“Here, take these pills. They'll help with the pain,” Doyoung said gently as he entered the room again. She hadn't moved an inch. The food and water remained untouched on the tray, the tea had gone cold. Her eyes were blank, lost somewhere between exhaustion and fear.
He crouched beside her, holding out the small white pills in his open palm. “Come on, Seolya... you need to take them.” His voice was soft, cautious, as if even the sound of ot might break her further.
“What were you even doing on the ground?” he asked quietly, trying not to sound accusatory.
She bit her lip hard, eyes darting away. “I-I... I just wanted.. s-some... f-fresh air...”
Doyoung scoffed amused, “Fresh air, huh?”
He walked over to the window and pushed it open. A cool breeze slipped into the room, brushing through the curtains. “There you go,” he said, offering her a small smile over his shoulder. “See? You don't have to crawl to get it.”
When he turned back, her eyes briefly met his, — wary, uncertain—before dropping again.
“You should eat something too,” he continued, placing the tray closer to her. “I promise, it's not poisoned.”
A faint shaky exhale escaped her —- something between disbelief and bitter irony.
He didn't push her further. Instead, he sat beside her on the edge of the bed and carefully took the cloth away from her hand and the wound. The skin beneath was swollen, a thick line of red cutting through the pale flesh. Her body trembled.
He looked up at her, seeing how she bit her lip nervously. “I'll be careful.” His touch was gentle now, almost reverent, as he cleaned the wound and replaced the bandage. “You should rest. It's late.”
She looked at him, seeing his natural bunny smile.
Her voice broke the silence, so fragile it almost didn't sound human. “What... will you do to me?”
Doyoung froze mid-movement. Her words hit him like a knife — not because of what she said, but because of the pure fear behind them.
He looked up startled. “Do to you?” he repeated softly, confused and hurt by the question itself. “We do nothing to you, Seolya. No one here will.”
He tried to smile, but it came out sadder than intended. “You just need to rest, okay? Until you are healed. Then.... we'll figure everything out. I promise. You'll be home with your family soon again, you will see!” He smiled.
“Now, rest.” he murmured, gently pulling the blanket over her frail frame. He handed her the cup of tea, but she only held it, not drinking. “Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll see,” he added, even though he wasn't sure if he believed it himself.
He stood there for a moment longer, watching her eyes slowly close — or maybe just pretending to. Then with a quiet sigh, he walked to the door, stepped out, and locked it softly behind him.
When Doyoung came back downstairs, the faint clatter of dishes echoed through the dim kitchen. “You guys finished alrady?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Johnny looked up from the sink with a grin. “We're done already! You can finally rest.”
“You're fast!” Doyoung replied with aa tired smile, grabbing a towel to help anyway.
“How is she, hyung?” came a voice from the doorway.
Doyoung turned. Jaehyun aand Sungchaan stood there — both pale, tense, shadows of exhaustion under their eyes.
