Chapter 41 

 

"Hurry! We need a doctor pronto! Please! Help us!"

N was literally panicking in his head. He knew that he should be at home now, doing his darn forsaken school works or maybe helping his parents by doing a few household chores. His eldest sister, who had taken a short semi-break from work in Paris as a renowned stylist, is going to arrive at the airport any minute now. It's special since his sister rarely gets to visit them anymore. Being hard workers ran in the genes of the Cha's. 

But N would care less about the arrival of his beloved sister. He isn't aware that he was hyperventilating, nor that he had crashed on the marble-tiled floor into a broken, crying mess. His hair is literally messed up, strands flying over here and there. His hands were obviously shaking, and trembling. His legs were too weak, ironic because his legs were the strongest. Tears endlessly fell from his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, his eyes were puffy and red now due to excessive crying. His cheeks were flushed red, tainted by both tears and sweat. 

"Someone, help us!" he shouted on top of his lungs as he cried more. His hands were pulling out his black hair, messing it up more. Soon, the very same hands found their ways on his teary face, covering it as he sobbed uncontrollably more. "Help us! Call the doctors! Call anyone–!"

"Hakyeon! Hakyeon, calm down!" a feminine voice grabbed his attention. A pair of smaller hands grabbed his and surely, they were a bit wrinkly. N could still see behind his teary eyes. The female wielded natural beauty that went ironic to her age. She was definitely old, but it definitely isn't obvious. She was a bit wrinkly, shorter than him by a few inches. Her brownish black hair is cut short. Her eyes were filled with worry somewhat similar to what N's eyes flashed.

"Auntie." he sniffled as he was pulled up into a hug, slow pats on his back given. "Auntie, I'm scared. I'm really, really, really scared. What if something happens? I fear for the worst. Please, please tell me that it'll be okay."

"It will be." her voice was calming. As calming as the chimes he'd often hear from the Cha's backyard. "Everything will be fine, Hakyeonnie. Stop crying. Everything will be fine. I promise that. He is a strong person, remember?"

N could only sob more. The worry was growing far worse than he had imagined that it pained him. His eyes traveled back at Mrs. Jung, whom he addresses as "auntie". She showed an assuring smile, a smile still not enough to stop the worry growing in him. Soon, he looks over his shoulder, only to see a stretcher slowly vanishing inside the emergency room. He saw stains of blood, and the figure lying in there only brought more tears to his eyes. The figure wasn't moving, nor was it conscious. 

It was Leo.

A week had passed rather quicker than anyone had noticed. The sun shone brightly and the warm sunlight lit the peaceful room they were in. The room smelt of vanilla. It was weird since almost all rooms carried that familiar hospital scent instead. N's mom was the cause of this. She knew Leo as much as Leo's mother did. She knew that Leo dreaded the hospital scent because it was too "bland" and "nerve-tensing". After the incident, she quickly rushed to the hospital, with the rest of the Cha family members, and made sure that Leo would be comfortable. She even gave him an air freshener that smelled like vanilla to get rid of the ugly hospital scent. Isn't she truly nice?

"N," Leo's voice was soft and weak. It reflected his still weak body. "I worry about the soccer team. The competitions are getting near–"

"Don't worry about that for now, okay?" N smiled faintly as he held Leo's hand. Something was attached on it but N wasn't sure on what exactly it was. He was too afraid to look at it. Needles always gave him the creeps. He never knew if that thing can be a needle pierced on Leo's skin– which was what it exactly was. "I know that being a team captain could give you anxiety over your team but you're still weak. You've got to rest for now."

"And my studies. I might find it hard to cope up after I get released here."

"Then I'll help you. I suppose I can help you with the things you missed so, don't worry! Cha N will be here to save the day!"

Leo could only smile as he watched his best friend try to be funny. He knew that N wanted him to feel worry-free, to feel relaxed. The nurses and doctor said that stress wouldn't be a good thing for him if he's trying to recover fast. He needed a clear mind and a peaceful environment. Surprisingly, N passed. "What do you think will the guys think once they come here? Ken'll surely cry, don't you think?" N smiled.

"I bet Ravi will cry first." Leo snickered. "Or perhaps Tao. That guy's a crybaby."

Ironically, N never reported the accident to anyone. Along with Leo, he had missed classes for the sake of taking care of Leo. Yes, he knew that he would have a hard time coping up once he resumes back to school but would he rather leave Leo helpless with nurses and doctors he barely knows? Definitely not. Who knew what could happen? Leo's mother couldn't visit him regularly because of work. N's parents were in the same situation... working. Their siblings couldn't neither. N's siblings were off at their own working spree, add the fact that one of them had just arrived from a trip! And Leo's? Working as well. 

To cut it short, both of their families were running busy. So who's left to take care of the injured male? N, of course.

But it wasn't exactly N's idea to keep his mouth shut. Like he can, right? "Why don't you want them to know, Leo? Nothing'll be lost if you tell them." N frowns as he left his right hand placed on Leo's hand. His eyes were locked on Leo, watching him.

"I don't want them to get worried. They're too busy at school and learning about my situation will make things worse for them." Leo answers. "Student life is harsh, don't you agree?"

"Secrets will soon spill, you know?"

"I know that. And I'm just waiting for the time it will naturally spill."

N sighed. Leo was too stubborn to crack. "Fine, you win this round." he smiled as he stood up and helped Leo sit up. He grabbed his home-made lemon juice. "The doctors advised me to let you retain a healthy diet. I made some lemon juice and brought some pretty healthy food. You better eat up to recover fast." he said. N sounded like a mother at that moment, making Leo smile. "Here, open up."

"You're treating me like a kid, Hakyeon." Leo pouts cutely, making N squeal inside. 

"Well, even if I don't mean to, you can't move any of your limbs. I'll have to feed you like a baby." he grinned as he assists Leo in drinking and eating. Leo appreciated his best friend's help and was seriously drowning in guilt. He had N miss classes and be his personal maid as he recovers.

"Hey," Leo mumbles. "Thanks, N."

"For what?"

"For staying beside me."

N sighed before he flashes a wide grin as he poked Leo's cheeks. "There you go again with your drama, you adorable lion." he laughs. "I'm doing this because I want to. I'm staying beside you because we're friends. I told you, remember? Whatever happens, I'll stay beside you, no matter what you become." he smiles.

"And that's exactly why I'm thankful." Leo grins back. 

N smile soon faded away.

He thought about their secret. It's been running for a week and two days now.Surely, everyone is getting worried about their sudden disappearance. N got text messages from Kris, Ken and the rest of the two groups, asking about their where about. He wanted to reply, but what would he reply? Surely, he can't tell their current location. 

But like Leo said, the secrets will soon spill naturally.

And maybe, N was the "natural" thing.

"Jung Leo!" 

That wasn't N's voice. Leo could easily distinguish his best friend's voice from the rest. Plus, the voice shouting for his name was that of a female's, not of a male's. And the last time Leo checked, N is a male. Curious on who it was, he decides to open his eyes, only to see and notice N sleeping on his side. Of course, the loud cry woke the tanned latter up. "Who was that?" he yawned, rubbing his eyes in hopes of trying to wipe the sleep away. "Leo? Do you have some visitors?"

"I believe none." Leo whispered. Soon, the door bursts open, only to see a exactly ten men and a female, who was looking quite pissed as she came out of the door. 

It was the two group... and Jungeun. "You!" she marched angrily at the injured male, not minding if he was still in pain upon her sudden pull, grabbing her dreaded rival by the collar. "You! How dare you make us worry and leave no traces about where you were or what?!"

"Jung-Jung!" N nearly screamed as he tried to pry the junior away from his injured ally. "Leo's injured! At least handle him with care! Han Jungeun–!"

"Heck, I don't care about this idiot being dead even! What he did was too reckless! Ken nearly died in worry when you two were no where to be seen for four straight days! Do you have any ideas on how each of us were worried?!"

"I'm sorry." Leo mumbled under his breath. "I never intended to. I just didn't want to worry any of you." 

Jungeun glared at the latter, eyes burning. That soon faded away as she saw the sincerity flashing through Leo's eyes. As if her strength melted away, her grip grew weak and her hands soon slipped off of Leo's shirt. She didn't know what exactly happened, but upon seeing the things injected on him and on how severe his physical wounds were, she could tell that the situation he had entered wasn't a nice scene to see. "W-what exactly happened?" a worried Tao asks. 

"Leo got... into a car accident." N's voice was trembling as he sat beside Leo, refusing to leave him. His hands were shaky and sweaty. "He was on his way back home when... a reckless driver... ran him over. It was clearly a red light, as the passing citizens said. The driver was drunk and he...–"

"Ran over hyung?" Ravi blinks, which N nods to.

"Leo flew exactly five meters away from the pedestrian lane. That's why his wounds are severe."

"Five meters?!" Xiumin gasped.

"No way! That means the impact was great! How are you then? Are you still in pain? Any internal bleeding or clotting occuring?" Luhan worriedly questioned, inspecting Leo's bruises and wounds. 

"I'm fine. The doctor claims the fact of me simply breaking a few bones and injuring a few muscles as a miracle." Leo answers. "Definitely, someone who meets that accident would have a much severe situation I'm having now. Doctors said that head injuries and inner bleeding would be sixty percent possible but I had none. Fracture would be the luckiest situation I'll be in, which I am in now."

"Thank goodness." Ken sobbed, tears literally falling down his eyes. "We were so darn worried! We thought you died or something–"

"That's exaggerating a bit, Jaehwan." Chen chuckles. "But we're glad that you're okay."

"Is there something else we have to know?" Sanghyuk frowned. "Like... when'll you get out of the hospital? Are you recovering well?"

"I am." Leo smiles faintly before he nods. "N's taking care of me well, so there's nothing to worry about. Plus, since I've been away from stress and have been relaxing well, the doctors reported that my recovery would be faster."

"Then you'll be back to school with N-hyung?" Hongbin questioned.

"Probably."

"But why did you keep it?"

Everyone's eyes fell on Jungeun, who crossed her arms as tapped her foot on the floor. "Why'd you keep that news away from us? N, why didn't you tell us earlier? That way, we wouldn't worry greatly. Kris here nearly called the police to search you two! We thought you were held hostage or if you met some sort of deadly accident or what! Everyone was worried. Ken wasn't able to sleep well due to worry. Tao got paranoid. I was worried! Worried to the bones, to be exact."

"We're sorry, Jung-Jung." N frowned. "It's just that... Leo didn't want any of you guys to get more worried and stressed. School works are getting heavier and learning about the fact that he met an accident will make things worse."

"But friends are here to help you in your challenges." Jungeun contradicted. "You said it yourself, we're all friends here. We're like a family now. And Ice Block– no, Leo getting in an accident is where he needs all of us beside. I know, we can be noisy and that could stress him out and all but... he needs us in this."

"I know, but–"

"She's right." Leo softly smiles. His voice was still weak. Jungeun saw the weakness Leo had as of now. He couldn't move any limb at all. He wasn't exactly paralyzed but he couldn't move. He needed assistance to move well. "Are you sure you'll be fine thought?" Kris questioned. "You look really helpless."

"That's because I am." Leo replies. "But I'll be stronger soon, no worries. If it's okay, can you guys not be a handful as of now. Stress wouldn't be good for me."

"We have no intentions in the first place anyway." Ken sniffled. "... Does crying like a dying whale count as being handful though? Because I'm about to wail my hearts out because you, bastard, had me worrying for nights! Look at my eyebags! They're deeper! Your fault! Meanie!"

Leo smiled as Ken fell on his side. Excluding N, Ken was one of the people who managed to get close to him, not only because they've been classmates since Middle School, but because of this saying that "opposites always went well". Ken was somewhat like another N, and was his total opposite. Perhaps that's the reason why their bond was one of the strongest. Ken continued to sob beside Leo, who only patted him on the back in hopes of calming the latter down.

Minutes morphed into hours and soon, things were back to normal.

"Leo-hyung?" Lay's voice was soft but audible enough for Leo to hear. His eyes slowly opened as he saw the Chinese junior by the doorway, smiling at him gently. 

"Come in." Leo softly said as he tried gesturing at Lay. The Chinese male's dimpled smile made Leo smile back faintly. "What's wrong? Why'd you come in? Aren't you supposed to have tea with Xiumin and Tao? I heard that you three were supposed to head at a nearby cafe to calm your nerves down. Not that I was eavesdropping at Kris or something but–"

"I decided not to come along with them, hyung." Lay cuts off, the smile not leaving him. He points at the chair beside Leo and looks at him. "Can I sit beside you?"

"Why not?"

Lay smiles yet again and looks around before he randomly starts another random topic. "Say, now that I've thought about it, we never really talked like this, have we? I meant... a one-on-one talk, that is." he grinned.

"Never really, no." Leo nodded. "Why?"

"That only means we have yet to know about each other." he smiles before he leans back. "You know... that incident before when Jungeun was burning with anger. She looked really worried, right? It's rare to see someone like that, especially boyish lassies. Jungeun, to be exact."

"I can agree." Leo snickered. "Weirder thing, though. We're rivals and she acts like a sickly worried grandma."

Lay laughs along and nods his head before he eyes Leo. "But you know, she has a point. You did have us all worried sick, hyung." 

Leo nearly choked on his own spit as he heard what the usually seen 4D Lay had said to him. As far as he knew him, or as much as he had heard about him, Lay barely sides with anyone. Perhaps it's because of his feelings towards Jungeun? Maybe that's what kind of power love really has, huh? "Jungeun... and everyone else was dead worried when you and N-hyung didn't show up at school. Ken-hyung immediately contacted Kris-gege in hopes that he had news about your where about but no. Jungeun nearly lost it when you weren't around for six days."

"She did?" Leo blinked. "She's not supposed to."

"Because she's your rival? Because you're rivals?" Lay questioned. "I don't know how rivalry works... I never had any. But, I suppose rivals don't always stick to competing for whose best at this and that. Rivals are still like any other people who'd worry for you."

Leo didn't know what to say. Slowly, he did realize that keeping his accident a secret was the worse decision to make. He made his precious friends, juniors and merely everyone worry over him. N was no one to blame, he forced him to keep the secret for the sake of goodness or something. "Jungeun was really worried for you the most, hyung." he hears Lay say. "I don't know why or what her reason might be, but making a lady worry is merely wrong. You have to fix this situation, hyung. Pronto." those were his last words before Lay excuses himself out of his room, disappearing behind the door, leaving Leo in a state of thinking.

Was he really that wrong?

"You're thinking about your decision, aren't you?"

Leo was always impressed on how N could read him like an open book. What else, compared to his sisters, whom had been beside him since his birth, N read him better and easier. His sisters were incapable of reading his thoughts via looking through his eyes. N had only been there for Leo when he was about seven or eight months old, when the Cha's and Jung's decided to see their youngest offsprings. 

But he was capable of reading him well as if they were twins. Heck, they might even read each other as well as the Han twins do! "Leo, just do whatever you think is right. I'll even help you." N smiles.

"How?" he raises his brow.

"Starting off by arranging a heart to heart talk with Jung-Jung now. I'll go call her." he smiles before he rises up from his seat and exits the door. Knowing that he has no chances of winning even if he puts up a fight, he simply lets N slither away. After a few minutes, the door opens and reveals Jungeun, who somewhat looked hesitant to come in. 

"N told me to come accompany you for a while." she softly says. "Something wrong?"

"He told me to, er, apologize or something?"

"For?"

"...Making you worry?"

There was silence for a total of fifteen seconds. His eyes looked up and saw Jungeun leaning on the wall, arms crossed. "Look," Leo speaks first, sighing heavily. "I am sorry that I kept my situation a secret. I was just afraid to have you guys have more things to worry about. And besides, I'm fine and will be fine soon so nothing to worry about, right?" 

"I know you were worried for us." Jungeun sighs back. "But you and N got us worried too. You have no idea on how we were panicking because you were gone for a week and some days! We thought you got into some kind of accident or were held hostage for some reason. I nearly died in worry."

"You.. did? But why? Arent we just rivals?"

"Idiot." she scowled. "Even rivals can care for each other. Rivalry ain't about being first at everything, or about competitions or something. We're a family, and I suppose we're also friends. I can still care about you, rival or not."

"... That's how it works?"

Time seemingly stopped for Leo. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him and pull him up into a tight hug. He heard Jungeun's soft sobs as he felt her tears drench his shirt. He was just there, frozen in place as Jungeun continued sobbing. She was crying quite often now, huh? Or was she comfortable around Leo now? She was finally opening up herself to the latter, even showing her true emotions towards Leo. "I was so darn worried, Leo. Do you have any ideas on how many calls I made to N and you?" she sniffled, tightening her hug.

"I'm sorry." Leo sighed as he closed his eyes. "I really am. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Just don't freaking do it again." Jungeun hissed before she flicked Leo's head. "Jerk."

As Jungeun goes off, N soon comes in with the rest of the groups, saying that the twins have to head home as of now. he simply nods and flashes off a small smile at the groups. 

Rivals still care.

Yeah, she was right.

Rivals do care.

He always did to Jungeun, right?