war of love, jeno

chapter forty-nine

"It's okay, Jeno. I understand."

Eunjin smiled towards the taller boy, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles as her good leg and broken leg swung over the edge of the hospital bed.

"They just aren't ready to know yet," she remarked simply, her shoulders shrugging loosely.

Jeno nodded, trying to wipe his guilty face off. They were on the same page but thinking different things. They both knew the girls shouldn't know that they were together in the wreck but Jeno knew they couldn't know he was even in her presence. Eunjin just thought they shouldn't know because they'd react badly knowing she was hanging out with a supposedly bad gang member.

"I'll message you later, please be safe," Jeno said, leaning forward to hug Eunjin. She nodded, telling him to hurry and get going.

The nurse walked in after Jeno left. "Remember, your arm is healing very quickly but you shouldn't use it for a lot other than getting yourself where you need to be. Your leg is healing as well but it was nearly broken so don't put any pressure on it. Are you still sure you'd rather have the crutches over the wheelchair?"

Eunjin nodded, she was sure.

For the few minutes she was alone, something was scratching at the back of her head. She couldn't tell what it was until she leaned back and her head hit the bed. She hadn't expected her vision to begin going black as she got dizzy.

"Protect her. Just like you'd protect each other."

Eunjin didn't know who the voice belonged to or recognize where she had heard the words from. But there was something about the two sentences that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

She didn't have too much time to think about it before the door was being pushed open and her four best friends were rushing over.

The nurse had to step in front of the fragile girl, telling them that if they wanted hugs they would have to be gentle and do so one at a time.

They accepted the nurse's request, taking each of their turns and then stepping away.

"We're so glad you're safe. I was about to message you when they called me but it was so scary hearing that you had been in an accident," Jihan frowned.

"But now that you're okay, we can get out of here. We were making plans downstairs about where we could go but decided you should get to pick," Chaeyoung smiled.

Eunjin tilted her head, "I'm not too sure. What do you all recommend?"

"We could always go out and eat? Or maybe go to the movies. It's whatever you want to do, Jin," Jisoo reassured her.

"Alright, then I guess we could go eat? Honestly, I don't really want anything too fancy. McDonald's is good enough for all I care."

"Good enough for me," Yuna shrugged. "I was getting pretty tired of the convenience store noodles anyways."

None of the others opposed the idea and thus, they set out on their journey to the nearby fast-food establishment.

Once inside, they each ordered their food and sat down to wait for it.

Twenty minutes passed of the girls conversing with one another but throughout the entire time, Eunjin seemed distracted by something. Noticing this, the girls decided to ask.

"Are you alright, Eunjin?"

The dark-haired girl looked over at Yuna, nodding with a small smile. "Yeah, yeah. I guess I'm just a bit tired. I think I'm gonna head home early."

"I can take you home," Jihan offered.

Eunjin shook her head, "no, it's okay. There's a taxi that can be here in five so don't worry."

Jihan sighed, taking a seat again. Eunjin let time pass quicker by cleaning up her food. She was about to get up to throw away her trash when she began to grow dizzy again.

She could hear Jisoo's voice echoing as her vision went dark for a second.

The dark-haired male looked down at Jihan, Chaeyoung, Jisoo, and Yuna- his face serious as he spoke. "Protect her. Just like you'd protect each other."

Yuna sighed, her shoulders slightly slouched. "We already told you, we're assassins, not actors. She'll be able to figure it out easily."

The man hummed, looking down at Eunjin's still body. "You've still got to try. She will need you four until she recovers and maybe we'll be able to get her on our side."

"And why can't he or his friends take care of her? He's known her since they were kids. We know absolutely nothing about her," Jisoo complained, taking a seat.

"Because he has been through enough," the man said, his voice deeper than before and laced with something scary. "You will have to keep her away from him. Don't even let him know she's alive and here. I don't want a repeat of what happened before."

Chaeyoung nodded but her eyebrows were still furrowed with confusion, "okay but what exactly are we supposed to tell her when we need to go on missions? I've still got my overseas mission next month."

"I don't care what you have to do but none of you are getting out of doing this. This is one of the most important things you will do for a long time. Protect her like your lives depend on it."

"Who are we even protecting her from?" Jisoo asked.

He glanced back at Eunjin, a pity in his eyes. "Two of the most feared rivals we have." It was a short and simple sentence but each of the girls knew who he was talking about and their widened eyes showed their surprise.

"How... how do they even know about her?"

He swallowed harshly, "the leaders are her parents."

Eunjin gasped as her vision went back to normal and noticed how close Jisoo was. She nearly fell trying to stand up on her own.

Her lips were parted and her eyebrows were drawn down, confusion and betrayal filled her stomach.

She was nothing more than an order.

And she knew that man. He was the one who let Jeno drive his car earlier. Taeyong.

"What's wrong, Eunjin," each of the girls asked, trying to get closer to her to make sure she didn't fall.

Her hands felt shaky as she picked up her crutches, backing away. "You all are all under Taeyong's order... none of this was even real?"

The girl's eyes widened hearing their leader's name come from Eunjin's lips. There was no time to even tell her the truth, the taxi arriving just outside.

Eunjin didn't wait any longer, pushing past the doors and ignoring her pained leg as she hopped into the unfamiliar car.

well... that's one way to figure out your friends are in a gang i guess

also, thanks to everyone who helped me pick out a backpack!!