[ like crazy ✰ jimin ]
the water was so cold.
cold enough for wooyoung to realize where he really was.
he exhaled in the water and floated to the top. he had hit his leg pretty hard on a rock underneath the water, and it was throbbing by the time his body rose to the surface.
wooyoung now laid on the shore, which was a mix of wet sand and dirt. he reluctantly turned himself upward, staring at the stars above him. he was breathing shakily, and never felt more exhausted in his life. all he could do was focus on how badly his leg was hurting. well —- at least he was thinking about something actually in his control.
he stayed in that same spot until morning came.
the only time wooyoung moved was to wave his hand dismissively when people passing by would stop and ask him if he needed any help.
the pain in his leg never subsided, but wooyoung's mind drifted off into a blank state. he had no desire to think about san, yeosang, or the fact that his favorite person in the world was no longer with him.
eventually, once the sun was fully up and kinda burning his skin, he decided to finally get up. every step he took with his right leg resulted in a shooting pain going all the way up to his thigh, but he didn't let that stop him. wooyoung was still sopping wet, despite having laid in the sun since the morning. slowly and stoically, wooyoung stumbled all the way back to his house. people on the street gave him such weird looks, but he kept his gaze solely in front of him.
when wooyoung finally got into his house, the first thing he noticed was how unwelcoming it felt. he hadn't gotten that vibe in a really long time, and didn't want to remind himself why. the sun was shining so brightly today, but the home had never felt colder and darker. he took a deep breath and slowly made his way up the stairs and to the bathroom.
wooyoung took a shower defeatedly and with no energy. he felt like time was going by so slowly. he still couldn't hear right —- as if he had been wearing headphones all day. his headache was returning, stronger than before, but wooyoung didn't feel like taking his painkillers. not this time. what was even the point? who did he have to feel better for?
he thought that after his shower, his leg would feel better.
it didn't.
now that wooyoung was finally able to look down clearly, he saw his ankle was discolored and pretty swollen. with an annoyed sigh, wooyoung kept the lump in his throat down and trudged back down the stairs. it would've been a lot easier for him to go to his room and rest in there, but he didn't want to see his room. he didn't want to see minji's room. he didn't want to be here in general, but there was no way he was going to make it to the motel with his leg like this.
wooyoung spent the next three days on his sofa.
he didn't eat. he didn't move. he didn't do a single thing besides sleep, stare at the ceiling, and wince at the throbbing pain in his leg. he was cold and he was exhausted despite the sleep he was getting. it was dead silent in that home, and wooyoung felt like he might just go insane. but he had no energy even feed himself, much less to find a way to make noise.
it was dark when wooyoung heard a knock on his door. the sound had distracted him from counting the amount of times his leg pulsed in pain in a minute. he figured he was doing a pretty bad job at it though, he knew he wasn't focusing for a full minute straight anyway.
wooyoung's eyes drifted to the door sluggishly. he made no attempt at getting up, but he did definitely feel his heart skip a beat.
was san home from the hospital already?
suddenly wooyoung felt a rush of thoughts cluttering his mind: what was he going to tell san? was he even ready to see him? half of him felt like kicking him out before he even stepped inside. screaming at him about how stupid he was to trust him. grabbing all his things and throwing them out the window with all the sass and attitude to top it off. but the other half of him wanted to give him a chance to explain himself. to admit to him that he needed him. to fulfill minji's last wishes.
the doorknob moved, and wooyoung finally realized that he never even locked it in the first place. he watched the door open cautiously, and a shadow step inside.
the lights turned on, and wooyoung met eyes with his best friend.
".. you look awful." yeosang commented, though he had seen this wooyoung before. he was always there to help him get better, and he was here to do that now.
wooyoung tried to hide his disappointment. he should've known though —- there was no way for san to be released this early with the injuries he sustained. he didn't even know why he was wanting san to show up. the two looked at each other, knowing what this situation was about just by doing that.
he managed a smile at the sarcasm in yeosang's voice. although it caused really ugly fights between them recently, he really missed it. yeosang gently sat the younger up and hugged him before anything else. wooyoung fell into his arms and struggled to keep his tears in.
"i'm so sorry..." wooyoung lowered his head apologetically and threw all of his pride away. he knew when to accept he was wrong, and right now his best friend was the only source of comfort he had right now. "yeosang-"
"don't," yeosang lifted wooyoung's head and gave him a small smile. "it's okay... it's not about me right now, anyway." the older's eyes held longing in them, and wooyoung finally felt he had his best friend back, fully this time.
wooyoung must've winced or made some sort of other face in discomfort, because yeosang looked at him in concern, "what's wrong?" the younger looked down at his leg wordlessly and yeosang followed his gaze. he saw how swollen and purple wooyoung's ankle looked, and how the discoloration seemed to be going further up his leg. yeosang bent down to touch his injury and felt it burning hot. the older clicked his tongue, but his expression showed worry, "woo.. what did you do?"
wooyoung shrugged. he didn't feel like explaining to his best friend that he threw himself off a bridge and spent the night and the morning afterwards laying on a dirty shore. yeosang would probably scream at him about how dangerous that was, and although it was out of love, he didn't need that right now. yeosang looked at him for another moment, and it was silently agreed upon them that they would talk about it later.
"ice packs and elevating your leg is not gonna help this," yeosang sighed. "we need to go to the hospital," he turned around and bent down in front of wooyoung. "hop on."
the younger let out a weak chuckle, and wrapped his arms around yeosang's neck like a child. the hospital was a walk away from wooyoung's place, so it wasn't a problem for yeosang to carry him all the way there.
wooyoung shivered when the cold, outside air hit his face. he was also in just a t-shirt and thin sweatpants. "i'll get there as fast as i can." yeosang announced. the further they walked, the more minji's passing clouded his mind. wooyoung tucked his head into yeosang's shoulder as a response and shut his eyes tight until they were finally inside the hospital.
it turns out, wooyoung had completely broken his ankle.
hours later —- after x-ray scans and examinations, wooyoung was now resting in the step down unit. he was to be monitored for further pain overnight. wooyoung had his eyes closed and yeosang was holding his hand. he felt super constricted with the new boot on his ankle and honestly would've preferred the injury rather that this discomfort. the younger visibly pouted, and yeosang let out a small laugh.
wooyoung opened his eyes and found yeosang just looking at him, switching his gaze from his eyes to their hands sometimes.
".. i'm sorry, yeo," wooyoung sniffled, though his tone was full of genuine sincerity. "i really should've known better than to trust him. i don't... i don't know-"
and before wooyoung could say anything else, yeosang had leaned in and kissed his forehead.
looking at him with so much emotion in his eyes, yeosang sighed in contentment. ".. i'm just glad you're okay, and i could help you see the truth." wooyoung looked down at their hands, letting out a weak shrug. the older smiled, "doctors said you hadn't eaten in days. i'm gonna go try to find you something in the cafeteria, okay?"
the second his best friend left the room, wooyoung's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
what did yeosang mean by that?
he seemed way too occupied in how wooyoung was feeling. although that seems like something normal for a best friend to do, yeosang hadn't asked a single thing about minji. they had known each other for so long, and yeosang knew if he really wanted to see how wooyoung was feeling, he should ask about minji. the baby was wooyoung's whole world. he had been wondering how to break the news for yeosang when he asked, but started realizing yeosang made no mention of her.
the way yeosang accepted his apologies were also way too fast, as if he was expecting it. as if he knew what was happening already. he made it clear that he wanted to move on, he didn't want to waste another moment talking about san. and yeosang never did that. one of his biggest pet peeves was people breezing over a big problem without discussing it first.
the two also never kissed, in any way. wooyoung was very affectionate, don't get him wrong, but not like that. the way yeosang looked at him was also different, though he wasn't sure how to describe it. he doesn't think he's ever seen the older look at him the way he did before. wooyoung was trying to push all those thoughts out of his head. but even though he did, the confusion was still written all over his face by the time yeosang walked back into the room. wooyoung shook off his suspicions the best he could —- and suddenly he didn't feel like being with yeosang anymore.
this wasn't his best friend.
"they had some soup and kimchi," yeosang announced, placing the tray in front of wooyoung. the younger cleared his throat and thanked yeosang quietly. the mood felt the same and that's how wooyoung knew he was doing a good job at masking how he was really feeling in that moment. wooyoung ate his food and yeosang remained by his side, trying to keep him occupied from the pain he was feeling.
hours after, yeosang had fallen asleep on the chair next to wooyoung, still holding his hand. wooyoung remained wide awake. he stared at his sleeping best friend, looking down and their hands sometimes, thinking about every little thing yeosang had told him. his strange commentary about 'helping' wooyoung 'figure out' the truth had been bothering him ever since he said that. there was a pit in wooyoung's stomach, and it was full of dread. he tried to hard to ignore it, convince himself that it's probably all the medication he's on, but the younger was very self-aware of his body. he rarely ever got such feelings like this. and whenever he did —- his gut was always right.
wooyoung spent the rest of night watching over his best friend with worried eyes, that pit in his stomach only growing.
[ a/n ]
long, horrible day today.
that new jimin song is hella good wtf.
luv u guys.