The curtain was slightly open, moonlight entering the room, making soft shadows on top of her. She looked from the thin gap of the curtain, it was a starry night, the moon shining bright on top of the buildings. It made her curious, just how big would it be? Slowly, she stood up from bed and took cautious steps, until she reached the curtains, and flew them open. There, the moon, high in the sky, shining proudly, illuminating everything at its path. It made her smile for a slight bit. Sometimes, she could relate with the moon, even in nights, as dark as this one, it could shine so bright, it would make the darkness go away. She tried to shine bright, tried to remain strong, but the will of it has long left her bones.

Chaerin was no longer strong, she had lost her strength many nights ago. For once, she wanted to be a damsel in distress, wanted to be a princess that needed a prince to save her. Wanted to succumb to a mortal sleep, waiting and waiting for that charming prince to wake her up. For many nights, has she wanted to make her wish real, to end everything and simply sleep. Life had something else prepared for her, she was certain. How could someone survive what she survived? How could someone endure what she endured? She could be strong once again. Embracing herself, she continued to look at the moon, hoping it’s light would shine bright within her, casting out every shadow, made by the darkness that had surrounded her.

Oddly, a few rooms apart, could be lying the creator of that darkness. Could be lying in a white bed, probably asleep, probably dead, but his body would be there. She was almost too certain of it. She wanted to go, to enter the room and see for her own eyes if she was right, but she couldn’t, not because of the constant watch of Jonghyun, or Taemin’s, but because she wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t strong enough to bear looking at whatever she had made of Kwon Jiyong. He could be ruined, or could be stronger, either way, she didn’t wanted to know. It would be too painful to see him suffer, but it would be even more painful to see him doing alright. It was a loss, whenever she looked. “It would be better to just forget.” She whispered to herself.

“Forget what?” A soft voice talked behind her. She slowly turned around, only to see Jonghyun closing the door behind him.

“Eavesdropping?” She said, but he quickly shook his head no.

“No, I just got here.” He said, now sitting on her bed. Chaerin smiled softly, God only knew how hard it was for her to smile again, but she did.

“I’m glad.” She said, looking at him. There was no denying he was a handsome man, and there was no denying she would gladly give in to his charms, given other circumstances. But her heart was already filled, either by love or by agony, it was full.

“How are you doing?” He asked softly. She shrugged and walked towards her bed, slowly sitting down next to him.

“I am good.” She said, now having a more descent look of him. He looked tired, his eyes looked smaller, with dark circles underneath them. She felt guilt again, but at the same time, she could feel happy. “You are tired.” Jonghyun smiled and lowered his head.

“I’m fine.” He said softly. She crooked her head, then nodded, understanding something she wouldn’t want to understand anymore.

“You’ve spent more days awake, right?” She said, and he nodded again, still looking down. “Why won’t you look at me when I ask these things?” She said softly, slowly putting her hand on top of his. He looked up, his eyes sincere, boring into hers.

“It’s nothing.” He said. She blew her bangs and pouted.

“No one looks at me these days.” She mumbled. He quickly shook his head no, his hand retreating from hers.

“It’s not that.” He said, then let out a sigh. “You’re still pure.”

“Oh, believe me, I am not.” She said in a scoff. Jonghyun smirked.

“For me, you are.” He said softly. Chaerin looked at him in disbelieve. How could someone still think of her as pure when she had done so many wrong things? “Anyways, I’ve come to give you good news.” It caught her by surprise, the way he hastily moved away from the bed. She had only seen one person do movements as fast as he just did.

“G-Good news?” She echoed. Jonghyun nodded, now standing in front of the window. The shadows over his face made her heart flutter. His silver hair shined as silver, his eyes looked dark, his posture menacing. It made her heart race, and also, it made it hurt. He looked like Jiyong, a broader, shorter version of him. She looked to the side, holding it a gasp as she felt the pain going up . She wasn’t over him yet.

“You’re being dispatched from the hospital.” Jonghyun said. Chaerin widened her eyes, daring herself to look at him. He was smiling, that was different from Jiyong. Jiyong’s smiles always looked mischievous, while Jonghyun’s looked pure, filled with happiness, sincere.

“Really?” She said in disbelieve. “Am I in condition to leave?”

“Doctor Choi said it was ok for you to leave.” Jonghyun said with a shrug. “Whatever remaining treatment, it could be given at your house.”

“And when am I leaving?” She said. Jonghyun smiled and looked through the window. He was looking down, ignoring the beautiful moon on top of them.

“In about, five minutes.” He said. She narrowed her eyebrows and walked towards the window. At the main entrance there was about five black Escalades, all in a row, with suited men walking towards the hospital.

“So much for discretion.” She muttered. Jonghyun chuckled, now looking at her.

“Safety first.” He said. Chaerin shook her head and walked towards the bed.

“Am I the first daughter or something?” She said as she sat down. Jonghyun shook his head, his hand going to his back. She eyed him cautiously as he took out a gun. She had expected it to be gold, but it was a normal, titanium gun. He walked towards her and handed it to her.

“Do you know how to use this?” He asked, but she simply shrugged, refusing to hold it. “I won’t be able to go with you, I have to do some other things, but I would feel so much at ease if you had something to defend yourself with.”

“And you’re handing me a gun? What if I don’t know how to use it?” She said, but he just chuckled.

“I know you can.” He said. Chaerin looked at him with bored eyes and grabbed the gun, took out the cartridge, checked it, then loaded the gun again. Jonghyun smiled and nodded. “I knew it.”

“I am not pure, Kim Jonghyun.” She said, but he shrugged, now walking towards the door.

“You are, to me.” And he left. She scoffed and looked at the gun. A simple, 9mm in her hands. How ironic was this cruel life, handing her the thing she despised the most.

As Jonghyun walked out, another men opened the door. Chaerin glared at him as she stood up, grabbed her coat and walked out. “We’re here to you out.” The man said. Chaerin rolled her eyes as she put on her coat.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She said. Right next to the door was Jonghyun, also putting on a jacket. Taemin was nowhere to be seen, probably to avoid attracting any unnecessary attention. She was position at the center of the men, they were forming a perfect circle around her. She shook her head and started to walk between them. They reached the elevator, an in there, they split in two groups, one with Jonghyun, the other one with her. Her space shortened as they got closer to her, hiding every possible view around. She rolled her eyes, looking at Jonghyun, who walked towards the stairs with the other group of men.

The elevator doors opened, and they all stepped in. The place was now crowded, and she felt trapped. It was a cage for a bird, forcing her to move, to breath, to eat. She was, again, going back to her prison. The elevator reached the ground floor, and they all stepped out. She managed to see Jonghyun at a distance, getting into a black Escalade. After he was gone, there was no one else she recognized, meaning, her ride was going to be a quiet one.

They got her inside another black Escalade, quickly closing the door, not even waiting for her to properly sit. Her eyes rolled, and when she sat, she realized she wasn’t alone. At her side was Taemin, smiling at her. She smiled at him, touching his hand. “I feel like a star.” She said. Taemin chuckled, looking to the front.

“You do know we’re at war, right?” He said, and she nodded, now hugging herself.

“I know.” She said softly. Taemin nodded, signaling the driver to leave. The car started to move, and Chaerin looked out the tinted window, at the moon. Its bright was lessened by the tints of the windows, but it was still bright, it was still illuminating everything at its path. She smiled to herself, at least, she was away from the needles and horrible food.

His breathing became uneven as he tried to stand up. Everything that was called body hurt, but the worst was the nauseas and the headache. He couldn’t stand them. As he sat up, he started to disgorge. The floor got stained with his intestinal liquids as he tried to reach the wastebasket. The nasal cannula held him, and he fell back, almost falling on top of his own vomit. He grunted and harshly took out the cannula, then all the IV’s on his arm, dragging his body towards the wastebasket. Jiyong held it between his hands and started to puke inside of it. He didn’t cared what was inside, he just wanted to get out that hellish demon inside of him, screaming and kicking.

“Youngbae!” He tried to scream, and another set of vomits came. He was starting to feel desperate, too anxious to continue. He finished the puking and cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. “Youngbae, you bastard.” He hissed as he dragged himself towards the door. Private rooms were too spacious, so dragging himself through the floor would take him some time. He tried to stand up, but his left hand was useless. He fell back down, his face hitting the floor.

Grunting, he cursed lowly, putting all his body weight over his right hand, finally managing to at least kneel. He panted, his right arm now bleeding profusely thanks to the harsh way he took out the IV’s. He took a deep breath and looked at a chair in front of him. Without second thoughts, he reached it and stood up on both his feet. Dizziness took the best of him, but he ignored it. He needed to get out. Two reasons, he need a dose, and he was certain Kim Jonghyun was about to tell anyone he was there. He couldn’t allow that.

Slowly but steadily, he walked towards the door, panting and sweating. He felt like vomiting, his body wanting to give in, but he didn’t allowed himself to. Holding his weight on the wall, he took deep breaths as the nausea lessened, so he could walk again. It felt like an eternity when he reached the door, but he managed to make it. Taking deep breaths, he opened it harshly, walking out without a care in the world, he could deal it that later. He looked sideways, making sure there was no one in sight. And there was no one, so he continued to walk straight down the hall, holding his weight on the walls.

He finally reached the stairs, and in his mind, he curse all the profanities he knew. He was at the fifth floor of the hospital. There must be an elevator. He shook his head and turned around, only to see the glorious metal doors of the elevators. He smiled a little as he made his body walk towards them.

The walk seemed like an eternity, but he managed to get there, panting and sweating he reached the elevators. He was going to press the call button the moment he felt he wasn’t alone. By the corner of his eye, he saw a bunch of black suited men walking towards his direction. Instinctively, he reached for his gun. “.” He was dressed in hospital robes, meaning no pants, meaning no gun. He looked around, there was no escape. He gulped as he pressed the button quickly.

Time stopped, everything halted as he realize the obvious. He was an easy prey, he was unarmed, alone and weak. He couldn’t run, couldn’t hide, and couldn’t escape. He was going to die, but on his happy note, that’s all he wanted. Destiny wasn’t that bad after all, Karma was on his side. He smiled wickedly as he stood straight. The least he would want was to die looking like a douche. Jiyong turned around, looking straight at the men walking towards his direction. He was almost welcoming them with open arms, when the unexpected happened.

They walk past him. Ignored him completely and walked by as if he wasn’t there. He widened his eyes, and in that moment, the elevator’s doors opened. He took another glance at the men, then got into the elevator, pressing the ground floor one time. He was astonished. He was there, all open to fire, giving himself to the enemy, yet, they ignored him. That was odd. The elevator’s door closed, with him inside still in shock.

“They were here for someone else.” He whispered. His eyes widened again. “Youngbae!” He said, pressing the stop button harshly. He could happily die, he didn’t bothered, but his brother? Never, not while he was breathing.

The doors opened on the fourth floor, and he stormed out, limping and panting. He threw his body against the wall, holding himself with it as he rushed to the stairs. He knew it was almost impossible, but his drive was his brother, he could do it. He reached the stairs, almost out of breath, but still went up. His brother couldn’t die while he ran away, he couldn’t allow that.

Wheezing, panting and sweating, that was his state when he reached the fifth floor. He held his chest as he went towards the door that led towards the main floor. With a shaking hand, he opened it harshly, almost hitting his face as he walked inside. The floor was quiet, there was no gunshots, no people screaming, no one fighting. But it didn’t relieved him. He walked back towards the nurse’s counter, where Youngbae stood, flirting with a nurse. Jiyong put a hand over his chest and let out a chuckle in relieve.

“Bastard.” Jiyong muttered. Youngbae lifted his head, his eyes wide, then narrowed them as he saw Jiyong at the center of the aisle.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Youngbae said, but Jiyong simply chuckled.

“I thought they came for you.” Jiyong panted. Youngbae walked towards him, his face still in a frown.

“Who came for me?” Youngbae asked, but Jiyong shook his head. The suited men were at the other edge of the aisle. Jiyong’s face turned into a frown and gestured Youngbae to look over them. Youngbae turned around, his hand close to his gun as he looked at the men walking towards a room.

“You need to hide.” Youngbae said, but Jiyong shook his head no.

“They’re not here for me.” Jiyong said softly. Just when the men were going to enter a room, Kim Jonghyun walked out, fixing his shirt where clearly, a gun was hiding. Jiyong held in his breath, but Youngbae moved, blocking his view.

“No, but maybe they could spot you, just hide.” Youngbae said. Jiyong shook his head, putting a shaking hand on Youngbae’s shoulder.

“I told you, they’re not here for me, they walked past me and didn’t even looked at me.” Jiyong said. Youngbae turned around harshly, glaring at him.

“You let yourself be seen?” Youngbae spat.

“Jonghyun entered my room a while ago, when you got out with that Choi bastard.” Jiyong said. Youngbae narrowed his eyes, then widened them.

“Jiyong, let’s go.” Youngbae said, but Jiyong simply slapped Youngbae’s hand away, looking at the crowd of suited men. They all formed a circle, and a person walked out of the room. Jiyong strained his eyes, trying to see, but they were hiding whoever came out.

“, I can’t see.” Jiyong muttered. Youngbae nodded, holding Jiyong’s shoulders.

“It’s none of our business.” Youngbae said.

“This is my district, it’s my business.” Jiyong spat. The group of men walked towards the elevators, forming a perfect circle. One of them missed a step, looking around, almost breaking his formation. And Jiyong’s eyes widened in pure shock.

Fear, anger, hatred, pain, all of those feelings came back in a rush as he saw through the slight gap the person they were escorting out. He held in his breath, his hand going to his waist, almost as a habit, trying to hold a gun that wasn’t there. His eyes narrowed as she walked out, and the men hid her again. But he could see, could manage to see her, and he would recognize her from a million faces, he could recognize her. Pale, thinner, weaker, but it was her. “She’s alive?!” He blurted out in his trance.