“Hey”, Jinwook greeted his boyfriend who sat upright, leaning against the headboard of the hospital bed. Kogyeol smiled at the sight of the older. “Hi”, he replied. This time Jinwook sat down on Kogyeol’s bed instead of the chair. 

“How are you feeling?” Jinwook questioned. Kogyeol shrugged. “Kinda weird...so...what happened to me?” he asked. “We were practicing and Hwanhee body-checked you a little too hard so you fell and hit your head on the ice. I don’t really know why your helmet wasn’t able to do its job...”, Jinwook explained.

Kogyeol hummed in thought. “There’s one thing I’m a bit worried about...”, he said. Jinwook gave him a concerned look. “What is it?” “How come I just woke up from a 100 year nap and my boyfriend hasn’t even properly greeted me yet?” the younger asked with a cheeky grin on his face.

Jinwook chuckled and shook his head fondly while muttering “alright, sleeping beauty” before he leaned in to kiss Kogyeol. He felt his boyfriend’s hand come to rest in his nape. Jinwook hadn’t even realized how deprived he’d been of Kogyeol’s lips until now. The same feeling he’d felt during their very first kiss came back. This time, however, he knew what it was.

They pulled apart for air their faces only inches apart. “I love you...”, Jinwook said. It was the first time he’d ever said it to Kogyeol but he wasn’t going to be embarrassed or shy about it because he meant it. Kogyeol’s resting smile widened. “I love you, too”, he replied.

They leaned in for another kiss but it got cut short when the door burst open. “Brother!” Wooseok exclaimed. The couple pulled apart and the youngest almost crushed Kogyeol with his hug. “Careful, there Kim Wooseok. We still need him”, Jinwook said with a chuckle. Wooseok pulled back with a wide grin. “Did you get your hand checked?” the older asked. Wooseok held his, now bandaged, hand up wordlessly.

“Okay, what did I miss?” Kogyeol asked, curiously eyeing his best friend’s hand. Wooseok shrugged. “Might have punched someone...”, he mumbled. Jinwook’s and Kogyeol’s eyes widened. “Who did you punch?” the latter questioned.

His question answered itself when the door opened again and Dongyeol entered the room with a bruised up Hwanhee. Jinwook and Kogyeol shared a short look before the latter was pulled into another hug, this time by Dongyeol.

“I’m so glad that you’re awake! We’ve missed you”, the youngest told him. Jinwook saw Wooseok’s change of expression when the other two had entered the room. Something was going on here but he had no idea what it was.

“So, does anybody want to tell me what my mom is doing here?” Kogyeol questioned, also sensing the sudden weird tension in the room. “Yeah...I’d like to know that as well”, Wooseok spoke up. He didn’t sound quite as cheerful as before.

“Um, I brought her here”, Jinwook said. “How?” Kogyeol questioned, genuinely surprised. “Well, I drove to her place, rang the doorbell and explained that she needs to start being there for you. And it seems to have helped”, the oldest explained. He continued to fill his friends in on what the doctor told him about psychology and all.

“And she just agreed to come along?” Wooseok questioned. “She cares more than you guys know. I feel like you...”, he looked at Kogyeol, “...should talk things out with her.” Kogyeol looked at his lap. “I will. I mean she even came here...”, he said. “I’m going to get some coffee...”, Wooseok announced. “I’m coming with you”, Dongyeol said and followed his older friend out of the room.

“I’ll leave you to talk with your mom”, Jinwook said and also got up. “You coming, Hwanhee?” he asked. “In a second...”, Hwanhee, who had been silent all this time, replied. Jinwook nodded and left the room.

“I want you to apologize to you. I came to talk to you when you were still...you know...but I feel like-“ “It’s okay, Hwanhee. I’m not angry at you”, Kogyeol interrupted his friend’s nervous rambling.

“That’s because you haven’t seen Jinwook over the past few weeks...he was a wreck...”, Hwanhee said. That worried Kogyeol. He had, of course, noticed Jinwook’s slight weight loss, his pale face and the tiredness in his eyes but chose not to mention any of it. “Did Wooseok do that because of me?” Kogyeol asked and pointed at Hwanhee’s bruised face. The younger shook his head.

“I ed up a lot, hyung. I’m sure you’d hate me too if you knew everything”, he explained. “I’m sure nobody hates you”, Kogyeol assured him. Hwanhee let out a bitter laugh. “Please...Dongyeol can’t even look me in the eye...and Wooseok made it pretty clear that he’s not my biggest fan...”

Kogyeol sighed. “Well, I don’t know what’s going on between the three of you but I want you to know that I don’t hate you”, he told the younger. Hwanhee smiled. “Thanks...that really means a lot to me.”