A/N: I double updated so make sure you read the last chapter!!!

Joshua legitimately bursts into tears after he sees me lying there on the bed. I can’t help but burst into laughter.

    “Getting soft, huh?” I tease as he hugs me as hard as he can.

    “No,” he responds in a thick voice. “We were so scared, Mimi.”

    “God, Kyungsoo, not you, too!” I giggle, as Kyungsoo wipes tears away from his eyes.

    “I’m so sorry,” he breathes. “I-,”

    “Stop! Stop it!” I clench my fists. “Everyone’s been doing nothing but apologizing for the past few days. Just stop, please.”

    Kyungsoo and Joshua look taken aback at my outburst. They exchange an alarmed look.

    “I’m fine, you morons,” I laugh, punching Kyungsoo in the arm. “I’m just happy I get to see you two again.”

    “I’m never leaving your side again,” Joshua says stoutly. “I’ll be your personal bodyguard for the rest of your life.”

    “How romantic, Joshua,” Kyungsoo snickers, and I have to launch myself at Joshua to prevent him from punching Kyungsoo in the face.

    “Wait, speaking of romance...,” I give Joshua a cunning look. “How’s it going with Fei, Kyungsoo?”

    “Oh !” Joshua bursts into cackles. “Got ‘em!”

    “Shut up,” Kyungsoo huffs, shoving Joshua away. “There’s nothing really there. Fei and Kris are practically attached at the hip nowadays. Fei nearly had a meltdown while... well, last week, and Kris was all worried and-,”

    “Kyungsoo forced Kris to talk to Fei,” Joshua cuts in, his voice full of mirth. “He basically set them up. Oh, Kyungsoo, you poor bastard.”

    “Hey, you helped Kris!” I exclaim. “That’s good! Are you two cool again or-,”

    “Chanyeol and Baek already gave me your spiel about Kris,” Kyungsoo sighs. “And I feel the same way as them. I’m giving Kris a second chance, but give it time.”

    “Good.”

    “And calm down, Joshua! It’s not like Fei and I were going anywhere anyway. I mean, we’re still friends.”

    Joshua’s smile gets even wider. “So you’re stuck right in the middle of the friendzone. Ha!”

    “Oh, shut up, Joshua,” I giggle. “At least he’s a good person.”

The three of us talk for an hour, babbling on about everything from Coney Island (“That’s the first thing I want to do when we get back!” Joshua announces) to the jacuzzis in our hotel suites (“Why does the Seven Stars HQ have such nice facilities?” Kyungsoo grouses). We haven’t done this in forever.

It’s nice. For a while, I feel like I am back in my apartment in New York, hastily brushing my teeth as Kyungsoo cooks me breakfast and Joshua rambles on about some silly event that he witnessed.

“God, I love you two so much,” I moan, tackling them in a hug again.

“We love you too, Mimi.” Kyungsoo places a gentle kiss on my forehead. “We’ll always be here for you. Forever.”

Joshua looks at Kyungsoo in awe. “Wait, can I kiss her too?”

I roll my eyes. “You just made things a million times more awkward, idiot.” And I lean over and kiss him on the cheek.

“You’re blushing!” Kyungsoo shrieks, roaring with laughter at Joshua’s reddening face. “Whoa there! Is this your first kiss from a girl?”

“No,” Joshua scowls, pulling the blankets from my bed over his face.

“Your mom doesn’t count, dip.”

“Shut up! Mimi, when we get back, I’ll show you the collection of Playboy magazines Kyungsoo has stashed under the bed-,”

Kyungsoo’s jaw drops. “Wha- no I don’t! I threw those away years ago!”

“Ha! So you’re admitting you had them!”

“Talking to you makes me lose brain cells, I swear.”

And I dissolve into hysterics as Joshua chases Kyungsoo around my room.

    I am finally strong enough to walk again.

    As I carefully make my way through Seven Stars’ HQ, my arms over Lina and Preet’s shoulders for support, everyone passing by comes up to me and delivers effusive praise.

    “You’re a hero!” one woman cries, vigorously shaking my hand. “You’re incredible, Aemin!”

    “I can see why you’re the heir to X.E.,” another man tells me, patting my back. “You’re as intelligent and strong as your mother.” The comparison makes me grimace a bit, but I thank the man anyway.

    “Oh, Ami, I love you so much,” Annabelle sniggers in a falsetto. “Please, can I have your autograph? Can I have a lock of your hair? Can I have your children?”

    “What the hell?” I chortle as Lina and Preet laugh. “Jesus, Anna, you’re so-,”

    I freeze.

    Marge is standing at the end of the hallway, holding a massive bouquet of roses and a “Get Well Soon!” balloon.

    As soon as she sees me, the flowers drop to the floor.

    “Oh my god,” she whispers in a shaky voice, running over to me. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Ami.”

    “Marge,” I murmur, and we grip each other so tightly I feel like my ribs are about to break.

    “We’ll give you two a minute,” Preet smiles, and he, Annabelle, and Lina head to the other end of the hall.

    “Oh, Ami,” Marge sniffles, tears pouring out of her eyes. “I was just about to come see you. I’m so sorry I didn’t come earlier-,”

    “Don’t apologize,” I say, choking up. “I- oh my god.”

    We do not- cannot- say anything for several minutes. Marge and I simply stand in the middle of the hallway, locked in each other’s embraces.

    “I felt like I was losing a sister,” she whispers, my hair. “I was so scared, Ami.”

    I rub my eyes, sniffling.

    “Those bastards that hurt you- they’re going to rot in jail for the rest of their lives.” Marge clenches his fists. “I want to rip them apart, limb from limb.”

    “It was awful, Marge,” I whimper. “It was absolutely awful. And Jungkook-,” Sobs overtake me once more, and Marge and I sink to the floor, weeping so, so hard.

    “It’s over, Ami. It’s okay.” Marge tucks my head under hers, and we sit on the oak hardwood, our legs splayed out in front of us, and simply cry.

    “Thank you, Marge,” I say, looking into her eyes. “Thank you for protecting me all these years. Thank you for guiding me. Thank you for always being there for me. You- you’ve always been like a cross between a mom and a big sister, a-and-,” I burst into tears again.

    “You’re just like me, Ami.” Marge cradles my face in her hands. “When I met you... you were just like me. A gifted 16-year-old hacker, sassy and stubborn, but with a will to do good in the world. I didn’t want to let you become me, so I tried to do everything to protect you. But I still failed.”

    “If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead already.”

    “I’ve watched you grow up over the past 4 years, Ami. You didn’t deserve this.”

    “None of us deserved this.”

    And I realize that Ami Hwang is not the only one who died at the hands of these gangs.

    Camille Rosenquist was killed, too.

    Her future robbed, her potential murdered.

    Marge and I are the same.

    “Marge,” I whisper. “I love you.”

    “I love you too, Ami,” she tells me in a thick voice.

    “Listen to me.” I grab her hands. “You’re the most incredible person I know. You’ve been my role model all this time. And now that this is over, you can do whatever the hell you want with your life. Leave everything and get out of here.”

    Marge stares at me, wide-eyed. “Ami, I’ve been doing this for years-,”

    “Not by choice. You were into this as a college student, Marge. Your boyfriend was killed by these gangs. You’ve lost a countless number of people to these gangs, and you’ve helped them take a countless number of other people’s lives, too. You need to get out of here.”

I take a deep breath. “Under my bed in my apartment in New York, there’s a purple book. In it are the names and numbers of every Columbia professor, every business official, and every startup founder I’ve networked with, along with the password to my laptop, where I have numerous other high-profile contacts through the Deep Web. Take it and get the hell away from here.”

    Marge blankly looks at me.

    “You mean the world to me, Marge, and I don’t want to see you trapped here.” I shakily stand up, straightening my shirt.

    “Goodbye, and good luck, Camille.”

A/N: oooh okay the feels are starting to come @ me lol