The Thunder Rolls...

The Sky Is Falling

She sat up with a start. Covered in a cold sweat, her hospital gown was drenched. Disoriented, she looked around, finding her friend's sleeping head lying next to her on the bed. She looked at the clock, it was only a little after 5am. Her breath was still shaky, so she inhaled as much air as her lungs could hold and then slowly let it out.

She tried to remember exactly what happened. Then it hit her like a freight train. It had almost happened again. Or did it happen? She started to hyperventilate. She couldn't seem to control herself. She frantically shook Lilia who was dead asleep. Frightened she would suffocate right there, right now.

Lilia looked up and saw the scared look on Haneul's face. She jumped out of her seat and started pushing buttons that were next to the bed. Hoping someone would come really soon.

"It's okay." Lilia said quietly, lightly patting her friends hair. "It's okay, you're safe now."

"L-Lilia? D-Did i-it h-hap-pen aga-in?"

"What? No! You're fine. That guy didn't get to..."

"It was Dongwoo... He tried to me!"

Lilia pulled back and wiped the hair away from Haneul's face. Totally stunned by that revelation. "What?!"

"It was Dongwoo. I can see his face. He was getting closer and closer... He t-tried t-to..."

"No, no! Dongwoo sav..."

"It was him. I saw him clearly."

Lilia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew Dongwoo didn't do such a thing. How Haneul confused the situation, she didn't know. She was with Dongwoo the whole time. She saw the whole thing. Dongwoo got stabbed...

Haneul then started crying, shaking violently. The nurses finally arrived and gave her a shot of something to ease her anxiety. She then fell asleep again. Lilia then immediately asked to talk to Haneul's doctor.

 


 

"She has what we call 'Dissociative Amnesia'." The doctor looked up from his notes, crossed his arms on his desk as he looked at Lilia. "Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information. With this disorder, the degree of memory loss goes beyond normal forgetfulness and includes gaps in memory for long periods of time or of memories involving the traumatic event. It's not the same as simple amnesia, which involves a loss of information from the memory, usually as the result of disease or injury to the brain. With dissociative amnesia, the memories still exist but are deeply buried within the person’s mind and cannot be recalled. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person’s surroundings."

"Oh... so you mean this could be temporary?"

"Yes. You're friend seems to have 'forgotten' the events of that night and only remembers Mr. Jang at the moment he came to help her. So, in a sense, she only remembers from that point on and has put 2-and-2 together but the answer is all wrong. We can't force her and tell her what happened because in her 'memory' it's truth. She will have to remember the night in question on her own..."

"So, I can't tell her the truth?"

"No. Your truth and hers are not the same. Instead, you could create a whole other situation. Right now, just rest and mental healing is what she needs right now."

"Oh." Lilia seemed sad. She couldn't let the lie rest this way but she didn't want to damage Haneul anymore than she already was. Dongwoo... Lilia sighed. She hated Dongwoo because he was a douche bag. But yet, that night, he wasn't the guy Haneul had described him to be. He even seemed a bit sweet... !

"Thank you, Doctor" Lilia got up and twisted her hands. She worried about how this was going to play out. She had to keep Dongwoo away from Haneul.

 


 

Hoya and Woohyun sat next to Dongwoo who was unconcious in bed. He hadn't awakened since his surgery that had finished about an hour or so ago. They'd gotten the call from Sungyeol and Sunggyu and had rushed from their shared apartment to the hospital.

Dongwoo was white as a sheet. The bruises on his face seemed more darker, greener, more purple than it should have been. He looked dead, it was only the sound of the machines next to them that told them otherwise. The doctor had said earlier that he would survive, but it would be awhile for the wound to heal. Maybe 3 to 6 months before he could dance again. Dongwoo would be out of a job for awhile.

A soft moan sound came from the bed. Immediately, both Hoya and Woohyun jumped up to their feet.

"Han..."

"What?!" Hoya leaned over Dongwoo's mouth.

"...she..."

"Dongwoo-hyung, calm down. Don't try to speak..." Woohyun pushed the nurses' button to attract their attention.

"...oka... ?"

Hoya and Woohyun looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They couldn't understand the gibberish that Dongwoo was speaking.

"Dongwoo-hyung, it's me Hoya."

"Hyung, I'm here, too... Woohyun..."

Dongwoo's swollen eyes fluttered and then slowly opened. "Ha-neul..."

Hoya quickly responded, "She's fine. She'll be leaving the hospital soon." Sunggyu had told Hoya before he had left. It seemed the all-knowing leader's hunch was correct. That Dongwoo would ask about her. "Th... oth... guy..."

"Hyung, he's in jail. Don't worry about him..." Woohyun grabbed his friends hand and held it tightly.

Dongwoo slightly acknowledged with a very slight nod and closed his eyes. Talking was wearing him out quickly.

The doctor and nurses rushed in and started checking vitals. The doctor smiled at Hoya and Woohyun and assured them that Dongwoo was now out-of-the-woods and would safely recover. Woohyun and Hoya hugged each other and reached for their phones to text everyone that Dongwoo was okay.

________________________________________________________________________

[Three weeks later...]

Haneul was now seeing a counselor for her trauma. She was feeling much better but at the same time, bored to death. She wasn't allowed back to the animal clinic until she fully recovered. And she only showed up at school to sign out for medical leave. So much of her days were watching TV, reading, cleaning, eating, watching TV, reading, cleaning, eating, and so on... over and over and over again.

But today... would be different. The sun was shining, a nice breeze was in the air, the smell of Spring. She fixed her hair, put on make-up (something she hadn't done in some time), put on a t-shirt and matching shorts. She made a small lunch, put it in her backpack, added the latest book she had bought and she was ready to go... to the park.

She caught the subway and found an empty place to sit. Putting her bag between her feet on the floor, she leaned back and closed her eyes.

What are you doing in my apartment and why the hell am I ? What did you do to me?

-You're not . You're still wearing your underwear.

-I didn't do a damn thing to you.

-If I was going to do something to you, you'd be and smiling right about now.

Why did you do this... ? What did I do to you for you to humiliate me this way?

I don't ever want to see you again...

She opened her eyes. She didn't want to remember him. Why did he pop up so often in her thoughts? He tried to her. She knows this. He was there...

Haneul, I won't hurt you... I swear...

She shook her head. Where did that come from. She closed her eyes to remember...

Haneul, I won't hurt you... I swear...

It was Dongwoo's voice. But that can't be! She remembers him trying to touch her. At that moment, her stomach lurched and felt the bile start to climb from her stomach to . She immediately jumped up, grabbed her bag and ran for the bathroom. Once inside, she emptied her stomach into the toilet.

Haneul, I won't hurt you... I swear...

The voice wouldn't stop. She put her hands over her ears, trying to make it go away. She looked into the mirror. Her eyes wet, her mascara running. Why was she crying again? She blocked out the voice, rinsed her face in the faucet. Stay strong, Haneul! You're not crazy!

She walked out of the bathroom and decided she wouldn't let Dongwoo control her anymore.

 


 

The sun was shining down. Even though it was only in the 70's, it felt a lot hotter directly in the sun. Haneul, looked for over an hour for a shady tree, but it seemed others in Seoul had the same idea as she. Not a single tree to be found, all were taken. But luck was on her side. A family was packing up their gear and moving out. A whole gigantic tree to herself. As soon as they left, she pulled out the mat in her bag and spread it out, and collapsed on her behind to signal 'this land was hers.'

She leaned against the trunk of the tree, grabbed the book she had planned to read, and instantly fell asleep after only reading 2 pages.

Again, the dreams began to haunt her. Rough images of that night. A man she couldn't remember smiled and then his faced turned ugly. She fought him off but he was too much for her. "No!" she screamed, as she came awake. Looking around, nobody paid any mind to her. Families were eating lunch, playing sports, animals roamed freely. It was a pleasant day, but horrible dream.

Out of nowhere, a ball comes racing towards her and hits her on the side of the head. It bounces off and rolls to a stop in front of her feet. She rubs the bruised area, ready to curse the jerk who hit her. Instead a young teenage boy of maybe 17 or 18 comes to her aid.

He got down on his knee and reached out to touch her head. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" He said again, but instead she only heard Dongwoo's voice and the young kid's face transformed into Dongwoo's. She saw Dongwoo in front of her. A vision of Dongwoo came out of nowhere and she saw him. He reached out to touch her... Then the vision disappeared. The young boy's face came back, and again, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Do I need to call you an ambulance?"

Coming out of her self-inflicted, hypnotic trance, "Um... no. I'm fine." She smiled to prove her point. "Just all of a sudden you looked like someone I knew but without pink hair."

"Me... pink hair!" He laughed. "Never!" He grabbed the ball and took off towards his friends who were waiting for him. He immediately kicked the ball in the air and completely forgot all about her.

 


 

Dongwoo was on temporary leave from the dance studio and played with the band but only while sitting down. He couldn't stand for long periods of time before pain would shoot straight from his gut to his side. He was still recovering, but slowly. Today, though, he was at the prosecutor's office. He and Lilia were called as witnesses. Mr. Oh, the assailant, was being charged with attempted , assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder.

"Mr. Jang, thank you for coming." The attorney stood when Dongwoo entered. Dongwoo nodded and noticed Lilia already seated at the table. She was dressed in her clinic attire. Obviously, she took a break from work to be there. Dongwoo casually smiled and nodded to her as well. "Now that all party's are here. Let's get started." The attorney read them the case and asked them to answer if all in the paperwork were true and if anything was forgotten that needed to be added. When all was agreed, the attorney stood and said he would be right back and left the two alone.

"How's Haneul?" Dongwoo asked as soon as the door clicked shut.

"She's fine... for now."

The room got quiet as both tried to decide what to say next.

"Dongwoo... I'd advise you not to come around Haneul anymore." Lilia felt so bad saying it, but it had to be said.

"Huh?"

"She's still confused right now. She thinks YOU are thest. And she thinks I'm here to help the attorneys prosecute you."

"WHAT?"

"She has a dissociative disorder. She doesn't remember the facts correctly. It's caused from the trauma of that night and doesn't remember anything that happened to her before you came to her aid." Lilia was very sad. Just looking at Dongwoo, she felt guilty. The first time she met him, she really didn't like him. But after that night, it changed. "So, if you come around her, it can cause more damage than good. Until she remembers on her own what happened, you need to avoid her."

Dongwoo was dumbfounded. He hadn't seen her since the incident and now he may never get to see her again. And yet again, the fact that he would miss her, bothered him even more. "Oh... okay."

The attorney came back in and handed them copies of their reports. "This case is pretty much closed. I don't think we'll be calling you in as a witness during the trial, but in case, please don't leave the city or the country for that matter. Okay?"

They both nodded and then everyone stood. They shook hands and left... going their separate ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Months go by...]

The dreams were starting to become less and less. It was the same dream. She knew it was. But when she woke up, most of the dream vanished as soon as she opened her eyes. It was driving her crazy. Something on the tip of her tongue, on the edge of her mind. She knew it, she felt it.

She sat up, and sighed. Every week it was the same. She woke up more tired than refreshed. Her morning began with coffee, lots and lots of it. It was the only way she could function in the mornings. She rose out of the bed, walked to the coffee maker, hit "on" and then scratched her head all the way to the bathroom. Nothing a warm shower couldn't fix.

She was no longer an intern now. Even after being on 'leave' for a month, she still graduated with honors and was now an official 'doctor.' She worked at the ER, where they had saved Hana. She felt emergencies were where she wanted to be. Not for the glory, but for the fact it kept her days from becoming monotonous and cumbersome. It was fast-paced. Her boring life passed by quickly.

"Doctor Kim, we just got a call from animal rescue. Two dogs were found half-dead and they are bringing them in. Should we take them?" The assistant asked.

"Of course, when I'm on call, you know I never turn anyone down." Haneul was checking a wound on a cat that was brought in that had been bitten by a stray dog. The cat was half-dead when it was dropped off. Today, the pretty, long-haired calico was purring from the doctor's ministrations. Haneul smiled at the pretty thing, picked her up and placed her back in her warm cage.

At that point, Haneul's world spun. And it tilted. Haneul held onto the cage door to keep herself from falling. She took a deep breath, and the world came back on it's axis and the spinning stopped. I must be anemic. Have I eaten anything today? Then a flash of a man's face appeared. She saw it clearly in her mind. Then she got scared. It seemed so real. She looked at the clock and realized she had been on duty for over 13 hours. She had to go home. She physically started to shake.

"Um... Hyejin, I'm going home," she told the assistant with as much calm that she could muster.

"O-Okay, Dr. Kim." The assistant looked at Haneul strangely. Haneul was starting to lose color in her face. "Are you feeling well, Doctor?"

"Nothing that a nice bath and some chicken soup couldn't cure." Haneul put on a smile that didn't match the way she actually felt.

"Um, Doctor, the two dogs...." the assistant hesitantly mentioned.

"Ah, right." Haneul scratched her head.  "I'll stay..."

"Doctor, go home.  We'll take care of them.  You seriously need to rest.  If you get any whiter, you'll be a ghost."  Haneul half-smiled, forced it rather, and left for her office.

She took of her lab coat and placed it on the coat tree. Grabbed her bag and quickly left the building. She had to get out of there. She started walking and not realizing that she was practically jogging. Sweat ran down her back. The hairs on her neck stood, as if a ghost were chasing her. That face haunted her, she had to forget. She made it to the crosswalk. The crowd already waiting to cross, seemed to surround her. Claustrophobia had her by the throat. She couldn't breathe. Turn green, damn it! At that moment, the crowd moved forward, taking her with them. Then it happened again. The world spun... and tilted. She stopped at that moment. Everyone rushing passed her. Then she fell into nothing.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Angel_Twings
#1
Chapter 26: It's been so long since I've read a Dongwoo fic! Dear lord, how I missed it. This story was amazing, I'm surprised it hasn't been featured yet!
lee-chelle #2
Chapter 18: Is someone going to strangle yoojin or not? She is so infuriating... Argh!!
superaruba #3
Chapter 25: Oh! "A zipper being ped" so promising...
I look forward to read the next chapter.
superaruba #4
Chapter 25: Tears for Sungyeol. I miss him already.
superaruba #5
Chapter 25: So sad, so beautiful. Thank you. :(
sweetlola #6
Chapter 21: Omg I'm dying .... Sheree plz hurry .... I can't wait any longer
hwayoungkyu #7
Chapter 16: This was a great chapter! I'm enjoying the story immensely, only issue I had was some grammar errors at the end that kept throwing me for a loop lol. Nothing to worry about, just my ADD brain going spacey. Loving this <3
hwayoungkyu #8
Chapter 13: I'm dying here!! Gah! This is soooo good!!
CrissyLovee #9
Chapter 20: Looking forward to the next chapter! I hope that Infinite is able to rescue the girls before things get worse
sweetlola #10
Chapter 19: Oh this is getting better .... Can't wait for the new chapter