YOUTH. | JK | COMPLETE

i'm one, too

"Made him sleep." She chuckles. Hoseok's jaw drops for the umpteenth time, and he looks like he's going to explode from overstimulation and happiness—both from the fact that she made him sleep, and that her hand is gripped in his.

"You—He slept? You slept?" He asks in disbelief, looking to Jeongguk once more.

"17 hours." He says happily. "No nightmares." Hoseok looks like a proud mother.

"You." Hoseok points at Haneul. "You're a miracle worker. Please never leave hyung." He says, and Haneul laughs. They talk for a while, about what they did while out of the hospital (they skipped the details), about Hoseok's progress, about how he would kill to eat something other than the hospital food. They get caught up talking for so long and with so much ease that the light outside fades to dusk, and Hoseok finally tires out and falls asleep. Haneul has long since departed to go to work, and now Jeongguk is back in the hospital chair, feeling perfectly at peace. The turbulence of the last couple weeks has finally died down, he thinks, and he can't wait for Hoseok to get better so he can go get the burger he wants and so greatly deserves.

But then the hospital room door opens, and three men tumble in. Balloons in hand, along with flowers and bags of food and stuffed animals. They chaotically approach the sleeping Hoseok with concern and care, too engrossed in the sight to notice Jeongguk, but Jeongguk notices them, and his blood runs cold. Seokjin and Hoseok's friends. His friends, or at least, the people who used to be his friends, if Seokjin told them what he is and they had the a similar reaction. Jeongguk pauses to note that Taehyung, Namjoon, and Yoongi are present, but not Seokjin.

The first to notice Jeongguk is Taehyung, his dyed blue locks a stark burst of color in the dull hospital room. An emotion Jeongguk can't decipher flashes across his face as his coffee brown eyes connect with Jeongguk's. He stands up from where he kneels next to Hoseok's bedside, and begins to round the bed, approaching Jeongguk, who doesn't know whether or not to run or just accept what's coming to him. He doesn't want to know what Taehyung, the most gentle, kind person in the world, looks like when he's angry. But then it's too late and Tae is in front of him and his large hands latch onto Jeongguk's forearms and pull him to his feet. By now, the others are watching, but Jeongguk just shuts his eyes, bracing for the impact of a punch to the jaw, to the nose, to the stomach—

But none come.

Arms are thrown around him, pulling a shocked Jeongguk close and hugging him tight enough to knock the air out of him. Jeongguk cautiously wraps his arms around the taller man, and he feels his shoulders shaking. Is he crying? The answer to Jeongguk's question is met by the wet sensation of tears soaking through the fabric on Jeongguk's shoulder and onto his skin. He rubs the younger's back and whispers comforting things into his ear. "Tae, do not fret. Everything is okay." He says, still struggling to process the situation.

"Hyung, you don't get it—I'm one, too." He sniffles, red rimmed eyes looking up at Jeongguk. Jeongguk's heart feels like it stops beating, and for a moment, no one is in the room but he and Taehyung.

"What?" He chokes out, shock making coherent sentences impossible.

"I'm a Wanderer." He repeats. The world around Jeongguk suddenly spins back into focus, and he gapes at Taehyung, gripping onto him tightly. He looks around, and the only other surprised person is Hoseok. "I'm a Wanderer, too."

"Why—Taehyung—what?" Hoseok stutters.

"I was terrified of telling you. I—I made friends throughout my lifetime, always made sure to adapt to the new trends so I wouldn't stick out too much. When things got too close to them finding out, I'd move. I've never told anyone before, but—but when Seokjin came home and told us about Hobi hyung and about you, I knew I needed to say something." He says softly. Jeongguk lets out an incredulous laugh, as Hoseok drags a hand over his baffled face. "I just—I want you to know you're not alone." He says quietly, and Jeongguk's heart contracts.

"How old are you?" Jeongguk asks curiously, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

"One hundred thirty seven." He says, chuckling, the pink flush on his cheeks a sharp contrast to the blue of his hair. "You?"

"Two hundred twelve." He says, and for the first time after telling someone his age, he feels the urge to laugh. And then he does, and then Taehyung begins to laugh, and soon the whole room is laughing uncontrollably. Jeongguk's sure that if a nurse or a doctor walked in right now, they'd be sent to a mental institution, but he doesn't care. He can feel his circle of friends expanding, can feel the love towards him in this room vividly. He knew he wasn't alone, he had Hoseok and Haneul, but now, he's got plenty of company.

When they've finally caught their breaths, cheeks stained with tears of laughter, Jeongguk speaks. "Have you ever seen those underground railroads? Aren't they bizarre?" He asks Taehyung, who guffaws, nodding.

"Most definitely. Hey, you are aware that you can get contacts now, right? You don't need to wear those big glasses." Taehyung informs him, speaking in a more antiquated way than Jeongguk has heard him speak before, and Jeongguk gasps in surprise.

"That's remarkable!" He exclaims, and the room erupts in laughter once more. The night goes on like that, meaningless, conversation about weird dance moves and weird clothing and even weirder slang words; a meaningless conversation that meant the world to Jeongguk.

It makes him realize that he may lose some people to what he is—but he'll keep more than he loses.

i said last chapter was the last happy chapter for a bit

i lied

this chapter is

thank you all for being so patient with me while i got back into the swing of writing. i just experienced the worst two weeks of my life, and i don't want to get into it, but i lost inspiration for a while. but you guys were so supportive of me and never rushed me to update. i couldn't ask for better readers or for a better fandom. people say that bts helps them get out of dark places, but we should all acknowledge that the fandom helps too. it's amazing how we can all unite and be supportive of one another just because we love the same seven weird ass, talented crackheads. i love you all.

thanks for reading & i hope you enjoyyyyyyyy

xoxoxo r

edited 05/07/20