"How is he?" Jinki asked, beaming with hope. The doctor smile gently and pat him on the shoulder.
 

"I think he's ready for the surgery. We need to remove the heart pacer and the tube in his throat. He won't be able to talk for a while, but it will get better in a few days. He is a legal adult so we can go ahead with the surgery as soon as possible; but I think it would be better to inform his parents before anything. Maybe you would like to call them?" the doctor explained.

"When is the next available slot for the surgery and what are the risks involved?" Jinki asked, and releasing his clammy hand.

"There are little risks involved. It is a relatively easy operation to do, really. I spoke to his mother about it before. The highest possible chance of any screw ups would be infections which is only a 2% rate. We will monitor him closely after the operation to make sure that doesn't happen. It will take no more than 2 hours. As quickly as you give us the go sign, we can arrange the surgery - even today if you want."

"I'll... I'll make some calls and get back to you," Jinki answered politely.

"That's fine. It'll be better to do the surgery as soon as possible. He has other injuries to be concerned over. It would be good to put more interval time before his next surgery." Jinki gulped and nodded nervously. He really didn't have the heart to ask how many surgeries were lined up for Taemin. When the doctor left, he slowly dialled Taemin's mother's number. He didn't know what he was expecting. He knew the surgery would put Taemin one step closer to recovery but yet he was afraid in place of Taemin to put the younger into an operating theatre again. So when the woman gave her yes, he couldn't even feel elated by it. He took his time to call each and every of s even though he knew after the first number he dialled that they were probably in practice. He even called the manager to keep him updated and several of Taemin's other close friends as well. He even took comfort in his mother's voice as he confided in her. Finally, he shut off his phone and returned into Taemin's ward.

Taemin had his eyes shut; resting silently even though he was clearly waiting for Onew's return. When he heard the door open and the soft clanging sound hit the tiles on the floor, he pulled his eyes open and followed the moving figure with his eyes as soon as he came into sight.

"Taemin, I've talk to your doctor," Onew whispered, his voice trembling just a little. "He says you're getting better," he smiled sadly. Taemin stared blankly at Onew, waiting for him to finish. "He says you're ready to remove your breathing tube and the pacemaker. Isn't that good?" but his voice cracked at the end.

"I called your parents and they said it's okay to go ahead. The doctor said he could do it today. I just need your consent as well, Taemin. Listen carefully. If you want to do it today, blink slowly twice; if you want to wait it out, blink just once, alright?" Jinki choked out. Taemin pondered for a long while, his eyes fluttering shut as he thought so that Onew wouldn't mistake it as his answer. He was terrified of returning to the operating room even though he couldn't remember a thing the last time he was there. Just the words surgery and operation brought shivers down his back. But if he did this sooner, he would regain his voice sooner. He could start training his vocals again even if it means that he couldn't dance while he sang. It was better than nothing. And if he did it today, Onew would be with him... Wouldn't he?

"S-s-st-ay...?" Taemin squeezed out in a hoarse whisper, making Jinki jump up slightly in shock.

"Don't strain yourself, Minnie; yes I'll stay. If you want to do it today, I'll stay till the surgery is over and I'll wait for you to wake up. I'll be with you," Jinki assured, running his good hand up and down Taemin's side, trying to sooth the wheezes the boy heaved from exerting himself. Taemin let himself calm down before he opened his eyes slowly. He made sure to stare at Onew so that he knew that the elder was watching, and then he blinked. Once. Twice. He'll do it.

"You... You do it?" Onew blurted out, almost as if in disbelief. "Yes, once; no, twice," he instructed again just to reconfirm the thoughts. Taemin blinked once slowly, before slipping his eyes shut. He kept it close until Onew sighed. "I got it, you want to do it... today," Onew whispered the last word to himself in fear.

"I'll go tell the doctor to make the arrangements; I'll be back," Onew assured, giving Taemin a tight smile and his hand a small squeeze before staggering out the door. Once the door was shut, however, he pressed his back against the neighbouring wall and slid down like melting goo. Onew rest his head against his knee while his other leg spread straight, obstructing the walkway. He massaged his fingers against his pounding head and tried to take calming deep breaths.

It's okay, everything is going to be okay. It's a simple surgery, there are low risks, and Taemin is recovering well. Think about it, he's brave enough to go through it; all you have to do is waiting till he comes out. If he can go through the entire operation, what have you to be scared of? And once the surgery is over, he can slowly start talking again. Isn't that great? He can maybe start voicing out what he is feeling, and we can get him a psychologist. Everything will get better after this. It will be fine. Just stay with him; keep him company. He's a strong kid; he managed to pull pass the worst of it; this wouldn't be much of an obstacle. You're thinking into it too much. There's nothing to worry about. He's going to be fine. The operation wouldn't be a problem.

Jinki kept the words droning on and on in his mind even though his racing heart couldn't help be keep being worried of the 'what if's. He finally pulled himself off the ground with the final thought of "this is what Taemin wants" and marched forth to get the doctor. Somehow he managed to arrange for the next possible spot for the operating room and signed the waiver form. He read the words carefully, stating that the surgeon wouldn't be responsible for anything that happens which included any complications that could ultimately lead to death. Still, he signed it with his shaking hand after the doctor explained in painfully detailed steps of the procedures of the operation even though he couldn't understand half of it. The wait was painful and exhausting. Onew called the manager again to keep him updated and also to explain that he would be back late. Thankfully, he was let off without any complications since he had the whole day off and also since he still had his medical certificate to back him up in case of anything. He wasn't keeping his hopes up when he called the members but somehow he managed to catch them during their break time.

"Hyung," Jonghyun's voice came out in a hissing whisper. "Kibum is going out of his mind; just thought I should warn you." Before Jinki could ask why, he heard Jonghyun gathering the other members and loud buzzing of their movements.

"Hyung? Care to explain?" Kibum's voice fumed.

"I won't be back anytime soon; I'm going to be accompanying Taemin for a surgery. I promised to stay with him. I may be back a little late tonight. I'll keep you guys updated though," Jinki answered, thinking that the manager already gave them a brief explanation.

"Wait... Wait, wait, wait," Kibum rushed to bring the conversation into a sudden silence. "Surgery? Taemin is going into surgery? I was asking about the fan accounts about you; what is this about Taemin?" Jinki let out a soft groan, completely forgetting about the fan accounts that he was worrying about just a while ago.

"I'm fine, Kibum. There's nothing wrong with me. It's just a precaution because the doctor learned about good ol' Onew condition," Onew let out a forced chuckle, still hiding the fact that he had been secretly dancing from the team. "Listen, Taemin spoke," Onew whispered in a cheery tone. "It still hurts for him to speak but he's trying so hard. He can't say much and he ends up wheezing after only a word or two but he's making great improvement, right?" Jinki grinned, glad to be able to spread this good news. He could hear the loud buzzling from the other end of the line where gasps and exclamation of joy were let out.

"That's great, hyung!" Minho shouted, letting out chuckles of disbelief and 'wow's. Jinki could even hear the sound of hands clapping together in a high-5 and he smile gently at the thought.

"What is this about the surgery though?" Minho asked after the hype died down a little. The silence that came after was heavy - almost as if no one dared to even breathe.

"Well, the doctor says that we can remove the tube and the pacemaker so he can breathe on his own again. Like... Taking little steps to become independent from those machines, you know?" Onew explained, trying to make it sound as if it was no big deal. Just he worrying was sufficient; the members still had to go back to practice and there was no reason why they had to worry together with him. "I told Taemin about it and he is being really brave about it; he wants it done as soon as possible - which would be today since it's a simple operation. I promised that I would stay with him until he wakes up so I would probably be back late tonight."

"It's okay, hyung. The operation will be a success; there isn't a need to worry too much alright?" Jonghyun comforted after another short silence. Jinki let out a nervous chuckle.

"Who said that I-" Jinki tried to refute and act as if he really didn't think too much about it.

"Oh don't lie, hyung. All of us know very well that you would be worried. We're all worried in our little ways as well, but I'm sure he'll pull through. He's our strong little maknae after all, isn't he?" Kibum teased. Even though their words were the same ones he was hammering into his own mind since he was told of the surgery, hearing it from the voices of his team made Onew feel ten folds better.

"Of course he is!" Onew laughed, feeling genuinely better. When he hung up for them to return to practice, and for him to go back to accompany Taemin, he felt as if a weight was lifted off him. Even though he was still worried, he knew that not only Taemin would go through this, but the entire team was going through it together - and that made him feel much better. So when he leaned over Taemin's bed once again, he beamed sweetly and held his head up confidently.

"Your hyungs are proud of you, Taemin."

Jun 3, 2013 00:00:31

Sorry it took so long... Almost one month T_T. I was overseas, then school started, my mid-terms are tomorrow and it's a total mess, really; and plus... I'm even organizing an amazing race with a committee of 4 others so I'm kinda behind in everything. My doggie that has been with my family for  more than 12 years passed away exactly on SHINee's debut day and honestly because of that, I majorly forgot about the special day until I came online that night... after midnight when it was already over. And the next day, my mum got us another dog... which absolutely hates me. it growls and barks at me, she doesn't let me touch her and even when I try to give (tempt) her food, she doesn't want it. And I'm the one who gave her her name dammit! T_T

I'm planning to start a new ontae fic but I've really not the time to be writing so much so this time, I would actually complete the fic before posting so not to make people wait so long again.