☆ The Present  ☆

Hyukjae carefully poured hot water into his ramen cup and stared at the concoction lovingly as he waited for the product to become edible.  It wasn't the best meal, and definitely not the healthiest, but after 12 hours of nonstop work in the Emergency Room even a crappy bowl of ramen seemed like a feast fit for a king.

Hyukjae snapped his wooden chopsticks apart and was rubbing the rough ends together when a nurse came in.  "Dr. Lee, a patient just arrived in the Emergency Room."

The exhausted doctor brushed the hair from his eyes and stared at her over the rim of his glasses.  "You're kidding right?  Go find someone on duty."  Hyukjae waved away the nurse and went back to his ramen.  It's not that Hyukjae was heartless, he just really needed a break.  It's not like ER doctors were even assigned patients, it was first come first serve, and you got what you got, which went for doctors and patients.

"I know you're not on duty, but his file says to contact you."

Hyukjae stared at his ramen sadly.  There was only one person whose file said anything like that.  Lee Donghae was back.  He sighed and pushed himself out of his chair with one last longing look at the noodles.  They were going to bloat.

"Is he stable?"

"He's stable, but there was some damage to his lungs from the smoke inhalation.  He's receiving oxygen and is undergoing pain management."

"Smoke inhalation?  What happened?" Hyukjae asked as he took the patient's chart from the nurse.

"House fire I think."

"Where is he?"

"End of the row."  The nurse pointed to a curtained area on the far side of the room as they entered the Emergency Room. 

Hyukjae shook his head as he walked towards the alcove.  He didn't know Donghae outside of the hospital, but he still considered the man a friend.  Because of his busy work schedule and Donghae's penchant for getting injured, he actually saw the man more often than he saw any of his real friends.  As much as Hyukjae considered Donghae a friend, he wasn't too worried about the man's health.  Donghae ended up in the ER a few times a month, but it was rarely for anything serious.  Painful and embarrassing, absolutely, but not life threatening.

Donghae looked up from his hospital bed when he heard the curtain swing open and grinned at the slender new arrival.  "Hi Doc."

Donghae's eyes, normally so clear, and as warm and welcoming as hot chocolate, were bloodshot from the smoke and glassy from pain medication.  "You're back already?  Didn't you just get hit by lightning two weeks ago?" Hyukjae asked.

"I just couldn't stay away Doc.  I missed your smile."  The nurse gave Hyukjae a sideways glance while she adjusted Donghae's oxygen tube and, despite his condition, Donghae noticed the reaction.  "You don't think he has a nice smile?"

He didn't want to encourage the brunette, but Hyukjae couldn't help but flash the gummy smile Donghae seemed to love so much.  Donghae's sincere confusion with the nurse was pretty adorable.  "Thank you Nurse.  You can go and I'll finish up."  The nurse bowed and left.  "How do you feel?" Hyukjae asked in seriousness as he checked the monitors and connections.

"I'm fine.  Is she really gone?"  Donghae peered at the ducky print curtain suspiciously.

"Yes, she's gone."

"Thank goodness."  Donghae dug around under his blanket while Hyukjae watched in curiosity and eventually pulled out a little gray puppy.  "Are you okay Bada?"

"Donghae!  You can't bring a dog to a hospital!"

"Why not?  Will you check her out Doc?"

"For what?"

"She's the reason I went back into the building.  I had to save her.  Just make sure she's not hurt, okay?"

"How did you even sneak her in?" Hyukjae asked as he pulled out his stethoscope.  He didn't know much about veterinary medicine, but the basics couldn't be too different.  He put the device to the dogs chest and listened.  As far as he could tell Bada's lungs sounded clear.  Even her eyes were clear.  "I think she's okay.  She was probably so low to the ground that the smoke didn't even reach her."

Donghae cradled the dog to his chest and cooed at the small ball of fluff.

"Are you really okay?  Does your throat hurt?  Your chest or your ribs?  Any burns?"

"I'm fine, but you're more than welcome to check me out for yourself."  Donghae pulled his blanket aside with a coy smile and flashed his thigh at the young doctor.

Hyukjae rolled his eyes, already well used to Donghae's flirtatious advances.  "I'll look you over while we get rid of some of this grime, okay ert?  We'll keep you overnight for observation just in case you inhaled any dangerous fumes, but if you're still fine in the morning, you'll be released."

Donghae frowned as he set Bada down in his lap.  "But where am I going to go?" he asked quietly.  Hyukjae didn't think he was meant to hear the question, so he slipped out of the makeshift room to gather a sponge and a warm tub of water.  When he returned, he found Donghae fast asleep with Bada still curled up on his lap.  Granted that Bada was tiny, but Hyukjae again wondered how Donghae had managed to sneak an entire puppy into the ER. 

Hyukjae closed the curtain and set the water down on a nearby tray table.  Donghae's clothes had been removed by the paramedics when they were checking him for injuries and nobody had gotten around to giving him a hospital gown yet.  Hyukjae had seen the brunette inside and out over the past year, so this little bit of didn't bother him, and he knew it didn't bother Donghae.  When awake, Donghae took every opportunity to flirt with him, which often included flashing him at inappropriate moments.  It wasn't completely unwanted attention, but it was a little embarrassing when he did it in front of the nurses. 

 He shook his head as he dunked the sponge into the water and began to clean the soot and debris from his friend's handsome face.  It wasn't the first sponge bath Hyukjae had given Donghae and he doubted it would be the last.

He pulled the blanket down from Donghae's chest and caressed the jagged scars painting the man's sun kissed skin.  He traced the feathery pattern across Donghae's collarbone from where the lightning had struck him just weeks ago.  It was healing well and the design was actually rather pretty if you ignored the fact that it could have killed him.  Donghae had many other scars, from lacerations, broken bones, and surgeries.  Hyukjae knew them all.  All of the injuries had occurred within the past year, and he had treated every one of the wounds. 

Donghae thought he was cursed with bad luck.  Actually, Donghae believed he had always been cursed with bad luck, but it had just recently decided to manifest itself in bodily harm.  He had been stung by jellyfish in a river where there shouldn't have been jellyfish, hit by lightning twice, and broke his nose while playing with a yo-yo, among a handful of other random occurrences that Donghae could have never planned or predicted.  In the beginning Hyukjae thought Donghae was either a really big klutz or faking injuries as an excuse to flirt with him.  It took a lot of explaining on Donghae's part and a bolt of lightning to convince Hyukjae that the injuries weren't premeditated.

"Is your Daddy cursed Bada?  No?  You're right, because there's no such thing as luck."  Hyukjae smiled down at the puppy and patted her head.  If Donghae had been awake he would have said the same thing he'd said a million times before.  Only people with good luck don't believe in luck.

Hyukjae didn't consider himself particularly lucky.  Things had happened that made his life easier and, yes, some of it was completely random, like the winning lottery ticket he had found when he was younger.  But he didn't consider it luck.  Anyone with good observational skills could have seen the ticket on the ground and picked it up.

Hyukjae finished cleaning Donghae up, and gave the puppy a quick scrub too, laughing when he noticed her fur was white and not gray.  He gave her a drink of water then tucked her under the covers with the sleeping man.  Once his two patients were settled and sleeping soundly, he grabbed a chair and set it next to the bed.  He curled up on the chair with his arms wrapped around his legs and his cheek pillowed on his knees.

He could have admitted Donghae to the hospital proper, but then he wouldn't have been able to keep an eye on the brunette.  His shift was over soon, so he didn't feel bad about sitting with Donghae until the man was discharged.  They were sort of friends after all, and there was something comfortable and familiar about spending time with Donghae. 

If Hyukjae was being truly honest, he had a little bit of a crush on the man.  Not many people saw the hospital as a happy or exciting place, but even with as many times as he'd had to visit the ER, Donghae always managed to remain positive and upbeat.  It was one of the things that drew Hyukjae to him.  It didn't hurt that the man constantly flirted with him as