Greenish florescent light gleamed over the hood and windshield of Kibum’s car as he drove through the hospital parking garage in search of an empty spot. He braked when he noticed someone pulling out of one of the spots close to the elevator. Sighing, he sat back, waiting for them to switch from reverse to drive, and glanced down at his radio when Forever Yours started to play.

Smiling, he pulled into the spot and parked, but let the car idle so he could finish his song. He leaned over to the passenger seat and dug around in his bag for his phone. There were several messages waiting from his other members – three photos from Taemin, “Okay, I’ll go tomorrow” from Jinki, and “There is literally nothing interesting on TV right now wtf” from Minho.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the photos from Taemin. There were three progressively zoomed-in pictures of his sushi, as a response to Kibum’s very zoomed in picture of the wood grain of practice room floor.

Kibum chuckled before he switched back to the messages between himself and Minho.

22:47 // where are you at?

Forever Yours ended and he was about to switch off his car, but then Chemistry started to play, and he dropped his hand back into his lap. His phone buzzed, and Kibum held it up.

22:48 // the bathroom

22:48 // why?

22:48 // lol no, like, which room

22:50 // 347

22:50 // why? are you here??

22:50 // :)

Kibum turned off his ignition and hopped out, pocketing his phone and his keys once he locked his car. It was late, which meant he should be safe from fans, but he slipped his face mask out of his pocket and slipped it on, as well as one of his pairs of glasses, just in case.

No one joined him in the elevator, nor were there any fans waiting for a glimpse of Minho in the waiting room. He cast a furtive glance about the room before he approached the front desk.

“How can I help you, sir?” the receptionist asked when he leaned against the counter.

“Yeah, could you direct me to Room 347, please?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but visiting hours are over for the day. And – ” She typed into the computer at her desk, her eyebrows raising slightly when she read her screen. “Special permission is needed to enter that room.”

Kibum huffed a sigh and glanced over his shoulder at the sparsely populated waiting room. Reluctantly, he pulled down his mask and took off his glasses, giving the receptionist a tired smile while he waited for recognition to dawn on her face. parted when it did, and Kibum’s smile grew.

“I’ll just be a few minutes if that’s alright. I just want to see for myself that my he is okay.”

“Of course, Ke – sir…His room is to the left on the third floor.”

“Thank you,” he said, slipping his glasses on and turning for the elevators. Soon, he was on the third floor and walking down the quiet hall to Room 347. He knocked on the door, cracking it open. “You’d better be decent.”

“Always,” Minho said, grinning at him from his hospital bed as he walked inside.

He looked just fine, aside from the stark white gauze attached to his cheek. His hair was short cropped and sticking up in the back from where he had been resting his head on his pillow. As he drew closer to Minho, he could see the tiny drops of blood spotting his bandage.

“I’m fine, Bummie, don’t worry,” he said before Kibum had a chance to say anything.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little, but it’s not bad.”

Kibum’s shoulders drooped in relief and he dropped into the chair beside Minho’s bed. “Is your face gonna be okay?”

The corner of Minho’s lips twitched upward in what could have been a smile. “Yeah, it’ll be good…good.” Kibum’s brow furrowed at the strange response, and Minho pursed his lips. “Yeah, I imagine it won’t take too long to heal, you know, with as many chemicals they’ve been giving me.”

“What chemicals?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure.” Minho started to laugh, but tried to mask it with a cough.

“What’s so funny?”

He grinned, only to wince a second later. His fingertips grazed the gauze as he sobered a little. “This…this life is just funny sometimes.”

Kibum froze in his seat staring straight at Minho as his stupid puns registered in his mind. “I can’t believe you,” he said, scoffing as he shook his head.

“What can I say, I’m not – “

“Don’t say it.”

“ – easy to love.”

Kibum’s hand clapped on his forehead as he let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh…my god.” Minho just laughed again, nudging Kibum’s elbow when he didn’t look up right away. He folded his hands in his lap as he made eye contact with Minho once again. “Since it’s my…my duty of love – “ Minho snorted and Kibum tried to stop himself from smiling. “ – to accept my best friend as he is, I’ll let this slide.”

“I can’t believe it took you that long.”

“Listen, I’m tired…”

“Ah,” Minho started chuckling again. “It’s been one of those nights, huh?”

Kibum clicked his tongue in annoyed amusement, shaking his head as he tried to glare at Minho. “If you say one more pun, I will fight you.”

Minho shrugged, looking down at the blanket covering his legs with a small smile. “It’s okay, there’s only one left and it’s hard to fit into conversation anyway.”

Kibum mentally cataloged all the songs they had already slipped into conversation. “Oh, right…that’s true.”

“Practice go all right today?”

He nodded, stretching his sore legs out in front of him. “Yeah, it was good. Ran smoothly, which was nice,” he said, yawning.

“You gonna be okay to drive home?” Kibum frowned in question. “You’re not too tired?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I’m just the most relaxed I’ve been all day right now. I’ll be good to go.” As he sat back in his chair, he glanced back at the bandage on Minho’s face. “So, when do you get to leave?”

Minho sighed. “The director wants me to stay until filming starts up again, but I’d much rather be at home. Or at work. Anywhere but here, to be honest.”

“What was it that hurt you?”

“Just some debris from an explosion, no big deal.”

“No big deal…” Kibum shook his head as he yawned again. “I’ll destroy any debris that comes my way because nothing and no one should get away with hurting you.”

Both of them cracked up, but Minho composed himself enough to say “So, what you’re saying is, that I’m…forever yours to protect?” Kibum sobered instantly, holding back his own amusement, and shook his head at Minho, who had started laughing again.

“I’m leaving,” he said as he got up. “I was only gonna stay for a few minutes, anyway.” Minho’s quieting laughter followed him to the door, and he glanced back at him, smiling when Minho leaned back in his bed. “Get some rest. I’ll text you when I get home.”

The door closed behind him and he put his face mask back on again as he made his way back to the lobby. He waved goodbye to the receptionist on his way out the door.

He was much more alert now that he was alone, and he walked quickly back to his car, scanning the parking garage for potential danger. He relaxed slightly once he was safely inside and the doors were locked. After he started his car, Kibum pulled out his phone to see two new messages from Minho.

23:16 // there was no need to runaway just because of my puns

23:17 // lol

Kibum stared unblinkingly at the screen for a second. “Oh, my god.”

23:19 // if you start on our songs then I’m deleting your number from my phone

23:19 // lol I won’t apologize for having a sense of humor

23:19 // but, for real, thanks for coming to visit me

23:20 // no problem, buddy. I know how much….u need me

He grinned at his phone when he saw that Minho had read the text, but he didn’t wait to see what he was going to say. If he did, he might as well just head back up to Minho’s hospital room just so they could continue their conversation. Instead, he tossed his phone to the passenger seat and started to pull out of the spot, eager to get home and get some sleep before his busy day tomorrow.

His phone lit up in the darkness, and Kibum spared it a quick glance, wondering what song Minho slipped in his response. He refocused on the road with a sigh – it would just have to wait until he got home.