The way to the hospital was a blur to Baekhyun. Nothing went into his ears, he swore he temporarily went death because he could see people’s mouths moving but he couldn’t hear another. So he sat on the chair right beside the hospital bed that Zora laid peacefully on, his skin dangerously translucent. He must have been staring at her like this for a while, like a creep just watching someone sleep, but Baekhyun really couldn’t care less.

“Baekhyun…Honey…Baekhyun!” Luna’s voice finally reached him and he lifted his gaze up to meet her cobalt blue eyes, red from the tears. Only then did he realize that he himself must have been crying without realizing, because his cheeks were damp, he could still feel the tears racing down his face but didn’t have the effort to wipe them away. “The doctor said she’s fine, Baekhyun…Zora’s fine” She reassured, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

Baekhyun let out a breath he never knew he was holding. Dear god, he could finally breathe properly. He felt his heart thud against his chest as the wave of relief swept in. His gaze fell back to Zora, finally noticing her chest rise and fall. She was breathing.

He could feel another lump form at his throat as Luna herself choked on her tears. “She’s alright” Luna repeated. “Thank god, she’s alright” She took the words right out of his mouth.

“What…was wrong with her?” Baekhyun croaked, his voice shaky and dry.

Luna shrugged her shoulders a little, “They’re not sure…apparently her heart just kind of…apparently her blood wasn’t…” Her words wouldn’t string together into a sentence, but Baekhyun could more or less put the words together himself. Luna wiped away her tears before straightening out her clothes before saying, “I’ll have a word with the doctors…I’ll be back in a moment…” She patted Baekhyun softly on his shoulder again and smiled when he turned to her with a tear rolling down his cheek, “Take care of her” With those words, she left the room.

Baekhyun turned back to Zora, feeling his heart strangely constrict at the site of her. “You’re alright” He repeated Luna’s words softly, feeling a stir of anxiety at the thought of anything else other than those words. What if she wasn’t alright? What if then and there, she was gone? Imagining her gone from his life…gone from this world…Baekhyun knew that he might just regret for the rest of his life. Regret never truly acting like he cared for her, never truly embracing her, never truly treating her right.

“What am I going to do with you?” He chuckled softly as tears continued to fall. His eyes fell to her small hands before he reluctantly held it with his own. Only realizing how much he was trembling when he reached for it. He lifted their interlocked hands up to his face as he leaned his elbow on her bed and placed it over his lips as he shut his eyes, thanking the god he’s never believed in for her life. Although he wasn’t sure for how long her life was assured, he was more than glad that she was still breathing at this moment. Even if she was still unconscious, for who knows how long, he was alright with that. He could perhaps live like that. As long as she was still alive, as long as she was still by his side, Baekhyun was content.

Kai stood there for a moment, staring at Baekhyun asleep with his head resting on Zora’s bed, his hands linked with hers.

“Hey…You alright?” Chanyeol asked gently from behind, feeling a tinge of sympathy for his friend. He knew how much Kai loved Zora…he must’ve…but then…

“I’m fine” Kai replied. There was a short pause as the two males stood in silence. The sensation they felt before created a whole new level of awareness to them. The awareness of their lives. Their very existence…and how fragile they were. “Chanyeol…Have you ever wondered…” Kai murmured, his gaze still watching over Zora and Baekhyun as he continued, “How it’d feel to have a heart?”

Chanyeol bit the inside of his cheeks, “Yeah…It’d feel…heavy” He replied, “I mean, I dunno…just…Having a heart seems like a heavy burden, don’t you think?”

“…Maybe…”

We’re sorry. The person you have called is not available. Please leave a voicemail after the tone. BEEP.

“[Hey…er…It’s Luna. Long time no talk, hey? I guess…I guess you can tell why I’m calling and…yes…Please, I’m- I’m so scared for her…she’s still so young and she’s so lovely and please, please just help me…I’m scared that they’ve done something horrible…please just, help me…help her…You know the address…]”

When Baekhyun woke up again, it was already bright. He momentarily wondered how he ended up in the hospital, but when he saw his hand still intertwined with Zora’s, everything came rushing back again. He sighed at himself before twisting his sore neck towards the clock. 7:06 am. Wow, he must have dozed off right there and then. He turned back to Zora and smiled half-heartedly, “Wake up sleepy head” He mumbled whilst reaching over and flicking her lightly on the forehead with his free hand. He knew that she wouldn’t wake up so easily. God knows when she’ll wake up.

So when Zora started to stir in her bed, Baekhyun bolted up from his seat, his heart starting to thud. “Z-Zora?” He murmured.

Zora groaned quietly before she rubbed her eyes with her free hand. Baekhyun simply watched her. It was as though nothing was wrong with her. As though all this time, she was just sleeping. “Zora” He called cautiously. Her eyes fluttered open, and when they fell on him, they widened dramatically. She practically pounced up from her bed to sit in front of him, her eyes scanning him in panic before her hand pressed gently onto his cheek.

Baekhyun could feel his heart race in his chest. Her touch made his skin feel hot. He wasn’t dreaming was he? She just woke up, right? He stared into her eyes in bewilderment before he realized that she was wiping away his dry tears with her thumb. He chuckled amusingly before grasping her other hand to stop her, “I’m fine. I’m fine” He reassured, still staring deeply into her glittery eyes. “What about you?” He questioned, his eyebrows knitting together as he released her hands and cupped her slim face and checked her body. “Are you hurt anywhere? No aches, no pains?” He asked frantically.

Zora simply blinked at him before looking down at herself, only realizing that she was in hospital wear and in a hospital room before looking back up at Baekhyun. She nodded her head reassuringly, although Baekhyun could tell she was a little confused. But he wasn’t in the mood for explaining.

With one last sigh of relief, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest and securely wrapped his arms around her small frame. “Thank god. Thank god” He muttered, taking in the sweet scent of her hair.

Although he hadn’t realized it yet, that day, Baekhyun showed a new side of himself. He showed how much he truly cared and how much he truly regretted. How much he truly worried and how much he truly wanted her to stay in his arms.

A few days went by. Zora was still in hospital, but Baekhyun made sure to spend most of his time with her. And the best part was that he didn’t care. He figured now that he just liked being in her company. When Jongdae, Sehun and Lay first heard about the incident they were just as much in shock as any other person would be, but the day after, the three of them even went ahead and got her a ‘get well soon card’.

“We made it ourselves” Sehun beamed.

Baekhyun chuckled, “What, none of you have even 500 won on you to buy a decent card?” He joked, smiling at the pink envelope sealed with a childish puppy sticker. Trust his friends.

“Hey, it’s the thought that counts, man” Jongdae countered, playfully smacking Baekhyun across his arm.

“Give her our greetings when she wakes up” Lay said, “We were going to invite you for some bowling, but I figure you want to go and visit her today too, right?”

Baekhyun smiled thankfully to his friends for understanding, “Yeah…Sorry”

“Ey, no worries man, just make sure your girlfriend is all healthy” Jongdae’s eyebrows did a cheeky wave, to which Baekhyun just smacked him over the head with their hand made card.

So having been dismissed by his friends from their bowling invite, Baekhyun went back to the hospital after hurriedly going back home to change into something more comfortable than his school uniform. Like he’s been doing for the past few days, he took the bus to the hospital. Despite never having been a fan of public transportation, especially when he’s alone, Baekhyun didn’t so much mind it this time. Not when he knew he was inching closer to Zora by the second.

The bus started to get crowded; people were packed in like sardines but Baekhyun was lucky enough to get a seat.

“Mommy~ I’m tired!~” A little boy cried, pulling his heavily pregnant mother’s long ankle-length skirt as she stood, grabbing hold of the railing as well as her son’s hand. “Please Jiho, we’re almost there” She said.

Baekhyun noticed how out-of-breathed she looked and sighed. It didn’t take much for him to stand up from his seat, “Please sit” He said to her, gesturing to his now empty seat.

The woman blinked at the handsome young man before shaking her head, “Oh no! It’s quite alright, we’re almost”

“I insist” Baekhyun smiled reassuringly before his lowered his gaze onto the cute, doe-eyed little boy. He lowered his head slightly, “Make sure your mommy sits, alright?”

The little boy nodded determinedly before tugging his mother’s skirt towards the seat. The woman smiled at Baekhyun before thanking him, placing her bag down before sitting carefully on the seat. Her son right by her side before he turned his head towards Baekhyun again, “Thank you, hyung” He beamed.

Baekhyun smiled back and ruffled his hair, “Take care of her”

“I will!” He nodded again before turning back to his mother. Baekhyun felt his heart warm at the child. Hm. Actually, Baekhyun never actually liked children so much. But maybe they weren’t so bad. It made him think for a second…

“If you’re wondering then the answer is yes” Baekhyun jolted when all of a sudden, Kai’s voice was being spoken down his ear. He twisted his neck and found the very person standing behind him on the bus.

“Kai” Baekhyun didn’t know why he smiled. Kai too was rather confused at the relief on Baekhyun’s face.

“What? Us Inkhearts are gone for a couple of days and you’ve already forgotten about us?”

Baekhyun hushed him to be quieter and glanced around to see if anyone had overheard, but when no one seemed to be throwing them odd looks, he reckoned they were safe. “Are you kidding? I was worried sick, what happened?” It wasn’t a lie. When he wasn’t thinking about Zora, Baekhyun was thinking about Chanyeol and the state he was in before he found Zora, which led to him to think about Kai who hadn’t shown his face in a while.

Kai sighed, “We’re alright. Nothing too bad. Back in one piece anyway” He chuckled bitterly. But Baekhyun didn’t take his attitude to heart.

“Is that something to joke about?” He countered before an awkward silence seemed to settle.

“…The answer is yes by the way” Kai repeated, to which Baekhyun tilted his eyebrows.

“Yes to what?”

“Zora. She likes kids…you were wondering that weren’t you?”

Baekhyun unknowingly flushed pink. “W-Why would I be wondering about that?” He scoffed before trying to find another topic, “You’re coming to the hospital, right?”

“Nah” Kai shook his head. “I just like traveling. Going here and there, seeing new things, discovering stuff I didn’t know about this world”

“You’re not going to visit Zora?” Baekhyun asked, slightly puzzled when Kai shook his head again.

“I have you to do that for me”