JENNIE POV
"So... how did you know?" I asked after Jisoo left the room.
"Before that, Jennie, Are you okay?" asked Rosie, taking my hand. I nodded slowly. I know I'm not okay. But this was not the first time this has happened, it's just that this time it's even scarier than before. Besides, I didn't want to make them worry anymore and want to hear their stories.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest first?" asked Irene, and I shook my head stubbornly.
"Okay. Before this, I apologized, Jen. I didn't want to cover it up from you... Especially about Lisa's condition when he was in LA as you heard from Jongin. I actually found out not long before Jongin saw Lisa. I know that too by accident. At that time, Seulgi and I were on vacation in LA, and he ate the food that made him a stomachache. So I took him to the hospital. And it just happened that it was the hospital where Lisa was treated and I accidentally saw him in the garden with Amy. He's been there for almost a year and didn't expect to see me. And he begged me not to tell you his condition because he didn't want you to worry after he found out that we still often send emails and messages. At first, I didn't want to. I wanted to tell you right away because I know how you were when he disappeared, and I told him about it. But that only makes him beg and determined not to tell you. He didn't want you to know about his pathetic state. Since then, I have visited him every day while still on vacation. And one day, he was visited by Jisoo and Rosie, who just found out about his situation and immediately went there. That's where I got to know them," Irene explained briefly.
"Lisa has his own reasons, Jen..." Rosie added. "Do you remember after what happened to us with Namjoon at that time?" she asked, and I nodded. "And he has never been seen anymore like he just disappeared. When I found out about his whereabouts, It was because I kept asking uncle Marco, so he told me, he sent Lisa to LA. Jisoo and I immediately went there to see and asked what happened, why did he disappear," I nodded again, listening to her. Of course, we all wondered. I have been wondering for 2 years.
"He... After he found Namjoon and beat him up, he intended to return to the hospital. It was just that at that time he was secretly looking for Namjoon and didn't tell anyone, even Mr Yang -"
"Mr Yang?" I asked confused. "His neighbor?" The one who met me in front of the campus.
Rosie nodded doubtfully.
"Why Mr Yang -"
"About Mr Yang, let Lisa tell the story when he's ready to tell. I know he will tell everything, Jen. I'm just asking you to be a little patient with him. Wait until he really opens himself up to you. He also has his own reasons, Jennie, why he didn't tell you. But considering how he feels about you, he will open up to you very soon. I'm sorry, Lisa, he's a person full of excuses. But after you listen to the story, you will definitely understand. I know you will," she said with a smile and squeezed my hand. I just nodded weakly. Then she continued the previous story.
"So. No one knew where he was at that time. Therefore Mr Yang came to the hospital to ask about Lisa's whereabouts because his cellphone was also turned off. Nobody knows where he is except the person who gave him the information about Namjoon's location. From there, Mr Yang knows where Lisa went and looks for him. But in the informed house, he only found a messy place with things strewn around and blood stain everywhere. But found no one. Not even Lisa. He then walked down the street knowing that Lisa was not driving because he was still not allowed. He didn't have a driver's license and was not given a vehicle even though he was actually able to drive cars and motorbikes smoothly when he was 12 years old. It seems impossible but that's Lisa. Sigh.. Mr Yang found Lisa lying on the side of a quiet road because the area was rarely traversed by vehicles if not residents there. He was injured and unconscious with blood pooling from his head. But what's worst is his knee. His left knee was crushed and he couldn't walk. He was unconscious for several days. Mr Yang finds out what happened. And it was found that Lisa was hit by a car and just abandoned there. The culprit of the hit-and-run was unknown. That's what the police reported. Briefly, because of Lisa's state, uncle Marco sent him to LA, to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for treatment and surgery. Why he was sent there was because of uncle Marco's acquaintance who was a doctor," she said. I just digest the story and imagine it.
"Lisa's condition when he was brought to LA was still unconscious. Doctors in Korea have tried to provide early help, but because he lost quite a lot of blood, so Lisa was in a coma." Rosie sighed. I looked at her with teary eyes and a lump on my throat but didn't say anything. "When he regained consciousness, he was amnesic. The doctor said it was normal for someone to experience Post-Traumatic Amnesia due to Traumatic Brain Injury like what he had experienced. Besides, the doctor was expecting it because he was in a coma for a month. He didn't remember anything, even his own name. That was one reason he didn't tell us right away. Not because he didn't want to, but because initially, for 3 months since he woke up from his coma, he didn't remember us," I shed tears, which I wiped straight away. Rosie's eyes also looked teary.
"For 3 months, he didn't remember, he underwent several tests for surgery on his left knee. Amy was one of the interns who aims to take Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialists. She was the one who took care of Lisa and monitored him. Of course, with the supervision of his main doctor. That was where Amy met Lisa. She was concerned about Lisa, especially because he was still 16 years old and also she was the daughter of uncle Marco's aquintance. Lisa's knee surgery could only be done 2 months after he came to his senses because they had to make sure his condition was really fit to undergo quite complex surgery. After all, they had to replace all parts of his knee bone, his shell and joints, and pads and part of his thigh bone, as well as, some of his shins and calves. I didn't really get it, but that was what Amy explained to us. She calls it Post-traumatic Arthritis. After 3 hours of replacement surgery, Lisa still had to lie in the hospital for 1 full week. After that, he began to undergo therapy to be able to use his legs again and at the same time, continued to treat his PTA. Amy said at first he didn't seem excited. Firstly, because he was amnesic, so he was confused and like there was no reason or purpose even though uncle Marco had visited him and slowly told him who he was. The doctor said he should not be forced to remember so that his brain did not work so hard that could hamper his knee surgery schedule. And after the operation, he shouldn't be burdened because he was still in the process of healing." My tears flowed again, and I rubbed them continuously. I can't imagine how hard Lisa was at that time. He has amnesia but still has trouble moving his legs. And he faced it alone.
"One month after he underwent therapy for walking, his memory slowly began to recover. And 3 days later, his memory returned," Rosie smiled at me. Her smile was not sad like that earlier, but very sincere. "You know the first thing he remembered?" I looked at her and shook my head.
"You," I raised my eyebrows, my mouth was open, my eyes were still wet with tears, and my heart felt like it stopped. Rosie giggled at my surprised expression, and Irene squeezed my shoulder. I looked at her and she smiled at me now, just like Rosie's smile.
"That's right, Jennie. You were the first he remembered. Not me and not Jisoo. Do you know how we felt when we heard that story?" she said, holding onto the chest where her heart was in mock offense. Then looked at me and smiled mischievously. "If you don't believe it, ask Amy, who witnessed it herself. Not even his father or himself. She said that Lisa suddenly said your name, 'Jennie?.' Confused at first, but a few minutes later, his eyes sparkling, as he came to life again, and he mentioned your name more firmly. Amy said that it was the first time she had seen a smile that was very attractive in her life and one that could make her breath stop. After that, Lisa began to get excited about his treatment and came alive as he remembered more things. Since then, he smiled more often, made the nurses liked him a lot, and of course, Lisa was the hot topic there. Even Amy liked him too. However, because Lisa keeps talking about you, she finally accepts Lisa as her own brother," I unconsciously smiled a little relieved hearing Amy currently only thinks of Lisa as her brother.
"Lisa's recovery improved significantly after his memory recovered. He became very excited to undergo therapy. Too excited, in fact, so he acted recklessly. He couldn't wait to get back to Korea, so he forced his feet to work hard and didn't use his tools. Even though he was supposed to wear walking aids for the full 6 months, he secretly didn't wear them after 3 months and did the exercises on his own without Amy's knowledge. So he injured his knee again. His knees were so swollen from the clot so Lisa had to have another operation. Re-operation at the same place. They were forced to replace the bones, joints, and bearings again with metal. Amy was furious at him and lectured him for days. She said that if he was reckless again like this, he would repeat everything from zero and he couldn't even return to Korea as soon as he wanted. Since then, Amy has been monitoring him tightly and has even stayed in the hospital several times. Lisa realized his mistake, fortunately, and didn't do it anymore. So he underwent therapy according to the given procedure. He didn't tell us about his situation because he didn't want us to see him when he was like that. Couldn't walk. That was what Lisa said when we protested to him. That was also why he didn't want you to know his condition. He was pathetic. Once again, it was what he said."
"And I really want to hit his head so he didn't think like that." Jisoo's voice suddenly heard as she closed the door. She has returned with a glass of water for me. I grabbed it and thanked her and drank the water because my throat was so dry from crying. "But since he just injured his head. I was restrain myself," she continued and then sat in front of me on the same side as Rosie.
"Well, that was most of the story, Jen. That's why he didn't tell us and he didn't want you to know. Actually, Amy was not approved of Lisa coming back here 7 months ago, because he hasn't fully recovered. According to Amy, he needs 2 years to totally recovered. But because Lisa felt that he had recovered enough, he insisted and you know how stubborn he could," said Rosie, shaking her head. "So Amy was forced to allow on the condition that she had to be around to monitor him."
"Yeah, and just now she lectured Lisa because he was riding a motorcycle again earlier," added Jisoo, chuckle. I understood now what he means about someone would be angry if they found out that he was riding a motorcycle.
"Lisa got on the motorbike earlier?" I asked.
"Um... Yes," replied Jisoo hesitantly. And I just sighed softly.
"But I still don't understand why you came back here, Irene. Is this just a coincidence? But why do you also act as if you don't know Jisoo and Rosie even though you guys already knew each other a year ago?" I asked Irene.
"Actually, Seulgi and I were planning to return to Korea after finishing our studies in San Francisco. But last mid-January, Lisa came and told us about you and how you've changed. At that time, he had to take care of something, but at the same time, he was worried about you, especially because Jisoo and Rosie couldn't get close to you either. So he asked for my help to return to Korea on a mission to approach Jaejoong, made him liked and trusted us, so he allowed us to be around you. Our aim was to take care of you and maybe find out what happened with you. So here I am now. But without Lisa begging me, I will definitely come back after hearing his story. I'm worried about you too. But you didn't say anything. Maybe because we haven't communicated in quite a long time, and maybe my disgusting attitude that fawned Jaejoong makes you disgusted to me," she said with a sad smile. "But believe me, Jennie, I am still the Irene you used to know. I was like that only because I agreed with Lisa's plan. I want to be by your side to take care of you." Then she shed tears. "My job tonight was like every day. To keep my eyes on you," she said, wiping her tears. My hands reached out to embrace her. She didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I felt a little guilty because I was angry and almost didn't think of her as my best friend anymore because of her silence regarding Lisa's whereabouts, which she knew.
"Thank you, Irene," I told her. Because if she wasn't there at that time, they wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to save me somehow and my condition now, it must be bad.
"Thank you, Rosie, Jisoo," I hugged them too. I really thank them.
"That's what friends are for," Jisoo said softly.
But... I know Jaejoong's capability. Today maybe they managed to save me from him, but tomorrow Jaejoong will make it difficult for them, he will hurt and try to destroy them. He was able to do it as he did at mom's company, and worst of all he was able to do bad things to me. I don't want to take the risk of getting them into trouble. I don't want Jaejoong to carry out his threats.