AGAINST THE RULES

Chapter 14

"Do you have a death wish?" Mr. Saetang shouts. A nurse who is about to enter the hospital suite is startled and drops the chart she was holding.

Mr. Saetang clears his throat and calms himself down.  He smiles at the nurse apologetically. The nurse glares at him in return.

She comes in and checks Bright's temperature and his blood pressure. She adjusts the values on the IV pump. Mr. Saetang understands this is important but he wished he could fast forward her out of the room.

Finally, she exits. And Mr. Saetang loudly sighs. "Bright," he starts but Bright doesn't let him even begin.

"All I am asking for is a five minute visit. Surely, you can make that happen. I am far from a diva, Ohm. But I will insist on this."

Mr. Saetang's eyebrows disappear into his hairline. Ohm? Since when did Bright call him Ohm? He didn't mind, he'd been trying for years to get Bright to be more informal with him. He was just surprised that this was the conversation that gets Bright to drop the honorifics.

"Bright, your mom is coming back to this room in ten minutes and I don't want to argue in front of her. These past few days have been stressful enough," Ohm says pleadingly.

"Then say yes," Bright says.

"For the hundredth time we can just video call Win! Why isn't that enough?"

Bright tries to look steely eyed. "Because it's not what I asked for," he says.

"You do know you are intermediate care right? That's one teeny tiny step away from being in the ICU.

You know that what started out as a hairline arm fracture is now a full blown fracture? Not to mention that the gash on your arm is so infected you were in danger of sepsis. Add to that dehydration and exhaustion and a cocktail of other ailments and - I ask again do you have a death wish?" Ohm is exasperated now. He ploughs on. "You will see Win. It's inevitable. I understand you care about him but -"

"I do not!" Bright interjects hotly.

Ohm wanted to laugh but he needed this job. However, he could not stop sarcasm from escaping his mouth. "Oh! So we have been arguing about seeing Win because you wanted to kill him in his sleep, was that it?"

"It's not that I care for him," Bright tries to explain. "It's just that we went through something horrific and it just makes me uncomfortable that I cannot determine for myself that he is alright." His reason made sense right? It was logical?

'How do I tell this intelligent young man that's exactly what caring meant?,' Ohm Saetang thinks. He tries to reason with Bright again. "There are three talk shows already lined up right after you boys are discharged from the hospital. You will be seeing a lot of each other. Besides, you're the one in intermediate care. Win is okay. You on the other hand, not so much."

"I want to see him now. Not two weeks later at some studio surrounded by 400 cameras."

Ohm puts his head in his hands. Yeah, because Bright being pushed in a hospital bed - against doctors' orders - to the other side of the hospital to see Win for five minutes will surely not be covered by a thousand cameras. He was pretty sure if he allowed that to happen some enterprising hospital employee will upload even the CCTV footage. He can already see the headlines and tweets and YouTube compilation videos simping over it.

Ohm was going to speak again when his phone rings loudly. He looks and sees the name of one of his assistants flashing on the screen.

"Boss!," the assistant screams breathlessly into the phone. "Code red! Code red!" Her footsteps were loud against the linoleum,  it was clear she was running as fast as she could.

"Code red?," Ohm says, alarmed. "What exactly is happening?"

Just then the suite door opens to reveal Win by the doorway - IV machine in his hand, sheepish grin on his face, reporters on his heels.

Ohm groaned. "Never mind. Code red just entered the room."