Jennie walked back into the room, carrying a food tray. The moment she was inside the room, he sat up straight, trying to compose himself. He reached up to his head and began to ache. His hand brushed past his cheek, quickly looking away to give himself enough time to dry his eyes. She walked to his bed, watching as he turned to look with his pale-faced appearance. He forced a smile, reaching for his head to stroke in comfort.
"Welcome back," The words came out softly. She laid the tray down in front of him, only showing the soup that she had managed to get.
"The nurses want you to do fluids for a while." He nodded at her words, and she watched as he took his hand from his bandage. "Does it hurt?" He shook his head.
"No, just itchy." He reached for the spoon, dumping it into the soup. "What about for you?" He asked, noticing that she had only gotten one tray, and it was for him. She shook her head, making a distasteful face, before sitting back.
"You eat first. I'll go down after and get food." She said the words, but he could read the lies in her face.
"Come here." He motioned to the bed; he wanted her to sit with him. Out of fear that she would hurt him more, she scooted the chair closer. He sighed before pulling himself up more and clenching his teeth in pain. He moved his body closer to the edge, using the spoon to lift the soup. He softly blew on the soup, holding his hand out underneath as he went to feed it to Jennie. She was taken aback at first, his serious face concerned and not moving away until she took the first bite. She finally took the first spoonful, letting him take the next while trying to think of a way out.
"Will you miss a lot of classes this week?" He was caught by surprise but shook his head as he thought.
"Nah, I have you for one class, and for the others, I can email the professors." He tried to brush everything off and hand her another spoonful of soup, but she refused. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him.
"You said it was old friends." He let the spoon fall before looking at her. She was looking at her hands as she began to analyze and report what she had seen.
"What do you mean?" He sat back and waited, looking at her momentarily before she stood up and spoke.
"You've been living so afraid of everything. Now, I want you to run to me and only me." She had said the same words, and it sent him into shock for a moment.
She kept a still demeanor and tried to keep all her energy inside, but he could see she was shaking. Her fear was losing someone else that she would grow close to, and he was slowly realizing this. Her hands that she tried to hold close trembled as her fingers rubbed against each other, her legs not completely strong enough to even hold her up for this moment. He let out a small sigh that revealed a smile as he reached out a hand to Jennie. She hesitated, not sure if she should before she left her hand fall into his. He pulled her close, bringing her into a hug as she began to melt into his arms slowly. The warmth from his body continued to warm her, and she found herself in tears as she held on to him. He let her have her moment, wincing in pain quietly as he held on to her.
The words that she never heard were repeating in his head.
'I think I love you.' The words continued to appear in his head. He could hear his own voice getting ready to say the words before he passed out. He held on to her for the moment, cradling her as her legs hung from the bed. She sniffled, apologizing, only making him hold on to her longer. He held in the words just as he held her. He tried to console her, rubbing her back and assuring her that he was not going to go anywhere. After a few minutes, he pulled her away, and her face was in such disarray that he smiled. Her red eyes were full of concern, and he helped wipe her tears.
"I'm here." He spoke softly, trying to console her more.
"Barely," she coughed and tried to slow her breathing. "You're hurt." He nodded, looking at himself before giving a shrug.
"I'll heal." He smiled, making her look away in uncertainty. He gave a small sigh, pulling her face towards him. "I'll heal because I have you." The words came out of his smiling mouth, a smirk that showed he was sure.
-
Their time in the hospital was tiring nonetheless. Both had become tired of the pasty white walls, cold hallways, and smell of antibacterial cleaning being done. The two waited patiently but were growing tired as the day continued. Jennie would leave to take a few phone calls from Minji while trying to be strong for Kai. Kai watched as she pretended to act strong, waiting for the moment they could leave. He had been feeling pitiful and was not what he wanted. He had asked if she wanted to go home and rest, but she was adamant about staying. When they thought they could not wait any longer, the nurse would walk in, and Jennie would end her call to listen.
"Time for you to go home." She spoke, the two looking at each other. The nurse unhooked the IV, working on pulling it from his hand. Kai got the opportunity to stretch his hand and rub the numbness away. "You can get dressed," she turned towards Jennie, "and you can help me with the discharge papers." She walked to the door and waited for Jennie. Her eyes flickered to Kai, who shooed her to the door.
"I'll come straight to the desk." He reassured her as she left.
-
Leaving the hospital would begin their first argument. The first argument about what Kai should do after he was released. While they were in the taxi driving, the two of them struggled to figure out the perfect arrangements. He did not want to go to his parents, and that was something he mentioned to Jennie. Stating that they lived far away, which would not make it ideal. He also knew the exact reason why this would not be the best place to go. He was adamant about going home, and it had his clothes and everything he would need. Monggu would be there, and he could take care of himself. She was not privy to this thought, frustrated that he would be alone and something could go wrong. She tried convincing him to come to her home; she and Minji would sleep in the living room and give him the bed. He wasn't sure of this. The thought of having both of them worried about him made him uneasy.
He finally convinced her that he would go home, giving her a key to check on him whenever she wanted. This still did not put her at ease, but she could not argue. She huffed, trying not to show her concern as she looked out the window. The entire day had changed for both of them. For Jennie, the last time that she was inside of the car was hours before. Kai noticed how the empty streets he had once walked that night were now filled with people. Although they were sitting on opposite ends of the backseat, he moved closer and wrapped her in his arms. He took a relaxing breath before laying his head back on the seat and closing his eyes to rest. She looked back at him, seeing his tired face, before leaving him to sleep.
The taxi would pull to a stop when they reached Kai's home. The thoughts of her experience from last night came back to haunt Jennie as she swallowed her fear. She looked at his face, not as pale or sunken as last night, but the fear of him not answering grew. Her breathing grew shaky as she tried to move slowly before being startled. He awoke, his grasp tightening on her momentarily before he noticed where he was. He let go of her slowly, moving towards the door and opening it. She followed close behind after paying the driver. He took her hand as he led her from the car, and she looked around, struggling to figure something out.
"This way." He pointed up the row of stairs that he began to climb.
"Wait, all the way up there?" She called after him, unsure about the situation.
"Yeah, come on. I'll be fine." He grabbed her arm starting to pull her up the stairs with him. He knew that this would strain his body, but he knew he would get to rest. He had already taken labs and studied the human body and knew how his body would react to the stress and strain that he would put it through. He just needed to get to bed.