I woke up early the next morning, shivering a little and wondering why the heck my blanket was soaked. It took a few seconds to put two and two together and I groaned, pushing myself up and throwing back the blanket. Sure enough, wrapped around my ankle, was a sagging, sodden towel. That was the last time I would forget to use a plastic bag for ice. I fought with the knot in the fabric, which had swollen from all the water, and eventually decided to slip it off over my foot. Big mistake. I managed to move it an inch or so before I let out a screech so high pitched I began to wonder if I should have taken a second job as a dog whistle. Something was definitely wrong. I pushed myself to my feet, or foot, to be more precise, and hopped over to the counter. Grabbing my scissors, I turned and began to hop back to the couch. After two hops, I stopped. Yeah, I was stupid, but not that stupid. Realising what an idiotic move it could have been, I tossed the scissors carefully to the sofa, thankful when they didn’t spring open, and hopped the rest of the way before dropping gratefully onto it again.

I carefully slipped my fingers under the towel and held it away from my skin so that I could cut it off. I soon regretted that move and wished I could undo it. The ankle looked like Godzilla had stepped on it. I knew I had lost my balance at some point on the way home, but didn’t think anything of it. I could only assume the crazy of the night had made everything so surreal, I ignored it, because this was not something that would normally be ignored. I had to do what I had to do. Picking up my phone, I texted my boss and told her what had happened. She wasn’t happy, but considering I couldn’t even walk to my door, I think she figured a dancing role as Sailor Moon wasn’t going to be possible. She agreed to give me the day off, and abide by whatever the doctor said, on the understanding that I go back to work the second I was able to put weight on my foot easily. It was the best I could hope for, under the circumstances, and I agreed without a second thought. Now for my second challenge. I had to figure out how to get to the hospital. I didn’t even know where it was, which was probably one of the dumbest things possible. I hadn’t lived in the area all that long. Only 3 years, not like you learned the neighbourhood in that time. My mental voice was starting to get sarcastic now too…

I sighed, rubbing my face. I could try searching for hospitals, but I didn’t know how to get there. I could call a taxi, but I couldn’t spare that kind of money, not to mention they wouldn’t be happy getting me to the car. I didn’t want to call an ambulance, partly because my pride wouldn’t let me for something so small, and partly because I felt like it would be wasting their time and taking it away from something more important, like someone in a car accident or house fire. Finally, I realised I had three options. I could hop next door and hope someone was home. Not unless I wanted to go headfirst down the stairs. I could call my boss and ask for help or advice. Probably not smart, since it’d show how irresponsible I was. That left option three. With a grimace, I picked up my phone. One or seven? I figured I might as well go for the largest possible number of people who might be able to offer advice.

Opening the chat app, I pulled up the group chat I had with Jungkook and the others, skimming over the weirdness I had missed while sleeping. There was a lot. When I finally reached the end, I began to type.

SM – Any of you guys here?

It took a few moments, but then the responses came flooding in.

RM – Yep, how’s it going?

J – Good morning!

JM – Hey!

JH – Morning!

T – Sleeping Beauty awakes! Someone tell Prince Charming!

JK – Hyung, please. I’m begging. Stoooooop!

S – Maybe let him eat breakfast first TaeTae?

JK – Oh, and morning Moon!

SM – Morning guys. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess RM is RapMonster, J is Jin, JM is Jimin, JH is J-Hope and S is Suga, right?

T – What about me?

SM – Oh, right! And T is Twerp, yeah?

JK -YES!!!

JH – I like this girl!

T – Hey! It’s Taehyung, not twerp!

SM – Yah huh. Anyway, I need advice.

J – What is it?

SM – Anyone know the nearest hospital to Sinsa-dong?

RM – Not off-hand, but I can look it up. Any particular specialty?

JK – Wait, hospital? Are you okay? What’s wrong? Do you need an ambulance?

J – Let the girl breathe, Jungkook

JK – Sorry hyung

J – By the way, what’s your name, Moon? We didn’t get it last night

SM – It’s Eun Min. Yes, hospital. No, I’m not 100% okay, but it’s nothing major. It’s my foot. No I don’t need an ambulance. Did I get em all?

JH – Yup, think that’s all of them answered. Nice name. I’ll fix the tags.

EM – Thanks

EM – Oooh, that’s what you meant about the tags

RM – Okay, I’ve got the nearest hospital. We’ll come pick you up.

EM – You don’t have to do that, I’ll figure out something, I just need the address

JK – No, we’ll be there in a few minutes

EM – Jungkook

JK – I said no. Rest your foot and text me your address. We’ll be there soon.

I was surprised by the sudden change, considering he seemed so lighthearted the night before, but before I knew it, I had texted him my address. I propped my foot up on the coffee table, covering it up with the blanket so I didn’t have to look at the plum-coloured thing that was my ankle, and began to look up videos online of the group’s performances, and Jungkook’s solo work. I was surprisingly impressed. I wasn’t normally all that into watching people perform, but they seemed to have it down to an art form. It didn’t hurt that they looked a little like art themselves. Before I knew it, there was a knock at the door and I looked up, feeling a little embarrassed that I had completely forgotten I’d asked for help.

I started to lift up from the couch, but I heard Jungkook calling from the other side of the door.

“Eun, it’s me. Is the door unlocked?”

“Yeah, it’s open” I called back. “Come on in.” The door swung open to reveal not one, not two, but seven guys. I was a little ashamed to admit that my first thought wasn’t ‘yay for help!’ and was instead ‘Oh crap, I don’t have enough chairs!’. I was turning into my mom. The door was barely open before Jungkook was hurrying over to me and kneeling beside the couch. He pulled back the blanket and jumped back, waving the others over. They did as they were told and came closer, though most quickly backed away again, with looks varying from ‘that looks painful’ to ‘that looks disgusting’ on their faces. Only the one I remembered from the videos as J-hope, or Hobi, stayed close, kneeling beside Jungkook to get a closer look. After a moment, he stood and looked around, eventually grabbing two wooden spoons from the ‘kitchen’ and setting them on the coffee table. Before I could figure out what in heaven’s name he was doing, he began to undo his belt. A couple of the others tried to stop him, but he batted them away, instead ordering Jungkook to do the same. After a moment’s hesitation, he did as he was told, handing the belt to Hobi.

Kneeling once again, Hobi rested one spoon on either side of my foot, wrapping the belts around them to create a splint. I was impressed. The guy was a regular medical MacGyver. With that, they stood again, but this time it didn’t quite go as I had expected. I had figured they would probably discuss what to do, but in the blink of an eye, I had gone from lounging on the couch to being cradled securely in Jungkook’s arms. I squealed, bopping his shoulder with my fist, resulting in a roar of laughter from the others.

“Ya! She’s not as tough as she acts!” Taehyung cheered, chucking me under my chin. I scowled at him, leaning forward a little so as to get as close as I could and gave him the best death glare possible.

“Watch it, Twerp-hyung” I threatened, doing my best not to smirk too cheerfully. “I may not look tough, but when this foot’s healed, I’ll kick your with it.” He snickered and took a step back, one eyebrow rising as Jungkook’s arm tightened around me a little.

“Just ignore Tae-hyung” he murmured, the breath on my ear making me shiver, partly because his voice sounded incredibly y when it was that close and that low, and partly because it was unnerving to have someone talking that close. I heard, and felt, a soft chuckle and a nose poked my cheek playfully. “He just likes teasing you because he knows you’ll throw it right back at him.” I swivelled my head to look at him, leaning it back quickly when I noticed I was literally millimetres from touching noses with him.

“You mean he *wants* me to threaten him?” He gave a small nod and I turned to look at Taehyung, my voice just loud enough for Jungkook to hear. “Masochist.” This time, I almost went flying as he snorted with laughter, catching himself just in time before he could double over and holding me tighter against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck in an attempt to avoid becoming a human hot potato (emphasis on the potato) and he smiled.

“Don’t worry, I won’t drop you” he assured me, and I gave him a pointed look. “Well…not fully.” I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up, returning RapMonster’s infectious smile.

“As cute as this is, we should get going, that ankle needs to be looked at, and if we can get you to the hospital before Jungkook drops you down the stairs, that would be great.” Jungkook’s expression sobered quickly and he gave RapMonster a nod that I swear could have been taken right out of an anime. Jimin grabbed my bag and, after I had checked to make sure everything I needed was in there, we headed out, Suga locking the door behind us.

I felt nervous at the idea of going down the stairs under someone else’s steam and hid my face against Jungkook’s shoulder, listening as the others guided him carefully to ensure he didn’t miss a step. Before long, we were on the ground floor and he let me know that it was safe to look.

“You can breathe too” he added teasingly, though it took a moment before I gave a quick gasp and he stared at me. “You really were holding your breath?” He sounded amazed, and a tiny bit hurt, and I shrugged. I hadn’t noticed it, but I guessed it was like swimming too deep. You don’t notice how far you are from the surface until you realise you don’t have enough air to reach it. I was about to speak when I heard a honk. The guys picked up the pace and we hurried outside to see a black van like those I’d seen in the videos I had been watching. One of the doors slid open and an older man gave me a smile. “This is our manager” Jungkook explained as the man hopped out and climbed into the front seat. The others climbed in one by one until only Jungkook and Taehyung were left standing. I didn’t know what was going on for a moment until I felt another pair of arms holding me. I squeaked and glared indignantly at Taehyung, but instead of his teasing grin, he gave me a warm smile. I watched as Jungkook climbed into the forward-most rear seat and put a hand on my head, protecting it as Taehyung too climbed in. Tae passed me off to Jungkook, who set me on his lap with my back against the window and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. Tae then lifted my legs so that they were stretched across his knee and my foot was supported. He slid the door shut then carefully held my calves so that they wouldn’t fall and the driver pulled away.

“Is this safe?” I asked, knowing I probably didn’t want to know the answer, and the manager laughed.

“Probably not” he called over his shoulder. “But you try fitting 7 young men, a driver, a manager and an injured woman in a van without some creative thinking!” Everyone laughed, including me. I felt surprisingly comfortable with these guys, despite the fact that I was sitting on the knee of a guy I’d only met face to face once and mask to mask twice, and the rest of whom I’d barely spoken to. They seemed normal, which was weird, considering they were celebrities.

“How far is it to the hospital?” I called to the manager. He leaned forward to check the GPS, then called back to me.

“It looks like it should be 30 minutes, but there’s a lot of traffic because of the construction work, so it could be an hour or more.” I groaned, my head falling back against the window. My ankle was starting to hurt again and the more I tried not to think about it, the less success I had. I closed my eyes, biting down on the tip of my tongue to distract myself. The vibration of the road under the car was sending shockwaves through my foot and where it had taken an hour or more for it to start hurting the night before, now the pain was ratcheting up a notch every few seconds.

Suddenly, without even the slightest warning, a car cut in front of us and the driver slammed on the brakes. I jerked sideways and was pulled back against Jungkook’s chest. No big. Unfortunately, there was another very big big. My legs shifted even more quickly than the rest of me and Tae grabbed onto them to prevent my foot from hitting the floor. His hand clamped onto my ankle and before I could stop myself, I screamed in pain. I clapped a hand over my mouth, managing to go from ‘earsplitting’ to ‘dog with separation anxiety’ in volume and squeezed my eyes shut, trying my best not to cry. I could hardly hear anything over the rush of blood in my ears, but I made out Tae’s voice apologising over and over. I shook my head, trying to let him know it was okay. Eventually, I heard another voice step in, telling him to calm down, and he finally shut up. It wasn’t exactly his fault, but the repeated apologies were making me want to send his chin through to the other side of his head.

I was tapping on my knee to keep my focus on anything but my foot, and Jungkook shifted his arms, moving one hand to my back and rubbing it gently. Now that he was doing so, I started to realise that, thanks to what had happened, it was feeling like my knots’ knots had knots. I leaned my head against his shoulder, willing my stomach to stop churning as if I was on a roller coaster. I’d never been very good with pain. A pulled muscle could make me feel like I was going to throw up, so whatever was wrong with my ankle was starting to make me wonder if my stomach had just plain gone on vacation. Clearly seeing that what Jungkook was doing was helping, Tae seemed to decide to try the same approach and started gently rubbing my calf a few inches above the offending ankle. Thankfully, it seemed like he was trying to be nice and not y and I opened my eyes giving him a small smile. He returned it, and motioned with his head to rest mine back down again. I did, and between his and Jungkook’s help, I gradually calmed down enough to doze a little.