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"Ah! I forgot to get those chocolates that Cha Eugene likes!"
"Wouldn't he eat anything that we have already bought?"
"Yeah, but he's worked hard. He should eat the things he likes as a reward!"
I sighed. We were clearly spoiling Cha Eugene too much.
"D-do you need us to follow along?"
"No, it's fine, manager-hyung! Just go chill in a cafe or something. I'll be right back!"
He pushed the bags he was carrying into my arms before taking off for the store again before I could even get a word in.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"I-it should be, since it's a short distance away." The manager avoided by eyes. "Uhm, why don't we wait in the cafe over there then? We have some time to spare."
Since I couldn't exactly go against the manager with Keun Sejin a distance away, I relented and followed the manager to a traffic light crossing that led to the cafe he referred to, waiting for the man to turn green.
"Hyo Ri-ah! Wait for your mother!"
"Hehe! I'll reach home faster than you!"
I could hear the joyful laughter of a young girl running towards us, likely racing her mother from the sounds of it.
"Mama, faster! Papa is waiting!"
The girl entered my vision, but too fast to be in my peripheral.
She ran straight onto the road without looking while the man was still red.
My body moved before my words could.
So the next thing I knew, I was flown a distance away from the car, still hugging onto the girl, while in a puddle of something wet. Was it rain water? Huh, it hasn't rained recently though.
Distantly, through my blurring vision, I could see the manager running towards us, mouthing something I couldn't hear because there was an incessant ringing in my ear. My entire body was throbbing too, was it from the impact?
I didn't expect the crash to be this serious, is the girl still alright? Or am I hugging her too tightly? I was slowly losing the feeling in my limbs too so I couldn't tell. I had so many questions in my head but it was hurting to even think so I figured to just stop and ask.
'Is the girl alright?'
I think I managed to get the words out but I wasn't too sure. My eyes were getting heavier as my vision began to get splotchy. Before I knew it, I blacked out.
***
"Wai- M-moondae-ssi! Please wake up, Moondae-ssi!!"
TeSTAR's newest manager was frantically rocking the fainted idol's body lying in the pool of his own blood, still hugging the child who had long fainted from the shock. He briefly touched the skin of the vocalist which was quickly turning cold.
"Ah...A-ambulance...I...I have to call an ambulance..."
With shaking hands and tearing eyes, he pulled out his phone from his blood soaked pant pocket.
"Ah..."
It short circuited and refused to turn on.
"No...turn on...turn on, turn on! Why won't you turn on now of all times!? Wh-what do I do now!?"
His head was growing numb while his senses began to numb from the panic. He was feeling himself freeze up, lost in what to do next, untrained in emergencies. He was just here to fill the gaps during the turnovers so just was he the one that has to deal with this?
"Hyo Ri-ah! My Hyo Ri!!"
Even with his dulling senses, he could hear the shrieks of a panicked mother.
"Hyo Ri! Can you hear me? Hyo Ri!"
Her hands reached to pry the child—
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
The broken man dropped his dead phone and held his head, with his shaking bloodied hands as he muttered inaudible words like a mantra.
It shocked the mother away from touching her daughter's protector. Her eyes scanned the scene in front of her.
"Ah..."
And she instantly realised that her daughter may cause the death of a man.
"I-I called the ambulance! They'll be here soon!"
Luckily, the driver had no intention for it to be a hit-and-run. He called 119 the moment he stepped out of his car and observed the situation.
"S-Step aside! I'm a nurse in training, I-I'll perform first aid!"
A woman in her 20s stepped forward, her hands holding a mini first aid kit that she began a habit of bringing with her since becoming a nurse in training. Despite her inexperience in dealing with major injuries like this, she couldn't just back away, her conscience wouldn't allow it.
'What use of a nurse am I if I can't even do first aid!'
Walking past the grief-stricken mother and the now sobbing man, she gently released the child from the man's embrace, briefly scanning her condition and concluding that she had no major injuries that needed immediate attention. Setting the girl aside, the nurse turned her attention to the unconscious man.
Her eyes widened.
"It's...Moondae..."
Thousands of thoughts ran through her brain. She never had the time to go for fan meets or the luck to get tickets to their concerts so she always wanted to meet her bias, at least once but...
Not like this.
It hurt her heart seeing the gentle, talented, and caring Moonpuppy lying on the road, unconscious.
Still, she had to do her job.
Steeling herself, the nurse poured water over the head wound, rinsing off the blood. Next, she poured some alcohol on the wound before wiping it down with a towel.
'He's so cold...'
Her hands continued to tremble.
"I-I need some a-assistance for something."
She tries to keep her voice professional but having to treat her favourite idol as a newbie nurse for a major injury was slowly but surely breaking her spirit.
"I can do it! What do I need to do?"
"F-First, disinfect your hands with this alcohol then..."
She instructed the driver who had volunteered to simply hold a clean gauze in place before she began wrapping the wound as she had done dozens of times with her classmates.
Snipping off the excess, she looked at her work but still despaired, observing that the bandages were quickly turning a deep crimson red.
"The ambulance is here!"
She hears someone shout. She got to her feet and readied herself to relay the information she gleaned from a brief scan of the body to the paramedics.
She hoped to god that it would help her idol get the help he desperately needs.
She prayed that her first meeting with her idol wouldn't be her last.
The paramedics got off the ambulance and got out their stretchers. The nurse in training approached them and launched into a rundown of the patients' conditions with a shaky voice.
"Please..."
She began again after finishing her explanation.
"...save him."
Nodding their heads, the paramedics carried off Park Moondae and the young girl in stretchers, delivering them to the hospital.
***
"Huh... What's the crowd there for?"
Unable to control his curiosity, Lee Sejin jogged up to the commotion. It was in the direction of the cafe he had told them to wait for him anyways, so Moondae couldn't tell him off for side tracking.
Or at least, he now hoped he would.
"H-hey!!"
He pushed through the crowd, not caring if anyone recognised him.
"Hey what happened to him!?" He locked eyes with his manager who instantly looked down, hands still trembling. Lee Sejin closed the distance and held the man's shoulder.
"Hyung! Why is he...?"
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything!!!"
Lee Sejin turned his head slightly and witnessed the pool of now dried blood. He gagged at the sight, eyes trembling at the amount of blood loss.
"Sorry, we really need to rush the patient off to the hospital right now, who is accompanying this man?"
"W-we will! We're his friends!"
Lee Sejin had to recover his wits.
"Alright, get on, quickly!"
The wail of the sirens blared through the city.
***
The hospital door slammed open to a chorus of 'Moondae's. Streaming into the room, the members of TeSTAR's blood ran cold, bodies numbing at the sight.
Blood bags and IV drips, hooked up to his frail body, a respirator mask over his mouth and nose to help him breathe. A heart monitor by his side, keeping rhythm to show that he was still with them, alive. His face deathly pale and his eyes sunken from the blood loss. While he looked calm, the members were not.
"...Hyung, what happened?"
It took Ryu Chungwoo's all to keep his voice stable as he directed the question at their manager, who was definitely with Moondae at the time since they had agreed that the latter couldn't be left alone.
"I…I do-"
"Don't say you don't know!"
Lee Sejin grabbed the man's collar, "You were there with him, weren't you!?"
"S-Sejin..."
Seon Ahyeon and Bae Sejin held back the emotional man, holding back their own anger.
"There was...so much...so much blood..."
Lee Sejin, the moodmaker, the jokester, the extrovert, was now on the floor, in tears sobbing as he covered his face with his hands.
"If only I...!"
Cha Eugene glanced at the bedside table and saw a bag with a chocolate bar poking out, his favourite brand, and immediately understood. The handles of the bag were gripped so tightly that they turned into rags.
“For…me…”
“Eugene?”
Kim Raebin followed his gaze and understood.
“I-it’s not–”
“But if it wasn’t for those—”
“It isn’t anyone’s fault!”
Ryu Chungwoo moved towards the patient’s bed and looked at his resting face. It was serene, too much in fact, for him to take it, knowing his history.
“Moondae…wouldn’t want us to fight, right?”
The tension in the room eased, but the melancholy remained. Sniffles could be heard in the room, Cha Eugene being the exception as he wailed, collapsed by the bedside.
Just how would they go on now?
***
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month. The members going through them in a daze.
His body was growing thinner.
His fingers became far too slender.
His face slowly caving.
TeSTAR’s schedule continued to be cancelled, unable to move on from the grief. Who gives a damn about the articles when one of their members was in a coma? They had long since disregarded the words of T1, their manager soon fired, both from his incompetence and his broken mind from seeing excessive blood, caused under his care.
“Excuse me…”
A nurse walked into the room, receiving the gaze of 7 sullen eyes, the owners having not slept in days. One couldn’t help but flinch getting the bloodshot gazes from the idols.
“The mother of the child he saved would like to visit. Is that okay?”
The low hum of the machines and the beeps of the heart monitor continued as the members looked at each other through their tired eyes.
“...Yes, we don’t mind.”
Ryu Chungwoo spoke as the representative, his voice slightly cracked, broken from how long he hasn’t spoken to others.
Stepping aside, the nurse revealed the tired face of a woman, her hand holding a young girl who was hugging a puppy doll. The moment her eyes landed on the still unconscious man, she collapsed to her knees.
“Ma’am!”
Lee Sejin rushed to help her up from the ground.
“I’m so sorry…I’m sorry for not watching my child better…!”
“Mum…no, it was…it was Hyo Ri’s fault for running ahead!”
“It’s…it’s okay…” Bae Sejin crouched and gently reassured the now crying pair, “He…Moondae has always been the type to save others…”
“N-no matter w-who it was…he w-would be there.”
“But still…my heart aches for having caused trouble to him…as a mother I feel ashamed…! Is there anything I can do to repent…? I’ll do anything, please…”
“Please…get up first. There is no need to apologise.” Ryu Chungwoo guided the pair to sit down on the sofa that was available. “I’m sure he would be satisfied with the fact that both of you are safe.”
“H-here…t-tissue…”
Seon Ahyeon gingerly offered the packet of tissues he had.
“You’re all…such good boys…”
Her tears began to flow again, weighed down by her guilt, the injustice he had done to them because of her negligence. The man had so much more to live for. If only she had better held onto her child’s hand, or were by her side so that she was the one that the car hit—
“Hyo Ri…was your name, right?”
Cha Eugene’s voice broke her train of thoughts.
“Y-yes…”
“That’s a really cute puppy, is that your favourite animal?”
She couldn’t say a word and merely nodded her head shyly, avoiding his warm gaze.
“Do you know that the hyung over there is called a puppy by our fans? It’s because…he was always caring towards everyone.”
The girl slowly looked up, looking deep into the man’s amber eyes.
“That’s why, you don’t have to feel bad, alright?” He patted the girl’s head, “Like the puppy you have in your hands, he just wanted to protect you. So…keep on living, okay?”
The girl’s eyes became wet again as she hugged her doll tighter than before.
“Mmm..! I will…!”
“Oh, Hyo Ri…”
Her mother leaned in to embrace her.
***
“When he wakes up…please express my gratitude towards him.”
“Yes, we will. Please take care.”
Bowing deeply, the pair finally took their leave, their minds reassured by the kindness of the members.
“Eugene, good job.”
“I was just doing what you said, hyung. It’s…no one’s fault.”
They looked back at the monitor, hopeful as they were for the past month. Streaks of orange seeped into the room even through the blinds, signalling the end of another day. Then, a twitch of a finger.
“...?”
Followed by twitching eyelids, struggling to open.
“Mmm…”
An unintentional groan from an exhausted body.
“M-Moondae! C-can you h-hear me?”
“W-wait let’s call the doctors quickly!”
Finally finding the minimal required strength, Park Moondae’s yellow eyes fluttered open.
“Guys…?”
He was surprised at the crack of his voice, having not consumed water orally for the past month. He couldn’t feel the strength in his arms to reach for his throat either. Nevertheless, his eyes began scanning the room for more information.
‘Oh, I’m in hospital.’
“Doctor! Over here!”
The door opened to staff in white overcoats who immediately began bodily check ups on the severely malnourished body while the other members were crying tears of joy, seeing their beloved member finally waking up after a month.
***
I was still in a daze.
My head felt fuzzy, like I had slept for a really long time. When I was sat up in bed, I noticed the countless drips and contraptions my body was attached to. My throat was ridiculously parched too.
“H-here, water!”
I graciously drank the water that Seon Ahyeon passed to me before opening my mouth again.
“How long was I asleep…?”
The group went strangely silent. That wasn’t a good sign. Their body condition wasn’t that great either, just what have they been doing?
“Moondae, don’t panic when you hear this but…”
“...?”
“It has been a month since the accident.”
A month. That was how long I was out?
“The activities?”
“...Cancelled.”
“Why?”
“You were unconscious, for god’s sake! You expect us to carry on with our lives like nothing happened!?”
“Sejin!”
I misspoke. Lee Sejin probably had to witness the accident when he eventually came back so of course he would be especially sensitive. He walked off to face the wall, likely to cool off at the order of our leader.
“...Sorry.”
“...In any case, the manager got fired because of the accident as well.”
“And the girl?”
“She’s well.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, I wouldn’t want my efforts to be wasted, after all.
“The mother and daughter came by and wanted to say thank you earlier today!”
Cha Eugene was keeping a cheerful tone but it seemed oddly strained. I…felt bad for causing all this trouble.
“It was…nothing.”
“M-Moondae… Never do t-that again…o-okay?”
“It happened right in front of me so—”
“Just promise us, hyung!”
Kim Raebin unexpectedly shouted before covering his mouth and taking a few steps back.
“S-sorry.”
“No, I worried all of you. I’ll…be more careful next time.”
“Hmph, you better be.”
Lee Sejin was clearly still pouting from my actions this time round which I admit was my fault. Still, I didn’t want an accident taking away someone’s beloved one anymore. I had seen enough of them in two lifetimes. Keeping it to just me…was enough. Though…they clearly haven’t been eating since I was hospitalised. I have to get them back on track during this impromptu hiatus…
“When I get discharged, what would you all like to eat?”
The members looked at each other before glaring at me.
“““Rest!”””