"다시 한 번 그녀를 보호하지 못 했어."

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A U T H O R ' S  P. O. V

"I swear to God, I'm gonna find those bastards and kill them myself." Bambam seethed in rage as he paced around the gigantic private hospital room.

An hour ago, he and Jieun were just having a calm and lighthearted conversation while munching on food in their favorite cafè, when an alarming call from the nearest hospital called their number, telling them that Lalisa was in a very bad state.

They stopped whatever they were doing, looked at each other and in a heartbeat, they immediately arrived at the said hospital.

Jieun wiped the remaining tears that were staining her face due to the devastation she felt the first second she laid her eyes on a bruised and bleeding Lalisa.

The latter yanked Bambam down, causing the male to plop down on the seat beside her with his head hung low. Jieun casted him a stern look, "Your anger won't do anything right now, just calm down for the meantime and hope that Priya wakes up as soon as possible."

"But how can I calm down in this situation, huh noona?" Bambam raised his head to look at the older girl as he questioned, his tone gradually transitioning from angry and frustrated, to weak and hopless.

Jieun's heart clenched and her shoulders were only left to slump as she was met with Bambam's sad and regretful eyes. She knew well that he was going to blame himself again, it was like a habit shared by the thai heir and heiress.

It was almost funny how she can picture the both of them doing the same thing whenever the other was placed in a situation like this, but she can't bring herself to laugh now, especially not in this situation. But other than being borderline amusing, she also found it wholesome and sweet how they devote many things toward each other due to sisterly and brotherly love.

Situations like this where one's life would be in danger were usually normal considering their life and real status, but it doesn't mean it gets any less painful whenever it actually happens.

To the two of them, it hurts to see her bright smile gone. It hurts to see her like this.

Though it was a little weird that something like this happened to the girl in a time where she wasn't exposed to the limelight, Jieun couldn't find herself dwelling on that thought as she was too focused on the scene of a teary-eyed Bambam looking at his unconscious cousin.

"I failed to protect her once again." The lump in Jieun's throat began to grow again as she heard the crack in Bambam's voice. It was not long when he finally let a few tears loose.

She angled her body where it was facing the downtrodden male, before engulfing him in a warm hug in hopes of offering him as much comfort as possible. As Jieun felt the sobbing Bambam returning the hug, she lightly patted his back, "Let's reserve all the anger and frustration we feel now once Priya is already okay and let it all out when we find whoever did this to her, is that clear?"

Bambam weakly nodded.

As the two broke contact, Jieun couldn't help but sigh, "Look Bam, I'm honestly as angry as you are, but let's focus on Priya first."

The whole room was blanketed with silence until he was finally able to calm himself down.

"You're right." Bambam sniffed one last time, before wiping his eyes and nose as an attempt to make himself look presentable again, "Sorry, I got carried away."

"You guys always do, don't you." Jieun let out a good natured scoff, referring to the twins' –they're not, but she always thought that they look and act like it– occasional habit of letting their emotions take over first.

He scoffed back at the light jab, but before Bambam was given the chance to retaliate, the soft click of the door resounded in their ears, indicating that someone was entering.

It was Dr. Park, one of the youngest and best doctors to grace the famous hospital they were in right now, and the same one who handled and treated Lalisa.

Bambam and Jieun simultaneously stood up and bowed, to which the doctor returned.

"Good evening, you must be her relatives." Dr. Park offered them a warm smile as she walked closer to them.

"Good evening, Dr. Park, how is she?" Jieun asked, with obvious worry evident in her voice.

"The cuts and bruises will take a while to heal, but fortunately nothing was fractured or broken so she's safe." Dr. Park reassured, with the gentle and reassuring smile not leaving her face, "There's no need to worry, she'll wake up soon and when she does so, please tell her to not stress her body out in the meantime. It was lucky that the pain inflicted to her body was not that severe to cause permanent damages."

The two immediately sighed in relief.

"Don't worry, we'll be more careful as we don't want this happening again." Bambam said with a determined nod.

"That's definitely good to hear, oh and by the way," Dr. Park suddenly perked up, as if she just remembered something important to say, "Where's the other one?"

Bambam and Jieun's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Where's who, Doc?" Bambam reiterated, putting stress on the word 'who' to show his and Jieun's obliviousness to whoever the young doctor was referring to.

Dr. Park feigned confusion as well by mirroring their expressions, but after a few seconds she still answered their query anyways, "The guy wearing the leather jacket, the one who thankfully brought her here."

Come to think of it, until now the two didn't know exactly how Lalisa ended up here, because when they arrived at the hospital they were informed that she was beat up and from that moment onwards, their minds were already fogged with fear, confusion, and anxiety, that the next action they wanted to take was to immediately dash to Lalisa's room to ensure that she's safe now.

"A guy brought her here?" Bambam raised a brow. He was thankful for this 'guy' for bringing her cousin to safety, but he still couldn't help but be suspicious of him, whoever he may be. "Where is he now?"

"Well, from what I remember he brought her here and told us that a group of men attacked her, he even payed for her bills but when we returned to his seat to give him the receipt he was already gone, so we just dialed her emergency contacts." Dr. Park enlightened them.

"Dr. Park, do you perhaps know how he looks like?" Jieun asked in hopes of obtaining more information about this mystery man who saved her dongsaeng.

Did he really save her though? They really weren't sure, but they were certain that they were going to follow what their parents always told them before.

To never trust anyone.

If that man set this all up, then Bambam swore that he was going to find him and those men who beat his cousin up to give them a piece of his mind and maybe a piece of his fist too, but if he really did save his cousin from potential danger, then he'll be eternally grateful to him.

"Unfortunately, no." Dr. Park muttered in regret, "His face was covered with a cap and a mask so we really couldn't identify him clearly."

"Ah, there's no need to feel sorry, Doc." Jieun laughed lightly at the obvious display of guilt on the female doctor's face, "We're just curious."

Dr. Park couldn't help but chuckle as well, slightly embarrassed that they were able to read her easily.

"Anyways, if you don't have any more questions, I'll get going," Dr. Park checked her watch before shoving her hands in her coat's pockets with an excited smile, "I promised my younger sister that I would treat her."

Bambam and Jieun smiled fondly when the young doctor uttered those words with obvious joy and excitement, it was apparent that she was really looking forward to meeting her younger sister, so they bowed to her to finally let her go.

"Thank you for everything, Dr. Park." Bambam offered her a warm smile.

"There's no need to thank me," Dr. Park grinned, "It's my job after all, and it makes me happy to help people in need. Anyways, I'm hoping for Ms. Manoban's fast recovery."

"Of course, Doc, and thank you once again," Jieun said as she waved at Dr. Park's figure, which was approaching the door. "Enjoy the dinner with your sister!"

Dr. Park nodded with a big smile on her face, before finally disappearing outside the door.

As Jieun went back to her seat, she looked up and was surprised to see Bambam still not leaving his position, with his eyes lingering on the closed door.

"What's up with you?" She asked.

Bambam's head snapped towards her. He was silent for a few seconds but he eventually shook his head as he approached his own seat.

"Nothing, Dr. Park just looked familiar, is all."

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Chaeyoung tapped her feet on the concrete pavement as her eyes continued to roam around the sea of people walking in the busy lit street, hoping to find the face of the person she's been waiting for.

She glanced at her watch, which was indicating that it was already 7:01 PM.

"This means she must be close." Chaeyoung muttered to herself as she clutched her sling bag with her phone on the other hand.

One, two, and eventually ten minutes have already passed since the time they both agreed to meet.

She was getting impatient now, and it didn't help that she was already hungry.

And you do not mess with a hungry Chaeyoung.

The girl groaned and was about to open her phone and make a call when a familiar voice called her from behind.

"Chae!"

Chaeyoung turned around, frustration immediately gone as she grinned when she was finally able to spot her sister among the crowd, surprisingly still in her work clothes.

She was used to it though, for it was normal in her sister's life as a doctor.

"Alice! What took you so long? Did you plan to starve me?" Chaeyoung joked when Alice was finally able to reach her, recieving a small smack on the arm as she does so.

"Sorry, I had to take care of an emergency patient, the poor girl was ganged up on and arrived in a bad state." Alice apologized to her younger sister, also unconsciously mentioning the reason of her tardiness.

Chaeyoung's brows furrowed at this, "That's unfortunate, I hope she gets well soon."

"Yeah me too, but anyways are you ready to eat?" Alice chuckled when her sister's eyes immediately sparkled at the mention of food.

"Of course, when was I never? Plus it's free food." Chaeyoung grinned before dragging her older sister to a nearby restaurant.

°•°•°•°

"I failed to protect her once again."

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Hey guys, here's another chapter for you all. I'm very surprised actually, that I was able to update this fast but maybe I was lucky that inspiration still hasn't left me lol.

And by the way, when I published the last chpater I thought I was going to be very obvious but it seems that I wasn't? HAHAHA

Also, if you still didn't connect the dots, then yes, Alice Park is Chaeyoung's sister in this story as well, playing as Dr. Park.

I swear to God I'm going to try my best to update as fast as possible for you guys with the content I'm satisfied with, and don't worry, the royals and liskook moments will come soon :)

Luv y'all

Author-nim outtt