Morning Coffee Part 5
Jiyong sat beside the soundless boy until the sun crept up and slowly rose to light the new day. He left the room and pulled out Seungri’s cell from his hoodie pocket and searched through the contacts until he found his aunt’s number.
As the phone rang, he grew nervous with each ring, and when the person on the other line actually picked up, his tongue got caught in his throat, and for a second he thought he accidentally swallowed it, or something.
“Hello?”
“Um, h-hi, is this Seungri’s aunt?”
“Yes, it is. Who is it that I’m speaking to?”
“My name is Jiyong. I’m a very close friend of your nephew. I…have some news for you.”
The line got quiet as the lady waited for Jiyong to continue.
“Your nephew, Seungri, he…got into an accident with someone. Someone broke into his apartment and poured bleach in his eyes. It damaged his eyesight, and now he’s blind.”
He could hear fast talking in the background as the lady was telling someone of the news, and then she was back on the phone, asking questions non-stop, her voice shaky and full of concern.
“Is he okay? Oh my gosh! My poor Seungri, is he going to be alright?” she was crying, he could tell.
“He’s going to be alright, but I’m calling because…I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“What is it?”
“Seungri… he wanted to get a Cochlear Implant, but he doesn’t have the money to afford it and he doesn’t have insurance. He lost his ability to hear, as you already know, and now he lost his vision. This implant can save his life, so please…I’m begging you…lend him the money to get one.”
The aunt was speaking to someone in the background again, probably her husband, and Jiyong couldn’t tell what she was saying, the voices were too muffled.
“Where’s the hospital? We’ll come and talk about it.”
---
Jiyong met Seungri’s aunt and uncle for the first time, and he could tell upon first impression that they were rich.
He waited outside for a while as they went to see Seungri, and when they came back out, there were tears in the aunt’s eyes. They spoke for a long time, discussing the implant. Jiyong decided that they weren’t selfish or greedy, as he had assumed, and the only reason they didn’t want Seungri to get a Cochlear Implant was because they didn’t want Seungri to feel as though he had to hear to fit in. It was a bit of a sketchy reason, but Jiyong accepted it half heartedly anyways.
In the end, they agreed to pay for the surgery, and Jiyong was ecstatic. He hoped things would be acceptable for Seungri.
Jiyong rested his hand against his pounding heart, realizing it was beating from happiness.
Seungri was going to be able to hear again.
---
The surgery was scheduled to be in a week, on the next Tuesday from this Tuesday. Seungri’s aunt and uncle were insistent that it be done as soon as possible.
He went home after that day and crashed on his bed, exhaustion hitting him like a ton of bricks. He fell asleep dreaming of Seungri and music and blue, green, yellow, and red.
He woke up the next day at ten-thirty in the night.
---
Jiyong finally went back to work. It had been roughly around three to four weeks now since he’d gone back. He told his boss that he’d gotten into a car accident, but didn’t tell him he was the one that got hit by the car. He also told him someone very close to him got into a very bad accident as well, and the boss excused his absence and allowed him his job back. It was a completely legitimate excuse, so there was no way the boss could fire him.
As he stood at the front counter, he stared at his plain navy blue cast and wondered what Seungri could’ve drawn on it had he still been able to see. He didn’t want to think about things like that so he forced the thoughts out and watched as a few kids ran around playing the pianos carelessly.
---
He entered Seungri’s apartment room again that night, shuffled around the trashed space and remembered the first time he’d been in there, when it was clean and smelled of fresh paint, and now it smelled of old bleach.
He spent the rest of that night cleaning up the place and left to his apartment when the room looked just like it always had when he used to spend most of his time in there with Seungri.
Not alone, with the company of Seungri. Of course.
---
Jiyong was visiting Seungri yet again as he’d always been doing the past few days after work. He sat beside the bed and noticed that the bandages wrapped around his eyes were gone. Seungri’s eyes were closed, and his eyelashes casted a faint shadow over his cheekbones. Jiyong slid his hand into Seungri’s, like always, and the boy’s eyes fluttered open. It was the first time in a while he’d seen any sign of life in the younger, and he stopped breathing immediately when he looked into Seungri eyes. They’d lost its color. The dark brown shade in them, full of passion, had faded away into a lifeless light blue-grey color, and his heart cracked at the sight.
His grip on the hand tightened and he pulled the hand up to his lips, placing a light kiss on the palm. Seungri didn’t know who it was until he felt lips pressing against his hand, and he squeezed back in return. He didn’t realize he was crying until the tears slid down his face and trailed to his ears, down the side of his neck and absorbing into the pillow. He turned on his side and reached his other hand out into the darkness, in search of Jiyong, felt the other grab his hand and rest it on a warm, wet cheek. He was crying too, but everything was black and silent, and Seungri couldn’t even see Jiyong anymore, but he knew it was him.
The room was filled with the sounds of small sniffles from their crying. He watched as Seungri slowly fell asleep serenely, his eyelids gradually covering up his lifeless eyes. For the first time in a while, Seungri fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Jiyong didn’t let go of Seungri’s hands for the rest of the night.
---
It was Monday, the day before Seungri’s planned surgery day. He had gone out to buy a small eight gigabyte iPod nano with the small amount of money he had and spent the rest of the night adding songs he thought Seungri would enjoy listening to. They were soft songs, songs like Lullatone, Yann Tiersen, Jon Schmidt. Songs with the sounds of the piano as the main melody, or the xylophone and marimba. He added on songs that he had composed himself as well.
Jiyong fell asleep on his computer desk dreaming of Seungri and music and colors.
---
Today was the day. With seven days already passed, Seungri would finally be getting his Cochlear Implant. The doctor said the surgery would take roughly around two to three hours, at minimum. So there was no telling when they’d be done. So, he waited, and then waited some more, sat in those uncomfortable blue plastic chairs in the waiting room of the hospital while watching cartoons on the television, and without realizing it, he fell asleep with his head cocked in an awkward position.
He didn’t know how long he’d been out, but when he felt a light nudge to his shoulder and opened his eyes, the doctors were done with the surgery. He snapped up in his seat, regretting having done it so quickly, and felt the urge to groan when his neck ached, but he resorted to standing on his feet in front of the doctor with an anxious expression.
“How was it? Is it alright if I see him? Or…?”
“He just finished with the surgery, so his ears are still hypersensitive to noises and sounds. You’re welcome to come visit tonight after twelve or any time tomorrow morning though. He should be fine by then.”
“Oh, alright. Uh, thanks, doc. This surgery really meant a lot to me, and I’ll bet it means even more to him.”
Jiyong smiled a small smile and bowed to the doctor.
“Son, I do whatever I can to help people live better lives, and I’m happy to do so. I think you know what I’m talking about.” The doctor smiled at Jiyong and retreated down the hall and turned the corner, leaving Jiyong’s line of sight.
Suddenly the whiteness of the hospital faded as if giving him his spotlight.
“Yeah…I know what you mean, doc...”
---
He woke up to an empty bed, Seungri wasn’t next to him when he reached out. He quickly got up, stretched, and walked into the kitchen. The smell of coffee hit his nose.
Want some?
The small message was written on the white board laying on the counter, and it was the first thing he saw when he sat down. Seungri was watching the coffee pot brew the liquid, and Jiyong smiled at the sight. He walked up behind Seungri, kissed him delicately at the back of his neck, and he could feel Seungri shiver. The boy turned around and wrapped his arms around Jiyong’s neck, embraced him tenderly, closed his eyes and took in the moment. Just because.
They were sitting outside on the balcony, the sun rising slowly into the sky as nine o’ clock was nearing.
I think coffee is better in the morning. Not just because it wakes you up. It’s just…
Seungri chuckled at the message and glanced at Jiyong from under his bangs, watched as the sunlight graced his face in a way that made his heart stop.
Morning coffee?
And Jiyong smiled.
Yeah.
---
Jiyong whistled softly in his ear, and Seungri’s eyes snapped open. The sound of the monitor, the dripping of fluids, the distant noise of wheels rolling on smooth tile, and the breath of Jiyong were the first things he noticed, then he realized he was hearing these things. He could hear these things. He was listening to these noises, and he didn’t know if he was having another dream or not.
“Seungri-ah…you awake?”
This voice, it had a deep, sweet tone to it, slightly high-pitched, sounded like a child’s voice, and Seungri wondered if he was good at singing lullabies. This voice, it was beautiful.
Seungri let out a shaky breath. His head was hurting, things were happening so suddenly. He could hear things, and it was almost as if things never changed in the first place, from years ago.
His hand was gripping another hand, warm and sweaty, and he came to realize that this person, it was probably Jiyong. The Jiyong he was beginning to love. The Jiyong that disappeared on him for weeks.
And then, there he was at his ear.
“That one day, I was hit by a car. It’s kind of stupid, but it happened. I got a concussion, a broken arm, stitches, and four bruised ribs. My phone got lost somewhere in the accident. Doctors made me stay here at the hospital so I never got the chance to see you. I came back and you got into this huge situation, and I asked your aunt and uncle to pay for your Cochlear Implant, and now, here we are, and I want you to know, you mean the world to me, and I’m here for you.” It was a rush of words, a soft string of phrases put together in one fluid explanation, and it took him awhile to comprehend things. He heard Jiyong mumbling a thousand apologies into his shoulder.
Seungri slowly sat up, searched for Jiyong’s face, and moved his thumbs over wet eyelids, wet cheeks, and then his own eyes began to water.
Don’t cry. I understand you. His heart was beating, and it was for Jiyong.
He pulled at Jiyong’s hand, and the other got his point, climbed into bed with him, under the thin white covers of the hospital bed. They lay there, face to face, Jiyong watching Seungri as if he were starring at some kind of masterpiece, Seungri listening to the sound of Jiyong’s breathing as if it was an amazing musical composition. He couldn’t see Jiyong, he couldn’t see his breathtaking smile or his beautiful face anymore. He could only fit the sounds of his lover together with a memory.
Jiyong wrapped his arms around Seungri and leaned in, pressed a small kiss to his ear, a kiss to his temple, and a kiss on his lips, and Seungri could hear it. He nestled his face in Jiyong’s throat and closed his eyes. His ears took in all the familiar sounds, but he paid the most attention to Jiyong, the unknown noises that came from him, and he couldn’t help but to bite back a small smile.
His heart was beating in steady rhythms with Jiyong’s, and he squeezed his hand.
“I…love you, Jiyong.”
He could hear his voice clearly, and it felt strange and new, almost too loud in his head. He could identify the tones and speak normally.
“Yeah…I can hear it, Seungri.”
Whether he meant it in his heart or in his voice, Jiyong could hear it. He could hear Seungri’s love, and he hoped Seungri could hear him too.
Somewhere outside, a snow flake landed on a blooming flower, and it was the beginning of winter.
I love you too.