part forty-seven

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the one where she wakes.

part forty-seven

It's been three weeks.

Christmas came and went. It'd been dreadfully dreary (although the staff still had a party to commemorate the holiday, which surprised no one).

Decorations and special Christmas events had been set up, but the Tangiso student body couldn't bring themselves to care. It was all such a joke. People have died. One student is currently lying in a coma. There's a psychopath on the loose, and they still haven't been caught.

There's zero cause for celebration.

Haechan is inside the "clinic" room that Juno's in. It's been about two weeks since, but a Christmas tree is still set up at her bedside, courtesy of Jisung and Chenle. Strewn by her bed are various flowers and gifts and cards from all the people who care that Juno is in a coma, which, in true Juno style, are a shit ton of people. Stuff is taking up much of the space.

Haechan takes a seat on the chair beside the bed. And then he stares intently at her face, noticing details he never has before; such as the way the corners of her lips turn up slightly even in sleep, the little beauty spot at the base of her chin, her straight, full brows.

It's a nice face.

But his favorite are her eyes. They're a foolproof mirror to her thoughts, betraying her real feelings to him even when those lips are saying something else. Haechan stares intently at her closed lids, willing her eyes to open. Because the honest truth is that he wouldn't know what to do with himself if they end up never opening again.

He's noticed the changes in everyone, imperceptible as they may be. Their friend group as a whole isn't lively anymore; classes feel quieter. Schoolwork seems useless. They're all on edge. And as each day passes by, hope dwindles. It's been terribly depressing.

What if Juno's gone? How long will it take them to recover? Will they ever recover? Will he?

No. Juno won't die. She's too alive for death.

So he banishes that morbid thought from his traitorous brain and returns his gaze to her brow, practically boring holes into her face as he narrows his own eyes, willing her to open hers. Haechan is confident that the sheer force of his will should be enough. Wake up, wake up. He's not sure how long he continues to chant that internally.

Wake up.

Wake the fuck up, dammit.

Juno, I swear to God. Wake up or I will drag you back into the living world myself.

"Can you stop staring?" The voice is groggy. "How am I supposed to sleep?"

"I was not staring," is his reflexive response.

Then Haechan realizes.

"Holy shit!" The chair is knocked over in his haste to get up. "You're awake!" Then he glowers at her. "Have you been up this entire time?"

"No. I woke up like, thirty seconds ago to literally feel you staring like you do it for a living." Juno flips her eyelids open. "What were you trying to do, burn holes into my face? Plot my demise?"

"No, I was trying to get you to wake up."

"Via intense glaring?"

"Yes."

"Well, congrats."

"Why'd it take you so long?" Haechan scowls, even if he's jumping for joy on the inside. "You just love to worry everyone, don't you?"

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