“My chest-!” Jongin coughs out to anyone that would listen.

Chanyeol loomed over him as he was rushed into the tall hospital building and silently prayed that this would not be Jongin’s last day on earth. They still hadn't seen that horror movie that was released over the weekend and they hadn't even graduated together. Park Chanyeol could not imagine what life would be like without his best friend, Kim Jongin. When jongin came into this world, he was a mess from the second he took his first breath.

From birth until now, at seventeen, jongin always needed someone by his side in case he collapsed with the air knocked right out of him. Living was a threat to Jongin and doing anything that caused his heart rate to pick up could be fatal to him. Chanyeol knew this as they grew up together; he was the athletic type. Long legs that could stretch far enough to win medals and with a slim build that made him move quicker than most. He was the track star and you could always find Jongin watching him in awe from the bleachers, silently cheering him on.

To everyone Jongin was Chanyeol’s shadow that followed him wherever he went but to Chanyeol, he was Jongin’s lifeline and jongin was Chanyeol’s reason to keep going.

At the moment, Jongin was choking and gasping for any ounce of air that his body could accept. His heart was beating fast, he could hear it in his ears. Chanyeol stuck on like a leech to Jongin’s side and made sure the younger knew he was right there. This wasn't the first time this had happened and it wasn't the first time it had been this bad. Jongin’s hand squeezed the side bar of the hospital bed and Chanyeol’s was already squeezing along.

As he looked down at the poor guy and couldn't help but think this shouldn't have happened, it shouldn't have ended up like this. Jongin wasn't supposed to run up those stairs because he knew what could happen. But he did, from excitement to see a newly released music video he wanted to watch, and it was too much for him to handle. Jongin collapsed and for a second Chanyeol stood there and watched the kid smack down on the ground before he reacted and took jongin in his arms, placing his head on his lap as he called for an ambulance.

Chanyeol took note that he was going to give Jongin a piece of his mind later for pulling this .

When Jongin comes to, Chanyeol’s eyes showed how relieved he was to see he was doing better. Jongin couldn’t move much underneath the white blankets as his eyes focused on the ceiling but afterward he noticed his friend beside him as well as his own parents peering down at him.

“How are you feeling, son?” Jongin’s mother spoke up to break the silence of anticipation. Jongin could only let out a weak groan for the moment. It was the same routine, Jongin’s parents came to care for only until he was conscious then they’d immediately scurry off afterward.

Jongin tried clearing his throat a bit to speak.

“I’m fine, mom.” He said. Both his parents sighed in relief like they’d been holding in that breath in for a while. His mother took that as cue to gather her belongings from the side of the bed before telling her son she’d see him at home, as well as his father doing the same. Jongin didn’t even bother to crack a smile at his parents as they left the room. Chanyeol turned his attention back to his friend and felt curious.

“Why do they always leave?” He asked.

Jongin shrugged. He didn’t even know why his own parents didn’t care enough for him to stay as he recovered. The only things that were important to them were their jobs and making sure Jongin made it to school on time.

“Not sure, can you pass me some water?” Jongin rasped out and Chanyeol did as commanded.

“A doctor came in while you were asleep to tell us you were fine,” Chanyeol said as he sat down in a nearby chair. “Just don’t stuff like that again, alright?” He added. Jongin nodded to the thing Chanyeol always says to him after his heart acts up and he winds up on the ground. He knew good and well that it was out of love but having someone watching you all day every day got to be a little annoying at times.

Chanyeol suddenly let out a laugh, “remember when this happened in middle school? You scared the out of that one cute girl, she thought you died right in the middle of class!” And when Chanyeol brought up these things Jongin knew it wasn’t out of love but just to be cruel to his best friend. Jongin wanted to swing at him but knew he wasn’t capable of doing so.

“Anyway, the guys are outside because I called earlier.” Chanyeol said. The guys. Whenever that was mentioned it was never good to Jongin. He always knew who Chanyeol was talking about.

“Why do you still hang out with them?” Jongin asked, taking a sip of the cold water.

Chanyeol’s face contorted in confusion, “don’t act like we didn’t all grow up together, Jongin! I don’t get why you don’t hang out with all of us anymore like when we were kids.”

Jongin quickly rolled his eyes, “they’re bad news, Chanyeol. Don’t act like you don’t see it.” The other rolled his eyes right back before abruptly asking if Jongin was ready to get out of there. The younger flipped the covers from the bed and slowly brought himself to his feet.

Ever since the guys began getting in trouble with the law, Jongin distanced himself. As a kid he grew up just as rebellious as other boys going through the confusing and frustrating time of puberty but he saw the thin line that wasn’t to be crossed when it came to doing right and wrong. Unfortunately, Chanyeol didn’t see it and gladly crossed over with the others. Plus, when it came to running from the cops, Jongin wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Thanks for helping me out, Chanyeol.” Jongin said as they exited the ER’s front doors. Even though Chanyeol wasn’t hanging with the best of people, he was still a good person on the inside and only Jongin seemed to see that. Growing up with Chanyeol had become an adventure as Jongin always supported his best friend in everything he did because he never could do what Chanyeol could do. And when it came to Chanyeol, Jongin was his support and his rock because no one else was around to be there for them. To the two, they were all they had and they were happy that way.

Jongin got home at a late hour and didn’t bother starting the homework that was assigned to him earlier that day. It was a long day and Jongin was still hurting from the small heart attack from hours ago. Looking at the green text shooting out from the nightstand beside his bed, Jongin knew it was past midnight.

He sat at the edge of his bed and ran through the whole day in his mind. From waking up to getting to class and to eating lunch with Chanyeol and a few other guys as usual to watching Chanyeol play the best on the school’s soccer team. He remembered the only kick where Chanyeol passed the ball to Kyungsoo for him to kick in a goal.

Kyungsoo.

Do Kyungsoo.

When Jongin got bored of idolizing Chanyeol on the field, his eyes lingered to another pair of legs making their way around the field. Then to his arms then to his black mop of hair that was pinned in the front for visional purposes. Do Kyungsoo wasn’t as great as Chanyeol when it came to sports but there was something about him that Jongin admired a lot. It wasn’t like he was attracted to him or something like that, because Jongin wasn’t gay oh no, no. It was the effort he always put in the game and you could see in his face and the joy he got from making a goal.

It was Kyungsoo’s love for the sport that made Jongin’s heartbeat spike up a bit every time he watched the older play soccer.

That’s what Jongin liked to claim, though.