Miya was drenched in sweat when she finally regained consciousness. Her entire body was hot, and her head throbbed in pain. She shivered involuntarily, her heart thumping fast. Her hands and legs felt inert, and she wobbled when she tried to get out of the bed.

Her body felt as if it had been separated from herself – getting down took a lot of effort. Her vision was still groggy, but she could see somewhat. Breathless, she reached for a nearby glass. It knocked out of her hand and cracked on the floor. The sound echoed madly in her head, making her brain want to split apart.

She panted.

Shaking, she stepped onto the ground.

The room spun in circles for a few seconds, then she stabilised. She gave a careful look to the needle in her arm. Somehow, it made her angry. She snapped it out as forcefully as her wavering hands could, and throwing it on the floor, she moved to the door.

Water.

She needed water.

It felt like her throat had dried up from inside, and there were blades piercing her neck.

She had only just kept one foot out of the threshold, when she heard a loud voice.

Someone had just shouted Jimmy’s name.

Miya frowned, then pressing a hard hand against her forehead, she tried to concentrate. The voice was a woman’s, and it sounded familiar. Miya couldn’t place whose it was. Who was yelling at Jimmy?

And… how long had she been out?

Jimmy clenched his fist, and shoved them in the pocket of his pants. He forced his face into losing all expression, and then looked at Charlie from head to toe. His mouth was drawn into a thin line. Charlie’s eyes had fire in them, and she glared back at the young man, ready to cut him with her eyes.

“Jimmy Hunter, you…!” she spat in a low hiss, “I don’t remember raising you to be like this!”

Jim’s voice was as cold as ice, “Why did you send me the picture anonymously?”

“I’m not the traitor here,” Charlie said venomously, “That woman you brought home is! She’s involved with each and every one of your enemies. Why don’t you see it’s a setup? She’s planted by one of them! It’s as clear as daylight!”

Jim’s face further steeled, “She has a name Charlie. Miya. Now, why did you send the picture anonymously?”

“It was in Byeong’s files! He wasn’t going to show you, so I did! You have to know.”

Jim didn’t respond to that, and he would have argued further, but then the sound of cracking glass echoed close by. His ears shot up in alert, and the young master turned around by instinct. Worried that Miya might have fallen off the bed, he began to get back.

Charlie looked at his back grudgingly, her eyes bleary with anger. She shouted his name out loud,

“JIMMY!”

Jim paid her no heed. He walked back into the room, only to see Miya pressing at her forehead while she clung to the door. Panicking, he reached to her side in two strides and scolded, “What the hell are you doing?”

She was startled by his colossal presence, and seemed confused. She looked smaller to Jim in that moment, smaller than she was. Like a cornered animal, who was looking at a possible threat. Jim picked her up as easily as he would have lifted a child, and frowned.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Miya’s vision cleared further, and she slowly put her hands around his neck. Then staring at him with wide eyes so that she could focus, she said, “I think I did.”

Jim looked at her earnestly.

He didn’t say a word, his heart heavy. He simply walked to her bed, put her down, and was about to get up when she held his hand. He looked back at her, and for an instant, he was surprised. His chest twisted too, a little.

She looked afraid.

For the first time, Jim saw naked fear in the girl’s eyes and it hurt him. He cleared his throat.

“Just getting you water, okay?”

With that, Jim called for a maid, giving a small glance to the glass shattered around. Then he quietly called for the doctor, the ripped out syringe not escaping his notice. All the while, he sat at the edge of the bed, his nerves tensed.

Charlie had told him that she had been tracking Eshni for all this time. When Park had refused to continue the task after the incident with Zaila, the Chairman had turned to her. And she had accepted for the sake of Jimmy Hunter, just like she had accepted looking into Miya’s background for the boy.

Jimmy’s body went rigid, and a frown marred his face, his mind distracted. Too much was intertwined. And Miya…

Eshni?

Jim looked at the small girl’s pale face, as she gave the doctor a weak but dangerous look. She also kept glancing at Jimmy, as if asking him to make the doctor go away. When Kern was done, he signalled Jim to come out with him.

“She’s fine for now,” he told Jimmy, “But she can have hallucinations for some time. Right now, she’s a little dazed, but alright.”

Jim nodded, then went back in.

His eyes shot up in alarm, as he saw Miya crouch on the bed, looking at the needle in her hand like a haunted woman.

“Jimmy,” she said in a low voice when she heard his steps, “What is the needle for?”

“Antidote,” he replied.

Something about her stance reminded Jim of the picture of her and Eshni, and for a frail second, he flinched. Then shrugging forcibly, he realized how relieved a part of his mind was just to see her awake, and not screaming anymore.

The other part of him was fearful.

For the first time since they had been together, Jim felt fearful for them both.

Who was she?

But he also remembered the fear in her own eyes – when she never, ever showed hint of that emotion. For a brief second, Jim threw away all his doubts and walked over to the girl. He looked at her still crouching figure, and his heart was heavy.

Could it be that Charlie was right?

Why was Miya involved with everyone wrong?

Jimmy gently caressed Miya’s hair, then embraced her tight. She melted into him easily too, and the young master closed his eyes. Eshni and Tao… Kang Sheng and the Chairman himself.

Breathing out, Jimmy patted Miya’s head.

“Lie back,” he said in a soft voice, “How are you feeling?”

“A little dizzy.”

“Hungry?”

“I don’t know.”

Jimmy set the pillow behind her head, then took his seat beside her. For a few minutes, he just looked at her face, and at her eyes, and relief silently seeped through his entire body. His mind was miles away, worried about the entire world and their own fate, but his heart knew too well what he felt. It was right in place, celebrating quietly that she had opened her eyes.

It came as a shock to Jimmy how much this girl affected him.

He had realized his feelings long ago, but it hit home then. He was getting dependant on her. And his world seemed to revolve around her tiny existence. She affected him to the extent that he could throw all reason to the wind. And just then, his chest hurt so much, it felt as if it would split apart.

Jim swallowed.

“You know,” he said softly, holding the girl’s hand, “When I was a child, Mrs. Park told me I shouldn’t cry. That if I do, my heart would rip apart,” Jim leaned over, and softly kissed the top of her head, his insides hurting, “I wonder if it was true, Miya. I’m looking at you, and my chest hurts. It’s foolish… but I feel like crying.”

Jim kissed her cheek delicately.

Miya held his shoulder, focussing on his words. She embraced him tightly with her small hands too. And then… she froze under his skin. His words made strange sense, and for a minute, her mind went back to twenty years ago.

Then, it turned blank… What?