[ It's not often that Minhwan feels miserable, but this is one of those moments.
Don't misunderstand, it's not really emotionally. Sure, he isn't feeling super great either, but he isn't broken up about this whole deal.. It feels kind of numbing mentally, honestly. Or maybe that's due to the fact he feels like his head has come in contact with a hard and fast moving object just one too many times - it's hard to do as much as even think straight. That's where the miserable part comes from, it's all physically. Every single part of his body aches or hurts, much worse than they do after any single one of the rounds of sex he's had. And it's not like he's particularly gentle during any of those.
But this is still worse. His head pounds and he's not sure if it's been bleeding or not, but he sure still is feeling light-headed. His nose feels painful to the touch, blood having dried up and caked under it from his nosebleed earlier. His lips are busted and he's pretty sure you could paint constellations on his body with the number of bruises he has if you were feeling particularly poetic. Or just really bored. But the worst part is that one of his wrists feels like it won't move just quite the right way. Probably not broken, but at least twisted, and it hurts like hell whenever he tries to move it.
It's a small miracle he even managed to pull himself up from the cold hard alley ground. He just remembers running into that group of thugs when he was moving to hang out with Jaejin for the rest of the evening and probably night after having been at Sejoon's, having them target his cellphone, and him being too reckless to run away, but not stupid enough to engage them in direct combat. He'd lose, he knew that much - he wouldn't even be able to bring down one by himself, let alone a group. So he tried outwitting them verbally, but.. well, Minhwan has never been subtle. Add a little too smarmy and full of himself to the list, and it ended up with him getting his ass beaten until he blacked out, only to awaken a few hours later (probably? it was already dark out when he headed this way, so it's hard to tell) on the ground. Without his phone.
His head being shaken up this badly makes it hard to think, but instinctively he knows he can't keep lying around here all night. He was on his way to Jaejin's place, that much he remembers, and he also knows it's only three streets away from here. Which is much closer than his own home. And honestly.. he strangely feels like he doesn't want to be alone right now and limp home by himself injured like this. It's an odd feeling to Minhwan since it's not like he's ever had to miss his dumbass of a best friend, but he just really wants to see him right now. He can lie down, Jaejin can make some of his usual hilarious lame remarks and Minhwan will make some in return, and just maybe it'll stop feeling like a horde of bulls trampled straight over his body. It's not far from the truth.
It doesn't mean that limping to Jaejin's place is very comfortable either, even with as relatively close as it is, but it's better than nothing. Without thinking he picks up a small rock with his good hand when he arrives there, throwing it against the window he knows to be his best friend's and hoping he's still up waiting for him. (It's reasonable to assume Minhwan didn't show up for hanging out in time since he took his sweetass time banging Sejoon, after all - it's not like it has never happened before, and Minhwan knows it.)
It feels oddly nostalgic considering how many times they've did this before instead of ringing the bell like normal people, but Minhwan doesn't have the time nor energy to think about it. He hardly even has the energy to wait just a few more seconds, and he crumbles to his knees out there. ]
[ It wouldn't be the first time that one of them have gotten into a fight. Hell, Minhwan and Jaejin spend most of their time together fighting, and they're no strangers to cuts and bruises. Jaejin has come home largely black and blue more times than you can count on both hands from Minhwan's knuckles, elbows, and knees, and even though his mom goes on furious tirades about it, it was never a big deal for them.
But this is different from times like that. It's fine if the person turning Minhwan into red shreds of a person is him, but when it comes to being beaten the shit out of by a group of strangers? It doesn't sit with Jaejin. It also isn't the first time one of them have gotten into a fight with a group, but it is the first time they've done it alone. All the other times they've run into people that Minhwan (always smarmy, cocky Minhwan) has rubbed the wrong way, it's been when they have been together, with Jaejin to back him up (in the one way he finally has where he's superior to Minhwan; reckless force).
It's never been like this before. The only times they're apart is when they're with Sejoon, so there's been barely any time for someone to get them alone to harass. Going to and from each other's places and to and from Sejoon's are the only times they're really without each other. Things like this just don't happen to them.
It isn't unusual for Minhwan to get caught up on nights he spends with Sejoon. Jaejin isn't worried when Minhwan doesn't turn up on time; there isn't really a time: whenever they turn up is the time, so Jaejin doesn't think twice when Minhwan doesn't show. It's late now, and he's already in bed with his handheld out, trying to win the hearts of busty e-girls. It's by some small miracle that he doesn't have his headphones in, and as much as luck has given Minhwan a kick in the dick so far, it's also smiling down on him, much like Jaejin does to his game when he hears the rock against his window. That haven't done things like this since they were kids, long replaced by one word texts or in Jaejin's case, climbing up to open Minhwan's window himself.
Jaejin opens the window before leaning out, ready to reenact Romeo and Juliet before he goes down to unlock the door and let Minhwan in, but even without the light of day and only barely illuminated by street lamps, Jaejin can tell immediately that something is wrong. The blood caked on Minhwan's face is plain enough for anyone to see, and the way he sways is healthy to nobody. ]
Shit.
[ Minhwan dropping to his knees is all it takes for Jaejin to run out of his room, sprinting across the hall and taking the stairs two at a time. Barely a blink passes before he's downstairs and exploding out the front door, the hinges groaning in the effort it takes to stay attached to the frame with the force Jaejin uses to open it. He's at full speed until he drops to his knees and skids the last few feet to Minhwan, stopping short in front of him to grab Minhwan by the chin and check the damage. ]
Jesus, Minhwan...
[ Followed by some swearing under his breath in Chinese.
It doesn't look good, and he sidles up to Minhwan's side, nudging his shoulder under Minhwan's arm so he can help carry him inside. ]
[ This is exactly why he made it over to Jaejin's place. He at least knows that no matter what, his best friend wouldn't turn him away at a moment like this - the same would count if it were the other way around and Jaejin showed up in front of him like this.
Not that thinking is much of a thing right now. Maybe it's from the effort of dragging his legs that feel like they're hardly a part of his body anymore across those few streets, but his head is pounding worse than before and when Jaejin moves to support him, almost his entire weight shifts onto the other guy. It's something that Minhwan definitely would have done as a joke if this were any lighter situation. If it had just been them fighting like usually, rolling all around and hitting each other until they're both lying on their backs on the floor laughing off their concussions, he definitely would have pulled at least this much on Jaejin if he'd help him up.
This time it's involuntarily. His body just has no energy left and the moment it realises it has something to lean on, it gives out.
It's kind of pathetic. But at least Minhwan doesn't have a lot of problems with that due to his lack of any sense of shame. ]
.. don't gimme that. [ His voice is kind of weak and a little raw - it feels like he hasn't spoken up in three days rather than just a few hours tops. It's only now too that he really tastes the inside of his mouth and realises it's gross as hell, making him cough.
It's not what feels weird to him though. Not the weirdest, anyway. It's everything that's not physical about this. The look in Jaejin's eyes, the way he moves to help him without fucking around like they always do. The muttered curse words. (Minhwan might be good at learning languages naturally, but he's pretty sure that every single Chinese vaguely vulgar word he knows came from this guy's influence.) It's emotions, and Minhwan has never been good at those. It's not even a problem with expressing them, but more just a problem with feeling them in the first place - so it's easier to downplay everything. Even this.
Jaejin's let him get away with it all the time, anyway, even if none of those times involved feeling like he almost got beaten to a pulp. It's one of the things he likes so much about his best friend. He just lets him be himself without questioning the weird way he's put together or making Minhwan question that way himself. ]
'm fine.
[ The slurred words from behind busted lips don't make it very convincing, nor does the way he's leaning on the other. And it's true that it hurts, and that it's inconvenient that his phone got stolen, yeah, but he'll be fine, he's sure. There's no other way to process it in his head, especially as light as it is now. ]
[ As much as it seems to anyone else that the two of them are only lighthearted friends who crack jokes and eat food and disappear at the first sign of serious trouble, they call each other best friend for a reason, and it isn't just because they exist in a perpetual cycle of buying each other lunch. They're best friends because when things like this go down, there's no turning away. Jaejin is just as accepting of a battered Minhwan in his house as a smarmy one who dances around and touches all his things.
Though 'accepting' is a word that only goes so far. Accepting of Minhwan and everything he does to make anyone else hate him? Sure, that comes as a constant state, but Jaejin would never accept this kind of damage inflicted on his best friend. Just seeing it makes his blood boil, and if it weren't for the fact that Minhwan needs him to walk right now, he'd grab the nearest blunt object and go hunt down the scumbags who did this.
(Which isnt to say that plan is off the table. It most certainly is not, and as soon as he makes sure Minhwan is okay he's going out on a headhunt.)
He makes no complaints as he leads Minhwan inside the house, carrying most of his weight without a word, perfectly accepting to carry his best friend now, if Minhwan so much as hinted at needing it.
But of course Minhwan would play this off like it's nothing. Jaejin would do the same if he were in the same shoes. He gets it. ]
Yeah, you're totally fine. Beaten to shreds is in right now.
[ He tries to sound unconcerned, but the raw tinge to Minhwan's voice makes his chest run hot with the feeling that someone absolutely needs to pay for this. He leads him towards the first floor bathroom, if only because he can't imagine taking Minhwan up stairs right now. ]
Who did it?
[ Not "what did you do". Minhwan is an intolerable idiot, but he's Jaejin's idiot. ]
[ There's something else lacing Jaejin's words. It doesn't have much to do with Minhwan's ability to recognize emotions - because, let's be real, if there's anything Ahn Minhwan is absolute shit at, it's reading other people's emotions and actually understanding them - as much as it has to do with the fact that they never do display anything more than casual emotions around each other 98% of the time. So when shit does go down, it makes every single change more noticable. Minhwan probably vaguely realises in the back of his mind that it counts for himself right now too, his tone battered and weakened, but it also counts to Jaejin. Even though he replies with something that would be standard for the two of them in any given situation, there's an edge to it that betrays something else. If he can notice it even in his current state of lightheadedness, it really has to be there.
The moment Jaejin manages to drag him into the bathroom, he escapes his best friend's grip to drop himself straight onto the toilet. Not the most elegant place to sit down, no, but he doesn't really care right now. Minhwan feels like if he'll take even a single step more after dragging himself over to Jaejin's house to begin with, he'll either start spitting blood or throwing up the entire contents of the meal he had at Sejoon's place, and neither really sound appealing right now. Maybe sitting down will make the world spin a little less, even if it won't do jack shit for the dully throbbing pain in the rest of his limbs or his useless wrist.
He takes a moment to suck in a breath before there's enough energy in him to properly reply. ]
Some thugs. Don't think we ran into them before.
[ Because they have ran into others. And they'd always made it out just fine, or more or less fine - the combination of Jaejin's strength and Minhwan's intelligence got them out enough times, even though it often was Minhwan's fault they were in the mess to begin with.
But the thought makes him think of something else-- or rather, it makes him realise something he never really thought of before. Every single time it happened, it just felt natural what happened. That Jaejin would just stand up for him, even if they'd never put it like that out loud. He never asked the other to help him out, but even so.. he just did. At one point it just started to feel natural to have each other's back no matter the situation, and no matter how casually they treated anything else in life.
Only now Jaejin wasn't there for once Minhwan realises how much he subconsciously relies on the presence of the dumbass he loves spending time around so much that he's claimed as his best friend. (It's a weird feeling for someone with the emotional capabilities of a toddler and who doesn't realise half of the time some people actually mean something to him.)
That edge in the other's voice falls right under the same category. If Jaejin honestly feels something over him getting beaten up like this (a normal human reaction, but not in Minhwan's mind), he would be flattered, sure, since he's an attention whore. But at the same time it makes his innards twist in a way he doesn't understand whatsoever.
Easier to sweep it under the carpet than to deal with that.
And so he waves a little with his good hand without raising it - mostly since he's incapable of doing so since his whole body would ache, but the intention for the gesture is there all the same. "Let it be." ]
[ Emotional hotdog as he is, Minhwan isn't the only one who would have a hard time reading Jaejin right now. He's never been the kind of person's who's open with his feelings, especially not to someone like Minhwan when the both of them are the kind of people who like to ridicule each other for feeling anything. He's gotten so used to it that any real, serious emotion is something he experiences quietly and keeps to himself. Right now he's furious, but quietly, murderously so, where he's still stuck in the stages of eerily calm instead of explosive. Minhwan is what matters to him first and foremost, and fury can come later.
Now that Minhwan is properly inside, still, and under real lighting is the first time Jaejin gets to see his wounds fully, and they do nothing to make him feel any less furious about what happened. This isn't just a few cuts and scrapes that could be brushed off with some bandaids and some antiseptic. Minhwan can barely walk, can barely lift his arms, and seeing his best friend in a state like this makes Jaejin's insides feel cold. He puts his hand over his face to try and hide his expression, but it's more than clear that he's far from thrilled to see Minhwan like this.
He doesn't blame himself for what happened and not being there, but he does know that something like this would never have happened if he was there. As in, Minhwan wouldn't look nearly this bad. The two of them would definitely end up with their asses handed to them, laying on the pavement in pain and covered in bruises, but at least they'd be dead men walking together, laughing with crushed ribs while they bled out and people avoided them.
He kneels down in front of Minhwan to get a better look, gingerly grabbing him by the face and checking his head for anything that could be potentially fatal. He's no doctor by a long stretch, and he doesn't know what sort of things he should be looking for, but he doesn't see anything that immediately throws up red warning lights, only scabbed, shining cuts, and crusty dried blood.
He still isn't happy to see it, but at least Minhwan's head isn't going to explode. Probably.
He flicks Minhwan in the ear (he'd usually slap him upside the head or punch him in the arm, but doesn't dare do either thing now) for making a comment so stupid. ]
I'm going to get your phone back.
[ He's got some choice things to say to the assholes who took it too. Mostly the kinds of things that can only be said with a blunt weapon in your hand. ]
[ The statement is practically ridiculous to Minhwan. To the point where he isn't even sure how he should take it - Jaejin is too serious to be joking, especially considering the state he usually sees Jaejin in (which is a boneless blob shovelling chicken into his face while making dick jokes). But on the other hand, it's hard for Minhwan to imagine Jaejin saying that in a more serious way. Sure, they've worked out sticky situations together before, but Jaejin being mad for his sake.. that's already hard enough to consider, let alone Jaejin actually going out and doing that for him.
It's just not who they are. Minhwan wouldn't abandon his best friend in a bad situation either, no matter how self-centered he seems, but he just can't imagine something like this. He doesn't feel emotions strong enough himself to grasp any of this.
It's easier to dodge it. Besides, the phone is not a priority to Minhwan. Does all of this suck? Yes, of course it does. And replacing his phone is going to be a pain, but there's something that always takes the first priority when it comes to Minhwan, and it's attention.
All he wants is just some of that normal attention. Like none of this happened, and Minhwan can act like his usual moronic self. Like Jaejin flicking him in the ear (mild compared to the usual, but still) because he's saying something stupid.
That's normal.. that's what he can handle. Not any of this weird, almost tense atmosphere. ]
Aigoo.. Joo Jaejin, you're going to abandon me like this?
[ It's true at least that he can't go anywhere like this. The very idea of having to stand up feels physically impossible with the current state of his body, and he even moreso doesn't like the idea of Minji throwing a fit if he'd show up at home like this. Easier to just take care of the worst and pass out on Jaejin's bed, waiting out the morning to figure out the rest.
Minhwan reaches out with his good arm, the fingers of his hand latching onto his friend's sleeve. ]
Just help me clean up a little. How am I supposed to be handsome like this?
[ The words fall a little flat with Minhwan's completely energyless tone, but at least the same intention as always is behind them.. somewhere, at least. ]
[ Irresponsible is one of those words you can't help but use to describe Jaejin as a person. He's lazy, thinks nothing about his future, and would rather sleep than work towards anything that will have any kind of positive impact on his life. He'd sooner drop a baby than gently hold and rock it to sleep, and he's about as irresponsible as teenagers come.
But this, this is a different situation entirely, and one which Jaejin is more than willing to be an adult in. As much as he wants to leave right now and get his white hot revenge when it's still bright in his chest, Minhwan needs him more, and he can push all that aside in order to take care of his best friend.
The phone itself isn't important, and if it were just that and nothing else then Jaejin wouldn't care about it at all, and he'd go shopping with Minhwan tomorrow for a new one... but it isn't about the phone. It's about a group of good for nothing thugs out there in the city thinking that they can beat the shit out of Jaejin's best friend and get away with it with no harm no foul on their end. Maybe Minhwan is a bit of a dick, but he's always been Jaejin's bit of a dick, and Jaejin is hardly eager to see him get his ass handed to him.
He makes a complicated, unreadable expression as Minhwan's fingers tug at his sleeve, swallowing down his cold rage with a dizzy feeling in his gut. He grabs a clean towel from the rack to their side, wetting it with warm water and wringing it out until it stops dripping, holding it in one hand. ]
The real question is when were you ever handsome in the first place. This is just enhancing your inner ugliness.
[ He kneels down in front of his best friend, surveying the damage up close. It doesn't look nearly as bad as he first thought... but it doesn't look good. It doesn't make him feel good, either, and he's still got that dull, painful ache in his chest, even as he presses the towel to Minhwan's face and does his best to clean off the dirt and crusty blood. ]
[ As the other cleans off his face with the towel, Minhwan starts to realise just how tired he is. No matter that he apparently passed out for hours in a nook of some dark street or alley, he still feels completely exhausted - even keeping himself sitting up like this feels like it takes too much energy, but even Minhwan can figure out that just plopping down on Jaejin's bed and passing out for a few more hours won't do much good for him as long as he's caked with dried up blood and dirt.
At least Jaejin is saying something that makes a little more sense to Minhwan. Their usual insults back and forth are something he can easily understand, it's just how everything between them goes at all times. He doesn't even think for a moment it's cruel for Jaejin to insult him while he's in this state. It'd only be weird if Jaejin didn't do it, no matter the situation.
Not that it means Minhwan will stay quiet. Especially in a situation like this, where the exhaustion in his bones and the way Jaejin rubs away the blood almost rhythmically feels like it'd be enough to lull him into sleep while sitting here. Running his mouth makes him feel a little more normal, at least, and it'll keep his brain going enough to keep him up too, even as he's obediently sitting there unmoving while Jaejin works on making him a little more presentable. ]
Just because you're in denial about it, does that mean the whole world is...? [ Usually it'd be said with a stupid smirk plastered all across his face, looking at Jaejin so eagerly, like he's almost excited to see the other's reaction to it - even though it usually wouldn't be more than a jab to his side or a punch in the shoulder.
Now it feels more lifeless instead, like Minhwan is too far gone in a haze to show the qualities about him that are the most like Minhwan.
Instead he stares at Jaejin's face while the other is still using the wet towel, something about the other's expression starting to bother him more and more, no matter how slow his mind feels for once. ]
.. Why do you keep making that face? [ It's an expression he never sees on Jaejin, and coupled with some of the other things he's said so far.. it's something beyond Minhwan's level of emotional understanding. It's why there's no teasing hint in his tone, even though he wouldn't be able to summon that much even if he wanted it anyway. ]
[ Serious between the two of them is something that doesn't come by often; their entire friendship has always been built on banter and mutual hassling of one another that changing it now would feel like a disconnect; something so uncharacteristically Jaejin and Minhwan that it would feel like two children trying to slip into the shoes of their parents. Kind care and concern are things that belong to someone else's friendship.
Not that they don't care, of course, they just have different ways of showing it. As much as Jaejin gives Minhwan a hard time throughout every step of his life, he would die for his idiot best friend if he had to.
He softens his expression somewhat when Minhwan calls him out, shaking his head to rid himself of it. He didn't realize he was getting so externally obvious about his internal white hot rage. He doesn't know what he's going to do yet, but he's going to do something. ]
It's lust. I'm about to ravish you.
[ Concern and anger more like. Minhwan's lifelessness makes Jaejin's chest tight, and he wants to punish the people who dared suck all the fun and bite from Minhwan's awful personality that only Jaejin unconditionally loved. Maybe he'd be more accepted as he is now, downtrodden and sore, but Jaejin liked him better when he was insufferable in the way that only he enjoyed.
He rinses the cloth until it runs clear, pressing it against Minhwan's cuts again to clear the dirt without smearing it. He's starting to look a little more human, but it only makes it more obvious how messed up Minhwan got. ]
[ He knows it's not true. Even if what's in Jaejin's head might be beyond Minhwan's emotional level of understanding (which has never been very high), it's obvious that's a lie. If even Minhwan can tell it is, then it's the weakest cover up anyone could have used in a situation like this.
And yet.. he's not sure he wants to pry. It's an odd sort of feeling to Minhwan, and he honestly can't help but wonder for a moment if it's because he feels so exhausted and sore that it's dampening his natural curiosity. He's usually so eager to tug at anything that might even in the slightest seem like a secret, wanting to uncover anything about anyone without thinking of stuff like boundaries or the idea that people might get hurt if everything about them is revealed so easily. And yet in this moment he's staring an obvious lie from his best friend's side in the face and doesn't feel like finding out what's behind it.
It suddenly feels almost weird to ask Jaejin what's really going on with him. Like it'll break some sort of momentum they've had going on forever, tipping some balance that can't easily be restored. Although they've always had each other's backs in an unspoken sort of way, it's never been like them to go deep. Not with how Jaejin likes to keep everything about him that isn't cool buried deep, not with how Minhwan doesn't even understand emotions beyond a kindergarten book level.
(It's doubtful he would understand even if he did ask - for all his outward self-importance and vanity, Minhwan doesn't expect anyone to do anything for him just like that.) ]
Ah, right. [ His response still sounds lifeless though. Even if it's more just the state of his body talking than anything else. He tries moving the hand that got hurt pretty badly, but it doesn't move an inch... no dice, huh. ] Well, we're going to share a bed tonight anyway. Might as well take the opportunity.
[ Because Minhwan isn't going home. Not tonight. It's not as if he's afraid of running into those guys again - honestly, even if he did meet them, he'd mouth off to them all the same, even if it'd have the same result in the end - but he just doesn't feel like explaining this to his parents or Minji. Especially the latter would throw a fit, since it's just what Minji does. Even if Jaejin is being a little odd, he's still treating all of this in a way that's a lot easier for Minhwan to wrap his mind around than that. Not to mention he's way too tired to get himself all the way back to his house.
It's not like anyone will think it's weird for him to suddenly stay over at Jaejin's anyway - the two of them do it all the time, no matter whether it's at Jaejin's house or his own. Even Jaejin's mother should find it normal enough that he can mostly avoid her and along with that avoid further questions. ]
[ It's better for the both of them that Minhwan doesn't pry into what Jaejin is really feeling. The sharing wouldn't help either of them, and only make it awkwardly, abundantly clear that there's something dark growing in Jaejin that he can't shake off without an outlet. He grew up with this stunted moron at his side, and the very idea of sharing all his thoughts and emotions with him makes Jaejin feel tense and uncomfortable. He's never liked admitting just how much this tall, broken idiot means to him, and he isn't about to start now when that idiot is barely held together pieces. Everything he's feeling, he'll keep it to himself.
Which is why he only nods when Minhwan announces he's going to stay over--announces, not asks, and Jaejin wouldn't have it any other way. Even if Minhwan had gotten up right here and insisted on going home, there's no way Jaejin would have let him. He would have come up with some poor excuse or thin joke veil in order to get Minhwan to stay here, at least for tonight. He won't tell him, but he doesn't want Minhwan to be alone right now.
Or, is it that he doesn't want to be alone right now? He feels kind of rattled by the whole experience, and he wants nothing else than to be able to be his best friend's second set of hands.
Finishing rinsing Minhwan's face, he tosses the wet cloth into the sink, wiping his forehead like he's just done hard, manual labor, when it's really all his emotions running high that tire him out. ]
Yahh, I don't know if I even want to now. You've gotten uglier.
[ More thinly veiled attempts not to overwhelm himself. He gestures to the rest of Minhwan's body, trying to seem casual as always. ]
[ The casual tone at least makes things a little easier for Minhwan - even though the pain and exhaustion from dragging himself here in the first place is finally starting to take its toll on him, like he managed to get here on sheer adrenaline and now it's wearing off, he feels even more like just collapsing into a boneless puddle. Thank god he's still sitting and already slumped, so it doesn't mean he topples right over - but it still means that everything feels a little further away, like there's a hazy fog inside of his mind that clouds over everything he sees and feels right now.
Jaejin's question is pretty clear though, and the pain shooting through Minhwan's body gives him a pretty clear answer too. With some slight trouble he manages to lift the arm with the bad hand, blinking blearily for a moment at the way the wrist is twisted a little unnaturally, the hand hanging limply under it. ]
Nothing else you can fix.
[ Because while Minhwan is enough of a moron that he would have zero problems with Jaejin performing things on him that should clearly only be done by professionals unless you want to make it even worse, he at least knows that while there's something weirdly different on the emotional scale going on with Jaejin that he can't quite figure out, it's probably better to let it rest for now.
He shakes his head a little, dropping the arm back to his side to just hang there like dead weight. Not like Minhwan feels much for going to see a doctor or even go to the hospital right now either, no matter how much his body might ache. He doesn't feel like questions and doctors tend to give him weird looks even when he's mostly healthy that he never quite understands. Everything inside of him is screaming not to go out and instead just curl up on a bed with the one thing that is familiar to him here, the one thing he knows he can always trust - when it comes to the serious and important things, anyway. His idiot best friend.
It's a strange kind of fragility that even Minhwan himself isn't fully realising right now with his low level of emotional understanding, but despite that, it does show up on his face just a little bit. It's small, but it's enough to make him look like less of the confident jackass he usually is 24/7. ]
... Just get me to a bed. [ Although he's sure he won't be fully comfortable lying down either, his body is slowly starting to protest against the cold toilet against his back, pressing against all the soft and sore spots on his torso. ]
[ The casual tone is all Jaejin really has to stop himself from freaking out. He's never felt so unjustly wronged before, and the reality is that nothing actually happened to him personally to make him feel that way, he just feels so connected to Minhwan that every personal slight against him that he doesn't deserve (and he deserves a lot of them) cuts him as if they were directed at himself personally.
Just like the way his body gets phantom twinges of pain just from looking at Minhwan and clearing the dirt from his cuts. He aches all over, but it's not nearly enough to dull the white hot rage that builds dizzyingly just below the surface of his casual and calm exterior he's trying to keep up. Minhwan comes first, but revenge is on the table for later and there's no putting it off.
He watches Minhwan uselessly flex his hand with that same white hot rage making his body feel hollow, suddenly unable to look away from it or hide what he's feeling behind some clever quip or bad joke to lighten the mood. It's so hard for him to know that he can't fix any of this, and just has to watch Minhwan suffer through it. He'd feel a lot better watching Minhwan struggle if he knew that the people who did this were out somewhere suffering in the same way.
He tosses the filthy cloth into the sink; there's not a lot more he can do right now, and Minhwan looks exhausted. Tomorrow it might be easier to get him into a shower to wash the dirt off himself, or have Jaejin clean him off in the bath. For now, it's definitely time to lay him down and let him recover.
Jaejin kneels down on the floor by Minhwan's knees, reaching back with both arms to help Minhwan get onto his back. ]
[ Some people might feel like they have to preserve their dignity in this sort of situation by at least just letting the other support them in a slightly less obvious way - like an arm across their back as they stumble their way over to a bed. Minhwan however completely lacks any sense of dignity; which can be incredibly annoying and embarrassing in most situations, but actually helpful in some others, like this one.
It means he doesn't even think of protesting against how Jaejin clearly is telling him to get onto his back to be able to get to a bed the quickest and easiest way, so they won't have to waste even more time sitting here uselessly in the bathroom while Minhwan looks like a mess and Jaejin can only barely contain his feelings about this whole situation.
He just easily - well, mentally speaking, physically is a different story entirely with the current state Minhwan is in - reaches over with the arm with the good hand first, slinging itself around Jaejin's neck to secure himself before letting the arm with the useless hand join in and getting onto the other's back that way. It doesn't exactly go as smoothly as he might have normally jumped onto the other's back just to harass him, but at least he does manage, just with some aching limps as an aftereffect.
For a moment he seems almost wobbly, like he might fall off any moment now, but he does manage to remain relatively steady as he leans against the other. Even though his legs are a little clumsily long in this situation considering he's taller than the other - he still manages.
Maybe there's something about this that feels oddly familiar, but whatever it is, it seems to spark a little bit of the usual Minhwan back into existence. It's far from anything you could call high energy, but at least he sounds a little oddly amused as he speaks up, voice half muffled from the way his cheek is leaning against the other's back. ]
Maybe I should have this happen to me more often. Would you parade me across the school like this too?
[ Because shitty physical state or not, that idea is highly amusing to Minhwan - if not just for the amount of attention they'd get that way. It's amusing though to a point where he would actually actively look for trouble and get himself beaten up though if it would make Jaejin do stupid things like this.. which is slightly less of a good thing. Not like he can go anywhere for now though, so it's not any direct problem. ]
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Don't misunderstand, it's not really emotionally. Sure, he isn't feeling super great either, but he isn't broken up about this whole deal.. It feels kind of numbing mentally, honestly. Or maybe that's due to the fact he feels like his head has come in contact with a hard and fast moving object just one too many times - it's hard to do as much as even think straight. That's where the miserable part comes from, it's all physically. Every single part of his body aches or hurts, much worse than they do after any single one of the rounds of sex he's had. And it's not like he's particularly gentle during any of those.
But this is still worse. His head pounds and he's not sure if it's been bleeding or not, but he sure still is feeling light-headed. His nose feels painful to the touch, blood having dried up and caked under it from his nosebleed earlier. His lips are busted and he's pretty sure you could paint constellations on his body with the number of bruises he has if you were feeling particularly poetic. Or just really bored. But the worst part is that one of his wrists feels like it won't move just quite the right way. Probably not broken, but at least twisted, and it hurts like hell whenever he tries to move it.
It's a small miracle he even managed to pull himself up from the cold hard alley ground. He just remembers running into that group of thugs when he was moving to hang out with Jaejin for the rest of the evening and probably night after having been at Sejoon's, having them target his cellphone, and him being too reckless to run away, but not stupid enough to engage them in direct combat. He'd lose, he knew that much - he wouldn't even be able to bring down one by himself, let alone a group. So he tried outwitting them verbally, but.. well, Minhwan has never been subtle. Add a little too smarmy and full of himself to the list, and it ended up with him getting his ass beaten until he blacked out, only to awaken a few hours later (probably? it was already dark out when he headed this way, so it's hard to tell) on the ground. Without his phone.
His head being shaken up this badly makes it hard to think, but instinctively he knows he can't keep lying around here all night. He was on his way to Jaejin's place, that much he remembers, and he also knows it's only three streets away from here. Which is much closer than his own home. And honestly.. he strangely feels like he doesn't want to be alone right now and limp home by himself injured like this. It's an odd feeling to Minhwan since it's not like he's ever had to miss his dumbass of a best friend, but he just really wants to see him right now. He can lie down, Jaejin can make some of his usual hilarious lame remarks and Minhwan will make some in return, and just maybe it'll stop feeling like a horde of bulls trampled straight over his body. It's not far from the truth.
It doesn't mean that limping to Jaejin's place is very comfortable either, even with as relatively close as it is, but it's better than nothing. Without thinking he picks up a small rock with his good hand when he arrives there, throwing it against the window he knows to be his best friend's and hoping he's still up waiting for him. (It's reasonable to assume Minhwan didn't show up for hanging out in time since he took his sweetass time banging Sejoon, after all - it's not like it has never happened before, and Minhwan knows it.)
It feels oddly nostalgic considering how many times they've did this before instead of ringing the bell like normal people, but Minhwan doesn't have the time nor energy to think about it. He hardly even has the energy to wait just a few more seconds, and he crumbles to his knees out there. ]
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But this is different from times like that. It's fine if the person turning Minhwan into red shreds of a person is him, but when it comes to being beaten the shit out of by a group of strangers? It doesn't sit with Jaejin. It also isn't the first time one of them have gotten into a fight with a group, but it is the first time they've done it alone. All the other times they've run into people that Minhwan (always smarmy, cocky Minhwan) has rubbed the wrong way, it's been when they have been together, with Jaejin to back him up (in the one way he finally has where he's superior to Minhwan; reckless force).
It's never been like this before. The only times they're apart is when they're with Sejoon, so there's been barely any time for someone to get them alone to harass. Going to and from each other's places and to and from Sejoon's are the only times they're really without each other. Things like this just don't happen to them.
It isn't unusual for Minhwan to get caught up on nights he spends with Sejoon. Jaejin isn't worried when Minhwan doesn't turn up on time; there isn't really a time: whenever they turn up is the time, so Jaejin doesn't think twice when Minhwan doesn't show. It's late now, and he's already in bed with his handheld out, trying to win the hearts of busty e-girls. It's by some small miracle that he doesn't have his headphones in, and as much as luck has given Minhwan a kick in the dick so far, it's also smiling down on him, much like Jaejin does to his game when he hears the rock against his window. That haven't done things like this since they were kids, long replaced by one word texts or in Jaejin's case, climbing up to open Minhwan's window himself.
Jaejin opens the window before leaning out, ready to reenact Romeo and Juliet before he goes down to unlock the door and let Minhwan in, but even without the light of day and only barely illuminated by street lamps, Jaejin can tell immediately that something is wrong. The blood caked on Minhwan's face is plain enough for anyone to see, and the way he sways is healthy to nobody. ]
Shit.
[ Minhwan dropping to his knees is all it takes for Jaejin to run out of his room, sprinting across the hall and taking the stairs two at a time. Barely a blink passes before he's downstairs and exploding out the front door, the hinges groaning in the effort it takes to stay attached to the frame with the force Jaejin uses to open it. He's at full speed until he drops to his knees and skids the last few feet to Minhwan, stopping short in front of him to grab Minhwan by the chin and check the damage. ]
Jesus, Minhwan...
[ Followed by some swearing under his breath in Chinese.
It doesn't look good, and he sidles up to Minhwan's side, nudging his shoulder under Minhwan's arm so he can help carry him inside. ]
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Not that thinking is much of a thing right now. Maybe it's from the effort of dragging his legs that feel like they're hardly a part of his body anymore across those few streets, but his head is pounding worse than before and when Jaejin moves to support him, almost his entire weight shifts onto the other guy. It's something that Minhwan definitely would have done as a joke if this were any lighter situation. If it had just been them fighting like usually, rolling all around and hitting each other until they're both lying on their backs on the floor laughing off their concussions, he definitely would have pulled at least this much on Jaejin if he'd help him up.
This time it's involuntarily. His body just has no energy left and the moment it realises it has something to lean on, it gives out.
It's kind of pathetic. But at least Minhwan doesn't have a lot of problems with that due to his lack of any sense of shame. ]
.. don't gimme that. [ His voice is kind of weak and a little raw - it feels like he hasn't spoken up in three days rather than just a few hours tops. It's only now too that he really tastes the inside of his mouth and realises it's gross as hell, making him cough.
It's not what feels weird to him though. Not the weirdest, anyway. It's everything that's not physical about this. The look in Jaejin's eyes, the way he moves to help him without fucking around like they always do. The muttered curse words. (Minhwan might be good at learning languages naturally, but he's pretty sure that every single Chinese vaguely vulgar word he knows came from this guy's influence.) It's emotions, and Minhwan has never been good at those. It's not even a problem with expressing them, but more just a problem with feeling them in the first place - so it's easier to downplay everything. Even this.
Jaejin's let him get away with it all the time, anyway, even if none of those times involved feeling like he almost got beaten to a pulp. It's one of the things he likes so much about his best friend. He just lets him be himself without questioning the weird way he's put together or making Minhwan question that way himself. ]
'm fine.
[ The slurred words from behind busted lips don't make it very convincing, nor does the way he's leaning on the other. And it's true that it hurts, and that it's inconvenient that his phone got stolen, yeah, but he'll be fine, he's sure. There's no other way to process it in his head, especially as light as it is now. ]
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Though 'accepting' is a word that only goes so far. Accepting of Minhwan and everything he does to make anyone else hate him? Sure, that comes as a constant state, but Jaejin would never accept this kind of damage inflicted on his best friend. Just seeing it makes his blood boil, and if it weren't for the fact that Minhwan needs him to walk right now, he'd grab the nearest blunt object and go hunt down the scumbags who did this.
(Which isnt to say that plan is off the table. It most certainly is not, and as soon as he makes sure Minhwan is okay he's going out on a headhunt.)
He makes no complaints as he leads Minhwan inside the house, carrying most of his weight without a word, perfectly accepting to carry his best friend now, if Minhwan so much as hinted at needing it.
But of course Minhwan would play this off like it's nothing. Jaejin would do the same if he were in the same shoes. He gets it. ]
Yeah, you're totally fine. Beaten to shreds is in right now.
[ He tries to sound unconcerned, but the raw tinge to Minhwan's voice makes his chest run hot with the feeling that someone absolutely needs to pay for this. He leads him towards the first floor bathroom, if only because he can't imagine taking Minhwan up stairs right now. ]
Who did it?
[ Not "what did you do". Minhwan is an intolerable idiot, but he's Jaejin's idiot. ]
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The moment Jaejin manages to drag him into the bathroom, he escapes his best friend's grip to drop himself straight onto the toilet. Not the most elegant place to sit down, no, but he doesn't really care right now. Minhwan feels like if he'll take even a single step more after dragging himself over to Jaejin's house to begin with, he'll either start spitting blood or throwing up the entire contents of the meal he had at Sejoon's place, and neither really sound appealing right now. Maybe sitting down will make the world spin a little less, even if it won't do jack shit for the dully throbbing pain in the rest of his limbs or his useless wrist.
He takes a moment to suck in a breath before there's enough energy in him to properly reply. ]
Some thugs. Don't think we ran into them before.
[ Because they have ran into others. And they'd always made it out just fine, or more or less fine - the combination of Jaejin's strength and Minhwan's intelligence got them out enough times, even though it often was Minhwan's fault they were in the mess to begin with.
But the thought makes him think of something else-- or rather, it makes him realise something he never really thought of before. Every single time it happened, it just felt natural what happened. That Jaejin would just stand up for him, even if they'd never put it like that out loud. He never asked the other to help him out, but even so.. he just did. At one point it just started to feel natural to have each other's back no matter the situation, and no matter how casually they treated anything else in life.
Only now Jaejin wasn't there for once Minhwan realises how much he subconsciously relies on the presence of the dumbass he loves spending time around so much that he's claimed as his best friend. (It's a weird feeling for someone with the emotional capabilities of a toddler and who doesn't realise half of the time some people actually mean something to him.)
That edge in the other's voice falls right under the same category. If Jaejin honestly feels something over him getting beaten up like this (a normal human reaction, but not in Minhwan's mind), he would be flattered, sure, since he's an attention whore. But at the same time it makes his innards twist in a way he doesn't understand whatsoever.
Easier to sweep it under the carpet than to deal with that.
And so he waves a little with his good hand without raising it - mostly since he's incapable of doing so since his whole body would ache, but the intention for the gesture is there all the same. "Let it be." ]
I'll just ask my parents for a new phone.
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Now that Minhwan is properly inside, still, and under real lighting is the first time Jaejin gets to see his wounds fully, and they do nothing to make him feel any less furious about what happened. This isn't just a few cuts and scrapes that could be brushed off with some bandaids and some antiseptic. Minhwan can barely walk, can barely lift his arms, and seeing his best friend in a state like this makes Jaejin's insides feel cold. He puts his hand over his face to try and hide his expression, but it's more than clear that he's far from thrilled to see Minhwan like this.
He doesn't blame himself for what happened and not being there, but he does know that something like this would never have happened if he was there. As in, Minhwan wouldn't look nearly this bad. The two of them would definitely end up with their asses handed to them, laying on the pavement in pain and covered in bruises, but at least they'd be dead men walking together, laughing with crushed ribs while they bled out and people avoided them.
He kneels down in front of Minhwan to get a better look, gingerly grabbing him by the face and checking his head for anything that could be potentially fatal. He's no doctor by a long stretch, and he doesn't know what sort of things he should be looking for, but he doesn't see anything that immediately throws up red warning lights, only scabbed, shining cuts, and crusty dried blood.
He still isn't happy to see it, but at least Minhwan's head isn't going to explode. Probably.
He flicks Minhwan in the ear (he'd usually slap him upside the head or punch him in the arm, but doesn't dare do either thing now) for making a comment so stupid. ]
I'm going to get your phone back.
[ He's got some choice things to say to the assholes who took it too. Mostly the kinds of things that can only be said with a blunt weapon in your hand. ]
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It's just not who they are. Minhwan wouldn't abandon his best friend in a bad situation either, no matter how self-centered he seems, but he just can't imagine something like this. He doesn't feel emotions strong enough himself to grasp any of this.
It's easier to dodge it. Besides, the phone is not a priority to Minhwan. Does all of this suck? Yes, of course it does. And replacing his phone is going to be a pain, but there's something that always takes the first priority when it comes to Minhwan, and it's attention.
All he wants is just some of that normal attention. Like none of this happened, and Minhwan can act like his usual moronic self. Like Jaejin flicking him in the ear (mild compared to the usual, but still) because he's saying something stupid.
That's normal.. that's what he can handle. Not any of this weird, almost tense atmosphere. ]
Aigoo.. Joo Jaejin, you're going to abandon me like this?
[ It's true at least that he can't go anywhere like this. The very idea of having to stand up feels physically impossible with the current state of his body, and he even moreso doesn't like the idea of Minji throwing a fit if he'd show up at home like this. Easier to just take care of the worst and pass out on Jaejin's bed, waiting out the morning to figure out the rest.
Minhwan reaches out with his good arm, the fingers of his hand latching onto his friend's sleeve. ]
Just help me clean up a little. How am I supposed to be handsome like this?
[ The words fall a little flat with Minhwan's completely energyless tone, but at least the same intention as always is behind them.. somewhere, at least. ]
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But this, this is a different situation entirely, and one which Jaejin is more than willing to be an adult in. As much as he wants to leave right now and get his white hot revenge when it's still bright in his chest, Minhwan needs him more, and he can push all that aside in order to take care of his best friend.
The phone itself isn't important, and if it were just that and nothing else then Jaejin wouldn't care about it at all, and he'd go shopping with Minhwan tomorrow for a new one... but it isn't about the phone. It's about a group of good for nothing thugs out there in the city thinking that they can beat the shit out of Jaejin's best friend and get away with it with no harm no foul on their end. Maybe Minhwan is a bit of a dick, but he's always been Jaejin's bit of a dick, and Jaejin is hardly eager to see him get his ass handed to him.
He makes a complicated, unreadable expression as Minhwan's fingers tug at his sleeve, swallowing down his cold rage with a dizzy feeling in his gut. He grabs a clean towel from the rack to their side, wetting it with warm water and wringing it out until it stops dripping, holding it in one hand. ]
The real question is when were you ever handsome in the first place. This is just enhancing your inner ugliness.
[ He kneels down in front of his best friend, surveying the damage up close. It doesn't look nearly as bad as he first thought... but it doesn't look good. It doesn't make him feel good, either, and he's still got that dull, painful ache in his chest, even as he presses the towel to Minhwan's face and does his best to clean off the dirt and crusty blood. ]
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At least Jaejin is saying something that makes a little more sense to Minhwan. Their usual insults back and forth are something he can easily understand, it's just how everything between them goes at all times. He doesn't even think for a moment it's cruel for Jaejin to insult him while he's in this state. It'd only be weird if Jaejin didn't do it, no matter the situation.
Not that it means Minhwan will stay quiet. Especially in a situation like this, where the exhaustion in his bones and the way Jaejin rubs away the blood almost rhythmically feels like it'd be enough to lull him into sleep while sitting here. Running his mouth makes him feel a little more normal, at least, and it'll keep his brain going enough to keep him up too, even as he's obediently sitting there unmoving while Jaejin works on making him a little more presentable. ]
Just because you're in denial about it, does that mean the whole world is...? [ Usually it'd be said with a stupid smirk plastered all across his face, looking at Jaejin so eagerly, like he's almost excited to see the other's reaction to it - even though it usually wouldn't be more than a jab to his side or a punch in the shoulder.
Now it feels more lifeless instead, like Minhwan is too far gone in a haze to show the qualities about him that are the most like Minhwan.
Instead he stares at Jaejin's face while the other is still using the wet towel, something about the other's expression starting to bother him more and more, no matter how slow his mind feels for once. ]
.. Why do you keep making that face? [ It's an expression he never sees on Jaejin, and coupled with some of the other things he's said so far.. it's something beyond Minhwan's level of emotional understanding. It's why there's no teasing hint in his tone, even though he wouldn't be able to summon that much even if he wanted it anyway. ]
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Not that they don't care, of course, they just have different ways of showing it. As much as Jaejin gives Minhwan a hard time throughout every step of his life, he would die for his idiot best friend if he had to.
He softens his expression somewhat when Minhwan calls him out, shaking his head to rid himself of it. He didn't realize he was getting so externally obvious about his internal white hot rage. He doesn't know what he's going to do yet, but he's going to do something. ]
It's lust. I'm about to ravish you.
[ Concern and anger more like. Minhwan's lifelessness makes Jaejin's chest tight, and he wants to punish the people who dared suck all the fun and bite from Minhwan's awful personality that only Jaejin unconditionally loved. Maybe he'd be more accepted as he is now, downtrodden and sore, but Jaejin liked him better when he was insufferable in the way that only he enjoyed.
He rinses the cloth until it runs clear, pressing it against Minhwan's cuts again to clear the dirt without smearing it. He's starting to look a little more human, but it only makes it more obvious how messed up Minhwan got. ]
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And yet.. he's not sure he wants to pry. It's an odd sort of feeling to Minhwan, and he honestly can't help but wonder for a moment if it's because he feels so exhausted and sore that it's dampening his natural curiosity. He's usually so eager to tug at anything that might even in the slightest seem like a secret, wanting to uncover anything about anyone without thinking of stuff like boundaries or the idea that people might get hurt if everything about them is revealed so easily. And yet in this moment he's staring an obvious lie from his best friend's side in the face and doesn't feel like finding out what's behind it.
It suddenly feels almost weird to ask Jaejin what's really going on with him. Like it'll break some sort of momentum they've had going on forever, tipping some balance that can't easily be restored. Although they've always had each other's backs in an unspoken sort of way, it's never been like them to go deep. Not with how Jaejin likes to keep everything about him that isn't cool buried deep, not with how Minhwan doesn't even understand emotions beyond a kindergarten book level.
(It's doubtful he would understand even if he did ask - for all his outward self-importance and vanity, Minhwan doesn't expect anyone to do anything for him just like that.) ]
Ah, right. [ His response still sounds lifeless though. Even if it's more just the state of his body talking than anything else. He tries moving the hand that got hurt pretty badly, but it doesn't move an inch... no dice, huh. ] Well, we're going to share a bed tonight anyway. Might as well take the opportunity.
[ Because Minhwan isn't going home. Not tonight. It's not as if he's afraid of running into those guys again - honestly, even if he did meet them, he'd mouth off to them all the same, even if it'd have the same result in the end - but he just doesn't feel like explaining this to his parents or Minji. Especially the latter would throw a fit, since it's just what Minji does. Even if Jaejin is being a little odd, he's still treating all of this in a way that's a lot easier for Minhwan to wrap his mind around than that. Not to mention he's way too tired to get himself all the way back to his house.
It's not like anyone will think it's weird for him to suddenly stay over at Jaejin's anyway - the two of them do it all the time, no matter whether it's at Jaejin's house or his own. Even Jaejin's mother should find it normal enough that he can mostly avoid her and along with that avoid further questions. ]
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Which is why he only nods when Minhwan announces he's going to stay over--announces, not asks, and Jaejin wouldn't have it any other way. Even if Minhwan had gotten up right here and insisted on going home, there's no way Jaejin would have let him. He would have come up with some poor excuse or thin joke veil in order to get Minhwan to stay here, at least for tonight. He won't tell him, but he doesn't want Minhwan to be alone right now.
Or, is it that he doesn't want to be alone right now? He feels kind of rattled by the whole experience, and he wants nothing else than to be able to be his best friend's second set of hands.
Finishing rinsing Minhwan's face, he tosses the wet cloth into the sink, wiping his forehead like he's just done hard, manual labor, when it's really all his emotions running high that tire him out. ]
Yahh, I don't know if I even want to now. You've gotten uglier.
[ More thinly veiled attempts not to overwhelm himself. He gestures to the rest of Minhwan's body, trying to seem casual as always. ]
Where else?
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Jaejin's question is pretty clear though, and the pain shooting through Minhwan's body gives him a pretty clear answer too. With some slight trouble he manages to lift the arm with the bad hand, blinking blearily for a moment at the way the wrist is twisted a little unnaturally, the hand hanging limply under it. ]
Nothing else you can fix.
[ Because while Minhwan is enough of a moron that he would have zero problems with Jaejin performing things on him that should clearly only be done by professionals unless you want to make it even worse, he at least knows that while there's something weirdly different on the emotional scale going on with Jaejin that he can't quite figure out, it's probably better to let it rest for now.
He shakes his head a little, dropping the arm back to his side to just hang there like dead weight. Not like Minhwan feels much for going to see a doctor or even go to the hospital right now either, no matter how much his body might ache. He doesn't feel like questions and doctors tend to give him weird looks even when he's mostly healthy that he never quite understands. Everything inside of him is screaming not to go out and instead just curl up on a bed with the one thing that is familiar to him here, the one thing he knows he can always trust - when it comes to the serious and important things, anyway. His idiot best friend.
It's a strange kind of fragility that even Minhwan himself isn't fully realising right now with his low level of emotional understanding, but despite that, it does show up on his face just a little bit. It's small, but it's enough to make him look like less of the confident jackass he usually is 24/7. ]
... Just get me to a bed. [ Although he's sure he won't be fully comfortable lying down either, his body is slowly starting to protest against the cold toilet against his back, pressing against all the soft and sore spots on his torso. ]
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Just like the way his body gets phantom twinges of pain just from looking at Minhwan and clearing the dirt from his cuts. He aches all over, but it's not nearly enough to dull the white hot rage that builds dizzyingly just below the surface of his casual and calm exterior he's trying to keep up. Minhwan comes first, but revenge is on the table for later and there's no putting it off.
He watches Minhwan uselessly flex his hand with that same white hot rage making his body feel hollow, suddenly unable to look away from it or hide what he's feeling behind some clever quip or bad joke to lighten the mood. It's so hard for him to know that he can't fix any of this, and just has to watch Minhwan suffer through it. He'd feel a lot better watching Minhwan struggle if he knew that the people who did this were out somewhere suffering in the same way.
He tosses the filthy cloth into the sink; there's not a lot more he can do right now, and Minhwan looks exhausted. Tomorrow it might be easier to get him into a shower to wash the dirt off himself, or have Jaejin clean him off in the bath. For now, it's definitely time to lay him down and let him recover.
Jaejin kneels down on the floor by Minhwan's knees, reaching back with both arms to help Minhwan get onto his back. ]
C'mon, princess.
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It means he doesn't even think of protesting against how Jaejin clearly is telling him to get onto his back to be able to get to a bed the quickest and easiest way, so they won't have to waste even more time sitting here uselessly in the bathroom while Minhwan looks like a mess and Jaejin can only barely contain his feelings about this whole situation.
He just easily - well, mentally speaking, physically is a different story entirely with the current state Minhwan is in - reaches over with the arm with the good hand first, slinging itself around Jaejin's neck to secure himself before letting the arm with the useless hand join in and getting onto the other's back that way. It doesn't exactly go as smoothly as he might have normally jumped onto the other's back just to harass him, but at least he does manage, just with some aching limps as an aftereffect.
For a moment he seems almost wobbly, like he might fall off any moment now, but he does manage to remain relatively steady as he leans against the other. Even though his legs are a little clumsily long in this situation considering he's taller than the other - he still manages.
Maybe there's something about this that feels oddly familiar, but whatever it is, it seems to spark a little bit of the usual Minhwan back into existence. It's far from anything you could call high energy, but at least he sounds a little oddly amused as he speaks up, voice half muffled from the way his cheek is leaning against the other's back. ]
Maybe I should have this happen to me more often. Would you parade me across the school like this too?
[ Because shitty physical state or not, that idea is highly amusing to Minhwan - if not just for the amount of attention they'd get that way. It's amusing though to a point where he would actually actively look for trouble and get himself beaten up though if it would make Jaejin do stupid things like this.. which is slightly less of a good thing. Not like he can go anywhere for now though, so it's not any direct problem. ]