[SERIES] Latching on to the Traitor (7/??): The Angel and His Forgotten Soldier
LATCHING ON TO THE TRAITOR (by kaijin-taichou)
Chapter Seven - The Angel and His Forgotten Soldier
Rating: PG or K+ (just to be safe)
Genre: Series; Angst (I can't believe I am writing angst); Romance (cringe!)
Main Characters: Kim Jinwoo, Song Minho,
Recurring Characters: Lee Seunghoon, Nam Taehyun, Kang Seungyoon, Kim Sungjoo
Pairing: Minwoo; MinoxJinwoo; Joowoo(?) or Jinjoo(?)
Summary: Mino feels abandoned when Jinwoo left YG Entertainment almost four years ago without a clear explanation. And now that Jinwoo's back as part of a new duo group, Mino doesn't want to share the same stage with a traitor.
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Chapter Seven
THE ANGEL AND HIS FORGOTTEN SOLDIER
He never thought that he would be part of YG Entertainment. After almost debuting as a member of Block B and the debuting and hiatus of his ballad group B.O.M., being a YG trainee was a surprise for Mino.
He had debuted and tasted how it felt like to perform on stage but waiting for his supposedly (and possibly) new band members, Mino was quite nervous.
First of all, he was about to meet Kang Seungyoon. Kang fucking Seungyoon, for heaven's sake. The guy had already made a name. He even attended MAMA 2010. How could he, an underground unknown rapper, be in the same team with a famous rockstar? Yeah, he was still in B.O.M. but who knows B.O.M., anyway?
Then there was Lee Seunghoon. The guy with the legendary audition. The guy who made YG himself cry when he was eliminated in KPop Star.
Mino also heard that Nam Taehyun was in the same team. He was familiar with Taehyun because they attended the same high school and that guy was quite popular.
There was another member, which he forgot the name. Mino heard that he was the oldest in the team and had been a YG trainee for three years. Three years, that guy must be very intimidating, Mino thought.
As he practiced in his head on how he would greet his new bandmates (particularly Seungyoon and the guy who has been in YG for three years), Mino's head turned to the door of the practice room when he heard its doorknob.
Mino stood up when the door opened. He looked at the person who looked at him as well. Looking at the guy made Mino confused.
Was he in the right practice room? This guy was definitely younger than him. He heard that the maknae of the group was his schoolmate Taehyun but this guy in front of him was not Taehyun.
Was he in the right building? He was in YG Building, Mino was sure of that before this newly-arrived boy appeared. YG had a reputation of not knowing what "visual" means. However, seeing this guy in his gray hoodie, black sweatpants, and black sneakers with a pair of big, pretty, doe eyes, it seemed like Mino was in the wrong agency.
Was he still on Earth? Mino might not be aware but maybe he had an accident a while ago and got killed and now the heaven sent an angel to guide his way to heaven.
Mino didn't know that angels wear gray hoodies when they fetch dead people. And Mino didn't know that skipping a heart beat was a possible, valid reason to kill a person. This guy just made his heart forget how to beat for a second.
However, the guy looked scared as he stared back at him.
"W-Who are you?" the guy asked him quietly.
Mino stared at him, checking if he just spoke. When he saw the guy blinked, looking like he was waiting for an answer, Mino realized that the guy was a human, too.
He cleared his throat and said, "Hello! I'm Song Minho. Nice to meet you." Then he bowed.
As he looked at the guy after bowing, Mino was surprised to see him smiling now. Mino never met someone who smiles as bright as this hoodie guy.
"Oh! You are our new team mate? Hi! I'm Kim Jinwoo," the guy introduced as he bowed at him.
Mino just stared at him. Kim Jinwoo: that was the name of YG's trainee of three years that he forgot.
But he should be very intimidating, right? Mino asked himself. But he was way far from being intimidating. He was cute, angelic, and bright, literally speaking. This Jinwoo guy's face was glowing.
"I thought you are a soldier and you're here to make me enlist for military. You scared me," Jinwoo laughed.
"You're the mat hyung? The trainee for three years?" Mino asked. He sounded very rude but this Jinwoo seemed unaffected and even smiled brighter.
"Yes, I am," Jinwoo said. Then his face suddenly turned red. "How did you know?" he added.
"Uhm… I was sort of oriented about you," Mino said sheepishly.
"Oh!" Jinwoo bit his lower lip as he held Mino's right arm. The rapper looked at Jinwoo's hand. Is this person aware that they just met five minutes ago and here he was, holding him like that? Mino asked himself.
"I forgot to read your profile! Seungyoon-ah will kill me!" Jinwoo said as he squeezed Mino's arm.
Mino looked at Jinwoo who was now apologizing to him in a very cute way. He couldn't help but smile.
"It's okay, Jinwoo-hyung. I'd rather let you know me through personal interactions than a piece of paper," Mino said.
Jinwoo nodded and smiled at him again, if it was possible to smile as bright as the sun.
Mino felt he was smiling back and that smile was from ear-to-ear.
Mino opened his eyes, lifted his head, and saw Jinwoo. However, instead of a smile, Jinwoo has tubes in his mouth, connected to a mechanical ventilator.
The pain of seeing Jinwoo, relying on tubes and a respirator to breathe, to live, has killed Mino a thousand times for the past two days. The doctors told them that the bullet went to the mat hyung's left lung. Jinwoo's heart stopped beating during the operation because of excessive blood lost. But he was revived. However, since his heart stopped beating, the blood flow in his brain stopped as well. And here he was, in a deep-sleep state.
He had been dreaming of how he met Jinwoo ever since the mat hyung was transferred to the ICU. He didn't know why but Mino wanted to believe that maybe it was a sign that he and Jinwoo should start again once the older guy wakes up.
If Mino could, he would never leave the room and just stay beside his Jinwoo-hyung. The rapper wanted to be the first person Jinwoo would see once he opens his eyes. For Jinwoo to know that Mino was perfectly fine, all thanks to him. However, his parents so as Jinwoo's parents and his members were practically begging him to rest. Even Sungjoo was worried about him.
The rapper asked them not to worry but all of them glared him with responses like:
"You might have forgotten that you fainted and you were unconscious for eight hours."
"Mino-yah, if you don't rest, you will end up as a patient of this hospital as well."
"Jinwoo-hyung won't go anywhere, Mino-yah. Unless you kidnap him."
Mino stared at Jinwoo. He wondered what the older guy was dreaming of. Is he dreaming of the first time they met as well? The first time they held hands? Their first hug? Their first kiss? Was Jinwoo even dreaming of him? Because if he were in a deep sleep, Mino would only dream of Jinwoo.
The rapper looked at his watch. Six hours before the end of Jinwoo's 48-hour deadline. The time was running but the doctors haven't seen any signs of Jinwoo waking up anytime soon.
Mino held Jinwoo's right hand, where two IV tubes were injected, connected to dextrose. He held it gently with his two hands.
"Wake up, Jinwoo-hyung. Don't leave us. Don't leave me like this. Please," Mino pleaded as his tears started to drop on his cheeks.
The rapper closed his eyes.
Six hours.
The thought of Jinwoo living through life support angered Mino.
Jinwoo didn't deserve any of these in his life: trained so hard just to be kicked out of YG Entertainment, by the CEO himself; hated by Mino, the person he needed the most when all shit was on him; took a bullet for the same person who hated him and didn't believe in him; and now, lying unconscious, fighting for his life.
It should have been him. Not Jinwoo.
Six hours.
It has crossed Mino's mind that maybe Jinwoo got tired with all the things that happened in his life. That maybe, it was better for him to just leave like this. Maybe, Jinwoo didn't want to survive and live at all.
Mino didn't want a Must be answer for all of his Maybe's.
"Please, baby... Open your eyes... Come back to me, baby... please... Jinwoo-hyung..." Mino begged the sleeping guy as he kissed his hand.
"Mnngh..."
Mino opened his eyes and looked at the sleeping guy.
Did Jinwoo-hyung just make a sound?
"J-Jinwoo... J-Jinwoo-hyung?" Mino's voice was shaking. But he hoped he wasn't just hearing things.
"Ughmm..."
Mino stood up and went closer to Jinwoo.
"Jinwoo-hyung?" the rapper tried for the third time. He had to be sure that the mat hyung was really responding to his call.
"Mnggh..."
More tears were flowing on his face as Mino was half-laughing and half-sobbing.
"Fuck you, Kim Jinwoo! How dare you scare me like that?! I almost..." Mino touched his right pocket before he held Jinwoo's hand again.
"I'm sorry for losing my faith in you, hyung. I'm sorry for being a pessimist. I really thought... It was just a back-up plan. I just can't live without you, Jinwoo-hyung. I... shit. I'm crazy, right? Yeah, of course, I shouldn't be bombarding you with shit like this. But... thank you for not giving up, baby," Mino kissed Jinwoo's palm as many times as he could.
"I'll be back," the rapper kissed his Jinwoo-hyung's forehead and excitedly left the ICU.
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Sungjoo felt he forgot how to open his eyes. He was scared of his surroundings.
Six hours before the 48th hour and the doctors never gave them the hope that Jinwoo would wake up.
Sungjoo kept his eyes closed. He has been praying and begging for his best friend to wake up. If his prayer would be answered, it would save not only one person but two.
It would also save Mino.
Sungjoo included in his prayers that Mino would see the light. It was an accident but Sungjoo saw Mino looking at a small bottle of medicine this morning. And then he heard him say, "If you won't wake up later and everything turns ugly, you don't have to wait for me that long, Jinwoo-hyung."
He knew that the small bottle would do no good to Mino but Sungjoo failed to confront Mino.
"Doctor Park! Doctor Park!" Mino called the doctor as he opened the door of the ICU.
Sungjoo thought his heart stopped beating. He looked at Mino. There was an urgency in his voice and his tears were falling on his cheeks.
Could it be...?
"Mino-yah! What's happening?" Jinwoo's mom asked as she and Jinwoo's father stood up and went to Mino.
"Eomeoni, Jinwoo-hyung... Jinwoo-hyung responded to my call! I was calling his name and he made these weird noises like murmurs," Mino said excitedly as he wiped his tears.
Sungjoo stared at Mino as Jinwoo's parents hugged each other and cried. Seungyoon was shaking him so badly, trying not to cry while Taehyun and Seunghoon seemed to be having a loud sobbing competition as they were locked at each other's arms.
The doctor came and Mino explained to him what happened. Sungjoo smiled for the first time in two days. His prayer was heard. He prayed again and thanked God for hearing his plea.
And thank you, Jinwoo-hyung for not giving up.
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As much as Mino didn't want to leave Jinwoo's room, he had to. He just sent his parents home after his father and mother insisted to be Jinwoo's guardians last night.
Jinwoo's parents refused at first but they were eventually convinced by Mino's parents.
Nine days after Jinwoo responded to his call, the mat hyung was now able to breathe on his own, without any tubes. He was still asleep but the doctors said Jinwoo was recovering fast. They said that Jinwoo was now reacting to pain stimulus as his eyes fluttered during tests.
His vitals were stable. All they really need to do was to wait for him to wake up.
YG allowed him not to join the other three Winner members on their promotional activities and schedules since it was him who should have been shot. Their CEO might have felt that Mino was feeling very guilty and he might not perform well if he joined the other boys.
Mino and Sungjoo took care of their sleeping hyung, scolding each other to rest as both of them were stubborn, refusing to leave Jinwoo's side.
Mino was very thankful to Jinwoo's best friend. Sungjoo updated him on what happened to Jinwoo in the past four years. Every detail, the younger one told him. When the rapper asked Sungjoo if Jinwoo has still feelings for him and if the older vocalist had forgiven him, Sungjoo glared at him before he threw an empty milk box on Mino's way.
"We won't be waiting for Jinwoo-hyung to wake up if he doesn't have these feelings for you, Mino-hyung. He didn't hold any grudge against you. You should have seen how he almost destroyed our room's door when you sent him a LINE message, which I was really against with. You know where I am coming from, right?"
Aside from the updates, Sungjoo also opened up on how he felt for Mino for abandoning Jinwoo. The rapper couldn't blame him. He apologized to Jinwoo's best friend, in which Sungjoo responded, "Jinwoo-hyung will never talk to me again if I refuse your peace offering. But I'm always watching, hyung. You know that."
Mino was about to turn left when his running Seunghoon-hyung accidentally bumped him.
"Mino-yah!" Seunghoon exclaimed.
Mino looked at the choreographer nervously.
"W-what happened?" he asked.
"Jinwoo-hyung woke up!" Seunghoon told him.
"What?!" Mino said in a very loud voice that a nurse shushed him. He was about to run to Jinwoo's room when Seunghoon held his arm and stopped him.
The rapper looked at the older rapper, puzzled.
"Seunghoon-hyung?" Then Mino just realized his hyung's voice when he told him that Jinwoo was already awake. He was not as excited as he should be.
"Seunghoon-hyung, did... did something happen?" Mino asked curiously.
"Mino-yah, Jinwoo-hyung is..." Seunghoon paused.
"He is what, hyung?" Mino asked impatiently.
"He is kinda... weird," the choreographer told him carefully.
Mino just looked at his Seunghoon-hyung.
"Just... just go and see for yourself," Seunghoon sighed.
"Did you already call the doctor?" Mino asked as he and Seunghoon walked, going to Jinwoo's room.
"Yes," Seunghoon replied.
Mino wanted to run towards his ex-boyfriend's private room but he was afraid. He wanted to know what Seunghoon meant when he said that Jinwoo was weird. But a part of him was scared to know this change in Jinwoo.
He was about to open the door when Seunghoon stopped him.
"Let me," Seunghoon said as he held the doorknob and opened the door.
Mino's heart was beating too fast. Seunghoon was acting weird, too so it must be really something serious.
The rapper was expecting a shouting Jinwoo, throwing everything around him as he cried while telling everyone to leave the room.
But that wasn't happening. However, the words that came out from the mat hyung's lips stunned Mino.
"...know me, Sungjoo-yah. Why would I leave YG Entertainment?"
Mino looked at Jinwoo. He was still lying on his bed, looking at Sungjoo who was sitting on the edge of the bed's right side.
Jinwoo might have noticed them as the mat hyung looked at Seunghoon then at Mino.
Mino walked slowly towards Jinwoo. He was slightly annoyed that he wasn't there when the pretty vocalist woke up but the fact that Jinwoo was all well now, already talking and seemed like interacting with his friends was enough.
He stared at Jinwoo who was staring back at him. He wasn't smiling at Mino, though. Jinwoo was looking at Mino with that so familiar expression. The face he has been seeing every time he sleeps these past nine days.
Jinwoo was looking at him like the first time he saw Mino: that scared eyes was staring back at him.
"Jinwoo-hyung," Mino said, almost inaudible.
Jinwoo continued to look at him. His doe eyes never left Mino. The rapper never took his eyes off the older guy as well.
"Hello," Jinwoo said awkwardly.
"Hi," Mino smiled at him. How could a person who just woke up from coma be this cute, adorable, good-looking, and angelic?
"I'm sorry but... who are you?"
Mino blinked. Did he just hear Jinwoo right?
"Hyung!" Seungyoon gasped.
"Jinwoo-hyung, that's... that's Mino-hyung," Sungjoo said. He was wearing the same expression as everyone inside the room: confused, puzzled.
"Mino?" Jinwoo asked. He was still looking at Mino.
"Jinwoo-hyung, did it take you nine days to plan this prank? Is this your revenge to Mino-yah? It is kinda believable, hyung," Seunghoon tried to lighten up the atmosphere.
However, Jinwoo didn't say a word and still stared at Mino with his scared eyes.
"Jinwoo-hyung, there is no way you can forget about Mino-hyung. You may forget us but not Song Minho," Taehyun said.
"Song Minho?" Jinwoo said. Mino noticed Jinwoo's expression changed.
"Oh! You're our new team mate! I'm Kim Jinwoo. I'm sorry if you have to meet me like this. I can't bow but nice to meet you," Jinwoo smiled at him brightly.
Mino felt that everyone was looking at him.
"Jinwoo-hyung..." Seungyoon said weakly.
"Oh my God, Seungyoonie! I haven't read his profile! Don't kill me!" Jinwoo looked at Seungyoon, apologizing endlessly. Then he looked back at him.
"I thought you are a soldier and you're here to make me enlist for military. You scared me," Jinwoo laughed.
Mino just stared at Jinwoo as everyone's eyes were looking back and forth at the ex-lovers.
Mino thought someone brought him back to the past. Those were the exact words Jinwoo told Mino back then, when they first met. Even the way he laughed was the same.
Is this why I am dreaming of the first time we met, Jinwoo-hyung? The good-looking rapper wanted to ask his hyung.
Mino just felt his tears dropped on his cheeks, which alarmed Jinwoo.
"Uhm... are you okay, Mino-ssi?" a worried Jinwoo asked him.
Mino-ssi.
"Jinwoo-hyung, why are you calling him Mino-ssi? He's your-" Sungjoo didn't finish what he was saying because Mino spoke.
"Did... did you forget about me, Jinwoo-hyung?" Mino asked. His voice was shaking. But he was looking straight to the mat hyung's eyes.
"I... I'm sorry. I just... I really can't remember you..." Jinwoo whispered.
He didn't take his eyes off Mino though. The rapper knew Jinwoo was telling the truth. His doe eyes were trying to remember him.
Karma is a bitch, Mino thought. And he didn't expect this kind of karma.
It was the price he needed to pay for not believing in Jinwoo.
The pretty vocalist's new life meant wiping out all of his memories of Mino.
Did I hurt you that much that you need to forget me, Jinwoo-hyung?
Mino nodded as he sobbed hard then he murmured something in between "Excuse me, I need to go," and left the room.
xxx