THE BODYGUARD | JAEYONG NCT

25: Hospitals Smell Like Hand Sanitiser

His mind went back to his last moments with the man, Jaehyun's saddened and pleading expression ingrained into his mind. The familiar sound of a bullet still echoed in his ears and that smell of burnt cigarettes and smoke wore away at his lungs. He opened his eyes. Fire, something about a fire.

"Doyoung," Taeyong suddenly gripped his hand tightly, "where's Johnny?"

Doyoung didn't meet his eyes and that familiar feeling of panic rose in Taeyong once again and he wondered for a fleeting moment if it'd ever truly go away. Taeyong squeezed his hand tighter, silently begging for an answer.

"I heard a gunshot, and there was smoke and then Jaehyun mentioned Johnny and-" he trailed off with a stutter.

Doyoung chewed on his bottom lip, still not meeting his eyes. The truth would surely set him off but a lie could only keep him placated for so long, plus there was no guarantee Taeyong would believe him. He decided to go with the truth, he was never good at lying anyways.

"Johnny," he looked up at Taeyong carefully to gauge his reaction so far. Taeyong's grip on his hand turned deathly and he leaned forward, anxiety clawing at his body. "Johnny got caught in the fire."

Taeyong's face paled, his breath hitched, and his chest panged with physical pain.

No, not Johnny, not him.

"He's not dead!" Doyoung said quickly with the raise of a hand, seeing how Taeyong looked like he would collapse at any second. "He's not dead," he pressed on, "just... his arm got burnt... badly, but he's alive. He's... sleeping right now."

Taeyong felt his eyes burn and he tasted the salt that could only belong to tears before he even felt them. He didn't know whether he was crying from fear or relief but he let the tears flow regardless. Johnny was alive, that was a good thing. Probably the only good thing.

"I need to see him." Taeyong tried to get up, frantically needing to reached the door and make sure his best friend was alive. He tugged at the wires that were connected to his hand, and Doyoung held his arm strongly.

"No," Doyoung said firmly. "You're on bedrest."

Taeyong struggled in his grip, fire blazing in his eyes but the look in Doyoung's told him somehow he was even more determined than he was. Doyoung tightened the grip on his arm and Taeyong hissed in ire. Doyoung wasn't letting up any time soon, so after a stare down and much, much reluction, Taeyong sat down on his bed again.

His mind was spinning. He needed someone to shift his anger and hurt on, somebody to point a finger at and blame. His mind turned to one man.

"I need to speak to Jaehyun now."

"He was here actually." Doyoung scratched his neck, loosening his grip on Taeyong, whose lips thinned out.

"He was here yesterday too. He left not too long ago when he saw you stirring."

"Well, call him back!" Taeyong glowered. "You have his number." Taeyong looked away and crossed his arms, suddenly feeling bitter.

Doyoung raised a brow. "I don't think he'll be coming back."

Taeyong turned back to him sharply.