Wonho watched Hyungwon closely from the moment he entered the room. He wasn't sure what he expected, perhaps...confusion? Maybe relief?
But when he saw Hyungwon walk in smiling, he knew he'd made the right decision in suggesting his idea to Dr. Irving.
"Why do you look so happy?" Changkyun asked, eyeing Hyungwon and wondering what had produced such a change in the boy.
"Jooheon came to see me," Hyungwon responded softly, looking down at the ground, but his smile didn't fade, even as Changkyun's eyes bugged out of his head.
"Jooheon- he came to visit you?" Changkyun repeated, and Hyungwon just bobbed his head, still smiling at the ground as he shifted his balance to his other foot, wringing his hands together to keep them occupied. "The guy who punched you in the head and almost gave you a concussion? That Jooheon?"
Hyungwon opened his mouth before closing it and nodding.
"And that made you happy?" Changkyun asked, skepticism engraved in every line in his face.
Hyungwon shrugged, but his smile seemed permanently etched on his lips. "Yeah, I guess it did."
Wonho contained his smile, not knowing how Hyungwon would react if he found out that his roommate was micromanaging him.
Then the guard entered the room. "Shin Hoseok?"
Wonho swallowed before standing up and exiting the room.
***
"They told me that if I tried to visit you, it might make you more...confused," she said, adjusting in her seat as her eyes dropped briefly before rising to land back on Wonho. "I haven't seen you in months," she said, her voice soft and rough. "I mean, they gave me updates, but...it's not the same thing as seeing your own kid."
"Hi, Mom," Wonho said, his voice slightly unsteady. It was hard to measure how long it had been since he'd seen her, seeing as he hadn't exactly been himself during that time, but it felt like forever. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, baby," she whispered, clutching the phone with both of her hands, as it was her only connection to her son. "I wasn't sure if enrolling you here was the right thing to do but I just didn't know-"
"It's okay, Mom," Wonho said, smiling at her, wanting to reassure her. "What happened was crazy. Obviously that's not in any parenting manual."
"I know you're trying to make me feel better but I felt like I was abandoning you. It felt wrong, leaving you here and letting someone else take care of you," she said, biting her lip. "All that time, wasted."
Wonho thought about his roommate, about the smile that had been absent until today, the smile that he had helped create. "Not wasted."
"Well, Dr. Irving said that you're clear to go," she said, clearing her throat and shifting once more. "I can take you home with me today, even. Do you have a lot to pack?"
"Pack? I..." Wonho found himself at a loss for words. He should want to leave, right? That's what he was supposed to want, right? "Mom, I...I can't...is it possible to wait a little bit?"
"Wait?" she echoed, looking small and lost on the other side of the glass. "Baby, I've been waiting for months. Why do you want to wait?"
"There's...there's someone here, a boy, and he needs my help," he said, staring at his mom and hoping she'd understand that this was serious to him. "And I don't know if he has a mom or dad who cares about him like you care about me. I just...it wouldn't be fair to him if I left so suddenly."
"And it isn't fair of him to you to make you stay," she said, frowning. "Don't you want to come home?"
"Yes, I...yes, Mom, of course, but...can I...can I have a little more time?"
She tightened her lips, her disappointment clear. "Until the next visiting day. That's two weeks ago, okay? I'm taking you home then."
Wonho sighed, partially in relief but also in stress. Two weeks was better than none, but it was still such a short time. "Okay, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, baby," she whispered, hanging on to the phone and staring at him in silence for a minute as though memorizing his face, a face she hadn't seen in months. Then she placed the phone on the hanger, stood up, and left the room.
***
The next day, Shownu was gone, his half of the room empty and his desk vacant.
