Title: Unusual Intervals
Type: Oneshot
Pairing: Cheondung/G.O
Rate: G
Genre: Fluff, Angst?
He woke up to all-white surroundings lit with neon lights in the same color. There were constant beeps from all sorts of machinery right next to his bed, and a large, but harmless needle was attached on his forearm.
The neon lights were just as bright and blinding as police cars' headlights, the beeping sound reminded him of the loud, annoying sirens coming from ambulances, and the pain on his forearm, sharp and stinging, was pretty much the same like last night, a hot summer night, when he was on top of scattered glasses and steel and blood.
His heart was pounding so loud he could hear every boom with his ear, screaming him deaf. Make it stop, he prayed. Make me forget. Let me sleep.
And before the world disappeared through his eyelids, that was the last thing he remembered.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was a week before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
Hospital was a strange place. The people were nice and friendly, but the food was horrible.
He ate his rice and chicken porridge reluctantly and his eyes were glued to the small TV screen in the corner of his ward, a woman dressed in a too-tight blazer was reporting an accident.
"… the members were badly injured and are under intensive treatment at the hospital, their activities are postponed for at least a month. The fans club were trying to…"
"Hello," said a kind, soft voice. A nurse appeared at his door with a stack of new magazines and novels. "Your friend left you some books. Do you want to read something?"
"Yes please," he answered. "Who left me these?"
The nurse paused for a while. "The tall, fair-skinned and black-haired one."
Sanghyun, he thought as he examined the stack for a while before choosing a novel, ripped the plastic wrap and murmured a faint "Thank you" and adjusted a comfortable position to read, his bowl of porridge forgotten.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was six days before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was still at chapter nine of his book, halfway from chapter ten when he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in."
Four people rushed into the door at the same time, and after a short struggle and some yelling, they were neatly seated beside his bed, circling him.
"How are you?" asked the eldest, the leader, Seungho. He saw a fresh scratch on his leader's handsome face, and some more on his piano-playing hands. He might not be able to play for a while, he thought sadly.
"I'm managing," he replied cheerfully, with a smile, but the hyung's eyes fell in somewhat dolour. "I'm fine, really. The doctor said I can go in five days."
An awkward silence reigned for a minute, until Sanghyun linked his hand with his own (not the IV-ed one, Sanghyun knew it would hurt).
"We'll be waiting for you."
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was five days before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was still at chapter seventeen of his book, when Sanghyun's face sneaked from the door. He brought apples and oranges in a white plastic bag. "Hi, hyung!"
He couldn't help but to smile back at Sanghyun's sunny smile. "Sanghyun-ah," he greeted, and moved a bit to give room for Sanghyun to sit on his bed.
"You want one?" the younger started to peel an orange and stuffed some of its content in his mouth.
"Later," he answered. "Sanghyunie, do you think you could take me outside for a walk?"
The rapper studied his face carefully. "Sure, but I'll ask the nurse first," he said as he sliding out the door.
The tall boy came back with a wheelchair and the two of them spent that afternoon watching the yellow, brown and red leaves fell into the ground as they cleaned up the fruits stock.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was four days before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was at the two last chapters of his book when Sanghyun came for visit, and the younger volunteered to read the book to him. He agreed easily, he felt a bit too tired anyway.
Sanghyun's voice was low and husky and it made him sleepy, he told him. Sanghyun told him not to sleep before he finished, and he obliged dutifully, and when they actually finished, Sanghyun asked for a pen and he told him it was inside the side table.
He noticed that the younger scribbled who knows what on the last page of his book. But he was too tired to object or to take a look inside the book after Sanghyun left, and let the drowsiness took over his body as he fell into a dreamless sleep, as the first snow fell into the ground that night.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was three days before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was still at chapter five of his book when Sanghyun came, with three companions he had seen on TV and he exclaimed happily, "Sanghyunie, I didn't know you made friends with celebrities!"
The next time he woke up, it was two days before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
Four people dressed in suits with strange hairstyles visited his ward, claiming that they were his friends but he didn't remember them and they made him frightened so he screamed for nurses and doctors and god, thank god, they came quickly, politely telling the people to leave.
That night he was still at chapter eleven of his book, his legs were curled under his comforters, he tried to read the lines over and over again but he couldn't. Sweat was running down his forehead right to his chin, and he knew it wasn't because of that hot summer night.
He was still scared.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was a day before he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was thin and weak and his bones ache and it hurt so much just to move a muscle. He was sitting on his bed staring at nothing when someone entered his ward with apples and oranges, and the smell of the fruits filled the air and before he could suppress the waves inside his stomach, it already passed his mouth and onto his lap and sheets.
xxx
The next time he woke up, it was the day when he could be released from hospital and back to the dorm.
He was preparing to leave when he found a novel on top of his side table, it was dusty and yellow and torn here and there, and marked at chapter eleven. He flipped through the pages as he wondered which idiot had left him with such ugly, old book.
He noticed that there was a line of writing on the very last page, the paper was somehow rumpled as if it was once wet. He brought the book closer to his eyes as he tried to read the writing, its dull, grayish ink was threatening to disappear anytime.
Please don't forget us.
That silly, little—Byunghee's laugh disappeared as soon as it came, his jaw muscles and shoulders hurt every time he did so. The image of his members waiting for him back at their dorm flashing through his mind, and he can't wait until they laugh at Sanghyun's silly writing together so the second youngest's ears would turn red in shame, and he didn't, can't, remember the time when Sanghyun was not silly.
But he remembered the time when Sanghyun said that they would be waiting for him.
They didn't have to wait anymore.
A/N: Please do comment, that is my only source of joy now /cries
(Written for mblaq_ohyeah MBLAQ 25 fics challenge prompt 10. time - Cheondung/G.O)