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Word count: 2207
POV: Namjoon
NAMJOON WOKE UP startled.
Panting, he jerked upright, his breathing heavy. He clutched his heart tightly, alarmed by his sudden state. He couldn't remember having a nightmare. It was as if his body demanded he wake up like it knew something was wrong.
Forcing himself to control his breathing, he rubbed his eyes tiredly and examined his friends. They were all still sleeping soundly, except for Jimin. The oldest maknae was rolling from side to side in the makeshift bed with sweat dripping down his forehead.
Namjoon crawled over to the low bed and gently shook Jimin.
Like Namjoon, Jimin jolted awake, panicking. "Where is she?" He was asking in a rush, worried.
Namjoon immediately knew what he was talking about. Their beloved soul mate.
For the past four days, they had been camping in the hospital room with her, praying she'd wake up. It had been a tough few days and barely any of them slept. They were all worried she'd never wake up. What was worse was they knew what was wrong with her.
Madeline Smith had been abusing the soul suppressants she had been prescribed. Her body had consumed so many of those awful pills that it needed time to heal. What caused her to collapse was her soul was denying the pills. It didn't want to mute the bond they shared.
Doctor Lorn—who had been selected as her personal doctor—said there was no estimate of how long it'd take her to wake up. Her body and soul are healing. They need time. She'll wake up when she's ready. He had told them two days ago. Since then, they all refused to leave the hospital. Thankfully, the room had a private en-suite for them to use. Sejin visited three times a day with clothes and food.
The only time the seven left her room was when her cousin and brother visited. Freya had reluctantly revealed that she hadn't told the rest of Madeline's family what had happened yet. Apparently, most of her family were very set on soul mates so they'd be beyond upset that she'd chosen to take soul suppressants. Freya didn't want to be the one to break the news to them.
Madeline's oldest brother, Creed, didn't really speak to them. The first time Namjoon met him, he sensed an air of brotherly protection around him. Namjoon wondered if Creed harbored any distaste for them since they put her through this.
They had yet to discover more about her family. From the small bits and pieces that had been said, he got the impression her family was not the usual functional family.
He didn't mind what they were like. He'd accept them no matter what. Namjoon was nervous but excited about meeting them. He wanted to know the people that had raised his soul mate.
"She's—" Namjoon paused once his eyes lifted to the bed. He was expecting to see his gorgeous soul mate lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Instead, he was met with the sight of an empty bed. The machines dotted around the bed were all switched off and the sheets from the bed were lying on the ground.
She was gone.
"Oh no," Namjoon mumbled, jumping to his feet. Jimin followed Namjoon's line of sight and stood up in alarm.
"No, no, no," Jimin rambled, grabbing onto his soul mark. It was still a beautiful gold color. "W—where is she? Did somebody take her? Oh god."
His voice was raised loud enough to cause the others to stir. Hobi was the first to open his eyes and ask what the commotion was.
Namjoon glanced back at the bed in worry. His soul mate had pulled a Houdini.
"Madeline's missing," Namjoon stated in a calm voice, trying to present himself as collected. He had to keep a level head.
Those words woke up the two youngest and Jin. Yoongi was the only one who was still fast asleep, unaware of what was happening.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Jungkook demanded in disbelief.
"She's in a coma...she can't just walk away," Taehyung muttered with a frown.
"She can if she woke up," Jin joined the conversation, worriedly staring at the empty bed.
"Why are we still sitting here? We need to find her!" Jimin exclaimed, biting his nails.
"I'll go and talk to the doctors whilst you guys wake up Yoongi. When I come back, we'll come up with a strategy." Namjoon ordered and patted Jimin's shoulder. "It's okay, Jimin. We'll find her."
Jimin nodded his head shakily, wanting to believe him.
Namjoon left the room and located the nurse's desk. They all smiled brightly at him, eyeing him with intrigue and awe.
"Hi there, we have a problem," He greeted, itching to get looking for his soul mate. Not knowing where she was terrified him. What if somebody took her?
If he kept spiraling down that hole, he'd be of no use to anyone. He had to be strong for his brothers and her.
"Oh, what's wrong Mr Kim?" One of the nurses called Aggie asked.
"My soul mate is missing."
They all gasped in shock, their eyes widening. The youngest-looking nurse started to fire questions. "W—what? How? Miss Smith in a coma."
"I don't know. All we know is she's gone. I need your help to find her."
"Of course," Aggie replied instantly in a fierce voice. "We'll send a notification to the hospital that Miss Smith is missing. We'll try and keep it as discreet as possible."
"Thank you," Namjoon said, gratefully. They had to keep this as quiet as possible.
Namjoon speed-walked back to his room to inform the others. Yoongi was finally awake when he returned and was just as alert as the others. Whilst he didn't show as many emotions in front of the camera, Yoongi cared deeply.
"The nurses are going to send a message to the staff here. I think the best way to find her is if we split up. Jimin and Jin, you'll take the top three floors. Yoongi and Jungkook will take the next three down. And then Hobi, Tae, and me we'll take the last four." Namjoon instructed the others.
Just as they were about to spring into action, nurse Aggie stumbled into the room frantically. "We found her."
The moment those words tumbled out of her lips, they all relaxed. Relief became evident on their faces. Namjoon's shoulders loosened and he sent a grateful smile to Aggie. When he first met her, she was starstruck—aware of who they were. But she soon got over that and plastered a professional expression on her face. Since then, she had kept a distance and treated them like regular people.
The same couldn't be said for some of the staff but he couldn't really hate them. A few of them were fans and just wanted pictures. They all tried to be as polite as they could be with the circumstances.
"Where is she?" Jimin asked in perfect English. Namjoon didn't think he'd ever get used to it.
"She's a few rooms away. She must have woken up and walked through the corridor. I'm surprised nobody noticed her." Aggie answered.
"Can you take us to her?" Namjoon requested, softly. Aggie nodded her head and turned around to show them. Apprehension floated around in his body. He was excited but nervous to talk to her. Even though he had been around her for a few days, he had yet to talk to her. He wondered what she'd be like.
After quickly throwing on a mask, the seven of them trailed out of the room, buzzing with nerves. Jungkook stood close to him, his eyes examining the hallway.
"I'm so nervous," He muttered quietly.
"Me too," Namjoon assured him.
Aggie came to a halt outside a white door. She glanced at them before turning back and gently knocking on the door.
"Miss Val?" She called out. Namjoon assumed it was to the patient who resided in the room.
"Come in, dear," A frail voice replied through the door. Aggie pushed the door open, revealing an old lady.
Namjoon's brown orbs quickly shifted to the slumped form in a chair, sleeping peacefully. His eyes snapped back to the old woman when he heard her gasp in shock. "Oh, my. What a turn of events."
"We're here to collect, Miss Smith," Aggie informed the older woman, crouching beside his soul mate. She did a quick assessment of her and nodded once, giving them the go for one of them to carry Madeline back.
Namjoon stepped forward before the others could, eager to hold her. He wanted to complete the bond badly, just like the others. He ignored the glares from his friends and strolled over to the chair.
Madeline's messy hair shielded her face from his view. Despite her fatigued state, she still looked gorgeous.
"She's your soul mate, correct?" The patient in the room suddenly asked.
Namjoon stilled, whipping his gaze to her.
"I'm not a danger to you or her. I had a lovely talk with her last night. She's a good person. You boys better make sure you take care of her." Val ordered them but in a strange, sweet manner. "She seems to think you want nothing to do with her, poor girl. If that's the case, then you better—"
"We want her. So much," Jimin butted in, stepping forward. He was never usually one to interrupt an elder but Namjoon knew he didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression. If the others understood everything Val was saying, they'd be doing the same thing as well.
Val smiled brightly at them, "Good. That poor girl has been starved of affection for too long. You're going to have to work hard to gain her trust."
Based on the doctor's reports and the little information Madeline's family had told them, Namjoon figured as much. Madeline had been hurt in the past and wouldn't open up easily.
They would spend the remainder of their days proving to her that they adored her.
Namjoon bent over and carefully scooped his soul mate into his arms. The moment they touched; his whole world changed. Jimin had described the feeling he experienced when they first touched but nothing could truly prepare him for this. It took him a few moments to recover enough to adjust her in his arms.
Her head lolled back, resting on the ball of his shoulder. A peaceful, content expression softened on her face and her light snores eased. The others all gathered around him, desperate to look at her.
"She looks beautiful," Jin commented, his eyes glistening with tears. As the oldest, he had waited for this day for the longest.
"I wish I could touch her," Hobi mumbled, dejectedly.
"We'll get too soon." Yoongi comforted him, keeping his eyes trained on her.
Namjoon followed Aggie back to their assigned hospital room. Namjoon didn't want to let go of her but he knew he needed to. Aggie had to do some checks on her.
Reluctantly, he placed her on the bed and watched as she sank into the bed. Her nose twitched and she let out a small sigh, indicating she had been dreaming. He wondered what she thought about—did he pop up in her dreams? Did she dream about her in the way he did about her?
"She seems to be fine. Just tired and dehydrated. We'll get her on an IV immediately," Aggie informed them, stepping back. "You should all stay in close proximity with her. Even though five of you haven't touched, the bond needs some reassurance. Having you close will help her heal."
Namjoon nodded his head whilst Jimin eagerly told the others what Aggie said.
"Does that mean she'll be able to leave soon, hyung?" Jungkook asked Namjoon, hopefully. His large doe eyes sparkled with brightness at the thought of being able to leave the hospital with Madeline.
Whilst they were grateful to the doctors and nurses for helping their soul mate, they wanted to be somewhere private. They didn't want to worry somebody would barge in and ask for their autographs.
"I think so," Jin replied instead, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. Since they had been in the hospital, Sejin had found them a place to stay. It was a fairly big house with five rooms. They were used to sharing a room so they didn't mind that. They had yet to visit the house, but they hoped to go with Madeline.
The fact that she had woken up was a good sign. She was getting better.
The awful pills she had been taking were slowly leaving her system. Now, all she had to do was wake up when they were awake. Then, they could finally explain everything.
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