“I hope noona wake up soon.”

“Noona?”

“Sorry, please ignore him.”

“Did she say anything before passing out?”

“Nothing, she just suddenly turned pale.”

“I’m worried. I hope she’s okay.”

“Well, she’s the only one to blame.”

“Bom, please. Not now.”

“Lee Chaerin, you exactly know why she’s lying helplessly here now.”

Not-so-silent murmurs sounded like very a disturbing buzz around her. She thought it was only inside her head, but she knew she was waking up from a state of unconsciousness so, it was most likely real. She realized she was lying on a bed but somehow, she felt crowded. She could feel a lot of presence beside her. She experimentally opened her eyes.

“She’s waking up!”

“Dara!”

Blurred images and movements greeted her. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her sight. After awhile, the images began to clear in front of her eyes. Jiyong, Chaerin, Bom and a familiar guy but she couldn’t remember his name were there. They all looked so relieved to see her finally gain consciousness.

“Thank God, you’re awake,” Jiyong smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel sick,” Dara croaked. No lies, she indeed felt sick all over. It was like when her body unknowingly caught cold but now, worse. “Where am I?”

“In a school clinic, noona,” answered the familiar guy with an over-excited voice. Dara frowned a bit as she tried to remember his name. “Shut up, Seungri,” Jiyong elbowed him, making the guy grunted in pain. Ah, right. He was one of Jiyong’s friends. Now, she remembered she first met him in the broadcast room. Now, that memory felt like so long ago.

“What happened to me?” Dara asked, gulping as if dreading what the answer could be. Their heads turned to look at each other as if contemplating what to say. Somehow, this action made Dara felt worse. She hoped they knew what her question meant because she remembered that she’d passed out in the yard earlier. One thing she had no idea was why.

“Dara, Mrs. Im said your ulcer is acting up again since it was induced by stress. You have to watch your food, take your medicine and try not to think too much to avoid more stress. You’ve been neglecting your health, Dara. You did so much work without caring how your body would take it or how it would affect yourself,” Chaerin informed, sighing.

“Other than that, you’re pretty fine, noona,” Seungri added, grinning, “Pretty and fine.”

Jiyong quickly whacked his head then muttered a silent sorry to everyone. Seungri winced, caressing his head.

Dara looked down, feeling slightly embarassed and guilty. She silently played with a string on her uniform shirt. After awhile, she looked up at Bom who still said nothing to her since she’d woken up. Bom stayed silent as if she didn’t realize Dara’s stare. Chaerin who stood beside her elbowed her lightly. Bom just cleared in response but, still refused to say a thing.

“Bom,” Dara called. “I... am sorry for earlier. I was so mad that I didn’t realize you were just taking care of me. I’m sorry for being stubborn,” she glanced at Bom who apparently found the floor was more interesting than her apology, “or as what you call it, being such a thick head.” She glanced at her again to catch some reactions. True to her instinct, the side of her lips raised a little but, she kept her guarded expression as if preventing herself from cracking a smile. But in the end, she couldn’t help herself to say in her mother-hen tone and attitude, “I’m glad if you learnt a lesson from this incident, Dara.” She put both of her hands on her waist, really acting like a worried-as-hell mother. “But, I want to apologize to you as well,” she continued, lowering both her tone and hands. “I’m sorry if I went overboard earlier. Even if I think you’re at fault, I shouldn’t have talked that rude. So, I’m sorry.” Dara smiled. Bom, then, leaned to her to give a hug. “But please let this be a reminder for you in the future not to ignore your own health. Do you understand?” Dara grinned, answering, “Yes, ma’am.”

“I also want to apologize for everyone who has been worried and have gone into trouble because of this. I’m sorry and thank you for taking care of me,” Dara said, shyly. She didn’t know if it was because of the four people there or because of the mere presence of Jiyong there. He didn’t say much but, she could feel his eyes looking at her gently yet intently. Was that even possible? She thought. Ugh, this must be because of the ulcer. She decided to just blame it for behaving this way.

“Doesn’t matter, noona,” Seungri butted in, smiling. “What matters most is your health.”

“Dara needs a rest now,” Jiyong said, suddenly.