DISCLAIMER: I'm not a professional, and my knowledge was only based on the small research I've made. Please don't take it against me if I have wrong information.

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{ 41 }

Jiyong was back at the hospital first thing in the morning. He was about to come back as soon as he was done changing and eating but Jaejoong forbade him. He said that he received TOP’s orders to imprison him in his unit for the night so he can get some sleep.

However, TOP and Jaejoong’s plan didn’t work. Jiyong wasn’t able to sleep a wink. He only kept tossing and turning in bed, thinking about Dara’s condition and waiting for the dawn to come. He was already showering as early as 4 AM and got to the hospital by 5. He told Jaejoong to go home himself and another bodyguard followed him.

Bom and TOP were sleeping on the waiting area. Bom’s head was placed on TOP’s lap as the latter tried to get some sleep while sitting. The preceding night’s events were taking its toll on them, making it possible. Youngbae was there too, together with Yuri. The two of them were awake.

Jiyong sat next to his sister, gathering her close. When Youngbae saw that, he stood up. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He graciously said. He smiled at Jiyong and clapped his shoulder, “It’s gonna be okay, man. I’ll be back later.”

Jiyong only nodded and turned his attention back to his sister. “Are you okay? Where did you stay for the night? I’m sorry I wasn’t around yesterday, I was–”

“Oppa, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for anything. Bom unnie accompanied me to their place last night when Youngbae oppa and I came back. She let me borrow her clothes and sleep there for the night. Youngbae oppa picked me up this morning.” She replied.

He smiled at his friends’ accommodation to his sister. They really helped him a lot, and now they’re even helping Yuri. “Oppa?” Yuri’s quiet voice asked.

“Neh, Yul?”

“I... I heard your conversation. With Jaejoong oppa.” She answered, her voice barely audible.

Jiyong’s heart was aching for his sister. He wasn’t expecting the entire ruckus which happened. However, it will not deter him from making Yuri stay as a Kwon. He tightened his hold on her. “Yuri, you are a Kwon. You’re my sister. Didn’t I tell you that already?” He responded.

“But Jaejoong oppa–”

Yuri’s voice was cut off when Youngbae came rushing in to them. “Hey, I asked Dr. Nam and he said that a nurse just checked on Dara and she’s awake now!” He excitedly told Jiyong as he woke Bom and TOP. Hearing the news, Jiyong sprinted to Dara’s room.

Yuri could only smile. She doesn’t even feel bad that Jiyong left her. Of course, she knows that her oppa’s only love in the world is Park Sandara. Besides, she still can’t get the nagging feeling inside of her that it was her mother’s fault that Dara was put in danger and Jiyong was in distress.

“Yuri, let’s go see Dara!” Bom excitedly said as she guided the younger girl towards the private room where Dara was situated.

The four of them entered the room, but they were surprised to hear shrieking and screaming. Their eyes widened, fearing that there was another accident but when they opened the door, they saw Jiyong being waved away by Dara. “GO! GO! GO AWAY!!!” Dara shouted at the top of her lungs.

Youngbae, being the doctor in the group, quickly rushed towards Dara’s side. He gestured to TOP and the older understood, dragging the dazed Jiyong out of the room. As soon as Jiyong left, Dara was back to her calm self with Youngbae’s help.

“Da– Dara?” Bom cautiously called out, fearing that Dara will have another fit.

However, it wasn’t Bom who distressed Dara. It was Yuri who was staring at her, scared. She was about to throw another fit when Youngbae’s voice dominated the room. “Noona, bring Yuri outside. I’ll talk to Dara noona.” He commanded.

Bom quickly nodded and scampered out of the room with Yuri. Once they left, she steadied her breathing. “Noona? Are you better now?” Youngbae asked.

Dara took a moment before calming down. “I’m... I’m better, Bae.” She responded weakly, feeling the aftermath of her moving around earlier. The adrenaline was rushing through her veins that she didn’t even notice the pain, but now that the event was over, she could feel her tired and aching limbs.

“What’s wrong, noona?” He asked. He was actually unsure of the things he was asking since he wasn’t a professional psychologist. He only genuinely wanted to know why Dara was reacting to Jiyong and Yuri like that. Having worked with several psychologists in the past, he has a guess what Dara was experiencing, but he wanted to be sure. He made a mental note to tell Dr. Nam about Dara’s outburst later.

“I... I don’t feel safe. I remember the...” She gulped before continuing, the events rushing back to her. “The accident...” Her voice was only above a whisper as she closed her eyes, the emotional and mental trauma she got surfacing.

Remembering it again, she reacted wildly when Youngbae placed his hand on top of her shoulder in hopes to comfort her. Rather than being comforted, she flailed again, thinking that she was still in the room where she lay helpless and Youngbae was out to kill her. “NO! LET ME GOOOO!!!”

Youngbae immediately pushed the emergency button, and soon enough, a nurse and Dr. Nam came rushing in. The nurse injected a sedative to her, and her eyes were instantly droopy. “Let... me... go...” She mumbled before the sleep finally pulled her in.

“Minjun sunbaenim?” Youngbae called out to Dr. Nam as soon as Dara calmed down. “Wha– what’s wrong with Dara noona?”

Dr. Nam sighed heavily. “I’m sure you have an idea, Youngbae.”

Youngbae’s fears took root. “Is it...?”

“I think so, but I’ll call Dr. Cheon to confirm it. He’ll be up here soon to talk to Miss Park.” The older doctor sympathetically tapped his junior’s shoulder before walking out of the door.

--

Jiyong was in a daze. He took the scene worse than Yuri did. Bom could totally understand though. Dara’s reaction to him earlier was piling on his guilt that the fateful event happened because of his fault.

They were curious as to what was happening, but they held themselves even though a nurse and Dr. Nam frantically came sweeping in Dara’s room. Jiyong wanted to go inside but he held himself. I don’t want to upset her anymore, he thought to himself as he sunk lower on the chair in the waiting area.

A few more minutes passed before Dr. Nam and the nurse went out of the room. Jiyong immediately ran to them. “What’s happening? Is Dara all right?!” He demanded.

Dr. Nam asked the nurse to go, and after the five of them were left alone, he proceeded to explain. “Youngbae and I have a guess, but Miss Park still has to go through examinations and assessments from a professional to confirm our guess.” He explained.

“What is it then? What’s wrong with her?!”

“We think that Miss Park has acquired Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD has three symptoms, and from what we have seen, she checked all the Intrusive, Arousal, and Avoidance Symptoms. Still, we will have to check with a professional psychologist before we announce the final findings.”

“We don’t understand though. We’re not really familiar with this Post-Traumatic shit, so can you please explain?” Bom snapped. She was feeling as worried as she was yesterday. They all thought that everything would be better now, but another problem arose.

TOP was about to reprimand her when Dr. Nam cut off. “The first symptom of PTSD is the Intrusive Symptom. It’s when the patient experiences flashbacks, and emotional and physical distress because of a traumatic event. The second one is the Arousal Symptom. It’s the symptom where the patient feels guarded even though they were completely safe. They also have sudden outbursts of anger. Lastly, the Avoidance Symptom where the patient avoids people, events, or places where there is a chance that she’ll relive the traumatic memory.”

“So basically, you mean that Jiyong and Yuri remind her of what happened?” TOP butted in.

“Yes. That’s a big chance, especially if they are related to the person who was in charge of the traumatic situation,” he replied, picking the right words. Earlier this morning, a breaking news came, reporting about the arrest of Madame Kwon Yuhee and her brother Jo Pil Guk of Kwon Group of Companies. Everyone knew that Madame Kwon’s the mother of the CEO and President, and there were a lot of speculations going on. Dr. Nam was sure that it won’t take long for the media to piece the stories together once they knew that Park Sandara, who was rumored to be Kwon Jiyong’s fiancée, was lying on a hospital bed.

Jiyong felt his energy drain. He almost collapsed on the floor if only TOP wasn’t able to support him on time. Bom bade goodbye to the doctor and helped Jiyong out. “Jiyong...” She gently said, her voice cracking because of tears.

Only, Jiyong wasn’t hearing hers, TOP’s, or Yuri’s voice. He was lost in his own world, thinking about Dara. Maybe I deserve this for hurting her, he thought bitterly as tears started to slide down to his cheeks. This is my entire fault.

Yuri was crying silently on one side. If weren’t for her, her mother wouldn’t have done drastic actions. Dara won’t be hurt, and Jiyong won’t be put to blame just because he was related to her mother. She was about to slip away quietly when she bumped on someone.

“Jaejoong oppa...” She breathed, not knowing what to do. She has known Jaejoong for almost five years now, but she never thought that he was her real brother and not Jiyong. She has seen Jaejoong as her real brother’s friend, but as fate would have it, it was the other way around.

Jaejoong only smiled at her tenderly. “I’ll treat you to ice cream, Yuri-yah.” He said and took her hand.

Yuri snuck another look at Jiyong before allowing herself to go with Jaejoong.

--

Dara’s family came late in the afternoon. They were all so worried, but Bom didn’t call them until they confirmed that Dara was safe. The whole family went straight to the private room where she was located as Jiyong was left alone outside, not even daring to take a peek in fear that she will have another outburst because of him. Bom and TOP joined him, wanting to support their friend. The couple were also the ones who called the school to let them know that Dara will file an indefinite leave because of personal matters. Mr. Jang, knowing that she was the girlfriend of the school owner, let her off easily.

“DARA-YAH!” Her mother shouted as soon as they saw Dara. Indeed, she looked pitiful. She has bruises everywhere in her body, even on her face, and her right leg needed to be supported because it took quite a blow the other night.

“Omma...” Dara croaked out.

The family rushed towards the bed with Mr. and Mrs. Park embracing their daughter. They were so curious and they wanted to us why this happened, but since they were already warned by Dr. Nam, they opted to just inspect her.

“Are you okay, butterfly?” Her father asked.

“I’ve seen better days,” she replied. “I’m really happy that you guys are here.”

All of the Park family were crying. They talked for a bit more before the nurse came in and told them that it’s time for Dara to rest. She hugged her parents and siblings before they left the room and Dara once again dozed off.

When they went out, Bom, Jiyong, and TOP stood up. Sanghyun walked over to Jiyong with heavy steps and unceremoniously punched the older man. Only TOP remained calm as he pulled Jiyong away from Sanghyun while the Park’s father pulled his son away and dragged him somewhere to talk.

Mrs. Park ran to him, inspecting the damage Sanghyun made. “Omo, are you okay, Jiyong?!”

Jiyong only nodded, as if he didn’t even feel the sting of the cut on his lip. He only bowed down to Mrs. Park and repeatedly apologized because he wasn’t able to protect Dara as what they wanted.

When Mr. Park and Sanghyun came back, Jiyong explained the events the other night. Being their understanding selves, they understood that it wasn’t Jiyong’s fault. Sanghyun was the only one who was being stubborn. “He admitted that he has a fault anyway,” he said. “He didn’t protect my noona.”

They all know that once the guy set his mind on something, changing it would be like pushing a mountain with your bare hands. They only sighed as they relented to Sanghyun’s lame logic.

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Don't kill me lol!

-X