𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲

chapter 38

When you get back to the boy's room, it's clear that you've been crying - your eyes are red and swollen, and your face is puffy - but the boys say nothing. You walk over to sit by Seojun's bedside, and tiredness finally catches up to you, so you just rest your head on his bed as you start to fall asleep.

Suho is sitting by the window in his wheelchair, staring at the sky as he thinks to himself about everything that happened. He's still processing this new information that he found out about Seyeon, and he can't help but feel like everything is his fault.
"Close the window, will you?" he hears from across the room, "she's going to get cold," Seojun says in irritation. You're sitting on the side of his bed closest to the wall, that way if Suho needs to move around you won't be in his way. Suho quietly complies, standing up from his wheelchair to close the window, before going back to his bed.

He looks over once he's settled under the covers, only to see Seojun looking down at you. He smiles gently when he sees you sleeping, pressing his thumb against the furrow between your eyebrows. Your face instantly relaxes at the feeling, a soft smiling gracing your features as you sleep soundly. The sight warms his heart, the boy admiring your features as he gently runs his fingers through your hair.

You wake up a little later and look up to see both boys sleeping, and when you check your phone you see that it's almost midnight. You decide to quickly check on your mother to see if she's sleeping okay before returning, just looking from outside the door to avoid waking her. When you return to the boy's room they're still sleeping, so you quietly walk back to the stool next to Seojun's bed. You watch him sleep with a sad smile, reaching your hand out to brush a few strands of hair out of his face.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again," you whisper, leaning forward to rest your forehead against his and closing your eyes. "I don't know if I could handle that kind of shock again. You and my mum are some of the only people I have left, and now you're both in hospital. I need you here with me, okay?" Your voice cracks at the end, and you lean forward to press a soft kiss onto his cheek.

You stay like that for a few more seconds before finally leaning back and opening your eyes, but you gasp when you see that his eyes are open and he's staring right back at you.
"I promise I'll be more careful," he whispers back, reaching his hand up to caress your cheek. You place your hand over his own, your eyelids fluttering lightly as you lean into his touch with a sad sigh. A single tear rolls down your cheek, but he's quick to wipe it away.

"Can you sing for me?" Seojun asks, squeezing your hand. You glance over to see Suho looking at you with a comforting smile. He doesn't say anything because Seojun doesn't know he's awake, but his smile tells you that you don't have to feel scared. The decision is easy. These are your friends and they're not going to say anything or bully you the way you've been treated before. You close your eyes and take a deep breath as you begin singing to the two boys, an affectionate smile on Seojun's face as he listens to you.

When you finish singing, the two boys smile at you.
"I never told you before," you look over at him questioningly, "how beautiful your voice is, and how unbelievably proud I am of you for facing your fears that day." You let out a soft smile at his words.
"Get some rest okay?" you tell him, tucking him in a little better. "I promise I'll be right here when you wake up." He nods and finally lets himself relax, falling asleep shortly after with his hand in yours. You smile and squeeze his hand before leaning your head down onto the bed, trying to get some sleep yourself.

Suho watches the two of you thoughtfully. He had heard your conversation a few minutes before, having not been fully asleep. He still can't fathom why Seojun seems so hell bent on not accepting his feelings for you, when the two of you so clearly feel strongly about one another.

You're still sleeping beside Seojun when Suho's dad enters the room the following morning. Seojun is laying down facing you with a smile, his hand still in yours as he watches you sleep. He reaches a hand out to brush your hair away from your face, and when you move slightly he sees something shining under your sleeve. He's shocked when he sees a glimpse of a bracelet on your wrist, the silver letting him know that you didn't stop wearing the bracelet he gifted you like he initially thought. He wasn't able to see it during the time you weren't speaking to each other so he thought you stopped wearing it, but he guesses you've been wearing it this whole time. His heart warms at the sight, but he chooses not to reach for it at the risk of waking you up.

Since his left side is the one with thinner bandages he lays on that side, and because he's facing you Suho's father can't see that he's awake. He glances over at the two of you before turning back to his son. He leaves minutes later when Suho refuses to talk to him and Seojun's mother enters.

Seojun's mother had been to visit your mother first before coming to see her son, and is really happy with the way her friend is doing. Whereas before where your mother was incredibly pale and weak, the colour is finally beginning to return to her face and she's been talking much more. She leaves some food for both of you before going to her sons room.

"Seojun-ah, eomma's here," she says, and greets Suho's father politely before walking over to Suho's bed. She doesn't speak loud enough to wake you up, and Seojun looks over at her with a smile.
"Shh, don't wake her up," he says quietly, slowly sitting up to avoid disturbing you. She looks between the two of you with a smile, but chooses against mentioning anything about it to avoid embarrassing her son and making you both uncomfortable.

When you wake up a little later the two boys are eating, Seojun being fed by his mother. You whine cutely and stretch a little bit with your eyes closed, and the boy looks down at you with an adoring smile. His mother catches the action but remains quiet. When you finally sit up while rubbing your eyes cutely, your eyes widen at the sight of Seojun's mother sitting right opposite you with a smile on her face. You shoot up so you're sitting straighter, rubbing the nape of your neck and smoothing your hair down as you greet her sheepishly. She chuckles lightly at your embarrassment, before motioning towards the food.

"You should eat too," she says. She assumed you probably haven't been eating much, but when she saw how skinny you had gotten when you sat up her expression became worried for a moment. It was true that you hadn't been eating well, the worry ruining your appetite since you didn't want to leave anyones side. All you've really been doing is going between the two rooms and making sure everyone is cared for, neglecting yourself in the process.

"It's okay thank you, I should go and check on my mum," you respond while shaking your head, moving to stand up. When you see the stern look on her face you slowly sit back down with a sheepish smile.

"At least have one bite before you go." She reaches the spoon out towards you with a smile, and you look between her and Seojun awkwardly.
"Um, didn't you just feed Seojun with that spoon?" you ask, eyes wide.

When she looks at you unamused you gulp and stop arguing, leaning forward to take a bite. You smile in gratitude, the food tasting amazing, ears red from the fact that you just ate from Seojun's spoon. Seojun coughs awkwardly at the realisation.
"Don't you have to get to work?" he asks. She nods while clearing up the food tray before getting up. She bids the to boys goodbye, and pats your cheek lightly with a smile before leaving.