Within seconds Baekhyun’s hair was matted to his face and his clothes were drenched through. He didn’t even understand himself why he had decided to follow Chanyeol, but he had a feeling that by doing so he might be able to figure out what had been wrong with him over the past week. He was comforted by the thick rain, as it made it easier to follow Chanyeol without being noticed, it did however also make it harder for him to keep him in his sight. Baekhyun’s breathing quickened as he had to move at a fast pace, nearly jogging, in order to keep up with Chanyeol. The rain cast a grey shadow over everything, confusing Baekhyun and after 5 minutes he had no idea where they were. But he still continued to follow.

He would occasionally have to crouch behind a bin or backtrack around a corner to avoid being spotted, but this was only necessary a couple of times. He could see by Chanyeol’s arched back and fast pace that he wanted to get where he was going quickly and unnoticed. After about twenty minutes of traipsing after him in the rain Baekhyun was beginning to get tired, on the verge of giving up. It was at this point however when Chanyeol turned off the road and started up some grey concrete steps to a large formal looking building. Looking up at the building through the rain it was hard to distinguish all but one major feature, the large fluorescent green cross adorning the concrete walls. This was a hospital. Baekhyun hurried after Chanyeol who had just pushed his way through the door, questions flooding his mind. Is he ill? Is that why he’s been acting strange? Oh gosh, is it serious?

The light was blinding as he stepped inside. He had become used to the dreary dark caused by the downpour and was surprised by the sudden clinical brightness shining into his eyes. He squinted and looked around, eyes slowly adjusting to the change. He was stood in a fairly large room, filled with plastic chairs. The room was decorated in colours ranging from pale blue to mint green; it had a chemical feel to it and added to the cold atmosphere. Baekhyun shivered, even though it was warmer inside than it was outside, he suddenly felt much colder. He had never liked hospitals. He looked across the room and saw the tall figure he was following pass by the large reception desk before turning off down another corridor.

Baekhyun quickly followed behind him, skidding slightly on the waxed floor with his sopping wet shoes. “Do you need any help dear?” asked a plump round faced old woman sat behind the counter. She smiled encouragingly, bringing the warmth in the room up a little. “It’s okay, I am visiting someone and I know where I am going.” Baekhyun smiled but felt guilty at lying to the kind old woman. She reminded him of the school nurse who had always taken care of him fondly.

She nodded; skin crinkling around her eyes as she smiled, “Very well dear. Be sure to come back here when you’re finished and I’ll have an anti-flu and cold tablet waiting, don’t want you getting a cold from this rain.” Baekhyun assured her that he would and bowed graciously before speeding off around the corner. He hoped that he hadn’t lost Chanyeol. Luckily the blue-green corridor he had to was empty so he was able to sprint to the end. He flipped his head frantically from left to right and saw Chanyeol half way down the corridor to his right. He waited, holding his breath until he saw him push through a door to the left before he followed him. Arriving at the door that Chanyeol had gone through he saw a sign on the door indicating that this was a stairwell. He panicked, not know which floor to go to, before he remembered that the hospital only had 2 floors, then it was the roof. He waited for about thirty seconds to be sure that Chanyeol wouldn’t see him before climbing the stairs himself.

When he opened the door onto the first floor he found that it was far busier than the ground floor. Doctors stood looking at charts and leaning over patients while nurses rushed around taking temperatures and carrying equipment. There were also visitors milling around and talking to ill or injured loved ones. Baekhyun gazed around, searching for Chanyeol. He found him within seconds. Luckily, even with his hunched posture, he towered over the majority of the people there. He saw Chanyeol go through a door at the very end of the busy corridor, it was one of the patient rooms. Baekhyun made his way across the packed hallway, only able to move at a crawling pace because he was worried that he might damage something or someone if he rushed. When he reached the door that Chanyeol had gone through he found that the door was open.

He saw Chanyeol sat on a chair, shoulders hunched over, and jacket stuck to his back with the rain. He watched as is shoulders began to move up and down in a rough uneven pattern and quiet sobs began to force their way out of his throat. Baekhyun stood frozen in the doorway, unable to tare his eyes away from the crying form of his love. Up until this point the only thing in the room that had taken Baekhyun’s notice was Chanyeol, but this changed as he watched him stretch out his hand to grasp the hand of another. Chanyeol’s chair was placed alongside a cold grey metal bed with pastel toned pink blankets and white sheets. Lying in this bed was a woman, the most beautiful woman Baekhyun had ever seen. Her milky skin was pale and flawless, her lips were a gentle heart shape, not overly large nor were they thin. Her most beautiful feature was her hair, auburn waves, with streaks of orange and brown flowed down along the pillow around her. Soft smile lined mapped their way out from the edges of her eyes and Baekhyun could have sword that her eyes would have been charcoal black, shot through with caramel had they been open. But they weren’t open.

Then he noticed the wires all around the bed, snaking their way over to the machines that they were hooked up to, letting off steady beeps. There were tubes that were stuck into the crease of her elbow and into her wrist, pumping water and morphine into her body. He noticed how her beautiful face had a grey sheen to it and how where her arms were exposed he could see cuts, grazed and thick purple bruises littering her otherwise pale skin. Worst of all he could see a blue-purple bruise, the size of a small plate, covering the side of her neck and disappearing up into her hair, to her scalp.

“Oma.” Chanyeol sobbed, both hands now holding hers in a tight grip. Baekhyun noticed his lucky pick, poking out from the tangle of hands. He rested his forehead on the bed beside her frail looking body, tears streaking down his face carving a new path through his already rain soaked skin, “Oma, please come back to me.” Baekhyun felt tears stream down his own face as he strode over to Chanyeol resting a hand on his slumped shoulder. Chanyeol jumped slightly at the unexpected touch and looked up into Baekhyun’s eyes. Baekhyun saw that his face was creased in pain as tears fell from his eyes, his breathing jarring in ragged sobs. He pulled the lanky boy up into his arms and hugged him, his hair like Kyungsoo always did for him and rubbing his back. At first Chanyeol tensed up, but after a few seconds he hugged him back. Chanyeol clutched at him painfully tightly, but he didn’t complain, knowing that this was what both of them needed as Chanyeol began to cry into his shoulder, tears soaking into his already wet jacket.