Before it Rings (Zombie Apocalypse AU) (NCT127)

Medical

Chapter warnings: none

Word count: 1272

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"Jungwoo?" Jaehyun asked incredulously. He hadn't seen the man in months, they didn't really keep in contact all that often. They lived in different areas of town, so it hadn't really been top priority, especially with everyone's busy schedules. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling a wave of emotions at once. As he said this, the others boys heard, starting to walk over in confusion.

Jungwoo was sitting on the floor, looking at a magazine and drinking a Capri-Sun. Looking up at Jaehyun, he started to glance between people as they all tried to stick their heads in for a look.

"Oh... hi guys."

"Where have you been?" Haechan asked. "I haven't seen you in like forever!"

"How have you been surviving?" Yuta asked, more concerned.

"Why are you here with Johnny?" Mark cut in as well. Overwhelmed, Jungwoo held his hands up.

"Woah, okay, uh, I just ran into Johnny a few days ago."

"What's going on out here?" They heard a voice from behind them call. Taeyong had come out of the other tent, closely followed by Johnny. As the others stepped back to address him, Jungwoo was finally able to get some breathing room.

"Oh, they found Jungwoo." Johnny commented idly.

"They- Jungwoo?!"

"Yeah, picked him up a few days ago, I was originally just gonna dip, but turns out he's pretty good with medical stuff. Not perfect, per se, but he's helped more than a few in passing. Figured he could be useful." By this point, Jungwoo had exited the tent, answering everyone's questions. Johnny was bombarded with more than a few as well, mostly along the lines of 'why did you keep this from us'. As they were talking, he looked everyone over, latching onto Mark.

"Why are you using crutches?"

"Oh," the boy smiled with embarrassment, "I broke my leg. A building fell on it."

"I'm sorry," he said, leaning over to try and get a better look at it. "How's it healing up?"

"Janky." Haechan cut in with no filter. Jaehyun elbowed in the side, indicating that his comment was rude.

"...Janky?" Jungwoo asked with half a laugh. Mark's smile died down a bit, but he managed to keep it mostly intact.

"Yeah, it's a bit crooked. We didn't really know how to set a bone, so..." Concerned, Jungwoo looked to Johnny, then Taeyong, to double check this information.

"It's not too hard. I could help you fix it, if you want." His eyes lit up.

"Fix it? Fix it as in...?"

"Well, fractures usually take six to eight weeks to heal so it'll be a bit more than that, but-"

"You're saying I'll be able to walk again? Like, normally?"

"Yes, I don't see why not-" Leaning forward to try and hug him, Mark practically fell over, laughing in joy.

"When can you do it?"

"I mean... whenever."

"Right now?"

"I'm not sure if-"

"Please?" He begged, already sick and tired of being the cripple of the group. Sighing, Jungwoo looked at Johnny. The man simply shrugged, eyes darting to the side as if he were hiding something.

"You can do whatever you want." Jungwoo finally conceded, asking politely if they could borrow a few crates to make a flat table. He mentioned that it would be easier the less people that were around to watch, but Johnny insisted on accompanying. Jungwoo found this somewhat strange, as Johnny had never been this concerned for anyone as far as he'd seen, but given the man's kindness towards him the past few days, he allowed it. Laying mark down on the boxes, he unwrapped the leg, looking over it.

"Oh, this isn't nearly as bad as I expected." He said with relief. "Given the angle and your pain level, I was concerned that you had broken it clear in half. Thankfully-" He pointed to one edge, lightly running his hand down, "It's just this piece that's broken. If set correctly, you should be able to walk on it within a few days. Still, you should be careful, it'll be fragile." This made Mark ten times happier: a few more days and he could walk again? Sign him up.

"You're going to want to bite down on this." Jungwoo handed him something. It looked like... a ruler wrapped in a towel? That was a bit strange.

"Why does he need that?" Johnny asked, suspicious. He clearly knew what it was meant for, he just didn't understand why it was necessary.

"I mean... It's gonna hurt."

"Then don't do it."

"But he'll never be able to properly walk if I don't."

"...How bad?" Jungwoo stopped for a minute. "I asked how bad?"

"I have to break his leg again, as it's healed improperly." Johnny looked at Mark, then Jungwoo, then Mark again.

"I don't think that's-"

"Johnny." Mark said to him calmly. "It's fine. It'll only be for a minute." He knew that wasn't true. If he was lucky, he'd pass out. If not, it would hurt just as much, if not more than the first time. Still, Johnny wasn't going to argue with his decision, no matter how stupid he thought it would be.

"...Fine."

"Ready when you are." Jungwoo said as Mark put the makeshift bit in his mouth. Shutting his eyes hard, he nodded.

The entirety of the camp could hear the screaming, but only the three in the tent heard the sickening crack of the breaking bone. Thankfully, it only took Jungwoo one clean move. From there, he had to make it worse by pushing around the bone at an agonizingly slow pace until it was in its proper position. Mark, regrettably, did not pass out. At some point, though, he stopped trying to hide the pain, tears freely falling down his face and voice echoing across the desert.

As soon as he was satisfied with the position, Jungwoo tightly boundd the leg, telling Mark to put the ruler back in his mouth until the pain dulled to a sting or a throb. From there, he could calm down and get some rest. They could easily move him into the van when he was ready, so for now, he just needed to do what his body needed. Thankfully, it didn't take him long to fall asleep as he came down from his adrenaline high, exhausted from the whole experience. Walking out of the tent and wiping the sweat from his brow, Jungwoo faced the group, followed by Johnny.

"He'll be fine." He breathed in as the rest of the crew sighed in relief. "He'll be in pain for a few days, but the healing process should move quickly.

"So, not to put this on you right now, but..." Taeyong stepped forward out of the crowd. "How would you feel about coming back with us? You're free to bring your... setup. And Jungwoo! Then you don't have to do the rest of the tattoos right away, and we don't have to drive back. Plus, it's-" Johnny just laughed, causing Taeyong to trail off.

"I appreciate that you want me back, it's really nice. But I'm fine here. Really." He gestured to his newfound partner. "Jungwoo should go with you, though, you could use the medical help." Jungwoo looked at him.

"Are you sure? I-"

"With all due respect, I can't look at you the same right now. After..." He leaned towards the tent Mark was residing in. "Anyway, I can do the rest of your tattoos now, no problem. But I'm fine here."

"Okay, but I-"

"I said it's fine." Johnny said with an air of finality, heading back to grab the machine.