Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act four ➻ part three

"Mingi had an episode in the mess hall."

"Captain–" Seonghwa swivels to call Hongjoong forward, but the captain has already stood up and made his way over to the door. He comes to a halt not far behind Seonghwa, eyes trained on San and no one else. There's only silence for several moments, and you aren't sure what to make of it until Hongjoong dares to speak.

"Lieutenant, I want the crew here in less than five minutes."

"All the crew?" Seonghwa inquires. Hongjoong pauses, inhaling a breath so deep that you can see the way his chest puffs a bit.

"Minus Mingi," he responds after a breath of hesitation. Seonghwa nods and steps around you, no doubt trying to get to the comms station outside. He pauses next to you though, and you shift to look at him at the same time that he glances down at you. His lips part, and words are on his tongue, yet they are words that never reach your ears because Hongjoong speaks again before he has the chance. "Seonghwa."

The tone is firm enough to cause Seonghwa to move again, and he leaves your side to escape the room. It leaves you with the bitter taste of curiosity on the back of your tongue, wondering what he intended to say and what was on his mind for the past week and why he couldn't at least visit you once.

"If it's what you want, let's do this once more. And if it's time that you need, I can be as patient as you need me to be. Whatever it is you want this to be... whatever it is you need me to be... I'll do it for you."

Unless his definition of patience somehow became avoidance, you cannot figure out where this sudden change came from or why it's happening. You have better and more important things to worry about for the time being though. Your woes surrounding Seonghwa will have to wait for another time because Hongjoong is clearing his throat again and look between you and San with expectant eyes. He somehow bears even darker circles than Seonghwa did, but even with the exhaustion on his features, he seems as awake and alert as ever.

"I'll ask for a deeper explanation once the others are here but..." Hongjoong trails off, voice dying before he can finish the thought.

"Everyone is still in one piece, yes," San finishes. His presumption must be accurate because Hongjoong fully exhales the breath he's been holding in since before Seonghwa left.

"Anyone hurt?"

"Wooyoung sliced his hand open, but that was unrelated." Hongjoong opens his mouth again less than a second later, but San beats him to it once more. "Mingi is okay as well, as is everyone else as far as I'm aware. When they left, that was the case."

A whooshing sound echoes through the room, and Hongjoong stands up a bit straighter as Seonghwa steps back into the office, looking a bit more somber than before. You twist to watch him enter. He isn't alone this time either; Jongho is the first to enter behind him, followed by Wooyoung and Yeosang, who has his hand wrapped tight around Wooyoung's, and finally Yunho walks in with his head dipped to his chest. Seeing him in such a state of disarray is disconcerting, to say the least, and painful nonetheless. You can hardly look away from the blossoming bruises over his neck, ones that are splotchy and red right now.

Hongjoong doesn't wait for everyone to file in and line up before unleashing his barrage of questions, but his impatience doesn't surprise you in the slightest.

"What happened? What was the trigger? How long did it take to get under control? Did you have to use force to stop him, or was he able to overcome it on his own?"

No one responds right away. You can't recall a time when the air has ever been so still and quiet. It would be disconcerting if you did not know the reason behind it, but that much is obvious considering what went down in the mess hall less than two hours ago. Then Wooyoung starts speaking, or at least tries to when –