With Minhyun's cold body securely around his warm one, he made his way back to the window. Question, how was he going to get out now with a merman much longer than him. He stood at the window for awhile. Minhyun's face was right beside his since he was way too long to snuggle against Baekho's neck. He glanced at the window and removed the cloth from his mouth. He still couldn't talk but that got Baekho's attention. 

"Ah.. Sorry about that. I..." Baekho stopped talking when Minhyun started gesturing. He pointed at himself and then the window and then at Baekho and the window again. "You... want me to put you down first?" Minhyun nodded weakly. "But you're hurt." Minhyun smiled, making Baekho feel like everything will be fine. He even gave Baekho's arm a light squeeze. "Okay... I'll try to be careful." 

Minhyun nodded and Baekho adjusted Minhyun so he could slide his head and upper body out first. He lowered his body to place the other on the ground first. Minhyun winced at the pain but it wasn't like Baekho noticed since he didn't quite make any noise. Baekho climbed out after that, carefully putting the window panel back in its place. Luckily there was no one checking the shack since they were most likely drunk out of their minds by now. He quickly picked Minhyun up again and walked as fast as he could towards the beach. Minhyun's skin was getting colder and he clung closer to Baekho even though it hurt. 

"You'll be alright. I'm putting you back into the sea," Baekho said softly. The chains were a problem though. He wasn't sure if Minhyun could swim like this or with his injury anyways. 

Once they reached the beach, Baekho walked to the edge of the water and squatted down. He gently placed Minhyun down but Minhyun was too weak to even move now. "We are here." He let his tail touch the water and Minhyun opened his eyes, staring out into the vast sea. His home. But he still didn't let Baekho go. "You have to go, Minhyun. Before those guys find out you're gone." 

Minhyun turned to Baekho and shook his head, clutching tightly onto his shirt. His eyes begging for something. "Come on. There's no way I can bring you home." Baekho started trying to peel the merman from his body but Minhyun didn't want to let go at all. Baekho couldn't understand why. He belonged to the sea so why was he clinging onto Baekho so tightly. He stopped and tried to think it through. Minhyun was trembling and clutching onto him. "Is it... is it because you can't swim now?" 

He felt Minhyun nod against his shoulder and he glanced down at the bandage. "Is it that bad?" Nod. "Your stomach?" Nod. Baekho sighed. He couldn't just toss the other back into the sea either especially if he wasn't going to let go. He carried Minhyun up again but the other didn't loosen his hold one bit. He was so going to regret this, wasn't he? He walked home quickly so no one would notice him. He was glad none of his family members were up right now as he hurried into his room. He laid Minhyun onto his bed instead and the other still refused to let go even though his breathing was becoming more uneven. Baekho worried that all his walking and shaking had opened his wound again.

"Minhyun, could you please let go for awhile? I'll go and get a first aid kit, okay? This is my room. You'll be safe here," he said softly and gently touched the other's hand that felt weirdly like scales but he couldn't be bothered by it now. Minhyun slowly let go and touched the bed he was on, confused by the texture of the bed. He flinched, pulling his hand away but Baekho chuckled softly. "It's not going to hurt you. You'll be fine."

He stared at Baekho smiling before Baekho got too awkward from the intense stare he was getting. At least Minhyun let him go. He slowly backed away from the bed. Minhyun's eyes never leaving him. He opened the room door and Minhyun opened his mouth, trying to say something but all that came out were raspy voices. Even his hands were trying to reach for him even though it hurt his body to stretch this much. "It's alright. It'll just be for a short while." He smiled to assure Minhyun.

Upon leaving the room, he quickly grabbed the first aid box from the drawers as well as a few more towels. He shut his room door, locking it as well before turning back to see Minhyun laying down on the bed. His breathing could barely be seen either. Baekho almost dropped everything to rush to his side but didn't want to alarm the others in the house so he put the stuff down onto his bed and moved over to Minhyun. His eyes were closed and his skin was turning even paler.

"Minhyun? Are you alright?" Baekho asked softly and the other made a small head motion that Baekho couldn't decipher. He looked at the bandage and could actually see the blood seeping out now. His bed was probably stained at this point. "I'm going to change your bandage. It's going to hurt, okay?" Minhyun didn't show any response so Baekho just started to take it off instead. It was difficult when Minhyun couldn't sit up for him to remove it properly so he had to pull it, causing Minhyun to wince and eventually roll to his side. 

When the wound was finally exposed, Baekho felt his breath hitch in his throat. It looked so painful. Minhyun moved his hand to try to cover it but Baekho pushed it away. He had to clean it, now isn't the time for his legs to go weak from the sight of blood or a gaping hole. He took the damp cloth and tried to wipe the blood off but Minhyun kept trying to claw at his hand. Baekho gritted his teeth whenever Minhyun's nails would graze his skin and had to ultimately hold his hand down while clumsily wiping with the cloth. Minhyun's mouth kept closing and opening but still no sound came out. 

"Come on... please stay still. It'll be over faster if you behave," Baekho said, trying his luck. Minhyun did stop pushing him but his body still twitched every time Baekho got too close to his wound. It did help him though. He took the antiseptic and poured it onto a different cloth. "This will hurt a lot." He didn't want to lie to Minhyun. He took a deep breath and then placed the cloth against the wound. Minhyun immediately convulsed with his face twisting in pain, grabbing Baekho's wrist tightly. Baekho winced along with the merman. His claws were digging into his skin. He took a deep breath and grabbed the bandage to wrap it up although one of his hands were quite literally out of commission with Minhyun still holding onto it. 

"Just a little more, okay? You're almost there," Baekho said as gently as he could. Minhyun looked at the human male, trying to tell him with his eyes that it hurt and he wanted him to stop. Baekho clipped the bandage tightly and slowly removed Minhyun's hand from his wrist. It was red and had marks around it but he didn't think the pain was anywhere near Minhyun's. He shifted to the other side of the bed to look at Minhyun's face that looked drain of blood. He flickered his eyelids weakly at Baekho. "There... there. You did well."

Baekho slowly reached over to his head and gave it slow gentle pats. Minhyun shut his eyes and let out a quiet sigh. It still stung but at least it wasn't being agitated anymore. Baekho finally had time to look at his tail. A blueish purple hue tinted the scales that covered his tail. Baekho moved his hand over to the tail, giving it a light poke before placing his whole hand against it. It felt like... an actual fish. Not that he was trying to be offensive. It wasn't cold or warm though. Just dry. Which Baekho didn't think was supposed to happen but he couldn't ask Minhyun since the other had passed out.

Thinking it was for the best, he wet the towels and covered Minhyun's tail in them. He dragged the empty aquarium over so he could put the other's tail inside just for the water to drip into it and not cause a small flood in the room. He wondered if filling the aquarium up would be a better move but he was getting tired himself. He left the door locked and slid into the empty space on his bed, pulling his blanket over himself and Minhyun. Minhyun shifted a little and Baekho ended up freezing. Once Minhyun settled down again, he slowly laid down and closed his eyes. The soft sound of Minhyun's breathing lulled him to sleep.

"KANG DONGHO! WHY IS YOUR ROOM DOOR LOCKED?!" A high pitched voice pierced the morning air as Baekho jolted awake. He sat up and almost fell off the bed since he had somehow managed to move all the way to the edge in his sleep. He turned to Minhyun to see the other squinting his eyes open as well. Someone, namely Seungkwan, started hammering on his door. Minhyun frowned and unconsciously pulled the blanket over his head, trying to drown out the sharp voice and put himself back to sleep. Baekho chuckled softly as he pushed himself off his bed, walking to the door. Wait. He can't just open it up. 

After a few more loud hammering, Baekho finally creaked his door open a little so Seungkwan wouldn't be able to look inside. He shot the other a nervous smile.

"There you are!" Seungkwan exclaimed with a bright smile. Baekho stepped out and shut the room door behind him.

"Yeah. Why're you here so early again?" Baekho asked, trying to sound normal but Seungkwan wasn't dumb. He could tell when there was something wrong about Baekho and right now, he could tell the other was trying to avoid something.

"Because you are on a holiday and I'm the only person around to actually get you to go out," Seungkwan huffed at his friend.

"It's my holiday so why can't I just sleep in for a day or two?" Baekho whined while keeping his hand on the door knob. It only made it more suspicious. Seungkwan always knew Baekho was a terrible actor.

"Because I know you'll probably end up sleeping the whole day. Also why are you hiding your room from me?" Seungkwan switched the topic casually, trying to reach behind Baekho but the bigger male stopped him.

"I'm not! My room is just... super messy today so... best not enter," Baekho replied awkwardly, feeling his voice shake. He was terrible at lying.

"Kang Dongho.... what secret are you hiding in there?" Seungkwan hissed but couldn't find a way over the boulder in front of him. "I've seen your room plenty of times to know how messy you can get. What's so different this time?"

"I... uh... it's just really-"

"Did you bring a girl home?" Seungkwan gasped and Baekho almost threw him a disgusted look.

"No! No, I do not do that," Baekho snapped and slowly pushed Seungkwan back. "Look. I'll hang out with you. Just let me get ready, okay?"

"Uh huh..." Seungkwan stepped back as Baekho moved forward. He waited for the right time and dove past him, opening the room door widely. Baekho almost yelled but held it in when he saw that Minhyun was completely hidden under the blanket. It was even covering his tail part. Baekho wondered if the other had done that himself or he was just feeling cold. Seungkwan eyed the room, looking for any sign of abnormalities but the only thing he got was a whiff of the sea and antiseptic.

"Oh gosh. You should air your room. Also, why does it smell like medicine? Did you get hurt or something?" His busybody friend entered the room and opened the curtains widely, allowing more light through as he opened the window to let fresh air in.