CHAPTER 28
“Where are you?” a girl’s voice echoed out of the darkness.
Slowly a figure started to appear. It was a young girl. She was somehow searching for someone in the middle of the darkness.
“Where are you?” she cried out again. She struggled to move forward but an unknown force was somehow forcing her back to where she started. The faint glow that was emanating from her was growing weaker and weaker by the minute. And as the light faded, she was starting to grow weaker as well.
The girl started to cry again. She was feeling so hopeless and crying was the only thing that she could do. No matter how much she tried to get away from the darkness, it still continued to follow her and surround her like it was a part of her that she could never get away from.
The girl tried to look around her but she couldn’t see anything. With tears running down her cheeks, she smiled bitterly. She finally accepted everything now. This was her fate. There was no other way out. She needed to embrace the darkness for it is the only friend that she had now.
The girl slowly sat down on the spot where she was standing. Then she huddled herself as the coldness started to grow. She tried to rock herself back and forth and started to hum a song. She was trying to make herself forget where she was. She was trying to make herself forget… everything.
Slowly… the girl started to fade away… and with the last note of her hum… the darkness finally covered her completely.
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“Jaejoong, wake up….Jaejoong,” Xiah shouted as he worriedly shook Jaejoong into consciousness.
Pale and covered in cold sweat, Jaejoong quickly got up and looked at Xiah with a confused expression on his face. “What… happened?” he asked slowly.
“You were having a bad dream,” Xiah answered. “We were worried sick about you. I was trying to wake you but you wouldn’t wake up so I called the others.”
It was only then Jaejoong started to look around. He then saw Max, U-Know and Micky standing right next to Xiah. He was still confused. The dream he just had was still clear in his head.
“I, I saw a girl in my dream…” he started to say.
Max carefully handed him a towel. “Dream? You can tell us all about it later. Just rest first and relax. Honestly you’re so pale. It’s like you’ve just seen a ghost. Let’s just stop talking about scary stuffs okay? You’re scaring me already,” he said as he smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder.
Jaejoong stared at Max. He was trying to think of something to say, but his head was totally blank except for the images of the young girl. He sighed and just nodded. He needed to relax, he suddenly told himself.
He quickly got out of his bed and was about to go to the bathroom when his vision started to get blurry. Within minutes, everything started spinning and he just dropped to the floor.
“Jaejoong!”
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“Doctor…” U-Know uttered as an elderly man entered the hospital room.
The old man went straight to Jaejoong and started to examine him and all the equipments that were attached to his body.
“Doctor, what’s wrong with him?” Max asked.
The doctor signaled the boys to follow him outside the room. And after they were all outside the room, it was then that the doctor faced them.
“Doctor?” Micky uttered.
“Right now, we’re still doing some tests. So we can’t really say what’s wrong with him. Has he been experiencing some major stress lately?” the old man asked.
“Stress? What do you mean?” Xiah asked, as if confused.
“Well when he was awake he told one of the nurses that he hasn’t slept for almost two weeks now. Honestly his body is in a bad shape right now because of lack of sleep, lack of nutrition and proper rest. We’re still doing some other tests so we can check what else is wrong with him. Given the fact that he hasn’t slept for two weeks, we’re not surprised that his body finally collapsed. I am more concerned about his mental state though,” the doctor said with a worried look on his face.
The other DBSK boys all exchanged glances. They were suddenly alarmed with what the doctor said.
“Mental state? What do you mean Doctor?” U-Know asked with a quivering voice. Somehow he couldn’t control the fear that was slowly taking over his entire body.
“Well when he was rushed here, he kept on muttering something about a young girl. Then when he woke up, he couldn’t stop asking where the little girl went. He told the nurses that he needed to look for that girl. I think he went on talking about that girl for hours. Do you by any chance have any idea what he’s talking about? Another doctor has already examined him and we both have the same conclusion. Your friend is having delusions and in my opinion, it might get worse if it is left untreated or unresolved. I suggest that after all his medical examinations are finished, he should be referred to a psychologist and he should undergo psychological treatment… if that is okay with you,” the doctor explained.
The DBSK boys had different reactions after hearing what the doctor said. Xiah just lowered his head and started to massage his forehead as it started to ache badly. Max, on the other hand, sighed heavily and just leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes. U-Know, who was standing before suddenly lost his strength and suddenly sat down on the chair near him. He then just stared blankly on the ground in front of him. Micky, who was the only one left with a strong grip on the situation, suddenly stood up from his seat and approached the doctor.
“Doctor, please do whatever is needed to help our friend. He is in a lot of stress right now. Maybe these so-called delusions that he is having are all because of what he is going through. You see, we have another friend who is very close to him and that girl is very sick right now. He’s very worried about her and she’s the only he’s been thinking of for the last few weeks. So maybe… it might explain why Jaejoong is acting this way. As for his physical condition, we have been working really hard these last few weeks since we’re all busy with our work, guest appearances, performances, practices, shootings… Those things have really drained all our energy. Maybe we can just finish up with the medical examinations first then after his health is back, then we can discuss about whether he really needs additional help,” Micky said as he carefully tried to give an explanation to what might be the cause of Jaejoong’s condition.
The old man nodded. “Ah, I see. If that is the case, then it might really explain everything. I will be adding that information on my report so that the other doctors who will be examining him will also be aware of this. But I still suggest that he undergo a psychological examination again after his health is back to normal, just to be sure,” the doctor said.
Micky nodded as well. “After he wakes up, we will certainly inform him of your suggestion and we will tell you right away once he agrees,” he said while trying to control himself. Deep inside, his whole body was feeling very cold. It was like his whole body was going to give up any moment now.
“I will be going now. I will be checking up on your friend again after a few hours,” the doctor said as he slowly moved and entered another patient’s room.
After the doctor left, it was then that Max started to cry. U-Know, Xiah and Micky worriedly look at their friend.
“Max, everything is going to be all right. Don’t cry. He’s going to be fine,” Xiah tried to console his friend as he placed his arm around his shoulder.
“We need to be strong for his sake. We don’t need to cry. He’s not that sick. He’s just under a lot of stress, that’s all. He’s fine…” U-Know uttered. He was somehow trying to convince Max and himself as well.
“Why? Why does he have to suffer? Why do they need to suffer? I pity both of them. I just feel so sad for them..” Max uttered in between sobs.
Micky looked away. He couldn’t bear to see his friends in so much worry and grief. “He’s fine. He’s going to be fine. He’s not dead, so you don’t need to cry for him. Please control yourself. You’re really such a cry baby,” he said with a serious tone in his voice.
Max quickly gave Micky a questioning look. “Why? Why are you acting so cold? Is it because now that Jaejoong is sick too… you can finally have Ellie all to yourself? You’re really sickening. Just because of a girl you’re going to throw away your best friend,” he said as he quickly shook his head and looked away as if disgusted with just looking at Micky.
Micky felt a stab of guilt after hearing what Max said. ‘Yes, he was right. He was becoming a total stranger now. And yes, he was willing to throw away his friendship with Jaejoong just to be with Ellie. And even though he didn’t really want it to be this way, he had no choice. It was an unavoidable situation. Ellie needed his help and he felt very drawn to her. No matter how much he tried to control his own emotions he just couldn’t. He was falling more and more in love with her. And he didn’t want to stop just because of Jaejoong’s sake. He knew he was a terrible friend. But his heart was ruling over his mind. He needed to be selfish and numb.’
“What do we do now?” Xiah suddenly asked.
“Let’s just wait until he wakes up and then we will start from there. Let’s talk to him. Maybe we can convince him to take some time off. Have a vacation or something,” U-Know answered.
“Do you think we need to take him away from Ellie? He’s becoming too affected with what is happening to her… Maybe if he stayed away from her…” Xiah started to say again but he suddenly stopped talking and looked at Micky. “That would totally be perfect for you right?” he asked as if mocking him. He was also starting to feel anger towards Micky. He couldn’t stop himself. He knew he shouldn’t, but it just appeared and he couldn’t hide it anymore.
Micky tried to smile as if he wasn’t affected. He was trying to pretend that it was all a joke. He tried to act numb and just started to walk away. He already chose and he had to stick to his decision. No matter what the consequences might be.
U-Know sadly looked at Micky as he slowly moved farther and farther away from them. He couldn’t believe that it was all coming to an end. Their friendship was slowly crumbling and there was no way in putting it back together.
Micky had already changed and even though it wasn’t right, there was a still a part of him that understood Micky’s situation. He somehow understood why he was acting like this. But the loyal friend inside of him is already starting to see Micky in a different light. He was no longer the person they knew. He was a stranger now…
U-Know sighed. He knew that the problems were just starting. This was just the beginning of something more unexplainable. He also knew that the pain was just starting. He then lowered his head and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt pity for Jaejoong, Micky and especially Ellie, three innocent lives that were bound to taste the cruel twist of fate.
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