Jungkook didn't seem to realize that time had continued around him, his attention solely on the baby in his arms. The new bunny had quickly gotten comfortable, snuggled against his chest, her ears tucked away in Jungkook's arm. He was the most comfortable in that moment then he had been in the last month, holding baby Yoona, sat on a chair, simply being with her.
For the last half an hour, every time anyone tried to get too close to Jungkook, or try to take Yoona from his arms, Yoona would start to fuss. At first Jungkook thought maybe it was something he had done, trying to hand the small bundle over to Jae or Amy, or anyone close enough. Though every time that happened, Yoona would cry, loudly and constantly until Jungkook took her again. So Jungkook sat, even with people surrounding him, alone with baby Yoona, a calming quiet surrounding them both.
"You have a way with her." Jae sat down next to Jungkook, a stupid smile on his face as he took in his daughter. "Since we bought her home she's only been this calm for Amy or me."
Jungkook looked up to the older man, his Uncle; "I'm sure it's nothing. I bet she likes I'm just quiet."
"Don't sell yourself short, Jungkook." Jae tipped the cup he held toward Jungkook, meeting his eyes. "You've sat here with her for nearly an hour and been pretty attentive to her needs. You're a natural."
"I don't know about that." Jungkook shook his head, before the words registered, staring wide eyed at Jae. "I've been sitting here for an hour?"
"Close to it." Jae looked at his watch, nodding.
"I have to go." Jungkook looked down at the sleeping baby. "I'm late."
"You're not staying?" Jae stood with Jungkook, sitting his cup down as Jungkook started to softly transfer baby Yoona into his hands. "The foods just getting done."
"I can't stay. I'm already late." Jungkook finally laid Yoona in Jae's arms, smiling softly. "I'll see you later."
Jae smiled widely at Jungkook, who turned, ready to run back to his home if he had too, looking around for the others. He spotted them quickly, Jimin and Taehyung playing games with other kids, Yoongi and Hoseok already doing their sweep for this part of the property. He called for them quickly, pointing towards the house before Yoongi just raised a hand in understanding before he was back to work. Jimin and Taehyung ran over to join Jungkook, already knowing Namjoon and Reyna would be waiting for them back at the main house.
"Where are you going?" Jungkook's mother stopped him before the three could walk back down the dirty path.
"Home. I have things to do." Jungkook nodded before turning, thinking the conversation was over.
"Jungkook, you mother is talking to you. The least you can do is hold a small conversation with us." His father, an almost spitting image of a younger Jeon Yeong-Su, wrapped his arm protectively around his wife.
"Look, I don't have time right now-"
"Can't you just talk to us, Jungkookie." His mother interrupted, only causing Jungkook to finally snap.
"My name is not Jungkookie. It's Jungkook." He raised his voice, causing the attention for everyone around to turn to them. "Don't you get that? I'm not some little kid anymore. You don't know anything about me, so stop treating me like some child. Just leave me alone."
Jungkook didn't stop a second time, not even bothering to check if Jimin and Taehyung were following him as he walked determined towards the house. His feet only picked up to a run as he looked at the time on his phone, he was late and all he could think about was leaving Yoona to wait, again. He didn't care about anything more, his mind, his heart, his soul was focused completely on the one woman who he couldn't even be near.
He never wanted to have her wait for him again.
"Jeon, wait up." Taehyung's voice caught up to him as they reached the porch steps, seeing Namjoon and Reyna. "Dude, seriously stop."
Taehyung reached out, placing a hand on Jungkook's shoulder; "Get off me."
Jungkook pushed Taehyung's hand from him, only for Taehyung to step back, hands raised in surrender as not to work the bunny up anymore. Jimin stayed behind Taehyung, his hand wrapped into a fist in his shirt, not wanting anything to escalate to much. Even as he saw Namjoon and Reyna move towards them, Jimin and Taehyung stayed a small distance from Jungkook who's chest rose heavily.
"I'm sorry, Jungkook. I won't touch you if you don't want me to." Taehyung's hands stayed raised, allowing Jungkook to see them, trying to make everything predator about him seem... not. "But you need to calm down before you have a panic attack."
"Jungkook," Reyna's soft voice caused the young man to look towards her, though his attention stayed on the predators around him. "It's okay, just breath deeply, calm down."
Jungkook allowed Reyna to get closer to him, though the other boys knew they wouldn't be welcomed into his space right now. Jimin kept his own hands on Taehyung, who was talking softly to Namjoon, explaining Jungkook's outburst. Namjoon only nodded sadly, watching as Reyna had calmed him down enough to a normal pace of breath. Jungkook's eyes were shut, and from what Namjoon could see, the tension in the youngest shoulders had relaxed some as Reyna bought him into a hug.
"Is everything okay?" Reyna whispered to Jungkook.
"I'm late..." Jungkook pulled back, pulling the sleeves of his jacket over his hands again. "I can't be late again."
Namjoon took a small step toward them, testing the reaction of the bunny; "Jungkook, when have you been late?"
Reyna looked at her husband, confused at the question but trusting him as he moved closer towards them.
"I'm always late." Jungkook looked at his hands, fixing his sleeves into fists. "I'm always... too late."
"Is there a specific time you were late?" Namjoon had a hunch, he just wished he was wrong.
"I should have been home earlier." Jungkook looked up towards the wolf who's ears flicked on his head. "I should have found the farm quicker. I'm always late."
"It's not your fault, Jungkook." Namjoon raised his hands, letting Jungkook watch as he placed them on his shoulder. "None of this is your fault."
"You don't know that." Jungkook stepped back, pushing Namjoon away from him, stepping away at Reyna's slight yell as her husband fell from the force. "None of you actually know. So just... leave me alone."
Jungkook was quick to move up the few stairs of the porch, walking around to the front door to open it with the key he had. Locking the door and triple checking it was locked, Jungkook looked around the empty house, feeling no life within it. Sighing, he knew he acted rash, he was hurting and everyone was treating him like he was made of glass, or a bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. Even he would admit, he was angry, but not for anything someone could say or do to him, his worst nightmare had already happened, he could only live each day punishing himself.
Jungkook made his way to Yoona's office door, his own instincts causing him to raise his hand as if he'd knock. Only for him to step back, turning to the door behind him and opening it, only to lock himself in there like he always did. Moving towards the couch Yoona had helped put in for him, Jungkook took his jacket and shoes off, sitting his phone on the coffee table in front of him. His eyes had scanned the room, all the presents, all the things that secured his life having meaning within Yoona's life sat around him, art supplies, camera, everything. Yet, he hadn't been able to touch a single thing she had gotten for him, not feel worthy enough.
Of the items she bought, or if Yoona's love? Jungkook hadn't decided which he was less worthy of yet.
His phone rang, Jin's name showing had Jungkook picking the phone up quickly; "Hyung?"
"Hey, Jungkook." The voice stopped his breath, his heart spiking, his ears standing tall on his head. "It's me."
"Yoona..." he whispered her name, closing his eyes to listen to her, even if it was to listen to her breath.
"How are you?" Her voice was quiet, a whisper, as if it were a secret between only the two of them. "I hope your okay?"
"I'm okay." Jungkook nodded, leaning back into the couch, eyes still closed. "But don't worry about me. How are you?"
"I'll always worry about you, Jungkook." Yoona's sweet voice melted though him. "But I'm good. The doctor said I'm recovering well, that I should be able to leave soon."
"To come home?" Jungkook tried not to expect much, but he couldn't fully stop that part of him.
"Not just yet." Jungkook could have sworn Yoona was crying, but he couldn't be sure. "It'll be a little harder for that."
"Of course. Your recovery is important." Jungkook opened his eyes, head turned to the only picture he had of Yoona, smiling brightly at him in the garden, covered in dirt after a sun shower a few months ago, a lifetime ago. "Take all the time you need."
"Thank you, Jungkook." Yoona stopped for a moment, listening to the soft sigh of the man on the other end of the phone. "I do have to talk to you about something though."
"Mmm?"
"Have you locked yourself away in our house?" Yoona heard fumbling on the phone before the soft curse words from the bunny. "So it's true. You've locked yourself away?"
"No I haven't." Jungkook spoke quickly. "They just... no one is giving me a second of silence. I just need to be quiet for a while."
"Quiet I understand." Yoona nodded in understand, staring at her sleeping brother in the small cot in the hospital room. "But you shouldn't close yourself off from the world, not right now."
"I know, I just don't know how to act around them all." Jungkook leaned on his elbows against his knees, rubbing a hand down his face. "My parents are here... alive."
"I know."
"Thank you, for bringing them back." Jungkook heard the soft hum of reply. "I just don't know how to act around them anymore. They hover and treat me like a child and after everything I've lived through..."
"You can't be treated like it all never happened." Yoona finished for him.
"Yeah." Jungkook's fingertip ran across the wood of the coffee table.
"Have you told them that?"
"What?" Jungkook's fingers stopped, his ears falling back against his head.
"Have you talked to them about everything you've been through? How you don't want to be treated that way anymore?" Jungkook realised Yoona was always in work mode when it came to reconnecting other people, but never herself.
"Have you?" Jungkook couldn't help but ask.
"Excuse me?" Yoona's mouth ran dry.
"You've just experienced a trauma most hybrids go through their entire lives." Jungkook continued talking. "You no doubt feel suffocated that Jin-Hyung is constantly around, hovering to your every whim, doctors and nurses trying to make everything better. Have you told any of them you don't need that?"
"This isn't about me." Yoona tried to defend.
"It's about the both of us." Jungkook huffed into the phone. "It's about both of us now, both of us needing to work things out."
"I know how to take care of myself, Jungkook." Yoona scoffed, moving the phone from one broken hand to another.
"Do you though?" Jungkook asked. "Do you really know how to be by yourself and not fix everyone else's problems?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Fixing everyone else's problems won't help to fix your own problems." Jungkook's hand smacked against the coffee table before pushing to stand on his feet. "You can't hide behind being the savior anymore, you have to deal with your own life now. Do you know how to do that?"
Jungkook was meet by silence, he had thought maybe Yoona had just hung up on him, at least until he heard it. Soft sniffles came through the quiet phone, he could hear Yoona shuffling against the phone and he knew then, Yoona was crying. He had actually been the cause of Yoona's tears and he couldn't even do anything about it, only to smack his palm against his head.
"Sorry, Yoona, I'm so sorry." Jungkook quickly rushed out in a whimper.
"No, don't be." Yoona's voice was thick, heavy. "You're right. I don't know how to take care of myself, because I've been taking care of everyone else around me for so long. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Yoona was this time meet with silence except for the grinding of Jungkook's teeth. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I don't know how to take care of myself? That I take care of you and everyone else because I'm avoiding my own messed up life?"
"Yoona..."
"Just forget it." Yoona shook her head, angrily wiping tears that didn't seem to stop now. "Just forget everything, Jungkook. I'll see you around."
"No, wait, YOONA!"
But she had hung up on him.
Jungkook found more reason to blame himself.
Yoona growled, willing, forcing herself to stop crying, to not show any weakness in a time where so many people had it so much worse then she did. Her hands moved roughly across her cheek, only causing her to wince in pain from the cast on her hand that scraped against her skin. Only to cause more tears to well up in her eyes, not bothering to wipe them anymore as she stared at Jin who now stared at her wide eyed.
"What?" Yoona snapped, not meaning to take her anger out of him.
"Are you okay?" Jin stood, stretching.
Yoona scoffed, rolling her eyes; "You've been awake that whole time, you heard every word. Don't act like you don't know what happened."
"Still, are you okay?" Jin moved towards Yoona, stopping as Yoona threw his phone with as much force as she could, watching it smash into the wall. "That was mine."
"Just take mine, or I'll get you a new one." Yoona cried, but her anger burned so much more at everything, at Jungkook's words, at her own stupidity to get as hurt as she did.
"Yoona, I'm here for you if you need to talk." Jin placed a hand on her casted hand, only for her to push him off.
"Can you not." Yoona stared up at him, for the first time in her life with hatred. "Can you just not be helpful right now?"
"Sorry." Jin moved his hands to his pockets. "Not my place, I know."
"Why are you still here?" Yoona grabbed the end of her shirt, using the fabric to wipe her tears instead of her hands.
"You're in hospital."
"No why are you still here, with me?" Yoona couldn't control the tears, try as she may. "I don't need you here to cuddle me at every moment of the day."
"Okay, you obviously need some time alone, so I will go home tonight and I will check on you tomorrow." Jin moved away from Yoona's bed, collecting the bag Reyna usually came in once a week to take home, exchanging new clothes.
"Don't bother coming back. I don't need you here." Yoona watched as Jin picked up his own phone, sitting hers and her grandfathers he had been carrying around for over a month on the table by her bed. "I don't need them."
"I'll come by tomorrow, get some rest." Jin moved towards the door, hand on the handle.
"Only family will be allowed to come back in."
"Good thing I'm your brother." Jin smiled sadly, looking back towards Yoona.
"You're not my brother. Your not my family." Yoona stared straight back at Jin. "My family's dead, and have left me here alone. So leave me alone."
"I'll see you soon, Yoona." Jin's words were meet with silence before he walked out, needing to visit the sanctuary, already knowing more then one needed help today.