(4) J A E H Y U N

He drowsily awoke from the bed. His hands were trembling from all the medication injected in his body. His forehead was glistening from the heat radiating off his face, his messy hair moist from the sweat. You rested your styrofoam cup of tap water onto a table and slowly approached him. You looked pitifully at the boy and the fresh scar buried in his arm.
He glanced at you, with his blurry gaze correcting to your eyes, and smiled enough to show only a few pearls of white. He moved his right hand and gripped your arm.

"What happened to me?"
"I think your shirt accessory clung onto a pole and your hand scraped some sort of a really, really sharp object. It ripped...your..entire back hand. You were bleeding so much and I think you collapsed from all the blood loss. So I rushed you to a hospital... Are you okay?"
"What's your name?"
"M-me?? Y/N..."
"Y/N...please?"
"What? Please what?"
"Stay with me. Until I feel better. Please?"
"Oh..ah, okay. ..Are you okay though? You look so weak..."
"I...I don't know. My arm here hurts so much. I ... don't know if I can handle it."
His eyes started to painfully sparkle, with small droplets forming within his waterline. His grip tightened on my arm, shaking from the pain and fear. You took your other unoccupied hand and folded it on his, steadying his movements.
"I'll stay with you. If there's anything you need at all, I'll do it. I-I can't stand to see someone like this. What's your name?"
"Ja-Jaehyun" He whispered softly. His voice cracked, with all his guarded emotions starting to peer out. A quiet tear seeps from his eye. You quickly swiped a tissue box and began to dab his eyes gently, wiping the few tears.

"Don't worry, Jaehyun. Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay and I will be with you for everything. Don't cry. I know it hurts, but please, don't cry. Everything will be okay." You took your hands and ruffled his hair, dabbing the tissue to collect all the sweat. After caressing his eyes over and over, they had begun to dry and return to their whitish shade.

"Y/N...."
"What? Are you still in pain? Are you hungry?"
"No..I just, thank you. Thank you for all this. I know this is the first time we have met but already you are doing so much for me. One day, I will repay you for everything."
"Don't worry about that for now. You've been asleep for so long, you must be hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria." You took his hand and tugged it, pulling his entire body forwards. You helped him stand, avoiding any contact with his stitched arm.

"Will..will I look like this forever?"
"No no, the doctor said you'll be fine after a week. You'll also look the same too, so don't worry!"
You wrapped your hand around his waist and walked towards the cafeteria. You both waited as your trays were piled with processed food and packaged snacks. Like a typical hospital cafeteria lunch. Suddenly remembering something, you blurted:
"WAIT!" which startled Jaehyun.
"What?"
"I just remembered" you continued "I have to work... I really can't afford to lose my job, so I don't think I'll be able to stay with yo--"
"I'm rich. If it's money you need, I can provide you with more than an average person makes in their entire lifetime - right now."
"W-what?!!? No.. that's extremely generous of you, but I can't accept that. It's unfair and unnecessary. I'll only be gone for a few hou--"
"Please... don't leave me. I'm so hurt and I have.. no one to stay with me. Please. If anything happens because of you being here