"That… that is the boy…?", I asked Hana standing next to me after feeling the heartbreaking shock ping through my entire body.
"Yes, Miss. It is very unfortunate"
"Is he… brain dead…?", my voice was trembling.
"No. He's just in a coma as you had been. But he had sustained a lot of physical injuries"
"Like what…?"
"I don't think Ma'am would approve of me going into all the gory details. I'm sorry"
"I WANT TO KNOW"
"If I may ask, Miss, why are you so concerned?"
That somehow made me angry.
"How could I not? Someone fell on our car and got seriously hurt! Don't you see that boy lying over there?"
Hana was a bit taken back, but recomposed herself to ask,
"I admire your kind heart, Miss. But I may point out, that you have not asked anything about Tan"
Oh yeah… they were talking about Tan before. Probably my driver considering what this household was like.
"I'm sorry… :sigh: I guess the doctor is right… I know it'd sound weird but could you please explain the situation with Tan for me…?"
"Tan has been your father's assistant since before you were born, Miss. You used to call him Uncle Tan. He is fine now health-wise apart from a broken arm, but I'd imagine he would feel very sad that you seem to have forgotten about him"
"Uncle… Tan… I'm sorry-. Let's go see him after this"
"That would certainly make him happy, Miss"
Then I looked through the window of the intensive care room again to see 'my' body laying there with bandages around the head and an oxygen mask over the face. The heartbeat seemed to be running steadily though from what I could see.
"What physical injuries did he suffer?"
"IF he wakes up, he will most likely not be able to walk ever again. It was seriously considered whether one of his legs should be amputated, but his parents wanted to keep that as the very last resort, at the cost of risking further infections spreading from the wound"
Then I imagined myself waking up with one leg missing. Oh my god…
"But it's not all that bad. It is also likely that he will not feel anything below his waist"
Hana telling me all this with no hint of emotions at all in her voice made me angry.
"How can you say all these things so calmly?! That boy over there is fucked for his life even if he wakes up!"
That caught Hana off guard again. Man, this will happen a lot. I have no idea how I am supposed to act to appear to be 'normal Jenn', which I figured was my name now.
"You really have been affected by this, Miss. First of all, I do not think ma'am would approve of your language. Secondly, I expected that you would say something else. I'm sorry I have misjudged and upset you"
"What… what would I have normally said?"
"You would have said 'Ha! Serves him right.'"
Oh what a bitch "I" am :facepalm:
"You are right… Hana. Maybe something really changed in me… but seeing him like this makes me very sad and sorry. What should I do…?"
"Nothing we can do, I'm sorry to say"
Then I saw MY mother and father appear from the corner of the corridor and walk towards me. I almost instinctively called out to them but held myself back, but the shock and the guilt made me lose all my resolve and I collapsed onto my knees on the ground.
"Miss! Are you alright?"
I just knelt there on my knees and watched MY Mom and Dad enter the intensive care room. They then sat next to MY bed and held MY hand. My Mom was crying and Dad looked like a ghost of himself too. This was breaking my heart. I made a great mistake. How fucking stupid was I? If I was gonna do this I should have at least made sure that I was 100% dead.
"Hana… this is breaking my heart…"
Hana then looked at me with a concerned look as uncontrollable tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Is there anything we can do for the boy…?"
"If Sir approves, anything is possible"
"Who is Sir?"
"Your father"
Oh… that's right. That's what Hana would call 'my' father.
"Could you please ask him for me?"
"You seem to have forgotten he's on an overseas business trip"
"What…? He didn't come to see his daughter who almost died?"
"We could not inform Sir of the accident as that would have seriously affected him in fulfilling the purpose of his trip. I'm sure Sir would come straight to see you as soon as he returns"
"Ok… but could you call him?"
"No need for that".
I heard the voice of my - Jenn's - mother coming from behind.
"Honey, are you really worried about that boy?"
"Yes… look at his parents… how sad they are…"
"Hana, what's their family's situation like?", my mother asked.
"From what I have checked, not so good, Ma'am. My estimation is that if they sold their house and the father receives his retirement fund early they could last for a year or two. But there is no telling how long the boy will be in this condition"
What…? This Hana woman even looks into this kind of thing as if it's nothing?
"Sweetie, would it make you feel better if we helped them?"
Now is my chance.
"Yes, Mom. I would be so grateful and it will make me feel better"
My mother sighed,
"You are really acting different now. This isn't like you, but in a way, I'm happy to see you being compassionate. Hana, arrange for transfer"
"Consider it done, Ma'am"
"You can rest your mind now, honey. Let's go home"
With that, we walked out of the hospital.
When looked at from the outside, it was such a contrast to the hospital that I had visited earlier for my own check-up. It was like a difference between a 7-star hotel and a small village inn. My own family… couldn't even afford that… what have I done…
"Mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Thank you so much. I'm really really grateful"
She answered my words with nothing but a most comfortingly warm smile.