Keys to Happiness

34. Key(1)

It had been an early morning for me after an even later night spent awake with Aliah but I was happier than I had ever been, my smile never leaving my face for long. She had changed me so completely that sometimes I didn't recognize myself, and I was so grateful for her presence in my life.
The SHINee members and I were in the studio again today, working on the album that was set to release some time in the summer. As usual it was somewhat stressful, but the need to finish quickly so that I could see my girl made the long hours seem to be at a standstill.

Even though I was missing Aliah, there were plenty of good points too. The familiarity of being with the group; taking turns writing lyrics, listening to JongHyun's beats and deciding what songs should go on the album made me feel at peace.

The nostalgia was intense; I could vividly remember the times when we could only do the songs picked for us by the company. I could also remember with clarity the first time we had picked all the songs on an album. We had come a long way as artists and I was never prouder of us and our accomplishments than at moments like these.

JongHyun fiddled with the sound board while Onew rested on the sofa, a sheaf of papers in his hands that had various styles of lyrics on them. MinHo was on the floor with TaeMin, notebooks full of music and different raps he and I had written between the two of them. I was in the live room listening to the back track and adding in my adlibs.

JongHyun played the track five times over and each time I added a new layer to the harmony that would make up the background vocals for my part. There were easier ways to make a song, but JongHyun liked to be old school; he thought too many effects ruined the overall sound.

Even though it took forever this way, all of us had learned long ago that there was little point in arguing with JongHyun about production; we would always lose and in the end our popularity increase with him at the helm of our production team was proof enough of his taste.

We had spent hours working without a rest and as I left the enclosed space to get some much-needed refreshment, I turned on my phone while hoping from a call from Aliah. I had left her this morning still in bed. She was supposed to hang out with HyoWon today since it was a school vacation week, and I wanted to hear her voice. Somehow I felt jittery but I didn't understand why; I needed her to soothe my nerves.

I turned my cell back on and as the screen blinked to life, notifications of calls popped up one after another. Ten missed calls, all from Aliah. I felt my heart pick up its pace, the worry rising quickly in my chest making me walk into the room with the members, their presence giving me a small sense of comfort. Maybe it was nothing, maybe she had just wanted to talk to me too. It had been almost ten hours; anyone would be worried. I dialed her number but it went straight to voicemail. I dialed again and again, hearing the now increasingly annoying monotone voice tell me she was unavailable. I ran my fingers through my hair in irritation and let out a huff.

"Hyung, gwenchana?" TaeMin said from his spot on the floor, noticing my agitation. I waved my hand at him and kept trying to call, all with the same result. What was she doing exactly, had her phone died?

I dialed once more and suddenly a voice was on the line... But it wasn't Aliah's.

"Is this Aliah Thomas's guardian?" a voice speaking in Korean spoke into the phone.

"Yes, this is Kim KiBum," I said quickly. "Where's Aliah, who is this?"

"Kim-ssi, this is Chaeil General hospital. Thomas-ssi has been admitted here. She was in brought in due to a car accident and we've had to put her in surgery. Right now she's in critical condition. We need you to come to the hospital and give us some information...Hello...? Kim-ssi...?"

As the voice spoke into my ear, I felt my fingers spasm around the phone and it dropped to the floor, my hand unable to hold it anymore.

"Oh God, no please..." I moaned and slid down against the wall, falling to the floor as my legs gave out from underneath me. Suddenly I couldn't take a full breath anymore and my eyes weren't working right. Everything became blurry and distorted, a sharp stinging sensation making me blink fast. My members gathered around me, but their voices barely penetrated through the thick fog that had engulfed my brain.

"KiBum-ah what's wrong!" JongHyun shouted at me urgently, shaking my shoulders until I spoke.

"Aliah..." I'm able to push out through a clogged throat. "She was in an ac-accident..." I can barely say the word, the reality of it not yet set in. "She's in critical condition... The hospital called me looking for her guardian...Hyung what should I do?" I asked him, my voice less than a whisper.

Pain was taking up center stage in my chest and all my thoughts had come to a standstill except for one glaring realization. It was happening again; I was going to lose someone I loved. Flashes of Aliah's face kept repeating in my head, the images merging together with my Halmoni and scenes from her funeral. I can't do it again, my mind screamed in fierce denial and I grabbed my head in my hands as my tears ran down over my face. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move; JongHyun was talking, yelling at me but I couldn't hear him.

Someone had picked up my phone and was speaking to the voice on the other end but I couldn't focus anymore. A sob tore from the depths of my heart, despair clinging to every piece of me.

"...she's not dead KiBum!"

A disembodied voice said somewhere and my ears seemed to start working again.

"Get up KiBum, they need you at the hospital. Aliah needs you," Onew said again and this time his words managed to break through.

The words finally made sense and I began to breathe again. My heart beat a mile a minute and I rose to my feet, strength slowly returning and the numbness receding. Sudden terror ate away at me, fear that I would be too late choking me.

"I have to see her," I said, grabbing MinHo by the fabric of his shirt.

"We'll go with you," he replied back firmly, his voice steady where mine fluctuated with highs and lows.

We all rushed from the room, anxiety rolling through me. Aliah was hurt, but they would let me see her, right? Maybe it wasn't so bad, I thought trying to calm myself down.

My mind was still fuzzy and I couldn't concentrate, things that were supposed to be making sense not really coming together in my mind. As we sped along all I could think of, all I could do, was pray that she was holding on. I prayed harder than I ever had before because without her I couldn't survive.

A/N: Oh man, I really loved writing these next few chapters, I think I love angst! I've started numbering the chapters (1) like this so you guys will know when chapters are split; make sure to watch for this as the next few will be broken up quite a bit! Happy reading guys and leave comments or a like  if you're enjoying! <3