$ f o r t y t h r e e $

Everyone was gathered in the living room waiting for Baekhyun and as he entered the room he was met with confused faces. He was carrying with him a pile of clothes and a blanket. But he didn't have time to explain, since that wasn't what was most important to him right then. He merely threw his belongings onto the coffee table in the center of the living room and cleared his throat to speak.

He immediately didn't hesitate to tell everyone the news. "Miran's parents locked her in a mental hospital and told everyone we kidnapped her. They told people I raped her--" He couldn't even finish his own sentence as he was disgusted with the kind of thing her parents were telling people. "You all know for a fact I would never hurt Miran. I love her, and I need to you help me break her out of there. She needs to be back with her family." From the top of the stairs, Minha was listening intently to everything Baekhyun was saying downstairs. Each word drove a prick into her chest because she knew he no longer loved her, and she just couldn't let him go. 

Minho had nothing against Baekhyun or Miran. He only wanted nothing more than his sister's happiness, and her happiness was Baekhyun. "If we help you bring her back here, would you consider getting back with Minha."

The beta of the Pack heaved a frustrated sigh. "Hyung, I didn't want to vent my marriage problems to the pack because I respect Minha and I want to be a gentleman. But I'll tell you, and I'll tell everyone what I told her--I moved on and there's no chance that she and I can get back together. I understand that it wasn't her fault. But I moved on and she has to understand that. I cried over her for so long, and I'm glad she's alive and recovering. But I won't force myself to pretend to love her, just to spare her feelings."

Hani nodded in agreement. "I think Light is absolutely right. Minha's my best friend and I love her. No one suffered her absence more that Light and me. But if they continue married, they'll only both get hurt."

Minho interjected once more, trying to get his own point across when he saw no one else was taking his side. "So am I supposed to just let her suffer?"

"Minha will find someone else." Baekhyun tried to reason with him. "She'll get over it."

"Why can't Miran find someone else and get over it? You are married to my sister afterall." Her brother continued to fight for her. Minha appreciated that he was doing that in her absence, while they thought she wasn't hearing them.

"You're wasting my time." Baekhyun huffed in frustration. 

Jinki mulled it over and after making his decision, he heaved a sigh. There was a genuine apology in his words, but he understood that he had to remain loyal to his family. If he didn't, then he would not find himself worthy of being their leader. Sometimes backing family was more important than being fair. "I'm sorry Junmyeon. You're a brother to me and I hate to have to do this." He started, pausing only for a brief moment before speaking again. "But you have to understand that as Minho's sister, she's part of our pack and we have to back her. If your beta chooses Miran, I cannot offer you my pack's assistance. You can stay at our house as long as you continue to need it, but don't count on us to help save Miran."

With that he moved to walk out of the room and beckoned the others to follow after him. One by one, they left the room, Minho following first. He was loyal to Junmyeon, but Miran had nothing to do with Junmyeon. Jonghyun and Taemin followed next without a word. The last to linger in the room was Kibum, shooting his friend an apologetic look before turning and leaving with the other boys.

"Yeah, well, fuck you then." Baekhyun called after them bitterly. More to himself and the people remaining in the room, he added, "They'll need a favor from us one day, and when they come crawling, I'll remember what they did to me today. I'll deny them the help they denied me. In my heart an alliace has been broken." 

-

Miran wasn't sure how long she had been in that hospital and she wasn't sure if Baekhyun was even looking for her. When she left the house, she hadn't even said goodbye to him and went back to her family who had been all but good for her. By now she doubted that Baekhyun would even want to see her, much less rescue her from the hell she had been put in. A part of her thought that she deserved it for all the terrible decisions she had made after leaving the Pack up until then. The Pack was her family and she wanted nothing more than to return to them.

She was constantly kept on sedatives that were at times so strong that they had her seeing things that weren't really there. Her first vision was of the time the Pack had broken into her house and her parents gave her away. She remembered exactly the terror she felt and she thought she was going to die.

Then the time in the forest when she had been taken away by the Coyotes. The bloodbath she saw in the clearing when Baekhyun had been shot and she had to get the bullet out.

The attack of the Hellcats on the Pack and being held prisoner for days until the Jackals paid for their rescue. All of those things didn't sound like the best moments in her life, but they had been better than her life at home with her parents because she had people who actually cared about her. 

When she had a lapse of consciousness, she saw the door to her room open and two guards walked inside. They each grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the room. They forcefully led her down a sterile hallway to an operating room where her doctor and a few nurses were waiting for her. The doctor tried to keep his voice calm as he explained to her what was about to be done. "Miss Nam, your parents have gotten permission from the court of Seoul to practice an abortion on you, since they were able to prove that you were raped and don't want this baby."

Miran's eyes widened in shock and she tried to fight against the grip of the guards. "No!" She shook her head frantically. "That's wrong. You can't do that. I want this baby."

But the doctor ignored her and continued explaining. "We're going to put you in a deep sleep and perform this very delicate procedure on you. When you wake up, you won't even feel a thing."

"No!" Miran cried out, trying to escape. 

But the doctor gestured for the guards to take her to the operating table and strap her down. They did as they were told and easily overpowered her, strapping her arms and legs, and gagging her so that she wouldn't struggle. But she still fought back with her very last bit of strength. An oxygen mask with anesthetic was placed over her mouth and nose and she tried to hold her breath as long as she could.

When her lungs burned with a lack of oxygen she sucked in a breath, inhaling the drug that would put her to sleep. She blinked back through her tears, trying to stay awake. And she shook her head, calling to the person she knew she should have never left in the first place.

As she drifted off, she swore she had heard his voice. But the logical part of her claimed it was just her imagination.

-

i love drama too much. sorry everyone. 

is she gonna get that abortion? is she not? was that really baek's voice she heard as she drifted off? only i know the answer to those questions, and i might answer them during the next update.

might update tomorrow since i dont go to work. so stay tuned for that. thank you again for reading and supporting this story. 

have a wonderful night!

-clary