Seokjin and the Heirs of the Korean Miracle - BOOK 1 ✔

Chapter 9 : Y-you?

Seokjin's ears were ringing. The incessant whirring of a nebulizer that diffused his vaporous medicine next to him had annoyed him for a few minutes even though he had the delicious feeling of breathing incredibly easily, as if he were breathing... Corticosteroids, he recognized their enjoyable effects, without knowing why he was being given this medicine, which he was only allowed to take as a last resort.

He felt that he was wearing something of his face and recognized the weight of an oxygen mask because he had already worn one in the past. Even if the aerosol did him good by opening his bronchial tubes as Ventolin was not able to do it the same, he would have liked to remove it because the person who had put it on him had tightened it too much and it was a little painful but he could neither open his eyes nor move.

He was very thirsty, as if he had just run and it was long overdue to rehydrate. He would have liked to lighten his dry lips and if possible, swallow a large glass of water, but no glass of water came to him to quench his thirst so he stopped thinking about it.

He felt he was in a comfortable bed and wondered if he was home. But it appeared to him that it was not possible because he was on a thick mattress, therefore on a bed and not in his familiar futon placed on the wooden floor. He was not used to sleeping on a bed and he was afraid of leaning too far with his eyes closed and falling at the slightest movement. So he preferred to stay still instead of struggling to get up.

He wanted to call his mother to help him up and explain what was happening to him, but his lips didn't even have the strength to move to form words either. They were just staying half opened and were very dry, so is the inside of his mouth. It was a very unpleasant feeling.  However, he desperately wanted to know where he was so he concentrated on fully regaining consciousness.

Finally, with patience and perseverance, he managed to lift a heavy eyelid, then a second and half-open his eyes. He instantly realized he was in a hospital room and began to feel the stress overtaking him. What had happened to him? His hazy mind didn't allow him to remember that yet.

The room was bathed in the light of the setting sun filtering through the window. By managing to turn his head slightly to his right side, he saw a shadow come out of the window in the light of the setting sun which announced the end of the day, a telephone in hand.

"M-mom..." he succeeded to mumble the first word that came to mind through his mask and the noise of the nebulizer.

The shadow turned when he heard it and locked its phone before putting it in its pocket. As the person was against the light, Seokjin and his half-opened eyes, even squinting, could not perceived his face.

"Do I look like your mom?" the voice a teenage boy replied, but seeing that Seokjin was not yet in a condition to face this aggressive irony, he added in a softer tone : "she came to see you just now in a hurry but she had to come back despite her wish to stay with you. She asked me to stay with you."

Seokjin was startled to realize who was standing in the room with him and it was indeed not his mother. He stammered weakly:

"Y-you?"

The other boy clicked his tongue, as if annoyed.

"Yeah, me. You could at least pretend to be happy to see me, it's not like anyone else came to visit you, after all, you don't have any friends."

"I won't thank you as I don't want to see you, so you can go now. I want to see my mom, please let me call her with your phone," he replied weakly, trying in vain to fully open his half-open eyes and straighten up. He had a pasty mouth and his diction was very slow.

"Yeah, well, we don't always get what we want in life, Jin. Well, I do, but you don't."

Jin. It had been a long time since the boy called him that. What could have suddenly changed? Besides, what was he doing there with him at hospital instead of being in night class at this late hour that the setting sun seemed to indicate to him?