Hayley's POV

I watch the two beside me and smile. Maybe I'm just being a Locksmith, but they look very close...just not close enough to be a couple. 

"So, Hayley-ssi, how old are you?" I tear my eyes away from Tiffany Unnie and Taeyeon Unnie and focus on Jessica-ssi. Jessica Unnie? What do I call her?

"You can just call me Hayley. I'm 18 in Korean age." I say and everyone's eyes widen.

"18?!" Yells Sooyoung-ssi. I nod and stifle a laugh when Sunny-ssi smacks her upside the head. She smiles while rubbing the back of her head and bows slightly. "Mianhe~ It's just that you look older." I smile at her display of unintentional cuteness.

"It's fine, Sooyoung-ssi. Thank you, I suppose." I say, nervously rubbing my hands against my pants to remove the thin layer of sweat forming on my palms.

"Call me Sooyoung if you want to. Sooyoung-ssi makes me feel so much older than I am." I nod and laugh.

"Can I call you Sooyoung Unnie?" Her eyes brighten and her smile spreads even wider.

"Of course!" She yells again, earning another smack on behalf of Sunny-ssi. I can't hold the laugh as well as planned this time and it escapes in a completely distorted sound from my mouth. Taeyeon Unnie stares at me and then starts laughing herself and soon enough the entire dorm is filled with the sounds of 10 different types of laughter. 

"You...sound...funny!" Taeyeon Unnie said loudly, falling off of Tiffany Unnie's lap and landing on the floor with a loud thud.

"So do you!" I say loudly, in an effort to defend my failure. The laughter intensifies and I land on the floor, rolling around trying to regain my breath. My chest aches, but it isn't anything too serious. Things quiet down after what feels like the longest time I've ever spent laughing in my entire 17 years of life. I sit down on the couch again, but Taeyeon Unnie just sits on the floor.

"Hayley." I turn and look at Sunny-ssi. "You can just call us Unnie if you want to." She smiles and for the first time in my life, I think I blushed. Wait...blushed? Oh no. 

"Awww~ You're so cute~" Tiffany Unnie says while pinching my red cheeks. She's the only one who's close enough to tell that I'm blushing...I hope. I sigh and pull away from her hands, enjoying her eye-smile. It's so much more beautiful in person. I look over at the rest of the girls and notice that they look amused as well as confused. So they didn't see it?

"Thanks? I guess." I remember to reply to Tiffany Unnie albeit awkwardly. I rub my cheeks to lessen the tingling feeling leftover from Tiffany Unnie's pinching.  I sense an unhappy pair of eyes and look around, my eyes locking with Taeyeon Unnie's. "Taeyeon Unnie, is everything okay?" I ask.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just tired." She responds, but her eyes tell me otherwise. Is that...no can't be...but it's worth a shot to test it out, right? I nod and scoot closer to Tiffany Unnie. 

"My chest hurts." I whisper it at a volume only she would be able to hear. "Can I lean against you?" She smiles and pulls me close to her, my head now rests on her shoulder. The rest watch us intensely. It's risky trying to do this on the first day, but I don't exactly have a lot of time left to waste. She rubs my arm in a comforting manner and for once, I don't feel scared of pain. Granted, I'm not in pain, but if I was, I'd be able to pull through. I've wanted to give up so many times before, but that little shred of hope that a cure would be found or I'd at least find out what it really was that caused my heart to function the way it did. I always had that hope that someday my heart wouldn't be a ticking time bomb, but maybe I'm meant to live that way. Maybe it was decided from the day I was born that I would never grow up to be like other people, that I would never live a life outside of a hospital, or  that I could never live life to the fullest. Now that the timer is running out, it's exactly what I plan to do. 

"You two seem t-" Jessica Unnie says something but I can't focus. I stare at the carpet, feeling a real attack creep up on me. The one at the door was a simple hiccup because I was shocked. However, I've noticed that my attacks are coming in shorter intervals.

"Help." I choke out before My entire body falls slack and my brain goes numb. My vision blurs. I feel myself land on the carpet and wheeze. There is a fire igniting in my chest, my heart starts beating erratically, and I become the embodiment of pain. I feel like I've been shoved in a dryer. I can't seem to get oxygen to fill my lungs and the world is spinning. I hear muffled sounds, but am too occupied with trying to keep myself from dying to pay any attention. I finally gain the ability to in a breath and let out what I assume is a scream from the way it hurts my throat on the way out. This is bad, but I've been through worse. Another breath, another strangled scream. My throat aches even more now. I feel something soft against my lips and feel something cold rush down my throat. The effect isn't instantaneous, so I don't know how much longer I writhe in pain until it fades to a slight throb. I shut my eyes and take deep breaths despite the burning in my throat. 

"Hayley, are you okay now?" I hear a voice. I muster up the strength to nod. I must be stupid to think I could actually hide my disease from the other 8 girls. Someone lifts my body and places me on their lap, cradling me close enough to their body for me to feel warmer. "Don't scare me like that again." The voice shudders. I feel warm droplets fall on my face and force my eyes open. 

"Please, don't cry." I tell Tiffany Unnie. I regain control of my body and sit up on my own, easing myself out of her arms. I scan my surroundings and find 8 panicked faces and one tinted pink. Strange...is the dancing queen sick? I face Tiffany Unnie and see Taeyeon Unnie wrapping her arms around her. Call me crazy but I wanted to follow through with my plan to test TaeNy's feelings. I give Tiffany Unnie a kiss on the cheek and smile at her. Taeyeon Unnie's eyes are no longer panicked and my plan is successful. "Thank you." Tiffany Unnie's face turns a shade of red and I choke down a chuckle. I stand up and offer my hand to them both, but Taeyeon Unnie stands up on her own, offering her hand to Tiffany Unnie as well. I try to retract my hand but she grabs them both and we don't hesitate to gently pull her up. 

"I don't mean to ruin your great atmosphere and all, but what just happened?" Sunny Unnie says cautiously. I sigh and lead TaeNy to the rest of the group before standing in front of them.

"My name is Hayley Smith, I am 18 in Korean age, and I have less than a year to live." I can't bring myself to say that I should be dead sometime in around 2 and a half weeks. It makes it more real for me. "I was diagnosed with a rare heart disease 10 years ago and this is the first time I've been let out of the hospital since the diagnosis. I'm a big fan of So Nyuh Shi Dae and I am very excited to be here." I fall to my knees and they all rush to help me up, but I can only refuse. "Please forgive me if things like what happen this afternoon occur. and please..." I pause and look up at them with teary eyes. "Please don't treat me like glass. I want you all to treat me like any other regular teenager. Please give me this chance to live." I didn't mean for it to affect the young women, but it did. They all nod with tears in their eyes and I stand up to bow. "Thank you for agreeing to do this." 

"On one condition." I look up and come face to face with Yuri Unnie.

"Anything."

"Who's you favorite member?" I feel sweat form above my brow. Of all the questions in the world...it HAD to be that one! 

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A/N: Hey there! I've decided the couples and will work on chapter 4 tonight :) I can finally use my laptop again so I'll try to post frequently on both of the fics I have on here....I make no solid promises though because of schoolwork that I have to catch up on....a month's worth to be exact...-__- Thanks for reading and thank you, TaeHyun for wishing me a speedy recovery :D