Sehun entered the hospital room with quiet steps. He spotted his friend who was sitting up in bed with his back in his pillows. Kyungsoo was looking to his right, outside the window.

“Hey…” Sehun greeted him and walked towards the chair, where Jonghyun had sat earlier.

Kyungsoo instantly turned his head and looked at the tall student. His eyes were still shiny and his skin pale like porcelain. His lips were dry, and he had dark circles around his eyes as well. Kyungsoo was not yet fully recovered. He lowered his head in shame and clenched the sheets on his laps. Sehun put down the guitar and took place on the chair. He looked at Kyungsoo for a while, then he sighed in relief.

“I’m happy that you’re doing well.” he said and stuck out his tongue, while nodding to his own words, indicating that he genuinely meant it.

Kyungsoo slowly nodded too. He felt awful about making his friends worry. He had not expected them to suffer this much, because of his attempt.

“I- I was told that I’ve only survived… because you’ve reacted quick and called the ambulance on me right after our call…” Kyungsoo finally said, still with a scratchy and dry voice, “Thank you…”

Sehun got up and poured him a glass of water. He gave it to his hospitalized friend and waited for him to accept the drink. The latter hesitated, but when he wanted to take it from Sehun, the tall student did not let go, instead he led the glass to the lips of Kyungsoo, helping him drink it. His friend thanked him and Sehun sat back on the chair. He then nodded with a worried expression.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be much better of a friend to you…” Sehun apologized in return and made Kyungsoo look at him all puzzled, “I should’ve been more attentive about it all… I should’ve asked abaout how you feel...”

Kyungsoo shook his head from left to right and cleared his throat. He told Sehun, that there was nothing he could have done to prevent him from attempting suicide. This was a struggle Kyungsoo fought against on his own for a while. It was not just because what had happened between Kai and Taemin, that only lead up to it faster. Kyungsoo’s family situation had put him in a dark place. From now on, he needed therapy for sure, but his friends nor his family could be much of a support to him. At least Kyungsoo was ready to take the step and seek help from a professional. Sehun carefully picked up the guitar from its case and held it between his arms, placing its waist on his thigh. He strummed the strings and adjusted the tuning pegs one by one. Kyungsoo watched him silently. He had noticed that it was the senior’s guitar.

“Did you talk to senior Jonghyun?” Kyungsoo asked after a while.

Sehun looked up from the guitar and shook his head with his lips clenched.

“Nope.” he added and was finally done tuning the instrument, “He gave it to me on my way here.”

Kyungsoo nodded and turned his head to the window once again, while Sehun started playing a beautiful melody. A piece called ‘That’s Okay’ which was composed by the hospitalized student himself. Sehun was better at playing the guitar than the piano, still not anywhere close as Chanyeol or Yixing. Those two were real experts. The corners of Kyungsoo’s lips lifted slightly, but the smile was again not a happy one, it was filled with pain and regret. A sorrowful expression covered his face. Sehun had fixed his eyes on the guitar while strumming the strings, as he was concentrating a lot, not to mess it up. When Kyungsoo noticed how much effort his friend put into it, he finally smiled in joy. Right in this moment Sehun looked up and caught his happy face, even if it was just for a second. The sight of it was worth it. When Sehun finished, he lifted the guitar up and twirled it so that its back faced Kyungsoo. He handed it carefully to the resting boy and nodded at him.

“Your turn.” he ordered.

Kyungsoo scratched his head and laughed. He told his friend that he was still recovering and was not feeling it now. Sehun did not insist, instead he put the guitar back in its case.

“I’ll come visit you tomorrow again. Is there anything you need?” Sehun said and leaned the guitar next to Kyungsoo’s bed.

The pale student shook his head in embarrassment. He did not want to be treated like this, but he knew that he had brought it up to himself. Of course, everyone would become extra careful and supportive with him. Being pampered was nothing Kyungsoo could be proud or happy with. He did not like it, as he was used to handling everything by himself, since neither his parents nor his brother were ever there for him.

“Could you- Could you please treat me the same way you did before I overdosed?” Kyungsoo asked a little bit hesitant about it.

Sehun tilted his head to the left and put his hands back into his pockets. He pouted for a moment than he shook his head.

“I can’t.” he finally admitted, “Because I told you that I like you. There’s no way I can go back to treating you the same. I don’t want to go back on my words either.”

He was bold, not shy talking about it at all. Kyungsoo blushed slightly, his pale face turned rosy and got a little bit of a color. Sehun walked to him and gently put his hand on Kyungsoo’s head.

“I’ll wait for you…” he added with a resting face, “Unless you reject me.”

Kyungsoo stared him in the dark eyes in silence. He gulped nervously. His heartbeat increased to Sehun’s words, who pulled back his hand and turned away to leave the room. Kyungsoo watched him step outside, and he could not help but cover his face with his hands. He had seen Sehun merely as a friend, a partner for their chemistry presentations, never had he looked at him with a different intention in mind.

꧁༺ ༻꧂

As soon as Sehun left the room, he bumped into Kai, Chanyeol, Chen and Xiumin. He looked at them for a second, then walked away. Without greeting them or an exchange of any words. He was still mad. Kai sulked sadly and Chanyeol put his arm around his shoulders to comfort him. Then they entered the room of their longtime friend.

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol shrieked and immediately run up to the resting student.

Without hesitation, he put his arms around Kyungsoo and hugged him tightly. Chen and Xiumin approached the bed and put some flowers into a vase for their friend. After a while, Chen pulled away Chanyeol, so that they could hug Kyungsoo as well. Kai hesitated because he felt guilty about the condition of his friend. The hospitalized student turned his head towards him and then lowered his glance. Kai stepped closer and stood still to Kyungsoo’s feet. He was not able to say anything.

“Oh! Whose guitar is this?” Chanyeol broke the silence all surprised to see an instrument in the room.

He grabbed it and put it out of its case. He immediately sat down on the chair, where Sehun had sat minutes ago.

“Wow! Such great quality!” the playful boy added and brushed his fingers over the shiny wooden surface.

He reacted this way to loosen up the awkward atmosphere between Kai and Kyungsoo. The sun-kissed student chuckled slightly as he noticed his friend’s good intentions. Chanyeol strummed the strings once and was baffled to the weird noise that came from it. If he only knew that Sehun had made it sound like this, he would burst out laughing. He adjusted the tuning pegs a bit and strummed again.

“Now this is the right way.” he stated and grinned to both ears, then he suddenly played a fast song all skillfully.

He was without a doubt the best of them all that played the guitar like this. Chen laughed to Chanyeol’s happiness-spreading aura. Xiumin embraced Kyungsoo once again carefully. The recovering boy smiled and pushed him gently to make him let go. Kai was afraid and insecure about how to approach his suicidal friend.

“Why- Why did you stop playi