But Then I Fell in Love

Chapter Nineteen

Jungkook found Jimin sitting outside in a small courtyard on a bench. He approached him nervously and sat down beside him.

Neither said anything for a few minutes until Jungkook finally opened his mouth.

"I kissed Yoongi."

Jimin's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I kissed him, panicked, and ran."

"I – "

"It was spontaneous; something I've wanted to do for a long time, but never did because it felt like crossing a line. Once I did it, it felt so inappropriate that I wanted to remove myself from the situation so Yoongi could process and move on from it."

"But what if he – "

"Didn't want to move on from it? Yeah, I was so concerned about myself that I didn't consider that."

Jimin just stared at him. He wasn't sure what else to say. Jungkook sighed.

"I made a mistake. And it wasn't the kiss. It was me being selfish and running away. I should have talked to Yoongi about it, but I was an idiot and abandoned him instead."

"How could you do that?" Jimin said quietly. "Didn't you think he'd been through enough already?"

"Yes," Jungkook said. "Of course. And I'll never forgive myself for putting him through more distress."

Tears suddenly sprang to Jungkook's eyes. Jimin watched him with surprise.

"Now I may never get the chance to explain all this to him. And he's the one who matters most."

"Don't say that," Jimin said quietly. "He'll make it through this. Don't talk about him like he's going to die."

Jungkook shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm just...scared."

"We all are," Jimin said.

They sat next to each other quietly for several long moments.

"I'm sorry, Jimin. I never meant to hurt your friend. I care for him deeply. I hope you can believe that."

Jimin slowly nodded. "He cares for you, too. I can tell. So, when he wakes up, the first thing you need to do is have this conversation with him."

"I will," Jungkook promised.

Over the next few hours, each of the other guys trickled in at various times. And each time one of them appeared, Jungkook took them aside and explained himself. They weren't happy with him (with Seokjin being the most angry), but eventually came to somewhat understand him. Each of them agreed that the first thing Jungkook should do when Yoongi woke up was explain himself to him.

Each of them forgave Jungkook in their own ways, and he was grateful for that. Each was surprised to hear that Jungkook had had a crush on Yoongi, as he'd kept it pretty quiet and to himself. And each gave their blessing to him, assuming he followed through in revealing his actions and intentions to Yoongi.

By the time he was done explaining himself four different times, and enduring the opinions of each of the guys, Jungkook was exhausted. But, he refused to leave Yoongi until visiting hours were over. Once they were, and he left, he went home and showered, dropped into bed and fell into a fitful sleep. And the next morning, he was back up again, arriving at the hospital at the beginning of visiting hours on the dot.

There was no change in Yoongi's condition, just as the day before. Namjoon was concerned that he may have to go back to work soon, but he didn't want to leave Yoongi's side. Jungkook offered to stay when Namjoon couldn't.