ATEEZ Still Present

Chapter 13

There was a body laying limp on the hospital bed, white covers drawn over the top of him. His eyes were closed, face lax as he remained unmoving on the bed, his arms placed over the covers along his side to show a sense of peace.

Hongjoong sighed and reached over, placing two fingers against Seonghwa's pulse point on his neck, letting out a shaky breath as he felt the steady thrum from the beating of his heart.

*

"YEOSANG!"

"I'm here, I'm here. Oh shit, Seonghwa," Yeosang gasped as he rushed to the people huddled up on the deck and saw the blood pooling around them.

"What the hell took you so long," Mingi said with a frown.

"San's heart stopped, I had to give him CPR and get it going again," Yeosang rushed out quickly, taking a breath to keep calm.

"We need to get Seonghwa to the infirmary now. Someone grab him from Hongjoong because he's in shock right now. Jongho grab Hongjoong to stop him from fighting back," Yeosang said quickly. The boys snapped into action, Yunho and Jongho moving in unison to grab Hongjoong's arms and yank him back. Hongjoong screamed out in anguish, the sound tearing through the rest of the crew as he let out harsh sobs but Yunho and Jongho held him tightly. Mingi scooped up Seonghwa and rushed with Yeosang below deck to the infirmary. Mingi's eyes briefly landed on San who was unconscious in one of the beds, burn salves covering half of his torse as his shirt laid tattered on the floor. Mingi quickly placed Seonghwa down onto the empty bed and Yeosang shoved him out of the way. Yeosang got to work, rushing to do everything he could to save Seonghwa's life. They would be heartbroken if their brother died, Hongjoong wouldn't survive.

*

Hongjoong was brought from his thoughts by the sound of whimpers. He let go of Seonghwa's hand and stood up quickly, moving over to the bed on the other side of the room. San's injuries, though bad, weren't as bad as they seemed at first. His face had a few cuts on it but other than that it was fine. The real issue were the burns and blisters on the left side of his body and neck. San's face scrunched up, his eyes pinched closed and he whimpered again. His back arched slightly as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Shh, I've got you. Just hang in there Sannie, I'll make it better," Hongjoong whispered. He hurriedly grabbed out another box of the burn salves that they thankfully had a large supply on and went back over to San. He very carefully peeled off the previous salves that were covering San's body, making the younger whimper again. Hongjoong glanced up, seeing the tears slip down his face and he quickly reached out, swiping it off with his finger. San's eyes slipped open and Hongjoong frowned sadly at the pain portrayed through them.

"I'm just going to put new burn salves on you sweetheart," he whispered. San sniffled but let out a slight nod. Hongjoong quickly opened the box, grabbing out a salve and placing it gently over some of the burn and blisters. San winced at the contact before relaxing as the coolness contrasted against the heat from the burns. Hongjoong continued quickly until all of the burns on his neck and torso were covered with the salves.

"There you go, all covered up. How does that feel? Does it feel better," Hongjoong asked San softly.

"Feels better but it hurts so bad," San whispered with a sniffle. Hongjoong sighed and gently raised his hand, slowly running it through San's hair, making sure not to hurt him with his actions.

"I'm both hot but cold," San said.

"Is that making you uncomfortable," Hongjoong asked with a frown.

"Yeah," San replied quietly. Hongjoong glanced around the room to try and find something that could help but could only think of one thing. Hongjoong moved around so he was on San's right side, climbing onto the bed beside him. He very gently laid down, shuffling so he was against San's side but not pressing too hard because he didn't want to cause him any pain.