[t w e n t y - o n e]

♤Chapter 20♤

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I slowly woke up to see a reserved Leeseong staring out the van's window. He must have felt me move because he turned to me and patted my head.

"How is your head? I didn't wake you up did I?"

"It feels better now compared to earlier, and no you didn't wake me up brother. You're actually really comfy to sleep on, if I'm being completely honest"

"I… don't know how to respond to that compliment but uh, thank you, rakas"

We spent a few more minutes softly talking to each other, until we heard a loud honk come from behind the van. I didn't pay much attention to it since it was most likely some grumpy driver. We then heard crashes coming from the back, and the next thing I knew, I heard shouts and screams.

We were launched forward and something hit my head really hard. The last thing I saw were Leeseong's arms wrapping around me and my head until everything went black.

I can hear... faint ringing.

It gets nearer.

Even more near.

I can hear it clearly now.

I can't open my eyes.

Or have I already opened them, and that all I see is pitch black?

I hear... a voice... in between the ringing.

I can't hear it very well.

I try to look for it.

I can't move.

My body... feels numb.

I couldn't hear the voice anymore.

Nor could I hear the ringing sounds.

Suddenly it comes back. The ringing.

It's louder.

It hurts.

I hear the voice again.

This time, more clear.

I can't feel anything.

Yet I can feel everyhting hurt.

"J.... ae!! He....  ....my...."

"Th.... .... comin..."

"You!..... You little... kill..."

The voices kept growing louder, then they would suddenly stop, then grow loud again.

I can see... a light.

I see a figure in front of me.

I can't see them clearly.

Everything seems blurry.

Something hurts.

Make it stop.

Everything is suddenly blinding me.

It's so bright.

"Ji-Rae?"

"Mom?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You need to leave"

"Why?"

"Just do as I say. You need to leave. Now."

"No. I want to stay here with you"

"You don't belong here. You aren't supposed to be here."

"I don't care wherever we are. I want to be with you!"

"I'm sorry"

The pain suddenly got worse.

I felt like I was falling.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't move either.

I was falling, unable to move, or breathe.

I suddenly felt a jolt, as if I crashed into the bottom of the cliff.

But, I landed on something soft.

My back still hurts…. Just like everything else.

Although my eyes were already open, I felt them re-opening.

I see… a white ceiling.

So it was all just a dream.

I'm back in my room again.

Why does everything still hurt?

I sat up, ignoring the immense pain around my body.

I'm…. in a hospital bed.

I look around and notice I'm in a hospital room.

Not my room.

"Ah, I see you're awake" I heard a man's relieved voice say. I looked beside me to see who it belonged to.

A doctor. He looked at me with… well I couldn't exactly read his expression. I was in too much pain to focus.

"Please, lay back down. You haven't fully recovered yet"

"I see" I laid back down, obeying to his instructions.

"We were worried that you'd have fallen into a long coma. Thankfully, you woke up after a few days"

I felt my breath hitch. 'Coma?'

"How long have I been out?" I asked the doctor.

"About a week and.. 4 days"

"11 days?" I repeated.

"Yes. We're all relieved you woke up. Though, you haven't recovered fully yet after the accident. You were very lucky you survived. Paramedics told us you're condition during the accident was really bad, especially that one boy"

"…how bad?"

"You got impaled with a sharp object on your side, your head was releasing a lot of blood and you nearly broke your bones. We managed to get rid of the sharp thing on your side and had your head fixed up"

"…."

"As of now, you just need to stay here for a while, say, maybe a month, until you heal fully"

"Thank you. Also doctor, what did you mean by 'we' earlier?" I asked him.

♧Leeseong's P.O.V.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a hospital bed.

Oh, right. I forgot. My left arm and leg were

both fractured.

'I wonder if Ji-Rae is awake now. God, I hope she's alright'

Out of all of us, Ji-Rae was in the worst state. All of us were conscious except Ji-Rae and Seongjun when the ambulance came. Baekjun and Joonsung were fine, just some minor injuries. Man Weol got his leg caught in some part of the car, but his leg was fine for the most part. No fractures, unlike mine. Seongjun was passed out, unconscious, and I couldn't identify what exactly happened to him, but there was blood on his arms as well as his head.

Ji-Rae, on the other hand, had something sharp impaled on her side. Her head was soaked in blood, mostly some of it coming from the back of her head. She was losing a lot of blood really quickly.

That was all I could remember seeing after I passed out.

As for me, I found out from the nurse my left leg and arm were fractured. I was practically immobile. For several weeks at least.

I was happy whenever the nurses or the doctor would let me visit Ji-Rae's room. All the others were back at home. Some of them weren't fully alright but they insisted they were good now.

So, the only ones left here were Ji-Rae and I. Along with more people we've never met our entire life.

"Hey, can I visit Ji-Rae's room again today?" I asked the nurse.

"Of course, I'll just finish this up and I'll wheel you there"

"Thank you"

After a few minutes, the nurse left and came back, but with a few visitors. I looked up to see who it was.

"Oh, hey there. I haven't seen you guys in a while" I greeted.

"Oh, don't be silly Lee. We were only gone for 3 days! How are you healing?" Joonsung replied, coming in with the other three.

"It hurts when I move, but it's bearable. Still can't walk either, obviously" I smiled.

"I see. How was Ji-Rae doing?"

"She's still asleep… I was about to check right now to see if it's the same as the other days" I felt a weight in my heart whenever we would talk about her. We're all really worried.

"Oh! That's great, we were planning of checking on her to-"

"The doctor told us your sister is awake now! Would you all like to come see her?"

I perked up immediately when I heard the news from the nurse. "Yes please! Right now" I answered right away.

♧Ji-Rae's P.O.V.

"Your visitors would like to see you. They'd be happy to know you're awake now. Would you like to see them?" The doctor asked me, ignoring my question.

'Did he not hear me or is he just avoiding the question?' I frowned.

"…..sure.. I guess" I answered, half-heartedly.

"Alright then, I'll be leaving now. If you need anything, just tell the nurse" He said before leaving the room.

'Visitors huh?'

"Whoever wants to see me, I'll just take a nap while I wait" I yawned and went to sleep.

▪︎Timeskip▪︎

I slowly woke up to sounds of mumbling. I squirmed and eventually sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"You know, you shouldn't be making such a racket when someone's sleeping"

Silence.

'Do they not have a tongue or something?'

"Are you all even listeni-" I paused when I looked up. I immediately screamed seeing unfamiliar faces.

"WHO ARE YOU ALL?! DIDN'T THEY ONLY ALLOW FAMILY TO VISIT?! DON'T TELL ME YOU CREEPS SNEAKED IN HERE TO KIDNAP ME" I said almost without pausing.

"Ji-Rae, what do you mean?" the dude in the wheelchair said.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"What's going on here?!" A nurse barged in after hearing the ruckus.

"Who the heck are these people?! I've never met them my entire life!! Please make them leave, they're trying to kidnap me!!" I pointed at the five men that were by my bed, all of them having either faces of shock, disbelief, or just eyes pooling with sadness.

"What are the faces for?! Are you trying to make me pity you?" I scowled at them. One stepped forward and tried to grab my arm.

"K-kultaseni, what are you saying?"

"GET YOUR CRUSTY HANDS OFF ME" I shrieked, quickly moving away from him. In response, his face got even sadder than it was before.

"Oh no… this is bad" I heard the nurse say before calling the doctor.

'What does she even mean?'