chapter 14

Three hours ago,

Sophia, Ava, and Olivia, who were Sumi's college friends, were waiting for her at a restaurant. As soon as they spotted Sumi, Sophia exclaimed, "Does anyone show up late on their own birthday?!" Sumi hurriedly moved a chair out of the way and sat down.

"Sorry guys, work was a bit too much! How's everyone doing? Is all well? It's been ages since we last caught up, and now I'm getting guidance from all three of you at once. ( after sumi sat down than her barrage of questions began.) It feels like after college, you guys shifted to different planets or something!" Sumi said with a chuckle, resuming her playful tone.

"Shut up! What's been up with you? You've been completely out of touch! Ever since you became a manager, you've been ridiculously busy, it seems!" Ava resorted, firing back at Sumi.

"Yes, you're right!" Olivia jumped into the conversation, "We've had no clue where you've been, no phone calls, no messages... you just vanished!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You three are asking so many questions, how can I even answer? Today's my birthday, guys! If you keep grilling me like this, how am I supposed to cut my cake?" Realizing her friends' wrath, Sumi understood that she couldn't emerge victorious in this battle.

"Alright, never mind. By the way, what happened to your plan of bringing your boss along? She's nowhere to be seen." Ava said with a sly smile, glancing outside the restaurant, before fixing her gaze back on Sumi.

Before Sumi could even respond, her face fell, and her bright smile faltered. She hesitated for a moment before carefully crafting a response, "She's a bit busy today, so she couldn't make it." After delivering this diplomatic answer, Sumi quickly picked up the menu from the table and began to scan it, attempting to divert attention from the awkward moment.

"Oh, it's okay," Ava said again, "But seriously, where do we find a boss like that, who's so considerate?" Olivia, seated beside Ava, grabbed her hand and signaled her to stop, but Ava ignored the cue and continued speaking.

This time, Ava lowered her voice and leaned in, whispering, "But I've heard that your boss's Ex husband was a terrible person. He kidnapped his own wife and even killed her father, who had escaped from jail." Ava burst into loud laughter, saying, "This is a story worth writing a book about, how interesting!" Just then, Sumi, furious, suddenly stood up and grabbed the glass of water from the table in front of her, throwing it at Ava's face.

"If you ever say such absurd things again, you can't even imagine...!" Sumi paused, controlling her anger, and put the glass back on the table. "Thank you guys for the great present," she said abruptly, before quickly getting up and leaving.

Meanwhile, everyone at the restaurant continued to stare at the commotion. Ava, however, faced the wrath of Olivia and Sophia, who glared at her angrily. "What did you just say?" they asked. "You know we couldn't discuss this on her birthday! Now she's stormed off, how are you going to apologize to her? This was a huge mistake! Why bring up all this on her special day? Couldn't you just keep quiet for once?" Sophia yelled, furious. "Go, go apologize to her right now, or how are we supposed to celebrate her birthday?"

Ava retorted angrily, "Are you guys crazy? Can't you see how she publicly humiliated me by throwing water in my face and now you're telling me to apologize to her? Have you lost your minds? Why should I apologize? I told the truth! Did I say anything wrong? Did she have to get so angry?"

Olivia snapped back angrily, "If you don't apologize today, Sophia and I will cut you off - we'll never speak to you again, starting from tomorrow."

Just as they were about to leave, Ava stopped them, "Wait, okay, I'll apologize." She looked a bit dejected, but she had no other choice, as Sophia and Olivia were her childhood friends, and she didn't want to lose them. Ava joined the two and they stepped out of the restaurant, spotting Sumi a short distance away, about to get into her car. Ava sprinted towards her and stood in front of the car, blocking her way.

Shouting, Ava pleaded, "Forgive me! I promise I won't do something like this again. But you can't leave without cutting your birthday cake! I won't let you go anywhere, and she yelled even louder, "I WON'T LET YOU GO ANYWHERE! Are you listening?"

However, Sumi got into her car, started the engine. But she didn't drive away, Her anger was so intense that she wanted to scream loudly inside the car, but she tried to restrain herself, making an effort to keep her temper in check and calm down. Ava, determined to win her over, refused to budge. After a few minutes of this standoff, Sumi finally emerged from the car, exhausted.

"Alright, I forgive you," Sumi said, approaching Ava and adding, "but on one condition." Ava raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and asked, "What's the condition?" Sumi smiled mischievously, "Since it's my birthday today, I get to take you all wherever I want, and you have to come with me." Ava's face lit up with excitement, and Olivia and Sophia also nodded in agreement, saying, "Okay, we have no objections."

"then let's go!" Sumi said, gesturing for the others to get into the car. She took her place in the driver's seat, while Ava sat beside her. Sophia and Olivia settled into the backseat, and they were all set to go.

After driving for a while, the four friends arrived at a bar. Sumi parked her car in the parking lot and got out, followed by the others. Ava hesitated for a moment, looking uncertain. Sumi noticed and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you want to come in?" Ava replied, "I do want to come in, but I'm not really in the mood for a party today. How will you cut your birthday cake?" Sumi laughed and said, "Don't worry about that! Today's my birthday, and we're going to party hard, dance, and have a blast!" The others nodded in agreement, smiling, and the four friends enthusiastically entered the bar together.

today Sumi danced more than she ever had in her life. Ava, Sophia, and Olivia also danced a lot, but due to excessive drinking, they couldn't stay at the bar for long. Sumi somehow managed to get the three of them into her car. It was only 9:30 PM, but Sumi's birthday celebration had already been cut short. However, she had no other option but to take her friends home.

In a slurred, drunken tone, Olivia muttered, "Sorrry Sumi, couldn't cut... cake... ugh, why's it so hot?"

Ava, completely intoxicated, was unable to speak, while Sophia giggled uncontrollably like a child. Suddenly, Olivia, in a slurred and weak voice, asked again, "Wh-where are you t-taking us, Sumi?"

"Oh, this road leads to your apartment, it's a shortcut, and you'll reach sooner," Sumi replied. Olivia responded with a weak "Okay, then" and let out a deep sigh.

Olivia spoke up again, "You know, it would've been even better if your boss was here. I'm really sorry about what Ava did to you." She paused, then asked, "Are you still upset?" Despite it not being her fault, Olivia hated to see any of her friends unhappy, especially Sumi, on her birthday.

"No, not at all," Sumi replied, focusing on the road as she drove. She paused for a moment before continuing, "But no one can say anything bad about my boss." Suddenly, she exclaimed, "You three are something else! Get out of my car right now!" Sumi accelerated the car.

Sumi's sudden outburst brought the three friends back to their senses. Ava, still drunk, grabbed the seatbelt tightly and exclaimed, "Are you crazy, woman? Do you want to kill us? Stop! I said stop! Who drives like this?"

Sumi burst into maniacal laughter, finding the fear on her friends' faces hilarious. But suddenly, she broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. "Today's my birthday," she cried, "and I was supposed to cut the cake first, but I let you guys drink instead. Now my birthday cake-cutting is incomplete!" As she continued to cry, she maintained her speed, driving the car steadily.

"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" Sumi exclaimed, driving erratically and glancing around frantically. She continued to mutter to herself, "My cake-cutting is incomplete... nobody loves me." She slowed down the car and, in a loud, stern voice, ordered the three friends, "Get out of the car, now! I said, get out of the car, now!"

Ava, Sophia, and Olivia, who were heavily intoxicated, were shocked by Sumi's erratic behavior, which suddenly sobered them up. Disoriented, they jumped out of the slowly moving car.

The three friends felt that if they had stayed in the car, they would have surely met their demise, given Sumi's reckless driving. They thought they had made the right decision by jumping out. However, within minutes, they were left stunned as they watched Sumi's car speed down the road and careen off a cliff, plummeting into a ravine below.

The three immediately sprinted to the location, which wasn't too far away. Upon reaching the edge, they peered down to see Sumi's car below. Without hesitation, they quickly dialed the emergency number to call for help.

Present, 

Dezze and Jesse arrived at the Healthcare Hospital and promptly approached the receptionist to inquire about Sumi's room. The receptionist provided them with clear directions, and the two of them hastily made their way to the room, taking swift steps.

Outside Sumi's room, two police officers were standing guard. Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, her other friends were being treated for their injuries, which were relatively minor - some had hand injuries, while others had minor head wounds, but none were too severe.

As jesse entered the room where Sumi's friends were being treated, she stood before them, and with a serious tone, asked, "How did this accident happen?"