Be the Light

7. The Anticipation

A coarse yell startled Wooyoung from his slumber. Instantly, he shot up and threw San's arm off his body. Disoriented fingers grabbed for his rifle as his eyes strained to focus.

"No! Go away, no!" Someone cried. Behind Wooyoung, San also fumbled for consciousness. After wearing each other out last night, they caught some unexpected sleep. It had been too brief for nightmares to plague Wooyoung, but he wished he had more time to rest. His eyes felt swollen and his brain took longer than usual to catch up. By the time he made it to his feet, he realized Mingi and Jongho perched by their sides, awake and nonchalant towards the hollering.

When Wooyoung remembered Hongjoong, his eyes found the spot where he had last seen him. During the night, he must have crawled closer to their camp, but held a cautious distance. Yunho was trying to feed him again, but it was as if Hongjoong had forgotten their tentative acquaintance from last night. He kicked and yelled, tried to bite at Yunho's arms that held him at a distance without manhandling him down. 

Yeosang was frantically digging through his bag when Wooyoung passed him to check on Yunho. He slung his rifle over his shoulder. The scrawny body of the patient was no match for Yunho's enormous frame.

"He must be in pain again," Wooyoung frowned. No blood reddened the bandages yet, but it would soon if Hongjoong didn't stop worming around. The frenzy on his features was uncaring about any additional damage. He just needed to get away.

"Yeosang is preparing his medicine. At this point, I believe he is afraid of any human." Upset that he had to fight the terrified patient and worsen his condition, Yunho sat back on his haunches. 

"Will we be able to take him along like this? If we have to carry him, he will weigh us down," Wooyoung contemplated. Yeosang scooted over on his knees and humbly offered the drink to Hongjoong. They sweetened it with some soda, attracting Hongjoong's ever so starved senses. 

Yunho retreated once he calmed down. They left him to ogle the drink suspiciously, but he seemed clear-headed enough to know that it would ease his pain. Soon, he drank in big gulps.

"We shortened his dosage again, so he should stay awake this time. Maybe once he realizes we have no interest in harming him, he calms down," Seonghwa chirped from Jongho's side. Eased, Wooyoung returned to his corner while Yunho and Yeosang exchanged a proud smile. As usual, Yunho was the best person to trust in taking care of someone. While Yeosang looked scary with his towering hulk of muscles, his smile was shy and hopeful. Being a surgeon definitely suited him better than the fighting ring. 

San had remained seated and ran his fingers through his hair. His gaze was directed into a far distance, but it snapped back when Wooyoung huddled by his side. A subtle smile grazed his lips. After last night, he hadn't bothered with the bandages again. Everyone here knew what he was and no one would shoot on sight anymore. Yeosang looked ever so worried about San's condition since he wasn't allowed to study it, and Yunho threw him the occasional once-over, but no one made him uncomfortable.

Immensely proud of himself for getting San to come out of his shell and be himself, Wooyoung reached for his bag. Now that they sat so close, memories of last night resurfaced and a cozy warmth mollified Wooyoung's insides. They were more intimate than ever and their bodies sought each other by instinct as they shared their brief privacy. After stumbling into their nest late at night and getting held to keep the nightmares at bay, Wooyoung's heart gravitated to this handsome, peculiar man.

"You okay?" San whispered to him, mindful not to involve the rest of the group in their business. When Wooyoung nodded, the harsh line in San's brow smoothed out. Relieved, he showed Wooyoung another grin and his charming dimples before he packed his bag.