April was having a dream about being in a big white box, but in her dream she couldn’t get up she could only look around the white box and wonder how she got in it.  She wasn’t alone in the white box either, there were two men there too who were just sitting and staring.  It was a strange dream, occasionally the two men looked like they were talking to her but when they moved their mouths nothing came out.  April wondered how they were all going to get out of the big box, but since it was a dream she didn’t think too hard about it.

 

            Sungmin sat next to the attendant in the back of the ambulance.  The ride felt like an eternity.  The girl had lost consciousness before the paramedics had got to them but along the ride she did open her eyes briefly.  She surveyed the space with wide eyes, looked at Sungmin for a few seconds, then back at the ceiling, then back to Sungmin and the attendant before she closed her eyes again.  The attendant tried to speak to her, “Do you know where you are?” She stared at him blankly just as she had in the road.  Sungmin tried “What’s your name?” again.  When she didn’t respond he said to the attendant, “Do you think it’s possible that she doesn’t speak Korean?”

            “You could try in English but I don’t think she’s going to respond, she seems to be in shock.”

            Sungmin tried anyway, in English he asked, “What is your name?”  It was no use, she was watching him speak, she seemed at least partially aware that he was talking to her but it was like she couldn’t respond, or didn’t want to.  She exhaled peacefully then closed her eyes again like she was planning to take a nap.

 

            Donghae, Kyuhyun and the manager met Sungmin in the main lobby of the hospital.  The manager quickly ushered then back to a private hallway beyond the public eye.  He told them, “wait here while I find out what’s going on.”  The boys sat silently for a while on a bench in the dimly lit hall.  Kyuhyun was the first one to speak, he sighed, “so what are we going to do about this?”  The each looked back and forth to the other until their eyes finally rested on Sungmin.

            Sungmin responded, “I think we need to take responsibility this, without us this wouldn’t have happened.”  Donghae agreed, “I think your right but I’m worried about what that might mean for us.”

            Kyuhyun said, “Donghae has a point I think we should wait to do anything until we know more.”

            “We should at least cover the initial medical expenses,” Sungmin argued. 

            Donghae agreed again adding “we can’t leave her hanging without the costs covered, it’s the least we can do.”

            Kyuhyun still looked unsure, “what if she doesn’t make it?”

            They all looked down, no one wanted to think about that option.  Donghae broke the silence this time, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, if we get to it.  Right now we should have faith and hope for the best.”

            Sungmin put the issue to rest, “we will wait for manager-hyung to return with information, we’ll do what we can for the immediate situation and discuss with the others when we get back.  Agreed?”

            “Agreed,” Donghae knodded.

            “Agreed, “ finished Kyuhyun.

 

            The manager-hyung was really good at keeping a poker face, the boys could never read a situation just by looking at his face alone.  “So here’s the situation: it’s pretty bad.  She’s got some broken bones, internal bleeding and she’s unconscious, they’re not sure if there is any brain injury yet.  They’re going to go in and repair the damage tonight and it’ll probably be a pretty long surgery.  They won’t know more about the head trauma until she wakes up.  She had an emergency contact number in her wallet but no one answered so I signed the consent forms.  They have my number and will call if anything comes up, but for now I think it’s best if you guys go home for the night.”

            Sungmin stood up, “I’m not leaving.”  The others looked puzzled.  “She’s all alone here, what if she wakes up? Wouldn’t you be scared if you woke up all alone in a foreign hospital.” Kyuhyun and Donghae nodded in accord. 

            The manager-hyung said, “I’ll arrange for her to have a private room, but for now she’s going into surgery so Sungmin at least go home and clean off and then you can come back for when she gets out.”