Chapter 7: Make Room

Donghae’s world was a mixture of blurred lights and painful ringing. Every breath ached and he could feel the slow trickle of something alien entering his veins. Strangers in green suits rushed around him, hoisted him into whatever was producing the painful flashing and slammed the doors shut behind him. Nothing made sense and the only constant thing was the pain. Was he speaking? Was he moving? He had no idea, he just knew his entire being hurt, the damage on the outside merely an echo of the screaming ache in his chest. The ache that had been there ever since the party was now radiating through his body, calling for him to find that boy, to be near him.

Slowly but surely reality began to slip away from him, the dull throbbing was still there but had softened. Whatever was pumping through him was numbing the horrid ordeal as he rode along in the rattling room, the sounds and sights from earlier now gone, replaced by a humming vibration that was almost soothing. It became increasingly difficult for him to keep his drooping lids open and fear struck him, what would happen if he closed his eyes? Would they open again? Before he had the chance to fight against the drug, he was gone, floating in a painless, peaceful nothingness.

Meanwhile the limp form of one Lee Hyukjae was being untangled from the brambles and bushes beneath the window of a curious maths class. The thorns tore at his uniform and scratched at his exposed skin as his ‘saviour’ struggled to lift him from his deathbed, panted breaths inflating the youngster’s puffy cheeks. Following another hard tug, Henry fell to the ground with a definite thud, calling the attention of a passing student with a bird’s nest of dark hair and slumped shoulders.

A frantic Henry called out to the boy he recognised to be Kim Jongwoon, a student in the same year as the currently unconscious Hyukjae, demanding he run to the schools office and call the ambulance he desperately needed. Henry continued to check over his senior, listening gently to the weak heartbeat in his chest and the shallow breaths he struggled to push out. When the ambulance arrived, despite his insisting, Henry had no reason to remain with Hyukjae through the ordeal and was forced to stay in school worrying over him.

*

Days dragged on slowly and Donghae lay beneath crisp hospital sheets, the only sounds filling the room were sniffles from distressed loved ones and the heart monitor comforting them all with the promise that he was still alive, despite his unmoving form. His mother grasped desperately at her sons hand, clinging onto him for dear life as his closest friends watched from afar, the usually emotional Sungmin with a strong heart comforted a hurting Kyuhyun. The fear of not knowing when Donghae would wake worried them all, they tried relentlessly to stir his consciousness but knew it was simply a matter of waiting.

Further along the same corridor lay another comatose boy surrounded by empty chairs and pitying nurses. A doctor with dark hair and a young face tutted over Hyukjae as he noticed the room empty once again, the absence of any visitors saddened Jungsu and he was thankful to see the considerate Ryeowook coming in during his breaks to mindlessly chat to the teen. Ryeowook hadn’t been a nurse long but his kind heart and cute features meant patients quickly took a liking to him, he considered their feelings and wanted more than some of his co-workers, he believed being comfortable and happy were just as important as being healthy.

*

It was a struggle to open his eyes and part of his mind told him he was dead, that the numbness and bright lights were heaven and he hadn’t made it. His soul link had finally killed him. His mouth was filled with cotton and every attempt to speak was pointless. Where was he? His eyes finally opened and to his relief someone had blocked the blinding light. The familiar and comforting face of his mother was beside him, she seemed to have aged 10 years with stress as she closed in on her son, “I’m so glad you’re awake, we’ve been so worried!” She captured him in a warm hug which made him suddenly aware of the pain in his torso.

Reading his body language she quickly pulled away and offered a glass of stale water to quench his thirst and dampen his chapped lips. Grateful, he savoured the liquid his body was dying for and leaned back in his bed in relief. Despite just waking up he was drowsy and drifted in and out of consciousness for the next couple of days. Ju