"When you get a new heart, will I still be in there?" She says, barely a whisper. "Will I still be in that heart?"
"You're not just in my heart," Jeongguk replies truthfully. "You're in the blood flowing through my veins, you're in my mind, you're u...
He was painfully shy, which, as is often the manner of the painfully shy, he overcompensated for by being too loud at the wrong times.
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Five days after getting admitted to the hospital, Jeongguk's mother tells him that they're running low on budget and that she has to go back to work to be able to pay for his treatment and operation fees.
At first, Jeongguk's face falls. He doesn't want to be left alone in a place he dreads with his entire heart and soul. But as a 20 year old man (his mother calls him a man although she knows he's nothing more than just a boy), it's time for him to try to be independent.
He's always been hiding under his mother's wing. Maybe that's because he never has anyone else to rely on except her. Sometimes he feels guilty that she has to work extra hard and worry so much just for the sake of his health. As much as he wishes he could help her, his weak heart prevents him from doing so.
"Jeongguk-ah, I'm going to have to go back to Busan for awhile."
When he watches her leave, he blinks his eyes to keep his tears from falling. He knows that she has to go for both their sakes. And it's only for two weeks, right? He can handle two weeks.
Jeongguk stares up at the empty ceiling with his mind blank from any thoughts. The room feels a lot bigger now that she's gone. He hates large empty spaces. He wishes he could go with her too. He wishes he could get a donor and get out of this suffocating room as soon as possible.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
It's well past 3 in the afternoon when Jeongguk realises that his throat is disturbingly dry. When was the last time he drank something? He's been too busy reading the ending chapters of Stardust to even move. He scratches his eyes and stretches his arms, feeling his muscles tense.
He remembers that there's a vending machine near his room. He strolls to the door and peeps out of the room. There aren't many people in the hallway today. He runs a hand through his hair to make sure that he at least looks presentable before stepping out and shuffling his feet towards the vending machine.
A nurse greets him along the way, she's carrying a tray of syringes and needles and Jeongguk feels a slight tinge as goosebumps make their way to the back of his neck.
He hates needles. No matter how many times he's been injected with those things, he can't get over how much it stings.
Slowly, he makes his way towards the vending machine. Just as he's a couple metres short, something zooms past him at what he thinks is probably at 70 kilometres per hour.
Well, not exactly zoom past him. More like crashing right into him. It's a good thing Jeongguk manages to catch a hold of the side of the vending machine in time.
