Paradise: Earthquake

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Jisoo's head throbbed with a dull, persistent pain, as if an invisible hammer were striking her thoughts, one by one. A flash of light stabbed at her eyes when she tried to open them—a glare too cruel for her fragility. She shut them again, instinctively, and breathed slowly, waiting for the world to stop spinning.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, what she saw was a white ceiling, cold and empty, with four lights that seemed to float above her like distant stars.

"Ow..." her voice escaped as a wounded whisper.

At the fragile sound, Soojin ran in. The hurried steps filled the silence in the room.

"Jisoo!" Soojin's voice was a relief. Warm, alive, familiar. She gently brushed a strand of hair from her friend's face, her fingers trembling with care. She touched her shoulder, like someone trying to remind another that they're still here, still loved.

Jisoo tried to reach her forehead but winced as she felt the needle in her arm.

"Easy," murmured Soojin tenderly. "If you move like that, you'll end up pulling out the needle."

"What... happened?" Jisoo asked, her voice trembling like glass on the verge of shattering.

"You fainted," Soojin explained, sitting at the edge of the bed. "We were having ice cream, and when I looked again, you were already on the floor."

The simple sound of the word "ice cream" made her nauseous. A sickness that wasn't just physical—it felt like her body was rejecting the world around her. She took a deep breath, trying to stay in control.

"Who brought me here? Does my team know?" Her mind, always practical, searched for answers. Soojin nodded, understanding the desperation rooted in the need for control.
The memories were foggy. Broken fragments of a lost moment. She remembered a dizziness, an emptiness taking over. But nothing else. And the pain, that, refused to go away. Soojin noticed her discomfort and, without a word, picked up a cold compress and gently laid it on her forehead. The icy touch brought a soft, almost maternal relief. As if saying: you can rest now.

"Did the doctor... say anything? Do they know what happened?" Jisoo asked, eyes fixed on the ceiling, as if afraid to face the answers.

Soojin squeezed her hand, their fingers intertwined like a silent promise.

"He said you're dehydrated. Exhausted. You pushed yourself too hard."

She hesitated. But before she could go on, Jisoo cut in, trying—and failing—to laugh:

"Why are you looking at me like I'm dying?"

At that moment, the door opened, and a doctor walked in. Her white coat emphasized her professional demeanor, as did her hair tied back in a ponytail. Holding a clipboard, she flipped through the papers. Her steps were firm, but her expression was gentle. She looked at Jisoo, then at Soojin.

"It's okay," said Jisoo in a calm tone that tried to mask her tension. "I trust her."

The doctor nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Let's see..." she murmured, her eyes scanning the results. "Miss Kim Jisoo. We ran some blood tests to understand the reason for your fainting, just to make sure it wasn't anything serious."

Jisoo's heart felt like a silent avalanche.

"Your blood pressure is good. Blood sugar's a little low, but nothing alarming. Just a few hormonal changes."

"Hormonal changes?" Jisoo repeated, the doubt echoing like muffled thunder.

"Yes." The doctor looked at her closely. "Have you been feeling drowsy? Nauseous?"

Jisoo nodded slightly, thinking.

"Sometimes I wake up exhausted, like I didn't sleep at all. I get tired easily, even with simple things... But I've been traveling the world for almost a year. I thought that was normal."

The doctor listened patiently, as if holding delicate news in her hands.

"Well, based on your tests, I requested a follow-up analysis."

Jisoo's eyes widened, a sense of foreboding beginning to take shape.

"A follow-up?"

"Yes." The doctor hesitated for a second, as if searching for the right words. "I know you're in a relationship. That's why I ordered a pregnancy test."

Silence fell like a heavy fog. Jisoo and Soojin exchanged stunned glances. The air felt heavier. The words hung between them, as if time had frozen in that instant.

"And... the results?" Jisoo finally asked, her voice a trembling thread of wind.

The doctor held her gaze gently.

"Positive, Miss Kim. You're pregnant."

The world seemed to stop. For a second—or an eternity—Jisoo said nothing. She just stared into the void ahead, trying to piece together a new reality.

Sensing the tension in the room, the doctor quietly excused herself—a word unheard by Jisoo, but acknowledged by Soojin, who nodded with a grateful glance. Once alone, the silence lingered. Until Soojin, in a low and sweet voice, dared to break it:

"Jisoo... What is it? Are you afraid of how Bohyun will react? Do you think he'll be upset because it's too soon?"

Jisoo closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tide threatening to overflow.

"He won't be happy," she whispered, like someone confessing a secret too heavy to bear. She opened her eyes, and in them was pain, shame, and an unspoken love. "Because this... isn't his baby."