BOSOM. |Bang Chan

Forty Two.

Sitting on the edge of his bed and dangling his feet to the floor, Chan looked around him heavily. He wasn't in his hospital gown anymore. Instead, a grey shirt and black jeans clad his lean body. His crutches resting on the bed frame. His parents talking to Dr. Kim for the last time. He was finally leaving this hospital.

He had mixed feelings. Of course, he was happy to leave and start a new chapter in his life. He was eager to meet the world outside those white walls. He was excited to experience what he missed. But he was also afraid of leaving. He felt somehow, belonging to this room as if it was his fortress for all those years. He wasn't sure if he was going to feel that towards his new home that was prepared and customized to his liking.

Leaving all of that aside, there was one more thing that made him restless about leaving. Obviously, Alana. He dreaded the idea of being away from her. Their bond was strong from the beginning, but lately, it became even stronger. Since the day they sat at the terrace, poured their hearts out, and talked about all their fears and all they had been through for those nine years, their feelings intensified. Their bond grew thicker. As if they had eliminated whatever barriers were left between them. And then, he found himself not bearing being away from her that it was almost painful.

Chan was about to think of himself as a pervert because of how he loves holding her in his arms and how the slightest of skinship calms his restlessness. He was about to think he was overly attached or even a psycho, but after meeting Alana's friends, he brushed those thoughts.

Just the day before, that room was cramped with people he didn't know. They stormed into his room, introduced themselves as Alana's squad of protectors, and made themselves comfortable around his own room to the extent that the emo girl, Dabi, almost kicked him out of his own bed.

A girl that had a resemblance to Alana, introduced herself as Sky. Chan knew Sky was Alana's younger sister. The girl then introduced the whole group who were her boyfriend, his sister and her boyfriend, another friend, and his girlfriend. He was trying to catch up with the names and the relations when he noticed how each couple of them was sticking together.

He noticed how that boy, Seungmin, didn't stop flirting publicly with his girl, Aria. Chan liked the boy's boldness. He also could see how the freckled boy, Felix, was following Sky like a lost puppy, and his eyes never left her face, watching every gesture of hers. Although Changbin and his emo girl Dabi looked not as affectionate as the others, he could tell they were just trying to tame themselves in front of others. It was obvious from how the girl's eyes were shooting hearts at him when he was not looking, and how Changbin looked as if he was always ready to leap on whoever approached the girl.

And that was how Chan's concerns were shoved out of the window. He was totally fine. Not a pervert, nor a psycho.

Chan internally liked them, but also internally groaned at the chaos they were making. They were loud. They were quarreling without any obvious reason. They offered to help him and he had no damn idea what kind of help they were offering. What even was the problem they wanted to help him with? The chaos was doubled once Alana and Minho walked in. It turned out that Minho was their lost friend.

The scene unfolding before his eyes was almost comical. They ignored his yelling and did their own thing. They even talked about a guy named Jisung and the hell Chan had no idea who the boy was. Later he learned that he was working as a scenographer with Minho and was also one of their university squad.

Minho was shocked to know that Seungmin works as an editor in a publishing company. Aria and Changbin opened a café of their owns, along with Dabi who was handling the financials of the café. Sky was an artist who just started to get some popularity and Felix was a junior sauce chef.

Alana looked confused among them, even more than Chan. Her face was the only amusing thing to him. Whenever her eyes found his, he would feel that the world shut off its voices, taking all the chaos in this room, leaving only him and her. She would smile at him and he would forget he was just yelling at them at the top of his lungs. It's not like he hated them or anything, it was totally the opposite. Their presence made him feel alive. Made the room sound alive, instead of the dead silence that engulfed it for years. Chan just wanted to have his precious time with Alana. Alone.

But that never happened.

"Darling, are you ready?" Chan's mother's voice snapped him from his memories.

"Hmm. Yes!" He replied, shaking his head lightly. His eyes were still lingering on every corner of the room.

"Sure?" His father asked. "I don't see Dr. Mun." He smirked at his son.

"She's in an operation." Chan replied.

"We can wait, if you want." His father shrugged.

"No! It's okay. The operation will be taking a few more hours." Chan said, pulling his crutches. He then pushed his body up to stand to his feet. His steps took him to the door, followed by his parents. His broken camera, which was his only belonging, was in his mother's hands. Just before he steps out of the room, Dr. Kim stopped in front of him.

"Thank you!" Dr. Kim said smiling widely at him.

"For what?" Chan questioned. If anything, he had to be the one thanking the doctor.

"For not giving up. For coming back. For giving us hope that those hibernated might come back, too."

"Then, thank Alana. She's the one who brought me back." Chan replied smiling.

"Right!" Dr. Kim's smile widened. His eye rested on Chan's mark that he became familiar with lately. Actually, the whole hospital was familiar with it since Alana was showing hers proudly.

Nurse Miyoung showed up from behind Dr. Kim. She looked at Chan with tearful yet proud eyes. The day of him leaving this hospital was a faraway dream. She stepped closer to Chan and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh boy!" She gasped and her tears started to fall, making Chan's tears build up inside his eyes. "You are finally leaving."

Chan tried to hold back the tears as much as he could. He couldn't let go of the crutches but he tried to hug her back. "Thank you." He mumbled. "Thank you for taking care of me for all those years like your own son. Thank you for looking after me. I promise to pay you back."

Miyoung pulled away to see Chan was already crying. She smiled between her sniffles and wiped the boy's damp face before she cupped it. "Live your life to the fullest. Make up for your lost years. Take care of yourself and your health. Never give up and always keep fighting. Make Alana the happiest ever. That's how you pay back." She let his face go and stepped back.

Chan nodded at her. That was his plan, indeed. He finally, stepped outside the room along with his parents. He turned around to have a last glimpse of it. Nurse Miyoung was pulling the door closed as Chan's bitter yet hopeful smile decorated his face.

That was his goodbye to the place he lived in for nine years. That was his goodbye to the room of his late teenage years and early adulthood.