The Dorm Keeper | (g)i-dle

106 - THE AFTERMATH

A B B Y

"It's been like this ever since we left for our world tour, Abby." Soojin said in a low voice. Only the two of us remained in the living room after she gave Soyeon her first aid and Minnie took Yuqi upstairs as well.

I knew for a fact that the group isn't doing well as much as they did before, but I never expected things to turn out this way. Seeing them throwing plates around and verbally hurting each other were some of the things that I least wanted to see.

"It has something to do with the accident, isn't it?" I asked. Technically, based on what I've heard earlier, I'm almost certain that everything has something to do with it. However, a part of me still wanted one of them to confirm with me.

"Y-Yeah, but Abby this isn't really your fault!" She replied in a panicking voice. She probably thought I was starting to do some sort of self-blaming from what I saw.

But I immediately shook my head. "I know, Soojin. And I never held myself accountable for any of this.

Her face lightened up a bit. "Really? I'm at least relieved by that." She took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for something more emotionally draining. "I'm not really sure if I have all the rights to be telling this to you, but I don't think both of them will ever be able to do so. As their member, I feel obligated to explain everything that you saw."

I just looked at her and gave her a nod, encouraging her to continue.

"Soyeon and Yuqi.." She couldn't look me in the eye, and was probably nervous to be the one speaking about it. "They used to be really close, didn't they?"

"Yeah.. I remember."

Sudden memories of how I saw the two bonded before, started flashing back to me. All those happy and unforgettable things that they did together, I used to feel lucky that I got to see them nearly everyday.

"Soyeon Unnie! What the heck were you doing?! Since you failed to find a handkerchief and yours wasn't found either, you'll get a deduction of one point and will not participate in the first round!"

"Fine, fine! I'm just giving you all a head start anyway!"

"Excuse me?! Just admit that you weren't able to find any because you lack skills!"

"It's all gone now," Soojin added. "Ever since the accident happened, the two of them completely fell apart. If not for the group, they probably would never talk to each other again. And whenever they did, it would always end up like what you saw earlier. It was all yelling and blaming about the past. Although there were very few moments where they didn't argue, it was mostly because they're outside and other people can see them. Other than that, it's all problematic."

I just simply looked at her, unsure how I should feel about the situation. But I understand better now. It's because they weren't able to get past the traumatic incident of one, having to run over a pregnant woman and second, being responsible for why a person was driving that night in the first place.

My former lawyer found out many loopholes about the case, including how the pregnant woman was the one incorrectly crossing the street even though it was green light. I'm sure these girls probably heard the news about it as it wasn't really difficult to find it on the internet, however that didn't seem to make things any better for them.

"Then.. they're probably diagnosed with something, right?" I eagerly asked. "I mean.. I'm sure these things aren't normal to stay for over a year. There has to be something wrong with them now."

"You're right, Abby," she sadly replied. "Both of them were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or commonly known as PTSD."

"Wait.. but why does Soyeon have the same diagnosis as Yuqi?" I confusedly asked. "I mean the two have completely different situations, right? Considering that Yuqi experienced it herself, while Soyeon didn't and simply heard it from stories."