Warnings: mental breakdown, mention of trauma, etc.
Namjoon felt his heart break as Jin cried painfully, his tears staining the front of his shirt, while he held him.
Both Mr Kim and Ms Soojin were talking to the doctor with grim expressions, and judging by what they were talking about, Namjoon understood that since Jin was still quite delicate from what he'd gone through, he'd to stay another week at the hospital before it was decided if he should be discharged or not. That meant that he'd have to spend this Christmas in the hospital...
But that wasn't why Jin was crying. He'd missed the final examination before graduation, and woke up the next day after it'd ended. That meant that that he couldn't sit for the exam until next year... Jin was upset that after so much hard work he'd done all year, he'd to wait another year to finally graduate from high school.
The worst was that he'd not be with his boyfriend any longer. Namjoon would go to college somewhere else, leaving him all alone, after all the times they'd spent discussing happily about a life together. How they'd go to the same college, get a degree or whatever, and get married once they were able to look after each other without anyone else's help.
That dream seemed to have just been shattered when Jin found out that he'd been unconscious the whole time he should've been attending exams, and Namjoon knew how he felt.
Maybe if Jin was in a less vulnerable state, he would've tried to find a way somehow to make things right, but right now, he couldn't. He'd gone through too much to think straight now, and all that roamed around in his mind was the fear of having Namjoon far from him. All he could do was cry now, feeling lost and hopeless.
Namjoon absolutely hated seeing Jin like this. He'd rather drink poison and feel his body's reaction to it over and over again, than see his moon in so much pain.
"Baby, shh, stop crying," Namjoon whispered, gently cupping Jin's tear-streaked face as he hiccuped, followed by more sobs, his eyes closed and brows scrunched up.
"J-Joonie," Jin choked, clutching onto him tighter as he leaned closer to his face. "I-I d-don't... don't w-w-want to l-lose y-you-"
"It's okay," Namjoon whispered soothingly as he wiped his wet cheeks with his thumbs. "Don't cry. Don't cry. I'm here. I won't leave you, baby, even if the world ends."
"Y-y-you're g-gonna lea-"
"No, I'll stay. I'll stay with you." Namjoon pressed his lips softly to Jin's, hoping that this would help him to calm down.
Jin melted into the kiss, sobs becoming sniffles as he worked on moving his lips in sync with Namjoon's, and for a while, he could concentrate. Namjoon held his limp self up close to him as he tried to convey his love to him through the kiss, and when they pulled back, he skimmed Jin's smooth soft cheeks with his thumbs as they looked deeply into each other's eyes, Jin only hiccuping occasionally, his crying having finally subsided.
They hadn't realized when the doctor had left and the boys had returned to sit there with sad and serious expressions, worried about Jin's constant crying now and then, though Ms Soojin assured that after everything he'd beared all along, he needed a good cry to relieve himself.
"Y-you'll have to leave," Jin sniffled. "A-and what will become of m-me after that? I d-don't want you so f-far from m-me. I... I need y-you to be with me."
"I won't ever leave you, Jinnie," Namjoon said firmly, pressing a sincere kiss on his forehead. "I know you can't graduate this year though me, Yoongi hyung and Hobi hyung will, and have to go to college out of town, but that doesn't mean anything can separate us. I'll skip this year for you if necessary."
"But I don't w-want that." Tears filled Jin's eyes again as his lips trembled, remaining in eye-contact with Namjoon the whole time. "And I-I dunno w-what to do. I don't w-want you to skip a whole year b-because of me, but I-I don't want you to g-go either. I c-can't u-u-understand what to do... I-I'm s-scared. I-I'm scared, Joonie."
"Hush," Namjoon said, quieting him with a peck on the lips. "It's okay to be scared, Jinnie. And I know what you're feeling. I knew you'd be worried about this. So, I've made a decision."
Jin hiccuped, falling silent as he stared at the other. "W-what do you mean, Joonie?"
"I've decided to not go to the college we were planning on going. I'll stay in this town, and go to Indigo College instead, so I can return home in the end of the day."
"W-what?" Jin shook his head, crying again. "N-no. You can't. You spent d-days talking about it. I-I'm being selfish. You s-should go where you've w-wanted to, whether I want you to or not. It's y-your life, a-and I didn't mean to b-be a burden. I-I'm sorry-"
"No, stop being sorry," Namjoon interrupted, pressing his thumb over Jin's lips to stop him from talking. "You're not selfish, nor are you a burden. You're just in pain that is making you feel this way. And I want to go to Indigo. I want to stay here with you."
"But it was your dream-"
"No, it wasn't." Namjoon rested his forehead against Jin's, still holding his face in his hands. "You're my biggest dream, and now that I have you, I don't want anything else."
"Y-you've got a bright future, and I'm just holding you back-"
"No, never say that ever again," Namjoon stopped him abruptly, sounding serious and stern now. "I've got everything I want. I've got you. I've got the boys and my samchon. And eomma too. I want nothing else. I just want to go to Indigo and get a degree, and settle down with you and do what I want to do- be an artist. Besides, I'm the heir of the Kims'. What else would I want? I have everything, Jinnie. I don't have any regrets, except that I couldn't shield you from pain. You've been through so much, and I want to make sure you're happy with me from now on. You're my everything, my Prince."
Namjoon pulled back to look into Jin's puffy red eyes, still so beautiful. He still wondered if he was actually real, and not a dream.
Jin just hiccuped now, looking back at him with so much love and sincerity that Namjoon leaned down to kiss away his tears, making him smile a little at last. Namjoon had missed that beautiful smile for so long.
"I love you, Joonie," Jin croaked out, reaching up to kiss his nose.
"I love you too, my moon," Namjoon replied, hugging him tight as he held back his own tears, resting his chin on top of Jin's head.
The others in the room were watching the two lovers with sad smiles, but they were glad that they were finally happy. Even none of the boys protested when Jin and Namjoon shared a short kiss on the lips openly.
"You two will be fine," Yoongi said quietly as he leaned his head on Jimin's shoulder, entwining their hands. "Jimin and I had this conversation not too long ago, and I remember how scared we were of a long-distance relationship. What if we fell apart? But that was silly, since our love is way too deep for us to fall apart.
Still, I didn't want to be too far from Minnie. I'm going to the college near Indigo, and so is Hoba. We can attend classes and come back in time, and even get the maknaes home from school that way. We won't be separated."
"That sounds... fine," Jin said slowly, his head on Namjoon's chest, having his shoulders massaged gently by the latter to help him feel less stiff. "That means... I have to repeat last year again." He huffed, frustrated.
"But you need to stay out for a year, sweetie," Ms Soojin said bracingly. "You're too fragile to be going back to school yet. You need to get healthy again, first."
Luckily, Jin didn't break down again. He was too tired to even cry anymore. "That means..." He merely frowned as he tried to think.
"That means you're gonna graduate from high school with me and Tae, hyung!" Jimin said brightly, jumping onto the bed to hug Jin from behind.
"Yeah, so you won't be too lonely when you return," Taehyung added, joining in the hug. "You'll have me, Minnie and Kookie."
"Well, in the end, I'll still be the one left alone!" Jungkook said from his place, everyone laughing at his dramatic exclamation.
"Don't worry, Jungkookie," Hoseok said, patting the maknae's back. "You'll have all your hyungs sending you to school everyday, so we'll still be the same old us."
"I guess you're right," Jungkook pouted.
It wouldn't be the same, but having his six hyungs dropping him to school everyday sounded nice. Hah, nobody would dare to mess with him unless they wanted his hyungs to skin them alive. He knew that Jin would be the first to have a go at them.
They still had two years to go before that happened, so the present time was much more important.
Jin was smiling at the boys right now from Namjoon's arms, but suddenly, he remembered something that made him frown and look around at his mother, who was currently turning down Mr Kim's proposals to go out with him on a date every way possible, though she seemed to be secretly enjoying the attention she was being given.
"Eomma?"
Ms Soojin immediately looked up at her son with her usual sweet smile. "Yes, baby?"
"You haven't said what happened to Seojoon."
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