Tiger Inside ||Stray Kids Mafia AU||

Chapter Eighteen

When Seungmin last dressed my wound, I couldn't help but notice the equipment strewn across his desk. He was elbow deep in tests besides the few times he cut away to help me, brows furrowed at the puzzle of chemicals that sat before him. I couldn't even think of where to begin if I was in his position, instead staring beakers down in hopes of some epiphany ringing loud in my ears.

My fingers tapped my knee as he turned to grab new gauze, my eyes wandered across the table in the far room. Vials and jars galore, notes scribbled upon journal pages, and a light sitting in the corner of the desk reflecting off the different glass containers and illuminating their mysterious contents.

The familiar signs of sleepless nights were now manifesting under his eyes, the same ones that were prominent on both Chan and Felix's prior. I watched his face as his hands made slow work on my shoulder, his movements delayed from exhaustion invading his body. His eyes felt hollow, drooping as his lips sat slightly parted, almost as though the act of breathing even took too much of his energy.

"How long have you been at it?" Seungmin paused as his eyes steadied the floor, the gears in his mind slowly turning and jamming at my question. He shook it off before tearing the strip of gauze at the end, turning his back to me and placing it on the table beside him.

"I don't know, since we got back?"

"Have you slept at all?"

"Here and there, lay down and shut my eyes for a moment when I feel the need." He sat back into his chair, pulling himself towards the desk, tucking his legs underneath as he quickly began to type away at his computer.

"That surely can't be doing you any good." I stood from the bed and crossed over to him, scanning my eyes across the vials strewn about. "I can't imagine going without sleep has been helping at all with your research."

A particular pair of vials caught my attention, one filled with a clear liquid, so transparent it seemed to defy physics and looked as though the vial sat empty. The next looked to be a thicker liquid, the light reflected into it and amplified its translucent amber color and leaving a colored cast of light onto the surface below it.

"I'm getting work done, am I not?" He stayed focused on his screen as he clicked to different pages, split screens among two monitors displaying multiple articles. I couldn't help but read from over his shoulder, a particular page documenting a chemical long outlawed among the countries. I bent down slightly, trying to get a closer look at the information plastering the screen.

"VX?" Seungmin slightly jumped and turned to my voice now carrying much closer to his ear before turning back to the screen, bringing up the chemical make up on the screen and pulling his chair to his microscope and peering into it.

"Potent nerve agent." He mumbled as he flipped to the next slide, a moment of silence before he quickly popped up, fully alert. "Don't touch anything." Raising my singular free hand with wide eyes, responding with haste.

"Wasn't planning on it" I watched as he hunched himself back down, squeezing an eye shut and peering through the eyepiece once more.

"Listen, not to be all 'you need to get out of here so I can focus', but uh, you need to get out of here so I can focus."

"Okay, okay. I get it." Stepping back from the desk, I made my way towards the door, pausing before I reached for the handle. "Let me know if I can bring you anything, okay? Coffee, food, anything." He mumbled a slight I'm good thank you and I took it as my final sign to get out of there.

Pulling the door shut behind me, I hesitated in the hall, leaning my back against the wall and my head fell back and let my eyes relax.

We were very quickly nearing the 48 hour mark since our surprise gunfight, and tension was still running high in the house. Most of us were quiet, minimal words spoken between us. There was nothing I was craving more than the laughter, the bickering, the casual comfort that the group provided when we all had the luxury of relaxing together.