She was tuning her guitar backstage, preparing for her performance. "Unnie please give me an autograph~" a aegyo-filled voice sounded behind her. She didn't need to turn to find out who is it. She pretended not to hear and ignored the voice.

"Unnie~" the girl whined while pulling onto Taeyeon's sleeves. That's it, she can't take the aegyo anymore and pretended to punch the girl in the face "Argh shut up Soonkyu ah" while Sunny pretended to get hit and laughed heartily.

"Yah don't call me that here, I have a reputation" Sunny punched Taeyeon in the shoulder lightly. 

"Sunny ah with that so-called aegyo, I would have killed you if you are not my best friend" Taeyeon rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't~" Sunny wriggled her eyebrows.

Taeyeon felt her phone vibrating and took out her phone from her back pocket to check the caller. Bomi. She showed the screen to Sunny and immediately placed her guitar on the stand beside and walked further backstage to a quieter region before answering. 

"Oh Bom-ah" Taeyeon spoke into the phone.

There was no response, making Taeyeon pull the phone away to see if the call was still connected

"Bom-ah why? Did something happen?" She spoke again, with her eyebrows furrowed. 

"Unnie.." Bomi's soft voice was heard before her sobs got louder and her breaths became uneven. 

"Bomi ah what happened, where are you?" Taeyeon raised her voice as she was starting to worry.

"Please.. come.. I.. I'm at home" Bomi's sobs were getting uncontrollable and she could not speak anymore. 

"I'll be right there Bomi ah everything will be alright I'm coming" Taeyeon said firmly before running off to Sunny to call off her performance. 

When she arrived, she did not even bother to wait for the change as she dashed out of the cab and ran up to the apartment. She was shocked to see everything in a mess when she opened the door. Her stepmother was no where to be seen. 

"Bomi ah? Bomi ah where are you" she ran to her sister's room and panicked when she saw the mess on the floor and bed. She heard the water running in the bathroom and rushed there.

Her heart broke when she opened the door of the bathroom. Bomi was curled up in a ball in the bathtub, her head buried in her knees. She was shivering while the water from the shower was pouring on her.

"Bom-ah what happened" she walked to her sister, turned off the tap and flung a towel over Bomi who was shaking.

When there was no reply, she began to notice the torn shirt her sister was wearing, revealing her bra and she was only in her underwear which was partially torn as well.

Suddenly, she wasn't sure if everything will be alright. Her arms found her way around her sister, pulling her in an embrace. 

Bomi slowly lifted her head and stared at her sister. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were full of tears. 

"Let's get you dry first, you'll fall sick like that" Taeyeon cooed but Bomi shook her head and sobbed "I'm d-dirty. I n-need to c-clean. D-d-dirty I'm D-" 

"Shhh" Taeyeon hushed her sister comfortingly, holding back her tears. All the possible scenarios were running in her head and she could only hope that it was not what she thought it was.

"Bom-ah I need to know so I can help you" Taeyeon tried again.

Her sister was still shaking badly which made her tighten her embrace.

"They c-came for money a-and.. U-umma.. wasn't here.. T-they..r-.." Bomi could not continue the statement as she snuggled into her sister, her muffled wails breaking her sister's heart into a million pieces. 

"Let's go to the hospital" Taeyeon softly said and grabbed onto Bomi's arms firmly but softly to help her up. Bomi tried to stand but within a second her legs went limp and she sat back into the tub with a whimper.

Taeyeon was on the verge of breaking down, hoping that it was just a nightmare but it was reality and she had to be strong for her sister at this point of time. 

"Okay wait here I'll get some dry clothes" She said turning away but felt a tight grip on her wrist. "Don't leave me please" Bomi whimpered

Taeyeon bit her lips at the heartbreaking sight of her sister being vulnerable. She crouched down to her level and caressed her cheeks. "I won't leave you ever, Bom-ah but right now I need to get your clothes. 20 seconds. Just 20 seconds okay." 

Bomi slowly nodded and let go while Taeyeon gave a kiss on her cheeks before rushing to the closet. 

She was back within seconds and helped to dry and change Bomi. She could not help but take note of the scratches and bruises around her sister's body. She was fuming and vowed in her heart to find the culprits and make sure they pay for this.

She was putting on the shoes for Bomi when she heard the honks of a car. Bomi was just staring into space, her eyes soulless. 

"Can you walk?" She held onto Bomi, supporting her. She had called Sunny to tell her that it was an emergency, to please drive them to the hospital. Bomi tried to take a few steps but her legs went limp again. Taeyeon managed to catch her before she fell onto the ground.

"Okay how about you get on my back" She said, positioning herself in front of Bomi.

Yet again, a piggyback didnt seem possible as Bomi let out a pained whimper when she tried to open her legs wider in order to get on her sister's back.

She clutched onto the back of Taeyeon's shirt, gasping in pain.

"Okay Bom-ah wrap your arms around my neck." Taeyeon said before putting an arm around Bomi's back and the other under her knees, lifting her sister up. Yes she is petite and shorter than Bomi but when the situation calls for it, she can be strong for her sister both physically and mentally if she needs to. 

When they reached the lobby, Sunny rushed to help by opening the car door for them. The ride to the hospital was silent, with Taeyeon embracing Bomi in comfort.

*****

"Taeng if you keep pacing back and forth I'm going to get motion sickness" Sunny sighed only to get ignored. Bomi had fainted when