↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第五

"So," Jongho begins with a drawl and cheeky grin.

He's got Seonghwa bent in half, his strong hands working the muscles of the elder's inner thigh— not that Seonghwa can feel much of them except for a slight pressure and some tingling.

"So, who's the new guy?"

"Why do you care?" Seonghwa grunts out, groaning at the stretch he can feel searing into his upper hip.

It's at moments like this that he almost wishes he hadn't regained feeling in some of his lower torso.

Jongho adjusts his grip and presses down harder.

"He's cute."

"Jongho-yah, you're straight." Seonghwa grimaces as another jolt of pain emanates from his therapist's efforts, but whining never earns him any slack during sessions, so he manages to stifle his whimper.

Carefully, Jongho guides Seonghwa's limp legs back down to the floor.

"I know I'm straight but I can appreciate good looks. Except for those fake-ass tattoos though. What's that about?"

"Long story," Seonghwa offers, breathing in deeply for as long as he can before Jongho tries to turn him into a pretzel again.

Honestly, who doesn't try to remove their fake tattoos after three days?

They're temporary for a reason.

"I'm sure." Jongho claps his hands together eagerly.

"Alright, so now that you're all stretched, why don't we give weight-bearing another try? Your thighs feel good and the muscle density is starting to come back."

Seonghwa groans again, rocking his upper body back and forth until he can flop over onto his side.

This earns him a scolding from the therapist.

"What did I tell you about doing that?" Jongho snaps, leaning over to roll Seonghwa back over on the rubber mat.

"If you can't feel the muscles in your lower back, you could pull them without even knowing and—"

"That will pull my spine out of alignment," Seonghwa finishes dryly, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, that would be terrible wouldn't it? Because then I wouldn't be able to walk— Oh, wait."

Jongho leans over the elder until he's completely obstructing Seonghwa's vision.

"What's going on with you? You've been doing so well, but these last couple of weeks it's like you've given up. Is this because of Wooyoung-hyung leaving?"

Throwing an arm over his eyes, Seonghwa sighs.

Everyone has been up his ass lately about Wooyoung leaving, wondering if Seonghwa will finally explode with rage.

Unfortunately, his preferred method of mourning is just being generally bitchy about everything.

He gets this way sometimes and even though he knows it's stupid and irrational, he can't help himself.