San Diego, California 3 p.m.
Ahn Seonghoon, Kim Eunjoo, Kim Jeongho, and Choi Hyunjeong had arrived together at the airport by private plane. Ahn Seonghoon had contacted Kim Jeongho after finding out about the accident from his wife. He told them that he was taking an immediate flight to the USA with his wife by their private plane and asked Kim Jeongho and Choi hyunjeong to join them.
They immediately drove to the hospital without any stops. The dark circles and red eyes made the exhaustion from the past day prominent. They had spent the entire plane ride in silence without a wink of sleep. All of them were anxious to get to the hospital but also terrified of what they might find after getting there.
After reaching the hospital they all exited the car together and rushed to the main receptionist area in the ER room.
"Hello, we received news from the embassy that 4 patients in a car accident were brought to this hospital yesterday? We are their guardians. Do you know where we can find them?" Kim Jeongho rushed to ask the receptionist.
"Yes ,one second I can check for you, do you have the names of the four patients?" The receptionist looked up from the computer to ask.
"Yes, their names are Ahn Daehyun, Ahn Sooho, Kim Eunjoo, and Kim Jinsol." This time Ahn Seonghoon spoke first.
"Okay, give me one second." The receptionist said while typing away quickly on the hospital computer.
The receptionist became solemn after looking through the information. "Yes, I see that the 4 patients you are looking for were all brought to the ER from the crash site yesterday before being taken up to surgery for their injuries. They were sent to the ICU after that. You can head up to the 5th floor where they are currently being monitored. Look for Doctor Valentino, he manages the ward there and can give you updates on their condition." She said, before gesturing to the elevators on the further right hallway.
They gave a quick thanks and rushed to the elevator unaware of the pitying glance the receptionist was looking at them with.
Although the ride up to the 5th floor only took a minute at most, it felt as though time had stopped and their fear and anxiety rose with the rising levels of the elevator.
DING!
The elevator doors opened, Choi Hyunjeong watched as her husband, best friend, and brother in law got off one after the other.
She stood petrified, unable to move a step out. She felt it in her gut, in her body and her soul. If she got off this elevator, this might be the last time she would see her daughters.
Kim Jeongho realised that his wife was not behind him but standing still in the elevator with red eyes, "Chagiya, what's wrong? Let's go, we have to find the children."
Kim Eunjoo and Ahn Seonghoon also stopped and looked back at her.
"I..I can't." She spoke almost in a whisper but they all heard it.
Kim Eunjoo could see the fear in her friend's eyes and went over to comfort her. "Hyunjeong, look at me. It's going to be okay, everything is going to be okay."
"Yes Yeobo, let's go, everything is going to be fine with the children." Kim Jeongho repeated.
"Really?" She asked expectantly.
"Yes, really." Her husband assured and although she was still terrified she still took that step because it brought her closer to seeing her children. So she ignored her senses and went forward.
They walked to the main station and explained their purpose before asking for Doctor Valentino. "Okay could you please wait a minute on the seats, Dr. Valentino went on rounds to check on the patients and will be with you shortly."
They stood silently on the side waiting anxiously for 5 minutes before they saw a male Doctor in his 50's walk up to them. "Good evening. Are you the guardians of the four patients, Ahn Sooho, Ahn Daehyun, Kim Eunae, and Kim Jinsol?" Dr. Valentino asked, struggling with the names while looking at the charts of the four patients.
"Yes we are. My wife and I are the parents of Ahn Daehyun and Ahn Sooho and these are the parents of Kim Eunae and Kim Jinsol. Can we see our children?" Ahn Seonghoon gestured to his wife and friends while speaking.
Dr. Valentino released a solemn sigh,"Could you all walk with me to the office please? We have to talk."
They all sat down in the fairly large room with Dr. Valentino sitting across from them with files in his hands. They waited in trepid silence, wanting to ask but couldn't bring themselves to. "I know that you all must be anxious to see your children, but we have to talk first about their condition." Dr. Valentino entwined his hands as he explained the four patient's condition when they had come into the hospital. As Kim Jeongho and Choi Hyunjeong listened to him recount the details of the children's injuries, they, who were also doctors, realised how serious the situation was and couldn't help but have their hearts drop.
He had yet to mention anything about how their surgeries had gone and he couldn't help but ask, "How are their conditions now? Did the surgeries go well?"
Dr. Valentino looked at the hopeful parents and wasn't sure where to start. "Well this is where the situation is a bit complicated as all four of their injuries varied in degree, We did take them all into surgery. Mr. and Mrs. Ahn your son, Daehyun's surgery went very well. The damage to his lung has been repaired, his dislocated shoulder has been placed back and he has a minor concussion which we are still monitoring right now. Because of his broken ribs though he will need at least 6 weeks of rest but right now we are very positive about his recovery. He is still unconscious right now but should wake up in about 2 hours you can see him then." Before the couple could sigh in relief and be happy for their son they heard Dr. Valentino continued, " Unfortunately though your other son, Sooho, had suffered very heavy bleeding in his brain. We tried to control it but it was too late. He was declared brain dead during the surgery but is currently still on the ventilator. We need your permission to switch off the artificial life support." He finished.
Kim Eunjoo completely broke down and could not control her tears anymore, she hugged her husband and bawled her eyes out.
Dr. Valentino saw their meltdown but didn't stop. "Mr. and Mrs. Kim, both of your daughters had more serious injuries. Your daughter Jinsol's leg has been treated and she should be able to recover full function with therapy and rehabilitation but the problem is that she like Mr. Ahn Sooho also had very severe bleeding in the head. We were able to control her bleeding though but she has unfortunately gone into a state of coma and is in the ICU right now." He licked his lips before continuing "Your other daughter Eunae, had very serious internal injuries with damage and bleeding in several major organs which could not be controlled. She suffered a second cardiac arrest during the surgery and we were unable to save her…I am truly sorry for your loss." He finished.
All of them were in complete shock, 2 of their children were dead, 1 was in a coma and the other seriously injured.