Chapter 24

Two hours seemed to pass in a blur of doctors, nurses, scans through a maze of hospital waiting rooms, corridors and examination areas. Seungho slipped from one state of consciousness to another, and finally in his hospital room he had been able to drift off to sleep, the heavy medication he was on allowing the man to rest. I hadn’t quite kept up with his current diagnosis except he was requiring a lot of bed rest and treatment for his back. Just knowing that he was going to be okay had calmed my nerves, though watching his strained expression as he slept didn’t completely satisfy me.

Being in the hospital felt surreal. Even though I attempted to focus on Seungho, my own death was plaguing me. Questions I had never thought of were now circling my head, all with answers that eluded me. Since I hadn’t remained with my body after the crash, I couldn’t tell whether it had hurt at all. I didn’t know the path my body had taken before being released to my family. What I did know was that I felt a sense of being incomplete for the first time.

And I didn’t like it.

When the rest of MBLAQ made it to the hospital, I hadn’t realised another couple of hours had passed whilst deep in my thoughts. Seungho was still asleep, and a nurse was now in the room with us when Cheolyong came through the door.

“Hyung!” he wailed, and the petite woman instantly shushed him, stalking over to his side.

“The patient is currently sleeping. Perhaps you should visit later.”

“We have to see him with our own eyes first,” Byunghee firmly stated and the woman sighed, tottering back to her chart she had left on the side of the bed. The second eldest looked at her expectantly but she didn’t pay attention. “Could we have some time alone with him?”

Giving the boys all a reproachful look, she silently picked up her things and departed the room.

It was only then that I noticed they were still in their stage outfits. Changsun moved over to my side and looked down at me. “Yoomi’s here. How’s he been?”

“In and out of consciousness. He’s had about three different scans. I heard your manager mention he’ll need lots of rest and treatment.”

Sanghyun nodded after Changsun repeated my words. “Poor hyung. What will we do without him?”

“Perform like we’re paid to,” Byunghee said softly, his eyes locked on the eldest. “Make him proud. He’ll be right, though it’s hard to see someone so active lying here so still.”

“He doesn’t look like hyung, he’s so pale,” Cheolyong agreed, reaching out to touch his sleeping friend’s forehead. “Aish, I told him to slow down with the dance, he’s been complaining of back pain for a week.”

“What’s done is done. It’s not life threatening, he just needs some rest,” Changsun reminded and then smirked. “Lucky for some.”

“Maybe I should hurt my back too,” Sanghyun said lightly and the boys chuckled, all teasing the sleeping leader in one way or another until Byungki arrived.

“We’ve got to get going, come on.”

Changsun glanced down at me and spoke with his mind. “Are you coming too, or staying?”

“Can I meet you at home?” He nodded. “I’ll stay for a couple more hours then.”

The boys left and I glanced over at their leader, taking his hand in mine again. He sighed heavily and his expression relaxed completely for an hour. And then he stirred, scrunching his face up for a moment. I stood up, peering at the older boy more closely. Squinting, he took in the room briefly and then looked up at my face. His eyes snapped open.

“Ahhh!” he cried and I cringed.

“Oppa, stay calm!” I looked around myself, not knowing what to do. “Aish I wish I was of more help.”

“Yoo… Yoomi?” I froze, staring back at him with equally large eyes. “I can see you. I saw you earlier too. Am I hallucinating?”

I shook my head slowly, and moved closer. “I’m right here, but how can you see me?”

“Why can’t I hear you? Have I lost my hearing too?!” he panicked again and I pressed him down gently, hoping he’d not move about in the bed anymore. He picked up on my gesture and attempted to calm down. “You are here.”

I nodded.

“Talk, say something.”

“Uh, I’m glad to see you awake now, I’ve been here for hours. The boys were-”

“You’re talking but I can’t hear anything.”

I sighed and then lifted my index finger up, reaching down for my bag and retrieving my notebook. I hoped that he’d be able to see it, like he could currently see me. I wrote him a message asking if he could see the words on the paper.

“I can.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “I can see you, but not hear you.”

I nodded again.

“I wonder why.” He stared at me and I didn’t know how to answer his question. It seemed the hospital visit created a lot of circumstances I couldn’t understand.

Not long after our first conversation, Seungho was visited by a doctor. I decided to take my leave then, heading home distractedly. I caught a taxi that was leaving the building, hearing the passenger give off an address close to the apartment. The ride was painstakingly slow, and after getting stuck in traffic, I opted to shift home, feeling exhausted as soon as I opened the front door.

“How is he?!” I glanced to see Changsun suddenly in front of me, his concern written all over his face. “Hyung said he woke up and the hospital rung to say he was stable.”

“Yeah he did.” I placed my bag down on the kitchen counter after removing my shoes at the door and then walked over to the couch, sitting down on it with a sigh.

Changsun had followed me. “And?”

“Huh?”

“Are you alright?” He sat down beside me, his expression deepening. “What’s happened?”

“Uh, I think Seungho saw me.”

“What?!” Changsun was now closer, and expecting details.

“Well in the ambulance he squeezed my hand and I just wondered if it was a reaction to my hand in his. But when he woke up he panicked when he saw me. He can’t hear me though, it appears.”

“But he can see you?” I nodded. “This is good.”

“We couldn’t figure out why though.”

Changsun shrugged. “Does it have to have an answer? The good thing is that more people can see you.”

“I guess that is a relief,” I agreed, and shifted so I could snuggle into his side. He instantly wrapped his arms around me, and I smiled at his warmth.

“Are you okay?” He looked down at me and I sighed again.

“How come you can read me too well?”

“What’s wrong?”

I swallowed. “For the first time I wondered about my death. Did I die straight away? Did it hurt? Where did my body go? All these questions I can’t answer. I guess sitting in the hospital made me realise I could have ended up there with my body if I had stayed with it.”

“You died instantly though.”

“How do we know that?” I glanced up at him, wondering if he had all my answers. I knew he didn’t and sighed in defeat. “I’m just going to assume for the rest of my existence.”

“You’re focussing on your past too much Yoomi,” he stated, hugging me tighter. “I wish I could answer everything for you, but you chose the path you took, and it led you to me. Do you think if you chose the other that you would’ve coped with your death as easy as you have?”

I thought about his question. It made a lot of sense. I wondered if I’d still be back in Cheongju with my family or if I would have returned to Seoul.

I scrunched my face up. “I don’t want to think anymore.”

“Let’s go to bed then,” Changsun suggest with a smile. “I’ll sing you to sleep.”

“Which song?” I perked up a little and he grinned, leading me upstairs. “Can I choose? I want Love is Coming!”

“How did I know it’d be that one?” We both separated to our respective sides of the bed, Changsun removing his top and throwing it towards the hamper along the wall. He then glanced over at me. “I like your outfit by the way.”

“I’m glad, though the whole process of shopping for it seems like a lifetime ago.”

He smirked. “Do I want to know how long?”

I ignored his statement and turned my back to him, taking off my tunic and placed my oversized night shirt over my singlet and bra. I awkwardly began to remove them, freezing when Changsun’s hands rested on my upper arms.

“I won’t look if you want to change properly.”

Glancing over at him, I smiled. “Girls are good at wriggling out of clothes without showing skin.”

“You don’t have to hide from me or do things differently though.”

“I know, it’s just habit.” I turned around to face him and he let me go so I could finish my task. I smiled brightly at him as I finished. “All done.”

“I know we’re new to this, but I hope we can become comfortable about our bodies together.”

“Just because you’ve shown yours a hundred times now.”

“With you it’s different, I get nervous sometimes,” he admitted, his cheeks flushing a little. I waited for him to continue. “I guess it’s natural for couples to want approval from one another. I just want you to know I approve of you.”

I didn’t know what to say, my eyes connected with his for a moment before I stretched up to kiss him. It was a tender gesture at first, passion soon igniting within us and by the time I pulled away, I was tingling all over. Placing my hand on his cheek, I rubbed my thumb over his skin gently.

“I approve of you too, Changsun.”

____________

Author's Notes...

Aha! Back on track I am so it appears ^_^ Anyways, now you all know that Seungho can see Yoomi but not hear her... any theories on all of this? I'd love to hear them all!! Or are you feeling like Changsun and not needing a reason for something good? Hehe. This chapter was a bit of a filler, setting up the path to follow, though I enjoy the Seungho stuff... like you can't tell that already or nothing hehe >_> Another chapter on Tuesday, have a good weekend!

Replies...

@Kate; here's a bucket. Lol. He definitely did, it's all confirmed above ^_^

@E_magine; *SPOILER* Well I have to admit that intimacy will occur in a later chapter. If you want me to pm you the number so you can avoid it, let me know. I wrote it with you in mind actually, so it's not detailed in a ual way. I hope anyway! I just didn't want to offend you hun. 

@-foreverwithyou; They are cute... and no, it was Seungho hurt but yes Yoomi is there for him <3 Thanks!

@Maggie; YAY FOR SQUISHES /snuggles in hehe. Yeahhh... it has its moments but right now I'm a little blah - my friend's horse kicked me so I'm a bit crippled haha. Off to the doctors soon to be told there's nothing they can do haha! Yay I'm glad this is a good journey to be on! I can see him being like this also, bless him. I love them together a little too much hehe. I never saw the fancam so I made the scene up as I didn't know when it occurred in the actual perfomance but all the same, yeah it was awful that he got injured. So glad he's better now! Doesn't seem like an isolated incident now, does it? Hehe. I'm glad I can get you excited, an author's heaven is having readers who react accordingly! Much love!! xxx