• Chapter 33 •
From the small entrance hall lead a big, archway-like opening into the spacious living room. That's where Jisung stood and waited, back pressed against the cold wall behind him.
The rooms around him lay in silence.
Upstairs, in a spare bedroom, were Doyoung and Ten who were taking care of Cho-a.
Downstairs, in the living room, sat and stood seven boys in exhaustion. No one had slept. No one was talking. The air was getting stale.
Opposite Jisung stood Kun. He looked worried - not only for Cho-a but everyone there. Whilst Jisung's gaze hovered somewhere above the oldest, Kun had his stuck on the younger one.
He inspected the boy. "You didn't sleep since I left, did you?"
"Is it obvious?"
"You look pretty..." he paused for a moment, trying to find the right words, "dead."
Jisung chuckled, amused by his honesty or maybe more by the way he spoke so light-hearted when no one else even dared to talk at all. He leaned his head against the wall behind him.
"You really know how to build people up, huh?"
Kun shrugged as if it was no big deal, yet his gesture and posture and facial expression were dripping with sarcasm. Soon enough his eyes jumped over to Renjun.
"There's blood on his shirt," Kun pointed out.
Jisung hummed, gave it a quick check, then looked away. "It's not his."
Though it was meant to sound reassuring, it barely did. Jisung sighed deeply, the air that filled his lungs felt heavy, uncomfortable, empty.
"I figured," Kun said and let his words float off into the quiet room where they died down quickly.
However, from within that calmness, silence and wordless tension, the barely sounding sound of footsteps could be heard. It made everyone look at the entrance, where Doyoung and Ten soon stepped past Jisung and Kun into the living room.
Doyoung ran a hand through his hair as he let his gaze brush over the boys briefly. He saw the worry and felt the heavy feeling.
"You guys look like someone died," Doyoung noted through a heavy frown. Then he sighed, expression lighter. "She will be fine."
A second of silence, a deep inhale from here and there. The worry didn't quite disappear but it was less noticeable in the relieve they felt.
"Obviously though, she should rest for a bit. She has a concussion, lost quite a bit of blood. A few bruises here and there," Doyoung added. "If she takes it slow, she'll be better soon though."
Unanimous nodding alongside a few acknowledging hums filled the room. Then it somehow grew silent again.
Though relieved, the boys felt bad about what happened. It felt like it was their fault when it really wasn't.
Just a glance and Doyoung understood the mood in the room. He understood what the look in the boys' eyes was all about. Poking his tongue against the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, he then let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I have to admit though," Doyoung said amusedly. "She fits in well with the rest of you idiots-"
"Whom are you calling an idiot?" a hoarse voice responded quickly. It was followed by the quiet footsteps that made their way downstairs rather slowly.
Cho-a clung onto the railing, eyes squinted a little at the rather bright light inside the room. Her head hurt, her legs felt wobbly and weak.
Glassy eyes, skin still pale. When Doyoung saw her, he huffed.
"What about me telling you to stay in bed?"
"You were practically talking behind my back how could I not come?"
The doctor frowned. "That is your defence?" Cho-a nodded. "You can go right back to bed then."
Taking one last step, she came to a halt next to Jisung, who stood straight eyes wide in surprised by her sudden appearance. He reached out, let his hand hover behind her back without touching her.
Just in case.
"I don't want to be all alone upstairs."
Doyoung rolled his eyes yet refrained from arguing with her. He looked her over again before just shrugging.
"How are you?" Renjun urged, came closer until he was practically standing in front of her. Haechan got up, took a step towards her too. The others watched quietly. Meanwhile, Kun and Doyoung exchanged looks.
"Alright," she replied. "Sorry for causing trouble by the way."
Renjun quickly shook his head. "It wasn't your fault."
At which she laughed awkwardly. "Well, a little maybe?" It only confused the boys though. "You see, I don't react well when people are rude to me for no reason."
Jisung nodded. "We know."
At which Cho-a gave him a brief look before continuing. "So I might have provoked her a little in my irritation."
Chenle frowned. "What do you mean by 'a little'?"
Yet, the one to reply to that wasn't Cho-a but Doyoung. He cleared his throat, put a hand above his heart and then said in an artificially high-pitched and somewhat fierce sounding voice,
"Choke me harder," he mocked. "Is that all you got? Come on, impress me~"
Meanwhile, Cho-a's head dropped, her eyes on the ground underneath as she listened to Doyoung's creative impression of her. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to ignore the slight embarrassment that crept up her cheeks.
Whereas Renjun was focused on Doyoung, Jisung didn't dare take his eyes off the girl. She suddenly took a tiny step backwards, her back brushing against Jisung's arm that was still hovering there.
She shifted her weight a little from leg to leg; it looked off. She pressed the ball of her hand against her temple and massaged it soothingly. The breaths she took were shallow. He could barely see her eyes but they seemed unfocused.
Unfocused. Until they went up, rolled back.
"Cho-a," Jisung whispered hastily and moved forward. He quickly had an arm around her waist and with his free hand, he held onto her arm tightly. Her weight pressed against him as he held her up until she could do so again herself.
Watching, wide-eyed and surprised, the others stood still.
"Cho-a-" Renjun said. He seemed a little scared when she didn't look up after a moment. She hummed though, just to show that she was there.
She just needed a second.
"I'm okay," she said quietly.
She reached to her waist, where Jisung's hand was still pressed against her firmly. The boy loosened his grip, figuring she wanted him to let go when she, instead, wrapped her fingers around his hand and held onto it.
"All good," she added.
The first one to no longer be concerned after that, was Doyoung. He glared at her judgingly.
"See, I told you that you should've stayed in bed."
"Got it doc," Cho-a replied quickly, voice low. She turned a little to face Jisung who kept his eyes on her. "Thanks." He smiled tightly at her.
The seriousness of the situation was quickly brought to an end when a loud grumble crawled through the room. Everyone's gazes averted from the girl and shot over to an embarrassed looking Jaemin.
He grinned awkwardly. "We didn't have breakfast so-" he said, then stopped himself when he got weird looks thrown at him. He stemmed his hands onto his hips. "You guys don't need to eat, you wouldn't understand. Only the three of us know."
Jaemin looked at Cho-a with a soft pout, making her laugh. She nodded thoughtfully.
"Food sounds good," she agreed. "I didn't eat since Friday anyway."
"You-" Doyoung began, about to nag, when Cho-a cut him off.
"I was occupied," she interrupted.
With Chenle, Jaemin and Jeno already making their way towards the kitchen, Cho-a ended up grabbing Jisung's hand more tightly. Though she removed it from her waist, she didn't let go of it. Instead, she started walking towards the kitchen, dragging the confused looking grim reaper with her.
• Doc •
Uni is keeping me busy; sorry for not updating! <3
Stay safe out there~