[D-15]

"Hey."

My eyes shot open when I felt my right arm being nudged. I looked to my side and saw Jinjin hyung, brows furrowed. Like there's something weird about me right now.

"Aren't you going?" he asked. I gazed away and stared at my fingers, being hesitant. It's not that I don't want to go, it's just that--I don't know what might possibly happen once I step my foot inside and face the person I'd become afraid of to see--too meet.

I'm afraid of facing my brother.

"H-Hyung, can I--can I just not go?" I argued. "I'm not ready yet. Please. . ."

He sighed and tucked his hands inside his pockets. He looked to me with so much frustration on his face.

"Dongmin-ah," he sighed, again. "You've been out for three days. Aren't those days enough to ready yourself? We gave you time, we let you! Can't you be a little fair?"

My jaw automatically clenched at the mention of the word 'fair'. I looked away and I tried so hard to contain myself from bursting because, first of all, I don't want to get mad at him and, most importantly, I don't want Moonbin to know that I'm actually outside his room, chickening out.

Fair? I'm not being fair?

"Hyung--"

"Moonbin," he cut me off. "He's been unconscious for so many months. And now that he's finally awake, he wants to see you, Dongmin. Your brother wants to see you and we all want to get things back to what it was before, between the both of you--between this friendship that we all have. Why don't you just come and check on him if he's okay?"

Jinjin hyung just stared at me with this kind of look in his face, like I am their last hope for this ship to be saved. And I hate it. I hate it when they look at me like I'm always the one who make things hard for them. The look of begging for me to be considerate, to be understanding, and to stop.

But as Jinjin hyung have mentioned, I also asked myself. . .

Why do I not go check on him?

"Fine."

Is coming here the right idea?

"I'm going in."

Jinjin hyung's face immediately lit up. He nodded and I faced the door in front of me. I held the knob tightly, with my bare hands shaking. I closed my eyes and when I finally opened it, the door also did.

My eyes immediately went to Moonbin, who has this surprised look on his face upon seeing me. My throat tightened as I witness how his face shifted from being surprised to being worried. And there, on his side, I saw Tzuyu looking straight at me and I won't deny that it made my heart skipped a beat. My eyes locked on her and it automatically scanned her whole feature. I noticed the bags around her eyes that's probably from the lack of sleep, and I also noticed that she lost some weight compared to the last time I saw her. Worry filled my chest and I almost opened my mouth to speak--to reach, and run to her--hug her and tell her how much I've been dying to hear her voice and see her again. But Jinjin hyung was too fast to prevent it from happening. And I'm glad that he did before I make things even more complicated because I know that once I got near her, there is no way I'd escape.

"I'm gonna leave for now," he told us. "Let me know if you'll need something."

"O-Oppa, I'll come with you!" Tzuyu said all of the sudden and like, as if on cue, Moonbin and I stopped her.

"Stay." We both said in unison.

I could feel Jinjin and Tzuyu feeding us stares as Moonbin and I exchanged looks. Moonbin's apple bobbed up and down. I was the first one to break the stare.

"I-I'll go," hyung awkwardly bid his goodbye and hurried his way out of the room.

Now we're left alone. And I think no one dared to speak for a whole minute. Moonbin was sitting quietly on his bed while Tzuyu and I were sitting across each other. I kept myself as calmed as I could while trying to get a good view of the person who's the reason for my thumping chest right now. I'm waiting for her to look at me again, and see in her eyes the worry for I have been gone for days. I want her to look at me like how Moonbin did the moment I entered this suffocating room. But all she had on her face was nothing but mere nervousness.

Was that because of me, though?

"Tzuyu-ah," Moonbin started off. "Thanks for staying."

I watched Tzuyu and I saw her eyes made a quick glance at me. She opened to speak.

"If that's what you want, why not?" she smiled. Moonbin reached for her hands and held it tight. I mentally scoffed.

And how stupid I was that I kept on staring at it for who knows how long.

I only looked away when my name was being called.

"Dongmin hyung," he called. "I assume you already know her, right?"

I paid a quick glance