Joshua's voice sliced through the silence of the hospital, fragile yet laced with anger. "He's not his real dad… he's his stepfather."
The words hung heavy in the air as Seungcheol sat across from him, his gaze fixed on the floor, his body hollow like he’d been stripped of everything.
In a way, he had been. His husband, Jeonghan, lay unconscious in the next room, hooked up to machines that kept him breathing but offered no promises of when—or if—he would wake up.
Two weeks had passed, each dragging slower than the last, with no signs of change.
Joshua had nearly collapsed when he heard what had happened—Jeonghan hurt by the one person meant to protect him, his stepfather. It was like a twisted nightmare.
The same man who was now at the center of the vile rumors, whispering to anyone who would listen that Jeonghan was tangled in a drug scandal.
For money, for control, for something Joshua couldn’t even begin to fathom. It was monstrous, the depths people would sink to.
The soft beeps of the machines felt deafening now, the sterile hospital walls suffocating. Joshua’s hands trembled as he tried to hold himself together, but it was impossible.
He knew Seungcheol was unraveling in his own way too, the silent devastation making his chest rise and fall like he was drowning in an ocean of things left unsaid.
Yet, in this moment, all that tied them together was the agonizing weight of Jeonghan’s absence.
It was a cruel twist of fate to see his best friend like this. Jeonghan, who was always bursting with energy, the one who could be sharp-tongued and bitchy, but whose heart was always in the right place.
Joshua had never questioned his intentions because Jeonghan did everything with a purpose—guided by some unshakeable sense of right. But now, to see him lying there, lifeless and fragile, was devastating.
Joshua watched as Seungcheol slowly dragged himself into the room, his movements heavy with grief. The sight of him, so broken, made Joshua’s heart clench even tighter.
He sighed, unable to bear watching Seungcheol suffer like this, as if his whole world had been ripped apart.
“He’ll be okay,” came a quiet voice. Joshua turned his head to the left, finding Seokmin sitting beside him.
There was sadness in Seokmin’s eyes, even though he and Jeonghan had their differences. No matter how much they argued, they were family now, bound by more than just words.
And family… family bled together.
“It’s just so strange… seeing him like this,” Joshua’s voice trembled as he spoke.
“He’s always been so full of life, and now he’s just…” The words died in his throat, replaced by a sob as he turned, burying his face into Seokmin’s shoulder. The weight of it all was unbearable.
Seokmin squeezed Joshua a little tighter before whispering, “He’s strong, Joshua. Jeonghan’s been through hell before, and he’s always come back. He’ll come back to us.”
Joshua wanted to believe it. He needed to. But as he pulled away from Seokmin’s shoulder, wiping his tear-streaked face, all he could see was the fragile shell of his best friend lying there, so far away from the person he once was.
He caught a glimpse of Seungcheol, standing like a ghost at Jeonghan’s bedside, lost in his own despair.
But in an instant, Seungcheol jolted to life, his body tensing as the machines beside Jeonghan began to beep frantically.
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Arrange Devotion | SS
FanfictionBOOK #2 They say love heals scars, but Seokmin's scars were lessons-bitter reminders that twisted him into a creature of darkness. His life was a series of brutal lessons that shaped him into someone who burns with an unquenchable fire. Protecting...
