When Jieun lifted her eyelids, she heard a familiar voice shout that she was finally awake. It was her teacher's voice, alerting the nurses that she had opened her eyes. She was a little confused, but she knew that she was safe. Instead of the usual scent of burning cinnamon and clover, an odd scent of medicine and disinfectant entered the room. Jieun looked around, able to move her hand. She felt a sharp pain around her hands, but was able to ignore it after a brief second.

A nurse approached her, checking to see if she was feeling any better. Moments later, a doctor came in to do the final checks.

"Miss, are you feeling okay?" the doctor asked.

"A bit…tired," Jieun murmured.

"Do you remember anything that happened?" the doctor asked her.

I remember a lot of things, she thought. She remembered her adventures with Taemin, how she fell in to the well and escaped the world. She remembered…everything.

But that would sound strange to the doctors.

"I… I think I was pushed into the well," Jieun murmured.

The doctor turned to the nurse. "Well, it seems like they both fell into the well."

"What happened?" Jieun asked.

"You were in a coma and were in a dangerous state," the doctor explained. "Any minute now, we were sure that you would end up dying. It was a bit…bizarre. No matter what we did, your body was rejecting everything that we were giving you."

"What else happened?" Jieun asked.

"Well, you were found in the well with your classmate. Mino also fell into the well, but his story doesn't quite match up with yours. According to him, he saw you fall into the well and reached to grab you. I don't think he mentioned about how someone pushed you in," the doctor said. "The well you were in had a ridiculous amount of flower petals in it. A couple of hours staying unconscious in the well would've ended up causing you two to drown."

And die, Jieun thought. She felt chills crawl up her spine. "Did Mino mention about…um…magic and stuff?"

"Magic?" the doctors repeated. "Can you clarify?"

"Like, curses and witches? Him and me having super powers or something?" Jieun asked quietly.

The doctor rubbed his chin. "Well, I think you might have been experiencing hallucinations when you were in the well. Do you remember eating some of the rhododendrons?"

"Rhododendrons?" Jieun repeated.

The doctors pointed at a pot of pink flowers at the side.

"Yes. These flowers are called rhododendrons. Don't worry, these aren't poisonous. It's rare, but sometimes eating the plant can cause hallucinations. Have you heard of something called 'mad honey' before? It can cause a drop in heart rate and blood pressure. By the time the rescue team found you, there was barely a heart beat," the doctor explained. "Of course, it's very rare for someone to die from consuming these plants. I'm just not sure what happened back there, but it could be that you might've accidentally or unconsciously have been feeding on those." The doctor gave one last look at Jieun. "For now, we'll go through another check-up to see if anything's wrong. Otherwise, please rest for a while."

Rest…I can finally rest without running away, Jieun thought. She was about to close her eyes for a second, but stopped herself. "Wait, is Mino around here? Can I see him?"

"Mino is in a few rooms away from here," the doctor said. "He woke up a bit earlier than you. Once the nurse takes care of you, you'll be able to see him."

Jieun nodded. She eased back in bed as the doctor left and the nurse began to do her job. The teacher, who was next to Jieun, let out a heavy sigh.

"Jieun, you're normally well-behaved. Why did you stray off from the group?" the teacher asked, scolding her.

The young girl stared at her teacher. As the teacher continued to scold her, she was reminded of the environment she was in. This wasn't a place where she was significant and important. No, she was nothing here. Sure, she was the top in the school, but that didn't matter here. 

"Okay, you can move out now," the nurse said, "but please don't move around a lot. Once you see your friend, I want you to come back right away."

Jieun nodded. Once she was able to move, she rushed out to see if her friend was okay. She hurriedly walked down the halls, searching for Mino's room number. When she arrived, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Like the nurse said, Mino was awake in his room, laying on bed. Except he was surrounded by his friends and even people who he never really considered to be his friends. Mino was laughing, enjoying the company of his classmates until he locked eyes with Jieun. Jieun let out a sigh of relief, glad to see him okay. Mino still had a smile, but it was an awkward one—a fake one.

"Oh it's…you," Mino said slowly.

One of the girls next to Mino glared at Jieun. "Are you here to apologize?"

Jieun blinked her eyes. "What?"

"Oh, don't play dumb! We've all heard the story," another boy said. "Jiyeon overheard you say that you were pushed into the well. What? Were you trying to frame Mino or something?"

Jieun gasped. "N-No! That's not it! I mean, I felt like I was pushed, but I'm not saying that Mino pushed me—"

"Save it," Mino said. Jieun smiled a little, happy to have a friend stand up for her. "We don't need to talk to someone like her." Her smile fell. "She's just a nuisance. Leave her alone. Ignore her."

Jieun frowned. "Mino… Mino, are you ignoring me?"

"Hey, I saved you from that well! If you hadn't fell into the well, then I wouldn't be hospitalized here!" Mino groaned. "I've missed out on the school's trip! I've been waiting for this moment!"

Jieun stared at him. "Mino… Do you not remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Everything? The adventures we had together?" Jieun asked slowly.

Mino stared at her with blank eyes. "Wow, you definitely hit your head hard. What? Did you have a crush on me or something to the point where you were dreaming of having a relationship with me?"

He started laughing. The others did as well. Jieun slowly backed away from the crowd.

He doesn't remember anything, Jieun realized. She stared down at her shoes. Am I the only one who remembers? She placed her hands over her head. Or maybe I've been hallucinating everything? But everything felt so…real. It felt so…in detail…

"Are you still standing here?" Mino asked. He was clearly annoyed of Jieun's presence.

She shook her head. "N-No. I'm leaving…"

"Good." As she turned and was about to close the door, he managed to muttering to his friends: "What the heck was that?"

Jieun shuddered and closed the door. It was so strange to witness Mino being mean to her again, being hateful towards her. During their entire adventure, it was like they were best friends.

Now? It was like they were just strangers. No, maybe worse than strangers?

She laughed softly to herself. She felt stupid, dumb, ridiculed. Maybe everything that happened really was just her imagination. No, not maybe. Everything was her imagination.

As she walked through the rooms, one person sitting on a bench caught her eyes. She was looking at the man from his back, so she couldn't get a good look at him. However, he seemed like someone she had seen before, someone awfully familiar…

She crept closer to him, slowly. The man was dressed in a hospital gown, but he looked distressed. He looked like he was waiting for something, like a miracle of some sort. When he felt Jieun's presence near, he quickly looked up. His eyes glowed, hoping that it was a nurse with good news, but when he locked eyes with Jieun, his face fell again.

But Jieun's face didn't. Instead, her eyes widened, recognizing the familiar man: Kim Myungsoo.

"Are you… Kim Myungsoo?" Jieun asked.

The man looked at her, then frowned. "Do we know each other?"

Jieun, flustered, tried to think of something to say. "Ah, um… I might've seen you somewhere before. I'm one of the students from the bus?"

If I saw Myungsoo in my dreams, then I probably saw him before somewhere else and subconsciously thought of him, Jieun thought.

Myungsoo frowned even more. "Bus? Students? Sorry, I think you're looking for the wrong person."

"Were you not near the old farm? A group of students had a field trip there," Jieun said.

"Farm? No. I don't even remember seeing a farm," Myungsoo said. "I'm sorry, but I think you really have the wrong person."

No. Jieun stared at him. I don't.

She glanced at the empty spot next to him. "May I sit here?"

"Go ahead," he said.

She calmly took her seat and began to inquire him. "Are you alone?"

"Um, for now, yes."

"What does that mean?"

Myungsoo smiled a little. "I'm actually here with my girlfriend."

Jieun paused. "Is it Naeun?"

He seemed a little startled. He blinked and continued to look at her, feeling weary. Jieun knew that she had to make something up in order to continue the flow of conversation.

"U-Um, I overheard the nurse saying her name," Jieun lied.

Myungsoo seemed a little eased. "Oh. So you've overheard?"

"Not a lot of it," Jieun said.

Myungsoo sighed, stressed. "It's my fault. I should've been more careful."

"What do you mean?"

"I… I should've been careful. You see, it was raining and there were thunderstorms. The wind was blowing and something covered the front window of the car. Before I knew it, I was swerving and flipped the car. According to the doctors, we were both found unconscious. The car got caught on fire, but nothing too major. It burned a little of these flowers, but that's all," Myungsoo said.

"Were the flowers rhododendrons?" Jieun asked.

"Well, now that you've mentioned it, I think they were," Myungsoo said.

"Did you remember anything when you woke up?" she inquired him.

"I'm not sure. I do remember smelling clovers burning and maybe a sweet scent, but the doctors told me that it was probably the smell of the flowers," Myungsoo told her. He kept quiet to himself before chuckling. "What am I saying? I'm probably spouting all of this to you because I'm so worried."

"Worried about what?" Jieun asked.

"You said you've overheard."

"Not a lot of it," she repeated.

"Well, Naeun's in the emergency room right now. When we were both in coma, both of our bodies kept rejecting everything that the doctors gave us. When I finally woke up, they thought that they finally found the curse and tried it on Naeun, but nothing worked." Myungsoo began to shake. "Her heart rate is declining. She's feeling colder. It's like her body is slowly preparing for her death." He sighed again. "I've been awake for a few days. I've been waiting for her to wake up, but nothing's working…" He closed his eyes. "It's all my fault… My fault…"

"There you are!" The two looked up, but it was Jieun's nurse. "I heard that you already visited your classmate's room, but you never came back. Please, return at once!"

Myungsoo smiled softly at Jieun. "Sorry for keeping you back. You should head on over now."

He finally got up. Before Jieun could say anything else, he bid her a goodbye and walked away, hoping that Naeun's critical condition would get better.

Jieun was forced to stand up and walked back to her room. As she was settling back on her bed, she couldn't help but think about what Myungsoo had said. Like Mino, he couldn't remember anything that had happened after the accident.

But Naeun's not awake yet, Jieun reminded herself. If the place I visited was real, then doesn't that mean Naeun isn't awake because she hasn't escaped the world? Mino and I came from the well, so just falling back in did the trick. She paused. The teacher was saying something, but with a nod from her head, he had left. 

Maybe it's not falling that brought us back. If I remember correctly, Myungsoo was dying. We've been in the other world for months, but only a day had gone by here. So since Myungsoo died first, it would make sense for him to wake up first. Mino also jumped in the well first, which is why he was already awake by the time I woke up. That well was deep enough for anyone to die if they fell into it. Jieun widened her eyes. Maybe the way to get of that world is dying there. That's right, that would make sense because that's how Myungsoo got out.

But Naeun has no intentions of dying. No, she wanted to stay there and live. She probably doesn't even know that she has a body here. Jieun's heart began to race. Plus, if her body is dying out here, then doesn't it mean that she's starting to be a permanent residence in the other world? Naeun doesn't know anything—

Jieun looked up. Naeun didn't know anything that was going on. She didn't know that Myungsoo was alive. She didn't know that she had a body in the real world.

I need to save her, Jieun realized. She quickly got out of her bed. I need to tell Mino and Myung— She stopped herself. I can't tell them. They won't believe me. Heck, they don't even remember anything.

She bit her bottom lip. There were too many people around her. If she wanted to escape, she would have to do it at night.

So be it, she told herself. She secretly strapped her watch around her wrist and took out her phone, which was in her bag at the side of her bed. For the rest of the day, she began to secretly map out a plan, figuring out the distance from the hospital and to the well.

The well wasn't too far from the hospital. In fact, it only took Jieun about thirty minutes walking to head over to the well. Of course, that also included her taking shortcuts and paths that were blocked off. Normally, she wouldn't have done something daring like that, but she was desperate.

It was in the middle of the dead night. Stars were seen all over the sky, sparkling and glittering. The moon was a silver disc, although it was odd seeing only one moon instead of two. A cold gush of wind swooped past her. As she neared the well, a strong scent of cinnamon and clovers wafted in the air. Her checked her watch frequently, making sure that it was swirling around in a strange manner like before. 

A few minutes later, she saw the well standing at the center of the forest. She took out her phone and confirmed that there was no signal. Putting her belongings back in her bag, she looked back into the well. It was dark, but even darker than before since she was staring at it in the dead night.

If I remember correctly, I was pushed in, she thought.

"Hehehehe…"

She looked up and turned. The same boy—around the age of twelve—was smiling at her. Under the moonlight, the little child looked a bit ghostly. When Jieun squinted her eyes, she could almost see Taemin's face.

"Hello," she said softly. The boy stopped smiling. Then, it ran towards and tree and hid behind it. Jieun leaned near the well. "You're the one that pushed me into the well, right?" She remembered Jongsuk's words about how Taemin had seen her before they had properly met. "Are you…Taemin?"

The boy didn't move. 

Jieun nodded her head. "Listen, I need to get back to the world."

"You'll take them away."

Jieun was surprised to hear the boy speak. "What did you say?"

"I can't let you go back. You said you didn't want to stay."

"I… I don't want to stay, yes, but I need to go back," Jieun said.

"Will you stay now?" the boy asked, hopeful.

"No, but please. I need to go back to—"

"But you're going to take them away."

"Take who away?" Jieun asked.

"Friends."

Jieun blinked her eyes. Then, she let out a weak chuckle.

"Yes, I need to take away his friends, but that's because they don't belong there. They have friends here," Jieun said. She clenched her fist. "Please. I need your help. Please send me back there."

Jieun turned her back against the boy and faced the well. She could hear her breath echo from the depths of the well. She closed her eyes.

"I'm going to trust you, okay?" she said. "Please push me in so that I can go into the other world."

There was a minute of silence. Jieun was about to turn around and check, but she felt a push behind her back. She gasped and was about to fall back into the well into someone grabbing her ankle. She widened her eyes and found herself swinging in the middle of the whole. She looked up and noticed Mino grabbing onto her ankle.

"Mino?" she cried out.

"Oh my god, Jieun!" Mino yelled. "Hang out! Don't die!"

She widened her eyes. "Mino, do you remember?"

"I suddenly remembered everything when I saw you fall into the well," he said. "I followed you because I saw you run out. I thought you were going to die twice so I was about to leave until you started to fall inside!" He took a deep breath. "God, why are you so heavy?"

Jieun wanted to cry. "I thought you forgot everything! I thought that I would have to be alone again!"

"Honestly, Jieun, I don't think I'm going to remember everything," Mino said. His grip around her ankle started to slip. "The closer you are you to the well, the more I remember."

"What?"

"I can't explain it. Just know that it has to do something with my curse. I think it still has an effect in the real world."

"No way—"

"Come on! At least try to get back up!" Mino yelled, pulling her up.

"Mino, no! Wait! Let me go!" Jieun said. "I need to save Naeun!"

"What?"

"Naeun! I met Myungsoo here earlier in the day. Myungsoo's fine, but Naeun is in critical condition. I'm sure that it's because she's in the middle of an Apocalypse and that she's starting to be a part of their world!" Jieun explained. "I'll let you know more in detail, but you need to trust me! Let me go!"

"I'll go with you—"

"You can't!" she said. "You need to stay behind and keep watch?"

"Keep watch? Of what?"

"You need to get help!" Jieun ordered. "Drop me and get help! Say that I fell in to the well, but don't react any more than that!"

"Jieun, you definitely hit your head really hard. You—"

"Mino, please!" Jieun yelled. "Trust me!"

Mino hesitated. He watched his fingers loosen their grip around her ankle. He hitched his breath, and let go of Jieun, letting her slip back into her fantasy world.

Now, to save Naeun and to find some answers.