bloodline ; seventeen

-18-

Although Chan was covered by a thick sweater and warm sown blanket, he still felt a chill down to his bone. By now, just the brink of dawn had hit the city, a golden-yellow cast peaking through the velvet drapes over the windows; illuminating the end of the bed and floor. The room was filled with soft, even breaths as well as a gloomy cast of uncertainty. While the other three bodies continued to sleep their ways into the mid hours of the morning, the youngest couldn't stand being lost in slumber any longer. Instead, he opened his heavy eyes and searched around the room. He didn't know what he was searching for, little did he find it. All the boy could set his eyes upon was the sleeping figure beside him. Kim Mingyu. 

Chan watched as his chest defined  rose and deflated as the man slept on his muscular back, his eyes lightly shut with deep bags under them. Even in his sleep the man looked distressed. He looked like he hadn't slept for days, exhausted into the deepest sleep a man could bear. The light haired man sighed at the sight. Chan wasn't used to seeing his friend like this. In his eyes, Mingyu was always strong, or pretended to be. Regardless of how he felt or was dealing with inside his heavy heart, his million dollar smile shined through his feelings. However, without his conscious efforts in his most vulnerable state, for the first time in a long time, the younger finally saw the real Kim Mingyu. Not the man who was happy all the time, not the man who had every piece of advice you could ask for and definitely not the man who had not one burden in his heart. This was the man who was tired, who needed to be nurtured for once. This was the Kim Mingyu he himself never let anyone see. This was the real him. 

The younger's eyes got lost in the rare sight, basking in the emotion it gave him without intent. It took little under three minutes for Chan to halt his stare, shaking the thought out of his head. Needing to get some fresh air, the smaller boy slowly and carefully removed readjusted himself into a sitting position; making sure not to disrupt the man beside him. Once the boy noticed the other hadn't moved at inch at his actions, he lightly removed the blanket from his lap, revealing a brownish-red bandaged wound. The sight made his eyebrows raise in surprise, not remembering the time or day when he had bandaged his injury. Or when the better three-forths of his pant leg had been cut off. With furrowed eyebrows, Chan removed himself from the mattress and jumped onto the floor. It wasn't long till the boy soon found out how much that wound still had hurt, a tremendous spike of pain rushing through his upper thigh and lower leg, running all the way from his abs to his toes. 

Chan wanted to scream. He wanted to yelp at the top of his lungs at the pain he had just suffered, expressing his pain to anyone who could hear him. Instead, he bit his lip with force and let out a light grunt; taking weight of his left leg and placing it upon his right. Tears of discomfort and agony filled his eyes, threatening to fall upon his porcelain cheeks. However, with a moment to catch his breath and stability, he put his tears and screams to shame. Instead, the silent boy bit the soft inside of his cheek and hobbled toward the other side of the room, a bathroom off the left of the brown dresser in his sight. 

As he made his way in torment, his leg more tender than ever, his eyes laid upon the other two men for just seconds at a time. Hansol and Soonyoung were in a deep sleep as well, one fast asleep on the arm chair, another on the sofa; vulnerability shinning through their skin. Their foreign friend wore an expression of worry, the dancer wearing one of fright; slumber unable to hide their true emotions. The view made Chan's heart sink with sadness. Unable to stand looking at them any further, he turned his gaze away and refocused his eyes toward his destination; the bathroom. It only took him a few more limped steps to reach the bathroom, the younger carefully closing the door upon entrance. He reached out and flicked the light switch on, a white glow illuminating the dark enclosed room. It wasn't long until Chan finally faced his demon, the mirror. With a very slow turn, he moved his sight from the light switch to the reflective mirror. Chan watched as a face with icy blue eyes stared back at him with horror. A face just like his, exactly like his. Every birth mark, every scar, every facial feature reflecting himself. However, crazy blue irides replaces his beautiful dark chocolate orbs he had gotten from his parents before him. The shade reminded him of the colour the hard, sugary candy he begged for as a kid had, nostalgia filling his heart to the brim. It wasn't long until the nostalgia transformed into fear, horror and a sense of overwhelming emotion.