❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

Seokmin groaned as he sat up against the headboard, positioning himself. It had been 3 days but he was already starting to feel better and the wound was healing quite fast.

According to Dr. Harlow.

"Here's your breakfast." Joshua entered the room, a tray in his hands as he walked over to Seokmin. Seokmin was amused by how Joshua's attitude had changed since he got shot. The guilt he felt had really shown in his actions.

Except it was a guilt Seokmin wasn't worthy of. He should've been the guilty one, not Joshua, and he was to an extent. Guilty that he let Joshua see him hurt.

"Thanks." Seokmin murmured as the tray landed on his lap. He looked at the meal which was a proper English breakfast as Dr. Harlow had informed them. Eggs, sausages, baked bean, bacon and toast along with a cup of tea.

He wasn't really a fan but he had to eat so he could take his medication. "Have you eaten?" Seokmin asked, biting into the toast. Joshua nodded, sitting down in front of Dokyeom.

"We should go out." Joshua stood up, his eyes widening in size and Seokmin swiftly shook his head in response. "I'm not going anywhere." He swallowed his bite, wincing at the pain he felt once it went down.

"Dr. Harlow says you need to go out!" Joshua's voice increased but Seokmin wasn't phased by it, instead taking a sip of his tea.

"I'm like 100% sure that he didn't say that." Seokmin dropped the cup, moving himself upwards again. "...Okay he didn't, but I don't care, you've been in here for 3 days Dokyeom, you need to get out."

Joshua took away the tray just as Dokyeom was about to take another bite and walked towards the door. "I'll come back to help you stand up, we're going out!" He yelled as he went out of the room, going downstairs.

The guilt had piled up and Joshua just wanted Dokyeom to be fine and back to normal. He had been cooped up in that room for 3 days and refused to let Joshua wind up the blinds.

So Joshua had already made a little bucket list of where they would go to. To cheer Dokyeom up. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

He was doing everything for Dokyeom. He had broken the promise he made to himself...

That he would never fall in love again.

.............

Seokmin's mind was incredibly scattered. He had too many emotions that he didn't want to accept or sort out.

He was guilty that Joshua was doing so much for him while he was planning to kill him and he had somehow fallen for Joshua but was ignoring those feelings.

A part of him didn't want to kill Joshua and that part had started to spread, affecting his whole body and enveloping him in a neverending fight within himself.

Seokmin touched his wound as his eyes burned into it. He wasn't sad that he had gotten shot because it had happened while he was trying to protect Joshua.

Seokmin didn't like it.

He despised the fact that Joshua was now more important to him than his own wellbeing. But he couldn't stop it.

He didn't want to stop either.

.............

After an awkward moment where Joshua had to help Dokyeom get ready and dressed, they were finally outside. Joshua had dismissed the driver and instead had decided to put Dokyeom on a wheelchair for easier movement.

"Isn't this all a bit too much?" Seokmin asked, glancing up at Joshua who smiled sheepishly before rolling Dokyeom. "Not at all."

The two went around the little town. It was quaint and empty, not like the big, bustling city that was London. They wouldn't be found here or even traced to this place. It wasn't a Joshua Hong location.

"I saw a park around here yesterday." Joshua looked around until he spotted the little entrance to the park. He smiled and pushed Dokyeom down the steep hill which led to the park.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Dokyeom asked as his hands gripped the handles of the wheelchair. "How did you know?" Joshua asked, giggling.

Seokmin stared at Joshua and a smile subconsciously formed on his face as Joshua's infectious happiness seeped in.

It was the first time he'd seen Joshua so happy and carefree.

Once Joshua stopped giggling, he paused, taken aback by his own actions. He couldn't remember the last time he was so... relieved. He was, for the first time ever, grateful.

Grateful that Dokyeom was alive and grateful that he was alive. Even though Joshua was a certified workaholic, he was also grateful that he wasn't tied up with work.

Something had changed in him. Something was different and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

.............

"Don't you dare roll me down this hill!" Seokmin yelped as Joshua slightly tipped him over a slope in the park. Joshua cackled, excited over the power he had in his hands at the moment.

"This is abuse of power Joshua-ssi." Seokmin gripped unto the handles tightly, his heart almost falling out of his chest. Joshua chuckled at his reaction, pulling him back up to the leveled ground.

"I hate you." Seokmin folded his arms and looked away from Joshua who smirked devilishly as he came closer to Dokyeom's ear.

"Are you sure about that?" He questioned, his voice in a whisper as it went through Seokmin's ears, making him swallow the lump in his throat.

"You did take a bullet for me." Joshua stood straight and turned Dokyeom around, this time moving towards a food stand. "Not for you, more like because of you." Seokmin corrected but he didn't think that. He was just being petty.

Joshua rolled his eyes, not responding to Dokyeom's comeback. "Hi, can I get two vanilla ice cream cones?" Joshua asked, getting out his wallet.

"Sure thing, darling. That'll be 4 pounds." The worker informed and as Joshua handed over the money, he whispered, "That's a handsome boyfriend you've got there."

Joshua beamed as he took the two cones, "Thank you, but he's not my boyfriend." The worker looked a bit surprised as he nodded slightly, "Oh, sorry about that."

Seokmin who had heard it all was a little bit offended that Joshua hadn't just played along. "But you'd make a good couple." Seokmin heard the man say and a corner of his lips lifted up in a satisfied smirk.

Joshua didn't reply, instead giving the man a subtle smile and handing Dokyeom's come to him. As Joshua licked his ice cream, he helped Dokyeom roll his wheelchair to a bench where they sat down to finish their snack.

Joshua truly was at peace and the genuine smile on his face, which only grew as he stared into the skin, gave it away. "The sky is so pretty."

Seokmim turned to Joshua, observing how angelic he looked as the sun brightened him up, illuminating his features which now glimmered under the lights.

"Mm, it is." Seokmin agreed, still staring at Joshua. Perhaps he was a fallen angel, not the devil. Maybe he truly was redeemable, unlike Seokmin.

After finishing their ice creams, Joshua and Seokmin started to head back to Dr. Harlow's house but stopped on top of the hill that led to his house.

The sun had started to set and a mix of orange and yellow coloured the sky. It was beautiful. Celestial even.

The two men sat at the tip of the hill, Joshua on the plain grass with his feet over the edge and Seokmin still in his wheelchair.

Joshua took a deep breath. He hadn't experienced this ever. It was so surreal to him.

"You're very happy today." Seokmin pointed out, his gaze planted on Joshua. Joshua smiled and nodded, still enchanted by the breathtaking view.

"I'm starting to understand the beauty in life I think... I've never felt so... free." Joshua closed his eyes, letting all his emotions soak in. Seokmin turned to the sky, trying to also let go of all his burdens.

But he couldn't.

Because the biggest burden was right in front of him. Like a bomb, ticking every second.

"I've never cared about people dying before because no one has ever cared about me dying. No one has ever protected me because they wanted to... but you've done that, twice." Joshua looked up at Dokyeom.

"So when you got shot, I just couldn't think. That was really when the guilt set in." He admitted, breathing in.

"I'm grateful but, you don't need to protect me anymore, you said it that day, that you want to be my secretary, not my bodyguard." Joshua pointed out.

"I can't." Seokmin said as he maintained eye contact with Joshua. The tension was apparent and they were slowly falling over the edge.

"What do you mean?" Joshua asked confused as he felt his heartbeat fluctuate. Dokyeom wasn't helping his agenda.

"I can't stop protecting you."

❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎

Ⓒ︎𝐎𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐎𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐎𝐇
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 - 06/10/2024
𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 - N/A