Long Journey || ATEEZ

Precious

Hongjoong blinked once. Twice. All the feeling rushed back to his body, and the first thing he registered was the gentle rub of blankets against his skin, and the soft pressure of a mattress underneath him. The second feeling that came back to him was a dull ache throbbing throughout the entirety of his body. He winced as he tried to move his body, a knife-edge pain stabbing through his side, and so resolved to stay still.

He opened his eyes fully, and a hospital interior greeted him; uncomfortable, sterilised scents pricking at the inside of his nostrils, white walls all around. He groaned as he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position, and he heard – and felt – the shifting of his thin covers.

"Seonghwa...?" Hongjoong croaked, his voice sounding heavily fatigued even to his own ears, forcing himself up into a sitting position.

Seonghwa mumbled something in his sleep, his head lolling to the side. Hongjoong smiled gently. He reached over and moved a stray hair out of his friend's face (much to his pain), before turning his attention to the rest of the room. It had been evening when Hongjoong had passed out; it was morning now – shards of weak sunlight filtered in through the blinds.

How long had he been out? And, by the gods, his body hurt. It was like he had been hit by a truck, then slammed repeatedly against a brick wall, and finally thrown into a pool of acid and left to rot.

He wanted to wake Seonghwa up, ask him what had happened after he had passed out during the sparring match, but, of course, he let his friend have his rest. Knowing him, and judging from the subtle dark circles under his eyes, he'd have stayed up all night worrying for him; he deserved what rest he got.

Just then, the door opened, and a nurse, who looked no older than Hongjoong himself, tottered in.

"Oh! Hongjoong-ssi – you're awake!" she exclaimed. Hongjoong put his finger to his lips, pointing to his sleeping friend, and she quickly covered her mouth with slender fingers. "Sorry – I didn't realise..." she whispered, eyeing Seonghwa's sleeping form almost anxiously. It took Hongjoong a second to remember that Seonghwa was an assassin, and an intimidating one at that. To any outsiders, he was a cold, unwelcoming killer. To Hongjoong, he was a soft-spoken, sweet and kind friend – it was easy to forget his image to others. "I'll tell Choi San-ssi and Instructor Sayan-ssi," the nurse whispered, and exited.

A second later, San burst through the door.

"Hyung," he cried, already tearing up. Hongjoong panickedly put his finger to his lips and pointed to Seonghwa again, but the assassin had already awoken. He rubbed his eyes and sat up as the little demon boy launched himself into Hongjoong's arms.

"Hey—agh, that hurts—yeah, yeah, I'm fine, you don't need to worry, don't worry."

San kept his head buried in Hongjoong's chest, as Seonghwa yawned, and stood up, stretching.

"So how long was I out?" Hongjoong asked, patting San's back to a slow rhythm, of sorts, as the little demon mumbled something to do with how worried he was into his chest.

"A day or so," Seonghwa replied.

"A day?!!" Hongjoong exclaimed. San flinched in his arms. "Sorry," he whispered to the boy, who shrugged.

"I know," Seonghwa said, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Hyungseok beat you up pretty bad."

At the mention of the half-brute's name, the assassin's expression darkened, his round doe-eyes narrowing down and something dangerous entering them. Hongjoong tried to identify what it was, but Seonghwa sighed and slumped on the black leather sofa placed at one side of the room, and it disappeared as he turned his eyes back to his two friends, a soft fondness replacing it.