originally published - 032316

rating: pg-13
(current) length: 1746 words
genre(s): romance, humor, minor death, light angst, fluff
pairing(s): ricsyung / ricsung
description: hyesung is a nurse at the local hospital that has a hard time letting a certain patient go. so much, in fact, that he brings them back to life.

+ an altered pushing saisies au! haha. i've only seen about 3 episodes but omfg i love that show! >u< it's so friggin' cute. lol anyways, don't be scared of the title! it has a happy ending, but starts sad in the beginning. don't worry. ^-^ i hope you'll enjoy the story!

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CHAP. 1 - THE BEGINNING OF THE END

  His breath is quiet, lungs stretching against his ribcage before the air exits his mouth in a shaky exhale. It's not like he hasn't done this before. Hyesung's brought people back from the dead plenty of times. It's just, he still gets nervous. He fears the worst. 

  What if someone finds him in a patient's room after hours? If they see him reach out for them, and suddenly someone pronounced dead leaps up?

  Yeah, no. He does not want that happening any time soon. Or at all, for that matter. 

  Shaking his head to get rid of the intrusive thoughts, the nurse lifts his hand and leans over the old man's bed. He's only slightly disturbed by the 90-year-old's lack of breathing, taking a moment to steady himself before placing his hand over the man's shoulder.

  Suddenly, the old man's eyes fly open and he takes a wheezing gasp. Hyesung instantly pulled back, knowing now that he could never touch the man again. However, it seemed the patient had other ideas, eyes still wide as he sat up fast as lightning and gripped the front of Hyesung's uniform. 

  "You!" he exclaimed, voice scratchy and breathy all at once. "You, you - you impudent child!"

  Hyesung doesn't know what he's done wrong, eyes as wide as the old man's as he stands completely frozen. 

  "You cannot just give and take life! Some of us do not wish to be alive! Not again!" 

  The patient kept rambling, ignorent of Hyesung's shaking frame as the nurse tried to carefully pull away. He didn't know how the man knew it was him that brought him back to life, but wanted to be as far away from the room as possible. 

  As the old man's grip slackened, Hyesung thought it would be a good time to get away, but froze again just as the old man's clammy hand clamped tight around his bicep. 

  Just like that, his eyes fluttered shut and he went limp. His body fell over and almost slid off the bed. 

  Hyesung stood in complete silence once again, moonlight filtering in through the window. He stared at the old man's lifeless face, something uncomfortable settling in his chest. 

  Gulping, the nurse pushed back his emotions and carefully took his arms to lay the man back in bad. 

  Without words he adjusted the blankets and made sure the old man looked as he did before. Before Hyesung brought him to life for those very few minutes. Then he exited the room with a feeling of dread slithering in his stomach.

  "Good morning, Eric." he greeted cheerfully, pulling open the curtains to let sunlight into the room. The patient he was referring to groaned with a small smile on his face, sleepy figure turning away from the window to snuggle deeper into his pillow.

  Hyesung clucked his tongue, smiling lightly as he walked to the other side of the bed.

  "Come on now, it's time to wake up." 

  He knelt beside the bed, becoming eye level with the man and watching as his eyes slowly opened. 

  "I don't want to." Eric finally replied cheekily, eyes crinkling at the corners. However, even thought he stated his clear distate for mornings, the patient began to sit up anyways. Hyesung made sure he didn't do it too fast, putting a hand on his back before adjusting his pillows to make sure Eric was comfortable. 

  "News or cartoons?"

  "Cartoons." The television turns on. 

  "Really? Again?" Channel 12, channel 25, channel 43...

  "The news is depressing, Hyesungie."

  "It's important to know what's going on in the world." Kids' channel. "And don't call me Hyesungie!"

  "You're too cute."

  Hyesung's face took on a dark shade of red as he sputtered indiginently, shaking himself out of it before regaining himself. 

  "Shut it, Mr. Mun."

  "Oh, you're using Mr. Mun again? Do you not love me anymore Hyesungie?"

  "Shut up!"

  Just as Hyesung yelled, Eric's doctor opened the door, polite laugh tinkling into the now brightened room. 

  "You two never stop, do you?" she asked, smiling fondly at the nurse and patient duo. Hyesung only shook his head, sighing and turning away from the two of them to start checking the machines. Diverting her attention to Eric, Dr. Jung started her evaluation like she did every morning. "How are you today, Eric?"

  "Fine."

  "Your pain?"

  "Three." He was probably lying, not wanting to worry anyone. Idiot. 

  "Any new problems? Symptoms?"

  "Nope." He popped his p's, something that would never cease to annoy Hyesung to the ends of the Earth. 

  "Well, that's good. Your condition hasn't gotten any worse over the past few weeks, but it hasn't improved either. We won't be starting any new treatments and keep you on the same one for now. To see if it starts helping anything."

  "Okay." Eric Mun and his one-word answers. Hyesung didn't know why he spoke like that to others. It was kind of rude, really.

  "Alright then, Eric, you seem good this morning so I'll leave you to it. If you need anything Hyesung is going to be stationed here until lunch. Feel free to ask him for anything."

  "I'm not a pack mule, doctor." Hyesung muttered, hoping she didn't hear him. The slap to the back of his head was evidence enough that she had. 

  The door closed as she exited, leaving Hyesung and Eric alone again as the nurse tidied the room. He fluffed the pillows of the couch, moving a chair back to its original position and dusting the counter by the window. The silence between the two was tolerable, children's voices droning on in the background.

  "Anything, huh?" Eric suddenly asked out of the blue. As the nurse blushed again, he turned to face the smirking patient before Eric bursted into laughter. Hyesung stood still, watching as Eric guffawed like a dying fish before the laughter dissolved into giggles. "You should have seen your face!" he gasped, before a sudden coughing fit racked his body. 

  Hyesung immediately entered serious mode, hand finding Eric's back once again as he rubbed soothing circles into it. His other hand squeezed the man's shoulder. He hoped the fit would pass soon, and it did, leaving Eric to lie against his pillows weakly. 

  "You okay?" Hyesung asked, a hand still on Eric's shoulder. 

  The patient smiled up at him, a little shaky on the edges but a real smile none-the-less. 

  "Better when you're here."

  Bristling, Hyesung let go of the other's shoulder and stepped back. 

  "Cheesy, Eric. Now get some rest."

  Eric laughed (a little hollow, small) and nodded slightly, turning his attention back to the TV hanging in the corner as Hyesung continued his work. 

---

CHAP. 2 - UP AND RUNNING

  Mun Junghyuk was pronounced dead on a sunny Tuesday morning.

  Just like that, Hyesung's world was pulled right out from under his feet. It threw him onto his back and laid the world back over top of him. Shut him into the darkness of grieving for reasons he didn't even know.

  Eric was just a patient like all the others Hyesung tended to. At least, the nurse liked to tell himself that.

  Hyesung would never admit that he enjoyed their early morning banter. Eric's endearing love for children's television, the way he ate his applesauce without a spoon, his many smiles, a voice that filled an entire room and a laugh that was practically as contagious as a cold. A surprising knowledge behind the meaning of flowers and a knack for being so cheesy it wasn't even cringe-worthy anymore. 

  Since the hospital was small, not very big like the large ones you'd find in the cities, Eric's body wasn't planned to be moved until late into the night when no one would be awake to see him go. 

  Hyesung knew this, knew the death schedule like the back of his hand. Back when he used to bring people to life. 

  He's never done it since that moment with the old man. It sparked something in him, a little shock of fear that wouldn't let go. 

  "Some of us do not wish to be alive! Not again!"

  The patient's voice rang through his head as he took his break. Dr. Jung knew he was pretty much Eric's only nurse, that they had grown pretty close even if Hyesung refused to see it. 

  He was grateful that everyone else decided to leave him alone.

  This silence, however, did not last long when another nurse came up to him. 

  "Mr. Jung." they said, causing Hyesung to lift his head and face a young nurse-in-training. He smiled tightly, as much as he could in the situation so she wouldn't be so nervous. Nervous hands weren't a good thing in the medical field. 

  "Yes?"

  "Mr. Mun left this for you."

  Hyesung blinked, nodding carefully as he slowly reached up to take the envelope from the girl. 

  "Thank you." 

  His voice was extremely soft as he looked over the letter. Taking that as her que to leave, the girl immediately left the room to leave Hyesung alone again. 

  The nurse was unsure of whether to actually open it or not, flipping it over to the front to see his name scrawled in dark red ink. It came from one of those fancy pens one of the other doctors always had on them, last name Vanfleteran, or something. He was a foreign man. 

   Just as that quick thought came, it went away, replaced with another as Hyesung lowered the envelope to his lap.

  Why would Eric leave him a letter in the first place? It was hard to contemplate the reason, though Hyesung liked to hope it was because they had a close relationship. He couldn't tell. His social skills were practically zero and even then his emotions were never quite right. Hyesung liked to hide a lot of things from himself, from other people. It was natural. 

  Bringing the letter up again he finally gained the courage to open it. Unfolding the paper inside he dared to read the first few lines.

  Dear Hyesunggie,

  I know you hate that name but I think it's kind of cute. Besides, you never told me your real name. 

  Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for always taking care of me. The day I wrote this won't be too long ago now. My mom always said I had a knack for knowing when things would end. I guess that applies to my own life as well. Anyways (I've said that twice now, sorry),