A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter's pretty long...4300+ words, k have fun reading :D

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“The doctor said there’s a possibility of him not making it.”

 

Daesung words kept echoing in my head. *dagun dagun dagun* “ Possibility of not making it.” No…no…no, this can’t be happening. Jiyong! This can’t be true, I-I...he can’t be gone. No…no…no…what am I going to do? My eyes started to sting as tears fell down my cheeks. I…I need to go. I quickly picked up my workbag and cardigan off my chair and start running. Running, street lights, taxi cab, everything was just a blur of colors as I made my way home.

 

I was shaking all over, impatiently waiting for the elevator door to open for my floor. “Hurry up,” I kept muttering as people kept entering and exiting at various floors. Once the doors opened on my floor I ran, hands trembling as I brought my keys to the lock and struggled to unlock it. When I finally managed to get the key into the lock the door opened by itself.

 

“Are you okay?” Chaerin asked with worried eyes as she opened the door for me.

 

I nervously stared at her before breaking eye contact and pushed my way to my room.

 

“Dara what’s going on??” She asked from my doorway as she watched me. I quickly grabbed my duffle bag and started stuffing it with clothes, not even caring whether they were appropriate or not.

 

“Dara!” she yelled as she marched over to me and gripped my shoulders making me stop. “Dara, what’s going on? Why are you packing? Are you going somewhere??” she asked.

 

“I…I need to go,” my hands were trembling, “Possibility of not making it”. Those words were on constant replay in my head.

 

“Where are you going? Don’t you have work?” she tried to make eye contact but I kept avoiding her glance.

 

“S…S-Seoul…” I said quietly.

 

“SEOUL??? What about work?”

 

“I already called in saying that I’ll be working remotely for the rest of the week because of personal matters.”

 

“Okay, now this leads to the why. WHY are you going to Seoul? This is the first time I’m hearing of it,” she raised an eyebrow. “Dara look at me,” she placed a hand under my chin, turning my head and making me face her, “Why do you need to go to Korea in such a hurry?”

 

“J-J-Jiyong’s been in an accident,” tears started to trickle down my face again, “he’s in critical condition. A-And the doctors said there’s a possibility of him not making it. I have to go,” I broke away from her hold and turned back to my duffle bag to zip it up.

 

“H-How? How did you know? I haven’t heard anything?” Chaerin asked in surprise, eyes narrowing in doubt, “How reliable is this source? What if Kwon is just playing you Dara? What if this is just a plot to get you to go back to Korea? Critical condition? Doctors supposedly saying he won’t make it? What then Dara, is he going to have amnesia when he wakes up? This sounds pretty cliché if you ask me, I expected more from Kwon,” she scoffed. My fists tightened at her tone, “Ya Dara!” She took hold of one of my wrists, “Don’t be dumb and fall for his trick. If you fall for it, what’s the point of what you’ve been doing for the past year, huh? The minute he gets hurt, you drop everything to run into his arms. Think Dara. Just calm down and think. Once you calm down, you should just go back to work-“

 

That did it, I yanked my arm out of her grip and faced her, “You want to know who told me about this accident Chaerin-ah?”

 

“Who? I bet it was that rat Seungri,” she answered.

 

“Daesung was the one who called me,” I started clenching my fists again.

 

“Daesung?” Her eyes widened in realization of the severity of the accident. Daesung would be the last person to help Jiyong with a prank like this, let alone make an international call for something so trivial.

 

“Yeah, Daesung,” my fists started to shake as I remembered our conversation, “Chae, he was freaking out so much, he barely managed to calm down in order to explain everything to me.”

 

“Oh god,” she gasped, bring her hands to , “Jiyong really might not make it?”

 

I bit my lip and nodded as a tear rolled down my cheek, “I need to go Chae,” I almost pleaded to her.

 

She let out a small sigh before sadly smiling, “I’ll drive you to the airport, let me just get my keys.”

 

“Thanks,” I reply as I grabbed my duffle bag and my work bag.

 

---

 

[At the Airport]

 

I glanced at the departure board once Chaerin dropped me off, “Seoul…seoul…ah! Seoul….Asiana Airlines…flight is on time…leaves at 1:25pm,” I glance down at my watch, 12:30pm, okay! I smiled at my good luck and ran over to the Asiana Airlines booth.

 

“Next,” the attendant called.

 

I stepped forward towards her desk, “I need to buy a ticket for the next flight to Seoul,” I stated as I started to pull out my wallet and passport.

 

“Seoul? Let me look,” she started to type on her computer, “Seoul…the flight leaves in less than an hour,” she stated as she looked at me to check if that was alright.

 

“Yes, that one. I need a ticket.”

 

“Valid passport?” she asked. I placed my passport on the counter, “Okay, Miss Sandara Park,” she stated as she read my information, “And you are here under a work visa, correct?” she asked as she started to type in the information.

 

“Yes,” I quickly replied. Hurry please!

 

“Okay, everything seems to check out,” she closed my passport, “First class, business or economy seating?”

 

“Economy.”

 

"Alight," she replied as she rattled off the price of the ticket to me. I handed her my credit card immediately. After the payment was processed she handed the card back to me.

 

“Okay, any bags that need to be checked in?” She asked as she waited for the ticket to be printed out.

 

I look down at my duffle bag, This should be small enough to be considered a carry on, “None.”

 

“Okay, here is your ticket, just proceed towards security check-in. Have a safe flight,” she said as she handed me back my passport and ticket.

 

“Thanks,” I replied as I hurried to security check in. “Oh thank god,” I mutter as I saw the reasonably short line for security check-in. Once I was through security, I ran to the gate, thank goodness it wasn’t too far from security, luck must really be on my side today.

 

“Now boarding for Flight 818 to Seoul, South Korea at gate 5,” the intercom called as I reached the gate.

 

[To: Chaerin~]

[From: Me]

[Sent 1:07pm]

Successfully got my ticket and about to board, thanks for the lift >.< I owe you one, Chae.

 

[To: Me]

[From: Chaerin~]

[Sent 1:07pm]

Have a safe flight Tokki, let me know when you land! And breathe Dara, Jiyong will be fine, keep me updated.

 

[To: Daesungie~]

[From: Me]

[Sent 1:08pm]

I’m boarding a flight to Seoul right now. I should be getting there around 4:40pm there. Text me the address of the hospital Jiyong’s in as soon as you can please.

 

---

 

[16 Hours later]

 

“Dara!” someone yelled as I entered the hospital lobby. I turned my head and saw Seungri running towards me, “Dara! Oh god, I can’t believe you’re here,” he hugged me tight.

 

A sense of dread started to fill my chest, Oh no…please don’t tell me…no, it can’t be, “J-Jiyong?” I was barely able to say his name, bracing myself for the worst.

 

Seungri suddenly released me from the hug, but still held onto my arms, “Jiyong made it,” he slowly smiled.

 

Relief consumed my body before I completely collapsed out of exhaustion.

 

“Dara!” he called as he managed to catch me in time. “Are you okay?”

 

I gave him a shy smile, “I’ve been so worried, I didn’t even notice how tired I was…Sorry about that,” I slowly stood up straight again with his help, “Where is he?”

 

“Ah, this way,” he motioned as he took my hand in his and led me towards the elevator.

 

“What…what exactly happened Seungri?” I asked as we waited for the elevator to reach our floor.

 

He bit his lip out of nervousness, “I think you should talk to Daesung about it….he was the one that was there...”

 

My eyes widen in shock, “Is Daesung alright?!”

 

He squeezed my hand, “Don’t worry, Daesung is completely fine. He was in another car and saw it happen…” his voice trailed off, “Ah, here’s Jiyong’s room,” he said as he pushed the sliding door open.

 

There he was, laying on the hospital cot with bandages everywhere. The top of his head was wrapped as well as his arms and legs, bandages were peeking out from under the hospital pajamas he sported. His right arm and right leg in a cast along with cuts and bruises marking his face.

 

“Oh my god,” my duffle bag slid off my shoulder onto the floor.

 

“Dara! You’re here!” Youngbae greeted, “Here, let me get that for you,” he gestured as he picked up my duffle bag and placed it on a nearby chair. “Dara?” he called again when he noticed I was frozen on the spot, my eyes raking over Jiyong’s body, seeing all of the bandages.

 

“W-w-what happened?” I asked as I slowly shuffled over to the bed.

 

“Here, sit down Dara,” Seunghyun gestured to a chair placed on Jiyong’s left side. As I took a seat, I took notice of another figure sitting right next to me, they were leaning on the bed, red eyes, rimmed with dark circles and under bags.

 

“Daesungie?” I whisper as I place a hand on his shoulder.

 

Daesung snapped out of his daze and looked over, “Oh, hey Dara, I’m glad you made it here safely,” he smiled, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

 

I frowned, “You look horrible, you know? You should really get some rest.”

 

He shook his head, “No, not yet,” he kept shaking his head, “Not until I know Jiyong is alright.”

 

I moved my hand to wrap my arm around his shoulder, “What happened Daesung? Seungri told me you were there…?” I gently rubbed his shoulder.

 

“God, it’s all my fault,” He buries his head into his palms, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

 

I squeezed his shoulder, pulling him closer, “I’m sure it’s not your fault, just tell me what happened Daesung.”

 

He looked up at me before nervously looking away, “I…last night, Jiyong and I got into an argument…”

 

---

 

*Flashback*

 

Daesung’s POV:

 

“Why can’t you just go see her Jiyong?? Why?” I yelled as I watched him silently glare at his wine glass.

 

He gently put his glass down, “You know why, I’ve told you guys already…I don’t have the right to go chasing after her.”

 

“But why not? Who says you don’t have the right to go to her, huh?” I shook his shoulders slightly, “I mean look at you man, this past year, it’s like you’ve only been a shell of the man you once were.”

 

He raised his hands to remove my grip off his shoulders, “I see, now it’s your turn to lecture me,” he let out a sigh, “First Seungri, then Youngbae, even Seunghyun, and not to mention the girls. I’m surprised you were the last one to interrogate me,” he let out a sad chuckle.

 

After hearing his remark, I let out a sigh, “I wanted what was best for both of you man, and I thought that you two having time apart was the best way. I didn’t even want to mettle between you two, but seeing how you are and what I’ve heard from the girls about Dara, I can’t let you guys do this anymore. You should go, go to her Ji.”

 

“I can’t,” he replied shortly.

 

“And why not?”

 

“She’s…” He let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair, “She’s always been the one waiting patiently for me, and I guess now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

 

“But it’s been over a year since she left and almost a year since you followed her only to come back and sulk like a lost puppy. I can’t just sit here and watch you do this to yourself. You’re going to destroy yourself like this, have you looked in the mirror recently? You’re practically just skin and bones now, and the dark circles under your eyes could even win against Seungri.”

 

“It’s…it’s none of your business Daesung, I’ll get going now,” he stood up and started to walk away from the table.

 

“Jiyong,” I grabbed onto one of his wrists.

 

“Stop it, people are staring Dae,” he replied, not making any effort to get out of my grasp.

 

“So? As if I care about them,” I tightened my hold.

 

“Ha,” he let out a chuckle, “I wonder if we look like a couple that’s breaking up to them.”

 

“What kind of sick joke is that?” I started to grit my teeth in frustration.

 

“Let go.”

 

“No, we haven’t finished talking.”

 

“What else is there to talk about? Nothing is wrong with me.”

 

“What do you mean nothing is wrong?!” I started to yell, “I’ve seen you Jiyong. Every day, no, every hour you are checking your phone to see if she finally responded to you. Every single day for the past year I’ve seen you do that. Every ing day Jiyong, you know how pathetic it looks? But what’s worse is how pathetic I feel for not being able to do anything to help you. And every time Dara gets sick, it’s as if you’re sick too, you stop eating properly, heck, you don’t even notice anything around you at those times. You’re practically glued to your phone during those times, more so than usual.”

 

“That’s a coincidence…”

 

“Coincidence? That every time she’s sick, you’re always on the phone with Donghae?” He looked at me with panic in his eyes, “You can’t hide it from us Ji, we’re your best friends and we’re worried. I heard you…” I quietly said, “I happened to overhear your conversation to Donghae one day at work. I was so shocked since I hadn’t heard from Donghae since graduation and there you were on the phone with him. You were giving him specific instructions about delivering a care package to Dara, telling him exactly how to make her favorite type of porridge. Have you told her? Does she know those packages are from you? Have you even spoken directly to her since your visit? You care for her so much that it’s hurting you, why can’t you just go after her?!” I pleaded.

 

“I can’t, she deserves so much more, you don’t understand,” he stated, I felt his body start to tremble, “None of you do,” He harshly yanked his arm out of my hold. “Just leave me alone, I’m fine,” he walked away without looking back.

 

[To: Youngbae, Seungri, and Seunghyun]

[From: Me]

[Sent 10:28pm]

I couldn’t convince him to go see Dara…

 

[To: Me, Seungri, and Seunghyun]

[From: Youngbae]

[Sent 10:29pm]

It’s alright Dae, you’ve tried your best.

 

[To: Me, Youngbae, and Seunghyun]

[From: Seungri]

[Sent 10:29pm]

Dae, follow him. He might go see ahjumma and drink like a mad man now…that’s what happened after I confronted him. I’m worried something bad might happened if he drinks to oblivion tonight.

 

Aishhh, I quickly pulled out some bills to pay for the untouched wine and ran to the parking garage to get my car. Right as I turned the ignition, I saw Jiyong’s car pass in front of me. I put the gear to drive and followed him.

 

“, he’s driving crazy fast,” I swear as I stepped on the gas pedal harder, making sure to stay on his tail. I wonder if he noticed me following him…? I gripped on my steering wheel harder while eyeing the traffic light, I bet he’ll slam on the gas right when the light turns green, I glance over to his car, which was diagonal to mine, before turning my gaze over to the cross traffic light. Yellow…out of the corner of my eye I see a car speeding, He’s trying to make the light…tch, I shook my head before looking at the cross traffic light again. Red, As if on cue, I hear Jiyong’s engine sound as the light in front of us turned green.

 

All of a sudden everything started to move in slow motion. Jiyong’s car started to move forward into the intersection as the obviously drunk driver sped through the red light. As if it was a chain reaction, the car behind Jiyong moved right as his did. All three cars entered the intersection at once.

 

The screeching of brake pedals were immediately followed by loud crashes and the scraping of metal as the three cars collided. The drunk driver collided with Jiyong’s car perpendicularly causing his car to skid sideways. Just as his car started to skid, the car that was right behind him rear ended him, causing Jiyong’s car to spin out of control until it slammed into a nearby light post. The two other cars skidded to a stop near Jiyong’s, the drunk driver’s car bumped into the tail of Jiyong’s car while the other car slammed into the side of the drunk driver’s car.

 

“ !” I yelled as I hastily drove over to wear Jiyong’s car was as I dialed 119 for an ambulance. “Jiyong!” I yelled as I slammed my car door behind me before checking out the wreckage. Within the shattered windows of the car I saw Jiyong leaning forward against the deflating airbag. Blood was trickling down his face and his eyes were closed. “JIYONG!” I yelled as I reached for the driver’s door handle.

 

*End of Flashback*

 

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Dara's POV:

 

“It’s all my fault, if I didn’t confront him that night and make him angry this wouldn’t have happened,” Daesung cried as he buried his face into his palms once more.

 

“It’s not your fault Dae,” I hugged him, “it could never be your fault, you were just a concerned friend,” He looked up at me, “Now,” I patted his cheeks, “go get some rest, Jiyong would hate himself if he saw you like this because of him.”

 

“Thanks Dara,” he smiled, “I really missed you,” he hugged me again.

 

“Same here Daesungie,” I smile.

 

“Hey, what about us?” Youngbae pouted.

 

I laughed, “You guys too,” I smiled as I hugged each of them, “By the way,” my smile faded as I turned back to Jiyong, “is he going to be okay?”

 

“Hmmm, the doc-” Seungri was cut off by the sound of the sliding door as an older gentleman in a white coat entered with his assistants and a nurse trailing after him.

 

“Hello Dr. Yang,” the boys greeted.

 

“Hello boys,” Dr. Yang replied as he walked over to Jiyong. He took notes and often times relayed information to his assistants to write down as he checked all of the machines and equipment connected to Jiyong.

 

“How is he doc?” Youngbae asked.

 

“Like we said last night, if he was able to make it through the night after the surgery then he should be fine. He’s now in stable condition. Even though he did have a concussion from bumping his head during the accident, there is no signs of brain damage from the lab tests. He is most likely unconscious as a result of fatigue. But don’t worry boys, he’ll be fine and all of his injuries should heal with time. Remember to page us if he wakes up,” he smiled.

 

“Neh,” they replied.

 

Right as the doctor turned around to walk out he glanced over at me, “And who is this?” he smiled.

 

“Ah,” I straightened my back, “I’m Sandara Park, I’m…uh Jiyong’s close friend,” I smiled as I extended my arm towards him.

 

“Sandara?” One of his eyebrows raised as he shook my hand, “Do you happen to go by Dara?”

 

“Yes, I do,” I answered in surprise.

 

“So you’re Dara,” he smiled widely, “After the operation, Jiyong mumbled your name a few times. You must be very important to him.”

 

“Ah, I see,” I shyly replied as I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, a blush creeping up to my cheeks.

 

“As I said, please page us when Jiyong regains consciousness. His bandages will also be changed every day in addition to our daily check-up,” he said as he left the room with his assistants.

 

“Ah, that’s a relief,” Youngbae sighed as he looked over to Jiyong.

 

“Yeah,” I nodded as I sat beside Jiyong again naturally taking his left hand into both of mine. “By the way, where is his family?”

 

“Ah, they were here all night and morning, we were able to finally convince them to go home and rest for a few hours while we watch over him. They should be coming back later tonight,” Seungri replied.

 

“Ah,” I gently drew circles on the back of his palm with the pad of my thumb before noticing something that made me immediately stop, “Where’s she?”

 

“She?” Daesung asked.

 

I took a deep breath, “Sohee…” I breathed out.

 

“Ahn Sohee?” Seunghyun asked while frowning, “I haven’t seen her since Jiyong dumped her last year.”

 

My eyes widened in surprised, “T-they broke up? Why? I thought Jiyong said she was ‘the one’ or whatever,” I said as I turned to face them.

 

Youngbae rolled his eyes, “Oh please, he says every girl is ‘the one’, you should know that by now.”

 

“But still,” I pouted, he still chose her over me. “I thought he really meant it this time.”

 

“He always means it,” Seunghyun shrugged his shoulders, “Doesn’t mean it’s true.”

 

“Why did he break up with her?” I ask again.

 

“Because she was just using him,” Seungri said.

 

“What?” My eyes doubled in size as I looked over at him.

 

“Yeah,” Daesung confirmed, “Well, to be honest, Jiyong knew for a while that she was only using him.”

 

“Why was he with her for that long then?” I asked as I placed one of my palms on my cheek, “He…he even slapped me trying to defend her.”

 

“HE SLAPPED YOU?!” they all cried.

 

“I’m so going to beat him up later,” Seungri glared over at Jiyong.

 

“Yeah…when I was trying to tell him about me leaving, things just happened and next thing I knew I was speaking badly of her,” I bit my lip, “I told him that he could do so much better than her and then he slapped me. He said he thought I would understand him since none of you seemed to.”

 

“God, this guy is an idiot,” Youngbae groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “he really likes keeping things to himself.”

 

“I think that was around the time he was really stressed out about work and his parents were going through a divorce…” Seunghyun said.

 

“His parents got a divorce?” I asked, How come I didn’t know about that? “But…but two weeks before that he had just gotten back together with Sohee….how could he want to get back with her if she was just using him?”

 

“We don’t really know all of the details,” Daesung said as he nervously glanced at the others, “I think it would be best for you to ask Jiyong for the details, but just know, he did a lot of it to protect you Dara.”

 

“To protect me? How?” I asked, my eyes started to narrow.

 

“Ask Jiyong,” Seungri said hastily, “And now that you’re here, we’ll get going,” he started to usher the boys out of the hotel room, “We’ll see you later Dara.”

 

I frowned, “Ya!” I yelled as they shut the door behind them. I looked over at Jiyong, “You were protecting me?” I took his hand back into mine, “Protecting me for what? Wake up soon Jiyongie,” I pressed his palm onto my cheek.

 

---

 

Over the next 5 days I was constantly in and out of the hospital, only going back to my old apartment to shower and occasionally sleep, but I usually slept in the hospital room. If I wasn’t sleeping, I was working on my laptop just waiting for the moment for Jiyong’s eyes to open. Every time I asked the boys about why Jiyong needed to protect me, they always dodged the question or came up with a ridiculous excuse to leave. I guess I’ll just have to wait until he wakes up to find out the truth.

 

Time flew and it was already Sunday. I have to go back, I held onto his hand, I can’t take any more time off of work, I need to get back to the office. I glanced at the clock on the wall, it’s already 4:30pm…I better get going, my flight is in a couple of hours.

 

I looked down at Jiyong, some of the initial bandages had been removed, but most were still there hidden underneath his clothes. Letting go of his hand, I gently pushed his bangs out of his face, “Why aren’t you waking up Jiyongie? It’s already time for me to leave and go back to New York,” I cup his cheek in my hand, “please wake up soon, I miss you,” tears started to roll down my cheeks, “I miss you, so damn much,” I sloppily wipe the tears, “but they say if you love someone you have to let them go. I don’t want you to get hurt because you’re trying to protect me, so I’m letting you go.” I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his forehead, “I love you,” I whisper.

 

---

 

Author’s POV:

 

Dara leaned over and placed a kiss on Jiyong’s forehead, “I love you,” she whispered before picking up her bag and exiting the room.

 

As the door gently closed behind her, Jiyong’s eyes fluttered open.

 

 

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it was kind of long, it was actually supposed to be longer...but I had to control myself haha >.< I'll save what I left out for the next chapters. Thank you again for all of the support and reading my fanfic! I can't believe I already have over 100 comments and over 30 votes xD Thank you so much! 

Remember to subscribe, upvote, and comment! I love reading your comments, omg your comments from the last chapter cracked me up. I think almost all of them were about asking for Jiyong to not have amnesia haha don't worry, the thought never crossed my mind. If you have any questions about the story or if you're confused, please comment and I'll make sure to answer any question, sorry I can't reply to all of your guys' wonderful comments >.<

7/10 Chapters DONE! (only 3 more to go!)

Until Next Time! Pyong~