Bab 11: The One With The Crush
Lee Sung-Hoon
Kim Ha-Jun visited his best friend every day for six weeks straight. To onlookers, it would come off as a sweet and caring gesture. The nurses and other patients in the hospital adored Ha-Jun for caring about his best friend so much. Every day, he'd bring something with him. If one day, he got him chocolates, then the next day, he would bring him books to pass the time. However, only Sung-Hoon, his best friend, knew the real reason behind his constant visitation.
Like every day, Ha-Jun welcomed himself into Sung-Hoon's room with a bright smile. He was the epitome of happiness. Some doctors even named him Sunshine because of his optimistic and happy personality. Doctor Kim Cheon-sa was performing the final check-up before Sung-Hoon was discharged.
"Okay, you're all set for discharge," said Doctor Kim. "I'll go and get the discharge papers ready."
Sung-Hoon nodded. Ha-Jun stood at the door and tipped his imaginary hat, causing the woman to chuckle. Six weeks later and watching the two was still insufferable as ever. His physical injuries might've healed, but the blazing fire inside him was yet to cool off. Ha-Jun ran a hand through his hair and walked towards his best friend. Sung-Hoon took a deep breath, steeling himself to tolerate his rambling for the next hour.
"Unlike every day," began Ha-Jun before he took a momentary pause. "I wouldn't be rambling on today."
Lee Sung-Hoon looked up at the ceiling. "Finally, the Gods have heard my prayer."
"Ya!" Ha-Jun slapped his arm before they burst into laughter. Sung-Hoon's burning jealousy subsided for the new few minutes. It was a pure best-friend moment they shared, just like old times. Sung-Hoon watched as his best friend rocked back and forth on his stool and held on to the bed for support. He was calm now, but his best friend still had ten more minutes before he could stop his giggles. A part of him wondered if the reason behind his over-the-top happiness was Blue.
The door swung open to reveal the grinning faces of Song Jun-Seo and Min Hwan-Woo.
"Are we interrupting?" grinned Hwan-Woo.
"If I say yes, will you leave us alone?" asked Sung-Hoon with arms crossed against his chest.
"Heh, not in a million years," snickered Jun-Seo.
"Guess what," began Hwan-Woo as he sat at the edge of the bed. "I've been listening about Ha-Jun when I stepped into the hospital. Some nurses were giggling about how dreamy he looked."
"Since when do you pay attention to gossip?" questioned Sung-Hoon.
"I don't," defended Hwan-Woo. "I listened to people chatting on the way, so I thought I might share. Anyway, I'm here to share some news."
Ha-Jun and Jun-Seo's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Is it what we think it is?"
Baffled, Sung-Hoon looked back and forth between the cousin and the best friend. Six weeks in the hospital, and he surely missed out on something big.
Hwan-Woo nodded as his cheeks turned into a light shade of pink.
The men screamed in delight, with one of them jumping around and dancing funnily. The other one leaped into the friend's arms for a bear hug. Sung-Hoon, still confused, waited for the excitement to die down to bombard his friend with questions. However, his gaze dropped to the shiny silver ring on the ring finger. That could only mean one thing.
"You're engaged?" asked Sung-Hoon with widened eyes.
Hwan-Woo smiled and nodded. Sung-Hoon didn't know how to react to this newfound information. Should he congratulate or snap at him? Time stilled, and an apparition of Chief appeared beside Hwan-Woo.
"Congratulate him," said the Chief.
"But why?" asked Sung-Hoon. "If he gets married, everything will change. We were supposed to dedicate our lives to science. The four of us were great together! Why does he need to change that?"
"Life isn't all about work," said the Chief. "It's not all about friendship either. He's growing with time, Sung-Hoon. This is a new phase of his life, and, as his friend, you should be happy for him."
"But things are changing!"
"It will change whether we like it or not," said the Chief with a calming voice. "You shouldn't villanize this change; it could be good for you."
"How?" Sung-Hoon glared at him. "How is this change going to be good for me? Soon, Ha-Jun will take Blue away from me, and Jun-Seo will find someone. I'll be left alone."
"Who said you'd be left alone? Just because they're finding people to spend their lives with doesn't mean they'll leave you. Besides, you promised to change as well," explained the Chief. "And if you're so worried about Blue being snatched from you, then do something about it, idiot!"
"Hello?" Hwan-Woo waved a hand, causing him to blink back to reality. The apparition disappeared, but his words were still ringing in his ears.
"Huh?"
"You zoned out there," said Hwan-Woo. "You doing alright?"
"Yeah, uh," paused Sung-Hoon. Difficult as it was, he couldn't help but agree with Chief. Sung-Hoon was one of Hwan Woo's closest friends. If he wished to mend his ways and become a functioning human, he would have to accept the new changes in his life. He shut down all negative thoughts and focused on his friend's happiness. From now onwards, thoughts of abandonment would be burned down on the back burner.
"Congratulations." The ends of his lips curled slightly upwards. "I'm happy for you."
Hwan-Woo knitted his eyebrows and stared at him before he turned to Ha-Jun.
"What the hell have you been feeding him?"
"We don't know! He's been acting weird since the accident," Jun-Seo and Ha-Jun mentioned in unison.
"I just wanted to be more supportive," mumbled Sung-Hoon as he looked away. A warm, proud smile played on Hwan-Woo's lips.
"Thank you, Sung-Hoon. I'm sure it must've been difficult," said Hwan-Woo. "And I know how much you hate things changing, but I promise you, nothing will change. We can still hang out after I get married."
"Yeah!" cheered Ha-Jun. "I call dibs on their first child!"
"What?" Hwan-Woo shot him a look. "You can't call dibs on my first child! I forbid you from calling dibs."
Ha-Jun sighed. "I said it wrong. I meant I would name your first child after myself."
"Still, no."
Sung-Hoon chuckled at the stupid negotiation/banter over his friend's unborn child. Jun-Seo watched the interaction with amusement while also keeping an eye on his cousin. His strangely friendly behavior was alarming. On one end, he was glad that his cousin finally chose to change; on the other, his sudden change creeped him out.
"Would you stop staring? It's creepy," Sung-Hoon called his cousin out.
"Not as creepy as your behavior," remarked Jun-Seo. "Are you sure you're not someone from another planet who got switched with my cousin?"
"Would you believe me if I said yes?"
Jun-Seo nodded.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm still your cousin."
"Guys," interrupted Hwan-Woo. "Can we move on from the topic of Sung-Hoon now? We can elaborately discuss what happened to him later."
After a nod of agreement, the men chatted about random events in the last six months. When the men landed on the topic of crushes, Ha-Jun took the opportunity to gush about the cute doctor he met. Impressed, Hwan-Woo gave him a pat on the back and eagerly listened to him. Sung-Hoon watched him talking about Blue with a clenched jaw. He was seething. Despite envy corrupting his heart, he didn't let his emotions get the best of him. He tuned out most of Ha-Jun's words to keep himself calm.
A knock cut Ha-Jun off. The door opened, and a nurse peeked in. She informed the men that the discharge papers were ready and Lee Sung-Hoon was good to go. The men nodded and headed out to allow the patient some privacy to change and pack.
~
Two hours later, the men are gathered in Sung-Hoon's living room. Since Sung-Hoon was still recovering from the impact, he was suggested to avoid driving for the time being. Hwan-Woo offered them to give a ride home. The topic of crushes was still on, and from the spiciness of the gossip, Sung-Hoon believed it wasn't ending anytime soon.
"Although I know the answer, I'm still going to ask you this," began Hwan-Woo. "A cute nurse or a doctor caught your eye?"
An image of Blue smiling flashed in front of Sung-Hoon's eyes. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
Hwan-Woo stepped back and gasped. "NO!"
The other two gasped and placed a hand over their mouths.
"My cousin has a crush?! My robotic cousin knows what a crush is?!"
Sung-Hoon rolled his eyes at his friends. "I know what a crush is."
"Are you sure it's a crush and not-?" Ha-Jun drawled, gesturing something with his hands in hopes his friend would fill in with some weird science stuff.
"No!" denied Sung-Hoon. "And would you guys stop looking at me weird? It's no big deal."
"It's no big deal? IT'S NO BIG DEAL?! ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS?!" yelled Ha-Jun, jumping out of his seat. "YOU HAVE A CRUSH! LEE SUNG-HOON HAS A CRUSH ON A WOMAN. A REAL WOMAN."
"And not something you whipped out in a lab," Hwan-Woo piped in. "It is shocking."
"Come on, spill." Ha-Jun sat beside Sung-Hoon and stared at him eagerly.
Sung-Hoon rolled his eyes and got up from his seat. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Jun-Seo furrowed his eyebrows. "Bruh, why?"
Sung-Hoon's back faced the men while he spoke the following few words.
"Someone else likes her, and she seems interested as well. I don't have a chance," informed Sung-Hoon with a frown. Sung-Hoon intentionally avoided mentioning Ha-Jun, because he didn't want to be the reason Ha-Jun's smile was wiped off. Besides, no matter how much his heart ached to see them together, he knew that Ha-Jun was a far better choice than he was. Sung-Hoon couldn't hide his feelings anymore, but he could at least pull him out of the competition for his best friend.
He was perfect in many ways: charming, loving, caring, empathetic, and successful. Everyone loved being around him. He was the life of the party. It was obvious who the right choice was for Blue.
Ha-Jun stared at him in disbelief. He stood up, stomped towards Sung-Hoon, and turned the man to face him. With a death glare, he raised his hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. The atmosphere quieted down after the loud smack. Hwan-Woo and Jun-Seo's jaws dropped.
"I can't believe you're giving up this easy," said Ha-Jun while Sung-Hoon recovered from the slap.
"What is it to you? That man is perfect for her; she'll choose him."
"How do you know that?" Ha-Jun crossed his arms against his chest.
"It's only logical," defended Sung-Hoon, his voice raising with every word. "Besides, I don't wanna pit against the man. The girl means a lot to him. He's been talking people's ears off since he met her six weeks ago."
Both Sung-Hoon's and Ha-Jun's eyes widened in realization. None of them spoke for a good one minute. The atmosphere became thick with tension. Jun-Seo and Hwan-Woo keenly watched the interaction while munching on potato chips.
"Oh, this is good," mumbled Jun-Seo.
Kim Ha-Jun's eyes narrowed. "Do you like Doctor Kim Cheon-sa?"
This was the moment Sung-Hoon was trying so hard to avoid. He didn't want his best friend to find out they liked the same girl. Seeing how much the girl meant to him, he was ready to back down. Sung-Hoon stared at him, having a difficult time formulating a response. The tension thickened, and the audience held their breaths. This was the moment they were waiting for.
"Yes," a whisper escaped his lips after a few minutes. "I like her."
A moment of silence.
"And you wanted to give her up because of me?" Ha-Jun looked down. A smirk was evident in his voice.
"Yes, because you're my best friend," replied Sung-Hoon. "I never told you this, but you mean a lot to me, Ha-Jun-ah. I would never want to come in between you and your happiness. Even if it kills me from within."
Laughter echoed in the room. Jun-Seo and Hwan-Woo looked at each other, confused. Sung-Hoon knitted his eyebrows together in confusion as well. Kim Ha-Jun raised his head to look his newest competitor in the eye.
He smirked. "I've known you a long time, Sung-Hoon-ah. You're everything but a quitter. If you want something, then you get it. That's how you always remained at the top spot in middle and high school, despite Dae-Jung setting your notes on fire once."
Exhausted from the conversation, Sung-Hoon asked. "What's your point?"
"Fight for her, Sung-Hoon," urged his best friend. "Fight hard for her, even if I'm the one you're up against."
Ha-Jun took a few steps back. The smirk was still wide on his lips.
"You want her, come and get her. Cause I ain't giving her up that easy."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone