𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐞 | 𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐧

☾ 7

Beep. Beep. Beep. The two boys watched the heart monitor beep steadily in the quiet hospital room. Dr. Kim was able to get her heart rate back to normal but she was currently still unconscious. He wasn't in the room due to running a few more tests on her and waiting for the results.

Seojun stared at the sleeping girl who seemed even duller than he'd ever seen her. She was pale and seemed even smaller than before.

Suho watched the girl he's known since birth, practically. He cursed in his head for not watching over her closer, Dr. Kim's words replayed in his head.

"Her condition is getting worse," said Dr. Kim. The man had a clipboard in hand, Chaeyoung's health stats on it, staring at the teenage boys in front of him. "Suho, as you know, we've already healed as much of her body as we can, but the heart is our main problem. We're looking to find a cure, but nothing has helped her get better. The meds we gave her are only to stabilize her in case anything happens, like this."

Suho clenched his fists, holding back the tears welling up in his eyes at the news. He blamed himself. "I'm sorry Chaeyoung," he thought.

Seojun on the other hand was confused. What condition was this doctor talking about? What empty cure? What meds?

Dr. Kim left the boys in the room, leaving Suho to explain to Seojun.

Heart disease huh? thought Seojun. He glared at the floors. Not another person in his life that was sick. Although, this one seems a lot more deadly than the last.

A quiet groan could be heard from the silent room. Sheets rustling from the bed too. Suho and Seojun's head shot up just to see the girl's eyes open.

They rushed to the sides of the bed looking at her.

Chaeyoung's eyes squinted at the white walls around her. Oh, she thought, I'm back here again. As her eyes adjusted to the lighting of the room, she could see Suho and Seojun looming over her.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked. She sat up extra slowly, with the slight help of Suho.

"What do you mean 'what are we doing'?" asked Seojun. "You're in the hospital and we took you here." Chaeyoung rolled her eyes at him.

"Well yeah, I know that much. I'm not stupid," she sassed. She looked at Suho as if to say 'does he know?' Suho nodded at her, making her sigh.

"What did the doctor say?" she asked, looking at the boys in front of her. Seojun opened his mouth to speak but Suho beat him to it.

"Dr. Kim said that you passed out because of the running. Other than that, your condition is the same as the last check-up," lied Suho.

He didn't want to tell her about her worsening condition. He didn't want to stress her out even more than she already is. He didn't want to give her the bad news that they haven't found a cure yet. He didn't want to tell her that her meds aren't really helping her condition at all. He just wanted to protect her.

Seojun stared at the boy next to him in shock. Why would he lie to her face about this? Suho shot him a look, saying that he'll explain later.

"Ah, I see," replied Chaeyoung, quietly. She wasn't stupid. She knew that her condition was worse. And has been getting worse. The last few visits she had here were without Suho. And the event that just happened wasn't just gonna sit back and not hurt her. It was hurting her. And will continue to until she really does get better.

☾

"Why did you lie to her?" questioned Seojun. The two boys were walking outside after just leaving the hospital.

"I don't want to make her more stressed than she already is," answered Suho, looking ahead. "She needs to live her life without worrying about the consequences."

"But is lying to her and giving her false hope really better?" asked Seojun, making his former best friend stop.

"Why do you even care?" replied Suho, looking to the other boy.

"Because I care for her."

☾

Chaeyoung looked out the window. It was already dark and the boys just left the room. She watched the stars.

Dr. Kim had left earlier giving her the news that she already expected.

You're getting worse.

When was she ever gonna get better? It's been years and years since she's gotten good news about her condition. And now Seojun knows?

Frustrated tears welled up in her eyes. She was annoyed, angry, and frustrated that she was born like this. Why her? Why did she have to suffer through all of this? Why couldn't she have a normal life and have friends and not have to worry about if she'll live through the next day?

Soon, the tears turned into ones of sadness and fear. The heart monitor beside the bed started to beep more rapidly. Chaeyoung put a hand over her mouth to try and muffle her cries as much as possible.

Dr. Kim's phone alerted. It was an alert about Chaeyoung's heart monitor going crazy. He stood up and rushed out of the office towards her room.

He moved his hand to open the door but stopped after hearing something. He looked into the small door window and his eyes soon became filled with tears of pity and sadness.

All he saw was a teenage girl, crying for not being able to have a normal life. A girl who's been stuck in a hospital all her life. A girl who just wants to live.