tag me | jaehyungparkian

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Winter was fast approaching and the temperature had already dropped significantly. Jae found himself huddled under numerous blankets in front of the roaring electric fire, with the TV switched on and a mug of hot chocolate clutched in his numb hands.

This particular Saturday was no different. Chan had let him have the weekend off instead of his usual four hour shift on Saturday mornings and consequently, he decided to spend the entirety of it in the same place. Bed. He held a book in his hands, with trembling fingers turning the page every so often.

The heating had been switched on for days on end, but alas, just before the temperature dropped to its lowest, the boiler wanted to fuck up and put Jae through two weeks of painful misery until he could get it fixed.

Wrapped in a blanket with a huge penguin graphic on it, with a hot water bottle cuddled to his chest and the electric fan heater blasting blissfully warm air at his face, he closed his book and immediately grabbed his phone; the casing had gone icy cold and the boy hissed as he picked it up.

The lock screen blared at him as he lifted it, showing the date and time in big bold letters that pained his eyes.

December 5th. 17:04.

Brian said he'd stop by at six. The two boys had planned to play games and watch tv in front of the fire and then go for a walk around midnight. Jae looked forward to it- he hadn't seen Brian for a while besides the occasional video call on Instagram but even then the both of them tended to keep the camera turned off.

He sighed and buried himself deeper in the blankets, scrolling through his phone and checking up on emails and work set by his tutor.

Jae found studying online so much easier than actual school: for one, he could work whenever; two, he could do it in bed and in pyjamas if he wanted; three, it allowed him to earn money with a full time job at the same time.

At 17:46, Jae finally unfurled himself from the comforts of his blankets and waddles through to the kitchen, where he put his dirty mug by the sink and grabbed a glass of water.

Outside, the blaring of sirens caught Jae's attention.

And lost it again.

Rubbing at his eyes, he rested his head on his hands and began to drop off to sleep, before being abruptly awoken by a knock on the door.

When he opened it, Brian beamed back at him and quickly pushed through, complaining about the icy wind and 'no fucking heating in my goddamn car.'

The door shut with a slam and the two of them instantly collapsed on the sofa with a sigh.

Brian pulled his legs up to his side and Jae sprawled across him with his head in his lap.

Twenty minutes in, and Brian lost grip on his phone.

"OUCH you insolent fuck biscuit!" Jae exclaimed, his hand over his nose and groaning in pain.

"Oh my god I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Brian tried to apologise but was too caught up in his own uncontrollable laughter to sound at all convincing. He got a scowl and a smack in return from the elder, who tried and failed to hold in his own laughs.

"You're cute when you laugh."

The comment immediately stopped Brian's laughter; he froze, his mind whirring at a million miles per second before he frowned and looked down at Jae, who was smiling like a goofball.

A blush crept up Brian's cheeks. Goddamnit younghyun, keep it together.

He stumbled over his words for a second, his mouth open and closed like a goldfish.

Jae chuckles lightly, booping Brian's nose before turning back to his phone, "Just except the compliment, Bri. They don't come often. Especially not you." He added the last bit with a roll of the eyes, but deep inside he felt differently.

Maybe both of them did.

12:52 am

The two had fallen asleep on the sofa, Jae's head still in Brian's lap with his phone teetering on his chest.

The peaceful silence shattered like glass when an obnoxiously loud ringing noise blasted through the room, and a screen lit up with bright colours and a single name.

Hannie is calling...

Brian rubbed at his eyes forcefully and picked up his phone, waking up Jae in the process. He pressed the green button and held the device to his ear.

"Hello?" He mumbled, still groggy with sleep, his voice weighed down with his tiredness.

"Younghyun? It's Hyunjin. Something happened to Han."

Immediately Brian was wide awake, nearly pushing Jae off of his lap but then the elder saw his expression and sat up anyway. "What happened?" He demanded, his throat tightening.

"We don't know, he just... collapsed. We were in the park by the school and he fainted. No warning before. Just said he felt a bit weak."

Brian jumped up, running down the hall to grab his coat and shoes before sprinting out to his car. "I'm on my way," he said as he did so. As he shut the car door, he realised he'd completely left Jae in his apartment. Not a moment later, someone thudded into the passenger seat and clipped their seatbelt into place.

"We going somewhere or what?"

Brian nodded, putting his keys in the ignition and he revved the engine.

"Something happened to Jisung. We're going to the hospital."

Jae was silent as he let Brian drive, breaking almost every rule there was and running almost every red light. 'It's not like there's anyone to see us' he argued, motioning to the red digital clock between them that read 1:25am.

The hospital was empty. With just a few people wandering around aimlessly with a lost look in their eyes and several nurses running past from time to time.

A doctor led them to Han's room, Brian's strides were long and determined, eager to overtake the doctor and just fucking get there quicker.

Finally they stopped. Light shone from under the door but shadows blocked it frequently.

The doctor opened the door without a word and let the two boys walk through. Hyunjin looked up from his book at the noise and breathed a sigh of relief.

Younghyun's questioning look pierced right through him, trying to read his body language and facial expressions, to which Hyunjin said, "Don't worry, he'll be okay."