In These Arms [mxm]

Chapter 1 - Foggy mirror

The chaotic bustling of people disturbed me before I had a chance to open my eyes. But as I slowly blinked them open, I grimaced from the piercing light, struggling to take in my surroundings. I could smell the antiseptic smell of a hospital, but the ceiling and walls, and all its amenities didn't look like one. I craned my neck to look around me and mustered the slightest bit of strength to prop myself onto my elbows. My chest felt like it was

The ceiling donned designer lamp shades like something from a movie set in the future, while the walls were a comforting warm cream color. Except behind my bedhead was a marble feature wall with plugs and a built-in lamp. The bed I was laying in was the only thing that looked like it was from a hospital, but the people gathered in front of a queen-sized bed told a very different story. A man lay in it with bandages wrapped around a portion of his head and neck, so I couldn't see what he looked like. I could only tell that he appeared very gruff. People sat on futuristic red chairs that swiveled. A couple of kids were spinning on them, while an elderly woman sat cutting apples into shapes of bunny rabbits.

None of their attention was on me.

A woman lay on her stomach across the mattress, sifting through the pages of a book. Her face was partially downcast, but she occasionally peered up to engage in conversation. Her long curls fell across her face, and her plump red lips occasionally upturned into a smile when she spoke to somebody. As she pulled her dangling hair behind her ear, I got a glimpse of a dazzling diamond ring, and her eyes momentarily flicked past mine before glancing back down at her book.

As if startled by the sight of a ghost, her eyes shot back to mine and widened with horror. She hoisted herself up and lifted her hand to point at me, visibly shocked by what she saw. "Hey," she said, arm shaking. "Hey, hey­–– he's awake. H-hey, he's awake. Look."

Everyone went quiet and turned to look at me. Something told me I wasn't supposed to be here, wherever this was. It was like I'd become the elephant in the room that everybody finally had no choice but to acknowledge.

"Ah," I said, watching the disbelief in all their faces as they stared at me like an escaped zoo monkey. "S-sorry. I don't know how I got here, but I'll take my leave."

The woman looked stunned. "What?"

"Zombie!" one of the two children sang, then broke out in chants. "Zombie, the zombie has awoken. He's going to eat brains and drink your blood! Chaesol, run from the zombie!"

"Mommy, I don't want to be eaten!" the little girl cried and clung to one of the guests.

Their teasing was confusing, but they were just small children. I shrugged the thought off and decided it was time to stop imposing on this family any longer. With great difficulty, I resisted the push of gravity and heaved myself up so that I was sitting straight. Accompanying the crushing weight against my body was the crippling headache and pain behind my eyes. It felt like I hadn't moved in years.

The blanket slipped down my chest as I moved, and I immediately recognized the hospital gown, which had my name, Bom Haneul stitched into the left breast. I stretched my neck and felt it crack every inch that I moved, then did the same with my shoulders, my wrists, my ankles, my hips. I couldn't believe that my joints were so stiff. Chanyeol and I stretched every day, even before enlisting in the army.

"H-hang on, let us call the nurse," the woman said. "Honey, call the buzzer for the nurse right away. I can't believe this, oh my gosh."

The man followed his wife's instruction, and soon a team of nurses came in and gave the same shocked reactions. They murmured to each other more than they engaged with me, as if they couldn't quite comprehend that I was alive and conscious in front of them. The youngest looking male nurse looked particularly taken aback, staring at me like I'd risen from the dead.