JiMina Collection

From Within The Rubble ~ Part 8

             With a gasp of relief, they entered the room to see a pale, but still smiling, figure lying on the bed in her hospital gown. Immediately, all eight members of TWICE ran to her bedside and enveloped her in a huge hug. Tzuyu burst into tears yet again, the sight of her sudden breakdown invoking the other members to follow her example.

             Mina was extremely pale and thin with a cast on her wrist, bandages covering her head and legs. Her lip was split and bloody, but it didn't stop her from flashing an excited grin at her members. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't notice the presence of six other people. 

"Mina," said Nayeon. "We brought guests." The eight members of TWICE stepped back to reveal the group standing awkwardly in the corner. Sana beckoned them come forward with a wave of her hand. Although reluctant at first, they complied, exchanging greetings with the frail figure on the bed. After all their introductions, Jeongyeon got right down to business.

"Mina, what happened?" she asked. The smile on Mina's face faded away. She seemed to understand why the members of BTS were here as well; to get answers. She realized that as bad as being hospitalized was, they had also endured their own bouts of suffering. She didn't know how she'd live knowing that one of her members had been injured, or maybe even proclaimed dead. Mina seized up, remembering the ominous events of the previous day. She took a shaky breath and started from the beginning.

"I thought I left my phone behind, so I walked back to the refreshment table at Music Bank to look for it. But when I tried to make my way there, I was blocked by a crowd of people, so I decided to take another route. That corridor went right through the back end of the building, but I didn't know. It was so empty and no one was there. I walked for a long time before I heard any other noise than my own footsteps. That's when I met Jimin." Mina said, directing her gaze towards the members of BTS, who were anxiously listening to her words on the tips of their toes. "I didn't even know it was him. I just turned the corner and we walked right into each other." Mina faintly smiled at the memory. That invoked small chuckles to escape from the others gathered around her. Mina's expression then turned grim. "I didn't even have enough time to apologize before the building came down on us."

                Tzuyu sighed. She'd been dreading this story. She didn't know if she had the strength to make it through. Most of the attention was directed towards Mina, and so unless you looked very carefully, it was hard to notice Jungkook shift inconspicuously towards Tzuyu and place a comforting hand on her shoulder. In response, Tzuyu flashed him a grateful half-smile.

                With a pained expression plastered on her face, Mina continued on. "We only survived by chance. Huge slabs of concrete formed a- a sort of... area around us. Like a dome. It was held up by a few beams of wood and concrete. Jimin was completely fine, but I wasn't so lucky."

"What happened?" Nayeon interrupted, concerned for her friend.

"Um, when the building collapsed, a huge pillar or section or - I don't know - of concrete fell on top of me and pinned me to the ground. Right here." Mina explained, indicating the area where the concrete slab once was. "It was crushing me, making it hard for me to breathe. It fractured one of my ribs too." Mina touched the area and winced. She then had a faraway look in her eyes.

"I don't know what would've happened if Jimin wasn't there." she looked once more at the six members of BTS. "The air was thick with dust and dirt, so we couldn't get enough oxygen without breathing in all the grime. I just remember not being able to stop coughing, and it was impossible to breathe properly anyways. And in addition, the concrete was making it too hard to inhale. There was so much pain, so I cried for help. Jimin came and pulled the huge thing off of me, then guided me to a safe place to sit. We used our shirts as filters for the air until we could breathe normally again." Mina finished, stopping to catch her breath.