Chapter Text
The smell of humans and disease was everywhere. No matter how many liters of disinfectant had been poured over everything. It was everywhere. Mingyu instinctively wanted to flee. And yet he was magnetically attracted to this place. Wonwoo was here. He was here.
Mingyu looked neither right nor left as they followed their manager down the corridors. Because when he looked at a face, he thought it was Wonwoo. Whether it was the six-year-old child with the broken arm or the old geezer in the wheelchair. The terror was wearing down his mind.
Jun next to him pressed his hand to his mouth and was pale as a sheet. Minghao was quietly comforting him, but he looked like he wanted to throw himself into someone's arms and cry. So Mingyu looked at Jihoon. Then to Joshua. To Jihoon. Those two seemed the most reliable to him. He had to hold onto their backs with his gaze to keep himself from drowning. Too many violent feelings in too little space - and it didn't get any better. Because the waiting room they were led into was bare. Cold. White and stained. Two ugly pictures on the wall and a vending machine with coffee so bitter and watery that it would send you straight to the emergency room if you took just one sip too much.
Seungcheol and Jeonghan sat there, on cheap plastic chairs. Seungcheol was a shadow of his former self. Head sunken, hands restless, gaze blank and fluttering. Jeonghan had an arm draped around his shoulder and was staring at one of the dozens of brown spots on the wall. But did not see them. Mingyu could guess what he was seeing, for it had been the two of them who had been at Wonwoo's side the whole time. Mingyu could not imagine the terror in their minds. Didn't want to.
"Any news yet?" asked Jihoon the question everyone here wanted to know the answer to as they all sat down. Jeonghan reacted a few seconds too late, Jihoon's voice only slowly seeping into his mind. He shook his head. Depressed. Tired. Dark eyes looked at Jihoon. Eyes that had seen too much.
"No."
"How long has ... has he been in there?" asked Dino. Brave Maknae. He was holding his own; he had really grown up.
Seungcheol awoke from his numbness and glanced at his watch. "Half an hour." Mingyu wished that he could comfort the older one. Reassure him that he had done a good job as a leader. But somehow it all seemed meaningless to him until he didn't know how Wonwoo was holding up. Because he felt so, so guilty. If only he had checked on him sooner. If only he had gone with him. Fate would have taken a different direction. Of course, it was too late for such thoughts now. But guilt was an ugly feeling. A bloody shadow that clung to his back and could not be shaken off. Whispered in his ear. 'Guilty, Mingyu. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.'
"Anyone want coffee?" asked Seokmin. Wanted to somehow keep himself sane through doing whatever. Half of them shook their heads. His voice echoed off the walls far too loudly. Like being locked in a white prison.
Time was passing. One hour. Two hours. Three hours. Jun and Minghao had fallen asleep, Jun curled up in Minghao's lap. Four hours. Seungcheol's nerves snapped and he left the room with Jeonghan. Five hours. Mingyu went to the bathroom with Joshua - fuck, would he ever dare go anywhere alone again? - and held his head under the icy water in the sink. Six hours. After six fucking hours, the door finally opened and a doctor entered the room.