The walls of the hospital room were distractingly white.

 

Sunlight filtered in through the one window the room had, where a flower pot sat on the windowsill, just barely capturing the rays of light. Yang Jeongin had always thought it was a sad attempt at making the place look brighter. It felt mocking even, on some days. A beautiful, living plant in a building filled with frail, sick patients. If—or rather, when—he dies, still within the walls of the hospital, the flower will live on without him.

 

He slowly slid out of his bed, bare feet making no sound at all as he padded over to the window, keeping his steps light incase he woke up the other sleeping patients in the room. There were four beds in the area, but only three patients. A few days ago, Felix was moved from their care unit into his own room. It sounded nice in theory, except all the other patients knew getting your own room wasn’t a good sign.

 

It just meant the infection had grown so severe, it had to be further contained.

 

Jeongin missed the other boy already. He was a fairly new patient, but Felix had made him feel more comfortable immediately, with his bright smile and shining eyes. The older boy didn’t look like someone who was dying, which meant that Jeongin could sometimes forget the same fact as well. The other two in the room, Changbin and Jisung, weren’t as optimistic. They’ve been in there longer. They’ve suffered longer, too.

 

It didn’t make sense for the disease to spread in Felix faster than it did for the latter two.

 

When Jeongin pointed this out the day before his friend had to leave, the older boy merely chuckled.

 

“Maybe things will work out well for Changbin and Jisung, if their bodies are fighting against it so well. Wouldn’t that be nice, Innie?”

 

“Of course,” Jeongin replied, glancing at the other two who were lying down with their eyes closed. He could tell they were only pretending to be asleep to give them some privacy. He had spent a good portion of the day close to tears ever since the news that Felix would be moved was announced. None of them liked the fact, but they all knew there was nothing that could be done as well. They had to be strong for the younger one’s sake.

 

He looked down and continued softly, “will things work out well for you, Lix?”

 

“We’ll never know,” Felix said with a grin. “If things do, then I’ll see you again, alright?”

 

His last conversation with the other boy felt like ages ago as Jeongin stared outside the window. Even when he tried to ask the nurses for any updates on Felix, he received just sad smiles and the same excuse that they can’t share private patient information. He caught on quickly enough, but on some days, he still wished that things really would get better. Although he knew that if he wanted to see Felix again, he would have to get better as well.

 

“Jeongin?”

 

The younger boy turned around to see Jisung sat up on his bed, eyes filled with a hint of worry.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Have you slept at all since Felix left?”

 

“A little,” Jeongin managed to say, which wasn’t exactly the truth, but it certainly wasn’t a lie either. He would close his eyes and try to sleep, but every time, he would end up being woken up again by a sharp pain in his lungs. It felt like he was breathing fire on most days, but things were always so much worse at night. He didn’t want to admit it, but the pain seemed to have travelled towards his heart.

 

The stinging pain was more obvious whenever he had to talk, but he kept his features in check.

 

“Don’t worry,” he said, managing a small smile. “I’ll be fine eventually.”

 

“Whatever you say,” Jisung replied, clearly not believing in the younger boy’s words. Still, he knew well enough than to push and prod, especially regarding recent events; Jeongin was grateful for that. He didn’t know if it was due to the fact that they were all sick, but it was pretty easy forming an unspoken bond with the other boys in the room. Nobody really needed to say anything out loud to know how the others felt.

 

Just as Jeongin made his way back to his bed, the door opened and in walked the nurse in charge.

 

“We have fruits available for snacks today,” Woojin announced with a warm smile as he pushed a cart in. He was dressed in the typical nurse’s uniform, except for the protective mask he wore over his face. Still better safe than sorry, after all. He scanned the area, momentarily pausing at Felix’s empty bed, before trying his best to keep his smile upbeat as he continued. “But if you guys want, I could always smuggle some chips from the vending machine.”

 

“No need,” Changbin slurred sleepily, having just woken up. “Might as well stay extra healthy.”

 

The nurse nodded and pushed the cart over to the other boy, who chose a few apples before finishing his selection. Jisung had been a little pickier with his choices, turning a few over in his hands and even sniffing a mango before he decided that it was ripe enough to eat. The sight did make Jeongin giggle a little, for the first time in what felt like forever, and the sound immediately made everybody else in the room relax a little.

 

“And what’s our Jeongin going to get today?” Woojin asked when he reached the younger boy, ruffling his hair for good measure.

 

“Is the offer to get chips still open?”

 

That received a chuckle from the other boys in the room, while the nurse immediately tutted and handed him a banana.

 

“If one says no, then the rest must follow.”

 

“Alright, fine,” Jeongin said, still laughing a little as he accepted the offered fruit.

 

The older boy stayed around the room for a few more minutes, just randomly catching up with them and taking note of their orders for dinner before he left. No sooner than five minutes since the door closed did it open again, this time with one of the head doctors entering. He had a clipboard in hand and a grim look on his face, one that Jeongin wished he wasn’t familiar with, but he knew what the furrowed brows meant.

 

Bad news for one of them, usually.

 

“Yang Jeongin?” The doctor said, wasting no time as he neared the sick boy’s bed.

 

Jeongin swallowed the rest of the banana he had in his mouth and nodded, “yes?”

 

“We’re going to have to move you.”

 

While he knew that the doctor was explaining something, nothing really registered in the young boy’s head. Had he heard right? Jeongin had only just gotten to the hospital, although the sharp pain that once again arose and filled his chest would beg to differ. All at once, there was also a loud pounding in his head and a ringing in his ears that further drowned out the noise in the room as he couldn’t help but curl into a ball, desperate to shut everything out.

 

In the distance, he could almost make out Changbin’s voice in the background.

 

It almost sounded like the older boy was arguing with the doctor.

 

Jeongin didn’t know how much time had passed before he could lift his head up again. He blinked rapidly at the bright, white walls before his sights landed on the man who stood by his bed. He glanced around him. Whatever had happened left Changbin and Jisung looking visibly upset. The doctor promptly ignored his surroundings, however, and spoke up again. This time his words were too clear to miss out on.

 

“You’re moving to a private room later tonight,” he said, the wrinkles on his forehead prominent. “We’re sorry, but you’re going to be under specialized care from now on. The virus—“

 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Jeongin blurted out before he could stop himself, surprising both himself and the doctor. Who wanted to hear that they were dying, anyway? He’s heard enough the past few weeks alone that he was getting tired of it. Slightly embarrassed, he continued, “I’d rather not know how bad things are going, if that’s okay.”

 

“Alright,” the doctor complied easily, leaving the room soon after.

 

There was a palpable silence that filled the air.

 

After a few minutes, Jisung spoke up, voice uncharacteristically soft.

 

“It’s not fair,” he said.

 

Nobody else had to say anything, but Jeongin knew that must have been what Changbin argued about with the doctor. The older boy had done the same when Felix had to be moved, after all. He complained, loudly, about how it should have been him. He’s been infected for as long as he could remember, but the process was so agonizingly slow. There was no real signs that he would be cured, so why not just get it over with?

 

Still, Jeongin also knew that deep down, they all shared the same, selfish desire to continue living.

 

He was glad, somewhat, that maybe Felix was right and the older two boys did have a shot after all.

 

That was the last thing he remembered thinking about before he fell into a deep sleep. He dreamt about sunlight and flowers, and a blonde boy with tiny hands, and laughter all around them. For the first time in a long time, pain didn’t wrack his entire body. It might have also been because of how tired he was this whole time, but sleep came quickly and nothing woke him up, not even when he was being transferred to his own room.

 

He wished he had been awake for that, but soon realized maybe it was better that he was asleep. That way, he wouldn’t have to see the sad looks on Jisung and Changbin’s faces.

 

When Jeongin awoke, it was to new surroundings.

 

Not entirely new, however, since the white walls remained the same. They transferred over his little plant, too, as the flower pot still sat on the windowsill. The room was smaller, fit for only one patient, but the amount of machines that filled the room was far more than there had been in his previous area. He was hooked up to a new machine this time around, too, one that seemed to measure his heart rate and breathing patterns.

 

He didn’t have to complain about the pain for the doctors to know it existed.

 

After a week or so, Yang Jeongin was getting used to his new life in his own room.

 

It was lonelier, of course, being the only one around. He had his own nurse to take care of him, sure, but Hyunjin wasn’t always around like having a roommate around was like. Besides, the older boy doted on him a little too much. Jeongin was grateful, but he had never felt more sick and fragile in his life, and the feeling didn’t sit well with him on some days. He missed being able to joke around with Jisung or play card games with Changbin.

 

Once, he wondered if this was how it had been like for Felix.

 

He had lost count of how long he’s been in the extensive care room, when the door opened in the middle of a rainy afternoon. Jeongin was too focused on watching the rain drops race down his window that he almost didn’t notice the new visitor until the figure was standing right by the foot of his bed. Startled, the young boy finally turned to face who he thought would be Hyunjin bringing in snacks or something.

 

Instead, he found himself staring at one of the prettiest boys he’s ever seen.

 

“Hey,” the pretty brunette said, smiling. “Yang Jeongin, right?”

 

“Who are you?” Jeongin couldn’t help but ask. His eyes took in the other boy’s features almost immediately; from the doe-like eyes and the long lashes that framed them down to the curve of the other’s lips. It was definitely their first time meeting, otherwise Jeongin would have remembered seeing someone like him around before. He wasn’t in a nurse’s uniform, either, further fuelling the young boy’s curiousity.

 

“You can call me Minho.”

They definitely haven’t met before, but Minho was staring at him like they were old friends.

 

“A-are you a new nurse?” Jeongin ended up asking despite being sure the answer was a no.

 

Sure enough, the other boy chuckles, “I’m not. Do you know why you’re here, Jeongin?”

 

“I’m sick,” the dark-haired boy replied immediately. His eyebrows furrowed in further confusion as he finally noticed that Minho was not only in casual clothes—a dark sweater over dark jeans—but the other boy wasn’t even wearing a mask. Everybody knew that the disease was contagious, right? Concerned, Jeongin couldn’t help but ask, “excuse me, but should you be here without the proper uniform? You might get infected as well and—“

 

“I’ll be fine,” Minho assured him with a smile. “I’m part of the hospital’s new program. A buddy system, if you could call it that. I’m your new buddy, Lee Minho.”

 

“Lee Minho? Like the actor?”

 

“Yes, but don’t you think I’m more handsome?” The brunette replied with a cheeky grin, before breaking out into full on laughter. His laugh sounded a bit like bells ringing, Jeongin mused, too bright and happy to be heard in a place like a hospital. The young boy couldn’t help but feel like there must have been some kind of mistake, but he wasn’t one to complain about a good situation. If he had a cute boy as his buddy, then sure, why not?

 

Minho took a seat by the edge of his bed, stil