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bluehhj · 4 years

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listen to me — chapter 49

LISTEN TO ME — 0049

listen to me masterlist;

WORDS: 2.5K

a/n: hi guys, a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. sorry for the delay!! I planned to come back here for Christmas, but I traveled with my friends and just got back the day before yesterday. I'd post as soon as I arrived, but then I rewrote some parts several times because it just didn't look good enough and it wasn't pleasing me so much and so I'm posting just now.

but anyways, good read!

Jeongin blew out a breath after closing the bedroom door. Then he spun around until he met Jisung's face just as he cleared his throat and began to blink repeatedly, wiping away the unshed tears. Yang licked his lips awkwardly and took a few cautious steps toward the bed.

"Are you alright?" it was a question to which the answer seemed rather obvious, so the doctor amended the next second, "I mean physically."

Jisung needed a moment to deal with the lump in his throat before he could say anything. The pain did exist, but not in his shoulder or in his head. It was in a place that not even the best doctor in the world could cure it, so Jeongin didn't need to know.

"You responded very well to the anti-inflammatory administered in your serum," he smiled faintly, crossing his arms against the coat, so white it was glowing. The stark contrast to his rosy strands made him look like the kind of boy who drew multiple glances wherever he went, but Jisung could barely take his eyes off his own hands. "I talked to Ms. Baek just now and she said the wound healing on your shoulder is going to be fine. It's likely that I can discharge you in a couple of days at the most."

Jeongin's intention was to make Han at least a little excited that he might be able to get out of that cold room and breathe happier airs again, but the effect was completely the opposite.

Jisung didn't want to be okay — not while Jinah was in a coma. It seemed too unfair that he could leave so fast at the same time that his girlfriend wasn't even expected to wake up.

Feeling the other boy's discomfort increase, the doctor decided it was best to end his attempts to increase Jisung's mood, since he was clearly not getting the slightest success.

"I'll call some of your companies back, okay? Excuse me." however, before he turned the knob, Jisung's low voice reached his ears.

"Tell my mom and friends that I appreciate them being here, but I don't want to see anyone now," he paused. It was hard to say when all he wanted to do was cry until he couldn't take it anymore. "I need some more time alone."

Jeongin didn't hesitate to nod. "As you wish."

And isolated between those four pale walls, the task of holding back tears finally became untenable.

♡˖°

After Yeji raised the white flag and disregarded — for now — the idea of tucking Yoorim into one of the police station's stuffy cells, Hyoyeon chose to stay in the hospital, as her professional intervention would no longer be so helpful and, moreover, she wanted to be available to Jisung if he needed it at some point. As such, only Hyunjin, Yoorim and Yeji headed toward Mr. Heo's building supply store. The couple settled into the boy's car, while the policewoman chose to go in her own car so as not to mix with them any longer than necessary.

Alone and in complete silence until then, Hyunjin stopped at a red light and turned his face to look at Yoorim, who was leaning his head against the closed glass. The girl's thoughts seemed far away, but Hwang didn't need to know how to read minds to be sure what made her ramble so much.

"I'm sorry" with an audible sigh, Hyunjin dropped his shoulders and also allowed the sadness to affect him, almost as if he could feel twice as much as Yoorim was feeling. "As much as I try to stop these encounters between the two of you, they still happen, and all I can do is keep apologizing like it's going to do something... Sometimes I wonder if this is really the best for you."

The younger one remained still for a few more seconds, until a similar sigh left her lips and she straightened in the passenger seat. "In parts, I can understand her."

"Yoorim..."

"But she's really right, Hyunjin-ah. You had a perfect family before you met me, it's normal for Yeji to feel annoyed to know that I was the cause of most problems."

"There is no such thing as a perfect family, baby," affectionate as usual, Hyunjin sent her one of those loving looks that could heal any injury. "Maybe mine really had an unwavering image of business parents and kids to be proud of, but only after stepping out of line did I realize it was all just well-placed masks. A perfect family doesn't deny one of their own members just because it is what it is, not what they want it to be."

"But if I hadn't entered your life, things would still be fine for you guys."

"You just look at what you think you did bad in my life and never pay attention to everything you did good." Hyunjin refocused on the street when he saw the green light, but he didn't stop listening to the conversation. "It's okay that my parents fought so hard about it that they ended up getting a divorce and now neither of them talks right to me, but I'm much happier that way, because otherwise it's likely that today I'd be preparing to take on a company that I don't want to, besides possibly being dealing with a contract marriage with an investor's millionaire daughter" he made a disgusted face. Just the thought of facing such a stressful situation made his head ache and his stomach roll. "I also understand Yeji and I know she didn't want to see our family fall apart like this, but she spends so much time blaming you that she doesn't realize how liberating it was for both of us," in the rearview mirror, Hyunjin noted the dark car behind them. "Our parents never allowed her to be a cop, even though she loves so much what she does."

Yoorim thought of every time she heard an excited Hyunjin talk and talk about biomedicine as if it were the most amazing thing in the world — she loved to hear every word, even if she didn't understand various scientific terms and got lost in some parts — and allowed herself to feel a little bit of peace.

"Maybe I would even rebel at some point and say I wasn't going to take over any company, which would cause a disaster anyway," Hwang shrugged with no concern. "For these and other reasons, I always say you don't have to feel bad about anything, baby. Because being with you was also my choice and I never regretted it.

"I never regret anything either, even though I have to put up with Yeji." Yoorim set her head back and smiled slightly. "It was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert, you know? You do me good."

"Yeah, I know..." Hyunjin also smiled, but then he remembered something and his features became serious again. "But putting up with Yeji doesn't mean being forced to accept her pushing you into the hands of a responsibility that was never yours."

Yoorim's smile faded as she realized that now Hyunjin was no longer referring to the Hwang family, but to her own. "That's why she always wins our discussions." with another tired sigh, she looked down at some random spot on the panel in front of her. "She knows where to hit."

"We've had this conversation several times and I know it hurts, but you don't take it seriously, do you?"

Yoorim really didn't think she should be blamed for her mother's death, after all, problematizing the pregnancy wasn't her decision. However, hearing the contrary from someone else hurt much more, as it was as if she had an extra confirmation of what the voices in the back of her head used to say from time to time, only to torment her when her father lost his temper or avoided her for no reason. Yoorim often tried to justify Mr. Heo's eventual indifference to everyday stress, as Kyuhyun worked too hard to keep every branch of the store under control.

Her father loved her, yeah. Yeji was wrong.

Yoorim needed to convince herself of that.

"I try. I swear I always try."

Hyunjin felt helpless that he couldn't reach a consensus with his sister. He hadn't begged one or two, but several times so that Yeji wouldn't get into that delicate subject anymore. The result, however, was obvious: it didn't work.

Hyunjin barely realized that they were right in front of the modern, well-designed storefront. He, then, parked in one of the parking spaces and leaned over to tenderly kiss Yoorim's cheek, who was taken aback.

"If she were here, your mom would be very proud of you," he said as he pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. "As much as I am every day."

Yoorim reopened the smile, and the best: she believed.

So they both got out of the car and didn't have to wait long for Yeji to find them on the sidewalk. Heo didn't want to waste time and has already pulled the keys from her pocket. Luckily she had a copy for when she had to close the shop, and it was no trouble for Hyunjin to pass the house they shared to pick them up before anything else.

The lights were all on, and Yoorim made a point of letting Yeji scour the computers to check the security camera footage. The whole procedure took place in a heavy silence, except for the sound of keys under the policewoman's nimble fingers. Only when she finally found the sender recording on the day and time in question did the couple approach the big monitor.

"That's the weird guy," the youngest of the three pointed at the screen when a tall man appeared before the lens, already heading for the counter with a handful of objects in his hands. As noted earlier, he wore gloves and Yoorim was the only one to touch his purchases directly before packing and receiving payment. "And look, he bought a packet of flexible ringlets for curtains identical to the one they found in Jisung's car." from behind the computer, Yoorim went to one of the shelves and grabbed a dark green box. "These are the ones here."

Yeji examined the cables and pliers the man also bought. She didn't understand cars very well, but she figured all this would be very useful for destabilizing any model. Then her fingers caught the little box that was left in front of her, and she saw that Yoorim couldn't be more correct in saying that the ringlets were exactly alike. Finally, Yeji took a photo from her pocket and took a deep breath as she tried to compare it to the man in black.

"Both are tall" her eyes frantically alternated between the computer screen and Kim Minhwan. Since the day he was reported, the boy's photograph had been kept at the police station in case it was requested in the future, but after finding out about the "accident," Yeji no longer took it from her pocket. "But it's impossible to know if they're the same person. This man didn't even show more than a few inches of skin."

"I don't give a shit," said Hyunjin. "I just want to know if you are going to leave Yoorim alone now."

"If my investigation of this guy succeeds, yes. Otherwise, your girlfriend is still the prime suspect."

"So keep looking at it" sounding purposefully annoying and aware that Yeji hated taking orders from anyone, Hyunjin crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. "Go on, I'm in a hurry."

She laughed a little. "I don't think you take the gun at my waist seriously."

"I've known you since the day you were born. You're crazy, but not a murderer. Now work."

If the force of a gaze could kill, Yeji would have already incinerated Hyunjin entirely. Too bad that the present moment wasn't conducive to throw tantrum, otherwise she would have already crossed her arms and pouted or perhaps started another potentially disastrous discussion.

"I'm going to work, but it's because I want to, not because you told me to."

"And fast."

Yeji bit the inside of her cheek and decided that her quota of self-control had already been blown out enough that night, so she saved her mischief and set about checking the rest of the footage.

Yoorim went to where Hyunjin was standing and received the hug she wanted without even having to ask. The days were very busy and although they lived together, sometimes there was no time left to be together properly. Hwang worked in a lab until six-thirty while Heo helped run the store on Thursdays and Fridays and devoted herself to her internship for the rest of the week. When night came, both the future biomedical and the chemical engineer had to give some attention to the university books, and in this they were careless of everything else. Yoorim didn't really understand why the kids were so eager to grow up. The lives of adults were cruel.

The couple were interrupted when Yeji quickly searched for another photo in her uniform pocket and frowned immediately. Hyunjin and Yoorim approached the computer, which now displayed the busy street in front of the store.

"That pick-up truck," she pointed to the black car that was parked at the curb. "It was stolen days ago! I was almost giving up looking for it."

Yoorim watched the man in black leave the store and get into the vehicle with all the calm and tranquility of the world. Her certainty that he couldn't be anyone but Kim Minhwan grew even bigger.

"This will take a while, but I'll have to check every possible security camera until I find out where he's gone." Yeji got up and replaced the chair she was sitting on. "As long as this guy is not found, I advise you to be careful with the hospital. I'll ask the deputy to have some colleagues keep an eye out, because if he's as smart as he seems, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to finish what he started."

Yoorim didn't even kill an ant, but in that case she would make a point of kicking him between the legs.

Hyunjin nodded and bit his lower lip for a moment, full of hesitation. When the flesh was released through his teeth, he turned his face arrogantly.

"I won't thank you. You're doing no more than your duty."

"I don't remember asking for any thanks. I want you two to explode, you gross" Yeji walked out of the store and, as she was opening the door to leave, added without turning to look at them, "I'll call when I have news."

Hyunjin and Yoorim exchanged a look followed by a low laugh and resumed the hug from before. After such a fright, kisses were, undoubtedly, the best medicine.

a/n: i didn't want to frustrate you guys, although i ended up doing it anyway

in the last chapter i said that there would be a moment between jinah and jisung in this chapter here, but i didn't calculate the scenes well and everything turned out to be bigger than i thought; so there was no space left and if i included other parts it would be huge. so sorry again for that

but in compensation this chapter focused more on hyunjin and yoorim, huh

anyway, i'll be back as soon as i can, i swear i'll do my best!

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bluehhj · 4 years

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🐺 + 🐱 = 🖤 !

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bluehhj · 4 years

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(don’t) love me ˀˀ three

(DON’T) LOVE ME [“LISTEN TO ME” SPIN-OFF]

CHAPTER 03 || M.LIST

WORDS: 1.7K

a/n: after so much waiting, here's another chapter of '(don't) love me', listen to me’s first spin-off. and don't forget it is narrated from chaerin's point of view, ok? see you at the end!

Two months later, I began to feel truly guilty.

Guilty for knowing that I was wrong and still not regretting anything.

We were no longer on vacation, obviously, when my professor asked us to do some work and my class was sent to the library.

My group was the same as always. The four of us agreed that we worked well as a team and were much more skilled together than in the company of others. I got the introduction part, Jungkook and Tzuyu chose the development and Minho took the final considerations. The work was done in record time and, as a bonus, we gained several free minutes until the next classes began.

Tzuyu complained of hunger several times while we were still writing, and after much insistence she managed to convince only Jungkook to accompany her to the food court. Minho refused because he needed to finish some late exercises. I no longer accepted because Seungmin was there, on the other side of the library, so focused on his book that he didn't even seem to notice me.

Our relationship entered a stage that, when we couldn't exchange many words during the day, was as if a sense of incompleteness arose. I don't say it was easy to get to this point, for Seungmin avoided getting too involved in the first few weeks, but failed in every attempt. I failed too.

Our work was too close for our desire to meet to be contained, and from time to time, he was already visiting the store at the end of his work every day, and we talked until we lost track of time. Sometimes I got home too late and lied to Jisung, saying I was working overtime, and he never suspected that I was actually sharing his place in my heart with another guy.

By the way, our engagement was still the same. Jisung knew superficially about Seungmin, but he didn't mind that, because he saw us only as friends, and it made me feel strange from time to time.

I shouldn't compare them, but my treacherous mind wouldn't obey me. At other times, it pleased me to know that Jisung trusted me to the point that, for example, there were no bouts of silly jealousy that could easily wear us out, as in many relationships. However, as I got used to Seungmin's sweet personality, I realized how much my fiance was... Short with me.

Jisung didn't do that to bad, but the fact that he almost never verbalized his feelings suddenly bothered me. I was important in his life and knew it without having to hear the confirmation coming out of his mouth as he constantly demonstrated with his gestures. However, I began to feel a little empty, as if things were getting cold, although not long ago none of this bothered me and I liked his way of being so much that I wouldn't change anything at all, if I could.

Plus, I grew up watching my dad call my mom "sweetie," just as my mom always called my dad "love" or something similar. Jisung just called me Chaerin, and it wasn't as if I was asking for a flood of affectionate pet names, but being next to such an unromantic person generated some frustration.

With Seungmin, however, it was all much lighter and more pleasant.

I didn't think straight before getting up and going to his desk.

In fact, I've never thought straight since the day I met him.

Seungmin looked up from his reading when he finally saw me. The beautiful smile that appeared on his face warmed my heart and made me smile too.

"Hi Chae!" he said excitedly and pulled the chair next to his own for me to sit down. "I was thinking of you just right now."

"What did I do this time?" I asked humorously as he closed the book and turned his attention to me completely.

"Nothing, silly. It's just that I got that old movie you wanted to watch, my aunt had recorded it on a DVD."

I don't think there are many people who trade the stuffed Netflix catalog for feature films from the last century, but I at least do it quite often.

The other day Seungmin and I discussed my interest in Top Gun. I said I wanted to watch again, considering it had been a long time since the last time and several details had been erased from my mind. He laughed, lovely, and said he would fix it. Less than a week has passed and here we are.

"Oh really?" I smiled, but I was also worried because Seungmin already had several things to do during the day and still cared about something so silly that I told him just by saying. "You needn't have bothered with that, dang."

"I didn't bother, Chae," he answered in such a sincere way that I felt unable to doubt. Seungmin looked even happier after seeing me smile at something he did. "Can we watch together?"

"We should," I corrected and again didn't think much when I squeezed his hand on the table. He startled a little, but then slowly intertwined our fingers. "Thanks, Minnie," I said quietly, watching him melt. Maybe I may have melted too. "You're the most considerate person I have ever met."

With a flushed face, he tried to hide a smile but couldn't, what made me want to squeeze him in a hug.

"And you're the most amazing person I've ever met, Chae," he returned. But unlike him, I was nothing incredible, just a flawed and stupid girl who had been doing more nonsense lately than usual. Seungmin, however, didn't care about my mistakes. I even think he liked them and, apparently, everything else as well. It is unfair, but it is reciprocal. "Then thanks, too."

And as always when we were together, time went by very fast.

We said goodbye after we forced ourselves out of our waterproof bubble and I followed Minho out of the library while Seungmin found some classmates and took another path.

Minho was always so cheerful that I often couldn't handle his chatter without getting a headache, and as much as I complained and told him to calm down for just a minute, I missed his energy when I saw him so quiet.

"What happened?" I asked when we were leaving the building. "Are you sad?"

He walked a few feet more without answering, until he stopped, looked up from the floor and looked at me strangely. He seemed more disappointed than hesitant to say whatever was bothering him.

"It's been a while since the others and I have noticed something," he began. "And I won't judge you or get in too much of your life, but it's my obligation as your friend to warn you when you're making a mistake, so don't get me wrong about it."

I knew what he was referring to before I even heard the rest, but I remained silent and let Minho continue.

"I don't know what Seungmin has that hooked you that way, but I think the least you can do, at least here at the university, is disguise. Everyone in the library noticed you both. You think it's fair to do this with Jisung?"

"What do you mean, noticed you both?" I raised my eyebrows, truly confused. "We were just talking."

"No, Chaerin, you are never just talking, it's much more than that" Minho started to get angry, and I understand him. Since his ex-girlfriend dumped him for someone else and didn't even bother to give decent satisfaction, he has become adamant about any kind of infidelity. His willingness to squeeze my neck, therefore, is justifiable. "It seems like a movie scene, you know? You look at each other in such a passionate way that I wouldn't be surprised if Careless Whisper or the Titanic theme song started playing out of nowhere!"

"You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not! You got so stupid over this boy that you no longer have control over your actions. You don't even realize, Chaerin!"

I parted my lips, but no word leaked out of them. Valid arguments were something I didn't have at the time, because I knew I was wrong and nothing I said would be enough to soften my increasingly frequent slips.

"You regret?" Minho then asked. "Be honest, do you feel like stopping all this?"

The answer must have been written on my forehead, for Minho didn't have to watch my silence for more than a few seconds to take a deep breath and shake his head in the negative.

"He doesn't deserve it" I also didn't need anything more explicit to know that he meant Jisung. "I know very well what it's like to trust someone and have a broken heart in the end. It hurts a lot, okay?" there was a pause. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, but even my head I couldn't lift. "You fell in love with someone else and I don't condemn you for that, because it's not something you can choose or control, but taking it forward without being honest with your fiance is selfish."

"But then I'll hurt him" finally I spoke again, unfortunately saying nonsense.

"You're going to hurt him anyway!" Minho spread his hands on his own jeans, perhaps thinking of doing the same to my face. "But it will be less worse if he knows the truth from you than from other people."

I closed my eyes and ran my hands through my hair, pulling the strands back in an act of pure frustration.

"I've never been so confused," I confessed. Although Minho was mad at me, I was sure he would stay there for me, as he always did. "I like Seungmin, but I can't just throw an engagement in the trash. It's too early for that."

"And what do you intend?" he crossed his arms. "Are you going to keep lying to Jisung until you decide which one you want to stay with?" the irony in his voice mingled with the annoyance. "You're not like that, Chaerin. Stop it, please."

"I don't know how to stop" in my case, it was despair that stood out more than anything.

"You'll know when you make a decision." he adjusted the shoulder strap on his shoulder and left me alone after completing, "Just don't take too long, or you'll end up without either of them."

And as much as I wanted to disagree, my conscience shouted out loud that Minho was right.

I needed to choose between my fiance and my unexpected case.

「❀」

a/n: I said I'd update quickly and it took me months, dammit

but today's chapter was a little longer to make up :))

did you guys notice the contrast between the relationship that jisung had with chaerin and the relationship that jisung has with jinah? even when they were fine, jisung wasn't usually affectionate or anything like this with chaerin. but with jinah he's always like "my love" and it is only because of her that jisung learned to be a little more cute in that sense

hopefully I'll come back earlier this time hehe see you later <3

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bluehhj · 4 years

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upon the announcement of stray kids' han's psychological instability regarding to big crowds, i hope people will start to learn to respect idols' personal space and that mobbing them will only make idols uncomfortable. please show some respect and realize that your favourite idols are also human, and that a few pictures is worth nothing compared to their idols' safety.

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bluehhj · 4 years

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listen to me — chapter 48

LISTEN TO ME — 0048

listen to me masterlist;

WORDS: 3.1K

a/n: first of all, hi, guys! before reading, I want to explain a few things: I stayed for like two (?) months on hiatus cause, well, I was busy dealing with the university, and at the same time, the news about woojin broke me and I found better to be on hiatus for a while to be able to organize myself better. and now, everything is fine, everything is solved and I'm back! and I want to make something very clear: woojin will still be present in "ltm", I won’t simply dispatch him from the story, cause yeah, he’s an important part of it, and besides that, forever, skz will be 9 or none and I’ll never leave him out, ok? anyway, let's finally get to the chapter. see you there at the end! <3

Yoorim could gather various events she wasn't proud of in her life and list them in alphabetical and chronological order, from her little candy theft at her grandmother's house to her low college grades, but nothing compared to being judged as a murderer and, not enough, to receive an arrest warrant.

Feelings of injustice, indignation and despair continually mingled and solidified into a heavy ball that sank like an anchor tied to her ankle. Fear turned to liquid and trickled into her eyes before she could even realize it and, suddenly, Yoorim was holding Woojin's arms in a clear sign of urgency.

"I didn't do that! Believe me, please!" she begged. She needed to hold on to something to keep herself from sinking deeper and deeper, and fortunately found her foothold when Kim returned the grip on her skin with an affectionate look.

"I know you didn't."

Woojin had no evidence to validate his certainty, on the contrary. There were a dozen reports below his eyes that evidenced the possible explicit lie in Yoorim's words, but he knew his friend and trusted her for too long to believe a simple handful of paper coming from Hwang Yeji.

"Take it easy, girl" Woojin stepped forward, letting Yoorim be protected behind his body. Hospital staff were already crowding around, curious, and Kim noticed Jade, Hyunjin and Changbin's arrival shortly after saying the next sentence. "It's one thing for you to tease Yoorim about your fraternal jealousy, it's another thing to make up such nonsense just to get revenge on her."

Quickly and with no idea what the hell was going on, but aware that the good thing shouldn't be, Hyunjin wrapped his hand around Yoorim and pulled her into a hug as he realized she wasn't well. Then he glanced at the handcuffs in his sister's hands, the papers Woojin now held, and the memory of seeing a police car when he left the car in the hospital parking lot.

And before Hyunjin asked what it was all about, Yoorim squeezed the hem of his coat and explained without much calm: "She wants to take me to jail because she thinks I sabotaged Jisung's car!"

Hyunjin's eyebrows immediately drew together and he turned to his sister, as if he'd just heard the stupidest thing in his life. "Are you drunk?"

Since she was killing Woojin with her gaze, processing what he had said last, Yeji didn't respond at first. She, then, shortened the distance between them and practically growled near the other's face: "Don't say what you don't know."

"Otherwise what?" although there was a revolver attached to her waist, Woojin wasn't intimidated. Even a cynical smile he opened. "Are you going to make up a story and arrest me too?"

"I don't have to invent anything, I just do my job" it was obvious that Yeji wanted to make him regret bitterly for each word, but she forced herself to maintain her decency so as not to create problems that might compromise her later. "Come on, Yoorim, I don't have all the time in the world."

"She's not going anywhere," Hyunjin intervened, squeezing Heo even more tightly against his body, so much so that the anchor rose slightly and the girl felt she could find firm ground again while in that embrace. "I don't care if these reports are fake or true, because just as the idiot, whoever he is, fooled everyone into sabotaging the car, he may have also managed to get these fingerprints there. Of course, if we don't consider the possibility that you were planning it all to harm Yoorim."

Yeji's gaze went from furious to something bordering on the wounded. She remained silent for the next few seconds, until she shook her head and smiled incredulously. "Do you really believe I would do that?"

"I do" Hyunjin was firm in his response which elicited a silent ardor in Yeji's chest. He felt it too, but, by then, he could no longer believe that his sister could facilitate anything about Yoorim and him.

"It would be so much easier if you just accepted the facts..." she hid her disappointment behind a bored tone of voice. "But no, let's do it the hard way."

"There are no facts."

"That's what you want to believe, but the small, almost nonexistent rational part of your brain knows they're right in front of you."

The anger in Hyunjin's eyes as he again looked at the evidence that the fingerprints really belonged to Yoorim could be spotted several miles away. Faced with his absence of words, Yeji resumed the dialogue.

"Your girlfriend won't get rid of the police station or the jail. You better convince her to come with me or I swear it's going to be worse, and you know very well I'm not kidding."

Hyunjin felt Yoorim tighten his coat again and turned his face to look at her closely. It hurt to see his girl so confused and scared and to be able to do nothing to get her permanently and immediately out of that situation that she, undoubtedly, didn't deserve to go through. On the other hand, Hyunjin couldn't break the agreement made about two years ago, when he promised Yoorim that he would always be by her side to protect her and not let anyone hurt her; so, he would keep fighting for her, if only for that he had to move rivers and mountains.

"Not without a lawyer."

Yeji rolled her eyes, impatiently. "We don't have time to get a lawyer now."

"Yes, we do. Hyoyeon won't be long in coming."

"Oh, and do you really think she's going to defend the girl who tried to kill her son?"

"Fucking grumpy girl!" Woojin freaked out, tugging at his own hair. "You're trusting this fucking report so much that you still don't realize that no one here is putting faith in it!"

Yoorim searched for the faces of Changbin and Jade, who had remained silent until then. When their eyes met, she felt even safer, for the couple didn't seem to distrust or judge her in any way, and her assumption gained full truth when the American finally spoke up for both of them: "There must be some mistake. Yoorim wouldn't do it."

Yeji bit her tongue, almost — and again — unable to stop herself from uttering anything that would compromise her as a professional. Still, she bubbled inside. She knew that her brother and his associates were not the best people there, but at least she thought they were smarter and less ignorant.

"My other purpose here is to talk to Han Jisung," she decided to change the subject before she sent her common sense to the air. Her fingers gathered the paperwork from Woojin's hands just before her eyes fell back on her brother. "I hope your lawyer will arrive in the meantime and you'll be able to convince her to come to your side, because, otherwise, I won't wait a second longer."

"He's recovering" Changbin objected. "It will do no good to burden him with all this now."

"It's not you giving the orders here," said that, she didn't wait for an answer and left the waiting room.

Woojin started to laugh, but nervously. His left eye twitched, as if he were having a tick. "This girl is pissing me off..."

"This girl has pissed me off," Hyunjin corrected. Yoorim could feel her boyfriend's body tense, from his marked jaw to the way he was pressing his feet to the floor. No less determined, Hyunjin undid the hug and grabbed Yoorim's hand to pull her in the same direction that Yeji followed; soon they were back in Jisung's room, who was staring at the policewoman with a question mark instead of his face.

"I don't know why your friends haven't told you yet, but I think it's high time you knew that your accident was actually a near perfect cri-..." Yeji was interrupted when Hyunjin shoved her shoulder.

"Shut up!" he scolded.

"You shut up!" she turned to him, finally annoyed. "And let me do my job!"

"This is not a job, this is a frame!"

"Look, I don't mess the things you do, so don't mess with mine either!"

The discussion became heated, typical of siblings who can't stand each other, and Jisung, who was more lost than onion in fruit salad, sought Yoorim's gaze and questioned her silently, but the girl had tears left on her cheeks and her emotional was too shaken to respond, which made Han even more worried.

"I told my mom to drop you in that dumpster, I told her so!"

"Guys, what is that?!" Hyoyeon widened her eyes as soon as she entered the room. She fortunately managed to put the discussion aside when Yeji seemed about to pull her revolver. "Someone will be here soon and kick us out! Calm down, please!"

It was said and done, as Jeongin, the doctor in charge of Jisung, joined the quintet when the altered voices reached the corridor. The last noise to be heard in the room was the sound of the door being closed by the boy, who gained the collective attention only with his presence, without even saying anything.

"You guys are bothering my patient," the rebuke, therefore, could be said in a mild intonation.

"See what you did?" Yeji hissed at Hyunjin.

"See what you did," he returned and didn't let go of Yoorim's hand even as he pulled out a chair and sat beside Jisung's bed, who was looking inquisitively at him. Hyunjin took a deep breath, resuming his calm, and took on the task of explaining the reality of the situation to his friend. "I hate to admit she's right, but the accident wasn't just a fatality, Sung. After Jinah and you came to the hospital, the police investigated what's left of the car and found that there was sabotage all over it, probably while you both were at your aunt's house. "

Hyunjin paused for Jisung to assimilate the weight of each piece of information, but, unlike what he imagined, Han wasn't surprised or scared.

Jisung wasn't stupid. He had spent too much time alone not to have rewound the tape hundreds of times and heeded the details of the latest events, and it was obvious that the suspicion about the car's sudden defects had planted a number of assumptions in his mind.

"The bastard..." he muttered to himself, breaking his "vow" of silence almost without realizing it. His hand fisted as anger surged up and down with the force of an avalanche. "Of course, sooner or later this idiot would be able to do something..."

"So you already suspected Yoorim?" Yeji broke in, and Jisung's angry and equally confused eyes caught hers instantly. It can be said that the two of them never had one of the best relations either.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's thinking I sabotaged you car," Yoorim explained, sitting on one of Hyunjin's thighs. She couldn't even say for sure when she got there, but it was reassuring to receive that affection on her back. "But I swear I don't know how my fingerprint went there. I was with Woojin and Changbin a little early, I just went home because I had a headache. I also have no idea where your aunt lives and, even if I knew, I have no reason to do such a horrible thing, especially with you, oppa. Jinah eonnie is also very important to me, it doesn't make any sense!"

Hyunjin left a kiss on Yoorim's cheek as she sniffed after her explanation was over. Yeji, as usual, felt the urge to vomit and wished her eyes would instantly burn.

"For an innocent, you feel so much on the skin, girl."

"You would also feel if you were accused of trying to kill your own friends while the only thing you have been doing is worrying and hoping they will recover soon," Yoorim retorted. "But of course you don't know what it is. You're too selfish to separate your personal life from your work and put yourself in other people's shoes."

"I'm not mixing anything, the digital is yours and that's it!" Yeji spread her hands on her thighs, frustrated. "And you wanna know something ?!" by now she was too annoyed at everyone's delay and distrust about something that she thought was so simple and clear. Besides, Yeji hated Yoorim. That alone was enough to make her blood boil. "It wouldn't surprise me if you were trying to kill your friends. After all, it wouldn't be the first time you killed anyone."

"Yeji!" Hyunjin cried out, but Yoorim's wound was already exposed and now bleeding again.

"I didn't kill anyone!" she just didn't get up and move toward Yeji because Hyunjin used both arms to keep her still in place.

"That's what you say to try to convince yourself otherwise, but even your dad can't look you in the eyes."

"Yeji, shut the fuck up!" Hyunjin intervened again. "This is not the subject now!"

"It wasn't my fault" Yoorim sobbed as tears began to flow down her cheeks once again. She didn't know how Yeji could fell so much pleasure in resuming that same conversation whenever the opportunity arose, but it was a fact that Heo couldn't just ignore it, because, even though years had passed, it hurt like it was recent. "I didn't ask to be born."

"You may not have asked for it, but you were born, destroyed your family and, as if that were not enough, destroyed mine too when you decided to approach my brother. That's all you can do, isn't it? Destroy everything you touch!"

"Enough!" Jeongin got tired of being patient. "I'll remind you guys that this is a hospital and things like that are solved elsewhere!" he turned to the policewoman then. "If you're done, I ask you to leave."

Yeji watched Yoorim's copious cry, who had her face buried in Hyunjin's neck as the boy hugged her tightly and whispered things she couldn't understand. Inevitably she felt guilty; not for her last sentences, but for losing control and, as Yoorim herself pointed out, mixing her personal life with her work for a moment that shouldn't have happened at all.

"I'm done," she replied, then, ashamed of herself. "Let's go to the police station, now."

"It wasn't her" after carefully examining the reports that came to his hands in the confusion, Jisung's firm voice was heard. "The funny thing is, I hit my head and you guys stop thinking."

"What do you mean, dear?" Hyoyeon, who at first didn't find it wise to take sides in the situation, approached the bed.

"Yoorim's father's store name is engraved on that ringlet," he pointed to the picture that clearly supported his statement. "And Yoorim works there, it's obvious that she touched it at some point."

"The ladder guy!" Woojin exclaimed and opened the door suddenly. No one, not even Jeongin, was surprised that he had been listening to the conversation for a long time. "Yoorim, didn't you say you sold a lot of strange stuff to a strange guy, and right on the day of the accident?! I said this damn stairwell would give you bad luck!"

Lost, Yoorim blinked and searched on her mind for the event Woojin was referring to, and it was with a snap that the plug finally fell. "He was wearing gloves..."

"Did you see his face?" asked Jisung, no less furious than before, though it was a contained hatred.

"No, because he was also wearing a mask, sunglasses, cap and black clothes, as if he was trying not to be recognized."

Han bit the inside of his cheek so hard it almost didn't bleed. Then he threw the reports on the floor and ran his hands through his hair. Woojin feared he might explode, but when his voice returned to the suddenly silent room, there was no rise in his low tone.

"Do you know what is most unbelievable?" Jisung asked rhetorically. "Jinah and I reported this guy months ago when he first threatened her, and the police did practically nothing because there was no evidence. They always expect the worst to happen to do something."

"It's not like that," Yeji replied, her calm restored. "If you are referring to Kim Minhwan, I've heard that a restrictive measure has been enacted."

"Measure that he mocked so easily that he was able to destroy the car inside a garage that wasn't even his own." Jisung heard noises that day too, but, like the others, had ignored it because it wasn't relevant at all. Stupid, he blamed himself in silence. "This man is crazy. He knew Jinah's footsteps and mine, too, and I bet it was no coincidence that Yoorim's fingerprint fell behind, because with it he's taking time." Jisung blinked quickly when he remembered the worst part. "And he's so obsessed with Jinah that his intention was to kill only me, so there was no airbag on the driver's side... But unfortunately it went wrong and now it's not me who is in a coma."

"Don't say unfortunately," Hyoyeon murmured, her mother's heart aching.

"I was supposed to die anyway" Jisung shook his uninjured shoulder and the glint of tears finally came to his eyes. "But Jinah wanted to play the heroin..."

No one knew that, and as Han struggled not to let the tears overflow, Woojin, Yoorim, Hyunjin, and Hyoyeon were hit by the thud. That Jinah was madly in love with Jisung, they had no doubt, but to the point of sacrificing herself that way for him...

Jeongin cleared his throat. He accepted that the discussion full of ups and downs lasted as long as Jisung wasn't uncomfortable, but, now that he seemed truly affected, Yang decided it was time to put a definite end to the situation.

"Sorry, but I really need you guys to excuse us now."

This time, none of those present objected, although Hyoyeon wanted to stay to put Jisung on her lap and hug him until all the sadness was gone from his body.

Already in the hallway, Hyunjin didn't melt the expression of few friends when looking at Yeji — they would have a serious talk later — and, in a cold voice, he asked: "What will it be? Do you still want to discuss something in the police station after all this?"

"I told you I'm just doing my job," she swallowed dry, feeling a bitter taste down her throat in front of what she was about to do, and turned to Yoorim. "So... Let's check the security cameras at your dad's store."

And never a single sentence left Heo so relieved.

a/n: almost this update doesn't come out, but here we are

well, I want to make it clear that I am officially back, like, no more hiatus, okay? and now I’ll be very present here, to finish 'listen to me' and '(don't) love me', so no worries

and I just want to say I missed you guys so bad and I’m sorry for not being present here

talking about the chapter now, the theory that many of you may have cultivated has finally been revealed, one less to list!!!

I believe yoorim's situation with yeji has gotten a little easier to understand (or maybe not), but I anticipate that it will be better explained soon

in the next chapter there will be more scenes related to what happened in that chapter, but there will be jisung plus jinah too, and there will be according to the disposition of each one to bring a box of tissues or not lol

I've said too much, I'll stop here, see you soon <3

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