29 give it a shot

"Took you long enough."

Jeno huffed as Mark took a sit on the seat parallel to his. The seat where Jaemin was sitting on before he had to leave.

"Hey, I did my best to get here as soon as I can! My parents were planning to fetch me and drive me here but they changed their minds so I had to take a bus on the last minute. I waited for them for an hour only to have nothing."

Mark retorted, grabbing Jeno's glass of water and chugging everything down. It made Jeno chuckle a bit.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for being late. Did I make you wait for me too long? What did you do while I haven't arrive yet?"

"Nothing much. I had a conversation with one of the patients here. Someone around my age, I guess? I didn't really ask him much. I don't know how old he is. But he looks like he's the same age as I am."

Jeno shrugs a bit, poking his fork on his food.

"Hmm, that's great then! I'm glad you're trying to make new friends here."

Jeno shook his head, scrunching his nose in a playful manner. "I didn't plan to make friends. The nurse made me- us do it. I had no other choice since you were late."

"Oh, shut up. I know you secretly liked it, Jen. Give yourself a chance and make new friends. Not everyone is as bad as you think! I don't know what kind of person this person is, but I'm sure they're nice."

"Fine. Maybe I did, then."

"There we go. Now, how are you? How do you feel? Are you taking care of yourself?"

Mark beams, resting his elbows on the table as he gazes on the boy. Jeno hums in response.

"Well, it hurts when I move too much. I can't walk properly because of it either. I end up curling in pain. The nurses are looking after me. I can't do anything reckless or anything that could possibly put me to harm. So, you can be rest assured that I am taking care."

"Why? Do you still have thoughts of hurting yourself?"

"It's unavoidable, you know. You can't just tell those thoughts to shoo away and leave you alone."

"I know you're trying, Jen. And I'm very proud of you just by trying to. Whenever those thoughts bother you, just remember that we're here for you. I'm here. You matter to me. You matter to us, okay?"