dino's twin sister ➳ seventeen

Twenty ➵ Promises

"Wonpil?" I ask and the other boys look at us with confused eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What's wrong, Areum?" Jeonghan asks but I stay quiet, looking at Wonpil.

"I wanted to see how you are." Wonpil says sadly, looking at the floor.

"Well, I can't move properly no thanks to you." I snap and he looks ashamed.

"Areum, what's going on?" Joshua asks nervously.

"Can we talk somewhere alone?" Wonpil asks and I defiantly look away from him. "Please, Areum."

"Fine, but only for five minutes."

"That's all I need."

Although the boys look confused, they all leave Wonpil and I alone in the waiting room to talk. He sits opposite me on one of the sofas and sighs.

"I'm so sorry." Are his first words.

"Why did that happen to me?"

"When I first joined high school, I went around with the wrong crowd and they introduced me to a lot of bad people. I owe a lot of people many things and those three men you met, expect a lot of money from me, money which I don't have. I shouldn't have let them get to you, Areum, I know, and I'm sorry but from now on, I promise that I'll protect you."

"How do you expect me to believe you?" I whisper and he looks at me sadly.

"I don't, but all I ask is for you to try."

I stay quiet, considering his request. 

"I'll try." 

❀ ❀ ❀

"So, I was thinking, we still need to go on our date." Joshua smiles, leaning foreword and resting his elbows onto the edge of the hospital bed. 

It's night now, and all of the boys beside Vernon, Joshua and Dino headed home. Vernon and Dino are currently in the waiting room, because only a certain amount of people are allowed inside my room at a time. 

"Totally. I'd like that." I grin, reaching for his hands and holding them loosely. 

"When you're out of the hospital, that is going to be the first thing that we do, I promise." He says sincerely. 

"I can't wait." 

I move along on my bed slightly, masking the involuntary groan of pain with a cough before patting the space beside me with my hand. Joshua glances at the minimal space and looks at me worriedly.

"Are you sure?" He asks skeptically and I nod assuringly. 

He carefully climbs onto the bed and although the space is small, he fits beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. He then pulls me closer to him so my head is leaning on his chest.

"I miss being able to hug you." He says quietly. 

"You'll be able to soon, don't worry." I whisper back, shutting my eyes. 

He leans forward and kisses the back of my head, and I smile into his warm shirt. 

"I love you." He whispers and my cheeks redden, but thankfully he can't see them.

"I love you too, Joshua." 

It's silent but not an uncomfortable one, a nice, peaceful kind of silence which I love. I close my eyes but I'm not tired, the medicine is keeping me awake. I inhale Joshua's scent which I've grown to love and smile impossibly wider, even though the slightest movement causes my stomach to wrench in pain. 

It's a strange feeling, not remembering what happened before I was injured. I only remember turning up at the studios, watching their dance practise and silently remarking about my brother's immatureness. After that, my memory is nothing but a blur. 

When Joshua retold the story to me, he recited seeing three men, the same three men who had previously spoken to me about Wonpil, asking me questions I refused to answer. When I came to the realisation that the three men were the same people who were after Wonpil, I developed an unusual feeling of grudge and anger. But I know it's not Wonpil's fault, and I shouldn't have blamed him earlier. 

Now, all I feel is pain. With every movement, it strikes like lightening and there's nothing I can do but pretend it doesn't hurt. The medicine doesn't help, it doesn't even numb the pain slightly. All I can do now is rely on the people closest to me to help me recover. The nurses told me that my full recovery will most likely be in two months, so I'm going to be spending Dino and I's birthday in the hospital or if I'm out of here by then, then at home in my bed. 

Before I even realise it, tears are falling from my eyes. I feel the small droplets begin to sink through Joshua's shirt and I quickly wipe my eyes, hoping to be quick enough for him to not realise but I'm too late. 

"What's wrong?" He asks quietly and concerned. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?" 

"It's nothing." I whisper and rest my head onto my hands, so his shirt won't dampen with tears. 

"No it's not," he says and leans back so he can look at me, "tell me, please."

"I'm just sad at the moment. I just feel like I'm never going to recover fully but if I do, there's always going to be something wrong. First of all this summer, Kim Eui came back, Vernon was in an accident, I was shot, what's next? I'm probably going to die." I rush, empty-heartedly laughing after my last few words.

"Don't be so pessimistic, star, you're going to be fine," He assures me in a soft voice and gently kisses my forehead, his lips lingering there for a few seconds before retracting. "I promise."

I don't say anything but instead, move closer to him and close my eyes again. I feel suddenly tired which is good because I need an undisturbed sleep. After a few minutes, I feel his chest rise slower and quiet breathes escape his lips and I know Joshua is asleep. 

I finally manage to sleep too, for the first time since I arrived here with Joshua beside me. 

Author's note: 

Thank you for reading! We're almost at 4 thousand reads, what!!

 my EXO earrings finally arrived! I live in the uk so they took weeks to be shipped over here, but they're here now and I love them :)

I'm going to ask for some Seventeen merchandise for christmas, I can't wait   n.n

Does anybody watch American Horror Story? I started watching it yesterday and I love it so much o.o

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