it has been a year since he was locked up in this room, the walls a bright white complimenting the metallic machinery around him. for a year, he wasn’t allowed to walk in and out, having his meals and medication brought to him while doctors and psychiatrists entered and left his room freely while he could not. very occasionally, zhen would arrive along with soojin or minho to come and visit him though the visits were limited to half an hour at time. the days in the white room never ended, time nothing but a fragment as joon would slowly lose count of the seconds, minutes, hours, and days. according to zhen on one occasion, he looked like nothing but an empty shell – breathing, but no longer living.
there was one thing that had sparked any hope in this dull prison, the letters he would receive from kyuri whenever soojin or minho visited. the letters weren’t long at all, being rather brief but enough to bring some sort of comfort to the broken young man. of course, he wasn’t allowed to reply to any of the messages, being told that he could alter his progress to healing if he made contact with the subject of obsession when he was brainwashed. but he continued to keep the letters on his bedside to read whenever he needed to mentally escape from the present; and thankfully, for him, they never stopped coming.
“you’re being discharged next week and being released to the custody of zhen.” the familiar, but calculative voice spoke as they scratched their pen against the notes they were carrying around. joon looked up in surprise at the doctor before him, unsure on whether or not he had heard right. but seeing the stern, but tired eyes look back at him, the younger male could only assume that he had indeed heard right.
“he’ll be your caretaker from now on as you finish your recovery. crazy fool.” the doctor tsk’d before stopping his scratching and placing his pen into the front pocket of his lab coat. “but why–” joon was interrupted as the doctor chose to cut him off.
“you can ask him yourself. he’ll be coming by tomorrow to brief you in on what’s been decided by both the academy and the city police. meanwhile, if you have any loose ends to tie up with your sister or your friends, i suggest you tell zhen to bring them by when you get the chance. from what i hear, you won’t be seeing any of them for a while.” with the wave of his hand, the doctor walked towards the door to leave joon back to his thoughts. “oh. you have a visitor waiting for you. she wasn’t on the list of the approved visitors, but she insisted on seeing you. seeing as it’s your last week and all, we’ll make an exception this time and send her in.”
furrowing his eyebrows, joon could only nod as he stared at the doctor’s departure, confused as to who the doctor could be referring to. taking a deep sigh, the male swung is feet over the bed so he was completely sitting up, stretching out his stiff neck and shoulders. it was only a few moments later that he heard a couple of knocks against the door before it completely opened, joon looking up once more only to be caught by surprise. it was the last person he had expected to see, after all, the familiar sight of long blonde hair and a pair of icy eyes – though if joon could remember correctly, the shade of blonde was definitely much lighter than a year ago and her eyes were much less cold. at least, when they landed on him. in that second, the man could see in her eyes a flickering of… remorse? pain? or was it something else.
“kyuri…” he spoke quietly, not over the initial shock of seeing the other for the first time in a year. swallowing thickly, he continued to speak, his voice becoming a little stronger. “kyuri, what are you doing here? i thought…” joon trailed off, unsure how he should proceed to talk to the other after everything that has happened. after a moment silence, he lamely changed the subject. “i got your letters…”
WHILE SHE WAITS TO BE LED TOWARDS HIS ROOM, she feels her stomach bubbling as she bounces eagerly on her toes. her mind is currently racing with a million different thoughts and emotions, serving as a distraction from the uneasiness she feels while she sits alone in the waiting room. it wasn’t entirely quiet, but she didn’t feel comfortable being all by herself. her mentors offered to accompany her when she refused to ask the likes of her friends, much less her twin, yet at the time she foolishly declined their offers. now that she was actually here, she probably should’ve brought someone like zhen along; perhaps she wouldn’t have had to make a fool of herself by arguing with staff for nearly half an hour to be able to see him before he officially leaves her — again.
as footsteps approach, her attention shifts to the stranger nearing her — his doctor, she presumes — clipboard in hand before they sigh. the doctor seems tired, but she can’t bring herself to care enough to ask them about it. her mind focuses on the idea of seeing him again, different scenarios playing out in her head as she follows silently behind, keeping a safe distance from the professional to further avoid meaningless conversation. she’s scared, excited, and sad all at the same time. anxiety eats away at her with every step taken; unusual and unfamiliar for her. she’s typically so cool and aloof, yet here she is — her legs ready to give out as they near his room. the doctor turns to face her once they stop at his door, voice quiet as they tell her they’ll go in for a couple minutes before allowing her visit to start.
as soon as they disappear behind the door, she’s alone again. minutes feel like hours; she’s been longing to see him for a long time now, envious that she was the only one who couldn’t see him for the entire year that he’s been in here.
the doctor comes out again, mentioning another staff member will come to wait outside — as precaution, so they say.
she knocks gingerly, but doesn’t wait for a word of invitation before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. the air is knocked out of her lungs as her eyes finally focus on joon for the first time in a year, and she stops at the doorway for a moment, unsure of where to stand or sit. the air is already thick with tension, and she doesn’t want to make it worse. thankfully for her, he speaks first, and she can’t help the small smile that appears on her face at the sound of her name leaving his lips. “hi,” she feebly starts, “oh, i — it took a lot of unnecessary persuasion to get here.” her eyes momentarily dart to the letters on the bedside table, warmth spreading throughout her body. “you kept them. i thought... i didn’t know you kept them.”
areudirty
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
dededos
turnnoffyourmind
gummygunk
blakekathryn
