Chapter 320: Underwater

Mina was awakened by the sweet aroma of something that did not smell like hospital food. She groggily opened her eyes and saw President Lee and Zane eating nearby. The men were exchanging conversation, but the sound was muffled to Mina, who heard their words about as clearly as if her head were being held underwater.

In a panic, Mina sat up and shouted. Her actions startled the two men who splattered food everywhere. The clogged feeling Mina had within her ears slowly dissipated, and she could not help herself from laughing at the men who were staring at her as if she were a ghost.

Their neat shirts had been stained, and although the men did not immediately appear upset, Mina knew it was only because they had not gotten over the initial shock.

Mina was still laughing when a nurse rushed in. The woman's reaction to the food-stained men tickled Mina further. She felt good, like unnaturally good and she knew something was wrong, but she was unable to care. Everyone's face looked commercial to her; she could see the men appeared worried, but it was those worried expressions that made her laugh.

"What is wrong with her?" Ian asked the sole nurse who was allowed to walk in and out of Mina's room.

"It's normal, she must have been woken up by something," The nurse replied.

"Why did she scream like that?" The memory made Mina giggle again, and the nurse turned the question to Mina, who answered through her laughter.

"My head was underwater," she said confidently.

"What?" Zane asked, and his confused expression made Mina point and laugh at him.

"She is still feeling the effects of the sedative. Anything she says now should be taken very lightly. She likely won't even remember saying it."

"But her head was never under water," Ian added.

"It's a common side effect of being sedated. Her ears were probably clogged." Ian furrowed his brow at the nurse. She was expertly handling Mina, who kept touching her in random places.

"Why is she touching you like that?" Zane asked. Once again, the nurse asked Mina.

"Are you real?" Mina asked in response. The nurses face finally became serious.

"This is what I meant when I said she could accidentally hurt herself." Zane and Ian nodded. They did not need the nurse to explain further, it was obvious. If Mina thought she was dreaming, there was a good chance she would do something stupid, and as if on cue, she did.

Mina removed the covers from her body and tried to stand. Fortunately, her drip had already been removed, and all that happened was her slowly melting to the ground as if in slow motion. She giggled at herself and the nurse tried to help her stand.

"I'm hungry," Mina said in a petulant tone. Both men knew she was eying the food that had spilled.

"Can she eat?" Zane asked. The nurse approved, albeit with caution, and Zane used a takeaway tray of untouched food to coax Mina back in her bed. She smiled as she took a big bite of the food then frowned.

"This is disgusting," she said, tossing the entire contents of the tray onto the ground. When she saw the mess she made, she began to sniffle in remorse. Mina apologized to the nurse who assured her it was fine.

Within a few minutes, janitorial staff came to clean the mess Mina had made, and the girl apologized so many times, that they eventually stopped responding to her.

In between her apologies Mina asked everyone random questions, and as soon as the cleaning staff had gone, Ian hit Mina with a question of his own.

"Mina, do you remember what happened to you?" He asked, and Mina nodded. "Who were they after?"

"I don't know," Mina said cheerfully. "They said they wanted your girlfriend, but they were looking for me. Idiots," she mocked.

"What exactly did they say?" Zane followed up.

"Which one of you is President Lee's girl?" Mina said in a mimicking tone. It made Zane laugh, but Ian saw nothing funny.

"Then why do you think they wanted you?"

"Because they said they wanted the woman who lived with you." Ian's face took on a look of confusion.

"Mina, how did they know who to contact?"

"Oh… That was Miss Lisa. She talked too much. I told her to be quiet, but then the mean one hit me."

"Did she tell them who she was?" Mina nodded vigorously.

"They were going to take Miss Lisa away, but I told them that they were making a mistake. You should thank me; I saved the future of the Lee family." Ian did not understand what Mina meant, but when he asked about it, she was done talking. Mina was hungry and she wanted to eat.

----

By the time Mina's meal arrived she was in a much less suggestive state. She ate quietly and only spared the men a few questioning glances. It was almost as if she were trying to remember what they had been talking about but was too embarrassed to ask if her memories were real. She kept tilting her head to the side in thought, and it was Zane who finally called her out.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked.

"Did I throw food?" Mina questioned and both men chuckled.

"You didn't like what I ordered," Zane replied, and Mina held her chest in shock.

"That was real?" she asked, obviously taken aback by the confirmation.

"Yup, you even declared your love for Ian." Mina sucked in a gasp of air so deep that she started to choke, making Zane regret his joke immediately. "Sorry, I was joking," Zane said. Mina punched him; hard.

"You almost killed me," she said. Her reaction irritated Ian, who did not think he was that bad of a catch. He decided to turn the embarrassment around on Mina, by calling her out.

"Why didn't you tell me about your leg?" He asked, and Mina's eyes shot open.

"You looked under my clothes?" Mina shouted. She knew President Lee was a pervert, but she was a patient in a hospital.

"I read your chart; now answer the question." Mina narrowed her eyes. She wanted to tell the man that she was protecting his unborn child, but she did not know if she had guessed correctly, and if she had, it was not her news to share.

"The same person who did this," Mina pointed to her face. "Did this," she then pointed to her leg.

"Why did they target you?" Zane asked. It was obvious that Mina was beaten much more than Lisa, who was relatively unscathed.

"I was trying to get them to kill me," Mina replied without emotion. She even shrugged as if she had just said the most normal thing in the world. Both men wanted to believe that she was joking, but they knew she was not. "Where is Dom?" Mina asked, breaking the silence.

"He is debriefing," President Lee replied.

Ian knew he should not have lied to Mina, but he was not sure what he was going to do with Dom yet. The man's injuries were not severe and would heal in just under two months, but whether he survived long enough for that to happen, was something different entirely.

"Good, I don't want him to see me until my face heals. I know he must blame himself, but it's really my fault for going back."

"Going back?" Both men asked at the same time.

"Lisa was stunned. So I went back to pull her. If it were not for that, I could have gotten away," she said confidently.