Let Me Protect You (Sahyo)

Chapter 19.1

OMG the fic has reached 4k ..thanks to all the readers and SAHYO nation we uppp..

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There was the sterile smell of disinfectants in the air that Jihyo had long ago associated with the  laboratory. It had been more than a year since she'd stepped foot on the premises, and everything was still as it was, too clean, too silent, with an occasional whirl of someone rushing down the halls.

Her friend greeted her with as much enthusiasm as she would expect from someone who had worked a graveyard shift, emerging from the laboratory in her white coat and messily bunned-up hair. Jihyo rambled out an explanation, skipping the formalities, and passed the bag to her. She was made to sit on one of those plastic waiting chairs while the tests were being run, but couldn't resist standing and using her eyes to will the machines into running faster than they already were.

"How is it?" She asked, even before the doors fully opened back up.

Nayeon said nothing. She handed Jihyo the manila file, which Jihyo tore slightly in her haste to open it. Her eyes flitted from side to side as she tried to make sense of all the chemical names and jargons, before they landed on the word that made her grip on the papers tighten.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Nayeon nodded, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Have I ever failed you, Ji?" 

Jihyo bit her lip, stuffing the papers haphazardly back into the folder. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

"Go, you can get your boss to settle the bill with me later. Go do your thing, Ji." Nayeon gave her a light pat on her arm, before turning and disappearing back behind the doors of the laboratory.

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At the company, there was a false sense of calm in the air. There was that usual quiet, only light tapping noises as the staff worked away at their computers, and the distant sounds of music from the practice rooms. Only a handful of them knew what had happened, the rest in blissful ignorance.

When Jihyo tore through the doors of the office floor again, she spotted a few administrative staff startling in alarm at her abrupt entrance, but she didn't care. The staff could see the file of papers gripped tightly in her hand, and the way her features were twisted in fury.

There was a younger woman whom she recognised as one of the members in the PR team standing up from her seat, bowing to her and apologising profusely, and everyone around them looking on in utmost confusion.

Park ignored her, giving the secretary at the desk a piercing look until their eyes met, before she moved on and shoved the meeting room door open. The secretary did not waste a second, knocking on the CEO's door to inform him of her arrival.

In the meeting room, Sana sat alone at that long table, her head rested on her folded hands. jihyo softened at the sight, grabbing the swinging door and letting it gently close behind her. She took the seat next to sana, resting her hand on her shoulder to pat her awake..

"Hyo? sana rubbed away the blurriness from her eyes, blinking hard to focus on the file in sana's hands.

"The rest should be coming in soon, but before they do, I got to just... this is going to be bad, you have to be strong, you hear me?" Jihyo fumbled with her words, searching sana's face with her eyes.

"Hey, you too. I'm okay, whatever was in that thing, at least you stopped me from taking it. I'm safe, hyo." sana's hands came up to jihyo's face, a thumb calming the tremble on her lips. Jihyo didn't realise how much she was shaking until she did that.