Consumed | ATEEZ Park Seonghwa (Revising)

2:11- Remedy

1556 words

"So, your name's Mingi?" My voice was hoarse, I looked up at him through hooded eyelids. I was in my bedroom once again. My whole body ached, numbness weighed down on my every muscle.

His eyes were wide now, despite them being slanted when I first woke up and saw his face. "Yes royal, Ksyusha went to her room for the night and I was sent here to watch over you." That explained the dark circles under his eyes, and how it seemed like he was struggling to keep them open. The glasses he wore did hide most of the darkness, however. I frowned, then planted my hands by my sides to lift myself up. "AH WAIT-" I stopped and gaped at him. "I can't have you overexerting yourself or getting hurt, for your sake and for mine." He scrambled over to my side and awkwardly moved his arms around, nervously trying to find a way to help me. If it weren't for the distance between us and the horrified look on his face, I would've took him for a creep.

"I can sit up on my own, thank you for your concern." I smiled at him, and continued moving back to lean against the dark wooden headboard. Even with the dim light from the lamp on my bedside table, I could see his face redden drastically.

"Sorry.. It's just that this is the most important job entrusted to me in my life. If I were to make any mistakes, my life would cease to exist." Mingi mumbled as he backed away and sat on a nearby chair.

From the way he spoke, and his body language, he seemed nervous. Extremely nervous, which was unsettling yet amusing at the same time. "What am I even saying- do you want me to get your.." He paused, "your partner?" He said in a whisper, as if he were afraid to ask.

The thought of him tugged at my intestines, they fumbled with them and twisted them into knots. "No, I'm fine."

"Do you need water? Do you want me to turn on the light? Are you hot- I mean, do you feel hot?" The more he spoke the quieter he got, until he fizzled out into a little ball of nervousness. I stifled a laugh, whilst moving the blankets around so that there were only sheets covering me.

"Can you find me a hairband? There should be some on my dresser." He nodded before standing and marching off to the other side of the room. The dresser was in a corner, next to big white curtains that covered the whole wall. I watched his back as he looked around.

"Which color do you want?" An eyebrows rose as I thought over the odd question.

"What color do you think? You seem like a fashionable guy." I chuckled as I saw him look down at his outfit. He wore a set of blue pajamas and bunny slippers. It's pretty frightening to wake up to an unknown man sitting next to you, but it's a lot perturbing when they're wearing something like that.

"I was in a rush since I was called out of the blue, and I didn't know I was going to be taking care of you." He sighed and turned around, he stared at the ground in defeat. "You always got to be prepared if you want to be a doctor, right? Luckily I'm Ksyusha's assistant, she always keeps me on my toes." His sarcasm caught me off guard, he held out a green hairband. I gazed at him through his fluffy brown hair and took the band. "I think it'll look good, with your hair color."

"Thank you." Mingi nodded and bowed before sitting back down.

Mingi fidgeted with his blue pajama shirt, he took the cloth between his thumb and index finger and shuffled it around. "Uhm, can I ask you a question? If it's too personal then please don't tell me."

He kept surprising me. "Sure?" I curved my hand under my head and gathered every strand I could manage, and then ran through with my other hand just to make sure there weren't any left. I tied my hair up into a simple, short ponytail. My hair had always grown fast, I noticed that it had finally past my shoulders.

He gulped, "I looked over the papers and whatever to see what was going on, so that I could understand your situation. From what I could gather, you've been poisoned." He looked into my eyes, they were more rested than before. "It's only natural for me to worry about the queen, are you alright?"

I held a fist full of my sheets, I clung onto the cloth gently. "Yes, I did get poisoned." I admitted, I could see his body tense and lean forward.

"By whom? Now that you're awake the guards can search-"

"I can't say. If I told, you wouldn't believe me. But I will get my revenge in due time, for now I'll have to clear it up. Please forget that this happened." He could see my desperation, for I had tried to make it obvious.

"Yes, of course, royal. Now, I guess I should prepare your remedy." Mingi stood up and walked around the bed, stopping at a cluttered desk. "I really hope you don't mind us using your desk, Ksyusha put all the documents and directions here for me to look over." Mingi turned towards me and bowed once again, I smiled.

"So, why do you want to become a doctor?" I hoped to get my mind off of Seonghwa, and it worked.

"The money."

Wow, very straightforward. I laughed at his response, regretting it when I felt a sharp jab in my ribcage.

"Just kidding!" He chuckled, his deep voice went high as he laughed, "It's not just the money, helping people is the main reason. My father and his mother were apart of HPL, so I decided to continue their legacy as well." I nodded, watching him work. His hands were fast, the right flipped effortlessly through the papers and the other gathered materials from a small bag that was on the desk. Once he was done with the papers he did things I couldn't explain, or possibly understand. His right hand would take breaks every now and then to push up his glasses.

Once he was done, he handed me a cup of warm tea. It smelled interesting, like vinegar, honey, and a million other things. I looked up at him, he still seemed uneasy. "Oh uhm, did you want to go back to sleep after drinking the tea?"

"Yes, it's quite late, isn't it?"

"You woke up at around 4 in the morning, now it's about 4:20."

"I can sleep more, then, and I'm sorry you had to stay awake this whole time."

"No, no! It's my honer to be able to take care of you." He bowed again, and smiled. I examined his cheekbones and the glasses that rested right above them. He was a cute guy, maybe I'd hire him.

That's when I realized that every person I've hired was because I thought they were cute. Yeosang, Jongho, and now Mingi. I didn't choose Hongjoong, we were just meant to be I suppose. Just to clarify, I meant cute as in personality wise, not physically. Well.. Yes physically, but mainly personality.

I sipped the tea, and I sunk deeper into my bed as the refreshing warmth took over my body. "What is this?"

I could see his back tense in surprise. "It's a family recipe, it's great for detoxifying. I modernized it though, and I'm still working on it. Ksyusha approved of it, so I decided to let you try. I hope it's okay."

"It's wonderful." I took a large gulp of it, almost spilling it all over myself. I cringed at my own clumsiness, and I tried not to laugh.

"Here, I have these oils for you as well." My eyes widened as he neared, I set down the tea next to the lamp and watched him with anticipation. "If I make you uncomfortable you can do it yourself, just tell me, okay?" I nodded and he proceeded. "Please close your eyes, if that's alright." I did as he asked, and a few seconds after I felt a gentle pressure above my eyebrows. I assumed he used his thumbs to apply the oils. He pressed down and slid to my temples, I heard his deep voice mumble. He chanted softly under his breath as he stroked my jaw in a straight line, he went down and stopped at the middle of my neck. The scent surrounded me, it was all I could think about. Lavender stood out the most, out of all of the ingredients.

"There," he huffed out in satisfaction, my heavy eyes opened to meet his, "I wished for you to have a good dream, and for your safety." His smile gave me a reason to force my eyes open.

"Thank you, very much." My voice was hushed, weary and tired. "You can go to your room, I would like for you to get good sleep as well."

He bowed, he didn't seem unsettled like before, he looked a little proud actually. "Thank you, royal. Goodnight."