Destiny

Chapter 1

Disclaimer : Purely a work of fiction
Warning : Character death

Nurses rush in and out of the intensive care unit through the heavy double doors, the beep of a monitor sounding faintly through them when they open and close. Jeongyeon paces back and forth in the long corridor that smells of bleach and chemicals. Tzuyu leans back against the bland hospital walls, her eyes skittering to the door often with expectation. Sana is bent over in a chair, her face buried in her hands as she takes slow steadying breaths. Dahyun sits next to her with a comforting hand over her shoulder.

Momo hasn't stopped crying. Chaeyoung holds her, her own hands trembling and face pale. Jihyo sits across them, a permanent frown etched on her forehead as her mind fills with a series of horrible outcomes, each worse than the last.

Mina's eyes are blank and unfocused as she stares at the thin air before her. She knows Nayeon is going to step out of the ICU with her bright bunny smile anytime. She's cheerful, generous with her smiles and free with her hugs. But most importantly, she's their biggest source of strength. She's definitely not going down without a fight.

Mina closes her eyes.

The beeping sounds fade away slowly. The uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach grows.

The heavy double door opens and a man in surgical clothes appear from behind them. He removes his gloves and face mask and speaks in a low solemn voice.

"I'm sorry. We tried everything."

Mina doesn't hear a word after that. She sits back on the hard plastic chair, her lips quivering and legs buckling, tears streaking down her beautiful face. There's an emptiness in her heart and numbness pounding in her brain. Despite the tears, she doesn't cry. A single sound doesn't leave her trembling lips and heaving chest. The tears continue to flow unchecked.

Three days later she's laid to rest.

Mina vaguely hears family and friends speaking about her during the service. Fans are outside the venue crying and wailing  in the streets.

Her band mates are openly sobbing, the despair and grief in their cries moves even the strongest of hearts in the room.

But Mina feels nothing.

Nayeon looks peaceful, there's a smile stained on her lips like even death couldn't steal that from her. There are no visible injuries anywhere.

Mina vaguely remembers one of the doctors explaining to the girls that the force with which the steering wheel impacted her chest ruptured an artery in the heart leading to a fatal cardiac arrest.

But to her, Nayeon is just sleeping. Her mind refuses to believe anything else.

The nothingness she feels threatens to engulf her entirely as she watches the casket lowering to it's final resting place.

The tears doesn't stop.

But she still doesn't cry.

When the alarm wakes her up next morning in the dorm, she puts her feet down softly on the floor and tells Nayeon that it's time to wake up.

The realization slowly hits her as she stops and stares at the empty bed next to hers.

Mina moves out of the room that day.

She walks Kookeu to the nearby park every day, and stares at a certain spot he barks at and tries to dig through. She walks him back him knowing that's the spot Nayeon and Kookeu always sat on when they went for their daily walks.

The girls don't get back to work for twelve months. Conversation between them is strained, the cheerful absence in the dorm painfully felt every single second. Every now and then one of them breaks down, and other girls gather around, giving them the strength they need to get through the pain and anguish.

Mina doesn't break down.

She doesn't cry either.

She refuses to go to the cemetery on the first year death anniversary. Nayeon isn't under some dirt and earth, because her scent still lingers in the living room, her loud laugh still echoes in the kitchen, her twinkling eyes still shine in the stars she sees at night.

When the girls get back from the cemetery, they decide to watch an episode of healing camp. They feel closer to the older girl when they rewatch clips of them as a group, but Mina hates it. She stares out the window as the girls watch the episode.

"Look at her drinking from Mina's juice." Jihyo laughs sadly as she stares at the television screen. "She was a top comedian."

"She was so cheerful and funny." Tzuyu nods as tears well up behind her eyes. "I miss her so much."

They laugh through their tears when Nayeon steals juice boxes from Mina's tent and poses with it.

"She was such a big baby." Jeongyeon reminisces fondly.

"Is." Mina mutters under her breath, her eyes focused on the cloud patterns outside the window.

"She's gone Minaya." Jeongyeon tilts her head, a worry filling her face. "You have to accept it."

"She's a big baby." Mina snaps. "Don't talk about her in past tense."

Hot tears well down her eyes. She stands up, lips trembling as she wipes at her tears angrily. "You talk about her like she's not alive in our memories. I still feel her everywhere." She yells pointing at her heart. "So yes, don't talk about her in past tense."

The girls share a worried glance as they look at the girl disappearing into her bedroom.

"I wish she would cry her heart out once." Sana sobs into her hands.

Her wish comes true after a month.