“you know, this isn’t the way to do things. you’re only going to wear yourself out before the actual important things happen.” minsun tries to reason with him, even though they know it’s a lost cause with most of the charm members. “do you want to get injured before our showcase? we need you there-” they stop themselves. they don’t want to play this game. “gosh. let me see it.”
they take joohyung’s hand from under the water, examining the way the swelling seems to have gone down at least a little, though joohyung’s skin is still red. when minsun covers it with their hand, they can feel the remaining heat burning off of joohyung’s skin, and they bite their lower lip in thought.
“you stay here.” they let go of joohyung and turn away to rummage through the cupboards again. they’ve learned to keep a first aid kit in here too, the result of one too many food experimentation-related accidents. “ and don’t touch anything.”
joohyung clenches his jaw, gritting his teeth to try and stop the shame he feels at minsun’s scolding from bubbling up and out of him. part of him is frustrated at the other’s scolding, the emotion bleeding into his words as he grits out, “i’m not trying to charm my way out of anything, i’m just trying to get some coffee,” but mostly, he just feels bad. joohyung never wants to cause any trouble, never wants to feel like a burden-- it’s part of why he pushes himself as hard he does. but now, with minsun watching him try to cool down his heated skin, all he feels like is trouble.
a tight sort of panic grips joohyung’s throat when minsun mentions getting injured, and his breath catches, his worst fear suddenly staring him in the face. “i’m not gonna get hurt,” he says harshly, as if his words can push minsun’s warnings away, his good hand gripping the edge of the counter so hard his knuckles turned white. “i know what i’m doing, minsun. i’ve done it before.”
it takes a lot for joohyung to resist the urge to snatch his hand away from minsun when they pull it out from under the water, feeling like a scared animal now, even though minsun is arguably the gentlest member of charm. he’s spooked now, the thought of getting injured putting weight to minsun’s words that joohyung would normally brush off. he sucks in a breath through his teeth as minsun touches his burn, letting it out in a huff when they move away.
“minsun, stop,” joohyung complains, but his words have no weight to them, leaning his back against the sink tiredly. “i’m fine, really. i just want some coffee.”
