Hongjoong's POV
I watched as Wooyoung and Jongho fake wrestled around the park, Jongho putting the older in a headlock as he squirmed. It was clear that Jongho wasn't using any of his strength at all, too scared of hurting Wooyoung but it was good to see them playing around. The argument they had earlier wasn't anything major but it's always good to resolve even small issues straight way.
"And you call me a parent," Seonghwa whispered in my ear, making me jump slightly in surprise.
"Shut up," I mumbled, shoving him slightly.
"For the record, you're way worse than me," I pointed out.
"I beg to differ," he said, shaking his head.
"Ow." Our heads snapped to the side instantly at Wooyoung's outburst. Jongho looked worried and quickly let go of Wooyoung. Wooyoung cackled before running somewhere, ah, the other end of the park.
"Come get me Jjongie," he yelled out.
"See, this is why we don't play with him. He always pulls this shit," Jongho said rolling his eyes, but I could see the small smile on his face.
"You say that and yet you're going to go run after him," Seonghwa said.
"Of course," he grinned before running off.
"It's times like this that I remember he's still only 17," I said with a sigh.
"He's always going to be our baby maknae," he chuckled. I went to reply but I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and then buzz again a few seconds later. I'm the only one in the Sector who is allowed to have a phone and all it does it receive and sends messages and calls. Although I don't usually get messages very often. I pulled out my phone and unlocked it, furrowing my eyebrows in wonder of what it would be.
Choi San Sector ATZ admitted into infirmary – 8:07pm
Kang Yeosang Sector ATZ admitted into infirmary – 8:08pm
No. NO. Oh my god.
"Fuck," I swore, my heart rate increasing rapidly.
"What's wrong," Seonghwa asked, turning to me in concern.
"Sannie and Yeosang just got admitted to the infirmary," I whispered, my hand shaking slightly. His eyes went wide and he turned to look towards the other's who were still playing.
"Boys, we need to go. Now," he yelled out. They both looked confused but knew better than ask questions when Seonghwa was that serious.
"Hwa, we, we left them alone. What if Yeosang accidentally hurt Sannie? What if this sets him back so much, we shouldn't have left them alone," I said shaking my head. I clenched my hands closed trying to calm down but I was panicking. 2 of my boys are hurt, and I don't even know how hurt they are.
"Joongie. Darling, calm down. Everything will be ok," Seonghwa said, stepping closer and placing his hand on my hips softly.
"They're hurt Hwa," I said, my breath catching in my throat.
"I know, but you need to take a breath and calm down or else you're going to uproot these trees," he said. I squeezed my eyes closed and shook my head, trying to calm down as best as I could.
"Look at me Joong." I opened my eyes as he moved his hand to cup my face gently.
"Just take a deep breath alright, for me," he whispered. I nodded and tried my best to take a breath but it came out short and sharp, panic still gripping me tightly.
"I can't. Hwa, I can't," I whimpered, my eyes closing tightly once again. There was a sudden warmth on my lips and my breath caught in my throat, my heart stuttering slightly. My eyes snapped open as Seonghwa pulled away, watching me worriedly. I dragged in a breath, breathing deeply and then repeating.
"That's good, that's good. Keep going, deep breaths," he whispered, moving his forehead to rest on mine. I took another deep breath, feeling my heartrate slow down as my hands unclenched.
"You're doing so well, just a little bit more," he said.
"You can do this Hyung," Wooyoung said quickly. It took me another minute or two but I finally calmed down.
"Can someone tell us what's going on now please," Jongho asked.
"We need to go back to the institution. Yeosang and San are in the infirmary," Seonghwa replied.
"Oh my god. I shouldn't have left him. He said he would be fine but I knew something would happen when it was just him with Yeosang," Wooyoung gasped.
"It's not Sangie's fault," I said quickly.
"Of course not Hyung, no one is saying that. We don't even know what happened and even if it has something to do with him, it's not his fault," Jongho said.
"We need to go back now. I'll need to talk to the nurses and find out what happened," I said. They all nodded and we quickly made our way back.
~~~~~
I quickly ran up to the infirmary reception the minute we got inside, gaining the attention of the receptionist.
"Hello, what can I do for you," she asked.
"I'm Kim Hongjoong, this is Park Seonghwa, Choi Jongho and Jung Wooyoung. We're from Sector ATZ, two of our boys were admitted about half an hour ago," I said quickly. She looked down at her clipboard before looking back up.
"Choi San and Kang Yeosang," she asked.
"Yeah that's them," I said with a nod.
"You can't go in and see them yet because they're getting examined but if you have any questions, we have another doctor that will be with you shortly," she said. I nodded and guided the boys back to sit in the waiting seats.
"How bad do you think it'll be? Maybe I can help them," Seonghwa said, biting his lip worriedly.
"Don't strain yourself Hwa, I'm sure it's something the doctors can deal with," I said gently, brushing his hair back softly.
"I can help though," he said quietly.
"I know, but they'll be ok," I said, frowning slightly. Seonghwa, being the ever loving and caring person that he is, always wants to help people, especially those close to him. That's why he let his parents use him, because he genuinely wanted to help those people, but it was just too much. Now he has to deal with the consequences of their actions and I know it upsets him when he can't be of any help. He nodded and slipped his hand into mine and I gave it a squeeze in reassurance.
"Are you sure they're going to be ok," Wooyoung asked.
"Of course baby, c'mere," I said, holding out my other arm. He quickly hurried over and sat in my lap as I wrapped my arm around his waist. Jongho sat next to Seonghwa and hugged him gently, the older patting his head.
"Hongjoong?" I quickly stood up an turned around, smiling slightly at the familiar face.
"Taemin Hyung, thank god. Are you Sannie or Yeosang's doctor," I asked as the other's stood up and he walked over to us. Taemin and I have known each other since I was 11, before I even met the boys. He was the one that actually told my parents and I about this institution as it was somewhere he was wanting to work.
"I'm overviewing both of their conditions at the moment. First of all, I just want to let you know that they're both going to be just fine," he said. We all immediately let out breaths of relief.
"Do you have any idea what happened," I asked.
"We won't know for sure until we review some footage to get a better idea, but San called in and was quite frantic. Yeosang had a fever of 103.4 and he passed out. When San called, he was fine but when we got there, he was unconscious beside Yeosang. We're working to get Yeosang's fever down and we're trying to figure out how to help San but we don't know what made him pass out just yet," Taemin explained.
"He probably touched Yeosang," Seonghwa said quietly.
"Perhaps. But we won't know for sure until we see the footage," Taemin said.
"When will we be allowed to go in to see them," Wooyoung asked.
"I'm sorry Wooyoung-ah. We won't be able to allow you in for a while. Hongjoong can come in because he's the leader of the Sector, but the rest of you aren't allowed inside. I wish I could let you in but it's policy rules."
"It's ok, I understand. Thank you though. I appreciate it," I said. He nodded before walking back off down the hall.
"I wanna see Sannie," Wooyoung said immediately.
"You can't Youngie, you heard what Taemin just said," I sighed.
"But he's hurt," Wooyoung said, his eyes welling up with tears. Wooyoung and San have always had a close bond, ever since Wooyoung first came to the institution, so it's not surprising that it's upsetting the speedster so much.
"Hyung, come on. Let's go back to the Sector. We can make some cake so that when San get's back, he'll be happier," Jongho said gently, holding out his hand. Wooyoung sniffled and wiped his eyes before nodding and taking the youngers hand. They walked off and I sighed running and hand through my hair.
"I'll keep an eye on them and inform the other two when they get back. You just let me know what happens alright," Seonghwa said quietly. I nodded and pulled him in for a hug, squeezing tightly.
"It'll be ok Joong-ah, don't stress too much," he whispered before kissing the top of my head and walking off. I sighed and sat down on the chair again, resting my elbows on my knees and dropping my head into my hands as I waited. I waiting for only about 5 minutes before the side doors opened and Taemin came back out.
"Joong, we've got the footage. I told them to wait until we got you. It's probably best that you see what happened so you can help out later along the line," he said.
"Thank you Taemin Hyung," I said as I stood up. I followed him down the halls until we got to other room and we walked inside. Someone was seated by a computer and another two were standing behind him.
"Dr Lee, I think we've found what happened to San-ssi," one of the standing ones said.
"Alright, let us see it," Taemin said. We both walked forwards and I leaned over, keeping my eyes trained on the screen as the video began to play. San was beside Yeosang's bed talking to him although we couldn't hear what he was saying. I watched as he tried taking Yeosang's temperature but Yeosang grabbed his wrist. My heart dropped as I watched San's face scrunch up with pain as he jumped back. We were right, Yeosang hurt him. It was clearly an accident but given the state Yeosang's been in mentally, this could cause a real problem, could make him scared to even be in the same room as us. San got up almost as soon as he went down, hurrying back to Yeosang's side. I gotta hand it to him, he barely even let it show. Although knowing the reasons why, made me feel even worse for him. They seemed to be talking for a little bit, or San was at least but Yeosang rolled over and vomited on the floor. Then San did something that shocked all of us, something I wasn't expecting. He grabbed Yeosang and pulled him from the bed. San stumbled but didn't let go and began to pull him out of his room. He was just outside of the loungeroom when he fell and let go of Yeosang. I could tell he was crying, I would be as well given the pain he was probably in. Actually, I'd probably be writhing in pain on the floor or already passed out. San continued on though, he grabbed Yeosang once again and finished pulling him into the loungeroom.
"This is where San-ssi calls and then he goes and puts the ice on Yeosang-ssi. He doesn't faint until later," the guy by the computer says. He skips forward a bit and then presses play, showing San knelt by Yeosang. It looked like he was frozen, then he begun to sway and it ended with him falling to the floor. As he fell, he jolted slightly, moving slightly away from Yeosang but then he remained unmoving, the two of them unconscious beside each other.
"The nurses arrived a few minutes later," the guy said as he paused it.
"Thank you, this helps a lot," Taemin said, bowing before grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
"San passed out from the pain," I said quietly as we walked down the hall.
"He did. Which means he will be perfectly fine, he just needs some rest," Taemin replied. Thank god, at least one of them is definitely going to be ok.
"What about Sangie? Any idea what might be wrong with him? Why he suddenly got a fever when he was fine this morning," I asked.
"I'm not completely sure, but I may have a theory. I will need to check to make sure though," he said.
"What's the theory," I asked. A theory is better than nothing.
"Is Yeosang-ssi around Mingi a lot," he asked me.
"Yeah. Mingi is the only one he can touch because his ability cancels out his own so Yeosang is more drawn to him. Why," I asked.
"I'll tell you once I know for sure but for now, why don't you go wait for San to wake up. He'll probably wake up before Yeosang," he said. I nodded and he pointed over to a door two doors down.
"He's in there," he said.
"Thank you Taemin Hyung, really," I said thankfully.
"Of course Joong-ah," he nodded. I went to the door he had pointed at, opening it quietly and slipping inside. San was asleep, head resting gently on the pillow, his pink hair fanned out across his face. I sighed softly and walked over, placing my palm on his cheek and rubbing it gently with me thumb. He exhaled quietly and leaned his head into my hand.
"My beautiful aegi. You scared me," I whispered, leaning down kiss his forehead lightly. He didn't move again, just remained unconscious but at least he wasn't looking too bad. I grabbed the chair and pulled it closer to his bed, sitting down on it and grabbing his hand. All there is to do now is wait for him to wake up. I sighed and rested my head on my arm, letting my eyes close slowly. I can rest my eyes for a second, it'll be fine.
~~~~~
"No, stop. Don't, please. I didn't mean to, please don't hurt me." My eyes snapped open and I lifted my head quickly, looking around to see what the problem was.
"I'm sorry. Not the iron, please dad, please." I looked down instantly, my eyes going wide as I saw San writhing in the bed, tears streaming down his face. He's having a nightmare, one with that stupid bastard. I quickly stood up and cupped his face with my hand.
"Sannie, darling. It's ok, you're safe," I said hurriedly. He didn't react though, his eyes still clenched closed with tears spilling down his cheeks. Seeing someone as pure as San crying is the worst thing in the world and I would do anything in this world to never let the young boy ever feel pain. But it's too late for that now, he's felt more pain in his first 10 years than people should ever feel in a lifetime.
"It burns, please, it burns. Make it stop," he sobbed. I couldn't take it anymore and I quickly grabbed his shoulder, pulling him up into a sitting position and wrapping my arms around him.
"I've got you baby, I've got you. Wake up for Hyung," I said firmly.
"Help," he sobbed. My heart clenched and I was about to shake him when I suddenly felt his arms wrap around me tightly, his head burying into my neck as he sobbed harshly.
"It's ok Sannie, it's me. It's Hongjoong Hyung," I whispered, kissing the side of his neck.
"Hyungie," he whimpered.
"I'm here baby," I said softly.
"Hyungie, m'scared," he cried.
"You don't need to be. You're with Hyung now, and Hyung will always protect you," I whispered, rocking him from side to side delicately.
"Burns, it burns Hyungie," he said, holding me tightly.
"It's in the past Sannie, everything is ok right now. You aren't hurt," I said gently. There was a soft nick on my neck and then a warmth and I pulled back quickly. San whined and reached out for me, his eyes glossed and glazed over slightly. It's times like this, after nightmares or bad flashbacks that he gets clingier, wanting to be closer to us, to get that extra reassurance that he's ok.
"Shh it's ok. But no biting or sucking on things that aren't meant to be in your mouth baby," I said ruffling his hair. He pouted and sniffled, curling closer to me. I wrapped my arm around his waist, using my other one to wipe his eyes gently. His hand shot up and he grabbed my hand, pulling it down towards his mouth.
"Uh, uh, what did I just say Sannie," I said, pulling my hand away quickly. He looked up at me quickly, his eyes welling up.
"No, don't cry. Just give me a sec," I said. I quickly searched my pockets, before finding what I want and pulling it out. I hurriedly unwrapped the lollipop before holding it out to his lips. He instantly put it in his mouth and relaxing against me.
"There you go," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. I really want to talk to him, figure out what else might've happened but I don't want to draw him out of this state too quickly. I can wait.
~~~~~
We sat there like that for about 20 minutes, San just leaning against me lazily as he sucked on the lollipop.
"Done Hyungie," he whispered, holding out the empty lollipop stick.
"Thank you baby," I said, grabbing it and putting it in my pocket. Now it's time to talk.
"We need to have a bit of a chat San," I said firmly. He looked up at me blinking innocently before pouting cutely.
"Please San, it's about what happened with Yeosang," I said. The minute I mentioned Yeosang, the pout slipped from his face and he frowned, squirming slightly. I placed my hands on his hips, squeezing firmly to help ground him.
"He didn't mean to hurt me Hyung, he was barely conscious," he said quietly.
"I know San, I know. None of this is either of your faults," I said. He slipped from my hold and sat back against the wall looking at me, rubbing his face with his hands before shaking his head and looking back at me.
"I'm sorry Hyung. I didn't mean to get us both sent here. I didn't know what to do, I just wanted to look after him,"
he said.
"I know San and it's ok. You did the right thing," I said quickly.
"Are you sure," he whispered worriedly.
"Positive. He was in danger because of how high that fever was and none of us were home. You got him somewhere safe, despite the pain and you called the infirmary," I said.
"You can't tell him. Hyung, you can't," San said quickly.
"What do you mean," I asked in confusion.
"Sangie. You can't tell him that he hurt me. He had a high fever and was barely with it. He might not remember what happened and I would rather not have him knowing if we can avoid it," he said.
"San, are you suggesting we lie to him? We can't do that. If he does remember, he won't trust us," I said shaking my head.
"You know how much this will upset him and how far it'll set him back in the progress he's made Hyung. I'm allowed to sleep next to him if Mingi is there, he sits on the couch with Jongho. He even stays close to Wooyoung sometimes. If he finds out he hurt me, even if it wasn't that bad, he is gonna withdraw himself," San said shaking his head.
"San, you passed out. No matter how much I care about Yeosang and despite knowing it wasn't his fault, it wasn't just a slight thing. It was bad San, bad enough for yo-."
"I've had worse Hyung. You know I have. Sangie is my friend, my brother and none of it was his fault. You know what my dad used to do. Yeosang isn't like him. He's gentle, and kind, and something like this will destroy him. We've all seen how scared he is to even come into close contact. This will destroy any confidence he has gained," San said as he jumped off the bed, tears welling up in his eyes.
"San, it's ok. I know it will hurt him, but he'll need to know," I said as I stood up. As much as I want to keep this from him, if he finds out a different way, the consequences will be much worse.
"I don't want him to get worse," San said sadly.
"I know you don't, and neither do I. But we have to tell him," I said, hugging him softly.
"And San," I said quietly.
"Yeah," he asked.
"I think it would be a lot better if you could be the one to tell him. So he can see that you're alright and that you want to be around him still. It might help soften the blow a little bit," I said gently.
"Are you sure," he asked.
"Yeah. I think it's the best option," I replied.
"But, I don't want to be the one to tell him Hyung. He'll be so upset and I don't, I don't want to be the one to make him feel that way," he said shaking his head.
"San, look at me," I said, standing back so I could see him. He looked up at me, frowning sadly.
"I'm not going to make you do it if you don't want to, I'd never do that. I'm just saying that it might help if it comes from you," I said. San sighed and glanced down at the floor, shuffling his feet nervously.
"It's up to you baby," I said softly.
"I'll do it. I want it to come from me, so I can show that I'm fine. Like you said," he said quietly.
"Thank you San," I said, leaning forward to kiss his forehead delicately.
"Is he awake yet," he asked quietly.
"Not yet, not that I've been told anyway. I'll talk to Taemin Hyung in a bit, I just want to make sure you're ok," I said.
"I'm fine. I can probably go now," he said quietly.
"You're not allowed to darling. You'll need to get checked up first," I said.
"Do I have to," he asked.
"Yes, you do. Now hop into bed and I'll tuck you in so you can get some more rest until they can come check up on you," I said, patting the bed. He did as asked, laying back down on the bed and I gently tucked the sheets over
"And you tease Hwa Hyung for being such a parent," he giggled.
"Shut up," I said, rolling my eyes, but smiling slightly to show him I wasn't actually mad.
"I'm going to go find Taemin Hyung and let him know you're awake and see if I can find out more about what happened with Yeosang and what gave him the fever," I said.
"Ok Hyung, I'll see you later," he said.
"Get some rest Sannie," I said before leaving the room. I walked down the halls and back out to the reception area where I instantly saw Taemin talking with another doctor. I bit my lip nervously as I noticed they looked a bit worried. Does that mean something is wrong with Yeosang?
"Hongjoong." I looked back over at them, seeing that they were done talking and Taemin was walking my way, looking a little grim.
"Is everything ok," I asked nervously.
"We ran some tests and we've found the problem, the reason why Yeosang-ssi got sick so quickly," he said.
"It nothing we can't fix, but it might throw a slight wrench in what you guys have been doing," he said.
"What is it," I asked quickly.
"Follow me and I'll tell you about it," he said. I nodded and followed him back down the hall until we came to his office and went inside.
"Take a seat," he said as he sat down, pointing to the chair on the other side of the desk. I walked over and sat down, clasping my hands together anxiously. I know he said that it would be fine but he also said it would mess up what we've been doing, so I don't really know if that's a good or a bad thing. I'm going to assume that means that it's not too great though.
"San woke up earlier by the way. I was gonna tell you. He's having a nap now but if you guys need to check on him, it should be fine, just don't scare him," I said.
"I know Joong. I'll look after him personally," he said, giving me a nod. Taemin is well aware of San's situation, of what can set him off so I trust him to look after him. Taemin would technically be his personal doctor but they don't exactly have those here. He always makes sure to look after San if the younger ever has to come here, which he has a couple of times.
"Thanks," I said, receiving a small smile in return.
"Anyway, back to Yeosang-ssi. We ran numerous tests, including taking some bloodwork, to try and figure out what it was that may have caused the fever," he said.
"And you found it," I asked. Stupid question, I know. Considering the fact that he's already said he knows, but I'm nervous so don't blame me.
"We did. As, well, mutants, you have an extra set of cells, mutated ones. They're what help give you your abilities," he explained.
"Yeah I know about that," I said with a nod.
"Well Yeosang's mutant cells have gone haywire. Like really badly haywire. They've been repressed, a lot, which caused them to all, I don't really know, bunch together. Given that Mingi was away for a few days, they must've had the time to slowly go back to normal. But then Mingi started to repress them once more and they clustered together again. His body couldn't take that and the cells just burst apart all at once. His body had a really bad reaction and it caused the fever. It could've caused worse but San noticed and we were able to look after him," he said. Shit, Youngjay warned me about this.
"Mingi muting his powers too much is bad for him. Youngjay Hyung mentioned it and I completely forgot about it," I said with a groan.
"It's ok Hongjoong, it didn't go past the point where there was serious damage. He's going to be alright. We're just monitoring him for the moment but he's improving quickly. In a way, San touching him helped. He made Yeosang-ssi use his powers which helped settle the cells a bit more," he said.
"So we can't let Yeosang touch Mingi anymore. God, we can't allow him to have the only form of physical contact he's been able to have in years," I said, my heart dropping at the realisation.
"I'm sorry Joong, but it's just not safe for him. I'm not saying he never can but for at least a week, possibly 2, he shouldn't have any contact with Mingi. And after that it should be limited. He can definitely have the physical affection but he needs to dial it down. What do the two of them usually do? How long does Mingi mute his powers for," Taemin asked.
"It depends on the day. Mingi usually sleeps next to him most nights, they sometimes hold hands in the morning and throughout the day they hug or cuddle. Although, today was the day Mingi got back and Yeosang was tired, so they were cuddling for hours," I said. Huh, that really is a lot, it's a surprise that he lasted this long without getting sick.
"That will need to be reduced a lot. I suggest they don't sleep with each other, that will cut down a lot. The rest should be relatively fine as long as it isn't done too much. But remember, he can't have any contact for at least a week," he said. Great. So we've gotta tell him that he hurt San, and that he isn't allowed to touch the one person he won't ever hurt. That's going to be a lovely conversation to have.
"Thank you Taemin Hyung, I appreciate it," I said.
"Any time. Yeosang's room is just down the hall, third door on the left. You can wait there until he wakes up if you'd like. I'm going to go and check up on San," he said.
"Thanks Hyung," I said, nodding in appreciation before getting up and leaving. I went to the room he said and walked inside quietly. Yeosang was laying in the bed, eyes closed and body still, but he looked quite peaceful. That's a good thing at least. I reached my hand out for his, desperately wanting to hold it to show that I was here for him, but I stopped myself. As much as I want to, I know I can't and it kills me that I can't offer him any support. I want to be there for the younger, I want him to know that we're here for him but I just can't. Instead I settled for moving the chair to beside the bed and curling up on it, resting my arms on the curve of it and my head on top of my arms. Now all I have to do is wait, and hope for the best...
A/N
Here is Chapter 9 now, sorry about the previous cliff-hanger
How do you think Yeosang will react when he finds out he hurt San, and when he finds out he can't spend as much time with Mingi?
Also, we have a new character, a doctor