When I woke up, Jinhee was in my room. Her back was to me, but I could tell it was her. I could tell her apart from a thousand other girls by a strand of her hair. 

If I was dreaming, I didn’t want to wake up. 

She was standing by a countertop, rummaging through what sounded like her purse. I couldn’t really see all that well, everything was pretty blurry. She set her purse down and looked up at the ceiling. She let out a deep sigh.

She turned around, looking exclusively at her cellphone, and I got to see her face. She looked tired, in a way a mother might look tired. In the same way, she looked beautiful. She had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were hollow. She showcased evidence of having lived through great pains. 

Who caused her such great pains?

Where am I?

Why is she here with me? Not that I’m complaining. 

An IV dripped, and the sound of a heart rate monitor brought me to reality. I’m in a hospital. 

Jinhee looked up from her cellphone and met my gaze. She froze. 

“Hello,” I croaked. 

“Josh. Oh my God, you’re awake!” Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she was smiling. “You’re awake!” 

She stood up and opened the door, just in time to find Jaeson right in front of it. “Oppa! He’s awake!”

My longtime friend hurried inside, and studied my face. He looked like he might cry, too. 

“Go get the nurse,” he told his sister. I tried to sit up, but I found my arms too weak to lift myself up. “No, no, stay down. Keep resting.” 

“What happened?” I asked. 

“What happened is I officially declare war on Mother Nature for trying to steal two very important people in my life.” 

I was no closer to understanding what took place to land me in here, but I knew that it had almost killed me. It had almost killed someone else, too, apparently. I couldn’t think of anything. 

I shut my eyes. I felt so tired. 

Jinhee came back with the nurse, who checked my vitals, and my eyes, and my motor reflexes, which were all weak, but steadily improving, or so she said. “Can you tell me your name?” 

“Hong Jisoo,” I replied. 

“What year is it?”

“2016.” 

“Good. Your occupation?” 

“Idol singer. Seventeen. Hey, where are they, by the way?” The question was directed at the Park siblings, but the nurse answered it anyway. 

“They spend all of their free time here. Currently, they had a schedule. I am sure they will be back right after.” 

“Okay. So… what happened?” 

“That was going to be my next question. Do you not remember?” 

I shook my head. It ached to do so. 

***

“No,” I replied. “I don’t remember what happened.” 

My parents stood by the bed. Mom was crying. She couldn’t stop. Appa was holding it together pretty well. 

The nurse smiled. “It’s a miracle you’re alive. You got struck by lightning, and were in a coma for three months.” 

“Oh. That’s… weird. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been in a coma.” 

“Try lifting your left foot and your right arm.” 

I tried. They felt so stiff and heavy. “I see. Is this temporary?” 

Mom looked at me strangely. “Are you not freaked out by any of this, Alice?” 

The nurse smiled. “The shock could settle in soon, or it may never even--” 

“Oh my God!” I gasped, my voice sounding very different than when I left it. Raspier. Like I’ve been smoking three packs a day since kindergarten. “I was struck? I was in a coma?!” I sat up, and the nurse put a hand on each of my shoulders and laid me back down. “How? When? No. No way. I survived?” 

The last thing I remember is climbing up to the rooftop. It was a daily occurrence. I would go up to the rooftop every day to dance, because that was the only place I got to be alone. I do remember it raining, but I don’t remember a storm on the side. 

Dancing under the rain was my favourite hobby. Well, dancing was my favourite, but under the rain was a bonus. My mom said I was born smack dab in the middle of rainy season, and that’s why I love the rain so much. Water was my element. 

The nurse was telling me things, as in, I could see moving, but I couldn’t hear any words. 

“I can’t hear you,” I whispered. “Your lips are moving, but no sound is coming out.” 

The nurse nodded, keeping her cool. Mom was sobbing, I could see it, not hear it. Appa finally let a tear drop.

I cried too. I was hearing fine a minute ago. What happened?

The nurse came back with a couple of residents, and the instructions to take me to a CT scan. That’s all I got from reading her lips. With a weak hand, I waved at my parents, and made a heart with my thumb and index finger.

***

Sure enough, all of the members came back. They all piled on top of me in a group hug. I laughed despite the pain. I also cried despite the joy. 

“We are so glad you’re awake, and alive,” said Seungcheol. 

“Aiiish,” I replied. “Guys, you’re over reacting. I wouldn’t leave you guys without warning like that.” 

Jihoon laughed, and wiped away at his face. 

I could see them, but their faces were blurry to me. Jinhee, sitting in a chair by the door, was nothing but a blend of colours. I blinked, but it only seemed to make it worse. 

The door opened, and the nurse came in. “How are you feeling, Hong Jisoo-ssi?” 

“Okay, I guess.” 

If I said I was having trouble seeing clearly, everyone would go on a worry spree. If I didn’t say it, maybe it would get worse. I decided I would rather have my eyesight than keep my friends’ minds at ease. 

“I can’t see that well. Like, everything past your face is blurry.” 

There was a collective gasp. Then it turned silent as everyone hoped the nurse would say it was something totally normal and temporary.

The nurse nodded. “I’ll let the doctor know.” Then she left in a bit of a hurry. 

Jinhee came up to the side of my bed, and the heart rate monitor sped up a little. The members snickered, but Jinhee looked like she might step away. I focused on calming myself down to show her that I could, in fact, calm myself down. It worked, she stayed. 

“I called your parents,” she said in English. “They’re coming on the next flight over.” 

“They knew about it, right?” 

She looked like she might cry, and she forced a smile to counter it. “It was all over the news, there was no way to miss it. They wanted to come straight away, but we convinced them to stay and keep working. Speaking from experience, the hospital bills are pretty hefty.”

I nodded. I couldn’t stop staring at her face--naturally, because I couldn’t see anything else.

Jinhee sighed shakily. “God, I’m so thankful you’re okay.” She glanced at the monitor, then back at me. “I’m going to hold your hand, don’t flatline, okay?” 

Vernon laughed. I didn’t particularly find it funny, because I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t. She went ahead and grabbed my hand, and miraculously, I survived it. 

“You know, I was scared you wouldn’t wake up. I thought you’d leave thinking I hated you.” A tear fell from her eye to my hand, she rubbed it in. “I don’t. I don’t hate you, Josh.” 

I mustered up a smile. “You can’t possibly hate me.” 

She