Beyond Alteration

L

Sorry for the delay, I was super busy T_T

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22 September 2018

Junha saw everything, processed everything and remembered everything. 

Everything kept playing in his mind like a broken video player. 

From the exact moment Hansung decided to get back to attacking the actual Jeongguk, the exact moment Junha heard Jeongguk's skull crack open as well, the exact moment Hansung broke into the ice cream stall and lit Jeongguk's clothes up using a bottle of itl and matchbox, the exact moment Jeongguk's body went limp, to the exact moment the ambulance drove Banshin and Jeongguk to the hospital with Seokjin and Yoongi driving Hansung there for his hand.

And he couldn't breathe. 

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't breathe. His fingers scrabbled to open the window of Seokjin's car, which Namjoon was driving at the moment, but he couldn't get them to coordinate and press down on the button. 

His free hand jumped to his chest as he looked at Dohyeon for help, not realizing the fact that the car was already pulled to a stop and that Dohyeon was already trying to get him to breathe. 

His chest heaved as pictures of Hansung beating Jeongguk to death kept invading his mind like an avalanche. Of Hansung choking Banshin, of him hitting Jeongguk, of him lifting the stool and bringing it down with so much force that Banshin's and Jeongguk's skulls cracked open and blood flowed out like a dam opened and there was so much blood and the smell of the blood was so intense and then there was the fire and the smoke and he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't-

He could feel hands on him and he wanted them off, but they weren't letting him go. He tried to wriggle out of their reach, but his body wouldn't listen to him and move. He heard voices around him and he could neither say how many nor who they belonged to, nor could he ask them to stop making so much noise. 

Was Jeongguk beating Hansung up again? He didn't know. Was Banshin fighting Jeongguk again? He didn't know. He just wanted those voices to stop stop STOP STOP STOP STOP STOOOOOOPPP!!!!

The only thing that actually stopped was the world around him as his face snapped to the side and he slowly started feeling the sting on his cheek. 

The wind returned to his lungs in full force, leaving him breathless at once as he slowly brought his hand up to the cheek that Namjoon had slapped him tightly on. 

His chest heaved again, this time from sobs that just wouldn't stop. "Why d-did you slap me? What did I-I do noooooow??" he cried. 

It made Namjoon pout and coo at him. Namjoon bent to his level and pulled him into a tight hug. It was only as Namjoon's comforting scent infiltrated his nose that he finally noticed that the door on his side was open and that he was facing outside on the seat. He realized that he was finally able to breathe. That Namjoon had done that to pull him out of his thoughts. 

But that did nothing to stop his sobs. He didn't even know why he was crying. Just that he needed this hug and that he needed this cry. Everything was too much and he just really needed it. 

He slowly lowered his head and snuggled into Namjoon's neck, making him coo harder and get into Junha's seat. 

The car started again and Junha didn't care how. He just cried and cried and cried. 

"Shh, it's okay, shhh," Namjoon whispered comfortingly and that only made him climb onto his lap harder and tighten his hold around his neck. 

Namjoon blinked his eyes clear from the tears forming in them, but they didn't go away. They just trickled down his face as he looked at his son sitting next to him and crying silently along with Junha. He didn't bother wiping them as he locked eyes with Hoseok in the rearview mirror. Because Hoseok wasn't bothering to wipe the enormous amount of tears flowing down his face either. 

By the time they reached home, Junha was fast asleep in his arms along with Dohyeon, who was leaning against his shoulder. He gently jerked his shoulder to wake his son up before slowly getting out of the car with Junha held tight in his arms. 

Junha sleepily cuddled into his arms and he was suddenly washed with a feeling of intense protectiveness for this boy who had gone through so, so, so much in his little life already. 

He took him to his son's bedroom and tucked him in along with Dohyeon before walking out to the living room. 

When his and Hoseok's eyes met, they couldn't find it in themselves to even exchange a grimace. 

Because they had one of the biggest jobs to do at the moment. 

To find a lawyer for Hansung, who was going to be arrested the moment the doctor was done treating his hand. 

Hell, the cops, who had arrived before the ambulance could - all thanks to a passerby who had reported to the cops about a 'madman bludgeoning two poor twins to death' before fleeing the scene - had followed the ambulance to the hospital so that they didn't lose sight of the murderer. 

Both of them were at their wits' ends. They didn't want to go to a random lawyer. This was a sensitive case and they wanted to consult someone they could trust. Because no matter what Hansung did, they felt he didn't deserve to go to jail. 

If anything, they were disappointed that Jeongguk was dead for real now. He deserved to scream for mercy as he burned and died, but they supposed at least something was better than nothing. 

It was a shame that Banshin was injured so badly, but they still didn't think Hansung deserved to go to jail for it. Even Banshin wouldn't want it. 

"Do you think Daeshin-ssi would know any good lawyers?" Hoseok asked. 

"I don't know, but I don't have his number. How would we contact him?" 

"By going to his house of course!! It's about his brother and brother-in-law. It's okay to wake him up in the middle of the night," Hoseok said. 

Namjoon didn't reply for a while, only staring thoughtfully at the floor. After a while, he slowly started nodding his head. "You're right. He needs to know that his brother got injured too. Let's go," he said and walked towards the fridge to grab a sticky note for the kids. 

"What if he doesn't know anyone either?" he asked on their way to Daeshin's house. 

"Let's hope he does. That's the only option we have now," Hoseok mumbled with a forlorn sigh. 

They didn't know what to expect when they arrived at Daeshin's house and woke him and his wife up, but they certainly didn't expect Daeshin's wife to exclaim loudly that her brother was a lawyer as soon as they explained the situation.

Daeshin grabbed his coat and headed out to visit his brother at the hospital after yelling at Namjoon for not informing him about his brother's condition earlier. 

Namjoon and Hoseok only apologized to him and informed him about which hospital the Seo family was at before stepping into the house to take the lawyer's details. 

Daeshin's wife gave them her brother's number before calling him right away. She knew he wouldn't be sleeping at the time anyway. 

"Bogum-ah!!" she exclaimed as soon as he answered the call. Namjoon and Hoseok could only wait and watch as she shot straight to the point and entrusted them to him. 

"Don't worry. He once met Hannie and absolutely loves him. He'll take care of the case," she said once a meeting was established for the next day and the call ended.

Namjoon and Hoseok could only bow fervently and thank her profusely before going back home to catch some sleep before the long day that they knew was coming up.