Changes - lee donghyuck, haechan

26

Aera rushed into the hospital room. Despite the cold weather that was quickly approaching she wore nothing to warm her up. The urgency in Yeejin's voice as soon as she answered was more important than putting on a jacket.

No words were shared as she noticed the state he was in. The bruises and cuts were scattered across his face and arms. But the biggest thing that stood out to her was the cast adorning his left leg.

Yeejin sat in the chair beside his bed with her upper body laying over the side. Upon the silent sob that escaped Aera, she looked up.

"Aera?" She whispered half confused before her eyes instantly turned teary and she started to cry. Aera had reached her before the first sob escaped and they embraced each other.

The few inches that made Yeejin tower over the Canadian girl were invisible as Aera hugged part of her head. She was smaller, allowing the younger girl to cradle her as she cried and sobbed. Hiccups interrupting her breathing.

"What happened?" Aera asked once she managed to sit them both down, outside, and away from him being able to hear her.

"He-" a hiccup interrupted her. Aera reached over and swiped under her eyes to clear her tears.

"They said he was speeding and crossed on a red light," the image instantly flashed in her mind and she grimaced as she pictured the impact.

"Why would-"

"I don't know either. It's not like him to be reckless. A teammate of his was near the street where it happened and got him help. He called me right after but he hasn't woken up. Why isn't he waking up?" Aera once again cradled the girl's head to her chest. Letting her hand run through her hair to calm her desperate cries.

"His leg-"

"I know," Aera said. She knew exactly what it meant and she was scared of how he'd react after finding out.

"Aera," the crying girl mumbled before detangling herself from her best friends arms. She dried her face with her sleeved and sniffled.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize," the younger girl said. She knew they had to talk about things but now was not the time.

"No, I have to. I am a coward. Ever since you told me that I've been distancing myself from him. I didn't want to admit what I felt. He had called me minutes before his accident and I ignored him." Her voice cracked. Aera could feel her heart aching for the girl and how she must be feeling. HyunTae was like a brother to her and as soon as she received the call from the crying girl telling her about his accident she was rushing to the hospital. The worry and panic that ran through her was something she's never experienced.

"It's all my fault,"

"No, it's not. If he heard you he'd be so pissed," she tried to comfort as she rubbed her back.

"I could have answered and he probably wouldn't have gotten on his bike. I could've-"

"Stop! You won't solve anything by blaming yourself and crying over it. We have to be strong. HyunTae hates being emotional so we're going to pull ourselves together and support him. He needs us right now,"

Aera watched as she sucked in a big breath and nodded to herself. Yeejin knew that she had to contain her sadness. No matter how many times everyone told her that it wasn't her fault. She couldn't help but think back to the various missed calls on her phone just moments before she received the news.

"Now let's wait for him to wake up," Aera encouraged before she guided them both inside.

The minutes turned to hours and no sign of his awakening showed. The doctor reassured the distraught girls that he had not faced any major impact to his head.