𝒮ℴ𝓊𝓁𝓂𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓈 | 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓃ℊ |

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉ℯ𝓇 LIII

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the warehouse, followed by a deafening silence. No one was aware of what had just occurred, but the sight of the bloodied male falling to the ground, almost lifelessly, made their faces turn pale. Minho's mind blacked out, the worried screams faded around him, and all he saw was red. 

He took hold of the gun from the man's hand, shooting it once aimed at his leg, watching as he fell to the ground. A bullet to his arm as he painfully yelped, blood gushing out. A third bullet to his stomach, and at this point the man seemed to be phasing in and out of consciousness. Minho was unknown as to what he was even doing, he was mindlessly pulling the trigger, and a fourth was about to shot until Han Jina threw the gun out his hands, pulling him into a tight embrace, to prevent him from further incriminating himself, but he pushed the woman away, running to the unconscious male, running to his angel.  

He fell to his knees, his hands shaking as he held the cold ones within his own. Tears streamed down his face as he let out an angered cry. All the loud sobs, all the voices, everything was a blurred background to him. Seungmin dialed the ambulance as soon as the incident took place, and they were on their way. "Minho, we have to get out of here, that man could be dead", Hyunjin let out with hiccups, attempting to pull Minho's up by the arm, but he jerked away. 

He dropped his head, hugging the body of his lover. "Hyung..." Hyunjin let out more desperately. "NO!" he cried out. "I'm not leaving his side" he whispered this time, and Hyunjin knew there was no point in even trying. Minho pulled away, cupping the younger's pale face. His eyes were closed, but not tight, they were simply resting peacefully. A subtle smile was present on his face. 

Despite everything, all the pain, all the misery, his smile remained persistent. Sirens were heard in the distance, and before they knew it red and blue flashed into the warehouse. All seven boys followed the stretcher out the warehouse Jisung laid on, six were close behind, whereas one right next to him, holding his hand, and it was as they planned, leaving the place holding hands with a smile, the only difference was, only one of the two wore a smile.

The sound of worried nurses communicating with each other was heard as they dragged the stretcher to the nearest emergency room. Minho watched as his boyfriend was taken into a restricted room, and he was left staring at the door. Soon enough, his friends, along with Mrs.Han arrived in their personal cars, rushing to stand by his side. They were in no better condition. 

Changbin held a sobbing Felix close, attempting to regulate his unstable breathing. Seungmin sat on a hospital chair, looking completely disassociated from the world around him. He wasn't crying, he didn't look sad, he didn't look as if he was feeling anything. Hyunjin and Jeongin dragged Minho to take a seat as well, he looked as though at any given moment, his legs would give out. Chan remained behind at the scene, as the chief police, he was trying to manage the situation as best as he could, explaining what had occurred to his force. 

It was found that the man was still alive, and Chan could not have been more relieved. This would save Minho from something he didn't even want to imagine. Back at the hospital, it had only been an hour since Jisung was admitted, but it felt as though time was passing by as slow as it possibly could. "What.." Minho started, his head held low, his voice hoarse. Hyunjin looked to the side, fully attentive and listening. 

"What even happened?" he asked, sounding completely out of it. The truth was everything had happened so fast, Minho wasn't able to comprehend or take any of it in. "That fucking excuse of a man took the gun you were aiming at him. Jisung slowly made his way near you two and once he realized he was gonna pull the trigger, pushed you out of the way, and...yeah", Hyunjin finished off. 

Minho let out a deep sigh, clenching fist full of hair. It was all his fault. Han Jisung was in this life or death situation because of him. The one person he wanted to protect at the cost of his own life was now fighting for that very thing, and it was all because of him. He should be the one laying in that stretcher, not Jisung. 

Another hour passed before some commotion was heard. They looked to the approaching footsteps and saw Chan, followed by a few officers who worked under him. Instantly, he was tackled into a tight hug by Jeongin. Chan let out a sigh, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger. "Any updates on Jisung, sunshine?" he asked, pulling away. Jeongin simply shook his head, looking to the ground, before peeking behind. 

"Are you here to take Minho hyung?". It was clear he was not fond of that idea. "We have to sunshine, but I'll do everything in my power to back him up. Seungmin will be his lawyer, and his case can be fought with him having the upper ground, so there's nothing to worry about, hm?". Jeongin nodded with a pout. "Can you wait until Jisung wakes up? You know as much as I do he won't budge until he sees him" Hyunjin's voice was heard from behind, and Chan wore a warm smile. "One step ahead of you there, was already planning on that". 

Chan excused the officers that came with him, taking Jeongin by the hand to take a seat, to join the rest in waiting impatiently for some sort of update. Five long hours passed, some had fallen asleep, some had taken short naps and woke up occasionally, but Minho and Mrs.Han persisted in staying awake. They stayed awake every passing second, listening to the ticking of the clock, watching as it moved with the minutes going by. 

The two were the first to shoot up from their chair as soon as the door opened up, watching as the doctor removed his mask. "Are you here with Han Jisung?". At the sound of the doctor, the rest woke up as well, immediately averting their attention to him. "Yes, we are" Mrs.Han answered, as Minho restrained himself from pushing past the doctor and into the room. "How is Jisung?" Felix spoke up this time, desperate to hear the answer they all were hoping to. 

"It was a difficult surgery. The bullet had pierced through his cervical bone. Fortunately we had the exact bone needed to perform a bone transplant, but it was a long process, as we had to remove the bullet first, to prevent it from further toxifying the body. There was extreme amounts of blood loss, which led us to performing blood transfusions. We happened to have his blood type, and as soon as his blood levels had stabilized we continued, and successfully completed the surgery". 

The last statement allowed the boys to let out the breath they were all holding, some falling back to the chair, and one let out a loud sob. Seungmin hid his face within his palms, crying aloud for the first time since the incident. The feeling of relief he was undergoing was unexplainable. Hyunjin simply wrapped his arms around his shaking body, leaving a tender kiss on top of his head. 

"May I see him doctor?" Minho asked, hoping the answer would be yes. "As of right now, you may not. His condition has stabled but we have a few things to do to ensure his wound won't get an infection". The doctor rested a hand on Minho's shoulder before making his way back into the ICU. As soon as he turned around, a crying Han Jina engulfed him in a hug. Minho let out a deep breath, returning the embrace, just now realizing how terrifying this must have been for her. 

Before he knew it, the rest had made their way into the hug, and they stood there, within the comfort of one another's arms. Minho was the first to pull away, making his way out of the hospital to everyone's confusion. "Hyung?", Hyunjin spoke up in a questioning tone. Minho turned to Chan, holding his wrists together. Chan looked at his friend with guilt, he wanted to tell him that this wasn't necessary, but that would be far from the truth. 

Without questioning any further, he gently handcuffed the male. The rest stood a few feet away, watching as the scene unfolded. "Don't you want to see Jisung?", Felix asked as a tear rolled down his freckled cheek. Minho looked over at the boy. "Take care of him", was all he said before walking himself out.