Dongho woke up with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. Blinking, he groaned as he sat up and looked around.

White. Everything was white, except for the floor. The floor was dark and shiny like a still surface of a black lake.
Bewildered, Dongho took in the white walls that were covered with white curtains hanging from the ceiling to the floor. There were a few white chairs dotting around the room, their ghostly reflections on the floor giving the illusion of furnitures floating on the surface.

A fluttering above Dongho's head drew his attention to a white chaotic collection of differently sized and shaped birdcages that hung from the ceiling. Pale ivory birds flitted in and out of the cages, their feathers barely rustling against the bars.

Not one of them made a sound.

Unnerved by their eerie silence, Dongho turned around. A movement caught his eye and he saw the curtains moving, the breeze brushing against his cheeks. Standing up, he saw large bay windows with the shutters flung wide open. The breeze ruffled his hair as he slowly made his way towards the windows.

He couldn't see anything outside. He glanced down and moved to peer over the edge of the windowsill when a voice suddenly called out:
"Stop. Don't look down."
"Whoa!" Dongho yelped, his heart threatening to break out of his ribcage. Whirling around, he found a young boy who looked no older than ten sitting behind a curtain that fluttered and flapped in the wind.
"W-what... Who are you?"
The boy said nothing as his dark eyes stared unblinkingly at him. Dongho gulped nervously.
"Where am I?"
"I don't know," he said. Dongho blinked in confusion.
"B-but weren't you here before me? Why am I here? Why are you here?"
"I've been here for a long time. I don't know why you're here."
"I--"

Dongho felt something cold touching his chest. He blinked and suddenly the sound of a siren wailing nearby filled his ears. A man was cutting his shirt open. Pain racked his body and he felt cold all over. Twisted metal surrounded him. He felt trapped and something warm trickled down his face.

He screamed.

"Shhh, calm down! Calm down. Stay still. Don't move, don't move." The man cutting his shirt open hastily tried to immobilize him.
Dongho could only continue to scream.
"Dongho!" A voice shouted from his right side. He tried to turn his head but something blocked him.
"Dongho! It's alright! He's a paramedic, he's just trying to help you!" AJ said as he stuck his head into Dongho's view.
"W-where am I? What happened?" Dongho asked hoarsely.
"Don't worry, you're fine, we're gonna get you out--"
"I--I'm feeling sleepy..."
"Don't go to sleep. Stay with me. Stay awake," the paramedic said quickly.
Dongho closed his eyes.

The boy was staring blankly into the distance when Dongho jerked awake. A bird had landed on the floor next to him. It fixed its beady eye on Dongho for a moment before flying away.
"What happened?"
The boy didn't respond. Dongho realised he was lying on the cool floor and sat up.
"Hey, what happened? Oi!"
Still the boy didn't respond until Dongho waved his hand and caught his attention. He looked at Dongho, a blank expression on his face.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. You just disappeared for a moment there."
"Huh?" Dongho looked at him in confusement. "I disappeared?"

He woke up. The sirens were louder and he realised he was on a stretcher. He felt cold as the wind stripped any warmth remaining in his body away. Something crept up the back of his throat and spilled out of his mouth.
"Dongho!"
His head was tilted to the side and he vomited into a plastic bag. Groaning, his body screamed in pain as he fell back asleep.

"Like that."
"Huh?" Dongho opened his eyes. He looked around to find the boy still in the same position as before.
"Just like that. You disappeared just then," he said.
"I did?"
"Yeah." The boy went back to staring past Dongho's shoulder. Dongho looked behind him. There was nothing. Turning around, he continued to stay on the floor and tried to work out what was happening.
"Is this heaven?" Dongho asked. The boy said nothing until Dongho waved his hand again.
"What?"
"I said is this heaven? Am I dead?"
"No."
Dongho frowned. He looked around again and the windows caught his eyes. A few birds were flying in and out of the windows. He wondered where they were flying to and stood up to look outside the windows again.

Something burned as it crept up his throat again and Dongho opened his eyes. He ignored the pain in his body as he turned over and the vomit splattered onto the floor.
"Whoa! Dongho!"
Heaving, Dongho glimpsed a window and he barely registered the fact that he was in an ambulance before his eyes closed again.