jaemin's eyes fluttered open with difficulty, the hybrid immediately being blinded by the lightbulb shining brighter than the sun.
"oh, you awoke. let me call the doctor."
the unknown voice that just spoke helped jaemin becoming conscious of his surroundings.
he was in a hospital, laid on a bed in the middle of a white room with pale green curtains and dozens of weird machines. the person that had just spoken and left the room to apparently call the doctor was surely a nurse that was checking on him.
although the boy had acknowledged his surroundings and done a detailed analysis of his location, a few things were still bugging him.
why was he in a hospital? where were jeno and renjun? what had happened? was he here alone?
with a loud sigh, jaemin lifted one of his hands, passing it through his brown hair and gasping out loud when he realised that the beanie he had been wearing wasn't on his head anymore, meaning that his bunny ears were out for everyone and anyone to see. the hybrid looked around the room, hoping that he would be able to find the precious beanie jeno had lent him, and keep his secret safe from the awful people of this world.
"hello, boy, how are you feeling?"
jaemin's whole body tensed as the doctor came inside, his hands immediately reaching for the top of his head to hide his animal attributes the best he could.
"oh, please don't stress over your ears." the doctor said, closing the door behind him. "i am a doctor from the hybrid department, i am here to help you, not to harm you."
the hybrid male's heartbeat decreased in speed slowly as he let his hands fall back onto his lap, looking at the doctor with his head tilted to the side.
"so, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked again.
"a-a bit better, but... my head hurts... a-and my nose too..." jaemin replied.
"that's normal. your nose is broken. and after the shock you went through, it's expected for your head to hurt." the doctor explained, looking at the screens surrounding jaemin to check if everything was going alright. "i've prescribed you painkillers and antibiotics to take for a few days. everything is written on the prescription that they'll give you at the front desk when you'll be dismissed."
"thank you..." jaemin said, smiling sweetly at the doctor.
"no problem, little bunny." the doctor patted his shoulder effectively. "if you don't have any questions, i guess that i'll allow your friend to get inside and see you. he's been asking to enter since you arrived here."
"o-oh..." jaemin stuttered, his cheeks colouring red at the fluttery feeling that tickled his insides when the doctor mentioned that someone cared enough to be worried about him.
"i'll go now, don't hesitate to call if you have any requests. you're free to go whenever you'd like." the doctor finished, switching the few machines that were still working off. "and here is your beanie." he added picking up the piece of clothing that had been placed in the bed table's drawer.
"thanks." jaemin smiled at him as the doctor left the room, closing the door behind his back.
the hybrid male let out a loud sigh, his fingers playing with the hem of the beanie jeno had lent him.
he could barely remember what had happened. he recalled being in the convenience store renjun worked at, helping a little girl grab a jar of pickles, and next thing he knew he woke up with an aching nose in a hospital.
the doctor had mentioned that one of jaemin's friends was there, waiting to come in and make sure jaemin was alright. the simple thought of jeno being worried sick about him made his heart flutter. the human had surely noticed that jaemin was taking long to come back to the café jeno was waiting in, and so, he surely had come to see what was happening and done whatever was necessary to bring jaemin to the hospital.
just as jaemin's heart was getting completely mad in his chest, threatening to break out of his rib cage, the door opened again, making jaemin smile brighter than ever at the thought of seeing jeno again. however, the cough that broke the silence as the person closed the door sounded nothing like jeno...
"hello..."
the hybrid panicked, not thinking long before pulling the beanie he was playing with on his head, hoping that his ears were nearest tucked in and not visible from the outside.
"huh... are you... are you okay?"
jaemin's eyes widened like saucers when the mysterious person took a step in the room, standing in front of jaemin's bed.
what the hell was renjun doing here, in the hospital, with jaemin?!
"h-huh... y-yes... i-i guess..." jaemin stuttered out in slight panic, not understanding what was happening. so, the worried friend that the doctor was talking about was none other than renjun, the guy that hated nana's guts?
"that's good." renjun sighed. "i was very worried. i saw you fainting in the convenience store, and you weren't waking up... i had to call the ambulance to bring you to the hospital, because you were bleeding quite a lot too..."
"w-well... t-thank you very m-much for that..." jaemin stated, not really knowing what to say or not to say in this delicate situation.
"no problem." the chinese male answered, flashing jaemin a smile. "oh, i'm renjun by the way. i work at the convenience store you fainted in. that's why i'm here with you. and you? what's your name?"
"i-i'm jaemin." the hybrid replied.
"jaemin." renjun nodded. "well, it's nice to meet you. i'm sorry it had to be in such circumstances."
"y-yeah..." jaemin shrugged, looking down at his fidgety hands, having no idea what to say next.
there was a small silence that renjun broke rather quickly, not wanting the atmosphere between the two boys to become awkward.
"so, what were you coming to buy in the convenience store initially?" the chinese male asked, making jaemin panic once again.
what was he coming to buy?
obviously nothing, since this whole act was jsut a way for him to meet renjun and become friends with him.
but now that he thought about it, their plan had been a success. if we excluded the part where jaemin is in a hospital with a broken nose, renjun and him talked and the chinese male even sacrificed the end of his work day to make sure jaemin was safe.
as complicated as it was for jaemin to idolise renjun considering how he treated him in his rabbit form, the hybrid couldn't help but find renjun charming because of his carefulness and his thoughtfulness. it's in moment like those that jaemin understands why jeno fell in love with him.
"h-huh..." jaemin stuttered with flushed cheeks as he tried to find an answer to give the boy.
"seems like you don't remember." renjun chuckled. "it's okay, you hurt your head pretty bad, don't think too much, it might hurt it again."
"it's already hurting..." jaemin replied in a low voice as he shrugged, his whole face feeling sore because of what happened to him.
renjun sighed, taking a few steps closer to the bed anh placing his hand on jaemin's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"i'm sorry that i couldn't arrive earlier in the alley and prevent you from hurting yourself..."
"p-please, don't apologise, y-you did nothing wrong." jaemin said, worry flashing through his eyes as he noticed renjun sulking. "if anything, you saved me... who knows what could have happened if you weren't here... i... i-could have died... but you were there to save me." jaemin continued, his hands reaching for renjun's smaller one so that he held it between his palms.
renjun gulped, his eyes looking right through jaemin's ones as they were getting watery, the sole thought of what could have happened scaring him so much that he became emotional. the chinese male couldn't help but feel his heart miss a beat at the way jaemin's immense eyes looked at him with so much thankfulness, as if renjun had really saved his life, and as if without him, jaemin was nothing.
but wasn't it the reality?
"i am so thankful that you were here for me renjun, i really mean it." jaemin spoke again, a first stray tear escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek.
facing him, renjun nodded slowly, the smile on his face widening as he placed his own hand over jaemin's allowing his thumb to caress the back of jaemin's palm, hoping he could reassure him and make him stop crying. his heart missed another beat as he got lost once again in the depth of the boy's eyes.
his eyes were magnificent, reflecting all of the boys worries and at the same time begging renjun to come and help him get out of this hell. and renjun swears he was on the verge of giving in and accepting to take the cute boy under his care forever.
renjun and jaemin were too caught up in their own daze to hear the door of the hospital room slamming open and an out of breath boy rushing in.
"thank god... you are alright..."
this is when jaemin and renjun acknowledged the boy's presence, turning their heads simultaneously as their eyes widened at the sight of jeno whose eyes were glued to their hands.
a quick glance down was enough for jaemin and renjun to blush before letting go of each other and facing jeno again.
"jeno!" renjun exclaimed, approaching his boyfriend and pulling him in a bear hug, his mind completely messed up with the past minutes he had spent in the room with jaemin. "i missed you." renjun added.
the korean male wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, placing his chin on his shoulder to look at jaemin who was staring at them from the bad he was laying on.
jeno mouthed an 'are you okay?' to which jaemin answered with a small nod.
"how come you are here?" renjun asked, pulling back from the hug and looking up at his boyfriend.
"chenle told me you were at the hospital because there had been an accident at the store." jeno replied simply.
"yeah, jaemin here fainted in front of me, so i accompanied him to the hospital." renjun explained, motioning towards jaemin who waved his hand shyly. "jaemin, this is jeno, my.." renjun looked back at jeno. "m-my boyfriend..."
jeno gave jaemin a shy wave too, pretending like they didn't know each other so that renjun wasn't suspicious of anything.
"okay... i'll let you two talk for a while, i'm hungry and i saw a few vending machines on the way here."jeno informed, already heading towards the door.
"sure." renjun nodded. "i'll text you when we're leaving, okay?"
"yeah."
and with that said, jaemin and renjun were alone together in the hospital room again.
the room stayed silent for a while, renjun in deep thought with his head hanging low as jaemin looked at him curiously. after long seconds, jaemin decided to execute his and jeno's plan, hoping that the relationship he'll create with renjun will evolve nicely.
"y-you are very lucky to have a b-boyfriend." he let out, his voice stutter because of his lack of confidence.
"yeah. jeno is someone amazing." renjun nodded, shaking his head as if to push his thoughts away before approaching jaemin again. "do you have a significant other?"
"i don't..." jaemin replied the truth. "i-i don't have many friends actually, so... l-let alone a lover, you know?"
the hybrid glanced at renjun, hoping to get a reaction from those words which weren't the whole truth. in fact, jaemin did have very precious friends that he loved dearly, but for the sake of his and jeno's plan, he needed renjun to pity him and to befriend him at all costs.
"really?!" renjun's eyes widened in surprise, drinking jaemin's words. "how is that possible? you are literally sweeter than sugar! and have you seen your cute face?! how come no one ever realised how precious you were?!"
jaemin's cheeks turned bright red at renjun's exclamations.
he sure expected an answer, but definitely not this one, and it somehow felt pleasant to have a boy he had 'just met' complimenting him so much.
"t-t-thank y-you..." he muttered, looking down at his lap in an attempt not to let renjun see his flushed cheeks. but it was a failure, because renjun approached him even more with a chuckle before lifting his chin to make eye contact again.
"don't be so shy, i'm just stating the truth."
the hybrid hummed, his cheeks still not losing their colour.
"y-you're very n-nice and h-handsome yourself..." jaemin added, hoping to hit renjun's feelings too.
"thank you." renjun smiled brightly, his insides all jittery at the compliment he received from the cute male.
the chinese male couldn't stop smiling as he stared at the injured boy on the bed. he didn't know what was happened, but something seemed to pull him towards jaemin, as if it was the right thing to do.
renjun never wanted this oh-so-pleasant feeling to disappear. he wanted to make it last and to cherish it forever. and what better for that than inviting the boy for another friendly meeting?
"so... i guess we're friends now." renju spoke, making jaemin nod shyly. "and... how would you feel about hanging out together someday?"
"s-sure..." jaemin nodded happily, feeling victorious on the inside because his and jeno's plan was rolling perfectly.
"i finish work at 5pm at the convenience store every evening." renjun explained, flashing the boy a smile. "you can come there whenever you'd like, and i'll be very happy to hang out with you."