congratulations || jeongchan

- 26 - Trailing

I hope that you can't sleep

The overwhelming smell of alcohol hit Chan as he opened the door.

It hit him with a similar strength and unpleasantness as the fist that connected with his face.

He reeled back in shock and struggled to lift his head to see his attacker.

"Where is he?" A gruff, slurred voice sounded from somewhere beneath the layers and layers of raincoats and scarves.

A voice that Chan couldn't say he recognised.

He heard a shout of panic from behind him and felt someone's presence slide in front of him.

"I'm here Changbin. But you need to leave." Felix's voice did not shake, or waver, as he gently pushed Changbin back and onto the other side of the threshold.

"Felix." Changbin's voice broke on the name.

"I'm sorry." The door clicked shut.

Immediately Seungmin was next to Chan, a damp cloth pressed against the red patch on his cheek.

"He punched me pretty hard huh?" Chan said, keeping his voice light and not letting his eyes betray any pain from his sudden injury as he searched the room for Felix.

He found him with his head resting against the door, but when Felix looked up there were no tears on his face. His mouth was set in a firm line, but there was no tightness to it.

It was then that Chan heard Jisung's frantic whispering.

"Minho." Over and over again.

Minho was curled into the sofa, clutching his face.

Jisung gently lifted Minho's hands from his face, in the same place where Chan had been punched was a bleeding gash, red lines spidered out from it in needle-thin trails that disappeared under his hair.

Chan pushed Seungmins arm away from his face, but no sooner had he tried to take a step towards Minho than he doubled over and started coughing up blood.

The blood was nothing to do with any injury Chan had ever received, and he looked up through his tears to see Minho sat where he was before, staring at Chan in concern.

So if it wasn't to do with either Chan or the weird confusing bond he had with Minho-

Jeongin

Chan was at the door, opening it and pushing past the very drunk and confused Changbin. He sprinted down the stairs, only just catching the coat Minho threw at him and they collided together at the door out of the apartment complex.

Faintly he could hear Jisung shouting their names, but they both just kept running.

The coat, though good quality and a very good idea from Minho, did little to protect him as Chan ran through the rain. Blindly following his heart rather than his mind as he tried to work out where Jeongin would be.

At the crossroads, Minho started running towards Hyunjin's place, but Chan knew that wasn't where Jeongin was, so he swerved in the other direction.

He heard Minho curse and footsteps splashing through puddles and he tried to catch up to Chan.

Street after road after alleyway, Chan and Minho ran blindly through the night. They ran in front of so many cars that whenever Chan blinked he could see the bright lights permanently imprinted on the backs of his eyes.

As he ran past another turning, Chan felt a tug pulling him back. He stopped so abruptly that Minho crashed into him and they both went tumbling to the damp pavement.

It took them a few seconds to stand and Chan tried not to let the sight of the still growing web of red lines from Minho's cheek slow his steps as he made his way down the street he had felt the tug from.

Of course it was darker than rest of the ones they had ran down that night. Of course the road down the middle of the street was entirely submerged in water. And of course it took Chan precious seconds to notice the red ink-like swirl in the water.

The red ink-like swirl that led to a body curled over on its side on the opposite pavement.

The body that was shivering and coughing, with each cough the trail of blood trickling into the water widened.

Minho and Chan waded as quickly as they could across the surprisingly deep water that lay on top of the road.

Jeongin's entire body was soaked through with rain and blood and Chan could barely stop himself from collapsing to his knees and sobbing.

Somehow he managed to gather his remaining strength and together he and Minho hauled Jeongin over their shoulders.

"Nearest hospital?" Minho's voice was strained due to the extra weight.

"Two miles north or 1 over the main road if we go east."

Minho knew not to ask about Chan's extensive knowledge of the local hospitals and just kept walking.

"Should we can an ambulance?"

Chan scoffed quietly, "at this time of night we would be better calling an Uber."

He saw a patch of light appear to his left, "Minho I didn't- I didn't actually mean call an Uber. Just... just ring Hyunjin or Woojin. Woojin has a car and they'll be worried about Jeongin."

Chan blotted out most of Minho's short phone conversation with whoever he called and focused on checking Jeongin up and down for any obvious injuries.

He couldn't see any, but he kept stopping his eyes from straying to Jeongin's face, because he knew if he saw the blood trailing down his chin or the ashen colour of Jeongin's face, Chan would collapse and not be able to do anything apart from cry.

With each minute that ticked by as Minho and Chan walked in silence waiting for a car to arrive, Jeongin's breathing grew more jagged and uneven.

It was at the fourth minute marker that Chan felt his heart start to grow cold. He could feel the coppery taste of blood coating his tongue and his arm burned where Jeongin's writing lay.

Then, finally, a car pulled up in front of them. Woojin practically leapt out of the passenger seat and cradled Jeongin's body to his own and he and Hyunjin carefully placed him in the backseat of the car.

"There's no more room." Hyunjin's face looked cold enough but he held guilt in his eyes.

It was at that point Minho clutched his face and wailed as he collapsed.

Chan looked Hyunjin dead in the eyes, "Make room."

A/N - thisss...... is very late. It is also very not great, and probably has many spelling mistakes. I am sorry, I am ill. My friends are sick of hearing me say it, but I'll say it at least one more time after this.

Sorry about the 'slight' timing error on my part. I hope you enjoy and because it's not me writing the next chapter it will probably be out, on. time.

It does not seem to be something I am good at.

But here you are, thanks for supporting the story, we have lots of unplanned and possibly fun stuff to come, happy reading? xx