Chapter 108: Good Days
"Hyung's here!"
J closed his wide-open arms, shut the door behind him, and strode over to the bed. The stagnant air swirled around him. Bringing with him the outside wind, J bent down slightly and asked.
"What were you doing?"
"..."
There was no answer. The only response was the slightly narrowed, dull eyes and the faintly raised corners of his mouth under the bandages, which soon disappeared. Beneath the expressionless face, the fingers on the blanket twitched slightly. By now, J had come to understand most of the meanings hidden in the boy's small gestures.
"You were waiting for me."
J dragged a small chair closer to the bed and sat down. J leaned his masked face closer. The boy leaned his upper body back a little. With a voice tinged with laughter, J asked.
"You missed me, didn't you?"
The boy blinked slowly and turned his head away. Judging by his tightly closed lips, he seemed upset again. The boy J had observed so far was strong-willed and often changed his mood as quickly as flipping a coin. Though this time, J had an idea.
J crossed his arms and sighed.
"...I'm really sorry. I wanted to come sooner, but I had a lot to do."
Since the boy had regained consciousness, J had been visiting the hospital regularly. After receiving a keycard, he would sometimes drop by quietly like a phantom. Despite his irregular schedule, he somehow made time to procure the antidote, see the boy, and have conversations that went unanswered. Several months passed like this.