A/N: this chapter contains scenes that are heavily influenced by real-life events but obviously dramatized for fanfiction so,,

• tw: car accidents, hospitals & hospital-related stuff, my girl has a bit of a breakdown & panic attack but it doesn’t get called one explicitly

“Where is he?!” A frantic voice echoed through the hallway. Kyuhyun and the other members that were already waiting by the surgery room turned their heads to see Heechul’s omma being accompanied by the rest of her family except one. “Where’s Heechul? What happened?!”

“Eomeonim,” Jeonghun, one of the managers that had been waiting with them, walked up to her. “Eomeonim, please take a seat first. This isn’t good for you.”

“He's right, omma.” Heeyoung stepped in, guiding her to the nearest chair. Her older sister was guiding their appa to another chair. Out of them four, Heeyoung was the only one who didn’t have tears in her eyes. “Please listen, omma, they said he’s in surgery, which means he’s getting treated. And that means Heechul oppa is going to be okay.”

“What—” Heejin sniffed as tears kept pouring down at the thought of her younger brother. Her appa pulled her to his side for a hug. “What did the doctor say?”

Jeonghun sighed and wiped his face. “They said his leg got most of the damage. That’s what they’re focusing on right now. He also bit his tongue during the accident and broke some bones in his nose, but the doctors say that those shouldn’t be much of a worry and they’ll be able to deal with it.”

The mother of the family cried louder at his report, so her youngest hugged her tightly, whispering words of comfort as much as she could. “Omma, he’ll be okay. He’s going to be fine.”

Hours pass with not much news, but the doctors say that it just meant the surgery was ongoing and it was better than having them come out every hour to give bad news. The members that were present had gone from eight to three at the insistence of their manager hyung to get some rest. Leeteuk, Hangeng, and Kyuhyun refused to leave, pulling out every excuse they could come up with. The others, especially Kibum and Kangin, tried to stay as well but they were sent back to the dorms because of their recent full schedules and were given instructions to inform everyone else properly of what happened.

Kyuhyun had gone with Kibum to buy some food and drinks for themselves and for Heechul’s family. He tried talking to Heeyoung when he passed her a sandwich, but she only said thanks and turned back to comforting her parents. Something about her was worrying Kyuhyun but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, so he just kept an eye on her to help if there was something he could do.

Finally, a doctor came up to them with news. He didn’t hear most of it, but there was a wave of relief that rushed out to everyone that was waiting and it eased the worry in his chest. Kyuhyun started to feel the aching in his bones from waiting for a long time while sitting and was quick to walk with everyone else when they were given directions to get to Heechul’s room around another hour later, 

The family entered the room first, silently followed by the manager that had stayed with them. The three members were about to go in as well, but they stopped when they saw Heeyoung just standing outside, staring at the open door with a blank face.

“Heeyoung-ah?” Leeteuk called out, trying to snap her out of her thoughts. “Aren’t you going in to see your oppa? You must have been so worried…”

“Worried?” She repeated monotonically, her eyes moving from the door to look at the group’s leader. Suddenly, she sent them a tight-lipped smile. “Why would I be worried? Heechul oppa is going to be fine. He is fine. The surgery is done.”

“I don’t think she’s okay.” Hangeng whispered so they were the only ones that heard, and Kyuhyun agreed.

“Heeyoung-ah.” Kyuhyun took careful steps towards his friend, slowly reaching out to place a hand on her arm. “Heeyoung-ah, are you okay?”

She met his eyes quickly and opened as if almost giving an affirmative answer. But Kyuhyun knew Heeyoung couldn’t lie. She’s good at turning questions around and giving vague answers, but she never really lies. He sees her breathe deeply one, two, three times before she quickly shakes her head no and begins crying for the first time that night.

Kyuhyun quickly wrapped his arms around her, letting Heeyoung cry on his shoulder. He gently pats her head and stays silent, knowing that nothing he would say could even help. He nodded to the older members, signaling them to go in the room first, which they did after seeing Kyuhyun had the situation under control.

They stayed outside the room like that for a few minutes until Heeyoung pulled away, looking ten times more exhausted than how she was earlier. “I don’t want to go in.” She whispered, casting glances at the room. “I don’t want to see him looking like— I don’t think I can do it.”

“Okay,” Kyuhyun whispered back, gently pulling her to take a seat at the chairs in the corridor. “That’s okay. You can try again tomorrow, right?”

She nodded weakly.

“You know he’ll be fine though, right?”

Another weak nod again.

“Then, okay.” Kyuhyun said. “I’ll stay here with you.” And he did.

Heeyoung couldn’t find it in herself to enter the room for the next few weeks, despite the news of her brother waking up or the sound of his voice chatting with people. Sometimes, she’d come to the hospital after going home with a packed lunch filled with her brother’s favorites that she cooked herself, but would only ask someone to send it in for her. Kyuhyun had to leave sometimes to go home or to go to some schedule, but every time he went back to the hospital, he would visit Heechul for a few minutes with the other members before going to wait outside with Heeyoung until she finally managed to walk through the doors.

Heeyoung glared at the white ceiling and the white walls of the hospital room. She absolutely, certainly, definitely hated hospitals. The only escape in this place is the convenience store at the 3rd floor of the building where she always bought ice cream from. Other than that, she hated hospitals with every cell in her body. 

She thought she wouldn’t have to come back after her oppa’s accident a while back, but here she is again. Just a few months later.

“You came to visit?” A voice broke the silence, surprising her a bit. Heeyoung looked at the man on the bed who finally woke up before she went back to glaring up at the ceilings. “It took you long again this time, huh? Were you worried? You probably were.”

“I hate it here.” She replied, ignoring his words.

“Yup, you were definitely worried.”

Heeyoung rolled her eyes. “I hate it here so bad.”

“I don’t think so. After all, you went to the hospital almost every day that I was here. It wasn’t to come visit me since you always just stayed in the corridor as far as I know.”

She huffed, making him chuckle. “Shouldn’t you rest your voice or something, Kyuhyun-ah?”

“I’m better now, actually.” She could hear the grin in his tone. “It took you so long to go through the doors that I healed from surgery enough to be able to use my voice.”

“That’s nice.”

“Can you look at me when I’m talking to you?”

“I can’t.”

“Come on.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I physically can’t.” She breathed out and continued staring up at the ceiling. “Your parents and Ahra unnie needed to go home for a while and I was the only one available. I wasn’t actually sure I was going to go in today.”

It was quiet for a moment. “What’s wrong, then? Is it hard to see the bandages and everything? Because it’s not that bad anymore.”

Heeyoung remained silent for a minute, trying to gather the words she needed to say. “I was so scared, Kyuhyun-ah.”

Kyuhyun sighed. “Heeyoung-ah, I’m okay now.”

“You almost—” She shook her head as if to clear it. “I know you’re okay now. But it’s like… I still feel like if I look at you, you’re gonna disappear and you’re not actually okay, and this was all just a dream.”

He watched her as she moved her head to look down at her hands instead. “Heeyoung-ah. Can you come here? Please?” He insisted when he saw her preparing to say no. “Try to walk here without looking at me.”

Nothing happened for a while, but Heeyoung slowly stood up at some point, keeping her eyes away from anywhere near the hospital bed as she carefully made her way to his side. Once she was close enough, Kyuhyun lightly held her wrist and guided her. She froze at his touch and closed her eyes in fear, but following the way he was pulling her.

“Okay, so,” Kyuhyun started, and his voice is closer and clearer now than it had been when she was sitting at the other corner of the room. His hand moved from her wrist to her trembling hand. “I’m going to hold your hand. You’re going to look at me. And then, because I’m being nice, I’ll let you hug me because you love hugs and you need one right now. Understand?”

Heeyoung gritted her teeth and refused to answer. There is a slight pain squeezing tightly in her chest making it a bit hard to breathe.

“You’re gonna have to do this someday. Better now than later when everyone arrives.” He stated. “Okay, Heeyoung-ah? Look at me.”

She breathed in and out deeply for a few minutes before finally, slowly, turning to look at him. Her eyes quickly scanned his face, lingering a bit on the clean, white bandages that covered a bit of his neck and the small scratches on his face that were already fading. Without realizing it, Heeyoung’s legs turned weak and she leaned heavily on the side of the bed with Kyuhyun’s help as she started crying in relief.

“Aigoo,” Kyuhyun muttered as he gently pulled her to him, her arms automatically but carefully hugging him. “Why am I friends with such a crybaby, hmm?” She didn’t say anything, so Kyuhyun waited patiently, hugging her just as tightly as she was, until she let go.

She took the chair by his bedside, the one his mother would usually use when she was visiting. Heeyoung steadily caught her breath and wiped her face with the tissue that Kyuhyun got from the table next to him and handed to her.

“Are you better now?” He asked once she managed to look him in the eye again, this time, without crying. 

“Yes.” Heeyoung admitted, turning slightly red and looking a bit embarrassed now that she can clearly see there was nothing to be scared of. Kyuhyun just smiled at her, waiting for her to start the conversation instead.

“Okay,” She cleared , trying to will her tone to not make it obvious that she had just cried. “So...”

“So?”

“Ahra unnie says you think you’re in love with one of the nurses.”

“What the .” It was Kyuhyun’s turn to blush. “I’m never telling my sister anything ever again.”

“Why not?” Heeyoung giggled. “We talked about it one time and we think it’s absolutely adorable. But I thought you were set on meeting your one true love in a train somewhere?”

“This still feels like fate, though. I’m gonna confess to her one day.”

“That’s good.” Heeyoung nodded, patting his arm in support. “Very brave. How are you planning to do it?”

Kyuhyun hummed, running ideas through his head. “I’m not yet sure. I’m thinking of just giving her my phone and asking for her number.”

“Oooh, very straightforward.” She commented, looking proud of her friend. “Good choice, good choice. And if that doesn’t work out?”

“What if I take the numbers for the queue? Ahra noona said she saw her working at the desk sometimes and helped out with the people lining up?”

Heeyoung frowned. “That… sounds like a mess. A waste of paper and a waste of time.”

He thought about it again and shook his head. “No, you just don’t get it. You didn’t watch the drama.”

“I actually did and while I was watching it I thought ‘Hey, that’s a waste of paper and a waste of everyone’s time!’” She exclaimed. “What happened to just giving people letters and flowers, you know?”

“You hate receiving flowers. You said you can’t take care of them.”

“Yeah, but maybe your nurse likes them.”

Kyuhyun shook his head again. “No, it’s too unoriginal.” He claimed, ignoring Heeyoung’s muttered comment about how copying a scene in a drama isn’t original too. “At least the number thing would leave an impact.”

“Alright,” Heeyoung acquiesced, the tone in her voice telling him she didn’t believe it would work out, “I can’t tell you what to do.”

“That’s right, you can’t. But I can ask you to go get water for me outside.”

Heeyoung groaned, looking up at the ceiling before looking back at him. “Do I have to? Haven’t you healed enough to walk now?”

“Would you prefer I do it myself?” Kyuhyun asked, knowing her answer.

She glared at him before standing and getting her bag from the couch she was sitting on earlier. “Fine, I’ll get you water. I’m also gonna flirt with your favorite nurse at the desk so she ends up liking me instead and not you!” Heeyoung huffed before leaving Kyuhyun laughing alone in his room.