Pre- (pref.)

-   Before the Big Bang, the universe was nothing. Nothing is the beginning of everything.   

My eyes were closed still. I didn’t want to wake up. My head was pounding and there was a monotone beeping sound that seemed to surround me.  My body was feeling heavy and sore, I felt tired. I just knew I was thoroughly bruised all over. Then I heard something shuffle beside me. I opened my eyes.

I saw Victoria who was sleeping on the chair beside me.

I was in the hospital.

I tried to move to wake her up but my arms didn’t respond to me. Instead, I gave out a throaty call which, luckily, woke her up. Victoria immediately stood up and came rushing to check on me. “Taemin, are you feeling okay? Want me to call the nurse?” She didn’t wait for my answer and went to buzz the nurse instead.

She cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead. “I’m so glad you’re awake,” she said, relief apparent in her strained voice. She helped me sit up, which was painful by the way.

“How’s everyone?” I managed to ask. Victoria had that guilty look on her face and decided to fetch me a glass of water instead of answering my question.

“Now’s not the time to worry about that, Taemin. Let’s just wait for you to be checked, okay? Your mom and dad just went home to rest. Do you want me to call them?”

I nodded and she left the room. When she left the room a nurse came in to check on my vital signs. Not long after that, a doctor came in to make sure I’m okay as well. As soon as they were done, Victoria came back inside the room, carrying a tray of food.

“You should eat, Tae.”

“The others. How are they?” I insisted.

Victoria bit her lip and started to feed me the soup, “It will better if you finish your meal first.”I nodded weakly, too tired to even argue to have things my way.

After finishing my meal, Victoria went to pull the curtains apart. It was a rainy day, the sky was grey and dull and the drizzle kept on falling. I couldn’t tell if it was morning or night. “Noona, what time is it?” I inquired.

“It’s 5am.”

“What day?”

“July 3rd.”

July 3rd. We left Korea on Jul