Last Chance [Jung Hoseok]

Chapter 1

Jisoo POV

You know how your parents always told you to look both ways before crossing the street? Well my parents didn't care about me enough to tell me that.

I figured it out on my own eventually, but it wasn't drilled into my head like most other kids. So when I was rushing to practice one day, I didn't think to check. I didn't see the car until I was underneath it.

*****

"Dance classes?" my mother screams at me. "You have been using the money you made on dance instead of giving it to me? You pathetic, ungrateful bitch! You'll never be a good dancer. You're fat and ugly. No one wants to see you dance. Stop being stupid. I expect the full amount of money next month," she says before raising her hand to hit me.

I close my eyes and turn my head to the side, waiting for the blow. But it never comes. Slowly, I open my eyes again, but I'm not in front of my mother anymore.

Instead, I find myself staring into incredibly bright lights. I shudder as I realize I was just having a nightmare, a memory from before. I blink rapidly as my vision gradually focuses on my surroundings.

I don't recognize the white room. A steady beeping sound to right pulls my attention. A heart monitor... Am I in a hospital? What happened? As I am trying to remember, the door swings open and a man in white scrubs walks in.

"Oh good, you are awake. My name is Dr. Lee. How are you feeling?" I try to answer, but my voice comes out in a croak. He quickly hands me some water which I accept gratefully.

"I don't know why I am here..." I admit after taking a few sips of water.

"Oh. Well, you were in an accident several days ago. You got hit by a car. You were in bad condition when you were brought in, but the surgery went smoothly. Your body needed to recover, so you have been unconscious for a while." I feel my body go numb as I listen.

"Oh. Okay. What... what are my injuries? Will I recover?" I ask, terrified of what he was going to answer, terrified that my dreams are all going to crumble away with his words.

"You suffered a moderate concussion. There is lots of bruising on your torso and arms but no severe damage. Most of the damage is in your left leg. You fractured your pelvis in two places and shattered your femur. It will take a few months to heal fully, but your body seems very resilient and is already healing well."

My heart aches in my chest. It sounds really bad. He is trying to be nice and optimistic, but a shattered leg sounds about as bad as it can get for an aspiring dancer. I can barely get my next question out as my chest squeezes in anxiety.

"I'm a dancer. I will be able to dance again, right?"

The doctor presses his lips together before opening his mouth to speak. The look of sadness in his eyes tells me the answer first though and my eyes start to water.

"You will definitely be able to walk again. However, even with physical therapy and rehabilitation there will still be some soreness and discomfort in your left leg and hip when you work it too much. I would imagine that dancing would be quite painful long term, and would recommend against it. I'm sorry, this is probably not what you wanted to hear."

My tears are falling freely now and my throat burns as I hold back my sobs.

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I would like to be alone for a little bit now," I choke out. He nods quickly before leaving the room.

I break down as soon as the door closes behind him. Dance is... was... the only thing I love in life.

I am good at school but I hate going because I get bullied all the time.

Home sucks because my parents are always fighting with each other or yelling at me.

Work at the restaurant is miserable because my middle aged boss is always flirting and causing skinship with me. It is so uncomfortable but I have to work there to make money so that my parents won't beat me.And then they beat me anyways when they found out I had been keeping some of the money to pay for my dance classes.

But it was worth it. Dance class was the only time I was happy. My dance teacher is like the mother I always wished for. She made me feel safe. Dancing made me forget the miserable life I was living. I was able to pretend that I was someone else.

And now dance is gone. I wish that car had killed me. 

***AHHH hello reader! Thank you for picking my book. I hope it wasn't too bad. The first several chapters will be setting up the story so I am sorry if they are boring! I promise it will get more interesting as the story continues ;)