Ravi spent the next twenty four hours at the hospital. At first he was allowed in the room, beside Taekwoon's bed, allowed to watch over him while he slept. It was so surreal. The writer was pale, motionless, his hands lying either side of him- but they were still his hands, soft and chilled. Ravi wanted nothing more than to hold them but didn't for fear of disturbing the wires attached to them. For a while, he had spent time sat on the edge of the bed fiddling with the tassels on his scarf. Then he stood looking out the window, counting the beats of the heart monitor, appreciating the sound for keeping him sane. Then he went back to his seat. He repeated this pointless routine six or seven times before he was asked to leave the room. 'He wasn't a blood relative' was their reasoning. 

Apparently, passing out was typical of those with brain tumors, especially aggressive ones like Taekwoon had. A few of the nurses actually spoke about the writer like this was a regular occurance. One lady seemed particularly keen on him. She looked about forty or so; short, greying hair, no wedding or engagement ring. Beautiful eyes though. Wide and expressive and full of concern for Taekwoon. Ravi couldn't help the pang of jealousy he felt coursing through his chest when she kept entering the writer's room to check on him. He found himself imagining all sorts of scenarios. What if this woman had some sort of crush on her frequent patient? Maybe he had discussed things with her in his time at the hospital that Ravi now considered to be reserved exclusively for himself. Did Taekwoon like older women? Why had he not said so? 

It was hard to remain jealous and angry when she sat down beside him though. She handed him a bottle of water and a packet of mini cookies she had bought from the canteen with her lunch and told him how she had watched him sit there all this time. She had told him Taekwoonie was lucky to have such friends; it was such a shame for this to happen to somebody so young, somebody so sweet. The more she spoke the more Ravi confirmed this relationship was more than that of a nurse and patient. But it wasn't at all romantic either, he came to realise with great embarrassment. She seemed to love him like a family member, complaining about how hard he worked despite his illness. Maybe she knew Taekwoon had no contact with his parents- in fact he was sure she did. It made him feel bad for hating her a few minutes ago. She was just trying to provide what he was lacking and giving him a type of love nobody else around him could provide. 

"He should be waking up soon," she smiled, her parting words before she stood up once more and disappeared down the corridor to check on another patient. Ravi frowned and checked his watch: their conversation had lasted twenty five minutes. He didn't mention how he had met Taekwoon and she didn't seem to know who he was so it felt like an easy talk. It was general, quite brief, and focussed on the only person the rapper cared about at that moment. It was what he really needed. 

He sighed heavily and slouched back in his chair, resting his head on the wall. He was actually contemplating trying to get some sleep before he was interrupted. 

"Jung Taekwoon! What room is he in, please?"

Ravi kept his eyes closed, listening. 

"Yes, I am Lee Jaewhan and this is Han Sanghyuk. We're friends of Taekwoon."

There was a short pause as somebody else at the reception desk said something.

"Aw, good to see you again too, Myung- Hee. The fourth room down, right?"

The receptionist giggled and told them both to go right on in; that their fighter was in there.

Ravi couldn't help but frown. Friends? And they were allowed in the room? The feeling of jealousy was back. This Jaewhan and Sanghyuk seemed on good terms with the staff but surely that didn't mean they would bend the rules for them, did it? Afterall, they 'weren't blood related.' He opened his eyes, rubbing them with his palms in order to ward off the heaviness plaguing his eyelids.

"Uh... Who are you?"

His gaze snapped up to see two men looking down at him. Jaewhan and Sanghyuk, he assumed. They looked different to how he had pictured them judging by their voices. He didn't know yet which was which but the one on the left had bright eyes and a bright passionate-looking mouth. Not passionate in the way Taekwoon's was though. His seemed more confident, bigger. His companion was taller, with soft dark red hair and a babyish face. He was clearly the younger of the two. Bright Eyes tilted his head and waved a hand in front of Ravi's face "Hello?" 

The rapper jumped, hands tightening round his waterbottle. He thought about standing up and puffing out his chest, telling them both that he was the guy who stopped their friend jumping off a building, spent the night with him (entirely cleanly), taken him for a balloon ride and held his hand, and then spent the next fortnight going over to his apartment. However, in the end, his brain compiled all this into a rather unintelligible 'Um'.  

"Well?" The Bright Eyes said, arching an eyebrow. That was when Baby Face's jaw suddenly dropped