A night where еven the darkness sleeps;
Let the eternal sun shine.
- ateez, eternal sunshine.
•••
the next time San wakes up, he feels less drowsy and more cold than ever. his eyes travel around him as he tries to fight off the glaring lights, and he finds everyone huddled up on the small couch asleep, except for Mingi who's sitting at the edge of his bed doing something on his phone.
San starts to cough all of a sudden, feeling his chest rumble with each cough and that alerts Mingi, making the boy stand up and grab a glass of water, handing it to the boy who quickly gulps it.
"hey, how're you feeling?" Mingi moves the hair sticking to his eyes away, patting his head softly. San closes his eyes. "still hurting?"
"n-not as much," he says, voice scratchy. "w— why didn't you l-leave— i mean—"
"because we wanted to make sure you're okay," Mingi smiles softly as he sits down. "everyone here is worried sick about you and we had this fight with the doctor earlier because he said we can't stay past visiting hours but thankfully we got him to agree."
San nods, leaning his head back on the pillow. "i'm sorry."
a moment of silence.
"you know you should tell them, right?"
San shakes his head as he looks outside of the small window to the right. the dusk is breaking, the sky is coloured in soft blues and warm orange hues.
"i— i dont want them to hate me," San mumbles, "i don't know why you're still putting up with me in the first place."
"huh?" Mingi frowns. "Sannie, you're our friend, a part of this family, and i know family is a big word but i don't care, because you feel like family to me, at least. and a true family never gives up on one of it's members. we're here to stay, and i hope you understand that."
San sighs, and when he looks at Mingi, his eyes are shining with unwanted saltwater.
"you know i never had a family b-before," San smiles sadly, making Mingi inch closer to him and hold his hand. "this— this feels like a dream i shouldn't be dreaming— having a family and all— l-like i don't deserve this— any of this."
"don't say that," Mingi whispers, fearing he would break the boy had he talked any louder. "you deserve the world, Sannie. you deserve to be happy."
San breaks the eye contact and looks at their tangled fingers.
"i-i think i'll tell them," San finally decides. "bu-but, can you hold my hand when i do? i-i don't want to feel alone doing this— i'll— i'll tell you everything this time."
Mingi's eyes hold the sadness of the world but his smile holds a reassuring comfort. he nods. "i'll be here, i won't let go of your hand, promise."
a few hours later, the boys start to stir one after the other, and San watches them anxiously as they begin untangling from each other and as Seonghwa walks towards him and checks his temperature.
"your fever has gone down," he smiles, though his voice is still thick with sleep. San nods, trying to manage a little smile in return.
YOU ARE READING
Not Too Late | Choi San
Fanfictiondarkness is all that he sees: for he's a boy with broken dreams. •• in which a homeless boy goes to audition for an entertainment company, and there he meets his new family. but it's not as simple as that, because when San finally thinks he found hi...
