Hyunseung wasn’t entirely sure how much time had passed between the moment he had found the man on his front steps and where he was now, but however long it had been, it had surely passed slowly. The minutes seemed to drag on for hours as he settled the stranger on the single couch in his living room and then worked to see to his injuries.

        For the bruises on his face, Hyunseung wasn’t entirely sure what all could be done. They were, after all, just bruises. He supposed he could put some ice on them, but that would have to wait. What was far more pressing at this moment in time, were the wounds still oozing blood all over his couch.

        In a flustered hurry, the brunette stumbled to his bathroom, rummaging through the cabinets for a solid minute or two before he managed to find the first-aid kit his mother had forced him to buy all those months ago. When he had uncovered it, along with, how lucky for him, a bottle of antiseptic, he snatched it quickly from the shelves, and rushed back to the living room couch; in front of which he dropped the compact box and practically threw himself on his knees.

        With trembling hands, he proceeded to reach up, barely managing to get it above the lip of the couch cushion before pausing. Too be honest, he wasn’t so sure of himself now that he was faced once more with the situation at hand if he could—or rather, make that should— actually do anything. What he messed up and the man died? Then he would have a guilty conscience and a body on his couch to somehow dispose of.

        He really should have just called for an ambulance…

        But it was too late for that now, wasn’t it. ‘Aish, you’ve really gotten yourself into a mess this time, Hyunseung.’ his mind chided. ‘You have no choice but to go through with this for the time being.’ With that thought ringing in his consciousness, he reluctantly he continued.

        The first thing that had to be done, Hyunseung decided with a sort of nod, was an actual assessment of the man’s injuries. From there he would be able to tend to him, or even possibly call for some sort of medical assistance, if the need should arise.  So, still quite hesitantly, he set about peeling back the man’s shirt, stopping to wince for him whenever the bloodied fabric stuck to a particularly mangled patch of skin. It was a slow process, filled with pauses every couple of seconds, but through his careful process he had eventually able to pull the shirt up and over the man’s head, revealing to Hyunseung a torso littered with injuries.

        Not that he had been expecting it to be anything else.

        The cuts were all varying in size and severity, ranging from light scratches on the surface of the skin, to deep, angry red wounds that leaked blood in what seemed to be an almost constant stream; the most worrisome of these being the wound just below his collarbone. All the other injuries paled in contrast, both figuratively and literally, to it.

        That, he thought, would be his main priority.

        In one quick flick of his wrist, Hyunseung removed the cap from his bottle of antiseptic, all the while using the other hand to pop open the first aid kit and dig for some sort of cloth to wipe away the excess liquid; his fingers clamping down on literally the first thing they felt that was larger than a package of band-aids. What he had retrieved on his blind hunt, as he soon discovered, was a hunk of cotton. Not quite ideal for the task at hand, but it would have to do.

        That done, the brunette shifted his weight, moving to prop himself up on his knees, and leaned over the couch – and in extension the stranger’s body. Then, trying his best to avoid splashing the cleansing liquid everywhere, he began to pour it onto the wound; flinching as the man in a harsh and obviously pained breath.

        “Sorry,” he mumbled as he lowered the bottle, setting it back on the floor, and switched the wad of cotton into his now free hand.

        He waited until the stranger had calmed down, his breaths coming in slower intervals, before bringing his hand back up to dab at the mixed rivulets of blood and antiseptic. Only after he was satisfied with his cleaning job, when he could no longer see streams of red trailing away from the wound’s epicenter, did he stop dabbing and settle back on his heels; all the while reaching rather clumsily for the first-aid kit.

        Now he needed something to actually cover the wound, he thought. Band-aids, he had. But unfortunately, Hyunseung was quite positive this wasn’t something he could patch up with just a few crisscrossing band-aids. Not if he wanted to effectively staunch the bleeding, that is. So he dug around in the box’s contents, the tip of his tongue protruding from between his lips as he looked, searching for some sort of gauze.

        When he managed to find some, located quite luckily for him, next to two rolls of, well something. The first of which, he found after a moment of testing the very tip, was something along the lines of a very heavy duty tape. And the second? Well, as stupid as he felt for not recognizing it sooner—the ugly pink-orange color a give-away in itself— was nothing more than a bandage, used for small sprains and things of the like. ‘Perfect,’ he thought, swiping hips tongue across his bottom lip, ‘Just perfect.’

        A little more than five minutes later, the once gaping wound was covered with both the gauze, some tape, and most of the roll of bandages. It was a far from perfect job, quite sloppy around the edges in fact, but it served its purpose, and it would have to do for now; at least until he could make a trip to the store and buy better supplies. And, with that wound taken care of, Hyunseung would be able to worry about the other smaller injuries. Which, in the end, Hyunseung decided to simply cover with band-aids. He had plenty of them, after all. So many, in fact, that by the time he was done, there was still a sizeable pile left in the box.

        ‘Well then,’ Hyunseung thought with a sigh, dropping back to sit on his heels once more. Now that that was done with, what was he supposed to do? He didn’t feel entirely comfortable leaving the stranger on his own. It wasn’t just because of his injuries, either. He didn’t know the man after all, and it was only natural (in his mind at least) that he didn’t want to leave a complete stranger free to roam about his house. So, Hyunseung decided after absent-mindedly checking the time on his phone (being quite surprised to find that it was already nearing ten o’clock), he was just going to have to stay by the couch that night.

        He best make himself comfortable then.

        So, he shifted, scooting away from the couch a little before dropping his onto the ground and swinging his legs out in front of him. And, as he brought his legs up, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin in the gap between his knees, he thought one thing and one thing only.

        ‘I’m going to need a new couch after this...’

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