spider | hoshi + s.coups

12

mentions of abuse
—
present day

"The foetus couldn't survive. She has suffered a miscarriage."

The sound of a pin dropping in the silence that followed, would've seemed as loud as a bomb.

"Foetus? She was pregnant?" Soonyoung asked, his voice sounding so fragile, that a gust of wind could've crumbled it down. His eyes went to his blood-stained pants.

"Around fifteen weeks in, yes. Were none of you aware?"

"We weren't, but I'm not sure if she knew or not. . ." Soonyoung trailed off.

"Then, it'll be best not to tell her about it for a few more days. No point stressing her out more than necessary."

"Do you think the fall caused the miscarriage, doctor?" Seokmin asked.

"We can't say for sure, because a miscarriage can happen due to many different reasons, so it's hard to pin it down to a single cause."

"When can she be discharged, doctor?" Seokmin asked.

"Whenever the patient feels fine walking."

"Can we go see her now?" Soonyoung asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"She will most likely be asleep, but yes, I suppose you can. She must have been shifted to a separate ward by now," the doctor said, refusing to look up at them.

"Thank you so much, doctor," Seokmin said, giving a slight bow, before turning around to leave.

"Excuse me,"

They both turned around to see the doctor fidgeting with her pen, looking extremely uncomfortable, as if she didn't want to say whatever would leave her mouth after.

"Which one of you is her husband?"

"Oh, we aren't her husbands, just her best friends," Seokmin answered quickly, glancing at Soonyoung. The doctor's stance softened upon hearing his response, all her defensiveness vanishing in an instant.

"Well, that's good to know. Make sure to pass on this message to her, an advice from her doctor; tell her to get a divorce, as soon as possible."

To say that they were confused and shocked would be an understatement. As soon as the door closed behind them, Soonyoung broke down. He would've literally crumpled to the floor, if it weren't for Seokmin holding his side.

"This is all my fault," Soonyoung cried repeatedly, hitting his head continuously.

Seokmin grabbed his hands to stop him from abusing himself anymore. "It's not your fault, Soonie, please stop saying that."

At that moment, a nurse came up to them, and escorted them to a ward. One look inside, through the glass window of the door was enough to set Soonyoung off into hysterical tears once again. Seokmin hesitated to open the door, and instead decided to settle on two chairs outside the room for the time being.

"Seokmin. . . how can I face her after what I did?" Soonyoung looked so sad, his teary eyes desperate for comfort.

"And what is it that you did, hm? Why can you not face her? Why are you blaming yourself for something that obviously has nothing to do with you?"

Soonyoung hiccuped thrice, before speaking, "I should have been there for her, Seokmin. I should've done something, anything, to stop Seungcheol. I knew how bad the abuse was getting, and yet, I didn't do shit. I didn't help her as I should have, and now she's suffered because of my cowardice."

"You did your best, Soonyoung. There was only so much you could do for her, while dealing with your own problems of suppressing your emotions for her. Don't blame yourself for. . . this." Seokmin held his friend's hand, soothingly rubbing circles.

"There's more. Before we left their house, w-we kissed, Seokmin. We kissed." A single teardrop slid down Soonyoung's cheek at the confession.

"What?" Seokmin whispered, breathlessly.

"We kissed!" Soonyoung cried loudly, "and I—I pushed her away right after that."

"Oh, Soonyoung. . ." Seokmin pulled his friend into his embrace, his own heart breaking for him.

Battling his own problems and emotions for his married best friend was a huge task, but the same person kissing you, and managing to push them away? Despite knowing that that is very last thing you would ever want to do? Seokmin couldn't begin to imagine the pain he was going through.

"I can't let her go this time, Seokmin. I can't let her go back to that monster. I would never be able to live with that guilt," Soonyoung muttered, shaking his head.

"You are right, but this is not your decision to make, Soonyoung. Hyeri should be the one to decide if she wants to live with Seungcheol or not. If she's smart, then she will leave him, so don't worry."

"No, I have to worry, because Hyeri is a stupid person, Seokmin. A stupid person who is in love with that abusive drunkard. She would never willingly leave him. In the end, she always goes back to him. . . no matter how badly he treats her, she'll always choose him," Soonyoung couldn't hide the bitterness and pain in his voice.

"She'll choose him, even after this." He gestured at all the blood, that had almost dried on his pants.

Seokmin let out a shuddering sigh. "I can't believe that the blood on your pant is the only remnant of her first ever pregnancy. . ."

Soonyoung stared at his pants, now in a much different light. He wasn't disgusted by the blood that had seeped into his pants, and onto his skin. All he felt was remorse.

His eyes wandered to the doors behind which his best friend lay, blissfully unaware of the immense loss she had gone through.

"We can't tell her about this, Seokmin. Ever."

"Ever? Why not? Don't you think she deserves to know about this?"

"Do you think she would appreciate knowing that her abusive husband killed the baby that was growing in her womb?"

"The miscarriage wasn't because of the fall, Soonyoung, the doctor didn't mention a specific reason," Seokmin said, recalling the doctor's words.

Soonyoung didn't answer further, but his ears perked up when he overheard two nurses, who had stopped in front of them, staring through the glass window and talking about Hyeri.

"I feel so bad for her. She's clearly in an abusive relationship. . . if I had my way, I would've reported this to the police immediately."

"Don't be stupid, you know we can't do anything about this, except care for her. But, I must agree, those are some nasty scars and bruises on her body."

They both sighed sadly, before walking away. Soonyoung immediately got up, and went inside the ward. Seokmin followed. They watched, as Hyeri slept so peacefully, a serene expression on her face. Soonyoung couldn't imagine the last time she must've felt so calm and at ease, and slept so tranquilly. He could feel his lunch climbing up his throat.

"I swear to God, I am going to murder Choi Seungcheol."

xx

yikes

[ May, 2023 ]