Chapter Five
Baekhyun

My fingers grasp securely onto Hyuk’s bony fingers in the sleeping corridor as if that would help shield him from the heartbreaking truth. I bite down on my bottom lip and thump the back of my head against the wall, which conducts a rocket of agony throughout. The back of my free hand comes up to my eyes, wiping away the tears before anyone can witness them.

      “What’s wrong with her?” the memory is fresh in my mind as a new wound. The remorse in Nurse Lee’s eyes had been enough to tell me what’s happening. My hand dropped from her shoulders and back to my sides like dead rocks.
“Baekhyun,” her voice was softer than a whisper and in that heart wrenching manner that meant bad news. I closed my eyes as my jaw sets into a crooked position, grinding my teeth against another.

       “Your mom’s been traumatized. She’s caught a type of dementia that older adults usually get called Alzheimer’s disease.” Nurse Lee had explained with that depressed yet professional expression sprawled across her face.
“This means she most probably wouldn’t be able to recall who you or Hyuk are to her. She’ll have a challenging time with simple everyday responsibilities and her mind will boggle things up a lot, so we have to watch over her shoulders carefully.”

      “Is there any chance of a recovery?” I was almost too doubtful to ask her this, knowing that if she said the answer I didn’t want to hear then I’d lose my rationality completely. I saw the glint of reluctance to continue in her eyes before she even had the chance to open to speak.
“So far there is no antidote for Alzheimer's,” she had sighed out. I winced at her answer, feeling my sanity gradually slipping through my fingers like water.
“But her memory loss, confusion, and thinking can be treated for a period of time with medications like memantine and cholinesterase inhibitor.”

      Suddenly, I had felt a seed of hope sprouting inside. There was actually a chance for her to remember who I was. It may be only for a short period of time, but that was all I needed to be comforted.
“Unfortunately, Baekhyun, we ran out of those medications a while ago.” And just like that my hopefulness had been crushed.

      “Can’t you get more?” I demanded with that broken look in my eyes.
“You have to!” I remember shouting down at her.
“Baekhyun, the only place to get these medications is outside of The Compound.” Nurse Lee had replied. At that very moment I had the courage to actually step outside the safety of The Compound.
“You can’t go Baekhyun. It’s a long journey on foot and the Cruor would get to you first.” As much as I wanted to save my mom, I couldn’t risk it. It would just bring more horrible news upon her and Hyuk.

      I bang my head up against the concrete wall once more as if it could just knock me out, making this unspeakable world into just another nightmare.
“You’re gonna give yourself a concussion if you keep doing that, Byun.” I open my eyes to see Chanyeol standing in front of me with a smile teeming with trepidation and the struggle of being optimistic. He extends his hard-skinned hand out toward me. I just sit there for a moment, feeling like I’m a statue that can’t move.

      “What am I supposed to do, Chanyeol?” I ask. As much as I try to conceal my anxieties, the unsteadiness in my words exposes me.
“Just sit back and watch my mom lose all memory of Hyuk and me?” I run my fingers through my tangled mop of blonde hair.
“You should stay by your mom’s side for the next few days so she can learn to recognize you.” Chanyeol sighs out, patting Hyuk’s scrawny hand.

      “He’s getting warmer and warmer every day.” I mumble out. Chanyeol nods his head slowly after taking Hyuk’s temperature.
“Has he been taking the medicine?” Chanyeol asks.
“Of course he has. I wouldn’t let a day go by without him doing so.” I blurt out, furious that Chanyeol would even assume that I wouldn’t be taking care of Hyuk right.

      “What am I gonna do?” I groan, letting my face fall into my palms.
“Huh?” Chanyeol glances up, dropping his hand from Hyuk’s mop of dark brown hair.
“Should I…” my voice trails off as I force the thought out of my mind. I shouldn’t even be bearing in mind the option of leaving Hyuk in his state of health.

      “Baekhyun, just do whatever you feel your heart wants you to.” Chanyeol flashes a faint smile before rolling onto his back.
“I just don’t like seeing you in a troubled state of mind.” He nods his head. I glance over at Chanyeol. His bright brown eyes gaze straight up at the ceiling.

      I only met him when we first came to The Compound. He never speaks about his past. In fact, I don’t even know his last name, but there’s really no purpose for it down here though. He told me his parents passed away when he was younger, and I should believe him, if only I could. Under no circumstances does Chanyeol cry at night or zone out in the middle of the day like I have a billion times and over, which makes me question if his parents had truly lost their lives. I’m not sure if he holds it all in like a boiling cauldron of sorrow and wants to appear as a strong leader, or maybe he didn’t have any real relationships with his parents, either one, but it’s definitely not good for him.

      “Baekhyun,” I glimpse up, locking eyes with Chanyeol for a moment.
“Huh?” The hesitation in his eyes is obvious, but I’m not so sure he knows so.
“I just want you to know this.” Chanyeol begins but then comes to another abrupt stop in his words. I nod my head slowly, hating how he always dragged out his explanations with breaks between every sentence. It’s not like he has a breathing problem or anything, I mean, he can breathe perfectly fine.

      “Anything that I do,” Chanyeol clasps his hands together and imbibes in a gulp of air. He takes his eyes off of me and casts his gaze across the opposite wall.
“That may have an effect on you,” I observe as he nervously rubs the calloused palms of his hands together.
“I’m doing it for the better.”

      I tilt my head at his statement. Anything he does that affects me is for the better? What in the world is Chanyeol talking about? 
“Uh… sure.” I slowly nod my head.
“I hope you understand when the time comes.” Chanyeol sighs. He gives a short glance in Hyuk’s direction before disappearing through the doorway.

When the time comes?

Sorry for the late update!
The story is still in it's slow stages, but just wait.