Lucid

Chapter 10

A/N- dropping 2 chapters today to celebrate getting #1 in IVE books

POV: Yujin
We walked back into our dorm, and everyone began to sit down. Our managers were there as well, and they immediately came over to check on us. Thankfully, none of have any issues except for Wonyoung, who scraped her knee after she tripped. A flurry of questions are thrown, asking if we're alright and if we need anything. None of us have the energy to respond yet. Or at least, I don't. After the adrenaline left once the gangsters ran, I felt like I couldn't even stand. Fixer walks past me, and places Wonyoung on the couch. He had been carrying her, after he bandaged her knee. I can see our managers eyeing him with uncertainty, but I grab their arms and pull them aside.
"I know it's odd, just leave it. We know him, and he was the one who helped us. Keep an eye on him but be polite." They seem confused, but both nod. I have a sort agreement with them that they handle parts of running the group and I handle others, and this is something in my area. Going back to the others, I take ahold of Hyunseo, who's still shaking slightly. Most of us are sitting on the couches, or standing around. Liz is pacing in circles. Fixer is in the kitchen, I'm not sure what he's doing.

POV: Fixer
They should have some tea. I grab a pot, and start heating water to make tea. Although I'm tempted to simply flamethrower it myself, I don't want to scare anyone so I place it over the stove. I pull out mugs, and set them in a line. I look up, and watch the girls for a moment. They seem to be calming down, but I figure this will help. The managers have them all take sit down, and start trying to coax them to talk. I call out,
"Hey, one of you managers, can I talk to you for a moment?" One of them stands up and walks towards me. Leeseo is talking to the other manager, while Wonyoung is holding Liz and talking to her quietly. Yujin is sitting upright, with Rei curled up against her chest. I can tell Wonyoung and Yujin are working to support the others, even though I'm sure it was hard on them as well. They went through a lot of stress, it'll take them a few days to get over it. The manager comes to me and asks,
"Yes, sir?"
"I'm making them some tea, but they should probably get some sleep. With your permission, I'm going to put these in." Reaching into my bag, i pull out my medical kit and pull out a few sedatives. "These are light sleeping pills. It'll make them tired. They have too much adrenaline in their system to sleep right now." The water boils, and make and pour the tea. "I want to ask you first." He thinks for a moment, then nods. "Alright, but make sure it's nothing too heavy. I don't want them to be effected afterward." I nod, and reassure him.
"Don't worry. These have very few side effects, I take them myself sometimes." After dropping a half unit into each, I start taking the mugs over, handing them to each and pulling them to sit upright.
"Careful, it's hot. Don't spill it." Rei and Yujin nod, then each take sips. I can hear Yujin sigh, and Rei's face seems to loose a bit of it's tension. I grab the next pair, and hand them to Wonyoung and Liz.
"Thank you for coming to save us." Says Wonyoung, with a well-concealed tremor in her voice.
"I'm just glad you're alright."
"How did you know were we were?" Asks Liz. Yeah, I was thinking someone would ask that. Let me think.
"You were in trouble, and you needed me. So I came." That seems to satisfy her. They both take sips of their tea, and Liz says something quietly to Wonyoung, but I won't listen in. I go grab the last two mugs, then hand one to Leeseo.
"Where's Gaeul?" I don't see her anywhere in the living room.
"I think she's in the master bedroom." She points across to a door, and I head that way.
"Thanks."

Going through the door, I see Gaeul just walking out of the bathroom. Raising the mug, I say, "I made some tea. Drink it." She moves closer, and looks me in the eye, at a sharp angle. She's 6 inches shorter than me, so she has to lean back a bit. Instead of taking the cup, she instead asks me angrily
"How did you know where we were? And how did you know we were having issues?"
I don't think I can deflect this, she seems pissed. I can see a fire in her eyes, but at the same time she seems conflicted.
"One of you called me and asked for help."
"And why did you come? I'm sure they didn't offer you money, and if they did, they lied. I doubt starship is paying you to protect us. So why are you here?" I ask myself the same question, but I doubt she realizes that.
"You assume that the only reason I'd come to help a person who's calling me, desperate for help and fearing for the life, is for money? Just how low of an opinion of me do you hold?" On one hand, I would agree with that opinion. In every case before this, she would be right. But here, she's wrong. And she knows that, I can tell. Because now, she's looking away from me, towards the door. I think she's biting her lip as well. "Look, I won't act like I'm a good person. But you shouldn't act like that means I'm incapable of doing good things." I put the cup down on a dresser, and turn away. "Drink the tea. Or don't. It's there, because I helped you. And that's why you're here, as well." I leave the room, closing the door firmly behind me. I could hear her take a breath, probably about to say something, but I didn't stick around to hear it. That, was interesting. She hates me? Perhaps. But I can tell there's something else there. Not sure what it is. She wouldn't fight so firmly, unless there was something more than just disliking my attitude. I'll work on that later.

"How are you feeling?" I ask as I walk back to the others.
"I'm tired." Says Leeseo, and I can tell the others are feeling the same.
"You should rest, all of you. You'll feel a lot better after getting some sleep." Yujin comes to her feet, and the managers also stand. Liz and Wonyoung get up, and start moving towards their rooms. Yujin follows them, and Rei goes over towards their shared room. Leeseo remains, slowly curling into a ball on the couch. I chuckle, and come across and pick her up. She grabs onto my neck and holds on as I carry bridal-style to her bedroom. This would almost seem romantic, except she's a lot younger than me and currently going through a minor post-traumatic stress crash. So this is more just supportive, but it's heartwarming in a way. I place her on her bed, and she holds on for a second. "This is your bed, you can let go." She still doesn't.
"What if they come back?" She says, whispering. It's also a normal stress response, so I simply respond,
"I'll protect you. Don't be scared." She nods, tired enough to take me at my word. She lets go of my neck and places her arms under her head, and begins to fall asleep quickly. The others are all already passing out, but as I walk out, I hear Rei whisper,
"Where are you going?" I glance over at her, and see her eyeing me from her bed.
"The other room."
"Thank you for saving us." Ah, this part.
"Of course." That's enough of a response, I guess.
"Please keep your promise to protect us." She says, and turns around. Gosh, this girl is good at guilt-tripping. Gaeul also watches me as I walk to the door, but I don't look back at her. I slip out, and stand in the other room. The two managers look at me, slightly unnerved.
"You can go back to the company. They need better security, nonstop protection. I'll stay here with them in the meantime." They share a glance, and I can see one turn back to me to argue. "They'll be fine. You have work to do, and neither I nor anyone else will harm them. My mind is made up. Let's not have a disagreement about this." As I say the last part, I slowly lower my hands to the holders visible on my thighs, resting my hands on the grips. He gulps, then immediate turns and says to his co-manager,
"Let's go."
"Yeah, we have a lot of work to do. Let's go. They'll be fine."
"I agree." They rush out of the dorm, and I stand there alone. As temped as I am to leave, I did just say that they needed around the clock protection and I told Rei and Leeseo I'd protect them. So that pretty much leaves me one option. Sigh.

A/N -
This was short but I think next chapter will be fun. If you have any other idols you want me to feature, then comment them and I'll see about adding them.
Please note that Fixer only uses sedatives after being given consent by a guardian and only for medical purposes. Anything else is majorly Not Okay