The Last Boy Scout

41

"Hey," Yoongi feels a slight tap on his shoulder. He looks up and sees the nurse peering down at him. He's been resting at the infirmary as much as he could. "Are you going?"

"Where?" Yoongi closes his eyes again. He just wanted to sleep.

"Mail Call," the nurse informs. "I'm sure many people have left you calls from home. You did give your mailing address last time you had the chance to call home, right?"

Yoongi blinked. He never got the chance to call home. He didn't even know you could do that here. "Um... no."

"Well, you better go check if you have Mail Call anyway," the nurse advises, helping him up. The only Mail Call Yoongi got last time were wishes from his family and a word of encouragement from Hoseok. But Hoseok was here now.

"Thanks," Yoongi sits up.

"Your friend is waiting for you outside," the nurse smiles.

Yoongi stood up. "Thank you," he said again. "Sorry for being a pain the past several weeks."

"It's not your fault, things like this happen," the nurse nods. "We rarely get any injured people... so thank you for letting me do my job."

"Yeah," with that, Yoongi joined Hoseok outside the infirmary.

"So what now?" The two of them walked down the long white corridor and out the door at the end. Hoseok pushed the iron door open and Yoongi finally stepped outside for the first time in a few days. The unfamiliar air whipped against his bare face.

"It's so different here..." Hoseok mentioned. "Yet..."

"... very much the same," Yoongi finishes. "It's just like being a trainee all over again,"

"Yeah," Hoseok admits. "Come on," he says, pulling Yoongi forward with him. "We have Mail Call."

They reached the payphone building. An instructor was waiting there and keeping an eye on everyone receiving Mail Call. The instructor gives Yoongi a look as he walks in with Hoseok.

"Glad to see you're doing better," the instructor nods. "Get in line," he instructs. Yoongi and Hoseok wait patiently for their turn with the payphone. There aren't many people here because they received their Mail Call earlier in the morning.

"Time's up," the instructor taps his wrist and instructs the man in front of Yoongi to get out. It's now Yoongi's turn with the payphone.

"Go first," he pushes Hoseok into the chair.

"B-but..." Hoseok stutters.

"Ten minutes starts now," the instructor says.

Hoseok presses the phone up to his ear. He listens intently to the messages his family and friends left for him. Yoongi can hear him start to weep. He looks away.

"Time's up," the person beside Hoseok mutters a few more things into the phone and gets up to leave. Yoongi hesitates to sit down.

"Ten minutes starts now,"

Yoongi dials his Mail Call number and puts the phone up to his ear. The first message was from his mother.