Just Before The Dawn [DaeJae]

Forty Four

Despite his mother telling him to stay home, Daehyun went to school the next day. He could not focus on anything, but he did not really care. It was better than being stuck in his room, alone with his thoughts. 

In the lunch break, he sat on a bench in the schoolyard, as he didn't feel hungry at all. After a bit, he saw Ms Park coming up to him. "Daehyun, how are you? We got a call from the hospital this morning, I'm really sorry about what happened..." 

"It's okay" Daehyun mumbled, not sure how stable his voice was, "He's gonna be alright." 

"I'm glad to hear that. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, I understand what you're going through." 

He nodded. "Thank you. I think I should go eat something now..." 

"Yes, do that. See you later." 

When she was gone, Daehyun got up from the bench and started making his way towards the building. Then, there was laughter behind him that made him stop immediately. 

He turned around and there stood Jumin and Sangjun, who now came over to him. 

"hey, is it true what they say about him?" Jumin laughed, "He's even too stupid to die properly, huh?" 

And that was it. Daehyun lost the last bit of his self-control ad the next thing he knew was that he punched Jumin in the face. "You did this to him!" he yelled, "It was your fault you fucking asshole! I know it was you who put his story in my bag!" he hit him again, "He almost died! How can you laugh about that, huh?" 

Then, he was pulled back by Sangjun, who held his arms behind his back, before throwing him to the ground and holding him down. Then, Jumin kicked the blonde's stomach, making Daehyun cough. 

"Don't think you can talk to me like that, fucker." he kicked him again, harder this time. "You can't protect that little faggot, and if you don't watch out for yourself, you're going to end up just like him." He brought a last kick to Daehyun's face, before he turned around and left. His friend leaned down. "Better watch out who you make your enemy." Sangjun said, punching him in the face, before quickly following Jumin as he saw Junhong run towards them. 

"Dae, holy shit, what happened?" the younger knelt down next to his best friend, finding him unconscious. "Daehyun, look at me, come on!" He shook the older carefully, who now opened his eyes. 

Daehyun wanted to speak, but he could just cough and pressed his hands on his stomach. Never before had he been in so much pain. "He deserved it..." he then brought out, his voice weak and raspy, before he coughed again. 

... 

When Youngjae woke up this afternoon, the first thing he felt was a weird pain in his stomach, together with a horrible feeling of sickness. He opened his eyes, it took a few seconds until his sight got clear. Following a noise, he turned his head to the side and saw Junhong and Himchan stand at the door of the white room he was in. The two were quietly talking to each other. Then, Junhong looked over at him and a relieved smile appeared on his face. 

"My god, Youngjae. I'm so glad you're awake." he said and the two of them went over to the bed the boy was lying in. 

"Don't do this ever again" Himchan said, "You scared the shit out of me. How do you feel?" 

"Strange..." the boy mumbled when he had found his voice, and closed his eyes for a moment. 

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit" Himchan said after exchanging a look with Junhong and left the room. 

The younger sighed. "Daehyun is here as well. Do you want to see him?" 

Immediately, Youngjae opened his eyes again. The expression in them showed something liek fear, when he shook his head. "N- No..." 

"Alright. I'll at least tell him you're awake then. He's so worried... I'll come see you again tomorrow, alright?" 

Youngjae nodded and Junhong left, going to the room Daehyun was in. The blonde boy sat on his bed, talking to is roommate. When Junhong entered the room, Daehyun got up. "Junnie, they honestly want to keep me here over night! I told them I'm fine, it's just a few bruises but they won't let me go! Who's gonna walk Kanji tonight?" He was obviously annoyed. 

"Dae, stop it. They have a reason to keep you here, you were unconscious after all. It's for your own good. Don't worry about Kanji, I'll go with him. You stay here and recover, you look like shit." 

"Wow, thanks." Daehyun grumbled, then sighed. "Okay, okay. Is there anything new about Jae though?" 

"Yeah, he woke up a bit ago. He seems okay, as far as his condition allows it." 

"Oh thank god. Come on, I wanna go see him." he said and was about to put on his shoes, when Junhong held him back. 

"I'm sorry, but... He said he doesn't want to see you..." 

Daehyun frowned, hearing that. "What? Really? You can't be serious, I have to see him, I have to tell him what really happened..." 

Junhong bit his lip when he saw the tears in Daehyun's eyes. "Maybe you can see him tomorrow. He didn't seem to be fully there yet, maybe he just didn't feel good enough yet..." 

Daehyun nodded, still looking sad, before walking over to the bag his mother had brought him earlier. "Alright. Here are my keys. You know the route for Kanji, right?" 

"Yes. I'll get going then. And you stay in bed as they told you. See you tomorrow, Dae."