√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

seven.

     "No!"

     Fear and panic overwhelmed her, and images and memories of her uncle rose up, ugly and dark. "Let me go!" Nari wept, fighting away from the hand.

     "Nari, stop! It's okay!"

     He was a liar. He was going to hurt her. He didn't care about her.

     Hyunjin gently pulled her away from the stairs. But Nari's panic made her see her uncle instead. She cringed away from him, sobbing.

     "Please, p-please," she pleaded, her voice cracking. The grip tightened, and she cried out.

     "It's for your own good," he explained. Nari gasped for air as she saw the belt coming, felt the air move as the blow approached. Her legs gave out and she fell, her vision blurring. She shut her eyes tightly, ready for the pain.

     Instead, she felt the smallest kiss of a touch, just a whisper, caressing her face. A hand moved the wild hair out of her eyes, her mouth, smoothed away her tears. The unexpected sensation caused her mind to swirl even more wildly, and her vision began to darken. She began to choke on the air in her lungs, her chest heaving.

     "Minho hyung, help!" Hyunjin yelled, bewildered at her response. In the corner of her vision, Nari could see a pair of feet hurrying over, hands shoving Hyunjin aside.

     The hands reached for her and Nari let them, too weak to fight them off. Her head was propped up slightly.

     "Nari, breathe. It's alright, just breathe," Minho urged, taking hold of her hand. Nari tried to draw in a breath, but her chest kept spasming and the tears kept coming.

     She could hear snippets of a tense conversation going on above her. "... enough oxygen... calm her down... panic attack... "

     Waves of intense fear and panic rolled over her, and she fought to stay conscious, squeezing Minho's hand as hard as she could.

     But she was too far gone, the shock too much to take. Darkness swept over her vision, claiming her in its depths, and Nari willingly surrendered to it.

°   °   °

     A deafening boom woke her.

     Nari jumped and sucked in a ragged breath, sweat making her hair stick to her temples. She moaned and rubbed her forehead, the harsh aftereffects of her attack still fading. Slowly, Nari sat up, being careful with her sore, bandaged leg. Her hand skimmed over the smooth sheets that covered her.

     A bolt of panic raced down her spine as she remembered where she was. And who she was with. Nari straightened, preparing to lift her legs out of the bed, when the door to the room she was in opened.

     She froze, eyes blinking and squinting at the figure in the door frame.

     "Relax kid, it's just me," Minho said, rolling his eyes. He shoved his hands on his pockets and raised an eyebrow. "You ready to calm down and talk to us?"

     Nari hesitated. When she had run from Chan's office, they hadn't responded with violence to keep her there. Hyunjin and Minho had tried to help during her panic attack. They had put her in a soft bed, taking care to close the curtains and pull the blankets up. They seemed to be kind, but... Stray Kids.

     Drawing in a breath, Nari nodded. "Yeah, you can take me to them." Minho's eyes creased as he smiled.

     "Attagirl," he praised her, letting a careful hand hover near the small of her back as she walked through the door.