Vengeance

four

Seungmin looked up as he noticed Jackson leading Changbin to his bedroom across the hall. He nudged Jeongin, pointing towards the two.

"Where was he? We've been sitting around in this room for hours," Jeongin sighed, lying back on the bed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I still don't know if we should relax just yet."

Jeongin looked up at him from the mattress, seeing the tension in his shoulders as his hands flexed slowly in his lap. He reached a hand up to massage his back.

"Hey, this is our first chance to relax in a long time. We'll get back to fighting in a little bit, but Jackson told us to cool off for a while. We've suffered enough, Min. You need to let yourself breathe."

Seungmin looked back at him, smiling just a little.

"I know, I'm sorry. It just feels like any second everything could fall apart."

"Then we should enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

Seungmin grinned, running a hand through Jeongin's soft, brown locks. He finally gave in, pulling his hand back and laying down next to him, both focusing their eyes on the white ceiling above.

"If we have to fight again, I won't let them separate us. You're sticking with me, okay?" Seungmin said softly, turning to look at the boy beside him.

Jeongin's eyes didn't move from their spot on the ceiling.

"Min...I don't know if I can ever go back."

Seungmin's eyebrows drew together in concern.

"I just...I know it's selfish but I don't think I can do it."

Seungmin took his hand.

"Hey, don't worry about that right now. Didn't you just say we shouldn't think about those kinds of things?"

"Hey–you brought it up!" Jeongin pouted, pulling his hand away and jabbing him with his elbow. "I just wanted to tell someone, I don't know. I think in the moment I could fight back there because I had to but...now that we're out of there, I don't think I could bring myself back. Is that a horrible thing to say?"

Seungmin smiled, shaking his head.

"No, of course not. What we saw in there was terrifying. The things we faced...I'm not sure many people could do what you did. You helped save so many."

Jeongin crossed his arms, not convinced.

"But I could save more if I keep fighting."

Seungmin shook his head.

"Hey, there are other ways to fight. Look at Jackson! He's flying around picking up survivors and giving them medical attention. Maybe we could find a way to make ourselves useful here. Help with feeding the survivors or getting supplies."

Jeongin's eyes lit up.

"You think they would let us?"

"Of course. If you really want, I can go talk to Jackson and see."

"No, you should stay here and rest. You're injured and the doctors said not to let you walk around too much. Maybe Changbin knows something."

They both sat up, looking across at the closed door. Just as they did, a figure walked past, in somewhat of a hurry. Seungmin moved to get a better look but Jeongin held him back, standing and poking his head out the door. His eyes widened and he smiled wide back at Seungmin who couldn't help but grin a bit at how excited he looked.

"What?"

"It's Park Jinyoung!! The cool one!"

Seungmin took advantage of Jeongin's captivation on the celebrity in the hallway and stood using the bedpost, making his way over to the doorway to peek over his shoulder.