White.

Jongin had never, in his entire life, despised the color white as much as he did at that very moment. White walls, white ceilings, white floors, white lights - even the blankets that were so carefully tucked around his legs were white. It was frightening, and all he wanted was to escape. With this thought in mind, his mental planning was interrupted by the sound of hysterical beeping, soon followed by the concerned speech of a woman that he failed to recognize. She was also clad in white, and that caused the nineteen year-old male’s hard to race in his chest - the fear building up in him so strongly that he could hardly breathe.

The woman looked equally as surprised when the boy stared back at her, and she brought a pale, shaky hand to her red-stained lips. She muttered something behind her hand before running out of the room, leaving the young man in a heightened state of confusion.

Looking down at his arms, which suddenly seemed to burn and ache, he noticed that tubes connected to thin needles had been shoved into his arms, held down with tape matching the color of the rest of the area. He attempted to tug at the tape, brows drawing together and soft whimpers leaving full lips as the material pulled at the sensitive skin. He could hear the woman returning, and he hoped to leave before she re-entered, but that was impossible, as the door came open seconds later.

The beeping returned and Jongin’s hand was pulled away by a much stronger grasp. He lifted his other hand, though it was restricted by the IV, to strike at the man who was holding him back, but he was instead caught off guard by a familiar voice.

“Hyung.”

The one shaky word had Jongin’s pulse slowing to a regular beat, and his fear dying down within seconds. He looked up and saw the much welcomed face of his brother, Kyungsoo. However, his expression was disturbing. It was not cheerful, nor smug as Jongin had always been used to. No, Kyungsoo’s large chocolate eyes were rimmed with dark circles, proving that he was lacking adequate rest. His normally rosy lips were gray and chapped as though he had been denied water for a number of days. His skin was no longer alabaster, but a chalky pale color, making him as white as the walls. He was small in the large doorway of the room, and he seemed to lean against the frame for support.

“Soo…” Jongin forced out, and soon his brother was joined by two other people - both who looked equally as broken and ill. “Mom… Dad…” Jongin could hardly recognize his own voice, as it was much deeper than he had remembered it, and it was not only shaky but it cracked on each word that left his mouth. “What’s going on?” His mother didn’t respond, but she ran to his bed, collapsing to her knees and gripping her son's hand. She sobbed against the white blankets, her dark eye makeup staining them a shade of brown and black.

“You’re in the hospital, Jongin,” a new voice said. It was deep, quite like his father’s, but the man had not moved from Kyungsoo’s side. Looking up, Jongin saw that a tall male in a white coat was still loosely holding his wrist, keeping him from tearing off the IV. Assured that no such action would be taking place, he set the boy’s wrist down, clearing his throat quietly. “There was an accident.”

With those four words being said, Jongin’s memory filled with the horrific images that it had so desperately tried to push out. The man was still talking, saying something about a head injury and a coma, but the young man could hardly understand a word that was being said. He remembered yelling at Kyungsoo, then Junmyeon crying out for him to pay attention to the road. Kyungsoo’s face had turned from annoyance to pure shock and horror, and Jongin had just barely looked away when he was greeted by bright, white lights. He remembered the screaming, and he remembered Junmyeon--

Jongin’s gaze shot up once more, and he searched for the familiar face of his older brother. When he failed to find the last set of large eyes, he immediately looked at his father and brother. “Junmyeon…?” he started, and Kyungsoo responded by instantaneously bursting into tears. He sank to the floor, cheek squished against the door frame as fat tears traveled down his round cheeks. Tears burning his own eyes, Jongin had his answer, but his father still felt it necessary to put the obvious into words.

“Junmyeon’s gone.”