merry christmas, meanie

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Mingyu never knew life could be such a serious tease.

He stood frozen initially, right after Jieun turned his attention to the little life on the road. He admits, he did see the car coming, but he's unable to explain even to himself what the fuck happened to him. Only when he saw Wonwoo going limp in the midst of all chaos, did his body give him a chance to react and just fucking do something.

And he screamed. Loud.

Just then, he feels something urgently tug at his arm. His first instinct is to cover poor Jieun's eyes, as he hurriedly lifts her on his arm and runs to an unconscious - or probably even dead - Wonwoo laying still right where he had been. The puppy was nowhere in sight. Usually having his heart on his sleeve when it came to animals, Mingyu really hates the puppy. If only it hadn't been there, ready to be run over, Wonwoo would have been calmly listening to Jieun beside him right now.

A few footsteps surround Mingyu, crowding him and Wonwoo. Mingyu desperately grabs Wonwoo's pale face in his palm, when he notices something sticky and wet covering his palm. Blood.

Mingyu's brain flashes unpleasant scenarios just then -- when he's in a serious need to think rationally.

Violent flashbacks of his mum's body staining the crisp white sheets of the stretcher eight years ago flood his mind, clouding his ability to even think. He remembers the way her head, smothered in blood, flopped lifelessly throughout the way from the ambulance to the ward in the hospital. And the anguish in his dad's voice and face. The crying, sore voice of his sister - who was so small that time - over the phone, constantly asking whether or not their mother was okay.

Some people try to hold a screaming Jieun back, her agonised screams reverberating painfully in his ears. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Mingyu bellows, swiftly pulling her towards him. As much as he doesn't want her to witness this, he'd rather not leave her to some strangers to look after for the time being.

His brain eventually, Mingyu's fucking glad, regains some clarity, making him hurriedly whip his phone out to call an ambulance. He lifts Wonwoo all the way to the sidewalk, blood smearing his clothes, but Mingyu doesn't give a single fuck. He wants to strangle the fucking driver who had no sense of pressing on the brakes when needed. How were such people even eligible to get a driving license?

Mingyu cradles Wonwoo's body gently, whispering for him to just show any signs of life. Uncontrollable tears flow from his eyes, falling on Wonwoo's face. Mingyu furiously tries to wipe them away to his best abilities, yet they don't stop. He feels Jieun shuffle beside him - she seems suspiciously silent, considering the whole incident. Mingyu realises the child needs more attention, than him just focusing on Wonwoo.

He shakily turns to Jieun. "Ji, baby? It will be okay, okay?"

"Will it?"

"I promise. You can hate me as much as you want if it doesn't. It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let Daddy go away that way,"

"But he was just trying to save the puppy. It would have died, if Daddy hadn't gone."

Mingyu wants to cry. He fails to understand the simplicity of a child.

"You're right."

"GyuGyu I'm scared," And Jieun breaks down, finally, in Mingyu's other arm. She cries, clogged screams leaving her throat. Her voice gets lost after a while. "Ji, you have to stay strong. When Daddy wakes up, how would he feel if he saw you this way, hm? He needs to see a happy Jieun, so he would get better faster."

"What if he doesn't?" Mingyu's heart stops.

"He will. For you, he will. He loves you so much, you have no idea. He always tells me about you, and how much you mean to him. You're his baby after all."

Jieun nods silently, quickly wiping her tears. Mingyu wonders how the fuck she's handling this so well, so maturely. He would have never expected such behaviour from a literal four year-old. If anything, Jieun's calm demeanour right now does the much needed job of keeping Mingyu sane at the moment.

"Mister? Do you need help?" A guy from one of the people around him a while ago comes up to Mingyu. Seems like he'd lingered around for longer.

"It's alright, I can manage."

"I'll just stay, just in case."

Mingyu nods, unable to convey how grateful he is for the stranger's presence. "I'm Mingyu." Mingyu finally introduces himself, after calming his voice down.

"I'm Junhui."

They wait for the ambulance for a painfully long time period, and when it arrives, Mingyu doesn't wait another second to lift Wonwoo back in his arms and urgently place him on the stretcher the medics rolled out, Junhui following him in tow, with Jieun trying her best to keep up.

It may be too late, Mingyu thinks, but he will hold on to hope. If not for himself, he will, at least for Jieun. He gently hugs the girl once they're settled inside, Junhui waving a brisk goodbye before the doors close.

"It'll be alright, Ji, don't worry, okay?" Mingyu feels as if he's reassuring himself, more than his words were meant for Jieun's comfort.

"Okay."