My Universe // Mark Lee

11

The members and I slept on the couches at the hospital, waiting for a miracle to happen. Mark was stable, but the doctors said the chances of him waking up were slim. If he ever did wake up, there is a huge chance of brain damage.

"Eunji, you need to eat. I brought you some bread from the cafeteria," Jaehyun said, handing me the food. All of the members were nodding, agreeing with the fact that I needed to eat.

I took small bites, trying to regain my appetite. I had almost forgotten it was Christmas morning.

"Damn, so Mark really hid that from all of us," Jeno said, shaking his head.

Jaemin replied, "I know. He still tried to save us and Eunji. Typical Mark."

"I want him to wake up, so he can finally clear the air with Eunji," Taeyong said, quickly finishing his breakfast.

Jaehyun replied, "He better pay for the pain he caused her. That's my best friend you're talking about."

"Hey. Can't we at least wait for him to wake up? It's not nice to be asking for pay back when he can't even breathe on his own," Xiaojun said, shaking his head.

Before they could continue their conversation, the doctors and nurses rushed into Mark's room. We all stood up, worrying if Mark was okay. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest.

We all tried to look through the window of his door, but the staff surrounded Mark's bed. Everyone seemed panicked.

"Shit, what the hell is happening?!" Taeyong yelled, trying to open the door.

We heard a beeping sound coming from the monitor, but after a few minutes, the panicked atmosphere died down. The medical staff exited the room.

"His blood pressure dropped drastically, but we got it under control," the primary physician said, reassuring us.

"Will he be okay?" I worriedly asked.

He nodded, "Yes. We're hoping that if he continues to be stable, he will eventually wake up since the surgery was overall successful."

I nodded as Jaehyun rubbed my arm to comfort me.

The day passed faster than we expected and just like that, Christmas was coming to an end.

It couldn't feel like Christmas without Mark, though. It was supposed to be our first holiday season together, but that wasn't possible because of his company and the accident. I just wanted for him to wake up so badly so I could tell him how I feel.

Taeyong was currently the one guarding Mark inside his room. He was sound asleep on the chair next to the bed, so we didn't want to disturb him for dinner.

"You okay, pretty?" Jaehyun asked, giving me a soft smile.

I giggled, "Yes, handsome. I'm okay."

"There's the smile that I missed," he replied, pinching my cheeks.

"Oh my god! Guys!" we heard Taeyong yell.

We all rushed to the door, trying to see why Taeyong was awakened all of a sudden.

"Mark's awake!!" he yelled, opening the door for us.

My heart felt like it was going to explode from joy. I could finally tell him everything and tell him everything that I felt.

The doctors rushed in to remove the ventilator and switch it out with an oxygen mask instead. They tested his eyes with a flashlight and concluded that he was indeed awake and stable.

"Guys, let Eunji talk to Mark first," Johnny said.

I made my way through, standing right next to him.

"M-Mark? Uhm..." I stammered, feeling more nervous than ever.

He looked at me strangely, his eyebrows furrowed. I assumed maybe he was just overwhelmed because of the coma.

"G-guys," he began to say slowly, trying to get up.

"Mark, don't get up so fast. It's okay," Doyoung said, holding him down.

Mark replied, "N-no, I'm feeling okay now."

"I'm so happy you're awake," I said, tears falling down from my face as I leaned in to hug him gently.

Before I could even touch him, I felt him push me away. I was utterly confused.

"Mark?" I asked, in shock.

"Who the hell are you?" he angrily asked.

"Oh shit," I heard Xiaojun say, along with small murmurs of the other members from behind me.

Johnny nervously laughed, "Dude. Stop messing with us. It's Eunji."

"Eunji? Ah! Jaehyun's best friend? Why is she here? I've never met her before," he replied with an annoyed facial expression.

I was shaking and could barely feel my legs. My whole body went numb as I felt extremely hurt by the fact that he couldn't remember me. I couldn't fix anything. Every part of me was hoping that this was only temporary.

"Come on, Mark. Stop playing," Jaehyun firmly said. I could tell he was getting upset.

Mark scoffed, "I'm not playing, Jae. I seriously don't know her."

The doctors entered to do another checkup on him. Mark talked to them saying that he knew his NCT members, but the only person he did not know was me.

They ran some scans as we patiently waited outside in the hallway. Jaehyun held my hand tightly as we waited for the results, knowing that I was far from okay.

The doctor came back with a folder of documents and we all quickly stood up from our seats.

"It seems as if the part of his brain where memories are associated with was partially damaged. He doesn't seem to remember much of the accident as well as the people he had just met over the past few months," the doctor sighed, showing us the scans of Mark's brain.

"Wait, doctor, so that means...he won't be able to remember me at all?" I asked.

He shook his head, "We really don't know. In most cases of other patients, this is just temporary. The best we can do right now is simply wait."

I sat down in my seat, too overwhelmed with the information that was being thrown at me.

"Come here," Jaehyun said, dragging me into Mark's room, "Mark. You better remember Eunji. She's your girlfriend."

Mark laughed, "Girlfriend? Dude, come on."

Jaehyun aggressively grabbed him by the collar, "Don't be like this or I'll use this as an opportunity to take her away from you."

My eyes widened as I tried pulling him away, "J-Jae...what? Stop it."

Taeyong ran in and quickly pulled Jaehyun away from the bed, "Dude what's wrong with you?!"

I had never seen Jaehyun like this before. Sure, he protected me, but not in this way. He never gave me any ideas nor reasons to think that he wanted me in that way too.

"M-Mark," I stammered, sitting in the chair next to him, "Do you remember the cafe? Or the time we had chicken and beer in my apartment? All those nights we spent calling and texting?"

He shook his head, "I'm sorry. If I genuinely knew, I would remember. If I really lost my memory, then how can I remember all the boys?"

I began to feel light-headed and dizzy. I could barely feel my hands and feet, despite sitting down in a chair. I thought maybe it was just from exhaustion and shock.

Until, I looked up at Jaehyun and Mark and everything seemed blurry.

Author's Note: Should I upload the rest of the story?! I finished writing it hehe