*How is she?*

*The doctor said she’ll be fine. will be sore, but there’s no damage, and no other injuries.*

*And the police?*

*We’ll let her decide. If she didn’t see him, they might not do anything.*

*So we just leave it?*

*What do you suggest we do? It’s been bad enough for her already. How can we be sure putting her through that kind of stress would even help?*

*Shouldn’t we at least do something?*

*We are. We’re here for her, that’s the most we can do.*

*Shouldn’t she be awake by now? Why isn’t she awake?*

*She will wake up, be patient Hoseok-ah.*

Hoseok. I knew that name didn’t I? My brain didn’t seem to want to make connections, and I couldn’t place the voices around me. I tried to force it to focus and only succeeded in making my head hurt, which didn’t help the swimming it was already doing. I groaned at the pain, wincing when the sound seemed to echo in my ears.

“Noona!” A voice that seemed filled with a combination of panic and relief shouted from somewhere uncomfortably close and I jerked away, my arm swinging up to cover my head as I rolled away from the noise. There was a sound of confusion and a rustling before a hand rested on my arm and there was another, softer voice.

“Sorry noona, we’re just glad you’re awake. Can you open your eyes?”

Reassured that the shouting wasn’t a recurring thing, I rolled back, the hand sliding behind my shoulder and helping me as I hefted myself into a sitting position.

“Take your time” another voice murmured from a little further away, and I moved my focus to my eyelids, willing them to open. It took a few concerted attempts, but I finally figured out which nerves seemed to control which muscles, gradually blinking a little wider each time until I was able to look around with only a slight squint. I was sitting on a bed. There were 7 faces around me, and I stared at them in confusion for a moment or two before finally my eyes connected with the pair next to those of my current assistant. In a split second, it all rushed back – the grocery store; the man; the phone call; the park; my boys. My blood ran cold and I could feel my face pale in horror. I reached both arms out toward the one person I always felt safest with and Hoseok was sitting next to me in a split second, arms wrapping tightly around me as I began to cry, quietly at first but soon graduating to loud sobs.

“Shhh. It’s okay noona, we’re here” he whispered, my hair gently as I buried my face in his chest. Jin, still seated next to me, rubbed my back almost as gently. The crying soon eased, not because I was feeling any better, but because the sobs only made me feel worse, the straining in my throat hurting where it had been constricted. When I finally had somewhat of a hold on myself, I pushed back slightly, signalling to Hoseok that he could loosen the death grip he had around me. He let go and sat back a little, though not moving away from the bed. I sniffled and in a flash a tissue was placed in my hand. The corner of my mouth quirked in a tiny smile and I looked up, nodding my thanks to Jimin. Wiping my eyes and nose, I took a deep breath, testing my throat before ‘speaking’. My voice came out in a hoarse croak.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly noon” Taehyung checked his watch before stating the time as though announcing what time a bus should arrive. My eyes widened and I tucked my legs up, swinging them over the edge of the bed before Hoseok could grab my arm tightly, holding me in place.

“What are you doing?” he asked, a tone I almost never heard in his voice. I froze and looked up at him, frowning at what seemed like anger.

“Getting up. You guys should be at practice. I’ve already made you miss the whole morning, I’m not letting you leave without lunch.”

“Noona…” I looked over at Jungkook, my frown deepening as he knelt down, one hand resting on my knee. What was going on? “What day is it?” I raised an eyebrow. Of all the things I might have anticipated him saying, that was probably at the very bottom.

“It’s Tuesday, dork.” I looked around at them, uncertainty settling in as they looked at each other. “Isn’t it?” He shook his head. “But I thought yesterday was Monday, you guys had the weekend off.” He shook his head again and it finally clicked. “I didn’t sleep through the night, did I?” He shook his head again, slower this time.

“It’s Saturday.” I felt my head start to swim again and grabbed Jin’s arm to keep from falling back. Saturday. I had slept for more than four days. Why had I slept that long? Was that normal in that kind of situation? I looked up at Hoseok, the frown on my face more than enough of a question.

“The doctor gave us medicine for you to help with the pain, but it made you sleep too” he explained, giving me a slightly sheepish smile, as though it were his fault. I nodded.

“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about why you’re not at work” I muttered, half to myself.

“Ya!” The shout took me off-guard and I yelped, jumping as my eyes darted around looking for the source of the voice. Finally they settled on Yoongi, widening at the look of sheer fury on his face. The others stared at him. He was normally so quiet and polite, and here he was not only yelling at me, but dropping all semblance of respect. I stared at him. “You really think we would go to work when you’re here after something like that happened?! Are you stupid?!” I had never seen him so angry and I shrank back a little, my hand tightening on Jin’s arm. Namjoon put a hand on Yoongi’s shoulder and murmured something to him too quiet for me to hear. It seemed to trigger something and Yoongi’s face changed immediately. He bowed his head, kneeling on the floor. “I’m so sorry, noona. I didn’t mean to shout.” His voice was completely different now, more like the Yoongi I knew, but very apologetic.

I pushed myself to my feet and shuffled toward him, not wanting to lift my feet from the ground. It felt a little too much like I might fall over if I put all my weight on one foot, and that wasn’t what I needed now. I reached him and allowed my weight to carry me to the ground harder than usual, but not enough to hurt. He risked a quick peek at me before quickly lowering his eyes again. I hated seeing him like that. Though Hoseok was the closest of them to me, I often felt even more protective of Yoongi. I had been through a lot, and when I had learned about all that he had been through, I had decided I wouldn’t let him be hurt again if I could help it. I knew how so much of it felt. I didn't want him ever feeling it again.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer to me, smiling a little as he let his head rest on my shoulder like he often did. I patted his back, rocking him slightly as though he were a child.

“It’s okay, Yoongi-ah” I whispered gently, resting my head against his. “You were just worried, I know that.” I felt him nod against my shoulder and sighed. “I’m lucky to have you guys. You know that?” He nodded again and I chuckled. I lowered my voice even more, whispering so only he could hear, though I knew Taehyung and Namjoon could see my grin. “Now then. How about we see if we can guilt Jin into making some chicken soup, hmm? I’m hungry.” I felt his shoulders shake with a silent laugh and he nodded a third time. He enveloped me in a tight hug and I had a split second to smile with relief at having been able to calm him down before yipping as he swept me into his arms. He carried me back to bed and tucked me in with a ruffle of my hair, then turned to Jin with a thoughtful expression.

“Hyung...do you think we should make noona some soup? She’s been asleep for ages, but I don’t think she can eat anything solid.” His voice was serious and I bit my lip to fight back laughter. Jin’s eyes widened as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him.

“Omo! I didn’t make anything!” he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and racing from the room. I heard his feet thudding on the stairs as he took them two at a time and finally allowed my laughter to break free, giggling hoarsely. The others stared at me in confusion, then looked at Yoongi, who was looking all too pleased with himself.

 

 

An hour later, I was sitting in bed, with a tray of Jin’s amazing chicken soup on my lap and Namjoon carefully feeding me, insisting that I save as much of my energy as possible despite my protests. I was grateful, deep down, for the relative peace as the two of us sat in silence aside from the rhythmic chink of the spoon against the bowl. I was still trying to process what had happened, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew my attacker. Between spoonfuls, I replayed what I remembered of it over and over until finally, Namjoon gave up trying to keep me distracted and set down the spoon.

“Noona… You know you’re safe now, right?” he asked softly, resting a hand on my arm as if to reassure me. I nodded and smiled at him, covering his hand with my own.

“I know. I just keep feeling like I’m missing something.” His brow furrowed and I continued. “He tried to kill me. He wasn’t just trying to mug me, and it wasn’t just a random ‘I saw you so I’ll kill you’ thing. It felt like he was targeting me. Like it was specifically me.” His eyes slowly widened and he edged a little closer.

“You mean you think he was after you all along?” I nodded. “But why?”

“That’s what’s bugging me. I can’t think who he was, but I could swear I’ve seen that face before. It’s like I remember him without remembering him. I dunno if I’m even making any…” I froze. Namjoon squeezed my arm and I heard him say something, though I couldn’t make out what it was. I felt him shake my arm, though I couldn’t bring myself to respond. He shouted something as I carefully set aside the tray and pushed myself off the bed. He didn’t let go of my arm and soon another hand grabbed my other arm. They didn’t restrain me, simply seemed to be trying to get my attention, but it was already firmly focused on something else. I made my way slowly toward the window and looked out. I saw what I expected to, nothing but buildings all around, including one in particular. My voice was soft, but firm as I gradually managed to bring my focus back to the room I was in, and was rewarded with a stampede of footsteps and clatter of drawers when I spoke.

“Get me out of here. Now.”