The flowerbed - Aespa's Giselle x M!Reader

The hospital room (Part 1)

Chaewon's POV

The hospital corridor felt endless as I forced myself to keep walking. My reflection in the window showed someone I barely recognized - none of my usual brightness, no teasing smile. Just exhaustion and worry etched into every line.

Room 247. The number that had become a second home these past months. I paused outside, gathering strength for what I'd find inside. For who I'd find inside.

He was awake when I entered, staring out the window with that hollow expression that had replaced his usual warmth. Bandages still covered most of his visible skin, but it was the emptiness in his eyes that hurt most to see.

"Brought coffee," I announced, trying for normalcy. "That hospital stuff is basically poison."

He turned slowly, offering a weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You don't have to keep coming, Chaewon-ah."

"Try and stop me." I set the coffee on his bedside table, pretending not to notice how his hands shook as he reached for it. "Someone has to make sure you're not wallowing too much."

"I don't wallow."

"Sure, and I'm not incredibly charming."

That earned a small genuine smile - gone too quickly, but proof he was still in there somewhere. I settled into what had become my chair, watching him struggle to find a comfortable position with his injuries.

"The nurses say you're not eating," I said carefully.

"Not hungry."

"Bullshit." The word slipped out sharper than intended. "Sorry, I just... we're worried about you."

His expression closed off immediately. "We?"

"Me and Sakura," I corrected quickly, though we both knew who he really meant. Who he always meant.

Silence stretched between us, heavy with everything we couldn't say. Everything I wasn't supposed to tell him about.

"How are you really?" I asked softly.

"Fine."

"Y/n..."

"What do you want me to say, Chaewon?" His voice cracked slightly. "That everything hurts? That I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes I see her face in that last moment through the window? That I-" he cut himself off, hands clenching in his sheets.

I reached for him instinctively but he pulled back. Always pulling back now.

"I shouldn't have let you stay that night," he whispered. "At the accident. Shouldn't have let you see..."

"Stop." My own voice shook. "Don't you dare blame yourself for that too."

"They hurt her because of me. Her career, her family... everything she worked for, ruined because I was selfish enough to-"

"To what? To love her?"

The word hung between us like glass about to shatter. He turned away again, but not before I caught the tears he tried to hide.

"They replaced me yet?" he asked after a moment, voice carefully neutral.

My heart clenched. This was the part I'd been dreading. "Yes."

Something in his expression tightened. "Who?"

"Manager Choi." The name felt bitter on my tongue. "He's... strict."

"Strict how?"

I hesitated too long. His head snapped toward me, eyes suddenly sharp. "Chaewon. Strict how?"