8 Years [ENGV]

#12

HAEIN

Bogum was my best friend in the industry. We met in an action movie and got really close after filming. He was a person I trusted and talked to. Obviously, he knew about Jisoo and everything that happened, he was a great advisor, but I didn't need advice at the time, so he offered what he could give: comfort.

"Dude!" I could imagine him with his eyes wide open in surprise, his hands unsure whether to rest on his mouth or forehead. "Dude!" He repeated. "I don't know what to say..."

"I know, it's hard to take. I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you this over the phone, but I don't know when your schedule will be free, now you don't have time for friends anymore." I heard his laugh.

"As if you're not working abroad now." I laughed with him, but I heard his laughter stop.

"Dude, this story is so absurd and cruel, it sounds like the plot of some movie or drama." I sighed. "What about you and Jisoo? How are you doing with this? Are you coping well?"

"To be honest, I don't really know how we're coping, we haven't had time to think about it or talk about how we're feeling, but we have to deal with it the best way we can." I felt my phone vibrate in my ear and I pulled it away, seeing that Jisoo was calling me. "Park, I need to hang up now."

"Okay, keep me posted." He hung up, and I promptly answered Jisoo's call.

"Hae-in Oppa!" It was Lisa's voice and she sounded desperate. "Where are you? Are you busy? Can you come here?" She spoke quickly.

"I can, of course... What happened?" I asked, feeling my heart tighten in my chest and getting up from the couch, getting ready to leave.

"I don't know, I was with Rosé and when I got to Jisoo's apartment she was lying on the floor, crying a lot, and she's very hot, I don't know what to do."

"Okay, okay..." I say, already leaving and closing the apartment door.

"Should I call to the emergency? She doesn't seem well."

"Did she throw up or something?"

"No..." She says with a choked voice. "I don't know, actually, at least not in the living room."

"Okay. I'm almost there, find a thermometer, if her temperature is higher than 39 °C you call the emergency and have her taken to my family's hospital. I'm on my way."

"Okay. Please come quickly." She pleaded.

It didn't even take me 30 minutes to get to the apartment. I used the code to get in and saw Jisoo on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, holding it tightly, shaking and moaning. Lisa was next to her with her cell phone to her ear.

"He's here, bye!" She hung up, she was probably talking to Jennie or Rosé.

"How is she?" I asked, getting closer.

"She has a fever of 38.9 °C, I was going to give her some medicine or something, but I was afraid it would get worse." I nodded.

"Prepare a warm bath for her." I said, removing the blanket from her body. She moaned and curled up, crying and speaking incoherent words. I had only seen her like that once; when her parents rejected Hae-ji. I sighed.

"A bath. Okay." Lisa got up and ran to Jisoo's bathroom. I looked at the window and saw that it was closed. I knew she was cold, but she needed to be in an airy place, so I opened the window, letting the night breeze in. This made her curl up even more and look for the duvet.

"Calm down..." I said, getting closer, seeing her agitated. "It's okay..."

"Haein..." She whispered my name. Her eyes weren't open, but she reached for my arm and pulled me against her. She curled up, hugging my wrist. With my other arm, I gently stroked her hair, and she began to cry. "I'm alone..." She said, squeezing my wrist. It hurt, but certainly not as much as her heart.