For the last couple of years Karen has worked at the hospital she has not really made friends. Most of the nurses are younger, married and have young children. How could any of them relate to her? She lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Culver City and not a nice part of Culver either. Ever since Tyler died, her will to live has been marginal at best. Tyler was her world. She had been young and dumb once and wound up pregnant while in nursing school. Tyler's biological father wanted nothing to do with the boy or his mother and just disappeared, so Karen raised him herself. Tyler had been a really good child. A Mother's dream. Smart in school. Excelled in athletics. He wanted to be a Physical Therapist for the Lakers. His favorite basketball team. He had been working his way to his goal when he began to experience odd symptoms. There would be times when odors would make him sick to his stomach because they were so strong and others where his vision would blur in and out as if he couldn't focus. Then came the blast-headaches. Headaches so severe they made him wish he was dead. At his mother's urging he went to the doctor who ran several tests but it was the MRI that wrote his fate. An inoperable brain tumor deep in the recesses of his brain. Doctors tried Chemo and radiation but nothing seemed to work. Tyler grew weaker and began to lose his sight, hearing, and smell. Once his sense of smell left so did his appetite and he began to waste away. In the later stages of his cancer he no longer recognized his mother and become withdrawn and silent. It broke Karen's heart. She dealt with Tyler's death completely and wholly on her own. No one held her up at his services. Tyler had so many friends. He was a well-loved child but his mother was alone in this world.
When she got home she went through her usual routine. She made a Lean Cuisine meal because there was no point in cooking when there was only one. She cleaned up and took a shower and got in her pajama's. Tomorrow was an off day so she didn't have to worry about going into work. Tibideaux Boudreau, her calico cat jumped up to cuddle for the night. Tibby as he was called was a gift from Tyler while he was still functioning. Tibby was a cat he got from the SPCA just for his mother. He knew she would be lonely without him when he died and he wanted her to have something to remember him by and to cuddle at night. Tibby fit the bill. How Tibby got his name Karen didn't know but every time Tyler said it he would have such a case of the giggles.
Tibby and Karen were on the couch and she was just about to go to bed when she saw something on the news. She decided to sit a second to see what it was about. It was a news report on a Korean KPop band BTS who had been playing at Staple Center. She didn't follow KPop and understood it even less but it was something about the picture of the seven-member band that stopped her. She took a good look at the picture. She thought "Geez! Jungkook almost looks just like the lead singer." However, the reporter went on to say that the sold-out shows at Staples had been a raging success despite that one member being ill. The reporter stated that BTS was playing a 4-night engagement at Staples Center and that Friday was their night off. She had not heard about Jungkook's outburst when she saw the same news report.
Karen had talked to the two detectives from Rampart who were trying to find out information about "Jung" Doe but she hadn't talked to or seen them since. She went over to her lab coat on the kitchen chair and dug into it. She pulled out a white business card that showed the police headquarters building on Rampart Street. She looked at the clock and thought to herself, "I'll call them in the morning." Karen understood that one member was recovering from an illness and that's why he wasn't on stage. It didn't sound like BTS was missing a member but she thought she would call the detectives in the morning and see what they thought. Besides he was awake enough now to be able to give them information that would be useful to get him back home.
Karen gathered Tibby in her arms and headed to bed. She had a good book to read to help her fall off to sleep. She knew sometime tomorrow, now that Jungkook was awake, they would be transferring him to her floor. She hoped when she went back to work on Saturday he would still be there. Normally, that would be a terrible thought for a nurse but she was truly fond of the boy and was hoping she would be able to provide care until his family came for him.
Karen thought of Tyler and how he probably would have liked the boy once he got to know him since it seemed they maybe shared some commonalities. Tyler was a gregarious boy and had many friends that he did many things with. When she would voice her concern over some of his escapades he would just laugh and say "What do you expect Mom? I'm young, wild and free." He truly was a free spirit. He lived in the moment.
One of the saddest moments after Tyler's death came when his longtime and high school boyfriend stopped coming around. She had almost begged Jason to remember her and come visit often but she felt he wasn't handling Tyler's death well. During the later parts of Tyler's life Jason began to distance himself from Tyler and his Mom. Especially, when Tyler no longer recognized him. Karen believed it was just too painful for him to deal with and he just didn't. Jason wasn't at Tyler's funeral.
During their relationship Jason was a good boyfriend to Tyler. They shared common activities, like the same foods, movies, and music. They enjoyed traveling together. Rock climbing and slack-lining together. They really seemed in love with each other. Until Tyler was diagnosed with cancer, Karen entertained the idea of having a new son-in-law but that wasn't to happen. In Tyler's death so many of Karen's dreams for him and herself died with him and so did she. In Jungkook she found a little bit of her life again and it made her heart feel just a bit bigger.
Karen woke up around 9:30 in the morning. It was her day off and she had no plans. She never really did. She sat at her kitchen table while Tibby pulled up a chair next to her and gave her a morning "meow". Karen reached over and gave Tibby some scratches under his chin which he gave her is best purr then jumped down. Karen was eating a couple pieces of toast and drinking coffee. She saw the card from the two detectives she had talked to when Jungkook came into the hospital. She picked up and flipped it over. She thought for a moment, I really don't think Jungkook has anything to do with this boy band but he is talking. She got up and took the cordless from the dock on the counter and started dialing the number on the card. It rang for several seconds then a voice came on the line...
"This is Detective Bo, Missing Persons Division, how can I help you?"
"Hi Detective Bo. My name is Karen and I work at the hospital you came to the other night when I brought in the boy who had been badly beaten. "Jung" Doe?"
"Ah, right! I remember. What can I do for you?"
"I called to let you know he will be transferred from ICU to the regular Med-Surg floor sometime today I'm sure. I'm one of the nurses that works that floor and he's been making a remarkable recovery. He woke up yesterday."
"He did!? When?"
"Oh, sometime yesterday, but I'm not sure what time. Apparently, he came out swinging too. Unfortunately, sometimes brain injury patients when they wake up are so confused that they become highly agitated and are not above hurting people. He didn't but he was screaming some things that some people didn't get. There's a Korean-American nurse who works there in ICU and she was able to calm him down from what I understand. She said that he told her his name was...let me say it correctly 'Jung Kook'. By the time I went to visit him he was asleep but only because he had been sedated he was so agitated. Anyway, I thought you might like to know."
"Karen, that's your name? Yes, well thank you so much for calling. That is very good news indeed and my partner and I will go check it out now. We really appreciate all of your wonderful help and you have a great day, okay ma'am?" Detective Bo said.
"Well thank you, you too, but I just want to see Jungkook get home. I know he misses whoever it is. He is terribly lonely and I feel that pain everyday myself. Have a good day yourself." she said.
Karen felt good about the call. She felt as though she was getting Jungkook reconnected to his loved ones. That filled her pained heart.
"Yo! Li! That kid in I.C.U woke up yesterday. The nurse who brought him in just called. She says he should be transferred to Med-Surg today. He's pretty alert and oriented from what she said. He came out pretty agitated and throwing things. I think we should go over and visit this kid. What ya think?"
"Hell yeah! Let's roll buddy." As they grab their jackets and head out the door.
Meanwhile, Jungkook woke up to another day and no Jiminie. He refuses to eat his meals and won't talk to any of the nurses. The Hospitalist makes his rounds and tells Jungkook...
"Well Jungkook, everything looks really good. You are awake and alert. If we could get you to eat that would be great but I'm going to go ahead and have you transferred to Med-Surg today. Sound good?"
Jungkook understood maybe about a quarter of what the doctor said but asked in his best English...
"Home? When can go home?"
"Well keep doing what you're doing, eat some, and I should say in a few days."
"What is few days? My family find me? Jiminie find me?" he asked.
"Well maybe 5 days yet. Not sure what a Jiminie is but if it's looking for you it will find you." the Hospitalist says.
Jungkook's head dropped. He thought to himself "Jiminie is not a what but a who. Why can't you understand that?"
By the time the officers from L.A.P.D arrived Jungkook was in the process of being transferred to the Med-Surg floor. They would have to wait until they had him settled into his new bed downstairs. That was gonna take a couple of hours. They were a bit frustrated but they figured they might as well go get something to eat in the cafeteria while the waited.
Jungkook was moved down to 3-South and placed in a small room with virtually no view except to the bathroom of a room across the way. It was kind of dark, which to Jungkook seemed to fit his mood. No Jimin, no sunshine.
Karen had gotten a call after she spoke with the detectives pleading for her to come in as one of the nurses had called in sick and no one else was taking call. Not like Karen had anything else planned for the day. She relented to her Nurse Manager and said she would be in. When she got to work she started to take report from the nurse who covered until she arrived. Mandy was telling her it was a new patient to the floor from I.C.U., Karen's heart skipped a beat. She really didn't know anything about him other than he had just woke up from a coma. Karen's heart could have leapt out of her mouth. She was getting Jungkook.
Jungkook was wheeled into the room just as Karen walked in.
"Well if this doesn't make a bad day better. Hi! Jungkook. Oh, I'm so happy to have you assigned to me."
Jungkook recognized the voice but nothing else but he smile at her anyway.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Karen laughs sweetly...
"Oh, I guess you wouldn't recognize my face. I'm Karen. I found you and brought you here. Now I get to care for you."
The first time in 4 days Jungkook's face lit up a bit. He could see the face of the person who was so kind and loving to him while he was in the hospital. He didn't know what she looked like but to him in this moment she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen...except for Jimin. He gave her a beautiful bunny-smile.
"Thank you! You are so nice. You make me miss..." he is thinking, "my Oemma, my mom. Thank you for finding me." Bunny-smile in full effect.
Karen takes his hand. "You are so welcome. I will help you with whatever you need. You ask me. You are my special patient. Do you need anything now?"
He thinks..."Just family. Just Jiminie. When?"
"Oh, honey, I don't know but we are trying to find them. Someone will come to talk with you soon to find them. Detectives."
Repeats..."Dee-tech-tifs. Yes, I said ok? Oh, ok."
"Yes, you said it just fine. They will help you find your family."
Jokingly..."Ohana! No one gets left behind." A reference to Lilo and Stitch.
Karen finds that so funny and laughs fully doubling over. It reminds Jungkook of Jimin's laugh and his bunny-smile comes out again.
"Can I clean up?" He makes a gesture of feeling like he is unclean.
"Oh, oh, sure. I'll get you everything you need. I'll be right back." She leaves his room and comes back about 10 minutes later.
"Here Jungkook. I brought towels, wash cloths, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, soap, shampoo."
He looks at the supplies almost aghast and remembers he's in a hospital and Hermes or Bath and Body Works are not part of their bathing collection. He asks...
"Shower?"
"Well I haven't seen you up and walking yet, but I'll get someone to help you in the shower, ok?" she says.
Jungkook seems almost embarrassed and looks at her shyly. Then it hits her.
"Oh, oh, my gosh no! Let me get a male tech to just help you a bit. Would that be ok?"
While still not thoroughly comfortable it was better than having an unknown female look at him in all his glory. "Uh, okay."
"You're in luck today. TaeWoo is working today and he is Korean."
For just the briefest of moments Jungkook thought Karen was going to say "Taehyung". His heart leapt, then he realized she said "TaeWoo". At least he understood he spoke Korean. About a ½ an hour later a tall man walked in. To Jungkook he was not unappealing but he was no Jimin.
"So, you need some help with a bath? I will help you walk to a shower and you can sit on a chair there and clean yourself up. When you are ready there is a red string you pull and I will come and help you dry off and get you back to bed. Is that okay with you? TaeWoo says in Korean.
To Jungkook he seemed rather matter-of-fact but he agreed. Jungkook began his first tentative steps out of bed since he had been hospitalized. He was stiff, sore, and slow going. TaeWoo was patient. When Jungkook got to the edge of the bed and planted his feet on the cold linoleum he flinched a bit. TaeWoo put and arm under Jungkook's right armpit to help provide stability. Then slowly he helped Jungkook stand on his own feet. He was a bit wobbly but TaeWoo steadied him. They started to make slow, shuffling steps to the bathroom. As Jungkook did he passed the first mirror he looked into since he was admitted and froze in shock. He had not seen himself and couldn't believe the person in the mirror was the same one he knew himself to be. He stared for a moment before breaking down in tears. TaeWoo steadied him and asked what was wrong.
"What happened to me? Why do I look like this?"
"Is this the first time you have seen yourself since you came here? TaeWoo asks.
"Yes. Why? Why do I look like this?"
"Do you want to clean up and I'll have Karen come talk to you? I'll translate for you. She knows everything."
"Yes." TaeWoo helps get the water adjusted to a comfortable warmth. Explains everything in the shower and how to use things
Jungkook waits for TaeWoo to leave the bathroom and removes his gown. He grabs a rail in the shower and lowers himself to the chair. He starts to cry again. He cried for what he looked like, for what had happened that he did not know, for his family, and for his Jiminie. He finally pulled himself together and cleaned himself up but by then the water had gone pretty cold. He didn't care. He felt clean. Terribly lonely and sad but clean. He saw the red cord TaeWoo mentioned and pulled it. He began drying himself off and by the time TaeWoo entered the bathroom Jungkook was dress and ready to get back in bed. As they shuffled back to the bed Jungkook stole one more glance in the mirror and softly said...
"How can Jiminie love me like this? I am ugly."
"I don't think your girlfriend is going to think you're ugly if she really loves you." TaeWoo says.
"Jiminie is not a girl." He says sullenly
"Well then I don't think your boyfriend is going to think you're ugly if he really loves you."
"He's not my boyfriend, he's my best friend." He says correcting him.
"Boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend...I don't care but if you're worried about what one person thinks of you they are more than any of those words. Dude! I get you. Do you want to know a secret?"
Jungkook looks at TaeWoo waiting for him to continue.
"I've been in America for 10 years but you wanna know why?"
Jungkook nods...
"I'm a bi-sexual who happened to fall in love with a guy. His name is MinHo. I don't have to tell you how well that went over in Korea now do I?"
Jungkook shook his head...
When I came out to my family they disowned me. When my work found out about it they fired me. When MinHo and I went out in public we were ridiculed. So, why wouldn't we move here where were can love each other openly and freely. No one else cared for us in Korea but it didn't matter here. We have never been our happiest."
Jungkook looked at him with a shocked expression...
"So, whoever Jiminie is to you, I bet he misses you and wants you back. I get it."
Karen came in the room 10 minutes later.
"So, I hear you want to know what happened? I'll tell you what I know and we will go from there, how about that?"
Jungkook nodded...
Karen starts, "Well, 3 days ago I was on my way to work (A/N: from this point anything Karen is saying is being translated by TaeWoo to Jungkook. Anything TaeWoo says will be his own words) when I saw you stumbling down the street. Something wasn't right about the way you were walking but when you hit the ground I stopped my car, picked you up and brought you here. I'm not sure what happened to put you in the serious condition you were in but I have to say it looks like someone took their anger out on you.
"I don't know. I don't remember. All I remember is I was with Jiminie and now I'm not. I want to go home."
"I can understand that and I'm sure your girlfriend wants to see you too but you're..."
She is stopped there when two gentlemen walk in the room. The nurse greets them and introduces the people in the room.
"Hi gentleman, I remember you from when you came to ICU and I was the one who talked to you on the phone yesterday, this is TaeWoo our tech and this is Jungkook the patient. How can I help you gentlemen?"
"My partner and I, we'd like to ask Jungkook some questions if he's up to it." Detective Bo askes.
TaeWoo relays this message. Jungkook nods it's ok. Karen runs out of the room and grabs 2 chairs from another room for the officers. They thank her and request that she close the door on the way out. She kind of feels insulted but then she understands how sensitive this must all be for both L.A.P.D. and Jungkook. In Korean the officers begin to ask Jungkook questions.
"Hi, Jungkook. We're glad to see you awake. We'd like to ask you some questions. We have been looking for a missing person, let's see if you are him. Give us your full name and birth date?" Detective Li asks.
"Jeon Jungkoook, 01 September 1997.
"What are your parent's names?" Detective Li asks.
"Jeon HiJung and Lu SuMai." Jungkook answers
"Did you have any siblings?" Detective Li asks.
"Yes, I have an older brother. Junghyun." Jungkook responds.
"Do you remember what happened to you that you ended up here in the hospital?" Detective Li asks.
"No. The last thing I remember was I with my friend Jimin. After that I don't remember."
"Jungkook, we don't want you to think we are being disrespectful or prying into your personal business but we will ask you some highly personal questions. You can choose to answer them or not and it won't affect how we conduct this case but we hope you see your way to be as honest as you can. We want to reunite you with your family as quickly as possible. Do you understand?" Says Detective Bo.
"Yes, I understand." he responds.
"Ok, We just want you to be aware. So, with that being said...who is Jimin to you?"
He takes a minute to think about his answer. If he were in Korea he probably would have still said Jimin was his friend but he was here in Los Angeles..."He's my boyfriend but our fans don't really know that. They think they do but they really don't." Jungkook says.
"You said something about fans. Why did you say that?" Detective Bo asks.
"Because I am a member of BTS. Do you know BTS?"
"Yes, but don't tell my 17-year old daughter that or you'd never get her out of this room. Who are the members of the group?" Detective Li asks Jungkook.
Jungkook laughed and that beautiful bunny smile came with it..."There's RM and Suga, Taehyung and Jin, JHope and Jimin." His eyes light up when he says Jimin's name.
"What were you in town to do?" Detective Li asks.
"We are to play the Staple Center but it looks like they started without me." He looks down sadly.
"I'm sure they had their reasons." He is taking a good look at Jungkook and mentally comparing him to the picture they had of him. There is a definite a resemblance but he is still so badly bruised.
"When can I see my hyung? I miss them very much. It's been lonely here and I don't have many people I can talk to."
"I'm sure it has been. We have some people we need to talk with this afternoon and if everything goes right maybe later tonight or early tomorrow." says Detective Li.
Looks back down sadly. "Oh, okay. Thank you for helping me get back home. It should be so easy but the doctor tells me not just yet. I so miss Jimin-hyung."
"I'm sure. Is there any other personal information you can provide us before we leave that we can use to confirm you identity." say Detective Bo.
'My address is..." and begins to rattle off information that only the real Jeon Jungkook would know.
They say their goodbyes and the officers leave. Jungkook lays back in his bed happier than he has been in a few days. He feels he will see the boys soon and can get out of this place. He thinks about the only person here he even bothers to like is Karen his nurse. She has been sweet and visited him daily. He feels sorry that she lost her son and at the same time he is surprised he knows this about her.