Awake

Chapter 22

"Yoo Jeongyeon." Nayeon grit her teeth.

"What?"

"Check the news." Jeongyeon gulped and turned the TV on.

"Former TWICE member Chou Tzuyu, murdered her own member, Minatozaki Sana. She stabbed her heart with a knife, and she's been taken into custody by the police."

"W-What the..." Jeongyeon's eyes widened and her lip quivered.

"I think we both know that this isn't true."

"Of course it isn't... why would Tzuyu- I..." Jeongyeon looked down. "What the heck is going on?"

Incoming Call From: Park Jihyo

"Hello?"

"Did you see the news?"

"I-I did..."

"You don't believe it, right?"

"Of course not. Tzuyu would never do such a thing! She can't even harm a fly... but kill Sana? She would never!"

"I agree with you. But..."

"But? I hope you're not doubting her."

"So much is going on... how are we going to get her out of jail? And Sana? S-She's dead..."

"I know, it saddens me."

"I think you should visit Tzuyu."

"I'm planning to. I'm sure she feels horrible right now."

"She's getting a lot of backlash."

"How are we supposed to prove that it's not true?"

"CCTV."

"And what do we do about all of the haters?"

"I'm not sure. But for now, our main goal should be getting our youngest out of prison."

"Of course."

"I'll call you later, Jeongyeon. Bye."

"Bye, Jihyo." Jeongyeon put her phone in her pocket and grabbed her jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna visit the kid."

"Should I come with you?"

"For now, stay here."

"But... what if you get hurt again?"

"It's fine. I just want to see her. There's too much going on right now. I should be focusing on Sana's death but... I can't just abandon Tzuyu. I let her join me so I should take responsibility for what happened."

"You let her... what?" Nayeon's eyebrows furrowed and she looked down.

"She wanted to join me. I gave her instructions and that must've led to this."

"Jeongyeon... I told you to be more careful!"

"Look, I didn't agree with it at first either."

"What's important is that you let her join you!"

"Let's talk about this later. I'm leaving."

"Yoo Jeongyeon-!"

—————

"Tzuyu." She looked away. "Look at me." She diverted her eyes in Jeongyeon's direction. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

"What's the point..."

"Huh?" Tzuyu looked down.

"I couldn't even save Sana. I'm... a weakling who can't do anything and now I'm jail for a crime that I didn't commit." She looked back at Jeongyeon with tears in her eyes. "What did I do that was so wrong that my life ended up like this, Jeongyeon? Why..."

"It's not your fault."

"I know it isn't but my mind keeps telling me that I failed. Even though I wasn't the one who killed Sana, the people around me make me feel like I am. At this point, even I'm starting to think that the reason she died was because of my carelessness." Jeongyeon slammed her hand on the glass.

"That's not true, Tzuyu. Don't believe in those things. Just hang in there and I'll get you out of here, okay?"

"It was a lot easier said than done. I thought I could do it. I thought I could actually do something useful... but I just... made everyone believe that I'm someone I'm not."

"Tzuyu-"

"I'm not a murderer, Jeongyeon! I didn't do anything wrong, I swear!" Jeongyeon's eyes widened.

"Of course you're not... I wish I could somehow go to the other side to comfort you, to stop you from crying, or just hug you. I'm sorry that I can't do anything right now, Tzu."

"But I'm also not a hero. I made myself believe that I could be one but when I tried, I just made everything worse. I made a huge mess that I won't ever be able to fix. I admit it, Jeongyeon, I'm not a good person! I'm horrible, I-" Jeongyeon looked down.

"I'm sorry." Tzuyu wiped her own tears.

"For what? I hate people who apologize without a reason."

"If I had known that this would've happened to you, I would've never let you join me."

"You gave me an opportunity. You don't have to apologize for that." Tzuyu slammed her fist on her chest. "I'm the one who wrecked it. I'm the one who made a mistake, not you! So don't apologize... if anyone needs to apologize, it's that guy..." She grit her teeth. "He put us through enough already. I want to beg him to stop because I can't take it anymore. It's slowly breaking me down to pieces a-and I don't know if I can do this anymore. I just want to give up."

"No!" Jeongyeon slammed her other hand on the glass. "Tzuyu, don't give the man what he wants. Show your strength. Show him how strong you can be."

"Strength? I... don't have any. He took my final ounce strength, which was my hope that I'll be able to help make everything go back to normal!"

"Sana..." Jeongyeon looked down. "Sana must've thought you were heroic for fighting even if you got hurt!" Tzuyu's eyes widened.

"But... she died."

"So?" Tears were streaming down Jeongyeon's face. "Did that change the way she thought of you? You bravely fought that man, even if you were on the brink of death, I'm sure of it! Because, I know you. You're not one to give up!"

"I..." Tzuyu looked down.

"It's simply something you would never do! Because... you are a hero! You don't need superpowers to be one, you just need the heart and the strength, and that's what you have. Sure, you made a mistake. You're breaking apart and thinking of giving up." Jeongyeon slammed her fists on the table. "But, don't give up. You still have your strength," Tzuyu cried even more, "your willpower, and your determination to not give up. So even if it seems like you are, you're not gonna give up. Show them you're strong, because you are." She nodded while she was still crying.

"Ten minutes are up." The police called.

"Don't give up, Tzu. You can do this. Because... I believe in you." Jeongyeon got up and smiled.

"Yeah, Jeongyeon." Tzuyu smiled back, right before two police officers had her get up so she could be brought back to her cell.

"You can do this, Tzu." Jeongyeon thought.

"I'm not gonna give up." Tzuyu looked down. "Never."