Chapter 9

            The brisk October night was coming to an end, and most of the Dal Shabet members were quickly falling asleep.  Jiyul and Serri stayed up long enough to make sure the other members got to bed early enough.  Even with her filming schedules, Ahyoung tended to neglect her sleep, and it was finally catching up with her in the form of colds and sore throats. 

            Finally, when it seemed as if the night was finally over, Serri quietly sneaked into the room she shared with Woohee.  Though she refrained from turning on the light or making any unnecessary noise, she heard Woohee stir in her bed.

            “Unnie…it’s almost 1 ‘o’ clock.”

            “I’m so sorry, Woohee-yah,” Serri sighed, wearily beginning to change into her pajamas.  “I’ll try to be quieter.”

            “No, no, it’s okay, unnie.”  Serri saw Woohee’s droopy eyes glimmer in the darkness.  “Why are you coming to bed so late?”

            “Subin’s new medication is making her nauseous.”  After pulling on her pajama shorts, Serri leapt onto her bed and crawled under her blankets.  “Tomorrow I’ll make her some rice porridge.”

            “Put some ginseng in it too, unnie.  It’ll be extra good for her.”

            “Ah, yes, that’s a good idea.”

            “…I can’t believe we almost lost her.”

            Woohee’s words pulled Serri out of her tired state.  Memories of Subin’s car accident flooded her mind.  That afternoon felt like an eternity of worry and heartache.

*          *          *

            “Please…Please be okay,” Serri whimpered to herself, pacing back and forth in the hospital lobby.  She wiped her tears away with a shaky hand, wishing the other members could be with her.  All four of them had made plans to visit friends and family over the weekend.  Serri wasn’t sure if she was grateful to be the only one able to rush to the hospital when their manager called.

            Their manager stood by quietly, staring blankly at Serri as if he didn’t know what he could do to assist her.  Her helpless eyes and heartbreaking grimace made her appear inconsolable, and perhaps she really was.

            “Serri, she was conscious when the ambulance brought her in,” he finally reminded her.  “They’re just checking for internal injuries.”

            “What if she has internal injuries, though?” Serri cried feebly.  “They said she was crying and in so much pain…Subin-ah…”

            A doctor inconspicuously walked up to their manager and tapped his arm.  “Sir, Jo Subin has been stabilized and would like to see you and Serri-ssi.”

            “You mean she’s okay?” Serri asked suddenly, grabbing the doctor’s arm.

            “Her hip was fractured, as well as one of her ankles,” the doctor explained reluctantly.  “She’s in a lot of pain still, though we’ve tried to give her whatever medication we can.  She may be groggy when you go in to see her, but she’s fine.  Don’t try to upset her.”

            Serri clung to the doctor’s sleeve as she sniffled and looked down the hall in confusion.  Finally, he nodded his head and began to lead her and the manager to Subin’s room.  As soon as they reached the doorway, Serri let go of the doctor and hurried inside.

            Subin lay flat on her back in a hospital bed with her leg propped up to help realign her hipbone.  Her eyes looked straight up at the ceiling as fresh tears trickled out of them.  As soon as Serri entered the room, Subin turned her head to look at her before giving a remorseful grimace.

            “Unnie…”

            “Subin-ah,” Serri cried, rushing to her bedside.  She fell down at the side of the bed and took Subin’s hand in hers.  “Subin-ah, are you okay?”

            “It hurts so much, unnie,” Subin sobbed, squeezing Serri’s hand.

            “How could this happen,, Subin-ah?” Serri asked tearfully.  “I thought you had died, Subin-ah!”

            “I’m sorry, unnie.”  Subin closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.  “I’m so sorry.”

            “No, I’m sorry, Subin-ah.”  Serri choked on her words as she felt her regret so deeply in her heart.  “I should have gone with you.  I could have done something…anything…”

            “No, unnie, no…”

            “You’re safe now, Subin-ah.  That’s all that matters.  I won’t let this happen again.  I won’t.”

*          *          *

            “Woohee-ya, don’t think about it too much,” Serri suggested, pulling her blankets over her face.  “Subin is safe now.  I won’t let anything like that happen to any one of us again.”

            “You work too hard, unnie,” Woohee chuckled.  Her voice always had an adorable raspy quality to it, but it sounded especially strained tonight.  When she took a deep breath and gave a couple coughs, Serri sat up in her bed.

            “Woohee-yah, are you okay?” Serri asked.  “Are you catching Ahyoung’s cold?”

            “I…”  Woohee sat up in her bed as well.  Serri saw her hunched-over silhouette in the moonlight and immediately began to worry.

            “Woohee-yah, let me get you some water,” Serri insisted, leaping out of her bed.  She the light and noticed Woohee’s pained grimace.  “Woohee-yah, what’s wrong?”

            “My chest…it hurts,” Woohee admitted wearily, clutching her chest.  “It’s been a little sore all night, but I really didn’t think it would happen again…”

            “What?  What would happen again?”  Serri kneeled down beside Woohee’s bed and took Woohee’s face in her hands.  “Woohee-yah, talk to me.”

            “Unnie, I need to go to the hospital.”  Woohee lay back down on her bed, taking shallow, raspy breaths.  “I think my lung collapsed again.”

            “Lung…collapsed?  Again?”  Serri rose from the floor and helplessly looked down at Woohee.  “Ji…Jiyul-ah!  Jiyul-ah, help!  Woohee-yah, what should I do?”

            “I just need to get to the hospital.”  Woohee wore a comforting smile through her obvious pain, but her eyes began to glisten with tears.

            “Unnie, what’s wrong?”  Jiyul entered the room and froze at the sight of Woohee.  “Woohee-yah, what’s going on?”

            “Woohee’s lung is collapsing,” Serri said, still unable to believe the words herself.  “We need to get her to the hospital.”

            Without another moment to spare, Serri slid her arms under Woohee and lifted her from the bed.  Serri and Woohee were about the same size, and Serri’s struggle to hold her was obvious.  Suddenly, Gaeun came into the room behind Jiyul and took Woohee from Serri.

            “Unnie, what are you doing to Woohee?” Gaeun asked in shock.

            “Woohee’s lung is collapsing, Gaeun-ah,” Jiyul explained in panic.  “Come on, let’s get her outside.”

            “I’ll call Manager Jung,” Serri announced quickly, grabbing her phone from her desk.  “He’ll drive us to the hospital.  Just take her out to the curb.  If you see a taxi, flag it down instead.  We need to hurry.”

            “Ah!”  Woohee curled up in Gaeun’s arms and cried quietly. 

            “Hurry, Gaeun-ah!” Jiyul ordered, practically pushing her out of the room.

            “Manager Jung?”  Serri held her phone to her ear as she followed Gaeun, Jiyul, and Woohee out of the room.  “Woohee is having a medical emergency.  Her lung is collapsing.  She needs to get to the hospital.  Hurry, okay?”

            As they made it to the front door, Serri stopped them for just a moment.  She pushed the hair out of Woohee’s face and tried to smile.  “Woohee-yah, it’s going to be okay.  Don’t worry.  Manager Jung is pulling the car out right now.  He’ll get you to the hospital right away.”

            “Why is it happening again?” Woohee questioned tearfully, clutching Gaeun tightly.  “I’m scared, unnie.”

            “Don’t…Don’t be scared, Woohee-yah,” Serri begged, gently rubbing her fingers across Woohee’s flushed cheeks.  “You’ll be fine.  I won’t…I won’t let this happen again.”

            “What’s going on?” Subin asked, entering the living room with Ahyoung.

            “Gaeun-ah, Jiyul-ah, go quickly,” Serri ordered, ushering them out the door.  “We’ll follow in a cab.  Just get her to the hospital as fast as you can.”

            “Okay, unnie,” Gaeun replied with worried eyes.

            “Unnie, seriously, what’s going on?”  Subin nearly rushed out the door to follow Woohee, but Serri stopped her at the doorway.  “Where are they taking Woohee?”

            “Woohee’s lung is collapsing,” Serri repeated, finally feeling the weight of her words.  “They’re taking her to the hospital.”

            “What?” Ahyoung exclaimed.  “Well, let’s go!”

            “Wait!”  Serri stared desperately at Ahyoung’s tired face.  Her nose was red, her voice was barely audible.  And Subin…Her face was already turning green again, and Serri knew it was just a matter of minutes before she would have to throw up again.

            “What’s wrong, unnie?” Subin asked, reluctantly clutching her aching stomach.

            “So many things, Subin-ah.  So many things…”