(HyoJin's P.O.V)
I felt sick to my stomach, my mouth was dry and the light was blinding. Where am I? I thought to myself, blinking rapidly, trying to adjust to the harsh lighting. It felt somewhat familiar but I couldn't distinguish why.
"Hey.. HyoJin.." I heard a small voice echo to my left and I turned slowly. I didn't know where I was at that point but I was in a bed, I knew that much.
When I met the face that had spoken I realized it was a doctor. Am I in the hospital?
I felt my eyes closing again and I ended up drifting back off into cloudy darkness.
When I awoke again, it took me a while to come to it and the doctor was now accompanied by my mother which filled me with relief.
I had plastic tubes in my nose which felt uncomfortable now that I'd realized their presence in my nostrils.
My head was spinning in confusion.
With a dry throat, I coughed weakly which caused intense pain in my ribcage, causing me to groan in anguish.
A nurse came over and fiddled with the drip bag that supplied me with water through an I.V line I'd noticed in my hand. She must've given me more pain relief because soon the pain in my ribcage waned to just a dull ache.
I looked down at my right wrist which had a bandage around it and it didn't hurt until I moved it around. Lucky I'm left handed, I thought.
I don't know how long it took but after a while of my head spinning and me glancing around the room confoundedly, I could finally speak and the doctor looked relieved when I murmured "Am I in the hospital?"
He nodded slowly, his clipboard in front of him. He introduced himself as Dr. Byun, and I responded with a curt nod.
The nurse stood beside me still adjusting things on the machines I was hooked up to, and fixing my I.V line. I'd been in the hospital before, a couple times, whether it was for myself or for family. I trusted the medical professionals because I knew where I was but I just didn't know why I was here.
"Honey, HyoJin, how are you feeling?" My mother spoke up apprehensively before taking my hand in hers. She wore an uncertain smile and it made me marvel the whole situation to the point that my head ached.
"I'm confused.. Mum, what happened?" I asked impatiently, looking down at my bandaged wrist.
She bit her lip and directed her gaze up at the doctor who nodded in response. She brushed a lock of hair from my forehead and gave me a regretful look.
"You.. you were in a car accident." She started, and I was already frowning, "you broke a few bones and you were.. in a coma.. for sixteen days. I'm just so glad you're awake now - I know this is a lot to take in." Her grip on my hand tightened slightly as her eyes welled up.
"A car accident?" I blinked in disarray as I scanned between my mother and the doctor. "With who?"
"You were in a taxi heading back into Seoul. Do you remember that?" My mother asked and I shook my head to indicate that, no, I had no idea what the hell happened or what was currently happening.
"What is the last date you remember being conscious?" The doctor inquired, looking at his clipboard before glancing up at me through his silver specs.
I knitted my eyebrows together in thought. I had a pretty bad headache but I could remember the last time I was conscious, just vaguely.
"Uh," I began uneasily, "The last thing I remember is.. getting a ride home from school from.. my boyfriend.." I trailed off, "was it.. Thursday? Yeah, it was a Thursday.. I think."
"Date, month, year? Can you remember any of that?" The doctor continued.
--
(Jimin's P.O.V)
I was wriggling in my seat with impatience and excitement as time ticked on. I wanted to see HyoJin so badly, every fibre in me was squirming. There was the possibility that maybe she couldn't talk or walk. There was the possibility of anything really, with a head injury. But she said my name yesterday and that's what was keeping me at ease.
The last class I had was English, a subject I wasn't particularly good at or fond of, so I started to think back to last night.
"Excuse me, sir?" A voice sounded beside my right ear and my eyes fluttered open. I was in the hospital corridor on a seat, having been shooed out of HyoJin's room by a doctor and some nurses when she started to come to it.
"Are you okay? Do you need a ride home? It's almost midnight." The fact that I'd even fallen asleep at such a time surprised me, but then again I hadn't done a lot of sleeping and maybe the few pills I had taken earlier that day had helped.
"No.. I.. need to see HyoJin." I stood, but the foretold voice, which turned out to be a young blonde haired nurse, grabbed my wrist softly.
"Lee HyoJin?" She asked.
I nodded quickly, waiting for her to proceed. "She's resting at the moment. Her mum was in there with her before, I think it's best if you leave it until after school tomorrow. Unless you're her immediate family..?"
"No, I'm her boyfriend.."
"Tomorrow would be best. I'm sure she'll be waiting for you." She smiled warmly and patted my back. I nodded slowly and ambled tiresomely down the lonely corridors.
I don't know exactly how I got home having been so tired after those pills, but I did manage to drive home and trudge upstairs and sleep after forcing myself to take another two.
Today, I was still tired. I began to regret taking them but then again, if I hadn't, there's no way I would have left that hospital and definitely no way I would have gotten even a wink of sleep.
The bell rang and I perked up, practically flying out of the classroom towards the front gates where I waited impatiently for Taehyung. The other guys were occupied with other after school activities, and that was okay because it would probably be overwhelming for us to all come in and see HyoJin at once, anyway.
I finally saw the ash blonde hair atop of Taehyung's familiar figure emerging from the crowd, and I waved out to him frantically. His eyes fixed on me and he jogged over to me, we exchanged quick greetings, then found my car before taking off from the school.
The walk towards HyoJin's room was nerve wracking to say the least, and even with Taehyung's company, I still had overwhelming doubts.
There was no one in the room other than HyoJin when I peeked through the glass window, and my heart rate increased tenfold when I saw her on her phone, awake, blinking.
I didn't even think about the fact that she was on her phone and hadn't attempted to contact me. I pushed the door open slowly, flanked by a quiet Taehyung, and stepped in.
Her eyes landed on me and she glanced back and forth between Taehyung and I.
"You're awake." I stated the obvious, moving closer to her. I tried to contain my intense new found happiness because I didn't want to overwhelm her, but I was practically radiating excitement. I took a seat and smiled at her nervously, though her expression was unreadable. She hadn't said anything still.
"HyoJin, you remember us, right?" Taehyung spoke up from behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder.
I glanced back at him, a little annoyed that he would even ask something like that. But I shouldn't have been.
"I.. Um.. Should I?" She looked like she was thinking hard, her chestnut brown eyes filled with confusion.
My stomach dropped and a lump found its way into my throat. "What?" I almost didn't notice Taehyung's grip on my shoulder harden. "Please tell me you're joking."
She opened her mouth to speak again but her attention turned towards the door which had opened, her mother walking through.
Her mother's eyes landed on me and they widened. "Boys, can I speak to you for a minute please?"
I looked back at HyoJin who was still wearing that confused expression but she also looked pained as she rubbed her right temple.
I nodded apprehensively and got out of the seat, Taehyung following behind.
When the door was shut, her mother let out a sigh. The corridor was empty and her sigh echoed, and I still felt sick to my stomach with worry.
Taehyung and I waited for her to speak.
"There is no easy way to say this," She began, and she looked genuinely upset, "HyoJin has memory loss. She can't remember any time after February."
"What?" I choked out.
How can that be? It's July already.. That's five months of her memories.. Just.. Gone?
"Jimin I know this is going to be hard on you and it's hard on me too. But please don't try to force her to remember anything, because.. she doesn't know you anymore."