[25] No Time To Be Idle

"W-what...?" Jihyo said, shuddering a bit. "Sana...?"

"She's..." Miyeon passed out before she could even fully reply.

"Miyeon..? Hey!" Jihyo held her. "Minji, help us!"

"Jihyo-ssi, stand back. We got this. Nurses! Get her to the emergency bay, immediately! She has a grave injury on her left arm. It's not life-threatening, but an infection might start if we don't act quickly. Go, go, go, GO!" Minji replied as they hurriedly took Miyeon to the emergency area.

Zeke and Jihyo were left speechless as they looked at each other.

April 8, 2023, 10:22 pm, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.

Jihyo was on the medbay, standing next to where Miyeon was resting. Minji told them that her vital signs are okay now after a few hours of treatment, and the wound on her left arm has been sterilized and treated.

Jihyo observes the passed-out G-(IDLE) member for quite some time. For the first time in months, there's a fellow K-pop artist right in front of her.

Zeke slowly enters the medbay and shuts the door quietly. She looks at Jihyo standing right next to the resting Miyeon.

"How is she?" Zeke asks.

"She's okay now and will be waking up by tomorrow, probably. The wound on her arm is now healing as it should." Jihyo said as she soon fell silent.

Zeke looks at Jihyo. She looked disturbed and lost in thought.

"...you're thinking about what Miyeon said." Zeke suddenly spoke. "About Sana."

"Yeah," Jihyo replied. "I'm assuming Sana was with her when this whole catastrophe happened... and... the way she said that Sana needs help... she seems to be in trouble. But we don't even know the details..."

"I guess we'll have to wait 'til Miyeon wakes up to get more information, then," Zeke said.

Jihyo nodded. "Yeah. Let's give her the rest she needs. And we need our rest as well. It's been a long day... Come on..."

April 9, 2023, 5:14 am, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.

Jihyo slowly awakens to the sound of knocking on their makeshift apartment.

"Zeke-nim..? Jihyo-ssi...? Seojun-nim? Hello...?" A voice from outside said.

"Mhm...who could that be... yes...? Coming..." Jihyo stretches her arms, yawns, and slowly rises. She looks at Zeke and Seojun, who was sleeping soundly. Jihyo decides not to wake them up. She makes her way to the door and opens it as she was greeted by a nurse.

"Morning, Jihyo-ssi." the nurse said.

"Oh, hi... good morning..." Jihyo said. "What brings you here today...? Do you need anything...?" she asks.

"Miyeon-ssi is awake and outside. She wants to talk to you as soon as you're available..."

"Oh. Okay... tell her I'll be coming in a few minutes... just let me get ready. Thank you..." Jihyo said as the nurse nodded and left.

Jihyo then proceeds to wash her face and get properly dressed, and soon, goes out of the makeshift apartment. The nurse told her that Miyeon was near the medical area, so she heads there slowly but surely.

She soon sees Miyeon sitting outside the medical area, sipping some warm coffee. She looked better now compared before, her wound on her left arm now completely wrapped in bandages. She was also wearing comfortable, winter clothes that replaced her bloodied attire last night.

Miyeon soon looks at Jihyo and she stands and walks towards her.

"Jihyo-unnie..." Miyeon hugs Jihyo tightly. Jihyo hugs her back.

"I'm so glad you're safe too... Thank you for rescuing me..." Miyeon said as she began tearing up. Jihyo comforts her with pats on the back for a few minutes before pulling away.

"Hey... Miyeon. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Right now, you need to relax, okay? Take deep breaths... Try to calm yourself for a while... I'll just be here." Jihyo replied as Miyeon nodded and took time to compose herself.

"I'm good now..." Miyeon said as she wiped her tears.

"Okay. Now... can you tell me what happened to you? How did you get here?" Jihyo said as they sat down on the curb.

"Well... Sana-unnie and I.... we met after New Year's Day and we decided to go to Busan to explore the different places there. She said she wanted a day off away from the bustling city of Seoul, and she needed someone to accompany her, so... she called me."

"Mhm. And then?" Jihyo said.

"And then, after our adventures, we were set for home. And that's when... this icy apocalypse happened. We passed out while the bombs kept falling, and the next thing we knew, we were taken in by a settlement just outside Busan."

Jihyo nodded as she continued to listen to her intently.

"We stayed there for a while. The leader helped us get back on our feet. Fed us, clothed us and taught us a lot of survival and combat skills. When we were finally ready, they gave us cars so that we could go home. But... Sana-unnie wanted to go here in Daegu, in the off-chance that she'll find you and Mina-unnie around first..."

"Sana... She knew we were here? And she... really thought of us even in this time...?" Jihyo's face softened.

"So we did. But then, as we arrived here... we got ambushed by a Koul'in, and we didn't stand a chance. I tried to drive faster, but the alien was quicker than us.... and some of us were captured. Sana-unnie... was one of them."

Miyeon slowly looks down, as Jihyo looks at her. She looks tired, pained, and her face was seemingly filled with guilt.

"I'm blaming myself for what happened," Miyeon spoke again, placing her hands on her face.

"Why...?" Jihyo asked in a soft voice, scooting closer to Miyeon as she rubs her back to comfort her.

"When I saw that Koul'in, I froze and got distracted, causing the car to flip... I... If I didn't get scared maybe I would've..."

"Hey... don't worry now, okay... It's alright, it's not your fault..." Jihyo just wrapped her arms around Miyeon, trying to comfort her further as they just hugged it out for a while.

It was only minutes of hugging, but to Miyeon, it felt like hours and hours of comfort. More importantly, it reminded her of how Sana comforted her during their stay back in Busan.

The warmth felt the same.

Miyeon slowly pulls away and wipes her tears.

"Thank you..." Miyeon said.

Jihyo smiles.

They soon see a nurse approaching the two.