Mina

I was hoping that my short-termed walk would go unnoticed by Suho and Minseok, and it would have, if it wasn’t for the two guards from earlier. They took the unfortunate liberty to run my errand by Suho, who was more than confused during the time they were talking to him. Due to their need for clarification, I found myself currently in Suho’s office, directly in front of the scowling man himself.

“Well?” he’s the first to break the silence between us.

“I’m sorry.”
 

“I don’t want an apology, I want an explanation.” Suho says, using the same tone he uses with the younger Holders. He always treated me like a child whenever a situation caused by me came up. He took on the older brother role when it came to me for unknown reasons.

“I went out for a walk,” I continue to avoid his eyes, instead looking at my bloody knee. I scraped it during my fall and the blood had dried up by the time I made it back. The pain was barely there, and left behind a dull throbbing.

“Honestly, Mina, you’re one of the last people I should be disciplining.” Suho’s sigh demonstrates his disappoint in me and I purse my lips together. “Do you have any idea the risks you were taking going outside without anyone else?”

Of course I did. Suho and Minseok made it a goal to have every new recruit know the rules of our group, and the hazards we can face at any given moment. I didn’t dare mention the woman and car to Suho because if I did, I was surely going to be kicked off our current mission and face hard regulations for my mistake.

A part of me was content with saving the life of an innocent, and was fine with dealing with any punishment the two leaders would give me. The other part, though, only remembered the bitter and harsh words that the woman said to me. That part, albeit being a small spiteful part of myself, wished I stayed on the sidewalk.

“What do you think would have happened if W.O.M.A. got to you?” Suho presses on, shaking his head. “We can’t risking losing another one of us. We need all the members, especially at a time like this.”

“I’m sorry.” It’s the only thing I can voice out, but it’s enough for Suho’s gaze to soften.

“I know.” He tilts his head towards the door, “you’re dismissed.”

I gingerly get up from my seat, wincing at the sudden pain my knee gives me. I make my way to the door, grasp the doorknob, and pull the door open.

“I won’t ask what happened,” Suho says, “have Yixing take a look at that.”
 

“Thanks,” I weakly call back to him before closing the door behind.

␛␛␛

I find Yixing in the dining hall, apple in hand and chatting happily with Jongdae. Neither notice me until I’m closer to their table.

“Oh, hey,” Jongdae nods in greeting and I smile half-heartedly in return. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
 

“That’s because you’re always messing around with the other members,” I reply.

“Excuse me, I work hard everyday to make sure everyone is safe.” He retorts, becoming defensive over his guard position.

“I can’t imagine how hard it must be to stand around for six hours a day.” Yixing joins in on my teasing, causing me to chuckle and Jongdae to splutter an excuse. “Sure must be difficult to not do anything. What a hard job you must have.”
 

“Sheesh, alright, you guys are s.” Jongdae pouts, resting his chin in his palm.

“Are you alright, Mina?” Yixing asks, catching me off guard. “I’m sensing a negative aura from you. Did you hurt yourself?” This catches Jongdae’s attention, I can tell by the way his eyes widen as he looks my way. “Where?”

“I fell and banged up my knee,” I explain, twisting in my seat to show them.

“Someone is a little clumsy.”

Yixing shushes him, holding a hand in the air for emphasis. “Want me to look at it better? I can heal it, if you’d like.”

“If you don’t mind,” I give an embarrassed smile as he rises from his seat. I follow in suite while Jongdae leans back, arms thrown in the air as he stretches.

“I have to get back to my post,” he announces, lulling his head to the side to crack his neck. A loud pop sounds and he grins in content, “you guys go on ahead. I’ll see you another time.”
 

I bid him farewell, and stalk after Yixing who is already more than a few paces ahead of me. I follow him out of the dining hall and into one of our limited hallways. We walk in silence for some time until he speaks up.

“I just realized I don’t know where the infirmary is.”

I laugh at his confession. “We don’t have one officially, everyone just kind of takes care of themselves since we don’t have a Holder who can heal.”

“Mhm,” he hums with a nod. “You wouldn’t mind going to your room, then, would you? You’ll have to rest afterwards, anyway.”

I lead us to where my bedroom is, which is a few turns here and there. Once we reach it, he instructs me to sit on my bed and roll up my pants’ leg. I wince as the rough fabric rubs against my wounded flesh.
 

“You didn’t just ‘fall’, did you?” Yixing says as he examines the scrape, fingers gingerly running along the area. “I heard you went outside by yourself.”

Great, everyone was a blabber mouth these days. I remain silent and continue to watch him.
 

“I’m not one to judge solely on someone’s actions,” he continues on, roughly pressing onto the center of the scrape.

“Ow!” I hiss, my leg spazzing at the sudden intrusion.

“Oh, shoot, I’m sorry. It’ll feel better in a second, promise.”

He keeps his finger on the same spot and a sudden warmth emits from it. The pain that is throbbing slowly diminishes, and I can’t help but sigh in relief.

“There, all better. Your knee will feel sore, though. So I suggest to take it easy for the rest of the day.” Yixing’s voice takes on a serious tone, something that doesn’t suit him. He then curls his lips into a playful smirk, “I definitely wouldn’t recommend sneaking off again in case you go off and fall.”

“Well, anyway,” I clear my throat bashfully, “thank you.”
 

“Anytime,” his cheer-filled tone is back in an instant, and I smile. “You know, you should smile more often, Mina.”

My cheeks warm at his words and at the dimple that is beginning to make its famous appearance. He digs through his jeans pocket, bringing back an item in his balled up fist.

“It suites you well,” he comments, opening up his hand to show an apple seed sitting on his palm.

He closes his hand again and shakes it around. I’m confused by his actions until I notice a stem growing out from the space at the bottom of his fist. My eyes widen as I dumbly think a flower is growing out of him. Yixing says nothing of my reaction but instead wiggles his fingers, and provides a fully-bloomed white flower with red details in its center.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, amazed by how innocent and pure his Ability is. I was somewhat envious of it. Yixing could be tied into the more innocent of things, being able to bring things to life and help others with their health. I, on the other hand, had a power known to be destructive. There was no good in it despite how much I try to find the positive effects of it.

“Think of it as a symbol of hope,” Yixing passes the flower to me, gently squeezing my hand as I take it. “As long as this flower is blooming, so should your hope.”
 

“Thank you, Yixing.”

“It’s nothing.” The said man smiles once more before making his way out of my room, leaving me alone to admire his gift.

Despite my ability to notice the smallest of things, I failed to notice the way Yixing concerningly clutched his chest, and released a shaky breath.