Under the sky in room 553 I discovered you and I

Part 8

"Doctor, please let me in. Please!" Croaked the older girl, cheeks stained with dried tears. She immediately zoomed toward the front of the room when the door opened, only to be held back by two nurses that exited. The doctor in question was inside, back turned to her,, not even sparing her a second glance.

From the tiniest crack left ajar, she could spot the back of two gloomy figures; Minjeong's parents. She could see several other bodies in white coats, all surrounding the bed situated in the middle of the hospital room. She could make out voices—some murmured, some hushed, some laced with agony, others apologetic.

She was able to make out strings of words from their hushed conversation, all devastatingly fragmented— 'coma', 'too late', 'low chance', 'waking up'.

At the back of her mind, Jimin had already assumed the context; but her heart was fighting against the resolution with its all. There's no way. She'll be fine.

Jimin was hysterical now, hopelessly clawing at the door handle, trying to slide it aside. The hospital reeked of antiseptics, lights too bright, voices too muffled—or was it just her consciousness that was beginning to fade away?

The nurses holding her pulled her back even further, and had it not been for the fact that she'd been crying for the past several hours, Jimin would have very easily outsourced their combined strengths.

But a delirious, sleep-deprived Jimin was very convenient to drag away. She could only let out a defeated sob as she was pulled backwards and carelessly dropped onto a random seat in the waiting area. As the female nurse left, the younger nurse out of the two turned to her, crouching to meet her eyes. "Are you a relative?"

Jimin lightly shook her head, a hand wiping her tears. "No, but I'm her best friend.''

Only when she looked up did she realise just how young this nurse was—a teenage female, fresh out of adolescence, looking like she was no older than a high schooler; eyes big and clear as they gazed at her questioningly. Even in the middle of her hysteria, she couldn't help but stop to question. How can a teenager this young become a nurse already?

"You should go home and get some rest, you don't look well. Her parents are here to look after her." The nurse flashed her a sympathetic smile, to which Jimin instantly noticed that the girl had dimples. "Did you eat? I can get you something. I know it's hard, but I'm sure she'd want you to take care of yourself instead of crying like this."

Jimin had no idea how this nurse knew all the right things to say, but a knot in her heart slowly came undone. She felt like she could breathe just a little bit easier now, her lungs a bit clearer as she leaned back against the seat with a meek nod.

The young nurse then disappeared to a nearby vending machine, returning with a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water too soon for Jimin's liking. she could only accept with an ashamed mumble of thanks.

"It's no problem," said the nurse. To her surprise, she sat herself down next to her instead of turning to leave. Jimin looked up to meet her eyes. "I'm Yeji. I know you're probably wondering why a nurse looks so young. I think we're about the same age, I just help my father around after school—he's a surgeon at this hospital. I usually just help with minor errands in the pediatric wing, but this one was sudden and no one else was free."

"So you're a high school student who's a nurse part-timer?" Jimin asked as she took a bite out of her sandwich, the tangy flavour of tuna sharp on her tongue. Her lack of appetite almost made her recoil, but fought against it as she remembered to be polite for the free food.

The nurse named Yeji just nodded. "Yes, I'm just in high school. Weird, I know. But I find it very fun and interesting... What about you?''

"I'm Jimin. Today's supposed to be my first day of high school." Then, she gulped with difficulty, like she'd just remembered something more. In a shaky low voice, she continued. "Our first day."