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It was late into the night when San awoke, cold and muscles aching, he must’ve fallen asleep on the couch during his call with Wooyoung, again.
4.46 AM, the time read.
Yeah, way too late. Or was it ealy? Doesn’t matter, what matters was that his phone has been ringing non-stop and it was disturbing his sleep. He was meeting Wooyoung in the morning and he doesn’t want to meet the love of his life looking half-asleep. On other days, he would ignore who-ever was calling as a whole, but then the phone kept ringing and ringing, and it wouldn’t stop. With a groan, San rolled off the couch, sat up right and swiped the green button.
“Hello?”
San may be sleepy and still a little disoriented from the sleep, but he’s not an asshole (even if they were wasting his precious beauty sleep).
“Thank fuck you picked up. Where have you been? We’ve been calling you for ages now-”
“Seonghwa-hyung?” San was wide awake now, his usually calm and composed hyung sounded panicked and frazzled, and what was that noise behind him?
“Listen, San-ah, I don’t have time to explain but you have to get to the hospital right now.”
“The hospital?” San asked, even more confused than ever. “Is this a joke? Because it’s not funny, hyung.”
“No, it’s not a joke,” Seonghwa snapped over the line, “He- oh my god-”
San heard Seonghwa start to sob over the call, some rustling and then, “San, it’s Yunho.”
“Yunho, what’s going on? Why is Seonghwa-hyung crying and why is he telling me to get to the hospital?” San asked, running a hand through his hair as he sighed in frustration.
“We’ll explain everything later, but for now, you have to-” Yunho’s voice was rough, hoarse and choked up like it always was when he was trying to stop himself from crying. At this point San was getting really confused and worried, Yunho was a shit liar, something was seriously wrong.
“No, explain it to me now,” San pressed on, “I’m getting really worried, Yun. What’s happening?”
San could practically hear the hesitation in Yunho’s silence. If it wasn’t for the commotion in the background, he would’ve thought that his friend had ended the call.
“It’s Wooyoung. He got into an accident.” And before Yunho could even finish his sentence, San was already out the door and making his way towards his car.
.
.
.
.
When he had arrived at the hospital, Jongho was already waiting for him at the entrance, red eyes and twitching hands not going unnoticed by San.
San was feeling a lot of things. He was nervous, anxious, worried, but most of all, he was scared. And that feeling only grew when Jongho had led him to the ER waiting area, where their friends sat, looking solemn as ever. They were all supporting the same expressions, the air was tense and it felt suffocating.
He looked over to Seonghwa and Hongjoong, their hands locked together as they tried to calm one another. "...Hyung?"
"San-ah," Hongjoong almost looked relieved when he heard San. Almost, because as soon as it came, it left, replaced with the same expression as before.
San had accepted the tight hug his hyung offered, it was a nice calm before the storm he knew he had to face. San held him at arm's length and asked, "Hyung, what happened to Wooyoung?" San was determined to get answers; Seonghwa had broken down before he could say anything, his call with Yunho ended before he could explain (that was his own fault, he admitted that) and Jongho had refused to tell him in their short walk.
This was his boyfriend on his possible death bed, he'd be damned if he didn't have some answers now. Hongjoong bit his lip, his eyes flicked over to the side, to where Yeosang sat beside Mingi, head in his hands as his body shook with his sniffles.
"Wooyoung's parents called Yeosang earlier. They said he got into a car crash and was immediately taken into the ER. They tried calling you but you wouldn't pick up, and well, they thought you were with him when the crash happened. We all did," Hongjoong scowled.
Car crash. Wooyoung was in a car crash. "And- and his parents? Where are they?" San cleared his throat, trying his best to keep calm.
"They were out of town when they got the call, they won't arrive until a few more hours." Hongjoong took his hand and guided him to one of the plastic chairs available, he pressed down on his shoulder, and looked at San with hopeful eyes, “Rest, San. He won’t be out until a few more hours.”
.
.
.
.
San woke up the second time that day with aching muscles, body stiff and sore. He felt like he had slept on one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs- oh, that’s right. Wooyoung. He opened his eyes, looking around the room for the others. As if sensing his distress, Mingi walked into his line of vision, handing him a cup of coffee and a warm smile.
“Any news?” San took the coffee, returning a grateful smile of his own. He sighed when Mingi shook his head, hanging his head low as he held back the tears.
“Wooyoung’s strong,” He heard Mingi say, a hand on his back to sooth him, “He’ll pull through.”
Neither said a word after that. And one by one, the rest of their friends came back, taking their own places on the chairs. Time passed by, and San gave each doctor and nurse passing by a glance, hoping they had news about his boyfriend’s condition. It felt like eternity, and they were getting antsy.
Wooyoung’s parents came and gave everyone a hug, holding them tight. Oddly enough it comforted San, even if it does little to soothe his growing anxiety. Wooyoung’s parents had become like his own, they treated him like their own son, much like his parents treated Wooyoung like their own. San couldn’t imagine what they were going through at the moment.
“Family for Jung Wooyoung?”
They had expected the worst.
“Mr. Jung is alive and stable… broken ribs… fractured skull…”
San zoned out after the first few words, everything else fading into a dull muted sound as he tried to calm his running mind. Wooyoung’s alive, that’s all that matters, he thought. That was when he heard it.
“...possible memory loss…”
He felt Yeosang squeeze his hand beside him, and he squeezed back in response, both trying their best to reassure the other as they listened to the doctor.
“... You can visit him, but please keep it to 2 visitors at a time.”
It went without saying that Wooyoung’s parents would be the first to see him, then San and Yeosang second.
Memory loss. The doctor said it could be reversed, and Wooyoung would be able to regain his old memories. But they also said the time for that could vary, it could take weeks, months, maybe even years.
“Hey,” Yeosang said, breaking his train of thought. He hadn’t realized he had spaced out and was staring at the door intensely, “Sorry.”
Yeosang shook his head, removing his hand from San’s hold to massage the back of his neck, “The doctor said he might have possible memory loss, that means he also might not. Plus, there’s no way Wooyoung would forget about this Sannie,” Yeosang teased, easing a small smile from San’s tense face. “There’s that smile. He’s okay, San. You’ll be okay.”
And despite the pep talk from Yeosang earlier, he had stood frozen in front of Wooyoung’s room. His hand hovering over the handle and his mind racing a thousand miles per second. What if Wooyoung didn’t remember him? What if he really lost his memories and doesn’t recognize San? Oh my god, what if he didn’t remember him at all? What if-
No. No, Wooyoung has to remember him. He will remember him.
“San, are you sure you want to do this? We can go later, if you want,” Yeosang offered. Before he could even think about the offer, San shook his head and gripped the door handle. He can do this. He will do this. He- “I have to do this.”
Yeosang looked at him, sighed, then nodded, “Ok, Let’s go.”
Yeosang wordlessly took hold of San’s hand, and nodded once more. With that, San turned the handle, pushed and walked hand-in-hand with Yeosang.
The first thing San noticed about Wooyoung was how pale he looked. Then it was the picking fingers on the bandages wrapped around his head. Almost reflectively, San scowled, but before he could say anything, Yeosang was speaking out, gently pulling Wooyung’s hand away from the bandages, “Don’t do that.”
“Sangie!” Wooyoung beamed, of course he would, he’s Jung Wooyoung. “How are you?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
Wooyoung huffed, cheeks puffing slightly as he crossed his hands and leaned on the inclined bed, “Yeah, but the doctors and mom and dad did that already, and I told them I feel fine.” They watched as his eyes flicked to their still interlocked hands and a smile grew on his face.
He should’ve seen the signs. The ignorance, the lack of greeting and the awkward smiles. He should’ve seen them all. And a part of him knew, deep down he knew but he just refused to admit it. Because when he does that, the moment he does, and it proved to be true, there was no way he nor his heart would survive the heartache and pain that was about to come.
And nothing in the whole world could’ve prepared San for what he was about to hear.
“Sangie, you didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend,” Wooyoung whined, looking at San with a big smile, mischief and curiousity shining in his eyes, “I’m Wooyoung, Yeosang’s best friend. And you are?”