The Nineteenth Chapter

Daesom struggled to sit up with wide eyes as she gaped at the man who just arrived. Sehun immediately supported her arms to help her since she still looked so weak. “Daehyun, w-what are you doing here?” She stammered.

“I booked a flight immediately when Kris called me about your condition yesterday. Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Daesom? How long have you been suffering like this?” Daehyun asked frantically.

“K-Kris told you? You’re here.. why did you come here? Both of you, why did you –“ She wasn’t able to continue what she was saying because she clutched her chest tightly and started panting. Sehun panicked as he saw how she seemed to be running out of breath and having chest pains.

“Daesom, what’s happening? Hey, get a hold of yourself.” Sehun tried to speak to her calmly, since he might worsen her condition if she saw his alarm. He honestly didn’t know what to do.

Daehyun, however, wasn’t able to hide the panic in his voice. “We should call the nurse!” He looked frantically around the room and found a button on the left side of the wall beside Daesom’s bed. He quickly went around and pressed it, before running out of the room to call the nurses himself.

Soon enough, a nurse came rushing inside Daesom’s room with apparatuses that Sehun didn’t bother identifying. “Please step out of the room for the moment.” She instructed both guys before turning to her patient.

Daehyun and Sehun were both hesitant to go out, seeing that Daesom was still struggling but they heeded the nurse’s advice. As soon as they got outside the room, Dr. Zhang rushed inside. “What happened here?” They heard the doctor ask.

The two men stood on opposite side of the walls in the hallway outside Daesom’s room. Sehun was worried sick and all he wanted was to go back inside there and stay on her side. She was in pain and he couldn’t stand to see her like that. He snuck a glance at her brother who was probably as worried as Sehun was. Daehyun’s eyes were still on the door of her room.

Sehun could hear indistinct talking from Dr. Zhang and the nurse, the sounds of some apparatuses being moved and Daesom’s uneven breathing pattern. After a few minutes, things seemed to calm down. He wanted to rush back inside and see how she was doing but he was afraid that he might worsen her condtion.

When Dr. Zhang came out, Sehun quickly stood up straight and rushed to him at the same time that Daehyun did. “How is she?” Daehyun asked before Sehun could even open his mouth.

The doctor looked at Daehyun, then at Sehun, before returning his gaze to Daesom’s brother. “And you are?” Yixing asked.

“I’m Daesom’s older brother, Jung Daehyun. Is she alright now?”

Yixing nodded in recognition. “Oh yes, yes. Kris told me about you. Well, her condition’s stable for now. One of the complications of SCD is having chest pains and trouble in breathing. I think the presence of both of you surprised her and she started having an anxiety attack. I gave her some sedatives to calm her down; I think she’s sleeping again right now. I suggest that you let her rest for now and just visit her again tomorrow.”

Daehyun nodded glumly. “I understand. Then, may I speak to you about her condition? Kris didn’t give me all the details when he called me yesterday.”

“Yes, you may. But can you wait for awhile, Mr. Jung? I was in the middle of a meeting when the nurse called me. Daesom’s condition is delicate so I’m constantly monitoring her.” Yixing glanced at his watch as he answered.

“Yes, of course. Thank you.”

After giving Daehyun instructions to where Yixing’s office was, the doctor left to catch up to his meeting, which left Sehun all alone with Daesom’s brother. Sehun was about to go back to Daesom’s room to check if she was fine when Daehyun called his attention.

“Hey, may I ask who you are? Are you friends with my sister?” There was no hostility in Daehyun’s tone, only curiosity.

Sehun turned to the older one and saw that Daehyun was giving him a confused stare. “I’m Oh Sehun, Daesom’s..” What was he to Daesom, anyway? She declared him as her boyfriend before but boyfriend seemed too shallow of a title for him. He was more than that to her – they were more than that. “..special friend.” What? What stupid answer was that?

“Special friend?” Daehyun’s brows rose up in bemusement. “Like, her boyfriend?”

“Well, if you put it that way..” Sehun wasn’t sure what he was in Daesom’s life right now, to be honest.

“I see.” The curiosity in Daehyun’s face disappeared and his face turned blank. “You may have heard my name already but I’ll introduce myself formally. I’m Jung Daehyun, Daesom’s older brother.” He extended out his right hand towards Sehun. The two guys shook hands briefly.

They heard hurried footsteps at the end of the hallway and Kris soon came into view. His hair looked wet with some snow still stuck on it and there was a worried expression on his face. “Yixing texted me about Daesom. How is she now?”

“She’s fine, probably sleeping. We haven’t checked her yet.” Daehyun sighed. “She looked really shocked and scared to see me.”

“I told you to wait for me.” Kris scolded her brother.

“You know I can’t waste another minute. I needed to see her.” Daehyun defended himself.

“Fine, fine.” Kris retreated before turning his attention to Sehun. “How about you? Did she see you already?”

Sehun nodded. “We didn’t really get to talk because Daehyun-ssi suddenly came.”

“Well, it’s already evening, you should just come back tomorrow. I think you should get home before the blizzard starts. Do you want me to drive you back?” Kris offered.

“No, it’s alright. I’ll just take a bus. I need to get my car at Luhan’s law firm, anyway.”

Sehun stole one last glance inside Daesom’s room before leaving. She looked peaceful sleeping and he hoped that she was feeling a little better, too. It was a Saturday the next day so he’ll definitely come to see her first thing in the morning.

 Sehun wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings as he rode the bus back to his side of the city. His mind was still trying to process everything that happened that day. He still couldn’t accept the fact that the girl he was in love with was suffering from a disease and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Judging from the story Kris told him, life hadn’t been that good to her. Then why did she have to suffer more?

Well, life hadn’t been exactly kind to him either.

He was still on his reverie when he got off the bus and crossed the road to get to Luhan’s law firm. Snow was falling again and he wrapped the scarf more securely around his neck. He was too engrossed on his thoughts that he didn’t notice Luhan getting out of the building.

“Sehun?” Luhan called out just when Sehun was about to open the door to the driver’s seat.

Sehun got startled for a moment and lifted up his gaze to look at his old friend. “Hyung.” He uttered in acknowledgement. “I’m just going to get my car.”

Luhan raised an amused brow. “You called me hyung.”

“So?” Sehun deadpanned.

“You don’t call me that anymore, remember?” The older one pointed out. The younger just gave a noncommittal shrug. His mind was too tired to even think of what he called people.

“I’m going to have a drink before going home tonigh