strings & bullets┃hajeongwoo (under revision)

〚 ch: nine 〛

a man is sleeping on a chair inside a room with white painted walls, the machine beeping in the background, fruits in a basket still wrapped, and the smell of medicine filling the air. it was a cold winter day, and everyone outside was wearing their coats and gloves to keep themselves warm. autumn had passed now it's winter, and everything that had happened felt like it happened yesterday. the rescue, the bomb, the doctor declaring jeongwoo comatose from a head injury, and the death of their youngest, junghwan.

they can't believe what happened to junghwan. just days before, they were laughing with him, and now, days after the incident, they held his funeral. everything happened too quickly, and they're hoping jeongwoo won't stay in this condition for long. losing junghwan is painful enough, losing jeongwoo would be too much.

the door slowly opened, revealing jaehyuk who was dressed in a white shirt, a denim jacket, black canada goose jacket, and black pants. he smiled as he noticed junkyu, who was wrapped in a blanket and snoring softly while sleeping on a chair. he didn't want to wake up the older, so he took small steps towards a chair and placed it on the opposite side of jeongwoo's bed. he then removed his jacket before settling into the chair with a soft sigh. he looked at the younger, now reaching for his soft locks and gently brushing aside the ones that covered his face. while looking at the tubes attached to the younger's body, he shed a tear, his body thin unlike before. his eyes appeared to be dark, sunken, and hollow.

he then looked down, biting his lips to keep the sobs from coming out. it's been a month since jeongwoo was admitted to this hospital. he was sad for the younger, and he was now blaming himself for not being able to help them both. if only he had known what was going on down in the basement, if only he had checked out sooner. if only-

"It's not your fault, stop blaming yourself jaehyuk."

a voice startled him, and he lifted his head to see the older now awake and looking at him with eyes that comforted him.

"hyung.." he said softly, his eyes welling up with tears as he clenched his fists against his chest.

the older immediately approached him and engulfed him in a tight hug. it was warm unlike the weather, his body instantly reacting to the touch and leaned against the older, now calming himself in his arms.

"don't blame yourself for something that's not your fault" junkyu spoke softly in his ears, his words soothing the younger's aching heart.

"we should be strong for him jaehyuk, he'll need us, his hyungs when he wakes up" the older said as he caressed the younger's back to comfort him

jaehyuk then nodded and tried to smile as the older ruffled his hair before returning to his seat.

"hyung, you should go home and take some rest." he worriedly said after noticing the dark circles under the older's eyes

junkyu remained silent and only nodded in agreement. he then went to the couch, put on his coat, and gathered his belongings. he turned to face the younger who's watching him

"jihoon said he'd come here after work and stay with you tonight." the older said and showed the younger his conversation with jihoon

jaehyuk nodded, "what about hyunsuk hyung?" he did not see hyunsuk, but the older paid jeongwoo a visit and stayed in the hospital for two days before leaving.