Chapter 11
Harsh white light shone onto his face, and he blinked awake. Machines were beeping around him, and he squeezed whatever was in his hand as the ceiling came into focus. Tubes were going into the back of his hand, and was that the sharp plastic edges of a mask digging into his cheeks?
"Hey, don't take it off," a gentle feminine voice said and a soft hand stopped his where it was holding the mask. "You need it. Stats are looking better but we've got a very low blood sugar, even with the glucose in the IV."
"How low?"
"We're up from 50 mg to 55 mg but it's still very low. I want it back up to 70 mg before I'll be happy." She adjusted a couple of things on the monitor beside Jun before her face came into his view. Deep brown eyes that looked similar to his own in size and shape locked onto his, and she smiled. Long brown hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and she gave him a calming smile. "Hi there Mr Cha. Think you can sit up with my help?"
He nodded around the wires hooking him up to the machine, and she helped him to sit upright. The room came back into focus and better detail, and he realised that he was still clutching something in his hand.
"Yuzu?" he whispered when he saw the other asleep in the seat next to him. "What's going on? What's happened?"
"He's fine, just exhausted," the doctor told him as she checked his vitals again and scribbled something on the clipboard. "Dr Asada? How's it going out there?"
"It's dreadful to be perfectly honest Dr Kim. If I have one more camera or microphone shoved in my face when I'm doing the rounds, I'll scream."
Dr Kim chuckled and smiled at Jun. "The good news for you, Mr Cha, is that you fainted because of your blood sugar. You're lucky. It could have been much worse for you than just fainting. We'll be keeping you in for at least a few days but I'd rather have you stay in for a few weeks actually."
"You mean I'm admitted? But my tour, I need to—"
"I might be jumping to conclusions," she pulled up a chair beside his bed and took the hand that wasn't holding Yuzuru's in hers, "but I think that your home situation, or your work situation, isn't helping. Mr Cha—"
"Jun is fine."
"Jun. You're in a very dangerous position right now. I know numbers have been plaguing you for a little while, but I'm going to give you some more. You know your height?"
"180 cm."
"And now for the one I know you're dreading. What's your weight Jun?"
He lowered his eyes and squeezed her hand for comfort. She stroked his shoulder like an older sibling or a parent.
"You're under a hundred pounds. 45 kg. I know it isn't entirely accurate, but you have a body mass index of just under 14. The healthy range, Jun, is 18 to 25."
"I have to be slim—"
"You were slim. Now you're ill. Jun, please, let us help you. I'll draw up something for you to follow for your diet, and we'll get you used to it for your time in the hospital, and we'll start you on a course of therapy. There's something else I want to ask you too, Jun. Have you had any course of treatment after the incident at Lotte World?"
Jun lowered his eyes and shook his head. The doctor took his hands, squeezing them.
"Don't worry Jun. We'll help you. Get you treatment and keep the media out of all of this."
"Yuzu—"
"Will be fine. I promise. There's no one I trust more than Dr Asada and she's going to look after him."
Yuzuru stirred and blinked awake in the chair. Dr Kim smiled at him across the bed and Jun from behind the mask.
"Mr Hanyu?" Another lady stepped in and slid the door to the private room shut behind them. "Hi, I'm Dr Asada. Remember me?"
"Hi Mao," Yuzuru stretched out and gave her a tired smile, "hi Dr Kim. How's it going? What's the diagnosis?"
"Well, for the last time, it's Yuna not Dr Kim. And really, we shouldn't be sharing another patient's medical information with you."
"It's okay," Jun mumbled. "He's like my big brother. It's fine, I promise."
"Well," Yuna gave Jun a sad smile, "the good news is that he's here now and we'll be coming up with a course of treatment for him. Slowly, because I really don't want you to get overwhelmed, we're going to increase your calorific intact. That combined with therapy sessions will get you back to a healthier place physically and mentally. It means two weeks until we reassess whether he's ready to go home yet."
Yuzuru nodded and he sat still as he allowed Mao to check over him.
"Mr Hanyu? A word in my office please," she nodded towards the door and Yuzuru stood.
"I'll be back soon, promise," Yuzuru told Jun as he turned to follow her and go.
"You can take off the mask. Your oxygen levels are at 98% and I'm satisfied with that. Get a little more rest. Yuzu will be back soon, and I'll be back to check on you as well, okay?"
"Okay," Jun mumbled as she helped him take off the mask before she set his files down beside his bed and left.
Across the hallway, in her office, Mao sat Yuzuru down and looked at him with firm eyes.
"How are you feeling? With all of this on your mind, this has got to be causing you immense distress."
"It's rough," Yuzuru slumped down in her chair and ran a hand through his hair. "I never expected that anyone would find out—"
"I wasn't the one who spilt about your medical history. You know I wouldn't. And I'm sorry it got released to the public in such a crude and horrible way."
"It's alright. I knew it wouldn't have been you." He met her eyes and she silently passed him a box of tissues. "I haven't been able to communicate with my parents in case the communications get tracked. I don't even know if my family are okay. I haven't been able to hear from Keiji. I-I... I put Jun through all of this because I had nowhere else to go."
"Yuzuru, listen to me. You cannot blame yourself for this. It's not your fault that this happened. It's not your fault that he collapsed. It's not your fault that you can't talk to your family. It's the media and the tabloids, and we promise you that you are safe here. No one gets past Yuna on the ward. I promise."
Yuzuru gave her a weak smile before he quirked an eyebrow at her. "So. Still going by Dr Asada, huh?"
"It's Dr Asada, but Mao Asada Kim when I'm not at work." She gave him a smile and her tone then turned teasing. "Would have asked you to perform at our wedding, but Yuna couldn't convince me that you'd quit your tour to come and perform, and also your jeans didn't really fit the wedding aesthetic and colours we were going for."
"If I get married it's going to be skinny jeans and piercings, or pyjamas," Yuzuru mumbled.
Conrad stepped in and pulled off his red beanie hat that was covered in snow. It had caught on his cheeks and, even where his hair had been covered by his hat, some flakes had managed to get into it. The club was warm and toasty, and he shrugged off his warm winter coat as he stepped in. Tracy gave him an exhausted smile and wave before she disappeared into her office to keep doing her work. Brian had unplugged the main phone after reporter after reporter had been spamming them with calls asking about Yuzuru. He hid in his office and so, when Conrad stepped into studio 1, he smile at Evgenia and Javier.
"Hi kid," he smiled and gestured to the free seat. "So. You two want to do a collaboration, yeah? What have you got?"
"We went over some lyrics the other day," Evgenia handed Javier her notebook so he could look through them, "and we're trying to decide on the style."
"Both of you are trying to branch out, aren't you?" Javier hummed as he looked between the pair of them. "I don't think you should go for something overly synthesised. From the lyrics, it's quite a sensual piece."
"Don't say it like that," Conrad rolled his eyes and the other two burst out laughing.
"I'm too gay for Conrad anyway," Evgenia said with teasing laughter. "My type isn't blonde Canadian noodle men."
"Thanks." Conrad sighed as Javier finally stopped laughing and composed himself enough to be professional again. "So, what do you think?"
"I think you should do something with a stripped back guitar. Something like that, you know? Then it'll keep the lyrics from being swamped and overpowered by the music."
"You're good at this," Evgenia teased. "You should be a manager."
Javier swatted for her fondly before he stood up. "I'm going to get coffee from Starbucks. You want anything?"
"Venti cold brew with eight shots of coffee," Conrad asked, enjoying the look of absolute horror on Javier's face.
"A venti caramel frappuccino with almond milk, not normal milk, four pumps of almond syrup, four pumps of caramel syrup, two pumps of hazelnut syrup, caramel drizzle, mocha drizzle, whipped cream, and only light ice instead of the normal amount."
"Heathens. Both of you are absolute heathens. You're lucky I like you."
When he left, Evgenia checked that the door was firmly shut before she looked at Conrad.
"Have you seen the news?"
"I try to keep away from the news at the moment. I'm kind of sick of every single news thing I see is Yuzuru Watch, or gifs of more angles of Jun fainting on stage. And, even if I already knew all the addresses and stuff, it still feels like an awful breach of privacy to read them published in tweets like that."
"It's not good, to be honest." She checked through her phone and held it out to him. "I think you should see this. I know you care about him. You can pretend you're just a fanboy all you want, but we know the truth Conrad. You love him."
To avoid answering her, he took her phone and nearly dropped it, gasping.
Yuzuru Hanyu Exposed – a journalist reveals the truth about the shining Japanese star.
Japanese rock sensation, Yuzuru Hanyu, has been exposed for what he is: a violent abusive man. After the truth about why he cancelled his 2014 world tour after the stop in Shanghai was revealed, he went into hiding. He was next seen carrying the Korean pop sensation Jun Hwan Cha unconscious in his arms to an ambulance. When asked about the details that were brought to light recently, the artist's response was to shove journalists out of the way under the guise of getting the Korean star to medical attention. He was last seen at the hospital, but nothing has been said about his condition or Cha's. An assault charge from the journalist has been issued to Hanyu, and no word has been said about it.
But light has been shed on situations from the past. Hanyu's former manager, Kentaro Inoue has revealed information about the star's previous medical issues.
"Hanyu Yuzuru was given a cup of juice backstage just after his show in Shanghai. Naive, he drank it and it contained glue. Mixed with his asthma, he was forced to cancel all his shows while he recovered in hospital. He also has had foot and ankle surgery several times to repair recurring injuries that he stupidly never looked at, forcing himself to keep going on his tours. Hanyu Yuzuru does not use auto tune, but he does not have sufficient stamina to get through his performances and, at times, he has been known to lip-synch his performances due to fatigue. I will be happy to give more interviews to the media about Hanyu Yuzuru and his private life."
"What the fuck?" Conrad whispered. "Yuzuru? Jun? What the hell is happening to them?"
"I thought you should know. Especially about Jun." She opened her arms for him and he gave her a tight hug, despite the height difference between them. "I'm sorry."
"I can't believe I miss him as much as I do. I'm over stepping boundaries, aren't I?"
"Why would you be? I don't think you are." Evgenia raised an eyebrow at him. "You've always been kind and polite to him. You've been sweet to him. If he was uncomfortable, he never said it or asked you to stop hanging out. As far as I've seen, he's enjoyed being with you and you make him smile more than I've seen in all the time you've been here."
"I wish I could help him," Conrad mumbled.
"Drop your album like you've planned to. He would hate for you to throw your career away or derail it because of him."
@conradorzel
My album July, August has been dropped! Hopefully the warmth will break your Canadian winter blues and warm you up!
July, August
Kid in Love
In My Blood
Patience
Mercy
Lost in Japan
Señorita feat. Evgenia Medvedeva
Memories
Stitches
Treat You Better
Perfectly Wrong
There's Nothing Holding Me Back