Luminous • Jisung

69 • Eager

He gave his shoulder a soft squeeze before he turned around and walked upstairs, with Jisung quickly following him.

Compared to the chatter and music that floated through the air downstairs, it was dead silent upstairs. Only Cho-a's soft breathing flowed through the room, filling up the otherwise lifeless space.

Jisung went ahead and opened the door for the doctor.

In the corner of the room shone a light. It shone all day long, all night long, just so it was never dark inside. Just in case, so that she wouldn't feel scared when she woke up.

Doyoung stepped inside, made his way around the bed and sat down on its edge, right next to her. Her skin was still burning hot, her lips were dry, her breathing shallow and slow.

He brushed a couple of hairs out of her face as he watched her.
"You know, if she doesn't--"

"I know," Jisung cut him off quickly. "Just give her some more time."

Doyoung didn't have to look at him to see the desperation in his eyes. He could tell by his voice alone.

So, no longer talking about it, he went ahead and checked her temperature which was still the same even after all these days. He changed the bandages on her arm and got up, took a step back.

His eyes fell onto the glass of water that stood on the bedside table. It was cold, no bubbles lined up inside it. Jisung refilled it every couple of hours. Just in case.

Even though it was sweet to see, it was equally worrisome. Doyoung couldn't do much to change her state and he couldn't do much to help Jisung. 

Although, actually Jisung surprised him. He was doing better than Doyoung would have expected. 

The boy was running low on sleep, yet he still kept his eyes on everyone. He made sure to update Doyoung and Kun daily on Chenle's and Renjun's condition as well as on Cho-a's. He gave instructions to Taemin and Yuta who took over for the time being and he also somehow managed to take good enough care of himself to at least not look like he was going to die any second.

Doyoung sighed.

"You are frustrating," he mumbled under his breath. "I'll give her one more day. If she isn't better by then, I'll take her to the hospital."

Jisung pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, biting down on it softly. He nodded.
"Okay," he agreed. "But it won't be necessary."

"Jisung--"

"Hyung," he cut him off, locked eyes with the older one. He knew he meant well so he wasn't going to be rude for no reason.

He swallowed hard, smiled tightly. There wasn't much he could say because Doyoung was right.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said eventually. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Any time," Doyoung replied quickly. "Get some rest. It's late."

After that, he left. Jisung checked in on the rest of the boys that spent the night either in the few guest rooms or occasionally in the living room. Everyone was fine, they were chatting happily.

So, after excusing himself, Jisung went back to his room.

There was a cushion on the floor right next to the bed which Jisung sat down on. He slid his hand under the blanket, gently wrapped his fingers around Cho-a's hand and rested his head on the mattress next to it.

Falling asleep next to her was one of the easiest things on earth.

And yet somehow it was one of the hardest as well.