Kiss √

TWENTY-TWO

[them]

THEY laid on the bed of the forest, holding onto their life. time was still. deep wounds sliced on their arms spitting out blood in lines. blood seeped out of places where it shouldn't, flowing in crimson rivers. grime covered their bodies like frosting.

the booming stampede rumbled towards them in search of their hyung and haru. they had just disappeared amongst the trees. they couldn't keep up to them.

"what the fuck?" jimin screamed while noticing the disheartening state of his sister and brother.

it didn't take long for jimin's tears to erupt. the rest of the boys crowded around him as they glanced at the floor.

jin's eyes enlarged, his heart jumped out of his chest as he saw the gushing wounds. namjoon's bullet wound had been infected with the amount of dirt covering it.

"what the hell did they even do?" taehyung's voice faltered.

"it looks like they jumped out of a tree." jungkook noticed his wounds on his arms, grazes from thorns.

"genius." jin mumbled, "148 iq at its best."

jin's face flushed red again, namjoon was always landing himself in trouble. jin trembled as he noticed the crimson on his forehead. his shoulder slumped as he crouched next to them. his fingers held over namjoon's wrist then haru's wrist.

the slight tingling went up his arm, a tiny pulse. one weight was lifted off jin's shoulders.

"jimin." jin called, "take your sister and i'll take namjoon."

jin huffed out a sigh as he hurled namjoon's weight on his shoulder. jimin held haru like a feather. her tiny frame weighed almost nothing to him.

"taehyung and jimin you're coming with me." jin wheezed.

their shoes flew with every step, hammering into the concrete. the rain drizzled onto them as they sprinted.

they paced inside their home, setting both namjoon and haru onto the beds.

jimin left the instant he set haru onto the bed, shutting the door on his way out. his vision became hazy as he remembered their faces.

"tae hook them up to general anesthesia and the ekg's." jin bellowed as he wore gloves.

sweat beaded on their foreheads while they worked against the ticking clock. their erratic hearts were in sync beating with the tapping of their feet.

they both switched around from haru to namjoon in an effort to save them both. they stitched cuts close, pulled out thorns, and cleaned up the dirt.

"hyung, hand me the tweezers."

jin handed them without a glance. taehyung cleaned out the wounds as he took the bullet out. he was precise, without a second to waste.

taehyung's hands shivered despite his experience. his fingers trembled as he stitched up the cuts. he paused as he shook his hands, glancing at the clock. half-past one.

the boys were still awake outside the room waiting for any news. their eyes wouldn't close, it would drift open straight away. each one looked like hell.

hoseok's cheery persona evaporated. he was in tears, crunched up into the corner of the couch.

"it's all my fault." he mumbled.

the boys all huddled around each other, comforting each other.

"hyung it's not." jungkook whispered, staring at the white wall in front.

"jungkook its all because of me." hoseok sobbed, "i left her alone in the room and went to get namjoon."

every one of hoseok's words came out with abrupt pauses as he cried his sorrows away. their hearts cracked to see the bright sun crying.

"but hyung you didn't know."

"now look at them both of them are fighting for their lives." hoseok croaked.

"hoseok." yoongi swallowed him into a hug, "don't worry i'm sure they will be alright."

yoongi seldom showed his love or his emotions. his eyes were brimming with tears as well.

they were all together in this.

jin and taehyung ran out the door exhausted, covered head to toe in sweat. their heartbeat had slowed down.

"we've patched them up." taehyung started, "but we don't know if they will wake up."

the boys didn't hesitate as they all ran inside to see. hoseok fell to his knees as he saw namjoon.

his cuts painted him like artwork. he was patched up in gauze. hoseok bobbed his head side to side in denial.

"its all my fault." hoseok chanted, his voice only a mere whisper.

jungkook lifted hoseok up. he sat hoseok upright next to him.

"hyung it's not your fault." jungkook's voice was stern.

jungkook hated to see all his brothers crying around him. he didn't want to add on to their burdens, sometimes he wished it was him crying instead of them.

hoseok was flooding tears as he tilted his head onto jungkook's shoulder. the room became still with time, not a word uttered. only from time to time did jin bring in food for them all. the boys all stayed confined waiting for them to wake up.

*

namjoon's eyes flipped open. in front of him were five boys, all drained. eye bags under each one's eyes, their skin seemed gray, malnourished. they had killed themselves waiting for him.

jungkook was the first to notice namjoon. his eyes closed in happiness. warmth flowed through him.

"hyung we were afraid you wouldn't wake up."

namjoon groaned as he shifted in the bed. pain shot up him like a firecracker. namjoon rubbed his eyes while he squinted at the clock across from him.

namjoon slurred, "why? it's only twelve pm."

"namjoon it's thursday, not saturday." jin corrected, heaving a sigh of relief.

namjoon rubbed his head feeling the gauze wrapped around his temple. his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make sense of time. the events were all dusty in his head.

"i was out for five days?" his tone wavered.

namjoon glanced around the room. something else was wrong. nobody was speaking.

he noticed someone was missing. he searched for every color, only the pink was missing.

"where's jimin?"

time stopped moving, the room was silent. eyes glanced back and forth.

"he's with haru." taehyung paused, "she won't wake."