sin - woosan [on hold]

t h i r t y - f i v e

six months later.

Her world is a mix of black and white, swimming in and out of her consciousness. Her senses weren't catching up to her as all she heard was shuffling and racing footsteps. Her eyes opened and closed, unable to match her surroundings, it was too bright and too much for her right now. Voices suddenly rushed into her ears as she tried to make sense of what they were saying.

"She's running out of blood!"

"Will she make it, doc?"

"She needs more oxygen!"

Eyes fluttering, she was barely able to catch onto the words, let alone connect them in her brain. She was falling deeper into her unconscious and was losing her vision as it grew darker. The last thing she saw and heard was the screeching of a car and a voice call out her name in the distance.

+++

Adrenaline was pumping in his veins as he rushed through the hospital doors. His legs ached but he could not feel a thing, his breathing was heavy as his chest rose up and down with anxiety bubbling in his stomach. Tears were threatening to fall down as he raced down to the receptionist, unable to contain his emotions as he spoke. "Where is Jiho? Yan— Choi Jiho? What room is she in?" He corrected.

The receptionist looked at him briefly before searching for the said name. A moment later, she glanced at him again, "room 127, sir."

Without further conversation, Wooyoung nodded then sprinted to the direction of her room. He needed to get to her, he had to.

When the room was in sight, his legs dragged him there with the pounding in his head growing more frantic. Just as he was about to barge in, a large man blocked his path, "I'm sorry, you can't enter right now. She is in critical condition."

Wooyoung looked at him bewildered, "cr-critical?" The man nodded, pushing him away.

"Yes, that is why it is best if you do not enter right now."

Wooyoung looked defeated but didn't argue anymore as he walked dejectedly back to the uncomfortable steel chairs behind him. Head in his hands, his leg was bouncing uncontrollably, he was unable to stop the nerves running through his body. He couldn't sit straight, constantly up on his feet, waiting.

Hours past when he heard the click clacking of heels rushing through the hallway. A woman turned a sharp turn and was soon standing in front of Jiho's room. The same man that didn't allow Wooyoung to enter stopped this woman and the taller man that was with her. Wooyoung heard the worried voice of the woman as she spoke with the bigger man.

"Will you move out of the way? My daughter is in there fighting for her life right now!" Then it clicked, Jiho's parents.

Wooyoung surveyed them for a moment, posh looking mother and a stern looking father, he would never have fit their standard of man for Jiho anyways, no matter how much he tried. He looked down at himself, clothes wrinkled from twisting too hard while waiting, he tried to straighten his shirt to at least not look so shaken in front of the parents, but they seemed to pay him no mind.

After a sigh left the mother at the words of the bigger man, she turned around and sat at the metal chair behind her, palm covering her face as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. The man stood beside his wife, soothing her back, and Wooyoung has to look away, sighing inwardly as he continued to wait for any news on Jiho's condition.

+++

He didn't know how long he waited, but finally someone walked out of the room that Jiho was in, and he was the first one to jump from his seat. "How is she, doc?"

Jiho's mom looked at him baffled, before she cut in front of him, shoving him to the side as she spoke to the doctor. "How is she, doctor?"

The doctor looked at Wooyoung apologetically before facing the woman again and replying, "we luckily managed to preform some blood transfusion as she had lost a lot of blood from the accident. She is doing much better now, but she still needs to rest."

Jiho's mom closed her eyes in relief, putting her head in her husband's chest as he run his fingers through her hair and kissed the crown of her head.

"When will we be able to see her, doctor?" Wooyoung tried again.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to see her just yet, sir. She still needs to be kept under our watch, so once the nurses are out, they will let you know." Wooyoung deflated at the words but nodded and walked back to his seat. He didn't miss the scoff Mrs. Yang gave him as he was talking to the doctor, and he was sure she was murmuring about him right now to Mr. Yang.

To be fair, it was kind of odd, they don't know Wooyoung as they never got the chance to meet, so seeing him here must've been a shock. Even though Wooyoung did attend the wedding, he never got the chance to meet the lovely couple. He thought it was better that way, but right now, he wished he were dead. Putting his face in his palms again, Wooyoung tried to stay as patient as he possibly could until the nurses were out.

When the door finally opened and the sight of a nurse appeared, Wooyoung and the parents were on their feet again. "Are you her parents?" The nurse asked kindly at the elder couple, whom nodded at the question. "You may enter and see her now." Without hesitation, they walked past the woman and into the room as they were eager to see how their daughter was doing. The nurse looked at Wooyoung at this point, "her spouse?"

"Uh, no. A— A friend." He gulped as the lady nodded.

"Then it'll be quite the wait, only spouse and family are allowed to see her now. You can have a seat for now, and I will let you know when you can see her."

Wooyoung's throat went dry and before he could respond to her, she left his line of vision. He turned around swiftly, as tears burned his eyes, and banged the wall behind him roughly, shaking all the other people occupying the hallway he was in. He didn't care about who was watching him as he slowly slid down the wall and hugged his knees close, crying as he lay his head into them.

His chest shook as every gut wrenching sob escaped him. Everyone looked at him sympathetically as he weeped into his knees. His breath was uneven as tears streamed down his face. Every word in his throat died as he found it difficult to breathe. Lifting his head up, he banged his head on the wall a couple more times before a nurse rushed over to him, and helped him to his feet.

He wasn't registering what he was saying, however. A jumble of 'are you alright?' and 'do you need some water?' clouded his mind, but the fog wasn't clearing so he couldn't quite catch that. His feet stumbled and he almost fell back when a pair of arms caught him, and that's all he remembers before collapsing into a messy puddle on the ground.

...

a/n:  oop time jump 👀