Slowly coming to consciousness, Taemin can't move and his throat and neck burn, making him feel as if he can't breathe. His head feels awfully heavy and his mind is groggy; like he's trying to see through a bunch of fog but can't. He then frantically tries to move his wrists and feet, but they remain in place and refuse to budge. Still a bit out of it, he begins to panic, trashing and trying to get whatever is holding him off. His eyes are squeezed shut, and he doesn't dare to open them to take a look at his surroundings. In his unstable state of mind, he figures that he really did it this time, and he's been sent exactly where he deserves to be.. Hell.

Still struggling, his bottom lip begins to quiver and hot tears run down his cheeks, cascading down to his chin and dripping onto his neck. He's sure that he would look pitiful to anyone that saw him at the moment. However, the realization of how silent it is brings a satisfied smile to his tear stained face. His struggling ceases, and he just thinks, 'It's finally over.' With that, he relaxes completely and lets the drowsiness that he had been feeling take over as he fades back into the darkness.

*****

The second time Taemin wakes up, he's startled when he sees a tall figure looming over him. Out of reflex, he automatically attempts to jump away from the person, but he finds that he still can't move his wrists. He's back to struggling now, but large hands wrap around his shoulders and hold him in place, a deep, somewhat familiar voice calling out soothingly through his haze.

Knocked off guard by the gentleness in the tone of voice, he blinks his brown eyes to focus them. Stopping his thrashing, his eyes land on the face of his psychiatrist. The man's hands squeeze his shoulders comfortingly as a look of recognition crosses the teen's face, and he slumps back into the stiff mattress and pillows that he now recognizes as his hospital bed. When the boy looks down, he sees what is holding his wrists; velcro restraints. This and the exhaustion that he feels make him think back to how he ended up this way. One last glance at the dark circles of lack of sleep under Minho's eyes cause the overbearing guilt in his heart to come crashing down. He failed again, and he's still is doing nothing but causing people around him trouble.

He begins to cry again, and his sobs are so loud that he's sure the entire hospital can hear them, but he can't stop the sounds of despair and guilt that leave his scratchy throat. All he can think of now is how right the voice is. He really is good for nothing but trouble. Maybe that's why it's being so quiet now; Taemin has finally accepted his reality.

“I-i'm so s-sorry.” He forces the words through his wails, but he's not apologizing to anyone in particular. He's apologizing to the universe, really, because he truly is sorry for being so stupid and thinking he could escape that easily.

The large hands that hadn't left his shoulders finally release their hold, and he feels the absence immediately. Seconds later, though, they're on his face and the rough pads of Minho's thumbs are wiping the stream of tears from his cheeks. The deep voice breaks through his break down, soothing his hysterics. “Shh, now. There's nothing for you to apologize for. I should be apologizing.”

This confuses the teen, and he blinks up with watery eyes. The guilt ridden face that greets him startles him. “What? Why are you sorry, Dr. Choi?” he manages to ask through his still flowing tears.

“Because I've let you down already. I let this happen. You're my patient, I can't fail you like this, can I? I said I would help you and I've already broken my promise.”

Taemin doesn't understand. Yes, he's his patient, but why does he care so much? He feels so many things all at once; grateful because he's being cared for, confused because he doesn't understand why, and guilty because the psychiatrist only wanted to help and he did something so reckless anyways, despite the reason.

Minho must have noticed the different emotions running across his face, because he speaks up again. “You see, I've had a patient like you before. She came in my office one day after being referred to me for a suicide attempt. She tried to shut me out, but I could tell that deep down, she really did want my help. Her eyes pleaded for it while screamed harsh insults at me. After two weeks of her only yelling insults, she finally broke down in front of me. She told me everything. There were voices, and they had control over emotions. I worked with her for months, and I thought I had helped her. She didn't hear the voices anymore, and I thought she was better..” He trailed off then, a sad look crossing his face. “I found her hanging in front of my desk in my office. The note she left only said that they came back. That they never left and would never really leave, and that she was sorry for being such a burden and a waste of time.”

All of this struck Taemin to the core. It sounded as if this patient was the exact image of him, and he feels awful as he realized what kind of horrible memories he must have brought back for Dr. Choi. All he can muster the courage to do was bow his head murmur a hushed, “I'm sorry.”

You should be, you brat.

Of course, he knew that the voice wouldn't stay quiet forever. Taemin is actually surprised that it took this long for it to say something, but it doesn't make him feel any better when it does finally speak up.

“Don't be. But please, please let me help you. I'm begging you to let me try. Although quite frankly, even if you don't want me to, I'm going to anyways, because I can't let something like that happen again.” Minho responds, his voice pleading but determined.

Who the hell does this scum think he is?

“If you know what this is like so well, then you should know that I can't promise you that, Dr. Choi.” Taemin replies, only pushing away the hands that are still lingering on his cheeks. The frown on the older man's face makes him feel even guiltier, and he knows he can't take anymore of this right now. His tears have dried now, and all he wants to do is sleep everything away.

“I'm sorry, but I'm tired.. Please leave. I won't try anything stupid, I promise.”

With a sigh, Minho stuffs his hands in the pockets of his white coat and gives a curt nod. He seems to understand that he's not going to get the answer he wants, and begins to walk towards the door of the white hospital room. Taemin notices that the handle, the wood that was around it, and the chair he had used were gone. He figures that it must have all been broken when the staff finally got into his room after his attempt.

Minho turns back to face the boy one last time before leaving and simply says,“Alright, I'll go. I just wanted to make sure you were alright when you awoke. I'll see you at our session tomorrow, if you're feeling up to coming. If not, I'll come here. But you should know that I'm too stubborn to let this go. I'll help you, whether that voice wants me to or not.”

A/N: Sorry this is a bit short. I know I promised longer chapters, but it's hard for me! x.x I'll try harder to make them longer.

As always, subs and comments are love. Thank you!