Lost in thought, drowning in dark water of despair and sorrow, Chaerin ate in silence, imagining all kind of ways to escape her reality and move to that wonderful place her mind always showed her. It was a Utopia, she was happy, she was free and she was accompanied by those she loved and cherished. But reality was harsh on her, one day it promised her freedom, the other promised her the freedom of her loved ones, then the very next day, she was to be the hand that ended that freedom for eternity. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t how she had thought her life would be.

 Half done with her cupcake, Chaerin spotted at a distance a dark figure approaching her table. She looked at the table and grabbed the knife that she had been using to cut the cupcake firm on her hands. As the person got closer, she noticed he was accompanied by two other males, the three of them wearing black jackets with the hoodies thrown over their faces and a scarf covering the rest. She focused on them, the way they walked, the way they moved made her sigh in relieve as she realized who they were, and she quickly stood up, only to be greeted by a pair of hands holding her tight. It was Jiyong, he had finally arrived and was there with her. She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks, feeling again the security of his arms, the peace of his warmth, and the happiness of his self. He didn’t spoke a word, only held her tight on his arms, so tight she was starting to remember the pain on her body, and she flinched. Jiyong pulled away, looking at her with worried eyes.

“Is everything alright?” he asked as he looked at her. She nodded quickly, but he knew better, and took her shades off. His eyes widened in surprise, then his face showed the epiphany of hatred, of anger and rage. “Who did this to you?” He hissed. She remember the day at his studio, when she had a swollen eye due to an attack she received. He had gone crazy, and for a moment, though she didn’t noticed by then, he became the person he really was, a man whose hand wouldn’t tremble the moment he needed to kill, to torture, to murder.

“I’m alright Jiyong.” She said, then she shifted her gaze to his side, where James was slowly uncovering his face. Her eyes lightened, her body felt refreshed and her heart beated faster. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him until now, until she finally saw again those deep blue eyes, that golden hair, that slim figure. She quickly went over him and hugged him tight. He hugged her back, lifting her up from the floor. Wherever he held her, it hurt, but the happiness she was feeling was greater than that pain, and she could endure it only to feel her best friend close once again.

“My God, Chaerin. You have no idea how much I missed you.” He murmured on her ear. Chaerin closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. Yes, she had an idea.

“As much as I missed you.” She said and he slowly put her down after he heard the pain on her voice. He looked at her, then at Jiyong.

“I think we’ll be the ones judging if you’re alright or not.” Jiyong said, and Youngbae stood behind James, slightly hiding him as James quickly put his hands under her shirt, lifting it up a slight bit. She held her breath and quickly looked at Jiyong, who had a stern face as he looked at them, but the fierceness of it wasn’t because James was touching her, no, it was because he was angry at the fact she was hurt, she could tell as much.

James touched her ribs, and she shrieked silently as he made pressure on them. “She has three fractured ribs.” James said and then touched her lower abdomen, then her hips. She rolled her eyes as he continued examination her. “There’s also some internal bleeding, but nothing to worry about.” He finished.

“You’re out.” Jiyong said. Chaerin turned around to protest, but his eyes flared up, and she could almost see flames coming from them and his nostrils.

“You can’t pull me out.” She only said. He looked at her with the same fierceness he was showing, and the words caught up on as his jaw muscles clenched and unclenched, his fist balled into fist and his veins popped.

“I’m not asking you.” He said, his voice spilling hatred. She opened to talk but a slight touch on her shoulder make her look to her side, towards James, who had a softer look, but still wore that fierceness.

“Do as told, for once.” Was all he said before Youngbae grabbed her luggage and Jiyong put his hand on her forearm, almost dragging her with him.

As they were dragging her out, she took a quick glance over at the counter, over at the lady who had helped her so much. The lady was looking at them with curious eyes, and when she saw Chaerin, her eyes softened, as if realization had hit her straight in the face. Chaerin mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to which the lady nodded, a smile showing on her face as Chaerin was taken out of the café and into a car. She was made to sit on the backseat along with Jiyong, Youngbae sitting on the passenger’s seat while James took the driver’s seat. They set off into the road, a deafening silence took ownership of the whole trip back to whichever they were taking her. Jiyong didn’t spoke a word, he just stared at his window, outside of it. Chaerin would take a few glances over at him, only to find him on the same position, his left hand rested on the door as his hand hid half his face. His eyes narrowed, his eyebrows too, his jaw clenched and his right hand still balled into a fist.

They finally pulled to a stop, and Chaerin took a quick glance outside. She saw a fair house there, painted in gray. It was a two story house with a nice garden outside, a normal townhouse in the outsides of Hongdae. The doors were made of crystal, bullet proof crystal, Chaerin could tell as much. The windows were full panel windows made with the same crystal as the door, though thick brown curtains kept the insides of the house a mystery. James got out first, then Youngbae, leaving both Chaerin and Jiyong alone for a few seconds before Jiyong opened his door, putting a foot outside. He looked at her, his face still as fierce and stern as it had to be, and gestured her to get out, lifting his head a slight bit. She nodded and opened her door, going out of the car.

She had starting to get cold, and her body ache started to worsen. She limped her way towards the front door, and as she reached it, Jiyong stood next to her, his hand slowly s its way around her waist, giving her a light support. She wanted to smile, but his face made her feel as serious as he was looking. James opened the door, and inside she could see a small living room, people around it. They entered, and as soon as they did, all the people stopped to look at them. She noticed all the Big Bang members were there, even one she had thought as dead.

“TOP?” She said as soon as she saw him. He smiled and nodded, slightly greeting her.

“Hello Chaerin. So nice of you to join us.” He said. She must had look so idiotic, staring at him with open. Before she could say something else, Jiyong bent a bit to reach her ear, slowly pulling away her hair so he could get really close, so close his lips grazed her ear.

“It’s a long story.” He said, then planted a kiss on her ear, so sweet, so soft and tender she wondered if she had imagined it. She nodded quickly, then looked around. She saw Daesung sitting on the stairs cleaning a dagger. The only BB member missing was Seungri, but she didn’t stopped to wonder about him as she looked at the sofa. On it there were two young girls, about her age, one with red hair, the other one with a dark brown short hair.

“Did you guys found the key?” TOP said, to which Jiyong let out a sigh and walked Chaerin towards a sofa. He sat her there then sat next to her, letting out a sigh.

“Yes and no.” Was all he said. TOP looked at Jiyong with raised eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” He said. Jiyong extended his arms on the sofa and threw his head back, as if he was exhausted, as if energy was drown out of him.

“That the guy only gave us another clue, not real information.” James said. TOP nodded and sat next to the red haired woman, his hand resting on her hips.

“Then that’s too bad.” TOP said. Jiyong looked back up, his face suddenly showing the exhaustion Chaerin imagined he was feeling. His eyes looked drained, dark circles decorated the place under them. His face looked thin, his hair a mess and his skin pale.

“Where’s that youngster? Seungri?” Jiyong said, making Chaerin curious. TOP looked up at him and smirked.

“Sent him to look for the road.” TOP said and Jiyong nodded. Then TOP looked at Chaerin, his expression suddenly worried. “Do you need someone to attend those wounds?”

“Yes, she does needs it.” Jiyong spoke for her. She looked at him, suddenly too tired to even scowl at him, then back at TOP, who was saying something to the red haired woman.

“Great, Bom here will be helping you out. She’s great.” TOP said and the lady looked at Chaerin. And as Chaerin looked back at her, she felt lost in her eyes, deep, big and brown. It was astonishing how pretty she was, how cute and pretty and gorgeous she was. As she stared, Jiyong tapped on her thigh, a little bit too close to her crotch, and she quickly looked at him. She had thought he would be wearing a lustful stare, but he only looked at her with a small smile on his face, giving her a slight nod before he stood up, extending his arm at her.

“You can use my room. Take a bath, refresh yourself and allow Bom to clean those wounds for you.” He said as he lifted her up. Chaerin knew she had no other choice but to oblige, so she just nodded as he led her towards the stairs. As they stood at the base of them, the front door opened suddenly, and two shadows reflected on the walls made her turn around, so did Jiyong.

There, in the door, was standing Seungri, and the person next to him made Chaerin’s mouth dry, clenched and her stomach crumbled. She widened her eyes as the person took a few unsteady steps in, accompanied by Seungri, who was holding him firmly on his arm.

“Seungri? Who’s that?” Jiyong said, but Chaerin knew too well who that person was, and she took a few unsteady steps forward herself, feeling weak, her knees trembling, her hands sweating and her hair sticking to her neck. The person looked up at her, and both their eyes met, and again, a tear fell from her eye as she saw the reflection of herself in a male body.

“Father.”