A/N: Sorry the update took so long, but I do really at chaptered fics :(

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When Tony came back from his 2pm class, he walked into Jaeduck frantically packing his clothes into a small carrier bag.

“Jaeduck, what’s happening? Where are you going?”

“My parents….my dad…mom…my parents just got into a really bad car accident. My dad is hurt but he’s stable. My mom’s in critical condition. I gotta go…I gotta get to Busan ASAP.” The words came out in a rush.

“Ah ok. I’ll drive you to the train station? Airport? Are you taking the KTX or plane?”

“Plane? I want to get there as soon as possible.”

“You booked a ticket yet?”

“…no”

“I’ll check for you. Ah…the next available flight to Busan is….tomorrow afternoon.”

“I can’t…I can’t wait that long.” Jaeduck’s voice cracked “Train?”

“Ok. KTX. The next available train is…today evening 9pm.”

“That means I’ll arrive at midnight? Omg…” Jaeduck turned abruptly away from Tony, with his voice cracking at the end.

“I’ll drive you, Jaeduck.” Those words came out abruptly and Jaeduck stared at him. “I mean, tomorrow is Saturday anyway, I have nothing on. If I drive, you can at least get there in max 4 hours.”

“Really, hyung? It’s really tiring to drive to Busan by yourself. I don’t think I can help in this state…”

“No, no, you don’t have to drive at all. Really, I don’t mind, I mean this is a really important matter. C’mon, let’s go.”

Throughout the car ride, Jaeduck was really anxious and fidgety. He alternated between staring blankly out of the window or staring at his phone, as if willing an update from his family.

“You should try and get some sleep. It might be a long night at the hospital.”

“How can I sleep?? I’m so anxious I could die.”

2 hours into the journey, Jaeduck got a call that his mother was out of the first stabilising surgery and she’s waiting to go into the second round of surgery.

 “So, is her condition stable?”

“My uncle said it is for know, but the second surgery is quite risky. How….” His voice trailed off and his face scrunched up tightly.

“I can’t tell you it’s gonna be okay, but for now you just gotta hope for best.” Tony reached out and patted Jaeduck reassuringly on the thigh.

Fortunately, the traffic was little and they arrived at Pusan National University Hospital in the early evening.

They rushed to the waiting room outside the surgical theatre and Jaeduck immediately gripped tightly onto the arms of his uncle.

“How’s mum? How’s dad? I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Your dad is resting fine, don’t worry. Your mum just went in for the second round of surgery. It may take several hours, so there’s nothing to do but wait.”

“Can I see Dad right now?”

“He’s sleeping right now, but I think you can go take a look if you want. Your sister is there right now.”

As Jaeduck followed a nurse to see his father, the uncle noticed Tony standing around awkwardly.

“You are…?”

“I’m Tony, Jaeduck’s roommate. I drove him here.”

“Oh he did mention that he was coming by car since there are no trains or planes available. I’m his uncle, Mr Lee.”

“Is Mrs Kim gonna be alright?”

“It’s hard to say.” Mr Lee sighed deeply. “They said the risk is high, but it was the only option. So, are you going back to Seoul soon then?”

“I think I’m just gonna accompany Jaeduck, idk? I’ll go back tomorrow night and drive Jaeduck as well if he wants to go back.”

Soon, Jaeduck came back from his dad’s resting ward together with his younger sister.

“Hyeonmi, why don’t you go home? You’re too young to overnight at the hospital.” Jaeduck chided his sister.

“How can I go home when I don’t even know if Mum is ok? I’ll go crazy waiting for news at home. Please, let me stay.”

“Uncle, what do you say?

“If she really wants to, we can’t force her to go home. Anyway, Tony, could I ask you for a favour? Since we’re gonna be here for a few hours, my wife has prepared dinner, a change of clothes for me and Hyeonmi. Could you pick it up? I would do so myself but I have to be here in case something happens.”

“Sure, sure no problem. Just give me the address.”

When Tony was back, Hyeonmi had already dozed off in a corner, while Jaeduck had his gaze trained on the floor.

“How are you feeling?”

“I just, I…I feel numb. Like my feelings shut down. I can’t bear to feel anything y’know. What if…Oh god I can’t even imagine it.” Tony can hear the tears choking up in Jaeduck’s voice, and for the first time that day, Jaeduck broke down into tears. Tony doesn’t think twice about wrapping Jaeduck into his arms, feeling Jaeduck’s tears quickly seeping through his shirt.

“Your mum is gonna be alright, Jaeduck-ah. She will be.” Tony soothed Jaeduck, gently patting him on the back.

--

Sitting against the cold plastic chairs and waiting into late hours of the night, almost everyone dozed off but Tony. Draping a jacket around Jaeduck, he noticed Jaeduck’s head bending at uncomfortable angle. Tony adjusted himself beside Jaeduck, and gently nudged him.

Jaeduck’s head gradually dropped against Tony’s shoulder.

The doctor’s voice woke them all up.

“Mrs Kim’s condition is stable. You can see her as soon as she wakes up from her general anaesthesia, which should be in early morning.”

“Oh thank god.” Jaeduck’s head dropped, trying to hide his tears of relief. Tony watched as the family members hugged each other tightly, feeling a great sense of relief as well.

It was more waiting, but finally Mrs Kim woke up early morning. The whole family went into the hospital ward while Tony waited outside.

The next 2 days went by in a blur, with Tony driving Jaeduck and his sister back home and all 3 of them crashing out until late afternoon. Tony then drove both of them to the hospital again, and stayed till visitor hours were over. On Sunday, Tony wanted to drive Jaeduck to the hospital again, but Jaeduck insisted Tony rest more and return to Seoul soon in time for Monday. Tony protested but Jaeduck was really scary when he was determined, so Tony drove back to Seoul by himself on the 2^nd day.

Jaeduck came back to school on Tuesday night, heading straight for his bed. Tony looked over from his desk in concern, noting the exhaustion etched on Jaeduck’s face. He turned back to his laptop.

“Tony hyung?” Jaeduck’s voice was heard, muffled by the pillow and laced with sleep.

“Hmm? What is it, Jaeduck-ah?”

“Thank you, hyung, for everything. We weren’t even that close but…what you’ve done. I really can’t thank you enough. Thank you for all you did. You didn’t even have to do any of those…”

“Oh…oh any friend would have done that, Jaeduck. It was a hard time for you, I’m glad I could be there for you. You’re…you’re special to me.” Tony stammered the last part, softly and slowly turned back to look at Jaeduck, but Jaeduck was already in deep sleep.

-

It was winter break and the dorms were closed. Both Tony and Jaeduck had to stay in Seoul for school activities, Tony for extra winter classes, while Jaeduck had to prepare for his upcoming dance concert.  Jaeduck moved in with Suwon temporarily as his girlfriend went home for the break, while Tony bunked with his junior from Business, Chilhyun.

“Hyung, wanna order jajangmyeon for lunch today?” Suwon asked Jaeduck.

“Sorry, Suwon, I’m meeting Tony hyung for lunch today.”

“Again?! Didn’t you eat dinner with him yesterday?”

“Ah hyung said he was so used to seeing me every day, that he suggested having at least lunch or dinner together a few times a week during the break, since we are both in Seoul anyway.”

“You guys…are…way too overly attached to each other.”

“It’s not like that!! We are just comfortable with each other.”

“You saying you’re not comfortable with me, hyung?”

“No, no. Aish I got no time to explain, I gotta go.”

“Ah hyung! You could at least asked me along!” Suwon shouted after Jaeduck, but he was already out of the door.

Meanwhile, at the same time at Chilhyun’s house

“Hyung, I’m cooking pasta for lunch, you want some?” Chilhyun shouted across the kitchen to Tony, who was currently lazing on the sofa.

“Ah it’s lunch time already?! I gotta go. None for me, thanks, I’m meeting Jaeduck for lunch.”

“Again?! Didn’t you eat dinner with him yesterday and lunch the day before?”

“Ah I got so used to seeing him every day, so I asked him if he wants to have lunch or dinner together a few times a week during the break, since we are both in Seoul anyway.”

“You guys are weird!” Chilhyun burst out laughing. “Who sees each other that often except dating couples? You saw him 3 times already this week right?”

“4 times, actually.” Tony scratched his head sheepishly. “Ah but it’s not like that. We are just close, that’s all. It’s nice to talk to him often.”

“Ah it would be unimaginable in high school. Hanlim’s Tony Ahn and Sehwa’s Kim Jaeduck, being close friends and roommates.”

“Ah stop bringing up the past! It made our relationship so awkward at first. Thank goodness we are close now.”

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A/N: I know nothing about hospital scenes I'm sorry. Anything I actually have snippets of the whole story written but I keep getting stuck at the details of certain scenes argh.