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Silence is supposedly comforting. People always say they want some "peace and quiet", but they take for granted what they have. No one thinks about the mindless talk and small chatter that they say either to themselves or others in passing. Silence isn't comforting. It's saddened. Empty. Taehyung thought while staring at the massive expanse of white tile above his bed. The amount of white was always startling when he opened his eyes, he's been transferred to this hospital for a year, and he still is not used to it.“If you glare any harder, you are going to burn a hole through it.” He turned the glare that he didn’t even know he was sporting toward the brown haired doctor standing in the doorway. He immediately laughed at the look Taehyung was giving him and his smile became as blinding as it always is. “You know even though I’m nice, I am still your Hyung. You should show me some sort of respect.” Taehyung gave him another annoyed look, but playful smile, “But I don't respect you Hobi-Hyung.” Taehyung signed to Hoseok.Hoseok scoffed with a smile and signed while talking, “ Well just remember the respect in front of the Ahjummas, you don’t want another lecture for disrespecting ‘a doctor’ again do you?” Taehyung’s smile immediately turned into a scowl as he thought of the incident. And started furiously signing to Hoseok, “That was NOT,” being aggressive with his signing of ‘not’, “NOT my fault. How the flip was I supposed to know that she knew KSL? And she doesn't need to intrude on other peoples sign language conversations anyway.” Taehyung pouted as he crossed his arms looking rather discouraged. Hoseok laughed at Taehyung’s tantrums that he only showed around certain people. Him, for one, a couple of their mutual friends, and the certain older lady he is currently pouting about. “I think you forget that your disrespect lead you to meeting Mrs. Park and having frequent conversations with her whenever she's in the hospital, rather happily, might I add.” Hobi rose his eyebrows at the end of his sentence to emphasize his point.Taehyung gave him a bright smile that made Hoseok’s heart clench, if only he could make Taehyung smile like that more often, “You realize that sentence makes me want to disrespect you more in public right?” Taehyung signed while slowly turning to put his feet into the hospital grade slippers. He looked down as he slipped his feet into the colorful, but originally white slippers and smiled. The kids at the hospital loved Taehyung. They often would follow him around and he would play with them constantly. Even though Tae didn't talk because of his muteness, they didn’t seem to mind after about 3 days of seeing him sign and laugh with Hobi for most of his time here. If he was a friend of Hobi-Hyung, then he couldn't be that bad apparently.He’s even been teaching them KSL since about a month into his stay here. Everyday during their lunch break, since most of the kids he entertains are live-in residences. He teaches them new things everyday, by using the childrens drawing white board that his mother bought for the hospital. She couldn't do much for Taehyung and he didn't really want to interact with her either way, but when she found out what Tae wanted to do(through Hoseok Hyung) she immediately got it arranged. They are fairing very well in his ‘class’ and generally love doing it. One little girl named Chin-Sun, was his favorite. She was 10 years old and she told him during the 4th month of their class that he had inspired her to become a KSL teacher to kids. He had always paid special attention to her, since she was in the same situation that he was when he was a kid. After her mother was forced by her abusive father to sign over rights to the hospital, she was left alone. Taehyung was there with her as she cried and he genuinely felt for her. However, he did applaud the mother for making sure the child would be safe from the Father. Unlike mine. Taehyung thought morbidly as he gave one more smile to the children's drawings and signatures on the top of his feet as he turned to follow Hoseok. And stopped short of leaving his room as Hoseok put a hand lightly, on his chest. He looked at Hobi with a confused tilt of his head. “A shirt , may or may-not be required on hospital grounds; unless you are getting a check up.” Hoseok started with an amused lilt of his lips. Taehyung’s face lit up as he looked down and saw Hoseok's hand on his chest and felt a slight blush rise to his cheeks. He coughed violently while turning away, and putting on the nearest sweater he could find, which happened to be a pure white sweater. And turned around about to leave again, until he saw Hobi’s face. He rose his eyebrows and made a ‘what’ gesture with his hands.“Did you forget that the people are here to fix the air conditioning today? They can’t have them dying of heat while in there so the heater is down,” as he gestures to his turtleneck and sweater. “Wear another over that or you’ll get a cold.”Tae makes an ‘oh’, face and quickly searches for something else to put over it. He finds his jacket from his and Hoseok's outing yesterday and quickly shrugs the light green suit jacket on.Hobi chuckled slightly as he turned to walk out the door, “the women are going to have a field trip with you today Tae.”Tae scowls and he grabbed his brown cap to hid his face so that the women wont stare at him so adversely. He honestly hated that women did that, he can understand strangers on the street doing it because, well there weren't as many people as tall or fair skinned as him that were not already kpop idols or actors. But Taehyung had been in this hospital for over a year now. People have asked him if he was interested in those types of things. Taehyung had been interested in those careers when he was younger, and honestly still is, but with his “Psychosomatic Muteness” it didn't seem very possible. Since he has no voice, those careers were out of reach since long ago.Taehyung tried not to think about it too much as he walked out the door behind Hoseok, and looked at the common clock on the wall. Brilliant red letters read 5:33a.m. Right on schedule. Taehyung thought as he followed Hoseok silently through the halls with practiced ease. He knew the route like the back of his hand and didn't even have to look up anymore as long as he kept Hoseok's shoes within his sight. They followed through with check ups of Hoseok's usual rounds and talked along the way, whenever possible. Taehyung would point out things he missed and Hoseok would quietly whisper thank you. This goes on until about 7:30 to which they then walk toward the cafeteria to go eat breakfast at Taehyung’s insistence. Hoseok was always working, whether it be with other patients or Taehyung's muteness. He was always studying and overworking himself. They had been best friends since grade school, and had not left each other's side really for more than a couple days at most. Taehyung had known Hoseok long enough that taking care of the boy was practically an occupation. Hoseok knew Taehyung before his muteness, so he naturally clung to him, though Hoseok didn’t mind.Taehyung “acquired” his muteness from his father; one drunken beating after another, sleepless nights of lying in wait, and protecting your mother does a number on a kid apparently. Silence was golden in his childhood, and it was practically a survival skill by the end of it. After one traumatic episode, to which Taehyung still has the scars on his lower neck and collarbone, it landed Taehyung to a one way trip to the hospital. The diagnosis of damaged vocal cords, severe abdominal bruising, contusions, and lacerations, seemed to wake Tae’s mother from her daze enough to have her sign over rights to a temporary guardian before fixing her situation with her husband. Taehyung’s vocal cords healed at the age of twelve, but his speaking voice never returned. Hoseok would go visit Taehyung every day, and would take Taehyung's KSL classes with him. His teacher would come over every day at the same time and smile at him and Hoseok writing furiously to each other about how their days went.Hoseok demanded to be taught. And the teacher was glad that Taehyung had such a dedicated friend and was willing to teach him free of charge. Although after Hoseok's parents found out he was being taught, actually started to pay the man, to which he kindly refused. But they were influential and managed to at least pay half the normal price.Hoseok originally didn't want to become a doctor, even though he enjoys it now. But this was not his dream. This “dream” developed because of Taehyung. He knew it for a fact. And he hated it.Taehyung hated the fact that he feels like he killed Hoseok's dream by becoming like this. He explained this once to him while they were in university together. The incident had been just before his and Hoseok's "graduation" (they both were in advanced courses and got their credentials early, and basically finished their schooling in about a two year period and will attend the final graduation ceremony for seniors at the end of this year). Hoseok had never looked so serious in his life.
Taehyung sat staring at his computer screen, being stuck with boring online homework and Skype calls with KSL/English teachers all after noon absolutely sucked. He looked up at the boy who sat on the bed next to him. Hoseok had been going to classes, for 6 to 8 hours a day, then heading straight to Tae's hospital room to hang out and study together. Hoseok always brought his medical books wherever they went and was always studying them. On this particular day though, one had happened to catch Taehyung's eyes.
“ Psychosomatic Disorders: The Beginnings of the Brain’s Mannerisms ,” stood in bright bold letters on the spine of the book that Hoseok read, while quietly whispering to himself. Taehyung tapped Hoseok with his foot. The boy looked up and watched Taehyung sign.
“I. killed. your. dream.” The silence that enveloped the room was suffocating. “You didn't kill anything, Taehyung.”
Hoseok sighed when Taehyung looked down at his fidgeting hands.
“Taehyung...”
Taehyung didn't look back.
“Taehyung.”
He curled further into himself.
A hand suddenly came into his peripheral vision and he allowed them to pull him into the comforting arms of his friend. “I am still living my dream, I am right now even.”
Taehyung’s ears perked up at this and he looked up at Hoseok, who had a gentle smile on his face. The smile looked almost like he was dealing with a child. Taehyung wanted to hate that look, he really did, but at the moment he honestly felt like one.
Taehyung was officially shooed away from Hoseok when the elder explained that he had an important board meeting. Tae knew he probably just wanted Taehyung to go relax a bit, so he gracefully swept through the halls trying to decide where he wanted to hang out. He ignored the stares of the new hospital residents (mostly the female population, and the occasional lingering male glance) as he glided around a corner crossing through the lobby before deciding to cut across to go to the children's day room, deciding to do something productive rather than ponder all day. A well-known nurse walking by with some empty metal hospital trays smiled at Taehyung and said hello. Tae reciprocated with a small smile and an incline of his head (Tae would have helped her with the rather heavy trays, however she was the most stubborn woman on the planet and would have none of it). Taehyung had passed by the woman when he saw the incoming collision in slow motion. A mother at the front desk was arguing with the receptionist, completely unaware of her two sons antics as they ran past Taehyung at break neck speeds, not looking at the woman they were about to run into. Tae turned quickly to try and help save the trays before they fell, but looked back to find a brown haired doctor picking something up for her. Right in the line of fire for the trays. Taehyung panicked. Before he could even think he was in front of the smaller male encasing him with his body and arms as the trays fell. He heard the sharp inhale of the doctor and the scream of the women in time with the beat of his heart. He felt every single corner and every hit from the trays as the they landed jaggedly on a good majority of his back and head. He hissed quietly as the resounding thuds of the death contraptions rang throughout the room and silverware clattered hazardously in all directions. Tae vaguely heard the voice of Mrs. Park yelling obscenities at the woman not for watching her kids. Mrs. Park is here? Taehyung thought hazily as he slowly turned his head away from the junction of the strangers neck to look for her. He was stopped in his sluggish efforts by a soft hand on his check. The hand softly guided his gaze to the doctor he was currently holding. Taehyung still swears the world had slowed down a bit in that instant. The doctor, although he looked very panicked at the moment, was stunning. His eyes were a lighter brown than Tae's own and were wide in worry. His soft looking brown hair was in slight disarray, but seemed to frame the males face perfectly. He had plump full lips, that were moving a mile a minute; and much to Taehyung's displeasure, he couldn't really hear much else besides the ringing of his ears. He stared at the lips in concentration, as if focusing on them would make the ringing stop.
Bluh..? Blo...Blood. Wait blood?
Taehyung quickly ran his eyes over the male, but thankfully found none. Small movement out of the corner of his eye caused Tae to look to the ground between them.One drop, two.. a third drop. Tae brought his hand to his forehead and brought it away quickly. Blood indeed. The last thing Taehyung saw was the hazy figure of Hoseok running across the entrance hall, before Hoseok tossed Taehyung's limp arm over his shoulders and practically carried him out of the lobby. He soon reached a familiar white bed before those same brown eyes flashed through his mind once more. Taehyung promptly drifted into unconsciousness with those eyes in his dreams.