CHAPTER 21

JI-HOO'S POV:

No…She can't be gone…

"I love you. Come back to me Saia, please…" I beg and breathe into her mouth again. She jerks in my arms and starts coughing up water. Turning her on her side, I pat and rub her back as she continues to cough out the water from her lungs. Feeling her steady heartbeat beneath my hand, I finally feel like I can breathe again. Relieved, I brush the wet hair off of her face but start to worry when she doesn't open her eyes.

"Saia? Can you hear me?" I ask. "Saia? Open your eyes…please?"

"Is she okay?" Woo Bin asks.

Shaking my head, I lift her up into my arms and carry her back towards the SUV. "I need to get her to the hospital."

"Here, sit back here with her. You will have more room." He opens the cargo hold and I climb in with her. Still holding her, I begin to check her for other injuries. A bloody towel is wrapped around her left arm and as I pull it away, my stomach turns at the sight. Her arm has been surgically cut, the skin partially peeled away from her arm. It's still bleeding badly and I'm glad to see her arm is tightly tied with a cord to slow it down. Taking off one of my shirts, I wrap it around the wound. Her right shoulder is very swollen and starting to bruise. It was probably dislocated but as I feel her joint, it has already been popped back in place. Her left cheekbone is bruised and she has a bad cut on her right temple. She might have a concussion from the crash. Maybe that's why she won't wake up.

Holding her close, I bury my face in her wet hair. "Wake up, Saia. I need you to wake up for me."

"Ji-Hoo?" I hear a small voice say. Looking up, I see Young Saeng and Hye Sun looking down at us from the backseat. A woman and Woo Bin climb in to sit beside them as his men get into the front and we resume driving. I swallow hard and turn away from them, resting my chin on top of her head. Her soft breath tickles my throat.

"Is she…?" I hear the woman ask.

"She's alive." Woo Bin says and I tighten my grip on her. Yes, she's alive but she still feels too far away from me at the moment.

"Wake up." I whisper.

(^_^)

BOO KI'S POV:

I hate hospitals. I hate even more that my best friend is back here yet again. I tap my foot impatiently on the tile floor as we wait to hear news on her condition. Everything is confusing. None of us know what happened out there. Woo Bin left awhile ago without a word and Ji-Hoo hasn't said anything either. He just sits there and keeps staring at his hands. Jan Di tried to talk to him but he just shook his head.

I checked on the twins awhile ago and I am happy that they are all right. The biggest shock though was learning that Saia's mom has been brought in with her. Jae Kyung and Jan Di left to go see her. I don't feel comfortable visiting her. She was never there for Saia. Ga Eul sits down beside me and takes my hand. She is such a good friend to Saia and I. Even though I have only known her for a couple of weeks, I can see what a good person she is and I'm grateful for her comfort. Jun Pyo pats Ji-Hoo on the shoulder and continues to pace in front of us. Yi Jung sits next to Ji-Hoo but stares at the floor, his face blank.

The doctor comes out and we all stand up. He looks at Ji-Hoo, gives him a small nod, and Ji-Hoo disappears through the doors towards Saia.

"How is she?" I ask.

"She's stable. We had to stitch up her arm and wrap her shoulder but other than that she appears to be okay for the most part."

"What do you mean for the most part?" Yi-Jeung asks.

"Everything appears to be fine but she's still unconscious." Dr. Park looks at me sadly. "When the brain goes through an extended period of time without oxygen, it can cause a great deal of damage. We don't know how long she was underwater and we don't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up."

"When will she wake up?" I ask as I sink back down into my chair.

"I'm sorry but I don't know. Everything is up to her now. All we can do is wait and see."

"When can we see her?" Ga Eul asks.

"Soon. We will be moving her to a room shortly. I need to go check on her mother. Please excuse me." He gives us a small bow and leaves.

I don't believe this… How can this nightmare still not be over? It's not fair, damn it! Haven't we all suffered enough because of that bastard?

"How is she?" I hear Woo Bin ask as he walks up.

"Where is that son-of-a-bitch?" I quietly ask him. Standing up, I march up to Woo Bin and grab his shirt collar. "Where is that bastard? He needs to pay for what he's down to her!" I yell at him. I don't realize I'm crying until he reaches up to cup my face and brushes away my tears with his thumbs.

"He's dead, Boo Ki-ssi. He can't hurt her anymore." he says quietly.

Closing my eyes, I lay my forehead against his chest in relief but when I feel him hesitantly wrap his arms around me, I lose it and start sobbing into his chest. For the first time ever, I feel safe and lean into his comforting embrace. For the first time in 5 years, I let myself cry.

(^_^)

SERENA'S POV:

"I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared that I would never see you again." My husband says.

"Me too. How is CJ?" I ask. My husband flew here as soon as Paul discovered me missing but our son CJ had to stay behind with his grandparents.

"He's fine but worried about you of course."

I nod and move to stand up.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" He asks.

"I'm going to see Saia. Jae Kyung and Jan Di said she's been moved to a private room."

"Don't you think you should rest first?"

"Scott... I want to see my daughter."

"…Okay." He nods and slips his hand into mine. When we reach her room, I am amazed at how many people are already here. I recognize Song Woo Bin who is standing besides Jae Kyung and Yoon Ji-Hoo is sitting in a chair next to Saia's bed along with a pretty red-haired woman. The other people I hardly notice as I focus on Saia's face.

She looks so pale. The bruise on her cheek has turned a mean looking purple color. Her shoulder is wrapped up and strapped against her waist while her left arm is heavily bandaged. Ji-Hoo looks up at me and his eyes narrow. I'm not surprised that he doesn't remember me from the car. His focus had been solely on her. He watches me like a lion ready to pounce if I make a wrong move. You have found yourself a good man, baby. I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead.

"Hello sweetheart. The twins are safe, just like I promised. Ji-Hoo is here, all of your friends are here. Don't you think you should wake up?"

"Who are you?" the red-haired woman asks.

"My name is Serena Knightly or Serena Caelum. I'm Saia's mother."

Her eyes widen in shock. "And why are you here? You never cared before."

I sigh and shake my head. "I do care. I always have. I've been looking for her for a very long time."

(^_^)

I run a hand through my hair as I look up at Saia and Ji-Hoo. He has hardly left her side since we came here 3 days ago and I have yet to hear him speak. She has been in and out of "consciousness" for a few minutes at a time but she has never been lucid. It worries me what state her mind will be in if she does wake up. I haven't spoken to any of them about what happened. Not yet. Woo Bin knows I shot Su-Jeong but that's all. They don't know what she went through at his hands.

They all take turns staying with her and Ji-Hoo in shifts. Right now it's Ga Eul, Jan Di, and Woo Bin. Boo Ki is here whenever she isn't working. Ji-Hoo is reading as I cautiously approach him. I've haven't tried to speak with him directly but what I have to say needs to be mostly heard by him. Gently placing my hand on his shoulder, he turns to look at me in surprise.

"Ji-Hoo-ssi, I think it's time I told all of you what happened. Could you sit with me for a few minutes?"

He nods his head as he sets his book down and follows me to the couches where the others are sitting.

"Are you sure you are ready for this Serena-ssi?" Woo Bin asks me.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. But I think it's important for all of you to know what happened to her out there. I also think you should know what started all of this." I start from the beginning and tell them everything. From how her grandfather died, to looking for her all these years, and then I tell them what Su-Jeong did to her. Ga Eul starts to cry. Woo Bin's jaw and fists are clenched so tightly that they could snap at any moment. Jan Di and Boo Ki's eyes are wide and their faces are pale but Ji-Hoo is a hard one to read. On the surface there appears to be no reaction but his eyes are dark with what looks like rage.

"Ji-Hoo-ssi, her last words to me were to protect you and the twins. She never stopped thinking about you. Not for one second."

He suddenly stands up and quickly moves towards the door. Jan Di jumps up to follow him and as I stand up to follow as well, Boo Ki grabs my hand.

"It's okay." She says. "Let Jan Di talk to him. You told him what he needed to hear, what we all needed to hear. Thank you…Eomma (mom)." She says hesitantly.

(^_^)

BOO KI'S POV:

"Noona, look what I drew." Young Saeng tells me.

"Wow! Is that a tiger?"

"Uh huh! And Hye Sun drew a leopard. See the spots?"

"Yes I do! These are great! You are going to be master artists someday! Why don't you go show Eomma?"

"Okay!" I watch as they run towards Serena to show her their drawings and I catch Woo Bin watching me.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to have them here?"

"Yes I do. Saia needs to know the people that love her most are safe and that they are here. The twins are a big part of her life. Plus they want to be close to her, even if she isn't awake. She's been here almost a week Woo Bin-ssi. I'm willing to try anything if it means she gets better."

He nods and stands up. "It's getting late. We really should get them back to their room."

"Come on kids. It's time to go back." I say.

"Can't we stay with Eonni tonight? Please? Everyone else does." Hye Sun asks.

"Yeah! Plus if we sleep next to her, she will know we are here and that she needs to wake up!" Young Saeng says. I look at Ji-Hoo for direction because I'm helpless to their sweet request. For the first time in weeks I see a small smile cross his face.

"Okay." He says, kneeling down in front of them. "But you will have to be very careful with her. Arasso?"

"Arasso!" "Arasso!"

An hour later, they are sound asleep beside her, Hye Sun on one side and Young Saeng on the other. Everyone else is asleep too. Serena is curled up in a chair while Ga Eul and Jan Di are asleep on one of the couches. Ji-Hoo's head is resting next to Saia's injured shoulder with his hands tucked underneath his sleeping face. So that leaves me awake with Woo Bin... Great… I inwardly groan to myself. I need to stay awake in case Saia has more "fits". When she becomes conscious but isn't lucid, we have come to label them as "fits" because she moves around a lot. I don't mind watching over her while the others sleep. Why can't Woo Bin go to sleep too?

Our conversations have been awkward lately and I don't like it. Why can't our friendship just go back to the way it was before I sobbed in his arms? He's been acting so weird towards me since that day. He hardly lets me do anything by myself. I stand up to go get some water but as I walk by, his arm shoots out and he catches my wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get some water… "

He stands up and releases my hand. "I'll get it for you. I need a cup of coffee."

"Sure. Thank you."

He flashes a smile at me and turns to leave. Looking over at the twins, I notice Saia moving her head.

"Woo Bin she's having another fit." I tell him. We both move towards the bed to move the twins but I grab his arm to stop him. My heart practically leaps out of my chest as her eyes lock with mine. She's actually awake!