I had flown to LA to work with BTS on their album, but my hotel wouldn’t allow me to check in until the afternoon, so I asked them to keep my luggage behind the counter, and they were more than happy to do that for me. I took the address I was looking for and decided to go exploring, to see how far away I was from the members. I had been walking a little while, only about five blocks, when I recognized the street name on the paper I had been given, so I stopped and started looking at house numbers, just standing on the corner of the street, near the crosswalk, not bothering anyone, but also not moving.

Suddenly, I was knocked off my feet from behind, someone slammed into me, so I reached out to stop myself with my arms, jabbing my elbows onto the pavement, while also scraping my palms. I was on my knees, just shocked, the paper I had been holding, on the ground now, when the random person who had hit me, turned around, lifted me to a standing position again, then continued running. I could only stare, as there was blood dripping from both of my hands, down my arms, and I had no idea what to do. Another, bigger guy appeared a few seconds later, saw me, realized what had happened, then asked if I was ok. I didn’t know how to respond, still in shock, so he called to a third guy, and they seemed to be making a decision- I couldn’t understand this part because it wasn’t in English.

They debated quickly, the third guys picking up the paper I had dropped, then the second one must have made up his mind because he knelt in front of me and the third one lifted me onto his back, then helped the other one latch his hands under my butt to hold me securely, my arms over his giant shoulders, still dripping blood. They both hurried across the street, to a large brick house, then quickly went inside, kicking off their shoes. The one who was not carrying me, quickly got my shoes off, then they both continued up a set of stairs and set me onto the kitchen counter. I was still in shock, but once I saw the blood, which seemed like more than it actually was, I got extremely pale and started to fall backwards, so they realized I needed to be on the floor.

The one who had carried me, gently lifted me down, then he sat behind me, with his strong arms around my middle, holding me up, and the other one grabbed a towel from the bathroom nearby and laid it on my lap to catch the blood. Meanwhile, they were both shouting random names to get help, I assumed, so when three more very tall guys appeared I was not surprised at all. The one who was holding me up explained something quickly, the other one backed up his story, one of the new guys called someone and explained we needed a medic at the house, then another one knelt to ask me questions, but I could only stare at him and blink.

The one who had knocked me down was in the room next to the kitchen, pacing, worried, but also shouting because he was upset the other two had brought me into their home. I had no idea what was happening, since I could only understand the English words that randomly broke out, which I think the one holding me realized and then said, “Don’t worry. We will keep you safe now. I will protect you. I am JK. You are hurt. We will help you now.” I nodded, then he rubbed his cheek on mine, so I felt better about him keeping me from getting more hurt. Soon, two medics appeared, then saw a crazy situation: JK sitting on the floor, his arms and shirt spattered with blood, me, leaning on him, arms also covered in blood, my shirt looking like it had been dipped in red paint, a towel on my lap, random pools of blood on it, while the other six hovered either nearby or in the living room.

The medics got right to work, realizing JK was not hurt at all, just helping me, so one of them helped him wipe his arms/hands, while the other one assessed me. Turns out, my elbows were easily handled, once cleaned, just large band aids were needed, but my palms were way worse than expected. I had landed so hard that my skin had lifted off, causing major cuts in both hands, so I would need stitches. The medics told me they would be using a local numbing agent, so I would feel some pinching and burning before they could start the stitches, but once I saw the needle and felt the first poke, I rolled my eyes and my head fell sideways. Luckily, the other guy, whose name was Tae, caught me and helped JK keep me steady while the medics numbed both of my palms.

They gently used their medical wipes to clean off the blood that had dripped down my arms, to see the actual injuries, which were only on the bottoms of my palms, thankfully. One everything was cleaned, they began stitching each palm carefully, me completely unaware of what was happening because I was so dizzy and loopy from the effects of the meds. Within an hour, they were done, my hands sewn up, gauze on top, then wrapped in bandages with instructions to not go near water for twenty-four hours. The medics explained they would come back the next morning to check on me and see how things were healing, so I could not use my hands until then. My hands were completely numb, so I didn’t see how I could anyway. They wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get an infection, so they started an IV in my right hand, then asked the guys to lay me down, so they could get the liquids into my hand easier.

JK carried me to the couch, then gently set me down. He went to wash his hands and get any extra specs of blood off, then removed his shirt, so nothing else would get contaminated. I had been lying on the couch for about five minutes when Tae noticed I was struggling to breathe- that’s when the medics noticed the rash spreading up my arm, to my neck, and all over my body. They grabbed their epi-pen and jabbed my right thigh, which gave me relief, but had to stop the IV, realizing I was allergic to the meds they had added. Once I was able to breathe again, the medics gave me another medicine to cancel out the first one, which had a side effect of drowsiness, so I was asleep within minutes.

Meanwhile, Tae had shown the paper with their address on it to Joon, one of the other tall guys who had come when he was shouting, but they didn’t understand why I had the paper in the first place. It had the name of my hotel on it, so Joon had asked me if that was where I had come from, I had nodded, then he asked if I had been there first, so I nodded again, and he left, with the one who had knocked me down, known as Jin, I found out. Those two had gone to the hotel, explained what had happened, and gotten my luggage to bring back to their house. When they returned, I was already asleep on the couch, the others and the medics explaining what had happened, my allergic reaction, and what they were planning to do the next day. Joon and Jin were both worried about me now, wondering why I had their address, who I was, and what they were going to do with me.

Luckily, my wallet was with my purse, which I had been wearing when JK carried me home, so they searched inside and found my license, but didn’t recognize my name, since I was not someone they already knew or were expecting to work with at any point. While I was asleep, the medics talked with Joon and Jin, helping them make a plan in case I needed help before they returned the next morning. I only slept for about an hour, then I woke up and stared at all the unknown guys around me, the medics having left. I blinked and looked at JK, who smiled and exclaimed, “Hooray! You are awake! I am happy for your cute face!” I smiled back, not even knowing really what was happening…

JK sat behind me, and propped me up, me being a total noodle still, very dizzy and loopy from the meds, my hands still numb. Tae sat on my other side and said, “I am Tae and I am happy to see you alive.” I just blinked, unsure of what I was expected to do or say. Another one knelt down and told me, “Hello, I am Joon. This is Jimin, that is Hobi, that is Yoongi, and he is Jin. We are sorry for the way you have to meet us, and we are sorry you got hurt. We want to help you. We brought your luggage here from the hotel, since you need to stay with us for now.” As he spoke, he pointed to the ones he was talking to, each one smiling at me, except Jin, who would not even look at me. I just nodded in response and felt like I had done something wrong, but everything was so fuzzy I couldn’t figure out what.

I was too afraid to speak still, which Joon quickly realized, so he held up the paper and asked, “Is this your paper?” I nodded, so he continued, “Were you looking for us?” I nodded again, then he frowned and said, “We weren’t aware of anyone coming to visit today and it’s very unusual for our address to be given out because we have to keep ourselves safe, so we aren’t sure why you have it or who you are.” I blinked and stared back, honestly unsure of my own name and purpose at this point. He sighed, not upset, but understanding my brain was not fully functioning yet, then looked at my shirt, still covered in blood, and asked, “Would you like us to help you find clean clothes?”

I looked down at my shirt, nodded at him, then looked up at JK, who kissed my cheek and said, “You can wear my clean shirt. I will be happy to share with your cuteness.” I had no warning before JK stood up, with me, and walked down the hallway as if he knew exactly what his mission in life was. He carefully placed me on the bed, where I fell backwards immediately, him laughing, then he grabbed a black shirt from a stack of black shirts he had sitting in his suitcase on the floor of the room. Tae had followed us in the room, so he helped JK pull me up, my head wobbling around, me attempting to help them, but not really succeeding. JK grabbed me, Tae grabbed the shirt, and they went into the bathroom in the room, standing me up in front of him, then leaning my legs against the counter, so I was sandwiched and propped up, which was actually quite smart.

JK started to pull my shirt up, but I forced my arms down and whispered, “No, I can do it by myself. You are not a girl.” He could tell I was embarrassed by the way I was being spicy, but then he laughed and replied, “Do not worry- I love someone already. You are just a friend to me. Tae will agree. We can help you and we don’t care. Is it ok now?” I nodded, understanding him then, and allowed him to lift off my terrible shirt, very, very carefully. He set it on the counter, then checked my tank top I was wearing underneath, but nothing had gotten onto it, so we were safe. As he stood behind me, he began lifting my arms into each of the sleeves of the new shirt, with Tae helping, which was absolutely HUGE and looked more like a dress on me, but once it was on, I smiled, then whispered, “Thank you JK and Tae. I trust you.”

They kissed my cheeks and Tae asked, “Do you need the bathroom? We can leave for a minute for privacy.” I nodded, not even thinking about it, so they made sure I was ok on my own, then quickly disappeared, saying they would be right outside the door waiting. I used the bathroom, then realized I needed help washing my hands, since I could not use water, so they both came bursting in when I called their names, causing me to laugh, scaring them, since they had never heard my actual voice before. I explained my dilemma, which then made them laugh and after they very carefully helped me clean each finger, still numb, they dried them off and kissed my cheeks, making me the middle of their squishy sandwich and causing me to laugh again, which alerted the others, so soon the bathroom had way too many guys in it with me squished in the middle.

We moved the mob into the living room, JK carrying me still, then I was put on the couch, in the middle of JK and Tae, then Jimin and Hobi right in front of me on the floor, with Yoongi and Joon on the other couch, Jin not anywhere I could see. Joon asked me again, what my name was and why I had their address, so I explained who I was and why I was looking for them. Once they understood, they weren’t worried about the paparazzi finding their residence anymore and they were relieved.

After that, we just chatted about how I could do normal things without bothering them, since I still couldn’t feel or use my hands, but they assured me it wasn’t a bother- they didn’t mind helping me at all. Jimin and Hobi laugh like me, loudly and frequently, so between the three of us it was a very happy couple of hours, until Yoongi mentioned he needed to start cooking dinner, which JK was going to help with, along with Jimin and Hobi, so Joon swapped places and Tae stayed put. Apparently, those two are not very helpful in the kitchen, so they aren’t involved in the prep work, which I thought was hilarious. I wanted to help, but every time I tried getting up, they would pull me back down, reminding me I wasn’t allowed to do anything. That’s when I realized I couldn’t eat, so I looked up at Joon and asked, “Wait- Joon- how can I even eat if I can’t use my hands normally? I can’t hold a spoon or chopsticks or anything!” I felt myself getting upset and frowned, while biting my lip and he quickly replied, “Don’t worry- we will feed you and I’m sure it will be ok. We would not allow you to suffer anymore.” He traced my lips, then smiled, so I had to accept his response even if I didn’t fully believe it.

Within an hour the table was full of food, and I was carried to the table by Tae this time, set next to JK on one side and Jimin on the other. Tae was on the other side of JK, with Hobi at the end, then Jin, Yoongi, and Joon across from me, Jin still refusing to look at me or acknowledge me at all, which worried me because I had no idea what I had done wrong. Jimin was so sweet and carefully put things onto spoons for me, so I could use my thumb to pinch the spoon and feed myself, but JK thought it was awesome to feed me, so he kept shoving food into my mouth, until I had to ask him to slow down- I wasn’t like him, a bottomless pit, and I needed to actually chew and swallow between bites. He laughed, but then did slow down, so I could actually taste the food after that.

I was having so much fun laughing with them, only half understanding their conversations or jokes, that I hadn’t realized how much my hands were hurting until I was full, and I felt sleepy, so I leaned on JK, which Joon and Yoongi noticed right away. They said something to JK, who looked down at me, my eyes struggling to stay open, then I was lifted right off the chair and carried to a different room this time and set on the bed. He waited until Joon and Yoongi appeared, then went back to the table- he was definitely not done eating. Joon asked, “Are your hands hurting?” I nodded, so Yoongi asked, “Do you have medicine, or do you need some?” I pointed to my suitcase, which was sitting by the bathroom door, untouched since they had gotten it that morning. Yoongi wheeled it over and asked if it was ok for him to open it, so of course I nodded and once it was open, I pointed to a Ziploc baggie on the top, which had Tylenol inside, which I had packed just in case. Yoongi got me two out, when I held up my two fingers, while Joon brought me a water bottle, then I took the meds and sighed.

They both stared at me, then Joon asked, “Would you like us to help you brush your teeth?” I nodded, then frowned, completely forgetting I couldn’t do anything on my own anymore. Joon helped me stand and walked me to the bathroom, then stood behind me at the counter, while Yoongi grabbed my toiletries bag from my suitcase, found my toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, then held it up to my mouth. I tried pinching the toothbrush, but it hurt so much I dropped it and cried out in pain, which made it easy for them to simple brush for me. I was laughing because it’s actually quite hard to brush someone else’s teeth, but they really tried their best and I appreciated it. They both helped me wipe my mouth, then left me alone to use the bathroom, which I did, then they returned to help me wash my hands delicately before helping me walk back to the bed.

“Do you want to wear pajamas?” Yoongi asked, pointing to my suitcase, but I shook my head- it was going to be way to hard to change clothing now and I was in a lot of pain, which he saw when I looked into his eyes, mine filled with tears. Joon and Yoongi came to sit on either side of me, careful not to touch my hands, but also very concerned. “Do your hands hurt a lot?” Joon asked, so I nodded, looking into his eyes this time, seeing how worried he was reflected back. He suggested maybe I would feel better if I laid down, so they helped me get under the blanket, and because I wanted them to not worry so much, I pretended it helped and said I was super sleepy, so they both left. Once I was alone, or so I thought, I was free to cry, silently, which I had been holding back for a while. Tears poured out of my eyes, while I tried to be as quiet as possible, but suddenly, someone was facing me, lying down on the bed, on top of the blanket, just staring at me. I blinked, not knowing how to react, since I was attempting to hide my pain from all of them.

He reached over, touched my hair, then said, “I am so sorry for knocking you down today. I didn’t realize how badly you were hurt. I was so focused on getting home with JK and Tae that I didn’t take time to notice you. I wanted to apologize earlier, but every time I tried, I saw how injured you were and knew it was my fault, so I felt guilty and ashamed. Please forgive me and be my friend too.” I could not respond to Jin, since I was actually in a lot of pain and already crying, so I just blinked at him, which caused more tears to appear, making him frown and yell out someone’s name. I was so embarrassed, since I had wanted to just cry in peace, when Joon and Yoongi appeared again, saw my face, listened to Jin explain how he had apologized, but didn’t know what to do about my crying. Jin got up and left, running back to the table, while Joon and Yoongi debated how to handle my tears.

In the few minutes it took for them to debate, Jimin had heard what happened and ignored them, went straight for the bed, climbed in, and pulled me into a cuddle, assuring me everything would be ok once I felt better. I continued crying until I really did fall asleep.

Both of them were too frozen to respond, while Jimin acted on his instincts and was able to help me right away. Once he knew I was actually sleeping, Jimin snuck out and went back to help clean up dinner with Yoongi and Joon, while I rested in bed, finally alone. I woke up sometime around two am, crying out in pain because my hands were throbbing, but this time Joon was next to me, and he knew exactly what to do. He got my meds, I took them with the same water bottle as before, then he cuddled me back to sleep easily, not even thinking twice about his actions this time.

When I woke up the next morning, I was snuggled next to JK, who was snoring loudly, but I felt safe, so I wasn’t worried. I looked on my other side and found Yoongi, which surprised me, since I didn’t remember either one of them being near me at all during the night. His eyes found mine and he smiled, then touched my cheek and whispered, “How are you feeling today?” I blinked and stared back, not really having words yet, so he motioned getting out of the bed, which I nodded to, then he sat up and helped me do the same. Once I was standing, I fell, dizzy, but he caught me, and that’s when I looked at the floor- there were several other mattresses, and each one had the rest of the members on them. I guess they had all wanted to make sure I was safe all night… Yoongi helped me walk around the sleeping members, to the bathroom, then left me alone, but came to help me when I needed to wash my hands. I waited for him to take his turn after that, but since I was so dizzy, I ended up sliding down the wall until I was lying on the tile floor, my head pounding, my face pale, not really doing well at all. Yoongi opened the door, saw me, knelt down, instantly concerned, then touched my forehead and cheeks. He went over to Joon and woke him up, then they both returned to me, now Joon began checking me the same way Yoongi had, but with his jaw clenched and a frown upon his face.

They whispered to each other, then nodded, Joon carefully picking me up and taking me to the living room, where he lay me down on the couch, Yoongi following closely behind. Luckily, the medics arrived shortly after, which is what they had been whispering about, so once they began removing my bandages, they quickly realized both my hands were infected, which is why I now had a fever. Both Joon and Yoongi were upset, but also confused, since we had followed all the instructions carefully and I hadn’t used my hands much at all, nor had they gotten fully wet at any point. The medics assured them both that sometimes this happens, with the stitches, type of gauze, type of bandage on top, etc. In my case, they suspected I was having another mild allergic reaction to the actual stitches, so they had to numb my hands again, remove the originals, and replace them with dissolvable stitches, which were supposed to be better somehow.

I was barely conscious, so it didn’t matter to me what was happening, which was easier for them because my hands stayed perfectly still this time. They were able to get things handled fairly quickly, while Joon and Yoongi had their morning coffee, so by the time Jimin wandered out an hour later, the medics were packing up and giving Joon the instructions about their evening visit- they didn’t think it was wise to wait so long this time.

Jimin came right over to check on me, then asked Joon and Yoongi what had happened. They updated him, he had some coffee and sat next to my head on the couch just brushing hairs off my face, waiting for me to wake up. It took about fifteen minutes, then I opened my eyes and looked around, seeing Jimin’s smiling face first, so I smiled back, remembering how he had comforted me while I cried last night and knowing his heart was kind. He asked how I was feeling, but I just blinked, so he continued to gently play with my hair, not pressuring me to speak at all.

Joon commented, “I think we need to get better at asking yes or no questions from now on, since she doesn’t feel ready to speak just yet. That might help her trust us more.” He knelt in front of me, asked, “Are you feeling dizzy?” and I nodded, so he continued, “Would you like some food?” I shook my head aggressively, which made them all laugh, so Jimin playfully asked, “Will you vomit if you eat right now?” I nodded several times, which sent him into a fit of laughter, causing me to giggle quietly, and that’s how Hobi found us when he wandered out a few moments later.

He was still half asleep, but saw everyone else laughing and halfway joined in, which only made Jimin laugh more. Jin was soon standing behind Joon and Yoongi, staring at everyone laughing, wondering what was going on, then saw me, smiling and approached me cautiously. He knelt down and gently rubbed the top of my arm, then asked, “Can I be your friend today?” I nodded, which made him smile and he clapped, causing me to look up at Jimin and continue giggling. JK and Tae were the last to arrive, and by then, I was sitting up, propped up next to Jimin and Yoongi, smiling and giggling with everyone else. When JK saw me, he ran over and exclaimed, “I have missed you so much! I loved our cuddle last night! You are so snuggly and warm!” I held up my arms to hug him, but he misunderstood and simply lifted me right off that couch, spun me around, then held me, standing up, right in front of him, as he grinned down at me.

I was dizzy again, so I felt my legs turns to Jello as he let go, causing me to fall in what felt like slow motion, everyone trying to reach me in time, but only Jimin was able to save me from hitting the ground because he was already the closest one. I landed in his outstretched arms, JK frozen in fear, suddenly realizing what he had just done, towering above me now, while Jimin made sure I was ok. “Are you hurt anywhere?” I shook my head. “Are you dizzy again?” I nodded. He just sat with his back against the couch now, me resting in his lap, while JK tried to reach down to pick me up again, but I shook my head and buried my face in Jimin’s neck, which JK understood and gave up, following Tae into the kitchen for his coffee. I knew I was safe with Jimin, so I let them talk and ignore me for a while, me feeling super comfortable and accidentally falling asleep, which he didn’t even realize until Jin got up to return his empty coffee cup to the kitchen. Jin had reached down to touch my hair, didn’t get a reaction from me, then leaned over to see my eyes closed, just resting on Jimin’s chest, completely asleep.

Once Jimin realized I was sleeping, he worried about hurting me, but the other members said I looked so comfortable it wasn’t possible, so they let me sleep. They tried to figure out why I had even needed to come see them, since I hadn’t been able to answer that question for them yet.