Tears stung Lia’s eyes as Dae Sung drove her to the hospital. Not again. Why? Why is this happening? This is the second time he is in a coma! The first time he was drunk and had a car accident on the ride home. He was out for three weeks.

How long would this be this time?

The moment they arrived, Lia wasted no second rushing to Ji Yong’s room. Her heart literally broke when she saw him lying in bed, bandages all over his body. She burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

“Lia, it’ll be okay,” Dae Sung murmured. “He will wake up soon.”

Seung Ri hugged her. He knew what she was feeling. He held her in his hands, trying to comfort her.

The door flew opened and MBLAQ came in the room. They all heard the news. They took one look at Lia and felt bad for her. They knew she was taking it hard.

Lia looked up. She ran into Mir’s arms who immediately wrapped his arms around. Out of the rest of MBLAQ, he was the closest to her. Mir was shocked. He couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Mir, take her out of here,” Seungho said to the maknae.

He nodded. “Lia, let’s go outside,” he said gently, leading her out of the room.

But she shook her head and only gripped on the bed’s railing harder. “No,” she gasped, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to leave him. Ji Oppa, wake up! Please! Wake up! Don’t leave me!”

Mir tried prying her fingers away but she pushed him. G.O and Thunder grabbed both of his arms to stop him from falling down.

“Lia, go,” TOP commanded.

“No!” she burst out.

“Mir!” Seung Ri called out. He managed to pry her hands away as Dae Sung and Tae Yang took her by her arms.

Mir grabbed her and led a sobbing Lia out of the room.

Once they were out, Seungho turned to the rest of the members of Big Bang. “What did the doctor say?” he asked.

“He’s not sure when he’ll wake up,” Seung Ri replied. “He hit his head pretty hard.”

“Lia doesn’t know,” Tae Yang added in a quiet voice.

“Will you tell her?” Joon wanted to know.

Dae Sung nodded. “Lia doesn’t like being kept in the dark,” he explained. “It’s not fair to lie to her, especially when it comes to him.”

Everyone looked at Ji Yong in silence, just wishing he’d wake up.

Lia woke up one morning. When she rolled to her side and saw a manly figure next to her, she smiled sadly. She sighed, sitting up. She glanced at the floor and sighed again.

The figure next to her rolled over, facing her, and opened his eyes. “Morning,” Mir said. He sat up and put his arms around her.

From the floor, Yoseob and Jonghyun woke up, yawning. Seung Ri emerged out from the bathroom.

Lia smiled at the four of them. “Thanks, all of you, for staying the night here with me,” she said softly. “You didn’t have to.” Lia was grateful to have friends like them. They were always there for her.

Yoseob and Jonghyun joined her and Mir on the bed, placing a hand on her knees. They just smiled at her just as the door burst opened and the triplets ran in the room.

 “Lia, how are you feeling today?” Yoseob asked.

She shrugged. “I’m still alive,” she replied. “That’s a good thing, right?”

The four boys exchanged worried glances. Lia changed a lot after the accident. She grew a lot skinner and she doesn’t eat much. She had not been sleeping much either and Mir would know since he spent most of his nights with her for the past couple of weeks. He could hear her tossing and turning. Often he would wake up to hear her crying.

She stopped having fun. These days, she just concentrated on her college classes. Then she would work. But most of her free time was spent at the hospital.

And the triplets, they always ask her why their father wasn’t home and why he was in the hospital. She told them that he was in a very long sleep.

When Kwan Yong heard it was because he banged his head, he hit his big brother on the head to see if Seunghyun would go into a coma as well. He got a long lecture about it from TOP afterward.

Yoseob looked at her and knew she had a rough night. He hugged her. “You can always tell us what you’re truly feeling, you know,” he said softly. “You don’t have to act tough. We know you’re sad. Just let it out, Lia. We care for you and we want to be there for you. We love you.”

The others nodded their heads.

Lia, touched by their kindness and by their love, broke down and cried. “It’s been three months!” she wailed. Yoseob hugged her even tighter. “He still hasn’t waked up yet! What if it takes years? What if he doesn’t wake up? I can’t live without him. I miss him so much. I’m sorry, Mir, but I miss sleeping with him. I miss being in his arms, miss kissing him. I miss his laughter and his smile. I miss him being with me. I feel so empty without him at home. I just want him home.”

Seunghyun, Kwan Yong and Eunhye all ran to their mother and threw their arms around her neck. They can’t stand watching their mom cry. They wanted to see her smile.

“Mummy, don’t cry,” Eunhye said in her cute little voice.

“Daddy will wake up soon,” Seunghyun added encouragingly.

“If Seunghyun didn’t sleep when I hit him, Daddy should be okay,” Kwan Yong piped up, beaming.

“Yah, Kwan Yong!” Jonghyun chided.

“Oops.” Kwan Yong clamped his mouth with his hands. “Sorry, Seunghyun.”

His brother just grimaced.

Lia gave her kids a watery smile.

Just then, the rest of the members of Big Bang came in the room and TOP said, “I think it’s time for you guys to leave. Thanks for staying with Lia for the night. Ji Yong will be happy to hear that when he wakes up.”

Everyone got up and hugged Lia before they walked out of the room. Soon it was only Seung Ri left behind with Lia.

“Do you want to visit him?” he asked even though he knew it was a bad idea.

She nodded. “Yes, I’d like that,” she replied in a quiet voice.

“Okay, but we gotta tell the others that we are going to the park,” he told her. “You know how they feel about you visiting him.”

They both got up and bathed. When they came out, breakfast was ready. As Lia made the bed, Seung Ri went out to pack the food.

“Where are you going with the food?” Dae Sung asked.

“I’m taking Lia to the park for some fresh air,” he replied without missing a beat. He had a feeling they wouldn’t think twice about it and that they wouldn’t ask if they could go. He was the second closest person to her next to Ji Yong so they understood that Lia would prefer to go out with him than with anyone else. Mir came a close third.

Tae Yang nodded. “I think that’s a great idea,” he replied. “The places she goes to these days are just her college, work, YG, hospital and home — but mostly the hospital. It’s nice to have a change.”

“Anything to drag her away from there,” TOP agreed.

Lia came out. “Let’s go, Maknae Oppa. Did you pack breakfast?”

He nodded. “I was thinking maybe we can eat while we walk to the park.”

“Okay.” She put her coat on as her brother came over to her.

He pulled her in for a hug. “Take care, Mei, okay?” he murmured. “I love you.”

She hugged him back, burying her face in his chest. “I miss him,” she murmured.

“I know.” He sighed. “I know.” He kissed her cheeks before letting her go. “Have fun at the park. Get some fresh air.”

“Okay.” She hugged him again before she followed Seung Ri out to the car and he drove to the hospital.

The nurse recognized Lia once she entered the building. Lia made a beeline straight for his room. Her heart broke like it did every time she saw him in the same position.

She walked over to his side, reaching out to touch his cheek. It was warm. She smiled softly to herself. He was so handsome.

Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked at her husband. “Ji . . .” She leaned forward and kissed his lips, her heart churning with the pain. “I love you, Ji Oppa. Come back to me. I miss you.” Obviously, she didn’t expect any response from him. But the silence made her cry all over again. Her whole body trembled as she sat down on the stool. She took his hand. “Ji, I miss you,” she sobbed. “Every day I come back home, wishing you were there to greet me with kisses and hugs. Ji, our kids ask for you. I don’t know what to do. I can’t live without you and it hurts. I miss you. I love you. Please . . .”

Her tears fell on his hand, on his bedsheet but there was no stopping it now.

“I miss you . . .” Her heart twitched with the pain she was feeling.

Suddenly Lia couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the room.

Seung Ri was walking to the room when he saw her sprinting past him. He stopped in his tracks. “Lia? Lia!”

But Lia didn’t hear him. She just continued to run. She ran out of the hospital, to the streets and across the road. She was running all the way back to the apartment.

Lia reached home. She slammed the front door.

“Lia?” Tae Yang called from the living room.

She ignored him and went straight to her bedroom. She slammed the door, too, and began punching the nearest thing object — the wall. She didn’t feel any pain; she was too upset, too hurt, to feel anything.

TOP burst into her room and was stunned to see that there were blood stains on the wall where she was punching. He rushed to her aid and wrapped his around her, stopping her from punching the wall. She struggled for a bit but he was too strong. He was able to hold her down. But the sight of the blood . . . it was horrifying. It shocked him to see his sister doing this.

“Dae Sung! Grab a bucket of soapy water and a cloth each!” he called as he passed by the room.

He dragged Lia to the bathroom to wash her hands. She howled in pain but he wouldn’t let her go until her hand was bandaged up.

Then he carried her down to the couch in the living room. “Lia, you went to the hospital, didn’t you?” he demanded.

Seung Ri walked in at that moment. His eyes widened when he saw her hands. “Omo, what happened?”

TOP stood up and turned to him, his eyes filled with fury. “You idiot!” he shouted. “Why did you take her to the hospital? I passed by her room to see her punching the wall — and the wall was red with her blood!”

Seung Ri winced, realizing his mistake, but Tae Yang broke the fight by saying, “Settle that later. First, attend to Lia.”

When they turned back to Lia, she was gone.

And the front door was opened.