Pawn

The steady thump of sneakers on a treadmil ring out through the crowded gym and Sora smiles a little as she ups her running speed a notch. She picks up the pace easily enough, her eyes occasionally focusing on the televsion screen above the treadmil. She continues on like this for a good amount of time until the man running on the treadmil beside her comes to a complete standstill while the machine is still going, barely moving his feet to the outer edges in time to keep himself from being thrown off. Sora glances at him curiously, slight concern on her face for a moment before she shakes it off and focuses on running again. The man shakes his head, turning the machine off and leaning over closer to the machine Sora is using.

"Miss?"

Sora switches to a walking speed, turning her head to face the man next to her. Upon seeing he has her attention, he points to the televison set mounted on the wall asks 'Is that you'. Sora looks up, slowing even more when she sees her own image on the screen.

"This just in: Sungmin, shown with his girlfriend here, the son of a Mr. Jae has been seen rushing to a hospital in the city center. Sungmin's father has been admitted to the hospital after his car broke through a guardrail and hit a tree earlier today. No further details are known at this time and are well-wishes are with the family during this difficult period." The subtitles scroll across the muted screen and Sora freezes in her tracks when it stops.

"Miss is everything all ri-"

The man's question goes unheard as Sora jumps off the treadmill, snatching her water bottle up as she goes, and sprints into the women's locker room. She puts in the combination as quickly as she can, gets her keys out of her gym bag, and pulls her sweatshirt off the hook before shutting the locker with a slam. She runs out of the locker room, past the front desk, and out into the parking lot without a backward glance. She rushes to her car throwing open the door, barely remembering to shut it and put on her seatbelt before she takes off.

Twenty minutes and five lights later, Sora reaches the visitor parking section and pulls her car into the first availible space she can find. She rushes into the hospital entrance and up to the front desk, slamming her hands down on the desk upon reaching it to get the station nurse's attention.

"May I... help you?" The nurse asks timidly, taking a few steps away from the desk as she eyes Sora with suspicion.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I need to see my boyfriend, Sungmin. His father was in a car accident and was admitted here. Can you tell me where to find him?"

"Of course, if you'll just follow me?" The nurse says, coming out from behind the desk. "Ah, Ryeowook? I know you're volunteering, but could you watch the desk for me until Hyorin's shift starts or until I come back?"

Sora glances to the side where a youthful looking man stands. He strides over to the counter, flashing a bright smile towards Sora as he nods to the nurse next to her.

"Well, everything's taken care of for now, so if you'll just follow me this way..." The nurse says, leading Sora to the elevator. "He's on the fourth floor, right hallway, in the waiting room. You can't miss it. There's a hallway to the left of it that has the door to the stairs as well as a few vending machines if you need anything."

Sora thanks the nurse and quickly hurries into a just vacated elevator. She presses the button for the fourth floor; leaning back against the elevator wall as the doors slide shut and it starts it ascent. To her surprise, it's only a few moments before the elevator dings and the doors slide open once more. The minute the doors slide open Sora darts through, dodging the few people walking past the elevator and offering hurried apologies as she goes. She follows the nurses instructions and eventually finds the waiting room, which is empty save for Sungmin and a boy about the same age as her who's sprawled on one of the couches seemingly fast asleep.

Sungmin lifts his head as she enters, tearstained face brightening the tiniest bit at the sight of her. Sora rushes to his side, taking a seat next to him on the small couch and placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"Sungmin, I came a soon as I saw the news report. How is he?"

"They won't tell me anything. He's in surgery right now, but that's all I know."

"Do they have any idea what went wrong? I know the news said the car went through the guard rail, but..." Sora trails off as Sungmin shakes his head no.

"Like I said, they won't tell me anything. What am I going to do, Sora? My dad's the only thing I have left."

"Worrying about it won't help any, Min." She says softly, unaware of the eyes watching her from across the room. "Why don't you just try to get some sleep for now. I'll wake you if I hear anything, okay?"

Sungmin merely nods tiredly and leans his head on her shoulder, falling asleep within minutes. Sora smiles at this, glad he's finally able to get some sort of rest after the day he's had. However, she soon finds herself becoming fidgety as she's the only person of the three who seems to be awake.

"Hi." A voice calls softly, yanking her attention away from the patterns she'd been tracing on the arm of the couch.

She looks up, startled to find the boy who had been asleep looking at her. He leans forward in the chair he occupies, elbows on his knees, his hands dangling in the space between. While her attention is focused on the boy, Sungmin mumbles something in his sleep and slumps over to the other side of the couch.

"Family?" He asks softly, gesturing to a sleeping Sungmin with one hand.

"Ah, no." Sora replies, giving herself a mental kick to quit staring and to start acting like a person. "He's my boyfriend. His dad was brought her today; I'm mainly here for support. Do you, ah, have family here?"

"My sister, I brought her here about half an hour ago. She went into premature labor and her husband's away on buisness, so I brought her here."

"Oh, how far along is she?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. She kept telling me it wasn't happening, it was too early and she still had two months left until her due date. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure she was talking to the baby and not me." He gives a small laugh, shaking his head before he continues. "In my defense, I was trying to locate her bag and talk her into getting in the car the whole time she was talking."

"I hope everything goes well with the baby." She pauses and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Sora."

"It's nice to meet you, Sora. I'm Kyuhyun." He replies, standing up and stretching. "I'm thinking of getting some coffee from the machine, you want anything?"

"Honestly, coffee sounds amazing right now. I'll join you in a minute? I just-" She glances worriedly to Sungmin, who continues to sleep on undisturbed.

"Of course. I'll just be in the hall to the left." He replies, slipping out the door.

"Min," She prods his shoulder gently. "I'm going to get coffee out in the hall. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Sungmin mumbles what sounds like an 'okay' as she stands up and exits the room, joining Kyuhyun out in the hall.

"How do you like your coffee?"

"I'm a cream and sugar person."

"Do you want this one, then? I wasn't quite paying attention while I was getting it and put cream and sugar in it. It's how my sister takes it and normally when I get coffee, I get it for her too."

"Thank you." Sora says, taking it from him. "How much was it from the machine? I think I have some change-"

"Don't worry about it, it was only a few cents. Nothing major." He says, waving away her protests.

"If you're sure..."

Kyuhyun only nods and fills his own cup, taking a sip from it as she drinks her's. He watches carefully as she sways a little and sets her cup down, offering a 'probably should've eaten more than just toast this morning'.

"Are you okay, Sora?"

"I'm fi-"

He tosses his cup in the trash and grabs her before she hits the floor, scooping her up into his arms. Ryeowook looks up briefly as Kyuhyun strides past the front desk with Sora out cold in his arms. He shakes his head as he calls out to one of the nurses further down the hall, letting them know he's leaving. As he approaches the car, where Kyuhyun is busy putting Sora in the back seat he can't help the wry smile on his face.

"Ae Sora... didn't your mother tell you to never accept drinks from strange men?"

Kyuhyun glances at him over the roof of the car as he shuts the door, a small laugh passing his lips.

"I guess not."