𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 - 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓰

𝓒𝓱; 82 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓲𝓭

It was late at night. None of them really dared to leave the room, all afraid of what might hide in the dark outside, afraid of what would be waiting for them, of who would be waiting for them. They had opened Chan's laptop again, viewing more recordings of the stolen CCTV footage, all frozen in place, watching with intent eyes. The bitter truth took a toll on all of them, leaving everyone to think just how they could end up in such a mess. 

The tapes still recorded in everyone's minds, depriving them of sleep. Most of them still laid awake. Jisung was one of those people. He laid on a mattress on the ground, arms crossed over the covers while he stared at the ceiling, not even blinking. Only a few of them forced themselves to close their eyes, only to open them right after. Though thoughts tended to turn loud and disturb Jisung's head at this time of night, only one sentence of the video replayed in his memories. 

"You got the wrong one, you imbeciles." Minho's mother gritted her teeth, her voice lowered in a growl, fire practically burning in her cold-blooded eyes before she lowered the phone. 

The next file they clicked on was even worse. 

The recording screeched again, flickering before showing a vivid picture. Two men appeared before Minho's mother. She sat in her seat by the window, arms crossed. "I have told you to keep a low profile, haven't I?" Minho's mother gritted her teeth, her voice slowly matching the storm of rage from within the depths of her being as she rose her head. "Well, haven't I?!" she asked again, throwing something at their side, the object shattering beside them. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Now," She rose from her seat, her voice having returned to its original state of calmness, however, not lasting long as she screamed again, her hand finding a way to wrap around another object, hollering it at the men. The iron clattered against the marble floor, creating echoes while the men recoiled slightly and shut their eyes close. "You tell me why Han Jisung is still alive and my son is hospitalized instead!" 

They really had tried to get rid of him. And it failed. Minho is the one in his place now. It needed more time to down on him. Of course, he had figured he made some enemies throughout his life, but he hadn't thought it could take such a disturbing turn. 

Jisung looked over to the bed next to him. Light fled out of the window, the luminance creating figures over the walls. He exhaled, and someone seemed to have heard as the shuffling of covers roamed through the quiet room despite everyone being half-awake. "Get over here," Minho said, keeping his voice low, and leaned on his side, lifting the cover to invite Jisung in. "You should try to close your eyes tonight." 

Jisung thought about it for a while before crawling up, out of his blankets that felt more like a trap than a form of comfort, laying down next to Minho, nuzzling against him. Minho wrapped his arm around him, embracing the other. Jisung sighed, the fear and tension dissipating to some extent. He clamped himself tighter around the older male, dreading letting Minho go. Minho caressed the other's back, noticing how he tightened his grip on him. "I'm here, Love. Get some sleep, I'll stay awake." 

His grip loosened just slightly while Minho felt Jisung's body slump against him, making a barely-there smile appear on his face as he looked down at the boy sleeping in his arms. "I'll protect you," he stated in a whisper, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. 

The morning arrived and a few were woken by the shuffling of covers and mattresses. Then everyone slowly got up, rubbing a hand across their faces, ruffling their bed-heads in the progress. "Where are you going?" Chan asked, already sitting consciously on his mattress, upon Hyunjin getting up. 

Hyunjin looked down at the one asking, giving him a silent glance. He hummed. "I have someone I have to meet." Hyunjin saw the want to continue the interrogation within Chan's eyes so he halted him. "Don't ask too much for now, it'll make sense in a while." And with that, he left everyone behind while their gaze trailed after him until he disappeared out of the room. A frown creased Chan's forehead, the room sharing a similar expression between each other. "What is he up to?" Seungmin thought aloud, though he knew he wouldn't get the answer. Not now at least. Felix heaved his shoulders, giving him a lost expression. They pushed themselves in this situation. They were well aware. But that didn't discharge the fact that they were all just as lost. 

"Mr. Hwang? What is the reason for your visit today?" 

Hyunjin strut forward, swaying his body in his stance. "I have a lead." He held up his phone. "You might be interested." 

While everyone helped getting rid of the covers and heave the scattered mattresses across the floor, the door opened revealing Minho in his wheelchair, a nurse behind it, bidding her goodbye before heading to their next patients. Jisung gave her a nod with his head as a sign of thanking her before walking toward him. "And what did they say?" he asked, curious, a hint of hope evident in his voice once more. 

"I'm getting discharged from the hospital," Minho announced, a beaming smile adorning his face, showing his teeth like he only did when truly happy. The statement took Jisung aback that he stumbled back, a gasp leaving his mouth. "You're not kidding me right now, are you?" he uttered in disbelief, genuinely asking for verification, this seemed too good to be true. "Yes, Han Jisung, I have decided to get another injury, so I can stay longer at the hospital, by throwing myself off a flight of stairs. What do you think? Of course, I'm getting discharged!" 

Jisung could only roll his eyes, a huff followed by a long sigh that left his mouth at Minho's snarky, sarcastic remark. "Damn, mood breaker." 

Felix snorted in the background, immediately raising his fist to his mouth to prevent himself from full-out bursting into laughter while Seungmin just shook his head, carrying the last bedding away. "I'm still so happy though," Jisung grinned, flinging himself around Minho who welcomed him in his arms as the older rest his chin on top of the other's shoulder, closing his arms for a moment, letting the moment envelop him. It brought a sense of peace. "I know, I am too." 

"I'm finally getting out of here." 

They went back to cleaning, clearing the space to move again. Suddenly, the door clicked behind them, showing Hyunjin standing in the doorway, welcoming himself in. "What happened?" he asked upon finding everyone seated somewhere close to Minho's hospital bed, either occupying the couch or chair next to it or sitting on top of Minho's bed. However, that was only a space reserved for Jisung. 

"Minho is getting discharged from the hospital," Chan answered, approaching him, holding the last folded blankets in his arms while the rest looked over their shoulder at the two discuss. "Now, can you tell us where you went?" 

Among the group, Hyunjin locked eyes with Minho who stared at him intently even when Chan had asked the question. It's like a silent conversation found place between them. Eventually, Hyunjin snapped out of it, shaking his head slightly. "I'll explain to you all in a bit, but first we should make sure no one hears our conversation." 

He walked over to the door, gazing out into the empty hallway before pulling it shut. 

"You must've forgotten who my parents are," the taller male mentioned as he turned himself back to the group who all sat down, gazing up at him with eyes trying to figure out his intention behind all this mysterious behavior.  

"Hyunjin, why did you come home?" Ms. Hwang asked upon entering the waiting room where her son was seated, laid back against the wall. "We have something." he stated. "You should bring father in."