flower boy | seungjin

24

"Hey Jae, he's waking up!"

There's a hustle, followed by a curse word and a laugh, and that's the first thing Seungmin senses as he comes to. His eyes open, albeit with a little strain and a soft groan. He looks to his right, where he's met by the familiar face of his best friend, and another he doesn't recognise.

"Are you okay?"

Jae's face hovers right next to his, a look of concern painted heavily across his features. "Seungmin?"

Nodding, the boy pushes himself onto his elbows. He tries to speak - to ask how long he was out for - but all he manages through his dried and cracked throat is a small, "Hi..."

The boy beside Jae smiles slightly, casting a small glance to the older before looking back to Seungmin.

Jae doesn't notice, too preoccupied with the health of his best friend. "Are you feeling okay?"

Seungmin rolls his neck slowly, his face contorting into a frown as the bones click, but he nods nonetheless. "I- I think so."

Finally, Jae seems to remember there's someone else in the room. He looks at the boy next to him, clearing his throat and scratching his nose.

"Seungmin, this is Younghyun, he's-"

"The boy you... told me about?" Seungmin offers. Immediately Jae's face heats up and he refuses to look at Younghyun, while the other grins.

"You told him about me?" He teases, earning a whack on his arm in response.

Jae draws a leg up onto the chair and rests his chin on it. "Shut up."

"I didn't think that if I met you, it'd be in a hospital, so sorry if I'm looking a bit rough," Seungmin jokes, drawing a chuckle from Younghyun and a sigh from Jae.

"What the hell happened?" the oldest asks, shaking his head lightly. "I was in the kitchen and heard yelling, and I came out to find you barely conscious. You said you were meeting Hyunjin, didn't you?"

For a minute, the reason he's currently stuck in a hospital bed with a dozen wires connected to his body had managed to escape Seungmin. But as soon as Jae says Hyunjin's name, it all comes rushing back, and the same emotions return. They flood him like water through a broken dam, to the point where his face visibly hardens, then slowly drops and his shoulders slump.

Younghyun watches him, as Seungmin glances towards him and then back to Jae, and he stands up. "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?" Both of them shake their heads.

Once Younghyun's disappeared, Jae places his hand softly on Seungmin's shoulder. "It's okay," he whispers. "You can tell me."

Sniffing, Seungmin's hand drifts to the table beside him, where his phone has been laid face down.

"I don't think I can tell you because I'm not even sure myself," he admits. He unlocks his phone and the first thing it opens to is his conversation with Hyunjin - sending another smack right to his heart. He hands the device over to Jae, who scans his eyes quickly over their conversation.

"Oh no..." he mumbles, "God, Seungmin..." his voice trails off. The silence hangs between them, but it's okay. Neither of them have anything to say, and the things Jae doesn't say is what Seungmin finds himself being comforted by.

He sighs, "I bet I'll be here for a while - like last time."

Jae nods, "I'll visit you every day and bring you milkshakes."

"Don't do that," Seungmin laughs, "I'll just put on weight - and plus, don't come if you're too busy."

"Yeah but I know I'll have to bring you my lecture notes anyway," he teases, "You couldn't stand being behind." Jae leans back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, crossing his hands behind his head. "Give me your key, I'll get your stuff and bring it tomorrow."

Seungmin hands it to him and Jae stuffs it in his pocket, just as the door opens. 

The first person to come through is Younghyun, with a steaming styrofoam cup. He doesn't drink it though, just puts it down on the table and sits back next to Jae. "Everything okay?"

The second person to come through is a doctor, clipboard tucked under her arm and a smile on her face - despite the clear dark circles under her eyes. She greets the three of them and introduces herself.

"I'm Kim Dahyun," she says, beaming at them earnestly. "Seungmin, I'm going to be looking after you until you're discharged." She places the clipboard in the slot at the end of Seungmin's bed before checking over the monitors. "Have the problems with your heart been as bad as this before?"

Seungmin blinks, "I've been in hospital once. What do you mean? How bad is it?"

The room goes silent. It's enough answer for all of them.

Jae purses his lips, "Do I have permission to kill him if I see him?"

"Nope."

"Not even seriously injure?"

Seungmin turns to face him. "No."

"Pinch?"

The younger rolls his eyes instead of giving an answer. Jae looks at Younghyun, giving him wide eyes and jutting out his bottom lip, "Bri, he won't let me hurt Hyunjin and avenge him."

Wrapping his arm around Jae's shoulder, Younghyun shares a look with Seungmin before he sighs. "Even if you're angry, I don't think murdering someone is the best way forward, Jae."

"Damn you, you're too rational."

Suddenly Dahyun speaks up from where she's drawing blood from Seungmin's arm. "But surely if you kill him, it'll only be better for him because he won't have to live with the knowledge that he hurt someone so badly." She ends her thought with a mindless shrug, not even glancing up at them. Her eyes never stray from her hands, and once she's stopped talking it's like she never did at all.

Jae starts laughing. "That's true," he agrees. "Good thing you're here, I would never have thought of that."

She smiles faintly, before standing up and dusting herself off, "Okay, that's me done. I'll be back in two hours to give you your medicine, Seungmin." Without another word she leaves, letting the door shut softly behind her, the last strand of her deep blue hair disappearing with it.

"So can I pinch him?"

"No, Jae!"

———
a/n: hello :) it actually took me until today to figure out how this story will end, but now that I have I'm super happy with it

That's not a hint the story will end soon by the way - there's still some things to happen first :)

thoughts?