|Weak Hero| Can't Tame the Dingo [Rewrite of Fallen Angel]

Chapter 13

The next day, Stephen stopped by a flower shop. "Hi there," The owner greeted. "I'm Aaron Perez and welcome to Perez Florals. Are you looking for a specific type of flower?"

"I'm not sure," Stephen hadn't bought flowers for Gray before. He didn't know what kind of flowers he even liked. "It's for my brother in the hospital,"

"If he's in the hospital, I suggest to play it safe and choose hypoallergenic flowers since some of the staff or other patients in the hospital might be allergic," Aaron said. 

"Which ones are hypoallergenic?"

"Roses, hydrangea, lilies, orchids, hyacinth, daffodils, snapdragons, and tulips," Aaron listed.

"Roses," Stephen chose. "Pink and green ones symbolize gentleness and harmony. I'll also take a few yellow ones to represent friendship. I'd like them in a vase please,"

Aaron picked some roses and placed them in a thin, pink vase that Stephen chose. Stephen paid for the flowers and vase and then headed to Malkeun Hospital.

"Excuse me," Stephen approached the receptionist. "I'd like to know which room Gray Yeon is in?"

The receptionist typed away on his keyboard for a few seconds. "The patient is in Room 302,"

"Thank you," Stephen bowed slightly and headed for the elevators.

"Stephen?" 

Stephen turned and saw Jake, Dean, and Timmy. "Oh...hey,"

"I guess you're visiting someone in this hospital too," Jake noticed the flowers. "We're here to visit my brother,"

"I'm visiting my brother too," Stephen quietly said. He wasn't in the mood for a conversation with someone as energetic as Jake. 

Fortunately, Jake seemed to be able to read the room and didn't push a conversation. The elevator arrived and they both were headed to the third floor. Stephen entered Room 302 while Jake and his friends were surprisingly visiting the room next door.

Stephen shut the door behind him. He stared at his best friend, someone who, despite only having known him for a couple months in their final year of middle school, was close enough to him that he considered him to be a brother. Stephen had hung out with other classmates, both from Class 3-4 and from other classes, and been on, in his eyes, friendly terms with them. But he was never as close to them as he was to Gray.

Now...now his brother was in a coma. His brother laid unconscious in that bed, his chest rising and falling and the loud beeps of the heart monitor being the only indications that he was still alive.

Stephen stood right by the door and remained unmoving for a few minutes. 'Do I deserve to be here? Do I still deserve to visit you? You got hurt because of me. I was their target and because you were my friend, they targeted you when I didn't show up on time. If I had showed up on time...if I had fought back...if I had never reached out to Bryce...'

Stephen's body began to shake with rage and regret and he nearly dropped the vase. He slowly walked over to Gray's side and placed the flowers on the nearby table. "Hi...Gray..." His voice trembled no matter how hard he tried to keep it even and steady. "I-I'm sorry...it took me a bit longer than usual to...to v-visit you..."

He pretty much collapsed into the seat beside Gray's bed. "I know that you'd want me to continue living life. I know that you'd want me to be happy..." Tears began to slowly fall. "I am continuing to live life. I am trying to be happy..." He forced himself to smile. "I'm doing my best to open up to my...friends. I'm trying to move on, Gray...I really am..."

His voice started cracking. "I can't bring myself to truly open up to any of them. It's too dangerous. I don't want to be completely vulnerable. I don't want to be betrayed again!"

"I'm scared, Gray...I'm really scared that if I truly open up and completely trust someone...they'll hurt me and...they'll..." Tears started falling. "I'm afraid that they'll hurt you! Even though you're in a coma, pieces of shits like Oswald Yang probably wouldn't hesitate to still hurt you!"

Stephen gently held Gray's hand and sobbed. 

XXX

"I wonder what Stephen's brother is like," Jake pondered out loud as he cut up some fruit for Kenny.

"Stephen is that guy you said finally decided to try a hand at friendship with you?" Kenny inquired.

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "He used to work at Cafe Gamma. His brother's in the room next door. I think the nameplate said Gray Yeon? Maybe I should try talking to this Gray guy and ask about—"

"He's in a coma," 

"Huh?" Jake blinked.

"The patient next door, Gray Yeon, is in a coma," Kenny revealed. "I overheard it from some nurses. He fell from his middle school's roof and is now comatose,"

"Oh..." Jake quieted. 'That explains his mood,'

Timmy quickly typed at his tablet and scrolled through the search results for info about a someone named Gray Yeon. "All the news articles says he fell on his own and that there is no foul play involved. However, when I look at forum posts by students, it's a whole different thing going on," He showed his friends what he had found.

-Was Gray Yeon suicidal or something? I mean he was quiet and kept to himself and was always burying himself in his studies so it wouldn't surprise me if he was depressed

-Yeah but he seemed happier after Stephen Ahn became his friend

-He obviously didn't fall on his own

-Oswald Yang and his gang were bullying Stephen so they were probably also bullying Gray too

-I heard them call Gray up to the rooftop during lunch

-Damn so Oswald shoved Gray off the roof?

-That's terrifying

-They literally tried to kill a student but got away scot-free due to his father's power

-Fuck, I don't ever wanna get on Oswald's bad side

-Wasn't Bryce friends with Stephen and Gray? Why'd he start hanging with Oswald's gang?

-He's a bitch that sticks close to people with power

-He probably wasn't a real friend to them in the first place and was just a power hungry fucker

"Stop," Jake snatched the tablet from Timmy and exited out of the forum. "I feel like this is something we shouldn't have seen. It's something that's deeply personal to him. Stephen's just starting to open up more to us. We shouldn't have tried to dig into his past like that. If he wanted us to know, he'd tell us,"

"That last part though," Dean said. "It sounds like someone Stephen trusted and considered to be a friend betrayed him,"

"That explains why he doesn't open up easily," Jake sighed. "He's still hurting," He wanted to somehow help Stephen.