Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 21

Friday Evening: 11:00 P.M

3rd Person POV

Nayeon and Jeongyeon rushed to the hospital after receiving word of what happened to Tzuyu from a distraught Jihyo. Everyone had already left their apartment but were promptly informed by Nayeon and Jeongyeon about the situation. They trusted them to handle the situation. Dahyun and Chaeyoung decided to not complicate things by rushing to the hospital as well, putting their complete trust in Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon ran into the waiting room to find Jihyo sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. Nayeon bolted towards the seat beside Jihyo and pulled the younger woman into a hug. Jihyo held onto Nayeon and started sobbing uncontrollably. Nayeon wrapped her arms around Jihyo as Jeongyeon sat on the other side of Jihyo and tried to help comfort the younger woman.

"This isn't happening! It just can't be! This has to be a bad dream! PLEASE tell me this is just a bad dream!" Jihyo cried out in anguish, "I can't lose Tzuyu! Th-th-there's no way I can lose her! She's everything to me! My happiness! M-m-my life! Why is this happening?!"

Nayeon tightened her hold around Jihyo. She was not sure what to do in this situation, having never faced a situation like this before. She was at a complete loss for words and was just as shook up as Jihyo was. She looked up at Jeongyeon who smiled back at her. She suddenly felt calm as she knew that this is the supportive smile that Jeongyeon would give her whenever she was in doubt about anything. It was almost like the smile transmitted the words that Nayeon needed to say in this moment to her brain.

"I love her! I just don't get this! I was supposed to confess to her! She would hopefully accept... We were then supposed to get married at some point! Have kids! Everything! I am scared, unnies! Is this it?! I can't lose her! I just can't! The me now depends on her! I am nothing without her!" Jihyo cried out as she grabbed tightly onto Nayeon's shirt.

Nayeon started rubbing Jihyo's back, "I understand how hopeless you feel right now, Jihyo; but we have to stay positive. We can't just give up like this. We must believe that Tzuyu will come back to us."

Jihyo clenched her hands to the point that they became white, "How can I? I-I-I saw it all! Her lifeless body! It was lying there on the ground! Her face was pale! She was cold to the touch! I don't even know if she was breathing!"

Jeongyeon wrapped her arms around both Nayeon and Jihyo, "But Jihyo, you are forgetting something very important. You are the reason that Tzuyu is at the hospital right now; you are the reason that Tzuyu got the medical attention that she required; and you are definitely the reason that Tzuyu will wake up again so that you can confess to her about how you feel."

Jihyo started shaking uncontrollably, "This is all my fault! If I had just gone home with her, none of this would have happened at all!"

"None of this is your fault. Your gut feeling told you that you need to go back home, and it was the right one. I am certain that that one feeling is what saves Tzuyu," Nayeon gently whispered.

"Exactly," Jeongyeon agreed, "Your gut feeling alone was what brought Tzuyu to this hospital. You did the right thing given the situation. We can sit here all day talking about the 'what-ifs', but the most important thing is the actions we take considering the current series of events. And it is because of that one fact that I can confidently say that you did everything in your power in this situation to protect Tzuyu."

Although Nayeon and Jeongyeon's words did not bring complete calmness to Jihyo, it did strike a chord with Jihyo. It dawned on her just how different things could have been if she had made the decision to stay with everyone else. She would not be sitting where she was now praying for the safe return of Tzuyu. Rather, she might be crying over a deceased Tzuyu. It would have been a devastating blow to her to the point that she would cease to exist in her current form. All she could do now was pray that she had come home right on time.