Foxtrot {SVT Gang AU}

Light at the End of the Tunnel

"What the hell, man?" Chan screamed at the chuckling man. He wiped the blood off of his upper lip that was forming a river from his abrased nose. He winched in pain from the touch. Pulling his hand away from his face, he saw the blood stanning his skin. His blood boiled. 

"That was wonderful, my love!" yelled Hoshi, clasping his red hands together in a joyful motion. His face was also starting to bruise from Chan's punches. "You'll make a good fighter, that's for sure!"

Still a bit dumbfounded at what just happened, Chan stood up like a drunken man, wabbling and shifting his weight with uncertainty. He thought maybe something might have been broken. He paid attention to how each part of his body felt like he had never had a sense of feeling before. He was unsure if that leg felt weird or if it was fine, whether his nose was broken or just bruised. Chan quickly turned to leave, limping downstairs and clutching the railing so hard his knuckles turned white. Hoshi didn't chase after him, which was strange, but he didn't care, all Chan thought about was getting away from that place that was a good competitor with Hell. 

It was dark by the time Chan got a good distance away from the building. As the gazed at the new moon, shrouded in darkness, he thought that maybe going home wasn't the best idea. If he went home, his parents would make him go to the hospital and maybe would even file a police report if they suspected Chan was beaten up. Sure, he was beaten up, but if he filed a police report against Hoshi and his gang, there could be other people that would come after him. The scenario in Chan's cloudy mind made him scared, so he sat under a streetlamp to call someone. 

Scrolling through his contacts, he thought hard about who he could call. Joshua? No, Chan was sure he would force him to go to the ER. Seokmin? No, the poor kid shouldn't be involved, he would probably have a panic attack when Chan arrived at his door all bloody and bruised. Jihoon? Dear God no. 

Running out of options, Chan became a little desperate. Who could he call? Who would care? 

That was when Chan reached the 'J' section of his contacts. Jeonghan's name caught Chan's gaze. He hovered his finger over the boy's name for several minutes before squeezing his eyes shut and clicking on the 'call' button. 

"Hello? Chan?" Jeonghan's faint voice sounded like the vocal representation of the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Jeonghan, I'm sorry to call so late, but I need some help," Chan said with a quivering voice, the pain and emotional distress finally getting to him. Tears threatened to stain his cheeks as he spoke.

"Do you know my address?" Jeonghan's voice suddenly became very clear as he had finally woken up. 

"Yes," whispered Chan. It wasn't too far away from where he currently was. He was strongly relieved that Jeonghan didn't ask rapid questions that Chan wasn't willing to answer. 

"Get here fast, I'll come out to the back patio and we can talk."

"Thank you, Jeonghan." The call ended. Chan moved as fast as his aching legs would allow down the street towards his friend's house. Suddenly Chan became hyper-aware of the people around him. There was a tall man in all black on the parallel street, watching Chan move. Scared that it was Jun or The8 watching him, Chan cut through many yards in order to get out of their sights. Eventually, he saw the young boy on a patio in pajamas, hugging himself to combat the cool air. 

"We need to hide, quickly," Chan said, heading to the back door. Jeonghan merely nodded but didn't ask questions. They hurried inside, but Jeonghan hushed Chan, meaning that his parents were asleep and didn't know about the current situation. Chan stepped as softly as he could to the bathroom, where Jeonghan led him. Jeonghan turned on the light and closed the door behind them. Now looking at Chan under proper lighting, Jeonghan gasped and clasped his hands over his gaping mouth. Chan looked in the mirror and it was much worse than he suspected. 

There were scratches and small cuts all along his right cheek, which merged with the forming black eye on that side. His nose was crooked and his lower face was covered in dried blood. His shirt was all torn and covered in the blood too. His visible shoulder was also torn up pretty badly. The adrenaline must have done miracles for his pain. 

"Dear Lord, what happened?" Jeonghan whisper-yelled, anxiously running his hands through his bed hair.  

"I don't think I really can tell you," said Chan, "I'm sorry. I don't want you to get hurt too."

"So someone did this to you, then?" Chan stayed silent. He wasn't sure what he should say in this situation. He just gave Jeonghan a pleading look, asking for understanding and help. Jeonghan took a big breath and said, "okay, I trust you, I trust you. Let's try and get you fixed up, then." 

He reached for the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. He pulled out various objects, including bandages, scissors, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Chan could already feel the burning bubbling feeling of that harsh chemical on his wounds. 

"First, you should take off the shirt so I can see what's going on."

Chan was at first hesitant to this request, being a shy kid, but gave up his protest and discarded the shirt. Chan honestly had nothing to be ashamed of: his body was rather sculpted and fit, which many people were secretly envious of. He was a petite young man, but that didn't do any harm for his appearance.

Once the shirt was off, Chan could really see how much blood was on him and how much his upper body had been skinned by the concrete floor. Jeonghan sighed at the sight too, knowing it would be a long night for both of them.

Jeonghan started off by treating the shoulder, which he said would be the most painful part. "Get the rough stuff out of the way first," he would say. He took a rag and drenched it in the peroxide, laying it delicately on Chan's throbbing shoulder. The pain shot through Chan's arm and collarbone as the desire to scream built up in his chest. He had to hold his breath as hard as he could to let the desire pass as the pain slowly burned away into a dull, sore feeling. He let out the ragged breath he was holding as Jeonghan began to speak again.

"Sorry, I know this sucks. It looks like you fell on this shoulder and some dirt and debris are in your skin. I'll rise it with some water." He grabbed a cup from the sink and filled it up with some cold water, letting it stream down over Chan's arm. The cool feeling felt nice, as the irritated skin on the arm was hot to the touch. Once this was done, Jeonghan dried the arm and started to wrap it in bandages. "This isn't the best dressing, but it will have to do for now."

Jeonghan looked up into Chan's tired and red eyes. Chan looked away. 

"Hey, I don't know what happened to you tonight, but I won't ask. You can tell me if you want, but if you decide you don't, that's okay too," he said. He took the peroxide rag and dabbed Chan's cut-up cheek lightly. Chan looked back up to meet Jeonghan's gaze. The pseudo-doctor smiled kindly to his patient.

"Someone beat me up," Chan admitted.

Jeonghan laughed, "yes, I think I got that part when you walked in!" Chan also laughed along with Jeonghan and the mood lightened a little. The two chatted a little bit more as Jeonghan worked on fixing Chan's appearance until they were done. Jeonghan called Chan up to his room, saying he could spend the night and then they could drive to school together the next day. Chan simply texted his parents this same excuse so that he wouldn't become a missing person by morning. Jeonghan threw Chan a new shirt to sleep in and set up a little makeshift bed beside his own. The boys started to settle down for the night, Chan spoke sincerely. 

"Um," he started awkwardly, "I really want to thank you, Jeonghan. I know I haven't been the nicest in the past, but being your friend recently has really made my day. Thanks for helping me tonight, I had no one else to turn to." He would have gone on, but the lump in his throat and the tears in his eyes made him stop prematurely. There was silence for a minute as both boys stared at the ceiling in the dark bedroom.

"Aww, come on, man! It's what friends do for each other. You don't need to get so emotional. I really feel the same way, Channie. You're probably my best friend." 

And that's when Chan burst into tears.

A/N: Oh my, this is one of my favorite chapters I have written for the story. Channie is my little baby and he always needs to be protected TT