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The soft, almost silent sound of bandages unfurling fills the comfortable silence of the living room. Two figures settled comfortably on the couch as tired eyes and bruised muscles ached silently and hands slid seamlessly over small wounds that continued to bleed.
Taehoon’s hand soothes over freshly white, chalky bandages before his hand slowly slides down to intertwine with another pair. The action is subtle and barely noticeable as fingers slide gently over each digit, before slotting comfortably between each other- yet Taehoon still hesitantly holds his breath and bites the inside of his mouth as he completes the action.
His eyes nervously flicker over to the owner of said hand, only to see that Hobin has barely noticed the action. His head lolls slightly, before jolting up, only to repeat the same action as he struggles to stay awake. Mind and body on the cusp of consciousness from how his shoulders are slumped over and how his eyes can barely keep themselves open.
Hobin blinks slowly, inhaling softly as a soft yawn escapes him, before he smoothly changes arms, hand slipping out of Taehoon’s in the process causing an unnoticed frown to appear on the taller’s face. The moon’s light gently shines on the shorter of the two’s face, illuminating tired eyes and soft skin as Hobin struggles to stay conscious.
“Thanks again for doing this for me Taehoon,” Hobin murmurs. His bangs have begun to overgrow his eyebrows and cover his eyes. The fact that he’s leaning forwards due to fatigue only shrouds his eyes from view even more. Taehoon can only guess that they’re either closed or dazed and looking elsewhere unfocused.
It’s a small detail yet it still manages to stir a pit of annoyance in his stomach. He doesn’t dwell on the feeling for long however, hands already expertly moving from swab to bottle to arm. He shouldn’t technically feel upset at that barely relevant detail. After all, it had been a long night for everyone.
Not only had they had to endure a fight with an illegal drug trafficking circle, but the encounter with Jinho Lee had left everyone shaken, Hobin and the new kid Eunu especially. Despite this, the lingering pit in his stomach doesn’t seem to agree with his rationality.
A soft hiss leaves Hobin’s lips as he presses the swab against a wound nastier and larger than the others. Taehoon quickly pauses his hand, eyes darting towards Hobin’s, but other than a bit of uncomfortable squirming and a near-silent curse, he makes no other protest.
As Taehoon finishes applying the dark yellow substance across all the cuts he feels Hobin’s arm suddenly droops in his hand, causing him to look towards Hobin only to realise that he’d fallen asleep.
Head now lazily leaning against the soft cushion of the couch as his mouth lies agape, just enough to part his lips slightly as his face smushes against the couch. Taehoon pauses at the sight.
Pauses for a moment just to take in the way Hobin’s eyelashes flutter ever so slightly whenever his breathing causes his face to be pressed even further into the couch. Pauses, just so he can take in how his bangs part hastily against his forehead as his brows twitch at the sensation.
Hobin looks so serene and calm, and the sight alone causes Taehoon’s heart to melt. He looks back at Hobin’s arm. The disinfectant already seeping into the cuts as they puff up and flare red slightly from the irritation. As Taehoon readies the bandages, his eyes suddenly find themselves caught on something. He swallows thickly as he realises what he sees.
Thin, barely noticeable white scars line the inside of his forearm. They’re erratic, yet still far too neat to be considered anything but intentional and the realisation of what they are causes Taehoon’s jaw to clench and his heart to sink.
Thankfully, the way they fade into Hobin’s skin and how they barely stand against it shows their age, yet that information doesn’t settle Taehoon in the slightest.
Now Taehoon isn’t dull. He knows about Hobin’s past, and despite how little and informative the details may be, he gets the basic gist of it. He knows how Hobin struggled for money and that he was bullied at school. He also knows how he spent the remaining hours he had which weren’t spent at the hospital, school, or his countless part-time jobs at home alone.
At home, alone.
Because back then Hobin had no one. He had no one but the slowly piling debt and the sliver of hope that his mother would make it past the night.
And- fuck. He doesn’t know why he’s shocked at this new revelation. After all, he’s sure no one could’ve survived that insane amount of stress and hardship without cracking, or hell, even shattering completely under the pressure.
The thought of what Hobin did during those years causes a twinge of pain and pity to flare up. He clenches down against his teeth as his brows furrow and his eyes narrow.
His eyes flicker along Hobin’s forearm before they flit away to focus on bandaging up the newer cuts. The fresher ones that need his attention. His hands move almost on auto-pilot as his brain tries to distract itself from this discovery.
He reasons that there’s nothing he could do now. If he decides to bring it up with Hobin he can only really see it ending up as an awkward conversation with both sides now warier of each other, or worse, an argument might escalate between the two; and he’s sure that’s the last thing they need, Hobin especially.
As his fingers finally slide against bandaged arms, he looks back up at a completely passed-out Hobin. Head now resting against the armrest as a thin line of drool trails down his chin as soft snores leave his lips. His whole face completely relaxed before scrunching up slightly as unintelligible mumbles leave his lips before the features soften again.
It’s an endearing sight that gets Taehoon’s heart fluttering and distracts his mind from what unfolded moments earlier. It felt nice to just forget everything around him and just focus on who was in front of him at this moment. He smiles to himself at the thought that he was the only one here to witness how Hobin looked, so calm and serene in the moment. Eyes tracing over his features as the moonlight reflects nicely off supple skin as faded dark brown hair frames his features just right.
A soft yawn slips past his lips, the action surprising him as his fatigue finally dawns upon him. Sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the couch, he stands and stretches slightly, a sigh escaping through his nose.
He looks back down at Hobin, the new angle now revealing how uncomfortably Hobin was positioned on the couch; and yet despite how awkwardly his neck was angled and how clumsily his limbs were placed, Hobin continues to sleep like a log.
The revelation brings a small smile to Taehoon’s face, finding a weird sense of humour at Hobin’s antics.
As he gathers himself to leave, a sudden thought comes to mind and he freezes in place. Glancing back at Hobin, he bites the inside of his mouth in thought, head slowly going over his options before his body moves seemingly on autopilot.
He gently scoops up the shorter, bridal style, his arm holding the other steady as he stays as silent as humanly possible; even slowing down his breathing as he makes his way over to one of the spare rooms. Even with his added muscle mass, Hobin was still pathetically light when compared to others his age, which meant Taehoon could easily carry him across the company’s office without much trouble.
As he slowly unlocks the door, the click of the handle manages to stir Hobin, causing his brows to furrow as he tries to focus his bleary eyes on whatever was in front of him.
“M’ tired lemme sleep,” Hobin mumbles out half delirious as he tries to roll in Taehoon’s grasp, causing the taller to tighten his arms around the other as he lets out an annoyed scowl.
“Stay still ya stupid fuck.” Taehoon replies sharply, promptly dropping Hobin on the bed causing a half-scream half-yelp to leave his mouth at the sudden action.
“What the hell Taehoon?!” Hobin hissed, only to be met with an eye roll from the other.
“Shut the fuck up and sleep before I change my mind and throw you back out into the living room.” Taehoon bites back, already turning away from Hobin as he makes his way back out of the room.
Hobin pouts slightly as he glares at Taehoon, the childish act going unnoticed as the brunette closes the door behind him, leaving Hobin alone in the room.
As fatigue begins to fog Hobin’s mind again, he absentmindedly lifts an arm above his head, the other gently tracing the bandages with his free hand as he admires Taehoon’s handiwork.
The disinfectant stings underneath his fingertips as they leave a sense of phantom warmth behind. His mind unconsciously drifts to how gently Taehoon had treated his wounds, fingers delicately dabbing the swab over his cuts as his eyes constantly flickered up to his face to check whether or not it hurt. Hobin wonders if Taehoon knew that he saw how long he had stared at him, or how often he noticed his eyes flicker to his own.
He lowers his arm before his mind drifts to an earlier action, one he’s not sure if Taehoon had realised he’d completed.
His hand still felt warm from when Taehoon had entangled his fingers with his own, holding his palm gently as he’d looked up with such a soft gaze that had left Hobin- as embarrassing as it was to admit- flustered.
His face heats up ever so slightly when his head replays the memory and he covers his face with his hands, groaning before he finally settles himself, eyes drifting shut.