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Less than five minutes later, I was fully dressed and sitting on one side of the bed.
Taeyong had been careful with the wound while we had been kissing, but it still hurt more than it had before because of my constant movement and the stress it had to withstand when I'd worn a shirt. The gauze was even more bloodied now, and I almost regretted moving even an inch because of it, wondering how Taehyung had managed with his injury.
Baekhyun had drawn up a chair next to Taeyong's and was sitting in it now, expression serious and business-like, reflecting the mood of the room. It was so different from the earlier air in the atmosphere that it felt like the incident had never happened.
But everything was still tense, even if it was for completely different reasons. Baekhyun leaned forward, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked at me. “Tell me everything that happened.”
I froze, not sure how to reply in a manner which would seem unaffected. Even recalling the previous night's events seemed to send a jolt through my shoulder.
“I was walking alone when I noticed him tailing me, and confronted him with the gun,” I said, flexing my fingers when I remembered I had lost it. “When Taeyong showed up, he shot me, but luckily it only got my shoulder.” I shrugged with my uninjured side. “And I woke up here.”
“That's all right, but I'm asking you about Daejeon,” Baekhyun stated, lightly tapping his knee, his gaze never once leaving mine. “Listen—to be able to help you, I need to know what exactly happened that made you run. And then the rehab thing. As far as I know, it's not for substance abuse or any major crime.”
The last line made me want to curl into myself, to shut my mind off, away from the rest of the world. “Why would you want to help me?” My face twisted into a wry smile, and I could my head to the side as I looked at him. “All you've done so far is get me drugged, chased and shot.”
Taeyong looked vaguely uncomfortable at my words, but at that moment, I didn't care. I'd had been completely sickened by the racers’ actions even before, but getting hit was the last straw.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I'd seen his face, and it had ignited some sort of anger inside me, an indignation at this unfairness and the underlying guilt that came with it. It had been hard enough before, but finally coming face-to-face with my past had been too much for me to bear.
I wanted out.
Baekhyun pursed his lips, and this time, there was a hint of pleading in his earlier emotionless eyes. “I know anything I say against that is not going to have any effect on you, but believe me when I say none of that was on purpose.” He inhaled, closing his eyes momentarily and then reopening them. “I'm not sure about the drug part, but as for the chase, I would have never met any harm come to you. The shooting was unexpected, and I'm definitely not letting you go down that path again.”
