What's Broken Can't Be Fixed

04

     Hyunjin's struggle for air continues as Felix strangles him on the ground. It had that same feeling of being suffocated in that fog. He starts to think... did he do something wrong? Was it because they let Felix get hit by that car? Were they not careful enough? Was he not careful enough?

     Why was it always Felix that he seems to be tangled with? Two thin ribbons attached to their wrists connected at the ends. But when one ribbon is pulled too hard it snaps. However, when the boy closes his eyes and then opens them, a new ribbon has already re-tied itself to him.

     He didn't want to hurt Felix. He didn't want to hurt anyone yet that's always what he ends up doing. As his breath runs out, Hyunjin hears footsteps coming out. "Felix? I wanted to go see you, but you weren't in your room. Are you out here-" He listens as Hannah walks outside, but his eyes are already closing.

     But when her eyes settle on Hyunjin's situation, her footsteps become louder. "Felix! Stop! What the hell?!" Hannah drags Felix off of the other, but before she could stop him Hyunjin falls back, and his head hits the ground. "Hey! Everyone get out here!" She yells, and soon all the boys rush outside.

     "You've got to be kidding me..." Changbin mumbles, and everyone else was feeling the same. "He can't catch a damn break."

     "Did he pass out again?" Seungmin asks, and Hannah shakes her head. The first thought that comes to her mind is "again?" But that wasn't the main problem.

     "No. I came out to look for Felix because I didn't see him when I first got here. But when I did find him, he was out here strangling Hyunjin like he was trying to kill him!" They all look down, seeing Felix struggling to get out of Hannah's grasp.

     Seungmin waits a second, and then his facial expression darkens. "Stage 2." He says, and everyone looks at him confused. "Stage 2. Aggressive outbursts." Now the others understood but Hannah was still lost. But they weren't going to explain it, the most they could do was show her the article. Hannah drags Felix and locks him in his room. They heard banging on the doors, but they weren't going to let him out until they were sure he was calm.

     "How is he already on stage 2? Usually, we would all experience the symptoms at the same time." Jeogin points out, and everyone else nods. Except Minho. He was in the corner, rummaging through Hyunjin's backpack. But when he stands back up, he was holding a knife tightly in his right hand. His grip was so tight that his fingernails were digging crescent shaped marks into his palm.

     Before anyone knew what was about to happen, Minho tackled Seungmin onto the ground, slashing the knife across his face. Changbin grabs Minho and holds him, making the brunette drop his knife next to Seungmin who was crying uncontrollably. His hands were covering his face so they couldn't see the wound, but Seungmin's usually good at keeping his cool no matter what happens, so it was strange to hear him cry like that.

     They knew it was serious, but it scared them even more when they saw blood leaking from under Seungmin's hands. Chris was the first to run up to him. "Seungmin just let me see!" He urges, and when Seungmin hears his voice, his cries die down. But as the brunette removes his hands from his face his eyes were red. You would think from crying but of course in this situation that wouldn't be the case.

     Seungmin grabs the knife, and for a split second he was jabbing it towards Chris' stomach. Everyone's eyes shut; they were waiting to hear Chris scream. However, when they opened their eyes, Chris was bleeding, but he wasn't stabbed.

     Before the knife hit Chris' stomach, he grabbed it. Unfortunately, the blade was the only part he could grab. "What's wrong with all of you?!" Hannah screams, and Jisung shushes her.

     "All of you. Go." Chris says while keeping his eyes on Seungmin. As everyone makes their way to their rooms, Changbin locks Minho in his own room. As for Chris, he stands with one hand on the knife and his other on Seungmin's shoulder. His plan was simple.

     As the oldest in the group Chris felt responsible for making sure everyone is okay. So, when anything bad happened he would take it as his part to calm the person down and make sure they were okay. Usually, he could always calm the person down.

     So. Chris takes the knife out of Seungmin's hand, ignoring the bleeding cut on his. Seungmin's eyes were still red, and he was still thrashing around a lot. So, to get a good look at him, Chris pins the boy against the wall to stop him from moving. What he found odd was, tears were still streaming down Seungmin's face. He was still crying, but his actions were erratic. That told Chris that Seungmin being aggressive wasn't actually him.

     It was like he was a guest in his own body. Chris cups Seungmin's face in his palms, looking at the cut Minho made on the boy's face. It was bleeding a lot now that he really saw it, yet Seungmin's tears were steadily washing the blood down his cheeks. "Does it hurt?" He whispers. His voice was quiet and soft.

     Seungmin grabs Chris' wrists and tries to pull his hands away, but he doesn't budge. Seungmin was bleeding so badly that Chris couldn't tell if it was his or Seungmin's blood on his hands. After not moving for a couple of seconds, his eyebrows furrow more. Yet his actions didn't match his words. "Yeah..." Seungmin struggles to get his words out, but he does.

     "Do you want a hug?"

"...Yeah." Again, his answer comes slow, but Chris was patient. But though he wanted to give Seungmin a hug the brunette's hands were still locked tightly around Chris' wrists.

     "Seungmin. You have to let me hug you." Chris gives him a slight smile, and soon Seungmin's hands drop to his sides. His eyes clear up but they were still a very light red from crying so much. So, with Chris' arms around his waist and Seungmin's arms around his neck, they hugged while making Seungmin take deep breaths. And then for a while they just hugged in silence.

     "I think I'll go to bed now." Seungmin mumbles, and Chris nods, letting him go. And when he looks up Chris sees Hannah leaning against the doorframe.

     "What?" He asks, going towards her.

     "With the way you treat him you'd have people thinking you two are dating." She smiles, and he shakes his head.

     "I'm just a nice person." Chris walks to his room, and as he walks past her, she raises her eyebrows.