Eye of the Beholder [ONF FF]

The persistence of honesty

It was warm. Seungjun felt like he was boiling. Was this what drowning felt like? He always imagined the rough waves to be freezing cold, but maybe he had been taken by a warm current. Or maybe he was already in the afterlife. There was a bright light shining down on him and it felt truly typical.

But then he heard something. Breathing. His eyes wouldn't open to see where it came from. There was a voice in the distance too.

He made contact with his arms, his torso, his legs. Slowly, sensations began brushing over his skin. What carried him was soft, and it even felt like a blanket was wrapped around him. He wasn't in his hammock. Was this a wave or a bed? He was sitting at an angle, slightly leaning backwards. This couldn't be the ocean.

Seungjun felt his fingers twitch and he jerked his head. And that was the last string he pulled to find his consciousness.

Floodgates opened. Impulses rushed through his entire system. His next intake of air was heavy and stuttered. And with it came his voice. It echoed through the room, falling from his lips with a sharp breath and a loud scream. Agony coursed through his leg. The wound, it must still be open and something was pulling at it. Seungjun shot up and grasped at his thigh. Whatever was on it, needed to come off.

"Seungjun!" someone shouted, worried. It was undoubtedly Minkyun.

Too focused, Seungjun tried getting to his wounds but hands stopped him quickly, wrapping around his wrists and forcing him to lay down again.

"Seungjun," Minkyun repeated sternly. "It's okay, calm down."

Nothing felt right. It hurt. It hurt so much. He couldn't take it. He tried to worm away from the hold.

"Calm down," Minkyun continued. "Please, before the wound opens again."

After another attempt to free himself, Seungjun tried to stay still. But even if he didn't move, it ached. His body was hot and uncomfortable, sweat breaking out with the panic.

There was a second of silence before Minkyun snapped, "Go call the doctor."

"Y-Yes, of course." That, Seungjun recognised to be Changyun.

Minkyun... Changyun... They had survived? And a doctor was being called? Seungjun tried to piece everything together, using anything to distract his mind from the pain in his leg.

It took a few blinks before a concerned expression came into a hazy view. Minkyun hung above him, his hands on either side of Seungjun's face, still trapping Seungjun's wrists. A harsh ceiling light made any attempt to see much harder, but Seungjun persisted and slowly found his surroundings. It wasn't a room he recognised. The wallpaper was green and decorated with a floral pattern, next to him was another bed, and a tray table stood on his right. He couldn't see what was on top of it, however and instead had his attention drawn back to Minkyun.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar but humorous voice entered the room. "Please stop restraining the patient," they said. It sounded like this person had enjoyed the company of a cigar often, having a coarse edge to all their words.