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— ♕ —
after the boys and hyerim's parents were finished checking up on jisung, he had asked them to bring hyerim.
jeongin was holding jaeseong's hand as they walked in front of the rest, approaching hyerim who sat in her seat.
"noona?" jeongin uttered. "hyung wants to see you."
the girl looked up from her hands and slightly smiled at the two. "thanks. are you guys leaving already?"
"yeah, but we'll be back tomorrow," he answered.
"ah, alright. get home safely."
"of course, noona."
when hyerim started to make her way to jisung's room, chan stopped her.
"thank you for saving him," he began. "we're all really grateful."
"i'm relieved i got to him when i did."
chan wrapped her in an affectionate, brotherly hug before pulling back and motioning to the hallway.
with a heavy heart, hyerim slowly but surely reached jisung's room and knocked a couple of times before entering.
"ji," she breathed out.
he looked so pale and fragile, sitting up in the hospital bed with different tubes hooked up to him. as she pulled a seat up next to him and sat down, she watched as his eyes watered.
his voice was unsteady and wavering as he whispered the words, "i'm sorry."
hyerim shook her head and took his hands in hers. "you have nothing to be sorry for, jisung. i'm just so glad you're alive."
a sniffle emitted from the boy and he looked down at his bandaged arms.
"why didn't you tell me?" she continued. "or why didn't you tell any of your friends?"
"because my problems are my problems. i should be the only one worrying about them," he muttered.
hyerim gazed at their hands and caressed the back of his palm with her thumb. "having a close friend means that you're allowing them to help you through your hardships and vice versa."
"help me understand who you are, jisung. i want to help you."
"because of chanri?"
her movements came to an abrupt stop. she didn't say anything, and jisung took that as a sign to keep talking.
"i don't need your pity," he added. "you couldn't save chanri and you think it's your fault, so when you met me, you probably thought you could make it up to her by helping me. right?"
hyerim slowly dropped the hold on jisung's hands and crossed her arms.
"yeah, i want you to get better and it's not because of her. we became closer and as i saw how broken you were, i realized that you don't deserve that. you're a good person, but if you don't want another person who cares about you here, then i'll leave."
she stood up and turned to exit but jisung was quick to grab onto her arm.
"i just— i like you. a lot. i didn't want you to stop being my friend after i told you what was wrong with me; who i actually am," he confessed.
hyerim sighed and faced him again. "we're all fighting our own battles. not everyone is a happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine."
jisung nodded in acknowledgment, loosening the grip on her.
"when you're comfortable enough, you can tell me everything that's going on."
"can i tell you now?"
with an almost unnoticeable grin, the girl nodded and he began to put words together.
he would stumble and stutter and hyerim constantly encouraged him to keep going. he let her know about his parents' divorce, his mother's remarriage, his shitty step-father, and how he handled everything terribly.
contrary to what jisung expected her to do, she stayed and listened to everything he told her.
the hour got later and the stories got longer. there was so much to hear from the boy; most things that nobody else knew until he had the courage to trust hyerim with them.
when he concluded everything, jisung took a deep breath and glanced out the window.
"what time is it?" he asked.
hyerim gazed down at her phone and said, "it's almost two in the morning," with a light chuckle.
the elder's eyes widened, whipping his head back around at her.
"shouldn't you go home already? there's school tomorrow."
"it's alright," she dismissed. "i'll stay with you."
jisung looked at her with surprised eyes and held her hand. "thank you.. for everything."
in response, hyerim sent him a comforting smile and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. except, jisung turned his head to face her and their lips touched. both of their faces bloomed a shade of pink as they sheepishly locked eyes.
she realized what she just did and became even redder. she backed away and intertwined her fingers behind her back.
"i, um, are you hungry? i'll get something from the vending machine!"
and like that, her hand slipped from jisung's.
"wait, hyerim—"
but it was too late. the girl left the hospital room, leaving jisung to drown in his own thoughts.
