The egregious antithesis

3. THE FALLING ACTION

Chapter 3

THE FALLING ACTION

Chan struggles to open his eyes. Why does his body feel heavy like lead? Is someone lying on top of him? But when was the last time his members had the time to cuddle with him? On realising he doesn't remember, the need to wake up magnifies.

After an abundance of failed attempts, he finally manages to blink his eyes open, only to be met with harsh white overhead lighting. Suddenly the rest of his senses start returning in a forceful barrage leaving him disoriented.

"Chan-ah! You're awake?" The maknae recognises his manager's voice before the man comes into his line of sight.

"Hyung," he groans, raising a hand to rub his temples. Is that a migraine? Why does his head hurt so bad? And what on earth is that annoying beeping sound? He hadn't noticed it till now but now that he has, he struggles to ignore it. His throat tickles, sore from disuse. "What happened?"

"Let the doctors check on you first kid," the alpha says, his pheromones calming simply because of its familiarity from frequent exposure. He has already pressed the call button beside the younger's bed as he promises, "I will catch you up on everything afterwards."

Chan tries to subdue his anxiety at how ominous the simple words sound. He instead tries to sit up. Understanding his intentions Giwook is kind enough to press the button at the side of his hospital bed to fold it in a sitting position and rearrange the pillows behind him to let him lean on them comfortably.

Looking down has him gasping softly at the sight. There is a needle in his right arm connected to the IV drip. But aside from that, there are scratches; angry red lines running up his forearms, tearing his skin in areas where it has started to scab already. His palms show similar marks on the base but these are little crescent-shaped divots from, what he can only assume was, tightening and clenching his fists till his nails broke the skin.

"This is so weird," he can't help but mumble to himself.

The last thing the maknae remembers is being in extreme pain. He remembers his body feeling like it was set alight. He remembers the burning sensation over his mating mark. He feels a phantom itch on the side of his neck again and automatically reaches up only to be met with a cloth barrier. He must have scratched himself badly. He lets his manager pull his hand away from the vicinity of his throat.

Before the beta's mind starts spiralling, the door opens and a nurse walk in. She smiles when she notices he is awake. "Welcome to the world of the living Chan-ssi," she greets as she grabs the clipboard from the rack at the foot of the bed and starts examining his vitals. "You gave us all quite the scare," she continues, flitting about to do the routine check-up.

"Well," the lady says, turning to his manager once she is done, "he is fine. His condition is stable. I don't think there is any more danger but he will need a lot of rest."

Giwook nods his head and Chan feels left out. He has no idea what is wrong with him and these two are talking while ignoring his presence. He knows he is being childish and he needs to be patient but he can't help but frown a little.