Chapter 11 Part II

TW: Hospital Setting

Sophie

I open my eyes, my head pounding as I adjust to the light. I lay there, complete silence surrounding me, except for one electronic beep every couple of seconds. I slowly begin moving my eyes around, noticing the machinery around me and the hospital's interiors. I tilt my head to my left, first noticing the IV drip in my arm and then noticing a figure on a chair next to me.

The figure's blurry at first, just an outline of a man. As my eyes slowly adjust I realise who it is and in return, he realises I've woken up.

"Hi," Chris gasps softly, not sure what to say. "Are you ok?"

"W-what's happening?" I mumble, Chris standing up, walking towards the door.

"Can we get someone in here?" Chris requests to a random nurse walking down the hall. The nurse walks in, taking the clipboard attached to my hospital bed, carefully reading down the page. She comes closer to me, checking my temperature and my heart rate, finally taking a few notes down on the page.

"She's fine sir," the nurse bows to Chris, quickly leaving the room, continuing to walk down the hallway. Chris looks over at me, rubbing the palm of his hand along his cheek, finally deciding to walk towards me.

"Sophie," he falters, standing over me. "Is there anyone you want me to call? Your family?"

"Um," I stammer. "No." I notice his eyes widen as I answer and he brushes his curly hair out of his face. "What's the time?" I ask, fiddling with the sheets.

"Around 9 I think," he responds softly.

"Fuck," I mutter under my breath. "Can you call my boss for me?"

"Soph," he exasperates, tilting his head to the side as his brows furrow with concern. "I mean, sure, I'll do it, but... Soph," he repeats.

"What," I rub my eyes, wincing in pain as I touch the bruising along my upper cheek.

"Why are you thinking about work?" He whispers, shaking his head with disapproval. "You're in the hospital, you practically got slammed into the floor Sophie."

"I know, I know, it's just... I could lose my job," I groan, tracing the bruising along my arm. I watch him as he walks over to my tote bag, placed on the counter opposite to my bed.

"Was your phone in here?" He asks, holding the bag up to show me.

"Yep," I respond, giving him a smile for the first time since I've woken up. He nods and reaches in, taking my phone out.

"What's your password?" He asks, staring at my lock screen.

"767443," I reply, resting my head back on my pillow.

"What's your boss's number?" He questions, tapping his foot on the tile floor.

"She's 'Boss' in my contacts," I say, staring up at the roof, the warmth of my hair causing sweat to drip down my neck. He picks up the phone, bringing it up to his ear and he explains what had happened to me to my boss. I eavesdrop the best I can, but I miss way too much context since I don't know what she's saying on the other side. I hear him say his polite goodbyes and he puts my phone face down on the counter, staying completely silent.

"So, what did she s-,"

"Who's Daniel?" He talks over you, his voice grim and his thoughts clouded with whatever had just happened on the call.

"Daniel... why?" I panic for a split second, jolting up right, staring at him as he continues flaring up.

"You're not fired, she just said Daniel will have a talk with you," he mumbles deeply, watching my shaky reaction to his words. "Who is he?" He demands, showing an angry side of him I haven't seen before.

"Her son, Daniel's her son," I blurt, my eyes widening at his aggravation.

"Have you had talks with this 'Daniel' in the past?" Chris asks, rubbing his chin with his fingers, his eyes remaining locked to the ground.

"Yeah," I respond, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"What does he say to you?" He asks, brushing his fingers over the edge of my bed frame. I watch him take a seat at the end of my bed, crossing my legs over before beginning to answer.

"Well," I sigh. "I haven't talked to him in a while, he usually just scolds me and tells me I need to stay on task or I'll get fired."

"And that's all he's ever said to you?" He re-adjusts his position, moving slightly closer to me.

"Mhm," I respond, unable to stabilise my voice as I notice Chris starting to aggravate again,

"Don't lie," he retorts, brushing his hair out of his face in an obvious attempt to calm himself. I take a deep breath in, preparing myself to say something I haven't told anyone, something that really hasn't affected me enough to tell anyone... and seeing his reaction to Daniel, I know he isn't going to like this.

"Ok, well... this one time," I exhale shakily. "He told me that if I couldn't be a cleaner, he'd need to use me for... something else instead, since that's all I'd be good for."

"What," he grumbles deeply, a scowl crossing his face. "What would he use you for?"

I stare at him, my eyes watery as I watch him physically fume, his face discoloured, his eyes bloodshot, a vein even popping out of his neck... I could never have imagined him like this... and over what, an empty threat from my boss's son? He knows the answer to his question, he knows what Daniel was saying, he's just in denial. I remain silent, holding in tears as I watch him process the information.

"Quit." He mumbles.

"What?"

"Quit your job," he repeats.

"I need the money," I shake my head.

"I have the money," he quickly responds, raising his voice.

"Ok?" I scoff, tilting my head to the side. Why on earth did he think that comment was necessary? Now is not the time to be rubbing success or money in my face, if ever there was a time for that.

"Nonono," he backtracks, holding his hands out in front of him. "If you need money, I'm here."

"And pay you back with what income?" I scoff, slouching down into my hands.

"You don't need to pay me back," he utters, the room going silent. My eyes widen as I hear his statement, my heart stopping for a moment.

"Chris. I barely know you, I'm just your intern. The only reason we even talk is because you randomly started acting like we were 'besties' out of nowhere, seriously, I don't know what you're trying to pull," I blurt out, catching my breath. "But it's not going to work on me."

"I'm not trying to pull anything Sophie," he denounces, looking directly into my eyes, shaking his head with disappointment.

"What are you doing then Chris," I question, throwing my head into the pillow. "Why do you want to know me so bad, why Chris?"

"Soph," he exasperates. "Just please, can't you find a new job."

"Who'll want to hire me?" My eyes begin to water as the hospital lights shine directly into my eyes.

"I'll help you ok? Just please don't stay at your current job," he pleads, watching me cover my face with my fingers.

"Ok, I'll ask Lin about jobs," I sigh, and I open my fingers up to see his reaction, and after a moment of silence, I notice a smile creep onto his face. "How are you even here right now?"

"Huh?"

"I thought you're like a super famous idol or something?" I chuckle lightly, wiping tears off of my cheek, immediately lightening the mood.

"Oh well, since STAYs parked a bunch of trucks outside JYPE, they've been pretty lenient with mental health leave," he smiles, adjusting his shirt and I notice, yet again, the fact that you can see the outline of his abs through his top.

"Hm, sounds good," I smile back before turning around, digging my head into my pillow.

"Oh Soph!" He exclaims and I feel him stand up off the bed. "I have something that will make you feel better."

"Is it the surprise?" My eyes lighten as I turn back towards him, watching him walk over to one of his bags, which he pulls a black shoebox from, throwing it up into the air as he walks back over to me. I sit back up, crossing my legs and wiping the sweat off of my neck as he comes nearer. He sits beside me, my knee touching the side of his back and he passes the box over, turning his body slightly to watch my reaction to the gift. I open the box, revealing a pair of brand new Nike sneakers, green ones.

"Chris," I blush, taking the sneakers out of the box, moving them around in the palm of my hands. "I won't have to wear those boots again," I celebrate, glancing over at the soggy boots in the corner of the hospital room.

"No, you won't," he smiles. "Do you like them?"

"Yes, thank you so much," I exclaim, a gust of air rushing out of my mouth. I grasp the back of his shirt, pulling myself into his body, wrapping my arms over his shoulders. He looks back at me, lifting his brows like he's impressed or something, brushing his hands over my lower arms, which are perched over his shoulders.

"It's ok," he chortles, patting my hands which are wrapped around his chest. I gently push myself off of him, brushing my fingers through my hair as I do so.

I'm fighting full on fucking demons right now trying not to throw myself on him. The way he's dressed, the way he's so sweet and protective over me, everything he does makes him so much hotter in my eyes. I was so desperate to see him in real life, desperate to see him as not just a sex object, but it has made everything worse. Not only do I picture him jerking off every two seconds, but now... now I'm actually attracted to him. I'm actually down bad for Chris.

"Can I hear your song now," he coos, turning himself fully around to face me.

"Ok, I guess you can," I hum back. "Can you bring my phone over?"

"Sure," he responds, stretching his arm out, only just being able to grab my phone off the edge. He passes it over to me and I begin searching through my emails, looking for when I sent the video to Hyunjin. I finally find it, Chris watching me patiently as I open the file.

"Um, the song's called 'Cryptic Love'," I flash Chris a smile, pressing play and the recording of me singing begins playing.

----

In the spotlight's dazzling glare,

I found you, my secret affair,

Whispers in the shadows, eyes that meet,

A dance of strangers, discreet.

The world watches, but they don't know,

The depths of this love we dare not show,

Underneath the surface, it's a hidden flame,

In the cryptic language, we'll play the game.

In the midnight's clandestine maze,

Lost in a love the world can't praise,

In the secret symphony, we'll find our song,

In this cryptic world, where we belong.

You're a star in the sky, so high,

I'm just a passerby, oh my,

But in our stolen moments, we collide,

In the labyrinth of secrets, we'll confide.

The world watches, but they don't know,

The depths of this love we dare not show,

Underneath the surface, it's a hidden flame,

In the cryptic language, we'll play the game.

In the midnight's clandestine maze,

Lost in a love the world can't praise,

In the secret symphony, we'll find our song,

In this cryptic world, where we belong.

The paparazzi's flashing lights,

Can't reveal our hidden nights,

In the silence of our whispers, we're free,

In this cryptic love, just you and me.

We'll write our story in the code,

In between the lines, our love's bestowed,

Through cryptic glances, we'll communicate,

In this tangled web, it's not too late.

The world watches, but they don't know,

The depths of this love we dare not show,

Underneath the surface, it's a hidden flame,

In the cryptic language, we'll play the game.

In the midnight's clandestine maze,

Lost in a love the world can't praise,

In the secret symphony, we'll find our song,

In this cryptic world, where we belong.

In the cryptic whispers of our hearts,

We'll keep this love, a work of art,

In the shadows and the hidden spaces,

Our cryptic love, in hidden embraces.

----

"Sophie," Chris whispers. "You wrote this?"

"Hyunjin and I, yeah," I shuffle closer to him.

"Holy shit." 

Author's note 

This chaps kinda weird ngl... anyway the update next Tuesday will also be part 1 part 2 (: Hope you enjoyed reading!! I'm so grateful to you all <333