The humming had stopped. It was quiet. Everything was quiet, nothing was to be heard.

Taekwoon’s always loved the stillness and the solidarity of the silence surrounding him but this time, it scared him. It scared him so much that he didn’t want to let go. His grip tightened and his already dim vision started to blur. His heartbeat picked up the pace and he could feel cold sweat starting to form along his spine.

I’m scared.

“…shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here… I’m here, remember?” said a voice, breaking the stillness.

I’m scared.

A hand slowly started to his back; it’s warm, thought Taekwoon. The warmth didn’t help with much since he could still hear his heart pounding furiously in his chest. His tight grip remained as so and he was still biting his lips.

I’m scared.

Felt like he was being pulled away, Taekwoon tightened his grip even more; if it was possible. He quietly whined and buried his face away. He didn’t want to let go. He was scared. He was scared he might be left alone, scared he might be forgotten-

“Please don’t leave me…”

“…I’m not leaving.”

“Please don’t forget me…”

“…I won’t forget.”

I’m still scared.

“I love you. I love you, Jung Taekwoon.”

I’m…

“I love you, do you hear me?”

“…I’m scared.”

“It’s okay. I’ll hold your hand until you’re not scared anymore.”

“…and you won’t let go?”

“Never.”

I’m…scared?

His grip loosened and his arms fell to his sides. Vision slowly returning, he saw the floor. He looked up and saw a male body in front of him, not more than a foot away. He looked further up and saw a familiar face…a familiar expression, a familiar smile and those familiar dimples.

Hongbin.

Lee Hongbin.

“You’re okay…I’m here,” he said, holding a hand out.

“I’m… okay?”

“You’re okay, hyung. I won’t leave and I won’t forget.”

I’m okay.

He searched Hongbin’s eyes in the dim light, his throat forming a lump, his chest tightening and his heart pounding. Unconsciously, his hands went up to the sides of Hongbin’s face. His fingers gently touched the other’s warm skin as he traced his outlines as he had done before. He felt Hongbin’s stare on him but he no longer felt shy about it. He didn’t pull his hands away. Instead, he kept on going; he traced Hongbin’s cheekbones, under eyes, eyelids…lips.

Their eyes met. Hongbin noticed how his heart skipped a beat or two as he looked into Taekwoon’s eyes. Impatient, he closed the gap between them again and reached his hands around the other’s neck. He pulled him closer and brushed their lips against one another’s. Taekwoon let out a shaky breath. He was nervous.

He wondered if Hongbin could hear his heartbeat, he kissed him. He wondered if Hongbin could see through him, noticing his trembling hands and his shaky breath; he kissed him again.

Hongbin didn’t notice. He was too busy listening to his own deafening heartbeat and focusing on the soft lips pressing against his. He was too busy making sure he was still conscious. He was too busy finding something to hold on to as his hands were starting to shake. Thankfully, Taekwoon slowly started to pull away…but then he gradually started to miss those lips.

“…I love you too,” Taekwoon breathed.

“…and I, you.”

“I love you. I love you so much,” said Taekwoon, burying his face in Hongbin’s hair.

---

Morning came.

Hongbin was the first to wake. He looked around and yawned. Rubbing his eyes, he realized that he couldn’t get up. Something was holding him down so he looked at his stomach and noticed that there was an arm wrapped tightly around him. He turned his head to his side and sighed. No wonder he was trapped; Taekwoon was still unconsciously clinging onto him, calmly breathing against Hongbin’s shoulders; his face buried.

“Hyung…hyung, you’re clinging onto me too hard,” he whispered.

Taekwoon stirred. Hongbin smiled and continued to try waking him up. He rubbed Taekwoon’s arm that was around him but there was hardly any response, he blew on the other’s neck but the response was still too little; he sighed. Should I kiss him then? He wondered. Feeling a little bit of both excited and curious, Hongbin quickly pecked a kiss on Taekwoon’s cheek and almost immediately, the latter scrunched up his face.

“Hyung,” Hongbin chuckled.

“Hm…it’s cold,” he mumbled.

“Is it? But I think it’s warm…?”

Unconscious of the comment he just made, Taekwoon squeezed the other in his arm; attempting to find more warmth. Hongbin pulled the covers up and started to rub Taekwoon’s arm around him, following up to his back. He’s warm?

Hongbin ran his hand across the other’s forehead, shocked to find it almost boiling. Oh no, he has a fever; Hongbin started to panic. Figuring out what to do, he slowly pried himself off Taekwoon; this time with a little more force before getting out of bed. He looked around for a piece of cloth and luckily, he found Taekwoon’s face towel hanging by the sink. Soaking it in cold water, he wrung it damp and brought it back to the bed.

He didn’t know where to start so he opted to follow his instincts. He went to wipe Taekwoon’s arm but he flinched and started to whine. Cooing unconsciously, Hongbin tried to lull the other back to sleep before slowly trying to wipe his neck and exposed collarbone area. Making round trips from the bed to the sink every few minutes dampening the towel and wiping the other’s overheating skin proved to be of help for Hongbin. He ran his hand against Taekwoon’s skin again and sighed in relief as he felt it was no longer seething with heat. He calmed down again.

“That was a shock,” sighed Hongbin as he sat by the sleeping Taekwoon.

He left the towel that was newly damped on the other’s forehead before walking to the door. He tried to peek, hoping to find someone walking by but the hallway was empty. He looked at the clock by Taekwoon’s desk and wondered. It was almost 11 am, why is no one making rounds? Did the doctors pass by earlier and he didn’t notice? He sighed.

Walking back to Taekwoon, Hongbin sat at the edge of the bed and bent down a little to grab his little box from under the bed. He took out his notebook, a set of pens and pencils and continued from where he had left off.

---

“Good morning…” Hakyeon yawned as he walked through the door.

“…yes, thank you.”

“Who were you talking to?” The elder worried as he saw Wonshik putting down the hospital phone.

“Look at that,” Wonshik smiled as he pointed at one of the monitors.

It wasn’t obvious at first glance but it was sooner recognized that Hongbin was sitting on the bed with Taekwoon’s napping by his thigh, wrapped up in a blanket that was up to his chin. Hongbin was asleep as well but what caught the doctors’ attention was the paper stuck on Hongbin’s head like a crown saying ‘Taekwoon is sick, please come quickly!’

Hakyeon snorted and sat back in his chair.

“What’s with that?”

“I guess nobody made early morning rounds today so he couldn’t have asked for help. Knowing that he’s oblivious to the fact that there’s an emergency button by the door, I think he’s doing his best,” said Wonshik as he turned to the elder.

“I bet if it were Taekwoon, he’d be slamming the button to pieces.”

They laughed. Hakyeon’s eyes were still stuck on the screen whereas Wonshik had already turned his attention to Hakyeon. He wanted to say something but he wanted to say it right so he took his time. Realizing this, Hakyeon turned to him.

“…say it. What’s on your mind, Wonshik?”

“…I told you they’re getting better.”

Hakyeon sighed and turned back to the monitors. He knew that. He knew that both his favorite patients were getting better and it’d be best if he decided to move them to the recuperation level soon. Even so, he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to move them anytime soon because once he does, he’ll lose direct contact with them and there would be less monitoring of their conditions. He knows that what he’s feeling is somewhat selfish and ridiculous but he worries too much…especially for Taekwoon.

“I know they are, Wonshik. I know…but…what if once we move them, they act up? What if something goes wrong? You know, it’s like they say – ‘always be wary when it looks like it’s getting better’ because a small mistake can turn it all around. Like…like what had happened to- to-” Hakyeon trailed off, panic decorating his face.

“Hyung, listen…we have full authority of this experiment which means we have full access to both Hongbin and Taekwoon so no matter what happens, we’ll be there to help them. We’re the only ones allowed so no one can interfere. Plus, don’t you think it’d be easier to put them on the recuperation level as soon as possible? I mean, we have fewer round hours to cover here since we’re only allowed 3-4 hours a day but in the recuperation level? We get 5-6 hours so we can visit them more frequently and it would be in a more comfortable condition for everyone,” explained Wonshik, as if Hakyeon would have forgotten it.

Covering his face with both of his hands in worry, Hakyeon pushed his head back against the chair. He groaned, trying to fight off the visual outcomes that his mind was trying to poison him with before sitting straight again. He looked at Wonshik and knitted his eyebrows together. He was still very worried.

“If it makes you feel better, we’ll still do the experiment this week; as soon as possible just to prove to you how much better they’re becoming and how they deserve to be moved. How’s that?”

“…fine. Thursday, then.”

“I was going to do Wednesday, but Thursday is good too. I’ve called the family a few days ago and they’ve all agreed. They’re nervous but they said they were excited.”

Face once again turning white over worrying; Hakyeon threw his head back again and groaned even louder as he started to mentally freak out. Of course, the family that hasn’t been coming for a while will be arriving at their doors in a few days and just that single fact is bound to shock the patients, there was no doubt about it.

“Oh god, I am terrified for this last experiment. It’s either going to make or break them and I’m not ready for either…what am I to do???” Hakyeon worried again, squirming in his chair trying to find comfort.

“You be the great psychiatrist you are and support your patients in their journey to self-recuperation. If anything goes wrong, you be the psychiatrist you are and help them find momentum again,” said Wonshik in such a gentle voice that it surprised Hakyeon.

“I-”

“-and if the psychiatrist in you refuses to stop worrying and work efficiently, be the hyung that Hakyeon is; the one that I know and make up for it.”

“…I, have never heard you talk like this and…it frustrates me so much because that was so nice of you…I-”

“Stop. It was the only thing I could think of saying; I rarely do that because I- I don’t know how to handle the outcome so stop,” Wonshik mumbled as he turned back to the monitoring screens.

Still dumbfounded in his chair, Hakyeon inched closer to the other and hugged his arm; rubbing his face against it, he mumbled a slow ‘thank you.’

He doesn't know it but Wonshik's ears were starting to heat up and blushing.

---

In the shared room, there was nothing but the sounds of slow breathing and pencil scratching against paper. Hongbin was sitting on the nearby wall facing the bed and Taekwoon was silently lying on the said bed; one was conscious yet the other was not, much to either’s concern.

Looking up, Hongbin sighed. He had been doing the same four things for the past three hours. Looking up to find Taekwoon still resting, sighing to let out his worries, trying to manifest some sort of comfort and returning his attention to the notebook in his lap. None of them was more comforting than the other.

There was a knock on the door.

A little surprised at the untimely visit, Hongbin sat straight and put all of his focus on the people coming through the door. He held his breath as he saw an unfamiliar face coming in with a familiar one.

“Evening, Hongbin. How are you today?” Asked Wonshik.

“I’m…I’m as fine as any other d-day…” he mumbled.

“I’m sorry for being late this morning, I don’t know why there were no doctors doing rounds when there were supposed to be more than enough to do so. Anyways, thank you for looking out for Taekwoon in the meantime,” said Wonshik as he sat at the edge of the bed, looking at Taekwoon.

The stranger followed. Hongbin wanted to ask who he was but he decided to wait till a bit later.

“It’s no problem. I’m glad you saw the note I made and quickly sent the nurses,” said Hongbin with a little smile.

“Oh yeah, that was creative of you. How was it? Did you panic?”

Moving from the bed to sitting next to Hongbin on the floor, Wonshik patted his shoulder.

The stranger took Wonshik's place. He kept his attention on Taekwoon, wearing a worried expression on his face. Hongbin looked away and focused on the floor. He thought back to this morning. Did I panic? What did I do when I found out hyung had a fever?

Wonshik had been treating and helping Hongbin for months, almost up to a year now so he knew almost all the right and wrong things to do when dealing with the boy. Instead of pushing for an answer, he waited in silence. It took a few minutes but he turned to Wonshik with the tiniest smile; he shook his head no. Both relieved and proud, Wonshik gave the boy a smile.

"That's good. That's really good. How do you feel about it?"

"...I don't know. Happy, I guess? Mostly thankful because if I had panicked, I would've just out and neither of us would be conscious then," he chuckled.

"Look at you, all giggly and happy. I haven't seen that full smile in a while," Wonshik laughed, ruffling the other's hair.

Hongbin laughed. This feels nice, he thought.

"...so, you wanna tell me how you handled the situation this morning? I'm really curious, you know."

"I did what I thought was most logical, I guess. I grabbed the towel by the sink, dampen it and wiped hyung's sweat so to cool him down. After a while, his temperature went down a little, I think. That's when I made that sign...since I didn't know what else to do," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"That was good. You did great, Hongbin, you really did."

"...thanks."

Taekwoon stirred. All three pairs of eyes turned to him. He groaned and laid on his back. Hongbin went over to the bedside and sat cross-legged on the floor. He waited for Taekwoon to say something but he was silent. Is he still unconscious?

"Hyung?"

Slowly, the elder opened his eyes and gave out a long sigh. He tried to sit up but his head felt too heavy. Hongbin offered him some water that the nurse had brought in earlier and Taekwoon chugged it down almost immediately. Soon, he started to notice the things he hadn't notice the moment he woke up. He turned his head to the side and blinked lazily at Wonshik.

"Dr...wait, when did you get here?" He asked hoarsely. 

"Almost half an hour ago. How are you? We gave you an IV drip not two hours ago, I hope it's giving you your energy back."

"IV? Oh, I don't remember...but I feel better. Thank you," said Taekwoon weakly. 

"Oh don't thank me, thank Hongbin. He nursed you diligently before we even got here. Isn't that right, Hongbin?" Wonshik nudged the other's side.

The younger shyly nodded. 

Unconsciously. Taekwoon reached out for Hongbin's hand and held it in his. He didn't say anything but Hongbin knew it meant, 'thank you.' Wonshik looked at their connected hands and tried his best not to smile too wide. Who knew Taekwoon was capable of doing that, he thought gleefully. 

"Um...have any of you eaten yet?" The stranger suddenly asked.

A little surprised, Taekwoon looked at the far edge of his bed. Was he there this whole time? He wondered. Trying to focus his dizzy vision on the stranger, Taekwoon tried to sit up again. He succeeded this time, but with Hongbin's help. 

It was Jaehwan.

"Hey...what are you doing here?" Taekwoon asked, coughing.

"Hakyeon- I mean Dr. Cha said I could visit you so...we made some lunch, thinking that some homemade food could maybe freshen our tastebuds."

"...for all of us?" Asked Wonshik, a tiny bit surprised.

"Yeah, Hakyeon slept over at my house again last night so we got the chance to cook together this morning. We made soup and porridge for you, Taekwoon."

"Thank you. Um, so...where- where should we eat then?"

"How about our monitor room? It's big enough for all of us to eat together; although, can you walk, Taekwoon?"

"...I think so."

"I'll help," Hongbin offered.

"That settles it then. If it gets too hard, just tell me and I'll call for a wheelchair, alright Taekwoon?"

"Yeah...thanks."

---

A little earlier.

"Is this a good idea?" Jaehwan worried.

"I don't know...but it feels right."

"Woah, is Mr. Book-nerd really following his gut over his brain? Pigs might fly soon," Wonshik made a teasing gasp noise.

"Shut up. Okay, let's recap. We invite them for lunch, suggest to eat here, show Hongbin the gardens, show Taekwoon the recreation room and-"

"-and hope for the best. If they start to show discomfort or worry, we don't bring them to the recuperation level; if they don't, we ask if they want to try to go there. Then-"

"-then we hope for the best."

All three of them went silent. They looked at each other and sighed. They were all nervous to the bone.

This could ruin the whole experiment if they weren't careful with their approach. So many patients had failed to adapt to the transferring stage; even those that had succeeded had withdrawal symptoms. In order to avoid this, they need to be as gentle and as patient as they can. If they get through this stage, it would only be smooth sailing from then on.

"I see aging lines on your foreheads," Wonshik teased the elders.

"I'll punch you," Hakyeon threatened.

Before Wonshik could respond, an alarm sounded off from one of the machines on the work table. It was 1.30 pm; time for lunch.

"Alright then. We should go to them now. You guys ready?" Wonshik asked his hyungs before leaving out the door with his white coat.

---

Forgive me for I have sinned.

I've explained why I haven't been back for a ((very very long)) while in another story update [Wishing Factory.co] so...yeah. I'm really sorry. Besides being incompetent, I'm also not very good at being consistent. Either way, I always try and I hope you see that //sweats nervously/ Well, um...I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll update again when I can.

Love yall, xx.