Index:

(YJ) - Young Jae speaking
(DH) - Daehyun speaking
(SY) - Sooyoung speaking
(TY) - Taeyeon speaking
(JU) - Jongup speaking

Daehyun? speaking

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The beeping sounds from the machinery was probably the only thing that kept the room from being completely silent. One would probably prefer the silence, considering how annoying these sounds could be after some time has passed. Still.. when someone so important was in one of these beds, one couldn’t help but endure these sounds just to stay by that person’s side. It was worth anything just to make sure that they were alright.

A sad, hollow look filled Daehyun’s eyes as he kept his gaze towards Young Jae’s warm, soft hand that remained lifeless. The doctors had told them that there was nothing wrong with Young Jae, or at least.. they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. However, it seemed like Young Jae was in a state of a coma. There was no reason explaining why Young Jae was like this, but all that could be done was to hook Young Jae up to these machines to keep him alive. It was a case that they hadn’t seen before, considering none of the usual reasons behind what causes a coma seems to have affected Young Jae in any way. So... again, there were no answers.

That... killed Daehyun on the inside.

Seeing Young Jae like this, no longer seeing those expressions that made Young Jae himself. It was just too much to take in. Why did this have to happen? Why did Young Jae have to be going through all of this? Daehyun would gladly trade places with Young Jae if he could. He never wanted to see Young Jae, or anyone, suffer like this. Just.. how long was Young Jae going to be in this state? Even the doctors didn’t know, but.. he wouldn’t give up hope. He never... wanted to give up on Young Jae.

The sound of the door opening mixed in with the beeping. Still, that hadn’t been enough to turn Daehyun’s attention. He sat there, the only movement coming from his breathing as he kept all attention on Young Jae’s hand. It was almost as if he was trying to mentally bring Young Jae back, as if it would help in any sort of way.

“Dad... Are you hungry?” (JU) Jongup stood at the foot of the bed as he leaned a bit to the left to see his dad’s face. Daehyun sat there, motionless for a moment. Jongup thought that his father wouldn’t have responded, at least until Daehyun finally opened his mouth.

“No..” (DH) A sense of disappointment and sadness filled Jongup as he lowered the sandwich that he was holding. Looking down, he placed the sandwich back into the plastic bag as he walked over to a nearby chair. Setting the plastic bag down onto the table, Jongup sat down as he looked over at his parents. It was strange.. seeing his mom laying there with little to no life in him while his father almost mirrored him. It was worrisome, especially since Daehyun wouldn’t eat anything. Jongup just.. didn’t know what to do...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nighttime gave way as Taeyeon and Sooyoung soon brought Jongup back home. Taeyeon planned to go back in the morning with a bag of clothes for Daehyun. Considering the fact that Daehyun seemed to want to stay there with Young Jae, it would probably be best to bring Daehyun a change of clothes every now and then. It was important to make sure that Daehyun remained clean after all, especially since he had work on Monday. Though... Taeyeon wasn’t necessarily certain if Daehyun would even be going to work any time soon with how things were now.

“What would you like me to cook, Jongup?” (TY) Taeyeon turned to look at Jongup, whom was looking down at the ground with a depressed look in his eyes. Taeyeon frowned a bit before walking up to Jongup and sitting down next to him. Raising her hand, she rubbed Jongup’s back as she attempted to smile. “Hey.. cheer up. Your father will make sure that Young Jae will be alright.” (TY)

“But... who’ll make sure that dad’s alright?” (JU) Taeyeon paused for a moment as she tried to think. Jongup may not seem like it, but he was a fairly sharp boy. She had hoped that Jongup wouldn’t notice how worn out Daehyun seemed, but it was fairly unavoidable now. With a small smile, she got to her feet as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Don’t worry! We’ll all look out for your dad, right Sooyoung?” (TY) There was a fairly awkward silence before Taeyeon looked around. At first, she couldn’t find Sooyoung anywhere. However, once her eyes started looking through the kitchen, she let out a small sigh as she saw Sooyoung looking through the cabinets. “Sooyoung!” (TY)

Sooyoung jumped as she looked around. Her eyes soon landed on Taeyeon and Jongup, her eyes wide with slight surprise before scratching her arm a bit. “Huh? What? Y-Yeah! Sure! Whatever Taeyeon said!” (SY)

Taeyeon sighed as she shook her head. It wasn’t necessarily the most convincing agreement, but it was an agreement nonetheless. Looking down at Jongup, she smiled once more as she sat back down. “See? Even Sooyoung agrees. So don’t worry and try to cheer up. Now.. What would you like to eat?” (TY)

Jongup thought on it for a moment as he tried to think of what to eat. Now that he realized it, he was fairly hungry since the only thing he got food wise was specifically for his father. Rubbing his belly a bit, he looked at Taeyeon with a slight glint of hope in his eyes. “Pizza?” (JU)

A small chuckle escaped Taeyeon’s lips as she gave a small nod. Getting up to her feet, Taeyeon took out her cell phone as she walked over to the various menu’s that had been set up on the fridge. Looking through the menu’s, she took one off of its magnet before looking through it. “What does everyone want?” (TY)

After trying to sort out what they wanted, Taeyeon sat down at the dining table as she made the order. Jongup sat still, his eyes staring down at the sketchbook that sat on his lap. He didn’t feel like drawing, but at the same time.. he did want to draw. He felt like if he drew, then maybe it would help him sort out his feelings towards the situation. With a small sigh, Jongup looked at his sketchbook with determination as he opened it up to a new page. One way or another, he felt like this was something that he should do.

Picking up his pencil, he stared at the blank page with concentration as he tried to think. He had to draw something that truly expressed the feeling of this moment. It just depended on what he should draw now. Maybe... his parents would like it when he finished it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After so many hours of sitting in the same position without moving, Daehyun finally moved forward before pressing his forehead against Young Jae’s hand. Tears escaped his grasp as he no longer held in any of his emotions. He had tried to be strong in front of everyone else, but... it was just too difficult to hold in any longer.

“Young Jae... Please... come back to me..” (DH) Daehyun’s hands slowly closed around the bed sheets, his hands shaking as he tightened his grip. He didn’t want to believe that this was happening, but... he knew that this was real.

The doctor told him that a coma normally lasted for about a week, however, if it lasted any longer than that, then Young Jae had a three year limit before... Daehyun shook his head as he pushed that idea away. He didn’t want to think of the possibility that Young Jae could end up never waking up again. He didn’t want to think of a world without the one that he loved the most.

The way Young Jae gave those rare smiles, the way he could wake up to a peacefully sleeping Young Jae, the way Young Jae would blush as they romantically touched one another... There were just too many things to Young Jae that could never be replaced. Daehyun just had to hold on to that hope that Young Jae will wake up and give him that special smile once more. Maybe if he spoke to him, then maybe.. Young Jae will hear him and know what was going on while he was in a coma. It was worth a shot, right?

Sitting up, Daehyun wiped the tears from his face as he looked up at Young Jae. He stared for a moment, his thoughts trying to produce something to say to him, before he turned his gaze back downwards. “Young Jae.. I need to be strong and wait until you come back. I don’t know how to help you.. I really.. don’t know.. but, I want to try. But I guess.. I should probably take care of myself a bit better. I haven’t even eaten since last night when... when I brought you to the hospital. Strange.. huh.. It’s already seven. Oh.. I should probably call Jongup and see how he’s doing. He’s.. worried about us. I haven’t even eaten the sandwich he got me yet. I’ll eat after I call him. I’ll tell you how he’s doing, okay? You must be worried about him too..” (DH)

With a small nod, Daehyun leaned back in his seat a bit as he dug through his pockets. It took him a moment, but once he produced his phone, he got to his feet as he started to make the call. Hopefully, Jongup was doing better than a few hours ago. Pressing the phone to his ear, he waited patiently as he listened to his cell phone ringing. “Um.. Hello?” (JU)

“Jongup.. Hey. How are you doing?” (DH) 

“I’m okay.. Mrs. Kim bought pizza though!” (JU) Daehyun chuckled a bit as he rubbed his now growling stomach. Just mentioning pizza made his hunger grow, but as he looked over at the sandwich that still sat on the table where Jongup had left it, Daehyun could.. somewhat survive off of just that sandwich alone. Maybe the nurses would bring food in some time soon. Sure, hospital food wasn’t the greatest, but at least it was something.

“That’s great. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing okay..” (DH) Well, that at least put Daehyun’s heart at ease. Maybe it would put Young Jae’s heart at ease as well if he knew that Jongup was doing well.

“Um.. What about you, dad? How are you?” (JU) He was taken by surprise as he lowered his gaze. Daehyun knew that he should’ve been made himself seem fine earlier, but there was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was reassure Jongup and make it seem like everything will be fine.

“Yeah.. I’m fine too. Hey uh.. Take care of yourself, okay? I don’t wanna come home and find out that you were doing something both your mom and I would disapprove of, okay?” (DH) Daehyun chuckled as he heard Jongup mumbling something to himself. It sounded like he was confused, but it wasn’t long before he heard Jongup sound a little more cheery.

“Okay. I’ll be good.” (JU)

“Okay.. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” (DH)

“Bye dad.” (JU) It took a moment before finally, the phone call came to an end. With a small smile, Daehyun placed his cell phone away before walking over to the table that held the sandwich. Picking it up, he looked back over at Young Jae before occupying the seat he had been in just before his call with Jongup.

“Hey.. Jongup’s doing well. You don’t have to worry about him now, so.. you can take your time sorting out what you need to do. Just.. come back to us safely, alright?” (DH) Daehyun smiled a bit as he began to unwrap the sandwich. Once the sandwich was free from its confines, Daehyun began eating it as his eyes looked up at Young Jae. When Young Jae comes back, Daehyun will definitely take Young Jae out on a date. Young Jae deserved so much better than this.

Once he finished his sandwich, Daehyun had cleaned himself up before making his way back over to Young Jae. Sliding back into his seat, he took his shoes off as he placed an elbow on the chair’s armrest. Just as he was about to attempt to fall asleep, he looked back up at Young Jae. Would it.. be alright if he slept with Young Jae? He didn’t want Young Jae to feel like he was alone, but he also didn’t want to mess up anything just by moving Young Jae. Plus, a hospital bed wasn’t all that big to begin with. He didn’t want to end up pushing Young Jae off by accident.

Well.. maybe if he laid down just for a brief moment, it would be alright. Looking around, Daehyun carefully slipped into Young Jae’s bed as he carefully moved Young Jae over a bit. Sliding into the empty spot next to Young Jae, Daehyun happily smiled liked a cat as he brought the blanket up to his shoulders. Turning towards Young Jae, Daehyun held his smile as he wrapped an arm around Young Jae. “I hope you don’t mind.. I guess.. I just feel lonely sleeping without you..” (DH)

He leaned his head forward, pressing his forehead against the side of Young Jae’s head. It had usually been Young Jae whom cuddled up to him, but this time... it was Daehyun’s turn. He wanted Young Jae to feel his warmth, to feel that he was still around and supporting him. Whether Young Jae felt it or not, he wouldn’t really know, but.. as long as Young Jae was comfortable, then it should be alright... right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Warm...” (YJ)

“Young Jae... Good night...” (DH) Young Jae’s eyes slowly opened as he looked around through his blurred vision. He could feel warmth holding onto his body, but from what he could saw, there was no one there.  There didn’t seem to be anything that he could actually recognize in front of him, but there was definitely something there. Still.. maybe if he rested his eyes a bit more, then everything would solidify.

Closing his eyes, Young Jae laid there for a moment before opening his eyes again. His eyes widened in an instant as he saw the fire in front of him, which caused him to roll away for a bit. Coming to a stop, he pushed himself up a bit as he looked at the fire with both surprise and confusion. “What the heck..?” (YJ)

Sitting on the back of his heels while setting his knees on the ground, Young Jae looked around the strange room. It was like an old Victorian room from the looks of it, but it did have lamps on the walls which seemed to use electricity instead of the gas lamps that had been common use at the time. He had been in front of the fireplace, but he was now sitting next to a coffee table. On the two smaller ends, there were love seats while on the opposite side of Young Jae was a long couch. To the right of the fireplace was an old grandfather clock, which seemed to still be working. Above the fireplace was a painting, which Young Jae decided not to pay any attention to for the time being. To the left of the fireplace was a tall table that had a lamp on top of it as well as a few small statues on the side to decorate its top.

Getting to his feet, Young Jae took a closer look at the rest of the room. On the right side was a wooden piano, but not one of those grand pianos. It was against the wall and had a small vase with a single flower in it. There were a few more figurines on it and above it was yet another painting. Next to the piano was a white door and next to that was desk. To the wall opposite of e fireplace, there was a pedestal on the right side of another door that held a small statue. To the left were just two paintings that decorate the wall. However.. looking to the left, it caught Young Jae by complete surprise.

A large window, which looked fairly nice by the way, displayed the outside world. Instead of what one would have expected, it showed that his current location was currently submerged underwater. Walking up to the window, he placed his hand on the glass as he stared at the oceanic view. There was no way that this could be possible. It wasn’t even remotely possible to have a building down at the bottom of the ocean without the pressure crushing the building! Even if they were at an adequate level, the building wouldn’t last for very long.

Young Jae.

He jumped at the sound of his voice, but quickly calmed once he began to recognize the voice. It may have been brief, but Young Jae knew all too well whose voice that was. Turning, he looked around, but didn’t see anyone there. Now that he thought about it, he heard his voice earlier too. “Daehyun..? Where are you?” (YJ)

It doesn’t matter. You need.. to get out of here.

“Where exactly is here?” (YJ) Why was Daehyun being discreet about his position? More importantly, how exactly was he going to get out of here? If he recalled, this place was under the ocean. Of course, the fact that this place was underwater in general should have been evident enough that there was some sort of way to get out of here. From what he could assume, it would most likely be some sort of submarine that would be his form of transportation.

Where we are... isn’t important. What’s important is that you get out of here in one piece.

“One piece..? What do you mean by that.. exactly?” (YJ) Young Jae didn’t necessarily like the idea that he may end up in ‘pieces’. That was definitely not something that he was even remotely going to accept as a possibility. And what did Daehyun mean that it wasn’t important as to where they were currently located?! It was VERY important that he knew where they were! Sure, it wouldn’t help his situation all that much, but it would at least bring some sort of sense of comfort.

It means exactly what you think, but... I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine. You’re Young Jae after all.

The sound of Daehyun’s chuckle somewhat made Young Jae a bit annoyed, but.. it was a sort of relief considering his current location. He did wish that Daehyun would be a bit more specific when it came to information. After all, Young Jae worked best with having as much information as possible and the fact that Daehyun was clearly holding back information was a bit irritable. “So.. are you going to tell me what all of this is about?” (YJ)

You want me to? Do I get a reward if I do?

“Tch..” (YJ) Young Jae smirked as he rolled his eyes a bit. Daehyun may have been acting a bit weird, but he was still being his playful self. Well, maybe. Young Jae shook his head a bit as he turned and leaned against the window. “What kind of reward were you looking for?” (YJ)

.. I only want you to make it back to everyone.

“Alright..? I’m fairly certain that the objective of all of this was to get me back. Is that really what you want as a reward?” (YJ) There was a small moment of silence as it seemed like Daehyun was thinking. Young Jae scratched the side of his head as he waited. Sadly, his patience wasn’t exactly strong at the moment. “Well?” (YJ)

Ask me again when you get out. Okay?

Young Jae thought on it for a moment. Would it be best to wait until he got out? Well, it did make sense. A reward should be given if the task is completed. So, maybe it would be best to listen to Daehyun’s suggestion for the moment. “Alright. I’ll ask you again when I get out. Now.. that information.” (YJ)

Right.. Information. Well, you’re underwater. That much is obvious. However.. this place isn’t exactly what you may think it may be. It’s... well, I’ll tell you later. For now, just leave the room and head out. There’s a flashlight in the desk and a set of keys for you.

“How do you know that?” (YJ)

Just go get them and get started.

It didn’t make any sense. How did Daehyun know that there was a flashlight and a set of keys in the desk? Had Daehyun been here or was he watching him from somewhere? Young Jae was receiving far too many questions and not receiving enough answers. It was becoming quite frustrating and tiresome, but there was nothing else he could d about it at this point. “Fine.. I’ll get those damn keys.” (YJ)

Once you get them, leave the room through the door closest to the desk.

Sighing, Young Jae decided to drop the subject. As long as Daehyun truly was helping him, then it didn’t matter too much if he didn’t end up getting the necessary information for the time being. Making his way over to the other side of the room, Young Jae began pulling open drawer after drawer before finding the items that Daehyun had mentioned. The flashlight looked more like a miniature lamp, but at least it would light up more than just a small portion of the room. The keys that were on the key chain had a small rope attached to it, just long enough for him to wear it like a necklace. It would probably be best to wear it like a necklace if he needed to get into a room quickly. If what Daehyun said was true, then this place was fairly dangerous and he needed to proceed with caution.

Stepping up to the door, Young Jae took hold of the door handle before pausing. Working off of his thoughts just mere seconds ago, the thought of this placing being dangerous brought a sense of fear to him. Why should he go outside without something to defend himself? Turning around, he looked here and there but couldn’t find anything that could be used as an adequate enough weapon. Sure, there were the small statues or the flower vase, but those were breakable. Those items would be broken after the first use, leaving him defenseless regardless of what he did. “How do I defend myself, Daehyun?” (YJ)

I’ll protect you. Just go.

Young Jae raised a single brow as he turned the doorknob. What, was he some sort of damsel in distress or something? A princess that needed to be rescued from each and every castle? Young Jae was perfectly capable of protecting himself, but.. what did Daehyun mean by he’ll protect him? Daehyun wasn’t here so.. it didn’t make any sense that Daehyun could protect him. Still, it probably didn’t even matter at this point. As long as he was safe, then he didn’t have to worry about it.

Opening the door a bit, he looked outside for a moment before sticking his head out. He looked around the hallway, making certain that there wasn’t anything in the hallway before stepping outside. The hallways had a rather elegant design to it. The bottom half of the walls had a brownish-orange type wood while the paint above it was white. The floors were a little more orange in terms of color and were made of wood, but there were carpets that lined along the middle of it that held a velvet color with gold lining. There were also various decorations along the walls, though not too much to where it would be an overkill. The hallways were fairly bright too with its golden chandeliers that lined the ceiling.

What kind of place was this, anyway? He felt fairly out of place here, especially since he’s never seen anything like this in person. It also didn’t make any sense for him to be here. Why here? Why him? Well, maybe Daehyun would have the answers that he was looking for. He would just have to wait until Daehyun decided to open up and share some of the information that he currently had on this place. “Well? Which way?” (YJ)

Go left and follow the hall until the end, then turn right. Enter the first room you see.

“Why am I going into another room?” (YJ) No response. Why does Daehyun stay quiet so often? Normally, Daehyun would tell him everything that he needed. Now, though, Daehyun was keeping his secrets far too often and he greatly disapproved of this. Could he do anything about it? No, well.. maybe. He could clearly give Daehyun a punishment once he saw him, but until then, he was forced to follow Daehyun’s guidance.

Walking down the hallway, Young Jae looked around curiously. How much would a place like this have costed anyway? It seemed like it would have been fairly expensive to have built a place this far down and to be able to have it fully functional was quite impressive. Coming to a stop once the hallway turned right, he looked back out the windows that lined the left side of the wall. This place either truly was underwater or there was an image that was quite realistic. Either way, it was fairly.. pleasing to watch the ocean. “Why me..? Why was I brought here? Daehyun.. tell me at least that.” (YJ)

.. You need help... and this was the only way that you can get that help. Trust me, alright?

“Trust you.. You expect me to trust you when you have been telling me little to nothing? Well.. fine. I’ll trust you for now.” (YJ) Turning, he walked up to the door before taking hold of the handle. He turned the handle and pushed, but he was quickly met with resistance. With a small sigh, Young Jae picked up the keys that hung around his neck as he began trying each and every key in the lock. Luckily, there were only three keys, so it was fairly easy to find the right key to the room. Pushing the door open, Young Jae’s eyes widened as he gasped. “What the HECK is this about, Daehyun?!” (YJ)

Inside the room, or rather, the room itself was there, but.. it also wasn’t. It was almost as if it was a glitch in a game or a program, but Young Jae couldn’t believe that something like this was occurring. Could it be a hologram? No, that couldn’t be the case. Although holograms are being worked upon, they aren’t necessarily accessible to the public. Well... that’s what he assumed if the research on the topic was completed already.

Step inside.

“What?! Are you trying to be funny because this is nowhere near hilarious! If I step in, I could potentially fall through! I don’t even see the bottom of the ocean floor like I assumed would be underneath this place!” (YJ) Was he even at the lower most portion of this building? He could have sworn that he could see the ocean floor, but he didn’t necessarily pay attention to that part as much as he thought he did.

Just step in. Trust me on this, okay?

“... Do I really have a choice?” (YJ) With how things have turned out, it seemed like this was his only choice on the matter. Well.. maybe it would be alright. So far, Daehyun seemed to know what he was talking about and maybe this was just something that would help him get out of here. Either that, or Daehyun was potentially leading him to his doom. Either way, Young Jae took in a deep breath as he looked down at the endless void of white.

One more thing... Be careful, okay? It’ll try to confused you, but.. you have to keep a strong mind. Try to follow what you remember as opposed to what your feelings tell you. You’ll know when you have to follow your heart.

“... What is this, some sort of cliche movie? But... fine. Thanks for the advice, Daehyun.” (YJ) He kept his eyes on the void as he gathered up the courage within him. He can protect himself. Daehyun was just there to give him the information necessary to survive. That was all. There was nothing else to it

With one last breath, Young Jae stepped into the room before falling through the floor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[ My Own Thoughts:

Yay confusion ;;...?
Don’t worry, this is all in Young Jae’s mind.
Uh... Considering I don’t know what a comatose patient sees while in a coma..
I’m just making it up basically.
For the time being, Young Jae is basically having to sort out his mind this way.

Comments are loved. x3
I love talking with everyone >3<..
I also love seeing what everyone thinks about the fanfic. x3 ]]