“Hyung. You can’t feel them now because your spinal nerves are damaged. But don’t worry about it it’s only temporary! You’ll recover with physiotherapy before you know it.” Jonghyun assures Byunghun as he put his hand on Byunghun’s right shoulder blade.

Byunghun keeps silent as he allows his eyeline to drift away into a distance. Recover with physiotherapy... The pediatrician scoffed. That’s what doctors say to comfort their patients, giving them false hope. How many patients can actually stand on their own two feet again after physiotherapy, so far the successful stories Byunghun have come across could be counted on his fingers on one hand.

False hope...

Wasn’t he accustomed to that already? False hope that his mother loved him, that Chanhee treated him genuinely, that his father would never lie to him.

Maybe that’s why people always told him the world is a cruel place. That he shouldn’t be so naive.

He didn’t listen. And now he has no other choice but to savor the bitter after taste.

But it is alright, Byunghun always had a purpose in life, that was to bring light and warmth into other people’s lives. That was why he wanted to be a pediatrician anyway.

It didn’t matter if his life was built on false hope and lies. He would still want to bring hope and give hope to everyone else’s lives.

Byunghun’s fingers twitched slightly under the sheets as he turned his attention back to Jonghyun giving him a slight but sincere smile. Just to ensure his younger brother that he is okay. He will be okay. Though deep down he knew, it probably took more convincing than that.

“And after I recover, I’ll bring you to the arcade and we can play games together like how brothers should alright?”

===

Chanhee bites his lower lip as he watches Byunghun sleep. Byunghun never seemed to be able to sleep in peace as his eyebrows were knitted tightly together marring his pretty face, his breathing uneven and ragged each time he tries to take in enough oxygen without hurting himself.

Putting his right index finger in between Byunghun’s eyebrows, Chanhee rubs the skin under his touch gently as though trying to ease Byunghun’s pain. Miraculously, Byunghun’s scrunched up eyebrows did seem to relax a little.

Chanhee finally breathes out a small smile as he releases his finger and put his chin on the bed, watching Byunghun sleep with the cardiologist’s own face as near as a mere inch away. Ever since Byunghun woke, he never had the chance to visit the boy due to his extremely packed work schedule. Honestly, Chanhee was afraid. He was petrified senseless. Will Byunghun hate him? Now that he finds out Chanhee initally wanted to use him to get his revenge and how he only made peace with the pediatrician because he pitied him?

No.

It wasn’t pity, Chanhee reminded himself as he thought back on all the tasteful memories he shared with the younger. He genuinely loved Byunghun, even if he didn’t love Byunghun as a love