ENG - Fractured Fates ʰʸᵘⁿˡᶦˣ

7

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Minho POV

I pushed the chair across the smooth, cold hospital floor, the hard wood scraping softly as I positioned it next to the bed. The sound echoed in the sterile silence, broken only by the beeping of the hospital equipment, before I sat down and focused my eyes on Hyunjin, who lay motionless. He actually looked like shit, a stark contrast to his otherwise perfect appearance.$
His skin was pale and sallow, dark circles framed his closed eyes and a light film of sweat shone on his forehead. His red hair stuck to his forehead in damp strands and his full lips were pale and dry, a sight that tore at my heart.$

The blonde nurse had so vehemently refused to show me Hyunjin's wounds earlier, so I decided to see them for myself. I pushed the blanket aside and carefully lifted his top, at least the blond told me where the wound was.
What I saw took my breath away. The punctures were all infected, an ugly sight that made me gulp. The wounds were deep, the surrounding tissue was swollen and reddened. I could see the stitches holding the individual wounds together and slight bruising discolored the skin around the wounds. My stomach tightened as I imagined the pain he must be in. Maybe it was better if he stayed here until everything had healed.
With a deep sigh, I reached for my cell phone and took a photo of my sleeping roommate, or rather, of his wounds, before covering him up again. I would rub the photo in his face one day. "Damn it, Hyunjin," I muttered quietly, more to myself than to him, "I'm certainly not going to let you go to jail because we can't pay this fucking bill."

Desperation crept up inside me and I stood up, starting to pace nervously up and down the room as I searched for a solution. Suddenly I stopped and slapped my hand against my forehead. There was a quick and easy way after all. I quickly reached for my cell phone, dialed a number and held the device to my ear.
After a few toots, a gruff voice finally spoke up: "Minho, what's up? I'm busy." I rolled my eyes at the words, this guy annoyed me and I respected him at the same time. "Chan, I need work. Urgently," I said and got straight to the point.
I heard Chan say to someone else that he would be right back and then there was silence. After he was alone, I guess, he started to speak: "It's rare that you ask for work." I nervously bit my nails, still pacing the room.
My mind raced as I thought about what was at stake. I hated asking him for a job because there was always a catch, usually a favor that was anything but certain. But I had no other choice. Hyunjin needed me.
"Hyunjin is in hospital," I explained curtly, "we need the money for the shitty bill we have to pay and for afterwards. With his wounds, he won't be able to work for a while and the work I'm doing now won't be enough."
"What happened?" he asked me.

After I had explained to him what had happened, as I didn't have all the information myself. "That's why I need money and you're the easiest and quickest way." On the other side, I heard a sigh from Chan. "I really like you both. Things have gone to shit for Hyunjin, but I can't offer you a job like that," he said in a regretful voice. At that moment, a wave of anger overcame me and I slammed my fist against the wall, not caring if I was being too loud. "That wasn't a please Chan. Give me shitty work," I growled into my cell phone. "And don't give me any cheap dealer stories." I was angry and confused at the same time - when did he start acting like this?
I heard another sigh on the other line. "Actually, I don't want to offer you jobs like that, they're too dangerous. It would be a waste if you got yourself killed," he said and tried to dissuade me again. But I refused to be put off. "Chan," I said calmly and turned to my best friend, who looked almost dead, as pale and weak as he lay there. His face was lined with pain and his breathing was shallow and irregular. "I don't care, I need the money to help Hyunjin or that idiot will die."
Chan was silent for a moment before he asked me, "You know you could die on the kind of jobs you're asking me to do? Do you really want to risk your life for him?" A snort escaped me as I sat back down on the chair and looked at my best friend again. "You should know me well enough, I'm not joking and would die for him anytime without hesitation," I replied calmly, because it was the truth. This connection between Hyunjin and me was far more than just a simple friendship.

Chan then started to laugh, which confused me. "What's so funny?" I asked irritably. "Nothing, nothing, I just think it's admirable how far you would go for each other. Back then, Hyunjin said exactly the same thing when you were dying," Chan explained. "Your loyalty to each other is frightening."
I suppressed a sigh and urged him again: "You're annoying with your rambling, give me a job." I could literally see Chan's eyes rolling as he spoke: "But don't come to me at the end and blubber. I'll send you the information," he said. He wanted to add something else, but I just hung up.
I grabbed Hyunjin's hand and only now noticed the shackles on his wrists. Annoyed, I removed them and threw them into the room. They clinked loudly on the floor and I heard Hyunjin moan softly, but continued to sleep anyway. Once again, I reached for my best friend's hand, which felt cold and weak, and gave it a little squeeze as I watched him anxiously. "Everything will be fine, Hyunjin," I whispered. "I'm going to make sure everything is going to be okay."
Shortly afterwards, a message arrived with a location and time. The first job would take place tomorrow evening, but I wouldn't find out exactly what it was until then - so there was nothing I could have prepared in advance.
A short time later, my battery died and the stupid device went out. Stressed out, I leaned back in my chair and bit my fingernails again, a stupid habit I had when I was stressed.

At some point, I got up and left the room to make my way to reception. The lighting in the hallway was dim and cast long shadows on the walls as I walked along the path. I hoped that one of the two blondies would have a suitable charging cable for me. When I arrived at reception, I pressed the bell insistently, my finger drumming on the smooth surface of the counter.
An eternity passed as I waited and my patience was increasingly tested. "Blondie, if you don't want another crying fit because I just walk in again, I'd suggest you come here right now," I called out, my voice sounding a little sharper as I continued to press the annoying bell.
Shortly afterwards, the more annoying of the two blondies appeared behind the door and approached me, but he remained silent. He didn't even look at me and avoided making eye contact with me. I was already annoyed by this, but suppressed a gasp and instead asked directly: "Do you have a charging cable?"
Only then did the smaller one look up and first at me and then at my cell phone, which I held out to him. "I'm not going to steal it either, if you're scared. I'll stop here if I have to," I mumbled. It annoyed me, but I needed one.
"You're getting away with a lot for not being allowed to be here," he suddenly growled cheekily, but at the same time he handed me a charging cable that came out from behind the counter. I took it and plugged it into my phone, switching it back on at the same time.

I didn't answer him, I didn't feel like it either. He seemed like a child to me and that was exhausting. While I waited for my phone to collect enough battery, the boy disappeared at some point. Apparently he had to go to work, but I didn't let that bother me. Instead, I eventually strolled around the counter and sat down on the chair behind the reception desk, as it was getting too tiring to stand. The chair squeaked softly as I sat down and my eyes wandered over the various items scattered around the counter.
While my phone was still on the charging cable, I had logged into the dating app in the meantime and checked who had written to me. My fingers glided over the smooth display as I meticulously sorted out profiles, because I had absolutely no desire to sleep with an ugly person. I was using this app purely for my own pleasure. I could hook up with someone from a club every night like Hyunjin, but that would be too exhausting for me in the long run, so this app was a nice alternative.
As I was looking at the individual profiles, a familiar face suddenly appeared. I immediately took a closer look and could hardly believe what I was seeing.

No sooner had I seen the profile than the blond boy came back. His eyes narrowed when he saw me sitting behind the counter, where he obviously hadn't expected to see me. "You can't be back here! Get out of here now!" he hissed at me, his voice shaking with anger.
I let my gaze wander briefly from the profile on my phone to him, met his sparkling eyes, then turned back to the screen. I stood up, walked closer to him and held my phone right in front of his face, looking back and forth.
No doubt, it was him.
"You should use current pictures, don't you think?" I asked with a mocking grin as I showed him the open profile. I heard him draw in his breath sharply and widen his eyes. "Although black hair really suits you. The blonde makes you look childish, I'm not really into that," I added and sat back down on the chair to read through the text he had written for me.

After I had put my cell phone away, I looked at him again. He stood there transfixed, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
"So you want to get to know me, do you?" I asked with a mischievous grin and continued to look at him. Suddenly he stirred, turned around with a quick jerk and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I didn't know you were such an ass then. Before you showed up here, I thought you were quite attractive," he said snappishly.
"Don't be like that. I just found out that my best friend almost died. I was worried sick," I explained to him, not really giving a shit if he believed me. "Still, that's no reason to be so antisocial," he continued snippily.

My gaze slid over his rear profile, from the back of his head to his back to his ass. Even if the little one was annoying, he had a damn hot ass. I licked my lips, leaned forward briefly and gripped his waist with my hand. With a firm tug, I pulled him onto my lap.
I placed my left hand on his flat stomach, just below his belly button, while my right hand touched the edge of his jaw to turn his head in my direction. "You don't need a nice character to have good sex," I whispered seductively in his ear. "If you want, I'll really get it on for you. We can disappear into an empty room or to the toilet," I continued, my breath brushing his skin and making him shiver. "You won't regret it."
His cheeks turned a deep red, a sight that only made my grin widen. "So?" I asked, slowly moving my left hand towards his crotch. He immediately flinched and literally jumped up as he tore himself away from me. "You're such a..." he began, but interrupted himself when I put my hands on his butt and pulled him closer to me again.
He drew in his breath sharply and a startled cry escaped him. "Don't touch me!" he screamed and freed himself from my grip again. He took a few steps back, his chest rising and falling frantically as he stared angrily at me.

I stood up to meet him and pushed him against the wall. I trapped him between my arms and grabbed his chin to lift it. I came closer and closer to him with my face, felt his breath on my lips, heard him swallow nervously but didn't fight it.
Just as I was about to engage him in a kiss to make him happy, the door next to us opened and the other blonde came out. Annoyed, I turned my head towards the newcomer and sighed as I broke away from the smaller blonde. Couldn't this guy have turned up a little later?
Annoyed, I grabbed my cell phone and went back to Hyunjin's room without taking another look at the two blondies. I left them behind without comment.

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