Chapter 29 - Silent Promises

The next morning didn't bring me any problems. When I woke up, I was alone in my room – I checked to be sure Hyungwon had slept in his own bed after I had fallen asleep. I felt my limbs itch every now and then as if there was too much blood circulating through my veins after a long run and I knew it had to be the lack of Delphinium. Those usually were my Monday symptoms, everything was okay, I'd just take my drugs in the afternoon and it would be fine.

Wonho was busy getting ready for work, leaning against the kitchen counter while downing his coffee and reading the newspaper simultaneously. “I'll come home early and take care of you”, he whispered between two swigs and I just gave him a curt nod as I poured some milk over my cereal and sat down in the living room, turning the radio on. Maybe I fell asleep again, but it certainly didn't take long until Hyungwon woke up and came down the stairs. I don't know why but when we locked gazes he didn't seem all that closed up and defensive, he just cocked his head to the side with sleepy eyes. “Slept well?”

“Uh, yes, I guess. You?”, I stuttered, reminding myself that this wasn't Chae anymore but Hyungwon.

“Last week was a lot better, but, uhm-” He averted his gaze, avoiding mine all of a sudden. “It was okay, yeah. Did you have your share yesterday? You know, since last week was a little chaotic.”

His voice seemed to contain a spark of warmth but I put it off as pure imagination when I saw his bored expression and cleared my throat with an embarrassed chuckle. “Well, about that, I guess, I might have skipped again.” His head snapped towards me, eyes widening for a split second before he got himself under control again. “I'll take it in the afternoon, Wonho said he'll be home early, don't worry.”

Hyungwon clenched and unclenched his fist before turning towards the kitchen with a huff. “Who said I was worrying? You? I certainly didn't.”

I closed my eyes as a sigh escaped my lips, blood audibly rushing through my ears. Right, Hyungwon wouldn't admit to being worried or scared of anything if he wasn't on drugs. But Chae was still a part of him and that's how I knew what he was thinking, at least partially. Who said I was worrying? I certainly didn't. Well, after yesterday, I could say that he had made it clear by looking out for me. I felt a warm feeling spread in my chest and a smile stole its way up to my lips. Now all I have to do is bring Chae and Hyungwon closer together. Which was more difficult than expected.

________________

It was a calm day. Surprisingly calm. Too calm. There was nobody sleeping next to me in the morning, nobody invading my personal space and nobody threatening to kill me either. Call me an idiot but I was actually a little offended. Had they all given up? I would never admit it to him, but I kind of missed Minhyuk's chatter as well.

I got home from an unspectacular day of work around five in the evening, knocking on our door to have Jooheon let me in. “Where's Minhyuk?” I had feared he might have had a breakdown throughout the whole day and yes, I seemed to be worried.

“Nice to see you too, bastard”, the younger shot back with a roll of his eyes.

“Ah, sorry, I-”

“So Minhyuk really did get himself a new man, I can't believe it.” My blood ran cold, practically freezing in my veins.

“W-what?”

“Ah, nothing, I was joking, but it's just funny how the two of you are getting along now, you're practically inseparable. Yesterday I just said that to-”

“I said I don't want to!”

Jooheon and I flinched at the loud scream coming from upstairs and looked at each other. That was definitely Minhyuk's voice. “What's going on?” He took a deep breath, clicking with his tongue as if he wasn't sure whether to tell me or not and I narrowed my eyes. “Jooheon, what's happening?”

“So, uhm, he skipped again. The drugs, I mean.”

“I know, he told me in the morning, promised to take some today though. Did he lie, is he refusing now?”

“No, that's not the point-”

“I won't, so let go!”, Minhyuk's voice hollered, followed by someone quietly talking back.

Jooheon buried his hands in his pockets when I bent down to untie my shoes in a hurry. “Wonho usually takes care of him but it's weird. Minhyuk had his drugs about an hour ago but he just won't calm down. I think they're fighting over whether he's going to rest or not. No big topic.”

“I won't until he's home!” The wrath in Minhyuk's voice gave me goosebumps. Something told me to let him be but another voice, a new one, whispered to me at the same time. It's his problem, leave him be. And it's not even important.

He must be suffering...

And? Still his problem, he just shouldn't have skipped, so what?

Can't I do anything to help him?

I shook my head and rolled my shoulders back. “I'll go check on them. You go ahead and start on the English stuff.”

“After last Tuesday you still-” A loud thump interrupted Jooheon's statement and I directed my gaze towards the staircase with determination.

“I'm gonna be fine, I just want to make sure they're not killing each other”, I mumbled, not knowing if it was more to myself or to the guy leaning against the door frame when I walked upstairs. I peeked through a slit in the door, not sure of what to expect with Wonho and a drugged Minhyuk in one room, but I certainly didn't expect the white-haired to pin the blonde against the wardrobe with a gaze so intense it could have killed him. I'm gonna be fine, I repeated over and over again, slowly pushing the door open.

Wonho's eyes immediately darted towards me and a casual smirk appeared on his face while his hands tried to find an opening in Minhyuk's iron grip. “Oh, welcome back. How was your day?” Playing it down, huh?

“More relaxed than yours it seems”, I retorted with my head cocked to the side, watching in awe when Minhyuk immediately stopped fighting Wonho at the sound of my voice and turned to smile at me.

“Chae!”

“It's Chae Hyungwon.”

“Whatever!” He let go of the blonde and jumped up to me, trying to wrap his arms around my shoulders but I was quick to push him away at arm's length.

“I told you you couldn't run to Hyungwon whenever you want something”, Wonho said with a harsh voice as he scanned me in worry, maybe even looking for a way to get Minhyuk off of me, before meeting my gaze with a little bit of despair. Was even Wonho helpless against Minhyuk? Now that was a surprise, he always knew what to do, didn't he?

“I don't care what you say, Hyungwon is the one who protects me now, I don't need you anymore.”

“Woah, hold up there”, I hissed before I could think things through. What the was he saying? And what was I doing here? Hell, acting on impulse wasn't my strength, especially not in the presence of someone with the mindset of a child. “What did you just say?”

Minhyuk glanced up at me with sparkling eyes. “You protected me from Exo twice already, you even promised to protect Monsta X only yesterday!” I did? “So I don't need Wonho anymore.” My eye twitched a little when a long forgotten memory resurfaced.

'I don't need to listen to them, you're my commander, why should we even-'

I still have higher-ups, I'm not the only one you need to obey. You think I'm in total power? Like hell I am!

'I just said your idea was better. You promised you'd get us through this, so why-'

What does a promise mean when they point a gun at your head?! It's a grave mistake to object anything they say. You want to listen to turtle's orders only? Fine, turtle will give you an order so listen closely: Do as they tell you too or I promise I'll be the one receiving the order to kill you in no time. And I can also promise I won't disobey.

I glanced up to find pain in Wonho's eyes as he observed Minhyuk while chewing on his lower lip. “Minhyuk, you know, Hyungwon can't always-”

I shook my head, interrupting whatever Wonho was going to say, the memory still in mind. “So what if I promised? How much can that be worth if I'm not around?”, I asked with barely controlled anger, watching Minhyuk's expression turn into one of shock. “Do you think one person is enough to protect you? I just got home and you would have been on your own until then if it wasn't for Wonho.”

“Ch-chae, why are you-”

“It's Hyungwon”, I insisted to have him get rid of that weird habit of calling me by my surname on drugs. It was the same as turtle and I was beginning to hate it. I disliked my own surname after everything I had done to keep it, what was wrong with me? “And I wasn't done yet, hear me out. You know me for a little more than one month now, right?” Minhyuk nodded with a frown. “I don't think I can grasp you half as good as Wonho. He knows what's best for you.”

“Then why should I listen to him when you're here now, I don't-”

“You always need to listen to what your friends have to say!”, I barked, forcing myself to calm down with each breath I took. He doesn't know what he's saying. I can't blame him. This is a thing of my past, not his. “Don't you ever say otherwise again. This is not about who you want to surround yourself with, it's about who is worrying about you and there's a lot of people like that here. Six in total. Wonho is your best friend, isn't he?” Minhyuk stopped for a moment before nodding and I let go of his shoulders. “Then act like he is. Your best friend is the person you should respect the most, more than anyone. Look at him, see how much he worries about you and apologize for the trouble you've caused.”

“I didn't mean to aggravate him or-”

“Don't tell me.”

The shorter male cowered under my unwavering glare, fidgeting with his hands before turning to look at Wonho. “I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like that.”

The blonde managed to regain his composure, staring back at us with calculating eyes and I knew he was analyzing every last bit of out conversation. “It would be nice if you listened to me every now and then, it's for your own good”, he mumbled and Minhyuk bit his lip with a nod. “Now do me a favor and go to bed like I told you before, will you?”

“But Cha- Hyungwon just-”

“Minhyuk”, I cut him off with a cold voice and he clenched his teeth, lowering his head before trudging over to his bed and sitting down.

“I'll forget it all once I close my eyes”, he breathed with a sad expression and seeing him pout like this had me sigh. I massaged my temples before signalizing Wonho to follow me out of the room.

“I'll be back in no time just stay where you are, please.”

“Okay, there's some serious going on with the two of you.”

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