Hypernova : A Sequel to Supernova

Episode 5 - Unexpected News

Nine barely registered the sound of his footsteps as he walked down the long hallway toward his brother's room. He was exhausted. Sleep had been a luxury he couldn't afford between his assignments and working tirelessly on Neuromend, but the thought of seeing Choi always gave him a burst of energy. He was determined to help his brother in every way he could, he could sleep when he was done.

Pushing open the door, he was immediately greeted by the scent of Lavender and a Nine song playing in the background.

Setting his bag down, he greeted the nurse on duty.

The moment Choi saw him, he sat up straighter in his wheelchair, his eyes becoming like crescents as he smiled widely.

Seeing the smile on Choi's face, Nine's exhaustion melted for a moment, replaced by warmth.

"You came!" Choi beamed.

"Of course I came," Nine walked over and knelt beside his brother's chair. He looked at Choi's hair that was now dyed silver. "I like your hair."

"It's like the photos." Choi replied proudly.

"Mhmm." Nine nodded knowing Choi found joy in picking random hair colours from his photos. Whenever he wanted a new colour, a stylist would come in and change it.

"I'm sorry I haven't been by to see you." Nine apologized, "I got really busy for a little while."

Choi shook his head sweetly, "It's okay. Another friend came to visit."

Nine raised an eyebrow. "A friend?" He didn't take Choi seriously at first, thinking it was probably one of the other patients or maybe one of the staff. He played along. "Oh yeah? Who came to visit you?"

Choi pointed to the wall, at the photo of the three of them: Nine, Choi, and Jorah. The sight of it made Nine's stomach tighten, but he'd never had the heart to take it down, no matter how much the memories hurt.

"Him," Choi said casually, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Nine's heart stopped. He felt frozen, his mind scrambling to understand what Choi was saying. Jorah? Here? It didn't make sense. Why would he come here? 

Unable to comprehend what was being relayed, Nine walked to the wall and took one of the photos down, as though bringing it closer for Choi to see might let him admit he'd made a mistake and that Jorah hadn't really come.

Choi took the photo from Nine's hand and smiled at it, looking at Jorah. "He changed his hair too." Choi looked at Nine, "It's shorter."

Nine's legs wobbled beneath him as the truth became more apparent. Choi would have had no way of knowing about Jorah's hair being shorter if he hadn't come since the last time they'd seen each other, Jorah's had begun to grow his hair out again.

Obvlious to Nine's perplexed expression, Choi continued ,"He took me out to the garden. We walked around, talked a bit. We saw a kitty."

Nine's throat tightened. His jaw clenched as he forced himself to breathe evenly. "He took you for a walk?" he repeated, the words sounding foreign to his own ears.

"Yep. He looked different though. A little... sad, maybe? But he smiled when we were together, so I don't think it was that bad." Choi's voice was innocent, oblivious to the storm brewing inside his brother.

Nine bit his lip, his fists clenched by his sides. He stared at the photo, unable to take his eyes off Jorah's smiling face in it. It felt like a punch to the gut. Jorah had come here, to his brother, behind his back. A whirlwind of anger and confusion surged through him, but he swallowed it down. This wasn't the place for it. Not in front of Choi.