Chapter 5
Yangyang practically ran into the hospital, his heart pounding. His mind was racing with worst-case scenarios as he frantically searched for the staff who had called him. The moment he spotted her, he rushed over.
“You’re here! That’s good. Ten had another schedule, so—”
“Where’s JL?” Yangyang cut her off, his voice urgent. “Is he okay? What happened?”
The staff blinked, slightly taken aback by his reaction. “Uh… he’s—”
Before she could explain, a familiar voice spoke from behind them.
“Mentor… Yangyang?”
Yangyang turned around so fast it was a miracle he didn’t get whiplash. JL stood there, looking perfectly fine, just a little confused.
Yangyang didn’t think. He just reacted. He rushed over, gripping JL’s shoulders, his eyes scanning him for any injuries. “Are you hurt? Where? Are you okay?” His hands moved as if checking for wounds, his breathing uneven.
JL stared at him, completely thrown off by the panic in his mentor’s eyes. “Uh… I’m okay?”
Yangyang didn’t seem convinced and kept checking him over. The staff finally spoke up. “JL is fine, but Daisuke isn’t.”
Yangyang froze, finally registering her words. He turned back to her, confused. “What?”
The staff sighed. “Daisuke had an upset stomach. JL was with him at the time, so he accompanied him to the hospital. That’s all.”
Silence.
Yangyang slowly dropped his hands from JL’s shoulders. The weight of how he had just acted, rushing here, panicking, grabbing JL like he was the one hurt, sank in. The staff awkwardly cleared her throat. “I’ll, uh, leave you two.” And with that, she run away.
The air between them was… awkward, to say the least. Yangyang coughed into his hand, rubbing the back of his neck. He avoided JL’s gaze, unsure of what to say.
JL shifted on his feet before shyly holding out a cup of coffee. “I, um… got this from the convenience store. Do you want it?”
Yangyang blinked at the cup, then at JL, before finally taking it. “Thanks…”
They sat down outside Daisuke’s hospital room. Neither spoke. The tension wasn’t bad, it was just… there. Unspoken, lingering in the air between them. Yangyang took a slow sip of the coffee, his mind still replaying how recklessly he had acted just now.
JL glanced at him from the corner of his eye, gripping his own cup a little tighter. He wasn’t sure what just happened, but something about Yangyang’s reaction stuck with him.
And for the first time, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.