As the car pulled up to the hospital, the five boys piled out, running into the building. Hakyeon’s mom was waiting for them in front of the ICU ward, tears falling from her eyes. Taekwoon stuttered to a stop. Was it not enough? Had something happened to Hakyeon on the ride in? “Is he…” he asked hesitantly, not even knowing how to finish his sentence.

“He’s still unconscious. The doctor came out and talked with me a few minutes ago. He said it’ll be pretty touch and go for a couple of days. Hakyeon…with the head injury they aren’t sure how he’ll respond to treatment. The doctor said they’d bandaged up everything else. His body took a lot of damage from the fall and the river. A broken wrist, two broken ribs, a major concussion, sepsis. For now, we wait and see.” A huge collective sigh sounded from the group. Relief. He was alive. They had found him in time.  Taekwoon felt his body relax for the first time in days. A warmth enveloped him, making him look down. Hakyeon’s mom hugged him tightly, “Thank you, Taekwoon. The doctor said if you hadn’t given him CPR he would have died out in that forest. You saved him. Thank you so much.” Hakyeon’s mom hugged him tightly. CPR. It just made him think back to what had happened. But those thoughts were for another day. Right now, he was just vastly relieved that his friend was alive.

“Can we see him?” Hyuk asked in a quiet voice. Hakyeon’s mom stepped away from the eldest of the group and looked to the youngest.

“Not yet. They need to finish running some tests. But maybe in a few hours. Generally, only family is allowed in but I’ll ask the doctor about it. But only one at a time and only for a couple of minutes.”

“That’s fine! I just…I really…want to see him.” Hyuk mumbled, starring at the floor. Hongbin threw an arm around the young boy.

“We’ll wait. As long as it takes.”

                Though it took quite a lot of convincing, eventually the doctor agreed to let them in to see Hakyeon for five minutes at a time. They decided to go youngest to oldest, though Hyuk thought Taekwoon should go first. “You go. I know he’ll want to see you first. He was probably so worried about you. I’ll still get to see him.” Hyuk hesitantly went into the room, emerging after his time was up with tears streaking down his face. And so each boy went in, reassuring themselves with the sight of their friend in the bed. He was still here. They hadn’t lost him. At last, it was Taekwoon’s turn.

“Go on hyung. We’ll wait for you.” Jaehwan said, giving a gentle nudge. Almost mechanically, Taekwoon walked into the room. The first sound he heard was the steady beeping of the heart monitor. He slowly looked up at the body in the bed. A small gasp escaped him. Hakyeon’s head was wrapped in a bandage, his arm in a cast, his face and body littered with bruises and small cuts. He was so pale still. But it was there. The steady rise and fall of his chest, the soft sound of his breathing. Walking to the chair next to the bed, Taekwoon lowered himself into it, suddenly feeling his exhaustion hit him. He gently grabbed hold of Hakyeon’s uninjured hand, just wanting to feel the contact.

“Hakyeon. You have to wake up. Please. I need you to get better.” He whispered, lowering his head to the bed. “We have so much planned for this next year. Just you and me, off to face the world. And I have so much that I need to say to you. So many questions. Please. Wake up. I need you to wake up. I need you.” Looking up, he sighed when he was met with the still closed eyes of his closest friend. He slowly stood again, his time almost up. Carefully, he placed Hakyeon’s hand under the blanket, pulling it up to fully cover the boy’s body. He gazed down at the unconscious form, leaning over Hakyeon to place a soft kiss on his forehead. “I’m waiting for you,” he whispered before exiting the room.

                There was so much green. As far as the eye could see, Hakyeon was surrounded by trees. There were no discerning landmarks. No direction on where to go. What was he doing here? Where was here? “Hello?” he shouted, only to be met with silence. Not knowing what to do, he started to walk. Maybe if he looked around, he would find someone that could help him escape from this place. He needed to get back to his friends. Back to his friends? Where were they?

“I’m so sorry hyung. Please don’t hate me.” Hyukkie? Hakyeon could have sworn he heard the youngest of their group, his voice whispering through the trees.

“Hello? Hyuk! Where are you?!” Hakyeon yelled, taking off running, frantically looking for the other boy. “Talk to me!”

“Come back hyung.” Hakyeon abruptly stopped in his tracks, eyes wild. Hongbin. He knew that it was the boy’s voice. Where was it coming from? His eyes darted around frantically, before latching onto a tall figure, standing in the far distance. He started running again. But as soon as he got close enough to clearly see who it was, the figure vanished in front of his eyes.

“What? Wait! Where’d you go?”

“We shouldn’t have left you alone.” Twin voices now, seeming as if they’re whispered in each ear. Wonshik, Jaehwan.

“You didn’t! I’m right here! Where are you guys?!” Hakyeon was crying now, so frustrated and confused. What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go? “Help me. I’m lost.” He cried, sitting down on the damp earth, pulling his knees up to his face. For a long while, everything was silent. The only sound, his sobbing. He was alone. So alone.

“Hakyeon.” A soft whisper. The crying boy’s head shot up, shocked to see Taekwoon standing in front of him.

“Taekwoon?”

“You have to wake up.” Wake up? But he wasn’t sleeping. Was he?

“I need you to wake up.” Hakyeon was skeptical of the illusion in front of him. Was this really his best friend, or his mind just tormenting him some more?

“I need you.” Taekwoon needed him? His friend reached out a hand to him, Hakyeon slowly reaching for it, his salvation.

“I’m waiting for you.” Hakyeon grasped the other boy’s hand, and felt himself be pulled up and into a warm embrace before everything faded once more.

                It had been six days since Hakyeon had been found. And yet, he still hadn’t woken up. The doctors were starting to fear that he wouldn’t, his brain scans coming back normal. Every day, Taekwoon spent his time at the hospital. He would sit by the bed reading, or talking to Hakyeon, or simply keeping the boy’s mom company. The other friends came and went, but Taekwoon refused to leave the sleeping boy’s side. It was night now, everyone having left for the day already. Taekwoon had convinced Hakyeon’s mom to go home and get some sleep, since she hadn’t slept much or had a real meal in almost a week. If anything changed, he would give her a call. The nurses had given up on getting him to leave after the third day, so now they simply made sure he was as comfortable as possible, putting a cot next to Hakyeon’s bed for him to sleep on. Taekwoon turned off the lights in the room, laying down on the cot and reaching over to grab Hakyeon’s hand. This was his nightly routine now. He wanted to make sure that Hakyeon knew someone was with him. He would study the boy’s face in the soft glow of the hospital machines, and fall asleep listening to the soft sounds of his breathing. He would often dream of Hakyeon, just normal everyday things. Watching movies together, playing games. He missed his best friend, but he felt like there was something more too. He couldn’t understand it but simply thinking of his friend’s smile or laugh made his chest tight. And more often than not, his mind would wander back to the last thing that Hakyeon had said to him. He still remembered what the other boy’s lips had felt like on his. Soft but firm as they molded to his. Taekwoon was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even feel the hand in his tighten. At least not the first time, but the second, he shot up, eyes searching for Hakyeon’s face in the dim light. And there he was, starring back at him. “Am I dreaming?” Taekwoon wondered aloud, not quite sure if he could believe his eyes.

“Taek…where…?” Hakyeon whispered, his voice raspy, eyes confused. Taekwoon didn’t even let him finish his sentence before throwing his arms around the other boy, softly crying.

“Thank you for coming back.”

Holy crap it's an update!! I am so sorry that I haven't updated this in so long but life has been super crazy lately. A month ago, I moved from the US to Japan so it's taken some time to acclimate to everything and get back in the groove of things. Plus massive amounts of homework! Lol but alas! I will hopefully be updating more regularly now. So sorry for the delay! Not much of an update but at least it's something. Maybe 2 chapters left now? After I finish this one, I'll be working on a new one that I just got the idea for yesterday. But Comment and Subscribe if you want! :) Thanks for waiting!