HOSPITAL :

"Doctor, please tell me?" Jong Gi asked the 11th specialist who had come to examine Tae Sun. With the heavy frown still etched on his face the doctor said, "As I said before Mr. Kang, I will stand by my previous statement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his body except his previous wounds. And those wounds are healing nicely without any signs of inflammation or infection."

Violently, Jong Gi pushed the Doctor, "IF EVERYTHING IS FINE, THEN WHY IS MY BROTHER IN A COMA??"

Not liking the disrespect, the doctor still kept mum about the treatment he suffered. Afterall, a influential and wealthy family as the Kang's could not be provoked. Still, he was short in his explanation, "As I have said and I believe many before me have said too, Mr Tae Sun is not in a coma, he is simply sleeping. Although yes, it appears to be a sleep from which he is showing no signs of awakening, but it is sleep nonetheless. He is still reacting to the stimulus of pain, his brain is showing normal activity and none of his body functions are compromised. I have talked to the medical staff here and the batch of doctors will be further investigating what is wrong, but truly, thus far, we have not found any factors-"

"HIS ROOM WAS TRASHED! EVERYTHING WAS BROKEN! HIS BED WAS BROKEN! IT IS CLEAR HE WAS ASSUALTED AND YOU ARE SAYING-"

"Mr. Kang." The doctor cut in stiffly, "His body showed no signs of assault. Not even a scratch, bruise or even a needle mark. I do not care about the state of the room that you talk about, my only care extends to my patient, who, was bereft of any signs of struggle, manipulation or any physical harm. If you have concerns about the state of the room you found him in, then I suggest you talk to the detective, not me." Saying so, he angrily left.

Jongi Gi felt like punching the wall.

His brother was in coma, Jae Hoon had to be admitted in a psych ward after he repeatedly kept trying to harm himself while laughing non stop, his father was deathly scared, believing it firmly that it was Namjoon haunting them.

Everything was falling apart in the front of business where suddenly, just 2 days ago, Min Hwang had made his move, having acquired majority shares of the divisions that had been left to them by their grandfather. On top of that, the sponsors needed for their venture to take off, had agreed to different project with Min Hwang's core company, now hesitating in angering him by supporting them, hence withdrawing their association.

That, in turn had prompted new sponsors from investing, sensing danger from a venture which most renowned and elite companies were rejecting.

"Namjoon!" he growled under his breath. How was he orchestrating this debacle??

Jong Gi stalked towards the reception, asking for a phone call to be made. He dialled the number of his secretary, "Ask aunt to come. Call and invite My father's associate Yun Hong Yi and our lawyer Cho Ji Oh as well. Make sure Joon's nanny and her family are present as well. Set up the meeting in the country house."

Having received affirmation, Jong Gi angrily smacked the phone down, earning looks of disapproval from the nurses around.

"Its high time something should be done to you Kim Namjoon." He muttered.

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

BEACH HOUSE :

AFTERNOON :

Blearily, Anya opened her eyes which refused to cooperate. Not forcing herself to wake up properly, she burrowed a little deeper in the bed and pulled the blankets up. It was nice and cozy.

With a smile and a blissful sigh, Anya again wanted to sink into the happy sleep she had just parted with, when all at once, all the curtains in her room spread open wide apart, letting the strong summer afternoon sun intrude brightly in the room.

Groaning, she tried imitating a turtle with the covers over her head when she heard the door to her bedroom loudly being unlocked and then swinging open.

Her mind not yet catching onto these actions, but somehow deeming them to be normal, finally caught up with everything that had happened last night.

Just as she sat up, Mira came barging into the room, "So the room opened at last???? You! You there!!" she stalked forward to tug down the blankets and fish the struggling girl up and in a sitting position, "You rotten berry stalk!! At last came to your senses of letting your friends know that you are NOT DEAD!!!"

Somehow, Anya managed to open her eyes and peer at Mira, "Hi." She croaked out.

A whistle sounded by the door, "Oh my, even the word mess would not define what you look like right now." So Hyun shamelessly came inside, "Did you go through a blender?"

With her hair tangled up worse than a bird's nest, her poor eyes swollen big after the amount of crying she had achieved, her exhaustion of her emotional depression had hit her hard.

She resembled a poor flower, trodden to her last instinct on the road.

"Your agent came, apparently it was your deadline. Soyeon submitted your work after proofreading it." So Hyun casually dropped the facts and then just as casually tried to sit down on the bed where Anya was sitting, only for his body to make a complete 180 degree, and his butt to point in the air.

When he let go of his body to sit, he was facing the bed with nothing beneath him. So Hyun dropped down on his floor, his bum taking the hit.

Groaning, he mumbled, "Yeah, yeah, missed you too friend. Especially your crazy possessiveness." Standing up, he dusted his bum and threw out, "I am going out. My leave was sanctioned for 2 months by father but he ran into some trouble." He paused right beyond the door, "Hey asshole! You know you made fun of me for a whole year making me believe you were alive??? As compensation, cant you get yourself to come with me to my company and help solve the problem? Ghosts can pretty much float everywhe-"

The door to her room slammed shut on the poor, dejected So Hyun, who grumbled again and went away.

A smile bloomed unconsciously for Anya. This kind of conversation was what her memories consisted of. Not knowing how to respond to the way So Hyun kept teasing him, Joon usually always responded with abrupt actions of cutting him off.

That, still remained the same.

"Anya," Mira held her hand to get her attention, but then hesitated for a long time.

"What?" finding her voice still hoarse, she reached for the glass of water.

Mira bit her lips and kept from saying anything. Thinking about it, she changed the subject, "You look very tired."

Nodding, Anya answered, "All of it hit me hard I guess."

"Should I ask?"

Anya paused, then tried to recall all she had asked him, "I don't know much. I was too overwhelmed last night."

Mira understood her part, but still added, "You know I come from a family which tried to help people suffering from problems of the otherworld. Even though we are firmly etched in the modern society with a successful business, I have still been trained and heavily educated about what is right and what is wrong."

Mira looked around the silent and bright room, knowing she was being heard, she still continued, "A vengeful monstrous spirit should not exist in his world Anya. By the laws of nature, it is not right."

Mira had thought, Anya would have been emotional in defending her claims, that she would react in the manner any loved one separated by death would latch onto any last hope of still seeing them, hearing them would have been.

But to her surprise, Anya smiled sadly, "I know."

Stunned for a while, Mira asked again, "You are agreeing? That his presence in this form is frightening and dangerous for the living."

Anya's smile never left her eyes. She nodded.

Mira sat back but Anya continued. She sat in the edge of the bed and stood up. Going forward towards the windows while finger combing her hair, she started talking in a low voice.

"Mira, are you someone who can claim what is right and what is wrong? Can you be certain that this world is black and white?"

Mira considered the question deeply, and asked, "Is it not?"

"If only it was that easy." Anya whispered, then turned to look at Mira, "You are rigid on what you consider is Light or what you say is the right thing. The principles of your world are still black and white because You still don't understand how to respect the decisions natural to a dark side without comprising their values while incorporating your views."

For a moment, Anya paused.

These words created a shadow of an echo within her. An echo which passed by swiftly in her mind. An echo filled with blazing sea of fire for a dark . . . . . general.

Sensing something not quite okay, Mira prompted, "Anya?"

Still lost in a pocket of unknown haze, Anya parroted words which came from within her heart, without having the sense of how she leaned it, "Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from pain. We have never really known pain. We are souls without any shine. To shine, edges need to be cut. Being cut, is to feel agony."

"Anya?" Mira reached her swiftly and shook her lightly. Coming back to her senses, Anya focused her gaze on Mira, "I will not make the same mistake again."

"Again?" Mira was puzzled over what she was saying, "What are you talking about?"

"Huh? What?" Anya's eyes cleared up as she quizzically looked at Mira.

"Why did you say again?"

"When did I say that?" Anya asked back.

Thinking her to be still muddled after the shock she had faced lately, Mira let go of the issue, "What you are saying is that I am considering it only from the point of what I was taught? But Anya, a malicious spirit will always harm the living."

Anya felt a little fuzzy but the feeling was rapidly fading into clarity, she knew Mira was worried, especially when it went against everything she was taught and trained for. She knew, Mira had always been a little guarded against Joon, "Why though Mira? Why were you always a little against me being with Joon?"

"Because you were his whole existence. The perfume you like, was the one he wore, the colour you liked on him filled his wardrobe. The food you preferred was the choice of his palette, the cologne you loved, the way you once commented on how you liked his hair, the specs you got excited over, everything you liked for him, became his preference.

It was clear for anyone to see that you were the only truth in his world. Even though it sounds romantic, Anya, it really is not. It is frightening. This level of. . . . dependence."

"Is it though?" Anya countered, acknowledging each word, but, "You and I have both seen him before he came in my world. At that time, was he not a blank paper? He did not have any preference. What his butler bought for him, was what he used. So maybe, meeting me, was the first rush of him choosing things for himself. Maybe as time went by, it would become okay-"

"I know that!" Mira stopped Anya, "But that was then. Now. . ." now, time will never pass on for him. The dead, are afterall, stalled in a moment of the point when their lives extinguished. And time, went on only for the living.

Anya still did not back down, "You are accusing him of being dangerous, without knowing why or how he became that way."

Mira stared at Anya, "Do you really think that it is necessary? To know the reason?" then she turned around to go to the bedside table her glass of water was placed.

Mira took the glass, then emptied the remaining water in the tub of the nearby plant, then came back to Anya.

"Look at this glass. Its beautiful and useful. Something you can cherish, perhaps attach memories too. Maybe it was gifted by someone you like, maybe it is just a glass you fancy. You will treasure it if that is the case, will you not?"

Uncertain as to where this was leading, Anya nodded in answer.

After receiving her answer, without a second of hesitation Mira chucked the glass with all her might, on the floor.

Startled, Anya backed away rapidly as the glass shattered, sharp shards flying everywhere.

Mira expressionlessly bent down to pick up a large shard. She held it carefully, then went to Anya, "What about now?" then she prompted her to hold the shard.

Anya took it from her, being careful to not cut herself on the sharp edges.

"Now, you are afraid of it, aren't you?" Mira asked, "Because now, this shard has become something that will hurt or harm anyone who wants to hold it. Once its broken, it becomes something that is unrecognisable from what it used to be. Not only can it harm any who carelessly hold it, it can also be used to kill. What do we do when this happens Anya?"

Mira took the shard from her hand, then dropped it in the dustbin of the room, "We get rid of it."

Looking back at her with sad eyes, she said, "At the point when the once pristine glass gets broken to become dangerous, we discard it because even the smallest particle of its broken form will cause harm. When that happens, no one wants to know why it broke, as there will be no change in the result of it being thrown out, If the reason for it to have broken comes to light.

Once broken, the why behind it ceases to be important."

Mira gestured towards the floor littered with the shiny broken shards, "You say you can be careful for it not to harm you? Good. Maybe. But for how long Anya?"

"You are wrong." In a trembling voice Anya replied back, "Joon can't be compared to this."

Quietly, Mira asked, "Can he not?"

Anya turned back on Mira, "If he harms those who deserve it, I will not get righteous Mira. I hope you know it too. Whether it matters to others or not, to the person who cherishes something, it is very important to know what remains hidden in the shadows of the past."

Mira was getting exhausted putting up a tough front in front of her when the truth was, she hated it. She hated that her best friend was going through this, she hated that it was Joon she was talking about.

Because for better, or worse, he too, had been someone she loved. Because he had been the reason for the beautiful smile of deep happiness in Anya's eyes.

"Okay." She conceded right away.

"But-"

"If it comes to the point when the harm spills over," Anya did not turn back, "I will take responsibility for it."

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

A/N : Do you agree with the reasoning?

If you are liking the story then please do consider voting and commenting.