Jjung, Ssul and AJ: Age 15/17

As I was regaining consciousness, I heard faint voices talking around me…

“So he’s alright then?”

“Yes, he’s perfectly fine. He just passed out from exhaustion. Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, thank goodness!”

“I think you should just let him rest. He’ll wake up when he’s ready.”

“Alright, thank you doctor.”

“If you haven’t called his parents yet, you should do so immediately.”

“Yes doctor.”

I could hear the sound of footsteps treading away. So that’s what happened… I guess AJ hyung called for an ambulance… Where’s Ssul? I didn’t hear her voice in the conversation. Oh no! What happened to Ssul?!

I bolted up in panic. “Ssul!” I called out without thinking. I immediately felt a squeeze on my hand. I looked beside me and there she was sitting by my bedside. She had a smile on her face but her eyes were filled with worry.

“I’m here,” she replied with a reassuring voice. She squeezed my hand even tighter. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Ssul, are you alright? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I totally disregarded her question. Who cares about me, what about you?

Her eyes began to water. “I was s-so w-worried about you. You passed o-out and they b-brought us b-both to t-the hospital,” she cried.

“Babo! Why are you crying? I’m fine. I should be the one worrying. I was so scared you might have been hurt. Are you okay?”

She just nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

“Stop it. I’m really fine,” I reassured. I lifted my hand to her face and brushed away her tears. “You should be resting. Go back to your bed,” I urged.

She shook her head. “No! I want to stay by your side.”

I jumped off the bed to show her I was perfectly fine. “See, I’m all better now after getting some rest. Now go back to your bed!” I nagged.

She still wouldn’t budge so I swept her off the chair and carried her in my arms. Even then she wriggled around protesting.

“Yah! Don’t do that, I’m going to drop you,” I told her although there was no way I was going to let that happen.

“No! I don’t want to…” she pouted.

I sighed. “How about I stay by your side?”

She stopped objecting. She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned her head against my chest. “Jjungie?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you. You saved me. I was so scared. Water really scares me and when I fell, I thought…”

“Shhh… It’s okay now. You’re alright. Remember I told you I’d always be there for you, noona?”

I walked her over to her bed and gently put her down. As promised, I sat down by her bedside. She was afraid that I would leave her so she took hold of my hand and wouldn’t let go.

“Oh! Jjung you’re awake!” AJ hyung’s voice suddenly burst into the room.

I turned towards him and waved with my free hand.

“How did you manage to get her back into bed? I’ve been trying to do that but she wouldn’t listen to me at all,” he said giving her a stern look.

Ssul and I looked at each other and we both blushed. We had only just realized what had actually happen just minutes before.

“So I guess this is why you didn’t want to go to the beach? You’re afraid of the water because you can’t swim?” hyung commented.

“Sort of. I… I actually had a traumatic experience when I was younger and ever since then I had a fear of water,” she explained.

“Why? What happened?” he continued asking.

Sometimes AJ hyung didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. He just keep talking and asking questions despite making people uncomfortable.

I shot him a look to tell him to stop his “interrogation”.

However, he just ignored me.

“I guess I should just tell you guys. It’s not like it’s a secret. It was when I was 6…”

(Flashback…)

Ssul: Age 6

Sulli was bobbing around in the shallow end of the pool when a group of older girls approached her.

“Hey kid! What are you doing?” asked an older girl.

“I’m trying to swim,” she answered innocently.

“Obviously! This is a pool. I meant you are blocking our way,” replied the older girl sarcastically.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was in your way.”

“Trying to be a smart are we? Well, if you want to learn how to swim, you should learn how to hold your breath first,” she said as she pushed Sulli’s head into the water. She held Sulli in the water while her friends just laughed.

(…End of flashback)

“I struggled to get up but she just held me underwater. I couldn’t breathe and I started to panic which made me swallow a lot of water and then I started choking. All I remembered after that was waking up in the hospital,” Ssul finished her story. “Until now I don’t quite understand why they did that. I didn’t even do anything to them.”

“That’s crazy! What’s wrong with them?!” exclaimed hyung.

“They’re just mean girls! Some people are like that,” I added angrily.

“Yeah, well since then I haven’t been able to forget how it felt when I wasn’t able to breathe and choking in the water. I’ve been scared of the water every since,” Ssul concluded. Her voice was shaky and she was still clutching my hand.

“Let’s not talk about it anymore. You need to rest,” I told her.

“If I fall asleep now, I’ll probably have nightmares,” she wept.

“How about I go get you some warm tea? It’ll help you relax,” hyung suggested.

She nodded.

Hyung then left to get the tea, leaving us alone once again.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here to protect you,” I said to her.

I her hair gently until she fell asleep and not long after so did I, my head resting on her bed and her hand still holding mine.