Feathers and Carnations

Chapter Twenty-two

*TW violence

Minho winced at the sudden sharp pain that shot through his head. His eyes briefly flickered open but quickly closed again as the light of the room was too bright.

"Oh, here he comes," Hyeon's cruel voice sang out.

Minho's senses slowly came into focus, and he almost wondered if he was dead. His body felt like it was made of bricks, if bricks could feel pain that is, and his mind was hazy. His throat was parched, his stomach hollow. He forced his eyes open to see Hyeon sitting in a rolling chair in front of him, Jaya standing behind him with a set of guards.

"ML-32 has joined the world of the living," Hyeon hummed, which made Minho wonder why he seemed so happy.

Jaya scoffed. "So you say." She stepped forward and knelt at Minho's side. "You say you want this machine kept alive and yet you deprive it of its basic needs and come complaining to me when it seems to be dying." She began checking Minho over.

Minho still couldn't make sense of where he was, but he could fill in the blanks pretty easily. He was probably chained here for days enduring whatever torture Hyeon was putting him through. As much as he hated being in this state, he was grateful to be unconscious and therefore unaware of what was being done to him the whole time.

"If you want ML-32 to stay alive, I'm going to have to take him to my infirmary for a few days. If he doesn't get treatment now, he'll be dead or on the way to death within twenty-four hours."

Hyeon sighed. "I do have plans for it, and having it die would ruin them. Do what you must."

Jaya got to her feet and turned to the guards. "I need this machine cleaned up and then taken to my office. I will not have a dirty patient in my area."

Minho found himself wanting to protest. The bracelet Jisung gave him would be taken away, but he couldn't bring his voice to work. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the guards unlock him and drag him away.

He blacked out a few times through the process of being roughly bathed and dressed, and he became aware once again when he was laid down in the familiar infirmary. He immediately checked his wrist, and his heart crumbled as he felt the empty space Jisung's gift had left behind. The white jumpsuit they'd changed him into brought a flood of memories to the surface, choking him.

Was it all a dream? Is Jisung really gone and I just fabricated everything to cope?

Minho dropped his head back on the bed, squeezing his eyes closed and taking a deep breath. He was not going to let panic and desperation take over. He had to have a clear head when Jisung came to get him.

Minutes passed. A door opened. 

Something light suddenly dropped onto his chest. "Don't bother thanking me."

Minho gently grabbed Jisung's bracelet from where Jaya had dropped it, willing himself not to cry in relief. He slipped it on, hiding it under the metal cuff of the chains holding him to the bed. "How long have I been in Hyeon's office?"

"A little over a week."

He released a short, humorless laugh. "Holy shit."

"You stopped breathing for a short amount of time, so I'm a bit impressed that you're even awake right now." Jaya circled the bed preparing things as she spoke.

Minho closed his eyes and let Jaya do her thing. He definitely felt like he was on the brink of death, so for once he was grateful to be under her care. "Did you help Jisung escape?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I opened a pathway for him, that was all."

His lips twitched. "Thank you."

"Do you really care for him so deeply?" The question wasn't condescending, but quiet and genuine.