Soundleasure | Choi San

Chapter 29

The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of medical equipment. The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting gentle rays across the sterile white sheets of the hospital bed. Y/n lay motionless, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, her face a picture of fragile calm, while San could only look at her while holding her hand.

The doctor already told him everything was okay, he kept being assured there was nothing to worry about. But seeing her so fragile, when he had always known the stronger side of her, had him feeling out of place.

Y/n's eyelids fluttered, the first sign of her emerging consciousness. She felt a dull ache coursing through her body, a reminder of the battle within her. Slowly, her eyes opened, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings of the hospital room.

—Where... am I? —she mumbled, her voice sounding weak and raspy.

San, whose eyes got lost somewhere in the room, instantly perked up at the sound of her voice. His heart pounded with relief and worry as he leaned closer, taking her hand tighter in his.

—Hey, you're awake. You're in the hospital. You had a flare-up, and you collapsed.

Y/n's mind raced to catch up with the events that led her here. She managed to remember the brief moment of happiness and comfort before everything got out of her control. Her eyes welled up with tears of frustration and fear. Although she could only keep her eyelids open so those drops wouldn't roll down her cheek, and ate up the knot in her throat so a whine couldn't break her in half.

—I... I don't know what happened, or how. I suddenly lost control of my body.

—It's okay, Y/n. You're safe now. The doctors are taking good care of you.

Y/n tried to sit up, but her muscles protested. She sank back into the pillows, a defeated sigh escaping her lips. San adjusted the bed, helping her find a more comfortable position.

—How did I get here?

—I called an ambulance —he admitted.

Panic got the best of him when he saw her emotionless in his arms, too afraid and too alerted to do anything else than let professionals deal with the situation. He did think of driving her car to the hospital, but he was afraid of causing bigger damage.

Her lips were trapped among one another as she tried to fight the need to vent, moving her thumb over the reverse of his hand to distract herself from all the thoughts running through her head.

—I hate this. I hate feeling so helpless.

—I know, but you're not alone in this —San squeezed her hand gently—. We'll get through it together, okay? Just focus on getting better.

Y/n nodded, her eyes locking onto San's. His unwavering support gave her a small measure of comfort amidst the storm of emotions raging inside her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady her breathing and calm her racing thoughts.

—I'm sorry I made you go through this.

—Why don't you make up to me by getting better? —he kindly smiled, patting her head.

—Is that the only thing you want? —she scoffed, finally looking back at him.

—I do want a lot of things, but wouldn't be appropriate to say them now —he giggled.

San stopped for a few seconds, lost in her eyes -which slowly started getting back that spark that always shined in them.

—You don't have to apologize for this. For nothing —he assured her—. Y/n, you deserve all of this and even more. I l...