Steel Heart || Jeongcheol

As Long As Someone Will Bleed

Jeonghan watched the men walk away out of the corner of his eye. He let out a deep breath; every single part of his body ached. His head throbbed, his leg was still stinging, and his entire torso was beaten and bruised.
He could vaguely feel a raindrop land on his forehead, then one landed on his hand. Great, as if this couldn't get any worse. The rain drops fell at an escalating pace for a minute or two before it was officially pouring rain.
He couldn't get himself to move. He just laid there, let himself get soaked, and wished that he would just disappear right then and there. This was his rock bottom.
He wished he would just die.

But he couldn't do that, he realized. He couldn't lie there and wait for his body to give up on him.
He still had 11 little brothers back home.
He still had Seungcheol.

It can't end this way

Jeonghan struggled to find the minuscule amount of strength left in him. He pushed himself up off the ground, slowly and painfully standing up fully. He felt like collapsing again, but he fought to stay standing. His clothes were soaked, weighing him down with an extra couple of pounds.
Every step was a battle on his body, his knees threatening to buckle with each little movement. Jeonghan was barely lucid, drunk on pain and adrenaline. He hobbled down the street, ignoring the concerned glances of people walking by.

Everything hurts

Everything hurts

Every-ugh-everything hurts

Everything h-

"Oh, I'm here," Jeonghan whispered to himself when he realized he was standing in front of his building. He sluggishly pushed the door open and limped inside.

The security guard patrolling the lobby shined her flashlight on the soaked, limping boy, "Damn, what happened to you?" She asked.

"Hmm long story," he mumbled, pressing the elevator button and waiting for it to arrive.

Once Jeonghan reached his floor, he stumbled down the hall, leaning up against the wall for support. He assumed everyone would be asleep by now. He could slip into bed without anyone noticing, and wake up tomorrow like nothing ever happened.

He could pretend this never happened.

Just as he reached out to turn the doorknob, he heard a noise and almost had a heart attack. He looked around,  a moment of terror flashing through him at the thought of those thugs following him home. Shaking off the thought when he realized it was just the air conditioning, he slowly went inside the dorm, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.

The living room was bathed in a faint warm light, coming from the table lamp next to the couch. On the couch, sat Seungcheol. His head snapped over when he heard the door open, and he stood up when he saw who it was, "Jeonghan?" He asked quietly.

Looking at him, Jeonghan's eyes immediately started to sting. The lump in his throat that seemingly came out of nowhere was effecting his ability to speak normally, "You waited for me," he rasped, shivering slightly. The water on his skin was so cold when it dried.

"Of course I did. I was so worried," Seungcheol began, stepping closer to Jeonghan and drawing in a shallow breath. Even though the darkness, he could see the state Jeonghan was in. The poor boy looked half dead, "What the hell happened?" He asked gently, gesturing for Jeonghan to come closer. He was so kind. He didn't seem mad at all about earlier.

Jeonghan had been to hell and back that day. Just 30 minutes ago, he was lying on the pavement, wishing he was dead. Now, he's home. He's with Seungcheol. He's safe.
His eyes clouded with tears, and he couldn't breathe right, and his throat burned, and his head throbbed, and he just couldn't take it anymore.
He let out a loud sob, covering his hand with his mouth and squeezing his eyes shut. Tears dripped down his cheeks and landed in the puddle he'd already left on the floor. He stumbled forward, sobbing again.
He didn't try to hide it, he just let it out.
Yoon Jeonghan was crying.