3:56 [p.j.m.]

050

monday july twenty-third
3:55 am

yeong ja
I drew in a deep breath as my thumbs hovered over the keyboard on my phone. Instead of Ji Min sending me a text, I decided to make better use of my lack of sleep to send him a nice message. I began to type.

yeong ja: hi, ji min! i thought i'd return the favor of a sweet text early in the morning because you deserve it. this is your daily reminder to love yourself and that you're beautiful, inside and out. if you're awake right now, try and catch a bit of sleep. i'll see you in class (:

Before I chickened out of sending the text, I hit the send button. Almost immediately came Ji Min's daily 3:56 message. Except it wasn't Ji Min. And, well, it wasn't a message. It was a phone call.

I answered and held the phone up to my ear with a quivering hand. He doesn't usually call. Is something wrong? "Hello, this is Seo Yeong Ja."

"Okay, so I do have the correct person. This is Ji Min's younger brother. My hyung is in the hospital, and I recognized your contact as the one that he always talks about, so I thought I should call you. Come to the hospital, it's the closest one to the university."

"Y-Yes, of course. Thank you, I'll be right there," I whispered hoarsely, then ending the call. Jumping out of bed, thoughts of what might have happened began to race through my mind. I pushed my hair back with one hand as I frantically looked around the room for clothes, shoes, and my keys.

As soon as I had everything together, I left my dorm to head to the hospital. The drive felt both never-ending and far too fast at the same time. What if it was something I could've helped with? What if it was because of something I did? What if there's something severely wrong with him? Was there an accident? Is there a disease? Oh god, I hope he's okay.

When I stepped into the hospital, I was immediately met with the somehow daunting, familiar scent. I shook my head in an attempt to clear any memories resurfacing. That's for another time. Ji Min is the main priority right now, we don't have time for your personal problems.

Striding up to the front desk, I was asked who I was visiting. "Park Ji Min," I muttered. Anxiously, I tapped my foot on the all-too-pristine, white tiled floor. The sound echoed my heartbeat, racing. The receptionist handed me a visitor badge which I clipped to my shirt and gave me directions to Ji Min's room.

"Please stay quiet if you can. Most patients are trying to sleep at this time." I nodded and thanked her before turning on my heel and following the directions she gave me.

The closer I got to Ji Min's room, the more anxious I became. My heart felt as if it would burst out of my chest. As I glanced around the hallway, my surroundings became much more familiar than I would have liked them to be.

The suicide watch ward.

•unedited

It's been almost three weeks since I updated this and I'm so so sorry that I made you guys wait for so long