The Red of the Rose | Taeyong

34 | Two Truths, No Lie

When Taeyong opened his eyes, he found himself underneath a heavy blanket. The moment he moved his arm, he cried out in pain. It hurt. It hurt everywhere. So, he stopped moving and lay in the blue glow of the dawn fluttering in through the white curtains in the studio apartment. Last night's events seemed like a distant dream, as though they happened to someone who was not him. Staring at the white ceiling, he realized he could not go to sleep anymore nor could he lay in bed any longer. It was time to rouse.

In the living room outside, Mark was lying awake, staring out the window in the dark.

'You didn't leave?' Taeyong asked, startling him a little.

Mark's eyes followed Taeyong emerging from the room till he flopped heavily on the armchair on the opposite end. Without a word, Mark got up from the couch and left, only to return after some time with a mug of warm coffee in one hand and a first-aid box in the other. And just as soundlessly as before, he placed both of them on the table on Taeyong's side before going to the kitchen and getting his own mug.

The two sipped their coffee silently, staring at the lightening sky out the window. When Mark spotted the first sign of daybreak, he emptied the last bit of his coffee and spoke quietly, 'So you really did fall in love with noona, hm?'

Taeyong's eyes remained fixed on the horizon as he hummed faintly in response.

Once the sun had risen completely, Taeyong got busy with the first aid-kit while Mark washed the utensils in the sink and wiped the mugs clean.

'Do you want to stay and rest?' Taeyong offered, even though he knew Mark would not leave Miah alone for this long.

Mark shook his head and wore his jacket before putting on his shoes. Before leaving, he stopped at the door and said, 'Give her some time... hyung.'

Taeyong nodded and watched Mark leave before drifting back to sleep. When he opened his eyes the second time, the sun was shining brightly. He had just heard the beep of the door lock opening and in came a tired Yuta followed by Doyoung and Jaehyun looking equally exhausted.

'Why are you sleeping here?' Yuta asked.

'Just resting,' Taeyong replied succinctly. 'Young-ho?'

'He is still unconsciousness. We got him admitted to Johnny's Dad's hospital. Johnny will stay there till he wakes up,' Doyoung replied with a yawn in between.

'Anybody wants coffee?' Yuta asked from the kitchen and Doyoung raised his hand.

'I'm going to skip classes today. Don't wake me up,' Jaehyun said, walking inside the bedroom.

Taeyong relocated from the armchair to the couch before falling asleep once more. When he woke up this time, it was already dark outside with a single lamp lit inside the apartment. Jaehyun was sitting on the floor next to the couch, working on his laptop.

'What time is it?' Taeyong's asked, groggily.

'Late. Get up. You need to eat something. I ordered you food,' Jaehyun said, pointing to the takeout boxes on the table.

After some time, Yuta arrived and slumped on the couch beside Taeyong with a sigh. 'Johnny sent these tablets for you,' he said and tossed a heavy packet onto Taeyong's lap.

'Were you at the hospital?' Taeyong asked.

Yuta gave him a look and Taeyong asked the question he actually wanted to, 'Has he woken up?'

Knowing Taeyong, it was easy to guess the reaction Yuta was about to get. When Yuta revealed that Young-ho had woken up, Taeyong wanted nothing but to get to the hospital immediately. It took Yuta and Jaehyun a lot of reasoning and convincing before Taeyong finally agreed to stay and let Johnny and Doyoung remedy things.