Shadow Dancing | K.TH

Sun and Moon

"V!" I call, my main reason directed to just piss him off. I'd already done this a few times, satisfied that he couldn't argue back.

Unfortunately for him, I'd taken quite a bit of liking to this new authority I got to have over him. "Can you come here for a second? I'm bored."

"Damn your bored self," He mutters, not even looking up from his work as he continues to sharpen each of his knives to a deadly point. "You're lucky this knife isn't stuffed down your throat right now."

"But I'm bored." I say as I carefully slide off the bed. Since the others weren't here, there wasn't anyone to force me back to bed. And V would have taken off his brace as well—

If Hoseok hadn't put a security tracker on it.

"What are you doing? Can I help?" I ask curiously as I examine a knife he's done with already. "Do you need me to sharpen this one?"

"And risk you stabbing yourself in the face? No thank you." He says sharply as he unclamps the knife from my fingers. "Don't touch."

"Can I see that?" I say, pointing at one of his guns that he was in the process of loading with handmade bullets. "How did you make the bullets? Do you have a mold or something like that?"

"Yes," He hisses, annoyed as anybody could get as he grits his teeth. "I have a mold. Can you stop talking? Why do you have to ask so many questions?"

"Okay." I say defeatedly, disappointed that he hadn't answered half of my inquisitions. I'd actually wanted to know— I didn't want to just annoy him.

The pain from the wound and the heat of the room makes the back of my neck tingle with unwelcomed warmth. Fanning myself with a folder discarded on the table, I gather my thick hair into a ponytail in a weak attempt to cool my temperature down.

"Here," V says, tossing me a bottle noisy with the tablets inside. "Take two, no water. One more if the effects continue. Hoseok predicted that you might have a rise in your temperature."

"Thank you." I answer as I screw open the cap and empty two pills onto my palm. A shiver goes up my spine as these look stunningly familiar to the drugs that I'd used to take back at the compound.

When I swallow the second pill, V jerks so hard that I nearly jump half a mile into the air. His arm had slammed into the sharp part of the desk when he had, creating a thundering— painful— sound.

"Are you okay?" I choke down the medicine as I rush to the grimacing man. "What's wrong? Why'd you jump like that?"

His face is twisted with horror as he ignores me, stumbling up from his chair. Pain is apparent in his features as he leans heavily against the desk. Face pale and fingertips trembling, he looks like he's going to collapse any moment.

"Damn," He hisses, the curse cut off with a sharp groan of agony that follows suit.

"What's wrong? Are your shoulders hurting?" By instinct, I pick the phone up to dial Hoseok. He was the medic— he would be able to figure out what was going on with him—

"No." V gasps as he knocks the phone from my hold. "They're on a mission, Tzuyu. Calling is absolutely prohibited."

"You won't tell me what's wrong."

His face turns a paler shade as he shifts away from the desk he was leaning on. I barely get to him when he stumbles to the side, and his body slams into mine like a heavy truck.

"V!"

Grinding my teeth with effort, I sling his arm around my shoulder. With his skin pressed against mine, I can feel waves traveling down the entire vicinity of his body.

Then a sudden thought strikes my mind, freezing me with terror. Could this be his terminal illness? Had it done this before?

"You're breathing, right?" I ask nervously, my heartbeat dangerously escalating as I help him down on the bed I'd been lying on just a few minutes ago.

It'd been so tranquil then.

"Y—Yes." His fingers are tight against the back of my shirt, his gasping face inches from mine as he lets his head fall onto the pillow. "Just....a second."

He looked like he needed a day instead of a second. Probably more.

"Is there medicine you can take for this?" I ask, my body flashing in and out of reality from the anxiety clawing in my chest. "Anything Hoseok gave you?"

"In— the—" His voice struggles to continue, like he was dying and his body was giving out.

Swallowing nervously, I press my ear to his lips to hear the most important word. The sound is faint and barely audible, but I manage to catch the meaning.

"Desk drawer."

The moment I understand, I rush towards his desk— ignoring the materials scattered across its surface as I tug open the only drawer. When the wood gives way, I find several notebooks, broken bullets, and a black bottle with a clear label.

That had to be it.

Snatching up the bottle, I screw open the cap to only realize I had no idea how many I had to give him. There were fifteen or so in there— was I supposed to give him only one or two? Or more?

My hand suddenly flickers, and the bottle slips from my grasp. It's only inches from impact as my other hand barely wraps around the slippery surface.

Before even that hand can fizz out, I quickly empty one pill and slip it between his open lips. He was completely gone— eyes closed and breaths measured unevenly.

How long he would stay that way, I didn't know.

I can only hope for the best as I watch the pill dissolve within a few seconds, waiting for its results.

I wait for eternity, and he still doesn't wake up. Nothing happens— which makes me want to rip out my eyes in frustration. I needed people right now. I needed—

I didn't have time to be panicking.

Panic at the moment would only lead to worse consequences, and about that I was certain. Even though I wasn't sure about anything else, that I knew for a fact.

I had to be calm and collected— like V. I had to become V for the few minutes he would be gone.

Yes, only for a few minutes. He was only going to be asleep for a couple minutes, and then he was going to wake up.

He was going to come back, because dying wasn't going to happen to him. It would happen eventually— but not now. It was impossible for death to come for him now.

Calm.

Breathe.

When my head feels as level and logical as it can get, I think of the priorities first. First, I had to check if he was alive and breathing.

So I kneel down next to the bed and press the side of my head against where his heart was located. When I close my eyes to concentrate, I can feel the beat of his heart— and to my astounding relief, it has a steadiness to it.

I desperately hope that it's going to stay that way. The overwhelming stress decreases a little as I resist the urge to slump against his unconscious body and cry. Ever since I'd come here, it was like going through a roller coaster of emotions and events.

And like Sun and Moon, it all seemed to revolve around this man.