~slightly double update if you didn't read the one i posted yesterday already~

‘Donghae? Hey, wake up.’

Donghae’s eyes open unwillingly and he peers at the too-loud too-insistent figure leaning over him. The man swims into focus.

‘Shindong,’ Donghae mumbles sleepily. ‘What are you doing here? How did you get in?’

Shindong jingles a set of keys in front of him then puts them down on the coffee table along with Donghae’s phone and wallet.

‘I knocked,’ he says. ‘But you didn’t answer so I let myself in to check on you. Why are you sleeping on the sofa?’

Donghae looks around confused. He’s indeed lying on the sofa, tucked under the big fluffy blanket from his bed. He must have fallen asleep as soon as he’d finished eating the previous night, after hearing the good news about Henry.

‘How is he?’ he asks, rubbing his eyes.

‘He’s stable,’ Shindong says. ‘He’s pretty seriously hurt, but he’s stable.’

Donghae nods.

‘Can- can I see him?’

‘Maybe not yet,’ Shindong says. He pats Donghae’s arm. ‘He’s still in ICU, will be for a few days. Once he’s ready for visitors, you’ll be the first to know.’

‘Okay,’ Donghae says. He’s not sure that Henry will want to see him. His own stomach ties in knots just thinking about it, because the last time he’d seen Henry he’d thought he was dead.

He looks around the room again and realizes something else.

‘Where’s Hyukjae?’

‘Who?’ Shindong moves Donghae’s feet to sit at the other end of the sofa.

‘The guy whose phone I was using,’ Donghae says. ‘He waited with me last night.’

Shindong shrugs.

‘Nobody here when I arrived,’ he says. ‘How are you feeling?’

Donghae tries to stretch and grimaces.

‘Sore,’ he admits.

‘I’m not surprised,’ Shindong says. ‘I’ve seen the car. Went this morning, for insurance purposes.’

He pulls out his phone and shows the photo to Donghae, who closes his eyes and looks away. Then he makes himself look again.

It’s different, somehow, seeing it from this outside perspective. The car is now in a warehouse under harsh lights, scratched and crumpled. Parts that were scattered down the bank have been collected up and placed beside it; the front bumper, a door. He can see that the driver’s side had taken the brunt of the impact and parts of the car look like they were cut open. Maybe the rescuers had done that.

‘You’ve put me in a difficult situation,’ Shindong says. ‘You know he shouldn’t have been driving. He’s underage and he doesn’t have a license. He was speeding.’

Donghae nods and stares at his knees. He knows all of this.

‘It’s going to be difficult for the company,’ Shindong says. ‘People aren’t happy. There’s going to be an investigation.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Donghae whispers.

‘You know I don’t want to do this, but I’m going to have to suspend you,’ Shindong says. He places a warm, heavy hand on Donghae’s shoulder and squeezes. ‘Just while we work through the legal side of things. And it’s probably what you need at the moment, anyway. Just rest and look after yourself.’

Donghae nods, eyes becoming glassy.

‘Why don’t you invite some friends over?’ Shindong says to him. ‘Watch movies, rest that knee. I’ve asked that any investigation comes through me, so you won’t get people knocking at your door, okay?’

After Shindong has left, Donghae sits and tries to get his thoughts together. His emotions feel all over the place. There’s really only been one constant lately and that’s…

Hyukjae.

Donghae feels a surge of gratitude towards the other man. Even though he didn’t like to be around Donghae, he had stayed to make sure he was okay. He had bought food. He had left quietly after placing a blanket over Donghae as he slept on the sofa. All the while, pouting in that child-like way he had, angry-bird brows drawn down.

It’s not enough just to buy him another few frappuccinos. Donghae wonders what he can do. Offer to take him out for dinner? He doubts Hyukjae would appreciate that. Stop turning up outside his work each day, since Hyukjae does not like it?

For some reason Donghae dismisses that idea too.

It’s bad enough that he probably won’t be able to walk there for the next week or so anyway.

He thinks instead that he will send a thank you card and a gift to Hyukjae’s workplace; a cake or a nice bottle of wine maybe. Yeah, that’d be a good way to show he’s grateful, right? He's never done this before.

He limps slowly over to get his phone from the coffee table and notices the pile of unopened mail. He might as well read through that now too, since he has nothing else to do.

The first is a reminder from the bank that he can apply for a different sort of credit card if he wants. Donghae crumples it. Then there are a few boring leaflets suggesting he change power company and reminding him to go to church. And then lastly there’s a white envelope with a logo at the top he doesn’t recognize.

Jandeuk Hospital?

Donghae is confused. He had been at the Seoul General Hospital yesterday, right? Not… Jandeuk? And of course, this letter had already been waiting for a week or more in his neighbour’s mailbox. He opens it, wondering if it’s been sent in error. Jandeuk Hospital is a private one, expensive and exclusive, not somewhere that he was likely to have been referred.

Inside the envelope is a letter reminding him of a follow-up appointment for the following Tuesday.