Ashes | JENO

Chapter 14

Renjun simply placed another piece of the bun in his mouth and Jeno could tell that he had heard what Jeno said but chose not to react.

"I don't know, Jeno. Even though things didn't end well with Seolhee, it doesn't change the fact that you were happy back then." Renjun stated.

"What are you implying?" Jeno asked, knowing there was a lot more to Renjun's words as he stood up, returning the plate to the sink.

"It's just that the Jeno that you put out into the world isn't the Jeno I know. It's not the Jeno we all know." Renjun said before walking pass Jeno to his room.

...

"Do you have any hobbies?" Ms. Kim asked as Soojung replaced the woman's bandages.

"Not really." Soojung told her. "I'm pretty busy with my studies and my work here so I don't really have time for hobbies."

It seemed as though Ms. Kim was beginning to warm up to Soojung and the girl wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not as Ms. Kim was a chatty person. Very chatty.

At some points, Soojung wondered if the woman was gaining her memory back but she would always mumble to herself afterwards, convincing Soojung otherwise.

"That's unfortunate." Ms. Kim said as Soojung moved to her other leg. "What about likes and dislikes? Dogs or cats?"

"Cats." Soojung answered without a moment of hesitation. "Kittens are the absolute cutest things on this earth."

"Really?" Ms. Kim asked and Soojung noticed that the woman had sat straighter. "Wasn't it always puppies for you?"

"For me?" Soojung asked back, surprised. We've never talked about this before.

"Am I just saying weird things again?" Ms. Kim mumbled. Soojung nodded her head.

She must be tired, Soojung thought as Ms. Kim let out a loud yawn.

"Are you almost done?"

"Almost." Soojung said, securing the last of the bandages. "There."

Ms. Kim nodded, giving Soojung a small smile as she left the hospital room, making her way out to the hallway.

Soojung sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. She was fully aware that Ms. Kim's burns would not heal and the woman needed to have her skin replaced but apparently, without any family or insurance, Ms. Kim's hospital bills could not be paid for, meaning that she could not get surgery. The only thing that the hospital could do was continue to replace her bandages, which was basically Soojung's main job.

Soojung felt bad for the woman. Even though Soojung had moved to Neo City for school, living away from her family, she still occaisionally called to keep in touch with them. Soojung couldn't imagine a life without them, and felt terrible that Ms. Kim had no one for her.

It must be so hard, Soojung thought as she looked up to see Jaemin waiting for her.

"You've been taking longer and longer." Jaemin said to her, which was when Soojung remembered that Jeno was picking her up.

"You can go ahead first." Soojung told him. "I can take the bus."

"You shouldn't bus this late at night." Jaemin warned her but Soojung shrugged.

"Doesn't the gang need you?" Soojung replied. She watched as Jaemin hesitated for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"How did you know that?" Jaemin asked her. Soojung bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to let Jaemin know that the question had caught her off guard.

"You're a medical student. I'm sure that's very useful in a gang like the Pheonixes." Soojung said before whispering. "Plus, I'm probably going to take a while and the patients are starting to stare."

Jaemin glanced around and sure enough, a few patients were already giving him looks just because of the leather jacket he wore.

"Okay fine. Get home safe, I don't want to do my labs alone." Jaemin said, turning towards the exit.

"See you." Soojung ask, internally praying that he didn't bump into Jeno on the way out.

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