SEVEN DAYS

day one

jimin awoke the next morning to jungkook gently shaking him. "wake up, babe," the younger murmured, pressing kisses all over jimin's face.

giggling, jimin scrunched up his face and tugged the blankets tighter up around his neck. "noooo!" he squealed as jungkook resorted to tickling. his hands flew out from underneath the safety of the covers to protect himself. "okay, okay! i'm up!"

sitting back on his knees, jungkook watched as his boyfriend of almost three years yawned and stretched. he could still hardly believe jimin's natural beauty: even in the morning, when most looked their worst, jimin managed to be ridiculously gorgeous. his dyed blonde hair was messy, there were dried tear tracks on his face, and his eyes were encrusted with sleep, but to jungkook, he was the epitome of beauty.

jimin rolled over to glance at the clock sitting on the bedside table. "8 a.m.? why so early, kookie?" jimin whined, wrapping his arms around jungkook, who pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

"we have an appointment with doctor lee this morning, remember?" jungkook reminded him quietly. jimin made a noise of acknowledgment and laid his head on jungkook's warm bare chest. "how did you sleep, jiminie?"

"okay," jimin replied. it was a lie: he'd spent most of the night with his head nestled in the crook of jungkook's arm, staring at the ceiling and trying to hold back tears. at the most, he'd probably gotten around three or four hours of sleep after he'd cried himself to exhaustion and passed out somewhere around 2 a.m.

jungkook looked knowingly into his boyfriend's eyes, but didn't comment. "good," he said, running his fingers through jimin's soft hair. "why don't you hop in the shower while i make breakfast, hm?"

jimin mustered up a smile, nodding and pulling himself off of jungkook's lap. although just as he was about to shuffle to the ensuite bathroom, a wave of sharp pain hit him and he cried out, hand flying out to grab onto the foot of the bed for support. jungkook immediately rushed to his side, wrapping his arms protectively around his boyfriend. he held him while jimin cried through the pain, hating himself for not being able to do anything while the love of his life suffered.

"i'm sorry, jimin."

sniffling, jimin looked confusedly up at the younger. "why...why are you sorry?"

"because i can't do anything but just sit here while you're hurting."

***

"park jimin?" the young assistant's voice was clear and musical, her eyes gentle and sympathetic as she held the clipboard. "doctor lee will see you now."

jimin nodded, squeezing jungkook's hand as they stood and made their way to the private room. jimin's doctor's office was in a small clinic, because he hated hospitals and had chosen a private doctor who operated out of a little clinic in the suburbs.

"ah, jimin, come in. this must be the boyfriend you've told me about before." doctor lee, sensing that the moods of both boys was less than positive, tried to greet them cheerfully.

jungkook, recognizing the older doctor's efforts, mustered up a polite smile and extended the hand that wasn't holding jimin's. "hi, i'm jeon jungkook."

the doctor smiled as well, gesturing for him to take a seat on the chair positioned beside the examination table. jungkook did, and jimin hopped up on the table, playing with his hands.

as the doctor explained the full extent of jimin's cancer, jungkook tried his hardest to pay attention, but he found it so hard when the only thing that kept running through his mind was pain.

pain in that it hurt him to see the one who'd brought him so much light, be the one fighting with an impossible darkness.

pain because both of them were hurting but jungkook had to be strong for jimin, and god damn it if he showed his feelings in front of him.

the doctor's visit was relatively short, seeing as there wasn't much to go over. doctor lee had explained what would essentially happen in the next week–what to expect in regards to worsening symptoms and how to take care of jimin. they learned that jimin would lose a large amount of weight as well as his appetite, although jimin didn't mention that that had been slowly happening for a while now. his chest pains would only get worse and more unbearable.

the drive home to their shared apartment was quiet, the radio playing softly in the background. the irritating voice of the pop singer was unnerving jungkook as he drove, but as he was about to shut it off he remembered that jimin liked this song, and left it on, even turning up the volume a bit. jimin smiled at him from the passenger seat, making the younger weak.

jimin turned his head to gaze out the window, watching as the people and buildings whizzed by. his mind was still reeling from the information the doctor had given him; he felt the urge to scream, "why me? why now?" at the sky and cry, but it wouldn't change anything. he would still be dying from a sickness that sapped the life out of you like a leech.

"ji-jimin?" jungkook turned his head to see tears streaming down his boyfriend's face and immediately pulled into the next parking lot. swiftly parking the car and ripping off the older's seat belt, jungkook pulled jimin into his lap and held him tight. his hands rubbing circles on jimin's back, jungkook tried to comfort him as best he could. jimin rested his head in the crook of the younger's neck, tears soaking the shoulder of jungkook's tee shirt. he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck, crying quietly and just wishing for it all to be over. wishing it was just all a bad dream, and any minute now he'd wake up in their shared bed, sunlight streaming through the curtains and illuminating their tangled limbs.

but this was real life, and so jimin wept.

they sat like that for around an hour, jimin on jungkook's lap until he stopped crying and instead emitted small hiccups every once in a while. 

"i don't know if i can do this, kookie." jimin's voice was rough from crying and it shook.

"you can," jungkook pressed a kiss to the older's wet cheeks, "i'll be with you the whole way. i love you so much, jiminie."

"love won't stop me from dying, jungkook."