Chapter Two : Secret World

A lightning bolt had just struck Nicole Jung’s mind. It’s Seungyeon kept chanting on and on in her mind. She was questioning herself, what happened to Seungyeon, after hearing the vague statement from leader Gyuri.

“What… What ha-happened to Seungyeon?” Nicole faltered.

Hara’s eyes suddenly blinked to show that she had regained consciousness. She gave out a little yawn after finally waking up for more or less fifteen minutes of sleeping. She seemed puzzled to see the expressions that Gyuri and Nicole were showing. She didn’t hesitate to ask.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Finally, you’re up,” said Gyuri, “Hyuksin just told me something happened to Seungyeon. Seungyeon complained back aches to us since a few days ago, didn’t she?”

Nicole and Hara nodded simultaneously, their faces showing the greed to know more.

“This late afternoon, she came here at K5K with Jiyoung to practice the dance steps of our new song,” continued Gyuri, “but halfway through the practice she fainted.”

Now, Nicole and Hara were startled with shock.

“She regained consciousness in moments and insisted to continue learning the steps. Jiyoung did try to persuade her to give herself a break, but she wouldn’t. Then, she fainted again. Jiyoung asked Hyuksin to call us because she knew we were in Inkigayo.”

Nicole could feel her heart racing, blood pressure increasing and the sound of heartbeat could be heard from afar. What did I just hear?

“W-Where is she?” asked Hara, stammering.

“Hyuksin informed me that Seungyeon’s being examined and treated in the Cheong Chun Hospital. But, at this hour, visitors aren’t allowed,” said Gyuri, trying to restrain herself from feeling emotional.

“Is Jiyoung with her?” Said Nicole, finally gaining some courage to overcome her fear.

“Yeah. They allowed her to accompany Seungyeon. I hope she’s doing fine…”

The three of them showed worry on their faces. The atmosphere was replaced with silence for a few seconds. All three were looking down, and each of them had different things on their minds. Nicole decided to break the silence.

“We shouldn’t be here waiting for the worst to come. It wouldn’t help Seungyeon either,” said Nicole in an unstable voice.

“Nicole’s right. We have to do something. Something that will make Seungyeon feel better,” said Hara in agreement with Nicole.

Gyuri nodded, somehow showing amazement and surprise to see the reactions of the two younger members. She felt like the two of them had finally showed their mature sides.

“What do you two suggest we should do?” Asked Gyuri.

“I think fish porridge would be great for her health. Fish is a good source of protein,” suggested Hara.

“Fruits are not exceptional. Seungyeon likes my curry a lot. How I wish I could cook some for her,” said Nicole.

“That’s great, you two! Seungyeon will surely be delighted.”

Their conversation lasted for about ten minutes, but their plans for Seungyeon didn’t end there. They entered K5K along with their bags containing comfy casual wear. They decided to practice the dance steps and perform it in front of Seungyeon. Seungyeon had always liked the members teaching and performing dances to her. No doubt all three were determined to see Seungyeon’s smile.

The choreography was a little bit difficult for the three of them to learn perfectly. Nicole, who was the best dancer in KARA, faced some difficulties in memorizing the forth and back steps. Gyuri had minor problems in hand gestures. Meanwhile, Hara was doing quite well in her part. Nevertheless, leader Gyuri gave some motivating words to the other two, who seemed already tired.

“Come on. Just one more try. For Seungyeon,” said Gyuri, determined to go on with the tiring dance routine.

These words of Gyuri made Nicole think. For Seungyeon,  these were the two particular words that kept replaying in her mind like a broken record. Seungyeon had once said to Kamilia, go on what you believe, which was during their recent fanmeeting event. On what I believe, thought Nicole carefully, what I believe, she repeated. She let herself think of what Seungyeon had said, although those words were meant for Kamilia. She nodded all of a sudden as if she had just saw somebody invisible waving at her.

“Let’s do it, Hara. Just like what Gyuri said, one more try,” said Nicole with her eyes filled with the same determination Gyuri showed. Her hand reached out to Hara.

Hara, who was sitting on the floor and massaging her legs to reduce cramps, took a deep breath with her eyes closed. Then, her eyes reopened and looked at Nicole directly. She glanced at the offered hand, and without further hesitations, took the help and got up.

Gyuri smiled and nodded complacently. Three of the KARA members took placed and tried for one more time to make the flow of the dance perfect, with the help of their choreographer. This time, the rehearsal went smoothly, giving joy to the three of them. In three hours, the dance was already a part of them.

“We did it! We did it!” Said Nicole incredulously yet triumphantly.

Gyuri, Nicole and Hara thanked the choreographer for helping them in the time of needs. The tiredness on their faces could not be hidden. However, their smiles overwhelmed the gloomy weather inside their heads. Nicole was particularly happy because she felt like she had done at least something meaningful for someone she cared. Not long later, the three of them left K5K with pleasure.

All the members of KARA used to live together in a dorm, but they decided to separate as they grew up. Nicole had since been living alone in a house of her own near their dorm. Meanwhile, Gyuri lived with her parents, whom she had always, since birth, been grateful towards her two guardians. Hara and Jiyoung shared an apartment near to DSP’s main office. Seungyeon, like Nicole, lived alone in her house located somewhere in Seoul.

“Why don’t you two have a stay in my house tonight?” suggested Nicole while they were in the van, on their way home.

“Will it be okay?” asked Gyuri, afraid that they might disturb Nicole’s peace at home.

“Yeah, of course. It’ll be fine since I live alone. Moreover, we’ll have to work on the fish porridge tomorrow morning.”

“How about Jiyoung?” asked Hara promptly.

Nicole thought for a while. “Is Jiyoung coming back? I guess maybe she’ll stay with Seungyeon in the hospital.”

Hara nodded in agreement with Nicole’s assumption. The conversation was broken off by a series of sleepy eyes the girls had. Gradually, Hara dozed off by the seat she was laying on. Gyuri, surprisingly, fell asleep by the window reflecting beautiful lights from outside. Nicole couldn’t make herself do the same. She was half-worried about her friend’s condition. She wasn’t well-informed about Seungyeon’s health.  ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’ were swimming around her mind. To prevent herself from shifting further on the matter, she took two blankets and covered Gyuri and Hara with each. The, she gazed outside the window to see the beautiful lanterns which were gleaming to show their beauty.

In fifteen minutes, Nicole saw an orange-coloured rooftop glowing in the dark. They have reached Nicole’s house finally, at three a.m in the morning. Gyuri woke up as she sensed their arrival at her fellow member’s house. Hara though, seemed to be still wondering around her wonderland.

“We’re here already?” said the tired Gyuri after resting for less than half an hour.

“Yeah. Seems like it,” said Nicole, reaching for her stuffs.

“Hara, wake up. We’re here,” Gyuri tried to bring Hara back to the real world.

They exited the van and said goodnight to the driver of their van. Promptly, Nicole took out her house keys and unlocked the main door. Hara went in first with her bag pack, walking drowsily to show her obvious sleepiness. Gyuri and Nicole were discussing about their schedule.

“So, will there be any changes in our schedule?” asked Nicole.

“Hyuksin didn’t mention about any changes, but I reckon there will be. We can’t promote as four,” said Gyuri firmly.

“Seungyeon’s health is the priority. – Hara, what are you doing on the sofa?” said Nicole, suddenly turning to the sofa to see Hara laying there, unmoved.

It seemed like tiredness had got the best of Hara. Before Nicole or Gyuri could wake her up, she was already in a deep sleep. Both Nicole and Gyuri laughed at how the well-known doll-like face, Goo Hara, was sleeping like whimsical child.

Gyuri, who seemed rather quiet at night, headed to the guest room after saying goodnight to Nicole and the senseless Hara. Hara was left sleeping in the living room since none of the two could wake her up. Nicole took a blanket and covered Hara just so she wouldn’t get cold. Nicole entered her room, and had a refreshing hot bath after having a tiring whole day. She dried her hair with a pink towel, and headed straight to bed. She was apprehensive, but being so made her fall asleep in minutes.

Time passed by quickly like a remote control, being pressed on the ‘fast forward’ button. The Sun rose rather early and shone its light onto Nicole, who was reluctant to open her eyes. She could hear footsteps approaching her, and a sweet and soft voice volume up right after it.

“Nicole. Nicole. Wake up. It’s already 7.30,” said the polite voice.

Nicole knew she had to open up her eyes and face another day. However, after seeing Gyuri’s smiling face, she told herself she wouldn’t be alone. Gyuri was like her guide into the mysterious yet exciting journey.

“Good morning,” said Nicole, rubbing both of her eyes to clear the blurry vision.

Gyuri smiled, “Good morning. Had a nice sleep? Sorry I had to wake you up after only three hours of sleep. I’m preparing the fish porridge with Hara. Go freshen yourself up.”

Nicole followed the leader’s command and strode to the bathroom. She the tap and let water flow. In seconds her face wetted and an energetic reflection appeared on the mirror. She looked at it for a few seconds, and went to the kitchen to see if she could be of any help to the other two.

“Why was I alone in the living room last night?” asked Hara, who seemed to have forgotten what happened.

“You don’t remember?” said Nicole, giving a breathy laugh.

Gyuri laughed elegantly with her eyes half-closed. Hara was a little annoyed because of the lack of cooperation she received. Seeing this, Nicole re-answered her question. Hara’s face went pink after listening to Nicole’s explanation about her own behavior.

The conversation was cut short. The three of them became focused in cooking the dish they decided on last night. It wasn’t hard to prepare fish porridge. In fact, it took only ten to twenty minutes to finish the cutting, cooking and cleaning processes, provided that no time was wasted on unnecessary things. The aroma of the delicious dish filled the air. The three of them were truly satisfied.

Nicole, Gyuri and Hara dressed up and headed to the car garage. Nicole unlocked her car, and all three entered rhythmically. They were excited to see Seungyeon, and to perform a short performance of their new track.

Cheong Chun Hospital was just a few kilometers away from Nicole’s place. It took less than ten minutes to arrive there. Jiyoung texted Nicole which ward Seungyeon was at. The three of them went to the location specified by Jiyoung, using an elevator.

The sliding door motioned slowly, giving a pathway for the girls to enter. Seungyeon was sitting upright with a letter on her hands. She looked up to see who it was, but before she could, a voice near her exclaimed loudly.

“You’re here!” said Jiyoung excitingly.

Gyuri smiled at Jiyoung and asked Seungyeon how she was feeling. Nicole and Hara looked seriously at Seungyeon and waited for her reply. Seungyeon showed a smile to reassure her friends that she was fine.

“I’m good. Don’t worry guys. I think I’ll be discharged by this afternoon.”

Hara groaned in disapproval. “You should rest more!”

“I agree. You shouldn’t have pushed yourself beyond the limit,” said Nicole.

Jiyoung nodded, agreeing with every single word the two of them said. “I told you so!”

Seungyeon had an obvious look of downcast on her face after the complain-like comments from the members. She looked down to hide her despondency. Nicole, who felt Seungyeon’s sentiment, let out a hearty laugh to loosen the tension.

“We brought fish porridge for you!” said Nicole delightedly.

Seungyeon somehow forced herself to smile as a response their gift. Gyuri, who too noticed Seungyeon’s behavior, stood up and walked to Nicole.

“Seungyeon, we have a surprise for you,” said Gyuri vaguely.

Both Seungyeon and Jiyoung were manifested with curiousity. Hara, who seemed to have just realized the leader’s statement, quickly united with the other two. All three grinned. Seungyeon and Jiyoung were raising eyebrows.

“One, two, three,” said Gyuri, indicating the start of their short music-free performance.

The song was sung live and without background. Seungyeon was surprised to see how well the girls had performed. She thought the performance was short-lived, yet it was mesmerizing and enthralling. Somehow by looking at the three of them, she felt they showed a great novelty through the song itself. Jiyoung was in surprise too. Both clapped and cheered along.

“How did we do?” asked Hara.

“Really good. I’m so sorry for delaying your time and affecting the schedule,” said Seungyeon regretfully.

“No, don’t be!” said Nicole in disagreement.

Suddenly, the sliding door moved again. Hamper of flowers showed up at Nicole’s first sight. Then, a deep and attractive voice appeared behind it.

“Hi, Seungyeon. It’s me, Hyeongkon. Seungjin’s here too.”

So it was Hyeongkon and Seungjin of A JAX, who came to visit their senior of the same company label. Hyeongkon and Seungjin greeted the other four and asked Seungyeon how she was feeling. Seungyeon reassured her fellow juniors that she was fine and asked them not to worry.

“Kamilias sent me lots of gifts and wished me a speedy recovery.”

While they were having what seemed to be like a family conversation, the sliding door slid open again. This time, a woman wearing a white robe and holding a report, came in.

“Han Seungyeon?” asked the doctor for confirmation.

Seungyeon nodded, and waited for the doctor to say something about her condition. However, she looked dejected after reading every single detail on Seungyeon’s report. She then summoned the four other members of KARA to talk with her outside the room. All four were beginning to show concern looks.

“Is it possible for you to contact Han Seungyeon’s parents?” started the doctor.

“Her parents are living in the States. Is our friend’s condition worse?” asked Gyuri, hoping for a good result.

“Han Seungyeon’s spine was injured due to lack of rest and constant dance practices. Did she complain about having sudden back aches?” the doctor said whilst observing Seungyeon’s health report.

“I think she did,” said Nicole, surprised at the doctor’s words.

“If she continues to work this hard on dance practices, her body will not be able to hold on anymore. Her back condition will worsen, and the consequences will be difficult to bear.”

Shock and worry once again filled Nicole’s eyes. This is not happening, thought Nicole. She wish what had happened, to turn out as an unwanted nightmare. Gyuri, Hara and Jiyoung looked astounded, skeptical about the doctor’s words. However, they all knew better that they had to face what was coming.