Post Nightmare-Care

One-short

Yoohyun was walking towards the elevator with a brisk pace, his hand gently encasing Yoojin's, careful of his S-Rank strength. Yoojin, in contrast, had grasped Yoohyun's hand in a tight, white-knuckled grip that – for a normal person – should have been crushing. Yoojin's other, pre-regression self was walking swiftly along, holding onto his brother's other hand, obviously eager to get back to their bed. Yoojin himself, on the other hand, felt his own feet dragging behind. Hesitant, somehow.

The scene just before replayed in his head, again and again. The soft thud, like a soft but firm object knocking against the hotel's entrance's glass door. Something like a body. The way Sung Hyunjae closed his eyes, his shoulders rigid and his fists clenching on his thighs, fingernails tearing into the soft flesh of his palms.

Sung Hyunjae had been kneeling on the floor when they had arrived, his hand pressed against the curtain-walled glass. In front of the dark, saturated curtains he had seemed washed out – even more than his usual faded self. His eyes had snapped towards Yoojin when they had stepped into the entrance hall, roaming over his body as if he had been checking for injuries. There had been a tension in Sung Hyunjae's body, as if he had been holding back from approaching them, but only just so.

Young Chaos had stopped them from entering, issuing a warning. Don't come past that point. He'll run amok.

Two nightmares had come for Sung Hyunjae: Song Taewon, and Yoojin himself. Going by Sung Hyunjae's reactions, something had happened to that fake Yoojin first. Then, the thud against the glass after they had arrived must have been Song Taewon.

Usually, Sung Hyunjae was always so composed. Even then, despite his obvious tenseness, his face had been carefully blank from when they arrived until the end of their conversation. Even so, that he showed such human reactions like those earlier, as small as they were... Whatever he had heard, it must have been bad. Yoojin's own stomach still was clenched up in an uncomfortable knot from hearing that sound of a body – Song Taewon's body, even if it was just a fake – knocking against the door. If that had just been the finale of the show those nightmares had put on for Sung Hyunjae... Yoojin shook his head, trying not to imagine what kind of horrors had been spun in order to try to convince Sung Hyunjae to let them into the hotel.

If it had been anyone else than Sung Hyunjae, they probably wouldn't have had the mental fortitude required to not let them in. But even Sung Hyunjae had looked defeated when they had arrived. Small, despite his huge frame.

"Hyung?"

Yoohyun's voice teared through Yoojin's musings. He dragged his gaze up from the floor towards his younger brother's searching eyes. Yoohyun didn't look bothered at all – not surprising, considering how little he cared for Sung Hyunjae. He just looked curious as to why Yoojin hadn't stepped into the elevator with him and his pre-regression self yet. Yoojin swallowed around some dry spit, loosening the death grip he had on his younger brother's hand.

"I'm sorry, Yoohyun. Please go on without me. I'll be coming in a minute."

Predictably, Yoohyun refused to simply let Yoojin's hand slide out of his own, slightly tightening his grip to hold onto him instead.

"Hyung, it's late. You need to sleep."

"I know. I will. Just a minute."

"Don't go into Sung Hyunjae's mind. Especially not now. It's not safe. Just leave that guy alone." He paused, lightly tugging Yoojin towards him into the elevator. "Please."

"I won't, I promise. I just need to tell him something."

"Can't that wait until tomorrow?"

Yoojin shook his head, smiling despite himself at his brother's cute little pout. He really wanted to just go up with his brother and have some rest, even if he had to share him with his pre-regression self tonight. But this was something he had to do. Sung Hyunjae was an important business associate after all.