√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

six.

     She gave him another dip of the head. He opened his box on a small table near the bed and Hyunjin sat in the chair by the door.

     "Would you mind sitting up for me, Nari?" Minho asked, taking out several rolls of bandages, ointment, and medicine. She complied, swinging her legs off the side of the bed to face him, taking care not to tangle the handcuffs. "I'm going to give you a once over. There wasn't time to do much else than wrap your ankle last night."

     "Okay," Nari replied shakily. Minho gently grabbed her long sleeve and pulled it up, exposing the skin underneath. Grimly, he took in all of the dark bruises trailing up and down her arm.

     "Are these all from last night?" Minho asked, glancing up at her. Ducking her head, Nari frowned.

     "Some of them are," she whispered. From his chair, Hyunjin squinted and clenched his jaw.

     "She was bullied yesterday," he explained. Minho's eyes flashed as he tilted her battered arm. He set it down.

     "I can put some salve for soreness on them. Do you have any more anywhere?"

     For what felt like the twelfth time that week, moisture filled Nari's eyes. She was so tired. Tired of the secrets, tired of the pain, tired of the fear, tired of everything. And now it could all spill out.

     "Yeah," she sniffed. "I have few more." Her voice broke on the last word and her throat released its tension, along with her tears.

     Minho's eyes widened and he looked back at Hyunjin. "What's wrong with her?"

     Baffled, Hyunjin stood. "I don't know! You're her 'doctor'!"

     Doctor Minho heaved a sigh and turned to Nari. "I'm going to continue, is that okay?"

     Nari nodded violently and attempted to wipe the tears away with her arm, her movements jerky. "Yes, it's fine."

     Taking one last glance at her, Minho rolled up her other sleeve to find the same dark devastation on her skin. He pursed his lips and began to rub some of the salve on her skin while Hyunjin observed. As he made his way across her shoulders and her waist, Minho stood back, his face full of disbelief and astonishment.

     "Is all of this really from bullying?" he asked.

     Nari shook her head. The boy bent down to her eye level. "Who is doing this to you? These are bruises on top of bruises. It must be happening almost every day."

     "My uncle," she coughed out. "He... punishes me."

     Hyunjin growled and stalked towards her. She flinched at his intensity. "Punishes you for what?"

     "Things I don't do. 'Stealing' money, 'sneaking' out. That sort of stuff."

     "I'm gonna kill him."

     Startled by his violent words, uttered so decisively, Nari shook her head, unable to speak.

     "No, Hyunjin, you know we can't. We can help Nari, but we cannot kill her family. As much as we might want to," Minho drawled casually. "Now sit down."

     Pity filled Minho's eyes as he continued to work, while Hyunjin sat back down and steamed. After Minho finished with her ankle, he shut the box.

     "Okay, you're all set. It was just a sprain and a nasty scrape, so you should be able to walk pretty well. We can go upstairs now if you'd like," he offered.

     "I need a moment," Nari replied, stretching her leg experimentally.

     Minho looked at Hyunjin. "That's fine. You'll bring her up when she's ready, right Hyunjin?" He didn't wait for an answer as he left the room, a not-so-subtle smirk on his face.