My eyes opened to the bright glare of the light above me. Rubbing my eyes, I attempted to sit up but there was no strength left in my upper body. My head ached, as I could feel bandages wrapped tightly around my temples. My hand slipped from under me, and I could feel frantic hands grasping on my biceps, holding me up. I looked up to see Woohyun’s concerned face, eyes strained from sleep loss.

I signaled for him to let go of my arm, as I stabled myself and reached for this face. I caressed his chin, looking into his eyes. He looked so tired, so worried. He leaned down and kissed my forehead before murmuring softly, “Darling, are you alright? I was so worried for you. I still remember the moment where you collapsed and …”

I nodded solemnly and held my breath. Studying my surroundings, I realise that I had been sleeping in a hospital room with sick green walls, and a small window by my bedside. That was when the thought hit me hard. Mother, where was she? What had happened to her?  It must have been a dream, it couldn’t have been true. Suddenly, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and heat radiated around my body, making me feel sick.

“Woohyun..? Can you tell me what happened to my mum? Please? Please tell me it was all a dream… she’s still perfectly fine, right? Right?”

The room fell silent, minutes felt like hours. He slowly shook his head, and stared at me with pleading eyes. There it was again, that aching pain in my heart had returned as I felt my face heat up again. Sobs escaped my chest, mourning for my mother.  From what I can see, Woohyun had looked upset too.

“Why? How could this happen to mother? She was the only family that I had left, I need her! She was the most important person in my life…” I tried to scream, but all that could be heard was nonsense, and mumbling.  Woohyun reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly.

I heard a cough, and noticed that we weren’t alone in the room. Behind Woohyun were three other guys, people which I haven’t met. “This is Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo. They are my friends who I was going to introduce to you before that phone call. I’m so sorry, Ji Eun. I hadn’t expected this to happen...”

I saw the sincerity in his eyes, as I turned to face his three friends. I smiled at them, despite the fact that tears are still drifting down my cheeks. Each person introduced themselves softly, but Woohyun’s voice took over.”

“SungGyu here is my best friend, we live together and he’s like an older brother to me. He’s really nice, you can talk to him whenever. Sungyeol is the biggest joker you can ever meet. He’s really funny and he’ll make you laugh on the worst days. Myungsoo here is the lady’s man. He’s a huge flirt and all the women love him. Isn’t he good looking?” he said in one long breath.

He then turns to me, holds my hand, and says “And this is my yeobo, Ji Eun.  She’s funny, quirky, and is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met”, before collapsing in a heap of giggles. I blushed a bright crimson, feeling the tension lift off my shoulders.

The sorrows in my stomach from the shocking news eased, and I felt as if I was accepted into a new, happy family. I took my turn and introduced myself to each member.

“Annyeonghaesyo, it’s nice to meet you SungGyu!” I exclaimed, shaking his hand. He showed me a warm smile, while exclaiming “It’s nice to meet you too! Woohyun has mentioned so much about you to me, telling me how he loved you so much.” He paused, and wagged his eyebrows towards Woohyun, who blushed, before continuing, “Please make sure you take care of him. As he said, we’re like brothers, yet he’s such a kid. He makes me worry...”

I giggle slightly, and nodded. I turned to the next person, reaching out my hand. “Annyeonghaesyo, it’s nice to meet you Sung-“ I muttered before he stopped me. “Just call my Choding”, he said as he poked my cheek and took my hand eagerly, before being punched in the arm by Woohyun.

“Owww” he murmured gently, rubbing his arms where Woohyun had punched him.

“That is why you keep your hands off my lady!” Woohyun exclaims and smiles at me.

Turning to the final person, I also started off with shaking his hand and introducing myself with “Annyeonghaesyo, it’s nice to meet you Myungsoo”. Like Sungyeol has, he corrected me by saying, “It’s okay, and you can call me L. Nice to meet you too!” As he released my hand, he smiles and winks. I smiled at all three of them, and they all returned the favor.

It had felt like a long day, with mother’s death and meeting new friends. I could still feel the sobs escaping my throat once in a while, as the pain lingered in my heart. Soon after meeting Woohyun’s friends, he had taken me home and waited by my bed until I fell asleep, whispering comforting things to me as I drifted away. The house felt so empty and hollow without mother’s cheerful spirit.

Mother, even if you’re not really here anymore, I still believe that you are always by my side, through my ups and downs in life. What really matters is that I miss you, I miss your cheerfulness and all the love that you give me. You will remain in my heart forever as an important fragment of my life. I love you. I thought as I fell asleep, Woohyun’s hand tucked in mine.

author's note;

Ah, I finally updated this fanfic in ages! I guess I was too busy lately, with school and all that ;A;

now that I'm back, i apologize for such a lame chapter =_= It was supposed to introduce the new members into the story, which you will see more of soon!

i promise to write better, and update whenever I have time. *cough* during my boring classes at school *cough*

please also apply for my new fanfic called "Illusion"! much love! x