Safe - For Now
Unwanted Reunion
"You alright, son?" The old man asked, a comforting hand placed on Changmin's back.
"He's coming back, right...?" Changmin asked almost melancholically, tearing his eyes away from the staircase to look the old man in the eyes.
The said man was taken aback. He had asked whether Changmin was alright because he had noticed how breathless the young star had been when he had reached the top of the stairs. But now, seeing the look of sadness that filled the boy's eyes to the near brim, the older man understood.
He had lived more than twice as long as this young child had, and he knew, the pain and trauma life can cause you in its little things it called 'lessons'.
His hand moved to circle around Changmin's back soothingly.
"I don't think he'll ever leave you, son."
A sad smile crossed Changmin's lips, before he looked away from the all-knowing and all-understanding eyes of the owner.
"Well, you're wrong about that. He's left me once. I'm just scared he'll do it again."
This time the old man could almost feel the shattered heart of the youngster, and decided it was time for some advice.
"Son," he said as he took a seat down beside Changmin, hand still on Changmin's back in comfort,
"Sometimes in life, there will come a time when you have to choose between what IS right, and what FEELS right. Sometimes your heart says something, but your mind says something else. And when these moments come, I can tell you, they like hell. Because you don't really know which road you should take. You're at your own crossroad. Now I can tell you, son, that your friend, he's at a crossroad too. He's trying to choose. Is he choosing the right one?"
Changmin blinked blankly in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but I don't get it..."
The old man gave him a warm smile.
"Have faith that he'll make the right one."
"Faith...?"
The owner nodded. "Yes. Faith. Do you have faith in him? In your friend, Kim Junsu?"
Changmin seemed to stop to think for a while, before he nodded hesitantly, biting his lip unsurely.
The old man tutted, waving his index finger in disapproval.
"That isn't faith, son. Be sure. Be sure of yourself, be sure of your decisions. be sure of your friend.
Are you sure of all those things?"
Changmin nodded once again, but this time more vigorously.
The old man broke out in a grin once more.
"See that's the spirit. Now, I'll ask you. Do you believe in your hyung, Shim Changmin?"
"Yes, I do," Changmin answered.
"Do you believe he'll make the right choice?"
"Yes."
"Good," the old man said, placing his hands upon Changmin's shoulder. "Because maybe if you have a strong enough faith," The old man's eyes moved to look at the space where Changmin was staring at only moments ago, more specifically, the staircase, "then your friend will be able to make the right choice."
Changmin's eyes widened at the realization that dawned on him, and turned around with hyped expectancy this time, his whole upper body twisting to the left to see, as he had believed he would, Junsu coming back.
Coming back to him.
He didn't leave him afterall.
Junsu, God bless him, was practically running up the stairs, with Changmin's medicine bag in hand.
"Changmin!" exclaimed Junsu as he screeched to a halt in front of the two of them. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I forgot where I parked the car! Can you believe it?"
"See?" the old man said, as he patted Changmin's shoulder in gentle affection, "Have faith."
With that, the old man got up from his seat. "I'll go get your menus now. I'll just take a short while."
Changmin and Junsu stared after him, Changmin in awe and Junsu in almost complete and utter confusion.
"What was that all about?" he asked, as he took a seat in front of Changmin, his eyes wide with curiousity.
Changmin's eyes himself glowed with excitement as he leaned closer and whispered to Junsu.
"The old man told me to believe, and I did."
Junsu straightened up, and eyed the younger quizzically.
"What did he ask you to believe in?"
"You," explained Changmin with an excited grin, "He told me to believe in you."
Junsu's reaction immediately after those words were said was one of being touched... and of sympathy. Junsu sympathised greatly with Changmin after hearing those words.
Sure, to have someone believe in you must be a feeling of euphoria, but to be convinced to believe by a stranger, and to believe it so greatly, almost shattered Junsu's heart for some reason.
"Why did you need to believe in me?"
"Because..." Changmin's eyes darted away from Junsu this time, a sign of nervousness, "Because I was afraid you wouldn't come back for me."
If Junsu had a gun in his pocket right now, he could nearly swear he would take it out and shoot himself in the head with it.
"Here's your menu!"
The both of them twisted their heads to the side to see the owner smiling warmly at them, menus held out towards them.
"Would you like to have our specialty?"
Changmin gave him a big grin and gratefully took the menus from him, while Junsu wordlessly took his, absorbing himself in the food choices.
It wasn't long before Changmin was done with his food choices, ordering the first three foods at the top of the menu, instictively knowing that those three were, in fact, the top three best-selling dishes in the restaurant. Junsu had his own dish, knowing that the concept of sharing with Changmin was entirely nonexistent when it came to food.
And then the old man left, leaving the two of them alone once again.
"Changmin..." Junsu started off with a soft sigh, rekindling the somber atmosphere they had just lost.
Changmin looked back at him hesitantly, almost unsure of what Junsu had to say.
"I'm not going to leave you, okay? I'll always be there for you. Always."
Changmin only stared for a few moments before he gave his hyung a small unsure smile.
"Hey," Junsu said, tilting his head to the side, "Believe me, okay?"
This time, however, Changmin broke out in a grin. "I believe you."
Junsu was a bit startled by the sudden change in attitude, but smiled all the same.
"Oh right! Here, Changmin, have your medicine before you forget," said Junsu out of the silence that followed between them.
Changmin nodded, taking the bag from him and started sorting out the bottles and systematically swallowing the pills dry. Junsu grimaced at the sight, making an obvious face that Changmin noticed.
"What's wrong, hyung?"
"How do you do that...? Swallow all those pills whole... Bleurgh!" Junsu stuck out his tongue in disgust.
Changmin chuckled, amused by the sight.
"I don't know, hyung. I just do," Changmin answered as he began keeping the medicine back in he bag. Even he had to admit, the number of pills he had just swallowed was amazing. How many was that? Twelve?
"Hyung?" Changmin asked, resting his head against his supported palm, "Do you think you have faith?"
Junsu cocked his head to the side. What a weird question.
"Faith? As in, God? That kind of faith?"
Changmin shook his head. "No, faith as in, do you believe in yourself?"
Junsu pouted his lips for a while, a sign that he was deep in thought.
"I suppose so. I mean, if you don't believe in yourself, you won't really get anywhere would you?"
Changmin nodded, showing his understanding.
"Why are you asking so suddenly, anyway?"
Changmin answered with a shrug, as he rested his chin on his palm.
"The Ahjushi owner asked me about it, and I was just wondering."
Junsu raised an eyebrow.
"You raise up weird topics, Changmin."
The other only gave a smile in response, quite happy, in actual fact, with how the day was going.
The rest of the time waiting for the food was spent talking about trivial and simple topics, like what had happened to the five of them the past three years and how they were getting on. Junsu learned that Changmin and Yunho had finally had the opportunity to spend Christmas and other holidays with their respective families. Lee Soo Man had actually gotten a lot nicer after their split. Junsu was able to laugh at the irony, Changmin gave a grimace.
"How was your Lunar New Year then?" Changmin asked in return.
Junsu answered by putting his lips together in a straight line and scrunching his nose.
"Work, work, work. JYJ was having our world tour, and we were in Vancouver at the time, holding a concert."
"Ooo, to be you," the Maknae teased.
"Haha," Junsu answered sarcastically.
"Having fun catching up?"
Junsu and Changmin turned their heads to the sound of the voice, and the two, particularly Changmin, were delighted to see the owner, along with some waiters, serving them their food.
Trays and trays of food.
Junsu gawked at the amount of food being placed on their table, and looked up at the owner, his mouth hanging open.
"E-excuse me I don't remember ordering that --"
"Aish! No, no!" the old man interrupted them with a wave of his hand. "The extra food is on me."
"Yay!!" Changmin cheered, holding his hands up in the air in a victorious celebration, "Free food! Free food!"
The owner laughed, taking a moment to ruffle Changmin's hair in affection.
"The two of you," the old man said as he straightened up with a heave, holding on to his back, "should sit back, relax, and enjoy each other's company. Take the time to catch up. Don't worry," he said with a wink, "I'm not a stingy man."
Junsu and Changmin laughed at his sense of humour, but were undoubtedly touched by his generosity.
"Now," the old man declared with a clap of his hands. "Eat up!"
"Kamsahamnidaaaaa!" Changmin yelled after him, as the owner walked away to leave them in peace.
Changmin looked back at Junsu with a grin, undoubtedly ecstatic at the amount of food.
"Hyung, let's eat!" he practically shouted, holding his chopsticks up in the air.
"Ne~!"
As they the gas, Changmin began placing the meat on the pan and preparing the soup.
"Hey, Hyung?" asked Changmin out of the blue, as he began munching on his third plate of food.
"Yes, Changmin?"
"You're paying, right?"
"..... Yes, Changmin..."
"Gomawoyo~"
"You're welcome, beanstalk."
Changmin's eyes widened at the old nickname.
"Yah! I am not a beanstalk! I filled out okay!" Changmin protested.
With a straight face, Junsu stared back at him, still munching on his meat, chopstick in his mouth.
"No... Still a beanstalk."
The Maknae slammed his chopsticks on the table in the defiance.
"Yah,not true! I have abs okay! Chocolate abs! See?" Changmin stood and lifted up his shirt to prove his point.
Junsu almost choked on his meat. What shocked him wasn't the chocolate abs, undoubtedly they were present and obvious for all to see, but the amount of bruises littered across the lean abdomen. Changmin's whole upper body was basically just one big bruise.
"Yah!" Junsu scolded, "Sit down!"
Changmin promptly did as he was told.
"See? Chocolate abs!"
"Alright, alright. Chocolate abs."
The Maknae nodded in agreement.
"And not just any chocolate, but 100% original cocoa picked from the best seeds of the cocoa trees in Mexico!"
"You're not making any sense, Changmin."
With a wave of his hands, Changmin gave a diva glare.
"I don't need to make sense when it comes to protecting my manliness."
"Eat your food."
"....Okay..."
Both Changmin and Junsu resumed eating, silence between them once again.
Until Changmin started coughing.
And it wasn't really the cough you would expect to hear. It didn't sound like Changmin had accidentally choked on a piece of food when he gobbled it down too quickly. Nor did it sound like a typical cough someone with a fever was having.
No, this cough sounded sick. More accurately, it sounded like Changmin was trying to cough his lungs out. Dry, loud coughs filled the air, and the sound of wheezing was heard. Changmin covered his mouth with his hand, in an attempt to calm it down.
Junsu had no idea what was going on.
Thinking Changmin had merely swallowed too fast, he handed the Maknae a glass of water, only for it to be knocked out of his hands and fall to the floor when Changmin pushed it away.
"Min? What's going..."
Changmin's coughs seemed to get louder and more desperate, and the Maknae started keeling over and clutched at his chest with his free hand in pain.
"Changmin?" Junsu stood up, thoroughly worried when the coughs seemed to give no indication of stopping. "Are you okay...?"
As the racks of coughing overwhelmed him, Changmin managed to look Junsu straight in the eye for a short moment, before he keeled over once more, one hand on his chest while the other covered his mouth.
A moment was all it took for Junsu to see the pain and desperation in his eyes, as well as the tears of pain running down his cheeks.
And then Changmin collapsed to the floor.
"Changmin!!" The yell was loud enough for the people downstairs to whip their heads around and wonder who had yelled so suddenly.
Junsu was quick to move, being at the Maknae's side in less than an instant. Changmin was curled into himself in a fetal position, still coughing. His hand dropped from his mouth to claw at his throat and Junsu noticed for the first time, that the Maknae was turning blue.
He couldn't breathe. Changmin couldn't breathe.
"HELP!!" the older practically screamed.
None too soon, the owner ran up the stairs, face pale and full of worry.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked before he was even in Junsu's view.
"Get a doctor! Something's wrong with him!"
Junsu could hear running footsteps once again as the old man ran downstairs. He could hear the old man shouting, asking whether anyone was a doctor. There was a short silence before he could hear footsteps running up the stairs once more.
By this time, Changmin's eyes had rolled back into his head, showing full whites and he was foaming at the mouth.
Two persons were by his side in an instant.
"He's a doctor," Junsu could hear the owner explain beside him.
"What's wrong with him?!" Junsu asked through tears that were developing in his eyes.
The doctor took one look at Changmin, before he answered.
"He's having a seizure! Quick, move him into the Recovery Position!"
It was by of luck that both the owner and Junsu knew what he was talking about. Changmin had stopped coughing by then. In fact, he had stopped moving at all. He was totally unconscious.
After they assumed the standard position of lying Changmin on his side with his chin tilted upwards to avoid choking on the tongue, the doctor moved to give an inspection.
He placed two fingers on Changmin's throat to check on his heartbeat, timing it with his watch, counting the seconds down, before he moved to Changmin's chest. Running his hands up Changmin's shirt, he checked his breathing. The doctor seemed to take less than a minute, before it dawned on him what was wrong.
"Is he on any kind of medication?"
Junsu nodded, and handed him Changmin's medicine bag. The doctor sifted through them, until one labelled pill bottle caught his eye.
"I knew it. We should get him to a nearby hospital as soon as possible for a full check up. Do you know who prescribed him all these pills?"
Junsu nodded. "A doctor who's a close friend of ours. She runs a hospital in a town."
"Good. Then we'll take him there."
******************
The doctor had called for a private ambulance to come and get them, and pretty soon, they were speeding down the highway, an unconscious Changmin strapped into the hospital bed, surrounded by medics who constantly buzzed around him, and a very worried Junsu, heading towards Jaera's hospital in her hometown provice.
The sound of the wailing, screaming ambulance was enough for Jaera to put herself on high alert, expecting the worst. And when said ambulance pulled up in front of the facility, it was like her nightmare had come true.
Stepping outside, her bulging tummy protruding from her doctor's labcoat, she watched as the ambulance doors burst open....
And see Junsu jump out.
"Junsu-shi?!"
Well. That was unexpected.
"Jaera noona-nim!" Junsu ran to her as the paramedics and doctor jumped out from behind him, wheeling Changmin into the facility, "Sorry to intrude, but we need your help."
Jaera was already quick to follow the paramedics inside the building.
"Take him to the examination room!" she ordered, before turning to Junsu. "What happened, Junsu-shi?"
Junsu started babbling, waving his arms about comically.
"Changmin and I were eating at a Gogi-jip in Gangnam when he suddenly started coughing and started turning blue and then he fell to the floor and started foaming at the mouth and his eyes rolled into his head and then I called for help and the owner came and he got a doctor who said he was having a seizure so he asked me was Changmin on any kind of medication and I said yes and showed him his pills and then he made a face and told me to get an ambulance and come here immediately and here we are! So what happened to him?!"
Jaera held her hand up to cut him short.
"Wait. Are you saying he had a seizure?"
Junsu nodded.
"Was he having any form of emotional turmoil a few minutes before the attack happened? Had he consumed any of the medicine at least half an hour before the attack?"
Junsu nodded once more.
Jaera's face seemed to go pale at his affirmation.
"Junsu-shi, go wait in the waiting room. I'll need to do a full body check up on Changmin."
And she was gone, leaving Junsu standing there alone in the hallway, feeling as helpless as a child.
***************
Pacing in the waiting room, Junsu had absolutely no idea what to do, other than pray, to whatever Gods up there that were willing to listen.
He took out his phone, fiddled with it for a while, put it on silent, before he decided on sending a message to Jaejoong hyung, knowing it would be best for his hyung to know what was going on.
"Junsu-shi?"
Junsu whipped around to see both the doctor and Jaera coming his way, a look of stern on the doctor's face, while Jaera held one of worry.
"Doctor-nim, Jaera noona-nim, is everything alright? How's Changmin? What happened to him? He's going to be okay, right?"
Jaera stepped forward to answer for him.
"Junsu-shi," she began in a comforting tone, "Changmin just suffered from a Reflex Anoxic Seizure. Do you have any idea what that is, Junsu-shi?"
At the shake of Junsu's head, Jaera began explaining.
"A Reflex Anoxic seizure is a seizure that happens when there is too little blood flow going to the brain and drop in oxygen content. It really happens mainly in children, but attacks on adults are not uncommon. The seizure is usually caused by a bump in the head, but there are other causes and Changmin's is mainly from the extreme trauma he's suffered."
Junsu turned pale at the words.
"T-trauma...?"
The doctor next to Jaera nodded.
"Mr Shim was shown to suffer from extreme amounts of trauma and can be deemed as emotionally unstable right now. Adding to his fever, the seizure was inevitable."
Jaera continued beside him.
"The medication I gave him included some painkillers, and after consideration, a few anti-depressants were given as well. The symptoms probably had made itself known earlier on before the onset of the attack, but because of the aftereffects of the pills, it wouldn't have been obvious."
"So how's Changmin now?" Junsu asked.
"Mr Shim is currently in stable condition. The fever and the food he had consumed somehow caused a reaction for his airway to become swollen, which lead to the lack of oxygen in his system. The good news is that the swell was only temporary, we managed to calm it down by the time we reached the hospital. Other than a tiredness that will need some days of rest to get over and a rise in temperature from the fever, he should be fine."
Junsu sighed in relief, his eyes tearing up as he gave a ninety degree bow to both doctors.
"Thank you so much, Doctor-nim, Jaera noona-nim!"
"However, there are the injuries sustained..." the doctor trailed off.
Junsu froze, eyes widening in shock.
"N-ne?"
"As of standard procedure, we had to do a full body check up on Mr Shim. His injuries are... extensive."
Junsu winced at the doctor's words.
"The coughing fit brought some damage to his ribs and there were a few tears on his chest that indicated the ribs had been stretched. As well as the injuries sustained from before the seizure," the doctor gave Junsu an all-knowing look, "there is no telling what effect this will have on his well-being."
Junsu nodded, ashamed to look the doctor in the eye.
"With injuries of that extent, I can't predict the trauma he was going through. HIs physical state may be fixable, but it's his mental state that has me worried."
The doctor shook his head for a while.
"I should be making a police report on this," Junsu's eyes widened at the statement and his head shot up to look the doctor in the eye. The doctor looked back at him with a crease in his forehead, as if he was judging what was the best decision to make. "But... I believe Mr Shim is in safe hands with the two of you. I may not know what's going on, but the injuries are telling me it couldn't be any worse. So for now, I'll leave Mr Shim under Doctor Han's care, but if anything else happens to him, I want the two of you to contact me immediately. Be warned that I WILL transfer Mr Shim to a state facility, where he will get the care and attention he needs, and an investigation will be held, unless I see improvements in his state. He may have the body and build of a man, but his mind is in a child-like state. Trauma will not kill you, but it IS able to damage you beyond repair."
Jaera and Junsu nodded solemnly to his command.
"Alright then. I shall take my leave. Doctor Han, I believe I've left my number to you, so here," the Doctor handed Junsu a business card with a name and number on it, "I want you to contact me should anything that Doctor Han can't handle, happens."
Junsu took it with both hands and a slight bow.
"Now," said the doctor, "I believe I was in the middle of a very delicious barbeque."
=====================
Omo omo omo!! \('o')/
Double update!! Nyeheheh sorry I haven't updated in like THREE WHOLE MONTHS but what can I say, I've been busy ~
Hahaha but yeah, honestly speaking, I was stuck on this chapter for a while. Actually I was stuck on BOTH chapters, the previous one included.
I only got the idea that Changmin would have a seizure last week and I've been typing like mad ever since!
Haha my exams are coming up soon, so I might disappear for w hile. Well, who knows?
Hope you enjoy the update! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated :)
Oh, and PS; TV2XQ'S NEW COMEBACK IS TO DIE FORRRRRRR
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