Stuck With You

thirty-nine

While the kidnappers were busy arguing among themselves, Sana's friends were having a serious discussion of their own.

"Mincy is online and will help us find Sana," Tzuyu said, her eyes still glued to her laptop.

"Who's Mincy?" the others asked in unison, turning to her.

"I don't know this person that well," Tzuyu admitted, "but she's been helping me this whole time. She was the one who posted our photo on that online forum to prove I'm not dating Somi. She also sent me the video of Sana and Mina kissing outside the dorm and explained it was all scripted. And... she was the one driving the car when they brought Nayeon to the hospital."

Her friends exchanged looks.

"We can trust her," Tzuyu continued. "All she's asking in return is for us to forgive her friend. She said her friend isn't really a bad person, someone's just been manipulating her and using her."

"I believe that," Momo said. "If her friend were truly heartless, she wouldn't have taken Nayeon to the hospital."

"Wait," Jeongyeon cut in. "So this Mincy's connected to Sana's kidnappers?"

"She's... a member," Jihyo answered flatly.

Silence fell over the room.Then the door suddenly opened and a tall figure stepped inside.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," he said.

The room went dead silent as everyone stared at him.

"Uh... I'm Mincy," he added awkwardly before taking a seat beside Tzuyu.

"You surprised me, Gyu," Tzuyu said. "We tracked your location outside the girls' dorm. I was expecting a girl."

"If Mingyu is Mincy," Nayeon said slowly, "then who's the friend you were talking about? The one who hit my head?"

"...Nancy," he admitted. He lowered his gaze, guilt written all over his face. "I'm sorry on her behalf. She didn't know what she was getting into. Mark's been poisoning her mind for a long time. He planned to kidnap Sana, and I didn't like where this was going. I should've stopped it sooner. I'm sorry for tolerating it. I'll understand if you can't forgive us."

No one spoke.

"You can send me to jail after we save Sana," Mingyu continued quietly. "But please... don't send her to prison. You can double my sentence. Just don't file a case against her."

The girls looked at him, stunned by his sincerity.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Nayeon said gently. "You're helping us now. That matters."

"I still helped them, even when I knew it wasn't right."

"You made mistakes," Jihyo said calmly, "but you're doing the right thing now by telling us the truth." He looked up at her.
"You don't just see her as a friend," Jihyo added, crossing her arms. "You love her, don't you?"

The man blinked in surprise. "How did you-"

"Please," Jeongyeon scoffed. "It's obvious. The way you look at her, the way you protect her, the way you react when she's with someone else. Nancy's just too oblivious to notice."

"And we're proud of you," Jihyo said. "You love her, but you still chose to do the right thing. That's real love."

Not long after, Mina arrived. She stopped the moment she saw Mingyu.

"What is he doing here?"

"Likewise, Mina," he replied calmly. "Relax. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to help you save Sana."

"You know where she is?" Chaeyoung asked, hope flashing across her face.

"...Yeah," Mingyu said. "But we need to hurry before they move her somewhere else."

They quickly prepared to leave, entrusting Nayeon to stay at the hospital with Somi and Jihyo's younger sisters.

Meanwhile, Mark and Nancy were still arguing.

"You're ruining the fun," Mark said coldly.

"You think this is fun?" Nancy snapped. "Mark, this wasn't part of the plan. I never agreed to this."

"What's your problem?" he scoffed. "You should be happy. If I touch Sana, Tzuyu will be disgusted. She'll push Sana away. Then you'll have your chance."

Nancy stared at him in disbelief. "I said I'd do anything to make Tzuyu mine, but not like this. I'm not that horrible, Mark. If you go through with this... I'm not on your side anymore."

"You're weak," he sneered. "That's why you always lose."

Nancy's jaw clenched as she untied Sana's hands.

"You keep being nice," Mark continued, pacing. "That's why people steal what's yours. So what now? You're turning against me because you feel bad for her? Wake up, Nancy. Take what you want."

"This is too much," she said, voice shaking. "Look at her hands. She's not an animal. I promised Mina we wouldn't hurt Sana. You said we'd just scare her. If I'd known this was your real plan, I would never have helped you."

She turned to Sana. "Come on. We're leaving."

"Oh no," Mark said darkly. "You're not going anywhere."

He grabbed Nancy by the hair and threw her hard against the uneven floor. Pain shot through her back as he retied Sana's hands.

"You're not going anywhere, princess," he muttered to Sana. "You're mine."

He reached for a bottle on the bedside table and swallowed a few pills. As he stepped toward Sana, Nancy forced herself up, grabbed the gun from his waist, and pointed it at him.

"Don't come any closer." Her hands trembled as she moved to Sana and untied her again.

"Don't move," Nancy warned. "Take one more step and I'll shoot."

Mark laughed. "You? Shoot me? Come on. Do it."

"Nancy," he mocked, clapping slowly. "You can't even kill an ant."

"I said don't come close!" she shouted.
Sana hid behind her. "It's okay," Nancy whispered to Sana. "I'll protect you. I'm sorry." They backed into the wall as Mark kept advancing.

"You can't do it," he said softly. "You're a coward."

"I said don't move!" Nancy fired at the floor near his foot. He didn't even flinch.

"Done?" he asked, suddenly serious, lunging for the gun. They struggled. The weapon jerked between them, then pointed toward Sana.

"Sana, run!" Nancy yelled.

"I can't leave you!" Sana cried, trying to help. But Mark punched Sana hard in the stomach. She collapsed. Nancy bit his arm and forced the gun away from herself, then the door burst open as a loud gunshot echoed.

Everything went still.

"Sana!" Tzuyu and Chaeyoung screamed as they saw her lying on the floor