Mr. Golden Sun
one.
The first moment he glances at his phone when it rings and it's Jonghyun's manager on the caller ID, he starts worrying because Jonghyun is late and he is never, ever late for their early morning vocal warm ups (to the point where no matter how begrudgingly early Jinki wakes for these, Jonghyun will always be there before him).
In his musings, he forgets to answer the call and the ringing stops, the eerie silence of the room surrounding him. He breaks out of his thoughts then and quickly rings Jonghyun's manager back, free hand coming up to his mouth so he can nervously worry the skin at the corner of his thumb with his teeth. It only takes three rings (he counted) before a worn out, exasperated voice answers.
"Jinki."
He barely musters a hum in response, mouth too busy gnawing at his finger to form any words.
"There's been an accident. Jjong's been taken to the hospital. Tell the members and come down if you can. Make sure you guys come one by one or at least discreetly. We can't have press and fans gathering and disturbing the hospital any more than necessary. You got it?"
"Yes, hyung," he manages, already making his way out of their spare room to tell the Taemin and Key. He'll just have to have them tell Minho because he simply can't just sit here and not go see him.
"Okay, I'll see you later."
"Hyung!" Jinki says in a hurry, just before the other on the line can hang up on him. "Is... Is he okay?"
He hears a soft chuckle on the other end of the line and he's not sure if it comforts him or not. "You know him; he's got a harder head than we all give him credit for."
And that, somehow, quells his fears even just a little. He nods and says his thanks, pocketing his phone.
-
He stands just a few inches from the curtain that hides Jonghyun away from the rest of the world, fingers curled around the material of it.
"Hyung, he isn't going to get up and open that for you, you know?"
He turns his head to give Kibum a scowl, softened by the light jut out of his lower lip.
"I know that. I just- I need to-"
"I know, hyung, just do it please before I start to get nervous." Kibums arms are crossed and although to those who don't know him may think he actually does look haughty and apathetic about the whole ordeal, only Jinki could see the slightly hunched shoulders and the repeated bob of his Adam's apple; swallowing down his nerves.
When the curtain rings slide across the rod, Jinki feels relieved and yet he can feel blood drain from his face at the sight of Jjong propped up against the headboard with his head tilted back, half-conscious on the pristine white sheets, blood smeared on his shirt and across his cheeks. His eyes are half-lidded and his body looks limp, a pale tone to his normally golden skin. Jinki takes a step forward and Jonghyun notices, his gaze drifting over to him and his mouth curving into a lazy smile.
"Hyung..." His voice is strained and wavering, like he wants to cry but he finds he has no reason to. Jinki can sympathize at the moment.
He steps closer and places his hand on the metal railing of the bed, afraid that if he touched Jonghyun he just might break. "How are you feeling?" he asks, though he know he must sound like a complete idiot doing so. There's only so much he can do as a leader, as a hyung, as a friend, and offering Jonghyun a wonky smile is one of them.
"Like my mouth is separated from the rest of my body," the younger answers with a weak chuckle, the curve that his mouth makes when he smiles looking almost painful.
"Figures your mouth won't stop working when the rest of your body feels like it should," Kibum quips from beside him, finally stepping out from where he had hidden behind him. Jinki supposes he's just not used to seeing Jonghyun so helpless, not since that time he got the flu. It's funny, he thinks, how someone who appears so strong and invincible can suddenly seem so mortal and fragile in a matter of seconds.
"I figure your eyes will go on rolling even after you're-"
"So what did they say about it?" Jinki cuts in, because he'd really much rather not have that kind of mental image Jonghyun was about to give him.
"They're just waiting for the swelling to go down so they can do surgery on it. After that, I think they plan on keeping me here until the last possible moment."
Jinki keeps silent as Kibum goes on to joke about how maybe Jonghyun should get his nostrils fixed so that they're the same size and much smaller. He can't laugh with them nor can he jokingly chastise Kibum for such a comment; he's too busy feeling worry and regret and shoulda woulda coulda's. So much could go wrong with a surgery, and it's on his nose, for crying out loud; what if it affects his singing?
"I'm sorry, hyung... I should have been more careful. Now you guys are going to have to reblock and promote twice as much just because I wasn't payin-"
"Yah, you couldn't have known, okay? It's why it's called an accident," he offers a much more confident smile, finally reaching his hand down and curling his fingers around Jonghyun's. "Just promise us you'll get better, okay?"
Jonghyun squeezes his hand in a silent promise before they're ushered out of the emergency room, claiming they need to check a few more things on him before he's moved to a room.
They're hassled and a bit more prickly than he'd appreciate, but they did bring the press flooding to their front doors.
"You really think he'll be okay?" he asks Kibum as they make their way back to the car.
"Hyung, I don't think even a titan could make Jonghyun hyung go down."
Kibum smiles and there's a secret there that Jinki understands because they've both seen Jonghyun at his lowest and even more so at his peak, and no matter the extreme, he'll always burn brighter than the sun.
In his musings, he forgets to answer the call and the ringing stops, the eerie silence of the room surrounding him. He breaks out of his thoughts then and quickly rings Jonghyun's manager back, free hand coming up to his mouth so he can nervously worry the skin at the corner of his thumb with his teeth. It only takes three rings (he counted) before a worn out, exasperated voice answers.
"Jinki."
He barely musters a hum in response, mouth too busy gnawing at his finger to form any words.
"There's been an accident. Jjong's been taken to the hospital. Tell the members and come down if you can. Make sure you guys come one by one or at least discreetly. We can't have press and fans gathering and disturbing the hospital any more than necessary. You got it?"
"Yes, hyung," he manages, already making his way out of their spare room to tell the Taemin and Key. He'll just have to have them tell Minho because he simply can't just sit here and not go see him.
"Okay, I'll see you later."
"Hyung!" Jinki says in a hurry, just before the other on the line can hang up on him. "Is... Is he okay?"
He hears a soft chuckle on the other end of the line and he's not sure if it comforts him or not. "You know him; he's got a harder head than we all give him credit for."
And that, somehow, quells his fears even just a little. He nods and says his thanks, pocketing his phone.
-
He stands just a few inches from the curtain that hides Jonghyun away from the rest of the world, fingers curled around the material of it.
"Hyung, he isn't going to get up and open that for you, you know?"
He turns his head to give Kibum a scowl, softened by the light jut out of his lower lip.
"I know that. I just- I need to-"
"I know, hyung, just do it please before I start to get nervous." Kibums arms are crossed and although to those who don't know him may think he actually does look haughty and apathetic about the whole ordeal, only Jinki could see the slightly hunched shoulders and the repeated bob of his Adam's apple; swallowing down his nerves.
When the curtain rings slide across the rod, Jinki feels relieved and yet he can feel blood drain from his face at the sight of Jjong propped up against the headboard with his head tilted back, half-conscious on the pristine white sheets, blood smeared on his shirt and across his cheeks. His eyes are half-lidded and his body looks limp, a pale tone to his normally golden skin. Jinki takes a step forward and Jonghyun notices, his gaze drifting over to him and his mouth curving into a lazy smile.
"Hyung..." His voice is strained and wavering, like he wants to cry but he finds he has no reason to. Jinki can sympathize at the moment.
He steps closer and places his hand on the metal railing of the bed, afraid that if he touched Jonghyun he just might break. "How are you feeling?" he asks, though he know he must sound like a complete idiot doing so. There's only so much he can do as a leader, as a hyung, as a friend, and offering Jonghyun a wonky smile is one of them.
"Like my mouth is separated from the rest of my body," the younger answers with a weak chuckle, the curve that his mouth makes when he smiles looking almost painful.
"Figures your mouth won't stop working when the rest of your body feels like it should," Kibum quips from beside him, finally stepping out from where he had hidden behind him. Jinki supposes he's just not used to seeing Jonghyun so helpless, not since that time he got the flu. It's funny, he thinks, how someone who appears so strong and invincible can suddenly seem so mortal and fragile in a matter of seconds.
"I figure your eyes will go on rolling even after you're-"
"So what did they say about it?" Jinki cuts in, because he'd really much rather not have that kind of mental image Jonghyun was about to give him.
"They're just waiting for the swelling to go down so they can do surgery on it. After that, I think they plan on keeping me here until the last possible moment."
Jinki keeps silent as Kibum goes on to joke about how maybe Jonghyun should get his nostrils fixed so that they're the same size and much smaller. He can't laugh with them nor can he jokingly chastise Kibum for such a comment; he's too busy feeling worry and regret and shoulda woulda coulda's. So much could go wrong with a surgery, and it's on his nose, for crying out loud; what if it affects his singing?
"I'm sorry, hyung... I should have been more careful. Now you guys are going to have to reblock and promote twice as much just because I wasn't payin-"
"Yah, you couldn't have known, okay? It's why it's called an accident," he offers a much more confident smile, finally reaching his hand down and curling his fingers around Jonghyun's. "Just promise us you'll get better, okay?"
Jonghyun squeezes his hand in a silent promise before they're ushered out of the emergency room, claiming they need to check a few more things on him before he's moved to a room.
They're hassled and a bit more prickly than he'd appreciate, but they did bring the press flooding to their front doors.
"You really think he'll be okay?" he asks Kibum as they make their way back to the car.
"Hyung, I don't think even a titan could make Jonghyun hyung go down."
Kibum smiles and there's a secret there that Jinki understands because they've both seen Jonghyun at his lowest and even more so at his peak, and no matter the extreme, he'll always burn brighter than the sun.