don't listen » soonhoon

03

soonyoung was no stranger to injuries. he'd always been a boisterous young boy, climbing trees like a monkey and running off into fields with no shoes on. jihoon on the other hand, was much more careful with his actions, with the constant fear of landing himself in the hospital. he was always envious of soonyoung's carefree attitude.

jihoon wasn't even surprised when he received a call from his friend saying he'd landed himself in the emergency room after a 'dance-related shoulder injury'. nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel slightly worried as this came only one week after his leg-cramp incident.

"what did you do this time?" jihoon sighed as he entered room #17 of the clinic in their neighbourhood. he caught sight immediately of soonyoung and his cheeky grin, sitting upright in his bed with his arm in a tight sling.

"nothing much. just the usual shenanigans," soonyoung replied nonchalantly. jihoon sat on the bed in front of soonyoung's legs, causing the frame to groan under the added weight. "sorry to worry you again, jihoonie."

"i'm used to it," jihoon replied quietly, placing his hand on soonyoung's cast. "can i sign it?"

IDIOT, jihoon wrote in giant letters. soonyoung laughed and tried to hit him with his good arm, but missed terribly. "you need to stop getting injured. i don't have enough time to come baby you every time."

"aw, are you sacrificing your precious composition time to come see me?" soonyoung puffed out his cheeks and attempted to hug jihoon, who wriggled out of his grip.

"kind of, yeah," jihoon said bluntly. "how did you manage to twist up your shoulder so bad?"

"uh, not sure..." soonyoung said, with a hint of hesitation. "it was more of a cramp than a sprain."

"another cramp?" jihoon said, becoming slightly more worried. "are your legs fine?"

"yeah," soonyoung said, smiling a little. "lighten up, jihoon! i'm still young and healthy," he added, lightly bumping jihoon's shoulder with his.

"please don't lie to me, soonyoung," jihoon said, anger joining in the mix of emotions he already had. jihoon had known soonyoung for a long time - he knew that soonyoung would never say anything to worry others. he was too selfish for his own good, caring too much about pleasing others that it sometimes would hinder his own self-expression.

jihoon couldn't really say much about himself though. he wasn't too expressive himself, but when he was upset, it was apparent to anyone within a 10-meter radius. on the other hand, soonyoung rarely ever showed anger or pain. jihoon was sure it wasn't healthy to hold everything in like that.

he remembered the time soonyoung had attempted to climb a tree to see what was inside a birds' nest on one of the top branches. they were only 14, still young and adventurous. jihoon ended up having to half-carry soonyoung home after he slipped and fell halfway up.

but even back then, soonyoung still smiled. if it wasn't for the limp in his step and the bloody grazes on his arms, you would never guess he was injured.

jihoon wondered what soonyoung was feeling in this moment. did his arm hurt more than his face betrayed?

"what do you mean?" soonyoung sensed jihoon's seriousness and dropped the smile from his face. "it's only an arm cramp. they just put it in a sling in case it was some sort of muscle sprain." he wiggled his fingers slightly. "see, i can still move my fingers! it's fine, jihoonie."

"you always say that," jihoon said through his teeth. "you always brush things off and say you're fine. don't you remember two years ago? you had a bad cough which you said was 'fine' but you ended up hospitalised with pneumonia like, a week later."