"No family...it's kind of a sad funeral, isn't it?" Sunny asked as she laid flowers down on the grave. They were bright and pink.
"Can you really call what just happened a funeral?"
Sunny shook her head as she looked at Hyoyeon. "I guess not. Not if there wasn't any ceremony or real recognition of life."
Seohyun crouched down next to the grave. There wasn't even a proper engraving on the marker - just a name and a large RIP carved into the rocky surface. "I can't believe I was part of all this. I can't believe this is something that could actually happen."
"Jessica hasn't come out of their dorm yet, right?" Eunhyuk asked. "Hasn't it been almost a week?"
"I mean she goes to the hospital, but I can't really blame her for being so...well...broken. Everything is over now, isn't it?" Hyoyeon pointed out. "I'd be relieved if I was her, but with what happened to Taeyeon, I can't imagine she's taking it easy."
"Sooyoung and Yoona are doing their best to bring her back to normal, but its been taking a while." Seohyun added.
"Speaking of those girls, let's go to the hospital. It's about time we met them there."
The group left the dreary cemetery, walking never once looking back at where they once stood. They knew that silently, they would all return to the spot again - the spot where there was a single marker shared by two sisters.
~~~~
Yoona and Sooyoung were outside a hospital room.
"We're back." Sunny announced as she turned the corner and saw the two girls. "Jessica is-"
"Kicked us out so she could be alone with her." Yoona sighed as she motioned for Sunny and the others to sit with her.
Seohyun knocked on the door, but after not getting a response she joined the others at their seats. "Taeyeon woke up before, right?"
"No, not yet."
The door opened, and a very depressed Jessica walked out. The new arrivals all went up to give her a hug. Jessica half-heartedly returned the feelings as she hung her head and rested against her friends' warmth. Though no one could see her face, they could feel the dampness of fresh tears on her cheeks.
Jessica appreciated the comfort - she really did - but it didn't make up for the fact that Taeyeon wasn't the one in her arms, or that Taeyeon wasn't the one holding her tightly.
If anything, it made the whole ordeal even worse for Jessica.
The group continued to sit outside as they watched nurses walk in and out of the room, muttering medical notes to themselves and flipping thru pages of confidential files.
Everything made Jessica more riled up. She wanted to grab one of the nurses and tell her to spill everything about Taeyeon's condition. She wanted someone to tell her that Taeyeon would be alright - none of that "probably will make it" or "have a few problems" stuff. She wanted to know the exact second that Taeyeon would wake up and stay awake for more than just a few minutes at a time.
Most of all, Jessica just wanted to know when she could hear Taeyeon's voice again.
With a heavy heart, Jessica got up. "I'm going home."
Everyone else nodded and got up to accompany their friend back to the dorm.
Suddenly, a nurse ran by and turned into Taeyeon's room. Then another. And then a doctor joined them inside.
Jessica looked at the door, then at her friends. The loud shouts and foot steps from inside played with her heart as she thought the worse had come to pass. "Tae...Tae!" Jessica hurried back towards the room only to be blocked by one of the nurses.
