Minho tried to talk, but what left his lips was a pathetic wheeze. There was no trace of warmth on Jae Hyun's face, just deadly rage, close to madness. Minho could barely recognize Jae Hyun's face angry like that, and couldn't tell whether he was angry at what Tao had done or he was angry at him.
On realizing that Minho was scared shitless, Jae Hyun scooped Minho up into his arms into the other guard's arms.
"Get him checked. And let the rest know if anyone lays so much as a fingernail on him, they will join Tao."
Jae Hyun would have easily fooled everyone into believing he didn't care about Minho, but right now, he couldn't put up the act. Minho was injured, and that was something he couldn't put up a front about.
"Clean this mess up." Jae Hyun snapped at the guards at the door who appeared, turning their gaze from Tao's corpse which was leaking blood on the floor then stormed out and into the hallway kicking and shattering anything in his way.
***
Hours later, Minho woke up with a terrible headache. When the fog of unconsciousness began to lift, his memories began to resurface, Tao, Jae Hyun, the gun… then nothing. He must have passed out.
Groggily, he scanned around and realized that he was in his room. A sudden urge burned him to find Jae Hyun, to thank him, or at the very least, get some answers.
Minho shuffled the sheets off him, swinging his legs over the side of the bed when a guard stopped him.
"You need to rest, Mr. Park's orders." The guard said.
But Minho was having none of it. If Jae Hyun was the one who saved him, he needed to speak to him in person.
He pushed past the guard and set off the corridor to Jae Hyun's room, determined to find out what made Jae Hyun blow Tao's brains off.
But that was easier said than done, because when Minho reached the door, contemplating whether to go inside or go back. Should we go inside and thank Jae Hyun for saving him, however unhinged the situation was? Jae Hyun had been a monster to him on many occasions, and even though he saved him from Tao, thanking him seemed ill-advised.
Then again, after days of cold treatment, this outburst could be a hint at Jae Hyun's change of heart. Minho had to try and clear the air when he had the chance.
Squaring his shoulders, he lifted a hand doubtedly, but knocked on the already opened door nonetheless, pushing the door inwards. "Jae? It's me, Minho. Can I… can I come in?"
A vase sailed past Minho's head, exploding into porcelain shards. "Get the fuck out." Jae Hyun yelled at Minho, frightening him.
Minho, being one to push his luck, persisted, letting himself in while looking at Jae Hyun cautiously just in case he hauled something at him again, just so he could duck early enough to miss it.
Jae Hyun stood there shirtless, with just his trousers, breathing like a winded predator. His shoulders worked in angular juts as he clenched and unbleached his fists at his sides. He was attending to an injury, in which hung a sloppy bandage, beneath it an oozing gash in his upper arm.
Jae Hyun tore the bandage off, and blood oozed from the wound. Minho watched quietly with a concerned look as he moved closer and closer. Jae Hyun's fingers fumbled unsuccessfully at the wound, rushing fresh blood over his skin in a futile attempt to stop the flow.
"Didn't you hear me? I said get out."
"Please," Minho flinched, giving Jae Hyun a concerned look while closing the distance between them. "Just let me help you with that."
For a few seconds, Jae Hyun stared Minho down in endless tension, and Minho held on to that stare, glancing at the wound and back at Jae Hyun with every ounce of sincerity.
"What happened?" Minho asked, looking at Jae Hyun intently for a response.
"Minor inconveniences, nothing for you to worry about." Jae Hyun gritted through his teeth, desperately attempting to downplay the fact that he was in pain. Minho moved closer, gently holding Jae Hyun's arm to assess the wound better.
"Doesn't look minor if you ask me," Minho replied in a cautious tone. Jae Hyun strained.
"I told you to leave." Jae Hyun warned Minho, unable to downplay the uncertainty in his words.
"I… I, you know… thanks for helping me back there. If you came even a minute late… you know …"
Minho's statement seemed to ease the coiled menace off Jae Hyun's posture. Jae Hyun raised an eyebrow instinctively, remaining still and gauging what Minho was saying.
"You know what you did back there," Minho clarified, swallowing thickly. "That psycho was going to kill me."
"And what did you expect me to do? Stand by and watch him get rid of my investments? Jae Hyun retorted with sarcastic emphasis on the last words.
Minho was silent for a minute, as he dabbed the wound with a cotton swab. "But the way you handled it," he began, swiping his tongue over his lips. "It was a bit extreme; don't you think? Wasn't it over the top, even for you?"
For minutes, the only sound between them was their breaths rasping. Then Jae Hyun fixed Minho a sharp stare. Minho surely wasn't one to learn, because if he did. He ought to have known Jae Hyun hated that subject.
"That's what you wanted to talk about? Do you want to know what was over the top? You still have ideas on how I should handle my business?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Minho said softly, glancing up at Joe Hyun and shifting his attention back to the wound. He was gentle, those fingers surprisingly deft and sure.
Yet even with the sting of the antiseptic, Jae Hyun's concentration was transfixed on Minho's features, his rosy, slightly bruised cheekbones, his heart-shaped lips, his collarbones, and his neck disappearing into the vee of his shirt. Jae Hyun felt a strange heat start to build up in his belly.
"This might hurt," Minho warned, catching his bottom plump lip between his teeth as he reached for a towel, dabbing it on the wound.
Jae Hyun winced, not averting his gaze from Minho, who now flicked his tongue out to wet his plush pout. Jae Hyun swallowed hard, feeling suddenly dry in the throat. What wouldn't he give to trace those lips with his own…
Jae Hyun let out a hiss as a sharp needle pierced through his skin and Minho paused, cradling Jae Hyun's arm with one hand.
"Easy there," Minho soothed him, mistaking the hiss for one of pain. Using his thumb, he stroked Jae Hyun's arm. "It's ok," Minho said looking up at him and back at the wound.
Jae Hyun had been a raging inferno to the Minho in the past few days, and couldn't bring himself to understand why the boy was being so tender and gentle with him. He found himself leaning closer to Minho, his knees parting unconsciously as he gazed hungrily over Minho.
When his eyes fluttered upwards, Minho froze at Jae Hyun's stare, and he began to feel weirdly tense―no, charged, and his lips parted.
"Jae…" he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
Jae Hyun's eyes came alive as they roamed over Minho's red face, as they dropped on those tempting parted lips before he flicked them back up.
Minho loosened his hold to let go of Jae Hyun's arms. He almost forgot he was stitching him when Jae Hyun's arm tenderly brushed his thumb over his cheekbone, letting out a tiny whimper unaware as Jae Hyun leaned closer to his face up. His breath hit his face that Minho could practically taste it… like mint and some type of whisky.
Minho wanted absolutely no part of it. If anything, he had been attracted to women his entire life, and yet, he couldn't bring himself to pull away from Jae Hyun.
Jae Hyun inched closer, catching Minho's gasp between his lips.
Minutes later, Jae Hyun's tongue was silky and wet in Minho's mouth, and his hair was threaded between Minho's fingers as he held onto it, matching his pace.
It felt good. Good. And then, the only thing Minho could do was to block his thoughts and just be present.
Then suddenly Jae Hyun yanked himself away from Minho, leaving him gasping and thirsting for more. Minho's pulse went haywire. He could barely hear anything, just his heart beating like crazy in his head. Did Jae…did he actually?"
"What happened to 'you aren't who I thought you were'?" Jae Hyun asked, smirking menacingly at Minho who sat frozen beside him, eyes wide like he was still processing what had just happened.
But that was a rhetorical question that needed no answer, not that Minho would know anyway.
Jae Hyun shoved a shirt over his bare chest and got up to his feet, leveling an uncomfortable gaze at Minho. It was then that Minho noticed that even his slacks had become far too tight in a way that he didn't at all fancy.
No way, this can't be. Minho thought.
His traitorous parts had bulged the front of his pants. Minho reached down, trying like hell to adjust his pants in futile attempts to make it less obvious, but jokes on him. It had become too obvious.
"My arm's all patched now. You can leave."