The suffocating silence in the waiting room was mercifully broken when a doctor walked into the room. Yoohyeon had been taken in for emergency surgery and had been in the operating room for hours. By this time, Gahyeon had gotten her leg casted and the whole group was assembled together, sitting quietly.

Even still, nobody had made a sound.

“Family for Kim Yoohyeon?”

Minji shot up out of her seat and practically ran over. “That’s us.”

He looked at the six girls, puzzled. None of them even looked like they could be related to the girl he had been operating on. One of them didn’t even look Korean. “No parents? Siblings? Relatives?”

Gahyeon just shook her head. “We’re all she’s got.”

The doctor sighed. “Well, you should know... It’s really touch and go with her right now. Her heart stopped twice on the operating table but we were able to revive her during surgery. We’ll need to take her in for another surgery after she’s rested a little bit, but honestly, it’s not looking good.”

Minji heard the news that Yoohyeon had technically died twice already and she likely wouldn’t make it, and felt her whole world crashing down. It was supposed to be her on that operating table, fighting for her life, not Yoohyeon.

Gahyeon felt similar feelings of guilt. It wasn’t her fault that she got injured during practice and Gahyeon knew that, but she couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if Minji didn’t have to walk her home that night. Or if she hadn’t stumbled on the street while they were crossing. She felt as if someone had reached into her chest and ripped her heart straight from it.

The doctor knew the news was hard for them to hear, but unfortunately that wasn’t the worst he had to share.

“She currently has three broken ribs, and two more are fractured. She also suffered from major internal bleeding as a result of the impact from the car. Her right femur is broken, her left knee is dislocated, and one of the rib fragments that broke off punctured her lung. In addition, she has several deep lacerations on various parts of her body, but the most concerning are the ones to her head. We’ve done our best to patch up what we could, but she needs to rest before we continue. I will allow visitation for her two people at a time, but I highly suggest keeping it short. We need to give her body time to recover between surgeries if we want to give her the highest chance.”

Siyeon physically stumbled back as she heard the extent of Yoohyeon’s injuries. Bora tried to steady her, but she also felt her knees going weak.

Handong’s voice came out as a whisper. “Thank you, Doctor.” He bowed his head and left.

The only sound that could be heard in the waiting room was the sound of Minji’s sobs. Her heart-wrenching and agonized sobs.

Maybe the silence was better.