withering bloom | TXT

13 | sick.

the four boys eagerly rushed into the hospital, as one of the four were guiding hueningkai, making sure he doesn't collapse from the fever his allergies caused.

a doctor quickly rushed to their assistance, a worried look planted on their face. but not long before he made eye contact with taehyun.

"oh, are you the four who treat this place like a playground every time you come?" the doctor rolled his eyes, as he began to walk away.

"look, we don't need this right now, we need to see our friend as soon as possible." yeonjun scolded taehyun for raising his tone at the doctor. he knew it was wrong to speak like that to an adult, especially for somebody who was in part of helping beomgyu.

the doctor sighed as he led the four of them to his desk, and brought up the patient's documents.

"what's the name?"

the boys told him beomgyu's name and their relation to him, as the doctor soon let them into beomgyu's hospital room.

beomgyu was surprisingly awake. his attention was focused onto a stain on the ceiling, as he began to trace the air with his finger, before the boy's walked in. beomgyu turned his head to the boys, as a large smile formed on his face.

"i haven't seen you four in so long!" beomgyu exclaimed. his eyes were red and puffy, as if he were crying earlier. but he kept a bright smile, as he looked at the four of them, who didn't seem happy at all.

"h-how do you still remember us?" soobin asked, as he placed hueningkai onto a nearby chair, the rest of them standing next to beomgyu in his hospital bed. beomgyu was puzzled, as if he didn't know why they were confused.

"how could i forget you guys?" he smiled warmly again, but a sense of pain he shielded with a smile. he reached out to grab his x-ray paper's to show the four boys. "look! they removed the flower!" beomgyu smiled, in joy.

"yay!! now you're perfectly healthy and can win me another plushie!" hueningkai said excitedly. the others joined in his laughs, happily.

"we can finally see you again without feeling bad, right?" yeonjun smiled as beomgyu nodded.

"yeah! they told me i'll be able to go back home after today! we can hang out all of tomorrow" beomgyu laughed.

"nothing fun has happened to me lately, you guys have to fill me in on the weeks of your lives that i've missed while being stuck here, as soon as i get out of here"

"don't worry, you didn't miss much." taehyun laughed, crossing his arms "the most exciting thing that's been going on are the free pretzels they give out in the waiting rooms this past week."

"THOSE ARE SO GOOD!" hueningkai exclaimed, sitting up. "they give you a choice of sea salt or unsalted."

"it's a monstrosity how you have to pay for the water, but they give out those snacks for free." soobin scoffed "like why do i have to pay $1.50 for a natural necessity?!" he complained, crossing his arms.

beomgyu laughed, as they all smiled at him.

but, maybe they were just forcing a smile onto their faces. of course, they were happy that their best friend was alive and well. heck, that was all they ever wanted. they wouldn't know where to be if he weren't with them.

but they didn't want him to have to go through the pain of seeing one of his friend's cough up flower petals. it would be painful for him to have already went through that and watch one of his friend's suffer too.

what the other four didn't know was that he knew if he got the flower removed and still remembered them, the disease of the sunflower would still become passed on. that was why he was practically begging for no surgery. they did it without his permission. he did it to save them. he couldn't stop blaming himself and crying himself to sleep every night in the hospital, worried about how one of his friends are suffering with the bloom inside of their lungs.

"visiting time is over." the doctor said to them, as he sighed and waited for them to leave. they began to walk out the door.

"wait!" beomgyu called, as they all began to turn their heads in his direction.

"what is it?" the questioned, backing up to see beomgyu.

"i-i'm" beomgyu stuttered, unable to voice the words he wanted to tell them.

"beomgyu? are you alright?" they asked, concerned. soobin kneeled down to beomgyu's side to see the younger boy sobbing, as he signaled the rest of them all to come to beomgyu's side, with a single wave of his hand.

"i'm...so sorry..." beomgyu apologized, beginning to feel his eyes fill with water. as he brought his hands up to his face.

"for what?" the four began to walk back to his hospital bed, as they held his shoulder.

"i'm so sorry that one of you...

will have to suffer and cough out flower petals...

and that it's all my fault."

———

the car ride back home was silent. the four of them sat in the car as yeonjun drove, making constant attempts to start a conversation.

"so....anything exciting planned for the weekend?" yeonjun dryly laughed, as he watched the others look outside the windows from his driving mirror.

"i'll take that silence as a no" yeonjun smacked his lips together. he made an attempt to hum to get the others in a better mood.

yeonjun continued to drive and hum as he moved his upper half of his body, swaying back and forth to the song the was humming.

as they all watched the outside world through the windows. it felt like the longest twenty minutes of their lives.

they drove past beomgyu's apartment as they all let out a soft laugh, confusing yeonjun.

"what?" yeonjun asked, as they interrupted his song he was humming, smiling as the others watched the apartment get smaller and smaller as they continued to drive. yeonjun was just happy they finally gave out some type of reaction to something.

"just reminiscing"

i'm sorry if it's a boring chapter,
just wait, i needed a few filler chapters
before the crazy parts begin to happen :)

also i began to feel a little under the weather,
during those times, i always like to write or draw to
ease my mind. expect some updates soon hehet