Chapter 31

Key sat next to Taemin’s bed, like he had every day for the last week.  Taemin remained in the ICU, and the doctors said that he would likely remain there until he regained consciousness, which they continued to say could be anytime now, but Key was less convinced.  As each day dragged on, SHINee grew more and more worried that they could not see their youngest member at all, and Key reported nothing but a boy who lay motionless for the whole of the day, without so much as a twitch. 

Sometimes Key thought he saw Taemin’s eyes moving behind their lids, but when he tried to get a closer look, there was nothing.  Sometimes Key thought his eyes were playing tricks on him in that sterile room, and as every day passed so grew the fear that Taemin would not wake up, or that something had gone terribly wrong.    

Sometimes it hurt too much to watch after the boy and Key had to turn his chair to face the window for a few minutes.  Seeing the life of the city outside served to remind him that there was life outside of this horrid little room.  And it gave him hope that one day Taemin and he would be able to walk out into that maelstrom of people and not be stuck in this horrendous room. 

On the other hand, the Lees had come to depend somewhat on Key to be there with Taemin in case he woke up.  Taemin’s father had to work.  As a defense attorney, his clients were depending on him to help them clear their cases.  He came by every morning, as soon as visiting hours began and sat with Taemin, usually only beating Key there by a few minutes, and left after an hour or so to head off to work.  He always came by after his day was done then, rounding out the visiting hours as well.  Taemin’s mother couldn’t take seeing her son hooked up to machines all the time, so while she visited him multiple times a day, she spent a lot of time praying in church for her son to recover.  Taesun was a college student and it was exam time.  As much as his professors were trying to be understanding about the situation, he didn’t want to risk his standing in the university, so he left for class and spent a couple of hours studying outside of the hospital each day before returning to the hospital to check in on his little brother, and Key as well, because Key was running himself into the ground just watching after Taemin’s condition.  But somehow the Lees had taken into rotating their appearances to see their son, while Key barely left his side.

SHINee’s activities had been called off completely due to Taemin’s condition.  SM Entertainment was being very closed-lipped about everything.  The police had released a statement saying that the man arrested and charged with the assault of Lee Taemin was their former manager who had been let go several weeks prior.  He was being evaluated by psychological professionals as he appeared to be mentally unstable.

The rumor mill was running at full tilt with Taemin at the center of it, but surprisingly the public was being slow to take the videos from the fan cameras and denounce the dancer for being gay.  They topic kept coming up on talk shows and radio appearances and actors, singers and MCs alike were wishing Taemin well and keeping him in their thoughts.  The phones of all of the SHINee members were filled with messages from everyone who knew them, and many who didn’t, wishing Taemin well and offering any help that they could give to help them through this time.  SHINee and Taemin were well known and well liked in the entertainment world and a lot of people saw Taemin as their dongsaeng and they waited to hear about what was to come of the young man.

Key sighed and stood from his chair, stretching out the kinks in his back and trying to rub feeling back into the back of his thighs.  He leaned over and kissed Taemin gently on his forehead, “Be right back Tae.” And he left to go and secure another cup of horrible hospital coffee which he seemed to have more of than food lately. 

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Oh God…

Everything hurt.  Everything hurt.  He swore, even his eyelashes hurt.  He tried to open his eyes, but after only opening them a tiny bit the light only slashed against his sight, causing him to jerk back in pain, which made the rest of his body contest the movement by throwing back some pain of its own along his nerves.

Taemin groaned and choked.  What is that?! What is that?!I can’t breathe!

Taemin was frantic and starting to thrash about on his bed despite the pain that lanced through him with each jerky movement.  His attempts to remove whatever was in his throat were thwarted by the fact that his hands were bound to the mattress he lay on.

Taemin was terrified and in pain and he wondered what the hell he was thinking trying to come back to this!  This was hell!  Panic crept through his mind as he struggled to move and breathe.

Still thrashing about he heard someone call, “Nurse!  Help!”

Footsteps pounded on tile and he felt his shoulders become engulfed in a warm and familiar embrace.  The familiar smell of Key entered his nostrils and Taemin would have sighed, if he could breath, in comfort at the knowledge that Key was with him. 

“Taemin! Taemin you need to stop!  Please, calm down, you’re hurting yourself.  Taemin baby please, please stop!” 

Key’s voice penetrated his panic-clouded mind but doing what he asked was easier said then done.  He couldn’t breathe!  He tried to slow his trashing but with every attempt at a gulped breath he just choked and his body seemed to move of its own accord.

“Baby, there’s a tube down your throat okay?  You were having trouble breathing so they had to put a tube in alright?  Taemin please calm down, please, please don’t fight it…”  Taemin felt warm tears hitting his cheek and he forced his eyes open, despite the searing light and found Key’s eyes pleading with his own. 

Nurses came in, called by Key’s shout and the alarms that sounded through the nursing station when Taemin’s heart rate spiked from his terror upon waking.  Two helped Key with holding down Taemin’s body, while another pushed a needle into Taemin’s IV.  Within moments Taemin’s body sagged into the bed as his flailing limbs ceased.

“What was that?  What did you just do?”  Key asked the nurse, seeing as Taemin’s eyes glossed over somewhat, before his eyelids drifted shut once more.

“It’s a mild sedative.  He was choking on the intubation tube and if he kept struggling like he was he was going to aggravate is other injuries.”  The nurse, who had seen Key fret over Taemin day after day, turned a soft eye on him.  “He seemed to be trying to force himself to calm down, so it appears that he was fully aware of his surroundings and was trying to do as you asked.  This is actually good news.  He came around on his own, and he was aware enough to understand you.” 

Key had yet to let go of Taemin, and now he pulled closer and hugged him firmly.  He kissed Taemin on the cheek, then placed his mouth near Taemin’s ear and whispered, “I love you Taemin.  You hear me?  I love you and will be here through all of this.  You are not alone and we miss you here, everyone wants to see you get well, so please come back.  I miss you and I love you so much, and I can’t wait to see your smile again.” 

When Key pulled back, the doctor had arrived and was talking to the nurse about what had happened. 

Taemin’s mother had been called and she came racing through the door and to her son’s bedside.  She placed her hands gently on Taemin’s face, covering the yellowing and other fading bruises.  “Baby, baby, mommy’s here.  Oh you sweetie, mommy’s here.” 

She turned and faced Key, “He woke up?  Did he say anything?” 

Key shook his head, “No, he couldn’t because of the tube.  He was freaked out and they had to sedate him, but I think he was aware of what was going on around him.”  Key shifted uncomfortably, still not very calm around Mrs. Lee, who seemed to be trying to ignore Key’s relationship with her son.

Mrs. Lee turned to the doctor and asked, “What happens now?”

The same white-haired doctor who had done Taemin’s surgery was now glancing over Taemin’s chart after talking with the nurse.  “Well, if Taemin was trying to breath on his own he might not need the intubation anymore.  We’re going to try and remove the tube and see if his lungs will take the function on their own now.  They have had some time to heal up and strengthen up now, not to mention that he was young and in great shape before this incident, so he should be able to breathe without the respirator.”

“When will you do that?” 

“Oh, we can do that in a few minutes, right here.  And if his body responds well to that, knowing that he has regained consciousness, we should be able to move him from the ICU to a regular ward by tonight.” 

“And when do you think he might wake up again?”  Key asked, holding Taemin’s hand while watching the doctor.

“The sedative should keep him out for about two hours as it wasn’t particularly strong, though given the trauma his body has endured, he will be incredibly tired and his body will require a lot of rest in order to heal up, so he could wake up later than that.  Without the tube, we don’t foresee and further issues upon him regaining consciousness.”

Key looked at the pale hand that he was holding, “You might want to put a bandage over the IV.”  Seeing the questioning look from the doctor and Mrs. Lee he explained, “He hates needles.”  Mrs. Lee nodded, remembering her son’s phobia.  “Whenever he gets a shot he needs someone else there and he can’t look, so maybe not seeing the needle, having it covered up by a bandage or something, might freak him out less.”

The doctor nodded, “We can do that.  Thank you for telling us Mr. Kim, it will help us make his stay here a little easier.” 

Then the doctor and a nurse shooed Key and Mrs. Lee out of the room, intending to remove the intubation tube and gauge Taemin’s status before arranging to move Taemin to his new room.  Key instantly called Onew to let SHINee know what happened, while Mrs. Lee called her family to let them know the update. 

All they had to do now was wait – like they hadn’t been doing enough of that lately.