hold me 𐦍 yeonbin

037 ᯓᡣ𐭩

⚠️This chapter contains content that might make you feel uncomfortable. (needles etc.) Read at own risk.

Yeonjun is woken by a burst of cool air hitting him in his stump instead of the usual cloud of acid telling him it is time to entertain the humans. He rolls into a corner to avoid the frigid change in temperature that envelops him and closes his eyes as he pulls his leaf over his body. The stump lifts from the ground and Yeonjun falls backwards onto the grass.

The glass is open. He is being rescued.

To his dread, it is not Soobin’s heartbeat above him. It is a cold, monotone drone of a heartbeat void of all human emotions. Yeonjun doesn’t see the human’s face, blocked by a blue and textureless hand wrapping around him so tight he cannot fly away. His body is heavy from the sedative effects from the acid and he hasn’t the strength to fight against the fingers curling his wings in opposite directions around his body.

It’s been a while since he felt physical pain in this way. It’s familiar. It renders Yeonjun immobile, unable to even open his eyes. His head hurts when he tries to move and the acid in his system disorients his motor skills.

“Is it still leaking?” a doctor asks.

“I don’t think so.”

“Alright, good. Just to be safe let’s pump some more blockers into it.”

“It’s just a little dust.”

Anger. Impatience.

“That much dust blew a police cruiser to smithereens.”

Yeonjun didn’t feel his dust come back. He can’t feel much after all the acid.

“That’s fucking crazy.”

“Exactly. Which is why the doc doubled the dose. Here, bring it over.”

Yeonjun falls into a dark and velvety sack, the freezing air making his wings and limbs stiff. He is unable to fight back. He did not know he has any dust in him. What a waste.

“How long will it take? They open at eight in the morning now to fit all the tourists.”

“It should be just a few hours. Unless its body can’t take it, then it might be a day or two.” A pause. “Or never.”

Yeonjun can’t be gone for a day or Soobin won’t find him. He tries to pull himself up, but he can’t lift his weight. His ears ring and he can’t see anything inside the bag.

“There’s going to be a lot of crying children if that’s the case.”

“There’s going to be a lot of crying adults, too. The waitlist has nearly a million people on it already and most of them are flying halfway across the world to see it. Rumor is, even the president wants to fly their whole family out to get a look.”

“Really?” Shock. “Don’t most people think it’s just a Barbie doll with wings stapled onto it?”

“May as well be. The doc isn’t even sure the thing is going to live long enough to see the whole crowd. He’s already working on his next project.”

“What? Isn’t this his life’s work?” The bags shakes. “Why would he let it die in captivity?”

“Said he found his answer.”

Another pause.

“What is he looking for?”

“Why the hell would I know? Let’s go. We need to get it back to the operating room before it starts to leak again.”

“Is it going to live?”

“It’ll take more than a needle and some syrup to kill him. Leave us alone.”