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Chapter 3

Memory block imposed…readying consciousness in 3…2…1… 

I shot up at the sound of that small voice that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar in my head. I had vaguely recalled a countdown which was when I crossed the threshold - the doorway. I winced as the pain shot through my skull, my palm automatically cradling my forehead. 

“Ah you’re awake,” a man with almond eyes approached me. 

I was back in the medical room, seated on a bed with a rugged blanket thrown on top of me. The man set down a glass of water and a plate of bread on the bedside table before walking to the medicine cart to pull out painkillers. I watched him pop two pills out before walking back to me, handing the pills to me. I gulped nervously knowing damn well I could not swallow pills.

I drank some water to prepare my throat. The first pill took 3 attempts before it was flushed down. The bitter twinge of the pill started to grow. The second pill was a lot harder. Since the pill’s shape was an elongated ellipse, the incorrect orientation of the pill would cause choking.

The pill decided to be an asshole and slide down with the incorrect orientation causing the edges of the pill to scrape the back of my throat as it went down. I sputtered out water that remained in my mouth and coughed aggressively. The space next to me sank down and I felt a warm palm rub my back gently. 

“Hey Seonghwa how’s…” An energetic San bounded in and stopped mid sentence when sees me. 

I winced at the volume of his voice. The man, now known as Seonghwa, shook his head in disapproval in San’s direction. 

“You okay?” San asked, blatantly ignoring Seonghwa’s attempts to shush him. 

I nodded slightly, still fatigued and also frustrated that I could only nod or shake my head in response. Seonghwa pushed the plate of bread towards me as he got up from the bed. I hesitantly reached out for the food. The bread itself was nothing special, just sustenance.

But eating bread in a medical room with somebody watching you was certainly something ‘special’ to the point of embarrassment. The faint sounds of paper rustling was reassuring to know that one of them was busy. It took a while to finish the piece of bread. 

“San, it’s time to gather everybody.” Seonghwa spoke without looking up from his papers.

His glasses were now propped on his face as he scanned his documents. He pulled out a drawer full of neatly arranged files, pulling out an orange file. He slotted all but one of the papers in and returned the files whilst humming a soft melody. The singular paper was neatly folded up and stuffed in his pocket. The glasses slid off his face and caught in his awaiting hand. He stood up, not forgetting to push his chair in and once again approached me.

“Can you stand?” Seonghwa offered his hand. 

I glanced at his hands before using my own hands to push me up slowly. Blood was slowly pumping to the rest of my body to wake up and start moving. When I stumbled, Seonghwa moved closer. I backed away to steady my posture as well as to not trouble the man. It took a while to regain my footing and not seem like a newborn giraffe testing out their legs. 

Everybody turned towards us as Seonghwa and I entered the meeting room last. The door behind me was shut by Seonghwa who pushed me slightly to the centre of attention. Standing opposite of me was the captain. The rest of the crew stood to the side. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Yeosang with a tense expression standing next to Mingi with a matching expression. Unconsciously, I swallowed a lump forming in my throat and timidly raised my eyes to look at the captain. 

“As you all know what this meeting concerns,” the captain starts, “we will hear out some proposals and vote.” 

I figured that the concern was me and that their votes, in a small act of democracy, determined my fate. So whatever I said could be used for or against my favour.