san wooyoung

03.07.17

"no change?" yeosang asks sympathetically, offering a hot flask of coffee. its distinctive scent overwhelms his nostrils, and wooyoung is suddenly extremely glad for caffeine.

he shakes his head, accepting the drink gratefully with a greedy sip. "no. the doctors said she's stable but... still comatose."

his friend squeezes his shoulder pityingly, sitting on the arm of the chair the boy almost has not moved from for the week since the accident. he can hear the monotonous beeping of the monitor indicating his aunt's stability, almost glad he can't see her unmoving condition on the bed. it would be too jarring.

"any word from my parents?" wooyoung asks, disheartened. he wonders how his mother would react when she discovers her sister to be in a coma consequent to her son's actions. would she blame him, like he does himself?

"none yet," yeosang's words confirm what he had already suspected. "the last email states they were in madrid, following a lead about a case similar to your own."

the blonde sighs, body sagging in the chair as he fiddles with his fingers thoughtfully. "they've dedicated their lives to my cause, you know." he observes, narrowing his eyes. "to me. but they may as well not be in my life."

he lets loose a short laugh, almost forgetting he's supposed to have made his peace with their lack of involvement. "you'd think if they loved me so much they'd come home once in a while."

"wooyoung..." yeosang starts, but can't say anything to make him feel better about their absence. he doesn't disagree with him.

"still not coming back to school?" he asks instead, changing the subject. wooyoung makes a face at the notion. "you missed another day."

"i will," the younger assures him, rubbing his face tiredly with his hands. "haven't exactly been sleeping or thinking clearly lately." another hearty sip of the coffee.

"you really need to get out of this hospital." the brunette chides him, patting his shoulder decidedly.

his friend is right, as he usually is. wooyoung has smelt nothing but antiseptics and breathed nothing but artificially "clean" air (choked with chemicals) for the past week, and it continues to give him more and more of an excruciating headache. i suppose my presence or lack thereof will make no difference to her condition, he figures, agreeing grudgingly with himself to leave her side.

reaching for his cane, his fingers curl around the familiar handle firmly, gripping the smooth wood in his palm and pushing himself out of the chair. he reaches out the inanimate extension of his arm, avoiding the obstacle of the bed it is met with and stepping around it.

beloved coffee in his left hand, he angles his head back in yeosang's direction to throw him a tired but grateful smile before tapping his way out of the door and into the hall. he figures he can find his way out eventually without help, wanting solitude to comfort his thoughts.

alas. although independence is often his forte, hospitals are a repetitive labyrinth of increasingly frustrating passages that all feel the same, each step only adding to his confusion. you would have thought he might have been familiar with the building's interior by now- but he has not been anywhere but his aunt's room, the journey there a hysterically blurry memory he struggles to recall.

finding the nearest wall, wooyoung leans against it and sighs, raising the flask to his lips and shloshing the remaining steamy liquid about before sipping it more slowly. perhaps he'll try again in a moment to navigate the exit, unless someone with human decency takes pity upon his clearly disheveled and lost appearance and helps him themself.

the latter seems unlikely, but happens to be the option the universe decides for him that day, as it is not long before he hears footsteps nearing his location. wooyoung lowers the coffee, raising his unseeing his eyes expectantly.

"yeosang?" he falters, wondering if the stranger could be his friend coming to his feeble rescue.

the footsteps stop, and he hears an unfamiliar but friendly laugh sound at the mistake. "no, i'm sorry." a male voice apologizes. "do you need any help? you look kind of lost."

wooyoung smiles sheepishly, gesturing with his occupied left hand toward the open space. "guilty as charged. would you mind showing me the exit?"

the male hums obligingly, stepping to the taller's side. "of course! i volunteer at the hospital after school all the time - there's a lovely aunty with poor eyesight who uses a cane like yours who i've helped before, so don't worry - you're in safe hands."

wooyoung nods nervously, overwhelmed by the stranger's confident and bubbly demeanour. he's glad the person is overly friendly, at least. sticking to his guide's side, who respectfully does not try to hold his hand or impose on him, wooyoung seeps into comfort.

"sorry if i'm rambling," the other adds on,  "when i start speaking i find it difficult to stop. hope that's not weird for you- am i weirding you out?"

"n-no!" the blonde assures him weakly. he's usually the talkative one, and beginning to wonder how his friends manage. "i'm just glad someone noticed i needed help." not something he admits often, but this person has a way of making the words come easy.

"oh. okay. good!" wooyoung can hear the smile in his voice, finding himself loosen. the male is very easy to be around, his energy an almost contagious buzz.

"i'm hongjoong, by the way!" he pipes up indefinitely as they walk. "kim hongjoong. 1998. first year of college and yet to find my soulmate." over-sharer, interesting.

"i'm sorry to hear that." wooyoung sympathizes, becoming more comfortable knowing this person is only a year older than him. they don't attend the same school, of course, because wooyoung's school extends classes until nineteen rather than eighteen, but the boy is presumably local.

"what about you?" hongjoong asks, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder as they come to a set of doors which he holds open while the blonde goes through.

"uh, not yet." he replies, scanning his surroundings mentally while his cane taps in front of him. "i'm only seventeen."

the other laughs, and wooyoung hears the doors shut as the male comes next to his side once more. "no, silly. your name."

"oh," the blonde feels his cheeks warm slightly, hearing the hushed chatter and inaudible conversations over the phone as hongjoong leads him to the reception. "it's wooyoung."

there's a pause, the name seeming to leave hongjoong startled for a moment. wooyoung turns his head to him questioningly, expecting him to say something, but the other clears his throat and quickly regains his previous demeanour that had shifted seconds before.

"it's... nice to meet you, wooyoung." he plays it off, and the way he says his name makes wooyoung's skin prickle. "the exit's just a few steps in front of you."

the blonde nods gratefully, furrowing his brows at the odd change in atmosphere. "you too. thanks for helping me," he adds, raising his cooling drink.

"we should get a coffee sometime." hongjoong suddenly suggests, which makes wooyoung smile a little, heart warming in his chest. "i've got something to tell you."

"we'll see." he replies, turning around with a small wave of goodbye before finally making his way out of the suffocating hospital. odd.

unsure of what to make of the odd interaction, wooyoung hesitates, considering. tell me what? he enjoys making friendly conversation, but there's something in the exchange he can't quite place.

wait. he stops in his tracks. surely not.

the automatic doors open upon his nearing, and he feels a rush of fresh air. it refreshes his mind, helping him piece together the puzzle. the way he reacted when i told him my name. no. surely not?

he backs from the sweet release of outside freedom, stumbling. the fresh air can wait. mind racing, wooyoung can hardly manage to pay attention to his surroundings, all the noise in the room flooding his brain.

this. this could be a solution. it's what he's been looking for, the promised true love he's spent so many sleepless nights over. a hysterical laugh breaks through his chest, disbelief racking him.

he'll wait. he'll take hongjoong up on that offer of coffee, and hear what he has to say. if the older is not ready, wooyoung won't push him. but for the first time in his life, he allows himself a little bit of hope.

-

it's me, back from the dead

updates will be coming regularly again, sorry for the ghosting but last weekend was really hectic for me and i haven't had time because of tests and shit

i had writer's block too so i was on tumblr trying to fix it, and saw a post saying to write later parts in the fic (eg the smut scenes, the climax, the plot twists) to encourage you to get there and i may have gotten carried away :,) my notes are full oops

xxx

edit: this is so🤣🤣🤣🤣