134340 |JJK FF|

Chapter 24

Jeongguk wasn't sure if the burning of his eyes was because of the octopus ink or not.

The horror that washed him over at Taehyung's sudden illness seemed to seep a hole right into his lungs. In a flash, they carried him off into the bed chambers. Hardly noticing the proofs of attack in the room, they dusted off his bed before laying him there.

The entire time, Taehyung's head hung hopelessly, lifelessly, to the side. His eyes were now closed, and his head a stranger to his neck, lolling side by side every time Jeongguk attempted to shake him awake.

'It's probably nothing,' Jeongguk thought desperately, fatigue forgotten as he juggled open the nearest first aid box, 'He could have just passed out because of the fight.'

But the bad feeling in his gut told him otherwise.

The other humans surrounded the bed, gazing warily at Taehyung, who still lay motionless as Jeongguk got out the bandages and packs; before settling down on a further bed, rummaging for their own first aid box.

Groans of relief filled the air when the first roll of bandage was unrolled. The human with the broken leg got patched up first, his relief showing clearly on his face.

"It will take time to set." the taller male ratted off as the female bound the broken leg tightly, "You can't put weight on it. And we'll have to probably catch some protein while--"

"Namjoon." the other female said, trying to patch up her shoulder, "Sit down, don't fret. It's--it's all over now..."

"You." It took a second for Jeongguk to realise she was talking to him. He hadn't even noticed he was still standing by Taehyung's bedside, "Get here. Thrown thrice, squeezed twice and spat on once will have you done by now,"

He locked his lips together as the human spoke almost uncomfortably, the others shifting warily. He could hear their glances at each other, hear them say, 'Patch this moronic Captain up so we can figure out what to do with the ill Tiger he brought in.'

He snatched up a roll of bandage and fled.

It wasn't until he shut the door behind him that the pain really hit him. His breath came out in short gasps as he stumbled, leaning on the wall for support. He felt like his shoes had been set on fire. His back felt completely numb. And he knew his face was as stained with dried blood as it felt.

The bathroom door clicked shut behind him, and his heavy breathing echoed in the secure space. His tattered shoes clipped over the white tiles, leaving dirt stains. Seating himself on a stool, he slowly started shedding off his clothes. He winced at the sight of his feet, which were adorned with unclipped nails and red, raw skin.

His shirt stuck to his skin uncomfortably. He hissed in pain at his first attempt to remove it. Perhaps the moisture on the octopus's hand seeped through his clothes after all.

Jeongguk sucked in a breath once free of the burden; his red, itchy skin protesting against the water. Scratches and bruises caused by the octopus stared back at him once he caught his breath. Cuts looked on the verge of bleeding out, with black stains of dirt at the edges, surely going to cause infection. The octopus's finger marks circled his torso, aching bad enough to hinder his breath.

His back was another story. There didn't seem to be a patch of skin within his line of vision that didn't have some sort of bruising on there. He could still remember the pain after being smacked away like a fly, the initial feeling of burning that slowly numbed to a dull ache. Kind of like how he felt with the Taehyung fiasco.

For Pluto's sake, he was a land dweller. The flying through-the-air thing should be the Aerial hybrids' job!

He looked at the roll of bandage he had brought in. A single roll would not be enough.