Bambam was the one who found her first. It wasn’t a sight Bambam had expected; Nayeon was lying on the ground motionless and when he rushed up to her, her body was cold, too cold for his liking. He checked the time on his phone; they’ve been searching for Nayeon for almost 45 minutes, which means she was out here for at least that amount of time.

“Please stay alive, Nayeonie.” He whispered to himself, bringing Nayeon closer to him as he called for Younghyun. Thankfully the rain wasn’t as heavy as before.

“I found her,” Bambam paused for a moment before he continued, “and she’s not exactly in a good state so-“

“I’m coming, where are you?” Younghyun cut him off mid sentence.

Bambam told him the exact location before the call ended. He looked down at the motionless Nayeon and gave her shoulder a tight grip. He had never expected any one of them to leave like this. He was already having a hard time accepting the fact that Jinyoung left them and now, all he wished for is that Nayeon will be well soon. At least physically.

While waiting for Younghyun to arrive – which he said that he would within ten minutes –Bambam sent a text to everyone else about his current situation. Within seconds after his message sent, Mark called him.

“Where are you?”

“At a playground nearby. Younghyun should be reaching.” Bambam answered Mark’s silent question. “So don’t come, I think waiting at the hospital might be faster.”

Mark kept silent and Bambam could tell that he’s thinking. At that point of time, there was another incoming call. This time it’s from Jeongyeon.

“Jeongyeon’s calling, please wait at the hospital. I know what you’re thinking.”

Soon after he hung up on Mark, he accepted Jeongyeon’s call.

“Wait at the hospital, Younghyun’s coming.” He repeated what he said to Mark and while speaking, he saw a figure coming out from a car, “He’s here. See you in a while.” If not for the current situation, everyone else would be surprised at how serious Bambam sounded.

When they arrived at the hospital again, everyone was a drenched mess but no one could care less about it as they watched Younghyun placed the unconscious Nayeon onto the bed. They could only stay by the side while the doctors and nurses on shift ushered them away while they took care of Nayeon.

It’s been a rough night for everyone; no one slept a wink and there’s not even one moment of peace for them. The way Younghyun sat on the bench with his face hidden in his palms while Ayeon stayed beside him; the way Mark brushed his hair back in frustrations while they wait; the way Jeongyeon was holding back her tears while she stared at the curtains that were blocking them and Nayeon; the way Jaebum leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and the way Bambam squat down beside him in defeat.

Everyone was drained – mentally, emotionally and physically. And all they could do now was to pray for Nayeon’s health. They couldn’t afford to have her in danger too.

Which thankfully, she wasn’t. The doctor had told them that she fainted because of the exhaustion and the fact that she ran in the rain had given her a high fever. She would really be in danger if Bambam had not found her.

“You guys should go home.” Ayeon turned to the group, breaking the silence in the hospital room where Nayeon is residing.

“No.” That was the response all of them gave her.

“I’m not leaving until Nayeon’s awake.” Jeongyeon stated firmly which the boys nodded at her statement. Ayeon frowned at their stubbornness, even the cool headed Jaebum wasn’t listening to her. However, before she could even insist, Younghyun beat her to it.

“Ayeon’s right, go home first. She will be okay.” There was a hint of encouragement in his voice but everyone else could catch the underlying worry in it too. “At least get yourself out from this wet mess. We don’t need and we can’t afford to have any one of you sick too. Nayeon, she needs you guys.”

The group of four kept quiet, silently agreeing to what Nayeon’s brother told them. But despite that, one of them just couldn’t sit still about this situation.

“What about the both of you?”

“We will be fine, Mark.” Ayeon cracked a small smile towards their direction. “We can change once you guys are back. Besides, I don’t think the hospital will allow that many of us to be here.”

The four of them took another glance at Nayeon then finally nodded.

“Jinyoung…” Jaebum was the one to bring it up this time, “The funeral, what are we going to do about that?”

Silence took over them for a while again but Ayeon managed to convince them that things could only be done if they’ve gotten out from their wet mess. It’s also rude to attend it in their wet clothes. This time, Mark, Jaebum, Jeongyeon and Bambam quietly left the hospital.

-

Throughout the three days of Jinyoung’s funeral, Nayeon had never once stepped foot into the parlour. She had stayed in bed the moment she was discharged from the hospital, hiding away from the world. No matter what they do, no one was able to persuade her to drink or eat something.

“Nayeon…” Jeongyeon whispered, not looking at her direction as she stayed on the floor by Nayeon’s bed. “Are you sure you’re going to stay here?”

Nayeon didn’t respond.

“You do know today’s the last day right?” Jeongyeon continued; she had never once let her tears fall even though it pained her a lot to see her best friend like this. She stood up and sat by the edge of Nayeon’s bed, giving the girl, who still had her back facing her, gentle pats on her arm. “Say something, Nayeon. Cry if you need to, we are all here for you.”

This time, she felt Nayeon’s slight movement as she held onto the blanket tightly and Jeongyeon definitely didn’t miss the quiet sniffles from her. She sighed, both in relief and despair as Nayeon’s sniffles escalated to soft cries.

Jeongyeon watched her best friend then leant down, giving her a hug while the latter tried to stop herself from crying.

“It’s okay, Nayeon. It’s okay to cry, please don’t hold it in anymore.” And with Jeongyeon’s words, Nayeon’s loud cries filled the room for the first time after she was discharged from the hospital.

It took a while for Nayeon to calm down from her breakdown but she eventually did. Jeongyeon stepped out of the room, closing the door carefully while she let the other girl sleep. She stared at the door for a while and sighed. Did Nayeon even manage to sleep well for the past few nights?

The sound of the doorbell interrupted Jeongyeon’s thoughts. The others must be back. She took one glance at Nayeon’s door again, hoping that the girl will be at peace for a while before she walked up to the front door and was greeted by Mark, Jaebum and Bambam.

Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow.

“They went home first,” Jaebum answered the question, which could be seen from Jeongyeon’s expression. It’s definitely weird to not see Nayeon’s protective brother. “Ayeon managed to force him to. He hasn’t been sleeping for the past two days.”

Jeongyeon nodded at his explanation before she stepped aside, letting the boys into the house. No one said anything for a while; Jeongyeon didn’t want to ask anything either.

“How is she?” Mark was the first to break the silence.

“She’s sleeping.” Jeongyeon sighed softly, joining Bambam on the floor. “Let her sleep, she broke down pretty badly.”

Mark could only nod as a response as he sat down on the empty space on the couch beside Jaebum. Once again, silence took over the living room again. This time it was longer than before; no one knew what to say.

Jaebum had his head leant against the couch with his eyes closed. He was afterall, the closest to Jinyoung. It was through Jinyoung, which allowed him to meet the others. Bambam, who’s usually talkative, was just hugging his knees close to his body. He had known Jinyoung since he was a kid; they had played together along with Mark and Nayeon a lot so this whole situation, he had no idea how to handle it. Mark had his face hidden in his hands for a short moment before he glanced towards the direction of Nayeon’s room.

Jeongyeon observed the boys for a while before she voiced out again; she could see how tired all of them were.

“Are you guys not going home? Your parents, wouldn’t they worry?” She glanced at Bambam before continuing, “Especially you, Bam.”

“They know what’s going on.”

Her gaze shifted up to the other two boys.

“We are not exactly living with our parents now, remember?” Mark tried to give her an assured smile. “And, we want to be here. You deserve some rest too.”

Jeongyeon knew that the silence from Jaebum and Bambam meant that they agreed with what Mark had said. She could also tell that, there’s no way these three stubborn people would change their mind.

So, there’s actually no point trying to convince them otherwise.

---------

I feel like this story is getting way sadder than I've initially planned. But then, I still think the first few chapters of angst is important. I'm just afraid things are going a little too slow (even though all these are important). I really need some reader's point of view; I've written two more chapters ahead so maybe some thoughts will make me realised what I was missing? Just share any thoughts really! 

Also, I might or might not update more frequently. But I can guarantee you that every Friday night (my timezone) there will be an update on this story! Thank you for staying with me until now!

signing off, leen (ddeokbxkki on ig)