It’s stuck, Kihyun thought. He tried to unlock the padlock of his bike with a pin because he lost his key not long ago but unfortunately it seemed to get stuck and there was no way he’ll get it out immediately. He was already running late for the visiting hour so he decided to ride the bus instead of his bike. While waiting for the vehicle to arrive somebody suddenly appeared beside him which surprised him. It was a little late already and there were a few people on the streets especially on a cold winter night.

“Oh sh*t,” he muttered to himself, coughing to hide his embarrassment when he cursed in front of the girl.

The girl didn’t seem to mind him and was still patiently waiting for the bus. Kihyun can’t seem to ignore her because he could feel that something was off about her. He didn’t want to think that a ghost could possibly be beside him right at this moment but by the looks of the girl, she could literally pass as a ghost for any scary drama. She was awfully pale her hair was tangled that makes them messy but not the type that looks untidy. Kihyun’s eyes were going down carefully because he was scared that he would found out she was floating from the ground. That was the only time that he noticed that she was wearing a thin gray sweater, a hospital gown underneath and slippers that were usually worn indoors.

Isn’t she cold? How can she go out like this at night without anyone accompanying her, I can’t believe the hospital let her out looking like this? They’re insane, he shook his head in disbelief. Even though he said that it seems like he was a little worried about her, he can’t stop glancing from time to time. “What’s taking the bus so long?” he turned to her in an attempt to start a conversation. “Uh, excuse me but aren’t you cold?”

Kihyun noticed her shoulder jerked when he asked her a question, she suddenly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater before turning to look at him. “I’m alright thank you for asking,” she bowed ending the conversation just like that. Her voice was quite weak Kihyun noticed, just in time the bus arrived at the stop. There weren’t many passengers so Kihyun was a little annoyed because it came late. He let her got on the bus first so he could support her anytime if she needed to. He was watching her every move, he was getting annoyed with himself too because he doesn’t know why he kept on looking after her when they’re not related in any way.

“Hey kid, you forgot to tap your card!” the bus driver scolded him.

“Sorry,” Kihyun hurriedly tapped his card and went to take a seat behind the girl he met at the stop. He was trying really hard to take a look at the hospital gown because it looks familiar he just can’t pinpoint what hospital own that kind of gown. All of a sudden, he remembered the hospital where he’s headed to right now. How the hell did she get out of there looking like this?

The ride didn’t take fifteen minutes from where they came from up to the hospital. Kihyun was getting ready to get off, he was looking at the girl in front wondering why she hasn’t stood up yet. He was debating with himself, whether to ask her or not when suddenly she stood up and rang the bell. The bus goes to a stop even though they weren’t close to the hospital yet. Kihyun got off with her keeping distance from each other as he continued to watch her. When they were in front of the hospital Kihyun was surprised when a lady suddenly grabbed her harshly, dragging her to the entrance. The lady didn’t seem like a nurse so Kihyun wondered if it was someone related to her.

All the way to the hospital room where he was headed to, the girl was the only thing in Kihyun’s mind. He was snapped back to reality when one of the nurses who came out of the room greeted him, “Oh Kihyun-sshi, you’re a little today, aren’t you? What are you doing standing there come inside,” the nurse led him into the room, “Thank you for your hard work,” said Kihyun as he bowed to the nurse before she left the room. When he was left alone in the room he turned to the figure lying on the bed as moved towards it slowly.

“Mom, sorry I’m a little late today.”

~

The next day Kihyun found himself wandering around the hospital at ten in the morning not knowing why he was doing it. He was certain that he left his flat at nine to grab some breakfast but somehow, he ended up going to the hospital. “What the heck, what am I doing here?” he pushed back his hair in frustration before continuing to walk. I’m already here I should just grab something from the cafeteria then visit mom, he thought.

When he entered the cafeteria, there were plenty of empty spaces, a few patients, and their visitors could be seen eating and chatting at some table. While waiting for his meal somebody bumped into him. “I’m sorry. I’m very sorry,” the person continued to say sorry even though nothing happened to Kihyun.

“It’s alright, no harm is done anyway,” Kihyun’s gaze went down and saw some spilled seaweed on the floor. He went back to check if she was okay, “Oh bus girl.”

The person’s head popped up immediately, “Huh?”

“We met at the bus stop yesterday,” said Kihyun.

“Oh, I’m sorry but I can’t recall anything. I’ll take my leave now,” the girl bowed before walking away from him. Kihyun hurriedly grabs a C meal even though he bought an A meal. The girl went out of the cafeteria and it made Kihyun wonder why to bother eating outside when there were plenty of empty seats inside. He followed her out secretly, but when she found a spot where she can eat without being bothered Kihyun slowly approached her.

“Hi, mind if share the table with you?” He placed his tray down on the wooden table across her and sat down. He grabbed some tissue from his utensil and handed to the girl, “Here, I spilled some soup on you, doesn’t it hurt?”

The girl smiled at him for a moment before giving a reply, “No it’s fine, I barely feel any pain anyway.” Kihyun noticed her chapped lips some cuts were bleeding, he wondered if she doesn’t feel any pain from those cuts right now. It took quite some time before Kihyun could clear up the awkward atmosphere around them. “Oh, may I ask what you’re doing here today?” the girl asked Kihyun. He has just swallowed a spoonful of rice when she threw that question and he choked on his food, she hurriedly gave him her drink to help him recover. “Th-hanks,” he uttered.

“Are you okay now?” she asked tilting her head a little to the side to get a clearer view of Kihyun. “I’m okay now,” He paused to wipe his mouth. “Honestly, I don’t really know why I’m here either,” he just laughed to ease his embarrassment. He was a little bit alarmed when the other party didn’t respond back. He didn’t dare open up another topic because he was afraid that she would kill the conversation immediately that he did not expect her to bring up another topic.

“Do you believe that there’s really someone up there?” she suddenly asked without making eye contact with Kihyun. She continued to poke her soup with her spoon and was staring aimlessly at it. Kihyun could tell that she’s probably thinking about something right now so he immediately replied back. “I don’t know. I’m not sure either,” Kihyun also fell into the depressing mood that she set. “If there really is one, I shouldn’t be visiting this hospital nor I would be here right now.”

It must have caught her attention because she stopped poking her dish and slowly looked at him. “What do you mean?” Kihyun didn’t give a reply immediately, he sighed. “My mom is actually admitted to this hospital. She’s,” he swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, “She’s in a coma for over a year now. It was raining really hard when she was involved in a car accident last year, she was on her way to meet me at the train station when it happened.” Kihyun noticed that the girl across him suddenly tensed up.

A/N:

Hi!! I'm back with another Kihyun short fic :> hope you like it even though its short :P is the first chapter okay? ;-; 

comments are loved <3