withering bloom | TXT

5 | wonder

          [THE DISEASE(S) MENTIONED ARE
FICTIONAL AND IT IS NOT REAL!!]

hueningkai, the boy of wonders

HUENINGKAI spun lightly on his stool near the hospital bed, puffing his cheeks with air. his head spun, he couldn't think straight making eye contact with beomgyu's oxygen mask.

beomgyu was almost like a brother to huening, somebody he was always able to go to and trust with anything. the sight of beomgyu in this state felt like he was losing his brother.

hueningkai lived with a family, unlike the others, although most of the time, his family would travel places without him and leave him in the care of his friends.

he'd drop his bags and hang up the keys, as he'd sit on his bed and stare at the ceiling, contemplating everything. it would usually result in asking the four of his friends to come over and spend time with him, considering how lonely it got in his home.

he no longer could even consider it a home
of course it upset him to enter his empty house, but there wasn't anything he could even do about his situation. worried for the youngest, the four would come over and make food or spend time with hueningkai.

hueningkai didn't want them to pity him, they all had enough going on, he felt terrible but they would always reassure him that they're fine.

what a lie.

that terrible lie ended up with beomgyu in the hospital, trying his best to live.

hueningkai snapped out of his thoughts as he saw beomgyu's eyes start to flutter open, seeing a bright light casted upon his eyes. his eyes darted around, seeing his four friends and himself in a hospital room.

he squinted, trying to get up and remove the oxygen mask, as the four jumped to restrain him.

"what am i doing here?" beomgyu asked, struggling to let out words with the somehow burdensome oxygen mask "I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!!" he screamed, trying to fight against their grasps, as taehyun called to an emergency nurse nearby.

beomgyu wouldn't stop fighting to be removed from the hospital bed, as tears brimmed at his eyes, his voice muffled from the oxygen mask, making it almost impossible for anybody to hear what he was saying.

the nurse barged into the hospital room at the sight of beomgyu trying to remove the mask, shaking out of his wires attached to him.

she sets him down, recording his heartbeat and readjusting the oxygen mask as he laid back down, quietly.

                                     ——

the nurse gestured for the other four to leave so that she could learn more about beomgyu's backstory in order to record a proper diagnosis.

once the nurse heard the door close behind her, she sat at a stool near beomgyu's hospital bed. his oxygen mask had been removed but his tired state remained the same.

"beomgyu....are you aware of what condition you—"

"this is hopeless, miss." beomgyu said, cutting her off as he continued. "i know what i have, you know it too." he sat back on his bed and closed his eyes, restless.

a silence fell to the room, as the nurse sighed and slowly stood up from her stool, soon exiting.

"by any chance," beomgyu starts, causing the nurse to stop in her tracks and turn her head to beomgyu, who's eyes were slowly opening, "did you...tell them what i have..?" beomgyu's voice cracked at each word he tried to say.

"i wouldn't do it without your permission." a sigh of relief escapes beomgyu's mouth. "but beomgyu.." the nurse begins to walk back to beomgyu, solemnly "at the rate...it's either losing them or losing yourself. i know which choice you prefer, but i'm going to have to tell them one day" the nurse was about to walk out, but before she did, she stopped and asked beomgyu:

"without the surgery or losing them, there's nothing we can do. are you sure you don't want to go through with it?"

"i want to keep my friends, no matter how much it hurts me. it's painful but i cant lose them." a tear fell down beomgyu's eyes, sorrowfully.

the nurse stood up from her chair, before beomgyu stopped her.

"how much...longer do i have left?" his voice shattered into pieces as he asked the hardest question of all.

"one week, by then...it'll be too late"