reef knot

eleven

  "Does that mean I can't visit him?" 

  "Yes, until eight hours later," the doctor finishes his speech.

  "Thank you, Doctor," I bow politely.

  The man flashes a small smile in reply, before sauntering down the corridor, out of sight. 

  I plop back down onto the chair once he's gone, my head falling backwards to lean against the wall. "I'm staying here for the night," I say weakly, glancing towards the three bodyguards. "Y'all are dismissed."

  Before they can answer, I pull my knees to my chest, burying my head inside the warm denim material of my jeans, shutting myself off from the world. 

  The soft shuffle of footsteps and the silence that follows indicate that the bodyguards have left. Although I was the one who told them to, a sense of loneliness washes over me, and I find myself wishing they were back here with me. 

  I exhale heavily, lifting my head from my knees to survey my surroundings. 

  "Here," a sandwich is suddenly shoved in front of my face, and I look up to meet my mint-haired bodyguard's gaze. 

  "I thought I said you could go," I take the food from his hands. The bread is still in its packaging, the subtle warmth that's radiating from the plastic wrap indicating that it's fresh from a vending machine.

  Yoongi shrugs in reply. "You better eat up," he switches back to our previous topic. "You barely ate just now."

  "It's fine," I place the sandwich back into his hands, noticing that he didn't get anything for himself. "You can have it."

  "Your dad would deduct my salary if I let you go hungry," he shoots me a small reassuring smile, shoving the bread back to me. "Spare a thought for me, at least." 

  "Fine," I roll my eyes, a small grin starting to form on my face. "Min Yoongi," I call his name as I tear open the plastic wrap, exposing the sandwich to the cold hospital air.

  "Hm?" 

  "Thank you," I mumble softly, splitting the sandwich into two and offering half of it to him. 

  "It's my job," he returns the smile, taking the bread from my hands.

  "I'm not talking about the sandwich," I turn to look him in the eye.

  He meets my gaze, an eyebrow raised as he munches on the bread. 

  "My dad was right in hiring you," I blurt out before I can stop myself. "I feel safe around you." Realizing what I've just said, I hastily look away, my sandwich suddenly becoming the most interesting thing in the world. 

  Oh my god, he's gonna get so cocky, I swear. 

  To my surprise, Yoongi doesn't react. His gaze remains on me, and it isn't until I look back at him before he looks away. 

  "I guess that's part of the job too," he finally says, after a long moment of silence. 

  "I BROUGHT FOOD!!" Taehyung suddenly interrupts, appearing out of nowhere. I jump at his exclamation - however, Yoongi doesn't seem fazed. 

  "I thought you were gone for good," my bodyguard mutters while Taehyung sets his numerous plastic bags on the chair next to Yoongi. 

  "Processed food is bad for your health," the brown-haired boy informs us, snatching the half-eaten sandwiches from our hands and throwing them into a nearby bin. 

  "I spent the last of my change on that!" Yoongi objects, rising from his seat. Taehyung instantly pushes him back down onto the hard plastic, shoving a bag of chips into my bodyguard's hands to shut him up. "I don't see how this is any better than the sandwich," Yoongi points out, but Taehyung ignores him. 

  "I got this for you," the brown-haired boy turns to me, gently handing me a transparent plastic container, filled to the brim with hot porridge. "It's from the hospital cafeteria."

  "Kim Taehyung, I swear to god, just because she's a girl-"

  "I'm honestly not hungry," I interrupt Yoongi, politely returning the porridge to Taehyung. However, the boy refuses to take 'no' for an answer. 

  "If you don't eat, how will you have the energy to worry for your Dad?" Taehyung gently persuades while taking the seat on the other side of me.

  I exhale, my gaze flitting to Yoongi, then to the porridge, before resting on the brown-haired boy's weirdly charming smile. 

  "Let's share."

+

please take note that i am writing this at night while coughing my lungs out, so I'M SORRY FOR THE SUCKY CHAPTER. 

'sucky' should be a word.

BUT STILL LALALA Y'ALL BETTER COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT <3 

-hoseokieomo