Breathe.

Breathe.

Just keep breathing.

I kept repeating the chant in my head amongst the commotion.

What is happening?

Why are there so many sirens?

All this noise is making my head hurt. Oh, God, does my head hurt.

Wait, why does my head hurt so badly?

"Miss? Miss, can you hear me?"

Okay. Keep breathing. Someone is here.

Just open your eyes and ask what's going on. Ugh, it feels like someone poured molasses on my face. Why is my face so wet?

"Hey guys, I need some help over here!"

Open your eyes, Soojung. Slowly. Open your eyes.

With what seemed to be a considerable amount of effort, my eyelids slid apart. Everything was blurry, and I could barely make out the shape of the face hovering over me. Forcing my eyes to open wider, the face started to come into focus.

All I could see was green. Bright eyes the color of summer leaves, etched with concern.

"Hi." I croaked out.

The owner of those eyes seemed to be a bit relieved, and the corner of his mouth turned up. He simply responded, "Hi."

Then the face faded away, the noises ceased, and every