“Hyung!” Four very flustered men hurried down the hallway to the slumped form of Eric as he sat thinking in a chair.

              “Jinnie,” Eric pulled himself out of his own thoughts and stood to meet his friends.

              “How is he?” Panic could be seen clear as day in all four of the men’s eyes.

              “I haven’t heard anything yet, he’s still in surgery,” Eric sighed in frustration and glared at the looming surgery doors that separated him from his injured friend.  At that moment, the doors opened and a man in blue scrubs emerged.  The members of Shinhwa rushed forward.

              “May I speak to Mr. Jung’s guardian,” He requested sternly already predicting the overreaction of the group of men.  Eric signaled for the other members to stay and he stepped forward.  The doctor led Eric to the side so they could talk in privacy.

              “I don't have very good news,” Eric took in a sharp intake of breath.

              “Mr. Jung suffered many injuries, he was ejected from his car as a result of a seatbelt malfunction.  He suffered a head trauma that isn’t life threatening.  In fact, none of his injuries are life threatening, however…” The doctor seemed to have difficulty continuing.  Eric waited in silent anticipation.  The doctor sighed.

              “He has a major spinal injury, we did what we could…but the results of the surgery are not pleasing,” Eric’s heart dropped, “It is most likely that he will be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.  There is little to no hope for recovery,” The doctor looked much sadder after delivering the depressing news to Eric.  He gave Eric a sharp pat on the shoulder before leaving him there, staring vacantly.  The other members immediately rushed over to Eric after the doctor’s departure and bombarded him with questions.  However, Eric wasn’t listening.  All he felt like doing was running away and finding a quiet place to cry.  Hyesung, his Sungie, would be paralyzed for the rest of his life.  The end…it was so final, there was little room for hope.  Eric was snapped back to reality by a sharp whack to the back of his head.

              “Eric!  What did he say?!” Minwoo yelled into the dazed Leader’s face.  Eric looked at the man in bewilderment.  How could he not know, why was the world not mourning with him at the moment?

              “Eric please,” Andy begged.  There was silence as Eric struggled to find his voice.

              “He said…Sungie…Hyesung…is paralyzed,” Eric barely managed to mutter out the words.

              “Hyesung is paralyzed?” Dongwan repeated the words slowly to make sure he heard right.  Eric nodded in confirmation.  More silence passed between the five men.  Suddenly, there was an outburst of crazed laughter.

              “Hyung, you shouldn’t play such horrible jokes on us.  Tell the truth, Hyesung is okay right?” Junjin gripped Eric’s collar tightly in his hands and shook the leader.  Small tears were escaping his eyes as he looked desperately at his hyung.  Eric bowed his head and avoided eye contact wishing that it all were just one big joke.  Dongwan, Minwoo, and Andy reacted immediately and pulled Junjin back.

              “No, it can’t be.  How is this possible?!” Junjin cried and slumped to the floor with his face in his hands.

              “What do we do?” Dongwan softly whispered and stared down at the pathetic form of Junjin.  More silence.

              “Hyung needs us,” Andy’s voice was so soft, that no one was sure that he had actually spoken at first.  All of the members glanced up at the youngest.  Andy balled his fists in determination.

              “We need to be strong for Hyesung-hyung,” He looked at the older men with burning courage and desperation.  Minwoo flung his arm around Andy’s shoulder in a show of support.

              “He’s right.  Hyesung will have a much harder time than us when he wakes up.  He needs our undying support,” Minwoo looked meaningfully at the three other men, focusing mostly on Junjin who had not moved from his position on the tile.  Dongwan nodded and so did Eric, then everybody trained there gaze to Junjin once again.  A loud outtake of breath could be heard from underneath Junjin’s hands where they had remained over his face.  Junjin stood up and looked at his fellow members.  His eyes were red and puffy from crying.

              “You’re right.  I’m sorry,” he said shortly and hung his head in shame.  Minwoo managed a small chuckle and walked over to embrace Junjin.

              “It’s okay, you should of seen us when you suffered that head injury,” the shorter one patted Junjin’s hair in comfort.  The opening of the surgery room doors interrupted the moment.

              “Please excuse us,” someone yelled and all five men looked up.  Two nurses were wheeling out an occupied gurney.  The members hurried to the sides of the gurney and checked on the person underneath the sheets.  Hyesung was out cold with a small blood covered bandage on one side of his forehead.  Small cuts and bruises could be seen on all parts of his exposed skin.  The man’s once, creamy white complexion, was now littered with horrible bruises.  The members followed the nurses down to Hyesung’s designated hospital room.

              “The anesthesia will keep him unconscious at least until the morning.  Unfortunately, only one of you is allowed to stay overnight in the room at a time,” The nurse emphasized the constricting rule.  The members gave their thanks and assured the older woman that her rule would be followed.  The next few minutes were spent in silence as the members stared at Hyesung in wonderment and sadness.  The leader cleared his throat.

              “I’ll stay tonight.  I’m signed as his guardian, it’ll be easier to sort things out with the hospital if I’m here,” The members nodded their agreement, too tired to argue as the night's excitement and lack of sleep began affecting them.  Each member said their goodbyes and the room slowly cleared until only Hyesung and Eric were left.  Eric situated one of the chairs in the room next to Hyesung’s bedside.  He sat down and stared at the younger man.  Unconsciously, Eric placed his hand on top of Hyesung’s and gripped it.

              “Sungie…” He gazed at the face of his friend.  He had known Hyesung for over 14 years.  Although to the public, they seemed mismatched and unfit for each other, the truth was that him and Hyesung got along very well.  It’s true that there was a period in their careers where they were slightly awkward with each other, but after becoming neighbors, they had grown closer.

              “Sungie, I promise that I will always be by your side.  No matter what challenges we face, we will face them together.  I will never leave your side,” Eric whispered his promise to the unconscious man.  With a last squeeze of Hyesung’s hand, Eric released his grip and pulled his phone out of his pocket.  Now he faced the daunting challenge of calling Hyesung’s parents.  Eric skimmed through his contacts and found Hyesung’s parents’ house.  The phone rang many times before it was finally picked up.

              “Hello,” Mrs. Jung groaned on the other end.

              “Hello Mother,” Eric addressed her familiarly.

              “It’s Eric, sorry for calling so…” Eric checked the time on his watch and it read 4:45 a.m.

              “Early,” He finished.

              “May I speak to Father,” Eric asked for Hyesung’s dad.  There was rustling followed by another groan.  Eric thought it would be best to tell Mr. Jung first to avoid alarming Mrs. Jung.

              “Yes Eric,” Mr. Jung answered.

              “Hello sir, um, I don’t know how to tell you this but…” Eric was hesitant to finish.  Mr. Jung waited patiently on the other line much to Eric’s relief.

              “Hyesung…Hyesung was involved in an accident,” Eric managed to spit out.

              “An accident?” Mr. Jung remained calm.

              “Yes, it was a car accident, he is currently being cared for at Gangnam Hospital.  I’m with him,” There was a pause on the other end before Mr. Jung responded.

              “Is he…”

              “I’ll tell you the details when you arrive, I think it would be best for you to hear about his condition in person,” Eric tried not to sound too cryptic.  Mr. Jung sighed through the phone.

              “Very well then, we’ll get ready and leave as soon as possible.  We’ll call when we arrive,” Eric said goodbye and hung up.  He leaned back into the chair and released a stressed breath.  Eventually, Eric drifted off to sleep.

              Eric awoke to the sound of the hospital room’s door opening.  Mr. and Mrs. Jung walked in and Mrs. Jung immediately ran to her son’s side.  Eric stood up and bowed his head to Mr. Jung.

              “I’m sorry, I must have drifted off and missed your call,” Mr. Jung just nodded in understanding and placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder.

              “Thank you so much for taking care of my son,” The usually unemotional man had tears threatening to spill over in his eyes.  Eric looked at the man in shock.

              “Do you…know?” Eric asked referring to Hyesung’s condition.  Mr. Jung nodded with great sadness and looked at his wife.

              “I know too,” Mrs. Jung said without taking her eyes off of her son’s face, sensing the pause in the two men’s conversation.  She Hyesung’s cheek lovingly.

              “Eric,” Mrs. Jung turned around.

              “Thank you,” She embraced the man tenderly and Eric quickly wrapped his arms around the woman that felt like a second mother to him.  Eric wanted so much to take the pain away from this wonderful family.  He wanted so much for Hyesung to be okay.  A groan could be heard from the bed and all three heads spun to face it.  Hyesung scrunched up his face and groaned again.  And then, the patient opened his eyes.