Aftermath | D.O. + EXO

Chapter 4

Kyungsoo thrashes around during his sleep, beads of cold sweat trickling down his spine and rolling down the side of his face as he tosses and turns. Low whines escape from his parted lips and the bed sheets tumble off of the edge of the bed onto the floor. Chanyeol groans as he wakes up due to the bed shaking and jumps down from the top bunk to turn on the light. The thud from his feet hitting the floor scares Jongin and startles Kyungsoo awake, the smallest sitting up so quickly that he smacks his forehead off of the bars above him. He pants as he holds his aching forehead, and feels a thin liquid coat his two fingers as he probes at the wound. Chanyeol goes down onto his knees to face Kyungsoo. The two have tried their best to be patient with their best friend, but it's difficult when they have an upcoming comeback that they have to practice for and they are barely getting any rest due to being disturbed when sleeping every few hours.
"I'm sorry." Kyungsoo whispers, eyes cast down onto his duvets on the floor. Chanyeol sighs gently and wraps his arms around the younger.
"What was it about this time?" He asks with a soft voice.
"The same. Just about a different time." Chanyeol and Jongin look at each other in confusion before turning back to the smaller. He only sighs before tugging himself out of the older's embrace and grabs the duvets off of the floor. He wraps himself in them before standing at the door.
"I know that you guys are tired, but these nightmares keep on happening. I'm still taking the sleeping pills and I'm still going to the psychiatrist, but it seems like nothing's working. I-I just...I just want my old life back." He blinks back his tears before finishing the conversation. "Anyways, I'm uh, I'm going to sleep in the living room. Get some sleep." Kyungsoo shuts off the light and gently closes the door, the two boys on the other side sighing in the dark.

The next morning Kyungsoo wakes up to everybody gone. He remembers Junmyeon telling him that they all had early practice this morning but it's weird that he isn't going. That's when he remembers about the form and he groans to himself. His wounds have been healing nicely and in two weeks time the casts are going to be removed. His friends had seemed so excited that he can almost start practicing with them again, but he still isn't sure if he wants to sign the form. He decides to suck it up and gets changed into jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie, pulls on a pair of socks then heads downstairs to put on his shoes. He locks the door to the dorm and double checks that the door is locked and that all windows are shut before leaving. As he jumps next to his manager in his crutches, he hears people talk about his weight and how skinny he looks. He keeps his head down and adjusts his mask.
"Look at his legs! They are so skinny!" A girl whispers to her classmate, trying to be quiet but everything seems deafening to Kyungsoo.
"He is tiny! He needs to eat more." A woman says to a group of friends as he walks by a few minutes later.
"He obviously isn't taking care of his son." A man hisses to three of his friends, holding his girlfriend's hand tightly. Kyungsoo sighs deeply, and pretends that hearing about his weight doesn't hurt him. But it does.

After what feels like an eternity of insults, they finally reach the SM Ent. building and head to the fourth floor. His manager asks him to wait in a conference room while he gets his form for his contract. There is silence apart from the whirring of the air conditioning. His manager re-enters the room a few minutes later, waving the form and a pen cheerfully. He places the paper in front of the younger and puts the pen into his hand before taking a seat across from him. Kyungsoo quickly signs his name and puts in the date after briefly reading the contract, just to make sure that the conditions haven't changed during his absence.
"I am so glad that you've decided to come back, Soo. I couldn't bear it if another one of you guys left. I have asked for there to be more protection around your dorm and for public places. People are currently being interviewed and they've already had their backgrounds checked. They were head-hunted by the agency that SM uses." He remains quiet after that and listens to the scratching of pen on paper as Kyungsoo signs his name.

He finally returns back to the dorm, feeling a little lighter than he did before. He smiles gently at himself in the mirror, but quickly grimaces when he takes a proper look at his face. His cheeks are sunken in, his eyes are bulging, bloodshot and red, massive purple bags hang beneath them and his skin is so pale that people must think that he got it bleached. He sighs heavily, lifting his shirt to glare at the scars and his protruding ribs and hip bones. He struggles out of the bathroom due to leaving his crutches at the front door and slowly makes his way to the living room. He slumps down onto the couch and turns on his phone. He smiles at a funny text that Baekhyun had sent him and unlocks his phone screen to reply. Half an hour into the conversation, Kyungsoo jumps due to a massive thud from the second floor. His breath hitches and his grip on his phone is so tight that he can almost feel his phone bending in his palm. Sweat begins to bead on his forehead as his eyes flit around the room, hesitantly scanning for any movement. He calls Baekhyun who is now questioning if Kyungsoo is still there.
"Oh! How come you're calling, were you bored of us already?" He can hear his friend's smirk through the phone but he can't answer: he feels as though his throat has closed up. He tries to speak but only a strangled noise manages to escape when yet another thud comes from upstairs.
"What's wrong? Is something up?" Baekhyun's voice sounds extremely concerned. Kyungsoo pants for breath, trying to get off of the couch he's sitting on.
"I-I uh...I think that t-there's someone here, Baek." He whispers into the phone and now he can feel the panic take over his body, the urge to run so powerful that he almost bends to the will of his instincts.
"Do you want me to call the police?" It's Chanyeol, and now he's aware that he is on speaker.
"Uh...I don't know. I'm scared, guys." He begins walking into the hallway when another thud sounds.
"Did you guys hear that?!" He almost shouts, breath hitching and becoming more ragged.
"No. I couldn't hear anything. Is someone there?" Baekhyun asks, and the line goes silent. Kyungsoo takes the first step up the stairs and cautiously begins his way to the second floor, flinching whenever there is a noise.

He finally reaches the landing and can hear the others conversing through the phone quietly. His hands tremble as he pulls himself along the hallway to his bedroom. He opens the door and exhales loudly when nobody is there. He runs his hands through his hair in frustration and anxiety, turns around and checks every single bedroom and bathroom, storage cupboard and does the same downstairs. No windows are open and the doors are still locked.
"Guys? I-I'm so sorry. Don't call the police, n-nobody's here."
"Goddamn! You freaked us out there, Soo. Jesus."
"Sorry. I'm sorry." He ends the call after his members console him and goes into the kitchen, takes out a glass and pours himself some whisky.
"Fucking hell." He mutters to himself, gulping down the rest of the glass before wincing at the burn afterwards. He cradles his head in his hands as he feels the familiar sting of tears, and lets them run freely.
"Fuck!" He slams his hand off of the table, feelings of guilt, anxiety and disappointment churning in his stomach.
"Why am I so fucking useless?" He sobs quietly to himself, folding his arms out onto the counter and laying his face into them, tears dropping onto the marble surface.

Hi guys! I apologise for the long hiatus and I hope that you are still interested in this story. It has been a good while since I have updated this story and I hope that this long-ish chapter would sort of make up for it. I love you guys, and keep on smiling your beautiful smiles. ❤️🍪

Date: Sunday the 26th of May 2019

Word Count: 1497