A few hours passed like that.

We were just waiting.

Waiting for news of Changmin, my little Maknae. I spent most of the time praying. I wasn't religious, sometimes I questioned God's existence, but right now, all I needed was His promise that Changmin would be okay.

The four of us, Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu and I, were unbelievably silent, not a sound escaping his lips.

Junsu fell asleep after crying continuously for a whole two hours. My heart reached out to him. I had always had a soft spot for Junsu. He was the life of the group, the smiles and joy. No matter how badly we used to tease or bully him, Junsu would always smile, laugh, and brush it off. I guess that made him all the more lovable. Seeing him like this brought a knife through my heart.

Yoochun had an arm around Junsu's shoulders, letting the younger one lean against him. His eyes were closed, but I doubted whether he was sleeping.

Jaejoong had shifted to rest on the couch, fiddling with his phone, probably tweeting.

Mr. Shim had gone outside, back to his family. It was just us.

Awkward atmosphere is awkward.

I hugged my knees to my chest as I rested my chin on them. I hadn't moved from my position on the floor. Tiled floors can be comfy, you know.

I traced patterns on the floor, avoiding verbal communication. Why was it so awkward?

I began tearing up again. Was this what our friendship had become? Years of training, living, working together, all down the drain? The memories, all wasted, all forgotten?

Was this our reality now?

One of Changmin's younger sisters -- what was her name? Miyeong? Jiyeong? Ah, Jiyeon --  suddenly came into the waiting room. From the looks of it, she had been running. Her eyes darted from Jaejoong and me, to Yoochun and Junsu, who was now awake. 'He's out,' she said simply.

And so were we, as we ran to the Operating Theatre, just in time to see a knocked out Changmin being wheeled past us. I was shocked to see how pale he was. He had an oxygen mask strapped to his face, and was covered with a blanket. It seemed the nurses were rushing to wheel him away. They wheeled past us, and we rushed to follow.

'Where are they taking him?' Junsu asked, his voice so small, so weak that I wanted to hug him. He had his clenched fists to his face as he wiped at his fresher tears, his face still having the look of someone who has just woken up. It seemed that was all he could do.

That was all we could do. Cry. And hope everything was going to be okay.

No one answered, since no one knew.

We followed from behind, and found that he was wheeled into the ICU.

The ICU is a difficult place for me to describe. Changmin was wheeled into a ward that looked like a standard room, only in place of a wooden door, there was a large floor to ceiling sliding glass door that separated Changmin from the outside world. I could tell that it required a pass code to enter. The doctors and nurses rushed inside, the glass door sliding shut right in front of us. Curtains, which could obstruct the view from outside if necessary, were pushed back to reveal the scene inside. I came to the window, which separated us from the ICU.

I couldn't help but look.

Doctors and nurses were gathered around him, hooking him up to various machines. Changmin was literally knocked out.

A quiet beeping sound filled the air, as a machine which was used to keep track of Changmin's heartbeat was placed on him. I realised that I never knew the proper name for it.

I could see the doctors fixing Changmin up to so many machines I lost count.

Okay, I'm lying. I didn't count. How could I? I was too busy crying.

Tubes and wires were tangled all around, as the machines surrounded Changmin like a barrier from the outside world.

So many machines for my little Changmin.

'Family of Mr. Shim Changmin?'

We all turned around at the voice. A tired, defeated looking doctor stood there, looking like he had the world's biggest rock on his shoulder. Which he did.

He had to tell us that my Maknae was going to be okay.

I came forward when no one reacted. Mr. Shim looked like he'd had more than enough pain for one day. Mrs. Shim looked like she was going to drop down dead at any moment. His two younger sisters weren't old enough to give any legal consent. And I was the leader. So I came forward. 'How's his condition?'

The doctor looked so hesitant right then, like he didn't want to burst our bubble of hope.

It burst any way.

'Shim Changmin is still in critical condition. He's not stabilized enough right now. If he makes it through the night, there isn't even a guarantee that he'll make it through the next. I'm sorry but... We've tried our best. Please prepare yourself for the worst.'

I thought I heard something. Maybe it was the sound of our world crashing down all around us? Yeah, probably.

Mrs. Shim collapsed, her two daughters catching her as she fell to the ground. A nurse was called and brought a wheelchair, were she was placed in it then wheeled away. I presume they were going to treat her for shock. The other sister whose name I have yet to remember followed the nurse out.

And then there were six.

Mr. Shim began to cry. Junsu just continued doing what he was previously doing. Which was crying. Yoochun slid to the floor, defeated, as Jaejoong leaned against the wall, bouncing his head softly against it. He looked like he was mentally unstable.

I bet we all were.