"Sometimes, the people we expect less have the most impact on our lives."

Jihoon needs to stay for two more weeks in the hospital. His throat is damaged and so are his lungs. The only good part is that the doctors are sure it won’t affect his vocal cords. It’s been only three days since he woke up, but to him it seemed like an eternity. 

On the first day he wanted to leave. He barely has money for food, let alone hospital bills, but they convinced him to stay, stating that he doesn’t have to pay. It’s an incredulous affirmation, and Jihoon has none of it. At first he thought they actually called his parents and they paid for him. That thought was quickly proved wrong when he heard the nurses saying that Jisoo has paid all of his expenses the next day. This only made him want to leave sooner. 

However, when he, quite angrily, confronted his benefactor Jisoo had actually scolded him. As the older male had said, he should stop complaining and make a good use of all the opportunities he has. Jihoon still feels bad for it and promised himself he would return every penny to Jisoo.

In spite of his initial statement that he doesn’t have a family, Jisoo had somehow guilt-tripped him to call his grandmother. He didn’t tell her where he was, but it was actually quite soothing to hear her voice. It made him feel like he was really alive. He somehow managed to fool her that he caught a cold, but he will be alright since he went to a doctor.

Regarding his stupid, idiotic attempt of a jump (Jisoo’s words), everyone seems to think that he fell. Jihoon knows that the doctors are not stupid, there’s no way he would have accidentally fallen over that bridge, but nobody argues about it so he doesn’t either. There was a young doctor who suggested him to see a psychiatrist, but Jisoo has dismissed her, stating that the young boy doesn’t need it.

In the end, Jihoon has a lot to thank to Jisoo and it have been only three days.  It annoys him at the same time, since he never liked to depend on others. But after a night of staying awake and only thinking he came to the conclusion that Jisoo is right. After he was at a step of losing his life, he really should stop complaining about everything and use the opportunities he has. 

Actually, the fact that he tried to commit suicide scares the out of him. Yes, he was not in his right mind at that moment, but that’s not even an excuse. His life has been way off line since he left home and it’s actually his fault. 

Now that he looks back, he sees so many chances he missed. It is obvious that he is the only one to blame for his actual situation. His pride and morality drove him here. He remembers clearly when he rejected his grandmother’s offer of paying for his university. At that time he was so full of himself he really thought he could do it all alone and left his grandma’s house. He also recalls cutting off Soonyoung, his old friend and dance partner, considering him part of a past he doesn’t want anymore, even if Soonyoung wanted only to help him. 

During the last year he succeeded in separating himself from all the persons he felt any attachment. He ended up alone in his small, mostly putrid room, pressured by a job he hates and haunted by nightmares. So pitiful.

So he abandoned his sleep for a few nights, thinking again and again where he failed. And along the way he could hear Jisoo’s voice again and again, commanding him to use all he has so he could succeed. So what stops him? In the fourth morning, as he watches the sun raise up, he decides that nothing. everything, nothing would stop him from getting where he wants.

“Hey hyung!” Chan’s voice interrupts him from working. It’s a beautiful Monday, but unfortunately Woozi is once again locked in the school’s library as he tries to figure out the beat for his song’s bridge. He is actually satisfied with how the first verse ended up, but that only puts more pressure on the rest of the song. Remembering what contest he writes this for, makes all the effort pay up, however. 

“Hi.” H says back, voice groggy from the lack of sleep. Chan just smiles and places a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. It surprises Woozi since he never asked for it, but it’s a pleasant surprise.

“Seungcheol hyung said you’ll be here and he also warned me that you could be grumpy since you didn’t sleep last night.” The smile on the kid’s face amuses Woozi, just as the affirmation he just made and the fact that Chan actually bought him coffee as a… what? Bribe? Sacrifice? He accepts it nevertheless, and goes back to his work. Chan occupies himself with his own work and for a long time there’s silence at their table.

An hour or so later Woozi remembers the old notebook he brought with him. Thinking that he may find some ideas there he opens it. However, when a single piece of paper falls from under his pages on the table, he is struck by a wave of memories as he sees a sketch of a beautiful little boy, smiling up at him. 

The days at the hospital are, simply put, boring. All Jihoon can do is stay in bed all day and stare at things. Occasionally he gets to glare at his doctors or nurses and sometimes he can listen to Jisoo talk about everything and actually nothing until he thinks he’ll go insane and he starts to miss the usual silence. He isn’t allowed to talk, and even when he breaks the said rule, he can barely get a few words out. Jisoo bought him a notebook and a pen, so he can write whatever he wants to say, but in his stubbornness, Jihoon refuses to use it. Instead, the notebook ended up being  filled with lyrics and broken pieces of songs. 

In the end, Jihoon got used to the stillness. Everything around him is so calm it somehow also cools down his interior turmoil, silencing his thoughts and worries. He sleeps most of the time and when he wakes up, it’s just because the nurses, or most of the time, Jisoo, wakes him up to eat and take his medicine. He ends up writing a lot. It’s been so long since he had inspiration and just now he realizes that he hadn’t composed a single whole song since he left his mom’s house. So he writes and writes until he feels his head burning and he needs to take another 24 hour-long nap.

A few times they take him to do some tests. He is helped in a wheeling chair, his body still too weak for him to walk. It’s mostly some brain rays since the doctors said that drowning mostly affects someone’s brain. But when all of them come out well he is abandoned in his room. 

Today Jihoon is more bored than in other days. He absent-mindedly sketches something on the notebook when the door to his room is abruptly opened and then just as quickly closed.  He lifts his eyes to face a really small boy with dark hair and big, agitated eyes. The kid seems scared, or at least beware of something. They end up staring at each other for a full minute until the boy suddenly smiles, so genuinely and bright, it takes Jihoon by surprise.

“Hello!” the kid loudly salutes and bows down. Jihoon finds himself bowing his head as well, even if he’s still in shock.
“Do you mind if I stay here for a few minutes?” the kid asks as he approaches the bed. Now that he’s more close Jihoon thinks that he must be older than he originally thought, in spite of the small figure. There’s something in the way the kid walks and talks that makes him look older, and when Jihoon meets his eyes the first thing that crosses his mind is that this kid has really old eyes. They are big and shiny, with a hint of innocence in them, but the strange brown and the warm look he receives reminds him of an old man. ‘A storyteller.’ Jihoon thinks as he watches the kid stop by his bedside and smile again at him.

“So you don’t mind?” the boy asks again and Jihoon shakes his head, once again unconscious of his own actions. He doesn’t know why, but he is fascinated by the little creature. It’s not the first time he sees a kid, actually he doesn’t like kids at all, but this boy, the way he carries himself, seems different. Said boy mutters a ‘thank you’ and hops on the chair next to Jihoon bed. And then he starts talking and Jihoon is still lost, but he listens anyway.

“My nurses won’t let me out of the room. They said I’m not allowed to get out of bed, but I was so bored and mommy’s coming only a few hours later, so I ran away.” He sheepishly says, smile so soft that it is barely visible, but it still lightens the kid's face. “They saw me when I left the room, so I ran in here. I’m sorry for burdening you.” He continues and bows once again. Jihoon just watches him, curiosity building up. 

“I’m Jihoon, by the way.” The boy announces with another boyish smile and this takes Jihoon aback.
“Ji-Jihoon?” he hardly asks. The kid nods his head.
“Does your throat hurt? That’s why you are here?” he asks next, head slightly tilted to one side and eyes inspecting Jihoon’s neck. The older boy nods shortly. Deciding against using his voice again, he scribbles on the paper he still holds and then shows it to the kid.

“Oh, your name is also Jihoon?” the kid asks brightly and older Jihoon nods once again. It seems to amuse the boy as he laughs a little.
“It must be destiny, then.” He says and Jihoon is surprised to realize that he agrees on that. It must be destiny. 

“Are you a songwriter, mister?” the kid asks next, staring at the musical notes at the top of Jihoon’s notebook. 
“Yes.” The latter answers. Damn all his doctors, maybe his voice just needs some practice.
“Coooool.” Little Jihoon says, accentuating the vocal. He then extends his arms, silently asking for the notebook and Jihoon hands it to him. He is still intrigued by this kid, so much that he doesn’t realize completely what is going on. What he does realize is how thin Jihoon’s arms are, how they shake when they grab the notebook, even if Jihoon knows that it’s not heavy. 

This leads him to actually look at the boy. He is skinny to the point that it’s scary and Jihoon wonders how he can manage to walk. There are prominent dark bags under his big eyes, something he thinks that it shouldn’t grace a kid’s face, and also ugly bruises around his bare arms. By the red points Jihoon comes to the conclusion that they were caused by needles. It’s not surprising that the kid is sick, they are in a hospital after all, but something is still off about him. 

“You know…” the kid gets his attention back and he sees him flipping the pages in the notebook.
“I always dreamt of being a singer.” He says and there is something so sad in his words that his bright smile won’t ever be able to cover. Jihoon frowns because he is just a kid.
“Y-you..” he starts, but his voice cracks. He coughs twice to warm it up before he tries again. “You can be, i-if you want to.” He manages to say and the boy looks down at the notebook once again, smile turning sad, nostalgic, and Jihoon feels left out. Like the boy knows something he doesn’t. But he doesn’t have time to ask as the boys suddenly starts singing. 

It’s nothing special, just a small piece, a few notes Jihoon wrote earlier that day, no words added to them. But the voice surprises him as the boy sings his notes again and again until they bend and collide perfectly and Jihoon is left speechless. Little Jihoon’s voice is mature, clear, something even professional singers lack these days and drives Jihoon insane because he is just a kid!

The he stops and smiles once again at Jihoon, eyes sparkling.
“Your song is nice!” he says excitedly as he ruffles more pages, still humming the first tune. ‘So beautiful’ the older thinks, still in awe.
“You’ll be a great singer.” Jihoon forces himself to say and the kid looks up surprised.
“You think so?” he asks hopefully and Jihoon is flabbergasted again by the genuineness in his voice. He nods in response and gains another smile.
“Well, you’ll be an amazing songwriter, sir.” He gets a compliment back, making Jihoon's lips turn up.

“Oh, you finally smiled!” the kid exclaims, taking Jihoon by surprise. “You should smile more, mister. You have a beautiful smile.” Little Jihoon says and the older one wants to differ, to tell the kid that he is the one with a beautiful smile here, but is stopped when the kid hops down from the chair.

“I’ll go now. They’ll call mommy if I’m missing for too long.” He announces and gently places the notebook next to Jihoon. He then proceeds to bow once again as he says his greetings.

“Thank you for letting me stay here. I’ll come again.” And older Jihoon nods because he actually wants to see the kid again. He watches as the little boy goes to the door, struggles a little to push it open and gets out with a happy smile and a wave, leaving Jihoon still in shock. 
 

“Who’s that, hyung?” Chan asks as he points to the old drawing. So old that Woozi almost forgot about it. Almost, because he is sure he will never be able to completely forget it.

“Some kid I met a long time ago.”
“Oh,” Chan exclaims and then smiles brightly, almost as brightly as the sketch on Woozi’s notebook. “He’s cute.” 

A.N.

I'm sorry for not keeping my promise :< I should have update a long time ago. I hope I'll be able to make it up for you .

This was not planned, but somehow little Jihoon made he's appearance in this story. I actually read something really sad today and I was suprised by how a brief meeting can change someone's life so much.

Thank you once again for all the comments!!! Thank you for subscribing even though I never update on time. I realized today that this story could be really long. The main plot hasn't even started yet, so please bear with me.

Thank you once again!! See you soon... (young).