Viridescence | Yunho

༻ 22 ༺

"'Cause of us I'm feeling strong again."
- From Home by NCT U

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Due to the lack of windows, Jihyun has no idea what meal they just had. She looks up to the familiar clock on the wall and gasps when she sees that it's late into the evening.

"What's wrong?" Yunho asks from beside her after being alerted by her gasp. "It's quite late. Let's head to sleep," she suggests. He nods thoughtfully before they both continue to walk toward their rooms. When she arrives at her door, her eyes widen slightly when she sees Yunho stopping at the door right beside hers. "They put you in the room right beside mine?" she exclaims.

"I guess so!" He laughs in his deep, melodious voice. A warm smile settles on Jihyun's face as she watches him. "Goodnight then!" she waves brightly. "Goodnight!" he returns, also feeling energetic from their first meal in days.

She turns back to her door and enters the room, being greeted by the cold atmosphere. While the hallways were brightened by Yunho's presence, her room feels dead and dreary. The blue and white walls along with the royal blue furtniture don't help, sending a shiver down her spine. Despite having stayed in this room for a couple of days now, it doesn't fail to give her chills. What once felt like a luxurious hotel room now remains as a dark reminder of what situation she's in exactly. It reminds her of her regrettable mistakes as well as her ambiguous future.

She shuffles past the blue velvet sofas and stands beside her bed. She recalls her struggle getting on and off the bed when she was still on the wheelchair and she lets out a sigh while sitting down. That felt like months ago, when in reality it had only been a few days ago. She turns off the lamp on the table beside her, darkness taking over as she stares into the empty blackness. Not even a hint of sleepiness lurks in her. She just knows she should feel exhausted after going through what she had to go through but her mind is simply too alert.

Something feels missing. Her heart beats faster and faster all by itself and she feels terrified for no reason at all. She tries taking deep breaths but it's no use. Her stomach churns violently and she feels like she's about to throw up. She stares forward and tries to focus on something else to distract herself. However, her mind doesn't comply and instead her thoughts travel to her two closest friends who are in danger because of her. They must be suffering in the basement right now while she's sitting on a giant bed in a giant room. It's all her fault that their lives are on the line. It's all her fault that they're probably in pain. What if something happens to them after the experimentation?

She jumps up and dashes to the bathroom as fast as she can, already feeling her dinner travelling up her throat. Her head is positioned over the toilet bowl at the speed of light and she harshly lurches over and throws up, her throat burning. Tears sting her eyes at the agony while her stomach empties its contents out. She feels it scrunching back up again as the hunger pains return.

Once she's done, she wearily treads to the sink and starts brushing her teeth. A few sobs escape her and tears trickle down her cheeks at the sight of her pitiful face in the mirror. Her cheeks are completely sunken, her eyes hold no life and the bags are so dark they nearly seem like two giant bruises. The only thing that holds any beauty on her dull face are the sparkling tears. Still, she believes that she should be in the basement in place of her friends while Mingi and Wooyoung should be happily spending time with their families.

She finishes up and returns to her spot on the bed, clutching her stomach. It hurts so bad. There's no way she'll be able to sleep at this rate. How was she even able to sleep these past few days? She racks her brain for an answer and then it hits her.