It was the most relaxed Sungmin had felt in quite a long while, spread out on a picnic blanket with Victor and Yeona, laughing along with the young girl’s antics as they downed fried chicken and lemonade. For the past years, if the bookkeeper wasn’t working he was thinking about work, caught in a constant state of stress and fatigue that weighed down on him at all hours of the day. And yet, spending time with the Rhees, he found that work was the last thing on his mind, entirely distracted by the good company and light conversation.
Of course paradise couldn’t last, as nothing ever did.
The explosion, in Sungmin’s memory, was one tangled mess of chaos--- the shrill screams replacing the ear-splitting boom of the initial explosion. Himself and Vic quickly managed to join the chaotic crowd of people trying to escape the area, running as fast as they could toward an exit. Vaguely, the skinwalker recognized a situation brewing as they passed, a group of non-humans fighting back against the officers who were demanding their cooperation, and he immediately fell into step behind Vic and Yeona, creating a barrier between the chaos and the little family he’d spent the day with. It was only a split second later that he felt it, the piercing pain that tore through the right side of his abdomen, invoking a cry of pain to spill past his lips. He nearly doubled over, pace slowing to a stop as a hand flew to put pressure on the wound, thin streams of crimson spilling past his fingers.
It was the shock more than anything keeping him rooted in place, brain scrambling to try and make sense of the situation even as he felt gentle arms help him upright, lead him away from immediate danger. The skinwalker couldn’t manage to shake himself back to reality until he was lowered to the ground in a more sheltered area, blinking furiously to make out the worried faces of Victor and Yeona before him. Sungmin had never had the pleasure of being healed by the witch before, but if this was always what it felt like, he found that he very much preferred it to a hospital trip, a calming warmth radiating from where Vic’s hands made contact with his skin and spreading throughout the rest of his body. The pain hadn’t disappeared, not at all, but it was so much more bearable. And there were so many more important things to be doing right then than staying put and wallowing in the pain.
“I’ll take Yeona,” Sungmin managed to croak out, one hand still pressed against his wound as he used the wall behind him to help him stand upright. Vic looked extremely conflicted and, judging by the incessant buzzing of both of their phones, the medic had work to do. “You do your job. I’ll take Yeona, get her out of here--- she’s safe with me, I promise.”
They’d finally made it to the Rhees’ home, the journey feeling so much longer than it really was, if only because it was filled with limping and crying and whining for the man that they’d had to leave behind. Understandable. Sungmin was missing Vic’s presence almost as much as Yeona was, but as badly as he wanted to join the sobbing, he had someone to stay strong for. The young witch pointed out where her father kept the spare key, and Sungmin wasted no time in getting them safely inside, locking the door behind them. The eerie silence of the house was broken by loud sniffles and careful footsteps as the skinwalker made his way to the sofa, settling Yeona on his lap to avoid his wounded side.
Uncle Minnie, where’s appa? Why did we have to leave him? Sungmin was trying his best to console the girl, but the situation called for far more than a comforting back rub and soft words. Uncle Minnie, is appa gonna die? No. No, he fucking would not, and if he did, Sungmin would have some choice words to throw at whatever higher power was overlooking Agdoeg today. Uncle Minnie--- “How about some hot chocolate, hm? Does that sound good, sweet pea?” Of course it did. If there was any such thing as a constant in this universe, it was that sweets would always help to settle an upset child. Sungmin carefully laid the girl onto the couch, wincing as he stood to navigate Vic’s kitchen for hot chocolate supplies.
Two mugs and an hour’s worth of cuddling later, Sungmin was laid on his back on the Rhees’ sofa, Yeona tucked into his uninjured side, safe and snoring quietly. There were tear stains still littering her cheeks, the poor girl having nearly cried herself to sleep, even after accepting Sungmin’s offer of hot chocolate. The man himself had only prevented tears by a close shot, relieved only by the messages still coming from Vic in the Howlers’ group chat. That meant that he was okay. And Sungmin wasn’t sure that he could handle Vic not being okay. A head count was slowly taking place in the chat, everyone accounted for except for Hisoka and Jisoo, and the bookkeeper couldn’t help the drop in the pit of his stomach at the thought that something had happened to those two, something bad. He wished he could do more to help, but the poor little soul tucked into his side needed him more at the moment.
Sungmin had kept an open door policy in his home ever since the day he’d officially donned the Howlers tattoo years ago. He prided himself in it, his little safe haven away from the drama and chaos of gang life, a place where his little family could feel safe--- not only of sound body and mind, but also simply safe to expel whatever thoughts may be plaguing them. Generally his hospitality was mostly accepted by the younger members of the gang, often finding their way to his doorstep to hang out or eat a home cooked meal or simply avoid a situation at home.
And Sungmin loved that, loved being there for them when they needed him the most. But there was something about seeing an older member arrive at his doorstep, not only treating him like a therapist but also like a friend, a close confidant who they could put their trust in wholeheartedly. That felt good like nothing else did. People as accomplished as Sam or Vic asking for his genuine opinion and taking value in the words that came out of his mouth. It wasn’t exactly something that he had an abundance of back when he worked for the Nightbloods. A welcome change.
The skinwalker had been nearly buried in financial reports when Vic had texted, asking if he could stop by for a bit. The answer was yes, of course--- it would always be yes. Sungmin only hoped that he wouldn’t mind his unruly appearance, still having not bothered to change out of the sweatpants he’d woken up in that morning, round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as he sat between piles of paperwork on the couch, working from home to complete it on time. He could definitely use a break, and so when he heard a knock ring out from the front door, he called out an unceremonious “It’s open!” as he finished scrawling the line he was working on.
Piles of paper were dumped from the couch to the coffee table in front of it, in disarray yet somehow the bookkeeper knew exactly where he could find everything he needed. He abandoned his work in favor of padding to the kitchen. “Would you like a beer?” he called out behind himself as he opened the fridge to dig through it, only to backtrack a moment later. “Or... coffee? Whiskey? What time is it?” The skinwalker found that he wasn’t actually sure of the answer to that question, digging his phone out of his back pocket to answer.
