𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ✧ l. mark ✓

eight

"our nights melt into sequels, you sink into me."

WARNING!
blood, mentions of medical procedures, and mentions of death are in this chapter.

the beeps from the hospital's machines were ingrained in renjun's head. he was in his sister's room in the pediatric intensive care unit, waiting for her to wake up.

the nurses had already drawn renjun's blood for dongmei, since they were both type o, which was hanging from a bag connected to her. similarly, a bag of iv fluid was attached to her arm.

the monitor showing her heart rate steadily beeped as dongmei continued to breathe in an unconscious state. renjun was next to his sister, holding her hand as he watched her chest rise up and down.

the doctors had previously explained to him that dongmei's blood disease could have been through genetics, since his blood also had the PIG-A gene. but they still had no idea what caused her bone marrow failure, since renjun didn't suffer the same symptoms.

he couldn't understand, why dongmei? why was it not him? he loved his sister to death, even though they fought over the most unnecessary things. but he would take a life-threatening disease--if it meant protecting his sister--in a heartbeat.

renjun felt his phone vibrate. he slowly reached for his phone, which was on a nightstand in the room. he had previously muted all texts and notifications from anyone else other than his parents, who finally texted him back.

the night before, renjun sent a lengthy text to their parents on wechat, attaching photos of dongmei's documents and blood test results. he included links which explained PNH and possible cures for it.

but they didn't read his message. not until the morning after.

all he got from his father was a "we're coming home in a day. make sure your sister stays safe."

he knew their parents were aloof, not really caring much about their children's feelings. they had went abroad to china for business so often it was as if renjun was dongmei's legal guardian.

but he wasn't. and he couldn't continue with a BMT until he got their parents' consent.

renjun had spent a lot of time researching PNH to find any cures that would guarantee a patient's survival. the one cure he found, and the one cure dr. set had mentioned previously, was a bone marrow transplant, or BMT.

he had previously signed himself up as the donor for dongmei if a BMT was ever necessary. but, he wasn't allowed to continue with the transplant until his parents arrived and gave their consent.

renjun ruffled his hair. why did they need to give their consent? it wasn't like they cared for their children anymore. all that was on their minds were business, money, and power.

he was practically dongmei's guardian, with the lack of their parents' presence. shouldn't his consent be enough? he was the one who was willing to be her donor. and it was the only cure that would guarantee his sister's survival.

dr. seo had informed him about his sister's deteriorating condition. they had switched from prednisone to eculizumab, a drug commonly known to treat PNH, a while ago, but her body wasn't responding to it. that was clear after the incident in physical education class.

which meant the only solution was a BMT.

the door to dongmei's room opened, revealing all of renjun's friends. every single one of them held and expression of dread as they entered, filling up the empty space.

yiren held a bouquet of forget-me-nots, dongmei's favorite flowers. the sight of them ignited a memory in renjun's head, causing his lips to curl up in a sad smile.