Taeyeon was inconsolable. Tiffany was in critical condition. What the was a critical condition. Taeyeon didn’t know what it meant. Or rather, she didn’t want to know what it meant. The doctor had taken some time to explain Tiffany’s condition to Mr Im and while Taeyeon had been next to him, she barely heard anything coherent.

…internal bleeding…unconscious…severe head injury…critical state…be prepared…

Be prepared? For?

“Taeyeon!”

Arms wrapped around her but she didn’t know who they belonged to. Neither did she care. Her legs were felt like jelly, and then she wasn’t standing anymore. Pressing her palms on the ground, she bowed her head and wept. How did things end up this way? Tiffany was supposed to be celebrating right now. Celebrating her championship. The championship she had won. It was hers. She was supposed to be smiling, grinning, cheering. How could this happen to her? In her very last race! What sort of sick had played this sick idea of a joke on her?

“Taeyeon. Look at me.”

Sunny. It was Sunny. How did Sunny get here? When did she get here? “Sunny.” She threw her arms around her friend and buried herself deep in to cry.

“I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”

Something wasn’t right. The image of Tiffany’s car blazing towards the corner wasn’t right. She pushed Sunny away and grabbed Mr Im’s pant leg. “Uncle Im. Uncle Im.”

His face appeared before her. Steady eyes, pressed lips. “Taeyeon, you have to get hold of yourself.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t important. “Tiffany’s car. Something must be wrong with it. You must get it checked.”

He frowned. “They will check it. It’s protocol.”

“No. It’s not so simple. I just know it. This,” she dug deep with her eyes, urgent in her need to make him understand, “is not an accident.”

“Do you realize that what you’re saying has serious implications?”

“I know Tiffany. I know her. Something is wrong. You have to find out what went wrong.” It stuck her just then. “The brakes. Check the brakes.”

He held her stare for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I’ll get people to look into it. Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

His words loosened a few rocks off her shoulders and she nodded. She could trust him. He would get things done. “Thank you.”

He smiled, stood and walked away. She looked on as he spoke on his phone, giving instructions to somebody.

“You’re sure about this?”

She turned back to Sunny and nodded; she was growing surer by the second. “I’m sure.”

“If you’re right…”

“I know I am.”

“It’s scary, Taeyeon. It’s scary to think that somebody out there would do something like this to Tiffany.”

“She has enemies.” Her eyes widened. “Denise. That woman hates Tiffany.”

“I don’t think Denise would go that far.”

Taeyeon shook her head. “Nobody knows. Denise might hate Tiffany enough to do it.”

“If it’s really Denise, she can’t be working alone. There has to be somebody else. She doesn’t know enough about cars to pull it off.”

“Maybe. But who else.”

Sunny sighed. “I don’t know, Taeyeon. But I know that Tiffany would hate to see you like this.” A tug on Taeyeon’s arm made her look up. “Get up. You can’t sit on the floor forever.”

Taeyeon allowed Sunny to pull her up and lead her to a seat along the wall. She sank into it and hung her head. She couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t. Tears flowed.

“Oh, Taeyeon…” Sunny hugged her again.

“Unnie.” It was Hayeon. Taeyeon looked up. Opened her arms. And welcomed her sister the best she could. Hayeon gave her a squeeze before letting her go. “Stay strong. Tiffany needs you to be strong.”

“Hayeon, I…can’t.”

“We’re all together. Everything will be okay.”

Taeyeon couldn’t even nod to that. She wanted everything to be okay. She wanted to go back to the morning after they made up. She wanted Tiffany to come walking out of the operating theatre as though nothing horrible had happened. constricted. Life had a tendency to hate her. Life was usually inclined to deliver the exact opposite of her most desperate wishes.

It was a good thing Yoona had brought her to Uncle Im. Without him, she wouldn’t have known what to do. He had packed Yoona, Hayeon and her into the car with him and brought them to the hospital after finding out that the in-house ambulance had already left the circuit with Tiffany. Afterwards, his status as one of the higher ups had gotten them access to the ICU where Tiffany had been sent as well as the update on Tiffany’s condition from the doctor. But could Uncle Im stop life from hating her too? Could Uncle Im pull enough clout to prevent her worst nightmare from coming true?

Footsteps entered the area. A tall man had arrived, looking unusually haggard.

“Taewon.”

“Paul.”

Taeyeon stared as the men shook hands.

“Do you know anything about Tiffany? Is she in danger?”

“She’s critical. Doctors said they’re trying to stop the internal bleeding. She needs to get through the op, then they’ll see.”

“Oh God.” Paul sank onto the seat next to her, seemingly unaware of her presence. “Oh God…please…not her. Not Tiffany. You can’t take her away from him. Please don’t.”

“Paul.”

He startled. Turning to her, his eyes widened. “Taeyeon.”

“Does Tiffany have any enemies other than Denise?”

“Enemies?” He shook his head. “Not that I know of. Why?” His eyes narrowed. “Does it have something to do with her crash?”

Taeyeon nodded. “Something isn’t right. I had my eyes on her car all the time. I know how she drives. I know she checks her car before every race. But something went wrong at that corner. I just know it.”

“But who would hate her that much to do this to her?”

Taeyeon shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought you might have an idea.”

“I don’t either.”

“.” Taeyeon slumped against the back of the seat. “Why is this happening to Tiffany?”

“Her life is full of hard times.” Paul sighed as though all of the world’s burdens were on him. “Poor girl.”

“She’ll get through this.” Taeyeon gritted her teeth. “She’ll come out good.”

“I hope so too.”

–

Hours had never felt longer. Not even the hours she spent waiting for her mother to come home. No. These hours felt the longest. These hours felt like lifetimes; as though she had lived life as a vampire, watching the endless decades passing, turning into centuries. How much longer was the operation going to be? When would they hear from the doctor?

Her faith in her hopes faltered as time slipped away. Long surgeries were never a good sign. Were they having trouble in there? What the was going on inside the theatre? She had no way of knowing and nothing could help to sooth the raging stormy sea that was her inner emotions. Pacing didn’t help. Neither did Hayeon and Sunny’s words of consolation. Nothing but news of Tiffany’s condition could help.

There was a sudden commotion down the corridor and a surgeon decked out in surgical attire hurried towards them with a nurse beside him, entering the theatre without as much as a word for them. A slew of horrible thoughts attacked her as the doors slid shut and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the meltdown that she could feel rising from the bottom of her insides.

What was the commotion about? Who was that doctor who just went in? What the was going on? Was Tiffany going to be okay?

“Tiffany’s gonna be okay. She will be. She knows that you’re here, waiting,” said Hayeon.

Taeyeon didn’t move. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. She didn’t want Hayeon to know the extent of her fear. She didn’t want anybody to know the depth of her terror. She couldn’t afford to lose Tiffany. She simply couldn’t. If this had been ten months earlier, she wouldn’t have ended up in this state. . This was not good. She had to stop thinking about loss and death. Tiffany wasn’t going to leave her. Tiffany loved her too much to quit life this easily. Nothing was going to stop Tiffany from claiming her. Not even a car flipping upside down at a speed that could make most people pee in their pants. Not Tiffany. She wasn’t the type to give up easily.

But why wasn’t she out yet?

Shut up, she told told herself. Tiffany was going to get out of this just fine. She was a survivor. She was tough. Heck, she could tear down the walls around her heart with her bare hands so what was a stupid little accident? It was nothing. Nothing Tiffany couldn’t handle. Tiffany was strong.

She was the weak one. She was the one who could no longer afford to lose Tiffany.

–

Her nerves and emotions had been rubbed raw by the time the light went off and doors opened and her legs didn’t feel like hers when she stood. They crowded around the doctor who stopped outside and all feeling left her body as the doctor opened his mouth.

“We have stopped the internal bleeding but she’s still in critical condition. Tonight will be crucial. If she pulls through the night, she’ll be able to stabilize and make a recovery. But as of this moment, she is not out of danger yet. We will be moving her to the ICU shortly.”

“Thank you for saving her life,” said Paul. Taeyeon could only nod; she was too numb to do or say anything else.

“For now. We’ll have to pray she pulls through tonight.”

Blood must have drained from her head. It was the only reason she could think of to explain why she felt woozy. She backpedalled and backed into the seat behind. Sinking down on it, she buried her face in her palms, trying her hardest not to break down and cry.

…critical condition…pull through the night…not out of danger yet…

She closed her eyes and shook her head. No, no, no. These were not the things she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that Tiffany was fine and would wake up once the anaesthetic had worn off. She wanted to hear that Tiffany was doing well. She wanted to know that she wasn’t going to lose Tiffany to another world.

“ you. Don’t you dare die on me, Tiffany,” she muttered. Arms wrapped around her.

“Unnie.”

She covered Hayeon’s hands with hers and stayed that way for a while.

“Hayeon, it’s late. You should be getting home,” said Sunny.

“No, I don’t have to. I already called Mom and told her where I am. I’m staying here with unnie.”

“Sunny’s right. It’s late.”

“No. I’m staying here with you.” Hayeon tightened her arms around Taeyeon.

“Your unnies are right. It’s late. I’ll bring you home. You can come back in the morning,” said Mr Im.

Hayeon didn’t argue. Mr Im wasn’t the sort who allowed arguments to occur and Taeyeon knew Hayeon knew that.

“Yoona, you too,” said Mr Im. “Taeyeon, I’ll come back after sending them home.”

“It’s okay, Uncle Im. I have Sunny here with me. And Paul too.”

“Speaking of which, where is Paul?”

Taeyeon looked around. She hadn’t noticed that Paul wasn’t around. She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Mr Im patted her shoulder. “I’ll come back later.”

“Unnie, I’ll come back in the morning. Sunny unnie, please take care of unnie for me.”

Taeyeon nodded as Sunny promised to take care of her, then buried her face again. Somehow, even looking at people was hard right now.

–

The doors opened again shortly after Mr Im left with Hayeon and Yoona. The sound had Taeyeon on her feet and out came Tiffany as she looked. At first sight, she couldn’t believe that it was Tiffany lying before her. She was not prepared for the sight. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight. How could a person ever be prepared to see the person they loved the most pushed out on of an operating theatre with tubes hooked up everywhere, bruises and blood clotted in heart-breaking places?

Despite the horrifying sight, Taeyeon rushed to Tiffany’s side. “Tiffany,” she called her unconscious lover, her voice cracking from the pain that threatened to kill her from inside. “Tiffany.”

She reached out to touch her but Sunny held her back. “Don’t. Let them take her to the ICU. We’ll get to see her later.”

“Tiffany…”

It was too much. Too much to keep inside. Too much to hold.

–

The machines were cold. The room, sterile. There was nothing wrong with any of that. It was exactly as a hospital should be. The ICU was as it should be. But nothing felt right to Taeyeon. Sorely lacking was the warmth that Tiffany radiated whenever she was present. It was too quiet, devoid of Tiffany’s smiling voice, heartfelt laughter. She could still hear Tiffany’s voice, husky when they coupled, bubbly when they talked, edgy when they quarrelled. It hung in the air, floating like a ghost, hovering, haunting.

Tiffany had never looked more fragile. Lying there on the bed with tubes connecting her to the machines, she frightened her. And Taeyeon hated it. Why was she frightened? Why was she weak like that? She hated her ability to see through herself, to see the weakness inside. Weakness wasn’t what Tiffany needed right now. It wasn’t what she needed right now. What she needed was courage. The courage to take Tiffany’s hand and stay with her through the night.

“Taeyeon,” Paul’s voice came from behind.

“Mm,” she acknowledged without taking her eyes off Tiffany.

“They won’t let more than one person stay in here with Tiffany for the night.”

“I’m staying with her,” Taeyeon said without hesitation.

“I knew you would say that.” He sighed. “I don’t think anyone can make you leave. Take care of her but you make sure to take care of yourself too, alright?”

Taeyeon nodded. She wasn’t interested in what Paul had to say. But as he stepped away, she turned around. “Check her brakes. I asked Uncle Im to check but I’m not sure if he believes me.”

Paul lowered his head for a moment. Then, he met her eyes again. “I’ll do what I can.”

She nodded at him before hugging Sunny. Her best friend who had stood beside her the entire soul draining time. “Go home. I’ll be fine here.”

Sunny hugged her back. “You will.”

–

When morning came, Taeyeon knew that something was very wrong. Tiffany had not woken up. She stood outside as a doctor and nurses ran their checks and froze as the doctor stepped out and turned to face them.

“The patient has slipped into a coma.”

No. Please. No.

“She has pulled through the night, which is a positive sign, but the trauma to her brain has put her into a coma. We don’t know when she will get out of it. In most cases, patients will wake up from their coma, depending on their type of injury. Some people wake up after a few days or weeks. Some take longer. We’ll continue to monitor her condition but for now, she’s stable.”

Coma. Days. Weeks. Longer. How much longer? Months? Years? no. This can’t happen to Tiffany. Not Tiffany. Why Tiffany? Why my Tiffany?

She slumped onto the seat behind her. Her head knocked against the wall behind but she barely felt it. No other feeling could cut through the thick wall of pain that surrounded her heart right now. Nothing could make the pain go away. Only Tiffany could. Tiffany, alive and well. Teasing her. Scolding her. Glaring at her. Seducing her. Loving her.

“Tiffany…” she cried, tears falling, wetting her cheeks, her palms.

–