Bubble

13. A Theory

Bonita felt tired, but she couldn't sleep. Sitting in a chair beside Bang Chan's bedside where he still remained unconscious, she thought back on the awkward conversation she and Minho had with Felix and I.N. When she tried to explain to them that the man was Bang Chan and he had become thunderstruck out of her DVD player and his show, they seemed hesitant to believe her. Bonita could tell that Felix had a thousand and one follow-up questions more than likely for him and for I.N who still was under the influence. However, a majority of the questions had to wait for the day as I.N's lack of sobriety was the bigger scene at the moment in the hospital. Felix offered to take him home only after Bonita promised to talk about this further with him as soon as possible, exchanging numbers with her to stay in touch before leaving.

On the way back to the cafeteria, Minho had gotten a call from work about an important meeting that had come up. Not wanting to leave Bonita alone in the hospital but also not wanting to get fired, Bonita had assured him that she would be fine until he returned. She had a lot to think about anyway, but her main concern was wondering when Bang Chan would wake up. He fell from the top of a thirty-five-foot-tall building and had survived without a broken bone or scratch of any sort.

'What does all this mean?' she thought, noticing a twitch beneath his eyelids before they slowly cracked open.

They remained half squinted for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling above him. Bonita could see his chest go up and down a bit faster as if breathing was coming hard to him. Standing up, she moved to walk over to him, grabbing one of his hands to anchor him. The moment her hand wrapped around his, his head turned to look at her. She could see the panic in his eyes, shining as bright as the stars.

"You're okay," she said. "You're just in the hospital right now."

She felt his hand turn to wrap about hers, squeezing it tightly as the panic in his eyes slowly started to subside.

"What happened?" he asked. "All I remember is falling and then waking up here...I thought I was back in my shelter for a moment and that everything that happened was just a dream..."

A soft smile came across Bonita's lips as she rubbed a thumb over the back of his knuckle.

"You're still here...don't know whether that is a good thing or not..."

A small smile graced his lips then as he replied, "It's a good thing. Trust me."

The moment between them was shattered by the growling of Bang Chan's stomach. With semi-flushed cheeks adorning the both of them, they let go of each other's hands as Bang Chan slowly sat up.

"Careful," said Bonita, still not being able to believe he had fallen all that way without dying or breaking anything.

"My stomach has other plans about me being careful," said Bang Chan with a chuckle as he sat up on the bed, putting both of his hands over his stomach. "It sounds like I have a beast living in there."

Chuckling, Bonita checked the time on her cell phone.

"I think the cafeteria might still be open if you want me to go get something for you..."

"I want to come with you," said Bang Chan.

"But you're..."

"I'm fine," he insisted as he threw his feet over the side of the bed.

Nodding, Bonita moved to go try to find the boots he had been wearing when he left her place earlier. She watched as he slipped into them, soon standing beside her.

"Where's Minho?" he asked, finally seeming to notice for the first time that they were alone. They hadn't truly been alone since he had first appeared.