Stinging Nettle | sunki

10 | Incident

Sunoo woke up laying on a semi-comfortable bed, opening his eyes slowly just to be blinded by the lamp blasting harshly into them. He hissed from the sensation, covering them with his hand.

"Mr. Kim? Have you woken up already?" a stranger's voice inquired, resulting in the boy's turning his head in the direction of it.

"Hello... what has happened exactly?" He sounded confused.

"You passed out for a good minute, one of your... friends I think? Came here while carrying you. He said he had no idea why you were unconscious," the nurse stated bluntly, sighing. "I speculate it happened due to severe fatigue. Were you aware of your state?"

Sunoo simply denied, shaking his head 'no'. Obviously, he lied. He suspected the event may have been related to the secret he kept. However, sharing any part of the experience could be detrimental towards his friends.

"I don't recall anything that could contribute to the defect of my vitality... I guess." He trailed away with his eyes.

Sunoo kept silent for a moment before asking, "Do you know the person who carried me? I-I mean, I'd like to thank them."

"Yes, they are still here. Do you want me to get them?"

"Oh yes, please."

Once the nurse left, Sunoo looked around the nurse's office. Typical school place for medical related stuff. The only thing that bothered him were the awfully white walls surrounding him. It sickened the blond in some way. It made the ambience depressing.

Someone knocked on the door, "Come in!" Sunoo shouted.

The person who stepped inside was no other than Ni-Ki, worry all over his face.

"Niki! Don't just stand there like a creep and come closer, will you?" Sunoo basically scolded the other.

"Sorry!" Niki quickly rushed to his hyung, sitting beside him.

Realising the fact, Sunoo blushed, "So you were the one to take me here, right?

Niki didn't dare to glance at the other, embarrassment washing all over him, "Ye-yeah, it was me. I just got worried and-"

"Thank you. I caused so much trouble, I should be sorry," Sunoo cut him off, biting his lower lip from anxiety.

"You did nothing wrong, hyung! You couldn't prevent it from happening anyway" the younger exclaimed, hesitantly putting his hand on the other's back.

Sunoo leaned into his touch a bit, making the latter nervous, "May I tell you something?"

"Of course!" Niki panic responded a tone too loud.

"Is anyone listening, though?" Sunoo enquired quietly.

"What do you- oh. Uhm, no, we're good," he stated, trying to check with his ability whether anyone was eavesdropping. Yet, didn't hear anything.

"Great. It's about the... the vamp stuff. My fainting might be related to the nightmare I had, this night to be precise. I dreamt of getting bitten. I can't remember it now but it really freaked me out," the blond confessed.

Niki listened to him, as scared as the older, "It sounds horrible, Sunoo hyung. I'm so sorry you had to get through it," he paused before continuing. "I don't know why would it happen. It sounds like your mind's imagination but perhaps it's related to when I bit you? I mean, I didn't exactly bite you, just injected something into your blood... which is different."

"But I-" Sunoo stopped himself from revealing that he recalls starring at Niki's mesmerising face during the dream. That would bring too much awkwardness and embarrassment for both of them.

Instead he replaced it with another fact, "I'm utterly sure whatever I dreamt of wasn't negative towards you or any other vampire. I do like you all. Seriously," he saddened.

"I believe hyung, don't worry. I'm just speculating..." Niki sighed, taking away his hand to brush his hair back.

"Sunoo hyung?"

"What is it?" the asked one shifted backwards, sitting further on the bed.

"What if you're not scared of us... but rather of just being bitten?"

Niki came to the conclusion as there seemingly wasn't any logical explanation to the dream. He knew Sunoo didn't seem frightened too much before getting the injection from him. Still, he was taken by surprise - didn't get much time to react. The thought caused more guilt come to Ni-Ki if it was even possible at that point.

Sunoo didn't reply. Just tried to think about the possibility.

"You... you may be right," Sunoo spoke in the tiniest whisper he could do.

"Could you elaborate on it, please?" Niki somewhat begged, needing the explanation to understand the other's state and stop flooding himself with the vexatious thoughts.

"I am a sensitive person, alright? I get scared easily," Sunoo slowly folded his arms around his body, changing into a self-hug position. "I think I feel my emotions intensified. So whenever I experience something it hits me hard."

Niki still had his eyes glued to the older, pressuring Sunoo to say what exactly he meant. Although he didn't intend to make the other uncomfortable, he couldn't stand not knowing the essential information.

Sunoo continued, trying to fill up the silence, "It's not like I remember anything specific. At least, not in details? Maybe once when I got really, but like really sick - to the point when I neither could catch my breath nor move around - my parents took me to hospital. By the way, I was pretty young, at most 6 years old. I know that some doctors were checking my, well kinda lifeless body, causing a commotion. They placed me on a stretcher, took me away from my parents... it was a true nightmare. When I got a bit more conscious, I started panicking cause they wanted to inject something? Or maybe take some blood to run tests? I don't know. But I do know two of the nurses had to hold me by my wrists because I was jolting too much."

Sunoo gulped, reexperiencing the moment, "I screamed on top of my lungs when they injected the needle into my skin. It probably didn't hurt that bad, I just overexaggerated by alot I guess..."

"No, you didn't," Niki stopped the older.

"Huh?" The blond was confused.

"You felt like that so it was that awful then. No exaggeration." He put his hand on top the other's arm. "You've got every right to react that way, don't blame yourself, okay? And also, thank you for sharing it with me."

Sunoo smiled to himself, his cheeks slightly tinted with a pinkish tone.
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Another backstory sort of thing ig