Painkiller|ws

Chapter 9

"So, how are you feeling today?" Wonwoo shrugged because he was feeling fine as always, but what was he supposed to tell Dr Choi. "Did you get close to any more patients? I've seen you with Jun and Soonyoung more than anyone" Dr Choi asked as he wrote something down in his notepad.

"They're fun, don't read too much into why I'm friends with someone who supposedly tried to do the same thing I did" Dr Choi didn't say anything but continued his scribbling. "And Jisoo, didn't you end up with him in your room?" Wonwoo was initially confused with the name, but the setting made sense. He was talking about Joshua.

"Jisoo? Isn't it Joshua?" Dr Choi shook his head as he stared back into Wonwoo's curious eyes. "Joshua is his American name. We're going off-topic. This isn't about him" as if Joshua couldn't be any more perfect. Wonwoo remembered all the times he's called out to Joshua with his American name. Now he wanted to do it with his Korean name, which fit his delicate features way more, in his opinion.

"Have you had those thoughts again? Those tendencies?" Wonwoo was snapped out of his daydream about Joshua and turned to Dr Choi with displeasure. "No, I didn't have them in the first place, but since you won't believe that, at least believe I don't think about that now" the nodding was what made Wonwoo annoyed. It seemed so dismissing. He knew the doctor didn't believe him.

"You're thinking I'm going through denial, and eventually I'll go through acceptance, then you'll cure me, and I can leave" Dr Choi had a ghost of a smile on his lips after hearing that. "You know that's the stages of grief? Not getting over suicidal tendencies" Wonwoo crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"I don't know much about psychology" Wonwoo mumbled, and Dr Choi's expression softened. "Wonwoo look, I believe you. You didn't do that, but you're still going through a lot of pressure with university work, and I want to help you release some of that, okay?" Wonwoo was finally paying attention and chose to comply this time around.

"Okay, next session we'll do more. I have another patient soon" Wonwoo got up to leave but the door opened before he had a chance to put his hand on the handle. Wonwoo and Dr Choi both stared in surprise at the breathless nurse. "Nurse Lee, is everything fine?" Dr Choi asked, hands twitching beside him to hold the panicked nurse.

"Cheo- Dr Choi, it's important" Jihoon looked at Wonwoo before pointing to the door with his head. Wonwoo bowed as he went to walk past him. He didn't know what this was, but he was going to eavesdrop no matter what.

"What is it, babe?" Wonwoo's eyes shot up at that, and he continued to kneel by the door. Is he going to keep doing this in front of doors for the rest of his life? "Cheol Hyung, it's gyu. It's bad again. It's bad, the screaming, the thrashing, clawing at his skin" There was muffling of Jihoon's voice followed by a 'breathe darling' from Dr Choi.

The doctor-nurse scandal was something Wonwoo could focus on later as he made his way to wherever he thought Mingyu might be. Wonwoo poked his head to check inside the common room before going straight to his room. He didn't need to be near his room to hear Jeonghan's voice calming a frantic Mingyu.

"He's on me again. He's on me Jeonghan Hyung. Get him off me!" Jeonghan's voice sounded just as broken as he responded the best he could. "No one is on top of you, gyu. Look, it's just me. It's just me gyu" Wonwoo reached the entrance of his room at this point, and he's never seen Mingyu like this, this scared.

"Gyu, look at me focus on me. It's just you and me. There's no one else, only you and me" Jeonghan ran a hand through Mingyu's hair, pushing him further into an embrace. Jeonghan was kneeling on the ground as he cradled Mingyu in his arms. Mingyu's eyes locked with Wonwoo's for a second, and then the screaming returned. He pushed away from Jeonghan with most of his strength and went to further hide in the corner. Mingyu curled up in a ball and hid his face in his knees as he continued to scream incoherently.

"Don't hurt me, don't hurt me again, please!" Jeonghan whipped his head around to see Wonwoo, and before he could say anything, Jihoon and Dr Choi ran in, pushing Wonwoo out of the way. "Go anywhere else, Wonwoo" Dr Choi said without looking up from Mingyu.

Wonwoo could see him tapping a needle, and he wasn't going to stand around to see more. He walked further away from the room and saw a pale Minghao halfway to the common room, awkwardly standing in the hallway. "Is gyu okay?" Wonwoo didn't know how to answer him. Was he okay?

"What happened?" Minghao looked in the direction of Mingyu again but turned to look at Wonwoo. "Jun ge snapped at him. He screamed and grabbed him" the PTSD must've been triggered by that, but Wonwoo realised he still didn't know what caused Mingyu to be put in here.

Minghao seemed to read his thoughts as he always did and began explaining with a sigh. "He was abused by his father half his life. No one knows the extent to which it happened. They found him black and blue, almost malnourished and immediately brought him here. That was four years ago, Jun ge didn't mean to, but the way he acted must've triggered it" Wonwoo couldn't process it all. How could anyone do that to someone as sweet as Mingyu?

"He wouldn't talk to anyone when he got here, he was scared that he would get hit if he spoke without permission, but he talked to Jeonghan Hyung. Something about him always calms everyone down, and then he talked to me when I came. He tells me I was his first friend here" they were walking back to the common room, as Minghao explained.

"Is there something between them? Mingyu and Jeonghan hyung?" Minghao looked as if he was considering what he should tell Wonwoo. "Honestly, even I don't know. I just know the line Jeonghan Hyung drew on boundaries like love is very thin with him, I'll tell you that" Wonwoo couldn't help but wonder about Joshua yet again. Did something like this happen for him to be this reclusive? He'll have to find out.

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