So. . . today's the day my lovely readers.  Introducing Chapter 35.

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~Yuki ❄

Yuki's P.O.V.

I remembered seeing Keroro's face looming over me.  His eyes looked wet.  Were those tears?  The pain was coming up on me too fast.  I could hear Keroro shouting at me to stay awake, but it was getting too hard.  The pain was becoming unbearable.  Keroro's voice started becoming more muffled.  Then, I out.

I woke up in what appeared to be a blank white space.  It was kinda creepy.    I had no idea where I was.  There was no one with me.  I then realized that I wasn't in pain anymore.  Where the am I? I thought in confusion.  Something that looked like a large T.V. screen appeared in my line of sight.  My eyes narrowed in suspicion as I cautiously walked toward it.  Maybe this will give me some answers. . . I thought.  The T.V. like object was split screen, meaning that it was showing me two different scenes.  On one side, I saw all of my friends.  All of SHINee, all of EXO, even Sihyun Hyung, Haru Hyung, and Junghan Hyung.  They looked like they were in some type of hospital.

They all looked like they were crying.  My heart broke as I watched them.  I forced myself to look away and at the other screen instead.  It looked like I was watching some kind of operation going on.  I wonder who they're operating on, I thought idly.  I took a step closer to the screen to see what was happening.  The doctors were working quickly, muttering to each other in tense voices.  Then I saw the face of the person they were operation on.  It was a girl.  A girl that looked suspiciously like. . .

me.

"What the actual ?!" I exclaimed, finally speaking outloud.  I backed away from the T.V. screen.  "Okay, calm Yuki. . . be calm," I muttered to myself.  "Where. . . where am I?"  I walked back to the screen and stared at my unconscious bodily form.  

"Am I. . . dead?" I asked myself.  I immediately rejected that thought.  That wouldn't make sense.  The doctors wouldn't still be operating on me if that were the case.

I finally came to the conclusion that the me that was in this blank white space was my subsconcious.  In other words, I was having a very awry version of a lucid dream.

"Well . . ." I said, "what am I supposed to do now?"  The sound of a loud SMACK! immediately caught my attention.  My head snapped towards the T.V. screen, where the sound seemed to have come from.  Nothing changed on the side of the screen that was displaying my operation, so I turned towards the screen that held my friends.

I spotted Keroro in the middle of the hospital's hallway.  He was on his knees and his fist had just connected with the ground.  "It should've been me," I heard him mumble.  I saw something drip from his eyes and onto the floor.  "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!"  This time, his voice had risen to a shout.  He let out a dry sob.  "It's my fault. . ." he muttered, "I'm so stupid."

My eyes burned a little, as if they wanted to tear.  I reached my hand out towards the screen.  "Keroro. . ." I whispered, "don't. . . don't cry. . ."

Even now, with all the going that was currently going on, there was still space in my head for me to think about the fact that I actually fell for Keroro.  Just thinking about it made me feel kind of tingly inside.

Is this what it feels like to have feelings for someone? I wondered, huh. . . it feels. . . kinda nice.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself.  "I can't believe that I, the girl who's never even had a crush on anyone before, developed feelings for someone I considered my worst enemy.  Nice going, Bul.  You don't even stand a chance.  Keroro hates you.  There's no way he'd ever reciprocate your feelings.  He's probably crying because he's come to think of you as a friend or something."  I felt like kicking something.  I've read about one-sided feelings before, but it seriously to get shut down before you even get a chance to do anything.  

I sighed, deciding that that wasn't the greatest problem I was faced at the moment.  I turned to more pressing matters.  For one, I had no idea about my physical condition.  Second, now that I had (somewhat) figured out where I was, I had no idea why I was there.  I sat down on the floor and looked at the screens again.  Everyone was crying.  They're crying for me. . . I thought miserably, don't cry for me. . . I didn't want to hurt you guys. . . I just. . . I couldn't let the blade hit Keroro.

"What am I supposed to do here?!" I demanded of the empty, white space as I got up, "someone just please tell me what I'm supposed to do. . ."

I've never felt so. . . helpless before.

Suddenly, I sensed moved behind me.  I checked my pockets.  , I mentally cursed, no weapons.  Whoever was behind me was starting to take steps foward.  Actually, according to my ears, it sounded like more than one person.  

Bracing myself, I spun around, my hands in front of my face, ready to defend.  There were two people in front of me.  A man and a woman.  The first thing that caught my attention was that they were both subtly glowing.  Are these. . . angels? I thought, no way. . .

Curiously, I began to study them closer.  The woman, well. . . in short, she was beautiful.  She had rosy pink lips and long, dark brown hair.  Her figure was slim yet toned.  Her eyes were so dark that they were almost black.  They held a kind of dulled fire in them.  At least, that's what I saw.  The man was as handsome as the woman was beautiful.  He was tall and well built, with a mess of black hair on his head.  His facial features were sharply defined and he had skin the color of cream.  His eyes were calculating yet soft.  It did not escape my notice that they also sweeped the open space, as if checking for any signs of danger.  Both of them looked like they were in their late twenties or early thirties.

Looking at their faces, something in the back of my mind stirred.  I felt like I should know these two unfamiliar faces, but the image wasn't coming up in my mind.  It finally caught my attention that these two unknown people were looking at me and smiling.  "I. . .I'm sorry," I said carefully, "who are you?  Do you know what I'm doing here by any chance?  Actually. . . do you know what's going on in general?"

The man and woman exchanged a glance.  I noticed a flash of sadness cross through both pairs of eyes.  "I suppose it doesn't surprise me that you don't remember," the woman said with a small sigh.  Her voice was sweet.  It made every bad thought in my head go away.

The man put a hand on the woman's shoulder.  "It's all right, Saya," he consoled, "it's not her fault."  The man's voice was deep yet soft.  It made me feel. . . safe.  Almost like how I felt when I was around Minho.  WHOA, I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.  Damn, is THIS what happens to people when they like someone?  Jesus.  Then I realized that the man said a name.  Saya. . .  That name. . . where do I know that name from?

"Yes, Hyunki, I know," the woman said, "the poor thing doesn't even know what's happening."

Hyunki. . 

Saya. . .

The answer practically slapped me across the face.

These were the two people from my dreams.

These two people. . . they're. . .

They're my parents.

"Umma. . .?" I said uncertainly, "A-Appa?"

The pair flashed me two brilliant smiles as they turned to face me.  "I knew she would remember," the woman I now assumed to be my mother said.  

"Hello, Yuki," my deceased parents said simultaneously.

I just stared at them in shock.  "You. . . you're both. . . alive?" I asked in disbelief.

Appa shook his head.  "Unfortunately no, honey."

"Then. . . then I'm dead?"

"Not yet," Umma said, shaking her head.

"Then. . . where am I?  How am I talking to you?"  As you can clearly tell, I was having quite a hard time processing all of this.

"You're neither alive nor dead," Appa said simply, "you're on middle ground."

"Middle ground. . ." I repeated, "so. . . that allows you to be able to talk to me?  To. . . communicate?  So technically. . . you're real?"

"You always were bright," Umma said fondly, "yes, you're right."

For the first time since I was seven years old, I felt water build up in my eyes.  My parents wordlessly approached me and wrapped their arms around me.  Suddenly, I felt like I was seven years old again.

"You've grown so much," my father said, "I'm so. . . proud of you."

A tear finally fell out of my eye.  

After all these years of wondering what my parents would think of the decisions I made, the chances I took, and the places I've been. . . I finally knew that they were proud of me.  "You know," Umma said, "Sihyun, Junghan, and Haru were right.  Even though we. . . left, we never stopped watching you."

I smiled and pulled out my dragon pendant, showing it to my parents.  "I know," I responded.  My parents smiled fondly at the ornament in my hands.

"We were listening to you when you spoke to us on Christmas," Appa said, "you really never took it off?"

"Of course not, A. . . Appa."  The term "Appa" was still foreign on my tongue.  I called Key Umma all the time so it wasn't as bad, but I hadn't addressed anyone as "Appa" for a long time.  "I've never taken it off and I never will."

"Enough about that, let's just talk for a little bit," Umma intercepted, smiling at me, "there's so much I want to talk about."

And talk we did.  I guess time is irrelevant in this place called Middle Ground, because we talked for a long, long time and nothing seemed to have changed in the real world.

Appa asked me about my recent activities.  Where I'd been going, what missions I'd been assigned, the works.  He also asked me about my time in Seoul's gangs.  Umma hit him when he said that he was impressed that I was able to hold my own in the Underworld. Umma focused on my personality and things like friends.  I told both of them about EXO and SHINee and how much care they took of me.  Umma didn't look like she approved of the fact that I hung out with mainly boys, but Appa seemed okay.  Once I reasoned that they were all like my brothers, Umma mellowed out a bit.  I knew she was just worried for me.

"Honestly, you're still so boyish," Umma said, shaking her head.  I shrugged my shoulders.

"What can you do?" I asked, "I've just never been attracted to anything girly.  Being a field spy doesn't leave a lot of room for girliness anyways."

"I was S.M.'s first female field spy and I was girly."

"Umma, there's hardly any comparison between us."

"Mm. . . true.  You have one smart mouth, Yuki."

I shot my mother a cheeky grin.  "It's in the genes."  My father laughed and clapped me on the back. 

"She really is our daughter, Saya," Appa said good-naturedly.

Ah yes. . . of course, we eventually came to the dreaded topic.

Keroro.

It was Umma that brought him up first.  Of course.

"So. . ." she said, casting me a sly grin, "who's that lovely partner of yours?"

My cheeks reddened at the mere thought of him.  "He's. . . he's Keroro, Umma.  The same annoying little kid that I met when I was ten.  Remember?  I used to rant about him to you two when I was in my room all the time," I mumbled.

"Ah. . . it. . . doesn't seem that way right now, especially with what we've seen."

"E-eh?"

"What was that stunt you pulled with the mistletoe?" my father asked playfully, pretending to look at me sternly.  My cheeks turned five different shades of red.

"NOTHING!" I said a little too loudly, "it was that damn Jongdae's fault.  Him and his stupid pranks. . ."

"Mm. . . buuuuut you liked it," Umma suddenly said.

"Umma, oh my god."

Isn't it amazing how parents can go from the greatest people in the world to the most embarrassing in three seconds flat?

"What's this?" Appa asked, looking at my wrist.  I also looked down.  Oh. . . I was still wearing the bracelet that Keroro gave me.

"OMO, THAT'S THE GIFT THAT MINHO GAVE TO HER!" 

"Yah!" I said, "it was a gift from ALL of the guys!  Not just Keroro!"

"Oh come off it," Appa said, "you know you like him."

"YOU TOO, APPA?!" I exclaimed in exasperation.  Umma squealed.

"My little baby girl finally has a crush on someone!!!  YAYYYYY~!  And honestly, you couldn't have picked a better boy."

"He seems all right," Appa said after some contemplation, "I trust him."  

I blushed.  Oh well. . . at least my parents approve of him. . .

"I just wished you could have confessed before. . ." Umma started to say.  Appa cut her off with a look.  An uneasy feeling started boiling up in the pit of my stomach.

"Before. . . what exactly?" I asked nervously.  Umma and Appa looked at me sadly.  Before I could speak again, something changed. The room darkened slightly.  A loud shout made me jump.

"WE'RE LOSING HER!" 

My heart plummeted into my stomach.  I stood up and ran towards the T.V.  The doctors were working over my body, but they looked panicked.  "Her body isn't responding anymore!" one of the men shouted. 

"Get the defribrilator!"

"Her oxygen levels are dropping!"

Oh no. . .

"Yuki-yah," both of my parents called out to me.  I turned around.  Their forms were glowing more noticeably than before.  I noticed an extremely bright light at one end of the room.

"Yuki," my father said gently, "it's time for you to come with us."  I didn't understand for a second.

"W-what?  Where?" I asked.

"Heaven," my mother said, "it's your time, child."  I froze.

I had to leave?  

I turned back to the T.V. screen.  Instead of looking at myself, I looked at my friends.  They were all sitting solemnly in the hall, waiting in fear.  Not knowing what to expect.  Not knowing that I wouldn't be coming back out.

"I. . . I have to go?" I asked my parents.

"You'll be with us now," Appa said, giving me an encouraging smile, "we'll be together forever."

"We can make up for all the lost time," Umma offered, "and more."

"And my friends?" I asked.

"They'll be fine," Appa assured, "no need to worry.  And you'll see them again, eventually."

I said nothing.  I was so confused.  I turned back to look at the T.V. screen.  To look at my friends. . .

people that had grown to become my family.

Sihyun Hyung, Junghan Hyung, Haru Hyung, Kyungsoo, Joomyun, Minseok, Yi Fan, Luhan, Lay, Sehun, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongin, Tao, Jongdae, Jinki, Taemin, Jonghyun, Key. . .

Keroro.

Yeah, I knew that I liked Keroro at this point, but what was the point?  I knew he would never liked me back anyways, so was there really a point in trying to fight and stay on Earth?  I could be with my parents again.  I would see my friends in Heaven eventually.  It wouldn't be that big of a deal.  With every passing second, the idea seemed more tempting.

My parents seemed to take my silence as confirmation.  Umma grabbed my left hand and Appa grabbed my right.  "Come on," my father urged, "it's time to go."  We turned around, facing away from the T.V. screen.  I hadn't even gotten to say good-bye properly.  

Slowly, my parents led me to the bright light on the other side of the room.

END YUKI'S P.O.V.

Minho stood up abruptly, startling the boys around him.  "Minho?" Junghan asked, "what's wrong?"  The boy said nothing as he ran to the door of the Operation Theatre.  His gut was telling him that something was wrong.

Very, very, wrong.

"!" Minho cursed loudly when the doors refused to budge.  He looked through the windows.  The doctors seemed to be in a panic.  Minho pressed his ear to the glass, trying to hear.  The other boys did likewise, now noticing the uproar inside.

"GET ME AN OXYGEN MASK, STAT!" Insu shouted at his coworker as he began performing compressions on Yuki's chest.

"Doctor, she's not responding!" a nurse shouted, "her pulse is dropping!"

"Get me the defribrilator!" 

Come on, Yuki.  Stay with me, Insu thought as Yuki's body convulsed from the shock delivered by the defribrilator, people are waiting for you to come out of this alive.  Insu listened to the heart rate moniter as he jolted the girl with another shock.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep.  

"Oxygen levels, dropping," a nurse said.

"Come on, Yuki, come on," Insu said.

Beep beep.  Beep beep.  Beep beep.

"Pulse dropping."

Beep.  Beep.  Beep.  Beep.

"Heart rate. . . dropping."

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Beep.

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Beep.

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Beep.

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Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

I. . . I'm sorry. . . *tears*