Helen was frustrated – mainly with Hyun for playing such a dirty trick; a trick she couldn’t understand and secondly at Sungjong for being so stupid.  There really was no other word for his actions – stupid.  Helen had never thought it dangerous for her to be meeting with Infinite because of their mutual friend/manager.  She had never thought that her work would intervene with her relationship with Infinite.  Apparently she hadn’t considered many things…many important, life threatening things.  She walked alongside Jungryul and Hoya in silence as she thought about how stupid she had been.  How could I have put Jungryul and these boys in danger?  She mentally slapped herself.  But…how do I know there really is a danger?  She started to think on the opposite side of the scale.  Has Hyun really done anything for me to ring the alarm for?  She bit her bottom lip.  No, I suppose he hasn’t.  She winced as something tugged at the back of her mind.  Not yet.  Helen’s eyes went wide and her mind raced with horrible thoughts.  One stream of words kept flowing through her brain – “You need to leave.”  Her breath caught in . 

“You okay, kiddo?”  Jungryul put his arm around Helen’s back after he heard her cough.  She’d been silent for so long and even Hoya was becoming a little concerned – he had been joking with Sungjong ever since they left the restaurant but would occasionally sneak a glance at Helen.  He, too, noticed her thoughtful face and wondered what she was thinking about.

Helen realized she had stopped walking and so had everyone else.  She stopped biting her lip as she turned her head to look at Jungryul.  “I think…” she lowered her volume, “I think I need to go.”  Helen spoke. 

Sungjong thought it was because of Hyun back at the hotel.  Hoya frowned, upset that she didn’t want to spend more time with them before heading back.  Jungryul was the only one who understood what Helen meant.  She looked like she was about to cry; Jungryul could feel a hole forming in the depths of his heart.  Helen had no intention of coming back to the dorms tomorrow morning, nor the next day or the day after that; Jungryul died inside, knowing he may not see Helen for many years…maybe not until she was thirty.  He stared at her, letting wells of fluid cloud his eyes, not caring about what Hoya and Sungjong saw.  Jungryul’s eyes stung until a small stream fell down his cheek and landed on the sidewalk. 

Helen looked at the ground, unable to hold his gaze; she couldn’t bear to look at Hoya or Sungjong either.  “I’m so sorry, Appa.”  Her voice quivered and Hoya realized something was going on – Hyung never cries.  There’s nothing that can make him cry.  But here was his manager, the man who had led him through so many rough times during Infinite’s debut and to the present – here he was, crying because Helen needed to leave. 

Before Hoya could react or comfort Jungryul Helen turned in the opposite direction; without saying a word she started to walk away from the three men.  Jungryul finally came to his senses after she’d gotten a few yards away.  His tone changed; Hoya had never heard Jungryul this angry before, “How dare you Helen.”  More tears dripped off of his face.

“Hyung…”  Hoya reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.  “She’s just leaving-“

Jungryul cut Hoya off, “Leaving!  Exactly!  She’s just leaving!”  He shoved Hoya away.  “You’re always leaving, Helen!  You say you’re helping people…good people…people who need your help, but what about me?!”  Hoya looked down the street; Helen had stopped walking but she didn’t turn around.  Jungryul continued, knowing he had her attention.  “I’m your father, Helen.”  His voice cracked as tears flowed freely from his eyes.  “I will always be your father…from the moment I met you, nine years ago, I knew I would always be your father.”  Helen’s head turned to the side, slightly, trying to hear Jungryul through all the blubbering.  “I know what happened to your parents, Helen; I know you remember now too…you have to know by now; I know that’s what you’re afraid of…you’re afraid of it happening again…to me.  I know…” Jungryul dropped his hand into his face and he fell to the ground, crouching as he wiped the tears off of his face.  Hoya was stunned; he didn’t know what to do.  Sungjong stood a few feet away, his mouth agape in shock as well. 

Helen listened for a few more seconds, waiting for Jungryul to continue.  When he stopped yelling and all she could hear was him gasping for breaths between sobs, she turned around to face the three men.  She couldn’t hold back her tears any longer when she saw Hoya bent over Jungryul, trying to comfort the man who had fallen to the ground.  The things Jungryul had said caused images to flash before Helen’s eyes.  She winced as she let free repressed memories – she saw two people laying on a bed…dead…her mother and father – unmistakably having been murdered.  The scene changed and she watched herself, nine years ago, approached an unsuspecting Jungryul while she held a white, bent and wrinkled envelope in her small hand.  The scene changed again – a man picked her up from behind, covering her eyes and taking her out of the house as she screamed and writhed in his strong grasp.  She could hear footsteps all around her but a distinct sound caught her attention – the noise of a camera came from inside the house; radio chatter whispered in a back room somewhere.  The man who had carried her set her down on the lawn outside of her home as he dug through his pockets.  Helen was crying, snot and everything in between stuck to her face as her skin turned blotchy and red.  The man was wearing a mask – a biohazard mask – he knelt down to her level, holding a large wad of money in front of her, a rubber band held it together.  His English was garbled by the mouth piece, “Take this.”  Helen hesitated; he reached for her arm and put her small palm around the money.  Another man, in the same uniform: biohazard mask, gray jumpsuit with a lion insignia embroidered on his shoulder, and black combat boots approached from behind.  The man said nothing as he held out a white envelope; it exchanged hands until it reached Helen.  They forced it in her hand and put a small paper in her other.  “Read this to me.”  The mask made a hissing noise as the man breathed still crouched to her eye-level.  Helen’s hand shook as she lifted the paper to her face – it was instructions with a picture of Jungryul attached to it.  “Can you find this man if we get you to the airport?”

The flashback ended; Helen realized where she was – the street with Hoya, Sungjong and Jungryul crying on the sidewalk.  “Appa…” her voice was weak as she called out.  “I can’t lose you, Appa.” She closed her eyes but all she saw was the lion insignia blazing gold and red behind her eyelids.  Madacorp.

Hoya was confused and at a loss for words.  This was a situation beyond his comprehension; he worried about what his place was in this situation.  We shouldn’t even be here.  Hoya was panicking and his thoughts raced from what to do with Jungryul, was Sungjong ok, what was Jungryul talking about and then back again.  Nothing was making sense and all he wanted to do was take Sungjong home and forget about how strange this all seemed.  But for some reason, when he tried to stand up, his feet felt glued to the cement beneath him; he couldn’t stand up, he couldn’t turn to Sungjong and he couldn’t move…he didn’t want to move. 

“Helen.”  Sungjong’s voice echoed in the empty street.  “Come here.”  His tone was soft but demanding, leaving no room for argument; Helen obliged without a moment’s hesitation. 

Sungjong’s voice made Hoya immediately regret his past thoughts.  Why was Sungjong so…cool…in this situation; how come Sungjong wasn’t panicking?  Hadn’t he been concerned after seeing Jungryul cry; after hearing what Jungryul had said about Helen?  Hoya turned his head, trying to get an idea of Sungjong’s emotions about the situation.  There was nothing but determination written on the young man’s face; Hoya couldn’t help but be comforted by it – at least someone was taking control of the situation.  I swear Sungjong…sometimes I think you’ve got it more together than anyone I know.  Hoya breathed deep, trying to calm himself.

Helen knelt beside Jungryul, across from Hoya; she didn't bother to ask him to leave as she started talking.  “They think I don’t need you anymore, Appa; they think I shouldn’t need you anymore.  The company has complete intent to make me solely dependent on them.  They want you out of the picture.”  The two couldn’t make eye contact.  “These boys you have here…” she picked her head up and looked at Hoya; he could tell she wasn’t really seeing him in front of her but instead she was thinking about him and the other boys.  “Because of me…these boys could be in danger.”  Hoya frowned, hoping for an explanation.  He desperately wanted to ask how much trouble could a little girl like Helen be in but he resisted the urge and stayed silent.  “I can’t let the people I truly care about die because of me…again.”  At these words, Jungryul’s head shot up.  “Helen…your parents…they weren’t…they didn’t…”

“I know, Appa.”  Helen’s eyes were soft and watery as she silenced Jungryul from speaking anymore.  “I fight for you, Appa; I fight to keep you and boys like them safe; to make sure what happened to my parents doesn’t happen again.”  Her eyes filled with hatred.

“Helen.”  Hoya interrupted.  His voice drew her attention away; she had forgotten he was sitting two feet away from her with Jungryul between them.  “Come back to the dorm tonight; stay with us.”  fell open but she couldn’t form the right words.  “Please.”  She saw the pleading look in his eyes but still nothing came out of .  Hoya stood up, startling Helen as he gently pulled her up off of the ground easily and swiftly.  He s his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.  He put pressure on her back as he led her down the street and back to Infinite’s dorm.  Sungjong comforted Jungryul and the two followed Helen and Hoya. 

When they four arrived at the base of the steps, Sungjong helped Jungryul climb upstairs.  Helen started to climb the first step but Hoya grabbed onto her wrist; he pulled her back down and made her face him, tilting her chin up so she would meet his eyes.  He took a step closer to her, leaving little room between them as he looked down at her.  Hoya could see the worry seeping in through Helen’s eyes as her body tensed under the close contact.  He smirked, proud of the effect he was having on her – in some cases it made him feel as if he proved to her that he was better than Hyun.  Yeah…he felt silly – after the whole episode in the street – that he was still comparing himself to Hyun but it didn’t matter, because for some reason, he was still completely attracted to Helen.  With one hand he pushed a lock of red hair off of Helen’s shoulder and moved his face centimeters away from hers; Helen swallowed.  “You’re going to tell me everything.”  With that said, Hoya closed the distance.  He put his head beside Helen’s and wrapped her between his arms, tight but soft.  He was going to protect her whether or not she had the confidence to ask for his help or not.