherwise flawless face. “Survivors always tend to be considered guilty. I suppose that why they call it survivor’s guilt.”

“First of all, what do you remember?” Uncle Shin sat in a plush chair behind a dark oak desk.

Yunho shook his head wryly, adjusting himself in the wheelchair. “I…I don’t if I am remembering or imagining anymore. I had so much time to reflect on what happened in the hospital, but I can’t seem to make any sense of the pieces in my head.”

“Then, what are the pieces that seem to stick out the most to you?”

Yunho took a deep breath. “Director Park aimed a gun at me. I heard a blast, felt a sensation of pain, and then everything went black.”

The old man nodded. “We will go with that then. There was a CCTV in the warehouse you were found in. There’s footage of you being inside, and then you trying to get out. The visuals go haywire after rubble starts falling down from the ceiling, but the audio continues document your pleading and screams. I am sure this evidence will be enough.”

*

Stephanie stared at the sunrise, her hair tousled. She took in a deep breath and smiled, like she was reliving the smells of where she was standing.

She took out her phone and sent a simple text.

“It’s time.”

As the phone sent, her hand started to tremble.

A pair of her arms embraced and pulled her from her shaky knees onto a steady ground. “You did the right thing,” Donghae’s husky voice came behind her left ear.

*

Krystal was rearranging the pillows on her bed when her phone beeped.

“It’s time.”

Her breath came in one sharp gasp as she saw the words. The necklace suddenly seemed to pierce her throbbing chest with an uncomfortable iciness.

“Krystal, are you okay?”

“Huh?” She turned and looked at her roommate Amber. “Oh, yeah. Listen, can I ask you for a favor?”

Amber turned from her own packing and shrugged, putting her hands in the pockets. “Sure.”

“Can you get me to this place nearby?”

Thirty minutes later, Krystal walked at a nearby park. She smiled at the sight. “Almost has nothing changed, unnie,” she whispered, as wind blew the hair around her face.

She took off the necklace and grasped the crystal in her tight fist. She closed her eyes and envisioned her sister in front of her, with a loving smile on her face, all the memories they shared-

“Krystal.”

Krystal’s heart froze, then her eyes opened.

Jessica smiled in front of her, her arms outstretched in front of her.

*

“The verdict is, not guilty.”

*SLAM*

The courtroom rang with applause as the lawyers stood up and shook hands. Yunho sat there in his wheelchair as everyone around him started to come back to life.

“Congratulations Yunho. We knew you were just an innocent victim. You will continue to be a free man.”

He smiled. “Free from prison, you mean sir. There are things we can never be free of.”

*

Stephanie stepped into the kitchen. “Well, what do you think?” She whirled around and smiled.

“Perfect,” Donghae said with a matching grin. “It matches your personality perfectly.” He took a strand of her new fiery hair and twirled it around a finger.

Stephanie giggled and escaped his grasp, running out of the room. Donghae chased her and finally caught her backed up against a door.

“Don’t,” Stephanie whispered as Donghae got closer.

“Why?” He said, freezing in place.

“This door was Soo-yeon’s.”

He stepped aside and she ran past him, laughing.

“HAH! Caught you! That was just a guest room!”

Donghae uttered a soft curse playfully and continued to chase her.

He caught her a second time at the large window in the kitchen. “You can’t escape me this time,” he growled, putting both hands against the wall on each side of her head.

Stephanie’s eyes twinkled. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she teased. Her eyes suddenly grew serious. “I got a call from Soo-yeon while I was at the salon.”

Donghae pushed off the wall, letting his hands drop to the side. “How is she?”

“Doing pretty okay. A little disoriented, but that’s to be expected.” Stephanie’s eyes locked onto his. “She doesn’t remember you.”

Donghae let the information sink in, but he felt nothing but relief. “It’s probably better if she doesn’t.”

“I guess.” Stephanie rubbed her left arm. “Before she left, she told me she was okay with us. So either way it’s fine.”

Donghae opened his mouth to speak when the doorbell rang.

Stephanie wordlessly went to get it and started unlocking the door.

“Wait, you don’t even to look out to see who it is?” Donghae asked coming up behind her.

“It’s Yunho.” Stephanie opened the door with a flourish.

Yunho sat there in a t-shirt and jeans. A smile broke across his face. “Hello, Tiffany, Donghae.”

“Stephanie,” Stephanie corrected him, going around to wheel him in.

“Ah right, Tiffany is like Jessica. Although before you corrected me, Tiffany was the only name I knew of,” Yunho replied.

“What’s up hyung?” Donghae said with a smile, exchanging a fist bump.

“My blood pressure if I don’t get out of this chair soon,” Yunho joked. “It’s quite tiring actually to have everyone pamper me.”

“Must be hard for everyone to wait on you, you’re so fussy,” Donghae shot back with a smile.

“Touché. Now, Stephanie, may I indulge myself on the information I requested for?”

“Are you sure about this?” she asked in reply.

Yunho nodded.

Stephanie handed a piece of paper. “The person she entrusted was her sister Krystal. Her number is on there if you have any trouble. The address is where she currently works on the weekends, but only weekends. You can try finding her at Stanford during the weekdays, but no one is really sure where she would actually be. She’s been a bit secretive.”

“A challenge.” Yunho’s eyes gleamed. “Well, wish me luck you two.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“I have a doctor’s checkup in an hour, and perhaps I could fly by tomorrow, so I need to pack. Toodles to you two and don’t have too much fun.” Yunho tucked the piece of paper in his pocket and wheeled himself out of the door before anyone else could react.

Stephanie raised an eyebrow at Donghae. “Toodles?”

Donghae smiled. “I haven’t seen him this happy since he was announced valedictorian. He tends to get informal when he’s that excited.”

*

Jessica sat at the bookstore, poring over her textbook with one earbud stuck in her right ear.

“Look into my eyes, it’s where my demons hide, it’s where my demons hide,” she sang underneath her breath as she flipped a page.

She loved this petite, quaint shop. Most of the customers were regulars, and they often hung out in the café. What wasn’t more heavenly than the aroma of coffee and books? Her studying was interrupted by the nicest of people, so she didn’t mind.

And best of all, no one asked any questions. No one seemed to blink twice when she looked up at them her brilliant blue eyes. She enjoyed not wearing her glasses and contacts on the weekends.

It tasted like freedom.

*

Yunho stood in front of the store. He checked the address with the letters on the piece of paper he held gingerly in his hand. His heart began to beat fast, a feeling that felt nostalgic.

As he entered, the bell above the door tinkled. The person at the cash register looked up, gave him a slight nod, and kept reading.

Yunho’s breath caught as he continued to scrutinize the person at the register. The light hair, the soft face…A familiar picture now revealed a delicate beauty he would have never considered before.

His footsteps seemed to glide over the floor. “Soo-yeon?”

Piercing blue eyes met his gaze, and his heart began to pound even louder in his ears, but this time with a different kind of fear.

“Excuse me, but who are you?” She asked in a hesitant voice.

THE END

[A/N]… AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Thank you guys for sticking with me for the last…wow, 8 months? 9 months more like it… HAH IT’S LIKE A BABY.

I can’t believe I wrote this barely after my birthday, and now here we are at Christmas.

So I guess you guys are really like, “Really, you’ve been giving us so many cliffhangers, you END with a cliffhanger?”

Okay seriously I didn’t plan it to be this way until a month ago.  Soo-yeon kinda just begged me one day though she wanted a totally new beginning. And I was like “Well…”

Now for once, I actually am planning out a sequel. Crazy, right? But someone needs to give me a title. And a poster. :P Well you guys don’t have to but I need time to plan that out, and the story needs to build on me. I also have two other fics going on (dear lord) that you should TOTALLY CHECK OUT! –shameless plug- But I promise you guys, there were will be a sequel created by Fall 2014. Although someone may need to remind me :3

If you guys liked this, please upvote! It would mean a lot to me. Also if you want the sequel, make sure you continue to be subscribed, I will make an update on this story when it comes out, if you don’t want to take the effort to stalk me throughout 2014. Trust me, I wouldn’t want to do that either :P And plus unsubscribing means clicking a button, which means effort. :P

UPVOTE FOR YUNSICA …and Dongfany? Is that the ship name? XD

Again thank you guys, Merry Christmas, in a week, Happy New Year, happy holidays, don’t forget to be awesome, I LOVE YOU! <3