Thursday, December 23^rd
    4:30 p.m.
   SNU Hospital

   Jinyoung paced outside the Emergency Room as he waited for Dr. Shin Dong-Hee, whom all the nurses called Shindong, to emerge from the room inside. Sitting down, Jinyoung couldn't do anything but think about what happened and blame himself. 

   How could I've let him be so reckless...? Jinyoung thought, looking down at his hands. As he thought, he knew he'd never forgive himself if something permanent happened to Gongchan; a stain that would never wash clean from his hands. Just then, Shindong burst forth from the ER, seeming pleased. Springing up, Jinyoung raced over to the older male striding towards him.

   "Shindong! Good news I hope?" Jinyoung asked rather desperately, hoping for affirmation, based on Shindong's smile.

   "Well, yes! I do have good news! As it turns out, I've lost 5 pounds!" Shindong said triumphantly. This was obviously not the news Jinyoung was looking for and Shindong knew it, he just thought that the younger tennis captain could use some loosening up.

   "That's not what I meant..." Jinyoung growled deeply, extremely frustrated at Shindong's antics over his friend's injury. "How is Gongchan?"

   "Ohhh! Yeah, he just had a bad sprain. He needs to keep off it for at least the rest of tonight, but that shouldn't be a problem because we're keeping him overnight to make sure he doesn't cause any more damage to his tendons. They're already very strained, and any more vigorous activity in the near future could cause them to tear." Shindong said, matter-of-fact. Just as Jinyoung was turning to walk away, Shindong continued, "Your friend is lucky though..." 

   "And why is that?" Jinyoung said, turning back to fully face the doctor.

   "Because..." Shindong started, smiling, "He can fit into a size S!" 

   "Of course he can, I can too." Jinyoung said, rolling his eyes at the weird doctor. 

   "I can't fit into a size S..." Shindong said, sounding dejected. Jinyoung didn't hear this last joke though, because just as Shindong said his last joke, a nurse emerged from the ER, rolling Gongchan with her. Jinyoung immediately rushed up to beside the rolling bed and started to barrage the nurse with questions. Halting, she politely told Jinyoung to be quiet and that he could visit Gongchan in another 5 minutes, after she has him settled into his room. Coming out of the new room, the nurse motioned to Jinyoung that it was okay for him to enter the room at this time. 

   Walking into the room, Jinyoung grimaced at his pup that was still asleep. Sighing, as he knew that sleep was the best way to recover at the moment, Jinyoung pulled up a chair next to the slumbering Gongchan and proceeded to talk and let his mind wander. 

   "You know... It was never my intention for you to get hurt like this..." Jinyoung started, leaning forward to grab Gongchan's hand and bow his head in failure and humility. "It's my fault that you got hurt. If only I had traded places with you when I knew that you were pushing yourself past your limits to make up for my shortcomings..." Jinyoung let one silent tear tumble down to his cheek and depart his face to come crashing down to the dusty hospital floor.

"I won't let anything happen to you again. If I fail again, then I will be there to pick up the pieces with you..." Jinyoung said through clenched teeth, grasping Gongchan's hand with equal intensity.

   "Is that a promise?" A voice called, startling Jinyoung and causing him to jump and nearly fall from his chair. Releasing Gongchan's hand and turning around, Jinyoung was somewhat relieved to see Suzy leaning against the door frame, smiling at the two. 

   "Yeah..." Jinyoung said, slowly shaking his head and turning his attention back on the sleeping boy in front of him. "Yeah, I guess it is."

   "Good," Suzy mused, leaving her position in the entranceway into the hospital room and taking her place beside Gongchan, his hair, "he could use someone like that in his life. He'll always have me, but it's not my job, you know? I'm his best friend and I'll try my best to heal him in whatever way I can, but his heart is something that isn't for me to shore up." 

   "What do you mean?" Jinyoung inquired, tilting his head with the question. Suzy didn't like admitting it, especially since she was now married, but Jinyoung was damn adorable when he tilted his head like that. 

   "Well, I am his best friend, and I hope that it'll always be that way, but... I'm also like his noona. It's not my job to sit there and put his heart back together. Would you say that that it would be your noona's job to pick you up and dust you off every time you got your heart broken?"

   "I guess not." Jinyoung shrugged, looking from Suzy back to Gongchan, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over the back of Gongchan's hand. "He'd totally freak out though if he woke up right now to see me so close. It's though, to feel the way I do." When Suzy gave him a look of almost offense, Jinyoung quickly explained that he's one that hates it when someone gets hurt because of him, and how he's ended up caring for his other teammates in such a manner as he is for Gongchan.

   "Ahh, I see. Well, why would he freak out?" Suzy inquired, oblivious about what happened that afternoon at her wedding. Jinyoung bit his lip, unaware on how to explain what happened, but hoped that she'd understand.

•   •   •

   "... Now how does this feel?" Shindong said, placing one hand on Gongchan's ankle and squeezing the injured joint, all the while slowly working Gongchan's foot forwards and backwards. Shindong almost immediately got his answer when Gongchan in a breath of air and then hissed it out just as quickly. "Huh... It's not as bad a sprain as I thought, but we're keeping you overnight to make sure that you don't injure it further and to run basic stress tests on it to found out how sprained it really is."

   "Do you think he'll be able to leave tomorrow?" Jinyoung asked as he pulled Shindong aside to talk with him privately. "I wanted to take him somewhere as an apology for what happened." 

   "Ohhhh, a Christmas Eve date?" Shindong teased, wiggling his eyebrows, "so who's the top?" Jinyoung flushed furiously at Shindong's comment, waving his hand back and forth.

   "I-it's totally not like that! It's an apology and a thank-you present! He doesn't have any family that he lives with, so I thought he could enjoy the company." Jinyoung retorted hotly.

   "Well, what about that woman who was in here earlier?" Shindong asked, referring to Suzy. Jinyoung hadn't thought of that. Sure, she could come too, but wouldn't she instead want to spend time with her husband on Christmas Eve? Shaking his head, Jinyoung explained that that woman was JYP's recently wed Princess Suzy, and how she'd probably be wanting to spend time with her now-husband, Minho.

   "Ahh, I see," Shindong said, nodding his head as he said that, "he should be well enough to be discharged in the morning anyway. His recovery should actually be only about maybe a few days? It depends on how much activity he undergoes. Anything too rigorous could tear the tendons..." Shindong trailed off, knowing that the tennis captain knew what happens to athletes who tear tendons. Usually the end of a season, or sometimes even a career. 

   "Yes, I know. Thank you, Shindong." Smiling as the doctor left the room, Jinyoung stretched and looked over to his pup. Gongchan looked over at Jinyoung and then back at the TV, airing the drama, "To the Beautiful You".

"Well..." Jinyoung started, kicking up a little bit of dust off the floor, "I guess I'll be leaving now. Have a good night, okay?"

   Gongchan looked back at his senior, uncertain of how to respond to the kindness. Hostility? A venomous remark? Gongchan was tired of acting like a little princess who didn't get another pony to add to her stable of thousands of other creatures. He was a big boy, and ready to own up to what happened. Though, however grown up he was, or how many classes he took on the human psyche, he couldn't help but feel a little afraid of what he did or did not feel. 

   "Yeah, thanks..." Gongchan managed, a small smile making its way to the surface. Jinyoung smiled back, collected his phone and keys that he left on the counter next to the sink in the room, and left for home. Sighing, Gongchan looked out the window to the parking lot below and saw Jinyoung get into his car. 

"If only you knew..."

_____________________________________________________

Ermahgerd, it's getting crazy, right?

It's only going to get more dramatic! 

And don't worry, some characters are going to make a comeback. 

Sorry it took me so long to update! Please forgive me :c

Love you guys! Merry Christmas and please stay safe!