53: Chapter 53 A Feeling of Calmness and Reliability

The light of the emergency lamp barely illuminated a small area in the empty living room of the Villa, making the space further away seem even deeper.

The sounds of wind, rain, and thunder wove together into a violent symphony, pressing against the building from all sides.

Windows made unbearable creaking and banging sounds under the lashing wind, as if they were about to shatter at any moment.

Darkness, like a living tide, swallowed all the refinement and luxury, leaving only fear and chaos spreading in the air.

Park Ji-yeon stumbled down the stairs and then back up, grabbing only a few rags and an empty plastic bag. She could not find the medical kit.

Fear, worry for her Unnie's injury, and the helplessness brought by the darkness and bad weather made her tears fall in large drops, her voice laced with sobs: "I can't find it... it's nowhere... it was supposed to be under the stairs... wuu..."

"Ji-yeon, stop looking!" Song Tianhao's voice cut through the noisy background, calm and clear, like a needle in the sea, temporarily steadying the panicked group.

He had already quickly assessed the scene; Park Hyomin's knee wound was bleeding incessantly and needed immediate attention; the first-floor lighting was too poor, and the crowd gathered there was prone to causing secondary chaos.

He no longer hesitated and quickly instructed Park So-yeon, who was closest to him: "Use your phone, turn on the flashlight, light the way, and follow me."

Then, he bent down, passed one arm under Park Hyomin's knees, wrapped the other around her back, and lifted her horizontally, firmly. His movements were crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation, as if the weight in his arms was as light as a feather.

Park Hyomin was caught off guard and exclaimed, subconsciously wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.

Her body trembled slightly from pain and fear, the stinging pain from her knee hitting her nerves, but the moment she was cradled in his solid arms, a strange sense of peace slightly overcame the pain and panic.

She could smell a faint scent of tobacco on Song Tianhao and a clear, fresh scent unique to him.

Carrying her, Song Tianhao walked toward the stairs leading upstairs, guided by the shaky but focused beam of Park So-yeon's phone flashlight.

His steps were steady, and even when stepping onto the stairs in the dark, he barely swayed. The dim green light of the emergency lamp flickered at the corner of the stairs, stretching and contorting their shadows on the wall like a bizarre shadow play.

Park Hyomin's arms, wrapped around his neck, tightened, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the fabric of his shoulders and back. She felt his steady, powerful heartbeat through the soaked shirt fabric, which inexplicably calmed her racing heart rate a little.

But the stairs seemed endless, and the darkness and the vague, panicked whispers of the other members from downstairs made her just-relaxed nerves tense up again.

Finally, they stepped onto the third floor. The hallway was dimmer than downstairs, with only the occasional lightning from a window at the end briefly illuminating the luxurious wallpaper and the outlines of closed doors, before sinking back into deeper darkness. Wind crept in from the window crack at the end of the hall, emitting a sharp whistle.

Song Tianhao carried Park Hyomin straight toward the master bedroom at the very end of the hallway, the one with the best view, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a private balcony. Park So-yeon followed closely, phone in hand, the flashlight beam swaying across the clean, dark wood floor.

However, just as they reached the bedroom door, the beam from Park So-yeon's phone illuminated the closed door and the lock, which had clearly been slammed shut by the wind from inside, causing the latch to pop out.

Song Tianhao's footsteps stopped.

He frowned almost imperceptibly. His room key had been left on the coffee table in the first-floor living room before he went downstairs for the barbecue. And at this moment, downstairs was pitch black and chaotic.

"The key..." Park So-yeon also realized the problem, her voice tightening.

Park Hyomin lifted her head from Song Tianhao's shoulder, and by the light of the phone, saw the closed door. The flicker of hope that had just ignited in her eyes dimmed again, her body trembling involuntarily, and the pain in her knee seemed to sharpen.

There was no time to hesitate, and no tools.

Song Tianhao lifted Park Hyomin slightly in his arms to make her more secure, then said briefly to Park So-yeon: "Step back a little, and shine the light on me."

Park So-yeon did not understand, but she obeyed, stepping back a small half-step and aiming the phone's light at Song Tianhao and the door lock.

Song Tianhao turned slightly, adjusted his posture holding Park Hyomin to keep her closer to his chest and away from the door. Then, he took a deep breath, threw his right shoulder forward, and slammed into the door panel next to the lock with all his might!

"Bang—!"

A muffled sound echoed in the empty hallway, even drowning out the faint thunder outside. The door panel vibrated violently but did not open.

Song Tianhao did not even frown and built up momentum again.

"Bang!!!"

The second blow was even more powerful. Accompanied by the slight cracking of wood and the harsh sound of twisting metal, the seemingly thick solid wood door was actually forced open! The lock part was completely deformed and detached from the door frame.

Song Tianhao, carrying Park Hyomin, staggered into the room but quickly steadied himself. Park So-yeon also followed in quickly, sweeping the flashlight around the room.

The master bedroom was large and also pitch black, but it had a relative sense of security compared to the hallway. The storm was blocked outside, and the sounds became muffled. The phone's beam swept over the large bed in the center of the room, as well as the wardrobe and bedside table against the wall.

Almost as soon as he entered, Song Tianhao's gaze locked onto the bedside table. He remembered that in addition to regular items, there was a spare first-aid kit there, which he had the housekeeper place in every main room in advance to prevent such emergencies.

More importantly, there was a simple USB-rechargeable emergency light on the bedside table, which was currently emitting a soft white glow. Apparently, the Villa's backup circuit had at least partially restored power to the master bedroom area, or the lamp itself had a huge battery capacity.

"There's a light! And a medicine kit!" Park So-yeon also saw it and whispered in surprise.

Song Tianhao walked to the bedside in a few steps and carefully placed Park Hyomin on the soft bedding. As soon as Park Hyomin touched the bed, her tense body relaxed slightly, but the pain in her knee made her gasp, her brow furrowed.

Song Tianhao did not immediately go for the medicine kit, but first quickly walked to the bedside, picked up the emergency light, and turned it to the brightest setting. The warm white light instantly dispelled most of the darkness in the room, also illuminating Park Hyomin's pale face and the striking bright red on her knee.

Then, he opened the bedside drawer and, sure enough, saw the white plastic medicine kit with a red cross, as well as a high-intensity flashlight and a few spare batteries next to it. He picked up the flashlight and tested it; a bright white beam pierced the air.

"Soyeon, you take this, go to the door, and light the way for Ji-yeon and anyone else who might come up." He handed the flashlight to Park So-yeon, his tone unquestionable.

Park So-yeon took the flashlight, nodded, and walked quickly to the damaged door, shaking the flashlight beam toward the dark stairs, while shouting loudly: "Ji-yeon! Come to the third floor! Master bedroom! Hyomin is here!"

A response with sobs and hurried footsteps could be heard vaguely from downstairs.

Song Tianhao took the emergency light and the medicine kit back to the bedside. He knelt on one knee on the soft carpet, placed the emergency light to the side, and opened the medicine kit. Inside were complete medicines and instruments: disinfectant, gauze, bandages, scissors, tweezers, medical tape, and even disposable gloves and painkillers.

He first put on disposable gloves, skillfully picked up the disinfectant and tweezers, and picked up a piece of sterile gauze. "It will hurt a little, bear with it." His voice was very low, appearing exceptionally clear and calm against the background of the rain.

Park Hyomin bit her lip, nodded, and her fingers tightly gripped the sheet beneath her.

When the cold disinfectant touched the wound, her body jolted, she gasped, and tears uncontrollably welled up. The wound was deeper than imagined; glass shards had cut a not-so-short gash, the flesh turned outward, looking shocking.

Song Tianhao's movements, however, did not have the slightest hesitation. He carefully used the tweezers to clean away any small gravel that might have stuck, then gently and thoroughly wiped around the wound with the gauze soaked in disinfectant. His technique was professional and stable, as if he had been trained.

In fact, when Song Tianhao signed in every day, the system had rewarded him with "Medical Mastery," and now this knowledge surfaced like instinct.

Cleaning, disinfecting, applying medicine, covering with gauze, fixing with bandages and tape... a series of actions flowed like water, quick and effective. The blood was quickly stopped, and the wound was properly bandaged.

Just as he cut the bandage and tied the last knot, hurried footsteps and Park Ji-yeon's sobbing call came from the door: "Hyomin Unnie!"

Park Ji-yeon rushed in like a cannonball, her face covered in rain and tears, and upon seeing Park Hyomin on the bed, pale but with her wound bandaged, she finally "wailed" and cried out, throwing herself onto the bedside and hugging her tightly: "Unnie! You scared me to death! You're hurt..."

Park Hyomin's eyes also reddened, and she hugged her younger sister back, patting her back gently: "It's okay, Ji-yeon, Unnie is fine, the President helped me treat it."

Park So-yeon also walked in and closed the door that had been knocked open and could no longer be locked, trying to block out some of the wind from the hallway and the noise from downstairs. She looked at the sisters hugging by the bed, and then at Song Tianhao, who was kneeling on one knee by the bedside, tidying up the medicine kit and discarded medical waste.

The warm light of the emergency lamp spilled onto his well-defined side profile, and his long eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, making him look a little less cold than usual, and more steady and reliable.

"President, thank you." Park So-yeon said softly.

Song Tianhao threw the discarded items into the trash can by the bed, took off his gloves, shook his head, and said nothing.

He stood up, glanced at the torrential rain and frequent lightning outside the window, and frowned slightly. When Park Ji-yeon ran up just now, she seemed to say that there was no signal downstairs...

"You stay here, lock the door, and try not to go out." Song Tianhao said to the three girls in the room, his tone returning to his usual calmness, "I'm going down to see how the others are, and check the power and communication."

He turned and prepared to leave.

However, just as his footsteps were about to step out of the room, a slightly trembling hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed the corner of his shirt.

The force was not great, even a bit weak, but the clenched fingertips and the trembling transmitted through them carried a sense of almost desperate reliance.

Song Tianhao's footsteps stopped.

He looked back.

Park Hyomin was leaning against the head of the bed, one hand still hugging the sobbing Park Ji-yeon, while the other held his shirt tightly.

She looked up at him, her face pale to the point of transparency under the emergency light, her eyes red, and long eyelashes still hanging with undried tears. Those eyes, which were always filled with smiles or seductive charm, were now full of terror, fragility, and pleading.

"Oppa..." Her voice was thick with sobs, hoarse, and trembling. "Don't go."

Outside the window, a dazzling flash of lightning tore through the dark sky at this very moment, instantly illuminating the room like daylight. The pale light passed through the gaps in the thick curtains, clearly illuminating Park Hyomin's bloodless face and the deep fear of darkness and loneliness in her eyes.

After the lightning, thunder rolled in, causing the windows to hum.

Her hand was still gripping his shirt tightly, not letting go. As if it were the only piece of driftwood she could grasp in the storm.