"He's gone a little red and he's got a few scratches." the doctor said. Dad 'hmm'ed.
"Is this the only medical facility around here? I think I should take him to a real hospital." he said as I buttoned up Seunghyun's shirt.
"You see, this huge iron beam fell on top of him." Seungri said, waving his arms aroud wildly as if to illustrate.
"Get out." the doctor said, and I sighed
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Dad began, but was cut off.
"Get out."
"I didn't mean any disrespect, it just came out wrong." Dad said, then Seungri and I got our things together and prepared to leave.
"Sit down." the doctor then said, and I would have growled like Seunghyun does in annoyance if I could as we sat down again. He took Seunghyun's hand and peered at it, then sighed.
"Take him to a bigger hospital next time. I stared at him in disbelief. I wanted to throw that closet at him, but I might not have been strong enough at the time.
**
"GD, are you coming with us?" Seungri called. I cleared my throat. I wasn't here because I wanted to go with them or anything...
"You're such a bother. Where are you going?" asked, going outside to meet them.
"To look at the goats. They look real scary." came the response.
"Seunghyun, Seunghyun." Dongmi pulled on Seunghyun's shirt. He looked down at her.
"This is for you." she said, giving him a small plant."It's a beanstalk. Give it water, and it'll grow bigger." she finished. I smiled lightly at the care he took while taking it from her, and when he gently placed it on the porch, next to Dad's other plants.
We went to see the goats, and Seungri mimicked their noise. The others shook their heads.
"It sounds more like..." They gave their own impressions, then looked to me. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.
"No" I said, but Seungri pouted and grabbed my sleeve. I refused to look at him, looking the other way, but then I saw Dongseok giving me the same look, and caved.
"Well...I...I think it sounds more like..." I cleared my throat and gave my impression, feeling myself heat up as they giggled. I looked away from them, to see a small smile on Seunghyun's face, and scowled.
"Don't laugh." I muttered, and the smile fell. He then tilted his head to the side, and leaned in to sniff me. I was used to this, so didn't flinch away like I used to, allowing him to breathe in whatever he smelled. When he straightened up, he had a slightly wider smile on his face, one that seemed more fond that anything, and it made me feel odd. Not bad, nor unpleasant in any way, just...odd.
I pouted and looked away, not noticing that the other three had left already, and began walking. Soon I realized they weren't with us, and looked around.
"Hyunnie, where'd they go?" I asked under my breath, and suddenly he was in front of me with wide eyes. I blinked.
"...what?" He didn't answer, of course, just looked down in a seemingly nervous way, then looked back up at me."
"Hyun, what-" his eyes widened again, and I stopped, then figured out what he was reacting like this for. And promptly flushed.
"Ah... That is... You don't- don't mind me calling you that, right? I can stop, if you don't like it-" he shook his head, rather violently at my suggestion, and I 'oh'ed, nodding.
"So...you like it? The nickname?" I confirmed, and he nodded. I smiled lightly.
"That's great, I thought you wouldn't..." I shook my head, then looked back up at him. "Let's go find Ri."
"Dinner's ready!" Dad and Ms Jung called us down from the hill we were all on, playing with Seungri's ball. I grinned and waved my acknowledgement.
"Let's go, dinner's ready for us all!" I called to them. They stopped what they were doing, and looked to me. Growing their own smiles, they nodded and came over. But then Seungri stopped and looked back.
"Ah, Seunghyun, you owe me a new ball! You didn't have to throw it so hard!" He complained as we waited for Seunghyun to get over to us. When he reached, we made our way down the hill. Bidding each other goodbye, we went to our respective homes for dinner.
"Dad, can I get a new baseball? Seunghyun threw mine too hard, we can't find it." Seungri said over his bowl of rice. I looked up with a small smile at him, then looked down again, trying to get Seunghyun's fingers to hold the chopsticks right. He fiddled with them, but after a while just gave up and used his hands again.
"Ah, ah! Hyunnie, don't eat so much at once! Eat slowly, or you'll get sick." I said, and he made a noise at the back of his throat before slowing down, eating like what could at least closely resemble a proper person. I nodded with a smile. And he leaned towards me. With a laugh, I rubbed his head, running my fingers through his hair, then frowned.
"You need to wash your hair." I said, and he whined. I shook my head.
"No protesting, you need to. Dad can give you your baths so you don't drown in the tub, but I'll wash your hair." I said, and he sighed, looking away. I rolled my eyes and set my bowl down.
"Seunghyun, it's not that hard to do, just sit there and let me do everything." I said as calmly as I could, but he didn't even twitch.
"...What are you doing?" Seungri asked, and I blinked.
"Convincing him to wash his hair." I said, and they looked at me like I was mad.
"...how do you know he doesn't want to?" Dad asked, and it was my turn to give them the 'are you mad?' Look.
"Don't you see? He obviously doesn't want to. He's brooding. Like a child." I said, adding the last part in for him to hear. He looked up at me with an offended expression which I skillfully ignored.
"If he could be just a little more mature, then this wouldn't be a problem." I said, continuing with my dinner. He growled in the back of his throat, narrowing his eyes at me.
"But of course, if he doesn't want to, then I can't force him to grow up." I set my -now empty- bowl down again as I finished, scooting backwards slightly in preparation for what he was about to do. He got into a prowling position. On all fours, and looked straight at me.
"But eventually he has to stop being a child." I said, and he pounced. He nuzzled his face into my stomach, and I resist the urge to laugh as I threaded my fingers in his hair again.
"Such a child." I said again, the other two nodding their agreement as they heard Seunghyun's satisfied whine, though muffled in my clothes. I patted his shoulder twice, and he got up, then went to the bathroom door, crossing his arms and giving me a... A kind of look. I raised an eyebrow.
"You wanna do this now?" I asked, disbelief painted in my words and across my faces he nodded, and I grinned.
"You sure?" I asked, and he nodded again, though less enthusiastically.
"Okay then; go ahead, I'll be there in a minute." He smiled at me and ran off somewhere. My eyes were wide when Dad and Seungri looked back at me.
"Did... Did he just..."
"He couldn't have..."
"I think he did."
I didn't say a word, just stood, and went to my room. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it.
My heart was pounding for some reason, and I knew I was blushing from the heat I felt in my face. My stomach was in knots, but it was pleasant, and I felt like nothing could bother me now. A hand found its way over my mouth, and my eyes were still wide;
Seunghyun just smiled at me.
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