“What does that mean for her?” I manage to speak up. I need to know how badly Yun's messed up.

“We aren’t too sure yet. Not many people have gone through something like that, at least not on record. If I’m to share my opinion though… I think she will, for the most part, be alright. However if that really is what happened to her, then there will undoubtedly be issues with a few womanly things.” The doctor grimaces.

“We can probably say that since she hasn’t had a period this late… she likely never will, right?” Moms voice is somber.

“I believe so. And everyone here knows that that means her ovaries and perhaps another organ are extremely damaged. The chance of fertility is very low already, however add in this factor and I can say for certain that she will never have children at the very least.” I can’t help but look down at my lap in sadness and rage when I hear that her parents successfully took away something that made her a woman.

I-I, What the hell can I do to get back at that disgusting woman?! How dare she hurt my best friend like that! If I could, I would beat her within an inch of her life! I’m nearly shaking with anger by the time I tune back into the conversation.

“...although to be honest that’s not the worst part about that whole ordeal. Many women are barren from birth, through an accident, or even my choice. I’m worried about her mental health for when she learns this fact, if she doesn’t already know that is. She was so worried about the simple possibility that her breasts might be stunted or damaged from the bindings... I can’t imagine what she would say about this.” I look over to my mother and catch her crying, apparently she'd been tearing up for a while as my dad is holding a few handkerchiefs. 

Through blowing her nose she manages to comment. “This poor girl… She didn’t deserve any of what happened to her.” 

“Indeed...” Is all Dr. Grey responds with while giving my mother some time.

“Thank you for telling us, Dr. Grey. Honestly you’ve been such a blessing for her, and us for that matter. This whole experience wouldn’t have gone this smooth without you.” My dad thanks her.

Dr. Grey sighs. “Honestly I haven’t done anything remarkable, nothing worthy of thanks. I just do my job…”

“Nonsense.” My mother stops her. “It’s very clear that you care about Yun when you speak about her, and not in a liability or superficial kind of way. I’ve seen my fair share of doctors and emergency workers, I can say for certain that you are by far one of the kindest and most hard working. When things have calmed down a little, we’d like to invite you over to dinner or out for a drink, if that’s alright with you?”

Dr. Grey smiles after giving it a thought. “I’d like that. Honestly, I’m in dire need of a few friends to be honest. Haha. And a drink to just unwind would be fantastic after all this. To be honest, that way I could keep an eye on Yun in the future as well without having to be all ‘Dr. Grey' around her. If you’ll accept me of course.”

“Of course!” My mom accepts immediately. “We’ll set up a time for a dinner party once we’re out of the thick of it with Yun. And you can always call us up for a bit of unwinding.”

“That sounds fantastic to me.” Dr. Grey sighs in relief. 

We then spend ten or so minutes talking about health plans, and physical therapy, as well as ‘therapy’ therapy. Overall the doctor guesses that, barring complications, Yun should be out of the hospital in a week. She’ll then have to stop by here, or a local doctors office for a weekly visit until she’s cleared. On the psychological side, that's a little tougher. Yun has expressed an explicit want against counseling. She has however agreed to sit through one session with Dr. Grey accompanying her. It’s a start.

While mom and dad are talking with the doctor about a few other things that we aren’t involved in, Elias and I have moved to open the curtain. Dr. Grey told us we could check on her as long as we let her rest.

“Alright, don’t wake her up and don’t touch her, alright Elias?”

“Why are you telling me that? You’re the one who’s more likely to do both of those things!” He jokingly hisses at me.

Sticking out my tongue I slide the curtain open carefully and move toward her bed.

“...” We’re both silent as we look at the pale girl. She’s visibly lost blood, when we saw her the day before she looked a little more healthy than this. Now it’s almost like she’s made of glass. 

“Elias…” I can’t help but whisper in pain.

“Yeah…” He responds. Both of us knew what kind of condition she was in, but weren't truly ready to see her so weak. Then we hear a noise and see her mouth quiver.

“...mnnm…” She says something almost inaudible. Seeing that she might be saying something in her sleep, I lean closer to her mouth.

“P-plea…” Immediately I look over at Elias and signal to bring Dr. Grey here as quickly and quietly as possible. I can tell she’s going to say something similar to what she would have right before the heart attack.

“What’s going on?” Dr. Grey asks in confusion as Elias ushers her next to me. I don’t say anything but simply point to Yun’s mouth and motion her to listen closely.

With a voice lacking emotion, she speaks the following; “-om…please k-kill me alrea-already… I-I want… to die…” 

I yank my head back with horror written on my face. I manage not to yell by looking over at my parents who heard the same thing after moving to the other side of the bed. My mom looks even more shocked than earlier, but my dad looks like it isn’t his first time hearing someone say such a thing. 

“...” Silently I look over towards Elias and see pain in his eyes. I’m sure he’s feeling similar to me and can’t process it entirely yet. I’ll be bawling my eyes out tonight I’m sure of it. But I’ll be strong. So that when she wakes up, she’ll never have to say such a thing again.

Coming back from my thoughts, I look at Dr. Grey and notice with insane clarity the look she has is one of regret, sadness, and longing as she continues staring at Yun. 

Quietly, we all shuffle away from the bed and close the curtain again. We then move over to the seats we were in previously and sit down. This time I’m in my mothers lap with my head in her chest, trying my hardest not to cry. My mother tried and failed a while ago and is holding a handkerchief in one hand and me in her other. My dad has his arms around my mother’s shoulders trying to console her. Elias sits next to him with a look of anger and a sense of distance on his face as he ponders something known only to him. Dr. Grey has a similar look but with regret thrown in. It’s clear something about this situation has struck a chord in her, and not a good one. 

“I believe it would be for the best if you all would come back tomorrow, we’ll let you know if anything happens. We’ll also have a few nurses and myself check up on her every half hour. I think everyone needs some time to process, and there’s still a few tests I need to finalize.” Dr. Grey stands up and says what everyone's thinking. “I hoped we’d leave on a better note today, but things clearly were not that simple. I want to say though, Sena, Elias. Don’t think that you two were the cause of the mood being brought down. On the contrary. Thank you for letting us hear her say that. Now we know what to ask her when she wakes up and is ready to talk. It’s probable that what she said has something to do with the nightmare she had earlier. So, once again, thank you.”

“Thank you for the kind words, Dr. Grey.” Elias quickly responds with me joining in after. “Would it be alright if I joined you three tomorrow as well? I know most of my excuse was getting Sena out of school faster, but I’m sure you all know that was only part of it. I’m honestly sick with worry…” He finally admits.

“We figured.” My dad shrugs. “If Sena’s alright with it, then so am I. And I imagine Lucy here wouldn’t mind either.” He earns a nod from my mom.

“Thank you.” My friend bows slightly. After that small conversation we all head out of the room and say goodbye to the utterly exhausted looking Dr. Grey. Within the next few minutes we’re back at the front desk and telling the attendant that we’ll be back tomorrow after school lets out. She gives a quick confirmation, and we’re out the door and back in the car. 

“Alright! Let’s get rid of this funky mood!” My mom can’t take anymore of this depressive silence and I agree with her. 

“Honestly. Listen kids. We shouldn’t act as if she’s dead, alright? She’s gonna be fine, but it’ll take time. If you guys want to send off a message or call to Takuto and Yuki, go ahead and get that done as we’re going for an early dinner. Elias, you’re more than welcome to come, and if the others want to as well, then send them the address. We’ll stop by the store and grab some things on the way home, and when we know how many to cook for, we’ll buy the groceries.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, then I’d love to stay over to eat. Would it be possible to stop by the school so I can grab my car? That way I’ll be able to drive Yuki home as usual.” Elias seems good with the plan so I send a few messages to the others and explain the dinner deal. I also mention that we’ll tell them what we know when they get here.

“Of course, it’s on the way after all. If you can grab Yuki and Takuto as well as take Sena, we’ll stop by the store. That way you all can get comfortable in the house as she has a key. Shouldn’t take us too long though so don’t fret.” Dad chuckles.

And with that, we act on the plans we have to de-stress and eat dinner. I wish Dr. Grey could have come. She really deserves a good relaxation. For that matter I wish Yun was here too… All in good time though. I’ll make sure to make her life the best it can ever be. She’s the reason I’m here after all. She’s my light, my best friend, and… the love of my life.

YulaYulna

Gah! Forgot to put an authors note in before posting! Just a quick one then; I've had a pretty rough couple days earlier this week so I wasn't able to get much writing in for obap, but I was able to get a good twenty or so pages worth(google doc pages at least) of Miko! So that's good. I'll be frank, at this point I have nearly twice as much content in Miko! than in obap due to the amount of lore it holds, fantasy and all that. But that won't subtract from obap, at the very least I'll keep writing a chapter a week but I hope to bump that up a little bit, especially since I'm about to get to some fun and drama-y arcs. Happy Saturday, and goodbye!