lyricist°l.jn [editing]

chapter thirty-four: shock

  Saekyong rushes out the VIP section, through the corridors and to the elevator.

  Her heartbeat is quick and breaths ragged but she feels not the slightest bit tired and in fact, her face is radiant, relieved and happy.

  She spots a couple at the cafeteria and hastes to them. "Mom! Why didn't you answer your phone??"

  Miya gives a confused look. "Oh, it died and so I left it to charge in the ward."

  "I shut mine off. The office keeps calling," Jiha tells.

  "What's going on? Did something happen to Kyo??" Miya queries, anxious due to her eldest's frantic.

  Saekyong nods vigorously but with a spark in her eyes. "She's waking up! I told the nurses about it so they went to check on her while I went to call you!"

  Her parents both rise from their seats, cancelling their lunch plans to hurry to their youngest's ward.

  And as soon as they arrive, their breaths are hitched from surprise and they haste to her side- the doctor

  "My daughter! You're awake! Finally, you're awake!" Miya sobs out happy tears and embraces Jinkyong who's now sitting up for the first time after a few days.
"The doctor said you would be awake soon but it took longer than expected and we all got so scared!"

  Kyo smiles and reciprocates the hug with eyes shut and chin resting on her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry for worrying you so much."

  "Does your head feel okay? You hit it on the hard ground," Saekyong asks and her sister stares at her, studying.

  "Yeah, it feels...okay," the younger answers slowly and stares at her numb hands that rest on the blanket covering her lap when another decides to put theirs on hers.

  She lifts her head to look at Jiha who gives her a mien of remorse. "What is it?"

  Her tone is cold and her expression isn't the most welcoming but she doesn't retract her hands.

  Jiha's jaw tightens at her defensive attitude and he sighs. "I'm sorry, Jinkyong."

  That's when she furrows and shifts her hands away- hiding them under the covers and clearly expressing her discomfort. "Now, you apologize? You only realize your mistakes when I'm bedridden? When I'm standing between life and death?"

  Her anger is evident not only from her behaviour but her heart monitor that displays her gradually speeding beats.

  Jiha's expression of regret deepens. "Jinkyong, Iㅡ"

  "Do you know how hard it was to live with your rules? To fry my brain with those reports you assign me as if editing and cutting music wasn't already enough to do that?" She pours out her emotions. The long sleep being her reminder that life is short and if she doesn't say it now, she may lose the chance forever.
"And you call yourself my dad?"

  The monitor beeps alarmingly at her furious heart rate and the doctor with his nurse enter the room with haste.

  "What's going on? Why has the patient's heartbeat spiked so suddenly?" The doctor queries and rushes to Jinkyong's side.

  She leans against the header. "Sorry, doctor. It's nothing serious. Instead, I wanted to ask if my head is okay. I was told it got injured."

  "Yes, fortunately it is but you took a while to awake because of the shock. It differs from one person to another. Yours took significantly longer to subside," the doc explains and Jinkyong nods slowly- her heart calming before it shoots up again.

  She gasps and looks at her sister with widened eyes. "What about NCT Dream??"

  NCT Dream. The name itself causes a surprise for her family. She's going to ask for Jeno.

  Miya looks at her husband whose fist tightens behind his back.

  "What about them?" Saekyong asks.

  "Their comeback! I'm in charge of a few of their songs! But if I got admitted here then, what happened to their comeback??" Jinkyong raps out with pure franticness and distress.

  Her family members all furrow at her strange words and like an abrupt storm, realization dawns on them.

  "Kyo...that was months ago. You already recorded and finished all the songs. Their comeback has passed for a while now," Saekyong tells and Jinkyong freezes- mouth gaped and eyes wide.

  "What...?"