A/N: I implusively ran a twitter poll on what yall think will happen to Sakura and.... 59.2% think Sakura is alive. Read on to see if that happens~ but...

HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY TO ENGAGE!!! Exactly one year ago I started this, it has been really fun. I like how the way the story developed and the way it is ending. I can't wait for y'all to read this.

“She’s been stabbed in the lower back!” Eunbi hurriedly informs the doctors and nurses who open the door to their car. Eunbi steadily supports Sakura’s deadweight while they receive her on the gurney, all while making sure the knife doesn’t shift. The girl passed out the moment they entered Chaewon’s car and Eunbi has been monitoring her vitals constantly as Chaewon expertly speeds towards the nearest hospital. If only Sakura can see why Chaewon can win Eunbi for first place in driving - the irony in this situation. Chaewon barely dropped from her peak speed while keeping the inside of the car as stable as possible. Her skill exemplified right there in order to minimise the damage done to Sakura. Eunbi too had held Sakura secure in her arms, only releasing her now to the medical team.

“Sorry Ma’am, you have to leave her with us now.” The nurse stops Eunbi before the secure zone for the operation rooms. When the sliding door closes and that is the last time Eunbi is seeing a bleeding out Sakura, Eunbi lets out a very long breath, throwing her back against the wall before sliding to the ground as her legs give in. Her palms and clothes are stained bright red with Sakura’s blood and she stares mindlessly at them.

She senses footsteps before Chaewon kneels in front of her. “Unnie, your leg is bleeding. Go get it treated first, I’ll stay here.”

Eunbi looks at the mentioned leg. Right, he sliced me. But Eunbi doesn’t move.

“She wouldn’t want you this way. It is out of our hands now and I’ll be here. I wouldn’t leave.” Chaewon reassures calmly, not wanting to rattle her senior even as Chaewon herself is worried. 

“The family will have questions when they arrive. I’ll wait till then.” Eunbi replies softly. 

Her senior’s sense of responsibility is one to be admired but Chaewon still worries so she goes over to the nurses and asks for a bandage, deciding to help patch Eunbi up temporarily. It isn’t perfect but it will hold. 

Soon, the family arrives and it is an entourage. Eunbi and Chaewon immediately get off the ground and bow to Mr and Mrs Kim. “Is she alright!” They ask before they even come close and when they see the state Eunbi is in, Minjoo is the first who manages to address it. “Unnie… the blood…”

Eunbi had already planned the explanation, she owes it to the family to tell them properly what happened. “We were fighting and Sakura, she was tied up in the back seat of his car. He was about to stab me when she-” The Captain gulps. “-took the knife for me. I shot him and brought Sakura here straightaway.” 

Mrs Kim cowers into Mr Kim’s arms when she hears Eunbi’s recount of the event. It was an unexpected situation so there is nothing they can do now but pray Sakura will pull through. Minjoo was covering in shock but she is also worried for the two agents. Her first instinct is to check Chaewon and the agent silently gives her the “I am okay” look and then uses her eyes to get Minjoo to look at Eunbi instead. Minjoo takes a closer look and all the blood stains would’ve nearly caused her to miss out on the bandage on Eunbi’s leg. Over time, even that is red now.

“Unnie, you are injured too. Don’t worry, we are here now. Please go get yourself treated.”

Hearing his daughter’s words, Mr Kim looks over. “Minjoo is right. You have done your best. Go take care of yourself, Captain.” 

Eunbi reluctantly bows before making her move. Ka Eun is standing not far behind the family so naturally Eunbi stops in front of her.

“He’s dead.” Ka Eun tells Eunbi. “In case you needed that confirmation.”

She knew it the moment she fired her shot but to hear it for real… “Where do I need to give my statement? Or do I go straight to the police for lock up? Can I-” Eunbi knows the procedure very well, she knows when one makes a fatal shot, there will be questions and answers she needs to give.

“I told them to give us a bit of time till we know how Sakura is.” Ka Eun interrupted Eunbi mid-sentence. She was trying to read Eunbi’s expression and this is one of the rare moments where she can’t tell. Therefore Ka Eun decided not to harp on it, giving Eunbi the answers quickly so she can go and get treated.

“Thank you Chief.” Eunbi bows and Ka Eun responds with a small squeeze on Eunbi’s shoulder. 

Yujin, Yena, Lightning opt to come to the hospital as well after they were done handing over everything on site to the police. Thankfully Ka Eun’s words hold weight as the police didn’t hold them back there and then. Yujin went over to accompany Eunbi the moment she arrived, in the meantime also taking care of some minor cuts and bruises. They arrive back at the waiting area where tense expressions are the norm. Eunbi opts to stand away from the main crowd, conscious of her role in this entire situation. It has been five hours since they brought Sakura in and Eunbi isn’t sure if it will take another five. Take as much time as you need, as long as you come back, Kura. 

It doesn’t take five, Sakura’s doctor is out an hour more since then. 

“Mr and Mrs Kim? Hi, I am Doctor Ahn and I just finished the operation for your daughter, Sakura.”

“Is everything alright? Can we see her!” Mrs Kim is frantically trying not to pounce on the doctor.

“She is out of the woods now. You can see her in a bit once we get her to the ICU. Unfortunately, we need to put her there to monitor her closely. She suffered a lot of blood loss due to the stab wound which took quite a while to repair. The greatest relief about that is how close the knife came to her lower spine but was avoided then and throughout her entire transportation here. The effects would have been detrimental if it came into contact. That would have greatly affected her quality of life if she wakes.” Chaewon looks across the corridor to meet eyes with Eunbi, the two agents getting slightly relieved over hearing that.

“If she wakes?” Mr Kim questions.

“The amount of blood loss before she came in and throughout the operation borders on the dangerous end.” Doctor Ahn sighs. “Her body has suffered a lot so I am not optimistic on giving a time on when she will wake. It may take a while.”

“But she’s okay? Sakura’s okay?” Mrs Kim tries really hard to process everything the doctor has said but she just needs to grasp on something of certainty.

However, as a doctor, Doctor Ahn is responsible for not giving much subjective opinions aside from facts. “We have fixed everything we can. It is entirely up to Sakura now. Give her words of support, be by her side, Sakura will gain strength from that.”

The family and the agents bow to the doctor as he takes his leave. Eunbi closes her eyes shut after hearing everything. She doesn’t know how to feel. 

Sakura out of the operation also means Ka Eun has to kickstart her Chief duties again. She beckons some of the main agents over and gently taps Eunbi on the arm, prompting the Captain to open her eyes again. Ka Eun leads everybody over to the corner of the waiting room.

“I’ll stay with her. All the time.”

Eunbi immediately declares when they gather. Ka Eun as Chief of course has to put things in order. “You guys still need to give your statements-”

“I’ll give my statement and come right back. It was a defensive shot, I will explain and they will not hold me so I can come back.”

“But-”

Eunbi interrupts Ka Eun again. She doesn’t want to but she wants to get things done quickly so she can be by Sakura’ side. “She’s my principal. I promise I will stay as long as the police need and answer all their questions. But after that, I will be watching over Sakura the whole time.”

Ka Eun observes Eunbi knowing the entire situation is weighing heavily on the Captain. She hasn’t been able to read her well but it only makes the most sense. She understands Eunbi enough and in order to properly manage her large group of agents, at times Ka Eun has to consider their personalities while making decisions. And she knows, a stubborn Eunbi is a relentless one. “Alright, but only after cooperating with the police fully. Kim Corp’s lawyers will accompany as a backup but I trust you guys will know what to do. Once that is done, all of you will follow your respective principals and the team leaders…” She stares purposefully at Eunbi. “Can decide how the shift rotation works. Either way, it feels like most of us will be at the hospital most of the time. Now go and clean yourself up before going to the station. The rest will hold the fort here.”

“Yes Chief!”

The investigation was more troublesome than Eunbi thought - well after all she did kill someone. She had answered their questions thoroughly and the words matched up but the authorities only allowed her release with a bond attached - Mr Kim unhesitantly paid for it. The investigation is still ongoing even as it has largely wrapped because the police are still hoping for the last puzzle piece - a statement from Sakura. 

Two days in the ICU before Sakura was transferred to the hospital suite because her condition had stabilized. Still, it has been a week now and Sakura has yet to gain consciousness; Eunbi watches the gently breathing girl from the chair she is sitting at by the door. Eunbi had been standing at the same spot when Mrs Kim saw her on the first day Sakura was transferred in and immediately instructed Eunbi to get a seat. “I heard from Chief you are not intending to leave the hospital much so you should all the more not be standing.”

Needless to say, the older woman is here with Eunbi watching over Sakura by her bedside. Eunbi watches as Sakura’s mother gently wipes Sakura down with a lukewarm towel, keeping her daughter tidy even while she isn’t aware. Suddenly, Eunbi gets conscious of her own self. Sakura is cleaner than her even though she is the conscious one. Eunbi fiddles with the collar of her dress shirt in a pathetic attempt to smell herself, which catches the attention of Sakura’s mother.

“I’ll keep saying it but Eunbi, you can go home take a nice shower and have a good sleep before coming back. Yujin is outside.” From the time they spent by Sakura’s side, naturally Mrs Kim had asked if it was alright to call the agents on a first name basis and Eunbi couldn’t really say no; Mrs Kim has always been nice to her and… yeah she’s older and Eunbi is respectful of that.

“It’s okay Ma’am. I am familiar with washing up using a basin only and if I smell, I can change my clothes. I brought a lot.” Eunbi speaks from her seat near the entrance.

“You are really stubborn like my daughter.” Sakura’s mother smiles as she gives up on today’s round of trying to get Eunbi home. The older lady places the towel in the small pail of water beside her. “You did your best Eunbi.” She suddenly says and turns back to looking at the Captain. Sakura’s mother is situated by Sakura’s bed and Eunbi is by the door, they are of some distance apart but the older woman’s gaze is steady.

“However she is now, it is not your fault.” Sakura’s mother moves her eyes back to her daughter as she softly rubs on Sakura’s forearm. “You didn’t fail to protect her. I am sure you did.” She grazes Sakura’s cheeks. “She just chose to protect you instead.”

Mrs Kim turns back to Eunbi and the look on her face is telling of things Eunbi does not want to assume. Do mothers really know everything? Eunbi tries to keep her expression in check until Mrs Kim breaks their gaze. 

“Now we can only pray she protects herself.”

Mrs Kim stands and takes the pail of water with her, moving towards Eunbi. “I’ll hand this back to the nurses and get myself a cup of coffee. I’ll get a cup for you too. You look like you need one.” The older