Fate's Little Bell

Chapter 27

 Church was cancelled because of stupid coronavirus, so as soon as I'd walked Skipper and done my chores around the house, I pulled on a face mask and set out towards the hospital. I decided to walk, not being particularly excited to take the train. Besides, this way I'd get in some exercise, which was much needed for my lazy butt.

As I walked alongside the park, I listened to what I lovingly call "I Love Jesus" music. It felt fitting, seeing as I was being church-deprived and, given the situation, I figured it couldn't hurt.

When I finally reached the hospital, I went directly to Jeongguk's new room. He'd been moved into a different part of the hospital, seeing as he no longer counted as a critical care patient. Besides, there were more patients coming in who needed those rooms.

I knocked on the door, listening to the sounds of rambunctious laughter coming from the other side. No one responded, so I opened the door a crack and peered inside, observing three men who were all cracking up at something they were watching on a laptop.

Suppressing a giggle, I watched them, wondering when they'd notice me. As I held back my amusement, I couldn't help but notice how the golden light streaming in through the window perfectly backlit them, lighting up the far sides of their faces with a just barely visible glow while the near sides remained it shadow. It was like the sun just peeking out before the fated solar eclipse. I shook my head with disbelief. How can simple humans create a work of art by just simply being?

Namjoon glanced up and noticed me, jolting me out of my trance. "Hey," he greeted me. "How long have you been staring at us?"

I tried not to blush and came into the room, closing the door behind me. "I wasn't staring at you. And it was just a minute or so. Probably less."

Behind Jeongguk's round glasses, his eyes sparkled as I approached his bed. "Hi," he said shyly, his voice low and husky.

"Hiya." I glanced over at Dr. Wang, who was watching us with amusement from a chair pulled up to the edge of the bed. "Hi Dr. Wang. Are you guys besties now or something?"

"Or something," he replied smoothly with a wink.

"Interesting." I laughed slightly and turned back to Namjoon, before going over to the wall to drag over another chair. "Is there anything else I missed?"

He shrugged. "Not much. Jeonggukie's a pain in the ass—"

"Hey!" Jeongguk protested.

"—especially since his pain meds got reduced...." Namjoon made a face, thinking. "Oh yeah, and the police are gonna come question him now that he's alert and stuff."

"Oh, wow, okay." I glanced over at Jeongguk, sitting down. "And why are you being a pain to poor Namjoon?"

"I'm not... trying to be," he mumbled, staring down at his hands, which were busy crumpling the edge of his blanket.

I couldn't help but smile at him. He was just too cute. "Aww, it's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean to be. Besides, I'm sure Namjoon's used to it by now."

Jeongguk peeked up at me and when our eyes met, it felt as if my heart had skipped a beat. I looked away quickly before I could blush, focusing my gaze on my knees.

"Well, I should head out," Dr. Wang announced, standing up. "I've been hanging around here for a while, so it's about time I go check on some of the other patients."

"Oh, okay." Namjoon sounded a little disappointed. "See you later."

Dr. Wang smiled as he walked toward the door, giving us a little wave. "Bye."