Aurora's Child - ATEEZ Pirate AU

Chapter IX: Blockage

          "SEONGHWA!"

          Seonghwa finally snapped out of his panic attack when he heard his teacher yell. The room's lighting, which had previously been growing dim, went back to normal. The room had grown quiet and stiff. Realization hit Seonghwa when he noticed what had happened. He frantically inspected his fingertips, but thankfully they were normal. The group picked up on Seonghwa's strange behavior.

          "What... What was that?" San asked, breaking the silence.

          "Something that should've never happened. We'll talk about this later." Hissed Juno at Seonghwa.

          Seonghwa sadly nodded and hid his hands beneath his sleeves, another gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the group. Something was off and they could all feel it. There was something sinister about that man.

          Meanwhile, Hongjoong was slowly waking up. He felt disoriented and his senses were still foggy. He could pick up the faint voices in the room around him and the sudden drop of temperature. Something dark was creeping towards his body which made Hongjoong jumpstart in alert. Pain shoot throughout his body with the sudden movement.

          "Agh!"

          Everyone turned to the sudden yelp to see Hongjoong trying to get out of bed on his own.

          "Hyung!" Mingi ran to help Hongjoong gain stability. Hongjoong's weakened body trembled and shuddered from the pain that took over his chest.

          Seonghwa ran over to help Mingi put him back to bed. Hongjoong's rough hand shot up to grab Seonghwa's thin wrist. Startled, Seonghwa looked down to see the other man stare at him with great intensity, as if he was trying to read his soul.

          Hongjoong let go of his wrist to gently caress the man's cheek. Seonghwa couldn't even move from the sudden gesture. Mingi could only stare confused and concerned.

          With his fingers, he slowly moved away a loose strand of black hair. Seonghwa's heart starts beating harder. Green eyes staring into silver, Hongjoong finally speaks up. "Your eyes..." The medicine in his system made his vision a little blurry, but he could barely make out the shape of his eyes, the dilated pupils, his long lashes, and the frantic back and forth of his eyes. "They look... familiar."

          Seonghwa felt like he was about to combust from the severity of the other man. He looked at Mingi for help as he stood there not knowing what to do.

          Mingi clears his throat and pats Hongjoong's back making him pull away from Seonghwa. "Let's lay you back down on the bed." He turns to Seonghwa. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if my hyung made you feel weird."

          "Oh, no. I-It's alright! It was just... unexpected. What about your leg?" Seonghwa tries to dismiss him while hiding his red face.

          "Don't worry about it. The medicine you gave me is quite potent and I'm making sure to not put too much pressure on the wound." Mingi says with a smile.

          Seonghwa nods silently at that.

          With careful movements, they put Hongjoong back in the bed, much to his annoyance. Juno makes their way to Hongjoong, not without sending a teasing glance at their student.

          "How are you feeling?" Asked Juno.

          "My chest..." Hongjoong runs his hand over the snug bandages. His mind was still clouded and he couldn't recall why he was in that situation. As his vision cleared over little by little, he could finally take in everything around him.