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Jungwon woke up with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He thought long and hard about what this feeling could possibly be, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He sighed before sitting up in his bed silently. He turned to his roommates and then proceeded to check his phone. 3:58 am. Two minutes before his alarm went off. Jungwon mentally groaned as he laid back on his bed sulkingly. He closed his eyes and felt the pit in his stomach once more. Then, his alarm went off and Jungwon groaned as he got out of bed.
He went through the motions of getting ready for his day. He woke up all of the members in their respective shared rooms, grabbed fruits and bread for them to eat on the way, and coordinated for their manager to pick them up at their dorm. Jungwon checked the time on his phone as everyone was sluggishly getting up.
It’s 4:17 am. We need to be out by 4:30 if we want to get to the studio for the photoshoot. Then I need to rush over to the variety show I was invited to at 8:30am.
He sighed heavily.
Today’s gonna be a long day for me.
He clapped his hands together as everyone turned their heads lazily to him.
“Okay, let’s pick up the pace if we don’t wanna be late for the photoshoot. Our manager will kill us if we’re late for another event after we call him out to pick us up. Let’s go go go!”
The other’s slightly picked up their pace as they began to get ready exhaustedness still evident. Soon, they were all ready and packing themselves into their manager’s van so they could drive to their photoshoot location. All huddled by sleep, they leaned into each other’s warmth, it was their silent love language on early days like this.
🖤
They were almost four hours into their photoshoot for the day when Jungwon had to leave to film a variety show he was invited on. Jungwon shot his photos for the photoshoot first, and they had enough unit and group pictures with him so his part was already done, and he was mostly monitoring the other members’ shoots.
Their manager drove Jungwon to the venue for the variety show shooting.
“Text me when the shooting is done. The others’ photoshoot is only ten minutes from here so I’ll send them home once they’re done and then come pick you up.”
“Got it, hyung! Thanks, see you later!” Jungwon smiled and waved to his manager-hyung before running into the venue.
Once in, he was greeted by a staff who would show him to his dressing room. A chill immediately ran down his spine upon passing the host of the show, but he chalked it up to nerves and thought nothing more of it.
It’s just because this is my first variety show without the others. I’ll be fine.
The stylists got him ready for the show and showed him the room they would be shooting in. Then, they started filming.
“Hello, and welcome back to another episode of XX Variety Show! We have a special guest with us today! Please welcome Enhypen’s leader, Yang Jungwon!”
The staff applause as Jungwon put on a friendly smile, waving to the cameras and then shaking hands with the host. The host put on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and then turned back to his camera.
“This is the first time being personally invited to a variety show, right? How do you feel?” The host turned back around to Jungwon as he asked the question.
“It’s a little strange being here without my members, since I’ve done almost everything with them these past few years. But, I’m very grateful to be here!”
“Yeah, your members have been invited to a lot of variety shows compared to you. Do you think you can step up to the challenge? I know variety shows can be a little scary for newcomers.”
Jungwon looked at the host’s slight grin as he felt another chill run down his spine. His eyes widened and he clenched his fist.
Just push through this. Answer the question and we can move on Jungwon.
“I think I’m determined to step up to the plate! I hope a lot more variety shows will invite me on after this experience as well!”
He put on a friendly smile toward the host, to which the host’s smile twitched ever so lightly.
“It’s well known how your group debuted at a fairly early age in the k-pop industry. And on top of that you became leader at 17 years old. Did you ever think you wouldn’t be a good leader? Or that you didn’t quite fit into the role?”
The host stared at him with a serious face, which he tried to mask behind curiosity but it didn’t work well. Jungwon could feel the pure malice in his expression, it made him shiver.
“Well…um. I was a little overwhelmed at the declaration of the role at first. But I wouldn’t say I exactly worried about it, I knew it had to be done well so I just did a lot of research about what makes a good leader and applied that to my conversations with the others.”
Jungwon’s smile didn’t waver, he appeared confident to the host which made the other upset his intimidation tactics weren’t working.
“I see. What do you think defines a good leader? For example, are you strict with your members at times and loving outside of work? Or are you mostly strict?”
“Well, I think what defines a good leader is the choice of whether you want to get to know the group your leading or not. For me, when I was chosen as leader I did my best to learn about all of my member’s favorite things and things they hate so they could feel comfortable around me. I also spoke up for them when they were nervous to talk to our staff, and I even gave them advice about personal situations they were going through. I think a good leader not only listens to his group, but also speaks up for them when the time is necessary. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not strict sometimes. Since we’re all still young we can get a little too excited sometimes and someone needs to calm us down. I’m usually that person. If they’re goofing off during a serious moment or practice, then I sometimes lightly scold them and tell them to focus. But overall, it doesn’t happen that often so we all have fun. I think that’s why I enjoy this role so much.”
“Oh, so you are a strict leader to them. Do you think your members don’t like it when you’re a strict leader?”
“Uh…I don’t think so. It’s only when they’re really truly goofing off that I become strict, and they know it doesn’t happen that often so they know it’s time to stop fooling around.”
Jungwon eyes pricked with tears. He tried putting on a confident face but he couldn’t hide his true feelings. The host’s words stung. It burned into Jungwon’s skull.
“Isn’t the fact that they goof off a sign that their leader doesn’t really pay attention to them?”
The host looked at him seriously as he tilted his head silently. Jungwon blinked away the tears in his eyes and looked at the cameras hesitatingly. He put on a smile once more before responding.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that they goof off though. I said this earlier, but we’re all still fairly young and I think having fun with our friends is one of the best things we can have in this lifetime. If we didn’t have fun with each other none of us would be where we are, and we definitely wouldn’t be enjoying our life right now.”
The host nodded. Then he turned to the director and nodded once more.
“Okay, cut! Ten minute break! Everyone set up for the next set of questions.”
Jungwon mentally sighed caught a glance of the host’s annoyed expression as he went back to his dressing room. The bad feeling from this morning grew and settled in his chest harshly. Jungwon wanted to run away and scream. He had no idea this is how his first solo variety show experience would go. He didn’t have the time to watch the other episodes as he was extremely busy with his leader duties.
Once in the safety of his private dressing room, he sighed heavily and slid down against the door. He looked around the room as tears welled up in his eyes. He tried pushing them back, not wanting to ruin his makeup that the artists so carefully put on his face.
I feel hopeless. Am I a bad leader? It’s obvious he doesn’t like me, but why? What have I done to upset him?
Jungwon thought long and hard about what he could’ve possibly done to upset him in the small amount of time they talked to each other, but couldn’t come up with anything. He sighed heavily once more before hearing a knock on his door.
“Jungwon-ssi? Five minutes left till you’re on.”
“Okay, thank you very much.”
🖤
The interview continued after the break, with just the same amount of hostility from the host. Jungwon steeled his resolve and decided to push through.
I just have to make it through this. Just a few more questions and I can see my members again. And they’ll comfort me and love me because I love them. And everything will be okay after that. I just have to make it through this one interview and it’ll be over.
Jungwon put on a confident smile once more and prepared himself. The host’s questions continued to become exceedingly hostile toward the boy and more malicious with ever word. The host overanalyzed his responses and twisted his words despite Jungwon not meaning anything bad behind them. He truly loved his life; his members; his staff; everything around him was perfect and he couldn’t ask for anything more. Eventually, the host got tired of asking spiteful questions and attacking Jungwon behind a friendly smile, so he ended the interview. He was mad, upset, and bitter that his plan to shake Jungwon up didn’t work. He never told it to anyone else, but he didn’t have a shred of empathy towards Jungwon and always hated how he seemed perfect at everything he touched with his hands. He was less than excited when his company announced he would interview him for his variety show. So, he purposefully designed questions that personally attacked Jungwon. But of course, since he’s perfect at literally everything, the questions didn’t faze him and he answered them eloquently.
After the shooting had ended, the host went back to his dressing room. He noticed a large kitchen knife on the table where all the food was prepared for their staff lunch together. It was for cutting the watermelon probably. He picked it up and looked around the room before sliding it in his jacket.
Jungwon went back to his dressing room to text his manager and tell him the shooting was over. He relayed the message to his manager and his manager texted back quickly.
Jungwonie 😁 [8:49am]
Manager-hyung! The shooting is over! Can you come over soon?
Manager-hyung 🙂 [8:50am]
Okay. I’m almost done getting the others to the dorm so I’ll rush over after I’m finished dropping them off!
Jungwonie 😁 [8:51am]
Cool, thanks hyung!
Jungwon smiled warmly before packing his stuff up. Then, he heard a knock on his door. He opened it confusedly, wondering who it was. He was surprised to find the host of the show holding a cake with an unsettling smile on his face.
“Oh, hello. Can I help you with something?”
“I wanted to apologize for earlier. My questions might’ve been a little too personal. I’m sorry, I just really wanted to get to know you for the better.”
Jungwon’s eyes widened. Well, he certainly wasn’t expecting this.
“Can I come in to eat this cake with you?”
“Oh, by all means. Come in, come in!” Jungwon opened the door fully before gesturing the other to come in.
The host smiled and fully stepped into the room and sat on the couch before pulling the knife out of his jacket. Jungwon fully shut his door and felt another chill run through his body. He turned to look at the host holding a knife in his hand.
It’s just to cut the cake. Why do I feel so uneasy? What is this aura radiating from him? I’m not completely sure I can trust him anymore.
“What are you doing staying in the doorway? Come over here so we can eat the cake!”
Jungwon slowly walked over to the couch, cautious of the older man. He sat down at the furthest edge of the couch and watched as the other man started cutting the cake.
“You know something, Jungwon-ah? I thought you’d be totally different in real life than what they show of you on other shows.”
“I guess you misunderstood me, then.” Jungwon smiled at him nervously.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say it like that. You’re just as rude as I imagined.” The host said casually, smile still on his face.
Jungwon’s lips curled down as he fully turned to face the man. The man turned to him with the same unsettling smile on his face.
“I––”
“Just shut up already.” The man lunged toward him on the couch, knocking the cake onto the floor.
Jungwon felt something insert into his lower abdomen as he stared at the host with wide eyes.
“This world would be so much better without someone like you in it.”
Jungwon silently fell back onto the couch, and proceeded to roll onto the ground. He looked down at his lower abdomen to see a kitchen knife stuck in it. He gasped loudly as tears welled up in his eyes. He looked back at the host, who was crouched over him on the floor. He twisted the knife into Jungwon’s abdomen, which made the younger’s lower torso flash in pain. Tears flowed out of his eyes. The host then proceeded to pull the knife out of Jungwon’s abdomen and stab him in the middle of his chest. Jungwon grunted in pain.
“See you in hell, Jungwon-ah.”
More tears flowed out of Jungwon’s eyes before he spat blood from his mouth. He tried breathing, but to no avail. It felt like his lungs were being filled with some kind of liquid. He watched as the host left the room after cleaning the knife with a napkin. He reached toward the door as tears fell from his eyes silently.
Manager-hyung…members…I’m so sorry.
His vision faded to black as the consciousness left his body.
🖤
Their manager finished dropping off the other boys at their dorm before Jungwon texted that his shooting was also over and he went to pick the younger boy up. He had a bad feeling in his heart upon seeing the boy this morning, tired as ever. He hoped the interview energized him up a little bit. He soon arrived at the shooting place and texted Jungwon.
Manager-hyung 🙂 [9:05am]
I’m on the first floor, Jungwon-ah.
The usual three dots on Jungwon’s side of the chat did not show up. He waited five minutes. Then ten. His eyebrows furrowed. It never took that long for Jungwon to answer a text, especially from their manager.
Manager-hyung 🙂 [9:15am]
I’m gonna come up to your room, Jungwon-ah. Hang on one minute.
Their manager asked the front desk where the show was being filmed and proceeded to make his way up to Jungwon’s dressing room. He was hit with with a bad feeling as almost no one was left in the studio.
Maybe one of them offered to drop Jungwon off. Maybe he’s on his way back to the dorm now and everything is okay.
Their manager hoped that was the case. He decided to check Jungwon’s room just in case. The bad feeling in him only grew as he got closer to Jungwon’s dressing room. A chill ran through his spine right before he opened the door. He looked behind him, seeing if anyone else was still there. When he didn’t sense any presence, he proceeded to open the door to Jungwon’s dressing room.
“Jungwon-ah? Are you in––” Their manager immediately freezed upon seeing a body on the floor. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Jungwon. He gasped and immediately ran toward the boy. It was also then when he realized the boy was bleeding out.
“Jungwon-ah! Jungwon-ah, can you hear me?! Jungwon-ah say something!!” He screamed, eyes welling with tears.
He immediately pulled his phone out and shakily dialed 119.
“Please, help us! We’re at 1999 Seong-Su, Seoul! An idol has been stabbed! He needs medical attention immediately!”
“Okay, sir, can you tell us his condition? Is he conscious?”
“No, he’s unconscious. He’s been stabbed twice, once in the lower abdomen and once in the chest! Please help us!”
“Okay, sir. First, put me on speaker and set the phone down. I’m going to need you to apply pressure to both of the stab wounds.”
Their manager followed his instructutions until emergency paramedics arrived at the scene. Their manager cried as he held Jungwon’s hand.
“You’re gonna be okay, Jungwon-ah. I promise you’re gonna be just fine, okay?”
They soon arrived to a nearby hospital and their manager took it upon himself to make a couple of calls. First, he called the company’s CEO to let him know what happened. After explaining the situation, their CEO spurred the rest of the company into finding the culprit and taking necessary legal action. That was when their manager made the toughest call of all. His members. His members who loved him more than anyone else in the world. He decided to call Jay, he knew he’d tell the others and he didn’t think he had the emotional capacity to call anyone else.
He called the younger’s cell phone as he sat in the ER’s waiting room.
“Hello? Manager-hyung?” Jay immediately picked up, he knew he could rely on the younger boy.
“Hey, Jongseong-ah. Um…I have some news. You might want to sit down if you aren’t already.”
“Um…okay, hyung, what is it?” The younger said somewhat nervously, confusion evident.
“Don’t freak out. Jungwon-ah and I are at the hospital right now.”
“What?! Are you okay? Or is it…”
“It’s Jungwon-ah. I’m sorry, Jay. I don’t know how to say this…Jungwon-ah was…he was stabbed. He’s in emergency surgery right now.”
“What?” Jay whispered against the phone shocked, not believing his manager’s words. “Jungwon-ah was stabbed? He’s in surgery? Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?” He said emotionally, tears falling on his cheeks.
“We don’t know for certain. He…he lost a lot of blood. Listen, I already talked with the CEO and everyone, we’re going to take the necessary legal actions so don’t worry. I’ll let you know when he’s out of surgery. Do me a favor and tell the others. I’ll pick you guys up when he’s out of surgery, okay? Talk to you guys later.”
“Wait, hyung–”
Their manager hung up, tears welling up in his eyes once more. He closed his eyes and wiped the tears from his eyes. He patiently waited in the waiting room with no news on Jungwon’s condition. Suddenly, a group of six people stood in front of him. He looked at their faces and instantly recognized it to be Enhypen. Their faces were twisted in worry, spite, grief, and sadness. Their manager’s face twisted in the same way.
He stood up and lead the boys to a private sector of the hospital where most people weren’t.
“What are you doing here? I thought I said I’ll pick you up when he’s out of surgery.” He looked at all of them as he crossed his arms over his chest. Gosh was he exhausted.
“We know you said that, hyung, but you can’t just expect us to sit at our dorm when our leader is in the hospital.” Jake spoke carefully, it was obvious how upset he was about this.
“And please don’t argue with us about this, hyung. Jungwon is one of the most important people in our lives. We would never be where we were without him.” Sunoo continued on.
Their manager looked at all of them silently. They all wore serious but confident expressions on their faces. Wow, when did they all grow up so much? He sighed and then nodded.
“I won’t argue with you about this. I know how much he means to you. It’s just…I don’t know about his condition and I don’t want you guys to freak out. He lost a lot of blood before I got there. He’s been in emergency surgery for almost six hours now and I have not heard one thing about his condition. I’m as scared and frustrated as you are about this situation, but I need to think about this. I’m acting as his legal guardian so I’m in charge here.”
“Guardian of Yang Jungwon?”
Their manager turned around to see a nurse with a clipboard.
“Yes? That would be me.”
“He’s out of surgery now. We moved him to a private room as you requested. Let me show you.”
Their manager nodded and started walking with the rest of Enhypen following behind him. The nurse turned around to the six men and gestured to their manager silently asking, and who are they?
“These are Yang Jungwon’s…brothers. Yeah, brothers.”
She looked at the manager with a knowing look before looking over to the boys and nodding. They proceeded to follow her to a private sector of the hospital where Jungwon was staying. Then the moment came. They reached Jungwon’s private room, the manager hesitatingly reaching for the door handle. He sighed and clicked open the door sadly. The room was sheet-white, the boy on the bed blending into the room unsettlingly.
All of them stepped into the room silently, immediately facing the doctor checking Jungwon’s vitals.
“Is Jungwon going to be okay, doctor?” Jake said seriously, upsetness becoming obvious.
The doctor turned to them with just as serious expression on his face.
“I’m going to be completely transparent with you guys. He lost a lot of blood before he arrived here, to the point where he went into hypovolemic shock during surgery. We were able to get him back into a stable condition and stitch up most of his wounds, but unfortunately the stab marks went deep into his scar tissue.”
They all gasped, some crying emotionally at the doctors words.
“And that’s not all of it. During surgery, I’m afraid he had a blood clot in the brain. He shouldn’t have sustained any brain damage from it, however…it caused him to fall into a coma. We’ll keep you updated, but comas resulting from a brain bleed usually last at least one month.”
Sunoo held onto Ni-ki as he sobbed openly in his arms. Sunghoon and Heeseung felt sick to their stomachs as tears pooled in their eyes. Who could ever hurt their precious leader like this? Jake and Jay stared at each other emotionally before tears fell from both of their eyes as they hugged each other. Their manager held his hand over his mouth as his closed eyes let tears flow down his cheeks. He composed himself before talking to the doctor.
“Thank you very much. We really appreciate your hard work today. Thank you very much.” He bowed deeply to the doctor, to which he nodded quietly.
“I’ll give you some time alone with him. Press on the nurse button if anything happens. Goodbye then.”
The manager bowed to him once more before turning to the six boys. They were in their same positions as before, not daring to move one inch closer to the comatose boy.
Their manager sighed before looking at the boy who blended into his white bedsheets. He didn’t notice when he first entered the room, but the boy was gracing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. He’s breathing borrowed air. The idea wiggled into his mind like a pitiful slug. He shook his thoughts away as he walked over to the younger boy. He grabbed Jungwon’s hand, slightly flinching at how cold the boy was. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at him.
“Jungwon-ah…you can’t make your hyungs worry like this, okay? So please, wake up soon. Please wake up soon for all of our sakes.” He whispered, tears falling as he blinked. He dried his tears off his face and turned around confidently to the group.
“I’m going to make a few more calls. Wait here with Jungwon-ah.”
They all nodded silently, which he took as cue to leave the room to make the calls he needed to make.
The others looked at each other hesitatingly, not sure if they should move closer to Jungwon. He looked so fragile in that hospital bed, as if with one touch he could break. No one moved closer to the bed. So, Jake took it upon himself to be a role model. He clenched his fist and slowly started walking towards the left side of the bed. His lips trembled and his eyes stung horribly with tears. He reached his hand out ever so slightly, fear still holding him down.
“Jungwon-ah. You can hear me, right? It’s your Jake-hyung.”
He held the boy’s cold hand, face twisting beautifully upon feeling the temperature. He breathed in and out and put on a brave face for his dongsaeng.
“You know we’re hopeless without you. We need our leader, just like you need us. So, please, for all of us…wake up. Talk with us. Smile with us. Laugh with us. Cry with us. Scream with us. Cringe with us. Just come back to us.”
Jake smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder to which he turned around and saw Jay with a glassy film over his eyes. That’s when Jake’s lips curled down and he cried into Jay’s arms silently. He shook in the older’s figure, like a newborn deer.
The others moved in closer to the bed, but somewhat scattered, not wanting to overwhelm the unconscious boy. They each had their moments with him, whispering their wishes for him to wake up soon. It ended with Ni-ki kissing him on the cheek and moving next to him on the bed, albeit somewhat awkwardly. There, their youngest member fell asleep next to Jungwon in that hospital bed. So, instead of waking him up to go back to their dorm, they all fell asleep in that hospital room.
💙
It was a long month for all of them. Their comeback preparations had to be pushed back a whole month, disappointing their fans and Enhypen alike. The only good thing that happened was that the person who put them in this situation was detained in jail. But, it could be argued that even that was a whole mess in itself. It all started when a fan shared pictures of Jungwon being rushed into the hospital from the ambulance. The pictures immediately went viral as millions of netizens worried about Jungwon deeply. The whole situation caused their company to release a press statement about Jungwon’s situation.
Hello this is Belift Lab.
We unfortunately have to forcefully push back Enhypen’s upcoming comeback for July. During their preparations for this comeback, Jungwon, the leader unfortunately came across a horrible experience. He was stabbed by a host of a Youtube variety show called ‘XX Variety Show.’ It appeared this man was not fond of Jungwon in the slightest, and after an interview with him, he was possessed to stab the young boy twice in his dressing room. He is in stable condition however he is in a coma from the remaining incident. We are currently searching for this man all across South Korea, and we ask that you understand. We are all incredibly saddened by this experience and wish that you keep Jungwon and his family in your prayers.
Upon seeing that, millions of netizens supported the statement and shared their prayers and stories of Jungwon, under the hashtag #getwellsoonjungwon on Twitter. It took approximately one week for authorities to find the host. He was just about to flee South Korea when they caught him, nabbing him at the airport just before he boarded his flight. Upon the results of his trial, he was sentenced to one hundred years in prison for second-degree attempted murder, malicious comments, and the fact he showed no remorse. Enhypen thought it was fitting, but somehow one hundred years even felt too short. It meant this piece of scum would keep living, even if he was rotting in a cell. It made most of them bitter, but they soon accepted the sentencing.
Enhypen weren’t doing well, anyone could tell. The absence of their leader threw them into chaos, a sort of sick wonderland where all of them were irritable, tired, and bitter. They all coped in their own ways. Sunoo visited Jungwon every day, sharing his meals with the other, reading books to him, laughing like Jungwon was awake and everything was okay. Ni-ki visited him once a week, spending the night curled up next to his Jungwon-hyung as the heat radiated between both of them. Sunghoon rarely spent time with the others, he was either always in his room or at their local skating rink, skating his feelings away. If Sunghoon silently cried when people weren’t around, no one would know but him. Heeseung never visited either; instead he mostly spent time in his personal studio producing or dancing his pain away. Dancing became his outlet, he would dance and dance until he collapsed to the floor, sweating soaking his body grossly. Jake visited him usually three times a week, it was too painful to go any more days for Jake. And finally, Jay. On the off chance that Jay would go, Sunoo would give him space to talk to Jungwon alone. If Sunoo heard soft sobs and sniffles from the room when he did leave, no one would know but him or Jay.
It was the longest month of their lives. And it all came to a head when Jungwon’s condition worsened upon the mark of his one-month-long coma being announced was starting to come up. Jungwon’s face twisted silently one afternoon, as Sunoo was reading him a book. Jake was out getting their lunch at the cafeteria downstairs, deciding to not waste too much money today. Jungwon’s face twitched silently before his whole body started convulsing silently. Sunoo gasped and jumped from his chair before pressing the call nurse button. He brought his hands over his mouth as tears welled up in his eyes. The door immediately opened as two nurses rushed to Jungwon’s bedside. Then, another figure joined them holding two lunch trays. Jake’s grip tightened on the trays before he looked at them and set them down on a table. He pulled Sunoo toward him, holding his head to make sure he didn’t look at the sight.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Sunoo-yah. Don’t look. It’s okay. It’s all okay.”
Jake watched as the nurses held Jungwon down and inject a syringe into his neck, instantly causing him to calm down. Jake sighed before letting Sunoo out of his grasp. Sunoo turned back around to Jungwon, still unconscious in his bed. He carefully walked back to the younger, eyes welling up with tears. He grabbed his hand, which twitched slightly in his grasp which made Sunoo gasp. He composed himself once more before sitting back in his chair next to the bed.
“Jungwon-ah…I didn’t want it to come to this. But…if you’re in pain, you don’t have to stay. If it’s too much…you can leave. I love you, and I don’t want you to be in pain like this. So if you leave…I’ll understand. Because I love you, Jungwon-ah. I love you so much, now… and forever.”
Sunoo didn’t want to admit it, but he was too tethered to reality to deny it. Jungwon’s pain didn’t magically disappear just because he fell into a coma. He still felt as much pain as he would when he was awake. But comas offered a choice to patients. If they wanted to stay or leave. And if Sunoo were in Jungwon’s position, he would probably choose to leave. He never wants his best friends to suffer. But continuing to be in pain to make your best friends happy isn’t worth it. Sunoo would know. Sunoo knew better than any of them the reality of Jungwon’s situation. The uncertainty of staying with them was well known to Sunoo, he was emotionally preparing himself for this moment ever since he got the news.
He sobbed into his Jake-hyung’s arms emotionally, secretly not wishing for his statement to come true.
“I’m going to talk to the nurses. I’ll be right back Sunoo-yah.”
The older left the room silently, eyes brimming with tears. He dried them before grabbing one of the nurses walking to the elevator.
“Hey, is Jungwon-ah going to be okay? What was that? Was it…a seizure?”
“Yes, it was a seizure. There’s been cases of coma patients experiencing seizures during their time under, so we have to keep a close eye on him to see if it happens again.”
“Right, of course. Um…do you know if he’s getting any better though? Is he in a lot of pain?”
“Well, yes. He is in a lot of pain. We have him on high doses of painkillers, but they can only do so much. We really can’t help him with the pain until he wakes up either.”
“And you’re certain he’ll wake up soon?”
“Well…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be telling you this. His leading doctor is going to tell his guardians to start preparing themselves. I’m sorry, he’s not showing any signs of improvement.”
Jake’s eyes closed silently as his face twisted in pain. He nodded and thanked the nurse for the information.
💙
The next day was worse than they could have imagined. Jake relayed the information to their group, to which most of them broke down sobbing.
“I have an idea. I think we should all stay with him tonight, so we have as much time with him as we want. What do you guys think?” Jake said, eyes brimming with tears. They all nodded silently before going to pack their bags for the night.
When they arrived at the hospital, and into Jungwon’s private room, the boy was seizing in his bed once more. A nurse was already holding him down and a doctor was administering a syringe into his neck to stop the convulsing. The doctor turned around to them and looked at them with tired eyes.
“I see all of you are here. I’ve already communicated this to his parents, but I believe you should start mentally preparing yourselves. His condition has worsened significantly over these past few days, and I’m not sure if he’ll be able to make it much longer even with our help. I’m really sorry boys. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
The doctor bowed and proceeded to walk past the six boys. They emotionally walked towards the unconscious boy, some of them crying and holding onto another person. Jay was first. He walked the closest to Jungwon and reached out to put his hand on his cheek. Silent tears welled up as his lips trembled.
“Jungwon-ah…do you know how much I love you? Because I truly do, even if I never got to tell you. And you wanna know something else? I hate that you’re leaving. I hate it so much I feel like I’m gonna rip my hair out. But I can’t keep asking you to suffer through this kind of pain just to keep me happy. And I love the fact that you’ll be able to watch over us, even if you’re not with us. I hate so many things about this situation. How sudden it was, how it happened, how you’re here lying in a hospital bed when you should be smiling next to us. I hate everything. But…at least I’ll have peace knowing you’re somewhere nice. I wish you didn’t have to leave us, Jungwon-ah, but know I’ll always love you.”
He sighed and stepped back from the bed, tears gracing his beautiful face. The others walked up individually and proceeded to share their own speeches with the unconscious boy. Finally, the last person, Jake, stepped up to the unconscious boy. He looked at the boy’s heart rate monitor and then at the pale boy. He bit his lip and stepped right next to the boy’s bed. Then, a chill ran down his spine.
He looked around at the others as his breathing picked up. Tears pricked in his eyes as he turned back to the younger boy on the bed. Everything around him faded as he moved away from the bed. Something didn’t feel right. Jake’s stomach dropped as he turned to Jungwon’s heart rate monitor. A flat line. He turned back to the boy, to see a nurse and a doctor over the boy pressing his chest silently. Jake’s ears started ringing as tears steadily flowed out of his eyes. The steady press, press, press of Jungwon’s chest ingrained into his frontal lobe. His face twisted painfully as he looked away, he couldn’t bear to watch it.
The doctor pressed Jungwon’s chest once more before he asked the nurse to bring a defibrillator. The nurse immediately brought one, and the doctor connected it to Jungwon’s chest silently.
Come on. Don’t leave these boys yet.
“Clear!”
Pump.
“Clear!”
Pump.
“Clear!”
Pump.
The doctor put his hands over Jungwon’s chest once more, in a last-ditch effort to save him.
Press, press, press.
Eyes open.
Breath taken.
Coughs heard.
Oxygen mask taken off.
Wide eyes stare at the doctor in the room.
“Patient successfully resuscitated at 8:49am on May 3rd, 20XX.”
Tears stream down six boys faces. The widest smiles on their faces as their tears of sorrow were replaced with tears of joy. The boy in the hospital bed smiles at his members widely. Ni-ki tackles the boy on the bed, lips quivering and tears of joy and relief pouring down his face. He laughs his beautiful angelic laugh that had been missing from the boys’ lives for the past month. He gestures for all of them to join the hug, to which they all carefully move, so as not to upset his aching body one bit. He came back to them. He didn’t leave them, and for that, the boys were truly grateful.
Sure, it would be a while until their leader fully recovered physically and mentally, but they all had him back, and that’s all that mattered to them in that moment. No matter what storm they faced in the future, they would all stay by each others side and protect each other no matter what. They vowed to always be together.
Fin