Life's a Bumpy (and Bruising) Ride | NamKook

Injury

Despite the near-heart-attack he had first thing in the morning and afternoon's jarring confrontation, Jungkook had decided that today was a good day. Why? Because his soulmate hadn't injur--

He wasn't even half-way through his own thought before a sudden force slammed itself against nearly all of the toes on his right foot. His pain receptors were slow to react, so his initial reaction was to merely stand stock-still, shocked by the sudden attack on his foot.

And then, the pain settled in.

He let out a wheezy breath as the nearly unnoticeable ache throbbed and grew into a numb pang along the entire forefront of his suddenly injured foot. It wasn't to say that Jungkook couldn't feel his foot at all. Instead, it was more like the pain was so severe, so sudden, that it rendered his foot entirely immovable, numb to all sensations save for the startling swelling of his possibly broken toes.

He gasped, sharp and sudden, upon realizing he had been holding his breath to deal with the overbearing pain.

Realizing that he might not be able to hop all the way over to his dorm on one foot, Jungkook pulled out his phone and dialed up his emergency contact for cases such as these.

"Hyung," he rasped, breath shallow. "The dorm's courtyard--"

"Be right there," was Hoseok's immediate response, hanging up immediately after answering.

Jungkook, grateful that Hoseok had managed to pick up on his urgent tone so quickly, pocketed his phone once again and slowly hobbled over to a nearby bench.

Once situated, his throbbing foot elevated atop the seat alongside his leaning body, Jungkook found himself cursing his soulmate's existence for, possibly, the umpteenth time that week.

He was having a good day. There had been no significant injuries gained, and even the day-to-day bumps and bruises were hardly noticeable. But then his soulmate did something to cause their entire foot to be slammed against what felt like a goddamn iron wall, and now Jungkook was doomed to be a cripple for the rest of the afternoon. Or, at least, until he was able to feel his toes again.

"Fuck," he hissed, running a shaky hand down the length of his calf, not quite brave enough to reach down to his tender foot. "What the hell are they doing?"

"I'll say."

Jungkook snapped his head toward the voice, realizing he wasn't alone to his own company. His gaze landed upon an unfamiliar face, coupled alongside a foreign dish held in the man's hands. It smelled pleasant, though, Jungkook found himself thinking, staring the food down with curious eyes.

His stare apparently went on for a little too long, for he heard the guy clear his throat to garner Jungkook's attention back toward him. Jungkook felt a light heat lap at the shell of his ears as he raised his gaze up to the man's face, sheepish.

Instead of seeing a disapproving frown or even an awkward, tight-lipped smile on the person's face, Jungkook saw a gentle grin overtake the guy's features. Jungkook quirked an eyebrow at the odd smile but was in honestly too much pain to return it.

The man's curious behavior didn't stop there, for he strolled up toward Jungkook and plopped himself down on what little room the bench had left to offer. Jungkook was jarred out of his dazed half-thoughts as he stared, bewilderedly, at the guy who was suddenly a lot too close for comfort.

"Um," Jungkook began, eyes darting all over the guy's form, which was unfairly handsome for a fellow college student.

"You want a bite?" the guy asked, already removing the plastic wrap that covered the top of the bowl. "I saw you staring at it and figured you wanted a taste."