What if... - Chapter two
Jonghyun sighed as he felt the breathing of the boy in his arms finally turn even, barely shaking once in a while with the remnants of the numerous sobs the other had emitted. He could only hope Jinki would be okay, and be there to support him. He had been dying to tell the others the news that their friend was finally awake, but he didn’t want to leave him alone, not when he had had to go through all of that pain, he wouldn’t have been able to make it alone. But now that Jinki was safely asleep, he could finally, carefully lower his body onto the white bed, covering his frame with the sheets, before he tip-toed out of the room, all the while checking for the slightest movement that might indicate the other’s awakening, even though he had just fallen asleep a few moments ago.
When he finally made it out of the room, he closed the door silently, checking through the small rectangular window on the higher part of it to make sure Jinki was still sound asleep. He saw the other’s chest rising and falling rhythmically with every breath, and he couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips, glad with the fact that the other’s sleep was, in fact, only momentary at last.
He would’ve looked for a public phone somewhere around the hospital, since he was pretty sure he had seen one during his many visits, and one of the nurses had once mentioned there was a number you could dial to make the call free, which only nurses and doctors knew, in case there was an emergency. And of course, he had been told that number too, since he was merely a teenage boy, and he spent a lot of time in the hospital. But he didn’t want to be too far away from Jinki at the moment. His heart felt like it was shattering when he pictured what would be his reaction if he woke up, in the hospital bed, alone. He shuddered a little and pulled out his cellphone from his back pocket, scrolling down the contacts until he saw the familiar name of his -unluckily for him- best friend.
He hit the ‘dial’ button, and watched the screen flash the name ‘Key~ <3’ as the familiar sound coming into his ear indicated Kibum’s phone was ringing. He used to frown at the name his friend had given himself when he lent him his phone so the other could register his number, but at this point, he was already used to it. Then again, he should really remember to put him into speed dial, so people didn’t look weirdly at him when he scrolled through his contacts list looking for him. Then again, the name would still flash on the screen once the phone was done dialing... But if he was quick enough, said screen would already be against his cheek by the time that happened. Normal people would think changing the display name would be the easiest solution, but those people didn’t know Kim Kibum personally. He shuddered at the thought of making the other angry, while peeking through the aquamarine door’s window once again; he was really starting to feel like a stalker at that point.
“Hello~” Came Key’s -when had he started calling him that again?- voice from the phone, with a slight melodic ring to it. That either meant the other was happy, or merely not annoyed at anyone. Then again, he was about to become really angry, since he hadn’t been there when Jinki finally opened his eyes…
“Kibum? Listen, I have something very important to tell you. You see-”
“Jonghyun? Weren’t you supposed to be at the hospital with Jinki? I thought-“
“Yes, I am at the hospital, with Jinki. Well, not exactly with him, but that’s not the point. He-”
“What do you mean you’re not with him?! Kim Jonghyun, I thought we had clearly agreed that you would-”
“WOULD YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME AND LISTEN FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE?!” Jonghyun yelled into the his cellphone, earning quite some looks of disapproval from several nurses, doctors, and people who were around. One particular nasty-looking nurse/secretary/something glared at him while making that annoying ‘shhhh’ sound. If she had been the one talking to Key, she would’ve yelled at him hours ago for sure. But he just turned to face the door again, putting his attention back on his telephone conversation.
“...Listen, you idiot, Jinki woke up...!” He half whispered to the other, and he swore he could hear Kibum’s shock through the phone once the words had left his lips. He then proceeded to cover his cellphone with his hand as much as he could, at the same time as he moved it away from his ear. If he knew Kim Kibum well, which he did, he was about to-
“WHAT?!?!” He could hear the other’s screech even though the phone was pretty far away from his ear, and the sound should’ve been muffled by his hand. Then again, anyone who had spent a considerable amount of time with Kibum, and had more brains that a mosquito, would know much better than to underestimate his screaming power. He had this parent aura around him, even his scolding...
“What I just told you. He woke up, opened his eyes, got out of the coma. Whichever way you prefer it-”
“I’m heading over there right now,” And with that last interruption, the familiar sound of the other line having hung up filled his ear, making him have a renewed urge to bang his head against a wall. Oh well, at least he had gotten the message through. And there was a reason he had told Key of all people first. He figured in about five seconds, Taemin and Minho would have the news passed onto them, and in about an hour and a half, they would both be dragged into the hospital, led by a very angry Key. The boy was really capable of yelling at Jinki for not waking up during a weekend when they could all be with him. Then again, he would probably only do that when Jinki was calm enough. Which reminded him he still had to keep an eye on the other boy.
He opened the door as quietly as he could, silently moving a cushioned chair next to the bed where his friend was lying on. He would’ve gone to get himself something to eat or drink, or at least something that could entertain him while he waited, but he was scared to leave Jinki’s side for so long. Besides, it wouldn’t be too long before a loud Kibum burst in through the door, dragging Taemin and Minho, and yelling at him for not telling them sooner. Thinking about it that way, being bored and alone wasn’t such a bad thing... It was definitely better than the scene that was already playing out in his mind. He chuckled quietly to himself at the thought of how well they knew each other; well enough for him to be able to predict what was going to happen almost without noticing it.
Some time later, the soft sound of sheets ruffling coming from the bed beside him made him turn his attention to the Jinki’s sleeping form, which by the looks of it, wouldn’t be sleeping for that long. The older male was stirring, his eyes fluttering slightly in signal of the soon appearance of those honey irises he knew so well.
“Hey,” He said softly, as if trying not to startle the other, while he reached for Jinki’s hand again, holding it in a reassuring manner. “Feeling any better now?” Honestly, he felt like the older one in the room, having to comfort Jinki like that, but anyone would have some kind of break down in that situation, and in those moments, having someone there to support you could be of so much help. Kibum was probably going to baby him even more anyways. Then again, Taemin would always have the effeminate teenager’s number one spot in matters of babying.
“Yeah... Thanks, Jjong.”
Jinki's his voice was still a little sore from all the crying and screaming he had done earlier. Along with it came a smile, but one that made his heart shatter a little on the inside. It wasn’t the brilliant, 5000 megawatts smile he was used to, that reached his eyes and seemed to make the whole world brighter. It was a soft smile, a slight stretch of the lips, and Jonghyun wasn’t stupid as to not notice the other was indeed anything but fine. Perhaps better than before, seeing as he had calmed down considerably, but he could tell Jinki was just holding it all inside, bottling it up, while showing the rest of the world a strong side of him, trying to pretend nothing was wrong. He used to do that before, too. But this time, just this time, he couldn’t bring himself to allow it. And just as he was about to scold the other on how he was so obviously in pain, the door burst open, making a terribly loud noise as it crashed against the wall, making him wonder if he had psychic powers to see the future, or really did know all of his closest friends inside-out.
“YAH! Jonghyun!! Why in the world didn’t you call me before?!?!?” And, honestly, it was just as his hallucination had been.