danger

18: fear

♡

The sun was readily high in the sky before Minjun was awoken, a pair of hands on each of his shoulders. He was swayed, only letting out discontented murmurs before his blurry eyes opened.

"Good morning," Taehyung said pleasantly. He bore a smiley expression that brought a little energy into the boy below him.

"Goo-Good Morning."

Taehyung freed Minjun's limbs and retreated to sit on the bed just beside the teenager's legs. He picked up a heap of clothes, presenting them to Minjun before leaving them on the other side of the bed.

"I don't know how you do this but Seokjin told me to bring some clothes to you," he said, "he's currently busy with Namjoon and Jimin, he thought you'd be most comfortable with me coming."

Minjun blinked away the lethargy that tried crawling back into his eyes, making his way into a sitting position so that he could assess the attire.

"He-help with the boot," he muttered, pointing at the impaired joint that lay at the end of his leg. The elder boy took great care in tenderly unstrapping the black brace, sliding it off the healing ankle gradually.

"What else can I do?"

Minjun, sulking softly from the twinge he felt around his foot, grabbed at the fabric of the sweatpants on his legs. Taehyung got the idea and assisted in pulling the clothing off of his legs, trying not to bump neither his knee nor his ankle.

As the gambler reached up to rid his lower body of the last article of clothing, Minjun gasped and tossed his hands up to cover the man's eyes.

"Eyes, right, I forgot." Taehyung chuckled and shut his eyes, continuing his job of undressing their prisoner. He felt around for the new pair and courteously pulled them up the boy's legs before opening his eyes.

"What do you feel like doing today?" He asked, finishing his job by dressing him in the newer, unused pair of sweatpants and passing him the new hoodie.

Minjun shrugged, hauling his t-shirt off of his torso and grabbing for the hoodie.

"Woah," Taehyung panted, "that's nasty dude." He reached forward and ran his fingers over the mangled, discoloured skin in front of Minjun's shoulder. The scar was old.

Minjun met his hand, feeling over the irregular flesh himself and frowning at the memories.

"How did you get this?" Taehyung asked him, eyes fluttering between the boy's pallid face and the severe former injury. The boy flattened his hand over the scar and hid it from the gang member, looking down with reddened cheeks.

Taehyung hummed, soon after lifting his t-shirt off.

"Look here," he said while pointing to a circular scar on the side of his stomach, "a few years ago I was cornered by a gang that we no longer worry about."

"Their leader, Soobin, freaked out because our Seokjin was firing away at them from - well, wherever he was. He stabbed me with half of a glass bottle and made this very lovely scar. Hobi patched me up well."

Minjun's inquisitive eyes stared at the jagged surface, holding himself back from reaching out and feeling it.

"Wuh-When my cat was being... being hu-hurt by a d-," Minjun held his breath and gulped down the annoying sobs that he felt gurgling in his chest, "d-do-dog. I picked him uh-up and the- it, it buh-bit me."

"I see," Taehyung smiled, "what a mean dog, huh?"

Minjun nodded his head, finally allowing himself to pull the oversized hoodie over his torso and conceal the memory of the origin of his most significant fear.

"Would you like to pay a visit to Hoseok? He's been so lonely in his little medical room, looking after Yoongi."

Minjun, watching Taehyung as he placed the boot on his ankle, agreed noiselessly by shaking his head up and down. He was helped up, and the gambler kept his hands firmly under the boy's armpits as he escorted him down to the medical room.

"Hey guys," Taehyung said as he sat Minjun down on a stool beside the centrepiece of a bed. Hoseok beamed lovingly at the two of them while Yoongi kept his eyes shut in a hopeful plea to have them leave.

Yoongi loved Taehyung as much as any of the gangsters in the house, but he didn't want to open his eyes and see the face of the pitiful boy again.

"How is Yoongi's wound?"

"It's doing well," Hoseok said, "it's just best if he doesn't put pressure on it yet." He stroked his index finger over the dressings lightly, pulling his hand away when his elder issued a hiss.

"Ha—" Yoongi slapped him away— "don't do that!"

"It hurts?" Hoseok frowned.

Yoongi shook his head, keeping his eyes lazily closed, "no, just, too close." At this, both Taehyung and Hoseok snickered and poked fun at the man.

Minjun silently watched the joyous bickering with a faint smile on his red lips, taking note of the way that Yoongi glimpsed through his eyelashes at him for a second before deflecting his gaze.

Just before Taehyung could open his mouth to make another remark, his mobile phone rang from his back pocket and he scrambled to pick it up instantly.

"I'll be back just stay with Hoseok," he commanded while running out of the room, leaving Minjun with not only his kidnapper but also the man who killed his family. At least he's wounded. He felt significantly relaxed knowing that the arsonist couldn't hurt him as he lay unmoving on a hospital bed.

"Minjun," Hoseok said, "how are your wrists feeling?"

"Fuh-fine..."

"Still got that stutter, huh?" The medic laughed softly, fiddling with his fingers and picking at his nails.

"Sorry," Minjun whined.

Hoseok waved his hands, "it's nothing to apologise for, just means you're, what, anxious? Afraid?" The boy nodded bashfully, nibbling on his inner lip as he anticipated the forthcoming actions of the elder.

"Can't imagine why," Yoongi said, amusement bound in his voice as he pried one of his eyes open to watch the reaction of the other two. Hoseok chortled, while their guest just gawked at him with his shadowy eyes.