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IM NAYEON opened her eyes, which felt like they have been closed for far too long. as they registered to the light, she focused her eyes on the first thing she saw: a vase with fresh dandelions, sitting gingerly on the bedside cupboard, giving her eyes time to adjust to their majestic golden color.

they were beautiful, the dandelions, and she didn't know why. they just where.

her sight began to clear out, and she turned her head to focus on the walls around her. she looked up to see a blinding light from the ceiling, how it beamed down on her. the light wasn't the brightest, but it wasn't too dim as well, and it managed to give her a glimpse of the room she was in, slowly but surely, as she awakened.

the room wasn't big; in fact, she could feel the walls from where she was, as if she was trapped inside. the walls she could see were painted a dull off-white color, with a single green stripe running down its center, as if to give it a pop, or to add color to the dullness. there wasn't much inside, but a bedside cupboard, with the beautiful flowers and a lamp, a green couch at the far end of the room, and the bed she was in, with some sort of beeping contraption beside her, with green lines and green digits.

it seemed to mimic the pattern of her heartbeat, which was increasing the very moments she awakened, slowly but surely - but she didn't realize that.

she - im nayeon, she knew - was in an off-white gown that barely fell to her knees, her dark hair untied behind her back, breathing through a tube hooked to her nose and the corner of her mouth. she had no idea why she was in a bed in a strange room, and she had no idea how she got here. she had no knowledge of anything at all. her mind felt like a blank piece of canvas - no color, without anything to let her move.

the last thing she remembered were tears; lots of them, streaming down her face. she remembered raindrops, too, but she wasn't sure if they fell from the sky, or her eyes.

then, her hearing shifted, from the beeping machine beside her to the muffled voices of the people inside the room, accompanying her. their voices seemed to grow louder, and louder.

she didn't know these people. surely, if she did, she would recognize them, but she had no idea why they were even there.

a girl sat on the couch opposite her bed at the far end of the room, her arms crossed, biting her lip down. she had short brown hair that barely touched her shoulders, and wore tights and a white sweater. her nails were painted black, and her face seemed contorted, like she was worried, as she listened to the man in front of her speak.

she was pretty, but she seemed like she was in pain, and it confused nayeon.

a man paced around the room. he had a piercing gaze, concealed by the black baseball cap he was wearing. she could make out his sharp features underneath his hat. he wore jeans and a brown jacket over a white shirt, and he seemed upset as he talked to his phone, judging from the way his voice formed a rash tone and his sentences seemed long.

nayeon didn't know who he was, but she had a feeling. like she recognized him somewhere before.

"sir," the man said, one of his hands on his waist, the other on the phone, "sir, please, you have to understand, i can't keep working irregular hours." he paced back and forth. the man passed the girl, who closed her eyes in disappointment. "sir, it can't be."

the man ran a frustrated hand through his mouth and rubbed one of his temples. "i'm begging you to please be considerate!"

"jaebum oppa," the girl said, placing her hands down on the couch. "calm down."

"stay out of this, jeongyeon," the man, jaebum, spat. jeongyeon, the dark haired girl, leaned back and sighed.

"you can try and talk without losing your temper, oppa, you can't keep stressing yourself out on every little thing."

"this isn't a little thing, jeongyeon, this is my job." jaebum looked at her and he didn't seem to be blinking. "now, let me talk, please."

jeongyeon closed her eyes and sighed again.

"sir, i know i'm just an employee," he began, in a pleading tone, "but i thought i made it clear that i could only work during days on weekends. i try to do so, sir, i'm trying my best, but i can't keep working all throughout the week. i have a lot to do, sir, i have a lot to think about besides this job!"

jaebum was holding himself back, and jeongyeon watched him pour it all out.

nayeon watched, too.

"my sister has been in a coma for the past seven months, sir, and my family lives in the other side of the country. no one else is going to take care of her but me. i can't watch over her if i'm always at the office! i can't keep asking every nurse in this goddamn hospital to watch over her because i'm her only family in this part of the world and i can't even stay with her longer than four hours!"

jaebum's tone was getting a lot higher, and jeongyeon seemed more distressed.

"oppa-"

"sir, i have no idea if my sister is ever going to wake up, and i want to be there when she-sh-" his voice cracked and it cut him short, as he lowered his head. his tone lowered down, and his anger seemed to just pour out and be replaced with sadness, and disappointment.

jeongyeon stood up, abruptly, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "sir, she needs me."

sister?

jeongyeon sighed deeply. she must've known how it was stressful for jaebum to handle this on his own.

and nayeon could only watch. she felt helpless.

"what?" his voice started getting more violent again, and it was scaring jeongyeon again. "what do you mean that changes, nothing? sir-"

"oppa-"

"i wasted three years with this company, and now you only tell me that-"

"oppa!"

jeongyeon's sudden shout made jaebum stop and look at her. "what? what do you want, jeongyeon?" she wasn't always like this, and it was getting to him.

but jeongyeon was looking at the direction of the bed, and her eyes were wistful. "look."

jaebum turned, and his expression softened. he felt like his world had been lifted up again, and his heart started beating again, and the tears holding him back started to fall out.

nayeon was awake.

he removed his cap and almost dropped his phone as he ran towards her, and sat at the side of her bed. he laid his head by her shoulder and cried, grabbing one of her frail hands in his as he bawled. he held her hand like it was the most fragile thing in the world, as if one small breath could break her.

nayeon didn't understand at all.

jeongyeon folded her arms into her torso as she walked slowly, her lip quivering, and her eyes seemingly teary as well. "hi, unnie," she said, her voice soft, full of happiness no doubt.

"nayeonie," jaebum cooed, as he lifted his face, still full of tears, "i-i thought i lost you." he gripped her hand as she looked him in the eyes. "i-i thought you would never wake up again, you would never talk again."

nayeon didn't respond. all she did was blink - twice.

"nayeonie, it's jaebum oppa," he said in a gentle voice, nothing like she'd heard earlier. "it's me, your brother, i've been so worried." he rubbed her hands. "are you alright? are you feeling okay? how are you feeling?"

he looked up at jeongyeon, whose eyes were still fixated on her.

"nayeonie, are you okay?" nayeon just looked at jeongyeon, unsure of what to say. jeongyeon nodded, as if understanding, as if she was urging her to talk.

"a nurse," jaebum sputtered out, his eyes still on his sister, "get a nurse, jeongyeon." he looked behind him when he didn't feel any movement, or didn't hear the shuffling of his companion's feet. "a nurse, jeongyeon-ah, now!"

jeongyeon looked like she didn't want to leave, but shuffled out, closing the door while grabbing the knob behind her.

"nayeon-ah, what happened?" jaebum kept asking. his words were getting more nervous, and his eyes looking a lot more scared than before. "nayeonie, talk to me! please!" his eyes were desperate, as if hearing something from her would make him feel a lot better.

but nayeon just looked at him, and blinked twice again.

you must say something. anything.

she didn't know why they were acting like this. it confused her.

"who are you?"

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wow i actually wrote the prologue!!! hello,,, i hope you support this story! i've been planning this for months and you have been giving me some love, so i hope you like this too!

- nayeonsbunny -