Chapter Text
A ringing surrounded Sieun as he woke up. He tried to wipe the blur from his eyes as he managed to heave his body into a sitting position. Where was he? Then he noticed his arm had a cast on it. A seemingly familiar white cast with the same feeling in his chest.
He his eyes shot wide open and looked around. He was in his old house, in his old room, in his old bed. What the hell. Sieun jumped up and grabbed his phone from off his desk. The bright screen blinded him as he switched it on, causing him to shield his eyes away. With all the confusion in the world, he checks the date and 2022 catches his eye. He checks again to see if his eyes deceive him but sure enough, it’s still there.
The boy switches his phone back off and stares at the wall ahead of him, trying to gain any kind of awareness about his situation. Last thing he remembers is taking his sleeping medicine and actually falling asleep. It was surprising, and almost agitating, that a simple jar bought from the convenience store beat all of his expensive and fancy sleeping meds. Nonetheless, he was glad that his sleep schedule was back on track thanks to Jun-tae.
Then he woke up here, confused, hurt, and exhausted, with no clue how he arrived. The boy still didn’t fully believe he was back in the past, but he was pretty damn convinced. The room, the notes on the desk, the clothes, the god damn cast.
Well, if he was in the past, he wondered if-
The doorbell rang, interrupting Sieun’s train of thought. He shook his head as he decided whether or not to answer it. If he really was in the past, he would have to act normally. So, his mind made up, he shuffled towards the entrance. With a creak, the door opened just slightly so that the boy could peek his head out. Hesitantly looking up he started, “Hello wha-“
When Sieun saw him everything else seemed like white noise.
His hand slipped from the door, letting it open fully. There Suho stood. Sieun scanned the boy up and down with an incredulous look on his face. He was perfectly fine. Sure there were scratches and bruises here and there, but he wasnt lying lifeless in a hospital bed, hooked up to a breathing tube. He stared back up into Suho’s eyes with unwavering eye contact. Staring, staring, staring, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Suho was alive, he was here, he could talk, he could-
“Sieun!” Suho snapped clapping his hands together infront of the staring boy’s face. Sieun blinked and slightly snapped back to reality.
“Are you okay? What happened to your arm? Who did that?” He asked slowly, seeming like he already knew the answer.
Sieun didn’t care though. All he heard was Suho say ‘are you okay’. How could Suho be worrying about someone like him when he was the one who was going to die today. Someone so incompetent that he couldn’t help Suho when he needed him most. And now he wants to worry about Sieun? And God- he’s alive.
Suho’s eyes widened when a tear started rolling down the other boys face. Then another, and another. He hiccuped, trying to keep himself from breaking. Suho’s eyebrows furrowed and took a step forward inside Sieun apartment.
Sieun’s world started to collapse as the memories flooded his brain. Suho in a hospital bed, Beom-seok’s face when he saw him in class the next day, the overheating fury he felt when he just sat there with no emotion.
“Hey, what’s wrong, what happened?” Suho implored, genuinely asking this time. Sieun steps back two paces then slowly looses balance and falls forward.
“Woah!” Suho exclaims, stepping forward to catch him, the door slamming behind him.
And God, this was all his fault, wasn’t it? Today was his fault, the day before was his fault too. He could’ve prevented this, he was supposed to be the smart one. The one who could find solutions for every situation. He should’ve noticed Beom-seok sooner.
“Sieun?”
He should’ve stopped Suho, Sieun knew where he was going and what he was about to do, but he stood there like an idiot. I guess all that studying never helped
“Sieun what is going on!?”
And the anger the emotions the waves of despair. It crushed him that day. It was his fault. Not Beom-seok, not Suho, not anyone but him. His fault.
Sieun grabs on to Suho’s arms, holding the fabric of his jacket like it’s made of pure gold. Then, looking up towards his face again, everything comes rushing forward.
He heaves out a desperate sob barely standing up anymore and resting most of his weight on Suho. He crumples to the ground and the other boy comes down with him. Sieun grabs the other boys neck, jacket, hair, sleeves, anything he can hang on to, to prove that this is real. That this isn’t a wonderful dream. Suho pulls him into a hug and Sieun cries into his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around the sobbing boy, and he did the same. He started to mutter things like,’how is this possible’ and, ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ But most of all, ‘you’re alive.’
Sieun’s tears start to recede, but he’s still holding on to that boys jacket for the life of him. Suho, entirely unsure of what is happening, just try’s to comfort him by whispering things like, ‘Hey, it’s okay.’ and keeping a tight hold on him. He rubbed his hand on his neck, still just trying to figure out what’s wrong. He looked down into the other boys tearful eyes to find not a hard stare back like usual, but a sad and resentful look that made something inside him shift. After all that was left was a few hiccups and Suho slightly rubbing his back, he inquired softly, “Do you feel like talking about it?”
Sieun looked up with red eyes at the very thing he would talk about. But what would he say? ‘Yeah Suho, I’m from the future where, today, you get put into a comma by our old friend Beom-Seok, and his whole gang. That’s why I’m a pathetic crying mess at the moment.’
Absolutely not.
Instead Sieun looked down and shook his head. Slowly he stood back up, away from Suho’s embrace. Back on wobbly legs he looked directly at Suho and wiped his eyes and smiled.
“Wanna go get something to eat?”