"he'll be fine," taeyong gave the male waiting outside the clinic a hug, "you should take care of yourself while they're patching up sungchan. take a shower and grab some food," the leader gently pushed the younger, "i'll wait here too and i'll call you when he's done."
shotaro nodded tiredly and went on his way. dragging his feet up the stairs towards his room felt so exhausting except the moment he came across the person he wants nothing more than to avoid and he found the smile playing on that male's lips oddly annoying. perhaps because he was drained for the day and a friend was hurt.
"how was the mission, taro?" hansol asks, waiting at the top of the staircase while the younger looked up from the middle of it.
"nothing much," the japanese faked a smile, "it was successful minus the part where sungchan gets hurt." he continued going up the stairs and faced the older, "if you may excuse me, i'll just freshen up and get some rest."
before the tired male was about to leave hansol's sight, he left him with a warning that made him stop in his tracks and look back, "be nicer around me. renjun's getting suspicious of you. don't want them knowing something they shouldn't, hm, taro?" when the male's face showed up a scared expression, it made the other laugh. "now run along. sungchan will be waiting for you." renjun's suspicion around the newest member still hasn't left him and it shows.
"just give me time, i'll figure things out on my own. you don't have to lift a finger," shotaro turned his back and walked down the hallway to his room.
once he closed the door, he rested his back against it and slid down. sitting on the floor, the male ruffled his hand through his hair and reflected on his decisions, "what mess have i gotten myself in?"
"there you are," sungchan's hoarse voice greeted the japanese male as he entered the clinic. "got enough rest?" he tried sitting up on his own but only had a hard time and gave up making the older chuckle.
"got too much rest that i didn't get the news that the operation was done," shotaro laughed lightly, stopping by the bedside. "i fell asleep once my body hit the bed after a shower."
"its good that you rest first," the patient lifted a hand out for the other to take and made him sit down next to him while still holding his hand, "you still have some trauma from your first kill?"
"i guess" the smaller played with the bigger hand, keeping his focus there, "i kind of had a nightmare of that guy holding you down with a knife but instead it was me in your position. he was so scary like the way he was smiling and—"
the injured male shushed him, "you don't have to tell me. it'll remind you more. don't want you having another nightmare, do we?"
the older shook his head aggressively, "but sungchan, on a serious note, i'm so sorry."
the affairs officer expected him to say this again, but he was extremely understanding because he knew the other felt like he didn't do anything and most especially his first time using a gun on somebody. he hoped shotaro could see things from his perspective.
"taro, on a serious note," he copied his words, "i'm not angry or what. more than anything, i'm thankful that you were able to take down those guys before they could shoot more bullets." he removed his hand from the male's grasp and used it to make shotaro look at him, "thank you for saving me back there." should i say it now? nah, not the right timing.
"i really feel like he's up to no good," renjun's fingers tapping across the chair's arm, "we've checked his records and it shows he's a good kid, but i really do feel like something's up."
"then we try his parents" the older spun to face the irritated male, "we haven't checked their background, have we?"
the chinese nodded, "but doesn't this feel so wrong? we didn't do this to other members when they joined. i recently got used to him but..."
"well, you're the one here with trust issues," hansol replied with a shrug, "you were the one thinking of something."
"but there is really got to be something," the smaller stood up and went to the hacker's side. renjun went out to talk to hansol after the mission, noticing the tension between him and the newbie. the older replied that they probably weren't used to each other yet but it made all the more suspicious resulting to the two of them going to taeil's office to perform a background check on the younger japanese.
"so we checking the parents now, right?" the hacker confirmed. while scrolling it made him quite guilty to do such thing on a guy who is already a member, "does taeyong know about this."
"he doesn't have to," hansol replied, secretly hiding a smile. he has already led renjun to something he also knew about the questionable male.
"shit, we got something."
💣
"you make me feel like a kid!" the affairs officer whined with a cute pout on his face which the older would pay to get a photo of.
"you did this to me too when i was sick, channie," he laughed and gave the younger's cheeks a pinch. "here comes channie's airplane, ah!" he swung the spoon and avoided the younger's mouth until he used his free arm that didn't have dextrose inserted in it to forcefully get the spoon and eat.
since shotaro was repeatedly called taro, he got used to it and also used the nickname method to give sungchan a nickname. weirdly, chenle calls him taro milktea then saves him in his phone as 'show me the taro milk tea'. honestly, you wouldn't know if its weird because it comes from chenle and he's a laughing bomb.
while a movie was playing in the television in the room, the older continued to feed the male. "i'm full now," the patient rubbed his tummy, "you brought quite a lot."
the older placed the tray on the side table with a sigh, "you didn't eat much." but it made the other shrug and lie back down the bed. "is there anything you want, channie?"
"just wanna talk with you," he replied with a smile, "that would be great."
shotaro rolled his eyes as he sat down, "aren't you tired of being with me all the time? anyways, we've been talking, so what now?"
"as in a serious talk," sungchan looked up from the bed, reaching out for the other's hand to which he was grateful that shotaro held.
"last time we did," the japanese was thinking, "we both came home crying."
the night that sungchan brought him to the mountain side road, they both arrived back at the base with red faces because of crying. they spent some time there and let out a good cry they both have been holding. the leader was alarmed. he thought someone might be hurt but when the two confirmed that they were just talking to each other, he was immediately relieved. he gave both a hug and reminded them that they could just knock on his door and he'd gladly open it and talk things out with them.
"what if i wanted to bring something up?" the affairs officer looked at their intertwined fingers, "what if it involved my feelings for you?"
that shocked shotaro. the male didn't know if he was referring to romantic feelings or what but he tightened his hold on the injured's hand, "what do you mean?"
"let's say i feel something for you and you only," sungchan sat up and smiled, "something i never felt for anyone here but you." the older smiled, catching on what the other was saying because same. i do feel the same for you, sungchan. "i li—"
"stop right there," renjun busts in the room with hansol and taeyong right on his trail, "you don't really know the man you're confessing to."
"what the hell?" sungchan mumbled, letting go of the older's hand, "you guys should have knocked before entering." he was annoyed that his sincere confession was interrupted. he wanted to reveal his feelings since it felt just right and he knew his feelings were love for the male.
"and let you confess to this traitor," hansol pointed at shotaro who remained quiet, with his head hung low due to guilt.
"maybe you're getting things wrong," sungchan pulled himself up to let his legs swing by the bed, "i mean we all know renjun isn't comfortable with taro and hansol as well." the boss shook his head with a disappointed expression.
shit, they found out. what now? shotaro stood up with a sorry look on his face, "let's talk things out."
"we don't need to talk," taeyong glared at the male and turned to his partner who has been waiting outside the clinic, "jaehyun, take him to the basement."
the japanese watched the underboss enter the room with the most chilling expression he has ever seen him wear. the male was roughly pulled by the arm which made him whimper causing the injured male to abruptly stand up and try to take shotaro back but was stopped by the leader, "sungchan, you shouldn't stand up. for fucks sake, you were just operated a few hours ago. moreover, you shouldn't stand up for a disloyal man."
sungchan looked at the japanese who looked like he was close to tears and raised his voice on him, "what are they saying, shotaro? why aren't you defending yourself! speak up, tell them the truth or what!"
"i'm sorry," shotaro shook his head, "i'm so sorry. please forgive me." jaehyun's grip on the male tightened and pulled him out of the room.
"shotaro has been lying to us all. he isn't what he seems to be."