lyricist°l.jn [editing]

chapter fourty: drip, drip, drip

  Cold. Bitter, freezing cold and an overwhelming scent of medicine.

  Ugh, I hate this smell. This... atmosphere.

  "I didn't know. I've been busy for a while and that's why we haven't been able to catch up with one another. Dang it, should I not have invited her?"

  Jinkyong hears a voice with a tone of worry. She furrows subtly in her conscious yet, unconscious state.
I know that voice... Deiji?

  "No, it's okay. You did the right thing. You did something that I... I would never have the courage to do. She can't keep living with a hole in her memories and I should've told her since the moment she awoke but, I was...scared.
  "Our dad banned me from it and ordered me to remove all of the data from the whole period she forgot and it was-" Saekyong paused and lets out a heavy, shaky sigh. "Just difficult for me to fight him."

  Remove all data from when I forgot?? But why?? Jinkyong stresses, still unable to flutter her weighty eyelids open.

  Deiji pats the older's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. Growing up with a figure like him must've left a scar. It's not easy to heal trauma."

  "Thanks for saying that. But I did something else, though," Saekyong then, says with a chirpier tune. "I didn't delete the stuff he told me to. Instead, I put it in her Google drive- hoping she'll find it someday. My sister tends to put her pictures and vids there whenever her storage gets full."

  What?

  The conversation after that becomes a blur and as soon as she hears their voices fade, the door click shut and the only sound left being the air purifier and conditioner, she opens her eyes.

  Thanks to the dim lights, she doesn't get blinded and with just a few blinks, her vision turns clear and steady.

  Phone, phone, where's my phone? She looks around for her gadget. It must be in my bag.

  Scanning the room, she searches for her sling bag and finds it on the couch with an unexpected company.

  Her heart rate jumps at the sight of Jeno who's sitting straight, his head leaning against the wall, face to the ceiling, eyes closed and strong arms crossed.

  His sleeves are folded to his elbow, showing off the muscles on his forearm and Kyo gulps.

  Thank goodness for not being connected to a heart monitor because it would've been beeping like there's no tomorrow.

  But before that, what is he doing here?

  Jinkyong quietly drags the IV stand with her that's currently hydrating her to the couch and studies Jeno's posture.

  He's gonna have a sore neck and skull sleeping like that, she thinks and contemplates.

  Her hand slowly grabs the small pillow by the armrest while the other gently keep his head away from the wall so she can squeeze in the cushion when he suddenly nuzzles his cheek into her palm.

  THUMP!THUMP!THUMP!THUMP!

  Jinkyong grits her teeth at the violent butterflies in her stomach, her blood rushing and face turning as red as a tomato. She feels like puking yet, at the same time, it's not a bad feeling.

  "Deep breaths, deep breaths," she mutters to herself and softly cautiously begins to pull away her hand until she notices his furrow.

  Jeno starts to stir but his eyes are closed tight. He wears a pained mien and the way his lips tremble seems like he's talking to someone in his dreams.

  Is he having a nightmare? The girl wonders and decides to wake him up instead but is again, hindered from following her plan when a tear drips down the corner of his eye.