Kintsugi // ATEEZ [Ishihara Sequel] ✔

18 Remembrance

Yeosang helps to hold San down on the floor, with Wooyoung and Hongjoong holding each of his legs, pressing them down. The Nyla king is still writhing on the floor, mumbling something incoherent as squelching sounds dominate the room and the black branches which seem to come from under his skin travel to all parts of his body. The black branches make it seem like his body parts are being tied up, while his torso is bent as he looks like he's forcing down the extreme pain caused by whatever's conquering his body.

"Choi San, Choi San!" Yeosang shouts, trying to attain the king's attention but to no avail as San's eyes are still rolling to the back of his head, his lips muttering unintelligible words.

The king is struggling to break free from the grip of the three, who are seemingly no match despite outnumbering him. Whatever is taking over San makes him stronger, that by the time San is shouting and cursing at them, they are already too exhausted to pin him down.

Yeosang, despite years of practice and countless medical books read, has no idea what's going on with San's body. He can't explain with his limited thinking, as almost all of his mind is directed into pinning down his body. What he can do is hope that the struggle San is facing will go away on its own before he can make sense of the situation.

As Wooyoung is pleading for his friend to stay with him despite not knowing what to do, Hongjoong is quiet, his mind reeling with all the possibilities on why the king is acting this way. The latter holds an iron grip around San's right leg, frowning as he sees the branches of black tattooing his skin. Hongjoong watches as the black spreads to the part he's holding on, almost flinching but wills himself to keep his grip.

It's the fear of the unknown for them, since they don't know what it is or how it happened.

As he gains access to San's neck, Yeosang tries finding a pulse, half-expecting to find none with his condition right now. He heaves a sigh of relief when he finds one, although it's beating somewhat slowly; it's like the branches spreading all over his skin are pulsing stronger.

"What- what's going on?" Wooyoung is almost in tears as he pins San's legs down, as the latter is starting to thrash about. "Is this some kind of- disease?"

"I don't know," Yeosang manages, his every word strained as his own veins pop out underneath his skin trying to subdue the patient. "I've never seen anything like this."

"The plague? Something else?" Hongjoong tries but Yeosang shakes his head.

Yeosang frowns; he has a feeling he's facing something he won't be able to handle as the palace doctor, that someone else would be more knowledgeable on how to tackle San's problem. But their problem right now is they don't know what's going on with him, so who are they supposed to turn to?

Their heads immediately snap to San as the king grabs Yeosang's shoulder, pulling him down and staring into his eyes. He croaks, "I... am... capable... to... become... king..."

"You are, Choi San, you are!" Wooyoung shouts as he tightens his grip around San's leg. "No one is telling you otherwise!"

"They are!" he shouts, but his eyes are directed somewhere else, as if he's speaking to someone other than the three pinning him down. "They say I'm not capable of becoming king. They are all mocking me! Mocking me!" Then he laughs, before he starts crying as tears fall and pool on the floor. "They don't admit I'm their child~ but I'll prove them wrong~" he says in a singsong voice before giving a smile that makes the others' hairs stand on end.

"San there's something wrong-" Yeosang starts but gets cut off as San tries to place a grip around his neck, which he narrowly misses.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" He bares his teeth as he closes his eyes, face as if feeling bliss. "I will be the grea~test~ king Nyla has ever seen. I'll make Nyla bathe in all of its glory, whatever it takes. I will show to the whole kingdom who's king." He cackles, "Me, me, me!"