Felix hadn't been able to stop himself from cuddling up to Hyunjin. Not even though Minho and Jeongin were in the room and they were watching them.

He had climbed very carefully next to Hyunjin into the bed and had snuggled up on the side where the drainage wasn't.

Hyunjin had closed his eyes in exhaustion. Thanks to the pain medication he had gotten, he wasn't in pain, but the whole thing had been extremely mentally and physically exhausting.

Having Felix with him was incredibly comforting and he was about to fall asleep in the younger's arms when Felix suddenly sat up.

"I have to tell you something else. But please... Please don't freak out, baby," Felix looked nervously at Minho and then at Jeongin, who both looked similarly insecure before he continued speaking, "Chan is here... as a patient."

"W-Why? W-What happened?", Hyunjin's voice sounded flat, almost lifeless, while his trembling fingers dug into Felix's arm.

"We don't know exactly..."

"He had a car accident. I think he ran away from the clinic," Jeongin muttered and looked at Felix apologetically. They hadn't really been able to agree on what they wanted to tell Hyunjin, but he couldn't just lie to him. "And they... they don't know who he is."

Grinning, Minho snorted and shook his head in amusement. "Guess you can't be trusted with secrets. It's better that they don't know who he is. They would call the cops if they knew."

"Oh God, you really think so?" Felix asked worriedly, while Hyunjin was still staring into the void.

He hadn't really noticed much more than Chan was in the hospital and had a car accident. "Since when is he here.."

Minho was the first to react. He gently nudged Jeongin, who was standing next to him, to answer Hyunjin. "For about two hours."

"But even if he will surely be out of the operation soon, it won't help either. You won't be able to see him as long as he's in the intensive care unit. Otherwise you would have to explain how you know who he is." Minho tried not to look at Hyunjin, but his despair was far too present to be able to overlook.

"I have to go to him. I need to know what happened," Hyunjin whispered as his fingers brushed restlessly over Felix's arm.

Silence filled the room, creeping into every corner, making the others feel his despair and impatience so clearly as if it were their own.

"But that's not possible right now, baby," whispered Felix, "If he's already out of surgery yet, then he's on intensive care.. and as Min said, you certainly won't be allowed to go that..."

Hyunjin's gaze flickered first to Minho and then to Jeongin, as if one of the two would stand by his side and tell him something other than Felix. Tell him it would be okay to get up and go look for Chan. But the two only looked to the side and remained silent.

Painfully, Felix's heart tightened when he noticed the expression on Hyunjin's face. He knew the expression - the urgent need to be there for someone, that was tugging at you so madly - and he knew that Hyunjin could hardly turn it off just as little as he himself.

The rain drummed mercilessly against the hospital windows, like a cruel soundtrack to their helplessness. Due to the tense silence, the rattling only sounded more powerful, deafening.

"Get some rest, baby. Sleep a little, your body needs the energy to regenerate and you can't get to Chan right now anyway. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay...?" Felix muttered softly as he gently let his fingers wander through Hyunjin's hair. Carefully, so gentle that it hardly felt like more than a breath, because Felix was madly afraid to hurt Hyunjin. And yet he just had to be there for him, show him that he wasn't alone.

"Come on, little one. Let's go raid the cafeteria unsafe, I'll invite you for a coffee. Or whatever you like," Minho muttered and pulled Jeongin out of the room with him. He had noticed very well that Hyunjin just needed Felix around him right now and he and Jeongin might bother them a little bit.

The hallway was busy, doctors, nurses and even some patients were on the floor and Minho and Jeongin tried to stand out as little as possible.

"How do you deal with it...? That the two of them are so close, cuddling and even kissing...? Aren't you jealous at all?" Jeongin asked softly, almost unsure, as he walked next to Minho.

Minho was thoughtfully silent for a while before answering. "They were like that before I got together with Felix. And somehow Hyunjin belongs to him without me really being able to explain it. If I forced him to choose between me and Hyunjin, it would break him. I love him too much to ever put him through that."

Now Jeongin was silent as he thought about Minho's words. He had never really had the opportunity to enter into a relationship with anyone until now. And his life, because of everything his parents had done to him, was definitely hadn't been normal. And yet what Minho said sounded to him like true love. "You must love him very much."

The smile that appeared on Minho's lips was real and so full of love that it made l Jeongin's heart melt. "I think he's the first to see me as I really am. Not just the rough shell, but everything underneath."

"That sounds beautiful..."

Minho just nodded. There was nothing he could have said about it. At the same time, he was filled with so much love and peace that he had the feeling that he was about to burst with happiness, even though he knew that now might not necessarily be the right time to feel all that. But for the first time in his life, he was really sure of one thing. His love for Felix and the steady ground of their relationship, even though they hadn't been together that long.

⍭〄⍭

Only when Felix was sure that Hyunjin had fallen asleep in his arms, he broke away from him and carefully climbed out of the much too narrow bed.

Cool, damp air drifted in through the open window, which felt somehow pleasant. The window sill was wide enough for him to sit on it, which he did, because he had so much to think about.

The whole situation was insanely complicated and he was incredibly worried about Hyunjin. He understood that his best friend was worried about Chan, but he would have preferred it so much if he hadn't shown up in the hospital right now. Hyunjin would actually need time to recover and get well himself before he again could take care of others. And Felix knew exactly that this would happen, even if Hyunjin wasn't quite healthy yet. Just like he did with Jeongin.

Sighing, he looked over to his best friend, who once again looked like a peaceful angel, asleep beneath the covers. The drainage wasn't visible and the tension and despair had also gone away from his face. "Oh Jinnie..." he muttered, shaking his head sadly. He would have to come up with something so that Hyunjin would get enough rest to get well. How good that he still had semester break.

His gaze wandered from Hyunjin to the window, where the raindrops traced winding paths down the glass.

The day had gone very differently than he had planned. He had actually wanted to study with Minho for this damn repeat test and then bake cinnamon rolls together before picking Hyunjin up together and bring him home. Even in the apartment everything was already prepared, he had been grocery shopping, had cleaned everything and made the bed freshly. He had even converted the sofa into a bed so he could stay close to Hyunjin at first, without the risk of hurting him in his sleep.

And now everything had turned out completely differently. Now Hyunjin would have to stay in the hospital so much longer and all the worries had just tripled.

But finally he shook his head thoughtfully before he sat back to Hyunjin by the bed. "You need to get well soon, baby," he whispered, reaching for Hyunjin's hand.

Actually, he had to check with Hyunjin's doctor very urgently if there was anything he should pay attention to. Of course, the nurse would take care of the vast part as long as he was in the hospital, but he wanted to be prepared for all eventualities.

And although it was very difficult for him to detach himself from Hyunjin and leave him alone, even if only for a little moment, he finally got up and went in search of someone who could give him answers.

45
꧁⟢ ⍭〄⍭ ⟣꧂