Tally Marks- soulmate au

Chapter 24: Alone

"We were going out. We-we went to a bar. We just wanted to have a nice night out. There were- there were these men. They had g-guns. They had guns."

As Wonwoo spoke they nurses slowed a bit with their examinations and they turned to look at him, their eyes full of pity and concern.

"It's okay." Carol spoke, "You don't have to continue."

And so he didn't. The four of them sat in silence as the girls checked everything off their list to make sure the boys were physically okay. It took quite some time to finally get through everything, but in the end, aside from being a bit mentally messed up, they were fine.

Junhui didn't even notice when the nurses told them that they'd be right back before leaving the room. He couldn't really process anything. His mind was completely blank. There was nothing.

And that's how he spent the rest of the night. With a blank mind and feeling completely lost. Wonwoo had done all the talking for him. Wonwoo was his adult. It had already been late and so after being cleared, Wonwoo took him home and put him to bed. Told him that he would check up on him tomorrow and update him about Chan and Seungcheol.

"Please don't leave."He asked as Wonwoo began to leave.

Wonwoo turned back and sighed. "Junnie, I have to stay at the hospital. Watch over our friends."

"Please." he begged.

"Look, I can't stay,but I can get someone to come here. Will that be okay?"

Junhui thought it over for a moment. Then nodded.

"Okay, I won't be back, but someone else will." And with that he took off. Leaving Junhui all alone.

He wanted to get some sleep, he really did try, but he just couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back at the bar.

With the men.

With the guns.

With the blood.

He just couldn't be alone right now. He needed comfort. A shoulder to cry on. But he had no one. Wonwoo said he would send someone, but he had no idea who Wonwoo could be possibly sending. Who would even be awake at this hour? Who did Wonwoo know? He honestly had no idea who could possibly be coming here to comfort him.

He stayed in bed. Wide awake. For what felt like hours. Lifeless. Blank. He couldn't think. It all seemed so surreal. He had always heard of things like this happening, but it had never crossed his mind that maybe this could happen to him. He never thought it could happen to him. He lived a pretty decent life and always believed in karma. He believed that if he did good, he would get good in return and if he did bad he would get bad in return. But this, this was too much. In his many years of existence he couldn't think of anything that he had done for him to deserve this. And what about Chan? Of course they had only met a few hours ago, but he seemed like a decent kid. What could he have possibly done to deserve this? It was all too much for him to think about. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and all he could think was why. Why him? Why now? Why there? Why anything?

A single tear rolled down the curves of his cheek. Followed by another, and then another, and pretty soon, he was sobbing into the pillows of his bed. Alone. He had nothing and no one. It was just him. He hadn't felt this alone in 40 years. He hadn't felt this alone since before he met Wonwoo. And now, here he is. All alone with nothing and no one.

Maybe this is how he's meant to be. Alone. Maybe he'll never find someone to spend the rest of his days with. Maybe he's just meant to roam the Earth aimlessly forever like a ghost. Not here but not gone either. Just lost in a void of emptiness. Meant to do nothing for no one.

But then he thought back. Back to Seokmin.

He wasn't like everyone else. He was an angel. He had a purpose. A purpose to protect. Of course, at the time, neither of them entirely knew what he was meant to protect. Neither of them knew what he was the guardian of, but now, now he knew. Now they both knew.

Seokmin sacrificed his life to protect Junhui. To be his guardian and there must of been a reason for that. Throughout the years that was one of the only things that kept him going in life. He is living for Seokmin. He has been ever since the war. He wasn't going to let his sacrifice go to waste. He could never let his sacrifice go to waste. Seokmin was one of the rare people who were genuinely good. There are only a select few of them and Junhui was lucky enough to be friends with one of them. It's so rare to find someone who thinks more about others than they do themselves. Someone who genuinely cares for others and a genuinely happy person. Someone who is kind to all and brightens every room they are in. He didn't worry about what others thought about him because that didn't matter. He just wanted to spread happiness and love. And he did exactly that. He struck like lightning in Junhui's life. He changed so much. And for the longest time, he was the only thing that kept Junhui going. Junhui lived for Seokmin, because he may not have been able to return the same amount of kindness that Seokmin had given him, but he could certainly make sure that his life didn't go to waste. He could make sure that all of Seokmin's kindness had an impact on life even after he was gone.

Seokmin may not be around anymore, but that doesn't mean that he is any less of a guardian than he was when he was here.

His tears had stopped rolling down his face, but his eyes were still puffy and his face was red. And all of his thoughts were cut off by the sound of his doorbell. He had completely forgotten that Wonwoo was sending someone so watch over him for the night. So, he pulled himself out of bed and shuffled his way to his front door, barely being able to pick up his feet as he walked. It took him longer than it normally would for him to get to the front door, but the person on the other side seemed to be patient. And when he finally got there and opened the door, he smiled.