Leap of Faith: BTS Hyung Line FF

Healing Hands

"Will she live?"
"Yes, but she needs to be monitored for a little while."
"How long?"
"We'll know more soon, Mr. Cary."

***

Hoseok looked down at his slightly swollen ankle with a long sigh. He knew he shouldn't have pushed himself so hard, but he had been so hellbent on getting the moves down perfectly.

Jin had told him to take care of himself, and Jimin had offered to run through the dance with him in the morning. Hoseok just wanted to map it all out on his own to get a feel for it first.

He glanced out of the window of his hospital room, down at the small garden that sat in the center of the courtyard. Hoseok was sure he only sprained his ankle a little, but Taehyung insisted he needed to make sure it wasn't anything serious.

A loud crash from the room beside his caused his body to jerk a little in fright. He cursed under his breath, then laid a hand over his chest to try and calm his now rapidly beating hard.

Hoseok grabbed the crutch the nurse brought him that morning, shifting it under his arm so he could hobble out into the hallway. He looked around to see if anyone was coming to see what that sound was, but the floor was mostly empty.

Due to his idol status, they kept him in a wing for special patients. Most doctors and nurses worked with the general public on the floor below.

Curious, Hoseok leaned up to peer through the small window on the door. He noticed the figure of a woman, sitting on the floor with her back against the bed. Her head was hung low, long raven hair blocking her face from view.

Hoseok turned down the handle on the door and pushed into it. Her head jerked up as he came into the room, and he was a little surprised to see that she wasn't Korean at all. He lingered by the door.

"Are you okay?" He asked in his best English, taking note of the knocked over tray, spilled glass of water, and IV tube hanging off the edge of the bed, dripping fluid onto the floor beside her. Her hand was clasped over the bend in her elbow where she must have yanked the IV needle out.

"You look familiar," she spoke back to him, in nearly perfect Korean. Her voice was soft, sweet like honey, and she sounded like she may be American.

"Are you hurt?" He pressed on, speaking in his native tongue since it seemed she would understand him. Her skin was kind of pale, but not in a way that seemed natural. There was no color, no natural flush to her skin that might have indicated she was in good health.

"You're hurt," she pointed out, eyes falling to his bandaged-wrapped ankle.

"It's not so bad," he shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He swung his way into the room, then lowered himself to the floor beside her. It was a relief when she didn't flinch from him, or move away as he sat close to her. "Can I see?" He asked, holding his hand out towards her arm.

"Did you call the doctor?"

"No," he furrowed a brow. "Should I?"

"No." The girl lifted her arm to show him. It was a little bruised around the spot the needle had been taped to her arm, and red from where she tore that tape off.

"They will probably just put it in your other arm now," he muttered as he examined it. "Why did you tear it out?"

"Are you famous or something?" She changed the subject effortlessly, pulling her arm back to her side. "What's your name?"

"Jung Hoseok," he told her honestly, since he didn't see a reason to lie. Her eyes widened a bit, as if something suddenly clicked in her mind. The girl turned her face away from him.

"Oh," she nodded. "That's why."

"You know me?" Hoseok feigned innocence, a grin tugging at his lips even though he tried to hide it.

"My friend really likes your music," she explained vaguely. "She has a poster in her dorm."

"What about you?"

"Would you be disappointed if I wasn't your fan?" The girl questioned, nudging the knocked over metal cart with her small foot. Hoseok chuckled softly,

"Maybe a little."

She lifted her head again, wide doe eyes meeting his for the briefest of moments before she looked away again. Her eyes were dark brown, nearly black in the right lighting, but held secrets that made him all the more curious.

"Your music is good," she said, blinking her long lashes as she stared down at the bruise on her arm. "From what I've heard."

"Thank you." He didn't know why such a small, half-hearted compliment gave him so much pride, but he couldn't help the smile that grew into his expression. "What's your name?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Why would I laugh?"

"Some people do. Some people think it's pretty." She shrugged her thin shoulders. Hoseok took note of the dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm sure it's pretty."

"Winter," she finally said. "My name is Winter."

That was an English word, he knew. He was even more convinced she was American, despite her almost fluent Korean.

"My mother expected me in October. She was going to name me Autumn, but when I arrived in late November, she decided to change it to Winter."

"Winter," he repeated, kind of enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. "Winter is pretty. Reminds me of snow or getting warm by the fire."

"Really?" There was the smallest hint of a smile on her colorless face, and that brought him even more pride than her tiny compliment. "Most people don't think of being warm when they think of me."

"Strange," he hummed, wanting to see more of that elusive smile. "You feel pretty warm to me."

For a moment, he could have sworn he saw a blush in her cheeks, the smallest tint of pink giving life to her pallor complexion.

The moment was interrupted when a nurse finally came into the room. She noticed Hoseok immediately, then bowed her head.

"I'm sorry. I can move her down the hall if she is troublesome."

Hoseok glanced at Winter for a moment, wondering why the nurse would say such a thing. Winter just kept her eyes on the ground, not looking at him or the nurse. There was an emptiness, a darkness in those eyes. It worried him a little.

"No," he quickly shook his head. "No, she isn't bothering me." He used his crutch to pull himself to his feet. "She fell, and I heard it. I came to see if she needed help."

Winter looked up at him then, her eyes asking him why he would tell her such a thing when he knew it was probably a lie. What reason did he have for protecting her. Hoseok wasn't even sure, but it felt right in that moment.

"Her IV was yanked out when she fell. It's caught on the bed, see." He moved to the side so the nurse could get to her. "I'll go back to my room if you're okay now, Winter."

"I'm okay. Thank you." She let the nurse take her arm in her hand to evaluate the bruising and raw skin from where the tape had been ripped off.

"Of course," he nodded, using the crutch to hop out of her room. He turned once more before leaving to make sure she was corroborating his story. When he was sure the nurse believed them, he crutched his way back to his own hospital bed to sit down again.

His ankle throbbed a little at all of the movement, but he could hardly focus on it when he was being haunted by a dark, secretive gaze. So pretty, yet so mysterious.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted to know what she had hidden behind those sorrowful eyes.