Chapter 30 - Visit

"Will he be okay?" I asked nervously, biting my fingernails. 

"I don't know Mae", Dan-Oh said, holding my hand for comfort. 

Me and my friends arrived at the private hospital as soon as we got the news. Dad was the first to see it on TV the next morning after the accident. I posted the news in the group and we all gathered here. Though…..I didn't know if our presence would help Min Joon. He was lying immobile on a hospital bed with bruises all over. His lip had burst and his forehead was covered in stitches. 

"I feel bad for being a jerk to him", Nyx said from across the room. 

We all turned when the nurse came in. 

"Hey", She said, setting down her file, "Came to check on your friend?"

"Yeah…." I said. 

"That's good, just let me check his IV drip and I'll be gone".

She walked over to him and tapped at the drip. 

"He'll…be okay, won't he?" Chloe asked. Her usual cheer had diminished. 

"Sweetheart, he's seriously injured", She said, "Last night….we thought that he wouldn't be able to live because his vitals were going down too fast. He was bleeding too much…and I don't know. According to the report, he's going to be like this for a few weeks or so".

"You mean….he's in a coma?" I asked clenching my fist. 

"Yes, dear", The nurse replied, "It's going to take some time for him to recover. But…don't you worry, he's a strong boy, this one. He'll be up within a few weeks".

"That's great…", Darcel said, "Thanks, we're just very worried".

"I can understand", The nurse said with a smile. After she left, there was nothing in the room but silence. 

"What on earth was he doing so late at night?" I mused finally. 

"My question exactly!" Darcel said, "I mean…where's his parents? Who's keeping an eye on him?"

"I think he still has both his parents", Chlose said sitting cross-legged on the floor. 

Everybody decided to skip lectures today…for Min Joon. Even Dan-Oh had asked for leave from her super market. 

"Course he does", Nyx said, "Apparently his mom runs a nightclub and his dad's a car dealer". 

"Wow", Darcel mouthed, "No comment".

"I feel so bad for him", I said, "Do they not care about him? To let him drive a car without a licence in the middle of the night in a heavy rain?"

Everybody shrugged. 

"As pathetic as he looks right now", Nyx said, reapplying her purple lipstick, "The brat's pretty spoiled, don't you think?"

"It's probably because they were too busy to…." Chloe trailed off. 

Silence. 

"He wasn't like this before", I said. 

"Yeah…he wasn't", Dan-Oh agreed, "Senior Jae-Sung was literally the most well behaved among all the other trainees in the entire palace. He had a little brother then, so he had to care for him. He did his best to share every bit of love he had in his life. He was quite self-less. Especially when it came to her high- to Mae".

I sniffed. 

Jae-Sung. 

I still remember every single word of his in my past life. 

Darcel wrapped her arms around me, "Hey, none of this is your fault alright?"

"I know", I said wiping my nose with my sleeve, "It's just…I feel so bad".

"Girl, we all do", Nyx said. 

"How about we go out for lunch?" Chloe asked. 

All my friends looked at me expectantly. 

I laughed, "Okay, fine".

We all left the room quietly. 

"You guys, just give me a minute", I said before closing the door. 

"Sure, we'll be outside", Dan-Oh said. 

I came back into the room. I walked over to his bed and rested my hand over his. His sleeping figure seemed to be at peace. I reached down and pressed my lips against his warm temple. 

"I don't understand why it's always you…who has to face the worst", I whispered as a single tear dripped down my nose onto his sleeping face. I wiped it off as gently as I could. 

"You'll be okay this time", I said almost to myself, "I'll come visit whenever I can. I promise, Min Joon".

With that I slowly exited, gently closing the door behind me. 

"You good?" Nyx asked when we got out of the elevator.

"Yep, I'm good", I said putting my hands into my jean pockets. 

Just as we were passing the reception, I heard some girl arguing with the boring horse-faced receptionist. 

"I'm telling you! We know him very well! You need to let us go see him", She said. 

She reminded me of Piper McLean from Percy Jackson. Beside her was a short blond boy. 

"Nari, maybe we should come some other time", He said tugging at her sleeve. 

"Miss, we can't allow people to see patients without a proper invitation or…in your case…. An adult".

"Hey! We're not kids!" The blond boy argued, "And we do know Min Joon".

I jolted at the mention of his name.

His friends? I thought, I haven't seen them anywhere.

When we came to visit Min Joon, we came with my dad. Him being an adult and a lecturer at his university, we had easy access. 

"Are they his friends?" I asked, motioning my friends to stop. 

"Who knows", Darcel shrugged. 

I walked over to the reception. 

"Mae-" Dan-Oh called. 

"Are you guys Min Joon's friends?" I asked. 

"Yes! We are…kind of", The girl named Nari said. 

"Kind of?"

"We know him from our cafe", The blond boy said, "He comes there sometimes and we got to know him there. We work there".

How cute, I thought looking at him. He was slightly shorter than me although I could tell that we were of the same age. His accent definitely wasn't Korean. His blond hair stuck up in various angles like it wasn't combed. 

"Oh! It's you guys!", I said feigning recognition. 

"Wha-" He started until Nari jabbed him. 

"Yes! It's us", She said, "Nari and Jacob, glad you recognized us!"

Her voice was super robotic but at least we had the receptionist's attention. 

"Ohhh", Jacob came into a slow realisation. 

"It's alright", I told the receptionist, "They're his friends".

"Well miss, if you say so", She said, "Room 32".

Nari nodded. 

"Thank you so much!" she said, grabbing my hand after we moved out of earshot, "May I know your name?"

"Mae", I said, "Nice to meet you, Nari and Jacob".

"Mae?" Jacob scrunched up his face. 

"Oh it's 'the Mae'" Nari said. 

"What? Me?" I asked, confused as my friend came rushing. 

"Min Joon talks about you, like all the time", Nari said, "You are quite pretty though. Can see why you caught his attention".

"Are you hitting on her?" Nyx asked, propping her elbow on my shoulder. 

"She's crazy", Jacob said, "Although I don't know the dude much, he left quite the first impression. Glad he's not dead, thought we'd lost our loyal customer".

"You got some spunk little dude", Nyx said smirking. 

"Hey! I'm not little! How old can you be anyways?" He said. 

I chuckled watching their little argument. Nyx really knew how to rile up people. 

"Eighteen", She said. 

"Well, so am I, lady", He huffed, "Not if you'd excuse us, we have to check on our half dead friend".

"He's cute", Chloe commented watching them leave. 

"I thought so too", I said. 

"I thought Taeyang was your type", Dan-Oh said. 

"I didn't mean it that way!", Chloe and I both chorused as one. 

"Jinx!" I said as she groaned, "Cute, as not in a romantic way…but in a cute cute way. You know, like a little poodle or something. The way he gets angry reminds me of a poodle. Ever seen them yap the moment you annoy them?"

"He sure does need a leash though", Nyx said as the others laughed. 

When we were leaving the hospital entrance, I brushed against a very pretty woman who was walking in. 

"Sorry", I muttered, but she kept on walking like she was in a daze. 

Her face reminded me of someone, but at the moment, I couldn't place it. 

We kept walking towards the city park. Since we had some time before lunch, why not take a stroll? 

I took out my phone on the way and texted Taeyang. At least now, I had a proper reason to text him. 

"Did you see the news? Are you going to visit Min Joon?"

I'm pretty sure he knew Min Joon enough to pay him a visit in his sickbed. 

I mean…..won't it be rude if he didn't? I thought. 

Back in Taeyang's house, his phone vibrated on the coffee table. 

"San! Someone just sent a message!" Rocco screamed. 

"Let it be", Taeyang called back drowsily from his bedroom, "It's probably dad or something….or those two idiots from the company".

Rocco peered into his brother's phone. His eyes widened in surprise. 

"Ooh it's a girl!" He said, "Mae".

"What?!" Taeyang said throwing off his bed clothes, "Let me see!"

He rushed down the stairs to see Rocco ogling at his phone. He grabbed the phone from him. 

"Someone you like?" Rocco asked, inching closer to Taeyang as he unlocked his phone. 

"Um, yes, I mean no", He said. 

His hair was still tousled from being in bed. He rubbed his eyes and peered at her messages. He scrunched his face in disgust. 

"Ugh, the first thing she messages me is about that loser", Taeyang said, flopping back on the sofa. 

"Min Joon…." Rocco read from the phone, "Brother, you have a crush and even a rival in love! I can't believe you didn't tell me about this! I would have supported you!".

Taeyang peered at his brother's interested face, "You watch too many dramas". 

He did know about the whole accident. But… did he know him enough to go visit him? After all what's happened between them, won't it be weird if he suddenly showed up at his sickbed?

He looked back at his phone, "Well, if she wants me to go….I guess it wouldn't hurt to go".