A Sound from the Moon

Five

I wake up to the familiar smell of pancakes. I gently stretch and see that Joy is nowhere to be found. There is just a neatly done bed.

My stomach growls loudly and I put a hand on it as a painful emptiness takes over my every thought. I practically passed a whole day in the U.S without eating. Changing to this time difference is going to be hard.

But I groggily wash my teeth and make it to the kitchen. Irene is once again at the stovetop flipping pancakes. She lets her mouth fall with happiness and wide eyes when she does a perfect flip. Wendy does a small clap and Joy giggles after recording. Wendy is the first to see me walk in and give me an excited wave.

"Good morning!" The rest join in with wide smiles. I return their excited gestures with a wave as Wendy says, "How did you sleep?"

"Good," I say with a smile. "Where's Seulgi?"

Joy scoffs as she steals a strawberry from the bowl Irene is working on. "No one can wake her up. We just let her wake up whenever. She's a deep sleeper."

"This is true," Wendy says with playful finger up. "Even I tried waking her up once by yelling out her name and blasting music, and it's like she is dead."

"Don't say that, unnie!" Joy says with narrowed eyes that makes Wendy giggle.

"Speaking of the devil." Irene does a smile that brightens her dark eyes when Seulgi walks in. "Good morning."

"Morning," she says as she takes an apple. She then passes by me on the kitchen counter and her eyes brighten. "Hey. Did Joy bother you too much last night? Did she say any secrets in her sleep?"

Joy flicks drops of water at Seulgi after washing her hands. Seulgi giggles and I join in with Wendy. My agonizing stomach then makes me walk up to Irene and offer to help. She gives me a small smile and tells me to set the table. We once again sit at the table in the living room and I stop myself from devouring everything once we all sit down together.

"You can use chopsticks, right?" Wendy asks as she hands me a pair of chopsticks.

"She was using chopsticks last night, Wendy," Joy says. Wendy playfully sticks out her tongue at her and Irene only does a quiet chuckle.

As I pour syrup on my pancakes, my phone begins to ring and I quickly take it out. I wouldn't expect my mother. It's evening over there and she's usually taking a nap. I then see an unknown number on the screen and I answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Yerim!" I immediately recognize his voice and my stomach twists with nerves.

"Is that the boss?" Joy says as she looks up from her plate.

"Don't be nosy, Joy," Seulgi says.

But I still nod and she ignores Seulgi as she says, "Put him on speaker!"

I do as she says and he is now clear to everyone as he says, "How was your flight, Yerim? Long?"

Joy does a whisper of a giggle with Wendy as I say, "Yes. But I'm okay now."

"How are the members treating you?"

"Hey, boss!" Joy now says. "How you doing?"

"Is that Joy? Joy, are you behaving?"

"She never behaves," Seulgi says with a small smile. "Good morning, boss."

"Good morning, girls. Is everyone there?"

They all respond except for Irene, but she is listening with her quiet look. The boss does a warm chuckle before saying, "Looks like you are getting along. I'm glad to hear that. Now, Yerim, I wanted to talk about your medical physical."

"One of the nurses sent you the most recent one I had done," I say.

"Yes but it's not valid if you don't do it here."

My eyes grow wide at this and my heart falls. "What? No!"

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but it doesn't work. Try to get a physical soon. I can call a clinic nearby so they can just send me the records once they're done with you today."

"No no." I don't even care at this point that the members are giving me confused looks. "I don't want to do a physical."

The boss does a small laugh. "What are you saying? It'll be quick! Are you afraid of needles?"

"I don't like the hospital in general," I mumble.

"I understand but you need to do it so you can start. You start Monday. Ladies, make sure to be here early."

"Yes, boss," Wendy says. "We'll take the little one to the clinic today. Don't worry."

"Okay. Have fun, Yerim. I know it is a big change but...I have a good feeling that it'll be for good. See you all Monday."

He hangs up and I suddenly lost my appetite. I put down my utensils and stay quiet.

"It's not that bad," Wendy gently says. "It's just a small pinch on your finger. There won't be any shots."

I swallow and do a small nod. My heart thumps. There's a difference with visiting a patient and being the patient. I do my best to never be a patient of any sort.

"We'll be there with you if you want company," Seulgi says now.

"Why are you scared of the doctor?" Joy says with a hint of a teasing smile.

I clear my throat and try to come up with a lie, but nothing comes up. I suddenly realize that at some point they will have to know about my mother. So I find the courage to say, "I've visited hospitals so much that I ended up hating them."

"Why did you visit hospitals?" Wendy says with furrowed brows.

"My mother," I softly say. "She has stomach cancer and...Well, it's always been just me and her since she got sick. I was always in a hospital before and after school for seven years."

They all have surprised looks from my words. My heart falls and I let my expression fall with it. Joy is the first to speak up and say, "I'm so sorry, Yeri. I..."

Her eyes start to water and I quickly say, "She's a fighter. I know she'll be okay. I have hope she can get better soon." I give her a small smile and she returns it with warmth at my words.

"Wait," Wendy now says. "So she's still in the hospital now? In San Francisco?" I nod and her eyes grow wide again. "And you still came? That takes guts."

"Why did you audition if your mom was sick?" Irene says now. She is still surprised as her eyes show that she's trying to connect the dots.

So I give her the missing piece as I say, "I'll admit it. I didn't think I was going to get in. I told my mother about the opportunity and she begged me to try it out. Then I got in and I...I was going to quit before I even came. But she pushed me to keep going. So I said that maybe this would be something that could keep her strong. Music will be her medicine."

Joy sniffles and they all have that sad look on their expressions. Even Irene carries sympathy to my words as Joy says, "That was so beautiful. I hope your mother gets better. You have to stay strong for her."

"You are a brave girl," Seulgi says. "I'm glad we chose you."

"And please let us know if you ever need anything from us," Wendy sweetly says as she puts a comforting hand on my back. "We're here for you."

Their genuine words reflect in their sweet expressions. I am overwhelmed with this warmth that it makes me smile and tears start to form in my eyes.

Almost immediately, the fear of being far from home isn't so scary anymore with just one look at my new family.