Chapter: 98

[Song Recommendation:

Magic shop by BTS]

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The morning sunlight spilled through the hospital windows, a soft golden glow that warmed the otherwise sterile white of the room. It was the kind of morning that didn’t feel real, too gentle, too quiet, too still, as if the city outside had hit pause just for them.

Miyeon sat propped against the pillows, her leg still wrapped and slightly elevated, her ribs aching every time she shifted. But today, the dull throb wasn’t quite as sharp. She could breathe easier and sit up longer.

She could finally see the faces that mattered. Her people.

Her mother sat at her side, gently tucking the strands of hair that had fallen across her face. Her fingers trembled slightly, betraying how tightly she was still holding herself together. The dark circles beneath her eyes told Miyeon she hadn’t really slept, not since the night of the accident.

Miyeon didn’t know what to say. So she just let her hold her hand.

Mirae, on the other hand, had decided she didn’t have time for dramatics. The 15-year-old walked around the hospital room like a bee who’d had one too many spoons of honey, busying herself with 'organizing' Miyeon's side table, stacking the juice cartons, dramatically smelling the hospital soup like a food critic, and grumbling about how "hospitals clearly never heard of salt."

"You should’ve just stayed home, little devil." Miyeon mumbled under her breath, amusement tugging at the corners of her lips.

Mirae gasped, placing a hand on her chest, "After you nearly died? Please. If you think I’m leaving you alone again, you’ve obviously lost more than just your ability to walk properly. You need proper supervision."

"Mirae!", their father scolded her.

Miyeon rolled her eyes, biting back a smile, "You’ve always been dramatic with a big mouth."

"I get it from you."

Their mother chuckled at that, finally, the first time Miyeon had heard her mother laugh since the accident. It eased something in her chest.

But not everything was light.

On the couch across the room, their father sat quietly, not saying much, his posture stiff, his eyes sunken. He hadn’t met Miyeon eyes even once since he walked in. Not because he didn’t want to, but because she wouldn’t let him.

There were too many things left unsaid between them.

He had known. About Juwon. About Sohee’s father. About the past. About everything that mattered yet kept quiet for the reason of saving them. But look where it got them.

She didn’t hate him. But she didn’t know how to forgive him either. Not yet at least when her injuries were still fresh.

So he stayed seated quietly, nodding whenever their mother spoke, glancing occasionally at Miyeon as if searching for an opening. There was none.

A gentle knock came from the door.

Dino, wearing a hoodie far too big for him and eyes slightly less red than yesterday.

Mirae groaned, "Ugh, not you again."

"That's what I say everytime I see you, but we can't get what we want now can we?", Dino mocked with a smirk as he stepped in, holding a bag of snacks and what looked like an iced drink, "I bring food and I get hostility."

He walked over, handed Miyeon the drink, and looked at Mirae with exaggerated offense.

"You know Miya, this girl right here? She cried so hard the night of your accident, said she'd finally start calling you, Unnie, and everything.", Dino smirked.

"I did NOT!" Mirae shrieked, spinning toward him, "Lies! I will sue you for defamation!"

Miyeon raised an eyebrow, sipping her drink with a faint smile, "Really? I don’t recall ever hearing, Unnie, from you in fifteen years even after asking you several times."

Mirae stammered, face flushing, "I was emotional, okay?! You were... like... half-dead!"

Everyone in the room laughed, except for her father. But even he cracked the tiniest smile looking away. Miyeon might be sitting right there in front of him, yet he felt she was too far away and the worst part? He knew it was his fault.

Miyeon leaned her head back against the pillow, letting the sound of the laughter wrap around her like a blanket. She felt warm. Alive. A little less broken.

And for now, that was enough.

"Hey," Dino called her, "The rest of them are down in the garden, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, and everyone. Thought you might want some fresh air."

Miyeon blinked and looked up at him, "They’re here?"

He nodded, "Like a very dramatic and emotional fanclub. Thought I’d give you the option to either miss them or go laugh at them."

Despite herself, Miyeon let out a breathy chuckle, "Let’s go laugh at them."

Dino grinned, "That’s my sister."

He turned toward the corner of the room and rolled over the wheelchair the nurse had brought earlier. Her mother stood up quickly and helped adjust the hospital robe gently over her shoulders, brushing the hair off Miyeon’s forehead with trembling but loving hands.

"Let me...", she whispered softly, placing a kiss at her temple as she helped Miyeon ease onto the chair.

Miyeon winced just a little, her ribs still reminded her they existed, but she gave her mom a smile that said she was okay.

From the corner, her father stood slowly, his hands twisting together, clearly wanting to offer help but unsure if he had the right.

Mirae sat cross-legged on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes followed Miyeon closely, like a quiet bodyguard no one had hired.

Once Miyeon was settled now wearing one of Jeonghan’s jackets, Dino stepped behind her, hands light on the chair handles, "Alright, off we go, my queen. Brace yourself, we’re about to go down the slowest elevator ride of your life."

"Your highness, you could’ve just flown me there," Miyeon deadpanned, chuckling.

"Oh trust me," Dino said as they rolled out, "You don’t want me flying anything. I barely passed my driving test."

"Saved me then."

As they rolled through the wide hospital corridors, Dino kept the conversation light.

"Nari told me your campus is weird right now," he muttered after a beat, gaze forward, "Empty and loud at the same time. Lots of media trucks. Lots of rumors. Some students are already trying to spin conspiracy theories about da-", he cleared his throat, correcting himself, "Juwon, being a political assassin."

Miyeon raised an eyebrow, not mentioning his slip up, "Please tell me no one’s romanticizing him."

Dino shuddered, "A few edits here and there, but we’re reporting them. I will not let anyone make him a misunderstood antihero. He was an asshole that's it."

Her lips tugged up. It was ridiculous. But it was also good to know someone was handling it.

"You should’ve seen your Professor Park yesterday," he added, "She told the reporters to shove their microphones somewhere 'inappropriate' because 'our children are not your content.'"

Miyeon grinned despite herself, "God, I love her."

"I can see why," Dino nodded chuckling,  "She’s kind of my new religion."

By the time they reached the elevator, both of them were smiling. Miyeon’s body still ached, her leg throbbed with dull reminders, but for a brief moment, she felt like herself again.

And then...

The glass doors to the private garden only accessible to certain people, opened and there they were.

All of them.

Lined up across the green stretch like a last minute organized choir. Jeonghan sitting on the edge of a wooden bench, chin on his hand, gaze locked on the door the second they emerged.

Wonwoo leaning against the wall nearby, eyes wide and quiet, his relief visible. Mingyu, Joshua, Seungcheol, Seungkwan, Hoshi, Dokyeom, Taehyung, and Nari, sprawled out on picnic benches or standing nearby with coffee cups and snacks, their faces lighting up the moment she came into view.

"Well, well," Seungkwan called out, arms wide, "Look who decided to grace us with her high presence."

"You took your sweet time, Kim Miyeon," Hoshi grinned, bouncing on his heels, "Do you know how long we’ve been waiting here? Your boyfriend was getting impatient.", in response Jeonghan just shrugged with no shame.

"Hospital staff said we weren’t allowed to crowd your room," Seungcheol added with a faint smirk, "So we claimed the garden instead.", he shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"This has been our base camp," Mingyu said proudly, lifting a thermos like a flag, "We’ve been here since morning."

"You literally left twenty minutes ago to buy snacks," Joshua reminded him.

"I came back with quality snacks and you ate them too." Mingyu defended, "It counts."

Miyeon laughed looking at them all. It hurt, but it was worth it.

"Hi," she said softly, letting Dino roll her closer.

There was something so good about seeing them. Disheveled, warm, loud. Jeonghan’s eyes never left her, his small smile full of a kind of quiet awe. Wonwoo gave her a nod that said I’m here, the kind that didn’t need words.

Nari walked up and handed her a carton of juice, "You look better."

"I feel worse," Miyeon said, sipping anyway. She could see the puffiness of her eyes. Dino had told her how much Nari had cried for her and Miyeon was grateful to have her as a friend but also knew mentioning it to her would just make her embarrassed.

"I meant mentally."

"Ah."

They stayed like that for a long time, sitting in the shade of the hospital garden trees, laughter echoing across the empty grass, warmth blooming where there had only been tension and silence for days. Jeonghan eventually took Dino's place behind her. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to.

And for a while, Miyeon forgot the pain in her leg. The weight of the future. The heaviness in her chest.

The warm breeze brushed through the hospital garden, rustling leaves and carrying the faint scent of antiseptic and newly blossoming flowers.

The laughter around Miyeon had quieted into the kind of calm that settles over people who know they’re safe now, who know the worst is behind them, even if the wounds are still fresh.

Taehyung was telling a ridiculous story about how he almost got banned from the vending machine upstairs for 'overemotional snack hoarding' which had Seungkwan dramatically gasping in horror. Jeonghan had wandered off towards Dino, both talking about something.

Nari had rolled her eyes so hard it looked like they’d get stuck as wonwoo joked making her nearly smack him. Mingyu was trying to braid tiny flowers into Dokyeom’s hair while Seungcheol dozed on a bench like an overworked dad.

Miyeon leaned her head against the back of the wheelchair and closed her eyes for a second. Her body still ached in places that hadn’t ached yesterday, her ribs were sore, and her leg reminded her with every throb that the future would look different now.

But gods, for once… she wasn’t scared.

She was just here. With them.

With him.

She felt it before she saw it, the warmth that settled next to her quietly, the way the world seemed to slow around his presence.

"Hey, darling." Jeonghan murmured as he crouched beside her, one hand gently finding hers.

Miyeon opened her eyes and turned slightly, "Hey, love."

"You good?", he asked softly, as his cheeks tinged slightly red. She had a way to make him blush despite everything.

"I will be."

He nodded, "You scared the hell out of me, Miyeon."

"I scared myself."

A pause.

"Do you want to talk about it?", he asked, brushing her knuckles with his thumb.

Miyeon looked down at their joined hands, her voice low, "I didn’t think I’d make it that day. When the car hit me, when I was bleeding, when everything went dark, I didn’t think I’d see you again. And the worst part wasn’t dying. It was knowing I’d go without telling you how much I..."

Her voice caught. The lump in her throat was sudden, fierce.

Jeonghan looked at her, his heart in his eyes.

"You’re here," he whispered, "That’s enough for me. For all of us."

Tears slid down her cheeks before she could stop them. Her hand gripped his a little tighter.

"I missed you," she said quietly, almost childishly, "In that space during coma. Wherever I was. I missed you."

He reached up and gently wiped away the tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"You’re not allowed to do that again," he whispered.

"I don’t plan to."

"You terrified me."

"I was terrified too."

They sat like that for a moment, two people who had seen the edge of the world and come back bruised but breathing. Two people who didn’t need grand confessions or loud declarations. Their love was steady, silent, a rhythm that had learned to endure storms.

Jeonghan leaned forward, kissed her temple, and whispered into her skin, "I love you."

Miyeon closed her eyes and whispered back, "I love you too."

The wind picked up slightly, carrying their words into the trees, where they would settle like secrets between the branches, gentle, eternal, and alive.

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Only 2-3 chapter more to go.

This journey has been as sweet as Mihan.

Happy Reading!📚🤍