"seokmin!"
seokmin sat on the floor of the crowded hospital hallway, half asleep as his head rested on jisoo's shoulder who had been wide awake the whole time. yet still he managed to notice the familiar sense of safety he got when hearing his mother's voice, especially when he glanced up and saw how she came running towards him with his father following right behind her.
for the nth time that night, his eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to fall on his still stained red cheeks. for a brief second he forgot about the blanket that was wrapped around both him and jisoo as he freed himself from the other his hold, speeding up to his parents who ran towards him, mirroring his emotional expression.
"oh my god, my baby. you're okay." his mother sobbed when she finally caught her son in a hug, seokmin clinging onto her like he did when he was five. "i was so scared when we got a phone call from the police station. they weren't sure i-if you were one of the survivors.. i've never b-been more scared in my entire l-life."
"i'm so s-sorry.." seokmin cried out, pressing his face against her shoulder, which was only a few inches shorter than his own. soon, his father joined the hug too, making seokmin notice the man was still dressed in his ridiculous toy story pajama. and the moment seokmin's eye landed on the familiar piece of clothing that reminded him of home, seokmin let out a faint giggle, finally being able to love how ridiculous but amazing his parents were.
"how can y-you even laugh in this situation? aren't you scared?" miss lee choked out, slightly pulling back as she grabbed a gentle hold of his face, inspecting everything till the tiniest scratch.
"i-i'm sorry. it's just funny to see dad in his sleepwear." seokmin stupidly answered as he was harshly being pushed aside by a doctor who sped past him, leading a stretcher where a heavily injured student lay on. breath hitched in his throat as he quickly glanced back up to this mom and dad, seeing how his father wiped away a stray tear with a small smile displaying on his face.
"i can't believe how you're still so damn optimistic in a situation like this. come here my son." without hesitation, both male went in for a warm fatherly hug. one filled with tears yet silent laughter. "i'm proud of you, lee seokmin. i'm so proud of you."
"thank you dad." seokmin sobbed while his father praised him. he had never been more grateful of his parents ever before and he made a note to himself he'd thank them for being always around more often.
when both seokmin and his dad finally broke lose from the hug and shared a small smile filled with tears, the boy looked over his shoulder, eyeing the boy who wore an empty expression as he stared at the dirty hospital floor. the blanket hung lose around his shoulders as he didn't take the effort to wrap it tighter around him after seokmin left.
it was such a sad view to see, even seokmin had a hard time not spilling any more tears. and so he decided to walk up to him, ignoring his parents questioning looks.
"mom, dad. i need to introduce you to someone." seokmin gently tapped jisoo on his shoulder, receiving his attention at once as he offered his hand. with eyes of hesitation jisoo could do nothing else but to look at his hand in confusion, making seokmin eager for him to hold it. "come." he whispered encouraging, finally making jisoo realize what he'd been trying to get to.
and finally, jisoo grabbed a hold of his hand and allowed seokmin to pull him up, quickly trying to jerk his hand back from his grasp once he eyed the boys parents. however, seokmin only held onto his hand tighter, giving it a gentle squeeze as to tell that there was nothing to worry about. and when he received a look full of warmth and honesty from jisoo next to him, he knew it was fine.
"so this is jisoo. jisoo, these are my parents." seokmin swallowed hesitating to say the next, even when he knew his parents would accept him for it anyhow. he gave jisoo a look of anticipation, followed by a small nod from the partly american boy who, through his dried tears, gave him a genuine smile. "your soon to be son in law."
even in the cold and chaotic atmosphere of the white hospital halls, a spark of happiness rose between the lee family, who just earned a new member. "even on such a dark night you manage to light it up." seokmin's father spoke with a content sigh, offering his hand to jisoo who gladly shook it, his mom doing the exact same afterwards.
"so, you don't think it's weird or anything?" seokmin asked, still a bit surprised his parents didn't think anything of it. "of course not sweetie! we knew it since you went to kindergarten." his mother wiped away the newly formed tears that left her eyes.
"you actually owe me ten bucks now, honey." his father playfully joked, grabbing her closer by her waist as he chuckled about seokmin's confused expression. "your mom and i made a bet if you'd come out for it before or after your eighteenth birthday. and i said after. looks like i win, huh."
"hey, beside that. where's your parents?" seokmin's mother bluntly asked jisoo, whose eyes widened as he clearly wasn't expecting it to be brought up. yet he knew he had to answer it in all honesty.
"eh.. my parents work for a company in los angeles. i don't exactly think they're going to pick me up tonight." even when seokmin noticed the rising lump in his throat that was clearly heard, jisoo brushed it off with one of his usual smooth smiles, waving the subject away with a motion of his hands. "but that's no big deal! i was waiting for seokmin to be picked up so i could take a bus to my apartment."
"why don't you come with us? i really hate to think you have to sleep all by yourself tonight." seokmin's mother offered, her husband giving a nod of confirmation.
"i really appreciate that, but i don't want to be a burden to you." jisoo politely turned the offer down, instantly lowering his gaze at the uncleaned floor. until seokmin squeezed his hand, making him look up instantly again.
"but what if i don't want to sleep alone tonight. i really want you to stay with me." seokmin silently admitted as tears clouded his vision again. and of course, just the look on his face was enough to convince jisoo. "of course i'll stay with you tonight! come here, silly." jisoo was quick to pull him in a tight hug, not being sure if it was necessary but in the need for his warmth as well.
"let's go then, shall we. i think it's best to leave this place, it isn't useful for the two of you to stay." seokmin's mother offered, as the two boys willingly followed her to the exit.
and for them, the night finally came to an end, as they walked out of the hospital's exit, ready to go home.
