The next thing I knew, I was about to be carried. Was I being assaulted by some creeper fan? “Ah. Ah. Ani.” I demanded. My hand felt a head. To be exact, a fauxhawk.

I didn’t realize I was slapping Youngbae. “Minzy’s mom arrived 15 minutes ago and Minzy’s results came in. Her mom is already heading up to her room. We need to go visit Minzy now. Come on. Wake up.” He lightly nudged me.

I squinted my eyes open. I knew my body was seriously upset at my sleeping schedule. I turned to the girls, but already saw the other Big Bang members waking them up.

“What’s going on?” Bom shot up into Tabi’s arms.

“Is Minzy okay?” Chaerin shouted out.

Jiyong shushed our leader. “She’s fine. She’s in a recovery room right now. Her mom is with her. Don’t worry. We need to go up there. Can you walk?”

Bom and Chaerin automatically stood up. “We’re good.” But after a few steps, both nearly collapsed.

Seunghyun grabbed Bom. I knew Bom, like me, was too tired to care. “Gomawo,” said as they started walking to the elevator.

Seungri caught Chaerin, but being her stubborn self, she persisted that she could walk. We all knew she was unstable. Jiyong led the group, followed by Chaerin, then Seungri, in case she fell. Jjangmae staggered after. The ‘Alien Couple’ trailed behind.

“Can you walk? Or do you need help?” Youngbae looked at me.

I felt my knees trembling. I knew like the other girls, I was pretty unstable, but I needed to be strong. I needed to be strong for Minzy. I thought of what's best and just let go of my ego. “I’ll just lean on you.” I stated honestly. He gave me a persevering smile and held my shoulder. I held to the side of his torso while we wobbled to the elevator.

“What room?” Chaerin desperately stammered. She held on to Seungri’s shoulder.

Jjangmae pushed the button. “She’s put in one of the VIP Suites.” The ding of the elevator was heard. “VIP 103.” He answers Chaerin’s question.

The elevator door closes. “What floor?” Daesung asks.

“The 21^st.” Jjangmae hesitantly said, knowing how tired we all were. Daesung pushed the button and we started the journey.

I internally groaned in horror. Well at least we weren’t at the top floor, which was the 30^th floor. I fully leaned against Youngbae and closed my eyes.

You can do it, Dara. Stay strong. Minzy is waiting for you. She’s waiting for all of us.

The elevator was moving pretty swiftly, but I secretly begged it would go faster. I was surprised that we didn’t make any stops in between. I only guessed that no one needed to move up floors. Well, there probably wouldn’t be that many people at this time of day as well.

Jjangmae was passing out wristbands to us. “You need to wear these at all times. Even though Minzy is in the VIP suite, you may asked of your whereabouts. Don’t forget that sajangnim might call anyone of us. All of us are going to be in and out of this hospital.”

Chaerin helped me put mine on. I didn’t bother to pay attention to how the others were doing. I mumbled a slight thank you to Chaerin and she acknowledged with a cold but soft and longing stare. Chaerin started to fumble with Bom’s wristband, but Seunghyun came to save the day.

The elevator’s ding signaled that we reached our destination. We hurriedly walked to Minzy’s room.

We were looking left and right. Searching for the stupid VIP suite. Why did this hospital have to be so damn big?

VIP. One-oh-three.

“Gong-umma!” I heard the Bominator yell. She ran out of TOP’s arms and stumbled toward Minzy’s mom.

Seeing Bom like that gave me strength so I ran too. Soon enough, Chaerin ran with us. Minzy’s mom turned to look at us and spread out her arms for a hug.

We all held each other in a group hug for a while. I didn’t even notice that a new fresh set of tears were strolling down each of our faces.

“Mianhaeyo, Gong-umma! Mianhaeyo!” Chaerin broke out. She began to kneel on the, but Minzy’s mom stopped her.

When Chaerin stood up straight, Minzy’s mom chuckled and wiped Chaerin’s tears. “And what should you be sorry for, my dear?”

“For everything!” Bom cried out. The three of us turned to her. “We didn’t watch her well enough.”

“We should’ve taken more responsibility over her.” I quickly said.

Minzy’s mom then grasped my cheek with her left hand and Bom’s cheek with her right. “You girls need to stop crying now. Everything is going to be okay.” We all nodded our heads and tried to wipe away our unending tears.

We heard multiple footsteps enter the corridor. I saw Chaerin look up in horror, “What happened?” I heard a male voice say. I looked up and saw all four of our personal managers in front of us.

Chaerin, with an intimidated look, started talking, but stuttered her words. Bom put a hand on her shoulder and told them she would explain everything. The five of them walked a couple feet away and talked.

“How is she doing?” I finally asked. I was begging to know about Minzy.

“She’s fine. Her wrist is badly sprained, almost to the point of tearing the ligament inside. She also popped her ankle, possibly from the way she fell," I looked at Chaerin and Bom and saw how their faces turned white. It shouldn't sound bad, but why does it feel like it is? "The doctor’s concluded she most likely passed out due to exhaustion and mainly from the lack of immunity to the pain. We actually don’t know when she’ll be awake though, but she’s not going to wake up with brain damage or amnesia. Everything’s fine, but she can’t dance for 6-8 weeks.”

My knees went weak and I had to hold on to the wall. Six to eight weeks? It seems to be a short time, but that’s almost 2 months of more waiting. I don’t want to think of the fans who have been begging for a comeback. I don’t want to think of their disappointed faces when they learn our comeback is going to be pushed back 2 whole months. “Dara-eonni,” I hear Chaerin’s voice, but I can feel myself slipping, “are you okay?” she finishes while holding me up.

“I-I need to sit.” I said the first thing on my mind.

A doctor and a nurse came out of Minzy’s room. “We’ve settled her in the room. You guys are free to enter. If you have an emergency, there’s a red button near her bed, just push it and we’ll be here in a flash. If you need anything, there’s a phone next to this door. Dial *214 and you’ll be sent to our front desk.” The doctor and nurse bowed to us before they left.

Minzy’s mom entered the room, then me and Chaerin, finally, Big Bang.

The suite was a home-y room. To the left of the door, there was a little rest area with three couches (one not seen) facing a small table in the center. To the right of the door was a space where Minzy was resting. There were multiple chairs along the wall (not seen). 

I automatically went straight to Minzy. She was wearing the ghostly hospital garb. A brace was placed on her right wrist and a bandage was wrapped around her right ankle. On her left arm, an IV was inserted in her arm.

Bom entered the room. She explained something about who’s manager was going to stay and why, but I drowned her out.

I returned my thought back to Minzy. The sight made me want to cry, but my body was emotionally exhausted that I couldn’t. All the feelings of guilt that this happened and why this happened to her flashed through my mind.

“It was a freak accident, Dara,” Minzy’s mom said, as if answering my questions. “This could’ve happened to anyone. It’s not your fault. It’s not Chaerin’s fault. It’s not Bom’s fault. Things happen.” Her words soothed me. “Remember your trainee days?” My mind suddenly turned dark again. The crazy dieting. The endless practices. And worst: the beatings. I was afraid my money was going to waste and that I would never make it as a hallyu star. To be honest, I thought I was going to die if I wasn’t going to debut. Returning to Minzy’s mom, I nodded my head. “I know sweetheart. You don’t want to think about the bad times, but remember. Remember the hardships you all went through. Remember when Bomi fainted because she wasn’t allowed to eat properly. Remember when Chaerin got a heat the first summer because she was dehydrated. Remember when we rushed you to the hospital because you were starving to death because you couldn’t afford food.” A tear fell down my cheek. Chaerin and Bom put their arms around me and I returned the group hug. “A lot of bad things happened during your trainee days, but you made it. Yeah, you didn’t have millions of fans waiting for you and you now have money to feed yourselves, but the situation isn’t that much different. We will be able to get over this extra bump in the road just like every other time.” She then cupped my cheek, making me look at her. “The fans will wait. They will understand.”

I finally smiled. I said my thank you and sat down on a chair next to Minzy. Minzy’s mom sat in a couch near the wall. Chaerin sat across from me and Bom sat in the other room to catch up with the boys.

Besides the talking in the other area, the room was rather quiet. I grabbed onto Minzy’s hand and prayed with all my might that she would wake up. I was reassured that not everything was my fault, but I at least wanted to apologize.

I check the time and it was almost 2 in the morning. I yawned.

“You should go to sleep.” Chaerin said. I looked up to see Minzy’s mom and saw that she was already sleeping. 

I looked to CL who sat to the left of and across me from Minzy’s bed. “But aren’t you tired?” I wanted to sleep, but CL’s strength was going to be more important than mine. She was going to need to talk to the president sooner than the rest of us, her being the leader and all.

“I know you were awake longer than us. I bet you’re more tired than me. I’ll wake you up at 4. We can take turns watching over Minzy, see if anything happens.” I weakly smiled a thank you to her.

My two hour nap felt like a five minute break. Before Chaerin was allowed to sleep, three fifths of Big Bang announced they had to leave. We bid our goodbyes to Jiyong, Youngbae, and Seungri and apologized for having them stay long. They, of course, replied humbly. Tabi sat with Bom and had some alone time with her. Daesung was lying across from them and started snoozing off. Chaerin was already drifting into a slumber by the time I went back to my seat. I was starting to drift to sleep, so I tried to keep myself busy. I called the nurses to see if I could get any blankets. Something was going on in the front desk so a nurse was just sent to our room. Minutes later someone knocked on the door. I slightly opened it to see a female nurse. Although she looked cheery, anyone could tell she looked exhausted.

“What can I do for you? Is the patient okay?” She asked rather drastically.

“Everything’s fine. I was just wondering, could we get some extra blankets and pillows?” I asked timidly.

She smiled. “Sure. How many do you need?”

I looked around the room. One set for Mama Gong. One for Chae. One for Daesungie. One for Tabi. One for Bomi. One for me. “Would 6 pillows and 6 blankets be too much?” I asked embarrassingly.

She gave me a shocked look, but when she looked around the room, she answered with understanding. “Well, there’s not many patients in this corridor. I’ll see what I can do.” Before she left, I bowed to her.

When the door closed, I turned around to hear the room was quiet. Tabi and Bom fell asleep in each other’s arms. If I was fully conscious, I would do anything to ask Bom what was going on between them, but I had no will to do so.

After five minutes or so, another knock was heard on the door. The nurse was back with her hands full. I looked at her apologetically, but she smiled back with an understand gesture. When she spoke, she had her own apologetic tone. “I could only 4 pillows and 5 blankets. Is that okay?”

I smiled and nodded toward her. “That’s fine.” I tried my best to bow a full right angle. “Thank you.” When I went to straighten my back, I almost fell.

She helped me steady myself. “You take care of yourself too.” She smiled, bowed, and then left.

I put a pillow under Daesung’s head and laid him over the couch so I could spread the blanket over him. Next, I put a blanket over the alien couple. They were cutely leaning on each other’s heads. I thought that if they really wanted a pillow, they could use the firm ones on the couch. I then put a blanket over Chaerin. I realized a pillow would seem uncomfortable on Minzy’s small bed, but I put it in front of Chaerin in case she found it and wanted it. Lastly, I went to Minzy’s mom. Like Daesung, I laid her down and gave her the necessary items. At first, she denied them, but accept them when I persisted. She thanked me and easily went back to sleep. For me, I put the pillow on my seat and the blanket over my shoulders. I pulled out my phone. I honestly was too scared to read anything on Instagram, Line, or any social media. I opened a random game Bom downloaded on my phone and entertained myself for the time being.

I couldn’t help but nod off. I was awakened by Chaerin shaking me. I thought I really fell asleep on the job. I wanted to doubt myself on being weak again, but I was tired of putting myself down.

She finally spoke. “Dara,” I jolted up. I didn’t realize I was starting to drift off.

It’s Chaerin. “Deh. Are you okay?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if my question was casual or concerning.

She looked at me gravely. “I’m hanging in there.” Of course. We all are shaken by the past day’s events. Even though I was exhausted, I stood up and gave her a hug. I wasn’t expecting her to cry or anything, but I knew she would’ve been pent up with stress and frustration.