Author's Note: This chapter is a direct sequel of Chapter 13: The Comet Project from my fanfiction "Jumping To The Rescue". Read it if you want to know why Way's hand is cut up or why she hates the Captain. :)

Chapter 20

One week later…

            “Protect Girls’ Generation…”  Minseon stumbled through the halls of her apartment building, considering the absurd words she had heard just a few minutes ago.  She chuckled to herself as she attempted to find her apartment.  Her keys dangled in her hands as she looked at each apartment number.  “3A…3B…Wait…Don’t I live on the second floor?”

            “Minseon-ah.”

            Minseon turned around to see that odd “Captain Hwang” yet again.  He stood a few feet away from her with an amiable smile on his face.

            “You’re that crazy Sone from a few minutes ago, right?” she laughed illegibly, barely keeping her balance.  “I can’t believe my sister fell for your crazy game.  What is your real plan?  I swear, if you hurt her…”

            “Minseon-ah.”  The Captain quickly reached out his arms as she stumbled forward.

            “Ya, get your hands off of me,” she ordered.  Her drunken state made her incapable of rejecting his help, and she only fell limply into his arms.  As he lifted her up from the ground, she flailed weakly.  “I could kill you…”

            Ignoring her feeble objections, the Captain took her down one flight of stairs to her apartment.  Minyoung and Boram stood outside the door and gasped in shock as the Captain approached them with Minseon.

            “Oh my goodness, is she okay?” Boram asked frantically.

            “She’s just very, very drunk,” he explained with a sigh.  “Thank you guys for coming at such short notice.  Can you take the keys from her hand and open the door?”

            Minyoung reached for the keys in her hand, but noticed the bloody towel wrapped around it and gasped yet again.  “Captain, her hand is all cut up!”

            “That’s why I need your help.  Open the door so we can get inside and fix her hand.”

            After opening the door, the four of them quickly entered the apartment.  Boram gestured to a short, cushiony couch in the living room, and the Captain gently placed Minseon on it.  On the verge of unconsciousness, Minseon gripped her stomach and grimaced.

            “My stomach hurts,” she cried.  “Unnie…”

            “I think she wants Minjin,” Minyoung suggested nervously.

            “Unnie is here, Minseon-ah,” Boram called suddenly, pushing the hair from Minseon’s face.  “She’s definitely had a lot to drink.  She’s going to start vomiting pretty soon.  We’d better patch up her hand before then.”

            “And we have to keep her awake,” Minyoung added earnestly.  “Or else she’ll choke on her own vomit.”

            “Your medical training is definitely paying off, Minyoung-ah,” the Captain chuckled, retrieving a large bowl from the kitchen.

            “Ya, one day I’ll save one of the Girls’ Generation members from choking on their own vomit,” Minyoung insisted with a glare.  “Then you’ll be grateful.”

            “Ya, Minseon-ah.”  Boram gave a bright smile as she cradled Minseon’s face in her hands.  “I’m Boram unnie.  I’m going to help take care of you, okay?  Minyoung-ah, hand me the sterile wipes.  We need to get rid of his blood before wrapping this up for good.”

            As Minyoung searched through her first-aid kit for the proper items, Boram carefully examined Minseon’s hand.  She looked closely at the lacerations, inspecting for pieces of glass.

            “Minjin did a pretty good job of wrapping it up,” the Captain explained.  “But I thought you two should give it another look just in case.”

            “I don’t see any other pieces of glass,” Boram reported.  “We just need to sterilize it and wrap it up.  You’re going to be fine, Minseon-ah.”

            “I don’t feel good at all,” Minseon whined groggily.

            “Go ahead and sterilize it, Minyoung-ah,” Boram instructed, moving closer to Minseon’s face.  “Minseon-ah…”  She noticed the tearstains on Minseon’s face and frowned.  “Minseon-ah, has it been a difficult night?”

            “Where is Minjin?” Minseon asked as new tears filled her eyes.  “I want Minjin.”

            “It’s all done, unnie,” Minyoung told quietly.

            Just as Minyoung finished speaking, Minseon’s tired eyes opened wide, and she quickly sat up on the couch.  She clutched at her stomach, and the Captain quickly placed the bowl in front of her face.  Everyone gasped as Minseon vomited into the bowl.  Boram quickly reached for her hair and held it out of her face as she remained hunched over the bowl.

            “Does this happen every time she plays a show?” Minyoung asked in awe.  “Who helps her with this on those nights?”

            “Usually Soomin helps her,” the Captain informed before walking towards the bathroom.  He returned with a towel and handed it to Boram.  “Tonight I told her that I would take care of her.  I thought Minseon might accept my offer…But it just wasn’t the right time.”

            Boram gently wiped Minseon’s mouth as she lay back down on the couch.  “She didn’t accept your offer, Captain?”

            “No…And I’m sort of afraid she never will.”

            The three of them were alarmed yet again by Minseon’s sudden lurch forward.  Boram reacted swiftly, holding the girl’s hair back as she vomited yet again.  Minyoung winced in disgust before turning her head away and gagging. 

            “Keep it together, Minyoung-ah,” the Captain pleaded.

            As Minseon reclined again, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and fell into a deep sleep.  The Captain, Boram, and Minyoung sighed in relief.  Taking the bowl of vomit, Boram made her way to the bathroom to dispose of it.

            “Captain, we have to get Minseon to join our group,” Minyoung urged sternly.  “You’ve seen how helpful we’ve been to Minjin just over the past few weeks.  We could help Minseon the same way.”

            “Minyoung-ah…it seems very unlikely that Minseon will ever be interested in this mission,” the Captain told dismally.  “She just too…damaged.”

            “Don’t even say that, Captain,” Minyoung interrupted bitterly.  “I know Minseon has experienced other things that add to her pain, but she is not beyond healing.  Hyekyeong and I promised Soomin to help them both.  We intend to do just that.”

            “It’s really up to her,” he replied.  “Whether she eventually joins or not…we need to begin promotions soon,”

            “Promotions?”  Boram returned from the bathroom with a confused expression on her face.  “We’re going to begin promotions without our fifth member?”

            “Serang will have to fill in for the time being.  With the release of The Boys approaching, we need to be active.  It will garner international exposure.  The girls will be performing their first ever Hong Kong concert in January, and I would like for us to be there with them.”

            “That’s in three months,” Boram told in amazement.  “Could we really get something together that quickly?”

            “If we work hard, it’ll all go well,” he proposed.  “You girls should get back to Minjin and Hyekyeong.  I’ll stay with Minseon tonight just in case she starts to choke on her own vomit.”

            “It’s a serious thing, Captain,” Minyoung contended solemnly.  “Really, keep an eye on her.”

            “I could stay with her, Captain,” Boram suggested.

            “When she wakes up, she won’t recognize you.  And she’ll attack you.”  The Captain took a seat in the armchair across the room.  “I’m sure Minyoung and Hyekyeong have told you about the twins’ past.”

            “They did mention it briefly…”  Boram looked at Minseon with a gloomy gaze.  “Minseon-ah…recover well, okay?”

            “Get some sleep, girls,” the Captain grinned.

            “We’re going to need it if you want us to learn and record a song in three months,” Minyoung sighed.

            Minyoung and Boram slipped out of the apartment quietly and walked down the stairs to the city streets.  As they stepped out into the night, Boram cautiously observed their surroundings.

            “Should we get a cab, Minyoung-ah?”

            “I can protect us, unnie,” Minyoung assured with a small smile.  She began to lead Boram down the sidewalk toward the Chrome Entertainment building.  “Are you not confident in your training?”

            “Well…it’s only been a week,” Boram told sheepishly.  “I’ll get better.  Honestly…I’m still very surprised about this whole Girls’ Generation thing.”

            “I wouldn’t be too concerned with it, unnie.  Honestly, the three of us sort of think the Captain is a little insane.”

            Boram chuckled quietly and looked over at Minyoung.  “I’m really glad I’m able to spend time with you three.  Something about you gives me strength.”

            “Ah, well, that’s really sweet of you,” Minyoung replied bashfully.

            Looking down at the ground, Boram gave a long sigh.  “Minjin and Minseon…they’ve really suffered.  I want to take care of them now that I’m here.”

            “Even if you’re cleaning up Minseon’s vomit?”

            “Even if I’m cleaning up your vomit, Minyoung-ah,” Boram smiled.  “Yes…I’ll try to do my best for all of you.  I’ll try not to let you down.  The only thing that worries me most is…learning a new song in three months.”