BACKSTAGE - OT8

Family Reunion

Warning ⚠️ Abuse, Trauma, Violence

Now that the initial fear had passed, they were processing the facts, and things weren't making sense. It was like the gears were turning in their heads, and before anyone fully registered, Hyunjin was blurting out something very triggering.

"His parents?" He looked at Seungmin.

That's who Lee Know was thinking. None of them could remember ever seeing Lee Know this livid.

It made sense. Who else would Seungmin lie to protect? They all remember what he told them about the abuse. They wouldn't ever be able to forget it. He said the worst was his mom. How she would baptize him, and they would hold him down under the water. They knew that was why he preferred taking showers now.

"How? He has not spoken to his family in years. They hadn't spoken since before he became a trainee, so how could they find our address?" Lee Know was steaming, and if he didn't get answers soon, he didn't know what he would do. But his loud tone was disturbing Seungmin's sleep.

A nurse interrupted to tell them visitation hours were over. Chan pulled Lee Know outside the door. "We're staying." He told her. "If he has to be monitored overnight, we won't get in the way but we're not going anywhere."

"I can't allow that I'm sorry. The most we can have is two people." She informed them. "Any more than that will be removed. But you can come back tomorrow morning."

They sighed and nodded. She didn't look like she wanted to say this but she had to. So they turned back around to tell them. Of course, they all protested, wanting to be by his side. But they had no choice. Chan said he and Lee Know would stay and that was final. He told Hyunjin and Changbin to review the footage from the time they left until the others came home and send it to Officer Ye Joon's email on the card. They should be able to see their faces and license plate.

They all kissed and hugged Seungmin dearly before leaving. He was sleeping so hard they couldn't take their eyes off the heart monitor.

When the others left they all felt exhausted. "I don't know how they found him. The only thing I can think of is... The company. Or maybe Seungmin contacted them. If he felt truly healed, he might've needed closure and things turned bad." Chan guessed.

"Things didn't turn bad. They're psychopaths! They need to be arrested! They- they went too far. His heart stopped! They killed him, Chan. They- he-" When that initial stormy anger turned to sadness he just felt defeated.

They almost lost him. He was gone. If the others hadn't returned when they did...

"I know. I know. They'll pay for what they did. We'll make sure of it." He said, holding Lee Know closely as if he could hold him together. All he wanted was to hold all of them together. Keeping them whole as if he were the strongest glue in the world. Because when they break apart, he has no purpose.

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Seungmin woke up extremely sore, and tired as if he hadn't slept at all.

"How are you feeling?" Lee Know asked.

He turned his head to see the man beside him. One arm around his waist, and a hand against his cheek.

Lee Know stroked under his eye in a calming manner. Seungmin couldn't help but feel grateful. Grateful that he could look into those feline eyes again. He didn't even notice a tear escape until Lee Know leaned down and kissed it away. " Grateful." The older smiled at his response.