Chapter 134

"Is he awake!? Is he awake!?"

"Young master, please, you must not make further noises from here."

Jin's eyes blinked open. His amethyst pupils trembled as a shard of breath left his dry lips. His blurred eyesight did not surprise him, but the convulsing beat of his heart at the dream that haunted him all his life.

He felt drained when he thought he had finally escaped this portion of his life that depressingly fell into this unwanted cycle.

No.

And which unfortunate phenomena could only mean one thing. Hiro was nowhere near.

"Is aniki awake?"

However, a deep and encouraging breath left his lips. He is not dead yet. He sighs in relief and his subconscious applauds in awe with a tiny bandage on its head. That must have been the only explanation as to why the back of his head felt like breaking into two but concurrently numb.

A foolish smile paints his lips.

He is more surprised that he is at ease that his soul did not wake up cornered in a coffin.

He no longer wants to see it coming.

"No, young master. The young lad isn't today as well."

What? Today? As well?

"Why is that? When will aniki wake up?"

Jin's brows met at the soft but audible voices he could hear tangibly but far from where he was. It is Haru's voice he recognizes.

Realization hit him, and it felt like his heart had just been freed from chained worries. Thank God.

"Unfortunately, I cannot answer that, but we could only pray for his fast recovery, young master."

He made it back home. . .Erm—shall he call it home?

Argh. . .Why does his waist hurt?

"But will he wake up?"

"Yes, of course, young master, I believe it is a need. This house has yet to be free from madness—"

"When will aniki wake up?"

His throat is thoroughly parched. He feels thirsty.

"Y-Young master, soon enough."

"When is exactly soon? Tomorrow again?"

Again? Jin tried moving an arm. His thumb twitched. That was all he could manage to move. Everything else feels numb. As alarming as it was, he felt the piercing needle at the back of his hand, and his body stilled for a few seconds as he grasped what was happening. He shuts his eyes and inhales deeply. He refuses to move again and considers the presence of the IV pole that is probably somewhere by his side.

How many days is it this time?

And he certainly hopes he is anywhere but the hospital again.

He blinks his eyes, hoping to salvage his sight. He did that for two straight and long minutes, but when he said he could not see anything. He meant it.

There is barely any light to see the rest of the room.

Strangely, a very familiar room.

"Hiro."

The name miraculously left his parched throat.

His heart lurches from his chest at the hasting footsteps he heard cladding harshly against the carpet floor. Its discording melody hollered through the spacious room, and his head naturally turned by intuition to where the source of the sound was, completely forgetting about his unknown injury.

He winces.

"Darling, do not move."

Hiro!?

His eyes burned bright and wide. His cloying heart immediately swelled in too much enthusiasm when he saw Hiro's visual up close. The feeling of it spreading through him to every tip of his toes felt like dipping himself into honey.

"Please, you will hurt yourself further."

He was here?

If only he was not bedridden, at the moment, he would launch himself to his arms that oh-so-he-loves. Jin opened his lips, and he was not shaken at the sound of his own raspy voice. "Am I back home?"

The space of the bed beside him dipped, "Yes." Hiro kissed his other hand without the needle and tube, which he did not even notice the man was already holding. His kiss was ever so delicate. He was gentle. It alone was flawless to soothe him if only the man did not sound like he was about to break into tears any moment from now.

"Thank you. Thank you for taking me back home." As the man invariably and excellently does in keeping him safe and saved again. But it was Jin's turn to put worry in his heart for him.

Hiro's strong scent subtly swarms his nostrils, and right there, he figured out why he was not as bit as frightened of the unlit room earlier than he usually would.

"I had to."

Hiro bent his head and shoved his face into Jin's slightly lifted hand, holding his small and frailness with two of his shaking palms, and Jin's heart completely sank at the feeling of his warm tears kissing the back of his palm.

It was a spry moment of realization that he was indeed inside this weeping man's room. He flashes a smile of awe and concern, "I am here now, am I not?"

Hiro silently shakes his head as if disagreeing with what he said, but Jin knows what he meant. Almost as if he knew him by the soul to predict the next words coming out from his trembling lips.

"You were unconscious for five days."

Five days. . .Good Lord.

Jin's brows churned upwards, aghast. He shifted his hand to hold the side of Hiro's face with his palm. Now, he could not even blame him for worrying in tears when he had been gone for that long. He licked the dryness of his lips and stroked his thumb against the man's sweltering cheek.

The situation of even sobbing for being such a load of burden and the impairment he has already done cannot even cross his mind without him feeling self-pity and being consumed by guilt would be an embarrassment.

Oh, and how many times has his dearest and sweetest Hiro dreadfully shed tears because of his unfortunate luck?

He can endure living life with shame and poor fate, but never can his heart be merry with his lover drained to depression.

"I thought I'd lose you again," whispers Hiro. His voice is barely recognizable with its trembling.

"And you did not," Jin caressed the tears streaming down the man's cheek, but no matter how much effort he exerted, they persistently kept rolling down after another.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Jin-ah."

"You still have me, Hiro." Oh, dearest.

His heart aches just by listening to his deep voice shattering and faintly sobbing.

Tears began forming in the corner of his eyes, and his lower lip trembled from too much self-restraint. "Darling." He bites his lip and blows out a breath to calm himself down. He never imagined the endearment would slip from his mouth eventually for the first time with too much sadness, "Come here."

Hiro wordlessly beckoned to his call, and Jin tugged his face close to his. He kisses him and he hums at the salty moisture of the tears he tasted. "I missed you too." He whispers to him worriedly.

A shuddering and minty breath hit his face, and he did not need to hear the man's sob to pull him again closer and kiss the top of his head. "Hush now, please. Dry your tears for me, hm?"

The weight of Hiro's head pushed to the space between his shoulder and neck. Jin submerged his nose in the strands of Hiro's healthy hair and his only movable arm slipped to the man's back, patting and rubbing the big weeping cub's back. Yet, he shuts his eyes and wants to scold himself when Hiro's sobbing finally stops but his tears turn adamantly worse.

There is a river now by his shoulder.

Good God. . .

Soon after he felt trembling and supple kisses on his neck.

"I love you," Jin whispers to Hiro's ear, and even though the weight of his heart in keeping his promise of giving this man only the happiness he deserved a small appreciative smile still appears on his lips.