It was as if the time had stopped and his entire world had come crashing down upon him. Shownu went on autopilot the moment Jooheon said that Kihyun no longer had a pulse. Everyone was frantic then, yelling and panicking, thinking that their main vocal was gone forever. It turned out that he did have a pulse. Barely, but it was there. Apparently, Jooheon was just too distraught with what was unfolding before him that he couldn’t feel the weak pulsation beneath his fingers. Who could blame the poor boy? Everyone was in a complete mess at the time.

The boys watched helplessly as the paramedics poured into the small shared room, moving swiftly to attend to the unconscious form on the bed. The room was instantly hit by a wave of frenzied activity. The paramedics were shouting medical jargons to each other as they assessed their patient’s condition.

“What happened?”

As a leader, Shownu felt like it was his responsibility to answer the question, but unfortunately, he had no clue.

“He’s been sick,” I.M stepped in to answer, momentarily getting distracted when he saw the paramedic cut open the front of Kihyun’s shirt with practiced speed and precision.

“Sick, how?” The attending paramedic inquired as he continued to work, taking the stethoscope and placing it on Kihyun’s now exposed chest, listening intently to his heart and lungs.

“I-I’m not s-sure…he was throwing up earlier. And he… fainted.” The youngest of the group wanted to tear his gaze away, but couldn’t. He watched anxiously as the paramedic slipped an oxygen mask over Kihyun’s slack face.

A tear pricked at his eyes as he realized the severity of the situation. The paramedic’s expression was hard to read, but the urgency in his voice and actions suggested that things were not good.

“When did it start?”

“Not… sure, but he had been fine until today…”

The paramedic didn’t seem to be satisfied with the answer, but he didn’t say anything. “He’s running quite a temperature and he’s dehydrated. His vitals’ circling, we need to get him transported right now.” 

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It was past two in the morning when the boys and their manager came rushing through the main doors of the hospital. When they arrived, there was still no news on Kihyun’s condition, they were told to wait until the doctor in charge comes out to talk to them. So, they reluctantly did.

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, they were all sitting comfortably in their living room relaxing, enjoying their free time as they should, and now they were seated on the uncomfortable chair of the hospital waiting area, the atmosphere tense and somber.

Shownu felt bad. Not just for Kihyun, but also for the rest of the members. They each looked evidently worn out and tired, their eyes red and puffy from crying. He wished that he could do something to ease the other member’s distress, but there was nothing he could possibly do other than to reassure them that Kihyun was going to be alright.

After what it seemed like an eternity, a haggard but kind looking doctor finally made an appearance. “Gentlemen… sorry to keep you waiting…” The seasoned doctor apologized, knowing it must have been a long, frustrating wait for the boys. He also noticed that a few of them had already succumbed into a fitful sleep on the waiting bench.

Shownu, Jooheon, I.M and their manager shot up from their seats almost in unison. “How is he? Is he okay?” I.M asked before anyone else could, desperately needing to know.

The doctor gave a small nod, fully understanding the concern. “I’m Kang Sangmoo, and I am Yoo Kihyun’s attending doctor. Sorry that we have to meet under this unfortunate circumstance.” He stretched out an arm and offered a handshake to each one of them.

“Yoon Hongsik-sshi?” The doctor looked up to see who the name belonged to.

“Yes, that’s me… I’m his manager”

“I see.” He nodded, “If you would follow me to my office so I could talk to you regarding Kihyun-sshi's condition?”

The doctor was going to talk to their manager privately and the boys were about to protest. But their beloved manager was quick to respond. “No, you can tell me everything here. They have the right to know as much as everyone else on his emergency list.”

Years of experience as a doctor, Dr.Kang knew too well that it would be a fruitless attempt and a waste of time to convince them otherwise. “Very well then…” The doctor relented without even trying. “Please have a seat…”  The grey-haired doctor motioned for them to sit down, he himself settling onto one of the chairs.

“First of all, Kihyun-sshi is stable for the time being.”

For the time being? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“When did he first become sick?” The doctor’s eyes tensed a little as he looked at each young man, waiting for an honest answer.

“He had been tired… but all of us were. We just ended our world tour concert. Other than that he seemed fine…” He knew that wasn’t the answer that the doctor needed, but he felt like it needed to be clarified. Shownu hung his head in guilt. Looking back, he really hadn’t notice if there was anything wrong with the vocalist.

“He seemed a little pale this morning, but he didn’t mention anything about not feeling well” The manager added.

The doctor was perturbed by their answers, but he didn’t show it. How could they have not noticed anything was wrong? Was his patient that good at covering up his pain? The boy had to be in absolute agony all that time, and none of his band members noticed? Not even his manager? The doctor felt rather disturbed by the revelation, but he knew that it wasn’t his place to judge them.

A long sigh escaped the doctor’s lips before he continued. “His appendix has ruptured, he should have gotten to the hospital sooner to have it dealt with. If he didn’t get to the hospital when he did, he could have died.”

Learning that they had almost lost their friend, the boys couldn’t find words to form any sort of reply. They were shocked. They never had to deal with anything at this scale before, so they didn’t really know how to handle the news.

“He was in such a bad shape when he was brought in, we almost lost him a few times.  We had to perform an emergency surgery to fix the situation. Despite his already much-weakened state, the surgery went without any complications. But we still need to monitor his condition closely. The next few days would be extremely critical for his recovery.”

Jooheon sat there dumbfounded. The only words that his brain seemed to focus on were; complications, weakened state, extremely critical, he could have died…. “I thought… I thought people get this appendix thing all the time…? You just get it out, bed rest for a couple of days, and then you’re done.”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, that’s correct. When it’s caught and dealt with in time. But that’s clearly not the case for your friend, Kihyun-sshi.” The doctor said bluntly. “Kihyun-sshi went on for quite some time without any treatment. As you all know, his fever was through the roof, that’s a sign that infection had set in. “

The doctor studied the faces of the young men before him, he knew that they were not taking the news well; which was completely understandable.

“Look, we’ve already got him on full spectrums of antibiotics. He’s being monitored very closely. Barring any complications, he’d make a full recovery.”

Once again, the negative words stood out more for the young rapper. “Complications? What kind of complications?” Jooheon asked, befuddled.