Doing what's best

YungJi sat outside the operating room, desperately trying to go through every detail in his head, trying to workout were everything had gone so wrong. He gripped his head within his hands and stared blankly at the sterile off-white floors. He tried his best not to move afraid that he might crumble to pieces.

He listened as Mio paced back and forth, and heard her stifled tears and irregular breathing. Nao and Teru tried their best to comfort her, as the guys tried their best to comfort him. But he knew, just as it would be for Mio, that nothing would comfort him, not until Sora was out of the operating room and safe back in his arms.

They all turned as the sound of the double wide corridor doors slammed against the walls.

“Where is she!” Mio turned recognising the voice, “where is she Mio?”

“Uncle.” She saw the panicked look in his eyes, “I'm so sorry this is my fault uncle. Please forgive me. There,” she tried her best to keep her speech coherent but the words just weren’t coming out right, “was an accident on set today.”

Shiro Takata looked at his niece, trying to process her words, “what happened Mio? I don't understand.” He didn't mean for the words to come out so cold, and didn't miss the pain and guilt that flashed through her eyes. But that was his baby in there, his little girl.

“We were having problems with security, a fan had been posting about Sora online. We, I thought it was under control. But this morning they released some pictures. They upset a lot of people.”

“What type of pictures?”

“Pictures of Sora with another Idol.”

YungJi flinched.

“Who?”

“Sora has been dating recently,” Mio paused “dating Park YungJi.” Her eyes flickered in Yung's direction, Shiro followed her line of site and saw the broken figure of YungJi huddled on the floor against the chairs, his head in his hands resting on his knees.

He kept his voice steady. “Continue.”

“Some fans used some of the pictures and information that was posted to find the location of the video shoot. I don't know what they wanted to do but, a couple of them ended up running around looking for her, they just ran out into the road. Sora was filming the stunt scene.” She felt the tears run down her face, “she must have seen them coming, because it looked like she tried to stop, but the timing wasn't right, there just wasn't enough time for that. So she tried to turn, too sharply.......

The doctors said that she could have died instantly, if it weren't for the safety gear. But there are complications, the impact of the crash ruptured a blood vessel in her brain, they're operating now, but there are no guarantees to the outcome. She might be drain damaged or have a completely different personality, or never walk again. It varies from person to person......she might not even make it through the operation.” She broke down in tears.

Shiro reached over and hugged her tightly. “It's okay Mio, I’m sorry, I’m not blaming you, I’m just angry at myself for not being there. For failing to protect someone I love for a second time.”

“I'm sorry uncle. I’m so sorry.”

“I know. I know. All we can do now is pray. Sora's a fighter, we have to believe that she will fight through this.”

*

“Have a seat.” The doctor ushered Mr Takata into his office.

“Please just tell me she'll be fine.” Mr Takata could not hid the desperation in his voice, he was mentally and physically exhausted, they all were. The operation had been long and they had still not been able to see Sora as she had been taken straight into intensive care to keep her condition monitored.

“I'm sorry Mr Takata, I can't make those kind of promises, I just can't. But what I can say is that we've got her into a stable state right now, she's fighting, and as long as she continues to fight we believe that she will recover.”

“Then can I finally see her?”

“Yes of course, we just wanted to prep you beforehand, some people find it quite distressing to see their loved ones like this. She will be hooked up to many different machines and monitors, but I have to stress, this is just so that we can give her the best care possible.”

“I understand.”

“I also need you to be aware that right now she's in a comatose state, now I don't want you to be overly concerned about this, it's not uncommon for patients who have head injuries to go into a coma, it's the brains way healing and protecting itself.”

“How long?” He felt his world close in on him tightly.

“We can't say, it varies person to person. But just have to keep monitoring her, and plan for her recovery.”

“Her recovery?”

“The chances of her coming out of this completely fine are low, because of the ruptured blood vessel, we are looking at a multitude of possibilities. Most patients that suffer from ruptured blood vessels suffer some form of disability afterwards.”

Shiro could not believe the words coming from the doctors mouth, that was his baby, his little girl. It was his job to make sure that she was safe, healthy. But he had failed.

“Mr Takata, Mr Takata—”

“My daughter, she's a performer, did you know that? Just like her mother. Dancing makes her smile, laugh, it makes her happy in life. Singing gave her confidence. This accident, will it take that away from her?”

Doctor Malvern looked at the defeated face in front of him. He hated this part of his job, the part were honestly could kill a person's soul. “Honestly, I have seen patients who have come out paralysed, and unable to speak, and who have had to go through years of therapy to recovery any of their original capabilities. But on the other hand I have seen patients who have recovered within the month.

I have children myself, so I can just about begin to relate to what you are feeling. All I can say is we have to believe in our children. Believe that they know how much we love them, and know how strong they really are. She's still quite young, so this will help her chances of a better recovery.”

“I understand, thank you so much Doctor, I really appreciate it. Thank you.”

*

“I'm sorry.” Yung held Sora's hand gently. “For everything. I should have been more careful with our relationship. I should have had the courage to make our relationship public, so that it wouldn't have been made public like this. I’m sorry that they were my fans that did this to you. I’m sorry that I wasn't there when it happened. I’m sorry that I couldn't hold your hand when you were lying there on the floor.” He broke down and finally let all his tears fall, as he brought his forehead down to her hand. “Please, forgive me......please. Open your eyes for me.....”

But there was no response, just the noise of the machines hooked up to her.

*

Shiro sat in to the hospitals canteen, opposite to YungJi. “You should eat something.” He motioned to the food that sat untouched in front of both of them. “Your friends are worried about you, so am I.”

Yung picked at some food lifelessly. He had no appetite, and had barely been sleeping the past couple of days. “I'm sorry.” these were the words he had wanted to say to Sora's father for days but had never had the courage to his face. “I didn't mean for any of this to happen.”

“I know, and I’m not blaming you for this. I wish that the both of you had come to me about your relationship in advance but I understand why you didn’t. And I can understand how you are feeling right now. When Alicia, Sora's mother passed away, I felt like I had failed as a person. If Sora hadn't have been there I’m not sure I would still be here today. She's my world, as I’m sure she's become yours.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee. “But I wonder if your relationship is what either of you need right now.” He placed his coffee cup back down.

“Your schedule in London is over now, correct? That means that you are meant to be back in Korea, I understand that you've been given some extra time, as Mio and Mr Choi are sorting out the press for this scandal, but that extra time will not last forever.” He paused to let Yung digest his words carefully. “I am also planning to transfer Sora back home to Japan, I want her to receive better treatment, and her grandparents would also like her to be closer to them. Family is very important to us.”

Yung looked defeated, “please don't take her away from me.” He sounded pathetic, and he knew it.

Shiro looked at him sadly, he wasn't trying to be the villain here, he just had to be realistic. “I'm not trying to take her away from you but you have to see things from my point of view. We don't know when she will wake up, and when she does what condition she will be in. You need to think about your options if she doesn’t wake up soon. You don't just have yourself to think about but your group, your family, your fans. You can't stay in this hospital forever, you have to move on at some point. You're still young.”

“I don't want to move on! Why should I? She's not dead is she. She could wake up whenever, I don't want her to wake up and think I abandoned her! I can't do that to her!”

Shiro reacted calmly to YungJi's outburst. Honestly, he liked the kid, he really did. He could see why Sora had fallen for him, he was a genuinely nice person, who loved her a lot. But his friends and his parents had both come to him in concern, he wasn't sleeping or eating. He wasn't even singing any more. And since finding out that it was in fact a handful of his fans who had caused the accident he had not been his usual bubbly self during the few press events they had had to attend. If he stayed like this much longer, he wouldn't just be a visitor he would become a patient at the hospital himself.

“I'm sorry, but I’ve already made the arrangements, she'll be transferred at the end of next week. Until then I’m happy to have you visit her as much as you like, but afterwards I hope you can respect my wishes as her father.” He stood up, giving Yung no chance to respond. “I'm doing what's best for everyone.”

*