"Somi."

A deep and velvety voice breathed in her ear, causing the girl in question to flinch and cover said ear while turning around to check whether someone had entered the room without her noticing. No one was there, so she focused her attention back on Jongho, who had copied the girl's action.

"Are you okay?" He inquired.

The girl nodded and resumed the speech that had been filling the cold room for the past minutes. "The four billions... I'm afraid that's the price for your silence since he locked you here. He couldn't care less about your good intentions. He only craved fame and money." She murmured disheartened, and Jongho couldn't be more convinced.

He tightened his lips into a thin line. "I'm getting more and more certain that I will never see the light again." And he stepped to the desk with his head down.

"Don't say it." The girl reprimanded him, reaching his steps in the blink of an eye. "The boys never stopped looking for you, Tsuki too. They won't give up now." She searched for his eyes and, when they finally caught their eyes, she added "But we need you to stay positive."

"Somi."

The same voice from before called her, this time, the tone dripped with urgency and it appeared to be closer than the first call. The woman flinched once again, the way that voice managed to caress her skin like a feather on the delicate spot made her skin cover with goosebumps all over the right side of her body. Jongho stared at her as if she had four heads.

"I trust all of you." The man whispered. "My life is in your hands, Somi." He subsequently pronounced, looking straight into her brown orbs with glassy eyes. Suddenly, all of his certainties were dramatically crumbling in front of him, as the steady rising of the possibility that he might never get out of there was becoming more and more tangible.

Somi's emotions were being affected by Jongho's, her eyes immediately started to burn and tears threatened to pour down her cheeks. "What you've done is truly amazing, Jongho. Don't lose your self-confidence because of an asshole." And she brushed his shoulder with her hand. "Also, did Tsuki tell you?"

The man giggled sheepishly. "Yes, she informed me about your talent and... Well, you were so close, I couldn't resist I had to carry out my studies. With hindsight, I would've just minded my business, though."

"Don't say it." She scolded him with a sigh. "Once you leave here, you'll find someone who will recognize your efforts."

"Somi!"

The same voice from a little before was crying her name with desperation and, although she wished to be able to reach out to whoever was calling her to assure she was alright and get back to Jongho the second after. Only after her sight began to lose focus did she start to comprehend the rush and hurry of the person behind that voice. As if it wasn't enough, a sharp pain stabbed her temple, making her close her eye on the affected side and press her wrist on that patch of skin to alleviate the pain. That could only mean one thing.

"Jongho," She uttered, "I don't have much time left into this vision." The mentioned male thrust his eyes open and the honey-like colour of his skin drained as if being sucked away to leave room for a paler colour, tending almost to a grey undertone.

"What should we do?" He panicked, heading straight to the desk covered with papers and notebooks that probably contained his notes related to his creation.

The pain in Somi's head had evolved unbearable, to the point where, in her left eye, a dark spot prevented her from seeing clearly, making her feel as if she was staring directly into the dark hole.

"N-No." She stuttered when he had left her side and attempted to catch him by his jumper once again, but when she failed, her hand collided with the table's border, eventually gripping it to look for extra support. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do from here."

"You're right..." He mumbled while nibbling at his lower lip.

"You have to guide me from this vision." Somi commenced to list, "Or you can show me your location from here. Where do you think you are?"

Jongho paused for a second, her question had taken him aback for a weird reason that never thought about: he had never questioned it. Maybe, the acceptance of his future imprisoned in that tiny and humid room had distracted him from wondering where he could've been, after all, even if he had known where he was, what could he have done differently?

His eyes travelled all the way behind their backs and landed on the small window from which the pale light timidly seeped, not strong enough to make the couple perceive the warmth on their exposed skin.

"I feel like I have never left the hospital after being recovered."

His voice unexpectedly shook and his widened eyes met Somi's, who sadly knew what he was referring to: the night when he had "sold" the Destiny pill to Doctor Lee, the same night in which the medic's toadies had dragged him away. Behind the man's order, Jongho must've been taken to the hospital, where he had been treated only so that he could keep working on his project.

The blonde woman stretched her arm towards Jongho's figure, which was distancing from her at a fast pace, until his silhouette distorted, along with the surroundings, until it was entirely being sucked into a vortex that left behind only darkness and a disquieting silence. Somi was left roaming into nothingness up to when her surroundings dramatically changed which helped her comprehend she had returned to reality.

The blinding light coming from the ceiling light stabbed the girl's eyes like needles, making her squinting them to push the tears back. After she managed to adjust her orbs to the new light, she began to focus on her surroundings, immediately noticing two shadows on both of her sides staring at her. In the middle of her vision, approximately where her nose rested, she spotted a hindrance, something heavy and bothersome that covered whatever was right in front of her.

"Oh, my God, she's awake!" A feminine voice exclaimed and the shadow on her left disappeared from her sight.

The figure on the right side shifted and, judging by how his silhouette enlarged, that person had moved closer to Somi's face. "Hey, Somi! It's me, Mingi. Can you hear me?"

Mingi, where did she hear that name before?

She moved her brown eyes on his figure as she slowly regained her sight. As soon as their pupils met, he stood up, producing a deafening sound with the chair crawling on the floor. "Somi! How do you feel?" He inquired with gaped eyes wrapping his hand around her small wrist.

Finally, his features shone, his blue hair, elongated eyes, narrow nose and plump lips... He was Mingi, the Mingi she loved who was dying of worry and was terrified of not seeing the woman he loved again.

"M-Mingi." The latter uttered with a groggy voice, jerking the finger of the hand the man was holding.

Another figure, probably the same one from before that was on her left side and to whom belonged the feminine voice, came back into her field of vision, and Somi only at that moment realised it was Tsuki, her best friend.

"Here, take this." She extended one arm while with her other she grabbed Somi's free hand to assist her in grabbing the plastic glass full of water. With trembling movements, the blonde girl brought the receptacle to her lips and reluctantly gulped a couple of sips of water.

Mingi patted her head, caressing her soft, blonde hair. "What happened, Somi?"

The woman in question moved the glass away from her mouth and sighed as if she had never drank water in her whole life. But when she restituted the object back to her friend, she discovered... she remembered little to nothing about what had occurred barely a few moments before.

She mumbled something however, because of the oxygen mask she was wearing, it was difficult for her friends to understand her words.

"Wait a minute." Sang Tsuki before removing the mask that had been weighing on her face ever since she had woken up. She hoped that didn't contribute to making her face drop, since that would've happened already by the passing of years. "Now you can talk."

"I don't remember what happened." She confessed in a whisper, the truth being too loud to bear.

The room went cold, the silence was being broken only by the machine that produced a rhythmical beep signalling that Somi's heartbeat was steady and, especially, alive.

Mingi's hands thumped on the bed when he laid his weight on them, feeling his shoulders too hefty to maintain them straight. "Did you perhaps see Jongho?"

The wrinkle on the blonde-haired woman's face was well evident. "Probably." She breathed, "The only thing I remember is him saying that he has no idea of where he could have been locked."

The blue-haired male pressed his lips into a thin line: unfortunately, that piece of information was futile, considering the fact that that was the main reason as to why they were there.

"It's okay." He exhaled, attempting to comfort Somi, even if deep down he was trying to ease himself as well.

The door behind the trio slid open and both Tsuki and Mingi turned their heads to look at the newcomer. Or rather, newcomers, since the ones crossing the threshold were the rest of Ateez, Yeosang was busy bickering with a nurse.

"Gentlemen, you can't come here! Visiting hours are over!" Bora, Tsuki's colleague with dark red hair shouted directly at Yeosang, who seemed to be the only one paying attention to her.

"Miss, please, just give us thirty seconds! We just want to say hi!" whimpered the male.

Bora wrapped the papers she was carrying in her hand and used them as a weapon to whack on Yeosang, "Do it tomorrow!"

Tsuki rushed to reach her friend as soon as she accepted the fact that Bora wouldn't have stopped slamming those documents on the male's arm. She caught her colleague's wrist mid-air and snatched the papers from her hands, scolding the girl with a simple stare. The second after, her expression drastically changed, mutating into an exaggerated tight-lipped smile that caused her eyes to disappear into crescents.

"I'm sorry about my colleague. Take as much time as you need. I'll go warn the doctor." She pronounced with a fake soft tone.

Somi's eyes thrust open at the sound of the word "doctor". Her heart skipped a beat and the blood froze in her veins. The last person who should've known about her and Ateez's plotting was Doctor Lee. To begin with, he had pills that could help him with visions anytime he wished; secondly, she and the group were in his territory where everything and everyone belonged to him. Even Tsuki.

"No!" cried the blonde girl from her bed while stretching her arm toward her friend who was only a few steps away from the door. She immediately regretted it as the puzzlement rapidly emerged on Tsuki's face. She quickly came up with an excuse, opting for not saying anything to her best friend. Not now. "No need to alert the doctor. Five minutes are more than enough.

Tsuki was taken aback by her best friend's behaviour, though, she comprehended her point of view and agreed with her. They could've done it without warning the doctor, if they actually stopped for only five minutes.

"Alright, call me if you need anything." And she left the room, dragging Bora with her who didn't miss the occasion to glare at Yeosang one last time.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Hongjoong's usual cold, yet sarcastic, voice tone broke the silence that fell into the hospital room after the big fuss caused by their entrance.

___

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT ATEEZ'S NEW COMBACK? They really don't know how to make bad music, right?

What's your favourite song? I still haven't had the chance to listen to the whole album, so so far, my favourite tracks are "Crazy Form" and "Silver Light"

Btw, we're getting closer to the end! Are you ready?

Luv ya♡︎