𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐒 + 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐁𝐈𝐌

3 | a clean, well-lighted place

     opening his eyes, jeongguk was bewitched by a twinkling chandelier with miniature lightbulbs forming a spinning constellation. it was so pretty, revolving while the gems chimed against each other. he smiled to himself, laughing airily at the way the white gems refracted light spectacularly.

     the room was extravagant, decorated with vases of flowers with overlapping scents. even, a sofa, coffee table, and a bed and...

     ...another bed. oh. that was his bed. beneath the floral scent was the undertone of alcohol, the sterilising kind. it started to make more sense when he pulled off the pale blue covers to see himself in a matching gown, itchy and rough as he shuffled into a comfier position. the arm holding up the covers felt stiff, and heavy. much to jeongguk's horror, it was due to the clear tube inserted into it which lead to a whole bag of fluid on a stand.

     great. he had landed himself in hospital again. it had been years since the last time here, as he only needed check ups at his general practitioner. he thought he was getting healthier. but upon dwelling on his most recent reckless behaviour, jeongguk could see the face of dread, laughing at him with a mocking grin.

     the mechanical beeps of the e.c.g machine raced along, the steady rhythm becoming a accelerando, matching the panic breaths the teen squeezed from his lungs. the idea of the needle sending fluid into his body was too much to stomach. too much to look at, or handle.

     escaping his solitude was of utmost importance. all jeongguk needed was someone to explain everything, to see another face at least.

     bracing himself, jeongguk placed a trembling hand near the point in his lower arm where the tube entered. he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, fixing his gaze onto that chandelier as he harshly dragged the needle out, ripping off the plasters holding it down in the process.

     he simply did not have the courage to look at whatever weird, tiny hole would be left on his arm.

     after removing any other thin wires or tubes holding him back, he sat up, prepared to venture out of the lonely room. with both hands holding down the gown, he swung his legs off the bed in one swift movement, pleased to see a pair of slippers on the floor. the legs, spindly and shaky, were pale but scarred from the teen's clumsiness. the right ankle was suffocated by a pressure bandage which made applying pressure to the foot quite awkward.

     the slippers were too large, but comfortable as he limped across the white linoleum, shuffling along the floor slowly.

     the door was just in reach, but it looked heavy. enough to cause struggle for his weak body which shuffled closer and closer to make the pull.

     his pathetic steps faltered, as the door swished open without him even reaching it.

     the edge just missed his nose, swooping past in an instant. the handle gripped by a hand, and it was a pretty hand if ever jeongguk saw one. his gaze moved up the arm, draped in a white lab coat.

     only to travel up his neck, to his face.

     the symmetry was bewildering, aside from a tilted smirk. hair almost covering his eyes, and, thank god it didn't because they were beautiful, curtained by long, curling lashes and irises dark oak in colour. his stare, despite lasting a few seconds, had jeongguk like a deer in headlights, making his legs tremble slightly.

     the teen hoped to slide past the man, shifting his weight onto his good foot, ready to escape the situation, but he was caught.

     by that same hand, grip now tight on his shoulder, and fuck he could almost feel the very surface of the palm through his gown. the touch was hot, but caused a cold shiver to run down his spine as the man spoke.

     "not so fast, kid," the voice, young but sultry, spoke, tone belittling as his grip on jeongguk's shoulder tightened. it was like words of pure honey dripped off his plump lips as the teen matched his stare, enthralled by the way the light danced on the man's irises.

     all he did was speak so why, why did jeongguk's heart begin to palpitate so furiously as the words replayed in his head?

     "oh, look," the man chuckled deeply, leaning in closer to the trembling mess. his breaths were so close, minty and cold as he looked down, breaking their shared gaze.

     "what a mess you've made,"

     what. the. fuck.

     what kind of mess? surely not the lewd kind jeongguk was shamelessly imagining.

     but as his thighs rubbed together, beneath his robe he felt so, so naked under the man's touch.

     the hand locked onto his shoulder released its grip, leaving the warmth to wane as jeongguk followed the man's gaze down his own body.

     what he expected was definitely not what he saw.

     jeongguk's lower arm, dripping warm crimson streaks of blood along the planes of his pale skin. thick droplets parted from his fingertips splashing on the linoleum in a kiss between the scarlet and white.

     it truly was a mess, drops even dissipating into the material of his robe like ink.

     the boy took a deep breath, preparing his words but all that escaped his bitten lips was a whimper.

     his doe eyes blinked furiously, threatening tears to come spouting out.

     but then jeongguk felt himself melt into the sudden touch of a soft palm meeting his trembling chin.